It's Monday! What Are You Reading? February 27

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted each week by Sheila of One Person's Journey Through A World Of Books.

I've finally broken the reading slump I've been in.

Last week I read:
Echoes of Betrayal by Elizabeth Moon. Fantasy, Fiction. The sequel to Oath of Fealty and Kings of the North. Absolutely incredible, a book that kept me up half the night so I could finish it.

I reviewed, without reading it through:
Jamie's Food Revolution: Rediscover How To Cook Simple, Delicious, Affordable Meals by Jamie Oliver. Non Fiction, Cooking. One of my favourite cookbooks.

I'm currently reading:
The Dolphins of Pern by Anne McCaffrey. Fiction, Science Fiction. One of the later books in the Pern series.

I want to read:
Empress of Eternity by L.E. Modesitt Jr. Fiction, Science Fiction.

Echoes of Betrayal - Elizabeth Moon

Echoes of Betrayal (Paladin's Legacy book 3)
Elizabeth Moon
Del Rey
Copyright Date: February 21, 2012
978-0345508768

The amazon.com product description:

The action continues fast and furious in this third installment of Elizabeth Moon’s celebrated return to the fantasy world of the paladin Paksenarrion Dorthansdotter. This award-winning author has firsthand military experience and an imagination that knows no bounds. Combine those qualities with an ability to craft flesh-and-blood characters, and the result is the kind of speculative fiction that engages both heart and mind.

All is not well in the Eight Kingdoms. In Lyonya, King Kieri is about to celebrate marriage to his beloved, the half-elf Arian. But uncanny whispers from the spirits of his ancestors continue to warn of treachery and murder. A finger of suspicion has been pointed toward his grandmother, the queen of the Ladysforest elves, and that suspicion has only intensified with time and the Lady’s inexplicable behavior. Clearly, she is hiding something. But what? And why?

Meanwhile, in Tsaia, the young king Mikeli must grapple with unrest among his own nobility over his controversial decision to grant the title and estates of a traitorous magelord to a Verrakaien who not only possesses the forbidden magic but is a woman besides: Dorrin, once one of Kieri’s most trusted captains. When renegade Verrakaien attack two of Dorrin’s squires, suspicion and prejudice combine to place Dorrin’s life at risk—and the king’s claim to the throne in peril.

But even greater danger is looming.  The wild offspring of a dragon are on the loose, sowing death and destruction and upsetting the ancient balance of power between dragonkind, humans, elves, and gnomes. A collision seems inevitable. Yet when it comes, it will be utterly unexpected—and all the more devastating for it.

Echoes of Betrayal is the sequel to Oath of Fealty and Kings of the North. And, it really does rely on Kings of the North in terms of the events that have occurred. This book picks up right where the last one left off. Personally, I found myself thinking "I really need to re-read Kings of the North" repeatedly as I was reading this book.

All of the characters are back again, in all of the separate threads. Arvid, the thief who insists that he's not a thief is one of the most interesting, with everything that's happening to him. There's more with the Gnomes too. Not to mention the Dragon. He's certainly stirring things up throughout the North. Dorrin's got her own problems too, with the renegade members of her family. And of course, Kieri and his problems, although it's great to see that some things at least are working out well for him.

In amidst all of the current events, there's also all sorts of little tidbits regarding the history of the kingdoms and the various races that inhabit the lands too, which just add to the experience of reading Kings of the North.

As some of the problems from the previous books are solved, others are discovered, leaving a book that pulls the reader and won't let go until you've turned the last page. For me, that was at two thirty in the morning, and every page was worth it. I'm already waiting for the next book, and will consider the wait to be well worth it.

I honestly can't recommend this whole series highly enough! Thank you Elizabeth Moon for writing such an incredible series of books.

Saturday Snapshot - February 25

Saturday Snapshots is a fun non-book-related meme hosted each Saturday by Alyce of At Home With Books. I love this one as it makes for a really nice change from books. The idea is to post a snapshot or photo you or a friend or family member has taken. It doesn't even need to have been taken in the previous week!

In the last week or so, I've been out to Whytecliff Park a couple of times. The first time it was getting very close to sunset when I was able to get these photos of some of the local residents. I think it's the time of day/lighting that accounts for the quality of the photos unfortunately.

