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2009-12-31T23:59:00.000-08:00

This blog is going to be for all those books I read each year. I am a huge reader. Hence the bookworm tattoo. :) I have no idea exactly how many books I read in a year. This is going to be my way of finding out. Every time I finish a book in 2009 I'm going to post it here. Some will have reviews, some won't. I'm even going to post my "brain candy" books. You know those "trashy romance" novels. :) Maybe you'll be able to find something in here for you to try.

BBC Book List

2009-03-04T13:58:00.000-08:00

I stole this from Kelly. :)

The BBC believes most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books here. How do your reading habits stack up?

Instructions:
Look at the list and make bold those you have read and italicise the ones you own but haven't read yet (note, not just own and will never read ).

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
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 Faulk
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 Hitchhiker'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 Karinina - 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
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 Meaney - 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 I bet you are so suprised....
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 Inferno - Dante
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 - Enid Blyton
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've read 30! A couple of my favorite books are on this list, too. Watership Down and Anne of Green Gables. I love them both!

Crystal Singer Trilogy - Anne McCaffrey - Reread

2009-02-20T17:33:00.001-08:00

The Crystal Singer Trilogy is comprised of Crystal Singer, Killashandra, and Crystal Line. While these aren't books that I read often, they are books that will never leave my personal library. I like knowing that they are there for me to turn to when I need that little something that my other "old reliables" can't give me. McCaffrey is a great storyteller, and I have enjoyed most of her books. Especially her earlier writings.

Crystal Singer

Synopsis

Her name was Killashandra Ree. And after ten grueling years of musical training, she was still without prospects. Until she heard of the mysterious Heptite Guild who could provide careers, security, and wealth beyond imagining. The problem was, few people who landed on Ballybran ever left. But to Killashandra the risks were acceptable....

Killashandra

Synopsis

At first Killashandra Ree's ambitions to become a Crystal Singer, get rich, and forget her past, were going just as she had hoped. But after she grew wealthy, a devastating storm turned her claim to useless rock. In short order she was broke, she had crystal sickness so bad she thought she was going to die, and the only way she could be true to the man she loved was to leave him....

Publishers Weekly

This sequel to McCaffrey's Crystal Singer continues the story of Killashandra Ree, a failed musician whose perfect pitch has given her entree to the glamorous but dangerous profession of mining and cutting rare, valuable crystal. She is grateful for a new assignment that takes her off the oppressive crystal world of Ballybran, but when she arrives on Optheria to replace and tune the crystals of a famous organ, she steps into a new adventure. Abducted by the very subversives she had been trying to help, she eventually falls in love with one of her kidnappers and manages to uncover the Optherian Elders' subliminal brainwashing that had held the population captive and docile. Although the novel only comes alive during Killashandra's life in the islands, McCaffrey's many fans should enjoy this romantic adventure. Major ad/promo. December 2

School Library Journal

YA Crystal singer Killashandra Ree is desperate to get off the crystal-mining planet of Ballybran, so she takes what at first sounds like a routine assignment replacing a shattered crystal in the main Sensory Organ on planet Optheria. While she is there she is also to find out why Optherians never leave the planet. She is kidnapped and marooned on an isolated island, but escapes, only to encounter her handsome kidnapper Lars Dahl, with whom she eventually falls in love. From Lars she discovers that the Optherian Sensory Organ is not only a musical instrument, but that it also uses subliminal suggestion to keep Optherians from wanting to leave their planet or oppose the planet's rulers. Together they plan sabotage. In this sequel to Crystal Singer (Ballantine, 1982), McCaffrey returns to the more romantic vein of her dragon novels. Killashandra is bratty, feisty and independent. Lars is big and lovable, sometimes shrewd, sometimes simple. They make an unlikely and not always convincing pair. Otherwise, the book is a satisfying adventure for those who like their science fiction spiced with humor. Betsy Shorb, PGCMLS, Md.

Crystal Line

Synopsis

"A treat for long-time McCaffrey fans, a good read and a satisfying look at one of the most haunting facets of the crystal singers' profession."
LOCUS
When Killashandra Ree joined the mysterious Heptite Guild, she knew that she would be forever changed. Crystal singing brought ecstasy and pain, near-eternal life...and gradual loss of memory. What she hadn't counted on was the loneliness she felt when her heart still remembered what her mind had forgotten. Fortunately, someone still cared enough to try to salvage what was left of Killashandra's mind. But she would have to learn to open herself--to another person, and to all her unpleasant memories.

