Where Do Animals Go When It Rains? by Janet Crown - children's book. review

Where Do Animals Go When It Rains?

by Janet Crown
Illustrated by Daron Rosenberg

Where do the Animals Go When it Rains? is a cute little picture book that answers a few questions about some animals and what they do while it rains.  I'm sure many young children have wondered about this in their childhood.

It's charming in it's simplicity - told in rhyme, with some cartoon style pictures to accompany the text.  The verse mentions birds, squirrels, horses, bears and a few others.  Even frogs - who apparently LOVE it when it rains, being that they love the wet.  :)

I would recommend this especially for preschoolers, as it's short enough to hold their attention. Rhyme always seems to hold certain charm for that age and the cartoon pictures will be attractive to them.  The verse is simple enough for that age, not overwhelmingly poetic.  I also think it would be a quick, fun read for the five or six year old - especially those who are just learning to read on their own.

I'm taking my Kindle to work tomorrow to let some of our day care (afterschool day care) children take a look at this, and try to read it.  All of our kindergartners are reading pretty much on their own now.

The illustrations are fun - I've already mentioned that they are cartoon style.  They remind me of some of those cartoons such as Cinderella, where the birds and animals have a bit of a cute expression on their faces, (no clothes though! *g*) with nice bright colors.  The positions and expressions on the various animals give them a bit of personality that will catch the attention of the young listener/reader.

If anyone is working in the preschool setting, Kindergarten or even has young ones at home, this would be an fun addition to a class library.  I can see this being included in lesson planning for a preschool - seasons, weather, animals.

It's Monday, and Mommy's day is now over...

Mommies are everywhere, raising little ones, hopefully to be good elders.  It was a nice day yesterday.  My mom flew in from Panama (the one in Central America; the country, not the city) Was treated to a sandwich from a place called Ike's Place.  Ike's Place has a store in San Francisco, and was infamous long lines - as well as their bomb-ass (my son's term) sandwiches.  The place in my city (where they've expanded to) is a beautiful bright almost cobalt blue, with red trim.  

isn't that beautiful?  I LOVE  bright buildings.  I personally think that more businesses and/or homes should be brightly painted.  Celebrate life, celebrate your home....celebrate with color...but I'm getting away from subject.  Ike's place  - we went in to order.  And the young man at the counter hesitantly asked if I was Lil Larry's mother.  I kind of laughed (wondering if he had offended a few women asking this), smiled and said yes.  He then said that when someone brings their mom in to buy a sandwich, Ike's pays for the sandwich.  And - the not only did this, but the guy applied the free sandwich to the most expensive sandwich - not the cheapest, as most places would do.  How nice is this? They have some expensive sandwiches,  so I was impressed.  And it takes a lot to impress an old broad like me.  ;)

We went home, watched the tail end of Raising Arizona (the ONE movie where Nicolas Cage actually sounded normal during his acting, or rather, actually was a good actor!) while we ate our sandwiches.  One Ike's Place sandwich is enough to feed two people - so we actually both ate half of our sandwiches, while watching one of the few movies where Nicolas Cage sounded like a good actor.  Fun Times.  Then we went to...

My brother's house where my mom was visiting from Panama.  When I walked in, music was already on, Liliana was in the kitchen with my brother and they were dancing.  We had toasts, and then the music was jammin' louder, and we were in the kitchen dancing again!  Which is what we did last weekend.  We had a combo memorial, b-day celebration (my husband is born on Cinco De Mayo) and Coach-winnin-trophy night.  Which translated to Tequila shots, margaritas and lots of dancing!  Great times!  Nothing like a party with hispanic people - the dancing kicks ass!

So we partied a bit - yet made sure this week that we wound it down a bit earlier than last week.  Last monday was a little hard on me.  Tonight I'll make sure I get more sleep, plus we kept to champagne.  :)

I hope everyone had a nice day - My day was pretty awesome.

Okay - back to bookish items...

Hosted by Sheila of Book Journey, it's time for It's Monday, What Are You Reading? I'm pretty sure that most book bloggers already know about this, but in case....  We visit each other's blogs and see what we've been reading, what we've finished reading and in some cases what we're planning to read.  With me, the planning to read never, ever works out, so I usually skip that part.  Hell, even the current read usually end up changing...

