Update on Book Buying Ban

It has been 20 days since I put myself on a self-imposed book buying ban and dug out a stack of ten books to read.

I have to admit that, now that I have the stack staring me in the face, I'm really not inclined to actually read the books I picked out.  I suppose it is the whole 'being forced' feel to it and I should just shelf them all and pull them out one at a time in random order so they don't look so ... intimidating.

However, I have managed to read two of my ebooks and one from my stack of ten, so that's three books down and a billion more to go (or so it feels like anyway).

I was tempted to buy new books.  I went shopping with my mom and found a couple of books that I'd been thinking about reading and they were on sale for $3!!!  It was /so/ hard not to walk out of the store with them in my arms *sighs*.  But all is not lost!  I have a new book in the house; Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson.  I did not buy it!  I actually won it in a Twitter contest from Chapters/Indigo.  So, I suppose I'll make do with that, though I think it may get offended at how often I open the cover to smell that new book scent.

How're your summer reading plans going?

Self-imposed Book Buying Ban

I've been watching videos on YouTube lately (and making my own as well) and one fellow that I watch put himself on a book buying ban.  I thought about it for a little while and then decided it was actually a good idea.

So, I have put myself on a book buying ban for the summer.  I have over 50 books on my e-reader and a ton more on bookshelves and tables all over my house so it isn't like I am lacking in reading material around here.  I decided to set up a stack of ten books to try and read over the summer.  Normally I just grab something and read whatever I'm in the mood for so this is going to be an interesting experiment for me.

My stack of ten:

The Guernsey Literary and Potatoe Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annier Barrows
Ghost Road Blues by Jonathan Maberry
The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
Objects of Worship by Claude LaLumiere
People Live Still in Cashtown Corners by Tony Burgess
A Book of Tongues by Gemma Files
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski

I'll come back and update this post as I finish them.  Here's hoping that I'll get them done this summer so I can go back to buying new books :D

Things I Got Today

I was going to make this one of those In My Mailbox posts, but realized that I'm not sure what day that is supposed to happen on, so instead just some things that I got today.

First, hand delivered by the UPS man, I give you the most exciting thing I've received in the mail this month:

Stick by Andrew Smith: Now, I knew this was coming in my mailbox. Andrew Smith is, in my opinion, an amazing person and a talented author. He was kind enough to send my eldest a signed copy of The Marbury Lens and, after hearing that said kid loved it, offered to put us on the short list for an ARC of Stick. I've already started reading it and I'm already in love with the way it is written and laid out on the page.


Despite my latest post decrying the library, I ended up with another set of library books in my house.  In my defense, however, it wasn't the usual six or seven.  I only brought home two this time.

Red Snow by Michael Slade: Another installment of the Special X stories. I started reading Slade waaaaay back in the beginning with Headhunter and then I fell off the wagon. I saw this on the library rack and went 'ooooooh, haven't read a Slade in a while' and snatched it up. Hopefully I'll be able to fall back into the world of the psycho hunters of the RCMP. Crossing my fingers that not too much has changed.

Baltimore (or The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire) by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden: I thought this was a graphic novel when I first spotted it on Goodreads, so I put it on reserve at the library thinking it would be a quick read. Turns out it is actually a novel with some illustrations. Still, looks like a worthwhile read about vampires during WW1. I generally like Golden's work, so this should be quite the tale.

That sums up the things I got today.  Although we had an absolutely gorgeous day here so I got a sunburn too.

Ixnay on the Ibarylay

So, out of the last library haul I posted I am only going to finish one book.  I took the others back because, to be honest, I just wasn't in the mood to read them.  I find that I get into these reading slumps after I've powered through a bunch of books.  Once I finish the last library book I have here, Soulless by Christopher Golden, I'll probably put the library on hold and concentrate on working my way through the books I have here at home.

I do have another review coming, but I'm still working out how I want to say the things I want to say about the book.  Perhaps I'll try vloging it instead of writing about it.

In other news, Andrew Smith had a cover reveal for his new novel, Stick.  You can check it out on the blogs listed in his post here.  I think it looks pretty cool and I can't wait to read it.  I did pick up In the Path of Falling Objects for the kid to read, but if he doesn't start it soon I may end up getting into it before he does.

My Library Haul (3)

If you click on the covers you'll be taken to the goodreads page for each book.

I didn't take my own picture this time around simply because I'm feeling horribly lazy today.

