Circle of Magic: Sandry's Book by Tamora Pierce

Four elements of power, four mages-in-training learning to control them. In Book 1 of the Circle of Magic Quartet, gifted young weaver Sandry is brought to the Winding Circle community. There she meets Briar, a former thief with a way with plants; Daja, an outcase gifted at metalcraft; and Tris, whose connection with the weather unsettles everyone, including herself. The four misfits are taught how to use their magic, but when disaster strikes, it's up to Sandry to weave together four different kinds of power to save herself, her friends, and Winding Circle.

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I mentioned Tamora Pierce on my post 'What to Read After Mockingjay' and this particular series is just one more reason why. I can't say that it holds the same place in my heart that the Alana Quartet does but it's another great example of what young adult literature can be. Tamora Pierce never talks down to her audience, never assumes that the reader would want anything different than an adult would. Thus her stories have the pacing and character development that you would find in an adult fantasy story but with the emotions and heart of a younger generation. I know I sound crazy but I swear it all makes sense when you read it!

Also, as I said before, this is again a series where female and male leads are of equal importance. Each character has a part to play, has a reason for being there - and male or female, flashy power or quiet, each characters gets the chance to save the day. I think it's a wonderful message and a big part of why these are books I read when I was younger, that I read now, and I'm sure I will continue to read in the future.

Overall Feeling - Thumbs up.

Series - 1) Sandry's Book 2) Tris's Book 3) Daja's Book 4) Briar's Book

The Trade Paperback 'Curse'

Literary Management Dystel & Goderich had a blog post the other day about the 'curse' of trade paperbacks which seemed like a reasonable topic to me. Yet what surprised me about the article was the fact that it talked about trade paperpacks as viable alternatives to hardcover - an alternative that wasn't being taken seriously by a lot of people in the publishing industry, especially for new authors.

Not where I thought this was gonna go, let me tell you.

Whenever I think about trade paperback my mind goes 'oh no'. I hate having to purchase something in that funky size for that price. I mean - I know you're going to sell it to me as a mass market eventually. Why are you messing with me and trying to get me to buy if for $15? Most of the time I'm really only interested in one story and it pisses me off that you're taking even MORE money from me for that one story.

If I end up buying that trade paper at all - which is really what happens in that situation. If I only have the option of buying something in trade paperback there's a lot of back and forth in my mind about just getting it from the library because I feel cheated whenever I contemplate the book itself. My favorite author only has a story about 20-30 pages long and you're charging me twice the price of a full length mass market. Why does anyone think this is a good deal? Especially when you're doing 1 big name with 2-3 smaller/new names with them. Why don't you give those other authors a chance in hell of being successful on their own and publish the titles as mass markets? I think as a whole, especially in this economy, publishers have a much better chance to grab the reader if they stick with a wholeheartedly embraced form like the mass market. Because let me tell you if I from the beginning have only one author I love and don't even recognize the rest? It's that much less likely that I'll buy it.

Additionally, on a more personal note, trade paperbacks mess with my bookshelf aesthetic. It's an awkward size and it makes keeping a series consistent much more difficult. I know that sounds ridiculous but it makes a difference to me! 

So the point is I don't disagree that there's a curse on trade paperbacks. I just think the curse is for different reasons entirely.

Joy.

Burning Up by Nalini Singh, Angela Knight, Virginia Kantra, & Meljean Brook

Bring these four authors together and it's sure to ignite a spark...

Angela Knight pairs a vampire warrior and his seductive captor in a battle against demonic predators.

Nalini Singh returns to the world of her Psy-Changeling series as a woman in lethal danger finds an unlikely protector-and lover.

Virginia Kantra continues the haunting tales of the Children of the Sea in her story of a wounded soldier rescued by an enigmatic young woman.

Meljean Brook launches a bold new steampunk series about a woman who strikes a provocative-and terrifying-bargain for freedom.

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This book is a prime example of why I rarely like anthologies. Somehow it always turns out that they're not really worth my money. Now don't get me wrong, I loved Nalini Singh's story. It had all the fun heat and emotion that her Changeling relationships have. 

I unfortunately can't say the same for the rest of the stories.

Knight's story gave off this awkward forced-seduction-kinda-rape-but-I-love-you vibe, and that didn't turn out well in my opinion. Maybe if there had been a bit more of the story, more time for the characters to go from sex to love it would have been a bit believable. Instead it all seemed to rapid fire and I never quite got over how the two first come together. Kantra's addition still suffered from too few pages, with her characters coming off a little flat, though I liked more the more rarely seen relationship between a selkie-like shapechanger and a human male. 

Meljean Brook had the second best story in the anthology. I thought the background of the two characters was more thorough and the emotions more real. My problems were more with the execution of the story and a feeling of indignation on behalf of the heroine when she's stuck in situations due to other people's manipulation and reluctance to give her the whole story - but that would bug me no matter the author. At least from this story I was able to figure out that probably no matter the author I'm not going to be a big steampunk fan (except when it comes to the fashion of course).

Overall Feeling - Thumbs up for Singh, thumbs down for the rest.

Series - Singh's is part of her Psy-Changeling books (a prequel) but the others I don't know well enough to say

Quiz Yourself - Banned Books Edition

Think you know a lot about Banned Books? Test your knowledge with this fun quiz from guardian.co.uk!

Teaser Tuesdays (9/28)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"Her ability to harm them without doing much more than think in their direction confused the men, which allowed her to pull on the ropes holding her. She dragged the soldiers over to her in the process and as they got close she stepped on them, enjoying the little squishy sounds they made."


--pg 296, "Chains & Flames" in Dragon Actually by G.A. Aiken

ALA Banned Books Week 2010

Today starts the very important week highlighting banned books. It's amazing to think of how in this day and age people still use feelings of moral righteousness and/or censorship to try and determine what people should (or be allowed to) read.

I'm lucky enough to say that my mother never tried to tell me what to read. I've always just picked up what caught my eye and if it held my attention? Well enough said. Try to imagine some place that had a library with mostly bare shelves or book stores that had 'with parental permission only' sections. 

Do any of us want to live like that?

Instead of taking for granted what most of us in America have as a inalienable right, remind yourself this week that it is a privilege that we have access to all that we read. Click on the link below and take a gander at the books some people don't have available and read something new. Read something controversial. 

Read something. 

 

Banned Books Week 2010

Border's New Rewards 'Plus' Program

Browsing through my emails this morning I see one from Border's with a fantastic coupon (40% off 2 paperbacks!) and an ad at the bottom for Border's Reward Plus Program.

An additional rewards program.

That you would have to pay for.

Hmmmmm......

Now for my general book buying pleasure I'm very much a Barnes and Noble girl. I like their sales associates better and I think the layout is more conducive to me finding what I want with or without help. I think this attitude may have been influenced by how Border's are run in NC, but even the best ones here in DC aren't all that fantastic.  But still, after moving here, I've found that I've visited Border's much more often because they're just as (if not more) conveniently located than Barnes and Noble. Go figure.

The reason I'm moved post though is the fact that this new push from Borders seems to be slightly hypocritical of most of the signage in the store: 'Why pay up to $25 for rewards programs at other book stores when you can get ours for free?' That seemed like a great marketing plot to me, but how many people are going to continue to be motivated to sign up if they realize that the best deals can only be had through paying almost as much as they would at Barnes and Noble? What would make Borders stand out amongst the competition?

What do you think? Do you think the rewards plus program is a good move for Borders?