Archive for » January, 2010 «

31
Jan 2010

Sunday Salon – A Writer Reading

JM

I keep looking at all of these reading challenges happening lately and, well, I want to participate. It sounds like such fun to challenge yourself to hunt down new titles, read things you might not normally read, get away from your ‘safe’ genres…

And yet, I am a writer. I’m even pickier with my reading than the usual moody reader because I have to periodically stop reading certain things.

Right now? No fiction. Non-fiction has been fine, but I have only been reading books on writing. I’m a pretty easily influenced writer (great for inspiration, not so good for reading and writing at the same time), so I want a ‘clean slate’ while I’m working on the first draft of my novel.

After the first draft is done? All clear.

Are there any writers out there who also love reading? (You would think they’d go hand in hand.) Are you influenced by what you read? Do you have to stop reading certain things depending on what you’re working on?

Category: Sunday Salon  Comments off
29
Jan 2010

Book Review: Sins of the Flesh by Caridad Pineiro

JM

About the Book

Caterina Shaw’s days are numbered. Her only chance for survival is a highly experimental gene treatment – a risk she willingly takes. But now Caterina barely recognizes herself. She has new, terrifying powers, an exotic, arresting body – and she’s been accused of a savage murder, sending her on the run.

Mick Carrera is a mercenary and an expert at capturing elusive, clever prey. Yet the woman he’s humting down is far from the vicious killer he’s been told to expect: Caterina is wounded, vulnerable, and a startling mystery of medical science. Even more, she’s a beautiful woman whose innocent sensuality tempts Mick to show her exactly how thrilling pleasure can be. The heat that builds between them is irresistible, but surrendering to it could kill them both…for a dangerous group is plotting its next move using Caterina as its deadly pawn.

The Long Story

If someone had told me that I would be reviewing a book that mixed science fiction, mystery, suspense and romance, I would have been hard pressed to believe it would be a good book. However, Caridad has gone and shown me how multiple genres can be blended in such a beautiful, seamless way so as to create an excellent read.

Pineiro has a great ability for creating characters who have amazing strengths paired with equally believable vulnerabilities. Never once did I doubt that Mick struggles with guilt over supporting his family via questionable missions. Caterina’s fear and then growing strength helped me identify with her throughout the course of the book.

Readers shouldn’t be nervous about being overwhelmed by the science or by any possible jargon. Pineiro does a great job of making all the science parts read very true to form without confusing the reader. I’m not exactly familiar with gene therapy, but I never once felt thrust out of a scene because the dialogue or writing was beyond my knowledge.

I think the best of the book is that there is another one coming soon…

The Short Story

Caridad Pineiro easily blends science fiction, romance and suspense together in a book that hooked me from the beginning and didn’t let me go until the last page. I highly recommend this book.

***
Rating: 4 ½ Stars

[What do the ratings mean?]
***
Sins of the Flesh
Caridad Pineiro
http://caridadpineiro.com/
ISBN: 9780446543835
Length: 324 Pages

Category: Book Reviews  2 Comments
28
Jan 2010

Booking Through Thursday – Twist

JM

Jackie says, “I love books with complicated plots and unexpected endings. What is your favourite book with a fantastic twist at the end?”

So, today’s question is in two parts.

1. Do YOU like books with complicated plots and unexpected endings?

2. What book with a surprise ending is your favorite? Or your least favorite?

Do I like complicated plots and unexpected endings… I suppose it’s all with what fits the book, really. I’ve read plenty of mysteries where I know just who did it, but still enjoyed it all the same. I’ve read plenty of books with plots more on the simple side that read just as well.

It’s when the plots are simple and the endings are either expected or unexpected to the point of being ridiculous – for a lack of writing skills on the part of the author – that things get uncomfortable. If you can do simple well, then do it well. If you do complicated well, all the more kudos to you. Don’t do complicated if your calling is for simple.

My favourite twist ending of all time has to be from Ender’s Game. It just has to be. I can’t think of a book with a twist that made me go ‘wow!’ like Ender’s Game did.

As for least favourite… I can think of plenty of books I don’t like, but none that had a ‘twist’ ending.

Category: Booking Through Thursday  2 Comments
27
Jan 2010

Book by Any Other Name Game: Magic

JM

Welcome to this week’s (and the first ever) By Any Other Name book game!

