Trying to Find my Balance

 I'd really thought I was going to get back to blogging regularly back in February.  Then school happened and life happened and I didn't quite get back to it.  But now school is out for the year here in Nashville, I have my own computer and (hopefully) I'll have a bit more time to post on my journal.  After all, today is the first day of the month.  I might as well try to make some changes.  I even entered all the books I've read since February into GoodReads and posted my first review in about 8 years on Views from the Reader Side.  I've got my BuJo set up for the next month, I'm getting some things organized around the house and I'm actually feeling pretty good about it all.  I'm feeling good about a lot because a lot of things are seeming to be ok.

I've started joining a few events on Eventbright that is working toward both making me healthier and more creative.  I've got a couple regular journaling events, a couple of regular yoga events, and a few book clubs that I haven't had a chance to join in yet but I have signed up for.   I'm getting a head on the reading because even if something happens and I can't keep up with it, I'll still have read some awesome books.

Speaking of reading, I'm also participating in the Nashville Pubic Library Summer Reading Program.  I've already made the first goal of 600 minutes reading (though I haven't logged them all yet).  I'm hoping to put reviews up for all the books that I read on Goodreads, mirrored to Views from the Reader Side.  If any of my readers are also participating in a reading program, I'd love to hear what you are reading as well.  Either here or on VftRS.  Books are always good.

I also found an older... I don't like to use the word "game" because it's not really a game.  It's more a way to help bolster people anonymously.  It's called Kind Words and I check it out a couple times a day.  You can post your own 7 line thing that you want to talk about - good, bad, curious about the others that are in the world as well.  And then you can browse through letters others have left to give them kind words of support, encouragement, and just general goodness.  (And sometimes you may even have advice to give!)  The only problem I have with it is that there are times I get replies from people and I want to write back so badly and it's not set up for that.  It's still all pretty cool and it helps when I'm having a rough day.  

With that, I will close this post for now.  But, because I'm actually pretty proud of it, I'm going to share my June Layouts in my Bullet Journal.  I promise this will be in separate blog posts for those who have no interest in it later.  

My June in Review data page.  I fill this out at the end of the month to cover the numbers and give me a place to look at the month over all.

This gives me a place to write down the books I read, the TV shows and movies that I watch and the games that I play - whether they be board, computer or console.

This is my tracker for the month.  I haven't figured out a tracking system that I like yet, so I'm still messing with this.d

I'm trying to get back into FlyLady, so I put all my routines down in writing.  This way, hopefully I'll be able to keep on top of things a bit better.

This page breaks down my home by zones and what needs to be done in each of them monthly.  Like with the daily and weekly above, I'm hoping this will keep me on track.

F is for... Family Literacy Day

Today was Belmont University's 13th Annual Family Literacy Day.  It's a free event that the University puts on for the community to promote literacy.  Aimed at kids from pre-K to sixth grade, the kids get a paper with six boxes on it.  They go to their choice of reading circles set up by different groups on campus, where they can either read to or be read to by volunteers made up of groups on campus.  After their stories, they get a sticker in a box to prove they've been to a reading circle.  When they get two stickers, they can go get refreshments and/or do crafts.  When they get six stickers, they are allowed to pick out a book from a large selection of books - anything from picture books to the latest book by Lemony Snicket.  It's a great way to get kids reading and enjoying the written word.

Small signs to let people know they've come to the right place.

This is our 4th year going (I think) and, as in past years, we had a wonderful time.  They host it at one of the local parks so we can enjoy the wonderful Tennessee spring sunshine. Things were set up a litter different this year from the times we've been in the past.  They'd moved the registration table inside and had the reading circles in the new baseball stadium the park had built over the last year.  But we were able to find where we needed to be fairly quickly, picked up the boys' papers and goody bags, and headed out to get our read on!

Showing the way to the reading circles.

As always, there were quite a few groups with their reading circles, all vying for the attention of kids to come listen to their stories.  Each group had a different theme (though they didn't always choose books that were exactly fitting).  As soon as we walked in, someone suggested we got to her group where they were reading fairy tales and mythology.  It was as good of a place to start as any other, so the boys went and chose a Dr. Seuss - Horton Hears a Who.  I don't think the students that suggested it really realized how long the story was.  It took three of them reading it to the boys to get through it, and then they gave each of them two stickers instead of one!  The kids were pretty happy with that!

My boys, listening as a student reads Horton Hears a Who to them.

Pete was behaving pretty well there, too.  I was happy with my boys.

We actually split up at that point, Pete going with Rich and Teddy coming with me.  They both wanted different kinds of books, so it seemed to make sense.  Teddy and I wandered around until we found a lonely group with dinosaur books.  Teddy chose the book How Do Dinosaurs Go To School?.  We were able to talk him into sharing reading duties.  He read one page and one of the students read the next.  By the time they got to the last page, they both read together.  And I think it gave Teddy the courage to try reading out loud on his own for the future books.

Teddy and one of the students reading together.

