In My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding
So far I am just reading the Sookies stories in these collections but maybe after I finish all the Sookie books I will come back and read the rest of the stories in these collections.
Story Review - Tacky by Charlaine Harris
Monday, May 31, 2010
Story Review - One Word Answer by Charlaine Harris
Sunday, May 30, 2010
If you are loving the Sookie series don't neglect the short stories, they are great additions to the world Charlaine Harris has developed.
Now that I'm getting near the end of the Sookie Stackhouse series (only two more to go) I've started to pick up the short stories at my local library.
One Word Answer shows us how Sookie found out about her cousin's passing and when she first meets Mr. Cataliades. I kind of wish I had read these in chronological order but either way it's great to go back and relive parts of the story that are in the past, it keeps the whole storyline fresh in my head.
Product Description for Bite:
A never-before-published Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter story from New York Times bestselling author Laurell K. Hamilton. A brand-new story from New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris, featuring the much-loved Sookie Stackhouse.
A hot new novella from USA Today bestselling author MaryJanice Davidson, set in the world of Undead and Unwed's Betsy Taylor, the newly, and reluctantly,crowned Vampire Queen.Introduced in the collection Hot Blooded, and on the heels of the wildly successful Master of the Night, Angela Knight has created a fascinating universe of Arthurian Lore and erotic vampirsim. And a sexy original story from Vickie Taylor, a new addition to Berkley Sensation.
If you are loving the Sookie series don't neglect the short stories, they are great additions to the world Charlaine Harris has developed.
Book Review - From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris
Saturday, May 29, 2010
I was a little afraid when I wasn't so in love with the last book that the series was going downhill but I am happy to say I was so wrong. From Dead to Worse (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 8)
The best part of this one came at the very end but every page was worth it just to get there. That's all I'm saying, now go read it for yourself. And dear God if you aren't reading this series please go, start, Now.
of course this knocks one off the Sookie Stackhouse Reading Challenge.
Book Review - Tales for Delicious Girls by Barbora Knobova
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Author Info:
I received Tales for Delicious Girls
Product Description from Amazon:
What's in a word? Anything you want there to be!
D for daring, E for enchanting, L for loving, I for inspiring, C for captivating, I for intriguing, O for outgoing, U for unique, S for sophisticated: DELICIOUS.
Twenty-five exhilarating real-life stories about delicious women, eccentric men and stubborn dogs.
Tales for Delicious Girls offers witty, refreshing, clever and ironic insight into relationships between men and women from all points of view. It is the ultimate relationship manual for the 21st century woman, providing answers to the most pressing questions you ask yourself:
- Who is the man with sinfully sexy fingers?
- Who is the guy that runs away from cabs?
- Who is the phantom of the French Riviera?
- Who is the Spy and why does he give away silver tea sets?
- Who is the Really Totally Gorgeous XY?
...And why was he where he shouldn't have been?
- And who the hell is JB...
"Tales for Delicious Girls" deals with wishes, desires and dreams gone hilariously wrong - as well as hysterical mishaps, slapstick dating disasters and eternal female friendship challenges.
The stories are told by a Delicious Girl who's been there, done it and written about it. The book takes you to Paris, Milan, Marseille, Prague and many other exciting cities, untangling the ingenious web of men, women and their never-ending mating dance.
"Tales for Delicious Girls" will make you laugh till there are tears in your eyes. It will become your faithful companion, and will help you see that no matter what happened to you, it could have been much worse.
Hilarious. Sharp-witted. Ironic. Caustically apt. Simply Delicious.
"Tales for Delicious Girls" contains almost sixty original illustrations which are edgy and feminine, just like the book.
Author Info:
Barbora Knobova is an internationally published author, speaker and radio host. She writes books for strong, bold, fearless ladies of all ages, who have a sense of humor and the courage to embrace their true self.
On her edgy, funny and very feminine blog, she reports on Delicious Girl's uproarious daily adventures with men, travels and shoes.
A world traveler and world citizen, Barb is a passionate lover of life, a chocoholic, a shoe collector and a very eager yet very lousy golf player. Barb speaks eight languages and lives in New York with her beagle Brinkley, the nasty dog from Tales for Delicious Girls. To her, writing is like breathing and she's currently working on her new book.
Book Review - A Weekend to Change Your Life by Joan Anderson
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
I recently picked up A Weekend to Change Your Life: Find Your Authentic Self After a Lifetime of Being All Things to All People
Most of the people the author talks about, including herself are in more of midlife, they have already raised their kids or are almost ready to have the fly the coop. I wonder if by being interested in these types of books so early in life am I ahead of the game or am I over reacting to the life I have. I don't think I will know that until years in the future and I am looking back this way.
