Monday, January 31, 2011

Review: The Black Dahlia


From Goodreads.com:

On January 15, 1947, the body of a beautiful young woman was found in a vacant lot in Hollywood. The victim, a Massachusetts-born aspiring actress, quickly became known as the Black Dahlia, lending Elizabeth Short in death a fame that she never enjoyed in life. In this much-acclaimed novel, originally published in 1987, James Ellroy transforms a ghoulish morgue story into a garish crime hunt through hell.

My Thoughts:
This was a read-a-long with the book club over at The Lost Entwife's blog. I've not really ventured very far into the True Crime section of the bookstore/library, so I wasn't sure what to expect. This was definitely a departure from my normal reading fare. I'm not entirely sure I liked it or not.

There were a couple of things that made me a bit squeamish about this book. The language. Yeah, I know that it fits with the time period but I'm not down with the "n" bomb and such. The sexist language was also a stumbling block for me. I guess I'm just too sensitive about that. A product of my generation maybe? Who knows. I just know it kept me from fully immersing myself into this book.

I did like the story though. I mean I wanted more about the real case, but I liked the story about Lee and Bucky and how they came together to her case. I won't go into details because I do think that this was a decent book and I don't want to spoilerize things. I do think I'll recommend this to people that have a tendency to enjoy crime stories.

I did like it all-in-all, grumps about it and all. I think I may have went into it thinking it was going to be one thing but it turned out to be something else, if that makes sense?

What Are You Reading Monday?




So last week was a disaster. I started feeling a bit ill in the tummy and just didn't get much reading done. So yeah..I blew it.

I want to finish The Greyfriar by Clay and Susan Griffith. I'm halfway done with that. So that's my first priority.

Here is what I intend on reading this week:

  1. How to Woo a Reluctant Lady by Sabrina Jefferies (feel like a little fluffy reading)
  2. The Tudor Secret by C.W. Gortner (for a blog tour)
  3. Can you Survive the Zombie Apocalypse by Max Brallier (another blog tour)

Ebooks I have on Deck:
  1. Villette by Charlotte Bronte (read-a-long)
  2. The Moorland Cottage-Elizabeth Gaskell (read-a-long)
  3. War and Peace (just part..for a read-a-long)
That's it! The ebooks are part of read-a-longs so I am not reading the WHOLE books just the parts assigned.

Giveaway! Born Under a Lucky Moon by Dana Precious! 2 Winners!!






Additional info:
US or Canada residents Only!
Giveaway begins Jan. 31st and ends Feb. 12th at midnight CST.
Only 2 copies available, so there will be 2 winners.
Addresses will be discarded directly after the giveaway is over!
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to email me: must.read.faster(at)gmail(dot)com!

*please be kind this is my first attempt at using google forms!***

Review Coming Soon!

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Villette Read-a-Long

So Wallace over at Unputdownables.net has started up this awesome read-a-long for Charlotte Bronte's novel Villette! So guess what kidlet's? I've joined in! Ah I'm so excited! Yeah I'm also a glutton for punishment, but that is a different story!

Here be the info for those that are interested in joining up! (used the following info from her website)


Schedule:

Beginning Tuesday, February 1st and ending Thursday, March 31st

Week #/ dates :: Chapters to Read

Week One/ February 1st-7th :: ch. 1-5 (i.e. read chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5)
Week Two/ February 8th-14th :: ch. 6-11
Week Three/ February 15th-21st :: ch. 12-17
Week Four/ February 22nd-28th :: ch. 18-22
Week Five/ March 1st-March 7th :: ch. 23-27
Week Six/ March 8th-March 14th :: ch. 28-32
Week Seven/ March 15th-March 21st :: ch. 33-37
Week Eight/ March 22-March 28th :: ch. 38-42

Catch up days, and extra days to process book before final review :: March 29th-31st.

