8 posts tagged “2007 books”

A little late, but here's my list of June books.

 

 

Book Description (from Amazon)

 

Jared is a Red Jewel Warlord auctioned as a pleasure slave by a notorious queen. He fears he will share the fate of her other slaves, but the Gray Lady may not be what she seems.

 

 

 

 

Book Description (from Amazon)

 

Welcome to Ephemera, full of thousands of magical landscapes interconnected by bridges that may or may not take a traveler where he wants to go, for here the destination is always determined by the heart's true desire. One such landscape is the Den, a town of perpetual twilight inhabited by creatures of the night because it shelters all things hidden, secret, and dark. Half-incubus Sebastian and his friend, Teaser, have lived in the Den for years, happily plying their trade to lonely women in the flesh and in their dreams. But something evil roams among humans, trolls, waterhorses, and other creatures, and the corpses of heinously murdered victims are found with alarming regularity. When that evil enters the Den wearing Teaser's and others' faces, Sebastian must perilously journey to Wizard City for help. There, another, more insidious evil awaits. With the help of cousin Glorianna Belladonna, Teaser, and his love, Lynnea, Sebastian will risk everything to save Ephemera. But will everything be enough?

 

 

Book Description (from Amazon)

 

In the eighth installment in Greeley's immensely entertaining Irish series (after 2002's Irish Stew!), Nuala Anne and her husband, Dermot Coyne, once again look into mysteries past and present: the first chronicled in the diaries of Father Richard Lonigan, a 19th-century parish priest in Donegal, Ireland, the second involving poor Damian "Day" O'Sullivan, whom the couple hire to take care of their two Irish wolfhounds. Amid the troubled political and religious environment in Donegal, where mostly poor Catholic villagers are overseen by Protestant Lord Skeffington, Father Lonigan investigates two shootings while striving to prevent further violence. In present-day Chicago, Nuala and Dermot face opposition to hiring Day O'Sullivan from the lad's father, since Day is not only a profound disappointment to the O'Sullivan family but also a convicted felon. The "fey" or psychic Nuala Anne believes the young man has been framed by his family and is determined to find out why Day inspires such loathing and disgust in his own kin. As with previous titles in the series, the sexual antics of Nuala and Dermot lend spice.

 

 

Book Description (from Amazon)

 

Career-minded Tasha, who has clawed her way up the ladder of British television to be a producer for a popular a.m. chat-fest, narrates in a brisk, snappy monologue. Although she prides herself on her stylish clothes and glamorous job ("I'm generally thought of as strikingly attractive," she notes), what she really needs is the love of a good man. The problem? She's a sucker for rakes who make her pulse race, treat her horribly and break her heart.

 

 

Of these, I'd have to say that Sebastian was my favorite.  The characters were well-developed, likeable and real (despite the fantasy elements).  I could really connect with Sebastian's desire to belong some place, for his father's approval, and for the warmth of a true a family.  Anne Bishop spins wonderful tales, full of rich lands and diverse peoples. 

 

Talking Straight was my least favorite.  The main character was shallow, superficial and blind, and totally in capable (throughout most the novel) of forming a healthy relationship with a man.  To compound matters, at every misstep, she quotes her therapist's words about "her patterns" but fails to realize what her therapist has been saying.  When she finally does find the right man, she is dissatisified and looks for "greener pastures."   

 

Sadly, I have another book by Jane Green in my current reading list (my library had lots of them on the shelves), but after this one I'm afraid to start reading it.

 

The rest of my 2007 Books are here.

Description from Amazon.com

 

Aspiring novelist Penn Hamilton is determined to parlay his perfect looks and brains into fortune and fame. He sees powerful--but painfully plain--New York editor Beryl Unger as his means to an end. The two meet at a Barnes & Noble event in which Penn "rescues" narcoleptic Beryl after a fainting spell (she literally passes out at the sight of him). He seduces her in a raunchy sex scene (shouldn't the term "raging meat" be reserved for a Cajun cookbook?). Beryl soon becomes wise to Penn's devious ways and steals his manuscript. Turns out, it's brilliant, and Beryl sets her bruised ego aside to orchestrate a megamillion--dollar deal designed to turn the multitalented pretty boy into a one-man brand. Beryl puts all her promotional muscle behind Penn, but their relationship takes a deadly turn when she discovers he's been bedding her star client, drop-dead gorgeous African American novelist Sharlyn Tate. Files (Scenes from a Sistah) delivers a steady supply of satire and sass, but her deep-purple prose may prompt literary purists to pass.

