Review: Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

This week I finished two books – The Passage and Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief.   My review of The Passage is in progress, but let me just say I was relieved to have finished it – and that’s not a good sign.  I enjoyed Percy Jackson a lot more. I won’t do a full…

Review: Sabriel by Garth Nix

A friend recommended this as one of her favorite YA fantasy books, and I’m glad she did! This is a great book – interesting characters, a strong heroine, richly detailed writing, and an original story. The way this book is written felt OLD to me – old in the way of classic fantasy like Lord…

Traveling Bookstore Review: Wisconsin

This weekend I was in the great state of Wisconsin and I wanted to highlight two of the bookstores I visited. One of my favorite used bookstores is in the Milwaukee International Airport, called Renaissance Books.  I LOVE the idea of a used bookstore in an airport – who needs used books more than travelers? …

The Book Blogger Hop

The Book Blogger Hop is a way for book blogs to find each other.  As part of the Book Blogger Hop, we are supposed to say our name and why we started blogging.  I’m a very new blogger so I’m forgoing my real name  just yet –in the blogging world I’m going by CurlyGeek —…

Review: The Devil’s Company by David Liss

The Devil’s Company continues the story of Benjamin Weaver, a Jew in early 1700’s England who used to be a pugilist and now makes his living as a “thief-taker” – in other words, he tracks people down.  In this story, Weaver is blackmailed into taking a case that requires him to infiltrate the East India…

Books in the News: A Weekly Update

The Nook and the Kindle both reduced prices this week.  The Kindle is down to $189.  Of course this is a reaction to sales of the IPad – but I’m hoping it’s also an indication that a new Kindle is on its way this holiday season.  I’m still on Version 1 and itching to see…

Review: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

(Spoiler alert: don’t read if you’re still planning to read The Hunger Games) I was surprised by how much I enjoyed The Hunger Games — I was expecting Twilight but these books are fun, thoughtful reads . I was also put off at first by the fact that Hunger Games seemed like some combination of…

Does Technology Keep Us From Reading Well?

An article in today’s New York Times discusses the influence of technology on how we read today (Yes, People Still Read but Now It’s Social). According to columnist Steven Johnson, authors like Nicholas Carr (and I’m sure many others) fear that we have less ability to focus than we used to have, and are therefore…

Seven movies based on Wizard of Oz in production

At least one Oz-based movie has wrapped up production, called The Witches of Oz (see trailer here).  At the same time, there are at least four other Oz-related movies in planning, and none of them seem to have any interest in fidelity to the books. An article at Just Press Play has more details about…

Review: Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews

This is Book 4 in the Kate Daniels series, and just as with the others each book in the series is stronger than the one before it.  This series may have surpassed my other favorite, Patricia Brigg’s Mercy Thompson series. I don’t normally read a book in one or two days because I like to…

New York Times says E-Reader competition heating up

In this article, the New York Times compares new e-readers.  It calls the Kindle the “Plain Jane” of E-readers, but says that isn’t necessarily a bad thing for dedicated readers.  I think the more development and competition there is in this area, the better for all of us.

Review: Island Beneath the Sea by Isabel Allende

I love Isabel Allende’s books, and so was excited to read this latest, especially as the Haitian revolution is a fascinating topic.  I was also a little nervous because the Haitian revolution is extremely violent by all accounts, both in the treatment of slaves and in the slaves’ violent uprising against the whites.  One thing…