Last week, or week before - when I didn't post.  I finished Nothing.  At all.  I started a book - decided to read something completely different and was happy to find a book I haven't read in a long, long time.  And I ended up very disappointed.  I loved it the first time I read it.  This time....I think I'm too old, or have been through to much to enjoy it much.  Didn't finish it.  Put it aside.  I want to impress on others, that the writing isn't what got to me.  Rather it was the whole young girl romance thing, and the young hardened but hurting knight who couldn't trust the young bride, because of a traumatic happening...etc.  The writing is good, the narration was good.  The dialogue totally fit the characters.  AND I remember reading one of Kurland's recent novels written a few years ago, and enjoying the hell out of it.  So I think it's just that this particular character was way too young and innocent for my current self to enjoy.  I'm still game for trying one of Kurland's more recent novels.

 Wow - according to my records, I haven't finished anything at all in May.... Until this past week.

Last week I finished a young adult novel written by a woman I never heard of before.  When I finished the book, I looked up the name of the author and found out she's written quite a few books - one of them I had noticed before. One of them is a children's picture book called - ready? - Troll Teacher.  Wow, the name itself makes me want to read it.  I read the excerpt and...Now I want to buy it for my grandchildren.  One who is close to the end of her first ever year of school (kindergarden) and the other who is in preschool and will start kindergarden next year.  

The one novel finished was Deadly Pink by Vivian Vande Velde.  A young girl is called upon to enter a virtual reality game.  Her sister works for the Rassmussen Corp, developer of this game, and her sister has suddenly lost her grip and decided to stay in the reality game. Of course, no one can get her out, she's messed with the protocols, and there's a real possibility of her dying if she stays in the game.  So little sister is called upon to save bigger sister - the sister who's always been there for her, who's the one every one looks up to, the sister who is so smart.

I did read a children's book that I also quickly reviewed.  Part of a series of books, Bella and Harry are a pair of chihuahua puppies who visit cities around the world with their family.  The book I read was Bella and Harry Let's Visit Instanbul by Lisa Manzione.  Cute way to teach a little of culture, food, and geography.  The book was fun.  The website also had lots to offer. 

That's it.  Only one novel, and one picture book was finished this week.  I've started a couple of other novels, but haven't gotten very far, and I keep jumping back and forth.

What I've been working on reading (ugh - reading shouldn't be WORK, let's rephrase this)  What I've been reading:

I started Roil by Trent Jamieson - started to really get into it, and now I can't FIND it.  :(  Was really enjoying it also - very different from what I've been reading...

So I started The Dead of Winter by Lee Collins.  This is the first of a series.  I had recently accidentally picked up the second in the series, and was a bit irritated - but found the first.  Started it...and was feeling a bit...down, so because of the rather dark subject matter, I picked up another book.  But still have my eyes on this one, still pick it up here and there....

Next is Dead Reckoning (Sookie #11) by Charlaine Harris.  I almost gave up on this series, but after reading how everyone enjoyed this novel, I decided to give it a try.  So far so good.  There was a wonderful fight between Pam and Eric.  Good fight - so I have hopes for this novel.  And there's only a couple more books in the series.  The last novel has already been released. (I think) Or soon will be.  Weird to think the series is coming to an end...but it's good to end a series while everyone is still enjoying the series.

Last, but not least, is the first of the Rain Wilds Chronicles, The Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb.  I've read her Live Ship Traders trilogy - excellent novels with amazing world building.  These seem to be related, told from the people living up the Rain Wilds river....the people who have special abilities...and from what I was able to read so far, this novel is going to be just as good as the other series I read.  Unfortunately.....I also misplaced this novel. Soooo...I hope I find it soon.  because lately, it's been hard for me to find a book that I'm interested in or can focus on.  

It's possible that I might have to put aside ALL the novels and concentrate on some of the e-books that have been piling up in my Kindle Fire!  That'll be fun, and then...arhive.  

Well, it's now very late.  My neck is bothering me, headache is forming and I have visit the bedroom - try to get some sleep!  And work tomorrow....ugh - shudders!

Buenas Noches, Todos

Happy Mother's Day to everyone!

Happy Mother's Day, Y'all!

I did a whole post about all of those who step into a nurturing role, and how they all deserve recognition on Mother's Day...

yet I deserve it most of all, (haha)

Bella and Harry; Let's Visit Instanbul! - review

On impulse, I requested a children's book from NetGalley.  I thought I would see what was on offer for possible reading to my grandchildren....  I was not dissappointed.

Adventures of Bella and Harry: Let's Visit Instanbul!