 

 

Description from Amazon.com

 

Wizard Harry Dresden stars in the third installment of the Dresden Files (following Fool Moon), a haunting, fantastical novel that begins almost as innocently as those of another famous literary wizard named Harry. In the opening scene, Dresden and his knight friend, Michael, battle the ghost of a woman who is terrorizing a local hospital's maternity ward. From there, the novel quickly evolves into an unorthodox tale spiced with sexual innuendo and subtle humor (Dresden carries his ghost-hunting gear in an old Scooby-Doo lunch box). Due to the weakened barrier between the spirit world which Butcher refers to as "the nevernever" and the actual world, obsessive and violent ghosts are on the loose in modern-day Chicago, and they seem to be targeting Dresden and Michael. Horny vampires and possessive demons join the mix as Dresden journeys into the spirit world to hunt down the villains who are terrorizing him and his friends. Butcher narrates Dresden's story in the first person, which limits the amount of detail he can inject into the lives of his secondary characters. Despite this narrow point of view, Butcher successfully lends human dimensions to vampires and spirits through his vivid descriptions and colloquial dialogue. (Sept.)Forecast: A vivid cover showing glowing barbed wire wrapped around a pair of cemetery gates is misleading as is a cover quote appealing to fans of Laurell K. Hamilton and Tanya Huff but it will catch the browser's eye. This over-the-top tale is more likely to entertain young adult readers than fans of the aforementioned authors.

 

Description from Amazon.com

Private detective/wizard-for-hire Harry Dresden is suckered into tangling in the affairs of Faerie, where the fate of the entire world-and his soul-are at stake.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Description from Amazon.com

 

In this continuation of her diary, Bridget again recounts the ups and downs of the single life. During this period she has a somewhat steady boyfriend; however, the joys of having a man in her life are tempered by his seeming indifference to her at times. To her consternation she discovers that he is spending time with another woman. Besides the trials and tribulations of this relationship, Bridget must contend with confrontations with an obstinate boss, dealings with a weird contractor, working on her apartment, and the unpleasant experiences during the worst vacation of her life. Through it all Bridget is supported by her married and unmarried friends. Her comments, often overstated, are both harsh and humorous.

 

 

Description from Amazon.com

 

It's divorcée daggers out in Graves's impressive and uncomfortably funny debut, the first installment of a trilogy in the Desperate Housewives school of moneyed midlife debauchery. Jessica DiSantini, with half her neurosurgeon ex-husband's money and nearly bottomless wine cellar, shuttles her daughter to school and Mass (at "Our Lady of the Lexus") in between gossip sessions with her divorced friends Lally, Caitlin and Janey. And while the lady lunchers may have good shoulders to cry on at first, they realize that other singletons, no matter how chummy, are still competition. So when debonair David Clemente appears on Southern California's marriage market (his wife left him for their art dealer), Jessica and her crack team of surgically enhanced divorced divas are each determined to land him, by any means necessary. A series of home invasions add a pleasing piquancy to Graves's entrée, as does the author's flair for mixing high-brow references with chick lit's light humor.

 

 

Description from Amazon.com

 

Harry Dresden is not having a good day. A vampire named Ortega is hunting the beleaguered wizard, intending to challenge him to a duel that, Ortega claims, will end the war between the vampires and the wizards. Harry has almost no hope of winning the duel, but soon he is preoccupied by another problem: Father Vincent, a priest, needs Harry's help in finding the Shroud of Turin, stolen by a trio of thieves. Harry traces two of the thieves to his hometown, Chicago, but when he finds them, he learns that he isn't the only one after them. A group of terrifying demons wants the shroud, and its leader is interested in Harry's soul, too. Harry must call on all of his friends, including three brave knights, his police-officer friend, and even his half-vampire ex-girlfriend, Susan. Butcher maintains a breakneck pace in Harry's exciting fifth adventure. This imaginative series continues to surprise and delight with its inventiveness and sympathetic hero.

 

Description (as per Amazon)

 

 Series hero Jim "Qwill" Qwilleran, columnist for the Moose County Something in remote Pickax City, Mich., gets involved in the local literary club, a new senior center and an absurdist play called The Cat Who Was Elected Dogcatcher. When Polly Duncan, "the chief woman in his life," goes off to Paris, Qwill is left without a companion for his various social outings. Incidental criminal activities include arson, missing funds and death by bee sting. Siamese cats Koko and Yum Yum add the usual feline fun.

 

My Thoughts

 

I have been enjoying 'The Cat Who" Books for years, however, I cannot say I enjoyed this one.  Between the break-up of a long established an adored couple and an unexpected and shocking arson, the book was simply a disappointment.  Ms. Braun, how could you?

Description (as per Amazon.com):

 

Book One in a series of novels by Jim Butcher about Harry Dresden, a wizard and private detective. I've been enjoying SCI FI Channel's version of The Dresden Files, so I thought I'd check out the books. I expected a straight-forward adventuretale ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Description:

 

Book 2 of the Dresden Files. 