Copied from Amazon in turn from Publishers Weekly:
In her popular A Year by the Sea, Anderson wrote about a time she chose to live apart from her husband on Cape Cod in order to better understand herself. Anderson has turned her private retreat into a program, Weekend by the Sea Retreats, to help women learn how to have a full life apart from the needs and demands of spouses, children, aging parents and careers. Here, Anderson shares the exercises and activities she has developed to encourage change and growth. She draws on Erik Erikson's eight stages of life from infancy to old age and suggests listing the gains and losses from each phase in order to identify one's personal strengths. Another technique is the beach walk, which allows women to get in touch with their bodies and emotions as they trek alone on the shore, collecting shells, rocks and driftwood, swimming, or drawing pictures in the sand. Anderson's warm, inviting tone will appeal to women who feel, as she did, that they need time and space to reinvent themselves. (Apr. 4)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Teaser Tuesday
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
I am still reading the Sookie Stackhouse novels so this week's Teaser Tuesday comes from the 8th in the series From Dead To Worse by Charlaine Harris:
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
I am still reading the Sookie Stackhouse novels so this week's Teaser Tuesday comes from the 8th in the series From Dead To Worse by Charlaine Harris:
"We know who did it," Dawson said, and a shiver ran through the room. There were more Weres in the house - I could sense them now - ... pg 124I'm really liking this one so far, can't wait to get some reading in today.and"I mean that fairies who inhabit the woods identify with the woods so strongly that to hurt one is to hurt the other..." pg 84
Book Review - Doctor Who and the Revenge of the Cybermen by Terrence Dicks
Monday, May 24, 2010
First let me say I am sorry for the cut and paste here but my sentiment is the same for the last three Doctor Who books I read.
Doctor Who: And the Revenge of the Cybermen
If you know Doctor Who you can probably piece together the gist of this story but for everyone's bennefit let me say lives are in danger from Cybermen and the Doctor kicks their butts. You'll just have to read (or watch) to find out how.
And knock another one off these challenges:
Book Review - Share from the Heart by Marilyn Randall
Sunday, May 23, 2010
I like how his teeth are the same color as their skin, yummy!
Or possibly they aren't kids at all and are in fact a gay couple in their forties forced to live on their own in a log cabin in the forest where none of the other towns people have to "worry" about them. No wonder their so lonely. I mean seriously in most of these pictures they don't even look like kids.
Rubbing his chest with those crazy fingers?
These illustrations look like they were sketched by a middle schooler with little to no real drawing talent then some one handed a box of colored pencils to my three year old to put on the finishing touches. This would explain the sudden age changes, why in one picture the dragon looks friendly and in the next he looks like he's about to rip off the childrens heads, the crazy skin tone and why the "friendly" dragon has blood stained teeth. Unfortunately these illustrations were drawn by an adult.
I hate writing bad reviews. I go out of my way to find something good in a book even if I didn't love it but I just can't do it here. This is a children's book that I actively did not want my child to be exposed to due to it's utter lack of anything I, as a Mom can get behind. I wish that weren't true but the fact is, it is.
Oh my where do I start with this book? First let me say I received this book from the author to review. Second, I was so disappointed with this book I never read it to my son. Share from the Heart is about two boys who walking through the woods one day meet a dragon. At first they are scared (understandably) but soon they realize that like themselves the dragon is just lonely so they invite his to come live with them. The very basic story is not a problem at it's heart but the moral of this story changes halfway through and is completely overshadowed by all the other issues. The problem with this book is everything else.This story is told in what is supposed to be poetic prose but what is really a forced jumble of words that do not rhyme or flow in any way. This book was very difficult to read not only did the story repeat and at times contradict itself but there was no meter, no groove, it was just clunky throughout.
Now the illustrations...Are these two kids walking in the woods, brothers with possibly an extremely rare skin condition? Maybe she's making a not so politically correct statement to say they are American Indians? Or maybe they have been lightly burned by their new friend the Dragon?
I like how his teeth are the same color as their skin, yummy!
Rubbing his chest with those crazy fingers?
I hate writing bad reviews. I go out of my way to find something good in a book even if I didn't love it but I just can't do it here. This is a children's book that I actively did not want my child to be exposed to due to it's utter lack of anything I, as a Mom can get behind. I wish that weren't true but the fact is, it is.
Book Review - Pork Chop by David Edminister
Saturday, May 22, 2010
I received Pork Chop
Product Description from Amazon:
Martial Arts Is Not For Chickens!
