Bookish Ruth

Book Giveaway: Where She Went by Gayle Forman

noreply@blogger.com (Ruth @ Bookish Ruth) — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 04:00:00 +0000

Shanyn at Chick Loves Lit is celebrating her blog's second anniversary with a Blogoversary Giveaway Carnival. Here at Bookish Ruth I'll be giving away an ARC of Where She Went by Gayle Forman. Be sure to check out Chick Loves Lit for more great giveaways!

It's been three years since the devastating accident . . . three years since Mia walked out of Adam's life forever.

Now living on opposite coasts, Mia is Juilliard's rising star and Adam is LA tabloid fodder, thanks to his new rock star status and celebrity girlfriend. When Adam gets stuck in New York by himself, chance brings the couple together again, for one last night. As they explore the city that has become Mia's home, Adam and Mia revisit the past and open their hearts to the future-and each other.

Told from Adam's point of view in the spare, lyrical prose that defined If I Stay, Where She Went explores the devastation of grief, the promise of new hope, and the flame of rekindled romance.

This giveaway is available to readers worldwide. I will use Random.org to select the winner on Monday, March 22, 2011.

To enter, leave a comment telling me your favorite kind of music.

Good luck!

Quotable: Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn

noreply@blogger.com (Ruth @ Bookish Ruth) — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 05:00:00 +0000

Welcome to Quotable, a weekly feature at Bookish Ruth. Each Friday I'll share a short passage that caught my attention -- it could be an old favorite or something that jumped out at me during that week's reading. I hope you'll enjoy it and perhaps share something that resonated with you.

This is a weekly feature open to other bloggers; grab the button and share your own quotation along with me every Friday! Don't forget to sign the Mr. Linky form with the link to your post so other readers can discover what you found Quotable.

This week I'm revisiting one of my all-time favorite first lines:

"To say that I met Nicholas Brisbane over my husband's dead body is not entirely accurate. Edward, it should be noted, was still twitching upon the floor."

-- Deanna Raybourn,
Silent in the Grave

Wordless Wednesday: Dahlia

noreply@blogger.com (Ruth @ Bookish Ruth) — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 05:00:00 +0000

Mad for Maisie: Maisie Dobbs Series Read Along

noreply@blogger.com (Ruth @ Bookish Ruth) — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 03:09:00 +0000

Book Club Girl is hosting a Maisie Dobbs series read-along now through the end of April. I read the first book in Jacqueline Winspear's series last year and loved it. I am coming to the read-along a little late, but I'm hoping to catch up quickly.

Jen is hosting discussion questions for each book according to the following schedule:

January 14th - Maisie Dobbs
January 31st - Birds of a Feather
February 14th - Pardonable Lies
February 22nd - Paperback edition of The Mapping of Love and Death goes on sale
February 28th - Messenger of Truth
March 14th - An Incomplete Revenge
March 22nd - Hardcover of A Lesson in Secrets goes on sale
March 28th- Among the Mad
April 11th- The Mapping of Love and Death
April 25th - A Lesson in Secrets

In rather perfect timing, one of my Valentine's Day gifts was a copy of Pardonable Lies.

Mailbox Monday: Valentine's Day Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Ruth @ Bookish Ruth) — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 05:00:00 +0000

Mailbox Monday was created by Marcia at The Printed Page. It is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week. Mailbox Monday is currently on tour and is hosted by Library of Clean Reads for the month of February. In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

Joy for Beginners by Erica Bauermeister

At a festive, intimate dinner party in Seattle, six women gather to celebrate their friend Kate's recovery from cancer. Wineglass in hand, Kate strikes a bargain with them: to celebrate her new lease on life, she'll do the one thing that's always terrified her: white-water rafting. But if she goes, each of them will also do the one thing they always swore they'd never do-and Kate is going to choose their adventure, from getting a tattoo to learning to bake bread to reconciling with a former friend. Shimmering with warmth, wit, and insight, Joy for Beginners is a celebration of life: unexpected, lyrical, and deeply satisfying.

