Reading Challenges Update: September 2012

Here is where I stand with the challenges I have joined after the month of August (only challenges that I read books for this month are featured here):

Audio Books (6/6) - COMPLETED!
6. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Debut Author (8/12)
7. The Red Serpent Trilogy by Rishabh Jain
8. Kissing Shakespeare by Pamela Mingle

Steampunk (4/6)
4. Cuttlefish by David Greer

YA Historical Fiction (5/5) - COMPLETED!
5. Kissing Shakespeare by Pamela Mingle

Horror & Urban Fantasy (26/48)
26. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Chunkster (4/4) - COMPLETED!
4. Of Time and Place by B. R. Freemont

Standalone (11/15)
11. Kissing Shakespeare by Pamela Mingle

Immortal (8/12)
8. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Multi-Cultural (5/12)
5. Cuttlefish by David Greer

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Title: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

Author: Philip K. Dick
Publisher: Del Rey
ISBN:978-0-345-44047-3
Why Read?: Book Club
Challenges: n/a

Thoughts: Wow.  I can see why this is a classic sci-fi and it is so much better than the movie.  The depth is just amazing and some concepts really mess with your mind.

Rating: 5 stars

Elsewhere Online: September 2012

As you know from my In My Mailbox posts, I review for two other websites (bookloons.com and bittenbybooks.com). As I cannot post my reviews there and here, but I would still like to count the books I read for the challenges, I am going to have a post like this at the end of the every month listing the books I reviewed and what challenges the went towards.

Title: Cuttlefish

Author: David Greer

Challenges: Steampunk, Multi-Cultural

Title: Kissing Shakespeare

Author: Pamela Mingle

Challenges: Debut Author, YA Historical Fiction, Standalone

Stacking the Shelves: 9/23-9/29

For Possible Review (here and on Bookloons):
The Fart That Saved Christmas by Jacob Morningside

All You Never Wanted by Adele Griffin

Flutter by Gina Linko

Velveteen by Daniel Marks

The Opposite of Hallelujah by Anna Jarzab

The FitzOsbornes at War by Michelle Cooper

Romeo Redeemed by Stacey Jay

The Unfailing Light by Robin Ridges

Won:

Glimpse by Sara Daniell

What in God's Name by Simon Rich

Dragons Wild by Robert Asprin

Forbidden by Leanna Ellis

Of Time and Place

Of Time and Place
by B. R. Freemont
published by Two Harbors
2012
ISBN 978-1-937928-72-8
Why Read?: Review
Challenges: Chunkster

B. R. Freemont takes a unique approach to storytelling in Of Time and Place, a novel firmly set in a scarily realistic future, but partly told through flashbacks - that are still in the future.

The mid-21st century has seen a global energy crisis like no one could have imagined.  Travel is severely limited with only the privileged and government able to afford electric cars.  After being in the thick of things at the Federal Energy Department, James Lendeman now finds himself living in Savannah but still working for the government - this time as a contractor.  Through flashbacks, James's life leading up to his installment in Savannah is told, but his life continues moving forward.

Freemont really takes his time telling James's story which allows the reader to truly become immersed in James's world - both his past and his present.  However, this slows the pace of the tale, making for a very long read.  Yet Freemont's writing warrants a leisurely pace as Of Time and Place is rich with intricate details not to be missed and warning of a future that is all too possible.  

Of Time and Place truly shows B. R. Freemont's strong storytelling abilities.  However, those looking for a fast-paced, action-packed sci-fi will probably prefer to pass.

Rating: 3/5

The Redemption of Lord Rawlings

Title: The Redemption of Lord Rawlings

Author: Rachel Van Dyken
Publisher: Astraea
ISBN:978-1-62135-020-0
Why Read?: Book Club
Challenges: n/a

Thoughts: A very fun story, but the real conflict did not seem to hit until very late.  The two main characters liked each other but would just take turns denying it for about two-thirds of the novel.  I personally enjoy a harder battle.

