The Weather Fairies

The Weather Fairies [Rainbow Magic, books 8-14] Daisy Meadows
published 2000

On her last vacation, Rachel Walker met her new best friend Kirsty. Together the pair was able to save the Fairy Kingdom by restoring all the Rainbow Fairies to power and defeating the evil Jack Frost and his goblins.

Now on heir summer break, the girls once again meet up – and luckily for the Fairy Kingdom, for Jack is once again wreaking havoc. He has stolen each of the seven magic tail feathers used by the Weather fairies to set weather in the Kingdom. Rachel and Kirsty, with the help of the Weather Fairies must find and return each of these feathers before Jack Frost plunges the world into an eternal winter.

I started reading these books so that I could adequately fulfil my part as ‘Kirsty’ when my six-year-old cousin came over to “play”. But that was fifteen books ago, and I’ve now got to face the reality that I’m hooked. The books are a nice, ‘easy-to-read-yourself’ type story aimed at the 6-10 age bracket and the girls are smart characters, able to think themselves out of a whole range of problems. While I preferred the fairies from the first series, the Rainbow Fairies, I’d have to say that I think the villains (the goblins) were better written in this set – they were threatening this time around. 4/5

Musing Mondays (June 29)

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about mid-year reading…

Now that we’ve come to the middle of the year, what do you think of your 2009 reading so far? Read anything interesting that you’d like to share? Any outstanding favourites?

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Musing Mondays post, or share your opinion in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks.

 

I’m pretty happy with what I’ve read so far this year, despite my having being reluctant to pick up anything too heavy over the last two months or so. At this point last year, I was sitting on 33 books, while right now I’m on 54 – which I feel pretty good about since the 100+ Books Challenge is the only challenge I do every year and so I’m on track.

Looking back over my reads so far I couldn’t pick just one favourite – but I didn’t really expect myself to be able to, either! So these would have to be my top four. All of which I gave a 5/5 – I was surprised by this, because I try not to have many 5s.

 

• Looking for Alaska
  
• March
  
• To Kill a Mockingbird
  
• The Dead and Gone

Poor sickly vamps…

The Reformed Vampire Support Group Catherine Jinks
328 pages; published 2009

Vampires are meant to be so glamorous and powerful, but I’m here to inform you that being a vampire is nothing like that. Not one bit. On the contrary, it’s like being stuck indoors with the flu watching daytime television, forever and ever.

If being a vampire were easy, there wouldn’t have to be a Reformed Vampire Support Group. (4)

Nina writes vampire novels; epic adventures in which her heroine, Zadia Bloodtone, is sexy and able to turn into a bat as she, yet again, save the day. Basically do and be everything that Nina is not. For Nina, being a vampire, especially a ‘reformed’ one, is far from glamorous: there’s the daily bouts of nausea, the constant haemorrhaging and the fact that surviving on a feast of guinea pigs is just, well, messy.

Somehow she could never imagine Zadia Bloodstone living her life.

She’s far from alone in this horrendous lifestyle, however, for the few vampires who live in Australia are part of the Reformed Vampire Support Group. While certainly an odd mix, they’ve come to depend on each other throughout the indignities of their existence.

But then one of their number is killed and their routine, if not comfortable, lives are upturned. There’s a vampire killer out there (and let’s face it, how to kill them isn’t exactly the world’s best kept secret) and who knows which one of them could be next.

The Reformed Vampire Support Group was in equal parts gross and hilarious. At the Sydney Writer’s Festival last month, Catherine Jinks said that she was tired of the perfect vampires and floating around and wanted to tell “the truth” of their existence. She certainly succeeded; these are vampires the likes of which I’ve never seen.

I’d recommend it as a nice alternative to some of the more glamorous or impressive vampire books out there – especially if you’d like something without the overwhelming romance, or are looking for something with a touch of humour. Though I should note that it is a touch dark in places and is very much geared at the 15-17 age bracket over the younger YA readers. 3.5/5

Won-der Wo-maaan!

Wonder Woman: Love and
Murder Jodi Picoult, Terry Dodson, Drew Johnson and Paco Diaz 129 pages; published 2007

Over the course of my (self-confessed) nerdy life, I have found myself being compared to the “The Comic Book Guy” on more than one occasion – an amusing, if not entirely flattering comparison. Yet, despite my love of superheroes and whole-hearted desire to have a legitimate reason to wear a cape, comic books are my weak link in my geeky chain.

When I heard that Jodi Picoult had been asked to write the story for an edition of Wonder Woman, however, I was pretty excited. After getting a fifteen-minute primer from my decidedly more comic-book nerdier brother I was set to go. (And yes, I made sure I wore my WW jammies to match!)

