Friday Update

My To Be Read pile is getting out of control. Here's a little window into my life: our bedroom is really small. Since we moved in, I've slept on the side of the bed next to the bathroom door and since there wasn't much room, I could only put books on the bedside table, not on the floor. But we switched sides of the bed, and now I have room on the floor for books. Bwah-ha-ha! I don't know if there are actually more TBR books, or just that, now that they are piled next to me, instead of spread around the house, it looks like there are.

I picked up two books at the library book sale the other day (the little permanent one, not the big one), just for the heck of it, and both of them are about vampires. I'm so predictable.

Breaking Dawn (The Twilight Saga, Book 4): I own 1 and 2, actually, bought new on a whim when they came out in paperback. I've resisted spending money on #3, Eclipse, hoping that someday, it will actually be available at the library. But now I've gone and bought #4, so I have to read the third one first, which means a trip to the book store. Sigh. I'm almost annoyed to be reading these books. Curse you, Stephanie Meyer, for writing such compelling trash!

The Harlequin (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter) by Laurell K. Hamilton: I've never read anything by Hamilton, so I figured why the heck not. Then again, this is book #15 (Yikes!) in the series, so if I like it, its opened up a whole new thing for me to obsessively buy. This is a bad thing, just in case that's not clear.

In other, more highbrow, news - Congratulations to Daniel Alarcón, winner of the new International Literature Award for his novel Lost City Radio. I haven't read Lost City Radio, but I read and enjoyed his book of short stories, War By Candlelight.

Enjoy your weekend, y'all!

Architecture Links

Here's something I haven't done in a while - interesting architecture links.

Architects Hawking Cars at ArchiDose: I always love seeing if I can spot what buildings are in the back drop of car ads. When Sci-arc's new building (aka the freight depot) first opened, it was constantly being used in car ads (and in movies, but that's another topic). I remember one time, we were all gawking out a window at a shoot and some poor production assistant had to come shoo us all away, as we were interfering with the shot.

The Little Town That Los Angeles Killed at metal_floss: While we're sort of on the topic of LA, here's a scary story with some beautiful photos of a modern-day ghost town.

Fictional Architects in Movies at Arch Daily: This is seriously one of my favorite topics. The list in this article isn't even complete, as the commenters and I could name several more (plus, as this is just movies, it doesn't even cover TV or ads). But seriously, I don't know what I love more - how architects are assumed to be cool enough to be in movies (I assure you we are all actually big geeks) or how unrealistically the profession is portrayed in most movies (FYI, the fancy models you see are the kind we make for developers, not the ones we actually work from). Either way, I always get such a kick out of seeing architects in movies.

Review: Year of the Horse

Year of the Horse is so different, so charming, and so much fun, and I am very excited to share it with you. I had no idea what this book was going to be like when I read it and I really liked how unexpected that made the plot, so I don't want to share too much with you. Rather than give you the dry book-flap description, I'll share one I found in an Authors Unleashed interview with the author:

Year of the Horse tells the story of a first-generation American boy by the name of Yen Tzu-lu (his friends call him Lu). He is the child of Chinese immigrants who gets taken along on an adventure by a famous gun-fighter and mystic named Jack Straw, and Jack’s gang of outlaws. They aim to steal a gold mine, and Lu has been hired on as an explosives expert (he doesn’t know a thing about explosives, by the way). Needless to say, they have all sorts of adventures...

Mostly, Year of the Horse is a well-written but standard coming-of-age adventure story, set in the post-Civil War West. Lu learns to ride a horse, shoot a gun, likes a girl, sees the world beyond his front step, and grows up. It reminded me a bit of Huck Finn, with its interesting cast of characters and tone. But what made it so special for me was the vein of supernatural running through the story. It was so subtle at first - did Lu really see Jack put cigarette smoke in his pocket? - but by the time they get to climatic fight with the mysterious Yankee, this story has morphed into a tall tale, in the very best sense of the term.

I won't say this book was perfect - I found the Washington Irving references to be out of place and silly, rather than fun - but it was great. I think kids of all ages will love it.

