Last month, on Twitter, I mused a bit about how I dislike the idea/term “social reading” and a few people chimed in with their thoughts, also. (It’s a topic I’ve touched on briefly, here, last April, in Reading Alone Together.)
I mentioned how, as an introvert who likes my alone time with my books and reading, [...]
Social Reading?
By on October 6, 2012
Review: Murder on Astor Place
By on October 5, 2012
Murder on Astor Place (Gaslight Mystery No. 1) by Victoria Thompson. Berkley Prime Crime. 1999. Personal copy. Monday is Columbus Day, so this review is a Holiday Read for grownups; that is, it’s not a young adult or children’s book.
The Plot: This is the first in the Gaslight Mystery series, set in turn of the [...]
Review: Murder on Astor Place
By on October 5, 2012
Murder on Astor Place (Gaslight Mystery No. 1) by Victoria Thompson. Berkley Prime Crime. 1999. Personal copy. Monday is Columbus Day, so this review is a Holiday Read for grownups; that is, it’s not a young adult or children’s book.
The Plot: This is the first in the Gaslight Mystery series, set in turn of the [...]
Flashback October 2010
By on October 3, 2012
I’m flashing back to reviews from years past. Here is what I was reviewing in October 2010.
The Demon’s Covenant by Sarah Rees Brennan. My review: “The story of Alan, Nick, Mae, and Jamie starts not that long after the events of The Demon’s Lexicon. Demons, magicians, and battles, oh my. . . . This is [...]
Flashback October 2010
By on October 3, 2012
I’m flashing back to reviews from years past. Here is what I was reviewing in October 2010.
The Demon’s Covenant by Sarah Rees Brennan. My review: “The story of Alan, Nick, Mae, and Jamie starts not that long after the events of The Demon’s Lexicon. Demons, magicians, and battles, oh my. . . . This is [...]
Review: The Blood Keeper
By on September 27, 2012
The Blood Keeper by Tessa Gratton. Random House. 2012. Reviewed from ARC from publisher. Companion to Blood Magic.
The Plot: Mab Prowd, 17, has grown up in the world of blood magic. She and others keep themselves isolated on a Kansas farm, practicing magic and taking care of each other. Mab is strong, proud, and sure [...]
Flashback September 2005
By on September 26, 2012
I’m flashing back to reviews from years past. Here is what I was reviewing in September 2005.
Confessions of a Teen Sleuth by Chelsea Cain. My review: “The premise: Nancy [Drew] is, and always was, real. That evil roommate of hers, Carolyn Keene, used her life and pedaled it as fiction. This book is Nancy’s chance [...]
Review: Adaptation
By on September 25, 2012
Adaptation by Malinda Lo. Little, Brown. 2012. Reviewed from ARC from publisher.
The Plot: Reese and David are returning home from nationals for debate (they lost, don’t ask) when the world seems to go crazy. They are at the airport when birds begin attacking planes; a series of crashes forces the shut down of all air [...]
Review: Safekeeping
By on September 21, 2012
Safekeeping by Karen Hesse, with her photographs. Feiwel and Friends, an imprint of Macmillan. 2012. Reviewed from ARC from publisher.
The Plot: Radley, seventeen, is volunteering in Haiti when she hears the news: the president has been assassinated, the news reports are scary, and all Radley wants is to be home, safe, with her parents. She can’t get through [...]
Review: The Raven Boys
By on September 18, 2012
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater. Scholastic. 2012. Reviewed from arc from publisher. Official website.
The Plot: Blue Sargent, sixteen, is part of a family of psychics in Henrietta, Virginia. Since she can remember, the same prediction has been made about her: she would kill her true love. With a kiss. Blue keeps people at arms length, to [...]
Review: The Diviners
By on September 17, 2012
The Diviners by Libba Bray. Little, Brown. 2012. Reviewed from ARC from publisher. Series website.
The Post: New York City, 1926, is the best place in the world to be! At least, according to Evie O’Neill, who — get this — has been punished by her parents by being sent away from home to New York City [...]
Review: The Dark Unwinding
By on September 14, 2012
The Dark Unwinding by Sharon Cameron. Scholastic. 2012. Review copy from publisher.
The Plot: June, 1852. England. Orphaned Katherine Tulman owes everything to her Aunt Alice. Not in a good way. When Katherine was left orphaned, Alice was the one who took in her late husband’s niece. Aunt Alice makes it known that in every possible way [...]
Review: Unspoken
By on September 13, 2012
Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan. Book 1 of the Lynburn Legacy. Random House. 2012. Review copy from publisher.
The Plot: Kami Glass has plans and dreams. The plan: investigative reporting! Even if in her small town of Sorry-in-the-Vale nothing much seems to happen. She manages to get her school to agree to start a school paper [...]
Flashback September 2007
By on September 12, 2012
I’m flashing back to reviews from years past. Here is what I was reviewing in September 2007.
The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg. Minx. Graphic Novel. My review. “Jane narrowly escapes injury in a bomb attack in Metro City; her parents, wanting safety, move to the suburbs. Jane’s questioning; Jane’s not satisfied with life. [...]
Review: Lola and the Boy Next Door
By on September 10, 2012
Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins. Dutton, a member of Penguin Group USA. 2011. Personal copy. Companion to Anna and the French Kiss.
The Plot: Seventeen year old Dolores “Lola” Nolan has a pretty good life. Her two dads, Nathan and Andy, are super supportive even if they are over protective and a bit stricter [...]
Does It Matter….
By on September 9, 2012
Sock puppets and paid reviews.
In Buying Your Way Into Libraries, I wondered about authors buying their way into libraries: specifically, if bought reviews influence others to buy a book, and that book then goes up the sales rank charts, then libraries who may purchase solely on sales rank (as detailed and sourced in my post) [...]
Readers’ Advisory Chat
By on September 9, 2012
I’m a big fan of Readers’ Advisory (see past posts like Readers’ Advisory? and Reading and Libraries).
It sounds simple (match a book to a reader!) but is actually quite complex: what does the reader want? what would the reader like? which book fits that need? how does one go about “matching”? with all the books [...]
Review: Blackwood
By on September 6, 2012
Blackwood by Gwenda Bond. Strange Chemistry. 2012. Reviewed from ARC.
The Plot: Roanoke, North Carolina. Miranda Blackwood is going into her senior year. She’s the daughter of the town drunk, and an outcast. Her escape is her involvement in the local summer production of the Lost Colony, that honors (and profits from) what Roanoke is best [...]
Flashback: September 2010
By on September 5, 2012
I’m flashing back to reviews from years past. Here is what I was reviewing in September 2010.
The Kneebone Boy by Ellen Potter. 2010. Feiwel and Friends, an imprint of Macmillan. My review: “How best to describe the humor? It is dark, delicious, biting, sarcastic, arch, and smart. The story itself is smart — almost deceptively [...]
Review: For Darkness Shows the Stars
By on September 4, 2012
For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund. Balzer & Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins. 2012. Review copy from publisher.
The Plot: Elliot North, 18, has spent the last four years trying to keep her family’s estate running. It means not just making sure there is enough for herself, her father, Baron North, and her sister; [...]
