Re-living High School

For years I have seen Megan McCafferty's lime green book Sloppy Firsts I've even checked it out a couple of times in an attempt to start reading it.  The first time was when my friend moved from New Jersey to Louisiana.  I had heard the book was about something similar and thought it would be great to read.  I mean I'm from New Jersey (relatively the same region in the book, though I can't quite pinpoint where the author has located Pineville) and my friend had just moved.  Well I couldn't get through it that first time.  I then picked it up again and that attempt failed also.  Must be third time's the charm.  I finally read it.  It seems fated that I hadn't read it yet.  The series starts of with Jessica Darling in the middle of her sophomore year of high school.  If I had started reading this at the oh-so-young age of 14 I really don't think I would have understood it or been able to appreciate what happens to Jessica (this coming from someone who started to read adult romance novels and the age of 15).  But I honestly think any appreciation I would have had for the book would have been lost.  

To begin with, I can appreciate where Jessica lives.  I think this has always been the most intriguing factor.  Its about where I live.  Someone actually thought the place I live in was important enough to write about!  Other than wining the Little League World Series over a decade ago (wow it's scary that it has been that long) and a few other local things my town (small city by population definition) is just like most other American towns, unless that town is called Forks.  Oh and I forgot that I also live near the former(?) summer home of MTV.  Nothing (other than the gobs of money poured in to the area) makes this fact a good thing.  But anyway...The mall mentioned by name is the same mall I go to for all my mall needs.  Jessica listens to 98.5 at a time when it was the hottest music station around.  The newspapers she reads are the ones that are regular visitors to my house every Sunday (although one has now become a free paper delivered on Fridays).  For all intents and purposes, Pineville might as well be my town!  It was so weird to have such a strong connection to something fictional

What else was great?  The fact that I practically re-lived my high school years.  Now, that's not something I would have elected to do given the option, but this was as a completely observant person who has already gone through high school and the highs and lows that come with it.  Jessica seemed to have a foot in everything and so you had a bird's eye view of this microcosm and the emotional roller coaster it can be.  A little be of everything is thrown in and I loved every minute of it.  Even though the series is for young adults (minus the fifth book, which is, at least in my library, shelved with regular fiction and not young adult fiction) it really should be something someone reads not long after high school and even college, but ruling is still out on that since I haven't finished the series yet.  As good as the books I can't stress how great I think they are having been through high school and college.  I finished Second Helpings and I am currently reading Charmed Thrids (with Fourth Comings and Perfect Fifths waiting in the wings).  I also think this series is best read consecutively.  I know everyone who was a fan of the books before had to wait most likely a year if not more for the next book in the series and was in agony waiting to know what happened next, but I don't think that necessarily works in the favor of the books here.  This series doesn't have the same effect that has me dying to know what happens next.  I'm not left on a cliff desperately wanting to know if Jessica is going to survive to the next book.  But I do want to know what happens.  The books aren't quite consecutive (at least the first three aren't) because they don't pick up immediately where the last one left off.  The first ends in the middle of Jessica's junior year and the second picks up the summer before her senior year.  I like this.  I don't think anything is lost by the gap.  I'm really looking forward to the rest of the series because I've "been there and done that".  It just seems very appropriate to be reading this right now.

Listening to "Just Ran Out of Whiskey" by Gaelic Storm

A bit of a let down followed by something that has me intrigued

So I recently read the book Maneater by Gigi Levangie Grazer and I was thoroughly disappointed.  Earlier in the summer I had someone ask me if I had ever gotten to the end of a book and realized that it was a waste of time.  I thought about it and said yes.  As a literature major there were a number of books I read that I thought were a waste of time The Scarlett Letter, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and Frankenstein are among them.  But those didn't really count because I had to read those.  He meant if there was anything I read for pleasure that ended up feeling was a waste of time.  I thought about it again and was reminded of a book that I had recently read over the summer and wrote about here called Belle.  By the time I finished it, I wanted the time I spent on it back.  It wasn't very well written and the plot just went nowhere.  It was just very boring and went on for no reason.  Since I was asked the question I have encountered yet another book I wish I had the time I spent reading it back.  While I was not extremely impressed with Stephenie Meyer's Eclipse novella, I wouldn't call it a total waste of time.  Maneater on the other hand was.

Listening to:  "Turn This Ship Around" by Gaelic Storm 

In case anyone is curious, this is the book the that two-part movie with Sarah Chalke shown on Lifetime a few years back was based on.  I thought the bits of the show I was able to catch were interesting.  So one day at the library I was saw the book on the sale rack for 50 cents and picked it up.  I finally finished it and I'll say it again, I want my time back.  I enjoy chicklit like Bridget Jones and Jane Green's books (Love her!) and I've even read some of the teen series Gossip Girl (not that chicklit and Gossip Girl deserve to be in the same sentence).  So I was prepared for the idea of someone who has alot of money (or was raised that way) who cares about nothing except themselves and what they can get from other people.  So I was prepared for this.  Usually at some point those characters have an epiphany and realize the world does not revolve around them.  This character did not at all.  Even after someone dies, she is still self absorbed.  I think that was one of the biggest disappointments.  After everything went wrong for this person, she learned nothing!  The plot twist that I should have enjoyed was nothing because the main character didn't deserve it!  It only left me annoyed and showed me how stupid the book was.  I was even further annoyed when I read that this came from the same woman who wrote the movie Stepmom (a good movie) and the book The Starter Wife which also ended up as a tv movie/series.  I watched The Starter Wife and thought it was good.  It wasn't too bad, about what I was expecting.  Maneater on the other hand was just a waste of time.

