The Paperback Stash

Top Ten Tuesday: May 21

noreply@blogger.com (Erin Williams) — Tue, 21 May 2013 15:16:00 +0000

Based on a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.

Top Ten Favorite Book Covers Of Books I've Read

I'm changing this one up a bit. I don't have ten top favorite covers. Instead I'd rather do a "cover formula type" to be more accurate.

	That "Glitter" Touch Books with glitter have that extra sumthin-sumthin. The early Sookie Stackhouse, the Charmed Witch books, The Need series by Carrie Jones - all have little flecks of glitter and a special charm to their cuteness.
Cartoonish Covers Speaking of Sookie, they took the cake not only for glitter but also cartoonish art. Many cozy mysteries follow this trend as well.
	Eye and Face Closeups Whether art or with real models, generally the close-up is of a girl of woman. Matches all genres (YA, Fantasy especially)
Harlequin Circles Usually sketched and put in circles where the cover is otherwise white. Always loved these and how it made Harlequins stand out.
	Silhouttes Typically the person is turned around or shown at an angle. Popular with YA
Gothic Covers Usually frightened women running from castles or with wood and fog. The look is usually melodramatic and catchy.
	Witchy Covers Usually with murder mysteries and witch series, with cute cats and adorable charming cartoonish type look.
Cute Cozy Mysteries The covers can be closeups of food, people, or objects. Usually not much detail but the melodramatic picture matches the fun title.
	Creepy Horror Covers They can be of anything, as long as it is eerie looking.
Exaggerated Teen horror Cartoonish types, almost like mini posters, usually cheesy.

Masterpieces Book Puzzles

noreply@blogger.com (Erin Williams) — Sun, 19 May 2013 22:24:00 +0000

I'm now officially in love with Masterpieces Book Puzzles. While browsing for a craft project in the kid aisle at Walmart, I stumbled upon these amazingly beautiful puzzles - shaped like old looking books with artwork for the fairy tale on the cover. They didn't have Alice in Wonderland, or I would have bought that one instead, and it was a tough toss up, but I finally decided to get mine as Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.

Looking online they are listed around $20.00, but when in store I picked Snow White up for $10.00.

It's a 1,000 piece puzzle and I have to tell you, extremely challenging and large. I haven't done puzzles for years and only get to work on them every so often, so it still is gracing my kitchen table:

It's made more difficult by the fact that there are SO many browns in the puzzle, so it's not easy to separate the pieces into category. Point is, it's money well spent for the book and also the challenge. The Snow White one isn't one that will go up easily. It barely fits on my table.

Here is the stunning book. The art is also on the spine. Beautiful right? Also nice, thick, and sturdy.

Inside the book is the full picture of the puzzle. Unfortunately if you need a good guide for a puzzle, this one doesn't give much effort. It's a smallish picture, and you'd need the "book" propped open to keep seeing the full picture.

The others in the series are calling my name. I was especially impressed by the artwork for the Alice in Wonderland and Jack and the Beanstalk.

They have several other designs. Here are three more I'm eyeing (click each to see a bigger picture)

My son turned 12!

noreply@blogger.com (Erin Williams) — Sun, 19 May 2013 21:36:00 +0000

My son's birthday was May 5th, and I had to decide on a cake to make him. Sure, I could always buy one, but I enjoy homemaking his cakes. Frankly I'm not that good at the decorating and usually overextended my imagination versus my experience, but I still enjoy trying. The last few years I have stuck to a Superhero theme, but this year I decided to have a literary touch and make him a cake from his favorite book series, Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

We both love these books. I couldn't recommend them enough. I saw the first movie, but to me it was semi-impressive compared to the writing and drawings in the actual books themselves. My best friend (we're both in our 30s) and I love reading the books with our kids and all talking about them.

I decided to try and make a Diary of a Wimpy kid book with homemade marshmallow fondant. That stuff is a nightmare to work with for me. I think I didn't add enough powdered sugar to it so kept having to incorporate more and more to make it workable.

One thing that actually did work in my favor this year was getting the coloring right. However, for some reason the book was a bit crooked and I didn't have much luck with the fondant fitting tightly. The worst part was the drawing with the cake marker, as apparently I can't draw and this "Marker" turned out to be more of a paintbrush and did not have a fine point.

Either way, here is the cake, thought I'd share since it was book-themed.

Not the best effort but it tasted delicious. I used the "stinky cheese" and a Diary of a Wimpy kid bookmark for effect.

Sunday Salon

noreply@blogger.com (Erin Williams) — Sun, 19 May 2013 18:45:00 +0000

Past Week - Personal Stuff

Apparently it has been since January since I did one of these. Yes, JANUARY. The time has flown and for some reason I kept missing the deadline or initiative to make a Sunday Salon post.

As a recap, I've been pretty busy. I finally landed myself a job, and it's a full-time one. I ended my third week there last week. I'm the Admin Assistant who is also the Receptionist at Children's Home Society. At first I was worried I would have to answer the phones too much and not have another of other stuff to do - I don't like pure Receptionist work. However, that turned out not the case. I have a lot of invoicing and billing to do, many projects and am kept busy and happy. It was difficult to get used to working full-time again after being unemployed so long, I'll admit, and also getting up early as I'm a night owl by nature. My previous jobs didn't require too much early waking. I'm starting the get the hang of the rhythm more now.

Throwing up for giggles, here is my work smurf.

My semester at school ended two weeks ago and worked out well. I was lucky to have easy classes to return with after 10 years of not being in school. Doing online only worked well for me, and I ended up getting A's in both the classes, which was a huge relief and soother to me. I'm taking the summer off to get used to work, for financial reasons, and because Summer classes are much more hectic.

I also spent several weeks renovating the book room "closet." This was prompted primarily because my cat, Malz, urinated on the carpet in there a long time ago when he had a urinary tract infection. I didn't notice it for awhile because he did it through a bag I had in there, and it was able to settle into the carpet, and apparently I didn't go into the book room much that week. I have shampooed the floor, etc., but nothing worked to get rid of the smell effectively.

I was finally annoyed enough to decide I needed to rip up all the carpet in the book closet and put down that stick-on tile. Not knowing how to lay down porcelain tile and being short of funds, this seemed like my best bet. Since I would have to remove the bookshelves and take everything out of there to do this, and since all that would be such a pain, I decided that while I was at it I may as well also do the walls.

This kept me busy for a few weeks - 1. Because I'm a bit lazy and despite my best efforts, get things done slowly. My best friend came over two days for moral support and to keep me company but I did almost everything myself.

From the book room I moved out one large bookshelf, two other large black bookshelves, two medium bookshelves, and one small bookshelf. I also took down the shelf hooked to the wall and moved out the unusual bookshelf stand. In addition to this I had to move and make room to store almost 2000 books. I kept them by genre to avoid confusion so ended up storing them all in the kitchen table, the kitchen chairs, the hallway stand, and different spots in the floor of the bedroom. This was actually a lot of work (to me), as much of this was accessible with the ladder like the romance books, and moving things around the house for room was annoying. Two of the bookshelves were put in the hall and the rest stayed in the bedroom taking up room. I used tubs and baskets to move the books around for easier.

Then took four trips to Home Depot. You'd think I could do it all in one trip but at first I wanted to do the floor and bought how much tile I "thought" Id' need. I was way off. The second trip for more tile bought the rest of the stock out; however, I ended up being three tiles short and when I returned again the next week bought those up. There was something wrong with the tile and this made extra work. A few of the pieces unstuck properly, but for the most part little tiny pieces tore and not all of it would come off, making something that should take twenty minutes take about six hours.

