Between having my hours at work cut and catching the flu this week, I've had a lot of reading time lately. I read a lot of romance, especially paranormal. Usually very "adult" paranormal, which is what most of this is. A few mysteries thrown in, a bit of fantasy.
The Mane Event (Shelly Laurenston)
The Beast in Him (Shelly Laurenston)
Pack Challenge (Shelly Laurenston)
Go Fetch (Shelly Laurenston)
Here Kitty, Kitty (Shelly Laurenston)
All of those were re-reads and well worth it. Incredibly funny paranormals, pretty high "steam" level.
Also re-read the entire Others series by Christine Warren, all 12 books. Again, paranormal romance. The first 6 books are pretty explicit, the last 6 are a tiny bit tamer. Not much though.
Several anthologies:
Belong to the Night
Night's Edge
Must Love Hellhounds (my copy is missing 30 pages so I haven't finished it yet)
Unbound
A Harvest of Bones (Yasmine Galenorn) - the latest in her mystery series, she's always a sure bet. Cosy mystery, a little romance and a paranormal twist.
Obsidian Prey (Jayne Ann Krentz) - the latest in her futuristic series set on Harmony. Again, a guaranteed good read, if you like a light blend of sci-fi and romance.
Pleasure (Jacqueline Frank) - Book 3 in her Shadowdwellers series. Pretty good but I liked the Nightwalkers series better. This one kinda seemed all over the place, I wasn't sure whose story it would be until several chapters in. ****SPOILER (a tiny one)****
It started off with one couple and then jumped to another. Then back to the first couple, whose issues had all been magically worked out. Apparently, their relationship was just a means of getting the woman worked into the lives of couple 2, so that a last minute life-saving could occur. Kinda disappointing, since couple 1 was interesting enough that I would have loved to read a book just dealing with them.
Sea Glass (Maria Snyder) - an exceptional example of what the right author can do with YA fantasy. This is book 2 in the Glass series, a spin off of her Study trilogy (Poison Study, Magic Study, Fire Study). I absolutely love this woman's writing. Vivid in every way. Not only can I see what she's describing, I can almost hear what the main character is hearing and damn near feel her emotions. Snyder is an incredible writer, able to tell a story from the character's teenage POV without diminishing the emotional weight of the conflict or making the girl seem too mature. Opal (the main character) comes across a fairly mature but still young and rather inexperienced. Despite going through some fairly serious problems in the first book (Storm Glass) and the first half of this book, she's still pretty naive at first. Watching her mature, not always in good ways, is fascinating.
To Crave a Blood Moon (Shari Kohler) - another paranormal romance. Not bad but not great either. This book is a good example of what I don't like about series. I love the continuity, I absolutely love getting more of the story and revisiting favorite characters from earlier books. I hate when it seems that a book was written mostly to set up the next book or two. And that's kinda what this one felt like. The main story was pretty fair but all the extra, dangling little story strings just irritated me.
What a Dragon Should Know (G. A. Aiken) - Aiken is the alter ego of Shelly Laurenston and she's a fine writer no matter which name she's using. This is the latest in her Dragon series and it's well up to the standards of her earlier stories. My favorite part of any Laurenston/Aiken book is the humor. She's just one of the funniest writers I've ever come across. I like the fantasy setting, dragons, magic, barbarian warriors, female assassins and so forth. Best of all, this is one writer who can make me laugh loud enough to scare the dog. Quirky characters (not just the female ones either), snarky remarks, pranks and troublemaking. Just too much fun to put down.
