Books Bloggers Appreciation Week ...

... because we're worth it. I actually registered this year, instead of watching from the sidelines and wishing I could play with the cool kids. Brainchild of My Friend Amy: http://www.myfriendamysblog.com/
Details here, http://www.bookbloggerappreciationweek.com/ if you're not In The Know ....

The reading week

I refuse to believe that it's Monday already and time for another What Are You Reading? post, hosted by the wonderful http://j-kaye-book-blog.blogspot.com/

Uhm ... I'm still having crappy reading times. I did, however finish Ella Enchanted, which was the perfect antidote to The Strain.

It was light, and fluffy, and Ella is such a great character. Loved it. :)
Uhm ... also on the menu this week is Memoirs of a Master Forger, by William Heaney; aka Graham Joyce, who everybody should read. Seriously. Go find some Graham Joyce. He is The Goods. That's my main course this week, but I'm going with Coraline as an appetiser, because I got a new copy from the review cupboard at work and I haven't read it for a while. Also, the movie is meant to be coming out next month, so I want to be all up to date.

And what's for dessert? Hmmm .... Queen of Sorcery, probably; with The Passion by Jeanette Winterson as the cheese/coffee. That way I'll actually get The Challenge That Dare Not Speak Its Name off to a good start.

Happy reading!

Weekly Geeks

The explanation, as always, here:

http://www.weeklygeeks.com/

I've, er, been to Melbourne. That's it. I honestly thought I read a bit more worldwide than that; what with living in New Zealand and all. Huh.

But my map is an epic fail of worldwide reading. I've dug through my archives, and my memory, and to be honest, I'm not coming up with much more than what I already have. The thing is, intellectually, I love the *idea* of reading about other cultures. Obviously, I have no follow-through.

H'm. This must be corrected. Shameful.

Here is the link to my Map of Shame

http://www.world66.com/myworld66/visitedCountries

Happy Weekly Geeks everyone :)

The reading week

Question here, as always, here:

http://j-kaye-book-blog.blogspot.com/

Um ... does it count that I finished The Strain last week? And Pawn of Prophecy. That's pretty good for me lately. I started The Owl Killers, and it's good, but it turns out I'm not in the mood for Medieval Moodiness. So I did what I commented on Nymeth's blog http://www.thingsmeanalot.com/ about doing, and started one of the books that she's reviewed, that I've said "Oh, I have that, but I haven't read it". I know. That sentence gives me a headache, too. The upshot is I'm readin Ella Enchanted, which is very sweet, and very good and light, and just what I need. Thanks Nymeth.

Happy reading, everyone! :)

Weekly Geeks answers - it's still Friday somewhere

Yay for chocolate!!!! And highchairs, come to think of it.

Here are the answers to my Weekly Geeks Gilbert! questions:

1) Who wrote the short story Brokeback Mountain?
Annie Proulx

2) What is Oscar Wilde quoted as saying on his deathbed in Paris?
Either this wallpaper goes, or I do

3) In the Vintner's Luck, a winemaker falls in love with …?

A fallen angel

4) Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit is a supposed semi-autobiographical novel by …?

Jeanetter Winterson

5) The movie My Beautiful Laundrette starred which future Oscar winner?

Daniel Day Lewis

Thanks for playing :)

The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan

Warning: incoherent fangirling ahead. Sigh. But, what else is new?
Okay. The Strain.
Um. I really don't know what to say. It has vampires. And the CDC. And and and … evildoers. And do-gooders. And did I mention vampires?Okay. I'll attempt a plot synopsis.
A plane lands at JFK, and every person on board is dead, with no outward physical signs. The plane landed smoothly; it's not engine trouble, or sabotage.
Enter Dr Ephraim Goodweather, of the CDC, to determine what might have caused the event. And slowly, but surely, events completely unravel from there. Soon, Eph realises he's not dealing with a normal infection and his investigations lead him to Abraham Setrakian, an old man who has seen _ and battled _ this evil before.
It's good; and it's creepy; and it's scary. It feels entirely plausible, yet entirely fantastic at the same time, and I'm not sure how Mr del Toro and Mr Hogan have pulled that one off. I suspect the fantastic as come from del Toro and the plausible from Hogan, but it doesn't really matter because the book is so good. It's very well-written with believable and likable – and unlikable – characters.
Pick it up when you have some spare time, but don't read it after dark ….
9/10 – so good, you'd take it to meet your Mum.

The reading week

It's Monday??? Can't be. Really??? Sigh. Time for that all-important question, asked here: http://j-kaye-book-blog.blogspot.com/
I finished The Strain, finally, and I kind of want to marry Guillermo del Toro's brain. It's sooo good. There'll be a review sometime this week.
Other than that; I've nearly finished Pawn of Prophecy, so that means Queen of Sorcery is next.
And that's all I have. I took all of my library books back and got new ones out, but they're all the way in the other room. There's a Terry Pratchett, a Charles de Lint (I think) and a Storm Constantine. Yep, just three, although the Storm Constantine one is an omnibus.

Having a fantasy moment, apparently. But given the authors, an awesome one.
Happy reading!!!