Book End

Review: Tales of the Otherworld

2010-08-20T13:52:00.001-05:00

Here it is... the stories of the characters that we love so much. This anthology has a number of mini-stories, filling in the blanks of our fave characters.

In the Rebirth, we learn how Aaron becomes a vampire. Bewitched, the story of Eve and Kristof. Birthright, Logan's story of how he discovered his werewolf ancestry. Beginnings, which is the longest anthology in this book, tells us how Clayton is bitten with LOVE, and what he does to keep Elena in his life. Expectations, Lucas and his first investigation, which ties to Eve. Ghosts, is about Jeremy, being left at Stonehaven after sending Elena and Clay to Toronto. Wedding Bell Hell, the events that took place before Paige and Lucas tie the knot. And lastly, The Case of El Chupacabra, a story where Sean Nast beginning to deal with his homosexuality.

The least liked story was Birthright... but I'm glad to know how Aaron and Cassandra do meet. My favorites, well tough one. Clay and Elena or Paige and Lucas, or Eve and Kristof. Funny when I first was introduced to Kristof in one of Armstrongs' earlier books, I really did not like him. But, in Bewitched, I saw a whole different side to him and I could see why Eve was so taken with him.

Any Armstrong fan will LOVE this anthology. Really doesn't matter when you read this, before starting the Women of the Otherwold series, in between, or after. As always, Armstrong doesn't disappoint.

Duluth library book sale browsing goes high-tech | Duluth News Tribune | Duluth, Minnesota

2010-08-20T13:28:00.000-05:00

Duluth library book sale browsing goes high-tech | Duluth News Tribune | Duluth, Minnesota
Interesting article in the Duluth News Tribune out of Duluth, Minnesota. So, depending on who you ask... scanners are either organized, founding homes for used books or scanners are heartless, non-book lovers. I can see how useful this would be for both the book buyer looking to fill their book shelves (or their online stores), or like the article mentions, those "Not everyone using a scanner did so with turning a profit in mind. A couple of people downloaded the titles from their CD collections into their scanners to ensure they didn’t end up with duplicates."

I guess to each their own. You can't make everyone happy and your always going to piss someone off. To those that get so pissed off easily, there are more important things to worry about. Let the scanners fill their shelves, find another home for this book and that book.... it's a win-win for the library hosting the book sale and isn't that what is most important!!

What's your library like??

2010-08-08T11:34:00.000-05:00

I was reading a blogger that I follow because it concerned the closing of a library. If you are interested in visiting that blog, check out the Book Chase.

The article titled, Camden Closing Library System, highlighted much on the state of finances of the city and closing a number of branches. In tough times, like our current economy, libraries are the hub for the unemployed looking for jobs, refreshing their resumes; the individuals and/or families that are on tighter budgets can check out the latest books, audios and even DVDs... for FREE!! (unless those materials are late, pending library policies across the country).

One statement in this article I completely disagree with... here's what was stated: New York library customer Elle Byram said she's trying to avoid coffee shops where she'll end up spending money. She said the library "is spacious, it has free internet access. You meet cool people, but it's not really supposed to be a social place."

Maybe I'm missing her point, then again, maybe this is left to interpretation. Libraries are very much a social place, the libraries of today that is. We have moved beyond the times of the ssssshhhhhhhhhh sound, where the only sound would be that of a pen dropping. With big box book retailers inviting us to step beyond the doors with presenting us with coffee shops and large comfy chairs- this just takes away from a library. So, it's not uncommon to see libraries borrow those ideas with their own coffee shop version, all offering free internet access, free materials to check out (FREE services), a gathering place for friends/classmates/business professionals. Libraries have changed and they have to in order to be competitive in a sense with the big box retailers. Librarians constantly have to think outside the box, which isn't a bad thing either. And if that means the library is becoming more of a social place, and that is what draws users in the doors, then that's what it takes.

What I'm going to read next.....

2010-08-04T14:48:00.000-05:00

I only have a few more pages left of the current Kelley Armstrong book left to read of her Men of the Otherworld series. I'm going to finish up her 3rd book in her YA series. I'm going to flip to a page in the book and share a few lines from it...............

"So you have no idea who hired him?"
"Some supernatural. A healer guy."
"Sorcerer?" I said. "Shaman?"
"No clue. I'm not into that stuff. Anyway, someone put Liam in touch with this guy who wanted a werewolf to track you down"-- he nodded at Derek--"and hand you over to the Pack. Just so happened we were already in trouble with the Pack-- on account of Liam, as usual."(pg 187, Armstrong)

I can't wait to get started with the 3rd installment. I really enjoyed her first two YA books. I LOVE her Women of the Otherworld and Men of the Otherworld series, and I have came to really love this series as well. Anyways, as soon as I've got this one read, I'm letting my friends' daughter borrow this trilogy to read.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

2010-07-29T20:31:00.000-05:00

Now, I have done more reading since my last post, I've just been very busy in updating my blog with book reviews. I picked this one up at my local library, Grand Rapids Area Library, in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.