Sugar Daddy (Lisa Kleypas) - This one is not a new release, it's not a paranormal and it's not something I would have picked up normally. I'm glad I went with the impulse to give it a try. Sugar Daddy is a contemporary novel set in Texas. It's not really what I consider "romance" despite the boy-meets-girl parts of the story. The story starts when the female protagonist, Liberty Jones, is 14 and living in a trailer park in Welcome, Texas. She meets Hardy, who she loves with all the enthusiasm a teen aged girl can produce. That's where the book turns away from typical romance. Instead of getting married and living happily ever after, Hardy leaves and Liberty finds out just how hard life can get. Left to raise her younger sister after their mother's death, Liberty gets thrown into the adult world at 18 with no preparation and no safety net. The story becomes more about Liberty learning to take care of herself and her sister than anything else. Since the story is told in first-person, the reader gets a pretty detailed view of Liberty's mental processes. The writing style is fairly conversational, so reading was more like listening to this woman reminiscing over coffee. The story is more about Liberty, her relationship with her mother and sister and growing up than anything else. The title refers to other's assumption about Liberty's friendship with a much older, wealthy man. Most of the people around her think, since she's young, pretty, poor and half Mexican, this guy must be her sugar daddy. Liberty takes a lot of flack from some and never lets it bother her. She knows the truth and seems to feel that she has more important stuff to worry about. This was a thoroughly enjoyable book, one I'm glad to have read. I'll probably read it again and I'll definitely take a look at any other contemporaries Kleypas writes. Her characters and plots are realistic without being abrasive, likeable and everyday types.
So, what have you read lately?
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Friday, August 7, 2009
It's been awhile
Two months since I've posted. Not enough time, energy or inspiration. Plenty of happenings, few of them interesting. The interesting ones were mostly not good. Yes, my aunt did pass away. No, my uncle did not. He is still not well, though better, and has been moved to a long-term care facility. Wench's grandmother also passed away. In between, there have been visits from my mother and sister, visits to my grandmother, possible progress in rebuilding relationships with certain family members and probable degeneration in my professional relationships. All other connections seem to be stable, or at least about what I expect. Also, some (hopefully) minor health concerns. (I'm not trying to be vague to solicit sympathy, there's just no use going into detail until I know. I'm not sure this will ever be an appropriate place for details, nor am I certain I'll ever wish to share any details.)
Most of my free time lately has been taken up with old movies and books. I hadn't intended to post the above, all of that just popped out. Now that I've gotten it out of the way I can get back to my original purpose in this post.
Book recommendation:
Touchstone, by Laurie R. King. Mystery, set in England, in 1926. There are numerous reviews available through a Google search and I'm not interested in doing another. Just pick up a copy and read it. It's not light, it's not sweet and it doesn't have a normal happy ending. This book is, however, so good I stayed up to finish, didn't skip a single word and just had to put this post up. Touchstone is a keeper. Now go read something.
Most of my free time lately has been taken up with old movies and books. I hadn't intended to post the above, all of that just popped out. Now that I've gotten it out of the way I can get back to my original purpose in this post.
Book recommendation:
Touchstone, by Laurie R. King. Mystery, set in England, in 1926. There are numerous reviews available through a Google search and I'm not interested in doing another. Just pick up a copy and read it. It's not light, it's not sweet and it doesn't have a normal happy ending. This book is, however, so good I stayed up to finish, didn't skip a single word and just had to put this post up. Touchstone is a keeper. Now go read something.
Monday, April 27, 2009
what I'm reading
Books I've read over the last week or so:
The Court of the Air by Stephen Hunt.
The Perfect Poison by Amanda Quick.
Complete Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde.
Edge of Hunger by Rhiannon Byrd.
Nauti Intentions by Lora Leigh.
You're So Vein by Christine Warren.
Beyond Heaving Bosoms by Sarah Wendell and Candy Tan.
The Immortal Hunter by Lynsay Sands.
I'm trying to decide which book to start next. The Scarlet Pimpernel, Time Enough for Love (Heinlein, not a romance) or The Difference Engine. Hmmm...
The Court of the Air by Stephen Hunt.
The Perfect Poison by Amanda Quick.
Complete Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde.
Edge of Hunger by Rhiannon Byrd.
Nauti Intentions by Lora Leigh.
You're So Vein by Christine Warren.
Beyond Heaving Bosoms by Sarah Wendell and Candy Tan.
The Immortal Hunter by Lynsay Sands.
I'm trying to decide which book to start next. The Scarlet Pimpernel, Time Enough for Love (Heinlein, not a romance) or The Difference Engine. Hmmm...