Written by Lisa Manzione

Illustrated by Kristine Lucco

Cited from the Website - "The Adventures of Bella & Harry is a picture book series that chronicles the 

escapades of a pup named Bella, her little brother Harry and their family, who 

travel the world exploring the sights and sounds of new, exciting cities. 

Traveling 

the world with these two cute and cuddly Chihuahuas will allow the young 

reader to gain an appreciation of the world and its cultural diversity.

The “Bella and Harry” series is intended to be an informative, interactive and 

exciting way to introduce children to travel, different countries, customs, history 

and landmarks. 

The series was created to encourage exploration of locations

both domestically and internationally"

What a fun way to learn about cities throughout the world.  Using chihuahua puppies as characters (who doesn't love a chihuahua - heck, who doesn't love PUPPIES?), Lisa Manzione teaches in a painless manner about a city; she features architecture, food, culture, and landmarks among the information.  There is even a little lesson about safety; staying together and not getting separated from your family. 
All of the information is given through the use of conversation between Bella and her brother chihuahua, Harry.  They talk about (and eat) food, they explore together, they look at things and ask questions.  Even a myth was mentioned.  Harry really wants to ride a magic carpet - he asks a few times, though Bella keeps telling him there is no such thing.  :) I enjoyed this.  

This is a book that will hold interest for a second or third grader, and I believe even a Kindergardener would benefit a bit from reading this.  Though a Kinder might not understand everything, it would be a good start, and I can imagine a child having this read to her/him and then later doing some reading of this same text on their own - getting even more from the book as they grow.

The pictures are wonderfully crafted by Kristine Lucco.  The puppies are very cute, the buildings are beautifully drawn and I love that the people are the COLOR they are supposed to be.  No whitewashing here - and this is important.  Lucco's style of art is beautiful.  

Both text and graphics portray food, geography, landmarks, people, even products -- in this case, Bella and Harry visited the huge Bazaar where everything from carpets to lamps to food and spices is available.

Another thing I like is that there are a few words peppered in the text of the language spoken in the city.  "Merhaba" - hello,
"Elveda"  - goodbye, "Evet" - yes, and "Hayir" - no.  I would have liked a pronunciation guide, phonetic would be good - but didn't see one.  

My only complaint isn't with context or words within the book, but there were a couple pages where the text was difficult to read because it tended to blend in with the illustration.  I've seen this in a few picture books, and wish publishers (or whoever plans out the layout) would take the color of ink into consideration with the color of the page that surrounds the text.  It's hard to read black ink on dark brown (in another book I've read), thin black ink in a picture full of lines (found on a couple pages in this book), etc.

I took a quick look at the Bella and Harry website where I found a page with some fun activities that are interactive - you can have your child (even a group of kids in a class can do this on a group of computers) do a word match, packing game, coloring activities and a flag match game.  Good way to reinforce some of the information.  A FUN way to learn.  I think a teacher would find this very useful.
There is even a sample interactive e-book!
I also found a page for teachers, with links for pdf lesson plans that include things like crosswords, vocabulary matching, etc.  (FREE!)

I would recommend this book, and series for people who enjoy reading about other places, children, teachers and parents/grandparents.  Again, I think this is a very fun way to learn about cities and cultures throughout the world.

Lisa Manzione has written quite a few books in this series - London, Paris, Cairo...and there are some fun products available.  Though I usually am not into pimping out products for sale, there are some fun things available;backpacks, shirts, etc.
Kristine Lucco not only illustrates books, she paints rooms; murals in rooms, children's rooms, bathrooms, etc. 

So I re-read a book....

I am not a huge romance book fan.  I used to read historical romances obsessively....of course, I used to be young also.

Of course, I had my favorites.  I favored books that had humor mixed in, and way more story than the hot-n-heavy.  I mean - there's romance, and then there's books about sex with some story thrown in.

I've kept a few of the historical romances around, because they were the ones I enjoyed the most.....and I wanted a change of pace this week.

So I picked up one that I haven't read for....about 15, maybe twenty years?

OH

My

God.

Even though some of the story was decent and entertaining I found myself sighing in exasperation and frustration.

Really.

How lame can a character be?

How did I ever like this?

How YOUNG was I?

I guess what works for us in our twenties is definitely NOT going to be interesting us when we're 52.

Nope.  

Time to pass on the book.

