'Tis the Season! RIP VII!

Everyone, gather 'round! It's time for RIP VII!

I've decided to read from my own shelves again this year so here's what I've gathered together as options. I pulled everything that fit the bill and also looked FUN because I want to make a big dent in my TBR this season.  There's some non-fiction, YA and middle grade novels, adult fiction and even a gothic classic. A couple of these are for the Top 100 Chapter Books Read-Along and there are some review books that I've been saving too. It has been super hard not to dive into these already!

Map of the Sky by Félix J. Palma (it has Poe, kids!) - review copy
Kraken by China Miéville
Ghost Hunters by Deborah Blum
The Oxford Book of Gothic Tales (Chris Baldick, editor)
How to Make a Golem and Terrify People by Alette J. Willis - review copy
The Ghost of Crutchfield Hall by Mary Downing Hahn
Picture the Dead by Adele Griffin and Lisa Brown
The Beasts of Clawstone Castle by Eva Ibbotson
Dial-a-Ghost by Eva Ibbotson
Which Witch? by Eva Ibbotson
Black Jack by Leon Garfield
The Ogre Downstairs by Diana Wynne Jones
The Monk by Matthew Lewis

Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper
The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper - for the Chapter Book Read-Along
Charlotte Markham and the House of Darkling by Michael Boccacino - review copy
The Woman in Black by Susan Hill (then I can finally watch the movie!)
An Expert in Murder by Nicola Upson
The Infernals by John Connolly
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale
The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman - a reread for the Chapter Book Read-Along
The Midnight Palace by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Advent by James Treadwell - review copy

Twenty-two books? Yeah, that sounds about right. There isn't even a Peril that fits how much I love this event so I'm going to just do my own thing.

Are you joining up this year? What are you planning on reading?

Turning down the lights,
K

New Release: The Prisoner of Heaven

Though I prefer to pick up Carlos Ruiz Zafón's novels in the fall, preferably on a rainy day, I couldn't wait to read The Prisoner of Heaven this summer after attending an author event at my favorite local indie bookstore on the day after this novel was released. I hadn't realized how much I missed the characters he had created until he was speaking of them as old friends. I was tempted to reread The Shadow of the Wind and The Angel's Game but CRZ was clear that the books could be read in any order so I thought I would be fine just reading this new one. Well, I was completely fine with starting right into this book but I am still going to need those rereads because I also remembered how much I love this story and I didn't want to be done with it when I turned the final page.

I don't want to give too much away because I know that many of you have the other two books on your TBR lists. I'll just say that Daniel Sempere, the main character of Shadow, is an adult, working in the family bookstore with his father and his friend Fermín Romero de Torres. Fermín is due to be married soon but must resolve something from his past first. To help him, Daniel must delve into the past and into the history of author David Martín, the man we got to know in Angel. This story treads a bit of new ground in the present but mostly fills in the mysteries of the past, things that cannot help but affect the future.

I really enjoyed this book and what I was able to learn about all of these characters that I thought I already knew. The writing was amazing as always and I'm as much of a CRZ fan as I ever was. If you are also a fan of this series already or if you want a quick introduction to the place that readers of these stories can't stop dreaming about, The Cemetery of Forgotten Books, be sure and download the free short story Rose of Fire. It's set in the fifteenth century and documents the origin of that special place. And when you fall in love again, pick up one of these novels for a read or a reread!

Lost and found,
K

Girls Having Adventures

Just to play a little more catch-up on the stuff I've read recently, I'm going to quick review two more books at once today.

Since there is a new Kate Morton book coming out soon (The Secret Keeper) and I happen to have a review copy on the way, I decided to read The Distant Hours by Kate Morton this summer so that I would be all caught up and ready. Morton's first two books were good but I had reservations about each because I thought the mysteries were obvious too early in the stories. Still, I liked them enough to keep giving her books a try and here, in her third novel, I was finally satisfied. This was a strong tale of family and secrets, alternating between a WWII plot line and a present day one. There's a country manor, Morton's specialty, some eccentric old women, and a young one who is pining for a sense of belonging, to something or someone. I really enjoyed almost every aspect of this story and now I'm even more interested to see what Morton has come up with next.

The second book is one that has been on my TBR stack for a long time (since Sept 2009) -- The Blackstone Key by Rose Melikan. I even own two more books by this author because I anticipated liking this one. I can't explain why I never picked it up and I thought it was time that I should. Well, it turned out to be a Georgian period adventure-romance that reminded me in many ways of a Georgette Heyer romance. A young woman, Mary Finch, is summoned by her uncle and, since she's a orphan working as a school teacher and said uncle is rather wealthy, she decides to throw caution to the wind and set off without even responding to the letter. Whether this was a good idea or not is debatable as Mary experiences just about every high and low possible -- and some that seem rather impossible. This was a far-fetched but fun read and I will definitely pick up another Melikan book sooner than later.