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Okay, now I get it
Since things have started to edge back to normal (I'm back to only working 10 hours a day, six days a week) I've been able to catch up on some reading. Not that it made a dent in my TBR pile. BL decided my reward for busting ass and working waaay too much was to give me all the books I'd squirreled away (to buy eventually, I have to budget these things). I tried to say no, I really did, mostly because I didn't think she knew just how many books I'd set aside. She didn't care. Which means a big bag and a small box came home. The fact that lots of the books are used really didn't make a difference either. I was a little concerned since this time most of the used books I'd set aside were kinda pricey. She didn't care, she told me to take them home. And while I feel a tiny (very tiny) bit guilty, the guilt is mostly off-set by the satisfaction of knowing I now own all of the Travis McGee series, most of it in the early Fawcett editions. In very good to fine condition. Not something most people would get excited about, but then again non-collecting readers mystify me on my best days.
So, like I don't already have plenty to read (and re-read in the case of the MacDonald's), I picked up a used copy of Twilight tonight before I left work. I'd intended to finally get around to reading Stephenie Meyer's first book while getting an oil change tomorrow. Unfortunately, that's not gonna work so well. After I finished Casey Daniels' Night of the Loving Dead (not bad, the ending was a bit of a disappointment because it was too damned easy, but cute series and great light reading) I thought I'd pick up Twilight and read a few chapters before heading to bed. Aaannndd...
I finished the book. Yep, read the whole thing in just under 3 hours. And enjoyed it, way more than I expected to. I thought I'd get irritated, since the main character, Bella, is about 20 years younger than me. I liked her though, she was funny, quirky (her reactions were) and oh god do I sympathize with her klutziness. I can't walk across a room most days with out tripping over, bumping into or bouncing off something. I also liked how she sees herself as just so very ordinary and is so shocked when others don't.
So, now I get it. I promise I'm not turning into a squee-ing fan girl, if that were possible I'd have done it over Shiloh Walker's Hunters series. But I certainly enjoyed the books and understand why so many customers have recommended the series. I'll get around to the rest of the books sooner or later, I'm limiting my ration of angst this week. But the next 3 are definitely on my shopping list.
My favorite line from the book: "I decided as long as I was going to hell, I might as well do it thoroughly." Yes, I laughed. And thought of Pitbull and Wench. And gasoline chaps.
So, like I don't already have plenty to read (and re-read in the case of the MacDonald's), I picked up a used copy of Twilight tonight before I left work. I'd intended to finally get around to reading Stephenie Meyer's first book while getting an oil change tomorrow. Unfortunately, that's not gonna work so well. After I finished Casey Daniels' Night of the Loving Dead (not bad, the ending was a bit of a disappointment because it was too damned easy, but cute series and great light reading) I thought I'd pick up Twilight and read a few chapters before heading to bed. Aaannndd...
I finished the book. Yep, read the whole thing in just under 3 hours. And enjoyed it, way more than I expected to. I thought I'd get irritated, since the main character, Bella, is about 20 years younger than me. I liked her though, she was funny, quirky (her reactions were) and oh god do I sympathize with her klutziness. I can't walk across a room most days with out tripping over, bumping into or bouncing off something. I also liked how she sees herself as just so very ordinary and is so shocked when others don't.
So, now I get it. I promise I'm not turning into a squee-ing fan girl, if that were possible I'd have done it over Shiloh Walker's Hunters series. But I certainly enjoyed the books and understand why so many customers have recommended the series. I'll get around to the rest of the books sooner or later, I'm limiting my ration of angst this week. But the next 3 are definitely on my shopping list.
My favorite line from the book: "I decided as long as I was going to hell, I might as well do it thoroughly." Yes, I laughed. And thought of Pitbull and Wench. And gasoline chaps.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Now it's just getting ridiculous
My TBR pile, that is. It decreased by 4 over the weekend despite taking off Saturday afternoon going to BR with Pitbull for tattoo, toy and shoe shopping. And Sunday picking up 3 bookshelves the BL gave me (big ones!). Today, the pile increased by 8. Which means a total of 83. Yeah, that's a bit much.
Most of it is fiction and I'm really bad about picking up non-fiction, reading a bit and then putting it aside while I go on a mental vacation. So The Great Influenza (Barry) , Stiff (Roach), Lies My Teacher Told Me (Loewen), The Roots of English (Claiborne) and Maiden Mother Crone (Conway) stay in the pile longer than they should. There's a copy of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood waiting too.
