Monday, August 2, 2010

Monday's Beginnings (49)

So, here we are again... another Monday.

How are you faring in reading at the beginning of this week?  Are you starting a new book or finishing one up?

I didn't get much reading done today.  Football has started, as of today.  Yes, I have an 11 year old, 140 pound, size 10 1/2 shoe (men's) wearing son who plays football.  This is his fifth year.  I love my football, but I really love watching my own kid play it.  It really does bring a new feel to football.  So, I read for a little bit then watch for a little  bit, this way he knows I am watching.

I am hoping to finish reading Land of the Burning Sands, The Griffin Mage: Book 2 by Rachel Neumeier tonight.  I am still working on Mind Games by Carolyn Crane for our Urban Fantasy Blog Chats.  Only read the first 125 pages for the discussion we are still doing.  If you would like to join CLICK HERE.  The second chat will start this Thursday on pages up to 251.  Come join us!  And I am also working on Antiphon by Ken Scholes in sections for the Early Reader discussion thread at Barnes and Nobles.

What did I get done last week?  Well... I didn't finish any books last week.  Sorry.  I am hoping to get one finished this week and a review up soon.  Then maybe I can squeeze another book in as well.  We shall see how the week goes.  I have to get my schedule rearranged in my mind a little bit with football starting.

As for my Wishlist... Well, it seems to keep growing.  I have added, my lucky number, 13 books to the list.  This is crazy!  I love it, I am trying to keep this list to a smaller number, but I just can't do it.  I love so many books that are out or coming out.  The authors should be proud of you all for introducing me to all their amazing books.

Books Received Last Week:

Bought:
GoodReads Synopsis:
Evangeline Stone, a rogue bounty hunter, never asked for a world divided between darkness and light…


…or the power to die and live again in someone else's borrowed body. After a murder plot meant to take her out leaves an entire race of shapeshifters nearly extinct, Evy is gnawed by guilt. So when one of the few survivors of the slaughter enlists her aid, she feels duty-bound to help—even though protecting a frail, pregnant shifter is the last thing Evy needs, especially with the world going to hell around her.

Amid weres, Halfies, gremlins, vamps—and increasingly outgunned humans—a war for supremacy is brewing. With shifters demanding justice, her superiors desperate to control her, and an assassin on her trail, Evy discovers a horrifying conspiracy. And she may be the only person in the world who can stop it—unless, of course, her own side gets her first.
 
Received for Review:
This is a series of YA books.  I am looking forward to digging into these.
Good Reads synopsis:
Who knew you'd be a true weaver?


Great things have been expected of Thea, the seventh child of two seventh children. Now, with Cheveyo, a mage, Thea has begun to weave herself a new magical identity, infused with elements of the original worlds. But back home, Thea keeps her abilities hidden and attends the Wandless Academy, the one school on Earth for those who have no apparent magical talent. It is there that Thea realizes that her enemies are hungrier and more dangerous than she knew. What's more, her greatest strength may be the powerlessness she has resisted for so long.


 
GoodReads Synopsis:
What do you get when ordinary e-mail spam becomes infused with magic?

Spellspam.


At first, they seemed like harmless practical jokes, but now, for the students at the Wandless Academy, the spellspams are getting worse. Thea thought she was the only one who could reach through the computer using magic, but someone else is out there, someone bent on more than just stirring up trouble. Someone with a dark agenda from a whole new world.

This sequel to Worldweavers: Gift of the Unmage ups the ante on a fantasy world that is rich and nuanced, like our own, but with a core of wildly original magic.


 
GoodReads Synopsis:
  This year at the Wandless Academy feels all wrong to Thea. Her best friend, Magpie, will barely give her the time of day. Ben's been moody and dismissive. Since when did Tess have a boyfriend? And why is Humphrey May, agent for the Federal Bureau of Magic, lurking around the Academy?


Thea is out of sorts—in all ways, magical and otherwise—and that's before she discovers she's an elemental mage, a category of magician so rare that only four others are known to exist.

Now the Federal Bureau of Magic needs Thea's help to unlock the mysterious white cube—the same cube found over the summer in the professor's house, the same cube the dangerous Alphiri are still after. To stay ahead of the Alphiri and the wiles of the FBM, Thea needs her friends—all of them.

From a world woven with magic and suspense comes Alma Alexander's Cybermage, the final installment of the richly invented Worldweavers trilogy.
 
 
Sent by a Great Friend for my Birthday:
I have to send a special THANK YOU out to Melissa from Books and Things.  She has become a very good friend I have found here in the blogging world.  Please go visit Melissa and leave a comment saying Hello, she would love to hear from you and will comment back to you, CLICK HERE.  Thank you so much for sending me these lovely gifts as a celebration of the anniversary of turning 21. ;)
 
GoodReads Synopsis:
  A thrilling, unique anthology of original super hero fiction, with contributions from luminaries in both the comic book and science fiction fields.



...more A thrilling, unique anthology of original super hero fiction, with contributions from luminaries in both the comic book and science fiction fields.