The next circle we stopped at was a huge hit for Teddy.  He saw a book that he loved and he wanted to read it to them. Dear Mrs. La Rue: Letters From Obedience School. Apparently, it's one his teacher has read in school before and he loves it.  The girls he read to were really impressed with how well he did.  Reading words like "Obedience" isn't something you'd expect from a 7 year old.  While he was reading, Pete and Rich came over, Pete having just one more story to go.  A couple of the other students read to him while Teddy was continuing to read his.  He finished before Teddy and got not just his last star but also a blow pop!  Then he sat down to listen to Teddy finish reading his story. The girls Teddy was reading to were so impressed that they gave him two stars.

Teddy, entertaining the students with his reading.

The last story was one that Teddy chose to read as well, and was one that he knew both he and his brother would enjoy. Two Crazy Pigs. I wasn't paying quite as much attention during that one, though the students and my boys both seemed to enjoy it quite a bit.  I love watching my boys interact like that!

Little Brother paying attention while Big Brother reads him a story.

I actually snuck off so I could take a picture from the bleachers of all the reading circles.  Being a reader from my earliest days, seeing so many groups promoting reading, and so many parents bringing their kids to share in the joy of reading, was a wonderful thing.

A sea of reading circles, spreading the joy of reading

Once the boys had all their stickers, we headed inside the Community Center where they had the book table set up.  Teddy looked at the chapter books while Pete looked at the picture book end.  Teddy thought he had his book - a Pokemon book, Coal Badge Battle.  Of course, when Pete saw that Teddy had a Pokemon book, he decided he needed a Pokemon book too.  Knowing the likelihood of them having two different Pokemon books, Teddy agreed to pass his off to his brother and picked up Tethan Battle Adventure #3 (Star Wars: The Clone Wars), a Star Wars Choose Your Own Adventure.  Awesome score for both of them!

Boys and their books...

After that, the boys just had to get their refreshments (popcorn and cotton candy, as well as some water), each made a bookmark and then Teddy decided to get his face painted in a way to perfectly show off the day.

And I love that he loves to read!

As always, it was an awesome day filled with fun for all of us.  I love my boys and love that they are readers, but I love even more that Belmont University puts this on every year.  If you are in or around the Nashville area at the beginning of April next year and have kids sixth grade or below, I definitely recommend checking this out.  Because you'll have an afternoon of awesome reading fun! I know we always do.

Tuesday Coffee Chat - At the End of the Day

It feels so great to link up again with Les over at Time Out for Mom.  Les was one of the first regular followers of my blog, and I've always been grateful; for her support.  She's an awesome lady with an awesome blog, so go check it out! Now back to this week's Tuesday Coffee Chat Topic: At the end of the day, my favorite thing to do is...
As Les pointed out in her post, when you're a stay at home mom, there really isn't an "end of the day".  Even when the kids are in bed, you're "on call" - getting things ready for the next day's school/activities/day of kids at home driving you nuts.  You need to have your hear out for nightmares or, in my case, a child that almost sleepwalks and gets lost in the hallway when he has to go to the bathroom.  There's no real end of the day. However, by 8:30, I can relax a bit more.  The kids are in bed, things are ready for the next day (at least, most of them are) and I can just keep an ear out instead of having to answer "Mommy, can you put this Pokemon DVD in for me?" or break up fights over who gets the blue plate and who gets the green one. Those are the moments I live for.  It's not that I don't love my boys.  I do.  And I love being able to stay home with them.  They're what keeps me laughing, what fills my heart with joy.  But they can also be too much of a good thing.  So at the end of my day, when I've got my "me" time, I pick u[ a book and just start to read. Reading has always been my outlet.  When I was a kid, being teased for being too smart, too poor and too fat, books were my escape from the real world.  I'd dive into the mysteries of Agatha Christie, the prairie home of Laura Ingalls Wilder, the March home created by Louisa May Alcott.  I'd follow my own path with Choose Your Own Adventures, or follow the same path taken by a young pregnant girl in a book whose title has escaped my memory with time.  These, and many others, were the stories that got me through the difficulties of growing up.
Even after I passed through the difficulties of middle and high school, reading was still what I turned to when things got tough from day to day.  When I was living in St. Pete, I regularly stopped at a Used Book Store, picking up ten romances for a dollar so I could lose myself in them when my own romance was more heart ache than heart burst.  When I hurt my back and was stuck in bed for a week, I ended up reading through the first four Harry Potter books (the only ones out at the time) twice.  It helped me get outside the four walls I was stuck within and travel somewhere fantastic.
My life is pretty good now, but books are still a part of it.  I don't have as much time to read as I'd like - not with two kids, a husband and a cat to deal with on a daily basis.  But I do find time to read every day.  Right now, I'm lost in a world of supernatural steampunk (Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series, for those curious) and I'm looking forward to the end of my day so I can snuggle under my covers, book in hand, and see what kind of trouble Alexia is getting into now.

There's a Light in the Attic With Everything On it Where the Sidewalk Ends

Our local library had a book sale the second Saturday of every month.  Among the shelves, you'll find books of every size, shape, type and genre, DVDs and CDs of the same, and even a few videos.  These are items either donated or that the library was removing from their collection.  The money goes to the Friends of the Library, and it's a great way for us to get incredibly inexpensive books to put on our shelves and swear we'll read one day.  We don't make it every month, but we do make it more often than not and have found some great finds.

