Some Overdue Book Reviews

So a long time ago, I checked out a giant pile of books for my 101 in 1001 challenge, vowing to read and review them all.  In that amount of time I've only read one of them, and had to return the rest to the library, on threat of daily fines.  AND I've also read the latest installment of The Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger.  So here's the quick and dirty reviews of both.

The Master Executioner was my random Western pick.  Oddly enough, it felt like less of a Western than the Mystery selection I chose.

Plotline in a sentence: Oscar stone starts out as a carpenter, but a failed marriage and odd apprenticeship later, he winds up as the best hangman around.

What I liked: All the information about hanging.  I know, sounds morbid, but it was actually really interesting (supposedly this author is big on research, so it's at least 80% accurate, I'd say).  I really liked that Oscar just wanted to give a good, clean death to the people.  He wasn't morbid or anything, he just didn't think anyone deserved a botched hanging.  The writing was very beautiful in spots as well.

What I didn't like: The plot, or lack thereof.  It's really just a long character sketch of Oscar.  The ending also felt tacked on, as if Estleman didn't know how to end it, so he drew it out of a melodramatic hat.  Really really melodramatic as opposed to the rest of the very logical, level-headed book.

Blameless is the third novel in what is coming to be a really good Steampunk/Urban Fantasy/Mystery/Romance genre (I know, it's a mouthful, but Sufmr just sounds kinda dirty to me.

Since it's the third in a series:
Spoilers
Will
Undoubtedly
Follow!

Plotline in a sentence: Alexia rushes off to Italy to find the Templars, possibly the only group that can prove she's pregnant by her werewolf husband, forcing him to take her back.

What I liked: Lots!  Alexia is feeling more like a real character (and less of a stereotype) more and more (if still a bit dense at times, especially about a certain French lesbian) as are many of the other characters (Ivy being in the forefront). The introduction of the Templars and the possibilities of the baby make me really excited for the next book.  Those of you who disliked the ending of the second will find a lot of that explained away and dealt with pretty nicely.  (Sorry about all the parenthesis, I tend to be too liberal with them the sleepier I get).

What I didn't like: The big reveal about the baby and what it may or may not be felt really rushed to me, and in all actuality, I'm not sure I understand it.  However, I'm sure that's what the next book will be about.

So there you go guys, hope these help narrow down (or broaden (oops...sorry again)) you're reading horizons!  Until later!

Just a quick note

If you've been wondering where I've been (or not) I thought I'd give you a quick update on some randomness.

I've been on a temp assignment this week, and I've learned a couple of things:

• The best temp assignments are the ones where you're left alone to do your thing
• I really don't want to make friends with people on assignment
• Audiobooks make brainless activities go by 1000x faster
• My work ethic may work me out of a job (I do tasks much faster than the people think, it always makes me nervous that they'll just tell me to go home early)

I've also been able to cross of  several things on my 101 in 1001 list this month:

• On vacation, have at least three pictures taken with me in them: I was able to get lots of pictures in Costa Rica. Even though I wasn't looking my best in every picture, I have proof I was there, and I faced my fear (or whatever you want to call it) about getting my picture taken at my current weight.
• Beat the husband at a game of pool: During the same vacation, I was able to beat the husband.  I guess I put it on here because I had never beaten him, he had just always beaten himself (as it goes with every game I've played).  Even though I'm awful at it, I have a lot of fun playing pool.
• Unload the dishwasher as soon as it's done every time for a week: I'm kindof cheating on this one.  I've just finally given up on my dishwasher.  The reason this was on my list is because if you leave dishes in there for long at all, they get a really gross musty smell, and you have to wash them all over again.  By bypassing the dishwasher and just washing them by hand, I avoid the issue. 
• Find a good local bowling alley: We went with some friends this last Saturday.  It was actually really nice, a decent price, and is open 24/7.  But we went at peak hours, so we both had to get shoes that were a little too big and bowling balls that weren't quite the right fit.  The Husband got the short end of the stick, though, and got stuck with size 16 shoes.

Doesn't he look thrilled about his clown shoes?

 I also have three new articles up on Associated Content:

Saving Money by Making Your Own Wedding Invitations

Learning to Crochet with Easy Patterns

Three Unique Spins on Pride and Prejudice

I also posted an amazing recipe on my other blog, made even more awesome by a substitution I made the other day.

I'd be posting more often this week, but I've been getting up at 5:30 to get in to work, so it's kindof been killing my soul a little each morning.  Wish me luck!

Mini-Reviews! (Or all the guilty pleasures I've devoured lately)

During my hiatus from blogging, I've read several guilty pleasure books.  You know, those books that are so much fun, but you wouldn't want to read next to the person who brought Proust on the airplane (no really, there was a lady reading Proust on her way to Costa Rica). 

Since I have three books backed up on the review train, I thought I'd give them a very short review.  Hope you enjoy and I've tempted you enough to pick them up!

