Books Wild Released in November 2013

1.) Blackberry Wine  by Joanne Harris on 11/5/2013
2.) Two Tiny Claws  by Brett Davis on 11/5/2013
3.) When Duty Calls: A Novel of the Legion of the Damned  by William C. Dietz on 11/5/2013

4.) But Inside I'm Screaming  by Elizabeth Flock  on 11/11/2013
5.) The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks  by Rebecca Skloot on 11/11/2013
5.) What Does Joan Say?: My Seven Years As White House Astrologer to Nancy and Ronald Reagan  by Joan Quigley on 11/11/2013
6.) The City of Falling Angels  by John Berendt on 11/19/2013
7.) The Autumn Castle  by Kim Wilkins on 11/19/2013
8.) Master of Dragons (Mageverse, Book 8)   by Angela Knight  on 11/20/2013
9.) The Last of the Red-Hot Vampires (Dark Ones Novel)   by Katie MacAlister  on 11/20/2013
10.) The Illusion of Separateness: A Novel  by Simon Van Booy on 11/20/2013

11.) Bridge of San Luis Rey, The  by Thornton Wilder  on 11/26/2013

12. The Copenhagen Connection  by Elizabeth Peters  on 11/26/2013 
13.)The War of the Worlds (Tor Classics)   by H. G. Wells on 11/26/201
14.) The Rescue  by Nicholas Sparks on 11/26/2013

Books Read in November 2013

Print:
1.) Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
2.) Two Tiny Claws by Brett Davis
3.) Master of Dragons by Angela Knight

4.) The Last of the Red-Hot Vampires by Katie MacAlister

5.)  The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt

6.) The Autumn Castle by Kim Wilkins

7.) The Illusion of Separateness: A Novel by Simon Van Booy 

8.) The Rescue by Nicholas Sparks 

9.) Zen and the Art of Vampires by Katie MacAlister 

10.) How Long Will I Cry? edited by Miles Harvey

Audiobooks:
1.) Bad Monkey by Carl Hiaasen
2.) Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman
3.) Memory by Louis McMaster Bujo
4.) Dodger by Terry Pratchett

E-Books:
1.) Gaea by Robina Williams

Book review: How Long Will I Cry? Voices of Youth Violence

Title: How Long Will I Cry? Voices of Youth Violence
Editor: Miles Harvey
Publisher: Big Shoulders Books
Publication Date: 2013

This book is a companion to the play How Long Will I cry? that was produced by the Steppenwolf Theater in 2013.

The final version of this book was a collaborative effort by the creative writing students at DePaul University located in Chicago, IL. It uses collaborative story-telling methods to collect the real stories of people in Chicago whose lives have been touched by violence.

Chicago is still extremely racially divided. recent information given by the country France to it's tourists coming to visit the city tells it's citizens to avoid whole sections on the South and West sides of the city due to the mortality and crime rates.

This book takes stories of many types of people from many areas of the city to talk about the impacts of violence caused by and to the youth of the city of Chicago. Story types range from those of families who have lost children, community member in neighborhoods affected by violence who are working to change the neighborhoods in positive ways, stories told by both current gang members and ex-gang members, and youth who have been affected by the violence in many different types of ways. The stories while mainly focused on the South and West sides of the city also show how ares on the North and Northwest sides of the city are being affected by gang related violence.

This book impacted me in ways that I wasn't expecting. The stories, while predominantly sad, and filled with rage and hopelessness also had hope sprinkled through it's pages. Stories were shared by people who were trying to make a difference after loosing their own loved ones to violence. At the end of the book there is a list of organizations who are trying to work against youth violence in the city and while one could be disheartened by the length of the list, it is amazing to see how many people care about changing the city that I live in.

As a life long resident of Chicago my entire life I was spared  the effects of neighborhood gang violence until my late teens. I grew up in a neighborhood on the Northwest side that was predominantly white, with a strong Irish and Polish element to the families living in it. when I was in high school I attended a magnet school which drew students from all parts of the city, and was very racially diverse. I made friends from outside of my own neighborhood and sadly lost one to gang related violence right after graduation. There were times going out when I knew I had to either go home before a certain time or call for a ride home because it wasn't safe to wait for the CTA where we were.