Clean by Alex Hughes - review

Clean
Alex Hughes
Mindspace Investigations #1
SciFi
Sept 2012

cover - I want to see his FACE.  I don't know why, really - I am rarely satisfied with the faces of men pictured on most novels.  I want them to have some five o'clock shadow, or at least a little facial hair (no porn-star mustaches, though - please).  I also prefer some hair...Usually the men on book covers are way to clean cut....but back to THIS cover. I like the cover.  The atmosphere is good; the buildings, the sky....the mysterious backview... and yet simple - which is good.

I don't always include pics of other works by writers.  But once in a while....

Sequels include:

Payoff (novella)

Sharp (out April 2 2013)

               

I picked up this book even though I thought it was written by a man - now I know this sounds sexist, but I usually prefer my novels to be written by a woman, and I also usually prefer the main characters to be women - so I can relate even though I'm not your average woman (meaning I never really fit into the old school, or even new school gender roles, either emotionally or in actions - what does this mean?  hell, I don't even know....other than I'm not comfortable with feelings, emotions....etc ), which affects the way I relate to novels...

Anyway, I started reading and thought - wow, this is one of the few times I've read a man writer and it didn't sound a whole lot like a man - and at the same time didn't sound overly mushy either....haha.  Joke was on me.  I saw Hughes' author page, with this picture of rather beautiful woman.  LOL.  Never judge a book by it's cover, or an author by the name (?).

Serves me right for reading with sexist expectations.  

So - main character is this guy, and it's written first person.  I was pulled immediately into his story, complete with an addiction - which itself is complete with cravings, very frequent urges and missing of the drug of choice, etc.  All the while, this guy is trying to control the input of telepathic information that's deluging his brain...without the help of anything to dull the sensations.  He's been in "recovery" for a while, working the steps, yet not quite really working the steps with his whole heart.  I found this very believable.

The setting is in the future, there's been a huge tech war, where computers and artificial intelligence wreaked havoc with humanity.  so much so, that computer use is strictly controlled.  Interesting premise, and the only thing that got to me was the frequent mentions of certain information which I found a little repetitive. However, the rest of the story, plot lines, dialogue and character descriptions - the action was interesting enough that this possibly repetitive information seemed minor in comparison with my enjoyment of the novel.

In fact, something I found very surprising - is that I was pulled so into the story, into the series of events, that it wasn't until AFTER I had finished the book, and read ANOTHER person's review that I realized this guy's name isn't mentioned in the book....until the very last page. If you haven't read the book - don't go ruining the effect of this, by skipping to the last page for his name.  Just go with the flow, read it sequentially and experience this the way it's planned out.

Quick summary of plot - this telepath is an addict (having a very hard time with recovery), dealing with people's judging, working with a lady cop that he's a little attached to, dealing with a lack of respect (from others AND himself), dealing with these intense CRAVINGS, trying to help with interrogations, and dealing with CRAVINGS, and trying to keep secrets for the telepath guild...while dealing with those-yep, those cravings.  And bodies are being found that point to a murderer with telepathic abilities...

and he keeps having these...

cravings.

oops.

Now he has to deal with all that, an ethical quandary  AND his intense cravings.

Not easy.

At all.

Especially when he keeps accidentally responding to his partner's thoughts when she doesn't want him in her head...

oops.

This was a very simple summary of the plot - and there is much more to the book.  The book is rich in details, dialogue, thoughts and events.

I really enjoyed this novel.

The first person narration of a suffering addict was right on the money.  Hell, I was feeling those cravings right along with him, and hoping he wasn't going to give it all up and use.

The dialogue between all the various characters was fitting.  There didn't seem to be very many people on his side...and yet he keeps plugging along, because - what's the alternative?

giving up.

not a good option.

There are a lot of layers in this book, and most of them handled very well - just that bit of too many mentions of the tech-war....which - really - needed to be mentioned a few times for story continuity.  I'm just difficult that way.

Great novel, with an interesting twist in the scifi, and an interesting futuristic setting.

Oh - and there are air cars.  So you can drive in the skylanes, as well as on the road.

Nice.

I'm looking forward to reading the sequel - Sharp; and I need to get out my Kindle so I can read the novella that takes place between Clean and Sharp, titled Payoff.  You can read excerpts to all on Amazon - in fact, click on the covers above.  I've linked them to the excerpt page.