Guilty Pleasure Meter: 8/10
The Masque of the Black Tulip is the second in the Pink Carnation series. It follows the story of two side characters from the first novel, Henrietta and Miles. I found Henrietta a very refreshing change from Amy in the first novel.  She's more level headed and intelligent.  Miles is also very charming as the protective big brother figure that suddenly realizes that "Hen" is a woman.

I felt that Eloise (our modern heroine) was better drawn this time.  I'm starting to like her more as I read about her, although I still have a very hard time remembering her name.

The plot was fast paced and fun (although some parts were very predictable), and some new very intriguing characters were added (my eye's on you Lord Vaughn).  I started the next one as soon as I put this one down.

Guilty Pleasure Meter: 9/10
The Deception of the Emerald Ring is the third book in the Pink Carnation series.  I really enjoyed the different approach this book took.  Instead of a love connection, the main couple in the book is forced to marry, even though they don't love each other.  We see them struggle and fight between chemistry and terrible misconceptions about each other.

Letty is also rather refreshing.  Although she's given a great rack, she isn't considered a beauty by anyone.  She's too short, too plump, and too freckled.  She's also terrible at lying and intrigue. 

Some of the plot points seemed a little rushed or confusing at times, however it was still a great, fun read.  Thanks, Jamie, for turning me on to this series!

Guilty Pleasure Meter: 10/10
A Duke of Her Own is actually the last of the Desperate Duchess series. It was my randomly chosen romance novel for my 101 in 1001 challenge.  Based on the reviews from Amazon, it's the best of the series, so I'm glad I picked this one up.  I actually started reading it about 8 one night and finished it a few hours later. 

It's the perfect guilty pleasure book: great heroine (although the back of the book makes it a mystery as to who the heroine is, you know in the first chapter), a Byronic hero with a heart of gold, a standard romance plot with interesting variations, one or two steamy scenes, humor, and one or two scenes to make you tear up.

A fun, quick read, that's more regular novel than the cover would make you believe.

A few down, a lot more to go!

Completed objectives:

1. Open an Etsy account.  After trying to come up with a clever title tied to crafting, I gave up after the third one was already taken and used my blog title.  So far I've got no items up, but I plan on putting up a few.  It'll mostly be crochet toys, scarves, hats, with some random cross stitch and paper crafts thrown in for good measure.
2. Cancel my cable.  Ok, this one I kind of fudged on.  I wanted to cancel cable because the Husband and I rarely ever watch it, and I hated to see all that money go to waste.  So when we called, they had a special one year "Please, please, please, don't leave us" package that allowed us to keep our current cable and a higher level of internet for much cheaper than what we were paying now.
3. Outline a novel.  
4. Start following a comic book.  I talked about this more here.
5. Follow through the substitute teaching process. 
6. Finish five things form this list in a month.  Yeah, it kinda felt like cheating, but I have a serious issue with follow through, so it was a good motivator, especially here at the beginning.

Halfway done or more:

1. Create a care package for Marine Corps Kids.  So far I have three toys and a hat made.  I want to make two or three more hats.  I'll post pictures when I'm ready to send it off.
2. Read a book every week for a month. This is going to become a lot tougher for the rest of the month, because I have family coming in and out.  I should be able to steal some time here and there, though.
3. Find a new TV show to watch. Now that it's summer and everything's reruns and Lost is gone, I need another show I can watch.  Currently I'm trying out Stargate SG1 (has ten seasons on Hulu) and Wire in the Blood (via Netflix).  I'm really liking both and will probably end up following both.
4. Post every day for a month.  I kinda cheated on this one, too.  I didn't actually start posting daily this month, but I had several days where I posted a couple of things, so I still have 18 posts for July.  For me, it's good enough.
5. Send 10 postcards through Postcrossing.  I sent out several this week, so hopefully I'll be getting several in the mail in the next couple of weeks.

So far I'm feeling really good about my list.  I think having this list is going to help me feel more active, too.  Whenever I get bored or find some free time that I would usually just waste, I have something to shoot for.

Have you started a list?  How are you doing with it?

Cheap is good, but free is better!

So today is a big mis-mash jumble of updates.  First a few updates on my 101 in 1001 list.  I posted previously that I'm picking up Wonder Woman as my comic to follow.  For issue #600, they did an anniversary book, overhaul, and reboot of good ol' Princess Diana.  I got my copy in yesterday and devoured it in 5 minutes.  However, I'm going to go back and read it several more times.  Here are some of my favorite pages.

I also stopped by the library today and got every single WW book they had.  I wanted to catch up and fill in some of the gaps of my knowledge of her (just really know the Silver Age stuff).

I also picked up the random books for my reading list (I did do a couple of vetoes because the book was part of a series and the library didn't have the first one in).  I'm planning on doing reviews on each.

