More Supernatural Reading

So I'm still going on this "It's October, which means Halloween, which means SPOOKY! VAMPS and WEREWOLVES and CREEPERS! Oh my!" kick so my reading choices have fallen under the supernatural realm as of late.



Dead and Gone
by Charlaine Harris
312 pages

The ninth Sookie Stackhouse book. Finally. Not much different with this one from the other 8...but it's still entertaining. And I still can't decide which of Sookie's many suitors I like best. For now, she's just stuck with Eric though so I have no choice! I do feel oh-so-bad for Quinn after this book though. Life is so not fair in the supernatural world.

7 out of 10 stars. Good, wholesome (yea, right) vamp-y fun.




Halfway to the Grave
by Jeaniene Frost
358 pages

So this is a new series that I picked up from PBS because it suggested that I would like it since I like the Sookie books. Plus, I wanted some fluffy summer reading (which of course kept getting pushed back in the TBR pile and is now fluffy fall reading). Cat is a half human, half vampire (her mother was raped) who now dedicates herself to killing vampires, since her mother bore into her that they are all evil and BAD. Then she meets Bones, a 200-some odd year old vampire who also kills vampires. Interesting...So hijinx ensue, Cat and Bones get it on, and the bad guys are killed. Oh and some secret government agency is now after Cat so they can use her abilities to help them out. It was entertaining, action packed, and had a little loving splashed in there for good measure. It gets a little smutty in a couple parts but at least the cover isn't TOO embarassing to have out in public!

7.5 out of 10 stars. I'm glad that I have the other 3 sitting on my shelf waiting.

BTT: Fluffy Reading

What’s the lightest, most “fluff” kind of book you’ve read recently?

Well, it's summertime which means that I've been reading things that can easily be enjoyed while either sitting up at the lake or on my back porch sipping an ice cold drink. This means LOTS of fluff! Most recently was the seventh book in the Southern Vampire Mysteries series by Charlaine Harris, All Together Dead.

I haven't even reviewed it on here because after reading the last 6 Sookie books, there isn't a whole lot that changes. Sookie's living her life partially in the real world where she's a waitress, but mostly in the supernatural world where she's used for her telepathic abilities by the vampires and were-animals. She of course gets herself into some big-time trouble but manages to escape. Such is the main storyline throughout these books, with mostly just the main love interest (that Sookie sure does get around!) and the deadly situation changing . But, they are fun, quick little reads and their mass market paperback size makes for convenient toting around. Perfect for summertime!

What was the last "fluffy" book you read?

Monday Musings: Serial book-ist

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about book series…

Do you prefer to read stand-alone books, or books in series? Do you stick with a series the whole way through or stop after the first instalment? Are there any particular series you enjoy?(question courtesy of Elena)

Lately, I've been reading a LOT of books in a series. I have been re-reading Harry Potter, finished Jessica Darling's, been slowly but surely taking in Outlander, and every once in a while taking down one of Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire Mysteries. Out of the 53 books I have read so far this year, 35 of them are stand-alone books. I think that this is a fairly low number of stand-alones compared to most years simply because there are just so many great series out there right now! I guess that I should just put myself in the serial book-ist category.

All the series that I've picked up this year, I have every intention of finishing up (with the His Dark Materials being lowest on the TBR pile) because I enjoy them so much. Unless I really, REALLY dislike a first book in a series, I always eventually finish the series. Outlander is taking a little bit of time just because I like to get in a few shorter books in between the mammoth tomes that Diana Gabaldon writes, but I will definitely get there (hopefully before Echo in the Bone arrives on my doorstep!). The series that I'm really looking forward to starting, but haven't yet, is The Hunger Games. I've heard a lot of good things about it but at this point I haven't received it from PBS yet and I figure that I might as well wait until I own a copy (especially since I'm pretty high on the wishlist for the second book).

Are there any series out there that you really enjoy? Or are you not a fan of the series?

BTT: The Best and the Worst

I didn't do last week's BTT, so I'm going to combine both last week's and this week's into one since they are so closely related.

8/13/09: What’s the worst book you’ve read recently? (I figure it’s easier than asking your all-time worst, because, well, it’s recent!)

This would probably have to be The Mist by Stephen King. It was cheesy and kind of dumb and really, just like any other lame "monsters are taking over the world!" story. It was way too predictable, the characters were the same ones that you expect in any story like this (the hero, the nonbeliever, the child, the "I told you so!" person...), and the ending didn't give any resolution. Not Mr. King's best and even the prospect of seeing Mark Wahlberg makes me want to see the movie.

8/20/09: What’s the best book you’ve read recently? (Tell me you didn’t see this one coming?)

Now this question is TOUGH. I feel like I've read a ton of really great books lately! Although, a lot of them are a part of a series. I finished the Jessica Darling series recently and that was witty and hilarious, especially the fifth book. And, I also just recently finished the fourth book in the Outlander series, Drums of Autumn which, of course, was wonderful. The only non-series book that sticks out to me lately would be Without You: a memoir of love, loss and the musical RENT by Anthony Rapp. That book just really struck my heartstrings, it was so well excuted. I know that that might by an odd way to describe a book, but the use of the lines and lyrics from Rent in relation to the different points in his life really made the book stick out to me.

What about you? What are your recent bests and worsts??

Finishing up with Jessica Darling

I read Sloppy Firsts and Second Helpings a couple weeks ago but, alas, had to wait for the library request to go through to get my mitts on the last three books in the saga of Jessica Darling. This was alright though because as much as I like Jessica and have enjoyed reliving my high school days through her journal entries, I just feel very hot and cold about Marcus Flutie. But, I still had to find out how the series ended. (There very well may be spoilers in this...)

