Teaser Tuesday - Chindi

For this week's Teaser Tuesday I'm choosing Chindi by Jack McDevit

The rules come from MizB of Should Be Reading.

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

The Book SUmmery from GoodReads:

Most science fiction seeks to excite and gratify the reader's sense of wonder. Jack McDevitt's hard SF novel Chindi both satisfies and examines this sense of wonder, which inspires not only SF readers and writers, but every explorer and scientist who seeks to understand the universe.

In Chindi, humanity has expanded to the stars and found very few other intelligent races--all but one extinct, with the survivor none too impressive. Humanity has resigned itself to being alone. Then an alien satellite is found, orbitting a distant star and beaming an unreadable signal across the galaxy. Academy starship Captain Priscilla "Hutch" Hutchins finds herself piloting a motley crew of eccentrics (one an ex-lover) from the idealistic, ridiculed Contact Society, seeking the signal's destination. Their quest turns deadly as it takes them far beyond the borders of explored space to an impossible planetary system--and a vast and terrifying alien artifact.

The Teasers:

"Images began to flash across the screen. The ships were eerily similar to the kinds of vessels that had roamed Earth's seas until recently. Of course, she thought, that only makes sense. How many ways are there to build a ship? (P. 109)

Giveaway (not mine) For the Swan Thieves

Terra over at Yankee Romance Reviews has a giveaway for 3 copies of the Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova (author of The Historian).

You can find her post about the contest over here:

http://yankeeromancereviewers.blogspot.com/2010/01/swan-thieves-unabridged-3-copy.html

Just leave her a comment before the drawing date of Feb. 7, 2010


As those of you who have been reading this blog for awhile know, I loved The Historian. This new book looks just as good!

Patrick Rothfuss' Worldbuilders 2009

I'm a little late to the announcements with this one, but it is just to cool of a contest/fundraiser to not post about it.

Author Patrick Rothfuss of The Name of the Wind (which is one of my top 10 books read this year) is hosting Worldbuilders 2009. In his own words:

"Well today is your lucky day.

Heifer International is my favorite charity. It helps people raise themselves up out of poverty and starvation. All over the world Heifer promotes education, sustainable agriculture, and local industry.

They don't just keep kids from starving, they make it so families can take care of themselves. They give goats, sheep, and chickens to families so their children have milk to drink, warm clothes to wear, and eggs to eat."

Every donation made will be matched by 50% by Patrick and the really cool folks helping out this year. Also there will be a lottery to win some extremely cool prizes by some fantastic authors (including Patrick). Patrick is also organizing some auctions, and selling merchandise on his page, the proceeds of which will also be donated to Heifer International.

This is a very cool contest. Last year raised over $100,000.

You can find out more info, and see what's been donated as prizes at Patrick's Blog

Or if you want to donate right now click on the duck below which will take you to Patrick's Worldbuilders team donation page.



This is a great way to help out some people who need help during this holiday season.

Book Review: Nocturne The Fourth Book of Indigo By Louise Cooper

Indigo is traveling with the entertainer troupe The Brazabon Players. When they reach the town of Bruhome to participate in the yearly festival they notice that there is something wrong. Townsfolk as falling into a coma like sleep, then disappearing from their homes. When one of the players, Chirya, suddenly falls into this sleep the players are roused to act. Indigo sets off with Grimya and Fort (One of the other players to go get a physician from a neighboring town. Only to discover that an ominous and impenetrable forest has moved into place around the town. Separating it from the influences of the outside world.

When Chirya walks off into the forest, still under the influence of the evil forces controlling her, Indigo watches as Grimya and the leader of the Brazabon Players get pulled into the forest along with the sleepwalking girl. Indigo, and two of Chirya's siblings Fort and Esty themselves follow another sleepwalker into the forest. They find themselves in a world of illusions, and together, the four unaffected players need to work together to shatter the demon's powers and return the town to its rightful state.

In this book Indigo matures a bit more and learns to control her destiny rather than have her life controlled by it. As a member of the Brabazon entertainer troupe, Indigo stumbles into the clutches of the third demon she must face and conquerer before her penance for releasing the evils of the seven demons onto the world is completed.

In this book, Indigo must face her fears of being abandoned by her companion the wolf-dog Grimya as well as face the vampire like demon before it drains the entire town of it's life force and moves elswere in the world.

