A life of borrowing

2009 Books continued 2

2009-09-23T11:39:00.001-07:00

Continuing on my last two posts, here are the books from this year continued:

The Hidden by Kathryn Mackel ~ just an okay book, lacked a lot of substance and character believability for me.

Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire ~ This was by far my favorite book of his, outside of Wicked which at times grew a little weary, but this story was so far from the original tale - it was brilliant, check it out.

Bobby Faye's (kinda, sorta, not exactly) Family Jewels by Toni McGee Causey ~ crazy, lighthearted and unbelievable book, exactly what made it fun to read.

Bobby Faye's (very, very, very) bad day by Toni McGee Causey ~ another of the same, just something to get lost in, the characters are fun.

The Smoke Thief by Shana Abe ~ pretty decent and interesting, looking forward to the next book in this series.

Vampyres of Hollywood by Adrienne Barbeau ~ I love vampire books and movies and this one didn't disappoint. Wondering if there are any more of these I can check out.

2009 Books continued

2009-08-05T09:22:00.000-07:00

more read this year (found my list):

The lonely girls club ~ okay but it dragged on a bit too long

The copper beech ~ enjoyed this but liked Tara Road better

The wrong hostage ~ fairly good but some parts were far fetched and too easy (crossing the border with the ease and frequency like they did, puleeze!!)

The sanctuary ~ great detail book was ok as far as storyline

2009 Books

2009-08-03T09:27:00.000-07:00

well I'm a bit behind with this blog....seven months to be exact!

I did intend to keep up with the reading blog for this year and hope to read my 60 books this year but I haven't been recording them and don't remember all the titles, but here are the ones I remember so far. I'm so far behind I'm just putting a link and maybe a comment or two (and these are not in any paricular order):

Dragonfly in Amber ~ excellent

Voyager ~ excellent

Drums of Autumn ~ excellent

The Fiery Cross ~ excellent

A Breath of Snow and Ashes ~ excellent

Lord John and the Private Matter ~ eh

Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade ~ eh (obviously didn't like these as much as the Outlander series)

Wicked ~ liked the Broadway show so much better

Son of Witch ~ brilliantly written but Maguire has a thing for weird sexual situations that I could totally do without.

Mirror Mirror ~ again brilliantly written with the same odd sexual sidenotes that could have been left out.

The Shack ~ good but very deep, be prepared for that before you read it.

The Outlander, finished 12/28/08

2009-01-01T07:31:00.000-08:00

The Outlander by Diana Galbadon, written in 1992 and over 800 pages of awesomeness. This is my last book finished in 2008. A most excellent find, in fact I'm on to reading the next one in this series.

I'm in love with the characters and the writing is excellent. I find myself speaking the scottish words in my head all the time. This book is highly recommended - find it and read it!

*****'s

A Word After Dying, finished 12/1/08

2009-01-01T07:28:00.000-08:00

A Word After Dying, a Meredith and Markby series book, by Ann Granger.

Not my favorite book and not even what I'd call a great book. I had read another by Ann earlier this year and didn't like it that much either. At least in this one Meredith and Markby got into the meat of their relationship.

I give this one ** 1/2 stars

Predator, finished 11/20/08

2008-11-27T07:28:00.000-08:00

The Predator, by one of my all time favorite suspense writers, Patricia Cornwell, was a good book. It skips around quite a bit and you should have read some Kay Scarpetta books previously so you are familiar with the crazy cast of characters in these books. The plot is thick and crazy but helps to make for a interesting read. I give this one ***'s, only because it had to compete with the likes of the Twilight series this latter half of the year.

Tara Road, finished 11/15/08

2008-11-27T07:26:00.002-08:00

Tara Road by Maeve Binchy was an excellent read. Truly a different kind of story. The main character seems a little dense sometimes, I mean come on, couldn't you put two and two together dear? But she's lovable and enterprising and takes a huge step to changing her entire life circumstances. I look forward to reading more books by Maeve this year.

Definitely check this one out if you haven't already. *****'s.

Purity in Death, finished 11/6/08

2008-11-27T07:26:00.001-08:00

Purity in Death by J.D. Robb aka Nora Roberts. Another great Lieutenent Eve Dallas book, I think the 15th. I enjoyed this book most especially because of the hot hubby Eve has, J.D. aka Nora makes him very virile and desirable. The storyline was different, a little farfetched but she made it work. I give this one ***'s.

Breaking Dawn, finished 10/6/08

2008-10-09T11:48:00.000-07:00

More words: better than the last three.

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer is a whopping 768 pages. I could not put this book down and I think I gave myself a massive left brain headache trying desperately to finish it.

We actually see some things come to fruition in this book. Major things.

I.LOVED.IT. Can't say that enough.

Most surprising for me was that the ending did not leave anything to question, did not leave me hanging, did not leave me depressed or grateful that it was finally over. Fantastic.

I'm really hoping for more from this series. Jacob and you-know-who's future perhaps?

***************** stars (yes the rating system just keeps getting better!)

Eclipse, finished 10/4/08

2008-10-09T11:44:00.000-07:00

one word: fantastic

Eclipse by Stephnie Meyer is book 3 out of the 4 (so far, here's hoping for more).

It was great. Characters and relationships are refined. This book was pure joy for all of its 640 pages. I read it in two days. Go get this series if you haven't.

I give it ***** + (I can give it more stars than my legend reads, I'm the boss!).

The Wheel of Darkness, finished 9/29/08

2008-09-30T04:18:00.001-07:00

I was really unaware that so many novels out there are written by two authors. This is one of those series. Again I think I picked in the middle of the series. This one I might be more inclined to read from the top.

