Classics I want to read

There is always a certain satisfaction in grabbing a book that you have heard good things about. With certain book classics you have the package as well as a good book. I love when the book I’m reading comes in beautiful hardcover edition with golden or silver decoration and has that special feel to it. I like to see how people who made the book – not only the writer – took time and special care about how it will look like. Like the soft leather cover, beautiful illustrations or rich colors and bold font.

This is most common with classic books. They get to be pretty!

Here is a list of classic books I would like to read and hope I will get them as a reading assignment in my RL book club so I can enjoy them with others. I opted to try finding really pretty cover editions! With these books we can even compare editions and I like when people start talking about books in hedonistic way without thinking they are weird.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

I love reading historical romance books and I’m ashamed to admit I have never read this one!

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

I often get to thinking on books with strong female characters. I really have no excuse for not reading this one sooner!

The Count of Monte Christo by Alexandre Dumas

This one is a chubby one! I think I might be able to push it trough for RL book club next year. This one will need to be added at least two months in advance for everyone to have enough time.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland  &

Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll

Ever since I first saw them these Barnes & Noble leather bound edition has made me want to read more classics! I think I had this book for school assignment but somehow dodged it. Not sure

Gone with the Wind  by Margaret Mitchell

Scarlett has been my childhood hero. And I have never read the book! Must find the time to read the book already!

The Iliad and The Odyssey by Homer

I have read the Illiad in high school and did not like the theme. I would really love to read Odyssey though. I live close to the Mediterranean and it might be a good chance to get a more firm traveling goal.

My love of stories knows no bounds. I love collections of short stories and mythologies. Fairy tales and folk tales are always on my reading list!

The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer

Grimm’s Complete Fairy Tales

by Jacob Grimm, Wilhelm Grimm

Thousand and One Nights aka Arabian Nights

The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio

I did read part of Thousand and One Nights aka Arabian Nights for college assignment and I thought Decameron good enough to come back to it again one day. These make just a small portion of classic books that I want to read and own in a pretty edition for my bookshelf.

Rival – Book Review

Finished reading

Rival (Fall Away book 3) by Penelope Douglas

★★★★

Expectation

Ever since I’ve come across this author as a spur of the moment Kindle buy I love this series! The coming of age stories with abundance of teen angst and drama is simply heart rendering. I loved the intro to this book I read at the end of the book two. It seemed intense, erotic and exciting.

That beautiful girl that hated me, and I hated her, but – goddamn it – I loved how we hated, because it was raw and real.   ~ Madoc (Rival)

Summary

First two books were based on a character couple Jared and Tate. This book is centered on Jareds best friend Madoc and his stepsister Fallon. As with the first two books this one is intense and needs a serious mature readers only warning.

And the corner of my mouth turned up as I made my way trough the crowd. She was stiff as an ice cube when I took her from Aidan, and then she’d melted like liquid in my arms. Now she was a puddle all over the dance floor. 

I am the man.  ~ Madoc on Fallon (Rival)

Chapters are written from the perspective of both main characters. There is drama galore and some of the plot twists are seriously messed up. Like in the first two books, readers can go trough the rainbow of emotions.

As you can see from the quotes in this post I really appreciate the main character. His personal growth trough the books and the way he handles himself is kinda dreamy. There was this one line that reminded me of Rhett Buttler type of character!

Madoc smiled, grabbing me by the back of my neck and gently bringing my head into his chest.

“Finish, Father,” he ordered over my head. “She needs to be kissed.” 

The laughter in his voice was intoxicating. And I definitely needed to be kissed.

~ Fallon  (Rival)

Seriously though, the characters have a certain dimensions that make them easy to relate to. They all have their flaws and their good sides, things they love and care about and things they can not live without.

All character relationships in this book are dramatic. Characters you are supposed to hate are very easy to hate and lament upon. Once you get into this book emotionally you are in for a wild ride. No character is to be taken lightly.

I’d stopped growing when Fallon left. And I started again when she came home.

You have to have something to love. Something to fight for to make a living a goal instead of a job.

~ Madoc (Rival)

The sex scenes were more than steamy and something about the rawness of pleasure, pain and emotional expression makes them really work for me. The author plays a lot with certain forbidden areas and pushes her character into directions that others might have avoided.

