It's Monday, What Are You Reading? (Dec. 20, 2010)

It's Monday, What are you reading is a meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.  

It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading, is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week.  It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

I had a rather slow reading week this past week for no good reason. Except, I discovered Zuma as a Facebook game and spent most of Saturday playing it. I didn't get as much reading as usual done because of it. I find computer games like Zuma really addicting!

Last week I finished:

Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead was the final book in the Vampire Academy series. It was a very satisfying conclusion to this popular young adult series. You can see my review here.

Across the Universe by Beth Revis is a much-anticipated 2011 Young Adult Debut. It was a fascinating science fiction/mystery/dystopia with memorable characters and a great setting. My review will be posted on Dec. 23 on Ms. Martin Teaches Media. The book will be published on Jan. 11, 2011.

No Mercy by Sherrilyn Kenyon is the most recent in her Dark Hunter series. I found it to be an OK read. It felt rushed and had less character development than a lot of the series. I recommend it only for those who are already hooked on the series and can't bear to miss an installment. My review will be posted on Dec. 22.

Currently Reading:

Pack of Lies by Laura Anne Gilman is the sequel to Hard Magic. It tells the adventures of a paranormal investigation agent and is set in the same world as Gilman's Retrievers series. I enjoyed the first book and am looking forward to this one. It is on my Kindle from NetGalley for review. The book will be published on Jan. 18, 2011.

Next Week: 

These are some of the print books that I have decided to take home with me for my winter break.

Love Me to Death by Allison Brennan was sent to me for review. My blog will be a stop on the author's blog tour on Jan. 21 and I would like to have the book read and reviewed before that.

The Anatomy of Ghosts by Andrew Taylor was also sent to me for review. I love the cover and want to see what it is about.

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins has been calling to me from my TBR stack for a while. It has received bunches of glowing reviews on the blogs I read and I am eager to see if I enjoy it as much.

Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John also received a lot of praise on the blogs I read. I like the premise of a deaf main character managing a rock band.

Of course, I am also bringing home my Kindle with its 475 books and a few other print books too. What are your plans for the next week?

2011 Romance Reading Challenge

I know I said that I wasn't going to participate in so many challenges in 2011 but....


I just couldn't pass up the 2011 Romance Reading Challenge hosted by Nitty Gritty - Romance and Erotica Reviews. I like to add in a few romance books for variety in my reading and now I will have an additional reason to do so. I spent a lot of my 20s immersed in the various Harlequin and Silhouette lines of romances. Some authors I still read today - Jayne Ann Krentz, Elizabeth Lowell, and Eileen Wilks - cut their writing teeth there. I don't think it will be hard to read 12 books in this genre next year.


You can find out all the details and requirements by reading this post. If you like a good romance, come join us. Check my sidebar for a button that leads to the sign-up post.

In My Mailbox (Dec. 19, 2010)

The weekly In My Mailbox post is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. It is fun to see what everyone else gets in their mailboxes, shopping bags, and library visits.

 

I guarantee that your TBR pile will grow when you see all the wonderful books everyone gets. You will discover lots of great blogs and lots of books that you won't be able to live without.

Kristi is taking a few weeks off from hosting the IMM meme. She expects to resume it sometime after the first of the year.

Here is what I got this week.

Eliza's Daughter by Joan Aiken is one of the many books written in homage to the works of Jane Austen. This week being Jane's 300+ birthday, a lot of them were being offered for free for my Kindle. I am not a big Jane Austen fan, in fact I have never managed to finish one, but I am a fan of Joan Aiken.

The Scientists by John Gribbin is one of the rare nonfiction books that I buy. I have a certain fascination with the history of science that I have developed since I have been teaching it to my fifth grade students. This one sounded like it was enough about the people rather than the science that I would enjoy it.

These three books were also free for my Kindle. They are all in the erotic romance category.

• Going All In by Jess Dee
• The Bite of Silence by Mary Hughes
• Make Mine Midnight by Annmarie McKenna

These will be part of my 'read someday' collection. I need to have a bunch of free time and be in the right mood for these.

That's what I got. What came in your mailbox this week?

Review: Judgment Day by Wanda L. Dyson

Judgment Day
Author: Wanda L. Dyson
Publication: WaterBrook Press (September 21, 2010)


Description: Sensational journalism has never been so deadly.

The weekly cable news show Judgment Day with Suzanne Kidwell promises to expose businessmen, religious leaders, and politicians for the lies they tell. Suzanne positions herself as a champion of ethics and morality with a backbone of steel—until a revelation of her shoddy investigation tactics and creative fact embellishing put her in hot water with her employers, putting her credibility in question and threatening her professional ambitions..
        
Bitter and angry, Suzanne returns home one day to find an entrepreneur she is investigating, John Edward Sterling, unconscious on her living room floor. Before the night is over, Sterling is dead, she has his blood on her hands, and the police are arresting her for murder. She needs help to prove her innocence, but her only hope, private investigator Marcus Crisp, is also her ex-fiancé–the man she betrayed in college.
                    
Marcus and his partner Alexandria Fisher-Hawthorne reluctantly agree to take the case, but they won’t cut Suzanne any slack. Exposing her lack of ethics and the lives she’s destroyed in her fight for ratings does little to make them think Suzanne is innocent. But as Marcus digs into the mire of secrets surrounding her enemies, he unveils an alliance well-worth killing for. Now all he has to do is keep Suzanne and Alex alive long enough to prove it.



