Favorite Fictional Character (31)

Favorite Fictional Character

Hosted by Ryan at Wordsmithonia - http://wordsmithonia.blogspot.com/

My pick this week is the Aunt of a main character.  I read the first two books of the World Weaver series thus far, I've got the third here on my shelf to read and review - soon.  Yes, this series is a Young Adult series and I would suggest it for Young Readers of ten or eleven and younger as well.

The Character this week is Thea's Aunt Zoe.  In this world author Alma Alexander has created magic is a given.  A norm.  Even expected of everyone.  Zoe is the fun, laid-back Aunt.  She can smell and sense different things, feelings, and such in peculiar ways.  Zoe can smell when someone is angry, or can tell when the wind is blue.  But she is fun.

We meet Zoe in the first book, Gift of the Unmage but really get to see her more in the second book Spellspam.  She is the caring Aunt.  The Aunt that can be fun and yet watch out for you.  The kind of Aunt you could trust and talk to, and not get the motherly over protectiveness.  She even had a moment where she got affected by the spellspam and reacted as she was suppose too (according to the spells expected reactions).  But then she was fun after she was to be cured I wondered if maybe there was more to it.

Zoe is a secondary character in the books.  But I enjoyed when she was on the page.

Secret Santa ~ Received!

I just had to do a post on the amazing Secret Santa package I received!  Tiffany of Tiffany's Bookshelf really hit it on the nose with all that she sent, and the lovely packing too!  I'm just excited!

Okay, let me set the scenario...

We just moved into our new home.  There were (are) still loads of boxes in the old home.  And things we need as we didn't finish getting the common stuff we use every few days out either.  And I was walking down to the other house to get my book totes in the snowy weather.

The mail lady was driving up to our mailbox.  She stopped to talk to me and tell me she has a big box for me.  She hands me the mail and box and we chat briefly in the snow about the new house and how beautiful she thought it looked.  But I saw my name on the box and couldn't wait to get back into the house.  When we where done chatting I did head back into the new house.  Sat the box down on the counter in the kitchen and told my husband about the Secret Santa I signed up for.  I said I had to get a few things out of the other house first then I would stop for more coffee and open the box up.

Well, the box wore on me as I didn't leave the house as fast as I had planned and that box was just teasing me.  It had lovely Christmas stickers on the front and it was screaming my name.  So I opened the box!  When I opened it my Secret Santa had wrapped the gifts with lovely Christmas paper.

My husband being the tormentor he is kept teasing me and telling me I had to wait until Christmas morning to open them.  It was from 'Santa' so I should wait.  I walked back and forth with the box from kitchen to living room and back.  I finally went to the living room and opened them all up.  I've never been one to wait with a wrapped gift in front of me.  I just had to open and dig in.  So, this is all I got:

Moving left to right starting in the front:

Colored Post-it Flags (these are perfffect for marking pages in books)

Star Post-it Notes (these are awesome to be used to write longer notes in the books)

3 3/8" x 5 1/4" Journal (I love this! Will fit amazingly in my purse to make my book notes and thoughts in)

Monogram Magnet Bookmarks (BEAUTIFUL! I always wanted these, but never got them for myself)

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (Need I say anything!?! So many great reviews of this series I just had to add it to the list)

8 pack of Mechanical Pencils (just awesome! I'm always in search of pencils. Now I should be in supply for a time and I've told my son hands off. ;))

And a kind Christmas card:

It's a little hard to read the card in the picture but it says:

Simply bringing you wishes for a very merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas wishes to you and yours!  I hope you enjoy the literary goodies!

Have a great (and well-read) holiday season!

Your Secret Santa,

Tiffany

All I can say is THANK YOU TIFFANY!!! I love all the goodies!  I am so excited. :)

This was my first experience with Secret Santa and it was a complete success!

Thank you The Broke and the Bookish for hosting the Secret Santa.

Teaser Tuesday (53)

Teaser Tuesday

is a weekly event

Sponsored by MizB of Should be Reading

Here's how it works:

Grab the book you are currently reading (anything at all)

Open the book to any random page.

Share 2 teaser sentences from anywhere on the page

Please Make Sure They Are Not Spoilers!

(Don't Give Too Much Away)

Just enough to pique our interests

This Week:

Boiling grease splattered on her housedress as Emma thought back to the day in Eternity, at the gates of Titan Hall, the media capital of the Southern Sphere.  She was there to announce her landmark deal - three new galaxies of her design - but also to unveil her recently completed Milky Way galaxy.

Finders Keepers
By:  Russ Colchamiro
33 pg

Monday's Beginnings (68)

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

Well, I'm desperately trying to get back on to blog reading and book reading as I normally was before the move.  Unfortunately for the blogging thing, we are still without Phone/Cable/Internet.  I have a very weak signal from the other house I am able to use, but it is extremely slow and I have to be sitting in just the right pose to get it.  But I'm trying to get on here this week as I really miss you all.

