And Jury Duty continues...

So I promised a post by like, last friday.  And well, it's tuesday, so obviously that didn't happen.  HOWEVER!! I do have a multitude of extenuating circumstances.  I swear.

On Friday I got caught up in an epic house clean for the imminent arrival of my mother in law.  Epic because the hubby got distracted and started cleaning windows.  Thus we were still cleaning at 8pm. Ugh.

Then at 7am we were up and off to the airport, because that new car, it has some drawbacks. IE- trips to pick folks up from the airport is definitely one of them!  Especially once you factor in the cost of parking and the getting lost coming home because I've never left from the parkade before.  Anywho, a day of entertaining and shopping ensued, ending in the wee hours of 11:00pm at which point I was exhausted.

Work on Sunday should have been a respite, except for the fact things had gotten wildly out of control on my days off and there was a MOUNTAIN of backlogged work to flog through, in the suspiciously overheated office.  So I sweated through my shirt and daydreamed about taking off my shoes and socks while I tried to not pass out from heat stroke and make it through the 104 emails, and other fun goodies left for me.

Monday was my first ever summons for Jury Duty.  I am not a morning person, yet I had to be up at 6:30 am to get there in time.  So day three of getting up no later than 7am, but not really getting enough sleep either and I was ready to die.  The good news was there was only one judge sitting.  The bad news is he wanted us all (all told probably 200 people) because he needed a jury for an attempted murder trial.  I was potential juror 52, PJ 51 was picked as juror 12, so that was closer than I would have liked but I escaped day one.

Turns out murder was in the air in Toronto in 2009.  Today, only one judge was sitting, but again, she wanted us all since she was trying a second degree murder case.  I was close again, but this time there were about 9 people between me and the last person chosen. Thank god.

It remains to be seen if my luck will hold tomorrow.  Wednesday, the day I had taken off work, sigh.  

While I wile away my time performing my civic duty of sitting around hoping not to be called, I have been reading.  Oodles actually, so much in fact I have wished (just a little tiny bit), that I had an ereader.  But since the court house is the land of the dark ages, there is no wireless, and thus the posts will have to wait, BECAUSE- I am still entertaining my mother in law!!  Yup, terrible timing all around.

Suffice it to say, dear (and hopefully loyal) reader, you are not the only one getting shafted by your lack of my presence.  But I promise to reward you loyalty as soon as possible, I have read Shattered, finished Inheritance and started forthcoming Fracture (so amazing I was teary eyed at page 11!).  So I have lots to say, as soon as I have the time to type it!

Now go forth, enjoy your evening and tomorrow, wherever you are, think of me and cross your fingers I don't get picked for a jury.

Shhh! I'm reading!

I know, I've been quiet lately.  But I'm reading Inheritance!! And it is painful to stop for other things, but it is loooooong, lovely readers.

Also I have been absorbed in the complicated process of buying my first car, and getting my first plates.  All in a province that has funny rules completely at odds with those I know from Saskatchewan.  I have also discovered it is pointless being crazy organized if all those around you are confused and disorganized.

It has been trying.

However!! By tomorrow I shall have plates and able to drive my new-to-me car all over the place, and once I have, I will become bored and come home to read more, and then I promise to blog again.  I swear.
Though by then it might be Friday.

You'll still love me by Friday right?

New England Witch Chronicles by Chelsea Bellingeri- Review

From Goodreads:
Modern day witches in Hazel Cove, Massachusetts? Unlikely, but strange things are occurring in the weeks preceding Alex’s seventeenth birthday, which also coincides with her family’s annual Halloween party. Alex is haunted by bizarre reoccurring nightmares of a man chasing her through the Hazel Cove Cemetery. On a few occasions, when her emotions have spiraled out of control, inanimate objects have shattered around her. But that’s just a coincidence, right? Alex isn’t so sure, especially after a local girl, who supposedly dabbled in witchcraft, was killed in the nearby forest.
Alex knows something strange is happening to her. With the arrival of a new boy in town, the mischievous James Van Curen, who is making her life difficult and causing problems between Alex and her best friend, Peter, Alex feels like her entire world is on the verge of chaos. Could Alex really be a witch? Is it possible Hazel Cove will become a battleground for modern day witches and witch hunters?

