UnrulySun's Media Room & Literary Lounge (6)

"Summer Guide" Village Voice cover, by Chris Buzelli




January
Dodger
The Last Dragonslayer
The Corpse-Rat King
Boneshaker
Words Gone Wild
Shadow and Bone
The Lieutenant
I Am Half-Sick of Shadows

February
The Woodcutter
Speaking From Among the Bones
Children in Reindeer Woods
New Images of Nazi Germany
The Cavendish Home for Boys and Girls
Little Brother
The Many Lives of Lilith Lane
This Perfect Day

March
Dangerous Voices
The Adoration of Jenna Fox
Genesis
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight
Six-Gun Snow White
Mercury
Don't Let Me Go
A Long, Long Sleep
Arch Enemy #1, #2
Black Hole Cafe #1
The Amulet of Samarkand: The Graphic Novel

April
Anya's Ghost
Sailor Twain
Paranormalcy
The Radleys
Level 2
Persepolis
Drama

May
Blindness
Laika
The Resurrectionist
Prisoner 88
Anna Dressed in Blood
"We Have Always Lived On Mars" & "Jack of Coins"
Resistance: Book 1
Make Good Art
My Dog: The Paradox
Liesl & Po
The Rithmatist

June
Hold Me Closer, Necromancer
Summer Falls
The Disappearing Spoon
Life After Life
The Song of Achilles
Fox 8
Under Wildwood
Nick and Tesla's High-Voltage Danger Lab
The Ocean at the End of the Lane

July
Skulduggery Pleasant: Playing With Fire
Lexicon
Genius
The Feast of the Goat
The Apprentices
A Monster Calls
The Shambling Guide to New York City
Apocalypse Cow
Zebra Forest
Skulduggery Pleasant: The Faceless Ones
Vaclav and Lena
In the Shadow of Blackbirds
Scott Pilgrim: Vol 1
40
The Velvet Room
Out of My Mind
Girl Under Glass

August
Zita the Spacegirl
Walls Within Walls
Doll Bones
Unclean Jobs for Women and Girls
Flat Out Love

Currently Reading:

Mid-year stats:

Books read: 53
Books acquired: Who knows

54: Skulduggery Pleasant: Playing with Fire by Derek Landy



Book 2 in the series

Once again, Skulduggery and his 13-year-old sidekick Valkyrie are faced with bad guys, end-of-the-world consequences, and family drama. They pull it off with humor and panache, and maybe a few strokes of dumb luck. These guys are a heap of fun.

Of note here is that the audiobook version is read by Rupert Degas, who is one of the best I've heard. His Irish brogue is charming, and he does fantastic character voices. His talent, combined with the music and sound effects, make the Skulduggery books a treat to listen to.

55: Lexicon by Max Barry



"A hand closed over his mouth. The pressure in his eyeball intensified, became a sucking. They were pulling out his eyeball. No: It was the needle, withdrawing. He shrieked, possibly.Then the pain was gone. Hands pulled him upward. He couldn't see. He wept for his poor abused eyeball. But it was still there. It was there.
Blurry shapes loomed in fog. 'What,' Wil said.
'Coarg medicity nighten comense,' said the taller shape. 'Hop on one foot.'
Will squinted, confused.
'Huh,' said the shorter shape. 'Maybe it is him.'"

****************

I'm having a hard time putting the plot into words without spoilers, so I'm going to leave it up to the (obviously talented) jacket blurb writer to do it for me.

At an exclusive school somewhere outside of Arlington, Virginia, students aren’t taught history, geography, or mathematics—they are taught to persuade. Students learn to use language to manipulate minds, wielding words as weapons. The very best graduate as “poets,” and enter a nameless organization of unknown purpose.

Whip-smart runaway Emily Ruff is making a living from three-card Monte on the streets of San Francisco when she attracts the attention of the organization’s recruiters. Drawn in to their strage world, which is populated by people named Brontë and Eliot, she learns their key rule: That every person can be classified by personality type, his mind segmented and ultimately unlocked by the skilful application of words. For this reason, she must never allow another person to truly know her, lest she herself be coerced. Adapting quickly, Emily becomes the school’s most talented prodigy, until she makes a catastrophic mistake: She falls in love.

Meanwhile, a seemingly innocent man named Wil Parke is brutally ambushed by two men in an airport bathroom. They claim he is the key to a secret war he knows nothing about, that he is an “outlier,” immune to segmentation. Attempting to stay one step ahead of the organization and its mind-bending poets, Wil and his captors seek salvation in the toxically decimated town of Broken Hill, Australia, which, if ancient stories are true, sits above an ancient glyph of frightening power.

A brilliant thriller that traverses very modern questions of privacy, identity, and the rising obsession of data-collection, connecting them to centuries-old ideas about the power of language and coercion, Lexicon is Max Barry’s most ambitious and spellbinding novel yet.

OK, I don't often read thrillers, or anything with too many explosions or car chases. But, how could I resist "poets" of questionable morals, ill-fated romance, and mind-control semantics? Right, I couldn't. This was SO MUCH FUN. It's funny, and serious, and heartbreaking. All wrapped up in a neat little package that plays out in your head like a James-Bond-type action flick.

Hmmm, I'm not a thriller person either, but that does sound intriguing.

Lovely new thread, btw.

Kathy - congratulations on another new thread. Your latest book looks like one I should look out for.

Love the cover art on that one. The plot looks intriging.

Hi Roni and Paul! I'll be bold and recommend Lexicon to both of you-- I think it works well as both adventure story and thriller. I was talking about it at work today and there seems to be a frenzy around this one (since it's new). Something for everyone it seems.

Kerry- yes! The cover is what drew my eye to begin with. Then once I read the blurb I bought it. Retail. (On sale, but still-- I rarely do retail.)

How are you guys liking the new LT format? I think it's OK, but will take some getting used to. I decided to jack my settings all the way to bare minimum on the home page! That's a lot of cover art and irrelevant (to me) information. Of course I rarely visit the homepage anyway. Everything else is the same, so, that's good.

I'm cool with it, after some initial disbelief. LT is trying to compete with Goodreads for members, and if it wants to stay around as a website I guess the change was inevitable. Personally, I think they did a good job keeping it to the original format. Everything is pretty much the same, and is easy for me to grasp.

I actually like the new layout. It seems crisp and clean to me.

Lexicon sounds intriguing and I liked your review of the new Gaimon from your last thread.

Kathy- Congrats on the new thread! Love the picture at the top. It's perfect. Good review of Lexicon. Sounds fast & fun. I did finish the new Gaiman...on audio and it was fantastic. My daughter is listening to it now.

Hi Eris! Yeah, it looks like after the initial exodus from Goodreads, things have leveled out over there. Which is good. As much as I dislike GR, I can't complain too much about there being more bookish websites and places for readers to congregate. :)

Hello, Heidi! I'm sooo glad they kept to the muted color scheme though, aren't you? I wouldn't like to see LT go neon or bright blue or something. The browns keep my eyes from hurting. The more I use the new format, the more it grows on me. It feels sort of like we grew up.

Mark, my friend, I'm so happy to see you enjoyed the Gaiman and you're passing it on. (How old is your daughter again?)

I don't mind Goodreads as much as I used to, actually, and I spend quite a bit of time there. Mostly that's because one of my best friends is a frequent user there, so I love hanging out on there with her. GR can't beat LT's system for adding books, though.

And I do like the new look! It's quite spiffy and very pretty. The color scheme is nice and bookish, so I think we'll all be fine.

Bree is 23! She is living back home now and commuting into the city for work. She thought she would try audiobooks, while cruising and of course, I think that is a fantastic idea.

For sure Mark! I bet she enjoys it. And of course she has you to feed her great titles and recommendations...

Eris, I'm fiddling with the homepage again and I think I like the "tiny" cover bookshelf version. It's cute. And honestly, I disliked GR so much the first time I tried it, and then the takeover, and I haven't been back in ages. I'm guessing it's pretty much the same though? It would be fun to have a RL bestie to chat with in the forums. :)

>16 UnrulySun: I've found the best way to do that is to make friends on LT and then turn them into your bestie :-)

When I was on GR (around 2007/2008) the people on that site were SO MEAN TO ME. And the administrators didn't care about anything at all ever. And they didn't have tags. So I'm never going back.

Ha Nora, I'm not sure there are any LTers near me! Maybe I can make a cyberbestie. Anyone in the market?

That's horrible that people were mean to you! Like, actually intentionally mean?? :( Wow. I just found most people there so juvenile. Not in a fun way, just an elementary-school way.

