To Die For

This morning I finished "The Garden of Shadows," so I started reading Linda Howard's "To Die For." I've seen this paperback going through the Circulation Desk many times, so I decided to try it. The first line didn't really catch my interest, but by the end of chapter one I was hooked! "To Die For" tells the story of Blair Mallory, and how she was the witness to a murder. There is already so much intrigue going on, and so many questions that need answering! Plus there is the beginnings of a romance (which is very typical of her books). I am hoping it will remain interesting, and that it won't be too over the top in the romance department.

The Garden of Shadows

I started reading "The Garden of Shadows" by V. C. Andrews yesterday. And I haven't wanted to put it down! This is the first book that I have ever read by Andrews and I am very impressed with her writing style! The book is the prequel to "Flowers in the Attic," Andrews' first book. It tells the story of Olivia, a young girl who is too tall by society's standards and deemed ugly. She meets, falls in love with and quickly marries Malcolm Foxworth, heading to live with him at Foxworth Manor. Once there, she slowly discovers just the sort of man that she married, and learns to become the Mistress of Foxworth Manor that she needs to be. A great read that I strongly recommend! I can't wait to see how it ends!!!!

A Few More Graphic Novels

Over the last few days I have read two graphic novels. The first one was the Halo Graphic Novel (which, surprisingly, the library does not have). I am a big Halo fan, so I was excited to read the graphic novel. There were four stories and a lot of art. The stories themselves weren't very impressive; the first story I had trouble following what was going on. But the artwork was amazing! Two of the four stories had incredible art. I didn't really like the artwork in the other two. But then at the back of the book, there was a gallery of artwork, which had all sorts of neat images. So for the art alone, this book is a treat.

The second graphic novel that I read was Aeon Flux (and this one is from the library). I liked the movie, but the cover made it sound like it was a graphic novel adaptation of the movie, so I wasn't sure if I would want to read it. Thankfully, it turned out to be a prequel story. I found it entertaining, although I doubt I would have understood what was going on if I hadn't seen the movie. But I wasn't very impressed with the artwork - I didn't like the way the people looked.

Three Day Road

Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden is definitely a novel in my top three for the year (Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy being the first and Duma Key by Stephen King being the second). This portrait of two Oji-Cree young men leaving Northern Ontario to enter World War One is inspired in part by the true story of war hero Francis Pegahmagabow.

The story begins with only one soldier returning from the war, falling into the arms of his aunt, who can instantly tell how tramatized he is by the war. As the tale continues, readers are offered both the life story of Xavier Bird's aunt Niska, as well as the harrowing saga of what occurred in the battlefields of France and Belguim to create such a devastated and broken man.

With amazing detail and a beautifully flowing story that flashes between the present and glimpses of the past, this award winning novel is a must read for everyone.

Lamb

Yes, I know, I was going to read this back in June. But I didn't have time then, and so I am reading it now. "Lamb: the Gospel According to Biff, Christ's childhood Pal" by Christopher Moore has been a bit hard to get into. Don't get me wrong - it is totally worth reading, but it is not the non-stop laugh fest I was expecting when it was recommended to me. Part of the problem is that there are two stories going on right now: the story of Christ's growing up, and the story of Biff stuck in a modern day hotel room with an angel writing said story. And the latter story I don't really care about. I'm hoping that something will happen to tie them together (or at least to make me care about the second story).

The Hen House

Last week I read The Hen House by Sharon Sala. It's the third book in a trilogy. I haven't read the first two. In this one Letty is living the life she dreamed of. No longer a prostitute she's married to Eulis. They're doing well with the gold rush and are building a big home overlooking Denver. Life is harsh and Letty is opening her home to abused women and an orphan. Eulis dubs their home The Hen House. When she thinks she has everything she's ever wanted, life takes a sad turn when an angry husband changes her life. I enjoyed reading it. I guess The Hen House is classified as Chick Lit. Then again...maybe it's Hen Lit. Happy reading.

