The Sunday Salon

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This was a good reading week but not as good as I had hoped it would be. I finished three books and have been slowly making my way through a fourth. I was off all week using up some extra vacation time but, after having gotten a cold while visiting family, I didn’t get in as much reading as I thought I would. Instead, I spent hours sitting on the couch sniffling and watching marathons of Mythbusters and the Dog Whisperer since my brain was mush thanks to cold medicine.

I finally wrapped up Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I didn’t like it as much as The Great Gatsby but it was still good. I read The House on Tradd Street by Karen White which was really enjoyable and I think I’ll probably be reading her next book too. I also read Versailles by Kathryn Davis. It was an odd book — sort of setup as a mini memoir of Marie Antoinette but there were also these small vignettes with people entering stage right and left leaving you with part of a strange conversation as if it were something overheard at the palace. Somehow it all worked though. Finally, I’m reading The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien but I’m taking my time so not much progress but I’m enjoying it.

Since I didn’t do a December wrap-up I thought I’d do that here today. I read eight books total and posted reviews of four. For December 2009, here’s what I read:

The Devil’s Alphabet by Daryl Gregory

Star Trek: The Great Adventures, Book 1 by James Blish

Vagabond by Bernard Cornwell

Heretic by Bernard Cornwell

The Taker and the Keeper by Wim Coleman and Pat Perrin

Powers by John B. Olson – DNF

Into the Path of Gods by Kathleen Cunningham Guler

The House on Tradd Street by Karen White

I’m anxiously awaiting the delivery of my Nook and, now that it’s January, I’ll be checking the mail everyday for a package. I have a monstrous list of books to download for it and I can’t wait till it gets here.

I’ve got two book reviews to finish and two more to write, so that’s it for this week as I’ve got some writing to do.

Library Loot

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Finally, a LIBRARY LOOT! With the holidays and a crazy travel schedule, I decided to hold off on making any library trips until after the holidays since I knew I wouldn’t get a chance to read any of the books I brought home anyway. Yesterday, I made a trip and came home with a lot of good stuff. 🙂

Okay, so ignore the strange placement of book covers this morning.  Apparently, WordPress and I are having a difference of opinion on where and how my covers should be posted.  I don’t feel like fighting, so all are at the bottom of the page.  You win this round WordPress…

The House on Tradd Street by Karen White. I started this one on the train home yesterday and will finish it this morning.

Versailles by Kathryn Davis. I always enjoy reading about Marie Antoinette.

The Wild Hunt by Elizabeth Chadwick. I’ve been wanting to read The Greatest Knight but the library didn’t have it so I picked up this one.

Heart and Soul by Maeve Binchy. I haven’t read a Binchy novel in a few years and thought it would be a good way to start out the new year. Her books are so comforting for some reason.

Stonehenge by Bernard Cornwell. I think I might be subconsciously trying to read everything by Cornwell my library has…

The Black Tower by Louis Baynard. It’s a mystery, which I’m trying to read more of, and this one caught my eye.

Foxmask by Juliet Marillier. I was hoping to get Heart’s Blood but it was checked out. I picked up this one but it’s the second book in the Children of Light Isles series so it may go back unread since I don’t like to read books out of order in a series.

That’s it for this week. I have a few books on hold too so I’m hoping my next library run will be sooner rather than later.

The House on Tradd Street

Versailles

The Wild Hunt

Heart and Soul

Stonehenge

The Black Tower

Foxmask

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Eva and Marg that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries!

Booking Through Thursday – My Best Reads of 2009

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This week’s Booking Through Thursday asks — It’s the last day of the year, and you know what that means … nostalgia and looking back. What were your favorite books of the year? (Books that were new to you in 2009, if not necessarily published this year.).

BBT just so happened to be my post for today so this was an easy one this morning. 🙂

I took a look back at my list of books that I read this year and here are the best of the bunch. Some are old and some are new. I decided not to separate out any particular genre, so in the end, it’s just my list of what I read and liked this year in no particular order.

What I liked —

The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell – It was funny, slightly educational, and entertaining.

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell – This book sat on my shelf for years before I picked it up. It made me mad, made me cry, and made me laugh. I’m sorry I waited so long to read it.

Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates – This was a phenomenal book. You should read it.

Agincourt by Bernard Cornwell – This year was the year of Cornwell for me…I read a lot of his books this year. Agincourt was probably my favorite.

Breathers: A Zombie’s Lament by SG Browne – OK, I know, zombies…but it was really funny, like laugh out loud funny.

Rooftops of Tehran by Mahbod Seraji – I read, no devoured, this book in one sitting. It was just wonderful.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald – Again, another book I don’t know why I waited so long to read. It took me forever to finish because I kept going back to re-read passages.

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger – I think this was a love it or hate it book. I didn’t love it as much as The Time Traveler’s Wife but I still loved it.

The Heretic Queen by Michelle Moran – She has become one of my new favorite authors. I can’t wait for her next book.

