Title: Shadow Queen
Auther: Deborah Kalin
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 302
Rating: 3.5/5

From the Blurb

'I put out a hand to steady myself as the vision took me. The parquetry floor washed to black... As if sparked by the hard galre, a fire burst and raged through the room, the flames hot enough to crisp bones and raise the smell of marrow burning to cinders. And me in the middle, wrapped int he balck shroud of the dead.'

For Matilde of House Svanaten, accession to the Turasi throne is long overdue. But her imperious grandmother remains reluctant to hand over power.

When Matilde's mysterious aunt, Helena, turns up for the Turasi's most important festival, suspicions abound. Why has Helena returned? And why are there soldiers from the despised Ilthean empire massed at the southern border?

Hard on Helena's arrival, Matilde is struck by a vision marning of doom. And it isn't long before a powerful enemy strikes at the very heart of power, leaving a trail of death and destruction in his wake.

After narrowly surviving, the conflgration that shatters her entire world, Matilde must pit herself against her family's conqueror in a battle not just for the throne, but for her very existence.

review here @ my journal

Hello again all!! Nice to see you and such. I once again humbly ask your opinions on actually a fair few books today.

We start with rachel caine and her vampire series. is she any good? is it another vamp rip-off?
The Suicide Collectors: David Oppengaard. Good? Not good? a Hard and stodgy read?

Brian James and Daniel Waters (Zombie Blondes and Generation Dead). Lame? Un-lame? Rip-offs?

Anything by Mary Downing Hahn? Too much american "oh journey journey journey" stuff? or good?

Marlene Perez? A cheap tacky rip off of the vamp genre?

The Chosen One- Carol Lynch Williams. Interesting? Boring? Too religious?

AND FINALLY! Has anyone got any 'classics' they could reccomend? I'm interested in everything by Austen and Bronte. But outside of them; I don't know many classics.

Thanks all!!!! You know I love you and such, .

Hey guys!

So me and my friend decided to read 65 books in year. It will start this December and end on December 2010. So that's 65 books in a year. I personally decided to have my goal at 100. My friend does not want the 100 books in year idea because she said that it's too impossible. She said that we have lots of things to do next year because of school. But I believe that I could reach the 100 books in a year. It's part of my New Year's resolution too. Reading books is fun and I love it!

So I really don't know where to start. My favorite books are Harry Potter. I'm just asking book suggestions from you guys. I'd go with ANY genre as long as the plot is good. I don't care if it's as long as a phone book or if it's Twilight(that came from a Stephenie Meyer hater). I'm not a teenage girly bubblegum pageanty reader. I actually love those books that make me cry. Those that are inspiring. I go for comedy more than anything else. I love those that I could relate to.I love those books that have heart. But really, ANY book will do. Thanks in advance!

If this kind of post is prohibited then I'm sorry and feel free to remove it.

Paolo Bacigalupi’s The Windup Girl is intelligent and frightening. Agricultural companies rule the world, distributing sterilized versions of crops long ruined with diseases like blister rust, cibiscosis, and scabis mold. The Earth of the future is one gone to waste; politics, climate, and resources like food and energy (i.e. oil) have deteriorated. In Thailand, the government has set up factions to control their most precious material: a genebank containing original crop DNA free from existing disease and genetic enhancement, the epitome of all that is natural and good to the Thai people.

With plagues ravaging crops and making people sick (and Agricultural companies barely staying on top of the latest strain), the Thai government is determined to police imports and keep their country thriving amidst a global crisis that threatens to metaphorically tear down the pumps that keep the capital from drowning in seawater. The Environment Ministry monitors the borders under the guidance of Captain Jaidee--one of five narrative viewpoints--the ‘Tiger of Bangkok’. He ruthlessly enforces the law, going so far as burning incoming material under even the faintest trace of suspicion. Jaidee’s earned himself a reputation that grates against the Trade Ministry’s ability to import and export items and profit from more lucrative, albeit shady, deals.

