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"Returning novella contributors Robb, Blayney, McComas, and Ryan (The Unquiet) are joined by newcomer Fox in this interesting collection of fairy-tale–inspired stories of romance and intrigue.
Robb's Eve Dallas must track down a pair of missing twins in a Hansel and Gretel police procedural, TAKEN IN DEATH.
Blayney's wish-granting coin entwines a pair of lonely adventure seekers in romance beyond their lives as a servant and a sergeant in her charming 1816 fantasy, IF WISHES WERE HORSES, which gives a nod to Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
Fox introduces a charming ghostly television reporter to the woman who buys his haunted house in BEAUTY, SLEEPING, a clever, turned-on-its-head version of Sleeping Beauty.
McComas's phenomenal modern retelling of The Little Match Girl gives a too-generous activist and the cop who thinks he's too old for her a chance at love in THE CHRISTMAS COMET.
In Ryan's Cinderella tale, STROKE OF MIDNIGHT, a teacher travels to her father's hometown in Ireland, falls in love, and nearly lets her wicked stepmother ruin everything before an improbable conclusion. "
Each story was more interesting than the last...I don't think I've ever enjoyed a short story/novella collection more than this one.
Bossypants -- "Before Liz Lemon, before "Weekend Update," before "Sarah Palin," Tina Fey was just a young girl with a dream: a recurring stress dream that she was being chased through a local airport by her middle-school gym teacher. She also had a dream that one day she would be a comedian on TV.
She has seen both these dreams come true.
At last, Tina Fey's story can be told. From her youthful days as a vicious nerd to her tour of duty on Saturday Night Live; from her passionately halfhearted pursuit of physical beauty to her life as a mother eating things off the floor; from her one-sided college romance to her nearly fatal honeymoon -- from the beginning of this paragraph to this final sentence.
Tina Fey reveals all, and proves what we've all suspected: you're no one until someone calls you bossy." -- from www.barnesandnoble.com
I loved this book...every minute of it was hilarious and well-written. Definitely recommend.
Bossypants -- Started: Feb. 28, 2013 Finished: Feb. 28, 2013
25 Book Challenge 2013 Book #18
Dragon Harper -- "Nearly 500 years have passed since humans landed on Pern, and, according to their records, another fall of deadly Thread, a lethal rain of spores from space, is only a few years away. As young Kindan struggles with his studies at Harper Hall and sets his sights on becoming harper to the dragonriders of Benden Weyr, he and his friends become aware of a mysterious and usually fatal plague infecting the holds of Pern. Despite their own vulnerability, the apprentice harpers and healers battle against time to find a cure before the sickness spreads to the dragonriders." -- from www.barnesandnoble.com
I liked this book...not as enjoyable as some of the Pern books that Anne wrote by herself, but still good...although, if Todd keeps going with some of his storylines every person and dragon on Pern will be wiped out...the man is a little too fascinated with plagues and disasters
Dragon Harper -- Started: Oct. 5, 2010 Finished: Oct. 7, 2010
25 Book Challenge 2010 Book #70
Borgia Bride -- "Vivacious Sancha of Aragon arrives in Rome newly wed to a member of the notorious Borgia dynasty. Surrounded by the city's opulence and political corruption, she befriends her glamorous and deceitful sister-in-law, Lucrezia, whose jealousy is as legendary as her beauty. Some say Lucrezia has poisoned her rivals, particularly those to whom her handsome brother, Cesare, has given his heart. So when Sancha falls under Cesare's irresistible spell, she must hide her secret or lose her life. Caught in the Borgias' sinister web, she summons her courage and uses her cunning to outwit them at their own game." -- from www.barnesandnoble.com
Not Kalogridis' best book, but pretty good. An interesting take on the Borgias from the viewpoint of Sancha of Aragon. Not tremendously historically accurate when detailing the Borgia family relationships -- a number of the more salacious rumors about the family have been disproved by historians over the years.
The Borgia Bride -- Started: Aug. 31, 2013 Finished: Sep. 9, 2013
25 Book Challenge 2013 Book #78
Shell Game -- "As the five Kingdom Keepers enter high school, everything is about to change. The Maintenance Base that controls all four parks in Disney World is under attack by the Overtakers, a group determined to change Disneyforever. Relationships between the Keepers are no longer as simple as they once were. In fact, nothing is as simple as it once was.
An after-hours visit to Typhoon Lagoon is a game changer. The Keepers lose one of their most valuable supporters. But there's work to do . . .
The Disney Dream leaves Port Canaveral on an historic cruise to Los Angeles with a special treat in store for guests: the Disney Host Interactive guides are on board. Finn, Maybeck, Charlene, Willa, and Philby join guests as the DHI experience moves to one of the most advanced cruise ships in the world.
But all is not right below decks. Strange things are happening. Only the Kingdom Keepers know the truth behind their invitation to be in attendance: nearly every Disney villain is aboard the ship, including Maleficent. The Overtakers have infiltrated the cast and crew. And no oneknows what they have planned." -- from www.amazon.com
This was a fun book, enjoyable to read...a nice addition to the series...looking forward to the next book in the series.
