from my bookshelf

Glitches by Marissa Meyer

2012-01-24T06:51:00.004-05:00

Title: Glitches
Series: The Lunar Chronicles Prequel
Author: Marissa Meyer
Copyright: 2011
Pages: 33
Publisher: tor.com
Author Website: marissameyer.livejournal.com
Twitter: @marissa_meyer, @torbooks
Format: ebook
Rating: 3/5 stars

Well, as Cinder is basically the Cinderella story told with a cyborg as Cinderella, it is only fitting that we the story of how Cinder came to live with her stepmother and two stepsisters, and that is exactly what Glitches is. This is a very quick read and gives us a solid introduction to the characters in Cinder's "family", but as everyone knows the Cinderella story, you'll be instantly familiar with how this short story will turn out.

Glitches is an ebook only prequel released from tor.com and is available at most ebook outlets.

Mainspring by Jay Lake

2012-01-20T06:45:00.001-05:00

Title: Mainspring
Author: Jay Lake
Copyright: 2007
Pages: 358
ISBN: 9780765356369
Publisher: Tor
Author Website: jlake.com
Twitter: @torbooks, @jay_lake
Format: eBook
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Mainspring is a hard book to categorize. It's like a theological steampunk/clockpunk adventure amalgamation. In this world, the Earth is actually a large clockwork that travels a cog orbit, the traveling gear spanning the Equatorial Wall that separates the planet into Northern and Southern Earth, with the moon following it's own cog orbit around the Earth. As the story opens, young apprentice Hethor is visited by the Archangel Gabriel and told that he must find the Key Perilous to wind the Mainspring of the world, as it is beginning to run down and slip and if he doesn't accomplish this holy task, the world will end. What follows is an adventure worthy of Robert Louis Stevenson with underlying tones of religion and theology. The basis of the religion of Northern Earth is a Clockwork Christianity (complete with a Brass Christ), but as Hethor journeys farther and farther in his mission and meets more people, he begins to question what he has been taught in his religious upbringing and instead begins to follow his own heart and path, even if these thoughts would normally be seen as heresy where he comes from. There is actually some deep theological thought processes going on in this book, which just added another layer of thought-provoking goodness to the story.

I was pleasantly surprised by the entire story with Mainspring. I wasn't actually sure what to expect (I thought I was actually just getting into a steampunk adventure), but Jay Lake weaves so much into this story concerning religion and what it can actually mean to each person when given the chance to view it away from their upbringing, it actually leaves quite a bit to think about. Don't get me wrong, though. There is plenty of adventure to big had; air ships, African jungles, polar expeditions, winged savages, clockwork statues, magicians. It seems Mainspring may actually have a little bit for everybody!

Recommended!

Traveling Book Box 2.0

2012-01-18T11:27:00.001-05:00

My friend Gail at Ticket to Anywhere emailed me recently about a project called the Traveling Book Box, hosted at Moonlight Book Reviews, and I read about it and it sounded like something fun, so I thought I'd sign up. Well, turns out, I was the first on the list to receive the box of books! Instructions from Erika say I'm only allowed to show what books I took out of the box of 14:

And then to show the books that I added in to the box to replace the ones I removed:

As an extra added bonus, both copies of Wings and Vampire Kisses are signed by the authors!

If you'd be interested in signing up for the Traveling Book Box, stop by Moonlight Book Reviews, read up on the project and see if it's something you'd like to participate in.

Happy reading!

The Ivy Gate by A.R. Kahler

2012-01-17T08:00:00.001-05:00

Title: The Ivy Gate
Author: A.R. Kahler
Copyright: 2011
Pages: 188
Publisher: Smashwords
Author Website: arkahler.com
Twitter: @ARKahler, @Smashwords
Format: ebook
Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Katherine Townsend has been having visions. Nothing serious, just one minute she's in her life, and in the next blink, she's in a sun-filled meadow, and blink, she's back. They happen about once a week and that's that. She's been having them since her dad died two years ago and she won't tell anyone about them because she's pretty sure they'll think it's because of her dad. She lives in a factory town that is slowly dying at a coffee shop that has almost no customers. Her boyfriend left her. She still lives with her mom. Little does she know that she just has a couple of days to save the world. She is the child of two worlds that have been separated from ours through an ancient magic, and unless she can figure out keep the worlds from crashing back together again, everyone and everything she knows will be destroyed.

OK, I really wanted to like this book. I had a hard time deciding how to review The Ivy Gate, only because I did enjoy reading it, I just felt there was a lot of room for growth. Kahler's writing is really beautiful and quite vivid and he has some great imagery, but... Well, too many times he tries to use unique sentence breaks and structures to create a sense of break in Katherine's thinking and time due to the visions that in some cases it became hard to follow what he was trying to convey. Add that to the number of typos in the book and I kept finding myself pulled out of the story.

SPOILERS AHEAD

There is also the basis of the story that I found very confusing. Katherine has a blue eye and a green eye, and this is because once upon a time there were two races on Earth before humans, the blue-eyed Erenfell and the green-eyed Til'Dara. The Til'dara were magical and the Erenfell were more scientific. Each race has a different history and mythology, but basically they were at war with each other and the Erenfell separated the planes of existence to keep the Til'Dara from destroying everything. This is where I became confused; it was never made abundantly clear how many planes of existence were made. I had the initial impression that there were two, but later it was mentioned that there were three, which made more sense with the story. It all seemed very vague. Maybe it was supposed to be, but it felt too vague for me. Or maybe I just missed something in the reading, but needless to say, I found myself more confused than not during my reading.

END SPOILERS

The book is perhaps too short, as well. By the time I was halfway through, I was already hoping that this was book one of two, if not a series, as there seemed far too much going on to wrap up everything before the of the book. Kahler did wrap everything up, and did it in a reasonable manner, but I think the book would benefit greatly if it was longer. It just seemed to me that Katherine, who started out the book with no prior knowledge of the existence of the other races and then found out she had mere days to save the world with no information from either side on how to do it, gained far too much knowledge far too quickly. I know there is a need for the suspension of disbelief in a fantasy novel, even one I would consider urban fantasy, but this just seemed to require too much of a suspension. I would like to see Kahler revisit this story someday, later in his writing career, and expand on this idea. It's a great idea, don't get me wrong, but I think it would be even better if he took time to nurture it and let it grow a little, along with his writing technique. I'll definitely be looking for more from Kahler in the future.

Sunday Salon 1 - 15 I 2012

2012-01-15T08:00:00.007-05:00

Good morning, fellow Salon Members! Huzzah to a new year and fresh starts! After what proved my most challenging year in so many respects in 2011, I'm looking afresh to 2012 and feeling good about it. I just squeaked by in 2011 with 75 books, only because I chose to re-read several favorites at the end of the year, just so I wouldn't have to think about them too hard. I have also moved this year into a new place, and in packing and putting my hands on each of my 1500+ books, I've realized how many great books I own and haven't read yet, so to that end I'm going to attempt to read more than I purchase this year. I know I say the same thing each and every year, but in truth, I'm spending more on my new place, so my disposable income for books is a little less than it has been in years past, so this is going to work in my favor. I'll simply have to read what I've got on my shelf, as I won't be able to buy as usual. Of course, the same exceptions as always hold: graphic novels, my Oz books and books picked up at book signings.

The only "challenge" that I'm participating in this year is one of my own making. 2012 marks the 100th birthday of one of my favorite authors, May Sarton, and I have decided to do a Sarton Centennial Reading Celebration. By my count, I have 56 books to read. I'm going to skip the collected books of poetry as they will already have been in other volumes and I'm skipping an anthology of previously released works. I figure if I read one volume per week, and some are slim so I can double up in a couple of weeks, there's no reason why I shouldn't be able to finish them all by the end of the year, in addition to any other reading I want to do.

As for my reading so far this year, I've finished 5 books and will hopefully finish the sixth today, but I may end up unpacking all day, so I'll see how that goes. I have high hopes for my reading this year and have set my reading goal a little higher than I ever have at 120 books. I may just be setting myself up for failure, but I want to give it a try.

Well, that's all for this week from my little corner of the blogosphere. I hope everyone is staying warm on this chilly winter morning and as always, happy reading!

Encounter in April by May Sarton

2012-01-12T00:37:00.000-05:00

Title: Encounter in April
Author: May Sarton
Copyright: 1937
Pages: 85
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 5/5 stars

Truth be told, I always have a hard time reviewing poetry. Poetry can be so ethereal; each reading can give me something different to think about, so I never know quite what to write.

With Encounter in April, both May Sarton's first book of poetry and her first published work, you can clearly see the beginnings of the life-long poet that she would become; the works are structured and clean, but don't quite have the polished emotion and raw confidence of her later poetry. These aren't poems to be taken lightly, however, as they are still powerful in their own right.

Sarton Centennial Reading Celebration 2012

2012-01-11T12:41:00.000-05:00

This morning, I started my one single "challenge" that I'm going to participate in this year. Some of you may or may not know that my favorite author is May Sarton. She was a prolific writer in her lifetime, publishing upwards of over 50 books of poetry, novels, memoirs and journals. She is probably most well known for Journal of a Solitude, in which she discusses the highs and lows and necessity of solitude and having a space of your own and coming to terms with all that comes with that. I was introduced to her writing in high school, and it spoke to me on many levels, then and now. In the subsequent years, I have acquired her entire printed oeuvre, mostly first editions and signed, including some of her rare chapbooks and festschrift.

She passed away in 1995 and 2012 would have been her 100th birthday, so I have taken this year as my Sarton Centennial Reading Celebration. I want to read through my entire Sarton library this year. I think I'm going to skip over her books of collected poetry, as these poems are already located in other books of poetry and one anthology, which reprints earlier works. I'm thinking about reading everything chronologically to her writing, but I may end up jumping around a little.

I have counted a total of 56 books that should round out my reading for the year. If times permits, I may add in some of the books of literary criticism that have been published on her works over the years, but I think I mostly want to stay focused on her writing.

Happy reading!

The Last Dragon by Jane Yolen; illustrated by Rebecca Guay

2012-01-09T02:57:00.000-05:00

Title: The Last Dragon
Authors: Jane Yolen; Illustrated by Rebecca Guay
Copyright: 2011
Pages: 144
ISBN: 9781595827982
Publisher: Dark Horse
Author Website: janeyolen.com, www.rebeccaguay.com
Twitter: @DarkHorseComics
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 4/5 stars

Centuries ago, humans drove the last of the dragons from islands and took them as their own and built their homes and villages on the islands. Now, the last of the dragons, lost as an egg for two hundred years, has been born and it's up the the village healer's daughter and a would-be hero to devise a way to dispose of the dragon before it destroys the village.

I'm not going to lie. I felt bad for the dragon. It was only living it's life, doing what dragons do, eating the livestock and occasional villager, just making its lonely way on the island, and the villagers decide that it needs to be killed. Humans can be so pushy sometimes.

All kidding aside, the story is actually quite lyrical and Rebecca Guay's art is gorgeous. I don't think story would stand up nearly as well on its own if it wasn't for the art. This is neither a long nor challenging read, so I'd recommend it with 4 stars, if not for just the art alone.

Y, The Last Man, Vol 1: Unmanned by Brian K. Vaughan; Art by Pia Guerra and José Marzá, Jr.; Painted Cover by J.G. Jones

2012-01-06T10:28:00.000-05:00

Title: Y, the Last Man, Vol 1: Unmanned
Series: Y, the Last Man
Authors: Brian K. Vaughan; Art by Pia Guerra and José Marzá, Jr.; Painted Cover by J.G. Jones
Copyright: 2003
Pages: 128
ISBN: 9781563899805
Publisher: Vertigo
Artist Website: hellkitty.com
Twitter: @PiaGuerra
Format: Paperback
Rating: 3/5 stars

I'm not entirely sure how to take this book. Basically, the premise is ALL the males on the ENTIRE planet have died, regardless of species apparently, with the exception of slacker Yorick Brown and his Capuchin monkey, Ampersand. Why they are the only two males left on the planet is part of the mystery. The women try to take charge of the situation, running the governments of the world as best they can with the limited resources that are left (For instance, electricity is no longer available. Why? Were the only people capable of managing to run the electric plants men? This is one of the things that seemed rather unbelievable for me in this very unbelievable scenario.) and trying to keep a semblance of order in a world that seems to be falling apart at the seems. The women in general seem to miss their men, but there is also a growing group of "Amazons" who are glad that the "oppressive" men are gone, leaving the world for the women (never mind that in this scenario, the entire populace of the entire world is definitely running on a finite timeline, so I'd tend to think that even these extremists would see the need for having males around, if nothing more than sources of reproduction). Some scientists are looking into cloning as a means of keeping the human race alive. I kept thinking, "What happened to the sperm banks? What about the pregnancies and births that occurred after the initial 'plague' wiped out all the men?" Maybe these are all things that will be dealt with in subsequent volumes, but as of now, I'm left scratching my head at what seem like obvious problems with the storyline, even though the entire story was still entertaining. And of course, the big question is how does Yorick fit into all of this? Well, some of the women look at him as the means to jumpstart the human race again. Some of the women want to kill him, as he's the last "oppressor" on the planet. And what does Yorick want? To get to Australia to find his girlfriend who he proposed to over the phone at the exact moment everything went to hell, even though there really doesn't seem to be a way to get to her from Washington DC anymore. The art is good; it's not great, but it isn't bad. I can't tell if the story is supposed to be taken seriously or if it's supposed to be a dark comedy; maybe it's supposed to be read a little as each. I'm giving it 3 stars, but I'm interested enough in what's happening to read at least one more volume to see if some of my questions are answered.

Saying Goodbye to 2011

2011-12-30T11:11:00.000-05:00

I'm packaging up 2011 into a little box, wrapping it in shiny paper so it doesn't look quite so lackluster, putting a modest bow on top, setting it on the shelf and leaving it be. 2011 was not a stellar year for me, either with reading or my personal life. I'm anxiously looking forward to 2012. I'm moving into a new place of my own. In moving, I've been putting my hands on ALL of my books and I've come to realize that I've got some really fantastic books that I've never read. To that end, and I know I've said this before but given the new situation with moving and not having as much disposable income as I had before, I'm going to try my best to put a moratorium on buying new books, for at least the first of the year. The usual loopholes apply: book signings, eBay special finds, some graphic novels, my Oz collection.

Now for the stats for 2011:
Favorites of 2011
January - Boneshaker by Cherie Priest
February - The Iron King by Julie Kagawa
March - Wither, the Chemical Garden Trilogy, Book 1 by Lauren DeStefano
April Too many good books this month, so I've got THREE top picks for April! - The Four Ms. Bradwells by Meg Waite Clayton, Hounded: The Iron Druid Chronicles Book 1 by Kevin Hearne, Delirium by Lauren Oliver
May - Untitled by My Anonymous Cousin
June - Centerpieces by Penelope Przekop
July - Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
August - Push by Sapphire
September - The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
October - Hotel Angeline
November - The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
December - Fever, the Chemical Garden Trilogy, Book 2 by Lauren DeStefano

Books Read: 76
Pages Read: 16278

Breakdown per month
JAN - 9 - 1387
FEB - 7 - 1308
MAR - 2 - 550
APR - 11 - 2947
MAY - 1 - 167
JUN - 1 - 179
JUL - 9 - 1756
AUG - 6 - 1070
SEP - 4 - 1442
OCT - 5 - 1470
NOV - 12 - 2122
DEC - 9 - 1880
TTL - 76 - 16278

The silver lining that I had after such a dreadful reading year is that almost every book I read this year I enjoyed. So, if I'm going to read such a small amount of books, at least I got to enjoy every one of them!

As for 2012, I have high hopes. I'm not participating in any challenges this year, as I feel this is always one of the places that I falter the most each and every year. The only "challenge" that I'm participating in is one of my own, and that's reading the entire oeuvre of May Sarton's printed works. This year would have been her centennial birthday, so I thought it was fitting that I read her entire printed works in one year. As I own them all, this shouldn't be too problematic. I'll also be attending the Sarton Centennial Symposium in York, ME in May this year, and am looking forward to that.

Otherwise, I'm just focusing on reading what I've got. I'd like most of my reading this year to come from books on my shelf. So many have been sitting there for so long, neglected and unread, gathering dust, desperate to be read. I must attend to these book needs before I start to give my library a complex!

So, there it is. My 2011 recap and a look forward to 2012. I hope you're looking forward to the new year as much as I am! Happy reading!!

Fever by Lauren DeStefano

2011-12-13T06:35:00.003-05:00

Title: Fever
Series: The Chemical Garden Trilogy, Book 2
Author: Lauren DeStefano
Copyright: 2012
Pages: 341
ISBN: 9781442409071
Publisher: Simon & Schuster BFYR
Author Website: www.laurendestefano.com
Twitter: @LaurenDeStefano, @SimonTEEN
Format: ARC provided from publisher
Available: 2-21-12
Rating: 5/5 stars

Product Description From Amazon:

Rhine and Gabriel have escaped the mansion, but they’re still in danger. Outside, they find a world even more disquieting than the one they left behind. Determined to get to Manhattan and to find Rhine’s twin brother Rowan, the two press forward, amidst threats of being captured again... or worse.

The road they are on is long and perilous—and in a world where young women only live to age 20 and men die at age 25, time is precious. In this sequel to Lauren DeStefano’s harrowing Wither, Rhine must decide if freedom is worth the price—now that she has more to lose than ever.

I finished Lauren DeStefano's Fever Sunday night. You can expect a proper review closer to release date, but I can say, right now, put this on your radar. And if you haven't read Wither yet, go out and pick it up (the paperback was just released, and from what I understand also includes a teaser of Fever). I'm not going to lie, I wasn't sure what to make of Wither when I read it (check out my review here), but Fever totally sucked me in and wouldn't let me go. I read it in 2 sittings, and for those of you keeping track around here lately, that says something because I haven't been reading much of anything. Lauren DeStefano successfully made me a fan with Fever and I'm really looking forward to the release of book three to see how she wraps everything up.

Highly recommended!

Sunday Salon 4 XII 2011 - setting aside 2011, will be back in 2012

2011-12-04T11:44:00.002-05:00

Good morning, fellow Salon Members! It's seems almost ridiculous at this point to be posting a Sunday Salon of this nature. This has been a very challenging year for me personally, and unfortunately From My Bookshelf has had to suffer as a result. I'm not going to go into details, because first and foremost I'm sure many of you honestly don't care, but secondly it was all things happening in my life that need not be anybody else's concern but my own. BUT, I do miss the sense of community that we bloggers have, and I want to become integrated in that again. So, in that spirit, I'm wrapping up 2011 now, putting a pretty bow on it and shelving it. I'm moving into a new home on January 1, 2012, and I'm looking at that as an opportunity to start fresh and new. From My Bookshelf will come back stronger than ever, but for right now, for my peace of mind, I need to just let it be for the next month and not think about it.

I hope those of you still left reading my little blog have a happy and safe holiday season, and as always, happy reading!

Literacy PSA

2011-12-03T22:35:00.001-05:00

I saw this on the TV at the doctor's office the other day and thought it was great and wanted to share it here.

75 is the new 100

2011-11-16T08:25:00.000-05:00

So..... not that I'm really giving any credence to the possibility of me actually reaching any reading goal this year, I'm changing my reading goal from 100 to 75. I know it's practically cheating, being this far into the year to decide a change like that, but I'm a sucker for trying to keep to goals, and if I have a more reasonable number to try to achieve, there is a more likelihood that I won't just throw my hands up in despair and walk away from the whole thing.

So, 75 is the new 100 around From My Bookshelf these days.

