Her Book Self

Book: A Cup of Jo by Sandra Balzo

Series: Maggy Thorsen Mysteries

Book Order: Uncommon Grounds* (1), Grounds For Murder (2), Bean There, Done That (3), Brewed, Crude and Tattooed (4), From the Grounds Up (5), A Cup of Jo* (6)
* indicates a book I have read

Sandra Balzo brews up a great mystery in A Cup of Jo the latest in her Maggy Thorsen series. When Maggy orders a huge inflatable coffee cup emblazoned with the Uncommon Grounds logo to promote her coffee shop, it seems like a great idea... until a body is found inside the giant decoration.

With motives all around and suspects close to heart, it's up to Maggy to sort through clues while trying to maintain a booming coffee business. Trouble has a knack for following Maggy, though, and the twists and turns in this mystery are as abundant as the quirky characters. Balzo fills her Wisconsin town with a great supporting cast of friends and fiends ensuring that Maggy's tale is heartwarming, hilarious, and perfectly puzzling.

The challenge is on for the reader to solve the murder alongside Maggy Thorsen. Armchair detectives everywhere will definitely want to cozy up with A Cup of Jo.

This is another series that I've been reading rather out of order.  I picked up A Cup of Jo not realizing how many books I had skipped in the series, but it was still a great story and I appreciated that Balzo's writing seemed more sophisticated farther along in the series.  I'm sure I'll fill in the gaps with the middle books someday, but each story can easily be appreciated as a standalone tale too.

Book: Antsy Does Time by Neal Shusterman

Series: Antsy Bonano Novels

Book Order: The Schwa Was Here*  (1), Antsy Does Time* (2) 
* indicates a book I have read

Every once in a while a book is so good that I don't want to read it's sequel.  Something in me insists that the book shouldn't even have a sequel because the first one was so enjoyable that I can't fathom another book following it.  But every once in a while, I end up very glad that certain books do have sequels, because every once in a while book two is undoubtedly good enough to share a shelf with its predecessor.  Such was the case with Neal Shusterman's novel Antsy Does Time, the sequel to The Schwa Was Here.  

Anthony "Antsy" Bonano is a witty, wisecracking, sarcastic, street smart, New York neighborhood kid.  As narrator of The Schwa Was Here, Antsy introduced readers to the functionally invisible Calvin Schwa in a story that was as sweetly endearing as it was hilarious.  In the sequel, Antsy is back and makes a new friend, Gunnar Umlaut.  When Gunnar reveals that he only has six months to live, Antsy responds with a heartfelt gesture and donates one month of his life to Gunnar - complete with a signed contract.  The small act of goodwill turns out to have huge repercussions, though, and soon Antsy (the newly appointed "Master of Time") is in way over his head.

I can't really pick which of these two Shusterman novels I like better, but for those that enjoyed The Schwa Was Here, don't hesitate to dive into Antsy Does Time.  Shusterman does a terrific job capturing the voice of a teenage narrator.  Where the first book introduced Antsy, this book has him growing up a bit and it was great to watch his character develop further and see the seriousness behind his sarcasm. 

Do you ever put off reading books based on your expectations of them?  Has a book ever really surprised you by being way better (or way worse) than you predicted?

I thought this an appropriate quote for Series in September.   Truthfully, I think the very best sequels are those which extend and expand their companion works rather than imitating them, but I also find Marquis's sentiment quite amusing.  Are there sequels you've read where you felt that the author was pretty much just imitating him/herself?

Book: White Night by Jim Butcher

Series:The Dresden Files

Book Order: Storm Front* (1), Fool Moon* (2), Grave Peril* (3), Summer Knight* (4), Death Masks* (5), Blood Rites* (6), Dead Beat* (7), Proven Guilty* (8), White Night*  (9), Small Favor (10), Turn Coat (11), Changes (12),  Plus assorted short stories
* indicates a book I have read

Harry Dresden has the honor of being the only wizard listed in the Chicago phone book, and in White Night he's back for another suspenseful adventure.  The chivalrous sorcerer can't stand seeing a lady in trouble so when a string of apparent suicides among a group of female magic practitioners comes to his attention, Harry decides to look deeper at the events.  He definitely doesn't like what he sees when all evidence starts to point to someone close to him as the prime suspect.

As a Chicagoan, I'm particularly vulnerable to loving this series.  Jim Butcher effortlessly captures the heart and soul of The Windy City and readers familiar with the locale will delight in witnessing Harry accurately refer to, visit, and wreak havoc across their favorite sites.  Of course, even those who have never been to Chicago can appreciate visiting the city through Harry's eyes and the humor, suspense, and adventure woven through Butcher's writing are a treat to all readers.

