Leap Year Day Challenge 2012 Dragonkeeper by Carole Wilkinson

Can we make this go viral?

Leap Year babies will tell you how special it is to be born on the 29th Feb.

To celebrate a once in 4 year event - go to page 29 of the book you're reading right now and copy the first sentence onto your blog or into my comments section. Spread the word.

I'm currently reading Dragonkeeper by Carole Wilkinson. The book was first published in Australia in 2003 and has won numerous awards including The Children's Book Council Book of the Year for Younger Readers, Aurealis Award Winner, Winner 2004 Queensland Premier's Literary Awards and shortlisted for the NSW Premier's Literary Awards.

The 5th book in the series is due for release in May through Walker Books. It will receive a lot of press and hype and I felt it was time to see what all the fuss was about.

As you know, I tend to avoid fantasy books, especially those with dragons and other mythical creatures. Yet I end up loving them when I do finally make myself read them!

This is another example of denying myself a truly wonderful story for too many years simply beacuse I didn't like the look of the fantasy cover!

I was hooked from the first chapter.
It is well written, beautifully imagined and engrossing.

Dragonkeeper is basically a road trip between a young girl, Ping who has been enslaved as a child to an Imperial Dragonkeeper and the dragon Long Danzi. They escape from their joint bondage with a mysterious purple stone and a desire to reach the Ocean.

A wonderful story for 10+ readers

Page 29 quote: "A rasping voice disturbed the peace of the courtyard."

WWW Wednesday

MizB hosts WWW Wednesday on her blog 'Should Be Reading'.

The rules are simple:
To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…


(1) What are you currently reading?

I'm currently about 6 chapters into an advance reading copy of Bitter Greens by Australian author Kate Forsyth.  

Juliet Marillier, author of Daughter of the Forest and Heart’s Blood declares "History and fairytale are richly entwined in this spellbinding fairytale. Unputdownable!"

I'm loving it so far and would certainly recommend it to lovers of French historical fiction, although it's too early yet to give you many details about it.

(2) What did you recently finish reading?


I've just finished reading the biography on Australian rock band Powderfinger. It has been a huge disappointment.

I've loved Powderfinger for nearly 2 decades so I knew their bio would not have any major scandals to reveal. They're just 5 nice guys doing something they love.

But the writing is appalling - it has been a chore to get through it.
The best bit was the photographs and memorabilia...and of course the CD that came with it.

(3) What do you think you’ll read next?

Next on my list is a teen book.

A "chilling, edge-of-your seat thriller" called 172 Hours on the Moon" from Norwegian author Johan Harstad.
"Three of them will go on the trip of a lifetime. Only one will come back."

172 Hours on the Moon has won the prestigious Brage prize for children's literature in Norway.
A huge global marketing campaign will coincide with the April release date. Judging by the number of blogs who have this title on their Waiting for Wednesday/In My Mailbox list suggests that they're doing a good job of getting the message out there so far...I just hope it lives up to the hype!

The Exquisite Corpse Adventure

The Exquisite Corpse Adventure is a collaborative effort between the National Children's Book and Literacy Alliance, the Library of Congress's Centre for the Book and 20 high profile US authors and illustrators.

The story begins with a train rushing through the night as twins Joe and Nancy begin a quest to rescue their parents. What happens next is a progressive story that gets passed from author to author, illustrator to illustrator.

The game is played by M.T. Anderson, Natalie Babbitt, Calef Brown, Susan Cooper, Kate DiCamillo, Timothy Basil Ering, Jack Gantos, Nikki Grimes, Shannon Hale, Steven Kellogg, Gregory Maguire, Megan McDonald, Fredrick L McKissack, Patricia C McKissack, Linda Sue Park, Katherine Paterson, Jon Scieszka, Lemony Snicket & Chris Van Dusen.

Unfortunately this makes for a very hit and miss affair. The first 10 episodes are chaotic. Too many characters are introduced; sub-plots come and go and the whole thing feels very disjointed...until episode 12 and Lemony Snicket!

Lemony Snicket manages to bring a semblance of plot, direction and coherence into the melee with his philosophical, big picture style of writing. The following authors maintain this standard for a few more chapters before it lapses back into confusion.

It falls to Snicket in episode 22 to once again pull all the threads together in a way that gives the following authors an end point in sight. Katherine Paterson wraps it all up best as she can.

The Exquisite Corpse is an interesting exercise with a worthy agenda. It could be useful to teachers wanting to showcase different writing & drawing styles. But as a coherent story it fails miserably.

Housekeeping

Like dusting and vacuuming, I avoid housekeeping posts like the plague!

However, there are a few new things going on in my blog that I would like to expand on.

