What Barb has been reading....

Well since i last checked in here, i have read The Candy Shop War, by Brandon Mull (which was great... More review to follow) and then i decided to try something new in the form of The Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot (Have read 4.5 of her books... If you have read the series, you know that she has actually published a couple of "half volumes"... Kinda strange, i know... More review to follow).

Then i took time out from the Princess Diaries to read the new Jude Deveraux book, Lavender Morning. i liked it! Slowed down a bit in the middle but it was a good read. This is the first in Jude's new "Edilean" series and i hope she is speedy about getting the next one out because i want to know what happens! Not that it leaves you hanging, it doesn't, but it leaves you wanting more. It actually reduced me to tears towards the end... but in a good way.

So, The Candy Shop War by Brandon Mull. Great read for kids and adults alike. The imagination in this book is terrific and i thoroughly enjoyed it (Thanks to my son Brennan who recommended it to me, and to kids in his class too). Quick read, lots of action, great descriptions and just an overall fun escape from our normal, everyday lives. Brandon also writes the Fablehaven series which has four books, three of which i have read and the fourth i am feverishly waiting for my little friends here are the library to get in!!

So, The Princess Diaries series by Meg Cabot. This is a Young Adult series and you may have seen the movies of the same name but they are far and away from the books. i would say that the movies are the edited and squished versions of the books, thoroughly "Disney-ized". The books are actually a HOOT!! Meg Cabot has a truly wicked sense of humor and she shows it well through our heroine, Amelia Thermopolis/Renaldo... For example, here is something to get you interested... Amelia (fondly known as Mia) cannot start a new year of school without wearing her QUEEN AMIDALA PANTIES! Yep, you read that right, her Queen Amidala Panties... That is just one of many ***Snort Snort Giggle***s i had while reading the first 4.5 books of this series. Books 5 & 6 are on my nightstand and i just haven't gotten to them yet because....

i am now reading the new book by Mary Higgins Clark called Just Take My Heart. It has been pretty good, but here i am 160 pages through and they jury is already ready to deliberate the fate of this man, accused of killing his estranged wife, but i am only HALFWAY THROUGH THE BOOK!! It seems to me that Mary is dropping hints too fast and furious nowadays OR i am just getting better at catching them because for the last few of her books i have been figuring the plot out WAY too early! LOL!! i will just chalk it up to me catching on faster, sounds better anyway! i have gotta finish it soon though, there are lots of people waiting for it!

So that is how my crazy literary life has been going lately, come and comment on this post and lets chat!

~Barb

The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them. ~Mark Twain