Her Book Self

Katie Fforde is one of my go-to authors for cozy love stories.  I picked up Practically Perfect at the library last week and - as expected - it was a quick, cute book to enjoy.

Interior Designer Anna is ready to dive into her latest project of fixing up a house in the Cotswolds and when she immediately strikes up a friendship with her neighbor Chloe, things are looking bright.  Of course, considering Anna's only staircase is a ladder and when she learns from handsome housing inspector Rob Hunter that everything must be built to comply with strict standards, she comes to think the house might be more than she bargained for.  Add in a rescued greyhound in need of a good home and the obnoxious mother of Anna's old flame living just down the street and all the elements are in place for an entertaining story.

This isn't a book with any grand surprises or overly inspired writing, but it is a cute and fun novel.  Even when the outcome is rather transparent, it's the journey of how everything comes together that makes it a sweet story.  I wouldn't say this was my favorite of Fforde's books, but as far as a cozy love story goes, it is Practically Perfect.

As I mentioned, I've been reading Katie Fforde's work for a number of years but it wasn't until recently that I learned she's a cousin-in-law to another favorite author of mine Jasper Fforde.  Now that's a family reunion I would love to be invited to!

Many of you hoped, predicted, expected and wished for this to happen, but as I recently announced my presence on facebook, I suppose my next announcement comes as slightly less of a surprise:

This doesn't quite mean I have any idea what I'm doing yet, but as I navigate the fast paced world of hash tags (#), retweets (RT), mentions (@), and follows I hope to add a new layer to my blogging experience and connect with some of my favorite bloggers on a more regular basis.  I also want to extend a huge thank you to April over at Good Books and Good Wine.  I've long been a fan of April's blog and her post during BBAW was one of the main persuading factors to me joining Twitter.  The big surprise though came within just an hour or so of me signing up for Twitter and finding some favorite blogs to follow, when this note appeared:

booksandwine April C

Hey all Lisa @HerBookSelf is way new to twitter, so why not give her a warm welcome and a high five for joining the land of twitter!!

Carter and Sadie Kane are a typical young adult brother and sister - who just happen to be descendants of Egyptian pharaohs. Gifted magicians, the two have put out a call to other such talented teens and The Throne of Fire picks up shortly after The Red Pyramid with the Kane siblings providing training for their new recruits. Faced with a quest to wake the sun god Ra and prevent Apophis from destroying the world, Carter and Sadie must use their array of magic, brains and strength with powerful human magicians and a host of Egyptian gods joining the fight as both allies and foes.

Rick Riordan has mastered the art of modernizing the history and culture of ancient civilizations. Myths and magic are blended so naturally into the story that the novel is fully enjoyable while simultaneously providing the skills to sweep an Egyptian Gods & Goddesses Jeopardy category. The book is also told in alternating perspectives by both Carter and Sadie (who provide amusing chapter titles and humorous asides to each other throughout the narration). Along with creating two unique voices with which to frame the story, Riordan ensures that the adventures will appeal equally to male and female readers.

A good mix of laughter, action, and education, The Throne of Fire is an exciting continuation of The Kane Chronicles. Rumored to conclude in a yet untitled book three (possibly released spring of 2013), the worst part about this book will be waiting for what comes next!

Plenty of reviews to come later this week but for now I just had to share this quote:

I think it's even more amusing in context, but I don't want to spell out the whole scene since I'm guessing the book may still be on some bloggers' TBR lists.  It was one of my favorite bits of dialog from the work and really sold me on liking Calla.  But I suppose I mentally cheer a bit when any book character turns out to be a bibliophile!

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay tells the alternating story of modern day journalist Julia Jarmond and a young French girl Sarah Starzynski who lived in Paris in 1942.  Julia is researching the events surrounding the Vélodrome d’Hiver, more commonly known as the Vel' d' Hiv, when Jewish citizens were rounded up by the French police to be sent to concentration camps.  Sarah belonged to one of the many families taken from their homes, but thinking she would only be gone a few hours, she secreted her younger brother in a hidden room before leaving her home. Clinging to the key with which she locked him in, Sarah's story unfolds between Julia's as the journalist finds a tie between her own family and the Jewish people that were pulled from their homes. 