This novel was called The Wheel of Darkness by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. It's about an FBI agent, who reminds me an awful lot of a James Bond character, there is really nothing he can't do, it seems. He practices buddism, visits monks, finds out a dangerous relic has been stolen and could mean the end of the world! He embarks on a journey to find it and save the world.

I bought this while we were on vacation and the thing that drew me in was that the majority of the "save the world" action was on board the world's newest and largest ocean liner.

One thing you should know about me: right behind vampires and reading about them is my love of reading all things related to big ships and disaster at sea - prime example - all things Titanic. This drew me in and didn't disappoint.

It started off slow but the action in the middle and end were fantastic. I give this book the mark of a good read and recommend it. It gets ****'s.

The Cane Mutiny, finished 9/19/08

2008-09-30T04:17:00.001-07:00

The Cane Mutiny is a novel by Tamar Meyers (insight: I was at the library trying desperately to find the Stephenie Meyer books when I took this one because I couldn't find them) :o(.

This book was okay. The characters were colorful. The main characters' occupation (antique dealer with a shop) was interesting. The mom of the main character was out of this world over the top crazy! But the story lacked excitement for me. It dragged on and seemed incomplete at times.

I think the problem was this particular book I picked up was the only one at the library by this author and I didn't pay attention to the fact that it was the 13th (yes you read that right) in the Den of Antiquity series of books, starring Abigail Timberlake Washburn, as the main characters, who it seems, often finds herself in sticky situations trying to solve crimes.

I'm sure had I started at the beginning and read her whole story I wouldn't have felt so unconnected with this one. Maybe I'll give this series a chance by starting at the beginning.

I would only give this book about ***'s.

The Fifth Witch, finished 9/14/08

2008-09-18T03:57:00.000-07:00

Even though I finished this book fairly quickly I thought it was terrible. Unfortunately I am that kind of person that feels I have to finish a book or movie once I've started it or else I feel incomplete and bothered, so I pushed thru this book unhappily.

Although the concept was new and different, the ideas were incomplete and had big holes in them and there were just some things that felt unexplained and inconceivable. Like why certain people were killed without thought and violently while others stood around on several occasions and should just as easily have been killed. Several scenes like this throughout the book made it even more unbelievable and off kilter. And how easily the bad guys were brought down once someone made up their mind, believed in themselves and opened a book....

Seriously don't waste your time reading Graham Masterton's Fifth Witch. I honestly don't even know why it made publication. I give this one *

New Moon, finished 9/8/08

2008-09-09T04:25:00.002-07:00

Wow! Another great book in the Twilight Series from Stephenie Meyer. This is called New Moon.

I just can't say enough about how great these first two books are. I can't wait until next week when I go pick up the next two in the series. Right now I have two other books from the library to finish. I'm not good and reading multiple books at the same time. and I would do nothing but read these next two if I got them right away. I'm going to let some suspense and excitement build.

Speaking of excitement I spent more time at the movie website from my last post for the movie Twilight (first book in the series) boy did they get the characters spot on! And the clips look so much like the book. Very excited about this.

Anyways, this book has Edward Cullen gone and a new boy taking front and center stage; Jacob Black who happens to be a creature of another kind. I'm not going to give it away - you have to read it, but it was fantastically thought out and written AGAIN. Lots of feelings, not really any gore. I might even let my teenagers read this if they are interested (many mushy feelings abound), I was surprised when I saw on the back of the book covers that these books were on the Teen People's best read list, but they really are exceptionally clean (another thing I love about a good book). So this one also receives *****'s from me - check it out!

Twilight, finished 9/5/08

2008-09-09T04:25:00.001-07:00

Fantastic! Twilight by Stephenie Meyers is the first book in a the Twilight series, this one was written in 2004 I believe.

I don't know why I hadn't heard about this author before a couple of weeks ago. If you've been reading this blog for any length of time you know I'm a lover of vampire books/movies/etc. A lady I work with thought of me when the fourth book of this series came out and she asked me if I had read them. I was shocked so I hurried out last week after my last round of library books was due back and tried to see if they were there but they were not so I quickly ran over to Target and bought the first two books.

At first I thought they started off slow. I kept wanting to knock the main character, Bella, across her forehead and shout "open your eyes!" but she worked it out. Rather than deal with gore and death this book is so much more about the characters and their feelings. It's hard for me to get my head around a vampire having feelings. Don't we usually thing as well as being physically dead that they are emotionally dead as well? Not so in these books and I love the twist.

These are very easy reads and well written. If you haven't read Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Series yet -what are you waiting for??? I give this first book *****'s. Read more about the first book as well as subsequent books at her website here.

I just learned that this book, or the series will be made into a movie! Very exciting. I love to read the books that are being made into movies. Oh yeah baby check out what I just found: http://www.twilightthemovie.com/

Wuthering Heights, finished 9/1/08

2008-09-09T03:55:00.000-07:00

A classic, often a book required in english lit classes. I enjoyed it but it really is not my style. I really felt as I was trying to concentrate on finishing it that I was in my high school or college class being forced to finish it so I can write a synopsis or book report, uggh. But really its a good book and one of the 100 from this list so I'm glad I read it. What did you think of it?

here's the wikipedia information on Wuthering Heights. I read somewhere that this was Emily Bronte's only published work. Her sister was the "author of the family". Pretty neat.

So I hate to rate this book on my scale because like I mentioned it's well thought of classic literature but I only liked it so-so. If I must I'd give it **1/2, but someone will probably berate me for that!

