Reading Journal ... Wednesday, 2/27/08

Reading The Huntress by Susan Carroll, page 328

Up next Ask Again Later by Jill A. Davis

I blew through 153 pages yesterday. These books are so addicting I can't seem to put them down for long which is a good thing. It's much better than slogging through a book. There's nothing more torturous than struggling to read a book that just isn't entertaining or interesting for whatever reason. I employ the 50 page rule unless it's a favorite author and then I'll probably double that to 100 pages. But if I'm not interested by page 100 by the wayside it goes. There are just too many books that need my attention as evidenced by the TBR piles in my house.

The mail delivered yet another gift ~ Ask Again Later by Jill A. Davis arrived. It's a book I was offered through Authors On The Web. Actually it was one I was thinking of for book club in '09 but now the ladies will miss their chance as I have it in my hot little hands. So the non-fiction books up next have moved down a notch on the reading post and Ask Again Later takes top spot. Whenever a book that was offered to me through Authors on the Web or Early Reviewers at Librarything arrives I always move them to next in line. I receive these books in return for my thoughts about them so I feel that I should honor that request by reading them soon as I can. It's a privilege to be offered these books and not one I intend to abuse.

Update: Today's mail brought another book ~ Strangers in Death by J.D. Robb. Now my dilemma is which to read first: Ask Again Later or Strangers in Death. I'll probably read Ask Again Later first so that I have the pleasure of looking forward to Strangers in Death. Though I'm such a huge J.D. Robb/Nora Roberts fan it's torture not to dig right in to Strangers in Death.

I'll be away for a few days so I'll be checking back in early next week.

Reading Journal ... Tuesday, 2/26/08

Reading The Huntress by Susan Carroll, page 174

I'm absolutely loving this author's work. I did notice that the author mentions that Meg's room was "tricked" out. While I'm sure her room was "tricked" out I'm not sure it is a term they would have used in the late 1500s. I chuckled a bit when reading that.

It's good thing she has a back list of books. As the Twilight Queen doesn't come out until early '09 I'll have to read some of her other works every couple of months to tide me over. I'm hoping her earlier works as a good as her "Daughters of the Earth" series. It's not like I don't have a large selection to choose from in the mean time. Those TBR piles are populating like bunnies and now that spring is here...

I just love coming home to mail that is something besides junk or bills. I got A Rose for the Crown by Anne Easter Smith. I bought this at Amazon with gift $$$ so I'm not guilty of spending hard earned money on this one. Actually I feel like I stole it. I paid .75 cents for the book itself + $4 shipping, originally a $17 book. The book is in great condition. The person before me treats their books the same way I do ~ with loving care. Dog-earred corners and other harsh treatment drives me nuts. I guess that's probably why I buy books new. I like to leave my books looking pristine when I'm done. I believe in treating books with great care. No breaking spines, no dog-earring pages, no spills or stained pages, no bent or torn covers. They are my treasure and should be treated as such.

Reading Journal ... Monday, 2/25/08

Finished Secret of the Scroll by Chester D. Campbell


Reading The Huntress by Susan Carroll, page 45

Finished the Secret of the Scroll last night. It was decent for a first book by the author. I'm not raving about it but I would read the 2nd in the series and go from there.

I'm back with some favorite characters again in The Huntress. So far Catriona O'Hanlon and Martin le Loup along with Ariane Deauville (Cheney) have made appearances though many other characters have been mentioned. Cat is out to protect Meg, Martin's daughter, from the coven of the Silver Rose so there's sure to be plenty of action and friction. This is a wonderful series and I'll be sad to finish this book as the next one is not out until early next year.

I'm thinking of moving back into non-fiction when I finish The Huntress. Usually I try to mix fiction and non-fiction though I haven't been very good lately in doing so. I have Mayflower: A Story of Courage, Community and War by Nathaniel Philbrick and The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey by Candice Millard in the TBR piles so one of those is most likely up next unless one of my ARCs arrives. Truly I can't wait to get my hands on Strangers in Death by J.D. Robb but I'm practicing patience as it should be the hands of the postal service to be delivered at their whim.