The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories by Dr. Seuss

2011-11-16T06:30:00.034-05:00

Title: The Bippolo Seed and Other Lost Stories
Author: Dr. Seuss
Copyright: 2011
Pages: 72
ISBN: 9780375864353
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Author Website: www.seussville.com/
Twitter: @seussville, @randomhousekids
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 4/5 stars

Product Description From Amazon:

It's the literary equivalent of buried treasure! Seuss scholar/collector Charles D. Cohen has hunted down seven rarely seen stories by Dr. Seuss. Originally published in magazines between 1948 and 1959, they include "The Bear, the Rabbit, and the Zinniga-Zanniga " (about a rabbit who is saved from a bear with a single eyelash!); "Gustav the Goldfish" (an early, rhymed version of the Beginner Book A Fish Out of Water); "Tadd and Todd" (a tale passed down via photocopy to generations of twins); "Steak for Supper" (about fantastic creatures who follow a boy home in anticipation of a steak dinner); "The Bippolo Seed" (in which a scheming feline leads an innocent duck to make a bad decision); "The Strange Shirt Spot" (the inspiration for the bathtub-ring scene in The Cat in the Hat Comes Back); and "The Great Henry McBride" (about a boy whose far-flung career fantasies are only bested by those of the real Dr. Seuss himself).

In an introduction to the collection, Cohen traces the history of these stories, which demonstrate an intentional and significant change that led to the writing style we associate with Dr. Seuss today. Cohen also explores these stories' themes that recur in better-known Seuss stories (like the importance of the imagination, or the perils of greed). With a color palette that has been enhanced beyond the limitations of the original magazines in which they appeared, this is a collection of stories that no Seuss fan (whether scholar or second-grader) will want to miss!

I've loved Dr. Seuss since I was a child. I'm sure at one point or another, I've read every Seuss book available (and own most of them), so when I heard that there was going to be a "new" collection of stories published, both me and my inner child squealed in delight! The stories are taken from magazines that were published between the mid 1940s to late 1950s, and hadn't really been seen since these magazines had originally been published.

These stories are quite clearly from early on in Dr. Seuss' writing career. They carry his inherit flare and whit that is prominent in all his writing, but they don't quite carry the "lesson learned" aspect that he became known for. Not that these elements aren't in these stories (such as "The Bippolo Seed," which deals with the dangers of greed), but they are only there marginally. It seems to me that Dr. Seuss wrote these tales more for pleasure and fun than really trying to bestow any kind of wisdom to his young readers as he would in his later books.

If you're a fan of Dr. Seuss I'd highly recommend this book. The drawings have been reproduced in a color palette that wasn't available to magazine's of the time, but matches perfectly with the colors used in his published books. The foreword by renowned Seuss scholar, Charles Cohen (who tracked down each of the stories in the collection), is a fascinating look into the history around when each of the story's were written and helps show how Dr. Suess helped change how books were written for children. This is a real treat for any Seuss fan!

Hotel Angeline: A Novel in 36 Voices

2011-11-14T06:12:00.003-05:00

Title: Hotel Angeline: A Novel in 36 Voices
Authors: Kathleen Alcala, Matthew Amster-Burton, Kit Bakke, Erica Bauermeister, Sean Beaudoin, David Boling, Deb Caletti, Carol Cassella, Maria Dahvana Headley, William Dietrich, Robert Dugoni, Kevin Emerson, Karen Finneyfrock, Jamie Ford, Clyde W. Ford, Elizabeth George, Mary Gutterson, Teri Hein, Stephanie Kallos, Erik Larson, Stacey Levine, Frances McCue, Jarret Middleton, Peter Mountford, Kevin O'Brien, Julia Quinn, Nancy Rawles, Suzanne Selfors, Jennie Shortridge, Ed Skoog, Garth Stein, Greg Stump and David Laskey, Indu Sundaresan, Craig Welch, Susan Wiggs
Copyright: 2011
Pages: 337
ISBN: 9781453215319
Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
Twitter: @openroadmedia
Format: ebook
Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Product Description From Amazon:

Thirty-six of the most interesting writers in the Pacific Northwest came together for a week-long marathon of writing live on stage. The result? Hotel Angeline, a truly inventive novel that surprises at every turn of the page.

Something is amiss at the Hotel Angeline, a rickety former mortuary perched atop Capitol Hill in rain-soaked Seattle. Fourteen-year-old Alexis Austin is fixing the plumbing, the tea, and all the problems of the world, it seems, in her landlady mother’s absence.

The quirky tenants — a hilarious mix of misfits and rabble-rousers from days gone by — rely on Alexis all the more when they discover a plot to sell the Hotel. Can Alexis save their home? Find her real father? Deal with her surrogate dad’s dicey past? Find true love? Perhaps only their feisty pet crow, Habib, truly knows.

Provoking interesting questions about the creative process, this novel is by turns funny, scary, witty, suspenseful, beautiful, thrilling, and unexpected.

Alexis Austin is taking care of the tenants of the Hotel Angeline in her mother's absence, an absence that Alexis doesn't want anybody to figure out just quite yet. The tenants of the Hotel are a great big mixed eclectic bag of eccentrics who rely maybe a little too heavily on Alexis (and before her, her mother) but who make up the only family that Alexis has ever known. Alexis is too young to have all this responsibility (she's only a teenager, after all), but to her, the alternative is grim to say the least. There's a reason that Alexis doesn't want people to find out where her mother is. However, when Alexis finds out that her uncle may be trying to purchase the Angeline out from under her and the tenants and that he needs to speak to her mother, Alexis finds her life quickly unraveling at the seams and it takes a series of slightly implausible events and the love of her "adopted" family at the Hotel for her to be able to make her life livable again.

OK, so this book took me forever to read. Through most of the book, I had a hard time finding it kept my attention for more than a chapter at a time, and that was being generous. I think part of that had to do with the same fact that held me to reading it; the book is written by a total of 36 authors from the Seattle area. The book was written during an event called The Novel, Live!, where 36 authors, over the span of 6 days, wrote a novel, each taking a chapter at a time. The whole idea was broadcast over the internet and was a fundraiser to help fight illiteracy. The idea was very cool, and the novel, while feeling rather disjointed throughout, is still an impressive feat. The authors had a basic plot to follow, and each was allowed to read what the previous author had written, and then they knew where their chapter was supposed to take them, but other than that, each author had free reign to more or less write whatever they wanted. I think this is what made the novel so long for me to read. There was the definite plot running through the whole thing, but sometimes the chapters didn't quite seem to line up with each other, as each author's distinct writing flavor took over at each new chapter. I will admit, however, that by the end of the story, I was surprised to find myself attached to Alexis and the tenants of the Hotel Angeline and was concerned and happy for their outcomes.

I'm impressed with the whole thing, and if they ever do another one of these I'll definitely read it, but I'm hoping that the next would maybe have a little more tighter editing, maybe? I don't know, just something to make it all seem a little more cohesive as a whole.

Recommended if you enjoy something along the line of experimental writing.

#NaNoWriMo 11 Update

2011-11-13T14:35:00.000-05:00

NaNoWriMo is going slow for me. It's quite clear, I don't have nearly enough discipline to handle writing on a daily basis. Or maybe it's because I'm trying to get things ready for moving before my surgery and before my vacation, which I still won't know if I can take because I won't know how I'm recovering from surgery until after I have it, since everyone heals differently from this particular surgery (so everyone keeps telling me). Because I don't have enough going on in my life right now, apparently...

Anyway, I thought I'd post a portion of what I have written so far. These are the prophecies that everything in my book is based on. I still don't have a title for the book yet, but since I've really only written the prologue so far, I guess I've still got time to figure that out. Anyway, here's a little of what I've written so far. Let me know what you think!

Prophecy the First

It shall be a boy; a boy born under the light of the returning falling star. He shall be marked by the star; that is how he shall be known. Being born under the light of the returning falling star, he shall be tied to the stars and the heavens. It will be from where his power comes. It will be how he overcomes.

It shall be a boy; a boy born under the light of the returning falling star will be our salvation. He will take up the Wand of Stars and will use its light to banish the darkness. In our darkest hour, he will be our burning light.

It shall be a boy; a boy born under the light of the returning falling star will be the one to light our way, so that we may rise like a phoenix from the ashes, and bring light back into the shadows of our world.

Prophecy the Second

It shall be a monster; a monster born under the light of the returning falling star. He shall rise with the birth of the boy born under the light of the returning falling star; that is how he shall know who he is. He won’t know why or how, but all he will know is that he will need to destroy the boy.

It shall be a monster; a monster born under the light of the returning falling star will be our destruction. He will take up the Wand of Stars and will create a darkness that consumes everything it touches. Through this power, the monster will bring about our darkest hour.

It shall be a monster; a monster born under the light of the returning falling star will be the one to cast us into eternal darkness, so that we may burn like a fire and crumble into ashes, and cast us back into the shadows of our world.

#NaNoWriMo 2011

2011-11-01T11:45:00.001-04:00

I've decided to participate in NaNoWriMo this year. I want to finally get this YA novel that's been knocking about in my head down on paper, and this is the perfect opportunity! Updates as I progress.

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

2011-10-23T21:54:00.000-04:00

Title: Wonderstruck
Author: Brian Selznick
Copyright: 2011
Pages: 629
ISBN: 9780545027892
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Author Website: www.wonderstruckthebook.com
Twitter: @Scholastic
Format: ARC (borrowed from friend)
Rating: 3/5 stars

Product Description From Amazon:

Playing with the form he created in his trailblazing debut novel, The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Brian Selznick once again sails into uncharted territory and takes readers on an awe-inspiring journey.

Ben and Rose secretly wish their lives were different. Ben longs for the father he has never known. Rose dreams of a mysterious actress whose life she chronicles in a scrapbook. When Ben discovers a puzzling clue in his mother's room and Rose reads an enticing headline in the newspaper, both children set out alone on desperate quests to find what they are missing.

Set fifty years apart, these two independent stories - Ben's told in words, Rose's in pictures - weave back and forth with mesmerizing symmetry. How they unfold and ultimately intertwine will surprise you, challenge you, and leave you breathless with wonder. Rich, complex, affecting, and beautiful - with over 460 pages of original artwork - Wonderstruck is a stunning achievement from a uniquely gifted artist and visionary.

Sigh. I really wanted to like this book more than I did. Honest, I did! The Invention of Hugo Cabret was one of my favorite reads the year it was released, so when I heard Brian Selznick was releasing a new book in the same fashion, I was thrilled. When a friend offered to let me borrow her ARC, I was even more excited! I settled in for what I was hoping was going to be as just a magical and heartfelt story as Hugo Cabret, but I was left wanting at the end.

The story follows Rose, whose story is set 50 years in the past and told in pictures, and Ben, whose present day story is told in prose. They are both looking for something more in their lives, and as the tale jumps back and forth from Rose's story to Ben's, we are led on an "adventure" that eventually brings the two together in Ben's present day. I won't really give anything away, but needless to say, I had already figured out the connection between Rose and Ben long before it is revealed in the story, and found the coincidences that occurred to Ben far too convenient for my taste. In fact, I was really more vested in Rose's story than Ben's, because I felt everything that happened to Ben was far too unrealistic and forced to feel like the story was developing naturally. Everything that happened to Ben needed to happen in order for the story to progress. If his story didn't move, neither did any of the book. Unfortunately, this forced feeling in Ben's story just left me feeling a little cold to the story.

Rose's portion of the story is beautifuuly told, however. Selznick utilizes the same storyboard techniques he used in Hugo Cabret to make it feel like we are actually watching a silent movie about Rose and her story. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire drawn portion of the book and really wish that I had felt as strongly about the prose portions.

I never like writing reviews like this, especially over a book that has had so much work put into it. I can't imagine how long it took Brian Selznick to draw all the illustrations that went into Wonderstruck. Each one is a work of art unto itself. I just couldn't quite get into the rhythm of this story as much as I did The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Will this stop me from picking up future books from Brian Selznick? Absolutely not. The man is a genius with this storytelling technique. Wonderstruck just didn't quite strike me with as much wonder as I was hoping it was going to.

Happy Release Day to James Dashner! The Death Cure is released today!!

2011-10-11T11:52:00.000-04:00

Do you know what today is? Well, other than it being the release day for the final book in James Dashner's Maze Runner Trilogy, The Death Cure? It's the day that I can finally read the second book in the series, The Scorch Trials, because I knew, I just KNEW, that there would be some great big cliffhanger ending at the end of the second book and that James was going to leave me sitting there, wanting more. So I said to myself, "Self, you can't read the second book until the third book is out." And now it is. And now I can read.

Of course, I think I'm going to have to go back and re-read the first book, so that I can remember what went on in that book, because it's been way too long since that book came out.

But, my self-imposed reading ban on the second book aside, congratulations to James on the release of The Death Cure!

SPOILER ALERT!
Here is a very cool book trailer for The Death Cure. Now, I actually haven't watched it yet, as it seems to be a little spoilery, so watch at your own discretion!

The Faerie Ring by KiKi Hamilton

2011-09-19T14:38:00.000-04:00

It's just over a week from the release date of Kiki Hamilton's The Faerie Ring. I've been excited about this book since I first heard about it months ago. Here's the trailer for the book, for your viewing pleasure!

The Man in the Moon by William Joyce

2011-09-15T10:00:00.000-04:00

Title: The Man in the Moon
Series: The Guardians of Childhood
Author: William Joyce
Copyright: 2011
Pages: 56
ISBN: 9781442430419
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Author Website: www.theguardiansofchildhoodbooks.com
Twitter: @simonschuster
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 4/5 stars

Product Description From Amazon:

Up there in the sky.

Don’t you see him?

No, not the moon.

The Man in the Moon.

He wasn’t always a man.

Nor was he always on the moon.

He was once a child.

Like you.

Until a battle,

a shooting star,

and a lost balloon

sent him on a quest.

Meet the very first guardian of childhood.

MiM, the Man in the Moon.

Charming. That's the simplest, most appropriate word to describe The Man in the Moon, the first offering from William Joyce and his The Guardians of Childhood series of picture books and chapter books. It's a simple little story about how MiM, the Man in the Moon, came to live in the moon. I could really make this review all spoilery, but since the book is so short (it is a picture book, after all), I'll just leave it at impressions. Joyce creates a world for MiM that is both beautiful and slightly dark, breathing new life into some of our favorite early childhood fairy tales (here's a hint: the next book that will be available is a chapter book titled Nicholas St. North). Joyce's art has its usual flair and distinctive look, and it really adds to the overall feel of the story. I'm glad that I picked this up and will be looking forward to the rest of the series!

I know this is a short review, but really, you should just pick up The Man in the Moon and discover its joy for yourself.

Happy reading!

Catching up on reviews

2011-09-08T11:57:00.000-04:00

Faithful Readers, reading continues to be slow. I'm still getting all my ducks in a row from the whirlwind crazy that was this past summer, but I thought I needed to get a couple of reviews done. I've never been so far behind in all the years that I've run From My Bookshelf.

So. I'm going to be reviewing like mad for the next couple of weeks. I'm going to schedule these out a little so that they don't all come crashing in at once, but I want to try to get back on track.

Nothing else to see here. Carry with your usual day. And watch some Doctor Who. It's amazing.

Happy reading!

The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai

2011-09-06T01:06:00.000-04:00

Title: The Borrower
Author: Rebecca Makkai
Narrator: Emily Bauer
Copyright: 2011
Pages: 336
ISBN: 9780670022816
ISBN: 9781611744460 (audiobook)
Publisher: Viking Adult
Audio Production: HighBridge Company
Author Website: rebeccamakkai.com
Twitter: @rebeccamakkai, @VikingBooks
Format: Audiobook (received through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program from publisher)
Rating: 4/5 stars

From Amazon:

In this delightful, funny, and moving first novel, a librarian and a young boy obsessed with reading take to the road.

Lucy Hull, a young children's librarian in Hannibal, Missouri, finds herself both a kidnapper and kidnapped when her favorite patron, ten-year-old Ian Drake, runs away from home. The precocious Ian is addicted to reading, but needs Lucy's help to smuggle books past his overbearing mother, who has enrolled Ian in weekly antigay classes with celebrity Pastor Bob. Lucy stumbles into a moral dilemma when she finds Ian camped out in the library after hours with a knapsack of provisions and an escape plan. Desperate to save him from Pastor Bob and the Drakes, Lucy allows herself to be hijacked by Ian. The odd pair embarks on a crazy road trip from Missouri to Vermont, with ferrets, an inconvenient boyfriend, and upsetting family history thrown in their path. But is it just Ian who is running away? Who is the man who seems to be on their tail? And should Lucy be trying to save a boy from his own parents?

First and foremost, your going to have to have a rather elevated suspension of disbelief when getting into this story, but it's worth it. Lucy Hull is a children's librarian in Hannibal, MO, when she inadvertently kidnaps Ian Drake, a 10-year-old boy who Lucy has grown fond of because of his love of reading. He may or may not be gay, and it appears that Ian's parents are trying to "de-gay" him through an Evangelical pastor. Lucy knows in her heart that this is wrong, so when Ian turns up in the library one morning where he had obviously slept the previous night after running away from home, Lucy doesn't do much to stop him when Ian "blackmails" her into driving him to Vermont to see his grandmother. This is where the story becomes a little far-fetched; I had a hard time believing that Lucy would actually go along with Ian, at least to driving such a long distance. But Rebecca Makkai made Lucy and Ian such likable characters, and while their adventure seems completely implausible, I still enjoyed every moment of it, cheering them on throughout their cross-country caper.

Makkai has a great sense of humor that she sprinkles throughout her story. I found myself laughing out loud several times while listening to the story. She's also able to add in a decent amount of emotion to her story; I found myself genuinely concerned for the outcome of the story and what was going to happen to Ian and following Lucy's revelation about her own life, what was going to happen to her. For a debut book, Rebecca Makkai has impressed me. I'll be looking out for more by her in the future.

I'm pretty sure that I would have enjoyed this story had I been reading it, but Emily Bauer's narration was just so damned good. She has a great reading voice and brought the "just right" touches to so many parts of the story. I would love to find more books narrated by her.

If you're looking for a fun book and don't mind a slightly far-fetched storyline, I'd recommend The Borrower; if you're looking for something of the same to listen to on your commute, I'd recommend it even more. You won't be disappointed.

Federal regulations require me to disclose that I receive a small commission from these Amazon links, which I use to purchase more books from Amazon.

Happy Publication Day! Low Town by Daniel Polansky

2011-08-16T02:03:00.014-04:00

So, I think it's time for my hiatus for From My Bookshelf to come to a close, and I'm happy that it's this post that I'm coming back with. Today is the publication day for Daniel Polansky's Low Town, a new noir fantasy coming from Doubleday.

What is Low Town, you ask? Well, the product description from Amazon says:

Drug dealers, hustlers, brothels, dirty politics, corrupt cops... and sorcery. Welcome to Low Town.

In the forgotten back alleys and flophouses that lie in the shadows of Rigus, the finest city of the Thirteen Lands, you will find Low Town. It is an ugly place, and its champion is an ugly man. Disgraced intelligence agent. Forgotten war hero. Independent drug dealer. After a fall from grace five years ago, a man known as the Warden leads a life of crime, addicted to cheap violence and expensive drugs. Every day is a constant hustle to find new customers and protect his turf from low-life competition like Tancred the Harelip and Ling Chi, the enigmatic crime lord of the heathens.

The Warden’s life of drugged iniquity is shaken by his discovery of a murdered child down a dead-end street... setting him on a collision course with the life he left behind. As a former agent with Black House—the secret police—he knows better than anyone that murder in Low Town is an everyday thing, the kind of crime that doesn’t get investigated. To protect his home, he will take part in a dangerous game of deception between underworld bosses and the psychotic head of Black House, but the truth is far darker than he imagines. In Low Town, no one can be trusted.

Daniel Polansky has crafted a thrilling novel steeped in noir sensibilities and relentless action, and set in an original world of stunning imagination, leading to a gut-wrenching, unforeseeable conclusion. Low Town is an attention-grabbing debut that will leave readers riveted... and hungry for more.

And if that doesn't catch your interest, why don't you read what Daniel has to say first hand about his debut novel and his inspiration behind it:

Slums of the Shire
Occasionally you'll be with a group of people and they'll get to talking about their favorite historical epochs, nostalgic for lives they never led. One person will talk up their childhood love of the Wild West, another reveal a penchant for Victorian England. This last one just has a thing for corsets, but it's better not to call them on it.

When my turn rolls round I take a sip of whatever we're drinking and look at my shoes. “The mid 90's were pretty good,” I say lamely. “Slower internet and everything, but at least we had penicillin.”