We didn’t quite get to the goal number of titles last week, so the goal stays the same…

If you’re new to the challenge, this is a game from my dear friend Calliope that gets us to play with book titles.

The game works like this:

1. Each week I will choose and a book title that features that word.
2. Then it’s your turn to come up with book titles containing the same word, without duplication (yes, that includes my titles). The author would be nice, too, in case I want to check it out.
3. If you make it to the challenge number of titles (make sure you read the challenge section each week because it can change), then I will draw one name from all the participants and that person wins their choice of one book from my giveaway shelf!

It’s really not complicated. I pick a word and you list titles with that word. Easy peasy.

The current challenge:

Titles to Reach: Nineteen
Titles Per Person: Two

What can you win? The winner receives any one of the books on this page along with a bookmark (or two!).

I’ve decided this is a much better way of doing things rather than offering the SAME book over and over. Plus, I will be adding to the giveaway shelf as much as I can, so keep checking in to see what’s on offer.

So if you’d like a chance to win, join in!

If you don’t reach the goal, we’ll try again next week. If you reach the goal, I’ll have a brand new challenge for you next Wednesday where you’ll get another chance to win a book – regardless if you have won a book previously!

The word this week is:

Magic

I Say: Magic for Dummies by David Pogue

You Say…

Category: Wednesday Book Game  4 Comments
26
Jan 2010

Teaser Tuesday: 101 Things

JM

teasertuesdays31Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

1. Grab your current read.
2. Open to a random page.
3. Share two (or three or four, if you’re me) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.
4. 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!)
5. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

101 Things to do Before You Diet: Because Looking Great Isn’t Just About Losing Weight by Mimi Spencer

You are already gorgeous. You just don’t know it yet.

Category: Teaser Tuesday  Comments off
25
Jan 2010

Café Review: Gourmet Junction

JM

This is going to be my first review without pictures. Read on to find out why…

When you walk into a small(ish) community shopping centre, appearances can be deceiving. A small, ordinary looking café might have the best coffee this side of Melbourne. But then again, it might not.

Gourmet Junction is a small take-away place that serves traditional fare: coffee, chai, milkshakes, wraps, sandwiches, treats, dim sims, etc. It’s one of the dozen or so smaller shops in the centre and is smack dab across from Coles and between a bakery and a Chinese takeaway place.

Not exactly the most atmospheric .

The coffee is, well, sub-par. My husband won’t even have a cup of it just so I can take a picture, which is why I don’t have a coffee picture. Between that and me having my gallbladder out so I’m off the chai, we’re just plain out of pictures.

Speaking of the chai, it’s lovely. You can get vanilla or spice (I always go vanilla), and it’s always delicious. If you have a mug of it (sitting down, not take away), then you will get a small sesame biscuit which is perfect for submerging in your chai before eating.

If you’re a person who likes soy milk instead of dairy, however, this is a place to avoid. The soy milk they use is, according to my taste buds, horrible. It ruins the chai, and I would hate to taste what it would do to a coffee.

The only reason I’m giving this place a rating above menu is because I don’t mind sitting and watching the world go by. The endless stream of traffic going in and out of the supermarket across the way usually provides an interesting amount of entertainment. But that is really the space’s only redeeming feature – you’re still sitting in the middle of a small shopping centre dominated by big companies.

I can’t give this place much of a recommendation for anything other than the occasional chai you might want to pick up. Unlike the name, the food, drinks, atmosphere and everything else is standard. You’re not missing much if you pass this place.

***
Coffee Rating: 1 Cup
Coffee Price: $3
Reader Rating: Magazine

Shop 13
Ringwood Square, New Street
Ringwood, VIC

98795955

Category: Café Reviews  Comments off
24
Jan 2010

Sunday Salon – Back to It

JM

For the first time since I got home from getting my gallbladder removed, I feel like I am getting a grasp on things.

Oh, I’m still incredibly behind on pretty much everything, but the fact is that I am finally on my way to catching up with all those things.

With all my time spent resting and healing, I got the chance to read a few books. I finished 101 Things to do Before You Diet, Howl’s Moving Castle and Sins of the Flesh. All those reviews will be going up in the coming weeks.

Right now I am reading Robert’s Rules of Writing, a non-fiction book which is almost bullet-style listing of do’s and don’ts for writing. I’m sticking to non-fiction for at least the next few weeks while I am trying to face my novel-in-progress head on. I’ve had a few lightbulb moments regarding that project, so I want to take advantage while I can.

