Bonkers in Barnhart

Archive for the ‘What Are You Reading?’ Category

This meme is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading is where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week…. and anything in between! D This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!

This week I am reading Jane Vows Vengeance by Michael Thomas Ford:

This is the third book in the Jane Austen, Vampire series.  I really enjoyed the first two books and the third one is no exception in that regard – it’s fun, has a bit of mystery thrown in, and I’m rather sad this is to the conclusion to the trilogy.  I would have liked to read more about Jane Austen the Vampire!

This is hosted over on J. Kaye’s Book Blog.

Books completed this week:

Demon Ex Machina by Julie Kenner — This has always been one of my favorite series and it was just as good as I would have hoped.  I have actually had this sitting on my shelf for weeks now but kept putting it off because I didn’t want to start it because then I would finish it and it would be done and I’d have to wait for what seems like forever in hopes of another installment.  And if that made any sense to anyone I’m impressed!

I So Don’t Do Spooky by Barrie Summy — This has become one of my favorite young adult series.  This is partly because I love stories with ghosts.  But mostly because the books make me smile (and at times laugh out loud).  The characters (human and ghostly) are well written — I like them, I care about them, they are fun but also have depth, and I look forward to reading about them again.   Can’t wait for book three in May 2010!

The Cupcake Queen by Heather Hepler — YA, I picked this one up at the library because it had cupcakes on the cover   Well, the blurb sounded good also, but I must admit that the cupcakes really hooked me.  Obviously if it has a cat or cupcakes I’ll give it a try it seems! This turned out to be a great choice, I found the main character (Penny) to be likable and very believable and I love the portrait of small town life both good and bad.

Ice by Sarah Beth Durst — YA, a fairytale type book set in the Artic and featuring the Polar Bear King who needs a bride.  I’m not terribly fond of fairy tales for some reason but I did enjoy this book — the world the author created is written so beautifully and the story and characters are interesting.

Books I am currently reading:

Once A Witch by Carolyn MacCullough – YA, I’ve heard good things about this one, I just started it today.

Up Next (depending on my mood:

Homer’s Odyssey by Gwen Cooper — A novel about “a fearless feline” or “How I learned about love and life with a blind wonder cat” — sounds great!

Cat in a Red Hot Rage by Carole Nelson Douglas — I used to read this series a long time ago, I’m thinking about picking it up again so I thought I’d try this one out.

The Princess and the Hound by Mette Ivie Harrison – YA, because it sounded romantic.

The Pale Assassin by Patricia Elliott — YA, historical set during the French Revolution.

Animal Magnetism: My Life with Creatures Great and Small by Rita Mae Brown – One of my favorite authors.

Jane Bites Back by Michael Thomas Ford — I have no clue about this one, I saw it at the library this morning and thought I’d give it a try — Jane Austen as a vampire?

This is hosted over on J. Kaye’s Book Blog.

I have missed several weeks of the meme for various reasons including the holidays and having the kids home.  So I’m going to play catch up this week so I can be hopefully be back on track for next week!

Books completed Since My Last Post:

Last Half of November 2009

The Carousel Painter by Judith Miller — Christian fiction, the story was very sweet but I ended up skimming towards the end because I was having problems staying interested in the characters.
The Key to Rondo by Emily Rodda – YA, I really enjoyed this particular fantasy novel, so I read the second one in the series as well.
The Wizard of Rondo by Emily Rodda
Midnight Alley (Morganville Vampires Book Three) by Rachel Caine — One of my favorite series!
The Pharaoh’s Secret by Marissa Moss — YA, I picked this up because I enjoy books set in Ancient Egypt but this was not very interesting.  I finished it but wouldn’t recommend it.
The Sweetheart of Prosper County by Jill S. Alexander – YA, this was a wonderful read, I highly recommend it.
Paris Pan Takes the Dare by Cynthea Liu – YA, this one was a lot of fun, I really liked Paris.
Impossible by Nancy Werlin — YA, excellent!

