The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan
(from the book jacket)
Gabry lives a quiet life, secure in her town nxt to the sea and behind the Barrier. She’s content to let her friends dream of the Dark City up the coast while she watches from the top of her lighthouse. Home is all she’s ever known, and all she needs for happiness.
But life after the Return is never safe, and there are threats even the Barrier can’t hold back.
Gabry’s mother thought she left her secrets behind in the Forest of Hands and Teeth, but like the dead in their world, secrets don’t stay buried. And now, Gabry’s world is crumbling.
One night beyond the Barrier…
One boy Gabry’s known forever and one veiled in mystery…
One reckless moment, and half of Gabry’s generation is dead, the other half imprisoned.
Gabry knows only one thing: if she is to have any hope of a future, she must face the forest of her mother’s past.
This is the companion book to The Forest of Hands and Teeth. It does not pick up where the other one ended off like I had expected but takes place years later. Gabry has lived with the fear of the Mudo (or unconsecrated, or zombies) all her life and suddenly she is forced from the safety of her home and forced to flee for her life with the help of two boys, both of whom love her. Hey, wait. Isn’t that what happened in the first book? In fact, it is. And there were moments when I had a ‘same plot, different cast’ feeling while I was reading this. Especially when Gabry would go on and on about having to choose between two guys. There are things that make this book different from the first one, of course. The reason they are running is not the same, there is more of a human threat than a Mudo one, and there are new and interesting ideas about the Mudo and life among them. But I could not help but see the similarity. The book does do a good job of giving you a sense of events happening too quickly and spinning out of control as one bad decision spirals into one horrible consequence after another. And you can almost feel the sick feeling that Gabry must be feeling as she thinks about what her actions have brought about, what she could have done differently and goes though all the ‘what ifs’ in her head. I liked the way that the book, in some ways, comes full circle with the first one and things are tied together and all the connections are made. Mary, the main character from The Forest of Hands and Teeth, has changed but in many ways is still the same person. Which means I still don’t like her but in this case that is not a bad thing as it also means that Ryan has kept her character constant. There are moments of suspense and dread but there are also slower moments that are more about Gabry dealing with her own fears, hurts and guilt so it is more than just a horror story. Unfortunately it did tend to be over dramatic at times. With Gabry and her gut wrenching love for two guys, the cattiness of her friends and the angst against her mother it turned into a teenage soap opera at times and made me want to scream. But the book moved quickly and the scenes were over soon enough that I never wanted to stop reading. The end of the book leaves a lot of loose ends and the reader is left hanging and wanting to come back for more.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
The Friday 56, Soon I Will Be Invincible
Rules:*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56.
*Find any sentence that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Link it to Freda's Voice.
The book this week is Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman. Superheroes and supervillains. Should be fun.
The sentence:
If he were a normal person, he’d be Einstein.
Well, good thing he’s not normal. Who needs another Einstein?
Thursday, January 27, 2011
The Iron Fey
Bermudaonion is giving away The Iron Fey Trilogy by Julie Kagawa, The Iron King, The Iron Daughter, and The Iron Queen.
To enter head on over and fill out the form. All you need is a name and an email address.
It is open to the US and Canada no PO boxes.
It closes at midnight EST February 8th.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
WWW Wednesdays (January 26th)
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?
Santa Olivia by Jacqueline Carey
Genetically engineered wolf people? That’s good stuff.
Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman
I like superheroes. I can’t help it. I haven’t gotten very far so I don’t have much of an opinion yet but so far so good.
What did you recently finish reading?
Codex 632 by Jose Rodrigues Dos Santos
Umm… Well, all I can really say is I admire all the research that must have gone into this book. Unfortunately it was almost as much fun as doing the research myself.
Nurk: The Strange, Surprising Adventures of a (Somewhat) Brave Shrew by Ursula Vernon
It’s cute but I think I like her Dragonbreath books better.
What do think you’ll read next?
I’m going to put Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause here again and see if it’s true this time. Also on the list is Alice Adams by Booth Tarkington because I borrowed it from the library, have already renewed it once and have not started it. I have to get to it soon.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Defenders of the Earth Review
Defenders of the Earth
(from the DVD case)
Defenders of the Earth follows the continuing story of Flash Gordon, who returns to Earth in the near future, to defend the planet against the evil Emperor Ming. In the exciting battle between good and evil that follows, Flash teams up with Mandrake, the master of illusion, the powerfully strong Lothar, and the Phantom, who has the ability to summon the strength of the jungle animals in his battle against evil. The dazzling quartet of heroes is joined by their young offspring: handsome and headstrong Rick Gordon; Jedda Walker and her panther sidekick; tough and smart Lothar “L.J.” Jr.; and orphaned Kshin with his outer-space pet Zuffy. Together the team of heroes must battle against evildoers from their past and future, including Ming and his underlings, as well as super villains, marauding aliens, destructive demons, and sultry enchantresses! United as a team, they protect mankind as the Defenders of the Earth.
Most of the fun of watching this for me is probably nostalgia because I watched it as a kid. But I think there is still something here for new viewers. Is it great? No. The animation isn’t great, in fact, sometimes it is rather terrible. The plot lines are corny and there are things that are very convenient, like a supercomputer that seems to be able to pull vital information out of nowhere or a magic crystal that has the exact powers they need at the time. There are lessons about being brave or not using drugs that are also corny and can get overbearing at time. There are firefights where laser bolts are flying everywhere and our heroes never get hit even though they are standing right out in the open. And every new character has a voice that is suspiciously similar to one of the Defenders. But… they do a good job of keeping the characters consistent, Flash is cocky but not too smart, Mandrake is a bit arrogant, the children are always doing something stupid and impulsive. The stories make you take them at face value without too much explanation about how things came about or where certain people came from but they are full of action, magic, aliens, outer space fights, and battles of good against evil that can be fun. It may not be the best animation or the tightest plotting but it is still a team of superheroes joining together to save the Earth from every force that comes against it, and superheroes are fun and exciting in almost any form.