Perhaps it's my being a history buff, but the past sucked. For about a millennium and a half after the fall of the Roman Empire, Europe just seems like a real shit place to reside. Lots of rooting in filth until you die at thirty a half mile from where you born. Nominally the nobles had it better, but still, your fever would have been treated with the application of leaches and your pretty young bride had like a one in two chance of surviving child birth.

This probably is why I don't understand fantasy—that is to say that collection of high medieval tropes collected by Tolkien and gleefully reproduced by two generations of descendants.

Take elves for instance—though perfectly capable of imagining a world where higher intelligence evolved in a species separate from humanity, my powers of make believe fail when positing that the relation between said species would be anything beyond unceasing warfare. Even a cursory glance at human history reveals our collective willingness to commit genocide on fellow homo sapiens—how much quicker would we have been to eradicate a separate species competing for identical resources? If elves existed, our ancestors would have hunted them down to extinction and erected a monument to the accomplishment.

But I digress.

Even when nestled comfortably in a quest to kill a dragon or overthrow a dark lord or what have you, strange thoughts plague me. What does the shady side of Gondor look like? How many platinum coins would a dime bag set me back? What is the point of hobbits? They're just short, fat people. People are plenty fat as it is.

Low Town is sort of my attempt to answer some of those questions (not the last one). It's the story of the Warden, a former intelligence agent and current drug dealer, whose gradual slide into self-destruction is briefly checked by the discovery of a dead body in the neighborhood he runs. An ill-timed bout of conscience rattles the easy cage of venality he's built for himself, and leads him on a collision course with the life he'd left behind. The Warden is a guy trying to survive the next few days, and not particularly squeamish as to what that requires—the sort of person more likely to populate a classic crime novel than to be found stocking the fantasy section of your local Borders (RIP).

More broadly, Low Town is an attempt to meld the best aspects of noir with a low fantasy setting—a meeting of tastes which I think complement each other nicely. The spare language and fast pace of good noir offers a pleasant counterpoint to the sprawling—one might even say bloated—length of much modern fantasy. On a somewhat broader level, the tendency of fantasy to focus on world shaking events often renders it irrelevant to the average reader, whose life relatively rarely devolves into single combat against vaguely satanic analogs. By contrast, noir is concerned with the individual, with greed and lust, sins all of us can comprehend to some degree. Low Town centers on the conceit that a world with magic wouldn't be altogether different from a world without it. People are still (on the whole) selfish, stupid creatures, focused almost exclusively on the immediate satisfaction of their basic desires, only now some of them can shoot fire out of their hands.

That's the idea at least. It comes out today (August 16th) in the US and Canada, and on Thursday (August 18th) in the UK and Commonwealth. I hope you check it out and see if I've succeeded, or if I'm just a pretentious clown. Or both.

www.DanielPolansky.com

Doesn't that sound great? And I love the cover. It fits the gritty feel of the book perfectly. I'm really looking forward to reading this. Stop out to your favorite local bookstore today and pick up Low Town by Daniel Polansky, or if you don't have a local book store, click on the handy link below and order yourself a copy. Don't forget to check back here soon for my review of Low Town.

Congratulations to Daniel on his publication day and happy reading!

A necessary break

2011-07-05T14:25:00.000-04:00

Dear Faithful Readers,

I'd like to take this opportunity first and foremost to thank you for being Faithful Readers, especially during these last couple of months when I've read, what, a total of one book per month? Granted, they were both very good books, but I still feel like I've let down both my readers and the authors that I've been neglecting here on From My Bookshelf. The truth is, I've had quite a bit on my mind lately. My darling sister is having some medical problems at the moment, and my focus must be on her. I'll be going out to stay with her for a couple of weeks while she recovers from surgery. I may take that time to write the several reviews that I am behind, but please understand that right now, my family must come first.

In a couple of months or so, I'd like to come back, full force. I love my blog. I love my readers. I love my books. I love the authors that I've gotten to know through From My Bookshelf. But right now, I can hardly get through a single book, let alone be able to put my thoughts down on paper (or online, as the case is). Please, be patient. I'll be back, but for right now, my sister is my priority.

Thank you for understanding!

David

What were people reading in Chicago last week?

2011-06-30T09:42:00.000-04:00

Top-Selling Titles in Chicagoland and Milwaukee Last Week

Happy publication day to Meg Waite Clayton for the paperback release of The Language of Light

2011-06-28T14:00:00.001-04:00

Happy publication day to Meg Waite Clayton! The Language of Light is released in paperback today from Ballantine Books. A finalist for the Bellwether Prize, The Language of Light was originally published in 2003 by St. Martin's Press, and with the success of the Wednesday Sisters and The Four Ms. Bradwells, it is getting released again for the first time in paperback.

About the book:

Nelly Grace is starting over. With her two young sons, Nelly has fled to the simple stone house built by her great-grandfather in the old-moneyed horse country of Maryland in order to escape the grief of her husband’s death—and perhaps find a way back to her first love: photography. Easing her transition into this strange, mannered world is Emma Crofton, the grand matriarch of the foxhunting community, and Emma’s son, Dac, a handsome yet distant horse trainer. As Nelly slowly makes her way back to the camera, she must come to terms with her troubled relationship with her father, a photojournalist who chose fame over family. But when she finally sees him again, Nelly’s fragile new beginning is threatened by revelations of a secret past, and the fears that kept it hidden.

For more information on Meg Waite Clayton and her other books, stop by and visit her website.

Government regulations require that I disclose that I receive a small commission from any Amazon links that are used, which I use to purchase more books.

Enter Ticket to Anywhere's Blogoversary Contest of Pure AWESOME!

2011-06-23T09:24:00.001-04:00

My friend Gail is celebrating her 4 year blogoversary and to celebrate, she's got prizes for us! And not just any prizes, but contests made of pure AWESOME!! Don't take my word for it, stop by Ticket to Anywhere, check out the contests, enter to win, congratulate Gail on four years of great book blogging and read her blog. It's fantastic.

Congrats, Gail, and here's to another 4 more years of blogging!!

Waiting on Wednesday - The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities edited by Ann Vandermeer and Jeff Vandermeer

2011-06-22T13:35:00.000-04:00

All-new stories and art from the doctor's wondrous collection

After the death of Dr. Thackery T. Lambshead at his house in Wimpering-on-the-Brook, England, a remarkable discovery was unearthed: the remains of an astonishing cabinet of curiosities. Many of these artifacts, curios, and wonders related to anecdotes and stories in the doctor's personal journals. Others, when shown to the doctor's friends, elicited further tales from a life like no other.

Thus, in keeping with the bold spirit exemplified by Dr. Lambshead and his exploits, we now proudly present highlights from the doctor's cabinet, reconstructed not only through visual representations but also through exciting stories of intrigue and adventure.

A carefully selected group of popular artists and acclaimed, bestselling authors has been assembled to bring this cabinet of curiosities to life.

The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities will be released on July 12, 2011 from Harper Voyager.

Federal regulations require that I disclose that I receive a small commission from any purchases made through the Amazon links on my website, which I use to purchase more books.

Sunday Salon 19 VI 11 - Another slow week, but this time I've got a giveaway!

2011-06-19T20:58:00.000-04:00

Good morning, fellow Salon Members! Ah, another slow week at from my bookshelf. It seems to be par for course lately around here. But, this time I've got a giveaway for my faithful readers! This week, I read Penelope Przekop's Centerpieces. Please click on the link and read my review. I think Penelope is one of the most unique authors that I have read, and she has a way of telling a story about the human condition that not many authors can match. Her stories have been varied in their subjects, but one thing she has in common is her ability to capture her characters voices and the journeys they travel in her books. If you haven't had the pleasure of reading on of her books, have I got a treat for you!

Penelope has graciously supplied a copy of Centerpieces for me to give away on my blog, and as an extra added bonus, I have a used copy of her previous book, Aberrations, to include in the giveaway. All you need to do to enter is fill out THIS FORM. Sorry, this contest is only open to the US and will be kept open until Sunday, June 26, 2011.

It's a short entry this week, as I'm just finishing up Ransom Riggs' Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and am anxious to get back to reading, so until next time, happy reading!

Centerpieces by Penelope Przekop

2011-06-19T20:22:00.001-04:00

Title: Centerpieces
Author: Penelope Przekop
Copyright: 2011
Pages: 179
ISBN: 9780615464732
Publisher: Hallway Press
Author Website: www.penelopeprzekop.com
Twitter: @PenelopePrzekop
Format: Paperback
Rating: 4/5 stars

From Amazon:

Vincent van Gogh fakes his death, Ellis Spenser longs to paint. Holly Carter conceals a famous lineage. Theo van Gogh gains his health, but loses the woman he loves. Mimi Calais says she's a vampire. Tom Spencer hatches a plan.

Ellis and Tom Spencer oversee the drug safety organization in one of the world's largest and most respected companies, Pratt Pharmacueticals. Tom's deviant plan for their future begins to splinter when Ellis meets Holly Carter, a lonely Southern woman who has come to New York to pursue art while furthering her pharmaceutical career. Holly lives in a Greenwich Village apartment building owned by Mimi, a mysterious young woman whose claims of being a vampire remind Holly that life goes on. As Ellis pursues Holly, the past and present begin to overlap. Dark secrets emerge amidst Mimi's bizarre bookstore, strip clubs, galleries, brownstones, corporate culture, and Starbucks ad nauseam.

Two sets of extraordinary brothers, and two very different women, struggle to carve out unique identities in a world where middle age is the beginning of the end; corporate puppets and dreaming immigrants rub shoulders in the hallowed burning halls of Ellis Island; and forever takes on new meaning.

Van Gogh only sold one painting during his lifetime. Based on extensive research, Centerpieces, explores the miraculous explosion of Van Gogh's work shortly after his suicide and the death of his brother, Theo, six months later.

Join Vincent in a journey of self-discovery, friendship, betrayal, fantasy, corporate intrigue, and love. Find out what he sacrificed for art.

Penelope Przekop's latest book, Centerpieces, is first and foremost a study about art, and the importance that art can have in a person's life. History tells us that Vincent van Gogh shot himself in 1890, but what if he faked his death? What if he was still alive today? What if his brother, Theo, was still alive, too? What has been keeping them alive and what has been their driving force all these years?

I'm not going to lie, I found Centerpieces completely intriguing and compelling, but I don't even know how to describe it. I'm not really sure I've ever read anything like it before. I felt there were just as many questions at the end of the book as there were at the beginning (what exactly are Theo and Vincent, what has kept them alive for so long, what part does the drug taperaquin play in their extended lives), but somehow these questions didn't really need answering at the end. If you just accept the fact that van Gogh is alive 100+ years after his death, that there may be more to his existence and what he has become that what is said, then you will have no problem making your way through this story.

Przekop has said that she wrote this book as an answer to questions she had raised in her own life while working for a pharmaceutical company and wanting to lead a more artistic life. I can see a lot of this conundrum in both Ellis and Holly, as they try to find their way in the regimented world of pharmaceuticals while their actual calling in life is art. Przekop masterfully weaves their lives together, with elements from both the past and present, to help them reach their ultimate potential, as both people and as artists.

Like her book, Aberrations, Przekop takes people with everyday problems and makes their story into something that needs to be told. With Aberrations, it was accepting yourself for who you are regardless of what others think about you. With Centerpieces, it's about finally accepting the parts of your life that may not fit in with the path that you thought you planned for yourself, and deciding that sometimes you need to strike out on that unfamiliar path, even if it means walking away from what you think your life is all about.

Obviously extensively researched, Przekop weaves van Gogh's art, his life, his family and actual historic events together to create a story that is both about humanity and art. What exactly are Vincent and Theo in this modern world? We may never know for sure, but their story is one of brotherly love and of art, and one that I enjoyed reading. I hope to see more of Przekop's stories published in the future. Hers is a unique voice in the literary world that needs to be heard.

Federal regulations require that I disclose that I receive a small commission from any purchases made through the Amazon links on my website, which I use to purchase more books.

Sunday Salon 12 VI 11 - Meeting authors and what happened to May?!

2011-06-12T11:32:00.001-04:00

Good morning, fellow Salon Members! What a whirlwind my last couple of weeks have been! I've been far too busy buying books and meeting authors to find time to actually read any of the books that I've been buying, let alone the continually expanding TBR pile already on my shelves!

I have had the extraordinary luck of meeting a wide range of authors over the last couple of weeks, however. Who I've met in the last 10 days:

Courtney Allison Moulton - Author of Angelfire, her debut book and part of a YA paranormal trilogy.

Leah Clifford - Author of A Touch Mortal, her debut book and part of a YA paranormal trilogy.

Aimée Carter - Author of The Goddess Test, her debut book and part of a YA paranormal/mythology trilogy.

Lisa Desrochers - Author of Personal Demons, her debut book and part of a YA paranormal trilogy. (Seeing a running theme yet? These four authors were all part of a single YA tour.)

Colm Tóibín - Author of Brooklyn, amongst many others.

Meg Waite Clayton - Author of The Language of Light, The Wednesday Sisters and The Four Ms. Bradwells, which are all favorites of mine.

Kelly O'Connor McNees - Author of The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott, her debut book, which just came out in paperback. (I attended the Printer's Row Lit Fest in Chicago last weekend, where I sat in on a discussion with Colm Toibin and ran into Meg and Kelly, who were also attending the discussion.)

Mary Doria Russell - Discussing her new book, Doc, at one of my local indie bookstores. I actually didn't pick Doc up, but got a copy of The Sparrow and Dreamers of the Day instead.

Veronica Roth - Author of Divergent, her debut book and part of a new YA dystopian trilogy.

Josephine Angelini - Author of Starcrossed, her debut book and part of a new YA paranormal trilogy.

Aprilynne Pike - Author of the Wings series.

Ellen Schreiber - Author of the Vampire Kisses series. (Again, these last four were all part of another YA tour.

Needless to say, my bookshelves are beginning to groan under all the new acquisitions. This also leaves me hard pressed to decide on what to read next, as I've picked up so many good books over the last couple of weeks. However, there is one that really stood out, and I've set everything aside to read it: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. I'd heard about this book quite some time ago and it really caught my eye, but then the book trailer was released for it, and I knew that this was a book that I was going the need to own.

Well, I found it at the bookstore yesterday and started to read it last night, and within two chapters, I was hard-pressed to want to put it down to go to sleep last night. As soon as I finish up this post, I'm picking it up and I know I won't be putting it down until I finish it, so come back tomorrow for my review!

And what happened to May?! I read only one book the entire month. I'm not quite sure what happened there, but at least my one book was quite a treat. My cousin has written a novel! Per her request, I'm not going to mention names or book titles, but she did ask me to read it for her, and I loved it. And it isn't just because she's my cousin. She has written a truly engaging book, and I can't wait until she's published and I can actually gush about it more here. Congrats, cuz! I expect great literary things from you. =)

So, not much else to report. I'm going to finish Miss Peregrine today, and then I'm going to have to decide on what to read next, what with all the great books that I've picked up in the last 10 days!

Until next time, happy reading!

Book trailer - Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

2011-06-10T21:34:00.003-04:00

OMG! I practically need to own this book, just based on this amazing book trailer alone!

Federal regulations require that I disclose that I receive a small commission from any purchases made through the Amazon links on my website, which I use to purchase more books.

Julie Kagawa's The Iron Knight Cover Reveal

2011-06-01T11:35:00.000-04:00

Make sure to zip on over to Julie Kagawa's blog to check out the cover for the fourth book in her Iron Fey series, The Iron Knight. I love the continuity in these covers. Nothing bugs me more than when a publisher changes cover styles midway through a series, but the Iron Fey covers are so darned pretty that I think HarlequinTEEN would be hard-pressed to want to change these.

Federal regulations require that I disclose that I receive a small commission on any purchases made through Amazon links on my blog, which I use to purchase more books.

And the winner is...

2011-05-23T13:35:00.000-04:00

So, the winners of the signed Kiki Hamilton The Faerie Ring bookmarks are:

(drum roll please)

Anna
Gail
John
Donna
TheJay2xA

If you haven't sent me your address yet, I'll email you for the particulars. For those who I do have addresses for, I'll be shipping your bookmarks out within the next couple of days.

Congrats to everybody and happy reading!

Top-Selling Titles in Chicagoland and Milwaukee Last Week

2011-05-12T09:18:00.000-04:00

Top-Selling Titles in Chicagoland and Milwaukee Last Week

Waiting on Wednesday - The Faerie Ring by Kiki Hamilton (and a giveaway!)

2011-05-11T02:43:00.002-04:00

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that are eagerly anticipated.

My "can't-wait-to-read" selection for this week is:

Don't you just love this cover?

The Faerie Ring by Kiki Hamilton

Product Description from Amazon:

Debut novelist Kiki Hamilton takes readers from the gritty slums and glittering ballrooms of Victorian London to the beguiling but menacing Otherworld of the Fey in this spellbinding tale of romance, suspense, and danger.

The year is 1871, and Tiki has been making a home for herself and her family of orphans in a deserted hideaway adjoining Charing Cross Station in central London. Their only means of survival is by picking pockets. One December night, Tiki steals a ring, and sets off a chain of events that could lead to all-out war with the Fey. For the ring belongs to Queen Victoria, and it binds the rulers of England and the realm of Faerie to peace. With the ring missing, a rebel group of faeries hopes to break the treaty with dark magic and blood—Tiki’s blood.

Unbeknownst to Tiki, she is being watched—and protected—by Rieker, a fellow thief who suspects she is involved in the disappearance of the ring. Rieker has secrets of his own, and Tiki is not all that she appears to be. Her very existence haunts Prince Leopold, the Queen’s son, who is driven to know more about the mysterious mark that encircles her wrist.

Prince, pauper, and thief—all must work together to secure the treaty…

Doesn't that just sound great? I've been really excited about this book since I first heard about it a couple of months ago and am looking forward to its release. And isn't the cover just lovely?

Here is the book trailer:

Or you can click here to watch the trailer at YouTube.

The Faerie Ring will be released on September 27, 2011 from Tor Teen. You can also follow Kiki and Tor Teen on Twitter, or visit Kiki's blog.

GIVEAWAY!!

Kiki has supplied me with five signed bookmarks to giveaway on my blog in anticipation of the release of The Faerie Ring, and all you have to do to enter is to fill out THIS FORM. Contest will be open internationally, so everybody can enter! I'll leave the entry form open until May 21, 2011, and then I'll randomly select five winners and get their bookmarks mailed out to them!

A great big thanks to Kiki for sending me the bookmarks to giveaway, and good luck to everybody who enters!

Federal regulations require that I disclose that I receive a small commission on any purchases made through Amazon links on my blog, which I use to purchase more books.

The Four Ms. Bradwells by Meg Waite Clayton

2011-05-10T16:54:00.006-04:00

Title: The Four Ms. Bradwells
Author: Meg Waite Clayton
Copyright: 2011
Pages: 336
ISBN: 9780345517081
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Author Website: www.megwaiteclayton.com
Twitter: @MegWClayton
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 5/5 stars

From Amazon:

Meg Waite Clayton’s national bestseller The Wednesday Sisters was a word-of-mouth sensation and book club favorite. Now the beloved author is back with a page-turning novel that explores the secrets we keep, even from those closest to us, and celebrates the enduring power of friendship.

Mia, Laney, Betts, and Ginger, best friends since law school, have reunited for a long weekend as Betts awaits Senate confirmation of her appointment to the Supreme Court. Nicknamed “the Ms. Bradwells” during their first class at the University of Michigan Law School in 1979—when only three women had ever served full Senate terms and none had been appointed to the Court—the four have supported one another through life’s challenges: marriages and divorces, births and deaths, career setbacks and triumphs large and small. Betts was, and still is, the Funny One. Ginger, the Rebel. Laney, the Good Girl. And Mia, the Savant.

But when the Senate hearings uncover a deeply buried skeleton in the friends’ collective closet, the Ms. Bradwells retreat to a summer house on the Chesapeake Bay, where they find themselves reliving a much darker period in their past—one that stirs up secrets they’ve kept for, and from, one another, and could change their lives forever.

