There are certain things that will automatically make me want to at least pick up a book. Kind of the same way I will always order creme brulee if it’s on the menu. Here are a few:

• It has to do with the geeky things I love: comics, LARP, fandom (see: Into the Wild Nerd Yonder by Julie Halpern and the recent Geektastic collection)
• It appears to make math cool in some way (bonus points if it involves geometry!) (see: The Midnighters series by Scott Westerfeld)
• It involves whales or dolphins (see: Deep Wizardry by Diane Duane)
• It involves ancient Egypt (see: Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos by R. L. Lafevers)
• Any sort of Jane Austen reference (see: Scones and Sensibility by Lindsay Eland)

What about you guys? What elements will make you pick up a book automatically?

I am so eager to read Geektastic that I even went and entered an online contest to get a copy since my library does not have it and I am on a restricted book-buying budget at present (I will admit that entering the contest is sort of cheating since the restriction is less about money and more about the ridiculous size of my to-read pile). If any of you are interested, there are actually two contests going on now: one at Bookluver-Carol’s Review Site and one at Carrie’s YA Bookshelf (both very fine sources for book reviews, by the way).

And because I have no better place to put this, check out this nifty artwork of a Steampunk Dragon from one of my daily reads, the Children’s/Fantasy Illustrations blog (this is another of my recent favorites from the same site; I love how the falling leaves kind of morph into fairies in my mind…).

I’ve been meaning to post here about three YA or MG fantasy books released in the past few months that I have loved, now that they are all finally available. I’ve read a lot of excellent books lately but these three just particularly appeal to my tastes for lovely writing, excellent characters, and engaging and innovative plots. It doesn’t hurt that all three authors (who are fellow debuts of 2009) are very cool, funny, and generous people and thus I am very pleased to be able to recommend their books! (All blurbs taken from Goodreads.)

FAERY REBELS: SPELL HUNTER by R. J. Anderson
(released as KNIFE in the U.K.)
As the Faery Queen’s appointed Hunter, Knife alone has the courage and skill to fight the crows and other predators who threaten the Oakenfolk’s survival. Yet neither she nor the Queen can do anything to stop a mysterious magical disease from claiming the faeries of the Oak one by one.

Knife determines to learn the truth about the Oakenfolk’s relationship to humanity, no matter what the Queen might do to prevent her — a quest which threatens the growing friendship between herself and Paul, puts both their lives in jeopardy, and challenges everything Knife has ever believed about humans, faeries, and her own heart’s desire. And when at last Knife discovers the secret the Faery Queen has been hiding, she is forced to make an agonizing choice between love and freedom that will change her life, and the lives of her people, forever.

My thoughts (also posted on Goodreads):
I found lots of things in this marvelous book: a compelling adventure, a nuanced world, and engaging mystery, and a sweet and occasionally heart-breaking romance. Most of all I found two characters to love: Bryony (later Knife) the faery, and Paul, the young human who becomes her friend.

I loved seeing the worlds of both faeries and humans through Knife’s eyes. I read eagerly as she pieces together the clues to understand the deadly affliction upon her own people, and struggles to understand the role humans play in it. The relationship between Knife and Paul is one of my favorites in recent readings: honest, true, joyful and wrenching by turns.

Although this book was satisfying and does feel like a full and complete story, I still cannot wait for the sequel! I want more Knife and Paul!

Buy it at your local indie bookseller. Visit R.J.’s website.

THE DEMON’S LEXICON by Sarah Rees Brennan
Nick and his brother, Alan, have spent their lives on the run from magic. Their father was murdered, and their mother was driven mad by magicians and the demons who give them power. The magicians are hunting the Ryves family for a charm that Nick’s mother stole — a charm that keeps her alive — and they want it badly enough to kill again.

Ensnared in a deadly game of cat and mouse, Nick starts to suspect that his brother is telling him lie after lie about their past. As the magicians’ Circle closes in on their family, Nick uncovers the secret that could destroy them all.

My thoughts (also posted on Goodreads):
I had very high expectations for this book, founded almost entirely on Sarah Rees Brennan’s bewitching livejournal posts. I am happy to say that THE DEMON’S LEXICON delivered on every level. I adored the snappy, witty banter and the excitement of the twisty plot. About halfway through I started suspecting a particular plot point and then I HAD TO KNOW if I was right and whooshed through the rest of it to the end. But my absolute favorite aspect of the book are the characters of Nick and Alan. This book may be told from the point-of-view of an apparent sociopath, but it has one of the deepest hearts of any book I’ve read lately. In fact, I found it more affecting emotionally than most of the romances I’ve read!

I will certainly be looking for the sequel!

Buy it at your local indie bookseller. Visit Sarah’s website.

EYES LIKE STARS by Lisa Mantchev
All her world’s a stage.
Beatrice Shakespeare Smith is not an actress, yet she lives in a theater.
She is not an orphan, but she has no parents.
She knows every part, but has no lines of her own.
Until now.

Welcome to the Théâtre Illuminata, where the characters of every place ever written can be found behind the curtain. They were born to play their parts, and are bound to the Théâtre by The Book—an ancient and magical tome of scripts. Bertie is not one of them, but they are her family—and she is about to lose them all and the only home she has ever known.

My thoughts (also on Goodreads):
This is the sort of book that I love to dive into and just revel in. It’s got a brilliant, unusual, magical, enchanting setting and a strong, funny, active heroine. Bertie is a vivid character (and not just because of her Cobalt Flame hair). I love that she lives with such passion, that she has both strengths and flaws, and that she goes out there an makes things happen (though they may not always go the way she plans). And perhaps more than anything, I loved the Theatre Illuminata itself as a concept: this magical place where all plays (and all players) meet, where you summon a scene change to the Turkish Baths if you need to wash up, and where sound effects and lighting specials cue the mood.

