The Geek's Guide to Dating by Eric Smith (+ giveaway)

There seems to be a mix-up with a book giveway and I received this one instead. I couldn't figure out at first why I would enter a contest for a dating book but I thought that maybe I thought it was a novel. It turns out that, no, it was just a mix-up. No problem. But this looked fun and so I flipped through it. I find dating guides interesting. I clearly not their target audience since I have been with my husband since we were 20 and we have 2 kids together and all. But I guess some people need help or advice. I know a lot of people who have trouble getting relationships off the ground. I, myself, can be pretty awkward around new people. I am terrible at small talk. So I found the advice in here pretty useful for someone trying to establish a rapport with another person. The main message is basically don't be overzealous, be respectable of the other person's wants, needs, and feelings and don't try to rush into anything. I can co-sign that. Plus it is filled with many, many, many nerd references. I was pretty proud of myself for recognizing the majority of them. So this was a pretty fun read for a mix-up and it didn't take me long to skim through it. And I'm sure someone else will enjoy it as much as I did.

Giveaway! Book + a nifty poster
Giveaway ends August 4, 2013.  US or Canada only.  Winner will be chosen randomly and e-mailed for mailing address.

Weekly Round-Up 7/29

Weekly Round-Up is my wrap-up of last week's activities and includes what I'm reading this week, reviews I've posted, books in the mail and anything else of interest plus From the Library, my weekly listing of what I've checked out from the library.

This week I'm reading by The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith and The Honest Toddler: A Child's Guide to Parenting by Bunmi Laaditan and listening to Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Claire, read by Daniel Sharman.

Last week I reviewed The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There by Catherynne M. Valente.

This week on SYNC you can download The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen, read by Charlie McWade (Scholastic Audiobooks) and The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain, read by Steve West. Downloads are free til Wednesday. Thursday the new downloads are Death Cloud by Andrew Lane, read by Dan Weyman (Macmillan Audio) and The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle, read by Ralph Cosham.

The Heist by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg (O'Hare and Fox #1)

FBI Special Agent Kate O’Hare is known for her fierce dedication and discipline on the job, chasing down the world’s most wanted criminals and putting them behind bars. Her boss thinks she is tenacious and ambitious; her friends think she is tough, stubborn, and maybe even a bit obsessed. And while Kate has made quite a name for herself for the past five years, the only name she’s cared about is Nicolas Fox—an international crook she wants in more ways than one.

Audacious, handsome, and dangerously charming, Nicolas Fox is a natural con man, notorious for running elaborate scams on very high-profile people. At first he did it for the money. Now he does it for the thrill. He knows that the FBI has been hot on his trail—particularly Kate O’Hare, who has been watching his every move. For Nick, there’s no greater rush than being pursued by a beautiful woman . . . even one who aims to lock him up. But just when it seems that Nicolas Fox has been captured for good, he pulls off his greatest con of all: he convinces the FBI to offer him a job, working side by side with Special Agent Kate O’Hare.

Problem is, teaming up to stop a corrupt investment banker who’s hiding on a private island in Indonesia is going to test O’Hare’s patience and Fox’s skill. Not to mention the skills of their ragtag team made up of flamboyant actors, wanted wheelmen, and Kate’s dad. High-speed chases, pirates, and Toblerone bars are all in a day’s work . . . if O’Hare and Fox don’t kill each other first.

The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There by Catherynne M. Valente (Fairyland #2)

September longs to go back to fairyland. But when she falls into it almost by accident she finds it much changed. It turns out the shadow she lost has become Halloween, the Hollow Queen, of Fairyland-Below and who is stealing all the shadows and thus the magic out of Fairyland-Above. September sets out to find her shadow and try to set to rights what Halloween has done.

For there are two kinds of forgiveness in the world: the one you practice because everything really is all right, and what went before is mended. The other kind of forgiveness you practice because someone needs desperately to be forgiven, or because you need just as badly to forgive them, for a heart can grab hold of old wounds and go sour as milk over them.

This I enjoyed more than the first one. The first lacked a charm for me that I found here. I don't know if it was just a better mood for me, a better narrator or if it is just a better book. But I liked Fell Beneath Fairyland and September's adventures in Fairyland-Below. September encounters the shadows of her beloved friends, Saturday and A Through L who are and are not just like their counterparts. September learns with her new and growing heart about betrayal and love and what makes someone real. And that people, and yes even shadows, are not black and white characters but grey too. And also that everyone longs for something, even a shadow. I think there is a whole lot to this books beyond the surface story if you dig deep and look hard. But the wisdom is laid there on top too. It was all in all a labyrinth type story with many quirky sweet elements to it. I look forward to the next book.