This book is being given to readers for free through various events to promote awareness of the issue and by request to Big Shoulders Books which is a very big thing. By making the book free it will help get it into the hands of people who might not be able to buy a book, and the publishers encourage readers to pass their copy along to another reader when they finish. I was 1/4th of the way through the copy I was reading before I passed it onto a sociology student at NEIU That I had just met after it sparked a conversation between she and I. I plan on passing this copy on through one of the little free libraries that have popped up on the North/Northwest side of the city to hopefully find a new reader to touch.

Readers who are interested in acquiring their own copy of this book can visit Big Shoulders Books page about the book to request a free copy.

Books wild Released in October 2013

11.)  The Imperator Plot by Steven Spruill  on 10/1/2013

22.)  Breaking the Trust by Lucy Clare on 10/12/2013

33.)  Mariel of Redwall  by Brian Jacques on 10/12/2013

44.)  Mossflower  by Brian Jacques on 10/12/2013

55.)  Demons Are a Ghoul's Best Friend by Victoria Laurie on 10/12/2013

66.)  Chloe by Freya North on 10/18/2013

77.)  Cleopatra 7.2  by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough on 10/21/2013

88.)   Twilight  by Stephenie Meyer on 10/22/2013

99.)  New Moon by Stephenie Meyer on 10/22/2013

110.) Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer on 10/22/2013

111.) Kitty and the Dead Man's Hand by Carrie Vaughn on 10/27/2013

112.) Kitty Goes to Washington  by Carrie Vaughn on 10/27/2013

113.) Corpse de Ballet: A Nine Muses Mystery by Ellen Pall on 10/27/2013

114.) Even Vampires Get the Blues by Katie MacAlister on 10/27/2013

Books Read in October 2013

Print:

1.) The Imperator Plot by Steven Spruill
2.) Breaking the Trust by Lucy Clare
3.) Chicken With Plums by Marjane Satrapi
4.) The Simulacra by Philip k. dick
5.) Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain
6.) The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
7.) The Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

8.) Demons are a Ghoul's Best Friend by Victoria Laurie

9.) Engaging the Enemy by Elizabeth Moon

10.) Chloe by Freya North 

11.) Cleopatra 7.2 by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough

12.) Echo Recoil by Lazarus Chernik, Echo Chernik

13.) The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister

14.) But Inside I'm Screaming by Elizabeth Flock

    

Audiobook:

1.) Transition by Iain M. Banks
2.) Flag in Exile by David webber

Books Wild Released in September 2013

1.) 12 Monkeys  by Elizabeth Hand on 9/4/2013
2.) The Virtuous Knight  by Margo Maguire on 9/4/2013
3.) Long Way Round: Chasing Shadows Across the World  by Ewan McGregor, Charley Boorman on 9/4/2013
4.) Dark Curse by Christine Feehan on 9/12/2013
5.) lady oracle  by Margaret Atwood on 9/12/2013
6.) The Voyage of the Narwhal  by Andrea. Barrett on 9/12/2013
7.) Whirlwind by charles grant on 9/19/2013
8.) Love in the Time of Dragons: A Novel of the Light Dragons  by Katie MacAlister  on 9/25/2013
9.) Armor by John Steakley on 9/25/2013
10.) Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus  by Orson Scott Card on 9/25/2013
11.) The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon on 9/30/2013
12.) Goblins  by charles grant on 9/30/2013

Books Read in September 2013

Print Books:

1.) Dark Curse by Christine Feehan
2.) The Virtuous Knight by Margo Maguire
3.) Battle Royale by Koushun Takami, Yuji Oniki (Translator)
4.) Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus
5.) Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
6.) Lady Oracle by Margaret Atwood
7.) Love in the Time of Dragons by Katie MacAlister

8.) Pomogranite Soup by Marsha Mehran

9.) Flight, volume 8 by  Kazu Kibuishi (Editor)

10.) The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon

11.) Welcome to the Jungle by Jim Butcher (Goodreads Author), Ardian Syaf (Illustrator)

12.) The Panopticon by Jenni Fagan

13.) Armor by John Steakley

14.) Tatterhood and Other Tales by  Ethel Johnston Phelps (Editor), Pamela Baldwin Ford

15.) Goblins by  Charles L. Grant

Audio Books:

1.) Scholar by L.E. Modesitt Jr.
2.) Princeps by  L.E. Modesitt Jr.
3.) Imager's Battalion by  L.E. Modesitt Jr.
4.) Antiagon Fire by  L.E. Modesitt Jr.

