I Have no Internet!
So, my phone line at home is completely messed up. This means I have no Internet. So, I”‘ll post from work tomorrow.
Bout of Books – Day 7
I’ll do a final wrap up tomorrow, but I think I’m going to total out at 7 books started and a slightly different 6 finished. So, that’s pretty much right between my realistic goal and my shoot for the stars goal. I’m pretty pleased about that. I’m also going to take part in the last challenge for this Bout of Books. Snarky Bird, Uber Nerd has a great challenge for today.
If You Like ____, Then You’ll Enjoy _____.
I love this kind of thing! I occasionally make little shelf talkers for work with this very set up so it’s a fantastic challenge for me. I’m going to go a little crazy I’m afraid.
If you liked Gone Girl then you’ll really enjoy In the Woods by Tana French.
If you like Little House on the Prairie and Harry Potter, you’ll enjoy The Thirteenth Child by Patricia Wrede.
Let’s say you like Harry Potter, but you’re more into a Regency ballroom ala Jane Austen than the frontier life of Laura Ingles Wilder. That’s ok. I’ve got a ton of things for that! Mary Robinette Kowal’s Shades of Milk and Honey, Patricia Wrede & Caroline Stevermere’s 
Sorcery & Cecelia, and Stephanie Burgis’s Kat, Incorrigible are all books you’d love!
If you like Nora Roberts and action movies, you’ll love Agnes and the Hitman by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer.
Hopefully, some of these will tickle your fancy. Now, my progress report:
My Progress:
Pages Read: ~1,950
Books Started: 7
Between Two Thorns by Emma Newman
The Riddle of the Labyrinth by Margalit Fox
Death By Diamonds , Skirting the Grave, and Cloaked in Malice
all by Annette Blair
House of Secrets by Chris Columbus & Ned Vizzeli
Mrs. Pollifax on the China Station by Dorothy Gillman
Books Finished: 6
Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie
The Riddle of the Labyrinth by Margalit Fox
Death By Diamonds , Skirting the Grave, and Cloaked in Malice
all by Annette Blair
House of Secrets by Chris Columbus & Ned Vizzeli
Bout of Books – Day 5
Sorry I went silent yesterday. I was at work all day. Then, when I came home, I cleaned the kitchen and then went to see Star Trek Into Darkness. Which I enjoyed. A bunch. Because it was made of awesome. And they made Chekov say ‘missles’ repeatedly and I think Anton Yelchin is the cutest thing on the silver screen. Look at that face! That’s not the point! The point is that I got some reading done, but did not have time to post a blog entry. Boo for me.
So, here I am. A day late, but three books to the good. I read the last three currently published volumes in the Vintage Magic series by Annette Blair. They’re light, fluffy, paranormal mystery. They’ve got a little romance, but nothing particularly over a PG-13 at most. I’m not opposed to some steamy stuff from time to time, but I don’t particularly feel that these books need to heat it up more. They’re cute. They’re not great literature, but they’re not meant to be.
Blair has obviously done a ton of research on vintage clothing. That certainly comes across in the books. Every now and then I get a little tired of the descriptions of the outfits, but I also google frequently to get a visual on what she’s describing. I couldn’t have told you what a Ferragamo Invisible Sandal looked like. Now I can. Thank you Metropolitan Museum of Art website! Now I know. (And knowing is half the battle. G.I. Joe!)
I will say, book 5 was not my favorite. Cloaked in Malice may have bitten off a bit more than it could chew. I can’t really explain that without risking spoilers, but I’m hoping that when book 6 comes out in July it’s a return to form. I still gave Cloaked 3 stars on Goodreads. I still had fun reading it, but it felt a little overly complex. I also tore through it in a day, which is not much under my regular, non-bouting speed. So it’s not like I was slogging through something unpalatable.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, my cats are demanding my attention by stealing the dog food. This always ends well.