But in the words of Madoc I liked the freedom to explore and take risks.

Conclusion

I can honestly say I fell bad about not having a way with making all these quotes into great pictures but some of these were just to good to leave out. I admire the lust for life and the sheer energy these characters posses in spite all the drama and hardships they go trough.

I will continue this book series with

Book series I love and read

I am a great fan of book series!

 

Once I really get into the story the thing I start to care about are characters. Sometimes it is the likable villain or sometimes it is a quirky comic relief. And then I want to know more about those characters. So much more that sometimes I make up stories and situations for them to go trough. I never write them down but I admit to have this weird habit.

So without further ado here are some of the book series that grace my shelves. These are the book series I love and buy to own in case somewhere down in the future I manage to find the time to read them again again! On this list there are ten of them and these are just those with most books in a series.

First let start with the proverbial Guilty pleasures…

Anita Blake Vampire Hunter book series

by Laurell K. Hamilton.

I have already made few post on this series. I put it here since it is the longest book series I own. I own 23 books of this series ( buying new ones when they come out as paperback editions) and have read some of them repeatedly. This series came to my attention over a decade ago while I was reading other book series by this author. I bought the box set of first four books in the middle of my college exam season and paused all studying to read them. I read all four books in four days! This series has had a few e-book only novellas and a graphic novel edition by Marvel for first three books.

The Hollows book series

by Kim Harrison

This is one of my favorite urban fantasy book series. It is also finished and counts altogether thirteen books. I have ten of them and I am currently reading tenth one. This book series has all kinds of supernatural creatures: witches, elves, vampires, shifters, pixies and some really weird ones. Even though it has dystopian elements I will always see it as urban fantasy. It makes for perfect Halloween reading material! Also there is graphic novel version, few novellas and a book series guide.

 

Immortals After Dark book series

by Kresley Cole

This is a perfect book series for mature readers. It is mostly paranormal romance and erotic themed series of books with abundance of back up characters. Every book is about two different characters and underneath it all is one long story about a really rich world. Personally I find the romantic element inspiring since in every book two characters are destined for each other and are put trough some crazy and soul searching trials. The message of this series is that there is someone for everyone, no matter how weird or strange they may be. I found the first book to be the weakest and I’m glad to say that this book series keeps getting better for me. I’m missing the last two books that came out but have read all that I could put my hands on!

Mercy Thompson book series

&

Alpha and Omega book series

by Patricia Briggs

What I really love about this one is that the author has all her covers made by the same artist Daniel Dos Santos. It gives the whole series some kind of glow and I hope they keep their cooperation. I wish more authors would do this. The series is rich urban fantasy with plenty of characters to love and hate. The major characters simply shine trough the series with how well written they are. I love characters that work their flaws to their advantage. This is a book series that makes you grow with their characters. Mercy Thompson was the book series that came first but since the author has created so many strong characters what started as a short story about one of the back up characters soon turned into a book series on its own. Both book series keep expanding the world that the author created and it is amazing to read how one book series reflects and changes the other.

Kushiel’s Legacy book series

by Jacqueline Carey

This book series is made of three trilogies. Each trilogy has a different main character. This is quite serious book series with lots of epic elements concerning religion, philosophy and matters of personal belief. It is a fantasy afterall, but lots of elements from these books bugged me. All the books are in the chubby category and are 500+ pages. Content is mostly adult and it requires a certain perspective from the reader. I’ve read first two trilogies and own all of them. Yes it annoys me that the first two trilogies I have are American paperback editions and the last on is British paperback edition that is also larger in size.

Vorkosigan Saga book series

by Lois McMaster Bujold

This is the only truly science fiction book series I have on my bookshelf. It is a favorite book series for my boyfriend witch just gave me an excuse to buy it. We own the Croatian translation and all covers were made by Esad. T. Ribić. All other book cover editions look really colorful and shiny.  I read only few books out of sixteen we have. I never thought I would like it since I’m not really a fan of space opera genre. Strangely I loved it. What it makes it different from most books of the genre is how well the characters are made. Even though the futuristic and technology filled world they live in characters are surprisingly human and easy to relate to. I never expected to find so much emotions in space action book series. I thought all the technology and aliens would somehow clog the elements I usually love in books. I’m glad I was wrong.