Charmed Thirds

by Megan McCafferty

359 pages

In this book, the writing format starts to deviate from the first two books just slightly. Instead of this book being just one year in the life of Jessica Darling, it ends up being all of her college years at Columbia, while Marcus is in California being, well, Marcus. During their first year on opposite coasts everything seems to be going great...then the time apart starts to wear on them a bit (especially Jessica because who in the world knows what Marcus is thinking!?) and after a particularly stressful week of "Are we really ready to be this serious?" thoughts, Jessica gets drunk and ends up fooling around with a Republican (gasp! Oh noes!!!) co-ed. This brought back some raging memories from my past...wow...because I seriously did this same exact thing to MY high-school-into-college-boyfriend, so I can kind of relate (except we weren't soul mates by any stretch of the imagination, like Jessica and Marcus seem to be).

Anyways, when Marcus finds out, he takes a vow of silence then sends himself off to a completely secluded ranch for troubled men (or something like that) in the middle of the desert where he can have no contact with anyone, except by letters. He then begins sending one word postcards to Jessica each month, because leaving her to be alone in the desert without saying goodbye isn't hard enough on the girl. Ugh. Stupid Marcus. At this point, I hate him. But, in the end, he shows up at her door with a Barry Manilow decoupaged toilet seat cover and a box full of his journals that he wrote (mostly about Jessica) while in the desert. Awww...love him again...even though I will never read those journals and desperately want to...

Fourth Comings

309 pages

Now the book format changes again. It's still in journal entries, but it's intended to be read by Marcus. It begins with Jessica explaining why she is getting drunk at 3 in the afternoon at a Princeton college bar. "I'm breaking up with my boyfriend today."

What?!?! But you and Marcus just got back together! Noooo!!!

Okay, well it comes out that Marcus applied to Princeton (without telling Jessica) and got accepted which means he's a 23 year old freshman living in the dorms. And I totally understand what she means when she tells him that she can't handle that because he's going to be the mysterious older guy who gets nicknames (there was a guy in my dorm who was a grad student and looked like D'Angelo so that was his nickname) and girls will throw themselves at him (yup they did). So, when Jessica returns to his dorm from the bar to break up with him, he ends up getting down on one knee and proposing. Everyone say "awwww!!!" Yup, I was excited for them at first too. I really liked Marcus (again) at this point! Jessica is of course shocked, somewhat appalled, yet can't find it in herself to say yes (or no). So she takes the next seven days to write in her journal to Marcus all her thoughts and what leads her to her ultimate decision. At the end of this book, it was my favorite of the series.

Perfect Fifths

255 pages

Then I opened this book and realized that THIS was my favorite of the series. It's written in third person (which completely makes sense when you read the book) so you get to read both Jessica's AND Marcus' thoughts! YAY! Finally! A little insight into Marcus.

So it's three years after Jessica and Marcus ended their relationship (she said no) and they haven't spoken since. Of course neither has gotten over the other, but they can't be the one to make the first contact. Jessica is at the airport, running to catch her flight when she literally runs right into Marcus. She ends up missing her flight and the rest of the book is the 18 hours that follows and how they reconnect and rediscover who the other is and who they can be together. It's all incredibly sweet and I absolutely (FINALLY!) love Marcus because I finally can be in his head a little and he's grown up a bit and doesn't seem to do things just for a reaction so much any more. Seriously, this was the perfect ending to the series and it's worth reading the other four books just to get to this one.

The ratings for Thirds, Fourths, and Fifths, respectively are: 7.5, 8.5, and 9.5 out of 10 stars. I would definitely recommend this series.

Review: Drums of Autumn

Drums of Autumn

by Diana Gabaldon

880 pages

4th book in the Outlander series

First off, if you haven't read this series yet then read my initial review of the first book in this series, Outlander, and then GO READ IT. NOW! I really can't say enough good things about these books. They are action packed and romantic and funny...I just really enjoy them (and they are LONG so at least you know that the fun will last for a while!).

In DoA, Jamie (*drool*) and Claire are in the 1770's, living in the colonies. Jamie gets a land grant and begins building the Fraser's Ridge community. Claire is with him, of course, and spending her time healing, mid-wifing, ect. Meanwhile, back in USA circa 1970's, Claire and Jamie's daughter is developing a plan to head back to the stones in Iverness to meet her real dad. Roger (the Scotsman who helped Claire find Jamie again) figures this out after the fact and goes after her. They both cross the ocean from Scotland to the colonies (separately), Roger finds her, they separate again, HUGE mistakes are made and a LOT of drama ensues. And it's all very exciting and I could sit here and tell you all about it, but really, you should just go read it.

9 out of 10 stars. I just love me some James Alexander Malcolm Mackenzie Fraser. Oh, and reading about the interaction between Jamie and Brianna just warms my heart (or makes me crack up laughing!)

Reviews: Next in Series

So I'm trying to catch up on all my reviews and these next two are both from series and are both Young Adult, so I'm just going to put them together :)



Second Helpings
by Megan McCafferty
349 pages

2nd book in the Jessica Darling Series.



So Jessica is moving on to her senior year of high school and trying to forget all things Marcus Flutie related as much as possible. She has a new goal for the next year (go to Columbia U! even though her parents have already vetoed all colleges in large cities), is still dealing with her best friend living far away, and has to come to terms with her grandmother aging and being put into a nursing home. All the while, there's the normal high school angst and drama lurking around every corner between Jessica and her friends/non-friends and new used-to-be-a-nerd-but-now-is-cute boyfriend. And of course, Marcus is there firing off mixed signals and keeping tabs on Jessica by befriending her grandmother because he happens to work at the nursing home.