Rating: 3 stars

Stacking the Shelves: 9/16-9/22

For Review (on Bookloons):

The Secret of the Stone Frog by David Nytra

The Diviners by Libba Bray

The Gnome Lexicon by Marcia Lewandowski

Won:

Fractured Light by Rachel McClellan

Talented by Sophie Davis

The Homecoming of Samuel Lake by Jenny Wingfield

Requested from Paperbackswap:

Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle

The Red Serpent Trilogy

The Red Serpent Trilogy
by Rishabh Jain and Delson Armstrong
published by AJ International
2012
ISBN 978-0-9847522-0-1
Why Read?: Review
Challenges: Debut Author

Rishabah Jain has about the most unique take on vampires that I have ever read.  The Red Serpent Trilogy introduces us to a race of vampires from another world, not ones created on Earth in any of the traditional methods.

Alex grew up on the space station Regnum, hearing stories about his people's home, Earth, the planet that was taken over by extraterrestrial vampires who landed in Antarctica.  Little does Alex know how instrumental he will prove to be in getting Earth back.  It turns out that Alex's father was a high-ranking vampire, and that Alex is the Falsifier foretold in the prophecies to bring about the vampire's apocalypse.

There is so much that happens in The Red Serpent Trilogy, but Jain does not really spend any time on any significant events, instead covering many in the span of a few pages.  The novel is rather short, so there was no need to rush.  This frantic pace made it hard to become immersed in the story that Jain was telling to the reader rather than showing Alex's journey.  I also had a hard time figuring out who Jain's target audience was.  Sci-fi fans will definitely enjoy many aspects of The Red Serpent Trilogy, but the vampires are so different from typical ones that vamp fans will probably not find something to like.  Also, while Alex is younger and the story and its presentation almost have the feel of an MG novel, the language is too strong for a YA read.

This vagueness made it really hard for me to connect with The Red Serpent Trilogy.  However, Rishabh Jain was young when he wrote this, so his writing is sure to solidify with age.

Rating: 1/5

Hush, Hush

Title: Hush, Hush

Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Publisher: Audioworks
ISBN:978-1-4423-5607-8
Why Read?: For Fun
Challenges: Audio Book, Horror & Urban Fantasy, Immortal

Thoughts: There were some points where, if I thought too long,  a couple of plot points did not make sense, but listening to it, kept my mind from drifting.  Overall, though, a very unique and suspenseful YA paranormal.  I am very interested to see where the series goes.

Rating: 4 stars

Stacking the Shelves: 9/9-9/15

Won:

Hades by Alexandra Adornetto

52 Reasons to Hate My Father by Jessica Brody

Uglies by  Scott Westerfeld

Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

Early Reviewers from LibraryThing:

Laura Lamont's Life in Pictures by Emma Straub

Jump Cut by Ted Staunton

Swaps from Swap-Bot:

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Requested from Paperbackswap:

Punk Rock Dad by Jim Lindberg

Bought on Kobo:

The Gingerbread House by Carin Gerhardsen

Killer's Island by Anna Jansson

The Dead of Summer by Mari Jungstedt

Stacking the Shelves: 8/26-9/8

For possible review (here and on Bookloons):

The Good, the Bad, and the Fuzzy by Kirk Scroggs

Owlet by Emma Michaels

The Case of the Invisible College by Andrew May

Kept in the Dark by Penny Hancock

Your House Is on Fire, Your Children All Gone by Stefan Kiesbye

Ghoulfriends Forever by Gitty Daneshvari

Fathomless by Jackson Pearce

The Time-Traveling Fashionista at the Palace of Marie Antoinette by Bianca Turetsky

Beyond by Graham McNamee

Foretold by Carrie Ryan, ed.

Hanging by a Thread by Sophie Littlefield

Shadowfell by Juliet Marillier

Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan

Yesterday by C. K. Kelly Martin

Island of Doom by Arthur Slade

The Banker Spy by William G. Byrnes

Dearly, Beloved by Lia Habel

Won:

A Hollow Cube Is a Lonely Space by S. D. Foster

Destined by Aprilynne Pike

Pushing the Limits by Kate McGarry

The Serpent's Bite by Warren Adler

Trickster's Point by William Kent Krueger

Daughter of the Goddess by Rita J. Webb

Measuring Up by Nyrae Dawn

Swaps on Swap-Bot:

And She Was by Alison Gaylin

Requested from Paperbackswap:

Going with the Grain by Susan Seligson

Downloaded from Discover a New Love:

Kiss of Steel by Bec McMaster

Received for Astraea Press Book Club:

The Redemption of Lord Rawlings by Rachel Van Dyken

Bought at Barnes & Noble:

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith