# Heidi's 2014 Reading Journal



## heidi_g (Nov 14, 2013)

So&#8230; I'm hoping to read 70 books this year! (Actually, I'm hoping to read more than that, but I read 70 books in 2013, so I'm hoping to at least keep it even.) I try to read a little bit every night before I go to bed, and whenever I can on the weekends&#8230;

And 2014 has gotten off to a great start.

First, I finished *The Selkie Sorceress by Sophie Moss*:

It's the third book in _The Seal Island_ Trilogy by Sophie Moss. They all take place on Seal Island in Ireland and are a blend of selkie/mermaid lore/retellings. I watched the movie _Ondine_ starring Colin Hanks, and re-read Hans Christian Andersen's _The Little Mermaid_ recently, so it was fun to read this trilogy. While each of the books focuses on a different love-relationship, the lives of the islanders are entwined, and most of the same characters showed up in each book. I liked how that made the island itself come to life. There's lots of powerful flowers in the stories (roses, in particular) which is something I'm fond of. The entire series is a good/light fairytale/fantasy/romance read, and the last one was one of the more well-written ones.

Next, I read *Acquamarine by Alice Hoffman*. It's a middle grade contemporary mermaid tale about two best friends. Alice Hoffman is one of my favorite authors and I enjoyed this short, sweet read. Unfortunately, it's one of those books that hasn't been published in digital format yet&#8230;. EEK!

Then I read: *The Golem and the Jinni by Helen Wecker*


This was a really interesting read, as I was fairly unfamiliar with golems. (They're kind of weird creatures!) I absolutely loved the Jinni. The theme of the novel was pretty much: the tussle between doing what we want to do, when we want to do it, and considering how our actions affect our communities. It was a historical fantasy which spanned Syria, Germany, and the US, with the bulk of the story taking place in New York City in 1899. The writing is smooth and made the novel easy to read. I had a niggle with part of the ending&#8230; but no spoilers here, and the very end-ing, I thought was perfect. Chava, the golem, made for an unusual female character, and I enjoyed that aspect of her storyline very much.

I just finished *The Madman's Daughter by Megan Shepherd*. 

I'd seen this book around and was curious. It's currently on sale for $1.99, so I snapped it up! Okay, I didn't know this was a retelling of H.G. Well's _The Island of Dr. Moreau_. I think I might have been happier, if I'd known that going in. (It becomes obvious fairly quickly, but still!) Plus there's animal cruelty. Always iffy. Anyway, I was kind of all over the place on this one. It's told in the first person-Juliet Moreau. She didn't quite grab me, but there was enough interesting things going on, that I confess, I was curious enough to keep reading. I really loved the ending, lol. I mean I just really loved it. I thought it was kind of perfect. But I can't really tell you why, SORRY!

Yes. Sigh. There's a love triangle too. I think it's not so bad I also didn't realize this was a horror story going in. It is. There is very much horror in the story, but it's also got a creepy, atmospheric horror vibe going on too.

So&#8230;. please jump in if you have any thoughts or comments or if you've read any of these books!

I'm off to pick the next one&#8230; so many to choose from, lol!


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## heidi_g (Nov 14, 2013)

So, I think I'm going to update this thread every Sunday, with the books I've read over the past week. I will say this, I read faster, the more that I read. When I was in 2nd grade I took home a thick reader and read it all in one night. When I brought it back the next today, my teacher accused me of lying  Really, even though I had a note from my stepmother to confirm I'd read it. (The notes were required.) I was like, wow! Anyway, I'm not a speed reader by any means, but I do enjoy reading, so I'm enjoying reading faster so&#8230; I can read more!

This week started with: *Psycho Inside me by Bonnie R. Paulson *

Okay, if you've ever been sexually molested/assaulted/abused, know someone who's been sexually molested/assaulted/abused, or just been outraged when you've heard stories of sexual molestation/assault/abuse you might enjoy this. It's a contemporary revenge fantasy. A girl's. It reminded me a bit of the movie _Hard Candy_. But the pacing was good and I though the escalation of the&#8230; gosh I don't want to give only spoilers. There was an aspect of the escalation that was well done. It's a pretty fast read and if you can appreciate vigilante fantasies ala _Dexter _you might like this too.

Next up was: *The Opposite of Dark by KB author Debra Purdy Kong *

Every now and then I step out and read a mystery/thriller. In this one, Casey is a transit security cop. She's very likable and in this story she's very motivated to find out what really happened to the dead guy&#8230; She's also got a pretty complicated family situation. Since I'm always fascinated by issues, concepts, of Light vs. Dark, my favorite part of the book was: What is the opposite of Dark?

