2011 September » Birdbrain(ed) Book Blog

MINI-REVIEWS: Jane-Emily, Mechanique, Hounded

Posted by Anastasia on September 5, 2011 7 Responses »

Sep 052011

As always, click on a book’s cover to go to its Amazon page.

83. Jane-Emily by Patricia Clapp
Publication: Harper Paperbacks (August 7, 2007), originally published 1969, Paperback, ~130pp / ISBN 0061245011
Genre: Children’s Horror

Read: July 26, 2011
Source: Bought

Review

Things that scare me: evil children, ghosts, haunted houses, evil child ghosts haunting houses, evil child ghosts haunting houses and trying to kill people. Jane-Emily has all that and more! It’s a short book, but I got so freaked out during the course of reading it that I was sure a ghost was hovering right behind me waiting to pounce.

For all that it’s a ghost story, it’s more psychological horror than anything else. If you like that sort of thing then you’d no doubt enjoy Jane-Emily. I think it’d make a great book for RIP VI, too!

Rating

I nearly couldn’t sleep after reading this book. It’s great!

89. Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti by Genevieve Valentine
Publication: Prime Books (April 23, 2011), ebook, 320pp / ISBN 1607012537
Genre: Sci-fi

Read: July 30, 2011
Source: Gift

Review

This was a surprise gift from someone. Thank you, someone! I’ve been wanting to read this book for a while, as I’m familiar with the author’s blog (which I love) and I adore stories set in a circus environment. Mechanique was great because not only did it have a circus, but it’s got steampunk/futuristic/apocalyptic elements as well, all tied together with some rather lovely poetic writing.

I really enjoyed Mechanique. It’s kind of a weird book, but it’s weird in a way I can appreciate. It’s kind of spooky, it’s kind of quirky and cool, and it’s also kind of tragic in a way. It’s not really a fast-paced, exciting plot, but it’s enthralling nevertheless and I think partly that’s because of the setting and the characters. Anyway, if you like circus stories with tragic characters and a bit of a steampunk/dystopia thing going on, you’d like Mechanique.

Rating

Well who wouldn’t enjoy a steampunk circus dystopian tragedy?

91. Hounded by Kevin Hearne
Publication: Del Rey (May 3, 2011), ebook, 320pp / ISBN 0345522478
Genre: Urban Fantasy

Read: July 31, 2011
Source: Bought

Review

I’ve been hearing really good things about Hounded for a while now, and so I finally decided to just go ahead and get it so I so find out if those good things are true. (I think it was on sale a while ago? Anyway–) Those good things are totally true, and I think Hounded is basically my new Dresden Files.

I guess I just have a soft spot for stories about snarky, heroic geeks and their supernatural friends. I also appreciate a bit of action, a bit of drama, some mystery and some romance (sort of). I also liked the emphasis on Celtic mythology, as that’s a bit different from what other urban fantasy books are doing. Unlike the Dresden Files series, there’s no noir-ness to Hounded, and I think there’s less emphasis on the mystery in favor of the characters (which could be either a good or a bad thing, depending on your story preference). It is, however, still a lot of fun, and I’m for sure going to continue reading the series.

Rating

Now that I’ve reviewed this I can finally read the second book. Huzzah!

The Sunday Salon (Sept. 4): The RIP VI challenge

Posted by Anastasia on September 4, 2011 12 Responses »

Sep 042011

I haven’t done challenges at all this year, mainly because once I sign up for them I keep forgetting to actually do them. The R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril VI challenge is different, however, because I’ve been meaning to participate in it every since I started blogging, but somehow I always forget to keep an eye out for it and then I miss the sign-ups and then it’s mid-October and way too late to join anyway, and everything is terrible in that mild “it’s just the internet” sort of way. Continue reading »

Commonplace Post (1)

Posted by Anastasia on September 3, 2011 7 Responses »

Sep 032011

I haven’t done a link-y sort of post in a while, but I felt like doing one today so…I am! Not all book-related things, here, just interesting posts and whatnot I’ve come across over the past week. Think of it like a commonplace book, only online. And with links.