Secret of the Scroll by Chester D. Campbell

As I got to my feet, dusting myself off, I saw two women beside a car across the parking area staring in my direction. One appeared to have a cell phone planted against her ear. I shoved the pistol back under my jacket and hurried toward my Jeep. If they were calling 911, I needed to get away from here fast. ~ Secret of the Scroll, page 115 ~

Deadly groups of Palestinians and Israelis struggle to gain possession of an ancient parchment that was unknowingly smuggled from Israel to the U.S. by a retired Air Force investigator. Colonel Greg McKenzie finds himself mired in the duplicitous world of Middle East politics and religion when his wife, Jill, is taken hostage to the return of the first century Hebrew scroll. Hounded by a Metro Nashville detective when he fails to report his wife missing, Greg is forced to mount his own black operation inside Israel in an attempt to save Jill's life. Hanging in the balance is the secret of the scroll, which has the potential to fan the already flaming Arab-Israeli dispute into a raging holocaust.

This is a new-to-me author. While for the most part I enjoyed this book things just fell into place too easily for our main character. He didn't hit any bad spots, didn't have to make any u-turns, never struggled, plot-wise, to get his wife back. Whatever he needed to do he did and nothing got in his way. Everything just went like clock-work and that was the down fall for me. As far as I know this the author's first published book so I expected it to be a bit rough around the plot edges. There was action along the way and, for the most part, the story flowed so I'm willing to try book two in this series before I make a definite go or no go decision.

The Silver Rose by Susan Carroll

"No, Your Grace," Simon murmured. Alarmed as he was at the thought of the Book of Shadows being in the Silver Rose's possession, other equally disturbing thoughts raced through his mind. For a woman who insisted she was not a witch, the queen knew a damnable lot about both the Book of Shadows and what had transpired at the Charters Inn that night. ~ The Silver Rose, page 227 ~

France, 1585. She is the youngest and most powerful of the "Sisters of Faire Isle," women known far and wide for their extraordinary mystical abilities. Skilled in healing and able to foretell the future of those around her, Miri Cheney has returned to her ancestral home to take refuge from a land devastated by civil war ~ and to grieve for her family, driven to exile. But she cannot hide from the formidable new power threatening to seize control of France from Catherine de Medici, the dreaded Dark Queen ~ a diabolical woman known only as the Silver Rose. Miri has no choice but to turn to the one man she distrusts as much as she desires: Simon Aristide, the charismatic witch-hunter who is now himself the hunted, and who has reluctantly made an unholy pact with Catherine. Miri must defy throne and family to save all that she loves most ~ and command a future greater than she could ever imagine.

Another solid story in the Cheney sisters trilogy. This books deals with the power of unconditional love, forgiveness and redemption. Woven throughout the story are characters from previous books that I've come to love and despise. Once again intrigue, mystery, scandal, love, etc. all make appearances. This has been one of the better trilogies I've read in a while. I never felt let down and kept turning pages just to see what would happen next. This author has quickly become a new favorite and her books will go on hold at library as soon as they hit the reserve list.

Reading Journal ... Saturday, 2/23/08

Reading The Silver Rose by Susan Carroll, page 483

Starting Secret of the Scroll by Chester D. Campbell

Ok, so I didn't finish The Silver Rose yesterday. I got within 20 pages of the end and kept nodding off (it was 1am) so I decided to put it down for the night. This is another good book by Susan Carroll. I was going to read The Huntress next but have decided to give myself a break from these characters and move on to something else. I'll be reading Secret of the Scroll by Chester D. Campbell. He is the featured author at Mystery Lovers Corner this month. While Mystery Lovers has chosen a different book of his I like to read series from the start so I've elected to this start with this one. I get a bit frustrated when I pick up and start reading a book only to realize that it's x in a series. I like knowing the characters and their place in the series instead of just barging in on them. I've taken to reading back covers and book jackets a bit more carefully to make sure I'm not stumbling in to middle of a series.

