Book Reviews by Today, I Read…

Recent Arrivals chronicles the books that have made their way onto the Today, I Read… bookshelf. Here’s the latest arrival: The Tarot Cafe by Sang-Sun Park

First line: It’s not difficult to guess what happened to my clients in the past. (Volume 1)

Initial thoughts: I’ve always been a fan of anime, and though I’d heard about manga over the years, it wasn’t until very recently that I decided to take it seriously.

I decided to give it a real try when I saw a number of titles discounted and figured why not? I initially snagged the first volume of each title that caught my eye, then went back and grabbed subsequent issues for those with stories that pulled me in. TTC was one of them.

The Tarot Cafe struck my fancy because the subject matter intrigued me—a tarot reader for the supernatural—and I loved the art.

Book description:

Meet Pamela, the owner of The Tarot Cafe–what she offers on the menu isn’t always a treat for her customers. Pamela is also a clairvoyant who caters to an elite clientele that frequents the cafe for more than just tea. Vampires, fairies and other creatures that live among humans come to learn of their future from the predictions of this young woman. But Pamela must come to terms with a deep dark secret before she can move onto the next life…

Book Details: 184 pages (each volume); TokyoPop; Pub. March – December 2005

So, here’s the story. I’m down with the flu…again. (Within the past two months, I had one severe—which is not even a strong enough word—case of the flu followed up by a short 48 hr cold less than a week later.)

As I stumbled, dazed and confused, through the aisle of the local chain store, stocking up on flu medicine and tissue, I thought to myself, at least some good will come of this—I’ll get to catch up on all my reading.

I couldn’t be more wrong. I had to read the back of a NyQuil bottle no less than four times so my brain could comprehend the odd-shaped glyphs that were arranged in some sort of pattern. (I’m 59.8% certain those things are called words).

In that single moment, I wished beyond all wishing that I had stocked up on more audiobooks.

There is a light at the end of this tunnel, however. I’ve been dipping my toes into the manga waters and so far, I like what I’ve discovered. I’m hoping that even though my brain is a bit slow at the moment, the pictures will help to push me forward.

More good news: I had plenty of books arrive, so I’m working to get the Recent Arrivals updated.

Things might be a little quiet around here while I recover, but I have a tough immune system so I’ll be back before you know it—plus I have a few reviews that are slated to be written.

(Sidebar: I noticed that under the “do not use” section of the NyQuil bottle, “to make a child sleep” is listed. It’s rather disturbing that someone felt compelled to list that.)

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

First line: I walked into biology and my jaw fell open. Mysteriously adhered to the chalkboard was a Barbie doll, with Ken at her side. They’d been forced to link arms and were naked except for artificial leaves placed in a few choice locations. *

Initial thoughts: I happened to check the mail when I was running out of the house and didn’t open the package until I was in the parking lot of a department store. And when I saw what was awaiting me–a signed ARC, you better believe I did a Snoopy dance and squealed like a fangirl with everyone watching. I even started reading while walking up and down the aisle…more than once I nearly ran over the stray pedestrian with my cart. To say I’m a little excited would be an understatement.

Book description:

Nora Grey is responsible and smart and not inclined to be reckless. Her first mistake was falling for Patch. Patch has a past that could be called anything but harmless. The best thing he ever did was fall for Nora.

After getting paired with Patch in biology, all Nora wants to do is stay away from him, but he always seems to be two steps ahead of her. She can feel his eyes on her when he is nowhere around. She feels him nearby even when she is alone in her bedroom. And when her attraction can be denied no longer, she learns the secret about who Patch is and what led him to her. Despite all the questions she has about his past, in the end, there may be only one question they can ask each other: How far are you willing to fall?

Book Details: 400 pages; Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing; Pub. October 13, 2009

*OK, I realize that’s not really a first line, it’s a first paragraph (almost). I had to include it because, seriously, read it! In fact, I selected the first line of the first chapter because the first line of the prologue could not live up to the first chapter’s in my eyes.

Recent Arrivals chronicles the books that have made their way onto the Today, I Read… bookshelf. Here’s the latest arrival: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

First line: Look, I didn’t want to be a half-blood.

Initial thoughts: I’d seen this title around for a while, but it didn’t hit home until I was standing in line for the November elections and saw a woman well into her fifties reading it. When I asked what she thought about it, she was completely smitten. So that’s when I knew I needed to get a copy of the book. (BTW, she was reading it because she wanted to know what her kids were into.)

Book description:

Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school…again. And that’s the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy’s Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he’s angered a few of them. Zeus’s master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.

Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus’s stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief; he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.

Book Details: 392 pages; Miramax Books; Pub. March 21, 2006

Recent Arrivals chronicles the books that have made their way onto the Today, I Read… bookshelf. Here’s the latest arrival: In This Way I Was Saved by Brian DeLeeuw

First line: I enter the lobby of Claire Nightingale’s apartment building, here to tell her I have murdered her only son.

Initial thoughts: This book interested me right away. It was the cover the drew me in and the description that hooked me. There is an ethereal quality that left me wondering, what exactly is contained within the pages of that book? When a book’s storyline does that to me, I know I must have it. I really don’t know what to expect, but I know the description reminded me a bit of The Good Son, except in this case it might be a tale of the imaginary good son.

Book description:

On a chilly November afternoon, six-year-old Luke Nightingale’s life changes forever. On the playground across from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, he encounters Daniel. Soon the boys are hiding from dinosaurs and shooting sniper rifles. Within hours, Luke and his mother, Claire, are welcoming Daniel into their Upper East Side apartment — and their lives.

Daniel and Luke are soon inseparable. With his parents divorcing, Luke takes comfort in having a near-constant playmate. But there’s something strange about Daniel, who is more than happy to bind himself to the Nightingales. The divorce has cut Luke’s father out of the picture, and as his increasingly fragile mother struggles with the insidious family depression, Daniel — shrewd, adventurous, and insightful — provides Luke both recreation and refuge.

As Luke grows from a child to an adolescent to a young man, he realizes that as much as his mother needs him, Daniel needs him more. Jealous of Luke’s other attachments, Daniel moves from gestures of friendship into increasingly sinister manipulations. In the end, Luke finds himself in a daily battle for control of his own life — wondering whether he or Daniel will emerge victorious.

Book Details: 304 pages; Simon & Schuster; Pub. August 4, 2009