>18 UnrulySun: It was basically a mix of young'ns who just wanted to talk about Twilight (nothing wrong with that but I need more stimulating conversation) and a small group of people who ruled the site with an iron fist just because they had the most free time to wage edit-wars and comment on the forums. I was told by the latter group that I should stay in the Twilight corner because I read Twilight and "it's called 'GoodReads', not 'badreads'".

Bleh. I ran into a lot of that as well. Discussing a YA book was impossible-- it was all about team this guy or team that guy, and who should play who in the movie version. Which is cool for about 5 minutes, but there were threads 1000 posts long in which the same thought was rehashed over and over. No one seemed to have read the previous posts. OTOH, discussing more literary works took a month and a half for half a dozen posts, or the thread would be full of pretentious holier-than-though hacks. Who needs 'em!

Happy new thread. I'm putting Lexicon on the neverending wishlist!

Thanks Leah. :)

Well ladies, John Barrowman put a ring on it yesterday! Sorry boys and girls, Captain Jack is now officially unavailable!

WHAT? DAMNIT! I knew there was going to be a downside to legalizing gay marriage in California. ;)

Yerp! He's such a charming guy.

I know. He's handsome and funny and can sing and dance... I love him.

*waving hi*

Me too, Leah. He seems genuine too, in his interviews. He was picked on a lot as a kid and he tries extra hard to be a good guy now because of it.

Hiya Micky! Always nice to see you hanging around here. :)

Guess what guys??? I just put together 3 new bookshelves! And filled them already, lol. My TBR piles were getting out of control-- towering teetering stacks of tomes toppling over. It was downright dangerous! Anyway, I was able to get about 90% of the paperbacks onto shelves and out of the stacks. Now I need more shelves to house the hardbacks. Unfortunately, those will have to wait because they need to be stronger for all those heavy hardback books. The paperbacks went nicely on some cheaper, easier shelving. :) Soooo... you guys can ogle my TBR shelves when I can get some pics uploaded in the next few days.

At one point I had several hundred books strewn out across the carpet, with a system going (in my head at least), and the husband came out and stopped short and said, "Oh my god, our house is a library." When I just stared at him, not amused, he (wisely) said, "I think you need about four or five more sets of shelves. I'll work on that." ♥

I did manage to pull out a paper-bag-ful of books to donate. So, see? I downsized. Go me.

Happy new thread Kathy.

I got the box set of Skulduggery Pleasant for the boys last Christmas, haven't got around to reading them yet though, glad to see they are a bit of fun to read.

Think you've given me a bullet with lexicon, sounds interesting.

Congrats on the new shelves.

>27 UnrulySun: You can drop that paper-bag-ful off at my house, thanks.

OOh, eagerly awaiting pictures of the new shelves. What fun!

Happy new-ish thread! Looking forward to the shelves:)

>31 AMQS: Echoing happy new-ish thread... I'm here; better late than never!

I've had to add Skullduggery Pleasant to my wish list! Thanks a bunch for that! ;0)

Hi Adrienne! Yes, the Skulduggery series is a hoot, but I have trouble finding them here since they're OOP in the US. Sometimes I can find them at the used bookshop, and I was happy to get these on audiobook, but sadly there aren't any more audios after the one I'm on.

Nora, would if I could! It's funny how many duplicates you can rack up when you don't pay attention (and keep your books in piles rather than on shelves...) Some of the ones I'm passing on though are ones I would wish on a friend. ;)

Roni and Anne... pictures are coming!

Hey Tina! It's always nice to see you here. :)

OK guys, pix next post.

We have a weird layout in our house, with a HUGE area that's supposed to be a formal dining area. Well, we have an eat-in kitchen with a cozy little table, and we don't host dinner parties (pffft) so this space has basically gone unused for a decade. Well, we used it for storage, but we finally cleared all the useless crap out of there! Anyway, I decided it would make a good spot for some shelves. So while kidlet was at camp, we made the trek to IKEA for some Billy shelves. (We already have those in our family room.) Well... the Kilbys were on sale. They're the cheaper, slightly smaller, slightly less finished version of Billys. So, for the price of one Billy, we got 3 Kilbys and resigned ourselves to replacing them in several years if they bow. No biggie. They still look nice and from across the house you can't tell even they aren't the exact same shelving. I only wish we'd gotten another 3 sets at the same time. Instant library!

Before:


During:


After:


Note the piles of hardbacks left on the floor! And I still didn't get all the extras off my current shelves (which are triple-stacked). But, it's a start and I just love to walk in there and look at them. :)

The lighting in the pictures makes my house look much more colorful than it is, lol. I assure you my walls are not neon green!

Hi Kathy- Wow! I love the new book shelves. Great job! I am running into the same problem. Piles, with no where to go. The sadness, the horror.
Hope you are having a great weekend.

Hey Mark! The weekend is over... boooo! But it was a pretty nice one, thanks. :)
Most of the books in the picture are the ones I had stacked on either side of the TV, on top of the shelves we already had, and in paper bags in the storage room. They deserve to be upright and breathing where we can see them. Now I just need a big squishy chair over there...

Great shelves and a great idea to make a library. I'd rather have a library than a dining room any day (although as it is I have neither).

Yep, Us and Our Books! We are completely bonkers and completely happy with it! I have to clear my Must Read Now shelf, (or a good many of them) to make room for my latest book haul, which includes many ARCs, that I can't just stick with the general population. Feelings will be hurt. Count on it.

Are those adjustable shelves? If so, I'd suggest buying an extra board for each case, or cutting your own, and you could work in three extra shelves. Still, what an improvement!! Hurrah for liberated books!

Love your bookshelves and your restraint at not overloading them. I have a tendency to go overboard and squish books into every available space on a shelf.

I second Roni's advice about adding another shelf. I'm a die-hard Billy girl (I even have that coffeetable book about the history of Billy), and I always buy an extra shelf (I get them cheap in the As-Is section) so I can fit MORE BOOKS.

My dream is to have custom bookshelves one day. The downside of the Billy is that the fixed shelf is in an awkward place. I end up with one shelf that is barely too tall and one that is barely too short.

I promise to catch up this evening but right now I have an urgent question and I'm asking everywhere!

Does anyone have a great margarita recipe using wine??

No margarita recipe but I love your new shelves! I visited an IKEA for the first time at the beginning of June and all I can say is "WOW" that store is all kinds of fabulous!

>42 UnrulySun: Here's my personal recipe: Go to restaurant/bar. Order one (1) margarita, one (1) glass of wine, and two (2) straws. Insert one end of each straw into the drinks, and the other into your mouth. Drink thoroughly.

Just kidding. Try this one! http://www.food.com/recipe/top-shelf-wine-margaritas-182120

Nora that looks super easy. Is there a substitute for Cointreau? I can't use hard liquor. Thanks!

Hmm, the only substitutes I see online are triple sec or brandy. You could try using orange juice, or get one of those margarita mixes from the grocery store and just mix with wine. Make sure you check the ingredients though, as some of the mixes have small amounts of liquor in them.

ETA on second thought I think you should use some orange juice and some orange zest. Or blood orange juice if you can find it.

Let me know if you need someone to taste-test for you ;-)

Well into Deathless now and I'm finding it odd... Fun & interesting but not what I was expecting after Fairyland.

*Spoiler*

I just finished the Yelenas part and I'm now thinking, "What a bastard!"

*End minor spoiler*

Reba, thanks for coming by! I like your new username. :)

Aww Mark, I hope you were able to soothe feelings a little, lol. I know what you mean though. I feel guilty that I can't read all the unread books at once, not to mention I wish I could reread my favorites too! Not enough time in the day!

Roni and Nora, they are somewhat adjustable, but there are only so many holes for the pegs. We noticed that even if we used the holes furthest apart in each section there wouldn't be enough room between shelves for a MMP much less trade pbs which is what I have most of. My Billy shelves are squished triple full because they can handle the weight but I don't think these would be strong enough.

That's a great idea about looking in the as is section though!

Kerry, yeah... See above! Maybe in another 5 or 6 units I'll be able to unstuff all the shelves.

I got my dining table and 4 matching chairs from the As-Is section for $50. It's the second best thing in IKEA, after the 99 cent breakfast with free coffee.

Hi Heidi!! Isn't IKEA fun? My favorite thing is to sit in one of the tiny apartments and wish I were living there. Such clean, efficient spaces.

Great shelves! You have a good husband!

And you are brave--I hate Ikea because I always get lost when I go there.

