Notes from a bibliophile

I ran across this series many years ago when I worked at the bookstore. It was an advanced reader's copy of the first of the series called The Last Kingdom. I was hooked. I think I liked it so much because I was taking a linguistics course at the time, and Cornwell seemed to write the way the Saxons would have spoken (I've since learned that's kind of just his style, but by now I just don't care; I'll read whatever he writes). The series starts, like I said, with The Last Kingdom, where we meet the hero of the series, Uhtred of Bebbanberg. When the Danes invade his home, he is taken as a slave and raised as a Dane. He accepts their religion and lifestyle, barely holding on to his Saxon roots. Throughout the series he increases his reputation as a warrior until eventually he is driving the Danes from Wessex and Mercia for King Alfred and his successors. The battle scenes are amazing. The writing is thrilling and engrossing. Every time I read a Cornwell book, I can ...

Technically this is not a book, it's a recorded lecture. But hey, it's my game, so it's my rules. I keep getting these catalogs from a company called The Great Courses. They sound so cool and there are so many I want to listen to, but, although the catalog advertises that they are 80% off, these CDs range from $20 to $140. Now I have to admit, I'm a bit cheap nowadays. I used to not be so much, which is why I have to be cheap now. Credit cards, man. They are Satan's spawn. Working in a bookstore introduced me to the joys of the Advanced Reader's Copy and I have rediscovered the wonders of my local library, so I can manage to go several months without buying a book and not show signs of withdrawal. One of my discoveries is Audible.com. If you read any of my other posts, you'll see I have quite a few audiobooks.The monthly fee is fairly low, and that brings these lectures well within my reach. There is supposed to be a guidebook that goes along with the co...

I admit that one of the reasons I picked up this book was because the cover has a blurb by J.K. Rowling. The great thing about writers is that they are also readers. The good ones were the bookish kids, just like me, always with a book somewhere in tow. As readers, they know a good book when they run across one. One of my favorite books of all time is Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. I never would have picked it up if I hadn't read an article in Entertainment Weekly by Stephen King calling it one of the best books nobody was reading (at the time). I read it in hours, literally. I think I got home at three and by dinner time I was done. So considering J.K. Rowling has rapidly become one of my favorite authors (and not just because of Harry Potter), I felt confident this novel might just work for me. It's the story of the Mortmain family. There's father James, stepmother Topaz (ok, that one almost tripped me up), children Rose, Cassandra, and Thomas, and Stephen Col...

I'll admit right up front here that i got this book for free from Doubleday through a Read it Forward giveaway. I *heart* giveaways. Every day I wish I could stay in bed. That I didn't have to go to work. That the night would linger just a little longer. After reading this book, I may change my mind. Anna Lyndsey was just going about her life until, in 2005, she develops a severe insensitivity to light. It's called photo sensitive seborrhoeic dermatitis. I've heard of people being overly sensitive to sunlight, but I had no idea it could extend to even non-natural light sources. Her first indications that something is wrong came from her computer screen. She describes it as having someone hold a blowtorch in front of her face. As her issues develop further, her skin even gets irritated through her clothes. She literally has to block out every ray of light in order to live her life. No reading lamp beside the bed. No TV. No open windows. No light ever. Kinda makes you...