The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Title: The Picture of Dorian Gray

Author: Oscar Wilde

Genre: Classic Horror

Pages: 248

Rating: 5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Classics - Horror; Movies; Mount TBR

Oscar Wilde brings his enormous gifts for astute social observation and sparkling prose to The Picture of Dorian Gray, his dreamlike story of a young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty. This dandy, who remains forever unchanged—petulant, hedonistic, vain, and amoral—while a painting of him ages and grows increasingly hideous with the years, has been horrifying, enchanting, obsessing, even corrupting readers for more than a hundred years.

Dorian Gray... so full of promise, so wasted in the end.  I have forgotten how truly terrifying this novel is.  To watch a man degrade himself to be nothing more than a hideous reflection of his former self is true horror.  Wilde shows the psychological horror well.  In the novel, we are served a cautionary tale.  And yet I wonder if Wilde saw himself as Gray or Lord Henry.  Was he the tempter or the tempted?  These questions intrigue me more after reading about Wilde's own life and subsequent court cases.  I am leaning toward the idea that Wilde is Gray who finally had to face his own portrait in the end.

On the writing of the book, I have one big issue...  Chapter 11 just kills me.  The first half of the book follows Gray's introduction to Lord Henry and the pleasures of the world.  We view his tragic relationship with Sibyl Vane.  We note his continual detachment from morality.  The second half of the book chronicles his downfall.  Yet in the middle we are "treated" to one ridiculously long list of the things he collected in the in between years.  If I had to read one more paragraph about embroidery, I was going to throw the book down in disgust.  The transition just isn't there.  And it blemishes an otherwise amazing horror novel.

Movie Version -- 2009 Starring Ben Barnes and Colin Firth

I watched this movie a few months back and my initial reaction was: that was really bad.  I wanted to try and rewatch it to pinpoint exactly why I felt it was horrid.  So I attempted a rewatch.

I think my main problem with this movie is that it tries to sensationalize the story.    It turns a psychological thriller in the view of Poe into a supernatural thriller complete with romance.  I just don't agree.  The story itself is a much more interesting psychological descent into corruption and madness.  I could have done without all the sex scenes.  I'm no prude, but those just seemed so out of place.  And the romance with Harry's daughter just felt forced.  Overall, I just couldn't connect with the movie at all.

Side Note: I love Alan Moore's version of Dorian Gray in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.  I feel that if Dorian hadn't of faced his portrait when he did but continue to live, he would have become the Dorian of Moore's universe.  And the movie version: just bad.  Anyone who has read LXG would agree that the movie could have been great, but it should have been rated R.  Only way for it be good.

Side Side Note: I did love Stuart Townsend as Dorian Gray in the movie.  Delicious!

Bad Doings and Big Ideas by Bill Willingham

Title: Bad Doings and Big Ideas

Author: Bill Willingham

Publisher: Vertigo 2011

Genre: Graphic Novel; Fantasy

Pages: 512

Rating:   5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mixing It Up - Graphic Novel and Comic; Support Your Local Library; A to Z - B

How I Got It: Library Loan

Collecting dark tales of the fantastic by FABLES creator Bill Willingham!  She’s one of the Sandman’s former lovers and a woman feared by gods. She is Thessaly, the fan-favorite character from THE SANDMAN: A GAME OF YOU, and the last of the deadly Thessalian witches. Now, Thessaly is on the run from a creature called Fetch, who might be composed of different beings killed across the eons by Thessaly herself.Then, in PROPOSITION PLAYER, a professional Vegas poker player collects vouchers for the souls of a roomful of people as a bar prank, not realizing that he’s just anted up for a game he never imagined. Joey is suddenly caught in the middle of a battle between heaven and hell. Can he bluff his way out of it?

This title also features numerous short stories starring members of The Sandman’s cast, as well as dark fantasy tales from HOUSE OF MYSTERY and more.

I fell into this volume with wild abandon today.  I absolutely adore Willingham's Fables series, but confess that I never read any of his other work.  This volume offered me a great opportunity to expand my Willingham.  I loved that he does a short introduction to each piece.  These gave me an idea of his professional growth and how see save each work.

I think my favorite story was Thessaly.  At initial glance, she's just an ancient witch living her quiet life.  But the series delves into the much darker workings of the universe and other worlds.  We get to see the big bads and bigger bads out there.  Thessaly's quiet, but she makes up for talking with her actions.  I especially loved the inclusion of various gods of the dead.  Nice touch!

