Bibliobabe

A Game of Thrones

Rachelle — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 03:36:44 +0000

A Game of Thrones, by George R. R. Martin

I’m excited to have started a new series – A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin. We have all heard so much about this series; it is a must-read for any true fantasy fan and is now becoming a must for diehard HBO viewers. Tackling these books is no easy task – they average around 1,200 pages per book. I’m part way through the first in this daunting series, but am enthralled with Martin’s characters. Each chapter is told from the point of view of a different character – with a slight tilt towards a seemingly anti-hero Tyrion. Although the maps are from Martin’s head, the time period is medieval; sword fights, lords and ladies, a king and queen, and castles abound. There are hints here and there of ‘otherness’ – the type of otherness that in my mind suggests a label of fantasy, but it has yet to play an important role in any of the lives of the richly defined characters. But, there was a mention of dragons…. With Fall just around the corner, I am looking forward to some serious cold weather reading!

A Game of Thrones, by George R. R. Martin

I’m excited to have started a new series – A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin. We have all heard so much about this series; it is a must-read for any true fantasy fan and is now becoming a must for diehard HBO viewers. Tackling these books is no easy task – they average around 1,200 pages per book. I’m part way through the first in this daunting series, but am enthralled with Martin’s characters. Each chapter is told from the point of view of a different character – with a slight tilt towards a seemingly anti-hero Tyrion. Although the maps are from Martin’s head, the time period is medieval; sword fights, lords and ladies, a king and queen, and castles abound. There are hints here and there of ‘otherness’ – the type of otherness that in my mind suggests a label of fantasy, but it has yet to play an important role in any of the lives of the richly defined characters. But, there was a mention of dragons….

With Fall just around the corner, I am looking forward to some serious cold weather reading!

Guilty Pleasures

Rachelle — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 10:31:09 +0000

So, I did it. I made it through another fun and frivolous summer series. Last year I tackled the vampire-filled Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. This year it was the kick-butt witch bounty hunter Rachel Morgan (The Hollows) series by Kim Harrison. I am now sufficiently schooled in the ways of a modern day witch – and it feels good. Finally some books about witches, their origins (no Salem trials here) and some awesome spell casting.

Here’s a little comparison of the books – likes, dislikes and tidbits I jotted down in my journal while reading.

Each series has a cute (of course) twenty-something heroine with boyfriend problems and plenty of hunky, ‘other-natured’ men from which to choose.
Kim Harrison gets a Bravo! for writing a series that somewhat expects you’ve read the previous books. Yea! Charlaine Harris spends at least half of each of the Sookie Stackhouse books retelling Sookie’s whole history. Towards the end, I had a vast array of paragraphs memorized because she had used the sames ones repeatedly.
The Hollows series was terribly edited – all through nine books. There were misspellings (how do those even get through????), missing words, bad grammar – you name it. It was almost painful.
Rachel (The Hollows), seemed smarter and more worldly than Sookie and is more aware of herself (goods and bads) and by the end of the series had made some major self realizations (okay, dorky, but she grew as a person). Sookie remains the same fallen-off-the-turnip-truck girl no matter how many vampires she kisses.
Both girls are so cheap and selfish it made me uncomfortable at times. Too much petty talk about money. And Rachel can be mean! The timing of some of her emotions makes her down right b****y. Her partner pixy’s wife dies and Rachel goes to comfort him in his tree stump home – and she’s irritated that some of her tiny belongings are in there. Seriously? A calculator costs a dollar – how cute the pixies were using it as a big tool for teaching their kids? Have ten minutes of heartache before thinking how it affects you, Rache.
Both series are witty and funny. It can’t all be blood lust, Weres and curses – a girl has to have a sense of humor!
Last, but not least, I loved how each series brought in all kinds of ‘others’ – and gave you a good understanding of their nature and how they would relate in today’s world. Between the two series there are vampires, witches, weres, maenads, demons, leprechauns, banshees, gargoyles, ghosts, trolls, pixies, elves and fairies. Now that’s some fun summer reading!

