All Hallows Read: My Favorite NEW Scary Books in 2014

Happy Halloween!  (Cue singing: It’s the most wonderful time of the yeeaarrrr!)  I have had such a busy October that there’s no way I’ll be able to do a semi-thoughtful All Hallows Read post like last year’s.  Sorry!  Check there for a list of scary children’s books I highly recommend for this most joyous of

Book Review: Among Others by Jo Walton

Star Ratings: Characters: **** (4 stars) Character Development: ***** (5 stars) Plot: *** (3 stars) Writing: **** (4 stars) Overall: **** (4 stars) Age range recommendation: This isn’t really YA, but could (and should) be read by teenagers, too. This book tripped me sideways and tossed me back into the world of vintage SciFi and

Book Review: A Walk In The Woods by Bill Bryson

Star Ratings for Nonfiction Writing: *****  (5 stars) Narrative: ***** (5 stars) Interesting Subject: **** (4 stars) Objectivity and research: **** (4 stars) Overall: ***** (5stars) I got A Walk In The Woods out of the library on a recommendation of a friend who has hiked parts of the Appalachian Trail.  I have hiked exactly

Book Review: Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater

Star Ratings: Characters: **** (5 stars) Character Development: ****** (6 stars. Deal with it.) Plot: **** (4 stars) Writing: ***** (5 stars) Overall: ***** (5 stars) Age range recommendation: 14 and up. Maggie Stiefvater’s Raven Cycle will always be the Big Fat Exception to the I-rarely-read-sequels rule.  The third installment of this four book series

Book Review – Lockwood & Co #2: The Whispering Skull

Star Ratings: Characters: ***** (5 stars) Character development: ***** (5 stars) Plot: ***** (5 stars) Writing: **** (4 stars) Overall: ***** (5 stars) Age range recommendation: 11 and up It’s rare and exciting that I read more than one book in a series.  Series aren’t often my thing, and even when I do read a

Book Review: Beware The Wild by Natalie C. Parker (coming out soon!)

Star Ratings: Characters: **** (4 stars) Character Development: **** (4 stars) Plot: *** (3 stars) Writing: **** (3 stars) Overall: **** (4 stars) Age range recommendation: 12 -18 I read an ARC of Beware The Wild and some details may change before publication! I seriously dig swamp magic.  I mucked around writing half a novel

Book Review: Sunshine by Robin McKinley

Star Ratings: Characters: ***** (5 stars) Character Development: **** (4 stars) Plot: ***1/2 (3 1/2 stars) Writing: ***** (5 stars) Overall: **** (4 stars) I would need both my hands and somebody else’s to count the number of times that Sunshine has been recommended to me.  Rosie has been so fervent that I might still

What I Read In September: 13 Books and Then Some

Ahoy there, readers and spies. I’ve got a list for you, today, instead of a proper review. It was a busy month.  I moved into a new apartment, agonized over which books to bring to said apartment, and spent half the month without much internet access.  Maybe it was the stress of relocating that had