From the Publisher

When Killashandra Ree first joined the mysterious Heptite Guild to become a crystal singer, she knew that she would be forever tied to the planet Ballybran. She could leave ... but she would always have to come back, drawn like a magnet by the song of crystal that pulsed through her veins. Crystal singing brought ecstasy and pain, near-eternal life ... and an increasing loss of memory that bit by bit would erase the parts of that long, long life that lay behind her. Over the years, Killashandra had accumulated a multitude of painful memories she could easily afford to forget. She didn't even really mind the little annoyances, like forgetting the names and faces of her colleagues, or needing a locator to find her way back to her own apartment. But she hadn't counted on the loneliness and emptiness a person could feel when the heart could still remember what the mind had forgotten ... Fortunately for Killashandra, someone still cared enough to try to salvage what was left of her memory and her talents. And for the first time it had become possible to access the damaged minds of experienced crystal singers. But in order to avail herself of the new technique, Killashandra would have to learn to open herself up ... to another person, and to all the unpleasant memories she had so willingly relinquished. Killashandra Ree was trapped in the unceasing present of the crystal singer. Only by reclaiming her past could she step forward into the future. Crystal had destroyed her memory ... and only crystal could restore it ... if she dared!

BookList

Following "Crystal Singer" and "Killashandra" [O 15 85], this third novel in the series continues the saga of Killashandra Ree, long-time successful crystal singer and miner, a career with side effects that include not only near-eternal life but also increasing memory loss over the years. Here, Killashandra's memory has deteriorated to the point where she doesn't always remember the names of colleagues. But then, there's a lot that she doesn't really want to remember. The discovery of a planet with a new, sentient crystal, however, leads to a way to reclaim one's memory. So, does Killashandra want to remember everything? And can she, a private person, open herself up to another person? Once again, McCaffrey combines intriguing adventure and sf lore with well-developed characters who grow and change over the course of the story. For collections wherever the series has a following.

A Wrinkle in Time - Madeleine L'Engle - Reread

2009-02-20T17:24:00.000-08:00

A Wrinkly in Time is one of those great books for anyone of any age! I love this book and try to read it as often as I can. DH got me a L'Engle box set for Valentine's Day and AWiT had a preface in it from Anna Quindlen. Reading it really got me to think about the story itself. I always read for pleasure and rarely try to find the deeper meaning in the things I read. But after reading the preface I was able to see the things she talked about much more clearly.

From the New Introduction
A Stardust Journey with A Wrinkle in Time
By Lisa Sonne