As I was reading I was taking note of all the little turns of phrase and quips and things that spark out at me from the text. And after awhile I started to lose track because there were just so many of them. It was a real treat to read and savor.

Also, it has lovely, lovely food descriptions. I must admit that tasty food descriptions are one of those things that will always make me approve of a book. Even now I am craving buttered toast and French pastries and turkey with gravy. Not to mention a sip of Alice’s Drink Me bottle.

I am already anticipating Book 2. Many mysteries were resolved in Book 1, but there’s obviously a lot more to be discovered about Bertie, her friends, and the Theater itself. I am looking forward to finding it out!

Buy it at your local indie bookseller. Visit Lisa’s website.

~~~

So there you have it! Go forth and read! And if these books sound like your thing, keep an eye on my blog as you just might get a chance to win one of them here in a little while…

I did a little poll on my livejournal about what people were most interested in reading about on this here blog. The winning topic was “books I’m reading and what I think about them” so I am going to make more of an effort to crosspost my thoughts from Goodreads over here.

Here’s some recent reads. If you’ve read any of these, what did you think? And if you are a Georgette Heyer fan, what are your favorites?

(more…)

I’ve been thinking a bit lately about how grateful I am for the plethora of interesting, cool and just plain neat stuff you can find on the internet. I was looking back at my reading log from a few years ago (before I discovered book blogs) when I found new books by randomly stumbling across them at the library or bookstore, or by the occasional recommendation of a friend. I did a lot of re-reading back then, because I just wasn’t finding a lot I wanted to read.

Nowdays my to-read list is ginormous (really, I’d be ashamed if I weren’t so happy there are so many great books out there), and much of that is thanks to hearing about books online, from friends and from the various book blogs I follow (yay for Google Reader!).

Anyways, I was thinking about why it was that certain books end up attracting my attention. Is it a cover, a cool premise, a favorite author, an award, a glowing review or a ranting diatribe? Are they books with a huge buzz I just have to read?

Here’s a few books on my to-read list, and how they got there:

THE NAME OF THE WIND by Patrick Rothfuss – Adult fantasy. I keep hearing raves about this one from friends and strangers, and even though I don’t remember any of the details of the plot off the top of my head, it’s permeated my reader-brain sufficiently to lodge there, waiting to be read.

SILKSINGER by Laini Taylor – I started reading the author’s blogs before I actually picked up her first novel, the delightful BLACKBRINGER. After reading some of Laini’s inspirational, vibrant blog posts and sensible, wise writing advice I knew I had to run out and read anything that she published.

MORIBITO, GUARDIAN OF THE SPIRIT by Nahoko Uehashi – I first read about this one on the blog of the editor, Cheryl Klein, and was immediately intrigued. Seeing the many positive reader reactions around the internet has confirmed my desire to check this book out.

SCONES AND SENSIBILITY by Lindsey Eland – I stumbled upon this one on Goodreads while looking at other books coming out in 2010, and the title made me click to learn more (I am a big Jane Austen fan). And honestly, my first thought was “somebody wrote a book FOR ME”: a modern girl who loves Anne of Green Gables and Jane Austen, who works as a delivery girl for her parents’ bakery, in a seaside town, who starts playing matchmaker. Just knowing those details is enough for me to know I must check this book out when it is available.

THE TEASHOP GIRLS by Laura Schaefer – I read a positive review of this on Kidliterate and it sounds delightful. I love a good “nice” book, and I love tea!

CATCHING FIRE by Suzanne Collins – This is the sequel to THE HUNGER GAMES, which was one of my favorite books read last year. I read the first chapter online, and it hooked me instantly, enough so that I actually marked the pub date on my calender so I could get a copy as soon as possible. Having started to hear the positive reactions to the sequel percolate through the blogosphere, I am quite possibly even more excited for book two. This series got my attention due to buzz, but it kept it due to an utterly engaging story.

What about you folks? What makes you pick up the books you read? Have you picked up a book recently just because of the cover, or because of the buzz, or because of a review?

I told myself at the beginning of this year that I really ought to use my goodreads page for more than just keeping a list of the books I’ve read and books I want to read (though I am a big fan of lists!). So I’ve been trying to add at least a short review for everything I’ve read. Numerical rankings don’t do much for me (and cause me more stress than they are worth in trying to decide how to apply them) so I haven’t bothered with those. I did, however, just recently create a bookshelf for my all-time favorites.

I was looking back at the books I’ve read over the past five years (I had a paper reading journal before goodreads) and feeling very grateful for all the great books I’ve discovered in the last two years or so. I’m not sure why it never occured to me to do more actual research to find good books. Up until about 2008 I mostly just grabbed random things off the library or bookstore shelves, or things I was recommended by friends or family. This led me to several books I loved (my husband introduced me to Harry Potter and Sabriel, a coworker gave me The Time-Traveler’s Wife) but not enough, and there were plenty of bad books too. All of which leaves me enormously grateful that there are so many good books out there now, and so many people talking about them and spreading the word so that I can find out about them.

Accordingly, here are some of my own thoughts on the books I’ve read recently (not including books by other Debut 2009 authors, since I’ll be talking about those in separate posts later, if I haven’t already). I’m pretty much just cutting-and-pasting what I said over on goodreads here…

(more…)