As for the fiction, well I'm completely incapable of passing up anything that looks interesting. So I've a huge pile of stuff. Tim Powers, James Blaylock, William Gibson, Jocelynn Drake, Melina Morel, Devon Monk, Shirley Damsgaard, Andre Norton, Robert Asprin, George R.R. Martin, Jeffery Deaver, Phillip Margolin, Eileen Wilks, Jefferson Bass, Louis L'Amour, Patricia Briggs, Charlaine Harris, Beverly Connor, Alexis Morgan, Victoria Dahl, Jana DeLeon, Sally Smith O'Rourke, Jim Butcher, Charles Grant, Simon R. Green, K.E. Mills, Agatha Christie, Robert Heinlein, Dennis McKiernan, Oscar Wilde, Roger Zelazny, Katie MacAlister, Maureen Child, Lydia Joyce, Mary Janice Davidson, Mercedes Lackey, Elizabeth Kostova, Dorothy Gilman, Julie Garwood, Lewis Carroll, Shiloh Walker, J.R. Ward, Phillip Pullman, Charles DeLint, Diana Palmer, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Iris Johansen. And 6 anthologies.
Oh yeah, 2 in my bag. Annette Blair and Budge Wilson.
I think I need more shelves. A lot more shelves. I've never been more grateful for a generous employee discount and trade credit.
Most of it is fiction and I'm really bad about picking up non-fiction, reading a bit and then putting it aside while I go on a mental vacation. So The Great Influenza (Barry) , Stiff (Roach), Lies My Teacher Told Me (Loewen), The Roots of English (Claiborne) and Maiden Mother Crone (Conway) stay in the pile longer than they should. There's a copy of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood waiting too.
As for the fiction, well I'm completely incapable of passing up anything that looks interesting. So I've a huge pile of stuff. Tim Powers, James Blaylock, William Gibson, Jocelynn Drake, Melina Morel, Devon Monk, Shirley Damsgaard, Andre Norton, Robert Asprin, George R.R. Martin, Jeffery Deaver, Phillip Margolin, Eileen Wilks, Jefferson Bass, Louis L'Amour, Patricia Briggs, Charlaine Harris, Beverly Connor, Alexis Morgan, Victoria Dahl, Jana DeLeon, Sally Smith O'Rourke, Jim Butcher, Charles Grant, Simon R. Green, K.E. Mills, Agatha Christie, Robert Heinlein, Dennis McKiernan, Oscar Wilde, Roger Zelazny, Katie MacAlister, Maureen Child, Lydia Joyce, Mary Janice Davidson, Mercedes Lackey, Elizabeth Kostova, Dorothy Gilman, Julie Garwood, Lewis Carroll, Shiloh Walker, J.R. Ward, Phillip Pullman, Charles DeLint, Diana Palmer, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Iris Johansen. And 6 anthologies.
Oh yeah, 2 in my bag. Annette Blair and Budge Wilson.
I think I need more shelves. A lot more shelves. I've never been more grateful for a generous employee discount and trade credit.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Sharing the lulz
I have a really warped sense of humor. But y'all know this already, right? And I love to read (this is also not a surprise). So when I find something that combines 2 of my favoritest things in the whole world, I gotta share.
Books and pervy funny:
(All links are pretty much NSFW. You've been warned)
Link #1 - Failblog. Pretty obvious dirty joke HERE. Reninded me of my favorite dirty story punchline. "EWW, what is that white stuff?"
Link #2 - Now this one is kinda gross. If you have issues with gory, skip this one, okay? If you click it, I'm not responsible for nightmares, nausea or nasty headaches. Chris's Invincible Super-Blog. Here's what you're looking for: click the link, scroll down past the first few pics, take a quick look at the picture of the ghost nurses (just because it causes an OMGWTF? moment), scroll past the ghost nurse closeup. Are you looking at the back of a guy in a blue coat? Good, cuz that's the one I'm talking about. Read the speech bubble. Spit coffee on keyboard. Choke, laugh and read again. I'm so passing that along to Mz Pitbull.
Link #3 - Sailor Jim the Storyteller on the subject of penises. If you've ever read a romance novel you understand the dilemma. And the humor of erect penii. Sorry fellas, but they are.