(from the DVD case)
Defenders of the Earth follows the continuing story of Flash Gordon, who returns to Earth in the near future, to defend the planet against the evil Emperor Ming. In the exciting battle between good and evil that follows, Flash teams up with Mandrake, the master of illusion, the powerfully strong Lothar, and the Phantom, who has the ability to summon the strength of the jungle animals in his battle against evil. The dazzling quartet of heroes is joined by their young offspring: handsome and headstrong Rick Gordon; Jedda Walker and her panther sidekick; tough and smart Lothar “L.J.” Jr.; and orphaned Kshin with his outer-space pet Zuffy. Together the team of heroes must battle against evildoers from their past and future, including Ming and his underlings, as well as super villains, marauding aliens, destructive demons, and sultry enchantresses! United as a team, they protect mankind as the Defenders of the Earth.
Most of the fun of watching this for me is probably nostalgia because I watched it as a kid. But I think there is still something here for new viewers. Is it great? No. The animation isn’t great, in fact, sometimes it is rather terrible. The plot lines are corny and there are things that are very convenient, like a supercomputer that seems to be able to pull vital information out of nowhere or a magic crystal that has the exact powers they need at the time. There are lessons about being brave or not using drugs that are also corny and can get overbearing at time. There are firefights where laser bolts are flying everywhere and our heroes never get hit even though they are standing right out in the open. And every new character has a voice that is suspiciously similar to one of the Defenders. But… they do a good job of keeping the characters consistent, Flash is cocky but not too smart, Mandrake is a bit arrogant, the children are always doing something stupid and impulsive. The stories make you take them at face value without too much explanation about how things came about or where certain people came from but they are full of action, magic, aliens, outer space fights, and battles of good against evil that can be fun. It may not be the best animation or the tightest plotting but it is still a team of superheroes joining together to save the Earth from every force that comes against it, and superheroes are fun and exciting in almost any form.
Friday, January 21, 2011
The Friday 56, Codex 632
Rules:*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56.
*Find any sentence that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Link it to Freda's Voice.
This week the book is Codex 632 by Jose Rodrigues Dos Santos. It is a novel about modern day historians trying to figure out who Christopher Columbus really was. It has a habit of going on and on until it becomes dull.
The sentence:
The man looked rather unusual: he was short and dark-haired, with black gloves on his hands and an enormous wicker basket balanced on his head.
I wonder what he found so unusual about being short. :)
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
White Cat
YA Booklover Blog is giving away an ARC copy of White Cat by Holly Black.
To enter head on over and fill out the super simple form.
Of course you can get extra entries.
1 Extra entry when you leave a comment
5 Extra entries when you Tweet or make a Facebook post
10 Extra entries when you blog
(Leave the links in the comments.)
The catch? You have to live in the US or Canada to enter.
Giveaway ends January 31st.
To enter head on over and fill out the super simple form.
Of course you can get extra entries.
1 Extra entry when you leave a comment
5 Extra entries when you Tweet or make a Facebook post
10 Extra entries when you blog
(Leave the links in the comments.)
The catch? You have to live in the US or Canada to enter.
Giveaway ends January 31st.
WWW Wednesday (January 19th)
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?
A is for Alibi by Sue Grafton
Can you believe I am just reading A now?
Codex 632 by Jose Rodrigues Dos Santos
Not as exciting as I expected it to be. There is a lot of conversation about what seems like every document in the world has to say about Christopher Columbus.
What did you recently finish reading?
8th Grade Super Zero by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich
Kind of preachy but not bad.
Slaughterhouse-five by Kurt Vonnegut
Something it seems like I should have read a long time ago but always thought I wouldn’t like. I was wrong which proves that you shouldn’t judge until you try it.
Britten and Brulightly by Hannah Berry
A graphic novel with a noir feel. A lot of gray which gives the whole thing a sad feel. I’d read more by Hannah berry but unfortunately I don’t think there is any more.
What do you think you’ll read next?
I always have trouble with this question but…
I’m thinking maybe Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause. I think I’ve read it before but if I did it was so long ago I can’t really remember. Or Nurk: The Strange, Surprising Adventures of a (Somewhat) Brave Shrew by Ursula Vernon. I liked her Dragonbreath books so I’m hoping I’ll like this one too.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Dracula Review
Dracula by Bram Stoker
(from the book jacket)
Jonathan Harker, a young solicitor, is summoned by the mysterious Count Dracula to his castle in Transylvania to finalize a property deal. Little does Harker suspect that by signing over English property to the count he is unleashing a terrible evil on his countrymen. Against this threat, Dr. Van Helsing forms his team of vampire slayers, pitting telegrams, trains, and revolvers against Dracula’s army of ghouls and lunatics.
In this story of a prim and arrogant society threatened by a supernatural force, Stoker captured the fears of his age. Dracula represents everything respectable Victorians feared: the irrational, the pagan, the erotic, and the foreign. Dracula had been imitated and adapted for cinema many times. It remains as exciting and relevant today as when first published in 1897.
