BURNT OFFERINGS

Will the wonders of the Internet ever stop amazing me????

I did exactly what I said I would do in my last post and looked up Burnt Offerings on the local library catalogue and yes, they had a couple of copies of it, but none at the branch that is closest to my home. So that made me think that I would have to wait until Monday, today, to drive over to one of the other Library branches. No,that was too long to wait and nothing else on my bookshelf was calling me to pick it up and interrupt Anita Blake and her story so I innocently thought I'd google Chapter 1 of Burnt Offerings to see if anyone had put it online. Well, to my astonishment, I didn't just find Chapter 1 - I found the whole book! It took me all of about 10 seconds and I was off and reading Chapter 1 and I have finished the book just a few minutes ago.

Now I can be all moral and say this is terrible as I so quickly accessed a book online for free and have robbed Laurell K Hamilton of her royalties by doing this, but hey - I've already bought the book, it just hasn't arrived yet! So just for a little while I will smugly bask in my immoral behaviour and roll around a bit in the scent of the Lukoi pack and feed a few stray drops of blood to the ever hungry Vampires of the Circus of the Damned while I tell you that this book was even better than the last one!!!

I also think I was a little prejudiced when it comes to reading books online. I've seen the Kindles and other book readers in the stores and always thought to myself that for me they could never take the place of a real book in my hands. Well I didn't even have the luxury of a book reader to use and have sat at my PC to read Burnt Offerings and found it to be a very enjoyable experience. I made the text nice and large so I could sit right back comfortably and not be peering at the screen and once I got going I felt myself whipping through those lovely short chapters. Now if I could have snuggled up in bed with my PC that would have been the only thing to improve the situation so when I get my ipad in a few weeks time I think one of the first things I'll be doing will be buying some online books to read on it!

I wonder if Laurell K Hamilton started to churn these novels out in a quicker fashion as the whole world of Anita Blake is just moving so much faster. Problem, after catastrophe, after death threat, after police investigation seem to just tumble over each other now vying fro space on the page and I just want to live her exciting life for a day maybe and then take a couple of years to lay on the couch and recover from the exhilaration of it. No wonder she can't make up her mind about who she is in love or lust with! Phew!

And I think Anita's BFF Ronnie summed it up well when she yelled at her for making her relationships all too serious. She is right in stating that Anita just can't seem to let herself just have a good time - she has to see something deeper in everything. So is this a sign of her emotional immaturity or is she the mature one and everyone else is just acting like a hormonal teenager??? She is an adult after all, not a spotty teen like the shallow, gormless Bella Swan. (What Edward and Jacob saw in her that was so enticing I will never know!)

Please leave a comment. I'm off to throw myself into BLUE MOON now!

BLOODY BONES IS FINISHED!

Yes, Bloody Bones is finished and I am already almost finished The Killing Dance which is, of course, the next book in the Anita Blake series by Laurell K Hamilton. The two books have blurred  and merged in my mind as I have read them on top of one another but most of Bloody Bones was spent establishing and fleshing out the character of Larry, her apprentice zombie raiser, for want of a better description. We also got to see a bit more of Dolph, the police Officer in charge of the Preternatural Investigations Unit which Anita Blake is attached to and her boss whose name currently escapes me, at the Zombie Raising Agency, as well as the usual murder and mayhem, vampires, zombie raising and werewolves. Anita could never complain of her life being boring! And of course, she is still faffing about, to-ing asnd fro-ing with her feelings for Richard and Jean Claude.

And it is only today that I have stupidly realised that my Anita Blake novels collection is still missing a few titles! One being Burnt Offerings which is the book straight after The Killing Dance which, as I said, I have almost finished.I was so sure I already had this one on my bookshelf, and I have hunted and even tidied and dusted the bookshelf (WOW!) in he vain hope that Burnt Offerings would turn up but alas, I must have imagined(?) that I already had it! 

It will frustrate me terribly to have to wait for the next book as once I am in the swing of a series I really like to lose myself in it right until the very end. I have ordered Burnt Offerings today, and a couple of other titles I still haven't got from near the end of the series but as I intend to finish The Killing Dance when I toddle off to bed after editing this post tonight, ah, actually this morning now I look at the time, that is not going to help me much. Perhaps I'll look at the Local Library on line tomorrow and see if they have a copy so I won't have to wait until my copy arrives. Yes, good thinking 99! That's what I'll do. I have well and truly whipped through The Killing Dance in only a few days as it is school holiday time and I am finding every excuse to read, read, read while I've got the chance. But I also have found this to be so much more of a "pageturner" that the last book. I did enjoy Bloody Bones as much as the rest of the series but The Killing Dance just seems to have picked up the pace a bit and I am finding it much more difficult to put down when i have to!!! I hope the rest of the series is as engaging as this book has been.
I'd love it if you would leave a comment.
Thanks,
Shell

I just had to share!