Description (as per Amazon)

 

First published in 1959, Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House has been hailed as a perfect work of unnerving terror. It is the story of four seekers who arrive at a notoriously unfriendly pile called Hill House: Dr. Montague, an occult scholar looking for solid evidence of a “haunting”; Theodora, his lighthearted assistant; Eleanor, a friendless, fragile young woman well acquainted with poltergeists; and Luke, the future heir of Hill House. At first, their stay seems destined to be merely a spooky encounter with inexplicable phenomena. But Hill House is gathering its powers—and soon it will choose one of them to make its own.

 

 

 

This book was recommended to me by a friend, for whom it is a favorite and often read book.  It is, also, the book upon which the movie, The Haunting is based on.  The book, however, reminds me of a mixture of the movie and another -- Stephen King's "Rose Red."  Naturally, I realize that The Haunting of Hill House came long before either movie and therefore is obviously an inspiration. 

 

It is also a very enjoyable read.

Description (as per Amazon.com)

A delightfully dishy novel about the all-time most impossible boss in the history of impossible bosses.

Andrea Sachs, a small-town girl fresh out of college, lands the job “a million girls would die for.” Hired as the assistant to Miranda Priestly, the high-profile, fabulously successful editor of Runway magazine, Andrea finds herself in an office that shouts Prada! Armani! Versace! at every turn, a world populated by impossibly thin, heart-wrenchingly stylish women and beautiful men clad in fine-ribbed turtlenecks and tight leather pants that show off their lifelong dedication to the gym. With breathtaking ease, Miranda can turn each and every one of these hip sophisticates into a scared, whimpering child.

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA gives a rich and hilarious new meaning to complaints about “The Boss from Hell.” Narrated in Andrea’s smart, refreshingly disarming voice, it traces a deep, dark, devilish view of life at the top only hinted at in gossip columns and over Cosmopolitans at the trendiest cocktail parties. From sending the latest, not-yet-in-stores Harry Potter to Miranda’s children in Paris by private jet, to locating an unnamed antique store where Miranda had at some point admired a vintage dresser, to serving lattes to Miranda at precisely the piping hot temperature she prefers, Andrea is sorely tested each and every day—and often late into the night with orders barked over the phone. She puts up with it all by keeping her eyes on the prize: a recommendation from Miranda that will get Andrea a top job at any magazine of her choosing. As things escalate from the merely unacceptable to the downright outrageous, however, Andrea begins to realize that the job a million girls would die for may just kill her. And even if she survives, she has to decide whether or not the job is worth the price of her soul.

 

I've been seeing the previews for this movie for a while now and found myself intrigued, so I picked up the book from my local library.  It took me three days to read, because I was unable to put it down.  Watching Andrea's descent into the wolrd of a "Runway girl" was rather like watching the proverbial trainwreck.  You want to look away, but you can't.  You simply cannot tear yourself away as her entire life slowly de-evolves into all-Miranda, all the time.  Your heart wrenches for her when you realize that it's just her life being effected, but that of her best friend and boyfriend as well.  The changes in Andrea result in changes for them all.  You cheer when she finally screws up the courage to do what's right instead what's expected of her by her callous, unfeeling boss.  Who wouldn't want to tell off their worst boss ever in much the same way? 

This was an extremely enjoyable read for me. 

Well, I finished another one. 

 

 

 

I'll admit it, this one wasn't something I put a lot of thought into when I started reading it.  Mostly, I was looking for something to fill my time while I was waiting in the doctor's office, so I grabbed it off the bookshelf and started reading.  Westerns are my husband's thing, not mine.  It wasn't a bad book, overall, although I doubt I'd actively look for anything else by this author, simply because... well, westerns are my husband's thing, not mine.

 

Next up on my reading list is, The Unbearable Lightness of Being.  This will be a re-read for me.

 

See my library fro more books I've read.  

Every year over on LiveJournal, I join hundreds of other LJers in the 50BookChallenge, which is, as the name suggests, a challenge to read 50 books (of any kind, fiction/non-fiction/etc) in a year's time.  This will be my 5th year doing the challenge.  I've "won" twice and failed twice. 

Here's my first two books of the new year.

 

 

If you haven't read the Black Jewels Trilogy by Anne Bishop, you ought to.  Dreams Made Flesh is a series of novellas which return to the universe of the Black Jewels.  Some oare set in inbetween chapters of the original trilogy while others are back story for various characters.  A very enjoyable read. 

 

 

I read this in preparation for the new baby, as I am breast-feeding again, at least for now.  We'll probably wean him at 2 or 3 months like we did his sister. 

 

And speaking of the baby, he's awake and crying, so I'm off now. :-)