Fun things from Goodreads

Do you belong to Goodreads? I joined the site, (free) as a way to log the books I have read and keep track of them. But Goodreads is so much more. There are tons of "giveaways" that you can register for, by genre. And yes I have received one that I registered for. There are also groups you can belong to about lots of different things related to reading, books and blogging. I have stumbled upon several books authors were looking for people to read and review. They have all been very good. And they have these fun posts almost daily on their Face Book page. I have posted few before.



Here are a few from this week. This first one is totally me. Goodness. I am thinking I need to just gathering them all together and make a vow to read them all before I get anymore.



This was interesting to review. I am not into Fantasy series, but have read a couple: Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter..but thought it would be a fun thing to share. Frankly I didn't know there were so many of this type of series.

Here is the link if you would like to see how many you have read.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/awesomer/fantasy-forever#.em4W9x6eM




These are cute.

And finally, how many of us have thought we would like to have a book store? Here is your chance to give it a try. (The truth is, I would probably just read all day and buy the books myself.)

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/aug/21/tourists-offered-chance-to-run-a-bookshop-on-holiday-wigtown



Check out Goodreads, if you haven't already.
http://www.goodreads.com/

Onyx Webb Book 2

I am totally hooked on this series. I talked about Book 1 last month. This is to be a 10 book series, each book release about every 3 months. (I looked at the schedule because I can't wait for the next one to come out).

"Part paranormal thriller, part romantic mystery and part historical fiction......
The Onyx Webb series follows the unusual life of Onyx Webb along with a central core of characters in other places and times. The billionaire Mulvaney family, piano prodigy Juniper Cole and her brother Quinn, paranormal show hosts Cryer and Fudge, and a few others make up the core of the series.
Written like a book version of a supernatural soap opera, most each character’s story is moved forward within each episode.
It may appear that the characters are entirely unrelated and yet episode by episode, the connections will become clearer. Like being an inch away from a spider web, with each book, the web will move further and further away revealing the full story of every character – and most importantly, the stunning conclusion for Onyx Webb herself."

Hard to believe but Book 2  may be even better than Book 1! This is a quick read, one sitting read. Book 2 weaves together the lives of the characters closer and closer together. Onyx and Ulrich are trying to stay one step ahead of "the mob". Koda is haunted by what he saw in the mirror. His best friend Dane tries to help him by having a séance which doesn't go as planned. The story of Declan, Tommy, Sister Mary Margaret, Sister Katherine and Father Fanning gets more and more complex. Remember the picture of The Southern Gentleman in Book One? He makes an appearance. We still don't know what Onyx's father wanted to tell her about herself but we know there is something about her yet to be revealed.

It is not a "fun" story, but some fun things about it are some of the references to places I have lived. One of the main characters is Mika Flagler of the famous Flagler family in Florida. I lived in south Florida for awhile and recognized the Flagler name: Flagler Museum, Flagler Dr., Flagler real estate. Some of the story in Book 2 takes place in Chicago. I recognized some the street names and particularly Riverview Amusement Park and "The Bobs". I am pretty sure I was never there because it closed before I would have gone. But it was highly advertised and older kids talked about it, and still do.

I love how the story spans decades yet skillfully keeps you on track. We have excerpts from Onyx's journal throughout the book, which adds to the mystery. Even the fonts of the titles of each chapter are in character. Anxiously awaiting the next book!

*I received a free copy in exchange for a review.

"20 Favorite Last Lines from Books"

How many of these books with these famous last lines,  have you read?

I have read 11 of these books and seen movies of two others.

(Pssst, this is my all time favorite book and movie)

http://bit.ly/1Kw1SET

Witchlight

I came across this book on Goodreads - Facebook for people who like books, I say.

It intrigued me because it has a Harry Potter flavor to it.  And I loved all the Harry Potter books.
But it is not a children's book

The main character is Holly, who is 38, lives alone, has a job in which she can support herself, a great cat and a seemingly pretty good life. Enter Partridge Mayflower who introduces himself as her fairy godfather. Partridge breaks the news to Holly that she was actually born a witch, and she has a great deal of "witchlight", more than the average witch. The Coven (not as dark as it sounds), have been looking for her and observing her and decided it was time she was told her true identity and brought up to speed on being a witch. She was adopted by "mortal" parents, and she never had any reason to think there was anything special about her.