Snow Blind, finished 8/23/08

2008-08-25T10:17:00.000-07:00

Last book in my repertoire from P.J. Tracy. Another intriguing and different story line. I think that's what gets me most of all when I'm at the library reading the inside covers or backs of all the hundreds of books that are there, if it's something different as far as the main story line or location and if the little itsy bit of a peek of a character that sounds intriguing, I'll snap it up.

This one, Snow Blind, didn't disappoint either. Seriously someone tell me if they ever heard of a potential serial killer posing their victims as snowmen? And then when you find out who the killer(s) really are, you are quite torn between wanting them to pay and being sympathetic. Also a great read and I'm looking forward to future books from them.

Here's an excerpt from P.J. Tracy's website and I give this one ****'s. Check it out.

Dead Run, finished 8/21/08

2008-08-25T10:07:00.001-07:00

Dead Run is also by the mother daughter duo who wrote the last two books I've read: Live Bait and Monkeewrench. This one, out of all four of their books, I could NOT. PUT. DOWN. I think I read this in about three days, every chance I could. It's one of the novels that the entire story takes place in a 24-48 time period and you are just left on the edge of your seat. Great winter- time-in-front-of-the-fireplace type book.

It was excellent and thus receives *****'s. Here's an excerpt of this intriguing book from P.J. Tracy's website. I just love the Monkeewrench characters - they are all so different and eccentric.

Live Bait, finished 8/14/08

2008-08-18T12:25:00.001-07:00

Also by the mother/daughter writing team known as P.J. Tracy. How hard must it be to write a novel with another person? I don't know but they've got it down pat. Each book I read by them gets better and better.

Live Bait, 2nd in the Monkeewrench series, had a unique and fascinating story line. A bit far fetched but hey if you give it some thought, jewish vigilantism isn't that unusual is it? haha. I can't give away anymore of the story than that but it was truly original and I enjoyed this one as much as the first.

I give Live Bait ****'s. Check it out.

Monkeewrench, finished 8/7/08

2008-08-18T12:15:00.000-07:00

I just found these books at the library, and like quite a few that I find, I was initially drawn in by the bright colors and the artwork on the book cover. I mean check this one out - wouldn't you be interested?

I loved it! Only one complaint was how many characters are introduced in this first book. At first I was getting aggravated because the chapters are so short that I wasn't getting to know them well enough but luckily each character is back in subsequent books and you continue to get to know them. It's mainly a bad guy/good guy mystery type (no big surprise there, my favorite). The storyline was awesome too.

Imagine building a intriguing mystery game that basically revolves around solving murders. Only problem is someone "inside" is recreating these murders in real life and it takes until about four murders before the police get the real story from the Monkeewrench crew and then they have to work together to solve it. The book is fast paced and keeps you guessing. A very good read! I give this one ****'s.

Here's the info on Wikipedia from this book and here's more info on the mother/daughter writing team that is P.J. Tracy.

Dead Ex, finished 7/27/08

2008-08-18T12:10:00.001-07:00

I don't know what the fascination with dead people that Harley Jane Kozak has, but it makes for some fascinating reading folks, I mean check out the titles from her three books?!?

This book further elaborates on Wollie and Simon's relationship, we find them living together and getting more serious. He just sounds so dreamy, but towards the middle the relationship cracks a little due to Simon's FBI job. I didn't like that so much. Hopefully in a sequel we'll see they've worked things out. This book revolves around Wollie's best friend, Joey and her potential involvement in a murder. It drags about just a bit too much for me but because I love the characters so much it was still very entertaining.

Here's a link to the synopsis and reviews from Harley's website.

This one just gets ***1/2 stars.

Dating is Murder, finished 7/24/08

2008-08-18T12:04:00.000-07:00

Figures these next two books were due back to the Library by 7/24 and I just started reading this one on the due date! I think I owed $2.00 when I turned them in the for the next set! What's wrong with me???

Anyhow, loved this book just as much as the first one by Harley Jane Kozak (Dating Dead Men), in fact I liked it more because we get to know Wollie better AND she meets her hunk of an FBI man, Simon. Turns out Doc was a lover and a leaver. But she was at it again with the crazy dating and money making schemes - never a dull moment in that girl's life!

Well because I'm behind four books, I'm just linking you to the excerpt from Harley's website.

I give this book ****'s. Check it out!

How many have you read?

2008-07-24T09:14:00.000-07:00

Found this awesome meme over at Memoirs of a Farm Wife (cool blog - check her out).

This gives me something to work towards.....

Apparently, the National Endowment for the Arts believes that the average American has read only 6 of the books on the list below.

1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Underline (or mark in a different color) the books you LOVE
4) Reprint this list in your blog so we can try and track down these people who’ve read 6 and force books upon them ;-)

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible (maybe not every single verse, but enough to claim I've read it all!)
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis (doesn't this fall under C.O.N.?)
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

I guess this isn't as bad as I thought. I've read 28 of the 100. So any readers out there want to give this a try? Let me know if you do and I'll come check you out.

Dating Dead Men, finished 7/20/08

2008-07-21T06:45:00.001-07:00

wow - I didn't realized that I loved this author before I even knew she was an author.

Harley Jane Kozak - don't recognize the name? I didn't either - good I don't feel so bad. But I recognized her picture right away. She's got a face that one doesn't forget. Very beautiful. I remember her from a couple of movies - the mom in Parenthood and Arachnophobia (why I ever watched that movie with my fear of spiders I don't know). And she had a role in a soap opera I used to love - Santa Barbara! Weird eh?

