On the Bookshelf #25

The Book of Clouds, by Carl Richter

This has got to be the oddest method I’ve ever come across a book. A little over a year ago, Mr. B moved…to the house next door. Their neighbor was moving to Southern Illinois and they rented the house for a couple months while Mr. B’s roommate worked through financing to actually buy the place. When they moved in, a family friend of the guy who previously lived there was temporarily renting a room, so for a few months, Mr. B had a second roommate. When he left to go back home, he gave them a copy of a book he had written that Mr. B gave to me to read since neither of them really read much in the way of novels or fiction.

I enjoyed the book. There were a couple spots where I guessed what was going to happen, but it kept me interested pretty well. Rather than try to summarize what the book was about, I’m just going to quote the back cover, or I’ll probably end up giving away something that I shouldn’t.

Danielle Moreland is a recently released project manager for a large corporation. When someone attempts to kidnap her son for an unknown reason, she turns to detective Chris Montrose, the son of an infamous father, for help. As the two seek to find the failed kidnapper, they soon learn of a large, all-powerful sect that desires Danielle’s son Michael for some unfathomable reason. As their investigation continues, it soon becomes apparent that they are no longer the hunters, but rather the hunted as The Order increases its efforts to gain access to Michael. Chris and Danielle ultimately face The Order, and it becomes clear that neither Chris nor Michael are exactly what they seem.

On the Bookshelf #24

Phantom, by Terry Goodkind

Book 10 in the Sword of Truth series. Apparently the 2nd to last book in the series. Again, I’ll have another series that I’m sad to see end. Maybe he’ll do another little side story as he’s done before. I can hope.

It’s been quite some time since I read the other books. I started them at a time when I was able to read through just about all of them without having to wait. I think I only waited a month or two for the one before this, but this one was months of waiting. And of course it ended with a really good cliffhanger so I don’t know how I’m going to wait for the next one. I’m not really sure what to say about this particular book. Wizards, magic, an all out war for the sake of the world and freedom itself. Add in some romance and you’ve got me sucked in.

I had a hard time getting into this series. I must have started out the first book a couple times and didn’t really get past the first 20 pages. But at one point, my friends started reading it and said if you could get past the first 20 pages, it was a really good book. That next time, it wasn’t so difficult to get through. I’m not sure what my problem was, but that’s happened a few times. I’ve picked up a book, had trouble getting through it and then later picked it up and wondered why I ever put the thing down.

Anyway, long story short – if you like the science-fiction/fantasy genre and want to give the first book, Wizard’s First Rule, a try, definitely do it. And if you have trouble with the first couple chapters as I did and I’ve heard a couple other people have, just stick with it, cause it’s definitely worth it.

On the Bookshelf #23

The Younger Gods, by David & Leigh Eddings

Book 4 of The Dreamers series. The conclusion of a story by one of my favorite authors. I got started reading David Eddings back in high school. I think his books were one of the first I started reading in sci-fi. I started off by tearing through The Belgariad and then The Mallorean series. I then moved on to all his other books. He remains one of the few authors that I’ll read anything he writes just because I see his name on it. Just a few years ago, his wife was added as an author cause he said that he collaborates with her on all the stories.

I enjoyed the rest of the series, but for some reason this last one left me lacking. I don’t know if it’s been too long since I read the previous books or what. I just didn’t quite get the same level of involvement in the characters and I was really disappointed in the ending. It just seemed too…contrived I guess. It just didn’t seem to fit suddenly. It just seemed like all the tone/rules (whatever is the appropriate word here) was thrown out the window and it just suddenly changed. Just left me with a bad feeling right at the very end.

That being said, I’ll still pick up any book with David and Leigh Eddings names on it.

On the Bookshelf #22

Danse Macabre, by Laurell K. Hamilton

Book 14 in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series. Again, very behind. I’ve actually been done with this book for a couple weeks and have read another book in its entirety already. Again, I was a bit disappointed in this story. I got very used to these books having a good detective story coupled with a good romance. As the series progressed, it became less about romance and even the detective story, and more about the sex. Josh consistently calls it my vampire pr0n, and at first I disagreed with him cause it was still about the story.

