The 10 Books I Want to Read the Most Right Now

You all remember how big my to be read pile is I'm sure? No? Oh I'm sure you do...anyway, I thought tonight I would share the 10 books from that pile that I am the most excited about reading. So without further ado, the list:

1. Deck Z: The Titanic: Unsinkable. Undead by Chris Pauls & Matt Solomon

Why I'm excited to read it: I'm absolutely fascinated by the concept of taking historical events and adding a taste of the Supernatural, the Titanic disaster is something we all know a lot about so I'm really interested to see how they've incorporated the zombies.

Why I haven't read it yet:I won my autographed copy through GoodReads at a very inopportune tune; I've been insanely busy. I've read books still and I keep wanting to pick this one up but I want to be able to really focus on it.

2. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Why I'm excited to read it: I've heard nothing but good things about it! Everyone I know who has read it loved it and told me I would too so I am eager to sink my teeth into it.

Why I haven't read it yet:I was convinced it was going to be the first book in a series and I REALLY didn't want to start ANOTHER series only to be waiting months and months for the next book and then not reading it because it's been sooooo long since I read the first and I don't have time for a re-read. But then the author confirmed that this book is most definitely a stand-alone so now I really want to get to it!

3. Inheritance by Christopher Paolini

Why I'm excited to read it: It's the conclusion of the Inheritance cycle. That right there should say everything. I need closure, I need to know what happens to all the characters and the world. But most importantly I need to know if my theory about the final Rider is true!

Why I haven't read it yet: This book suffers from that problem I mentioned just above; it's been SO LONG since I read any of the previous books that I just can't motivate myself to re-read them so that I can read this. But I want to read it so bad so I may cave soon and re-read the first three.

4. Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness

Why I'm excited to read it: I read the first book in the series after about six months of waffling. Once I read it I was hooked, it was so good, I was so excited for the next one. She left it with a good cliffhanger that left me hungering for more.

Why I haven't read it yet: And then I had to wait, and wait, and wait for book two. And it finally came out, and I bought it right away! And it's been sitting on the pile ever since for the same reason as Inheritance.

5. Serpent's Kiss by Melissa de la Cruz

Why I'm excited to read it: Are you sensing a theme here? This one is yet another continuation of a wonderful series. I reviewed the first book in this series back in January. I'm definitely eager to see what's happening to all the characters in this world.

Why I haven't read it yet: It's part of a pattern I have. I'm excited about the sequel so I buy it the day it comes out and then I can't be bothered re-reading the first book so it just sits...

6. Tiger's Voyage, Tiger's Destiny, and Tiger's Dream by Colleen Houck

Why I'm excited to read them: Because I loved the first two books in the series and I must finish it!

Why I haven't read it yet: This time it's gotten so bad I'm three books behind! I need to break this pattern! This is my curse apparently! Must be something about folks named Ren and curses...

7. The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan

Why I'm excited to read it: I'm a big Rick Riordan fan. I think he's an amazing writer and I just adore what he can do with mythology. I think I've read everything in mythological series except for this book at the moment. Also: OWL on the cover, I love owls.

Why I haven't read it yet: I received this for Christmas and honestly it just got plopped in the pile and I kind of forgot it was there oops. And then I remembered and figured I probably need to re-read Lost Hero and Son of Neptune first. 

8. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith

Why I'm excited to read it: Similarly to Midnight Circus I've heard mostly amazing things about this novel. And as with Deck Z it melds historical fiction with paranormal fantasy both of which I love. Plus I've always been fascinated by Lincoln AND vampires independent of one another so I imagine mixing them will be good. Especially if the movie is any indication because I quite enjoyed the movie.

Why I haven't read it yet: I will be completely honest; there have been more books that have been more compelling to me, but I do really want to get to this one, soon. 

