Theme Thursday - HEAR

 

Theme Thursdays is a fun weekly event that will be open from one Thursday to the next. Hosted by Reading BetweenPages.

Anyone can participate in it.

 

The rules are simple:

•A theme will be posted each week (on Thursday’s)
•Select a conversation/snippet/sentence from the current book you are reading
•Mention the author and the title of the book along with your post
•It is important that the theme is conveyed in the sentence (you don’t necessarily need to have the word) Ex: If the theme is KISS; your sentence can have “They kissed so gently” or “Their lips touched each other” or “The smooch was so passionate”

This week’s theme is –HEAR (listen, anything else you can come up with the ear’s action)


Her voice was sour as ripe lemons. I heard her drop an Alka-Seltzer into a glass of liquid.

- Storm Front by Jim Butcher

WWW Wednesdays (Feb 8th)

To play along just answer the following three (3) questions...


*What are you currently reading?
*What did you recently finish reading?
*What do you think you’ll read next?


Leave a link to your post (or the answers themselves if you do not have a blog) in the comments of Should be Reading. 



What are you currently reading?

The Innocent by Harlan Coben

A whole lot of secrets and deceit and I have no idea how it will all turn out.


Storm Front by Jim Butcher

I thought I’d give the Dresden Files a try. So far I’m liking it



What did you recently finish reading?

The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor

A young adult book that tells the ‘true’ story of Alice in Wonderland.


Role of Honor by John Gardner

James Bond. He beats the bad guys and gets the girl.



What do you think you’ll read next?

I received a review copy of The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye that I think I’ll get started on. It takes place during the potato famine when and the NYPD is just being formed.

Bookin' With Bingo Giveaways

Bookin' With Bingo has a bunch of giveaways going on.

For If Fried Chicken Could Fly by Paige Shelton go here.  Ends February 15th.  Open to the US only, no PO boxes.

For The Summer Garden by Sherryl Woods go here.  Ends February 17th.  Open to the US only, no PO boxes.

For Cake on a Hot Tin Roof by Jacklyn Brady go here.  Ends February 17th.  Open to the US only, no PO boxes.

For the audio book Private: #1 Suspect by James Patterson go here.  Ends February 19th.  Open to the US and Canada, no PO boxes.

For Ali in Wonderland by Ali Wentworth go here.  Ends February 19th.  Open to the US only, no PO boxes.

For Gourmet Gifts by Dinah Corley go here.  Ends February 19th.  Open to the US only, no PO boxes.

Bingo always has wonderful and plentiful giveaways.  Check out the list here.  And keep going back.  New ones are added all the time.

Non-Fiction Non-Memoir Reading Challenge

My Book Retreat is hosting the Non-Fiction Non-Memoir reading challenge.

I'm going to go for the Bachelor's Degree level which is 15 books.

If that is too much or not enough for you there are other levels to choose from. Check them out along with the rest of the rules at My Book Retreat.

And remember NO MEMOIRS!



1. Ah-Choo!: The Uncommon Life of Your Common Cold by Jennifer Ackerman (Review here.)

2. The Planets by Dava Sobel (Review here.)

3. The Knight in History by Frances Gies (Review here.)

4. Circumference by Nicholas Nicastro (Review here.)

5. Sweet Invention by Michael Krondl

6. Culinary Reactions by Simon Field (Review here.)

7. Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea by Fred Bruemmer (Review here.)

8. Euclid's Window by Leonard Mlodinow (Review here.)

9. The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe by Theodore Gray (Review here.)

10. The Law of Superheroes by James Daily, J.D. and Ryan Davidson, J.D. (Review here.)

11. Speaking American by Richard W. Bailey (Review here.)

12. Unlikely Friendships by Jennifer S. Holland (Review here.)

13. Black Count by Tom Reiss (Review here.)

14. The Lost Chalice by Vernon Silver

15. Annoying by Joe Palca

Books in 2012

I hope to read at least 100 books this year. Let's see if it works out.



