On the Bookshelf

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. Go here to find out more.

Serenity: Better Days by Joss Whedon, Brett Matthews, and Will Conrad (Illustrator)
I did my happy dance when this finally arrived on my doorstep. I had issues one and three of the comic but had been able to find issue two as it was never available at Kings Comics whenever I managed to make it into Sydney. So, I finally bought the entire volume through the Book Depository. I am so happy to finally be able to put on my browncoat and sit down and finish this comic.

Hourglass by Claudia Gray
I have not exactly been a fan of the Evernight series but I said that I would give the third instalment a try if it should fall into my lap. The reservation list at the library I work at dwindled out and seeing as it showed up in the returns I decided to go ahead and make good on that promise. I am somewhat curious as to how the series wraps up.

Terra

Sookie Stackhouse doesn't have that many relations, so she really hated to lose one - but of all the people to go, she didn't expect it to be her cousin Hadley, a consort of New Orleans' vampire queen - after all, Hadley was technically already dead.

But Hadley is gone, beyond recall, and she's left Sookie and inheritance, one that comes with a bit of a risk - not least because someone doesn't want Sookie digging too deep into Hadley's possessions... or her past. Sookie's life is once again on the line, and this time the suspects range from rogue weres to her first love, the vampire Bill. Sookie's got a lot to do if she's going to keep herself alive.

Definitely Dead gives you everything that we have come to expect from a Sookie Stackhouse novel. There is action, mystery, and of course, eye candy. However, a few pages in you may start wondering if you have somehow suffered a bout of amnesia and forgotten some major plot points or perhaps somehow missed a book in the series. I can assure you that amnesia is not your problem, rather it is something called One Word Answer. One Word Answer is Harris' short story contribution to Bite (and is also now published in A Touch Of Dead, a collection of Harris' Sookie Stackhouse short stories), which also contained short stories from Laurell K. Hamilton, MaryJanice Davidson, Angela Knight, and Vickie Taylor. I cannot help but feel that if an author is going to submit a short story to another publication it should not play a major role in the readers comprehension of the ongoing series. I felt let down by the fact that Harris had been foreshadowing the introduction of Sookie's cousin, Hadley, only to allow readers to miss out on it and the events that set the scene for Definitely Dead. In the very least, the publisher should have directed us to the short stories and their place in the series inside the cover if they are going to be significant to the series. To Harris' credit, she does work these details into the story well enough that you do get the overall story in the end, but it makes it no less irritating.

Quinn, Sookie's current piece of eye candy is okay but I still prefer Eric as the more interesting love interest. I was also satisfied when my ongoing dislike of Bill was further justified in this book. There is no sex in Definitely Dead which I am going to say is not a bad thing at all - despite her complaining otherwise, Sookie tends to do a little too well in the dating department - but the dry humping scene is a bit... odd.

Also, it is just a bit weird that Sookie spends most of the book on her period and has to frequently remind us of this.


Definitely Dead is certainly not the strongest addition to the series put if you strip away its oddities and get to the core plot underneath, it is still a good story and seems like it is going to be significant in the setting up of events to come. I will keep on reading the series at this point, anyway.

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
True Blood Season One

Terra

Active Readers is a new blog feature that I have been planning to introduce for ages. As both readers and bloggers it can become easy to find ourselves in a rut where we are doing an awful lot of sitting - sitting with a book, sitting at the computer, sitting in front of the television. The plan for Active Readers is to have an open discussion about fitness and well being.

To start with, I'll be posting this once every two weeks. Depending on how well it is received and how much time I have, posting may increase to weekly down the track. I even made a (somewhat crappy) icon - something I have not done in years. Definitely not like riding a bicycle!

For the very first issue of Active Readers I would like to help make people aware of a fantastic challenge called the 100 Mile Fitness Challenge, founded by Trish and currently being run by Allie and Jill. Head on over to the challenge blog to sign up and set your goal. Check in every week to share your progress and cheer on your fellow bloggers on their quest to better fitness!

My goal for the current round of the challenge is to complete 200 miles (approx 322km) of exercise and fitness. After taking a break for a few weeks due to injury, I am pretty far behind but excited to be getting back into it. It does seem improbable that I will reach my goal in time but I refuse to say that it is impossible! Not only will I get there but I plan to smash it! ;)

The current round ends in June so it is not too late to join in! Don't forget to join the round that follows either. It is a great motivator to know that others are striving right along side you and cheering you on!

So, what do you think about my new blog feature? Are you motivated to join the 100 Mile Fitness Challenge? Share your thoughts and comments below!


