Louis' Journal

My New Year's Resolution last January was to read two books a month for a total of 24 books a year. I ended up with 38 total books read, and since it is highly unlikely I'll finish anything by midnight tomorrow, here's a list of what I've read this year.

 ( My List )
Happy New Year, Everyone!

( for length and disgusting spewing of adoration )

I'm not going to ask what should I pull from my TBR pile (hangs head in guilt at the mountainous stack of books). I have a different query.

Should I stop buying books?

For quite some time, especially the last year, I've been picking my books up either from the library, because I won't spring for the cost of a hardcover, or used book stores (I hit up one that was doing 50 cents a book, and 12 for $5 as I recall). I've been burned in the past by not buying a book and then having it go out of print. As a matter of fact a book that I wanted to read min my youth I found at the 50 cent sale (and it should be among my first six books read of 2010).

Today, and I'll spare you the reason why, I was in the storage unit looking for some unread books that I want to try and get to soon (as in 2010). Back at the apartment I look at my TBR pile and I feel guilty.

Its much easier to pick up out of prints books today, even though the cost varies. Sites such as Amazon, Abe, and even Barnes & Noble often have used books (I forgot ebay).

So should I stop buying books, or just kick back and enjoy the written word (yes I have downloaded books from Project Guttenberg which is why I don't say the printed page).

    This might be a really strange request, but are there any romance sort of novels that are set in World War II and concern the love of a Nazi soldier and a woman who is on the side of the allies? 

Title: Love and Other Fairytales
Characters: Harry, Luna, Voldemort, Ron, Hermione, Ginny
Pairings: All pairings initially reflect canon. Eventual Harry/Luna
Rating: R for violence and disturbing themes.
Summary: Harry learns Luna knows something about Horcruxes, and her price for the information is that Harry keep in touch. He soon learns that not all enemies can be fought and even Luna has secrets.

Flesh and Fire

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris is set two years after vampires have "come out of the coffin." The plot revolves around the mysterious deaths in the small town of Bon Temps where the main protagonist Sookie Stackhouse lives with her remaining family. As the police struggle to identify the murderer Sookie enters a relationship with Bill, the local vampire, which causes rifts among her family and friends. Meanwhile she must defend her brother's innocence in an on-going crime scene investigation where all the evidence is against him.( cut for length... )

This is the third book in Jennifer Rardin's Jaz Parks series. Spoilers.

In this installment, Jasmine and Vayl--two assassins with the CIA--are sent to Iran. In fact, they are sent to Jasmine's twin brother's Special Ops squad, which has a mole. Cassandra, a Seer, and Bergman, the technology expert, are also along for the ride. They have received information about the Wizard, one antagonist that the CIA has been meaning to take down for awhile.

I really liked this book. It has a bit of a plot twist that makes everything make sense (without the deus ex machina tactic). The thing I really liked, though, was how Jaz and Vayl interacted. *Spoilers* Vayl lost his two sons (a disgruntled farmer shot them) and he has been hunting for their reincarnated souls for almost three hundred years. He is usually quite rational, except with his sons, and when the Seer he goes to talk to tells him that his sons are in Iran, he is overjoyed and agrees to pay her price--turn her into a vampire. It was very interesting to see how Jaz reacted to this and how their characters changed. It also talks about loyalty and how that can be shattered, especially when it pertains to Jaz and David.

Rating: 4 and a half/ five. I detect an Euro-centric (or is America-centric?) view here.

This is the second title in the Jaz Parks series, by Jennifer Rardin (I want to know who makes her covers, actually). It is a 300 page (exact) length. As always, minor spoilers.

Jaz is an assassin who works with Vayl, a 250+ year old vampire. They have found out that Bergman (one of the characters), a tech whiz, has created a new armor using biotechnology that has been stolen by a Chinese vamp, and there's a good chance he's planning to use it to overthrow the government.

As with the first book, the action moves very quickly, but Rardin retains her sharp humor. Supporting characters Bergman and Cassandra are developed (especially Bergman, who in the first book was just a tech-head who had a thing against magic). Though I liked the book, it doesn't stand out (I've read books 1-5 so far). I'm afraid, though, that in the massive, over-saturated genre of vampire-novels, it won't stand out. It's a good read, though.

Rating: 4/5 stars. Recommended for anyone who isn't afraid of blood and violence. Or disgusting hell-spawn. Otherwise, quite fun and Rardin has a way with her words.