Vampire Chronicles book series

by Anne Rice

This is one of the book series I started collecting since I wanted to read it all one day. I’m never really sure how many book there are in this series since I started collecting all things Anne Rice including some of her more exotic work. She actually has more than one pseudonym as a writer. I don’t have all the books in this series and I know I’m missing the third one Queen of the Damned. This book series is what I think to be mandatory reading for everyone who considers themselves reader of vampire fiction. This is the author that wrote about vampires for a living when they were not mainstream cultural quirk. I started reading the first book in the series but could not concentrate enough to separate it from the movie I watched many times. I postponed it for reading when the movie gets a bit less fresh in my mind. What I read was nothing like the movie and I think I know why the whole fiasco with the author complaining about movie versions of her books was about. I hope I get started on this series soon!

Angélique book series

by Anne and Serge Golon

This book series I inherited from my family. It is the only other on this list that I have in Croatian translation. It is a romantic adventure with historic elements. It has had a movie adaptation in the seventies and one last year. I have read the first book when I was in high school. It is one of the trashy romantic books that generations have read and now I think it is a classic. Some might even consider it to be porn for women all around the globe. I’m also scared of finding out how many of the historical and political elements were real and how many were just adapted to the books.

Southern Vampire Mysteries book series

by Charlaine Harris

 

This is one of the book series I started reading long before the TV show based on it became a fad. Tru Blood had its perks but I really loved the books. Some characters were better adapted to the TV version but the main characters were better in the books for me. When I first heard about the title Southern Vampire Mysteries and it kept coming up in my Amazon account as a recommendation I was not interested or impressed. After I started reading I got hooked. When the TV show was in full swing I kinda started losing interested. What really annoyed me is that I started buying the British edition and the publisher decided to change book cover style in the middle of it due to popularity of the TV show. I read all but last two books in the series. I still need to buy the last two and I plan to finish this book series some day.

Iron Druid Chronicles book series

by Kevin Hearne

This is one of the last book series I started collecting. It is a book series I read with my boyfriend. One of the rare we can both enjoy reading. The best parts about this book series are mythology and comedy. Entertaining read! I read all but last two books and I still need to buy the last one that comes out next year!

String Theory – Book Reveiw

Finished reading:

String Theory (Wayward volume 1) by Jim Zub; Steve Cummings ★★★★

Expectation

First of all I really like the creepy cats on the cover.  This is one of the newer titles from Image comics and it came out this year. I heard some positive reviews and decided to give it a go.

Summary

After I read the introduction I liked this graphic novel even more. It is a story about a girl moving to Japan to live with her mother who is Japanese. Shes never been there and the readers can see much of it trough her eyes. New and intriguing country, people and culture.

We come across a lot of creatures from Japanese mythology. The group of heroes starts forming and what I really like about the story is a the part where it woke up some Buffy feels. Monsters and dangers are many. There are even more questions and mysteries including the main characters themselves. But the ease at which they are all put together reminded me of Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV series.

At first I was rethinking doing the review but when I saw how little is known about it I decided it needs some attention. The lack of images online almost made me want to snap some pictures from the copy I was reading.

Conclusion

I would like to continue reading Wayward graphic novel. It is cool and story wise intriguing. The Japanese letters trough the artwork made me regret not finishing lessons in Japanese I used to learn. Who knows I might still make it one day!

Artwork is cool and I like the additions at the end of the volume 1. Monster explanation and extra graphics. What irked me is the fact that it ended all too soon and ended at a major cliffhanger. It made me mad and in want of a next volume!

Opal – Book Review

Finished reading:

Opal (Lux book 3) by Jennifer L. Armentrout ★★

Expectation

I got the first book in Lux series Obsidian years ago. I read it and I liked it and could not wait to get my hands on the next book – Onyx. It took me a while to scrape some money to purchase it and I decided I want to have next two books since the need to keep reading was so great! I read the second book and it was not as good as the first one but still good. It took me quite a bit time to start reading the third book – Opal. 

Summary

These books are YA paranormal romance. The supernatural element here are aliens!

