Flashback Friday: The Good Fairies of New York

Posted in Flashback Friday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Flashback Friday is a weekly tradition started here at Bookshelf Fantasies, focusing on showing some love for the older books in our lives and on our shelves. If you’d like to join in, just pick a book published at least five years ago, post your Flashback Friday pick on your blog, and let us all know about that special book from your reading past and why it matters to you. Don’t forget to link up!

This week on Flashback Friday:

The Good Fairies of New York by Martin Millar
(published 2006)

Synopsis (Goodreads):

When a pair of fugitive Scottish thistle fairies end up transplanted to Manhattan by mistake, both the Big Apple and the Little People have a lot of adjusting to do. Heather and Morag just want to start the first radical fairy punk rock band, but first they’ll have make a match between two highly unlikely sweethearts, start a street brawl between rival gangs of Italian, Chinese, and African fairies, help the ghost of a dead rocker track down his lost guitar, reclaim a rare triple-bloomed Welsh poppy from a bag lady with delusions of grandeur, disrupt a local community performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and somehow manage to stay sober enough to save all of New York from an invasion of evil Cornish fairies.

If they can stop feuding with each other, that is.

A cute and cuddly fairy story… this is not. But it’s inventive as hell and lots of fun. How could it not be, with an opening like this:

Dinnie, an overweight enemy of humanity, was the worst violinist in New York, but was practicing gamely when two cute little fairies stumbled through his fourth-floor window and vomited on the carpet. . . .

The Good Fairies of New York is a fluffy, entertaining, silly read, but it really suited my mood on the day that I read it way back when. And it left me wanting to check out Lonely Werewolf Girl, Martin Millar’s next novel — which is apparently about a teenage werewolf in the Scottish Highlands. So this Flashback Friday also serves as a note to self: Read that werewolf book already!

What flashback book is on your mind this week?

Note from your friendly Bookshelf Fantasies host: To join in the Flashback Friday fun:

Grab the Flashback Friday button
Post your own Flashback Friday entry on your blog (and mention Bookshelf Fantasies as the host of the meme, if you please!)
Leave your link in the comments below
Check out other FF posts… and discover some terrific hidden gems to add to your TBR piles!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

Do you host a book blog meme? Do you participate in a meme that you really, really love? I’m building a Book Blog Meme Directory, and need your help! If you know of a great meme to include — or if you host one yourself — please drop me a note on my Contact page and I’ll be sure to add your info!

10Jul2014

Thursday Quotables: Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands

Posted in Thursday Quotables by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Welcome back to Thursday Quotables! This weekly feature is the place to highlight a great quote, line, or passage discovered during your reading each week. Whether it’s something funny, startling, gut-wrenching, or just really beautifully written, Thursday Quotables is where my favorite lines of the week will be, and you’re invited to join in!

Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands by Chris Bohjalian
(published July 8, 2014)

Maybe not the most profound passage from this bleak and disturbing book, but I think I can honestly say that it will change my life forever:

This is not the most important thing I am going to tell you, but it may be the most interesting: Did you know that a lot of Emily Dickinson’s poems can be sung to the theme from Gilligan’s Island? Not kidding, this is totally legit.

The narrator goes on to say, “So, try it” and gives this one to work with:

Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me;
The carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality.

We slowly drove, he knew no haste,
And I had put away
My labor, and my leisure too,
For his civility.

You just sang that, didn’t you? Holy moly. It really works. And I tried it with other Dickinson poems, too. Yup, it totally fits.

Curse you, Chris Bohjalian! I’ll never be able to not sing Dickinson/Gilligan again!

(One more by Emily Dickinson, chosen at random… )

Look back on time with kindly eyes,
He doubtless did his best;
How softly sinks his trembling sun
In human nature’s west!

Aaaaaaugh.

Updated to add:

I’d be remiss not to provide a chance to hear the Gilligan theme, so here it is!

What lines made you laugh, cry, or gasp this week? Do tell!