A few months ago, we were looking through the large selection of children's books.  Sometimes we look to help the boys find something they might enjoy and sometimes we look to see if they have any of our childhood favorites that we hope to one day share with the boys.  Much to our surprise, we found a copy of Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein.  He is one of Rich's favorite authors.  I still remember fondly singing "I'm Being Swallowed by a Boa Constrictor" for my kindergarten graduation. So it was a must.  We brought it home and put it on the boys' shelf for a day that they would hopefully be intrigued and want to read it or have us read it to them.

About two weeks ago, Teddy found it and asked Daddy to read it.  We give the boys 2 stories (or 2 chapters for chapter books) each at bedtime. Pete usually chooses picture books, since that's pretty much his level.  Teddy varies wildly from favorite kids books (like the incomparable Big Plans by Bob Shea - which I actually enjoy more than his Dinosaur Vs books) to graphic novels to early reader chapter books and, sometimes, even older chapter books.  (We're currently working our way very slowly through the 39 Clues series).  Most of these, he'll read by himself during the day, but he prefers to have us read them to him at night.

Every night, for the last two weeks, that has been what Teddy's wanted as his stories.  Rich uses the equivalent of 6 to 8 pages counting as a story, so they'd been reading 16 pages a night.  And the other night, when we got to the end of the book, Teddy asked his dad (since Daddy's been doing more of the reading duties lately because of my back) if they could start over again at the beginning.  Teddy has found his first truly favorite book.

Saturdays are our library days and usually a family affair.  But Rich had some important work he needed to do and he needed peace and quiet to do it in, so I took the boys by myself to the library.  Both Rich and I had books to pick up (for Rich The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements by Sam Kean and for me, How to Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran) so I headed over to the holds section while the boys went to the children's and juvenile sections to pick out their own two allotted books.  I could trust Pete to be quiet for that long (though, sadly, it didn't last much longer than that and I had to rush us out without a chance to browse myself, but that isn't what this story is about).  Pete picked out a couple books that he found in the juvenile non-fiction section (a usual occurrence when he follows Teddy, but one I don't discourage), and I expected Teddy to come back with his usual choices of a couple graphic novels.  Instead, he proudly showed me A Light in the Attic and Every Thing On It, both by Shel Silverstein.  He told me that while he was looking for the graphic novels, he spotted these two books and changed his mind.  He had something new for Daddy to read at bedtime.

But that wasn't the end of it.  After we got to the car, both boys buckled into their seats and me ready to pull out of the parking space to head for lunch, Teddy started reading poems from the book to Peter and I.  He put the same amount of feeling into the words as Rich and I do when we read to him. He was living in the poems, feeling how he knew they should be spoken.  At stop lights, he'd ask me to glance quickly at the illustrations as he held the book up.  And I loved him for it.

Reading to us is a fairly new development for him.  Teddy's been able to read since he was about 2 1/2, surprising his PDO teachers and the elementary teachers he's had so far with his vocabulary and word recognition.  When I take electronics away from him for whatever reason, he'll gravitate immediately to the books.  And sometimes, he'll read even when he has electronics permission. (Believe me, I'm trying to get more reading and playing time and less staring at a screen time.  He's getting better, but he's not completely there yet.)  Now, he would read to Pete, sharing some of his favorite story books from when he was Pete's age and younger.  But if Rich and I were in the room, one of us would be the designated reader.  We'd ask him if he wanted to read and he'd say, "No.  I'll lay in my bed and listen."  One night, he told us that he wanted to read Big Plans as a family - I'd take the narrative, he'd read the boys' lines, Rich would read the other lines spoken by people and Pete would chime in with the myna bird's "I'm in!"  It was a step.  And him reading in the car was another step.

My boy is a lover of books and a teller of stories.  I hope this is something that he never loses.

Promotion Post

As some of you know, but many others may not, Sanity's Overrated isn't the only blog that I maintain.  Recently, I started a new one to keep my reading logs in one place and tonight, I restarted an old blog to keep track of the 101 goals that I hope to complete in 1001 days.

Views from the Reader Side is my reading blog.  I do book reviews (usually ported directly from my Goodreads account), update reading challenges that I'm participating in, talk about books that I've won, what I'm reading, and occasionally news from the Book world that I find interesting.  I know many people enjoyed reading my book reviews here, and I'm hoping you'll head over to Views to keep following them there.

Amber's 101 Goals in 1001 Days was a blog that I started three years ago to keep track of my goals for my first attempt at completing the 101 in 1001.  As you can tell by reading it, I didn't get far and didn't keep it up.  Now that I'm a more regular blogger, I'm hoping that I'll be able to keep track of things a little better.  Please follow me on my journey as I try to better myself, my world and my family.  You can see the goals that I've set for myself, and my progress on those goals, here.  I'm hoping that this will be something I can follow through on.

