In accordance to the FTC guidelines, I must state that I make no monetary gains from my reviews or endorsements here on Confessions of a Literary Persuasion. All books I review are either borrowed, purchased by me, given as a gift, won, or received in exchange for my honest review of the book in question.

26 August, 2013

Bout of Books Read a Thon wrap up

          
         Bout of Books

Books Finished During the Read a Thon:

Empire of Ivory (Temeraire, Book 4) by Naomi Novik Finished 8/19/2013
White Lies by Jayne Ann Krentz Finished 8/21/2013
Sizzle and Burn by Jayne Ann Krentz  Finished 8/22/2013
Imager's Intrigue by L.E. Modessit Jr. Finished 8/24/2013

The Voyage of the Narwhal by Andrea Barrett Finished 8/255/2013


Read but not finished during the Read a Thon:
Long Way Round: Chasing Shadows Across the World by Ewan McGregor, Charley Boorman Read 148 pages
The Imperator Plot by Steven Spruill  Read 43 pages

Total pages Read during the Read a Thon:

1779 physical pages read

Hours Listened during the Read a Thon:

12.5 hours listened to an audiobook during the read a thon.

25 August, 2013

Bout of Books Read a Thon day 7

          Bout of Books

The last day of the read a Thon. I have been productive today already and finished The Voyage of the Narwhale. This was a very moving book.

Currently Reading:

Long Way Round by Ewan McGregor and  Charley Boorman stopped at 148 for the night.

Books Finished Today:

The Voyage of the Narwhale. 

24 August, 2013

Bout of Books Read a Thon day 6


         Bout of Books

       My goals for this read a thon can be found over here.

Not sure how much reading will get done as Saturdays are usually hectic. Will hopefully finish the audio we have been listening to all week.

Currently Reading:

The Voyage of the Narwhale - stopped at  167 (67 pages read today).

Books finished Today:

Imager's Intrigue by L.e. Modessit Jr. 

23 August, 2013

Bout of Book Read a Thon Day 5


Bout of Books

My goals for this read a thon can be found over here.


Slow start today. I'm having a rough time concentrating on The Imperator Plot, So may take a Break we'll see.

Ok, there are pros and cons to having a friends of the library sponsored take a book/leave a book shelf nearby.

Pros: :* A convenient place to release books I have read that I don't plan on keeping.
         * Located in a great local coffee shop with friendly staff and comfortable seating, and yummy drinks and snacks.
Cons: * I can never leave books without finding one or more books I am interested in reading
          * I seem to always find parts of series case in point. Today there was an ARC for the newest Jacky Faber (Bloody Jack) book which is released next month. I haven't read all of the books (I stopped at book 6 this is book 12) I know, I could probably read this without the prior 5 books, but i'm also a complete-ist.

I also picked up:Clockwork princess by Casandra Clare of which I also am missing books in the series.

I have a feeling a trip to the library will be in the plans once I figure out how crazy my coursework will be next week.

Currently Reading:

breaking at page 50, and trying something else. I usually love this type of sci-fi mystery but today I'm just not in the mood.

The Voyage of the Narwal by Andrea Barrett

- I am stopping on page 100 for the night .

Listened to 30 min of Imager's Intruigue by L. E. Modessit Jr.


Books Finished Today:

22 August, 2013

Bout of Books Read a Thon day 4

Bout of Books

My goals for this read a thon can be found over here.

A very late night, combined with a very early morning and not being able to go back to sleep this morning has left me feeling rather cranky and unfocused... I spent the morning curled up on the couch reading, but I think I might need to try and nap at some point.

Currently Reading:

The Imperator Plot bySteven Spruill



Books Finished Today:

Sizzle and Burn by Jayne Ann Krentz

21 August, 2013

Book Review: Empire of Ivory by Naomi Novik




Title: Empire of Ivory
Author Naomi Novik
Series: Book 4 of the Temeraire books
Publication date: September 25, 2007
Publisher: Del Ray


It starts with tragic event:. As Captain Lawrence and Temeraire return to England with the rescued Prussian soldiers they discover that tragedy has struck the dragons of the country. An unknown illness, first thought to be a cold has been introduced by a Native American dragon and has turned deadly. Temeraire however, does not contract the illness and in fact is discovered to have had the cold and been cured during his previous trip to China.

Lawrence and Temeraire set off with the ill members of their formation on a journey to Africa to try and find the mushroom that the Imperial chefs  made into a tasty stew while they were in Cape Town that might have been a cure for the mystery illness. They are accompanied by a former slave turned missionary and his family who are bound for Africa to try and bring the Christian faith to the people in their former homeland. However, when they get to Cape Town, they find that the mushroom they are seeking is  considered bad as it makes the cattle ill and is destroyed by both European settlers and the  cattle raising tribes in the area. Their search takes them further into the interior, where they are captured by members of an African tribe that has ancestor ties to the dragons of the land. Worse, the mushrooms that they found are considered property of the King of the tribe.

Will Laurence and Temeraire be able to get back to England with the medicine they require? or will their African captors do them harm before  they can trade for  the medicines.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. I found it captivating. As well I enjoyed the fact that it delved into the issues of slavery and slave trade both for humans as well as dragons. This book also allows for another break from the War being fought by Napoleon (although the end  brings us back to the conflict), and allows the reader to explore another part of the world. Africa at the time was being divided up between the Dutch, Portuguese, British and French without any thought for the people already living there. In modern times there are still repercussions to  colonization. I enjoyed seeing this alternate look at what might happen if 1. there were dragons to help protect these people and 2. what would happen is they decided enough was enough.