Despite some editing issues that bugged me, I was totally engrossed in Chelsea Bellingeri's Debut novel.  It had excellent momentum, an interesting twist at the end and a cliff hanger setting up book 2.  There was a lot of excellent potential here and my hope is that the second book finds a good publisher or at least an independent editor to iron out some of the rough spots.

Why, you ask?  I found there to be a lot of inconsistencies that were disconcerting and sometimes confusing which took away from both her character development as well as from the ambiance and sense of environment.  For instance, James Van Curen.  He arrives in town as the hot boy who's wanted by everyone but Alex, yet is only interested in Alex.  He is completely rebuffed by her, and then forces himself on her.  She's furious, but yet she's promptly letting him in to her house and idly chit chatting with him 24 hours later, annoyed that he won't apologize but otherwise unconcerned (although she's at home alone).  It is hard to understand or sympathise with a character who swings back and forth like that especially if there is no good reason. 

As far as the town goes there are similar inconsistencies.  It's described as a small town, though with two high schools (so not that small), but the parameters of its size seems to be constantly changing in the references to it.  At points it seems as if everything is in close walking distance and then at other times it seems the characters are driving quite far to get places.  Also, late into the story you find out there is a "dangerous" docks area, full of undesirables, which seems to really contradict how small a town this is.

My biggest beef was that Alex's "in the know" Grandmother is contacted at the end of the story and told that several someones made a serious attempt on Alex's life, and although earlier in the story she was offended Alex took the bus to see her and insisted she should have called for a ride, does not jump in the car to come to her ASAP.  Especially since she's aware her daughter is an alcoholic and Alex is alone in her house.

In the end The New England Witch Chronicles was a gem  in the rough for me. It had enough drama and pull to keep me actively engrossed but could really use some honing by a loving editor, in my opinion. 

The New England Witch Chronicles, By Chelsea Bellingeri
Published June 2011
Buy New England Witch Chronicles on Amazon

The Saturday Link Salad

I have been slightly negligent in my news perusal folks.  I'll admit it.  I have been sidetracked by the complications of used car buying and designing a wedding dress for a good friend.  Alas, excuses, excuses! I know!  But I have a hand full of things to pass on, so read forth!

-News the first is almost not news so much as "in case you were in a coma this week".  The Hunger Games debuted their trailer at long last, it was certainly much better than I had been warily anticipating, however the hubby was not as impressed as me.  What were your thoughts?

-In further movie news, Tim Burton is in early talks to direct Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children.  That sounds like it has oodles of potential.  I bet Ransom Riggs is excited!

-Ann Patchett is making a leap and opening a Bookstore!  The Nashville store named Parnassus Books certainly won't hurt from the tremendous amount of worldwide publicity Ann Patchett's name brings to the table.  Most interesting about this tale, to me anyhow, is the tiny resurgence in new bookstores in light of the Borders tumble in the states.  Lets hope this leads to a successful influx of indie bookstores in the next few years.

-Speaking of e versus paper sales, Inheritance has proved that folks still value the solid paper book in the UK.  It's sales were the largest first week sale (all formats) since the Bree Tanner book of Stephanie Meyers in the UK.  Even with it being available for free online!  I am currently eating my way through Inheritance and thoroughly loving it, is it on your TBR pile?

-The Boston Globe had an intriguing article talking about how YA is outpacing Adult book sales. The article looks back at the trend as much as how its happening now which is interesting, and also talks about the elusive cross over novel.

-Finally, thinking of buying yourself or someone else a little ebook reading treat this yuletide season? PW has done a comparative article about the now vast selection of tablets out there.

Alright, now I need a caffeinated beverage to go with this Saturday morning!
Happy Saturday!

My Maru Obsession- Feline Fridays

I am saddened to say, I came late to the Maru fan club. I'm not sure how I've been missing him all this time, but thank god I stumbled on his book at chapters! 

Since 2008 Maru's owner, Mugumogu has been chronicling his antics on her blog i am Maru, and his Youtube channel.  Often times it's boxes he's wearing, sitting in, or carrying around their apartment in Japan, but other times it's just funny faces and moments over the course of the day that his owner has captured.