(I'm cool like that, yo. *grin*)

April Round Up

http://profile.cheezburger.com/Mardel/lolz

 This is really my dog, and the beautiful curtains I used to have....before my grandchildren and the dogs kind of...got to them.  between the couch being pushed against the curtains, the grandchildren playing IN the curtains, and the animals getting caught up in the curtains....they didn't last long.  Now I just hang an old sheet from the hem - works just as well, and I didn't have to spend forty bucks on a set of curtains that are just going to get treated too rough.  I'll wait until the grandchildren are a little older....  ;)  Oh yeah, and my dog really does sit like this - all the time and for rather long periods of time.  You can even walk into a room where there is NO ONE else, and find him just sitting like that.  Randomly.  He's random.

It occurs to me that I've never done one of those end of month summaries of books read - much less end of year summary (hahaha, as if I'd ever be that prepared...)  Seems like it might be encouraging....to myself.  ;)  So I'm starting this for April, 2013.

April Books in alpha order

American Vampire (Jennifer Armintrout, UF) ***** 

Boyfriend from Hell (Jamie Quaid, UF) ****

The Burn Zone (James K Decker, SciFi) ******

Clean (Alex Hughes, SciFi) *****

Hex Hall (Rachel Hawkins, YA/UF) ****

Midnight Blue-Light Special (Seanan McGuire, UF) *****

(I usually rate up to six stars.  Five if they're pretty good, six if I Love it Lots, four if it's good...and so on)

Short Stories

Brown Goes Full Steam Ahead (J.A. Campbell, fantasy) from Penny Dread Tales 3  = loved it

Notable Children's Books

Are The Dinosaurs Dead, Dad? (Julie Middleton)

Claude in the City (Alex T Smith)

Pete The Cat: Rocking In My School Shoes  ( Eric Litwin and James Dean, illustrator)

I know I've read way more children's books - but I don't keep track of them.  Maybe I should, especially since I'm finding that I have to ask each class..."have we read this book yet?" before I read to them.  lol.  Nothing like getting forgetful with a room full of books to read to children. :)

American Vampire by Jennifer Armintrout - review

American Vampire
Jennifer Armintrout
UF
2011

*****  (five out of six stars)

Cover - yes.  it's good.  Totally the young american look - with the hoodie and all...

American Vampire --- one of those stories where NO ONE is quite the good guy, and there are a few bad guys...and yet you find yourself rooting for one of the not quite good/not quite baddies, just because....

I had fun reading this one.  One of the reviews I read said there was little to distinguish this from other paranormal romances.  I disagree.  

The basics - Graf is a vampire.  Graf is on his way to a party, looking forward to it.  He has a kick-ass car but isn't so good on GPS, or finding his way around, and he's lost.  So seeing it's getting close to dawn, decides to pull over at a gas station - even though it looks closed...might be a place to hide for the day.  But what's this?  he sees a light inside the building, so he investigates....

And comes across not only a monster, but a girl who's trying to hide from monster.  He saves her and drives her home and finds out he's ended in in.....PENANCE, Ohio.  A place people haven't been able to come in or out of for FIVE years.  What are the odds?

Jessa (the girl) isn't too happy to have a guest, being stuck in a town for five years wreaks havoc on your supplies, etc....

So she's continuously trying to find a way to get rid of this guy, he's one bite away from "eating" her (for reals, needs to eat ....SOON) and on top of that the townspeople are weird...and not so great things begin to happen...

so...not your average love story. Both main characters have some flaws and character defects, one of them isn't very concerned with his....

Fun story, great dialogue and some weird ass shenanigans.  I liked it.   :)

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins - review

Hex Hall
Rachel Hawkins
YA U/F
2010

**** (four out of six)

Cover - I like the cover.  There's atmosphere, there are the trees mentioned in the story, the lake, the girl in the uniform and in the reflection?  maybe it's a ghost.

Hex Hall is one of those books that grab your attention from the very first page.  Told in first person, the narrative is humorous and best of all - SOUNDS like a teen girl.

After a spell gone bad, young teen witch Sophie is sent to a boarding school for other teens who've made the mistake of not blending in.  Hex Hall is a place for Fae, shapeshifters, witches and even vampire teens to learn how to control their powers and blend in.  Sophie is roomies with the only student that happens to be a vampire.  Seems vampires are kind of outcasts at Hex Hall - Sophie's roomie is the first vampire to be able to attend, and the other students aren't happy that she's there.  They also aren't too impressed with Sophie - and the fact that Sophie was brought up not know much about her heritage or powers doesn't help matters much...

