Random Acts of Kindness: September Wrap-up

I've been smothered in Random Acts of Kindness this month!  Heather, Memrie and Jennifer sent me some awesome books to read, and I can't thank them enough for their kindness and generosity. So much book love!  

 Heather from Book Stacks on Deck gave me Anna & the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins.

Memrie from Dark Angel gave me Witch Song by Amber Argyle

Jennifer E. gave me The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

Thank you!

MMWAH!

It's always fun to receive books, but it's fun to gift books, as well.  This month I found wonderful homes for three books:

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor to Rogie C. in Suriname

Dreamfever by Karen Moning to Judi in Chicago

Bloodlines by Richelle Mead to Ina in Ontario

Blood Bound to Jennifer E. in Sonora

(This is the closest gif I could find for a *happy dance* I'll imagine all of you dancing when your books arrive on your doorsteps--just not with chicken!)

Random Acts of Kindness is sponsored by Book Soul Mates

Be well & happy reading

Banned Book Week

September 24th-October 1st is banned book week.  It may not seem as dangerous and exciting as Shark Week on the Discovery channel (you know you watch it!) but it's actually more so.  There are still people out there that want to control what we read, stomping all over our freedom to think for ourselves.

You can find a list of all the books that have been recently challenged here, but the main website, link above, has loads of information on challenged books, what it means, and what happens.  Check it out, and do the virtual read-out!

Me thinks it's time to buy some banned books!

Top Ten Tuesday: My Top Ten Books to Reread

I'm participating in Top Ten Tuesday hosted by The Broke and the Bookish because I lurve lists.  Lists make me feel happy and focused!  So here goes, and not in any particular order:

My Top Ten Books to Reread

10.  Lips Touch Three Times by Laini Taylor

I know, I know.  You're probably thinking I've gone all Laini Braini, but I love this book.  I've reread it several times already, but it's always magical.  The characters are like old friends, and the the stories fly.  It's the perfect book to help me decompress after a long, difficult day at work.  It's immediately engaging.

9.  Faithful Place by Tana French

This is just an awesome mystery/suspense story with a unique plot.  The main character hangs around in your head for days.  Knowing the ending won't spoil rereading this story; it's so well written that the story is the point, not the ending.

8.  The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

There's a helluva lot going on in this book; I couldn't read it fast enough.  It's a story about stories and I'm sure I missed details, tiny enriching nuances.  I just gave it to a friend, and we're going to read it together.  She teaches high school english and literature  so I'm sure she'll be all....

Shame on you, stupid face! How could you not get this? 

And I'll be all...

Shut up, book wench!

7.  The Stand by Stephen King

Just because.

6.  The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

I read this in the seventh grade before I realized it was required reading in high school.  I remember only two things:  I loved it, and a character stares at the tip of his cigarette glowing red thinking....what?  What is he thinking? I can't remember.  

5.  Go Ask Alice

Another one I read long before I knew it was required reading.  Don't remember it, and I should.

4. Salems Lot by Stephen King

Vampires done right.

3.  Chime by Franny Billingsly

I didn't love this book right away, so I'd like to read this book again and experience all the  things I missed because I was confuzzled.  I did start to love it half way through.

2.

I laughed til I cried, and that's just fun.

1.  Allegorical, metaphorical and any other kind of --orical you can think of.  I'd really like to pick this one apart.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Review: The Medusa Amulet by Robert Masello

Published: April 26, 2011
Publisher: Bantam
464 pages

A brilliant but skeptical young scholar named David Franco embarks on a quest to recover a legendary artifact: a beautifully carved amulet that was created by Benvenuto Cellini, the master artisan of Renaissance Italy.

What begins as a simple investigation quickly spirals into a twisting, turning tale of suspense and intrigue, a race against time that carries Franco across continents and centuries in a desperate search for this ultimate treasure—and a work of unimaginable power . . . and menace.
Aided only by a beautiful young Florentine with a conspirator’s mind and dark secrets, Franco is soon caught up in a life-and-death struggle from which there is no escape. Relentlessly pursued by deadly assassins and demons of his own, in the end he must confront—and defeat—an evil greater than anything conjured in his worst nightmares.

I loved Robert Masello's previous book, Blood and Ice, so I bought The Medusa Amulet the day it was released; I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into it. The premise is right up my alley: history blended with a touch of the supernatural.

In 16th century Italy, artist Benvenuto Cellini creates a looking glass with water from a gorgon pool hidden behind the mirror granting immortality to anyone that gazes into it. Powerful, mysterious people would do anything to acquire it. The story is told in third person giving multiple character's points of view, and the time frame alternates between skipping through history to present day until the story converges at the finale.

The book is filled with lavish descriptions of Renaissance art and history, and since it's told in third person (in this case, somewhat distancing), it felt like an unnecessary data dump at the expense of character development.  I couldn't connect with any of the characters.

Immediately I felt manipulated by the contrived plot:  A mysterious woman asks David Franco to look for  an amulet that he's not sure even exists, but ultimately he accepts the job with the hope of saving his sister who is dying of breast cancer.  Readers are told they're close, but I just didn't feel it. As soon as Franco lands in Italy, he encounters a beautiful experienced scholar working as a tour guide that agrees to help him.  Too. easy.