Book Review: Infanta the third book of Indigo by Louise Cooper

This book takes Indigo to the Eastern Continent. There she rescues a noble woman and her infant to be captured by the warlord that they had been fleeing from. Unexpectedly, the new ruler of the kingdom of Simhara welcomes the infant with the plans of marrying her when she comes of age. Indigo is welcomed into the palace routine as the Infanta's caretaker and companion.

But not everything is as idyllic as it seems. Every year around the Infanta's birthday she and the entire palace are plagued with nightmares of being chased by something evil. Indigo suspects that the warlord is the demon in disguise and over the yearsa of living in the palace treats him cautiously.

But as the Infanta turns eleven, it is discovered that not all is as Indigo suspects. Can she find and conquer the demon before it is too late.

This is Indigo's second demon faced. The plot for this chapter in her story is much slower paced than the first two books in the series. I found myself getting a bit impatient for the story to progress and at Indigo's slothful actions as she is lured into a false sense of security by the drugs she uses to combat the bad dreams and feelings that emanate from the unknown demon. This is probably my least favorite book in the series so far.

Book Review: Inferno The Second Book of Indigo by Louise Cooper

In Inferno, Indigo and Grimya travel far North to the volcanic area where copper is mined. While visiting the town near the mine, she stumbles into the cult of Charcharad that is taking control of the townspeople. Indigo starts to investigate this cult, which leads her to the mines themselves.

There she meets the sorcerer priest Jaskar, and discovers that the cult of Charcharad is in fact controlled by one of the seven demons that she released in her past life as Princess Anghara. Indigo must find a way into the valley where the demon is housed, and with Jaskar's help unleash the power of the fire goddess Ranaya to defeat the demon Aszareel and his hold over the miners.

In this second book of Indigo, we get to see more of Indigo's struggles with her internal demons as well as the first of the seven demons that she must face to end the punishment given her by the Earth mother for releasing the demons in the Tower of Regrets.

I found the imagery in this second chapter of Indigo's story amazing. Louise Cooper shows us a fiery world of lava flows, demons and the people impacted by the beliefs of those members of the cult of Charcharad. There were still times where Indigo's nativity irked me, and a few moments where I wanted to throttle her for acting so stupidly. But all in all, it is a good step into a very intriguing story.

Book Review: Nemesis Book the First book of Indigo

Nemesis introduces the reader to Princess Anghara. Firstborn to the king and queen of the Southern Islands, she is not the heir to the throne. Headstrong and willful she starts to wonder what is contained inside the lone tower on the tundra plains - The Tower of Regrets. Envious of her brother who is going to be the holder of the forbidden knowledge, and urged on by her desires Indigo opens the forbidden tower.

Anghara's actions release the seven demons that have been imprisoned in the tower for as long as man can remember. As a result of which Indigo is sentenced to find and conquer the demons that she set free in the world. While she wanders the world searching for them she will remain immortal. Unable to die until her quest is completed. The emissary of the Earth Mother who charges Indigo, as Angharad is now known, with this task also shows her an incentive to help her progress. Her beloved Fenran has been captured by the demons. Tortured yet still alive he will be freed upon Indigo's successful completion of the quest she has been charged with.

I first read this book when I was in high school in the mid 1990's. I adored the series. It was one of those starts to a long series that sucked me in and I rushed to the library to go get the rest of the books.

But only up to book 6 was available and I got overwhelmed by other series and never finished the Indigo books.

I received a copy as part of the 2nd tiara sweeps books sent to me, and I couldn't get past a very important part of the book. I found it a bit to horrific and gorey and passed it along unread.

This time around reading it, I made myself read past where I got hung up last time (and started to this time), and found myself back in that rush of feeling that this was such a good story!

So, it is a little slow at times, and I wanted to shake Anghara for being so stupid a few times. But I enjoyed rereading this book

Book Review: Have Space Suit Will Travel by Robert Heinlein

Teenager, Kip Russel has been longing to travel to the moon. Faced with the option of becoming a soldier (to be stationed at the moon base), an engineer (which requires getting accepted to a good college), or as a tourist (as part of the newly opened space travel industry). Kip's father has been pushing Kip to increase the coursework that he takes to get him ready for life in college. But Kip has not heard back from any of the schools that he has applied to. So when a slogan contest is announced with a first place prize of a trip to the moon, Kip jumps at the chance to win.