My Progress:
Pages Read: ~1,400
Books Started: 5
Between Two Thorns by Emma Newman
The Riddle of the Labyrinth by Margalit Fox
Death By Diamonds , Skirting the Grave, and Cloaked in Malice
all by Annette Blair
Books Finished: 5
Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie
The Riddle of the Labyrinth by Margalit Fox
Death By Diamonds , Skirting the Grave, and Cloaked in Malice
all by Annette Blair
Bout of Books 7.0 Update
Bout of Books day 3 is upon us! I’ve finished two books (one of which I started last week). I hosted a giveaway yesterday! And I’ve got winners! Emails have been sent!
My winners are: Kay from It’s a Booklife, P7 from Bookeater/Booklover, and Lisa from Lisa Likes Books
There’s a very cool challenge up today over on Books Are My Best Friends Forever. It’s a challenge to create an alternate cover for a book. I love it, but I have no photo manipulation skills so, I’m not going to indulge. I will, however, give you a few publisher created alternate covers.
This, on the left, is the American cover of Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I don’t especially like it. I don’t think the mask is photoshopped on very well. And why is there a feather mask at all? What is that even about.
Blue hair – yes.
Wings – yes.
Random blue feathered mask – not so much.
On the other hand, we have what I believe is the UK cover. That one is totally awesome! The feathers are just perfect.
Now, we all know how much I love the Kat, Incorrigible covers. I think they’re awesome and beautiful. And they’re full wrap-around, which makes me happy. So, I’m not saying that the other cover is better. But seriously, look at this amazing French cover! It’s so awesome. I really want to own it. Possibly as a poster.
My Progress:
Pages Read: ~459
Books Started: 3 (Between Two Thorns by Emma Newman, The Riddle of the Labyrinth by Margalit Fox, & Death By Diamonds by Annette Blair)
Books Finished: 2 (Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie, The Riddle of the Labyrinth by Margalit Fox)
Bout of Books 7.0 – Soundtrack Challenge
Have you ever read a book and just known the music that would go perfectly with it? Or have you ever been listening to a piece of music that became inextricably linked to a book in your mind?
For me, Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake series is eternally tied to Sarah McLachlan’s album Fumbling Toward Ecstasy.
Author, Mary Robinette Kowal, put together a Spotify playlist for her book, Without a Summer.
Jennifer Crusie also has a great post about the soundtrack for Maybe This Time (which I just finished reading this morning!)
Dan Wells did an entire blog post on writing to music. And he wrote out a soundtrack for Partials.
So, I ask you Bouters, what music goes with your favorite books? Give me a soundtrack or an album for a book you love. You can make it as simple or as complicated as you want to! Is there one album that you feel encapsulates your reading experience? Or is there a different song for every chapter? Tell me about it! Write a post on your blog, mention it on Twitter, talk about it on your Livejournal. Just put a link in the comments so we can all enjoy it!
Here are a few examples for me:
Sometimes it’s really easy!
Sometimes the links are a litt
le more esoteric:
Biting the Sun by Tanith Lee is beautiful. It also hurts sometimes. And it’s full of dangerous living and empty people, but it’s also full of some of the most heart-breakingly human characters I’ve ever encountered.
Boys on the Radio – HoleBei Mir Bist Du Schön – The Andrews Sisters
Valley of the Low Son – Jakob Dylan
The Lioness – Songs Ohia
Hallelujah – Any of the versions really, though for this book I’m partial to the k.d. lang version
Dangerous Game – From the Musical Jekyll & Hyde
The Highwayman – Loreena Mckennitt
Ill Wind – Ella Fitzgerald
Lowlands of Holland – Steeleye Span
I’m new to Spotify, but I tried to make a playlist with these if you aren’t familiar with them.
And! For playing my little musical game, I have fabulous prizes to offer you! I raided my Harper reps boxes today and extracted some fresh advance copies. Up for grabs in this giveaway are:
3:59 by Gretchen Mcneil
Eat Brains Love by Jeff Hart
Across a Star-Swept Sea by Diana Peterfreund
Leave a comment and then click the link below to enter:
RULES
– must be signed up for Bout of Books 7.0 and have your goals posted somewhere
– must be 13 years or older to enter
– contest is only open for 24 hours from 12:01 AM (CST) to midnight on May 14th
– this giveaway is international
– you don’t have to use a book from my list if you aren’t familiar with it, you can pick your own.
