Patricia Briggs

Moon Called by Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson #1)

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 7 Comments

Title: Moon Called
Series Title: Mercy Thompson
Author: Patricia Briggs
Date Added: August 23, 2016
Date Started: September 6, 2017
Date Finished: September 27, 2017
Reading Duration: 21 days
Genre: Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Supernatural, Paranormal Romance

Moon Called coverPages: 298
Publication Date: January 31, 2006
Publisher: Ace
Media: eBook/Kindle

Mercedes Thompson, aka Mercy, is a talented Volkswagen mechanic living in the Tri-Cities area of Washington. She also happens to be a walker, a magical being with the power to shift into a coyote at will. Mercy’s next-door neighbor is a werewolf. Her former boss is a gremlin. And she’s fixing a bus for a vampire. This is the world of Mercy Thompson, one that looks a lot like ours but is populated by those things that go bump in the night. And Mercy’s connection to those things is about to get her into some serious hot water..

Mercedes Thompson walks two worlds: one as a first class mechanic (yes…she’s a mechanic named “Mercedes”) while the other is a bit more supernatural.  With her fingers (or paws) in so many ponds, Mercy acts like a liaison between werewolves, vampires, fey, and humans, since she can’t be counted among any of them and can therefore serve as a sort of neutral party.  Unfortunately, aspects of her nature haven’t always had positive results, since she was forced to flee her foster home (and hometown) because of it.

Continue reading →

The State of the Writer: 10/1/17

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 17 Comments

<–The State of the Writer: 9/24/17          The State of the Writer: 10/8/17–>

A weekly post updated every Sunday discussing my current writing projects and where I stand with them.  This will include (but not be limited to) any and all work(s) in progress (WIPs) be they creative writing, essays/analyses, and reviews.  Additionally, this post will showcase what writing projects I’ve completed in the past week as a sort of weekly roundup, as I’ve seen other cooler bloggers do.

Finished This Week: 1

Project: Locke & Key, Vol 1: Welcome to Lovecraft
Author: Joe Hill
Illustrator: Gabriel Rodriguez
Date Posted: September 30, 2017

An easy review for an awesome graphic novel, and from what I’m hearing the later ones only get better.  I already have the second volume on my to-buy list.  I better bump it up!

Project: Story
Title: The Broken Rose
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Type: Fanfiction (FFVII) Novel
Current Word Count: 260,270
Prior Word Count: 260,329
Word Difference: -59
Status: Revising
Progress: Chapter 2

The most pressing question of the moment is what the hell pictures am I going to use for updates during my revision?  I don’t want to repeat old ones, and I sure am hell am not going to go through much effort to find new ones for chapters I’ve already posted about, so there might be some weird stuff *shrug*

Continue reading →

The State of the Reader: 9/27/17

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 13 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 9/20/17          The State of the Reader: 10/4/17–>

A weekly post updated every Wednesday detailing my current reading projects and where I am with them in addition to what new titles I’ve added to my to-read list.  Title links go to Goodreads to make it easier for interested parties to add any books that might strike their fancy.  I attempt to use the covers for the edition I’m reading, and I’ll mention if this is not the case.  If you have a Goodreads account feel free to friend me!  I’d love to see what you’re reading and/or planning to read.