9. Prodigy by Marie Lu

Why I'm excited to read it: If you've been following this blog you've likely surmised my love of dystopian fiction, and given that I wrote a review on the book this one follows (Legend) it's logical that this one would be here. It only recently came out and I really want to read it.

Why I haven't read it yet: I am actually hoping to start this one this weekend; I broke out of my pattern! I figured I was a book ahead in my book challenge count I had time for a fast re-read so I've been skim reading Legend before bed every night this week so that I can start Prodigy ASAP and hopefully still not lose my lead on my challenge counter.

10. The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling

Why I'm excited to read it: Anyone who knows me knows I am a huge Potterphile, and a really big fan of J.K. Rowling's writing ability. Since the minute this book was announced I have been waiting for it. I bought it the day it came out. I look at it frequently. It's actually THE book I am MOST excited to read so...

Why I haven't read it yet: Because I am nervous and scared. As a fan of J.K. Rowling and a Potterphile I fear reading this book. I've built it up so much in my head that I'm going to love it and it's going to be amazing so I'm terrified of reading it because what if it's not? Is it allowed to not like a single book by an author you otherwise adore? I need reassurance that just in case I don't like this book it doesn't make me less of a fan. I don't want to psych myself out but I am! I just want to read and enjoy this book!

What books are on your to read list that you're most excited for?

-- Ren

Companion Books

You bet I bought the Collector's Edition of
The Tales of Beedle the Bard

I absolutely adore the companion books that accompany many book series; I have a sizeable collection of them, mostly Star Wars and Harry Potter companion books. I especially love the companion books that are created by the author of the respective series, the fact that they're willing to make that much effort and share that much detail never fails to prove to me how committed they are not only to their worlds' but also to all of their fans. 

Whether its maps, family trees or timelines; or simply encyclopaedic  entries that expand on information about the characters, subjects, themes and locations; I want to know everything about my favourites series and that's why I love companion books.

My top 5 favourite companion books are:

1. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 
You really can't go wrong with a companion book written for a charity that uses comedy to help people. This book is not only informative about a wide number of the creatures you'll encounter in the Harry Potter series, it's absolutely hilarious. Any Harry Potter fan knows that Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is the title of one of the in-world school textbooks that Harry and company use and JK Rowling ran with that with this companion book she presents it to us as being Harry's copy of the book. It's filled with humours hand scrawled annotations and commentary by not only Harry, but also Ron, such as the ever so mature circling of the word bum in Glumbumble. Madame Pince would've had their hides if she'd seen the way they defaced this book! 

2. Star Wards the Essential Atlas
This is THE official guide to the galaxy far, far away. One of the best parts is the extremely detailed map of the entire galaxy that even maps the major trade routes. The map shows every world that has ever appeared in any of the films and any of the expanded universe novels. There's an overall history of the universe, and then a history of each region in Part I. Part II is devoted to the profiles on each planet, which includes a full colour illustration, complete physical stats and a brief (half page) description/history. Part III includes historical maps of the galaxy, for example there's a map that tracks the origins of the Jedi from approx. 25,000 years before the battle at Yavin. I love the scale of this particular book, it must have been a HUGE undertaking. The level of detail is so impressive and I like to imagine how much science must've gone on the create accurate planets.

3. Star Wars the New Essential Chronology
I love this one for similar reasons to the previous Star Wars companion book. The level of detail makes me so happy. It's a 230 page time line of every single event that has ever happened in a  Star Wars plot. It's basically a history textbook for Star Wars fans. It's also a cheat sheet for those who haven't gotten around to reading every single book in the Expanded Universe. You can find out about all of the major plot events in this one companion book, and they're not long entries, you get max. about 3 pages per event. Because of it's nature as a complete chronology and the fact that you can cheat with it, if you don't like spoilers STAY CLEAR of this book. I personally don't mind spoilers with a series on the scale of Star Wars so that could explain why I enjoy this book. Although it's still one of my major reading goals to eventually read the entire collection of Expanded Universe novels...in the correct chronological order. Why does that task sound like it would be on par with me declaring that I intended to read War & Peace in Russian with no knowledge of Russian? (I actually know someone who attempted that, I'm not sure if she ever did succeed)

