Liz's 100 Books in 2012 - #9

Hounded by Kevin Hearne

I'm a sucker for stories that incorporate different mythical creatures into reality (The Southern Vampire Mysteries, The Lost Gate, Harry Potter, The Mortal Instruments, I think you get the picture), but this series takes it to an entirely different level. We're not only talking vampires, demons, werewolves, and fairies; but also all the gods ever thought of or believed in. I loved it!

Atticus is a centuries-old druid living in modern day Arizona. He stays out of trouble by blending in, but an old feud with a Celtic god rocks his mellow life in this first book of The Iron Druid Chronicles. He uses the help of his supernatural lawyers, goddess protector, and other back-up plans to get out of trouble.

The main character is perfect. He's super old, so he knows just about everything, but he's also really funny. AND he has a talking dog. What's not to love??

5 out of 5 chicken apples sausages (in honor of Oberon).

Hounded Re-Read, Week 2

My into post is here, and my first week post is here.  Click back to those if you're wondering what's going on.  OnABookBender is hosting this week's discussion at this post.  Enjoy!!

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1. In Chapter 6, Atticus goes hunting with Oberon and Flidais. What was supposed to be a fun hunting trip turned rather disastrous. Were you expecting something like this to happen or did it catch you by surprise? Have you ever had something that should have been fun turn disastrous or nearly disastrous?

About halfway through Atticus' initial encounter, I realized that anytime he's interacting with a deity, things have are pretty likely to go poorly for him.  As for me, I had an issue with a ski boat when I was a kid.  We had been tubing all day, and as we were bringing the boat into the dock for the last time, something weird happened with the engine/steering.  The boat got stuck going in tight circles right next to the shore.  Unfortunately, this put us withing earshot of all of our parents.  One of them was apparently yelling "Don't jump!!", but my oldest cousin didn't catch the "Don't" portion, so the next thing I know she shoved my other two cousins out of the boat, and then yanked me into the water.  So I'm a bit freaked out, but swimming towards shore and wondering why I was in the water.  When we got to the beach, all the adults were freaking out and crying and yelling and hugging.  Once they calmed down, they told us that the propeller had gotten within about a yard of our feet as the boat had circled back around and we were swimming.  Could have been really bad, but instead it's a decent story.

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2. We are only briefly introduced to the witches (or, a witch) in chapter 7. What are your first impressions? How much would you trust the witches? Why?

Witches should very, very rarely be trusted.  I mean, who wants to have to keep track of all of their hairs and bodily fluids all the time?

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3. Oberon says, “With dogs you just go up and smell their asses and you know where you stand. It’s so much easier. Why can’t humans do that?” Do you ever wish there was an easier way to find out where you stand with someone (besides Oberon’s suggestion, of course)? In what cases would it be easier or better to hide your true feelings?

That's a tough question.  On the one hand, there would be a lot less confusion in the world, but on the other hand I'm not sure we would have very many good relationships outside of our families in that world.  I think what everyone really wants is to have that ability themselves, but keep it to themselves.  Once everyone has it, it probably starts to get pretty messy.

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4. Chapter 9 makes Atticus’ life much more difficult: the witches are in some way working with Aeghus Og, Bres comes after Atticus, and more trouble appears at the end of the chapter. Have you made sense of what has happened thus far? Any predictions for what might happen?

I can't really answer this question, because a.) I'm doing a re-read, so I know what's going to happen, and b.) I have absolutely no recollection what I was thinking at this point in the story last summer. :)

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5. Atticus has had plenty of time to cultivate attitudes and ethics that would allow him to live a very long time. What do you think it is about Atticus that has allowed him to live for as long as he has?

Atticus isn't just a guy who's lived for a long time, he's a guy who's lived for a long time and has deities with grudges against him.  I'd say the biggest lesson he's learned is not to flaunt his immortality.  You move to a town, establish yourself as a kid in his late teens, and then stick around for three decades.  Don't make a fuss, don't draw attention to the fact that you don't seem to age.  Once you realize that there's no way a 60yo could still look like an Abercrombie model, sell everything, convert it to cash, and move on.

