Book Reviews by Today, I Read…

(This is based on a true story.)

I know that I’m only seven years old and lack the necessary wisdom to make such a decision, but I decided to become a vampire. I’d finished reading Twilight* and wanted to be like Edward so I could get all the ladies.

My friend already was one so I kindly asked him to bite me, which he did…on my hand. It didn’t hurt at first, but then while my mother and I were strolling through the grocery store that evening, the full weight of my situation settled on me, in the form of searing pain and uncontrollable hunger, and I knew I had made a mistake.

My mother didn’t believe me when I calmly told her that I was becoming a vampire, but she perked up when I threw myself on the floor and told her I needed to go to the hospital right away so they could reverse the changes. Being a vampire just wasn’t worth it. Luckily we made it in time.

I was given the antidote disguised as a Popsicle and some stickers and now I’m fine. But let this be a lesson to anyone else under the age of sanity: Don’t make the same mistake. Being a vampire sucks.

(Technically, the seven year old in question didn’t read Twilight himself, but had caught the craze in passing.)

The updates have been scarce recently because I’ve been busy. But I’ve been reading…and reading in a new way: Kindle for PC.

So, I downloaded it a few months ago but never really used it. I mean, reading from the laptop just isn’t ideal. Then I downloaded the Kindle for iPhone and then downloaded a few free books from the Kindle store.

Then one day I’d forgotten my paperback books and was stuck in a waiting room when I remembered that I had the Kindle on my iPhone, so I pulled it out, loaded a book and started reading. It was surprisingly comfortable.

When I was about halfway through the book, I decided I wanted to continue and fired up the Netbook. When I figured out how to change the background color from white to pale yellow, we were in business.

One thing I noticed, however, was that it took me longer to finish the book than if I’d read it in dead tree form. It wasn’t horrible, but I did put the book “down” more often and forgot about it for longer periods of time.

But at any rate I did enjoy reading the eBook more than I anticipated and while I can’t say I’m an eBook convert, I can say that I’m likely to read more short eBooks. In the future I’ll probably wind up with a dedicated eReader (or an iPad…but the eInk displays sound more comfortable on the eyes).

Right now, I’ve started reading The Man Who Was Thursday by G. K. Chesterton. Since I’m only a few pages in, I haven’t formed a solid opinion of the story, but have formed a solid opinion about Chesterton’s writing: That man has a wonderful way with words. It’s playful and adept.

I’m curious now how many out there have a Kindle or other eReading device and how they like it.

Do you use the Kindle or Kindle for PC or iPhone (or any other iteration of the Kindle software) and what has been your experience with it? What about another eReading device?

Now’s your chance to convince an eReading novice to pull the switch.

The past couple of weeks have been good for books. After a trip to Borders, I realized that I didn’t get all the books I’d wanted, so I headed to Amazon and then I headed to Bookcloseouts. Not only that, I also received a few titles from publishers. All in all, I can’t complain.

From Borders

American Gods by Neil Gaiman: Having enjoyed other Gaiman novels, I decided it was time to give one of his grown up books a try and I’ve heard so many good things about this one that when I saw it, I had to buy it.

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz: There’s a 99% chance that I already own an older version of this book. I read a great deal of R. L. Stine and Alvin Schwartz when I was a kid, so this is going to be a nostalgic reading experience for me.

Tales from the Odyssey (Part 1) by Mary Pope Osborne: This was a book I couldn’t resist—Greek gods, goddesses, and a cursed Grecian king? I’ve already finished it and must say, what an excellent retelling of Odyssey for a young audience. Already looking forward to the second part. (See the Amazon section.)

The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke: The first thing that caught me was the cover: Dark and mysterious. Then I read the back cover and knew that I wanted to read this. It would probably be a good R.I.P. challenge read, but I don’t know if I can hold off on it that long.

From Amazon

Tales from the Odyssey (Part 2) by Mary Pope Osborne: When I got home and got halfway through the first book, I realized I’d made a mistake by not snagging the second book. (Plus, Borders didn’t have it in stock.) So I hunted it down on Amazon and was glad to find it in stock and on special, 4 for 3, which meant I needed to get another three books to take advantage. (Yes, I know there are 6 books, but technically the last 2 were bargain books.)

Soulstice (The Devouring, Bk 2) by Simon Holt: I don’t know how long this book was sitting in my shopping cart just waiting to be bought. Finally, I thought about The Devouring and how badly I want to find out about Ebon which broke me down. I’m trying to save this read until October, but I don’t think I’ll make it. Maybe.

