Silent on the Moor by Deanna Raybourn

5 Stars
R- 1-2 (Just a couple of "interesting intervals" :D nothing graphic)

I love these books. I've mentioned that, right? I'm sure I have.

And the most recent one is no disappointment. In fact, I may go reread it.

Lady Julia Grey is taking her life in hand-- much to her brother's dismay. After all, it simply isn't proper for a young widow to go to the home of a bachelor, practically unescorted (I don't think Portia appreciated that bit), to throw herself at him. Or something along those lines. Belmont's a bit of a bore.

Nicholas Brisbane is as maddening, proud, stubborn, and utterly irresistible as ever. Naturally.

But Julia is determined. Invited guest or not, she WILL go to Brisbane's new home and things between them will be settled once and for all.

Of course, she doesn't quite expect the three women in residence. But then, they sort of came with the house.

Nor does she suspect Brisbane's deep connection to the rundown place. Though there must be something for him to choose it over the Viscountcy he'd been promised.

If you'd like to see a painting of the tempting Brisbane, try this painting done by a reader named Doris that Deanna Raybourn posted to her blog.

And, honestly, I always picture Lady Julia as this picture of the author herself. Because she's absolutely lovely and that's just what my mind conjures up.

Unfortunately, we'll have to wait another year to see the next Julia Grey novel, but at least we know there's another one coming!

Summer Reading Saturday-- And We're Done

Whew. We made it.

2 kids, 30 sessions each. Well, okay, technically someone has to read to Mister today before we go to the library. But still.

And just in time, it's the last Saturday of the summer.

Can you believe that? What the heck happened to summer???

Okay, so it's really technically still summer for a few more weeks. But you know what I mean. (It's also still hotter than hades, but what can you do.)

Anyway, we're off to the library today to pick out free prize books! Yippee!!

The Archangel Project by C S Graham

5 stars
R- practically 0
Some language (about what you'd expect from an action/thriller with military and ex-military characters-- both good guys and bad)

Let's call it... Tom Clancy meets X Files.

Okay, so maybe not exactly, but you know what I mean. You've got your CIA agent good guy, an ex-navy remote viewer (psychics, not satalites), ex-military crazy bad guys, and a whole lot of mayhem and destruction. Throw in some serious high-level corruption and there you have it.

This book went really fast. Like "holy cow I'm already more than half-way through" fast.

And it was good. I really liked it. I didn't necessarily agree with all of the political ideas, but hey. We have the freedom to think what we want about politics... and it's up to us whether or not we get into it on our blogs. Which I'm not. :D

I thought the story was well-done and I really like the characters. Which is good, since it's the beginning of a series. And while this book could stand alone, it sets up a series very nicely.

The only thing that majorly bugged me-- a minor (like very minor) character's name changed spellings. That drives me nuts. She's only mentioned in 2 chapters. The first time her name is spelled with a Y and the second with a J. Grr. Makes me want to get an editing job.

Anyway.

There is an excerpt from the next book at the end, though you should take note that the title has apparently changed from The Deadlight Connection to The Solomon Effect and it comes out in October. I'll definitely be reading it. :D

You can learn more at CS Graham's website.

One interesting tidbit-- CS Graham is actually a writing team. Steven Harris and Candice Proctor are the authors. Candice Proctor is also the author of the Sebastian St. Cyr mysteries, which I've heard of but not read. Maybe I'll have to move them up this list.

Monkeewrench by PJ Tracy

4 stars
R- 2.5
Language

This is actually a Reader's Choice winner from.... I don't even know what year. 2003 or 2004.

Anyway.

Interesting and entertaining, usually rather irreverently, I enjoyed this one a lot.

It's an almost convoluted tale of multiple murders, in different states no less, that does take a little patience, but is well worth it! At first it's nearly impossible to see how the storylines could possibly have anything to do with one another, but stick with it, you'll get there.

I must say, though, I don't like that cover. It's kinda creepy. Which, okay, yes makes sense for a book with multiple murders and psychos on the loose, but still. I love the other cover.

The monkey's cute. Even if his mouth is duct-taped.

