The Social Ghost

Dang! I Won Another Book!

2009-02-20T16:31:00.000-08:00

I got out to the mailbox today and there is a package. I'm like "Huh. What's this?" I open it up and it's a copy of "Perfect Circle" by Carlos J. Cortes. That's my third freebie in two months! (Sidenote: my second freebie was "We Think, Therefore We Are" edited by Peter Crowther.)

Recently I read "The Ghost Behind the Wall" by Melvin Burgess and the first Nancy Drew novel "The Secret of the Old Clock" by Carolyn Keene. Although both are essentially young adult books I was a little tired of huge novels so I thought I would take a break with some light reads. I thought Burgess's novel was quite good. To keep it in the young adult realm the characters seemed slightly underdeveloped but the story was lively.

The Nancy Drew book was almost an amusing read with its quaint dialogue ("Oh my gosh! Whatever shall I do?") and strangers are instantly friends. If Nancy pulled her car into a stranger's barn today she would probably get shot at instead of invited in to celebrate a birthday with absolute strangers. And, no, I'm not kidding that really is in the book.

Presently I am reading "The Cat Who Could Read Backwards" by Lilian Jackson Braun. I'm about 3/4 of the way through it and I would say it is an alright read. It's not blowing me away but I am definitely going to finish it.

Well that's my book news for now. Later.

What About the Classics?

2009-02-13T11:42:00.000-08:00

As I've spent quite a bit of time on Librarything I've noticed how a lot of people have "the classics" I'll call them. So I got to thinking about H.G. Wells, Jules Verne, and Rudyard Kipling. I figured there would be some complete works type books similar to the one I had recently gotten of Edgar Allen which collects all of his work (link). So I go to my local Books-a-Million. Talk about a total bust! All they had for Kipling was three versions of The Jungle Book, a few barebones copies of The Invisible Man and The Time Machine for Wells, and a similarly poor selection for Verne. It was definitely disappointing. Thank God for the internet! I see some books I may get on Amazon.com. Here's what I am considering.

Selected Stories of H. G. Wells (Modern Library Classics) (Link)
Collected Works of Jules Verne (Link)

My First Freebie

2009-01-22T15:27:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I got an email from GoodReads that said I had been chosen as a First Reads Winner which is where you can win a copy of a book (GoodReads First Reads Giveaway Page). I won Siren's Feast: An Edible Odyssey by Nancy Mehagian (Official Book Site). I'm not sure when it's coming exactly. The email says the author herself will be sending them out which is cool. I'll write more when I receive my copy.

Here's the book description from Amazon.com:

Set against the backdrop of the late '60s and early '70s, Nancy Mehagian's delicious memoir tells the tale of a young woman who heeded the siren's call to a life of freedom and romance. A first-generation Armenian American whose family narrowly escaped genocide, the rebellious daughter left behind the safety and security of suburban life for an unforgettable adventure that would find her establishing the first vegetarian restaurant on the Spanish island of Ibiza, having an affair with a Bedouin gypsy during a stint as a cabaret dancer in Syria, and through a series of mishaps, incarcerated for 16 months in a London prison (along with her newborn baby) where she managed, even there, to pioneer a healthy way of eating. A breathtaking, sensual and page-turning chronicle that whisks you along the author's lifelong path to spiritual enrichment, Siren's Feast, An Edible Odyssey, is a story that captures a colorful era and features over 40 recipes as delectable as the journey itself.

I Joined BookMooch

2009-01-17T13:51:00.000-08:00

I signed up for a site called BookMooch the other day. I found out about it after noticing a group on LibraryThing called Bookmooching. I think the idea of the site is pretty cool. You post book you want to get rid of and people can mooch them from you based on a point system. You get 1 point for giving away a book domestically or 3 points for internationally. You spend 1 point for mooching domestically and 2 points for internationally. The person sending the book pays the shipping. Since I have a lot of paperbacks I don’t want I decided to start putting them on the site for others to mooch. So far no one has mooched any of mine but I spent a point I got for putting up 10 books for this book: Killer with a Badge.

My BookMooch Inventory

Book Shopping

2009-01-09T14:59:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting some fantasy books lately but didn't really want to pay $8 each for new books on Amazon. After doing some digging around I came up with a list of authors to check out. I stopped by a local used book store after work today and I have to say I hit the jackpot. I got these four books for $3.09 after $31 of credit from previous trade-ins. I'm not sure which one I want to dig into yet.

What I got:
1. The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams
2. The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
3. Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb
4. Mass Effect: Revelation by Drew Karpyshyn

I think I may try the Tad Williams book as soon as I finish what I'm reading now. I had tried to find the Terry Goodkind's Wizard's First Rule and Jim Butcher's Storm Front but unfortunately they didn't have them.

Links:
Robert Jordan: http://us.macmillan.com/author/robertjordan
Robin Hobb: http://www.robinhobb.com/
Tad Williams: http://www.tadwilliams.com/
Drew Karpyshyn: http://www.drewkarpyshyn.com/

"What Kind of Reader Are You?" Quiz

2009-01-06T16:39:00.000-08:00

I took this quiz called "What Kind of Reader Are You?" and I'd have to say it is pretty accurate for me. I like fantasy, a dash of sci-fi, some nonfiction and I wouldn't turn down a classic book. In fact, I have Robinson Crusoe on order right now.

Link:
What Kind of Reader Are You?