– link to your soundtrack in the comments! You can use your blog, facebook, twitter, etc. Anywhere you’re already talking about Bout of Books.
– prizes are: an ARC of Across a Star-Swept Sea by Diana Peterfreund; an ARC of Eat, Brains, Love by Jeff Hart; an ARC of 3:59 by Gretchen McNeil
– prizes will be chosen randomly by Rafflecopter
My Progress:
Pages Read: ~278
Books Started: 2 (Between Two Thorns by Emma Newman & The Riddle of the Labyrinth by Margalit Fox)
Books Finished: 1 (Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie)
Book Spine Poetry
It’s Bout of Books Day 1! I’m still not finished with a book yet because I had to pet sit this morning and now I’m at work. But, I wanted to take a little time to participate in Escape Through the Pages’ Book Spine Poetry challenge.
I confined myself to the books on one bookcase, so it ended up being very me at 15 and angsty, but here we go:
The rules say I can use one extra word for every book I’ve got. I’ve got 6 books total.
The Diviners seeLost Magic in The Ruins of Lace.
Forbidden Fruit
leads to the Quintessence
of An Unmarked Grave.
Short. Sweet. And really, really goth.
^.^
Bout of Books 7.0-Eve
So, Bout of Books 7.0 starts in just under an hour. I’m hoping to read between 5 and 10 books this week.
I’m also running a challenge on Tuesday. Prizes will include some awesome ARCs I’ve got from my publisher reps. I’d tell you exactly which ones tonight, but I’ve got a whole new load coming in tomorrow. These are seriously hot-off-the-presses advance copies, so I wanted to wait before I announced the prizes. The contest will be open to international participants! I won’t give out all the details yet, but start looking through your music library!
In other book related news, John Scalzi will be in my general area at the end of the month. He will be signing at Eagle Eye in Decatur, GA. That’s probably 3 hours each way… That’s doable, right? The boy-nugget says no, but I’ve done crazier things. And, unlike when I missed Dan Wells at Peerless in Alpharetta, I’ve never met John Scalzi. So, it would be a new experience. And I love those!
Ok, I’ve got right around 45 minutes before the read-a-thon begins. I’m going to go raid my to-read shelves (there are five or six of them) for a book to start! I’ll report back in the morning.
Fantasy Western?
The Arrivals is a fantasy western. Let’s just take a moment and look at those words, shall we? A Fantasy… Western. Can you think of many other fantasy westerns? There’s The Dark Tower and…
Ok, so there are some steampunk westerns out there. Railsea and Iron Council have fantastical elements in a Western-ish setting. Dead Reckoning has steampunk and zombies.
But I’m talking gun slingers, saloons, and magic. There isn’t much of it out there, but Melissa Marr gives us just that.
The book is s
et in the Wasteland. It’s a strange world full of various forms of not-quite-humans. There are miners who have evolved to work underground. There are the bloedzuigers, who are equivalent to vampires (think the really ugly man-bat form from Bram Stoker’s Dracula). There are cyanthropes, aka werewolves. Then there are the Arrivals. Arrivals are from our world. They don’t know how they got to the Wasteland. They don’t know if there’s a way to get home. They come from all different eras starting with siblings Jack and Kitty from the 1870’s and going up to the newest Arrival, Chloe who came from 2010.
If an Arrival dies she might stay dead or she might wake up in six days. No one knows until it happens. The only other thing that the Arrivals have in common; they’ve all killed someone back in the “real” world. It might have been for a good reason, but they all have blood on their hands.
Jack and Kitty believe that they have to use their strange powers to improve the Wasteland. They’re in direct opposition to the mysterious Ajani. He seems interested only in personal profit. The siblings are constantly fighting Ajani for the most precious resource in the Wasteland – new Arrivals.
