WWW Wednesday 6/22/11

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

* What are you currently reading?
* What did you recently finish reading?
* What do you think you’ll read next?

Then head on over to Should be Reading and leave a comment with a link to your post so others can see!

I'm currently reading:

	Nylon Angel by Marianne de Pierres -- Fantasticfiction describes it thusly "Quentin Tarantino meets Blade Runner in an ultra-violent future world controlled by the media" Sounds fun and action packed, we shall see!
	The Golden Acorn (Jack Brenin #1) by Catherine Cooper -- Jack Brenin's life is changed when he finds a golden acorn, could he be The One? A children's fantasy downloaded free from Amazon for Kindle, it still was free on Sunday, so check it out if you're interested.
	Narcissus in Chains (Anita Blake #10) by Laurell K. Hamilton -- It's been awhile since I've checked in with Anita, and I've got quite a few to catch up on now!
	Kraken by China Mieville -- I picked this up to read along with the Fantasy Faction Book Club for June, it's the first by this author for me, and not something I normally would have chosen. I'm still struggling with this one, not even halfway yet. At this point I'm starting to consider not finishing it. It's not bad, it's just not really for me. We'll see.

Since last Wednesday I finished reading:

Imperium by Robert Harris -- The story of Roman Senator Cicero as told by his slave and secretary Tiro. I liked Pompeii by the same author, and also enjoyed this one, but I think more because I listened to it then read it. It is historical Roman political fiction, and I think it might have been a challenging read on it's own. Simon Jones is a wonderful narrator and really brought life to the characters, something I don't think I could have done in my head. I do recommend it, the story is good, but especially the audio version.

An Uplifting Murder (Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper #6) by Elaine Viets -- A fun cozy mystery series where the main character is a mystery shopper by profession, and along with her friend Alyce, gets in all kinds of scrapes on the job. This time she's mystery shopping an upscale lingerie store where she runs into her old gym teacher, and receives another blast from the past when a not so friendly girl she went to school with appears, and is later found murdered.

Probably up next:

Kiss of the Rose by Kate Pearce -- Druids and vampires in the time of Henry VIII... interesting, no?

WWW Wednesday 6/15/11

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

* What are you currently reading?
* What did you recently finish reading?
* What do you think you’ll read next?

Then head on over to Should be Reading and leave a comment with a link to your post so others can see!

I'm currently reading:

	Imperium by Robert Harris -- The story of Roman Senator Cicero as told by his slave and secretary Tiro. I'm listening to this one and love this narrator already, Simon Jones, who also read the Bartimaeus books by Jonathan Stroud. I also just discovered he reads the Charlie Bone books, so I may have to get those too! He's great!
	Narcissus in Chains (Anita Blake #10) by Laurell K. Hamilton -- It's been awhile since I've checked in with Anita, and I've got quite a few to catch up on now!
	An Uplifting Murder (Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper #6) by Elaine Viets -- A fun cozy mystery series where the main character is a mystery shopper by profession, and along with her friend Alyce, gets in all kinds of scrapes on the job. This time she's mystery shopping an upscale lingerie store where she runs into her old gym teacher, and receives another blast from the past when a not so friendly girl she went to school with appears, and is later found murdered.
	Kraken by China Mieville -- I picked this up to read along with the Fantasy Faction Book Club for June, it's the first by this author for me, and not something I normally would have chosen. It sounded interesting in an odd way though, so I'm giving it a try! Billy Harrow is conducting a normal every day tour through the museum he works at, ending with the prize exhibit of the facility, a giant preserved squid. Only, it's not there, and there's absolutely no way anyone could have taken it without someone seeing, or leaving behind some sign. This sounds like a fun mix of Mystery and Fantasy/Sci-fi!