A Wrinkle in Time was written before any human had walked on the moon or sent rovers to Mars. It was a time before cell phones and personal computers, before digital cameras, CDs, and DVDs, before the fiction of Star Trek, Star Wars, and The Matrix, and before the realities of the space shuttle, the Mir space station, and the International Space Station. Science has changed dramatically as generations of children and adults have read the book since it was first published in 1962. Those scientific advances make Madeleine L’Engle’s story even more compelling.
The author of A Wrinkle in Time is a tall woman who sometimes wears a purple cape. She will tell you that she is completely made of stardust and always has been. No kidding. “You are made of stardust, too,” she will add with a twinkle in her eye.
This is not the wild imagination of a creative writer’s mind. We are all made of stardust. Our little molecules are the leftovers of big stars that exploded eons ago. Mrs. Whatsit may be a fanciful character who gave up her life as a star to fight the darkness, but we are real creatures who really are made of the cosmic dust of supernovas. When giant stars explode, they send their matter out into the universe and enrich all the yet-to-be-born stars and planets with the chemical ingredients that make up life as we know it. Astrophysicist Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson says, “It’s a profound, underappreciated truth.”
Stardust is just one way that Madeleine L’Engle mixes fact and fantasy toinspire you to want to know more about science. With knowledge come more questions. With imagination comes more curiosity. With searching comes more truth. That blend is a specialty of L’Engle’s.
Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin visit different planets outside our solar system. When A Wrinkle in Time was first printed in 1962, scientists could confirm the existence of only nine planets–all of them orbiting our sun. Since 1995, astronomers have been finding planets at an average rate of one a month–all outside our solar system.
Throughout A Wrinkle in Time, the universe is in a struggle with the Black Thing. L’Engle wrote of the Black Thing before astronomers found black holes, which suck up everything around them, and long before scientists announced that almost all of our universe is composed of invisible “dark matter” and “dark energy,” which science knows almost nothing about.
In the thin atmosphere of Uriel, Meg has to breathe from a flower to stay alive. In reality, we all breathe plants to stay alive. NASA conducts experiments to see how plants could help keep astronauts alive when they travel in space and live on other planets.
In A Wrinkle in Time, we meet thinking aliens in outer space, including Aunt Beast, the Man with Red Eyes, and Mrs. Who. Since 1962, explorers have gone to remote spots on our planet, studying “extremophile” life to learn more about what life out there in space might really be like.
Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin travel through multiple dimensions. When A Wrinkle in Time first appeared, science recognized only four dimensions–three of space and one of time. Now mathematicians claim that at least nine spatial dimensions are needed to explain our physical world–maybe ten. Maybe more.
Just looking at how technology and science have changed since Meg’s first adventure was printed is a kind of time travel in your mind that shows how much science and math have grown, and how much they still need to grow. When Meg’s father urges her to name the elements of the periodic table to escape the dark forces of IT, she begins reciting, “Hydrogen, Helium, Lithium, Beryllium, Boron, Carbon, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Fluorine . . .” and continues. Only 103 elements were known in 1962. In 2004, to finish reciting the elements on the periodic table, Meg would need to add more tongue-twisters, such as rutherfordium, meitnerium, darmstadtium, and roentgenium (element number 111). New elements are still being discovered, created, and debated.
Scientists and astronauts are delving further into the tiny world of microorganisms that Meg’s mother studied, and further into the giant realms that Meg’s father traveled in. Since 1962, scientists have discovered quarks and quasars, things smaller and bigger than ever known before–smaller than a proton in an atom and larger than a galaxy. What next?
“Students can get so bombarded in science classes and think that all is known. It’s not. A book like this can help them realize that we know some things, but really very, very little. And maybe a lot of what we know now is not right!” says Shannon Lucid, a science fiction reader and astronaut who has spent more time in space than any other woman. There are still big unanswered questions and great quests yet to begin.
For Madeleine L’Engle, every good story and every good life is a search for answers through fiction, fact, and spirit. The poet, the physicist, and the prophet are all searching to understand the dimensions we can’t see, whether gravity, time, or love. A Wrinkle in Time is a great journey through dimensions–a journey of exploration and discovery, curiosity and awe.

Assassin's Apprentice - Robin Hobb - Reread

2009-02-16T09:01:00.001-08:00

Assassin's Apprentice is the first book of Robin Hobb's that I ever read. I went looking for my copy the other day and couldn't find it. I couldn't find any in the Farseer trilogy. So, I went and bought a new copy. I can only think that I gave away my copies.

I enjoyed this trilogy as well as her Liveship books (which I still have). For some reason I haven't really read any more of her stuff. I think that is going to have to change, though. LOL

Synopsis

Young Fitz is the bastard son of the noble Prince Chivalry, raised in the shadow of the royal court by his father's gruff stableman. He is treated like an outcast by all the royalty except the devious King Shrewd, who has him sectetly tutored in the arts of the assassin.

Publishers Weekly

The bastard sons of kings play a noble role in fantasy: not only were King Arthur and Modred by-blows, but it is often suggested that Merlin himself came to power from the ``wrong side of the bed.'' While Hobb's offering has a few too many illegitimate heirs backstabbing around, this is still a delightful take on the powers and politics behind the throne. Fitz, who is often called the ``Boy'' or the ``Bastard,'' was begotten by good Prince Chivalry upon some ``peasant'' woman. At age six, he is given over to the safekeeping of the prince's man, Burrich. Fitz's impolitic existence causes the prince to abdicate his claim to the throne, and he and his wife leave the court, and the boy, behind. Fitz has inherited the ``Skill,'' a mind-bending talent, and also has the ability to meld his thoughts with those of nonhuman creatures and to mentally ``repel'' physical advances. When Fitz finally comes to King Shrewd's attention, he is given over to the Royal Assassin's tutelage and trained to carry out the king's devious plans. The novel's conceit-that it offers Fitz's memoirs from childhood through adolescence-allows for several sequels. A gleaming debut in the crowded field of epic fantasies and Arthurian romances. (Apr.)

