Redshirts by John Scalzi

From Goodreads: Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. It’s a prestige posting, and Andrew is thrilled all the more to be assigned to the ship’s Xenobiology laboratory. Life couldn’t be better…until Andrew begins to pick up on the fact that (1) every Away Mission involves some kind of lethal confrontation with alien forces, (2) the ship’s captain, its chief science officer, and the handsome Lieutenant Kerensky always survive these confrontations, and (3) at least one low-ranked crew member is, sadly, always killed. Not surprisingly, a great deal of energy below decks is expended on avoiding, at all costs, being assigned to an Away Mission. Then Andrew stumbles on information that completely transforms his and his colleagues’ understanding of what the starship Intrepid really is…and offers them a crazy, high-risk chance to save their own lives.

This was my first sampling of John Scalzi's work, and it was excellent! It was funny and convoluted and action packed, and also emotional. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Wil Wheaton (yep, this is the one I was referring to in my last review) and once again I was completely hooked by his reading of a fantastic story. I laughed, I cried, I loved it!

I am a casual Star Trek fan. While I enjoy it, I've never been to an ST convention, I haven't seen every episode, or even all the movies yet, but I am well acquainted with the Redshirt principle.  The main story here is a hilarious yet terror filled sci-fi romp where all the crew live in fear of the next away mission being their last.  They hide when the officers come around, leaving only the newest crew members out in the open, and sadly the victims of being sent on the away teams.  They avoid certain decks of the ship, because those are ALWAYS the ones that get hit.  They are able to come up with miraculous solutions to problems that even they don't understand.  It's over the top drama and goofiness, and the officers are completely unaware that anything is wrong.  But the newest crew members of the Intrepid are not as complacent as the previous crew, who are mostly concerned with making sure that it isn't their turn to die.

While the story is hysterical, and Wil Wheaton's animated reading adds depth to the humor, this story is much more than that.  I'm not kidding when I said I cried.  The codas after the main story are not just afterthoughts or quick flashes of "where are they now", they demonstrate the moral of the story, which is to be responsible for own destiny, to stop waiting around for things to happen to you, and to make something of your life.

This was fast, fun and completely engaging, and I am so looking forward to listening to another Scalzi/Wheaton partnership.

John Scalzi's Website

Wil Wheaton's Blog which currently has a hysterical post parodying political ads, featuring Mr. John Scalzi! You have to check it out!  Evil Cat-bacon-taper!

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

From Goodreads: It's the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place. Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets. And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune--and remarkable power--to whoever can unlock them. For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday's riddles are based in the pop culture he loved--that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study of Halliday's icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable debating the finer points of John Hughes's oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig. And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle. Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt--among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life--and love--in the real world he's always been so desperate to escape. A world at stake. A quest for the ultimate prize. Are you ready?

This book is SO MUCH FUN! I am a child of the 80's, and this story is jam packed full of pop culture references from that time period it's just overwhelming, and wonderful!  I listened to the audiobook narrated by Wil Wheaton, the first time I had heard him read, and it was fantastic!  In fact I immediately had to go see what else he'd narrated and found one which I'm listening to right now, also huge fun, but let's get back to Ready Player One and save that one for a future review!

As told in the blurb above, the story takes place during a contest to solve puzzles within the game in order to win Halliday's fortune.  What I didn't know until after I'd finished it, is that Cline had actually hidden a real life contest within the book, and the prize would be a DeLorean, one of the ultimate 80's pop culture icons, made popular by the Back to the Future movies staring Michael J. Fox.  Alas, the prize has already been awarded, not that I would have been able to win anyway as it required setting a new world record on vintage video games that I've heard of, but not ever played, in spite of being an 80's teen.  I still think it's really cool that he offered the prize, as if the story itself wasn't enough fun!

The characters were great, I really sympathized with Wade and his plight, and his friends, and what a serious predicament they find themselves in.  While much of the story takes place in the game itself, there is still plenty of action and solid world building outside of that.  There are also twists and surprises, and a very satisfying dose of sticking-it-to-the-man!  Everyone loves sticking-it-to-the-man, right?

This is a great story, and Wil Wheaton's narrative really brought it alive for me. I highly recommend this Sci-Fi romp through 80's pop culture, and you don't have to be a current computer game enthusiast to follow along, the basic structure of the OASIS is well explained.

There is a great rundown of all the references used on Wikipedia - Ready Player One.  Also check out Ernest Cline's Website for more information, in a fun old Atari game format!