Link #4 - Saving the best for last. Candy from Smart Bitches, Trashy Books reviews Decadent. The review is hilarious, the comments are even more so and the LOLporn, oh yes the LOLporn. So make sure you click the link and read the comments. If the idea of teh buttsecks freaks you out, skip this one. Cuz there's lots of it. With descriptions and jokes and pictures even. I'll never be able to look at Lifesavers again.
By the way, everything here is Saysh's fault (thanks Saysh, I love you *smooch*) since she's the one who gave me the link to Smart Bitches in the first place. And Smart Bitches had the links to the other spots. Even Failblog, although I'd already seen it since Failblog is in my faves. Why did Saysh give me a link to Smart Bitches? Well, besides knowing I love to read, I'm pretty sure she wanted to pay me back for giving her the link to Desperately Seeking.....Something.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Fun and not so fun
We went to the trade show in New Orleans this past Saturday. By we, I mean NewBossLady, MsPitbull and me. In NOLA. On a Saturday. At the Convention Center. Fucking yay. Wasn't too bad, traffic was crazy, but since I drove we made it in about 80 minutes. Yes I have a lead foot and a piss poor attitude behind the wheel. No I'm not a defensive driver. I prefer to think of myself as an offensive driver. And by offensive, I surely do mean shouting "You stupid fucking moron, park that piece of shit SUV and walk!" out of an open window. So that part was amusing, at least for me.
We get there and I discover the true meaning of hell. I have never seen so many women in one place at the same time in my life. It wasn't clouds of estrogen, it was a goddam smog, a sea of surging hormones. And Diet Coke.
It was fun though, once I got past all that. NBL and Pit are a blast to hang out with, we looked at some great stuff. This trade show had lots n lots n lots of jewelry. Lots. Of. Sparkly. Things. Also, cooking stuff, cleaning stuff, clothes (OMG I actually had to stop and look, some of the stuff was great. And I bought a shirt. The other two tried to talk me into a belly dancer's outfit but I had to draw the line somewhere), luggage, knickyknacks, you name it somebody was selling it. We bought a bunch of stuff for the store, took business cards to make appointments with vendors, looked at everything, touched most things and did a good bit of personal shopping.
Lessee, I bought jewelry for me, jewelry for T, clothing for me and the nieces and best of all knives. Umm, I bought 5 knives. 1 big ass blade as long as my forearm and 4 smaller ones. My favorite kind of sparkly stuff.
Today a jewelry guy came by the store to see NBL. Pit and I helped select some jewelry for the store and bought ourselves some sparklies of our very own. Nice to get stuff at cost and be able to help pick stuff out. Between the 3 of us we have a pretty wide range of tastes so lots of different kinds of things to play with now. I really liked this necklace, chunky pieces of smoky quartz. A little to big to suit me but I loved it.
We have been crazy busy but it's all been pretty fun. I like working in such a light hearted atmosphere. Other than the former crazy owner/boss lady (who has been renamed Satan's Psycho Cow) coming around everything has been great. The other ongoing problem is our main distributor for books. Their order site has been down since Saturday morning. So we are unable to look up or order books and our order has been delayed. yippee fun joy for me.
We are dealing with it but it does add a touch of aggravation to the day.
Anyway, I'm doing ok. I'm loving work, T came home this morning to spend Thanksgiving, I talked to both brothers and both parents in the last few days and everything is going well.
Oh, the not so fun? That was this evening. Turning into a total klutz. Tripping and falling down my stairs. Busting my knee and my face. The knee can be hidden under jeans but I think it's gonna be pretty hard to hide the humongous fat lip I've got. And the bruised chin. *sigh* Oh well, at least I didn't break my glasses.
Happy Thanksgiving to all my favorite Troublemakers! Hope y'all have a wonderful Thursday.
P.S. Pit brought me a can of coffee beans - the brand is Kicking Horse and it's the KickAss dark - anybody tried this stuff before? It smells good, I haven't tried it yet. Gotta love a friend who knows your weaknesses.
We get there and I discover the true meaning of hell. I have never seen so many women in one place at the same time in my life. It wasn't clouds of estrogen, it was a goddam smog, a sea of surging hormones. And Diet Coke.