Library Journal

As a royal bastard in the household of King Shrewd, a boy called "Fitz" spends his early years in the king's stables. When the magic in his blood marks him for destiny, he begins receiving secret instruction, by order of the king, in the art of assassination, a calling that places him in the midst of a nest of intrigue and arcane maneuverings. Firmly grounded in the trappings of high fantasy, Hobb's first novel features a protagonist whose coming of age revolves around the discovery of the meaning of loyalty and trust. This gracefully written fantasy belongs in most libraries.

BookList

This well-executed though somewhat conventional fantasy novel reads like both a first effort and the first book in a multivolume work. Neither probability should make the prospective reader wince. The conventional plot concerns a royal bastard of the house of the Farseers, who is raised secretly to serve the house as an assassin. When a succession crisis looms, young Fitz is almost literally flung into a series of complex and deadly intrigues, some magical, some mundane, all unscrupulous. The action moves along briskly, which, in conjunction with Hobb's good world building and fairly original characterization, will keep readers turning pages. This may not be the indispensable fantasy debut of the year, but it will find readers if offered to them.

City of Ashes - Cassandra Clare

2009-02-10T14:52:00.000-08:00

City of Ashes is book 2 in the Mortal Instruments series. It is a Young Adult series.

I am enjoying the series so far, but there are some parts that might throw people...like the possible incest going on. That might be a bit much for some of the younger readers of the book. I would definitely agree with the 9th grade recommendation from the School Library Journal unless you have an advanced child.

Synopsis

Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what's normal when you're a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who's becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn't ready to let her go — especially her handsome, infuriating, newfound brother, Jace. And Clary's only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil — and also her father.

To complicate matters, someone in New York City is murdering Downworlder children. Is Valentine behind the killings — and if he is, what is he trying to do? When the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor arrives to investigate and zooms right in on Jace. How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?

In this breathtaking sequel to City of Bones, Cassandra Clare lures her readers back into the dark grip of New York City's Downworld, where love is never safe and power becomes the deadliest temptation.

School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up

In this sequel to City of Bones (S & S, 2007), the nonstop action continues. The Shadowhunters are battling a world of demons that few people can see. Guided by the laws of the Clave, these hunters balance fighting with the other more mundane aspects of life-love, betrayal, and confusion. Jace, the fiercest teenage Shadowhunter, seems determined to make everyone around him angry, and is looked upon with suspicion because his father, Valentine, is out to rule the world. Meanwhile, love triangles abound, vampires are reborn, and general teenage angst blossoms among a group of friends and siblings. Set in an alternative present-day Manhattan, the story comes complete with Britney Spears references and even, ironically, refers to the scientific CSI . Well written in both style and language, it compares favorably to others in this genre. The human characters are well developed and quite believable. The whole book is like watching a particularly good vampire/werewolf movie, and it leaves readers waiting for the next in the series. Watch this one fly off the shelves.-Jennifer-Lynn Draper, Children's Literature Consultant, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada

Kirkus Reviews

In City of Bones (2007), normal teenager Clary discovered she was a Shadowhunter, long-lost daughter of murdering megalomaniac Valentine-and therefore the sister of her new boyfriend Jace. Now she's caught up in the dangerous politics of the Downworld, where Jace is suspected of treason, non-human kids are being ritually murdered and best friend Simon is transforming into a werewolf. Clary must protect Simon, save Jace from a vindictive Downworlder Inquisitor, prevent Valentine from building an unstoppable demon army and fight her undiminished passion for Jace. The prose is exceedingly purple: Eyes are always paint chips, black pits or jewels in a spider's web; ichor-leaking demons have voices like shattering glass; fairies have hair like autumn leaves or poison green skin. But this action-packed tale uses melodrama and florid descriptions to good effect, crafting emotional tension and heart-wrenching romantic dramas. Readers of urban fantasy will devour this deliciously overwrought adventure. Despite hints that Jace's parentage is in question, the incestuous overtones might be too disturbing for some. (Fantasy. YA)

The Sign of Sevens Trilogy - Nora Roberts

2009-02-06T00:50:00.000-08:00

I read all three of the Nora's Sevens trilogy in one evening. LOL

We finally got power back after the ice storm and I just gobbled them right up! I hadn't had any serious reading in almost a week. I was going nuts!

The series contains the books Blood Brothers, The Hollow, and The Pagan Stone.

I really enjoy her books that have a touch (or more) of paranormal to them. I think it is because of my fantasy leanings.