Kingdom Keepers V: Shell Game -- Started: Apr. 25, 2012 Finished: May 26, 2012
25 Book Challenge 2012 Book #32
"Everyone in Painters Mill knows the abandoned Hochstetler farm is haunted. But only a handful of the residents remember the terrible secrets lost in the muted/hushed whispers of time—and now death is stalking them, seemingly from the grave. On a late-night shift, Chief of Police Kate Burkholder is called to the scene of an apparent suicide—an old man found hanging from the rafters in his dilapidated barn. But evidence quickly points to murder and Kate finds herself chasing a singularly difficult and elusive trail of evidence that somehow points back to the tragedy of that long ago incident. Meanwhile, Kate has moved in with state agent John Tomasetti and for the first time in so long, they're both happy; a bliss quickly shattered when one of the men responsible for the murders of Tomasetti’s family four years ago is found not guilty, and walks away a free man. Will Tomasetti be pulled back to his own haunted past? When a second man is found dead—also seemingly by his own hand—Kate discovers a link in the case that sends the investigation in a direction no one could imagine and revealing the horrifying truth of what really happened that terrible night thirty-five years ago, when an Amish father and his four children perished—and his young wife disappeared without a trace. And, as Kate knows—the past never truly dies . . ."
Another great thriller in this series from Linda Castillo...she really knows how to tie the plot and characters into the culture and setting of the novel.
Sky Dragons -- "with all of Pern imperiled by the aftereffects of a plague that killed scores of dragons and left the planet helpless against the fall of deadly Thread, the only hope for the future lies in the past.
There, on an unexplored island, a group of dragonriders led by Xhinna, a brave young woman who rides the blue dragon Tazith, must battle lethal Merows and voracious tunnel-snakes to build a safe home for themselves and the dragons, whose offspring will one day—if they survive—replenish Pern’s decimated dragon population. But as the first female rider of a blue dragon, and the first female Weyrleader in the history of Pern, Xhinna faces an uphill battle in winning the respect and loyalty of her peers . . . especially after an unforeseen tragedy leaves the struggling colony reeling from a shattering loss.
Amid the grieving, one girl, Jirana, blessed—or cursed—with the ability to foresee potential futures, will help Xhinna find a way forward. The answer lies in time . . . or, rather, in timing it: the awesome ability of the dragons to travel through time itself. But that power comes with risks, and by venturing further into the past, Xhinna may be jeopardizing the very future she has sworn to save." -- from www.amazon.com
An okay book...these books have gotten kind of boring and formulaic. Every plot is similar to the last, the characters all sound and act alike, etc.
Sky Dragons -- Started: July 19, 2012 Finished: July 23, 2012
25 Book challenge 2012 Book #49
Atlantis God -- "A lost Nazi bunker in a forest in Germany contains a dreadful secret. But is there a horrifying new dimension to the Nazis’ rule of terror? When Jack Howard, head of the International Maritime University, and his team of adventurers return to the lost island of Atlantis in the Black Sea, they realize they’re not just on the trail of the most sought-after treasures in history but are about to uncover a surprising link between Atlantis and the 1930s expeditions of
Himmler’s Ahnenerbe, the Nazis’ Department of Cultural Heritage. But unbeknownst to Jack, shadowy figures from his past are joining forces—and they have their own ghastly vision for a
new Atlantis. Can he stop them before it’s too late?" -- fromwww.amazon.com
A decent book...a little long-winded at times and definitely not worth reading if you haven't reading at least 2 of his previous books.
Atlantis God -- Started: June 27, 2012 Finished: July 7, 2012
25 Book Challenge 2012 Book #45
Her Fearful Symmetry -- "The novel opens with the death of Elspeth Noblin, who bequeaths her London flat and its contents to the twin daughters of her estranged twin sister back in Chicago. These 20-year-old dilettantes, Julie and Valentina, move to London, eager to try on a new experience like one of their obsessively matched outfits. Historic Highgate Cemetery, which borders Elspeth's home, serves as an inspired setting as the twins become entwined in the lives of their neighbors: Elspeth's former lover, Robert; Martin, an agoraphobic crossword-puzzle creator; and the ethereal Elspeth herself, struggling to adjust to the afterlife." -- from www.amazon.com
I really liked this book and I thought it was a good follow up to Time Traveler's Wife...The only problem I had was with the explanation as to why Edie and Elspeth were estranged...I thought the story there could have been more interesting and better developed..other than that, I definitely recommend this book.
Her Fearful Symmetry -- Started: Nov. 30, 2009 Finished: Dec. 1, 2009
25 Book Challenge 2009 Book #64
Kleopatra -- "Cleopatra, or Kleopatra as her name is spelled in Greek, inherited little from her father, Ptolemy XII, other than his Macedonian profile and the throne of Egypt. Where he was obese, indolent, and self-indulgent, the young queen was cunning, ambitious, and ruthless. Ptolemy, through gross mismanagement and a series of disastrous financial alliances with Rome, had alienated the Egyptian people to the point of rebellion. After his death, Kleopatra was exiled by her brother/husband and his cabinet...The Greek-speaking Ptolemy pharaohs neither knew nor cared about the customs of Egypt, but Kleopatra learned the Egyptian language, something no Ptolemy had done before. In return, the Egyptians gave her their support in her struggle to wrest the throne from her brother." -- from www.amazon.com
This was a very good book...it dragged a little like some of Karen Essex's other novels but otherwise a good read.