The previous collection of comics left Wonder Woman in a sticky situation after taking the law in her own hands and killing the ‘bad guy’. In Love and Murder, Wonder Woman decides to leave this persona behind and become simply Diana Prince, leading a ‘normal’ life as a FBI agent.

However, as is often the case with superheroes trying to catch a break, her old life doesn’t seem prepared to let her go. With the fate of the Earth – not to mention the life of her poor, all-too-human partner – at stake, Diana must consider what is more important, and to what lengths she should go to save others.

I enjoyed reading this graphic novel. The story was engaging and suspenseful despite my limited knowledge of WW – though I was comforted by the appearance of more familiar superheroes – and the artistry was just beautiful. I was aware, while reading the book, that it was part of an ongoing story, but it was self-contained enough to stand alone. A good read for comic book fans – new and expert alike. 3.5/5

Teaser Tuesday (June 23)

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page.
• You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
• Please avoid spoilers!

 

 

If Edward was a vampire – I could hardly make myself think the words - then what should I do? Involving someone else was definitely out. I couldn’t even believe myself; anyone I told would have me committed. (120)

Twilight – Stephenie Meyer*

 

 

*Not much of a teaser, I know, since you’ve all probably read it by now, but we’re reading this for bookclub and it was on top of my pile

And what’s your excuse…?

I found this article today via Boston Bibliophile / @bostonbibliophil ’s twitter page (thanks, by the way!) and thought it was just fantastic!

Just to give you the gist of it: San Francisco Public Library waved overdue fines on any owing books if the patron returned them with a good excuse as to why they were late. Apparently they received 30, 000 returns ($55, 165 worth of fines) – as opposed to the 5, 000 returns they received the last time they simply waived fines – along with some fantastic excuses.

You can click here to go straight to the excuses. My favourites included:

“I immensely enjoyed reading the book and thought it was my own copy.”
– Frederick
“I checked out some books and while I had them I cleaned my room, they were put up on a shelf in my closet and forgotten about until I went to the library to check out more books. I now have about $300 worth of fines and all because I cleaned my room. This is why my room is best left ‘uniquely organized'.”
– Kristin
“I was abducted by aliens, they just brought me back after 2 months.”
– Antonio

Musing Mondays (June 22)

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about library borrowing…

Do you restrict yourself on how many books you take out from the library at a time? Do you borrow books if you already have some out? Do you always reborrow books you don’t get to?

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Musing Mondays post, or share your opinion in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks.

 

 

I ask this question this week because I realised today (as I came home from the library) that I had visited the library more than usual this fortnight and had accidently built up a little, okay medium… okay big, pile of books to get through. All of which wouldn’t be a problem except that I haven’t actually had the time to read… not quite sure what happened here…

Normally I only go to the library once a week or, if things are busy at home, once a fortnight. This means that I usually don’t have the problem of borrowing out more than I can read. I don’t restrict myself to a certain number of books – especially since our library instituted the VIP member program (20 books) – but usually have anywhere between 4-8 books out at a time.

Lately, however, my sister has discovered a fondness for the library, which is great, however it means we’re more likely to just ‘pop in’ if we’re in town – resulting in my picking up ‘just one more book’ and thereby leading to my little overflow dilemma. Normally if I don’t get to a book I either just reborrow or make a note to borrow it again later, but I’m feeling a little bit of book-guilt this week. I have a lovely pile of books just crying out to be read and I had to return some of them untouched this morning.

Just wondering about your library routine…

Sookie Stackhouse Reading Challenge

I posted yesterday, about the fabulous giveaway Melissa is holding over at her site… but I forgot to mention that what’s even better about it is that it’s a tie-in giveaway to BethF’s Sookie Stackhouse challenge.

I added it to my “Reading Challenge” file on my desktop – even added the first book – but just realised that I forgot to actually sign up for it! So thanks to BethF for commenting on my last post and making me realise it :)

The Rules:

1. Between July 1, 2009, and June 30, 2010, catch up on Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire series. No matter if you're starting with book 1 or book 8, you have a year to read all about Sookie. Read Sookie in print, listen to the audio, read an eBook -- format is not an issue.
2. Sign up using Mr. Linky. Put your name in the top box. For the bottom box, please use the URL that links specifically to your blog post about this challenge, not to your blog's home page.
3. After July 4, I'll create a post with another Mr. Linky where you can link your reviews so everyone can read them track your progress.
4. If you don't have a blog and want to join in, sign up in the comments here. Later, let us know about your progress by leaving comments on the review link page.