Guidelines:

  • Each week, on Thursday, post your thoughts about the previous week’s reading. If you are stuck on what to post about, you can use these discussion questions to get you started.
  • Come here, to Unputdownables, and put the link to your post in the comments section (and take a minute to visit others’ blogs to see what they’ve thought of the reading). If you do not have a blog, feel free to post your thoughts on the reading directly in the comments section. *please refrain from posting ahead, even if you have read ahead, as to not spoil the book for others*
  • Feel free to use the read-a-long button from above in your posts or sidebars (please make sure it links back to this blog, though).

Sounds like fun, yes? YES! So you know you wanna join! Get your books out NOW! :)

In My Mailbox



Well I had a normal-ish week! I only got three books, but yeah after that last massive haul I cannot and will not complain! Here be my new treasures...






Not bad huh? I'm a happy girl :)

What did you get this week.

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Sorry bout that folks...

I caught a stupid tummy bug so the last couple of days I've not been good with the reading. I'll play catch up tomorrow.

I have a few reviews coming, a couple of giveaways, and just a whole lot of fun! Stay tuned...

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Review: Down the Road

From Goodreads.com:
A bizarre plague of the walking dead.
A nation desperate for survival.
It could be the end of the world.

Around the globe, the dead are rising to devour the living. Hospitals are overrun, and martial law has been declared. The streets are in chaos. Society is disintegrating.

George Zaragosa is a young school teacher living in the shadow of his fiancĂ©e’s unsolved murder. Now he just wants to go home to his family. He has made the journey before, traveling from Austin to San Uvalde. It is usually a short drive. But he knows this time is going to be different.

Along the way, George must negotiate military roadblocks, FEMA camps, and street thugs, not to mention hordes of the living dead. He is determined to make it home, but only one thing is certain: his trip down the road will be a journey like no other.

My Review:
I love Zombies! If you've read my blog before I think that's pretty apparent. So it pains me to say that this book completely underwhelmed me. Yup! I said it. This zombie book was blah. I really had high hopes for it. It started out very good! George was definitely someone I was rooting for.
I thought he was very believable at first, but quickly that changed. I know that zombie books aren't know for their "Hey logic is happening here!" moments but they have to at least have one rational person in them!

George is a school teacher, but all of a sudden he's got mad zombie butt kicking skills, can beat up people, have random booty calls whilst being surrounded by a horde of the living dead. Yeah..believable left the scene a few hours ago I guess.

I couldn't connect with George after that. I felt no emotional motivation to keep reading about his struggles to make it home to his family. I wasn't interested. It seemed like this book lacked something. I can SEE where Ibarra was going with it, and I am a bit sad that it didn't work out. The ending didn't even have the emotional impact that I think he was going for. This really pains me because I usually love even the cheesiest Zombie movies and books.

I wished I could say that I recommend it, but I can't. *sigh* Sorry Bowie Ibarra..at least you still have your kick ass name! Right? :)

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Review: Across the Universe


From Goodreads.com:
A love out of time. A spaceship built of secrets and murder.

Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.

Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone-one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship-tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next.

Now Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.


My Review:

Well I simply loved this book. I mean it was really good. I usually start off reviews by saying things about the characters, etc, but this time I will just say that this is a great book. I really enjoyed the back story that Revis created and the plot that she laid out.

There's mystery, suspense, love and scifi!

I'll make this a short review, because I've pretty much said what I want to say. This is an excellent book. I highly recommend it. The end.

Teaser Tuesday



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!
My teaser comes from "The Greyfriar" by Clay and Susan Griffith


****Some Gore****
"The tall female vampire with the long black braid snarled and moved. The dark creature seemed to appear in from of the two soldiers as they frantically worked their rifle bolts. The two men disintegrated into a shower of viscera and bone without another shot or sound. The female paused to lick the hot blood off her hands." pg. 27

**did I forget to mention that I love vampires when they are evil badass, bloodsucking, non-"vegetarians?"***

Monday, January 24, 2011

What Are You Reading Monday?

For Review:


Ebooks:



These are what I'm hoping to finish this week!

A Winter's Respite Read-a-Thon Final Post


It's over. I had a blast and can't wait to see other people's totals and what they read! Got my handy dandy notebook ready to pile on more to the TBR list! So here are my totals! I had such a great time!!

