Over at AwesomeSauce Book Club, Amber has posed what I find to be an interesting question - What do you look for in a review? Do you prefer a brief synopsis about the story with minor spoilers? Some people prefer less about the story and more about one's thoughts on the writing itself and characters' development, while others want to know nothing more than if you liked it or not.
While thinking about it I realized that I don't know if I have a very strong opinion here, although I think that I tend to like the brief synopsis type of review myself. I never judge a book by its' cover, but I often judge it by the blurb on the back! I've read many a book simply because a friend I trusted said I should, and I don't mind minor spoilers before I read something. (I'll watch movies even if I know how they end, too!) But I'm curious to know what kind of review my little Addicts would prefer?
Anyway, it seemed like an entertaining topic for a Wednesday afternoon, so if you wouldn't mind, head on over to AwesomeSauce Book Club and leave an answer in her comments, and if you'd like to leave one here also, I'd appreciate it!
Have a happy rest of the week!
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Teaser Tuesday - Beyond the Shadows
* 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 and author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their To Be Read (TBR) Lists if they like your teasers!
The Tease:
"Her eyes told her it was impossible. Her knowledge of illusory masks told her it was impossible. But she knew, and his reaction confirmed it. "What are you doing here?" she asked." - Beyond the Shadows, by Brent Weeks.
So....What's your Tease?
Friday, January 21, 2011
Bits & Pieces
Gail Carriger has posted a back cover blurb on her blog from her upcoming novel, "Heartless," which is Book the Fourth in The Parasol Protectorate series! The official release date is July 1, 2011.
Hopefully we'll get a sneak peek at the cover art sometime soon, but meanwhile, go check out the blurb - UNLESS you are worried about spoilers!! If you are worried about spoilers then do not read the blurb. Because there are some. Spoilers, I mean. But you can check out the rest of her blog, which is chock full of fun stuff! (Including Moments of Parasol, and Dear Lord Akeldama columns!)
I am very excited about "Heartless" - I'm dying to see what happens next to Alexia & Company! I wasn't sure that she could top the mechanical ladybugs, but apparently (according to the blurb) I was wrong. I can't wait!!
Also, she linked to me!! Specifically to my review of "Blameless." Happiness abounds!!
Have a great weekend, everyone, and if you are brave enough to check out the blurb, come back and leave a comment to let me know what you thought, ok?!
Hopefully we'll get a sneak peek at the cover art sometime soon, but meanwhile, go check out the blurb - UNLESS you are worried about spoilers!! If you are worried about spoilers then do not read the blurb. Because there are some. Spoilers, I mean. But you can check out the rest of her blog, which is chock full of fun stuff! (Including Moments of Parasol, and Dear Lord Akeldama columns!)
I am very excited about "Heartless" - I'm dying to see what happens next to Alexia & Company! I wasn't sure that she could top the mechanical ladybugs, but apparently (according to the blurb) I was wrong. I can't wait!!
Also, she linked to me!! Specifically to my review of "Blameless." Happiness abounds!!
Have a great weekend, everyone, and if you are brave enough to check out the blurb, come back and leave a comment to let me know what you thought, ok?!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Teaser Tuesday - Shadow's Edge by Brent Weeks
* 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 and author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their To Be Read (TBR) Lists if they like your teasers!
The Tease:
"There was nothing else to do, nothing more to say. Kylar couldn't even weep. As the first birds of morning began singing beauty to the waking sun, he filled the grave." Shadow's Edge, by Brent Weeks.
So....What's your Tease?
Friday, January 14, 2011
Interview - Game of Thrones
MTV posted a brief article yesterday interviewing Emilia Clarke, who talks about her role in HBO's adaptation of 'A Song of Ice and Fire' novels, which premieres in April. Emilia Clarke plays the character of Daenerys Targaryen, an exiled princess. It's a short but interesting article. Enjoy!Photo: Helen Sloan/ HBO
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Review - Splinter of the Mind's Eye by Alan Dean Foster
I love Star Wars. I have loved Star Wars ever since my older sister secretly arranged for me to babysit at a house that owned A New Hope on a VHS video tape that I watched after the kids went to sleep so that my Mom wouldn't find out. It blew my mind, and started a lifelong love affair with Sci-Fi and Fantasy stories. It was so completely unlike anything that I had ever seen, heard, or conceived, and it was magical!