My second favorite had to be the short House of Mystery tales thrown in the back.  Willingham goes from the funny horror story to the truly bizarre and disconcerting.  Hats off to you!  Now I really need to read The Sandman series.

The Walking Dead: Book 4

Title: The Walking Dead: Book 4

Author: Robert Kirkman

Publisher: Image Comics 2008

Genre: Graphic Novel; Zombies

Pages: 304

Rating:  5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Graphic Novels; Support Your Local Library

The hardcover features another 12 issues of the hit series along with the covers for the issues all in one oversized hardcover volume. Perfect for long-time fans, new readers, and anyone interested in reading a zombie movie on paper that never ends.

Every time I think this series has reached the limit, the next chapter just flies right past the previous limit.  It is crazy!  I cannot even begin to imagine where the series is going.  Yet I want to continue reading it until the end.  I like how this book focused more on the threat from fellow survivors than the zombies.  We get a real feeling of what the survivors we follow are up against.  It makes for a suspenseful read.  I'm also interested to see how the television series departs from the comic storyline.  Should be an interesting read.  And you know I always love my zombies!

The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg

Title: The View from Saturday

Author: E.L. Konigsburg

Publisher: Atheneum 1996

Genre: YA fiction

Pages: 176

Rating:   5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Young Adult; A to Z -- V; My Years 1996

How I Got It: Library Loan

HOW HAD MRS. OLINSKI CHOSEN her sixth-grade Academic Bowl team? She had a number of answers. But were any of them true? How had she really chosen Noah and Nadia and Ethan and Julian? And why did they make such a good team?It was a surprise to a lot of people when Mrs. Olinski's team won the sixth-grade Academic Bowl contest at Epiphany Middle School. It was an even bigger surprise when they beat the seventh grade and the eighth grade, too. And when they went on to even greater victories, everyone began to ask: How did it happen?It happened at least partly because Noah had been the best man (quite by accident) at the wedding of Ethan's grandmother and Nadia's grandfather. It happened because Nadia discovered that she could not let a lot of baby turtles die. It happened when Ethan could not let Julian face disaster alone. And it happened because Julian valued something important in himself and saw in the other three something he also valued. 

One of my favorite childhood books is E.L. Konigsburg's From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.  Ever since then, I have reread that book every few years.  Yet somehow I never read any of Konigsburg's other books.  I finally picked this one up from the library.

And I'm so glad I did.  I loved this story of four students and their teacher, each on a journey and not even realizing it until the end.  I loved how each section of the story was interlaced with personal recollections from each of the four students.  I could imagine my sixth-grade self right alongside them for every adventure and obstacle.  The book is a quick read, but so dense with material.  This would be the perfect book to read on a rainy day.  If I was teaching middle school langauge arts, this would be on my permanent list of books to discover.  Now I really want to read the rest of Konigburg's material.

The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson

Title: The Ghost Map

Author: Steven Johnson

Publisher: Penguin 2008

Genre: Nonfiction - Science (epidemics)

Pages: 320

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mixing It Up -- Science; Dewey -- 600s; Mount TBR

How I Got It: I own it!

 A thrilling historical account of the worst cholera outbreak in Victorian London-and a brilliant exploration of how Dr. John Snow's solution revolutionized the way we think about disease, cities, science, and the modern world. The Ghost Map takes place in the summer of 1854. A devastating cholera outbreak seizes London just as it is emerging as a modern city: more than 2 million people packed into a ten-mile circumference, a hub of travel and commerce, teeming with people from all over the world, continually pushing the limits of infrastructure that's outdated as soon as it's updated. Dr. John Snow-whose ideas about contagion had been dismissed by the scientific community-is spurred to intense action when the people in his neighborhood begin dying. With enthralling suspense, Johnson chronicles Snow's day-by-day efforts, as he risks his own life to prove how the epidemic is being spread. When he creates the map that traces the pattern of outbreak back to its source, Dr. Snow didn't just solve the most pressing medical riddle of his time. He ultimately established a precedent for the way modern city-dwellers, city planners, physicians, and public officials think about the spread of disease and the development of the modern urban environment.

Epidemics have always fascinated me.  I also thought that was the one area of medicine that I would have enjoyed.  Instead, I became a social studies teacher.  Thankfully, I still get to read about epidemics through books like The Ghost Map.

