Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Too few books; Can you believe it?

Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart   Baffled in Boston by Gary Provost I'm on my way home from a quick one-day business trip. I left home yesterday with two books in my backpack. One was a marvelous fantasy novel, Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart. I was probably half-way through the book and I expected to finish it while in the air between Dallas and Toronto. Therefore, I had a second book along: Baffled in Boston, a cozy mystery by Gary Provost. I figured that this would be enough to read on my two direct flights. But, a bad thing happened; my flight to Toronto was cancelled due to mechanical problems. The airline rebooked me on a later flight, but that one left Dallas 6 hours after my original flight. And so, I finished reading Bridge of Birds sitting there in the Admiral's Club at DFW, long before my plane took off for Canada. Consequently, as I'm waiting in the Admiral's Club today for my return flight, I finished reading Baffled in Boston. So there I was with a 3.5 hour flight in front of me and nothing to read.

Obviously, I needed to visit a bookstore. Unfortunately, I had already passed through customs and immigration and the bookstore was on the other side. That meant my choices were limited to the 3 dozen or so titles in the convenience store next to my departure gate. I browsed through the available titles, noting that there were several new paperback mysteries including First Family by David Baldacci, Blood Game by Iris Johansen, and even The Advocate by John Grisham. But I wasn't in the mood for any of those. There were also a significant number of historical fictions, but since these were invariably in trade paperback format, they were priced around $18 (Canadian). I finally settled on A Rogue of My Own by Johanna Lindsey—a romance novel set in the courts of Queen Victoria. I'm sure that I'll find someone at BookObsessed to take it off my hands when I've finished reading it.

A Rogue of My Own by Johanna Lindsey So, surprise, surprise. Here I sit. I've read the first page and a half and simply set the book aside. I wasn't all that interested in it when I bought it in the first place, and I'm looking for anything to keep me entertained so I won't have to read the only book I have with me—well, at least the only book I haven't already read.

So here's a first for me—too few books!

Sunday, April 25, 2010

In My Mailbox: 25 April 2010

Mailbox This was my week for receiving RABCK (Random Acts of BookCrossing Kindness) books. I received three packages of books in the mail this week from bookswappers, and two of the boxes had bonus books as well as the owed swap books.

The first package—a really large one, too—was from Appaloosatb. She sent 9 swap books and 3 RABCK books. Her box contained the first five books in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time saga: The Eye of the World, The Great Hunt, The Dragon Reborn, The Shadow Rising, and The Fires of Heaven. I had selected the first two books from the SFF VBB at BookObsessed and she threw in the next three “just because”. Next was the second book in Kim Harrison's paranormal series starring Rachel Morgan: The Good, the Bad, and the Undead, also selected from the SFF VBB. The rest of the box contained six books I had picked from the Teen VBB at BookObsessed: The Ice Dragon by George R R Martin, The Language of Goldfish by Zibby Oneal, The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall, Dragonhaven by Robin McKinley, The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke, and Peter and the Shadow Thieves by Dave Barry & Ridley Pearson.

Loveamystery sent the second package. She was sending Defending Angels by Mary Stanton, which I had selected from the 1st Page VBB that is being run over at BookCrossing. So, she included two RABCK books in the same envelope. First was Angel's Advocate, the sequel to Defending Angels and the second was Revenge of the Barbeque Queens by Lou Jane Temple. I'm looking forward to reading these—but I've passed them to my mother-in-law to read first, since my owed TBR stack is still pretty high.

Friday morning, my hubby brought one more package in from the Post Office. This one was from MaplesFlowers and was sent to me for the Paranormal Devils Exchange Group. MaplesFlowers sent me Fanged & Fabulous, second in Michelle Rowen's “Immortality Bites” series. The first book was very very funny and I'd been hoping to get some of the others in the series. I have to admit that I do like this series—in spite of the fact that I hate the covers!

Just gaze at the wonderful books I received this week:

Wheel of Time #1: The Eye of the World Wheel of Time #2: The Great Hunt Wheel of Time #3: The Dragon Reborn Wheel of Time #4: The Shadow Rising Wheel of Time #5: The Fires of Heaven The Hollows #2: The Good, the Bad, and the Undead The Language of Goldfish The Ice Dragon The Penderwicks Dragonhaven The Thief Lord Revenge of the Barbecue Queens Peter and the Shadow Thieves Defending Angels Angel's Advocate Fanged and Fabulous

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Challenge Progress

12x12 reading challenge My 12x12 challenge for April was to read 12 novels this month. For the past two years, I've averaged 11 books per month. Some months I read more and some less. So, my personal challenge for April was to read 12 novels. As of last night, I have met that goal, though to be honest I didn't read 12 novels in their entirety during April. Two of the books that I completed this week were actually started back in February or March and just suspended for quite a while.