 

The Books:

• Dead Until Dark
• Living Dead in Dallas
• Club Dead
• Dead to the World
• Dead as a Doornail
• Definitely Dead
• All Together Dead
• From Dead to Worse
• Dead and Gone

Sookie Stackhouse Giveaway

Melissa over at Melissa’s Bookshelf is hosting an amazing Sookie Stackhouse series giveaway. One lucky winner will receive a set of the entire series! Head on over and take a look!

Hollywood Snap-shots

Images of Movie Stars Tim Hill 244 pages; published 2005

This beautiful book was a birthday gift from my mother earlier this year. I have a fondness for black and white photography as well as Hollywood of the 1930s and 40s, so this was quite a find.

The book is filled with large (full page or spread) glossy pictures of actors both old and new, all accompanied with a brief caption. Some of these photographs are well known portraits, but others I found to be new and quite interesting.

It’s not a book I’d recommend for a movie buff looking for an interesting read – there were only small tidbits of information scattered throughout – but as a coffee table bo ok it would be perfect. 4/5

Teaser Tuesday (June 16)

  Teaser Tuesday is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page.
• You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
• Please avoid spoilers!

 

 

Soon everyone in that little town knew that a nine-year-old girl was living alone in Villa Villekulla. The grown-ups in town, both the men and the women, did not approve in the least. All children needed to have someone to scold them, and all children needed to go to school and learn the multiplication tables. (42)

Pippi Longstocking – Astrid Lindgren

Musing Mondays (June 15)

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about award winning books…

Do you feel compelled to read prize-winning (Giller/Booker/Pulitzer etc) books? Why, or why not? Is there, perhaps, one particular award that you favour? (question courtesy of MizB)

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Musing Mondays post, or share your opinion in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks.

 

 

I’m not sure if ‘compelled’ is the word I would use. Motivated, perhaps. Would I choose an award winning book over a non-award winning book simply because of said award… probably not, it would still come down to whether or not I was interested in the story.

Having said that, however, if a book has won an award – whatever that award may be – it is clearly for a good reason and as such I am probably more inclined to research it and move it to the top of my consideration list. I do like to at least know what the years winners are so that I can see if I want to read them or not – more often than not I do, but again I still wouldn’t say I was compelled to do so.

There isn’t a particular award that I favour over others. I do like to attempt to keep up with the Newberry Medal and Printz Award winners, but that’s because I enjoy children and YA fiction, as for adult fiction, I pretty much take it as it comes – though my book club has read two Pulitzer and one Booker books this year already (completely unintentional), so who knows, maybe we do have our subconscious favourites.

10 minutes with Emily Listfield

Last month I read Emily Listfield’s new novel Best Intentions, and this week I was very lucky to get the opportunity to interview the author. Please enjoy!

 

Hi Emily, first of all I'd like to thank you for agreeing to do this interview with me for Just One More Page.

1. For those who haven't yet read Best Intentions, can you briefly tell us what it's about?
Best Intentions examines the question of how well you can ever really know another person - even those you love best.  The narrator, Lisa Barkley, 39, has been married to her college boyfriend, Sam for many years and they have 2 daughters. They live in Manhattan and are struggling to keep their kids in private school as the economy collapses around them. When Lisa overhears a suspicious phone call, she suspects Sam of having an affair. And when her best friend, Deirdre, is murdered, she has to question how well she knows her husband - and everyone else in her life.

2. Can you describe for us a typical day in your life
Hmm. I have 2 typical days.  I work 3 days a week at Parade magazine as a consulting editor.  Those days, I get my 15 year old daughter off to school then go in and edit, come up with story ideas, etc for a new launch for Parade, Healthy Style.  The other days I work on novels at a place called the Writers Room - really just a way to get out of the house and away from distractions.

3. Is writing something you always wanted to do? If not, how/why did you start writing?
I always wanted to write.  In college, I studied literature and journalism - and I have ended up going back and forth between the two for my entire career, writing novels, doing freelance journalism, and working as an editor, sometimes separately, sometimes at the same time.

4. What are you currently working on? (If you can tell us)
I'm working on a new novel about the intersection of politics and family secrets, the right to privacy versus the public's right to know - and the toll it takes on all involved.

5. As book bloggers, we're always eager to know what people are reading. What are you reading right now? Are you enjoying it?
I'm late to the party on this one, but I just finished reading (and blogging about) Obama's book, Dreams of My Father.  It is so beautifully written, so reflective and fascinating.  His is truly an amazing journey.  And nice to have a writer in the White House!

6. What is your favourite book?
For me that's a little bit like choosing between children - I have loved different books at different times of my life.