An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon – What can I say, I have a soft spot in my heart for this series.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson – Jackson is just a wonderful writer. She pulls you in and you can’t put her books down until you’ve finished the last word.

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater – This is the first book of her’s that I’ve read but I will be looking for more in 2010.

What I didn’t Finish —

Memnoc the Devil by Anne Rice – I don’t know what it is but I can never finish an Anne Rice novel.

Drood by Dan Simmons – I liked The Terror but for some reason, couldn’t get into this one.

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett – I tried, I really did. I plan to pick this one up again in 2010.

Powers by John B. Olson – I didn’t like any of the characters. What can I say, it happens sometimes.

Well, that’s it for 2009. I’m starting my list anew for 2010 and wish you all the best for another year of great reading.

Happy New Year!

The Taker and the Keeper: The Red Monocle, Book 1

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The Taker and the Keeper

The Taker and the Keeper: The Red Monocle, Book 1

By Wim Coleman and Pat Perrin

Chiron Books

ISBN: 9781935178033

3.75 stars

Gregory Guest is a regular kid who happens to find a tunnel to another dimension.

At school, Gregory helped a teacher clean out a closet, and in a box full of junk, he found a small red monocle along with other glasses and assorted lenses. On his way home, he ventures into the woods to a small ravine that he likes to visit, and playing around with the lenses in the box, he finds the entrance to a tunnel. Not knowing anything about where he might be going, he enters the portal. Scared and worried by what he saw, he leaves and runs home wanting to be in the safety of his house.

The next day he feels as if the world has been turned upside-down. His happy family is now fighting for no reason, school was an embarrassing mess, and he feels alone. On his way home, he runs into his friend Yolanda, Yola for short, and not really knowing why, he shows her the monocle. She doesn’t have the same reaction but a pair of glasses he found in the box do show her the tunnel. Together they enter and find the world of King Arthur but a few things are not right about the story Yola knows so well. Suddenly, Gregory and Yola are off on an adventure to find Excalibur, the sword in the stone that will make Arthur king and bring the world back to normal.

This book is for children ages 8 and up. It’s a simple book and not much is explained except for the most rudimentary of things but for the target audience, it works. It’s a fast read, entertaining, and dare I say it, cute. The characters are likable and you want Gregory and Yola to succeed.

The story doesn’t have many scary scene but there are a few sad moments when Gregory remembers his mother who is suffering from a mental illness. It seems a bit heavy here but can be an ice breaker for talking to a child.

There are two more books planned in the Red Monocle series: The Death of a Good Wizard and The Invisible Foe.

This book was sent to me by The Cadence Group.

Teaser Tuesdays

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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. The idea is to give everyone a look inside the book you’re reading.

1.) Grab your current read

2.) Open to a random page

3.) Share two teaser sentences from that page

4.) Share the title and author so that other participants know what you’re reading.

Be careful not to include spoilers. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!

Since I’m reading two books this week, today is going to be a two for one special. My teasers this week —

“I am Gandalf,” said the wizard.

“Never heard of him,” growled the man, “And what’s this little fellow?” he said stooping down to frown at the hobbit with his bushy black eyebrows.

– The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, page 108

Perhaps the next gesture was his. Strange children should smile at each other and say, “Let’s play.”

– Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald, page 202

The Hobbit

Tender is the Night

One more challenge…

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I thought I was done with 2010 challenges, but the Medieval Bookworm is hosting one I can’t refuse — A Tournament of Reading! I’m signed up for the Lord level which is 6 books. I’ll have to start thinking about what I’m going to read this week. I’ll post my list and what I’ve read here which is where all my challenges live.

I read a lot of medieval books this year and found I like the time period so this is one I’m really looking forward to. I wouldn’t be surprised if I manage to hit the King level before the end of the year.

The Sunday Salon: On Monday

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After a car trip and a lot of unpacking, I just didn’t have it in me to do a post yesterday, so Monday it is.

We had a great holiday full of visiting family and, I have to admit, I didn’t read any books at all last week. I got in a few pages of Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald and the first chapter of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien but that was it.

I didn’t get any books for Christmas but I did get a lot of gift cards to buy books so I’m just as excited. I have a huge list waiting to go and will probably give in and order a few before the week is out.

For my birthday earlier this month, my husband bought me a Nook. 🙂 The way it’s looking right now, I’ll probably have it by Valentine’s Day.  😦 It says it will be shipping in January but I’m skeptical, what can I say, but I’m still very excited. I’m going to save at least one of the gift cards so I can buy a boatload of books for the Nook too.

I’m off all this week using up the last of my vacation days for the year and plan to make a trip to the library for some books too. I finished up all the books I had out a few weeks ago and decided that since I was busy with the holidays, I would just wait until this week to make a library run. I have my list ready and can’t wait to share the loot when I get my little hands on it. I haven’t done a library loot post in so long I feel as if I’m going into withdrawal.

I have two reviews to write up for this week along with a list of my favorite books of the year. For now, I’ll be retiring to the couch to lounge in my new, very fluffy and very comfy robe to spend some good quality time with a book.