Porter P. Psnout's favorite book was "The Three Little Pigs." Unfortunately, he had frequent nightmares about the Big, Bad Wolf trying to "huff, puff, (and bluff)" his way into our hefty hero's house for a little midnight "snack." In his disgustingly disturbing dreams, he hid and cowered in the face of adversity. One fateful night, Porter awoke startled, and nearly frozen with fear, made himself a solemn oath to get into shape, enroll in Master Tusk's Martial Arts Academy and to stop being a "chicken" once and for all! Did he finally succeed or succumb when he finally fully faced his fears?
If you enjoy cute, clever, and funny children's stories with a lot of challenging alliteration, then you will LOVE reading this story!
What was I thinking... Book Trailer
Friday, May 21, 2010
What Was I Thinking Book Trailer - Watch more Funny Videos
I just found this book trailer for What Was I Thinking?: 58 Bad Boyfriend Stories
and now I'm going to go pick it up at my local book store and give it a read. Included in this collection are more than fifty classic bad boyfriend stories, from writers including:
Carrie Fisher
Claudia Handler
Bonnie Bruckheimer
Maira Kalman
Cindy Chupack
Rachel Resnick
Mimi Pond
Francesca Lia Block
Nicole Hollander
Sounds like fun to me.
What Was I Thinking Book Trailer - Watch more Funny Videos
My 2010 Moby Book Trailer Award Picks
Thursday, May 20, 2010
So today is the day of the First Annual Moby Book Trailer Awards, I am kind of excited because I really enjoy book trailers and glad they are getting their day in the spotlight. All the nominees are available to watch from the Moby website. I want to share with you my predictions for the winners of the 2010 Moby Awards.
Best Low Budget/Indie Book Trailer:
The Electric Church In One Minute by Jeff Somers
Best Big Budget/Big House Book Trailer:
Going West by Maurice Gee
Best Performance by in Author:
Dennis Cass in Head Case
Best Cameo in a Book Trailer:
Jonathan Safran Foer’s Grandmother in Eating Animals
Least Likely Trailer to Sell the Book:
Shark Hunting in Paradise Garden by Cameron Pierce
Catherynne M. Valente wins the Norton
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Ok this is a couple days late for those that are in the know, but something I learned from working in a book store is the general public doesn't even know the names of most literary awards let alone who won or for what. Bad General Public, Bad!! You should know these things no only because they are the best books and authors in the world but also because this is your world and your cultural knowledge, you should know or at least be aware of these things. And so this post has a double meaning to both congratulate Cat on her win but also let those reading this post know they should go out and read her work.
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her own Making (the Norton Award winning story) is available for now on the web and will be available in print in May 2011. You can read everything but the final chapter and I can tell you it is so good you will be anxiously anticipating May of next year so you can pick it up in print to find out the ending.
I am so excited for her and having read most of her available work I can say that this award was well deserved. Each story she writes pulls you in and takes you on an page turning adventure that is hard to put down even after you've read the last word on the last page. Congratulations!
Teaser Tuesday
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
Today's Teaer Tuesday is from the book It's a Boy!: Your Son's Development from Birth to Age 18
by Michael Thompson PH.D.
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
Today's Teaer Tuesday is from the book It's a Boy!: Your Son's Development from Birth to Age 18
by Michael Thompson PH.D."When my oldest was three, we went to Legoland:he wore his hula skirt..." p.108and"Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do, and that Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do." p. 212
Lost Reading List
Monday, May 17, 2010
I love Lost the television show on ABC. I watched the first episode and I was hooked just like that. I faithfully watched every episode even back when we didn't have cable or an Apple TV. All we had was this little bitty like 10 inch TV with rabbit ears on top it would come in all fuzzy and I would have to adjust the ears a billion times per show but I would and I loved it. This season is a little different because it is the last season I am saving them up, I haven't watched a single one but instead am waiting for them all to hit iTunes so I can buy them all together and watch them back-to-back getting the whole story in one big bunch. 
Being the book lover that I am I have noticed all the titles floating around the island through the years but haven't spent a ton of time trying to figure all that out. Today I happened upon an article on the LA Times website about this very thing. The thing that makes Lost so great is the nuance in every episode, the little things that make the audience look deeper and in a round about way feel like we are more a part of the show than we ever truly can be.
Book Review - Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris
Sunday, May 16, 2010
True Blood isn't even close to this storyline but I am on the edge of my seat to find out how they approach it all. I liked this one a lot but honestly could have done with a little more lovin' which feels weird for me to say because I'm not one who loves romance novels but I guess I am learning that I do enjoy the vampire love. So, I am hoping for more of that in the next book but either way Dead as a Doornail was a page turner and as I said I can't wait to start the next one.
