Listless Monday, Counting the Days Until Spring

6:55 PM mixagrip

Listless Monday was inspired by both Amanda at A Bookshelf Monstrosity's feature Books by Theme and Court at Once Upon a Bookshelf's Listed feature.  Be sure to check out their lists! Busy day = late post, but here it is!  I don't know about you, but being right at the end of January, I'm already hankering for spring.  In fact, I'm counting the days until spring arrives.  So, while I'm counting, I figured I may as well list books that include days or days of the weeks in the titles.  That should help pass the time :)Counting the Days Until SpringAlexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day...


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January Reflections

8:36 AM Nikki

January was the month I discovered Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers. I was charmed by Miss Marple, intrigued by Hercule Poirot, and fell head over heels in love with Lord Peter Wimsey. I also spent some time with a good friend of mine, Orson Scott Card. I just loved reading The Lost Gate and Pathfinder.My favorite quote comes from Dorothy Sayers' Gaudy Night:"Do you find it easy to get drunk on words?""So easy that, to tell you the truth, I am seldom perfectly sober. Which accounts for my talking so much." (330)January was also exciting because of the ALA announcements. Because of these awards and best lists, I read Interrupting Chicken, A...


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Sunday Salon: Week In Review #5

11:32 AM Nikki

What I Reviewed This Week:From Becky's Book ReviewsPathfinder. Orson Scott Card. 2010. November 2010. Simon & Schuster. 662 pages.Heart of a Samurai. Margi Preus. 2010. [August 2010] Harry N. Abrams. 320 pages. Clockwork Angel. (Internal Devices #1) Cassandra Clare. 2010. Simon & Schuster. 479 pages.  The Body in the Library. (Miss Marple) Agatha Christie. 1941/2006. Black Dog & Leventhal. 192 pages.The Rock & Roll Queen of Bedlam. A Wise-Cracking Tale of Secrets, Peril, and Murder! Marilee Brothers. 2009. Medallion Press. 300 pages.Five Little Pigs. (Hercule Poirot) Agatha Christie. 1941/2006. Black Dog & Leventhal....


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A Study in Scarlet

8:28 AM Nikki

A Study in Scarlet. Arthur Conan Doyle. 1887/2003. Random House. 160 pages.In the year 1878 I took my degree of Doctor of Medicine of the University of London, and proceeded to Netley to go through the course prescribed for surgeons in the army. Readers are introduced to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in Arthur Conan Doyle's slim novel, A Study in Scarlet. Not only is this the first introduction of the characters to the audience, but it also shows the introduction of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson to each other. They are introduced by a mutual acquaintance who knows that the other is looking for a roommate to help share costs. The two soon...


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Clockwork Angel (YA)

7:28 AM Nikki

 Clockwork Angel. (Internal Devices #1) Cassandra Clare. 2010. Simon & Schuster. 479 pages.The demon exploded in a shower of ichor and guts.After her aunt's death, Tessa Gray comes to England hoping to start a new life with her older brother, Nate. She expected him to have met her when she arrived. Instead, she was met by the Dark Sisters and was imprisoned for many weeks as she was "trained" to take her 'rightful' place by their master, the Magister. For though Tessa didn't know it, she was a Downworlder, a warlock without the markings of a warlock. A warlock with special shape-shifting abilities. Tessa may not know much about magic,...


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Everybody Kills Somebody Sometime

7:47 PM Nikki

Everybody Kills Somebody Sometime. Robert J. Randisi. 2006. St. Martin's Press. 288 pages.When I spotted Joey Bishop walking toward me across the Sands casino floor, I figured he wasn't heading for a blackjack table.This adult mystery is set during 1960, during the filming of Ocean's 11 in Las Vegas. It stars the Rat Pack: Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Joey Bishop, and Peter Lawford. It's narrated by Eddie Gianelli (Eddie G) a pit boss at the Sands hotel. When the novel opens, he's being given an opportunity to do a favor for Frank Sinatra. Though he's flattered that Frank even knows he exists--to some degree--he is a bit hesitant...


