Boneshaker

All the steampunky goodness of Soulless, Leviathan, and Candle Man have really raised the subgenre high up on my to-read list.

One of my last purchases before “jumping ship” was Boneshaker by Cherie Priest.

From the cover:

In the early days of the Civil War, rumors of gold in the frozen Klondike brought hordes of newcomers to the Pacific Northwest. Anxious to compete, Russian prospectors commissioned inventor Leviticus Blue to create a great machine that could mine through Alaska’s ice. Thus was Dr. Blue’s Incredible Bone-Shaking Drill Engine born.

But on its first test run the Boneshaker went terribly awry, destroying several blocks of downtown Seattle and unearthing a subterranean vein of blight gas that turned anyone who breathed it into the living dead.

Now it is sixteen years later, and a wall has been built to enclose the devastated and toxic city. Just beyond it lives Blue’s widow, Briar Wilkes. Life is hard with a ruined reputation and a teenaged boy to support, but she and Ezekiel are managing. Until Ezekiel undertakes a secret crusade to rewrite history.

His quest will take him under the wall and into a city teeming with ravenous undead, air pirates, criminal overlords, and heavily armed refugees. And only Briar can bring him out alive.

- – -

Probably will read this before the week is out, unless The Dark Volume finally hypnotizes me into picking it up and finishing up the Glass Books of the Dream Eaters.

That’s what’s In My Mailbox (part 4 of 48)… What’s in yours?

Rosie & Skate

I often buy books by their cover. I didn’t even need to know what it was about. Let’s hope this isn’t one of those ones I regret.

Rosie & Skate is a debut YA novel by Beth Ann Bauman.

From the jacketflap:
It’s off-season at the Jersey shore, when the boardwalk belongs to the locals. Rosie is 15 and her sister Skate is 16. Their dad, an amiable drunk, is spending a few weeks in jail while their cousin Angie looks after them in their falling-down Victorian on the beach. Skate and her boyfriend Perry are madly in love, inseparable—until now, when Perry goes off to Rutgers. Rosie is shyer than Skate, but she’s drawn to Nick, a boy in their Alateen group. What happens to Rosie and Skate in a few tumultuous weeks is deftly shaded, complex, and true. Readers will be caught up in each girl’s shifting feelings as the story plays out within the embrace of their warmhearted community.

That’s what’s In My Mailbox (part 3 of 48)… What’s in yours?

Bad Girls Don’t Die

At the Beautiful Creatures launch party, a cute little red-haired girl was in front of us in line…

It was Katie Alender, author of Bad Girls Don’t Die!

I went home and put her book on my to-be-read shelf.

From the jacketflap:

Alexis thought she led a typically dysfunctional high school existence. Dysfunctional like her parents’ marriage; her doll-crazy twelve-year-old sister, Kasey; and even her own anti-social, anti-cheerleader attitude.

When a family fight results in some tearful sisterly bonding, Alexis realizes that her life is creeping from dysfunction into danger. Kasey is acting stranger than ever: her blue eyes go green sometimes; she uses old-fashioned language; and she even loses track of chunks of time, claiming to know nothing about her strange behavior. Their old house is changing, too. Doors open and close by themselves; water boils on the unlit stove; and an unplugged air conditioner turns the house cold enough to see their breath in.

Alexis wants to think that it’s all in her head, but soon, what she liked to think of as silly parlor tricks are becoming life-threatening–to her, her family, and to her budding relationship with the class president. Alexis knows she’s the only person who can stop Kasey — but what if that green-eyed girl isn’t even Kasey anymore?

- – -

I’m devouring this as soon as I breeze through Candle Man tonight. And yes, Katie, this is what I do instead of watching TV (!!!) ^_^

That’s what’s In My Mailbox (part 2 of 48)… What’s in yours?

Candle Man: Book One: The Society of Unrelenting Vigilance

As soon as this is posted, I will be curling up in bed with a cup of hot green tea and this lovely little junior steampunk novel:

Candle Man is written by British comic book illustrator and writer Glenn Dakin.

From the jacketflap:

Murder, mystery, and adventure aren’t your typical birthday presents . . .
But for Theo, anything that breaks up his ordinary routine is the perfect gift.
A mysterious “illness” and Theo’s guardians force him into a life indoors, where gloves must be worn and daily medical treatments are the norm. When Theo discovers a suspicious package on his birthday, one person from the past will unlock the secret behind Theo’s “illness” and change his life forever.
Molded into an exhilarating steampunk adventure that gives birth to the next great fantasy hero, Theo Wickland, Candle Man: The Society of Unrelenting Vigilance is the first book in a trilogy by debut author Glenn Dakin.