A Great Blue Heron, fishing. Taken with the camera on a tripod and using sunset mode rather than auto. Probably should have been playing with the camera in full manual mode instead.

A sunstar, I think. Either way, it was low tide out on the beach, not that that makes any difference for what this is.

Friday Favourites? Your Favourite Series Of Books?

Friday Favourites - a chance to rave about a favourite reading/book related topic each week.

Sometimes you just want a chance to rave about some favourite aspect of reading that doesn't really come up during regular blogging posts - that's what this is about. I'm willing to bet that at least some of those will come up one week or another.

This week I'm asking what your favourite series of books is. It doesn't have to be a series following one character, although that's one of the more common definitions. That, though would knock out over half the series that I follow these days for example.

Please leave either a link to your response or your response itself in the comments.

I posted this question, but I'm having a difficult time answering it myself. Should I go with the Numinous World books by Jo Graham, the Adept series by Katherine Kurtz and Deborah Turner Harris, or maybe the Valdemar books by Mercedes Lackey? Or even something else? All of these are series that I end up re-reading on a regular basis.

After due consideration though, I'm going to have to go with Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar series as my favourite. Not for any specific merit as to writing or quality necessarily, but more because these books are ones where I've been looking forward to the new releases since the publication of the Mage Storms and Mage Wars trilogies. They are also books that I can nearly always pick up, read and enjoy, even when I'm in a reading slump.

Yes, they can be a little formulaic in terms of the characters, but still the books are enjoyable. I call them "old friends" just for that. And, honestly, the characters have stuck in my head and stayed interesting through umpteen re-reads.

The Valdemar books are more about an entire world than anything else - not even all set in one country or time period. They certainly don't just follow one character or family of characters.  Most of the books though do focus on the country of Valdemar, but not all of them. Two of the earliest published certainly don't, the Tarma and Kethry books Oathbound and Oathbreaker.

I'm calling the whole world a series, although to be honest, for the most part the books are set as separate trilogies, with a couple of stand-alones and sets of two thrown in.

Another reason I'm sticking with the Valdemar books as my favourite series is simply that with at least two of the books Mercedes Lackey has left me in tears with the ending - even after a dozen re-reads. In this case I'm referring to Magic's Price and Brightly Burning.

I ask again, what's your favourite series?

Jamie's Food Revolution: Rediscover How To Cook Simple, Delicious, Affordable Meals - Jamie Oliver

Jamie's Food Revolution: Rediscover How To Cook Simple, Delicious, Affordable Meals
Jamie Oliver
Hyperion Publishing
Copyright: 2009
9781401323592

The publisher's blurb:

Welcome to my Food Revolution. This book is inspired by all the people I've met who thought they could never and would never learn how to cook. Of course, that kind of thinking is like a red rag to a bull to me because I believe that simple home cooking is one of the most basic, primal skills that every single person on this planet should have in order to look after themselves, their families and their friends.
So I've written this book to empower you (or the person you're buying this for) to learn how to cook as easily and as quickly as possible. I've done this by picking a whole load of recipes that we all love to eat and giving you my easy versions of them, using clear instructions and step-by-step pictures to hold your hand and open up a whole new world of great food. Whether you're a reluctant beginner or a good cook who just appreciates simplicity, allow me and this book to help you cook some truly delicious, crowd-pleasing meals.

At the time I bought my copy of Jamie's Food Revolution, I'd never seen any of Jamie Oliver's TV shows. I bought the book based solely on the strength of the recipes, pictures and descriptions. The food, as described in this book is all simple, everyday stuff that most families should like: Mac and Cheese, soups, some breakfast things, dinners, salads etc. All that goes with the title, as the theme of Jamie's Food Revolution is that the food be simple, delicious and affordable. 

All of the recipes I've tried have been that - although I sometimes wonder about the Chicken Fajitas, cost-wise. They're one of my favourite recipes though. Every time I've made them, even when I've doubled the recipe or more, it's worked out. Jamie's time-frame of 19 minutes though, I find impossible to keep to, although it's still a relatively quick meal to make. 