Samples Read This Week

  1. Ink and Bone by Rachel  Caine: Kept (RWTR) – A world where the Great Library of Alexandria wasn’t destroyed, and the opening chapter/prologue is one letter from some pompous ass who happens to be royal stating that women don’t need to be education and/or only need such education as men decree, and the answer letter from his “inferior” essentially telling him to fuck off and that his daughter will be educated.  I’ve dabbled in the idea of the Library of Alexandria existing, and I have intentions of writing a story where education is freely given to all, so I’m very interested in reading this book.
  2. Behind Closed Doors by B. A. Paris: Kept – More psychological and depraved thrills!  Things are never what they seem when the veneer is perfect.
  3. Scythe by Neal Shusterman: Kept – When I was in Target I read the first few pages of this book, so I count that as a “downloaded sample,” since I “downloaded” it into my brain.  Regardless, I read a sample, liked it, and added it.  It’s about a world where death only exists through Reapers whose job is integral to keeping the balance.
  4. We Are the Ants by Shaun Hutchinson: Kept (RWTR) – So this book has a gay main character who consistently is abducted by aliens who tell him he can press a button to stop the end of the world in 144 days…but he doesn’t want to do it for reasons that will be explored.
  5. Eon by Alison Goodman: Kept – It’s given away right in the blurb that Eon is really Eona, a girl masquerading as a boy, because only boys are allowed to use dragon magic *huge sigh* I guess no one i this universe has read A Song of Ice and Fire.  I like the eastern influences I see in this book so far.  I hope they continue and are properly conveyed.
  6. Legend of the Guardians by Kathryn Lasky: Kept – I must have missed this one when I was doing my sample downloads, because I added it a long time ago.  This is the book that owl movie Guardians of Ga’hoole was based on.
  7. Reliquary by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child: Kept – I passed on the first book in the series The Relic, but was told that this one might be a better fit.  It seems good enough to add to my library list.
  8. The Swan Riders by Erin Bow: Kept – I’m not even sure why I downloaded the sample for this since I loved the first book in the series The Scorpion Rules, so I knew I was going to continue the series.

I finally, finally caught up on all of my samples, meaning I’ve downloaded everything up to what I’ve currently added.  There may be a few I missed, but as of now I’ve either read samples of everything on my TBR list or they’re not books I’m going to or can’t download samples of (non-fiction/reference, graphic novels/manga, pending publication and not available for download),  Bow when I add something, I’m going to try to remember to download the sample as well if applicable.

Continue reading →

The State of the Reader: 9/20/17

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 25 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 9/13/17          The State of the Reader: 9/27/17–>

A weekly post updated every Wednesday detailing my current reading projects and where I am with them in addition to what new titles I’ve added to my to-read list.  Title links go to Goodreads to make it easier for interested parties to add any books that might strike their fancy.  I attempt to use the covers for the edition I’m reading, and I’ll mention if this is not the case.  If you have a Goodreads account feel free to friend me!  I’d love to see what you’re reading and/or planning to read.

Samples Read This Week

  1. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris: Kept – Now that I’ve added the correct book, I like it so far.   Vampire boyfriends are always cool with me.
  2. Half the World by Joe Abercrombie: Kept – Now that I’ve read the blurb, I have no idea why I was so reluctant to add this.  The main character is a young woman who is as shunned from warrior life/culture as Yarvi with his one hand was…if not more so.
  3. Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas: Kept – I liked Maas’s Thorn and Roses series, so I’m hoping I enjoy this one, too.
  4. The Emperor’s Blades by Brian Staveley: Kept – There’s an ASOIAF vibe to it, but I suppose that’s going to be true of all fantasy, political dramas at this point.
  5. Don’t Close Your Eyes by Holly Seddon: Kept – Definitely a “fucked up” vibe to this one.  I believe this is the book about the two different women who don’t know each other at first, but tragedy brings them together.
  6. Winterspell by Claire Legrand: Kept (RWTR) – It’s been a while since I put a book on my really-want-to-read list, but I love retold fairy tales, and this is one for The Nutcracker.  I love the music to it and the magic of it, and this novel reads like both have been captured.
  7. Something from the Nightside by Simon Green: Kept – Not five minutes after I read the sample for this (and purchased it), one of my good IRL friends replied to one of my IRL BFF’s (I know so much internet speak OMG) about “the best Urban Fantasy.”  I didn’t have an answer for that since it’s not typically my genre, and though I believe there is one I really like, I can’t recall what it is.  My friend whom I’ll just refer to as Nightmare, since that’s his nickname AND he recommended Nightside, mentioned that novel, and it was one of those coincidental things I always seem to fall into.  I need to send him his birthday card with some money in it.  I made a promise!  Plus he’s trying to get a car and I have to help him out ♥
  8. Angelfall by Susan Ee: Kept – Angels fall and I buy.
  9. Heartborn by Terry Maggert: Kept – This is the second angel based novel I’ve sampled (and purchased, as you’ll see below), and I was looking up “seraph/seraphim” and “nephilim” yesterday for a book review.  Doing so put ideas into my narcissistic noggin.  I already have a huge angel head canon, but I kind of feel like writing it down again and maybe gathering more ideas.  The phrase “dark seraph” keeps popping back into my head.  I first thought about it when I was editing Northern Lights (shock), since that’s the perfect term to describe a particular fallen angel.  In shamefully narcissistic news, it’s a moniker I’d pick for myself of give to my mythical publishing company.  Dark Seraph Publishing sounds pretty boss, and Ash Rose the Dark Seraph sounds pretty final boss *headdesk*  (FYI – Ash Rose is my other and much older internet name).  You know…I need to figure out someplace to use that.  It sounds way too epic to pass by.
  10. Waste of Space by Gina Damico: Kept – I’m not usually one for either reality TV shows or bratty teens, but this seems like an absurd and comical Truman Show in space, and that’s too delicious to pass by.

