A Reader's Addiction

Read: April 25, 2012 read in less than a half hour pages: 48 Now while this is still strange, there are some commentaries here that are thoughtful and funny. Could be the change in writers. While this lead writer was part of the first one, they are lead here not secondary or third as in the first book.  My favorite in this little collection of stories/commentaries is the "Lostco". A coupon that is void if you cut it out, not good until 2042 and only on even numbered Tuesdays on months that start with H. I loved that! The Hobo camps were a nice touch as well inside the Lostco.Oh and when you try a sample product it mysteriously ends up IN your cart.  The lost in inner space was funny too with the references to old 8 bit Nintendo games. Ooooh and the Troublican Convention...as the sign warns: Disclaimer: Emily the strange has special powers that you do not have! Do not chop off legs with your home guillotine! I loved that she incinerated the ...

Read: April 25, 2012 read in less than a half hour pages:  48 Yes. Very very strange. Strange indeed. And well not too great. Not sure what I was expecting. Didn't know until AFTER I read this that she is not really much a comic book character as she is much more of a logo I guess you could say. So my guess what the point of this was was for the author/creator to make a little more profit? As the book title implies the book itself was just boring.

Read: April 22-25, 2012 read in 4 days pages: 402 I wavered a bit between giving 3 or 4 stars, but could change my mind again. The book reminded me a bit of the movie Letters to Juliet  only because the story wound up taking place entirely in Italy. The premise to get to Italy, a well written essay in a contest that happened to be a trip to Italy to participate in a Shakespeare seminar, was pretty far fetched but I looked past that. There was a great deal of emphasis on Shakespeare and a twist and retelling of the Romeo and Juliet story within the plot of this story that it could turn some people off. It worked for me though.. So of course touching on the story of Romeo and Juliet, OF COURSE our lead character Kate HAD to fall for the SON of her (divorced) father's arch rival of the academia world Professoressa Francesca Marchese. You know the whole family feud thing. For and added twist....her father just so happens to fall for his rival in the end. Because given...

Read: April 17-21, 2012 read in 5 days pages: 310 The book was OK. I didn't care to finish it honestly, but I stuck with it thinking it could get better. There wasn't any real tension. Live struggles with the new magic she discovers she has. She learns her father was a magical and so was her sister whom she never knew existed. There are apparently two different kinds of magic either day magic or night magic. Liv is day magic meaning her magic only works at day time. Everyone has different powers and can do different things. Liv can cause any item she concentrates on to become a woodland creature or really any animal by the end. The cutest thing she does is create a little mug bunny - a mug transformed into a bunny complete with floppy ears, fluffy tail and twitchy nose. It apparently requires no food or any other real care than making sure it doesn't all down the stairs AGAIN and bust off its handle that forms its little tail. The climax is lacking tension...

Read : December  30-April 17, 2012 read in WAY TOO LONG! pages:  416 I put this book down for a LONG time and then finally came back to it. It was typical of the rest of the series and it was fairly quick moving but the series had really lost my interest. I just don't care much for the characters any more and partly with this one had to do with the fact that this book was set when the characters were young teens. Having read the rest of the series I could tolerate them the older they got and they attitudes changed. This little bitchy rant of Blair's through the whole novel was a major annoyance. Ugh I'm going to leave it at I'm glad I can finally say I'm done with the series. I wanted to say I finished it. There. Done. I remember being surprised with the end and seeing who ended up with who, so to see the beginning wasn't a huge shocker as it followed the rest of the series. I don't feel it set much up as it stated it would aside from the S...

Read: April 8-15, 2012 read in a week pages:  293 I loved the opening of this book! The ice rink Flavia describes is incredible and her deduction of how she went about creating it inside the house by easily flooding the portrait gallery sounded spot on for a typical Flavia style incident. I can see this actually happening and was disappointed to find this was a cross between a dream and a day dream. DRAT! Another crime another mystery for Flavia to solve before the police get in there and disrupt the evidence for the young detective. Quite the adventure occurs and we find Flavia caught in the middle. Oddly enough despite the evidence Flavia discovers and keeps to herself but later shares with the police inspector we come to find the police had came to the same conclusions as Flavia, which hints to their improvement in crime solving, despite having followed different routes. Aside from the opening my favorite incident in the novel is when Flavia is searching for c...

Read: April 4-8, 2012 read in 4 days pages: 391 Another mystery solved by the amazing Flavia de Luce. I've found there are mysteries to her life as well that she doesn't know of or even know she will one day find the need to discover. I've been stumped on the connection of the Buckshaw home being in the de Luce family which is her mother's maiden name, yet also her married name. I'm thinking there is a good chance that her parents were distant cousins or somehow other wise related. After emailing the author hoping for an answer....I was told it is in the books and he doesn't want to spoil the enjoyment of the story. Ok fine I'll take that, but admit it does frustrate me and is quite distracting. It is hard to think of Flavia's great Uncle Tar de Luce as being Harriet's relative, but I'm hoping that mystery is solved. I already have I'm Half-Sick of Shadows the fourth book in the series waiting for me, as I knew I should get 2-4 when I found...

Read: March 31- April 3, 2012 read in 4 days pages: 364 Once again Flavia is up to her old antics. Helping solve mysterious happenings and deaths before the police even have a chance to piece things together. She manages to be the first one on the scene of the crime every time. Most times she stumbles upon them while she is out investigating other goings on that she has decided she needs to know more about. She has an incredible thirst for knowledge and an affinity for poisons that while she is only 11 years old her ability to whip up any number of poisons whether for joke or to save the life of someone to counteract another poison already working I would never want to cross her. Too bad her sisters have not figured this out yet. She's a spunky mixture of Sherlock Holmes and Watson all in one. I'll follow her anywhere her adventures take me as long as the books continue because the stories never fail to entertain. I highly recommend the series to anyone who enjoys a good myste...