Luckily, I had something to intrigue me after this.  I was told to read the series The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.  I started it as an audio book so it seemed to be pretty slow going at first be after I got a copy of the book it really picked up.  It hasn't quite caught me the way Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, or Twilight did, but I think that may be because I started it on audio and also because I am not into dystopian/post-apocalyptic stories.  I never read The Giver and skipped other things like it.  I did finish The Hunger Games which is set in dystopian America (very very weird) and I am looking forward to reading the next installment and the final book.   My anticipation is only enhanced by the fact that I can see the second book Catching Fire has shipped to the library, but is not quite ready for me to pick up.  Its at my fingertips and I just can't reach it and its driving me bonkers!  I can't stand it!  Its even worse because I am sitting in the library where it is and I am at my computer compulsively checking my account to see if it has come in!  I can't read anything right now because I don't want to get involved in something and have to stop to read Catching Fire.  This is beyond frustrating.  If I knew there would be no consequences for my actions, I would go over to the circulation desk and find my copy just to speed things up, but I don't even want to think about what would happen if I went over there.  I think what has me most intrigued is the love triangle that is bound to develop between Katniss, Peeta, and Gale.  I like that as of The Hunger Games  Katniss seems oblivious to boys/men in romantic terms.  I personally am rooting for Gale, there's something that reminds me of George Cooper from Tamora Pierce's Song of the Lioness Quartet.  I don't want anything to happen to Peeta, I like him and feel for him, but I want Katniss to end up with Gale.  He seems to understand her better.  I'll see what happens.  I'm glad there are only 3 books in this series.  Nice and short so I won't have to continually keep up with it (even though I enjoy that, I have alot to read right now!).

Book Musings: Irish Moonlight by Kate Freiman, Wicked All Day by Liz Carlyle, and The Princess and the Hound by Mette Ivie Harrison

Again, I haven't been able to update lately so I've got more than one book.  On top of that, I went to the library the other day and I went to the sale rack.  I really hit the jackpot.   I found twelve books (3 were hard covers and would have normally been about $20 a piece) and only paid $3.00 for the lot.  If I had bought all of them individually, it would have cost me about $135.  I felt so good about buying them, only to find when I came home that I now have run out of room on my To Be Read shelf and have now had to resort to piling them on the floor in front of my shelf next to my dresser.  It's really hard to pass up books when they are 25 cents for a paper back and 50 cents for a hardcover.  Half the time they look brand new or in really great condition so its even better!  I've really learned the value in buying used and looking for ways to be more thrifty when it comes to movies and music, but most of all books.  The value of the library, a good used book store, a library's discard and sale rack, and of websites like Paperbackswap.com.  Its a great way to feel not so guilty about spending a lot of money on books :).

So let's start:

Irish Moonlight by Kate Freiman

This is a book in a series called Irish Eyes by various authors.  I've finally been able to track down all of the titles included in the series and have started to read them.  Before this, I had only read about four of them.  This wasn't one of the best in the series (My favorite is To Marry and Irish Rogue) but it was good, some nice fluffy reading which is always good.  I don't expect the series to be much more than some light reading to take me away from New Jersey and plant me in Ireland for a little while.

Wicked All Day by Liz Carlyle

I was really excited to finally get a chance to read about Zoe Armstrong's story.  She's a character from The Devil You Know, which I already talked about on here.  However, once I got to the end of the book I was disappointed.  I thought so much more could have been done.  Zoe deserved a really good story, and I just don't feel this matched up well with her.  I think I have read too many stories recently where the main characters are in love and fight it for as long as they can until the eventually just give up.  Irish Moonlight was similar to this.  Hopefully my next book won't be like this. 

The Princess and the Hound by Mette Ivie Harrison

I picked this up at a library book sale for a quarter and figured I'd give it a try.  Well it took me awhile to get through and although it was an interesting story, I was kind of disappointed in the end.  It was a new idea for a fairy tale dealing with animal magic.  This type of magic allowed a person to speak with an animal in their language and in some cases to even become an animal.  The book seemed to have good potential, but just didn't go very far.  Very disappointing.  And the resolution to the prologue about the kind who was turned into a man was never finished.  It is left for another book.  

Book Musings: Belle by Melanie Jackson

I'm usually able to find something enjoyable about most books, no matter how bad they may seem or other people find them to be.  But, in reading Belle by Melanie Jackson, I really couldn't find anything good about the book.  I didn't hate it, I just found the writing and content to be very poor.  Nothing exciting seemed to happen.  The idea of the hero and heroine constantly playing cards was interesting, but seemed to be a poor attempt at making something central to the idea of the book turn out wrong.  It just never took off.  Everything in the book seemed to just drag.  I don't expect to like every book I read, but this one was just dull.  I couldn't really connect with the characters.  They seemed to be missing something.  Some background information was given about them, but it seemed incomplete.  A reference was made to a scar on the hero's face, but nothing much else was discussed about it.  Usually, a writer describes something like that and then uses it in the story some how.  It never figured in any part, and by the end of the book I had completely forgotten about it.  This really was just a bland read.

Listening to:  Billy Joel - "I've Loved These Days"

Book Musings: Backstage at the Dean Martin Show, Beyond Heaving Bosoms, Paradise, Tell-All by Chuck Palahniuk, The Devil You Know by Liz Carlyle, and From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris

So I haven't been able to keep up with posting the books I've been reading, so this is going to be a sort of catch up entry with a bunch of books thrown into it.

