Plum Spooky
by Janet Evanovich

Plum Spooky is one of the Between-the-Numbers Novels in the Stephanie Plum series, and falls in between books 14 and 15 in the series. I have to admit that while I generally prefer the regular books in the series to the Between the Numbers novels, that was not the case with Plum Spooky. I absolutely loved this book!

Like all the Stephanie Plum adventures, Plum Spooky is filled with hilarious antics, I laughed SO much that I couldn’t help but love it. Many of the laughs came from a new “character” – Carl the monkey (who you may remember from the most recent QotW). Lula is especially funny as she battles what she believes to be a cold, and we get to meet Morelli’s brother who manages to supply plenty of laughs as well. Diesel is incredibly charming, and of course we have a few visits with Steph’s smokin’ hot crime-fighting men – Morelli and Ranger. And as always, there’s lots of action, even more explosions than we’ve come to expect, and of course a few vehicles that don’t survive to see the end of the story.

Here’s one of my favorite exchanges in the book (page 203):

“How’s it going?” Morelli wanted to know.

“It’s average. Stole a truck. Blew up a house. Brought seven monkeys home with me. And now I have a naked man in my shower.”

“Yeah, same ol’, same ol’,” Morelli said.

See? Funny stuff.

I’d imagine you can probably skip all the Between the Numbers books and still be able to follow along with the series, but there are some character developments in Plum Spooky that will affect the other books.

Plum Spooky is a fairly short book and with all the laughs and action, I didn’t want to put it down. Not quite so spooky as I was hoping, but all the laughs more than make up for that. The only bad part of the book is that Carl’s owner comes to pick him up at the end, so I’m assuming we won’t get to see much more of him. Bummer.

I highly recommend Plum Spooky to all Stephanie Plum and Janet Evanovich fans, and I even believe it’s an enjoyable enough read that those who don’t follow the series would still find it entertaining.

Time to exercise the brain muscle and expand the vocabulary! No more assuming the meaning of unfamiliar words based on context! In an effort to better grasp this great language of ours, I’ve been turning to the dictionary to make sure I really understand what I’m reading. And why not share this knowledge with you?

Each week I’ll post words that I’ve looked up and their meanings. From words I’ve never encountered before, to ones that I thought I knew but didn’t, or sometimes just ones that I found interesting. But they’ll all be words that were found in something I read the previous week.

If you’ve encountered some new or interesting words, please share them with us in the comments below. We’d love to hear what words stood out for you too!

Here are the words for this week:

From Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich

• Intractable: hard to treat, relieve, or cure: the intractable pain in his leg.
  -  (of things) hard to shape or work with: an intractable metal.

Use in book: The faith has always been elusive, but the guilt is intractable.

• Ordnance: cannon or artillery.
  -  military weapons with their equipment, ammunition, etc.

Use in book: “Ordnance wouldn’t have been kept in the main office building” he said.

From The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

• Castigated: to criticize or reprimand severely.
  -  to punish in order to correct.

Use in book: Liesel waved at him.  He waved back.  Mama castigated.

Click to read the rest of the words for this week

This week we’ve got something a little festive for our Friday Freebie. Since it’s Halloween tomorrow, we’ve found some great FREE Halloween related e-books for you!

First we have this great idea from FaveCrafts.com:  Halloween Ideas and Costumes from Bloggers free ebook – Make your costumes and decorations this year with some great decorating ideas from bloggers like you!

And of course your Halloween reading wouldn’t be complete without some classic spooky tales!

• Bram Stoker’s Dracula from Planet PDF.
• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley from Planet eBook.
• The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving from Planet eBook.

Enjoy & Happy Halloween!

The Sorceress
by Michael Scott

The Sorceress is the 3^rd book in The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series, (Could they have found a longer name?) and I’d have to say it’s my favourite so far. Meaning, that I really loved it!

The Sorceress begins right where we left off in The Magician, with Nicholas and the twins fleeing Paris in search of Gilgamesh the mad King who they’re hoping will train the twins in the magic of water.  After arriving in London, they soon realize they’re being followed and from there, it’s an action packed adventure as they are forced to flee the relentless dark forces.

*Caution: this review contains spoilers beyond this point!

Click to continue reading my review of The Sorceress

I told you this would be a question we’d come back to from time to time! I also love hearing about what YOU guys are reading right, just as much as I like chatting about what I’m reading.