One of my favorite things about reading is that sometimes the right book comes to you at just the right time. For me, I think Joy for Beginners might be that book. My primary New Year's resolution for 2011 is to really embrace life, experience new things, and do a few things that scare me. I suspect I'll find some kind spirits in Joy for Beginners. I loved Erica Bauermeister's first novel, The School of Essential Ingredients, so I am doubly excited for this book. I received this for review from the publisher.

The Girl Who Would Speak for the Dead by Paul Elwork
Emily Stewart is the girl who claims to stand between the living and the dead. During the quiet summer of 1925, she and her brother, Michael, are thirteen-year-old twins-privileged, precocious, wandering aimlessly around their family's estate. One day, Emily discovers that she can secretly crack her ankle in such a way that a sound appears to burst through the stillness of midair. Emily and Michael gather the neighborhood children to fool them with these "spirit knockings."

Soon, however, this game of contacting the dead creeps into a world of adults still reeling from World War I. When the twins find themselves dabbling in the uncertain territory of human grief and family secrets- knock, knock-everything spins wildly out of control.

I also received this for review from Putnam. It looks fantastic and I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Paul Elwork is a local author. Hopefully this means there will be some nearby author events closer to the book's release date.

Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear

This is the second book in the Maisie Dobbs series. Last week there was a Groupon deal for a $20 Barnes & Noble gift card for $10. Since I knew I was going to be purchasing some books to round out both this series and the Lady Julia Grey Mysteries, I jumped on the deal. Maisie Dobbs was my favorite read last year and I'm looking forward to participating in the Maisie Dobbs Read-Along. I'm a bit behind, since today they're discussing the third book, Pardonable Lies, but I'll catch up.

Dark Road to Darjeeling by Deanna Raybourn
With the fifth Lady Julia Grey book, The Dark Enquiry, coming out in mid-June, I thought it was time to get caught up with this series. I absolutely love these books and can't wait to dive into Dark Road to Darjeeling. Be looking for reviews of the entire Lady Julia Grey series at Bookish Ruth soon.

What books came into your home this week?

Sunday Salon: Finding Time to Read

noreply@blogger.com (Ruth @ Bookish Ruth) — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 18:12:00 +0000

February is shaping up to be an excellent month for me reading-wise so far. This week alone I finished five books (The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan, Death Cloud by Andrew Lane, Silent on the Moor by Deanna Raybourn, Tears of Pearl by Tasha Alexander and The Islands of Divine Music by John Addiego) and I may finish a sixth (The Mummy Case by Elizabeth Peters) this evening.

After finishing just seven books in January (with a goal of 100+ for the year), I have been making more of an effort to find time for reading. Being sick for a couple of days this week definitely gave my reading a boost, but I think the biggest improvement has come from going to bed a couple of hours early. I do most of my reading at night before I go to bed, and retiring earlier than usual has effectively doubled my reading time.

I have also returned to my old habit of carrying a book and/or my Kindle everywhere. It's amazing how much reading you can squeeze in to those moments when you're waiting for someone, in between commercials while watching TV, when the pot is taking longer than expected to boil...little stolen moments that may only afford time for a page or two, but add up over the course of the day.

It looks like this coming week is going to be the first in quite some time when the temperatures will be above freezing all week (53°F tomorrow!) so I'm hoping to get in some quality training for the 5K I'll be walking in April. I did my first-ever 5K walk last year at the Valley Forge Revolutionary Run (a HUGE victory for someone with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome!) and I hope to finish slightly faster this year. It's been so bitterly cold that I haven't been able to walk outdoors much (I actually like walking in the cold, but it needs to be slightly above freezing for me to be comfortable) and I'm ready to get back out there. I got a nice 1.2 mile walk in today, which made me happy.

What are you reading this Sunday?

Quotable: The Mystery of the Third Lucretia by Susan Runholt

noreply@blogger.com (Ruth @ Bookish Ruth) — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 05:00:00 +0000

Welcome to Quotable, a weekly feature at Bookish Ruth. Each Friday I'll share a short passage that caught my attention -- it could be an old favorite or something that jumped out at me during that week's reading. I hope you'll enjoy it and perhaps share something that resonated with you.