Another favourite, and I thought I had a photo for it, is the Macaroni and Cauliflower Cheese Bake version of Mac & Cheese. I don't know how many times I've made this recipe now, but it's fast and easy - especially if you cheat and buy the pre-grated cheese. I've also only managed to screw it up once. We think the problem was using low fat/no fat sour cream instead of the regular stuff. As with the Chicken Fajitas, this is another one of those recipes that does well doubled - although the odds of needing to do that are slim. Most of the recipes (not the Fajitas or the Cheat's Fresh Pasta with Cherry Tomato Sauce though) feed more than the stated number of people.

In all of the recipes I've tried to date, the ingredients have all been widely available. Nothing too exotic, nor are there too many ingredients, which is a plus. Honestly, when I started looking through Jamie's Food Revolution I kept finding a ton of recipes I wanted to try some time. I haven't gotten through them all yet, either.

The idea for this book is to teach people who don't know how to cook the basics - and it's great for that, but don't ignore the book if you know how to cook already - there's lots of great ideas and delicious meals in here: Fruit smoothies or pancakes for breakfast or a snack? Yum! No-bake cheesecake? Super rich, but incredibly delicious. You'd just better be feeding a lot of people for this recipe. 


I love the way the photos are set up in Jamie's Food Revolution too. Every recipe has it's photo, but not just one. There's a series of photos showing how the dish is supposed to look as you go through the process of making it. I find that really great for showing how something's supposed to be cut and the like.

As I said before in my Top Five Cookbooks post last year, this is one of my favourite cookbooks. I can't recommend it enough. 

It`s Monday! What Are You Reading? - February 20th

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted each week by Sheila over at One Person's Journey Through A World Of Books.

I've had a really horrible couple of weeks reading-wise, not getting anything finished. I've picked up and discarded Winds of Fate by Mercedes Lackey and Lover Revealed by J.R. Ward within about ten pages each, in hopes of breaking the slump.

Currently, I'm reading:
Caught In Crystal by Patricia C. Wrede. Fiction, E-book, Fantasy. This is the first book I've gotten through NetGalley. A long time ago I remember reading the omnibus edition Shadows over Lyra, set in the same world. About the only reason I haven't finished this one yet is that it's set up for Adobe Digital Editions and I haven't managed to get the work-around for it going on my Kobo Vox yet, so I'm having to read it on my computer.

The Dolphins of Pern by Anne McCaffrey. Fiction, Science Fiction. This was the first Pern book I read back when it first came out. This time I'm both enjoying the read and finding it annoying at the same time.

Ancient Greece: A Political, Social and Cultural History by Sarah B. Pomeroy, Stanley M. Burnstein et al. Non Fiction, History. Amazingly, this is interesting me the most right now. Ancient Greece was one of my textbooks from First Year at University. It's also one of the few books on Ancient Greece that isn't buried in storage right now.

I'd like to read:
Empress of Eternity by L.E. Modesitt Jr. and Gordath Wood by Patrice Sarath. Both of them are library books.

Saturday Snapshot - February 18

Saturday Snapshot is a weekly non-book themed meme that is hosted by Alyce of At Home With Books every Saturday. It's lots of fun to participate in and one of the easiest memes there is: All you have to do is post a photo or snapshot you, a friend or a member of your family has taken. It doesn't even need to have been taken in the last week.

The two photos I'm posting are from the same day as the one I took last week of the sunset. That day we stopped at more than just the Porteau Cove. Personally, I love waterfalls, and I'm getting confident enough to start playing with shutter speed and aperture a bit on my camera.

This one was taken on "auto" mode. It's of a section of the waterfall only, as I wanted to zoom in for more of a view of the effects the different speeds had on the water.

By contrast, this is what I was able to get with manual settings.

Library Loot - February 17th

Library Loot this week is hosted by Claire from the blog The Captive Reader. This meme is designed as a place to showcase the books you've borrowed from the library. For me, it's one of those things that now I'm participating, it encourages me to visit the library.

I've got two books out as of last night now.

The first:

Empress of Eternity
L.E. Modesitt Jr.
Tor Books
Copyright: 2010
9780765365675

The amazon.com blurb:

In the far future, an indestructible and massive canal more than 2,000 miles long spans the mid-continent of Earth. Nothing can mar it, move it, or affect it in any fashion. At its western end, where it meets the sea, is an equally indestructible structure comprising three levels of seemingly empty chambers.