Post quoted from my blog.

The following post does discuss adult themes, and mentions but (doesn't discuss) sexual abuse.

( Read more... )

Hey everyone. I've noticed that many people seem to be posting their end of the year reading lists and have decided to join in the fun! I'd post it here except, umm, my list is too long to fit in one post. ^^; This year I decided to try writing a few of my thoughts on each book if I felt like it so the word count built up. Also I am a crazy person who reads far far more than some might consider sane. So without further ado:

(Book List Part I)

(Book List Part II)

If you see anything you've been planning to read and would like to know what I thought just ask! I am always willing to ramble on about books. Alternatively, if you'd like a recommendation drop a comment. I'm sure I can find something suited to your taste among the huge amount of things I read this year.

I've noticed a strange trend with a lot of professors, and I'm not too sure why this is happening so perhaps you can comment on a) whether you've done this in the classes you teach and b) if you can provide some kind of explanation as to the reason .

Basically this trend is the professor  will bring in a nice big bowl or basket filled with bite-size candy.  She will then pass it around the room during class discussions or on days when a big assignment is due she'll start the class by something like "As a reward for your hard work, please pass around the candy bowl and treat yourself to one or two".

I find it weird and almost like they're trying to bribe students into liking them or something.  I recently had a discussion about this with a friend who told me nowadays professors are paranoid with ratemyprofessors.com reviews so they do everything they can do to make students like them, hence the candy.  True?  False?

Please clarify, comment, discuss....
Thank you

# 95: House of Mystery vol. 1: Room and Boredom by Matthew Sturges, Bill Willingham and Luca Rossi:

"Over the years I've worked up a brief yet effective speech introducing the bar and some of its more outre elements. It saves a lot of trouble with the new kids.

Now then, this is the House of Mystery. It's a mystical place located at a supernatural crossroads between many worlds. Anyone who can find it is welcome to enter. We have a fully stocked bar, the kitchen is open until midnight, and we don't serve anything that's still alive. There was an incident.

This is a pretty mixed crowd, as you can see, so you discuss politics and religion at your own risk. Sex is fine--just not on the tables. If you do cause any trouble, you'll instantly regret it, because the scary pirate lady will hurt you and then toss you out on your ass.

Monday is ladies' night."

Synopsis: A graphic novel about a haunted house, bar and girl. Not necessarily in that order.

( If there was a soundtrack, it would be by PJ Harvey. Hell, I think there might need to be a soundtrack. )

Hello everyone, I do hope I'm not interrupting any last minute reads for the end of the year, but I'm in need of some help.  For Christmas, I was given two Barnes & Noble gift cards totaling 45$.  But its been so long since I've been able to buy a book that isn't a text book or grammar, that I can't find anything of interest to me.  So here I am, coming here for help.

I'm looking for books that center around Japan.  I love the country and stories set there.  But so far I've only been able to get my hands on Memoirs of a Geisha and the Scent of Sake, and I would really like something more.  I'm partially fond of things that are more about the cultural and historical side of Japan.  I've put Tale of Genji into the cart already, at a steal of a price I might add, but would any of you be willing to make some recommendations for me, please?

A quick note of introduction, since I've been posting all over.

My name is Jesse and I'm an author and literary critic. I don't know that I'll ever hawk my own books but if you ask me, I'll tell you about them. But I will come in here and pop a link to my current article now and again. I tend to focus on small presses--indie, self-pubbed, subsidy presses, etc. There's a lot of crap out there but there's also a lot of good stories. And they won't get the press because they're small/subsidy/self-pubbed--which sucks. But I digress.

I live in Kentucky and I work for an online bookseller (not Amazon, more's the pity. They pay better)dealing with private schools as their formal bookstore. At night, I work as a copy editor for one publisher and as Editor in Chief for another. As you can see, my life is about books. And yes, I actually find time to write my own.

So, hello, nice to meet you. That's me in a nut shell. And I just posted a new review on my column, so if you fancy to read it, CLICK ME

Everyone else was doing it and I don't think I'm going to finish my book in two days especially since I'll be doing nothing but drinking tomorrow.  Here is my book list for 2009!! I am actually one book over my 50 book goal. I put how many stars I gave it (out of five) next to the book. You can read reviews for all of them at my Goodreads Account. (I have a 2009 books read list.)