This is a weekly feature open to other bloggers; grab the button and share your own quotation along with me every Friday! Don't forget to sign the Mr. Linky form with the link to your post so other readers can discover what you found Quotable.

I love traveling. With frigidly cold weather here in the Northeast, I'm very much looking forward to warmer weather, and with that warmer weather, some exciting travel plans for the spring and summer:

"My mom says that when you go to a place just to see what all the other tourists see, you're a tourist. But when you go to a place and see how people live and do things in ways that are different from what you do at home, you're a traveler. I like being a traveler better than being a tourist."
-- Susan Runholt,
The Mystery of the Third Lucretia, p. 38

Are you a tourist or a traveler? What did you find Quotable this week?

Book Review of Torchwood: Bay of the Dead by Mark Morris

noreply@blogger.com (Ruth @ Bookish Ruth) — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 22:58:00 +0000

Torchwood: Bay of the Dead
Author: Mark Morris
Publisher: Random House UK (August 18, 2009)
Hardcover, 256 pages, $11.99
ISBN-10: 1846077370
ISBN-13: 978-1846077371
Source: I purchased this book.

The Torchwood team have seen a lot of strange things, but when zombies swarm Cardiff, Captain Jack Harkness, Gwen Cooper and Ianto Jones feel as though they are living in a bad horror film. With Cardiff mysteriously cut off from the rest of the world, Torchwood and the residents of the bay city are on their own. Can Torchwood determine the source of their undead problem, and, more importantly, can they stop it?

Of all the Torchwood tie-in novels I have read (I think I have read all but three of them at this point), this was one of the most enjoyable. Zombies and Torchwood go together like bread and butter. Gwen’s husband, Rhys, and her former police partner, PC Andy Davidson, both play larger roles in this novel due to the absences of Owen Harper and Toshiko Sato. I am not a huge fan of Rhys, but I enjoyed him in this story. I also enjoyed seeing more of Andy; I hope we will see his role expand in future novels.

There is a fair amount of gore, as one would expect from a story centering around zombies. I was never bothered by this, despite my aversion to zombie movies as a whole. All of the Torchwood characters are portrayed well; there’s quite a bit of banter between Jack and Ianto and some touching scenes between Gwen and Rhys. The story felt like it could be an episode of the show, which is my main criterion for these books.

Mark Morris has written two Doctor Who tie-in novels, Forever Autumn (previously reviewed here) and Ghosts of India, both of which I enjoyed. I had high expectations for this book based on those two previous titles and I was not disappointed. Recommended for Torchwood fans.

Rating: 8/10.

Wordless Wednesday: Lovers Nook (Bushkill Falls, PA)

noreply@blogger.com (Ruth @ Bookish Ruth) — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 05:00:00 +0000

Book Blogger Hop: What Are You Reading?

noreply@blogger.com (Ruth @ Bookish Ruth) — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 19:06:00 +0000

The Book Blogger Hop is hosted by Jennifer at Crazy for Books. Click the logo above for more information.

This week's question:

What are you reading now and why are you reading it?

I'm reading three books right now:

The Crimes of Paris by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler. I entered (and won) a giveaway at Melissa's Bookshelf when she reviewed this book. It sounded fascinating, and it has definitely lived up to my expectations so far.

The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan. I absolutely loved the Percy Jackson series, but I think I'm enjoying the first book in the Kane Chronicles even more thanks to my love of ancient Egyptian mythology.

The Mystery of the Third Lucretia by Susan Runholt. I love art, mysteries and middle grade fiction so when this book arrived unsolicited, I was delighted. I expect to finish it this evening, and look forward to reading the rest of the books in this series.

What are you reading now?

Missed my last post? Check out Quotable: Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear.

Quotable: Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear

noreply@blogger.com (Ruth @ Bookish Ruth) — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 05:00:00 +0000

Welcome to Quotable, a weekly feature at Bookish Ruth. Each Friday I'll share a short passage that caught my attention -- it could be an old favorite or something that jumped out at me during that week's reading. I hope you'll enjoy it and perhaps share something that resonated with you.

