Month: August 2013

Are you listening?

/ justbookreading / 12 Comments

Statement of fact — I rarely listen to audiobooks or podcasts. (My husband would agree on the non-listening part no matter what it referred to though…)

Why? I’m a visual person and a writer. In order for me to remember something, I need to see words on paper, and in some cases, write words on paper. Hence, the not listening to books part. (Fun fact about me, I’m an excellent list maker.)

I decided I’d try a podcast though. Ya know, new things and all. Of course, I needed it to be interesting for this experiment to work.

My choice? Well, as the fates would have it, a tweet came across about a podcast with potential. It was part one of a book that I’m really looking forward to reading — The Black Fire Concerto by Mike Allen. The first part of the book, The Red Empress, was being featured on Tales to Terrify, an audio horror fiction magazine.

So, I pull it up on my phone and curl up on the couch to do this thing.

Let me tell you. The narrator, CSE Cooney stuck the perfect tone. Her voice a perfect fit for the story, which takes place on a riverboat named none other than The Red Empress. The Empress is inhabited by a cast of creeptastic ghouls that feed on the flesh others in their quest for immortality. A young girl named Erzelle, whose family was murdered on the doomed Empress, lives out her numbered days playing the harp while the elite feast. When a newcomer, Olyssa, arrives her life changes dramatically.

It’s creepy. It’s got some interesting magic which I want to hear more about. And as it turns out, I get can with the ghoul thing. The first part sets the stage for more to come and I want more of this broken and deranged world.

In fact, I’ll fess up now. The author, Mike Allen, was nice enough to offer me a copy of the book and I can’t wait. It’s going to be perfect fall reading.

To listen to the podcast, and you should: Tales to Terrify No 85 Mike Allen.

Go to Tales to Terrify for a longer list of podcasts.
I think I might give Nos 82, 83, and 84 a try. It’s At the Mountains of Madness by HP Lovecraft. I didn’t love the book like I wanted to but having it read to me might do it. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Reading much?

/ justbookreading / 9 Comments

It’s hard to believe I managed to accidentally take off almost all of August. It’s even harder to believe I’ve had this blog for four years now. Time does go by quickly anymore.

So, I thought I’d do a quick re-cap of what I’ve been reading this summer, and for the most part, not talking about. What do I see in my future? Plans for some regular blogging…

I finally, finally gave in and read A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin. It took me forever to finish (my copy is 1100 pages) but I didn’t mind at all because it was all the characters I like, unlike the fourth book which was all characters I could do without. Although, I was left wondering who he’d have left to talk about since he kills almost everyone in this book and there are two more books left in this series. I’ll guess I’ll have to wait and see.

The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon was another good book. I’m torn about all the comparisons she’s getting to The Hunger Games and the Harry Potter series though. This is the first book in a seven book series and the setting is a bit Panem like but this is the first book and I think we need to give her time to sort it out. I did a review for The Book Reporter if you’re curious.

I have this huge stack of books staring me down (in a good way!) and I decided to finally give in. I was also in a read all the fantasy mode and went with Sabriel by Garth Nix. A good choice it was. Can I tell you how happy I am to find out this is a trilogy!? The dead, necromancers, old kingdoms, dark magic, free magic. Yes, please.

Kindred by Octavia Butler has been on my list forever. Elizabeth at Dark Cargo was nice enough to send this one to me. Actually, she sent me a ton of awesome books! Sabriel was also in that stack. She’s been keeping me in fantasy and science fiction lately. Time travel with an historical fiction take — it’s amazing. I think I might read it again because I know I missed so many details because I was rushing through to make sure a character lived.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman. I could go on and on about the wonderfulness of this book. There are so many great reviews out that I don’t think my telling you to go and read it will matter much. If you love Gaiman, you’ll love this. What everyone has been saying about this one is true.

Right now, I’m reading Broken Harbor by Tana French. It’s her fourth book and I’m still impressed, even a mere 50 pages in.

I think I’ll do another wrap-up in the next few days because as it turns out, I read several more books I do want to talk about.

Tell me what you’ve been reading. Anything good?