Slightly Off-Topic: The One That Got Away

On a recent used bookstore excursion, I found a little something that makes me very very happy: a copy of The Hunter's Haunt by Dave Duncan. Why does this slightly tattered copy of an obscure, out-of-print book make me so happy, you ask? This is a book I loved when I was a teenager. I read it at my local library, but I've since moved and I've never been able to get my hands on a copy again. Will I still like it? Is it even any good? I have no idea. But I'm very excited to find out.

Description from Goodreads: Omar often gets into trouble due to his role as the world's greatest storyteller. The wrong tale at the wrong time told to the wrong audience can prove fatal. A slighted innkeeper threatens to kill Omar by tossing him out into the vicious storm that rages just outside the door of the inn. But this time, for a change, he also has the chance to redeem himself by using his gift. If Omar can top the most outrageous tales invented by the inn's guests, he may get away with his neck intact. Omar not only tells a series of tales that would astonish the most gifted bard, but corrects the errors of the others and weaves them all together into one absolutely compelling tale of adventure.

Review: Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris

A few of you read my post last week in which I talked about my disappointment with Living Dead in Dallas, book number two in the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. On your advice, I kept on slogging, and I just thought I would give you:

The final verdict: About halfway through the book, I felt the story picked up to the point where I was actually enjoying it. Near the end, I was actually fairly glued to the page. However, I still felt that the story overall wasn't as good as the first one. I'll rate it a 3 of 5, but if it were a stand-alone book, I'd probably give it a 2.

Review: Need by Carrie Jones

Last word first: Enjoyable, but not particularly memorable. (3/5)

Description: Zara collects phobias the way other high school girls collect lipsticks. Little wonder, since life’s been pretty rough so far. Her father left, her stepfather just died, and her mother’s pretty much checked out. Now Zara’s living with her grandmother in sleepy, cold Maine so that she stays “safe.” Zara doesn’t think she’s in danger; she thinks her mother can’t deal. Wrong. Turns out that guy she sees everywhere, the one leaving trails of gold glitter, isn’t a figment of her imagination. He’s a pixie—and not the cute, lovable kind with wings. He’s the kind who has dreadful, uncontrollable needs. And he’s trailing Zara. -description from Goodreads

Good stuff: Zara's grandmother, Betty, is such a great character! I love the idea of this 60-year-old woman who lives in the woods and works as a paramedic.

I thought the quirk of the phobias was interesting and fun; I like how all the chapter titles were different phobias.

I also thought the pixies-as-pure-evil plot was a unique spin, and I enjoyed reading the book overall.

Not-so-good stuff: Need was a bit of a "meh" book for me. I enjoyed it as I was reading, but there was nothing particularly gripping about it. Actually, as I'm writing this review (a week after finishing the book), I find I can't remember the names of the main characters- I had to go look them up. Need was OK, but it just didn't grab me the way some similar books have.

About Carrie Jones: Carrie Jones likes Skinny Cow fudgsicles and potatoes. She does not know how to spell fudgsicles. This has not prevented her from writing books. She lives with her cute family in Maine, but she grew up in Bedford, NH where she once had a séance with cool uber-comedian Sarah Silverman. -excerpted from the bio on her website.

Teaser Tuesday: The Dragon Book

This week's teaser comes from The Dragon Book, a collection of short stories featuring one of my favorite mythical beings. There are some great authors represented, including Garth Nix, Gregory Maguire, Jonathan Stroud and Peter S. Beagle. I chose a teaser from the story by Tamora Pierce:

"Kit, I can hear you scratching rock down at our tent." Daine walked up the slope to us, tying her curly brown hair in a horse tail. "It's a dreadful noise. I thought you were chewing stones."

That's right! Daine and Numair are back for the story! Who else is super excited?

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by Miz B of Should Be Reading. Anyone can join in the fun! What's your teaser?

Review: Malice by Chris Wooding

Last word first: Frighteningly good. (4/5)

Description: Everyone has heard of Malice, the comic book that you're never supposed to tell your parents about. The one whose characters seem to be borrowed from the missing children list. And everyone knows the rhyme daring Tall Jack to come and take you to Malice. No one would admit they believe it's real, but very few have the courage to actually say the rhyme. But when Seth's friend Luke admits to finding a copy of Malice, then later disappears without a trace, Seth starts to believe whether he wants to or not.

My thoughts: Malice is part comic book, part novel, and all exciting. The tension of the story builds as Seth and his friend Kady start to realize that the world of Malice is real, and more dangerous than they ever thought. I was completely riveted. This was definitely a quick read for me.

I'm not usually one for reading graphic novels, but I really enjoyed the comic book portions of this book. The drawings were great for bringing the bizarre new world into focus, and the darkness of them built up the suspense factor in a way words couldn't have done.

I was even pleasantly surprised by the plotting and character development of Malice. It's not the next Great American Novel, but it's good for what it is. Seth, Kady, and the other characters they come across are intriguing and fun to read about.

I think this would be a great read for teens and tweens seeking a thrilling scare. I'm adding it to my great for guys list, though I think girls will enjoy it as well. I know I did.

Content warning: This story was a little on the scary side. I enjoyed it, but sensitive readers should beware. The world of Malice is not for the faint of heart.

About Chris Wooding: Chris Wooding grew up in a small town in Leicestershire, where not much of anything happened. So he started to write novels. He was sixteen when he completed his first. He had an agent by eighteen. By nineteen he had signed his first book deal. When he left university he began to write full-time, and he has been doing it professionally all his adult life. (an excerpt from the bio on his website)

Some news + I need your help

So. Big news. At my most recent ultrasound, I found out that Baby #3 is a BOY! We have two little girls, and while we would have loved a third, I think Joe is pretty excited about upping the testosterone levels around here. Here's the latest scan image:Aw... what a cute little blob. I think he has my nose.

