Willkommen, Bienvenue, Welcome...

The silver lining to being sick for going on five days now is a multitude of couch hours during which I can enjoy and ponder my favorite books, and -- of course -- blog about it!

So, let's talk about a fantastic duo of books I've recently enjoyed. Last time the Aussie bestie came to town he brought me (selected based on fantastic cover art, of course) Leviathan. While the newest release of the book has a different cover that will be the theme for the rest of the series, the Aussie brought me the original release cover. I now have a bit of a mismatched set, but I love books as presents so no complaints here. The second book of Scott Westerfeld's series (with the new cover theme) is Behemouth.

Both books chronicle the (mis)adventures of Alek -- a lost prince of Austria/Hungary in an alternate history -- and Deryn -- a courageous and talented female air serviceman posing as a boy to be allowed to serve. The steampunk version of World War I is fascinating and though the Darwinist creatures fabricated to serve as military weapons are well-described, there is still much room for one's own imagination.

I listened to both these books on CD, and the audiobooks are narrated by the one-and-only Alan Cumming. YES! THAT ALAN CUMMING! As in, "Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome," Alan Cumming, and he is, of course, phenomenal. His many accents are distint and never get muddled as he switches between characters and dialogue. He makes a nice evolution of the character Alek from bratty spoiled child into compassionate, passionate revolutionary and does a solid job of portraying female characters -- particularly Deryn -- without sounding like a guy mocking a little girl (always a pet peeve of mine).

I can't wait until book three, Goliath, is released on September 20, 2011, accoring to Westerfeld's blog. The Leviathan series is unlike any I've come across yet and, as one of my first forays into steampunk, definitely leaves me excited for more of this genre.

I've recently learned to knit, and at first, I thought it was going to be detrimental to my ability to get through my favorite books. I am STILL staring at my copy of Conspiracy of Kings, but I'm closing in on Mockingjay.

How? I've discovered the wonder that is Audio eBooks. And I got a Nook. Technology is making my life better!

So, I can throw a book on Droidy, and listen away while I knit. The fabulous little habit is what exposed me to the Audio eBooks for Hunger Games and Catching Fire... PHENOMENAL! And I'm waiting to dig into Mockingjay.

In the meantime, I listened to Clockwork Angel, the second series from Cassandra Clare, and I must say, I very much enjoyed it. Much less predictable than her "Mortal Instruments" trilogy, with a couple of zingers I did NOT see coming, and a very lovable character named Jem, who steals the book.

This is the first book in the Infernal Devices series, and I'm excited for book two, Clockwork Price, due out this fall.

And about that Nook. Well, let me just say, I got it for my birthday, and I'm in love. Not only can I download library books in the comfort of my own home, but it makes it very easy for a serial series-ist to bring multiple books with me when I travel. Plus, I love that I'm never holding books open. It doesn't replace the excitement of buying a new, paper novel, but it certainly is a convenient and exciting new addition to my reading repetoire.

Book Clubs Are Ruining My Reading Habit

We all know I love to read. But I have a confession: book clubs are ruining my reading habit. Earlier this year, I joined the Brew Pub Book Club in an attempt to meet some new folks. I figured, hey, people who like beer and books? These seem like my people!


Then, not long after Brew Pub Book Club got started, a "book club" I was in last summer (read, a group of great girls who spent about five minutes talking about the book and two hours 55 minutes drinking wine and not talking about the book) re-launched, this time bound and determined to actuallly read the books.


And so it began... trying to read two (regretably non-YA fantasty) books each month, by a deadline. And it makes me feel like I'm in school. And I didn't like school. And I actually feel both stressed and guilty at not finishing my book club books. And I'm WAY behind on my YA reading.


Book clubs are ruining my reading habit. Well, book clubs, and crappy reality television that sucks me in.


On the flipside, though, I've gotten the chance to read some books I never would have picked up before. Like Chelsea Handler's My Horizontal Life. Hilarious. And the critically acclaimed Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCaan. An excellent, beautifully written, compelling book. But also, probably the reason I still haven't finished A Conspiracy of Kings by my dear Megan Whalen Turner. And the reason that when the much anticipated Mocking Jay and Clockwork Angel arrived from Amazon this week, I looked at them with a sense of sadness and regret. Soon, my lovelies. Soon, I promise my reading habit will stop ruining my reading habit.

Seriously? SERIOUSLY!?!

First, I'm sorry. I know, I know... I haven't written since APRIL!?!?! A travesty!

And rest assured, I have actually been reading during that time. Sort-of. I've actually been rather swamped, but I've been trying to keep up on books (and life) by reading in the car... well, listening to books on tape.

So let me tell you a tale of three trilogies.