Kleopatra -- Started: Feb. 13, 2011 Finished: Feb. 22, 2011
25 Book Challenge 2011 Book #16
Dark Passage -- "The five Kingdom Keepers and their core friends have uncovered a startling truth: Maleficent and the Overtakers (Disney villains) are plotting a catastrophic event that could have repercussions far beyond the world of Disney.
Aboard the Disney Cruise Line’s inaugural passage through the new Panama Canal, the Keepers and their holograms uncover a puzzle hidden within the pages of a stolen journal. The point of that puzzle will reveal itself in the caves of Aruba, the zip lines of Costa Rica, and the jungles of Mexico. A destructive force, dormant for decades, is about to be unleashed. The five Kingdom Keepers are to be its first victims." -- from www.goodreads.com
Kingdom Keepers VI: Dark Passage -- Started: May 28, 2013 Finished: June 4, 2013
A good book...similar plot and writing as the rest of the books in the series. A bit of a sad twist near the end.
25 Book Challenge 2013 Book #38
Ludwig Conspiracy -- "Ludwig II, the Fairy-tale King of Bavaria, is today remembered for his beautiful castles—popular tourist destinations that inspired the Disney Castle, but whose origins were much more fantastical than anything Disney could dream up. Also known as the Mad King, Ludwig was deposed in 1886 after being declared insane by doctors who had never met him. He promptly died—mysteriously drowned in waist-deep water—his eccentric castles his only legacy...An encoded diary by one of Ludwig’s confidants falls into the hands of modern-day rare book dealer Steven Lukas, who soon realizes that the diary may bring him more misery than money. Others want the diary as well—and they will kill to get it. Lukas teams up with a beautiful art detective, Sara Lengfeld, to investigate each of Ludwig’s three famous castles for clues to crack the diary’s code as mysterious thugs and Ludwig’s fanatical followers chase them at every step. Just what in the diary could be so explosive?" -- from www.amazon.com
An okay thriller, some good moments and an interesting premise, but nothing spectacular.
The Ludwig Conspiracy -- Started: Nov. 10, 2013 Finished: Nov. 17, 2013
25 Book Challenge 2013 Book #93
Tyrannosaur Canyon -- "...innocent bystander Tom Broadbent is riding his horse through a New Mexico canyon when he comes upon prospector Stem Weathers, who's just been shot. Before Weather dies, he gives Tom a notebook filled with mysterious numbers, asking him to pass it on to his daughter. Taking this assignment to heart, Tom puts himself and his wife at ever greater, more pointless risk as he tries to deliver the notebook. Soon the Broadbents find themselves the target of the prospector's assassin—a jailbird hired by an evil British paleontologist seeking the perfectly preserved remains of a Tyrannosaurus rex—as well as a rogue government operative who's trying, with a commandeered army squad, to kill almost everyone in the book." -- from www.amazon.com
This was a pretty decent book but not as good as I thought it was going to be. The big twist wasn't as big I thought it was going to be and the end of the novel was a little weak. This book was a (sort of) sequel to Douglas Preston's book "The Codex" and I would actually recommend that book over this one.
*The photos used in this book pic are from my trip to Northern New Mexico in 2004 -- very close to the setting of the book. The top photo is a canyon view and the bottom photo is a fossilized inverted T-Rex footprint :)
Tyrannosaur Canyon -- Started: Aug. 9, 2009 Finished: Aug. 11, 2009
25 Book Challenge 2009 Book #41
"The Muse of Fire schleps the Shakespearean troupe the Earth’s Men to the many planets inhabited by the slaves called arbeiters and doles, who, like the actors, are human. The players are slaves, too, really, like all humans since, thousands of years ago, the Archons found earth and erased its culture, except for Shakespeare. After a particularly good Macbeth, attended by some Archons and their dragomen (interpreters), one of the latter comes to the company and orders them to play for an all-Archon audience on another world. After that he orders them to yet another to play before the Demiurgos, who control the Archons, and after that to another to perform for Abraxas, the incarnate god. The actors thereby climb the ladder of a universal order humans have been made to believe is divine. They suspect they’re being tested. They are, as proxies for all humanity—and more." -- from www.amazon.com
This was an okay novella...It had a really good beginning and a nice ending, just not much in between to flesh out the story. I liked Dan Simmons' "Illium" and "Olympos" and I would definitely recommend those two over "Muse of Fire".
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"An oral and visual history of the only blizzard in American history declared a national disaster by President Jimmy Carter in 1977."
