A-Z Reading Survey !

Well... I have noticed everyone doing the A to Z survey and since I won't be getting too much reading done the next two weeks I thought.. well I might as well do this too!  Plus it looks fun! I found the A-Z Meme at The Perpetual Page-Turner (love her blog)!

 Author you've read the most books from:

Easy for me... Stephen King.  His books are what got me into reading in the first place!!

Best Sequel Ever:

Oh wow... EVER?  I would say Two Towers from Lord of the Rings

Currently Reading:

Every Day by David Levithan

Drink of Choice While Reading?

Easy... Mountain Dew.  I am drinking one now.  I am very addicted even though I know it rots teeth!

E-reader of Physical Book?

I love my Nook... but I prefer of course to hold a book, smell a book, be able to look down and see how many pages I have left. 

Fictional Character You Probably Would've Dated in High School:

I liked bad boys back then... so maybe Erik from the Sookie Stackhouse books or Ranger from the Stephanie Plum series.  

Glad You Gave This Book a Chance:

Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice.  I am not a big romance reader.. and I had just started reading classics.  So glad I found Jane Austen books I love them!

Hidden Gem Book:

Emily Post's Etiquette Book , honestly no one really has manners anymore because no one teaches people them.  This book really helps us.. including what to do with your cell phone! 

Important Moment in Your Reading Life:

Well for me it was finding goodreads because I don't know anyone who reads in my real life.  Blogging has been pretty important too.  I have had a lot of fun with it!

Just Finished:

The 39 Clues Day of Doom.  I thought this was going to be the final book in the 39 Clues series but they are continuing it.  I am going to stop here though because the number of books in this series are getting crazy.

Kind of Books You Won't Read:

Well there is nothing I won't read... but I don't like biographies, romance, religious, and non-fiction.  Just can't do it. 

Longest Book You've Read:

I think that is either the Stand or Under the Dome by Stephen King.  Sometimes he can really write some long books! 

Major Book Hangover because of:

I loved the Hunger Games. I really do think those are amazing books.  Just great great writing.  Also Harry Potter when they first came out and I had to wait around for the next book in the series to come out! 

Number of Bookcases I Own:

3.  They are old bookcases that were my moms.  I love them.

One Book You Have Read Multiple Times:

Harry Potter of course! 

Preferred Place to Read:

I my recliner in my living room with my kitty at the bottom and the TV on my favorite reality shows.

Quote that inspires you/gives you all the feels from a book you've read:

Is it sad that I don't remember any quotes from books?

Reading Regret: 

I regret all the bad books I read that I DNF!

Series You Started and Need to Finish (all books are out in the series):

I need to finish the Inheritance series by Christopher Paolini

Three of Your All Time Favorite Books:

Harry Potter, Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger, and  The Secret Garden by Fances Hodgson Burnett

Unapologetic Fangirl For: 

The Drizzt Series.  Which is a RA Salvator series about characters from the Dungeons and Dragons universe.  Haters gonna hate!

Very Excited for This Release More than All Others: 

Doctor Sleep by Stephen King.. the sequel to the Shining!

Worst Bookish Habit: 

Not reading fast enough.  Sometimes I just watch too much TV! 

X Marks the Spot: Start at the top left of your book shelf and pick the 27th book:

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Your Latest Book Purchase:

Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris, the last book in the Sookie Stackhouse series.  I haven't read it yet.

ZZZ-snatcher book: (Last Book that kept you up way too late):

Under the Dome by Stephen King

That was pretty fun... did you participate too???  Leave a link to your A-Z if you did!!

Waiting on Wednesday-After Dead by Charlaine Harris

I was surprised a while back when I found out that Charlaine Harris has written this book! After Dead.. What Came Next In The World of Sookie Stackhouse.  The title really tells is all.  It's all about what happens to everyone after the series is over.  Most author's don't do this... but Charlaine had said she didn't want to get questions about it for the rest of her life.  Here is the description:

Dead Ever After marked the end of the Sookie Stackhouse novels—a series that garnered millions of fans and spawned the hit HBO television show True Blood. It also stoked a hunger that will never die…a hunger to know what happened next.

