Giveaway + 5 years of being Peculiar

Edit: This giveaway has closed. Thanks for all entries and congrats to Natoria!

It's been 5 years since Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs was published. In celebration of that and the upcoming film adaptation Quirk (that magnificent publisher) is holding giveaways and contests. Because they're awesome they've sent me a Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children tote to give away here on the blog. Hooray! All you need to do is comment below with what your peculiarity is to enter (your email address too please). I'll choose a random winner on July 1st and I'll send the tote your way. XD

As I said above, there are more contests and giveaways being hosted by Quirk on their site. You can head on over here to check that out. Good luck!

England: To infinity and beyond! OR I really like learning about England.

The Sherlock Holmes Handbook is a step-by-step instructional manual on how anyone can mold themselves into a consulting detective just like Arthur Conan Doyle's creation. More than that, Riggs provides the reader with trivia, factoids, and beautiful drawings of the detective in action. This book is excellent for anyone whether they're just being introduced to the famous detective or if they've been a diehard fan for many years. It's always fun to revisit old friends and bone up on the tricks of the trade. ;-)

Jane Austen lived during the Georgian era in England and her stories are a reflection of the time and the places she visited. She tended to focus on the areas she was most familiar with unlike many of her contemporaries who decided that far flung locations were much better suited for novels. Jane Austen's England: Daily Life in the Georgian and Regency Periods by Roy & Lesley Adkins takes a look at this time period and focuses on all aspects of the country. From wedding practices to the stratification of the classes this is a comprehensive look at all the minutiae not covered by Austen herself.

I spend way too long creating the titles for these posts

So as I mentioned in the last post I really love Agatha Christie (particularly her Hercule Poirot mysteries) so predictably I zoomed through The Clocks. This was written very differently and the plot development was unique also. For starters, the narrative voice changed several times from third person to first person (and it wasn't Poirot as first person either). I thought at first this might create problems like with time jumping but after a few chapters the transitions felt familiar and smooth. Secondly, Poirot never set foot on the crime scenes and he never spoke to any of the suspects. From what I've read, this is the only time Christie employed this tactic and it was mostly to show that it was possible for the Belgian detective to accomplish such a feat. As per usual, I thought I had the whole thing figured out only to discover that it was all a pile-up of red herrings and I'd been duped again. Oh, Agatha!

And because I felt like I just needed more Poirot in my life I checked out a short story entitled Wasps' Nest which I thought might keep me occupied for a few days. However, when it said 'short story' it meant incredibly quick. I finished that bad boy in about 15 minutes on the train home this evening. It was so short I have no idea how to even review it. Basically, there's a man named John Harrison (Star Trek Into Darkness, anyone?) who Poirot visits out in the country. He tells him that he's on a murder case...a murder that hasn't been committed yet. Dun Dun DUUUUUN. Yeah go and read it. It's a quick, delightful read (and I was still surprised by the conclusion because apparently Christie is a wizard).

Then I decided that I wasn't done with mysteries, detectives, and crime because I resurrected a book I had started a zillion years ago but got too distracted to finish: The Sherlock Holmes Handbook by Ransom Riggs (see Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children & Hollow City for more by him). This book is the Holmesian-How-To-Manual (that sounded ultra cool in my head) which explores the methodology of the fictional detective as well as current forensic science practices. Basically, if you're a Sherlockian then this is the book for you. We shall soon see!

I was NOT disappointed

Hollow City came, saw, and conquered. The only complaint that I have is that because I'm reading a series in progress I have to wait an unspecified amount of time for the next book in the series. That's the only fault I found with this delightful sequel. Just as in the first novel, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, Riggs expertly wove in photographs to tell a seamless story full of mystery, adventure, and friendship. Yes, these children have extraordinary abilities. Yes, they're being chased by creatures that are scarier than any monster we imagine might be under our bed. Yes, this is a book you need to go out and read.

With that case closed, I picked up The Spy: A Tale of the Neutral Ground by James Fenimore Cooper (the author of The Last of the Mohicans which is another fabulous read). This story focuses on the time period of the American Revolution and is at once an adventure and a romance. The main hero is a tragic yet admirable man named Harvey Birch who the reader follows through a story which bounces back and forth between American/Continental and British lines. For those of you who have read any of Cooper's previous works you will recognize that this style is his forte. Luckily, the copy that I have has the added benefit of being gorgeously illustrated so I'm a little freakishly excited jazzed to get started on it. I can't wait to update you all!!

I hope that you're not letting Daylight Savings Time win and you're keeping those pages turning, dear readers!!

