Hawaii and Reading

I never did figure out how to post in a more efficient manner while I was in Hawaii.  I will need to investigate more fully from home before any future trips.... which are rare for me.  I'll post a more thorough Hawaii wrap up later.  Right now I want to update my reading list.

I made exceptionally good head way on my reading challenges while I was gone... completing FIVE books.  I usually don't have much free time to read and, while I can read fast, for pleasure reading I prefer to read a bit more slowly and run wild in my minds eye with the colors and stories running through my head.  So... not much time and slower reading equals not many books read for me during my typical day to day existence.  But a week of really not much to do but whatever I wanted to do meant lots of reading time.  My room at the condo was on the second floor overlooking the Pacific Ocean with a balcony.  The comfy wicker chair right inside the giant sliding screen door was a favorite spot.

I nearly completed the 6 in 12 Reading Challenge at the library. Three of the books fit What's in a Name categories so I'm halfway through that challenge as well.

The Books:



1) Soulless by Gail Carriger - I read this on a recommendation from my favorite book reviewer (and good friend) Rachel at Chaos is a Friend of Mine.  It's of the steampunk genre.  Vampires and werewolves live as (nearly) normal citizens in Victorian London.  Our heroine, Alexia, is a preternatural... soulless... and can make these supernatural creatures temporarily human with the merest touch.  It's a mystery with a sizable romance thread. I enjoyed the Victorian era images conjured and the detailed descriptions of the fashion of the time.  I'm now reading Changeless, the second in the series.



2) The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams - This is an old favorite.  I have only been truly sad, with a personal sense of loss, with one celebrity death... Douglas Adams.  I love his writing and grieve that his faithful readers won't have any new genius from him.  You can read this for light silly fun or you can read it for the more seething underlying critiques of government and the human condition.  If you haven't read any of his works, start here and read it for fun.

I am counting this one toward #2 on the What's in a Name reading challenge - A book with something you'd see in the sky in the title: Galaxy.



3) Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr - This is the third book in the Wicked Lovely series.  I read Wicked Lovely and Ink Exchange late last year.  I've seen the series referred to as the Tattooed Faeries series, which is accurate, though this book in the series was not really about tattoos.  The main heroine of the series is Aislinn, the Summer Queen of the faeries.  Here we find her human boyfriend, Seth, trying to "solve" the problem of his mortality so that he can be with Aislinn forever.  I went away from it feeling like I'd missed something... that the book didn't end quite where it should have.  I guess that means I'll need to read the fourth book as soon as possible.



4) Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Rigg - This is definitely not what I expected it to be.  I have no idea where I even came upon this title to add to my reading list. Where ever it was I'd found it, it had me expecting a kids' book.  NOT a kids' book.  A teenager would enjoy it but I was previewing it for my eight year old son.  Nope.  I did enjoy the book and was compelled to return to it quickly every time I put it down. However, I doubt I'll read the expected sequel.  It was well written and I have no faults with the author or story... just not something I want to pursue.  A bit too dark overall for my tastes.  And too much tension.  I am both drawn to and repelled from tension-filled books... I tend to carry that sense of tension with me outside the covers of the book. I try to avoid reading too many tension-filled books, no matter how drawn in I am when I'm actively reading them.

I'm counting this toward #4 on the What's in a Name reading challenge - A book with a type of house in the title: Home.



5) Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey - This is a free Kindle title I found on Books on the Knob.  It was fun.  Jessica is your typical small town American girl... who just found out she's actually a Romanian vampire princess. Antics, both light and very serious, ensue.  An easy read with some clever twists.

I'm counting this toward #5 on the What's in a Name reading challenge - A book with something you'd carry in pocket, purse or backpack in the title: Guide.