The Magical Cats Mysteries by Sofie Kelly

From Goodreads: Curiosity Thrilled the Cat (Magical Cats Mystery #1) When librarian Kathleen Paulson moved to Mayville Heights, Minnesota, she had no idea that two strays would nuzzle their way into her life. Owen is a tabby with a catnip addiction and Hercules is a stocky tuxedo cat who shares Kathleen's fondness for Barry Manilow. But beyond all the fur and purrs, there's something more to these felines. When murder interrupts Mayville's Music Festival, Kathleen finds herself the prime suspect. More stunning is her realization that Owen and Hercules are magical-and she's relying on their skills to solve a purr-fect murder. Sleight of Paw (Magical Cats Mystery #2) Small-town librarian Kathleen Paulson never wanted to be the crazy cat lady. But after Owen and Hercules followed her home, she realized her mind wasn't playing tricks on her-her cats have magical abilities. When the body of elderly do-gooder Agatha Shepherd is found near Kath's favorite local café, she knows Owen's talent for turning invisible and Hercules's ability to walk through walls will give the felines access to clues Kath couldn't get without arousing suspicion. Someone is hiding some dark secrets-and it will take a bit of furtive investigating to catch the cold-hearted killer.

Have you noticed how it seems like every other cozy mystery has a cat on the cover? Wouldn't that lead you to believe that somehow a cat is involved in the mystery? Yeah, me too, yet a lot of times that isn't the case. That's why it's refreshing to find a mystery series where there are cats on the cover AND they actually figure prominently in the story! It's a pet peeve of mine, pun intended. If there's a cat on the cover, I want a cat in the story.

Not only do The Magical Cats Mysteries have felines deeply involved in solving the murders, but the cats themselves are an ongoing enigma that Kathleen is startled by, but seems to readily accept, though she keeps it quiet.  Owen and Hercules adopted her and they have some pretty special abilities that come in real handy for mystery solving!  They have definite personalities, it seemed like Hercules is more the brain of the two, while Owen is the brawn, though they do confer with each other and sometimes band against Kathleen to steer her in the right direction. They each have their strengths, and addictions (poor Fred the Funky Chicken, and all his cousins also named Fred).

We meet and get to know many of the town's residents, from Roma the Vet to Marcus the police detective, and we know there is something strange going on out at Wisteria Hill where our furry heroes came from, but we haven't yet found out what that is. I hope we learn more soon!  I found these very endearing and look forward to the next two books, Copycat Killing which came out in May this year, and Cat Trick which will come out in February 2013.

I have my own tuxedo cat, Fergus, but I haven't noticed that he's got any special powers yet, unless you count being annoying at 5 am when he's hungry! ;)

For more information please visit Sofie's Website

The Greyfriar (Vampire Empire #1) by Clay and Susan Griffith

From Goodreads: Vampire predators run wild in this exciting steampunk adventure, the first in an alternate history trilogy that is already attracting attention. In 1870, monsters rise up and conquer the northern lands, As great cities are swallowed up by carnage and disease, landowners and other elite flee south to escape their blood-thirsty wrath. One hundred fifty years later, the great divide still exists; fangs on one side of the border, worried defenders on the other. This fragile equilibrium is threatened, then crumbles after a single young princess becomes almost hopelessly lost in the hostile territory. At first, she has only one defender—a mysterious Greyfriar who roams freely in dangerous vampire regions.

I love Greyfriar! I can't say much without spoiling it if you haven't read it, but he is such a lovable, complex character. There were so many moments that just made my heart ache for him, where I wanted to just hug him! He so badly wishes his life was different, and there were just so many touching quirks about him that speak to my own interests. He's world-weary in some ways yet innocent and naive in others, having had very little to base his knowledge on, his perception is skewed but also more far-sighted than his family. He wants to be more than what he is, and his attempts at that are poignant.  I did enjoy the other characters, Adele and her brother, Colonel Anhalt, even Clark the American war hero, though annoying was larger than life and easy picture. 

The world that has been created is interesting, there is a stark contrast between the humans and the vampires.  The human world is colorful and mechanical, with airships and palaces, while the vampires, though considering themselves the superior race, live violently in dark cold castles they've taken over, feeding from  subjugated human cattle, and scorning things such as reading and writing, believing it is beneath them.

I really like this story, there are some mysteries I'm interested in find out more about, other factions that seem to have a vested interest in what happens, but who's motivation and agenda we're not sure of yet.  I highly recommend The Greyfriar and I'll definitely be reading on!  Next in the trilogy is Riftwalker, and it concludes with The Kingmakers which just came out a couple weeks ago.

You can visit Clay and Susan at their Website and also follow them on Twitter: @clayandsusan 

Double Cross by Carolyn Crane

Synopsis from Goodreads: SOME SECRETS COME BACK TO HAUNT. OTHERS COME TO KILL. Justine Jones lived her life as a fearful hypochondriac until she was lured into the web of a mysterious mastermind named Packard, who gifts her with extraordinary mental powers - dooming her to fight Midcity's shadowy war on paranormal crime in order to find the peace she so desperately craves. But now serial killers with unheard-of skills are terrorizing the most powerful beings in Midcity, including mastermind Packard and his oldest friend and worst enemy, Midcity's new mayor, who has the ability to bend matter itself to his will. As the body count grows, Justine faces a crisis of conscience as she tests the limits of her new powers and faces an impossible choice between two flawed but brilliant men - one on a journey of redemption, the other descending into a pit of moral depravity.