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Library Loot: Fourth Trip in January

5:48 PM Nikki

Can you guess my new obsession?New Loot:ETA:Lafayette and the American Revolution by Russell FreedmanThe Color of Magic by Terry PratchettAnd Then There Were None by Agatha ChristieThe Moving Finger: A Miss Marple Mystery by Agatha ChristieA Caribbean Mystery by Agatha ChristieSad Cypress by Agatha ChristieCat Among Pigeons by Agatha ChristieEvil Under the Sun by Agatha ChristieThe Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha ChristieMiss Marple: The Complete Short Stories by Agatha ChristieCurtain by Agatha ChristieThe Mirror Crack'd by Agatha ChristieTaken at the Flood by Agatha ChristieA Pocket Full of Rye by Agatha ChristieMurder with Mirrors by Agatha...


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In the Mood to Read

7:16 AM mixagrip

So.  Here's something I've been thinking over for quite some time now and I'd love to hear your opinions.  It's something that affects nearly every reading experience I have.  It changes how I look at, how I react to, and even what I think about a book.  It is my mood.  How much does mood affect your reading of a book?  Or what about feelings?  Personal circumstances?  I know that our differing backgrounds and past experiences can influence us to relate more to a character than others who have not experienced those things.  What about the book you just happen to pick up when things are going badly...


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Best of 2010

7:00 AM Nikki

2010 was an interesting year for novels. Honestly it was a struggle to put together a limited list that contained our favorites for the year. Depending on the type of reader you are, this could have been the best year in recent memory, or even a disappointment. Below you will find our list of best reads of 2010 (in no particular order). Keep in mind that this is based upon US releases only, so there may be a few omitted titles. Also keep in mind that Steve cheats and uses full releases by authors rather than just single titles.***BEST OF 2010--These were our collective favorite reads of the year. GEOSYNCHRON by David Louis EdelmanJames Barclay's novels -- ELFSORROW and SHADOWHEARTSWORDS & DARK MAGIC edited by Jonathan Strahan and Lou AndersTHE RAGGED MAN by Tom LloydAdrian Tchaikovsky's...


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Heart of a Samurai (MG)

6:35 AM Nikki

Heart of a Samurai. Margi Preus. 2010. [August 2010] Harry N. Abrams. 320 pages.  Manjiro squinted across the expanse of glittering sea at the line of dark clouds forming on the horizon.Historical fiction set in the 1840s-1850s. Manjiro may have dreamed about one day being a samurai, but, the truth is as a son of a fisherman, his "destiny" was to be a fisherman. Nothing more, nothing less. After a stormy beginning, Manjiro was lucky to be alive. For when he's out and about with a handful of other fisherman--all older, more experienced--their small boat becomes lost at sea. The young men (Manjiro's just fourteen) end up on a desolate rocky...


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Book Review: Academy 7 by Anne Osterlund

5:06 PM mixagrip

Academy 7 by Anne OsterlundPublisher: SpeakPublication date: May 2009ISBN: 9780142414378Source: Library Aerin comes to Academy 7 almost by a lucky chance.  Running from a past she wishes to forget, she throws herself into the rigorous curriculum of this elite school.  Her only competition for the top spot is Dane, a rich and famous boy with a bit too much arrogance.  They strike up a kind of friendship based on hours of time forced to spend together, and begin to learn they both have secrets they're hiding.  But, what they discover is a secret much bigger than just the two of them.Things I Liked: I thought this was a...


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Five Little Pigs

10:15 AM Nikki

Five Little Pigs. (Hercule Poirot) Agatha Christie. 1941/2006. Black Dog & Leventhal. 256 pages.Hercule Poirot looked with interest and appreciation at the young woman who was being ushered into the room. I've enjoyed a couple of other Hercule Poirot stories this past month--including The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Murder on the Orient Express, and ABC Murders--but, I must say that Five Little Pigs is my favorite so far. In this one, Hercule Poirot is investigating a sixteen-year-old murder--a case of poisoning. He's doing this at the request of a young woman, the child of the victim and convicted murderer. Before Caroline Crale's...


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The Rock & Roll Queen of Bedlam

12:53 PM Nikki

The Rock & Roll Queen of Bedlam. A Wise-Cracking Tale of Secrets, Peril, and Murder! Marilee Brothers. 2009. Medallion Press. 300 pages.  Panty hose are a tool of the devil. On a tall woman, the crotch hangs at knee level, so she's forced to crouch and shuffle like Quasimodo. If a woman is vertically challenged, the things slither downward, pooling around her ankles like a reptilian second skin. My trouble began with panty hose.I didn't love it. I didn't hate it. I found it an easy read, a light read. I liked *some* of the humor, especially the first paragraph. But. It wasn't all to my liking--my taste. I will mention, however, that...