* For those of you who love to join in or follow weekly memes, blog hops etc Randomizeme has created a fabulous directory that she is adding to constantly - check it out here or click on 'Meme Directory' in my links panel.
You can also try The Daily Meme and  Memeaholics for a wider (ie non-book related) selection of memes.

P.S. According to wikipedia, the definition of meme is "an idea, behaviour or style that spreads from person to person within a culture". And an internet meme is obviously one that spreads through the internet via blogs, email, social networking sites, youtube etc.

* I've been working on my blog fairly solidly this year. I want to reach more people, engage in more discussions and get to know my audience better. So I've joined a number of blog directory's and reading challenges. Just click on the badges if you're interested. It has been a great way to chat with more like-minded bloggers.

* A thousand apologies to wordpress bloggers. I do have an account with wordpress so I can leave comments, but it seems to be quite fickle. Some days, no matter what how often I log in, I cannot leave messages. Today has been one of those days :-(

* Finally Linky Friends - apparently for all non-Blogger blogs, the Google Friends Connect button will disappear after 1st March. As a Blogger blogger, this wont affect me too much, but to allow other bloggers to follow me easily, I've joined Linky. This group has also been another good way to find like-minded bloggers.

* This blog is an award-free blog. My philosophy is to write quick, brief blogs for busy people - the work required to maintain the awards process does not fit into this philosophy.

Finally, a big thank you to all my new followers for stopping by and taking the time to leave a friendly comment behind.

Happy blogging and happy reading!

Top Five Sundays #74 Book Series I Plan To Finish in 2012

Another day; another meme!
I promise I won't do this all the time, but I'm curious how memes work and I have the time this weekend to play with my blog...so here goes!

Top Five Sundays is hosted by Larissa at Larissa's Life.

This week Larissa's question is about the series you plan to finish in 2012 and since I've been sucked in by many a series over the years, this one seemed too appropriate for me to miss!

#1 The Phryne Fisher series by Kerry Greenwood.

I've currently read about half the books - 8 more to go! The series is about to start on ABC TV (Australia) next week - I have my fingers & toes crossed that it works.
1929 Melbourne, jazz, flapper dresses, martini's , smart, sassy, sexy lead and gentle crime mysteries - it has all the right ingredients! And I hope Greenwood plans to write more.

#2 Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear.

This series is more serious-minded than the Phyrne series.
Maisie's crimes are solved by psychology and meditation and they focus heavily on the events and aftermath of WW1.

I've reviewed a couple of the books below and Winspear has a great blog you can check out too.

The 9th book in the series 'Elergy for Eddie' is due out next month.

#3 Trueblood series by Charmaine Harris.

I've read the first 2 books so far (& my husband has read the first 8!) We've also started watching the series on DVD.

They're better than I thought they would be, although they are pretty lightweight and not as sexy as the series. According to my husband, some of the books are a bit more miss than hit!

#4 Edith Trilogy by Frank Moorhouse.

I read the first 2 books over a decade ago and loved them. I particularly loved Edith and the historical setting of Geneva between the wars.

I reread the first 2 books about 5 years ago and hated them. Edith was sooooo annoying!

I reread the first book, 'Grand Days' at Christmas time and fell in love with Edith again.
This love was less passionate and more discerning than previously.
It was and is such a grand story...and I feel the need to see how it all ends with 'Cold Light'.


#5 Birthmarked Trilogy by Caragh O'Brien.

I loved and reviewed both Birthmarked and Prized below.

I can't wait to see how O'Brien finishes it off - Book 3 is due spring 2012 (Southern Hemisphere).

On Chesil Beach

Saturday Snapshots is a non-book related meme hosted by Alyce. I wanted to see what it would be like to participate in my very first meme and this looked like the most appealing option for this particular Saturday. I have, of course, managed to find some pics that relate back to my favourite topic - books!

Five years ago my husband and I travelled to the UK for 3 weeks to follow the Wallabies in the Rugby World Cup.

In between games we visited many wonderful places and revisited favourite haunts from previous trips.

One of our new adventures was to Chesil Beach in the south of England. I had started reading Ian McEwan's 'On Chesil Beach' on the flight over in anticipation.

So I was prepared for the long strip of pebble beach with water in front and back! And I should have been prepared for the freezing cold southerly buster blowing in across the water the day we were there, but it still took my breath away!

The pebbles were huge and smooth from weathering, but still very hard and uncomfortable to walk and sit on.

Curiously the inclement conditions did not hinder the many fisher folk...or my determination to have a photo op, with book in hand, overlooking Chesil Beach.

I couldn't imagine how any couple (book couple or real-life couple) could manage a romantic walk along this beach! I spent my time trying to picture where the book couple would have strolled as I caressed the different sized, shaped & coloured pebbles between my fingers.