If you’d like to participate in Thursday Quotables, it’s really simple:

Write a Thursday Quotables post on your blog. Try to pick something from whatever you’re reading now. And please be sure to include a link back to Bookshelf Fantasies in your post (http://www.bookshelffantasies.com), if you’d be so kind!
Leave your link in the comments — or, if you have a quote to share but not a blog post, you can leave your quote in the comments too!
Visit other linked blogs to view their Thursday Quotables, and have fun!

7Jul2014

Book Review: Skin Game by Jim Butcher

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Book Review: Skin Game by Jim Butcher

Skin Game (The Dresden Files, #15)

Harry Dresden is back!

Chicago’s only professional wizard (or at least, the only one listed in the yellow pages) returns in the 15th installment of Jim Butcher’s fast-paced urban fantasy series, the Dresden Files.

Synopsis (Goodreads):

Harry Dresden, Chicago’s only professional wizard, is about to have a very bad day….

Because as Winter Knight to the Queen of Air and Darkness, Harry never knows what the scheming Mab might want him to do. Usually, it’s something awful.

He doesn’t know the half of it….

Mab has just traded Harry’s skills to pay off one of her debts. And now he must help a group of supernatural villains—led by one of Harry’s most dreaded and despised enemies, Nicodemus Archleone—to break into the highest-security vault in town so that they can then access the highest-security vault in the Nevernever.

It’s a smash-and-grab job to recover the literal Holy Grail from the vaults of the greatest treasure hoard in the supernatural world—which belongs to the one and only Hades, Lord of the freaking Underworld and generally unpleasant character. Worse, Dresden suspects that there is another game afoot that no one is talking about. And he’s dead certain that Nicodemus has no intention of allowing any of his crew to survive the experience. Especially Harry.

Dresden’s always been tricky, but he’s going to have to up his backstabbing game to survive this mess—assuming his own allies don’t end up killing him before his enemies get the chance….

Clearly, at book 15, this is not a good entry point for Dresden newbies. Sure, you might be able to figure out what’s going on — but I doubt it. By this point in the series, the relationships are complex, there’s a lot of backstory, and the mythology and world-building are so intricate, with so many interwoven storylines and a huge cast of characters, that there’s not much that would make a whole lot of sense coming in cold.

For Dresden fans, however, Skin Game is a delight. Picking up soon after the jaw-dropping events in Cold Days, Skin Game sees Harry thrust right back into action, thrown into a seemingly no-win situation in which he’s forced to help an archenemy carry out a crazy dangerous plan with potentially devastating consequences. Still, Harry has no viable way to refuse, and thus embarks on a whirlwind three-day escapade alongside a team of colleagues who mostly can’t be trusted. Harry’s life is at stake every moment, his friends and loved one are all at risk, he gets broken and bruised — a lot — and above all, Harry has to figure out how to make his way through without endangering everything he holds dear and without turning into what he most fears.

Why do I love Harry Dresden? He’s smart, he’s brave, he’s a total wiseass, and he’s just really, really funny. Jim Butcher’s writing crackles with energy and humor, even in the midst of bloody action sequences. Harry may get hurt, but he’s never completely down for the count. And even in the midst of grave peril, he manages to get off some of the best one-liners and pop-culture references in fiction today.

My only complaint about Skin Game: No Thomas, and not enough Molly*. Other than that, we’re treated to a compelling plot, exciting action, forward motion in Harry’s ongoing personal drama, and an adventure story that’s simply impossible to stop reading.

Plus, we get to meet a Greek god, so there’s that.

All in all, Skin Game is a very successful addition to the Dresden body of work. Ongoing readers of the series have to read this one, period.

Some series stick around way past the point where there’s anything fresh or interesting to say. Not Dresden. I hope Jim Butcher plans to continue writing about Harry for years to come. If he does, I promise, I’ll be there to read the books. All the books. Forever.

And a final word:

Parkour!!**

_________________________________________

The details:

Title: Skin Game
Author: Jim Butcher
Publisher: Roc
Publication date: May 27, 2014
Length: 454 pages
Genre: Urban fantasy
Source: Library

* Oh, wait. One more complaint: We have to wait another year for book #16.

