.:.Book Bodega.:. discussion

Post mini reviews of the books you read during the month of December 2012.

I've just started Broken Harbor, by Tana French. I was stuck on a slow subway ride and it was loaded on my Kindle app, so I dug in. I'll also do my holiday comfort reading: A Christmas Carol, which I do every year, and my book of short Maeve Binchy stories, This Year Will Be Different. Plus an old book of short children's stories and fables my grandma used to read to me. Forget what it's called, but I'll take it down from the shelf as soon as I get to Mom's house in Buffalo!

Okay - finished Broken Harbor. Like her other books, it's written from one of those, "I'm a grizzled, hardened-but-with-hidden-vulnerabilities, detective" POVs, which is probably nothing like an actual detective. Still, the mystery and the psychological overlay does pull me in. I thought that the overall wrap-up was too quick and neat, but I did enjoy the book. Now...on to my next December read. Thinking about Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. I already have it loaded on my Kindle.

Finally got into The Book Thief. Glad I gave it a second chance. Starting on The Ballad of West Tenth Street today. It's set in my 'hood. Would do official mini-reviews but then I'd actually have to recruit a few more brain cells. :-) Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate! (And have a happy day, even if you don't.)

Okay - The Ballad of West Tenth Street is set a block away from my own apartment, and I had fun reading about my 'hood. It really is a fairy tale version of NYC, homelessness, whacky geniuses, mental illness, and alcoholism, but I did enjoy it nonetheless. Not a particularly taxing read.

Doctor Who: Magic of the Angels
Fun read for a Doctor Who fan. The "villain" is kind of dumb but whatever.

Radiant
Just made me all the more excited for the final book in the series. Very much looking forward to it.

Currently reading Coraline, The Angel's Kiss: A Melody Malone Mystery, and The Dovekeepers. Enjoying all of them when I read them. None have hooked me.

Update 12/28/12
The Angel's Kiss: A Melody Malone Mystery
So dumb! I wish it was the version that The Doctor reads in The Angels take Manhattan. Oh well!

I've had a bit of a break from the Dr. Who marathon, as holiday plans with people outside of the TARDIS have been taking precedence! Jus started Carnival of Souls and I have to say - within the first few pages, I'm already getting the sense of that tired old formula - "special girl has crush on too-good-to-be-true boy" but I will read on and see what evolves. Re-reading bits of The Witching Hour (Anne Rice). Donated a bunch of old Anne Rice books to a thrift shop, but remembered this one as a bit spooky at the start and wanted to do a sort of skimming before I let it go.

Greetings folks!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season & will have a rockin' new year!

For December I read the following:
The Twelve (The Passage #2) by Justin Cronin - Wow! This epic tale was tough in the beginning but about 150 pages (it's 568 pages!) in the story starts to settle-down in one time period and you are just completely consumed. This was a great testament to the human spirit & willingness to overcome insane odds. It also shows humanities thirst for power and the willingness to do anything to get it regardless of the situation. Way too many characters to keep track of and often I would confuse one person for another but in the latter part of the book that irons itself out. No spoilers here, sweetie. I will say the love stories are shocking and powerful. You feel so connected to them that their yearnings, sadness, hopes become yours. Alicia is the embodiment of a badass with a soft-center. Many tragic things unfolded and left me feeling disgusted but there were beautifully touching moments. This is so much more than just a zombie apocalypse tale; it's about what happens when the bottom falls out from under you and what comes next. Too bad we will have to wait until 2014 for the final book, The City of Mirrors but I'm sure it will be worth it.

Shadow and Bone (The Grisha #1) by Leigh Bardugo - 'Harry Potter' producer, David Heyman, grabbed the rights to make this fantasy film for DreamWorks. I thought that must be a good sign... I was wrong. The writing wasn't awful nor was it stunning and the tale itself wasn't exciting, thrilling, suspenseful but who knows maybe Hollywood can work its magic. Gonna take a pass on this series; book 1 was enough for me.

Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr - 2.5 really
The story starts out very formulaic but soon it unravels in a new direction, which is nice. I'm not a fan of constant repetition in a story. I love a writer the believes their audience is smart, this writer either doesn't feel that way or is trying to figure out the story as we go along. Things are clear such as what year is this, where is this, the fact that there are two world co-existing but what is clear here is that this story could be captivating in someone else's hands. I wouldn't consider this a YA book at all but i guess since the characters are seventeen it falls there. It ends very abruptly. This could have easily been 1 book instead of a series. Will I read bok 2? Maybe depending on what else is out there

I became a Whovian this year (a fan of the long running Doctor Who) These two books are spin-off novels:
*The Angel's Kiss: A Melody Malone Mystery by Justin Richards - Truthfully this really is 2.5 stars but its Doctor Who and well I just love all things DW. It's completely cheeky in that film noir style not to mention how sultry yet bad ass River Song, I mean Melody Malone is. I smiled but nothing was really thrilling about it it was just a nice snack to hold me over until the Christmas Special!
*Doctor Who: Devil in the Smoke by Justin Richards - I can't wait for the Snowmen, Christmas special!!! This was a thrilling & humorous read; a great teaser now bring on The Doctor!

I'm about to begin The Mark of Athena but I dont think I'll finish it before the year is out but we shall see :) I saved this one to end the year with simple because I know that Rick Riordan will not disappoint. I really enjoyed the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series and this spin off series 'Heroes of Olympus' has been nothing but 5 stars so far

My December reading has been light but I still got a few good reads in.
by J.D. Robb
Excellent read! (But than I'd say that about most of the in death series.) Lt. Eve Dallas is on the hook to solve two chemically induced mass murders in a future New York City. The crisis so eminent Dallas agrees to partner with HSO to solve this one. I've been reading this series for so long it's like spending time with family.

by Linda Lael Miller My not so guilty pleasure, a Christmas romance. I'm not usually into the whole wild west genre, but Ms. Miller's story felt historically accurate and I truly loved how Piper tries to be a helpless well mannered school marm who values her reputation more than anything else except maybe her trousseau quilts that are ruined when she saves a man she believes to be an outlaw. Not sure if this is a pro or con but turns out this book is part of a series following the Mckettrick family. So, I have already picked up another from the library. Happy New Year Everyone!

In summary:
- my impressions are abaove.

- which I finally got into and LOVED, once I acclimated to Death being the narrator, I got really pulled into it.

was a re-read before donating to a thrift shop.


is an annual re-read of short stories; fun and familiar!

- another annual re-read. It isn't Christmas without Scrooge!

- this book and series are TOTAL guilty pleasures. Very sweet series that has minimal conflict -- kind of like Lifetime Movies -- borrowed it from the Kindle lending library. Feel-good series about a community of "modern witches." Not gritty at all, but gives a sense of sweetness and community that appeals to me.

And just started but I guess this is destined to be a January read!

Happy New Year, folks! Now - must compile my January challenge list...