2009 June 21 » Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog

Bloggiesta wrap-up

Posted by Anastasia on June 21, 2009 No Responses »

Jun 212009

Well, Bloggiesta is over, and while I didn’t do as much as I hoped I still had loads of fun.

I wrote seven reviews, updated two pages, fiddled around with my blog’s set-up (mostly to no avail), and fixed my Gravatar. I participated in five mini-challenges, commented not nearly enough, spent about 12-ish hours actually doing Bloggiesta, and got distracted by a lot of book reading.

I think I’m most happiest on getting some reviews knocked off my list. I still need to work on getting more written, of course, but huzzah for getting something done, at least! How was your Bloggiesta? Get everything done you wanted to do?

TSS: June 21 (Summer Reading)

Posted by Anastasia on June 21, 2009 No Responses »

Jun 212009

Last week I discovered the Southern Vampire Mysteries (aka Sookie Stackhouse series) after overhearing some friends talking about Beth Fish Reads’ new Sookie Stackhouse reading challenge (which I AM going to sign up for, Beth). It starts July 1 and ends June 30, 2010. Apparently you can start anywhere in the series, which is wonderful for me because at the rate I’m reading these babies now I’ll have completed the challenge before it even starts!

Oh yes, dear readers, I’ve become a Charlaine Harris convert. I’m on book six already, Definitely Dead, and I’m expecting to catch up to the newest book (#9, Dead and Gone) sometime next week. I’ve also picked up another book of hers from Borders today, Grave Sight. It’s the first book in another mystery/dark fantasy series, and it looks fab!

Meanwhile, I’ve also finally managed to make it about a third into Meg Cabot’s The Princess Diaries. I have no idea why I had such a hard time reading this book before, but I’m finally enjoying myself and that means I won’t have to put the other Princess Diary books back on BookMooch. Whew!

And I’m super excited that some of my library holds have finally appeared, including The Hunger Games! Now I can finally figure out what’s making everyone so giddy about it. Drood showed up, too, but the others (The Strain, Glen David Gold’s new book, plus some others) are taking a while.

As summer encroaches further into my brain (sun out here is COOKING) I feel the need for more chick lit and lighter contemporary fiction. Also books about vampires and ghosts, for some reason. I’ve racked up some points at PaperbackSwap and BookMooch, so if anyone maybe has any recommendations for me…? I’m thinking along the lines of Marian Keyes, Sophie Kinsella/Madeleine Wickham, Charlaine Harris, Meg Cabot, etc.

Anyway, here’s what I’ve read this past week:
121. Monster – Walter Dean Myers [rating: 4.5/5]
122. Where I’d Like to Be – Frances O’Roark Dowell [rating: 3.5/5]
123. The Buried Pyramid – Jane Lindskold [rating: 4/5]
124. Once Bitten, Twice Shy (Jaz Parks #1) – Jennifer Rardin [rating: 4/5]
125. Dead Until Dark (Southern Vampire Mysteries #1) – Charlaine Harris [rating: 4/5]
126. Living Dead in Dallas (Southern Vampire Mysteries #2) – Charlaine Harris [rating: 4.5/5]
127. Club Dead (Southern Vampire Mysteries #3) – Charlaine Harris [rating: 3.5/5]
128. Dead to the World (Southern Vampire Mysteries #4) – Charlaine Harris [rating: 4.5/5]
129. Dead as a Doornail (Southern Vampire Mysteries #5) – Charlain Harris [rating: 4/5]

Books reviewed:
Behind the Curtain (Echo Falls #2) – Peter Abrahams [rating: 4.5/5]
Curse of the Bane (The Last Apprentice #2) – Joseph Delaney [rating: 4/5]
Fire and Hemlock – Diana Wynne Jones [rating: 4/5]
The Ink Drinker – Eric Sanvoisin [rating: 3/5]
Revenge of the Witch (The Last Apprentice #1) – Joseph Delaney [rating: 4.5/5]

Events:
GIVEAWAY of The Ink Drinker. Worldwide, ends June 26th.