1. We, the Accused by Ernest Raymond

2. The Angel Experiment by James Patterson

3. Ah-Choo!: The Uncommon Life of Your Common Cold by Jennifer Ackerman

4. Back to the Stone Age by Edgar Rice Burroughs

5. Ranchero by Rick Gavin

6. Hero by Mike Lupica

7. Tyrannosaur Canyon by Douglas Preston

8. The Dragon Scroll by I. J. Parker

9. Black Wave: A Family's Adventure at Sea and the Disaster That Saved Them by John Silverwood

10. A Room with a View by E. M. Forster

11. The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor

12. Role of Honor by John Gardner

13. Storm Front by Jim Butcher

14. The Innocent by Harlan Coben

15. Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett

16. Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare

17. The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye

18. The Planets by Dava Sobel

19. Was Superman a Spy? by Brian Cronin

20. Hush Money by Robert Parker

21. Wasp by Eric Frank Russell

22. One of Our Thursdays is Missing by Jasper Fforde

23. The Knight in History by Frances Gies

24. Fool Moon by Jim Butcher

25. The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

26. Remote Control by Jack Heath

27. Castle in the Air by Donald Westlake

28. Bear Island by Alistair MacLean

29. Dragonbreath: No Such Thing As Ghosts by Ursula Vernon

30. Circumference by Nicholas Nicastro

31. Numbers by Rachel Ward

32. Mutiny on the Bounty Charles Nordhoff

33. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula Le Guin

34. How I Stole Johnny Depp's Alien Girlfriend by Gary Ghislain

35. The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti

36. Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

37. The Hate Genius by Kenneth Robeson

38. The Black Tower by P.D. James

39. The Child Thief by Brom

40. Whiplash River by Lou Berney

41. Logan: A Trilogy by William Nolan

42. The Bull From the Sea by Mary Renault

43. The Sea Egg by Lucy Boston

44. The Time Travelers' Handbook by Lottie Stride

45. Glaciers by Alexis Smith

46. Cryptozoology A to Z by Jerome Clark

47. The Testament of Jessie Lamb by Jane Rogers

48. Saints Astray by Jacqueline Carey

49. Three Men in a Boat (GN) by Jerome Jerome

50. Sweet Invention: A History of Dessert by Michael Krondl

51. Hatter M Vol. 1: The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor

52. Meg by Steve Alten

53. The Book of God and Physics by Enrique Joven

54. Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi

55. The Dolphin People by Torsten Krol

56. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

57. The Masterwork of a Painting Elephant by Michelle Cuevas

58. A Cup Full of Midnight by Jaden Terrell

59. Culinary Reactions by Simon Quellen Field

60. Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea by Fred Bruemmer

61. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

62. Euclid's Window by Leonard Mlodinow

63. F in Exams by Richard Benson

64. Me Write Book by Graham Roumieu

65. Moby Dick by Herman Melville

66. The Elements by Theodore Gray

67. The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks

68. Icarus at the Edge of Time by Brian Greene

69. The Law of Superheroes by James Daily

70. Pyg by Russell Potter

71. Speaking American by Richard Bailey

72. Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn

73. Unlikely Friendships by Jennifer Holland

74. Harry Lipkin, Private Eye by Barry Fantoni

75. Deadly Image by Edmund Cooper

76. The Shark King by Kikuo Johnson

77. Julia and the Master of Morancourt by Janet Aylmer

78. The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie

79. The Mourner by Richard Stark

80. The Black Count by Tom Reiss

81. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

82. The Black Forest by Todd Livingston

83. The Tick: The Naked City by Ben Edlund

84. The Lost Chalice by Vernon Silver

85. Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry

86. Looking for Przybylski by K.C. Frederick

87. Hinds' Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard

88. To the Castle by Dorothea Malm

89. Tarzan and the Leopard Men by Edgar Rice Burroughs

90. Annoying by Joe Palca

91. Enter Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse

92. Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom

93. Runemarks by Joanne Harris

94. Nefertiti by Michelle Moran

95. Krampus: The Yule Lord by Brom

96. Just One Look by Harlan Coben

97. The Girl of the Sea of Cortez by Peter Benchley

98. Uncertain Allies by Mark del Franco

99. The Merry Wives of Windsor by William Shakespeare

100. The Traveling Death and Resurrection Show by Ariel Gore

101. Sherlock Holmes vs. Dracula by Loren Estleman

102. Live by Night by Dennis Lehane

103. Put a Lid on It by Donald Westlake

104. Far World: Water Keep by Scott Savage

105. Far World: Land Keep by Scott Savage

106. A Gentleman of Leisure by P.G. Wodehouse

107. Ernestine by Pauline Innes

108. Conned Again, Watson by Colin Bruce

Eclectic Reader Challenge

Eclectic Reader is running a challenge this year designed to push readers out of their comfort zone.  You have all of 2012 to read and review a book from 12 different genres.

