Review: A Girl's Guide to Vampires

A Girl's Guide to Vampires  (*****)
by Katie MacAlister

From Goodreads:
"On a visit to the Czech Republic, Joy Randall (a skeptic of all things paranormal), is suddenly thrown into the dark, dangerous world where vampires known as Dark Ones stalk the night. Armed with nothing more than a wicked sense of humor and a bag of rune stones, Joy does her best to untangle the threads involving a serial killer, vampires (both real and pretend), and the handsome, mysterious man who may or may not be what he appears." 

From me: 
I picked up this book with high expectations. My friends who recommended it told me how much they loved it and how they laughed out loud throughout. I don't know why, but the book just didn't do it for me. If it wasn't for the fact that my friends recommended it so highly, I probably wouldn't have finished it. That, and once I got far enough in, I really did want to know how the story ended - I'd gotten that far, I had to know what happened, dang it.

There certainly were some funny moments (something I've been looking for in my books lately), but I got so frustrated with Joy, who bordered on a heroine who's "Too Stupid To Live" (I have an issue with non-sleuthy characters trying to be sleuthy), that the humor couldn't save the story for me.

Teaser Tuesday: Dear Fatty

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:






•Grab your current read
•Open to a random page
•Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
•BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
•Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"I do clearly remember when we decided to do a little double-act turn for a talent contest at our school. Was Mr Kitching the headmaster of the school, and was it next to a graveyard which meant I had to hold my breath ALL DAY so that bad spirits couldn't get in me, which meant that sports activities outside were a potentially fatal pastime, since one usually needs to breathe during sports, I find, especially if you're a bit fat, when you need to breathe a lot."
 
--Dear Fatty by Dawn French (the brilliant British comedienne)

My first library program, graduation from grad school, plus a book review!

Me (as Amy Pond) in the TARDIS

Oh, my poor blog. I've neglected you - again. I promise, I have a good excuse. I just graduated with my Masters in Library Science! The final push in the semester and all the grad events has kept me away from my blog. I have been reading, though, and I'll share my latest review in just a moment, but first let me take the opportunity to gush about the awesomeness of library school and libraries in general.

I have never enjoyed school as much as I have loved the last two years of grad school. It was amazing to spend time with classmates and professors who are all passionate about the things that I'm passionate about. I have no idea why it took me so long to discover this career path, but I feel like I've finally found my niche. I've also discovered a few things about myself: when it comes to librarianship, I am truly excited about programming.

Teens making TARDIS keys, eating fish custard, and discoving their Time Lord names

My dear friend, Lauren (a former classmate and current teen librarian), and I had the opportunity to put on a Doctor Who program for the teens at a local library. It was awesome! We had over 20 teens and tweens (from 4th grade to seniors in high school) participate and we had nothing but glowing responses to the program.

Doctor Who Cubees

Captain Jack Harkness Intergalactic NERF Training

We had a library-wide scavenger hunt, several crafts, Nerf target practice, and food all related to the awesomeness of Doctor Who (if you don't know about the Doctor, it's time to learn - you won't be sorry!). Lauren and I even built our own TARDIS. This was one of the most rewarding experiences I've ever had in a work-type environment. From that point, I was hooked on programming. I've volunteered at several other library programs, but I'm really looking forward to designing my own.

Teens create their own Journal of Impossible Things

Ok, so back to book my book review. I recently read Savannah Blues by Mary Kay Andrews for one of my book groups. Savannah Blues has it's good points and bad. Andrews does a great job of describing Savannah and it's surrounding areas; I felt like I got to really experience Weezie's Southern home. Unfortunately, I didn't feel like I got to know the characters as much as I would have liked. I got to know Weezie best through her profession as a picker. I found the picker world fascinating, but I couldn't get attached to the characters.

Another issue I had with the story was the quick resolution of conflicts (particularly the last one - nothing really seemed resolved there) and the vast number of conflicts. I'd list them, but I don't want include spoilers here - just know that there are many and they are diverse.

All in all, Savannah Blues is a decent summer/beach read, but don't choose this book if you really want to dig in to something.  (*****)


Thanks for sticking with me! Hopefully I won't neglect you anymore :)  Oh, and support your libraries!!!

Musing Mondays (3)

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by Should Be Reading. This week’s musing asks…

Do you have a favorite children’s book? Either one that you loved as a child, or one that you discovered later, and still enjoy? Tell us about it!
When I was little, my momma read to me ALL the time; I had a lot of books and we also went to the library all the time. I remember going to library and leaving with a stack of books in my arms that was half as tall as I was.