( Read the rest! )

Photo from belfasttelegraph.co.uk

There is always magic in the worlds of epic fantasies, but in the world of the Starks and the Lannisters and whatever is left of the broken House of the Targaryens, magic brings with it a sense of doom, and the smell of spilled blood. The dragons have fallen, the king has turned into a fat drunk who likes hunting more than figuring out how to save a kingdom deep in debt, and the gods are mere silent faces carved in the bark of trees. You can pray to them, but they do not answer.

This world, like most magical worlds, has a forest, but the forest is kept behind a Wall like the wild creature that it is. The phrase “to take up the black” means to be one of the men who guards the Wall. These men do not take wives nor sire children. The punishment for desertion is death. Not surprisingly they’re having serious budget and manpower problems.

All of the Houses have honor, and follies; all of the Houses have pain. They’ve all fought in a war where they’ve lost parents and siblings and children. Every House yearns for revenge, yet every House has also sinned.

In A Game of Thrones, the summer has lasted for years, and now everyone is fearing the bitter cold. The longer the summer, the longer the winter, they say.

The Stark words are, Winter is coming. To paraphrase: We are all going to be seriously fucked.

Oh, yes. And soon.

Marked
P.C. Cast, Kristin Cast
YA fiction; fantasy; series
306 pages

Enter the dark, magical world of The House of Night, a world very much like our own, except here vampyres have always existed. Sixteen-year-old Zoey Redbird has just been Marked as a fledgling vampyre and joins the House of Night, a school where she will train to become an adult vampire. That is, if she makes it through the Change--and not all of those who are Marked do. It sucks to begin a new life, especially away from her friends, and on top of that, Zoey is no average fledgling. She has been chosen as special by the vampyre Goddess Nyx. Zoey discovers she has amazing powers, but along with her powers come bloodlust and an unfortunate ability to Imprint her human ex-boyfriend. To add to her stress, she is not the only fledgling at the House of Night with special powers: When she discovers that the leader of the Dark Daughters, the school's most elite group, is misusing her Goddess-given gifts, Zoey must look deep within herself for the courage to embrace her destiny--with a little help from her new vampyre friends.

I was pleasantly surprised that I was so engrossed in the first book in the House of Night series. I really enjoyed the storyline and I really like the unique take on "vampyres" in this series. It does remind me a bit of Hogwarts, but to me, that is a positive thing. The only thing I did not care for is some of the immature language spouted off by some of the characters, but then again, this is written for a younger audtience than myself. However, I feel like as this series progresses, it will get even more darker and more interesting. I cannot wait to read the rest of the books.

Books read this year: 46/50.

Briar Rose by Jane Yolen is about a girl named Becca who decides to search for her family inheritance after the death of her Grandmother Gemma. The story is based around the German fairy tale Briar Rose aka Sleeping Beauty which was Gemma's favorite story when she was still alive. ( Read more... )

(This has been cut because of the length and plot details).

67. The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat - Oliver Sacks - 256 pages (8/10)

I like how the cover matches my usericon, hah. Yay, Magritte.

I've been meaning to read this book for years. How could you not with a title like that? Dr. Oliver Sacks is a guest star on a podcast I regularly listen to, Radio Lab, and after hearing certain cases, I knew it was long past time I read his book. Sacks has been a neurologist for many years, and this book was his first. Published in 1985, it details the strange and amazing cases he's come across during his career. This book is amusing, fascinating, and touching.

One interesting case was a man who had alcohol amnesia. He was in his late fifties, but he thought he was 19 in 1945. Whenever he mentioned his brother, he mentioned that he was in accountancy school and was engaged to a nice girl, even though at the time of the book his brother had been an accountant for thirty years. Up until the age of 19 he could remember his life perfectly, but everything after that was a blur. Sacks would see the man one day and the next day the patient would introduce himself again. Each case detailed in this book is unique and varied.