Apparently this is also the first of a series. Which is interesting, because I'm not really sure where there is to go after this one. The characters are good, though, and it looks like the next one, Live Bait, is going to be about the detectives getting help from the Monkeewrench people on another case. I liked the detectives, so that works for me. :D

Edited to add-- okay, now I've slept on it, and I find my mind has honed in on a problem.... I think the killer had an alibi for the first murder..... maybe even more than one murder... Now, alibis can be easy enough to break, so that doesn't bother me in and of itself, but it's not mentioned! Hmm... feels like an "oops"! We also never find out the details of Annie's shocking secret! Grr.... I hate it when I realize things like this after the fact.

Wednesday Morsel-- Stepsister Scheme

"We will find Prince Armand."

Danielle's throat tightened.

"South," said Snow. "Charlotte fled south."

"We're on the northern edge of an island nation," Talia said. "Do you think you could narrow it down?"

"I can't. She's hidden from the mirror, the same as Armand."

Danielle cleared her throat. "My father's house is south of here."

Talia shook her head. "Charlotte knows we'll be hunting her. To hide in such an obvious place would be the height of stupidity."

Danielle folded her arms. "Charlotte let her mother cut off part of her heel because she believed that would be enough to convince Armand she was me."

"Good point." Talia snorted. "Come on, Snow. Let's go visit the de Glas house."

:D

Utah Book Bloggers Party!

Yup, that's what I did Saturday night. I hung out with book bloggers.







And we had a blast! (Well, right up until Mister was stung by a wasp on the playground.... but you know, other than that it was awesome.)




There were a whole bunch of us crazy bloggers there:


Natasha from Maw Books-- she's the organizer and instigator. :D


Cari from Bookscoops-- the only one I already knew in real life.


Lynn from Chronicle of an Infant Bibliophile-- with her cute bibliophile, naturally.


Becky from One Literature Nut, Emily from Emily's Reading Room, and Angie from Angieville-- who I talked to a lot... probably too much... sorry, ladies, if I monopolized you!


Stacy from Stacy Whitman's Grimoire and Drew from Books, Lies and Alibis-- both of whom I talked to a little.


And Melissa from One Librarian's Book Reviews and Suey from It's All About Books-- who I didn't really get to talk to. Which is totally my own fault for not leaving the chair I plopped myself on!



Here I am with Natasha (I'm the one in the Tigger shirt). This was "quick, take the pic, my son just got stung and is screaming bloody murder!"






And there were authors there.



Not one, not two, but 6!


See, six. In the back, J. Scott Savage and James Dashner.
In the front, Brodi Ashton, Emily Wing Smith, Bree Despain, and Leeann Whiffen.

How cool is that? You're jealous, right? I knew you would be. :D

**Photos courtesy of Natasha. I didn't take my camera. Crazy me.

The Stepsister Scheme by Jim C. Hines

5 stars
R-2 ish. Just innuendo.

I love the quote on the cover: "These princesses will give 'Charlie's Angels' a serious run for the money, and leave 'em in the dust." -- Esther Friesner

One thing's for sure-- these are NOT Disney Princesses! (Well, okay, Megara may fight right in... and maybe Esmerelda, but neither is technically a princess.)

This book is officially on my "need to own" list. Though not in first person, and therefore not as snarky as Lisa Shearin's books, there's something about the urban-ish flavor that reminded me of Raine. And you know how I love the Raine Benares books by Lisa Shearin. (Or maybe your a newcomer and don't, in which case scroll down and find the Lisa Shearin tag in my cloud over there. There are plenty of posts to be found!)

Danielle de Glas (aka Cinderella) is not sure this whole princess thing is going well. She tries to pay attention to all the proper forms of address that she must learn, but really? They want her to memorize how many by the end of the week?? Sigh.

But then that's completely driven out of her mind when her stepsister shows up and tries to kill her. She's saved by a dove, a pigeon, and Talia, a personal attendant to the queen... who just happens to be Sleeping Beauty (Talia, not the queen).

Now they've got to find Prince Armand, Cinderella's husband, whom her stepsisters have spirited off to who-knows-where. Snow White rounds out the party as they head to Cinderella's father's house to look for some clues... or maybe even some stepsisters. After all, they're not known for being real smart.

Absolutely delightful. From Cinderella, who starts out seriously out of her depth, to Talia/Sleeping Beauty who has... issues... to say the least, to Snow, the flirt with the magic mirrors, those stepsisters just may not know what hit them.