Then, the walls. They were in bad shape with holes and such. Before we moved in the room had at one time been a laundry room, then was a computer room. The wallpaper material is hideous as well, and I HATE wallpapering. I also didn't want to paint. So what I did was buy some wall material (can't remember the name right now, but it's a type of wall plaster) and did what my mom and I have been doing for years - applying the plaster in a texture. It looks a bit too white but later will paint it. This ended up being a two day project. The first tub ran out fast, and the second tub (which was the last there) didn't cover all the walls either. The first tub was older and it dried quicker. Let's just say when I do this again I know different tips to try.

Finally I put back up all the bookshelves, then the shelf, and tried to rearrange the artwork and the books. I started my new job so this took awhile.

Reading

I started re-reading the second book of the Kim Harrison Hollows series as my goal is to re-read the series this year. I re-read the first at the beginning of the year. I'm also reading Book Lust: Recommended Reading for every Mood, Moment and Reason. For my anthology (where my goal has fallen very short this year), I need to start the Urban Fantasy Anthology Many Bloody Returns.

I have been trying to keep my reading up with work but it hasn't worked too well yet as I'm still figuring out scheduling. I finished Tall, Dark & Restless by Heather MacAllister earlier this week.

According to Goodreads, I'm six books behind my reading goal of the year. UGH.

Website Progress

Website site, I put up a BookWorld weekend post this week finally (been a long time) and a Top Ten Tuesday post.

I put up a review for Graveminder by Melissa Marr.

I also put up the announcement for the Summer 2013 Reading themes from the ALA being made available.

Happy Children's Book Week everyone!

Graveminder by Melissa Marr

noreply@blogger.com (Erin Williams) — Sun, 19 May 2013 04:09:00 +0000

Graveminder

(No Series)

Gothic

Rebekkah Barrow never forgot the tender attention her grandmother, Maylene, bestowed upon the dead of Claysville. While growing up, Rebekkah watched as Maylene performed the same unusual ritual at every funeral: three sips from a small silver flask followed by the words, "Sleep well, and stay where I put you."

Now Maylene is gone and Bek must return to the hometown—and the man—she abandoned a decade ago, only to discover that Maylene's death was not natural . . . and there was good reason for her odd traditions. In Claysville, the worlds of the living and the dead are dangerously connected—and beneath the town lies a shadowy, lawless land ruled by the enigmatic Charles, aka Mr. D. From this dark place the deceased will return if their graves are not properly minded. And only the Graveminder, a Barrow woman, and the current Undertaker, Byron, can set things to right once the dead begin to walk.

Melissa Marr is known to young adult readers as the author of the popular faery series, Wicked Lovely. This is her debut leap into adult fiction.

Much like the dead call to the Graveminder, this book called to me from the bookshop shelf when my friend and I were browsing deals. The cover was intriguing enough but the plot sealed it - unique and horror sounding. It turned out to be a new born gothic, not horror, and when I first started reading it I worried it would primarily be romance. Romance did turn out being a part of it but this died down after awhile.

The story itself is awesome with its details, originality, and possibilities. There could even be a series here if the author ever wished to continue with it. The pacing is a slow thing, so be prepared to have patience for things to unravel. It's almost sixty or so pages in before the main characters are even filled in about what's going on. Since it's a gothic type, a slower build-up sort of accompanies the genres pacing style anyway.

As the main character, the graveminder Rebekkah sort-of sucks. She's distant, stubborn, annoying at times with being so uptight toward people, doesn't give chances, never lets her guard down, and has a massive chip on her shoulder. Byron as the male main is much more likeable and easy to sympathize with. The townspeople are intriguing enough with their backdrop melodrama, but what really shines are the dead, especially Mr. D. There are a lot of secrets buried there with interior motives I'd enjoy reading about.

One thing that did irritate me was the author's dialogue skills. They were pausing, hesitant, and choppy. It kept taking me out of the book during every scene - action shots or not. I think this was one reason I took longer to read this one than normal and why it didn't hold my attention as strongly. The final half started it's redemption, earning another star for its rating.

Since it claims to be a modern day gothic, does it work as one? In a way it does. Slow pacing, secretive buildups. In ways it works with horror with zombie type munchings. And in ways it works as romance with fate (but restricted.) Overall it works as a pretty good book with a few flaws, but such a cool story it's worth picking up.

BWW: May 18

noreply@blogger.com (Erin Williams) — Sat, 18 May 2013 23:08:00 +0000

An Original Paperback Stash Feature

I wanted something that showcased the happenings around book blogs and sites by week, special events in the reading community, a location to display stunning bookstores, libraries, and others. Basically anything to do with the wonderfully huge world of books. Can be posted anytime on the weekend, Friday - Saturday - or Sunday. Feel free to grab the button and join me!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bookish-World Places

Chattanooga Library, Tennessee has creativity down pat with their introductory reading fountain. Could you imagine how relaxing it would be around this thing? Besides giant books starting you in the face, you have the water sound effects too.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Bookish-World on the Web

This week is CHILDREN'S BOOK WEEK for the year 2013. I'm not sure how many blogs are participating in this or doing something special. I always like this time of the year - focusing on inspiring children to read and further their horizons. They always do a yearly poster and bookmark, commissioned by two seperate artists, and libraries join in together to celebrate this event in different ways.

Love in Bloom

Giveaway Hop

Featuring Lighthearted/Contemporary Young Adult Romance

& Sweet, Clean Adult Romance

Hosted by I Am A Reader, Not A Writer & Portrait of a Book

May 16th to 22nd

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Bookish-World Creativity

A cat reading a book about fish in Aoba, Yokohama, Kanagawa prefecture.

Very interesting sculpture. "Der Buchhändler" [The Book Seller, literally: "somebody who handles books"] on the Ludwig-Metzger-Platz in Darmstadt, Germany. Sculpture by Michael Schwarze

Top Ten Tuesday: May 14

noreply@blogger.com (Erin Williams) — Tue, 14 May 2013 15:54:00 +0000

Based on a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.

Top Ten Books dealing with Grief or Hard Subjects (Any Choosing)

	Flowers for AlgernonDeals with what can go horribly wrong when man plays God, and the sadness associated with low intelligence and how they are treated by society.
Speak Deals with the important issue of rape and bullying in high school
	Tiger Eyes Blume excels with this one - dealing with a teenager and family coming to grips with their father dying
Of Mice and Men Deals with the frustrations of social classes and poverty
	Shutter Island Deals with repressed memory/trauma, something quite important and tragic
Go Ask Alice Deals with drug abuse/addiction
	The Lovely Bones How sad! A very realistic, touching book on the families grief of losing their child
It's Not the End of the World Great for Young Adults when their parents are getting a divorce. A painful subject.
	Water for Elephants The abuse of circus animals, how nauseating.
To Kill a Mockingbird A book that deals with racism

2013 Summer Reading Program Themes/Posters Released

noreply@blogger.com (Erin Williams) — Sat, 11 May 2013 23:17:00 +0000

Personally I liked the 2012 themes and art a little better for the kids, and I did love the adults with Scarlett O'Hara and Frankenstein reading each other's books. I also loved the theme title, "Own the Night." This year really rocks for adults too, though, with a Zombie themed year. Guess Walking Deads popularity continues to take off.

What do you think of this year's theme?

Children's: Dig Into Reading - The dirt and digging idea will work well with the kids, I think. Browsing some library display ideas, some are making mock fossils, offering gummy worms as treats to munch on "while reading," and rock crafts should go over big.