Here are the novels that I completed so far this month and which counted toward this challenge:

Witch Way to Murder by Shirley Damsgaard Vampire Sunrise by Carole Nelson Douglas Charmed to Death by Shirley Damsgaard The Trouble with Witches by Shirley Damsgaard A Tale of Two Demon Slayers by Angie Fox The Ruthless Realtor Murders by David A Kaufelt The Great Good Thing by Roderick Townley Red-Headed Stepchild by Jaye Wells The Mage in Black by Jaye Wells The Ghost and the Dead Deb by Alice Kimberly Tulip Fever by Deborah Moggach The Lost Art of Gratitude by Alexander McCall Smith
  1. Witch Way to Murder by Shirley Damsgaard
  2. Vampire Sunrise by Carole Nelson Douglas
  3. Charmed to Death by Shirley Damsgaard
  4. The Trouble with Witches by Shirley Damsgaard
  5. A Tale of Two Demon Slayers by Angie Fox
  6. The Ruthless Realtor Murders by David A Kaufelt
  7. The Great Good Thing by Roderick Townley
  8. Red-Headed Stepchild by Jaye Wells
  9. The Mage in Black by Jaye Wells
  10. The Ghost and the Dead Deb by Alice Kimberly
  11. Tulip Fever by Deborah Moggach
  12. The Lost Art of Gratitude by Alexander McCall Smith

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

WWW Wednesdays

WWW_Wednesdays icon Over at Should be Reading, MizB hosts WWW… WEDNESDAYS and asks readers to just answer the following 3 questions:

  1. What are you currently reading?
  2. What did you recently finish reading?
  3. What do you think you’ll read next?

So here are my answers.

  1. I'm actually in the middle of several books. The book at my side is The Ghost and the Haunted Mansion by Alice Kimberly. This is the fifth book in her Haunted Bookshop Mysteries. It's the latest in the series, but I did find a reference on the Internet saying that a sixth is in the works. I started this book this morning and I'm only on page 10. (A gal has got to work, you know!) Also, I have the CDs from Alexander McCall Smith's The Lost Art of Gratitude. I'm on the last disk, track 9, so don't have much more to listen to before I've finished it. Back at home, I have one more in-progress book: Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart. I think I'm about ½ way through it, and I need to finish reading it by the beginning of May so I can mail it to a fellow BookCrosser.

  2. Late last night, I finished reading Tulip Fever by Deborah Moggach. I really enjoyed this book, so I am hard pressed to explain why it took me so long to read it. I got about 2/3 of the way through it and then set it aside and went on a binge reading paranormal books.

  3. Next up—after I finish reading Bridge of Birds—is Gilgamesh by Joan London. I'm looking forward to it; both because of the historical perspective and the setting in Australia. I bought the book specifically to use in a ‘Debut Novel’ swap at BookObsessed. When I'm done, I'll be mailing off to a fellow reader who won it in the swap.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Teaser Tuesday - Tulip Fever by Deborah Moggach

Teaser Tuesday Logo 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!

My Teaser

"Oh, I've been led up the garden path and no mistake." ... "He said he loved me and then when I wouldn't submit to his filthy lust—I'm only a poor girl but I'm keeping my precious gift, it's the only treasure I possess—when I wouldn't submit to him he threw me out, into the street, without even a good-bye."

Quotes from page 86 of Tulip Fever by Deborah Moggach. Here's the description from the back cover:

In 1630s Amsterdam, tulipomania has seized the populace. Everywhere men are seduced by the fantastic exotic flower. But for wealthy merchant Cornelis Sandvoort, it is his young and beautiful wife, Sophia, who stirs his soul. She is the prize he desires, the woman he hopes will bring him the joy that not even his considerable fortune can buy. Cornelis yearns for an heir, but so far he and Sophia have failed to produce one. In a bid for immortality, he commissions a portrait of them both by the talented young painter Jan van Loos. But as Van Loos begins to capture Sophia's likeness on canvas, a slow passion begins to burn between the beautiful young wife and the talented artist. As the portrait unfolds, so a slow dance is begun among the household's inhabitants. Ambitions, desires, and dreams breed a grand deception—and as the lies multiply, events move toward a thrilling and tragic climax.