Double Cross is the second book of Carolyn Crane's Disillusionist Trilogy. I love this series because it is such a different spin on the idea of having special powers, where a character's greatest issues become their strength.  The Disillusionists are a band of messed up individuals, but Packard has put them together into an elite strike force that are currently working on "rebooting" criminals around Midcity to help the mayor, Otto, relieve the burden of keeping them imprisoned with his mind.

I have to admit, when I read the synopsis before cracking open the book, I had decided who was trying to be redeemed, and who was getting more depraved.  I was 100% wrong, and that's part of what I love about this story, it is packed full of shockers!  We learn a lot more of the history between Otto and Packard, and are torn with Justine as she tries to understand her feelings about them.  Along with the Mind Games that are played (yup, that's the first book!) there is plenty of action to go around, and just when you think you know how something is going to go, there's a fab twist out of left field.  The ending was especially a surprise to me and I can't wait to get into the third book Head Rush to see how that plays out!

I am not a hypochondriac, but there are so many times that I completely identify with something that Justine is thinking that I begin to wonder about myself!  Shelby is so grim, but lovable, I can picture her perfectly with her accent, spreading her doom and gloom.  Simon is easy to imagine too (I need to read his novella Devil's Luck), flamboyant and reckless, and of course Packard, charismatic and smug, playing all the angles to stay in control, but with his own code of honor.

If you're looking for a different urban fantasy that doesn't have vampires, werewolves or zombies, give The Disillusionists a try, I think you'll enjoy them! (I thought about it for awhile, and while there aren't actual zombies in this one, there are a couple of sleepwalkers that might count, but still!)


You can visit Carolyn at her website and also follow her on Twitter @CarolynCrane .

Giveaway - Destiny Binds by Tammy Blackwell

Synopsis from Amazon: Scout Donovan is a girl who believes in rules, logic, and her lifelong love of Charlie Hagan. Alex Cole believes in destiny, magic, and Scout. When Alex introduces Scout to the world of Shifters, men who change into wolves or coyotes during the full moon and Seers, women who can see your most private thoughts and emotions with a mere touch, the knowledge changes everything and everyone Scout thought she knew.

I read Destiny Binds this past weekend for the Indie Read-A-Thon I took part in.  I'm still pretty wary of self-published works, and rely on the recommendation of friends and the ratings of Goodreads to help me out.  This one has high ratings there, and I was not disappointed!

Of course it was the idea of Shifters that drew me, and I really like the eerie night time forest cover.  The story is told in first person by Scout, the main character, who I was really able to connect with and feel for.  The secondary characters are well done too, and I found myself torn for Scout between love interests because I liked both of them, for different reasons.  Alex is intelligent and sweet, and can really engage Scout's intellect, but Charlie is funny, and someone she's held a lifelong affection for.  Many of the exchanges are enjoyably sarcastic, which is a tone I love in reading.  I will say reader beware, the ending is a bit harsh, but I'm not convinced yet on what happened.  Luckily, there is a second book, Time Mends and as of  today, a third, Fate Succumbs!

Giveaway: I would love to share this with some people, so I am going to give away 5 Kindle copies to randomly chosen winners who comment on this post, and tell me what you're reading right now, I would love to learn about some other great self/Indie published novels if you know of any.  You must be able to accept US Kindle books to enter.  I will leave this contest open until September 30th, please be sure to leave me a way to contact you.

Also, if you don't want to wait, the Kindle Edition of Destiny Binds is only .99 on AmazonIt is now at it's regular price of $2.99 so you could start reading it right now!

You can check out Tammy's blog Miss Tammy Writes or follow her on Twitter using @Miss_Tammy

Winners so far:

Carole -- need to get e-mail address
Jezebelsk -- Sent!
Michelle -- Already receiving from me on another website
Book Savvy Babe -- Sent!

Fated by Alyson Noel

I received my copy of Fated (Soul Seekers #1) by Alyson Noel through LibraryThing Early Reviewers. I was attracted to this one for a couple of reasons, first I had already read and enjoyed Evermore (the Immortals #1) by the same author, and I was intrigued by the Native American mythology aspect of the story.

Daire Santos is 16 and has started experiencing disturbing visions that are becoming more and more frightening and extreme.  Finally after one of these visions leads to a violent breakdown, they can no longer be ignored.  In desperation, her mother arranges for Daire to live with a grandmother the girl has never met, hoping that the old woman will be able to help her, giving her a stable environment instead of the transient existence of traveling from movie set to set for her job.

