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Saturday, January 28, 2017

Libriomancer by Jim C. Hines

From Goodreads:

Isaac Vainio is a Libriomancer, a member of the secret organization founded five centuries ago by Johannes Gutenberg. Libriomancers are gifted with the ability to magically reach into books and draw forth objects. When Isaac is attacked by vampires that leaked from the pages of books into our world, he barely manages to escape. To his horror he discovers that vampires have been attacking other magic-users as well, and Gutenberg has been kidnapped.

With the help of a motorcycle-riding dryad who packs a pair of oak cudgels, Isaac finds himself hunting the unknown dark power that has been manipulating humans and vampires alike. And his search will uncover dangerous secrets about Libriomancy, Gutenberg, and the history of magic. . . .

This is the first novel by Jim C. Hines I have read, though I've been aware of him as an author and blogger for a few years now. He is humorous and conscientious and in general our views on how the world though be align very well. I've enjoyed his interactions in the group of authors I follow, especially when he has challenged them to a "pose off" for charity. He was re-creating book covers to show how crazy the positions some women are shown in, and how they really weren't at all natural or comfortable, and the results were usually hilarious! Here is the blog post with links to the poses during one of the campaigns if you're interested: Posing for Charity.

As usually happens for us bookworms, no matter how much we find ourselves interested in a book, somehow it never ends up in the roster. I fixed that this time by making Jim by January TBR List theme! You all choose Libriomancer for me, which is the first in Jim's current series, and it was a lot of fun!

 I adore the magic system of being able to pull items out of books, sometimes even people, but there are some limitations, and also some ethical concerns which Isaac struggles with.  This pretty much allows Jim to give nods to any author (real or imagined) he wants within the story, and he does, which is just fine with me. I'm pretty arachnophobic, but I adore Smudge, except at mealtimes, and Isaac's care for him.  We've also got a take no nonsense dryad to help Isaac out, and a couple of historical figures who should have been long gone by now, but aren't.  Oh and vampires are after him, because if you've got 99 problems then vampires after you should definitely be one of them, right?

This was an entertaining adventure which exactly matched the impression of the author I had developed, and quite honestly I kept seeing Jim as Isaac, despite the cover picture. I can definitely attribute that to social media and how we can be so much more connected to authors these days if they're putting themselves out there, which Jim definitely does.  I'm looking forward to seeing what Isaac and friends get up to next!  Thanks for choosing this one for me friends!

Saturday, January 14, 2017

My TBR List January 2017 - And the Winner is...



 And the winner is...


From Goodreads:

Isaac Vainio is a Libriomancer, a member of the secret organization founded five centuries ago by Johannes Gutenberg. Libriomancers are gifted with the ability to magically reach into books and draw forth objects. When Isaac is attacked by vampires that leaked from the pages of books into our world, he barely manages to escape. To his horror he discovers that vampires have been attacking other magic-users as well, and Gutenberg has been kidnapped.

With the help of a motorcycle-riding dryad who packs a pair of oak cudgels, Isaac finds himself hunting the unknown dark power that has been manipulating humans and vampires alike. And his search will uncover dangerous secrets about Libriomancy, Gutenberg, and the history of magic. . . .

I've really wanted to try one of Jim's books for awhile now, since I've so enjoyed him as a personality in the Fantasy Author community, so I'm really looking forward to Libriomancer! But don't worry Step Sisters and Jig, I'll still get to you all eventually as well!


10 votes4 votes2 votes

Saturday, January 07, 2017

My TBR List - January 2017 - Jim C. Hines



Welcome to my January 2017 edition of My To Be Read List, hosted by Michelle @ Because Reading. This is a monthly meme where we offer up 3 choices from our TBR pile for our readers to pick from to help us make the super hard decision of "what do I read next?" a little easier and to whittle away at the ever growing TBR Mountain! 

Theme: Books by author Jim C. Hines. I have actually followed this author for awhile but still have yet to actually read one of his books, that ends this month! I really enjoy his commentary/viewpoints and actually discovered him thanks to his hilarious recreations of fantasy covers that feature women in impossible poses, which was the whole point of him trying to recreate them, to show how ridiculous many of them were. Sometimes he even drags some sidekicks into the fun (like Patrick Rothfuss!) If you'd like to see some, check out this image search. Feel free to leave me a comment and tell me which book you voted for and why.

The poll will stay open through Friday 1/13, and I'll update this post with the winning book on Saturday 1/14, then post a review on the last Saturday of the month, 1/28.

If you think this sounds fun and would like to join (the more the merrier, because we love voting!) please head on over to Because Reading where Michelle lays out the rules for us!

And the choices are...


From Goodreads:

Isaac Vainio is a Libriomancer, a member of the secret organization founded five centuries ago by Johannes Gutenberg. Libriomancers are gifted with the ability to magically reach into books and draw forth objects. When Isaac is attacked by vampires that leaked from the pages of books into our world, he barely manages to escape. To his horror he discovers that vampires have been attacking other magic-users as well, and Gutenberg has been kidnapped.

With the help of a motorcycle-riding dryad who packs a pair of oak cudgels, Isaac finds himself hunting the unknown dark power that has been manipulating humans and vampires alike. And his search will uncover dangerous secrets about Libriomancy, Gutenberg, and the history of magic. . . .

From Goodreads:

You know how all those old fairy tales take you through lots of scary adventures till you finally reach that inevitable line: "And they lived happily ever after..." Guess what? It's not true. Life in never-never land isn't all sweetness and light. Cinderella - whose real name is Danielle Whiteshore (nee Danielle de Glas) - does marry Prince Armand. And (if you can ignore the pigeon incident) their wedding is a dream-come-true.

But not long after the "happily ever after," Danielle is attacked by her stepsister Charlotte, who suddenly has all sorts of magic to call upon. And though Talia - otherwise known as Sleeping Beauty - comes to the rescue (she's a martial arts master, and all those fairy blessings make her almost unbeatable), Charlotte gets away.

That's when Danielle discovers a number of disturbing facts: Armand has been kidnapped and taken to the realm of the Fairies; Danielle is pregnant with his child; and the Queen has her very own Secret Service that consists of Talia and Snow (White, of course). Snow is an expert at mirror magic and heavy-duty flirting.

Can three princesses track down Armand and extract both the prince and themselves from the clutches of some of fantasyland's most nefarious villains?





From Goodreads:

Jig is a scrawny little nearsighted goblin-a runt even among his puny species. Captured by a party of adventurers searching for a magical artifact, and forced to guide them, Jig encounters every peril ever faced on a fantasy quest.


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Sunday, January 01, 2017

Bout of Books 18 - January 2 - 8, 2017

Bout of Books 18


I cannot think of a better way to start the year than for it to be with a Bout of Books Read-a-thon! I am so ready to hang with Amanda and Kelly and all of you and get this year rolling right!

Click on the picture to the left if you'd like to join us!

Currently Reading:





Finished:

127 pgs


364 pgs

Women in Science by Rachel Ignotofsky

Women in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the WorldWomen in Science: 50 Fearless Pioneers Who Changed the World by Rachel Ignotofsky
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a wonderful introduction to women scientists that I think everyone would benefit from reading. The presentation is very attractive and colorful, with full page graphics, quick facts and quotes for each person as well as a short biography. A lot of great information proving that women have made many wonderful contributions to the science world in all areas, and that many were risk takers and determined to persevere in the face of discouragement. I really enjoyed learning about these fascinating women and their discoveries. I think it would be a great addition to classrooms to peak students interest in the different scientific fields.

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