Books Purchased This Week: 7

Title: Something from the Nightside
Series Title: Nightside
Author: Simon R. Green
Date Added: July 1, 2017
Date Purchased: September 17, 2017

Media: eBook/Kindle
Price: $2.99
Retailer: Amazon

Continue reading →

The State of the Reader: 9/13/17

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 25 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 9/6/17          The State of the Reader: 9/20/17–>

A weekly post updated every Wednesday detailing my current reading projects and where I am with them in addition to what new titles I’ve added to my to-read list.  Title links go to Goodreads to make it easier for interested parties to add any books that might strike their fancy.  I attempt to use the covers for the edition I’m reading, and I’ll mention if this is not the case.  If you have a Goodreads account feel free to friend me!  I’d love to see what you’re reading and/or planning to read.

Samples Read This Week

  1. The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey: Kept – Aliens inhabiting babies.  This book is singing my song, though I’m quite surprised.  The movie previews made it look like a Divergent clone with aliens.  I suppose I’ll find out, won’t I?
  2. Angel’s Blood by Nalina Singh: Kept – Angels keeping vampires in thrall.  Now that’s an interesting paradigm.  I have ideas about angels and vampires myself, so reading a book where they interact seems like a good idea.
  3. She Walks in Darkness by Evangeline Walton: Kept – This is by the author of The Mabinogion Tetralogy.  She writes her own fiction/fantasy as well.  I enjoyed how she rendered the Welsh myths, and from the sample, it seems like she has a good hand for telling her own stories.
  4. One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus: Passed – Too much Breakfast Club meets Pretty Little Liars for my taste. I was never into those types of stories.
  5. The Shadow of What Was Lost by James Islington: Kept – Definite Lord of the Rings vibe to it.  I’m not completely drawn from the get-go, but it has that old school fantasy feel, and that’s worth a trip to the library.
  6. Embassytown by China Miéville: Passed – It didn’t grip me.
  7. Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman: Kept – I’m not surprised there’s a book, but I never really did much hunting for it.  According to the friend who put it into my mind to add it, it’s not remotely the same as the movie, but both of them are good.
  8. I Found You by Lisa Jewell: Kept – Unidentified persons always make for interesting novels.
  9. Parasite Eve by Hidaeki Sena: Kept – There wasn’t much question I was going to keep this.  I just wanted to make sure the translation was okay, and it is.  This is the basis for the video game series of the same name, and it’s also pretty clear that FFVII took some ideas from it.