Southern Independent Book Awards – Award Spotlight

Rachelle — Sat, 16 Apr 2011 14:48:52 +0000

Fiction Shortlist:
The Southern Independent Book Awards were create in 1999 to recognize excellent books of southern origin, as determined by members of the Southern Independent Booksellers Association (SIBA), and “to give southern readers an enviable list of books to enjoy, read, buy and give as gifts.” Books are nominated in six categories, including fiction, nonfiction, poetry, cooking, young adult, and children’s. Eligible books must be set in the American South and have been published within the award year. Only SIBA-member booksellers in the states of Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, and Mississippi can submit nominations and vote on the selections. Winners are chosen from among the finalists by a panel of southern booksellers. The shortlist for the 2011 awards was announced on April 14th.
	Bloodroot by Amy Greene	Burning Bright by Ron Rash
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin	On Folly Beach by Karen White	Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman

Young Adult Shortlist:
Countdown by Deborah Wiles	Leaving Gees Bend by Irene Latham	Zora and Me by Victoria Bond

The complete list of all Southern Independent Book Awards fiction winners can be found on page 141 of the Read, Remember, Recommend Reading Journals.

We Rocked the Drop!

Rachelle — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 14:59:50 +0000

Support Teen Literature Day, April 14th, 2011
Yesterday was Support Teen Literature Day – and I celebrated with my little boys by dropping 9 books for others to find. I was hoping to find locations where teens would have the best chance of finding the books, so we dropped them at our local recreation center and the mall. What a fun idea! And it was good for my little boys – they thought it was a treasure hunt at first – to share books with others. I didn’t have as many award-winning teen books as I thought, so I also dropped a few of my readings journals. I hope we made someone’s day with these unexpected surprises!

Support Teen Literature Day – April 14th!

Rachelle — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 23:19:10 +0000

Every April, the American Library Association (ALA) supports National Library Week. Support Teen Literature Day falls on the Thursday of that week. This year National Library Week is April 10-16th, with Support Teen Literature Day on the 14th. Soooo, what is Support Teen Literature Day you ask? Here is what they have to say:

The purpose of this celebration is to raise awareness among the general public that young adult literature is a vibrant, growing genre with much to offer today’s teens. Support Teen Literature Day also seeks to showcase some award-winning authors and books in the genre as well as highlight librarians’ expertise in connecting teens with books and other reading materials.

Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) renews the Teen Read Week website and announces the Teens’ Top Ten nominations for the Teens’ Top Ten, a booklist selected entirely by teens (page 32 of Read, Remember, Recommend for Teens: A Reading Journal for Book Lovers) . Teens’ Top Ten nominations are posted on the YALSA website in April, so teens can read them all summer, vote and see the winners during Teen Read Week in October.

There are lots of other events surrounding this initiative including Operation Teen Book Drop! The ‘Drop’ is a special event sponsored by readergirlz, Guys Lit Wire, YALSA, and If I Can Read I Can Do Anything in an effort to put books into the hands of teens on Native American tribal lands.

Now, how can you get involved? Readergirlz has a great idea. ‘Rock the Drop’ in your own area, placing YA books in random spots for others to pick up! Make sure to check out their link for a bookplate to print (or make your own) and include with your dropped books. Take pictures and share your drops (I’ll post mine here).

Check with your local library to see what Support Teen Literature events are going on in your area!

Family, Love and Loss – Makes for Some Powerful Reading

Rachelle — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 18:09:00 +0000

Here’s a mini version of my earlier condensed type of reviews (fewer books). I read these in the order they are listed, chosen at random, but they all have a similar theme of family: love, loss and the significance of relationships in our lives. When things get hard for you or someone you know, it it’s essential to remember the importance of each other and the positive roles we can play in the lives of others.