Johnson blends historical narrative, science, and social commentary to create a very readable account of a devastating epidemic.  I have read some science history texts that have bored me to tears.  Too many of them focus solely on the science, not mentioning the human effect.  Johnson uses both sides to tell a remarkable story.  And it's one that I haven't heard before.  It definitely opened my eyes to the way society and specifically city living has changed the microbe world.  I would definitely recommend this book to the geeky historical minds out there.

On a side note: while reading the book, I experienced a nasty stomach bug for about 24 hours.  I was convinced that I had cholera and obsessed about it for about half a day.

Beastly by Alex Flinn

Title: Beastly

Author: Alex Flin

Publisher: HarperTeen 2007

Genre: YA Fairy Tales

Pages: 304

Rating:  4 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Telling Tales; Book2Movie; Read Your Name - F

How I Got It: Library Loan

I am a beast. A beast! Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog but a horrible new creature who walks upright. I am a monster.You think I'm talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. It's no deformity, no disease. And I'll,stay this way forever—ruined—unless I can break the spell.

Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I'll tell you. I'll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and the perfect life. And then, I'll tell you how I became perfectly . . . beastly.

If I was 15, I would have loved this book.  As I am 30, I liked it.  Overall a cute read, but nothing I will gush over.  I liked Lindy, Will, Magda, and Kendra.  All were great characters.  Kyle/Adrian was so-so.  I get that he was supposed to be the villain in the beginning and find redemption in the end, but I never found him charming, at any point in the book.  This maybe my 30-year-old self not being attracted to 15-year-old boys.  But I also think part of it lies with his personality.  The change seemed rather abrupt and disgenuine.  I just didn't believe him.  Oh and the chat room transcripts... seemed really hooky and silly.

Movie

I have to confess that I saw the movie before reading the book.  After watching the movie, I would have rated it 3 stars.  But after reading the book, I now give the movie 4 stars.  Raising the age of the main characters made the true love romance feel real.  I just can't believe in 15-year-olds finding their one love.  While I am not a fan of Vanessa Hudgens in general, she did a decent job as Lindy.  I loved Alex Pettyfer as our Beast.  He had the right amount of vanity in the beginning, but we also really get to see his gradual change.  I could have done without Olsen twin (which one?) as Kendra.  She's supposed to be ugly at the beginning.  She was just too glamorous to be believed.  Neil Patrick Harris' Will was great.  And the change in makeup really did it.  He was still a Beast, just an interesting looking Beast.

Definitely Not Mr. Darcy by Karen Doornebos

Title: Definitely Not Mr. Darcy

Author: Karen Doornebos

Publisher: Berkley Trade 2011

Genre: Romance

Pages: 384

Rating:   4 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Romance; Support Your Local Library

How I Got It: Library loan

 Chloe Parker was born two centuries too late. A thirty-nine-year- old divorced mother, she runs her own antique letterpress business, is a lifelong member of the Jane Austen Society, and gushes over everything Regency. But her business is failing, threatening her daughter's future. What's a lady to do?Why, audition for a Jane Austen-inspired TV show set in England, of course.

What Chloe thinks is a documentary turns out to be a reality dating show set in 1812. Eight women are competing to snare Mr. Wrightman, the heir to a gorgeous estate, along with a $100,000 prize. So Chloe tosses her bonnet into the ring, hoping to transform from stressed-out Midwest mom to genteel American heiress and win the money. With no cell phones, indoor plumbing, or deodorant to be found, she must tighten her corset and flash some ankle to beat out women younger, more cutthroat, and less clumsy than herself. But the witty and dashing Mr. Wrightman proves to be a prize worth winning, even if it means the gloves are off...

 This was a fun, albeit fairly predictable read.  A retelling of Pride and Prejudice, of sorts.  Chloe was thoroughly likeable.  A few times her density got the better of me, but I was still rooting for her throughout.  Grace was a standard villain.  Of course, I loved Henry and couldn't wait for Chloe to wake up and see him.  The writing was clear and engaging.  I swept through this novel fairly quickly.  A good few days in reality tv Regency Era.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Title: The Shadow of the Wind (Cemetery of Forgotten Books #1)

Author: Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Publisher: Penguin 2005

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 487

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Historical Fiction; Mount TBR; My Years

How I Got It: I own it

“A secret’s worth depends on the people from whom it must be kept,” begins Carlos Ruiz Zafón’s astounding novel of postwar Barcelona. But more than four years after its initial paperback publication, the secret is out—the novel remains a favorite of booksellers and readers alike.