It was fun though, once I got past all that. NBL and Pit are a blast to hang out with, we looked at some great stuff. This trade show had lots n lots n lots of jewelry. Lots. Of. Sparkly. Things. Also, cooking stuff, cleaning stuff, clothes (OMG I actually had to stop and look, some of the stuff was great. And I bought a shirt. The other two tried to talk me into a belly dancer's outfit but I had to draw the line somewhere), luggage, knickyknacks, you name it somebody was selling it. We bought a bunch of stuff for the store, took business cards to make appointments with vendors, looked at everything, touched most things and did a good bit of personal shopping.
Lessee, I bought jewelry for me, jewelry for T, clothing for me and the nieces and best of all knives. Umm, I bought 5 knives. 1 big ass blade as long as my forearm and 4 smaller ones. My favorite kind of sparkly stuff.
Today a jewelry guy came by the store to see NBL. Pit and I helped select some jewelry for the store and bought ourselves some sparklies of our very own. Nice to get stuff at cost and be able to help pick stuff out. Between the 3 of us we have a pretty wide range of tastes so lots of different kinds of things to play with now. I really liked this necklace, chunky pieces of smoky quartz. A little to big to suit me but I loved it.
We have been crazy busy but it's all been pretty fun. I like working in such a light hearted atmosphere. Other than the former crazy owner/boss lady (who has been renamed Satan's Psycho Cow) coming around everything has been great. The other ongoing problem is our main distributor for books. Their order site has been down since Saturday morning. So we are unable to look up or order books and our order has been delayed. yippee fun joy for me.
We are dealing with it but it does add a touch of aggravation to the day.
Anyway, I'm doing ok. I'm loving work, T came home this morning to spend Thanksgiving, I talked to both brothers and both parents in the last few days and everything is going well.
Oh, the not so fun? That was this evening. Turning into a total klutz. Tripping and falling down my stairs. Busting my knee and my face. The knee can be hidden under jeans but I think it's gonna be pretty hard to hide the humongous fat lip I've got. And the bruised chin. *sigh* Oh well, at least I didn't break my glasses.
Happy Thanksgiving to all my favorite Troublemakers! Hope y'all have a wonderful Thursday.
P.S. Pit brought me a can of coffee beans - the brand is Kicking Horse and it's the KickAss dark - anybody tried this stuff before? It smells good, I haven't tried it yet. Gotta love a friend who knows your weaknesses.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Addicted, oh my yes I am
My favorite part of working at a book store is the books. Old, new, boring, silly, whatever. I don't care, if it's a book I'll take it. I just love books. The look, the feel, the smell. Have you ever walked into a book store and just stopped to inhale? Not one of those new stores, I mean one of the ones that sells new and used books. There's something about the scent of old paper and ink that gives me an instant sense of belonging, a quiet pleasure in the moment. An anticipation, knowing that something good is about to happen. Mmmmm....
Oops, sorry, got lost there for a minute. I didn't mean to wander off like that. I intended to write about advance copies. Despite working 6 days straight, I had a pretty good week. Not too many loonies, just enough work to keep me busy and (best of all) a box of advance copies. In case you don't know, publishers send out copies of books prior to the release date to book stores and reviewers. What a wonderful practice! It's one of my 3 favorite things about working at Book Nook. (The other 2 are the books and the smell. I just looove the scent of books...) So I opened this box of ARC, grinning all the while. Even if I don't find anything to interest me in the box I still enjoy just looking. Sometimes I find something to recommend to a customer, which is almost as good as finding something for me. This time I got lucky.
So I have a stack of books on my desk, waiting for me. Some of them are already out, I just haven't gotten to them yet. (I usually have from 5 to 20 books stacked up in the "to be read" pile.) Not including the bag of "You need to read these" books a friend brought me, or the bag of books to read when I can't find anything else or the box of books under the desk, this is what I've got:
Carved in Bone (Jefferson Bass) - mystery, sounded good and I just love the author's name. Sounds like a Southern lawyer known for his bourbon-sipping and drawling.
The Secret History (Donna Tartt) - given to me by a customer.
