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Friday Five 5.3.13 – Coffee Mugs for Book Nerds

May 3, 2013 by 2 Comments

I’m only two books away from completing my goal of 50 books in 2013, and it’s only May. I’m totally patting myself on the back for that. This got me thinking about the local libraries that I visit. Almost each branch has a monthly book sale where you can buy used books for 50-cents or $1.00. Quite a bargain if you like books.

One of my favorite libraries, LA’s Central Library, is also home to the LAPL Library Store. That got me interested in looking at what other cities’ library stores offered to their patrons and passersby. There weren’t many stores, so I checked out Etsy.

Since my days don’t start without a cup of joe, I ran a search on book-themed coffee mugs. Here are five cool booknerd mugs I’ve found online:

This is a repeat gift item I’ve posted before – Reading is Sexy mug - $14. I think it’s perfect for me and I may just pick it up the next time I’m at the Library. Coffee and books – what’s not to love?

(Buy Olympia is selling it for $12.)

reading is sexy mug

photo source: http://www.buyolympia.com/q/Item=mug-readingissexy

In our country, we still have crazy people who think books should be banned… in schools. I remember when Harry Potter made it to the list and I thought, “Are you people crazy?” I found this Read Banned Books mug at the ALA store – $14.

Read Banned Books mug - ALA

Read Banned Books mug – ALA

But wait, there’s more. Here’s another Banned Books mug – $13 – that lists some of the titles. I found this off the Philosopher’s Guild website.

Banned Books mug source: Philosopher's Guild

Banned Books mug
source: Philosopher’s Guild

I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like Jane Austen. One of my favorite books by Jane Austen is Pride and Prejudice. (Download a copy for your Kindle for FREE!) My favorite on-screen version is a tie between the 1940 movie starring Greer Garson and the A&E miniseries starring *drool* Colin Firth. Etsy store owner Bohemia’s Looking Glass offers a “I’d Rather Be At Pemberly” coffee mug – $13.

 

I'd Rather Be At Pemberly coffee mug source: http://www.etsy.com/shop/BohemiasLookingGlass?ref=seller_info

I’d Rather Be At Pemberly coffee mug
source: http://www.etsy.com/shop/BohemiasLookingGlass?ref=seller_info

This pretty much sums up my life. There are many variations of “Eat Sleep Read” but here’s one of my favorite iterations. Malaprop’s Bookstore in North Carolina sells this “Eat Sleep Read” mug – $14.

 

Eat Sleep Read mug - Malaprop's Bookstore

Eat Sleep Read mug – Malaprop’s Bookstore

Which mug is your favorite? Do you have another book-related mug that I should add to this list?

Happy Friday! Grab your favorite bookworm a mug and enjoy the weekend!

 

 

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate links in this post, which will yield a small referral fee if you decide to purchase an item through my link(s). Otherwise, I have no affiliation with the other e-commerce sites listed in this post.

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Top Ten Tuesday: Words/Topics That Instantly Make Me Pick Up A Book

April 30, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Top 10 Tues Books meme created by The Broke & Bookish

Top 10 Tues Books meme created by The Broke and Bookish

I’ve been reading The Broke and Bookish for a long time, and the BB team hosts (and created) the Tuesday meme that you can participate in.

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic is: Top Ten Words/Topics That Instantly Make Me Buy/Pick Up A Book. This one made me look at my Goodreads profile and my books on my Kindle. I’ve gone through phases in reading but one thing remains the same, I read fiction. Non-fiction, no matter how highly recommended, makes me squirm. (That doesn’t include memoirs though.)

These days, these are my top 10:

1. The hero/protagonist is a woman/female – I’m in. The more positive female role models (even if they’re fictional) you can put into the universe, everybody wins. Girls have different characters to attach themselves to – instead of attaching themselves to weakly drawn female characters in male-dominated books. Society (I) shouldn’t be forced to live with only engendered stories for girls and boys. Heroes can be male or female.

2. The author is a woman or identifies herself as a woman - I’m in. I consciously support and will seek out books by women authors. That’s not to say I don’t read books by men. (Hello, Kevin Hearne, DJ MacHale, Eoin Colfer, Orson Scott Card, Michael A. Stackpole, David Weber…)

3. The words “paranormal” or “urban fantasy” appear in the book description – I’m mostly in. This has been my go-to genre for the past two years. I’ve strayed a lot from military science fiction, a favorite genre of mine.

4. The words “fairy” or “fae” do not appear in the book description – I’m mostly in. You know I have problems with the fae. They’re a-holes. I’m currently reading the Grave Witch (Alex Craft) novels by Kalayna Price and I’m giving it a pass because the main character is a witch (or so we think).

5. It comes recommended by the Cuddlebuggery, Fangs for the Fantasy, or Fiction Vixen – these bloggers have been my go-to barometer, and their reviews and recos have worked for me about 90% of the time.