The backstory was interesting and the two main characters had great chemistry! It did not hurt that the main female character Katy is an avid reader and reviewer blogger! Third book in and some of these cheesy cliches started to annoy me.  Daemon and Katy are so politically correct as a YA couple that their great chemistry turned into predictable PG mush. I expected more in terms of their relationship…

“He…he kisses like he’s dying of thirst, and I’m water.” I smacked my hands over my hot face. “I can’t believe I just said that out loud.” Lesa giggled. “Sounds like one of those romance books you read.” “It does.” I started giggling. “But, oh Lordie Lord, it’s true. I’m like a puddle of mush when he kisses me. It’s embarrassing. I’m so, like, ‘Thank you, can I have another?’ Sad.”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, Opal

So I got a bit nostalgic reading this…

No matter how much I tried I just could not get into this book. I still like the alien story background but somehow it all got messed up in teen drama and angst too much. I felt this book lacks balance. One minute it is cheesy to the point of puking and the next it is action packed but filled with plot holes.

“It sucked – sucked worse than people who pirated books, sucked more than waiting a year for the next book in a beloved series, and sucked more than a brutal cliffhanger ending.”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, Opal

Conclusion

At the moment I don’t think I will continue this series any time soon. This book ended on a big cliffhanger and I still don’t feel the pull to keep reading. On the positive side there is this one pearl of wisdom that caught my attention:

“So grieve what you had to do. Mourn it, but never, ever blame yourself for things that are beyond your control.”
― Jennifer L. Armentrout, Opal

Pines – Book Review

Finished reading:

Pines (Wayward Pines book 1 ) by Blake Crouch ★★★★

Expectation

I first picked up this book because I wanted to read something that came out recently and is new to the bookstore I work in. Promo for the TV series just started appearing all around and I like Matt Dillon. When the show started to seem like Twin Peak I was really intrigued.

“Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t after you. Joseph Heller”
― Blake Crouch, Pines

Summary

It took me three sittings to read this book trough. First part was okay and I had trouble with getting into strange survival mode and fighting instincts of the main character. I’m glad we read this book from perspective of more than just one main character.

Second part of the book was plain scary and horrible – I was scared and disgusted since I don’t respond well to graphic violence. And readers be warned that there are some really disturbing scenes in this book.

“His experience, there was darkness everywhere human beings gathered. The way of the world. Perfection was a surface thing. The epidermis. Cut a few layers deep, you begin to see some darker shades. Cut to the bone – pitch black.”
― Blake Crouch, Pines

What I was waiting on the whole book was a science fiction part of the book that was promised all along. Revealing it would be a major spoiler so I will not say anything.

Conclusion

I loved the backstory. It was enough for me to want to watch the TV series. There are many unanswered questions but the thesis intrigued me quite a bit. At the end of the book was an actual afterword from the author explaining his inspiration and thanking the creators of Twin Peaks and some other shows that made his fascination turn into this book. All the TV shows he mentioned were my favorite so it is no wonder I liked this book and story it suggests.

One Weird Trick – Book Review

Finished reading:

One Weird Trick (Sex Criminals vol 1) by Matt Fraction, Chip Zdrasky ★★★

Expectation

I have heard this graphic novel praised when it first came out. The title and the idea as it was presented to me was kinda weird and slightly unfathomable.

A mature readers warning is a must here!

The idea where main characters have a supernatural ability to stop time when they have sex. But wait it gets weirder…

 

Summary

It starts out as a coming of age story only much more directed to sexual awakening. Main female character discovers the joy of her big O and her ability to stop time while she reaches an orgasm. Self loving aside imagine how boring and silly your sex partner must be for someone like that. Everything changes when she meets Jon who is like her.

This graphic novel is filled with extremely funny and witty details I really liked. It speaks about sex and all things related in a very non-judgemental and liberating way. I found it very refreshing. It is clear that the authors had much fun creating it.

The details on the drawings range from hilarious to satire. The artwork is simple and easy to follow. I liked how the characters were presented and the fact that the main heroine is a hardcore librarian struck a nerve with me.

Conclusion

The sheer amount of sexual freedom in this book is liberating and noteworthy. I like the weird and crazy ways the authors presented two people falling in love. These are just the characters, but explaining plot-twist would be just revealing too much.

 

Reading more books at the same time!