My Thoughts: The book summary has a small mistake. Suzanne returns home to find a woman named Cecelia unconscious on her floor. She is the nurse of the doctor who was her boyfriend and who died when they switched cars one day. Otherwise, the summary is pretty accurate.


Suzanne Kidwell is a very unsympathetic character. She is the stereotypical shark-like female journalist who is willing to do anything for a story that is sensational enough to boost her show's ratings. Underneath, though, we get hints of a woman who is insecure and feels unloved. She is quite self-absorbed. When she needs a detective, she goes to the fiancé she dumped in college and his partner for help. Marcus and Alex have formed a strong partnership and have romantic feelings for each other that they are reluctant to mention. She is from a very wealthy family and he is not. Her parents want her to give up the detective business and come home to run the family business or, at least, to marry someone from the right social class to manage the business.


There are lots of plot threads that weave in and out of this book beginning with missing teenagers and leading to the black market organ transplant business. Not so coincidentally, Alex's mother is in need of a heart transplant. The villain of the piece is never in doubt but he is really evil and likely crazy too. He blames Suzanne for the death of his son even though he was the one who had the bomb planted in the car. 


This was a very good thriller with lots of action and suspense. I recommend it to those who want an exciting quick read.


Favorite Quote:

"The Suzanne we knew in college was selfish and self-centered and a bit of a narcissist, but she wasn't stupid and she wasn't a killer. And can you imagine Suzanne killing a woman over a man? Never happen. The second a man looked at another woman, Suzanne would toss him over and start trolling for a new victim."

Book Beginning: Judgment Day by Wanda L. Dyson

Book Beginnings on Friday is now hosted by Katy at A Few More Pages.  

Anyone can participate; just share the opening sentence of your current read, making sure that you include the title and author so others know what you're reading. 

If you like, share with everyone why you do, or do not, like the sentence.

Running away from home had sounded like the best idea ever when she was planning it, but now that sixteen-year-old Britney Abbott was tired, hungry, and out of money, it felt more lie the biggest mistake of her life.

This is the beginning of Judgment Day by Wanda L. Dyson. Who could read that and not want to continue? 


I picked this book from my TBR stack because I received it from LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program and was in the mood for a thriller. I think I know what the girl's fate is going to be...but I hope that I am wrong.

Review: Side Jobs by Jim Butcher

Side Jobs
Author: Jim Butcher
Publication: Roc Hardcover (October 26, 2010)


Description: The first short story collection in the #1 New York Times bestselling series-including a brand-new Harry Dresden novella! 

Here, together for the first time, are the shorter works of #1 New York Times bestselling author Jim Butcher-a compendium of cases that Harry and his cadre of allies managed to close in record time. The tales range from the deadly serious to the absurdly hilarious. Also included is a new, never-before-published novella that takes place after the cliff-hanger ending of the new April 2010 hardcover, Changes. This is a must-have collection for every devoted Harry Dresden fan as well as a perfect introduction for readers ready to meet Chicago's only professional wizard.



My Thoughts: I agree that this is a must-have for Dresden fans. It is good to have the shorter works collected in one volume. Many were stories that I have read before because I do have most of the anthologies where the stories were originally published. It was a different experience reading all of the stories together. It was also interesting to read the author's introductions to the stories. I liked the insights into what he was trying to accomplish with each story.


I thought that "Day Off" was the funniest story in the book. Everything that could go wrong and a few that shouldn't all happened on a day that Harry was hoping to spend with his girlfriend. The interjected, disturbing questions from Molly down in the lab were especially humorous.


The final story was the most touching. "Aftermath" didn't include Harry at all. Murphy and Will have to find Georgia and rescue her from some supernaturals. The story takes place after the events of Changes. Evidence exists that Harry is dead but Murphy doesn't want to believe it. She is alternating between grief and hope and busy facing supernatural villains of great power. Seeing Harry through Murphy's eyes shows us someone that we haven't seen before. The rest of the stories are from Harry's point of view and no one, wizard or not, can really be objective about themselves. The story was gripping and moving. 


I recommend the collection to all fans of the Dresden Files. I don't think that the stories would be a good introduction to the world because they fit in between novels and are much richer if you have read the novels. 




Favorite Quote:

Dresden would have looked around with a vague expression on his face and wandered around, bumping into things and barely comporting himself with professional caution, even at a crime scene. He'd ask a few questions that wouldn't make much sense on the surface, make a few remarks he thought were witty, and glibly insult anyone who appeared to be a repressive authority figure. Then he'd do something that didn't make any goddamn sense, and produce results out of thin air, like a magician pulling a rabbit out of his hat.

You can find out about the rest of the Harry Dresden series here.  

Teaser Tuesday: Side Jobs by Jim Butcher

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 and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser this week is from Side Jobs: Stories from the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. This is a collection of all of the short stories that Butcher has written in the world of Harry Dresden who is the only mage listed in the Chicago phone book. I really enjoy the series and like having all the stories gathered together in one volume.


Harry is a wonderful character. He's a knight errant with a tarnished sword and a very smart mouth. I love the stories.


The teaser:

I let out a battle cry. Sure, a lot of people might have mistaken it for a sudden yelp of unmanly fear, but trust me: It was a battle cry.

Sure, Harry, whatever you say....