May Reflections

2:26 PM Nikki

I discovered two great authors this May! I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe series. I wish my library had more of his books! I really do. If they had as many Stout books as they did Christie, I'd be very, very happy! Have you read Rex Stout? Are you familiar with Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin? Do you have a favorite novel or novella from this series?  My other discovery this month is Pearl S. Buck. I read two incredibly wonderful books that I just loved--Kinfolk and East Wind: West Wind. The other Buck novels I read this month--The Good Earth, Sons, A House Divided, and Peony--I had mixed feelings about. But even though I haven't...


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Book Review: The Dark City by Catherine Fisher AND Giveaway

7:17 AM mixagrip

Posted as part of Tween Tuesday, hosted by GreenBeanTeenQueen. I know this series is published and publicized as teen, but I think it has great appeal for tweens who love a rich fantasy.  It was remarkably easy to read as well and will definitely have broad appeal in its age ranges - for both teens and tweens.The Dark City by Catherine FisherPublisher: Dial (Penguin)Publication date: May 2011ISBN: 9780803736733Source: ARC provided by publisherSummary from the publisher:"Welcome to Anara, a world mysteriously crumbling to devastation, where nothing is what it seems: Ancient relics emit technologically advanced powers, members of the old...


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The Neon Court

7:00 AM Nikki

Matthew Swift is the epitome of the urban sorcerer. Proof: he takes the bus. But there are ways he's not your usual sorcerer, the least of which being that he serves as the Midnight Mayor of London. He also shares a body with the blue electric angels. And he's got a conscience.But being the Midnight Mayor is not all roses and bon-bons. Sure he's got a fleet of aldermen to do his bidding...assuming they'd listen to him (it's hard to take a guy seriously when he wears grubby t-shirts). And sure he's powerful enough to have defeated the destroyer of cities in THE MIDNIGHT MAYOR. But now in THE NEON COURT, the underground Tribe and the fae Neon Court...


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Winners in the Armchair BEA Giveaway!

9:24 AM mixagrip

Sorry I postponed announcing the winners - hopefully no one was kept in too much suspense :)I chose two winners!  The winner of the signed ARC of Across the Universe by Beth Revis is...Devan of Book StringsThe second winner, who is getting two bookmarks signed by Ally Condie and Andrea Cremer, is...Julie of My Book RetreatI've contacted both of you and will have the prizes sent out soon. Thanks everyone for entering the giveaway and for stopping by my blog for Armchair BEA!And a happy Memorial Day to all you Americans!If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percent...


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The Penelopiad

6:17 AM Nikki

The Penelopiad: The Myth of Penelope and Odysseus. Margaret Atwood. 2005. 220 pages.Now that I'm dead I know everything. This is what I wished would happen, but like so many of my wishes it failed to come true. I know only a few factoids that I didn't know before. It's much too high a price to pay for the satisfaction of curiosity, needless to say. Since being dead -- since achieving this state of bonelessness, liplessness, breastlessness -- I've learned some things I would rather not know, as one does when listening at windows or opening other people's letters. You think you'd like to read minds? Think again. Down here everyone arrives with...


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The Sunday Salon: Week in Review #22

2:24 PM Nikki

What I reviewed at Becky's Book ReviewsWhat Happened To Goodbye. Sarah Dessen. 2011. Penguin. 416 pages.The Miles Between. Mary E. Pearson. 2009. Henry Holt. 272 pages.   Some Buried Caesar. Nero Wolfe Mystery. Rex Stout. 1938. Random House. 288 pages. The Virginian. Owen Wister. 1902. Penguin Classics. 370 pages.A House Divided. Pearl S. Buck. 1935/2006. Moyer Bell. 348 pages.Peony. Pearl S. Buck. 1948/2006. Moyer Bell. 352 pages.The Last Chronicle of Barset. Anthony Trollope. 1867.  928 pages. What I reviewed at Operation Actually Read BibleOur Awesome God. John MacArthur. 1993/2001. Crossway Books. 176 pages.  © 2011 Becky...


