Booking Through Thursday: Bedside

What books do you have next to your bed right now? How about other places in the house? What are you reading?

I’m actually in the process of cleaning my room (I conquered my closet yesterday!), so the only thing next to my bed is my Nintendo DS and a Tortuga Twins DVD. The bookshelf that houses my personal library is perpendicular to my bed, so that has all my favorites- The Lord of the Rings, Anansi Boys, Middlesex, Wicked, Boneshaker… the list goes on. My library books stay on my desk, when it’s clean, so they don’t get lost between my books and the various colonies my father’s library has settled in the house.  Because of my father’s library, I try and keep all my books in my room. I actually just cleared off a shelf in my closet that I can use for books I need to keep but don’t consider part of the personal library (mostly gifts and yearbooks), so my personal library is going to get a lot more organized. Yay!

Booking Through Thursday: 2009 in Review

What were your favorite books of the year? (Books that were new to you in 2009, if not necessarily published this year.)

This year, I started The Literary Omnivore. I’ve been a voracious reader for years, and I decided book blogging would be a wonderful creative outlet for me somewhere in October, after a presentation at my school about “e-portfolios”. The book blogging community has been more than welcoming- thank you, ladies! It’s been one of the best things about this year, up there with the inauguration, Dragon*Con, and my first semester of college.

In order to answer this question, I’ve put together a top ten list of the books I read this year. I try to read widely, but I must admit- I have a predisposition for fantasy and strong female characters, which shows in this list.

The Sunday Salon: Casting Call

Whenever I read a book, the mental images I develop of the characters can be anything from vague to pretty firm. For instance, since I had a very vague image of Fleur from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire that consisted of mostly “French, gorgeous, and blonde”, the casting was perfect. But I had such a firm image of Viktor Krum that I was a little shocked by his casting. My Krum had floppy hair and a big nose- the film Krum looks a great deal tougher than I pictured him as a lass of nine.

Booking Through Thursday: Thankful Thursday

What books and authors are you particularly thankful for this year?

This year, I’ve been discovering lots of new authors with the help of both of my local library systems, but I’m especially pleased to discover Robin McKinley and Cherie Priest. While I haven’t had a chance to read their other works besides Sunshine and Boneshaker, I enjoyed both of those so much that I’m greatly looking forward to reading their other works. Sunshine was a wonderful antidote to the toothless, romantic vampires overwhelming pop culture at the moment, and Boneshaker was, I think, the best introduction to Americana steampunk I could have read. My reviews of both are here and here, respectively.

As it’s Thanksgiving here in the US of A, I’m spending the day with family and friends of the family. A review of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay ought to go up tomorrow. Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving, everyone!

Review: Boneshaker

Boneshaker
by Cherie Priest

Boneshaker caught my eye when it was reviewed in an issue of Publishers Weekly. A part of it was its steampunk setting, which I’ve grown more interested in after seeing its massive turnout at Dragon*Con this year, but most of it was the story–a mother searching for her son against a fantastical background. For some reason, I find that premise quite arresting.

Also, there were zombies involved.

The Sunday Salon: The First Week

Things have been quite busy around here, since The Literary Omnivore was created just this past Tuesday. I started reviewing books this April, on a different blog of mine, and finally decided that they needed their own space. Thus, The Literary Omnivore was born.

The Literary Horizon: Brodeck, Boneshaker

Dark secrets and a mother rescuing her son in steampunk Seattle feature this week on The Literary Horizon.