Click on an image to go to its website. And without further ado, in no particular order: Continue reading »

REVIEW: The Implosion of Aggie Winchester by Lara Zielin

Posted by Anastasia on September 2, 2011 6 Responses »

Sep 022011

79. The Implosion of Aggie Winchester by Lara Zielin
Publication: Putnam Juvenile (August 4, 2011), ARC paperback, 278pp / ISBN 0399254110
Genre: YA fiction

Read: July 23, 2011
Source: Publisher (thank you!)

Summary from Amazon:

Sixteen-year-old Aggie Winchester couldn’t care less about who’s elected prom queen-even if it’s her pregnant Goth-girl best friend, Sylvia Ness. Aggie’s got bigger things to worry about, like whether or not her ex-boyfriend wants to get back together and whether her mom will survive cancer.

But like it or not, Aggie soon finds herself in the middle of an unfolding prom scandal, largely because her mom, who is the school’s principal, is rumored to have burned prom ballots so Sylvia won’t be elected queen. Aggie’s own investigation makes her wonder if the election could be dirty on both sides.

Review

I said on Twitter that this was like everyone in my high school shoved into a book, and I still stand by that. I knew people like Aggie; I knew people like Sylvia; random secondary and tertiary characters were pretty much like everyone else I knew as well– and that, right there, is the key to this book’s brilliance. Continue reading »

Thursday Tea (Sept. 1): Skyship Academy

Posted by Anastasia on September 1, 2011 6 Responses »

Sep 012011

The book: Since packing up most of my books, I’ve now got a lot more room on my shelves to be really fiddly with organization. I stuck all my review copies onto one shelf, and, er…there’s a lot. Most of them are from BEA, true, but unless I want them to turn into a huge backlog I’d better start reading/reviewing them now. I’ve got them sorted by release month, so hopefully I won’t fall too behind (or too ahead, as is sometimes the case).

Right now I’m reading a BEA book: Skyship Academy: The Pearl Wars by Nick James. I met Mr James at BEA and he was really nice– way younger than I thought he’d be, but very nice. So far Skyship Academy: The Pearl Wars is a lot of fun, though I think I’ve already figured out the “twist” (if you’ve read Gone by Michael Grant you’d have probably guessed it, too). I’m kind of hoping I’m wrong, as I hate when things that’re supposed to be secrets are obvious from the get-go, but I kind of think I’m not.

The tea: One scene in the book says that the temperature outside of the bubble thing that most people live in is 115*. That’s terrible! Then again, it got to 118* in Palm Springs the week I was in California, so it’s not all that bad. To be honest, I’m surprised it wasn’t higher, as Skyship Academy: The Pearl Wars is set in a futuristic-techno/post-apocalyptic world and that usually means a messed-up climate and stuff.

Anyway, luckily it’s only about 70* or so in my apartment right now, so I can enjoy my nice English Breakfast tea without wanting to pass out from overheating.

Do they go together? One character in this book does seem like a stereotypical tea-drinker: snooty, slightly evil, and manipulative as hell. So I’d say the tea and the book go together, yes.

Other tea drinkers

JoAnne is reading Bridger by Megan Curd and drinking water!

SweetSwan is reading Nevermore by Kelly Creagh and drinking Lebanese Rose tea!

(Leave a link to your TT post in the comments and I’ll add you to the tea drinkers list!)

Monthly Review (August 2011)

Posted by Anastasia on September 1, 2011 6 Responses »

Sep 012011

Thinking Back

As always, the beginning of the month seems so far back I can barely remember doing any of the things I actually did, including writing reviews and reading books. And this month I read some really good books! Some of my favorite books of the year, in fact, but I only vaguely recall the actual reading part. Like, I know I did it, but I can’t remember doing it? Is that weird? I hope that happens to other people besides me, because now I’m starting to worry. Continue reading »