Anyways I just picked up a few of her books at the library and just finished #1 - Dating Dead Men. Here's an exerpt.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters, the names, the places and the events are fresh and new. Yes, it's my same old-same old read - mystery and suspense, but I always go back to what I love. But look at the main characters name - Wollie Shelley. Her full name is something like Wollenstein or something crazy like that. Very original. Her career as a greeting card shop manager and greeting card author is new; her friends are definitely unusual. I just loved reading this and can't wait to get to the next two books; Dating is Murder and Dead Ex.

There was only one thing I didn't like about this book and that was too many bad guys (at least four), I can only handle 1-2 bad guys. Don't know how Wollie managed it!

This book receives **** stars from me so check it out!

Dark Torte, finished 7/10/08

2008-07-21T06:18:00.000-07:00

I'm very behind in my reading and a little behind in my posting. What's wrong you ask? Boredom! Summer is too nice to sit and read unless you are sitting at the beach or poolside or camping with nothing to do (never happens), plus my laptop I got for my birthday has had a negative affect on my reading time! Oops.

Well I went back to one of my favorite, entertaining authors who created a series of books around cooking, catering and a great character, Goldie Bear.

This book, Dark Torte, was written in 2006 by Diane Mott Davidson. These books are fantastic reads. Little bit of humor, little bit of suspense, lots of getting into trouble and a little bonus at the end of the book - some awesome recipes! Read a little exerpt here rather than me telling you about the book.

I tried the best recipe from this book and was pleasantly surprised, the whole family loved it! It's a sausage and potato casserole. It's got some garlic, diced mushrooms and onions, italian sausage, egg, cheese and sliced potatoes in it. I tweaked it a bit though - instead of guyere cheese I just used casserole cheese. Definitely try it - delicious!

I give this book **** stars because it's right up my alley - easy, entertaining and lovable characters.

A Fine Place for Death, finished 5/19/08

2008-05-19T11:37:00.000-07:00

A Fine Place for Death by Ann Granger. This is the third of the four books I brought home from the library from the same author. Again this one is getting *** stars but I liked it least of the three I've read so far. Mainly because I hate to read of children or teen deaths and this one had two teenage deaths. The story was a little farfetched in it's unraveling and that makes it a little less enjoyable to read. This one also had many more deaths than the previous books. Four to be exact and one goes unsolved.

I have one more to read but am anxious to get back to the library for another round of books.

Where Old Bones Lie, finished on 5/14/08

2008-05-19T11:36:00.000-07:00

Where Old Bones Lie by Ann Granger. This is not necessarily in order of the Mitchell and Markby series but it was the next in line at the library. I liked this one more than the first one I read. The relationship between the two main characters is more developed and the characters seem more alive in this one. It's crazy because tragedy seems to follow the acquaintences of Meredith Mitchell quite a lot. If I were here I'd have a huge complex! There is usually more than one murder in each book too.

This one deals with "bones" obviously at a archaelogical dig. Pretty interesting. I'd also give this one *** stars. These books are entertaining but not fantastic gotta reads.

Say It With Poison, finished on 5/9/08

2008-05-19T11:33:00.000-07:00

Say It With Poison by Ann Granger. I started these books by Ann Granger on May 9th; I picked up four of them, in keeping with my groupings by author for each trip to the library. This author is british as are the characters and the settings.

I enjoyed this book most especially because it's obviously one of my favorite types of books - mystery, suspense, murder, etc. But I really loved it because of the english-isms. Tea and crumpets type stuff. The main characters, Mitchell and Markby area a team; she a consular rep and he a policeman. They are kind of a couple that can't figure out their relationship. It's kind of weird, but intriguing.

Say It With Poison is obviously about a poisoning murder. :o) You'll have to read it if you want to know more. I'd give this book *** stars.

Grave Sight, finished 5/2/08

2008-05-03T13:46:00.002-07:00

This is a newer series by Charlaine Harris that I checked out after reading the Southern Vampire Mysteries series (loved it). This one not so much.

I wasn't in love with the characters, Harper Connelly and her step brother Tolliver Lang. I wasn't in love their background story and I wasn't in love with this storyline. I do continue to like the way Charlaine writes but compared to Sookie this book's characters can't hold a candle to those in Sookie's stories. This is book one in a series that has three books so far.

here's the review from Publishers Weekly:
Ever since Harper Connelly survived a zap from a lightning bolt, she's been able to find dead people, a skill that makes the protagonist in the first installment of Harris's new series a tad more bizarre than the mind-reading heroine of the author's Sookie Stackhouse books (Dead as a Doornail, etc.). Harper travels to the Ozark town of Sarne, Ark., to find a missing teenage girl's body, accompanied by her stepbrother, Tolliver, who acts as her manager and bodyguard and with whom she shares a thinly disguised physical attraction that they manage to keep at bay by engaging in casual sex with various partners. Finding the body takes no time at all, but leaving town afterward isn't so easy. When Harper's life is threatened and Tolliver ends up in jail on trumped-up charges, it quickly becomes apparent that something sinister is going on in Sarne. Harris delivers a knuckle-gnawing tale populated with well-developed, albeit edgy characters. A nifty puzzle toward the end will challenge the most jaded mystery buffs.

Lots of the things that happened were just off the wall and convenient and there was no regular accountability. Everything that happened, was found out, was solved, was done by Harper and her brother, not the real law. Screwed up.

This book only gets **1/2 stars. Maybe the next one in the series will be better and I might check it out because I enjoy this author so much. You can draw your own conclusions! Let me know if you've read any by this author and what you think of her.