**with special credit and a big smile to my Goodreads friend Emily for reminding me of one of my favorite repeated utterances in Skin Game.

7Jul2014

The Monday Agenda 7/7/2014

Posted in The Monday Check-In by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Not a lofty, ambitious to-be-read list consisting of 100+ book titles. Just a simple plan for the upcoming week — what I’m reading now, what I plan to read next, and what I’m hoping to squeeze in among the nooks and crannies.

Life:

Busy, busy week… thus, not much reading or reviewing! We had relatives visiting for most of the week, which was delightful. Plus, 4th of July celebrations! And my little guy (who’s not so little) left for three weeks of summer camp yesterday, which meant that I spent a good chunk of the weekend ironing name tags into clothes. (If you’ve ever gone to summer camp, you’ll understand!)

How did I do with last week’s agenda?

Skin Game (The Dresden Files, #15) Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands

Skin Game by Jim Butcher: Done! Another excellent entry in the Dresden Files series. Review to follow.

Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands by Chris Bohjalian: Just started.

Fresh Catch:

No new books this week!

What’s on my reading agenda for the coming week?

Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands Landline The Awakening of Miss Prim: A Novel

I’ll be continuing with Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands (of course).

The new Rainbow Rowell book arrives this week! I’m really looking forward to reading Landline.

And if there’s time, I’ll be starting The Awakening of Miss Prim by Natalie Sanmartin Fenollera.

Meanwhile, I really need to clear some space in my reading life for new week’s big release, The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness. Finally, book 3 in the All Souls Trilogy!

Across the Great Barrier (Frontier Magic, #2) The kiddo and I are still enjoying Across the Great Barrier by Patricia C. Wrede — although it’s now on hold for a few weeks, until he gets back from camp.

So many book, so little time…

That’s my agenda. What’s yours? Add your comments to share your bookish agenda for the week.

Happy reading!

4Jul2014

A 4th of July Flashback Friday: The Bastard

Posted in Flashback Friday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

This week on Flashback Friday:

The Bastard (Kent Family Chronicles, book 1) by John Jakes
(published 1974)

Synopsis (Goodreads):

One man’s quest for his destiny leads him to the New World and into the heart of the American Revolution

Meet Phillipe Charboneau: the illegitimate son and unrecognized heir of the Duke of Kentland. Upon the Duke’s death, Phillipe is denied his birthright and left to build a life of his own. Seeking all that the New World promises, he leaves London for America, shedding his past and preparing for the future by changing his name to Philip Kent. He arrives at the brink of the American Revolution, which tests his allegiances in ways he never imagined. The first volume of John Jakes’s wildly successful and highly addictive Kent Family Chronicles, The Bastard is a triumph of historical fiction

Happy 4th of July! In honor of Independence Day, I thought it would be appropriate to choose an historical novel set during the American Revolution — and how can you beat The Bastard, book #1 in John Jakes’s eight-book Kent Family Chronicles?

The books has had several reprintings over the years, but in my mind, you really need this particular cover — with that cheese-tastic 70s feel — to truly grasp the glory of The Bastard. Does it help to know that this was made into an oh-so-popular mini-series as well?

But seriously, beneath the melodrama, The Bastard does what historical fiction does best: Invest historical events with a personal story revolving around compelling fictional characters, drawing readers in and making the real events from the past come alive on the page.

So… Happy 4th, one and all! And tonight, while you’re watching the fireworks, raise a cup to fictional heroes like Philip Kent as well!

What flashback book is on your mind this week?

Note from your friendly Bookshelf Fantasies host: To join in the Flashback Friday fun:

Grab the Flashback Friday button
Post your own Flashback Friday entry on your blog (and mention Bookshelf Fantasies as the host of the meme, if you please!)
Leave your link in the comments below
Check out other FF posts… and discover some terrific hidden gems to add to your TBR piles!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

3Jul2014

Thursday Quotables: Skin Game

Posted in Thursday Quotables by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Welcome back to Thursday Quotables! This weekly feature is the place to highlight a great quote, line, or passage discovered during your reading each week. Whether it’s something funny, startling, gut-wrenching, or just really beautifully written, Thursday Quotables is where my favorite lines of the week will be, and you’re invited to join in!