The Alexandria Link (Steve Berry) - I haven't read his other stuff, I picked this one up because of the reference to the Library of Alexandria. If I like it, I guess I will try something else by him.
The Tower of Shadows (Drew Bowling) - fantasy from a young author. I'm a sucker for quest fantasy and dragons.
Angelica (Arthur Phillips) - chosen because of what I read on the back cover: "...a brilliant new novel that is part Victorian ghost story, part literary and psychological puzzle, part meditation on memory and fear." I hope it's as good as it sounds.
Those five are out. The next three aren't on sale yet. I've included the on-sale dates if anyone wants to know.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows) - This is what I'm reading now. So far I'm hooked. The book is set in England, January 1946. The main character, Juliet, is an author looking for the subject of her next book. The story is told in the form of letters between Juliet, her publisher, her tour manager, her friends and one of the members of the book group. For some reason, part of my enjoyment is the format of the books. I get a kick out of reading her letters, possibly because it's not something one would really do, so the hint of naughtiness amuses me. (Glo, I think you might like this one) Available July 29, 2008
Tigerheart (Peter David) - a new take on Peter Pan. I love fantasy and the cover art caught my eye. Flipped it over and saw a partial list of the author's other works: Sir Apropos of Nothing, Wode to Wuin (ha!) and Knight Life. Also a werewolf story, Howling Mad. If I like Tigerheart, I'm going to hunt down his backlist. Available June 17, 2008
Journey of a Thousand Miles (Lang Lang) - I rarely read biographies but this one caught my eye. I read the first page and decided this was a bio I could read to the end. The story of a 25 year-old Chinese musical prodigy and the sacrifices he had made. Available July 8, 2008
A short list of other books I've enjoyed:
Heavy Words Lightly Thrown (Chris Roberts) - I've recommended this to y'all before. Included it again simply because I enjoyed it enough to read it again.
A Great and Terrible Beauty (Libba Bray) - very good. I'm waiting for copies of the other 2 books, Rebel Angels and The Sweet, Far Thing
Garden Spells and The Sugar Queen (Sarah Addison Allen) - the second one isn't out yet (another treat from an earlier box of advance copies) stories of family and magic. loved both. the cover art is great too.
Mona Lisa Awakening, Mona Lisa Craving, Mona Lisa Blossoming (Sunny) - paranormal erotica series about the Monere (children of the moon). I didn't find the books too graphic but some might. Set in part in the New Orleans area. The author is a lovely person who responds to email personally.
The Sweet Potato Queens' Book of Love (Jill Conner Browne) - An early SPQ book. The SPQs are a Southern phenomenon which has spread out into the rest of the world. Hilarious, very Suth-un and written just the way the author speaks. In Y'all-bonics, of course. This book is where I picked up the phrase "freeze-dried whackaloons". If you like this one, I'd suggest reading the rest, I've enjoyed the ones I've been able to get my hands on. Especially this one.
Also, if you don't mind steamy and you like paranormal, books by these authors:
Lara Adrian (Midnight Breed series)
J. R. Ward (Black Dagger Brotherhood, vampires and ass-kicking)
Angela Knight (the Masters series - Arthurian legends, vampires, werewolves and sorcery)
Lora Leigh (Breed series, Seals series and the Nauti books, veeerryy hot)
Cheyenne McCray (D'Anu series is paranormal, there are 2 others which are suspense)
Lynsay Sands (Argeneau series, vampires)
Victoria Laurie (ghost hunter series, not steamy)
Anya Bast (witch series)
There are more but I'm out of time. I'm going to drag myself away from the computer and the books today and spend some time outdoors. Happy reading!
Oops, sorry, got lost there for a minute. I didn't mean to wander off like that. I intended to write about advance copies. Despite working 6 days straight, I had a pretty good week. Not too many loonies, just enough work to keep me busy and (best of all) a box of advance copies. In case you don't know, publishers send out copies of books prior to the release date to book stores and reviewers. What a wonderful practice! It's one of my 3 favorite things about working at Book Nook. (The other 2 are the books and the smell. I just looove the scent of books...) So I opened this box of ARC, grinning all the while. Even if I don't find anything to interest me in the box I still enjoy just looking. Sometimes I find something to recommend to a customer, which is almost as good as finding something for me. This time I got lucky.