The book is well-organized: "The book comprises 24 essays split into 4 sections which each deal with a particular aspect of brain function such as deficits and excesses in the first two sections (with particular emphasis on the right hemisphere of the brain) while the third and fourth describe phenomenological manifestations with reference to spontaneous reminiscences, altered perceptions, and extraordinary qualities of mind found in "retardates" (Sacks, 163)

I always took advantage what it was like to go through day-to-day life with no neurological disorders. I can't fathom what it must be like to not be able to trust your sight, or to not be sure where your body parts are, or to not remember ten minutes ago. Sack's main thesis of the book is that human identity is still preserved, no matter how debilitating a disorder an individual has. A person with severe amnesia can still recognize someone he or she loves. A person with severe mental disabilities can still love deeply and find passion in past times. Identity persists.


Booksforfood is my book reviewing journal. I like new friends :)

Hey everyone! Hope you are all doing well :)
I have another short story for you all since I am interested in publishing a few things (even if they might be in magazines) and I was hoping if some of you could read this short story, all was free in the open air.

Could you spare a few moments of your time and read this short story and reply with some constructive feedback? Tell me honestly how you feel about it and whether or not I need to add to it. Thank you again XD

All was free in the open air here @ my journal

I hate Romeo and Juliet and Jane Austen, and I'm not looking for the Harlequin romance sort of love story, but those are really the only criteria I have. It would be nice if it focused on the actual love, falling, being, whatever, not the angsty 'they love me, they love me not' stuff, but I realize that most books are going to have plenty of that because most people would find it boring to read a book all about someone's happy romance (I would love it, for the record). I wish I could be more specific about what I want but I'm finding it difficult to explain what's in my head and I can't really give examples, because I haven't really read the sort of thing I'm after. But I'm sure it must exist.

So, what are your favorite love stories? Classic, modern, I like it all. I can't usually get into fantasy/sci-fi so much, but if it's exceptionally good I'll give it a try. Preferably not unrequited love, at least not unrequited from beginning to end. And no fluff, although that's how I'm making it sound--troubles and hardships are fine, just as long as they work out. I just want details, emotion, depth ... I don't know. I'll shut up now, my ramblings aren't really helping :) Anyone?

Edit: I feel incredibly silly :), "Time Traveler's Wife" is absolutely my favorite book of all time, ever, and I forgot it. So that's the perfect example, anything else like it? Thanks you guys for reminding me!

I'd greatly appreciate some suggestions for books with well written, satisfying girl-meets-girl love stories. This can be the focal point of the book or a side plot, but here's the catch: unless it's an absolute must-read, I'd very much prefer the books suggested to fall into the fantasy or science fiction genres, or have a classic pseudo-medieval setting. I'd also rather read something that doesn't beat one over the head with feminist rhetoric, GRRRL POWER or (current) politics. I guess the male equivalent would be something like Mercedes Lackey's "Last Herald-Mage" series.

I am planning on reading "Ash" by Melinda Lo, which is a retelling of Cinderella where the Prince loses his princess to his huntress. Sounds like a fun read.

Thanks in advance, fellow bibliophiles! :)

Week 4 of NaNoWriMo has come and gone, and it's time for our Friday Check-in... on Saturday again. ::avoids making excuses:: There are only three days left, and a few of you have already reached your goal. ::confetti toss:: How are the rest of you coming? You're welcome to give us a progress report. Are you going to make it? Tell us your word count... maybe add your word counter graphic to your comment. It's crunch time, folks! ::twinkle::

Hi there.

I am very interested in reading Michael Moorcock's 'Elric of Melnibone' series. However there seem to be so many books in the series I am confused by which one to start with! If there are any Elric fans on this community I would be so greatful if you could tell me which book i should begin with. Thank you very much ^^

-Torment2romance

In September 2009, Seanan McGuire published her first novel Rosemary and Rue. This urban fantasy debut quickly received attention as one of the best debuts of 2009. Now the multi-talented author has three new books scheduled for publication in 2010. Two are continuations of her Toby Daye series: A Local Habitation and An Artificial Night. The third will be published under the pseudonym 'Mira Grant' and will be titled Feed. As McGuire says: "Who needs sleep?"