Mini Reviews: Fire and Hemlock, Behind the Curtain, Curse of the Bane, The Ink Drinker (+ CONTEST)

Posted by Anastasia on June 21, 2009 16 Responses »

Jun 212009

Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones
Publication: Harper Teen, Mass Market Paperback, 432 pages / ISBN 9780064473521
Genre: Fantasy, YA
Rating: ?
Find @ Alibris or AbeBooks
First sentence: Polly sighed and laid her book face down on the bed.

In one sentence: Cute story, interesting characters, but slightly squick-y.

I love Diana Wynne Jones, but sometimes she has some things in her books that squick me. In Fire and Hemlock it’s Polly’s crush on Tom. Nothing happens, and he doesn’t reciprocate (thank goodness) until the end when she’s grown up, but it still squicked me way out. I finished the book of course, and I liked it once I shoved that part of the plot away from my mind, but. Uh. I dunno. What’s everyone else’s thoughts on this? Am I the only one that was weirded out?

Behind the Curtain (Echo Falls #2) by Peter Abrahams
Publication: HarperCollins e-books (March 31, 2009), ebook, 400 pages (print)
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, YA
Rating:
Find ebook @ Amazon or Fictionwise (note: I have one 10% coupon I can send to someone if you’d like to buy this book from Fictionwise)
First sentence: Ingrid Levin-Hill sat in math class, her mind wandering pleasantly.

In one sentence: Excellent addition to one of my favorite series!

Like the first Echo Falls book, Behind the Curtain is less focused on the mystery and more focused on Ingrid’s life and her relationships with the people around her. It’s maybe less thrilling than the first book, but it was a real treat to see what Ingrid’s been up to since the events of that book. Poor thing’s still all messed up and naive, but at least she had more backup this time to keep herself from getting killed. Yay!

Curse of the Bane (The Last Apprentice #2) by Joseph Delaney
Publication: HarperCollins (July 24, 2007), Paperback, 496 pages / ISBN 0060766239
Genre: Fantasy, YA
Rating:
Find @ Amazon or IndieBound
First sentence: When I heard the first scream, I turned away and covered my ears with my hands, pressing hard until my head hurt.

Series: Book #1 | Book #2 (you’re here!)

In one sentence: Less scary than the first book, and maybe a little less impressive, too.

There’s not much to this second book except some (okay, a lot) thrills. The “chills” part of the equation isn’t in full force like it was in the first book, and the characters go nowhere except maybe deeper into stupidity (I’m talking about you, . We do learn more about the Spook, which is nice, and more about the kind of place Tom and his cohorts live in (which is mostly England-but-not), but I was waiting for something to impress me like the first book had done, and it never came. Second books tend to be like that, though, and series normally get back in their stride in book three (which The Last Apprentice does, thankfully).

The Ink Drinker by Eric Sanvoisin & Martin Matje
Publication: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (October 13, 1998), Hardback, 37 pages / ISBN 0385325916
Genre: Horror, Children’s
Rating:
Find @ Amazon or IndieBound
First sentence: My father owns a bookstore.

In one sentence: Interesting story idea, but slightly boring.

I’ve been curious about the Ink Drinker series ever since I first heard about it, which must have been around five or so years ago. Then I finally found a copy– at the last library book sale, actually– and, uh, it’s not what I expected. It’s cute (especially the illustrations, but I was thinking it was more spooky? (Like Edward Gorey?) Maybe I’m just too old for these kinds of books. I do think it’d be a good book for parents to read to their (very young) children. Almost like the Bunnicula books? Except shorter.

Win my copy of The Ink Drinker!

I’m giving away my ex-library copy of The Ink Drinker (obviously). It’s in pretty good condition, with some ex-library paraphernalia on it and a few, er, fingerprints on the pages.

To enter, leave a comment on this post stating you’d like to be entered. Don’t forget to leave your email address so I can contact you if you win! People that don’t leave me a way to contact them will be disqualified from the giveaway.

It’s a small book, so this giveaway is open worldwide. Yay!

I’ll use random.org to determine the winner. Contest ends June 26, 2009. Good luck!