Genres

1. Literary Fiction -- The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (review here)

2. Crime/Mystery Fiction -- A Cup Full of Midnight by Jaden Terrell (review here)

3. Romantic Fiction -- Julia and the Master of Morancourt by Janet Aylmer (review here)

4. Historical Fiction -- The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye (review here)

5. Young Adult -- The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks (review here)

6. Fantasy -- Storm Front by Jim Butcher (review here)

7. Science Fiction -- Wasp by Eric Frank Russell (review here)

8. Non Fiction -- The Planets by Dava Sobel (review here)

9. Horror -- Meg by Steve Alten (review here) 

10. Thriller/Suspense -- Just One Look by Harlan Coben (review here)

11. Classic -- Moby Dick by Herman Melville (review here)

12. Your Favorite Genre -- Nefertiti by Michelle Moran (historical fiction) (review here)


I don't know the titles I'll be reading so I'll fill them in as I go along.  Along with the 12th genre.  Since my favorite genre is on the list already would it count if I read to from the same genre?

Well, I'll figure it out.  If it sounds like something you'd be interested in trying you should pop on over to Eclectic Reader and read the rest of the rules.

The King of Kong Review

The King of Kong

With Billy Mitchell and Steve Wiebe

This is a documentary about the world of competitive video gaming.  It focuses on two men and their quest to be the best Donkey Kong player of all time.

I have to admit that I don’t understand what makes these people so driven to conquer this game and go down in the history books for being so great at it.  It was casual curiosity that made me watch this.  I was surprised by how interested I became.  Billy Mitchell is the reigning Donkey Kong champion, and classic video game legend, and Steve Wiebe has been chasing the record.  You may not understand the obsession but you find yourself enthralled in the drama and rooting for these guys (well, one of them anyway).  As the documentary goes along there develops a good guy and a bad guy.  There is the drama of the taint of cheating and the possibility of conspiracies and the emotions of a lifetime of striving and falling just short so many times.  There is a cast of quirky supporting characters on one side or the other, some conflicted and some just interested observers but all woven into the surprisingly complex and intense world of competitive gaming.

Win The Way We Fall

Luxury Reading is giving away a copy of The Way We Fall by Megan Crewe.

The winner will also get a Minimergency Kit.

All you have to do to enter is comment on her post with your email address.

There are extra entries to be had for following, sharing, and entering other contests so make sure you read how and leave a new post for each entry.

Open until February 6th.  Open to the US and Canada.

Theme Thursday - Very

Theme Thursdays is a fun weekly event that will be open from one Thursday to the next. Hosted by Reading BetweenPages. 


Anyone can participate in it. 

The rules are simple: 

•A theme will be posted each week (on Thursday’s) 
•Select a conversation/snippet/sentence from the current book you are reading 
•Mention the author and the title of the book along with your post 
•It is important that the theme is conveyed in the sentence (you don’t necessarily need to have the word) Ex: If the theme is KISS; your sentence can have “They kissed so gently” or “Their lips touched each other” or “The smooch was so passionate” 

This week’s theme is – VERY

All you have to do is find the word ‘very’.

She is very pretty and has a natural charisma that has always filled the space around her.

-       - Black Wave by John and Jean Silverwood

Win Anew by Chelsea Fine

Popcorn Reads is giving away 2 autographed copied of Anew by Chelsea Fine.  It is the first book in the Archers of Avalon series.

The deadline to enter is February 4th at 11:59 PM EST.

It is open to US mailing addresses only.

You must be at least 13 to enter.

Make sure you read the directions on how to use the Rafflecopter form.  If you do not fill out the Rafflecopter form you will not be entered.

Good luck.

