I'm in Portland, Oregon at a reading association conference. The last speaker of the day was terrible so I decided to take the rest of the day off and go to Powell's Books. Those of you who don't know about Powell's, it's a wonderful bookstore (including used books) covering an entire city block in the northwest portion of downtown Portland.
I got a little lost on the light rail. No biggie--I got to see Portland State. After my trip to Powell's I stopped in at the Public Library. I've been trying to stop at public libraries in cities that I visit. It's interesting and feels like home. I got into a wonderful conversation with the children's librarian here in Portland. The library itself is wonderful--big windows (I'll need to find out what the name of these are) and some amazing steps, black polished ?granite? with really intricate carvings. I didn't bring my camera this trip and was pretty certain my cell phone camera wouldn't do them justice. Interesting note--the walls of the main rooms of the library are pink! Not that I'm judging--I just thought it was really interesting.
Friday, February 19, 2010
An Echo in the Bone, by Diana Gabaldon
Highlanders and time travel, what could be more fun. I had decided to stop reading this series because there was predictable explicit sex scenes too frequently. It's not that I was offended by them, just irritated. (Same reason that I've stopped reading Laurell Hamilton's vampire books.)
I needed an iPod book to get me through some house projects, so I downloaded this from Audible because it was long (and I had big projects). I was pleasantly surprised. Jamie and Claire are now living through the American Revolution and Brianna, Roger, and kids are in modern day Scotland. I enjoyed the book--but it ended with lots of loose strings. It means, I suppose, that we can expect an 8th book in the series.
At the end of the audio files Gabaldon talked about her historical research and where she departed from historical fact. If I were willing to make the time I'd do some additional reading to check out the facts. I have a cousin who has researched the Armstrong part of my family--Scotts in the North Carolina region. I should get out my DAR papers from my grandmother (mom and I passed) to see if somehow I am related to Jamie Fraser. That would make my son happy--what a role model!
I needed an iPod book to get me through some house projects, so I downloaded this from Audible because it was long (and I had big projects). I was pleasantly surprised. Jamie and Claire are now living through the American Revolution and Brianna, Roger, and kids are in modern day Scotland. I enjoyed the book--but it ended with lots of loose strings. It means, I suppose, that we can expect an 8th book in the series.
At the end of the audio files Gabaldon talked about her historical research and where she departed from historical fact. If I were willing to make the time I'd do some additional reading to check out the facts. I have a cousin who has researched the Armstrong part of my family--Scotts in the North Carolina region. I should get out my DAR papers from my grandmother (mom and I passed) to see if somehow I am related to Jamie Fraser. That would make my son happy--what a role model!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Grave Sight, by Charlaine Harris
I've reviewed this on my Good Reads site. Why I keep two different "reader" sites I don't know. My ED-TECH friends say that each venue (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) have their own group of devotees. So, I'll keep two different sites active. I discovered that for some reason I can't copy my Good Reads review and paste it here.
So--back to Grave Sight. Harris is the author of the Sookie Stackhouse series about the Southern bar maid who falls in love with a vampire. In the world created by Harris Vampires are legal. The HBO series True Blood is based on her series.
The new "Harper Connelly" series is about another Southern Belle. This time Harper was struck by lightening as a teen and now she is able to "find" the missing dead and relive their last moments on earth. The plot lines and characters are lighter that Iris Johansen's books. I'm not running out to pick up the next book in the series. But, if it appeared on my bookshelf or kitchen counter I'd pick it up to read. Good beach or pool side reading.
Three stars
So--back to Grave Sight. Harris is the author of the Sookie Stackhouse series about the Southern bar maid who falls in love with a vampire. In the world created by Harris Vampires are legal. The HBO series True Blood is based on her series.
The new "Harper Connelly" series is about another Southern Belle. This time Harper was struck by lightening as a teen and now she is able to "find" the missing dead and relive their last moments on earth. The plot lines and characters are lighter that Iris Johansen's books. I'm not running out to pick up the next book in the series. But, if it appeared on my bookshelf or kitchen counter I'd pick it up to read. Good beach or pool side reading.
Three stars
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