With characters arranged alphabetically—from the Ancient Pythoness to Bethany Zanelli—bestselling author Charlaine Harris takes fans into the future of their favorite residents of Bon Temps and environs. You’ll learn how Michele and Jason’s marriage fared, what happened to Sookie’s cousin Hunter, and whether Tara and JB’s twins grew up to be solid citizens.

This coda provides the answers to your lingering questions—including details of Sookie’s own happily-ever-after…

The book will feature extensive interior art by acclaimed Sookie artist Lisa Desimini, including a Sookieverse Alphabet, color endpapers, and several full-page black and white interior illustrations.

 

Sunday Post!

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer ~ It's a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase books and things we have received and share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead.

This was a great week as far as books for me.  I just kept winning them!!  I won books from FOUR blogs.  That never happens.  So I went and bought a Powerball lotto ticket.  But as you can see I am still on free Blogger so I didn't win the lotto.  I did win books so let's look at those ... shall we?  First up I would like to thank Ryan at Wordsmithonia for Animal Wise by Virginia Morell. I am really looking forward to reading this book... it's all about how animals act that we don't even know about. Ants teaching... birds practicing songs.   Next up I would like to thank Jessica from a GREAT read for  White Cat by Holly Black, A Tale of Two Demon Slayers by Angie Fox, and Street Magic by Caitlin Kittredge.  I am really looking forward to White Cat, I have been wanting to read that forever.  I hadn't heard of the other two books but looking forward to giving them a read.  I would also like to thank Charlene at Bookish Whimsy for Legend by Marie Lu and Harbinger by Sara Wilson Etienne. Both books are signed... and my book club is reading Legend in July so it's perfect to get this book.  I won one more book but haven't received it yet so I'll add it to the Sunday Post later.  Oh and also I bought the last Sookie book Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris.  I can't wait to read all these books and THANKS to everyone who sent them to me!!!!

What is in your post this week?  Leave a link to your mailbox!!

An Apple for the Creature by Charlaine Harris-Review

An Apple for the Creature edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L.P. Kelner

I love the anthologies edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L.P. Kelner. I have read all of them.  This is the newest one and I loved it too... here is the goodreads description:

What could be scarier than the first day of school? How about a crash course in the paranormal from Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner, editors of Home Improvement: Undead Edition? Your worst school nightmares—taking that math test you never studied for, finding yourself naked in school assembly, not knowing which door to enter—will pale in comparison to these thirteen original stories that take academic anxiety to whole new realms.

 In #1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris’s story, "Playing Possum," Sookie Stackhouse brings enough birthday cupcakes for her nephew's entire class but finds she's one short when the angry ex-boyfriend of the school secretary shows up.

 When her guardian, Kate Daniels, sends her undercover to a school for exceptional children, teenaged Julie learns an all-new definition of "exceptional," in New York Times bestselling author Ilona Andrews's "Magic Tests."

 For those who like fangs with their forensics, New York Times bestselling author Nancy Holder offers "VSI," in which FBI agent Claire is tested as never before in a school for Vampire Scene Investigation.

And in New York Times bestselling author Thomas Sniegoski's "The Bad Hour," Remy Chandler and his dog Marlowe find evil unleashed in an obedience school.

You'll need more than an apple to stave off the creatures in these Sand nine other stories. Remember your first lesson: resistance is fruitless!