That's a great deal Nora. When we moved into this house, young and broke and me not working... We outfitted it with IKEA furniture. Our one big purchase was a real couch from the fancy furniture store. A decade later, everything is still in great shape-- except the couch. :)

The margarita/wine-a-ritas turned out fairly good, BTW! We used lime juice, non- alcoholic triple sec (basically orangey syrup), chardonnay, a pinch of salt, and water.

We host a fundraiser concert every year, and we have a beer&wine license, but margaritas were requested. So the frantic quest for 500 servings of legal margaritas was on! Thanks for your help. Googling from my phone was frustrating. I just kept finding comments from tequila elitists and margarita purists.

Tina I promise you'll think "what a bastard" quite a few times! But hang in there, it's worth it. :)

Hi Rhonda! Nice to see you. Yes, we got lost a couple times, even with the map. But that just means we got to look at all the goodies again!

This video just made my day. Such determination! Heehee!

Gus the bulldog vs the pool

56: Genius by Steven T Seagle & Teddy Kristiansen



(No touchstone for this one yet, as it's a new release.)

Ted is a physicist working at a think tank in California. He's always been a smart guy, even had some groundbreaking ideas of his own as a young recruit. He's probably a genius. But these days, he's just a guy-- married with 2 troubled kids, an ailing wife, and a father-in-law who hates him to the core. And his job is on the line if he can't come up with something new and amazing very soon. When his father-in-law, in a state of confusion, lets slip that he once knew Albert Einstein personally, and that "Bert" had told him a secret-- an idea so devastatingly world-changing that even he would never speak of it-- Ted realizes he has an opportunity to save his job, his wife, and his reputation.

This is a relatively short GN, with lovely muted inkwash illustrations. Even at just over 100 pages, it managed to hook me, make me care, and even get misty over Ted's struggles and the resolution. I'd say this one is for older teens and adults. Recommended.

As an aside here, I have to praise the consistent quality of First Second (:01) books. Every one I've read so far is well-made, beautiful, and thoughtfully styled.

57: The Feast of the Goat by Mario Vargas Llosa



"It was something more subtle and indefinable than fear: it was the paralysis, the numbing of determination, reason, and free will, which this man, groomed and adorned to the point of absurdity, with his thin, high-pitched voice and hypnotist's eyes, imposed on Dominicans, poor or rich, educated or ignorant, friends or enemies, and it was what held Antonio there, mute, passive, listening to those lies, the lone observer of the hoax, incapable of acting on his desire to attack him and put an end to the witches' Sabbath that the history of the country had become."

********************

General Rafael Trujillo (nicknamed "The Goat") ruled the Domincan Republic from 1930 until 1961, the year of his assassination. He was a cruel, vain man who meted out swift and merciless punishment to dissidents and family enemies. The country built a cult of personality around him, renaming cities and mountains, erecting statues and posting images of Trujillo throughout the cities. He was truly a vicious dictator aided (willingly or not) by his military strongmen and a cabinet of thinkers, poets, and scientists. He was responsible for the deaths of at least 50,000 people, and orchestrated an ethnic cleansing of Haitian citizens across the Dominican border.

Feat of the Goat is a fictionalized-- though accurate-- portrayal of Trujillo's regime, told from three points of view: Trujillo's assassins, as they plot and carry out their plans; Urania Cabral, a woman returning to the Dominican to meet with her dying father and revisit the memories and dark secrets of her past; and Trujillo himself surrounded by his cabinet, including Urania's father.

This one took me some time to get through. It's dense and disturbing-- not for the faint of heart or squeamish-- but ultimately I'm very glad I've read it. The story is compelling and I feel like I've taken an intensive course in Dominican history. Thanks, Paul. :)

Kathy, I love your shelves! *swoon*

58: The Apprentices by Maile Meloy



"A striped cat stepped out of an alleyway and looked directly at Jin Lo. Its yellow eyes held hers until she was almost upon it. Then it darted away, into the shadows.

She'd had a cat of her own once, when she was eight, a black cat with a white spot on its nose and an unfortunate tendency to drool when happy. He left wet spots on her sleeve when he purred in her arms. But he was a very good hunter, and brought home mice, which he left outside the front door as offerings. When the soldiers came, he vanished. She sometimes had fantasies that he had been out hunting all this time, and that he had grown huge, and could break the necks of the soldiers with one swift bite, and leave them at the door.

Or perhaps the cat had stayed away out of shame, because he had been able to do nothing to protect his family."

***********************

Book 2 in the series; ER win.

I won the first book in this series, The Apothecary, through ER, and was excited to win this follow-up book as well. In The Apothecary we meet Janie, a young American girl who's moved to England with her family, to escape McCarthyism and an accusation against her parents. She meets Benjamin Burrows, the son of an old-fashioned chemical-genius apothecary, who engages her help to minimize the destruction wrought by the detonation of an atom bomb.

In The Apprentices, over a year has gone by, and Janie is in boarding school in New England while Benjamin is with his father in the jungles of southeast Asia, helping and healing and searching for chemical compounds and particular plants in the midst of the Vietnam War. When Janie is unjustly kicked out of school, and Benjamin contacts her through letters and a telepathy potion, the two are plunged back into action. Separately, they-- along with old friends Pip, Jin Lo, Count Vili, and of course the apothecary himself-- must rescue Janie from her kidnappers, escape from the local natives, and find a way to topple the ambitions of an immoral uranium miner who wants Benjamin and his father to create a weapon of unfathomable evil.

I really love these books. Meloy brings something special to the YA genre, which takes what is essentially a middle-grade adventure story sprinkled with magic... and turns it into a grown-up, whip-smart romantic adventure sprinkled with history and wonder. She gives the reader information and lets them figure it all out on their own, which is a breath of fresh air in a genre that tends to want to explain everything to its young audience.

Part of the story highlights the Melanesian cargo cults and the idea of John Frum. I found this utterly fascinating, and fun, and spent quite a while looking them up independently to read more. And, funnily enough, this is the theme of this year's Burning Man festival (although they're talking about aliens instead).

I particularly enjoyed Jin Lo's storyline, in which she ventures home to face her tragic past. While there is magic and fantastical chemistry at play in the rest of the book, Jin Lo's chapters are quiet, heartbreaking, and real.

Hi Anne! Thanks!

59: A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness



"There is not always a good guy. Nor is there always a bad one. Most people are somewhere in between."

*****************

Aw, geez. I knew I should have read this one sooner. Many many people have been talking about this one, and have reviewed it much more skilfully than I can right now.

It's beautiful and heartwrenching and funny and scary and real. Everyone needs to read this story. Everyone deserves to read this story.

But know this: Tears will happen.

Great review of The Feast of the Goat -- it's going on my wish list.

Ahhh! You have been reading so many great books. I've added A Monster Calls to the ever-expanding WL. The Feast of the Goat sounds amazing as well.

Happy Hump Day, Reba and Heidi! I'm so happy to contribute to your wishlists. :)

I have a SotD for you guys! This one is considered the "song of the summer" this year-- I certainly don't hear it often on the radio but I know it's popular right now. It's also stirring up some controversy for being "too sexy" or degrading to women-- I don't think so. Listen for yourself, I dare you not to feel like dancing!

"Blurred Lines" by Robin Thicke ft. Pharell & T.I.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyDUC1LUXSU

P.S. There's an unrated version as well... *ahem*

Hi Kathy- Looks like you've been a busy bee over here! Good review of The Feast of the Goat. I recently read and loved it too. It's one of my top reads of the year and a great entry-point into Llosa.
Glad you finally made it aboard the Monster Calls wagon. I had to buy a keeper copy of that one. " Tears will happen." Amen, my friend.

Hey Mark! Yeah, you and I seem to have a lot of overlap in our reading lately.

I thought this might be of interest to my ebook-y friends: HumbleBundle is offering a great package right now, including The Last Unicorn, Little Brother, and Boneshaker! It's a pay-what-you-can idea, so check it out if you're into the ebook scene. ;)

https://www.humblebundle.com/

Kathy- Thanks for the link. I'll have to come back and check that out. I haven't read any of those.

Those three are definite must-reads, Mark.

The second Miss Peregrine's novel has a name finally: Hollow City. The kids go to London and meet animals... hmmm... the first one was cutesy enough without animals, but still, I'm looking forward to it. :)

Well, alrightie then. I watched the unrated one and it certainly had a good beat and was fun but I can see why they said it is degrading to women. Any time women are basically naked, are objectified and the men are fully dressed, well, yeah. Not that I have much room to talk. I listen to plenty of songs that objectify women simply because I like the beat.

Ha! Funnily enough there's a news blurb on the song right now.