Skin Game by Jim Butcher
(published May 27, 2014)

We got out of Karrin’s little SUV and headed toward the creepy old slaughterhouse full of dangerous beings. Which … pretty much tells you what kind of day I was having, right there.

Par for the course, if you’re a certain Chicago wizard.

Because Nicodemus is a murderous murdering murder.

He sure knows how to pick his enemies!

But they were doughnuts of darkness. Evil, damned doughnuts, tainted by the spawn of darkness…

… which could obviously be redeemed only by passing through the fiery, cleansing inferno of a wizardly digestive tract.

Harry Dresden is back! Man, have I missed his smart-ass comments about all things supernatural, deadly, or just plain weird.

What lines made you laugh, cry, or gasp this week? Do tell!

If you’d like to participate in Thursday Quotables, it’s really simple:

Write a Thursday Quotables post on your blog. Try to pick something from whatever you’re reading now. And please be sure to include a link back to Bookshelf Fantasies in your post (http://www.bookshelffantasies.com), if you’d be so kind!
Leave your link in the comments — or, if you have a quote to share but not a blog post, you can leave your quote in the comments too!
Visit other linked blogs to view their Thursday Quotables, and have fun!

1Jul2014

Wishing & Waiting on Wednesday: Big Little Lies

Posted in Wishlist Wednesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

There’s nothing like a Wednesday for thinking about the books we want to read! My Wishing & Waiting on Wednesday post is linking up with two fabulous book memes, Wishlist Wednesday (hosted by Pen to Paper) and Waiting on Wednesday (hosted by Breaking the Spine).

My most wished-for book this week is:

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
(expected US publication date: July 29, 2014)

Synopsis via Goodreads:

Sometimes it’s the little lies that turn out to be the most lethal. . . .

A murder… . . . a tragic accident… . . . or just parents behaving badly? What’s indisputable is that someone is dead. But who did what?

Big Little Lies follows three women, each at a crossroads: Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She’s funny and biting, passionate, she remembers everything and forgives no one. Her ex-husband and his yogi new wife have moved into her beloved beachside community, and their daughter is in the same kindergarten class as Madeline’s youngest (how is this possible?). And to top it all off, Madeline’s teenage daughter seems to be choosing Madeline’s ex-husband over her. (How. Is. This. Possible?).

Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare. While she may seem a bit flustered at times, who wouldn’t be, with those rambunctious twin boys? Now that the boys are starting school, Celeste and her husband look set to become the king and queen of the school parent body. But royalty often comes at a price, and Celeste is grappling with how much more she is willing to pay.

New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for the nanny. Jane is sad beyond her years and harbors secret doubts about her son. But why? While Madeline and Celeste soon take Jane under their wing, none of them realizes how the arrival of Jane and her inscrutable little boy will affect them all.

Big Little Lies is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the dangerous little lies we tell ourselves just to survive.

I loved Australian novelist Liane Moriarty’s previous novel, The Husband’s Secret (reviewed here in March of this year), and was so excited to see that she has a new book due out this summer. This author excels at capturing the secrets lurking in everyday lives. I can’t wait to read Big Little Lies!

What are you wishing for this Wednesday?

Looking for some bookish fun on Thursdays and Fridays? Come join me for my regular weekly features, Thursday Quotables and Flashback Friday! You can find out more here — come share the book love!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

1Jul2014

Announcing Fields & Fantasies: A New Book Club!

Posted in Bookish Thoughts, Fields & Fantasies by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

I’m delighted to announce that starting this month, I’m teaming up with the fabulous Diana of Strahbary’s Fields to introduce a new virtual book discussion platform, Fields & Fantasies Book Club!

Each month, we’ll pick a book to discuss, and we hope you’ll join in. At the end of the month, Diana and I will each write up our thoughts and will “talk” to each other about our reactions, what we loved, and what — if anything — left us scratching our heads.