In this richly imagined international bestseller, Deborah Moggach has created the rarest of novels—a lush, lyrical work of fiction that is also compulsively readable. Seldom has a novel so vividly evoked a time, a place, and a passion.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

In my mailbox: 18 April 2010

Mailbox This week, I've been very good. I didn't spend money for a single book -- used, new, or electronic. I did received two BookCrossing books from a member of BookObsessed.

Rianonne sent me an ice cold grave by Charlaine Harris—third in the series starring Harper Connelly—and Magic to the Bone by Devon Monk—first in her Allie Beckstrom series. Both books were ones I had selected from the Paranormal Virtual Book Box and it looks like I'll have plenty of books on hand to support my recently acquired lust for paranormal and urban fiction (PUF).

 

Sunday, April 11, 2010

In My Mailbox: 11 April 2010

Mailbox The Story Siren sponsors a weekly meme about the books that bloggers have received in the previous week. While I'm on a roll, posting to my reading blog, I figure I'll play along.

Purchased:

  • Hell Fire by Ann Aguirre
    • Corrine Solomon #2. I pre-ordered this book from Amazon.com; publication/release date was 6 April. My copy arrived on Thursday, the 8th. Book #1 is on my TBR stack.
  • A Tale of Two Demon Slayers by Angie Fox
    • Demon Slayers #3. I made a quick trip to Barnes & Noble on Wednesday night to pick up a couple of books. I started reading it right away and finished it early on Friday morning.
  • Don't Talk Back to Your Vampire by Michele Bardsley
    • Broken Heart, Oklahoma, #2. The second book I bought at Barnes & Noble on Wednesday night. I have the first book in this series on my TBR stack, so I thought it would be good to queue this one up behind it.

In the Mail:

  • Straight Talking by Jane Green
    • This BookCrossing book was sent to me by Jordanne after I selected it from the Everybook VBB at BookObsessed.
  • Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
    • Received this BookCrossing book from MsJoanna on Thursday. I had selected it from the Historical Fiction VBB at BookObsessed.

Challenges!

As if 24 hours of marathon reading and blogging weren't enough, I'm going to go ahead and set some reading challenges for the rest of the year. I thought about it at the end of 2009, but I had gotten very lax about posting to the blog, so I didn't step up to any challenges. I am, however, still reading and keeping lists (such as the Books Read in 2010 page), so all I need to do is sign up for a couple of challenges, and make a public announcement about my goals. And then, of course, I need to post about my progress toward meeting the challenges.

12x12 reading challenge The first challenge is the 12 by 12 Reading Challenge. The idea behind this challenge came from FOMA’s National Just Read More Novels Month and Pizza’s Book Discussion. There are twelve book bloggers who are hosting their own Just Read More Novels Month throughout 2010. April's challenge is hosted by Sheila over at One Person's Journey through a World of Books. If you want to join me, see the sign-up post.

The rules are simple:

  1. Must Be A Novel. Works of fiction only, please. Memoirs, non-fiction, how-to books, and Garfield collections don't count.
  2. Memoirs Aren't Novels. No matter how made up the story, anything ostensibly true isn't a novel. Also known as The James Frey Rule.
  3. Start and Finish in ****. (April, for example)
  4. Re-reading Doesn't Count. Try something new. Read something by your favorite author or try an entirely new author or tackle that novel you have always wanted to read.
  5. Have Fun. Nobody is grading you or paying you or judging you. Read what you like and like what you read.

My personal challenge will be to complete 12 novels in the month of April. Now I think this is going to be a pretty easy challenge. After all, I read mostly novels, and I've read 11 or more books every month this year (so far). I sneak in an occasional memoir, but no other non-fiction and I detest short stories, so it's novels all the time. I won't claim that much of what I read falls into the "literary novel" category, but I do plan to expand my horizons this year.

Anthony Trollope challenge I'm also going to join the Anthony Trollope Mini-Challenge. This challenge asks each participant to read two of Trollope's works by 31 December 2010. I've been intending to read Trollope for a while, so by announcing my participation in this challenge, I'll be aware that there may be some others who will be watching to see if I meet my goal. My personal challenge will be to read the first two books in Trollope's Chronicles of Barset, alternately called the Barsetshire Chronicles. These first two novels are The Warden and Barchester Towers. Since the text of these novels is now in the public domain, I will download them for reading on my Kindle or Sony reader.

