Whew! Summer is such a busy time we’re just squeezing in the book club discussion this month! But that doesn’t mean we’ve forgotten about The Book of Lost Things!

Here are some questions and general ideas that came to us while reading that we hope will help generate some discussion. As always, don’t feel like you have to stick to these topics, please feel free to bring up anything you wish to discuss as well!

1. What message did you think the title The Book of Lost Things delivered about the book before you read it? Did this change by the time you had finished the story?
2. There are variations of many different fairy tales in the Book of Lost Things, how did you feel about the changes the author made to the tales we’ve grown up with? Which of the variations did you like the best? Were there stories referenced that you didn’t know?
3. What do you think the audience is for this book? A story about fairy tales would seem to be directed towards a younger audience, but the darker nature of the story seems to change that.
4. There are many themes touched upon in the book. (Grief, loss, coming of age, family, fears, dreams, death) Which do you feel was the main theme? What message did you take away from the book?

Please join us to discuss The Book of Lost Things in the comments below!

This weeks Question of the Week is one that’s a favorite of mine: What’s your favorite book series?

As someone who would generally prefers to read a series over a one-time story, I’m always on the lookout for new series to fall in love with. And it’s not that I don’t love wonderful stand-alone books, it’s just that when I find characters I like, I want to keep visiting them. So, as a way to help find some wonderful new series to fall in love with, I thought I’d ask the experts… YOU guys!

As for me (and I’m sure it comes as no surprise to many of you reading this), my favorite series is the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. I find myself re-reading them roughly once a year, and I never seem to fall out of love with them. I’d have to say the Harry Potter books deserve the credit for re-igniting my love of reading. As a child I read constantly, but as I got older, I lost the habit for some time. Until I read the Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone (or Philosopher’s Stone as it’s known here) that is. The Harry Potter books whisk me away to a magical world so completely that I often forget where I am when reading them. I’ve taken flak because “they’re kids books”, but I don’t care – they’ve captured my heart.

So, which characters do hold nearest and dearest? Please share with us which book series you love the most!

Demons Not Included: A Night Tracker Novel
by Cheyenne McCray

I had numerous problems with this book. The entire time I was reading it (it took me several days — almost unheard of for me — because I had to force myself to finish it), I kept wondering why I was keeping with it. I’d have been happier if I had just put it down but I spent the money so I was determined to try and like it.

Didn’t happen. The characters and the world in which they exist lacked any real depth. Even the protagonist was a bit of a Mary Sue. I couldn’t connect with any of them. I got sick of the author trying to convince me someone was quirky and fun just because of the clothes she wore.

I read a lot of these type of books so I don’t actually mind if the book is predictable. However, if I figure out where you’re headed within the first few chapters and it takes the protagonist the entire book to put two and two together? That’s just bad. I spent the entire book being annoyed she’s supposed to be this great paranormal PI and she couldn’t put the simplest of clues together. At least make her suspicious! Even if she can’t prove it to anyone else. That would stop the reader from having to buy that this is a tough mystery to solve.

So, yeah, I wasn’t a fan. I think I’ll be passing on any additional Night Tracker books.

For our very first Question of the Week, we thought we’d start at the beginning… or at least at the beginning of our book love, by asking: What was your favorite Book as a child?

For me it would be the Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

I loved these books when I was a child. So much so that I read them over and over and over again. Even now, I still wish I had my set, and I bet I’d go back and reread them from time to time.  Whenever I get to thinking about these books, I start to dream of all the wonderful books that I’d like to introduce my niece to when she’s old enough to start developing a love of books. Aside from the Little House books, The Enchanted Forest Chronicles and The Fables of the Green Forest come to mind as some of my other childhood favorites.

Now tell us, what was your favorite childhood book, and which books are you looking forward to sharing with a child in your life?

In the past week and a half, I have completely re-read Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series. I had forgotten just how much I love these books. They are just so much fun. It sounds ridiculous but I love them so much I almost want to re-read them again. Now. Instead I’ll bide my time for the next two weeks until the newest book in the series, Finger Lickin’ Fifteen (pictured), comes out.

If you’ve never read these books, you owe it to yourself to check them out. One of the things I re-discovered in this re-read, is how much I love reading certain passages out loud. Granted I like reading pretty much any book out loud but well-written books like these that often make you laugh at loud just make it all the better. Take the following passage from One for the Money. I loved it so much I read it out loud to myself multiple times and then I brought it into the office and read it to one of my co-workers. See if you enjoy it as much as I did.

This first piece is just to set up what’s happening, another bounty hunter is “commandeering” Steph’s car… which she “commandeered” from Joe Morelli:

“Christ, Beyers, you can’t just come into a lot and take someone’s car! That’s stealing. You’re a goddamn car thief.”

“So?”

“Where’d you get the keys?”

“Same place you did. Morelli’s apartment. He had an extra set on his dresser.”

“You won’t get away with this.”

“What are you gonna do, call the police?”