We’re so excited to kick off Fields and Fantasies!

To start things off, our book pick for July is The Fever by Megan Abbott.

The Fever The panic unleashed by a mysterious contagion threatens the bonds of family and community in a seemingly idyllic suburban community.

The Nash family is close-knit. Tom is a popular teacher, father of two teens: Eli, a hockey star and girl magnet, and his sister Deenie, a diligent student. Their seeming stability, however, is thrown into chaos when Deenie’s best friend is struck by a terrifying, unexplained seizure in class. Rumors of a hazardous outbreak spread through the family, school and community.

As hysteria and contagion swell, a series of tightly held secrets emerges, threatening to unravel friendships, families and the town’s fragile idea of security.

A chilling story about guilt, family secrets and the lethal power of desire, The Fever affirms Megan Abbot’s reputation as “one of the most exciting and original voices of her generation” (Laura Lippman).

Future Fields & Fantasies picks include:

August: The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman

September: The Possibilities by Kaui Hart Hemmings

We hope you’ll join in and jump into the discussion. And if you have an idea for a book you’d like us to feature in the future, just let one of us know!

30Jun2014

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Classic Books I Want to Read… or Re-read

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Top Ten Classics — and I can see taking a few different approaches: Favorite classics already read? Classics that we want to read? Classics that everyone should read? And just what is a classic, anyway?

For me, I’m splitting my list between classics I really want to read (you know, someday) and classics that I read long ago and would really like to read again. And for purposes of this list, my definition of “classics” is pretty fluid: Older parts of the “canon”, to be sure, but also more modern works that have become cultural reference points.

Classics I want to read:

1) Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

2) One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

3) In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

4) Cannery Road by John Steinbeck

5) Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

6) The Time Machine by H. G. Wells

7) The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

Classics I Want to Re-Read:

1) To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

2) Dracula by Bram Stoker

3) Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

And to round it all off: A few “classic” authors whose works I’ve never read. Must fix that ASAP! (And if you’ve have a favorite book by one of these authors, please leave me a comment with your recommendation!)

1) Agatha Christie

2) Jack London

3) Jules Verne

How do you define a classic? What classics are your favorites? And which classics are on your to-read list?

Share your link, and I’ll come check out your top 10!

If you enjoyed this post, please consider following Bookshelf Fantasies! And don’t forget to check out our regular weekly features, Thursday Quotables and Flashback Friday. Happy reading!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

30Jun2014

The Monday Agenda 6/30/2014

Posted in The Monday Check-In by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Life:

Diana Gabaldon. Me. A signed first edition of Written in My Own Heart’s Blood. Happiness!

I went to Phoenix for a day! I missed Diana Gabaldon when she came to my town earlier this month, so I flew to Phoenix (may the gods bless the inventor of airline mileage!) to catch her appearance there. And it was awesome. I’ll write more about it sometime soon, I swear!

How did I do with last week’s agenda?

Goodnight June One Plus One

Goodnight June by Sarah Jio: Done! My review is here.

One Plus One by Jojo Moyes: Done! My review is here.

Fresh Catch:

A couple of library books and a couple of review books came my way this week:

Skin Game (The Dresden Files, #15) Trains and Lovers Prototype (Archetype #2) World of Trouble (The Last Policeman, #3)

Elsewhere on the blog:

Following up on my Give Me Liberty post… I’m enjoying my less-pressure approach to blogging! I notice that my stats are a bit lower, but that’s okay. Less stress = more happiness!

What’s on my reading agenda for the coming week?

Skin Game (The Dresden Files, #15) Mr. Mercedes Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands

Skin Game by Jim Butcher. Welcome back, Harry Dresden!

Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King

If by some miracle I have time to start a 3rd book, it’ll be Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands by Chris Bohjalian.

Across the Great Barrier (Frontier Magic, #2) And in the world of reading with my kiddo, we’re enjoying Across the Great Barrier by Patricia C. Wrede.

So many book, so little time…

shelf2cropped
That’s my agenda. What’s yours? Add your comments to share your bookish agenda for the week.