Speaking of procrastination, I also really need to get the WoW stuff in order.

After his family is killed, Nobody “Bod” Owens grows up in a graveyard.

The Review:

This book won a Newbery award and it’s easy to see why. It’s very well written, entertaining and just an all around great book.

Bod’s journey from orphaned toddler to young adult is at times heartbreaking, funny, scary and sweet. He is raised in the graveyard by a fascinating cast of characters from all historical periods and walks of life. The ever-present danger that Jack (who killed his family) will find him leaves a layer of suspense throughout the book. The series of adventures he has both in and out of graveyard helps the reader, and Bod, learn more about himself and those around him.

Neil Gaiman is an interesting author to read and of those books I have read, I have greatly enjoyed. The illustrations done with this edition are also so very well done and really fit into the book.

My sister played the audio book of this for my niece while they were commuting recently and my young nephew (7 years old) put down his Nintendo DS to listen. I’d say that’s a pretty fine compliment about this book.

Rating: 5/5

Susan Andersen is another author I’ve been reading for a while. I don’t generally follow her books quite as faithfully as other authors. I usually get or borrow her books as I find them. This is the 2nd book in a series. The first book is Cutting Loose.

Super-quick Synopsis:

“Hippie” Poppy and straight-laced Jason (unsurprisingly) do not see eye-to-eye on a community project for teens.

The Review:

After some teens are caught vandalizing with graffiti, Poppy comes up with the idea to have the teens not only clean up the graffiti but to them do a mural as a creative outlet. Jason, a by-the-book cop trying to distance himself from his crime-minded family, believes harsher measures are needed. Poppy gets her way in the end and, predictably, Jason comes around to her way of thinking, falls in love with her, and loosens up some.

This is a good, basic romance that measures out enough laughter and drama to keep the reader going. I enjoy Susan’s books in general and she has done a fine job on this book as well. I enjoy the Seattle setting as I get a kick out of going “I know where that is!” when certain locations are mentioned.

Rating: 4/5

I can’t remember how I got started on this series but it’s likely something that was a “If you like Harry Potter, you’ll like this” type of recommendation.

I’ve had a bit of a weird “relationship” with this series, mainly due to two things. First, the author gets very, very descriptive. To the point of distraction occasionally and it has caused me to get out of the story a bit. Secondly, for some reason, it takes me forever to finish each of the books. I’ll be reading the book and be into it but the minute I put it down I will leave it sitting there, sometimes for days. I rarely feel the compulsion that I MUST finish right now.

Super-quick Synopsis:

Nita’s parents send her to Ireland in an attempt to “cool off” her magic use.

The Review:

The set up for this book seemed a bit off to me. Nita’s parents, while understandably concerned about her magic use in previous books, had seemed fairly accepting in the third book. So the “concern” excuse used in sending her off to Ireland as an enforced break from magic was a bit thinly drawn. The irony is that she walks right into another really huge magic-related problem and she, along with brief appearances by Kit and her sister, must help solve said problem.

This book gave the author the chance to really dig into the very rich field of magic and Celtic mythology that exists in Ireland. Between that and the new characters we meet in this book, is what kept me reading this book. Ronan especially I think could show up again as he seems to be the most dynamic of those we met.

Overall, this book and the series are good, but I’m unsure about continuing due to my ambivalence. I may take a break before going to the next one, though, and then see how I feel about continuing to read the series after that.

Rating: 3/5

This is yet another series that I’ve been reading for a very long time. These are usually just good fun and super-fast to read. It’s generally what I refer to as “brain candy”: not exactly challenging to the mind, maybe not that good for you but it sure is fun.

Super-quick Synopsis:

Bounty hunter Stephanie Plum deals with her day job while helping Ranger at night and assisting Lula and Grandma Mazur in their latest scheme. Inevitably, chaos ensues.

The Review:

This book follows the tradition of the series and is a fun, light read. Laughing at/with Stephanie is par for the course as she haplessly tries to track down her FTA’s and deals with Lula and Grandma Mazur’s scheme to win a barbeque contest. She also helps Ranger when several of his security clients have break-ins.

Surprisingly, the break-in mystery seems to be right up Stephanie’s alley. It seems a bit odd at first that Ranger asks her to look into this but she sees things that others do not. A lot of the time, Stephanie just stumbles over the solution to whatever mystery is afoot, but this time she actively participates in solving the crime. This made it feel that there was real character development in this book which, let’s face it, can be somewhat rare.