Teen: Beneath the Surface - Unfortunately I haven't found a larger version of this one yet. Clever idea with the teens - caves, under the sea type adventure stories, mysteries and clue hunts at libraries. From the poster it's kind of all over the place though - space, horses, helicopters, hm...

Adult: Groundbreaking Reads - Clearly we're a bit Zombie themed, and you know what? That's awesome. Enjoy the summer, readers. It may feel like it's October at the library with the theme, but you know what? That's also awesome.

Celebrity Reading Poster 2013

Being a Superman fan, besides being excited for the Summer movie, it's nifty the ALA jumped on getting Henry Cavill to feature as a Celebrity read poster for 2013. It's an added touch to have him holding a Superman. This isn't as common as you'd think - a lot of the past celebrity posters have the celebrities holding books completely non-related to the book/movie adaption they're known for.

Touch of the Demon by Diana Rowland

noreply@blogger.com (Erin Williams) — Wed, 08 May 2013 00:51:00 +0000

Touch of the Demon

(Kara Gillian, Book #5)

Urban Fantasy
Published December 31st 2012

Kara Gillian is in some seriously deep trouble.

She’s used to summoning supernatural creatures from the demon realm to our world, but now the tables have been turned and she’s the one who’s been summoned. Kara is the prisoner of yet another demonic lord, but she quickly discovers that she’s far more than a mere hostage. Yet waiting for rescue has never been her style, and Kara has no intention of being a pawn in someone else’s game.

There’s intrigue to spare as she digs into the origin of the demonic lords and discovers the machinations of humans and demons alike. Kara is shocked to discover that she has her own history in the demon realm, and that the ties between her and the demonic lords Rhyzkahl and Szerain go back farther than she could have ever imagined. But treachery runs rampant among all the lords, and she’s going to have to stay sharp in order to keep from being used to further their own agendas. The lords have a secret that dates back to earth’s ancient history, and it could have devastating repercussions for both worlds.

Yet more than anything else, Kara’s abilities as a homicide detective will be put to the test—because this time the murder she has to solve is her own

This book has a lot going for it - compared to the others in the series, it's much longer. It fully explores a lot of the demon world (98% of the book takes place there). Kara learns about new abilities and how to strengthen as a summoner and further.

On the downside, most of the characters which are well known and loved from the previous series aren't around. They helped keep the life of the other books so their absence is missed. The biggest issue is a huge change with a major character. Their personality is revealed here to be completely different. Well, maybe not completely different, but not likeable anymore. It almost feels like a cop-out sort of cheat to me, and several other readers, as forcing the hand to end a triangle. I would wonder if this is the author's reasoning (or part of it) but then Kara ends up getting together with someone new again!

Also, the book, while fascinating with the world exploration, seemed to drag on at parts when it didn't before. There's a lot of decent action, but it's spread far out.

As with another book in this series, I again had issue with Kara's unreasonably vulgar, and unrealistic language. I'm no prude and profanity is used often in Urban Fantasy (realistically), but this example is just crass and turns me off:

Click the button for an example of the unrealistic, unreasonably vulgar language:

I mean, seriously? Who talks like that?? No one I know.

Besides the language annoyance, the slower parts that could keep things less nail-biting than before, the bitter change of a main, and the absence of characters and the world Kara exists in we typically adore, there's also a pretty big change in her career. In addition, when characters are finally shown, they just don't see the same or like the ones we know. Perhaps that's just me though, or else I felt different after reading such a long book where Kara was with different people, in a different environment, and setting different priorities than she ever has before.

If you're a fan of the series, it's worth a read. Of course at the end I was wanting more but thankfully the author did NOT end on a massive cliffhanger like before. In my mind this is the weakest of the series.

I did an "Early Chapter" feature for this book with links to the first two chapters.

Read and Reviewed Also For:

Urban Fantasy Challenge 2013

Should you keep silent from your SO about the romance you read?

noreply@blogger.com (Erin Williams) — Wed, 08 May 2013 00:31:00 +0000

So I was in the bookstore the other day and my fiance comes up behind me, impatient because I take "sooo long." I was in the romance section and then turned to him to honestly say, I'm looking for Indian romances. I told him they're hard to find but we would go when I finished looking for them.

Him: ......

I told him I get in the mood for those types every few years, not thinking much of admitting this to him, but trying to innocently explain. I told him I like the drama stories with them.

Him: ......

Him: .....You have a thing for Indians?

Me: No, I just like historical Indian romances sometimes for some reason.

Him: You want to be a squaw?

Me: No!

Him: I should go home and put on a long-haired wig and put a feather in my hair.

Me: .......

The torment doesn't end here. There were many, many more jokes. I told him when trying to explain it away that a lot of women like cowboy romances, but I never did. He said yeah, because they kill indians. I said that's not the reason (grrr!), I just don't like the ranch atmosphere like that.

In the car he suddenly turns from joking to serious. He starts talking about women reading romances because they are lacking something they want or need in their personal lives or relationships. I told him that's complete bogus and there have been ridiculous articles like that which women know are wrong.

It worsens even more when we're in the gas station and he pokes me and says about the guy in front of me, there's you're hot Indian. *Blush* I have no idea what the guy in front of me was, but looking at him (which I was in no way doing before he was pointed out), he did look half Indianish.

Thankfully this torment only lasted the day and seems to have appeared (SEEMS TO) from his mind. The question is, is it better keep mum about romances us women like when talking to our significant others? For humor reasons, or insecurity ones?

Tune-In Tuesdays: Mistakes

noreply@blogger.com (Erin Williams) — Wed, 08 May 2013 00:27:00 +0000

A Weekly Meme from GReads!

Since music is one of the main things in my life outside of books, I jumped on the bandwagon for this fun meme.

Moby - Mistakes

I'm going to do a theme this month of songs about Regrets and Mistakes. I recently made a playlist of this on 8 Tracks but wanted to cover some of the favorites here.

Moby's Mistake is an excellent song and the first I'm presenting.

Top Ten Tuesday: May 7

noreply@blogger.com (Erin Williams) — Wed, 08 May 2013 00:19:00 +0000

Based on a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.

Top Ten Books When You Need Something Light And Fun

	Diary of A Wimpy Kid My son got me hooked on this book series. It is hilarious, truly. Awesome dry humor that never gets old, love it. Perfect for light, fun reading. Caters to all audience ages.
Garfield I have a decent collection of Garfield collections. Reading about the fat cat and his adventures is always a light, fun time to be had. I may be a cat lover myself, but Jon is one cat owner I don't envy.
	One For the Money This book is popular and many may find the series overrated and overdone. However, this first book was incredibly refreshing, amusing, and charming. I literally laughed aloud on more than one occasion. That car especially made my day.
Murder can kill your social life Not only is it satisfying to read about a realistic female sleuth with weight, esteem, and sibling issues, but this book also packs a punch when it comes to easy-going laughs and carefree irony.
	Too many Cooks kill the Broth Even if each preceding book soured the reading broth for me (I quit after book 4), the first was so ingenious and clever I re-read it, rated it five stars, and recommend it everywhere. Truly excellent, hilarious, brilliant humor here.
101 Tips for Traveling with a Vampire An ebook which teaches the all important cautionary levels on traveling with a vampire, this one dips into every humorous (and serious, if it were true - wink, wink, nudge nudge) situation imaginable about being a vampire's traveling companion and assistant. Light reading? Lists are always light reading.
	Old School Ties I can't say how much I enjoyed Old School Ties, it was THAT good. Leigh Michaels raises the bar on realistic humor in cute situations and non-stop charming cuteness without becoming nauseating and forced with this one. An all time favorite.
An Unfortunate Event Series While it won't always deliver laugh-out-loud reactions, the light reading and grim charm coating these books are a must when in the mood for something simple, entertaining, and fascinating.
	It Takes a Witch A recent read of mine, this first in a witch-themed series charmed it's way into my heart with magical humor, a quant town that you fall in love with, and several scenes where I quoted them for their sheer humor on Goodreads. Mystery-cozy bliss!