But, this last book really didn’t have much plot, yet again. It had all the makings of a good story. It had a good back-story, a further character development, a little bit of romance. Then, it turned to sex, pushed it into the forefront, and blew off everything else of substance that made me enjoy the other books so much. It was like the little bit of plot that existed was there to support the increased amount of sex instead of the sex in support of the plot. Just when the plot started moving, it was over. I don’t know if it was meant to be a cliffhanger or I’m just never going to know what happened. One of the earlier books was left with a minor cliffhanger, but after, I don’t know, 5 or 6 books, that hasn’t been addressed, so I’m wondering if this is going to be another situation like that. Maybe another 10 books down the line, we’ll come back to it? I suppose it’s possible, since the way the book list reads on Laurell K. Hamilton’s website, there are going to be 22 books total. That gives plenty of books to come back to this storyline.

Will I be reading them? Well, probably the next one at least. I still want to get resolution to some of the romance portion. And I still want resolution to some of the stories that have been left hanging. So I’m still going to give it a bit more time, but I’m not sure I’m going to get any resolution.  And, there’s the part of me that knows these stories could be great, so now I’m waiting for that to come back.  We’ll see how much longer I last.  I’ve been known to put up with a lot of crap before giving up on something I once really enjoyed…

On the Bookshelf #15 – 21

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J.K. Rowling

(Note: This is a spoiler-free post.)

As previously stated, I went back and re-read all the previous Harry Potter books in preparation for the new one. I was trying to do several things here:

1. Remember what came before, especially that not covered so far in movies since they sometimes differ quite a bit
2. Refresh my memory on the little details that enhance the story
3. Try to see if I could catch any little details that would be important to attempt to guess the ending
4. Try to find justification for my theories of what would happen in the last book

Did any of that happen? The first two – sure. The second two – not a chance. I had no clue what was going to happen in the last book. Everything I thought was an important detail, didn’t turn out to be one. Things that were important, I probably still missed if they were present. Oh well…I at least remembered the story that came before and enjoyed the last book immensely, though I will admit there were a few things I was unhappy with.

My main complaint now is that it’s all over. Previously, I always had the next book to look forward to. Like with any of my favorite series that have ended, I’m now suffering from the “sadness that comes with The End of Something” as Josh described it best.

On the Bookshelf #14

Micah, by Laurell K. Hamilton

Book 13 in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series. I actually read this about a week or so again, but I’ve been behind on blogging anything (as if that wasn’t obvious by the missed “I Want…Friday” post). I was actually kind of let down by this book. I guess I should start from the beginning…

When I purchased the book, the lady at the register said “Oh, I love Laurell K. Hamilton. Though, that Micah book is a bit different. It’s all about Anita and Micah.” Given that they’re dating, but there’s also been quite a bit of sex in the books I said “Well, that could be good or bad.” I figured, if it was more into the love story, that might be good. Granted, this isn’t one of either of the guys I want her to end up with, but I’m learning to get over that cause I’m thinking it’s not going to happen. But, if it got heavily into the sex, it may not be much of a story. She replied, “It’s…interesting.” Wasn’t sure what to think of that…

Well, it wasn’t really either. It wasn’t much of a story at all. It had a little character development, very little of any story and was over before I knew it. I really have no idea why that was a standalone story. It was a small book, but that wasn’t unusual for the beginning of the series. Granted they had gotten longer with each book, so this was quite a bit smaller than the recent ones, but I knew the first ones had a good story, so I wasn’t judging it based on the size. Well…until I opened it. See, it may have been about the size of the first few books, but it had larger printing and was double-spaces with large margins, which the first ones didn’t have. Seriously, this whole thing could have been a couple chapters in any of the other books.

There’s only one more of these currently out in paperback, but I think I’m going to take a break from them to re-read the Harry Potter books. The last couple of Harry Potter books, I’ve struggled to remember what’s come before. The movies help with remembering the general storyline, but the most recent book isn’t a movie yet, and I’ve forgotten all the details that really make the story. I probably won’t do book updates until I’m done with those, or at least until I read the new one.

On the Bookshelf #9 – #13

Blue Moon, Obsidian Butterfly, Narcissus in Chains, Cerulean Sins, and Incubus Dreams, by Laurell K. Hamilton

Yup, I’m still reading the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series. Books 8 through 12 in the series. There are two others currently out in paperback and one that just was released in hardcover, so I’ll be through all of these possible soon enough. Then I’ll probably re-read the Harry Potter books in preparation for the new book coming out in July.