Blood Brothers

Synopsis

In the small village of Hawkins Hollow, three best friends who share the same birthday sneak off into the woods for a sleepover the evening before turning 10. But a night of pre-pubescent celebration turns into a night of horror as their blood brother oath unleashes a three-hundred year curse.

Twenty-one years later, Cal Hawkins and his friends have seen their town plagued by a week of unexplainable evil events two more times - every seven years. With the clock winding down on the third set of seven years, someone else has taken an interest in the town's folklore. Quinn is a well known scholar of local legends, and despite Cal's protests, insists on delving in the mystery. But when the first signs of evil appear months early, it's not only the town Cal tries to protect, but also his heart.

Publishers Weekly

After three boys accidentally awaken an ancient evil near their small Maryland town, the tight-knit community finds itself lost to a Stephen King-style plague of madness and destruction for a week every seven years. Twenty-one years later, those three boys, now grown, are hoping to find a way to stop the evil before its third return, which may mean the end of the town; they don't know much about the "anomalies," but they do know that "[e]very time it gets stronger." This time, the town is graced by author Quinn Black, eager to document the paranormal mystery. When two more women arrive-one an associate of Quinn's, the other led to town by strange visions-the circle of six decide to face the oncoming apocalypse together. Hyperprolific bestseller Roberts frontloads her story with drama and endearing characters (especially in Quinn and bowling alley owner Caleb Hawkins), but an abundance of exposition and domestic concerns (protagonists decorate a house, trade banter and pair off predictably) slow the plot significantly. Though future volumes are sure to pick up, this trilogy kickoff suffers from a dearth of twists and little payoff; fans of the brisk, colorful Roberts style will enjoy the ride, though probably not as much as they'd expect. (Dec.)

Synopsis

Book 2 of The Sign of Seven Trilogy

Otherworldly intrigue. Pulse-pounding suspense. Electrifying passion. It all adds up to the continuing Sign of Seven Trilogy.

In Book 2 of the trilogy, Roberts takes us back to Hawkins Hollow where the story began in Book 1 of the Sign of Seven Trilogy Blood Brothers. . . .

Hawkins Hollow, Maryland, an idyllic town where three boys share not only a birthday- July 7, 1977 - but an innocent ritual of friendship that changes the course of their lives and everything else in Hawkins Hollow. . . . Now those boys are men who must find a way to defeat the evil threatening all they know and love.

The Pagan Stone

Synopsis

Years ago, after their blood brother ritual, Gage, Fox, and Caleb emerged from the woods, each with a piece of bloodstone. Now, it will become their weapon in the final fight against the demon they awakened. Winner take all...

Shared nightmares, visions of blood and fire, and random violence begin to plague the longtime friends and Quinn, Layla, and Cybil, the women bound to them by fate. None of them can ignore the fact that, this year, the demon has grown stronger—feeding off of the terror it creates. But now, the three pieces of the bloodstone have been fused back together. If only they could figure out how to use it.

A gambling man like Gage has no trouble betting on his crew to find a way. And though he and Cybil share the gift of seeing the future, that's all they share. Were they to take their flirtation to the next level, it would be on their own terms, not because fate decreed it. But Gage knows that a woman like Cybil—with her brains and strength and devastating beauty—can only bring him luck. Good or bad has yet to be determined—and could mean the difference between absolute destruction or an end to the nightmare for Hawkins Hollow.

Kristin Ramsdell - Library Journal

Nearly 21 years ago, on the seventh day of the seventh month, three young boys swore a blood oath on top of the Pagan Stone in the woods near Hawkins Hollow and unwittingly unleashed an imprisoned demon that returns to wreak increasingly deadly havoc on the town every seven years. With the evil assault beginning once more, the time has come to end the carnage. Now, the three who started it all, linked by fate to a trio of exceptional women, are determined to defeat the demon once and for all. Each couple, sharing similar mental gifts, has had a part to play in the "Sign of Seven" trilogy (see also Blood Brothers; The Hollow), but in this final installment, it's up to gambler Gage Turner and free-spirited Cybil Kinski, who have the gift of precognition, to administer the death blow, even though it means someone else must die. Blood, fire, brutal violation, and possession are tempered by strength, self-sacrifice, and love in this chilling, passionate romance. It is reminiscent of Roberts's "Three Sisters Island" trilogy but more intensely evil and violent. Roberts does a good job of bringing readers up to speed and tying up loose ends, but readers will benefit from experiencing the stories in order. Roberts lives in Keedysville, MD.