Since last Wednesday I finished reading:

Something Rotten (Thursday Next #4) by Jasper Fforde -- Thursday is back from the world of fiction, taking a break from her stint as head of Jurisfiction, with her son Friday in tow (and Hamlet, Prince of Denmark). She wants to get her husband Landen reactualized, from when he'd been eradicated by Corporate behemoth Goliath, who is now recasting itself as a religion, in order to avoid a prophecy coming true. This is a hysterical series, full of literature references and action, I just love it! I'm listening to this one as a download from Audible.com. I have to say that the ending on this one was quite emotional, a little unexpected in a series that I've come to associate with intelligent humor. Wonderful, highly recommend!

Speed Dating by Nancy Warren -- A light, fun NASCAR themed romance that I got free off Amazon for Kindle, it may still be there if you're interested. Kendall's fiance dumps her right before a big work banquet at which she is an honoree, announcing that not only had he been seeing someone else, but that she's pregnant. Kendall then throws caution to the wind when she accidentally winds up locked out of her room, in her underwear, and finds herself in the room of NASCAR driver Dylan Hargreave who believes she's an actress that's been hired to help him get through his ex-wife's latest wedding. This was a sweet read, just the thing for light romance, being in the accounting profession myself, I can relate to Kendall in some ways!

Probably up next:

	Kiss of the Rose by Kate Pearce -- Druids and vampires in the time of Henry VIII... interesting, no?
	Nylon Angel by Marianne de Pierres -- Fantasticfiction describes it thusly "Quentin Tarantino meets Blade Runner in an ultra-violent future world controlled by the media" Sounds fun and action packed, we shall see!

WWW Wednesday 6/8/11

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

* What are you currently reading?
* What did you recently finish reading?
* What do you think you’ll read next?

Then head on over to Should be Reading and leave a comment with a link to your post so others can see!

I'm currently reading:

	An Uplifting Murder (Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper #6) by Elaine Viets -- A fun cozy mystery series where the main character is a mystery shopper by profession, and along with her friend Alyce, gets in all kinds of scrapes on the job. This time she's mystery shopping an upscale lingerie store where she runs into her old gym teacher, and receives another blast from the past when a not so friendly girl she went to school with appears, and is later found murdered.
	Kraken by China Mieville -- I picked this up to read along with the Fantasy Faction Book Club for June, it's the first by this author for me, and not something I normally would have chosen. It sounded interesting in an odd way though, so I'm giving it a try! Billy Harrow is conducting a normal every day tour through the museum he works at, ending with the prize exhibit of the facility, a giant preserved squid. Only, it's not there, and there's absolutely no way anyone could have taken it without someone seeing, or leaving behind some sign. This sounds like a fun mix of Mystery and Fantasy/Sci-fi!
	Something Rotten (Thursday Next #4) by Jasper Fforde -- Thursday is back from the world of fiction, taking a break from her stint as head of Jurisfiction, with her son Friday in tow (and Hamlet, Prince of Denmark). She wants to get her husband Landen reactualized, from when he'd been eradicated by Corporate behemoth Goliath, who is now recasting itself as a religion, in order to avoid a prophecy coming true. This is a hysterical series, full of literature references and action, I just love it! I'm listening to this one as a download from Audible.com.
	Speed Dating by Nancy Warren -- A light, fun NASCAR themed romance that I got free off Amazon for Kindle, it may still be there if you're interested. Kendall's fiance dumps her right before a big work banquet at which she is an honoree, announcing that not only had he been seeing someone else, but that she's pregnant. Kendall then throws caution to the wind when she accidentally winds up locked out of her room, in her underwear, and finds herself in the room of NASCAR driver Dylan Hargreave who believes she's an actress that's been hired to help him get through his ex-wife's latest wedding. This has been a cute one so far, but I can't get past the underwear thing, I'm having a hard time picturing much underwear that could be mistaken for just a skimpy outfit, but then I'm pretty conservative when it comes to clothes! I really wanted someone to notice and ask why she was in her underwear, but of course no one did!

Since last Wednesday I finished reading:

Lover Mine (Black Dagger Brotherhood #8) by J. R. Ward -- I chose this as my reading treat for the week of my birthday and I was not disappointed! J. R. Ward delivers as usual, and the story of John Matthew and Xhex was as riveting as all the others have been, even though I'm past the book of my favorite Brother, Vishous. A Lot of things are brought full circle in this one, answers revealed, and ends tied up. It's got a big ol' sappy happy ending, at least for John Matthew and Xhex, hopefully I'm not spoiling anything there, because you gotta know they'd end up together, I mean, it is their book after all! It's a painful road getting there for sure though, true?