Backstage at the Dean Martin Show by Lee Hale


This is a book I've had for awhile and just haven't gotten around to reading it.  The author worked on The Dean Martin Show (and its many incarnations) as a creative assistant and he also had the unique opportunity to "be" Dean.  Since Dean did not like to rehearse someone needed to literally stand in for him while the rest of the cast and guest stars for the week rehearsed the show.  Unfortunately, I am too young to have seen any large quantity of the shows, but I have caught clips and a very small amount of actual episodes.  What I have been able to watch is proof enough of Dean's improvisational skills and his comedic timing.  I truly believe the show would not have been as successful as it was without these key elements.  Also, Dean is just charming and you feel comfortable watching him, like he's an old friend.  Anyway, it was interesting to see the behind the scenes action from a crew person's point of view.  The little tidbits about the stars who came on the show, or who didn't, were always interesting.  Also, the stars who appeared on the show are yet another testament to Dean's character and likability.  As the book goes into the later years of the television show and eventually the Dean Martin Roasts, it takes on a sad tone.  Dean seems to have changed (in my personal opinion after his divorce from Jeanne) and it reflected in the show, causing it to drop in ratings.  Overall, I really enjoyed the book.  It was written with honesty with the intent of giving a peak at a very interesting set up for a television variety show.  I mean really, how many shows can you think of are notorious for the host not rehearsing?

Beyond Heaving Bosoms by Sarah Wendell and Candy Tan

I absolutely love reading this book.  It takes a look at romance novels and why they are so popular.  But it not only defends the genre, it even rips it apart and analyzes all of the annoying and over done stereotypes the genre has, but all with a good sense of humor.  The authors also run the Smart B******, Trashy Books blog where they review romance novels and look at other things involved with them.  It is easy to tell how much these authors love the romance genre.  They have decided to take a more appropriate approach and look at its flaws and it bright points.  It was a great read and what was even better, was reading a romance novel right afterward and finding that many of the things they discussed were true.

  Paradise by Judith McNaught

I read this book as part of a two books in one book.  It was given to me and chances are I probably wouldn't have picked it up on my own.  That said, I was very surprised by how much I enjoyed the book by the time I had finished it.  I do think at certain points the author was too detailed and descriptive (and I like a lot of details and description) not to mention that she employed the use of the big misunderstanding a.k.a. "the Big Mis" (coined by Sarah Wendell and Candy Tan).  In other words, all of the problems between the hero and heroine stem for one colossal misunderstanding.  It's an idea that is used over and over again in romance novels, but none and I mean none of the ones I have encountered have had nearly as many "Big Mises" as this one!  And yet some how I wasn't bored by it, I wanted to know how everything turned out, even though it seemed to never end (all 530 pages of it).  At the same time I did have to suppress a few groans after the second time there was a misunderstanding and saying to myself, "Not again!"  But of course everything works out in the end and all the "Big Mises" were well worth seeing the two characters come together in the end.   

Tell-All by Chuck Palahniuk

This was the first book I've read by Chuck (as my friend calls him).  She is a huge fan and I was curious to see what his next book was about after hearing her say how she was going to see him speak.  So I looked it up on Amazon and was very intrigued by the cover.  I liked the cover it was interesting and neat (not weird like I find some of his other covers to be). (I must digress and confess that I am hopelessly sucked in by a good cover.  I do generally judge books by their covers even though I know I shouldn't.  I once wrote a paper on the cover of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight about how it literally sucks you in to buying it, tempting it with the most symbolically tempting fruit, an apple, held by ghostly white arms dissolving into a black background.  So much goes through your head when you seen the image that you don't even know why you decide to pick up the book.)  Anyway, so I read the brief synopsis and then thought this would be a good book to start from if I wanted to read something by Chuck.  I didn't get the idea it was going to be too weird or too out there according to my interpretation of them.  

After I got the book I was even more surprised by how different the idea was.  Tell-all books are probably some of the best ideas to market because they give off the idea that they are going to reveal some juicy gossip about someone famous.  And even though the character of Katherine Kenton is completely fictional, the author uses real people involved in Hollywood at the time (though which time period it is is beyond me, I'm going to say its somewhere between the 1940s and the 1960s probably before 1965).  It was hard to pinpoint the time period because of references that were made.  The popularity of certain songs makes me think it took place in the '40s but a reference to Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls makes me think it could have been the '60s, although the narrator could simply have used it to give the reader a frame of reference.  I really enjoyed seeing all of the people, places and other items rendered in bold font was pretty neat and I was happy because I knew who most of the people named were.  


I enjoyed the book, and found it to be an interesting read.  It took me a while to read it though, I didn't read it continuously as I usually do when I read books.  I read others in between this one.  While I kind of saw the ending coming, I eventually forgot what I thought about midway through the book and was only reminded that I had figured it out when I came to the end.  To me, that means the author did his job.  I don't like to figure out an ending (and you may ask well then why do you like romance novels, they're so predictable?  Well they are and they aren't and there's something comforting about knowing two characters will end up together no matter what).  In mystery and detective type stories, I do tend to try and figure out what happens.  How can you not?  The author leaves clues in front of you that are simply begging to be put together.  


I don't know if I'll read another Chuck book.  I think I'll have to get some more details about them and from my friend to see if I'll be able to tolerate the weirdness.