I read this while I was on jury duty and it did a great job of keeping me from feeling like I was in a weird, perpetual waiting room. At the same time, that feeling of being trapped in a bureaucratic Purgatory probably added something to my experience with the book. We’d all done something to land ourselves in jury duty, right?
Overall, I really enjoyed the book. The characters were interesting and the world building was phenomenal. The only thing I can really complain about is that the book was too short. It’s not that I felt shortchanged at the end, just that I wasn’t ready to leave yet. The End came about 100 pages too soon for me. I have so many questions left! I really hope that Marr plans to turn this into a new series. I’m not saying that it’s bad as a standalone, because it isn’t. But there’s still so much I want to know.
Crowdsource Some Magic
Author Emma Newman is charming. And she writes nifty books. And she’s trying to crowd source the fantasy trope of three wishes. Here is an Audioboo where she talks about it. How cool is that?
Granted, some of the wishes will be out of normal hands to grant, heck, mine aren’t going to be the kind of thing you can take care of at the corner store, but still… What if someone could make your dreams a reality? And all it costs you is saying them out loud? In public? On the internet?
Ok, so that part is really scary. The internet can be mean. But it can also be awesome. And, let’s face it, this blog doesn’t really get enough traffic to get trolled, so here goes!
My wishes are:
1. To have a piece of my jewelry worn at a big event like the Hugo Awards dinner or the Academy Awards. (Yeah, that first one would be cooler to me than the second.)
I’m going to be reasonable here. I really want to say, to get a novel published. But, what I’m going to say is:
2. To finish working on a novel and actually get feedback from an industry professional – agent, editor, or previously published author. (I’m actually semi-close to this one. The Wells Brothers (Dan and Rob) and their friend Marion Jensen have a Kickstarter project going right now. If it gets funded Rob Wells will critique 50 pages of my novel! Yes, I’m buying a wish, but only if the Kickstarter gets funded.)
3. To someday be enough of an Industry Professional to be a guest on the SF Squeecast. (Granted, for this one to happen #2 kind of needs to happen first, but there are other paths to becoming a professional. Sort of.)
I have lots of other wishes that involve meeting authors, but I didn’t put them down here because I do go to conventions and twitter is magical already, so lots of those wishes are coming true at an astounding rate. I got to meet Seanan McGuire, Alex Bledsoe, and Brandon Sanderson at JordanCon.
I’ll meet Mary Robinette Kowal later this year when she comes to do a signing at Little Professor (It’s September 14. You should come. It’s also going to be my birthday party. So you should really come! There will be cake!)
I’ve met Dan Wells and Jonathan Maberry thanks to DragonCon. Now, I just need to meet Emma Newman herself and Stephanie Burgis. And Paul Cornell. And Nick Harkaway. (All of these people are across the pond, which makes it more difficult, but I have faith in my own ingenuity and my Virgin Atlantic points to make it happen someday.)
Twitter really has been amazing when it comes to connecting with authors. If you have someone you admire, shoot them a tweet. They’re fairly likely to at least say “Thank you” and that can give you a little glow all day.
“These three wishes are part of a wish-making community organized by author Emma Newman to celebrate the release of the second Split Worlds novel “Any Other Name”. Can you make any of them come true? Come and see what other people are wishing for and find out how to join in at www.splitworlds.com/split-worlds-extra/three-wishes – who know, perhaps someone could make one of your wishes come true.”
Bout of Books 7.0
So, Bout of Books is rolling around again. Here is my official sign up post:
The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 13th and runs through Sunday, May 19th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 7.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team
So, it’s going to be pretty awesome. I don’t think I’m going to try to do a theme this year since I scrapped it pretty quickly last year. I’m going to commit to 5 books, but with a hope to stretch that out to 10. We’ll see how well it goes. Also, I should be hosting a challenge on Tuesday, May 14. Anyone can play, but you have to be officially signed up for the Bout of Books to win. More details will come later!
Medusa's Library 