Probably up next:

	Kiss of the Rose by Kate Pearce -- Druids and vampires in the time of Henry VIII... interesting, no?
	Narcissus in Chains (Anita Blake #10) by Laurell K. Hamilton -- It's been awhile since I've checked in with Anita, and I've got quite a few to catch up on now!
	Nylon Angel by Marianne de Pierres -- Fantasticfiction describes it thusly "Quentin Tarantino meets Blade Runner in an ultra-violent future world controlled by the media" Sounds fun and action packed, we shall see!

La Vida Vampire by Nancy Haddock

From the Back of the Book:

Being dead isn't all it's cracked up to be. Take it from Francesca Marinelli, trapped underground for over 200 years and rediscovered during the renovation of a Victorian mansion in historic St. Augustine. A tourist attraction herself, she's well suited for a job as an Old Ghost Town Tour guide. Francesca's due for a new lease on afterlife-and with enough sunblock, she can finally live it.

Unfortunately, everything she learned about men is a little dated. And when people in her tour group turn up dead, naturally the police suspect her. After all, she is a vampire. Which is why a crazed vampire-hunting vigilante squad is out to get her as well. Between the dead bodies, the stalkers, and a seriously non-existent love life, she's starting to wish she was dead. Or at least buried, where she was safe.

Shaunie's opinion:

I gave this one 3 of 5 stars, it was enjoyable, but doesn't really stick out for me. I liked Francesca, that she was a ghost tour guide, and that she was getting into some modern hobbies and past times, but I found the bad guys, and even the male love interest a little exaggerated. With so many other books to read, I probably won't actively seek out the rest of the series, but do want to say that it was a fun read, and would certainly continue it if I come across it or have a friend share it. If the above blurb sounds interesting to you, definitely give it a try! There are two more books in the series so far: Last Vampire Standing, and Always the Vampire, just released this year.

For more information on the author and her work, visit her website: Nancy Haddock

This is my second read for the Paranormal Romance Challenge hosted by Bitten by Paranormal Romance.

Teaser Tuesdays - The Magic and the Healing by Nick O'donohoe

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

* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* 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!)
* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Even familiar places have unfamiliar roads, and even people found at home can become lost after a wrong turn. But there are small wrong turns and large ones, and these last are the strangeways. -- pg. 24 The Magic and the Healing by Nick O'Donohoe

Tattoo Shop Mysteries by Karen E. Olson

The Missing Ink

Brett Kavanaugh is the owner of The Painted Lady tattoo shop in Las Vegas, and prides herself on providing custom tattoo artwork. In The Missing Ink, Brett becomes involved in a confusing plot when she is asked to design a devotional tattoo for a girl that never comes back for it. The police then come asking questions about this mystery girl, who turns out to have a very high profile fiance, and the problem is, the name she asked for in the tattoo, is not his.

Brett becomes further embroiled when she does a favor for her competition across town, Jeff Coleman at Murder Ink, and instead of the high profile client she expects to be tattoo-ing, she comes across a dead body, and tattoo equipment! Luckily Brett's brother is a police detective, so she has a defender on the force. Much to her brother's frustration, Brett has a curious streak, and is constantly investigating on her own, causing him no end of trouble. Did Jeff set her up, or was he going to be set up himself? Where is the mystery girl, and how is handsome hotel manager Simon mixed up with this mess? And why is Brett attracted to him when he's a suspicious character?


Pretty in Ink

Brett and her crew of tattoo artists are back in book 2 of the Tattoo Shop mysteries, guests at the Nylons and Tattoos show put on by some local drag queen friends. During the show one of them is attacked, shot by a champagne cork to the chest. This puts a quick end to the show, but is the beginning of the mystery. While the victimized drag queen Britney Brassieres recovers from the cork shooting, she becomes mysteriously ill in Brett's shop and later dies at the hospital.