Thanks to Kristen for spotting it first and spreading the word.

That’s what’s In My Mailbox (part 1 of 48)… What’s in yours?

Turkey Day Splurge (Future IMM)

Bookstores closed? Borders.com is never closed!

I meant to buy this:

and ended up with this:

and

and

and found out that Sony eBookstore also had this:

(which I could never justify buying unless it’s brilliant, because it’s so short, so I’m probably just going to borrow it)

and this:

for just a few bucks, which I might get.

But first, empty bellies must be fed!

Husband made the meal this year–pot roast and chocolate chip cookies. Thanks for my husband who can cook 4 things really well, for my family who doesn’t suck, for books and booklovers of all shapes and sizes, for my coworkers who are the only reason I bother showing up to work any more (even though sometimes they are the reason I don’t want to show up, thanks anyway).

What are you thankful for?

The GoodReads/Vroman’s Book Swap! – An IMM Special (5)

Ok, so I hadn’t blogged a whole lot about this before because

a) I’ve been really, really stressed out lately

and

b) I know most of you guys reading this don’t live out here in sunny SoCal

but today from 4 to 6 pm was the 4th GoodReads book swap, held at Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena.

Here is my special episode of In My Mailbox, as hosted by The Story Siren:

Jason and I headed down there to meet up with Jane and Alfonso (Dale came too!), load up on books, and chat up the GoodReads folks. Yep, I got to meet Elizabeth, Otis, and Jessica from the good ol’ GR team. I feel like I met movie stars today–with less fainting and awkward silences, phew. They were very friendly and I wish I could remember to bring my darned camera to things like this. (It’s ok, Otis had a camera.) They’re just over there in Santa Monica so I’m sure I’ll run into them at a future event.

Here’s what we scored:

I'll trade you!

Yoinked from Dale Z, one of my favorite booksellers on the planet

Procured for me by the wonderful and thoughtful Jane

Yes, that is a math book. Math is *awesome*! Especially Trig.

This will forever be burned into my memory as the book Paul Giamatti's son wanted when they came to my store. Ok, yeah, my old high school P.E. teacher's son also wanted it, as do a lot of other 12-year-old boys. But, I mean, Giamatti! *swoon*

This was the husband's big score.

Formulas for everything! We could make our own ink for crying out loud.

Anti-Kink Hair Cream? This book is now at the top of my TBR list.

- – -

Great fun was had by all, and I hope someone is enjoying my copy of Jonathan Tropper’s This is Where I Leave You. I thought it would be good book karma to swap a book I loved and totally wanted to keep. (But just one, hehe.)

Anonymous swappers, thank you for your fine taste in books.

As soon as I find out where the next one is, I’ll let you know. I do hope they have another one there–it was an excellent location!

In My Mailbox – IMM 4

Ohohohoho.

The Wild Things (fur-covered edition) by Dave Eggers

You make my heart sing.

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

And Hush, Hush showed up just as I was leaving work today. I’m glad I hung out waiting and hoping the CEO of my company would come around… well, I don’t know if he came or not because I was hungry and wanted to go home and read :/ sigh. Maybe next time, Ron Marshall.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days by Jeff Kinney

Oh yeah, and it was time for this, too. I got the t-shirt! On a thin day, I can fit into it… hmm. I might have to try that trick to make a small t-shirt bigger, where you splice one shirt you do fit into with a shirt that’s too small. Hmmm….

Um. Guys. This is unusual. I hardly bought *any* books this week! (“Dear FTC, I bought all of these with my own money. I kept the receipts. These are *not* ARCs!” Sheesh. Is this going to be standard with every blog post to disclaim about getting free books?)

I feel sick… I got very few but very cool things this week ^_^

In My Mailbox – IMM 3

This meme is hosted by The Story Siren! IMM covers all the books I received in the mail, bought, donwloaded, or got as ARCs this week.

So, I tried to curb my book spending recently, since Husband just dropped $200 on the Sony Reader Pocket for me (henceforth to be called “Pocky”, or “Blue Pocky” if you want to be more formal about it).

I know, I know, there is no try.

addiction...

Do, or do not. And I apparently do not.

From the top, then, starting with what I bought (gulp):

I picked up Sally Garner’s The Silver Blade, and now of course I have to pick up The Red Necklace, which is the preceding volume.

The Musician’s Daughter by Susanne Dunlap is getting mixed reviews, but let’s face it, I’m a sucker for 18th century European tales.

Days of Little Texas by R. A. Nelson, I actually know next to nothing about, but just look at it!