 S.J. Tucker is the narrator and I am so happy they got a professional narrator for this book. As I've said before I am not a big fan of author read books and I didn't enjoy Valente as the narrator of the first book. Tucker's voice acting adds to the story and made me want to continue. I  enjoyed the audiobook quite a bit.

8 hours, 21 minutes

Weekly Round-Up 7/22

Weekly Round-Up is my wrap-up of last week's activities and includes what I'm reading this week, reviews I've posted, books in the mail and anything else of interest plus From the Library, my weekly listing of what I've checked out from the library.

This week I'm reading by The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith and The Honest Toddler: A Child's Guide to Parenting by Bunmi Laaditan and listening to The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There by Catherynne M. Valente, read by S.J. Tucker.

 This week on SYNC you can download Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers, read by Erin Moon and Hamlet by William Shakespeare, read by a Full Cast (L.A. Theatre Works). Downloads are free til Wednesday. Thursday the new downloads are The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen, read by Charlie McWade (Scholastic Audiobooks) and The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain, read by Steve West.

 

By now everyone who knows who Robert Galbraith is a pseudonym for (J.K. Rowling). So yeah I jumped on the bandwagon. I struggled with her literary book The Casual Vacancy and never finished it but that is not really my genre. I love mysteries so I'm hoping that I like this.
The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith

After losing his leg to a land mine in Afghanistan, Cormoran Strike is barely scraping by as a private investigator. Strike is down to one client, and creditors are calling. He has also just broken up with his longtime girlfriend and is living in his office.

Then John Bristow walks through his door with an amazing story: His sister, thelegendary supermodel Lula Landry, known to her friends as the Cuckoo, famously fell to her death a few months earlier. The police ruled it a suicide, but John refuses to believe that. The case plunges Strike into the world of multimillionaire beauties, rock-star boyfriends, and desperate designers, and it introduces him to every variety of pleasure, enticement, seduction, and delusion known to man.

You may think you know detectives, but you've never met one quite like Strike. You may think you know about the wealthy and famous, but you've never seen them under an investigation like this.

Clockwork Princess (audio) by Cassandra Claire, read by Daniel Sharman

A net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute. Mortmain plans to use his Infernal Devices, an army of pitiless automatons, to destroy the Shadowhunters. He needs only one last item to complete his plan: he needs Tessa Gray.

Charlotte Branwell, head of the London Institute, is desperate to find Mortmain before he strikes. But when Mortmain abducts Tessa, the boys who lay equal claim to her heart, Jem and Will, will do anything to save her. For though Tessa and Jem are now engaged, Will is as much in love with her as ever.

As those who love Tessa rally to rescue her from Mortmain’s clutches, Tessa realizes that the only person who can save her is herself. But can a single girl, even one who can command the power of angels, face down an entire army?

Danger and betrayal, secrets and enchantment, and the tangled threads of love and loss intertwine as the Shadowhunters are pushed to the very brink of destruction in the breathtaking conclusion to the Infernal Devices trilogy.

The Unseen Guest (The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place #3) (audio) by Maryrose Wood, read by Katherine Kellgren.

Of especially naughty children it is sometimes said, "They must have been raised by wolves."

The Incorrigible children actually were.

Since returning from London, the three Incorrigible children and their plucky governess, Miss Penelope Lumley, have been exceedingly busy. Despite their wolfish upbringing, the children have taken up bird-watching, with no unfortunate consequences—yet. And a perplexing gift raises hard questions about how Penelope came to be left at the Swanburne Academy for Poor Bright Females and why her parents never bothered to return for her.

But hers is not the only family mystery to solve. When Lord Fredrick's long-absent mother arrives with the noted explorer Admiral Faucet, gruesome secrets tumble out of the Ashton family tree. And when the admiral's prized racing ostrich gets loose in the forest, it will take all the Incorrigibles' skills to find her.

The hunt for the runaway ostrich is on. But Penelope is worried. Once back in the wild, will the children forget about books and poetry and go back to their howling, wolfish ways? What if they never want to come back to Ashton Place at all?

