FeatherLight » books

Reading: Jane Goes Batty

Amanda — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 23:30:18 +0000

I thought it might be kind of cool to review books here. I am a HUGE reader – always have been – and recently rediscovered Goodreads, where I have entered as much of my personal library as I can remember. It doesn’t count books I’ve read that I don’t own – I wish I could remember half the library books I’ve borrowed over the last 35 years. Every once in a while I’ll pick up a book to read only to find that hey, I’ve read this before…

Anyway, Goodreads does giveaways of books, sponsored by authors, publishing houses, and whoever else wants to share either a book they’ve read or a book that’s about to be released. I never win anything, but I put my name in for several books I thought sounded interesting, and I actually WON. Quel surprise. Part of the deal is that they’d really like it if maybe you’d kind of write a review, if you feel like it? So, I wrote a review. It’s not a very good review – the book deserves better – but I wasn’t sure how much to divulge. I need to read some of the reviews on Amazon.com and see if I can get some pointers…

Jane Goes Batty by Michael Thomas Ford

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received Jane Goes Batty through a goodreads “first reads” giveaway – I never win anything, so I was just excited about that to begin with. I read the first book in the series while I waited for this one to arrive, and fell in love with the characters and the storyline – I only hoped the second book would be at least as good as the first. I wasn’t disappointed.

The second book begins right where the first leaves off – Jane’s book is a hit and Our Gloomy Friend is apparently nowhere to be seen. Byron is teaching Jane the tricks of the vampire trade, so to speak, just in time for her boyfriend’s mother to come for a visit. Several new characters are inroduced, along with some familiar faces, and the book moves along at just the right pace. There are lots of chuckles and a few groans, but it’s all in all a very entertaining book. I’m really looking forward to the third installment in the series…

View all my reviews

I love tools that give you recommendations for things you might like based on books you’ve read, or music you love, or things you’ve purchased. It’s like they somehow have insight into my brain! (Not really, I know). That’s one of the reasons I love to visit Amazon.com’s Recommended for You page… I’m constantly updating my preferences so my recommendations are up to date. What can I say… I’m a weirdo. Anyway, here are the top 10 recommendations for me as of today, 18-Nov:

For the Kids: Various Artists:
Toot and Puddle: Let It Snow, by Holly Hobbie:
Viva La Vida, by Coldplay:
Little Voice, by Sara Bareilles:
Toot and Puddle: I’ll Be Home For Christmas, by Holly Hobbie:
Toot and Puddle: Top of the World, by Holly Hobbie:
Toot and Puddle: The One and Only, by Holly Hobbie:
We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things, by Jason Mraz:
I Was Told There’d Be Cake, by Sloane Crosley:
Bright Lights, Big Ass: A Self-Indulgent, Surly, Ex-Sorority Girl’s Guide to Why it Often Sucks in the City, or Who are These Idiots and Why Do They All Live Next Door to Me?, by Jen Lancaster:

Now, what does it say about me that Toot and Puddle feature so prominently in my recommendations? I like pigs, sure. I like children’s books. I love Holly Hobbie’s fantastic illustrations. Hmm. Maybe I really am just a big kid?

Centennial

Amanda — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 03:42:10 +0000

Hey, yesterday’s post was #100! I didn’t even realize it.

Have you been watching True Blood on HBO? I have. I’m a big fan of the Southern Vampire mystery series, and when I found out they were making a TV show based on the books, I couldn’t wait. But I’ve been so disappointed! Anna Paquin is not the way I thought Sookie Stackhouse would be at all. I do think Stephen Moyer is an excellent Bill. They’ve changed some of the characters and storylines, and I don’t necessarily think it enhances the show. I’ve still watched it, and look forward to next week’s season finale. I hope it gets renewed, ’cause there’s nothing I like more than my favorite books brought to life.

Bookworm

Amanda — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 04:17:24 +0000

When Wia was born, I decided I was going to be the aunt that gives books. I’m a lifelong reader – it’s my relaxation method of choice – and I’d love nothing more than to instill that same love of reading in my nieces.

Wia loves to be read to, and so it’s a good thing that Grandma has enrolled her in the Children’s Book of the Month Club. So far, she’s received:

If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, by Laura Numeroff

If You Give a Pig a Pancake, by Laura Numeroff

Mother Goose, illustrated by Mary Engelbreit

Last year for Christmas, I gave Olivia four of the Bing Bunny books. She loved them, and now Emma loves them, too. She’s happy to sit on the floor all by herself and “read” the books to herself. It’s the cutest thing – she has those stories totally memorized. Her favorite is Bing: Paint Day, by Ted Dewan.

It’s only my favorite because of the way she tells it, with all the same inflection that we adults put on the words when we read it to her. She’s so smart!

Another post about books

Amanda — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 04:11:19 +0000

Twelve and I went to Borders tonight. I had $15 in Borders Rewards Bucks, and I really did intend to just pick out one or two items and use up my bucks before they expired… what is it they say about the best laid plans? Almost $100 later, here’s what I came home with:

	Everyone keeps telling me I need to read Jodi Picoult, so I figured I’d give this one a try.
	I’ve been wanting to read this one for a while; it’s been on my Amazon wish list, and I just hadn’t gotten around to ordering it.
	I read Lucy Sullivan Is Getting Married, by Marian Keyes, just a few weeks ago. I really enjoyed it — it was a light read (not that I do a lot of heavy reading, per se) — and figured I’d pick up another Keyes novel the next time I was at the bookstore. I’ll make my way through all of them eventually.
	I love Stephen Lawhead. I read Taliesin when I was just a teenager, and devoured the Pendragon Cycle as quickly as they were released. I think they’re in a box in the attic… Anyway, I finished the Song of Albion series around Christmas, and now I’m looking forward to the King Raven trilogy. I really think I have a weakness for serial books. Is that wrong?
	I’ve been waiting to see the movie until after I read the books. I didn’t even know it was a series until a friend mentioned that his eleven-year old daughter couldn’t wait to see the movie and see how it compared. I love children’s fiction, so I’m excited to see if I like this as much as I’ve enjoyed others (see Harry Potters 1-7, His Dark Materials series, Anne of Green Gables, A Series of Unfortunate Events, etcetera).

Sadly, this will probably only last me for a couple of weeks… I think I really need to join the public library.

Books I’ve read in the last 3 months:

Amanda — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 04:07:16 +0000

The Thirteenth Tale, by Diane Setterfield. This was a Christmas gift from my parents, along with a couple of others I’d had on my Amazon wishlist. I had a hard time getting into it at first, but really enjoyed reading it once I was able to get past the first chapter or so.

Definitely Dead, by Charlaine Harris. Book 6 of the Southern Vampire Mysteries series, I’ve loved each one of these even better than the last. For some reason they’re really hard to find in my local Barnes & Noble stores, so I usually have to order them online.

Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married, by Marian Keyes. I don’t like all chick-lit, but thought I might try Marian Keyes after reading an excerpt of one of her books somewhere. This was the only one available when I went to look locally, so I gave it a try. Now I feel I need to read the rest of her books!

The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls. I loved this book — I wanted to reach out and give the little girl Jeannette a hug. Talk about succeeding in the face of diversity.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, by Lisa See. I had this on my Amazon wishlist for several months, and when I finally got to read it I actually finished it in one afternoon. The descriptions of the practices of another culture — especially those that are no longer commonly performed — are always fascinating to me.

You can see more of what’s on my bookshelf and what I’d like to read at Goodreads, or on my Book Wishlist at Amazon.

Well, there’s the first list done — now I just have to think of topics for the next 30 days…