Today author Seanan McGuire is answering questions at Book Love Affair. Go leave a comment to ask this wonderful author what you'd like to know! (Also, participating in the interview earns extra entries in the BLA Leviathan giveaway!)

( Check out the interview at Book Love Affair? )

Please don't hold back. Really, really pick it apart.

Contains homosexual themes.

----

It felt necessary that you should attend. It’s all that anyone’s been talking about for weeks but something about tonight begs for you to remain at home.

Frantic music forces its way out of the house, infesting the summer air. A waif of a girl hurtles out the door, pushing her way past you. She collapses on all fours and her body convulses as she soils the pristine lawn. The acrid smell of her vomit compels you to enter the party. You can’t even take one last breath to steel yourself.

The house is crammed full of people, most of them strangers. Hung from the ceiling, fairy lights, illuminating tear-stained faces and dilated pupils red, green, yellow.

( Read more... )

So I picked this up last weekend, before Black Friday, and thought it would be a great read. I personally am infatuated with Russell Brand, so I jumped at the chance to get it.

Review: It's definitly 'mature'. There is a-plenty of swears and obscene phrases. It's written in 'proper' British language, using were in place of was, and things like that. It uses traditional British spellings, such as colour or favourite. Although you might think that it would be a jovial, comedic read, it contained some pretty heavy material. It starts off with his entrance into a Pennsylvania sex addiction treatment center. Split into four parts, the book is written in the chronological order of his childhood and adolescence which describes the hard times his family went though. It delves into a pretty dark realm as he shares his battles with drug experimentation which leads to addiction, especially of the substance heroin. He tells about his traditional schooling, and when he first realized that his place was in front of the spotlight.

In it he explains his views on religion, not trying to convince anyone but himself of his choices. He identifies greatly with the Hare Krishnas, and shares an unsuccessful attempt to write a play based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead. Russell Brand talks about his early friendships and how he has always felt more secure in the company of women, especially his mother. He tells of his many animal ownings, especially his beloved cat, Morrissey.

The book isn't for the type of reader who prefers to lose themselves in a fantasy world. It jumps right in to many problems that face all of us today, including common topics of self-acceptance, career choices, and love. However, it deals with a darker side of alcoholism, drug and sex addiction, and finding one's meaning and purpose in an otherwise meaningless world. It does have many funny parts, but it isn't all stand up. I give this book five stars, but the cost may prevent many from outright buying it, and waiting to check it out at the local library.

Title: Bitter is the New Black : Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smartass, Or, Why You Should Never Carry A Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office
Author: Jen Lancaster
Page Count: 416
Genre: Non-fiction, Memoir
Rating:

My Review:
I desperately want to give this book 5 stars. I'll explain why I didn't.

This book is a memoir about a stuck-up bitch who went from being on top of the world one day to not being able to afford an apartment in the ghetto the next. The adventure is superb to read about - a woman who once looked down on everyone and went everywhere in expensive everything, obsessed to the point of insanity over her hair and nails. She lives in a fantastic Chicago apartment that she pays way too much a month for. Then 9/11 happens and ... lay-offs.

As much as I want to give this book a 5 because it is hilarious, its writing style is a bit busted up and I'm holding a grudge because she slams vegans [ouch] in it on several occasions. The writing style is somewhat amusing, though at first I wasn't sure how I felt about the footnotes. Since it is a memoir, I wasn't expecting perfectly formed anything, neither any stroke of literary genius. I was told this book is very funny and I have to say that for what I hoped of it - it delivered.

I found this book to be an incredibly easy read, something that I just bullied right through without even noticing until I burned into the Epilogue. It's easy to relate to and it's a great, uplifting and amusing read. This book is perfect for someone who is looking for something that they don't have to take seriously, but just laugh at uncontrollably.