Hounded Re-Read, Week 1

If you're wondering what this is all about, click here to go back to my introductory post.  Basically I'm taking part in a blog contest, and this week we're answering questions about Chapters 1-5 of Hounded by Kevin Hearne.  Head on over to the host blog if you want to see other peoples answers to the same questions.  Also, there will probably be some spoilers as we go through this process.  You've been warned.



1) Kevin Hearne had the most perfect beginning for this book:  "There are many perks to living for twenty-one centuries, and formost among them is bearing witness to the rare birth of genius."  If you were to live for centuries what do you think you would be excited to see?

I think Atticus hits it dead on the nose.  Imagine if you had the opportunity to actually see Beethoven and Mozart, or talk to Tolkien and Lewis at the pub, or watch Notre Dame as it was constructed.  That would be the biggest perk, all the chances to see stuff as it's happening, and think "that Shakespeare, he's gonna be big someday."


2) In the 2nd chapter we learn about the amulet and its protection powers!  Do you think having met the Morrigan and heard about Aenghus Og that it will be enough to protect Atticus?

When you're fighting with the likes of gods, no one thing is ever going to be enough to protect you.  The amulet is pretty amazing, and the Morrigan is right to be so intrigued by it, but Atticus has made some very powerful things very angry over the years.


3) The literary world's coolest dog is introduced in this chapter!  Did you love Oberon immediately?  Show me a picture or describe the type of animal you would love to have as a talking companion! (Cat, Dog, Mouse, Sloth, Horse---what is your pick--pictures please)?

If you're being absolutely practical, an Irish wolfhound is pretty much the perfect answer to this question.  It's a dog, so you can take it out in public and not attract too much attention.  It's big enough to actually be useful without being so big as to be impractical.  However, if I can throw all that out the window, my answer is a polar bear.  It's the largest living carnivore on the planet, and would make an incredible ally when it's time for stuff to go down.  Besides, how awesome would it be to buy it Coke to drink?


4) In this chapter Flidais asked Atticus what his name is and then precedes to ask if anyone actually believes he is Greek?  He says nobody pays attention to names here.  Do you know what your name means and where it comes from?  Or do you have a name you wish had?  Let's talk names!

My real first name comes from Old Norse and means "Thor's rock".  That might seem to put me at odds with this book's protagonist, but don't worry, we're cool.


5) We learn about Atticus' lawyers in this chapter, a rather unique combo!  Without jumping ahead, would you hire a lawyer combination of two supernaturals who on the surface would appear to be natural enemies or at the very least two very Alpha attitudes? What would be the positives and negatives of that decision.

In the end, you hire lawyers to give you advice.  If you can afford it, what would be better than having two super-competent, super-old dudes who you know won't agree with each other unless they both think something is the best course of action?  Seems like the perfect kind of lawyers to hire, if you ask me.

Liz's 100 Books in 2012 - #8

Elemental by Kim Richardson

The Soul Guardians is another YA fantasy/paranormal series about a 16 year old girl that dies within the first chapter and is assigned the duty of guardian angel in her afterlife. Throughout the book she deals with weird monkeys in their version of heaven, other Soul Guardians, demons (of course), and she learns the hierarchy of the Guardian Angel Legion. In the first book she's accused of some angel treason and then she saves the day and is given back her old life. Then in the second book she dies again (this girl's got some bad luck) and has to prove herself a second time.

This was another freebie and another #2 in a series. I read the first book in 2011. The idea of the series is fairly interesting but, again, the characters are a little bit boring, and don't seem all that realistic to me as far as interactions with each other and reactions to situations.

Overall it was just okay for me. It was a quick, easy, and enjoyable read, but nothing much to blog about. I'm not a harsh critic...so 3 out of 5 hambones.