All Together Dead, finished 4/28/08

2008-05-03T13:46:00.001-07:00

Wow, what a way to finish up the series. The biggest calamity Sookie has been in yet happens in this book in a fictious? city that reminds me an awful lot of Chicago.... I can't say enough how much I enjoyed this Southern Vampire Mystery Series starring Sookie Stackhouse. I hope Charlaine Harris continues to write about her or the show comes to light (wrote about in my last post).

The only thing I got bummed about in this story is that it's left hanging a bit more than the previous books in this series; as far as what she has coming up (the previous books often alluded to something) and her love interest doesn't end as you really want it and that's all I'm going to say about that.

here's the review from off Amazon:
Bestseller Harris mixes humorous Southern-fried fantasy with biting satirical commentary in her seventh novel to feature Sookie Stackhouse, the bubbly telepathic barmaid from Bon Temps, La. (after 2006's Definitely Dead). Sookie attends an all-important central U.S. vamp summit on the shores of Lake Michigan as a "human geiger counter" for Sophie-Anne Leclerq, vampire queen of a Louisiana weakened by Katrina and who will be tried during the event for murdering her king. Sookie knows the queen is innocent, but she's hardly prepared for other shocking murders, not to mention protests by the Fellowship of the Sun, a right-wing antivampire movement. Her sleuthing skills, along with those of her new telepath friend, Barry the Bellboy, are put to the extreme test. Harris juggles a large cast, including several romantic contenders for Sookie's heart, with effortless exuberance. HBO's True Blood, based on this addictive series, is scheduled to begin its TV run this fall. 11-city author tour.

Product Description: Louisiana cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse has her hands full dealing with every sort of undead and paranormal creature imaginable. And after being betrayed by her longtime vampire love, Sookie must not only deal with a new man in her life-the shapeshifter Quinn-but also contend with the long-planned vampire summit. The summit is a tense situation. The vampire queen of Louisiana is in a precarious position, her power base weakened by hurricane damage to New Orleans. And there are some vamps who would like to finish what nature started. Soon, Sookie must decide what side she'll stand with. And her choice may mean the difference between survival and all-out catastrophe.

As you can well imagine, I'm now on a mission to read everything from this great author. From my internet searching it seems she has several individual books and several series. On my way to the library today to check the rest out, if they have them. **** stars again.

Definitely Dead, finished 4/25/08

2008-05-03T13:45:00.003-07:00

Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris. Super fun series to read. I think this is book number 6 in the series. I read a few in order but skipped a couple. That's the great thing about these books those they are same characters but she always introduces new storyline and new and fascinating characters. Quinn enters this one and I can't help but think Jason Taylor or some other similar hunk when she describes him!

here's the review from Publishers Weekly:
In bestseller Harris's perky sixth Southern Vampire novel to star Sookie Stackhouse (after 2005's Dead as a Doornail), the telepathic waitress of Bon Temps, La., is off to (pre-hurricane) New Orleans to close out her dead cousin Hadley's apartment. Hadley's death six weeks earlier had been unexpected, since, as a vampire, she was already dead. Still, she'd led a lively existence as the main squeeze of the Queen of Louisiana, an omnisexual vampire, whose political marriage to the King of Arkansas occurred the night before Hadley's demise. Sookie and Amelia Broadway, Hadley's landlady and a pretty cool witch, immediately discover a mess of trouble left behind in Hadley's closet, and Sookie's soon neck-deep in even more. Though most of the intrigue doesn't come till halfway through, Harris keeps the action going nonstop in this bubbly brew of supernatural spice and whimsical whodunit that's more fun than a barrel of beignets. Alan Ball, the creator of HBO's Six Feet Under, plans to shoot a TV pilot based on the series later this year.

Wow, this is the first I've heard about a potential television series. It would be enough reason for me to get HBO which I currently do not have to watch this series! Sweet. So check this one too.

Club Dead, finished 4/20/08

2008-05-03T13:31:00.002-07:00

Wow, I just sort of finished this awesome series by Charlaine Harris, I say sort of because I grabbed all the copies of her books that the library had at the time and I found out after reading some that I was missing a few. I will go back and pick them up. I usually hate to read out of sequence but this main character, Sookie Stackhouse, rocks! Plus who doesn't love a good vampire book? Well maybe many, but I love 'em.

This is not the first in the Southern Vampire Mysteries series featuring Sookie, but it was the first one I read. Club Dead was great. **** stars for this whole series.

From Booklist:
Sookie Stackhouse is having man trouble. Her vampire boyfriend, Bill, has been distant and inattentive lately. Then he announces that he is going on a business trip, which clearly is more than it seems. After a werewolf tries to abduct Sookie at work, Bill's boss, Eric, tells her that Bill fell under the sway of his--Bill's, that is--ex, a sexy vamp named Lorena, and has been kidnapped. Eric wants Sookie's help in getting Bill back, and despite her hurt over Bill's betrayal, Sookie agrees to go to Jackson, Mississippi, to find her wayward lover. Eric has persuaded Alcide, a dashing werewolf, to get Sookie access to Josephine's, aka Club Dead, the local hangout of Jackson's supernatural element. In between dodging kidnappers, the advances of amorous Eric, and her growing feelings for Alcide, Sookie has to find out who kidnapped Bill and figure out a way to rescue him. With some droll touches--Elvis, now a vampire, is Sookie's faithful guard --Club Dead is ideal for readers who like their vampire fiction light, humorous, and fast-paced. Kristine Huntley

I finished this one and immediately picked up the next one - it was that good. If you haven't read any of these, give it a try, but have at least a little interest in vampires.

The thing that fascinates me is vampires have basically "come out" of the closet so to speak and live among the humans. Is that not a crazy idea? There was a Japanese inventor that came up with a synthetic blood so they don't have to feed on humans unless they are willing donors (haha). So check it out and the subsequent posts on her other books that I've read.