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Book Review: Drought by Pam Bachorz

8:04 AM mixagrip

Drought by Pam BachorzPublisher: EgmontUSAPublication date: January 2011ISBN: 9781606840160Source: ARC provided by publicistRuby has lived with her mother and the Congregants for two hundred years, stuck as slaves to Darwin West.  Every day, they gather water with spoons to fill the tanks.  Her mother encourages Ruby to wait on Otto to come and save them from West.  But Ruby has begun to feel that she can't wait for him to come save them anymore.  She is tired of the beatings and the hard, sometimes impossible work.  But, when she meets a new overseer who seems different from the rest, she must make a crucial decision...


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The Body in the Library

12:35 PM Nikki

The Body in the Library. (Miss Marple) Agatha Christie. 1941/2006. Black Dog & Leventhal. 192 pages.Mrs. Bantry was dreaming. The Bantrys are about to get a great shock when this novel opens. They're awakened by their maid, Mary, proclaiming that she's found a dead body in their library! The body is that of a young, beautiful woman--a blond. At first Colonel Bantry doesn't believe it could be true. But Mrs. Bantry handles the situation surprisingly well: with a quick phone call to Miss Marple. She is more than happy to 'help' the police detectives solve another case. Who is this dead woman? How did she come to be in their library? Who...


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Book Review: The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart

9:30 AM mixagrip

Posted as part of Tween Tuesday, hosted by GreenBeanTeenQueen. The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee StewartPublisher: Little, Brown Books for Young ReadersPublication date: May 2008ISBN: 9780316036733Source: Library (audio download) The Mysterious Benedict Society are all together for a fun reunion, but things don't turn out quite how they expected.  When the discover that Mr. Benedict has been kidnapped, they must follow his trail of clues to find out where he is.  But along the way, they will fight off ten men and the other goons who work for Mr. Curtain.  Will they find Mr. Benedict before...


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The Habitation of the Blessed

7:00 AM Nikki

Let's get this out of the way right at the beginning. Catherynne M. Valente is made of magic. She is composed entirely of some strange magical awesome that I would love to have just a fraction of. Are we clear on that? Good. Let's move on.This particular brand of awesome is THE HABITATION OF THE BLESSED, Volume One of A Dirge for Prester John. The work is based loosely on the legends of Prester John--stories told between the 12th and 17th centuries in Europe. These legends told of a Christian King ruling a lost land full of countless wonders. From this Catherynne M. Valente weaves her own unique narrative to bring those legends and that man to...


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Pathfinder (YA)

9:03 AM Nikki

Pathfinder. Orson Scott Card. 2010. November 2010. Simon & Schuster. 662 pages.Saving the human race is a frantic business. Or a tedious one. It all depends on what stage of the process you're taking part in.I loved Pathfinder. I just LOVED it. Why did I love it? Great premise. Great world-building. Great characters. Now, it is the first in a series, I believe, so I think the characters and story will be developed even more in the next one. But. I have no complaints on how they were developed in the first novel. Pathfinder has two stories to tell. The heart of the story focuses on Rigg, a young boy, who is well-educated for a trapper's son....


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Name That Book, Episode 7

7:46 AM mixagrip

Name that Book is a biweekly game where you get to guess a book title from the photo clues. Back from a long hiatus!  Leave your guesses in the comments.  Book 1:Book 2:If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percent...


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Sunday Salon: Week In Review #4

1:40 PM Nikki

Happy Sunday! I "finished" my first reading challenge of the year, the Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge. But I have a feeling, that I won't *really* be done with it for months. I am trying to read a few books a week that are not mysteries. But it would be hard to miss this new obsession of mine!Have you seen the new adaptations of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple novels? I've seen Murder At The Vicarage, The Body in the Library, A Murder is Announced, and 4:50 From Paddington. So far, 4:50 from Paddington is my favorite and best adaptation! What I reviewed:From Becky's Book Reviews:Murder at the Vicarage. A Miss Marple Mystery. Agatha Christie....


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