Laura's 100 Books in 2012 - #8

Rose: My Life in Service to Lady Astor by Rosina Harrison

I love movies and books set in England from the late 18th century until the early 20th century. Pride and Prejudice is what usually comes to mind. Lately, I have been watching (and obsessing over) Downton Abbey on PBS (Sunday nights!). So I was hooked when I saw this book at Books-A-Million. Of course, I HAD to buy it. It was calling my name.

Rosina Harrison was a lady's maid for Lady Nancy Astor for 35 years and had a lot to tell. According to Rose, Lady Astor was a pill and a half. She traveled all over the world, and there never seemed to be a dull moment around her. In no way is this a "let me tell you all the juicy gossip about my former boss" kind of book. By reading the book, I can tell that Rose loved Lady Astor, even if she was a hard woman to love.

Rose tells very interesting stories about a way of life that no longer exists. The only gripe I have about the book is that she jumps around a lot and the amount of characters can be daunting and hard to keep up with. However, if you are interested in the "upstairs/downstairs" life that made the English aristocracy run for so long, this is your window.

Laura's 100 Books in 2012 - #6

Secrets by Robin Jones Gunn

I went from courtesans selling themselves for a crown at #5 to Christian fiction at #6. What can I say? I like to change it up a bit.

Secrets is the first book in the Glenbrooke series. It's about a girl named Jessica who is running away from her old life in California by trying to start a new one as an English teacher in a small town in Oregon. Jessica meets a variety of people that change her way of thinking, and eventually her life.

I can't say much about this book. It was my first Christian fiction book, so in a way that was refreshing. However, I could tell what was going to happen way before I read it, which I tend to dislike in a book. I plan on reading #2 and #3, so I'm going to give this series another chance.

Liz's 100 Books in 2012 - #7

Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith

Let me just say that I had no idea what to expect going into this book, but the cover alone was enough to get me interested! The whole idea is that the history that we know about Abraham Lincoln is only half-true. He secretly hunted vampires as his real passion in life, and that hunting actually led to his involvement in politics.

I loved how Seth Grahame-Smith seamlessly mixed historical accounts of Abraham Lincoln's life with vampires. After reading this book, I felt like I needed to brush up on my Lincoln history to see what actually happened and what didn't--that's how well he intermingles the facts with his story (either that or I'm super gullible). Either way, by the end of the book I was somewhat confused about reality and fiction. Are there really vampires?? Is this a conspiracy theory?? Does this author have proof of the paranormal?? What other major historical figures have been swayed by vampires or zombies or other so-called "mythical" creatures??
This opens up a whole slew of possibilities for other novels: I'm thinking WWII and werewolves, Titanic and the Sirens, or Les Miles and voodoo magic. The ideas are really endless...

I loved this book so much that I'm giving it 6 out of 5 frankfurters! The extra is for originality and because, frankly, I'm scared of the author and his knowledge of otherworldly activity.

Liz's 100 Books in 2012 - #6

Weaving Destiny by G.P. Ching

I got started on The Soulkeepers Series, again, from the free eBooks list on Amazon. I realize this probably isn't the best way to pick quality literature, but it's FREE!! Anyway, this is the second book in the series (I read the first last year). It's Young Adult Paranormal Fiction that focuses on a teenage boy who is learning about his family legacy to protect human souls. Along the way he is thrust into a brand new town and high school, gets a new girlfriend who may have some secrets too, and gets to know his bizarre neighbors. Throw in his missing mom and some demons and you've got yourself a pretty involved plot.

I liked the setting and the new world that the author creates. The characters are interesting, but not quirky enough to make them feel real to me. Overall, it's an interesting story, but I don't feel the need to rush out and buy the next in the series or read any fan fiction about them (P.S.- am I the last one to figure out about fan fiction? Thanks for telling me Laura! I thought we were friends!).

What kept this series going for me is the mystery shrouding the entire idea of the Soulkeepers. The author does a really good job of keeping the reader guessing as to what's going to happen next, and she doesn't play by normal mystery rules.  When the next book shows up on the free eBook list, I will probably read it, but I won't be running to the store to buy it anytime soon. It gets 3 out of 5 bratwursts.