I'll be changing the layout, updating banners and backgrounds and making both sites more user friendly as time goes on.  If you have suggestions for things that would make any of my blogs better, please let me know.  Because while I blog for me, I want it to be some place you enjoy visiting.

He's a Good Big Brother

Earlier today, I wish I'd had my camera to immortalize something that happened at the library.  But memory will have to do...

Rich had to tutor today at our local library.  We got a later start than we'd planned and I had to drop him off before I could run another errand and come back for our own book search.  Since Rich was busy when I got back, I had to keep an eye on the boys.  Pete was being a three year old and only wanting to do what he wanted to do - which meant sitting in the children's section.  Great for him, not so great for me when I had two books to pick up that had been on hold and two more that I'd wanted to grab as well.  So I asked Teddy to keep an eye on him.

I wasn't too worried about it because Rich was just one table over and everyone in the library knows our boys.  I had to make a quick run to pick up the two from hold, then over a couple shelves for the other two I wanted.  Five minutes max and I'd still be fairly close.

I grabbed the books as quickly as I could and came back to hear Teddy talking.  I stopped to listen.  He was reading aloud.  When I looked around the corner, he and Pete were seated next to each other on the kids chairs and Teddy was reading "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow" to his little brother.  And Pete was listening with rapt attention.

I asked the boys if they wanted to check out and Teddy looked up.  "Can I finish the story first, Mommy?"  It made my heart soar.  I gave him permission and went over a few rows (so I could still see where they were) to grab an audio book.

I love that my boys love books.  And I love even more that they share books with one another.  In a few years, Pete won't need Teddy to read to him.  But at that time, we can start sharing longer stories as a family.  It's something I hope never ends.

Trying to Find the Time

Yep.  Still not updating regularly.  Bad Amber.

I'm alive, which is good.  I'm busy, which may be good.  I'm still trying to organize my life and my thoughts to do the things that I want to do.  Little bit at a time, I guess.

I've actually been doing fairly good at the whole cleaning thing.  I started last week and have been doing a deep cleaning of the apartment.  It's taken 3 days to do the living room so at this rate, it may be the new year before I'm finished.  But the important thing is that I'm getting it done.  Thank the Gods for audio books, though.  That's what's helping keep me going.    This weekend has undone some of what I'd done last week, but it shouldn't take me as long to get that part to rights tomorrow before diving back in and continuing to work.

I've started a series of swaps over on Swap-Bot that are helping me keep up with my book reviews.  It's a weekly book review that we're sharing by e-mail.  I do my reviews on my Goodreads, which gets posted to my book review blog, Views from the Reader Side and then I copy them into my e-mail.  I've been doing a lot of reading and a lot of listening to audio books, so please feel free to come on over to one or both places and add it to your reading list.

I got a bit of good news this week that I hadn't expected, mainly because I haven't been paying attention.  We finally paid off our van!  I suspected that the time was coming for it to be paid off, but the last few months have been insane so things haven't been on my radar as much as they should have been.  But when Rich went to pay the latest amount, he was told that was the last payment we'd need to make.  They'll be sending us the info for getting our title in our name.  We finally have another asset!  Woo-hoo!

I've got so many pictures I need to upload and post here.  I've got a ton of Halloween pictures.  The boys went as Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town and Pikachu (both from Pokemon).  I need to switch back over to my side of the computer (I've been on my husband's for awhile) so I can upload them more easily to my Picasa account.  Look for them soon, though.

Life is about to get even busier, thanks to job situations.  Classes have started picking up for Rich at University of Phoenix - he's been teaching one on Thursday nights for the last three weeks and starts another on Tuesdays nights this week - and his tutoring has picked up as well.  He's gone almost every night and does some tutoring on Saturdays as well.  Luckily, he tutors at our local library on Saturday, so we go as a family to the library and while he's tutoring, the boys play outside on the library's front lawn while I watch them and read.  It does mean, however, that I'm having to step-up on the cooking end of things.  I hate cooking!  So if anyone has ideas of easy things to make that the kids might enjoy, please pass them my way!

For now, I'd better get my butt in gear. Rich and the boys are at church and I have a bit of shopping I want to do while they're gone.  So I'd better get out of the house or they'll be back before I am!  Hope everyone's having a great weekend!  Happy November!

30 Day Book Challenge - Day 12

Day 01 – The best book you read this year

Day 02 – A book that you’ve read more than 3 times

Day 03 – Your favorite series

Day 04 – Favorite book of your favorite series

Day 05 – A book that makes you happy

Day 06 – A book that makes you sad

Day 07 – Most underrated book

Day 08 – Most overrated book
Day 09 – A book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving

Day 10 – Favorite classic book

Day 11 – A book you hated

Day 12 – A book you used to love but don’t anymore



I used to be all about the Valdemar books.  And I still enjoy most of them.  But Owlflight and the others in the Darian's Tale sub-series just don't do it for me any more.  My tastes have changed a lot since I've gotten older.