I went into this book with preconceived notions. Some of them were confirmed but some of them were not. I can read it after having watched a lot of vampire and Dracula movies and still feel the suspense. Stoker does a good job of setting a very creepy scene in the beginning of the story when Jonathan Harker first starts on his journey and there are moments throughout were you can feel the menace of Count Dracula and a sense of dread in the characters. But sometimes it is almost lost in the minutiae of where people were sitting at the table or in the long speeches of the characters some of which seem to go nowhere. The entire book is told in journal entries and newspaper articles so you get different voices and different viewpoints on the events. It doesn’t take long to get used to keeping track of the dates and who is talking at the time but you do have to pay attention to both. It also lets you in on the feelings and thoughts of the people writing. Which is both a good and a bad thing. I think it adds to the terror and suspense of the story to know the doubts and fears and inner turmoil of the characters but they do tend to be very verbose. Everyone is going on about how noble everyone else in the party is, how brave the men, how sweet the women, Mina is put forth as an example of the best of womankind, and Mina herself goes on about how lucky she is to have such strong men around her to protect her. It turns into a mutual admiration society that just won’t quit. And I like Van Helsing as a character, he is a nice old man who is doing what he thinks is right at all costs and he is the one who keeps reminding the others that there is more at stake (no pun intended) than life and death and they are in a struggle against evil, doing God’s work and fighting for people’s very souls. And you like him and do think he is noble just like everyone keeps saying but he’s also didactic and goes on and on about everything. And it is all taken down faithfully, verbatim, in his broken English. There is a lot of narrative here and there are long stretches where you don’t see much of Dracula at all, just hints that his presence is affecting people. Although some times you didn’t see the connection at first. After a fast start the story unfolds slowly and if you do not like or have no patience for long build ups and internal dialogs then parts will be very tedious. I enjoyed the book. I thought Dracula was suitably creepy and the setting dark. I did get annoyed with the characters sometimes and there were moments when I thought they were being rather dense and couldn’t believe they hadn’t caught on to this or that but most of them were likable enough. I liked the long build up that made you wonder what Dracula was doing and let you see the lives of the people, happy at first, and then how they changed with Dracula’s coming. It is rather long and though there are moments of action it does not exactly proceed at a breakneck speed. It’s a good story and, in many ways, timeless but like many classics I believe there will be people who will find it rather boring.
(from the book jacket)
Jonathan Harker, a young solicitor, is summoned by the mysterious Count Dracula to his castle in Transylvania to finalize a property deal. Little does Harker suspect that by signing over English property to the count he is unleashing a terrible evil on his countrymen. Against this threat, Dr. Van Helsing forms his team of vampire slayers, pitting telegrams, trains, and revolvers against Dracula’s army of ghouls and lunatics.
In this story of a prim and arrogant society threatened by a supernatural force, Stoker captured the fears of his age. Dracula represents everything respectable Victorians feared: the irrational, the pagan, the erotic, and the foreign. Dracula had been imitated and adapted for cinema many times. It remains as exciting and relevant today as when first published in 1897.
I went into this book with preconceived notions. Some of them were confirmed but some of them were not. I can read it after having watched a lot of vampire and Dracula movies and still feel the suspense. Stoker does a good job of setting a very creepy scene in the beginning of the story when Jonathan Harker first starts on his journey and there are moments throughout were you can feel the menace of Count Dracula and a sense of dread in the characters. But sometimes it is almost lost in the minutiae of where people were sitting at the table or in the long speeches of the characters some of which seem to go nowhere. The entire book is told in journal entries and newspaper articles so you get different voices and different viewpoints on the events. It doesn’t take long to get used to keeping track of the dates and who is talking at the time but you do have to pay attention to both. It also lets you in on the feelings and thoughts of the people writing. Which is both a good and a bad thing. I think it adds to the terror and suspense of the story to know the doubts and fears and inner turmoil of the characters but they do tend to be very verbose. Everyone is going on about how noble everyone else in the party is, how brave the men, how sweet the women, Mina is put forth as an example of the best of womankind, and Mina herself goes on about how lucky she is to have such strong men around her to protect her. It turns into a mutual admiration society that just won’t quit. And I like Van Helsing as a character, he is a nice old man who is doing what he thinks is right at all costs and he is the one who keeps reminding the others that there is more at stake (no pun intended) than life and death and they are in a struggle against evil, doing God’s work and fighting for people’s very souls. And you like him and do think he is noble just like everyone keeps saying but he’s also didactic and goes on and on about everything. And it is all taken down faithfully, verbatim, in his broken English. There is a lot of narrative here and there are long stretches where you don’t see much of Dracula at all, just hints that his presence is affecting people. Although some times you didn’t see the connection at first. After a fast start the story unfolds slowly and if you do not like or have no patience for long build ups and internal dialogs then parts will be very tedious. I enjoyed the book. I thought Dracula was suitably creepy and the setting dark. I did get annoyed with the characters sometimes and there were moments when I thought they were being rather dense and couldn’t believe they hadn’t caught on to this or that but most of them were likable enough. I liked the long build up that made you wonder what Dracula was doing and let you see the lives of the people, happy at first, and then how they changed with Dracula’s coming. It is rather long and though there are moments of action it does not exactly proceed at a breakneck speed. It’s a good story and, in many ways, timeless but like many classics I believe there will be people who will find it rather boring.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Reader or Writer?
If you're a reader you might want to stop by I'm a Reader, Not a Writer where you can win a lot of things to read.
For The Royal Dragoneers by M.R. Mathias go here. Ends January 24th. Open to the US only.
For Forest of Adventures by Katie M. John go here. Ends January 31st. Open to US, CA, AUS, and EU.
For Drought by Pam Bachorz go here. Ends February 7th. Open to the US only.
For Will Work For Prom Dress by Aimee Ferris (and earrings) go here. Ends February 7th. Open to the US and Canada.
For Daughter of Xanadu by Dori JonesYang go here. Ends February 8th. Open internationally.
For Flirt Club by Cathleen Daly go here. Ends February 8th. Open to the US and Canada.
For Rival by Sara Bennett Wealer go here. Ends February 10th. Open to the US and Canada.
For the ebook The Privateer by Danielle Thorne go here. Ends February 10th. Open internationally.
For Portal by Imogen Rose go here. Ends February 10th. Paperback copies are available to the US and Canada, and ebook copies are available internationally.