"Kiss Me, I'm Irish" - Iron Druid Re-read Contest

So, a handful of book bloggers are hosting a contest in March surrounding the reading (or re-reading) of Hounded, the first book in the Iron Druid Chronicles.  I read Hounded about a week after it came out last summer, and immediately pre-ordered the two sequels.  This contest was scheduled to celebrate the release of the fourth book, Tricked, on April 24th.  If I understand the contest correctly, I'll be publishing posts on March 2nd, 9th, 16th, 23rd and 30th, and April 6th.  Each post will have new questions that all the participants will be answering on their respective blogs.  So, you've got that to look forward to, and maybe I'll win some sweet swag.

Laura's 100 Books in 2012 - #5

The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

Going into this book, I totally thought I would be reading more Chick Lit. I was in for a pleasant surprise when, instead, I read a novel about a time in history that I have always been interested in, as well as a female political drama.

The Other Boleyn Girl is told from the perspective of Mary Boleyn, the not famous at all sister of the infamous Anne Boleyn. Mary is a happy girl who has recently gotten married. Her family is prominent in the court of Henry VIII. Mary is a maid-of-honour to Queen Catherine, who Mary respects and loves. However, being a woman during this time does not give her any power whatsoever and Mary serves at the whim of her power hungry uncle, Thomas Howard. Mary catches the always roaming eye of the King. This gives her uncle the idea to use Mary in order for the Boleyn/Howard family to gain standing in court. This move works and Mary becomes Henry's mistress. She even gives birth to the King's son and daughter. Having Henry's children causes Mary to lose his favor and Anne swoops in. We know the rest of the story, Paul Harvey.

It's funny, because even though I knew that the book would end with Anne's death, I always wanted to know what happened next. Gregory did an excellent job of keeping the inevitable ending out of the way of the actual story. There was so much I loved about this book--getting to know how a British court worked, getting to see how women could be political movers and shakers during a time that they had no rights, and I loved Anne. I know that Anne Boleyn has been both demonized and idolized during the 500 or so years since her beheading, but Gregory made her such an excellent character to follow. I kind of don't blame Henry for casting off the somewhat boring Mary for Anne. I even think Mary would agree with that. The only thing that I didn't like about the book was Mary. It got on my nerves how she continued, over and over again, to let people walk all over her. She had to though, because history would have been different if she had been as strong willed as Anne. Also, I had to keep reminding myself that Mary was only 13 at the time this whole thing started. To put things in perspective: when I was 13, I was mad at Rose for letting handsome Jack Dawson go into the icy cold ocean (even after she SAID she wasn't going to!!).

I highly recommend this book and plan on reading the two other books in Gregory's Tudor series (The Queen's Fool and The Virgin's Lover)  

---   (Editor's Note: The Tudor Series is actually up to six books now. In chronological order, they are: The Constant Princess, The Other Boleyn Girl, The Boleyn Inheritance, The Queen's Fool, The Virgin's Lover and The Other Queen)

Liz's 100 Books in 2012 - #5

Old Man's War by John Scalzi

Set in the (indeterminate) future, humans have finally discovered the technology to reach other solar systems and communicate with other life forms via the CDF (Colonial Defense Forces). The catch is you have to be 75 years old to enlist. Intrigued yet? So, this book follows a 75 year old man who signs himself up for the CDF and becomes part of several different battles with aliens.

I'll admit that I was a little hesitant to start reading...something about the idea of a geriatric army fighting aliens seemed a little sad to me rather than a good idea for an adventure book. I have a similar prejudice against books with mentions of dogs in the blurb (bound to be depressing, right??). That being said, I actually really enjoyed this book! John Scalzi did an excellent job of describing this new world along with the technology that made space travel possible. The actual storyline sometimes took a backseat to the descriptions, but that makes for an incredible macrocosm similar (but not equal) to the worlds created in Star Wars. I'm thinking a movie or TV show might be happening with this series soon, so go read it before it's the cool thing to do! I give it a 'Bravo!' and 5 out of 5 turkey legs.