Morphy I thought the unrated one was just funny. Awkward funny. Those girls looked like they were having fun but it was like watching the nature channel rather than something sexy. I also think there's a lot more degrading music out there and it's okay for a girl to let her hair down and get "nasty" once in a while, which is what the song's about anyway. :D

I read an interview where all three men said they actually liked the clothed version better.

Kathy- I requested both the Last Unicorn and the audio of Little Brother from the library. I will eventually get to Boneshaker. Sadly, it's not available on audio. Boo!
I did LOVE Among Others. This is a Must Read!

Mark did you mean Among Others?

I'm happy to see I've influenced you yet again... Muahahaha!

Did you guys get the notice of July's ER list? I didn't get the comment or the notice on the home page... I just went in under my profile. I always get excited when I see that yellow comment on top, because it means new books to look at! I hope this is a one time thing.

LOL. Yes, I meant Among Others, although I have been hanging out on LT most of the evening so I guess I am Among Friends!

I didn't request anything off the ER list, which is good.

Mark I meant the new list of things to request. I did get the notice of the book I won.

Adding A Monster Calls to my list -- I hadn't seen this one before. Thanks!

Oh Anne, go read it right away!

>75 UnrulySun: Jeremy is running a little behind with this month's batch, and it is an especially large one. Also the queue for posting profile messages gets stuck sometimes and he has to give it a nudge. I usually wait about 24 hours from when he posted the thread and then let him know I haven't gotten my profile message yet

Oh I understand the system can get jammed, I'm not really complaining. I just so look forward to the new list. :) Is it important to let Jeremy know I didn't get it?

Also... I may or may not have gone to the bookshop today, and I may or may not have come home with 12 books.

OK. Fine!! I did get some books. But they were all on clearance and just clamoring to come home with me and looking so eager to be read... How could I resist? It only took me three trips through the checkout line, too. I found a few I liked, paid, then noticed a big $1 cart at the front door. Found a few more.. Paid... And just as I was leaving an employee wheeled out ANOTHER $1 cart!! Ack!! So of course I found another I wanted... Ahhhh, you know the drill.

Came home with these guys:
Vaclav & Lena
Grotesque
Map of the Invisible World
Something Wicked This Way Comes the graphic novel
The Somnambulist
Incendiary
The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise
The Island at the End of the World
PopCo
An Atlas of Impossible Longing
A Long Long Time Ago & Essentially True
When the Nines Roll Over

Had to go with my gut on these... Hope they're good!

And I have a question on LT etiquette: can we give away books on our thread, or must we go through the member giveaway page? I would love to send a whole box to someone here but don't want to break any rules.

>81 UnrulySun: Someone mentioned it elsewhere and Jeremy says the profile messages are still going out, they're just slow. And it goes in alphabetical order by username, so you're toward the end.

>82 UnrulySun: I'm pretty sure you can give away books on LT as much as you want to as long as you're not using LT to promote something. So as long as you're not associated with the author/publisher/subject/whatever of the books, it should be fine.

I don't see why you couldn't give away books on your own thread. It's not like you are some fly-by-night spammer.

Um, are you?

Darn it Morphy, you blew my cover! I've been working on this plot for four years and *poof* there it goes. ;)

Thanks Nora.

I guess I'll get to it later this evening... Gotta go work all day. Yay.

Nice haul of books you may have picked up:) I've accidentally brought books home before... it seems it's a hazard in my life.

A Monster Calls sounds interesting! I really enjoyed book: The Knife of Never Letting Go, so I should really check that out. And an endorsement from you is good enough for me.

And yay, work. Hang in there, Kathy, and we look forward to seeing you again. *hug*

I know Anne, it seems like they just crawl into my pockets while I'm out and about.

Hello Eris! I think you'll really love A Monster Calls. You might be overcome with feels though...

Work has been full of screaming children, shirtless guys, and stray dogs. Which in the restaurant business are not exactly welcome. Sigh! Only 4 more hours!

Depending on what they look like, I might be ok with shirtless guys... ;)

Haha Micky! Me too usually, but in this case it was... not so appealing.

Work day is finally over, slightly earlier than expected. It's concert night downtown so people cleared out pretty early. (Yay for me!) Now I'm starving, but I think we may go out to eat and see Lone Ranger tonight. (another Yay for me!)

OKie dokie. Here's the stack of books I have to give away. If one person wants them all, that's great. If someone just wants a handful, that's great too. First up gets 'em. (Remember you'll have to PM me your address! And because of prohibitive postage costs I have to limit it to US only, sorry.)

Keep in mind these are books I either had duplicates of or didn't really enjoy. YMMV. ;) Sorry for the cruddy pictures.




IDK which books those are in the House of Night series, if they're in order or complete. All books (except ex-lib Gregor) are in great condition. Non smoking, no pets.

Hi Kathy- Nice book haul! A few go out and many more come in. LOL. I love the idea of giving books away to LT friends. I try to do it too but you've come up with amore creative way.
My daughter reads the PC Cast books, so I will check with her.

Did someone up there, really not hear of A monster Calls? That has been a LT fav for a few months now. Sorry, Anne, couldn't help myself.

Hey Mark. If she's already read some of the HoN books I'm sure she's read most of these. I know there's at least books 1-4 in there, which are the ones I read.

I just got in from seeing The Lone Ranger. It was fun! A good old-fashioned western with some signature humor thrown in. Johnny Depp plays Captain Jack with war paint. Which is fine with me-- he's good at that character. Lots of anachronisms and silliness as well.

It's pouring rain and the sun is hiding. I've got the windows open and a soft blanket squished up as a pillow... Reading and enjoying my Sunday off. Ahhh, this is the life.

Sounds wonderful. It's hot and humid and threatening thunderstorms here -- ugh!!! But it was a great excuse to go to my favorite ice cream place for lunch and then spend the rest of the afternoon in the A/c.

Lunch at the ice cream place sounds great, Reba! It's back to being hot again here too, and the lovely breeze is gone. Bleh.

Nice selection of giveaway books! We are serious about digging out this summer. I think we took about 250 books to donate to the Friends of the Library today.

250?? :O. But, but... Aaaahhhh! That's how many I'd like to bring home from the FoL sale! Lol

Even the books I know I probably wont read for several years, I still am attached to.

I popped in here to tell you guys about a really cute movie we just watched as a family: Miss Minoes, about a cat that turns into a woman and helps a reporter bring down the town baddie. So funny and clever. Based on a children's book, but I hadn't heard of it before.

I know! Truthfully, most of those were from various FoL sales or discards from school libraries. We've read and enjoyed them, and I was keeping them around for a future classroom library... If I ever do end up in a classroom -- rather than a school library -- I'll still be in pretty good shape:)

Were they children's books? I've become much less attached to our children's books, that aren't classics or otherwise special. All of kidlet's chapter books, first readers, picture books, etc... I can part with. Except for a handful of ones that were favorites or gifts, or are just too nice. I'm sure we could come up with an abundance of donations if we bothered to roust them out of her cluttered shelves.

Yes, most of them were. I also parted with several textbooks from my undergraduate days. Considering that I graduated in 1992, most likely none of them represented cutting-edge research!

Yeah, probably not! Although, it only takes one semester for a textbook to be out of date these days-- what a racket.

ETA: We purge our textbooks often. DH is a history teacher and gets "free" books all the time. If we kept them all we'd have nowhere to live... oh don't get me started!

Ah, the book purge. The mood must be in the air with all of us, as I was sitting there last night in my library, giving it a serious once over and realized there are books in there I will NEVER read again (or at all!). Time to start cleaning out!

Hi David! Yeah, it hurts but sometimes we've gotta unfriend our books. :(

Anyone going to be in New York next week??? I wish I were! Tor.com is hosting their 5th birthday party at Housing Works on the 24th. Swag bags, free beer, free books, an author trivia showdown... Ahhh, it sounds fun!
http://www.tor.com/blogs/2013/07/5th-birthday-party-reminder1

Kathy- My daughter hasn't got back to me on the Cast books. If someone else, is interested, go for it. I am trying to do a slow purge also and attempting to find a home for at least a couple titles a week. Never easy saying goodbye.
The Tor Bash sounds great. Wish I could go!

You know Mark, I think I may just take all the books in to the used bookstore tomorrow and see if they want them. (keyword "may"-- I'll probably forget!) But if your daughter wants them just drop me a message and we'll see if I still have them.

It's kind of sad being here in the middle of nowhere... no good book events, ever! The best one in the state is also the most commercial and therefore disappointing. I need to just plan a vacation around something amazingly bookish, don't I? ;)

Hey Kath... Finally finished Deathless. Thanks for a great recommendation! I did enjoy it, even though I didn't like him very much. :)

So glad you loved A Monster Calls.... Such a beautifully done work.