Scientists from three different civilizations, separated in time by hundreds of thousands of years, are investigating the canal. In the most distant of these civilizations, religious rebellion is brewing. A plot is hatched to overthrow the world government of the Vanir, using a weapon that can destroy anything-except the canal. If used at full power it might literally unravel the universe and destroy all life forever. The lives and fates of all three civilizations become intertwined as the forces behind the canal react to the threat, and all three teams of scientists find their lives changed beyond belief.

I've enjoyed L.E. Modesitt's books before, so this was an easy one to pick when I saw it on the shelf. Just the description alone is intriguing.

The second book:

Gordath Wood
Patrice Sarath
Ace Fantasy
Copyright: 2008
9780441016419

The amazon.com product description:

Worlds collide in Gordath Wood.

Something strange is happening in Gordath Wood, the old woods surrounding a training stable called Hunter’s Chase. The police think Lynn Romano and Kate Mossland have been murdered, but what actually occurred is much stranger. They’ve gone through a hole between worlds, into a medieval society at war. In a world that doesn’t ordinarily have use for women, the danger is great—good thing Lynn and Kate aren’t your ordinary women.

This was just one of those "the cover looks interesting" books. 

Friday Favourites - Your Favourite Author?

Friday Favourites - a chance to rave about a favourite reading/book related topic each week.

Sometimes you just want a chance to rave about some favourite aspect of reading that doesn't really come up during regular blogging posts - that's what this is about. I'm willing to bet that at least some of those will come up one week or another.

This week I'm asking what your favourite author is.

Please leave either a link to your response or your response itself in the comments. 

For me the answer is obvious: J.R.R. Tolkien.

I've said it when I was talking about my favourite book a couple of Fridays ago, and I'll say it again. He was such a master at creating worlds and everything that went in them: landscapes, languages, creation, peoples, history, all of it. I've loved them for at least the last two decades, and I don't see that changing any time soon.

Tolkien is the one author I don't think I could ever get tired of reading - and what's more, he and his world of Middle-Earth are one of the few that I really enjoy reading the secondary books about. So, for me I guess it's more than just whether or not he's my favourite author - it's rather more than that - it's more like I'm reading another history or facet of history.

To be honest, I'm rather an amateur collector of books by and about Tolkien. To me he is unique as a writer. He's managed to make the world of Middle-Earth so detailed and through that there's always something new to notice in reading the books. And the same thing is true of the non-Middle-Earth books as well. Not to mention in his art too.

Saturday Snapshot - February 11

Saturday Snapshots is a fun, non-book-related meme hosted by Alyce of At Home With Books each Saturday. The idea is to post a photo that you or a family member has taken. It doesn't even have to have been taken in the previous week. 

My photo this week is one of a series of sunset photos I took last week. Frankly, I can't wait to go back with my tripod as well to take even more photos, both during the day and in the evening. It was absolutely gorgeous out there.

Friday Favourites - Your Favourite Book from 2011?

Friday Favourites - a chance to rave about a favourite reading/book related topic each week.

Sometimes you just want a chance to rave about some favourite aspect of reading that doesn't really come up during regular blogging posts - that's what this is about. I'm willing to bet that at least some of those will come up one week or another.

This week I'm wondering what your favourite book from 2011 was, and why you'd pick it as a favourite.

Please leave either a link to your response or your response itself in the comments.

Trying to figure out my response leaves me with a bit of a dilemma: I can't narrow down my favourite book beyond two.

The first was Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, an opinion which was only reinforced when I saw the movie (which I've watched a second time since Christmas). There's just something about the book where I can read it and re-read it.

Lisa See has a knack for description that's vivid but not overdone. Snow Flower and The Secret Fan is a shorter book, but not lacking in anything for all that, and the characters feel real.

What made it one of my favourites is the way that Lisa See has illuminated aspects of Chinese culture and made it something I'd rather like to learn more about. I understand that the book is very carefully researched.

The other book is one that I read back in February of 2011: Little Princes: One Man's Promise To Bring Home The Lost Children Of Nepal by Conor Grennan.

For all that it's been a year since I read this book, it really stuck in my head. I think it was the idea that an ordinary person could do so much to help without being some kind of celebrity or millionaire first. Honestly, the cover was what caught my attention first, with that vivid blue colour.

