Thursday Update

Today is a big day! It is my first day of classes for my last semester of my graduate degree! I have been in school for far too many years in a row. I am so excited to have only 3 more months left.
In book related news, I have already completed 3 books for the R.I.P IV Challenge (in the order I completed them): "Shiver", "City of Glass", and "From Dead to Worse". I will probably finish "My Soul to Take" by the end of the week, so I'll have met that goal of the challenge already. This does not mean I will stop reading books for the challenges, I want to read at least 2 more for me to review! I should probably start focusing on the short stories... that might be a good game plan!
I watched "28 Days Later" for the first time in years and I forgot how awesome it was. That movie has everything going for it. The plot is great, you root for the characters the whole movie, the music is wonderful, and the cinematography just adds to the horror of it all! I don't care if people think the idea of being infected with rage is stupid, because I think it sounds pretty scary to me.
I really wanted to write more, but I have so much to do before my classes start today. Happy Thursday everyone!

"Shiver" Warms My Heart

"Shiver" by
Maggie Stiefvater


5

Synopsis: For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf--her wolf--is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human . . . until the cold makes him shift back again. Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human--or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

I truly love this book! It has romance, mystery, and a new spin on werewolves. Add beautiful writing to the mix and you have a fantastic read! I could not put this book down and on multiple occasions I ended up working out for over 45 minutes without even realizing it. I even thought the setting of the book was wonderful. I could just imagine being in a small town surrounded by woods and little else. A place with cozy bookshops and candy stores... although I have to admit I really don't like the cold, but it was the perfect setting for this book. I honestly would have given this book a five, but I enjoy books that make my brain explore new ideas that they haven't before. Not that the new spin on werewolves wasn't great, but I just left the book content and found it easy to move on to another book.

If you want to hear Stiefvater read the first two chapters of the book just click here. Her website also has a link to an excerpt from the book, her bio, lists of her other works, and more. I posted one of the trailers she has posted on her website, it is courtesy of Expanded Books.

Teaser Tuesdays

"My Soul To Take"

Rachel Vincent
Excerpt from page 76:

Coach Tucker loomed on the edge of the green-and-white central throng, her sneakers spread wide for balance, pulling kids out of the way one at a time even as she shouted into a clunky, school-issue, handheld radio. Finally the crowd parted for her, revealing a motionless female form lying on the brown grass, one arm thrown out at her side.

Teaser Tuesdays was started by MizB on her blog. On Teaser Tuesdays participants are asked to grab the book they are currently reading and open it to a random page. Then fist two "teaser" sentences on that page between lines 7 and 12. The key is to entice readers to pick up the book without giving away any spoilers.

Oops on post for Short Story Sundays!

It was brought to my attention that the story I read that I thought was written by Roald Dahl was actually just part of a collection compiled by him. "W.S." was actually written by L.P. Hartley and the text that is in the book is a renewed version by Hamish Hamilton. Sorry that I passed along false information! I feel really silly for this confusion. This is a perfect example of why you shouldn't skip the introductions in books.

Short Story Sundays: W.S.

For my first Short Story Sunday post that is a part of the the R.I.P IV Challenge, I have chosen W.S. by L.P. Hartley. I've had "Roald Dahl's Ghost Stories" sitting on my bookshelf for over 4 years, and I am finally taking this opportunity to read some of the selections from this book of Roald Dahl's favorite ghost stories.

I chose to read the first story in the book "W.S.", which is about a writer named Walter Streeter who starts getting disconcerting post cards in the mail by an anonymous sender who simply signs them W.S. "W.S." is only 10 pages that tells how these postcards effect Walter Streeter and concludes with discovering the identity of W.S. I can't say more than that because it would give the story away.

I have to admit that "W.S.", was a little disappointing. It was a fine story, but just didn't have the creep factor that I was hoping for. On my rating scale it gets a 3 out of 5. It is definitely a story where the more you think about it the creepier it gets, but I was expecting it to be more sinister. I am going to continue to read more from this book and I'm sure I'll find something more to my liking. I will keep you updated on my findings!

*Incase you didn't see the post written after this one or the comments on this post, I originally said that this story was written by Roald Dahl instead of L.P. Hartley. I was totally confused and thought this collection was of Dahl's works and found myself being corrected by a fellow blogger (thanks again Carl!). Sorry for the incorrect information, I really wasn't paying attention and I totally messed up.