Among Others - Jo Walton

OMG! I cannot even tell you how much I loved this book. It just hit that sweet spot with all the little things that make a book great to me. There was a crazy mother, an unknown father, boarding school, a mysterious death, and magic.
At first I was a little put off by reading the back cover and seeing that fairies were involved in the story. I am not a big fan of fairies, but it was done so well that the fairies were not even that big a part of the story. It's more like a faint tinge of fairies and magic.
I am a big believer in magic, but of the sort that is more mystical and realistic and twists in with fate and destiny vs. spells and potions.
The idea I got was that older, more used objects contain magic, which I agree with, while new things and places are devoid of magic. The older a thing is the more magical it can be.
There is a running theme of traveling while Mori goes back and forth to school, the library, her father's home and her aunt's home. She meets so many people and tries to figure out where she fits in without her twin sister.
Through out the whole book Mori devours books and keeps a running commentary on all the great and not so great ones. It's amazing to see a girl's love of reading intermingle with her life.
Loved it loved it loved. I will probably have to buy this one since I got it from the library.
READ THIS.

Ohhh A Kitten Reading!

It doesn't get any cuter than this.

Frustrated Reader

For a couple of weeks I was getting very frustrated with the books I was reading. It seemed like one after another I was throwing them down, unable to finish anything. I was disappointed with the author, the story, the characters, the tone, whatever and everything at once. When you desperately want to read something GOOD and can't find it, it can drive you crazy.
There is a strange ebb and flow to books. Sometimes my Amazon Cart is overflowing and sometimes desolate with crickets. I read all the blogs and nothing sounds appealing... nothing.
Then as if by magic I get the email that there are holds for me at the library. I get a lot of holds and not all of them are gems. I can tear through them too, but this week I have struck story gold.
Mr. Penumbra was amazing and now I'm onto Among Others and I am in heaven. The only problem is that once you find books like these they are gone and finished before you know it. They are warm and cozy and in reading them you find all the little nooks and crannies of your day into which to squeeze out a few minutes here and there.
Then you reluctantly and joyfully finish.
Then you're back in the bookstore and the library trying to find that next book, that next fix. Yes that is a drug reference because that is what it feels like.

Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

First of all let me say that the cover GLOWS-IN-THE-DARK!
Coolest thing ever and I didn't even notice until I turned off the light one night after reading in bed. All those little yellow books glow. For a book nerd this is beyond awesome, and it relates to the story. Whoever designed this cover is a genius and when I need cover art for my book they are the first person I will call.

Now to get to the nitty-gritty. This book has everything that a person who loves books needs in a riveting story. Not only does it have old books, old people, and a book store with ladders, but it has Google, complex data-visualization, and every type of new-fangled book technology. Ohh it gives me goose bumps.
Needless to say I loved it. I even read it slowly on purpose to savor it. Now that doesn't mean it's free of issues. The romance falls flat... really flat. If the relationship between Clat and Kat had been more, well romantic, this book would be unstoppable. But as written it will probably have a smaller audience of devoted book lovers only.
The climactic scene is good, but turns out to be anti-climactic which was a little disappointing. The story comes around in the end to a neat and tidy ending and I love a good epilogue where everyone's story is fully played out. It is a satisfying read and I recommend it highly.

Architecture on Books

Check this out!
Why didn't I think of this?.... combining my two favorite things.
Found on Travel Between the Pages.

Giving up on JK

So I can't do it. I can't finish Casual Vacancy. I was forcing myself to pick it up and then spending more than a minute on a page, getting easily distracted by House Hunters and any other show on TV. That's not a good sign.
That doesn't mean I'll never finish it, it just means I will have to come back to it later.
I went to the library on Friday and had 4 holds ready for pick-up.
After I started Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore,  the was no going back to The Casual Vacancy. 
It's really just that good of a book, but I'll post a full review when I finish later this week.
You know that feeling of pressure and guilt when you get a brand new book from the library and you just know someone else is waiting for you to finish it so that it can be their turn?  With 4 holds to get thru I had to put aside the book I own and start my library books.
So far they all look good.
I've got the 24 Hour Bookstore, I Hunt Killers, Among Others, and Drop Dead Healthy.

Book Mountain

Can I live here? There's plenty of space. Maybe in a few years you'll see this place on Extreme Homes when I turn it into my personal house.
Try out this website Travel Between the Pages. It combines my two favorite hobbies: travel and reading.