Come to DC in September and hang out with Nora and I and a bunch of others (maybe even Stephen if I can trick him into getting on a bus). National Book Fair would be a great book vacation!

>108 leahbird: Seconded!

Hi Tina! I'm so glad you enjoyed Deathless, and persevered with the devilish Koschei. It's beautiful writing even if you don't like the character. :)

Oh Nora and Leah how I wish I could! Really really! I'll probably get as far as looking at dates and flights but I don't think I can actually swing it. September is an awkward time to travel for me. I'd love to meet you guys, even that silly man named Stephen. I can daydream about it a little...

>110 UnrulySun: That's okay, the next meetup is at Stephen's house.

I'm looking forward to most of these movies... Even though I've only read a few of the books. Mark's thread has some rumors about Gone Girl casting, but here they went with Reese Witherspoon.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/ariellecalderon/books-to-read-before-they-hit-the-big-sc...

Haha! Is he aware of that?!

Details, details.

If you decide to crash his place, PLEASE TAKE VIDEO.

Hey, you guys in Australia: You can win a $500 book voucher and help out your local bookshops here:
http://www.aba.org.au/ (click the blue ribbon)

I follow The Little Bookroom on FB-- has anyone gone there personally? They're so adorable.

Happy Hump Night, you guys. ;)



I have a backlog of reviews to do again... and no will to do them... even though the books were good... sigh... Later!

Hi, Kathy. Thank you so much for visiting while I was down with a bad feverish cold. Much appreciated!

Kathy- Thanks to you, I brought home the audio of Little Brother and the print version of the Last Unicorn, from the library. I am not sure how I will bookhorn in either of these titles, in a very tight reading schedule. You highly recommend both, right? Just making sure.

I haven't read Little Brother but The Last Unicorn is AMAZING!

Roni! So good to see you back! I'm sorry you were feeling ill. I'll pop over to your thread this evening to catch up. :)

Mark, I do highly recommend both! Little Brother is one of my favorite books read this year and I'm recommending it to my RL friends as well since I think it's pretty timely and accessible.

Leah, I know you love the Last Unicorn. You have the special edition don't you? :)

I will try to get to reviews this evening... ♥

Yep, I have the special edition and the special edition graphic novel. And the regular edition. And the alternate edition that was previously unpublished (and not nearly as wonderful but very interesting). And the movie... I feel like I'm forgetting something. ;)

The movie? Lol

Eta: now I want to go find the movie on netflix...

The movie is AMAZING! I was actually a fan of the movie before I knew it was a book.

I think I've seen it a long time ago, but I should rewatch it with the kidlet soon. I'm kind of being lazy tonight but I think I've got one review I can put up quickly. *yawn*

60: The Shambling Guide to New York City by Mur Lafferty



This new release has a neat premise: Zoe is a newcomer to NYC, in desperate need of a job, and happily stumbles across a position writing a travel book for an upstart publishing company. The only problem is, she's a human. And her coworkers aren't.

The first 2/3 of this one are fun, if vapid: full of encyclopedia monsterica, sex, and snark. The last 1/3 is a waste of paper. The characters never developed, the action was forgettable, and I admit to skimming the last 20 pages or so just to get it over with.

The biggest disappointment here is the lack of a sympathetic protagonist. Zoe is a whiny self-absorbed bitch. What the author surely intends to be sarcasm comes off as petty meanness and/or stupidity, and her actions don't coincide with her stated feelings. Her love interest is a boneheaded broody jerk. The best character developments (of what little there is) come in the form of her water sprite friend Morgen and the incubus John, who gives the book its hands-down best scene-- his near-sex encounter with Zoe. The writing is repetitive-- Lafferty needs a thesaurus and a better editor.

The back cover reviews compare this to Buffy, and I get that-- there are a lot of parallels and it's obvious the author drew inspiration from the show, but I think this effort just doesn't measure up to the fully realized world of Buffy. Such a shame, because it started out so light and fun. I wanted it to be great.

Kathy - I haven't read your latest books but they certainly have the cat enraptured.
Have a lovely weekend.

Have you ever read Enchanted, Inc. by Shanna Swendson? It's rather chick lit but it's a fun, quirky read about a young woman who goes to New York... yadda yadda... anyway, she goes to New York and gets a job at a magic company because she is a "null" - magic doesn't work on her. It's light fun. And she's not a bitch.

Hello Kathy,
*phew* I am sweating now - that was a lot to catch up on. However, I got hit by lots of of book bullets, had lots of interesting reads on your reviews.
I wished I would read your review of Life after Life before I aquired the audiobook last month. Now, I feel a bit put off.
I also got myself last month a beautiful illustrated edition of A Monster Calls and just put it on top of my reading pile. I also got Ocean at the End of the Lane as audio which I am very much looking forward to.
I thought Lauren Oliver's Before I Fall was ok and I just read Delirium which I surprisingly really enjoyed and I am currently reading Pandemonium and now I am loosing kind of interest. I have also read lots of positive reviews of Liesl and Po so, I definitely will check that one out.

Loved your book shelves. Exactly that what I need as well, I have got the Billy shelves in my room and they are really sturdy.

Wish you a great week :)

Hey Kathy -- catching up and here specifically to thank you for the supportive words you left on my thread!! (((hugs)))

I love the list of books to read before the movie comes out! I'm marking the message as a favorite!

Hey Paul!

Morphy, thanks for that recommendation. I've put it on the WL. :)

Hi Bianca! Many people have been raving about Life After Life, so who knows-- you may enjoy it that much as well. I have Delirium ready to read but just never seem to get to it! I also picked up The Spindlers and keep meaning to get to it as well...

((Tina)) you can count on me for some hugs any time, my friend. Hope your Monday is treating you well. ♥

I wanted to pass on this Kindle deal to you all: It's a compilation of (very, very) shorts from many different authors, some very big names, including Atwood, Haig, Ness, & Martel. I haven't read it yet, so can't vouch for each entry, but with those names I'm sure it's got some merit. It's free right now, but IDK for how long. (US & UK)

40 ebook

And finally! I never thought I'd be posting Macklemore without sarcasm... AND YET: Courtesy of our very own friend Tina, I'm giving you the gift of this SotD:

"Same Love" by Macklemore



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlVBg7_08n0

Hey thanks for the heads up on the 40 ebook. Since I am turning 40 this year, and I want to try some of those authors, and it is free (lol) I picked it up!

Loved your review of The Shambling Guide to New York City....there's one I don't need to find!!

Always happy to help, Heidi! heehee

I just read that Jaromir Jagr has joined the Devils! I may have to start watching more often again...

61: Apocalypse Cow by Michael Logan



"Disaster averted, he considered the significance of the cow pat. Pools of dark blood slicked the surface of the generous dollop of dung, which the coated sole of his foot told him was still warm. He raised his head, and scanned the tree-line... Then he heard it: a long, shuddering moo, emanating from deep within the trees. The moo came again thirty seconds later, quieter this time. It was moving away, towards the rolling fields where thousands of dairy cows grazed in blissful ignorance, and the suburbs beyond.
'Oops,' he said, and hopped down the hill as fast as his unsullied foot could carry him."

*****************************

I grabbed this book on a whim, because the cover tells me it won the Terry Pratchett (Anywhere but Here, Anywhen but Now First Novel) Prize. I can certainly see why Sir Pterry "snorted with laughter". :)

Zombie cows are on a rampage across the Scottish countryside!

Terry is an abbattoir worker-- unhappy with his job and unlucky in love (thanks to the stench of dead flesh that follows him around). He's the sole survivor of the *ahem* zombie cow terrorist attack. Except he knows the cows aren't exactly zombies, and it wasn't terrorists responsible for it-- it was British government. He's just got to stay alive long enough to tell the world.

Lesley is an inept rookie journalist desperate to live up to her father's famous name. She's stumbled onto the story of a lifetime through intercepted messages and dumb luck. Now she's got to stay alive long enough to tell the world.

Geldof (he doesn't mind if you call him Gandalf) is a teenager stuck in the most bizarre family in the most boring neighborhood. His mother is a militant vegan/naturalist and his father is a retired soldier who now spends his days in a cloud of pot smoke playing with squirrels. But Geldof's in love with his neighbor, who also happens to be his math teacher, and who also just happens to be Terry's cousin. Thus is he drawn in to the battle of man vs cow, but will he live long enough to fulfill his fantasy of hooking up with teacher? Will he ever get to taste his first bite of meat?