MM - April 22

noreply@blogger.com (Erin Williams) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 13:05:00 +0000

I haven't done a Mailbox Monday in awhile. And for this post wanted to feature the ones I received from a generous contest from Reflections of a Bookaholic. I received these weeks ago but since I haven't been on here, had to wait till now to display. Reading the back, can't wait to read them!

A HUGE Thank You!!

The Lost Lilacs of Latimer House

noreply@blogger.com (Erin Williams) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 00:26:00 +0000

The Lost Lilacs of Latimer House

(No Series)

Gothic

Lonely and restless Charleston belle, Faith Richards, waited out the War Between the States, protected by elderly relatives in the Bahamas. Handsome Hunter Latimer offered her a post as governess on Dark Thunder Island, a place not for the faint-hearted. Lightning split the sky and revealed the source of her terror!

This is my second Gothic read of the year, and fortunately much better than the first I tried out. This is a new author to me, and her writing style was easy to fall into. Not melodramatic, easy to follow, fits well with the tone of the Gothic genre, and written through one POV.

It's a serious story but there were delightful small bits of humor, such as this one:

"Even as I repeated my reason, I had a strong suspicion neither man was going to believe me. Again I wished for a maidenly swoon to escape their burning glares; unfortunately, the fresh morning breeze was making me physically better, not worse."

The heroine was easy to enjoy - realistic, independent for the times, rebellious, sweet, curious. The romance was overdone sometimes and made the story as its backdrop, but the mystery itself was clever. There weren't many clues or much suspense until the end, but the story had a war happening at the same time which introduced multiple levels of human drama and experiences. Her already being betrothed and her fiance missing isn't something tried everyday for romance type tales. There was enough of a variety of main players to keep it interesting, and when the story announced the island had a pirate curse, of course I was interested. A pirate curse? How awesome.

The major flaw lay with the editing. It improved as the book went on, but the first chapter was particularly painful editing wise.

Overall a worthy read if you're itching for a gothic. It carries the traits most of them do but doesn't have as many of the downsides (too much melodrama, for example, is lacking for a change - yay.)

Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison

noreply@blogger.com (Erin Williams) — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 23:37:00 +0000

Dead Witch Walking

(The Hollows, #1)

Urban Fantasy

The underground population of witches, vampires, werewolves - creatures of dreams and nightmares - has lived beside humans for centuries, hiding their powers. But after a genetically engineered virus wipes out a large part of humanity, many of the "Inderlanders" reveal themselves, changing everything.

Rachel Morgan, with and bounty hunter with the Inderland Runner Services, is one of the best at apprehending supernatural lawbreakers throughout Cincinnati, but when it comes to following the rules, she falls desperately short. Determined to buck the system, she quits and takes off on the run with an I.S. contract on her head and is reluctantly forced to team up with Ivy, Inderland's best runner...and a living vampire. But this witch is way out of her league, and to clear her name, Rachel must evade shape-changing assassins, outwit a powerful businessman/crime lord, and survive a vicious underground fight-to-the-death...not to mention her own roommate.

A Re-Read for the release of Ever After this year (Review here)

I'm an Urban Fantasy addict and this book hit all my fan-girl buttons.

It does have it's slower parts compared to some other books in the series, and the first part is harder to get through than the rest. I had no problem with it holding my interest as I loved the characters and the small humor scenes, but there wasn't much action-wise hitting until later, so some readers may grow slightly impatient. Hang in there and rest assured the wait is worth it!

The humor in this first book is high and causes frequent chuckles, and that's without being forced, false, or cheesy. Rachel is a fun character - intelligent and driven but also a bit awkward and prone to mistakes and misunderstandings. Sometimes her mistrust of Ivy grew tiresome and ridiculous, but overall I really dig her as a main heroine. She has reasonable fears and isn't unrealistic, and her being a witch trying to leave the IS and make her way in the world amongst so much turmoil, death threats, changes, and hangups makes an interesting read.

Great introduction for Ivy as a sensual, intriguing character, leaving you wondering what's going to happen with Rachel and Ivy in the next book and what she really holds up her sleeve. Jenks? How could you not love the pixie with his foul, unique language, honor system, humor, and grumpiness.

The villains frighten - Trent Kalamack is ruthless here, cold and cruel, luring the reader into almost liking him before turning a 180 and showing brutality. Algaliarept the demon popped in to make a grand entrance with an eerie, creepy, and almost strangely erotic section. Nick comes across a bit in this one as actually likeable and not as dull as he later will. Jonathan as Trent's main man comes across as the biggest villain of the story because of the tormenting scenes with pencils ~ bastard.

Harrison's world is complex and awesome. The vampires come in a few forms - the undead, the living vampires, and ghouls (those aspiring to become vamps one day and serve as tools for the manipulative undead.)

The undead vamps are without soul or conscience, following guidelines of other vamp stories - no churches, sunlight, and they can bespell you. They're not nice but have learned to adapt through politics and putting on a fake front/face to trick people and have an easier life for themselves. Living vampires are those not yet dead, so there soul is still there. They have less power but less vulnerabilities as well. You have weres in the book but they're not shown much in this one other than a few scenes and they are considered an Inderlander race but not much is gone into yet about their structure.

The witches are broken into sections of magic too - earth witch, ley line witch, black magic and white magic. The small bit seen with demons is awesome, creepy, and exciting.

Great introduction to the series - well-written heroine, an interesting blend of characters, small dabs of humor that's genuinely funny, an underlying dark, gritty feel and theme, unique blend of circumstances that make the book stand out. Hard to put down and I went in hunt of the rest of the series the next day, already obsessed.

After all the books had been read, this easily became my favorite series.

Ever After by Kim Harrison

noreply@blogger.com (Erin Williams) — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 23:30:00 +0000

Ever After

(The Hollows, #11)

Urban Fantasy
Published January 22, 2013

The ever-after, the demonic realm that parallels our own, is shrinking, and if it disappears, so does all magic. It's up to witch-turned-daywalking-demon Rachel Morgan to fix the ever-after before the fragile balance between magic users and humans falls apart.

Of course, there's also the small fact that Rachel is the one who caused the ley line to rip in the first place, and her life is forfeit unless she can fix it. Not to mention the most powerful demon in the ever-after—the soul-eater Ku'Sox Sha-Ku'ru—has vowed to destroy her, and has kidnapped her friend and her goddaughter as leverage. If Rachel doesn't give herself up, they will die.

Forced by circumstance, Rachel teams up with elven tycoon Trent Kalamack—a partnership fraught with dangers of the heart as well as betrayal of the soul—to return to the ever-after and rescue those she loves. One world teeters on the brink of interspecies war, the other on the brink of its very demise—and it's up to Rachel to keep them both from being destroyed.

After waiting a year with bated breath, revving myself up with tidbits, hints, early cover releases (and debates because of the "blonde hair"), early chapters (of which I only read one to prevent further torture since the release was imminent), and even getting the little collectable coat tag hanger from the author as part of it's promotion, I must say it was worth the wait, every second of it, and is likely the best yet of the bunch.