Sex on the Moon Review

Sex on the Moon by Ben Mezrich

(from the back of the book)

Thad Roberts, a fellow in a prestigious NASA program, had an idea – a romantic, albeit crazy, idea.  He wanted to give his girlfriend the moon.  Literally.

Thad convinced his girlfriend and another female accomplice, both NASA fellows, to break into an impenetrable laboratory at NASA – past security checkpoints, an electronically locked door with cipher security codes, and camera-lined hallways – and help him steal the most precious objects in the world: the moon rocks.

But what does one do with items so valuable that they’re illegal even to own?  And was Thad Roberts – undeniably gifted, picked for one of the most competitive scientific posts imaginable, a possible astronaut – really what he seemed?

Based on meticulous research into thousands of pages of court records, FBI transcripts, NASA documents, and interviews with most of the participants in the crime, Mezrich – with his signature high-velocity swagger – has reconstructed the madcap story of genius, love,  and duplicity, all centered around a heist that reads like a Hollywood thrill ride.

It’s an interesting story but…I was left a little puzzled.  Not about how they pulled off the heist.  But about Thad Roberts.  I wanted to like this guy, but I didn’t.  And if I couldn’t like him I wanted to at least understand him, but I didn’t.  His backstory about his hard life growing up and how he overcame everything to get a job at NASA was inspiring but made what he did even harder for me to understand.  His motives remain murky.  The book did try to explain them but I was left at a loss as to how he made the jump from dedicated employee to thief.  I don’t know if you were supposed to feel sorry for Thad or not.  But I was left unmoved.  I wanted him to get caught for thinking he could get away with it, for throwing away all that he had worked for and that other people would die to have, for not thinking about who would be hurt by his actions.  I found the idea of the crime interesting and it does read like a crime thriller.  It manages to have a certain sense of suspense even though you know what is going to happen.   I also liked that you got an inside look at NASA to some extent.   But I found myself frustrated at the characters here so at times reading this book was almost aggravating.  I wanted to shout at these people and often found myself more interested in the secondary characters than I was in Thad.  I like Mezrich’s writing, I just wish I liked the story better.  But this being non-fiction I really can’t blame Mezrich for the actions of the characters.  It reads quickly and is interesting in parts so it is worth reading if you are interested in true crime stories but I don’t think it is something that will stick with you too long after you finish reading the book.

Theme Thursday - Rhymes

Theme Thursdays is a fun weekly event that will be open from one Thursday to the next. Hosted by Reading Between Pages.


Anyone can participate in it.

The rules are simple:

•A theme will be posted each week (on Thursday’s)
•Select a conversation/snippet/sentence from the current book you are reading
•Mention the author and the title of the book along with your post
•It is important that the theme is conveyed in the sentence (you don’t necessarily need to have the word) Ex: If the theme is KISS; your sentence can have “They kissed so gently” or “Their lips touched each other” or “The smooch was so passionate”

This week’s theme is – RHYMES (Pick 2 snippets that have rhyming words i.e if one sentence has RAIN the other should have CHAIN or VAIN or SPAIN etc.)


Of all the people I knew, which wasn’t very many when you got right down to it, the one I figured I could most likely barge in on at four o’clock on a Wednesday morning was Artie Dexter.


I should have been asleep hours ago.


- The Fugitive Pigeon by Donald Westlake


I guess sleep is secondary when you are running for your life. Although there are times I think I might rather be shot than miss my sleep.

WWW Wednesdays (October 5th)

To play along just answer the following three (3) questions...


*What are you currently reading?
*What did you recently finish reading?
*What do you think you’ll read next?


Leave a link to your post (or the answers themselves if you do not have a blog) in the comments of ShouldBe Reading.

What are you currently reading?

Star Guard by Andre Norton

Humans are the mercenaries of the universe.  It doesn’t seem all that noble but at least it looks like we’re good at it.

What did you recently finish reading?

Monday the Rabbi Took Off by Harry Kemelman

Less about the mystery than it is about the people.  There are a lot of words in what I assume are in Hebrew and they talk about ceremonies and parts of the Jewish faith that I am unfamiliar with but that is part of the reason I like it.

What do you think you’ll read next?

I’m thinking of reading either The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti or The Turnaround by George Pelecanos.  No particular reason, they have just both been on my shelf for a while now and I thinking I should get to them.