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June Reading List

2:14 PM Nikki

I haven't tried sharing lists of what I'm *hoping* to read lately. So I thought I'd try it for the month of June. Making a list is very fun for me, but I'm not always great at sticking to the lists I make.I do hope to participate in MotherReader's 48 Hour Reading Challenge next weekend (June 3-5). (I haven't decided if I'll be starting Friday afternoon or Friday evening.) So some of these books I'm "saving" just for that event. Several of the adult books are for blog tours. Middle Grade/Young AdultBeauty Queens by Libba BrayThis book begins with a plane crash.  A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness (6/3/2011)The monster showed up just after midnight....


Library Loot: Fourth Trip in May

12:26 PM Nikki

New Loot:Under a War-Torn Sky by L.M. ElliottA Troubled Peace by L.M. ElliottThe Last Unicorn by Peter S. BeagleThe Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick NessThe Temple of the Muses (SPQR Mystery #4) by John Maddox RobertsDaughter of Venice by Donna Jo NapoliThe Year of My Indian Prince by Ella Thorp EllisCatnap by Carole Nelson DouglasWish You Were Here by Rita Mae Brown & Sneaky Pie BrownTrue Grit by Charles PortisChime by Franny Billingsley Our Only May Amelia by Jennifer L. HolmThe Trouble with May Amelia by Jennifer L. HolmDickens' Fur Coat and Charlotte's Unanswered Letters by Daniel PoolThe Cat Who Could Read Backwards by Lilian Jackson...


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The Armchair Stops Here

10:58 AM mixagrip

Well, another Armchair BEA has come to an end.  It was fantastic, as it was last time.  A huge thank you goes out to all of the organizers of this event!  All that time and effort really made those of us who didn't get to go to BEA feel like we were a part of something just as fun.  Here's what happened this week: Day 1: Welcome to my blog - intro to me!Day 2: Enter my giveaway for a signed ARC of Across the Universe by Beth RevisDay 3: Read my interview with Laura of Tattooed BooksDay 4: My advice on how to win publishers and influence bloggersDay 5: Blogging about blogging: the blog is not my life  My favorite part...


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Book Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

10:21 AM mixagrip

Divergent by Veronica RothPublisher: HarperCollinsPublication date: May 2011ISBN: 9780062024022Source: ARC sent by publishers Beatrice has spent her life in the Abnegation faction, where selflessness is the most prized attribute.  But, when she turns sixteen and gets to choose whether to stay with her family in Abnegation or go somewhere else, she decides to leave it behind, along with all the feelings of inadequacy for not being selfless enough.  Choosing Dauntless, however, ends up being a lot more difficult than she originally thought, as she must fight for her life every day.  Danger is lurking around every corner, and...


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The Last Chronicle of Barset

8:47 AM Nikki

The Last Chronicle of Barset. Anthony Trollope. 1867.  928 pages.  'I can never bring myself to believe it, John.' said Mary Walker, the pretty daughter of Mr. George Walker, attorney of Silverbridge. I love Anthony Trollope. I do. You know I do. So finishing The Last Chronicle of Barset was bittersweet for me. On the one hand, I loved it. It was such a great book. There are so many old friends to be found within it. So many characters that I've come to know and love through the first five books--The Warden, Barchester Towers, Doctor Thorne, Framley Parsonage. The Small House At Allington. And it was great to visit with them...


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The Miles Between (YA)

8:04 AM Nikki

The Miles Between. Mary E. Pearson. 2009. Henry Holt. 272 pages.  I was seven the first time I was sent away. This raised eyebrows, even among by parent's globe-trotting friends, and I was brought back home in short order. Rumors are embarrassing, you know? A nanny was employed, but that only partially solved their problem. I was still in the house. I was seen and heard. When I turned eight years old, it seemed reasonable enough to send me off again. And they did. They never kept me at any one place for long. Des (Destiny) Faraday, our narrator, doesn't have many friends. Then again, she doesn't want any friends. Readers meet her on...