The Phoenix Endangered - Mercedes Lackey & James Mallory

2009-01-31T00:47:00.000-08:00

Book Two of the Enduring Flame.

The Phoenix Endangered was a good read and I am looking forward to the next in the series.

Synopsis

In The Phoenix Endangered, second in The Enduring Flame, Tiercel, a budding High Mage, and Harrier, a reluctant Knight-Mage, develop greater power—and learn of the evils of war when they see the devastation caused by the fanatical armies of the Wild Mage Bisochim.

The desert tribespeople led by young Shaiara flee Bisochim’s evil, seeking a legendary oasis deep in the desert—a refuge that may hold the key to stopping Bisochim and preserving the Balance between Light and Darkness . . . or that may be the cause of Light’s ultimate downfall.

Publishers Weekly

Harrier Gillain, future Knight-Mage, and his best friend, Tiercel Rolfort, High Mage in training, tread familiar ground in this sequel to 2007's The Phoenix Unchained, following the command of the Light in a quest to destroy the Dark. Accompanied by Kateta, a pushy, nagging unicorn, and the mammoth black dragon Ancaladar, the teen heroes prepare themselves in the elven city of Karahelanderialigor before setting out in search of the Lake of Fire, where the Wildmage Bisochim Bluerobe is raising a fanatic horde of desert nomads. Harrier and Tiercel's lengthy trek comes most vividly to life through the subplot of young nomad leader Shaiara, who risks her whole tribe on the chance of finding Abi'Abadshar, a legendary oasis of alien technology. Adding thinly veiled racial subtext to the customary coming-of-age world-saving story, this epic will mostly appeal to those who like their fantasy by the numbers. (Sept.)

Jackie Cassada - Library Journal

Following the visions given them by the Wild Magic, the young High Mage Tiercel; his Bonded dragon, Ancaladar; the Knight-Mage Harrier; and his sometime companion, the unicorn Kareta, continue their journey, this time in search of the Lake of Fire, thought to lie in the inhospitable Madiran Desert. At the same time, as the Wild Mage Bisochim leads his desert armies in a war of conquest, a small tribe led by a young woman, Shaiara, flee Bisochim's onslaught in search of a hidden oasis where they might find safety. Coauthors Lackey and Mallory continue their fantasy sequel to The Phoenix Unchained by expanding on their world's desert societies and the secrets hidden far beneath the sands. As the young characters learn to accept responsibility for their actions, their trials increase in difficulty. Solidly developed characters, appealing magical companions, and an intriguing tale make this a good addition, along with its predecessor, to any fantasy collection.

Phoenix Unchained - Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory

2009-01-20T12:56:00.000-08:00

Phoenix Unchained is the first book in the Enduring Flame series. There are currently two out and the third one will hopefully be out sometime late this year. You can read an excerpt here.

Synopsis

New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory first teamed up to write The Obsidian Trilogy, set in a wondrous world filled with magical beings, competing magic systems, and a titanic struggle between good and evil. That world proved so popular with the creators and readers alike that Lackey and Mallory have returned to it with The Phoenix Unchained, Book One of The Enduring Flame, the opening volume of a new epic fantasy trilogy.

After a thousand years of peace, much Magick has faded from the world. The Elves live far from humankind. There are no High Mages, and Wild Mages are seen only rarely. Bisochim, a powerful Wild Mage, is determined to reintroduce Darkness to the world, believing that it is out of Balance.

Tiercel, a young Armethalian nobleman, is convinced that High Magic is not just philosophy. He attempts a spell—and draws the unwelcome attention of Bisochim. Tiercel survives Bisochim’s attack and begins trying to turn himself into a High Mage.

Next in line to be Harbormaster of Armethalieh, Harrier instead finds himself regularly saving Tyr’s life and meeting magickal people and creatures. To Harrier’s dismay, it seems that he must become a hero.

In The Phoenix Unchained, Harrier and Tiercel begin a marvelous journey to uncover their destinies. Along the way, they meet a charming female centaur, several snooty Elves, and the most powerful dragon their world has ever known.

Claws That Catch - John Ringo and Travis Taylor

2009-01-12T10:30:00.000-08:00

I have to say that I love just about everything that John Ringo has written. All series. Even though they really are wildly different they are similar in many ways. Ringo is a master storyteller. I think that is the true test of a good author. It makes you want to keep reading even when your eyes are about to fall out of your head you've been reading so long.