Books Purchased This Week: 0

Books Finished This Week: 3

Title: Chobits, Vol. 1
Series Title: Chobits
Author: CLAMP
Translator: Shirley Kubo
Date Added: August 27, 2017
Date Started: August 28, 2017
Date Finished: September 10, 2017
Reading Duration: 13 days

Media: Physical/Paperback

Despite the flagrant sexism, there’s something both endearing and mysterious about this story.  Where did Chi come from?  Why was she in the trash?  Why is she so drawn to that picture book The City With No People?  What did the book mean by “them?”  It has to have something to do with her origins.  I haven’t quite surpassed where I stopped in the anime, but since manga is cheaper, I’m more than likely to find out through reading 😉

Continue reading →

The State of the Reader: 9/6/17

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 16 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 8/30/17          The State of the Reader: 9/13/17–>

A weekly post updated every Wednesday detailing my current reading projects and where I am with them in addition to what new titles I’ve added to my to-read list.  Title links go to Goodreads to make it easier for interested parties to add any books that might strike their fancy.  I attempt to use the covers for the edition I’m reading, and I’ll mention if this is not the case.  If you have a Goodreads account feel free to friend me!  I’d love to see what you’re reading and/or planning to read.

Samples Read This Week

  1. The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima: Kept – I remember picking this up in the bookstore on one of my many trips there.  It was a bit pricey (over $10), so I didn’t just purchase it, but it was interesting enough for an add, and any story that has a secret and evil amulet is usually good enough to hold my interest.
  2. The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket: Kept – Despite not liking the movie with Jim Carey as the villain (and I haven’t yet seen the Netflix show), I like the charm and laissez-faire voice of the book.
  3. The Grim Company by Luke Scull: Kept – I’m kind of blanking on the samples I read this week.  I remember I liked this enough (and it was inexpensive enough) to buy it, and from reading the blurb I can see why.  I’m fond of stories where the heroes aren’t shy about killing if necessary, and a world that suffers for the pettiness of the gods in their eternal warring always makes for a rousing tale.
  4. Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke: Kept – Though this is a classic by a renown sci-fi author, I wasn’t immediately intrigued by the beginning, but the premise of humans being a “child” race forced to grow up is something I’ll utilize my library for.
  5. The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyne Keene: Kept – The first book in the Nancy Drew series…drew me to it not the least for nostalgia’s sake alone.  While it shows its age plainly before the end of the first page, this in now way dissuades me from adding it to my (growing) library list.
  6. Coal by Constance Burris: Kept – I knew I was going to keep this, because I’m pretty sure the main character is a Black kid, and while fiction/fantasy is definitely getting a lot better, it still needs support.  The fact that the book was literally free meant I have yet another novel in my Kindle collection.
  7. The Field Guide by Holly Black: Kept – This was one of the rare samples that never reached the sample text.  It ended right after the table of context.  I put it on my library shelf.  It’s the first book in The Spiderwick Chronicles.
  8. The Survivors by Nick Farmer: Kept – It reminded me of The Last of Us a little bit, but with more “immune” infected I suppose.
  9. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld: Kept – I believe an IRL friend said she would lend me this book/series.  It’s an interesting concept, literally receiving prettiness at the age of 16 like a driver’s license, and there’s quite a bit of social commentary that can be made about such a a thing.
  10. Red Harvest by Joe Schreiber: Kept – A Star Wars novel.  Why the hell not?
  11. Out of the Silent Planet by C. S. Lewis: Kept – I never knew Lewis even wrote sci-fi until a certain bookish Mage told me so.  I’m sure I can procure a copy from my local library.

Books Purchased This Week: 6

Title: The Grim Company
Series Title: The Grim Company
Author: Luke Scull
Date Added: April 18, 2017
Date Purchased: September 1, 2017

Media: eBook/Kindle
Price: $2.99
Retailer: Amazon

Title: Coal
Series Title: Everleaf
Author: Constance Burris
Date Added: April 23, 2017
Date Purchased: September 2, 2017

Media: eBook/Kindle
Price: $0.00
Retailer: Amazon

Continue reading →

The State of the Reader: 8/23/17

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 20 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 8/16/17          The State of the Reader: 8/30/17–>

A weekly post updated every Wednesday detailing my current reading projects and where I am with them in addition to what new titles I’ve added to my to-read list.  Title links go to Goodreads to make it easier for interested parties to add any books that might strike their fancy.  I attempt to use the covers for the edition I’m reading, and I’ll mention if this is not the case.  If you have a Goodreads account feel free to friend me!  I’d love to see what you’re reading and/or planning to read.

