It’s been a while since I’ve updated; that’s because I’ve had a lot going on IRL. It’s fairly personal so I’d rather not get into it here, but suffice to say it’s been a huge drain on my energy and my time. But after all the upheaval, I’m finally ready to ease back into the flow of reading and writing about my reading.

Over the next few weeks, I intend to catch up on my backlog of books awaiting reviews (and emails—sorry if you’ve sent me one and I haven’t responded, I’m not ignoring you, promise!) and get caught up on the wonderful books still waiting to be read.

To give you a taste of what’s coming up, some of the titles that I’m looking forward to reading which include Thirst No. 2 & 3 by Christopher Pike (I read the first one, but haven’t gotten around to reviewing it yet), The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch, Floors by Patrick Carman, and Want to Go Private? by Sarah Darer Littman.

Oh, life is looking much brighter already.

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

Remember how I said I grabbed a copy of Thirst (No. 1) by Christopher Pike because I thought I wouldn’t have to contend with any sparkly vampires? I believe I may have spoken a bit too soon.

“As I climb in my stolen vehicle, I notice that my arms and hands are glowing with a faint white light. The effect stuns me. My face is also glowing! In fact, all my exposed skin shines with the same iridescence as the full moon, which hangs low in the sky in the direction of Las Vegas.” Thirst No. 1 – pg. 450

While it’s not sparkling in the daylight a la Twilight, it’s still an iridescent vampire. A sparkly glowing rainbow vampire. I mean really? REALLY?!?

Not to give out any major spoilers, but it gets even more bizarre than that (hint: levitation). I can almost hear that gossamer thread suspending my disbelief crying out in pain.

The first book, The Last Vampire, was a breeze to read and I rather enjoyed it. The second book, Black Blood, took a bit of a nosedive compared to the first book (the voice changed completely), but pulled itself together and my hope was salvaged. The third book, Red Dice, is the one that happens to be tugging on my nerves in the worst way, but I’m hoping it will go the way of the second book and salvage itself. I don’t have much hope after the whole iridescent levitating vampire thing, though.

One problem, however, that I see throughout the books is the random romances. I can almost understand love at first sight and I understand why they’re necessary (they actually drive Sita’s personal story of self discovery forward), but they don’t properly fit and they are a major weakness to the entire story.

I started out loving this book, now I only like it. *sigh*

Sunday Sketch

There were three characters that I thought about drawing—Sita, Yaksha, or Krishna—but settled on Sita because it is her story after all.

This was a super quick sketch and I added hints of color to the eyes and lips because those were the two areas she usually focused on in the book—her powerful eyes and how she could seduce people by altering her voice.

Recent Arrivals chronicles the books that have made their way onto the Today, I Read… bookshelf. Here’s the latest arrival: Thirst No. 1 by Christopher Pike

First line: I am a vampire, and that is the truth.

Initial thoughts: I was walking through a department store and this book was sitting haphazardly on some magazines. Not being able to resist a book with an interesting cover that just seems to appear out of nowhere, I read the first few pages while standing there and decided to get it.

When I read the first line, though, I was about to put it back down; after the recent young adult vampire craze, I wasn’t sure whether I was ready to read yet another book featuring all too sexy vampires that possibly sparkle. But something pressed me forward and I realized this wasn’t the same ol’, same ol’ and as far as I could tell, there would be no sparkly vampires to contend with, so I dropped it in my basket.

I came to learn later that this is actually a two part compilation which combines the previously published six book series from the early 90’s. Knowing this makes me wonder where I was when these books were coming out…oh, that’s right, reading Anne Rice.

No. 1 includes The Last Vampire, Black Blood, and Red Dice. No. 2, which is scheduled for release Jan. 2010, includes Phantom, Evil Thirst, and Creatures of Forever.

Book description:

As to blood—

ah, blood, the whole subject fascinates me. I do like that as well, warm and dripping, when I am thirsty. And I am often thirsty….

Alisa has been in control of her urges for the five thousand years she has been a vampire. She feeds but does not kill, and she lives her life on the fringe to maintain her secret. But when her creator returns to hunt her, she must break her own rules in order to survive.

Her quest leads her to Ray. He is the only person who can help her; he also has every reason to fear her. Alisa must get closer to him to ensure her immortality. But as she begins to fall in love with Ray, suddenly there is more at stake than her own life….

Book Details: 624 pages; Simon Pulse; Pub. August 4, 2009