Holly begins lessons on magic and at the same time meets a really great guy (Jake) that could be the one. (He is not a witch) She decides to pursue finding her real witch mother (Esme). It all seems so fun and interesting as she learns magic and is dating a wonderful man.

Then everything seems to changes and bad things start happening to the people important to her. And people are not always who they seem...

The story hooks you on the characters that are so likeable, that when things take a turn, it is hard to put down wondering how it will all turn out in the end.

The story starts out a little slow...I was witching it would pick up a bit sooner, but once it started rolling, it was really good.

I could see a series with Holly and how she might use her new found powers. I don't know if there are plans for another book or not.

If you like books about people with magic in current times, and wish you had "witchlight", you would like this book.

http://www.amazon.com/Witchlight-J-S-Watts/dp/0692406905



* I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review. Thanks!

Australia and Pacific Island book tour

Four our August Mystery Book Club, we read our choice of book(s) set in Australia or Pacific islands.  In July and August, a lot of our members are on vacations so we usually do a theme read and share what we have read.

We had about eight of us "die hard" club members this time. I think it was 101 F and we melted on over to our meeting place. We shared other books and t.v. shows we have been watching or shows coming up in the fall, i.e. Masterpiece Mystery, pretending it will be cool soon.

Here is a list of the "tour" books. It may not be all of them. I tried to jot down what I could.

As I mentioned last week, I read The Recipient by Dean Mayes. It mostly took place in Melbourne Australia. The picture above is of the Melbourne coast. (according to the internet :)) It is coming out in October 2015. I highly recommend it.

Pago Pago Tango by John Enright :  Samoa. This is book one of the Jungle Beat series. The club member said the history it talked about was interesting and described some of the culture and phrases the people use. Good story.
http://www.amazon.com/Pago-Tango-Jungle-Beat-Mystery-ebook/dp/B007VPZOXK

Moonlight Downs by Adrian Hyland: Australia. Won Australia's Ned Kelly 2007 Award for Best First Novel. It is a mystery but also talks about the culture and history of the Aborigines.
http://www.amazon.com/Moonlight-Downs-Emily-Tempest-Investigation/dp/1569475261

A Nail Through the Heart by Timothy Hallinan: Thailand. "very engaging".
http://www.amazon.com/Nail-Through-Heart-Novel-Bangkok/dp/0061257222

Several members read books by Paul Cleave - New Zealand. The club members really like these books. All three books are of the Christchurch New Zealand series.
The Cleaner: http://www.amazon.com/The-Cleaner-Thriller-Christchurch-Series/dp/1451677790
Cemetery Lake: http://www.amazon.com/Cemetery-Lake-Thriller-Christchurch-Series/dp/1451677839
Five Minutes Alone: http://www.amazon.com/Five-Minutes-Alone-Thriller-Christchurch/dp/1476779155

The Runner by Peter May:  http://www.amazon.com/Runner-China-Thriller-Thrillers/dp/1590586042/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1439157140&sr=1-1&keywords=the+runner+by+peter+may
This takes place in Beijing during the Olympics and was "really good.

As always, "a good time was had by all".  

Currently reading:
Witchlight by J.S. Watts.
Also in the lineup for August: Onyx Webb book 2 by Richard Fenton and Andrea Waltz
One Kick by Chelsea Cain - our Mystery Book Club selection for September.

Just to mention, I have had the privilege of reading a few books in exchange for reviews this summer. That has been a lot of fun. I agreed to read only books that looked like my kind of story though. But I am thoroughly enjoying it.

Stay cool!

Update on Arthur and George on Masterpiece Mystery Theatre

Arthur and George will start on Masterpiece Mystery on September 6, 2015 and run through September 20, 2015.

It is based on a book of the same name by Julian Barnes and is based on a true story.

Arthur refers to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and George Aldaji.

Blurb from PBS website:

"Martin Clunes (Doc Martin) stars as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes, in a three-part MASTERPIECE Mystery! adaptation of the novel by Julian Barnes. Outraged by injustice to an Anglo-Indian solicitor, the famed author uses the methods of his own fictional detective to get at the truth. Co-starring are Arsher Ali (The Missing) as George Edalji; and Charles Edwards (Downton Abbey) as Alfred Wood, Sir Arthur’s real-life “Dr. Watson.”

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/programs/arthur-and-george/

Looks promising.

If you are wondering "what about some books"! I am at various points of three books and hope to finish them soon.

We have our Mystery Book Club coming up this week and should get some good recommendations for books set in Australia and that part of the world.  I will let you know what they are.