Ended the week with *Forsaken (Daughters of the Sea), by Kristen Day*. Unfortunately, the digital version is out of print, although I think it's coming back. Anyway, this is a water-fantasy, i.e. the world is centered around the sea and its creatures. Mythic figures like Thetis, a Nereid, are central to the story. I really loved the world, and I loved the main character Hannah in the first part of the book. I found myself skimming around the time my Kindle hit 70%. I'm never sure if that's me, my mood. However if you're into watery fantasy worlds, this is a really well developed one.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

I missed your first post, glad you are following up with the idea of posting running book reviews/discussion!  You were right, most of these I am unlikely to read, but I did pick up The Opposite of Dark for future consumption!


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

Heidi, welcome to the world of book postings.

i have a favor to ask, please type the name of the books in your post, so that folks who are using the mobile site will know the name of the books.

i'm off to sample the golem book


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

heidi_g said:


> First, I finished:
> 
> It's the third book in _The Seal Island_ Trilogy by Sophie Moss. They all take place on Seal Island in Ireland and are a blend of selkie/mermaid lore/retellings. I watched the movie _Ondine_ starring Colin Hanks, and re-read Hans Christian Andersen's _The Little Mermaid_ recently, so it was fun to read this trilogy. While each of the books focuses on a different love-relationship, the lives of the islanders are entwined, and most of the same characters showed up in each book. I liked how that made the island itself come to life. There's lots of powerful flowers in the stories (roses, in particular) which is something I'm fond of. The entire series is a good/light fairytale/fantasy/romance read, and the last one was one of the more well-written ones.


I have the first one in this series...may have to move it up. I'll have a Fantasy month in my genre thread. Thanks!

Betsy


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## heidi_g (Nov 14, 2013)

The Hooded Claw said:


> I missed your first post, glad you are following up with the idea of posting running book reviews/discussion! You were right, most of these I am unlikely to read, but I did pick up The Opposite of Dark for future consumption!


heehee, I expected so but thank you for stopping by anyway!


telracs said:


> Heidi, welcome to the world of book postings.
> 
> i have a favor to ask, please type the name of the books in your post, so that folks who are using the mobile site will know the name of the books.
> 
> i'm off to sample the golem book


telracs, thanks so much for the welcome, it's always awkward jumping in in the beginning, so I do appreciate it 
Also, thanks for letting me know about the book titles, I think I'll modifiy my first posts and make sure I add them. Let me know if you pick up the golem book and what you think about it. For me, it was kind of one of those books where the writing and characters grew on me.


Betsy the Quilter said:


> I have the first one in this series...may have to move it up. I'll have a Fantasy month in my genre thread. Thanks!
> 
> Betsy


cool the last two books were written with more disciplined POVs, so just a heads up in case that's something that matters to you. However, I enjoyed the first book (and second) enough to read the series back-to-back which is something i rarely do. If it makes you're fantasy month, I'll love to hear your thoughts.

So I've read a lot this month, for me. I've been in kind of a funk and reading has been a great escape and pleasure while I've been working my way out of it. Not sure my ship is righted yet, but I'm certainly feeling better than I did a few weeks ago, and gosh, I have been enjoying reading so much! I don't think I'll be able to keep up the pace, but we shall see.

For this week I've read:

*The Changlings (The War of the Fae Book #1) by KB author Elle Casey* 
This is the first book I've read by Elle and I have to confess, I was a bit nervous I wasn't disappointed. From page one, it was clear what a great natural storyteller she is. The main characters, Jayne and Tony are completely likable and their adventures were interesting from the get- go. What I loved was how Casey blended her fantasy into contemporary reality. I hate spoilers, so I won't go there, but let me just say that some of the surprises that showed up throughout the book were quite delightful and had me smiling. And the book is free! I've already got the second book in the series, so&#8230;

The next book I read was* Foreverland is Dead by Tony Bertauski *He's another indie, although I don't know if he's a KB member. OMG. I loved reading this book. It's actually part two, the first book is _The Annihilation of Foreverland_, which I haven't read and not sure that I will. So this second book works just as well as a standalone. What did I love about it? It's kind of a creepy dark fantasy psychological thriller with mystery and there's all sorts of stuff about dreaming and the female characters are all over the place. More elements I love: Snow Weird, huh. But I grew up in the South and moved to the inland northwest a little over four years ago and I just love the snow and whenever I read a book now that has snow, it's so much more real for me! Anyway, this is one of those fun dark reads that kind of gives you chills and just keeps you glued to the page because you're dying to find out what's going on.