Frequently the roughly translated narrative to the pictures is just as funny as the pictures themselves.

Maru is a four year old Scottish fold (with perky ears), and has apparently been on the pudgy side since his Mugumogu got him when he was four months old.  He has a twitter handle @Maru_0524, and a facebook page, and has been on a variety of talk shows including the Ellen Degeneres show.  Simply put he may be a bigger celebrity than Lindsay Lohan.

Besides the endless array of fun photos, I also love that Maru's owner promotes loving and healthy cat ownership.  Maru goes outside, but with a harness and leash, and without a doubt he's one well loved little beastie.

One things for sure, I spend most of my day waiting for my Maru fix.  Now if only I could get such great shots of my cats!

Check out Love Meow's interview with Maru

Buy I Am Maru on Amazon

Happy Friday!

Dash and Lily's Book of Dares, by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan- Review

From Goodreads:
“I’ve left some clues for you.
If you want them, turn the page.
If you don’t, put the book back on the shelf, please.”
Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash that right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations across New York? Could their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions? Or will they be a comic mismatch of disastrous proportions?

I have to start this review by saying I saw Nick and Norah's Infinite Play list a few years ago and was epically disappointed.  I was hoping for Michael Cera wonky/lovableness and ended up bored and not laughing.  That in turn made me avoid the various Rachel Cohn and David Levithan combo books out there for sometime.  Probably totally unfair since books are, in general (not as in the case of say- Everything is Illuminated, but in general) better than the movies of them. 

So when Dash and Lily's Book of Dares cropped up I had to think hard about if I wanted to take it on or not.  It had a fun sounding premise and came highly recommended by one of my favorite Random House Canada folks so I decided it was time to give this book writing duo a chance.

Right from the beginning I loved the romping through NYC.  The idea that these two kids lived in Manhattan and had friends and family working in all the various tourist traps who could help them with the dares was really fun, and since I work in a tourist trap, believable.  I mean, now I want to do this with someone!  I would totally send them into the creepier corners of the ROM and thoroughly enjoy it (especially in the madness of ROM for the Holidays).  And the fact the story started and ended in my favorite place in all of Manhattan, The Strand, didn't hurt at all either.

The host of characters was fairly enjoyable, smarty pants, slightly jaded Dash was my favorite of the two mains, Lily had a tendency to be a bit to sad/needy/desirous of my love for me, though she had her moments. But Dash's anti-Christmas Scrooge McDuck played nicely against Lily's Cindy Lou Hoo love of all things Merry (I was pretty sure that was going to blow up in their faces for the first half of the book or so), and I liked that they easily overcame their differences- so unteenager-like.  Dash's friend Boomer shone from the sidelines as a secondary charachter (it's a shame he wasn't in it more), but Lily's various kooky relatives were a close second. 
I do have to say the love story became a bit schmoopy for me by the end.  It overpowered the wonky adventure and I wasn't so smitten by Dash and Lily finally getting together that it payed off for me.  However, Cohn and Levithan have made a career out of these wonky love stories for a reason, they have many admirers- and I'm sure everyone of them were enraptured.

A quick, light, read brimming with Christmas cheer, you couldn't possibly go wrong passing this story along to the young, romantic readers on your list this holiday season (especially of the female persuasion).

Dash and Lily's Book of Dares, By Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Published by Ember, October 2011
My copy kindly provided by Random House
Buy Dash & Lily's Book of Dares on Amazon

The Scorpio Races, by Maggie Stiefvater- Review

There are so many enjoyable types of books.  The quick read, that has you racing to the finish, the poetic read that has you savouring the feel of each word, the funny read that has you laughing out loud all the time, the thought provocking read that stays with you long after you finish, and the easy read which demands nothing from you and provides a great distraction with light entertainment.  Then there are the incomparable reads (which are constantly compared, by the way, to everything else out there), books like Harry Potter, which are both consuming and entertaining but most notably sweep you off your feet to somewhere all together other, somewhere you've never before dreamed existed.  Incomparable books are the ones which are so layered and perfectly written that you can double back and read them again and again, sometimes in the same sitting.