I love Jessica. But I have a love/hate relationship with Marcus. One minute I'm thinking that he's just leading her on, and then I'm like "Oh my gosh, he's so SWEET! He wrote her a song!!" (which P.S. I had a boyfriend in high school who wrote me a song and it made me swoon, even though the song really wasn't that good...I think that I may possibly have a cassette tape of it somewhere in the "remnants of high school" storage bin...definitely have to find that...) but then I'm all "Ugh! He's leading her on again!!" So now I must continue the series since I would love to hear more from Jessica and I just have to know whether I like Marcus or not. I've already requested 3, 4, and 5 from the library. They should be in any day now...

8 out of 10 stars. This series is PERFECT for summer!

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
by J.K. Rowling
652 pages

I've been rereading this series in preparation for the release of the 6th movie (which is based on this book). I just love Harry Potter. It's going to sit on my bookshelf forever so one day my kids then my grandkids can read it, I swear!!!

I had only read this one once, when it first came out so there was plenty of stuff that I had forgotten. Harry has mostly gotten past his angsty stage that occurred during all of the fifth book, so I was back to really enjoying his character. And Dumbledore was back to being involved in Harry's life and giving him lessons, which were really just preparing Harry for what he must do to defeat Voldemort in the end. There is just so much foreshadowing in these books, I can hardly believe it. I think that that is what makes them so interesting to reread. You can pick up on things that you know hint to things ahead (since you know what happens in the future) but of course, you didn't see it the first time around. So great. JK Rowling is a purty smart lady.

I'm not going to bore you all with a synopsis since I'm sure most people have read it and if you haven't then READ THIS SERIES! I highly doubt that anyone would regret reading HP. But, here are a few of my favorite parts:

• Hearing about the early memories of Tom Riddle.
• Harry taking the Liquid Luck and getting the memory from Slughorn.
• Harry realizing that he likes Ginny and Ron and Hermione finally figuring out that they like eachother!
• Hermione getting huffy about Harry doing better than her in potions.
• Hermione losing a bit of the goody-goody-ness and Confunding Cormac! LOL
• The Tonks/Lupin thing...LOVE!
• Draco not being able to do it...there's hope for him, really!
• and the end...oh Dumbledore...sooooo sad.

Then I went and saw the movie...and I really think that they did a pretty good job! Especially after the suckfest that was the fifth movie. I still don't know why they don't mention that Ron and Hermione are prefects and that Harry is Quidditch Captain, but I guess that isn't TOO important really. There were some really hilarious parts and while I was nervous that they would focus too much on the teenage love fest, it really was smoothly put in (except the beginning with the Underground coffee shop girl? what was that?). The fight in the end wasn't what I expected either, and the Tonks/Lupin story was pretty much entirely left out so I don't know exactly how they will deal with that story line during Bill and Fleur's wedding (oh and Fleur wasn't in the movie, so how will that work?). I wish that the fight scene would have been more dramatic and had more of the Order involved (like in the book) and I wish that they would have actually shown some of the funeral scene with the white tomb because that really could have been beautiful, but overall not bad for a movie adaptation.

10 out of 10 stars for the book. 8 out of 10 for movie.

Review: Sloppy Firsts

Sloppy Firsts

by Megan McCafferty

304 pages

First in Jessica Darling series.

I've been hearing a lot of great things about this book (the entire series really) lately. I figured that it would be a book that would be just perfect to read while laying in the sun...light read, not needing a lot of thought, if I drift off, no big deal I pick it up later...and I was definitely right. I read this entire book on the 4th of July while laying out on the pontoon boat at my in-laws' lake cottage! It was perfect.

The novel is about Jessica Darling. It follows her through the second half of her sophomore year of high school until the middle of her junior year. The actual dates? January 2000 through December 31st 2000. And ya know what? That's the exact same years that I was a sophomore and junior in high school. Hmmmm...this could be interesting! The novel is also told in monthly letters to her best friend, Hope, who was forced to move away after her older brother had dies of a drug overdose and Jessica's journal entries. Guess what? When I was in high school, at this exact age, I kept journals too. Yup. Sure did. And, they sounded a lot like some of Jessica's entries dealing with the cliques, being a brainiac, nerdy type, captain of a sports team, trying to not be defined by the super jock who may like you...it all hits close to home. And makes me kind of want to read those old journals again (except I can't because I shredded all that incriminating evidence long ago!) All this just shows that Jessica Darling is REAL. and funny. and refreshing. She's not the typical popular high school girl that everyone LOVES but secretly hates. She's friendly but not overly so, sometimes angsty, argues with her parents, and ends up having a pseudo non-relationship with a guy that she probably shouldn't.

Anyways, for this review, I don't think that the plot matters so much. I mean, we've all been to high school and remember what it was like. A lot of Jessica's experiences are ones that we've all had or heard about or were there watching. So far, I'm really enjoying looking back at the high school experience through Jessica's eyes. Just so long as I don't ACTUALLY have to relive it! Oh, and everyone I know LOVES Marcus, except I kinda don't...am I going to start liking him? when?? I know in high school, I probably would have had a huge crush on him though...at least that shows that I've grown up a bit right?? hahaha :)

8.5 out of 10. great for the beach/lake/pool. Now on the Second Helpings!