Even now, a year later, I'm still raving about Little Princes. In fact, I'd rather like to re-read the book and refresh my memory as to the details. Not to mention buying my own copy of it, especially given that part of the proceeds from the book go to help fund the children's home that Conor Grennan opened.

Upcoming Novels To Keep An Eye On Part 1

Echoes of Betrayal (Paladin's Legacy book 3)
Elizabeth Moon
Del Rey
Publication Date: February 21, 2012
978-0345508768

The amazon.com product description:

The action continues fast and furious in this third installment of Elizabeth Moon’s celebrated return to the fantasy world of the paladin Paksenarrion Dorthansdotter. This award-winning author has firsthand military experience and an imagination that knows no bounds. Combine those qualities with an ability to craft flesh-and-blood characters, and the result is the kind of speculative fiction that engages both heart and mind.

All is not well in the Eight Kingdoms. In Lyonya, King Kieri is about to celebrate marriage to his beloved, the half-elf Arian. But uncanny whispers from the spirits of his ancestors continue to warn of treachery and murder. A finger of suspicion has been pointed toward his grandmother, the queen of the Ladysforest elves, and that suspicion has only intensified with time and the Lady’s inexplicable behavior. Clearly, she is hiding something. But what? And why?

Meanwhile, in Tsaia, the young king Mikeli must grapple with unrest among his own nobility over his controversial decision to grant the title and estates of a traitorous magelord to a Verrakaien who not only possesses the forbidden magic but is a woman besides: Dorrin, once one of Kieri’s most trusted captains. When renegade Verrakaien attack two of Dorrin’s squires, suspicion and prejudice combine to place Dorrin’s life at risk—and the king’s claim to the throne in peril.

But even greater danger is looming.  The wild offspring of a dragon are on the loose, sowing death and destruction and upsetting the ancient balance of power between dragonkind, humans, elves, and gnomes. A collision seems inevitable. Yet when it comes, it will be utterly unexpected—and all the more devastating for it.

I know I'm looking forward to this one! Elizabeth Moon has been teasing us with comments and snippets on her blog all year.

Home From The Sea
Mercedes Lackey
Daw Books
Publication Date: June 5, 2012
978-0756407278

There is no amazon.com product description yet, but I do know that this is the newest book in the Elemental Masters series, which, after reading Unnatural Issue has me definitely looking forward to reading this one. Should be interesting to see what fairy tale this one's based on, but I'm going to have to guess that it's going to be water-based, as will the magic. Off the top of my head, I don't think we've seen too many of the books focused on the Water-Masters yet. Fire, yes. Earth, yes (in fact the last book was Earth-based). Air, too.

A Host Of Furious Fancies
Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill
Baen Books
Release Date: September 4, 2012
978-1451638004

The amazon.com product description:

Two novels of elvish lore and modern noir brought together for the first time by bestselling Mistresses of Urban Fantasy Mercedes Lackey and Rosemary Edghill.

Beyond World's End

Sieur Eric Banyon, Knight and Bard to the court of the Queen of Elfhame Misthold, moves back to the Big Apple to take care of unfinished business. Mostly, he just wants to finish his interrupted education at Julliard School of Music and settle down to a normal life.

However, a normal life doesn't seem to be in his immediate future as he quickly discovers his Manhattan apartment has unique features, including a living gargoyle named Greystone and four Guardians who have sworn to protect New York from evil.  And soon Eric discovers that unscrupulous researchers have created a drug that unlocks magical powers in humans – a drug that is 100 percent fatal over time.  And now something evil from Underhill has other plans and seeks to use the temporary human powers to dominate World Above.  But this is one bard who is going to let no such thing happen.

Spirits White as Lightning

Eric Banyon has more to worry about than passing his courses at Julliard. The evil elf lord Aerune, whose love was killed by mortal men, is determined to destroy the human race. Eric's only hope of stopping Aerune is to trap him inside a magical maze, from which there is no escaping. But for the plan to work, Eric and his friends must cross the land of chaos and survive, then travel undetected through a gate between worlds straight into the heart of Aerune's realm and trick the elf lord into entering the maze. Stopping Aerune once before was difficult. This time, the quest seems nothing less than impossible.