Scorpio Races was completely an incomparable book for me.

I won't sully it by trying to give you a description outside of what you likely already know about it.  There's a race, with flesh eating horses that come from the Ocean.  There's a boy and there's a girl. The rest is the story, the fabulous part about this paper wonder, so I don't want to spoil it for you.  Suffice it to say, it sounds weird, but it works really, really well.

It's hard to put into words what I loved about this book, possibly because I loved everything about it.  Stiefvaters characters are nuanced, both mysterious and well fleshed out.  I felt as connected to her lowly bit players as I did to her mains, and as fascinated about each of their histories and what drove them to remain on the desolate island of Thisby.  Thisby is so rich and interesting it's basically a character itself.  An island so inhospitable you have to wonder why anyone would choose to live there, and yet it's a beloved home to many who were born and raised there.

Then there is the dialogue.  Wonderful, truly unique, and often the esscence of brevity, Stiefvaters dialogue was unlike anything I'd run across before.  It defined the local culture of Thisby for me in a way, almost like a dialect (though there isn't one).  Coupled with the locale, the dialogue gave an ambience to this story that completely took me away from wherever I was in the moment I was reading, be it busy subway or quiet living room.

Reading this story was a complete treat.  Every moment was dead on, every word was just right, it was both satisfying escapsism and enraptured reading delight.  I give it the single highest praise I can, which is to shelve it next to Harry Potter.  Now stop reading this review and go buy The Scorpio Races already!!

The Scorpio Races, by Maggie Stiefvater

Published by Scholastic press, October 2011

My copy kindly provided by Scholastic Canada

Buy The Scorpio Races on Amazon

Saturday link Salad

I'm in my pjs eating Halloween candy and drinking coffee.  Must be Saturday!  So bring on the news!!

-Lauren Kate's latest book has a cover!  It's called Rapture (is this the last?? No, seriously, do you know?) but she's also announced a book of Fallen short love stories

-Also in cover news, Aprilynne Pikes newest (last? again, who knows?) book in the Wings series has a cover.

-Acclaimed YA author Cecil Castellucci is coming through Toronto, and will be conducting a writing workshop next Wednesday, November 16th. Not sure if you know any aspiring writers ages 13-17, but this is a really cool opportunity to interact and share writing with a published author!

-The November Cassandra Clare teaser is up.  Since Clockwork Prince is a mere 4 weeks away (yay!!) the teasers are now officially from City of Lost Souls.

-Tessa Gratton (Blood Magic) just signed a three book deal with Random House for a new YA trilogy.  It sounds pretty interesting (Norse Gods, alternate US History) and was inspired by her translation of Beowulf.  Check out the PW article for details.

-USA Today had a small article on Pottermore coming back online for the 1 million Beta users (lucky buggers), although most of the info wasn't anything new I was interested in her comments as one of the beta users. Evil tease I tell you!

-Christopher Paolini's epic Eragorn series launched book the last this week, Inheritance, to the tune of nearly 500,000 books sold (in all formats) on the release day! WOW!  Except all I keep thinking is where in gods name is the my copy already!  A neat article talking about the moments Christopher feels shaped him into a bestseller was posted by the Huffington Post.  As well, Laini Taylor posted a nifty video shot as he wrote the last paragraph of the series, she also talks about what a great feeling typing THE END is.  Now all I need to do is get my hands on Inheritance already, torture!

-In bonus news, Simon and Schuster has posted more bonus content for Jonathan Maberry, this time for Dust and Decay.

- Finally, remember when I gave away And Tango Makes Three for the banned giveaway hop? Well it turns out that Toronto has it's very own pair of gay penguins, and they're causing quite the stir.  Check out the Huffington Post article.  The funny part is I've been meaning all summer to go check out this new exhibit.  Guess it's time to make my way to the Zoo!

Happy Linking!

Feline Fridays Pays tribute to the Twilight Saga

Because next weekend is the big opening of Breaking Dawn part 1, and because @vikkivansickle pointed me to this yesterday and it had me laughing for ages, it seemed appropriate to share.

Lets start at the beginning with Lol Cats Twilight, curtsey of Microsuede: Movie Reviews

It gets even better, so make sure to read the whole recap over at Microsuede's blog.