Samples Read This Week

  1. Traitor’s Blades by Sebastian de Castell: Kept – This wasn’t a hard sell for me at all given the series is called Greatcoats, and I love greatcoats in general (nothing beats a Badass Longcoat).  It was also an easy sell since it was also really cheap.
  2. Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry: Kept – I had no idea The Giver was the first book of a quartet.  This is a definite must-read.
  3. Hunted by Meagan Spooner: Kept – More revamped fairy tales. This time it’s Beauty and the Beast.
  4. Santa Took Them by William Malmborg: Passed – I’m pissed about this pass.  Maybe this was the author’s intention, but I hated all of the characters introduced in the first chapter.  The dad was a douche.  The mom was annoying.  The kids were irritating, but them I gave a pass, because they were just normal kids.  I guess it’s more I hated how they were written, and there was a really bad pussy joke (not as bad as the Game of Thrones one, but still pretty awful).  Anyway, this is about murders that took place on Christmas Eve 2005, and the sole survivor is released from a mental institution ten years later when they start again.
  5. For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund: Kept – This is one of those books I added because I loved the title, and it doesn’t seem as if the text is going to disappoint.  Starting off as a series of letters exchanged between a boy and a girl, its foundation seems to be young love, heartbreaking rejecting and re-reconnection through adventure.
  6. In the Garden of Iden by Kage Baker: Kept (RWTR) – I would’ve bought this if it wasn’t over my $2.99 insta-limit.  Intertwining the concepts of time travel and immortality with a sense of greed and a lack of bio (or really any) ethics is one clear way to get me interesting in a novel.
  7. A Brother’s Price by Wen Spencer: Kept – In my grand tradition of reading subverted stories (like the Flipped Fairy Tales), this novel takes place in a world where male children are rare and therefore coveted.  The main character, the oldest male with around 28 sisters, only has one use: to be sold off to marriage for to the highest bidder.  It’s a painfully common trope for girls, and it doesn’t make it any better when the tables are turned, because Jerin’s world has always been this way.  I wasn’t quite certain about it initially, but it was interesting enough to go on my library shelf.
  8. Nevernight by Jay Kristoff: Kept (RWTR) – Holy fantastic opening line.  It’s brutal, raw, and reminds me of ASOIAF.
  9. Bull by David Elliott: Passed – Disappointing to say the least.  I love retold stories, especially fairy tales and myths, but I didn’t like the style of this.

Books Purchased This Week: 3

Title: Traitor’s Blade
Series Title: Greatcoats
Author: Sebastian de Castell
Date Added: March 5, 2017
Date Purchased: August 17, 2017

Media: eBook/Kindle
Price: $2.99
Retailer: Amazon

Continue reading →

The State of the Reader: 7/5/17

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 34 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 6/28/17          The State of the Reader: 7/12/17–>

A weekly post updated every Wednesday detailing my current reading projects and where I am with them in addition to what new titles I’ve added to my to-read list.  Title links go to Goodreads to make it easier for interested parties to add any books that might strike their fancy.  I attempt to use the covers for the edition I’m reading, and I’ll mention if this is not the case.  If you have a Goodreads account feel free to friend me!  I’d love to see what you’re reading and/or planning to read.