Solving the mysteries of the past,
K

Come Join the Chapter Book Read-Along Fun!

If you haven't yet heard of The Estella Society, a new, happy playground for book bloggers, head on over and check it out. It launched yesterday!

And while you're there, join me for the kick-off of the Top 100 Chapter Books Read-Along! I'll be hosting the read-along of two chapter books a month starting with The Wizard of Oz.

Starting an amazing adventure,
K

"The desert was empty, as though a great drain had sucked the world underground."

As I was reading some Terry Pratchett in early July, I got an email that offered this book, The Order of Odd-Fish by James Kennedy, for review and it seemed like a read that was in the same vein of absurdist literature that I was already enjoying. I also remembered the positive review that Aarti gave it a couple of years ago so I accepted and expected a fun read. What I didn't expect was a well-crafted, frankly brilliant novel that left me wishing for more. Though it is billed as YA, I didn't see any reason besides a teen protagonist that this couldn't be enjoyed by lots of adult readers as well.

That teen protagonist is Jo Larouche, thirteen years old and an orphan, who lives with her "aunt" Lily Larouche in a bizarre, bedazzled palace in the California desert. They're celebrating Christmas Eve with a rip-roaring costume party when, well, things start happening. Not only does Jo notice a large man watching her, but she eventually ends up talking to a man-sized cockroach (not a costume). Then, at a pre-appointed time, a package falls from the sky with her name on it -- a cardboard container that contains a mysterious black box. By the next morning, Jo's life is in danger and what follows is an adventure that could only come from a very fertile imagination!

I'll admit that after a couple of days of reading this book regularly, it got to the point where I simply couldn't put it down. With itchy eyes and mild regrets about the following morning, I finished reading it at 4:30 in the morning! The villain of the story was, to be honest, terrifying. But Jo and her friends and "family" were fantastic. The story heads in a direction where you truly aren't sure who will survive the madness. Though some might find this story to be a bit much, I think it certainly deserves a wider audience. If you're in the mood for something exciting and original, this one would be worth a look (and take a peek at the fan art too)!

Joining the Order and waiting for my ostrich,
K

Death and Witches

This summer I wanted to make some progress through Terry Pratchett's Discworld series so I headed over to the handy-dandy reading order list and chose Reaper Man and Equal Rites. I hoped to get through more of the series before September but such is life. Maybe I should just set a goal of two a season. Anyway, here are some really quick thoughts on these books.

Reaper Man is the second book of the Death storyline. There were two alternating storylines, one about Death, who had been relieved of duty and sent down to the Discworld as a man-ish person, and one about a wizard who therefore didn't altogether die when he was destined to. There was a lot of humor in the story but also some things that seemed a bit too far out there. Strangely, though I loved Death in Mort, I found the wizard's story to be the more interesting one this time. There were parts of the Death story that were thought-provoking but on the whole it fell flat for me until the end. This probably was my least favorite book so far.

And Equal Rites is the start of the Witches thread. I loved this whole story. Between Granny Weatherwax, witch extraordinaire, and Eskarina (Esk), the first female witch/wizard hybrid, I felt like this book worked as both a fun tale and also as a gender politics satire. There was a small amount of mystery, a chunk of adventure and enough intense glaring to go around. This would be a good entry point for most readers who want to try out a Discworld novel.

Five down, lots to go,
K

Giveaway Winner: The Prisoner of Heaven

photo by k

Congratulations to the randomly-selected winner of The Prisoner of Heaven --

Aarti!

I'll send an email to get your mailing address. :)

And Jenny asked if it's okay to read this one if you haven't read both books in the series yet. Here's what CRZ had to say about it --

The Prisoner of Heaven is part of a cycle of novels set in the literary universe of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books of which The Shadow of the Wind and The Angel's Game are the two first instalments. Although each work within the cycle presents an independent, self-contained tale, they are all connected through characters and storylines, creating thematic and narrative links.
Each individual instalment in the Cemetery of Forgotten Books series can be read in any order, enabling the reader to explore the labyrinth of stories along different paths which, when woven together, lead into the heart of the narrative.

Sharing a new-found favorite,
K

Quick Giveaway: The Prisoner of Heaven

Carlos Ruiz Zafón fans, today is your lucky day! I ended up with two hardcover copies of The Prisoner of Heaven so I'm giving one away. I read this book last week and loved it (Daniel and Fermín are back!) and hope you will too.

This giveaway is open to US residents only due to shipping costs. I will choose a winner on or around Sunday, August 12th. All you have to do is leave a comment below (with your email address if it's not in your profile or on your blog) and let us know which of CRZ's books you've read so far!

Making up for my absence,
K