Mini Book Survey

Good Friday,

One of my Facebook friends posted the following mini-survey as their status. I stole it and made it today’s blog post.

Feel free to steal it from me and/or share your answers to any of these questions as comments.

-One book that changed your life?

“Ready Player One” – Ernest Cline
I can’t even go into it all. I just finished the book and felt changed, somehow. Read it. It comes highly recommended from me.

-One book that you’ve read more than once

“Darkfever” – Karen Marie Moning
Powerful yet fun.

-One book you would want on a desert island?

“The Hunger Games” – Suzanne Collins
It might give me some tips for survival (“kill anyone you come across” not included).

-One book that made you laugh?

“The Lightning Thief” – Rick Riordan
Percy Jackson reminds me so much of a younger version of one of my closest friends. Said friend is hilarious.

-One book that made you cry?

Actually, “Breaking Dawn” – Stephenie Meyer—not for the reason you’re thinking.
I cried because I was going through a tough time, and Bella’s behavior toward Jacob—essentially tossing him aside as if he’d never meant anything to her when all he ever did was be there when she needed him the most—made me so mad that I actually drudged up tears.

-One book you wish had been written?

As a writer, this one is tough because I could, theoretically, write the book in my answer. That said, I always wondered what happened to Ariel’s sisters in Disney’s “The Little Mermaid.”

-One book you wish had never been written?

I can’t say that I wish any books had never been written. Even books that I have no love for have influenced society somehow.

-One book you are currently reading?

“Fated” - Alyson Noel
It’s the common reading for my Jan residency at Seton Hill. Just started it. Not sure how this is going to go. Keeping my fingers crossed.

What book have you been meaning to read?

“Cold Days” - Jim Butcher
It just came out. Need to get on that.

Results--Goodreads 2012

Hey folks,

It’s been a very long day. The Christmas season is in full swing, and I’ve got a lot going on. So tonight’s post will be very short indeed.

The results of the Goodreads 2012 Choice Awards are up.

I’ll say that only two of the books I voted for won.

“The Mark of Athena” by Rick Riordan
I recommend his “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” and “Heroes of Olympus” series. They’re on the young adult side of things, but fun reads.

“The Casual Vacancy” by J.K. Rowling

Otherwise, congrats to the other winners, even though I didn’t agree with some of them.

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Wednesday Word Tally

The synopsis is killing me slowly. Lol.

Book Review: HOLD ME CLOSER, NECROMANCER by Lish Mcbride

Title: “Hold me Closer, Necromancer
Author: Lish Mcbride
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co – 2010
Genre: young adult fantasy

Amazon|B&N|Goodreads

Sam’s life is pretty normal. That is until he discovers he’s a necromancer and attracts the attention of Douglas, a necromancer who does inhumane experiments on humans and supernatural creatures. Douglas wants to join forces with Sam. Sam’s not interested, but Douglas isn’t giving him much of a choice. With only a week to save himself, Sam enlists the help of Seattle’s supernatural community.

Even though this book is about necromancers, it isn’t swimming with graphic death scenes. Quite the contrary, the humor is laugh-out-loud funny. Just when I started to get terrified, something funny would happen to diffuse the tension, and I was back to laughing. The point of view in this story shifts back and forth between the first-person Sam and a few third-person characters. In some cases, this kind of switch can be jarring, but it was handled well here. The secondary points of view really brought this novel into the realm of young adult literature. Sam is a bit squeamish. So, showing some of the more gruesome scenes from his perspective may not have worked well for the story. That said, it was really nice to see a protagonist who openly admitted to not being brave. There are so many kick-ass, not-afraid-of-anything heroes in this genre. Reading about one who was both scared and squeamish was truly refreshing.