I had to wait to read Claws That Catch. Waited much longer than usual. I normally pick up his books within the first week if not the first day. Anyway, his series with Doc Taylor, the Looking Glass series, is great. It is science fiction. And with a real scientist as a second author.

Dr. Travis S. Taylor:

Travis Shane Taylor is a born and bred southerner and resides just outside Huntsville, Alabama. He has a Doctorate in Optical Science and Engineering, a Master’s degree in Physics, a Master’s degree in Aerospace Engineering, all from the University of Alabama in Huntsville; a Master’s degree in Astronomy from the Univ. of Western Sydney, and a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Auburn University. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Alabama.

Dr. Taylor has worked on various programs for the Department of Defense and NASA for the past sixteen years. He is currently working on several advanced propulsion concepts, very large space telescopes, space based beamed energy systems, future combat technologies and systems, and next generation space launch concepts. He is also involved with multiple MASINT, SIGINT, IMINT, and HUMINT concept studies.

I don't know what it is with these two guys, but they seem to have the best time together. I've sat in several panels with these two at conventions and they just seem to play off each other well. It comes across in the writing, too. It is fun and bit more than just a little tongue in cheek.

Synopsis

It's Not Over Til The Skinny Lady Sings . . .

Working off of a piece of intelligence from the alien Hexosehr, the Vorpal Blade is dispatched to investigate rumors of an ancient and powerful civilization that may have been the creators of the ?black box? that drives humanity's only space ship. Any remnant technology would be nice but what the Blade finds is much more than they bargained for. Worse, the ship is infested by an alien species of scorpion-like arachnoids that has the potential to wipe out a world. Worst of all, instead of being Astrogator, Captain William Weaver is now the XO and he is not getting along with the new commander. And the new commander does not get along with Weaver, the ship's female savant-linguist or most of the rest of the original crew. And what is that weird noise the ship makes every time it's in hard maneuvers?

Leave it to the oddball geniuses of the Blade to sort it all out. And the Dreen are not going to like the answers.

Foundation - Mercedes Lackey

2009-01-09T09:16:00.000-08:00

Foundation is the newest title in the Valdemar series. I haven't read all the books, but the ones that I have I really enjoyed. I like Misty's writing style so I think that is partly what really pulls me to her books.

Synopsis

The long-awaited brand new novel in the bestselling Valdemar series.

In this chronicle of the early history of Valdemar, Mercedes Lackey's bestselling world, a thirteenyear- old orphan named Magpie escapes a life of slavery in the gem mines when he is chosen by one of the magical Companion horses of Valdemar to be trained as a Herald. Thrust into the center of a legend in the making, Magpie discovers talents he never knew he had-and witnesses the founding of the great Heralds' Collegium.

Jackie Cassada - Library Journal

For as long as he could remember, Mags had labored, along with other children, in the gem mines-underfed, overworked, and constantly reminded of his good fortune for having a place in the world despite of his mysterious "Bad Blood." The appearance of a King's Herald and a magnificent white steed with blue eyes changes Mags's life and introduces him to the rarified existence of an apprentice Herald, complete with his Companion Dallen, the sentient horselike mount. Returning to her beloved Valdemar universe, Lackey opens her new series at a pivotal time in the history of Valdemar, when the education of Heralds is changing and dangers from other lands are felt in the court and on the training field. Series fans will enjoy the variations on a familiar theme, while enough information is presented for first-timers to discover a world of high adventure and individual courage. Highly recommended.

City of Bones - Cassandra Clare

2009-01-07T06:17:00.000-08:00

City of Bones is a fantasy YA novel. First in the Mortal Insturments series. It definitely had that feeling of being the first in a series. While it is its own story, you get the feeling that it isn't all there. This one is the build up for the rest of them.

I enjoyed it. I like YA books. And since the Harry Potters, there have been a lot of good YA fantasy released.

Synopsis

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder — much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing — not even a smear of blood — to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. . . .

Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare's ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.