Kip ties for third place in the slogan contest and wins a genuine space suit. He names the suit Oscar, and spends the next few months restoring Oscar to space travel condition. When he does not recieve a scholarship, and is faced with working to support his way through college at the less than stellar local college Kip needs to face reality about how he can save up some money to pay for school. He finally decides that he will have to sell Oscar to help pay for his first year in college.

While taking Oscar out for one last walk, Kip answers a call for help over the space channel on his suit's radio. A space ship lands, closely followed by a second, and Kip finds himself journying out of New Jersey into space as a prisnor of the "Wormface". Wormface is a species of alien that had been hiding on the moon looking to take over Earth for their own evil purposes.

Kip and his companions, PeeWee (a twelve year old girl) , and the alien entity known as the Mother Thing travel from the moon to Pluto to try and stop Wormface's evil plans. The mother thing calls her Vegan companions, who capture the Wormface. Kip and PeeWee find themselves in an interstellar courtroom representing Earth in an interstellar courtroom. The fate of the Earth's future is balanced on the two young humans as they represent the planet to the alien judges.

This version of Have Space Suit Will Travel was the Full Cast Audio recording. I love the productions put out by Full Cast Audio. They are like listening to the radio plays. The recording features multiple cast members, music between the chapters, and the melodious bird song voice of the Mother thing and her fellow Vegans. Originally written in 1959, Have Space Suit Will Travel is on of Robert Heinlein's two books written for young readers. It stands the passage of time well, and I was transprted to a relm where space travel is possible.

Book Review: Anatham by Neil Stephenson

Fraa Erasmus is a young Avout living in the Concent of Saunt Edhar. The concent is a sanctuary for academics. Where mathematicians, scientists, and philosophers are able to come up with their theories while being protected from the secular world by stone towers and walls. The cities and governments around the concent have changed through the ages, and always the avout have been able to survive. However, as Fraa Erasmus and his fellow academics prepare for the upcoming rite of Apert, where the cloistered academics may leave the walls of the concent for the first time in ten years, he finds his heart torn. Erasmus is faced with seeing the family he was taken from as a young boy, and is challenged to remain a part of the academic life he has grown into.

However, unknown to Erasmus and the other members of the Concent, there are things happening outside in the secuelar world that will change the Concent and the life Erasmus knows so well. Suddenly the secuelar world calls for the help of the academics, and Erasmus and many other academics are called forth from the Concents all over the world. For there has been a sighting of a ship orbiting the planet, and it is not known if these newcomers are friends or foes. But will the academics be able to solve this problem that they are faced with? Or will they not be able to keep their world from being destroyed by an unknown race?

I've been a fan of Neal Stephenson's books since I first read Snowcrash many many years ago. However, I had a hard time with this book. It wasn't the focus on hard science rather than computers. It wasn't the fact he went from the more cyberpunk plot to a fantastical world of monastaries and cloistered academics. It had a little to do with all the alternate words used for names of places and items and events.

The biggest hindrance that I had with the book was all the length to the build-up of the setting. It felt like when the plot finally started to turn to the events driving the story that it was almost an afterthought

Once events actually started happening, I really enjoyed the book. But it seemed drawn out and overly lengthy. Also, I "read" the audio version of the book. This is a multi-cast recording, this recording also features a cameo by the author and original music inspired by the story. Unabridged, it was almost 38 hours long.

I believe that Neil Stephenson is a very gifted author, and look forwards to his future works. But I was a little dissapointed with this one.

Fall Shelf Cleaning Giveaway Winners!

I would like to announce the winners of the books that I had up for grabs in my fall shelf cleaning giveaway.

Lighthouses of the Golden State won by Jo
The Ten Year Nap won by Amanda Sue
Castaways of the Flying Dutchman(Two copies available)won by: Marie & Mel010100
The House on the Shore won by chamonix44
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz won by Avalonne83
Lake Wobegon Days won by Racheal
Leaving Home: A collection of Lake Wobegon Stories won by Popper
The Price of Pride by Donna MacQuigg (autographed copy) Stays in my giveaway box for a future giveaway as no one entered for it this time around :)

I want to thank everyone who entered the contest. I wish I had enough copies of these books to send everyone a book. Those that won, look for an email or pm from me in the next day or two regarding your win.