Day 13 – Your favorite writer

Day 14 – Book from your favorite writer

Day 15 – Favorite male character

Day 16 – Favorite female character

Day 17 – Favorite quote

Day 18: First “chapter book” you can remember reading as a child

Day 19 – Favorite book turned into a movie

Day 20 - Book that makes you laugh out loud

Day 21 – Favorite book from your childhood

Day 22 - Book you’re currently reading

Day 23 – Your guilty pleasure

Day 24 – A book that you wish more people would’ve read

Day 25 - Favorite book you read in school

Day 26 – A book that changed your opinion about something

Day 27 – The most surprising plot twist or ending

Day 28 – Favorite title

Day 29 – A book everyone hated but you liked

Day 30 - Favorite book

30 Day Book Challenge - Day 11

Day 01 – The best book you read this year

Day 02 – A book that you’ve read more than 3 times

Day 03 – Your favorite series

Day 04 – Favorite book of your favorite series

Day 05 – A book that makes you happy

Day 06 – A book that makes you sad

Day 07 – Most underrated book

Day 08 – Most overrated book
Day 09 – A book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving

Day 10 – Favorite classic book

Day 11 – A book you hated



This was a hard one for me to come up with because, as a general rule, I try to forget things that I hate.  So the closest that I could come up with was Crime and Punishment. I was required to read it for AP English Lit my senior year and it just dragged.  I couldn't get into it.  I haven't tried it since, but all the negative connotations of having been required to read it then (and failing a paper on it) make me reluctant to give it another try.

Day 12 – A book you used to love but don’t anymore

Day 13 – Your favorite writer

Day 14 – Book from your favorite writer

Day 15 – Favorite male character

Day 16 – Favorite female character

Day 17 – Favorite quote

Day 18: First “chapter book” you can remember reading as a child

Day 19 – Favorite book turned into a movie

Day 20 - Book that makes you laugh out loud

Day 21 – Favorite book from your childhood

Day 22 - Book you’re currently reading

Day 23 – Your guilty pleasure

Day 24 – A book that you wish more people would’ve read

Day 25 - Favorite book you read in school

Day 26 – A book that changed your opinion about something

Day 27 – The most surprising plot twist or ending

Day 28 – Favorite title

Day 29 – A book everyone hated but you liked

Day 30 - Favorite book

10 Day You Challenge - 4 Books

 The Mists of Avalon has long been one of my favorite books.  I read it for the first time when I was in middle school and I loved the female-centric view of Arthurian legend.  I try to re-read it every couple of years or so.


 As I've said in some of my previous reviews, I absolutely love Kelley Armstrong.  I devour everything of hers that I can.  Dime Store Magic was my introduction to her Women of the Otherworld series and her writing in general.  It's such a great paranormal series that never gets dull.


 I was introduced to A Prayer for Owen Meany when I was in college.  It was required reading for my contemporary literature class.  It was a book that grabbed me and held on through it's sometimes strange ride.  I always admired Owen's conviction that he was meant for something great.  I wish I had that kind of conviction myself.


 Sandman is, in my opinion, the greatest comic series ever.  The characters are diverse and engaging, the artwork is beautiful, the writing is superb and the stories cover so many things that there should be a little something for anyone.  But of all the Sandman graphic novels, Brief Lives is my favorite.  The youngest of the Endless, Delirium, is the catalyst for the story, desperately wanting to find her brother, Destruction.  The journey shows us more about Delerium, introduces us to Destruction and ends up being the final nail in Dream's coffin, which brings brings about his downfall.  I wouldn't start with this book in the series, but I would definitely try to make it this far.

Book Reboot

I've got way too many books to review that I don't expect I'll ever catch up.  So, instead I'm going to start the reviews back up with the next book I read (though I may later decide to come back and review Sandman.  Not sure yet.)

I wanted a place to keep all the books that I've read, though, so there's a new page here on Sanity's Overrated (a couple new ones, actually, but only one is germane to this post).  To make it easier for anyone curious to see which books I've read since October 1, 2010 (which is when I started counting), I'm putting a list of the books, with links back to the reviews if they have them, in a separate page on the blog.  If you're curious regarding the list, you can find it here.  And I'm always up for talking about any of the books on that list. :)

Also, if you have a GoodReads account and want to keep up with me there, you can click on my book list to the right and it will take you to my account.

Book Review Number 73: Batman: Death Mask by Yoshinori Natsume

I know a lot of people that read manga, but it's one that I'd never really had an interest in.  But the manga section is right next to the graphic novel section in my library, so my eyes sometimes wander that way.  Being a DC Fan, Batman caught my attention. On the "I may find something new to love" theory, I picked it up.  And I'm glad that I did.

For those unfamiliar with manga, they are read backward from what I'm used to with traditional English books.  It took a little while to get used to the way it was to be read, but once I did, I was able to fully immerse myself in the story.  It is a story of masks, both literal and figurative.  When a tour of Japanese masks makes its way to Gotham, Bruce Wayne sees a familiar evil from the time he spent in Japan training to avenge his parents' death.  The story moves between these two time frames and the reader gets to see some of what helped make Batman who he is.

It's not completely original, as there have been many stories that have delved into the darker past of Batman.  But it was a good story that brought in a new aspect of that past.  I enjoyed reading about Bruce's time in Japan, learning about the demon, Oni, and seeing the past coming back to haunt the future.  The artwork was wonderfully done in stark black and white.  All in all, it was a good read.