 Includes stories by: ILONA ANDREWS, AMBER BENSON, RHYS BOWEN, MIKE CAREY, CHARLAINE HARRIS, DONALD HARSTAD, STEVE HOCKENSMITH, NANCY HOLDER, FAITH HUNTER, TONI L.P. KELNER, MARJORIE LIU, JONATHAN MABERRY, THOMAS SNIEGOSKI

Wow that was a long description! Anyways... I adore anthologies.  I like to be able to just sit down sometimes and finish a story in one hour.  (One of the reasons I love King, he writes short story books all the time).  I also love to be introduced to new authors.  This book had some amazing stories.  One complaint I have this time around is a few of them 5 or 6 were stories that ended up in the air. So it was up to our imagination. While I don't mind these types of stories I prefer the short stories I read to end in a pretty bow.

I noticed on the goodreads reviews that most people it would seem didn't read the whole book and only read the short story called Magic Tests by Ilona Andrews.  Apparently this is a popular series!  For real... go looks at the reviews.. Magic Tests is the story everyone is talking about.  While I did think the story was good I didn't think it was the best one in the book.

Personally I thought the best short story in this book was called Ifhigenia in Aulis by Mike Carey. OH WOW!!!  This story was put together so well I still can't believe it was a short story.  It is about some children who are put in a odd school guarded by military.  Turns out that these are children born of woman who were pregnant when they turned into zombies.  So they have both human and zombie traits.  I wish this was a whole book!!!

I would recommend all the anthologies Harris and Kelner edits.  They are usually good and usually themed pretty fun too.  Here is the other anthology I have reviewed (though I have read them all)
Home Improvement: Undead Edition

The crystal ball says:

Clouds are covering! A read that lets me down every now and then but peaks out of the clouds!

EDIT***** check out the comments!! Tony L.P. Kelner totally commented on my blog!!!

Deadlocked by Chalraine Harris- Review

Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris

 

Oh man... only one more book???  NO WAY!!  It is perfect I finished this book tonight right now because season 5 of True Blood just started right now!  Here is the goodreads description:

 

With Felipe de Castro, the Vampire King of Louisiana (and Arkansas and Nevada), in town, it’s the worst possible time for a body to show up in Eric Northman’s front yard—especially the body of a woman whose blood he just drank. Now, it’s up to Sookie and Bill, the official Area Five investigator, to solve the murder. Sookie thinks that, at least this time, the dead girl’s fate has nothing to do with her. But she is wrong. She has an enemy, one far more devious than she would ever suspect, who’s out to make Sookie’s world come crashing down.

This book was really a great lead up to the final book. Some characters stories are coming to a close and a lot of plot lines are finally getting some answers.  Personally I am sad that the series is about to be over but I suppose then again it is best to end it on a high note.. not after people are just totally sick of it. 

Spoilers to come:  I am so glad the fairy business is done.  That went on and on... but Claude as the bad guy?  I don't even know how to feel about that.  I am also sad about how Sookie's relationship ends with Erik.  It felt hurried.. like I don't know it should've happened differently to me.  I do think that Sookie will end up with Sam and that is fine with me.  I like Sam and he and her both have some supernatural abilities which makes them understand each other better. 

This wasn't my favorite Sookie book... and after reading other reviews some people really disliked it.  But I like that things are coming to a close.   I read a lot of Stephen King who never packages things up in a neat bow so it is nice to finish a series that does!  I went to a Charlaine Harris book signing by the way.. you can see pics here.

I am very nervous about what to expect in the next book... another whole year!!! GAWWWWW!!

Top 10 Books I’ve read in 2011

My top 10 books in 2011 are hard to pick (click the picture above to find out how to participate). Ok so here goes:

Title: 11/22/63
Author: Stephen King
Published: November 8th 2011 by Scribner
My number one book is 11/22/63!  This book is AMAZING!  One of his best in a long time.  I will take you on a time traveling journey!







Title:Divergent
Author: Veronica Roth
Published: May 3rd 2011 by Katherine Tegen Books
I loved Divergent.  It was my favorite YA distopian novels this year.  I am dying to read the next book in the series.

Title: Go the Fuck to Sleep
Author: Adam Mansbach
Published: June 14th 2011 by Akashic Books

This book is hilarious!  I recommend if you don't want to buy it or check it out from the library to look it up on youtube.com and listen to Samuel L. Jackson narrate it!


