Stacking The Shelves [229]

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

If you want to find out more about Stacking The Shelves, please visit the official launch page!

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 How crazy is this?  In the past six weeks, I've read approximately five pages for pleasure.  Five pages.  I've read tons of pages for work and for school; it's just the for-no-reason-but-fun reading that's fallen by the wayside.  To save my sanity, there's audiobooks.  My library has a subscription to Hoopla, which lets me stream audiobooks to my phone on-the-go.  I love every second I spend with my infant, so I don't blame him for the loss of pleasure reading time... but my professors?  They don't get off the hook so easily!  I wouldn't complain if they assigned a little less reading.  ;)

Have you ever gone through a phase where you had little or no time for pleasure reading?  How did you cope?  I have a break in December between semesters; anything (short) that I should definitely read then?  To join in the fun, click on the Linky below my Stack.

Audiobooks (all from the library, via Hoopla):

Envy, Rumors, and Splendor by Anna Godbersen- very much like Downton Abbey, in book form, for teens.  By Hook or By Crook and Dead Men Don't Crochet by Betty Hechtman- a cozy mystery series that features crochet patterns in each book.  The Fall of Five and The Revenge of Seven by Pittacus Lore- aliens!

New Books:

Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco- this one was sent to me for review by the publisher and it was SO GOOD.  Delightfully creepy, if you're looking for a Halloween read!  13 Things Rich People Won't Tell You: 325+ Tried and True Secrets to Building Your Fortune No Matter What Your Salary by Jennifer Merritt and Roe D'Angelo and The Things of Earth by Joe Rigney- both bought by the hubby, and I know that I'll read eventually.  He's only started The Things of Earth so far, and says it's ok.

Library Books (because I can't resist):

I have no self-control when it comes to bringing books home from work at the library!!!  I brought home Sparky by Beverly Gherman for the hubby, and I've ended up wanting to read it- he says it's great.  In October, my county library system encourages everyone to read the same book and discuss it, and this year it's Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.  Frankencrayon by Michael Hall is the picture book companion book.  I don't have time to re-read Frankenstein, but I can certainly read Frankencrayon (a FANTASTIC book if you haven't heard of it) to my little one!  One day I helped to shelve books in another branch's adult non-fiction section and found The Painter's Chair by Hugh Howard and Penny Arcade 1: Attack of the Bacon Robots by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik... and had to bring them home.  I love George Washington and I love bacon.

So that's my haul; how about you?

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by Tynga at Saturday, October 15, 2016

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The Time Agency by Aaron Frale

I have always been a fan of time travel stories.  I have stopped listening to experts when they say time travel cannot be done.  After all, how can there be time travel experts if there can be no time travel (some kind of conspiracy maybe?). I also like stories that weave a web of mystery.  So, when I saw this book it seemed to fit some of my favorite categories.

We start off the story with a deep mystery.  It is the main character only we do not know who, where or even when he is.  It is an interesting variation on teaching a new world through a new inhabitant or student.  Here we have somebody well versed in its intricacies only, he can't remember what they are.  The problem comes in the narration.  I'm not averse to the more experimental but, I believe the experiment failed somewhat here.  The book used not only two different POVs, it used two different perspectives.  Perspective shifts from third to first person every time the POV shifts back to the main character.  The reader has to be especially watchful for changes in voice to pick up on this change.  It does highlight the unreliability of the main character as narrator but, I still believe it could have been done a bit more elegantly by sticking to one perspective.  It would have made for a longer story but, if it is a good one, who would mind.

Character development is another tricky aspect with this one.  In this case, it isn't a bad thing.  The main character is in constant flux because he is constantly reevaluating himself and his own motivations as much as everybody else around him if not more so.  It can be one part maddening to two parts exciting depending which part of the book you are in.

I am a big Doctor Who fan (Whovian if you please) and can withstand the mental stresses, strains and leaps required to really get into any time travel story.  With that said, this book wore me out with its whiplash changes in time, scenery and perspective.  Oddly, it took a bit too much time to straighten some of it out in my head for me to really enjoy it.  The language and violence land this one firmly in the PG13 rating.