Shelf Clearing Contest

I’ve recently acquired a new bookshelf, and in the process of transferring some of the stored books onto it have decided to cull some of the review and other books I’ve found in the process of unpacking books. These are all read previously. Some have been more gently read than others. All are or will be registered at bookcrossing.com before passing along. I don’t mind if the books go directly into your permanent collection, just please leave the labels inside for the future travels of the books. I would also love to get a journal entry sharing what you thought about the book after you read it. But it’s up to you.

Here are the books I want to pass along. I’ve included links to reviews if I have them, or to the bookcrossing journal page for publisher synopsis information.

Lighthouses of the Golden State: Calafornia's Majestic Beacons by Kent Wymouth

The Ten Year Nap by Meg Wolitzer

Castaways of the Flying Dutchman by Brian Jacques (Two copies available)

The House on the Shore by Victoria Howard

The Price of Pride by Donna MacQuigg (autographed copy)

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Centenary Edition by L. Frank Baum

Lake Wobegon Days by Garrison Keeler

Leaving Home: A collection of Lake Wobegon Stories by Garrison Keeler

To enter, leave a comment telling me what book you are interested in reading (or books if more than one catches your eye), why you think you might like to read the book(s) and a way of contacting you such as an email address or bookcrossing ID. Since this is such an extensive list, I’m setting the deadline for the giveaway at September 29, 2009. This gives people three weeks to enter, and tell anyone they think might be interested about the contest.

This is open worldwide. Just be warned if you win and live out of North America it may take a little longer to get books sent out depending on finances :)

Book Review: Lighthouses of the Golden State: Calafornia's Majestic Beacons by Kent Wymouth

Lighthouses. Their name evokes romantic images of tall wave swept towers. Flashing beacons of intense light across stormy seas to guide tall ships to safety. But unknown to people in these days of GPS navigation, lighthouses still hold an important function for traveling ships. The state of California with it’s rocky and foggy coasts is a perfect location for lighthouses in many forms.

In 1848, with the discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill, a rush of people flowed into California. The promise of untold riches waiting to be found drew in men from every part of the globe. During their travels, the coast of California and the waters surrounding it were unexplored and dangerous territory to travel through. But as ship travel was the quickest way to the gold fields of San Francisco many ships braved these dangerous and tricky coast lines.

In 1852 the Lighthouse Board was formed. Its goal was to protect the many ships traveling the Californian coasts. This was the start of building many magnificent structures along the coastline. An effort that would result in California having forty three lighthouses built along it’s coastline over the many years. These lighthouses, manned by brave men and women would protect the ships carrying the commerce, supplies, and people that would build the West.

Lighthouses of the Golden State is an impressive book. Author Kent Wymouth spent five years researching letters, diaries, and original documents, as well as visiting every existing structure in the state. The result is an extremely informative yet deceptively slim book. This book explores the forty three lighthouses that have been built in the state since 1852. The author shares the history of each lighthouse, along with a description of how the lighthouse ran, why each lighthouse was built and other informative points of interests such as what type of lens was placed in each lighthouse. Also, each entry has a photo of the lighthouse being discussed. Lighthouses of the Golden State is an extremely thorough chronicle of California’s waterways covering over one hundred years of history.

I’ve been interested in lighthouses since I first saw one of the lighthouses along the shores of Lake Michigan as a child. However, I am not an enthusiast, well versed in the history behind these structures. As such I found Lighthouses of the Golden State an extremely informative book that didn’t overwhelm me with unknown terms. But on the other hand, I can see this book being a great reference for the lighthouse enthusiast, as well as visitors to California’s coasts that might like to try and visit some of the structures. I very much enjoyed the book. It gave me a look at a coastline I’ve yet to visit myself, and left me wanting to see some of these magnificent structures that helped shape California’s waterways and history myself one day.

Book Review: The Mighty Queens of Freeville by Amy Dickinson

For Amy Dickinson, family is her cornerstone. After becoming a single mother to a toddler, Amy found herself moving back from London to Freeville, New York to mend her broken heart. It was with the help of her unusual family of single mothers and strong independent women that Amy was able to find a new direction for her life while officially becoming a single mother.