A Queen of Hearts tattoo seems to be the connection between the drag queens, politicians, and possible terrorists. Once again Brett stumbles into the middle of things when she answers a cry for help from her new intern only to discover yet another dead body, but no Charlotte. This seems to be becoming a habit for Brett! Help comes from an unlikely source, as she develops an appreciation for Jeff Coleman, her competitor from Murder Ink, who also has connections to the players involved.

The Tattoo Shop mysteries are a lot of fun, Brett has a great shop crew, Bitsy, Joel and Ace, and I'm interested to see where Brett's relationship with Jeff goes. Las Vegas and the Tattoo culture is an interesting backdrop for the series, but you do not have to know anything about tattoo-ing to appreciate it, in fact I've learned some things I didn't know, since I'll probably never get a tattoo! I'm looking forward to continuing the series and recommend it to cozy mystery lovers! Brett makes some pretty colossally bad decisions, but then if all our mystery heroines were cautious when they should be, we would have a mystery, would we? ;)

For more information, visit Karen E. Olson's website. I love the name of the 4th book, Ink Flamingos due out in June!

These were my 4th and 5th reads for the Mystery and Suspense Reading Challenge hosted my Book Chick City.

You are getting very sleepy...

Why yes, yes I am! I think only managing 30 more pages in 2 hours is a hint that I'm done for this read-a-thon, since I do have function at a nearly normal time today, I'm going to hit the hay.

I had a great time this year, was more relaxed, added Cheerleading to the regimen, and feel quite successful even with I think a lower page count than previous read-a-thon's. It's still 6 times what I would do on a normal good reading day!

Thanks again to the hosts and the other cheerleaders, and everyone that makes this such a fun event! Time to start thinking about October!

Final page count: 646

Midnight-thirty, All is quiet...

So it's 12:30 am where I am, and I am done with my cheering shift, I hope you all like my little poem that I wrote for the event:

Cover to Cover
And Coast to Coast
Across the Oceans
We’ve been brought together
By what we love the most!
Let’s hear it for the readers!

I think I managed to hit everyone in my section that was possible (that were participating, and that I could figure out, a few had me baffled!) which turned my 1 hour estimated time into more like 3 hours, because I decided I wanted to do all of them, and because I started having internet issues, but I didn't let that stop me! :D I know I loved it the past two times when people came and posted cheers for me, and I wanted to return the favor.

So, now back to reading. No reading reading progress since my last true update, well, okay, 20 pages more while waiting on internet issues to figure themselves out. Not sure how much longer I will last tonight, but I'm good for a little while yet. Everyone else is in the house is going to bed, so it will be me and maybe the kitties if they decide to stay with me. And anyone else in the 'thon that is still awake of course! I'm ready to dig into my second read-a-thon cupcake from Smallcakes whose motto is "Maybe a cupcake will help?" So we'll see if it does! I'm about to dig into a very rich peanut butter cup cupcake, chocolate cupcake with peanut butter buttercream frosting and crumbled peanut butter cups on top. Rich enough to kill ya! So how is everyone else keeping themselves awake in the homestretch?

Hour 13, Dinner, and Cheering!

Hour 13 has arrived! I've just finished book #3, need to find some dinner, and then it's my turn to cheer for people! I'm feeling excited, I've even decided on a little poem to leave for folks with my comment, I hope everyone likes it! I'm thinking about a pulled pork sandwich with spicy coleslaw for dinner, what's everyone else having?

Next up for me after I've cheered for awhile will be Almost to Die For by Tate Hallaway.