Enchantment, New Mexico is anything but enchanting, and at first Daire feels abandoned and alone, as her attempts at leading a normal life going to high school fail as she becomes a target for the popular crowd.  Her grandmother is able to help her understand and control her visions, once Daire stops fighting against them and accepts her calling as a Soul Seeker who can travel between the worlds of the living and the dead. She also meets Dace, literally the boy of her dreams, but unfortunately his brother is his polar opposite, and Daire's enemy in the much deeper world she has come to know.

I enjoyed this one, I liked Daire and Dace (I seem to like D names a lot), the spirit animal guides, and her time in the cave learning about her ancestors.  Also Daire's difficulty with her spirit animal, like a teacher you think should be good, but seems to have a perverse torturous streak until you finally understand what they're trying to tell you.  I would like to see what challenges are in store for Daire, since I'm sure she hasn't seen the last of her nemesis Cade and his family.

There are 3 more books to come in the series, Echo, Mystic and Horizon.  For more information on the author and her work, check out her website alysonnoel.com

Reading Challenge Check-In

With not quite 4 months left in the year, let's see how I'm doing on all of my reading challenges... I'm thinking not so good, even with my need to join as many read-a-thon's as I can!

0-24% complete
25-49% complete
50-74% complete
75-99% complete
100% Complete and then some!

Unbreaking the Shelves - 0/22 - I'm focusing on Bookcrossing books received from others for this challenge.  I have not read anything yet for this one, but I'm donating 11 books to the library, and pulled others to wild release.  I did receive in 2 more BC Books this week, so I added 2 more to the TBR by EOY list.

Mount TBR Reading Challenge - 38/75 - A little over half, but with less than half the year to go, it's not looking good for this one, is it?

EBook Challenge - 12/25 - Yep, way behind on this one too!

Speculative Fiction Challenge - 8/24 - Are we sensing a theme of fail here? But wait! I just realized that audiobooks were allowed for this one, so that makes my total 19/24 if I add those in, woot! (Is that stretching it?)

Speculative Romance Challenge -  13/18 I actually reached  the first level goal of 12 for this one and went on to the next level!  I guess we can see where my true reading love lies, can't we?

Mystery and Suspense Challenge - 8/12 I'm not too far off on this one, I think I can do it!

BookObsessed "How Many in 2012" Challenge - 70/115 - I could still do this, but I need to get moving, at last calculation, I'm 12 books behind!  

How is everyone else doing on their challenges?

Indie Read-a-thon Sept 7-9

I've joined in the Indie Read-a-thon hosted by Claire Reads and My Pathway to Books, because I'm a sucker for a read-a-thon, and because I don't get around to reading Indie books too much.  In fact, I wasn't just real sure what to look for.  I've found a few on my Kindle App that I think qualify, so I'll give those a go. 

There is no way I'll get through all of these, but this will give me a choice (and maybe some ideas to others if you're looking for something!):

Finished 9/9/12 page 222

Finished 9/7/12 105 pages

Good Luck to all the other read-a-thoner's!

Updates:
Day 1: 138 pages (although I think they must have been short ones!)
Day 2 :  76 pages
Day 3: 113 pages
Total pages: 327

Unbreaking the Shelves - A Year End Reading Challenge

I've decided to join Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal in their Unbreaking the Shelves Reading Challenge.

 This a two part challenge:

Part 1: Actively organize, categorize, and otherwise be brutally realistic about the books you have in your TBR pile.

Part 2: Actively work on bringing that TBR pile down to something that isn't threatening you with bodily harm if you don't start reading it.

Now, my TBR pretty much comprises my entire house. I have bookcases in almost every room, in several rooms more than one and often stacked neatly on the floor as well, at least until the cats go on a rampage through the place which can cause a bit of shifting.  Furry little heathens with no respect for literature!  There is no way I could bring all of this to something manageable by the end of the year, so I'm going to pick one area, and that would be all of my Bookcrossing books that I have received from other people.  As the whole point of Bookcrossing is to share books with people, it's time for many of these books to move on, not languish on my shelves for years!