But since it's only morning here, and I'm at work.  I'd like to think I'll get some reading at lunch time then some this evening after the kid goes to bed.  We need to finish decorating the Christmas tree tonight and I have a few Christmas cards to write up (hoping if I do a few every night I'll get them all done and out) then I have a few interviews to type up. ;) Fun ones.  So, looks like a little bit of reading on the front today.  But I'm always hoping for more.

As for reading... I finished Bone Gods by Caitlin Kittredge on Friday.  And the chat for the book is currently in process at Robyn's blog The Bookoholic Zone.  Would you like to stop by and join us?  CLICK HERE! :)  I will get to this review this week.  Can't wait!

I did get one review up over the weekend, Blood Lite II: Overbite.  If you would like to check out this anthology and short story review, CLICK HERE.

I am currently working on Finders Keepers by Russ Colchamiro.  It's started off great in the prelude and it seems like it will be a fun journey.  I am hoping to have an amazing week this week and get through the book by the end of the upcoming weekend. :)

As for my WANT list... I've added 7 books!  You would think for someone who hasn't been on the blogs for a week I shouldn't have any books.  Well, I found a new Fantasy/Urban Fantasy book publishing site and love the sounds of many of the books there.  Mundania Press, CLICK HERE.  There are some great sounding books there on the site.

Received Last Week:
Winnings:

I won this book over at Literary Escapism.  I was excited to receive it as I have been wanting it and it's signed! :)

Synopsis from Back of Book:
Welcome to your next chance.

Chaz Dominquez is a professional Babysitter in New Orleans, helping to integrate the recently deceased into their new and improved lives.  Though Fresh Start has always been the only game in town, resurrection isn't all it's cracked up to be.  Nine lives are all a person can get - and a powerful group of desperate, high-level Nine-Timers will stop at nothing to possess the keys to true immortality.

Now the only hope for Chaz and his family - and the human race - lies in the secrets locked away in the mind of Angelique, the beautiful, mysterious Newbie he must protect...

Secret Santa:
I received my Secret Santa gift package last week as well.  I will be doing a whole post on this but the book that was in the package was....

I have not started this series yet and love the idea of getting into it. Thank you Tiffany From Tiffany's Blogs.  I love all the items!  You all will have to check back later to see what all Tiffany sent me. :)

Synopsis from Back of Book:
When Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder. Much less a murder committed by three teenages covered with odd markings. This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons - and keeping the odd werewolves and vampires in line. It's also her first meeting with gorgeous, golden-haired Jace. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in an ordinary mundane like Clary? And how did she suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know...

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

I don't know about me with this holiday thing creeping up on us.  But I have big hopes of getting back to normal on the reading front.

Here's wishing you all the best in words and pages.

Don't forget if you would like to join in on Monday's Beginnings, link up and I'll stop by for a visit. :)

Book Review: Blood Lite II: Overbite

Blood Lite II:  Overbite

By:  Edited by Kevin J. Anderson

Publisher:  Gallery Books

Publish Date:  October 2010

Format:  Paperback, 426 pgs,

Genre:  Urban Fantasy, Anthology, Short Stories

Series:  Second in Blood Lite Short Stories

Recommendation:  Maybe, if you like short, short stories of witty and amusing dark fantasy horror.

Book Synopsis:
From the Horror Writers Association comes a brand-new collection of darkly humorous tales!

The Big Questions of Life (and Death)

Can a killer's basement blood-feast be a tax write-off (under Entertainment)?
Not if Vlad the IRS agent nails him first in Heather Graham's "Death and Taxes."

What does a pack of hungry she-wolves do to solve their man troubles?
Ladies Night Out takes a wicked turn in "Dog Tired (of the Drama!)" by L.A. Banks.

How far will an elite girl go to beat a murder rap?
Stuck with a dead client in a luxury L.A. hotel room, she might strike a costly bargain with a woman of unearthly powers in Allison Brennan's "Her Lucky Day."

Who actually writes those tabloid stories about Bigfoot?
Meet a journalist of the unexplained (she's 50 percent demon) and her boyfriend (he's 100 percent thief), as they heat up a museum exhibition that's also a soul-snatching battleground in "Lucifer's Daughter" by Kelley Armstrong.