From left to right: Heartshot by Steven F. Havill, English Passengers by Matthew Kneale, Spirit Fox by Mickey Zucker Reichert and Jennifer Wingert, The Master Executioner by Loren D. Estleman, A Duke of Her Own by Eloisa James, and Kid B by Linden Dalecki.

None of these are books I would have picked up on my own (maybe English Passengers) if I hadn't chosen them by random.  I'm hoping that they'll introduce me to some new authors, or at least be pretty enjoyable.  I know my reading has been in a rut lately, so hopefully this will break the pattern.


I also found the first chair for my dining room table.  Found it at Goodwill for (drumroll) $1.99.  Yup, you saw that correctly!  Now, I'll have to do some basic restoration to it, but it's worth it for that price!

I'm also up to 4,741 words for the 50k in 50 Days challenge.  I'm done with chapter one and am moving on to the next.  Definitely, definitely going to hell. But in the words of Frank Turner "I'll have all the best stories to tell."

Preparing for Monday

So I'm gearing up for Monday which is:

• The start of 50k in 50 days.
• The screening day for substitute teaching.
• My 7th anniversary (what is that, the tin foil year?)

It's a big day all the way around.

I'm a bit nervous about the 50k challenge.  I know that it's just 1,000 words per day, without editing or even really reading what you've written.  The whole point is to get words down on paper (or computer screen).  I guess I'm just worried on if anything will come out at all! 

After a lot of thought, I still haven't made up my mind about continuing teaching.  There's a big part of me that hates the idea that I've wasted all those years of college (and student loan money).  But there's an even bigger part that says "Please, don't make me go back!"  So to make a little extra money and test out to see if I really miss the classroom, I've applied to be a substitute teacher.  I can work just a handful of days a month and add a good bit to paying the bills (and fun money).

And then most important of all, I've survived seven years with this man:

He really isn't that bad, just really hates taking pictures.  Prepare yourself on Monday to be inundated with all sorts of nostalgic mushy-ness.  All joking aside, he's my rock and the reason I'm still sane.



On a side note:
I've crossed off two items on my 101 in 1001 list.  I've officially finished the outline for my Lilith novel.  I'm really excited, and I think it will be even better than I had hoped.  And I ordered the first issue from the Wonder Woman reboot.  If you read my rant about WW, then you can't be surprised with my choice there.

I'm also about 90% done with a short story that I'm going to submit for publication.  I'd like to get some feedback, so if you're interested in giving it a once over and helping me catch typos, etc, let me know in the comments below.

Thrills, Spills, and ... Oh Forget It!

I think I might be a bit OCD.  I have to do things in threes, and it's really bugging me that I can't think of a third rhyme for the title.  Maybe by the end I can come up with something.

First off a plug for a great show that's streaming on Netflix.  (Sorry if it sounds like I'm being paid by Netflix, but it's my main source for entertainment).



Jekyll is a great series that acts as a sequel to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  Fair warning however, there's no plans to create a sequel, but the ending leaves it open for one.  So, if you don't want to be left hanging skip the last three minutes or so and stop it at the fade to black.

The first episode is kind of slow, but it quickly picks up speed.  There's an element of dark humor and the character of Hyde is at times very goofy or really creepy.  The last three episodes fly by and include some nice twists.

My birthday feast: pizza rolls,
buffalo wings, cheesy bread, and chocolate pie.
Yeah for guilt free junk food!

In case you missed my post yesterday, it was my birthday, which led to some personal reflection.  After reading about it on several blogs (sorry, I can't remember who has lists or not, feel free to mention if you have one in the comments), I decided to jump on the 101 in 1001 bandwagon. You create a list of 101 things to do in 1001 days.

I really like the idea of having more than a year, so I can put some really large goals on there, but I like that there's a deadline.  I'm not sure how much help a bucket list would be to me; pretty sure I'd just put things off. Indefinitely.

I work best under a tight, and quickly bearing down on me deadline. So if you'd like to check out my list the link is right next to the "Check out the cool kids" link.  I plan on posting about my progress every week or so.

I'd also like to share (probably against my better judgment, and most assuredly against the advice of others) what a back-of-the-novel synopsis of what I'm going to get kick started with the 50k in 50 day challenge.

Lilith by John Collier

Lilith's name has been synonymous with pain, evil, and scandalous behavior since ancient times.  She'd like to set the record straight.  

Learn about the true story of Lilith as she describes first hand the fall from grace in Eden, her affair with Lucifer, and her bargain with God.  

But now, millenia later, Lilith is starting to rethink the bargain and wants out.  She flees to America, hoping to lose herself in the crowds, but God sends three angels, her keepers, to track her down and bring her back.

And Lucifer has decided he's not through with her yet either.

Join Lilith as she tries to make a life that's all hers in the new novel, ___________________________.



That's all I've got.  No working title yet, but the start of something I think could be good and lead to a strong series.

So, let me know if you've seen Jekyll, have a list of your own, think you'd like to know more about my take on Lilith, or have a third rhyme for the title.

Here's to a great day!