The Devil You Know by Liz Carlyle


This is probably one of my favorite romance novels, and certainly my favorite by Liz Carlyle.  I was over a friends house and saw it on her shelf and asked her if I could borrow it so I could read it again since it had been awhile.  I think what I like most was the hero, Bentley Rutledge.  I can not think of a more perfect name for a British rogue.  For all his character flaws, he is charming and loveable.  The story is great, too.  It was one of the first romances I clearly remember reading and I have some memories attached to it which probably make me enjoy the book even more.  In fact I can remember reading it during an English class in high school.  I had a teacher in my freshman year who said the biggest form of disrespect you could give to a teacher was to read while he or she was teaching.  Well I did that during my sophomore English class.  I didn't get caught, which leads me to believe the teacher didn't see me.  It was one of those things where I was aware of it, but she wasn't.  I clearly remember sitting at my desk (first row against the wall on the windowed side of the class room, second desk on a gray, overcast day) and reading the book underneath the desk.  Three of my good friends were in the class and I had told them about the book.  We were all so surprised that the main character Frederica (Freddie who was a virgin up until page 20 or so) leaped into the action so quickly.  None of us had found a book where it happened quite so soon.  Not long after, my friend used a movie title to describe the book, and well it kinda stuck for us as a joke.  As usual though, it was great to re-read the book and of course spend some time with Bentley.

From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris

I wasn't planning on re-reading this, not because I didn't like it, but because I brought it with me to my boyfriends house to read by the pool so that I wouldn't have to worry about ruining a good book (I'm hopefully getting a hardcover copy of it soon!).  Well after I started it, I simply didn't want to just leave it off where I had stopped.  I'm glad I did.  I really enjoy the Southern Vampire Mysteries/Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood books.  They're fun and a chance to escape to a totally different world.  If you ask me, there's no better way to escape from reality than a book with humor in it.  I found myself enjoying this one more than I did when I originally read it.  This may have been because I wasn't trying to devour the series as fast I could and instead just picked it up for its familiarity.  

Book Musings: Changeless by Gail Carriger

I have just finished Changeless by Gail Carriger, the second book in the Parasol Protectorate series.  I simply could not wait for the library to purchase a copy, so I went out and bought my own and I absolutely loved it!  I found parts of it to be predictable, but in a good way.  It was the kind of predictable where I found my self thinking "Hmmm...I wonder if she's going to do______."  Only to find out that she did.  I don't enjoy  when I figure out the plot because it is so obvious and I find myself thinking how so many other authors have gone down the same route.   That's upsetting, this however wasn't.   Spoilers commence!  (Which means you should go read Soulless first, right now!)

Here is what Amazon.com had to say:

"Alexia Tarabotti, the Lady Woolsey, awakens in the wee hours of the mid-afternoon to find her husband, who should be decently asleep like any normal werewolf, yelling at the top of his lungs. Then he disappears - leaving her to deal with a regiment of supernatural soldiers encamped on her doorstep, a plethora of exorcised ghosts, and an angry Queen Victoria.

But Alexia is armed with her trusty parasol, the latest fashions, and an arsenal of biting civility. Even when her investigations take her to Scotland, the backwater of ugly waistcoats, she is prepared: upending werewolf pack dynamics as only the soulless can.

She might even find time to track down her wayward husband, if she feels like it."

Everything I enjoyed about the first Parasol Protectorate book was back again, with one exception.  At one point Lord Maccon approaches Lady Maccon in wolf form and recognizes her.  I like how in the first book he was not able to restrain himself quite so much in her company, but I am guessing he has become accustomed to her scent and therefore no longer needs to be as careful around her.  

The parasol was back!  And so was the witty dialogue.  As annoying as she is supposed to be, I really do enjoy the character of Ivy Hisselpenny.  She has a very fun story line, and her ability to faint is always welcome.  I would have liked to see more of Professor Lyall, but there really was no place for him in this installment, and from the synopsis I've read about Blameless, the next book, I do not believe he will be involved there a great deal either.  This book seemed to explore a little bit more of what it means to be a preternatural, and what abilities Alexia is capable of.  

I have one frustration.  I do not blame the author for this, I feel she wrote the scenario very well, which is why I am frustrated with it.  If it had been done any other way, I would have thought it too out of character for Lord Maccon.  Anyway because of information that is revealed towards the end of the book Lord Maccon acts, well stupidly.  If he was thinking logically at all, which he wasn't, he would realize his accusations are completely unfounded and if he looked at his unique situation and relationship with  Alexia he would would realize how much of an idiot he was!  That said, it was a beautifully orchestrated event.  Unlike other books which have similar scenes, there is more than just anger and betrayal.  Lord Maccon's eyes are described as "agonized and bereft" (Carriger, 371).  He seems to have lost so much more and he is able to realize what he has lost.  Usually the hero is just angry. 

Anyway I early look forward to Blameless which is described as "A novel vampires, werewolves, and Templars" I think this series can only get better.  I know what I'm buying on September 1st!

Listening to:  Billy Joel:  "Big Shot"

Book Musings: Soulless by Gail Carringer

I need to stop finding books that are in a series.  Currently looking at the books strewn across my room (due to my return from college) I count at least 30 different sets (incomplete and complete) of books in a series, and those are only the ones that have kept/have not read yet!  At least Harry Potter and Twilight have ended so that's two I won't have to keep up with and can instead re-read whenever I feel like it.  But of course then there's a series like Nancy Drew which seems to have a never-ending number of books (although I am only interested in reading the yellow hardcover originals, but still there's 50+ of those and I've only read about 5). 


But that will never happen and I will continue to read a ridiculous number of books in a series.


So the newest series I have discovered I found on another blog about books (I don't remember which one, though).  When a book has the tag line "A novel of vampires, werewolves, and parasols" well that's like giving a kid the key to a candy store, the combination is simply irresistibly intriguing.  