As she moves away from Freeville to Washington DC, Amy finds herself returning to her hometown, and the advice of her supportive family. These strong, independent women provide Amy with advice, love, and help when needed to pick up the pieces of her life and make them whole again. The book spans the years from Amy’s divorce to her daughter going away to college. Well known advice columnist Amy Dickinson shares the many triumphs and failures that she has witnessed over the past twenty years.

The book is divided into topics of interest in the author’s life. These range from subjects such as divorce, becoming a single mother with and without a support net, gaining pets, seeing your child through the teen years and dating as an older adult. Each new topic explored has a tendency to jump back to the time before/leading up to the divorce and expanding forwards through the years. I found it a little confusing at first. However I found myself drawn into Amy Dickinson’s story.

As someone who lived in Chicago when Ann Landers passed away, I remember the hype surrounding the search for her replacement. I’ve read a few of Amy’s column’s. I am more familiar with her work on the NPR programs that she participates on though. It was because of this semi-familiarity that I jumped on the chance to read this book. I wasn’t sure what to expect. I found a wonderfully sweet memoir of the years leading up to Amy Dickinson’s jump into fame. I think that’s what endeared me most about the book. The author focuses on her family and her life at the time rather than how she became important. This is a book that I am going to pass along to my own mother. It is a book that I think she will be able to relate to, as a divorced single mother, and will hopefully enjoy.

BTT: A Second First Time

What book would you love to be able to read again for the first time?

This is hard, I re-read books all the time. Especially well loved books like The Lord of the Rongs Trillogy and The Dalemark Quartet by Diana Wynn Jones.

But I think if I had a chance to read any book for the first time again, it would be The Historian.

I read that one for a review on Armchair Interviews and felt I ended up rushing through it. Although it's one of those books that should be savored, but pulls you into the story so completely that you end up turning pages speedily.

*shrug* I don't know.

Book Review: Kitty & the Midnight Hour by Carrie Vaghn

When a late radio dj, who is also a werewolf, gets bored what do you suppose will happen? Kitty Norville accidentally turns her late night music show into "The Midnight Hour". A late night talk show for all sorts of supernatural beings (and not) with problems. However, as her show skyrockets to fame, Kitty finds herself in dire need of help. The local vampire clan has hired a werewolf hunter to kill her, Local police have asked for her help in catching a serial killer who might be a vampire, and whoops! Kitty has just revealed herself to be a werewolf on air for hundreds of listeners!

I'm a fan of a good werewolf story. However, I find them to be few and far in between as most seem to take themselves so serious and end up being pretentious. I've started and put down many paranormal erotica/romances, mystery/thrillers, and fantasy books because of that. But not Kitty and the Midnight Hour.

I loved Kitty, with her low pack status, accidental role as a radio psychologist to the supernatural elements of society, and un-looked for celebrity status. I got caught up in her struggles with her place in the pack, her interactions with the local vampire family, and her budding friendship (and more) with the good looking hunter who tried to kill her at the start of the story.

I was intrigued enough to zoom through the book, and found it an enjoyable and quick read. I'm going to very much look forward to reading the rest of the series.

Booking Through Thursday: Gluttony

Book Gluttony! Are your eyes bigger than your book belly? Do you have a habit of buying up books far quicker than you could possibly read them? Have you had to curb your book buying habits until you can catch up with yourself? Or are you a controlled buyer, only purchasing books when you have run out of things to read?

I used to use the library regularly. Only buying books that I knew I wanted to keep in my permanent collection. But over the years I started buying and trading books more and more. In fact, when I first started getting active on Bookcrossing.com I won the second RABCK tiara sweepstakes. I had over a hundred books sent my way.

It was then that I really learned to release books without reading them. If I had read all those books I still would have them in my To Be Read pile. As it is I sent the last book out in the world just recently over four years after wining it.

But I work around the corner from a Borders and a fantastic UBS Shake Rattle and Read. I do find myself perusing their shelves often on my lunch. But with a basket of about 60+ books waiting to be read plus another 30 - 40 still unacounted for in the books being stored I find myself limiting my purchases. Now it's books from a series we are missing to complete it, new books for the permanant collection by authors Elengil and I will reread, and books as gifts that usually get bought.