Anyway, this series did take a turn on me. See, I had heard there was a lot of sex in these books, probably the R-rating I’ve mentioned before. But there wasn’t much, and that was OK. Well, I started looking into it and found that the tone of the books changed around Narcissus in Chains.  Apparently, starting with that book, the series was sometimes found in the Romance section instead of the Horror section.  Anita started out having no sex with anyone because she saw sex as being part of a committed relationship.  At this point, she’s been involved with at least seven guys that I can recount off the top of my head, though I may be forgetting some.  So far, though, it’s all been tied into the storyline, all due to unintended consequences of getting involved with the two love interests.

They’ve all had pretty good storylines – though this last one was less on the detective-type story and more into the metaphysical changes and so it got much heavier into the sexual side effects.  So we’ll see what the next ones have in store, but I hope they get back more into the detective story and enemy vampire machinations, but from what I’ve heard of the next book, that’s probably not going to be like that.  But I so desperately want to know what happens, especially with the love story.  I wanna see who she ends up with, though I’m not sure anymore if I’m going to like the end result…

Book Meme

Both Debra and exp626 did this book meme, so I had to jump on the bandwagon. I’m just a little behind…

Hardback or trade paperback or mass market paperback? Mass market paperback. I don’t really feel the need to spend the extra money or extra bookshelf space on hardbacks, but I have for some, especially those I want to get my hands on right away, but I’m very particular about making my books match. If I get a series in paperback, I wait and continue in paperback. If it’s hardback, I spend the extra right away and continue with the hardbacks.

Online or brick and mortar? Brick and mortar most definitely. I have to check out the books, read the descriptions, and then search through the copies to find the one in the best shape. Plus, it’s much easier to peruse in person and get drawn in by cover art rather than perusing online.

Barnes & Noble or Borders? Borders. I really got into Waldenbooks when my family moved to Kentucky and the library wasn’t that great and there was only Waldenbooks or Joseph Beth, a local store similar to Borders and Barnes and Noble. I signed up for Waldenbooks Preferred Reader and used it back here at school as well. Eventually, I got a Waldenbooks/Borders credit card, and I’ve been hooked since then. I regularly get lots of gift certificates for more free books. What more could I ask for?

Bookmark or dogear? Always bookmark. I don’t want the pages tattered, nor do I crack the spine. There’s a reason I look for the most pristine copy. Once I’m done reading, the book looks pretty much like it did when I bought it, except for the fact that the pages aren’t quite as compressed.

Alphabetize by author or alphabetize by title or random? Alphabetize by author, though this rarely gets done since all my bookcases are overflowing and the books are put in wherever they’ll fit. Really gotta work on that…

Keep, throw away, or sell? Almost always keep. I did just let my mom sell a lot of my old books in a garage sale, but those were mostly children’s books that I probably wouldn’t read again.

Keep dustjacket or toss it? Keep it, especially since most of the hardback book covers are quite boring without it.

Read with dustjacket or remove it? Depends on whether its in the way or it seems like I’ll end up damaging it. Most of the time I leave it on.

Short story or novel? Usually novels, but a good collection of short stories works for me too.

Collection (short stories by same author) or anthology (short stories by different authors)? Either.

Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket? Harry Potter. Though I’ve heard the Lemony Snicket books are quite good, I haven’t read any and I haven’t seen the movie either.

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks? Always at chapter breaks.

“It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”? Not really either – both just seem too cliche for my tastes. But I’d take either story type.

Buy or Borrow? Generally buy cause if I like the book, I’ll want to have my own copy eventually anyway. But I do borrow from a friend if they suggest a book.

New or used? I’m too picky about the shape the book is in. I’ll buy a used book, but only if its in really good condition.

Buying choice: book reviews, recommendation or browse? Recommendation or browse. I don’t tend to look at book reviews much.

Tidy ending or cliffhanger? If it’s a cliffhanger, there’d better be a sequel.

Morning reading, afternoon reading or nighttime reading? I’ll read any time I’m able to.

Stand-alone or series? Either way. I do like series for getting more story with characters I like, but I also enjoy a good stand-alone that I don’t get sucked into forever and have to sit and wait for the next book to come out.

Favorite series? Hm, that’s a tough one. I’d probably have to still say David Edding’s Belgariad and Mallorean series (same characters spanning two series), but I also like Terry Goodkind’s Sword of Truth series, Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files, and Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series.