I was not always interested in vampires, werewolves, and other supernatural beings.  To tell the truth, I have been scared to death by such creatures for most of my life.  There are pictures of me at Halloween all dressed up standing next to our animated Dracula and crying because I was so afraid of the doll!  I do not watch horror movies for the most part (the only exceptions are when an actor I like, aka Johnny Depp and Roger Daltrey, is involved, but I have to like that actor a great deal in order to subject myself to the nightmares that will no doubt follow my viewing of the film).  However, in high school a friend introduced me to a rather mild werewolf book (Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause) and even though I had to place the book outside of my room, in the hall, face down because I was afraid of the cover I really enjoyed the book and have read it several times since (I no longer need to leave the book outside of my room.  I have fallen asleep without any ill effects while the book has been on my nightstand face up).  I mean I was even afraid of the dementors when I first read about them in Harry Potter!  Anyway, so after that I read The Silver Kiss by the same author.  I have also read Twilight, and I enjoyed it too.  After that I have found the Sookie Stackhouse books, and well I don't feel comfortable not claiming that I enjoy books with these supernatural elements.  I think I have to be very selective so I am do not scare myself (I do not see myself reading Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles anytime soon) but re-imaginings of vampires and werewolves (a la Twilight) and more humorous versions of these creatures (a la Sookie Stackhouse novels) have lead me to believe that I have been missing some pretty good fiction.  I already enjoy fantasy so this is not a very large leap to make and one I will continue to enjoy exploring.

So combine Victorian England with vampires and werewolves, and you have my immediate attention.  Not to mention that the cover and title help a great deal. 

Soulless is part of the series The Parasol Protectorate by Gail Carriger and is into its second book with the third due September 1, 2010.  It is a steampunk novel, which is basically combines the era of steam power with elements of fantasy and fictional technology or anachronistic technology.  Basically things like Alan Moore's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (a very good comic) or the Will Smith movie Wild, Wild West.  For a better idea head over to the ever resourceful Wikipedia article linked here:  Steampunk.  

By the way, there will be some spoilers, so I suggest you go read the book before you continue! :)

As the title implies, the main character Alexia Tarabotti is soulless.  In the world of the book an excess of soul allows for humans to be transformed into vampires or werewolves (also ghosts I believe, but I'm not 100% sure about that as there were no ghosts in the first book) if they are bitten.  Alexia, however, is one of the few who can negate these supernaturals merely by touching them.  She is considered a preternatural by the Bureau of Unnatural Registry (BUR).  But her kind are so few and far between the rest of the general population is not aware there are people who are soulless.  Needless to say, Alexia's condition helps her a great deal when a vampire attacks her at the onset of the book.  As soon as she touches him, his fangs disappear and for all intents and purposes he becomes human.  Of course, once contact is broken, the fangs reappear and he is back to his normal vampire self.  After a few more tries Alexia accidentally stakes the vampire causing BUR agents to arrive, rather quickly.  And who should arrive but Conall Maccon, Lord Woolsey and Professor Lyall, the Alpha and Beta of the local wolf pack.  Lord Maccon is a wonderful character described as "loud, messy, gorgeous and werewolf".  I enjoy him immensely.  Despite his rough description, he is quite charming and his thoughts can be quite humorous.  Speaking of humorous, Professor Lyall has wonderful comedic bits throughout the book.  I enjoyed the silliness involved in the book so much.  I'd say it reminds me most of Julia Quinn's books, because I find them wonderfully amusing also.  Although the supernatural aspect adds a bit more to the humor because imagining these actions and thoughts associated with vampires and werewolves puts a whole new spin on the humor.  

Anyway, the dead vampire is simply the beginning of Alexia's troubles (aside from the fact that she is soulless she is also half Italian, a spinster, and a blue stocking, all of which are frowned on in Victorian England).  Because of the accident, it is practically a guarantee that she will encounter Lord Maccon a great deal more than she has previously.  Which only leads to the tension between these two opposites escalating and working its way throughout the rest of the story as other events unfold around them.

I don't think I can express how much I enjoyed this book.  It was not what I was expecting, although having read some of the author's blog posts and experiencing her humor there I should not have been surprised by its integration with the story.   I honestly sat there shaking my head some times at the silliness.  Another aspect I enjoyed was that when the werewolves in the books changed from human to wolf they lost all of their humanness.  Nothing remained, therefore causing them to be locked up so they were not able to accidentally kill humans.  While I enjoy the different 'types' of werewolves I have encountered such as in the Twilight Saga and in the Sookie Stackhouse novels, both are able to remain around humans, and even protect humans if they wish to.  So, Ms. Carriger's take on werewolves was refreshing.  Nothing particularly outstanding changed the vampires, but they do not typically loose the sense of perception, unless they are starving for blood.  Other than a little bit at the end, and then it is only the barest hint a a werewolf recognizing a human, the reader is read to believe a werewolf in wolf form would have no idea if he was attacking his own mother if the situation presented itself.  I also enjoyed the character of Alexia.  She's very tough and it seems she has had to become that way because society has basically turned her into an outcast.  She most definitely has a backbone and knows how to handle herself.  She is very intelligent and is easily comfortable whether she speaking of science or wielding her parasol with its brass additions.  

My one critique of this book was the abrupt jump in third person narration.  One moment it would be Alexia's thoughts and in the next it would be Lord Maccon's.  I found myself going back and double checking that I had everything right and was now reading the thoughts of the right person.  But this was very minor in the scheme of things.

