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This has been another quiet week in my reading roundup. I really wish I didn’t need to work so that I could concentrate on my TBR list! [book-info] Steelheart is the first in a new series by Brandon Sanderson – sparks, that writer is prolific!  It tells the story of David, a young man seeking revenge for the death of his father at the hands of Steelheart, an Epic, one of many super powered humans in this new world.  Steelheart has taken over Newcago (a dystopian version of Chicago) and appears all but invincible.  But David has a secret; he has seen Steelheart bleed.  He teams up with the Reckoners, a group of people attempting to work against the Epics to bring Steelheart down. I have commented on the free five chapter sampler and the full book does not disappoint.  I have said it before, and will doubtlessly say it again, Sanderson’s strengths as a writer are in worldbuilding, magic systems and pacing.  All of these are top notch in Steelheart.  Sanderson takes us through David’s tale at a brisk clip, and the twists and revelations are as well thought out and logical as you would expect from the writer…

I hope you enjoyed last week’s guest post from Azrael, but now it’s back to regular programming.  The books I have read in the last few weeks have all been worthy of full reviews, so expect to see them in the next few weeks.  This week I started listening to Steelheart of which I have heard the first few chapters a few weeks ago when Audible released them early, free of charge.  I do enjoy Sanderson’s writing so I’m really looking forward to this one. I’m also reading an ARC of Paul S. Kemp’s The Godborn.  Expect reviews of these two soon.   Added to my library this week One series I love listening to on Audible is the Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher.  I used an Audible credit to add book 5, Death Masks, to my library.  I’m looking forward to this, but it will likely be a few weeks before I get the chance to listen to it. One of the books on Audible’s daily deals this week was The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.  This is a very interesting tale, and I was happy to add it to my library for the couple of dollars that…

I hope you enjoyed last week’s guest post from Azrael, but now it’s back to regular programming.  The books I have read in the last few weeks have all been worthy of full reviews, so expect to see them in the next few weeks.  This week I started listening to Steelheart of which I have heard the first few chapters a few weeks ago when Audible released them early, free of charge.  I do enjoy Sanderson’s writing so I’m really looking forward to this one. I’m also reading an ARC of Paul S. Kemp’s The Godborn.  Expect reviews of these two soon.   Added to my library this week One series I love listening to on Audible is the Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher.  I used an Audible credit to add book 5, Death Masks, to my library.  I’m looking forward to this, but it will likely be a few weeks before I get the chance to listen to it. One of the books on Audible’s daily deals this week was The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.  This is a very interesting tale, and I was happy to add it to my library for the couple of dollars that…

This week I read A Cat Called Dog by Jem Vanston which I received free to review from Netgalley.  It is a sweet tale of a young cat who was raised by dogs and therefore thinks and acts in a more doglike fashion.  He is taken under the wing of a more mature cat named George, and together with George and his friends he must save George’ s mistress from disaster.   The book is exactly what it claims to be; a light, fluffy tale which passed a couple of pleasant hours.  Cat and dog lovers will certainly recognise some of the behavioural traits mentioned in the book.  It is funny and engaging, but classic literature it is not. I gave A Cat Called Dog three and a half stars out of five. The Assassin and the Pirate Lord by Sarah J. Maas Genres: Epic Fantasy Format: eBook Pages: 416Amazon • Kobo • iTunes  I was not familiar with Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass series, and this novella seemed an excellent way to get started as it was less than a dollar on Amazon.  I really enjoyed what I read, and I will certainly be reading more of her work….

This week I read A Cat Called Dog by Jem Vanston which I received free to review from Netgalley.  It is a sweet tale of a young cat who was raised by dogs and therefore thinks and acts in a more doglike fashion.  He is taken under the wing of a more mature cat named George, and together with George and his friends he must save George’ s mistress from disaster.   The book is exactly what it claims to be; a light, fluffy tale which passed a couple of pleasant hours.  Cat and dog lovers will certainly recognise some of the behavioural traits mentioned in the book.  It is funny and engaging, but classic literature it is not. I gave A Cat Called Dog three and a half stars out of five. The Assassin and the Pirate Lord by Sarah J. Maas Genres: Epic Fantasy Format: eBook Pages: 416Amazon • Kobo • iTunes  I was not familiar with Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass series, and this novella seemed an excellent way to get started as it was less than a dollar on Amazon.  I really enjoyed what I read, and I will certainly be reading more of her work….