Reading Journal ... Friday, 2/22/08

Reading The Silver Rose, page 206

No book club last night. So after screaming my way through The Guardian and not particularly liking it I didn't have to have it finished on time. No big deal. It's just one more out of the TBR pile that grew again. This time I added 2 for 1 so I'm not making progress on depleting the TBR piles. I knew I shouldn't have gone to Hastings yesterday before heading next door to the DMV. I'll blame this on hubby as I was buying tabs for his car. I picked up 2 books that look good for book club next year. Yes I know, this year is only 2 months old and already I'm stacking up books for we girls to read next year. I also bought new instead of used so I was really on a roll. The new additions are: They Did It with Love by Kate Morgenroth and Peony in Love by Lisa See. We read Snow Flower and the Secret Fan last year for book club and really enjoyed it so I thought we'd read another one by Lisa. They Did It with Love just sounded interesting so in to the TBR piles it goes.

I should be able to finish The Silver Rose today as it's snowing outside, it's my day off from work and I'm house sitting so no distractions.

Format ... Booking Through Thursday, 2/21/08

All other things (like price and storage space) being equal, given a choice in a perfect world, would you rather have paperbacks in your library? Or hardcovers? And why?

Trade-sized paperbacks. ~ They're the perfect size ~ The type is not too small nor too large; the dimensions of the book make it easy to carry in a purse, backpack, briefcase, etc. without taking up too much space. They're always my first choice when buying books.

http://btt2.wordpress.com/2008/02/

Reading Journal ... Thursday, 2/21/08

Finished The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks. Review posted on this blog.

Reading The Silver Rose by Susan Carroll, page 73.

Finished The Guardian yesterday and posted my thoughts under Book Reviews 2008. Not his best work. I've started reading The Silver Rose which is the final book in the Cheney Sisters trilogy. I'm very much enjoying this series and will be reading a 4th book by this author next. The Huntress is not a Cheney Sisters book but is related and has characters that have been introduced in her other books. Once more I'm back in the historical fiction mode that started last year and I haven't been able to break away from. In the past historical fiction made up next to none of my reading and now I can't seem to get away from it. If you looked at my TBR piles you'd swear it's the only genre I'm reading!

Thursdays are one of my days' off and you'd think I'd spend my time reading. No such luck. I actually spend Thursdays updating my yahoo book group info, my blog with things like book reviews and other tidbits, my Librarything library and the Booking Through Thursdays meme which I haven't even gotten to yet.

The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks

As she approached the house an hour later, she heard the phone ringing. Hurrying inside, she let the screen door close with a bang behind her. Probably Emma, she thought. Emma had been calling a lot lately ~ she loved what was happening with Mike and couldn't wait to talk about it. And to be honest, Julie kind of liked talking about it, too. Just for perspective, of course. ~ The Guardian, page 184 ~

Julie Barenson's young husband left her two unexpected gifts before he died ~ a Great Dane puppy named Singer and the promise that he would always be watching over her. Now four years have passed. Still living in the small town of Swansboro, North Carolina, twenty-nine-year-old Julie is emotionally ready to make a commitment to someone again. But who? Should it be Richard Franklin, the handsome, sophisticated engineer who treats her like a queen? Or Mike Harris, the down-to-earth nice guy who was her husband's best friend? Choosing one of them should bring her more happiness than she's had in years. Instead, Julie is soon fighting for her life in a nightmare spawned by a chilling deception and jealousy so poisonous that it has become a murderous desire...

This book did absolutely nothing for me. It was very predictable from start to finish. I found the writing style stilted. I've read other works by this author and loved them, especially The Wedding. I thought going into this I'd be reading a romance with possibly a few wrong turns on Julie's part until she realizes who is really the man for her. After the reading the author's note at the end of the story I understood why I didn't like this book. He was writing a romance story with a thriller aspect secondary to the main story line. He stated it went through 8 major revisions, maybe it should have gone through nine. For me it didn't work. Hopefully in the future he will write what he's very good at ~ true romantic, get out the hankie tear jerkiers.