Days of Little Texas by R.A. Nelson

I think this is going to be a future YABC pick for me, if it’s good.

Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough put me off at first, I didn’t like the cover. Then I read the blurb, which claims that the protagonist “will unlock the secret of her true identity, unearth the sins of her family, and unleash a power so vengeful that it could destroy them all.” Hidden identities, check. Family skeletons, check. Apocalypse, check. Sold! This is right up my alley. I just hope it’s not disappointing like Immortal.

I’d been waiting impatiently for this:

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Now, I’m not a *huge* fan of steampunk sci-fi, but alt-history 1914 Europe + Austrian prince + flying whale warships = a damn good time, don’t you think?

One for the adults: In a Perfect World by Laura Kasischke. You’d think after just having finished The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood that I would have had enough of pandemics, but I guess it’s contagious (aauggh! did I really just write that? disgusting.)

One for the kiddies:

The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner’s Dilemma by Trenton Lee Stewart is not to be missed. I just love Reynie, Kate, Sticky and Constance; so glad their adventure continues. I’m surprised the audio reader they picked for this series was Del Roy, not Jim Dale. But he sounds pretty good.

Not pictured: The Everafter by Amy Huntley (bought), already started while waiting for Husband in the parking lot of a hotel in San Diego after our uncles took us to Extraordinary Desserts for dinner. Subsequently passed out in a sugar coma (damn you, Raspberry Linzer Torte! you were just too good) and forgot about the book which spent a few days buried in the clean laundry. (Distracted for a moment, looking for a chocolate pithivier recipe… aaaaand, I’m back!) October really seems to be turning into a YA ghosts-and-witches month for me, which is a nice change after all the grown-up books I read last month…

Also not pictured: The Maze Runner by James Dashner. Stacey was opening up the mail at work and found this–I think I may have squealed. Of course she knew who to give it to right away ^_^ , since it’s being compared to The Hunger Games. I hope it lives up to the hype.

Mentioned in a previous post, the Norton Critical Editions of Jane Eyre and Pride & Prejudice, Thornfield Hall by Emma Tennant, and Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys.

But wait! I’m not done yet.

I got sick of waiting for copies of Soulless by Gail Carriger to turn up, so I got it from the Sony eBookstore. In total, for the 50 books I have on my eReader I have spent less than $50. That, *and* I figured out how to get the graphic novel I bought (Black Hole by Charles Burns) to display larger on the screen: change the orientation to landscape and you won’t have to worry that the image won’t resize when you hit Zoom–the display automatically stretches to fit, thus giving you larger text! Phew.

Also picked up the new Audrey Niffenegger on Audible. The new Richard Dawkins, too. Although trying to listen to that while Husband was driving us home from San Diego in the cold and dark, in the midst of a Varlhona-chocolate-induced coma, was not a good idea. We may have to rewind.

That’s it for this week! Hopefully I’ll have less to report next week… If I “do” instead of “do not”.

Distracted… and IMM 2

It’s been a busy week for me and not much reading done.

• I had to work a lot because my boss had a death in the family.
• I played Beatles Rock Band with my husband for five hours on the 10th.
• My mom lost her dog, then found him again (the prodigal dog!).
• We had our YABC meeting for Click on the 13th.
• I posted the winners for the 09/09/09 contest. (BTW everyone, I am waiting for a late paycheck to clear before I can send your stuff… one more day and I’ll have $! Yay! Which I will then turn over to the postal service. Boo.)

I also swore for the 18th time this year that I wasn’t going to acquire any more books… I guess I lied:

In My Mailbox

If I’ve never given credit for this meme before, I do now: Thanks to Kristi aka The Story Siren. I ♥ you.

In My Mailbox: Actual Mail: Alice I Have Been (ARC) by Melanie Benjamin, Swoon (signed) by Nina Malkin (woohoo!)

Bought: Ruined by Paula Morris, Home by Marilynne Robinson, Dreaming Anastasia by Joy Preble, Sense & Sensibility & Sea Monsters by Jane Austen and Ben Winters, The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

Borrowed: A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb (thanks, Jane)

Free: The Informant by Kurt Eichenwald (ARC)

I’m sure there was more, but I’m not ready to admit it.

Tonight’s agenda:

• Master medium bass on “And Your Bird Can Sing”
• Finish Home by Marilynne Robinson
• Start The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
• Watch Jane Eyre for the 40th time in two weeks

Oh hey! That reminds me of why I was so distracted last week:

Toby Stephens

*swoons*

Ok, done fainting. Back to Rock Band!