Monday, May 20, 2013

marathon of reading

I took a couple of days off from work just to relax unwind and rest to get ready for the summer season which is the busiest time in the library (especially when you are running on a skeleton staff due to budget cuts.) I vowed that I would catch up on my reading during my time off and Dan Brown's "Inferno" came in for me just as I was leaving. I devoured this book. It was an excellent blend of suspense Art and science. The characters were likable even though many were secretive and deceitful. I will not spoil the story but this book was so much better and moved so much better than "The Lost Sign" his last book. I almost didn't bother with this book because the last one was so boring. This book is much more like "Angels& Demons" which has always been my favorite of all his books. I did stop as I read to bring up the pictures of the artwork and some of the architecture of the places the book travels through. The science is fascinating too. Mostly though this book is an edge of your seat thriller and I enjoyed every page of it!
Next I read " The Bones of the Old Ones" by Howard Andrew Jones. This is the second book in a series and I hope he will write more because it is pure entertainment! The books are set in Mosul in the same time period as the "Arabian Nights" and are grand buddy adventures with ginnis, magic, sword fighting, mystical enemies and great friends persevering together. These fantasy books are fun escapist reading and I thoroughly enjoy every word!
 Next I tackled "The Fifth Wave" which is a Young Adult book that looks through the eyes of a very courageous and independent 16 year old at the reality of an alien invasion of her world. First the darkness occurs, caused by electromagnetic pulse. All lights go out, all motors stopped, planes fall from the sky and chaos reigns. That is the first wave. The aliens Mother ship hovers above and the population waits to see if they will make contact. Then the second wave hits and only the lucky survive. After the 3rd wave only the unlucky survive, those that will band together with a hope of surviving but after the 5th wave your on your own and there is no one you can trust. The book is a very truthful look into the way societies will collapse and the individual terror of the unknown. It is a novel of courage and perseverance through incredible odds. It is very literal and should really appeal to teens who can identify with the characters. There is a message of hope that runs throughout the book.
Now I have started "The Golem and the Ginni" by Helene Wecker which so far promises to be a delightful fantasy.
Even though I work in a library where I have first access to an amazing collection of book; I must also give a shout out to wonderful sights like Librarything and Goodreads where you can read wonderful reviews and patron comments about books and leave your own comments as well as participating in there wonderful book giveaways. I have received many wonderful books I might not have had access to through these sites. There is also Bookshout and Netgalley who both offer excellent choices of ebooks which you can download and review for free. Bookshout also offers some at reduced prices as does Amazon. Also our public library offers a statewide link for our patrons called Georgia Downloads where you can check out both audio and ebook versions of thousands of titles. So the reading world is exploding with possibilities!!!!
I'm also reading "I,Saul"by Jerry B Jenkins and James S. MacDonald on Kindle on my I-phone. I don't really enjoy reading on my phone but it is a great way to not have to carry a book with you to lunch or to an appointment and still have something good to read. "I, Saul" is a wonderful blending of present day archaeological Thriller and a wonderful dialogue of Luke and Paul as Paul is in prison in Rome before his execution. I am enjoying this fictional look at Paul's life which is well researched and thought out and works nicely with the contemporary plot line.
I have several other books that I am reading on my phone or on my kindle or adobe reading apps on my computer such as "Florian's Gate" by Davis Bunn; "Thieves of Book Row" by Travis McDade; Leadership lessons from the Cherokee Nation" by Chad Corntassel Smith. And on Bookshout I'm reading "Songs in the key of Solomon" by John and Anita Renfroe and "Jesus in the present Tense" by Warren W. Wiersbe. You might wonder how I can keep up with so many books at one time but it really is just like watching multiple TV shows on Television. You can watch NCIS, Once upon a Time, Hawaii 5 0, CSI (my favorites) and still keep up with each ones plot lines why shouldn't you be able to do that with books!
Oh well. like the famous quote "So many books, - so little time!  I must get back to reading!!!

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