My goal for the year is to get that basket lightened. It doesn't seem to be working though as some of my unread series (Sharon Shinn's Archangal books, and some of Feist's Midkempia books among others) get added in when the basket looks a little emptier.

But I've got a commute every day which will get longer come fall. So I expect to beat the pile down a bit and hopefully have more room to buy books again.

Book Review: The Ten Year Nap by Meg Wolitzer

Read and reviewed for Front Street Reviews.

For Amy, life has become slightly stale. She is a stay at home mom, living a lifestyle slightly beyond the means of her one income home. She is the mother of a ten year old, and feels looked down on for still being a stay at home mom and not having returned to the working world. But she has not always been “Mason’s mom who doesn’t work”. Once she was a lawyer in a highly known law firm. When Mason was born, she set her law degree aside to be with him temporarily. But as the years pass, Amy finds her temporary hiatus becoming more and more permanent. She finds herself chafing at the roles and compromises that she sees as becoming her only identity.

However, Amy is not alone. She has a support group of women who all find themselves in the same roles. Wife, mother, and homemaker in a city which prides itself on its diversity and fast paced living where women hold as much power in the working world as their male co-workers. During a routine safety walk for Mason’s school, Amy discovers a new friend in a woman she only vaguely knows through the parent network of Mason’s classmates. As the women witness a horrible event, they form a fledgling bond of friendship. Amy finds her life becoming filled with excitement as she steps out of her confining roles into new ones.

However Amy’s new friendship changes some of her old ones. Until a tragic event swamps her new friendship, Amy doesn’t realize how special her old group of friends really is. Can this group survive the events that it suddenly faces or will these women quickly drift apart?

The Ten Year Nap explores the ideas of motherhood. Through Amy’s story and the stories of her circle of friends we are shown how girls are taught to strive for excellence and to be all they can be, only to be bogged down with the roles of motherhood. The story is punctuated by flashbacks to their mothers and the events which shaped each of these womens young lives.

Meg Wolitzer presents a strong story filled with strong and not so strong characters. We discover two generations of mothers and their hopes and dreams for their own children. I loved how the story was split into smaller sub stories; stories that make you think they are leading away from each other then at the last moment they turn and re-join in an unexpected way. This is not a book I might have picked up if I had seen it at the library. However, I enjoyed it very much and plan on seeking out earlier books by this author.

Book Review: Castaways of the Flying Dutchman by Brian Jacques

Publish Date: 2001
Publisher: Philomel Books
Binding Type: Hardcover

The Flying Dutchman.

A name that brings fear to the hearts of all who hear of the cursed ship. A name which is still known throughout the centuries. A ship that even now is reported seen sailing the waters around Cape Horn. But no one really knows how the curse began. What caused The Flying Dutchman and its crew, captained by the feared Captain Vanderdecken, to be set on its eternal voyage across the seas?

When a nameless boy is found half dead and half frozen on the back of the Flying Dutchman, no one believes he will recover. The boy, claimed by the ship’s cook as a galley boy overcomes his deadly encounter in the harbor. Mute and homeless, the boy is christened Neb. He spends his days cooking and serving the captain and his rough crew. During one of the ship’s last stopovers in Europe, Neb rescues a half-starved dog. Together, the two witness Captain Vanderdecken’s decent into madness & the curse put on the ship by a vengeful angel. The two friends are swept overboard, saved from the curse by the same angel.

The angel grants the pair immortality, and the instructions that they are to roam the earth to help those in need. The friends brave the ages, and in their travels end up in the village of Chapelvale. This sleepy English village is threatened by the industrial progress covering the country. Its location above a vast limestone deposit, makes it a target for greedy men, with a planned quarry and cement factory where the town currently stands.

Neb – now called Ben- befriends several of the villagers. With their help he discovers an ancient riddle that could save the village. But there are only seven days before the machinery arrives, and the houses are sold. Can Ben, his faithful canine companion and the villagers helping the pair unravel the riddles and discover the hidden secrets in time to save Chapelvale from its impending doom?