Dead as a Doornail, finished 4/22/08

2008-05-03T13:31:00.001-07:00

Dead as a Doornail, also by Charlaine Harris, was another good one. Again **** stars. I could hardly put it down. They are easy reads, fascinating in their weirdness, funny, a little bit romantic and definitely entertaining.

Dead as a Doornail review by: Publishers Weekly

Harris's rousing fifth Sookie Stackhouse fantasy-mystery (after 2004's Dead to the World) pits vampires, were-creatures, shifters and one fairy godmother against a sniper with an apparent aversion to nonhumans. If trying to discover who's behind the shootings isn't enough, the telepathic cocktail waitress from Bon Temps, La., has to cope with a few other distractions: her sexy "Were" friend, Alcide Herveaux, needs her help in his father's bid to become the next leader of the local werewolf pack; her boss, Sam Merlotte (a collie in his spare time), gets shot; her house partly burns down; and what's she to do about the handsome vampire bartender who dresses as a pirate at Sam's place? Between one mishap and another, Sookie is one busy gal. Harris does an admirable job of creating a heroine who's not only interesting but completely believable in a world of the strange and the different. Natural and humorous dialogue and a nicely paced plot that doesn't dwell so much on Sookie's old boyfriends help make this entry the best yet in the series.

There's so much going on in this book and so many different kinds of characters/monsters. Surprisingly most seem nice, besides the bad guys of course. Sookie is great in this one, in all of them. I just can't keep up with her love interests. A vamp here, a vamp there, a shifter of this type, etc. etc, good thing she can't be interested in humans because of her telepathic abilities (she can't really read vamps or shifters). Crazy stuff I know, but dern interesting. Check it out.

The Winner, finished 4/1/08

2008-04-19T07:48:00.000-07:00

The Winner by author David Baldacci was a very good read. An interesting story line, one I've never heard even with all the books I've read over the years. It had to do with the lottery being fixed. While the idea was really far fetched, it did lend to that whole conspiracy theory about the government using the lottery to fool the people when in actuality it was one guy (like I said far fetched).

This mysterious guy uses the lottery to make himself millions while taking a previously down on their luck, poor person to millionair status as well. THe premise is good but the guy and his ways and means are evil. In order to keep the money they have to do whatever he says, usually keep the secret about how they won. He maintains control over the 12 winners and they are terrified of him. The main character, LuAnn, is just the kind of person most women would want to be; beautiful, great figure, good mom, super tough, wants to make things better for her family, etc. etc. etc. and she gets her man at the end (oops, hope I didn't ruin it for everyone).

I'd give this one **** and recommend it for a good weekend read.

The Hummingbird Wizard, finished 3/25/08

2008-04-19T07:47:00.000-07:00

The Hummingbird Wizard by Meredith Blevins was an absolute pleasure to read. I plan on getting more of her books once I go back to the library. Our schedules have picked up dramatically and I've noticed I've slowed down quite a bit when it comes to finishing books and I've gotten terrible about posting when I've finished reading. Oops. Spring and almost summer are upon us!

This novel was about Annie Szabo and her crazy gypsy family and the scrapes they get into. I was immediately intrigued about the whole gypsy aspect of the book as I know little about that lifestyle. The story revolves around Annie's drunk and disconsolate but beautiful and talented sister in law who's ex husband gets murdered. Annie has to try to solve the mystery of Jerry's death (whom she also had a thing for)before her SIL gets thrown in jail for it.

The story weaves into and out of the gypsy lifestyle but comes down to the importance of family and helping people. All in all a great read and I'm looking forward to more from Meredith Blevins. I give this one ****

I Should Be Extremely Happy in your Company, finished 3/8/08

2008-03-12T05:22:00.000-07:00

It has taken me a long time to finish this book, but this review comes with the highest recommendation. The book was authored by Brian Hall and is called "I Should Be Extremely Happy in Your Company". WOW about sums it up!

This was a novel which took an important historical adventure and filled in the holes (speculating of course) spending considerable time on how each of the main characters saw things on this journey. I'm sure you've heard of Lewis & Clark? A young indian girl named Sakagewea? The Corps of Discovery? First recorded trip west across the U.S.? Here's a map of their path:

This book focused closely on the lives and adventures of Meriweather Lewis, right hand man of President Thomas Jefferson, his former lieutenant in the army, William Clark, and their crew including a French man by the name of Charbonneau and his wife, Sakagewea and their child.

The reason why it took me so long to make it through this book is the change in each chapter where it jumped from Lewis' view, to Sakagewea's view, to Charbonneau's view, to Clark's view of things. Of course, being that Indian to English translation was a fairly new thing "back then", the Indian english I read in the book was difficult to follow - nevertheless excellently done!

I really enjoyed this book; it was a change from my usually easy to read mystery and suspense novels. There was only one thing that I didn't like and it probably wouldn't bother most people, but 1) I don't like it, 2) I can't imagine that these words were this often used "back then". Words such as I can't say because they'll make me blush!

Anyways, I still highly recommend it and give it five stars! If you read it, let me know what you thought.

Never Let Me Go, finished 2/17/08

2008-02-18T05:19:00.000-08:00

Time to make another trip to my local library; latest six books are done and I was only one day over the 3 week return date! Yippee.