4. the Pocket Companion to Narnia

Spoilers galore in this one! A definite steer clear if you haven't read all 7 books and don't want the end spoiled! I love this book because a) maps! I love maps! but more importantly b) encyclopaedic entries that expand on EVERYTHING. And I do mean everything. Themes, characters, locations, and things! It even includes spoiler alerts which is lovely! It's so nice that the author respected the readers enough to mark where he might be spoiling things for us! There are a lot of interesting things in this little book. There's a list of all the biblical allusions in the series and where to find them. Also the meaning of the name Cair Paravel which according to the book means "city in the valley" which is hilarious when you remember that Cair Paravel is located on a cliff overlooking an ocean, high ABOVE the valley. Another handy tidbit in this book is the list of comparative ages of all of the main characters throughout the series. And this is just the pocket version, apparently the full sized version has even more information.


5. Princess Alyss of Wonderland
Last but certainly not least is the companion book to Frank Beddor's Looking Glass Wars trilogy. This book was insanely hard to get my hands on, not easy to find at all, but I am SO happy I did and very pleased to have it in my collection. Beddor's series is one of my absolute favourites, it's an amazing re-vision of Alice in Wonderland which as you all know is one of my all time favourites. This is one of those fantastic companion books that doesn't only contain facts and information about the series, it also contains Artifacts! Artifact books are the best books because no matter how old you are they make you feel like a little kid. They let you discover the series in a whole new way.The entire book is a diary of Alyss's account of her time on earth. There's a handwritten letter from Alyss to her best friend Dodge on the very first page. It's heartbreaking to see RETURN TO SENDER stamped on the envelopes of all of the letter Artifacts. Midway through there's even a recipe for tarty tarts and at the end there's a hand made deck of Wonderland cards and instructions for playing looking glass wars.

BONUS "BOOK"

I have to confess though, my favourite companion "book" isn't actually a book. It's Pottermore. Hello? It's the ultimate testament to an author's respect and appreciation for her fans. It's interactive, what fan doesn't love that? And the information it delivers! OH! Be still my beating heart! I was part of the early beta, and I still adore it. I was especially excited to actually get sorted (I am a Slytherin! This was only somewhat of a surprise, turns out I'm more driven by ambition than I thought I was!), and to read the description about the Hufflepuff Common Room (which I was able to see thanks to all of my friends who got sorted into Hufflepuff) because it was the only Common Room Harry didn't visit during the series. And I have to say from her description of it, I kind of wish I'd been sorted into Hufflepuff because their common room sounds awesome, except for the entrance, I don't even like tube slides so I can't imagine how I would've handled climbing through a tunnel to get in and out of my House multiple times a day...

So those are my favourite companion books, what are some of yours? Which ones should I check out?

--Ren

5 Books about Books

Who doesn't like a story where the plot in some way revolves around a book? I know I always enjoy one! So here are 5 books (and their sequels) about books that I have enjoyed:

The Name of the Game was Murder
Joan Lowery Nixon

With 155 unique publications the late Joan Lowery Nixon is one of those ubiquitous YA authors that most tweens/teens  will end up reading at least one book by in their time, or at least she was in the 90s when I don't know how popular/widely consumed her books still are. That being said there is a Library collection dedicated to her works at the University of Minnesota. This particular book was one of my favourites by her; it's a murder mystery, the murder of an author, the reason he's killed? The contents of his latest tell-all book, he'd brought all the people in the book together on an island to tell them about the book, and one killed him. It's up to his nosy, aspiring author great-niece Samantha to discover who the killer is.