December 2009

Generation Dead by Daniel Waters — YA, zombies for a change of pace — I thought this was very well done.
The Remains of the Dead by Wendy Roberts — mystery series that features a main character who does crime scene clean up and talks to ghosts that she runs into in the process.  It was not one of my favorite books (I found the main character hard to really like), but I think I’ll give the second one a try.
I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You by Ally Carter – YA, lots of fun!  I really liked the whole series.
Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy by Ally Carter – YA
Don’t Judge a Girl by Her Cover by Ally Carter — YA
What Remains of Heaven by C.S. Harris — One of my favorite mystery series, just so good!
The Espressologist by Kristina Springer — YA, very cute and I really enjoyed the main character a lot.
Immortal by Gillian Shields – YA, I love a good ghost story and this was a great read.
Homeland by Barbara Hambly — Novel set during the Civil War, two women (one in the North, one in the South) exchange letters.  It was very well done and the ending really surprised me, in a good way.  I also learned a great deal about how the war affected the lives of the women on a daily basis.
A Touch of Dead by Charlaine Harris — short stories featuring Sookie Stackhouse, excellent as always.  I always enjoy reading about Sookie!
Demon Princess: Reign or Shine by Michelle Rowen – YA, this was a really fun read and I’m looking forward to reading the sequel.
Zombie Queen of Newbury High by Amanda Ashby — YA, not as good as some of the others I’ve read lately, it was all right.
How Nancy Drew Saved My Life by Lauren Baatz-Logsted – This was a fun book, and I liked that it was set someplace different for a change of pace (Iceland).
Kiss of Life: A Generation Dead Novel by Daniel Water — YA, I didn’t like this as much as the first book, maybe because it was darker and I have been more in the mood for light books.  Very well drawn characters though and I look forward to seeing what happens with them down the road.

January 2010

Fallen by Lauren Kate — YA, Very good, I stayed up late to finish this one.
Demon Chick by Marilyn Kaye — YA, I liked this one although it seemed to be rather short and felt rushed actually, but for a light fun read it was enjoyable.

Books I am currently reading:

Demon Ex Machina by Julie Kenner — One of my all time favorite series!

Up Next (depending on my mood :

I So Don’t Do Spooky by Barrie Summy — YA, I really liked the first book in this series so I’m looking forward to this one.

Homer’s Odyssey by Gwen Cooper — A novel about “a fearless feline” or “How I learned about love and life with a blind wonder cat” — sounds great!

Cat in a Red Hot Rage by Carole Nelson Douglas — I used to read this series a long time ago, I’m thinking about picking it up again so I thought I’d try this one out.

The Cupcake Queen by Heather Hepler — YA, I love cupcakes and the cover is great!

The Princess and the Hound by Mette Ivie Harrison – YA, because it sounded romantic

The Pale Assassin by Patricia Elliott — YA, historical set during the French Revolution.

Once A Witch by Carolyn MacCullough – YA, I’ve heard good things about this one!

This is hosted over on J. Kaye’s Book Blog.

Books completed this week:

Never Cry Werewolf by Heather Davis — I  really enjoyed this YA novel.  It was a fairly light read and I haven’t read many werewolf books so this made for a nice change of pace.

The Ninth Daughter by Barbara Hamilton — A “new mystery series set in revolutionary Boston” featuring Abigail Adams.  I’ve always been fascinated by Abigail Adams (her letters are wonderful)  so this looked interesting.  I found it a bit hard to get into at first (and I discovered how little I remembered about Revolutionary American politics!) but I stuck with it and I’m glad I did because it really turned out to be a good book.   I’m looking forward to the next one in the series.

Lady Macbeth’s Daughter by Lisa Klein — Since I enjoy Shakespeare this YA novel looked intriquing and I’m glad I picked it up at the library.  It was very well done, a nice mix of Shakespeare, history and fiction with excellent characters that really came to life.

Give Up the Ghost by Megan Crewe — Another YA novel that looked interesting because I often enjoy ghost stories.  This novel turned out to address some pretty serious issues but I found it very compelling and stayed up late to finish it last night.

Books I started but didn’t finish:

Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow — This went no where for me so I gave up after the first chapter.

Books I am currently reading:

A Christmas Promise by Anne Perry — I’ve heard that Anne Perry’s Christmas novels are very good so I thought I’d try this one since Christmas is not so far away now!

Up Next:

TBD — I need to look over my library pile and my TBR pile but the kids are calling for me now

This is hosted over on J. Kaye’s Book Blog.

Books completed this week:

Ruined by Paula Morris – this was a great ghost story, I really enjoyed it.  Especially appropriate right before Halloween!

Confessions of a Slacker Mom by Muffy Mead-Ferro — I started this last month, then got distracted by some other books but finally got back to finish it.  I enjoyed it since there were a lot of things the author discussed that I really agreed with — I think everyone could do with a bit of slacker mom in their reportroire.

How to Be a Hepburn in a Hilton World by Jordan Christy — this is geared mostly toward single young women but I still enjoyed it.   Like Slacker Mom it was a book where I found myself agreeing with a lot of what the author had to say about how to handle oneself as you go through life.  I am going to hold onto this one as there is a lot here that I want to be able to share with my daughter as she gets older.