The next book I read was *Black Spring by Alison Croggon*.
It's a _Wuthering Heights_ retelling. I need to say I tried to read WH last year, after really enjoying_ Jane Eyre_. Unfortunately, I wasn't enjoying WH so much, so it got re-shelved for later&#8230; or uhm&#8230; maybe never, lol! Anyway, I had friends who raved about WH so I suppose I was disappointed in myself for giving up on it. So when I saw this retelling I jumped at it, especially because it was supposed to have magical elements. Hmmm&#8230; what to say about this book? I loved the writing, so I can't say I didn't enjoy reading it, because I did. I think the best way I can describe it as that the magical elements didn't play out for me in the way that I think I wanted them to. The book opens with Hammel/the Lockwood-character going to a wizard to get some charms to protect him on his trip up north. So my expectations were high from there. SIGH. Anyway, the other thing,_ Black Spring_ seemed to want to portray Lina/Catherine and Damek/Heathcliff in a more charitable light than the original novel. I'm not sure that worked. I think the kind of stunning thing about _Wuthering Heights_ is how Catherine and Heathcliff are presented as they are without excuse. So&#8230; If you're a WH fan, or a retelling fan, you might give it a go. It did cause me to pick WH back up, and now I'm reading some more of it&#8230;


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## heidi_g (Nov 14, 2013)

I started the week reading more of *Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte* 
I read about 35% more of the book and am at about 60%. But the same as the first time I tried to read it, Emily Bronte's writing style is one that's hard for me to enjoy. I'll likely finish the book someday&#8230;

Then I started *The Hounds of Autumn by Heather Blackwood*.  It's a steampunk mystery, and I picked it out of my TBR because of the steampunk. There's a lot good about it: the mechanical cat, Giles, for one thing. I guess I wasn't quite ready for another mystery so I set it aside.

*Ratcatcher by V. J. Chambers*  was my next try. It was a big hit with me. I really enjoyed reading it. A Dark Fantasy/Horror with elements of, yes, _The Pied Piper_! I found it to be very awesome, and thoroughly enjoyed reading it. (Hmm&#8230; I'm repeating myself, I must have really liked it!) First, it reminded me a bit of: *Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill*. If you're not aware, Joe Hill is Stephen King's son. _Heart-Shaped Box_ is another Dark Fantasy/Horror about a rock star. _Ratcatcher_'s main male character is also a rock star. As I continued reading, it made me think of Stephen King's work, in general. One of the qualities that I've always loved about some of King's best work is his ability to weave horror so seamlessly into everyday life. Chambers achieved that in _Ratcatcher_. Finally, it made me think about *Virtue by Amanda Hocking*.  The antagonist's had a similar vibe and I thought both stories were pretty clever when it came to plotting. I had some minor minor plot quibbles: a car abandoned on a property, the car's owner is missing, and when the police arrive, nothing is mentioned. Overall, it was a great read. I highly recommend it if you're in the mood for a clever, dark retelling of _The Pied Piper_. The main female character, Lark, was really well done. I'll definitely be reading more of Chambers.

I went for a couple of shorts to close out the week: *Caretaker by Jason Gurley.* It was a well done apocalyptic scifi. A short story, it felt complete and the main character, Alice was likable as was Eve, the onboard AI. If you like this kind of stuff, I recommend picking it up too.

Next, inspired by Telracs reading of the Carole King biography, I read the prologue and first chapter of *I'm Your Man: The Life of Leonard Cohen.*  Many years ago, I went through a five-year period where about all I read was biographies and I haven't finished any since then. The beginning of this one is interesting, so it may be something I come back to later, because&#8230; gosh, I just love this song and it would be interesting to learn more about the man who wrote it!





I finished up with this week with *The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson*. It was free (and still is!) when I downloaded it a few months ago. Although I've watched many of the movies and have always appreciated the story's premise, I'm not sure I've ever read the original tale. Well, I enjoyed it. I love stories about identity, and Stevenson's tale was simple and ingenious. Quite the fun and thought-provoking read. My favorite quote:

"&#8230; and I hazard the guess that man will ultimately be known for a mere polity of multifarious, incongruous, and independent denizens."


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I like the way you write about the books you read, Heidi!

Betsy


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## heidi_g (Nov 14, 2013)

Thanks Betsy!


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

Productive week of reading! Oddly enough, the book I finished this evening mentioned Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and I noted that I had never read it and might want to read it.


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## heidi_g (Nov 14, 2013)

I think Dr. Jekylll & Mr. Hyde has spawned/inspired a lot of other work!


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## Winter9_86 (Sep 3, 2013)

Love to read about your reading! Do you read one at a time or do you switch between moods?


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I just download Jeckyll & Hyde.  Didn't realize it was so short...  I think I've read it already, but will throw it into the mix when I get to horror books (maybe in time for Hallowe'en).

Betsy


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> I just download Jeckyll & Hyde. Didn't realize it was so short... I think I've read it already, but will throw it into the mix when I get to horror books (maybe in time for Hallowe'en).
> 
> Betsy


Oh yeah -- it's really short. If you've seen movies, they generally bulk up the story a bit -- and add romance  if I'm not mistaken.