This definitely has a dark edge, though, since it draws heavily on the original Grimm stories. Which are not real pleasant. To say the least. But overall, The Stepsister Scheme is just good kick-butt fun!

**The sequel is coming out soon... if it's not out now. It's called The Mermaid's Madness.... and I don't think we'll be seeing Flounder or Sebastian. :D

Winner, etc.

And the winner of the No Mad giveaway is....

PAM!

Congrats! I sent you an email!

*If you are waiting on something from me in the mail-- don't despair, I haven't forgotten you!! Sorry it's taking so long, I haven't had a car all week and for some strange reason the post office doesn't stay open to accomodate our crazy schedule!

**Sorry about the scarce posting this week. I've been exhausted and finally gave myself permission to miss a few days! Next week should be better... :D

A Circle of Souls by Preetham Grandhi

5 Stars
R- 1

I was contacted by Preetham Grandhi a while ago about this book and agreed to review it. He kindly sent me a copy, signed just for me!

And can I just tell you how glad I am he offered!!

I really really enjoyed this book. I devoured it. It's over 300 pages and I think I read it in four hours. Give or take.

First things first, the cover is beautiful, and haunting. It really catches your eye.

The story is wonderful. An interesting mix of crime thriller, psychological novel and paranormal story. Criminal Minds meets X-Files. What's not to love, right? It reminded me of Orson Scott Card's Lost Boys, which was fabulous.

And did I mention it's really well-written?

In Newbury, a girl has disappeared. Nearby, another girl is hospitalized after nearly jumping off a balcony... in her sleep. When the first girl's body is found, Dr. Peter Gram is disturbed to see that his young patient, Naya, is drawing pictures of a dismembered girl that looks frighteningly like the victim. The pictures are images from her dreams-- the dreams causing her concerning sleepwalking.

Different stories, threads and viewpoints are woven together into a wonderful tale.

Definitely recommended, though it is maybe a bit creepy... so you might not want to finish it late at night... (And I wonder why I'm always tired.)

The Dragon of Trelian by Michelle Knudsen

4.5 stars
JF (though it is longer than most JF-- just over 400 pages)

Boo actually picked this one out for me. It was on display with other new fiction and she grabbed it and brought it to me, saying I'd like it.

And she was right. I really enjoyed it. It was a fun fantasy.

Calen and Meg are an unlikely pair. He's the Mage's apprentice who's never had a friend, and she's King Torman's third, and least patient, daughter.

When Calen realizes who she is and starts calling her "Your Majestly", Meg kicks him hard and commands him to knock it off.

I like this girl already.

So... boy meets girl, in a completely non-romantic sense, boy and girl discover plot against kingdom... you know the drill, right? Well, sort of. While there were things I found predictable, it's still a delightful story that doesn't reveal as much as you think it will.

All in all, it's a great read.

And while it could be left where it ends, I'm thrilled that Michelle Knudsen is working on a sequel!

I'd say any fan of fantasy and dragons would enjoy this one!

Taking a Little Break

Be back tomorrow!!

Don't forget, you have until the 20th to enter my Sam Mofie No Mad giveaway! (I know the book didn't work for me, but I wouldn't be offering a giveaway if I didn't think it had a lot of potential. I'm sure others will love it!)

I decided to take this month off of Monthly Possibilities. I still haven't managed to read The Shadow of the Wind because it's in high demand, and I'm still number I-don't-know-how-many-hundred for The Actor and the Housewife!

No Mad by Sam Moffie (PLUS GIVEAWAY!)

Okay, honestly, I did not finish this book, so I can't give it a real rating.
R- 3-4
Some language

Let me start by saying I did NOT hate this book. Usually that's what's up when I don't finish a book, but that's not it this time.

This book just didn't work for me. *shrug* What can you do? It happens. I do think it's just me, though.

So, from what I read, here is my honest review-- I couldn't follow the storyline. Usually I do okay with books that jump around between past and present, but when I'm tired I just can't do it, and it's been a rough week.

There is a fair amount of sex and some language, which I personally find off-putting, but it's totally a matter of personal preference. The only thing that I think would be off-putting to a lot of readers is that at least five of the first 100 pages talk about hemorrhoids. I mean, really? I don't need to know that much about the guy's rear.