Once again, Meg Waite Clayton writes inspiringly about the complex circumstances facing women and the heartfelt friendships that hold them together. Insightful and affecting, The Four Ms. Bradwells is also a captivating tale of how far people will go to protect the ones they love.

In Meg Waite Clayton's latest, we are again introduced to a group of friends, but instead of watching their friendship grow like we did in The Wednesday Sisters, we find ourselves in the midst of a friendship already decades in the making. Mia, Laney, Betts, and Ginger have been friends since their days in law school, when they were all dubbed "the Ms. Bradwells" by their professor in their very first class at the University of Michigan Law School. We first meet the Four Ms. Bradwells during Senate hearings to appoint Betts to the Supreme Court, except a skeleton in their closet is uncovered from early on in their friendship that may hinder Betts' appointment. This skeleton also raises questions about their friendship and who has kept secrets from who over the years.

Clayton also raises other issues in her book, including those of women's rights, but I'll leave the main issue that she brings to her story a secret, because it is this issue that ties everything together in the book, and I don't want to give it away. Needless to say, the secret has to do with a death, and this is the crux of the skeleton in the friends' closet that they need to overcome. The secret is brought up in the very first chapter so you're not kept waiting, and it's presented in a completely intriguing and compelling manner, making you want to find out what happened.

One of the aspects that I enjoyed most about The Wednesday Sisters that is carried over into The Four Ms. Bradwells is that I felt like I had gotten to know the friends by the end of the book, that they were my friends too. Clayton has a knack for making her characters completely believable and tangible, with all the quirks and imperfections that would make them real people. They have real faults, real problems, aren't perfect, and in this imperfection, she has created honest and true characters.

Do yourself a favor and pick up The Four Ms. Bradwells. It's a refreshing read for early summer and while it does deal with some heavy subjects, it does so in a manner that is easy to read and relatable to the characters. And while you're at it, if you haven't read The Wednesday Sisters, pick that up at the same time. Both books are excellent stories on the power of friendship and what that power can help friends overcome.

Highly recommended.

Federal regulations require that I disclose that I receive a small commission on any purchases made through Amazon links on my blog, which I use to purchase more books.

The cuteness! Book trailer - A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron

2011-05-04T08:27:00.002-04:00

I just found this trailer and it's so cute, I just had to share it!

A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron will be released in paperback on May 24, 2011, from MacMillan.

Federal regulations require that I disclose that I receive a small commission on any purchases made through Amazon links on my blog, which I use to purchase more books.

Top-Selling Titles in Chicagoland and Milwaukee Last Week

2011-05-04T08:26:00.000-04:00

Top-Selling Titles in Chicagoland and Milwaukee Last Week

Book trailer - The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente, illustrated by Ana Juan

2011-05-03T11:54:00.003-04:00

I'm reading this right now and loving it, so I thought I'd share this loverly trailer that I just found. Enjoy!

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making will be released on May 10, 2011 from MacMillan.

Federal regulations require that I disclose that I receive a small commission on any purchases made through Amazon links on my blog, which I use to purchase more books.

Sunday Salon 1 V 11 - Getting back to reading and an April recap

2011-05-01T19:12:00.002-04:00

Good morning, fellow Salon Members! The telltale signs of Spring: birds singing, cool mornings, warm afternoons, flowers blooming. It's refreshing to finally be saying goodbye to winter for good!

Well, after several months, it looks like I may finally be recovering from the dreaded Reading Slump. April proved to be my best month yet this year with 11 books read!

My reading for the month consisted of:

The Barracks Thief by Tobias Wolff - Purchased on recommendation from David Sedaris at one of his readings... did not live up to the hype he was giving it.

Hounded: The Iron Druid Chronicles Book 1 by Kevin Hearne - Holy crap, but did I love this book! You can read my review of it here.

The Giver by Lois Lowry - Somehow this one slipped by me over the years, and I'm sorry it took me so long to get around to reading it. What an amazing, thought provoking story!

The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney - A new voice in the YA paranormal romance world, and one that I think could stick around for awhile.

Steampunk Quartet: A Tor.com Original by Eileen Gunn - A collection of four short pieces that are based on previous Steampunk works and include main characters based on real people who donated to the Clarion West program, who Eileen Gunn worked into these stories. Clever idea, but not much in the way of substance to any of the stories.

The Four Ms. Bradwells by Meg Waite Clayton - Meg Waite Clayton proves once again (just as she did with The Wednesday Sisters) that she has a keen grasp of the power of friendship between women, even amidst decades old secrets.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver - The first in a new YA dystopian trilogy where love is discovered to be a disease (the amor deliria nervosa) and the US government has discovered a "cure". I ended up enjoying this a lot more than I thought I was going to. Oliver has done a really successful job of world building and created a fully realized backstory and history so that her characters are (un)comfortable in their surroundings. I'm anxious to see where she'll take the story from here.

There was also a handful of graphic novels that I read this month that I won't go into reviewing. I think I'm going to skip the reviews on the graphic novels from now on, unless it is something that reallys stands out for me.

So, there it is - a quick recap of April. It's going to be tough for me to decide on a top book for this month. Hounded, The Four Ms. Bradwells and Delirium all really stood out for me. Maybe I'll just have a three-way tie this month!!

Until next Sunday, happy reading!

Top-Selling Titles in Chicagoland and Milwaukee Last Week

2011-04-28T09:08:00.000-04:00

Top-Selling Titles in Chicagoland and Milwaukee Last Week

Will Supervillains Be on the Final?: Liberty Vocational Volume 1 by Naomi Novik, illustrated Yishan Li

2011-04-26T18:31:00.006-04:00

Title: Will Supervillains Be on the Final?
Series: Liberty Vocational Volume 1
Authors: Naomi Novik, illustrated Yishan Li
Copyright: 2011
Pages: 192
ISBN: 9780345516565
Publisher: Del Rey
Author Website: www.temeraire.org
Twitter: @DelReySpectra, @naominovik
Format: Paperback
Rating: 3.5/5 stars

From Amazon:

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Temeraire novels comes the first graphic novel in a thrilling new saga about the next generation of high-flying costumed crusaders

HEROISM 101

As universities go, Liberty Vocational is the private college of choice for budding superheroes learning to master their extraordinary powers for the good of humankind. But for sixteen-year-old Leah Taymore, just making her way through classes without incident is shaping up to be a superhuman task. Star struck by legendary ex-hero turned student advisor Calvin Washington, petrified by ultrastrict dean Dr. Santos, and tongue-tied over her supercool (and handsome) classmate Paul Lyman, timid Leah fears that even her ability to manipulate atoms won’t be enough to survive the rigors of L.V.—and become a full-fledged defender of all that is right. But the real test of her mettle is yet to come, in the form of infamous supervillain Bane, who has infiltrated Liberty with a sinister plan to bring down the best and brightest heroes of tomorrow before they even take flight.

Liberty Vocational is not your typical college. Why, you ask? Because it is where young superheroes go to learn how to use their powers to the best of their abilities. Leah Taymore has just started at Liberty Vocational, but her biggest challenge isn't learning how to use her extraordinary atom manipulation powers without causing a catastrophe, it's learning how to get through the day without causing a catastrophe just on her own. Add in to the mix cute boys, an adviser who may not want to advise her and a dean who may be out to get her, and Leah doesn't always have the best days. Then there's Bane. A supervillain of some notoriety who has infiltrated Liberty Vocational with some secret agenda all his own...

Will Supervillains Be on the Final? is cute. Compared to Novik's Termeraire series, it seems to fall a little short for me, but that may be more of the fact that I don't think I'm entirely the target audience, but I can appreciate it for what it is. You can tell that Novik is having fun with her characters and their situations. Leah's goofiness fits her well as she tries to navigate through a life that is entirely new to her. The supporting cast can sometimes be a little over the top, but that's really the point. The book is done in a manga fashion (which lends itself very well to this story), so in my limited manga-reading experience this seems to be true to how they are written, so manga fans should really enjoy this. Yishan Li's art is crisp and clean, and easy to follow throughout most of the book. Novik's Temeraire fans (more the girls than the guys, although the questions of the morality of superheroics might prove to be interesting to the male set, too) should probably give this a try as well, just to see how Novik can stretch her writing muscles.

Nothing challenging here, but something fun all the same.

Federal regulations require that I disclose that I receive a small commission on any purchases made through Amazon links on my blog, which I use to purchase more books.

FTC Guideline: ARC borrowed from a friend

Hounded: The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book 1 by Kevin Hearne

2011-04-22T01:35:00.001-04:00

Title: Hounded
Series: The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book 1
Author: Kevin Hearne
Copyright: 2011
Pages: 304
ISBN: 9780345522474
Publisher: Del Rey
Author Website: www.kevinhearne.com
Twitter: @KevinHearne, @DelReySpectra
Format: ARC Paperback
Rating: 5/5 stars

From Amazon:

Atticus O’Sullivan, last of the Druids, lives peacefully in Arizona, running an occult bookshop and shape-shifting in his spare time to hunt with his Irish wolfhound. His neighbors and customers think that this handsome, tattooed Irish dude is about twenty-one years old—when in actuality, he’s twenty-one centuries old. Not to mention: He draws his power from the earth, possesses a sharp wit, and wields an even sharper magical sword known as Fragarach, the Answerer.

Unfortunately, a very angry Celtic god wants that sword, and he’s hounded Atticus for centuries. Now the determined deity has tracked him down, and Atticus will need all his power—plus the help of a seductive goddess of death, his vampire and werewolf team of attorneys, a sexy bartender possessed by a Hindu witch, and some good old-fashioned luck of the Irish—to kick some Celtic arse and deliver himself from evil.

Holy crap, but did I love this book! Druids! Witches! Gods! Werewolves! Vampires! Irish wolfhounds! Widows! Throw all these things together, and what you have is an entirely romping fun adventure of a book.

Atticus O'Sullivan may look 21, but in reality he's 21 centuries old and the last Druid. And when you're that old, you're bound to make some enemies along the way. You see, Atticus is in possession of a sword that he "stole" from the Tuatha Dé Danann almost 2000 years ago, and some of those gods want the sword back. Unfortunately for Atticus, one of these ancient gods has made it his personal vendetta against Atticus and has chased him for centuries. And Atticus has run for centuries. But maybe it's time for Atticus to stop running and face his pursuer. However, even Atticus knows it's not a good idea to take on a god by yourself, so he calls in help from some other gods, his vampire/werewolf tag team of attorneys, a bartender who is possessed by a centuries old witch and his faithful Irish wolfhound, Oberon. But even this mixed bag of heroes may not be enough to take down a Celtic love god who has allied himself with Hell and a coven of witches.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book from the moment I picked it up. Hearne's writing is so natural that it picks you right up in the story and sweeps you along. The world building in Hounded isn't too challenging - the entire story takes place in Tempe, AZ - but it's the way that Hearne utilizes gods from several pantheons to create a varied way that religion works in his world. I think this is a really unique approach to gods and Hearne uses it well. Don't let this intimidate you, though. Hearne explains who everybody is and doesn't leave you hanging on trying to figure out who is who.

The writing is fast-paced but doesn't seem to want to try to get ahead of itself. I've noticed this in books I've read before like this, that the story tries to move itself along almost too quickly, not giving you a chance to keep up with it. That's not the case here; Hearne keeps his story moving but without rushing you through it. His entire cast of characters are funny and witty, but not overly so. I found myself laughing out loud through several portions of the book, and especially at Oberon, Atticus' Irish wolfhound. I think that Oberon may be my favorite character in the book. His take on the world and what is happening around him from a smarter-than-your-average dog point of view is often hysterical.

I could gush on some more about the book, but really, you just have to read it to really appreciate just how much fun it is. Fans of Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files will definitely want to pick this series up, but anybody who enjoys a funny, clever urban fantasy will really enjoy this book. Highly recommended!

Hounded is available May 3, 2011, from Del Rey, Hexed: The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book 2 will be available on June 7, 2011, and Hammered: The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book 3 will be available on July 5, 2011, so you won't have to wait long for the rest of the series!

Federal regulations require that I disclose that I receive a small commission on any purchases made through Amazon links on my blog, which I use to purchase more books.

FTC Guideline: ARC paperback received from publisher for review

Top-Selling Titles in Chicagoland and Milwaukee Last Week

2011-04-20T01:09:00.000-04:00

Top-Selling Titles in Chicagoland and Milwaukee Last Week

Hounded: The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book 1 by Kevin Hearne - Coming May, 2011 from Del Rey

2011-04-10T01:19:00.012-04:00

Title: Hounded
Series: The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book 1
Author: Kevin Hearne
Copyright: 2011
Pages: 304
ISBN: 9780345522474
Publisher: Del Rey
Author Website: www.kevinhearne.com
Twitter: @KevinHearne, @DelReySpectra
Format: Paperback from publisher for review
Available: 5-3-11
Rating: 5/5 stars

From Amazon:

Atticus O’Sullivan, last of the Druids, lives peacefully in Arizona, running an occult bookshop and shape-shifting in his spare time to hunt with his Irish wolfhound. His neighbors and customers think that this handsome, tattooed Irish dude is about twenty-one years old—when in actuality, he’s twenty-one centuries old. Not to mention: He draws his power from the earth, possesses a sharp wit, and wields an even sharper magical sword known as Fragarach, the Answerer.

Unfortunately, a very angry Celtic god wants that sword, and he’s hounded Atticus for centuries. Now the determined deity has tracked him down, and Atticus will need all his power—plus the help of a seductive goddess of death, his vampire and werewolf team of attorneys, a sexy bartender possessed by a Hindu witch, and some good old-fashioned luck of the Irish—to kick some Celtic arse and deliver himself from evil.

You're going to have to come back on 5-3-11 for my full review, but I will tell you right now, holy crap, did I love this book! The best way to describe it is The Dresden Files meets religion. But don't think that comparison means Kevin Hearne is a copycat writer; he has a style and story all his own. His rather unique take on the pantheon of gods from religions all over the world is quite clever.

Highly recommended!

P.T. Barnum by Anne Edwards, illustrated by Marylin Hafner

2011-04-09T01:31:00.000-04:00

Title: P.T. Barnum
Authors: Anne Edwards, illustrated by Marylin Hafner
Copyright: 1977
Pages: 63
ISBN: 9780399610837
Publisher: Putnam Publishing Group
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 3/5 stars

This is a charming little volume that is definitely geared toward a younger audience but is still a good, if simplified, biography of P.T. Barnum. Edwards follows his life from childhood right up to his death, highlighting all the major accomplishments in his life. The accompanying illustration by Marylin Hafner are cute, if not a little dated, but it's part of the charm of the book.

Bloom County: The Complete Library, Vol. 2: 1982-1984 by Berkeley Breathed

2011-04-08T03:52:00.002-04:00

Title: Bloom County: The Complete Library, Vol. 2: 1982-1984
Series: Bloom County
Author: Berkeley Breathed
Copyright: 2010
Pages: 304
ISBN: 9781600105838
Publisher: The Library of American Comics, IDW Publishing
Website: www.berkeleybreathed.com
Twitter: @IDWPublishing
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 5/5 stars

The second volume of the collected editions of Berkeley Breathed's Bloom County is just as good as the first, if not a little better. Breathed's wit is becoming a little sharper; his characters a little more defined, both artistically and literarily; he's beginning to find his way with the characters and the direction that he wants to take his strip in. His social commentary is starting to really solidify into what made this strip what it was: a commentary on us in the 80s. And what rings true then seems to still ring true in some cases today.

The reproduction quality of the strips could be a little better, but to be able to have all of the strips collected like this in such great editions, I'm willing to overlook that.

Bone: Quest for the Spark, Book 1 by Tom Sniegoski, illustrated by Jeff Smith

2011-04-07T08:59:00.000-04:00

Title: Bone: Quest for the Spark, Book 1
Series: Bone
Authors: Tom Sniegoski, illustrated by Jeff Smith
Copyright: 2011
Pages: 224
ISBN: 9780545141024
Publisher: Graphix, an imprint of Scholastic
Author Website: www.boneville.com
Twitter: @scholastic
Format: Paperback
Rating: 4/5 stars

From Amazon:

A return to the enthralling world of BONE with book one in this gripping spin-off novel trilogy, illustrated in four-color!

Twelve-year-old Tom Elm is just an ordinary turnip farmer from the Valley, but he's always felt destined for something bigger. So when he discovers everyone in his village is asleep and plagued by nightmares, he assembles a band of unlikely heroes. They must fight to preserve the Spark--a divine light born at the core of a vast, dark nothingness called the Nacht. The Nacht is trying to permeate the Waking World with nightmares of the Dreaming, and it's Tom's mission to defeat the Nacht and its most loyal follower, the Constable. If he fails, his family--and everyone--might never wake up again.

Bone: Quest for the Spark, Book 1 is a great followup to the Bone series. Thorn is queen and there has been peace in the Valley since the events of Bone. However, that is until people in the village start falling asleep and never waking up, including Queen Thorn.

Enter 12-year-old Tom Elm, turnip farmer. There isn't much about Tom that is extraordinary, except for his belief that he is destined for something greater. The destiny becomes apparent when the Dreaming chooses Tom to be their champion against the Nacht, the evil that is corrupting the Waking World. Tom it directed by the Dreaming to bring together a band of heroes to help him in defeating the Nacht.

Book 1 of Quest for the Spark is your general introductory trilogy book; we meet the main cast of characters, both good and bad, and are introduced to the danger at hand. Not much else happens here, but it is a great addition to the Bone mythology. It's different from previous Bone stories in that it is a prose story, but it it illustrated in full color throughout by Jeff Smith (the creator of Bone) and the illustrations are fantastic. I've always been a fan of Jeff Smith's artistic style; it's very simplistic and minimal but he packs quite a bit of emotion into each art panel. I prefer to see his artwork in black and white (as it was originally presented) but the colored version of these illustrations are still gorgeous. Tom Sniegoski does a great job in keeping the light and whimsical yet serious and epic feel of Smith's writing from the original series. Overall, a great book and I can't wait for the next volume!

Top Book Club Books in March

2011-04-07T08:05:00.000-04:00

Top Book Club Books in March

I've read three of these selections (Room, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet and Water for Elephants: A Novel) and loved each of them. Have you read any of the Top Book Club Books from March?

Top-Selling Titles in Chicagoland and Milwaukee Last Week

2011-04-07T08:03:00.000-04:00

Top-Selling Titles in Chicagoland and Milwaukee Last Week

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

2011-04-03T01:46:00.001-04:00

Title: The Iron King
Series: The Iron Fey, Book 1
Author: Julie Kagawa
Copyright: 2010
Pages: 363
ISBN: 9780373210084
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Author Website: www.juliekagawa.com
Twitter: @harlequinteen, @jkagawa
Format: Paperback
Rating: 5/5 stars

From Amazon:

Meghan Chase has a secret destiny—one she could never have imagined…

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school…or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.

But she could never have guessed the truth—that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face…and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

I'll admit right up front that I was skeptical about this book. My friend Gail had been bullying me for awhile to pick up the series and give it a try, but honestly, the whole Harlequin thing kind of turned me off of the entire idea (even if it is being published through Harlequin Teen). It kept getting great reviews, as did the subsequent books, but it really wasn't until the third book was released and it was dedicated partly to Gail that I figured I should give it a try. If one of my best book friends was willing to promote the series so much that the author dedicated the book to her... well, I figured it was time to read at least the first one, The Iron King.

Wow. Wow wow wow!

I loved it! Julie Kagawa has such a natural story-telling ability that I was completely sucked into the story, immediately. Her characters are believable and her landscapes are tangible. I was thoroughly enjoying the book when she added in such a compelling and new idea, I was practically jumping up and down from the excitement I had. Her ideas about the new breed of Fey is genius. It seems so obvious, I'm surprised nobody has come up with it before (and maybe they have, and I just don't know about it), but she took the idea and ran with it. I don't really want to give too much away because it really is in the realization of what the new Fey are that makes it so interesting, but needless to say, these are Fey for the 21st century.