Then there comes New Moon:

Wait!  There's more!! (as if that wasn't funny enough, right?)

Head on over to Microsuede's New Moon Lol Cat recap.

You won't be sorry!

Happy Friday!

Mastiff: The Legend of Beka Cooper # 3, by Tamora Pierce- Review

November has officially been my month (so far) to catch up on some of my beloved fantasy.  With both Tamora Pierce and Christopher Paolini releasing part the-last in their current series (OK Tamora was last month, but as much as it killed me I had to sit on it while I read scary books.  Boy the things I do for you guys!), and The Scorpio Races popping through the mailbox how could I read anything else?  Besides, my original and true love in books has always been fantasy, so any excuse to cosy down into it is like putting on my favorite pair of fuzzy moccasins, drinking some tea and lounging with an epic kitty snuggle all at the same time.

The Beka Cooper books are the books I attribute to bringing me into the YA fold.  At the time I ran into Terrier (Book 1) at the NYC Comic Con I was all about historical non-fiction (well except for Harry Potter, I mean everyone read HP).  It's all I had read in the previous two years, and I had no intention of stopping, until I stumbled into the Random House booth and realised the beloved author of my childhood had not only written another Tortall book, but had in fact been writing many of them, over many years.  I took it home and ate it up like candy.  Then a couple of months later the hubby presented me with a bunch of YA and middle school books, that he'd read about and thought I'd like, and it became official- I was hooked. 

Mastiff starts up some unspecified time after Bloodhound.  With just the tiniest bit of catch up (Beka's been engaged, but now he's dead), the story launches in on the biggest dog hunt of her career.  The prince has been kidnapped and Achoo, Tunstell and Beka have been thrown together with a mage to hunt him down.  It's dangerous, political and will take her far from home, can Beka survive these traitorous waters and bring the prince home safe?

I was caught up in the mystery of the princes kidnapping and the hunt immediately, though a little disappointed by the time jump and that once again it took her away from Corus and the original set of characters there.  Of course this didn't last long as I was quickly smitten by Farmer (the mage) and the peripheral characters popping up, and Beka, Pounce and Achoo are obviously my main draw anyhow.

True to any Pierce book, Mastiff was completely immersive, fast paced but as much character driven as plot driven.  Beka has grown into herself considerably and is a very different dog then in Terrier, more confident and capable of some tough decisions she's never had to make before.  There are some revelations about Pounce in regards to Faithful in the Alanna books that I found profoundly satisfying (no more sobbing my heart out at the end of In the Hands of the Goddess any more! just sad faces and sniffling!), and a fantastic tie in of Beka to the Alanna stories that was not only surprising but gave me a good giggle.  To be honest, once it was made I felt like a fool for not seeing it before, but glad I didn't since it was such a great feeling to be surprised by it. 

Going in I didn't realize that this was the final Beka book, so I was a bit thrown off when the end started to draw near and the indications were many that this was THE END.  However it was all wrapped up so nicely with such a satisfying conclusion I wasn't the least bit disappointed.  As always I was left with the intense desire to go back and read EVERYTHING, she's ever written, starting from the beginning; which is possibly the most sincere compliment I can give any author.

Mastiff: The Legend of Beka Cooper, By Tamora Pierce

Published by Random House Books for Young Readers, October 25th 2011
Buy Mastiff: The Legend of Beka Cooper #3 on Amazon

My Guest post for Tempting Persephone's Pursuing the Lioness Challenge- How I fell in love with Tamora Pierce's writing

All my various Tamora Pierce reviews.

Ps- Does something really bother you about the cover? Let me show you why!

Ah the shortcomings of photoshop!

The Cat's Table, by Michael Ondaatje-Review

Many moons ago, back in a immigrant lit course, I was introduced to the wonder of Michael Ondaatje's beautiful writing.  The English Patient was a transcendent experience for me, and then later I read In The Skin of the Lion and decided this was officially an author I deeply admired.  So when The Cat's Table arrived from Random House I could hardly wait to dig in and savour it.