I read many of the excellent and wonderful novels that take place after the events in Return of the Jedi, although I have not kept up with them in the last 5 or 6 years and find myself sadly far behind. But I somehow never got around to reading "Splinter of the Mind's Eye" which takes place between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back.
So when a used copy showed up in a bag of books that was given to me recently, I decided that it was time to remedy that situation. Now that I've finished the book, I greatly wish I had remained blissfully ignorant. Quite simply put, this book is the red-headed step-child that was locked in the cupboard under the stairs but somehow escaped and needs to be put back quickly before the neighbors find out about it's existence!
The story starts with Luke and R2 in his X-Wing, and Leia and 3PO in her Y-Wing, flying through a star system to a secret meeting where she hopes to gains support for the Rebel Alliance. As they pass one of the outer planets in the system something mysteriously goes wrong with her ship and she decides to set down on the planet below, even though it is listed as uninhabited. Luke objects, but when your love interest is a spoiled princess, you have no choice but to follow her. They both crash after encountering a wild energy storm that wrecks both of their ships, leaving them stranded on a world that is actually inhabited by forces from the empire who are mining some exotic mineral or gas or something, I was too bored by then to care. Native populations are being abused, there's a crystal that magnifies the Force, and everyone wants it, and giant worms try to eat them. Whatever.
See, Leia isn't supposed to be spoiled, and she's not supposed to be dumb, or brawl with Luke in the mud in the street in the middle of the enemy base, or any of the other stupid things she does. And I constantly wanted to slap Luke upside the head - stop making mooney eyes at your sister! It's tacky!!
Of course then Darth Vader shows up, beats the crap out of Luke, and then Luke pushes him into a hole in the ground and he falls to his supposed death. Or something. But we already know he survived, so, meh.
The nice thing was, it was short, and so it didn't take a lot of time to read. I have read somewhere that Splinter was written before they knew that the series would become a huge hit, so some of the sideways plots are almost forgivable. Almost. But not really, when you consider that the author is capable of soooooo much better than what he provides here.
So, skip this one, and go see The Tourist with Johnny Depp and Angelina Jolie - It's a great movie, and she looked fabulous in every scene, even if she is a home-wrecker.
Leave a comment - or whatever...
(Geez, someone turn my snark setting down for me, will ya'? I can't quite reach it).
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Teaser Tuesday - The Way of Shadows again!
* 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 and author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their To Be Read (TBR) Lists if they like your teasers!
The Tease:
"Something inside him said, where others have failed, have faltered, have fallen, I will be triumphant; I am different; I am cut of a new cloth; I will rise. "Call me King," he said, and he smiled a fuck-you through the angst and the sorrow, and he was potent." The Way of Shadows, by Brent Weeks.
I am almost finished with this book and getting ready to start the next one in the series, "Shadow's Edge." I'm totally enjoying it, and hope to have a review up soon!
So....What's your Tease?
Friday, January 7, 2011
HBO - Game of Thrones
HBO has finally officially announced the date of the premiere for the hugely anticipated series, Game of Thrones, based on George R. R. Martin's fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire!!April 17, 2011 is the oh-so-magic number!
I gotta go make arrangements with my cable company!!
Also check out the fab T-shirts you can get from the HBO store!!
OMG!! I am so excited!!!
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Inconceivable!
I'm trying to find a way to say this without actually slamming anyone - I'm not trying to be mean, really! But I think it's really sad that Snooki can get a book published, and yet so many other highly talented people can't.
What is up with that?
What is up with that?
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
2010 Recap Continued - Or, More Info than you ever wanted to know!
After doing the research for yesterday's post and seeing how my reading habits (and volume) have changed over the last several years, I decided to take it several steps further and gather more data. Yes - more data, please! Also, I was bored at work - But that's not the point!! So, bring on the data!