There are other giveaways as well so make sure you check out the right hand sidebar for all the good stuff you can win.
For The Royal Dragoneers by M.R. Mathias go here. Ends January 24th. Open to the US only.
For Forest of Adventures by Katie M. John go here. Ends January 31st. Open to US, CA, AUS, and EU.
For Drought by Pam Bachorz go here. Ends February 7th. Open to the US only.
For Will Work For Prom Dress by Aimee Ferris (and earrings) go here. Ends February 7th. Open to the US and Canada.
For Daughter of Xanadu by Dori JonesYang go here. Ends February 8th. Open internationally.
For Flirt Club by Cathleen Daly go here. Ends February 8th. Open to the US and Canada.
For Rival by Sara Bennett Wealer go here. Ends February 10th. Open to the US and Canada.
For the ebook The Privateer by Danielle Thorne go here. Ends February 10th. Open internationally.
For Portal by Imogen Rose go here. Ends February 10th. Paperback copies are available to the US and Canada, and ebook copies are available internationally.
There are other giveaways as well so make sure you check out the right hand sidebar for all the good stuff you can win.
So Good I Didn't Even Notice
I was reading a book the other day and I kept thinking that the dialogue didn’t sound right. It was strange and unnatural. And then it occurred to me that I have never read a book and noticed the great dialogue. I mean, I notice when characters are funny or witty or something but I never think to myself how natural the dialogue sounds. Which seems like a shame. I notice wonderful descriptions, emotional stories and well developed characters and other things that go into a good book but I don’t notice the dialogue unless it’s bad. I’ve tried to write dialogue and I’ve read enough bad dialogue to know that writing good dialogue isn’t easy. So the writers of good dialogue should get some recognition. But they don’t get any from me. The problem is that when dialogue is done right it is so natural that it doesn’t stand out. At least not to me. So I want to thank all the writers of good dialogue out there. And apologize that, even after this big revelation, I will continue to fail to notice it.
I wonder what else was so good that I didn’t even notice it.
I wonder what else was so good that I didn’t even notice it.
Friday, January 14, 2011
The Friday 56, Slaughterhouse-Five
Rules:*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56.
*Find any sentence that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Link it to Freda's Voice.
The book this week is Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut. This is my first Vonnegut book. For some reason I always thought I wouldn’t like Kurt Vonnegut. I think I was wrong.
The sentence:
At last she had accumulated enough to whisper this complete sentence: “How did I get so old?”
What she had accumulated was energy, and it seems like it was rather had to do at this point. But I guess if the question is important enough you find a way to ask it.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Boneshaker Review
Boneshaker by Cherie Priest
(from the back of the book)
In the early days of the Civil War, rumors of gold in the frozen Klondike brought hordes of newcomers to the Pacific Northwest. Anxious to compete, Russian prospectors commissioned inventor Leviticus Blue to create a great machine that could mine through Alaska's ice. Thus was Dr. Blue's Incredible Bone-Shaking Drill Engine born. But on its first test run the Boneshaker went terribly awry, destroying several blocks of downtown Seattle and unearthing a subterranen vein of blight gas that turned anyone who breathed it into the living dead. Now it is sixteen years later, and a wall has been built to enclose the devastated and toxic city. Just beyond it lives Blue's widow, Briar Wilkes. Life is hard with a ruined reputation and a teenage boy to support, but she and Ezekiel are managing. Until Ezekiel undertakes a secret crusade to rewrite history. His quest will take him under the wall and into a city teeming with ravenous undead, air pirates, criminal overlords, and heavily armed refugees. And only Briar can bring him out alive.
More of a zombie book than I expected. I thought it would be more about Zeke’s quest inside the city but it was more running for your life than anything else. Which is fine. I like zombie books, but it wasn’t what I expected. The apathy that Briar, the heroine (?) of the piece, seems to have towards many things is exactly how I feel about her. I’m rather indifferent to her and her plight. It’s entertaining enough in a fight for survival sort of way but there aren’t many surprises or twists really. There are holes too. Not huge holes but nagging sort of things that aren’t really explained or where the explanation wasn’t really convincing. Why are there people still in the city, how did the doctor get so powerful, after 15 years of being picked off and having nothing to sustain them why are there so many ‘rotters’ left, nothing you can’t suspend belief around but slightly nagging just the same. It all builds to a climax in a battle against the ‘rotters’ and the doctor which was harrowing and liberating and would have made a good ending, only it wasn’t the end. It goes on for a little bit more where Briar gets to make her big revelation which didn’t do anything to change my feelings of apathy for her and I’m not sure what the reader is supposed to make of it. It was just thrown out there and fell flat for me. I liked the action/adventure aspects, the zombies and sky pirates, the Blight and mad scientists. But Briar’s story? I didn’t care much about that. So the book left me split. I liked it, and I didn’t.
(from the back of the book)
In the early days of the Civil War, rumors of gold in the frozen Klondike brought hordes of newcomers to the Pacific Northwest. Anxious to compete, Russian prospectors commissioned inventor Leviticus Blue to create a great machine that could mine through Alaska's ice. Thus was Dr. Blue's Incredible Bone-Shaking Drill Engine born. But on its first test run the Boneshaker went terribly awry, destroying several blocks of downtown Seattle and unearthing a subterranen vein of blight gas that turned anyone who breathed it into the living dead. Now it is sixteen years later, and a wall has been built to enclose the devastated and toxic city. Just beyond it lives Blue's widow, Briar Wilkes. Life is hard with a ruined reputation and a teenage boy to support, but she and Ezekiel are managing. Until Ezekiel undertakes a secret crusade to rewrite history. His quest will take him under the wall and into a city teeming with ravenous undead, air pirates, criminal overlords, and heavily armed refugees. And only Briar can bring him out alive.