Batman: Death Mask would be a good bridge for those who have read super hero comics and graphic novels but want to get into manga.  It has both the familiar - Batman's story - and the new - the manga - that eases someone into this new form of reading.

Book Review Number 72: Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning

I had been anxiously awaiting the arrival of Shadowfever at my library, having read the previous 4 books in the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning (Darkfever, Bloodfever, Faefever and Dreamfever).  The series revolves around a Southern Belle by the name of MacKayla Lane.  She has traveled to Dublin to look into the death of her sister and best friend, Alina.  What she finds changes her - and the world - forever.  Through the previous 4 books, we follow Mac as she tries to find justice for her sister and avoid being used by the various factions within this Dublin world she's come to - the beautiful, sexy Fae, the dangerous Dark Fae, the stalwart Garda, the sheep-like Sidhe Seers and the enigmatic Barrons.  She changes from the fun-loving, pink-wearing girl to the woman who does whatever it takes to keep herself and those she cares about alive.

Shadowfever takes place directly after Dreamfever with MacKayla slowly breaking and reforming after Barron's death.  And it just gets more exciting from there.  Mac finally catches up with the Sinsar Dubh, the dark book of magic created by the Unseelie King millenia ago, but just like the rest of the series, things are never quite what they seem.

This was a very satisfying end to the Fever series, having all the questions answered and everything finally put right.  It was wonderful to see the journey that Mac had taken end and to see the different person she ended up being at the end.  I loved seeing Rowena (the leader of the sidhe seers and one of Mac's nemesis') finally get what was coming to her.  I loved watching the relationship between Mac and Barrons end up where we knew it would.  And I loved being surprised as Karen Marie Moning still found ways to surprise me with the truth behind it all.

If you've been reading the Fever series previously, then you'll want to pick up this book and finish out the series.  If you haven't but love stories involving the Fae (particularly the darker aspects), start at the beginning of the series rather than jumping in at the end.  Then finish the other three books and get to Shadowfever.  I don't think you'll regret it.

Book Review Number 71: Beyond the Grave by Jude Watson (The 39 Clues, Book 4)

The fourth book in the 39 Clues series finds the Cahill kids in Egypt, chasing the next clue after the supposed death of Alistair Oh.  They start their journey at an Egyptian hotel that is so much more to the Cahills and are immediately put into danger.  It isn't long before they meet Hilary, an old friend of Grace's.  Hilary and her grandson, Theo, seem to want to help the kids along on their journey, but things aren't always the way they seem.  Nellie, the kids' au pair and adult companion on their journey, has a thing for Theo, which further complicates matters. By the end of the book, the kids have found out more about their family legacy and have the next clue to move them forward.

Like the other 39 Clues books, Beyond the Grave teaches as it entertains.  And, in my opinion, this is one of the best things about this series - the fact that kids who read it (and adults, to be honest) learn something about the world around them.  Beyond the Grave gives the reader a glimpse into Egypt's history, the interesting facts of the pyramids and, a real draw for most young boys I know, the truth about mummies.

I had a hard time listening to this one, though not because of the book.  The kids are starting to get bored with the books, so they made a lot of noise while I was trying to listen to them.  But what I did here, I really enjoyed.  I waited anxiously to hear how Amy and Dan were going to get out of the newest trap that they'd been lured to.  I sighed, hoping that Nellie's crush wouldn't prevent her from helping her charges.  I chuckled at the antics of Saladin (Grace's Egyptian Mao) when he knew he was in the place he was worshiped.

This was a nice, strong book in the series.  It helped advance the plot, it taught interesting facts and it had me wanting to know what was going to happen next.  If you're reading along the series, don't stop at The Sword Thief.  Definitely continue on to Beyond the Grave.

Book Review Number 70: Born to Be BAD by Sherrilyn Kenyon

I've been reading Sherrilyn Kenyon for awhile. I really enjoy her Dark Hunter series, though I've gotten away from it recently.  Her B.A.D. (Bureau of American Defense) series, however... I'm anxiously awaiting more of these.

Some of it is that I've got plenty of supernatural series that I'm reading lately.  Between Keri Arthur's Riley Jensen, Kelley Armstrong's Women of the Otherworld and Kay Hooper's S.C.U/Bishop series, I have enough supernatural to keep me going for awhile.  Some of it is that I'm finding I enjoy spy-ish romance stories (you know the kind I mean... people that work for some government agency that puts them in danger on a regular basis).  But a lot of it is that B.A.D. is headquartered in Nashville.

I love reading books where I can recognize locations and say, "Hey, I've been there."  (Talking about the Bat Building - or the Bellsouth Tower, as it's formally known - always brings a smile to my face.)  I've only been living in Nashville for 6 years, but it's as much home to me as if someone were to write about Delaware County, NY or Sarasota, FL.  So it's usually a big draw for me in novels.  I've got the next several books requested through the library.  And I can't wait to get them.