I've been keeping a Book List since the end of 2003, in which I keep track of all the books I've read and the date I finished them. This started as a simple table in a Word document, which has now grown to almost 30 pages in length, so I've been experimenting with transferring the information to a spreadsheet. I don't like it as much but I guess I'll get used to it, plus it loads faster, so that's a good thing. After playing with the sort function for what seems like multiple hours, here's what I found:
In 2003 when I started the list, the year was almost over, so I don't have complete information. But from September to the end of December of 2003, I read 17 books.
2004: 138 books.
2005: 143 books. Nice!
2006: 161 books - even better!!
2007: 181 books!! Holy snowballs! (Ok, in all fairness, a lot of these were very short novels that I was able to start and finish on the same day. But, still, impressive, right?).
2008: 132 books, as mentioned yesterday. Sad.
2009: 58 books. Very sad.
2010: 41 books. Uber sad. Pathetic even...
So now you finally know how many books I've read each year since I started keeping my Book List. I know it's been keeping y'all awake at night, wondering. But now you can all sleep in peace, my little addicts! I, however, cannot sleep in peace - I need to get busy and read more!!
Do you keep a Book List? What format do you use (Word, Excel, etc)? Do you track the dates you finish and obsessively count how many books you read in the whole year? Leave a comment and let me know - I totally wanna know!
I've been keeping a Book List since the end of 2003, in which I keep track of all the books I've read and the date I finished them. This started as a simple table in a Word document, which has now grown to almost 30 pages in length, so I've been experimenting with transferring the information to a spreadsheet. I don't like it as much but I guess I'll get used to it, plus it loads faster, so that's a good thing. After playing with the sort function for what seems like multiple hours, here's what I found:
In 2003 when I started the list, the year was almost over, so I don't have complete information. But from September to the end of December of 2003, I read 17 books.
2004: 138 books.
2005: 143 books. Nice!
2006: 161 books - even better!!
2007: 181 books!! Holy snowballs! (Ok, in all fairness, a lot of these were very short novels that I was able to start and finish on the same day. But, still, impressive, right?).
2008: 132 books, as mentioned yesterday. Sad.
2009: 58 books. Very sad.
2010: 41 books. Uber sad. Pathetic even...
So now you finally know how many books I've read each year since I started keeping my Book List. I know it's been keeping y'all awake at night, wondering. But now you can all sleep in peace, my little addicts! I, however, cannot sleep in peace - I need to get busy and read more!!
Do you keep a Book List? What format do you use (Word, Excel, etc)? Do you track the dates you finish and obsessively count how many books you read in the whole year? Leave a comment and let me know - I totally wanna know!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Teaser Tuesday - The Way of Shadows
* 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 and author, too, so that other Teaser Tuesday participants can add the book to their To Be Read (TBR) Lists if they like your teasers!
The Tease:
"Momma K crossed her legs in the absently provocative way that only a veteran courtesan could. Some people fidgeted habitually. Momma K seduced habitually." The Way of Shadows, by Brent Weeks.
So....What's your Tease?
2010 Recap - or, What the hell did I do with all my time this year?
In 2010 the number of books that I read dropped sharply. You see, for the last 15 years or so I used to go every night to a local sports bar/restaurant, where I would drink coffee, smoke, and read for several hours.
Every night.
In 2008, for example, I read a total of 132 books. At the beginning of 2009, however, smoking was outlawed in public establishments, and I stopped going to coffee and reading every night. Consequently, in 2009 I only read 58 books. Not too bad, really, still more than one a week, yet still less than half what I read in 2008.
In 2010, I quit smoking completely, but didn't get back into the habit of going to coffee and devoting two or three hours per night to nothing but reading. The total number of books I read in 2010 dropped to only 41. However, the 41 books that I read were mostly meatier and more substantial than (higher page counts!) than what I'd been reading in the previous two years.
So while I really don't do New Years' Resolutions, I am going to try to read more this year, and spend less time fooling around with things that aren't as important to me. But we'll see how it goes!
And in case anyone is interested, here is the list of books completed in 2010. The number before the title indicates the books' place in a series, and the date is the date I finished reading it.