Title: Paranormalcy
Author:Kiersten White
Published: August 31st 2010 by HarperTeen

Ok so I know this wasn't published in 2011 (the second book was) but the first time I read it was in 2011 so I am going to count it.  Now if only Ms. White would do a Q&A with my book club on goodreads!!





Title: Harry Potter Page to Screen: The Complete Film Making Journey
Author: Bob McCabe
Published: October 25th 2011 by Harper Design

I have not done a review on this book yet.  I checked this MASSIVE book out from the library and then bought it for my husband for Christmas so I wanted to wait for that before I did a review.  This book is WONDERFUL and perfect for any Harry Potter fan.  Especially the ones who are so sad there are no more movies.



Title: The Night Circus
By: Erin Morgenstern
Published: September 13th 2011 by Doubleday

Ok this is another book I have not done a review on... because I have about 100 pages to go.  I should be reading it right now but I am writing this post instead!! It is so good and very descriptive.  Nothing like the vampire, werewolf novels that are so popular which makes it more of a refreshing book!




Title: The 39 Clues Series: Medusa's Plot
By: Gordon Korman

Published: August 30th 2011 by Scholastic Press

I don't see many of my fellow bloggers reading the 39 Clue series... but man they are good!  So good in fact that in a couple of weeks when I do my first giveaway I am going to give away book 1!





Title: Vixen

By: Jillian Larkin

Published: December 14th 2010 by Random House Children's Books

This series is great!  I think people aren't reading it though because it came out at the same time as the popular series Bright Young Things (which I have not read so I can't compare).  This is a fun series though and I recommend it if you are interested in reading a YA book that takes time during the Flapper era. 




Title:  The Iron King

By: Julie Kagawa

Published: February 1st 2010 by Harlequin Teen

Ok I know this is another 2010 book, but again I didn't read it till 2011.  I also read the Iron Daughter in 2011 too.  Great series!



 

Title: Dead Reckoning

By: Charlaine Harris

Published: May 3rd 2011 by Ace

Love the Sookie series. Kinda sad there are only two more books! 








Ok so those are my choices!  Leave me a link to yours! 

Down These Strange Streets-edited by George RR Martin-Review

Down These Strange Streets edited by George RR Martin

I love anthologies... and I always pick up the ones that have a Charlaine Harris story in them so I had to read this and it was GREAT!  Here is the goodreads description: 

All new strange cases of death and magic in the city by some of the biggest names in urban fantasy. In this all-new collection of urban fantasy stories, editors George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois explore the places where mystery waits at the end of every alley and where the things that go bump in the night have something to fear... Includes stories by New York Times bestselling authors Charlaine Harris, Patricia Briggs, Diana Gabaldon, Simon R. Green, S. M. Stirling, and Carrie Vaughn, as well as tales by Glen Cook, Bradley Denton, M.L.N. Hanover, Conn Iggulden, Laurie R. King, Joe R. Lansdale, John Maddox Roberts, Steven Saylor, Melinda Snodgrass, and Lisa Tuttle.

These stories were great! I loved the mysteries and got introduced to so many new authors. One of the things I really liked about this anthology is that the stories were much longer then I am used to. Instead of taking 15 minutes to read a story could take an hour or more. Which means I got to know the characters so much better. Zombies, witches, murder, just all the stuff that makes urban fantasy fun. The stories take place from Babylon and ancient Rome to colonial Jamaican slave revolts to the Aleutians during WWII to Victorian England to modern-day Denver.

This book is quite expensive though, and I did get my copy from the library.  It is also long so be ready to put some time into it. I am looking for anthologies similar to this one so if anyone has a suggestion please tell me about it!!  