The story plays out like a thriller, one with lots of bloody carnage, car chases, torture chambers, and a bad guy with spies and helicopters. But it's also a family drama, with lots of dark, wry humor. It reminded me of Simon Pegg's "blood & ice cream" movies, like Hot Fuzz or Shaun of the Dead. If you've got a sense of humor about the zombie apocalypse, this is the book for you.

62: Zebra Forest by Adina Rishe Gewirtz



"Sometimes lying is so easy, you do it before you even think."

************************

Annie and Rew live with their grandmother in a little cottage away from town, in the middle of the Zebra Forest. At least, that's what they like to call the woods around their house. Its birches and oaks look like zebra stripes in the twilight. The children's mother ran away a long time ago, and their father died in a fight. So it's just Annie and Rew and Gran alone in the house. Gran teaches Annie to lie-- and she's good at it.

Annie uses her gift of deception to tell Rew stories about their father: like maybe he was a pilot, or a pirate, or something special, and he must have had grand adventures. They read Treasure Island together and debate the merits of each character and make up different, happier endings. Once in a while, a social worker comes round to check on the kids, but Annie's got an understanding with the lady.

And then a prison escapee shows up on their doorstep and takes them hostage. Annie and Rew's carefully built world comes crashing down around them. Turns out Gran may have been a better liar than Annie after all.

This is a slim book, right at 200 pages, and it goes by very quickly. I really couldn't put it down. Gewirtz is skilled at conveying emotion in sparse words, and with a lyrical turn of phrase that implies accent and regionality and age without resorting to affectation. It's a lovely, heartfelt story that deserves to be read. I'd suggest it for middle grade readers and up. There is implied violence, and emotional tension, but nothing graphic or sexual.

63: Skulduggery Pleasant: The Faceless Ones by Derek Landy



Once again, a light and witty romp with our friends Skulduggery and Valkyrie, this time dealing with teleporters and a decades-old crime. This one ends on a cliffhanger, which is sad for me because I don't yet have access to the next book. I quite enjoyed the audio versions of the last two.

Scott Pilgrim Vol 1 is one of the kindle deals today... I went ahead and picked it up, even though I may have to read it on the pc. I think my phone screen is too small. But it was such a good price I figured why not!

I'm sorry I can't remember who recommended I read the GNs, but look, I'm doing it!

Might have been me. I really enjoyed them. Yay for Canadiana!

I went back and looked-- it WAS you Micky!

Hi Kathy- Interesting reviews! Zebra Forest sounds good and there is an excellent craft beer called Apocalypse Cow, out of Indiana, so a book by that name can't be all that bad.

Hey Mark! You and your beer... you know, a coworker of mine is always raving about craft beer. I'm so clueless though, I wouldn't know what to try if given the chance. I guess it's regional?

Leah! I watched The Last Unicorn a couple nights ago, after we mentioned it here. Fabulous. :)

Yay! I'm glad you enjoyed it!

We did!

I can't remember if I mentioned it here but we also recently watched Nausicaa and loved it too. Have you seen that one?

Nope, haven't seen it.

Nausicaa was my first anime. I saw it back in the 80s and loved it.

Apocalypse Cow has to be one of the best book titles ever! It sounds fabulous!

>140 UnrulySun: Huzzah! Hope you like it, Kathy. :)

Leah, if you can find Nausicaa sometime, try it out. It's a keeper. :)

Morphy, I realized it was from the 80s when we watched it, but it's funny I hadn't heard of so many of the cool anime films from that era. As much as we watched as kids and frequented the video store's off sections, we just didn't encounter these. I'm glad we get to see them now.

Heidi, the title was what caught my eye first! Made me laugh out loud in the bookshop.

Huzzah indeed Micky! I think the movie is playing on streaming network now as well.

A couple of great deals on kindle today: Sisters Brothers is $1.99 and a beloved (by me, anyway) children's picture book Caps for Sale is also $1.99. Caps for Sale was one of my very favorites as a kid, and it was one of the first books I purchased when I knew I was going to have a child of my own. :)

I bought Sisters Brothers first thing this morning! I can't wait to read it.

ETA: Zebra Forest is now on my wish list.

Kathy- I was a big fan of the Sisters Brothers too! That was the second superb western I read last year, just behind Doc, which kicked serious butt!

CAPS FOR SALE! I loved that book.

Hi Roberta, Mark and Nora!

I am SO glad to be home today. The A/C went out at work and instead of deterring customers, it seemed to draw them in from miles around... BLEGH. Now I'm home and relaxing with my LT peeps and then my books. Now that I've moved a big chair over to my bookshelf area, my DVR is overflowing. Hmm...

2 reviews later! (See? I've been reading more!)

OK when I said 2 reviews later, what I really meant was FIVE reviews later.

64: Vaclav and Lena by Haley Tanner



"Vaclav isn't afraid to have a fight with Lena. He has been friends with Lena since he was six years old, so of course they fight with each other. When there is someone who is your destiny, someone who you love more than any other person, sometimes you push on them and pull on them and feel like hurting them. Fighting is something that happens when when there is someone who is your only other person in the world, someone you have no choice about, which is why brothers and sisters are always fighting and biting and kicking and screaming."

**********************

I found this little book in the dollar section of the used bookshop. It had been on my wishlist since it came out a couple years ago, so I was happy to find it on the cheap. And once I started it, I just ate it up. It went very quickly, like a roller coaster: not the kind that takes you ten stories up so slowly you get tired and worried, but the kind that moves along up and down and around with the wind in your hair and a smile on your face. Then there's that sudden drop near the end where your stomach falls out and your heart is in your throat and then you're gliding into the station feeling happy.

The book is divided into two parts: Part 1 is Vaclav and Lena as 10-year-old children, two Russian immigrant children practicing their magic act and learning English in ESL classes at school. They have a plan to perform their act on the boardwalk at Coney Island. But on the day of their big show, Lena doesn't come to school.

For the next seven years, Vaclav wonders what happened to his beloved friend Lena. Every night he quietly says goodnight to her, and thinks of her, and longs to see her again.

Part 2 is Vaclav and Lena grown up, separated by circumstance, both wishing to meet each other again someday.

This is a love story, but not really. It's not a romance, or a series of dashing gestures or passionate kisses. It's the story of how love develops, how it sneaks up on you, and takes hold of you and never leaves, even when the object of your love is gone forever or for a day.

The prose is lyrical, beautiful, evoking the feel of an immigrant community struggling to be American, to fit in, to conquer the language and customs that separate the natives from the foreigners. I could hear the accents, the not-quite-right grammar and vocabulary; I could smell the borscht and the vodka; I could see the disgust and the pity on the faces of the old women and young teachers.

But for me, this story was all about Rasia, Vaclav's mother. Somehow, even though the author herself is not Russian, is not an immigrant, is not a mother, she captured the essence of what it meant to be all those things in Rasia. I think each reader is going to find something different to connect with in the story, and for me (a mother and a wife and a woman) it was Rasia. She's such a big presence in the story, both literally and figuratively, and she made me just want to wrap my arms around her and hug tight.

For instance, what mother hasn't felt this before:
"Not always having the words for the things she wanted to say, this was especially hard when she was trying to have a conversation about something for which she might not have the words in Russian, or even if she also spoke Arabic, and the click language they speak in Africa on the National Geographic Channel. Even if she knew all the languages in the whole world perfectly, she might not be able to explain to her son the things she was feeling."

or this:
"She always means to be more like the mothers on television, who are more gentle in their talk and more gentle in their bodies, but she is always too hard, she pushes too hard on the air around her with her arms, with her vocal cords, is always surprised when she crashes through this soft American air."

I know this is a long review for a short book, but I just loved it so much. I thought about Morphy when I was finished, because I wanted to give the book a big big hug. :)

Oh wow, now Vaclav and Lena is on my wishlist too. What a review!

65: In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters



"In the residential district I spied-- and smelled-- an undertaker's clapboard house with a grisly scene in the front yard: stacks of pine caskets, piled two to three high. Even worse, four little boys climbed over the coffins as if they were playing in a wooden fortress."

*************************

Mary Shelley Black (named for the author of course) has just come to San Diego to live with her aunt. It's 1918 and her father has been arrested for treason-- he helped some young men avoid the draft. The Spanish Flu epidemic is devastating the world population and The Great War is still raging in Europe.

Mary's beau, Stephen, enlisted and was sent to France, and he has stopped writing to her. She's worried about his fate. His brother is a famed spirit photographer, and when Mary Shelly sits for a portrait, he claims Stephen's ghost has been captured in the image.