Finished books and pages read:

Pretty in Ink by Karen E. Olson - 31 pages
The Pirates! In an adventure with Scientists by Gideon Defoe - 133 pages
Wake by Lisa McMann - 210 pages
Manhunt by Janet Evanovich - 219 pages

Total Pages: 593

Heading into the evening - Hour 11

Hour 11 is coming up fast and I'm feeling a little sleepy. Buffy asked in my last post what my favorite thing at the Thai buffet was and I have to say on the weekend they usually have a red curry flounder that I LOVE! Today they had done it with catfish, which was fine, because I love that too! I also love their glass noodle eggrolls. *drool* We also got some iced coffee, got the car washed, checked my PO Box and did a quick errand at Target, all during which I was reading as my awesome husband drove the car. :)

I think I'm reading way slow this time, but feeling much more relaxed than the previous two read-a-thons that I did, so I'm okay with it. I'm enjoying myself!

I've finished my second complete book and am ready to start on my third. This time I'm going for humorous romance, Manhunt by Janet Evanovich. I posted both the old and the new covers for you because I think they're funny. Obviously this is a reprint of an old Loveswept title for her.



Finished books and pages read:

Pretty in Ink by Karen E. Olson - 31 pages
The Pirates! In an adventure with Scientists by Gideon Defoe - 133 pages
Wake by Lisa McMann - 210 pages

Total Pages: 374




Off to visit a few people, check in at the Dewey's Blog and then back to reading!

Lunchtime!

Read-a-thon correspondent Shaunesay reporting from the field at my favorite Thai buffet! Hubby was kind enough to drive so I could read on the way. I'm a little less than halfway through "Wake" and liking it a lot! What did everyone else have for lunch? See you in awhile!

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First check in - Book 1 completed!

I decided this time around I was going to blog a bit less and try to read a little more because the last couple of times it felt like all I did was check in! Not that that was bad, it was a lot of fun, but I want to read! But I also want to check on my friends, and have signed up for a stint of cheerleading this evening as well, so less blogging for myself was the answer! There are so many crazy ways to "check in" nowadays, foursquare, getglue, goodreads, facebook, twitter, too much to keep up on, but I try anyway! (too many exclamation points! Maybe I'm practicing for cheerleading later *giggle*)

I've had my breakfast read-a-thon cupcake, and now finished my first complete book as well as chosen my next, Wake by Lisa McMann.




Finished books and pages read:

Pretty in Ink by Karen E. Olson - 31 pages
The Pirates! In an adventure with Scientists by Gideon Defoe - 133 pages

Total Pages: 164



How is everyone else doing?

Ready... Set... GO!

Good Morning, Afternoon, or Evening wherever you are fellow Dewey Read-a-thoners! We're just about ready to start! Are you excited? I sure am! Kept waking up thinking, is it time yet, is it time yet? :D

I didn't quite get finished with the books I was hoping to yesterday for my clean slate start, so I think I'll begin by finishing up Pretty in Ink by Karen E. Olson since I only have 31 pages left, and it will bug me all day if I leave them hanging out there! Then I've picked The Pirates! In an adventure with Scientists by Gideon Defoe as my next book up!




Good luck everyone, I'll see you in a while!

E-mail Blogging

I'm all set to be a correspondent in the field.  In Other words, I've caught up to the rest of ya'll that already knew how to do this! ;)
Connected by DROID on Verizon Wireless

Testing text message blogging!

Master of None by Sonya Bateman

Gavyn Donatti is the unluckiest thief ever, as his unlucky partners have found out. He was hired to steal a very rare item, and when he loses it, his employer is ready to take him out. Just as it looks like this might be his last job, Gavyn is saved by a djinn named Ian who seems extremely put out that he has to bother with the rescue. The two form a grudging alliance, and a whole world Gavyn never knew existed is revealed to him. Unfortunately it is a world in turmoil that has spilled over into ours. Gavyn himself is an eventual result of the conflict.

Gavyn's ex-girlfriend Jazz reenters his life when he asks for her help, as well as an old partner with some surprise connections of his own. While trying to neutralize the threat the djinn world has visited to his own, Gavyn learns to use powers he never knew he had, and finds he's made of sterner stuff than he ever believed possible.

This was a great series beginning, and I'm really looking forward to #2 which came out last month, Master and Apprentice.

This is my 4th read for the Horror and Urban Fantasy Challenge hosted by Book Chick City.