Bloodroot, by Amy Greene

In this beautifully told story of family legacy in a poor Appalachian setting, the bonds between family – especially those of mothers and daughters – is both haunting, sad and filled with the kind of love that shapes the histories of all to come. A intricate web of time and characters is used to tell the story of generations of blue-eyed children originating from a group of ‘witches’. There is a wonderful tie between the characters and the land that makes one yearn to experience a year in the Appalachians. And there is just enough magic to keep one guessing and intrigued.

Lark and Termite, by Jayne Anne Phillips

What an amazing job the National Book Award Committee does of bringing to the world’s attention amazing works of literature. Lark and Termite, a finalist in 2009, is no exception. The remarkable story of Lark, a young girl living with her aunt in West Virginia during the 1950′s is paired with the unforgettable short history of her brother Termite’s father in first months of the Korean War. Alternately told by each of the rich characters, including Termite, a disabled child who can’t speak but sees the world in a rainbow of color and sound. The richness of the prose and the depth of love between the characters is not to be missed.

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, by Jacqueline Kelly

I can’t gush enough about The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate. This debut novel for middle readers is one of the best I have read in a long time. But don’t let the intended age put you off, this is a must read for anyone. Calpurnia Tate is the only girl growing up in a family of 6 brothers in a small Texas town at the turn of the 20th century. Her eleven year old self is entering into the time of her life where her gender and ambitions are at an impasse with the future expected of her. She discovers a treasure in the eccentric grandfather she has maintained a distance from since birth and he opens to her a world of plants, animals, weather and scientific discovery that will bring out the budding naturalist in anyone.

The Red Garden, by Alice Hoffman

Since first reading Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman years ago, I am always eager to read her latest titles. While The Red Garden wasn’t the story I envisioned, it was a fascinating journey through time and place during some of the most interesting and trying times in American history. Each chapter represented a different period of time with related but different characters in each. While it was frustrating at times to lose site of characters one was just beginning to know, it was interesting to be a part of the evolution of one place. And, there was even a little of the magic I first loved about Hoffman’s writing.

And the Winners Are….

Rachelle — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 11:43:51 +0000

The Read, Remember, Recommend Reading Challenges are finished! It’s been a long, crazy year – filled with amazing books for all of us and it’s time to celebrate!

	An entry was created for each book a challenger read and reviewed from the Read, Remember, Recommend Reading Journals. The winners were chosen using Random.org.

Grand Prize Winner:

Tenia F.

An EReader of your choice!

Fiction:

1st Prize: Heather (Books and Quilts)
A Reading is Sexy Book bag – filled with books!

2nd Prize: Jayme (Beachreader)A $20 to a bookstore of your choice!

Teen:

1st Prize: Shannon (Illusion-Esk) A Reading is Sexy Book bag – filled with Teen Fire Books!

I’m Not Her by Janet Gurtler

Water Wars by Cameron Stracher

Haunted by Joy Preble

Percival’s Angel by Anne Eliot Crompton

Liar Society by Lisa and Laura Roecker

Beautiful Dead: Summer by Eden Maguire

Instructions for a Broken Heart by Kim Culbertson

2nd Prize:
Sarah (Books Like Water) $20 to a bookstore of your choice!

Congrats to all the winners! I hope everyone who participated had a great time with exploring new books, authors and awards in the Read, Remember, Recommend Reading Journals!

The Challenges and Challengers – Countdown to Winning a Kindle!

Rachelle — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 15:40:42 +0000

Less than 2 weeks to go – The Read, Remember, Recommend Reading Challenges!
Can you believe it’s been almost a year? How crazy is that? I look back and it’s mostly a blur. But, I hope all of those who have participated in the Read, Remember, Recommend Reading Challenges have had a great time exploring new books, authors and awards.
The totals are listed below. *If you are a participant, please look over the totals to make sure I haven’t missed any of your comments. *Please note that each review is an entry in the pool to win the prizes. The challenger with the highest number (Heather ) doesn’t automatically win the Kindle (or ereader of choice), so don’t get discouraged!

