Tuesday Teaser

****just a quick FYI. I usually try to link book covers to excerpts of the book (when I can find an excerpt). If I don't have an excerpt site handy, then I prefer to link author names and book covers to the author's website, rather than a bookstore. I figure all necessary information and other fun things can be found at the author's website, so I would rather to that than provide major bookstores with free advertising...however, I do occasionally provide links to bookstores - just for convenience or if someone specifically requests so. I do this on all of my posts, excepting the posts where I don't post ANY links. It's a lotof work, and sometimes I just can't do it. Remember....FREE BLOG lol :)****

Teaser Tuesdays is a very fun meme hosted by Miz B at Should Be Reading. This is one of my favorite memes, and one of the two memes that I do on a fairly regular basis. :) Somewhat keeps me on a schedule.

Tonight, however (or today) I'm going to list the books I splurged on with my gift-card-presents. It was a huge splurge. Three separate people gave me gift cards, and two friends sent me books so it was fun week for books.

:)

One of the books I received in the mail I posted about last week, Pashazade by Jon Courtney Grimwood. It's a combo mystery/alternate world history novel. Sounds interesting.

The other book I received in the mail is from another friend -
Apple's Discord by Kelley Carrie Vaughn. I'm pretty sure that this is going to be a good book - Carrie Vaughn is a pretty good writer. This one is a standalone novel, fantasy. Looking forward to reading it...here's a tease from the first page.

'Close to town, bells and candy canes made of faded tinsel decorated the telephone poles. The same decorations had hung on the poles every year for as long as Evie could remember; they had no sparkle left.'

I'm sure most of you already know that Carrie Vaughn is the author of the Kitty Norville series (werewolves)

Most of the books I bought on my spree were series books that I hadn't yet bought, for one reason or another. (I really don't know why - just didn't get around to them yet? no one really knows, much less ME. lol)
I did find two by an author that I've been eyeing...or rather I've been eyeing her first book - not her (I'm married, for chrissakes!!!besides the whole not on that team thing. lol)

I saw Zoo City by Lauren Beukes on the shelf and the cover kind of jumped out at me. How many book covers do you see with an obviously "Person of Color" on the cover, complete with natural hair, non-straightened, no weave...just hair? Not many....You could count the covers on one hand....probably using only a couple fingers. I'm speaking about the adult section, not that the young adult is much better, but you're more likely to see a mix of colors on young adult covers,and way more on children's covers than on adult urban fantasy or scifi. Just sayin'. Allow me to step down from my soap box, please... Anyway, here's a tease from the first page (and by the way, the blurb pulled me into buying the book "...Zinzi December has a Sloth on her back....")

the tease: 'Morning light the sulphur color of the mine dumps seeps across Johannesburg's skyline and sears through my window. My own personal bat signal. Or a reminder that I really need to get curtains. '

And from Moxyland (the book I keep picking up and putting back in indecision) a tease from the first page:
'It's nothing. An injectable. A prick. No hospital involved. Like a booster shot with an added boost.
Just keep telling yourself.'
Lauren Beukes lives in South Africa - in case you're looking for books written by authors from other countries. There is also a soundtrack available, although I couldn't figure out how to sample it, so I have no idea what it sounds like.
I'm looking forward to these two books, only I'm not sure which one to read first...they don't seem to be a series, just two books by the same author. hmmm, choices, choices. :)

and now, the section where I go on and on about book buys. :)

From a series by Caitlin Kittredge that I've been reading, (and yet haven't read lately)....time flew by and there were so many brand-new to me and debut books that came out in 2010 that a lot of series that I usually read ended up taking a back seat...except for the titans of my favs, such as Ilona Andrews, Patricia Briggs...etc.

I bought Witch Craft, the fourth in the Nocturne City novels - and Daemon's Mark - the fifth in the series. Sorry- could not find an excerpt for Daemon's Mark.

Interestingly, the blurbs on the back of both books are THE SAME. EXACTLY WORD FOR WORD the SAME. A mistake. Now if I hadn't already known this I wouldn't have bought Daemon's Mark, thinking that the publishers have found yet another way to make us buy multiple copies of the same book. How many of you have picked up a book with a very cool cover by an author you enjoy reading only to DISCOVER when you get home that you ALREADY OWN THIS BOOK, a copy with a different cover. (Sneaky bastards!) This happened to me a few times, until I started looking at the copyright info inside the books.