The Library of Shadows
Mikkel Birkegaard

Has a book ever physically compelled you before? Because that happens to me on a semi-regular basis, I feel physically drawn toward certain books to the point that if I don't read them I actually start to feel kind of bad. Maybe I'm just weird. Anyway, this was one such book, it called to me while I was shelving at the WPL. It's   a bit mystery, a bit suspense/thriller, and a bit fantasy, and if I may say  would not be out of place in the same verse as Warehouse 13   and Eureka, it's got the same vibe. Jon Campelli inherits his estranged father's beloved book store after his mysterious death, but figuring out how and why his father died is really the least of his worries; after an arson attempt on the shop within days of Luca's death Jon has to go digging into the family's history. He discovers that his father and the bookstore have been hiding a remarkable secret; the store is home to, and his father was the leader of, a secret society of book lovers and readers who have been in charge of maintaining an immense magical power that dates back to the days of the Library of Alexandria, and there's someone out to steal that power from them and use it for evil. Only Jon has the strength to harness the power and stop them.

Libyrinth

Pearl North (aka Jessica Freely, aka Anne Harris)

Libyrinth and it's sequels, The Boy from Ilysies and The Book of the Night  take place in a fantasy world where there is a huge ancient depository of books called the Libyrinth run by a race of folks called of course Libyrarians. The series is all about their search for  the  titular Book of the Night to bring peace to the world. The author, Pearl North, is just as intriguing as this series! Pearl North is just one of the pseudonymous for Anne Harris, it's her YA Fantasy pseudonym. Under her real name she write fantasy and romance novels. And under the name Jessica Freely she publishes novels and fanfiction of the male/male erotica variety.

A Discovery of Witches

Deborah Harkness

The author is a history professor who has multiple published non-fiction works related to science and history, so it really shouldn't be surprising that her most famous work is A Discovery of Witches which is a book about a history scholar who makes a discovery a book about the alchemical powers of witches. This history scholar conveniently happens to be a witch. The discovery of this book happens to draw to her a host of supernatural creatures who all want the book, including a very handsome 1,500 year old French vampire. Of course. It's such an amazingly well written book, a really addictive read. It had me completely absorbed, I have book two Shadow of Night on the pile but I haven't reached it yet. Discovery will be getting a re-read for sure once I get to Shadow though!

Fahrenheit 451

Ray Bradbury

To quote Commandant Lassard, last, but certainly not least, not in any way...Fahrenheit 451, really no list of books about books could or should be complete without it. It's about firemen who SET fires! TO BOOKS! Bradbury has created a disturbing dystopian future that seems like it could really happen one day, which is terrifying for me as a bibliophile, where books are banned. Fire squads are charged with the task of hunting down delinquents  who have the forbidden contraband and not only with torching their collections but also their houses and them as well. But there is hope, in the form of Guy Montag a fireman who comes to steal a book he should be burning, who comes to learn the value of books. Every time I think about this book since watching V for Vendetta I end up thinking about the scene in the movie where Stephen Fry's character is talking to Natalie Portman's character about his forbidden Qua'ran and the fact that just owning it could get him killed. Eerily similar societal structures in play there methinks. This is also without a doubt Bradbury's most famous work, and that's saying something for a guy who had 682 distinct works published. His death last year was a great loss to literature.

So what other books about books have you read? Which ones would you recommend I check out?

-- Rena

26 Awesome & Amusing Tees for Readers

I love t-shirts, especially geeky t-shirts, if I could get away with wearing a t-shirt everywhere I would, without question, and I own enough of them to do it. My favourite t-shirts are my shirts that have references to books and reading emblazoned on them, in my opinion you cannot go wrong by exclaiming your love of reading with a giant picture stretched across your chest. And they're a great way to get people to talk to you about book! For example, at Christmas I was wearing my 42 Ringer shirt from Think Geek and my cousin struck up a conversation with me about it, he said knowing he was confused because he didn't think I was a sports fan and yet I was wearing a famous player's number, upon my correction that it was in fact a subtle shout out to my fellow Hitchhiker's Guide fans he said that that clearly made more sense knowing me and we proceeded to spend the next 30 minutes talking about books. So wear your love of reading proudly and strike up some bookish conversations with one (or you know, all) of these awesome and amusing bookish tees.