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Peony

6:43 AM Nikki

Peony. Pearl S. Buck. 1948/2006. Moyer Bell. 352 pages.It was spring in the city of K'aifeng, a late spring in the northern Chinese province of Honan. Behind the high city walls the peach trees, planted in courtyards, bloomed earlier than they did upon the farms spreading over the level plains around the moat. Yet even in such shelter the peach blossoms were still only rosy buds at Passover.Is it possible to be fascinated by a book that you don't quite like? I think so for I found Peony by Pearl S. Buck to be completely fascinating and compelling and yet not quite to my liking. Narrated by a bondmaid, Peony, readers learn about a Jewish community...


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A House Divided

6:22 PM Nikki

A House Divided. Pearl S. Buck. 1935/2006. Moyer Bell. 348 pages.   In this way Wang Yuan, son of Wang the Tiger, entered for the first time in his life the earthen house of his grandfather, Wang Lung.The third book in Pearl S. Buck's The Good Earth trilogy. (The first two books are The Good Earth and Sons.) Is A House Divided the best of the three? Perhaps if you prefer books where characters actually have names (and some character development).At the end of Sons, Wang Yuan had returned home to face his father. He'd been sent away to school--to learn how to become a soldier--and now he's returned. In Sons, I didn't quite grasp why...


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Armchair BEA: Blogging is NOT My Life

8:52 AM mixagrip

Today's Armchair BEA topic is blogging tips and I really only have one or two thoughts on this.  Go to the Armchair BEA site for more extensive advice :)I "attended" the twitter party last night and boy was it crazy!  One thing I noticed being RTed over and over was something @BookaliciousPam said (and of course I can't find it now).  Essentially, book bloggers sometimes feel like they HAVE to post.  But we don't.  If you don't want to or don't feel like it, don't!!  It's much easier (for me) to say than to follow through.  I hate missing more than a day or two, but sometimes you just gotta take a break. ...


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Black Blade Blues

7:00 AM Nikki

Sarah Beuhall is pretty sure she needs therapy. Her personal demons of doubt and self-identity keep her from being happy with her life, even though at first it appears to be going well. She's got a job she loves (blacksmithing; props for a local B movie director), beautiful girlfriend who loves her (Katie), and a chosen family in her Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) reenactor friends--so why does everything still seem to go wrong?But none of those problems are nearly as bad as the ones that revolve around her ownership of a black-bladed sword: these more immediate problems involve dwarves, Old Norse gods, and dragons. BLACK BLADE BLUES...


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Armchair BEA: How to Win Publishers and Influence Bloggers

6:21 AM mixagrip

Ok, right from the start, let's just say I'm the one in need of advice about blogger/author/publisher relationships. I'll be reading everyone else's relationship posts religiously for some tips.  Mind you, I have some contacts with publishers, publicists, and authors, but I'm definitely not a model for others to emulate.  So, with that oversized grain of salt, here's my two cents:1. Remain courteous no matter what.  Seriously, imagine being face to face with them, would you say nasty things?  No.  If someone is making you angry, cool off before you shoot them an email (or twitter/other social network something nasty). ...


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The Virginian

8:05 AM Nikki

The Virginian. Owen Wister. 1902. Penguin Classics. 370 pages.Some notable sight was drawing the passengers, both men and women, to the window; and therefore I rose and crossed the car to see what it was. I saw near the track an enclosure, and round it some laughing men, and inside it some whirling dust, and amid the dust some horses, plunging, huddling, and dodging. They were cow ponies in a corral, and one of them would not be caught, no matter who threw the rope.I do not read many westerns. (If I remember correctly, this is only my second or third western. Depending on if you count These is My Words by Nancy E. Turner. My first western was...


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