Mynah is being sent by his aunt and uncle from India to England to reunite with his mother.  He is traveling by ship, by himself, in third class and he's eleven.  As if this wasn't already a great adventure, there are two other boys his age who he quickly befriends, who are also traveling alone.  As the three of them rampage around the boat from dawn, when the roller skater can be seen on deck, to long after dark when the mysterious prisoner gets to come on deck, they discover first great crushes, loneliness, excitement and a great friendship. 

This review has been sitting in my drafts folder forever, mouldering and gathering dust.  Every once in awhile I open it up and stare at it, sometimes writing a word or two, then closing it and moving on to something that creates less brain freeze.  And for the longest time I couldn't figure out why.  Then I realized, I just didn't love this book.  I wanted to, and parts of it I did, but in the end, not so much.  Which went totally against the many, many rave reviews I've seen about this book bandying about, often citing how this is his masterpiece; hence my complete stale mate at trying to get my thoughts in type.

It starts of in classic Ondaatje style, fondly reminiscing and telling stories about his adventures and those of the others at the Cats Table (IE- the least desirable table in the dinning room).  It's funny, engaging, full of insights and surprises and I settled in with a sigh, thinking of the first time I read the English Patient and how enjoyable that was.  Then somewhere around the middle it digresses.  It follows Mynah into his current adult life and talks about a multitude of depressing things; failed marriages, lost friendships, the death of loved ones and right about there the story flat lines for me.  The childhood journey, which is what I thought the book was 100% about, disappears and Mynah spends way too much time picking apart his adult life after the voyage.

It takes a considerable amount of time to get back to the boat, the mystery of the prisoner and Mynah's cousin (or maybe it doesn't? I'm not sure, I was bored and slowed right down on the reading), once it does the story picks back up and I was once again fully enjoying it.  However, it's a bit hard to overlook a largish chunk in the middle which I barely dragged myself through.  And the longer I thought about this review, the more it became apparent to me that I didn't enjoy this story nearly as much as I'd originally thought or had wanted to.

Alas, I wanted to love you Cats Table, maybe if I cut out the offending pages in the middle I will.

The Cats Table, by Michael Ondaatje
Published by Random House, Oct 2011
My copy kindly provided by the publisher
Buy The Cat's Table on Amazon

Saturday Link Salad

Good Morning Saturday munchkins!  I have brought the weeks news for your coffee and PJ consumption! Though I have to admit I've been lazy about Twitter updates the past couple days and there are a couple pieces of news about books so dumb I can't bring myself to mention them, so this might not be quite as exhaustive as usual.  However there is certainly not a shortage!

- If Across the Universe was part of your TBR pile this year than make sure to head on over to Facebook and "Like" Across the Universe, to read the first chapter of a Million Suns, the sequel.

-Pottermore has hit some hiccups.  It went totally offline this past week and has quietly mentioned that- um, not going live this year anymore- clears throat and runs away from mob of angry Harry Potter fans with ears to the ground.

-Then I suppose to take the sting out? a tidbit with Daniel Radcliffe's interview with JK Rowling (extras for the latest dvd which will hit stores like a nano-second before getting removed from the shelves and put into "the vault" for an unspecified time) was "leaked".  Turns out  Ronald Weasley almost bit the dust.

-Cassie Clare has put up the November teaser for Clockwork Prince, with illustrations.  It's a bit squishy looking, and I'm not sure who the green girl is but it's amusing.

-This one I meant to post last week and totally forgot; If you love Jonathan Maberry then make sure to head over to the Macmillian Audio Facebook page.  There you can read the first TEN chapters of his zombie novel Dead of Night and listen to an excerpt of the audio.

- Also, if you head on over to Simon and Schuster you can check out bonus content from Rot and Ruin.

- If you live in Edmonton don't miss your chance to see Inheritance author Christopher Paolini talk about the final book in his Eragon series (the Inheritance Cycle).  Toronto gets ice sculptures instead (boo).  I could have seen him talk about Brisinger a couple of years ago and didn't end up going because I worked late that night, make sure not to make my mistake!!

-And if you can't be in Edmonton then the PW article about Paolini and his amazing story can be checked out on their site, and well worth the read.  In case you somehow missed it over the years, Paolini was 15 when he wrote book one!!  And he was initially self published and promoted by his family.  Of course now he's an International Bestseller about to complete a series and not even in his thirties yet!