Random House Books AU shared Booktopia's photo.

When in doubt, Darcy...

---

Shelley Menhennet shared Booktopia's photo.

HEY, Mr Darcy,
Anytime, any place, any where!!!!!

I just had to share this picture from facebook. A brilliant comment about reading by the delicious Colin Firth! And my facebook comment underneath. Somehow, knowing Colin Firth loves to read just makes sense, and makes him EVEN MORE attractive - if that is possible!

Shell :P

 

BLOODY BONES

I have finished The Lunatic Cafe (which is a great name for a cafe you must admit! Someone must have pinched it by now!) by Laurell K Hamilton and have moved onto BLOODY BONES. The Lunatic Cafe was just as gruesome as all the others but I did hear myself say yuck out loud a few times in the last third of the book as it seemed to be even a bit more icky than usual! I wish Anita would sort out becoming officially recognised by the Police Force as these confrontations between her and every branch of the Police that she encounters are becoming a bit predictable. They all seem to spend so much time chest bumping it's a wonder they ever solve any crimes! I found the tension between Jean Claude, Richard and Anita very entertaining and did not see the outcome of their argument/compromise coming.  ( I'm not giving away any details/sppoilers just in case you haven't read it yet) Laurell K Hamilton has created a lovely, sympathetic werewolf in Richard but Jean Claude the master Vampire is superb. He just cracks me up!

This is BLOODY BONES

 except my cover doesn't match the rest of my books and looks like this. Why do they make so many different covers???? Obviously to sell more books and make more money but it is so annoying!

Please leave a comment or become a follower. I would love to hear what you think!
Shell

Sad news about BRYCE COURTENAY

I just read this on facebook and went directly to the link. This is the sad statement that as been released by Bryce Courtenay today.
Shelley

It is with great sadness that I am writing to let you know that 'Jack of Diamonds' my new book due out in November this year shall be my last. It is the usual big, bulky Bryce Courtenay saga, and I do hope you enjoy reading it. I have been diagnosed with terminal gastric cancer and am expected to have only some months to share with my adorable wife Christine.  We have had the good fortune to have been together for seven wonderfully happy years, and so the remaining months are precious to us, and our family and friends.  You will be pleased to know that I am currently feeling well, and am keeping busy gardening, and writing a collection of short stories, as well as being with our beloved pets. May I thank you all for your tremendous loyalty over the past 21 books. I feel immense gratitude and am humbled by your support over so many years. Our greatest wish is that your lives also continue to blossom. Goodbye and God Bless from us both.

Bryce & Christine Courtenay
September 7th, 2012

RANDOM HOUSE COMPETITIONS

Random House has quite a few book give away competitions at the moment so i thought I would include them here.

http://www.randomhouse.com.au/competitions/

I hope you win!

Shell 

MERRY GENTRY NOVELS

Well I said I was going to devote a whole post to this series of books. I could probably devote as whole blog to them but I'm trying not to get carried away here!
I truly stumbled across these by accident when I was looking for more Anita Blake series and there were some titles that didn't match my list. Not only does Laurell K Hamilton seem to be a very busy author I have now decided that she must have some seriously weird dreams to come up with what she does.
Basically, I LOVED these books. From the first page book one until the last page of book eight I couldn't put them down! 

Meredith Gentry is a fairy princess who has left the fae world to live a human life in the big city.
She's left her former life with good reason as because she is possible heir to one of the fairy kingdoms her creepy, insane cousin is always plotting to kill her. However her new life unravels when her sadistic Auntie, who is the Fairy Queen, calls her back and presents her with a chance to become the true heir as long as she gets herself pregnant before her cousin does. Do you see where this is going???? Forget 50 shades of grey as my face went 50 shades of pink, red and crimson as Merry is given permission to "explore" her new guards, most of whom have been celibate for a thousand years!!!

And the surprises (?) don't end there as there are all sorts of fae, with all sorts of stories and hidden talents (and extra body parts)! These books were often hilarious, sometimes gruesome, continually surprising and thoroughly, thoroughly entertaining. I was often heard shouting "Don't interrupt me I'm with the fairies!"