More of a zombie book than I expected. I thought it would be more about Zeke’s quest inside the city but it was more running for your life than anything else. Which is fine. I like zombie books, but it wasn’t what I expected. The apathy that Briar, the heroine (?) of the piece, seems to have towards many things is exactly how I feel about her. I’m rather indifferent to her and her plight. It’s entertaining enough in a fight for survival sort of way but there aren’t many surprises or twists really. There are holes too. Not huge holes but nagging sort of things that aren’t really explained or where the explanation wasn’t really convincing. Why are there people still in the city, how did the doctor get so powerful, after 15 years of being picked off and having nothing to sustain them why are there so many ‘rotters’ left, nothing you can’t suspend belief around but slightly nagging just the same. It all builds to a climax in a battle against the ‘rotters’ and the doctor which was harrowing and liberating and would have made a good ending, only it wasn’t the end. It goes on for a little bit more where Briar gets to make her big revelation which didn’t do anything to change my feelings of apathy for her and I’m not sure what the reader is supposed to make of it. It was just thrown out there and fell flat for me. I liked the action/adventure aspects, the zombies and sky pirates, the Blight and mad scientists. But Briar’s story? I didn’t care much about that. So the book left me split. I liked it, and I didn’t.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Like ARCs?
Are you a blogger? Review books? Love ARCs?
Than All Things Urban Fantasy has the giveaway for you. In order to let (ideally new) bloggers a chance to get thier hands on some ARCs they are giving away 6 ARCs to those willing to review them. There will be six winners.
On offer are:
•Born at Midnight (Shadow Falls, #1) by C.C. Hunter
•The Demon Trapper's Daughter (Demon Trapper #1) by Jana Oliver
•Entice (Need, #3) by Carrie Jones
•Fallen Angel (Fallen Angel, #1) by Heather Terrell
•Out for Blood (The Drake Chronicles, #3) by Alyxandra Harvey
•Shadowspell (Faeriewalker, #2) by Jenna Black [signed]
In order to enter you must:
1.Have a blog
2.Been blogging for at least a month
3.Agree to review the ARC on your blog within a month
4.Have a US mailing address
If you have all of that leave your email, blog URL, and the title you most want.
The six winners will be picked on January 16th.
Than All Things Urban Fantasy has the giveaway for you. In order to let (ideally new) bloggers a chance to get thier hands on some ARCs they are giving away 6 ARCs to those willing to review them. There will be six winners.
On offer are:
•Born at Midnight (Shadow Falls, #1) by C.C. Hunter
•The Demon Trapper's Daughter (Demon Trapper #1) by Jana Oliver
•Entice (Need, #3) by Carrie Jones
•Fallen Angel (Fallen Angel, #1) by Heather Terrell
•Out for Blood (The Drake Chronicles, #3) by Alyxandra Harvey
•Shadowspell (Faeriewalker, #2) by Jenna Black [signed]
In order to enter you must:
1.Have a blog
2.Been blogging for at least a month
3.Agree to review the ARC on your blog within a month
4.Have a US mailing address
If you have all of that leave your email, blog URL, and the title you most want.
The six winners will be picked on January 16th.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Bless Their Hearts Mom
Bless Their Hearts Mom is giving away some stuff!
For To Have Not by Frances Lefkow go here. Open until January 19th to the US and Canada.
For the Juppy Baby Bouncer go here. Open until January 25th to the US and Canada.
For The Magic of Jelly by Welch's go here. Open until January 28th to the US only.
For Cinch by Cynthia Sass go here. Open until January 28th to the US and Canada.
For the Best Pals prize pack (includes dolls, tea set, and CD) go here. Open until January 28th to the US only.
For To Have Not by Frances Lefkow go here. Open until January 19th to the US and Canada.
For the Juppy Baby Bouncer go here. Open until January 25th to the US and Canada.
For The Magic of Jelly by Welch's go here. Open until January 28th to the US only.
For Cinch by Cynthia Sass go here. Open until January 28th to the US and Canada.
For the Best Pals prize pack (includes dolls, tea set, and CD) go here. Open until January 28th to the US only.
Friday, January 7, 2011
The Friday 56, What Do You Care What Other People THink?
Rules:*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56.
*Find any sentence that grabs you.
*Post it.
*Link it to Freda's Voice.
The book this week is “What Do You Care What Other People Think?” by Richard P. Feynman. Physicist Feynman tells stories from his life. For some reason I find this guy very interesting.
The sentence:
I was stirring Jell-O and watching it closely: I had gotten curious as to whether Jell-O would coagulate in the cold if you kept it moving all the time.
I guess that’s what physicists do for fun. There was no word on whether it set up or not. It was not what the story was about but if he was going to mention it, it would have been nice to know how it turned out.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
The Changeling Movie Review
The Changeling
With George C. Scott and Trish Van Devere
(from the DVD case)
George C. Scott and Trish Van Devere star in a thriller that challenges the viewers to solve its mystery. It’s a haunted house adventure complete with séances, nocturnal grave diggings, ghostly spirits, and an ancient puzzle jealously guarded by a devious man. Scott is splendid as the man who becomes an unwilling instrument of a ghost’s revenge and learns to trust no one. Eerily entwining a detective story with the mystery of the supernatural, The Changeling delivers solid entertainment and a frightening good time.
With George C. Scott and Trish Van Devere
(from the DVD case)
George C. Scott and Trish Van Devere star in a thriller that challenges the viewers to solve its mystery. It’s a haunted house adventure complete with séances, nocturnal grave diggings, ghostly spirits, and an ancient puzzle jealously guarded by a devious man. Scott is splendid as the man who becomes an unwilling instrument of a ghost’s revenge and learns to trust no one. Eerily entwining a detective story with the mystery of the supernatural, The Changeling delivers solid entertainment and a frightening good time.
