A Lion Among Men by Gregory Maguire

This is the third book in the Wicked series. I LOVED Wicked, and while the story in Son of a Witch was intriguing, I thought the ending left something to be desired. I have to admit that I wasn't that thrilled when I saw the third book in the series was going to be about The Cowardly Lion. I hadn't really found him to be a compelling character - especially not enough to do an entire book on him. Now, discussing the Scarecrow's rise to power - that might have been interesting.

Sadly, I was right. This book was kinda dull and boring. It wasn't compelling and barely kept my interest. I flew through it, but I think it was more because I just wanted to be done.

However, that isn't going to stop me from reading the fourth and final book in the series, which comes out this fall. I'm hoping it regains some heat.

The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

I have touted and recommended Riordan's Percy Jackson series since I first read it five years ago. I think it is a great series and gives kids a good introduction to the basics of Greek mythology. I read it to my sixth graders, and I had kids who didn't read at all start to read more myths and other series that were similar.

Now that Percy Jackson is finished, Riordan has started two new series. One is the Kane Chronicles and The Red Pyramid is the first in that. Instead of looking at Greek myths, he's moved onto looking at Egyptian mythology, which I think is even more fantastic because this is often overlooked in our education systems. Again, it presents the basics to kids in a non-threatening, action packed method.

The book is told through a "recording" by Carter and Sadie Kane, a brother and sister duo who get swept up into an adventure where Egyptian gods are released into the modern world. They ultimately have to save the world from the god Set, who has a plan to send the world into chaos. As the story unfolds, Carter and Sadie slowly discover their family's history and how important they are in Egyptian history as well as to the safety of the world.

I wouldn't say this is as good as the Percy Jackson series, but it did keep my interest on a lazy Sunday afternoon. It's a quick read, fast paced and interesting. I'd say it's a definite for kids, and their parents might just enjoy it too.

Epically fantastic

I know the title sounds like something out of Bill and Ted's, but it is very fitting for this book.

I just finished George R.R. Martin's A Game of Thrones, Book One in the Fire and Ice series. It's long; it's intimidating; it's dense; but it's all worth it.

I read it on my Kindle so I didn't have to deal with the insanely huge tome. The other thing I did to make it easier was watch the HBO series as I read it. There's a lot of characters in this book, and each chapter follows one of them (all of the book is done in 3rd person, though). And, not all of the characters are the focus of the chapters, so you have ancillary ones in each chapter that still play a large role in the story. It's a lot to keep track of. Watching the series gave me a mental picture of each of the characters, which was very helpful for me.

A sidenote on the TV series - it's also fantastic. They follow the book very closely. I recognized quite a few direct quotes from the book while watching it. It's a must see.

Ok, back to the book.

A lot of the characters are a little crazy and definitely power hungry. But many of them are still intriguing. Chances are you'll either hate them or like them. But you won't be ambivalent toward any of them.

So, pick it up. Block out some time because chances are, it will quickly suck you in.

Too Many Cooks ...

You know the saying "too many cooks in the kitchen spoils the broth"? That's exactly what happens with Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris (this is the 11th book in the Sookie Stackhouse series).

I started reading these before the True Blood craze, but I've kept reading them because they're a nice popcorn/potato chip read. They're quick, and they don't require much brain power. The first few or so in the series were decent for the formulaic novel. But, after a while, it became too much. By too much, I mean that there were way too many plot points. The books are all relatively short, so there shouldn't be more than two plot points. However, it's gotten to the point where there are about five different storylines going on - some don't even start until the middle of the book. Because they are short books, these stories don't get flushed out or developed. This results in me not caring about some of the stories, questioning why they're included in the book, or just not paying attention to them. I just wish she'd go back to the old style and simplify the stories. There's no need to smash all of that into such a small amount of pages. It's a series, for crying out loud. If you want to include that storyline, wait until another book and fully flush it out!

That being said, I'll still continue reading these books. They still serve their purpose of being an easy read - but I have to admit when I have a hard time of remembering exactly what happened in the book, maybe it's time to find a new series.

Kingdom Keepers IV: Power Play by Ridley Pearson

If you know me, you know that I may be a bit addicted to Disney. I discovered this series while at WDW for our honeymoon, and it's just fun to read.

In the previous four books, Finn and his fellow DHIs have been chasing the Overtakers (or the Disney villains) throughout the parks. They have managed to capture Maleficient and Chernobog. But things are heating up again and the DHIs (kids who are holographic tour guides) are realizing that things aren't as safe as they were and what their real task is.

If you've been to Disney and have a special place in your heart for it, you should read these. They'd also be a great series to read together with your kids!

City of Fallen Angels - Cassandra Clare

It's been a few weeks since I've finished a book. That's a bit embarrassing, I have to admit. But, in that time, I finished my thesis (I'll be an official Master's graduate in five days) and bought a house, so, I've been a bit busy. Still, I don't think I've ever gone that long without finishing a book of some sort.

Remember how I said I wasn't going to buy any more books until I read quite a few of the ones I had ... that was a lie. On April 9, I administered the ACTs, so I downloaded City of Fallen Angels onto my Kindle and then promptly left it in my classroom over the weekend after the tests.

This is the fourth in Clare's Mortal Instruments series, and I've really liked the previous three. I've described the series as "Twilight, but good" to other people as well as "Buffy with less focus on vampires and more focus on other creepy crawlies." I started the series because I had a crapton of my students tell me I HAD to read them, and they usually don't completely steer me wrong:) And, they were definitely right on these. Even though they're written with the YA audience in mind, they'll still hold the attention of adults, and the universe Clare's created is pretty fantastic and compelling.

It took me quite a while to get into this book. I thought the beginning dragged a bit, and that's also probably why I've gone so long without finishing anything - I couldn't get into this one. Then, I read the last quarter of the book last night. Holy buckets! That part was the most exciting out of the entire thing. (So, Natalie, you were right!)

Now that I look back, there's a few plot arcs that Clare could have cut, but I'm also guessing that they will make more sense in future books in the series. The cliffhanger at the end was very compelling, and I am excited for the next book to come out.

Shades of Grey: A Novel by Jasper Fforde

I picked this up because I like Fforde. I stumbled onto his books through his Nursery Crimes Series on one of the buy 2 get one free tables at Barnes and Noble. I like rewrites of fairy tails/nursery rhymes/classics/etc. so I decided to give it a whirl, and it was fantastic. Did the same with the Thursday Next series, which is lovely in all of its literary dorkiness.

I cannot say the same for this book.

The first strike against the book was the print. I couldn't even read the paperback version of it, thanks to bad leading (spaces between the lines - too small), kerning (spacing between the letters - too small), and paper (bad color and bad quality). I had to buy the Kindle version because it was so unreasonable. That didn't really set me off on the right foot with this book.

The premise of the book is that the society is based on colors and color perception. The society is somewhat dystopian as there is oppression based on your color as well as lack of supplies. People are also "branded" with their code and expected to fulfill certain jobs based on their rank and ability to see colors. The conflict centers around the fact that the world is slowly becoming monochromatic, which results in some of the characters having to go on color quests.

However, I could have cared less. There wasn't the world play as there has been in previous Fforde books (although one of the "Greys" - the lowest class possible - is named Dorian Grey, ha ha ha) , and it was just kinda boring.

I think the key sign that this book wasn't that great is how long it has taken me to read it. Typically, I'll finish a book in a few days. It's been a week, and I can't read this book for more than 20 minutes without wanting to fall asleep.

I suggest just skipping this one and picking up the next Thursday book - One of Our Thursdays Is Missing.