This was my final week of nightshifts, and a public holiday as well, which meant I was primarily listening to audiobooks.  Expect full reviews of Clockwork Princess and The Golem and the Jinni in the near future. [book-info]This has been another week in which I gave up on a book.  This time it was First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones.  It started off excellently; the concept of a private investigator who is also a portal to Heaven and who must help the dead pass over sounded really intriguing and fun.  I immediately clicked with the main character Charley.  You’ve got a love a girl who, on waking up at 4am to the phone ringing and a strange dead guy standing by her bed asks said dead guy to answer the phone!   The narrator, Lorelei King, did a great job bringing the story to life.  My biggest issue with the book was that it very quickly veered HEAVILY into paranormal romance territory which was a real turnoff for me.  I was more interested in hearing about Charley’s life as a Grim Reaper and far less in hearing about how her mysterious dream lover fires up her loins. Steelheart by…

This was my final week of nightshifts, and a public holiday as well, which meant I was primarily listening to audiobooks.  Expect full reviews of Clockwork Princess and The Golem and the Jinni in the near future. [book-info]This has been another week in which I gave up on a book.  This time it was First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones.  It started off excellently; the concept of a private investigator who is also a portal to Heaven and who must help the dead pass over sounded really intriguing and fun.  I immediately clicked with the main character Charley.  You’ve got a love a girl who, on waking up at 4am to the phone ringing and a strange dead guy standing by her bed asks said dead guy to answer the phone!   The narrator, Lorelei King, did a great job bringing the story to life.  My biggest issue with the book was that it very quickly veered HEAVILY into paranormal romance territory which was a real turnoff for me.  I was more interested in hearing about Charley’s life as a Grim Reaper and far less in hearing about how her mysterious dream lover fires up her loins. Steelheart by…

Something happened this week that doesn’t often happen to me – I gave up on a book.  I had been reading Fire by Kristin Cashore, and I just couldn’t get into it at all.  Her previous book, Graceling, was one I’d quite enjoyed.  The world she’d created with Gracelings was fascinating.  For some reason though, I just couldn’t enjoy the slightly different world of Fire with its multicoloured monsters and rather bland heroine.  On Amazon though it gets a good 4.2 stars out of five and on GoodReads 4.11 so perhaps it was just me. Upcoming September releases There are a few good books coming out in September that I have on pre-order. First up is The Transfer – a Divergent Story by Veronica Roth.  Ms Roth is releasing four short stories in the Divergent world and this first one in which the character of Four is given more screen time.  I’m excited for Allegiant, the final book in the trilogy which is due out in October, so I’ll certainly be enjoying this additional material in advance. Despite having been out in the UK and Audible since March, the Kindle version of Luke Scull’s The Grim Company only gets its North American…

Something happened this week that doesn’t often happen to me – I gave up on a book.  I had been reading Fire by Kristin Cashore, and I just couldn’t get into it at all.  Her previous book, Graceling, was one I’d quite enjoyed.  The world she’d created with Gracelings was fascinating.  For some reason though, I just couldn’t enjoy the slightly different world of Fire with its multicoloured monsters and rather bland heroine.  On Amazon though it gets a good 4.2 stars out of five and on GoodReads 4.11 so perhaps it was just me. Upcoming September releases There are a few good books coming out in September that I have on pre-order. First up is The Transfer – a Divergent Story by Veronica Roth.  Ms Roth is releasing four short stories in the Divergent world and this first one in which the character of Four is given more screen time.  I’m excited for Allegiant, the final book in the trilogy which is due out in October, so I’ll certainly be enjoying this additional material in advance. Despite having been out in the UK and Audible since March, the Kindle version of Luke Scull’s The Grim Company only gets its North American…

It certainly isn’t a good week to be a bookworm in Quebec.  Canada’s Globe and Mail is reporting that Quebec’s legislature has opened a hearing on pricing for new books.  Being discussed is the question of whether or not to prevent the price of new books being discounted by more than 10% for the first nine months after release.  The stated intention behind this is to protect the smaller bookstores, especially smaller Francophone ones, from the big hitters such as Amazon and Walmart.  Now, while I can appreciate the sentiment, I’m really not certain that keeping book prices high is really going to help anyone.  Smaller bookstores are never going to be able to compete with Amazon on price, so perhaps the government should concentrate on supporting them other ways.  For example subsidising author signings in the province, sponsoring book groups, or subsidising the cost of Quebecois francophone books.  Most Quebec produced books are still noticeably more expensive than their English counterparts. This week I have been working nightshift.  As my job is very reactive – sitting around waiting on servers burping, not many human callers – I find it’s a perfect time to enjoy some audiobooks.  The books help to keep…