Review: Harry Potter 5

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

by J.K. Rowling

870 pages

I was taking a nice long break from rereading the HarryPotter series in preparation for the release of the 6th movie. But, I realized that July 15th is fast approaching so I had better get on it! The Order of the Phoenix is probably my least favorite of the Potter series. Before now, I had only read it once all the way through and only made it about halfway before the movie came out (I found my bookmark still in there). I actually made it through it this time and I have to say that I enjoyed it a little more this time around, although Harry still bothered me.

Okay, if you haven't read this book/series...well do it now. I'm going to skip the summary since so many already know what it's about.

This is the first of the series where Harry is REALLY stepping into his teenage years. He's full of angst, hurt, anger and, of course, confusion about girls. I can understand some of his hurt and anger. I mean, he's not being told ANYTHING about what's going on and the Ministry along with that horrible Umbridge woman are making it nearly impossible for anyone to believe him or take him seriously. Then, Dumbledore, his beloved mentor and friend, is avoiding him like the plague. On to top it all off, he's having dreams and experiencing emotions of Voldemort's. I'm sure that's not fun but seriously Harry. Quit with the angstiness and the "You don't understand!"-s. I mean, maybe they would get it if you just TALKED about it! Jeez. Keeping it all bottled in will just make it worse, as Sirius can probably tell him since he's locked up in an old creepy house full of his family's dark, nasty stuff.

The times spend with the secret Dumbledore's Army group doing Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons are probably my favorite parts. Harry is much less angst-ridden then because he's teaching others that actually believe him and doing something that he really enjoys. Plus, all that training really comes in handy at the end. Oh and the prophecy! I love that JK Rowling came up with this. "either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives" Ahh, what a great foreshadowing for the last two books. I'm just gearing up for that epic battle that I know will take place!*

8 out of 10 stars. I really liked it once I got past the angst, plus there's a ton of important back story and foreshadowing in this one.

THEN, I watched the movie again. I hadn't seen it since it was released in theaters TWO years ago! And truthfully, I didn't remember a whole lot about it, just bits and pieces.

Since rewatching it, I remember now why I wasn't really impressed with this movie. So much was left out!!! Nothing about Ron and Hermione being Prefects, or the feud between the Weasley family and Percy, or the cleaning of the Black house, and NO QUIDDITCH! None at all!!! So you didn't get to see Ron become the goal keeper and the twins and Harry never beat up on Draco so no lifelong ban! Ridiculous. Also, they didn't put Firenze in there at all so the angry centaurs weren't 100% explained. Oh and the battle at the end wasn't the same either. I mean, they didn't show any of the students that came to help Harry get hurt and they didn't show the different rooms within the Department of Mysteries. Oh oh oh! AND, Dumbledore didn't tell Harry WHY he needs to stay at the Dursley's! Dude! That is important.

I don't really understand how they are going to work all the left out stuff from the 5th movie into the 6th. I hope that they don't keep getting further and further away from the books because that'd be really disappointing. We'll see though! Only a couple more weeks until Half Blood Prince is released!

6 out of 10 on movie #5. I think that I would like it more if I had never read the book though. too much left out!

*Take notes Stephenie Meyer! This is how epic battles are done!!!!

Book Reviews: a couple of Mass Market PB's

Okay, so, I've been a very bad book blogger. It's been busy around my household (wedding-related events, family gatherings, painting rooms, water leaks in basements...) and around work (stuff not working right and having to be completely redone, ah, such is life in a lab) so I haven't been able to post in a while. Luckily, I have had some time to read! So you all will be getting a handful of reviews this week, starting with a couple of fun, summertime mass market paperbacks.




Angels and Demons
by Dan Brown
569 pages


I've been wanting to read this (and The DaVinci Code) for a while now and finally picked it when I realized that the movie was coming out soon. Since A&D is technically the prequel, I decided to read it first fully expecting not very much from the book. I seem to hear a lot of good reviews from a more non-literary crowd and a lot of bad "but it's not literature" kind of reviews elsewhere. I get both sides now that I've read it but I thought, for summer and wanting something action packed and not too difficult to read, this was perfect and I really enjoyed it.

So Robert Langdon is a religious symbology professor from Harvard. He's called in to help investigate a super-top-secret murder at a research science place (CERN) in Geneva. (PS they had a crazy fast airplane pick him up and take him from the US to Switzerland in an HOUR! how awesome would that be?!) Anyways, the murder is kept secret because there's a brand on the victim's chest that says "Illuminati" which was a group of scientists that were against the catholic church because well, science and religion don't normally mix well. But they're suppose to be EXTINCT! Since Langdon is an expert on the Illuminati legends and can't believe that they could be back, he sets out to find out who did this exactly, if the Illuminati are back and what their plan is because oh yea, they stole something that could seriously destroy a whole city.

The rest of the book is full of action, people being murdered, a secret scavenger hunt, and a guessing game of Who is the Bad Guy? but it's exciting and as long as you can get past some of the not-so-great writing style, it's worth a read. Just be prepared to be told that you will need to remember something later as in, "so-and-so says that X amount of wind resistance will slow your body enough to reduce the force of impact by X amount. Little did I know that I (Langdon) would find this information useful within the next 24 hours" or something like that. I mean does Dan Brown seriously think that I don't comprehend what I am reading on page 100 enough to remember it when I'm on page 400? I hate when authors give away what's going to happen like that. I mean, couldn't he have just waited until the big fall, have Langdon remember that info and then say something like "man, I'll have to remember to thank so-and-so for telling me about wind resistance!"

So, 7 out of 10. I really like the blend of science and religion and it was action packed but the writing was eeehhhh....