Introduction: The Golden Age by Lou Anders
"Cleansed and Set in Gold" by Matthew Sturges
"Where their Worm Dieth Not" by James Maxey
"Secret Identity" by Paul Cornell
"The Non-Event" by Mike Carey
"Avatar" by Mike Baron
"Message from the Bubblegum Factory" by Daryl Gregory
"Thug" by Gail Simone
"Vacuum Lad" by Stephen Baxter
"A Knight of Ghosts and Shadows" by Chris Roberson
"Head Cases" by Peter David & Kathleen David
"Downfall" by Joseph Mallozzi
"By My Works You Shall Know Me" by Mark Chadbourn
"Call Her Savage" by Marjorie M. Liu
"Tonight we fly" by Ian McDonald
"A to Z in the Ultimate Big Company Superhero Universe (Villains Too)" by Bill Willingham 

And look at the Lovely book marker she made! I LOVE IT!!!

Thank you Melissa!!!







Won:
I am sure many of you have heard of this amazing series by Stacia Kane.  I won this one on Twitter from Voyager, the UK cover.  I LOVE IT!

GoodReads Synopsis:
The third book in this gritty, sexy, urban fantasy trilogy. Rogue spirits and psychopomps are terrorising people, and now someone is planning to open the gates to the City of Ghosts and unleash the dead on humanity. Faced with her greatest challenge yet, Chess has to travel to the spirit city to finally lay all her ghosts to rest!






So, how are you faring this week?  Does it look like a good reading week?

Here's to you having a great week in words and pages.

13 comments:

  1. I'm currently reading Devices & Desires, by KJ Parker, which is the first book in a fantasy trilogy called the Engineer Trilogy. Very unique story premise - and I love Parker's writing style. I read The Folding Knife by Parker earlier this year and enjoyed it greatly.

    I picked of a copy of The Hunger Games (finally!) about an hour ago at Target, lol. I figured it was about time to give it a read and see what all the fuss is about.

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  2. I'm hoping it's going to be a good reading week. I only work 4 days this week and both books I'm reading/listening to I am really into so hopefully I get at least one done.

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  3. Hope you love the book. Looks like you got some great picks to go with it as well!

    Oh, and GO TEAM GO! :D

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  4. Happy early Birthday! I know it's not for another 12 minutes....wait you are on the East coast so it's your birthday now!

    Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Melissa, Happy Birthday to you!

    By the way love the books you got in your mailbox. Hope you have a great day tomorrow and hopefully we will get to chat for even a little bit.

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  5. Hey honey, I am popping in to see how you are doing this day! I hope all is well! Hugs to you!

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  6. David - Hi. Thank you for stopping by! I have thought about getting The Folding Knife. It sounds really good. Interested to see what you think of this Engineer Trilogy. Hope you enjoy the Hunger Games. Have a great week

    Zia - Oh, you are having a short week this week. Hope you have a great one. :)

    Melissa - Thank you. :) And thank you again for the kind gift. I really enjoy it. And :D Thank you for the To Team.

    Ryan - Hey! Thank you!! You are too kind. I think you have a birthday around now too. Don't you? Thank you and hope you have a great week as well.

    Cecile - Hey hon! Hope you are doing well. :) I am doing really great this week, so far. :D Hope you have a great week! Thank you for stopping by.

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  7. Happy Birthday Melissa! :-)

    I just started The Eternal Ones and so far, I'm loving it! Just reading one book this week, which is unusual for me, but I've been swamped for the past few days.

    Hope you have a great week!

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  8. Alexia - Thank you ! :) Sounds like a great read. :) Hope you have a great week as well. Thanks for stopping by!

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  9. Worldweavers looks good - I haven't heard of them before.

    Thanks by dropping by my blog!

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  10. Today was my first full day in America and once of the first things I did was rush to the library (with my brother in tow since I needed his car and his card). I ended up getting out fifteen books, though I would have gotten more except neither my brother or I could carry anymore. I now just need to figure out how to read them all before I need to go back to Israel, please I have a couple more libraries I want to hit as well. Ah, the joys of free books.

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  11. Hi Melissa! I totally understand about rearranging the schedule once school and sports get underway. I'm trying to make the most of the little free time I have left this summer and have been devouring books as fast as possible lol.

    You picked up some great reads this week! I've been thinking about checking out As Lie the Dead myself - it sounds really interesting! The Worldweavers covers are stunning! I hadn't heard of that series, but it sounds like a lot of fun. I love how there's only one school on the planet for NON-magical people, instead of the other way around. I hope you enjoy all your great new books! Thanks so much for popping by my blog!

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  12. Manga Maniac - Hi! Thank you for stopping by. I had not heard of the Worldweavers either, but they do sound like great reads. I am hoping to start into the first one this weekend. Hope you have a great week!

    Simcha - Hey! I hope your flight went well. And glad to hear you made it safe. :) Oh, the library! :D My goodness! I don't think I could read 15 books that fast. How long are you going to be in America? Glad you are enjoying the libraries. Have a great time!

    The Bookish Type - Hi! Glad you stopped by. Just when I think I have the rhythm down pat, the seasons change and have to adjust it again. LOL. As Lie the Dead is the second book to a series by Kelly Meding. Have you read, Three Days To Dead? That was the first book, and I really enjoyed it. Worldweavers does sound really neat. I hope to start on the first one this weekend. Have a great week!

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  13. Those look like some good books! As Lie the Dead looks really interesting and I'll be looking up that series!

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