 

 

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by Tynga at Wednesday, October 12, 2016

 Aaron Frale, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, Mystery, Review, Science Fiction, time travel  Leave your mark

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Stacking The Shelves [228]

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

If you want to find out more about Stacking The Shelves, please visit the official launch page!

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 Happy Saturday everyone! Just a quick post for me today since I only purchased a single book these last couple of weeks. I love reading holiday romance books so I just couldn't resist buying this one.

Purchased

The Trouble With Mistletoe by Jill Shalvis

What's new on your shelves this week?

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by Tynga at Saturday, October 08, 2016

 Stacking The Shelves  18 People left their mark

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Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco

Every so often I read a book that perfectly matches up with the time of year, and this was one of those times.  What could be more perfect than reading a delightfully chilling Jack the Ripper story in October, right before Halloween?  I was hooked on Stalking Jack the Ripper from the moment I received the book.  The back of the cover is minimalist, with a picture of historic autopsy tools and

He murdered women in cold blood.  He terrorized an entire city.  He taunted those of us who hunted him down.  But despite all these horrors, in the end, I could not deny it... I was the girl who loved The Ripper."

Chills, right?  And although the jacket copy refers to Aubrey Rose's love for The Ripper, the book is so much more than that.  It's about a wonderfully fierce and feisty independent young woman and a mystery too!

Aubrey Rose is an excellently well-developed main character.  She is complex and unpredictable.  Stalking Jack the Ripper is set in 1888, so the reader sees her daily struggle between what society expects of her and what she expects of herself.  Rather than going full-tilt rebel, we witness her desire to still befriend her much more feminine cousin and to not overly upset/scandalize her older brother.  I always find that it's a mark of great character development if the character grows or changes any over the course of the book, and Aubrey Rose definitely does.  At the beginning of the book she is a very bright young lady who is good at following her uncle's instructions to complete an autopsy.  By the end of the book, she is very much thinking for herself and making her own decisions both on the streets and in the autopsy room.

Stalking Jack the Ripper also has a secondary character, Thomas Creswell, who is an absolute bonus!  I just loved him to bits!  I'm a huge fan of "snark," and he has "snark" for days!  His demeanor and witticisms had me smiling often through this book.  I found myself especially looking forward to any extended dialog between him and Aubrey Rose- they both gave as well as they got in the sarcastic remarks!

Finally, the mystery- this was a really good mystery.  It kept me guessing straight up to the end... and maybe beyond.  ;)  I'm not giving anything away!  You HAVE to read this one yourself.  Kerri Maniscalco reveals only one clue at a time, with a couple of red herrings, to keep you hooked.  I work in a library and ended up reading the latter part of the book on the reference desk because I couldn't put it down!  Not only will you want to solve the mystery, but you'll also cheer for Aubrey Rose as she works through the clues in the male-dominated Victorian era.

This standalone book left me craving a lot more, so I was very glad to read an author interview in which it was revealed that there will be more standalone Aubrey Rose stories in the future.  Go read Stalking Jack the Ripper now so that you can gush about it with me, and keep your eyes peeled for further adventures!

Thanks to the publisher of Stalking Jack the Ripper, we're giving away one copy of the book and some lovely soap from Skull & Bones!  (Because stalking a murderer is dirty work!)  Enter here!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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by Tynga at Thursday, October 06, 2016

 Fiction, Girls amp; Women, giveaway, Historical, Jimmy Patterson, Kerri Maniscalco, murder mystery, Mystery, Publisher, Review, young adult  15 People left their mark

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Replica by Lauren Oliver

In my opinion, Lauren Oliver’s Replica is going to be a very popular and sought out YA book this fall. The format is incredibly original, the writing is very intelligent and the story is gripping and addictive.

Replica is the story about two very different girls, Lyra and Gemma, who tell a similar story from two very different point of views. Lauren Oliver made the very bold decision and separated these two point of views. Each story starts from one end of the book and meet towards the middle. This spring, when I briefly met the author, I asked her what was the proper way to read her book and she told me there is no right way. You read it however you like. You can read Lyra’s story straight through and then move on to Gemma’s. Or you can do the opposite. Personally, I chose to read one chapter from each story, flipping back and forth between the two. Timeline wise, the chapters line up very well so I really enjoyed reading it this way. There is some repetition when the two main characters are together, but for the most part, the two point of views offer different information and insight.