I like that this horror movie does not rely on gore and blood to get the chills it is looking for. Unfortunately the chills are few and long in coming. The movie has a very slow start. We watch Scott hang out in a big house with a few odd noises for quite some time. It does start to get rather spooky but then takes a break and we get to see a lot of research in the library. It is an interesting idea behind the unsettled spirit in the house but watching them tell each other the story didn’t make for riveting cinema. There are some genuinely creepy moments but the pace was rather slow and the scary bits were stuck between a bunch of bits that weren’t. Then there were a bunch of things shaking about and tension starts to build but then the ending left me unsatisfied.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Wicked Plants Review
Wicked Plants by Amy Stewart
(from the back of the book)
A tree that sheds poison daggers; a glistening red seed that stops the heart; a shrub that causes paralysis; a vine that strangles; and a leaf that triggered a war. Amy Stewart, bestselling author of Flower Confidential, takes on over two hundred of Mother Nature's most appalling creations in an A to Z of plants that kill, maim, intoxicate, and otherwise offend. Menacing botanical illustrations render a ghastly portrait of evildoers that may be lurking on your own backyard. Drawing on history, medicine, science, and legend, this compendium of bloodcurdling botany will entertain, enlighten, and alarm even the most intrepid gardeners and nature lovers.
There are a lot of interesting facts in this little book. I’m not sure how much of it will be unknown to someone who actually has some knowledge of plants but for someone like me, who has very little, it is filled with new things. Some of which you might not want to know. It covers a variety of plants, some that kill, some that are painful, some that are destructive and some that are just annoying. The book includes not just the deadly plants but those that are invasive and destructive or that sting, itch or intoxicate. It goes from hemlock, to tobacco, to celery, to seaweed that grows so vigorously that it chokes out all other aquatic life. There are some plants here that you might have in your home right now. I don’t know that I will ever be able to eat a cashew again without wondering if it was properly deshelled, and figs may never be on my menu again. Stewart doesn’t just give you the facts and the symptoms but anecdotes about when and where these various plants have turned up in history, making it both informative and entertaining. It is filled with beautiful etching of the plants too, to help you avoid mishaps on your nature walks.
(from the back of the book)
A tree that sheds poison daggers; a glistening red seed that stops the heart; a shrub that causes paralysis; a vine that strangles; and a leaf that triggered a war. Amy Stewart, bestselling author of Flower Confidential, takes on over two hundred of Mother Nature's most appalling creations in an A to Z of plants that kill, maim, intoxicate, and otherwise offend. Menacing botanical illustrations render a ghastly portrait of evildoers that may be lurking on your own backyard. Drawing on history, medicine, science, and legend, this compendium of bloodcurdling botany will entertain, enlighten, and alarm even the most intrepid gardeners and nature lovers.
There are a lot of interesting facts in this little book. I’m not sure how much of it will be unknown to someone who actually has some knowledge of plants but for someone like me, who has very little, it is filled with new things. Some of which you might not want to know. It covers a variety of plants, some that kill, some that are painful, some that are destructive and some that are just annoying. The book includes not just the deadly plants but those that are invasive and destructive or that sting, itch or intoxicate. It goes from hemlock, to tobacco, to celery, to seaweed that grows so vigorously that it chokes out all other aquatic life. There are some plants here that you might have in your home right now. I don’t know that I will ever be able to eat a cashew again without wondering if it was properly deshelled, and figs may never be on my menu again. Stewart doesn’t just give you the facts and the symptoms but anecdotes about when and where these various plants have turned up in history, making it both informative and entertaining. It is filled with beautiful etching of the plants too, to help you avoid mishaps on your nature walks.
Monday, January 3, 2011
India Black
Carol's Notebook is giving away a copy of India Black by Carol K. Carr.
All you have to do to enter is leave her a comment saying that you want to. What could be easier?
You have until January 12th to enter. The winner will be chosen at random on the 13th. Let's hope it isn't as unlucky as it sounds.
This one is only open to the US and Canada.
All you have to do to enter is leave her a comment saying that you want to. What could be easier?
You have until January 12th to enter. The winner will be chosen at random on the 13th. Let's hope it isn't as unlucky as it sounds.
This one is only open to the US and Canada.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
The Fantastic Mr. Fox Movie vs. Book
The Fantastic Mr. Fox by Roald Dahl
The Fantastic Mr. Fox with George Clooney
The book is about a fox who steals birds from three mean farmers and the attempt of those farmers to get revenge on the fox. The fox is a rather happy go lucky kind of guy who lives with his wife and four children. They are a happy family until all Mr. Fox’s years of stealing catch up to him and he has to outsmart the farmers to save the life of his family and all the creatures that live on his hill. His wife is loving and supportive and doesn’t play much of a role. Neither do his children. Or really any of the other animals for that matter.
The movie has the same basic storyline except Mr. Fox has not been stealing from these farmers for years already. But the movie adds a lot. Mr. Fox now has a nephew and an opossum friend. There is a lot more going on, with the relationships between him, his wife and his son, with his promise to give up stealing, with his worries about where he lives and all of that. All of the characters are more complex in the movie and often had bigger parts to play. Which made them more interesting. (Except for the rat in my opinion who was so ridiculous as to be annoying.) And there is more humor in the movie too.
I didn’t love either of them really. The book was quick to read and the movie enjoyable to watch once but I don’t think I’ll be going back to either. I do think I liked the movie better this time simply because there was more to it. The story and the characters have more depth. There was more character in the characters. You got to know them in a way I don’t think you did in the book. And the story wasn’t all about stealing chickens but was also about Mr. Fox and his family. All of which made the movie hold my attention better than the book.