Samples Read This Week

  1. The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins: Kept – I had this on my RWTR list, but I bumped it off of that.  It’s interesting, but I’m not chaffing at the bit to read it.  I put it on my library shelf though, so I’m sure I’ll get to it soon due to that marvelous resource.
  2. In the Eyes of Madness by Michael Pang: Passed – I can’t get into the writing style, and the poor editing job doesn’t help.  I also read a review that said it was heavy handed in religion.  Since the sample showed the main character seeming to be exasperated with the concept, this is probably going to be a “come to Jesus” type of novel where he realizes the error of his ways in being a Doubting Thomas, and stories like that just don’t interest me.  3 Gates of the Dead is by one of my very devout Catholic author friends where the main character has the Doubting Thomas mien, but by the end of the book, he still has his doubts and is trying to come to terms with everything.  He’s not completely throwing away his belief in God, but doubts don’t just disappear, and it makes the MC more human and relatable.  The premise of In the Eyes of Madness seems like something that would really draw my interest since I believe it starts off with the MC having some issue with his mother, and then he doesn’t know what’s real anymore before horror ensues (I’m probably simplifying it too much, but you get the gist of why this would pique my interest), but I have to pass.
  3. King’s Folly by Jill Williamson: Kept – I have a great fondness for main characters in command, control, or a leadership position who don’t abuse their power and authority.  I don’t recall the captain’s name, but when an earthquake strikes right before he pulls his ship into port, his actions and the way his men react to him clearly show he’s worthy of their respect.  While he doesn’t go down with his ship, he is the last to leave after making sure everyone else escaped.  He also notes that many of his men can’t swim.  The fact that he knows this means he cares enough to find out,; therefore, I care enough to read more.
  4. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan: Kept – I really thought I wasn’t going to like this because on the surface it seems a bit too Harry Potter like (especially with the first sentence mentioning “half bloods”), but there’s a distinctive difference in style and mien.  While both this and J. K. Rowling’s series have a young, white male protagonist with special powers, the source of magic and the reason humans can wield it is never fully outlined in HP’s world.  It appears to just be genetic with no particular progenitor.  Percy is the son of Poseidon, which means this book/series is going to utilize, at least on the surface, classical mythology.
  5. The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey: Kept – It’s hard for me to turn my back on winter tales.  I’m quite obsessed with that season.  What also drew me to this were the wife’s depressive thoughts and suicide ideation.
  6. Mirror Image by Michael Scott: Passed – It’s a mystery, horror thriller about an evil mirror, but it just didn’t grab me.
  7. Three Parts Dead by Max Gladstone: Kept – A dead god and a young woman who was thrown out of her hidden school to crash to earth in a heap.  Sounds like there’s some Paradise Lost influence going on with this, and I’m all about that.
  8. Curse of the Thirteenth Fey by Jane Yolen: Kept (RWTR) – I missed downloading this one when I was going through my list.  It’s from 2013 and I’m downloading ones from 2016.  I’m glad I noticed it as I was going through a new batch of book samples.  I’ve read Jane Yolen before.  Her Briar Rose is one of the most haunting fairy tale reworkings I’ve ever read.
  9. The Last Wish by Andrej Sapokowski: Kept – This is the book The Witcher game series is based on.  I was going to say game devs love people with white hair, but it’s not just them.  We could blame Michael Moorcock for this but it’s one of those tropes that’s older than dirt or as old as religion.
  10. Moon Called by Patricia Briggs: Kept (RWTR) – Holy shit, this one surprised me.  I expected to give it a pass, because it’s urban fantasy and takes place in modern times, and this is exactly what I said in my latest State of the Gamer post about not discounting genres/formats.  I like Mercy.  I like that she’s a female mechanic and no one seems to give her shit for that.  I’m actually hyped to read this book.
  11. Never Never by Colleen Hoover: Kept (RWTR)/Purchased – I had to force myself to stop reading this sample.  I’ve read, seen, and played many stories about amnesia.  It’s a trope so common it’s become trite, but this take on it is utterly new.  Bounced between two points of view, both characters lose all memory of who they are including their names while they’re in the middle of their school day.  It would be like you’re just going about your business, and all of a sudden all memory of your past just vanishes.  You have to pretend you know people whose faces you don’t recognize (you don’t even know your own), because how would someone that’s known you your entire life react if you said you didn’t remember them?  They’d think you were mocking or making a joke.  When I saw how much the book was on Amazon, it was an easy purchase.