School Library Journal

Gr 8 Up Vampires, werewolves, and creatures of every eerie stripe are lurking all over New York, as Cassandra Clare's City of Bones (S & S/Margaret McElderry Books, 2007) begins "The Mortal Instruments" trilogy. Clary Fray, 15, knows something's strange when she sees a punk rocker demon destroyed by Jace, Alec, and Isabelle. What's more, her friend Simon can't see any of the rune tattooed trio. It turns out that the three powerful teens are Shadowhunters, a race of warriors. Clary's mother has hidden her own connection to these magical marauders, but the teen's blocked memory is gradually returning. When her mother disappears and Clary is attacked by a monstrous insect predator, the girl is rescued by Jace and they retreat to safety at The Institute. Drawn into the quest for the Mortal Cup, Clary gets embroiled in numerous bloody encounters and betrayals as she uncovers the truth about her father, her family, and the forces stalking her. A romantic attachment to Jace and questions about her relationship with Simon add to her turmoil. Though a family friend in an unexpected guise helps her save her mother, the cliffhanging conclusion leaves plenty of room for new conflicts. Narrator Ari Graymor is suitably ironic and dramatic as the text demands. With a female protagonist and horror movie levels of gore, the novel will appeal to guys and girls who like their fantasy sometimes fast paced and often gruesome. A good choice for extensive fantasy collections, but an additional purchase for smaller public and high school libraries.-Barbara Wysocki, Cora J. Belden Library, Rocky Hill, CT

Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen - Reread

2009-01-05T22:13:00.000-08:00

Well, I pulled out an old favorite this time. Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is probably one of my favorite stories. There is something about her characters that really gets the reader interested in the story itself. Her way with words and turns of phrase is part of it. This is one of those books that I usually read at least once a year. Sometimes more LOL It also led me to re-watch the BBC mini series with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. A great production of the book. Very accurate and the few changes they made were barely noticeable and were necessary for the dramatization.

Salvation In Death, JD Robb

2009-01-01T12:22:00.000-08:00

First day of the year and I already have my first finish. :)

Salvation in Death by JD Robb. It is #27 in the In Death series. I have enjoyed each of these as they have appeared. I think that this is probably one of my favorites. I can't really go into why without giving away an essential part of the plot.

Synopsis

Ancient church rituals meet cutting- edge crime solving in the latest novel in the #1 New York Times-bestselling series that's "Law & Order: SVU-in the future" (Entertainment Weekly).

In the year 2060, sophisticated investigative tools can help catch a killer. But there are some questions even the most advanced technologies cannot answer.

Ridley Pearson has praised J. D. Robb's suspense as "taut" and "nerve-jangling." Her latest thriller sets a new standard for suspense, as the priest at a Catholic funeral mass brings the chalice to his lips-and falls over dead.

When Detective Lieutenant Eve Dallas confirms that the consecrated wine contained potassium cyanide, she's determined to solve the murder of Father Miguel Flores, despite her discomfort with her surroundings. It's not the bodegas and pawnshops of East Harlem that bother her, though the neighborhood is a long way from the stone mansion she shares with her billionaire husband, Roarke. It's all that holiness flying around at St. Christobal's that makes her uneasy.

A search of the victim's sparsely furnished room reveals little- except for a carefully hidden religious medal with a mysterious inscription, and a couple of underlined Bible passages. The autopsy reveals more: faint scars of knife wounds, a removed tattoo-and evidence of plastic surgery, suggesting that "Father Flores" may not have been the man his parishioners had thought. Now, as Eve pieces together clues that hint at gang connections and a deeply personal act of revenge, she believes she's making progress on the case. Until a second murder-in front of an even larger crowd ofworshippers-knocks the whole investigation sideways. And Eve is left to figure out who committed these unholy acts-and why.

Publishers Weekly

Holy communion spells death for Fr. Miguel Flores, a popular Catholic priest in New York City's Spanish Harlem, after he swallows wine laced with cyanide during a funeral in bestseller Robb's unusually introspective 27th crime thriller to feature Lt. Eve Dallas (after Strangers in Death). The ensuing homicide investigation suggests that Flores could actually be Lino Martinez, a former member of a disbanded gang, the Soldados, suspected of two bombings before he disappeared. The death by cyanide of another religious figure, Jimmy Jay Jenkins, founder of the Church of Eternal Light, complicates matters. Are the two murders connected? Sussing out the answer to that question involves some serious digging. Dallas's husband, Roarke, and fun sidekick, Det. Delia Peabody, lend support. Robb offers a multilayered solution to several crimes that serves as yet another reminder that wolves sometimes hide in sheep's (or priest's) clothing, but justice, like faith, has no expiration date. (Nov.)