Remember that fantastic secret book I mentioned in my last blog? Well, I have received confirmation the bestie has received his b-day present, so cat's out of the bag. It's called the Stoneheart Trilogy by Charlie Fletcher, read by the fablous Uncle Jim (Dale). And they're lovely! I've gotten through the first two, Stoneheart and Ironhand, and the turns of phrase are absolutely fantastic... they remind me of the aussie bestie I sent it to, actually, which is maybe why I liked these books so much. They are such absolute delight! Read them.

The other two trilogies are both ones I struggled to get through my first time reading them. Oh, and I don't think they're actually trilogies, but I just liked the way "a tale of three trilogies" sounded. Foundling, is the first book of the Monster Blood Tattoo series. I really struggled to get into this gift from my aussie bestie, as the author is Australian and the book was recognized as a Children's Book Council of Australia Short-List Book. Alas, I still just couldn't do it! But listening to it? Now, there's the ticket! Narrator Humphrey Bower did an AWESOME job with the characters, at times making this feel like a full-cast recording, and making the strange and challenging vocabular unique to the MBT world flow, perhaps part of my challenge in first reading it. I'm very excited for the next book in this series, Lamplighter, which was released in 2008, with no news on a third book...

And the last of my fabulous listenings were The Immortal Life of Nicholas Flamel books. I also struggled to get into The Alchemyst, the first of the Flamel books, but after BF tore through the first two I decided to give them another go. Again, audiobooks FTW! Narrator Denis O'Hare does a solid job of narrating this one, though this was my least favorite of the faux trilogy tales.

My book pile has grown to overwhelming heights, and the two new book clubs I've joined have added to the reading obligations, but that's another tale for another blog post.

Secret Lover...

For a few weeks now, I have been dying... DYING to tell you about an awesome wonderful amazing book I listened to on CD, and a new release I can't wait to read. But since I bought the CD book for my bestie in Australia's birthday and haven't shipped it yet (sorry Dan), I still can't tell you about it or I'll ruin the surprise! But secret love #2 is out of the closet: Conspiracy of Kings by Megan Whalen Turner is OUT! I was supposed to keep it quiet so buddy Jess could buy it for her hubby Dan, but since it came out March 23, I feel like there's been enough of a grace period I can safely say -- in blogosphere psuedo public -- I'm so friggin excited to read this book! As anyone who's read any of my MWT related blog posts can attest (like this, or this), I LOVE THESE BOOKS.

Further proof I'm a total geek: this series leaves me starstruck. A few weeks ago I actually introduced myself to my YA bookstore goth girl like a total dweeb... "I'm Kate... I love your book recs." And then she told me she blogs too! And she got an ARC (that's totally I'm-cool-I-know-things book lingo for Advanced Reader Copy) and wrote about Conspiracy of Kings already! Squee!

As she puts it, "I rediscovered my longstanding, abiding love for Megan Whalen Turner’s Queen’s Thief series, rereading the three previous books leading up to the newly released A Conspiracy of Kings. I am simply amazed that her books have stood up to second (and even third) reads. The new book is not something to scoff at either. Gorgeous and wonderful it was and I can’t wait to reread it before the fifth book comes out in the series… here that, Turner… I demand a fifth book! Post haste."

My experience of meeting Krys (I know her name from the little paper slips in the YA section... which makes me feel a little like a stalker) also brought out the geekiest of geeky actions. Upon telling me about her blog, I blurted out, "Jeff Woodman commented on my blog!" In case you haven't heard yet, Jeff Woodman commented on my blog! And even if it was just my bf pretending to make my day (week, month, year, and quite possibly, decade!) it worked. Because Jeff Woodman commented on my blog! But more importantly, Jeff Woodman was a (literary) rock star and improved and enhanced my Attolia books.

So I've been pretty friggin excited for Conspiracy of Kings to hit the shelves, and in anticipation I started re-reading The Thief, of course loving it, and having a rather deja vu experience. You see, in anticipation of Kristin Cashore's sophomore novel Fire last year, I reread Graceling... another of the "books you must read" and simultaneously listened to Woodman's/Whalen Turner's Attolia books. Now, the tables have turned with a fun and delightful full cast recording of Graceling, while reading The Thief. Life doesn't get much better than this.

Tee hee...

I recently came across a ridiculous little parody called, "Nightlight," published by The Harvard Lampoon.

With preposterous passages such as:

About three things I was absolutely certain.

First, Edwart was most likely my soul mate, maybe.

Second, there was a vampire part of him--which I assumed was wildly out of control--that wanted me dead.

And third, I unconditionally, irrevocably, impenetrably, heterogeneously, gynecologically, and disreputably wished he had kissed me.