And it knocks off another one from the Sookie Stackhouse Reading Challenge, I am so excited for a while I thought I wouldn't finish this one in time
I grabbed Dead as a Doornail (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 5)
by Charlaine Harris at the local library just before we drove up to Johnson City, TN for two weeks. It lasted a bit longer than the other ones in the series because we were busy exploring the area and I didn't have as much time to read during the day but I did finish it while we were here which was my main goal because it's due back at the library the day we get home, no worries there though I've already got the next one on hold at the library so I am dying to get home and pick it up. As a matter of fact I briefly considered just going to the store to buy it but am refraining since I have other books to read and it would in a way be a "waste" of money since the library does have it available.
I finally found a good review that says enough without saying too much.
From Publisher's Weekly copied from Amazon:
Harris's rousing fifth Sookie Stackhouse fantasy-mystery (after 2004's Dead to the World) pits vampires, were-creatures, shifters and one fairy godmother against a sniper with an apparent aversion to nonhumans. If trying to discover who's behind the shootings isn't enough, the telepathic cocktail waitress from Bon Temps, La., has to cope with a few other distractions: her sexy "Were" friend, Alcide Herveaux, needs her help in his father's bid to become the next leader of the local werewolf pack; her boss, Sam Merlotte (a collie in his spare time), gets shot; her house partly burns down; and what's she to do about the handsome vampire bartender who dresses as a pirate at Sam's place? Between one mishap and another, Sookie is one busy gal. Harris does an admirable job of creating a heroine who's not only interesting but completely believable in a world of the strange and the different. Natural and humorous dialogue and a nicely paced plot that doesn't dwell so much on Sookie's old boyfriends help make this entry the best yet in the series.
True Blood isn't even close to this storyline but I am on the edge of my seat to find out how they approach it all. I liked this one a lot but honestly could have done with a little more lovin' which feels weird for me to say because I'm not one who loves romance novels but I guess I am learning that I do enjoy the vampire love. So, I am hoping for more of that in the next book but either way Dead as a Doornail was a page turner and as I said I can't wait to start the next one.
And it knocks off another one from the Sookie Stackhouse Reading Challenge, I am so excited for a while I thought I wouldn't finish this one in time
Book Review - I Can't Wait to Meet You by Claudia Santorelli-Bates
Saturday, May 15, 2010
I was delighted to receive I Can't Wait to Meet You
This book is perfect for a family who wants to be open and honest with their children about what it took to bring them into the world from a very young age. It is a picture book with basic descriptions of the IVF process while making it clear that the love the could have for each other and the want for a child were the major motivating factors in taking part in IVF. In the end the couple end up with a beautiful baby to love.
I really liked how this book made the hard stuff easy to understand on a toddler/preschooler level. And that the most important thing is the whole family's love for one another.
Product info from Amazon:
I Can't Wait to Meet You" is a picture story book about a young couple hoping to start a family. Eventually, they turn to in vitro fertilization (IVF) to conceive. It is told in a light-hearted and spirited way, meant for young IVF boys and girls who are curious about how they came into the world.
Book Review - Definately Dead by Charlaine Harris
Friday, May 14, 2010
I am loving this series and that can be seen by all the glowing reviews I give the book series and the TV show for that matter but to be honest this book is the weakest link so far. I just hope this isn't a sign of things to come.
That said things Definitely Dead (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 6)
I also have a hard time seeing this book translate into entertaining television. For some reason even though the writing and characters made want to keep up my reading pace the story and flow of it was a bit dry.
Book Review - Doctor Who and the Loch Ness Monster by Terrence Dicks
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Doctor Who and the Loch Ness Monster
For anyone who watches or reads Doctor Who all you really need is the title to tell you the premise but here it goes. Something is killing people, The Doctor and his companions show up, turns out to be an alien plotting to take over the Earth doing the killing, here's the change up it all ties into the legend of the Loch Ness Monster.
I must admit I like the original stories in book form better but overall this was an entertaining read.
This book knocks off one notch on three different reading challenges:
1. Food
2. Plant
3. Title
4. Place Name
5. Body of Water
6. Music Term
Book Review - Touch of Magic
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
I picked up Selected Shorts: A Touch of Magic (Selected Shorts: A Celebration of the Short Story)
If the story is good I want more and if it is bad then I don't want to be reading it in the first place. Nearly every single one of these stories left me wanting more. Come to think of it maybe that is the mark of a bad short story if you don't feel complete at the end then maybe it is lacking and so isn't that great after all.
Either way most of these stories left me wanting to delve further into their worlds, take that as you will.
Like I say this knocked off one of my requirements for The Short Story Reading Challenge.
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