The story centers around Meghan Chase, your typical teenager trying to make her way through high school and life. She has all the typical high school problems: family, boys, school. But it isn't until a dark stranger starts following her and her best friend, Robbie Goodfell, starts to act overly protective of her that things start to get really strange. It all culminates in Meghan discovering that she is the child of a faery king and that she is being used as a pawn of war. Add in the mysterious Prince Ash, and you have all the elements you need to for one great story. Oh, and don't worry, for those curious there isn't too much romance, if any. For a Harlequin book, they really were light on the romance and heavy on the action for this book.

If you're looking for an original story set in a at turns familiar and yet strange land, I'd highly recommend The Iron King. I'm sorry it took me so long to getting around to it, and I'll admit that maybe, this once, Gail was right. But don't tell her I said that. She'll never let me live it down.

X-Men: Deadly Genesis by Ed Brubaker, illustrated by Trevor Hairsine & Scott Hanna

2011-04-02T21:29:00.000-04:00

Title: X-Men: Deadly Genesis
Series: X-Men
Authors: Ed Brubaker, illustrated by Trevor Hairsine & Scott Hanna
Copyright: 2005
Pages: 200
ISBN: 9780785118305
Publisher: Marvel
Twitter: @marvel
Format: Paperback
Rating: 3.5/5 stars

From Amazon

What happens when the skeletons in your closet finally break down the door and come looking for you? The X-Men are about to find out! In the wake of the tragic events of House of M, the mutant community is in turmoil, and the X-Men are bearing the brunt of this New World Order. Amid the chaos, a new enemy awakens, one whose very existence will haunt the founding members of the X-Men like nothing has before. Who is this new threat? How is he tied to Professor X's darkest secret? Cyclops, Wolverine and the others must find out soon, before they and those closest to them go mad! X-Men: Deadly Genesis, by Wizard Top Ten creators Ed Brubaker and Trevor Hairsine, is a mysterious blend of horror and super-heroics, as well as a celebration of the 30th anniversary of Giant-Size X-Men #1, that will have X-Men fans talking for years to come! Collects X-Men: Deadly Genesis #1-6.

As far as retcon's go, this one wasn't too bad. Turns out the team of X-Men that Professor X forms in Giant-Sized X-Men #1 is actually the second team that he sent to Krakoa to rescue the original X-Men. The first set of X-Men he sent were actually students of Moira Mactaggert's, who Professor X quickly trains through mind manipulation and sends off to Krakoa, only to have that entire team seemingly killed on their first mission. The only other person who knows of this tragedy is Cyclops, but Professor X wipes the memory from his mind to make it easier for Cyclops to cope. What I didn't like about this story is that it struck a little too close a cord with the DC Comics mini-series Identity Crisis which was released the year before, in which a terrible mistake in the JLA's past is mindwiped from everyone to keep the secret safe. Deadly Genesis, IMO, was handled well and the repercussions from this story have had significant effects on the X-Men as a whole; I just wish it didn't seem like Marvel was trying to copy the success DC had with so similar of an idea.

This volume does introduce us to Vulcan, the mysterious third Summers brother, who quickly becomes one of the X-Men's deadliest villains. It is also a direct lead-in to Rise & Fall of the Shi'Ar Empire, which ran in Uncanny for a full year after this mini-series. Banshee's death is handled well, too. He doesn't seem to have died in vain, and he appears to have remained dead, which doesn't always happen in comics. I personally feel that the X-Men as a whole seemed to be lacking direction post-House of M, but this volume does seem to start to steer them in a somewhat unified direction.

Boneshaker by Cherie Priest

2011-04-01T03:46:00.000-04:00

Title: Boneshaker
Series: The Clockwork Century, Book 1
Author: Cherie Priest
Copyright: 2009
Pages: 416
ISBN: 9780765318411
Publisher: Tor Books
Author Website: www.cheriepriest.com
Twitter: @cmpriest, @torbooks, @torSteampunk
Format: Paperback
Rating: 4/5 stars

From Amazon:

In the early days of the Civil War, rumors of gold in the frozen Klondike brought hordes of newcomers to the Pacific Northwest. Anxious to compete, Russian prospectors commissioned inventor Leviticus Blue to create a great machine that could mine through Alaska’s ice. Thus was Dr. Blue’s Incredible Bone-Shaking Drill Engine born.

But on its first test run the Boneshaker went terribly awry, destroying several blocks of downtown Seattle and unearthing a subterranean vein of blight gas that turned anyone who breathed it into the living dead.

Now it is sixteen years later, and a wall has been built to enclose the devastated and toxic city. Just beyond it lives Blue’s widow, Briar Wilkes. Life is hard with a ruined reputation and a teenaged boy to support, but she and Ezekiel are managing. Until Ezekiel undertakes a secret crusade to rewrite history.

His quest will take him under the wall and into a city teeming with ravenous undead, air pirates, criminal overlords, and heavily armed refugees. And only Briar can bring him out alive.

Zeke wants to know the truth about his family. He's heard the stories, how his father, Leviticus Blue, built the Boneshaker, a machine that would mine through the ice of the Klondike to read gold for the Russians. He's heard the stories about how something went terribly wrong with the Boneshaker and how Blue lost control of it and it powered its way through the financial district of 1890s Seattle, smashing through several bank vaults before it reversed course and made its way back to the Blue mansion. He's heard the stories of how the Blight gas started to seep out, killing anyone who came into contact with it and turning them into zombies. He's heard all these stories, and doesn't want to believe them because his mother, Briar, who was there, won't tell him anything. And he's suspicious. And he plans on breaching the wall that has been built around Seattle to keep the Blight and rotters inside and finding out the truth and help rewrite his family's history. What he finds on the inside, however, may not be exactly what he is looking for.

Boneshaker is just as much a book about family and the ties that bind as it is a Steampunk extravaganza. Yes, it has the requisite dirigibles, goggles, mechanical goodness and other necessities that are obligatory in making a story Steampunk, but it is also the story of the love a mother has for her child and the lengths that she will go to to protect that child. Briar will stop at nothing to make sure that Zeke is safe, and this is what helps this book stand out in the Steampunk crowd. There's more to it than just Steampunk. And, just to make sure that her story stands out from other Steampunk stories, Cherie Priest also throws in a (un)healthy dose of zombies, just for good measure. It's also full of great characters who are each unique and engaging, and the world-building is topnotch.

Boneshaker is a great read. It's a great Steampunk novel. And it's a shame that it took me this long to finally getting around to reading it. Whether you're a fan of Steampunk or just enjoy a romping good book that is solidly written, Boneshaker is for you. Now, it's time for me to move on to Clementine and Dreadnought, the continuing stories of The Clockwork Century!

Meg Waite Clayton

2011-03-24T19:20:00.000-04:00

Meg reading from The Four Ms. Bradwells.

Author event: Release of Meg Waite Clayton's The Four Ms. Bradwells

2011-03-24T19:11:00.001-04:00

So excited! Meg Waite Clayton is back in town promoting her new book, The Four Ms. Bradwells. I'll try to be posting as the night goes along!

Waiting on Wednesday - Centerpieces by Penelope Przekop

2011-03-23T10:31:00.000-04:00

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that are eagerly anticipated.

My "can't-wait-to-read" selection for this week is:

Centerpieces by Penelope Przekop.

What is Centerpieces, you ask? It is the next novel from Penelope Przekop, one of my favorite up and coming authors. Penelope is going to be somebody to watch in the future. I read her first published novel, Aberrations, and it was one of my favorite books of 2008. Aberrations is also ranked #15 in women's fiction on Amazon as of this morning. I've read her online published novel, Boundaries, and have read an early draft of another novel, Dust, and both are equally amazing. I just found out this morning that she will be publishing Centerpieces through the independent printer, Hallway Press. This is really exciting news and I'm so happy for her.

As soon as I find out more information on Centerpieces, you can be sure I'll post it here!

Happy reading!

Book release: The Four Ms. Bradwells by Meg Waite Clayton

2011-03-22T17:55:00.002-04:00

Happy publication day to Meg Waite Clayton! The Four Ms. Bradwells is released today from Ballantine Books.

Top-Selling Titles in Chicagoland and Milwaukee Last Week

2011-03-17T12:57:00.000-04:00

Top-Selling Titles in Chicagoland and Milwaukee Last Week

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

2011-03-17T03:24:00.002-04:00

Title: Wither
Series: The Chemical Garden Trilogy, Book 1
Author: Lauren DeStefano
Copyright: 2011
Pages: 358
ISBN: 9781442409057
Publisher: Simon & Schuster BFYR
Author Website: www.laurendestefano.com
Twitter: @LaurenDeStefano, @SimonTEEN
Format: ARC paperback from publisher for review
Available: 3-22-11 (available now in some locations)
Rating: 3.5/5 stars

From Amazon:

By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. She can thank modern science for this genetic time bomb. A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males with a lifespan of 25 years, and females with a lifespan of 20 years. Geneticists are seeking a miracle antidote to restore the human race, desperate orphans crowd the population, crime and poverty have skyrocketed, and young girls are being kidnapped and sold as polygamous brides to bear more children.

When Rhine is kidnapped and sold as a bride, she vows to do all she can to escape. Her husband, Linden, is hopelessly in love with her, and Rhine can’t bring herself to hate him as much as she’d like to. He opens her to a magical world of wealth and illusion she never thought existed, and it almost makes it possible to ignore the clock ticking away her short life. But Rhine quickly learns that not everything in her new husband’s strange world is what it seems. Her father-in-law, an eccentric doctor bent on finding the antidote, is hoarding corpses in the basement. Her fellow sister wives are to be trusted one day and feared the next, and Rhine is desperate to communicate to her twin brother that she is safe and alive. Will Rhine be able to escape--before her time runs out?

In an attempt to eliminate disease and create a perfect person, science has doomed the human race. The first generation of this new miracle are healthy and live normal lives. However, it's their children and all following children who are doomed. All men now die at 25, women at 20. It's a genetic virus that scientists and geneticists are scrambling to find a cure for, but in the meantime society is slowly unraveling at the seems. Orphans will try anything to find home and shelter, even selling themselves to science; girls are kidnapped and sold to polygamous marriages in order to bear children. Rhine is one such girl who is kidnapped. At sixteen, she still has 4 years left to bear children for her new husband, Linden Vaughn, before she succumbs to the virus. At first all she can think about is escaping the Vaughn mansion and fleeing home to her twin brother, Rowan. Eventually Rhine begins to think that Linden is just as much a captive in the mansion as are her other two sister wives, all prisoners of Linden's father, Housemaster Vaughn, who seems to be willing to go to any means to keep his son happy and find a cure for the virus.

The premise of the book was really good, but there just seemed to be a whole lot of nothing going on here. We're thrown very quickly into the story with Rhine being kidnapped and chosen to be a bride, and then the rest of the book takes on a significantly slower pace. I also couldn't help thinking from the very beginning that Wither was the lovechild of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale and Suzanne Collins The Hunger Games. I can't pinpoint exactly what made me think of this so early on in the book, but I couldn't help shake this thought as soon as it popped into my head.

The main part of the story deals with Rhine and her adjusting, with her two new sister wives, to their new life at the Vaughn mansion. Jenna, the oldest, at first refuses to let Linden touch her but eventually seems to soften toward him. Cecily, the youngest, is all to willing to escape her life as an orphan and fervently vies for Linden's attention and is all too willing to bear a child for him. Rhine seems to fluctuate somewhere in the middle, and Linden obviously bears the most affection for her, especially due to her resemblance to the love of his life, Rose. The problem here, I found, is that while we are given bits and pieces to the puzzle surrounding Housemaster Vaughn and his interference in everyone's lives, including his own son, there isn't a whole lot that happens that moves the story forward. Quite a bit seems to happen in the background, without much presented in the way to show it happening. For instance, the seemingly out of the blue (at least to me) love connection between Rhine and one of the household assistants, Gabriel. They only meet a handful of times and suddenly they seem to be completely infatuated with each other. As the story progresses, their relationship is then given time to grow, but their relationship growing so close, so quickly, at the beginning of the story seemed too convenient a plot point for me.

Another problem that I had with the story was one portion of the worldbuilding, and that had to due with the orphans. It's mentioned frequently that there are numerous orphans who live on the streets, and it makes sense since the parents are dying so young. Yet, it would seem to me that if the whole idea in this world is to try to keep the human race alive, there would be contingencies in place for these orphans, to try to find a way to help them live and not let them die on the streets. Maybe I'm missing something here, but it just seemed that this entire idea seemed a little off to me.

Given the problems I had with the story, I'm still impressed with the premise behind the idea. While this first volume ended in a way that I would have been willing to accept as the type of vague ending where the reader can take their own ideas on where the characters will be going next and leave it at that, I'm also interested to see where DeStefano is going to take these characters, and to me that's what really makes for a good book. So, problems aside, DeStefano sucked me into her world and I want to know what happens next.

Wither will be released on March 22, 2011 from Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (some stores may have it on shelves now).

Soulless by Gail Carriger

2011-03-14T01:50:00.001-04:00

Title: Soulless
Related Series: The Parasol Protectorate, Book 1
Author: Gail Carriger
Copyright: 2010
Pages: 384
ISBN: 9780316056632
Publisher: Orbit Books
Author Website: www.gailcarriger.com
Twitter: @gailcarriger, @orbitbooks
Format: Paperback
Rating: 5/5 stars

From Amazon:

Alexia Tarabotti is laboring under a great many social tribulations. First, she has no soul. Second, she's a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette.

Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire -- and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate.

With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London's high society? Will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?

SOULLESS is a comedy of manners set in Victorian London: full of werewolves, vampires, dirigibles, and tea-drinking.

To not put too fine a point on it, I absolutely adored Soulless! It is a smart, funny, sometimes sexy little morsel of steampunk romance brain candy. Now, first off, when you see the word "romance" in the description, please don't jump to the conclusion that I would have: that the book is chockablock with hot, steamy naughtiness. Now, in all honesty, it does have it's share of hot, steamy naughtiness (it is part romance when all is said and done, although it really has only one outright sex scene in the entire book), but it doesn't read like every action our heroine is taking is trying to lead her to her next tryst; this is Victorian England, after all, and there are certain rules and regulations one must follow before such scandalous behavior can ensue! What we have here, really, is a smart and sexy heroine who can not only hold her own against vampires and werewolves (she kills a vampire with her parasol, after all), but who can still manage to uphold the highest of societies standards and etiquette, often at the same time.

Soulless is a clever book, and the notion of vampires, werewolves and ghosts being accepted parts of Victorian society is a unique approach to the urban fantasy. How our preternatural heroine, Alexia Tarabotti, falls into all this as someone without a soul who can negate the powers of the supernatural makes her all the more an extraordinary character. In fact, all of the characters are well polished gems and each stands out in their own distinct way.

Carriger's writing is laugh-out-loud funny in some instances and solid throughout. I found it a refreshing read and a highly promising good start for this debut author. I'm anxiously awaiting the second in the series, Changeless.

The Raising by Laura Kasischke

2011-03-12T00:01:00.033-05:00

Title: The Raising
Author: Laura Kasischke
Copyright: 2010
Pages: 360
ISBN: 9780062004789
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Twitter: @HarperPerennial
Format:: ebook through NetGalley
Available: March 15, 2011
Rating: 5/5 stars
Finished: 11-2-10
Challenge: 100 Books 10, 1010 Challenge (Fiction category)

From Amazon:
From critically acclaimed and nationally bestselling author Laura Kasischke comes a new novel that is part Stephen King, part Donna Tartt, and wholly unputdownable.

The accident was tragic, yes. Bloody and horrific and claiming the life of a beautiful young sorority girl. Nicole was a straight-A student from a small town. Sweet-tempered, all-American, a former Girl Scout, and a virgin. But it was an accident. And that was last year. It's fall again, a new semester, a fresh start.

Craig, who has not been charged with murder, is focusing on his classes, and also on avoiding Nicole's sorority sisters, who seem to blame him for her death even though the police did not.

Perry, Craig's roommate, is working through his own grief (he grew up with Nicole, after all, and had known her since kindergarten) by auditing Professor Polson's sociology class: Death, Dying, and the Undead.

Mira has been so busy with her babies -- two of them, twins, the most perfect boys you could imagine but still a nearly impossible amount of work even with Clark's help -- that she can barely keep herself together to teach (Death, Dying and the Undead), let alone write the book she'll need to publish for tenure.

And Shelly, who was the first person at the scene of the accident, has given up calling the newspapers to tell them that, despite the ''lake of blood'' in which they keep reporting the victim was found, the girl Shelly saw that night was not bloody, and not dead.

Laura Kasischke's The Raising is a remarkably haunting book of love and suspicion; murder and mystery. Taking place at a college in Michigan, the story follows the lives of several teachers and students who have all been drawn together by the horrible death of Nicole, a straight-A, honor roll student. The general consensus is that Craig, her boyfriend, murdered her. Yet, Shelly, the first person at the scene of the accident that killed Nicole, claims that Nicole was still alive and that Craig was trying to help her. Perry, Craig's roommate, may know more about Nicole than he's willing to admit. In trying to deal with the grief that he feels around Nicole's death (they had been friends for years), he takes a class about death and inadvertently draws that professor, Mira Polson, into the intrigue surrounding Nicole's death. And why do people on campus still think they see Nicole wandering the school? Is is a ghost they are seeing, or something else all together?

Kasischke has a remarkable talent for drawing amazing detail out of what seems like a dream. Her writing can be very ethereal at times, but it never leaves the reader questioning what her meaning is, and in the case of The Raising, her writing style fits the emotion of the book perfectly. Imagine, knowing that something happened to the girl you love, and you think that you had something to do with, but you're really not sure and you can't remember and all you know is that now she's dead, and people blame you. I think I'd be walking around in a state of shock all the time. Kasischke really creates that sense of unbalance in Craig's life, as he's trying to piece together his life, while still trying to come to terms with what happened to Nicole.

If you've never read anything by Laura Kasischke before, Id highly recommend The Raising. It's a deceptively powerful story that will linger with far after you've finished reading it.

The Raising: A Novel (P.S.)

The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry

2011-03-11T04:48:00.000-05:00

Title: The Lace Reader
Author: Brunonia Barry
Copyright: 2008
Pages: 390
ISBN: 9780061624766
Publisher: William Morrow
Author Website: www.brunoniabarry.com
Twitter: @BrunoniaBarry
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 5/5 stars

Go and read this book! Right now!

Brunonia Barry's The Lace Reader is a novel that delves into so many realms, it is hard to know where to start. The first chapter introduces us to Towner Whitney, one of a long line of Whitney women who have been labeled "quirky" by the other inhabitants of Salem. The chapter opens:

My name is Towner Whitney. No, that's not exactly true. My real first name is Sophya. Never believe me. I lie all the time.

I am a crazy woman…. That last part is true.

It is an appropriate opening for the book, for it is a book of secrets, of family lies and of history; both familial history and geographic history, as we are given some background of the town of Salem and the events that created it.

Towner comes from a long line of "readers," women who can read you past, present and future in lace. There is a specific process to the reading of lace, which is explained throughout the book. Towner has given up lace reading after the death of her sister and the subsequent depression that forced Towner to escape Salem and move to California, the farthest place she can escape to in her mind. She is brought back to Salem after the death of her great-aunt, where she begins to discover that everything about her past may or may not be as she remembers it.

This is an amazing debut novel. Barry interweaves so many plot threads, it's as if she is creating lace out of her own story. The plot moves along nicely, and Barry gives you just enough of the characters' histories throughout the story that you don't feel like you are being weighed down by their backgrounds. The characters are believable and well-rounded. Never did I feel that she was stretching the suspension of disbelief to make them seem real. I could picture walking the streets of Salem, and meeting these people downtown.

The way The Lace Reader is written is beautiful! The story just sucks you in. Barry's prose just flows throughout the entire book, taking you on this amazing journey. I was amazed by how quickly I became a part of the world that she was creating.

I think I've been a little bit lucky, in that I've been to Salem on two occasions now, so I'm familiar with the surroundings of the story. While some of the places are fictitious, Barry has created a most accurate view of present-day Salem. The city itself is just as much a character in the book as its inhabitants. Barry has set her story in the mid-90s, before Salem became too much of a tourist destination. It was just coming into it's own, and Barry captures the essence of city perfectly.