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

Even skimming I couldn't really finish Wuthering.  I loathed that book and have given up even considering finishing it (I finally read some cliff notes rather than skim and I'm glad I never forced the rest of it...)



Too many other good books to read!


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

_Wuthering Heights_ is well written, but the problem is there are no characters with even an iota of redeeming value. They're all self centered and don't ever seem to grow out of it.


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

Ann in Arlington said:


> _Wuthering Heights_ is well written, but the problem is there are no characters with even an iota of redeeming value. They're all self centered and don't ever seem to grow out of it.


That about sums it up perfectly. Just add the tags: Depressing, unbelievably depressing and would have been better if they had all jumped off the cliff.


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## heidi_g (Nov 14, 2013)

Winter9_86 said:


> Love to read about your reading! Do you read one at a time or do you switch between moods?


I prefer to read one at a time, but when I'm not finishing and going back (sometimes) then it will be a switch between moods I think, overall, I'm a pretty moody reader though. My reading life is the one place in my life, where I really give myself permission to totally indulge my whims.

Betsy, it was kind of nice J&H was free... and short 

Ann, they do add a bunch of different elements in the J&H movies, which was why reading the actual story was a bit of surprise. I can't remember any of them ending exactly the way the original ended.

Maria and Ann, Sigh. _Wuthering Heights._


MariaESchneider said:


> That about sums it up perfectly. Just add the tags: Depressing, unbelievably depressing and would have been better if they had all jumped off the cliff.


I think it's time for me to throw if off the cliff, lol


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## Winter9_86 (Sep 3, 2013)

Like what I do now then. I haven't found one book lately that grabs me totally. So I switch between a couple after mood.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

I guess I won't add _WH_ to my TBR pile, LOL.

Betsy


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## heidi_g (Nov 14, 2013)

This was kind of a patchy reading week for me. I did have some false starts and one was rather disappointing.

I started the week with *The Solitudes by John Crowley* 

I had high anticipations for this book because *Little Big by John Crowley * may have been my most favorite book of 2013. It's this psychedelic contemporary fairy tale that requires all your brain power for just about every single sentence, and it's not a short book. But the writing is so clever and so is the story. Some people find _Little Big_ incredibly boring, and I can totally understand why, but it just kind of enchanted me from the first sentence.

Anyway, _The Solitudes_ is supposedly much more about metaphysics and probably more magical realism in genre, two things I love love love, and some of it was just great! But it also plodded, and maybe I wasn't quite ready. Or, who knows? It's in three parts. I've finished the first part. I MIGHT read the rest of it. Probly, when I'm feeling more patient

But this is really fascinating to me. I came across this post on Mr. Crowley's FB page:

_David Streitfeld deploys again his cool perspicacity on the subject of data-driven writing in the NY Times.

Here's a quote from Quinn Loftis, a fictional writer (no, actually a real writer of fictions, paranormal YA romances I think) about using big data in a writing career: "If you write as a business, you have to sell books... To do that, you have to cater to the market. I don't want to write a novel because I want to write it. I want to write it because people will enjoy it."

I too do not want to write a novel because I want to write it; I do want to write a novel because people might enjoy it. But I lack a readership wide enough to get me enough data points. So help me out here: What book do you want me to write, Friends?_

I didn't comment, but perhaps I should have!

Why is this fascinating? Well, I've also read books by Quinn Loftis...*The Prince of Wolves*  and *Call Me Crazy * and Quinn probably does sell a lot more books volume wise than John. The thing is, I love them both

John Crowley is a writer along the lines of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, imho, and Quinn creates the most wonderful, faithful, devoted guys in fiction! They're totally male/masculine/hunky men who are totally loyal. Can you tell I love her male characters! (Obviously, I'm not the only one.)

Then I read *Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante * Wow! This one freaked me out. It's about a 65-year-old woman who has Alzheimer's/dementia and there's a murder down the street... her truly creepy frenemy. This book is in four parts, the first being the longest and the last being the shortest. I really enjoyed the first and third parts the best. Told in first person, it totally captures the feel of losing your mind. Very freaky. I suppose this caught my eye cause my grandma had dementia the last few years of her life, but she was 94. I can't imagine having it at 65 or earlier. Not that it could ever be a pleasant experience. But the shuffling around of the patient struck home, and made me want to take care of my mind more than ever! This woman was a doctor/surgeon and the way her memory parsed in the story was interesting/disturbing.

Okay, then I started two YA fantasies with gorgeous covers: *Witchsong by Amber Argyle* and *Lark by Erica Cope* . These are highly rated books and they each had some clever elements: With _Witchsong_, I thought the singing element itself was clever, and with _Lark_, there was this book... However, by the time I'd hit 25% for both books, I wasn't really into them, so... they got... set aside. I read a lot of YA in 2010-2012 and I think, I'm just over the blind love affair

It seems like right now troubled, complicated, complex women are calling...