In chapter twenty-four there is a battle between two dark arts practitioners at a private gathering at Marie Antoinette's home. This was masterfully written, and I got my hopes up for the rest of the book, but the finale, the big reveal, was anti-climatic, once again because it was far too easy for the characters to pull off.

As it turns out, this book really wasn't for me. My expectations were too high because I enjoyed Blood and Ice so much.  I have to rate The Medusa Amulet:

 

The Medusa Amulet by Robert Masello received a starred review by Kirkus, and has a good average rating on Amazon and Good Reads.  Readers that enjoy books by Dan Brown may want to give this book a try.

Review: If I Stay & Where She Went by Gayle Forman

     Initially, this post was going to be about the foreign covers for If I Stay, but I went overboard.

     If I Stay and Where She Went by Gayle Forman are heart-wrenching stories.  Forman's tight, spare writing style allows Mia and Adam's story to unfold uncluttered, allowing the raw emotion to propel the story forward.  Beautifully written, these stories are about love, loss, forgiveness and hope.
     I just recently finished these books; how If I Stay managed to slip beneath my radar for so long, I don't know.  I found out about Where She Went purely by accident through an NPR article discussing the cover art,  and how the cover model captured the feel of the second book while staying true to the first.  This discussion piqued my curiosity, and I had to read them.  I had no idea what I was getting myself into.

If I Stay is a perfect example of how a book can hijack your life.  Once I picked it up, I was hooked and read it in two days.  It was all I thought about.

Mia and her family are in a terrible car accident, and as she lays comatose teetering between life and death, she remembers important snapshots of her life, and it's through these vignettes that readers truly learn who she is and what's important to her.  It's tissue worthy, but it's skillfully balanced so the book doesn't become a giant depressing sobfest.  Adam, Mia's boyfriend, compliments her perfectly; his guitar and rockstar swoon factor compliments her cello and classical demeanor.   Their relationship grows slowly and tenderly.  You can't help but fall in love with them...

and it will own you.

Where She Went is told from Adam's point of view, and Forman does a great job depicting his voice and character.  Adam, lonely and broken,  is completely believable.  It opens with him trying to move on with his life, but it's clear that Mia was the rhythm in his rockstar heart. 

"It's my turn to see you through," she whispers, coming back to me and wrapping me in her blanket as I lose my shit all over again.  She holds me until I recover my Y chromosome."  This is such a great line.

Each book is:

  

And check out these beautiful covers!
Please don't shoot me!  I can never get my covers to align sided by side.  How I managed the one is beyond me.

                   UK                                                                        Chech Republic

                                                                    Portuguese Hardback

Portuguese paperback

UK Hardback

Indonesian 

Where She Went foreign covers:

France

 

UK

I do like the US covers, but the Chech cover with the cello is pretty, as is the Portuguese cover.  What do you think of the covers?  Have you read the books?

Booking Through Thursday: In Public

Booking through Thursday asks:

Do you carry books with you when you’re out and about in the world?

And, do you ever try to hide the covers?

Do I ever!  And because I'm also a quote fiend, I found my favorite quote about this very topic on Goodreads:

“Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them.” 
― Lemony Snicket, Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can't Avoid

I always carry a tote bag with the books I'm currently reading (usually one fiction and one non-fiction), and two or three more I'm interested in.  I take advantage of every free moment I can to lose myself in a book.

I do hide the covers when I read during my lunch break at the hospital.  People can be very opinionated and judgmental (*cough* doctors *cough*).  I love to talk books, but sometimes I just want to read, and be left alone, and not get into a heated discussion defending my reading taste.  Let me explain:

While reading The Russian Concubine I was told I was reading "smut". The book is far from being smutty, and I had to throw down with the doucher and put him in his place.  

Another time I was reading poetry, and was told I should trash it and read something worthwhile: the newspaper.  I tried to defend the arts in all its forms, but to no avail.

While out in public I don't hide the covers because the general population is  capable of interesting book discussions, which I always enjoy.

Not really, but yeah, this is hilarious

How about you?  Do you carry books with you when you're out and about?  Do you hide the covers?

GIVEAWAY: DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND SOMETHING EXTRA

 Thanks to Faye Bi from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, I have a beautiful hardback copy of Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor to give away to one lucky follower.  

WOOHOO!

This book is incredible, a phenomenal must read (read my review here) but don't just take my word for it.  Check this out from Entertainment Weekly:

It really is that good.  

But there's more to the giveaway.  Some awesome with a side order of cool.  

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No, you can't win Ryan Gosling (swoon!) but wouldn't that be a thrill?


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The winner will also receive this lovely charm necklace I found here on Etsy. 

A necklace of charms?  A hamsa dangling from an evil eye, a wishbone, and could that be an angel feather?  Why, yes.  I believe it is. Once you start reading, you'll love having a piece of Karou's magical world.


Laini Taylor's blog can be found here, and her blog is as much fun to read as her novels.  Check out all the book trailers here.  



Good luck, everyone!