I think that Brunonia Barry may have something of a witch in her. The spell that she creates with this story was mesmerizing. I couldn't put the book down! Luckily I was traveling when I read it, so was able to finish the book one day. I'm anxiously looking forward to the magic that she will create with her next book.

His Majesty's Dragon, Temeraire Book 1 by Naomi Novik

2011-03-10T01:49:00.001-05:00

Title: His Majesty's Dragon
Series: Temeraire, Book 1
Author: Naomi Novik
Copyright: 2006
Pages: 384
ISBN: 9780345481283
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Author Website: www.temeraire.org
Twitter: @naominovik
Format: Paperback
Rating: 5/5 stars
Finished: 3-21-10
Challenge: 100 Books 10, TIOLI

From Amazon:

Aerial combat brings a thrilling new dimension to the Napoleonic Wars as valiant warriors rise to Britain’s defense by taking to the skies... not aboard aircraft but atop the mighty backs of fighting dragons.

When HMS Reliant captures a French frigate and seizes its precious cargo, an unhatched dragon egg, fate sweeps Capt. Will Laurence from his seafaring life into an uncertain future–and an unexpected kinship with a most extraordinary creature. Thrust into the rarified world of the Aerial Corps as master of the dragon Temeraire, he will face a crash course in the daring tactics of airborne battle. For as France’s own dragon-borne forces rally to breach British soil in Bonaparte’s boldest gambit, Laurence and Temeraire must soar into their own baptism of fire.

I absolutely loved this book. I was trying to decide on a TIOLI challenge book for March (read a book by an LT Author) and I needed something that was more brain candy than anything else, and after reading a couple of other reviews/recommendations of His Majesty's Dragon decided I'd pick up the first book if I found it at the bookstore. Much to my now pleasure, they had a copy and I went ahead and broke my no new book buying rule for about the 100th time this year and picked it up. Needless to say, the next four are on their way from Amazon now.

Novik takes another look at the Napoleonic Wars in this series, one where dragons are an important part of all armies and their fighting forces. The dragons are harnessed at birth (when they emerge from their egg) with a human rider who becomes their captain, and together they become a fighting force with an entire crew that works to keep the dragon healthy and safe. When Capt. Laurence captures a French ship carrying a dragon egg, at first he imagines only what his share of the prize money will be, but when it is discovered that the egg will hatch before they reach port, the decision is made to try to harness the dragon right on the ship, something that has never been done before, as the Aerial Corps has always handled all eggs and the subsequent harnessing. Much to his surprise, when the new dragonet hatches, it completely ignores the man whose name was pulled to try the harnessing, and instead speaks directly to Laurence and allows him to do the harnessing. Now Laurence must leave the navy and with the newly named Temeraire, must learn the ways of the Aerial Corps. And I couldn't put the book down from here on out.

I loved the growing relationship between Laurence and Temeraire. Instead of just being mindless beasts bent on destruction, Novik has created intelligent and engaging characters in her dragons, and from the moment that Temeraire speaks to Laurence, I was totally lost in their growing friendship and trust. I think this, above and beyond anything else in the book, was what had me hooked from the beginning. There was just something about the way that Novik had Laurence and Temeraire grow closer that I just found totally mesmerizing. The other side stories were just as equally well-written, but it was the experience of watching Laurence and Temeraire grow into their partnership that held the entire book together so unquestionably. Of course, there is so much more to the story than just their growing relationship; there is also their training and the interactions on both Laurence and Temeraire's parts with their new comrades and the battle at the end of the book where we learn the true nature of Temeraire's breeding. It's just all so well put together, I loved every moment of the book and read it in 2 days.

I always enjoy discovering a new author, but to be able to find a book that I can so easily get lost in as well is a complete treat for me, and I can't recommend His Majesty's Dragon enough. I'm anxiously looked forward to moving on to the second book in the series, Throne of Jade. This will easily be topping my list of favorite books of the year.

Aberrations by Penelope Przekop

2011-03-09T04:53:00.001-05:00

Title: Aberrations
Author: Penelope Przekop
Copyright: 2008
Pages: 336
ISBN: 9781934572030
Publisher: Emerald Book Company
Author Website: www.penelopeprzekop.com
Format: Paperback
Rating: 5/5 stars

From Amazon:

Twenty-one-year-old narcoleptic Angel Duet knows her father harbors secrets. He loves and protects her, but his suspicious refusal to discuss her mother's death drives Angel to worship an image created from the little history she does have: her father's sketchy stories and her mother's treasured photography, studies of clouds that have hung in the their foyer for more than twenty years.

When her father's girlfriend moves in, the photographs come down, and Angel's search for truth becomes an obsession. As she struggles to uncover the past and gain control over the narcolepsy that often fogs her world, Angel descends into a dizzying realm of drugs, adultery, and confused desire that further obscures reality.

As Angel begins to expose a history she could never have imagined, she discovers her entire life has been anchored around lies. Accepting the truth, once found, is the key to understanding herself, her family, and her life. To truly awaken, Angel must realize that sometimes the gifts we receive are not what we want--and only in time do we see their worth.

At first glance, Aberrations is the story of a young woman who learns to live with her narcolepsy, and who struggles immensely to understand how her mom died when she was born and to discover who her mother really was. But the debut novel of Penelope Przekop moves insightfully into a whole other dimension, showing the reader how each of us lives a life of aberration, that we each have some kind of stigma or conflict or handicap to overcome. We also discover that having the strength to first seek out the truth and then to live with it can be quite challenging.

A marvelous and unique coming of age story, Penelope Przekop's Aberrations is the story of Angel Duet as she discovers the who she is and how she can find the missing pieces of herself. It is a book about discovering who you are to yourself, and not what others want you to be, about accepting all the bits that make you who you are and about finding unconditional love, even if it isn't necessarily where you thought it would come from.

Angel Duet, 21, suffers from narcolepsy and has strengthened herself over the years by closing herself off emotionally from others, living a solitary existence with her father and the memories of her deceased mother. The only real contact she has emotionally with anyone else is Mac, the married doctor whom she is having an affair with. Through new friends that she makes at her summer job, Tim and Kimmy, Angel begins to see the rut that her life is in (as are the others). Each discovers that they hold a secret that they believe sets them apart from everyone else around them; Angel's narcolepsy, Tim is gay and Kimmy is a virgin. After Tim convinces Angel to come out one night with him to the local gay bar, she meets his cousin, Scarlette, and more confusion sets into Angel's life, as there is an attraction to Scarlette, but is it sexual or simply the comforting idea that in Scarlette, Angel can find her idea of mother?

The book is ultimately about unconditional love, and the want and need of everyone to find that. I believe it's a fairly universal need. Generally, that idea is found in the idea of mother and that is what Angel feels she is missing in her life. She searches for it everywhere; through confrontation with her father over the true nature of her mother's death, through sex, both with Mac and with Scarlette, through artificial means while using Ecstasy. When Angel finally finds her idea of mother, it isn't necessarily where she thought it would come from, but it ultimately was the perfect way for her to find it.

Each character has a slight aberration that sets them apart from what they consider, or what society considers, normal; but are the characteristics that make you unique an aberration, or just part of who you are, to be accepted and nurtured, both by yourself and others? Through Tim's newness of discovering friends that he can share his homosexuality with, through Kimmy's emotional growth, through Angel's discovery of mother, each character grows and discovers it isn't always necessarily the best thing to be the person that other's want you to be or to hide behind your secrets; ultimately the unconditional love that each of us is searching needs to come from within.

To be honest, I couldn't put this book down. I thought I'd get it read in a couple of readings, but after I started, the story moved so well and the writing was so beautiful, I didn't want to stop. The prose is lyrical and flowing and the story moves without shoving it's way through. The characters are real, with real problems and real emotion. The only drawback I had was the "southern-accent spelling." It kept distracting me as I kept trying to read in a southern accent as opposed to simply reading the story. But realistically, it could simply be me. Aberrations is a beautiful story, and I look forward to what gems Penelope Przekop will be giving us in the future.

Into the Tangle of Friendship: A Memoir of the Things That Matter by Beth Kephart

2011-03-08T05:00:00.000-05:00

Title: Into the Tangle of Friendship: A Memoir of the Things That Matter
Author: Beth Kephart
Copyright: 2000
Pages: 224
ISBN: 9780618033874
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Author Website: beth-kephart.blogspot.com
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 5/5 stars

This is a beautiful book on the power of friendship. Lovingly written and to-the-point, Beth Kephart has put on paper so many of my own feelings that I was never able to put words to. Not all friendships are easy, some are a challenge, but Beth shows us that we can take something away from each friendship and that even the challenging friendships matter.

I first read Into the Tangle of Friendship several years ago when it was first released. At the time, I was going through many life changes, discovering who I was and discovering new friendships through these life changes. There was so much in the book that spoke to me at the time, I was shocked. It was like Beth had reached in my head and pulled all the emotions that I couldn't speak and put them in her book. I found it just as refreshing reading this book again, now, where I am currently in my life. Some of the friendships that I formed then have moved on, others have remained; some have strengthened, some have weakened, but I cannot deny the fact that each and every one of these people mattered to me, in one way or another. I've learned lessons from each of them, and they have all had an impact of some sort on my life, and I can find parallels to so many of these friendships in Beth's book. It has helped me to look on some of these friendships in a new light, and even those that I feel have gone bad are still important in the lessons that they have taught me. I will be interested to read this book again in a few years to see where I am in my life and how the book will speak to me then.

Beth's writing is amazing. More than just telling us her story, she is painting us a picture with words. Lyrical, poetical, flowing; these all describe her writing.

You can read each chapter independently of each other, but taken as a whole, they do tell a story. This isn't the type of book to breeze through; read each chapter, sit with it for awhile to fully realize what it is telling you and treasure it. I think everyone will come away with something different from this book, as each of our friendships are different and unique in their own right, but I do think that everyone can relate to the ideas that Beth puts forth in her book.

The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton

2011-03-07T04:43:00.000-05:00

Title: The Wednesday Sisters
Author: Meg Waite Clayton
Copyright: 2008
Pages: 284
ISBN: 9780345502827
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Author Website: www.megwaiteclayton.com
Twitter: @MegWClayton
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 5/5 stars

From Amazon:

Friendship, loyalty, and love lie at the heart of Meg Waite Clayton’s beautifully written, poignant, and sweeping novel of five women who, over the course of four decades, come to redefine what it means to be family.

For thirty-five years, Frankie, Linda, Kath, Brett, and Ally have met every Wednesday at the park near their homes in Palo Alto, California. Defined when they first meet by what their husbands do, the young homemakers and mothers are far removed from the Summer of Love that has enveloped most of the Bay Area in 1967. These “Wednesday Sisters” seem to have little in common: Frankie is a timid transplant from Chicago, brutally blunt Linda is a remarkable athlete, Kath is a Kentucky debutante, quiet Ally has a secret, and quirky, ultra-intelligent Brett wears little white gloves with her miniskirts. But they are bonded by a shared love of both literature–Fitzgerald, Eliot, Austen, du Maurier, Plath, and Dickens–and the Miss America Pageant, which they watch together every year.

As the years roll on and their children grow, the quintet forms a writers circle to express their hopes and dreams through poems, stories, and, eventually, books. Along the way, they experience history in the making: Vietnam, the race for the moon, and a women’s movement that challenges everything they have ever thought about themselves, while at the same time supporting one another through changes in their personal lives brought on by infidelity, longing, illness, failure, and success.

Humorous and moving, The Wednesday Sisters is a literary feast for book lovers that earns a place among those popular works that honor the joyful, mysterious, unbreakable bonds between friends.

I received The Wednesday Sisters through the Early Reviewer at LibraryThing. It's an excellently written story about friendship and family (and especially how friends can grow into being more than just friends, they can become family too). From the moment I started reading, I knew that this was going to be a great book.

The story revolves around no-nonsense, athletic Linda, super smart Brett, quiet Frankie, Southern Belle Kath & shy Ally, friends who first meet every Wednesday in the park for play time with their kids, but where they eventually start to discuss what books they've been reading and the general small talk of forming friendships. Later, they discover that each has had a small desire in one way or another to become writers, so the Wednesday meetings change to writing critiques, as they each try to help the other into becoming better writers. The book is so much more than just about their writing, though. It's also about the hopes, dreams and challenges of young families and budding friendships. We get a glimpse into 5 years of their friendship and watch through their eyes as the world is changing around them (the story starts in the summer of 1967) and how they themselves grow as individuals with the rest of the world.

This was a delight to read; smartly written and nicely paced, with believable characters living real lives. I think Meg Waite Clayton describes her own book best, when the Wednesday Sisters are critiquing Brett's book and Frankie asks, "How did you make it so funny and so touching at the same time(?)... It's a little bit of magic, that." When I read that line, I thought the exact same thing about The Wednesday Sisters.

Meg's new book, The Four Ms Bradwells, will be released on March 22, 2011 from Ballantine Books.

A Dog About Town by J.F. Englert

2011-03-04T04:37:00.003-05:00

Title: A Dog About Town
Series: A Bull Moose Dog Run Mystery, Book 1
Author: J.F. Englert
Copyright: 2007
Pages: 271
ISBN: 9780440243632
Publisher: Dell
Author Website: www.adogabouttown.com
Twitter: @RandolphNewYork
Format: Paperback
Rating: 5/5 stars

From Amazon:

Harry is a man still mourning the loss of his beloved girlfriend, Imogen, who left him suddenly without a word. He’s also the owner of a plump, poetry-loving Lab, Randolph. Like most Manhattan dogs, Randolph spends his days sifting through a world of scents, his owner’s neuroses, and an overcrowded doggy run at the American Museum of Natural History. But now a bereft Harry has drifted into a circle of would-be occultists. Which might not be so bad if one of them wasn’t also a murderer.

But which one? With 100,000 times the smelling power of a human being, Randolph can quickly detect the scents of guilt, anxiety, and avarice—and he has no lack of suspects, from a seductive con woman to an uncouth professor of the decorative arts. Now, to protect his hapless owner’s life, Randolph might have to do the unthinkable—and start training Harry to catch a killer...

I first learned about J.F. Englert's Bull Moose Dog Run Mysteries through LT's Early Reviewer program, where they were giving away the second book in the series, A Dog Among Diplomats, this past month. The premise of the series or at least of the first book) is Harry's black lab, Randolph, helps guide Harry to help solve a murder mystery. That's what it seemed to be at first, at least. I was immediately attracted to this book due to the fact that I have a black lab of my own (her name is Mame) and I just thought the premise sounded cute, so I thought I'd give the first one a try.

What I discovered was a surprisingly well written book. A great deal of the story deals with a secondary (yet primary in Harry and Randolph's eyes) mystery, the disappearance a year ago of Harry's girlfriend and Randolph's mistress, Imogen. It is apparent from the beginning of the book that Harry has taken Imogen's disappearance hard, and it is brought up numerous times how it has affected his day to day life, and these are the parts of the book that surprised me the most, Harry's feelings and how he is dealing with the grief of loss.

The entire book is told from the POV of Randolph, who lets you know right away that he is a most peculiar and special dog, that he is sentient. He can read, write (using Alpha-Bits), has long-term memory and is all-around quite the intelligent dog. Englert handles explaining things from the POV of Randolph extremely well, even giving some insight into doggie behavior.

The mystery portion of the book is well played out, even though most of it is explained as the book progresses, but it is Randolph's way of explaining it to Harry that is the most fun (I don't want to give too much of this away, but I've left a clue in this review!).

It's certainly not a challenging read, but it is well-written and just plain fun! I'm looking forward to A Dog Among Diplomats release at the end of the month.

Ghosts of reviews past, or I'm going on vacation!

2011-03-03T04:56:00.001-05:00

So, I'm leaving on vacation tomorrow. My friends Brad and Sarah and I are taking a road trip to sunny Florida for the next week, so I won't be around. While I'm gone, however, I've scheduled some re-posts of reviews of some of my favorite books from the last couple of years; some books that may have flown under your radar and that I think deserve to be read.

Happy reading, everybody, and see you in a week!

Today in books, or a surprise envelope from Random House!

2011-03-01T19:19:00.000-05:00

I got home today to find that I received another envelope of goodies in the mail, this time from Random House. I received a copy of Cherie Priest's new book, Bloodshot, and an ARC of the first book in a new fantasy series that I have never heard of before, The Iron Druid Chronicles. The series is by Kevin Hearne and the first book is titled Hounded. The description on the back of the book makes it sound like something I'm really going to enjoy! Hounded will be available May 3, 2011 from Del Rey Books and Bloodshot is available in bookstores now.

I'm thrilled to have received both of these books and am wondering if I can find some more hours to add to my day so that I can find time to read all these great books!

Happy reading, everybody!

Today in books, or another surprise envelope from HarperCollins!

2011-02-26T21:02:00.002-05:00

I went to get the mail today, and lo and behold! a surprise envelope from HarperCollins was waiting for me. Inside were finished copies of three new books, including Kim Harrison's latest, Pale Demon, which I've been seeing over and over lately and I've been thinking about starting this series, so here is an excellent reason! I also received The Bone Yard by Jefferson Bass, an author and series neither of which I've heard of before, but the book sounds great. Lastly was the "Author's Cut Special Edition" of Christine Feehan's Dark Prince, the first book in her Dark Prince series and the first time it's been released in hardcover and also including over 100 pages of new material that wasn't in the first release.

So, many thanks to HarperCollins! I've got some great reading to be looking forward to.

Happy reading!

Top-Selling Titles in Chicago and Milwaukee

2011-02-24T08:21:00.000-05:00

Top-Selling Titles in Chicago and Milwaukee

Sunday Salon 20 II 11 - A week of less reading, no reviewing - in other words, a reading slump

2011-02-20T03:42:00.000-05:00

Good morning, fellow Salon Members! We've had a couple of lovely days, some almost in the 50s, here but a winter storm warning is on the horizon... Winter has not left us yet!

The reading slump. We've all been there, when you just can't find the right book to fit the day or mood, where nothing seems to be holding your interest. I sit here, looking at my poor neglected bookshelves and my poor neglected blog and my poor neglected Mt. TBR and I yearn to read, yet nothing calls to me. I'm heading on vacation in early March, and while that is going to do nothing more than put even that much farther behind, I'm anxiously waiting to get my batteries recharged. I need a break from life, and while books usually do that for me in small quantities, I think I need a larger recharge dose right now.

What I've read and still haven't reviewed yet:

Boneshaker by Cherie Priest (This is steampunkalicious!)
The Iron King by Julie Kagawa (This is faerylicious!)
The Complete Bloom County Library, Volume 2: 1982-1984 by Berkeley Breathed (This is lol-licious!)
The Quest for the Spark, Book 1 by Jeff Smith & Tom Sniegoski (I don't know what kind of -licious this is, but I love it!)

So yeah... I'm behind. And so early in the year, too! I'm going to have to do some serious reading in the coming months to help me catch up to my goal for the year.

Do any of you ever suffer from the reading slump? What do you do to break it? Read an old tried and true favorite? Read brain candy? Take a break? Stop by and leave us your reading slump remedies!

So, until next Sunday, stay warm and happy reading!!

Event Recap: Courtney Allison Moulton and the launch party for her debut novel, Angelfire

2011-02-19T17:09:00.001-05:00

So, today I had the pleasure of finally meeting, in person, the fabulous Courtney Allison Moulton, author of Angelfire. We had been Twitter-introduced by my friend Gail (we missed you today, Gail!!) and have been chatting for a couple of months now. I was able to download her debut novel, Angelfire via NetGalley and really liked it.

Courtney reading from Angelfire

The launch party for Angelfire was hosted at my local Schuler Books and as usual they did a fantastic job. Given that Courtney is a local author, she had quite a following there between friends and family and the good news is the store sold out of their stock of books! They had cookies and root beer floats for everybody and Courtney brought swag bags to give out. Overall, I think everybody had a really great time out supporting Courtney!

Courtney and me!