-Finally, I think I may have posted this before, but it still blows my mind, so I'm posting again.  Artist still unknown for these stunning book sculptures that have mysteriously appeared in Scottish Libraries.  More here.

NYC bookstore cats- Feline Fridays

Its been a somewhat secret dream of mine, for quite some time, to open an independent YA and children's bookstore in Toronto.  And in basically all my daydreams about this store, its layout, events and miscellany there's at least one store cat.   So when this article popped up all over Twitter yesterday I knew I had to share.
From NYULOCAL, Kitty Porn: City Bookstores with Cats:

One of our favorite parts of New York City is its many independent bookstores. Even more than these bookstores, we love their cats.

The Corner Bookstore, located in Manhattan, might spark memories for those of you who grew up on the Upper East Side: It has a healthy children’s section, a jingly welcoming bell, and – most importantly – a cat.

Hampton, named after his place of rescue (that sprawling, wealthy expanse of land just west of the city) is young: “Five or six,” according to store employee Davi Marra. He lives in the bookstore’s basement, coming up for air to “tolerate the adoration” he receives from customers.

“People ask me how Hampton is before they ask me how I am,” said Marra.

Though the cat is calm and quiet, he has known his share of mishaps: “When he was really small, he got stuck behind the bookcases. We had to fish him out.” On other occasions, the cat has tumbled from a high shelf, thinking he’s lighter than he is: “He’s gained some weight.”

Cats are known for being picky, and this one is no exception. Hampton prefers “the travel section,” located near the store’s old-fashioned cash register.

“Especially China and India.”

Check out the rest of the article for more NYC bookstore kitties.

Happy Friday!

THE BIG POST OF WINNERS!

Egads this is late!  However, the Spooktacular giveaway had 626 entries before bonus entries!!  So it took some work to figure it all out, is all I'm saying.

So without further ado....
Diana Giote is getting a lovely copy of the Night Circus as well as library card creatively filled out and signed by Erin Morgenstern herself.

Nicole Carter is getting a signed copy of The Magicians.

And Gwenyth Love is getting a signed copy of Sanctus!

Winning copies of The Next Shakespeare are: Ashley Prince, Black Plume and Jenna Miller- Kindly email me with your email addresses so I can forward your ecopies along.  I will re-draw in 48 hours if I haven't heard from you.

Also, because I was behind on announcing the Giving me the Creeps October Giveaway the THIRD winners-
Winning an ARC copy of Abarat is Natasha Jennex, and winning a copy of The Fall is Cory Douglas!!

So I'm off to post office tomorrow with my pile of loot, all Book Depository orders have already been placed, in other words, enjoy!

The Fingertips of Duncan Dorfman, by Meg Wolitzer- Review

One of the highlights of the BEA this past year, for me anyhow, has been how many books I walked away with which turned out to be pretty damn fun.  Books I hadn't heard of before the expo, but sounded like they had enough potential to merit being packed and flown home, and which rocked my socks off once I got around to picking them off the bookshelf.

One of these was the Fingertips of Duncan Dorfman, Meg Wolitzer's first children's book.  Meg pitched FDD at the speed dating for YA and children's authors, and I was pretty smitten. Enough so that I stood around in line to nab a copy of the book (signed of course) because I was pretty sure I wanted to know more about Duncan, April and Nate.

April, Nate and Duncan are National Youth Scrabble Tournament bound.  April is the only geek in a house full of jocks just trying to be recognised, Nate is being gruelingly home schooled to win, and redeem his fathers loss at the tournament when he was Nate's age, and Duncan has just fallen into scrabble, magic fingertips and all.  Will Duncan use his fingertips to cheat and win?  Will April's family finally acknowledge Scrabble is a sport? Or will Nate win and get his dad off his back once and for all? 