"Friday January 28, 1977. Where were you on that day? What happened? That is the essence of this book. Lives, property and spirits were devasted for some survivors. For others, there was an exhilaration of having met and survived a unique natural disaster. Beginning on Friday January 28, 1977 and often running into the next week, the experience of survivors is captured. If there are lessons to be learned from the survival of others, here is your chance. It could happen again. It could happen to you. Beware of snowflakes!" -- from www.amazon.com
I actually bought this book for my dad years ago and finally got around to borrowing it from him to read for myself :) I grew up in Buffalo, NY but I wasn't alive for the Blizzard of '77 (I came along a little over two and a half years later). My parents and brothers have always shared their stories not to mention the pictures that my dad took of the storm. This book is very funny and sometimes tragic and a great read.
Muse of Fire -- Started: Apr. 13, 2009 Finished: Apr. 14, 2009
White Death -- Started: Apr. 14, 2009 Finished: Apr. 19, 2009
25 Book Challenge 2009 Books #21 & #22
MECC students get pumped before sliming Principal Mike Zimmermann, Assistant Principal Jim Nichols, and PE teachers Jay Johnston and Bart Stevens to celebrate the building's outstanding Reading Challenge results. Photo provided
Ice Land -- "Warned by the Fates of an impending disaster, Freya embarks on a dangerous journey deep into the mountains to find a magnificent gold necklace said to have the power to alter the course of history. Meanwhile, the country is on the brink of war as the new world order of Christianity threatens the old ways of Iceland's people, and tangled amid it all are two star-crossed lovers whose destiny draws them together -- even as their families are determined to tear them apart." (taken from the back cover of the book)
This was a good book. At first the two plotlines in the story didn't seem to fit together but at about the midway point of the book, the plots came together and everything moved very quickly from then on. I got to the end and wished there was more to the story :) She used a number of Norse myths in the story -- some of which I knew and some I didn't...thinking I need to study up on Norse myths now in case she writes another novel like this one :)
Ice Land -- Started: Oct. 23, 2009 Finished: Oct. 27, 2009
25 Book Challenge 2009 Book #56
Buffalo Unbound -- "Writing about the economic collapse and social unrest of her 1970s childhood in Buffalo, New York, Laura Pedersen was struck by how things were finally improving in her beloved hometown. As 2008 began, Buffalo was poised to become the thriving metropolis it had been a hundred years earlier—only instead of grain and steel, the booming industries now included health care and banking, education and technology. Folks who'd moved away due to lack of opportunity in the 1980s talked excitedly about returning home. They missed the small-town friendliness, and it wasn't nostalgia for a past that no longer existed—Buffalo has long held the well-deserved nickname the City of Good Neighbors. The diaspora has ended. Preservationists are winning out over demolition crews. The lights are back on in a city that's usually associated with blizzards and blight rather than its treasure trove of art, architecture, and culture. Buffalo Unbound is a humorous and heartfelt look at the rise, fall, and rebirth of the great Rust Belt city." -- from www.amazon.com
I loved this book...it was funny and interesting and I enjoyed every minute of it...looking forward to reading her other Buffalo memoir :)
Buffalo Unbound -- Started: Feb. 1, 2011 Finished: Feb. 5, 2011
25 Book Challenge 2011 Book #12
Downtown: My Manhattan -- "...This is a look at the calamities—and the successes—that have struck downtown Manhattan since the time of the first explorers from the Old World. Hamill's Manhattan is filled with history, architecture and giant personalities. Readers will be thrust into the Civil War riots in Greenwich Village in 1863 and will rejoice in a Times Square filled with delirious New Yorkers on VJ Day in 1945. They will watch the city grow as the subway crawls northward and the big skyscrapers begin to pop up, from the Woolworth Building in 1913 to the World Trade Center in the 1970s. The city's rogues and heroes are portrayed in action—from Aaron Burr and John Jacob Astor to Stanford White, Walter Winchell and a visiting Oscar Wilde. This is a companion piece to Forever, Hamill's novel of New York, and The Drinking Life, which explored the city through the alcohol-fueled eyes of the young Hamill." -- from www.amazon.com
I loved Pete Hamill's novel "Forever" so when I spotted this book on the library shelf, I thought I would try it. It's very good so far...it doesn't read like a history book but just like listening to someone chat about their childhood hometown memories. My only (tiny) problem with the book is that he jumps around a lot -- from place to place, from decade to decade. Other than that, it's a really good book.
Downtown: My Manhattan -- Started: July 28, 2009 Finished: Aug. 9, 2009
25 Book Challenge 2009 Book #40
Unholy Night -- "They're an iconic part of history's most celebrated birth. But what do we really know about the Three Kings of the Nativity, besides the fact that they followed a star to Bethlehem bearing strange gifts? The Bible has little to say about this enigmatic trio. But leave it to Seth Grahame-Smith, the brilliant and twisted mind behind Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies to take a little mystery, bend a little history, and weave an epic tale.
In Grahame-Smith's telling, the so-called "Three Wise Men" are infamous thieves, led by the dark, murderous Balthazar. After a daring escape from Herod's prison, they stumble upon the famous manger and its newborn king. The last thing Balthazar needs is to be slowed down by young Joseph, Mary and their infant. But when Herod's men begin to slaughter the first born in Judea, he has no choice but to help them escape to Egypt.
It's the beginning of an adventure that will see them fight the last magical creatures of the Old Testament; cross paths with biblical figures like Pontius Pilate and John the Baptist; and finally deliver them to Egypt. It may just be the greatest story never told" -- from www.amazon.com
I loved this book...it's got a great premise, well developed plot and characters...I enjoyed every minute of it.
