August 24, 2010, can't come soon enough

Why, you ask?

Because that's when Mockingjay, the third book in the Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins comes out!

See the cover here.

Books I'm excited to read this year

The Good Thief's Guide to Amsterdam by Chris Ewan. I have to know how the series starts, there were so many mentions of things that happened in Amsterdam that it's driving me nuts.

Tap & Gown: An Ivy League Novel by Diana Peterfreund. Last summer, when I moved to Brooklyn I read Rites of Spring(Break) on the plane. Hopefully, if I get my act together, I'll have a chance to pick up Tap & Gown for my flight back. (Woo hoo, vacation!)

On the Edge by Ilona Andrews. It's the first book in her new series and I'm very excited. I still desperately want the new Kate book, but I am looking forward to meeting Rose.

(ETA: READ)

The Orchid Thief: A True Story of Beauty and Obsession by Susan Orlean. I saw a review of this on Goodreads and thought it sounded great.

Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs. Can't wait to see how Anna's settling in with her new pack.

(ETA: READ)

Cast in Silence by Michelle Sagara. Wait, when did this get released? How did I miss that? Self, remember to stop by B&N tomorrow. I love this series; Kaylin is a fantastic character.

(ETA: READ)

Libyrinth by Pearl North. This sounds fascinating, featuring a libyrian who can hear books. Also:

The libyrarians are protecting Earth’s knowledge and culture; they fear the Eradicants, who are bent on destroying the books because they feel that words held captive in books die. But it’s not all black-and-white. The Eradicants call themselves Singers, and their culture is one which loves words…but they don’t read then; they sing them, like bards in many Earth cultures.

How awesome does that sound?

Treason's Shore by Sherwood Smith. One of my favorite authors and one of my favorite series. Can't wait to find out how Inda's saga will end.

Among the Mad by Jacqueline Winspear. OK, I know I wasn't completely thrilled with her last book, but I still love this series. Also, I've been waiting for Maisie and the Inspector to just get together already, so here's to keeping my fingers crossed that it happens.

OK, I'm sure I'm missing something great; anyone want to help me out?

PS: I've been watching PBS's Masterpiece Mystery series for years. My favorite series? The Agatha Christie ones. I enjoy the movies so much that I've decided it's time I read the books.

Book of the Summer

I know it's early, but I think that Monkey See by Walt Maguire, is going to be the book of the summer for me. Taking jabs at political and social issues, while never letting the laughs stop, this science-fiction novel has everything I, or any other reader, could want. Genetic experiments on primates who will one day rise up and crush humanity: check. Heart-tugging moments of baby monkey cuteness: check. A twisted and intricate plot that jumps around repeatedly while still making sense: check. And as a bonus, a do-it-yourself guide to making your own monster. 

Monkey See starts by introducing us to Ed the Talking Monkey. A science experiment gone awry—the scientist, Dr. Cogitomni, was actually trying to create a cure for asthma—Ed the Talking Monkey finds himself in an unique situation. Unable to communicate with unenhanced primates, he is stuck trying to figure out where in this new world he actually belongs. Is it with the humans who don't understand or really like him or with other enhanced primates who alternately try to befriend and look down upon Ed the Talking Monkey for his friendships with humans?

Constantly feeling like the odd man out, Ed the Talking Monkey’s life changes when he meets Gigi, Dr. Cogitomni’s latest experiment. A young spider monkey, Gigi winds up in Dr. Cogitomni’s lab where she undergoes weeks of experimentation. The two hit it off, once Gigi has undergone enough genetic manipulation to actually understand and speak English. She’s a fifteen foot spiked monster and Ed the Talking Monkey works as a janitor in Dr. Cogitomni’s lab, but none of those matters to these two. Alas, their love is destined to die because Gigi is not only Dr. Cogitomni's newest experiment, but she's also his secret weapon in his evil plan to rule the world.

Spliced throughout the whole twisted story of Ed the Talking Monkey's journey and Gigi's metamorphosis are two other intricate plots. The first is a step-by-step guide to creating your own monster—so you, too, can rule the world—which includes a detailed plan on what to do afterward, and clever, witty lines to spout off when confronted by other scientists, your monster, and the cops.

The second plot deals with the upcoming monkey uprising. Genetically enhanced by Dr. Cogitomni and his fellow scientist, these primates have decided that they’re tired of being treated like second-class citizens. They’ve plotted out how to best take over and enslave humanity and are planning on staging a coup. Several members of this plot are trying to convince Ed the Talking Monkey that he should join their side, and it isn’t easy for Ed the Talking Monkey to turn them down. And there is a small sub-plot in this plot, showing what life for humans will be like under the new monkey overlords.

