BOOK #40

Pledge or no pledge, there are just some authors I buy and read away. After discovering Victoria Laurie's two different series last year, I became an avid fan. She deals in the supernatural and the funny. This book is from the series about a psychic medium involved in her boyfriend's FBI cases (by mistake, natch) and being her own magnet trouble. The other series is a medium who prefers to catch nasty ghosts and send them back rather than sitting around reading tarot cards all day. Both series are delightful and a perfect afternoon read for me.

This was a Saturday afternoon read during a pity party and it really was one of her best. And the author also happens to be a psychic medium herself with a thriving practice in Austin. One of these days, I'm gonna make an appointment with her just because I'm curious. About her writing and her medium skills.

So, of course, I highly recommend this book!

Heart of Darkness

When it comes to books on the eReaders (on my iPhone), I pick lots of the classics. There are two reasons for this... 1. I feel it's a good idea to expand my noggin (the ones that I didn't get to read in High School/College) and B. they're free if they are 50 years past the author's death. God bless Project Gutenberg!

So, years ago, the first boyfriend and I had a debate over "Heart of Darkness" and whether or not Francis Coppola swiped the story without giving credit (ie: Apocalypse Now). The boyfriend had read "HOD" at the hoity-toity private school he went to. Whatever...

Well, I'm not totally convinced that Coppola shouldn't have skipped the homage. While the basic story line is the same - guy volunteers to drive a boat up a river to bring back Kurtz, the prophet/daemon/messiah/megalomanic (pick one or all) antagonist of the story - the settings of the two stories varied dramatically. And while I am one who believes that the book is always better than the movie, this might be an exception.

Perhaps movie credits should have a rating system too. This one would have been "story LOOSELY based on book by Joseph Conrad."

Worth a read if you're into the classics. Don't watch the movie first though. It's far more exciting than the book.

(Should I feel guilty that I wasn't impressed by a piece of "literature?")

BOOK #39

I keep wandering around the romance genre this summer. Why is that? Actually, the author of this bok is a friend of mine. Someone passed this to me and I did want to read it. And it's sure a lot easier than dragging "The Passage" on the train with me.

This is a very good first try. I give Addison a lot of credit as I know how many years she has worked to get the point of publications. I liked the theme very much. It was a whole lot different than most romance novels. It did bog down in places and some of the scenes did jump quite quickly but I enjoyed it overall. It's the first of 12 books (one for each sign of the zodiac) so I'll try the next one as well.

Do I recommend it? For a light quick read or for a plane trip, yes. Other than that...well there are other books I would recommend first.

BOOK #38

With the exception of Caren, all my friends are about 15 years younger than me. What does that say about me? I like to think that I am young at heart and prefer to hang out with people that love to be adventurous and do alot of things. You'd be surprised at how "old" some of cohorts from high school are!

I'll be 50 in November. Sadly, for the first time ever, that silly number really bothers me. I'm not quite sure why. I'm trying to not let it.

I found this book by accident, I believe. But I so loved it. It basically talks about how many women my age are reinventing themselves at 50. They are post marriage, post kid raising and finally at a time for themselves. And naturally, alot of them shed their husbands, jobs and friends for a new life. I get it. I do. Although I'm not a typical almost 50 year old, I have started to examine my life as well. As far as what have I done and what to I still want to do? Besides everything, you mean?

If you are someone facing 50 and scared or unsure or depressed, then this book is for you. I felt so much better in so many ways after reading it. In fact, it stays next to my bed because I'm already re-reading it.

Is fifty the new 40?

Fuck no.

Fifty is the new fifty.

BOOK #37

How can you NOT like the Lucas Davenport series? It's always a good ride.
I think, I THINK I have managed to keep up with this series and have read all of the books. This one was from 2008 and I have the 2010 one in my iPad.

The formula for each of his novels is pretty much the same but it's in the characters that Sandford excels. Just when you don't think he can come up with a more NASTY bad guy, he does. His violence in the books is always very well described so I always feel as if I'm experiencing the entire story. I've come to find that I really like the shoot 'em up action series books. Always a fast read and ALWAYS a nice break from the other twisted stuff I read.

I highly recommend this book and the entire series to anyone that loves to read.

Teaser Tuesday

Book: Neverwhere
Author: Neil Gaiman

"Richard looked into its eyes. They were a luminescent gray, eyes as old as the universe, eyes that had seen galaxies congeal from stardust ten million, million years ago."

I loved this book the first time around a few years ago so I'm re-reading it now!

TEASER TUESDAY - 6/22/10

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• 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 & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Book: The Rules
Author: Ellen Fein & Sherrie Schneider

Most women hang around men all night waiting to be asked to dance. But you do The Rules. If he wants to be with you or get your phone number, he'll search the crowded room until he finds you.