Thriller and Suspense Challenge 2010

This is my last choice(I think!) for a 2010 reading challenge. The sub genres are listed on another site and the list is long so I'm just posting the link here.

The Dead Travel Fast by Deanna Raybourn

I just realized that there is a new book from Deanna Raybourn due out in 2010. Love the cover! I found the first books in her series toward the end of 2008 and it quickly became one of my favorite historical mystery series. This one's a stand alone, and although I wish it had been a continuation of the series, I loved the gothic style of her last book and this one promises more of the same. Click on the link for more info and a trailer, The Dead Travel Fast

Now if only we'd get the new Sarah Tolerance from Madeleine E. Robins or another C.J. Sansom. Who are some of your favorite historical mystery/thriller authors?

Reading For a Cure

I've decided to join a new challenge in 2010, hope you'll check it out. For info please check out Caribousmom's blog.

What Are You Reading On Mondays

This weekly Meme can be found at j-kaye-book-blog.blogspot.com

This week I'm well into Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger, is anyone else planning on reading it or maybe you've already read it?

Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich

I was so pleased to get a copy this month and couldn't wait to read it. As expected, Evanovich didn't disappoint and there were scenes where I was rolling on the floor I was laughing so hard. In spite of that, I'm thinking this will probably be my last in this series. After so many, I still am in awe of the way this author can do slapstick, hilarious is an understatement, and there are times I'm laughing so hard, it's a wonder the neighbors don't think I'm crazy. But, (you knew there was a but coming, didn't you?) for the last 3 or 4 books, I've been irritated with the issues that are never resolved and the repetitiveness is starting to wear on me. It will be hard to leave Ranger and Joe Morelli behind but I can certainly understand more why some authors decide to end a series. After a certain point, there's just not anymore story to tell.

3.5/5

Grave Secret by Charlaine Harris

Grave Secret is the 4th installment in Harris' Grave series. This series follows the career of Harper Connelly and her stepbother Tolliver as they travel across the country, paid to find the dead and in some cases, the circumstances that caused the deaths. I'm a big fan of everything Charlaine Harris but occasionally, there's a book that seems to be just filler. This is one of those times and while it does a great job of tying up some loose ends that have been hanging around since the beginning of their story, it settles them in such a way that I'm worried that this will either be the last book or close to it. There is one consolation to that thought, and that is that whatever she comes up with next , it will be worth waiting for. And I suppose it's always possible that she just wants to take the storyline in a new direction and is just clearing out some of the clutter thats accumulated. Amazing to me that I resisted reading her books for so long cause I was under the impression that they were cutesy and light , definitely a case of judging books by their cover as they are anything but.

3.5/5

Age of Autism newsletter

I subscribe to a daily web based paper called Age of Autism. Even though I have the feed coming directly to my blog, I just wanted to point out that there are some really interesting articles today concerning the H1N1 flu shots. I've been worrying lately that I'm biased about this given that I have a close friend with an autistic son and a great niece that started having seizures within a week of getting her 6 month vaccinations. The worry has come with all the publicity surrounding the new flu shots. Having an 8 year old daughter of my own, the decision on whether or not to have her vaccinated for the flu has not come easily, and truthfully, I'm still struggling with it. But that's a lot what being a parent is about , making decisions concerning the well being of our children until such a time that they can make those decisions for themselves. And then still, we worry....

I'd love to hear any thoughts?

Paranormal Activity

I saw this with a friend and her daughter over the weekend. Have been wanting to see it since I first heard about it's limited release in select cities so I jumped right on the bandwagon and requested that it be shown in my area. The idea was that if enough people requested it, Paranormal Activity would open nationwide. So here we are two days later and the movie, which didn't really seem to make a big impact on me is creating little ripple effects here. I woke up from my own nightmare last night convinced I knew what she had been dreaming about when the main character woke from her nightmare at one point in the movie. I never realized how many noises we hear each night without thinking a thing about it. Thankfully I don't sleep alone and I find myself curling up against my husband while still being able to see the room. I'd give this one 3 out of 5 stars but I still wonder why they(the couple) weren't sleeping with every light in the house on. Anyone remember Blair Witch? The way this was shot gives the same effect of vertigo. Also I've heard that a good bit of the script was ad libbed and they shot it in 11 days . That said, I think they did a good job considering that the movie never moves beyond the house and with the exception of two visitors(in my version anyway) we never see anyone but the young couple and some shadows.

Good Intentions

I've been working on a group read for the last week and a half. A good friend and I manage a yahoo group called Fantasy Horror & Thrillers and the group read this month is Wicked by Gregory Maguire. Has anyone read that one? As usual , I waited till the last minute to get my copy. Lucked out and got a large print book but then realized it was over 700 pages long. So here I am , enjoying the book but struggling to finish it before the 31st , long after everyone else has discussed it. I've been so wrapped up in that, I'm not answering mail, and this morning I forgot the password to my blog and had to reset it. Funny how that seems to be happening with a lot more frequency lately. The things I used to do without a second thought to keep myself organized are becoming a chore and the next thing I know I'm spending a whole day catching up with mail, book groups, book trading sites etc. Maybe I should blame the internet?

Fall Cleaning

I spent the week doing something I've been putting off for quite a while. I decided to go through my TBR and my bookshelves to see what I could get rid of. It started with a good look at the books I've had listed at PBS and Bookmooch and I realized that some of them had been there since I joined.(2 years!) I'm not done yet but have collected over 100 books to give away. And as luck would have it, a good friend just called, asking if I had any books to donate to a book sale that she's having. Better yet, she's coming to pick them up! I'm thinking that's as good a reason as any to go through them again and weed out the ones I was on the fence about. Hard to believe , but I found books that I've had for 8 years or more and not read. Geez, you think it might be time to let go?

Skin Trade by Laurell K. Hamilton

I wasn't sure if I was going to read this one or not, one thing I did know was that I wasn't going to buy it. When I saw it on the new book shelf at the library, the decision was made and though I had mixed feelings, it took me less then a day to read. Did I like it? Yes and no. I loved the fact that this one seemed to have more of the feel of the earlier books and I think that's what kept me reading. It takes place in a different locale with some of my favorite recurring characters. But I have to say, I didn't miss St. Louis or Anita's harem. The conversation at times was tedious and repetitive, especially given the situations they were in. So I often found myself thinking, "they're talking about this NOW?" As a fan of erotica, I've been especially disappointed in the this aspect of the books. It's not the sex I mind so much as that the sex is so poorly written and monotonous.

3***

Welcome

Okay, it's time to let all of this stop intimidating me. I'm hoping to make this a place to list what I'm reading, post book reviews, and just talk about books in general. I've also got a couple of interests I will be talking about and posting links to from time to time. They are not book related but deal with the subject of autism, vaccinations, and the use of chemicals in our day to day living. Hope you'll find it interesting!