Books I Finished in August and September

Well, my reading is picking up a little but it still isn’t up to where is usually is.  Maybe this is the month.

Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis

I’d heard so much about this trilogy that I was expecting to like them more than I did.  It was interesting but I was underwhelmed.

Barlowe’s Guide to Extraterrestrials by Wayne Douglas Barlowe

A little introduction to various aliens from science fiction.  Fun.

Perelandra by C.S. Lewis

Second in the trilogy.  Much more blatant with the religious allegory than the first one.

That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis

Third in the trilogy.  More of the same.

Sex on the Moon by Ben Mezrich

An interesting story of true crime.  You kind of know what is going to happen from the beginning but there is still some suspense.  I must admit that I was glad he got caught.  (I’m not giving anything away there.  You know he does from the very beginning.)

Before Versailles by Karleen Koen

It will take you back in time.  But pay attention.  There is a lot going on here.  Plots and subplots and lots of people.  I really liked it though.

The Time Keeper by Barbara Bartholomew

First in a trilogy.  A fast read that has some, by now, worn thin plot devices like the angst ridden teenager who doesn’t like her stepmother and it is a little dated.  But it is still a nice little science fiction adventure.

Dragonbreath: Lair of the Bat Monster by Ursula Vernon

As I’ve said before I like these books.  The stories are quirky and witty and fun and the illustrations are cute.

Child of Tomorrow by Barbara Bartholomew

Second in the Time Keeper trilogy.  Much like the first. 

When Dreamers Cease to Dream by Barbara Bartholomew

Third in the Time Keeper trilogy.  Much like the first two.  You do have to read them in order but they are short so it won’t take you long.

The Man Who Fell to Earth by Walter Stone Tevis

So much better than the movie.  It is a rather sad story but I liked it enough to look for more of Tevis’ books.

Forbidden Planet Review

Forbidden Planet

With Walter Pidgeon and Leslie Nielsen

A spaceship is sent out to find out what happen to a colony that was sent out 20 years earlier.  What they find is a planet empty of everyone but two survivors and a the deadly answer to the question of what happen to the colony and the long dead civilization of the planet.

I thought this movie took a while to get started. It is just a little bit slow in the beginning but picks up later. Watching it now there is nothing mind blowingly new but it is still fun to watch. The special effects are good enough and they didn't try to go over the top with them so even now nothing looks incredibly cheesy and laughable like so many other classic sci-fi movies. The story is pretty good and it is interesting to recognize so much of the cast. Some of the dialogue and acting is a little stilted and honestly just bad but the movie as a whole is suspenseful and entertaining. Definitely worth a look.

Theme Thursday - Sound/Music

Theme Thursdays is a fun weekly event that will be open from one Thursday to the next. Hosted by Reading Between Pages.


Anyone can participate in it.

The rules are simple:

•A theme will be posted each week (on Thursday’s)
•Select a conversation/snippet/sentence from the current book you are reading
•Mention the author and the title of the book along with your post
•It is important that the theme is conveyed in the sentence (you don’t necessarily need to have the word) Ex: If the theme is KISS; your sentence can have “They kissed so gently” or “Their lips touched each other” or “The smooch was so passionate”



This week’s theme is – SOUND / MUSIC


He pressed the button for a Haydn symphony that Farnsworth had told him he should hear. After a moment the sounds came on, militant and precise and, to him, of no logical or esthetic consequence. He was like an American listening to Chinese music.

--The Man Who Fell to Earth by Walter Tevis

Blood Oath & Outlaw Vocab

Blood Oath by Christopher Farnsworth




Madrassa: a Muslim school, college, or university that is often part of a mosque

Abreaction: the expression and emotional discharge of unconscious material (as a repressed idea or emotion) by verbalization especially in the presence of a therapist

Creatine: a white crystalline nitrogenous substance C4H9N3O2 found especially in the muscles of vertebrates either free or as phosphocreatine; also : a synthetic usually hydrated form of creatine taken especially as a dietary supplement

Atavism: recurrence in an organism of a trait or character typical of an ancestral form and usually due to genetic recombination

Abattoir: slaughterhouse



Outlaw by Angus Donald



Justiciar: the chief political and judicial officer of the Norman and later kings of England until the 13th century

Weasand: throat; gullet

Reive: raid

Vinous: of, relating to, or made with wine

Conroi: A small group of knights who competed in tournaments together from the 12th and 13th centuries

Gralloch: the entrails of a deer

Shrieval: of or relating to a sheriff

The Friday 56 - The Disappearing Spoon

Rules:

*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56.
*Find any sentence that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Link it to Freda's Voice.
*Add your (url) post to Linky on Freda’s post

The book this week is The Disappearing Spoon: and other tales of madness, love and the history of the world from the Periodic Table of the Elements by Sam Kean.