So the story is cooking along, people are being met, conflict is introduced, stereotypes and bigotry between species, etc.  And then for me the story suddenly - about four fifths of the way in - stopped being so interesting to me.  Can't put my finger on the reason why.  Then suddenly - here comes the final conflict, some scary build up and..... a sudden quick resolution.  Almost anticlimactic.   I don't know if it's because it was YA, or if I'm possibly judging through eyes that are used to reading adult novels.  But the last section of the novel seemed almost like it was a different style of writing.  

However - overall, I still think Hex Hall was a good, interesting, chuckle inducing read with some suspense weaved within the story.  And there's just a bit of a twist in I didn't see coming at first.  Possibly, if I were about 13 or so, I would have been totally wowed.  But I'm in my 50's so that's most likely why I wasn't completely amazed by the story.  I still say that Hex Hall was a fun read though.  Fun with some laughs and that counts for a lot.  So does the fact that the teens sounded like teens.

It's Monday, and I had a long weekend of resting/recuperating...

 Not that I'm particularly active....but this weekend was almost as much sleeping as last weekend.  With the added bonus of having to take a day off work because of a pain flare up.  The flare up is pretty much under control now, but once in a while I get a flash memory of Friday and shudder.  ugh.  Hope I don't get many of those!  On a positive spin, at least I was able to visit more with the grandson between napping.  We had a couple of good talks.  The kind of talks you can only have with a four year old boy.  :)  

Well, It's that time again - Monday.  Which means we've survived another week and now get to start a new week...

And it also means we get to list what we've been reading, what we've finished reading and sometimes what we've planned to read with the help of the Monday Meme hosted by Sheila of Book Journey. Great fun - and all participants should be aware that your TBR pile might grow by leaps and bounds.....

Finished Reading

I didn't think I was going to read much this week.  The week started out very slowly for me, but when Friday rolled around and I ended up laid up in bed, the reading took off like a reading storm. (what exactly does a reading storm sound or look like?  I don't know - they aren't real) So I ended up finishing two books, and getting a good start on a third.

:)

Midnight Blue-Light Special

by Seanan McGuire

Incryptid #2 - The continuing adventures of Verity Price, Dominic DeLuca and the cryptids of Manhattan.  The Covenant - death to all cryptids are coming, and Dominic is torn between his new found lust/love of Very and his inbred loyalty to the Covenant.  Some heavy duty stuff along with humor.

Boyfriend From Hell

by Jamie Quaid

Saturn's Daughter #1

A weird zone of Baltimore that's been contaminated with chemicals and pollution.  An angry woman with authority issues and strange powers that are popping up...A weird book that was in turns interesting...and not so interesting.  (More on that when I review.)

I also read a fun short story from an anthology;

Brown Goes Full Steam Ahead

by J.A. Campbell

Penny Dread Tales 3 Anthology

Brown is one of Campbell's dog characters, in fact the ancestor of Doc of vampire hunting fame.  I love these dog stories, told from the DOG's pov.  Campbell does a very good job of making her characters sound like dogs, or as I imagine an intelligent dog would sound.

Current Reads

I've started a few.

I started Blood Kin, (M.J. Scott) and then - ONCE AGAIN - I've realized that this is the second in a series.  Second time in a month I've done this, picked the second in a series to buy.  grrrr.  I was fooled by seeing the (now known to me as the third) book in the store, thought it was the second, so I looked for the book before - having looked in the third book for other books written, and only saw one other book listed.  so I've put off reading this, since I would rather start a series with the first, especially when the series is your average linear series. 

So I grabbed another book that's been languishing on my shelves for a while - even though I'm not sure I'm in the mood for this type of read...  Roil by Trent Jamieson.  #1 of the Nightbound Land duology.  Paraphrased from the blurb - a four thousand year old man, a young man who has an addiction problem, a young woman with vengeance in her heart; they're all fighting this phenomenon known as The Roil - which takes over whole cities, feeding on the people and ruining life.  I like the premise of the novel, but I'm not sure I'm in the mood for wholescale mayhem and disaster type of a novel right now.

Nor am I in the mood for flippant heroines....I'm not sure what I'm in the mood for, this might be one of those weeks where I put around, not quite getting into ANY book.  Maybe I should re-read a novel, a favorite SciFi from long ago (like Nylon Angel).  Or a favorite Terry Pratchett discworld novel.....  Or maybe it's time for a regular fiction novel - or a (shudder) romance novel - one light on the hot-n-heavy heaving bosoms or throbbing man parts....

huh.

Well - we'll just have to see.