Gorgeous...  That's the word that kept coming to mind as I was reading.  Gorgeous.  The writing is gorgeous.  The characters are gorgeous.  The setting and descriptions are gorgeous.  The storyline is gorgeous.  The reader is treated to a gorgeous novel that sucks you in within the first few pages.  I took days to read this novel because I kept wanting to reread beautiful written paragraphs.  I savored the language (translated from the original Spanish).  It has a lyrical quality.  I wanted to read the paragraphs out loud and often did to anyone within earshot.

The story itself presents a fairly simple mystery that grows as the novel progresses.  We meet new characters.  We discover things about known characters.  We run the gamut of emotions with Daniel on his journey.  The Barcelona of the book is a wondrously dangerous place and I want to visit.  I want to join Daniel on his quest to find Julian Carax.  I want to listen Clara play piano badly.  I want to havea meal with Fermin.  I want to help all escape Inspector Fumero's grasp.  But above all, I want to visit the Cemetery of Forgotten Books.

Cemetery of Forgotten Books

• #0.5 Rose of Fire
• #1 The Shadow of the Wind
• #2 The Angel's Game
• #3 The Prisoner of Heaven

Everneath by Brodi Ashton

Title: Everneath (Everneath #1)

Author: Brodi Ashton

Publisher: Balzer + Bray 2012

Genre: Young adult fantasy

Pages: 384

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Fantasy; Read Your Name -- E; Support Your Local Library

How I Got It: Library Loan

Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath. Now she’s returned—to her old life, her family, her boyfriend—before she’s banished back to the underworld . . . this time forever. She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can’t find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.

Nikki longs to spend these precious months forgetting the Everneath and trying to reconnect with her boyfriend, Jack, the person most devastated by her disappearance—and the one person she loves more than anything. But there’s just one problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who enticed her to the Everneath in the first place, has followed Nikki home. Cole wants to take over the throne in the underworld and is convinced Nikki is the key to making it happen. And he’ll do whatever it takes to bring her back, this time as his queen.

As Nikki’s time on the Surface draws to a close and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she is forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole’s queen.

Definitely done with the fantasy, young adult, love triangle bit.  I tired of Nikki's wishy-washy behavior.  I tired of the ridiculous high school behavior.  I tired of Cole and Jack being oblivious yet forward.  Overall, not a horrible book, but I don't think I will be reading any more of the series.  Romeo and Juliet, anyone?

Everneath

1. Everneath
2. Neverfall -- novella
3. Everbound
4. Evertrue

Aftertime by Sophie Littlefield

Title: Aftertime (Aftertime #1)

Author: Sophie Littlefield

Publisher: Luna 2011

Genre: Dystopian, Zombie

Pages: 384

Rating:  5/5 stars

Reading Challenges:  Zombies; Support Your Local Library

How I Got It: Library Loan

Awakening in a bleak landscape as scarred as her body, Cass Dollar vaguely recalls surviving something terrible. Having no idea how many weeks have passed, she slowly realizes the horrifying truth: Ruthie has vanished.And with her, nearly all of civilization.Where once-lush hills carried cars and commerce, the roads today see only cannibalistic Beaters—people turned hungry for human flesh by a government experiment gone wrong.

In a broken, barren California, Cass will undergo a harrowing quest to get Ruthie back. Few people trust an outsider, let alone a woman who became a zombie and somehow turned back, but she finds help from an enigmatic outlaw, Smoke. Smoke is her savior, and her safety.

For the Beaters are out there.

And the humans grip at survival with their trigger fingers. Especially when they learn that she and Ruthie have become the most feared, and desired, of weapons in a brave new world….

A dystopian world inhabited by Beaters and survivors.  I loved the bleak feel of this novel.  It didn't try to glamorize the end of the world as we know it.  The book showed the stark reality of surviving in this new and desolate world.  The graphic description of desolation is haunting.  We really get a feel for the nothingness that is left.  I appreciate this departure from the fancy dystopian novels I've read in the past.