Bout of Books Read a Thon Day 3

Bout of Books

My goals for this read a thon can be found over here.

Wednesday already. My sister is coming over tonight to hang out and play video games, so I expect my reading to be just during the day today


Currently Reading:

Sizzle and Burn by Jayne Ann Krentz. - Stopped with 50 pages read today.


Books Finished Today:
* White Lies by Jayne Ann Krentz.

20 August, 2013

Bout of Books Read a Thon Day 2

Bout of Books
Day 2 of the Bout of Books Read a Thon.

My goals for this read a thon can be found over here.

Elengil has the day off work, so we listened to our audiobook and relaxed most of the day.

Currently reading:

Listening to the audio of Imager's Intrigue by l.e. Modessit Jr. - listened to 9 hours (all of part 2 and most of part 3). We have 2 1/2 hours left in the book.

White Lies by Jayne Ann Krentz - broke at page 58 for the night. 

Books Finished:

None today.

19 August, 2013

Bout of Books Read a Thon Day 1

Bout of Books
So, a bit of a later start than intended for setting up this post.

Today is Monday: Day one of the Read a Thon.

My goals for this read a thon can be found over here.

I am starting the day reading:

Empire of Ivory by Naomi Novik
. - this is the fourth book in a series I have been reading all summer. I'm finding it a little hard to get into, as I have been in a short story mode for the last week or so.

Update: 6:30PM Read to page 275, and am now listening to Imager's Intrigue: The Third Book of the Imager Portfolio by L. E. Modesitt Jr. with Elengil.
Update: Finished reading Empire of Ivory & listened to 7 chapters of Imager's Intruige


Books Read:

Empire of Ivory by Naomi Novik Finished
Imager's Intrigue: The Third Book of the Imager Portfolio by L. E. Modesitt Jr.

18 August, 2013

Bout of Books 8.0 Read a Thon Goals

Bout of Books
Time Devoted to Reading

I am off one more week before the semester starts,so I will be reading all day/ evening for the whole week depending on what pops up during the week.

My Goals

I have been working on older book trades through bookcrossing.com for the last year. So, I would like to try and focus on the bookcrossing books in my to be read pile that I personally registered. However, as last week was my birthday I have a few new books looking very interesting sitting on my dining room table as well.

Books to Read (planned)

Empire of Ivory (Temeraire, Book 4) by Naomi Novik Finished 8/19/2013
Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus by Orson Scott Card
Long Way Round: Chasing Shadows Across the World by Ewan McGregor, Charley Boorman Reading Now
The Voyage of the Narwhal by Andrea. Barrett Finished 8/255/2013
Battle Royale: The Novel by Koushun Takami - I had started this book at the start of the summer, and set it down. I misplaced the book, but if I can locate it I want to read it this week.
The Imperator Plot (Doubleday Science Fiction) by Steven Spruill reading now
Dark Curse (Carpathian) by Christine Feehan
White Lies by Jayne Ann Krentz Finished 8/21/2013
Sizzle and Burn by Jayne Ann Krentz ; Finished 8/22/2013

Plus i want to finish the book I am currently reading if I don't finish it tonight:

Westward Weird by Martin H. Greenberg, Kerrie Hughes 
 Finished 8/18/2013


I think that's a good list, seeing as a few of these are weighty tomes which is why I keep picking up other books :)

02 August, 2013

Books Read in July 2013:

Print Copy:

1.) Seraphim by Michele Hauf
2.) Death Drops by Chrystle Fiedler
3.) Sam's Letters to Jennifer by James Patterson
4.) His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik
5.) Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik
6.) Black Powder War by Naomi Novik
7.) Isis by Douglas Clegg
8.) Treasure Box by Orson Scott Card
9.) Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind by Suzanne Fisher Staples
10.) Star of Wonder by  Jo Beverley, Alice Alfonsi, Tess Farraday, Kate Freiman
11.) One Wish by Linda Lael Miller
 
Audio Books:

1.) Hunted by Kevin Hearne
2.)The Grimoire of the Lamb by Kevin Hearne
3.) Imager by L.E. Modesitt Jr.4.) Imager's Challange by L.E. Modesitt Jr.

E-Books:

1.) xkcd: volume 0 by Randall Munroe

01 August, 2013

Books Wild Released in July 2013:

1.)    The Celery Stalks At Midnight  by James Howe on 7/3/2013
2.)    Seraphim  by Michele Hauf on 7/3/2013
3.)    The Fallen Man  by Tony Hillerman on 7/9/2013
4.)    Sam's letters to Jennifer  by James Patterson  on 7/10/2013
5.)    Shoot the Moon  by Billie Letts  on 7/10/2013
6.)    October Song  by Beverly Lewis on 7/13/2013
7.)    Thinner  by Richard Bachman on 7/16/2013
8.)    The Bridge of Peace  by Cindy Woodsmall on 7/16/2013
9.)    Star: A Novel   by Pamela Anderson  on 7/18/2013
10.)  Sarah's Key  by Tatiana de Rosnay on 7/23/2013
11.)   The Poisonwood Bible  by Barbara Kingsolver  on 7/23/2013 Caught!
12.)   The Templar Legacy: A Novel  by Steve Berry on 7/23/2013