This one isn't actually a new book, but a re-releasing of two books in one. Both of which, I seem to remember reading when they first came out. I don't remember a lot about them though, although I remember absolutely laughing myself silly at the antics in Bedlam's Bard, one of the previous omnibus editions set in this world.

Infamous: Chronicles of Nick
Sherrilyn Kenyon
St. Martin's Griffin Press
Release Date: March 13, 2012
978-1250002822

The amazon.com product description:

The world has fallen in love with Nick Gautier and the Dark-Hunters.

Now Nick’s saga continues in the next eagerly anticipated volume...

Go to school. Get good grades. Stay out of trouble. That’s the mandate for most kids. But Nick Gautier isn’t the average teenager. He’s a boy with a destiny not even he fully understands. And his first mandate is to stay alive while everyone, even his own father, tries to kill him.

He’s learned to annihilate zombies and raise the dead, divination and clairvoyance, so why is learning to drive and keep a girlfriend so dang hard? But that isn’t the primary skill he has to master. Survival is.

And in order to survive, his next lesson makes all the others pale in comparison. He is on the brink of becoming either the greatest hero mankind has ever known.

Or he’ll be the one who ends the world. With enemies new and old gathering forces, he will have to call on every part of himself to fight or he’ll lose everyone he cares about.

Even himself.

This is the third book in the series about Nick, one of the recurring characters from the Dark Hunter series. To be honest, I'm not all that sure how I feel about this series - it's geared towards teens, which wouldn't be an issue - my concerns are more that it's gone for the whole zombie craze, which doesn't fit in the Dark Hunter world as written in Sherrilyn Kenyon's other books.

Lover Reborn
J.R. Ward
NAL Hardcover
Release Date: March 27th, 2012
978-0451235848

The amazon.com product description:

Tohrment, the Brother who had it all, but lost everything to the enemy, is destined for a second chance at love and life. But will the past and his bitterness hold him back?

 I have to say, I'm really looking forward to this one coming out. Tohrment is one of those characters that needs something good to happen to him, and we all know in these books that there's going to be a happy ending for the main character.

It looks like March 27th is going to be a really good day for paranormal romance lovers as Sherrilyn Kenyon's newest book is due out then too:

Retribution: A Dark Hunter Novel
Sherrilyn Kenyon
St. Martin's Press
Release Date: March 27th, 2012
978-0312546601

The amazon.com product description:

Orphaned as a child and raised by vampires, Abigail Yager lives for one purpose, and one purpose only: To avenge the deaths of vampires everywhere. To destroy the merciless Dark-Hunters who stalk and kill her adoptive race. But most of all, to find the one man responsible for brutally murdering her family: the ex-gunslinger Jess “Sundown” Brady…
Resurrected from death by a vengeful Greek goddess, Jess must hunt and destroy the creature who’s assassinating Dark-Hunters. The last thing he expects to find is a human face behind the killings—and especially one resembling the human who’d murdered him centuries ago. Jess knows he’s not the one who slaughtered Abigail’s parents. But now he must convince her of his innocence—and cross the abyss between human and vampire—before the darkest of powers rises to destroy them both…

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? February 6

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a fun way of keeping track of your reading each week hosted by Sheila of One Person's Journey Through A World Of Books. Thanks. I'm being helped in the writing of this post by my two cats, who are insistent on walking over the keyboard or sitting in front of the screen.

This has been an interesting week for me, starting my first meme, Friday Favourites. For the introductory week I asked what your favourite book was. I hope to see you there next Friday and all the Friday's afterwards.

In the last week I read:
Shannen And The Dream For A School by Janet Wilson. Non-Fiction, Canadian, Current Events, Children's. This was both an inspiring and a depressing book at the same time, but I really do recommend it for both older children and adults to read. Maybe if enough people read it, change will start to happen. This is not a long read either.

The Silver Gryphon by Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon. Fiction, Fantasy. The third book in the Mage Wars series. I read it on it's own this time more for the survival aspects of the story, something I felt like reading at this time. I found it to be another really good read.

I'm currently reading:
Tortall and Other Lands by Tamora Pierce. Fiction, Fantasy, Teen, Short Stories. Although I love the full novels set in this world, I'm finding that I'm having trouble getting into the stories in this volume. So far, there's one unidentified story which was pretty good, one with Numair, and I'm now onto the third story with Nawat. This might be an issue with me as I often don't really care for short stories anyway.