Home Improvement: Undead Edition edited by Charlaine Harris

Home Improvement: Undead Edition edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L.P. Kelnew

I love these anthologies! Goodreads description: 

The editors of the New York Times bestselling Death's Excellent Vacation bring home a new collection...with a never-before- published Sookie Stackhouse story! There's nothing like home renovation for finding skeletons in the closet or otherwordly portals in the attic. Now, for any homeowner who's ever wondered, "What's that creaking sound?" or fans of "how to" television who'd like a little unreality mixed in with their reality shows, editors Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner return with an all-new collection of the paranormal perils of Do-It-Yourself. Sookie Stackhouse resides in these pages, in a never-before-published story by #1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris. And New York Times bestselling authors Patricia Briggs, James Grady, Heather Graham, Melissa Marr, and nine other outstanding writers have constructed more frightening and funny fixer-upper tales guaranteed to shake foundations and rattle readers' pipes.

I have really enjoyed all the books of anthologies that have been edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L.P. Kelner.  They find some great authors and set up a theme where these authors write little short stories about the theme.  This book did not let me down.  In fact, one story made me want to go out and read one of the authors series! I loved the humor in this book. 

I will say the Sookie Stackhouse short story was OK.  That is probably one of the main reasons that someone is going to buy this book.  I kinda would like to see Harris write a short story about something other then Sookie.  But she only has two more books so one can only hope.

Can't wait to see what the next anthology will be about!!  Here are the other anthologies everyone should check out!

  

Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris-Review

Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris

Just finished this book and liked it a lot!  Here is the goodreads description:    "With her knack for being in trouble's way, Sookie witnesses the firebombing of Merlotte's, the bar where she works. Since Sam Merlotte is now known to be two-natured, suspicion falls immediately on the anti-shifters in the area. But Sookie suspects otherwise and she and Sam work together to uncover the culprit - and the twisted motive for the attack. But her attention is divided. Though she can't 'read' vampires, Sookie knows her lover Eric Northman and his 'child' Pam well - and she realises that they are plotting to kill the vampire who is now their master. Gradually, she is drawn into the plot -which is much more complicated than she knows. Caught up in the politics of the vampire world, Sookie will learn that she is as much of a pawn as any ordinary human - and that there is a new Queen on the board . . . "

Wow.. I can't believe that after this book there is only two more books in the Sookie Stackhouse series.  It feels like yesterday I just started reading this series.  I have actually been reading these books for so long that my first three books in the series are in paperback because at the time they weren't released in hardback!  Then in May I was lucky enough to even get this book signed by Charlaine Harris (go to this link if you missed the post book signing) . It was quite fun!

This book was good but I could tell Harris was wrapping up the series.  A lot of closure in this book and a lot of story telling and not much action.  So I was a little disappointed in that.  There were also a few characters that we have grown to love that just don't even make an appearance in this book. But there are some that we love that make an appearance like Bubba! (love him) I am really ready for the fairy drama to wrap up.  But I suppose that will be the big bang in the last book.


SPOILER**
So I am dying to know who does Sookie end up with? Eric?  Sam?  Bill?  Personally I think she might end up with Sam after all... any thoughts on this?  If so please mark spoilers for those who might not have read this book yet!
END SPOILER**

Let's just say that I love love the Sookie universe and can't wait for the book in the fall the Sookie Companion.  There are  even going to be recipes in that book!

1/2

Teaser Tuesday (#7)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Ok this week I am little behind on posting my teaser!  I know that everyone posts it on Monday instead of Tuesday so I am really behind.  This Week's teaser is from Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris .  Great great book so far!  I must admit I didn't open to a random page, I used to do this but it started spoiling the book for me... so I have been pulling lines off the page that I am on.  So here it is:

POSSIBLE SPOILER FOR THOSE WHO ARE NOT THIS FAR IN THE SERIES!

"You think you could find out about why I'm feeling more fairy after hanging out with my fairy relatives?  I mean, I couldn't actually be changing into more of a fairy, right?"

 

What is on your Teaser Tuesday... even though I am a day behind I still want to know!  Leave a link for me!