Happy New Year, everyone - and Happy Reading!!
Every night.
In 2008, for example, I read a total of 132 books. At the beginning of 2009, however, smoking was outlawed in public establishments, and I stopped going to coffee and reading every night. Consequently, in 2009 I only read 58 books. Not too bad, really, still more than one a week, yet still less than half what I read in 2008.
In 2010, I quit smoking completely, but didn't get back into the habit of going to coffee and devoting two or three hours per night to nothing but reading. The total number of books I read in 2010 dropped to only 41. However, the 41 books that I read were mostly meatier and more substantial than (higher page counts!) than what I'd been reading in the previous two years.
So while I really don't do New Years' Resolutions, I am going to try to read more this year, and spend less time fooling around with things that aren't as important to me. But we'll see how it goes!
And in case anyone is interested, here is the list of books completed in 2010. The number before the title indicates the books' place in a series, and the date is the date I finished reading it.
| 4. The Charlemagne Pursuit | Steve Berry | 1/8/2010 |
| 6. First Lord’s Fury | Jim Butcher | 1/15/2010 |
| 1. The Innocent Mage | Karen Miller | 1/28/2010 |
| 2. The Awakened Mage | Karen Miller | 2/4/2010 |
| 1. Empress | Karen Miller | 2/16/2010 |
| 2. The Riven Kingdom | Karen Miller | 2/25/2010 |
| 3. Hammer of God | Karen Miller | 3/7/2010 |
| 1. Foreigner | C.J. Cherryh | 3/15/2010 |
| 4. The Sunrise Lands | S M Stirling | 3/25/2010 |
| 10. Small Favor | Jim Butcher | 4/2/2010 |
| 11. Turn Coat | Jim Butcher | 4/8/2010 |
| Your Heart Belongs to Me | Dean Koontz | 4/16/2010 |
| Breathless | Dean Koontz | 4/20/2010 |
| A Magic of Dawn | S L Farrell | 5/6/2010 |
| 7. Tragic Magic | Laura Childs | 5/11/2010 |
| 6. The King’s Buccaneer | Raymond E Feist | 5/12/2010 |
| 7. Shadow of a Dark Queen | Raymond E Feist | 5/21/2010 |
| 8. Rise of a Merchant Prince | Raymond E Feist | 5/31/2010 |
| 3. Eclipse | Stephanie Meyer | 6/7/2010 |
| 9. Rage of a Demon King | Raymond E Feist | 6/17/2010 |
| 10. Shards of a Broken Crown | Raymond E Feist | 6/25/2010 |
| Cold Fall (James Bond) | John Gardner | 7/7/2010 |
| 3. The Infinity Gate | Sara Douglass | 7/15/2010 |
| 10lb Penalty | Dick Francis | 7/19/2010 |
| Zorro | Isabel Allende | 7/29/2010 |
| 5. The Paris Vendetta | Steve Berry | 8/9/2010 |
| 6. Aloha, Candy Hearts | Anthony Bidulka | 8/12/2010 |
| 16. Sweet Poison | Ellen Hart | 8/25/2010 |
| 17. The Mirror and the Mask | Ellen Hart | 8/31/2010 |
| 1. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo | Stieg Larsson | 9/7/2010 |
| 2. The Girl who Played with Fire | Stieg Larsson | 9/23/2010 |
| 3. The Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest | Stieg Larsson | 10/6/2010 |
| 2. The Moses Stone | James Becker | 10/12/2010 |
| 4. Vieux Carre Voodoo | Greg Herren | 10/19/2010 |
| 1. Soulless | Gail Carriger | 10/25/2010 |
| 2. Changeless | Gail Carriger | 11/2/2010 |
| 3. Blameless | Gail Carriger | 11/22/2010 |
| 13. Towers of Midnight | Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson | 12/9/2010 |
| The Dying Earth | Jack Vance | 12/13/2010 |
| Here Abide Monsters | Andre Norton | 12/19/2010 |
| Cross Fire | James Patterson | 12/27/2010 |
Happy New Year, everyone - and Happy Reading!!
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