From the category archives:

Reviews

Kobo eReader, and What I’ve Been eReading

August 30, 2010 Books and Reading

I was given a Kobo eReader for my birthday and yes, it’s definitely been keeping me busy!
I was able to move my library of ePubs bought from the Sony Reader Store onto my Kobo eReader – it was something I could have done before on my iPhone, by moving the ePubs to the Stanza app, [...]

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The Passage, by Justin Cronin

June 30, 2010 Books and Reading

I was hesitant about reading The Passage, by Justin Cronin; I loved the premise of the book (a secret government project to create super warriors ends up unleashing a deadly vampiric virus onto an unsuspecting world – I ask you, how could I resist?), but I was uncertain because of the dystopian nature of the [...]

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Reading The Lost Symbol, by Dan Brown

May 31, 2010 Books and Reading

I’ve been reading Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol.
I found the book extremely exciting; it’s definitely a real page turner.
I really enjoyed all the research, too. I was very tempted several times while reading to stop for a moment and go to the computer to Google some of the things that Brown talks about in the [...]

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A Parisian Holiday: French Milk, by Lucy Knisley

December 14, 2009 Books and Reading

I moved on from reading Eye of the Crow to something completely different: French Milk, by Lucy Knisley is a memoir, written in graphic novel format, of a month-long holiday the author took with her mother in Paris, France.
I came across this novel when I was reading around the blogosphere (when I do this kind [...]

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The Boy Sherlock Holmes: Eye of the Crow, by Shane Peacock

December 11, 2009 Books and Reading

Despite appearances, I’ve actually had some time to read lately. Maybe “had some time to read” isn’t totally accurate – it’s been more like “squeezed some time to read” but regardless, it’s the end result that counts, right?
And I’ve been lucky, because everything I’ve picked up to read recently has turned out to be a [...]

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The Likeness, by Tana French

November 17, 2009 Books and Reading

In The Likeness, by Tana French, we meet up with Cassie Maddox again, this time without her former police partner Rob Ryan by her side.
The body of a murder victim has been discovered in the ruins of an old cottage in a village outside Dublin. Not only is the woman Cassie’s virtual twin but the [...]

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Review: Flotsam, by David Wiesner

October 27, 2009 Books and Reading

I wish that I had known more about Flotsam, by David Wiesner, before I read it for the first time two weeks ago to Dylan, my six-year-old, at bedtime.
I might have done things a little differently.
For one thing, I would have had my husband standing by, camera in hand, ready to take pictures of Dylan’s [...]

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The “Mom, I Don’t Like To Read” Quest (and a Mini Review of Leviathan, by Scott Westerfeld)

October 16, 2009 Books and Reading

It’s really quite a strange thing.
My older son (who, by the way, would be cranky if he knew I was blogging about him, so please keep this under your hats) has always insisted that he’s not a reader.
“Mom, I don’t like to read” is a recurring refrain around here. We’ve all been hearing some variation [...]

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Chris Grabenstein and the John Ceepak Novels

October 10, 2009 Books and Reading

Okay, I’m having a real fangirl moment here. Seriously.
I just stumbled on Part 1 and Part 2 of an interview with author Chris Grabenstein at M.J. Rose’s Buzz, Balls & Hype, as part of Gregory Huffstutter’s The Ad Man Answers feature.
Thanks to Beth Fish Reads, my biggest reading “find” of the year so far has [...]

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The Brutal Telling, by Louise Penny

October 2, 2009 Books and Reading

In Louise Penny’s fifth Chief Inspector Gamache book, The Brutal Telling, the village of Three Pines is once again witness to murder. And perhaps “witness” is too light a word, because the body of the victim is found on the floor of the bistro owned by Olivier and Gabri, the bistro that is very much [...]

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Review: A Date You Can’t Refuse, by Harley Jane Kozak

September 30, 2009 Books and Reading

In A Date You Can’t Refuse, by Harley Jane Kozak, greeting-card artist Wollie Shelley is made an offer she can’t refuse: the FBI wants her to be a cooperative witness and infiltrate the offices of MediaRex, as MediaRex’s newest “social coach”. In return, the FBI will ensure that Wollie’s brother, who suffers from schizophrenia, will [...]

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Harry Potter in Audio: Books 1 and 2

September 21, 2009 Books and Reading

For the Harry Potter Reading Challenge, I decided to re-read the Harry Potter series in audiobook format.
I’d just like to pat myself on the back now, and say, “Good decision, Belle”.
I’ve always had a sort of strange envy for people who decided to start reading the Harry Potter books after book seven was [...]

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Review: The Guinea Pig Diaries, by A.J. Jacobs

September 10, 2009 Books and Reading

Excerpt from the book jacket:
In his role as human guinea pig, Jacobs fearlessly takes on a series of life-altering challenges that provides readers with equal parts insight and humor. (And which drives A.J.’s patient wife, Julie, to the brink of insanity.)
I loved The Guinea Pig Diaries, by A.J. Jacobs. It came into my life just [...]

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Review: Being Nikki, by Meg Cabot

September 7, 2009 Books and Reading

From the jacket flap:
Things aren’t pretty for Emerson Watts.
Em was sure there couldn’t be anything worse than being a brainiac the body of a teenaged supermodel.
But it turned out she was wrong. Because that supermodel could turn out to have a mother who’s gone mysteriously missing, a brother who’s shown up on her doorstep demanding [...]

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Review: The City and The City, by China Miéville

August 24, 2009 Books and Reading

In the European city of Beszel, the body of a murdered woman is found; Inspector Tyador Borlú is assigned the case, but further investigation leads him to believe that the murder is not as routine as it looks at first glance: the woman appears to have connections with the city of Ul Qoma.
This complicates [...]