I remember a few books that I made my mom read to me over and over. First was Whiskers and Rhymes by Arnold Lobel (of Frog and Toad fame). And the evil in me made her read the poem that she wanted to avoid because it got stuck in her head (bwahaha). This book is still awesome, with sweet, moving, and funny poems - if you can find it, you should read it :)

The other book, which I find strangely ironic, was titled Cranky. Alas, the interwebs have failed me and I couldn't find a link to this book. But it was about a little monster? creature? thing who was bummed that he had to go to bed at this bedtime. Then an evil witch came along and gave him a magic lantern so he could stay up late and play. But then THEN he was so tired the next day that he became a crankypants. Moral of the story: go to bed when your parents tell you to. I wonder why my mom loved to read this one to me...

Books to the ceiling, books to the sky, my pile of books is a mile high. How I love them! How I need them! I'll have a long beard by the time I read them.  ~Arnold Lobel

It's Monday: What are you reading (15)?

It's Monday: What are you reading? is a weekly meme from BookJourney.

Oh so many books have been read since last I posted way back in January. I am happy to announce that I actually managed to finish Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell in time for my book group discussion. It was a most excellent book, but it is a beast - pick it up only if you have time to devote to it. I've also completed another book club book, Still Life with Woodpecker by Tom Robbins. This book wasn't my cup of tea; I enjoyed the prose (Mr. Robbins has a way with words), but I couldn't get into the story (a princess in name only falls for a bomber in the last quarter of the 20th century). Annnddd, I also read all 10 of the Sookie Stackhouse books. The ice-pocalypse kept me from the library for a bit, so I took the opportunity to revisit one of my favorite book series and it was just as good the 2nd time around!

Currently Reading:
Pack of Lies by Laura Anne Gilman, the 2nd book in the Paranormal Scene Investigation series. Gilman also authored the Retrievers series, an awesome urban fantasy series from which the PSI series is a continuation.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. This is our current book group selection and the response to this selection has been overwhelmingly positive. I've been meaning to read this book for a while now and I'm excited to read it for our book group.

To be read:
The books currently sitting on my shelf, waiting to be read include:
Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman
The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor
Insatiable by Meg Cabot
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

Dead Reckoning (Sookie Stackhouse #11)
by Charlaine Harris
publication date: May 3, 2011


From Goodreads:
"With her knack for being in trouble's way, Sookie witnesses the firebombing of Merlotte's, the bar where she works. Since Sam Merlotte is now known to be two-natured, suspicion falls immediately on the anti-shifters in the area. But Sookie suspects otherwise and she and Sam work together to uncover the culprit - and the twisted motive for the attack. But her attention is divided. Though she can't 'read' vampires, Sookie knows her lover Eric Northman and his 'child' Pam well - and she realises that they are plotting to kill the vampire who is now their master. Gradually, she is drawn into the plot -which is much more complicated than she knows. Caught up in the politics of the vampire world, Sookie will learn that she is as much of a pawn as any ordinary human - and that there is a new Queen on the board . . . "

From Me:
I have been rereading this series after the recent ice storm kept me from the library. I love the books, but I was slightly lost while reading the last few entries when they came out because it had been so long since I read the earlier installments. So now I'm almost all caught up (8 out of 10 newly read) and I'm ready for the new book!

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:



•Grab your current read
•Open to a random page
•Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
•BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
•Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"When I'd stormed out, I hadn't been thinking about what would happen next. It's the ruin of a good exit when you have to go back and look in the phone book for a cab company."   page 109

-From Dead to Worse, Sookie Stackhouse #8
Charlaine Harris

Blogging updates

Oh, blogosphere, I have gotten lazy again and haven't posted in a while. My apologies. I finally finished Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, something that felt like it took forever. It was a great book, but it's a beast! (For full review, see today's review post.) Since then, I've been catching up on my pleasure reading - the last several months I've been reading books for school (particularly for my Materials for Youth class) or book group, most of which have been great. It's funny how satisfying it is to select the books you're reading when it's been a while since you had the luxury.

Anyhoodle, I first picked up a Jennifer Crusie book, Maybe This Time (see below for full review). And then, due to the Ice Storm of Death, or the Snowpocalypse, I wasn't able to get to the library to pick up my newest haul. So I started to reread the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris (if you're unfamiliar with this series, it inspired to uber-popular HBO show, True Blood). I loved this series, but I've only read it once through, and I often reread books I love. It's been a long time coming, and I have really enjoyed the process. I'm on Book 5, Dead as a Doornail, but will soon be turning to the afore mentioned library haul...that and our latest book club book, Still Life with Woodpecker.