The characters are memorable.  No one is a clear likable character.  Instead each one has good and bad qualities; much like you find in real people.  Sometimes I wanted to hug Cass and others I wanted to smack her.  She's real.  She has problems.  She has past issues.  She has insecurities.  But she also has a drive to survive and reclaim her daughter.  Smoke is an enigma.  We don't get a huge amount of information from or about him, but we understand that Cass must rely on someone.  I predict that he becomes a white knight in the end.  Hopefully we get more from him in future books.  There's too many other minor characters to list, but they all made an impression.  I can't wait to read the next book.

Aftertime

• #1 Aftertime
• #1.5 Survivors
• #2 Rebirth
• #3 Horizon

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

Title: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Author: J.K. Rowling

Publisher: Scholastic

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Pages: 435

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: HP

How I Got It: Own it!

This one is a reread for me.  It's been awhile since I read the series.  I remember reading the first couple of books out loud to the boys when they were infants.  SO that's what eight years ago?  I read the last few books as they came out, but overall it's been awhile.

Instead of doing a traditional review, I thought I would just give you some of my reread thoughts.  Things I noticed, things I loved, quotes I like, etc.  And then I will have a mini review of movie vs. book.

Book fun:

• Favorite scene: For this book there were a few great scenes.  1) The Knight Bus.  Although I loved what they did in the movie, I did enjoy this little episode in the book.  2) Harry's argument with Snape about James.  We see the tension build between these two characters.  And even though Harry doesn't know the whole story, I love how he stands up for his father.  3) Hermione standing up to Malfoy.  Gold!
• Favorite character: I could decided between Professor Trelawney, Crookshanks, or Lupin.  All had great qualities.
• Favorite expressions: "Mischeif managed" -- words to wipe the Marauder's Map. "Flibbertigibbet" -- password for the dormitory.  "Collywobbles" -- what thinking about the dementors gives to Ernie, driver of The Knight Bus
• I forgot that we get to meet Cedric Diggory and Cho Chang in this book.  Obviously they become more important next book.
• Professor Lupin teaches the students about grindylows and kapps which reside in the lake.  They also play a part in the next book.  He also teaches them about Red Caps.  Those guys show up in all kinds of fantasy books.  Love it!

Favorite quotes:

only one from this book

• "You think the dead we lvoed ever truly leave us?  You think that we don't recall them more clearly than ever in times of great trouble?  Your father is alive in you, Harry, and shows himself most plainly when you have need of him."  -- Dumbledore Pg. 427

Movie fun:

My favorite scenes:

• Loved The Knight Bus scene.  It plays so beautifully and gives some comedic releif to the much darker turn later on.
• Time-turner scene.  I loved to see the replay of events from a slightly different perspective

Things I wished to see, but didn't:

• More Crookshanks.  Love that cat.
• The fight with Malfoy by the Shrieking Shack.  In the book, it was a mud fight.  They changed it to a snowball fight. I would have like to see it as a mid fight.
• More Professor Trelawney.  Emma Thompson is just too wonderful.  I wanted more and more of her.

Harry Potter:

1. The Sorcerer's Stone
2. The Chamber of Secrets
3. The Prisoner of Azkaban
4. The Goblet of Fire
5. The Order of the Phoenix
6. The Half Blood Prince
7. The Deathly Hallows

Doctor Who: The Forgotten

Title: Doctor Who: The Forgotten

Author: Tony Lee, Pia Guerra, Nick Roche

Publisher: IDW 2009

Genre: Graphic Novel; Scifi

Pages: 144

Rating:  5/ 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Graphic Novel; Read Your Name -- F; Support Your Local Library

How I Got It: Library loan

Stranded in a strange Museum that's dedicated to him, and with no TARDIS in sight, The Doctor and Martha must make sense of their surroundings, hindered by one small fact - The Doctor has lost his memories of every one of his previous incarnations! With items relevant to each Doctor in their possession, The Doctor must try to use them to regain his memories before it's too late, starting with his earliest incarnation's memories, involving Susan, Barbara, and Ian... but quickly moving on to Zoe and Jamie, and more! This all-new series written by Tony Lee (Starship Troopers) features artist Pia Guerra in her first monthly comic since Y The Last Man.

Loving this miniseries...  All the old Doctors make an appearance.  I also love the allusions to storylines from Tennant's Doctor.  We get a great mix of nostalgia and looking to the future.  I read this over lunch very quickly.  I only wish there was more.