It is pretty well written, the voice is good. It's not quite the Breakfast with Buddha style road trip I thought it was going to be, but it is an interesting concept.

From the back of the book:
"Racing home to share news of a long awaited bnook deal, Aaron Abrams unexpectedly finds his wife and beloved brother TOGETHER.
"Tossing a few mentionables into the car, along with his golden retriever, Churchill, his now only trustworthy lifelong companion, Aaron embarks on an odyssey like no other. With his own music as a backdrop, while guzzling his favorite 'Newman's Own Virgin Lemonade', Aaron begins in Youngtown, Ohio, travels Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania, and continues into Gettysburg, PA, Boston, Ma., and Roswell, NM, to name a few, ultimately ending his road trip in scenic Niagra Falls.
"Along the way, he continues to embrace each moment, every situation, all relationships and brief encounters. Never losing his zest for life, Aaron stays positive, upbeat and open for adventures, not letting his 'ex-wife-to-be' interfere with his newfound freedom, while at the same time rediscovering and recreating bonds that will never be broken. The game of Jinx has never gotten so much attention; what that means the reader is soon to discover."

I did absolutely LOVE the quotes and snippets of 70's songs! I love 70's music.

I can really see how this would appeal to a lot of people, it just didn't work for me.

NOW if you think it sounds like something that would work for YOU, well it could be your lucky day! Because I will be giving away a copy!!

To enter--
1) Tell me your favorite song or band from the 70's!
2) Leave a valid email address
3) Plus 1 if you're a new or current follower
BONUS-- For and extra 5 entries, tell me your favorite Marcus Aurelius quote! If you don't know who he is (well, was), don't cheat and just look up a quote. You can still get the bonus points by telling me something interesting about him that you learned when you Googled him!

Giveaway ends August 20th-- I'll pick a winner the 21st!

This is a Virtual Book Tours Book! You can also learn more at Sam Moffie's website.

Beuhler.... Beuhler...

I'm waiting on responses from Jessica Marie and Haiku Amy about the Pay it Forward that I posted a few days ago!

If you didn't get the email from me, email me at schriftstellarin(at)hotmail(dot)com!

Dragon Spear by Jessica Day George

5 Stars
JF/YF

Oh come on, you had to have seen another Dragon review coming. :D

Once again, Jessica Day George doesn't disappoint! Creel and Luka are off to visit the dragons in their new home, with Creel's brother Hagen tagging along. (Had anyone else totally forgotten Creel had a brother? I know, I know, she mentions him from time to time, but still.)

It's only months to their wedding, so Creel has brought along her wedding dress, which she works on at the oddest times. Which is totally in character, though. So it's all good.

When Velika, the dragon queen, is kidnapped not long before she's due to lay her eggs, Creel is once again caught up in the maelstrom.

What I LOVED though, is that this time it's DRAGON politics! I thought that was a great angle. (Technically, Dragon Flight was about half dragon troubles, half human, but it was really interesting to focus solely on dragon culture.)

After flying across the world, being captured not once, but at least twice, and ruining not one, but TWO wedding dresses, will Creel finally get the wedding she wants?

(Oh of course she will, honestly. It's a happy kids book, people!)

:D

Black Horse and the Cherry Tree (A Musical Morsel)

I saw this on my friend's blog-- The Art of Warr (clever name, no?) and thought it was fun.

Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions. Pass it on to 15 or so people you like (or think will actually do this) and tag me. Try not to repeat a song title. It's harder than you think.

Your Artist: KT Tunstall

Are you male or female: Girl and the Ghost

Describe yourself: Under the Weather

How do you feel about yourself: Beauty of Uncertainty

Describe where you currently live: Universe & U

The first thing you think of when you wake up: Boo Hoo

If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Other Side of the World

Your favorite form of transportation: Paper Aeroplane

Your best friend is: Funnyman

Your favorite color is: Golden Age

What's the weather like: Riptide

If your life were a TV show, what would it be called: Another Place to Fall

What is life to you: Miniature Disasters

What is the best advice you have to give: Lay Down Low

If you could change your name, what would it be: Night Like Pepper

Your favorite food is: White Bird

How I would like to die: Through the Dark

My soul's present condition: Quiet

What are you going to post this as: Black Horse and the Cherry Tree

Yeah, I cheated and took out a couple of questions. :D



And I don't tag, but feel free to copy/paste and run with it.