Unholy Night -- Started: Oct. 6, 2012 Finished: Oct. 14, 2012
25 Book Challenge 2012 Book #66
Mason Intermediate sixth grade teacher Holly Popplewell participates in her team's flash mob to kick off the Mason Schools Foundation Reading Challenge.
Photo provided
Fierce Radiance -- "Through the story of divorced 36-year-old Life photojournalist Claire Shiply, Belfer blends fact and fiction to describe the development of penicillin as a weapon of war in the 1940s. Seeing an early trial of the green-mold medicine—in which a dying man is miraculously cured of his infection, then dies when the medication runs out—Shiply is drawn to the story because of the earlier death of her young daughter from septicemia. She is drawn, too, to head researcher Dr. James Stanton, who is soon tapped to be national scientific coordinator to provide penicillin to treat battlefield infections. While Stanton travels to war zones, Claire is asked by government officials to watch for pharmaceutical companies neglecting production of unpatented penicillin to develop “cousin” antibacterials, even after her wealthy father has taken over one of the companies involved." -- from www.amazon.com
I liked this book although not as much as her first novel. It was well written but the plot lagged a little and the murder mystery wasn't that much of a mystery. I recognized a number of the character personalities as very similar to characters in her novel "City of Light"...all in all, a good book but not one that I'll probably be reading again.
A Fierce Radiance -- Started: Sept. 22, 2010 Finished: Sept. 25, 2010
25 Book Challenge 2010 Book #68
Magic Circle -- "Nuclear scientist Ariel Behn's beloved cousin, Sam, is murdered, and Ariel learns that she is heir to a cache of manuscripts that may unlock the secrets not only of the past but also of the coming millennium. This promising premise allows the action to move back and forth in time and place, jumping from first-century Rome and the Holy Land up to the late 1980s and on to the contemporary world." -- from www.amazon.com
This was a pretty good book...plot and character relationships a little hard to follow at times, but otherwise enjoyable. If you liked "The Eight" and/or "The Fire", then you'll like this book.
The Magic Circle -- Started: Feb. 14, 2011 Finished: Feb. 17, 2011
25 Book Challenge 2011 Book #17
"Eighteenth Dynasty Egypt is peaceful and prosperous under the dual rule of the Pharaohs Amenhotep III and IV, until the younger Pharaoh begins to dream new and terrifying dreams. Ptah-hotep, a young peasant boy studying to be a scribe, wants to live a simple life in a Nile hut with his lover Kheperren and their dog Wolf. But Amenhotep IV appoints him as Great Royal Scribe. Surrounded by bitterly envious rivals and enemies, how long will Ptah-hotep survive? The child-princess Mutnodjme sees her beautiful sister Nefertiti married off to the impotent young Amenhotep. But Nefertiti must bear royal children, so the ladies of the court devise a shocking plan. Kheperren, meanwhile, serves as scribe to the daring teenage General Horemheb. But while the Pharaoh’s shrinking army guards the Land of the Nile from enemies on every border, a far greater menace impends. For, not content with his own devotion to one god alone, the newly-renamedAkhnaten plans to suppress the worship of all other gods in the Black Land. His horrified court soon realise that the Pharaoh is not merely deformed, but irretrievably mad; and that the biggest danger to the Empire is in the royal palace itself."
A really good book that makes me wish that Kerry Greenwood would write more historical fiction. Very well researched and plotted.
Hastur Lord -- "The world of Darkover, a unique, isolated, and protected world, has long avoided becoming part of the technologically advanced Terran Empire. But things are about to change. Regis Hastur, lord of the most powerful of the seven Domains in Darkover, learns that the Empire is about to become a Federation, and is extending an invitation for all of the worlds to join. While the offer seems tempting to his people, Regis knows that Darkover would become little more than a military base, used for its unique planetary position, and will be sapped of its resources. He must now stop at nothing to save his world." -- from www.amazon.com
I really liked this book...it seemed to fit more into the Darkover series better than the last book released -- "The Alton Gift" -- did. I really think that had something to do with the fact that this story came from a manuscript started by MZB before she died whereas "The Alton Gift" was more of Deborah J. Ross than MZB and they have fairly different literary voices.
Hastur Lord -- Started: Jan. 12, 2010 Finished: Jan. 15, 2010
25 Book Challenge 2010 Book #6
Julie & Julia -- "Powell became an Internet celebrity with her 2004 blog chronicling her yearlong odyssey of cooking every recipe in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. A frustrated secretary in New York City, Powell embarked on "the Julie/Julia project" to find a sense of direction, and both the cooking and the writing quickly became all-consuming. Some passages in the book are taken verbatim from the blog, but Powell expands on her experience and gives generous background about her personal life: her doting husband, wacky friends, evil co-workers. She also includes some comments from her "bleaders" (blog readers), who formed an enthusiastic support base."
-- from www.amazon.com
I loved the movie when I saw it last year and the book is just as good. It's very funny and interesting and a nice change from some of the more serious stuff I've been reading lately.