Name	Total

Heather @ Books and Quilts	35

Tenia	25

Jayme (Beachreader)	19

M (Agent 99)	7

Sarah (Cowhugger)	6

Jonita (The Book Chick)	5

Melissa	5

Kathy/ Bermudaonion’s Weblog	4

Beth (Bookaholicmom)	3

Nari @ The Novel World	2

Josette	2

Carrie	2

Julie/ Booking Mama	1

Sherrie	1


Sarah	26

Amelia	25

Shannon	22

Missy	6

Wdebo	6

Notes from my Journal – Recap of this Year’s Books

Rachelle — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 18:39:42 +0000

Whew. It’s been a crazy couple of months. I’ve read some great books and thought I’d pull out my journal and recap them all, Reader’s Digest Condensed style, rather than a big long review of each.

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

Do you ever read a book and then think, “dang, I’m a better person for having read that!”? That’s how I felt after finishing A Tale of Two Cities.
Now, I have an embarrassing confession. Before reading A Christmas Carol in December, I had NEVER read any Dickens. For a prolific classics reader, that is a wee bit hard to admit. Charles, where have you been all my life?
While A Tale of Two Cities was much harder to wade through than A Christmas Carol, I quickly became addicted to the writing, story, characters and time period. It was an added benefit that I didn’t know anything about it (again, embarrassing to admit), so the whole story was an amazing surprise. If you haven’t done so, READ THIS. You can die (someday in the faraway future, of course), knowing that you have read one of the greatest stories of all time. Get your patience on, though. It will kick your fanny at the beginning.

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson

I had seen this book in quite a few places and made a mental note to check it out – and then the Costco Connection magazine came in the mail and Penny had picked it as her monthly choice. So, I now I had to get it. This was a perfect tale of a small, beautiful English village (why don’t we have villages in Utah?), lots of tea drinking and reading of classics, some romance and lots of clever wit. If you are looking for a great read (by a first time author), then settle in with the Major, his proper ways, his irritating son and some enviable landscape.

Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King

Now, this is not for the squeamish, easily upset or faint of heart. So, if you don’t enjoy (I don’t want to say ‘like’) the darker side of fiction, stop reading now and skip to my next read.
If you are still here, you must be a fellow fan of the macabre. And who does that better than Stephen? Full Dark, No Stars won’t disappoint even the most die-hard King fan. Made up of short stories, it’s not one of those books you can gush about to anyone. It’s rough. Killing your wife, getting shoved in a drain pipe, hearing rats in the walls, chatting with the devil rough.
Now, if you have a long ride ahead of you or maybe a tough workout, treat yourself to some thrilling stories. Before you know it, you’ll have run 10 miles.

Kim by Rudyard Kipling

My inspiration for reading Kim, by Rudyard Kipling came from Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand. Two of the characters in that story love, love, love Kipling. Another embarrassing thing to admit (lots in this post) is that I have never read anything by Kipling. I have seen Jungle Book, but that doesn’t count.
Kim is Rudyard’s most famous book (besides his children’s stories). It is mentioned twice in my fiction journal and has been made into a movie twice (one with Errol Flynn).
It was interesting to note in the introduction that Kipling’s father called the work “so Indian, so remote, and in appearance so uncaring for the ordinary reader “. While kind of harsh, he wasn’t far off. Without a good footnoted version to explain the various cities, religious and political events of the time, I would have been lost.

Delores Claiborne by Stephen King

More time with Stephen this year. While Full Dark, No Stars is truly just that, Delores Claiborne is more of just an old-fashioned good read. If you haven’t read any King, you are missing out on one of the greatest story tellers of all time. Now, while Delores Claiborne is no picnic, there isn’t the extreme horror you’d expect from King. It’s just a keep you on the edge of your seat, with your mouth hanging open, good story. I listened to this while walking and extended my hour walk to almost two hours each time I listened.