The Mammoth Book of Regency Romance

Title: The Mammoth Book of Regency Romance

Edited By: Trisha Telep

Publisher: Running Press 2010

Genre: Regency Romance

Pages: 512

Rating:  4/ 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Romance; Mount TBR

How I Got It: I own it!

From some of the biggest names in Regency historical romance, over twenty witty, romantic, and sensual short stories. The collection will include stories from Mary Balogh, Julia Templeton, Sara Bennett, Jo Beverley, and Amanda Grange.

Overall, this collection was good, but not great.  After finishing this book, I realized that I have some definite likes and dislikes about Regency era romances.  Likes: strong characters, good storylines (no tired cliches), interesting circumstances or events.  Dislikes: long drawn out sex scenes, damsels in distress, constant miscommunications.  Unforunately, many of the stories in this collection fell into my dislike category.  I am giving this four stars because of the 9 stories I really enjoyed.  Here are the highlights:

1. Elizabeth Boyle's "Cynders and Ashe" -- Classic Cinderella story redone for the Regency Era.  I loved the female lead and how she played off of the others.  Great little story.
2. Patricia Rice's "Lady Invisible" -- A widower with small daughter looking for a wife.  Verity was just adorable and I was really rooting for all parties involved.
3. Caroline Linden's "Like None Other" -- Next door neighbors fall in love.  I really enjoyed the characters and the set of a moonlit garden.  To die for!
4. Shirley Kennedy's "The Catch of the Season" -- A classic arrange marriage but then she meets a man who sweeps her off her feet.  Somehow Kennedy makes this cliched story feel new and fresh. 

Henry V by Shakespeare

Title: Henry V

Author: Shakespeare

Pages: 150

Rating:   5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Shakespeare; My Years -- 1998 (Readings); Dewey 800s (Readings)

Before delving into this month's Shakespeare play (I haven't read this one), I thought it would be a good idea to get a sense of history context.  The kings and queens of England are really not my forte when it comes to history.  I picked up Readings of William Shakespeare's The Histories published by Greenhaven Press (1998).  It contained some basic summaries of the history plays.  But the part that I really liked was the critical essays.  One gave a great historical account of the War of the Roses.  One focuses on how Shakespearean England saw the war and monarchs.  And one dealt with perspective in Henry V.  Overall these helped give me something of a road map when reading the play itself.

I really liked this one.  Maybe it's because the play is historical.  But I think maybe because Henry V is such a great character.  We don't get many characters in this play, but that's okay.  The focus is on Henry V.  I really got into the multiple facets of his personalities.  It made him a real person and not a caricature.  On a completely different note, I found the language more readable than Macbeth.  J suggested that this is more straight-forward without as many metaphors as Macbeth.  possibly...  At any rate I read this one much faster and without constantly looking at the footnotes.

Timeless by Gail Carriger

Title: Timeless (The Parasol Protectorate #5)

Author: Gail Carriger

Publisher: Orbit 2012

Genre: Steampunjk Paranormal

Pages: 416

Rating:  5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Fantasy; A to Z -- T; Mount TBR

How I Got It: I own it!

Alexia Tarabotti, Lady Maccon, has settled into domestic bliss. Of course, being Alexia, such bliss involves integrating werewolves into London High society, living in a vampire's second best closet, and coping with a precocious toddler who is prone to turning supernatural willy-nilly. Even Ivy Tunstell's acting troupe's latest play, disastrous to say the least, cannot put a damper on Alexia's enjoyment of her new London lifestyle.Until, that is, she receives a summons from Alexandria that cannot be ignored. With husband, child, and Tunstells in tow, Alexia boards a steamer to cross the Mediterranean. But Egypt may hold more mysteries than even the indomitable Lady Maccon can handle. What does the vampire Queen of the Alexandria Hive really want from her? Why is the God-Breaker Plague suddenly expanding? And how has Ivy Tunstell suddenly become the most popular actress in all the British Empire?

I am in love with each and every one of the characters in this series.  I love them all equally.  I really cannot decided who is my favorite.  Ms. Carriger has made me want to live in her version of Victorian England.  I want to be best friends with Alexia.  I want to run into Lord Akeldama and his drones at social gatherings. I want to see the productions of the Tunstells.  I want to buy a hat from Biffy.  I want to peruse Madame Lefoux's gadgets.  And I want to marvel at the dirigbles and ballon travels and general wonderment.   This series is one of my favorites in a very long time.