I highly recommend the book and will soon provide my thoughts on Changeless, the sequel.

Listening to:  Gaelic Storm - "The Salt Lick"

Book Musings: Dead in the Family

After finishing college (for the most part) I was able to indulge my self and read the new Sookie Stackhouse book Dead in the Family.  Along with simply being able to read the book and not have to worry about reading an assignment for class (although I did have to worry about putting off a take-home final) I indulged even further and allowed myself to finish the book in one sitting, at 4:15 in the morning.  I simply kept reading and after a certain point I decided to just give in and overall it was a wonderful way to kick-off my summer reading.  There will be spoilers, so beware!!!

I have only recently come to the Southern Vampire Mysteries/Sookie Stackhouse novels, although I have seen their unique covers and titles for a number of years.  After reading about the general idea for the series on Wikipedia, I decided why not?  So I bought the first book.  Needless to say I was sucked in and subsequently bought the rest of the series totaling nine books.  Then I eagerly began to await for the collection of short stories.  Since then (about October) I have been waiting for the next novel as have other fans.  (I also succumbed to True Blood the television show, but 24 one-hour episodes did not last very long. )  

Dead in the Family takes place after the very intense Dead and Gone.  Having said that I felt that Dead in the Family was a bit of disappointment.  Now I have a theory to back this up.  I haven't followed the series from the beginning so I was not able to have the experience of waiting reading a book and then waiting a whole year for the next book.  I read everything in one big lump and was pretty swept up by the whole series.  So I think I over anticipated this one.  I also think that since Dead and Gone was so action packed it was a good choice to have a book like Dead in the Family come after it because two back to back action packed books might have been a little too much, and I know authors need to spread their ideas out, especially with a series as large as the Sookie Stackhouse novels (I think there is supposed to be a total of 14 or so by the end of the series).  

I thoroughly enjoyed Dead in the Family, despite my disappointment.  As with any series, I love being able to revisit characters whose lives and world I enjoy reading about.  Ms. Harris did not disappoint in this area, there were glimpses of all my favorite characters, including Alcide Herveaux who is one of my favorite characters, and Bill, who seems to have less of a role now (I would have liked to see more of him even though I like Eric more).  I think Dead in the Family works well to (hopefully) set up the next big conflict in Sookie's life.  I believe something will be coming to a head pretty soon with Victor Madden, the vampire over-seeing Louisiana for Felipe de Castro, the King of Nevada.  Victor seems to be threatened by Eric and the loyalty people have towards him.  Also the fact that he is "married" to a telepath (Sookie) and has connections to the local werewolf pack (Alcide) and the odd shape-shifter (Sam, Sookie's boss).  Needless to say, things are a bit tense for Eric right now and he has to be very careful what he does so that Victor does not have the opportunity to discredit him and cause Felipe to possibly permanently remove Eric.  At the same time, because of his connections, Victor does not to simply call Eric out, so like most bad guys he has to be sneaky and deceiving.  This also puts a great deal of tension on Sookie because she is involved with Eric.

To complicate things even more, Eric's maker shows up with Eric's 'younger brother' in tow.  This younger brother just happens to be Alexi Romanov, as in son of Tsar Nicholas Romanov whose family was killed during the revolutions in Russia.  I liked the idea that Ms. Harris brought in a historical figure whose death was somewhat murky (yes there is Bubba too, but he is a whole different story altogether, and I missed him hoping he would pop up, but sadly there was no need for him).  By the end of the book, I think everything is tied up quite nicely (although having a possible solution to the Victor problem disappear is slightly upsetting, but if the problem was taken care of what would happen in the next book?) leaving  a perfect set up for the next conflict.

Of course, now I must wait a year for the next book to come out to find out how Bill is doing and how his relationship with Sookie will pan out, also how the Victor dilemma will end up.  But I also look forward to seeing what happens with Sookie and Eric's relationship, Alcide, Sam, Pam, and so many others...I wonder if Quinn will come back?  Hmmm....

Oh, and there's just one more thing!  Did I mention how much I hate reading a new book in a series having forgotten many of the important things that have accumulated in the previous books?  for the most part I've been able to deal with this easily and have simply gone back and read the previous books, but to go back and read 9 rather short (for me) books seems like a bit too much for me right now when I have so many other books simply begging to be read!  Maybe I'll attempt to space them out over the summer and take notes this way I'll have them for when the next book comes out.  On the other hand, that sounds a bit like homework and I'm not sure I want to drag that into the books I read for enjoyment...I guess Wikipedia will have to suffice for now.   

Listening to:  "Raised on Black and Tans" - Gaelic Storm

Book Musings: Tangled Webs by Anne Bishop

I have recently been re-reading some of Anne Bishop's Black Jewels novels and decided Tangled Webs, the one I have currently finished would be a good start.  If you have not read any of the books and intend to do so, there will be spoilers ahead revealing events in the other books which this one has as established.

Rather than explain the world Ms. Bishop has created, here is a link to the Wikipedia article giving a brief summary of it:  The Black Jewels


One of the things I love about Ms. Bishop's books is how she revisits her characters.  I have heard others find this to ruin the flow of some of the books, but I always enjoy it, which is why I love books in a series so much.  I love being able to revisit those characters and see what they are up to.  