Like the Anita Blake character, I found I really liked Merry Gentry, as she found lots of ways to laugh at herself and her often absurd life. I particularly liked the character Frost, who we know as Jack Frost, and his back story but all the characters were engaging and I kept wanting more and zooming onto the next book.

I seemed to finish them all too quickly but I'm sure with the way the last book ended there will be more to come.

My one criticism, and it may not be Laurell K Hamilton's fault, but put in by her publishers, is that the books often retraced back stories unnecessarily, obviously hoping to ensnare readers who had stumbled on the books midway through the series. This rehashing of already known facts was infuriatingly irritating as it happened so often but was not enough to turn me off the series. It's a shame that the publishers don't have confidence that the books will draw you in enough to find out if there are others. It was just so unnecessary!

 So an absolute 10 out of 10 for pure, silly escapism. And if you love Charlaine Harris like I do, then you will love these.

1. A Kiss of Shadows
2. A Caress of Twilight
3. Seduced By Moonlight
4. A Stroke of Midnight
5. Mistral's Kiss
6. A Lick of Frost
7. Swallowing Darkness
8. Divine Misdemeanours

Book Competition!

I just stumbled across this competition and thought I would put a link to it here in case you were interested. The book 'Wool" sounds fascinating!

http://www.sftv.com.au/win/thanks.aspx?id=146

I hope I win and if not me then maybe you!
Shelley

I LOVE BOOKS!

 

I LOVE BOOKS!

 In this blog I would like to share what I am currently reading as well as try and compile a list of books I have read and put my own opinions on them out there to share. You can comment back, of course, and tell me what you are reading and/or give your opinion on something I have read.

I have always loved to read and was in fact reading fluently when I was at Kindergarten (I clearly remember sitting in the 'book corner' with the other children and reading to them all, yes, what a showoff!) although my Mum and sister both deny having taught me to read! My brother was also reading before he went to school but I know that I taught him - see, I was a teacher even back then!!!

I clearly remember my Prep Teacher, the lovely Mrs Dalton, asking me to read for Miss Ganly, one of the other teachers. She gave me the old Victorian reader "HOLIDAYS" (remember that one) which wasn't a "Prep" reader and I eagerly prattled off page after page for Miss Ganly who stood there with her mouth open. 'See, I told you, what do I do with her now?' Mrs Dalton said to Miss Ganly!!!! Well I assume she enjoyed having one less child to worry about in an extremely overcrowded 1967 classroom and let me read to my hearts content!

I have often, over a very long teaching career, told the children in my classes, that I don't remember when I first started to read at night before going to sleep but it has become an ingrained element of my going to sleep routine. So much so that I use it as an indicator for when I am not feeling well as it is so unusual for me not to absolutely have to read before shutting my eyes! I find it interesting that when I am particularly hyped up and my brain is in overdrive, and I find it difficult to sleep, I also find it very difficult to read!!!

At the moment I am whizzing through GUILTY PLEASURES which is the first in a long string of books by LAURELL K HAMILTON about a vampire slayer called Anita Blake. I think it said on the blurb that this is Buffy the Vampire Slayer for grown ups but having never read or watched anything about Buffy I can't compare it. 

It is graphically gruesome and I'm enjoying it immensely. I always like a book to whisk me away effortlessly and this certainly does that. Perfect escapism for when your head is not in such a good place as is sort of happening at the moment! And Anita Blake is an out there woman with a very interesting job - certainly not a blushing violet - and I find myself liking her, and especially her little dialogues with herself, very much.

Since writing this I have finished Guilty Pleasures and launched into the next book, THE LAUGHING CORPSE, 

which was more about zombies (yick!) than vampires but still gruesomely enjoyable and have just started book 3 in the series, CIRCUS OF THE DAMNED.

 i can see myself reading these one after the other now. I have had a substantial break between book 2 and 3 as I stumbled across Laurell K Hamilton's Merry Gentry series and read them, basically without taking a breath, but I will devote another full post to them later!

I have also been reading this rather odd book THE MAP OF TIME by FELIX J PALMA. It is set in Victorian England and whirls characters such as Jack the Ripper and HG Wells, to name a couple, into the same tangled story. i must admit I have put it down in annoyance a number of times but I keep coming back to it and continuing as I can't imagine how the author is going to tie it all together at the end. Perhaps he won't and then I'll be really annoyed!!!

Welcome to my new blog!

Welcome to my new blog! I hope you enjoy your time here.

i originally started this as an extra to my other blog but was frustrated when i couldn't add to my OTHER pages on my other blog. And so this

MY SIDE OF THE BOOKSHELF 

blog has been born! I will get back here to sort itall out as soon as possible!

Shell