“God will get you for this.”

“Fuck God,” Beyers said, sliding behind the wheel, taking time to adjust the seat and fiddle with the radio.

Arrogant bastard, I thought. Not only is he stealing the damn car, but he’s sitting there flaunting his ability to take it. I grabbed my defense spray and bolted out the door and down the stairs. I was barefoot, wearing a Mickey Mouse nightshirt and a pair of Jockey string bikinis, and I could have cared less.

I was through the back door with my foot on the pavement when I saw Beyers turn the key and step on the accelerator. A split second later, the car exploded with a deafening blast, sending doors flying off into space like Frisbees. Flames licked up from the undercarriage and instantly consumed the Cherokee, turning it into a brilliant yellow fireball.

(Evanovich, One for the Money, 1994, chap 12, page 256)

Two pages later, the police and other emergency vehicles have arrived. One of the cops, Dorsey, sees Steph and comes over to talk to her. She explains about Morty and the car:

I figured I’d embellish the truth a little, since the police might not be up on the finer points of bounty hunterism and might not understand about commandeering. “It’s like this,” I said. “I went to see Morelli’s mother, and she was very upset that no one was running Joe’s car. You know how bad it is for the battery to let a car sit. Well one thing led to another and the next thing I’d agreed to drive the car around for her.”

“So you’ve been driving Morelli’s car as a favor to his mother?”

“Yes. He’d asked her to take care of it, but she didn’t have time.”

“Very noble of you.”

“I’m a noble person.”

“Go on.”

So I did. I explained about Beyer’s wife leaving him, and about how he tried to steal the car, and how he made the mistake of saying “fuck God,” and then the car blew up.

“You think God got pissed off and fried Beyers?”

“That would be one theory.”

(Evanovich, One for the Money, 1994, chap 12, pages 259-260)

Ha! Love it. I always forget she’s going to bring up the “Fuck God,” and it never fails to crack me up.

The other reminder re-reading served was how much I’d love to see these characters on my TV screen. I don’t often try to imagine something I’m reading in a different format. But every so often a set of characters is so great, I can’t help but wonder what they’d be like if brought to life in 3-D.

I don’t know if we’ll ever see it. Mostly because TriStar bought the rights to the first book before it even hit the shelves and we still haven’t seen anything come of it. Janet’s FAQ says that a script has been in the works for years and that surely can’t be good. Of course, I think the reason they can’t get a good script out of this is probably because it’s a much better first for the small screen instead. I’m sure TriStar owning the rights probably mucks up the works of that ever happening. Damn it!

As is typical whenever Jody and I get on the topic of Stephanie Plum, we start talking about who we’d like to see cast as these characters. And! When I twittered about finishing my re-read, @Cinematt01 asked me about the same thing! Funny how that works, eh?

While in the past I agreed with Jody that Lauren Graham would make a great Stephanie, now I wonder if she’s almost a little too “pretty” for the role. Which is probably ridiculous. She would be great at capturing Steph’s voice though. Take the passage above, Lauren would definitely be able to pull that off and have you rolling. (An aside: Janet’s latest poll about who should play Stephanie Plum if the movie were to be made has Lauren listed! Most people think Sandra Bullock is better suited to the roll, though, and I can see that. Except, and it pains me to say this, she’s a little old for the roll at this point.)

It’s a little tougher for me to cast the guys. In fact, I need to think on it some more. While I’m thinking, I thought I’d throw it out there for you guys. If we made the Stephanie Plum series into a TV show, who would you cast as your favorite characters?

PS: Don’t forget that you can still enter the Name the Book contest for Book #16!

The Alchemyst: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel – Book 1
by Michael Scott

I think I’ve found a new book love folks. Seriously, I haven’t been this excited by a book series since… well, I hate to compare things to Harry Potter, but possibly since then. Aside from being a very exciting beginning to a new (or new to me) series, The Alchemyst is also the first book I’ve read on my new Sony e-reader… but that’s a whole other post. The Alchemyst tells the story of the legendary Nicholas Flamel who – along with two teenage siblings that happen to stumble into his world – is forced to flee from the evil beings that have taken his love and the precious secrets of history that he guards.

One of the first things you’ll notice when reading The Alchemyst is the incredible amount of research that went into creating this series. It’s extremely impressive – every character in the book (with the exception of the two teens) is an actual character from history/mythology. This lends an incredible aura of believability to the story because it’s so easy to imagine that all these great characters exist as we’ve heard of them all before. Along with the vast amounts research, it’s also clear that an incredible amount of planning went into this book and the series that follows. And there’s almost nothing I love more than a well-planned and thought-out series! Especially when everything comes together so brilliantly. The imagery in The Alchemyst is beautifully written in such a manner that you can clearly picture the surroundings, but are never bored with long descriptive passages that don’t add to the overall story.