Epic Fail by Claire LaZebnik

Elise and her family have just moved to Los Angeles for her mother's new job as principal of Elise and her sisters' new school. There they meet sweet Chase who falls for Elise's older sister Julianna. But it's Chase's best friend Derek that causes Elise the most trouble. As the son of two very famous movie stars, Derek seems proud and aloof though drawn to Elise for some reason. And she is determined not to fall for him because of those very reasons.

So this is a modern retelling of Pride and Prejudice. If you know that story you know what happens in this one. I like how the names were translated and the characters were remade. I feel like the dialogue was too stilted in places and some of the plot points could have been polished more. I get that the author wanted to do Pride and Prejudice in high school. It's just it could have been done a little smoother. Still it was a fun book and I always enjoy retellings of my favorite classics. Elise and Derek have the same old problems with one being rich and, in this case, famous or at least fame adjacent, and the other determined to be above that all. I like how the Wickham/Lydia thing was translated with Wesley and the younger sister Layla. And how the Bennet were portrayed though Anne is once again left out. Why is she the Bennet sister most likely to not make it into an adaption? Anyway, this was a fun read and I liked it as a P&P retelling.

Weekly Round-Up 7/15

Weekly Round-Up is my wrap-up of last week's activities and includes what I'm reading this week, reviews I've posted, books in the mail and anything else of interest plus From the Library, my weekly listing of what I've checked out from the library.

This week I'm reading by Epic Fail by Claire LaZebnik  and The Honest Toddler: A Child's Guide to Parenting by Bunmi Laaditan and listening to The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There by Catherynne M. Valente, read by S.J. Tucker.

Last week I reviewed The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen and The Girl who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente, read by the author.

This week on SYNC you can download The Peculiar by Stefan Bachmann, read by Peter Altschuler and Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, read by Simon Vance. Downloads are free til Wednesday. Thursday the new downloads are Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers, read by Erin Moon and Hamlet by William Shakespeare, read by a Full Cast (L.A. Theatre Works).

  

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

Crazy Rich Asians is the outrageously funny debut novel about three super-rich, pedigreed Chinese families and the gossip, backbiting, and scheming that occurs when the heir to one of the most massive fortunes in Asia brings home his ABC (American-born Chinese) girlfriend to the wedding of the season. When Rachel Chu agrees to spend the summer in Singapore with her boyfriend, Nicholas Young, she envisions a humble family home, long drives to explore the island, and quality time with the man she might one day marry. What she doesn't know is that Nick's family home happens to look like a palace, that she'll ride in more private planes than cars, and that with one of Asia's most eligible bachelors on her arm, Rachel might as well have a target on her back. Initiated into a world of dynastic splendor beyond imagination, Rachel meets Astrid, the It Girl of Singapore society; Eddie, whose family practically lives in the pages of the Hong Kong socialite magazines; and Eleanor, Nick's formidable mother, a woman who has very strong feelings about who her son should--and should not--marry. Uproarious, addictive, and filled with jaw-dropping opulence, Crazy Rich Asians is an insider's look at the Asian JetSet; a perfect depiction of the clash between old money and new money; between Overseas Chinese and Mainland Chinese; and a fabulous novel about what it means to be young, in love, and gloriously, crazily rich.

Doll Bones by Holly Black

Zach, Poppy and Alice have been friends for ever. They love playing with their action figure toys, imagining a magical world of adventure and heroism. But disaster strikes when, without warning, Zach’s father throws out all his toys, declaring he’s too old for them. Zach is furious, confused and embarrassed, deciding that the only way to cope is to stop playing . . . and stop being friends with Poppy and Alice. But one night the girls pay Zach a visit, and tell him about a series of mysterious occurrences. Poppy swears that she is now being haunted by a china doll – who claims that it is made from the ground-up bones of a murdered girl. They must return the doll to where the girl lived, and bury it. Otherwise the three children will be cursed for eternity.

The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There by Catherynne M. Valente, read by S.J. Tucker

September has longed to return to Fairyland after her first adventure there. And when she finally does, she learns that its inhabitants have been losing their shadows—and their magic—to the world of Fairyland Below. This underworld has a new ruler: Halloween, the Hollow Queen, who is September’s shadow. And Halloween does not want to give Fairyland’s shadows back.

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente (audio)

One day September is brought into Fairyland by the Green Wind and his Leopard of Small Breezes. There she accepts a quest to retrieve a Spoon from the not very nice and very bureaucratic ruler of Fairyland and in the process she makes some very good friends and learns some very hard lessons.