As it turned out, 'On Chesil Beach' was not to be one of my favourite McEwan books - perhaps it wasn't a book that travelled well. I couldn't really give it the undivided attention it probably deserved.

When I finished it, I swapped it in a B & B in Northumbria for a wonderful old copy of 'Mary Jane' by Daphne du Maurier instead. Too bad I can't travel back in time to ye olde London to visit Mary Jane's world!

The Beginner's Goodbye by Anne Tyler

I finished this book a couple of days ago and I've been avoiding writing a blog about it ever since. I'm struggling to find the right words to tell you how I feel about this book without sounding trite.

I could say I loved this book from start to finish.

I could tell you how complete and satisfying this book was for me.

But none of the above does justice to the elegance and emotional truth that Tyler uses to describe the relationship between Aaron and his dead wife, Dorothy.

I've always enjoyed Tyler's gentle writing style, but some of her previous books have been a little hit and miss for me in the emotional department.

Not so, The Beginner's Goodbye. The idea of a widowed spouse trying to come to terms with grief and loss and unfinished business affected me deeply.

Perhaps it is simply best to say that I was moved beyond words.

This is a book to savour slowly.

Release date: April 2012 Chatto & Windus

Slammerkin by Emma Donoghue

Slammerkin: loose gown or loose woman.

I loved Room by Donoghue - she wrote about unforgetable characters with such emotional force that I was very keen to try another one of her books.

London in the 1700's was not an easy place to be if you were poor and female. Mary is both of these things, but she is also ambitious. Throughout the grinding poverty of her childhood she dreams of a better life, a bit of colour, a pretty dress, a red ribbon.

But it is a red ribbon that ultimately causes Mary to be cut off from her family and left to fend for herself.

While I empathised with Mary's desire to overcome her poverty and hard life and sympathised with her dream for something better, I cringed away from her blind selfishness and inability to learn from her mistakes. Mary bounced from one bad decision to the next, often at the expense of other people.

And just when you think she has finally come good, she blows it all in dramatic fashion.

Donoghue captures the details of time and place beautifully.
Mary is another unforgetable character. I may have failed to connect with Mary on an emotional level, but the emotions on display where raw and believable. Mary frustrated me, she annoyed me, I didn't particularly like her; but I wanted to know how her story ended and there was a part of me that hoped that she would come good.

Slammerkin is a must for historical fiction fans who like their heroines to show their warts and all.

Cinnamon Rain by Emma Cameron

When I opened this book and realised it was a verse novel, I groaned out loud. So I checked the back cover and groaned out loud again - another issues-based YA novel!!
This was not going to be my lucky day.

So imagine my surprise when I found myself staying up reading this book in one sitting until 1am.
I couldn't stop. I had to know what happened to Luke, Bongo & Casey. I cared about them. I wanted things to work out okay for them. I was on their side.

I wont give away the ending, so I will just tell you that these kids have taken some hard knocks in their young lives. They have to make tough decisions that will affect the rest of their lives.

It's hard-hitting stuff, but not graphic. There are drug & sex references. This will be classified as YA material, but mature teen readers will manage the content fine and the story is worth it.

I'll end with part of Emma Cameron's note at the back of the book as I think it gives you a good feel for what happens in her story.

"I am fascinated by watching people finding their way in life. I delight in their resilience, resourcefulness and ability to continue seeking what they feel is best for them....I always hope that where people end up is not too far away from where they had aimed to be. It's nice to think that picking uncertain paths may not necessarily alter their destination too drastically, simply the journey undertaken to reach it."

The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda

It feels like a while since I gave a completely positive review for a YA book, but here it is!

The Hunt is the first book in a new series by Andrew Fukuda. It's strong, gripping and exciting from the word go.

'The world as we know it is populated by the dominant vampire people. Their over-hunting of humans (or hepers) over the years has resulted in a serious scarcity of new meat. As a result, the government organises a Hunt every decade or so. A small group of specially breed hepers are released into the wild for a select group of vampires to hunt down.

This time around 17-year old Gene is one of the lucky vampires selected to be apart of The Hunt. The only problem is, Gene is a heper too. A heper, who has up until now, kept a low profile & kept alive by pretending to be a vampire!

Initially I thought this was going to be another Hunger Games, but the Hunt doesn't go to plan and Fukuda throws in a few surprises and plot twists along the way to keep everyone guessing.

This is a May release - worth waiting for and worth looking out for.
In the meantime you can check our Fukuda's blog as he prepares to write book 2.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

This book came to me with a LOT of hype attached to it and a LOT of high expectations.