Born to be BAD is a trio of short stories set in the BAD universe.  In the first, "One BAD Night", agent Samantha Winslow has been charged with bringing in a supposed rogue agent, Jason Banks.  Samantha had never particularly cared for Jason, but their forced time together - after she has captured him and the two end up on a run for their lives - changes her opinions.  Marianne, the heroine of "BAD to the Bone" (the second story of the trilogy), has won a sweepstakes that is supposed to make all her romantic fantasies come true.  She find the contrived plots that the book company sponsoring the getaway to be boring, but when she meets agent Kyle Foster, she finds out just how well her fantasies can be met.  And the final story, "Captivated by You", brings the reader just a little into the world of S&M, when Rhea needs to play a dominatrix to get close to the bad guy she's after.  Her training partner is a colleague she's long desired, "Ace" Krux.  Being close together, and being forced to take on the dominant role, opens up a whole new world for both the agents.

I love short story anthologies like these, because they give little glimpses into the world that the writer has created.  Each of these stories were strong, and very, very hot.  And the first and the third both had little glimpses of Nashville that made me feel right at home.  But for all of that, "BAD to the Bone" was my favorite.... probably because it was a non-agent getting involved with an agent, without the usual stumbling into trouble that usually happens.  Born to be BAD, along with many of the other BAD books, are on my Christmas list for books I want to own. 

Book Review Number 69: The Sword Thief by Peter Lerangis (The 39 Clues, Book 3)

We, as a family, have been continuing to listen to the 39 Clues series.  And, as with the previous books, we've really enjoyed the third outing in the series.

With The Sword Thief, Amy and Dan Cahill have made their way to Japan and have made an uneasy alliance with Alastair Oh, the man who had left them inside the burning mansion in the first book, A Maze of Bones.  But they seem to need Uncle Alastair's help... just as he needs theirs.  As with the other books, they combine history with a fast paced story that has the Cahill children running from one danger to the next.

Of all the books, though, this is the one that's stuck with me the least.  I can't seem to remember specifics of it and it was more of an "ok" book than a great one.  Still, it was good for getting the reader from One False Note to Beyond the Grave (book 4 in the series).  If you're reading the series, you won't want to miss this one.  But I wouldn't suggest picking it up as a stand alone.

Book Review Number 68: Wolfsbane and Mistletoe edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L.P. Kelner

Back in March, I reviewed Many Bloody Returns, the first anthology edited by Harris and Kelner.  It was a fun romp of stories combining vampires and birthdays.  They returned, with a whole new set of authors, for Wolfsbane and Mistletoe, an anthology of stories combing werewolves and Christmas.

Just like with Many Bloody Returns, there were some stories that were fantastic and others that were only so so.  I only knew a few of the authors before reading the anthology this time through (the main draw for me this time was Keri Arthur).  My favorite story was Charlaine Harris' opener, "Gift Wrap".  It's a Sookie Stackhouse short story (which reminds me that I really need to pick up this series at some point and read it!) in which Sookie finds an injured werewolf that isn't quite what he seems.  I also really enjoyed "The Night Things Changed" by Dana Cameron.  It was a neat little story about a brother and sister team (werewolf and vampire, respectively) tracking down a serial killer that's hit a little close to home."SA" by Joe Konrath was just funny.  It takes place at a Shapeshifters Anonymous (the SA of the title) meeting and adds some nice little twists.  They aren't by any stretch the only good stories in the novel, but they are the best three.

If you like your werewolves with a bit of humor, or a bit of darkness, or just a bit different, then I'd suggest you pick this up.  Because it's an overall fun read.  Not quite on par with Many Bloody Returns, but a solid outing none-the-less.

Book Review Number 67: Coraline by Neil Gaiman (graphic novel)

It's been awhile since I've done book reviews, so please forgive me if I say things I've said before.  I'm trying to catch back up with them, in part because of the last swap that I'll be doing for awhile - the 2nd quarter book review.  Well, that and the fact that I really need to get back on top of this before I get really far behind.  So on with the review.

I am a huge fan of Neil Gaiman's.  Everything I've ever read or seen by him just totally rocks. If you haven't read his Sandman series, you should run right out and pick it up.  One of his best children's books (second only to The Graveyard Book, in my opinion) is Coraline. I've listened to the audio book and watched the movie and was amazed at what a chillingly wonderful story he'd written.  (And as a complete aside, I get completely creeped out by Lalaloopsy dolls.  I mean, really.  Look at this and tell me it wouldn't creep you out too if you'd read a story where people are trying to replace the main character's eyes with buttons?

*shudder* Anyway, back to the review.)

When my husband brought back the Coraline graphic novel from the library, I knew I'd have to check it out as soon as he was finished with it.  And I'm so glad that I did.  Because, much like the book and the movie, it was a chillingly wonderful story that had me excited to read from one panel to the next.

For those unfamiliar with the story, Coraline is a young girl who has moved into a flat in an old house with her parents.  Above them live an old man who is training a mouse circus.  Below them live a couple of older ladies that had been stars of the stage.  And next door is an empty flat.  Coraline's parents seem to have a benign neglect of their daughter, and the neighbors can't seem to ever get her name right.  One day, when Coraline is bored, she goes exploring and finds that through a locked door, she reaches a parallel world, ruled by the Other Mother.  At first, it seems like the perfect world for her.  But things are never what they seem.