Dragon Flight by Jessica Day George

5 Stars
YF

The second book in George's Dragon series, I found Dragon Flight just as delightful as Dragon Slippers!

I suppose I'm just a sucker for a girl-teams-up-with-dragon-and-kicks-butt story... These books make me think of Patricia Wrede's Enchanted Forest books. That's definitely a compliment!

Creel is frantically sewing for the crown prince's wedding, when all heck breaks loose... again. This time it's another kingdom to the south that has declared war-- with their entire army mounted on dragons!

So Creel is off to see what can be done, with a couple of our favorite dragon friends in tow! The plan is to meet up with Prince Luka, who's gone into hiding after his death was ordered in Citatie. Of course, meeting up with Luka is a bigger draw for Creel than dealing with the dragons, but she's not letting herself think about that. After all, she's just a dressmaker... and the king all but hates her.

But really, she's not thinking about that.

Soon she's up to her eyeballs in dragon intrigue, problematic politics, and trying to keep Shardas from getting himself killed in an epic battle with his psycho brother.

And she thinks she's just a dressmaker.

Pay It Forward

Thanks to Chronicle of an Infant Bibliophile, we just got a great surprise in the mail!! THANKS!!!

Now, it's our turn to pass it on!

We'll mail prizes to the first three people who comment here! (Make sure you leave an email address so I can contact you!!)

You don't get to know what it will be... it's a surprise!!

Well Read?

So, really, this is a screwy list. There is no #26.... and there are at least 2 repeats. But it's still interesting.

I saw this on One Literature Nut!

X= read
TBR= on my list, I just haven't read it yet
--= unsure if I want to read it
?= I'm not sure I've ever even heard of it!

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen (X)
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien (X)
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte (X)
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling (X)
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee (X)
6 The Bible (X)
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte (X)
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell (TBR)
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman (?)
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens (TBR)
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott (X)
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy (--)
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller (TBR)
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare (Oh, come on, don't I get points for having read some?)
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier(TBR)
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien (X)
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk (?)
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger (TBR)
19 The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger (TBR)
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot (TBR)
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell (--)
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald (X)
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens (--)
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy (--)
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams (TBR)
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky (--)
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck (--)
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll (X)
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame (TBR)
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy (--)
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens (TBR)
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis (X)
34 Emma-Jane Austen (X)
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen (X)
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis (X)
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hossein (TBR)
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres (--)
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden (TBR)
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne (TBR)
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell (TBR)
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown (TBR)
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez (?)
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving (?)
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins (TBR)
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery (--)
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy (X)
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood (--)
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding (TBR)
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan (?)
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel (X)
52 Dune - Frank Herbert (TBR)
53 Cold Comfort Farm (TBR)
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen (TBR)
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth (?)
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon (TBR-June Possibility)
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens (X)
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley (TBR)
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night - Mark Haddon (TBR)
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez (?)
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck (--)
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov (--)
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt (?)
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold (?)
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas (TBR)
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac (TBR)
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy (--)
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding (TBR)
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie (?)
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville (--)
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens (TBR)
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker (TBR)
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett (X)
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson (?)
75 Ulysses - James Joyce (--)
76 The Inferno – Dante (X)
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome (?)
78 Germinal - Emile Zola (?)
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray (TBR)
80 Possession - AS Byatt (?)
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens (X)
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell (?)
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker (--)
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro (?)
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert (--)
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry (?)
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White (X)
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom (--)
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (TBR)
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton (?)
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad (--)
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery (TBR)
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks (?)
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams (TBR)
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole (?)
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute (?)
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas (X)
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare (X)
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl (TBR)
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo (TBR)

X= 24
TBR= 34
--= 19
?= 21





Those totals don't include The Complete Works of Shakespeare. Shakespeare is a whole other post!