Here are the steps I will take:

1. Inventory the Bookcrossing bookcase for quantity in each genre:  done - Total 173

• Mystery - 26
• Teen - 17
• Historical Fiction - 11
• Romance - 18
• Fantasy/Sci-Fi - 42
• Paranormal Romance/Fantasy/Teen - 53
• Other Fiction -6 

2.  Decide how many books of each genre to keep for reading, and give up the rest.  Either to other Bookcrossers, by wild release, or library donation. I think I'll say it has to be at least a 3.5 rating on Goodreads, or it goes, in general, of course there will be exceptions, there always are! done - Total 145 - gave up 28

• Other Fiction - 0 (giving up 6)
• Paranormal Romance/Fantasy/Teen - 45 (giving up 8)
• Fantasy/Sci-Fi - 36 (giving up 6)
• Teen - 17 (giving up 0)
• Romance - 18 (giving up 0)
• Mystery - 19 (giving up 7)
• Historical Fiction - 10 (giving up 1)

3. Choose some from each genre to try and finish this year, and list them here. done - Total 20  I'll allow myself exchanges as long as they are Bookcrossing books, since I'm a mood reader. (also add to this list the same number of new that comes in, to keep the EOY at 125)

Mystery

• Espresso Shot - Cleo Coyle 
• Mulch - Ann Ripley 
• The Alehouse Murders - Maureen Ash

Paranormal

•  Blood Line - Tanya Huff
• Ghost Walk - Heather Graham
• Spells and Sleeping Bags - Sarah Mlynowski
• Midnight Alley - Rachel Caine 
• The Discovery of Witches - Deborah Harkness 
• Firelight - Sophie Jordan (added 9/8/12)

Historical Fiction

• Cloud of Sparrows - Takashi Matsuoka 
• The Scarlet Lion - Elizabeth Chadwick
• The Italian Woman - Jean Plaidy  Gave up on, will pass along       

Fantasy/Sci-Fi

• Kindred - Octavia Butler
• The Light Fantastic - Terry Pratchett
• Beyond Varallan - S. L. Viehl - Currently reading

Teen

• Life as We Knew it - Susan Beth Pfeffer
• The Knife of Never Letting Go - Patrick Ness
• Welcome to the Ark -  Stephanie S. Tolan

Romance

• Truly, Madly - Heather Webber
• Free Fall - Jill Shalvis
• This Calder Range - Janet Dailey 
• Merry Christmas Baby Anthology - (added 9/8/12)

4. Goal - Beginning 173, culled 28, TBR Total 145, TBR by EOY 20, Final TBR at EOY 125

5. Track Bookcrossing books received after starting line and add TBR by EOY or cull additional to keep Final TBR at EOY at 125:

• 9/8/12 - 2 books received.

It's still very hard to let go, even though I've identified probably at least 20 more of those that I've kept that I probably don't really need, like, the 5th of a series that I might have the first one of but none in between, but I don't know if I want to read it yet or not, etc.  Or a whole series that hasn't gotten very good ratings (per my 3.5 criteria) but that a friend really liked and gave me all of, so I feel obligated to read at least the first one to see how I feel about it before passing on the rest.  So I know there is more room to cut here (and I had honestly already started before this challenge, hence the couple of genres giving up 0) and I may do that later on.  It would likely be very liberating to just box up the whole lot and send them to another Bookcrosser (ahem, Elsi, ahem) but I'll start here and see how I do!  I must admit, seeing the 20 stacked up next to me is pretty daunting, I don't read as fast as I'd like to! I cannot even imagine doing this exercise for real on the rest of my books in the house.  It would take me months. *passes out*

Labor Day Read-a-thon Aug 31 - Sept 1

I can't resist a read-a-thon anymore, so even though I'm going to be busy this weekend doing other things I still have to be in on it!  I'll make my goal laid back by not giving myself one at all, how's that for lazy?  Probably I'll just try to finish some of what I've already started.

Started at pg 114 Currently at pg 132	Started at 22% Currently at 46%	Started at pg 53 Currently at pg 196

Updates:
Starting points updated!  Let the reading begin!

Day 1: 55 pages 
Day 2: 79 pages
Day 3: 71 pages
Day 4: 36 pages

Total Pages: 241 - About 60 pages per day.  I didn't get anything finished, but it shouldn't take me too long to wrap these up in the next week or so!

Bout of Books 5.0 Day 1 Challenge

Welcome to Bout of Books 5.0! I'm so excited, and not a little nervous, to be co-hosting my first ever Bout of Books Challenge with my friend and fellow read-a-thon addict Elsi! I'm proud to say I think I'm the one that got her hooked! ;)

To enter this challenge, tell us what happens to your books after you have read them. Elsi and I both belong to BookCrossing.com, an on-line community where books are given a unique identity so, as the book is passed from reader to reader, it can be tracked, thus connecting its readers. So, we're going to give you an extra chance to win if you're a member of BookCrossing. (And you can join today if you're not already a member. It's completely free to join!)

