Manic Monday: Amageddon's Children by Terry Brooks

Each Monday (or the closest I can get to Monday) I will be posting a Past/Present/Future Reading Post called Manic Monday. Don't hate me if I post it on a Tuesday - it just indicates how "manic" my Monday really was! If you want to see more of what I have been reading, I try and update my Goodreads account with each book I am reading.


What I just finished reading
Blameless by Gail Carriger
Stars: 4/5

Blurb from Goodreads:
Quitting her husband's house and moving back in with her horrible family, Lady Maccon becomes the scandal of the London season.

Queen Victoria dismisses her from the Shadow Council, and the only person who can explain anything, Lord Akeldama, unexpectedly leaves town. To top it all off, Alexia is attacked by homicidal mechanical ladybugs, indicating, as only ladybugs can, the fact that all of London's vampires are now very much interested in seeing Alexia quite thoroughly dead.

While Lord Maccon elects to get progressively more inebriated and Professor Lyall desperately tries to hold the Woolsey werewolf pack together, Alexia flees England for Italy in search of the mysterious Templars. Only they know enough about the preternatural to explain her increasingly inconvenient condition, but they may be worse than the vampires -- and they're armed with pesto.

Why I picked it up: Because I liked the first two books in the series.
Why I finished it: Because I liked the first two books in the series. I didn't find Blameless as engaging as the first two books. It wasn't as tight or witty, and I only finished it to see what happens next, not for the pleasure of reading it. Truth be told, I got bored with it. I think the infant inconvenience will be an intersting feautre of the book, and I liked how Carringer meshed it into Etruscan mythology.
I'd give it to: Anyone who read the first two books and liked them.

What I am reading now
Armageddon's Children by Terry Brooks

Blurb from Goodreads:
Logan Tom is doomed to remember the past and determined to rescue the future. Far behind him lies a boyhood cut violently short by his family's slaughter, when the forces of madness and hate swept our world after decadent excesses led to civilization's downfall. Somewhere ahead of him rests the only chance to beat back the minions of evil that are systematically killing and enslaving the last remnants of humanity. Navigating the scarred and poisoned landscape that once was America and guided by a powerful talisman, Logan has sworn an oath to seek out a remarkable being born of magic, possessed of untold abilities, and destined to lead the final fight against darkness." "Across the country, Angel Perez, herself a survivor of the malevolent death-dealing forces combing the land, has also been chosen for an uncanny mission in the name of her ruined world's salvation. From the devastated streets of Los Angeles, she will journey to find a place - and a people - shrouded in mystery, celebrated in legend, and vital to the cause of humankind...even as a relentless foe follows close behind, bent on her extermination. Meanwhile, in the nearly forsaken city of Seattle, a makeshift family of refugees has carved out a tenuous existence among the street gangs, mutants, and marauders fighting to stay alive against mounting odds - and something unspeakable that has come from the shadows in search of prey." In time, all their paths will cross. Their common purpose will draw them together. Their courage and convictions will be tested and their fates will be decided, as their singular crusade begins: to take back, or lose forever, the only world they have.

On a side note, I have been reading this as a back up book for a while, but only have been concentrating on it for a few days (in between other books LOL). I am really enjoying it's dystopian take on the future of America, and can't wait to see how the story unfolds! At the moment I am following street kids in the ruins of Seattle and finding it facinating!

What I am reading next
I am not sure. I am too broke to buy books, so I have just been digging around in my shelves for whatever takes my fancy next.

Manic Monday: The Chrysalids by John Wyndham

Each Monday (or the closest I can get to Monday) I will be posting a Past/Present/Future Reading Post called Manic Monday. Don't hate me if I post it on a Tuesday - it just indicates how "manic" my Monday really was! If you want to see more of what I have been reading, I try and update my Goodreads account with each book I am reading.


What I just finished reading
Soulless by Gail Carriger
Stars: 4/5

Blurb from Goodreads:
Alexia Tarabotti is laboring under a great many social tribulations. First, she has no soul. Second, she's a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette.

Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire -- and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate.

With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London's high society? Will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?


Why I picked it up: Gail Carriger writes steampunk UF/PnR and my twitter friends urged me to read the novels. They were right.
Why I finished it: They were right.
I'd give it to: People who like some supernatural in their period dramas.

What I am reading now
The Chrysalids by John Wyndham

Blurb from Goodreads:
The Chrysalids is set in the future after a devastating global nuclear war. David, the young hero of the novel, lives in a tight-knit community of religious and genetic fundamentalists, who exist in a state of constant alert for any deviation from what they perceive as the norm of God's creation, deviations broadly classified as 'offenses' and 'blasphemies.' Offenses consist of plants and animals that are in any way unusual, and these are publicly burned to the accompaniment of the singing of hymns. Blasphemies are human beings; ones who show any sign of abnormality, however trivial. They are banished from human society, cast out to live in the wild country where, as the authorities say, nothing is reliable and the devil does his work. David grows up surrounded by admonitions: KEEP PURE THE STOCK OF THE LORD; WATCH THOU FOR THE MUTANT. At first he hardly questions them, though he is shocked when his sternly pious father and rigidly compliant mother force his aunt to forsake her baby. It is a while before he realizes that he too is out of the ordinary, in possession of a power that could doom him to death or introduce him to a new, hitherto-unimagined world of freedom. The Chrysalids is a perfectly conceived and constructed work from the classic era of science fiction. It is a Voltairean philosophical tale that has as much resonance in our own day, when genetic and religious fundamentalism are both on the march, as when it was written during the Cold War.

What I am reading next
I am still plugging away at Jack Kerouac's On The Road, when I am not distracted by anything else. I can't afford to buy new books until next week, so I will either be finishing On The Road or pick up something else from my bookstacks.