So I was bound to be disappointed, I guess.
The ghastly descriptions early on were so annoying I didn't know whether to laugh-out-loud or throw the book across the room! I found it quite slow to begin with and a little confusing about what type of book it wanted to be - thriller? paranormal? romance? issue-based?

But things did improve. Some of the questions and confusions were resolved and the pace picked up until it became a real page-turner. I can see that this could become quite a hit with older teens looking for a light-weight paranormal romantic thrill!

The slutty talk early on in the book was annoying, but then I remembered that teens like to talk a lot about sex and the ones doing the most talking are the ones that usually know the least! That was when I realised that Hodkin actually knows her audience well.

I'm assuming there will be a sequel after re-reading the confusing last chapter. I don't think I care enough to check it out though :-(

Warning this book contains lots of sexual references, teenage angst and romantic cliches.

P.S. I've just been reading some reviews that refer to Mara's brother Daniel...and yes, he sounds amazing!

Happy Birthday Charles

1. Thirty years ago, Marseilles lay burning in the sun, one day.

2. NOW, what I want is, Facts. Teach these boys and girls nothing but Facts. 
            
3. London. Michaelmas term lately over, and the Lord Chancellor sitting in Lincoln's Inn Hall. Implacable November weather. As much mud in the streets as if the waters had but newly retired from the face of the earth . . .

4. Night is generally my time for walking.
    

5. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times . . .

6. In these times of ours, though concerning the exact year there is no need to be precise, a boat of dirty and disreputable appearance, with two figures in it, floated on the Thames, between Southwark bridge which is of iron, and London Bridge which is of stone, as an autumn evening was closing in. 

7. Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.
 
8. Marley was dead, to begin with.

9. My father's family name being Pirrip, and my Christian name Philip, my infant tongue could make of both names nothing longer or more explicit than Pip.

10. Among other public buildings in a certain town, which for many reasons it will be prudent to refrain from mentioning, and to which I will assign no fictitious name, there is one anciently common to most towns, great or small: to wit, a workhouse . . .
 
  

The Little Women Letters by Gabrielle Donnelly

Oh dear!

Such a light weight disappointment. The whole time I skimmed this, I kept hoping it would get better or suddenly develop more substance, but I hoped in vain.

The modern story was mildly interesting as sisters finding their way in the world; falling in love; working; leaving home etc.

But Jo's letters in the attic were simply tedious. I skimmed all the way to the end just to see if it would end the way I predicted...and it did.

Modern treatments of a classic, much-loved story are tricky things. So many times they just don't work.

Geraldine Brook's March worked for me once I let go the notion that I was reading a children's book about Jo, Beth, Meg & Amy. Brook's wrote a very adult novel about Mr March and his experiences during the Civil War. And at that level it was a very successful, enjoyable story. 

But this one doesn't work for me at all - it was charmless, dull and not worth the effort. Much better to spend the time re-reading Little Women and Good Wives instead.


A Book of Sighs

The Hare with the Amber Eyes by Edmund De Waal is one of those magnificent stories that made me sigh at every turn.

I sighed with pleasure; I sighed with sorrow; I sighed with delight; I sighed with horror; I sighed with anticipation and I sighed with satisfaction.

I hugged this book to my chest. I sniffed the pages. I caressed the cover and poured over the photos and illustrations.
The Hare with the Amber Eyes was a full body experience!

The Ephrussi family were an amazing group of people.

Hard-working, well educated, socially connected. They embraced the times they lived in wholeheartedly - they mixed with artists, poets and politicians. They were collectors of books, art, furniture and property. They lived through some of the most extraordinary periods of history in some of the most extraordinary cities of the world.

De Waal's device of following the trail of the netsuke through the generations was a lovely way to provide this story with a structure and a purpose. 
However this is not just another ramble through a family history. This is an extraordinary tale of family, love and loss.
*sigh*

Mercy Watson to the Rescue by Kate DiCamillo

I know the Mercy Watson books have been out for a while now, but somehow I have never got around to reading one.

I have always assumed that Kate DiCamillo = excellent.

I'm happy to report that the equation holds true.

Mercy Watson is delightful, charming and funny. The colour illustrations from Chris Van Dusen add to the appeal of this tale about an adventure loving pig who loves toast with lots of butter.


Mercy Watson is very different to the other DiCamillo characters & books, but then these books are aimed at a much younger reader.

There are now 6 books in this series, available individually or as a boxed set.

And DiCamillo has a great webpage for the kids all about Mercy.

An excellent early reader or to read aloud 5+

To Be Read

Sometimes my piles of TBR's fill me with panic & weariness...














....and other times with anticipation & excitement.









Today, I'm feeling a little weary and overwhelmed...so this is the extent of today's blog!

Happy Reading
xo