White Tiger by Kylie Chan. Fiction, Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, E-book. I'm still picking my way through this re-read of a book I loved back in September and October. I'm enjoying it too, it just seems to be a slightly slower read this time.

By Fire, By Water by Mitchell James Kaplan. Fiction, History. I don't know. For all that the blurb is great and I loved the beginning of this book, I'm really finding that I'm slowing down in my read of this book. I do want to finish it though.

In Her Name by Michael R. Hicks. Science Fiction, fiction, E-book. I've honestly only just started reading this one so I don't have an opinion yet, but the reviews I've read make it look really good.

I want to read:
I kind of think I have enough books on the go right now without adding more to the list. Regardless, I have the feeling that I'll probably end up starting at least one new book this week. I just don't know what it'll be yet.

RIP Joyce Barkhouse

I just read on the CBC website that the author Joyce Barkhouse died at the age of 98. Her best known book was Pit Pony.

I remember borrowing and reading this book so many times from my local library. I must have discovered it soon after the book came out in 1990 - certainly at the time I read any and every horse story I could get my hands on. What I didn't know was that Pit Pony was made into both a movie and a TV series, which I'm going to have to see if I can find.

I also didn't know that Joyce had written other books too.

Thank you Joyce, for writing such a captivating book that even now, over a decade from the last time I read it, I still remember how much I enjoyed reading Pit Pony, although I can't remember all the details of the story.

Saturday Snapshot - February 4, 2012

Saturday Snapshots is a fun non-book-related meme hosted by Alyce of At Home With Books each week. The idea is to post a photo or snapshot that you or someone in your family took. The photo doesn't even have to have been taken in the previous week!

It makes a refreshing change from posting about books all the time too.

My photo this week is one that sent everyone who's seen it into the giggles. The general consensus was that she's saying "Where's my dentures?" That or this is the world's first hungover cat.

This is my parent's cat, named Puss-Cat. She's also been the rather unimpressed target of my camera for the past few years.

Silver Gryphon - Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon

Silver Gryphon
Mercedes Lackey and Larry Dixon
Daw Books
Copyright: 1996
978-0886776855

The back jacket description:

Unseen Peril

A dozen years of peace have passed in the city of White Gryphon - but the inhabitants of this hard-won haven have not forgotten their struggles, and have trained an elite guard force, the Silver Gryphons, to protect their city.

Skandrannon, the Black Gryphon, and Amberdrake the healer, have settled into quiet, comfortable lives. But things are not so tranquil for Silverblade. Drake's daughter, and Tadrith, Skan's son. Anxious to prove themselves, and despite their parents' very real concerns, they have enlisted in the Silvers.

After two years of rigorous training, Blade and Tad are finally given their first solo assignment - a remote guard post in wild, largely unexplored territory. Everything seems auspicious as Tad and Blade set off in the air, but three days out from White Gryphon disaster strikes - the two young guards plummet from the sky to the deep jungle below, struck down by an unseen enemy. Lost and badly injured, the desperate partners take stock of their situation: all their spell-fuelled equipment - including their only means of communication - is inoperable, drained of all magic. But their troubles are just beginning. For in the dark of the tropical rain forest which surrounds them waits a nameless terror which even their fathers could never have envisioned...

Silver Gryphon is the sequel to Black Gryphon and White Gryphon. and completes the Mage Wars Trilogy that Mercedes Lackey co-wrote with her husband, Larry Dixon about the prehistory of Valdemar.

I remember waiting for the one to come into the library back when the hardcover editions first came out, that's how long ago I started reading Lackey's books. That said, to be honest, the Mage Wars series isn't my favourite, but of the trilogy, Silver Gryphon is the best in my opinion. It's also a book that stands somewhat on it's own, so you can pick it up and start reading without worrying about starting at the beginning of the trilogy, like I did this time.

I just felt like reading something with the survival type storyline this time. I think it has something to do with my recent enthusiasm for the Bear Grylls books and the show Man Vs. Wild that I've been watching lately.

That said, Silver Gryphon is a fairly typical Mercedes Lackey book. You've got the younger characters that appeal to the YA audience as well as to the rest of us, and nothing that would shock that age-group either. Yes, it's a bit formulaic at times, but that's true of most of her books. I like that sometimes. But, this is also a book I've re-read several times.