Alexia Tarabotti

• #1 Soulless
• #2 Changeless
• #3 Blameless
• #4 Heartless
• #5 Timeless

Eat Slay Love by Jesse Petersen

Title: Eat Slay Love (Living with the Dead #3)

Author: Jesse Petersen

Publisher: Orbit 2011

Genre: Zombies

Pages: 288

Rating:  5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Zombies; Support Your Local Library; Read Your Name -- E

How I Got It: Library Loan

Sarah and David have survived the zombie apocalypse. They stood side by side and fought the undead, mad scientists, and even bionic monsters until the unthinkable happened. A zombie bite. But not even that could stop them. Now, with a possible cure in hand, they're headed east, looking for a safe zone behind the rumored "Wall." They're feeling pretty optimistic.That is until Dave stops sleeping and starts lifting huge objects.

Eat. Slay. Love.

Because they haven't got a prayer.

The conclusion to the trilogy.  I fell in love with David and Sarah with the first book.  I really hoped their story would end happily, but with zombie books you just never know.  I love how these books are romantic comedies with zombies.  Love it!  This series has been my go-to books when I am in the mood for light zombie books.  I started to get a little concerned about halfway through the books with the inclusion of a new character that I really didn't like.  But the dymanic evolved well.  By the end of the book I was racing through the pages to find out what happened.  Thank goodness I had a two-hour plane ride to use.

Living with the Dead

• #1 Married with Zombies
• #2 Flip This Zombie
• #3 Eat, Slay, Love
• #3.5 Shambling with the Stars
• #4 The Zombie Whisperer

Rise Again by Ben Tripp

Title: Rise Again (Rise Again #1)

Author: Ben Tripp

Publisher: Gallery Books 2010

Genre: Zombie

Pages: 384

Rating:  5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Zombie; Support Your Local Library; Read Your Name -- T

How I Got It: Library loan

Forest Peak, California. Fourth of July. Sheriff Danielle Adelman, a troubled war veteran, thinks she has all the problems she can handle in this all-American town after her kid sister runs away from home. But when a disease-stricken horde of panicked refugees fleeing the fall of Los Angeles swarms her small mountain community, Danny realizes her problems have only just begun—starting with what might very well be the end of the world. Danny thought she had seen humanity at its worst in war-torn Iraq, but nothing could prepare her for the remorseless struggle to survive in a dying world being overrun by the reanimated dead and men turned monster. Obsessed with finding her missing sister against all odds, Danny’s epic and dangerous journey across the California desert will challenge her spirit . . . and bring her to the precipice of sanity itself. . . .

This is a story of survival, plain and simple.  In my opinion, it's the best kind of zombie story out there.  We're not trying to do anything clever with the story or with the zombies.  It's dirty.  It's gross.  It's heartbreaking.  It's angering.  And it's even a bit of hopeful.  I loved this book.

It took me a bit of time to really get into but that was because of the main character, Danny.  Initially I couldn't connect with her.  I hated her for how she treated her sister.  But then I started to understand her.  Her history, her lack of future, her sheer determination to survive.  And I really started to love Danny and root for her.  I didn't want to see her die.  Of course, there are some other great characters, but Danny is the one I really got into.  Her story keep me reading.  The action was great.  The creep out factor was great.  The gross out factor was great.  I whole heartedly recommend this book to all the zombie lovers out there.

Rise Again

• #1 Rise Again
• #2 Rise Again: Below Zero

Palace Circle by Rebecca Dean

Title: Palace Circle

Author: Rebecca Dean

Publisher: Broadway 2009

Genre: Historical Fiction

Pages: 425

Rating:  3  / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Historical Fiction; What's in a Name -- House; Mount TBR

How I Got It: I own it!

Delia Chandler, an eighteen-year-old Southern girl, marries Viscount Ivor Conisborough just before World War II, becoming part of the Windsor court. It’s every girl’s dream come true. But Delia is jolted from her pleasant life when she realizes, after the birth of her two daughters, that Ivor chose her only to bear an heir to his estate. Shortly thereafter, she begins an affair with her husband’s handsome, titled, and frequently scandalous best friend.

When Conisborough is appointed as an adviser to King Fuad of Egypt, Delia exchanges one palace circle for another, far different one. While she sees Egypt as a place of exile, her two daughters regard Egypt as their home. Only when war comes to Cairo—and Delia finally reveals the secret she has kept for so long—can she begin to heal the divisions separating her from those she loves.

