Blacklin's books from LibraryThing

The Poyson Garden (Elizabeth I Mysteries, Book 1) by Karen Harper

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 21:45:14 -0400

Dell (2000), Mass Market Paperback, 320 pages

The Little Black Book Of Stories by A.S. Byatt

Sat, 03 Oct 2009 16:11:04 -0400

CHATTO and WINDUS (2000), Hardcover

Saffron And Brimstone: Strange Stories by Elizabeth Hand

Sat, 03 Oct 2009 16:08:58 -0400

M Press (2006), Edition: 1st M Press Ed, Paperback, 325 pages

Touch Not the Cat by Mary Stewart

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 10:20:51 -0400

HarperTorch (2005), Mass Market Paperback, 384 pages

Night Runner: A Novel by Max Turner

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:00:48 -0400

Blacklin's review: "NightRunner focuses on Zack Thomson and his friend Charlie. Zack relates the story from his point of view so Turner filters everything Zack experiences from the perspective of a 15 year old teenager who hasn't had much experience in the outside world. I found this technique interesting and refreshing. I found the perspective refreshing because I: 1. Don't read too much YA books (although I would like too) and sometimes teenage characters provide interesting observations about events that as an adult, I find to be ordinary or dull, or a pain. 2. Don't read many books where teenage boys are the main characters. A teenage boy provides a perspective on events, people, and conversations are different from teenage girls and of course, adults. I enjoyed Zack and Charlie's dynamic with each other as friends. And I enjoyed Zack's observations about the people he meets when he leaves Nicholls Ward. Zack's a compassionate character who makes difficult decisions. He's a person trapped in a situation and with a physical condition not of his own choosing. He must flee the Ward because others have made that a necessity. Night Runner moves quickly. At times I thought the plot predictable (especially if you've read plenty of vampire stories) but Turner provides some interesting plot twists that caught me by surprise. I probably should have seen them coming, but I didn't, probably because I was caught up in the book's action--always a good thing. Overall, I enjoyed this book. While the plot's pretty simple, the book discusses making choices--choices between good and evil and right or wrong without becoming sanctimonious or overbearing in the process."
St. Martin's Griffin (2009), Edition: 1, Paperback, 272 pages

Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 09:51:10 -0400

Wilder Publications (2009), Paperback, 272 pages

Travels with Charley in Search of America: (Centennial Edition) by John Steinbeck

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 21:57:21 -0400

Penguin (Non-Classics) (2002), Paperback, 224 pages

Poppy Done to Death (Aurora Teagarden Mysteries, Book 8) by Charlaine Harris

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 21:55:10 -0400

Berkley (2009), Mass Market Paperback, 288 pages

Last Scene Alive (Aurora Teagarden Mysteries, No. 7) by Charlaine Harris

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 21:53:45 -0400

Berkley (2009), Edition: Reprint, Paperback, 272 pages

A Fool and His Honey (Aurora Teagarden Mysteries, No. 6) by Charlaine Harris

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 21:51:46 -0400

Berkley (2009), Edition: Reprint, Mass Market Paperback, 272 pages

Alive in Necropolis by Doug Dorst

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 20:11:23 -0400

Blacklin's review: "I picked up Doug Dorst’s Alive In Necropolis at the library because the cover art attracted my attention. And then I became intrigued about the book when I read the blurb on the book flap. I thought Alive In Necropolis would be a really cool ghost story, but I am quite disappointed. The blurb provided indicates (at least to me) that discovering Featherstone’s fate and the nightly activities in the cemeteries would be the main plot of the book, but instead, rookie cop Mike Mercer obsesses about everything but Featherstone’s fate. Mercer does read Featherstone’s incident reports about his encounters with Colma’s cemetery residents, but Mercer’s interactions with Colma’s dead residents seem for the most part incidental, not deliberately planned encounters—and deliberately planned encounters are what I expected from a cop obsessing about and investigating the mysterious circumstances of a fellow officer’s death. Instead, Dorst provides a tale of a young man who still compares himself to others and finds himself coming up short on all accounts. To me, Alive In Necropolis is really a late twenty-something’s coming of age story (scratching my head here) and that’s fine if I wanted to read that kind of story, but I expected a ghost story not a whole lot of internal moaning and groaning. Maybe it’s me. Maybe I don’t have the patience for coming of age (any age) stories. Been there, done that. But I don’t think it’s entirely me. Alive In Necropolis has too many sub-plots that just trail off. I kept wondering why Dorst continued to include certain characters, because, well, if Mercer was done with them, why did I have to keep reading about them? And finally, while I got the jokes bantered back and forth between the cops, I did not find Alive In Necropolis to be “hilarious” or “slyly hilarious” as some of the advanced reader quotes claim on the back cover. And I have a pretty good sense of humor. Final Thoughts: I did not like Doug Dorst’s Alive In Necropolis. I found the book boring, depressing, and loosely constructed. I read the whole book and when I got to the end, I thought so what?"
Riverhead Hardcover (2008), Hardcover, 448 pages

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 19:11:37 -0400

Voice (2009), Edition: First Edition, First Printing, Hardcover, 384 pages

Fool: A Novel by Christopher Moore

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 19:07:29 -0400

William Morrow (2009), Hardcover, 311 pages

The Dalai Lama's Little Book of Inner Peace: The Essential Life and Teachings by Dalai Lama

Sun, 09 Aug 2009 18:48:56 -0400

Blacklin's review: "Honestly, I have not finished reading this book. I know. I received it in February of 2009. However, when I began reading it, I was surprised to find that the first half of the book is about his life in Tibet before he had to flee. While interesting, I was expecting more instruction on spiritual wisdom. While I find the first half of the book interesting because it discusses his life and his dealings with the Chinese. I have not finished the book yet because I am not up for a political autobiography right now, but what I have read is interesting. I just wish this book was either an entire autobiography about his life or an entire book full of his spiritual instruction. With the latter,, I probably would have continued reading the book."
Hampton Roads Publishing (2009), Hardcover, 400 pages

Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness by Jon Kabat-Zinn

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:28:32 -0400

Delta (1990), Paperback, 512 pages

The Lost Gospel of Judas Iscariot: A New Look at Betrayer and Betrayed by Bart D Ehrman

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 13:26:16 -0400

Oxford University Press, USA (2008), Edition: Reprint, Paperback, 208 pages

Zen and the Art of Poker: Timeless Secrets to Transform Your Game by Larry Phillips

Sat, 09 May 2009 15:41:47 -0400

Plume (1999), Paperback, 192 pages

Shakespeare's Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 12:14:31 -0400

Wiley (2008), Paperback, 192 pages

There's a Dead Person Following My Sister Around by Vivian Vande Velde

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 12:12:38 -0400

Sandpiper (2008), Edition: Reprint, Paperback, 160 pages

The Squire's Tale (The Squire's Tales) by Gerald Morris

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 12:08:50 -0400

Sandpiper (2008), Paperback, 224 pages