In Pursuit of My Own Library

The final entry from my multi-book binge reading. A seriously awesome week of reading. My to-read list is shaping up to promise some classics with what I have gotten through so far this year. I'm feeling a little better about authors these days; I had some serious worries about independent publishing there for awhile. It felt like talent and editing were not a qualifier for cheap reading, and I was getting a little frustrated. Thanks to the authors who have changed my mind this year. Gear up (haha--pun) for your copy March 4th. $13.99 for paperback or $2.99 digital. My 5 star review follows. Chasing the Green Fairy by Melanie Karsak Our much beloved flight crew is back aboard the Stargazer for another adventure. This time it i through the love and loss of the heart. I was incredibly impressed at the change of direction in this second novel. While I appreciated the Davinci Code-esque style of the first novel, I really connected to the story this time. There wasn't all the

Super happy to read this post -- http://magnificentdevices.wordpress.com/2014/02/27/a-lady-of-spirit-overview/  -- and knowing that I am getting closer to another dose of the Mopsies. These books continually impress me with their strength and brilliancy (and awesome wit). As soon as we get a pre-order link, I'll add it. For now, read the excellent teaser blurb at Shelley's website and build up your enthusiasm.

I'm not sure how to go about this review. I am honestly still in a bit of a state of denial. I read The Wayfarer Redemption (a.k.a. Battleaxe ) in 2000. At that point, I was a little behind the publishing curve and was able to read through the entire series in one shot (my preferred method of reading, honestly. Though, I know that doesn't help authors out much statistically). I quickly finished the Battleaxe trilogy then the Wayfarer Redemption trilogy.  After a hiatus of several years, I was in the library looking through the D's (yes, I randomly read through the shelves of a library like this) when I saw two standalone novels by Douglass. I checked out both and was impressed yet again, but not surprisingly. At this point, I went onto her website and found that she had written a new series. The Darkglass Mountain trilogy. While they were not all published yet, I decided to check out her Troy Game quadrology while I was waiting.  Christmas 2011 dawned with a present from

As promised, some book reviews. And what a great review to start the week with!!  I was impressed with Mistress of Solstice by Anna Kashina last summer. When I saw a new series from her on Netgalley, I signed up for an ARC. Boy, am I really glad I did. Her new venture into the roller-coaster ride of action adventure novel is easily up there with Robert Jordan and Terry Goodkind. Honestly, I would vote higher. She kept the writing fast paced and had just enough description to build great visualization without putting me to sleep. Blades of the Old Empire by Anna Kashina This is a magnificent work of literature. You get fast paced travel with political intrigue and danger, amazing martial arts fights of extreme skill, cultural immersion from around the world, and a little hint of romance without ruining the tough fighter feel. Oh, and don't forget the magic. This book seriously had everything. The only con: lack of sleep. I read through the entire 496 pages in two days. I eas

I promise I am going to post some reviews here soon, but first, I have to finish one of the (now) three books I am reading. For today, though, check out a new author contest going on below. Another group is allowing new authors a chance to pitch their works to publishing agents. There are a lot of great entries on the site, but I highly recommend you look over entry #71. She currently holds a good portion of the vote. Let's see if we can get her some more. http://adventuresinyacontests.blogspot.com/ Entry #71: Sworn

My to-read list is exploding with great sequels and fabulous new authors. I have caught myself multi-reading again. This, unfortunately, means I never seem to get to the end of any one book. Great for me as I am constantly enjoying inspirational stories and other worlds. Bad for my blog because I have nothing to post. So I will stop and take a brief moment to promote a book I am very excited for next month. Now a simple two weeks away. Chasing the Green Fairy by Melanie Karsak She revealed the cover art for her follow up novel to Chasing the Star Garden, which I gave a glowing review here . Check out this amazing cover. It definitely piques my interest to get this thing pre-ordered. Can't wait! Chasing the Green Fairy releases Tuesday, March 4! See her full posting with book trailer, music soundtrack, giveaways, and more on her blog.  Melaine Karsak's blog entry  

So - we have all read (or seen a movie of) the trendy set of YA books that have been set upon us like a rash by publishers covering vampires, werewolves or some other such non-sensical paranormal mythology. Some I have truly enjoyed; others I have wanted to hunt down the author and throttle them for hopping on the money train then lacking any form of creativity. Not this time fortunately! Tangled Tides by Karen Amanda Hooper I have always enjoyed the Greek mythology section of my humanities classes. They had such an intricate system for explaining the deep mysteries of the cosmos. Unfortunately, in terms of modern literature, there has been a very short-sighted focus on one aspect of Greek mythology--the Greek gods! Or maybe if you are lucky in YA fiction, you get to see their demi god children. Karen Amanda Hooper takes us to another side of Greek mythology, the creatures of the deep! Those hideous monsters of the sea, with their nightmare stories. Except - wait! - this is a goo

I shook up the reading pattern a little again and decided to try the lender's library on Kindle. To keep myself from getting burned out on fantasy, I browsed the offerings in the general literary fiction section. I was intrigued by the book cover (and I'm sorry, but I judge you on your cover before making my final decision. It sucks me in to read your book blurb or not.) at first glance. After reading through the blurb, I downloaded the sample chapter. From there, I checked it out, so to speak. Soy Sauce for Beginners by Kirsten Chen I would place this book somewhere between 3 and 4 stars. I hover between the two numbers because I was highly impressed with the editing and formatting. They helped achieve a better read through the story. However, the overall novel still needed a guiding hand. There were too many occasions, for me, where the leading lady was punch worthy. I know, I know; her struggles are what drive the plot -- but my goodness what a whiner! On the hig

An Explorer's Notebook by Tim Flannery This was an excellent compilation of Flannery's work for the past three decades. They are placed in chronological order by sections based on type of work. He included his personal essays on biology and zoology in the field, which I found to be incredibly fascinating; reviews of scientific books he read; and, climate essays to raise recognition of our impact on the species of the world. Section one: I love zoology and learning about all the different kinds of animals. What animals can tell us about our own planet is incredible. Tim Flannery is an Australian scientist, and he gave me a whole new perspective on animals from New Guinea and Indonesia.  I absolutely adore tree kangaroos and learned so many new facts from his research. While I would love to own one, they are quite the aggressive ninja and are capable of killing an adult man. Who knew? Some of the essays were great exposes on the animals and the hunt to learn more about the