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Review: In the Woods, by Tana French

August 13, 2009 Books and Reading

In 1984, three children walked into the woods surrounding the suburban estate they lived in; when they failed to come home, police and community came together to search for them. One of the children was found, standing paralyzed against a tree, wearing shoes that had been filled with blood. The boy is catatonic and when [...]

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Review: In Odd We Trust, by Dean Koontz and Queenie Chan

August 11, 2009 Books and Reading

Odd Thomas is a regular nineteen-year-old with an unusual gift: the ability to see the lingering spirits of the dead. To Odd, it’s not such a big deal. And most folks in sleepy Pico Mundo, California, are much more interested in the irresistible pancakes Odd whips up at the local diner. Still, communing with the [...]

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Review: Holly’s Inbox, by Holly Denham (Bill Surie)

August 10, 2009 Books and Reading

At the start of Holly’s Inbox, by Holly Denham (the pen name of Bill Surie), Holly Denham starts her first day as a receptionist at a busy corporate bank. From here the reader is taken into her email inbox as she emails several different people throughout the course of her work day. The reader gets [...]

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So, Where Did I Get The Last 20 Books I Reviewed?

August 3, 2009 Books and Reading

I wasn’t going to blog about this, because out of all the book and lit blogs I follow in my feedreader, I’ve never thought any of them reviewed a book more positively simply because it was an ARC or a review copy.
Let’s Do Some Math
Honestly, the amount of time it takes to read a book, [...]

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Review: The Mysterious Mr. Quin, by Agatha Christie

August 3, 2009 Books and Reading

The Mysterious Mr. Quin, by Agatha Christie
A conjurer of skill with an instinct for detection, Mr. Harley Quin has an almost magical flair for appearing at the scene of the most remarkable crimes. But is it just a trick of light that haunts his shadow with a ghostly apparition? Is it fate that invites [...]

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Review: Tilt-a-Whirl, by Chris Grabenstein

July 29, 2009 Books and Reading

Danny Boyle is a 24-year-old part-time cop in the summer resort town of Sea Haven. His partner is John Ceepak, a former military police officer just back from Iraq who is also new to the Sea Haven police department. This summer, though, things are heating up in the usually quiet tourist town: Reggie Hart, a [...]

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Review: The Strain, by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan

July 28, 2009 Books and Reading

A Boeing 777 packed full of passengers lands at JFK and begins its way across the tarmac when it suddenly stops dead – the engine’s turned off, all window shades are down, all the lights are off, and no-one on board is communicating with the outside world, not even passengers screaming about delays through their [...]

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Review: Finger Lickin’ Fifteen, by Janet Evanovich

July 21, 2009 Reviews

In Janet Evanovich’s Finger Lickin’ Fifteen, Stephanie Plum’s good friend Lulu has just witnessed a murder – and the murderers have witnessed her witnessing the murder. The murder victim turns out to be a Food Channel celebrity chef, and despite Lulu’s eyewitness account, the murderers are still on the loose … and coming after Lulu, [...]

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Review: L.A. Candy, by Lauren Conrad

July 17, 2009 Books and Reading

Jane Roberts and Scarlett Harp, best friends since grade school, are rooming together in L.A.; Jane is an intern for the famous and infamous event planner, Fiona Chen, and Scarlett’s starting her first semester at USC. While at a local nightclub hotspot, they’re spotted by reality TV producer Trevor Lord, who signs them up to [...]

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Flash Review: Little Skink’s Tail, by Janet Halfmann

June 13, 2009 Books and Reading

Little Skink’s Tail, by Janet Halfmann
While Little Skink hunts yummy ants for breakfast, she is suddenly attacked by a crow! But she has a trick to escape she snaps off her tail, and it keeps on wiggling! Little Skink is happy to be alive, but she misses her bright blue tail. Little Skink’s Tail follows [...]

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Flash Review: Jinx, by Meg Cabot

June 12, 2009 Books and Reading

Jinx, by Meg Cabot

The only thing Jean Honeychurch hates more than her boring name (not Jean Marie, or Jeanette, just . . . Jean) is her all-too-appropriate nickname, Jinx. Misfortune seems to follow her everywhere she goes—which is why she’s thrilled to be moving in with her aunt and uncle in New York City. Maybe [...]

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Flash Reviews: The Agatha Christie Audiobook Edition, Part 1

June 11, 2009 Books and Reading

Flash Reviews: Quick reviews of the Agatha Christie audiobooks One, Two, Buckle My Shoe, A Pocket Full of Rye and Murder is Easy.

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Review: Write Away, by Elizabeth George

June 3, 2009 Books and Reading

In Write Away, mystery novelist Elizabeth George writes about her “approach to fiction and the writing life”. I am always on the lookout for books about writing written by authors I know and love, and this is one of my favorites.
I am a big fan of George’s Inspector Lynley novels; I’ve read all of them [...]

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Review: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, by Alan Bradley

May 27, 2009 Books and Reading

Eleven-year-old Flavia de Luce has a flair for chemistry and a love of poisons. When she’s not busy concocting weird and wonderful substances in her laboratory, she’s engaging in guerilla-style battles of the wit with her two older sisters. One day, shortly after she sees a stranger in an argument with her father, Colonel de [...]

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Review: Kissed a Sad Goodbye, by Deborah Crombie

May 22, 2009 Books and Reading

The body of a very beautiful young woman has been found in an East London park. She looks peaceful, like she might be sleeping. But death has, indeed, come for her, and Detective Superintendent Duncan Kincaid and Sergeant Gemma James set out to discover the woman’s identity, and who hated her enough to kill her. [...]

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