Stories have a way of changing faces. They are unruly things, undisciplined, given to delinquency and the throwing of erasers. This is why we must close them up into thick, solid books, so they cannot get out and cause trouble.

I have an odd affinity for books with long titles. I don't know why but it makes them more intriguing. I had a hard time with this book though. I don't know what it was. I started it in book form and couldn't get into it, then switched to audio thinking that might help. And I guess it did. I wasn't fond of the narrator (see below) but the story is fun and sweet. It is sort of Alice in Wonderland crossed with The Chronicles of Narnia tinged with The Phantom Tollbooth and The Neverending Story. It's a modern fairytale. The illustrations in the actual book are lovely. As for the story itself, it wasn't quite what I thought it was going to be. This is an infinity quotable book and I love that. But I just had a hard time with getting into this book. It was good, just not going to be one of my favorites. Still I enjoyed the story. I think it was really well written and the ending was spot-on wonderful. September is fairly sympathetic character despite the author's insistence that all children are heartless. And I found the Marquess an incredibly interested and layered character for a villain.

I'm not a fan of author read audio books. I find that while most authors can do a passable job, it's still not as good as a professional. Some authors are really good at it (see Libba Bray and Neil Gaiman) but others should just stick to their day job. Catherynne M. Valente is just okay. Her voice is too unprofessional to my liking and I think a real audio book narrator would have elevated this book to another level. Valente was just passable. I was pretty happy to find that the next book in the series has a real narrator.

7 hours,  16 minutes

The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen

A year and a half after her father's death, Macy is trying to be perfect. Trying not to grieve too much or upset her mother in anyway, she has pretty much withdrawn into herself. Facing a summer at the information desk with two snotty girls who clearly think she is not good enough, Macy is just trying to hang on. That is until she meets the catering crew at one of her mother's parties. Drawn to their chaotic but loveable style, Macy begins to pull out of herself and look around at the world and maybe finally deal with the loss of her father.

First, a small rant. Student workers at the information desk answering actual reference questions? No. I don't think so. At least not at any library I have worked at and certainly not high schoolers. That is what librarians are for. Allow me to get on my librarian soapbox for a minute. Not everyone who works at a library is a librarian. Shocking I know. Librarians are usually the one working the reference desk and do a lot in administration. Childrens programs are often (but not always) run by librarians. Same for teen programs. Usually there is a librarian in charge in either case. Librarians go to school to obtain their MLIS (Masters of Library and Information Science or the ilk) and have been trained to do this work. It may seem strange to an outsider and no one is expecting the public at large to know the difference between a librarian and a library specialist (paraprofessional). But the distinction is there. *end soapbox* So 3 high schoolers working the information desk is probably not a thing that would happen. Maybe it does and I just have never encountered that kind of library. But at most they would be pointing out the bathroom and where to find a novel. Not answering in depth reference questions. This aggravated me as it seemed there was no librarian (or adult for that matter) in charge of these girls and there clearly would have been in a real world situation. /rant

Anyway, this was a much better Sarah Dessen for me. I read This Lullaby a few years back and walked away with a sort of meh impression of Dessen. I couldn't figure out the hype. But I've recently gotten into a contemporary kind of mood and thought I'd give Dessen another try. This was better. I didn't feel too old to be reading it unlike the last book. I still don't think I'll ever be a Dessen superfan but I don't think I'll go 3 years in between books either.

Macy's mother is a ridiculous kind of mother though. I know she is dealing with a lot but she makes absolutely no time to talk to her daughter or understand her daughter's new friends. So it's no wonder their relationship has deteriorated to its current state. And Macy doesn't really help either with all her pretending to be fine-just-fine. If you say that enough then the person asking will start to believe you. It was nice to see her journey to opening up and exploring a new world and finding happiness. I liked Macy and I felt sorry for her. I liked Wes and the other people who work at Wish, the catering company Macy goes to work for. They are a motley crew but good people and a great group of friends for Macy. I do wish the ending hadn't wrapped up as neatly as it did. More needed to be explored between Macy and her mother. I would have liked to have more of their relationship and less of Macy and Wes. But maybe that's just me.

Weekly Round-Up 7/8

Weekly Round-Up is my wrap-up of last week's activities and includes what I'm reading this week, reviews I've posted, books in the mail and anything else of interest plus From the Library, my weekly listing of what I've checked out from the library.

This week I'm reading by The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen and The Honest Toddler: A Child's Guide to Parenting by Bunmi Laaditan and listening to The Girl who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente, read by the author. 