The one thing about it that I've seen quite a few complaints in reviews about is that unlike most of Mercedes Lackey's trilogy sets, the main characters in Silver Gryphon are not the same as in Black Gryphon and White Gryphon. It seems like most people don't care for that approach - maybe because it's so different from the other Valdemar books? I have to say that I don't mind it at all. On the other hand, I don't remember my first reactions to the story years ago. Maybe it's just that I'm used to it now.

Definitely a good Mercedes Lackey read.

Friday Favourites - Your Favourite Book Is?

Friday Favourites - a chance to rave about a favourite reading/book related topic each week.

This is the first of a year's worth of Friday Favourite posts. As of today, I have enough topics listed to get this started.

Sometimes you just want a chance to rave about some favourite aspect of reading that doesn't really come up during regular blogging posts - that's what this is about. I'm willing to bet that at least some of those will come up one week or another.

This week, I'm wondering what your all-time favourite book is.

Leave a link to your response in the comments (I have yet to figure out the various linking tools out there), or the response itself, please, if you're so inclined.

For myself, the answer is easy. The Lord of The Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.

There's so many layers of detail and meaning that every time I read the book, I notice something new, and I can always drop into the story, no matter where I pick it up from this time. Tolkien was such a genius with words and description. Sometimes when I've read the books it's been the Old English that really jumped out at me, other times its the use of various older and archaic words, most of which I can figure out from context. But then, there's the times when I'm reading something else and there'll be a definition (usually for a medieval meaning) that just makes something Tolkien wrote seem even clearer.

Tolkien's love of language shows through in every word, each just as carefully chosen as the others. All of the drafts we have in the History Of Middle-Earth series shows that. Maybe that's part of my love for the Lord of the Rings. It's the only book I know of where we have such a clear picture of the evolution of Tolkien's writing and the labours that made up his wonderful world of Middle-Earth. For me at least, I think that just heightens my appreciation.

What's your favourite book?

Shannen And The Dream For A School - Janet Wilson

Shannen And The Dream For A School
Janet Wilson
Second Story Press
Copyright: October 2011
978-1926920306

The amazon.com product description:

It is 2008, and thirteen-year-old Shannen and the other students at J.R. Nakogee Elementary are tired of attending class in portables that smell and don't keep out the cold winter air. They make a YouTube video describing the poor conditions, and their plea for a decent school attracts attention and support from community leaders and children across the country. Inspired, the students decide to turn their grade-eight class trip into a visit to Ottawa, to speak to the Canadian government. Once there, Shannen speaks passionately to the politicians about the need to give Native children the opportunity to succeed. The following summer, Shannen is nominated for the International Children's Peace Prize. Tragically, Shannen was killed in a car crash in 2010, and was not able to see the dream of her school fulfilled. Her family, friends and supporters continue to honor her memory as they work for equality for children in Native communities everywhere.

This was a surprising little book that I picked up on a whim while at work today, having flipped through it quickly the other day. It's a kid's reference book, but just as interesting for the story it tells for adults, and frankly, Shannen And The Dream For A School left me with a lump in my throat and a hope that things will change.

Imagine going to school in various portables in the kinds of temperatures you can find in northern Canada - 40 below, I think I read - and having to go to the community center for classes like p.e. or only having one computer in the school! How about hearing that the old school building is perfectly safe to be in - If my memory's not playing tricks on my, there's one anecdote where they're told to just open a window and turn on a fan (in winter) to get rid of the smell!

Shannen manages to motivate her entire class to try and convince the government that yes, the community does need a new school, only to keep hearing that everything is just fine as it is, but she doesn't give up. This despite at one point a school being promised, only to have the government turn around and say "no" a bit later.

I found the book to be incredibly inspiring and yet at the same time to be extremely sad too. A couple of quick searches of sites like Wikipedia suggest that things haven't changed at all in the community, and yet Shannen's dream lives strong and has kept on going across the country.

Shannen And The Dream For A School is a great read for older kids and adults alike. It's inspiring, just reading about what she's trying to do, and saddening at the same time, because all these roadblocks keep getting put in her path, but she doesn't give up. That's the message to take away from this book. That's why I thought it was such a great read. And yet, it's great for kids too - a window into another part of Canadian life.