In Pursuit of My Own Library

My first invitation to read new works by a publishing group I have read several series from already. I read the Dragonlance Chronicles and Dragonlance Legends several years ago from a Christmas gift from my husband. He had read the series when he broke his leg as a child and was left indoors (a difficult task to keep him at). I was impressed that he had read an entire series that was not physics or engineering related and had to check it out. The invitation to read and review from these well established authors was kind of nerve wrecking to receive actually.  The Companions by R.A. Salvatore I was leery to start reading this book when I first received the invitation. While I have read the Dragonlance novels, I have not been introduced to Drizzt properly in the Forgotten Realms by R.A. Salvatore. They are certainly on my to-read list, but as it spans over 30 books, I have yet to dig into the world. The life of Drizzt and his companions is well established and known to the D&D

It is momentous when a favorite author passes. I am still young, so many of the authors I grew up with are still here and writing strong. I can't quite remember the exact transition from young chapter books to full, mature reading. Typically my reading included more than the books just on the regular school list but most the time that fell to The Boxcar Children or Babysitter's Club series. (I would save up all my pocket money to come home with as many books as possible from the Scholastic Book Fair. Reader nerds dream!) At some point along the road, I was introduced to epic fantasy and Sara Douglass. That was well over a decade ago and I have been enjoying her works until 2011. I was very pleased when my in-laws kindly bought me her final publication, a collection of the never fully "published" short stories, for Christmas. The Hall of Lost Footsteps by Sara Douglass A beautiful collection of works that until now had been scattered all over the regions of Austr

My hopes are slowing rising that authors are paying more attention to their second novels than the "future" sequels. They are making sure they have a fanbase who wants to keep on reading the series instead of taking their "genius" for granted and forgetting that Point B comes in between A and C. I am also being more realistic with myself that the sophomore flop is just characteristic of a bad author or, even worse, a really bad editor. As much as I may try to like them, because I actually like  them -the person, there are just people who can't quite reach that bar no matter how they stretch. A third or fourth book may come out that is a gem, but it is usually a fluke like the first with the next two books falling flat on their covers. They tried and perhaps will have a 1:4 ratio, but I have already given up. Shawn Underhill thankfully did not fall into this category. The Call by Shawn Underhill What an excellent improvement! The second installment of the G

Time to join Sherlock Holmes, Evie, and the steam barons again! This series is definitely turning out to be worth the waiting, which favorably is not long for each publishing. AND, the digital prices are great at $5.99 per book with the paperback running on sale for $4.79 right now!!!! AND, Ms Holloway has even given us a few novella introduction pieces for free on Scribd to get us even more wrapped up in Evelina's world of romance and magic and dead bodies (delightful)! A Study in Darkness by Emma Jane Holloway Stellar follow up novel. Sophomore novels often suffer in my opinion from the introduction to the working world of the publishing industry (even with the self published). The idea has been born and the plot decided, but now your publisher asks you for three novels to get to the culmination of your story. As any great Sherlock novel should be, Ms Holloway's novels are in serial format. Each story builds off the ones that came before them, but do not rely on readi

After a good weekend of cleaning up, I can now dust off the brain and write this review.  At the Walls of Galbrieth by Alon Shalev I suppose this is to be a young adult fiction novel since all the protagonists are underage, but I never got the feel for it. There is no whining for utterly no reason, no angst, and nothing setting my teeth on edge. I certainly did not make a very good teenager, and I am not the biggest fan of reading about them. The creation of the New Adult genre has given me hope of some light-er reading that still has actual substance. Epic fantasy can really stretch the imagination and exhaust it, too. After finishing the incredible Baskerville Affair series and my dose of brain food, I was on the hunt again for the lighter side of fantasy without giving up the depth. So, I checked into the YA fantasy section. I selected this book from Twitter of all places and a sample chapter off Amazon. (Oh and I really couldn't resist the $2.99 Kindle tag.) All of the l

My weekend just was drizzly and gray. The perfect weekend to finish up those pesky inside projects on my house. Oh well! Instead I spent the weekend cramming my brain with some seriously good brain food. Donny and Ursula Save the World by Sharon Weil Ok. What do I say about this book. It exceeded my expectations yet was not close to what I expected. Is that a conundrum or impossibility? The very perplexing nature of my reaction is well suited to this story. The writing style is not my favorite but suitable for a modern fiction piece where we have thrown grammar out the #window. There are clear plot lines and definite character development. Some of the content I find wholly unsuitable to modest company. It is a book I will have a hard time recommending. I think there is beauty to the spiritual connected-ness of the mycelium from mushrooms. (If you pull up one mushroom, you can unearth an entire forest floor. While I am allergic to the fungi spore family, I still find them to be an

I am becoming an ever increasing fan of the history pool on Netgalley. There are so many points of view in history. Now with so many ways to reach out to the world around us, we are hearing from more than just the "victor's" side. I'm saddened and enlightened by what I have been learning about the subjects I was taught. I don't think my school meant to be so in the dark about these cultures, but my-oh-my were they. The Inconvenient Indian by Thomas King "What do we do with the Indian problem?" I thought we didn't have an Indian problem anymore. This book didn't feel like a text book written by a PhD holder. There are plenty of facts to make you sit up and think about the history you learned, but not so many your head is reeling from too much information. King also inserts amusing anecdotes that really help the reader connect with the material. These are real stories with real tragedy for the Native people. Scientific fact can be so imperson