So here's my take on #zombie: I loved the concept for this story. A zombie invasion that began because a computer hacker unleashed a subroutine through every available avenue on the Internet? BRILLIANT. As someone who uses social media on a daily basis (who doesn't these days?), it was a chilling thought that by clicking on what first appears as an innocuous link on Twitter I could become a mindless destroyer of humanity. However, it didn't hold my attention as I had hoped it would. Line has a tendency to drift and focus on minutiae that has no bearing on the tale. Re-telling of information previously stated is also another issue. Also, I didn't really feel connected to the protagonist, Ven. I didn't especially care if she made it through the apocalypse or not. Your main character needs to at least be somewhat relatable/likeable (at least I think so) to keep the interest of the reader. If I hadn't felt obligated to review I probably would have given up despite the fascination of the story's concept. In conclusion: great concept and some really great wit but could stand a bit of tightening up on storyline and characterization.

Next up is Hollow City by Ransom Riggs (yay signed copy!). This is the sequel to Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children which if you'll remember I reviewed this back in August. SPOILERS AHEAD IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE FIRST IN THIS SERIES. The story continues the journey of the main character Jacob and his peculiar friends as they try to escape from the wights and hollowgast who are after Miss Peregrine (who is stuck in bird form). The children are stuck in Jacob's past which means it's WWII making things even more complicated and dangerous. There only hope is to find another loop and an ymbryne (like Miss Peregrine) who can protect them and get Miss Peregrine back to human form. I'm only on Chapter 2 and I'm riveted. This guy is seriously a talented writer. I can't wait to see what kind of a journey this book takes me on.

Tiny update (or gigantic depending on your point of view)

So despite the fact that I didn't post the review of Out of the Silent Planet, I actually finished it last week. It was such a great read that I thought it would benefit you guys if I just finished up the Space Trilogy in its entirety before updating. With that thought in mind, I started on the sequel entitled Perelandra and I'm moving along quite well with that. I think you guys are really going to like these.

While that was happening I went to my very first book signing (in Brooklyn no less!). If you remember I reviewed Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs a few months back. Well, his sequel (I'm into book series apparently) Hollow City has just come out and he's touring to promote it (and be charming and create lifelong followers). Long story (which isn't particularly long) there was cookies, creepy pictures, and strange videos. It was delightful. I encourage you all to participate in an interactive book discussion with an accomplished author whenever the opportunity arises.

I'm nearly finished with Perelandra and hopefully That Hideous Strength will arrive in the mail shortly so I can post again next time. I want to create a regular posting schedule if possible and I welcome your suggestions and comments on where you want this blog to go in future. I know I'm having a fun time and I hope you all are too!!

Keep turning those pages!!!

Good news and bad news

The good news is that I thought Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children was fantastic and there is a SEQUEL (not due out until January 2014 though). The bad news is that I'm already finished with it and the sequel isn't out until January 2014. JANUARY 2014. Okay, maybe I should review this or something. Firstly, I would like to thank Ashley for asking me to read this (and for loaning me her copy). This book is a perfect example of magical realism gone so very right. The author, Ransom Riggs, uses vintage photographs to bring the story to life for the reader. They're so beautifully woven into the storyline that you (well, if you're like me at least) look forward to them every few pages. I really dig photographs (especially those found in old family albums) and I thought it was a clever device for transporting the reader into the world that he had created. These children are "peculiar" because of their abilities and these same gifts make them vulnerable. I don't want to say anymore because I want you to go read this immediately. GO NOW. OH and they're turning it into a motion picture due out in 2015. EVERYTHING IS HAPPENING. Edit: It's actually coming out September 30, 2016 and I'M EXCITED.

Okay if you managed to make it through the paragraph above I have to assume that you're a hardcore fan of mine (hi mom!) and I really appreciate you sticking it out with me. The next book up is another title from NetGalley which means it hasn't been published yet and therefore will not be readily available to you. However, it will be beneficial for me to trundle through it so I can let you know if I think it's worth your time. The book is Countdown: Our Last, Best Hope for a Future on Earth? by Alan Weisman. The basic question that this book is trying to answer is how humanity can come into balance with the earth. He travels the globe asking questions about limiting the growth of humans (not a new concept), ecosystem development (is the earth strong enough to hold all of us?), and what the economy of this newly stabilized (and shrunken) world might look like. I find nonfiction works about the state of our world and our place in it highly compelling which is why I gravitated toward this one. I imagine a world of possibilities that I never even imagined are about to be opened before me!

If a book has an overabundance of grammatical errors I find it exceedingly difficult to enjoy the experience. I'd love to sit down with the editors of Edge and find out just what they were thinking when they thoughts this book was okay to go to print. Also, it read like I should have had prior knowledge of events as if there were a prequel. There is no prequel, guys. This is the first in a series. I guess you gather that I don't highly recommend this one. The premise was a good one. The idea that society had degenerated into such violence that the majority of individuals walked around with sheathed knives is a novel one. However, I don't think this book was ready to deliver. Don't waste your time.

In awesome news, I met up with a friend to exchange books and the one she recommended is Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (great name). Photographs from the past are used to help create fictional stories about children set apart on a deserted island because they may (re definitely) have been a danger to society. I glanced at the photographs and I can already tell that for those easily spooked this book will keep you up at night. Good thing I've mostly gotten over my fear of the dark. Here we go!