I’ve been reading books by this author for years. I first stumbled onto Redwall my senior year of high school over a decade ago and kept reading the books as I could find them and as they were published. I don’t know that I’ve read every single book in the series. It’s gotten quite huge over the last five or six years. But They are comfortable books that I tend to check out from the library every few years to reread. So when I say Castaways of the Flying Dutchman on the entryway bargain shelf at the Borders by my work I was instantly intrigued. I bought the book hoping to read it, and pass it onto friends of mine who collect Brian Jacques’s works. I usually pass along copies of his books that I stumble across to younger readers rather than keeping them in our limited book shelves. It took me two weeks of walking by the store during lunch before I bought it. I had finished my commute book that morning and needed something to read on the train trip home.

I was amazed with the book! I found myself drawn into a richly written story. The pages flew by and I found myself wanting more of Ben and Neb’s adventures when the pages closed. I think that in my opinion this is probably one of Brian Jacques’ best novels. It introduces a well known subject – the doomed ship The Flying Dutchman and introduces the story with a twist. It is told from the viewpoint of a pair of survivors of the curse. Through their innocence and joy the pair of friends survive the curse the rest of the ship falls under. Through the angel’s love for them they are given a chance to live long and fruitful lives. Though Ben and Neb are haunted by their experiences of the Flying Dutchman, they are able to step past the fear that ruled their lives on the doomed ship and become stewards of love and friendship throughout the ages.

This is my highest form of praise. The copy I bought will go into my permanent collection of young adult books. Two days after I bought my copy, I found myself walking into Borders and buying three more copies. One to pass on to the friends I originally planned on sharing the book with, and two to pass along in a book giveaway here in the near future. I was reminded why I fell in love with the author’s writing the first time I picked up Redwall and Mossflower, and why I continue to return to re-read his books even now many years since then.


I’ve learned this is the first book in a trilogy. The second and third books in the series, The Angel's Command and Voyage of Slaves, were published in 2003 and 2006 respectively. I look forwards to finding and reading these titles as well.

Joy Nash's Countdown to Summer

Author Joy Nash sent me an e-mail letting me know about her celebration for her upcoming book release. She will be holding a Countdown to Summer.

To celebrate the May 26th release of her Jersey Shore romance A Little Light Magic, Joy’s hosting a month-long blog and Facebook party dedicated to everything wonderful about summer - summer fun, summer memories, summer vacations, summer food, summer entertainment, and - most importantly - the boys (and men!) of summer. Lots of chances to win goodies, including books by Joy and other authors such as Angie Fox, Emily Bryan, Gerri Russell and more. Starting May 1 and continuing through Memorial Day! Details at http://joynash.blogspot.com/

Book Review: The House on the Shore by Victoria Howard

Read and reviewed for Armchair Interviews

Anna MacDonald has been betrayed! The coveted teaching position she has been waiting to get has been given to the other woman that her boss, and boyfriend, has been sleeping with. In anger, Anna quits her job, gives up her flat in Edinburgh, and takes off for the only place that she has ever felt truly happy. Anna’s late grandmother’s croft, located on the shores of Loch Hourn, in the Scottish Highlands.


The croft is isolated. Anna has no phone, no close neighbors, and only her two border collies for company. Her plan for the summer is to nurse her broken heart and pride back to normal while working on the novel she has been yearning to write for years. She doesn’t plan for company during this time. Especially not the unexpectedly handsome company offered in the form of the slightly rude American who knocks at her door one morning.

Luke Tallantyre is a well known artist from Cape Cod Massachusetts. Faced with an artistic dry spell, he has set sail for the unknown wilds of Scotland. He has braved the Atlantic Ocean alone, and has come to Loch Hourn. When his yacht develops a navigational problem, he ends up knocking on Anna’s door for help.

Anna is more than a little resentful of Luke’s intrusion. Faced with an attraction she doesn’t know how to handle after her last rejection, she finds him an unwelcome distraction into her hermetic life. However, when an unknown assassin tries several times to kill both Anna and Luke, they find themselves thrown together in an attempt to find out why.

Will Anna and Luke find out who is trying to kill them and why? Will either of them realize the opportunity for true love that arises during the time they spend together?

I really enjoyed this book. The story drew me in quickly. I found myself having to pace my reading speed in order not to rush through the book. I enjoyed Victoria Howard’s descriptions of the Scottish Highlands, and Loch Hourn. They made me even more convinced that this is a part of the world that I want to someday visit. This was a very compelling story, and I totally enjoyed it despite it being a very quick read. It was one of those rare books that left me thinking "I can't be done yet!" when I turned the last page.