Nightlight may not be worth it's $13.95 price tag, but is certainly good for reading a few passages and getting a few chuckles standing in the bookstore!

Lend Me Your Ears

When I first started this blog, I made a list for my fellow geeks -- ahem, I mean, bookworms -- of the must-read young adult books and series.

But as you've read, I also hold a special place in my heart for audio books. Maybe it stemmed from my love of NPR, first established during college. Maybe it was a result of my 45-minute commute to work when I lived in BFE. I can't really say where or why it started, but for the better part of a decade now, I've loved books on CD (and back when my car actually had a tape player, that vintage technology). And so, allow me to share with you my list of must-listen audio books.

Top Audio Books You Must Enjoy:
The His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman aka The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass, Narrated by a Full Cast: This is far and away the best audio book series out there, compliments of its full cast and narration by the author himself. It's just so phenomenal to listen to an engaging story (a stop on my must-read list) delivered by a full cast of talented actors. As if it's possible to adore Iorek Byrnison or Lee Scorsby more, the actors give such life and heart to the roles of these classic novels, I'm motivated to visit the library and listen to the full series at least once every couple of years.

The Harry Potter Books by J. K. Rowling, Narrated by Jim Dale: Do I really need to say more? I mean, it's Jim Dale! He was the Pushing Daisies voice-over guy! And in all honesty, while at times I find myself not-so-much adoring his interpretations of Hermione as a whiny prat, he's still an icon. Frankly, you've got to give the guy kudos for reading 99 discs worth of boy wizard shenanigans. So at least give him a shot on one of the HPs, and see why he's now known as "Uncle Jim" in my house.

The Looking Glass Wars Books by Frank Beddor, Narrated by Gerard Doyle: Ooh, Doyle's fabulous! I think these books are actually better as audio books courtesy of the neat effects on voices that really bring Wonderland to life without overdoing it. The Looking Glass Wars are a trilogy (though there are rumors of a fourth book on the way) re-telling of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland in which Wonderland is a high-tech monarchy in the midst of a tragic coup and civil war during which young Alyss Hart must re-claim the throne from her black imagination wielding Aunt Redd, unrightful and unruly Queen of the Hart Dynasty. The audio book creates a spooky Looking Glass Maze, Beatles-esque giant caterpillar oracles, and my favorite, General Doppelganger (or when he splits into his twin forms, Generals Doppel and Ganger) whose double and single voices are just friggin cool. Definitely listen to this series, whose third book was just released and I was lucky enough to snag the first audio book copy from CADL. Honestly, the slightly anti-climatic wrap-up to the supposed trilogy, Arch Enemy, left me slightly disappointed with an all-too-convenient, and all-too-anticlimactic, ending that tied up the plots with a nice little bow (save King Arch, leaving the trilogy open to be continued). Book three all but ignored my favorite aspect of the first two books -- the relationship between Alyss and one of my favorite literary characters of all time, Dodge Anders -- so I sadly believe this much anticipated book knocked the series off my must-read list, but certainly didn't find itself in The-Book-That-Must-Not-Be-Named territory. Still worth a listen!

The Thief, The Queen of Attolia and The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner, Narrated by Jeff Woodman: Jeff Woodman, how I love thee? Let me count the ways. One, The Thief. Two, The Queen of Attolia. Three, The King of Attolia.

Oh my oh my oh my (note, Woodman earned himself a whole new paragraph here). These are my favorite books of all time. I love them. They pulled me out of both Book 7 and Twilight mourning (for which I now feel rather foolish). I so heartily associated with Attolia it sorta kinda a little bit hurt. And I adore Gen, the lovable wise-cracking protagonist. And I love the writing. And I love the plot twists. And I love... well, you get it. So I was scared these audio books could never do my darling books justice. That they would make a mockery of my beloveds. And that they could never isolate the playful cover-up of mastermind Gen's scheming. Never nail the steely reserve and calm covering Attolia's fear and loneliness.

But Jeff Woodman, dear Jeff Woodman. I should have had faith. In full disclosure, I was only able to listen to the Queen and King, as The Thief (released in 1997) is only available on tape. But those two, boy did they deliver. He just got it. Every character had genuine authentic distinctions. I was never confused as to who was speaking (a common occurrence in audio books) and would completely forget there was even a narrator to be had, so skillfully does he weave his character dialogues.

And then there were the pauses. Long enough to border on frustrating without quite getting there, and giving you enough time to take a deep breathe after a major revelation and think, "Damn. That was good." I felt like I needed a smoke after some of the chapters revealing unexpected twists in the complicated and delicious political plot of monarchs, war, love, rank and fate. Lend me your ears for a little Jeff Woodman. You will not be disappointed.