Vacation reading

Hi. This week I read Plague Ship. It's the latest Clive Cussler novel. When I realized neither Dirk Pitt or Kurt Austin was in it, I wasn't going to read it. But I started reading and in spite of the fact that I knew no one in it, I enjoyed it. It's your basic Clive Cussler adventure with all the usual excitement. Pretty far fetched, but fun to read. It's a 7 day book, but being on vacation I managed to read all 515 pages in just 5 days. Oh, and it's even more exciting if you take Clive to Starbucks with you. Happy reading.

Mrs. Kimble and more...

I read Mrs. Kimble by Jennifer Haigh, this weekend, it is the story of three women, their lives are impacted by being married to a man totally lacking in scruples. He marries and leaves without regard to the needs of the family, and the women must cope with the emotional and physical realities.

My other book was a gift of joy. It was a book from the NetLibrary E audiobook collection. I am learning to download and use these books. Part of Me: Stories of a Louisiana family by Kimberley Willis Holt begins with Rose, a Texas transplant to Louisiana who is finding her way into a new life in the Louisiana bijou. She finds her connections through the world of books.

Legions of Hell

I picked this book up from TBPL's used book sale a few years ago. When I finished the Snow Queen, I found myself looking through all of the books that I have, unsure of what to read next. I wanted another fantasy, but instead I found this. Sounding intriguing, I picked it up.

C. J. Cherryh's "Legions of Hell" is quite a wild ride, right from the beginning. It's not every day that you find Julius Cesar, Cleopatra and company battling in Hell with modern and even futuristic technology!

The one problem that I had with it at the beginning was that I found the writing a bit tough to get through. The story itself is good, but the way it is written makes for a slower read. Luckily, it just started picking up, and now I am at the point that I don't want to put the book down!

The Snow Queen

When I was away, I found that Mercedes Lackey had written a new Tale of the Five Hundred Kingdoms: "The Snow Queen." I was pleased to see that it had the same price in both Canada and the US, so I waited until I came home before purchasing it. (Sadly, it is not in our library catalogue yet).

"The Snow Queen" is the story of a new Fairy Godmother, Aleksia, aka the Ice Fairy or Snow Queen. She is the Godmother of the lands in the far north. It comes to her attention that someone is using vile magic and killing whole villages while using the name of the Snow Queen, so it comes to Aleksia to stop them and clear her name. I started reading it last night, and now I do not want to put it down (but of course that's not possible, so I'll just have to wait until break to read some more!) I can't wait to see how it ends!

Hooray - a new Billie Letts book

When 15 year old Lutie and her 11 year old brother Fate, go shopping at Wal-Mart with their Dad's girlfriend Floy, they get more than they bargained for. When Floy dies unexpectedly in the check out line, the two children are left on their own. Their Mom died several years before and their Dad previously ran off to Las Vegas. Left to their own devices they take Floy's car and set off to find their Dad. It's a struggle to find food and money and the kids resort to sleeping in the car. If you've ever been to Vegas this is one of those books that makes you feel like you're right there with them, using the washroom at Terrible's Casino. So, for all you Billie Letts fans be sure to place a hold on "Made in the U.S.A". Better hurry, there's already holds on it. p.s. I finished it last night. Keep in mind these kids are living on the streets. It's rather rough, but has a happy ending. Happy Summer reading.

Audio books

I have been trying out the e audiobooks available through our website on NetLibrary. I listed to two this weekend, Part of Me by Kimberly Holt Willis and Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry. Both are listed as Young Adult reading, but please don't let this put you off. Both are excellent, I love the tight editing of teen reads, and the issues that are so important to their reading. Part of Me is the story of a family, beginning with fourteen-year-old Rose who longs to stay in school and become a writer one day. The closest she can get to this dream is to lie about her age in order to land a job driving a library bookmobile through the small bayou towns near her home. Take time to try this great audio book.

We are all fine here

Last weekend I bought "We are all fine here" by Mary Guterson. We don't carry this title, but we could borrow it for you from out of town. If you're interested we take Interlibrary Loan requests at Brodie, Waverley and Mary J.L. Black.
The main character Julia has been married to Jim for 15 years and the thrill is wearing off. She has a romantic encounter with a former beau and soon discovers herself pregnant. But whose baby is it? She's not really sure. Add in her hypochondriac mother and a slew of characters who break up and then make up and it's an interesting read.