Laura's 100 Books in 2012 - #4

Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster

One of my co-workers recommended this book to me. She and I share a love of the Anne of Green Gables series, so she thought I would like it.

Daddy-Long-Legs is a young adult novel about an orphan name Jerusha (did I mention the book was written in 1912?) who is adopted by an anonymous millionaire. The millionaire pays the for her to go to college. The only stipulation is that she never finds out who he is and that she writes him letters once a month. The book consists of Judy (she smartly changes her name) writing letters about her time at college to her mysterious benefactor.

I thought the book was cute and it only took me two days to read it on my new Kindle app. Judy is one of those precocious characters in the same vein as Anne Shirley, but it falls short of being as awesome as the Green Gables series. The only thing that irked me was that she called the millionaire "Daddy" in her letters. I won't say why it was creepy...never mind I totally will tell.

--!!SPOILER ALERT!!--She ends up meeting and falling in love with the man she calls "Daddy." If the guy had been old, I totally would have pictured Hugh Hefner playing him in the movie version.

If you want a fast read, this is a good one. If you just want something written in the early part of the 20th century about a smart and witty young girl, I would go for Anne of Green Gables. 

Laura's 100 Books in 2012 - #3

The Quiet American by Graham Greene

I always wanted to read Graham Greene after seeing the movie Donnie Darko. My step-dad gave me this book to read, but I put it away for awhile because it reminded me of college research papers.  I'm trying to shake it up a bit with the genres that I'm reading so that I don't get bored. After reading Chick Lit for #2, I decided to go to the opposite end of the spectrum with #3.

The Quiet American is about a British journalist named Fowler living in Saigon during the First Indochina War. He meets a young American named Pyle, who is the poster boy for American idealism. Pyle has a black-and-white view on the current war that doesn't sit well with Fowler. Add that Pyle ends up with Fowler's Vietnamese girlfriend, and you would think Fowler would hate Pyle. Somehow they end up as friends. Pyle is found dead at the beginning of the book and the story goes back and forth between the two years that Fowler knew Pyle and the investigation of Pyle's death. The ending, at least for me, isn't really a shocker, but the way that Greene got there was very interesting.

I enjoyed the book, but I wish that I would have looked up some info on the war before I started. Thanks to Wikipedia, I was able to follow along. The Quiet American is also a movie starring Michael Caine and Brendan Fraser. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go add it to my Netflix queue.

Liz's 100 Books in 2012 - #4

Double Dare by Rhonda Nelson

My fourth book was another Chick Lit quick read. I have no shame...I WILL be the first to 100!

A sheltered heiress runs away from her arranged marriage to wander around the U.S. with a random guy looking for some adrenaline-pumping adventures (bungee jumping, swimming with sharks, etc.).

Nothing too exciting about this book...I guess that's what you get from Amazon's free list of eBooks. I finished the it, but wasn't left with any lasting impressions of the characters or the plot. It was kind of "meh" for me. I give it 1 out of 5 turkey legs.

Liz's 100 Books in 2012 - #1-3

Flawless, Perfect and Unbelievable by Sara Shepard

OK, don't judge me too harshly based on my first three books! I got sucked into the TV show (and read the first book late last year) and couldn't stand not knowing what was going on, so I picked up the books thinking I could read to the end way before the show got there.

A lot of good that did me since the show isn't following the books at all.

Anyway, I decided to clump the reviews together rather than bore anyone with individual reviews.

The basic plot is that there's a group of "mean girls" and the ring leader goes missing. Then someone is stalking the other girls and blackmailing them with their own secrets via text message/email (kind of Gossip Girl meets Ghost Writer. Anyone?)

I'm not going to lie, I actually enjoyed reading the books. I love a good murder mystery! Obviously the whole idea that the girls won't tell the police or their parents about this "stalker" is a little bit ridiculous and far-fetched, but I'll definitely hand it to the author...I had no idea who it was going to be or how she was going to wrap the story up. They were fast reads and overall entertaining, if a little silly.

New Contributor - Liz

I'm Liz, and I like to pretend that I'm not a big nerd.