( Cut to save your friend's list! )

Favorite Book of the Year: Honestly, I think it might be Paper Towns. I haven't read something that FUNNY in such a long time.

Least Favorite Book of the Year: A Katrina Moment. That book wasn't worth the paper that it was printed on.

Biggest Surprise: Hack. I wasn't expecting to like that book SO MUCH. It was well written, emotional but also witty. That doesn't often happen in non-fiction but Plaut pulled it off well. There were a few others (A Break With Charity and The Naming: The First Book of Pelinor were two books I bought with very low expectations and then pleasantly surprised me.) but Hack was still the one I least expected.

Biggest Disappointment: Perks of Being a Wallflower. I mean, don't get me wrong, I really liked it. I just was expecting so much more out of it that I just didn't get. I had heard nothing but good things and then it just fell really short of my expectations.

Overall Reaction to List: There were more re-reads than I realized this year, but that's OK. I got into a mood and just re-read a BUNCH of YA literature. The YA lit was a little heavy this year, but I also read a lot of non-fiction! That's new because I've never really been interested in it before. The fact that eight books this year were non-fiction is something I'm really proud of.

I didnt complete my 50 book challenge of this year, even though i started a little early. 

though in my defence, i've moved home twice, started my last year of an intensive uni course AND had to work upto 30 hours a week because my student loan didn't come through on time. 

my full list is here. 
does anyone have any recommendations for me for next year from these? 

Title: Gwenhyfar: The White Spirit
Author: Mercedes Lackey
Genre: Arthurian fantasy.
Setting: The Britain of the Round Table.
Reason for Reading: I read almost everything that Lackey writes.
Pages: 401
Copyright Date: 2009
Cover: A battered shield with several points missing. A plain, slightly rusty sword.
First line: "The talk at the hearth of the high hall of her father's castle was all of magic that wild evening."
Best part: This Arthurian fantasy has the least mention of Arthur in any I've read and that made it so interesting.
Worst part: Evil lookalike sister? Fer realz?
Imaginary Theme Song: "Take the Road" from Never After
Grade: C+
Recommended for: Anyone who likes to read about badass women warriors.
Related Reads: By the Sword by Mercedes Lackey, The Deed of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon, The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley

( WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!! THIS QUOTE HAS SPOILERS!! )

As a whole, I'm not overly impressed with what I read this year, though there were some amazing reads in my list... and I came up just shy of my low goal of 52 books.

( What I read in 2009 )

Title: Touched by Angel (I)
Author: nilitara
Fandom: HP, SPN
Rating: PG
Charaters: Harry, Castiel 
Summary: Castiel is given his new mission.
For: crossovers100
Prompt: 068. Lightening.
Disclaimer: The characters are the property of their respective creator. I own nothing.
*
Title: Touched by Angel (II)
Author: nilitara
Fandom: HP, SPN
Rating: PG
Charaters: Harry, Castiel 
Summary: Harry is locked in a freezing cupboard. What is an angel to do? 
For: crossovers100
Prompt: 086. Cold.
Disclaimer: The characters are the property of their respective creator. I own nothing.
*
Title: Touched by Angel (III)
Author: nilitara
Fandom: HP, SPN
Rating: PG
Charaters: Harry, Castiel 
Summary: Harry is ready to do the unthinkable. Castiel stops him and becomes his only light. 
For: crossovers100
Prompt: 073. Light.
Disclaimer: The characters are the property of their respective creator. I own nothing.
*
Title: Touched by Angel (IV)
Author: nilitara
Fandom: HP, SPN
Rating: PG
Charaters: Harry, Castiel 
Summary: Years from now, people would wonder how Harry became the loving boy he is. 
For: crossovers100
Prompt: 010. Years.
Disclaimer: The characters are the property of their respective creator. I own nothing.
*
Title: Touched by Angel (V)
Author: nilitara
Fandom: HP, SPN
Rating: PG
Charaters: Harry, Castiel 
Summary: Castiel gives Harry a Christmas present. And some hope... 
For: crossovers100
Prompt: 092. Christmas.
Disclaimer: The characters are the property of their respective creator. I own nothing.

I know this is sort of incredibly unlikely, but:

Does anyone have any resources (forums, LJ comms, equivalents to the Philosophy Gourmet Report, whatever) for Religious Studies? I'm already a member of the SBL and the AAR, and have access to all of their resources. I can find lots of resources for my subfield (Ancient Religious Lit/Biblical Studies), but very little for the field in general.