We get a slew of returning and main characters and ample time to soak in most of the goodies - Trent is present for nearly the entire book, so Trent fans should be more than happy with events. Al, my personal favorite, was heavily present in the first part of the book, then appears again later, but sadly was not present for the middle and bulk of the story. Ivy makes an entrance and that's about it, as her story - as Kim Harrison has stated - is leading her off on her own paths. The vampires were thrown in almost as an afterthought, maybe a prequel of things to later come.

Ever After is a double whammy, double tragedy. I won't spoil it, of course, but as was warned by the author herself, this is a sad one. Those on the top of my suspect list to bite the big one did not necessarily do so, and instead I was surprised as to who really permanently falls.

Kim Harrison has a knack for writing grief and making it convincing without muddling the waters with melodrama, cliches, and unrealistic responses. She did an excellent job having Rachel and others grieve for the loss of another major character earlier in the series. Instead of writing it in one book and then basically moving on, the character was grieved for with several books and is still brought up (as they should be, this is more realistic.) Not all authors embrace this realism but I'm happy Harrison does. This book follows those lines with convincing shock, surprise, anguish, and after effects.

The beginning is not a heady rush into action, but more of a slower buildup into a giant, rolling boil. When the action does ignite, it is nonstop from there, with small pauses for breathing, reflections, and regrouping. The ending was incredibly brilliant, especially with the trio team, and the battle was likely the best of the series thus far. The ending wasn't an abrupt wrap up - Thank God! - and was an appropriate aftereffect and promises of more to come.

The villain - Ku'Sox (yuck) - is truly dark, demented, and hated for ample reasons. He steers the story with his deviousness, but the main act behind everything is always and should always be Rachel. She is growing into her own, not fretting as much about who and what she really is and what she can accomplish, but also still staying true to her main character and the morals which makes her the splendid "itchy witch" she is.

While a clear five writing for pacing, action, characterization, events, dialogue and enjoyment level (let me just say clearly, WOW), there are minor flaws. These don't derive from the star, the goodies make up for these.

1) One is a small bit of inconsistency from earlier books that don't add up. There are also questions in my mind such as when she lists the group of people who have her summoning name (one shouldn't be on the list as far as I can see.) Also, Trent tries to question her on what she would have done with something he did in the first book which she greatly disapproved of, putting a spin on it that wasn't really there. I have re-read the first book recently, and it wasn't exactly greed why the guy was running, he was concerned and disturbed about Rachel's predicament. This new twist to try and making Trent's action seems a bit nobler now rings a little false.

2) This book was focused on the Ever After big time, but Rachel really doesn't spend that much time there besides a few key parts. I was expecting from the title, description, and buildup, for that to be a little more sketched out.

3) A small thing, but it kept standing out to me, and became a bit unrealistic, that Rachel kept shouting so much. Strange as this sounds, she seems to shout A LOT in this book. At the trial, at the enemy, on the brink of a whim she seems to respond by shouting randomly without hesitation and at the drop of a hat, when no one else is shouting, making her look a little unwise with how she handles things.

These issues are miniscule compared to the mountains of goodies in this book. It's dark, it's demented, and it's a tragedy. But it's true to the series, an important turning point, and this series really does get better with age. The longer it's written, the deeper the world evolves, but the characters all stay true to themselves even as more is revealed as further layers of them peel away before our eyes. Outstanding stuff, I can't wait for the next one, and sadly there are only two more. With the talented pen of Harrison, this series is a long-running one that deserves to be the length it is, not losing any of it's steam as it soars, not chugs, along.

Sorry I haven't been around!

noreply@blogger.com (Erin Williams) — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 23:44:00 +0000

I have not forgotten about the site at all - just been so preoccupied the past few weeks. Have several reviews to put up, things to update, and hope to get some worked on the site this weekend.

Tomorrow is a busy day with my friend going to thrift stores, and Saturday is the first annual Florida Ice Cream festival we'll be attending in the morning. My hard drive has been giving me several issues and I had to replace it Monday. The computer has been slow and laggy for a week prior :/

I had two job interviews this week with the same company as well so crossing fingers. I have to send in a lot of paperwork for background checks, they are pretty extensive! DMV reports, Police report checks, credit check forms, wow. I also have to set up an interview to get fingerprint testing. Never had to do any of that before for a job.

Just wanted to drop this note to say I'm still here, still getting computer updated, and still around.

MM: BOOK FAIR!!

noreply@blogger.com (Erin Williams) — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 07:28:00 +0000

In actuality, this was the Mailbox Monday for LAST week, but since there were so many pictures to take of this one and things to get together (not to mention trying to find room for all the books and receive them), and other things to do last week, I missed the deadline on having it ready in time.

The yearly book fair from my local library is the result of all these new books. That Tuesday we went to a mini library sale, and then the big bash was held all day Friday and until 11 PM Saturday.

Friday Melissa and I spent a few hours there in the morning, then came back with Starbucks to look through everything. I already had quite a bit. But Saturday I wanted to check out the bag sale day so went at 10:00. Their bag sale turned out to be $1.00 for all the books you could fit into a plastic bag. Ended up getting many more.

After putting all the new books into Goodreads, stamping, sorting, and taking pictures after arranging them, I'm a bit behind. Have most put away but there are a few stragglers still since I am redoing the book room and where some of the genres are for room and better organization.

The book sale was a LOT of fun. They didn't have many of certain genres - hardly any horror, urban fantasy, paranormal, or fantasy. They had a lot of romance (Of course), general drama (some very good ones), some nonfiction of course, older YA and childrens tales.

I bought more than I will display here. I purchased 10 childrens books hardcovers of one author, romance and many more that I will be putting up for donation. Since they aren't technically mine won't be putting them up here.

The sale held 2500 books total. I know they had a decent amount left at the end but hope the turnout was good for the library trying to raise money. Although some of these were from the smaller sale Tuesday, I threw them all together anyway to make it easier.

Now, on to the books!

Mysteries

First, I hit a GOLDMINE of Lilian Jackson Braun mystery novels. My friend Melissa was lucky to find some Rita Mae Brown cat mystery novels I didn't get to in time. It's cool we both walked away with a cat series.

Behold:

I also found many Sue Grafton novels. One, D is for Deadbeat, doesn't have a cover. Argh! I already own A is for Alibi and B is for Burglar. Of course I'm missing C =(. I'm now missing G, E, R, H, I, L, T, and V, but own the rest of the alphabet above.

I found another Tony Hillerman series to add to the collection, The Blessing Way. I own about five others collected through the years. This happens to be, luckily, the first in the series. Sudden Mischief (far left) is #25 of a series - yowza. Mercy Street is a mix between mystery and thriller/suspense but is first in a series. Devious is the seventh of the New Orleans series, which I hadn't previously heard of. So many mystery series, so little time? A Body to Die For is book two of Bailey Weggins series, and The Death Dealer is book 6 of a series.

The first book, Emma Chizzit and the Mother Lode Marauder, has such an unusual cover and obviously was a library edition. It's all in black and white and almost looks self-published. Thale's Folly was written by the creator of the Mrs. Pollifax mystery series. Emma Chizzit and the Napa Nemesis
is another one with a strange cover! Others pictured: My Gal Sunday,

The Beggar's Opera, and Light Thicken.