Julie & Julia -- Started: Feb. 7, 2010 Finished: Feb. 8, 2010
25 Book Challenge 2010 Book #13
Dance With Dragons -- "In the aftermath of a colossal battle, the future of the Seven Kingdoms hangs in the balance once again--beset by newly emerging threats from every direction. In the east, Daenerys Targaryen, the last scion of House Targaryen, rules with her three dragons as queen of a city built on dust and death. But Daenerys has three times three thousand enemies, and many have set out to find her. Yet, as they gather, one young man embarks upon his own quest for the queen, with an entirely different goal in mind.
To the north lies the mammoth Wall of ice and stone--a structure only as strong as those guarding it. There, Jon Snow, 998th Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, will face his greatest challenge yet. For he has powerful foes not only within the Watch but also beyond, in the land of the creatures of ice.
And from all corners, bitter conflicts soon reignite, intimate betrayals are perpetrated, and a grand cast of outlaws and priests, soldiers and skinchangers, nobles and slaves, will face seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Some will fail, others will grow in the strength of darkness. But in a time of rising restlessness, the tides of destiny and politics will lead inevitably to the greatest dance of all. . . ." -- from www.amazon.com
Long and, at times, difficult to keep track of what was going on...but some interesting plot reveals and a nice cliffhanger leaving me waiting eagerly for the next book in the series.
A Dance With Dragons -- Started: Aug. 9, 2012 Finished: Sept. 1, 2012
25 Book challenge 2012 Book #55
Boleyn Deceit -- "The regency period is over and William Tudor, now King Henry IX, sits alone on the throne. But England must still contend with those who doubt his legitimacy, both in faraway lands and within his own family. To diffuse tensions and appease the Catholics, William is betrothed to a young princess from France, but still he has eyes for only his childhood friend Minuette, and court tongues are wagging.
Even more scandalous—and dangerous, if discovered—is that Minuette’s heart and soul belong to Dominic, William’s best friend and trusted advisor. Minuette must walk a delicate balance between her two suitors, unable to confide in anyone, not even her friend Elizabeth, William’s sister, who must contend with her own cleaved heart. In this irresistible tale, the secrets that everyone keeps are enough to change the course of an empire." -- from www.barnesandnoble.com
As good as the first, although the book dragged a little places.
The Boleyn Deceit -- Started: Dec. 29, 2013 Finished: Jan. 2, 2013
25 Book Challenge 2013 Book #105
"Raised alongside her numerous brothers and sisters by the formidable empress of Austria, ten-year-old Maria Antonia knew that her idyllic existence would one day be sacrificed to her mother’s political ambitions. What she never anticipated was that the day in question would come so soon. Before she can journey from sunlit picnics with her sisters in Vienna to the glitter, glamour, and gossip of Versailles, Antonia must change everything about herself in order to be accepted as dauphine of France and the wife of the awkward teenage boy who will one day be Louis XVI. Yet nothing can prepare her for the ingenuity and influence it will take to become queen."
A good read. Paints an interesting picture of what it was like for her to transform from a princess of austere Austria to the future queen of the glamorous French court.
This guy earned a handy ice scraper by reading just ONE book in the the Winter Reading Challenge! You can too.
Challenges for all ages. Sign up at lesterlibrary.beanstack.com/reader365 or download the Beanstack Tracker app. Lester Public Library, Two Rivers, Wisconsin
Read to and with your bunnies 0-7 to earn a series of fun prizes, including this cute tote. Lester Public Library, Two Rivers, Wisconsin
"Isabella arrived in London in 1308, the spirited twelve-year-old daughter of King Philip IV of France. Her marriage to the heir to England’s throne was designed to heal old political wounds between the two countries, and in the years that followed, she would become an important figure, a determined and clever woman whose influence would come to last centuries. But Queen Isabella’s political machinations led generations of historians to malign her, earning her a reputation as a ruthless schemer and an odious nickname, “the She-Wolf of France.” Now the acclaimed author of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Alison Weir, reexamines the life of Isabella of England, history’s other notorious and charismatic medieval queen. Praised for her fair looks, the newly wed Isabella was denied the attentions of Edward II, a weak, sexually ambiguous monarch with scant taste for his royal duties. As their marriage progressed, Isabella was neglected by her dissolute husband and slighted by his favored male courtiers. Humiliated and deprived of her income, her children, and her liberty, Isabella escaped to France, where she entered into a passionate affair with Edward II’s mortal enemy, Roger Mortimer. Together, Isabella and Mortimer led the only successful invasion of English soil since the Norman Conquest of 1066, deposing Edward and ruling in his stead as co-regents for Isabella’s young son, Edward III. Fate, however, was soon to catch up with Isabella and her lover. Many mysteries and legends have been woven around Isabella’s story. She was long condemned as an accessory to Edward II’s brutal murder in 1327, but recent research has cast doubt on whether that murder even took place. Isabella’s reputation, then, rests largely on the prejudices of monkish chroniclers and prudish Victorian scholars."
A good book about a very interesting woman. It is a bit sad though that most of what we know about Isabella and other strong historical women of this period is through their interactions with men.