6. Werewolves or shifters – I’m in. With vampires, if it’s highly recommended on Goodreads, I’ll bite. (No pun intended.)

7. Death as a character – I’m so in. Got yourself a Reaper or Death in a book? You got yourself a reader. I like reading about a humanized Reaper. It makes for more angst, and I do sympathize with Death. What a sh*tty job – every day, all you do is touch bodies and pick up souls.

This looks promising!

8. The universe is set in present-day – I’m in. It can be weird, paranormal, but still present-day.

9. The protagonist has a Scooby Gang – I’m 100% in. A hero isn’t a hero without a support team. Even Buffy had one, so +1 for any book that inserts Scoobies.

Sabina’s got a Scooby Gang:

10. The book comes with a female Big Bad - I’m in! You got yourself a Big Bad – girl vs girl? Yep, I’m so in. Again, I’m all for turning stereotypes up on its head, and if the Big Bad is a woman, even better. This means the book is surrounded by women characters, good and bad.

So there you have it. My top 10 topics or flags that make me want to pick up a book.

Check out The Broke and Bookish and participate in their Top Ten Tuesday meme!

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Chicagoland Vampires Series (1-3) by Chloe Neill – Book Review(s)

April 4, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Some Girls Bite - Chloe Neill (bk1)

Some Girls Bite – Chloe Neill (bk1) – don’t get me started on the covers…

Friday Night Bites - Chloe Neill (bk 2)

Friday Night Bites – Chloe Neill (bk 2) – Hair needs to be longer.

Seriously, who would take these out? With these kinds of corny titles?

I did. I borrowed this and the following two books and devoured them in days. Ie. I finished books 2 and 3 on the road.

I started this series after I read Firespell, a YA novel by Chloe Neill. This was my moment of truth – I was reading too many YA books and searched for an equivalent to Kate Daniels and Mercy Thompson. Merit kept coming up in my searches. I looked it up, rolled my eyes at the vampires, sucked it up, and borrowed them from the library.

twicebitten_chloeneill_3

Twice Bitten – Chloe Neill (bk 3) – Look! The cover improves!

Some Girls Bite; Friday Night Bites; and Twice Bitten are books 1- 3 by Chloe Neill. They’re part of what she’s calling the Chicagoland Vampires series. It centers on one reluctantly-made vampire named Merit. She goes by her last name, which made me roll my eyes and laugh. Ok, Merit. You got it. After you get past that part, the fun begins.

This is not quite your typical vampire series. As you know, I’m tired of vamps and their boring I-need-to-eat-you-to-feel-you stories. This one… Merit is made a vampire in order to save  her life. She is attacked in the prologue – throat ripped out, blood everywhere – a victim of an attack. The only way to save her life really is to convert her.

Ethan Sullivan plays the love interest, sort of. He’s the Master of the house she belongs in (and he’s the one who made her). Mallory is Merit’s best friend (human) and their dialogue made me laugh a lot – there are references to pop culture – Harry Potter, Buffy, Spike, et al. Neill knows how to win me over. Mallory is also not a pushover. Nor is Merit. Thank you, baby Jesus!

In addition to the big honcho and best friend, there are many supporting characters who are well-formed as we go along in the series. Jeff, Catcher, Luc, Lindsey, Celina, Morgan… the list goes on. I really enjoyed Merit’s interactions with each of these characters.

Note: notice the ‘normal’ names these characters have? I love it. They’re not named: Ashlee (and other variations), Faythe (god, why?), Merry (no one is ever that merry), Damian or Damien (please, playa), Raphael (puke – what are you, a Ninja Turtle?), Sebastian (overplayed), Raven (seriously?), Cain (for real?), Cayne (spelling it different doesn’t make it cool), Tristan (kill me now)…

We might as well have it out. I’m also not fond of any other Ninja Turtle name: Donatello, Michaelangelo, Leonardo. So bonus points for Neill for choosing regular names for her characters.

Back to the stories. I’ve noticed there is a formula in Neill’s books. An introduction to the present-day, new characters (one of which is probably the bad guy), some smexiness if these characters would just get it on, a puzzle to figure out, and a battle or solving the case. I’m OK with this if it’s well done. Here, it’s good-done, but not well done. I think it’s too easy to guess who the baddies are, at least in these first three books.

Outside of this bubble and some really bad editing (spelling errors, etc), I still enjoyed these first three books. I had a lot of fun reading about Merit’s struggles as a new vamp as well as their newest soldier. She’s also not dumb – you read through her logic and agree most of the time.

Broadly stroking (if that is a phrase… no pun intended, pervs): Book 1 is about her transformation and adjustment. There’s also a Big Bad. Book 2 is her being Sentinel for the House, and Mallory has her own adventure. Book 3 is about a bit about the shifters and their background.