Buy Year of the Horse: A Novel on Amazon.

Where Do the Books Come From?

My husband is pretty sure my books are breeding, but in actuality, I buy most of them. I've seen a lot of bloggers list where the last 20 books they've reviewed came from, and in honor of the FTC's new rules (even though I don't think they really apply to unpaid book bloggers), I thought I would do the same.

• The Dark is Rising: Bought used.
• The Magician's Elephant: At my request, from Publisher for review.
• Walking the Bible: Bought new.
• Looking for Alaska: Bought new.
• Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife: Library (actually, I borrowed it from a friend, but he had borrowed it from the library).
• Catching Fire: Bought new. And in hardcover even! Because, like crack, the first one may be free, but then they get you as a repeat customer.
• No Dogs in Heaven?: Bought new.
• Good Omens: Borrowed (so to speak) from my husband. Since he's owned it for probably 15 years, I think we can safely assume he bought it at some point.
• The Prizewinner of Defiance Ohio: Bought used.
• Black Water: Bought used, a million years ago.
• Witch World: Another one from my husband.
• The Book of Unholy Mischief: From Author for review, via Pump Up Your Book Promotions tour.
• The Name of the Wind: Gift.
• The Middle Place: Bought new.
• The Android's Dream: Borrowed from friend.
• The House of the Scorpion: Bought used.
• Dead Until Dark, Living Dead in Dallas, and Club Dead (Sookie Stackhouse novels 1-3): Bought new.
• Broken (Women of the Otherworld, Book 6): Gift.
• The 19th Wife: Bought used.
• Terra Insegura: At my request, from Author for review, after I won the sequel in a contest on his blog. Er, um, I got that backwards. This is the sequel, which I won in a contest. The author gave me Marserguro, the first book.

And there you have it. What did we learn? Only 3 out of 20 were review copies and I spend way too much money on books.

Teaser Tuesday 10/6

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along!

Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!
• Share the title & author, too, so that others can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!

My first Teaser Tuesday! Woo-hoo!

And their was the new sense, the fifth sense I'd never had, that took the particles from the air and transformed them into strange messages and pleasures and warnings in her brain - scents. They were distracting, confusing to me, but not to her memory.

From The Host: A Novel by Stephanie Meyer

Review: The Dark is Rising

I kind of can't believe I've never read The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper before. It came out in 1970-something (a few years before I was born) received the Newbery Honor, and has been a well-read children's fantasy classic ever since. Not sure how, when I was scarfing up everything the library had to offer as a kid, I missed this one.

On the Midwinter Day that is his eleventh birthday, Will Stanton discovers a special gift -- that he is the last of the Old Ones, immortals dedicated to keeping the world from domination by the forces of evil, the Dark. At once, he is plunged into a quest for the six magical Signs that will one day aid the Old Ones in the final battle between the Dark and the Light. And for the twelve days of Christmas, while the Dark is rising, life for Will is full of wonder, terror, and delight.

I very much enjoyed this book. It is action packed, and fun. This is a classic battle between Good and Evil. There's not much in the way of character development, just an exciting adventure.

I have to say this, though: reading this as an adult for the first time, my experience is just so different than what it would be if I was reading this as a child. So I have to think about how a child reading this today would react. To me, it seems like the book hasn't entirely aged well, particularly the language, as it feels somewhat old-fashioned. I am just not really sure a child reading it today would be as enthralled as I know many adult fans of this book were.

That said, I could be totally wrong, and a child reading this would be just as caught up in the fun story as I was reading it. If you've read it, I'd love to hear your opinion.


Buy The Dark is Rising on Amazon.

Friday Update: Comic Book Store Therapy

Just about everyone enjoys a little retail therapy now and then. Sometimes, for me, its a new outfit, sometimes new shoes, sometimes food. And sometimes, its got to be comic books!


Buffy The Vampire Slayer Omnibus Volume 7


Predators and Prey (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, Vol. 5) (which Amazon is saying isn't even out yet. My comic book store takes care of me!)


In other news, I want to thank Ari at Reading in Color for giving me the Uplifting Blogger Award.