Thus begins the haunting of Mary Shelly. She hears Stephen's voice, sees him in her house, feels his presence near her. She's determined to find out what's really become of Stephen-- even if it kills her.

This is an intriguing story, playing on the macabre atmosphere of the time. During the flu pandemic, most people went about their day wearing gauze masks and gloves, and smelled of garlic and onions to ward off germs. Since so little was yet known about the nature of viruses, superstition took hold, such as the belief that the germs could be transmitted by hex or curse. With so many young people dying, from the war and from the flu, spiritualism was also on the upswing. Spirit photography was all the rage, as grieving relatives felt they could get one last glimpse of their lost loved ones. Seances were formal affairs.

Coming into the story, you night think it's a sort of steampunk-gothic mashup. Which it is, except it's also historically accurate. There's plenty of suspense, plenty of thrilling moments, plenty of ghostly encounters and mysterious events. The ending is horrific on its own. But overall it's a pretty good story of a plucky determined girl in a man's world: Mary Shelley is a genuinely likeable character and feels worth rooting for.

Hi Anne! You snuck in on me. :)

66: Scott Pilgrim: Vol 1 by Bryan Lee O'Malley



Welllllll... it was fun, funny, cute. I may not be the right audience for it. I don't know. Just when it got interesting, it ended. I need Volume 2 now.

67: 40 by various authors



Free ebook from Canongate Publishing. It's got little entries from some big names, but nothing worth getting super excited about. (Sorry Heidi!) My favorite was the list of first lines from Canongate novels, which reminded me of the game on Paul's thread. I also enjoyed Matt Haig's entry, which was from the point of view of a "couple" looking back on us from 40 years into the future.

68: The Velvet Room by Zilpha Keatley Snyder



"As Robin put her hand on the doorknob, a wonderful feeling of expectation made her shiver. It was like opening a fat book to the first page or hearing the first exciting notes of new music-- a feeling of promise and mystery"

*************************

Robin and her family have packed up their old Model T once again, travelling south to try to find a job for Dad. When the tire goes flat for the third time that day, it may just have been a stroke of luck. They are taken in to a migrant workers' village, to pick apricots for the season. They finally have a little place to call home, even if it is dirty and cramped and spare.

Robin is twelve and has a bad habit of "wandering off" (as her family likes to admonish her). On one of her excursions around this new village, she discovers an abandoned house with a secret past. Later, she befriends an elderly woman in a cottage, and the landowner's lonely young daughter. With their help, Robin is able to piece together the history of the mysterious house and change the course of its future.

I'm not sure why the cover of this version makes it look like a horror story. It's not at all. It's a very sweet young-reader's book about the Depression, hard work, acceptance, and family. Yes, there is an old house with secrets, and yes there is a suspenseful scene played out there (think Nancy Drew-style thrills), but ultimately, it's a story about growing up and figuring out what's important to you. I really liked all the characters, even the not-so-nice ones. And... who can resist a cozy secret library?

For your SotD: by sheer coincidence, I came across this song and liked it. The name sound familiar, Micky? ;)

"Lust and Lies" by The Ramona Flowers



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95cOkqV6rsc

You got me with In the Shadows of Blackbirds!

I have a friend who is into Skullduggery Pleasant, and I've heard there are a couple of Whovian references in one of the books, so I am seriously going to have to track these books down sometime. And an Irish narrator? :D :D :D

Hope all is going well for you, Kathy, and that work isn't taking too much out of you. *hug*

I have In the Shadow of Blackbirds sitting right here by the computer--I need to get to it!

Goodness, you're on a reading roll -- are you still sleeping and eating and everything?

Jim & Roni-- you'll both breeze right through In the Shadow of Blackbirds, it's a fast-paced easy (but great) read.

LOL Anne, I am, I promise! It's just that I pulled my comfy chair into the book-nook I created, and now I don't want to leave. I've gotten a lot of reading done there lately.

Hi Eris! I'm not sure about the Whovian references. I don't recall any in the first three books, but that's nothing-- I may have missed something on audio that's more obvious in text. It certainly has the same sort of light, snarky banter floating through it. And indeed the narrator has a charming voice.

Work is work. You know, it's okay, but I'd rather be home! The summer is never much fun, it's just so hot and the days seem to go on forever.

And speaking of narrators, I just started Midnight Riot on audio, and it's read by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith. He sounds a little like Jude Law (one of the sexiest voices I know) but a little huskier. Very nice. ;)

AS always Kathy your thread abounds with off the wall books and great music.

Vaclav and Lena looks intriguing.

Kobna Holdbrook-Smith is perfection in the Peter Grant series! I am currently listening to the third book, Whispers Under Ground. Very, very nice.

Kathy- I just finished the audio of Midnight Riot and it was a lot of fun. Smith did a terrific job. I have the 2nd book, already waiting in the wings.
I really like the way In the Shadow of Blackbirds sounds. Was this an audio listen?

Hiya Paul, always nice to have you pop in over here. :) I should probably return the visit this evening, hmm? ♥

Roberts, isn't his voice just YUMMY? I'm glad to hear that he is the voice of at least 2 more of the books.

Mark, it's okay to admit you found his voice yummy, too. ;) In the Shadow of Blackbirds wasn't audio, it was an ebook I picked as a cheapie a while back. The price has shot up after its recent success. I've been seeing it mentioned on book blogs and it has great reviews.

I did a lot of ebook shopping this evening. IT'S SO EASY TO GO OVERBOARD! I just love picking up 99-cent books, and I've been doing so much more kindle reading lately so I don't feel silly for stockpiling them.

BTW- any opinions on the Detective Kubu series? A Carrion Death is the first one. Or how about the Ellie Foreman series by Libby Fischer Hellman?

Too bad that 40 wasn't more exciting. Oh well at least it was free. I picked it up for my Kindle but who knows when I will ever get to it! LOL

So I went looking for Smith since I had never heard of him and found the oddest commercial:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NIfzWr6L2U

>159 UnrulySun: Whoops, my bad. Should have warned you to have all 6 volumes on hand as you'll likely want to read all of them in quick succession.

Heidi, it won't take long to get through it, and it's fun, just not what I was hoping for.

Morphy, that is the weirdest ad for Africa. I can see they were trying to be funny, and I guess it was a little amusing... just weird. But you liked his voice, didn't ya???

S'okay Micky. I'll find the rest eventually. And the movie. :)

Very smooth, indeed!

Awwww! Thanks for sharing the video, Kathy!!! :D

Hi Morphy!

Of course, Tina. I enjoyed it and wanted to share. :)

I follow several publishers and authors on FB (it's like my nightly news channel, lol) and wanted to share a couple of neat things I saw today:

A book recommendation site that's fun to use, even if nothing new: http://bookseer.com/ And I noticed it says "LibraryThing is not being asked to recommend anything right now." Does LT usually contribute? Did I miss a connection here? I think it's cool LT is mentioned though.

And...


"Blind Date with a Book" = brilliant!

And... how many have you read?:

I've read nine of them. Ready Player One was my absolute favorite. It was awesome.

I've read four. Of the rest, all but three are in the Someday Swamp. Which probably tells you something about the size of the swamp.

I'm a nine too, Morphy. And I loved RPO!

Yeah, Steve... my WL grew even fatter as well. :)

There's SO MUCH bookish stuff to report today! I'll start with the new crop of Amazon kindle monthly deals. If you kindle, you definitely need to check out the list. A Monster Calls & The Last Dragonslayer (Fforde) are big ones, and I was able to pick up several from my WL as well.
Sortable List

Also, Nancy Farmer's The House of the Scorpion is on the daily deal.

Terry Pratchett's The Carpet People is finally being published in the US!

The One City One Book San Francisco selection for this year is Cory Doctorow's Little Brother. The SF Public Library is hosting a scavenger hunt through the library and the city, and you can get a copy of the text for free here: http://craphound.com/littlebrother/download/. I would love to be in SF for this!

More later... I have to get my last July reviews in since today is officially August.

How have I not heard about this till now? It's brilliant. The city of McAllen, TX turned an abandoned Walmart into a library. One down, 10,000 more to go!

http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2012/07/07/abandoned_walmart_in_mcallen_texa...

69: Out of My Mind by Sharon M Draper



Melody was born with Cerebral Palsy. She's confined to a wheelchair and must rely on others to feed her, dress her, and take her to the bathroom. But in spite of her physical disabilities, Melody is one of the brightest 5th graders in her school. Too bad no one knows it, because Melody can't talk. She's relegated to special-ed classrooms with disinterested teachers, called "dumb" and "retarded" by her classmates, and talked to in baby talk by strangers.