Absalom! Absalom! by William Faulker

Wow. I did it. I made it through a William Faulkner novel. And it was understandable. Even though Faulkner’s intent in writing the book was to make a statement on human memory by continually retelling the same story from different points of view and time periods, the story was still obtainable to the reader. The characters were bright and true, ones that will stick in your memory long after you’ve finished. The conflicts in the story are very indicative of the time (pre and post Civil War) and brought some interesting controversies to mind. If you are looking to tackle a Faulkner novel, Absalom!, Absalom! is a good place to start.

Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson

Hmmm. Not sure what to say about his one. Do you ever read one of those books that everyone raves about and then at the end wonder if you missed the whole thing? That’s how I felt about Marilynne Robinson’s Housekeeping. Was it my mood? Was it what I had for dinner? Not sure, but I didn’t enjoy this book at all. I didn’t understand the characters or what the main problem was that was driving (or not driving) the women in this story. They were all highly dysfunctional, without a tangible reason for being so. I would love to hear from others who have read this. Did I miss the boat entirely?

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Witches, daemons and vampires – oh my. This new book by Deborah Harkness has it all – including a beautiful cover. Unfortunately, that’s where the good stuff ended – at the cover. What a disappointment. And, I broke my New Year’s resolution to only read books from my TBR shelf (there are 100 or so there) and NOT buy anything new for a while.

Where was the witchiness in the story? It was all about a vampire. Ugh. I think after Bella, Edward, Bill and Sookie – and now Matthew, I have earned my PhD in vampire. And, oh the vampire. He was of course very huge and handsome, and at 1,500 years old, he had been around the world a few times. But, it was unbelievable and trite how ‘connected’ he was. He knew almost every famous scientist (he was pen pals with Charles Darwin) and author during the time he had been alive (he even had a book in his library called “Will’s Plays”. Really? He was on a nickname basis with Shakespeare?). He was also part of every major event during his lifetime as well – on more than one continent.

I finally gave up with the poor writing, over the top cliche characters and weak/smart women after I had gone through 450 pages (it was almost 600 pages). And it was an expensive book! Don’t blow any resolutions over this one. Wait for the movie.

But, I still want to be a witch.

Ruby in Smoke by Phillip Pullman

Lovely, just pure lovely. One final embarrassment and then I’m done with that for a while; I’ve never read anything by Philip Pullman. And I still wouldn’t have if Audible.com hadn’t suggested this one. I have never heard of the Sally Lockhart series, but now I’m hooked. This small story was about a smart orphaned girl with a crazy background and parentage. Oh, and it had a mystery (with a huge jewel), AND it was set in Victorian times. Doesn’t get much better than that. I listened to this (awesome British narration), but I would like to read the next one – so I can enjoy it even more.

New Book Giveaways!

Rachelle — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 15:47:02 +0000

Previous contest:
Valerie from Cupertino, California, won a signed copy of Run by Ann Patchett.
Allena won a hardback copy of Before I Fall, by Lauren Oliver.

New contests:
	Parrot & Oliver in America, by Peter Carey is the new Fiction Giveaway Book Short listed for the 2010 Man Booker Prize 2010 National Book Award Finalist
	Matched, by Ally Condie is the Teen Giveaway Book Publishers Weekly’s Best Children’s Books of 2010 #1 Pick on the Winter 2010/2011 Kid’s Indie Next List YALSA 2011 Best Fiction for Young Readers YALSA 2011 Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers Amazon Best Books of the Month, December 2010
Good luck – and happy reading!

New contests:

Parrot & Oliver in America, by Peter Carey is the new Fiction Giveaway Book

Short listed for the 2010 Man Booker Prize
2010 National Book Award Finalist

Matched, by Ally Condie is the Teen Giveaway Book

Publishers Weekly’s Best Children’s Books of 2010
#1 Pick on the Winter 2010/2011 Kid’s Indie Next List
YALSA 2011 Best Fiction for Young Readers
YALSA 2011 Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers
Amazon Best Books of the Month, December 2010

Good luck – and happy reading!