Favorite children’s book? The only thing coming to mind at the moment are Dr. Seuss books.

Favorite book of which nobody else has heard? I haven’t really read much that has either been on or ended up on someone’s bestseller list.

Favorite books read last year? The Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher.

Favorite books of all time? Anything by David Eddings. I’ll also read anything by Christopher Pike.

Least favorite book you finished last year? I liked all the books I read last year, so I don’t know what would be my least favorite.

What are you reading right now? I just finished reading Blue Moon, eighth book in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K. Hamilton. I’m about to start the ninth book, Obsidian Butterfly.

On the Bookshelf #5 – #8

The Lunatic Cafe, Bloody Bones, The Killing Dance, and Burnt Offerings, by Laurell K. Hamilton

The fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh books in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series. I’m so totally addicted. I stayed up way too late last night finishing Burnt Offerings cause I was at the good part that was finishing everything up and I just didn’t want to put it down. And if you want to know my level of addiction, well, let’s just say the first three of these only took me a week to read. The last one took the longest mainly because of the holiday weekend with Mom visiting and other activities going on and taking me away from my reading. That’s partially why you haven’t seen any blogs lately.

These four added in another love interest, which is just killing me. I want her to end up with the vampire previously mentioned, but I also want her to end up with this new guy. She’s caught between then and unfortunately, so I am. I just hate the fact that she would not end up with either one of them, but I wouldn’t like her if she kept stringing along both, so I’m frustrated either way. These books also added in werewolves, wereleopards, fae creatures (human-like fairies), and a vampire council.

I’m starting to understand the R rating here. Yes, it’s got violence. Yes, it’s got adult themes. Yes, I’ve gotten into the stage where sex comes into play. One passage in particular was similar to a romance novel, but not quite there. Most of the scenes aren’t like that, though. Overall, I don’t necessarily consider it R rated, but I guess when it comes to books, my perception is probably a bit skewed. There’s a big difference to me between violence that’s described and violence that’s seen. The more I think about it, the more I could see how it could be R rated. If you translated this straight into TV or movies, it’d probably be quite violent and bloody. But I don’t see it like that. I picture it as more of a PG-13 movie, in which you know there’s violence there, but you don’t really see it. I guess it depends on who you are and how you translate the words to images that would determine your rating.

Anyway, tomorrow will be another run to the bookstore to get more. Being out of books in this series is probably the main reason I took a break to actually blog about them. Going to Laurell K. Hamilton’s website, I’ve found that there are seven more books currently out, and it appears as if there are going to be at least 22 books. Given how fast I’ve read through the first seven, the next seven aren’t going to take long. Then I’m going to go out of my mind waiting for each of the remaining books. Why is it that I get into these series when they’re well under way, enough to completely suck me in, but not far enough along to be anywhere near “completion” if they ever do arrive in such a state? I’ve got about three series going on like this right now. Once I get past these next seven books (and quite possibly blog them all in one shot) I’ll move on to something else, I swear. I already have a few picked out at the bookstore.

On the Bookshelf #3 and #4

The Laughing Corpse and Circus of the Damned, by Laurell K. Hamilton

The second and third books in the Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series. OK, so I said I’d be brief. I may have to be for a while here, cause I am now completely hooked. It took me just over a day to blaze through the third book. Granted, Sunday I wasn’t feeling well, so all I did was read anyway. But yeah – I’m zipping through and upset that I don’t have the next one. I think a trip to the bookstore is in order. Forget the other books I was going to read…I have to know what happens next. It’s not like it’s a cliffhanger. Each book is a separate storyline, but there’s an overarching story that I’m wanting to see what happens.

I’m guessing the R-rated comment was because of the violence and the fact that they refer to some of the women being topless. It’s definitely not a book for children, but, knowing that romance novels are quite descriptive, I have a hard time considering something like this R-rated.

The Laughing Corpse focused on Anita helping the police track down a murdering rogue zombie and a rich client attempting to force Anita to perform a human sacrifice in order to raise a 300-year old corpse. Circus of the Damned involved a feud between master vampires for control of St. Louis, with Anita caught in the middle. Throughout the series, a romance storyline is developing between Anita and a master vampire. He wants her to be with him, and, of course, she’s attracted to him. What kind of a story would it be if she wasn’t? However, she has a thing against vampires and won’t admit her feelings.

There’s a detective story, there’s romance, and it’s all about vampires. What’s not to like?