North Avondale Library patrons participated in the January reading challenge to win prizes, awards, and, best of all, tickets to the circus!
Cold Vengeance -- "Devastated by the discovery that his wife, Helen, was murdered, Special Agent Pendergast must have retribution. But revenge is not simple. As he stalks his wife's betrayers-a chase that takes him from the wild moors of Scotland to the bustling streets of New York City and the darkest bayous of Louisiana-he is also forced to dig further into Helen's past. And he is stunned to learn that Helen may have been a collaborator in her own murder.
Peeling back the layers of deception, Pendergast realizes that the conspiracy is deeper, goes back generations, and is more monstrous than he could have ever imagined-and everything he's believed, everything he's trusted, everything he's understood . . . may be a horrific lie." -- from www.barnesandnoble.com
I really enjoyed this book. I was surprised by some of the twists and turns the storyline took and the cliffhanger left me waiting in anticipation for the next book in the series.
Cold Vengeance -- Started: Oct. 8, 2011 Finished: Oct. 9, 2011
25 Book Challenge 2011 Book #75
Celebrate intellectual freedom! Adults can register for this challenge on Beanstack. - lesterlibrary.beanstack.com/reader365
Mason Intermediate Assistant Principal Jennifer Woods participates in Team Ingenuity's flash mob to kick off the Mason Schools Foundation Reading Challenge.
Photo provided
"Around the year 1049, William, Duke of Normandy and future conqueror of England, raced to the palace of Baldwin V, Count of Flanders. The count’s eldest daughter, Matilda, had refused William’s offer of marriage and publicly denounced him as a bastard. Encountering the young woman, William furiously dragged her to the ground by her hair and beat her mercilessly. Matilda’s outraged father immediately took up arms on his daughter’s behalf. But just a few days later, Baldwin was aghast when Matilda, still recovering from the assault, announced that she would marry none but William, since “he must be a man of great courage and high daring” to have ventured to “come and beat me in my own father’s palace.”
Thus began the tempestuous marriage of Matilda of Flanders and William the Conqueror. While William’s exploits and triumphs have been widely chronicled, his consort remains largely overlooked. Now, in her groundbreaking Queen of the Conqueror, acclaimed author and historian Tracy Borman weaves together a comprehensive and illuminating tapestry of this noble woman who stood only four-foot-two and whose role as the first crowned Queen of England had a large and lasting influence on the English monarchy.
From a wealth of historical artifacts and documents, Matilda emerges as passionate, steadfast, and wise, yet also utterly ruthless and tenacious in pursuit of her goals, and the only person capable of taming her formidable husband—who, unprecedented for the period, remained staunchly faithful to her. This mother of nine, including four sons who went on to inherit William’s French and English dominions, confounded the traditional views of women in medieval society by seizing the reins of power whenever she had the chance, directing her husband’s policy, and at times flagrantly disobeying his orders."
A really interesting book about a very interesting woman.
Pompeii -- "Pompeii, a city that's many things to many people. For Cato, it's the perfect escape from a failed political career in Rome. A place to start again, become a winemaker. But when a corrupt politician wrongfully jails Cato's sister, he must oust the man from power to save her.
For Ariella, Pompeii is a means to an end. As a young Jew, she escaped the fall of Jerusalem only to endure slavery to a cruel Roman general. She ends up in Pompeii, disguised as a young man and sold into a gladiator troupe. Her anger fuels her to fight well, hoping to win the arena crowds and reveal her gender at the perfect time. Perhaps then she will win true freedom.
But evil creeps through the streets of Pompeii. Political corruption, religious persecution, and family peril threaten to destroy Ariella and Cato, who are thrown together in the battle to survive. As Vesuvius churns with deadly intent, the two must bridge their differences to save the lives of those they love, before the fiery ash buries Pompeii, leaving the city lost to the world" -- from www.amazon.com
A really good historical fiction novel until it got a little preachy at the end -- only those who believed in the one true Christian God survived Pompeii and all the evil polytheistic characters died a horrible death. It was just a little too pat.
Pompeii: City On Fire -- Started: July 4, 2013 Finished: July 10, 2013
25 Book Challenge 2013 Book #50
Realityland -- "Based on nearly a decade of research and 100 interviews with past and present employees ("cast members" in Disney-speak), Koenig explores the genesis of Walt Disney's east coast outpost. It began as Disney's dream for the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, or EPCOT: a multilevel, glass encased, climate-controlled city. Part of that dream died with Walt in 1966-less than a year before construction began on Disney World-and it would be two decades before his severely altered plans would become reality. In erudite and fluid prose, Koenig takes readers on Walt's clandestine land acquisition exploits in central Florida, through the chaotic construction and frantic early years of the Magic Kingdom and into Disney's disastrous entry into the hotel business. He also recounts the company's struggle to develop a scaled-down EPCOT Center and overcome tumultuous leadership changes." -- from www.amazon.com
This was a well-written history of the magic kingdom covering both the good and the bad in the process. Koenig doesn't gloss over the many problems of disney world nor does he spend the entire book "disney-bashing"...it's a nice balanced look at the development of Disney's East Coast empire.