Mendeleev might as well have predicted cheese on Mars before Lecoq de Boisbaudran found evidence for his table in gallium.


Mendeleev did a lot of early work on putting the Periodic Table together and predicted what some the elements that hadn’t been discovered would look like. Which was just a nice story until someone actually found one.

Theme Thursday - Feeling

Theme Thursdays is a fun weekly event that will be open from one Thursday to the next. Hosted by Reading Between Pages.


Anyone can participate in it.
The rules are simple:

•A theme will be posted each week (on Thursday’s)
•Select a conversation/snippet/sentence from the current book you are reading
•Mention the author and the title of the book along with your post
•It is important that the theme is conveyed in the sentence (you don’t necessarily need to have the word) Ex: If the theme is KISS; your sentence can have “They kissed so gently” or “Their lips touched each other” or “The smooch was so passionate”


This week’s theme is – FEELING (Happiness, sadness, surprise, etc. )

This is a book about teenage girls so I expected there to be big dramatic scenes that fit this theme but it didn’t really work out that way. I found one though.


“You can’t leave me!” Terror sounded in Amy’s shrill whisper and she slipped down to crash in a heap against the floor.

-- Child of Tomorrow by Barbara Bertholomew

WWW Wednesdays (September 14th)

To play along just answer the following three (3) questions...


*What are you currently reading?
*What did you recently finish reading?
*What do you think you’ll read next?


Leave a link to your post (or the answers themselves if you do not have a blog) in the comments of Should Be Reading.


What are you currently reading?

Child of Tomorrow by Barbara Bartholomew
Second of The Time Keeper trilogy. I read these when I was a kid. I’m sure they seemed more exciting to me then. They aren’t bad. They could be a good way to take a break from heavier reading. I just wouldn’t call them great.


The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean
Stories from the periodic table. I haven’t gotten very far yet but I like stories about science and these seem like I will even be able to understand them.



What did you recently finish reading?

Sex on the Moon by Ben Mezrich
Spurred on by his love of a beautiful girl Thad Roberts decides to steal moon rocks from NASA. It’s an interesting story but I have to say that if a guy wants to impress me an illegal act is not the way to do it.

The Time Keeper by Barbara Bartholomew


What do you think you’ll read next?

When Dreamers Cease to Dream by Barbara Bartholomew
The third in the trilogy so I might as well finish it up.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children Review

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

(from the book jacket)
A horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that Miss Peregrine’s children were more than just peculiar. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow – impossible though it seems – they may still be alive.



This book starts out like it is going to be a sort of coming of age tale. And in some ways it remains one. But it also spins off and becomes much more. It has little pieces of adventure, romance, mystery, fantasy, and even a little historical fiction. So I’m unsure how to characterize this book. Time travel would be science fiction, but it isn’t really, monsters would be fantasy, but I wouldn’t call it that either. There isn’t one genre I could put on it but the mix works well. The characters are fun and interesting. There is one that seems slightly out of place to me. It wasn’t anything glaring or obtrusive to the story but he was unnecessary in a way the others were not. I like how the photos are woven in and become an integral part of the story. The photos by themselves are interesting too and it’s cool that they were not made for the book but are actual antique photographs. They make for a visual appealing book as well as a good story. There is action and danger but there is also good character development and personal growth in the main character and it makes for a nice pace throughout the book. There are a lot of interesting ideas in what makes the kids ‘peculiar’ and where the bad guys have come from that make it differ even more from other books that I’ve read than the photos already had. So even though there are some elements that have been done in many stories before it isn’t old. It is an entertaining story but if you are like me and are tired of all the young adult books coming in trilogies or series and are dying for a book that actually ends on the last page you might want to give this one a pass. The end definitely bodes of more to come.