Monkey See is a very well-written novel and I highly recommend that you read it now, before the monkeys can get you.

PS: Let me know if you too catch the Cylon reference.

Today is Earth Day! Use the library more!

Scanning through the Book section of the New York Times this morning brought me two articles that yielded promising results.  

The first was a review of a new biography on Helen Gurley Brown, former editor of Cosmo for thirty-two years and the author of Sex and the Single Girl (1962). Dubbed the original Carrie Bradshaw for her views, Brown sounds like a fascinating woman who climbed her way to the top by using everything she had available to her.

I also found it interesting that the year she was "gently forced out of the editorship of Cosmopolitan" was the same year I graduated high school.

The second article that caught my eye is about the upcoming print book from Randall Munroe, the genius behind the on line comic strip xkcd.

I love that the author of this article describes the book as "you know, dead trees, ink, no text search, nonadjustable font size."

Also, just for fun: my favorite strip at xkcd.

I'm reading several different accounts of this year's London Book Fair and they all seem to be saying the same thing: just like last year, except smaller.  As cool as I think it would be to go to the London Book Fair (or the Frankfurt Book Fair, etc.), I think that BEA would be a lot more fun.  From everything I've heard about it, it sounds just like Comic Con, except there won't be anyone dressed up like a Wookie.

The fourth book in Diane Peterfreund's Secret Society series, Tap & Gown, comes out at the end of May.  This series has become my perfect start-of-summer book for me; I read the last one, Rites of Spring (Break), on the plane when I moved to New York.

Interesting: British thriller writers mount challenge to US 'production line.' 

An informative post about Judith Krug, the director of the ALA's Office of Intellectual Freedom and the founder of Banned Books Week, is up at Blogher.  I have to say that I never once thought about who started Banned Books Week and perhaps I should have.  It's never to late, right?

Pondering

How long it will take Penguin to issue the rights to Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta here in the states.

Also, I think I'm due for a reread of Jellicoe Road.  It's been, what, four months since I last read it?

OH!  The sequel to The Hunger Games, Catching Fire,  is coming out in September!  Excellent! There are a lot of books coming out in the latter half of this year and I can't wait.

My skies are grey

We've gone from beautiful, wear-a-t-shirt-it's-so-warm weather to cold, wet, miserable weather and it sucks.  Really.  Sucks.

I felt bad for my poor showing during the twenty-four hour readathon, so to make up for it, I read War for the Oaks, by Emma Bull, last night.  Well, that wasn't the only reason I read "War for the Oaks," but it was one of them.

I'm not sure what it is about this story that grabs me so, although I know it's more the story then the way Bull writes.  I find myself relating to the character of Eddi, although I don't have a lick of musical talent.  Or anything close to the same fashion sense.  Maybe it's Phouka; I do like his character, sly, tricksy devil that he is.  

It's full of British folklore, which I love, and it's totally just a coincidence that I can use this book in the Once Upon A Time III challenge.  Now all that's left is a June reading of A Midsummer Night's Dream.  I'm also wondering if I can find any  non-fiction books or essay collections about any of those four genres. Anyone have any recommendations?

I've started reading Mere Christianity again and I have to say that taking two months off was a huge mistake.  I've completely forgotten where I am in this collection of essays on Christianity.  I think I might have to start over at the beginning, although I'm going to try and avoid that.  

I've seen two different posts now about a new book that was recently reviewed in Vanity Fair.  Both Colleen of Chasing Ray and Dani of A Work in Progress have just posted about The Crimes of Paris by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler.  It sounds really interesting and I'm going to try and get my hands on a copy of it. 

From the publisher:

Turn-of-the-century Paris was the beating heart of a rapidly changing world. Painters, scientists, revolutionaries, poets--all were there. But so, too, were the shadows: Paris was a violent, criminal place, its sinister alleyways the haunts of Apache gangsters and its cafes the gathering places of murderous anarchists. In 1911, it fell victim to perhaps the greatest theft of all time--the taking of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre. Immediately, Alphonse Bertillon, a detective world-renowned for pioneering crime-scene investigation techniques, was called upon to solve the crime. And quickly the Paris police had a suspect: a young Spanish artist named Pablo Picasso....

Interests

Unwind, by Neal Shusterman, sounds really, really good.

Stephen Colbert is a genius.  Heh, the Rand Illusion.  (For those that haven't watched it, it's basically a plan (written by Ayn Rand in her novel "Atlas Shrugged") that calls for all the "important" people to stop working because they don't want to share their profits with the poor money-grubbers.  

Reviews

Feast of Fools and The Westing Game are still the only books I've read so far in 2009; I don't know what my deal is, although I think it might have something to do with all of the holiday knitting I'm still trying to finish. Both were quick, simple reads.