Here are the details:

• This challenge will be open for 24 hours, from 12:01 am CDT on Monday the 13th to 12:01 am CDT on Tuesday the 14th
• You must be participating in Bout of Books to win. You must have posted your goals and linked them through the linky on this page.
• Four participants will each win one book up to $15 from The Book Depository.
• This is open to entrants in any country that The Book Depository ships to.
• Winner will be selected using Rafflecopter and we’ll announce and contact the winner on Tuesday evening.
• To enter, all you have to do is fill out the Rafflecopter widget below. You may answer the question in the widget or post your answer on your blog and supply a link to your answer in the widget. You get an extra entry if you're a member of BookCrossing.
• You can submit your entry on either of our blogs. Rafflecopter ensures that duplicates are not received.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Congratulations to the winners:

Kimberly posted her response on her blog, On the Wings of Books, saying "After I’ve finished reading (and reviewing) a book it gets put on my finished reading shelf. It’s a nice feeling to be able to put it on that shelf. Occasionally I will loan books (but usually just to certain, trusted, people). And I rarely give books away. I know that’s very selfish of me, but that’s just the way I am. I gave away a ton of books several years ago and I regret doing it, so I don’t usually feel inclined to give them away now."

Melanie says "Most I keep, but some I give away (either to someone I know or via my blog)."

Kat C said, "After I read a book I will either keep it, give it to another blogger or trade it in at the used bookstore."

Tracy is a member of BookCrossing. Her BookCrossing member name is mattnem05.

Bout of Books 5.0 Goals, Starting Line and Updates

It's time for Bout of Books 5.0! This will be my first time co-hosting a challenge on any read-a-thon, so check in here on Monday to enter. I'm excited and nervous about it. This will also be a very busy week for me at work unfortunately, we're getting ready for our annual physical inventory, so I'm not sure how much I will actually get to read, but I can't miss a Bout of Books, I just can't! (Hi, I'm Shaunie, and I'm a read-a-thon-a-holic.) To join us, just click the banner above and you'll be taken to the Bout of Books blog.

Goal

7 days = 700 pages

This is a little lofty considering my average lately and my work schedule, but we'll see!

TBR's

Here are the TBR's I'm considering:

Finished - 8/16/12  358 pages

Currently reading pg 260

Currently reading 6% done/20 pgs

I'm a mood reader, so this could change, but for now, that's what I'm planning!

I'll do all of my updates here in this post. Good luck everyone, *announcer voice* Let's Get Ready to Re-ead!

Final

I didn't quite make it to my goal, but I was very close!  638 pages all together, and averaged about 91 pages per day over all!  I'm happy with it, and will finish up Magic Strikes quickly.  Can't wait until the next one!  Thank you to our lovely hostesses and all the challenge makers, and other friendly readers!  I love read-a-thons!

Speculative Romance Challenge - DONE! Or am I?

Hosted by Book Chick City
Signup and Rules
January 1 - December 31, 2012
Level declared: Two Sexy Werewolves
Special: No Audiobooks


I've met my Two Sexy Werewolves level of this challenge, and since I know I'll read more of this type this year, I'm just going to go ahead and shoot for Three sexy Vampires, at 18 books!

Here's what I've done so far:

1. Lover Unleashed - J. R. Ward - 1/26/12
2. Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs - Molly Harper - 2/19/12
3. Nice Girls Don't Date Dead Men - Molly Harper - 3/26/12
4. Scoundrel (Blades of the Rose #2) - Zoe Archer - 3/30/12
5. Nice Girls Don't Live Forever - Molly Harper - 4/12/12
6. Cattitude - Edie Ramer - 4/30/12
7. Curse of the Gargoyle - Tara Nina - 5/13/12
8. Stay the Night (Darkyn #7) - Lynn Viehl - 5/16/12
9. Rock N Roll is Undead - Rose Pressey - 6/18/12
10. Driving Mr. Dead - Molly Harper - 6/24/12
11. Covet (Fallen Angels #1) - J. R. Ward - 7/18/12
12. The Magical Christmas Cat - Singh, McCarthy, Leigh, Jones - 8/5/12


Three Sexy Vamps here I come!

Summer Wrap Up Read-a-thon Challenge Day 1

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Here is what I've picked out for my TBR stack for this read-a-thon. There's no way I'll get through most of them, or maybe even any of them, though I hope to make it through a couple. I'm definitely a mood reader, so I wanted to give myself plenty to choose from. Some are on my ipad kindle reader, and hard to see, they are The Greyfriar by Clay and Susan Griffith, Sleight of Paw by Sofie Kelly and Wild and Steamy by Meljean Brook, Jill Myles and Carolyn Crane. I forgot to stick my current read in there, the Magical Christmas Cat, but I'm hoping to finish that one up tonight before I sleep!

Summer Wrap Up Read-a-thon Aug 4th-12th

Join us for the Summer Wrap Up Read-a-thon hosted by Jude @ In Between and Jennifer @ Some Like It Paranormal taking place August 4th - August 12th. Click the picture above to be taken to the sign up! We'll be using #SWUR on Twitter.

Goals: A big fat none!