Realityland -- Started: Feb. 18, 2012 Finished: Feb. 22, 2012
25 Book Challenge Book #11
Boleyn King -- "Just seventeen years old, Henry IX, known as William, is a king bound by the restraints of the regency yet anxious to prove himself. With the French threatening battle and the Catholics sowing the seeds of rebellion at home, William trusts only three people: his older sister Elizabeth; his best friend and loyal counselor, Dominic; and Minuette, a young orphan raised as a royal ward by William’s mother, Anne Boleyn.
Against a tide of secrets, betrayal, and murder, William finds himself fighting for the very soul of his kingdom. Then, when he and Dominic both fall in love with Minuette, romantic obsession looms over a new generation of Tudors. One among them will pay the price for a king’s desire, as a shocking twist of fate changes England’s fortunes forever." -- from www.amazon.com
A really interesting idea and well written to boot.
The Boleyn King -- Started: Nov. 17, 2013 Finished: Nov. 30, 2013
25 Book Challenge 2013 Book #96
I went on kind of a mysteries of ancient history kick this week. "The Rose Labyrinth" was very similar to "The Da Vinci Code" and Kate Mosse's "Labyrinth". It was okay but kind of jumbled like the author couldn't organize her thoughts and just sort of threw in anything that popped into her head. "The Charlemagne Pursuit" is the fourth in Steve Berry's Cotton Malone series. It's pretty good so far, but it's missing a few characters from the previous novels that I really liked. "The Secret Magdalene" is another reworking of the stories of Christ and Mary Magdalene. I'm only a few chapters in but, so far, it's very well written and different from other things I've read on this theme.
The Secret Magdalene -- Started: Jan. 11, 2009 Finished: Jan. 29, 2009
The Rose Labyrinth -- Started: Jan. 12, 2009 Finished: Jan. 17, 2009
The Charlemagne Pursuit -- Started: Jan. 13, 2009 Finished: Jan. 19, 2009
25 Book Challenge 2009 Books #3, #4 & #5
Twilight Of Avalon -- "Ancient grudges, old wounds, and the quest for power rule in the newly widowed Queen Isolde's court. Hardly a generation after the downfall of Camelot, Isolde grieves for her slain husband, King Constantine, a man she secretly knows to have been murdered by the scheming Lord Marche -- the man who has just assumed his title as High King. Though her skills as a healer are renowned throughout the kingdom, in the wake of Con's death, accusations of witchcraft and sorcery threaten her freedom and her ability to bring Marche to justice. Burdened by their suspicion and her own grief, Isolde must conquer the court's distrust and superstition to protect her throne and the future of Britain.
One of her few allies is Trystan, a prisoner with a lonely and troubled past. Neither Saxon nor Briton, he is unmoved by the political scheming, rumors, and accusations swirling around the fair queen. Together they escape, and as their companionship turns from friendship to love, they must find a way to prove what they know to be true -- that Marche's deceptions threaten not only their lives but the sovereignty of the British kingdom." -- from www.amazon.com
An interesting novel...a much different take on the Tristan and Isolde than I've ever seen before.
Twilight Of Avalon -- Started: Jan. 15, 2014 Finished: Jan. 29, 2014
25 Book Challenge 2014 Book #2
A Tale of Love and Darkness -- "Tragic, comic, and utterly honest, this extraordinary memoir is at once a great family saga and a magical self-portrait of a writer who witnessed the birth of a nation and lived through its turbulent history.
It is the story of a boy growing up in the war-torn Jerusalem of the forties and fifties, in a small apartment crowded with books in twelve languages and relatives speaking nearly as many. His mother and father, both wonderful people, were ill-suited to each other. When Oz was twelve and a half years old, his mother committed suicide, a tragedy that was to change his life. He leaves the constraints of the family and the community of dreamers, scholars, and failed businessmen and joins a kibbutz, changes his name, marries, has children, and finally becomes a writer as well as an active participant in the political life of Israel." -- from www.barnesandnoble.com
I liked this book...Amos Oz has led a very complex, interesting and saddening life...it was interesting to read about what it was like growing up in Jerusalem during that time period: the chaos, the conflict (especially among the radically different Jewish groups), and the abject poverty.
A Tale of Love and Darkness -- Started: Apr. 30, 2012 Finished: May 16, 2012
25 Book Challenge 2012 Book #33
The Irish Princess -- "Born into a first family of Ireland, with royal ties on both sides, Elizabeth Fitzgerald-known as Gera-finds her world overturned when Henry VIII imprisons her father, the Earl of Kildare, and brutally destroys her family. Torn from the home she loves, her remaining family scattered, Gera dares not deny the refuge offered her in England's glittering royal court. There she must navigate ever-shifting alliances even as she nurtures her secret desire for revenge." -- from www.amazon.com
The beginning of the book was a little slow and I wasn't sure I was going to really get into the story...after the first 20 or 30 pages though, the plot started moving and it got more interesting. It was more of an historical romance than I originally thought it was going to be, but it was a good read anyway.
The Irish Princess -- Started: Feb. 16, 2013 Finished: Feb. 22, 2013
25 Book Challenge 2013 Book #15