I don't want to give away too much of this story so I will keep this review rather brief.  Though I liked it, I didn't love the book as much as I wanted to.  Perhaps I had some over hyped expectations from people that told me I would adore it, or perhaps I wasn't mentally prepared for a tear-jerker.  I found myself extremely ensconced in Sarah's story but less so in Julia's narrative.  Nevertheless, what I most appreciated in this book was the information about the Vel' d'Hiv and the atrocities committed by the French police.  Though I like to think I learned a lot in school about World War II, this was entirely new and shocking information for me to read.  For that reason alone, I do find myself recommending Sarah's Key to others. 

And it also leads me to ask, what fiction book(s) do you consider a must-read for educational content alone?  Even if you weren't thrilled with the story, is there a title that you consider important because of what you learned from it? 

Last year, I posted my review of White Night - book nine in Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files - but I didn't realize until I was writing up my review for Small Favor that it's been almost a year between books in this series for me.  Maybe because I read another Butcher book earlier this year, it didn't seem like I had been away from Dresden for quite so long, but like any reunion with an old friend, once I started reading it felt like Harry and I had never been apart.  

An early winter in the Midwest is usually nothing to question, but when snows roll in mid-autumn, Harry Dresden - the only wizard listed in the Chicago phone book - knows to suspect something sinister. Mab, Queen of the Winter Fae, calls on Harry for one of the favors he owes her and though he'd like to pick and choose which assignments to accept from her, the last place he wants to be is on the Winter Queen's bad side. Add in unexplainable magical forces, a host of fallen angels, and a missing mobster and Small Favor is another excellent entry in Jim Butcher's Dresden Files.

Some fans argue that the inflation nature of the saga - baddies who keep getting bigger, stronger, and more numerous - has turned Harry Dresden into more of a superhero than an everyman protagonist, but I disagree. For one, Harry was never an everyman but his talents also never blossomed unrealistically. If anything, he's a hero who knows his limits and occasionally does manage to get his butt kicked a little. Second, along with increasing foes, Harry has stronger allies as the book series progresses. The supporting characters are often as endearing - and hilarious - as Harry himself and more often than not Harry is a team player rather than a lone ranger. Finally, despite his wizarding skills, Harry at heart is still a character to relate to. He is caring, smart, and funny and the series is as much about him growing as a person as it is about his magic.

I love that these books can thoroughly distract me from life. Filled with humor, action, adventure, and characters that I've come to genuinely care about, I know I can rely on Butcher when I find myself in that strange between book limbo phase when nothing I pick up to read strikes my fancy. Ten books strong the series refuses to run out of steam and I continue to look forward to the next entry.

I'm a compulsive book finisher.  I know, I know.  Life's too short to read bad books.  Why read something that you don't enjoy?  I can rationalize it from here to Main street, but when it comes down to sticking to a so-so book I usually do because of a nagging voice in my head that wonders if, by giving up on a book, I will miss the very best part!  What happens if the ending - the last ten, twenty, or fifty pages - holds the redeeming value of a less than stellar book?  How can I fairly rate a book I want to abandon if by chance the author's brilliance lies at the denouement?  I've tried to be persuaded out of my stubborn ways, but today's Top Ten Tuesday list features books that convince me that maybe a great ending can make a so-so book good because these are ten eleven great books whose endings made them awesome!

Top Ten Books with Jaw-Dropping Endings
In more or less random order - Underlined titles link to my reviews

(Bonus)11. Delirium by Lauren Oliver  
I'm going to start with this choice because I have a feeling it's going to be a popular one today.  The ending took this book from a decent young adult dystopia to a gripping and powerful novel.  Though I've stated before that I would love for the ending to stand and for this to remain as a solo novel, I admit that I'm captivated enough to want to devour Oliver's sequel Pandemonium.