The books in The Dresden Files series are probably best when read in order.  There are many references to previous events in this novel - and many jokes based on those events - and the complex relationships of the characters can't adequately be explained in summary style.  However, I really feel this is a series that has improved with almost every book.  Storm Front, the first in the series, was a great read when I first encountered it, but looking at how far the series has come, it's arguably the weakest novel of the group.  Dead Beat, book seven, might be my favorite in the string, but White Night was an excellent work and even after nine Dresden novels, my appetite for Jim Butcher's Windy City wizard is still eager for more. 

So now I'm wondering, what do you think about reading books that are set in the city/town/area where you live or work?  Any examples of an author or book that did a great job capturing the spirit of the place you call home?

Book: Anybody Out There? by Marian Keyes

Series: The Walsh Sisters

Book Order: Watermelon (1), Rachel's Holiday (2), Angels* (3), Anybody Out There?* (4)   

* indicates a book I have read

Anybody Out There? by Marian Keyes begins with an amnesia plot in which Anna Walsh - one of the Walsh sisters whose adventures are chronicled in other books by Keyes - awakens in her family's home in Ireland with scattered pieces of her life in place. Rather than a cliche novel focused on Anna regaining her memory, a sentimental story unfolds as Anna must move back to New York and put her life back together piece by piece.

This is the third book I've read by Keyes and so far it is my favorite. The writing was emotional without being overly sappy and the secondary characters peppered the plot with humor and kept a lighthearted tone to a serious story. Technically, this is the fourth entry in Keyes's series about the Walsh sisters, but it is also an excellent stand-alone novel.

I like that this series is not exactly a series.  Each book tells its own story but all of them are connected by the relationship of the Walsh sisters, with every book focusing primarily on just one sister.  While most of the characters appear in multiple books, there's no real need to read all the books to understand or appreciate the others, and there's also no need to read them all in order.  Do you read a series starting with book one or do you occasionally skip around?

Book: Club Dead by Charlaine Harris

Series: Southern Vampire Mysteries; aka Sookie Stackhouse Mysteries; aka Those Books that Started the Show "True Blood"

Book Order: Dead Until Dark* (1), Living Dead in Dallas* (2), Club Dead* (3), Dead to the World (4), Dead as a Doornail (5), Definitely Dead (6), All Together Dead (7), From Dead to Worse (8), Dead and Gone (9), Dead in the Family (10), Plus assorted short stories   
* indicates a book I have read

Club Dead, the third book in Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire Mysteries, begins with trouble in paradise for psychic barmaid Sookie Stackhouse and her vampire boyfriend Bill. Bill has been wrapped up in a secret project and Sookie feels pushed aside when he leaves town, not even telling her his destination. Soon however, Sookie finds out he's in trouble and the dangerous vampires he is involved with - as well as news of the new female in his life - drives Sookie to track Bill down.

This book provided a nice change from predictability in that Sookie was cast more in the role of rescuer rather than damsel in distress (although she did wind up in peril eventually). I liked the addition of new characters and the development of some that have lingered in the background a bit and I think that one of Harris's greatest strength in this series is her characters. Sookie is a strong and likable heroine and even when the reader doesn't agree with her actions or decisions, she is still a character to root for.

I may be in the minority among fans of the genre, but personally, I like paranormal romance books for the paranormal more than the romance. I like the involvement of vampires, werewolves, psychics and shape-shifters. Also, it is the mystery aspect, more than the love stories, that has kept me interested in this series, and I remain intrigued as to where Sookie's adventures will lead her next.

I haven't actually seen any episodes of the show True Blood that is based off this series of books.  I've heard varying reports about how closely the show follows the books, but if anyone else wants to weigh in on the comparison I'd love to hear more thoughts.  For those that are unfamiliar with the books or the series, Harris bases her vampire mythology on the premise that vampires have "come out of the coffin" and live among humans as (mostly) accepted citizens.  The vamps no longer need to feed on people thanks to the development of a synthetic blood substitute called True Blood, hence the name of the hit TV show.  Overall, I like the lighthearted feel to the series and appreciate Harris's unique take on urban fantasy.

Welcome to Her Book Self's first monthly theme: Series in September!   My goal is to use the month of September to focus on reading books that are part of a series.  This might mean picking up on where I've left off in a string of mysteries or starting a new fantasy trilogy.  For those readers that are fans of standalone novels, don't tune out this month since I've found that there are several books that, despite being written as part of a series, work perfectly well as succinct stories and I'll be sure to make note of such in my reviews.  Also, September happens to be a month full of other festivities that will be featured here including Book Blogger Appreciation Week, Talk Like A Pirate Day, and... well, maybe it's a certain someone's birthday this month too!  If any other book bloggers want to join me and create something of a meme for "Series in September" - whether it's for one post, a weekly theme, or a full month - I put together the image above that you can feel free to use on your own blog posts, and be sure  to drop a comment here with a link to your post(s) as well! 

Welcome, September: my favorite month of the year!