The Mist
by Stephen King
230 pages



I'm not a big Stephen King reader. As a matter of fact, I'm pretty sure the only other book of his that I've read is The Green Mile, but I had to read something because it's worth a whopping 25 points for the Spring Book Challenge. My best friend just happened to have this one on her shelf so I stole, er borrowed, it when I returned her copy of The Historian to her (which I had had for at least two years...)

Anyways, on to the story complete with scary-movie-style commentary in italics. There's a big storm one night and the next morning an eerie looking mist is coming across the lake. "Oh, it'll just burn off later with the sun," says the main guy. Uh huh, yeah right. A few hours later, the mist is still coming. Main guy and his son (who's like 8?) head to the store while wife stays behind. Bad move, wife. Once in the store, the mist comes faster and soon you can't see more than a few feet in front of the store windows. Some people decide to leave but never come back and their screams are heard so everyone else is terrified. At one point a bag boy opens a loading dock door and gets taken by something huge with tentacles. good one, dude. Then a few more people decide sitting around is ridiculous and they decide to leave. Because it worked out so well for the last people... Anyways, they all die and the crazy lady in the store keeps spouting off about how it's the end of the world. There always has to be a crazy lady doesn't there? Main guy finally develops a plan to get out but doesn't know how far the mist goes or if anyone else is alive out there. The ending is one of those non-ending endings, where nothing is resolved and you don't really know what's out there but ya know, there's hope still. But, you're probably going to run out of gas before you get out of the mist, buddy.

5 out of 10 stars. I like my endings to actually explain something. But I might see the movie because Marky Mark = Yum.

Teaser Tuesday and Memorial Day make-up

• Teaser Tuesday is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page.
• You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
• Please, no spoilers!!!

"And here was the message: the head hung separately, the body parts stacked on my ice tray, and that damned mirror again. Combined with the total lack of interest in everything else in the apartment, it all added up to only one thing.

But what?"

page 129 of Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay

Such a good TV show and so far, the book is really good too! I highly suggest both. Review for this one should be up sometime tomorrow since I'm sure I'll finish it tonight.

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about gift certificates…

Do you give gift certificates to book stores as presents? If so, do you give for actual stores or online stores? Do you like to receive them yourself?

I like to give book store gift certificates for presents to people that I know like books, but I don't necessarily know what they've read or would like to read. My husband and I actually gave Barnes and Noble gift cards to our host couple (an aunt and uncle) because we knew that they both like to read quite a bit, and we didn't know what restaurants they had near them, so a restaurant gift card was out. Barnes and Noble is my default gift card to get for a gift since they are pretty much everywhere (there's no Borders here, the closest is an hour away) and if there isn't a B&N around, you can also use it online. Their shipping rates are pretty reasonable as well. Oh, and if I do get someone an actual book as a gift, I almost always get that at B&N as well, and include a gift receipt just in case.

I absolutely LOVE getting bookstore gift cards. I definitely try to use them to get something that I wouldn't normally get for myself, like a hardcover book that I've been waiting for to come out or a couple of paperbacks that I could get from the library, but really want to OWN! The next bookstore gift card I get, I'll be using it to get The Outlandish Companion. Hopefully I get one soon!

Bad Blogger Reading Recap

Hey! I'm alive!!! I haven't posted reviews in SO long and have been a bad, bad book blogger, but I hope to get back on track this week with these two catch-up reviews today, a catch-up Musing Mondays in a few minutes, and another review (and giveaway!) later this week! So, watch out for that, since it's my first. :) ooooh, I'm a giveaway virgin! Anyways, on to the reviewin'.




A Wrinkle in Time
by Madeleine L'Engle
203 pages
Juvenile Fiction

I first read this book when I was in 6th grade and I HATED it. Ugh, I can still remember the angst of having to talk about this book and right a report on it when I just loathed it. I don't remember what I was interested in reading at that time in my life, but this book definitely wasn't it. So, when the challenge category of reading a book with The Nest Book Club and participate in the monthly discussion came up, and this was the chosen April book, I for some reason decided that it would be a good idea to read it again because there's a chance that I was just an angst-filled 6th grader who didn't see the wonderful qualities in this book...but then again, it really could just not be my cup of tea.

Unfortunately, it ended up being the latter. I guess that I didn't really hate it as much as my 6th grade self did, but I definitely didn't enjoy it. And, if I would have remembered the ending more clearly, I probably wouldn't have finished it this time around. But, I stuck with it, and was still pretty unimpressed.

The story begins with Meg, a typical, awkward 14 year old girl whose parents are scientists and little brother is "weird" but really is some ahead-of-our-time genius. Meg does poorly in school, even though she's really quite bright, and basically complains a lot about how she's a misfit, awkward, etc. Meg's father has been gone for a few years now doing some top-secret science thing and Meg complains about missing him a lot too. One night, her little brother meets a weird lady named Mrs. Whatsit, and her friends Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which. The three Mrs. tesser (AKA travel through physical space very quickly) Meg and her brother to another planet which is being overrun with evil (a dark cloud around the planet) to find and save her father. Evil-ness occurs, Meg whines, Father is saved, and everyone arrives back at home without making a very big impact on the huge evil.

The one good part about reading this as an adult would be that now I know why I don't care for it. First, I just wasn't interested in Meg figuring things out and defeating evil. I was annoyed by her character's seemingly constant whining and complaining about things that she could change if she just put a little work and effort into it. The other thing that kind of bothered me was that this was a very sci-fi themed book with references to mind reading and control, time and space warping, and rearranging particles yet there were several references to God not just by the Earth people, but by the creatures from other planets. To me, this just didn't really fit because it was basically insinuating that everyone has the same God, when even solely here on Earth, that isn't necessarily the case. The religious God references just didn't quite seem to fit into the theme of the book, in my opinion. I would read a line mentioning religion or God and just think to myself, "huh, that seemed a little out of left field..."