I think I have the mom-of-girls thing figured out, but people keep telling me boys are a whole different ball game. Being me, one of the things I'm thinking about is making sure I start expanding my library to make sure I have some guy-friendly middle-grade and YA titles. I've been working on my collection ever since my girls were born. Picking girl books is easy, seeing as I am a girl. Guy friendly books are harder, but here's what I'm thinking so far:

Ranger's Apprentice Series - John Flanagan

The Inheritance Series (Eragon) - Christopher Paolini

Alex Rider Series - Anthony Horowitz

The Harry Potter series - JK Rowling

The Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Holes - Louis Sachar

The Percy Jackson Series - Rick Riordan

This is the part where you help me out. What books should I add to my list for Baby Boy's library? Children's books, middle grade, and YA suggestions are all welcome.

Books I would do the happy dance for...

I guess this is sort of like Waiting on Wednesday over at Breaking the Spine. Only on Saturday. And it's also inspired by The Story Siren's Books to Pine For. I just thought I would post a listing of some newly released or upcoming books that I am SUPER excited about, and hopefully you'll check them out as well. I'll be linking this post in the header and hopefully keeping it semi-up-to-date.

Available now:
Ice by Sarah Beth Durst (McElderry)
The Guinea Pig Diaries by A.J. Jacobs
Girl in the Arena by Lise Haines
Pastworld by Ian Beck
Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

December
8- Fallen by Lauren Kate (Delacorte)
22- Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore (Bloomsbury US)

February
9- Heist Society by Ally Carter (Hyperion)
17- Forget-Her-Nots by Amy Brecount White (Greenwillow Books, Harpercollins)

March
3- The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting (Harpercollins)
9- The Line by Teri Hall (Dial)
15- Maximum Ride: Fang by James Patterson (Little, Brown)
23- Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken (Egmont USA)

April
13- The Cinderella Society by Kay Cassidy (Egmont USA)

I'm not sure about the release date, but sometime in 2010:
Beka Cooper: Mastiff by Tamora Pierce
Eona: The Last Dragoneye by Alison Goodman (Oct?)

Review: Lips Touch by Laini Taylor

Last word first: Totally absorbing and just scary enough (4/5)

Description: From tempting goblins to curses that come from the very depths of Hell to immortal killers, this collection of short stories explores a few rather life-changing kisses.

My thoughts: Like most collections of short stories, this one was hit-and-miss for me. In the first story, a young girl is tempted by a goblin in disguise. I didn't like it. I almost stopped reading. I'm glad I didn't.

Because the last two stories are phenomenal. In one, a fairy-tale-esque curese turns out a little differently than the curse-giver had planned. I loved the way the story worked in some eastern and some western mythology and somehow managed to present a coherent whole. The characters, while of necessity briefly presented, managed to capture my attention and sympathies. Well worth reading.

The third story is a chilling tale of immortal hunters (nope, they belong to neither of the species you're thinking of) who are tracking a young girl and her mother for reasons unknown. This one really surprised me with the way it twisted bad guys into good guys and suddenly the people you were afraid of ended up being people you felt sorry for. I can't tell you more without giving too much away, so you'll just have to read it for yourself.

The writing throughout this book is simply lovely. Not only is the vocabulary extensive (it's not often I learn a new word reading a novel: odalisque), but the way the words are put together is both distinctive and mesmerizing. I love this quote: "They can hear the blood moving in your veins a mile away. They can smell the color of your hair in the dark." It gives me exactly the chill that I think the author was going for.

A few words need to be said about the illustrations by Jim Di Bartolo (who is the author's husband). They're gorgeous, prefacing and ending each story with a graphic touch that really brings the book to life. I'm steamed that my camera isn't working right now, because I'd really like to take a couple of pictures, just to give you a taste. Maybe at some point in the future. Suffice it to say, the book is beautiful.

Lips touch was a fun read, just scary enough to be enjoyable, not enough to give me nightmares. And I just love looking at it. Adding this one to the permanent shelf.

About Laini Taylor: Her website doesn't want to let me cut and paste an excerpt of her bio. Let me just say, she has pink hair, a daughter named Clementine, and extremely amusing pictures on her website. Click over there and look for yourself.

Cover query: I didn't notice this until I had the two of them sitting side by side on my desk, but don't these covers remind you of each other?

SOT: The Bitter Sting of Disappointment

A couple of weeks ago, I posted my review of Dead Until Dark, book one of the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. I really enjoyed it, and was excited to have found a series with so many books already published to start on.

And now I'm sad. Last night I started reading the next book in the series, Living Dead in Dallas. I basically hate it. It seems to have carried on with the gothic, vampire theme full-tilt, without retaining any of the humor and charm that really drew me to the series in the first place. Or perhaps it just doesn't sparkle the way it used to now that the main characters are together, instead of just flirting. That can be a tough transition to pull off. Anyway, I'm about 75 pages in, and I don't know if I'll bother to continue.

I think maybe my problem is that in between reading books 1 and 2, I watched a couple episodes of True Blood (the TV show based on the series). I did not like it at all. It was far to dark and creepy and had way too many scenes of Jason Stackhouse banging (I'm using that term purposely) random women. So maybe now my view of the books is tainted by the TV show? I'm not sure...

So, has this ever happened to you? You get really excited about the beginning of a series, and then it lets you down. (Yes, I'm looking at you, Season 2 of Grey's Anatomy!) Do you think I should keep going with this series? Grey's got good again...