I finished the week with *Six Moon Summer by S.M. Reine*  Another YA (and nice cover), but Rylie was a bit more troubled, and her family life and situation was all a bit more complicated and complex Perhaps that's why I enjoyed it. The first book in *S.M. Reine's The Season of the Moon series *it was on the short side (198 pp) and kept me turning those pages. For an earlier work, it's very solid. The plot was clever and refreshing. I liked the summer camp setting and lot of variations that Reine put in, and it is free. Overall, I think I've decided, that for right now, I'm enjoying werewolves a bit more than vampires...


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## heidi_g (Nov 14, 2013)

Betsy the Quilter said:


> I guess I won't add _WH_ to my TBR pile, LOL.
> 
> Betsy


Haha! I wouldn't if I were you!


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## heidi_g (Nov 14, 2013)

Winter9_86 said:


> Like what I do now then. I haven't found one book lately that grabs me totally. So I switch between a couple after mood.


Winter, yes! I kind of hate it when that happens, but sometimes it just does, and if I don't switch, well, then my pleasure reading becomes a chore and that's not what it's supposed to be!


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## Winter9_86 (Sep 3, 2013)

I actually had some hopes for wuthering heights, not so sure now


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## heidi_g (Nov 14, 2013)

Winter9_86 said:


> I actually had some hopes for wuthering heights, not so sure now


Winter, I had high hopes for it, too, especially after I kind of loved_ Jane Eyre_, by her sister. But their writing styles are very different and Emily's just didn't work for me. If you read the sample and like that, you might really enjoy it. But if you were to read the sample and go ergh, it doesn't get any better, lol.

An aside, we had a family member go into hospice care last night, so while I'll probably have ample time to read over the next week to ten days, my internet availability is going to be sketchy, so I'll probably have to skip next Sunday's check in.

So... to all, until the next time, Happy Reading!!!!!


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

Heidi, bless you and yours on the journey.

Even if you enjoy the WH sample, I can only promise you it gets WORSE.  I didn't think WH started out bad, but I had no idea that the point of the book was to focus largely on human failings, dark emotions, anger, morose atmospheres and how to best ruin a life and the lives of those around you in 300 pages or less.


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## heidi_g (Nov 14, 2013)

MariaESchneider said:


> Heidi, bless you and yours on the journey.


Maria, thank you so much. As I suspect you know, it was totally a journey. Emotional highs and lows, very intense. But so glad we could be there through it all. It has taken me a while to come back to "daily life" but now here I am. The thing is, in my experience, the death of a loved one truly changes us. It may not always be obvious in the short term, but there's always a ripple effect. Mostly, I like this aspect of it all, but it can be hard to maintain balance, connection, etc when moving through the center. Anyway... onward



MariaESchneider said:


> Even if you enjoy the WH sample, I can only promise you it gets WORSE. I didn't think WH started out bad, but I had no idea that the point of the book was to focus largely on human failings, dark emotions, anger, morose atmospheres and how to best ruin a life and the lives of those around you in 300 pages or less.


Maria, haha! I think you nailed it!


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## heidi_g (Nov 14, 2013)

Okay, so I've been READING!!!!!! yes, i have!!! and have had pretty good run during my little kindle board hiatus, so I'll be posting what I've been reading. I don't think I'm going to try to do it in one comment, though! I'll just kind of update over the next week or so...

So... where to begin? I think GHOST STORIES!!!

It started with *Black Hill Farm*  OMG! I just really enjoyed reading this. Very gothic with the farm itself a driving story element. The story is told as a serious of police interviews, along with the investigating officer's notes, so it read really fast and pretty much had me not wanting to put my kindle down. If you like creepy, ghostie stories and can tolerate a certain threshold of gore you might like it. It's essence was very dark, but the story itself was pretty intriguing... okay, if a bit macabre. I had to foliow that up with *Black Hill Farm: Andy's Diary*  because Andy is one of the characters that figures largely in the first book, but you never really know exactly what she's thinking. There were some good parts in _Andy's Diary_, some fill-in-the-blanks, but it was a bit repetitive. I'd only read it if you really enjoyed the first book. It did tie up all the loose ends.

Then I got *The Bird Eaters*  through the Kindle First program. I got it because it was set in Arkansas, which is where we were traveling to for the past month. I suppose I was a bit disappointed that there weren't more things specific to the locale in the story, but the book itself was not a disappointment. Let's see, I can see why some people would take issue with it. As a paranormal story, some of the connections are not bolted down, but I found it enough that the story hung together. The thing was, the story just drew me in. It was one of those books, that even though everything going on is crazy, it sucked you right in and when I was finished, I kind of missed it. Plus it was a page turner. The main character Aaron, was a messed up young man. I'm usually reading about messed up young woman so it was a refreshing change in that regard. The story was icky and creepy Why do I love these kinds of stories? I don't know, but this one worked for me.