Love Kills: A Britt Montero Novel , At the Hands of a Stranger, Don't Go Home , Echoes of Mercy , Candy Apple Red (Jane Kelly, #1) , Shock Radio , Three Blind Mice and Other Stories , Cappuccino at the Crypt , The Body Lovers , The Widening Gyre (Spenser, #10), The Murder Hole , Acqua Alta , (Commissario Brunetti, #5)

Curtain is Agatha's Christie final novel written for Hercule Poirot before he's killed off. I could have sworn I owned it but cannot find it anywhere in the home library. I'm hoping to find all the novels about the infamous Belgian detective before reading this one. I have three books by Mary Roberts Rinehart and greatly enjoyed them, so I'm happy to have found The Case of Jennie Brice. Cyanide Wells seems to be a suspense-thriller type, as does A Sight for Sore Eyes, both seeming interesting.

Another Mary Higgins Clark to try out, Pretend you don't see her. I read some of her growing up but not much. Two by a new to me author, Colin Dexter, who the librarian recommended: Last Bus to Woodstock and The Daughters of Cain. And last of this pile, a good looking cover and crime-ridden sounding plot, In Plain View.

Horror

As I said, horror was small compared to other genres, but I did manage to pick up a good couple. I already owned Lost Boy, Lost Girl in hardback form, but to free up bookshelf space and because it was such a steal, I picked this one up and will donate the hardcover to the clubhouse library. Farris 'When Michael Calls' sounds like a fun 80's type horror book (not sure when it was written). Urban Gothic is a book I actually don't own by Brian Keene yet (gasp!) The Pines is a cheesy type sounding one form the 80's but it also sounds cool as all can get. Buick 8 by King...well, not sure it will be up my alley but it's a King book I don't own so no big loss picking it up. The dog cover hiding below the others is a really nifty sounding book (sounds creepy, unique, and original) called The Book of Lies.

It's not pure horror, but it's strange sounding.

Gone South by Robert McCammon is a "of course, must buy." Forbidden is the first in a series called The Book of Mortals, and Dragon King is NOT horror, but the only fantasy I bought so I threw it in there.

Young Adult and Children

Most of these books are older YA types or children types book. A few I read when I was younger and wanted for old time's sake (Babysitter's Club anyone?)

I'm a big Christopher Pike dork. STILL I haven't got my favorite by him, and one of my favorite books period, Whisper of Death. My copy disappeared years ago. I've never read a Spooksville but grabbed them - I'm guessing they are like RL Stines Goosebump series. I already have read The Last Vampire but didn't own sequels, so am happy to have found three of them.

These are some child YA, The Family Under the Bridge I owned when I was a kid and forgot about. The others are typically fifth grade to junior high level. Will likely donate them when I've read them and seen if son wants to read any of them. I remember having Secrets in the Attic when I was a kid too.

Others:

Two of the RL Stines are Find your own Adventure types of books written for a very young age: Golden Sword of Dragonwalk and The Cult of the Mummy's Crypt. The Evil Moon is a fear street I don't have. How I broke up with Ernie...when I was a teenager I remember reading the ads for this book in the back of Fear Streets but never could find it anywhere. It was a comedy type he wrote early in his career.

I absolutely adore the YA series covers with the vampires. Found book 3 and 1: Re-Vamped! and Switched. The Bogeyman Caper and the Campfire Ghosts are also children's series book that will be donated to the clubhouse soon. SO Cute looking! Tom Sawyer Abroad is a book Mark Twain wrote with mixed reviews. And I keep stumbling upon new Spiderwick Chronicles books (The Nixie's Song, Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles 1), goodie for me for my collection. Also picked up a Boxcar Children, remember reading those as a youngster also.

I used to adore The Babysitter's Club and found six more to re-add to the collection. Well, most of these it doesn't seem that I read. I remember reading Welcome Back, Stacy!, but I didn't read Mary Anne Vs. Logan, Little Miss Stoneybrook...and Dawn, Mary Anne and Too Many Boys, Dawn on the coast, and Jesse and the Superbrat.

For some more "Modern" YA, found another Harry Potter I didn't have, Chamber of Secrets and Goblet of Fire. Gallows Hill is from Lois Duncan, who I'm trying to collect. Found two more Vampire Academys (woohoo!) Frostbite and Shadow's Kiss, and a Cirque Du Freak Book, Killers of the Dawn. Killers is book 9, which I won't get to for awhile, but Frostbite and Shadow's Kiss are the second and third of the series, so can read them right away.

Drama And General Fiction

I had a great time with the Drama section and found tons of good books I'm excited to read.

Would you believe I still have never read Gone with the Wind???

The Hound Of the Baskervilles and A Christmas Carol were easy classics to grab up. A Prayer for Owen Meanie was part of the male grab bag, as was Catch -22.

I want to collect all of John Steinbeck's books so instantly grabbed up Cannery Row.

Not sure if I'll ever be able to really read Shakespeare, but grabbed up All's Well that Ends Well. Night was a book I read in college and wished to revisit.

I was delighted to find three books by Philippa Gregory after enjoying The Boleyn Inheritance. The Other Boleyn Girl and The Virgin's Lover are of the same Tudor Court Series. Wideacre is of another series I haven't read yet, but it is the first book.

For the second picture, I found the complete trilogy, then two books on a series that was spawned off the trilogy. Not sure if they are romance or drama or gothic. I know they are Christian and family saga fiction. I love family saga stuff. The top three are together, and the bottom two are the spinoff series.

I have never read Emilie Richards before, do you think I'll enjoy her? Found these four books and they looked tempting. Beautiful Lies, Fox River, Iron Lace, and Rising Tides. I'm not sure how to label her genre yet. Some sound like romance, others fiction, others mystery-ish. I have one by Maeve Binchy I haven't read, so I added this new one, Circle of Friends. I used to have an Erma Bombeck comedy I adored, so instantly nabbed up Family Ties that Bind...and Gag! Others picked up here are Life, Libby, and the Pursuit of Happiness, The Red Hat Club, Georgia Bottoms, and Little Altars Everywhere.

Belva Plain has written a lot of novels, many of which I've never read. Looking Back just made it's way into my massive TBR pile. The Bean Trees looks cute. The Corps ... well, it was another grab from the "man bag", so we shall see. The Yellow House sounds intriguing enough.

I have to say I'm in love with some of these covers. Pure drama laden stuff: Those who Save Us, Nella Last's Peace, The Very Thought of You, Middlesex, Nights in Rodanthe, and The Cat's Table. I have a feeling most of these will be tear jerkers.

Yes, the controversial Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Ghost Recon, The Gun Ketch, Year of the Tiger and December 6 are other ones from the "guy pile" A Separate Country and The Silent gift seem like tear jerkers. The Weird Sisters and The Secret Sisters - do I sense a sisters theme? Others: The Gold Coast

The librarian highly recommended The Orchid Thief to me. Sounds...different. Other books: The Tiger's Wife, The Observations, A Violet Season, Cane River, Autumn Laing, Run, and the Butterfly Cabinet.

Romance

Of course, where books are to be found, there's tons of romance. I need no more, but they call to me to collect like it's nobody's business. For some odd reason I am in the mood for Indian Romances. This happens every few years. I was mainly browsing for those.

Found a few:

Malachite - Walks in Shadow - Apache Legacy - Half-Breeds Lady - Tykota's Woman - Sun Hawk - Bold Wolf. I have read three of these types in the past week and a half. They're not the easiest to find either. It's a bizarre addiction that strikes every so often. Why? Who knows. But there was a fun story telling my fiance about this in a bookstore a week ago. He made sure to make fun of me that day. Should I keep my mouth shut about liking Pirate romances too?

I'm not even going to bother listing these, too much work. SOOOO many Nora Roberts. Amazingly I only ended up owning one of these already when I went home to check. How many books did she write? I now have Nora Roberts books coming out of my ears.