So I have a stack of books on my desk, waiting for me. Some of them are already out, I just haven't gotten to them yet. (I usually have from 5 to 20 books stacked up in the "to be read" pile.) Not including the bag of "You need to read these" books a friend brought me, or the bag of books to read when I can't find anything else or the box of books under the desk, this is what I've got:
Carved in Bone (Jefferson Bass) - mystery, sounded good and I just love the author's name. Sounds like a Southern lawyer known for his bourbon-sipping and drawling.
The Secret History (Donna Tartt) - given to me by a customer.
The Alexandria Link (Steve Berry) - I haven't read his other stuff, I picked this one up because of the reference to the Library of Alexandria. If I like it, I guess I will try something else by him.
The Tower of Shadows (Drew Bowling) - fantasy from a young author. I'm a sucker for quest fantasy and dragons.
Angelica (Arthur Phillips) - chosen because of what I read on the back cover: "...a brilliant new novel that is part Victorian ghost story, part literary and psychological puzzle, part meditation on memory and fear." I hope it's as good as it sounds.
Those five are out. The next three aren't on sale yet. I've included the on-sale dates if anyone wants to know.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows) - This is what I'm reading now. So far I'm hooked. The book is set in England, January 1946. The main character, Juliet, is an author looking for the subject of her next book. The story is told in the form of letters between Juliet, her publisher, her tour manager, her friends and one of the members of the book group. For some reason, part of my enjoyment is the format of the books. I get a kick out of reading her letters, possibly because it's not something one would really do, so the hint of naughtiness amuses me. (Glo, I think you might like this one) Available July 29, 2008
Tigerheart (Peter David) - a new take on Peter Pan. I love fantasy and the cover art caught my eye. Flipped it over and saw a partial list of the author's other works: Sir Apropos of Nothing, Wode to Wuin (ha!) and Knight Life. Also a werewolf story, Howling Mad. If I like Tigerheart, I'm going to hunt down his backlist. Available June 17, 2008
Journey of a Thousand Miles (Lang Lang) - I rarely read biographies but this one caught my eye. I read the first page and decided this was a bio I could read to the end. The story of a 25 year-old Chinese musical prodigy and the sacrifices he had made. Available July 8, 2008
A short list of other books I've enjoyed:
Heavy Words Lightly Thrown (Chris Roberts) - I've recommended this to y'all before. Included it again simply because I enjoyed it enough to read it again.
A Great and Terrible Beauty (Libba Bray) - very good. I'm waiting for copies of the other 2 books, Rebel Angels and The Sweet, Far Thing
Garden Spells and The Sugar Queen (Sarah Addison Allen) - the second one isn't out yet (another treat from an earlier box of advance copies) stories of family and magic. loved both. the cover art is great too.
Mona Lisa Awakening, Mona Lisa Craving, Mona Lisa Blossoming (Sunny) - paranormal erotica series about the Monere (children of the moon). I didn't find the books too graphic but some might. Set in part in the New Orleans area. The author is a lovely person who responds to email personally.
The Sweet Potato Queens' Book of Love (Jill Conner Browne) - An early SPQ book. The SPQs are a Southern phenomenon which has spread out into the rest of the world. Hilarious, very Suth-un and written just the way the author speaks. In Y'all-bonics, of course. This book is where I picked up the phrase "freeze-dried whackaloons". If you like this one, I'd suggest reading the rest, I've enjoyed the ones I've been able to get my hands on. Especially this one.
Also, if you don't mind steamy and you like paranormal, books by these authors:
Lara Adrian (Midnight Breed series)
J. R. Ward (Black Dagger Brotherhood, vampires and ass-kicking)
Angela Knight (the Masters series - Arthurian legends, vampires, werewolves and sorcery)
Lora Leigh (Breed series, Seals series and the Nauti books, veeerryy hot)
Cheyenne McCray (D'Anu series is paranormal, there are 2 others which are suspense)
Lynsay Sands (Argeneau series, vampires)
Victoria Laurie (ghost hunter series, not steamy)
Anya Bast (witch series)
There are more but I'm out of time. I'm going to drag myself away from the computer and the books today and spend some time outdoors. Happy reading!
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