Books Purchased This Week: 4

Title: The Daemoniac
Series Title: A Dominion Mystery
Author: Kat Ross
Date Added: October 13, 2016
Date Purchased: July 3, 2017

Media: eBook/Kindle
Price: $0.00
Retailer: Amazon

Continue reading →

The State of the Reader: 8/24/16

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 16 Comments

<–The State of the Reader: 8/17/16          The State of the Reader: 8/31/16–>

A weekly post updated every Wednesday detailing my current reading projects and where I am with them in addition to what new titles I’ve added to my to-read list.  Title links go to Goodreads to make it easier for interested parties to add any books that might strike their fancy.  I attempt to use the covers for the edition I’m reading, and I’ll mention if this is not the case.  If you have a Goodreads account feel free to friend me!  I’d love to see what you’re reading and/or planning to read.

Books Finished This Week: 1

Title: The Red Rose
Series Title: Submissive Beth Mysteries
Author: Fia Black
Date Added: August 8, 2016
Date Started: Unknown
Date Finished: August 23, 2016

This was a nice quick-read mystery that I highly recommend along with the first book in the series The Jade Dragon.  I’ll be writing a full review of this hopefully by the end of the week.

Books Currently Reading: 4
Change from Last Week: +1

Title: The Mystical Qabalah
Author: Dion Fortune
Date Added: August 13, 2012
Date Started: Unknown

Mystical Qabalah, TheMedium: Paperback
Progress: 77%

I finally finished the chapter on Malkuth, and I’m about to start the one on the Qliphoth or Unholy Sephiroth (emanations from the left hand of God).  After that the format of the book changes to be more instruction like for practical workings so I’m not sure how much of that I’m going to read.  We’ll see when we get there.

Title: The Mabinogion Tetralogy
Author: Evangeline Walton
Date Added: August 24, 2014
Date Started: July 31, 2016

Medium: Paperback
Progress: 7%

I read two and a half chapters in one setting this week instead of my customary one.  This compendium continues to delight.  Ms. Walton has a wonderful way with language.

Title: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
Series Title: Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children
Author: Ransom Riggs
Date Added: May 11, 2016
Date Started: August 24, 2016

Medium: Paperback
Progress: 13%

I added this book on the May 11, 2016 State of the Reader post.  The instant I picked this volume up in the bookstore a tingle ran through my bones.  I knew it was going to be extraordinary, and I have not been disappointed.  It grips you from even the prologue, which is amazing since prologues are considered out of vogue these days and Ransom Riggs is a new writer, (or rather this is his first published book) so I know the story is fantastic since newbies are usually castigated for making that faux pas (I removed the prologue from my original WIP for that very reason).

This is a mystery that involves a murder, but the murder is only the start.

Title: Sigil
Author: Aidan J. Reid
Date Added: June 9, 2016
Date Started: August 23, 2016

Medium: Kindle
Progress: 10%

I added this book on the June 16, 2016 State of the Reader post.  Like the first story I read by this author, Spectrum (reviewed here), Sigil immediately grips you.  Each chapter so far hangs you on a cliff and you have to see what happens next.  Murder-mystery in a sleepy (Irish) town is certainly something that’s been often done, but the unconventional priest detective puts me in the mind of another unconventional murder-mystery 3 Gates to the Dead by Jonathon Ryan (which I’ve reviewed here).  The author himself is from Northern Ireland so there’s a powerful and authentic voice behind every word.

If you didn’t notice I’m currently reading four books instead of my customary three.  I noticed I was getting a bit of reading done on my Kindle right before bed with The Red Rose.  I’d already decided I was going to read Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children next, and realized that since Kindle reading (on my phone at least) doesn’t require a light, I could snatch some pages up before going to sleep.  I used to read from my Kindle prior to jazzercise (back when I was able to go ;_;) and have noticed I can even get some chapters read at work during lunch.  I’m always trying to get as many finished read as possible especially considering I’ve over 500 on my TBR list.  Since I managed to read 10% in only about a day, I think this plan has merit.

Therefore I’ll now be doubling up on my fantasy/general fiction reading since I can have both a physical book and a kindle copy going concurrently.

Continue reading →