Since I was on a bit of a ghost story tear, I'm currently reading *Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea*  so far it's holding up


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## Winter9_86 (Sep 3, 2013)

Good to see you here. Condolences. Hope you are doing as good as you can now. 

You read some interesting stuff there. Continue to post! Enjoying threads like this. Wish more people would do it.


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## heidi_g (Nov 14, 2013)

Winter, thanks 

The reading is journal is fun, (nods to the Claw!) so, glad if anyone else enjoys it too.


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## heidi_g (Nov 14, 2013)

I read this:


Read about half of this-


And tried to read this


As an ex-RAW, ex-vegan, ex-vegetarian... the concept of becoming keto-adapted, i.e., shifting from being a "sugar burner" to being a "fat burner" has pretty much altered the way I look at health and nutrition. Not for the faint of heart, but as a veteran in what are often considered extreme ways of eating, it's probably the most intriguing. I began all this in March... and am kind of thrilled that I've actually been in nutritional ketosis for 6 weeks. Kind of cool


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

heidi_g said:


> I read this:
> 
> 
> Read about half of this--
> ...


Hello, I missed your updates a couple of months ago. Interesting that you are trying the low carb eating. It certainly worked for me, though I don't claim it is the only way to diet, and it may not be best for everyone. Sounds like it is working for you, so keep at it! Glad you are also enjoying writing up your reads.


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## heidi_g (Nov 14, 2013)

Claw,  I had tried low-carb eating once years ago, and it didn't work for me. Now, I realize it was cause I was eating too much protein. I think I was drawn to RAW/Vegan/Vegetarian diets cause I never felt great when I ate a lot of protein. The thing I love about the keto-diet is it's very moderate protein. I never eat more than 2-4 ounces at a meal. It's super high fat 70-80% I know, that sounds crazy, but now that I'm adapting I'm starting to feel FANTASTIC! And at my age, my brain is really starting to have a nice smooth energy and my mood is really good. It's taken about three months to really adapt, but totally worth it.

IN that vein, I'm hoping to get caught back up with this thread, if not this weekend then very soon


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

heidi_g said:


> Claw, I had tried low-carb eating once years ago, and it didn't work for me. Now, I realize it was cause I was eating too much protein. I think I was drawn to RAW/Vegan/Vegetarian diets cause I never felt great when I ate a lot of protein. The thing I love about the keto-diet is it's very moderate protein. I never eat more than 2-4 ounces at a meal. It's super high fat 70-80% I know, that sounds crazy, but now that I'm adapting I'm starting to feel FANTASTIC! And at my age, my brain is really starting to have a nice smooth energy and my mood is really good. It's taken about three months to really adapt, but totally worth it.
> 
> IN that vein, I'm hoping to get caught back up with this thread, if not this weekend then very soon


Oops, I saw "keto" and assumed it was a reference to "ketosis" which is a controversial concept among people doing a low carb diet. So assumed it was a splinter low carb thing I hadn't heard of. Sounds like it is working for you, anyway! Make sure your doc is okay with what you're doing, of course. I'm done with low carb, and at my doc's recommendation I am now focused on eating a more conventional diet, exercising more, and keeping my weight steady.

I'm almost caught up on my thread. One book to review and I'll officially be caught up.


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## heidi_g (Nov 14, 2013)

Claw, no... I was referring to ketosis/ketogenic diet, and I suppose there would be controversy, although I'm not plugged into the low carb community, so it kind of passes over me My husband and I go to the doctor infrequently, once every two or three years, since we've managed to stay healthy, no chronic diseases or meds, etc. I'm 51 and he's 62, so we're pretty happy. I'll go to doctor next summer to get all my blood work done again. The main thing that attracted me about keto was claims it heals brain and stops cancer! We'll see! I'll keep you posted, lol.

Good luck, with your transition and maintaining your success, sometimes I think that's the most challenging part: maintenance 

Your thread is so awesome!!!!

Going to try to finally catch up mine by this weekend. Every weekend I keep having one more thing I've got to take care of, but it looks like today and this weekend, I might have some time, YAY!!!!


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## heidi_g (Nov 14, 2013)

*Reconstructing Amelia * by Kimberly McCreight 

I really enjoyed reading this book. I loved how it showed the use of social media as a tool for bullying. Both Amelia and her mom are very likable characters. It's a suspenseful read, with several twists and turns. Although most of the twists worked, a couple didn't. However, that didn't detract from my overall enjoyment of the story.


