Julia's Journal

Change Your RSS Feed Please!

2008-09-10T15:29:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone, I'm going to be deleting my blogspot url, which is where this feed comes from. I've moved here. Please resubscribe right here. That way, you can keep getting book reviews and news. So, because I love you all and really value your feedback, comments and suggestions, please subscribe to my new url.

I've Moved

2008-05-21T10:55:00.000-07:00

Hi! My website has moved to: http://ruabookworm.com

If you'd like to subscribe by RSS, this link should work: http://feeds.feedburner.com/BookNewsAndReviews

Please resubscribe to my new blog, so you can get updated reviews and info!

Thanks for reading - Julia

New URL!

2008-05-10T18:55:00.000-07:00

Hey all you RSS readers! I have a new URL and I'd really appreciate it if you change it in your reader... I have an auto-redirect script in, but I'm not sure that it works on RSS. Anyway, please change my URL to: http://ruabookworm.com. This is my new book review site. I'm going to keep it seperate from my writer site, which is now http://juliascottdouglas.com. I'd be very pleased if you continued to read and comment on my reviews, and I'd love it if you checked out my writer site - it is still in progress, but I'm working on making it fun with lots of cool pages and stuff.
Also, my dad and I are getting together to coauthor a blog: http://vampiredialogs.com. It's going to be very cool, so check it out in a few weeks once we've got everything together - but add it to your reader now if you think it's something you'd like.

So, there ya go! If you like my blog, please change over to my new blog - http://ruabookworm.com. Thanks and happy reading!

The Next Two Weeks

2008-05-04T18:30:00.000-07:00

Hi! I won't be posting for the next two weeks as I am setting up a new website - of which this blog will be a part, and I need all the extra time I can get.

Look forward to a new URL and a new post on May 18th, 2008!

:) Julia

Neil Gaiman Poem... Translated

2008-05-02T10:04:00.000-07:00

The Neil Gaiman poem called The Day the Saucers Came has been translated into LOL Cat language here. Check them out and tell me which one you like better.

Ebook Aficionados

2008-05-01T13:53:00.000-07:00

My editor started up a social network called Ebook Aficionados for regular book fans along with Ebook fans - meaning you! Check it out here. If you decide to become a member, add me as a friend! :)

Book Review: How to Survive a Robot Uprising by Daniel H. Wilson

2008-04-27T14:35:00.000-07:00

Book: How to Survive a Robot Uprising
Author: Daniel H. Wilson
Genre: Humor/Speculative Fiction/Non Fiction

Julia Rating: 10

Comments: If you are looking for a humorous, yet factual guide to understanding where modern day robotics is headed, what is in the works and what to do when the inevitable robot rebellion occurs a la iRobot, Terminator, The Matrix and more, you've come to the right place.

Daniel H. Wilson has a great sense of humor as he tells us how to protect ourselves against the robot menace, while instilling information of current scientific strides being made in modern robotics. I took a little scan through his amazon page (which you can do by just clicking his name under "Author" in this post) and he has some more books that I can't wait to read.

Whether you proudly proclaim yourself a nerd or simply are interested in modern technology, check out Daniel H. Wilson.

Have any of you read any other of his books? Let me know how they were... they look pretty funny.

Book Review: 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill

2008-04-19T12:00:00.000-07:00

Book: 20th Century Ghosts
Author: Joe Hill
Genre: Horror, Fantasy, Supernatural... Other

Julia Rating: 10

Comments: This book of short stories is a fantastic piece of work by Joe Hill. And...(at least in the audio book) there's a secret story in the back. :)

I'd say my favorite short that is in this compilation is Best New Horror, a story of a man who edits the volume Best New Horror each year. He gets a submission that quickens his blood, one that he simply must have. However, finding the author of the story proves to be difficult... and what the editor finds is unexpected and horrifying. I love it because of the ending, which I will not spoil, but it's truly a must read.

My next favorite is an ultra short called Dead-Wood about ghost trees. It's hard to explain, you'll just have to read it... you can go to audible.com and hear that one for free - it's the one that got me excited about buying this book.

Another great story is the last one - the one that is hidden much like a "secret song" that one used to find on CD's. I don't want to spoil the surprise, but let's just say it's about a father and his typewriter.

The last story I will mention here is the one the book is named for, called 20th Century Ghost. About a girl who haunts a classic old theatre called the Rosebud. She was beautiful in life and makes for a lovely, shocking sight to all that see her.

I really recommend this book to anyone who loves ghost stories. As Christopher Golden says in his introduction, they are not all horror stories, but gems from an author who represents promise fulfilled.