I really enjoyed this book. Grahame-Smith adds a spin to Abe... a certain amount of humor. Abe would make a good vampire hunter. This is my first book that I have read, and I know there is a term for this type of fiction, I enjoyed it. An excellent melding of history into a horror/fantasy world- with non-sparkling vampires but, brutal, blood thirsty killers. I liked that Abe befriended one of his sworn enemies and seeing that even Henry wasn't fond of the life he was left with. With Henry coming to Abe's rescue from the hands of a blood thirsty vampire. Henry teaches Abe how to out smart, toughen him up, and the killing points on a vamp. You go Abe!!

Long over due.......

2010-05-22T20:22:00.000-05:00

Well, it has been a long time. My bachelors from the University of Maine at Augusta is finally completed... YEA!!!!!! However, I have decided to pursue a K-8 teaching licenses, beginning Fall 2010 @ Bemidji State University.

I went back and forth in the route I wanted to take. Back in February, I applied to graduate school (San Jose State University) to get my masters in library science. Then I wanted to get me MN media specialist license. Given the current situation that is going on the in state, some districts eliminating school librarians, others hiring only part-time, and others spreading the school librarian thin over more than one building. I'm very much passionate about creating, collaborating, and teaching others that school libraries are more than just books. The way I see it, the school library is the brain of any school. Research has proven the correlation between an active school library and students' test scores. There's just people, maybe some teachers, administration and school board members that do not understand or get the BIG picture of it all. So, I gotta increase my chances of getting a job, and 2 licenses is better than 1.

Anyways, I've got some books that I'm finishing up reading and will write a few reviews for. I might even through in a few reviews of some Contemporary Latin American literature that I read for class last semester.

Until then... keep reading!!

Book Review: A Circle of Souls

2009-08-12T10:05:00.000-05:00

Title: A Circle of Souls
Author: Preetham Grandhi
ISBN: 978-1-59955-235-4

If you are searching for a turn paging, thriller of a story, then pick up this first time novel by Preethan Gandhi. The short chapters and shifting viewpoints and characters made this such a quick read for me; I could have finished this in a couple of evenings, maybe even a day if I didn't have an almost 8-month old.

His working knowledge is reflected in the story surrounding a child psychiatrist and even to the minor details of dealing with insurance companies to the details of children psych wards. But that's not what this whole novel is about. A child is murdered and begins contacting this young doctor's patient, Naya, and visiting her in her dreams. For an 8 year old, Naya is quite the artist, and draws her dreams out with such great detail, that her pictures are the needed clues to help guide the police in this horror of a crime.

You can't help but be sympathetic to the murderer and his past. What he witnessed his father doing, the threats his father placed on him, to losing important people in his life. However, that doesn't make his actions right or even ok. We at least know the ghosts that haunted him.

The story just touched on the surface of Indian astrology and I would loved to have read a little more about that, maybe even played a little more in this book. I'm not real sure, all I know is I had a taste of it and I wanted more.

I want to thank the author again for contacting me to read and review his book. I thoroughly enjoyed this thrilling. I also want to mention that this review is based on the advanced readers copy.

Book Review: I Can See You

2009-08-02T14:12:00.000-05:00

Title: I Can See You
Author: Karen Rose
ISBN: 978-0-446-53834-3
Publication: August 5, 2009

WOW!! This book had me hooked. Know the saying.. "hooked, line and sinker". That was the case with me. Page turner from beginning to end. Rose did a wonderful job in keeping the reader guessing as to who the killer is for a good portion of the story.

Eve is a brave character to have gone through the horrific dieing experience from several years pass. Her thesis project which surrounds an online second life of her test subjects. Someone is picking off women, setting up the "second life" scenes to look like the "real life" scenes.

Webster, a decorated detective has his own ghosts in his closet. A past that dealt with alcoholism, but yet makes regular visits to a particular bar and orders the same tonic water. Why does he visit there so much? Well.. Eve of course.

With so many twists and turns and many characters and keeping one guessing as to the murderer, reading this book is a little confusing, but just back up a paragraph or two. Also, I think this is only the 2nd Karen Rose book that I have ever read and even though I never read the book that covered Eve, I didn't feel like I missed out on that. This is a 5 star book.

Book Review: Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Darkside

2009-07-22T15:42:00.000-05:00

I finished this last week and I'm a little behind on getting my review written up on this one. Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Darkside by Beth Fantaskey is written with the young adults in mind. I just love her last name. If you are a fan of the Twilight series, I think you'll enjoy this read, you might even find it better than Twilight like I did.

Jessica Packwood is an adopted Romanian vampire princess, but she doesn't know that about herself. She was raised in the U.S. and all that she knows about her past is that her parents were killed sometime after she was born. I really liked Jessica's character in this book- she comes across as the average, girl next door who is a math nerd and a size 10 wearing teen. I think this sends a good message to young girls. She lives with her adoptive parents that are your vegan-type. She sneaks bits of meat from time to time. She is independent and does not fall head over heels for Lucius.