This is a weekly feature open to other bloggers; grab the button and share your own quotation along with me every Friday! Don't forget to sign the Mr. Linky form with the link to your post so other readers can discover what you found Quotable.

My selection this week is from Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear. This was my favorite out of all the books I read last year. There are so many wonderful passages that it was hard to choose just one to feature here. I kept coming back to one in particular, though, about the nature of truth:

"Maurice Blanche maintained that amid the tales, the smokescreens, and the deceptive mirrors of life's unsolved mysteries, truth resides, waiting for someone to enter its sanctum, then leave, without quite closing the door behind them. That is when truth may make its escape."
-- Jacqueline Winspear,
Maisie Dobbs, p. 53

CSN Furniture Review: Winsome Espresso Wide 2 Shelf Storage Shelf

noreply@blogger.com (Ruth @ Bookish Ruth) — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 22:08:00 +0000

Back in August of 2009, I received a Winsome Espresso Wide 2 Shelf Storage Shelf to review from CSN Furniture. Unfortunately, the bookshelf's arrival coincided with moving, and in all the post-move chaos and ensuing blog hiatus, I never got around to posting my review here.

This offers me a unique opportunity, however, because I have now owned this piece for almost a year and a half, and I can say that this little bookshelf has truly stood the test of time.

CSN shipped the bookshelf quickly, and I was very impressed with how well it was packed. Upon opening the box, I discovered that the pieces were separated from one another by light padding that kept the wood pieces from rubbing together and possibly damaging one another in transit.

The instructions for assembly were straight-forward and easy to understand. I liked the fact that I only needed an Allen wrench to put this shelf together; this made assembly quick and easy. The entire shelf was put together in less than 45 minutes. The wooden caps to hide the screws were a very nice touch.

In the picture above you can see the finished shelf housing my collection of Doctor Who books. The top shelf is spacious enough to hold my lamp, alarm clock, Kindle, and a few decorative items with plenty of room to spare. The two lower shelves are deep and well-made. There are no signs of bowing with the middle shelf (a problem I've experienced with other brands of bookcases) despite the fact that it is housing over 20 hardcover books and roughly a dozen paperback books. The bottom shelf is tall enough that I can fit several large format hardcovers without needing to turn the books on their sides. This shelf offers many storage possibilities and would look great with some wicker baskets.

I absolutely love the Espresso color. I was concerned that the bookcase might be too dark (I didn't want something that looked black) but the color is accurate to the manufacturer's photographs -- a perfect, rich dark brown.

One of the things I worry about most with any piece of wood furniture is how it stands up to daily use. This bookcase looks as good as it did the day I assembled it, with no scratches or chips. My cats have jumped up on it more than once and there has been no damage from their claws. The finish is easy to clean with a Swiffer Duster or damp cloth.

The Winsome Espresso Wide 2 Shelf Storage Shelf is a great piece of furniture at a great price. Between the quality of the product and the excellent service I received from CSN Furniture, I will definitely be purchasing more items from them in the future.

Wordless Wednesday: Bliss

noreply@blogger.com (Ruth @ Bookish Ruth) — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 05:00:00 +0000

New Release: Death Cloud (Young Sherlock Holmes) by Andrew Lane

noreply@blogger.com (Ruth @ Bookish Ruth) — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 14:49:00 +0000

It is the summer of 1868, and Sherlock Holmes is fourteen. On break from boarding school, he is staying with eccentric strangers—his uncle and aunt—in their vast house in Hampshire. When two local people die from symptoms that resemble the plague, Holmes begins to investigate what really killed them, helped by his new tutor, an American named Amyus Crowe. So begins Sherlock’s true education in detection, as he discovers the dastardly crimes of a brilliantly sinister villain of exquisitely malign intent.

Death Cloud is the first installment in Andrew Lane's Young Sherlock Holmes series. This book has been on my radar for almost two years now. I am looking forward to picking up my copy later today or tomorrow, weather permitting. You can view the trailer for Death Cloud below.