Grave Secret by Charlaine Harris — I have been a bit ambivalent about this series, the first three books were good but I didn’t really feel “hooked” into the characters the way I would have expected considering how much I enjoy Harris’s other series about Sookie Stackhouse.  This book really turned that corner for me though, I stayed up late last night so I could finish it, I was so anxious to know what was going to happen.  The ending was unexpected and I must say I really enjoyed this book alot.  I am looking forward to the next one!

Books I started but didn’t finish:

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel — I love this particular era (Henry VIII) so I thought this would be a good choice for me, but I only managed a couple chapters and couldn’t sustain my interest.  It probably has more to do with being tired and stressed out then the book itself, so I’ll pick it up again later for another try.

Books I am currently reading:

Never Cry Werewolf by Heather Davis — I’m about half way through this YA novel and am really enjoying it.  It’s been a light read so far which seems to be what I need a lot of lately.  I haven’t read many werewolf books so this makes for a change of pace.

Up Next:

Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow — Not sure if I’ll like this one or not but it certainly sounds interesting!

The Ninth Daughter by Barbara Hamilton — A “new mystery series set in revolutionary Boston” featuring Abigail Adams.  I’ve always been fascinated by Abigail Adams (her letters are wonderful) and I often enjoy mystery series that feature historical characters (such as the Jane Austen mysteries by Stephanie Barron) so this could be a really good series.  I’m looking forward to trying it out.

This is hosted over on J. Kaye’s Book Blog.

I’ve been really under the weather this week and this morning has been especially bad (got to love chronic flare ups — not!) but I wanted to get this up while I can.

Books completed this week:

Soulless by Gail Carriger – a novel of vampires, werewolves and parasols — I loved this book and I loved the character of Alexia Tarabotti — she’s wonderful!  I am so looking forward to the next book.  I wasn’t sure about this book originally but I’m glad that I gave it a chance, I kept slowing myself down so I could enjoy it for a bit longer

Fade by Lisa McMann – I really liked this follow up to Wake.  Excellent book and I the main characters are believable and interesting.

As You Wish by Jackson Pearce — “a magical tale about star-crossed lovers, what it means to belong . .. and how important it is to be careful what you wish for.”  This was a really sweet book, I enjoyed it.  An especially good read considering how miserable I’ve been feeling this week — a good pick me up!

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick — I’ve heard such wonderful things about this book and I must say it was very well done.   An intriquing story with strong character development and an ending that left me satisfied.  I don’t think I would say it was one of my favorite books but it was a worthy read.

Books I am currently reading:

Ruined by Paula Morris — I love a good ghost story and so far this one is proving to be excellent.

Up Next:

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel — I love this particular era (Henry VIII) so I’m looking forward to this one.

This is hosted over on J. Kaye’s Book Blog.

Books completed this week:

The Chocolate Cupid Killings by JoAnna Carl – As always I enjoy this series — it’s fun, it’s about chocolate and I like the quirky characters!   An excellent cozy mystery series.

Wake by Lisa McMann — this looked intriquing, about a 17 year old who gets sucked into other peoples dreams.  I didn’t expect to enjoy this as much as I did, I was fascinated and zipped through the book.  Very well done!

Rampant by Diana Peterfruend — also a YA novel (like Wake above) about a young girl who trains as a unicorn hunter.  I really liked the main character in this novel and the story was interesting.  I read this one a bit slower to enjoy the historical/scientific apsects that really round out the story.  I’m hoping there will be a second book.

Ghastly Glass by Joye and Jim Lavene –  this is the third book in the mystery series which is set at a Renaissance Faire.  It’s fun, it’s quirky and I really enjoy each book.  Sometimes the main character, Jessie Morton, annoys me by being very naive or dense (depending on how you look at it) but it’s still a fun read.

Books I Started but Didn’t Finish:

Silver Lies by Ann Parker — a historical mystery set in 1879 that I started and then didn’t finish.  It just didn’t hold my interest at all.

Books I am currently reading:

Soulless by Gail Carriger – a novel of vampires, werewolves and parasols — how fun does that sound!  I’ve only just started but I love Alexia Tarabotti, she’s a great character!

Up Next:

Fade by Lisa McMann – I am looking forward to seeing what happens next!

As You Wish by Jackson Pearce — “a magical tale about star-crossed lovers, what it means to belong . .. and how important it is to be careful what you wish for.”

This is hosted over on J. Kaye’s Book Blog.