So please join us in the comments below and tell us all about the book you’re reading right now!

I’m currently reading Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich. It’s one of the Stephanie Plum Between the Numbers novels, and boy is it funny! I’m only a little ways into the book right now, so I can’t comment much on plot or anything, but what I did want to mention is the addition of a new “character’.

I had read about Carl on Janet’s website and was actually quite worried… “A monkey? Seriously? Could this be the proverbial Shark Jump for the Plum series? Because a monkey sounds annoying.” Well, I’m happy to report that I was SO very wrong! Carl is quickly becoming one of my favorite characters! I have laughed out loud at this monkey so many times now. Again, it’s still early in the book, so perhaps this opinion could change, but as of now I am now on Team Carl!

Do we have any Plum fans out there who have already met Carl? What’s your opinion?

And of course, make sure to tell us What are you reading right now?

We did things a little differently this month, and put out a call for your help in choosing our October Book Club Selection. As a result, our book for this month is The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, which was suggested by Kay of Kay’s Bookshelf.

As you may have noticed, The Book Thief comes complete with it’s own set of discussion questions, but we found the questions in the book were a little more ‘book report’ than ‘group chat’, so we’ve just used portions of them along with a few additions of our own to help get the discussion going. Please don’t feel limited to the questions we’ve listed below, feel free to use others from the book, or even better – interject with your own thoughts and questions! Bring up anything you wish to discuss about the novel.

1. Did you enjoy The Book Thief? What did you like most about the story? What did you like least?
2. Discuss the symbolism of Death as the omniscient narrator of the novel. Do you feel that death was the best choice as a narrator for this book?
3. What is ironic about Liesel’s obsession with stealing books? Did you find any other uses of irony in the novel?
4. The Grave Digger’s Handbook is the first book Liesel steals. Why do you think she took the book? What – if anything – is significant about the titles of the books Liesel steals?
5. What were your feelings towards the characters of Hans and Rosa Hubermann? How does Liesel’s relationship with Rosa change by the end of the novel? Did your feelings towards Rosa change over the course of the novel?
6. How did you feel about Liesel and Rudy’s thievery? Did their circumstances justify their crimes?
7. Guilt is a powerful emotion that can cause a person to become unhappy and despondent.  How does Hans Hubermann channel his guilt into helping others?
8. At what point do Liesel and Max Vandenburg become friends? How do Max and Liesel give each others lives purpose?
9. What did Liesel and Max’s dreams mean? How are their dreams similar? Have you ever had any recurring dreams?
10. How does Liesel and Rudy’s friendship change and grow throughout the novel? Death says that Rudy doesn’t offer his friendship “for free.” (p. 51) What does Rudy want from Liesel? Discuss Death’s statement, “The only thing worse than a boy who hates you [is] a boy who loves you.” (p. 52)
11. How would you describe Liesel’s relationship with the mayor’s wife? Why do you think Mrs. Hermann invited Liesel in that first time? Why did she allow her to steal books from her?
12. How does Zusak use the literary device of foreshadowing to pull the reader into the story?Do you enjoy this form of storytelling, or would you prefer the story in chronological order?

Don’t forget! Everyone who participates in our October Book Club discussion of The Book Thief will be entered to win our November book selection, Fablehaven by Brandon Mull!!

Alas, another busy weekend kept me from reading quite as much as I would have liked to. Instead of finishing our October Book Club selection The Book Thief, I still have about 100 pages to go. But, that doesn’t mean I’m not ready to get the discussion going! I have a good batch of questions and discussion points ready to go, which should be posted later on today.  How was your weekend? Did you get a lot of (or any) reading done?  What was the best thing you read this weekend?

I did do something kind of exciting and book-related this weekend though… I finally went and got myself a library card! I know, how is it possible I didn’t already have one?  Well, (disclosure time) I have some serious germ phobia issues, and library books kind of squick me out.  But, our libraries have recently started loaning e-books – which go directly from your computer to your e-reader – and I am very interested in trying this service out.  I spent some time walking around the library while I was there, and I was surprised at how many people were there just using the services at the library (reading magazines and newspapers, using the computers). It’s been so long since I’ve been in a library I’d forgotten how much more you can do there besides just check out books.  And there are so many new services that I was a little overwhelmed! Did you know you can borrow museum passes, allowing families to visit museums free of charge? Awesome right? So, I thought I’d take all my questions to the experts… You guys!  Do you have a library card? What do you use it for most? Do you take advantage of the programs and services offered by your library? Have you ever borrowed a digital book?