Quotable Relaunches This Week

noreply@blogger.com (Ruth @ Bookish Ruth) — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 20:10:00 +0000

This Friday, February 4th marks the relaunch of Quotable, a weekly feature here at Bookish Ruth.

I take copious notes whenever I read a book, often writing down a memorable piece of dialogue or a passage with which I can relate. Many of these quotations have found themselves in finished reviews, but at least an equal number of them are left in the pages of my trusty composition notebook.

Each Friday from now on I'll be hosting a feature called Quotable, which will pluck some of these gems out of my notebook and onto your computer screen. It's my hope that you'll enjoy these quotations as much as I have, and that they may inspire you to pick up a book you might not have considered before.

This is a weekly feature open to other bloggers; grab the button and share your own quotation along with me every Friday! I'll be including a Mr. Linky form with each future edition of Quotable for ease of linking to your selected quotation and browsing through the offerings from other bloggers.

Sunday Salon: 2011 Reading Goals

noreply@blogger.com (Ruth @ Bookish Ruth) — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 19:53:00 +0000

The last week of January may seem like an odd time to assess my reading goals for 2011 (although I did draw up a longhand list of goals back in early December), but I think this is a perfect opportunity to step back and see what's working and what isn't, now that the newness of the year has worn off a bit.

My biggest goal for 2011 was to start blogging again, and I just now feel as though I am shaking the rust from Bookish Ruth after the long hiatus. Last weekend's Bloggiesta was a real blessing as I was able to get a lot of long-neglected blog maintenance taken care of over the course of those three days.

More goals for 2011:

Read at least 100 books. I only read 31 books in 2010 and I was disappointed with that total. I will need to step up my reading pace from January, since it looks like I'll be finishing the month with only six books read.
Make a sizable dent in unread books that are sitting on my bookshelves. The great thing about being a book blogger is that you always have a lot of books to choose from. One of the not-so-great things is that sometimes those books come in faster than you can possibly read them. I have just over 100 unread books in my personal library and I hope to see that total diminish rapidly in 2011.
Make progress with series books. This is, I think, a yearly goal. I would like to get current with the Mary Russell, Lady Julia Grey, and Maisie Dobbs series so I'm ready for the new book from each series, since all three will see new installments published in 2011. I would also like to catch up on my collection of Agatha Christie novels.
Continue reading about specific areas of interest. I want to read more books related to Vincent van Gogh, Sherlock Holmes, Victorian England and lighthouses this year.
More mysteries and middle grade fiction. In recent years I have made an effort to expand my reading focus. This year I would like to narrow it a bit and focus on my two favorites genres: mysteries and middle grade fiction. Three of the six books I have finished so far this year have been mysteries and I'm reading a middle grade book now, so I feel I am making steady progress on this goal.

Did you set any reading goals for 2011? How do you feel you're progressing with those goals?

2011 100+ Reading Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Ruth @ Bookish Ruth) — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 03:27:00 +0000

I wasn't going to do any official reading challenges other than my own (The Baker Street Challenge) and RIP in the fall, but since reading 100+ books for the year is main reading goal for the year, this is a natural choice.

The Details:

1. The goal is to read 100 or more books. Anyone can join. You don't need a blog to participate. Posting on GoodReads or wherever you post your reviews is good enough.

2. Audio, Re-reads, eBooks, YA, Manga, Graphic Novels, Library books, Novellas, Young Reader, Nonfiction – as long as the book has an ISBN or equivalent or can be purchased as such, the book counts.

What doesn't count: Individual short stories or individual books in the Bible.

3. No need to list your books in advance. You may select books as you go. Even if you list them now, you can change the list if needed.