The graphic novel follows the novel incredibly closely.  The artwork is wonderfully dark, evoking the mood that the story has to tell.  Coraline is just as inventive and precocious of a child as she is portrayed in the novel as well.  Her ability to see through the Other Mother (though it does take awhile) is something I wouldn't have expected in a child that so desperately wants to be seen as the girl she is rather than the one that others want her to be.

If you have kids that you want to try to get into reading, I would recommend this as a great starting point.  Being a graphic novel, it appeals to kids that still want pictures in their books but also gives them a complex story to get into.  I'm a big believer that graphic novels can be a great gateway drug into reading more complex stories, and graphic novelizations of other stories are even better for that.

Book Reviews coming... and there will be a lot

I found myself a bit annoyed tonight.  I have a swap due Wednesday, the quarterly book review swap.  I take a lot of pride in the package that I send out to my partners, because I actually make a book out of it.  But with everything going on in my life, I haven't been able to actually sit down and write these reviews.  I have, according to my Goodreads report, 33 books that I need to write reviews for.  *urp*  I had actually written up the reviews of 15 of these books while Rich was in surgery on the 21st.  I didn't have computer access, but I had printed out all of the books I needed to review and started typing away.  And, being the smart me that I can be, I'd saved it to my thumb drive so I could continue them on the desktop when I was at home.

Tonight was the first chance I had to get back to it. (Me procrastinate much?  Never!) And when I went to put my thumb drive into the computer, I found that it was broken and unreadable.  So I'm having to redo all of my reviews.  Of course, I also didn't find this out until around 9:30 tonight, because I was busy having too much fun with my family playing Gauntlet on the GameCube with my husband and my nephew.  Yeah... my own damn fault.

I've got a few of the reviews queued up to post tomorrow morning.  And the rest I'll be writing throughout the day tomorrow.  I should be cleaning, I know.  But this is a little more time sensitive.  And, honestly, writing these reviews will be like visiting old friends.  There are few, if any, of these books that I didn't enjoy when I read them originally.  And reading the synopsis on Amazon is usually enough to remind me of what I loved and what I didn't about each book.

I counted up the reviews I've done and those that I've left to do and I find that I'm only 2 books away from my goal of reading 100 within a year - and this is with 3 months still left to go.  I'm not amending my goal, but am curious if I'll reach closer to 150 within a year.  It will be interesting to see just how many books I can read in a year's time.

Book Review Number 66: Green Arrow: The Sounds of Violence

I am, unapologetically, a Green Arrow fan.  I adore Ollie Queen and am so, so jealous of Black Canary that I would happily trade places with her any day of any week of any month of any year.  Yeah, I've got it bad.  So I pick up anything Green Arrow that I can find.  Lately, I've been picking up the monthlies in the hopes of keeping track of what the Emerald Archer is up to now.  When I was at my local comic shop yesterday, I ran across The Sounds of Violence, one of the Trade Paperbacks that I hadn't read before.  So, without hesitation, it became mine and it was read last night.

The Sounds of Violence takes place after Oliver Queen returns to the land of the living.  Mia, a girl he rescued from the streets, is living with him and he's taken over trying to be a father figure to her.  He's also trying to get to know his own son, Connor, while putting off getting back in touch with Dinah (aka Black Canary).  It's a pretty typical life for the recently-returned-to-life.

But being a super hero comic, and being Green Arrow, it's never that simple.  Mia wants Ollie to train her as the next Speedy, which he is loathe to do because he doesn't want her getting hurt.  When he meets Dinah for dinner, she insists that she doesn't want things to go quickly with them, but a fight with The Riddler changes things.  And, later, causes an argument with an overprotective Hawkman.

And then comes the big problem - a masked villain that goes by the name of Onomatopoeia.  He talks as the name implies (using "sound words" like "snap", "crack", etc, for those unfamiliar with the word) and he's got something against certain heroes.  He takes out Philadelphia's protector, Virago.  Then moves on to Harrisburg's Buckeye, first killing his wife and then the non-powered hero.  The third one he goes after is Green Arrow II - Connor Hawke - while Connor and Ollie are patrolling.

While I didn't enjoy this one quite as much as Quiver (where Ollie IS returned from the grave), I still really enjoyed it.  It was Ollie through and through - from his sexy scenes with Dinah to his overwhelming need to protect his family.  There is a scene where he is holding his arrow on Onomatopoeia to prevent him from finishing off Connor while Connor is being worked on by doctors.  Ollie is drained from having given blood, but for more than 20 minutes, he stands, arrow knocked, until his son is out of danger.  That is one of the things about Ollie that I admire.

The ending was a good one for the book, with Ollie surrounded by his family, but definitely ready for a continuation.  Onomatopoeia is still out there and Star City still has villains to be taken out.  So I'm ready to find the next book, The Archer's Quest (which I may have read before, but it's been awhile).  I just hope I get lucky enough to find it soon.