This is going to be a super busy month for me, so I'm not going to give myself a goal. I just like to join in the read-a-thon vibe, and whatever I get read is more than I had read before! ;)

I will post all my updates in this post.

I'm in the middle of a couple of books already, so I'll "wrap" those up and then move on from there!

	The Magical Christmas Cat by Nalini Singh, Lora Leigh, Linda Winstead Jones and Erin McCarthy Starting Page: 274 Finished 8/5/12 Pages Read: 98 Thoughts: Fun stories by some great authors!  The Nalini Singh story was my favorite of this group as really like her Psy-changeling world.
	Vampire Empire #1: The Greyfriar by Clay and Susan Griffith Starting Page: 45 Finished 8/12/12 Pages Read: 258 Thoughts: Loved it!  Greyfriar is a wonderful character, some really poignant moments with him and Adele that just made you want to cry and hug him!  Looking forward to the next book, it's a vampire/alternate history/steampunk feel.  Highly recommend!
	Gamer Girl by Mari Mancusi Starting Page: 1 Finished 8/7/12 Pages Read: 248 Thoughts: A cute fast teen read using a computer game to let the characters get to know each other without the social clicks that limit them in the real world.  Enjoyed it!
	The Inspector and Mrs. Jeffries by Emily Brightwell Starting Page: 1 Finished 8/10/12 Pages Read: 181 Thoughts: A fun little cozy mystery, the Inspector wouldn't get very far without Mrs. Jeffries and the rest of his house staff, though they do their best not to let him know they're helping!

Total Pages read so far: 785
Average Pages per day: 87

Not bad for a week I didn't think I'd get much reading in! That concludes my Summer Wrap Up Read-a-thon, I was happy with my results, and now I need to get ready for Bout of Books 5.0 that starts tomorrow! Hope everyone had a great time!

High Summer Read-a-thon July 16-22

I'll be taking part in the High Summer Read-a-thon hosted by Michelle the True Book Addict. She has started new blog just for her read-a-thons called Seasons of Reading where she already has the next few read-a-thon dates posted! There will also be Twitter chats, she's polling now to see when!

No goal this time, I'm just going to see how I do!

Day 1: 100 pages
Day 2: 66 pages
Day 3: 120 pages
Day 4: 121 pages
Day 5: 109 pages
Day 6: 17 pages
Day 7: 51 pages
Total: 584 pages

Not my best showing ever, but it'll do!

	Covet by J. R. Ward I've already started on this one so I'll keep going on it. Start: page 252 EOD 1: 322 EOD 2: 364 EOD 3: 474 - finished!
	SEAL of My Dreams an Anthology of Navy SEAL romances Already started on this one too, so will keep going on it! Start: page 79 EOD 1: 109 EOD 2: 133 EOD 3: 143 EOD 4: 178 EOD 6: 195 EOD 7: 246
	Dial-a-Ghost by Eva Ibbotson I need something fast and light after Covet! This should do the trick! Start: page 1 EOD 4: 86 EOD 5: 195 - finished

The Last Stormlord by Glenda Larke

I hadn't read a good fantasy epic for awhile, and The Last Stormlord by Glenda Larke was near to hand and recommended by a friend, so I picked it up. The near waterless setting of the book was really in tune with the 100+ degree weather we've been having for awhile now, so I think it added some realism as I was reading! This is the first of the Watergivers series, and I really enjoyed it, and have already gone out and bought the next one! The world building was interesting and complete, the characters were filled out not flat, and the story was fairly simple and solid, not too complex with too many threads to keep track of as sometimes happens in the large epics.

The basic premise is that the current Stormlord, who is responsible for delivering all the water to the different lands through manipulation of storms is dying, and there is no one strong enough to replace him, including his own son. As he weakens, they are faced with many difficult decisions, such as cutting off water to certain parts of the land which can only end in the death of those people. A search is organized to once again try to find any children with water sensitivity in the hopes that one of them may yet prove to be the Stormlord they need. While all the Rainlords are outwardly united in this task, there are hidden agendas for some prompting them to ally with those who would like to see the land fall back to a time of random rainfall.

Caught in the center of the plotting are Shale, a strong but imperfect water sensitive from the Gibber lands, and Terelle, a girl of mysterious ancestry who learns she has talents she never dreamed were possible, but that come with a serious cost. Thrown together accidentally, they both find in each other what they never had before, a trusted friend, but they are torn apart before they can understand what they mean to each other. The first book ends with an all or nothing battle that had me quickly scanning the excerpt of book two to see who makes it through! There's treachery and unrequited love (only it is, they're just too stubborn to admit it until later on), magic and action, it's all here! Give it a try! Visit Glenda Larke's Website to learn more about the author and her books. She sounds like a very interesting lady, very busy, but somehow she still found time to write this hefty story!