Titles, Authors, and pages:
Dark Carbuncle   by Kevin J. Anderson and Janis Ian, 14 pgs
Death and Taxes   by Heather Graham, 17pgs
Table for Two   by Jeff Ryan, 9 pgs
Treatment   by J. A. Konrath, 5 pgs
Dead Clown Seance   by Christopher Welch, 17 pgs
The Day the Devil Swallowed a Heapin' Helpin' of Pride at the Beaulahville Gospel Jubilee   by Scott Nicholson, 16 pgs
Piecemaker   by Don D'Ammassa, 16 pgs
Good Breeding   by Lucien Soulban, 19 pgs
Tails   by John R. Little, 6 pgs
Dog Tired (of the Drama!)   by L. A. Banks, 15 pgs
A Sweet Girl for Todd   by Mark Onspaugh, 7 pgs
Tastes Like Chicken   by Jordan Summers, 13 pgs
Presumptuous Beast Throws Sumptuous Feast   by Mike Baron, 10 pgs
Bad German   by Edward Bryant, 12 pgs
The Halloween War   by Brian J. Hatcher, 16 pgs
Oh, the Ho-Ho Horror   by Joel A. Sutherland, 14 pgs
The Unfortunate Persistence of Harold Francis Beamish   by Aaron Polson, 12 pgs
Dick and Larry   by D. L. Snell, 14 pgs
Son of...a Bitch!   by Sam W. Anderson, 8 pgs
Her Lucky Day   by Allison Brennan, 14 pgs
A Wing and a Prayer   by Sharyn McCrumb, 18 pgs
Barewolf   by Daniel Pyle, 15 pgs
American Banshee   by Eric James Stone, 11 pgs
The Epicurean   by Amy Sterling Casil, 18 pgs
The Ghoul Next Door   by Nancy Kilpatrick, 10 pgs
Daycare of the Damned   by Nina Kiriki Hoffman, 14 pgs
Season Tickets   by Derek Clendening, 12 pgs
The Close Shave   by Mike Resnick and Lezli Robyn, 23 pgs
Shaggy Dog Story   by Steve Rasnic Tem, 11 pgs
Eight-Legged Vengeance   by Jeff Strand, 16 pgs
Lucifer's Daughter   by Kelley Armstrong, 23 pgs

My Review and Summary:
With this anthology I'm not going to try to give a short synopsis of each story, as the stories are so short I don't want to give anything away.  There are many authors in here I have never heard of, then there are a few I have.  These stories were all short segments and great for reading in brief moments when I need a book fix and can't read a whole story.  Or even between books.

But as a few of these stories where great fun there where a few that didn't click with me.  I have to mention a few of the stories where to short.  I felt as I was just getting a scene of a bigger picture, but didn't really have a plot.  Then there are the stories that in the short number of pages told a story I enjoyed.  But both sides of the coin will come with an anthology this size.

This was a fun witty dark fantasy horror read.  If you like a little yucky with your humor you might enjoy this book.  But don't look for deep story lines here.  There are a few story lines that seem like short stories but mostly not. 

The stories I enjoyed the most are:  Dark Carbuncle, Death and Taxes, Dog Tired (of the Drama!), The Halloween War, Oh, the Ho-Ho Horror, Her Lucky Day, Barewolf, American Banchee, The Ghoul Next Door, Daycare of the Damned, The Close Shave, Lucifer's Daughter.


This book qualifies for the Speculative Fiction Challenge, hosted by Book Chick City.

Book Chat (6)...Bone Gods

Our Book Chat #6 continues with the next book in the Black London Series, Bone Gods.  The book was just released November 30, 2010.  This chat is being hosted over at Robyns' blog, The Bookoholic Zone.  CLICK HERE to go chat.

So I have to give warning there will be spoilers in the chat we are having.  Just beware there could be spoilers in the questions we post to start with and there will be spoilers in the comments.

But, if you couldn't wait long after release day to dive into this book, come join us in our chat!  We love having many people joining in.

If you want to read the chats on the first two books, just click the titles here and the link will take you to the chats:
   Street Magic
   Demon Bound

Hope to see you there!

To The New Year!

New Years Resolutions...

Book Style that is.

 

I was chatting on twitter with a great friend, Jackie of My Ever Expanding Library, of things we want to do.  In the chat I said, "to the new year" and got the idea to post this Resolutions for 2011, book style.

 

So, what are some of my Resolutions?
  1.  I have an idea for a new meme. I just need to iron out the details some and see if it will fly or dive. Never know until you try it out, right?
  2.  To try to read more books than this year.  Thus far this year I've read 55 books and hope to get two more in.  So, I would like to try to read faster next year.
  3.  Try to do more interviews with authors. I like doing them and getting to know more authors, new and old.
  4.  Volunteer and/or offer to do giveaways more often. They are so fun to host!
  5.  I want to write more this year now that things should be settling down, and dedicate one month this year to writing instead of reading.  That way more time can go to writing.

Oh yes, there are loads of Resolutions I can come up with for personal and at home.  But I thought this would be neat to do then come back next year around this time to see if I was able to do any of these Resolutions.  Even the small ones.  Maybe if I start small I can exceed my own expectations. ;) And there is always time to add to the list, until the end of the year anyway.  I can add in the comments below.

What are your Bookish Style, New Years Resolutions?

Best of luck to you in the New Year.

 

Would you like to post your New Years Resolutions too? 
You are welcome to use the picture I have here (I took it here at home), or one your own choose.

Why not link up with Mr. Linky here.  I would love to read what you have on your list.