Being behind in work doesn’t help with this, but a woman can dream, can’t she?

What are you reading?

Category: Sunday Salon  Comments off
22
Jan 2010

Book Review: Bone, Vol. 1: Out From Boneville by Jeff Smith

JM

About the Book

After being run out of Boneville, the three Bone cousins – Fone Bone, Phoney Bone, and Smiley Bone – are separated and lost in a cast, uncharted desert. One by one, they find their way into a deep, forested valley filed with wonderful and terrifying creatures.

Eventually, the cousins are reunited at a farmstead run by tough Gran’ma Ben and her spirited granddaughter, Thorn. But little do the Bones know, there are dark forces conspiring against them and their adventures are only just beginning!

The Long Story

Bone: Out From Boneville is the first book of the Bone graphic novels by Jeff Smith featuring the Bone brothers and all the wonderful characters of the valley.

Fone Bone is the first Bone brother we get to follow one-on-one, which was an excellent choice on Jeff Smith’s part. Fone Bone is an entertaining and lovable character who is easy to follow into this story. He has all the awkwardness of a clumsy teenager as well as a good heart, a combination fit for a hero.

The valley is rich and beautiful in characters, humour and settings. Both the characters and the valley itself will have you laughing even in the most dramatic chapters of the story.

There is even a bit of romance thrown in just to make things more complicated.

Jeff Smith does a superb job with the art. It’s full of detail and colour, but it doesn’t overshadow the story or the characters. He combines simple lines along with fine details to create a world I couldn’t have created better in my imagination.

The Short Story

If you haven’t read a graphic novel before (and even if you have), I highly recommend you read Bone. It’s funny, engaging, and an excellent graphic novel overall.

***
Rating: 4 Stars

[What do the ratings mean?]

***
Bone: Out From Boneville
Jeff Smith

http://www.boneville.com/

ISBN: 978-0439706407
Length: 144 Pages

Category: Book Reviews  Comments off
21
Jan 2010

Booking Through Thursday – Favourite Unknown

JM

Who’s your favorite author that other people are NOT reading? The one you want to evangelize for, the one you would run popularity campaigns for? The author that, so far as you’re concerned, everyone should be reading–but that nobody seems to have heard of. You know, not JK Rowling, not Jane Austen, not Hemingway–everybody’s heard of them. The author that you think should be that famous and can’t understand why they’re not…

That’s a hard one to say because I think at least someone has heard of all the authors I read…

I think more people need to read the Ender’s series by Orson Scott Wells. I have always loved to read and share books by Shobhan Bantwal and Caridad Pineiro. The Abarat series is absolutely lovely, but Clive Barker hasn’t gotten his ass in gear and written the last books, so he’s lost most of his fans.

I think that’s about it for me. What about you?

Category: Booking Through Thursday  Comments off
20
Jan 2010

A Book by Any Other Name – Wind

JM

Welcome to this week’s (and the first ever) By Any Other Name book game!

Another late game, but I’m sure you’ll forgive me for unexpected gallbladder removal surgery. Haha.

We didn’t quite get to the goal number of titles last week, so the goal stays the same…

If you’re new to the challenge, this is a game from my dear friend Calliope that gets us to play with book titles.

The game works like this:

1. Each week I will choose and a book title that features that word.
2. Then it’s your turn to come up with book titles containing the same word, without duplication (yes, that includes my titles). The author would be nice, too, in case I want to check it out.
3. If you make it to the challenge number of titles (make sure you read the challenge section each week because it can change), then I will draw one name from all the participants and that person wins!

It’s really not complicated. I pick a word and you list titles with that word. Easy peasy.

The current challenge:

Titles to Reach: Nineteen
Titles Per Person: Two

What can you win? The winner receives any one of the books on this page along with a bookmark (or two!).

I’ve decided this is a much better way of doing things rather than offering the SAME book over and over. Plus, I will be adding to the giveaway shelf as much as I can, so keep checking in to see what’s on offer.

So if you’d like a chance to win, join in!

If you don’t reach the goal, we’ll try again next week. If you reach the goal, I’ll have a brand new challenge for you next Wednesday where you’ll get another chance to win a book – regardless if you have won a book previously!

The word this week is:

Wind

I Say: The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón and Lucia Graves

You Say…

Category: Wednesday Book Game  3 Comments
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