7. In reading Best Intentions, I really felt bad for Lisa as she tried to keep afloat of everything in a busy city. How much, if any, of her experiences based on your own life in Manhattan?
Well, I'm a single Mom so the marriage is not based on my life (though I was married for 10 years.) But the sense of all the various intersecting worlds in the city, being a downtown parent with a child at a very uptown school, the economic pressures, especially lately, are all closely observed from my life and those around me.

8. I saw on your website that you have recently started your own blog, are you enjoying writing in this medium?
I love the immediacy of blogging - and I love the sense of contact and community it can foster.  Writing is essentially a solitary activity  so to feel connected with others, particularly your readers, is fantastic.  Also, it always you to enter into the dialog of the day without the year long wait for a book to be published.

9. You've written seven books now, would it be unfair to ask you to pick a favourite?
My first book, It Was Gonna Be Like Paris,  was published when I was 23 and it is kind of embarrassing now -- but it holds a special place in my heart because nothing can compare to that moment when you hear that you really will be a published writer.  It helped set everything in motion.  The book just before Best Intentions, Waiting to Surface, is the most clearly autobiographical.  It is about the disappearance and death of my husband, so that too has a special, though quite different, place for me.

10. If you could pick one book to live your life out in (as a major or minor character), which would it be and why?
This isn't advice - we wouldn't really want to live our life there - but I love Fitzgerald's Tender is the Night, the doomed glamour of it all.  A day in the South of France in the company of his characters has a certain allure.

Yay!

A few weeks ago I entered a competition over at Ladytink’s place and was lucky enough to win a copy of Tate Hallaway’s new book Dead If I Do… but me, being me, I naturally forgot all about it.

I got up this morning and got a surprise in the mail: a package I wasn’t expecting (don’t you just love it when that happens?). I opened it up and inside was a lovely signed copy from the author herself!

Made my day!

Happy Birthday to…

Cole Porter

 

 

Michael J. Fox

 

Johnny Depp 

 

Natalie Porter

and…

 

Wendy*

Happy Birthday, Wendy!

May you have more books than you can read,

and plenty of time for the attempt.

 

 

 

*Next time I see you, you are posing for a decent picture. Everyone I have of you you’re either squinting, pulling a weird face, or are playing twins with my mother. I considered using this, but thought you’d probably be peeved :)

Teaser Tuesday (June 9)

Teaser Tuesday is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
• Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page.
• You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
• Please avoid spoilers!

 

 

Her and Olivia’s parents had recently retired to Fenwick, a small village on the Northumberland coast, and developed an obsession with golf that was at odds with the game’s leisurely image. They behaved as if golf were their full-time job, one they might be fired from if they weren’t diligent enough. Olivia had been to their club with them once, and she’d reported to Charlie afterwards that Mum and Dad had been about as relaxed as drug mules in front of airport customs officials.

Hurting Distance – Sophie Hannah (70/71)

Musing Mondays (June 8)

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about reading time…

Do you have a set reading time (before bed, perhaps)? Do you read more at night or during the day? Is there a day of the week, perhaps, that you set aside to catch up on reading?

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Musing Mondays post, or share your opinion in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks.

 

 

I know that most people read before they go to bed, but I try to avoid this as much as possible – unless I’m going to bed early specifically to read. I find that once I start reading I get so caught up in the story and keep “just one more page”-ing my way through a good chunk of the book. It’s not good for my sleep.

Because of this, I do tend to read much more during the day and usually read for an hour or two of a morning*. I do my cosy, flannel pyjama, wrapped up in a blanket reading of a morning instead of night. This has an added bonus in our house, as everyone tends to be late risers – nice quiet reading time!

I also do a lot of reading throughout the day on a Sunday because of it being my library day. I usually come home with a new stack of books and settle down in the comfy chair for awhile.

 

*Of course, these days I’m not getting up early like I usually do, so my ‘morning’ are decidedly later, but oh well

FF: Famous Firsts

This week Wendy asks for famous first lines, so I thought I’d see how many I could come up with off the top of my head…

“Call me Ishmael” (Moby Dick – Herman Melville) … okay, Wendy gave us that one.

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” (Pride Prejudice – Jane Austen)

“Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her.” (Emma – Jane Austen)*

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” (A Tale of Two Cities – Charles Dickens)

“All children, except one, grow up.” (Peter Pan – J.M. Barrie)

“Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents,” grumbled Jo, lying on the rug. (Little Women – Louisa May Alcott)

"If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth." (The Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger)*

“Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.” (Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone – J.K. Rowling)

… yeah, I’m out.

*I will admit to grabbing the book off the shelf for these ones, I got halfway through and got lost.