So, I have to give A Wrinkle in Time redo a 4 out of 10. I didn't like it (again) but I'm pretty sure that my sixth grade self would have given it a 0 or 1, so it's a slight improvement over that. I just hope that my someday children won't have to read it...there's definitely better things out there.







Voyager
Book 3 of the Outlander Series
by Diana Gabaldon
870 pages



Ahhhhh, now THIS is more like it!!! After dragging myself through A Wrinkle in Time, a bit of time with Claire and Jamie was JUST what I needed. Voyager picks up where Dragonfly In Amber leaves off. Claire is in Scotland with her daughter, Brianna, and has just discovered that Jamie did not die in the battle at Culloden. She decides that she will find where he ended up with the help of Bree and Roger, and may be able to return to him. The first part of the book alternates between Claire talking about their research to find Jamie's whereabouts after the battle and Jamie actually getting away from the battle alive and what all he is going through. I loved this part because I just ACHED for the both of them. I mean, Jamie knew that Claire was gone and really, he wanted to die at that battle, he really was planning on dying! So they are both just going through life knowing that they will never see their true love again. So. Sad.

Anyways, Claire finally finds where Jamie is at approximately 1768 (since the rocks took her back almost 200 years exactly) and decides to go and find him. I stayed up until well past my bedtime reading this section because I just had to see them reunited!!! And, I almost squee'd out loud when Claire walked into his printing shop and he FAINTED at the sight of her (and I would have squee'd had my husband not been next to me sleeping). Ah, true love! Reunited! And it feels SO good! but of course, the good cannot last because Jamie is always into something not-quite-legal...and this causes Claire to accept Jamie as the man he is now, for the sake of the man she once knew and they embark on a crazy adventure from Scotland all the way to West Indies.

Throughout it all there's love, passion, adventure, and a bit of humor and I just can't get enough! 10 out of 10 stars. Better than Dragonfly in Amber by a smidgen since the newlywed type passion was back.

Book Review: Dragonfly in Amber

Dragonfly In Amber (Book 2 of Outlander Series)

by Diana Gabaldon

747 pages

Wow oh wow. I love this series. LOVE it. (see Outlander review here) Alright, here's the jist of this one:

At the beginning of the book, Claire is in 1968 and has lived in her correct time for 20 years, none of those years being in Scotland. Frank has died. She has a daughter, the spitting image of Jamie, with whom she finally returns to Scotland with to reveal her true, yet bizarre, time travel story. Of course her daughter doesn't believe her and is all upset and angst-y. So *flashback* while Claire tells the story of how she came to be back in present time, pregnant with Jamie's child.

Claire is back in 1744 and is married to Jamie. Jamie has survived some serious injuries (thanks to Claire) and they've now decided that they must try to stop the Rising of '45 (with Bonnie Prince Charlie and all that) and the battle of Culloden from happening. So, they head on over to France, Jamie takes over his cousin's merchant business while he's away, and they make nice with members of High Society. Jamie makes friends with Prince Charlie to become closer to him and hires a boy, affectionately renamed Fergus, to pickpocket letters to Prince Charlie and other influential people from mail carriers. Through the pick-pocketed letters and their correspondences with people, Claire and Jamie think that they've prevented Prince Charlie from coming to Scotland and initiating the Rising. While all this is happening, Claire is pregnant and a very bad person from the first book comes back into their lives.

Through a series of unfortunate events, Claire loses the baby and Jamie is put into prison (again). Claire manages to get him out but they must go back to Scotland, not really knowing if they'd accomplished their task or not. Once back in Scotland, life at Lallybroch goes on quite nicely for a while until a letter is received saying that Prince Charlie is coming over to Scotland to take over the thrown and it is signed by several clan leaders, including Jamie. Outraged by the Prince forging his signature, Jamie really has no choice but to join in the battle and back the Prince and help him win. Once again, Jamie and Claire are thrown back into a life of traveling, outlaw, battles, and injuries.

In the end, the Battle of Culloden is inevitable but Jamie knows that if he's going to die, then Claire must go back through the stones so she will be safe. Also, they discover that she is pregnant again. Yet another reason for her to go back. Their goodbye is heart wrenching, especially when Jamie tells her that he knows that she has the worse end of the bargain since he will go on to the battle and die, yet she will be the one living with her heart broken. Oh, this definitely brought on my tears! Finally, Claire goes back through the stones. Frank is still there, after three years of her being missing, and continues to be with her even after discovering that she's pregnant.

Come back to current time (1968) and Claire is finishing her story to her daughter, Brianna, and a historian, Roger. Roger believes her and has been helping her find out what happened to the Lallybroch men after Culloden. Claire has been sure this whole time that Jamie died at Culloden but Roger discovers a piece of text indicating otherwise. Pseudo-spoiler alert! (or maybe not since there are several more books in this series...) Jamie didn't die. Somewhere back in the 18th century, he is still alive. Will Claire risk going back again to find Jamie?!?! Duh duhn duhnnnnnnn....

9.5 out of 10 stars. Outlander was slightly better because this one did have some slow parts. Still, it took all of my willpower not to pick up Voyager (the next in the series) when I returned this one to the library. I have to read other books for the WBC!!

Tuesday Teaser: Dragonfly In Amber

As always, sponsored by MizB.

TEASER TUESDAYS asks you to:

• Grab your current read.
• let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
• Please avoid spoilers!