4. Crossovers from other reading challenges count.

5. Challenge begins January 1st thru December, 2011. Books started before the 1st do not count. You can join at anytime.

January
1. Doctor Who: The Taking of Chelsea 426 by David Llewellyn
2. The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Man from Hell by Barrie Roberts
3. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
4. The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
5. Silent in the Sanctuary by Deanna Raybourn
6. Dragon Bones by Lisa See

February
7. The Mystery of the Third Lucretia by Susan Runholt
8. The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan
9. Death Cloud by Andrew Lane
10. Silent on the Moor by Deanna Raybourn

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Wordless Wednesday: Stairs at Bushkill Falls, PA

noreply@blogger.com (Ruth @ Bookish Ruth) — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 05:00:00 +0000

Book Review Dear America: A Light in the Storm by Karen Hesse

noreply@blogger.com (Ruth King) — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 17:01:00 +0000

A Light in the Storm: The Civil War Diary of Amelia Martin
Author: Karen Hesse
Publisher: Scholastic, Inc. (1999)
Hardcover, 174 pages
Historical Fiction, Ages 9-12
ISBN-10: 0590567330
ISBN-13: 978-0590567336

Part of the popular Dear America series, A Light in the Storm chronicles a year in the life of a 16-year-old girl at the start of the Civil War.

Amelia Martin begins her diary in the final days of 1860. Amelia is the daughter of a lighthouse keeper on Fenwick Island, Delaware. The reader experiences the events that led to the Civil War through Amelia's eyes. She is very distressed when South Carolina secedes from the Union and wonders what that will mean for President-Elect Abraham Lincoln.

The conflict also has a much more personal effect on Amelia and her family. Amelia's parents are bitterly divided over the issue of slavery, which creates a very tense home life. Her mother is also prone to depression and Amelia struggles to understand her mother's sudden mood changes.

As war becomes an inevitability, Amelia's friend Daniel enlists in the Union army. Amelia worries for his safety and anxiously anticipates his letters from the front. The other lighthouse keeper at Fenwick Island also enlists, and a new keeper with a large family takes his place. Their joyful home life is a stark contrast to the tension present in Amelia's family.

Eventually, writing in her diary during the nightly watch is one of the few things that brings Amelia peace. She worries about the uncertain future of the country as well as the toll the conflict will take on her parents' marriage:

"I feel as if I am the Light in my family. I must keep my hope burning, so that Father and Mother, even in the darkness that seems to engulf them, might find their way back."

Amelia's diary, though fictional, is very moving. A Light in the Storm provides a unique look at life in Delaware during the early days of the Civil War. Delaware permitted slavery but never joined the Confederacy. Amelia's voice is compelling and young people will be able to relate to her hopes and fears. The book includes an interesting and informative appendix of historical information related to the story.

Rating: 9/10

Bookish Ruth's Bloggiesta Wrap Up

noreply@blogger.com (Ruth @ Bookish Ruth) — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 03:03:00 +0000

Bloggiesta was, as I suspected, a great event for me since my blog had been on hiatus for so long. I initially intended focus primarily on writing reviews, but thanks to the mini challenges and getting inspiration from the to-do lists of other bloggers, I ended up focusing on blog maintenance.

I completed the following mini challenges:

Grade Your Blog, which is hosted here at Bookish Ruth.
Google Forms challenge, hosted by Jen at Devourer of Books helped me create my first-ever Google Form.
Organize Thy Books, hosted by Jenn's Bookshelves provided practical tips for organizing my review copies.
Best Practices on Organizing Your Email, hosted by Trish at Hey Lady!, helped me tame my inbox.
Setting Goals, hosted by Amy at My Friend Amy gave me a lot to think about as I set goals for my reading and blogging this year.
Using Labels and Tags hosted by Beth Fish Reads helped me sort through my tags and better organize my blog. It also hammered home the importance of having tags easily accessible in the sidebar, something that was missing here at Bookish Ruth until this Bloggiesta.

In addition to the mini challenges, I met most of the goals from my first Bloggiesta post. I still have some work ahead of me, but I'm amazed at how much I was able to get done over the course of three days.

Did you participate in Bloggiesta? If so, were you able to reach most of your goals?

New Official Sherlock Holmes Novel Announced

noreply@blogger.com (Ruth @ Bookish Ruth) — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 21:25:00 +0000

Sherlock Holmes is to be brought back to life in the first new novel about the great Baker Street detective to be officially approved.