Song of the Wanderer (The Unicorn Chronicles, Bk. 2) by Bruce Coville: I absolutely adored Into the Land of the Unicorns, which was the first book in this series. I was elated to see that the second book was also on special, so I snapped it up. It will make a lovely light fantasy read.

Uninvited by Justine Musk: The title turned me off. I’d already tried a book titled Uninvited and the memory of reading it still hurts. But I read the back cover Musk’s book and the storyline just sounds so intriguing, plus (as far as I can tell) there aren’t any vampires, which is a good sign.

Nothing But Ghosts by Beth Kephart: I don’t know if I’m emotionally ready to read this book yet, but I’ve seen so many people mention the beautiful writing that I just can’t resist. I’ll just steel myself and dive in…one of these days.

Kiss & Blog by Alyson Noel: Some time ago I saw this title mentioned on a blog (sorry I can’t remember it now so I could give some credit) and forgot about it. Then Amazon recommended to me, I saw that it was a bargain book and figured why not? From the description, it feels like it’s going to be a fun read.

From Bookcloseouts

The Tarot Café Vol. 5 & 6 by Sang-Sun Park: I enjoyed volumes 1-4 (well, 1-3 more than 4, but…) and I’m trying to figure out why it took me so long to get the final two volumes. As an aside, I’m a bit sad that book 6 is the final in the series, but all good things must eventually come to an end, right?

The Tarot Reader’s Daughter by Helen Dunwoodie: Pure impulse buy. This may come as a surprise, but I love tarot cards—primarily the artwork. When I was doing a search for the Tarot Café books, this book popped up in the search results. It was cheap, it looked interesting, so it was another why not? moment.

From Publishers

Empty by Suzanne Weyn: When I opened up the package and saw this book inside, I got chills. There’s a soft spot in my heart for dystopian reads and this one was especially unnerving because it deals with the depletion of fuel. What will happen when there are no more fossil fuels? What will people do? What will we become? Can’t wait to find out! (Um…not in real life though.)

Solitary by Travis Thrasher: Let me be honest and say that I have no idea what to expect from this book. I received a nudge from someone who said it would be up my street and the publicist was kind enough to send me a copy. I’ve already read the first couple of chapters and I have to admit, I like Thrasher’s style so far.

Confessions of the Sullivan Sisters by Natalie Standiford: The back cover made me laugh. That, my friends, is a really good sign (usually). Rich grannie declaring that she’s about to die and that she’s changed her will to exclude the whole family unless the culprit of a crime comes forward and offers her lawyer a written confession…oh I can just imagine the confessions now.

Thanks to Jill at Breaking the Spine, I present another edition of Waiting on Wednesday…

I’m waiting, rather impatiently, on a book called The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff.

While browsing Amazon, I saw the cover and stopped in my tracks. I mean, look at it. It’s the right amount of creepy, whimsy, and cute.

But since I rarely buy a book (or covet it) based on cover alone, I read the description and knew immediately that I had to have this book the moment it comes out.

Mackie Doyle is not one of us. Though he lives in the small town of Gentry, he comes from a world of tunnels and black murky water, a world of living dead girls ruled by a little tattooed princess. He is a Replacement—left in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago. Now, because of fatal allergies to iron, blood, and consecrated ground, Mackie is fighting to survive in the human world.

Mackie would give anything to live among us, to practice on his bass or spend time with his crush, Tate. But when Tate’s baby sister goes missing, Mackie is drawn irrevocably into the underworld of Gentry, known as Mayhem. He must face the dark creatures of the Slag Heaps and find his rightful place, in our world, or theirs.

Tell me you’re not hooked now, too. It’s due out September 21, 2010 and can be pre-ordered from Amazon.

Title: Stolen
Author: Lucy Christopher
ISBN: 978-0-5451-7093-2
Story Length: 304 pages
Genre: Young Adult Drama

Three Quick Points About Stolen

• Point 1: Slow. No, that’s not right. In fact, a new word needs to be coined because “slow” (and all its various synonyms) is inadequate.
• Point 2: The camel won. It was the only character that felt genuine. Ty came close, but meh. Let’s not start on Gemma.
• Point 3: A twisted love story. Still, it was an interesting take on the evolution of Stockholm syndrome. Continue reading »