My teaser:

"I suppose we could go to Rome, or to Germany," I suggested, tentatively. I wanted nothing more than to go home to Lallybroch, and heal in the quiet peace of the Scottish Highlands. My heart sank at the thought of royal courts and intrigue, the constant press of danger and insecurity. But if Jamie felt we must...

~Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon (Outlander Series #2) pg. 405

Not really a teaser for me since I've already read this part (I'm only 60 pages or so away from finishing this book...review coming tomorrow) but, it's a good one! I'm definitely loving this series. Although, I think that I will take a break from it for a bit after this one to read other things for the WBC.

Review: Outlander!

Outlander (1st in series)

by Diana Gabaldon

627 pages

The ladies on The Nest Book Club board have been RAVING about this book since I've been frequenting over there (and I'm sure longer than that). The WBC was definitely a good excuse to finally read it! And wow, I'm just so in love with this book, I can hardly stand it. (although I'm not so in love with the romance-ish cover art that my library copy had...)

The story begins in Iverness, Scotland in 1945. Claire and her husband, Frank Randall, are on a second honeymoon to revitalize their marriage since the were separated for most of the war. Frank, a historian, was some sort of officer for the British military and Claire was a military nurse. One day, Claire discovers a stone henge and upon walking through the stones, she is transported back some 200 years to Scotland circa 1743.

Claire doesn't know where (or when) she is at first and is discovered first by Jonathan "Black Jack" Randall, her husband's 6-times great grandfather. Turns out, he's really not so grand and actually a big perv. Then a band of Scottish thieves kidnap Claire and take her to a cottage where she first meets Jamie Fraser. She mends his dislocated shoulder (much to the shock of the Scots, I mean who IS this crazily dressed, odd Englishwoman!?) and they take her with them to the castle of their clan's Laird (er, Lord? in English...).

Well, Jack Randall is definitely NOT done with Claire, and it turns out that he has a wanting for Jamie (an outlaw with a price on his head) as well. This unfortunate series of events leads to Claire having to marry Jamie so she's safe from the English (since now she's a Scot). Anyways, things aren't really "happily ever after" for the Fraser's and Claire is almost persecuted as a witch and Jamie almost gets hanged and it's kind of a big mess. But a wonderful mess that made me want to hug them and cry for them, then hug them some more!! And Jamie, oh Jamie...I love this character. He's strong and brave, and handsome and loving and funny, yet pig-headed and stubborn. And did I mention handsome? and strong?? ummm yea, he's just an amazing character. While reading this, and after finishing it, I would find myself just daydreaming about Jamie and Claire. I loved them so much that I just didn't want to stop having them around yet. Which is probably why I've found a way to fit the next book in the series, Dragonfly In Amber, into my WBC even if it is reading a 700+ page book for only 5 points!

Now the question of the day, if I had my choice of literary crushes, who would I choose? Jamie or Edward (from Twilight)?? Hmmm...I think that Edward may eek this one out by just a smidgen only because Jamie seems to ALWAYS be getting gravely injured and it tears my heart out to read about that!

Rating: 10 out of 10! Go read this NOW! it's amazing and full of love, history, humor, action...it just has it all!!!

Outlander Teaser!!!

It's Teaser Tuesdays, so you know what that means!

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
  
• Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
• Please avoid spoilers!

Hearing her name spoken in that casual Highland lilt-"L'heer"-suddenly made me irrationally angry. "Oh, so you have been with her!" I snapped.

From Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (Hardcover), p. 313, lines 7-9. This is a teaser for me too since I haven't gotten this far yet. I *love* Jamie so far though and I had a hard time not reading more!!!

The Golden Compass

by Philip Pullman

399 pages

I can't believe that I hadn't read this book until now. Growing up, I LOVED The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe and I feel like this could be put into that genre of literature. Maybe it was just printed too late in my childhood...Regardless, I'm glad that I've read it now! I really enjoyed this book.

The story is about Lyra, an eleven year old girl who lives in a world where people's souls are in the form of daemons, or animals, that walk along side them. In childhood, your daemon can change shape at will but once you reach adulthood, your daemon settles into one particular animal form (which usually tells something about your own character, for instance servants tend to have dog daemons). Lyra is orphaned as a baby and her uncle takes her to live at Jordan College in Oxford, England. It is here where she learns about the Gobblers who are stealing children who are never seen again, and about Dust, which settles on adults whose daemons have settled into one form. One night, a woman named Mrs. Coulter comes to dinner and is given permission by the Master of Jordan College to take Lyra on as an assistant. Before Lyra leaves the Master gives her an Alethiometer, a device that when read properly tells the truth, and she is not to let Mrs. Coulter know that she has it. The alethiometer looks like a golden compass, with symbols all around the face instead of directions, hence the name of the book.

While living with Mrs. Coulter and waiting to be taken to the North, as promised, Lyra discovered that Mrs. Coulter is the head of the General Oblation Board (Gobblers) and is responsible for all the children that have been taken. She flees and is rescued by the gyptians who take her on their boat, to the North, to save the stolen children. Along the way, Lyra learns to read the alethiometer, decides to save her uncle, Lord Asriel, since he has been taken prisoner, and discovers what is happening to the stolen children. Also, she learns why the church and GOB are so afraid of Dust. Dust is the elementary particle that is Original Sin. It allows for the connection between humans and their daemon, and allows for free thought, intelligence, and wisdom. The ending of the book was particularly chilling and thought-provoking as you realized that the things that seems to be good throughout the book, very well may not be. So, in the end, Lyra must go on on her own.