Anthony Horowitz, author of stories about teenage spy Alex Rider, has been chosen by Arthur Conan Doyle's estate to write the full-length novel, which will be published by Orion in September.

"I fell in love with the Sherlock Holmes stories when I was 16 and I've read them many times since," said Horowitz.

"I simply couldn't resist this opportunity to write a brand new adventure for this iconic figure and my aim is to produce a first rate mystery for a modern audience while remaining absolutely true to the spirit of the original."

No details of the new tale or even its title have been revealed.

Read the full article here.

I heard the news about this book on Thursday afternoon. On Friday night, thanks to a recommendation from Ruth of Booktalk & More, I watched all five parts of Collision, a BBC miniseries written by Anthony Horowitz. Somehow I missed it when it originally aired on Masterpiece in 2009. Collision is an amazing production and one that I highly recommend. (If you are a Netflix subscriber, Collision is available to watch instantly online.)

When the final twist was revealed, I was utterly convinced that Anthony Horowitz is the perfect choice to pen a new Sherlock Holmes book. The ending of Collision is very much reminiscent of the original Sir Arthur Conan Doyle stories. Ultimately the twist is so simple, and yet the path to discovering it is so intricate. I await Horowitz's Holmes offering with great interest.

2010 Reading in Review

noreply@blogger.com (Ruth @ Bookish Ruth) — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 02:33:00 +0000

Even though I wasn't actively blogging in 2010, reading was still a big part of my life. My goal for 2010 was to read at least 75 books and I fell short of that goal with only 31. I took extensive notes for almost every book I read, so there is a very good probability that I will still be sharing reviews of many of the books I read in 2010.

Doctor Who: The Pirate Loop by Simon Guerrier
Doctor Who: Sick Building by Paul Magrs
Doctor Who: Wishing Well by Trevor Baxendale
Doctor Who: The Planet of Oblivion by Justin Richards
Doctor Who: The Eyeless by Lance Parkin
Doctor Who: The Slitheen Excursion by Simon Guerrier
The Lightning Thief by Rich Riordan
The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
The Fiddler's Gun by A.S. Peterson
Theodosia and the Staff of Osiris by R.L. LaFevers
The Teashop Girls by Laura Schaefer
Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear
Stardust by Neil Gaiman
The Last Campaign: Robert F. Kennedy and 82 Days That Inspired America by Thurston Clarke
Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
The Messenger of Athens by Anne Zouroudi
Borrower of the Night by Elizabeth Peters
Claude Monet by Kent Hoo
Van Gogh's Van Goghs by Richard Kendall
Who Was Claude Monet? by Ann Waldron
Van Gogh: An Appreciation of His Art by Gerhard Gruitrooy
Sunflowers by Sheramy Bundrick
Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters
The Curse of the Pharaohs by Elizabeth Peters
The Affinity Bridge by George Mann
Doctor Who: Apollo 23 by Justin Richards
Torchwood: Bay of the Dead by Mark Morris
The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Veiled Detective by David Stuart Davies
A Pocket Full of Rye by Agatha Christie
The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Ectoplasmic Man by Daniel Stashower
Death du Jour by Kathy Reichs

Best Reading Month: August (7 books)
Total Pages Read: 8131 pages

My favorite read of the year was, without a doubt, Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear. Very honorable mentions include Garden Spells, Messenger of Athens and Sunflowers.

You may have noticed a couple of themes in the above list: Doctor Who and Vincent van Gogh. In January of 2010, David Tennant left Doctor Who as the Tenth Doctor. During the gap between the end of his tenure and the start of Matt Smith's time as the Eleventh Doctor, I decided to catch up on the Doctor Who novels.

Van Gogh started out as an unintentional theme. I've often regretted never seriously studying art and wanted to fill in some of the gaps in my knowledge of the subject. I have always been drawn to both Van Gogh's art and tragic life story. So, while I started out with some general art books from the library, I quickly zeroed in on books about Van Gogh. My aunt sent me Sunflowers by Sheramy Bundrick, a novel based on Van Gogh's last two years of life, which I devoured over a vacation in the Pocono Mountains. (In a weird, wonderful moment of synchronicity, my favorite television show and my favorite artist came together in a fantastic episode of Doctor Who, "Vincent and the Doctor", later in the summer.)