Last week I reviewed Spring Fever by Mary Kay Andrews. 

This week on SYNC you can download Carter Finally Gets It by Brent Crawford, read by Nick Podehl and She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith, read by a Full Cast. Downloads are free til Wednesday. Thursday the new downloads are The Peculiar by Stefan Bachmann, read by Peter Altschuler and Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, read by Simon Vance.

Spring Fever by Mary Kay Andrews (audio)

Annajane is anxious to get out of Pascoe, NJ and move on with her life. But first she wants to see her ex-husband, Mason, get married to achieve some closure. An unfortunate emergency involving Mason's daughter stops the wedding literally as the bride is walking down the isle. From there things spiral out of Annajane's control until she is wondering if maybe the reason she can't leave Mason and Pascoe behind is because she doesn't want to.

I think this is my third Mary Kay Andrews and as usual it was charming though I liked it less than Hissy Fit and The Fixer Upper. I think it was because Mason and Annajane divorced for a stupid reason and I have no patience for that. Plus the beginning of this book was pretty much all back story and flashback and it felt clumsy. But once that was out of the way and the plot moved on, it was golden. I enjoyed both Annajane and Mason's characters and I thought Pokey, Mason's sister/Annajane's BFF, was hilarious. Mason's daughter, Sophie, was sweet though she read a little younger than 5 to me. I will say that the "villains" of the story were pretty much nothing but caricatures of villains especially Celia, Mason's bride-to-be. She was such a stereotype that when she plays the pregnancy card I just rolled my eyes. Because of course she does. I don't feel like the nitty-gritty of what drove Celia was every really explored. But I guess we aren't suppose to care, just actively root against her.

The book ends up just where you'd expect but that's okay. It is a fun and flirty book, a great summer read that I enjoyed.

Kathleen Mcinerney is the narrator and I enjoyed listening to her. She had just the right kind of voice though she managed to make a few characters more Southern sounding than others despite the fact that they all grew up in the same town.

15 hours, 34 minutes

Weekly Round-Up 7/1

Weekly Round-Up is my wrap-up of last week's activities and includes what I'm reading this week, reviews I've posted, books in the mail and anything else of interest plus From the Library, my weekly listing of what I've checked out from the library.

This week I'm reading by The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen and The Honest Toddler: A Child's Guide to Parenting by Bunmi Laaditan and listening to The Girl who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente, read by the author. I switched to audio on this book because I couldn't get into reading it though the pictures are lovely. I wasn't in the mood to read a children's book and thought maybe audio would be the answer.

This week on SYNC you can download Rotters by Daniel Kraus, read by Kirby Heyborne and
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, read by Jim Weiss. Downloads are free til Wednesday. Thursday the new downloads are Carter Finally Gets It by Brent Crawford, read by Nick Podehl and She Stoops to Conquer by Oliver Goldsmith, read by a Full Cast.

 The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen

A long, hot summer...

That's what Macy has to look forward to while her boyfriend, Jason, is away at Brain Camp. Days will be spent at a boring job in the library, evenings will be filled with vocabulary drills for the SATs, and spare time will be passed with her mother, the two of them sharing a silent grief at the traumatic loss of Macy's father.

But sometimes unexpected things can happen—things such as the catering job at Wish, with its fun-loving, chaotic crew. Or her sister's project of renovating the neglected beach house, awakening long-buried memories. Things such as meeting Wes, a boy with a past, a taste for Truth-telling, and an amazing artistic talent, the kind of boy who could turn any girl's world upside down. As Macy ventures out of her shell, she begins to wonder, Is it really better to be safe than sorry?

Epic Fail by Claire LaZebnik

At Coral Tree Prep in Los Angeles, who your parents are can make or break you. Case in point:

- As the son of Hollywood royalty, Derek Edwards is pretty much prince of the school--not that he deigns to acknowledge many of his loyal subjects.
- As the daughter of the new principal, Elise Benton isn't exactly on everyone's must-sit-next-to-at-lunch list.

When Elise's beautiful sister catches the eye of the prince's best friend, Elise gets to spend a lot of time with Derek, making her the envy of every girl on campus. Except she refuses to fall for any of his rare smiles and instead warms up to his enemy, the surprisingly charming social outcast Webster Grant. But in this hilarious tale of fitting in and flirting, not all snubs are undeserved, not all celebrity brats are bratty, and pride and prejudice can get in the way of true love for only so long.