Flavia de Luce (x1 1/2)

2015, Books in Bed, Favorites, Fiction, short stories /

I’m a big Flavia fan and I loved As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust. Excellent. Most excellent. I was a little worried, since Flavia was all by herself (I mean not with her family and the regulars from Bishop Lacey) in Canada but I needn’t have worried. It went well. Flavia did well. It all turned out as it should have. Every bit.

While reading it, I discovered there was a short story published last year for Kindle, so I grabbed The Curious Case of the Copper Corpse and read it right after I finished Chimney Sweepeers. It was good — cool death (lol) but I don’t love short stories. I wanted more Flavia, darn it.

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Here and Again

2015, Books in Bed, Chick Lit, Fiction /

There was a lot to like about Here and Again but there was just enough to NOT like that I finished it kind of wished I hadn’t read it.

I liked all of the characters. Every single one of them. I liked the setting. I didn’t mind the whole ghost factor either. What bugged me was the connection between Samuel and Virginia Moon. That whole she was there then, Oliver was there then… that just… too much for me. Blah. We could have done without all of that, really.

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St. Nick (x2)

2015, Audiobooks, Books in Bed, Favorites, Fiction, Sci Fi and Fantasy /

Do you find yourself reading books that are completely unrelated but have odd connections between them? It doesn’t just happen to us, does it?

Like the audio book, St. Nick, that I grabbed from Amazon just because I didn’t have any other audio books and it seemed like it would be a fun listen in the car (even though Christmas just ended) and the Sandman Slim #6, The Getaway God, with the very evil Saint Nick character. Never in a million years would have expected a connection between those two books but there you go. It was also a little disconcerting to be reading them both at the same time. One St Nick was super good and the other so very not good. Very weird.

Anyway, I loved both books…

St Nick — a depressed and struggling cop turned mall Santa is just as you’d expect. The magic of Christmas etc. etc. etc. It was awesome.

The Getaway God, #6 in the Sandman Slim series, was just as awesome (maybe more awesome than some of the other books in the middle of the series) as you’d expect. Stark saves the world (again) and sorts out all of the broken Gods (and Lucifers, for that matter.) The only downside for me with a Sandman Slim novel is the lack of chapters. I need chapters. Why does Kadrey hate chapters? Hmph.

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Maplecroft: The Borden Dispatches

2015, Books in Bed, Favorites, Sci Fi and Fantasy, Women /

I love Cherie Priest. Loved Maplecroft: The Borden Dispatches. It was excellent. Creepy, but excellent. I’m interested in the fact that I keep seeing it as “book one” — what the heck is going to be book two? I guess I’ll find out, eventually, right? Oh, I see — not a sequel, Chapelwood. Nice. Can’t wait!

If you love Cthulhu, you’ll want to read this.

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The Care and Handling of Roses with Thorns

2015, Books in Bed, Favorites, Fiction /

Margaret Dilloway is awesome. Totally. I sort of fan-girlled all over her at BH14. I never do that sort of thing. I think I scared her. lol. Anyway, I absolutely loved The Care and Handling of Roses with Thorns.

Gal is my kind of woman. I liked her. Such a great character. I also really liked the relationship between her and Riley. And, shockingly (if you know me), I loved the ending.

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Nellie Taft

2015, Books in Bed, Feminism, Non-Fiction, Women /

Not a very auspicious start for the new year, eh? Four days in and I’ve just now finished the first book — a book I started reading about, oh, a month ago? No big deal — Nellie Taft (the book, not the woman) was a slow read and I’ve been busy doing all the things. My reading rate will pick up and drop off and pick up again. As usual. But, back to Nellie Taft…

I had high hopes for this biography but it was like too many biographies — a bit dull and textbook-like. Too bad since Nellie Taft was pretty darn interesting. Overall, I”m glad I read this one.

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Cybils Shortlist Challenge for 2014

2015, Books in Bed, Cybil Challenge /

I’ve been reloading the Cybils blog for HOURS waiting for the list to appear and now the wait is over. Here are the finalists and I’m off to reserve a few at the library right now.

Easy Readers
– Clara and Clem Under the Sea
– Extraordinary Warren: Super Chicken
– Inch and Roly and the Sunny Day Scare
– My New Friend Is So Fun!
– Okay, Andy!
– Pigsticks and Harold and the Incredible Journey
– The Ice Cream Shop (Scholastic Reader Level 1)

Early Chapters
– Dory Fantasmagory
– Like Carrot Juice on a Cupcake
– Lulu and the Rabbit Next Door
– Lulu’s Mysterious Mission
– The Chicken Squad: The First Misadventure
– The Lion Who Stole My Arm
– Violet Mackerel’s Possible Friend

Fiction Picture Books
– Brimsby’s Hats
– Here Comes the Easter Cat
– Knock, Knock: My Dad’s Dream for Me
– Maple
– Shhhh! We Have a Plan
– This is a Moose

Graphic Novels for Early & Middle Grades
– Bad Machinery: The Case of the Good Boy
– Bird and Squirrel on Ice
– El Deafo
– Gaijin: American Prisoner of War
– Hidden: A Child’s Story of the Holocaust
– The Dumbest Idea Ever
– Ballad

Graphic Novels for Young Adults
– In Real Life
– Strange Fruit (Volume 1)
– The Harlem Hellfighters
– The Shadow Hero
– Through the Woods
– To This Day: For the Bullied and the Beautiful

Middle Grade Fiction
– Abby Spencer Goes to Bollywood
– All Four Stars
– Death By Toilet Paper
– Ice Dogs
– Nickel Bay Nick
– The Crossover
– The Meaning of Maggie

Non-Fiction for Early & Middle Grades
– Chasing Cheetahs
– Handle with Care: An Unusual Butterfly Journey
– The Case of the Vanishing Little Brown Bats
– Alice + Freda Forever
– Be A Changemaker
– Beyond Magenta
– Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek
– The Family Romanov
– The Freedom Summer Murders
– The Port Chicago 50

Poetry
– Brown Girl Dreaming
– Dear Wandering Wildebeest and Other Poems From the Water Hole
– Firefly July
– Hi, Koo!: A Year of Seasons
– Santa Clauses
– Voices From the March on Washington
– Water Rolls, Water Rises Water Rolls, Water Rises

Speculative Fiction for Early & Middle Grades
– Boys of Blur
– Greenglass House
– Nuts to You
– The Castle Behind Thorns
– The Jupiter Pirates: The Hunt for Hydra
– The Luck Uglies
– The Swallow

Speculative Fiction for Young Adults
– Death Sworn
– Glory O’Brien’s History of the Future
– Noggin
– Salvage
– The Living
– The Winners Curse
– While We Run

Young Adult Fiction
– Gabi, A Girl In Pieces
– Girls Like Us
– I’ll Give You The Sun
– Pointe
– When I Was The Greatest

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2015 Reading Challenges

2015, Books in Bed, Reading /

Happy New Year etc. etc. etc.

In 2015 I want to read 250 books (which is fewer than I read this year BUT could be a stretch based on the other things that will be happening in my world in 2015.

I’m going to do the Cybil Shortlist again, of course.

I want to read 10 books from my stacks.

I want to listen to 20 audiobooks.

I really enjoyed catching up on sequels and prequels in 2014 so I’m going to do that again this year and also go in search of books I haven’t read by authors I’ve enjoyed.

Nothing too challenging on this list, really. Hopefully.

Did you set any reading goals for yourself?

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