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## heidi_g (Nov 14, 2013)

*Good Eats* by Elle Chamber 
The main title is a short, creepy Zombi story with Vodoun elements. OMG! It is really creepy and well done. I don't want to say too much but I really enjoyed it. I also enjoyed the several additional dark short stories included in the deluxe edition.


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## heidi_g (Nov 14, 2013)

*Eleanor* by Jason Gurley 

This is another book that's on the darker side emotionally, but with elements of time travel and magical realism, it's incredibly beautiful. My favorite characters were the teenaged Eleanor and the keeper. However the discovery of the keepers true identity, was really powerful. For me it was the best part of the book.


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## heidi_g (Nov 14, 2013)

*Eternity* by Maggie Shayne 

I loved the subject of witches ever since I wrote my first term paper on the Salem Witch trials, but it's hard to find a good witch story, one that doesn't end in the basement or the woods with everyone wearing black or brown hooded cloaks! _Eternity_ was completely refreshing in that the timeline and location SURROUNDED the Salem Witch trials. I really liked the characters, the story, and Shayne's writing style.

So I tried to read* Annie's Hero*  next.
While there were some good elements, there wasn't as much movement/action in the story, so I've set it aside. I may or may not pick it back up later.

Then I tried *The Gingerbread Man* 
Although I finished it, I still didn't enjoy it as much as _Eternity_. I have about 5 more Maggie Shayne witch books on my kindle, I think I'm going to stick with those.


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## The Hooded Claw (Oct 12, 2009)

heidi_g said:


> Good luck, with your transition and maintaining your success, sometimes I think that's the most challenging part: maintenance
> 
> Your thread is so awesome!!!!
> 
> Going to try to finally catch up mine by this weekend. Every weekend I keep having one more thing I've got to take care of, but it looks like today and this weekend, I might have some time, YAY!!!!


Yep, I'm glad I did the low carb, but the transition to maintenance is probably harder!

Glad you are enjoying my thread. I was nearly caught up on it, but have fallen a couple of books behind again. Grrr....


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## heidi_g (Nov 14, 2013)

The Hooded Claw said:


> Yep, I'm glad I did the low carb, but the transition to maintenance is probably harder!


Yes, I think the thing that would be hard is not shifting back into carb cravings and things just getting out of control, lol. That's what happened to me in the past. Kind of mess.


The Hooded Claw said:


> Glad you are enjoying my thread. I was nearly caught up on it, but have fallen a couple of books behind again. Grrr....


Your write ups are amazing!


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## heidi_g (Nov 14, 2013)

Yay! I read *The Kingmaker (Vampire Empire)* by Susan and Clay Griffith .

It was the end of a pretty solid steampunk vampire trilogy. I confess, I'm not great at finishing series, so it always feel exciting when I do. There were a lot of things about this series that I loved. First of all, I just think* Vampire Empire* is a cool series title. The added steampunk elements were fun, although I wouldn't have minded a few more. There are two main characters, the Greyfriar and Princess Adele. Hands down Greyfriar was my favorite character as he was a bit more nuanced. Adele, the "plucky princess", is okay, but sometimes she did get a little tiresome. I would have loved her to have had a little more emotional complexity.

_The Kingmaker_ was a solid end to the series, it was my second favorite of the three. One thing I really loved about the series was the geomancy and use of ley lines. Really clever. I do wish there had been more of that in this final wrap up because it was one of my favorite parts of the story, but at least there was enough.

*The Riftwalker*  is the second book in the series. It's my least favorite because the Greyfriar character disappears for half the book. There is more about the ley lines and geomancy, but I really wanted to have more Greyfriar! Readers, we are so hard to satisfy sometimes, lol

But my absolute favorite of the series was the first book, The Greyfriar  The great world is set up and it's a lot of fun. Plus, I love the cover.

I do recommend the entire series as a clever take on vampires.


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## mphicks (Jan 29, 2014)

What's your total read at now Heidi? I'm keeping track of my progress on Goodread, with their annual reading challenge, and will be finishing book #30 soon. My goal was 45 this year (also 45 in 2013, but I surpassed that a bit), so I reckon I'll knock out quite a few more.  Good luck!


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## heidi_g (Nov 14, 2013)

Michael, Thanks for stopping  by! I'm at 48 this year. So you can see my thread is a little behind, but I'm going to catch up!!!! My original goal was 70. If you want to jump in and share your thoughts on anything you've read, please do!!!


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## heidi_g (Nov 14, 2013)

So this is a series that I started this year, and will likely finish this year, if the third book comes out in November, as currently scheduled. It was originally scheduled for a summer release but we all know how that can go! 