Move over Edward, there is a new vamp in town and his name is Lucius! Lucius is dark, mysterious, strong, everything that your mom tells you to avoid in boys, the bad boy that your mom tells you to stay away from. He is a Romain Prince with his main purpose: to bring back his bride-to-be in order to seal the pact of their clan made by their birth parents.

The story is a fast read, you'll find yourself craving to know what happens next.

Book Review: Alibi

2009-07-11T19:52:00.000-05:00

TITLE: Alibi
AUTHOR: Terri Woods
ISBN: 978-0-446-58169-1

I recently finished reading,Alibi, by Terri Woods. I've never read anything by her before; this was a treat to try an author that I probably wouldn't have otherwise.

The book is primarily set in Philly and our main character, Daisy, has herself in a bit of trouble. A stripper by night, she shows us a human side to her, she recently lost her mother, fell in love with a man that turns around breaking her heart, she makes an attempt to turn her life around, and just when she makes progress, all hell breaks lose.

I wasn't surprised that Daisy did choose to do the right thing. What I was surprised about was who the individual(s) were that was captured on bank surveillance. Some characters just seemed awkard to me, like the two investigators. They just had an akward relationship, for me it didn't seem real, kinda fake.

For me, this book started off a little slow, despite a murder so early, but the action picked up and I did find this to be a book that was a little hard to put down at times. Was it a great book? No, but it is a good read.

Review: Deep Down

2009-06-30T12:40:00.000-05:00

Last night I finished up reading, Deep Down, by Karen Harper. This wasn't the worst book that I have read, however, it wasn't the best either. The story takes place in Deep Down, Kentucky surrounding the wild ginseng that not only grows back among the mountains, but is highly sought after, even by the Chinese.

Jessie's mother, Mariah, is murdered while out counting the ginseng. Jessie was sent away after a mishap that happened years ago between her and Drew, the now sheriff of Deep Down. There are different possible suspects in this thriller and more questions are raised when a second dead body is discovered.

Though this takes me briefly back to my home roots of Kentucky, the development of the characters could have been better. I almost got the feeling that Jessie was more concerned about Drew (the Sheriff) then her mother. Jessie came off as a weak character to me. However, it was a quick read and out of curiosity, I had to know if the killer was a person or if it was the legendary Siberian Ginseng Hunter.

Book Crossings

2009-06-25T09:05:00.001-05:00

In searching for blogs to follow, I stumbled upon a neat site that I just have to share.

Book Crossing. It reminds me a lot of a catch and release system. The concept is this: you finish reading a book and you can either pass it on to a friend or leave someplace like a doctors' office, coffee shop, hairdresser. The finder has a book to read and goes to the site to journal briefly about that book. Before you release a book, the site offers material you can purchase(bookmarks, stickers, bookplates), each book you register on the site is assigned a number and BTW, you can copy/past a blurb to put in that book before dropping it off into the wild. This number is what the finder enters in on the site. Ever remember seeing $1 bills stamped with "Where's George?" something like that, well this about the same.

You can also create wishlists for books and it also appears that some members are willing to trade books, so in that case, you would mail your book out at your expense.

I ordered some stickers and bookmarks and got a one month membersip for $5 to see if I need any of the paid subscriptions or if I can make do without those. Membership information can be found here. The only reason I'm posting a link is because it took me a little while to find the member info; it wasn't easy. I think the idea is really neat, interactive and fun.

Book Review: Afraid

2009-06-20T20:02:00.000-05:00

I belong to an online book cataloging site known as Library Thing. Every month Library Thing gets a selection of books from various publishers for their registered users to read and review. I was lucky enough to have the chance to read and review one of these books.

My selected book is Afraid, written by Jack Kilborn aka J.A. Konrath. My first time reading anything by this author. As much as I was freaked out with the certain characters in this book and the further I kept reading, the goose bumps and chills just wouldn't stop- a page turner to the end.

Right away I was drawn in on this small Wisconsin town and how similar this town is in its likeness to my small Minnesota town, with the vast woods and secluded homes surrounding various lakes. I found the setting to be ideal- a small town with a small amount of people for this horrifying tale to terrorize and annihilate the citizens. A small enough town with a small population is ideal for the government to consider keeping the lid shut on this one.

Landing in this small Wisconsin town is a special ops team, highly trained to set out on a mission in search for one particular person and kill everyone in their path. I won't lie, there are some graphic parts in this book.

This book has it: action, horror, fast paced, psychos, gut-wrenching, and torture. Tough characters like Fran. Even after having her toes munched on, she got over the pain; what drove her the most, knowing her 10-year-old son, Duncan, was home alone with these psychos roaming about. Monsters really do exist.

Check your library for this thriller/suspense. Don't forget to lock the doors and bolt the windows when you get home too!