Total Days Participating: Jan. 17th-23rd
Total Pages Read: 1055
Total Books Read or Completed: 4 books
  1. Fallen-Lauren Kate-ebook
  2. The Black Dahlia-James Ellroy
  3. Down the Road-Bowie Ibarra
  4. Across the Universe by Beth Revis
I'm so proud of myself! I didn't read all day everyday but I did make it a point to read as much as I could whenever I could, which is something that I plan on continuing to do!

Sunday, January 23, 2011

In My Mailbox


So this week blew all those slow mailbox weeks out of the water! I'm gonna skip all the chit chat and get right down to the good stuff! The books! Here are my goodies:

  • Book Tour
  • I have never read a Jodi Picoult book but this sounded good. (arc)
  • Unrequested but looks interesting
  • Again, not one I requested but I'll give it a look see.
  • Another unrequested but appreciated book.
  • Requested. Can't wait to dig in!
  • This was intended to be a blog tour but I received the book too late.
  • Blog tour book!
  • A group read selection for the book club at Linus's Blanket, for February.
WON
and from Dark Faerie Tales

A Winter's Respite Read-a-Thon Day 7 Last Day


Aww, today is the final day of the read-a-thon! Catch me chatting every now and then on Twitter using #readathon! I'm going to have a busy day today so I don't know what will get done but so far I've finished 3 books!! Three!!
Starting tomorrow I will be reviewing all the books that I've read this week so watch for those! I'm hoping I can finish the Black Dahlia and really crack into the Greyfriar!

Here Be the Books:
  • The Black Dahlia starting page 221 FINISHED page 371-150
  • The Greyfriar starting page 12
Total Pages Read Today: 150 pages
Books Completed: One-The Black Dahlia

Saturday, January 22, 2011

A Winter's Respite Read-a-Thon Day 6



Well yesterday wasn't very productive. I worked, then I vegged. My husband came home and after the boy went to sleep we had some adult beverages (very rarely do we do this lol) and watched movies. It was fun, but since I am not used to drinking anymore my head is a bit messed up today. Not sure how much reading I will do.

Still going to focus on the books I have been working on:
  • Fallen (start on page 125) Ended on page 271 (FINISHED!)(146 pages)
  • The Black Dahlia (start on page 208) Ended on page 221 (boo 13 pages)
  • The Greyfriar (start on page 12)
I'm slow to start this morning so I'd say
Start Time: 9am
Pages Read: 159 pages total
Books Finished: One! Fallen by Lauren Kate
Time Finished:not sure when I stopped last night.

Friday, January 21, 2011

A Winter's Respite Read-a-Thon Day 5



How are you all doing? I'm reading a lot and this is great! Haven't finished anymore books but I feel like today is going to be a good one! I'll check out #readathon on Twitter often!

My books:
The Black Dahlia-starting pg. 206-Ending 208 (yes..that's just 2 measly pages)
Fallen-starting pg. 43-Ending 125 (82 pages..obviously the book I focused on the most!)
The Greyfriar-starting pg. 12

I'll still focus on these books. So far they are all pretty interesting so I don't think I need to throw anymore into the mix. I don't think my brain could take it!

Starting time: 7am (remember I don't read all this time it's just the first minute I get to crack open a book!)
Ending Time: I think I stopped reading around 4pm (i was super tired)
Pages Read: 84
Books Completed: (crossing my fingers i get one today!)-None! A big fat goose egg ZERO :(

Oh and another thing! Reviews are going to come next week. I'm just focusing on the reading this week. I'm taking notes as I go so I won't forget anything! So look for those soon!

Thursday, January 20, 2011

A Winter's Respite Read-a-Thon Day 4



Well you guys! Yesterday was fun, but I didn't read as much as I'd like. :( So here's crossing my fingers to a productive reading day!

I'm going to start the reading day at 7:00am today!

Here are the books that I am going to read:

The Black Dahlia (starting on page 132) Stopped on 206-Total 74
Fallen (starting on page 25) Stopped on 43-Total 18
The Greyfriar (starting on page 1)

Now I know that seems like I'm crazy picking out three books, but I seem to have reading ADD at the moment, so I figured I'd be more productive if I give myself a wider selection today! Hope it works!