Filled with wonderful characters, completely natural dialogue, and a gripping plot, this first book in The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series does a wonderful job of laying out a complex and intricate world, while drawing the reader into a fascinating adventure. While directed at the YA audience, The Alchemyst will appeal to adults as well, and I for one am absolutely loving it. So much so, that I’m already onto The Magician – the 2nd book in the series.

This month’s WAGB Book Club selection is The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly.

For this month’s Book Club selection we decided to go with some reader recommendations, and The Book of Lost Things was recommended to us by Stacie. (Bet you didn’t think we’d be using those recs? Keep an eye out, we may be using yours sometime in the future!)  Here’s a description of our book for this month:

High in his attic bedroom, twelve-year-old David mourns the death of his mother, with only the books on his shelf for company. But those books have begun to whisper to him in the darkness. Angry and alone, he takes refuge in his imagination and soon finds that reality and fantasy have begun to meld. While his family falls apart around him, David is violently propelled into a world that is a strange reflection of his own — populated by heroes and monsters and ruled by a faded king who keeps his secrets in a mysterious book, The Book of Lost Things.

We hope you’re interested in reading and discussing the book with us, so check it out and join us back here the week of June 22nd when we get the discussion started!

Dime Store Magic (Women of the Otherworld #3)
by Kelley Armstrong

Dime Store Magic sets itself apart from the first two Women of the Otherworld novels, by having Paige the young witch we met in Stolen narrate the story rather than the Werewolf Elena who had been our point of view thus far. At first I found the switch a bit distracting and had a hard time adjusting to Paige as the narrator – especially when Paige and Elena were talking on the phone! But as the story progressed I grew to love Paige, and stopped feeling the absence of the werewolves.

While I’m still looking forward to returning to Elena’s stories, once I got into Paige’s world, I really enjoyed getting to know her and Savannah. As with the first two novels in the series, Armstrong creates layered and likeable characters, who are both flawed and endearing at the same time. While Paige comes across a little spoiled when we meet her in Stolen, it’s clear that she’s maturing quickly since she’s been charged with taking care of Savannah. Savannah is now the spoiled one, but as an adolescent girl, she’s supposed to be a bit of nightmare, and I felt that the portrayal was realistic. One character that I very much dislike is Leah, but considering she is the villain of the story, I think that’s the way it’s intended to be. New arrival Lucas Cortez on the other hand, is charming pretty much from the minute we met him. Even when we’re not sure which side he’s really on, I found I couldn’t help but like Lucas, and was rooting for him to be one of the good guys.

The overall plot to steal Savannah made for a great story, but I also found some of the other developments in this book intriguing as they allow for interesting new stories in the future. One of the ones I found most intriguing was the fact that Paige is has been exiled from the Coven. The Coven often felt old and antiquated, and I’d like to see how a new generation will attempt revolutionize old ways. I look forward to finding out if Paige will start a new Coven or attempt to over-throw the old one.

While always enjoyable, I haven’t found Kelley Armstrong’s novels to be overly emotional so far, but the scene where Paige impersonated Savannah’s mother Eve was heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time.

Surprisingly, there seemed to be a few errors in this book, which isn’t something that has occurred in the previous Women of the Otherworld novels. The worst occurrence was during a steamy scene where Paige took her shirt off twice. It’s not something that affects the story in any way, but as it’s a scene that is intended to get the reader… involved, the error really rips you out of the story. Another situation had some actions repeated (candles lit twice) and a few others just didn’t make sense. Again it wasn’t anything that really changed the story, but it is a little distracting.

While not quite as gripping as the Werewolf stories, Dime Store Magic was still a good read, and I’m looking forward to the continuation of Paige and Savannah’s stories in Industrial Magic, the fourth volume of the Women of the Otherworld series.

Battlestar Galactica – Downloaded
Inside the Universe of the Critically Acclaimed TV Series
By David Bassom

It’s been over 2 months since we last saw the Battlestar Galactica fly off into space for it’s final voyage, and if you’re like me, you’ve been feeling the loss every Friday night. While it won’t quite quench the desire for new stories, the good folks at Titan Books have given us a little something to help fill the void: Battlestar Galactica Downloaded – Inside the Universe of the Critically Acclaimed TV Series. This official companion focuses on season 1 and 2 of the highly praised series, as well as taking an in-depth look at the 3-hour miniseries that started it all.

The first thing you’ll notice when you get your hands on this book, is just how gorgeous it is! Really. I wanted to handle it with care so as to not mar it’s beauty. From the thick glossy paper, to the full color images, to the red Cylon pulse that runs across the top of the pages, this book is as shiny as a centurion soldier!

Downloaded opens with a section called Battleplan, which I found completely fascinating. David Eick talks about changes that were made from the original version of the show and why, and also explains things like casting choices and character names. There are so many gems of information in this section – like how they (wisely) decided to add lower ranking officers to the main cast of characters in order to allow them portray different walks of life and character interactions.

To read more about Battlestar Galactica Downloaded check out my full review over at Ramblings of a TV Whore.

* This book was provided for review by the wonderful Titan Books.