If you want to read more about Courtney and Angelfire, visit her website at www.courtneyallisonmoulton.com.

Congrats, Courtney!!

Top-Selling Titles Last Week in Chicagoland

2011-02-18T09:17:00.000-05:00

Top-Selling Titles Last Week in Chicagoland

Waiting on Wednesday - Clarity by Kim Harington

2011-02-16T04:29:00.001-05:00

When you can see things others can't, where do you look for the truth?

This paranormal murder mystery will have teens reading on the edge of their seats.

Clarity "Clare" Fern sees things. Things no one else can see. Things like stolen kisses and long-buried secrets. All she has to do is touch a certain object, and the visions come to her. It's a gift.

And a curse.

When a teenage girl is found murdered, Clare's ex-boyfriend wants her to help solve the case--but Clare is still furious at the cheating jerk. Then Clare's brother--who has supernatural gifts of his own--becomes the prime suspect, and Clare can no longer look away. Teaming up with Gabriel, the smoldering son of the new detective, Clare must venture into the depths of fear, revenge, and lust in order to track the killer. But will her sight fail her just when she needs it most?

Clarity will be released on March 1, 2011 from Point, an imprint of Scholastic.

Happy Release Day! Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton

2011-02-15T01:31:00.003-05:00

Courtney Allison Moulton's Angelfire is released today!! Be sure to pick up this great debut book today.

Or better yet, stop in to Schuler Books at 2820 Towne Center Blvd, Lansing (off Lake Lansing Rd), this Saturday, February 19, 2011 at 2pm and meet Courtney in person and get your book signed!

Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton

2011-02-13T00:25:00.044-05:00

#91 in 2010

Title: Angelfire
Series: Anglefire, Book 1
Author: Courtney Allison Moulton
Copyright: 2011
Pages: 384
ISBN: 9780062002327
Publisher: Harper Collins
Author Website: www.courtneyallisonmoulton.com/
Twitter: @CAMoulton, @harperteen
Format: ebook through NetGalley
Available: 2-15-11
Rating: 4/5 stars
Finished: 11-21-10

From Amazon:

First there are nightmares.

Every night Ellie is haunted by terrifying dreams of monstrous creatures that are hunting her, killing her.

Then come the memories.

When Ellie meets Will, she feels on the verge of remembering something just beyond her grasp. His attention is intense and romantic, and Ellie feels like her soul has known him for centuries. On her seventeenth birthday, on a dark street at midnight, Will awakens Ellie's power, and she knows that she can fight the creatures that stalk her in the grim darkness. Only Will holds the key to Ellie's memories, whole lifetimes of them, and when she looks at him, she can no longer pretend anything was just a dream.

Now she must hunt.

Ellie has power that no one can match, and her role is to hunt and kill the reapers that prey on human souls. But in order to survive the dangerous and ancient battle of the angels and the Fallen, she must also hunt for the secrets of her past lives and truths that may be too frightening to remember.

Courtney Allison Moulton's debut, Angelfire, is a fast-paced, action-packed thrill ride of a book, with a little side of romance thrown in for good measure. Ellie, who is just about to turn seventeen, has been experiencing nightmares of creatures who are hunting and killing her, nightmares so realistic they almost seem to verge on memory. But, they're just nightmares, right? No harm can from them, right? She keeps thinking that, until she meets one of the creatures while she's awake. And the mysterious boy, Will, who comes to her rescue that night may just hold the key to her memories and who and what she is, because Ellie is actually more than she knows. The creatures hunting Ellie are reapers, and they've actually been hunting Ellie for centuries, and Will has been her guardian for centuries. In turn, Ellie has been hunting and killing reapers for centuries, as well. How and why Ellie has been around for centuries, and why she can't remember these centuries, is all part of the mystery of who she truly is.

Courtney Moulton has created a heroine in Ellie who may seem a little too frail and unsure of herself at the beginning, but who grows into her own as a strong and forthright protagonist. At the beginning of the book, I just assumed that this was going to be your typical YA paranormal romance with your mystical being du jour (in this case, angels). I have to be honest, I enjoyed the opening of the book, but slowly grew to dislike Ellie as a whole. She seemed a little too whiny for my liking. However, I started to really think about it. Ellie just turned seventeen. She's still in high school, and she just discovered that she's a centuries old killing machine. But right now, she's still just seventeen (How is she centuries old and just turning seventeen at the same time you ask? Read the book and find out!) She's still just figuring out who she really is as a person, not just this killing machine. So of course, she's confused and is a little against the whole idea of having to be this thing that she doesn't want to be, and just wants to be a normal teenager. Once I came around to her understanding of who she is versus who she wants to be, her behavior seemed so much more in line with her teenage self. Add in the possible attentions of two different boys, and you have yourself a girl with a lot on her plate, all at once!

There is plenty of adventure in this book. There are several fight sequences between Ellie and the reapers, and they are very detailed and highly choreographed. In fact, there seems to be almost no let up on Ellie with the fighting, and you begin to wonder if the poor girl is ever going to have a chance to catch her breath!

The mythology that Moulton is creating with Ellie and the reapers and angels is quite unique and I really love how she is working in so many time periods into Ellie's past. For a debut book, Moulton is certainly packing quite a bit of research and information into her book and making for a really interesting read.

So, long story short, Moulton completely won me over with her writing and her characters. This is a strong debut from an author that I am anxious to see more of in the future.

Recommended!

Waiting on Wednedsay: The Four Ms. Bradwells by Meg Waite Clayton

2011-02-09T01:35:00.006-05:00

Meg Waite Clayton’s national bestseller The Wednesday Sisters was a word-of-mouth sensation and book club favorite. Now the beloved author is back with a page-turning novel that explores the secrets we keep, even from those closest to us, and celebrates the enduring power of friendship.

Mia, Laney, Betts, and Ginger, best friends since law school, have reunited for a long weekend as Betts awaits Senate confirmation of her appointment to the Supreme Court. Nicknamed “the Ms. Bradwells” during their first class at the University of Michigan Law School in 1979 — when only three women had ever served full Senate terms and none had been appointed to the Court — the four have supported one another through life’s challenges: marriages and divorces, births and deaths, career setbacks and triumphs large and small. Betts was, and still is, the Funny One. Ginger, the Rebel. Laney, the Good Girl. And Mia, the Savant.

But when the Senate hearings uncover a deeply buried skeleton in the friends’ collective closet, the Ms. Bradwells retreat to a summer house on the Chesapeake Bay, where they find themselves reliving a much darker period in their past — one that stirs up secrets they’ve kept for, and from, one another, and could change their lives forever.

Once again, Meg Waite Clayton writes inspiringly about the complex circumstances facing women and the heartfelt friendships that hold them together. Insightful and affecting, The Four Ms. Bradwells is also a captivating tale of how far people will go to protect the ones they love.

The Four Ms. Bradwells will be released on March 22, 2011 from Ballantine Books. You can also read more about The Four Ms. Bradwells here.

Redwall author Brian Jacques passes away

2011-02-07T10:23:00.000-05:00

Redwall author Brian Jacques passes away

Dr. Grordbort Presents: Victory by Greg Broadmore

2011-02-07T01:46:00.002-05:00

Title: Dr. Grordbort Presents: Victory
Author: Greg Broadmore
Copyright: 2009
Pages: 64
ISBN: 9781595824639
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Author Website: gregbroadmore.blogspot.com
Twitter: @DarkHorseComics
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 4/5 stars
Finished: 1-22-11

From Amazon:

Doctor Grordbort Presents: Victory - Scientific Adventure Violence for Young Men and Literate Women is the year's foremost journal of progressive armaments and weaponry! Behold the latest line of defense captured in action! Filled to the brim with firsthand tales of exploration and progress from the great heroes of our time, picture strips of unimaginable escapades on the frontier, never-seen-before portraits of dazzling damsels and monstrous villains, and laudable accounts of man and robot pitted against our greatest enemy (the uncivilized world), Victory is an onslaught of action-packed scientific adventure in full-spectrum color - containing facts that every boy and literate girl should know.

What mysteries and marvels will he uncover? Golly, it's so exciting thinking about it that I've just peed myself a little. Read on!

Dr. Grordbort Presents: Victory - Scientific Adventure Violence for Young Men and Literate Women reads like a scientific journal of a time long passed that hasn't happened yet. In this retro-futuristic world, we have traveled to Mars, Venus & the Moon and have discovered the varied and sometimes dangerous inhabitants of these planets. The hero of our tale, Lord Cockswain, basically blunders his way through one adventure after another, always seeming the hero even though it is the circumstances surrounding him and his ignorance that proves otherwise.

The entire thing is entirely told tongue-in-cheek. There are advertisements for Dr. Grordbort's latest ray guns, advertisements for the latest military weapons, advertisements to encourage young men to join the military and explore the solar system, tales of the adventures of Lord Cockswain. I found myself laughing several times throughout the book.

In direct contrast to the over the top writing is Greg Broadmore's gorgeous art. Broadmore works at the Weta Workshop (you know, the people behind the Lord of the Rings films) and has worked on such films as District 9, King Kong and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. His artwork throughout ranges from the slightly silly to downright engaging. It's this contrast of such striking art and comical writing that makes Dr. Grordbort Presents: Victory such a fun book to read.

Sunday Salon 6 II 11 - January, a month in review

2011-02-06T10:19:00.000-05:00

Good morning, fellow Salon Members! It's another cold day here, so a perfect opportunity to hunker down with a cuppa and a good book!

My reading goal for this year is 120 books - 10 a month. I missed my goal in January by 1 book, and I've just finished my first book for February, so I need to get reading or I'm going to be so far behind in only the second month of the year that I'll never get caught up!

What I read in January:

Icons: The DC Comics and Wildstorm Art of Jim Lee by Jim Lee & Bill Baker
The Hunting of the Snark: An Agony in Eight Fits Lewis Carroll, illustrated by Mahendra Singh
Skellig by David Almond
Pibgorn: The Girl in the Coffee Cup by Brooke McEldowney
Pibgorn and the Poltergeist in the Piano by Brooke McEldowney
Pibgorn and the Borgia Cantus by Brooke McEldowney
Grandville by Bryan Talbot
Dr. Grordbort Presents: Victory by Greg Broadmore
Boneshaker by Cherie Priest

Cherie Priest's Boneshaker topped out my month as my favorite book, by far. It's just so Steampunkilicious!

I've got a nice selection of books to get me through February, including Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey series, the follow up to Bonshaker titled Dreadnought, a couple of my LibraryThing SantaThing gifts The Giver and The Tower, The Zoo and The Tortoise. From there, I'll just peruse my shelves until something strikes my fancy to read.

So, until next Sunday, stay warm and happy reading!!

Grandville by Bryan Talbot

2011-02-05T12:51:00.002-05:00

Title: Grandville
Series: A Detective-Inspector LeBrock of Scotland Yard Scientific-Romance Thriller
Author: Bryan Talbot
Copyright: 2009
Pages: 108
ISBN: 9781595823977
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Author Website: www.bryan-talbot.com
Twitter: @DarkHorseComics, @Bryan_Talbot
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 4/5 stars
Finished: 1-18-11

From Amazon:

Two hundred years ago, Britain lost the Napoleonic War and fell under the thumb of French domination. Gaining independence after decades of civil disobedience and anarchist bombings, the Socialist Republic of Britain is now a small, unimportant backwater connected by a railway bridge, steam-powered dirigible, and mutual suspicion to France. When a British diplomat is murdered to look like suicide, ferocious Detective-Inspector LeBrock of Scotland Yard stalks a ruthless murder squad through the heart of a Belle Epoque Paris, the center of the greatest empire in a world of steam-driven hansom cabs, automatons, and flying machines. LeBrock's relentless quest can lead only to death, truth... or war.

In a world inhabited by anthropomorphic animals and where France wins the Napoleonic War, Britain falls under French rule until after decades of civil unrest, Britain frees itself from France and becomes the Socialist Republic of Britain. After the murder of a British diplomat that is made to look like a suicide, Detective-Inspector LeBrock of Scotland Yard and his assistant Detective Ratzi go on a mission to discover the real culprit and uncover a conspiracy that lies far deeper in the French government than anyone could believe.

Detective-Inspector LeBrock (a badger) is quite clearly modeled at least partially after Sherlock Holmes and his assistant Ratzi (a rat) after Watson. In this alternate history, the world is not only inhabited by animals (and a very few humans, referred to as "doughfaces") but steam technology has progressed to an advanced degree, clearly making this graphic novel Steampunk inspired.

Bryan Talbot's art is dark and gritty and his writing is at turns clever and witty. There has been a second volume released featuring DI LeBrock and I think I would like to check that out at some point. While this is a graphic novel, it can be very violent and adult in nature, so I wouldn't recommend it to a younger audience, but for adults who enjoy a good mystery and aren't turned off by too much violence, I'd say give this a chance.

Awesome contest for Kim Harrington's Clarity!!

2011-02-04T15:35:00.002-05:00

Want to enter an awesome contest and win a one of a kind book? Of course you do! Just stop over to Kim Harrington's blog to find out all the details!

Pibgorn: the Girl in the Coffee Cup, Pibgorn and the Poltergeist in the Piano & Pibgorn and the Borgia Cantus by Brooke McEldowney

2011-02-01T13:20:00.001-05:00

Title: Pibgorn: the Girl in the Coffee Cup, Pibgorn and the Poltergeist in the Piano & Pibgorn and the Borgia Cantus
Series: Pibgorn
Author: Brooke McEldowney
Copyright: 2006, 2009
Pages: 58, 94, 72
ISBN: 0978831500, 9780978831523, 9780978831530
Publisher: Pib Press
Author Website: officialpibgorn.livejournal.com
Twitter: @9chickweedlane
Format: Paperback
Rating: 4/5 stars
Finished: 1-10-11, 1-11-11

Brooke McEldowney may be one of the funniest cartoonists out there. His razor-sharp wit and his character's equally razor-sharp dialogue combined with his fluid, organic art style makes for one the freshest, most clever, most visually appealing reading experiences one can have with a daily comic strip. His stories can be at turns touching, laugh out loud funny and cuttingly sarcastic. In so few words, I love it.

I originally discovered McEldowney's work through his strip, 9 Chickweed Lane. What caught my eye immediately was the art. I don't even know how to describe it except that it seems to literally flow. I've seen his rough sketches and it's like one continuous swirl that comes to life and creates his characters for him. I lost track of his strip for a couple of years, but thanks to the wonder that is the internet, I re-discovered not only 9 Chickweed Lane, but found that he had started another online strip called Pibgorn. Pibgorn is a fairy who is in love with a human and whose best friend is a homicidal succubus. I found my way into the Pibgorn world a little late, so was already behind-the-times when I started reading but quickly got caught up in the story and was loving every minute of it. You can imagine my pleasure when I also discovered that the Pibgorn strips were going to be reprinted as collected editions!

It's been fun watching the characters grow and take shape and come into themselves. The Girl in the Coffee Cup introduces us to our three main characters, Pibgorn, Drusilla and Geoff and sets up their relationships with each other. The Poltergeist in the Piano sends Pib and Dru on a time traveling murder mystery involving a vampire. In The Borgia Cantus, Dru has been keeping the demons that she's been vanquishing hidden, that is until Pib unknowingly unleashes their forces on NYC. The characters aren't entirely themselves yet, but you can definitely see the potential of these characters. I'm really hoping that further editions of Pib and Co's adventures are released.

For more information on these and potential future Pibgorn editions, visit Pib Press.

Skellig by David Almond

2011-01-29T03:23:00.001-05:00

Title: Skellig
Author: David Almond
Copyright: 1998
Pages: 182
ISBN: 9780440416029
Publisher: Yearling Books
Author Website: www.davidalmond.com
Format: Paperback (borrowed)
Rating: 4/5 stars
Finished: 1-8-11
Awards: Printz Honor, 2000

From Amazon:

Ten-year-old Michael was looking forward to moving into a new house. But now his baby sister is ill, his parents are frantic, and Doctor Death has come to call. Michael feels helpless. Then he steps into the crumbling garage... What is this thing beneath the spiders' webs and dead flies? A human being, or a strange kind of beast never before seen? The only person Michael can confide in is his new friend, Mina. Together, they carry the creature out into the light, and Michael's world changes forever...

Skellig is one of those books that each reader will take something distinctly different from it. I'm not even sure I know what I took away from it. Was it a book about hope and faith? The mysteries of the great beyond? I'm not really sure, but given that I'm still thinking about it a couple of weeks after I read the book is a good sign that it did make me think.

Michael's life has been turned upside down. He's moved to a what was promising to be a shiny, new home but instead has found himself in a rundown house that is in need of severe renovations. He has moved away from his usual school, but has elected to take the bus across town to be able to still attend so he can be with his friends. Add to all this his little sister being born prematurely, and Michael finds that his mother and father may be a little too preoccupied to be able to pay much attention to him and he's forced to "understand" a lot when things aren't going as he thought they were going to. One day while exploring the ramshackle garage behind the house, Michael discovers what may or may not be a person under the spiderwebs and dead flies.

The only person that Michael feels confident in disclosing his secret to is his new friend Mina. Mina seems to understand what the man in the garage is and what he means, and together Michael and Mina help to bring him out into the open again.

I'm going to stop there. What makes the book so powerful is the discovery and journey you take with Michael and Mina as their lives begin to change as a result of the being in the garage. This is a reasonably fast read, so it won't take anyone long to finish it, but the story lingers far after you've finished reading it. David Almond gives you just enough of the pieces of the puzzle so that you can almost understand what's happening, but leaves everything just ambiguous enough so that you can reach your own conclusion without being weighed down by a finite answer. I don't usually like ambiguous storytelling; I generally like my story spelled out in black and white for me, but in this case, I'm happy to have my own thoughts on what the book means to me.

Recommended.

Books in the mail; or, I'm recovering from the plague and I've no reviews right now...

2011-01-25T21:47:00.001-05:00

So, to top everything else off, I've been fighting off a cold for the better part of a month now, which finally took it's final toll and sent me to the doctor. On that note, I can't believe I'm already 7 reviews behind! I don't think I've ever been this far behind before, but I've barely had the energy to read, let alone write about what I've been reading.

But, having said that, I can at least tell you what I've read these last couple of weeks:

Skellig by David Almond
Pibgorn: the Girl in the Coffee Cup by Brooke McEldowney
Pibgorn and the Poltergeist in the Piano by Brooke McEldowney
Pibgorn and the Cantus Borgia by Brooke McEldowney
Grandville by Bryan Talbot
Doctor Grordbort Presents: Victory by Greg Broadmore
Boneshaker by Cherie Priest

I've also received two packages in the mail in the last 2 weeks with sample books from HarperCollins. In these packages I've received:

Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal by Conor Grennan
Sometimes I Feel Like a Nut: Essays and Observations by Jill Kargman
Call Me Irresistible: A Novel by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
A Lonely Death: An Inspector Ian Rutledge Mystery by Charles Todd
To Have and to Kill: A Wedding Cake Mystery by Mark Jane Clark
Family Affair by Debbie Macomber

While these books are probably ones that I wouldn't have picked up on my own, I'm always on the lookout for new authors, and these are all new to me, so I'm pretty excited about reading them all. Thank you, HarperCollins!

Reviews are coming! I promise!!

2011-01-20T10:31:00.001-05:00

Dear Patient Reader, thank you for being so patient. It's been a long week. It's been a long couple of weeks. However, I have been reading! I just haven't had time to post my reviews yet. They are coming, though, I promise. I'll have them written up and start posting them this weekend.

Just Being Audrey Book Trailer

2011-01-13T14:02:00.000-05:00

It's no secret that I adore Audrey Hepburn, so it comes as no surprise that I'm thoroughly excited about this book! Here is a delightful little trailer for Just Being Audrey by Margaret Cardillo and illustrated by Julia Denos, from Balzer + Bray available January 25, 2011. Enjoy!