Tangle Webs is a story focusing on Surreal SaDiablo.  She belongs to the witch caste which is "a Blood female who wears Jewels but isn't one of the other hierarchical levels; also refers to any Jeweled female" (Bishop).  She is very strong wearing a Green Birthright Jewel and a Gray Jewel of rank (both are considered dark Jewels on the scale of Jewels.  Gray is the third strongest behind Ebon-gray and Black).  Add to this strength of Craft (name for the type of power the Blood use) to the fact that she is also a former whore and assassin and related (indirectly) to the most powerful family in the Realms (Kaeleer, Terreille, and Hell) and to one of the most secretive races in those Realms (the Dea al Mon) its easy to figure out she's not someone you would want to mess with.  Anyone who did would most likely meet with the men in her family, the three most dangerous men in the Realms:  Saetan SaDiablo, Daemon Sadi, and Lucivar Yaslana.  One thing to keep in mind in the Black Jewels novels is that Blood males serve.  They women mostly are in charge of things and the men do anything to protect them.  The 3 men in the SaDiablo family Warlord Princes, the highest and most lethal caste of Blood male.  Saetan is a trained Black Widow, Daemon was born a Black Widow and both can weave terrible dreams, webs, illusions and do almost anything else.  Luciver is an Eyrien (meaning he has wings) and is a warrior and has trained for centuries.  Non of them wear a Birthright Jewel lighter than Red and their other Jewels are no lighter than Ebon-gray.  Daemon and Saetan are the only males to ever wear Black Jewels in the entire existence of the Blood.

If those three were not enough to deter someone from harming anyone close to the SaDiablo family, Janelle Angelline is formerly the Queen of Ebon Askavi, a Healer, and a Black Widow.  She was the most powerful woman in all the Realms wearing Ebony Jewels (Jewels no one else has ever worn).  She sacrificed herself to save those who were true to the Blood's code of honor (Protocol) and destroyed those who did not.  After a long recovery, she returned and no longer wears the Ebony Jewels, she now wears Twilight's Dawn, a Jewel very specific to Janelle.  Basically she draws on the strength of power she needs when she needs it.  But this should not fool anyway, she is still just as lethal if provoked and there is also the fact that she is married to Daemon, the adopted daughter of Saetan, and by association the adopted sister of Lucivar.  (Daemon and Lucivar are both Saetan's sons, but since Janelle is adopted by Saetan, she has no blood ties to Daemon and can marry him.  For more of their story and why they are together, read the earlier books in the Black Jewels series.

So in Tangled Webs, Jarvis Jenkell, a man who has recently discovered he is Blood, but not strong enough to wear Jewels, decides to tangle with the SaDiablo family.  He sets a trap for them and hopes to catch them in a "spooky house" he has created.  Janelle has also been working on a "spooky house" but her's is merely an entertainment for landen (non-Bloods) and the Blood.  Jenkell however uses his version of the "spooky house" to trap as many of the high and mighty SaDiablo family as possible.  He unwisely decides it is time to repay the Blood for ignoring what he really was (one of the) for too long.  He is bitter and has a deep resentment for the Blood.  Unfortunately, is plan does not work as well as he hopes and instead of trapping Daemon, Lucivar, and Surreal.  He traps Surreal and her escort, and Opal Jeweled Warlord Prince named Ranier, along with some landen children.  Once inside the house they soon realize it is not the "spooky house" created by Janelle and holds threats that just might kill them if they do not find a way out.  Jenkell has engineered the house to close one of the 30 exits available if anyone inside the house uses Craft for even the tiniest spell.       

I really enjoyed this the second time around.  I think I appreciated the character of Surreal more, especially having read this so quickly after reading the earlier books in the series.  She's a very strong character in many ways.  She is given the chance to show some of her skills here, but this story allows for a deeper look at her character.  


I enjoyed the tricks in the "spooky house"  they were just enough to be gruesome, but not enough to scare me (and that's pretty easy since almost everything scares me).  I also liked the interaction between Surreal and Ranier, the Warlord Prince who serves as her 'escort', although she protest to his attempts at this.  Ms. Bishop allows us to see that Surreal is not as tough as she acts when she encounters beetles in a bath tub that burts.  The giggling spiders were entertaining, and it was nice to see that if Surreal was going to become queasy about something, it wasn't going to be the typical spider thing, but some other insect.  

The ending is fulfilling, because Jenkell is given what he deserves by Daemon, and of course that is always interesting.  


An idea that runs through all of the Black Jewels novels has to do with the consequences the actions the characters take.  There's a saying among the Blood, "Everything has a price" and the consequences are both good and bad, but those who understand the Protocol which governs the Blood, know how true these words are.  Someone such as Jarvis Jenkell has absolutely no idea and rightly suffer for their lack of understanding.  


Listening to:  Johnny Cash - "Heart of Gold"

Book Musings: The Shadow Queen by Anne Bishop

I wasn't going to look at two of Anne Bishop's books, but since I was reading them, I figured why not, its good practice.

I last read The Shadow Queen about a year ago, and I really enjoyed it.  Reading it again this time, I found I had completely forgotten a great deal of it.  I really only remembered the basic storyline: 

The territory of Dena Nehele had suffered under the rules of Dorothea SaDiablo for quite some time, but everything changed after Dorothea and the other Blood were destroyed in the witch storm.  Now they need a Queen otherwise they will not survive.  

Theran Grayhaven calls in the favor Daemon Sadi offered to his relative Jared Grayhaven and requests a Queen from Kaeleer who is trained in the "Old ways" for Dena Nehele, a territory in Terreille still recovering from Dorothea's damage.  Theran is not very smart when he asks for this, not understanding exactly how the what the "Old ways" are and require.  Therefore when he is given Cassidy, a young light-jeweled Queen whose court left deserted her.  He is, obviously less than pleased with his one and only option.  The book then goes through challenge Cassidy and Theran attempting to work together and bring Dena Nehele back to some of its former glory.  Cassidy tries to be a Queen who lives by the "Old Ways" and the type of Queen Theran wants while Theran tries to accept the Queen he did not want.  