I am in the middle of reading more than one book most of the time. Maybe once a year I have a very short time with all books read and none started. I get very moody with my reading and that is the reason I keep looking for different books to read at the same time.

At the moment I’m reading:

Contes de Grimm by Marc Girard

Croatian translation of a french psychoanalyst Marc Girard. I’ve been reading it for a few months now and it is a very slow and difficult reading material. Last month I’ve read a similar type of a book and that made this one low priority.

Opal (Lux book 3) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

This is a YA paranormal romance with aliens! I thought this book was gonna go much faster but it has been years since I’ve read first two books in the series. It is not as good as I remember and that is slowing me down.

A Perfect Blood (The Hollows book 10) by Kim Harrison

Urban fantasy series at it’s finest! Truth be told I’ve only read the intro. I love this series and I guess I’m waiting for a good time to cuddle up with it when nobody will bother me and I can enjoy it to the fullest!

Neuromancer (Sprawl Trilogy book 1) by William Gibson

This cyberpunk futuristic novel I started reading last month. I don’t like the feel of it so far but as it stands for a classic that  was first published the year I was born I’m more than willing to give it a chance.  I don’t think I’ll finish it this month.

Pines (Wayward Pines book 1 ) by Blake Crouch

This book was a spur of the moment pick. I wanted to pick some new arrival in the bookstore I work in. So far I’m not really sure what to think of it and I’m one third of the book in. It’s a thriller and has a total Twin Peaks feel to it. There is a HBO TV series by it and I haven’t watched it yet.

Sex Criminals (Sex Criminals vol 1) by Matt Fraction, Chip Zdrasky

This is a graphic novel I heard good good reviews few years back when it first came out. So far I like it and will probably post a review on it in a few days. I miss reading good graphic novels and I have one other I plan to read as well.

With all of these above I still have a craving for some historical romance genre. I might add some of that soon!

Monthly reading review – September 2015

This September I have read:

Wallbanger (Cocktal series book 1) by Alice Clayton ★★★★
Sass & Sorcery (Rat Queens vol 1) by Kurtis J. Wiebe (Author), Roc Upchurch (Illustrator) ★★★★★
The Earl’s Secret Bargain (Marriage by Deceit Book 1) by Ruth Ann Nordin ★★★
Dancing with the Duke (Landing a Lord series Book 0) by Theresa Medeiros ★★
A God to Wed Her by Yamila Abraham ★★★
Women who run with the wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes ★★★★

1. How many books you’ve read last month? Are you happy with the amount you read?

This September I read less books than I expected – 6 books. I’m not exactly happy to be back with single digit numbers. 

2. What was the best of all the books you’ve read in August? Any scenes or characters that made a lasting impression?

The book that made me happy the most this last month is a graphic novel. Sass & Sorcery (Rat Queens vol 1). It has been months since I read a graphic  novel and this one got me really nostalgic for DnD gaming and graphic novels and manga series. Here is the review.

3. Were there any not so good books for you last month? What made it hard or not enjoyable to read?

I’m so used to finding great freebie books to read that sometimes I have high standards for them. The least enjoyable book this September was Dancing with the Duke (Landing a Lord series Book 0). I found it much to easy and predictable. I guess I prefer the weirder books and stranger plots. This one was not exactly bad but I did not like how plain it was for me.

4. How did the books you were reading last month fit in your reading plans if you had any?

Most of my reading plans were sucked up by Women who run with the wolves. This chubby book got me busy most of the month. I loved the fact that I managed to read it whole. It was a book club assignment and I would have never read it on my own. 

5. Any updates on the series you are reading or are you starting any new series?

This month was all about starting new book series. From five new book series and authors I will probably continue two. I am currently reading two books that actually continue some old favorite series.

6. Would you like to recommend any books or authors you’ve been reading this last month?

I would like to recommend Women who run with the wolves to every woman out there. But I understand that this book is something every woman has to get in her own time at her own pace. It is not something to rush or force.

I have three reading in progress books I’m reading on trough October. First is again a book club assignment but two are long ago favorite series continuation and I’m feeling pretty good about them!

 

READING IN PROGRESS:

The Circle by Dave Eggers
Opal (Lux book 3) by Jennifer L. Armentrout
A Perfect Blood (The Hollows book 10) by Kim Harrison