Terra

Did you know that today is Towel Day? Towel Day is an annual celebration on the 25th of May to celebrate the life and works of the late Douglas Adams (1952-2001).

Adams brilliantly wrote the famed The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Dirk Gently Series.


Today you can pay tribute to this brilliant author by carrying your favourite towel out with you with pride. Remember, as The Guide teaches us, the towel "is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have."

One of these utility towels describing the meaning of life, the universe, and everything is the perfect choice for such an occasion. (Available from ThinkGeek and, yes, I have one of these.) Or perhaps you would prefer a towel with ever solid advice for every hitchhiker, "Don't Panic", written across it. (Also available from ThinkGeek.)

Check out the Towel Day website for more information.

Terra

Fire is more than attractive,

Fire is mesmerising.

Fire's exceptional beauty gives her influence and power. People who are susceptible to it will do anything for her attention, and for her affection. If she wished, they would abuse their power, crush nations and even destroy their own kingdoms to please her.

But beauty is only skin deep, and beneath it Fire has a human appreciation of right and wrong. Aware of her ability to influence others, and afraid of it, she lives in a corner of the world away from people - not only to protect them but also to protect herself from their attention, their distrust, and even their hatred.

Yet Fire is not the only danger to the Dells. If she wants to protect her home, if she wants a chance to undo the wrongs of the past, she must face her fears, her abilities and a royal court full of powerful people with reason to distrust her.

Beauty is a weapon - and Fire is going to use it.


I really enjoyed reading Fire, which is often described as the "prequelish companion" to Graceling. In fact, I think that I may even have liked it more than I did Graceling.

Fire, like Katsa, is a strong female character. As she did with Katsa, Cashore once again introduces reservations about marriage and reproduction with her female lead. I felt, however, that with Fire these concepts where much better handled in the way that Fire comes to these decisions and how she copes with the choices that she makes in regards. Beauty plays an interesting role in Fire, with Fire herself losing her own breath at the site of her reflection. Cashore walks a fine line here between balancing strength, beauty, and femininity. I see Fire as a character who could have easily become a Mary Sue but I feel that Cashore has avoided this and has made Fire balanced and believable.

Fans of Graceling will also recognise a certain cross-over character. I found discovering this characters background and what lead to him becoming the person that we know in Graceling to be a really fascinating aspect of the story.

I am really excited that these books are now planned as a trilogy, The Seven Kingdoms Trilogy, with the third book tentatively titled Bitterblue. Bitterblue was a character in Graceling and I am most certainly curious as to what Cashore has in plan for her.

Fire gave the "more" that I had been wanting from Graceling and I am sure that fans of Cashore's debut book will enjoy Fire just as much if not more.

Also Check Out
Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Terra

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

The Leviathan's body was made from the life threads of a whale, but a hundred of species were tangled into its design, countless creatures, fitting together like the gears of a stopwatch. Flocks of fabricated birds swarmed around it - scouts, fighters, and predators to gather food. Deryn saw message lizards and other beasties scampering across its skin.

From pages 70 to 71 of Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld.

This description is accompanied by one of Keith Thompson's fantastic illustrations, showing the Leviathan in marvellous detail.

Terra

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. Go here to find out more.

From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris
So I am back reading the Southern Vampire Mysteries again. These books are so much fun. I have a review of Definately Dead on the way and went and bought the next book in the series already.

Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler
I wasn't familiar with this book but one of the local book stores is having a big moving sale and it caught my eye. An interesting (and somewhat sad) tid bit from Wikipedia, originally published in 1940, the original German story has now been lost and the current German versions are back translations from English.

Terra

Yesterday I meet a new friend. My new fish is a male Betta Splenden - often called fighting fish as the males are really aggressive toward each other and will fight to the death. He is a lovely red colour (the above photo really doesn't do his colour justice) with silver flecks.

Now the tricky part has been picking his name! Kvothe is a currently in the lead. Kvothe is the awesome fiery red-headed main character from Patrick Rothfuss' The Name of the Wind. King Weasley (he never lets the quaffle in) was also up for red-haired consideration. Perhaps Wranger? ("Coz he's a wranger, Sir!")

Other suggested names include Kraken (because he is a ferocious fighting fish!), Sheldon (as in from The Big Bang Theory), and Stephen Fry (all hail the Tweet).

What names would you suggested for my delightful new fishy friend? Fish naming is serious business!

I also came across this adorable photo taken by my brother of Jasper hiding in the garden. He used to love to dig up cool spots to lie in to get away from the heat. I still love and miss him dearly but it's easier to look back now and smile instead of cry.

Any tips on caring for my new fighting fish are of course welcome. I would rather if my fish-care learning curb didn't kill the little guy. D=

Terra