The tug-of-war between Joe and Ranger is present as always. She is mostly on the outs with Joe on this one so we see more of Ranger. I admit, I have problems deciding between the two myself sometimes but mostly like Ranger a lot of the time.

Favorite line from the book: I suspected I was to Ranger what Tank’s cat was to Tank.

Rating: 4/5

But in good WoW news, my mage hit 70 last night. I’m having to hold myself back from leveling more so I can build up more rest XP. The combination of rest XP plus heirloom shoulders is awesome. Add to that the occasional Wintergrasp buff and that makes me stupid happy.

All the pretty faerie lights
glitter against the inky sky
That they might carry me away
to that magical land in my mind

I started reading this series back in 2003, two years after this book was first published. I have read all books in the series previously, including the most recent title, Dead and Gone.

I recently started watching True Blood and my interest was sparked to reread the series. Not only because I had never done so, but also to try to determine the exact changes that had been made to the show.

Super-quick Synopsis:

Sookie Stackhouse is a clairvoyant waitress in Louisiana who gets involved in the recently legalized Vampire culture in Louisiana.

The Review:

Since this was a reread, it was fairly easy to get through this book and there were certainly no surprises for me while reading. However, it was very nice to refresh myself on how things started for Sookie. She and other characters have definitely changed over the course of the series, which may seem redundant but there are series in which character development does NOT occur.

This is a strong opening book and sets up the new world Sookie becomes involved in. Through the course of the series, we learn so much more, but we learn it when Sookie does. I know that first-person narrative really bothers some people but I general am fine with it.

I admit that I didn’t realize that there was so much similar between the first book and the first season of the show. There are some major things different, but overall the main storyline was the same. Obviously a show needs to be fuller than the first-person view the books have.

I think I will continue to reread the books, unless I start to compare them too much and it ruins my enjoyment of the show.

Rating:

Not rating since it was a reread

Since I’ve not written about this series before, I feel some background is needed.

I discovered this series when there were only a few books book published. To say I have a love/hate relationship with the series would probably be overstating. I have loved many of them but also been either disappointed and/or ambivalent about a few of them. I don’t believe I have ever hated one, though. I’ve been through a lot with these characters and so I have kept reading them.

My biggest problem with the books had been a feeling of stagnation in character development. Or what you may also call non-conflict resolution. I think some of the issues related to Richard, especially his attitudes pertaining to Anita and Jean-Claude, were just going on too long. Any time it felt like some progress was made, we’d be back to the same thing in the next book or the one after. I felt like cheering when Anita finally told Richard off so spectacularly.

In general, I feel the last few books have been better as Anita has slowly started getting more comfortable with her powers and her life.

Super-quick Synopsis:

Anita goes to Las Vegas to help police with a vampire serial killer.

The Review:

Overall, I think this book worked within the framework of the story. It didn’t really grab me and make me want to stay up all night reading it, but when I was reading it, I was into it enough to not be putting it down constantly.

It’s always a bit weird when Anita is not in St. Louis but is also a nice change. It allows new characters and puts her outside her element. Although there are several people we have never seen before, we also have a few characters showing back up.

It felt like there were a lot of side-trips in this book. Perhaps that has to do with Anita’s head getting messed with so many times by Marmee, Belle and one or two others. Rarely did these appear to have much to do with advancing the plot of trying to catch Vittorio although, ironically perhaps, there was some connection at the end.

There weren’t as many sex scenes¹ in this book as there have been in others, and it made sense that it was that way.

This definitely wasn’t a book that I really loved. I didn’t have any major issues with it and liked it fine. And I guess that’s all you can ask from some books.

Rating: 3/5 stars

¹I have heard a lot of criticism and comments about the amount of sex in her books. For the most part, the sex does not bother me. I feel that it usually has it’s place, especially with Anita becoming a succubus. It has only occasionally felt gratuitious to me and, admittedly, those books in which that occurs has been some of my least favorite of the series.

We feel the loot system is as fair as it is unfair and adds a bit of a need for diligence on the part of the player to seek a certain piece of gear. The Vault in particular would be a little bit too convenient if it very intelligently dropped items for the players who are present. The items that drop in the Vault are extremely good when compared to the time and effort required to kill the bosses that drop them, and we do not necessarily want players walking in with a great chance of getting such items every time they run the instance. ~Source

FTMFW!!  He said everything I want to say to all the whiny asses bitching about the emblem change.

(bold mine)