Wicked Wildfire Read-a-thon June 20-24

It's time for another read-a-thon! It's the Wicked Wildfire Read-a-thon hosted by Rebecca @ Kindle Fever and April @ My Shelf Confessions. We'll also be chatting on Twitter using #WWReadathon come and join us! I will post all my updates here in the same post.

Goal:

600 pages

EOD 1: 120 pages
EOD 2: 120 pages
EOD 3: 56 pages
EOD 4: 96 pages
EOD 5: 28 pages
Total pages: 410

I only managed an average of 82 pages per day on this one, but that's still more than I would normally read each day, so I'm okay with it!

Books in progress:

	Fated by Alyson Noel Start: Page 1 EOD 1: 18 EOD 2: 38 EOD 3: 48 EOD 4: 53 EOD 5: 78
	Driving Mr. Dead by Molly Harper Start: Page 1 EOD 3: 46 EOD 4: 137 EOD 5: 140 - finished! Thoughts: I really love all the Molly Harper books I've read so far, and this one was no exception! Cute and fun!
	Desperate Housedogs by Sparkle Abbey Start: Page 1 EOD 1: pg. 102 EOD 2: 202 - finished! Thoughts: Fun pet themed mystery, good main character, and likable secondary characters too! Recommend!

Books finished:

Shaunie's Little Garden - Where the Desert Meets the Sea

It's that time of year again!

I have my desert-y Hen & Chicks in the foreground with my new second water pot with water lillies in the back. We discovered a fantastic water gardening store in Lawrence, Kansas called Water's Edge. It was so neat, healthy plants, huge variety, super knowledgeable staff, just very inspiring!

Here is a close up of that big Hen & Chicks in the center pot, it's just huge, and I can't take any credit for it being so lovely, because really I pretty much ignore them and they do their thing! I bought a couple of new types this year (though I have no clue what any of them are called other than Hen & Chicks) and re-potted a few, so I've got my fingers crossed that they will all flourish, sometimes they seem hardy and sometimes they don't!

The first water lily of the season, not sure what kind it is, there is another one popping up, so I hope to be able to get some nice pictures of that one in the next few days fully open. I love them, but they are so limited-time-only! They are only open during the day, they close up at night, usually they're at about half-way closed by the time I get home from work, and not opened in the morning by the time I leave, then they only last for about 4 days. But I just think they are so neat looking!

We also bought some new Sea Kingdom denizens, as we decided the current ginormous goldfish we have were just too big to shuttle in and out and would be better off left alone in their indoor tank. The new kids are pretty quick and shy, and small, so no pics of them yet, but they are smaller versions of the one below, they are called Shubunkins and are a great fish for ponds and water pots as they are much cheaper than Koi, but still look pretty and can get pretty large!

I think it's so relaxing to sit on the patio and be near these plants, the gently moving water, catching a glimpse of a fish now and then, the steadiness of the slow growing Hen & Chicks versus the quick change of the water lillies, I really enjoy them. :)

Molly Harper - Jane Jameson and Naked Werewolves!

Molly Harper is one of the funniest authors I’ve found. I have thoroughly enjoyed the Jane Jameson series (yay there’s a new one!) and also her Naked Werewolf books. I can’t tell you how many times I would pester my husband by read parts out loud to him because they were so funny I wanted to share! She has quickly become a favorite, going on the short list of authors that I will automatically get a new release from. The books are full of great one-liners and witty sarcasm that prompt out loud laughter. If you are looking for fun and funny paranormal romance, look no further, Molly Harper is your woman!

Bout of Books 4.0

It's time for another Fantabulous Bout of Books Read-a-thon! This is my starting line post, and I'll update here as well. We'll be on Twitter too, using the hashtag #boutofbooks. Come join the fun!

Goal:

700 pages = 100 pages per day (paper or e-book, not audio!)

Progress:

	Zero Control by Lori Wilde An air marshall poses as a romantic vacation tour guide to try and stop a saboteur. Just the kind of quick fun I'm looking for! Start: pg 1 Day 4: pg. 120 Day 5: pg. 213 - finished!
	Stay the Night by Lynn Viehl Listening to Hood has put me in a Robin Hood mood, so it was the perfect time to get around to Darkyn #7, about the Prince of Thieves himself! Start: pg. 1 Day 1: pg. 96 Day 2: pg. 216 Day 3: 317 - finished!
	Murder Past Due by Miranda James I've usually got an e-book going too, so I can sneak in a few pages on my phone here and there. I wanted something non-para romance, so a cozy mystery it is! Start: pg. 1 Day 2: pg. 25 Day 4: pg. 57 Day 6: pg. 107 Day 7: pg. 208

Total Books Finished: 2.7
Total Pages Read: 738

I made my goal! I admit I made it pretty achievable since I had to work last week. Thanks again for our wonderful hostesses and I can't wait for the next one!