BTT: Fifteen Favourites

It’s been a while since I’ve done a BTT but I’ve been enjoying reading the various lists popping up here and there and couldn’t resist! It was harder than it looked though.

“This can be a quick one. Don’t take too long to think about it. Fifteen books you’ve read that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes.”

Here’s what I ended up with

• Little Women – Louisa May Alcott
• The Time Traveler's Wife – Audrey Niffenegger
• To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
• Anne of Green Gables – L.M. Montgomery
• A Little Princess – Frances Hodgson Burnett
• The Book Thief – Markus Zusak
• The Lord of the Flies – William Golding
• Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen
• Winnie the Pooh – A.A. Milne
• Heidi – Joanna Spyri
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz – L. Frank Baum
• Tuck Everlasting – Natalie Babbitt
• The Amazing Adventures of Alice in Wonderland – Lewis Caroll
• Peter Pan – J.M. Barrie
• The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett.

I wasn’t surprised that my love of children’s literature came through strongly, but I surprised by how many ‘little girl’ books made it on the list: Little Women, Anne of Green Gables, A Little Princess, Heidi, The Secret Garden… And these are all on my absolute favourite list. There were all little girls that I wanted as my friend when I was a little girl. I also like that these books (except for Anne) where all books that were given to me as gifts when I was little.

Virtual Walking Tour: Bookstack & Teddyree

It’s been a while since I last did a Virtual Walking Tour post, but you see, I lost my compass.

Nah, not really :)

I wasn’t happy with the way I set it up and have only just now found the time to right it. While I am enjoying wandering in and out of people’s virtual living rooms (yes, that sounds creepy), I really wanted to get to know the bloggers themselves, so I was very happy to get the chance to question this weeks two bloggers:

 

Ravenous Reader from Bookstack
and
Teddyree from The Eclectic Reader

 

 

Ravenous Reader (Becca)

Explain the title of your blog: Bookstack from simply looking around my little office and noticing the stacks of books everywhere - the TBR stack; the library stack; the just finished stack...you get the idea!

How did you get into blogging? I started blogging on my 50th birthday, as a way to re-connect the creative side of my life, and get back into writing.  Becca's Byline, the blog I began at that time (and still maintain) is a slice-of-life blog, where I look at "life in general and my own in particular." I often wrote about books there, and decided to branch out and start an entire new blog dedicated to "all things bookish.”

What do you like best about blogging?  Definitely meeting so many interesting people from all over the world, without ever having to get out of my favorite chair!

What are the five books you would most like to recommend to anyone? That's a tough question...as an American literature major, I think I would recommend these books for the things they tell us about American society and history:

• To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
• The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Gone With the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell
• The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck
• Bridge of Sighs, by RIchard Russo

Teddyree (Sheree)

Explain the title of your blog: I really do have an eclectic taste in books, enjoying everything from historical fiction to horror, paranormals to suspense/thrillers, good romances, mysteries, fantasy, and a few thought provoking non fictions thrown in!

So (e'klektik) adj. choosing from various sources seemed liked a fitting start for a blog name.

How did you get into blogging? I started a blog about family life, scrapbooking and dealing with grief at the encouragement of my best friend in August 2008 and then decided I wanted to blog about my love of all things books. So in October 2008 The Eclectic Reader was born. I back-posted reviews for some books I'd read in the last couple of years, then after Christmas I got serious about my book blog. As you can see, I'm still quite a new blogger!

What do you like best about blogging? I love the fact that blogging gives me someone to share my excitement & love of books with. I'm the only reader in my family, anything to do with books or reading, well let's just say my husband & my teenage boys live under a rock. I kid you not!

I love sharing something that I'm passionate about, I love inspiring someone to read something they wouldn't normally, I love providing thoughtful reviews, I love getting comments on my blog, I love visiting other blogs and getting all this and more from fellow bloggers.

What are the five books you would most like to recommend to anyone? Oh that is so hard

• The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson (one of my favourite reads in 2009)
• The Love Knot by Elizabeth Chadwick
• Bitten by Kelley Armstrong (anything of hers actually)
• Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (Cross Stitch)
• On a Highland Shore by Kathleen Givens
• Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh  (yeah I know I can't count)s

Ooh Ooh and 2 really old favourites Lady of Hay by Barbara Erskine & My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult and anything by Phillipa Gregory if you're new to Historical Fiction & anything by Tess Gerritsen if you love medical suspense.

That really was hard, I could keep going and going and...

 

 

So I hope you enjoyed getting to know some of your fellow bloggers, I know I did! Head on over to their blogs to have a read!