So what's on tap for 2011? I have several big goals for this year and will be sharing them in a separate post. I'm eager to improve on 2010 which, while it turned out to be a good year for me personally, was not my best year as far as reading was concerned.

Bloggiesta: Starting Line

noreply@blogger.com (Ruth @ Bookish Ruth) — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 20:23:00 +0000

This weekend I'll be participating in Bloggiesta, a blogging marathon hosted by Natasha of Maw Books. The purpose of this event is to catch up on all those little things you've been meaning to do around your blog, whether it's writing reviews, creating backup posts for rainy days, reorganizing your post tags, tweaking your blog's layout, etc.

This event could not come at a better time for me since I have a lot of blog maintenance to catch up on after a lengthy hiatus. Here are some things I'd like to address during Bloggiesta:

Write 3-5 reviews.
~~Write a 2010 wrap-up post~~ (Done!) and a 2011 goal post.
Update my About Me page with a more detailed review policy.
~~Replace my current favicon. (I did this during the first Bloggiesta. At some point since then the site I used changed my favicon to their generic site logo for some reason.)~~ Done!
~~Organize my blog sidebar. It's starting to look less tidy than I would prefer.~~ Done, although I'll probably tinker with it a bit more soon.
~~Prepare to relaunch Quotable as a weekly feature in February.~~
~~Replace my current contact form with a Google form.~~

My official start time is Friday 2 PM EST.

2011 Baker Street Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (Ruth @ Bookish Ruth) — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 20:32:00 +0000

I took an unplanned but necessary hiatus from book blogging in 2010, but I am looking forward to a return to regular blogging in 2011. In addition to regular updates here, The Baker Street Challenge Blog has been revamped for 2011.

The Baker Street Challenge is a year-long challenge celebrating the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the continuing literary legacy of Sherlock Holmes. Participants can join at any time before the end of 2011. If you're interested in participating, click here for more details.

I'll be reading seven books for the challenge. Some of the books I'm considering:

The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Sherlockian by Graham Moore
The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Man from Hell by Barrie Roberts
The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: War of the Worlds by Manly Wade Wellman
The Man Who Created Sherlock Holmes by Andrew Lycett
The Science of Sherlock Holmes by E.J. Wagner
Starring Sherlock Holmes by David Stuart Davies
Dust and Shadow by Lyndsay Faye

Sherlock Debuts on Masterpiece Mystery this Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Ruth King) — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 17:38:00 +0000

This weekend the 21st century re-imagining of the Sherlock Holmes stories, Sherlock, debuts on PBS's Masterpiece Mystery. Created by Stephen Moffat and Mark Gatiss (both of Doctor Who fame), the series stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Holmes and Martin Freeman (who just landed a role in Peter Jackson's The Hobbit) as Watson. It's no secret that I love both Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Who, so I've been very excited about this project for a very long time.

From PBS:

Dr. John Watson (Martin Freeman, The Office UK) is back in modern-day London after serving in the war in Afghanistan. His therapist, convinced that Watson is plagued by violent memories, urges him to express himself in a blog. But nothing much ever happens to Watson, and it's not that he's haunted by the war — he longs for it. Enter an eccentric roommate — one Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch, The Last Enemy). He plays the violin when he's thinking, sometimes doesn't talk for days, and has a dubious career as a self-described consulting detective. When what appear to be serial suicide cases surface in London, a desperate Detective Inspector Lestrade (Rupert Graves, The Forsyte Saga) reluctantly consults the freakish Sherlock. To Sherlock, a crime spree is like Christmas — only made better by the possibility that these crimes may be the work of a devious serial killer. The game is on, and before it is over, Sherlock will put his life on the line — all to keep from being bored to death.

"A Study in Pink", the first of three episodes, airs this Sunday, October 24 at 9 PM on PBS. Will you be watching?