End Time: 10:00pm
Pages Read:
Books Finished:

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

A Winter's Respite Read-a-Thon Day 3


Well it's day three! Woo hoo! I'm going to focus on two books today! I want to finish up The Black Dahlia and finish up Fallen (ebook!)
So them's my plans!
Don't forget to use #readathon To talk to Everyone Else Participating!
Starting Time: 7:00am
Starting Book: The Black Dahlia (finish)-didn't finish
Start Page: 45
Ending page: 132
Second Book: Fallen-Did not get to Fallen Today!
Books Read:-none finished
Pages Read: 82
End Time: 10:00 PM

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

A Winter's Respite Read-a-Thon Day 2



It's not too late to sign up! Just click my button up there and then you can join in on the fun! If you wanna hop on twitter and talk to us then you should use the hashtag #readathon ! So get your books ready, sign up, and crack open a book!



Starting Book: Down the Road (finish)
Starting at pg: 60
Starting Time: 7:00 AM
Second Book: The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy (for the Lost Entwife's Read-a-Long)

Finishing Time: About 10:30pm
Book Finished: Down the Road (152)

Total Pages Read Today: 197

When I have the start/stop times these are when I open the book the first time and close it for the last time of the day. I'm not reading straight from 7am-10:30pm. I wished I could do that! I do have work, a home to keep up, and most importantly a child to wrangle! :)

Monday, January 17, 2011

Book Spotlight: Down the Road

  • Paperback: 224 pages
  • Publisher: Permuted Press; Reprint edition (January 4, 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1439180695
  • ISBN-13: 978-1439180693


About the Book:
Around the globe, the dead are rising to devour the living. Hospitals are overrun, and martial law has been declared. The streets are in chaos. Society is disintegrating.

George Zaragosa is a young schoolteacher living in the shadow of his fiancĂ©e’s unsolved murder. Now he just wants to go home to his family. He has made the journey before, traveling from Austin to San Uvalde. It is usually a short drive, but he knows this time is going to be different.

Along the way, George must negotiate military roadblocks, FEMA camps, and street thugs, not to mention hordes of the living dead. He is determined to make it home, but only one thing is certain: his trip down the road will be a journey like no other.


Review Coming Soon!

Starting Line (A Winter's Respite)


I'm starting with Across the Universe by Beth Revis. I didn't get finished last week so that's what I'm focusing on today! Here's the stats:

Starting at pg: 162
Starting Time: 7:10 A.M
Finishing Time: (ATU) 4:30pm
Pages Read: 236 pages
Book Finished: Across the Universe

Second Book:
Book: Down the Road by Bowie Ibarra (Not on my original list but I can't say no to zombies!)
Start Time: 5:00pm
End Time:6:30 PM
Pages:55


Total Pages Read Today:291

Read-a-Thon!


So today starts A Winter's Respite Read-a-Thon hosted by The True Book Addict and I am psyched as ever for the week of reading action that lies before me! I've gotten my stack ready and I am super M-O-T-I-V-A-T-E-D!! So raise your coffee mug/teacup, whathaveyou, and let's get this reading party started!

My Books:
  • The Black Dahlia
  • The Radleys
  • Vixen
  • The Greyfriar
  • The Athena Project
  • Wither
  • Rage (ebook)
  • Fallen (ebook)
  • Zero Day
  • The Emerald Atlas
Now will I get all of these read? Probably not but I will give it my bestest try!

Sunday, January 16, 2011

In My Mailbox


Well, I have had a better haul this week! Here is my little stash of goodies!
The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy. The monthly read over at The Lost Entwife
A Family Affair by Debbie Macomber. (This isn't really my cup of tea but I might give it a try)
To Have and To Kill by Mary Jane Clark (This might work well for the mystery challenge)
A Lonely Death by Charles Todd (again this one might work well for the mystery challenge)

Those last three I do not recall requesting, but I will most definitely read them! This new year is about broadening my reading horizons, so there you go!