A couple years ago I read a book called Spiral Hunt by Margaret Ronald. At the time, I could find no information on it, and found no reviews other than Amazon. I loved the book-it was damned good. The only thing I could find was the author's blog, with free online fiction. I saw that she was working on another book, but it was a long ways from being done. I was so happy last year to see Wild Hunt in the stores, yet it was released with virtually NO fanfare. Just saw it one day on the store shelf, so I bought it knowing it would be good.....but I haven't read it yet. I want to. Just been busy...Well, I went to the store the other day and saw THIS. The third in the series - Soul Hunt. This time, I recently saw a review for Soul Hunt...or maybe it was a Waiting on Wednesday post. But I did know to be on the lookout this time, just didn't realize it was this soon. So - happy to have it, and when I do finally read the second book, I'll have the third novel ready to open. Right away. :)

Another book that I kept picking up and putting down - mostly because I thought I had already purchased it, was A Local Habitation by Seanan McGuire. I was so sure that I already bought it, that when the third book came out I bought it, thinking that now I had all three. Nope. Didn't have them. Still think I already bought it though. I did look all over in all the places that I stash books...so unless it's way in the middle of underneath the bed...a place that I cannot reach or see - then I really don't have A Local Habitation. I do now though. :) Yes I do. Bought it....(possibly) again. Not really sure. Maybe it's the menopause.... :( I've hear that menopause does some crazy things with the memory......what!? (I know, possibly TMI, but that's what you get when you read a blog from a semi-crazed aging, at times bitter, older woman. You have to put up with this crazy talk once in a while. lol. It's good for your soul though. )***

And last but not least - I read this book named Unclean Spirits by M.L.N. Hanover a couple of years ago. I really enjoyed it - it was different than other urban fantasy and I also liked the cover - cool tattoo work was apparent, and I've always loved intricate tattoo and body art. The second book came out, Darker Angels, and I bought that one, and put it aside to catch up on other reading.....and when I went book shopping I saw this third novel...Vicious Grace. Wow. Now I have another set of books ready for a reading frenzy. :) See? blink a couple times and next thing you know these writers have gone ahead with their lives with our without you, publishing books, writing more, putting out series. :)

I also read The Summoning years ago - Kelley Armstrong. Bought The Awakening .(the second novel)...and kept thinking of buying The Reckoning - but never did...until just now. I finally bought it, now I have the first three novels of her young adult series in hardback. Now I need to read the second two....(do you see a pattern here?) If I decide I don't want them, I can always donate them to the school library. I remember thinking (yaddayadda, blahblahblah)that the first book would be appropriate for the library, no necking, no teen sex, etc. Not that I want to censor books, (totally against censorship - but I do believe in common sense) but we have k-8th grade and I don't want any parents coming down on my head....on the other hand, I'm glad to recommend books to kids that we don't have in the library. Thankfully, there seems to be very few parents (in my area, anyway) who believe they should decide for all others, what all children should or shouldn't read. On many different levels, I've always resented that type of thing - mostly because I have a hard time with people telling me what to do, what to read, what not to read, etc. This is why it's very hard for me to be an employee....unless I respect the employer.

Other books I've got in my tbr pile from series....

Rachel Vincent's Prey, and waiting for Alpha

Carrie Vaughn's last three werewolf novels (ouch!)

There's more, but now I'm embarrassed to admit it. lol

Need to start focusing on reading

On Monday I had played around with this idea of limiting or scheduling my internet/reading time.

I think I might try to read every other night - just read, no e-mails, no facebook, no cityville, no farmville, no....stuff. Just sit and enjoy a book.

Then on the other days, go crazy on the internet. Plant crops that will take two days to harvest on Farmville, play city ville, catch up on frontierville.....It might work. Might as well try, because my reading has really been suffering and I miss sitting down and focusing on a good book.

***update on the whole internet/reading scheduling thing - it's late, late Monday now - or rather it's very early Tuesday morning and I've already broken the schedule.

Monday was going to be my first solely reading night....So I ate dinner, spoke with my in-house family for a few minutes and then lay on the couch with my book in my hand and the remote in another hand (the other hand was also mine) ......that was at 7:30. At 11:00 I woke up with the book right in front of my face - still closed - and the remote still in my hand.....shivering.

Well - so much for reading.

On top of that - before I had even sat down, I had logged on to farmville. I remembered that I had planted something that had to be harvested TONIGHT. It would have withered, and then wasted my farmville coins! can't have that = I'm trying to save up 2 millions coins to expand my farm! GAWD!!!!!

So, no reading, I did go on the internet for a bit, and to do this post....

I don't know whether to try again, or just give up.

Life is short!

why stress myself over difficult goals that won't affect the world????

MWWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA....sorry - evil laugh slipped out for no apparent reason...see above***