Feast of Fools is a continuation of the Morganville Vampires series by Rachel Caine.  I was reading her Weather Warden series (and grew tired of that), so I switched over to her Young Adult series.  Basically, our heroine is a sixteen-year-old genius who had the chance to go to MIT, but her concerned parents wanted her to go to college closer to home, which meant the nearby community college.  What no one knew was that the town was actually run by vampires... Claire gets involved with some local kids, struggles to stay alive and out of both human politics and vampiric ones, and eventually becomes the "servant" of the head vampire, Amelia.  

In Feast of Fools, Amelia's "father", Mr. Bishop, comes to town and demands that everyone in the town swear their loyalty to him.  In addition to that, Claire's parents have just moved to town (brought there by Amelia) and now Claire is struggling to protect them from the truth about Morganville, stay alive, keep her boyfriend and friends alive, and figure out what Mr. Bishop's end game is.  

It could have been a much better story, but it was so rushed.  Half of the plot seems to take place off page, details are glossed over, and a lot of information was left out, in my opinion.  I don't know that I'll continue reading anymore in this series, although I do like Claire.  I also really want to take the college classes she's taking.

The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin was a much better story, in my opinion, although I think it was written for the pre-teen reader. Very simplistic writing, short sentences, but it had a great plot and anyone who likes a clever whodunit would enjoy this book.  

Sixteen different people, all of whom live in the same building, find out that they are the heirs of Sam Westing, one of the richest and most reclusive men around.  Some of the heirs have had contact with Sam Westing in the past, while others have only heard of him.  What makes this novel so interesting, is that in addition to trying to solve the mysterious clues that Sam Westing left behind in his will, we are also trying to figure out which of the sixteen heirs is the thief, the bomber, the bookie, and the mistake.  

What I'm reading now, beside Bleak House, is The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis and Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen.  I also need to get started on my WWII list and my nonfiction New York museum books.

Weekend reading

Actually, I didn't read all that much over the weekend. Friday night I ended up going out, and Saturday my father was over so that took up most of my reading time. I did watch both Persuasion and Gosford Park; does that count for literary content?

Yesterday though, I read Bloom, by Elizabeth Scott and I have to say that I love it. It's about Lauren Smith, a seventeen-year-old high school student who has something of a perfect life. Sure, her mom left when Lauren was six and her dad is never around, but she's got decent grades, a semi-popular best friend, and she's dating the most popular (not to mention smart, kind, handsome, and decent) guy at her high school.

So why isn't she happier?

It takes running into Evan again, a boy she met as a child when her father started dating his mother, to make Lauren realize that what she has isn't making her happy. The only question is, does Lauren have the strength to go after what does?

This book felt very different from most of the other YA books that I've read; it doesn't have the always-shy-but-secretly-beautiful girl as the main character, just a normal girl, living a (mostly) normal life.

Over at Chasing Ray, Colleen posted about The Red Leather Diary and I have to say that it sounds like it will be what I wanted The Luxe to be. (Did that make sense? I was so disappointed by The Luxe.) Author Lily Koppel found a diary that was written in 1929 by a young girl named Florence. Koppel tracked down Florence (who was still alive, living in Westport, CT) and together they pieced together Florence's story, using what she had written down in her diary as a starting point. Full of details about Florence's life as a young girl (shopping trips, her family, her school, her relationships with both boys and girls), it sounds like it's going to be a fascinating story.

Upcoming books I'm excited about

Mind the Gap: A Novel of the Hidden Cities by Christopher Golden and Tim Lebbon
This just sounds fascinating; I love the idea of hidden pockets and doorways that lead you somewhere you don't expect. And with ghosts and a setting in London, I don't think I can go wrong.

Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs
Hmm, more Charles and Anna. Can't wait.

Grimspace by Ann Aguirre
This sounds intersting, kind of like Jumper.

Bewitching Season by Marissa Doyle

Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr
I read the first book in this series and loved it, so I'm hopeful that this one will be as good.

The Host by Stephanie Meyer
I...yeah, I'll be honest. I'm reading this solely because I like the Twilight series so much.

Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer
The conclusion to the Twilight series.

The Outlaw Demon Wails by Kim Harrison
Hmm, more Rachel. Can't wait to find out what is going on in the demon world.

Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews.
I like Kate. I can't wait to see how much damage and trouble she can cause in this book.

Faefever by Karen Moning.
Oh, Mac. You try so hard to kick fae ass and not admit you're attracted to Barrons.

Embrace the Night by Karen Chance.
Heh, Cassie and Pritkin, on the run from the Circle, while trying to find a long lost book. If they both survive each other, it'll be a miracle.