These two Nicholas Sparks books, Message in a Bottle and The Choice, will work well for the challenge this year. Naked Duke looks like a humorous Contemporary, as does The Model Man and Unveiled. I'm not much for Contemporary other than Harlequins, but these looked fun.

I'm such a Harlequin addict. Way too many to list. I sectioned them off by Presents, Harlequin Romance, and Misc. Harlequins.

I haven't yet read Debbie Macomber. Here's hoping I like her writing style.

Trouble with Angels

The Shop on Blossom Street

8 Sandpiper Way (Cedar Cove, #8)

Ready For Love

Mainly Historicals: Windhaven's Hope, Silverwood, Protector (Yummy cover!), The Wicked Earl, The Heir, Stand-In Groom, The Runaway Heiress, Bright Captivity, A Scandalous Lady, A Scandalous Bride , The Bride Of Black Douglas

I had one great experience with a book of hers years ago, and then one bad experience. Still I try to grab her stuff when I can. I believe she only wrote 12 books total in her career. Here is The Reluctant Suitor, one of her most famous Ashes in the Wind, The Wolf and the Dove, and Shanna. I think at one point I owned three of these, or read them as teenagers.

Paranormal Romance

There weren't many of these to find that I was interested in, but was lucky to grab Tempted, Eternal Hunger, Tiger Eye, and Sunrise in a Garden of Love and Evil. Tiger Eye is the first in a series, while Tempted and Eternal Hunger are #3 in other series.

Religious Studies

Found some good looking books for the religious collection from that table for a great price for the bag deal. Care of the Soul: A Guide for Cultivating Depth and Sacredness in Everyday Life

, Elijah: A Man of Heroism and Humility (Great Lives from God's Word, #5), The Sermon on the Mount: The Key to Success in Life , Grieving the Loss of Someone You Love: Daily Meditations to Help You Through the Grieving Process, INTO THE FATHER'S HEART - A Shocking Revelation, and Reading Judas: The Gospel of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity (not pictured.)

Thrillers/Suspense

I already have more suspense and thrillers than I can read it seems. I haven't really been in the mood to read them for a few years. I need to force myself to try one and get a good book out of it so I can move onward with further reading. I think I get burned out on a lot of the cliche scenarios from some of the suspense novels. The traditional serial killer and police chasing them can get old.

I also dislike most amnesia stories, but I still picked up Before I Go To Sleep . Part was the amazing cover (it has a neat feel to it as well,) but another major reason is the plot reminded me of the Drew Barrymore flick where she loses her memory every night when she goes to sleep. The Killing Game (Eve Duncan, #2) is the second book of the Eve Duncan series. I have always heard good things about Iris Johansen.

The librarian highly recommended Harlan Coben to me, so I picked up both his books, No Second Chance and Bolitar's Game: Back Spin / The Final Detail / Darkest Fear. They are mystery-ish also so I'm not sure if I categorized them well in Suspense. Will know more when I read them.

The others grabbed are Slipknot, Beverly Hills Dead, and Double Tap.

Always a great idea to grab up more Tami Hoag when you get the chance! Dust to Dust, Kill the Messenger, Final Target, Tiger Prince, and Dark Horse.

F. Paul Wilson is an instant grab, no matter when, where, or how. I was delighted to find Gateways.

Others listed:

Plum Island (John Corey, #1)

Invasion of Privacy

Mind Prey (Lucas Davenport, #7)

Boy in the Water

Executive Privilege

Suspicion of Innocence (Gail Connor and Anthony Quintana #1)

The Innocent Man

Born To Die (To Die, #3)

(Books About Books)

The bookshop look like a fun, intriguing drama I had to grab. Any book that focuses on bookstores, librarians, or avid readers makes it an easy sell. Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason is a non-fiction book recommendation guide. It's slightly outdated now but I can't wait to read it. One of my favorite finds of the fair.

Miscellaneous

And, finally, the last purchases. A truly awesome tote bag. The inside of it clips with a snap button and even though you can't tell well from the picture, there is a front pocket on the front. Out of all the book totes I own this may be the best quality in terms of feature and material. It was only $2.00! I bought one for myself and one for Melissa, we got the last two left. The hunger games shirt is rather plain but they were trying to get rid of them at only $1.00 a piece. How could I resist? In fact, when I went back Saturday I was wearing the shirt and found it so comfortable I bought an extra so I could keep two around.

Well, this Mailbox Monday is now finally done. It's now published Wednesday morning and over a week late. I'm such a slow person and a procrastinator. =)

Author Auto-Buy

noreply@blogger.com (Erin Williams) — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 19:19:00 +0000

Based on a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.

Top Ten Authors That I'd Put On My Auto-Buy List

Broke and Bookish further elaborates that: "(basically an auto-buy list is no questions asked..you love this author so much that no matter what they wrote next you'd buy regardless of genre or subject matter)"

1. Barbara Michaels - If she still wrote under this pen name, that is. I pick up everything she does.

2. Kim Harrison - Always curious on what she will write next.

3. Janet Evanovich - She has some cute romances and I like her Stephanie Plum series. The books are always short also so I would give them each a chance.

4. Judy Blume - Whether her kid, YA, or adult stuff

5. Agatha Christie - I wouldn't avoid one of her books if I ran into it, I could be missing another "classic unforgettable"

6. Charlaine Harris - She has a talent with series

My list is clearly cut short. I don't have 10 auto-buys. With beloved authors, I typically only pick up the book if it sounds interesting and to my tastes.

Weapon by Matthew Good

noreply@blogger.com (Erin Williams) — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 19:10:00 +0000

A Weekly Meme from GReads!

Since music is one of the main things in my life outside of books, I jumped on the bandwagon for this fun meme.

Weapon

Easily one of my top favorite tracks. I first heard this on a TV show years ago and fell in love instantly. With each hearing of it, the strength increases, and it never gets old from use. The hypnotizing beginning is especially beautiful, the lyrics fascinatingly original. There's nothing stimulating about this video itself, but the music comes clear through this one.

Birthdays...

noreply@blogger.com (Erin Williams) — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 05:13:00 +0000

Nothing earth-shattering to announce, but today was my birthday (February 22), which I always like to spread around. It turned out to be a good celebration - woke up early to go with friend Melissa to the annual book sale from the Mulberry Library. Bought over 140 books in addition to others this week, including a few other goodies. From there we went to Starbucks and indulged. Mom brought over a nice cake and gift cards, and topped the day off with spending time with my fiance and son. Not much could get better.

I've realized something else too - February is also the birthday month for Paperback Stash. The first post ever was published on February 8, 2007 - quite awhile ago. Happy birthday to us both, hopefully many more years to come.

BTT: Feb 21, Libraries

noreply@blogger.com (Erin Williams) — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 23:27:00 +0000

A Weekly Meme Hosted by Booking Through Thursday

How often do you visit a library? Do you go to borrow books? Do research? Check out the multi-media center? Hang out with the friendly and knowledgeable staff? Are you there out of love or out of need?

I'm a big supporter of my smaller library and the importance of libraries. I attend whatever events I can to support it, such as their yearly teas and such. Tomorrow I'm going to their yearly book fair to (hopefully if I find something - I'm sure I will!) to spend money again. Their goal is to get a new building. They seriously need it. I covered the library here in this post.

I'm a facebook friend of theres and keep up to date on whatever they're doing. I do not borrow books, though. I'm just not that kind of reader, I always have tons to read and the backlog is ridiculous. They have a small section of Friends of the library book sales that I do purchase books from when I visit.