In fact, I've discovered that anything geeky about me can be directly linked back to my brother's influence. He introduced me to zombie movies, science fiction, video games, and graphic novels. I guess now we can add blogging to the list...and trying to read 100 books in 1 year. (ok, maybe I'm nerdier than I realized).

I read a lot anyway, so when Laura suggested trying to read 100 books this year, I was all for it. Plus, I like a little friendly  competition every now and then (I'm totally going to read 100 before her). The idea of blogging about the books I'm reading wasn't my favorite at first. I read anything and everything that I can find, so some of the books might be a little embarrassing, but I think it should be fun!

Laura's 100 Books in 2012 - #2

You Don't Have To Say You Love Me by Sarra Manning

I don't plan on going into my English major spiel on this one, mainly because this book is British Chick Lit and it's pretty straight forward. The plot is basic. Girl has weight issues. Girl is in love with a guy who doesn't know she has recently lost a ton of weight because he seemed to have fallen in love with her when she was at her heaviest. Girl ends up falling for another guy, who she thought was a jerk at the beginning of the book. Hijinks, of course, ensue. Let me be the first to admit that I love Chick Lit. I will go as far to say that if British Chick Lit was a guy, I would marry him. He wouldn't be that smart, but what an accent!

However, I only liked this book. The main reason it was so meh for me is because I didn't like Neve, the main character. She took waaaaay too long trying to find out who she was (the book is 555 pages long and she doesn't grow a backbone until around page 500). I also didn't love having to Google British words I don't know, but that's just the "French fries should really be called Freedom Fries" part of me that I try to hide. 

Try reading anything by Jane Green or Jennifer Weiner if you dig Chick Lit.

Laura's 100 Books in 2012 - #1

For my first read I chose a book from the dystopia/utopia genre, Divergent by Veronica Roth. I love this genre and its close ties to my love of historical fiction.  These days you can get away with just about anything if you have a good lawyer. Not like “back in the day”, when men and women had certain rules they had to live by. Great books are about breaking those rules. Many current authors are doing the same type of thing by creating dystopian/utopian worlds with strict rules (like placing children in reality-TV-to-the-death matches) and that makes for an awesome story.

In dystopian Chicago, Beatrice Prior must choose between the five factions that society has broken into: Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). Families fall into the same faction.  To choose against your family means you leave them forever. Beatrice makes her choice and surprises everyone. While Divergent is not my number one utopian/dystopian book (that spot is filled by The Hunger Games), I definitely think you should read it if you like the genre.

Other book recommendations from this genre: The Hunger Games, Matched, and The Maze Runner. All three are the first entries in larger series.

New Contributor - Laura

My name is Laura, and here's a snippet from my geek resume:

1. I like reading fan fiction utilizing my favorite characters (FanFiction.net anyone?).
2. My brain has a Rain Man-like capacity for crappy celebrity news and movies
3. I am very competitive, but because I’m not a sporty person it only comes out during game nights
4. My family and I break out into random voices when talking to each other. Our favorites are British, Irish, & Scottish accents (or sometimes all three at the same time)


I'm also an avid reader and librarian, so I'm often asked how many books I've read in my life (I have no idea) or how many books I've read in a given time period. One day I was scouring the internet and found people who were trying to read 100 books in one year. Cool people who just wanted to see if they could actually read that many books in 365 days. Since then, I've always wanted to do that. Right before the start of 2012, I found some friends who also wanted to scale this word mountain. So instead of making one of those "been there/done that" New Year's resolutions (eat better and exercise? so 2011), I decided to try the 100 books thing. With this resolution I don't have to count calories or steps, I just count the books I was already going to read anyway. Plus, I get to read more, so I'd say it's a win-win.

FIGclub - The Man In The High Castle - Part 3

In part 3, we discuss chapters eleven through thirteen of Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle.  Our FIGclub episodes are always full of spoilers, so don't click the link if you don't know what happens in the book.  You can find pretty cheap copies on Amazon if you want to start reading with us.

FIGclub - The Man In The High Castle - Part 3