The Fantastic Mr. Fox with George Clooney
The book is about a fox who steals birds from three mean farmers and the attempt of those farmers to get revenge on the fox. The fox is a rather happy go lucky kind of guy who lives with his wife and four children. They are a happy family until all Mr. Fox’s years of stealing catch up to him and he has to outsmart the farmers to save the life of his family and all the creatures that live on his hill. His wife is loving and supportive and doesn’t play much of a role. Neither do his children. Or really any of the other animals for that matter.
The movie has the same basic storyline except Mr. Fox has not been stealing from these farmers for years already. But the movie adds a lot. Mr. Fox now has a nephew and an opossum friend. There is a lot more going on, with the relationships between him, his wife and his son, with his promise to give up stealing, with his worries about where he lives and all of that. All of the characters are more complex in the movie and often had bigger parts to play. Which made them more interesting. (Except for the rat in my opinion who was so ridiculous as to be annoying.) And there is more humor in the movie too.
I didn’t love either of them really. The book was quick to read and the movie enjoyable to watch once but I don’t think I’ll be going back to either. I do think I liked the movie better this time simply because there was more to it. The story and the characters have more depth. There was more character in the characters. You got to know them in a way I don’t think you did in the book. And the story wasn’t all about stealing chickens but was also about Mr. Fox and his family. All of which made the movie hold my attention better than the book.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
75 Books in 2011
This year I've decided that the only challenge I'm going to do is the 75 books in 2011 Challenge. Which is just really a list of the books that I'll read this year. We'll see if I can do as well as I did last year where the total was 126.
1. The Name of This Book is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch
2. Dragonbreath: Attack of the Ninja Frogs by Ursula Vernon
3. Edible Stories by Mark Kurlansky
4. "What Do You Care What Other People Think?" by Richard P. Feynman
5. Coraline by Neil Gaiman
6. 8th Grade Super Zero by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich
7. Slaughterhouse-five by Kurt Vonnegut
8. Britten and Brulightly by Hannah Berry
9. Codex 632 by Jose Rodrigues Dos Santos
10. A is for Alibi by Sue Grafton
11. Nurk: The Strange, Surprising Adventure of a (Somewhat) Brave Shrew by Ursula Vernon
12. Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman
13. Santa Olivia by Jacqueline Carey
14. Dragonbreath: Curse of the Were-Weiner by Ursula Vernon
15. Amulet: The Stonekeeper by Kazu Kibuishi
16. Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause
17. The Elephant to Hollywood by Michael Caine
18. Outrun the Dark by Cecilia Bertholomew
19. The Big Splash by Jack D. Ferraiolo
20. Alice Adams by Booth Tarkington
21. Interred With Their Bones by Jennifer Lee Carrell
22. Colony by Scott Reeves
23. Collected Alison Dare Vols 1 & 2 by J. Torres
24. Athena: Grey Eyed Goddess by George O'Connor
25. The Road of the Dead by Kevin Brooks
26. The Spider: Robot Titans of Gotham by Norvell Page
27. The Arrival by Shaun Tan
28. God of Beer by Garret Keizer
29. Skellig by David Almond
30. Get Real by Donald Westlake
31. Chicken a la King and the Buffalo Wing by Steven Gilbar
32. All's Well That Ends Well by William Shakespeare
33. Blood Oath by Christopher Farnsworth
34. Outlaw by Angus Donald
35. Bleach Chapters 1-443 by Tite Kubo
36. Ex-Heroes by Peter Clines
37. Rare Beasts by Charles Ogden
38. The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
39. How to Survive a Robot Uprising by Daniel H. Wilson
40. Blazin' Barrels by Min-Seo Park
41. Zeus King of the Gods by George O'Connor
42. Plastic Man on the Lam by Kyle Baker
43. The Tain by Thomas Kinsella
44. Madame Tussaud by Michelle Moran
45. Immortality Inc. by Robert Sheckley
46. We Kill Monsters by Christopher Leone
47. How to Build a Robot Army by Daniel Wilson
48. Draconian New York by Robert Sheckley
49. The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey
50. Hammer of the Gods Vol. 1: Mortal Enemies by Michael Avon Oeming
51. Werewolf versus Dragon by David Sinden
52. Fafnir by Bernard Evslin
53. Killing Girl Vol.1: A Sister's Love by Glen Brunswick
54. An Arsonist's Guide to Writer's Homes in New England by Brock Clarke
55. Then is the Power by Gerald Mills
56.Marvel Zombies by Robert Kirkman
57. Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon Hale
58. Regarding Ducks and Universes by Neve Maslakovic
59. The Accidental Werewolf by Dakota Cassidy
60. What on Earth Have I Done? by Robert Fulghum
61. The Girl She Used to Be by David Cristofano
62. Let's Bring Back by Leslie Blume
63. The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks
64. Blazin' Barrels Vol 2 by Min-Seo Park
65. O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
66. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
67. Tarzan and the Lion Man by Edgar Rice Burroughs
68. Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis
...
