Reading Reading Reading

These past few days, I've been reading. Lots of books. Heh.

Ain't life grand?

Just before x-mas I finally finished Exodus by Leon Uris. I'd been meaning to read that book for years, but I just never got around to it. Now I know why it was my father's favorite book (well, actually, it was the only novel he ever read). What a book. Wow. It really gives some major insights into the whole Middle East crisis - and how the things that happened during the birth of Israel are still affecting us today. Uris truly was a master, and even though I'm not always thrilled with the choices he made to put his stories together, I have profound respect for his writing.

Last Monday, I made my shopping trip to Borders, during which I bought presents for myself, my hubby, and our daughter. I can't even think of the exact number of books purchased. It was over a hundred dollars worth. Anyway, x-mas morning we opened our presents (yes, I wrapped most of the books I bought for myself) and the reading extravaganza began.

First I read Master of Torment by Karin Tabke. This is the second in her Blood Swords series, and once again, she nailed it. I'm not much of a historical romance reader, but these books appeal to me. There is plenty of action, for one. For another, Karin doesn't write historicals like anyone else I've read. Most other historicals I've tried to read spend too much time patting themselves on the back for the amount of research they do (i.e. they overwhelm the reader with details of the time period and lose the story). Karin isn't like that. She gives just enough detail to show what the characters of that time would be experiencing but she doesn't drown her readers with it. Way to go, Karin.

The next book on the pile was the most recent Fablehaven. Now these are, I think, middle grade novels. The MCs are a brother and sister. I can't remember his age, but he can't be more than nine and I think the sister is 14. That's MG, right? Anyway, I love these books. Smart writing for any age, but if I had these when I was in the MG age range, I would've been bowled over by them. Definitely something I would recommend buying- even if you don't have kids, aren't a kid, or your kids are too old for them any more.

Then there was The Hunger Games. It's a dystopic novel and I think it's YA. Good book overall. Not perfect, IMO, but worth the purchase price. The main reason I bought this book, and the main thing I got from it, is I am trying to reignite my muse. I'm trying to get excited about working on Blink again - which is also a dystopic novel, just not YA. Mission accomplished. And I'm even thinking about tweaking Blink so it could fall under YA. Time will tell.

After this, I picked up Have Yourself a Naughty Little Santa by Karin Tabke. This is a complete change from her historical series. It's a pretty good book, but I wouldn't recommend reading it so close to the Blood Sword novels. The writing style is different, and the genre is different, so it might be a shock to the brain - like it was for me. After some thought, I realized if I separated this book from the others, it was perfectly good and well written for its purpose - which was as an erotic romance w/ suspense elements.

The only purchase I made for myself that I haven't read yet is Omega Games by Lynn Viehl. In four days, I wiped out my stack. It's a little depressing, which was probably the reason why I couldn't bring myself to start Lynn's novel yet. I might read the book I bought for hubby next, or maybe a few of the books daughter got. We'll see what happens.

What did Santa bring for you (even if you had to be Santa and buy it yourself)? Read anything good lately? (Come on, I need new materials to read in the coming year.)

(Note: Links to the above, and all the books I read this year, are available HERE.)