Spoilers (ranty): Ethan and Merit don’t get it on until the third book so hold tight. Morgan was someone I was hoping she’d date – her description of him was fantastic. You know I’m not keen on men with long or longish hair. Get a haircut, hippie Ethan! Everyone seems to have green eyes. That’s ridiculous. Are we in Big Trouble in Little China? Then, write characters with brown eyes, Neill. I really really really love Luc and Lindsey and I hope it plays out HEA in one of these books, goddamnit. Mallory and Catcher getting together in 2 days (?) was a bit much. I mean, come on. Even in urban fantasy time, no one falls in love that fast. Celina coming back was good – I’m looking forward to seeing what she does next as the Big Bad. Gabriel and the shifters coming out was surprising at the end of book 3. My hope is that Merit ends up being a Master in a few years (or however long it’s supposed to take) and Ethan quits being so arrogant. I’m over arrogant love interests. It’s boring and it’s too easy to make excuses for – Oh I had a broken heart, blah blah, now I have to shutter that down even though I know I’m in love with you, etc etc. Lord. You’re immortal. You will get over it.

Outside of all that spoiler stuff, I still really liked these first three books. So much so I’m going to give it two thumbs up.

Grade: A for all three

Buy or borrow: Buy. I think these are worth it. (Don’t disappoint me, Neill, with the next 3 books…)

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50 in 2013 Update – Cover Issues

March 22, 2013 by 9 Comments

Books are my salvation. If I had a choice between watching TV and reading a book, I’d choose a book. I’ve had a love of books since I could read. I’m quite happy that Amazon created the Kindle. If they hadn’t, I think The Wife would find me buried in stacks of books in our apartment.

This year, my goal of reading 50 books has been going very well. Technically I’m on book 28. I’m 17 books ahead of schedule – w00t!

I’ve read a ton of serials which have kind of annoyed me off. Some of these series are not worth reading the whole series. Does that make sense? Some of these books should have been one GIANT epic book; instead, the publisher and/or writer decided to split them up and make them into trilogies. I find that to be a cheap ploy to make me buy more books, which I have stupidly done.

It’s been a self-inflicted pain in my ass to see my bill from Amazon, every time I press the ‘buy’ button on my Kindle. It’s totally my fault. I get so sucked into a story and want to finish the series, so I just impulsively buy the next book. Well played, Amazon Kindle, well played.

The superficial saving grace was that I don’t have to see the full-color cheesy ass covers of the books I’m reading. I love paranormal, urban fantasy novels, but do publishers REALLY think THIS is sexy and will make me want to buy these books in paperback or hardcover:

on the edge ilona andrews ugly cover

GROSS. HE IS FUGLY.

This guy above – Declan – has a pinched face and ugly hair. He also has close-set eyes and he is pursing his lips. Really, publisher? Have you not seen THIS MAN or THIS MAN??? Oh wait, how about THIS MAN?!!! You know what’s really sad? Ilona Andrews is one of my favorite authors – this team cannot do any wrong. Kate Daniels is in my Hall of Fame of heroes.

darkness seduced - stephanie rowe - cover

WHERE ARE THEIR HEADS?!!!! Why is it all red? Are they in hell? (No they are not, I read this book.)

Why is his battle ax on his groin? Really? Isn’t that a little obvious? Plus his tattoo is way too small. Gideon is a giant warrior guy, he should have a bigger tat. Why is this whole cover red and misty?? Why can’t we see their faces? Psychologically I get that publishers don’t want to put a woman’s face on books because they want YOU to imagine yourself on the cover with this guy. Ie. the Bella-Edward psychology.

Thanks to my shrinking book-buying budget, I’m back to borrowing books from the library(ies) that will most likely have more cheesy covers.

So, you ask, what’s a cover that enhances the book and is actually well done? Huh. Here are a couple I’ve read and would have loved to bought the actual books:

Makes you curious, right?

Makes you curious, right?

I loved Beauty Queens by Libba Bray. I didn’t think I would, but I did. It’s a batshit crazy, and I highly recommend it. The cover tells you a little about what’s going on – teen beauty queen contestants, stranded on an island, having to arm themselves….

demon trapper's daughter - jana oliver - cover

The glass orb, she’s a teenager, she’s alone. Done.

One of the better YA series I’ve read in 2012 – this is the original cover for The Demon Trapper’s Daughter by Jana Oliver. When it was published for the US, it took hold and looks like this. Bleh.

Last year, one of my buddies attended a Comic-Con panel that consisted of urban fantasy and paranormal authors, one of which is also another favorite of mine. The authors mentioned that, in the case of their books, they had no say in the cover art. <– That is craaaaaaazy. Why, publishers, do you insist on putting dumb covers on books? This is 2013, not 1988. There are different kinds of covers, and they don’t have to be cheesy.

The fact that authors may not have the sway or say in their book covers is depressing. I can see why some authors would go the self-publishing route – at least they’d have full control on what art goes in the front.

Publishers: Just say no to ugly, cheesy covers.

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