10. The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde
Fforde's wit is by far what sets him apart from most authors, but in this book he constructs a really great mystery that's also extremely funny.  The plot follows Detective Jack Spratt investigating the death of Humpty Dumpty (did he really "fall"?) and the ending is as unpredictable as it is hilarious and enjoyable. 

9. 1984 by George Orwell
It's tricky to do a top ten list about endings without revealing any of them.  Orwell's entire work is intelligent and thought-provoking but I'm sure many that have read this one concur that the ending has spawned Philosophy class curriculum for the ages.

8. The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen
This one is the first SAA book I read and it remains my favorite (though I will tip my hat in respect to those that argue Garden Spells to be superior).  The brilliance behind the ending of this book is that all the pieces are in place throughout the work for it to be entirely predictable and yet it still manages to be a beautiful surprise. 

7. Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz
From the setup of a fry cook who's friends with the ghost of Elvis there was plenty unique and bizarre about the first in Koontz's Odd series.  In talking with others who have read this book, I've found the ending to be quite polarizing - but I'm a reader that falls in the "loved it" side of things. 

6. The Book of the Dead by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
This book is the seventh in Preston and Child's Pendergast series and the conclusion of what they refer to as The Diogenes Trilogy.  What I loved is that this book ended with a kicker that I definitely did not see coming.  What I hated was that it offered a massive plot opportunity that was pretty much abandoned in subsequent books in the series.

5. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
The ending of this book is not quite a surprise since the narrator hints at it and then reveals it long before it happens.  What I love though is that it still manages to be awe-inducing when you read it.  There's a part of me that wanted not to trust the narrator and to cling to a hope that things would turn out a different way and the fact that even with the reveal the ending managed to be remarkably powerful makes it a definite choice for this list.

4. Ptolemy's Gate by Jonathan Stroud
With the exception of the first and sixth choices on my list, I'm trying to avoid series books  because cliffhangers at the end of book one or two of a series hardly shock me anymore.  However, what I love about the ending of Ptolemy's Gate - book three in Stroud's Bartimaeus trilogy - is that he delivers a punch with a key character that wraps up the series perfectly.  There are times when I protest an author's handling of a series because it's not what I would have done, but this is a great example of an author delivering an ending that is a million times better than anything I could have conceived. 

3. Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson
The world needs more excellent stand alone fantasy novels and the world needs more writers like Sanderson.  This book was well-written, unique, and creative and the ending - which tied together multiple plot lines, characters, and climactic moments in one fell swoop - was absolutely brilliant.

2. Gentlemen and Players by Joanne Harris
Many people know Harris as a writer from the book (and subsequent Johnny Depp movie) Chocolat and though I love her artistic and descriptive love stories, Gentleman and Players is one of the best mystery works I've read recently.  I really don't want to say too much about this book but if you consider yourself an armchair detective who loves a good mystery - go read this book!

1. A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
This has to be my number one choice despite my reluctance to include "Book One"s here.  Even apart from the "what's next?" questions when any series begins I had to choose this book for it's emotionally charged finale.  Considering that upon rereading the book I was wondering if on the second time around certain characters would make different choices, I can't think of a better cap for this list!

So there you have my list of the week.  Which choices do you agree with?  Which do you dislike?  Have I given you any new titles to check out and/or avoid?  I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below! 

For those that don't know or are new to the feature, Top Ten Tuesday is a blog meme hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.  Check out their blog to link up with your own Top Ten Tuesday post and to find the schedule for future TTT lists as well.  (And for those who want a flashback to the Top Tens I've participated in you can see them all here.)

October has arrived so it's time to wrap up this year's edition of Series in September.  (And here's a flashback to last year's wrap up post for anyone interested.)  This year I reviewed entries in The Alexis Stanton Chronicles, The Parasol Protectorate, Anne of Green Gables Series, The Goblin Wars, and Ally Condie's Matched Series.  I also had some meme-time with the Top Ten Sequels I'm Eager to Read and A Weekend to ReCOVER with Anne of Avonlea. 

Along with alerting me to how many series I am in the middle of reading, this September feature also makes me all the more aware of how much I enjoy sagas of great books!