E-Books:

Books Read in August 2013

E-book:

1.) Kiss Me, Kill Me H.P. Mallory, Zoe Winters, Susan Bischoff, Lori Brighton, M.T. Murphy, Kait Nolan, Toni LoTempio, Daniel Arenson, Stacey Wallace Benefiel
2.) Santa Olivia by Jacqueline Carey
3.) Saints Astray by Jacqueline Carey
4.) Jerome and the Seraph by Robina Williams
5.) Angelos by Robina Williams

Audio Books:

1.) The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

2.) Imager's Intrigue by L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Print Books:

1.) A Fist Full O' Dead Guys edited by Shane Lacy Hensley editor

2.) The Lady of the Sorrows by Cecilia Dart-Thornton

3.) Pinball, 1973 by  Haruki Murakami, Alfred Birnbaum (Translator)

4.) Clockwork Fairy Tales: A Collection of Steampunk Fables by by Stephen L. Antczak (Editor), James C. Bassett (Editor), Pip Ballantine, K.W. Jeter, Jay Lake, Kat Richardson, Paul Di Filippo, Steven Harper, Nancy A. Collins, G.K. Hayes, Gregory Nicoll, Philippa Ballantine

5.) Candyfreak: A Journey through the Chocolate Underbelly of America by Steve Almond

6.) Westward Weird by by Martin H. Greenberg (editor), Dean Wesley Smith, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Jennifer Brozek, J. Steven York, Jeff Mariotte, Jody Lynn Nye, Kerrie Huges (editor) , Jay Lake, Larry D. Sweazy, Anton Strout, Seanan McGuire, Brenda Cooper, Christopher McKitterick, Steven Saus, Kerrie Hughes (Editor)

7.) Empire of Ivory by Naomi Naomi Novik

8.) White Lies by Jayne Ann Krentz

9.) Sizzle and Burn by Jayne Ann Krentz

10.) The Voyage of the Narwhal by Andrea Barrett

11.) Firefly: Still Flying: A Celebration of Joss Whedon's Acclaimed TV Series by Joss Whedon

12.) Long Way Round by Ewan McGregor, Charley Boorman, Robert Uhlig

Books wild released in August 2013:

1.)  One Wish  by Linda Lael Miller on 8/1/2013

2.)  The Greedy Auctioneer: Church Choir Mysteries  by Evelyn Minshull  on 8/8/2013

3.)  Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind by Suzanne Fisher Staples  on 8/8/2013

4.)  A Fistful O' Dead Guys   by Shane Lacy Hensley  on 8/8/2013

5.)  Star of Wonder Anthology  by Jo Beverley, Kate Freiman, Alice Alfonsi, Tess Farraday on 8/12/2013

6.)  Clockwork Fairy Tales: A Collection of Steampunk Fables  by Stephen L. Antczak, James C. Bassett on 8/17/2013

7.)  At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon  on 8/17/2013

8.)  Westward Weird by Martin H. Greenberg, Kerrie Hughes  on 8/23/2013

9.)  Sizzle and Burn  by jayne ann krentz on 8/23/2013

10.)  White Lies by jayne ann krentz on 8/23/2013

11.)  Once a Princess   by Johanna Lindsey on 8/23/2013

12.)  Abhorsen by Garth Nix  on 8/28/2013

13.)  The Well of Shades by Juliet Marillier on 8/28/2013

14.)  Darkwitch Rising: Book Three of The Troy Game  by Sara Douglass on 8/28/2013

Bout of Books Read a Thon wrap up

          

         

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.

Bout of Books Read a Thon day 7

          

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. 

Bout of Books Read a Thon day 6

         

       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. 

Bout of Book Read a Thon Day 5

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:

Bout of Books Read a Thon day 4

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

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

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.

Bout of Books Read a Thon Day 2

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.

Bout of Books Read a Thon Day 1

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.

Bout of Books 8.0 Read a Thon Goals

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 :)

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