Now, I had to watch the movie version in order to count 25 points towards the WBC! I was pretty excited to see this movie since I heard about all the controversy surrounding it when it first came out and, now having read it, I wanted to see how the book was going to transfer into cinema.

I thought that the first 2/3 of the movie was great. It was pretty much the same story line and time period as the book and flowed really nicely. However, as soon as Lyra set out for the North, it started to deviate a lot from the book. The whole escape plan for the children was rushed, the scene with the King of the armored bears was much shorter than it should have been, AND (most importantly!!!) they left off the ending!!!!! Yes, the end is sad and controversial, but it's KEY to the story! you can't have another movie without that part! And, you can't grasp the underlying idea of the fine line between good and evil that the author is trying to portray. This was just so dissappointing. The only redeeming qualities of the movie were that Nicole Kidman was fantastic as Mrs. Coulter, Daniel Craig always looks good (even though he should have been at the end!!), and the CGI bears were really well done.

Overall, for the book, I'll most likely read the next two in the His Dark Materials series and for the movie, I'm glad I saw it and would see the sequel (if they make it but I don't think that they are) but only to see the part left out of the end of the first movie!


book: 8 out of 10 stars
movie: 6 out of 10 stars.

Sookie Stackhouse #5

Title: Dead as a Doornail

Author: Charlaine Harris

number of pages: 295

Yay! Another 15 points for my Winter Book Challenge for reading a book in a series and the one following it! See previous posts for background on the Sookie Stackhouse series.

In this book, someone is "randomly" shooting people in the town of Bon Temps, LA. Sookie, of course, knows that the shootings aren't random because each person who has been shot is two-natured, i.e. a supe or supernatural being. Sookie herself has had part of her house burnt down and has been shot. So she's out trying to figure out who's trying to kill all the supes, especially since her brother (fresh from some bites) is now a supe and is under suspiscion.

Meanwhile, the packmaster of the Shreveport (nearby city) werewolves has died and a new leader of the pack (vroom, vroom...alright I just couldn't resist!) must be appointed. Sookie is approached by Alcide (son of one the of candidates for packmaster, and a friend of Sookie's from book 3) to come to all the "election" gatherings since she is a Friend of the Pack. Also, the challenger to his father is suspected of cheating and Sookie with her telepathy could bring that to light.

Alcide and Sookie have been potential love interests for the past couple of books but have always had some things get in the way (like Bill and Alcide's crazy on and off girlfriend Debbie), but I love him. I wish that things could work out between them because he's shown as being caring, kind, and protective (in a good way) to Sookie. I felt SO bad for him in this book because a lot of things happened that probably just crushed him. I'm hoping that things work out a little better for him in the next book! But, in Sookie's world, nothing seems to work out neatly. It will probably be a few weeks before I get to the next one since I have other books to read for the Challenge but I'm still looking forward to it!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Sookie Stackhouse Series #4

Title: Dead to the World

Author: Charlaine Harris

number of pages: 291

I don't know what it is about vampires, but something about them draws me in. I loved the show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, loved Twilight, and now this. Maybe it's the power and passion that their stories usually have? Or maybe I just like living in a world with a little danger in it for a while, I don't know. But these books supply a nice vampire fix.

This book is the fourth in the Sookie Stackhouse (or Southern Vampire) Mystery series. These books follow Sookie Stackhouse, a 20-something girl who lives in a small town in Louisiana and, oh yea, she just happens to be telepathic. Recently, with the release by the Japanese of a synthetic bottled blood substitute, vampires have "outed" themselves by coming forward and revealing that they are real but hey, that's okay, because now there's a handy dandy fake blood so they don't have to kill people. In the first book, a vampire (Bill) moves to the small town (Bon Temps) and him and Sookie end up in a relationship, which introduces a whole vampire (and other supernatural beings) world to Sookie. These books are really about her and how she deals with her relationships and her life in general since being exposed to all the supernatural stuff. The first book is what the first season of HBO's True Blood show is based on. I've seen a few episodes but haven't really gotten into it really.

Specifically in the fourth book, Sookie has broken up with Bill, separated herself from the local vamps, and has made a New Year's Resolution to not get beat up this year (since hanging around vampires and their issues tends to lead to beatings). About 4 hours into the new year, Sookie is driving home and sees Eric, one of the high up vamps of her area) running around half naked and confused. A coven of witches has come into to town and their leader wanted Eric (in a lustful way) and all his businesses (in a "I want your money" way) and since he refused, she cast a spell which made Eric lose his memory. Sookie gets sort of trapped into keeping him at her home for a few days until the spell can be reversed which leads to her finding out that Eric is not so bad when he doesn't know himself. He's romantic and affectionate, and not out to exploit Sookie's power (since someone with telepathy could come in handy to a vampire, although her power doesn't work on them she can still read humans' minds) which are all new traits to Eric. A relationship of sorts begins between them.

Meanwhile, the other vamps under Eric join with the Weres and Supes (werewolfs and other supernatural creatures, or shape-shifters - hey, since vampires exist, so does everything else right?) come together which is very unusual since they usually hate each other, to devise a plan to bring down the evil witch coven. A battle ensues, in which Sookie was very helpful even though she didn't want to be involved, and lesser evil beats greater evil.

I'm not totally head-over-heels about these books so I'm fine putting some time between each in the series, but they are fun, quick reads and Charlaine Harris has made up an interesting world to be in for a while. Vampires becoming 'mainstreamed' isn't something I've read before which makes it new and different. Plus, I was just coming down from my initial Twilight high when I read the first one, so that was a good jump back into some adult novels while still getting a dose of vampire.

6.5 out of 10 stars (just because I think that the 3rd on was a little better than this one)