  This library haul starts with The Book of Joby by Mark J. Ferrari.  I put this one on hold because I read the summary on the library newsletter I get each week and it sounded like it would be an entertaining, funny read.  I also seem to enjoy the whole "God and the Devil have made a bet based on the soul of a single human being" type stories.

I'm working my way, albeit slowly, through the various works of Christoper Golden.  Soulless will be the third book I've read by him and caught my eye via the summary on Goodreads.  I'll note here, for the record that I won't be reading any of Golden's work that is based on television or films.  His graphic novels I'm currently on the fence about and will decide on those at a later date.

Another author first for me, I decided to read I, Lucifer after seeing it on that evil library newsletter. Again I was drawn in by the summary; really who doesn't want to read the story of Satan as told by himself while he's stuck in a human body for the summer? Okay maybe not everyone, but it sounded like something I could wrap my brain around for a while.

Gail Tusukiyama is another author that I throughly enjoy reading. I'm also trying to work my way through her body of work as well, so Dreaming Water was next on the list and I finally managed to get my hands on the library's copy. So far I haven't been horribly disappointed by her stories and I hope that trend continues with this book.

So there you have it, my latest haul from the library.

Thoughts: Rot & Ruin

Title: Rot & Ruin
Author: Jonathan Maberry
Publisher: Simon & Schuster BFYR
Pages: 458
Source: Borrowed from library

In a post-apocalyptic world where fences and border patrols guard the few people left from the zombies that have overtaken civilization, fifteen-year-old Benny Imura is finally convinced that he must follow in his older brother's footsteps and become a bounty hunter.

In Benny's world, fifteen is the age at which people are expected to get a job and pull their weight otherwise their rations get cut. Benny and his friend Chong try out a variety of jobs; each one having disadvantages that make the boys decide not to keep it as a vocation. Eventually Chong takes on a job as a tower watcher and Benny, grudgingly, decides to apprentice under his older brother as a zombie bounty hunter.

Rot & Ruin was a book I picked up expecting to read the usual YA fare -- some sort of love triangle, some fluff about how horrible the zombies are blah blah blah. I was awesomely pleased when I finished the book because none of that was true. Jonathan Maberry has crafted a world in which the zombies are more part of the scenery instead of the catalyst to the story; a trend that I'm really starting to enjoy in my zombie fiction. Yes, Benny and Tom are zombie bounty hunters, but the story revolves around the humanity of the people who survived First Night rather than playing out scene after scene of zombies trying to break into the town to eat the survivors.

Benny doesn't like his brother. He thinks Tom is a coward and can't understand why people in town seem to treat him as some sort of hero. Eventually, after training with Tom, Benny starts to learn more about the people, and the world, he's grown up with; and not all is as it seems. Maberry has done a spectacular job telling a coming of age story where the main characters learn some hard truths about the world in which they live; mostly that the zombies may not be the most evil thing in the world.

The writing is tight and flows amazingly well. There is lots of action, a little bit of non-gushy romance (and /not/ a love triangle, thank god!), and tragedy; everything a good story should have. This is a book I'll pass on to my kid to read and one I'd recommend to zombie/post-apocalyptic fans.

My Library Haul (2)

I love my local library, even though sometimes they never have what I want.  I adore being able to log into the system, find the books I'm after, putting them on hold and then just wandering over to pick them up when they arrive.  Sometimes I go in just to pick up my holds but then I end up roaming around and walk out with more than what I went in for.  Such was the case today.  I was only going to go pick up the last three books in The Walking Dead series, but I ended up with three other books on top of those.

Yep, the library is just as bad for feeding my addiction.  Fortunately it is a /lot/ cheaper than the bookstores. 
Crawlers by John Shirley - Almost finished this one, actually.  Pretty good little mix of creepy and science fiction.
Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves, The Ghost and the Goth by Stacey Kade, Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry, Matched by Ally Condie and, of course, books 3-5 of The Walking Dead graphic novel series.

I just finished reading Overwinter by David Wellington and will post a review soonish.  Right now I've got errands to run and books to read so, since it is a miserable day outside I'll be curling up with my books and my tea after I get back from picking people up and dropping people off.

Oh!  The kid finished The Marbury Lens.  He loved it.  Said it was the best book he's read in a long time.  He sent Andrew Smith an email telling him so.  Now I wait until Gramma is done reading it and then it'll be my turn.