Why Trollope? and Why the Barset Novels? Well, I've long felt that I needed to fill in the gaps in my reading of literary novels and in particular those by writers of renown. The Barset Novels have been described as "hugely entertaining series of novels set among the clergy and landed gentry of Barsetshire." So, I'm going to start with this series and hope that I get much farther in than just the first two books before the end of the year.

Watch this space, 'cause I see some other challenges I may accept. And a personal challenge to update this blog at LEAST two times a month.

Read-a-Thon; end of event wrap-up

That's all, folks

Reading Location: Still at Baby Aiden's house

Currently Reading: Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart

Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart

Total Pages read so far: 500

Total Time spent reading so far: 436 minutes

Other Readers I have visited: None since the last post.

Finished Books: A Tale of Two Demon Slayers by Angie Fox (last 36 pages); The Ruthless Realtor Murders by David A Kaufelt (244 pages); The Great Good Thing by Roderick Townley (216 pages)

A Tale of Two Demon Slayers by Angie Fox     The Ruthless Realtor Murders by David A Kaufelt     The Great Good Thing by Roderick Townley

Comments: A great experience.

 

End of Event Meme

  1. Which hour was most daunting for you? Definitely hours 16-20 since these were the "wee hours" during which I wound up taking a nap.
  2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? Well, for me I'd grab a new book in a well-loved series. I had several of those queued for this Read-a-Thon, but with all the interruptions during the day, I just didn't get around to them
  3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? I'd love to have the start time adjusted so that instead of starting at 7am local time, I'd start around midnight to 3am. That way, the tough hours would be at the beginning when the excitement of getting started might help overcome the drowsiness.
  4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? I love the cheerleaders. I didn't take the time to read all the comments on my blog entries, but it was so encouraging to see one or two comments on every post.
  5. How many books did you read? I completed 3 books during the Read-a-Thon, but since I started out with only 36 pages left in my first book, I hate to claim it as a book read *during* the event.
  6. What were the names of the books you read? A Tale of Two Demon Slayers, The Ruthless Realtor Murders, The Great Good Thing, and Bridge of Birds
  7. Which book did you enjoy most? The Great Good Thing was such a surprise. I found myself thrilled with the story and thoroughly loving it.
  8. Which did you enjoy least? This doesn't apply. I enjoyed all the books that I read during the Read-a-Thon. No "duds" like last October.
  9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? I was not a Cheerleader, but I really appreciate their contributions. It was thrilling to note that several people were following my progress and cheering me on.
  10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? Oh yeah. I'll be here.

Read-a-Thon; finished another book

Nearly 24 Hours Later

Reading Location:

Currently Reading: Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart

Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart

Total Pages read so far: 496

Total Time spent reading so far: 430 minutes

Other Readers I have visited: No one since my last post. I plan to visit lots of participants in the next few days.

Finished Books: A Tale of Two Demon Slayers by Angie Fox (last 36 pages); The Ruthless Realtor Murders by David A Kaufelt (244 pages); The Great Good Thing by Roderick Townley (216 pages)

A Tale of Two Demon Slayers by Angie Fox     The Ruthless Realtor Murders by David A Kaufelt The Great Good Thing by Roderick Townley

Comments: Just in the nick of time I finished reading The Great Good Thing. It was a wonderful fantasy that I will definitely want to share with my grandchildren. Kind of like The Neverending Story except that people don't go into the story, the story characters come into the people's dreams. Just to round things out, I'm going to quickly read 4 pages in Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart so that I finish up the Read-a-Thon at 500 pages.

Read-a-Thon; 1 hour to go

At the 23 Hour Mark

Reading Location: still at Baby Aiden's house

Currently Reading: The Great Good Thing by Roderick Townley; page 150

The Great Good Thing by Roderick Townley

Total Pages read so far: 430

Total Time spent reading so far: 385 minutes

Other Readers I have visited: I revisited Shaunie's Happy Place and followed the link to Kanaye Speaks.

Finished Books: A Tale of Two Demon Slayers by Angie Fox (last 36 pages); The Ruthless Realtor Murders by David A Kaufelt (244 pages)

A Tale of Two Demon Slayers by Angie Fox     The Ruthless Realtor Murders by David A Kaufelt

Comments: I expect to finish The Great Good Thing before the Read-a-Thon ends an hour from now. Definitely a "Read-a-Thon Lite" for me this time compared to last October. But still an excellent experience. I'll try to protect the date better in the Fall so that there will be fewer interruptions. And, I'll try to be more rested so that naps don't cut into the reading time.