Even though I don't borrow books there and am blessed to have a computer and internet connection, the value of the library for the public is amazing. Free videos, books, computer use, and other services for those in need.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

noreply@blogger.com (Erin Williams) — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 02:44:00 +0000

Speak

(No Series)

Young Adult

Melinda Sordino busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops. Now her old friends won't talk to her, and people she doesn't even know hate her from a distance. The safest place to be is alone, inside her own head. But even that's not safe. Because there's something she's trying not to think about, something about the night of the party that, if she let it in, would blow her carefully constructed disguise to smithereens. And then she would have to speak the truth. This extraordinary first novel has captured the imaginations of teenagers and adults across the country.

When I first started reading it and noticed the abbreviated, choppy style, I thought oh no, not one like Girl, Interrupted! Thankfully it's clear soon enough it's not like that and the writing is actually poetically quaint and beautiful.

The protagonist is realistic and sweet but not sappy. Her life basically sucks and for good reason. I knew already what had happened, it wasn't a big surprise, and I don't think the author meant for it to be. It's not that someone spoiled it for me, I could just see it coming and guess from the writing and how it was leading.

Her parents were an intriguing case study in dysfunctional parenting, although they themselves were not abusive or necessarily bad parents, but a product of the times and motivated, self-centered work schedules. I dug how the author mainly focused on the school and gave each instructor a different personality that made sense and stands as the height of high school. Some of the characteristics bordered on comical and overdone, others rude and insensitive (we've all been there.) The strengths of the students were taken into account as well - jocks, goths, rebels, art types.

The symbolism with the speaking, and unable to speak, "snowball caught in the throat", and the art with the tree held heavy symbolism and great beauty. It reminds me of the small scene in her English Lit class where a classmate, her former friend, is arguing with the teacher that there is NO symbolism in Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter. The book which is rich in symbolism and art throws in this scene as an example, I believe, on blindness and people not looking deeper.

I also liked the inclusion of the closet and further broadening the hiding the protagonist felt she had to do, and how deep her angst ran without anything emo coming out of it. Her feelings and experiences were realistic and not glamorized. You feel for the character greatly and hope everything turns out okay for her in the end.

A highly recommended book and a good one for the age group especially. It's an important topic girls need to be aware of and watchful for, as well as a compassionate example of their friends or peers that may go through something similar. For a parental warning/rating, little is needed. Nothing is graphic and the flashback is not descriptive.

I had no idea when I borrowed this one it was 10 years old and from 2001, it seems like it was just written.

Allison Hewitt is Trapped

noreply@blogger.com (Erin Williams) — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 02:34:00 +0000

Allison Hewitt is Trapped

(Zombie #1)

Horror

"One woman's story as she blogs - and fights back - the zombie apocalypse"

Allison Hewitt and her five colleagues at the Brooks and Peabody Bookstore are trapped together when the zombie outbreak hits. Allison reaches out for help through her blog, writing on her laptop and utilizing the military's emergency wireless network (SNET). It may also be her only chance to reach her mother. But as the reality of their situation sinks in, Allison's blog becomes a harrowing account of her edge-of-the-seat adventures (with some witty sarcasm thrown in) as she and her companions fight their way through ravenous zombies and sometimes even more dangerous humans.

I loved how this zombie, apocalypse-style book began with a bang in a bookshop of all places. The survivors, an eccentric group mix, were trapped for survival in the back storage room. Soon it was inevitable for them to leave the sacred place, however, venturing up into apartments nearby and then out into the world. I won't spoil the trip of the voyage, but while it was sad to leave the bookstore (I'm such a book dork), their journey continues on interesting routes and explorations.

Allison as the main character is likeable in ways - she's a literary student, which is always a superior choice. Throughout the novel sometimes she reflects on the importance and love of books. How cool is that?? Overall she's a loyal kind of gal and really wanting to find her mother again. She's certainly cold enough to survive in this twisted world. I don't know the exact source, but I couldn't find myself falling in love with the protagonist, which made it harder to rate the book higher and get a fuller enjoyment out of it. Other characters, while not always fleshed out through thorough exploration, helped keep the novel afloat.

As far as zombie tales go, this one's mild. Compared to others of it's ilk, there's not as many undead attacks, little gore, and violence is used when needed but not continuously. These aren't really criticisms - I don't need endless violence and blood splatter to create good zombie efforts. But the sedate events blended with the calm protagonist and writing style did not result in a tension filled or action paced book. You want to know what happens, of course, but there's little hurry to get there.

I dig how the author established two types of zombie identities. Her writing style is easy to follow - sophisticated but not drug down, to the point and excellent with inner reflection.

I must say one of the better things about the book was how it was written - as a blog, with comments from a few select readers around the world. This cool twist in technology was a new way to connect, although I wonder if some wondered at times if she was exaggerated her heroic efforts. Other times I wondered how she could realistically write this stuff after the fact considering what situations and locations she ends up in.

The reader comments opened a window into the mind of other characters we never get to actually see, and for some reason this was one of the better things of the book. I only wish there could have been more comments as these are kept sparse.

Overall a good book that holds the interest and leaves you wanting to see what happens to the survivors. Of course as a zombie novel you cringe when certain things happen to people you like. Certainly worth a read if you dig the undead tales.

Island of Lost Rubies

noreply@blogger.com (Erin Williams) — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 02:30:00 +0000

Island of Lost Rubies

(No Series)

Gothic

Eileen had not been back to her island home since childhood, when her baby sister vanished in a storm, her grief-battered mother died, her father took to drink. Now, heartbroken over her father's death and the loss of her great love, she returns to Calayeshi island to claim her inheritance.

Odd things begin to happen the moment she steps off the boat. A strange young visitor asks too many questions about the long-lost family jewels. A familiar old white cat claws her; a hawk shrieks at her; a skeleton is reflected in a mirror. And her handsome step-cousin, Richard, draws her ever more deeply into the life of the island - and into his arms.

Is the planned scavenger hunt more than just a party? And who is the mysterious Anna, whose resemblance to Eileen is so eerie?

Gripped at once by passion and by mystery, Eileen realizes that there is no escape from the Island of the Lost Rubies.

This book took me forever to read. You know why? It was boring. Really, truly dull. Not the best start to my Gothic challenge for the year.

It finally began to get a little more interesting in the last fifty pages, but by then I didn't care all that much.

Gothics aren't known for lightning speeds of action-paced adventure or anything, but this slowly unwinding thing never had much depth to begin with. There wasn't a huge mystery and most of it was spent on her wanting to redecorate the house and fawning over the local island stud. Every small thing was too dramatic. The writing felt a bit stilted and overdone, not adding to the excitement of the story.

Characters were decent enough, I suppose, but I never felt that attraction to her main guy. To me there wasn't anything sweet, exciting, or stimulating about him. If anything, he seemed to lack personality. There's some unconventional ooh-la-la in this book for the proper time period it's illustrating.

The back cover of the book states:

"Now, heartbroken by her father's death and the loss of her great love..."

Stop right here. This isn't accurate. The protagonist makes it clear from the start she's not grief-stricken over her father. She hates he's dead, of course, but keeps bringing up the fact that they weren't close and that she hadn't seen him in years. In addition, there was no great love lost. She started getting over him minutes within reaching the island.

The end villain(s) turned out a little obvious. There was a very small cast of suspects to wonder about anyway, and while the reasoning behind it wasn't clear from the start, it was easy to see where the villain would pop up from and why.

Not the best start to my challenge of reading 30 Gothics this year, hopefully the next one is much better. I have to wonder, whatever happened to that precious white cat?