Stacking the Shelves: 1/23-1/29

Won:

A Gathering of Shadows by V. E. Schwab

First Reads from Goodreads: 

Dominic's Nemesis by D. Alyce Domain

Swapped for:

Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor

How Music Works

Title: How Music Works
Author: David Byrne
Publisher: Recorded Books

ISBN: 9781470330729

Why Read?: For Fun

Thoughts: Byrne truly covers every aspect of the title in this book - from the hard science, to the social science, to the history, to the business of music.  And he does it in a very down-to-earth way.

Rating: 4 stars

The Night Itself

Title: The Night Itself
Author: Zoe Marriott
Publisher: self

ISBN: n/a

Why Read?: Early Review

Thoughts: British YA dark fantasy has a very distinct feel to it, and The Night Itself is a great example.  Marriott blends Japanese mythology and urban fantasy into a very exciting read, with extremely well-written action scenes.

Rating: 5 stars

Stacking the Shelves: 1/17-1/23

First Reads from Goodreads: 

Seven Ways We Lie by Riley Redgate

Men and Martinis

Title: Men and Martinis
Author: Delancy Stewart
Publisher: self

ISBN: n/a

Why Read?: Fresh Fiction

Thoughts: Stewart does an amazing job of capturing what I imagine New York was like for 20-somethings during the dot.com boom.  I was really impressed with how she captured the feel of the times without ever mentioning the date.

Rating: 4 stars

Stacking the Shelves: 1/10-1/16

For possible review (on Bookloons):

The Darkest Corners by Kara Thomas

First Reads from Goodreads: 

Defining Destiny by Gina Lea

7 by Casey L. Bond, Jo Michaels, Tia Silverthorne Bach, Kelly Risser, & N. L. Greene

Fight Club

Title: Fight Club
Author: Chuch Palahniuk
Publisher: Recorded Books

ISBN: 9781436149600

Why Read?: For Fun

Thoughts: The book is just as stomach-turning as the movie.  It was very interesting, though, to listen to the book already knowing the twist - instead of taking away from it, it actually gave it more depth.

Rating: 3 stars

Fighting Down into the Kingdom of Dreams

Title: Fighting Down into the Kingdom of Dreams
Author: Robin Wyatt Dunn
Publisher: John Ott

ISBN: 9781940830025

Why Read?: Early Review

Thoughts: The surrealism in this fantasy just eluded me too much.  I had a very hard time falling into it, and really only could grasp the parts that took place in New York, albeit a very different New York than what we know.

Rating: 2 stars

The Occasional Diamond Thief

Title: The Occasional Diamond Thief
Author: J. A. McLaghlan
Publisher: EDGE

ISBN: 9780993630668

Why Read?: Early Review

Thoughts: I had a hard getting into this at first because of the present tense.  However, once the story and the action picked up, it was a great  YA sci-fi read of political intrigue.  The end seemed like it might be open for sequels, and I sure hope that is the case.

Rating: 3 stars

Stacking the Shelves: 1/3-1/9

First Reads from Goodreads: 

Call of Affliction by Lara S. Chase

The Adventures of Pearl and Dean by Lee Thatcher

LibraryThing Early Review:

Beside the Music by BJ Knapp

The Perfect Storm

Title: The Perfect Storm
Author: Sebastian Junger
Publisher: Recorded Books

ISBN: 9780788734274

Why Read?: For Fun

Thoughts: The description of this and the previews I have seen of the movie led me to believe this was about a fishing boat - the Andrea Gail - braving, and eventually succumbing to, the Storm of the Century.  It is about that, but it is about so much more.  Not only do we follow what it must have been like for the crew of the Andrea Gail  in their last moments, but also what it was like for others stuck on the sea during Hurricane Grace and what it was like for those rescuing them.  Junger also presents a lot of scientific facts about storms, drowning, and survival.

Rating: 3 stars

Doughnuts and Deadly Schemes

Title: Doughnuts and Deadly Schemes
Author: Janel Gradowski
Publisher: Gemma Halliday

ISBN: 9781940371832

Why Read?: Fresh Fiction

Thoughts: This was the third in the series, but like any good cozy series, you don't need to read the previous ones to get into the story quickly.  Unfortunately, there was not much else I liked about this one.  The mystery was fine, but the characters were rather flat and just did not appeal to me - maybe it was the third person narration, but I do not really think so.

Rating: 2 stars

Stacking the Shelves: 12/27-1/2

For possible review (on Bookloons):

Traveler by Arwen Elys Dayton

First Reads from Goodreads: 

The Serpent's Eyes by Paul Hock