Book Review: The Burglar Who Liked to Quote Kipling by Lawrence Block

2008-04-12T17:21:00.000-07:00

Book: The Burglar Who Liked to Quote Kipling

Author: Lawrence Block

Genre: Mystery

Julia Rating: 10

Comments: This is a Bernie Rhodenbarr mystery. It's about a professional burglar who has given up a life of crime for a nice used book store. He is co missioned to burgle a particularly easy home and does so, but when he's trying to hand over the goods, his contact is murdered and Bernie is framed for the murder! Now he must discover who killed the lady and why before the cops get on his tail.

I really loved this book and when I bought it, I swore I would buy more Lawrence Block because he's funny and really pulls you into the story. I haven't yet... but I will!

Book Review: Night Watch by Terry Pratchett

2008-04-06T17:37:00.000-07:00

Book: Night Watch

Author: Terry Pratchett

Genre: Fantasy

Julia Rating: 10

Comments: This is a great Discword book. Sam Vimes (Commander of the city watch) is one of my favorite Terry Pratchett characters and I think this book is a great one for those who are just starting to read about Discworld, as well as for those who are old hands. (Come one, come all!)
The basic idea is that Sam Vimes accidentally travels back in time with a really horrible criminal. Sam travels back to when he was just beginning in the city watch, before the current regime and during the time when he was first learning how to really be a watchman. Unfortunately for Sam, the wretched criminal he's brought with him has interfered with a very major part of Sam's coming into his own. The monks of time step in and talk Sam (the Commander of the City Watch in his time) to teach Sam (a snot nosed kid just joined up with the city watch) all about how to be a good copper.
Terry Pratchett always makes me laugh and usually makes me hope. He has succeeded in doing both of those things in this great book.
Let me know if you have read it or would like to recommend any other Terry Pratchett books to me!

A New Website is Forthcoming

2008-04-03T10:09:00.001-07:00

I am going to visit my super-smart dad in May and he is going to help me set up my own website - which will really be a blog like this one, just fancier looking and with my own URL, along with some extra pages and maybe a story or two. I will make an announcement with the new URL around that time. I hope all of you who enjoy reading this blog will check out and subscribe to the new website. I promise there will still be book reviews, but there will be a few more pages that will have updates about my writing and perhaps a story or two of my own.

So, I'll keep you posted, but I thought I'd let all of you, my faithful friends, know about this upcoming change.

Thanks and happy reading!

Poll: How Many Books Did You Read Last Year?

2008-03-31T16:32:00.001-07:00

The "How Many Books Did You Read Last Year" poll has closed. Thank goodness for all you avid readers out there! You've restored my faith in humanity. The following are the results:

53% voted that they read ten or more books last year
30% read between five and ten books
23% read somewhere between three and four books

Thanks to everyone for voting. Happy reading for 2008! I hope you will include my short story After the Bombs - due for release in a couple of months - as part of your 2008 reading material.

(I know, I'm shamelessly plugging, but hey, it's my website)

Coming Soon: After the Bombs by Julia Scott-Douglas

2008-03-30T15:18:00.000-07:00

My short story After the Bombs is being published by the fantastic people at Fiction Reborn! It is a post apocalyptic story about the human race after an apocalypse. I'll have more information (release dates and locations) later on, or you can follow my publisher's blog to find out where you can get it! So... stay tuned!

Book Review: Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

2008-03-30T13:27:00.000-07:00

Book:Neverwhere
Author: Neil Gaiman
Genre: Fantasy

Julia Rating: 10

Comments: The Minneapolis Star Tribune says, "A dark contemporary 'Alice in Wonderland'... imaginative, well-crafted (and) highly visual."

I have to agree with the above quote, except that I think that Neverwhere is half Alice in Wonderland and half Wizard of Oz. The story is about a young man named Richard Mayhew, who has moved to London from Scotland. He is a nice young man with an overbearing fiance and a successful banking career. One day he runs across a bleeding girl on the street and helps her, thus flipping his whole life upside down. By helping this young girl, he becomes inducted into the second London - London Below. London Below is filled with thousands of people that live in the forgotten places, the time that had nowhere else to go, dead end sewers, phantom trains in the Underground and so on. It's a place filled with magic, adventure and - most of all - danger. With two insane (and highly skilled) assassins on his tail, Richard traverses London Below. In the process he makes friends and learns a lot about himself.

This book is fantastic. It has just enough imagery to be fun, but still allows the imagination to run wild. One thing I enjoy about Neil Gaiman is his dark sense of humor. He makes a story come alive, makes terrible things occur, but still manages to draw a smile out of his reader. I think this book is good for anyone who likes fantasy and/or England.

Book Review: Lamb - The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore

2008-03-23T13:41:00.000-07:00

Book: Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal
Author: Christopher Moore
Genre: Historical Fiction

Comments:
Lamb is an irreverent and personal look at what Christ would have been like in the intervening years between birth and death. The years the bible does not cover. The story is told by his best friend, Biff, who traveled with Christ as Jesus searched for the solution to his one question - how do I become the Messiah?
While this book may sound pretty blasphemous (and by all accounts, it probably is) it is a wonderful look at Jesus Christ - a human look at a man who was trying to get his message across to a bunch of dolts.
Christopher Moore is a true genius. He manages to get the cultural idiosyncrasies across - the ones that show why certain things in the Bible occurred. He also has some fantastic quotes that really hit the nail on the head as far as humanity and what Jesus Christ means to us (my favorite is "No one's perfect. Well, there was this one guy, but we killed him").
This book is great for most people. If you are deeply religious and will get offended easily by an irreverent, but very respectful look at Christ, don't read it. If you aren't Christian or you aren't very Christian or you won't get offended, read it. It represents some beautiful ideals that I think anyone will love, and it's really funny.

American Gods is being Given Away

2008-03-18T13:58:00.000-07:00

I am a huge Neil Gaiman fan and Harper Collins is giving away his American Gods book for a limited time. It's a great book and you can't beat the price. :) So, check it out:

Browse Inside this book

Get this for your site

Book Review: Final Blackout by L. Ron Hubbard

2008-03-16T23:06:00.000-07:00

Book: Final Blackout
Author: L. Ron Hubbard
Genre: Sci Fi

Julia Rating: 10

Comments:
This book is a short and fascinating read. It's a sci-fi/action/adventure/military type book. The story is about a man - The Lieutenant - who has grown up amidst war torn nations and decides to make a change for the good of his men - and later for the good of England. It's very inspiring, but people who like more up-beat books may not like it. The ending is hopeful, not happy.
I think that if you like the movie V for Vendetta or liked the book 1984, you'd like L. Ron Hubbard's Final Blackout.

Book Review: Ten Little Indians by Agatha Christie

2008-03-07T00:22:00.000-08:00

Book:Ten Little Indians
Author: Agatha Christie
Genre: Murder Mystery

Julia Rating: 10 out of 10

Comments: Grahame commented ages ago, asking me to do a review of one of Agatha Christie's brilliant works Ten Little Indians aka And Then There Were None. I've named this post Ten Little Indians because that's the title I read it under several years ago. It was my first Agatha Christie book and it got me hooked on her fantastic writing.
Ten Little Indians is about ten people being invited to a home on an island. All of these people have a few skeletons in the closet. They are all invited by someone they know, and are surprised to see each other. Once they are seated around the dining room table, their host begins speaking through a gramophone. Not one person - not even the reader - knows who the host is until the surprise twist at the very end.

The novel has a little nursery rhyme in it that might intrigue you enough to pick the book up:

Ten Little Indian boys went out to dine;
One choked his little self and then there were nine.
Nine little Indian boys sat up very late;
One overslept himself and then there were eight.
Eight little Indian boys traveling in Devon;
One said he’d stay there and then there were seven.
Seven little Indian boys chopping up sticks;
One chopped himself in halves and then there were six.
Six little Indian boys playing with a hive;
A bumblebee stung one and then there were five.
Five little Indian boys going in for law;
One got in Chancery and then there were four.
Four little Indian boys going out to sea;
A red hearing swallowed one and then there were three.
Three little Indian boys walking in the Zoo;
A big bear hugged one and then there were two.
One little Indian boy left all alone;
He went and hanged himself and then there were none.

Creepy, huh? Can you believe that's a nursery rhyme? Anyway, that rhyme is what the story is based off of and it's a really fabulous read. The ending is a total surprise and I adore it.

Only Three Fourths of Americans Read

2008-03-04T09:56:00.000-08:00

This statistic is freaking me out. Apparently one in four Americans read no books at all last year. What is up with that? Also, the typical adult on average read only four books last year. Four! I read at least four books in a month, usually more like six. What do these people do with their time? It seems that it's people like you and me who keep the publishing industry afloat!

Now that I've tsk tsk'd the American people, how much do you read in a year? I'm setting up a new poll to ask everyone this question, so check it out.

Book Review: Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay

2008-03-01T17:40:00.000-08:00

Book: Darkly Dreaming Dexter

Author: Jeff Lindsay
Genre: Thriller/Serial Killer

Julia Rating: 10

Comments:

Darkly Dreaming Dexter is a fantastic book about your friendly, neighborhood serial killer, Dexter Morgan. Dexter is no ordinary serial killer. Instead of being a frightening ghoul who haunts and ultimately kills innocent victims, he will only "play" with other serial killers. In this way, he is really doing the Miami police department a favor.

A blood spatter analyst in the Miami police department, he is uniquely positioned to meet new friends to "play" with, and has even helped the detectives of the police department catch some killers. So, when a unique serial killer with a style reminiscent of Dexter's (but to Dexter's mind, more artistic) comes along and Dexter's foster sister (Deborah) asks him to help her solve the case, Dexter is torn. Should he help his little sister make detective, or should he find this other serial killer and play with him on his own terms?