This novel, Never Let Me Go, makes my count nine finished books for 2008. Well on my way to my goal of 60 for the year. I didn't love this one. It was strange. I'm all about the books that give a full accounting, at some point during the book, it doesn't have to all be in a neat and concise manner, but at least don't leave me with questions at the end. One of the recent Grafton novels I read did that and it just aggravated me. This book left me with questions too and it was confusing how it seemed to be set in the past, the present and the future. I don't mean that literally either, the story was written over a time period of the kids being later grade school age to late 20's, but the concept of the school seemed to be ancient, the things written in the story were present and the way they lived after the school seemed to be in the future. And the actual full concept of the book is futuristic as well. It is about cloning after all.

The characters lack believable personalities but that seems to be explained by the time you get to the end of the book. It was mainly about the lives of Kathy, Tommy and Ruth. I'll just tell you right now; Ruth aggravated me to no end. And Kathy and Tommy were likable enough but my goodness grow some cahunas and stand up to that girl. Ruth did not know how to be a friend, nor how to treat a friend.

Again, I say the book was strange, but I read it faster than Remains of the Day because it kept me interested. I may check out a few Kazuo's other books, but then again I may try to find another author. I need to mix it up and read different types of novels, I found I got into a rut with the mystery/suspense (which I love) so we'll see what I come home with from the library today.

I give Never Let Me Go ***.

Remains of the Day, finished 2/13/08

2008-02-18T05:04:00.001-08:00

I started a new author on Feb 13th. I read a post on Pissy's blog about how much she loved this author, or maybe it was the other book I just finished by this author which I just finished. The author's name is Kazuo Ishiguro. He definitely has something special in his writings. Old world prose, prim & proper, sir and madam, that kind of thing. I did enjoy this book, but it took me much longer to get through it than one of my normal mystery & suspense books which usually take me a few days because I can't put them down.

Remains of the Day was written in 1989 and was made into a movie in 1993 starring Anthony Hopkins as the main character, Stevens. I have yet to see the movie but I love to read a good book and then see the movie adaptation (but the books are always so much better!).

Stevens is a butler at Darlington House in the years prior to WWII in Europe. The story is mostly about Steven's relationships to the owners of the house (Lord Darlington and Mr. Farraday) and the differences between them and how they run the house, and his very strange relationship with Miss Kenton. I love the true English language; including all the "indeeds" and "to be sure" and "but of course" and this book captures them wonderfully. I'm left feeling confused though that someone could go through almost their entire life without truly seeing things and that is ultimately what this novel boils down too.

A good and different read that I'm glad I finished. I'll give Remains of the Day ***1/2 stars. :o)

I'm instituting a new rating system for this blog as of this book.

***** (five stars) Fantastic Read, Highly Recommend and nothing to pick on
**** (four stars) Very Good Read, Recommend
*** (three stars) Good Read, some questions
** (two stars) Okay Read, not much to comment on
* (one star) Please Don't Waste Your Time

S is for Silence

2008-02-05T05:05:00.000-08:00

I think Sue Grafton got and read a memo that said "shake it up a little". This book, S is for Silence, held a slightly difference aspect that I enjoyed. We get to partake in a lot of flashbacks involving several characters from back in the 50's. One of two things about this book that I did not enjoy was there were TOO MANY characters. You really can't get into a book that has too many directions or too many characters. Let's see the potential suspects/acquaintances and friends of the victim were Liza, Kathy, Ty, Foley, Tom, Jake, BW, Chet, Winston and I'm sure at least another two or three that I can't think of right now. While I enjoyed the stories and flashbacks of these people and their involvement with the victim/missing person, Violet Sullivan, I just couldn't get my head around the fact that so many people played a part or could be the sole perpetrator. Too much to handle.

The other thing I didn't like about this book is the ending. We do find out who the bad guy is, but the author, quite frankly, upset me by leaving things hanging. She doesn't necessarily go back and revisit people in subsequent books either. So I'm left with questions, wondering did I skip a whole chapter or section of the book explaining why this person was the killer?

If you read S is for Silence, help me answer these questions:

what happened with Tom stealing his' wife's money?
Why did his wife leave him everything in her will?
did she die knowing he was stealing from her?
what was the reason the killer had for killing Violet?

I saw no connection which leaves me with the feeling that I missed something....if you've read this and have some insight, let me know.

On to the next book; new author, back in a few days.

R is for Richochet, finished 2/3/08

2008-02-05T04:50:00.001-08:00

I went right from Q to R. Having finished R is for Richochet this past Sunday, I realized it's a pretty smooth transition from one Kinsey novel to the next. I don't really like how we have to re-read about her career and housing situation and Henry over and over but it sets the story up, especially for those who haven't read A-Q.

I have to say, this one was very enjoyable. As a result, I finished it in a couple of days (it was the weekend, what can I say?). The characters really came to life for me in this one. I liked that she really only focused on one other main character, Reba Lafferty, in this book. Sometimes Sue goes all out on several different characters and suspects (like in the next review I'm going to do) and that just makes me like the book less. Anyways, Reba and Kinsey almost become friends. I'm constantly in awe about the lack of friendships and romances Kinsey has. She seems like a likeable person but she holds everyone at arms lengths and they just give up I guess. Interesting character.

So Reba goes to jail, having embezzled $300K from her employer. She's a rambunctious, free spirited, no-will-power personality. Likes drugs, smoking, drinking and gambling and has basically given her father a run for his money. He hires Kinsey to pick her up from her release from jail and to just monitor her for a few days until she gets on her feet and hooked up with her P.O. Thus ensues a crazy story where Kinsey finds out Reba is in love with her previous boss, plans on running away with him and that Reba knows all about this man's illegal financial dealings. Then the big agencies come in and enlist Kinsey's help to put him out of business. She has to convince Reba what a loser he is and get her in on the game. I could see a spin off book series on Reba, that's how strong a personality she was. I'd read it too.