Summer Reading Saturday-- Everything I Need to Know in Life I Learned from School House Rock

I may have mentioned this before, but my kids LOVE School House Rock. And I mean, really love it.

Even Mister will just sit and watch a while.

Boo can sing most of "Mr. Morton".

And I often have one of the songs stuck in my head.

Amazingly, even being the uber-nerd I was, I didn't like School House Rock. I always changed the channel. So watching it with my kids was a learning experience for me too.

Now, when most kids are learning grammar, they start easy-- nouns and verbs.

Thanks to SHR, we started with adjectives and adverbs. Do you realize how hard those concepts are to explain to a preschooler who has no idea what nouns and verbs are?

* We're almost done with our Summer Reading!! Mister has 9 more and Boo has 6!!

Shakespeare

As a Humanities/English major, one would assume I know my Shakespeare, right?

(I haven't finished my degree yet, though. So don't be expecting too much here.)

And I do know my Shakespeare.... sort of. But when I read this Shakespeare post from Haiku Amy and it got me thinking... how many of the Bard's plays have I actually read?

The sad truth? I don't remember. How bad is that?

I know for certain I have read:

1. The Comedy of Errors
2. A Midsummer Night's Dreams
3. King Lear
4. Macbeth
5. Romeo and Juliet
6. Hamlet
7. Othello

I THINK I've read:

1. The Tempest
2. The Merchant of Venice

I am at least vaguely familiar with:

1. Twelfth Night
2. Much Ado About Nothing
3. The Taming of the Shrew
4. Julius Caesar

Could be worse, right? There's a whole spate of King plays in there that I've missed entirely somehow. Which is pretty sad.

How about you? Where do you stand on the Bard Knowledge Meter?

Purses and Poison by Dorothy Howell

4 Stars
R- 2-3 (no one actually has sex... just a lot of talking about how they aren't.)

Once again, Dorothy Howell gives us a fluffy mystery about the disorganized Haley Randolph. Okay, she's not entirely disorganized, but really.

Haley is not at all the kind of person I'd hang out with in real life. We'd have just about nothing in common, and I just don't think our attitudes would jive. But she's hilarious to read.

Once again, there's been a murder at the not-so-fabulous department store Holts... and once again Haley's in the thick of it. Claudia Gray was poisoned-- not good since she was the ex-girlfriend of Haley's sort-of-boyfriend.... and since the poison was on the fruit bouquet... made by Haley's mom's company.

(Don't you love the fruit bouquet with the skulls in it?)

Detective Madison wants to pin it on Haley, especially since he couldn't pin the last murder on her. How disappointing when she once again ends up two steps ahead.

Add in a stalker, boyfriend troubles, and college classes, and it could be a recipe for disaster!

The ending, however, is cruel and unusual! Leaving us hanging even more than the last book-- Haley is literally mid-conversations. That's right, conversations as in more than one! Sigh. When does the next one come out? Not until next summer? Figures...

*Purses and Poison is the sequel to Handbags and Homicide

Clash of the Gods-- a TV Review

Oh my word.

Sorry, no picture or anything because the History Channel website doesn't have anything but a couple of episode descriptions, but I just had to share!

Being the total Mythology nerd that I am, I just HAD to watch Clash of the Gods! Even if it is on at 11 pm on Monday nights. (Check your listings, though, because our Food Network on Comcast is 3 hours behind my mom's on Direct TV... and she lives 15 minutes away. Go figure. So, yeah, check your tv schedule.)

Anyway, 11 pm, which means I stayed up too late again. (When do I not? If it's not a good show, it's a good book!)

It was so worth it! This show takes the Greek myths and compares them to actual historical events and such. It was awesome! They even discussed aspects of the myths I wasn't familiar with... and with how much I've read, that's impressive.

Zeus was the first episode and the History Channel schedule does say that they'll be playing it again a few times in the next week or two. Next week's episode is Hades and it looks like after that it's Hercules!

Wednesday Morsel-- Play Along!!

Grab the nearest book. Turn to page 170.

Find the LAST sentence on the page.

"It took a month for him to recover from the pickles, but he did get a lot of reading done on the toilet as a result."
No Mad by Sam Mofie

Hmm... maybe I should have checked what the sentence would be.... :)

Sooooo, play along! Either here or on your own blog-- but leave me a link so I can check it out!