One of the great things about this book is that the main character is a "bad guy" and yet, you like him anyway. Also, Jeff Lindsay has a great sense of humor and fun - using a lot of word play in his book. I think anyone who reads this book will enjoy it... unless they get queasy easily... then you shouldn't be reading books about serial killers, period.

As an aside, the TV show based on this book - called Dexter, is fantastic. Dexter is played by Michael C. Hall, who I am a huge fan of. Mr. Hall's acting is brilliant in everything I've seen him in, and in Dexter he is dead on (pun intended). He reminds me of Wednesday's (of the Addam's Family) deadpan description of a homicidal maniac ("They look just like everyone else").

Classics Poll Comes to a Close

2008-03-01T17:24:00.000-08:00

A poll was taken of "Which Classic is better" and the following are the results:

Last Place with 5% of votes was:

Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and The Sea
Tied for second place with 27% of the vote were:

Victor Hugo's Les Miserables
and William Shakespeare's Hamlet
And...Drumroll please... the winner with 38% of the vote was A.A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh
Thanks for your input to all that participated in my little poll!

General Woundwort has been found

2008-02-27T11:38:00.000-08:00

I am a huge proponent of the Richard Adam's novel, Watership Down. I love all the characters and was particularly impressed by the characterization of each rabbit, how Mr. Adams made them so real as rabbits, and yet humanized them enough that I could relate to their trials and tribulations. Here is a picture of how I have always imagined General Woundwort, courtesy of I Can Has Cheezburger:

Book Review: Writers of the Future Vol XX presented by L. Ron Hubbard

2008-02-24T13:04:00.000-08:00

Book: Writers of the Future, Vol. 20
Author: A collaboration of talented authors

Genre: Sci Fi/Fantasy

Julia Rating: 10 out of 10

Comments:

I'm not always always enamored with these collaboration pieces, however this particular Writers of the Future volume really stood out for me. The majority of the stories were fantastic, and there's little nuggets of gold in there from acclaimed writers and editors like Robert Heinlein, Algis Budrys and L. Ron Hubbard. So, these books really have something for everyone.

I really love the Writers of the Future contest because it gives such a wonderful opportunity to aspiring writers. The winning writers get their work published in one of the Writers of the Future volumes and some get cash prizes. The judges of the contest are writers and editors themselves, so they generally pick excellent material for the books.

Just as a note, my favorite stories in the book are:
Asleep in the Forest of the Tall Cats by Kenneth Brady
Shipwoman by Roxanne Hutton
The Key by Blair MacGregor

Book Review: The Shore of Women by Pamela Sargent

2008-02-17T14:29:00.000-08:00

Book: The Shore of Women
Author: Pamela Sargent
Genre: Science Fiction, Feminism

Julia Rating: 10

Comments:

This is a singular book - I've never read a work of feminist Science Fiction before, but I love it! Pamela Sargent's moving tale of a post apocalyptic world where women have enclosed themselves in cities and men are thrown out into the wild to treat with each other is thought provoking. The basic story is told from the point of view of a woman in the city (Laissa), her twin brother who lives outside of the city (Arvil) and a young woman who has been expelled from the city (Birana). Birana and Arvil meet each other and Arvil becomes her protector and then, later, something more. It is not believed that men are anything about animals to the women in the city, but Laissa finds out about Birana and Arvil and hopes to change the world they live in with their story. It is a touching story about love, as well as a very thought provoking story about the condition human beings can put each other in. This story is not only feminist, it also delves into humanity and is one of the only feminist stories I've read that doesn't bash guys - but shows them as human beings that are able to experience and show love, compassion and respect.
Definitely recommended reading - even for guys.

Book Review: Bloodsucking Fiends (a love story) by Christopher Moore

2008-02-09T15:29:00.000-08:00

Title: Blood Sucking Fiends
Author: Christopher Moore

Genre: Fantasy

Julia Rating: 9 (for humor)

My Comments:
This book had me laughing my socks off. I read it while on vacation in Italy (on the plane, then in Rome between tours). I probably should have read Roman history or something instead, but this book was so darn funny! It's about a girl named Jody who becomes a vampire because this really old vampire assults her and makes her one - a game he plays every once in a while. She has to find a way to survive - though the bad guy (the old vampire) doesn't want her to. In the process she meets C. Thomas Flood (Tommy to his friends) and they hook up.

Christopher Moore has some wonderful and wacky characters in this book that are so much fun. Also, he describes San Fransisco like a pro - and since I'm from there, I love it.

The only negative thing I could say about this book as that the composition isn't great and sometimes it's hard to follow along. But, because it was so funny, I give it a nine.