But when she finally finds a way to "talk" to people, she proves that her mind is as sharp as anyone's and becomes a force to be reckoned with in mainstream elementary school classes.

The story is told from Melody's point of view, and while it was a little grating at first (I thought it was a little forced) her voice really grew on me. Lovely story.

70: Girl Under Glass by Monica Enderle Pierce



Humankind has been nearly eradicated by an invading alien force known as the Ohnenrai. Those who remain on Earth have been rounded up into camps and given a strict set of rules to govern their lives. The Ohnenrai are reviled not only because they devastated Earth, but because they are seen as emotionless, coldhearted beings. They give up their children to be raised in groups, and never form personal attachments to each other.

On Earth, Rachel Pryne and her daughter Pearl live on the fringe of their human society-- outcast for the sins of another and shunned by her peers (unless they need her medical expertise, of course). Together they live, and learn (they both can speak Ohnenrai and have extensive medical knowledge), and survive off the land.

One day, an Ohnenrai soldier stumbles up to Rachel's porch, with a broken ankle. Rachel struggles with her instinct to help an injured soul, and her hatred of the alien and everything he stands for. She decides to take him in, however, and learns that he may not be just a lost soldier after all, and Rachel herself may be more than she ever imagined.

The book begins on Earth, in the horrible evangelical extremist society Rachel must endure; this part of the story was something like most dystopian or post-apocalyptic plots. Life sucks, so you run away. But it's so well-written and believable, I couldn't put it down. The second part of the book is set aboard an Ohnenrai starship, a pretty amazing version of a city in the stars.

Rachel's character won me over from the start-- she's strong, honest, and brutal. (Aboard the ship, she falters into a childish funk, but recovers.) This may sound like a YA book, but it's written for adults, and has some definite adult moments. I enjoyed getting the kind of YA story I like in a more adult-SF style.

I've read 8 of your array of books above, Kathy. I thought I was going to do great when I'd read 4 of the top row, but it went downhill from there.

Kathy - I have 9 of the books on my shelves but so far only read 2 of them.

>185 UnrulySun: love this!

I have to read Out of My Mind soon -- it's a Colorado Children's Book Award nominee. I'm glad you enjoyed it!

Hi Roni! That top line is pretty strong, isn't it? It's the last line that threw me-- I haven't read any of those.

Paul, we're going to have to work on your reading lists, aren't we? Shall I recommend something? ;)

I know Anne! I want to make a road trip to McAllen just to go there. I'd be in book heaven for a little while.

I've read only 4 of the 25 in your list...with 3 more sitting on shelves somewhere in this house. ;)

I shall be adding Out of My Mind to my wish list in short order!

Yeah, I went 4-0-1-3-0. Feast or famine, I guess. I actually have a 9th on my Kindle, Magic for Beginners.

Kathy, loooooooooooooooooooooook! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llGXWICGsD4

Hi Tina and Roni! Maybe we should make it a goal to have read all 25. You know, with all our spare time and lack of reading materials.

Eris, they do know how to tease us, don't they?? I kept waiting for John's reaction but they cut it off! Can't wait!

Hey you Pratchett readers (and wanna-readers): The Wee Free Men is $1.99 on kindle today! That's the first book in the Tiffany Aching series. Highly recommended.

SotD! Just plain fun. :)

"Derezzed" by Daft Punk



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4cgLL8JaVI

Hahaha Kathy; the TBR list isn't half bad but I guess you might help me prioritise! x

We could have a reading group and a plan to read one every month or two.

Morning Kathy- I've read 17 off that YA list. Not shabby, huh? Many terrific titles too. Sadly, I didn't care much for Little Brother. It was to heavy-handed and preachy for me. I did like the geeky tech stuff though. Hey, you can't win 'em all. I plan on starting another Unrulysun rec, the Last Unicorn. Hopefully that will work better.

Speaking of Daft Punk, have you heard "Daft Punk Is Playing At My House" by LCD Soundsystem?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj8JrQ9w5jY&list=TLIBEOtblui90

I dare you to sit still! Okay, double dare you!

I certainly could Paul! It might brighten your day to read some happy children's lit.

Murphy that's a fun idea but I fear I wouldn't keep to schedule... I'm a little flaky that way. :D

Mark 17 is impressive! Sorry you didn't enjoy Little Brother more. Maybe its charm is greater when you agree with the message? I've been listening to a lot of DP background music while I read... the video you posted for me was a cool pick up from that. :)

I have several reviews I've been hoarding... sigh. I've been avoiding reality for a while now, but should be back in the swing of things soon. Will try to catch up with the rest of you guys asap!

71: Zita the Spacegirl by Ben Hatke



Zita and her friend get sucked into a dimensional vortex, and she makes some rather unusual new friends who help her save her friend and get home again. Totally adorable and kid-friendly.

72: Walls Within Walls by Maureen Sherry



Siblings Patrick, Brid, and CJ Smithfork have just moved into a NY high-rise apartment, that once belonged to the famous Post family. They soon discover that Mr Post left his massive inheritance to whoever could figure out the clues he left behind. The kids embark on a scavenger hunt across the city, to solve the mystery of the Post fortune.

This was a really cute middle-grade story with a happy, if not completely wrapped-up, ending. I especially appreciated that Patrick, who is the youngest and often left out of the adventures, winds up being a huge asset. His dyslexia lets him see patterns and connections that the others miss.

73: Doll Bones by Holly Black



Zach, Poppy, and Alice are best friends. They've been playing an elaborate game of pretend for several years now-- a game that involves action figures, dolls, and other props, and weaves a tale of the dread pirate William and his vessel Neptune's Pearl. William sails the high seas with Lady Jaye the thief, battling foes and tangling with mermaids. Ruling over the land is the Great Queen, a doll who sits permanently in the china cupboard. The friends could keep playing forever it seems. Except they're getting older and their peers are starting to notice they're still playing with dolls. It's especially hard for Zach, who at twelve years old, is supposed to be playing sports and hanging out with the guys. Even Zach's dad is giving him a hard time about playing with girls. The three friends are starting to drift apart as new personal problems and feelings for each other develop.

So when Poppy tells the others that she's taken the Great Queen from her case, and that the doll is really a vessel holding the ash and bone of a murdered child... of course the kids go on a quest to bury the doll and the put the spirit of the girl to rest forever.

There's a lot of heart in this story. Yes, there's a super-creepy doll that does super-eerie things (if you've got a doll phobia, look out) but it's really the story of these kids growing up, and navigating that awkward age of adolescence. The scenarios and emotions felt real, and the author didn't shy away from real-world problems either. The kids certainly learn fast that there are greater dangers in the world than they imagined, and that it's okay to ask for help, to say no to your friends, or to question yourself.

Highly recommended for the middle-school set, and for adults as well. Parents of tweens will probably find it hits you in the gut a few times.

74: Unclean Jobs for Women and Girls by Alissa Nutting



Well, the cover image is amazing. The stories... not my thing. Lots of bizarro scenes, scatological details, and gratuitous pretense.

75: Flat Out Love by Jessica Park



Julie's just arrived in Boston to start college, only the apartment she rented off Craigslist isn't exactly available. In fact, it doesn't even exist. So, newly homeless Julie winds up moving in with her mother's old college friend... and her utterly weird family. Matt is an MIT geek (stereotypes abound, but it kind of works here), and Celeste is an introverted teenager who totes around a cardboard cutout of her older brother Finn (who is away travelling). The parents are hardly present enough for Julie to get to know them.

Since Matt is fairly aloof, and Celeste lives in her own made-up world, Julie IMs Finn to ask for advice and winds up building a romance with him. Meanwhile, Julie becomes so attached to the family that even when dark secrets are revealed and the ties of family and friendship are tested, she finds it hard to let go.

This was fun, and ultimately pretty romantic, but it's not exactly fluff. There's some heavy psychological issues at play, but the story still ends up winning you over and drawing you in.

So is that 75? If so, congrats!

It is, thank you Jim!

Woo hoo! Congratulations on hitting the 75 book mark, and with such an interesting-sounding run of books, too.

Congrats!

Congrats on 75 Kathy :)

Whoop Whoop on hitting 75!

Wow -- 75! You seem to read, or at least review in bunches. Doll Bones looks like a great read.

Hoooray! 75!

Huzzah for reaching the magic number, Kathy!

Thanks everyone!

Congrats on 75 books. Whoo hoo!

Thanks Morphy! :)

Hey guys, did you know that yesterday was National Middle Child Day? It went fairly unnoticed.

Lol, you crack me up. A nice way to start the day :)

Always happy to make you smile Adrienne!

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