Book Reviews by Today, I Read…

It’s that time of year again when the ghouls and ghosts come out to play their dangerous games and we get to spend our nights tucked in bed with the covers drawn over our heads quaking with fear because of what’s lurking on the other side. I can hardly contain myself!! It’s going to be an awesome good time.

In case you have no idea what I’m talking about, the R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril IV challenge is only a few days away. I can almost feel the fright dripping down my spine. (Can you tell that I love all things spooky, scary, and unexplainable?)

Staring at my current read (A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb), one might say I cheated and got an early start, and one would be correct. The past couple of weeks, my reads have been on the darker side, but to be fair, I fully intend to read four additional creeptacular books (plus some short stories) during the months of September and October.

I’ve decided that my reading pool will consist of titles I already have on my shelves since it will give me a chance to whittle down my TBR pile at the same time.

In no particular order (though I’m extra anxious to read the ones in bold):

• The Mediator by Meg Cabot
• Bad Things by Michael Marshall
• Devil’s Footsteps by E. E. Richardson
• Beloved by Toni Morrison*
• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
• Mr. Darcy, Vampyre by Amanda Grange
• Kiss of Life by Daniel Waters
• The Host by Stephenie Meyer
• The Ferryman by Christopher Golden
• Soulless by Christopher Golden
• Tamsin by Peter S. Beagle
• The Great and Secret Show by Clive Barker
• Swoon by Nina Malkin
• Story Time by Edward Bloor
• Dracula by Bram Stoker
• Pharos by Alice Thompson
• Inventing Elliot by Graham Gardner
• The List of Seven by Mark Frost
• The Dark Room by Minette Walters
• The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike
• Ruined by Paula Morris (done and reviewed)
• Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick (done and reviewed)
• Insomnia by Stephen King*
• Salem’s Lot by Stephen King*

* These would be re-reads, but I really loved them the first time around, so this might be a good opportunity to revisit them.

For my nearly endless supply of short stories, I’ll be turning to:

• The Mammoth Book of Haunted House Stories edited by Peter Haining
• The Oxford Book of English Ghost Stories edited by Michael Cox & R. A. Gilbert
• The Picture of Dorian Gray and Other Stories by Oscar Wilde
• Ten Great Mysteries by Edgar Allan Poe
• The Tomb and Other Tales by H. P. Lovecraft
• Being Dead by Vivian Vande Velde (done and reviewed)
• M is for Magic by Neil Gaiman
• Nightmares & Dreamscapes by Stephen King*

* This is one of my favorite compilations of short stories by King and I’ve read a number of the stories more than once. (The Moving Finger, which traumatized me for a week the first time I read it, and The House on Maple Street come to mind.) In fact, my copy—which I’ve had for nearly fifteen years—has seen better days.

Recent Arrivals chronicles the books that have made their way onto the Today, I Read… bookshelf. Here’s the latest arrival: Ruined by Paula Morris

First line: Torrential rain was pouring the afternoon Rebecca Brown arrived in New Orleans.

Initial thoughts: I’ll be up front, the cover sucked me in. (Though, I admit, I have a problem with the wrought iron archway–the word RUINED should be attached to both the top and bottom, but that’s minor.)

Anyhoo, as far back as I can remember I’ve been a fan of the supernatural and I went through an entire New Orleans/Voodoo phase, so when I learned what the book was about, I knew I had to read it. Plus the early reviews look promising.

Book description:

Rebecca couldn’t feel more out of place in New Orleans, where she comes to spend the year while her dad is traveling. She’s staying in a creepy old house with her aunt. And at the snooty prep school, the filthy-rich girls treat Rebecca like she’s invisible. Only gorgeous, unavailable Anton Grey seems to give Rebecca the time of day, but she wonders if he’s got a hidden agenda. Then one night, in Lafayette Cemetery, Rebecca makes a friend. Sweet, mysterious Lisette is eager to talk to Rebecca, and to show her the nooks and crannies of the city. There’s just one catch: Lisette is a ghost.

A ghost with a deep, dark secret, and a serious score to settle.

As Rebecca learns more from her ghost friend — and as she slowly learns to trust Anton Grey — she also uncovers startling truths about her own history. Will Rebecca be able to right the wrongs of the past, or has everything been ruined beyond repair?