1. The Name of This Book is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch
2. Dragonbreath: Attack of the Ninja Frogs by Ursula Vernon
3. Edible Stories by Mark Kurlansky
4. "What Do You Care What Other People Think?" by Richard P. Feynman
5. Coraline by Neil Gaiman
6. 8th Grade Super Zero by Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich
7. Slaughterhouse-five by Kurt Vonnegut
8. Britten and Brulightly by Hannah Berry
9. Codex 632 by Jose Rodrigues Dos Santos
10. A is for Alibi by Sue Grafton
11. Nurk: The Strange, Surprising Adventure of a (Somewhat) Brave Shrew by Ursula Vernon
12. Soon I Will Be Invincible by Austin Grossman
13. Santa Olivia by Jacqueline Carey
14. Dragonbreath: Curse of the Were-Weiner by Ursula Vernon
15. Amulet: The Stonekeeper by Kazu Kibuishi
16. Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause
17. The Elephant to Hollywood by Michael Caine
18. Outrun the Dark by Cecilia Bertholomew
19. The Big Splash by Jack D. Ferraiolo
20. Alice Adams by Booth Tarkington
21. Interred With Their Bones by Jennifer Lee Carrell
22. Colony by Scott Reeves
23. Collected Alison Dare Vols 1 & 2 by J. Torres
24. Athena: Grey Eyed Goddess by George O'Connor
25. The Road of the Dead by Kevin Brooks
26. The Spider: Robot Titans of Gotham by Norvell Page
27. The Arrival by Shaun Tan
28. God of Beer by Garret Keizer
29. Skellig by David Almond
30. Get Real by Donald Westlake
31. Chicken a la King and the Buffalo Wing by Steven Gilbar
32. All's Well That Ends Well by William Shakespeare
33. Blood Oath by Christopher Farnsworth
34. Outlaw by Angus Donald
35. Bleach Chapters 1-443 by Tite Kubo
36. Ex-Heroes by Peter Clines
37. Rare Beasts by Charles Ogden
38. The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
39. How to Survive a Robot Uprising by Daniel H. Wilson
40. Blazin' Barrels by Min-Seo Park
41. Zeus King of the Gods by George O'Connor
42. Plastic Man on the Lam by Kyle Baker
43. The Tain by Thomas Kinsella
44. Madame Tussaud by Michelle Moran
45. Immortality Inc. by Robert Sheckley
46. We Kill Monsters by Christopher Leone
47. How to Build a Robot Army by Daniel Wilson
48. Draconian New York by Robert Sheckley
49. The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey
50. Hammer of the Gods Vol. 1: Mortal Enemies by Michael Avon Oeming
51. Werewolf versus Dragon by David Sinden
52. Fafnir by Bernard Evslin
53. Killing Girl Vol.1: A Sister's Love by Glen Brunswick
54. An Arsonist's Guide to Writer's Homes in New England by Brock Clarke
55. Then is the Power by Gerald Mills
56.Marvel Zombies by Robert Kirkman
57. Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon Hale
58. Regarding Ducks and Universes by Neve Maslakovic
59. The Accidental Werewolf by Dakota Cassidy
60. What on Earth Have I Done? by Robert Fulghum
61. The Girl She Used to Be by David Cristofano
62. Let's Bring Back by Leslie Blume
63. The Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks
64. Blazin' Barrels Vol 2 by Min-Seo Park
65. O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
66. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
67. Tarzan and the Lion Man by Edgar Rice Burroughs
68. Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis
...
Books I Finished in December
Happy New Year!! My first post of the new year is to wrap up the old year. 11 books sounds more impressive than it is when you realize that most of these books were not written for adults.
The Journals of Lewis and Clark
An exciting adventure told by those who were actually there. What could be better?
Black and White by Jackie Kessler and Caitlin Kittridge
I like stories about superheroes. This one is pretty good, with a blurring of the line between good and evil.
The History of Food by Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat
This is a long book that took me all year to read. There is a lot of interesting information that could lead to an overload if you try to read too much at a time. Or at least I found it that way.
Sir Quinlan and the Swords of Valor by Chuck Black
See my review here.
Outlaw: The Legend of Robin Hood by Tony Lee
A graphic novel about Robin Hood. I like both so I liked this.
Dragonbreath by Ursula Vernon
A cute, funny story with lots of illustrations that give it a graphic novel feel. A lot of fun to read.
Sons of Liberty by Alexander Lagos
This was interesting but I think the next one might be better because this has mostly back story and set up with just a hint of what is coming.
Tarzan and the City of Gold by Edgar Rice Burroughs
I like Tarzan books so I liked this but they all have a similar feel so if you don’t like one you won’t like the others and vice versa. I don’t think they are for everyone.
Rebecca the Rock ‘n’ Roll Fairy by Daisy Meadows
My niece gave me this for Christmas. It isn’t something I would pick for myself. Maybe I would have liked it more if I had read the others. But I don’t think so.
Boots and Pieces by Emily Ecton
Okay but not great. If you have a kid who likes stories about monsters they might like this.
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
I heard so many good things about this book that I had to read it. I kind of went in blind, not really knowing what it was about. For once I think the book lived up to the hype.
The Journals of Lewis and Clark
An exciting adventure told by those who were actually there. What could be better?
Black and White by Jackie Kessler and Caitlin Kittridge
I like stories about superheroes. This one is pretty good, with a blurring of the line between good and evil.
The History of Food by Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat
This is a long book that took me all year to read. There is a lot of interesting information that could lead to an overload if you try to read too much at a time. Or at least I found it that way.
Sir Quinlan and the Swords of Valor by Chuck Black
See my review here.
Outlaw: The Legend of Robin Hood by Tony Lee
A graphic novel about Robin Hood. I like both so I liked this.
Dragonbreath by Ursula Vernon
A cute, funny story with lots of illustrations that give it a graphic novel feel. A lot of fun to read.
Sons of Liberty by Alexander Lagos
This was interesting but I think the next one might be better because this has mostly back story and set up with just a hint of what is coming.
Tarzan and the City of Gold by Edgar Rice Burroughs
I like Tarzan books so I liked this but they all have a similar feel so if you don’t like one you won’t like the others and vice versa. I don’t think they are for everyone.
Rebecca the Rock ‘n’ Roll Fairy by Daisy Meadows
My niece gave me this for Christmas. It isn’t something I would pick for myself. Maybe I would have liked it more if I had read the others. But I don’t think so.
Boots and Pieces by Emily Ecton
Okay but not great. If you have a kid who likes stories about monsters they might like this.
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
I heard so many good things about this book that I had to read it. I kind of went in blind, not really knowing what it was about. For once I think the book lived up to the hype.
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