Funky Friday: Soulless by Gail Carriger

Welcome to Funky Fridays! 
It is time we do something different to celebrate TGIF. Instead of focusing on the content of what we are reading (writing reviews, finding teasers to share, etc.), I thought I would start a meme on the covers of the books we are reading. There are some really amazing covers out there, and they really are worth sharing.

The Book Bites "Funky Friday" meme works like this:

• Every Friday, have a look at the books you have read in the last week and choose the cover you loved the most. If you aren’t a big reader (some of us are freaks of nature) think about the last 5 books you read, and choose one from those).
• If you know the name of the artist (it should be listed other side of the title page and is also sometimes on the back cover), please include it, so people can look into their art.  
• Think about why you liked it. Was it because you loved the artist, the concept, the model? Or maybe it was really in keeping with the spirit of the story?
• Find a picture of your favourite cover (scanned or online – if in doubt try fantasticfiction.co.uk) and share it with us. I recommend a minimum size of 200x325 so you can see the cover clearly.
• Tell us why you like it, what draws you to it, and tell us if it affected how you approached the book.
• Enjoy all the pretty covers! There are so many amazing, creative, inspiring and meaningful designs floating around the traps. Friday seems like a good time to celebrate this.
• Feel free to continue this on your own blog and share the funky Friday cover love! <3

The Book:
Soulless by Gail Carriger
The Artist: 
Cover Design: Lauren Panepinto
Cover Photography: Derek Caballero
Cover Model: Donna Ricci (founder of one of my favourite Steampunk fashion brands, Clockwork Couture)
The Cover:

This was the original image:

Why I like it:
I love steampunk. I mean, I _really_ love steampunk! It is an expensive hobby/way of life, however, so I am trying to get back into crafting and sewing. I am going to the Steampunk Symposium next weekend, which is why I am reading steamy books at the moment. This one was signed by Gail Carriger on her recent visit to Sydney – she went on a secret jaunt all over Sydney signing books. I could only afford to buy one of them, because of the aforementioned Steampunk Symposium next weekend. Steampunk is expensive if you aren’t creative. I got off topic. I love steampunk, and I love the Clockwork Couture brand. The model is actually the founder of that brand, and wearing some of those creations. I love how the emphasis of the cover is the model, her carriage and her outfit. I also love the caption on each of these covers:

A book about vampires, werewolves, and parasols.
A book about vampires, werewolves, and dirigibles.
A book about vampires, werewolves, and templars.

And with so much emphasis being on the steampunk model in the foreground, I think the titles being at angles and in block, matching the colour of the outfit, really works to balance the cover.

Book club, trade paperbacks and choosing what to read next...

I am not too sure what I am buying when I go to Galaxy's book club tonight. I have a number of books that I want to buy, but they are all trade paperbacks, and retailing for $30 at the moment. I technically have a budget of $30 a fortnight, I don't always stick to it, but I have my car rego due, as well as medical expenses and my phone bill (I am not even thinking of the electricity bill that arrived yesterday!). So I should probably be a good little girl and not go too far over my limit *sigh* So that just makes it harder for me! I can't by the new Sherrilyn Kenyon book about Nick, I can't buy Erica Hayes' Shadowglass, I can't buy Carrie Ryan’s Dead-Tossed Waves and so many more that I really really want! God I hate trades! I wish they were the same price as “A” format paperbacks… I can pick them up for between $12-$20 at Galaxy, plus my 10% discount on book club night.

Recent authors that have been recommended to me are Ilona Andrews – Dan Dan lent me her first book on the weekend – definitely a lot of fun! FangBooks on twitter recommended Gail Carriger, and I have been intrigued by the synopsis of that series before. I am obsessed with steampunk, and it is reputed to be steamy, so it has been on my To Buy list for some time. I would love to get some more Lora Leigh (suggested by Theresa), however Galaxy hardly ever stocks her books, and I may have to consider buying them elsewhere. I thought Lora Leigh only had 5 books in the Breed series – turns out she is up to 21! Pretty big lapse… I am starting to get antsy LOL I love that series! I think Maria had picked up a new Gena Showalter book last week as well, and if so I want it LOL I need to get Kylie Chan’s second book Dark Heavens novel, Red Phoenix (series also suggested by Dan Dan). It is crazy, most of the books I read these days are suggested to my by my friends at Galaxy’s book club! I just can’t get enough! I am already spending too much money there because of that book club LOL And I know the other girls are the same. Not all of them used to make regular visits to Galaxy, so they are spending so much more money there. I spend more money there and less at Abbeys, Dymocks, and I hardly ever go to second hand stores anymore. Galaxy is very bad for my budget!! ;D I kind of wish I could buy from book depository etc but as long as there is a book club I will be spending my book budget there – simply because the girls are always herding me towards new titles and I pick them up before I can even think about heading online to the Book Depository. Plus, there is also the instant gratification thing LOL

So I am stuck. I have NO idea what I am buying tonight! Although, I think I will definitely get the Kylie Chan book…. Unless something else comes up LOL

I also found a blog that links you to books that authors have offered for free. It is found here: http://online-novels.blogspot.com and through it I found a Charles de Lint novel on the Tor site. I want to get some sort of ereader on my phone for when I am on the train and don't have enough room to hold up my novel. That and those occasions I finish my books during my lunch break at work LOL

Do you attend a book club? Or perhaps a book forum (I used to run one, same principles, I always found too many books I wanted to read LOL) or online book club? Or do you get recommendations tweeted to you on twitter? (If you are on twitter and I don't already follow you, can you leave me a link?) How do you choose what books to read? Is it marketing in the bookstore and online, or through word of mouth? I would be interested to hear how you deal with choosing your To Be Read list! :)