Dragonbreath: Attack of the Ninja Frogs Review

Dragonbreath: Attack of the Ninja Frogs by Ursula Vernon

(from the back of the book)
Danny Dragonbreath finds school rather dull. But when ninja frogs try to kidnap the new foreign exchange student and claim she's their rightful ninja queen, things get a bit more interesting. As Danny wisely says, "We have a ninja problem!" Luckily, Danny has seen a whole lot of kung fu movies and is ready for anything. Well, almost.


Like the first Dragonbreath book this one is a mix of novel and graphic novel. The graphics are cute and expressive. You don’t have to read the first one but there are references to the first book in this one that are more fun if you know what they mean. I also like the continuity between this one and the first one. Not just the same characters but that both start with Danny’s fantasy, that there is a magic bus system that goes anywhere you need it to go (even mythical Japan), and that Danny has a relative for every occasion. The banter between Danny and his friend Wendell is fun and there is a lot of humor. This one might be even better than the first one because there is a bit more of a plot and I think there is also more action. And as cool as sea serpents are ninjas and samurai are hard to compete with. Reincarnation is mentioned and that might take some explanation but it is kind of mentioned and put aside so it might pass without notice by the reader. Once again it is a quick, fun, entertaining read and you might just learn a thing or two about ninjas.

The Friday 56, Before Versailles

Rules:
*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56.
*Find any sentence that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Link it to Freda's Voice.
*Add your (url) post to Linky on Freda’s post

The book this week is Before Versailles by Karleen Koen. It’s a good book. Which makes me wonder why I can’t seem to get anywhere with it. I’m going to finish though. I’m determined.

Guy bowed, and there was a chorus of giggles from the maids of honor, even a low laugh from the dreaded Catherine.

Theme Thursday -- Trees

Theme Thursdays is a fun weekly event that will be open from one Thursday to the next. Hosted by Reading Between Pages.

Anyone can participate in it.
The rules are simple:
•A theme will be posted each week (on Thursday’s)
•Select a conversation/snippet/sentence from the current book you are reading
•Mention the author and the title of the book along with your post
•It is important that the theme is conveyed in the sentence (you don’t necessarily need to have the word) Ex: If the theme is KISS; your sentence can have “They kissed so gently” or “Their lips touched each other” or “The smooch was so passionate”

This week’s theme is – TREES (Plants/Greenery)

This week I didn’t have any trouble finding something to fit the theme. The problem was deciding which part to use. It is a long conversation and I couldn’t put the whole thing here so I had to pick just a piece.


“Why one or two? At present, I allow, we must have forests, for the atmosphere. Presently we find a chemical substitute. And then, why any natural trees? I foresee nothing but the art tree all over the earth. In fact, we clean the planet.”

“Do you mean,” put in a man called Gould, “that we are to have no vegetation at all?”

“Exactly. You shave your face: even in the English fashion, you shave him every day. One day we shave the planet.”

“I wonder what the birds will make of it?”

-- That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis

Theme Thursday -- Recreation

Theme Thursdays is a fun weekly event that will be open from one Thursday to the next. Hosted by Reading Between Pages.

Anyone can participate in it.
The rules are simple:
•A theme will be posted each week (on Thursday’s)
•Select a conversation/snippet/sentence from the current book you are reading
•Mention the author and the title of the book along with your post
•It is important that the theme is conveyed in the sentence (you don’t necessarily need to have the word) Ex: If the theme is KISS; your sentence can have “They kissed so gently” or “Their lips touched each other” or “The smooch was so passionate”

This week’s theme is – RECREATION (Any spot that you would go for a break – Parks, resorts, even a library)


I had some trouble with this one. I had to browse through a couple of books just to find something I thought might fit. And it is not a perfect fit but I’m going to post it anyway. The guy is in a park. Fenway in Boston to be exact.

Locusts still proclaimed the day to be as it really was; dozing leaves drooped like limp Dali watches; iridescent dragonflies hovered effortlessly in the torpid air; dust kicked up by the kids settled back slowly and directly to its origin.

-- No Place for Gods by Gerald W. Mills