 As with all of the books in the Black Jewels series, I enjoyed visiting again with some of my favorite characters, although Surreal is absent.  Some people find sidetracking to these other plots to be annoying, and I can understand that because the story doesn't flow in one direction, but I enjoy it.  Ms. Bishop works the other plots in enough that everything still flows together.  It also allows for the reader to have a deeper understanding of the characters who are so familiar from previous series.  I never tire of seeing a new aspect of Daemon, Saetan, Lucivar, and Janelle.  

I really enjoyed Cassidy as a character.  She's spunky, in a hidden sort of way, but its there.  She's strong in a different way than Janelle or Surreal.  I also like the character of Gray.  He's described as having the mentality of a boy in a man's body.  I find this image comes across very clearly and find myself trying to distinguish which part is dominating him in each scene just as Cassidy, Theran, and other characters try to figure out which part of Gray they are confronting.

I have to Theran is just a jerk.  A well written jerk, but a jerk just the same.  Towards the end of the book I thought perhaps he had some redeemable qualities, but then I remembered  everything he does in the sequel, Shalador's Lady and that was enough for me to remember how the changes do not last.

I also enjoy Ranon.  He's very tough and has some good comments throughout the story.  Another character I enjoy is the kindred Scheltie, Vae.  Vae is so hard not to love, although Thearn does a good job of it.  If not for anything else, her comments about "snarly males" is worth having for the humor.  


After finishing the book, I was disappointed with  myself.  I read Shalador's Lady less than a month ago, but I think I read it too fast and even though I enjoyed it, I have forgotten much of it, especially with all of the other books I have read in between then and now.  I think I may actually have to read it again this way I'll have The Shadow Queen fresh in my mind...

Listening to:  Roger Daltrey - "The Price of Love" 
 

Book Musings: The Final Solution by Michael Chabon

This past semester I have taken a literature course entitled Detective Fiction and Film.  The purpose of the course was to take works which are not considered "literature" and analyze them as literature.  The class looked at The Hound of the Baskervilles, The Maltese Falcon, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Watchmen, and other detective genre works.  The last book we read was intended as a look back on themes in many of the books we had previously looked at, basically a capstone for the course all within one book.  

As it was so late in the semester, and I am a senior making my desire to read anything which I will not be quizzed, tested, or forced to recall in some manner is at zero I strongly debated not reading this book despite it being only 130 pages.  However, I did because I really enjoy the professor's class and felt is was disrespectful not to read it.  I did read it and found I was glad I did.

The book is called The Final Solution, by Michael Chabon.  Its a detective story set in England during World War II.  The story opens with The Old Man (his name is never provided) looking out his window at a boy who has a gray parrot with a red tail on his shoulder.  Throughout the novel hints are dropped to alert the reader of The Old Man's identity.  A deerstalker hat, a magnifying glass given by the most dear friend he ever had, a pipe, and a penchant for bouncing ideas off of another person (almost any person will do) in order to help him make sense of the case he has been presented (if you can't figure out what literary character The Old Man is supposed to be I suggest you either read the book for a better understanding of the hints that are dropped, I have no plans on revealing him by name).  

The case presented to The Old Man is the death of a man and his possible connection to the boy's parrot, which has gone missing.  The boy is a mute German Jew who has been brought to England and has escaped the horrors of the Holocaust.  The book then describes how the man goes about solving the case. 

As The Old Man is supposed to be a character in literature it is interesting to see how he tries to solve the case since some of the elements so essential to him are missing, his youth and vitality, his trusty side kick, among others.  There is still a sense of his arrogance, though it is somewhat diminished, and he still has an air of 'I know everything about you just by looking at your boots', though it is also somewhat less as he seems to have lost some of his confidence.  

The title also gives a clue to who the famous literary character because it plays on one of the titles this character appears in and the idea that this is the last one for The Old Man.  But the title also is a reminder of the Nazi's plan for the Jews which becomes even more obvious upon learning the boy has escaped from Germany.

I really enjoyed the book, but it took me a long time to realize that.  It wasn't until the "A-ha!" moment when everything came together that I figured it out I was enjoying it.  I really enjoyed all the hints dropped reminding me who The Old Man was and how his age effected him making him almost an anachronism in the world he was living in. 

I find my professor's decision and placement of this novel to be spot on.  In analyzing it in class it touched on a number of the major issues discussed throughout the semester.  

Overall, a nice short read looking at an established character very much at the end of his life, but still able to be as brilliant as ever.

Listening to:  .38 Special - "Like No Other Night" 

Blog Beginnings

I've been spending some time looking at blogs about books lately and have decided to create my own.  As a History and Literature major, I read a great deal.  Add to that that I will be pursuing a master's degree in library science so I enjoy reading for pleasure.  For me, books and music are two must haves on a desert island. 

Anyway, in this blog, I hope to post thoughts on books I've read.  I'll try to make them as diverse as possible, but as much as I love variety, I also like my comforts.  I wouldn't say I'm going to review books necessarily.  I may give them a rating...but that may come later.  I'll be sure to give some info about how I came across the book and if it is a re-read.  

I'm sure random thoughts will intrude, how often, I have no idea, but they will worm their way in.  These are solely my thoughts so take from them what you will, but remember they are mine, they belong to no one but me.  If you agree or like what I say, that's great, if not you are entitled to your opinion.