(My sentence is 26 words long... Who's got something longer?)

Silver Phoenix by Cindy Pon

5 Stars
R- 1-2

There had dang well better be a sequel. Honestly. It borders on criminal to leave readers hanging like that.

Ai Ling is horrified when her parents start trying to make her a wife and, though she's embarrassed to be rejected by potential suitors, she's also secretly relieved.

But then her father leaves to visit the palace-- and is gone for months. When her mother is confronted with a choice-- either pay a sum of money they don't have or give the merchant Ai Ling-- Ai Ling leaves home to find her father.

The journey that follows is beautiful and terrible-- a lyrical piece that was wonderful to read.

It reminded me of Little Sister and The Heavenward Path by Kara Dalkey (which I loved) but Silver Phoenix is for an older audience. (The library sticker says YF, but I think I'd call it YA.)

Anyway, I really loved it. (And you have to love that cover!!) According to Cindy Pon's author page on GoodReads it looks like there is a sequel planned! I can't wait!!

You can learn more at Cindy Pon's website!

Month In Review-- July

Do you ever look at Amazon's recommendations? I find them interesting. This is what comes up first for me today... Clair Poulson's Lost and Found. Haven't read it, but it looks interesting.

Books read in July-- 11. Not quite by book-every-two-days rate, but it's July. July's a crazy month.

Breakdown-- 2 Reader's Choice, 3 Virtual Book Tour, 1 Newbery. Library books-- 8/11. (The other three were the VBT books.)

Outstanding Monthly Possibility reviews--
Shadow of the Wind from June-- Have it from the library, just haven't read it yet.
The Actor and the Housewife from July-- still on hold... # 381 or something.

Zero book club books read in July... I did start July's book (Mormon Scientist), but it's probably good that we pushed it into August.

Oh, and the book I got for my sister's birthday-- Fairest -- yeah, she has it already. Time for plan B. I just have to remember what plan B was.

So, leave your suggestions for August Possibilities! I'll post a poll next week sometime!

Edited to Add-- My Year to Date total-- 91 books!
*Oh, and a little correction. June was also 11 books read. I've got to keep better track!

Journal According to John by Sheryl A. Keen

4 Stars
R- 3

John Clarke is a therapist-- with a host of issues of his own.

Now his marriage has fallen apart and he's finally ready to take a good hard look at himself and the choices he's made since the event that nearly shattered him when he was 10. Written as a journal, Journal According to John is an interesting work of introspection.

First let me say, I didn't buy John as a therapist. There were a couple of moments where that worked, but overall, I really didn't see it. It is certainly the ultimate irony-- a therapist who's totally screwed up-- but he didn't act, think or talk like a therapist. That angle just didn't work for me. (Especially when he scoffs at the idea of a man writing a journal. Isn't journal-writing straight out of Therapy 101??)

That said, it was still really an interesting journey of self-discovery. As John faced his demons and grew, you could really see it in the way he wrote and what he wrote in his journal.

Overall, I enjoyed it. There were little nit-picky things that bugged me (gender stereotypes, the casual attitude about how much he drank, a few editing things) but it was quite good. Makes you think about perspective and how we're shaped by how we see things... and vice versa.


This is a Virtual Book Tour book! And you can also learn more on Sheryl Keen's website. (If nothing else, go to Sheryl Keen's site to watch the book trailer! It's really beautiful.)

Summer Reading Saturday-- Potty Training

And what, you ask, does that have to do with reading??

Well, I'll tell you.

It's my secret strategy.

When it's time for Mister to sit on the potty, I say "Go find a book so we can go potty!" and off he runs to grab a storybook.

It's two birds with one stone. By the end of the day we've read more than enough to mark his chart (most days) and with any luck, eventually he'll be potty trained. It's got to work at some point, right?

I hate potty training.

On the up side, Daddy took the little monkeys to the library last week and came home with I'm Mighty and I'm Bad from the authors of I Stink and I'm Dirty. They were in the library book sale! (Sadly, I'm Dirty has to go back to the library today. They only let you renew them so many times.)

*And now, I'm off to teach back to back classes! Christmas stuff this morning and scrapbooking this afternoon!