Based off of the summary, this is Delia's story.  But upon reading the book, it's not just Delia's story.  The book jumps narration partway through.  We get sections narrated by Delia's daughter Petra, her daughter Davina, family friend Jack, and even a new aquaintance Darius.  These switches created a very disjointed feel to the book.  As soon as I got used to a voice, it switched.  I was a bit disconcerted.  My other issue with this book was that it seemed like a five book series smashed into one book.  I would have happily explored each part for  300-400 pages.  Instead we go from 1910s to 1940s.  Too much material in too short of pages.

All of this is not to say I hated the book.  I actually liked the characters.  I liked the mix of fiction and historical events.  I liked Dean's style of writing.  I just really wanted more.  More pages, more depth, more focus on big events.  Just more.  I will read more of Dean...  Hopefully her other books won't have the same problems.

Blue Moon by Alyson Noel

Title: Blue Moon (Immortals #2)

Author: Alyson Noel

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin 2009

Genre: YA Vampire

Pages: 304

Rating:  3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; Fantasy; Read Your Name - N

How I Got It: I own it

Just as Ever is learning everything she can about her new abilities as an immortal, initiated into the dark, seductive world by her beloved Damen, something terrible is happening to him.  As Ever’s powers are increasing, Damen’s are fading—stricken by a mysterious illness that threatens his memory, his identity, his life.

Desperate to save him, Ever travels to the mystical dimension of Summerland, uncovering not only the secrets of Damen’s past—the brutal, tortured history he hoped to keep hidden—but also an ancient text revealing the workings of time. With the approaching blue moon heralding her only window for travel, Ever is forced to decide between turning back the clock and saving her family from the accident that claimed them—or staying in the present and saving Damen, who grows weaker each day...

I tried to like this one, I really did.  I just couldn't really get into the storyline or the characters.  I spent most of the book wanting to smack Ever (and Damen for that matter).  There's just did not seem like a classic love story.  I ended up not caring if they lived happily ever after.  I just didn't care.  Also, I need characters to grow through a series.  To have someone keep making the same mistakes and assumptions throughout just makes me angry.  I could take or leave this one.

Immortals (DNFed series)

1. Evermore
2. Blue Moon
3. Shadowland
4. Dark Flame
5. Night Star
6. Everlasting

Evermore by Alyson Noel

Title: Evermore (Immortals #1)

Author: Alyson Noel

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin 2009

Genre: YA Vampire

Pages: 309

Rating:  4 /5 stars

Reading Challenges: Mount TBR; Fantasy; Read Your Name - E

How I Got It: I own it

Since a horrible accident claimed the lives of her family, sixteen-year-old Ever can see auras, hear people’s thoughts, and know a person’s life story by touch.   Going out of her way to shield herself from human contact to suppress her abilities has branded her as a freak at her new high school—but everything changes when she meets Damen Auguste . . .

Ever sees Damen and feels an instant recognition.  He is gorgeous, exotic and wealthy, and he holds many secrets.  Damen is able to make things appear and disappear, he always seems to know what she’s thinking—and he’s the only one who can silence the noise and the random energy in her head.  She doesn’t know who he really is—or what he is.  Damen equal parts light and darkness, and he belongs to an enchanted new world where no one ever dies.

Better than I thought it would be.  Okay, it was actually good.  I still have a bit of a stigma about young adult paranormal books.  I compare everything to Twilight (which I liked, but do not obsess over).  I keep expecting sparkly vampires to pop up in these books and that's not fair.  So getting over my stigma...  I picked up the first three Immortals series from Amazon for $6 total!  I thought that I give the series a shot.  If it didn't work out, oh well.

Thankfully, I did like this books even if I wanted to smack Ever (and Damen) a few times.  The world is different.  I sense that there's more to the Immortals world, but this was more of an introduction to characters than a big exposition novel.  I liked the side characters and definitely want to see more of Miles and Haven.  I wonder about Summerland and how it figures in.  (Damen warned Ever about becoming addicted to it. hmmm.... sounds like that will happen in a later book)  Drina was villanous, but her demise seemed like a let down.  I need bigger and badder evils to stay with the series.  The love story alone won't cut it with me.  But I intend to continue the series and see where this goes.

Immortals (DNFed series)

1. Evermore
2. Blue Moon
3. Shadowland
4. Dark Flame
5. Night Star
6. Everlasting