Book Details: 304 pages; Point; Pub. August 1, 2009

Learn more:

• Paula Morris’s blog (and her write up on the books launch)
• Read an excerpt
• Reviews
  • Carrie’s Bookshelf
  • The Book Smugglers (has some mild spoilers and also a review of Laura Whitcomb’s A Certain Slant of Light)

Recent Arrivals chronicles the books that have made their way onto the Today, I Read… bookshelf. Here are the latest arrivals: The Fairy-Tale Detectives (Sisters Grimm Book 1) and The Unusual Suspects (Sisters Grimm Book 2) by Michael Buckley

First line: I’m going to die of boredom here, Sabrina Grimm thought as she looked out the train window at Ferryport Landing, New York.

Book description:

For Sabrina and Daphne Grimm, life hasn’t been a fairy tale. After the mysterious disappearance of their parents, the sisters are sent to live with their grandmother—a woman they believed was dead! Granny Relda reveals that the girls have two famous ancestors, the Brothers Grimm, whose classic book of fairy tales is actually a collection of case files of magical mischief. Now the girls must take on the family responsibility of being fairy-tale detectives. Their first case? A roller-coaster ride of an adventure to stop a giant from destroying their new hometown.

First line: “Let’s get this party started, already!” Sabrina complained under her breath as she rubbed the charley horse in her leg.

Book description:

For Sabrina Grimm, living in a community of fairy-tale characters means always being ready for trouble. And something is definitely wrong at her new school. The adults seem too angry, the kids seem too sleepy, and the gym teacher likes dodgeball way too much. Of course, her little sister, Daphne, is having the time of her life. (Who wouldn’t with Snow White for a teacher—she’s do good with little people!) But when Sabrina’s teacher, Mr. Grumpner, is found dangling in a giant spider web, even sunny Daphne’s convinced Ferryport Landing Elementary has a monster problem. Can the Sisters Grimm solve the crime?

Initial thoughts: I must admit that these two books were impulse buys more than anything else.

Since I was a kid, I’ve adored fairytales. Even now I can see Grimm’s Complete Fairytales sitting on my bookshelf—it never wanders too far away from me because sometimes I like to crack it open and read whenever I need a break. (By the way, it’s the original fairytales. In my version, the wicked queen in Snow White had to dance in red-hot iron shoes until she dropped dead. Bet you won’t see that in a Disney movie anytime soon.)

Back on track…when I saw that it was a new spin on a classic, I couldn’t resist. Especially since it had a Girl Power! spin to it. In reading these books, I hope to return to a fun part of my childhood where adventure awaited around every corner.

It’s Thursday and you know what that means…another edition of Booking Through Thursday is here.

This week’s question is: What’s the best book you’ve read recently? (Tell me you didn’t see this one coming?)

This was a tough decision to make. I’ve read some mediocre books of late, but I’ve read some great ones too and I was having a difficult time choosing between them.

But the winner by a few points is The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. (Coming in a close second is Generation Dead by Daniel Waters.)

I adored reading The Lightning Thief and its characters and adventuring with Percy. When I finished the book, I was breathless and in a mild state of awe wondering why I had waited so long to start this series. (It’s kind of like Harry Potter in that sense…you’re beating yourself up for being literarily lazy.)

The review is in the queue. Shame on me for still being lazy.

Wow it’s amazing how quickly a week flies by, especially when you’ve got a lot on your plate. It’s time again for another Wondrous Words Wednesday post, the weekly meme hosted by Bermudaonion.

Since I haven’t gotten far enough into my current read to run into any words that are new to me (or just fuzzy), I’ll be relying on my last week’s read…

Thirst (No. 1) by Christopher Pike

I should also mention that I was hard-pressed to expand my vocabulary with this title.

tamasic: adj. characterized by ignorance or inactivity, one of the gunas in Hindu philosophy.

“Your kind is for the most part tamasic—negative.” pg. 150

bespeckle: verb To speckle.*

Although I already knew this word, I added it to the list because, frankly, its use in this case boggles my mind.

“The bespeckled coroner shakes at Joel’s question.” pg. 253 What, exactly, was this coroner speckled with? Blood? It doesn’t say.

dragnet: noun A system or network for finding or catching someone, as a criminal wanted by police.

I knew this word from the old television show Dragnet, but I never knew the official definition.

“I want you to help me escape this dragnet.” pg. 417