Another aspect that makes this book so entertaining is that Kinsey "gets it on!" finally with a handsome and rich local cop. This could be promising....

Anyways, Kinsey pulls off another winning case and everything ends accordingly. Check it out....

Q is for Quarry, finished 1/31/08

2008-02-05T04:35:00.000-08:00

Ok I'm a little behind on my book completion posts. I've just finished three of the Grafton alphabet series. This post is about Q is for Quarry.

I don't think Kinsey knows how to say "no". She's always being roped into these crazy cases that a normal P.I. probably wouldn't give the time of day too, but it makes for good storylines, else why would I continue reading??? hmmmm.

So this story has to do with two semi-retired cops wanting to solve a cold case. A Jane Doe was killed 18 years earlier with little to no leads. Enter Kinsey, Lieutenant Dolan (who has been in past books) and Sheriff's Deputy Stacey Oliphant. They are friends who for health reasons aren't working but want to get the other's minds off their problems so they open up this case with Kinsey. Well I guess because the book is mostly about Kinsey, she ends up doing most of the legwork and getting into the most trobule. She takes a beating that would have most people giving up their P.I. career but she keeps plugging away. And no big surprise here, solves the mystery. Both Dolan and Oliphant play their parts, but both also spend time in the hospital (hmmm I wonder if being a cop is bad for your health?).

Interesting factoid; Sue Grafton wrote this one particular novel loosely based on a true unsolved murder in California back in the 60's. From the website:

"Q is for Quarry is based on an unsolved homicide that occurred in 1969, and Grafton's interest in the case has generated renewed police efforts. During the past year, the body was exhumed and a nationally known forensic artist did the facial reconstruction that appears in the closing pages of Q is for Quarry. Both Grafton and the dedicated members of the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Department are hoping the photograph will trigger memories that may lead to a positive identification."

This one was better than some of the previous ones. Overall the whole series has been well worth the time. I'm not learning anything, but I'm definitely being entertained!

P is for Peril, finished 1/20/08

2008-01-23T07:45:00.000-08:00

book number four for 2008 is down and out. I just went back to the library and picked up five more. I'm anxious to get out of the Sue Grafton alphabet series, so I just picked up the last ones they had: Q, R and S. According to her website, T is just out as well. I also grabbed two other books by another author on another bloggers' recommendation and look forward to starting and blogging about those.

I'm hopeful I can read about 4-5 books a month which will have me about about 60 for the year. Since I'm blogging about it, we'll be able to see if I reach my goal.

So P is for Peril was about Kinsey trying to solve a missing person case. Again, didn't enjoy this one as much as some of the others. She did a LOT of running around between potential suspects and then there was this short lived love interest that went way wrong. The story there was farfetched and mucked up as far as I'm concerned and the ended just totally left you hanging; or at least me. Was is Leila & her friend or was it Crystal and Anica.....sheesh just tell me and get it over with.

So if I were rating this one, it'd be a must read only if you are OCD and have to do the alphabet series in its entirety from A-T (so far). Get my drift? :o)

On to Q is for Quarry. Tell you about that one in a few days.

O is for Outlaw, finished 1/15/08

2008-01-23T07:37:00.001-08:00

Not keeping up with my book log very well am I? Guess my other blog just takes up too much time!

Well last week I finished "O is for Outlaw", also part of the alphabet series by Sue Grafton. I really enjoyed this one. I think the storylines on the last two were getting stale, but the author brought in an old love of Kinsey's, her first husband Marty Magruder (how in the world does she come up with all these interested names for people). The story keep me entralled and I think I read this one as quick as the first few in the series when I was on fire for them. The ending is par for the course in the Kinsey Millhone series', but I gotta say I wish it would have ended with some type of reconciliation of sorts, but I guess for Kinsey it was. You'll just have to read it and see if you agree with me.

I was thinking I should be putting my own ratings system on these little reviews, but I'm not sure what I'd use. This particular book of the alphabet series ranks high though so check it out.

The nice thing about these books are that you wouldn't necessarily have to pick up A then go to B, C, D, etc like I am. You could read these out of order and it wouldn't be that disconcerting. Let me know what you you think.

N is for Noose

2008-01-08T04:03:00.000-08:00

so I went on to N is for Noose by Sue Grafton, #14 in the ABC Kinsey Millhone mystery series. I'm sad to say that is book wasn't that great. I had a hard time getting through the story; the characters weren't as fun and real as the ones in the past and the ending was a bit disappointing.

I'm sure when you are writing the same character over and over again you probably hit a deadspot, this may have been Sue's. I've started on the next one and am hopeful for a better story line, we'll see. Maybe I'm just getting tired of these and need to sprinkle in some fresh books.

First Book Down - M is for Malice

2008-01-02T04:17:00.000-08:00

Yesterday (January 1st) I finished up Sue Grafton's "M is for Malice". I've been hooked since I started reading this series back in August I think it was. It began with "A is for Alibi" and I believe the author just finished T. I have M, N, O and P from my local library and will be finishing those up in the next few weeks.

If you like a good P.I. story, a little intrigue, very little romance and a lot of excitement then these books are for you. I love the main character, Kinsey Milhone. She's definitely one of a kind.

This book had a family of four brothers, one who was estranged from the family. When the father died they needed to find the fourth brother for the issues related to the will. None of the other three liked him for his past sins. Turns out he had turned his life around and wasn't interested in the money, just in reconnecting with his family. The story takes some twists and turns and you think you know "who done it" until the last few pages. As usual a great and easy read, so check it out!