A novel concept.

Two sides.

Don't Panic & Carry a Towel.

Read.

Poe-etic.

Lord of the Rings Minimalist.

Moby Dick.

YOLO Alice.

Farenheit 451.

I love books.

Magic School.

Books - No Electricity Required.

Red.

1984.

Existential Whale & Fail Whale two depictions of one of my favourite scenes.

A Novel Idea.

Love is a Book.

Real Vampires.

We're all Mad Here.

Thanks for all the fish.

The Gift of Knowledge.

The Raven.

Winnie the Pooh.

Hungry Hungry Games.

Off with it.

Lost in Translation: When Cover Artists Miss the Point

You know that feeling you get when you see a book and the cover just makes your imagination run wild; and then you read the book and you're left sitting there staring at the cover with a bemused expression and muttering to yourself, "Well that wasn't at all what I was expecting when I picked that up?" That's the feeling you get when you come across an edition of a book where the cover just did not get what the book was about, and their cover art clearly points that out once you read it. I know I'm not the only one who has had that feeling, Cinda Williams Chima even talked about having that feeling with one of her own book covers. So here 10 book covers that made me feel like something got lost in translation between the author, the publisher and the artist:

Soulbound (Legacy of Tril #1) - A minor example; I wrote a review of this book (it'll go live as this week's First Read Friday) and pointed out that nowhere in this novel is there leather armour. It also made me expect more fighting and less angsty teen girl.

This edition of Outlander which makes the book seem like a few things it isn't: a typical romance novel, and set in England. It's set in Britain and it's one of the most well researched pieces of fiction out there; oh and the hero is supposed to be a Scottish warrior, he does not look like one there. This cover is one of the reasons Diana Gabaldon requested that people not be used on her covers.

If this didn't actually say James Bond I would have absolutely NO IDEA that Colonel Sun was a James Bond story...in fact I wouldn't have any idea what it was...this cover is just messed up...

Can I just say, as a Harry Potter fan I am REALLY glad these Italian copies of Philosopher's Stone and Chamber of Secrets were not my introduction to the series? There is nothing relevant, save for the chess pieces going on in either of these cover drawings. Also, what is up with this artist and dead animal hats?

Given the blue colour, the depiction of a free bird in flight, and the fact that it's the closer of the trilogy, you would think from this cover that it means Katniss and company are getting a happy ending right? OH BUT YOU COULD NOT BE MORE WRONG! The contents of Mockingjay are as dark and twisty as early Grey's Anatomy Meredith's soul and more akin to a George R.R. Martin book where any character is free game and happiness is a distant memory.

This Dutch cover of The Hobbit makes me think more of Winnie the Pooh's adventures in the 100 Acre Wood instead of the journey to defeat Smaug that actually takes place.

A comment about most of the Kelley Armstrong covers (the ones with people depicted) is that they have scantily clad or naked women and men in provocative poses which is fine for romance novels but none of Armstrong's novels is a romance. Sure there is romance, but it's always a background element, a hazard of having relationships between one's characters if you will and Stolen is no exception, especially because the two main characters spend most of the book apart...

And last, but certainly not least, the aforementioned Cinda Williams Chima book. There are no dragons in this book, there are no ships, indeed no seas mentioned at all, and there are definitely no staffs like this. The worst transgression of this Dutch edition though? The title isn't even the same, the book is The Demon King but for some reason, unknown to anyone, the Dutch title became Black Magic...even the author doesn't get it. The comments point out, and I am inclined to agree, this would make a much more fitting cover illustration for her book The Wizard Heir but you'd still have to lose the ship.

What book covers have you come across that have made you stop and go, "Say what now?"?

-- Ren