The first book in the _His Fair Assassin's Trilogy_ is *Grave Mercy* 

I really enjoyed this book. There are three main characters in the trilogy, Ismae, Sybella, and Annith, who are, yes, trained assassins, serving Mortain, the god of Death. How cool is that? Each book in the trilogy focuses on one of those characters. _Grave Mercy_ is Ismae's story. It's kind of a historical fiction/fantasy. From what I understand the author, Robin LeFevers, does take some license with the historical elements, but what really drew me, and what I enjoyed, were the fantasy elements, chiefly those surrounding the god of Death.

The girls are trained in a convent, and there is of course a Head Mistress/Mother Superior figure who claims to be a mouthpiece for Mortain. The thing I love most is at the end of each book, the main character has a profound and enlightening personal experience with Mortain. These are absolutely the best and freshest parts of the books!

The second book, *Dark Triumph* , is Sybella's story. Sybella is super intriguing in the first book, so I was disappointed when the first 60% of the book wasn't doing a lot for me. However, I was well-rewarded for hanging in there with this book, as the last 40% was so awesome. Sybella has a relationship with Beast (a take on Beauty & the Beast) and the Beast character was just great. Then came Sybella's encounter with Mortain!

I got the first book when it was discounted, I think $1.99. I suspect they'll be running a similar special for the release of the third book, so if you're interested in this series, I'd keep my eye open for that price around the time of the third book's release this winter.


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## mphicks (Jan 29, 2014)

heidi_g said:


> Michael, Thanks for stopping by! I'm at 48 this year. So you can see my thread is a little behind, but I'm going to catch up!!!! My original goal was 70. If you want to jump in and share your thoughts on anything you've read, please do!!!


OK! LOL

Well, at the moment, I'm reading an ARC of ZERO by J.S. Collyer. It's her debut sci-fi novel and comes out next month. Great piece of work involving turmoil between Earth and its orbital colonies, and a fun bit of space piracy, espionage, murder, and rebellion.

I really dug Jason Gurley's Eleanor; one of the best reads of the year for me! Therin Knite's latest, Othella, was also really well done. And they're both KBoarders, naturally! 

Also discovered Ania Ahlborn this year, thanks the Kindle's First Read program and their free copy of The Bird Eater to Prime Members. Pretty solid read, enough to get me to look up her backlog. I borrowed The Shuddering from the lending library and liked that one a bit more. I have a couple more of her titles in my eTBR list, so we'll see when I can get to them.


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## heidi_g (Nov 14, 2013)

mphicks said:


> I really dug Jason Gurley's Eleanor; one of the best reads of the year for me!


Michael, me too! I really loved loved loved the Keeper and her shadow.



mphicks said:


> Also discovered Ania Ahlborn this year, thanks the Kindle's First Read program and their free copy of The Bird Eater to Prime Members. Pretty solid read, enough to get me to look up her backlog. I borrowed The Shuddering from the lending library and liked that one a bit more. I have a couple more of her titles in my eTBR list, so we'll see when I can get to them.


I got The Bird Eater on Kindle's First read and really enjoyed it too.

I've got two more of those to catch up on:
 and just got:


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## Marilyn Peake (Aug 8, 2011)

I'm so inspired by these reading challenge threads. I bookmarked yours to follow along. Best of luck with this! I'm going to check in here for inspiration to return to reading more books.   I love reading so much, but haven't been great about it this past year.


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## heidi_g (Nov 14, 2013)

Thanks, Marilyn. Me too on the BookLove <3 I've been such an avid reader off-and-on all my life. In the past eighteen or so months, I've really picked it up again. Now, if I don't get in a good bit of reading every night before I got to bed, I get a bit grumpy


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## Marilyn Peake (Aug 8, 2011)

heidi_g said:


> Thanks, Marilyn. Me too on the BookLove <3 I've been such an avid reader off-and-on all my life. In the past eighteen or so months, I've really picked it up again. Now, if I don't get in a good bit of reading every night before I got to bed, I get a bit grumpy


That is awesome! These threads really will motivate me to read. I'm trying to add physical exercise to my days and sometimes just can't seem to juggle everything.


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## heidi_g (Nov 14, 2013)

Marilyn, Yes, the juggling! Me too on that. I used to be an avid exerciser and now I'm struggling to get the movement in too. Doing all kinds of experiments with varying failure and success.

So *Blue Asylum *  is a book I bought a while back when it was on sale. I finished it a couple of days ago. There were parts of this book I just loved. Mostly the 20-80% parts of it. Sanity, and what it is or is not, is something I love to read about. It's so often relative to the times and culture, which is shown well in this book, a historical fiction novel which veered into magical realism.The supporting characters were my favorites, especially a young boy named Wendell who absolutely stole the show. All in all, several of the book's passages were lovely and touching, and several of the asylum's patients were quite endearing.


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