We really want YOU to join our Book Club! So much so, that we’re going to GIVE you the book right off our shelves!  (Well, not off OUR shelves per say… it is a brand new copy of the book.)

As a special WAGB Book Club promotion, everyone who participates in our October Book Club discussion of The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, will be entered to win our November book selection, Fablehaven by Brandon Mull!!

Fablehaven is the first book in a YA fantasy series, and both Rae and I really enjoyed it. Now we’d like to share the love with you, by offering up a copy just for joining us in the book club!

If you’d like to know a little bit more about Fablehaven, have a look around the official website. Or here’s the back cover blurb. (But, I personally recommend NOT reading the description so you can go into it with no knowledge, and be surprised!)

For centuries mystical creatures of all description were gathered into a hidden refuge called Fablehaven to prevent their extinction. The sanctuary survives today as one of the last strongholds of true magic. Enchanting? Absolutely. Exciting? You bet. Safe? Well, actually, quite the opposite.

Kendra and her brother, Seth, have no idea that their grandfather is the current caretaker of Fablehaven. Inside the gated woods, ancient laws keep relative order among greedy trolls, mischievous satyrs, plotting witches, spiteful imps, and jealous fairies. However, when the rules get broken — Seth is a bit too curious and reckless for his own good — powerful forces of evil are unleashed, and Kendra and her brother face the greatest challenge of their lives. To save their family, Fablehaven, and perhaps even the world, Kendra and Seth must find the courage to do what they fear most.”

All you have to do to be entered in the giveaway is join us in discussing The Book Thief next week. And don’t worry if you haven’t finished the book yet… we’ll put up the discussion post next week, but the discussion will continue into next month, so you’ll have plenty of time to get in there and add your thoughts.

PS – While we appreciate ALL your comments, for the sake of this giveaway, comments such as “I read that book”, or “enter me in the giveaway” don’t count to get you entered in the giveaway. We’d like to hear your thoughts on the book we’re discussing! They don’t have to be positive, so long as they’re your thoughts about the book.

Time to exercise the brain muscle and expand the vocabulary! Rather than just guessing at the meaning of words I’m unfamiliar with based on the context they’re used in, I’ve been looking things up so I can get a better understanding of their full meaning.  And why not share all that knowledge with you?

Each week I’ll post words that I looked up and their meanings. Sometimes they’ll be words I’ve never encountered before, sometimes they’ll be words that I thought I knew, but the context didn’t fit, and sometimes I’ll go with commonly misused words, or just ones that I found interesting. Basically, the only stipulation is that they’re from something I read.

And if you have some new words or additional info to add, please share with us in the comments below.  We’d love to hear what words stood out for you too.

Here are the words for this week:

From The Sorceress by Michael Scott

• Sigil: statuette, figure, stamped figure
  - A sign or an image considered magical

Use in book: The muddy sigil pulsed softly, like a slowly beating heart, warm against the side of her face. (Ha. That sounds kind of dirty doesn’t it? It’s really not! It is a YA novel after all.)

• Archon: a higher magistrate in ancient Athens; any ruler.

Use in book:  A peculiar musky odor enveloped the Archon, the smell of wild forests and rotting vegetation.

• Kith: acquaintances, friends, neighbors, or the like; persons living in the same general locality and forming a more or less cohesive group.

Use in book: And that is more than any of our own clan, kith or kin did.

Click to read the rest of the words for this week

As some of you may be aware, Rae and I like to lighten things up on Fridays from time to time, so I thought it was about time we injected a little bit of that Friday spirit into WAGB! So we bring you Friday Freebies – where we’ll take the time to find something cool and book related to share with you!

For our first Friday Freebie, I’d like to share with you a great little gift from one of my favorite authors! If you’ve been reading WAGB for the past little while, you’ll have seen my posts about Kelley Armstrong’s Frostbitten, which came out on September 29. (I’ve read it and it’s fantastic!)

As a special treat for her readers, Kelley has written a short little prequel to Frostbitten called Recruit, that helps set up the story in the novel. It’s only 5 pages long, but it features Elena and Clay, so what’s not to like? And even better, it’s free!

You can find the story as a PDF here on Kelley’s website.

Enjoy!