To Read:
Still Life with Woodpecker, by Tom Robbins
The Looking Glass Wars (Looking Glass Wars #1), by Frank Beddor
Inkheart (Inkheart #1), by Cornelia Funke
Insatiable, by Meg Cabot

Book Review: Maybe This Time

Maybe This Time
by Jennifer Crusie
(*****)

From Goodreads:
Andie Miller is ready to move on in life. She wants to marry her fiance and leave behind everything in her past, especially her ex-husband, North Archer. But when Andie tries to gain closure with him, he asks one final favor of her before they go their separate ways forever. A very distant cousin of his has died and left North as the guardian of two orphans who have driven out three nannies already, and things are getting worse. He needs a very special person to take care of the situation and he knows Andie can handle anything…

When Andie meets the two children she quickly realizes things are much worse than she feared. The place is a mess, the children, Carter and Alice, aren’t your average delinquents, and the creepy old house where they live is being run by the worst housekeeper since Mrs. Danvers. What’s worse, Andie’s fiance thinks this is all a plan by North to get Andie back, and he may be right. Andie’s dreams have been haunted by North since she arrived at the old house. And that’s not the only haunting…

Then her ex-brother-in-law arrives with a duplicitous journalist and a self-doubting parapsychologist, closely followed by an annoyed medium, Andie’s tarot card–reading mother, her avenging ex-mother-in-law, and her jealous fiancé. Just when Andie’s sure things couldn’t get more complicated, North arrives to make her wonder if maybe this time things could just turn out differently….

From me:
It may seem strange to categorize this story as "Historical Fiction," but as you learn before the story starts, it takes place in 1992. "Because." In other words, no cell phones, no instant internet access - it's practically foreign territory nowadays! While this may be a ghost story, the real story is that of a woman trying to take care of, and then loving, two orphaned children. So maybe the fact that these kids are haunted by some disturbing ghosts mixes up this plot a bit, but it was the children that I found most compelling. And then there's the basic romantic element as our heroine Andie (short for Andromeda - her mom was either a hippie or just hippie like, I don't recall the particulars) has to contend with her fiance and the ex-husband she still has feelings for.

I often pick up Crusie titles, looking for a repeat of Agnes and the Hitman - one of my favorite books. This book contains Crusie's trade-mark humor, but it does seem to have a touch more seriousness than some of her other titles (and isn't quite as fantastic as Agnes). That may just be because children are involved in the dramatic bits, which makes it seem more serious. I don't know. But I loved it, all the same! Recommended.

Book Review: Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell
by Susanna Clarke
(*****)

From Goodreads:
Centuries ago, when magic still existed in England, the greatest magician of them all was the Raven King. A human child brought up by fairies, the Raven King blended fairy wisdom and human reason to create English magic. Now, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, he is barely more than a legend, and England, with its mad King and its dashing poets, no longer believes in practical magic.

Then the reclusive Mr Norrell of Hurtfew Abbey appears and causes the statues of York Cathedral to speak and move. News spreads of the return of magic to England and, persuaded that he must help the government in the war against Napoleon, Mr Norrell goes to London. There he meets a brilliant young magician and takes him as a pupil. Jonathan Strange is charming, rich and arrogant. Together, they dazzle the country with their feats.

But the partnership soon turns to rivalry. Mr Norrell has never conquered his lifelong habits of secrecy, while Strange will always be attracted to the wildest, most perilous magic. He becomes fascinated by the shadowy figure of the Raven King, and his heedless pursuit of long-forgotten magic threatens, not only his partnership with Norrell, but everything that he holds dear.


From me:
I finished it! I feel like I accomplished something major when I turned that last page. This book was excellent, but it was loooonnnggg. Do not read this book if you don't have time to devote to it - it's not one you can put down and pick up later. By the time I was half way through it I was having trouble remembering every character and every reference made, and I was reading it straight through. There's a lot of information here, but that gives this story it's depth.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell reads like Austen and it's the complexities of the characters and not the magic (which felt very commonplace, like it was the most natural thing in the world) that moves the story. I read this book for a book group, which I would only recommend if you have a long time between group meetings; it's just too bulky to read quickly. On the other hand, there is plenty to talk about, so a great discussion book. Highly recommended.