The Hunting of the Snark: An Agony in Eight Fits by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by Mahendra Singh

2011-01-07T02:31:00.025-05:00

Title: The Hunting of the Snark: An Agony in Eight Fits
Authors: Lewis Carroll, illustrated by Mahendra Singh
Copyright: 2010
Pages: 96
ISBN: 9781935554240
Publisher: Melville House Publishing
Twitter: @melvillehouse
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 4/5 stars
Finished: 1-5-11

From Amazon:

The Hunting of the Snark, Lewis Carroll’s classic masterpiece of nonsense verse, takes the reader on a wonderfully witty and inventive hunt for the ever-elusive Snark. The tantalizing mysteries of the poem are here perfectly matched in these brilliant new illustrations by artist Mahendra Singh, who has created a visual treasure hunt, full of riddles, puns, and allusions.

When asked what his poem meant, Carroll would always reply that he did not know. But, on one occasion, he did write to friends that perhaps “…the whole book is an allegory on the search for happiness.”

“To seek it with thimbles, to seek it with care;
To pursue it with forks and hope,
To threaten its life with a railway-share;
To charm it with smiles and soap!”

What does it all mean? No one seems to know. Not even Lewis Carroll, apparently. He claimed to have no more idea on what the poem was about than anybody else, although he did mention at one point, "...the whole book is an allegory on the search for happiness." Carroll's acme of Nonsense poetry, The Hunting of the Snark: An Agony in Eight Fits is an experience to read. Does it make any sense? Not at all. Did I enjoy it all the same? Absolutely.

This was a Christmas gift from my friend Sarah as I'm a huge fan of Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. However, I'll admit that my reading experience with Carroll stops there, so this was a real treat to receive as I had not even heard of this book before!

The poem opens with the captain of the hunt gathering his traveling companions for the voyage that will take them to the Snark, so that they may hunt it. As the poem progresses, I was left in mind of Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, as we get to hear tales from most of the traveling companions. Each tale leads on to the continuing hunt for the Snark, which leaves its mark on several of the traveling companions. There are several plays on words in the poem, and we even meet a couple of familiar faces from Carroll's earlier works, such as the Bandersnatch and the Jubjub Bird.

Mahendra Singh's illustrations are simply amazing. In his afterword, he explains how he used a Surrealist technique to illustrate this version of The Hunting of the Snark, a technique which I think fits the theme and tone of the poem perfectly. Singh hides jokes and visual puns in his illustrations that go along with the poems stanzas, just as Carroll hides puns, plays on words and puzzles in his poem. As I read through the poem, I would become equally involved looking at the illustrations as I was trying to figure out what it all means. I eventually gave up, and enjoyed the entire book exactly for what it is: Nonsense!

Even though it took me a couple nights to read, The Hunting of the Snark is a very fast read. In fact, I read through the entire poem a second time in one sitting, making sure I was able to follow what was happening. Even though there really isn't much rhyme (no pun intended!) or reason to the flow of the story, it still makes some sort of absurd sense and follows a natural progression to its ending. What you'll get out that ending, however, will differ from person to person. Personally, I think Carroll had it right about his poem: it has something to do with the elusiveness of that one thing in life that will make you perfectly happy. You search and hunt and may never quite find it, but it's the searching and hunting that turns the journey into an adventure.

Highly recommended.

It's a Bookalicious Anniversary, and we're the ones getting the presents!

2011-01-06T11:41:00.000-05:00

Pam over at Bookalicious is celebrating her two-year blogging anniversary at Bookalicious, and has she got some great prizes for us to help her celebrate! The ultimate prize? A NookColor! Click here to learn more and to enter into her great contest. While you're there, be sure to wish her a happy anniversary!!

Top-Selling Titles Last Week in Chicagoland

2011-01-05T08:05:00.000-05:00

Top-Selling Titles Last Week in Chicagoland

Top-Selling Titles Last Week in Chicagoland

The following were the bestselling books at independent bookstores in and around Chicago during the week ended Sunday, January 2:

Hardcover Fiction

1. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
2. Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
3. Room by Emma Donoghue
4. The Distant Hours by Kate Morton
5. An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin

Hardcover Nonfiction

1. Unbroken by Lauren Hillenbrand
2. Cleopatra by Stacy Schiff
3. Life by Keith Richards
4. American Rose by Karen Abbott
5. The Wave by Susan Casey

Paperback Fiction

1. Major Petttigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson
2. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
3. Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
4. Tinkers by Paul Harding
5. Little Bee by Chris Cleave

Paperback Nonfiction

1. Just Kids by Patti Smith
2. Zeitoun by Dave Eggers
3. Michelin Red Guide Chicago 2011 by Michelin
4. Best American Nonrequired Reading 2010 by Dave Eggers and David Sedaris
5. Ron Santo: Heart and Soul of the Cubs by Chicago Tribune

Children's

1. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
2. Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly
3. Of Thee I Sing by Barack Obama
4. Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
5. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Ugly Truth by Jeff Kinney

Reporting bookstores: Anderson's, Naperville and Downers Grove; Read Between the Lynes, Woodstock; the Book Table, Oak Park; the Book Cellar, Lincoln Square; Lake Forest Books, Lake Forest; the Bookstall at Chestnut Court, Winnetka; and 57th St. Books; Seminary Co-op; Women and Children First, Chicago.

[Many thanks to the booksellers and Carl Lennertz!]

Kindle Geeks: Ebooks for Your Geeky Side: 99 Cent Steampunk Ebooks for the Kindle

2011-01-04T08:27:00.000-05:00

Kindle Geeks: Ebooks for Your Geeky Side: 99 Cent Steampunk Ebooks for the Kindle: "So, you like steampunk? And you like a good deal? Good! Today's post highlights five steampunk ebooks currently available for 99 cents in the Kindle store."

I just thought I'd pass this on. Sounds like a great deal, and one that I'll be taking advantage of!

Icons: The DC Comics and Wildstorm Art of Jim Lee by Jim Lee & Bill Baker

2011-01-02T22:16:00.002-05:00

Title: Icons: The DC Comics and Wildstorm Art of Jim Lee
Authors: Jim Lee & Bill Baker
Copyright: 2010
Pages: 296
ISBN: 9781845765194
Publisher: Titan Books
Author Website: www.jimlee00.deviantart.com
Twitter: @jimlee00
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 5/5 stars
Finished: 1-1-11

From Amazon:

One of the most successful and popular artists to work in comics, Jim Lee is revered by fans worldwide thanks to his hyper-dynamic artwork and innovative character and costume design.

Now, his work on Batman and Superman — not to mention his legion of WildStorm heroes including WildC.A.T.s, Divine Right and Deathblow — is celebrated in this beautiful hardback, which includes an exclusive interview with Jim Lee, a tour of his studio and hundreds of full-colour illustrations and pencils spanning his entire career!

Plus an all-new cover by Lee and an exclusive, all-new eight-page comic strip, written by Paul Levitz (Legion of Super-Heroes) with art by Lee!

A fantastic retrospective on arguably my favorite artist out there, Jim Lee, Icons is a beautifully presented volume covering Lee's time with Wildstorm and DC Comics. Including artwork that covers his entire career with both companies including sketches and art that I've never seen before, this really is the perfect book for any Jim Lee fan. The physical look of the book, too, from the shear size of the volume to the layout of the interior pages does nothing but add to the beauty of the book. I think that this is a volume that can truly show that comics are not just a form of entertainment but can also be viewed as a true work of art. Bill Baker's running comments on the art and background information on Lee and his studio makes for a nice finishing touch.

Naturally, the only thing that would make this volume perfect would be to also include his art and time with Marvel, but since he is now DC Comics' co-publisher, this may be the best book that we'll get for the foreseeable future.

Highly recommended to anyone who is a fan of Jim Lee's artwork or to anyone who enjoys a beautifully presented book of art.

Goodbye 2010, Hello 2011

2011-01-01T14:18:00.004-05:00

Another year has come and gone, and I do believe it was my best reading year yet, at least in volume. My overall reading stats for the year:

JAN - Books read: 15 - Pages read: 2696
FEB - Books read: 5 - Pages read: 843
MAR - Books read: 7 - Pages read: 1923
APR - Books read: 6 - Pages read: 1513
MAY - Books read: 10 - Pages read: 2188
JUN - Books read: 16 - Pages read: 3276
JUL - Books read: 11 - Pages read: 2086
AUG - Books read: 5 - Pages read: 852
SEP - Books read: 7 - Pages read: 1554
OCT - Books read: 7 Pages read: 1363
NOV - Books read: 7 Pages read: 1664
DEC - Books read: 6 Pages read: 968

Books Read Total: 102
Pages Read Total: 20926

Genre/Book Type Breakdown:
Childrens - 1
Classic - 3
Fantasy - 3
Fiction - 18
Graphic Novel - 43
Horror - 5
Manga - 1
Non-Fic - 2
Travel - 1
YA - 12
Steampunk - 4
Short Story - 4
SciFi - 3
Humor - 2

Favorite Books of the Year
January - Soulless by Gail Carriger
February - Complete Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde by Oscar Wilde
March - His Majesty's Dragon, Temeraire Book 1 by Naomi Novik
April - 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill
May - Under the Dome by Stephen King
June - A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon
July - Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
August - Dangerous Neighbors by Beth Kephart
September - Blameless by Gail Carriger
October - Dark Harvest by Norman Partridge
November - The Raising by Laura Kasischke
December - Modern Fairies, Dwarves, Goblins & Other Nasties: A Practical Guide by Miss Edythe McFate by Lesley M. M. Blume, illustrated by David Foote

Favorite "New to Me" Authors of the Year:
Gail Carriger
Laura Kasischke
Naomi Novik
Norman Partridge

Favorite "New to Me" Series of the Year: This is going to be a tie between Gail Carriger's The Parasol Protectorate series and Naomi Novik's Temeraire series. Both are equally fantastic!

Largest book I read this year: Under the Dome by Stephen King (1,074 pages)

Shortest book I read this year: Princess Alyss of Wonderland by Frank Beddor (30 pages)

Book it took me the longest to read: 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill (This was actually started in October, 2009 and finished April, 2010. It is a collection of short stories, so I was reading them in between other books that I was reading.)

Book I didn't finish this year: Tinkers by Paul Harding (I just could not get into this book. At all. So, after 70 pages, I put it down and moved on.)

I know I was a little heavy on the graphic novels this year, but I had a particularly challenging year personally in 2010, and I generally fall back on graphic novels as a safety for my reading time, so in 2011 I'm hoping to maybe balance everything out a little bit better. But really, I love graphic novels, so I'm not too concerned about it.

One thing that I've promised myself for this year is NO READING CHALLENGES! I felt like I bogged myself down in challenges last year, and I want to be able to just read what I want to read. If something I'm reading lines up with a particular challenge or group read, I'll join in then, but I really want to leave my reading schedule completely open and see how that goes.

And on that note, I've been looking at my bookshelves lately and realize that I've got some really great books that I've never read, so... I'm also going to try to not buy any new books for the ~~year~~... first half(ish) of the year. Now, after you've all quit laughing at this statement, I realize it's not even remotely realistic. In fact, as I'm sitting here typing this, I'm thinking of several books that I want to go pick up, right now. But I'm going to try. Let's be honest, I'll be lucky if I get through the week without buying a new book, but a guy can dream, right? The only books that I'll continue to pick up as they are released are my graphic novels. They usually have a small print run, and more often than not, I've waited to pick up something and then it becomes too hard to find, so those are being picked up as they come along. (Hello, loophole, how are you?)

Anyway, so there it is. 2010 was a great reading year. Lots of fantastic books, and some seriously wonderful new authors, and I'm looking forward to just as much reading pleasure in 2011.

Happy New Year, everyone, and happy reading!

I'm not going to lie. I rewrote this post after reading Literary Feline's year end recap post over at Musings of a Bookish Kitty. I just loved it and wanted to borrow a couple of the elements. If you're reading this, LF, I hope you don't mind! Mea culpa!

102. Modern Fairies, Dwarves, Goblins & Other Nasties: A Practical Guide by Miss Edythe McFate by Lesley M. M. Blume, illustrated by David Foote

2010-12-31T16:20:00.001-05:00

#102

Title: Modern Fairies, Dwarves, Goblins & Other Nasties: A Practical Guide by Miss Edythe McFate
Authors: Lesley M. M. Blume, illustrated by David Foote
Copyright: 2010
Pages: 256
ISBN: 978-0375862038
Publisher: ???
Author Website: www.lesleymmblume.com
Artist Website: www.davidfootestudio.com
Twitter: @lesleymmblume, @david_foote
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 4/5 stars
Finished: 12-31-10
Challenge: 100 Books 10, 1010 Challenge (Fairy tales category)

From Amazon:

Perhaps you think fairies are figments of the imagination, or even relics of an ancient past. You may even think all fairies are lovely winged creatures, who dance in bluebell fields, granting wishes to anyone who should encounter them.
You would be wrong on all counts.
Fairies are very much alive today, and they are everywhere—in our cities, our backyards, and even our kitchen cupboards. Some of them are indeed the sweet-tempered, winged creatures of folklore, but the fairy family also includes goblins, trolls, brownies, and other strange creatures, some of which are revealed to humans in this book for the very first time. While many fairy breeds are harmless, others can be quite nasty or even dangerous.
In this luxuriously illustrated guidebook, preeminent fairy expert Miss Edythe McFate shares her knowledge of the modern fairy world and includes practical advice on matters such as how to tell a good fairy from a bad one, how to spot a “fairy ring,” how to tell the difference between dwarves and trolls (one species is far deadlier than the other), and how to defend against fairies who would do you harm. Also included are eight true cautionary tales about children who have encountered fairies in ultramodern New York City.
You would be wise to read closely, lest you find yourself in your own fairy encounter, for as Miss Edythe McFate reminds us, “Forewarned is forearmed.”

Modern Fairies, Dwarves, Goblins & Other Nasties: A Practical Guide by Miss Edythe McFate is a charming little book about, as the title says, modern fairies and their kin and how they are dealing with living in a modern world, in particular NYC. The fictional Edythe McFate, who in her 70s has devoted her life to the study of fairies, tells us both historical facts about the types of fairies in the world and information about their likes and dislikes, and ways to either protect yourself from the more malicious types or ways to thank the more helpful variety. Interspersed throughout the book, she has also included stories of the "real life" adventures that some children who have had direct dealings with fairies in NYC, and not all of these stories end with a happily-ever-after.

David Foote's black and white illustrations throughout the book are a delight. He embellishes almost every page, if at least not with an illustration but with an artist flourish that just adds to the overall "feel" of the book. I can say that I enjoyed his illustrations just as equally as I did the stories.

Written for a younger crowd, i can't see how this book wouldn't be enjoyed by anyone of any age who are interested in fairies and want to learn more about them.

Highly recommended.

101. Chicagoland Detective Agency, Vol 1: The Drained Brains Caper by Trina Robbins, illustrated by Tyler Page

2010-12-29T23:15:00.000-05:00

#101

Title: Chicagoland Detective Agency, Vol 1: The Drained Brains Caper
Authors: Trina Robbins, illustrated by Tyler Page
Copyright: 2010
Pages: 60
ISBN: 9780761356356
Publisher: Graphic Universe
Author Website: www.trinarobbins.com
Artist Website: www.stylishvittles.com
Twitter: @tylerpage, @lernerbooks
Format: ebook through NetGalley
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Finished: 12-29-10
Challenge: 100 Challenge, 1010 Challenge (Graphic novel category)

From Amazon:

Raf knows Megan is trouble from the moment she steps into his mom's pet food store asking for a tarantula. But there's one thing you can count on in Chicagoland: weird things happen several times a day.

Megan is a vegetarian, manga-reading haiku writer. She definitely doesn't fit in at Stepford Academy, her new summer school. The other students are happy to be in class. Too happy. And everyone looks and acts exactly alike. That's weird.

Megan is determined to dig into Stepford's secrets, but soon she's in way too deep. Raf may be the only human being she knows who can help. But with zombified students, very mad scientists, and the school psychiatrist on their trail, they're going to need a whole lot more help.

We did say that Chicagoland is weird...

I love the city of Chicago, so when I was perusing the books available on NetGalley the other day and discovered a book titled, Chicagoland Detective Agency, Vol 1: The Drained Brains Caper, I thought that I'd give the book a try, even though I knew nothing about it. Well, Chicagoland Detective Agency, Vol 1: The Drained Brains Caper is a fun, short, youngish, manga-ish graphic novel that follows the adventures of Raf, Megan and Bradley (a talking dog) as they come together and form the Chicagoland Detective Agency.

Megan is new to the Chicagoland area and in search of a tarantula. She happens into Raf's mother's pet food store, hoping maybe to find a tarantula (or maybe just a new friend) and an unlikely friendship forms between Raf and Megan. Megan is sent to a summer school called the Stepford Preparatory Academy, where all the teachers and students are mysteriously happy and content with life (I know, I know... I didn't say that the book was challenging...) and where Megan certainly doesn't fit in. When Megan is forced to see the school appointed psychiatrist, she discovers the secret behind the perfect students and faculty, and only Raf and Bradley (who they rescue along the way) can save Megan.

This is not a particularly challenging book in the slightest, but I think for the age group that it's geared at (Amazon says 9-12, but I'd be willing to bet that a slightly younger audience would still appreciate this book), it would be a perfect book for kids. The writing is fun and witty and the art is engaging and stylish. If you've got a younger one that is interested in reading and likes manga or graphic novels, I don't think you could go wrong with this selection.

100. X-Men Forever, Vol 1: Picking Up Where We Left Off by Chris Claremont, illustrated by Tom Grummett

2010-12-29T22:11:00.000-05:00

#100

Title: X-Men Forever, Vol 1: Picking Up Where We Left Off
Series: X-Men
Authors: Chris Claremont, illustrated by Tom Grummett
Copyright: 2009
Pages: 120
ISBN: 9780785136798
Publisher: Marvel
Twitter: @marvel
Format: Paperback
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Finished: 12-29-10
Challenge: 100 Books 10, 1010 Challenge

From Amazon:

Comics icon and New York Times bestselling writer Chris Claremont returns to his legendary run with X-Men Forever! The shockwaves after the death of Magneto are still reverberating all over the world. Attempting to heal the rift between man and mutant kind, Professor Xavier volunteers his X-Men to go on a mission to capture Magneto's sole remaining Acolyte, Fabien Cortez! But with Nick Fury - and the entire world - watching over their shoulders, the stakes have never been higher for Cyclops, Jean Grey, Wolverine, Nightcrawler, Gambit, Rogue, Kitty Pryde, Storm, Beast, and Professor X. With Tom Grummet bringing Claremont's vision to the page, this landmark series is packed with enough surprises and twists to shake the X-Men mythos to its very core! Collects X-Men Forever #1-5.

Chris Claremont ended his original run on the X-Men with the third issue of the X-Men, back in 1991. Jump ahead almost twenty years, and X-Men Forever basically picks up after that third issue, following a sort of What If? storyline, with the concept being Claremont never having left the series. I don't know if I'd go so far as to call this a "landmark comics event" (as it is self-described), but I will say that that is an interesting take on the X-Men.

The story basically picks right up after the death of Magneto and the Acolytes, with the X-Men on the search for Fabian Cortez, the true villain of the original story arc. Nick Fury and SHIELD have stepped in, deeming it necessary to have government officials watching over the X-Men and their doings (shades of events that happened later on in the "real" X-Men timeline in the Decimation storyline). The X-Men capture Cortez, but barely have time to get home and lick their wounds before Storm apparently goes crazy and attacks the X-Men, leaving one of their number dead. This is where I started to feel really confused. Claremont had already turned one of the plot threads from the original series on its ear (Wolverine and Jean Grey...), but now one of the longest standing X-Men may in fact be a villain? Well, he comes up with a possible answer to this question and one that actually has me wanting to read the next volume to see how he's going to explain Storm's actions.

Tom Grummett's art is good. He's no Jim Lee, but he does an admirable job in keeping with the overall look of the characters from the original series.

Overall, an interesting return to some of my favorite characters in the X-Men. Don't both reading this if you never read at least the first three issues of the original X-Men series. If you have read those issues and are interested in seeing what Chris Claremont has come up with in returning to the series, I'd say at least pick up this first volume. He makes some seriously drastic changes to some of the characters, but I honestly interested to see where he's taking these changes.