A super lighthearted read, the Fingertips of Duncan Dorfman was a lot of fun- even for a non-scrabble player like myself.  The three unlikely friends, their team mates and various opponents were a great smorgasbord of characters, throw in a couple of disgruntled adults and you have a wild big cast of trouble.  I liked how Meg, for all that she's usually a writer of adult fiction, really nailed the mix of fantasy, crazy and down right every day which makes this book work for younger readers as well as the older.  Nate's dads obsession with his loss ends up being as wacky and fantastical as Duncan's all knowing fingertips, and the Scrabble tournament is one of those perfect settings for it all to go down in.

I was impressed about the lengths to which Scrabble was explained as well.  A lot of teaching about the game was tied into the story along the way, and although you would think this would be tedious, it surprisingly wasn't.  Double, triple and word scores were lovingly described and listed along with hosts of other scrabvle hole in ones.  By the end of the story I was wishing the book had come with a game board so I could give it a try.

An enjoyable story that may very well inspire the as yet unknown scrabble player in you, The Fingertips of Duncan Dorfman would make an awesome gift along with a scrabble board.  But since I already have the book you can just give me the scrabble board, k? 

The Fingertips of Duncan Dorfman, by Meg Wolitzer
Published by Dutton Juvenile, Sept 2011
Buy The Fingertips of Duncan Dorfman on Amazon

The DUFF, by Kody Keplinger- Review

The ever so charming Amy of Amy Reads recently sung me the praises of The Duff, while asking me if I had picked up Shut Out at the BEA (I had, but then I had to get rid of 4 books that would not fit in the luggage at the end and gave it away. Sigh).  So while looking for some easy reading, hopefully in paperback, I nabbed a copy knowing that if she liked it, it was a pretty good bet I would too. 

Liked might have been an understatement.  I ate up The DUFF in one day.  I started it around 10am, and put it down around 6pm with food breaks and some small amounts of visiting in between (it was the day before my grandma's funeral and my mom and I were trying to get some much needed rest).  I was completely engrossed, entertained and otherwise enamoured.

From Goodreads:

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn’t think she’s the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She’s also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her “the Duff,” she throws her Coke in his face.



But things aren’t so great at home right now, and Bianca is desperate for a distraction. She ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him.


Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn’t such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she’s falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.

What a frank and fresh look at high school, sex, sexuality, and teen life in general.  I adored that Keplinger didn't mince around the whole teenage sex issue.  They have it, and it's not all flowers and romance, end of story.  How true. HOW TRUE!  Anyone who tells you otherwise wore blinders in high school or were home schooled in a bubble.  Seriously, I challenge you to think back and see if you don't have at least one sordid story from someone you knew or knew of in high school. I can easily think of half a dozen, and although they weren't me I certainly remember spending great swaths of time talking about them with friends.  There was the friend who went to a hotel on valentines for some "special" time with a boyfriend, and then the person working the desk (when they checked in) later ended up at the bank her dad worked at, and leaned over the counter and pointed to a picture of her on his desk and said- "Is this your daughter? I met her at the hotel".  No jokes, she was grounded FOREVER.  I even knew a DUFF who was getting it on with the hot guy everyone was throwing themselves at (who turns out had major issues).

But before you get your knickers in a knot over the sex talk, let me just say she's also very good about talking about birth control, STD's and pregnacy scares.  Not to mention a very nice look at being the school slut and what that might mean from more angles then just the one where you condem him or her.

Obviously, outside of the fact she treats high school less as that idyllic fairy tale most others like to paint it as (come on folks, weren't we all told- high school is going to be the best time of your life?- thank god that didn't turn out to be true!) she also tells an entertaining and thoroughly enjoyable story to boot. Bianca is a great character, her friends are both believable and entertaining and Wesley is a superb villain/love interest combo.  What I especially enjoyed was Wesley's slow change from the bad guy to the acceptable love interest.  He's nuanced and has problems of his own which are revealed in time, non of this sudden bad boy change to dream boat because he "loves" the main girl. 

A great read I can only hope inspires more of the same in the YA department, Kody Keplinger is officially on my radar of authors to watch.  Did I mention she wrote The DUFF in her senior year of High school?  Or that Shut Out happens in the same High school as The DUFF?  Time to put The Duff and Shut Out on your TBR piles.

The DUFF, by Kody Kiplinger
Published by Poppy in paperback June 2011
Check out Kody Kiplinger's website
Buy The DUFF on Amazon