Between Lyra and Gemma, I don’t really have a favourite story. I enjoyed reading them equally. They both have very distinct and interesting voices and most often, I couldn’t wait to continue reading the same POV once I was done with a chapter instead of flipping over to the other side. Gemma is a sheltered teen who’s current goal is to go on a simple road trip to Florida with her best friend. But when a trivial event threatens her family, her father prevents her from leaving. Despite being very obedient, Gemma defies her parents and makes her way to Florida a few days after her best friend left. What she discovers in Florida opens her eyes to a whole new side of her father and his history with the pharmaceutical company he helped found. Gemma ends up breaking so many rules, that she can barely recognize herself after only a few short days.

All Lyra has ever known is a life full of medical and cognitive testing on an island off the Florida coast. She is a replica, or a clone, with a sole purpose, which isn’t very clear at first. She was raised in this medical facility called Haven with hundreds of different replicas. She considers herself one of the lucky ones since many subjects died at a very young age, and others don’t have the mental capacities to clean or feed themselves. The female and male replicas have always been kept apart and she has had very limited interaction with boys, except for the doctors and the scientists. Interestingly enough, both Lyra and Gemma have lived very sheltered and different lives but both of them have had very limited interactions with boys. So when Lyra hears about a boy, replica 72, who ran away, she’s intrigued by what led him to that decision. Eventually, she’s forced to work with 72 in order to find a way off the island. Lyra may be very naive but her capacity to learn allows her to mature very quickly as her world comes crumbling down.

The science experimentation going on at Haven might not be so far fetched, which makes the book very chilling and thought provoking. Lauren Oliver may have concentrated on the human developments in her story but the science aspect is also described very well. Fans of the TV shows Orphan Black and Dark Angel will love this new take on clones. Personally, I enjoyed Replica more than Oliver’s Delirium series. I can’t wait to see what comes next.

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by Tynga at Monday, October 03, 2016

 BEA, clones, Harper, Harper Collins, Lauren Oliver, Replica, Review, sci-fi, Science, Science Fiction, young adult  Leave your mark

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Stacking The Shelves [227]

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks!

If you want to find out more about Stacking The Shelves, please visit the official launch page!

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Happy Saturday to you all!! It is that time of year again and the school year is in full swing.  My 'little' one has started high school and with it Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Course(NJROTC).  I feel almost as though I'm going through boot camp again and at my age, that is not fun

This week is equal parts borrowed and owned in the way of books.  Borrowing can be little less satisfying in that I like having access to the books I like best and borrowed books don't offer that long term as a rule.  The benefit comes in when there are tomes that don't appeal to me don't occupy space best left for those that do....long term.

For long term I got these:

	I'm looking forward to Washington's Immortals by Patrick K. O'Donnel  because I love to learn the obscure facts from history that give a sense of reality to what seems to have occurred an eon ago.
	Of course, you may have noticed I have already posted my review on Rosemary and Rue Seanan McGuire.
	I also picked up for free from Audible was The Very First Damn Thing by Jodi Taylor.  It is a prequel in the Chronicles of St. Mary series.  This may be something to look a little deeper into!

For the short haul, I borrowed these gems:

	I have to admit to this being a nostalgia pick for me.  I remember standing in long lines just to be able to see this movie when it first came out. I was very young at the time.
	The movie is based on the book The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith.  Since it is a period piece, it's interesting to measure that against current sensibilities.
	To round out my movie to book picks we have The Descendants by Kaui Hart Hemmings.

So, tell me, whether for education, inspiration or entertainment, what did you buy, borrow or acquire for indefinite stewardship to fill your shelves?

Share your Stacking the Shelves post! Please leave the direct link to your STS post, not your blogs URL, in the collection below. Thanks for participating! Happy Reading!

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by Tynga at Saturday, October 01, 2016

 Stacking The Shelves  3 People left their mark

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