Books completed this week:

The Dead Girls Dance: The Morganville Vampires Book Two by Rachel Caine — After enjoying the first book in the series ( Glass Houses) I was looking forward to this one.  It turned out to be very good also.  The characters have some depth to them, I care about them and what happens to them, and the premise of a small college town controlled by vampires and how the main characters deal with this makes for a fast paced read.

The Girl She Used To Be by David Cristofano –   “a woman who has lost her identity to the Witness Protection Program flirts with trusting her life to the Mafioso hired to kill her.”   This was a fast read and the premise was unique enough to keep me intriqued until the end.   I would recommend it.

A Bride in the Bargain by Deeanne Gist — historical fiction set in the 19th century (circa 1865) when the loggers in the West (Seattle) send East for brides.  It was a sweet story, very enjoyable.

The Seat Beside Me by Nancy Moser — “five passengers and the people in the seats beside them.  None will ever be the same.”  This was a really intense book, I cried in a couple places.  Really left me thinking about a lot of things long after I finished reading it.

Books I am currently reading:

The Chocolate Cupid Killings by JoAnna Carl – I love this series, it’s always fun to read so I always look forward to the next one!   I just started it last night.  It even has chocolate trivia which is great for a chocoholic like myself

Up Next:

Wake by Lisa McMann — this looked intriquing, about a 17 year old who gets sucked into other peoples dreams.

Rampant by Diana Peterfruend — a young girl trains as a unicorn hunter.

Silver Lies by Ann Parker — historical mystery set in 1879.

This is hosted over on J. Kaye’s Book Blog.

Books completed this week:

Murder at Longbourn by Tracy Kiely — A fun mystery with a Pride and Prejudice feel to it.  I enjoyed it and look forward to more books in the series.

A Catered Halloween by Isis Crawford — I had actually read this one before, many years ago, but I enjoyed it and wanted something with a Halloween theme to get me in the mood.

Unusual Suspects: Stories of Mystery and Fantasy edited by Dana Stabenow — I enjoyed the stories by Charlaine Harris, Sharon Shinn, Donna Andrews and Laurie R. King the most — not surprising I guess since those are some of my favorite authors anyway

Books I am currently reading:

The Dead Girls Dance: The Morganville Vampires Book Two by Rachel Caine — I thought the first book ( Glass Houses) was pretty good so I thought I’d try out the next one in the series.  I’ve only read the first couple chapters but I really am enjoying the characters who are interesting and include a ghost, a goth girl, the main character Claire,  and her boyfriend who all live together in a town overrun with vampires.

Up Next:

The Girl She Used To Be by David Cristofano –   “a woman who has lost her identity to the Witness Protection Program flirts with trusting her life to the Mafioso hired to kill her.”  Recommendation from a friend.  It sounds really good.

A Bride in the Bargain by Deeanne Gist — historical fiction set in the 19th century.

The Seat Beside Me by Nancy Moser — “five passengers and the people in the seats beside them.  None will ever be the same.”  This sounds intriquing, reassessing your life after a tragic event.

This is hosted over on J. Kaye’s Book Blog.

Books completed this week:

Shades of Grey by Clea Simon — I’m not sure why but this book went very slowly for me.  The typeface was very small so I felt like I was going blind reading it which didn’t help.  But honestly the characters just didn’t really hold my interest all that well.  Except for Mr. Grey the beloved cat who comes back as a ghost to help solve the murder mystery.  It picked up towards the end and if there is a second book I’ll give a try to see if it draws me in more then this one.

Ghost a la Mode by Sue Ann Jaffarian — Now this was a fun read and I hope there will be more in this series. This book also features a ghost — Granny Apples — who also helps to solve a murder.  I really enjoyed the characters, especially Granny Apples!

Her Deadly Mischief by Beverle Graves Myers — the latest book in the Tito Amato mystery series.  These tend to be more intense in terms of the mystery and the density of information about 18th century life in Venice.  But it is handled so well that I love becoming immersed in the books and revisiting Tito and his family and friends.  When I first started the series I wasn’t sure that a mystery featuring a castrato was something I would enjoy reading but I’m really glad that I tried that first book — the series is well written and the characters are interesting and compelling.

Books I am currently reading:

Murder at Longbourn by Tracy Kiely — I have just started this one today  but the blurb says that “by reimagining characters and themes lifted from the treasured classic Pride and Prejudice, and crafting an expert, intricate mystery, Tracy Kiely has brought to life something very special:  a new cozy series that is clever, vibrant, and utterly enthralling.”  I’m looking forward to seeing how it uses the themes from Pride and Prejudice.

Up Next:

A Catered Halloween by Isis Crawford — I was looking for a Halloween book to get me into the mood