The Blue Fairy's Bookshelf

Welcome to Vampires for Valentines Week! I’m posting a new review every weekday this week, each one of the first book in a series. Monday: Moon Called, by Patricia Briggs Werewolves and vamps cause trouble for shifter Mercy Thompson. Tuesday: Night Shift , by Lillith Saintcrow Okay, there’s no real vampires in this one, but there are shapeshifters, demons, and demon hunters. Wednesday: Dead Until Dark , by Charlaine Harris Yup, it’s the True Blood series! Thursday: Anno Dracula , by Kim Newman Something a little different: this's Paranormal Historical Fiction, kiddies. Vampires all over the damn place. Friday: Kitty and the Midnight Hour , by Carrie Vaughn Radio DJ Kitty Norville starts a call in show for the undead and part-time furry. Let’s get started, shall we?

It's time again for a new theme week! This time I'm reading the work of just one author: the incredibly prolific Mercedes Lackey. Ms. Lackey was one of my favorite authors in high school and I still pick up the occasional new book when I'm in the mood for some girl-positive fantasy. I was in need of a mix of nostalgia and the fantastic, so I'm reading a grand array of her work, some I've read before and some I haven't, in selections from many different series. Here's the schedule (links will also appear here as reviews are posted) Mon Aug 15: The Lark and the Wren Tues Aug 16: Trio of Sorcery Wed Aug 17: Oathbound and Oathbreakers Thurs Aug 18: Four and Twenty Blackbirds Fri Aug 19: Knight of Ghosts and Shadows Sat Aug 20: Arrows of the Queen Sun Aug 21: Unnatural Issue What's your favorite book by Mercedes Lackey? I remember being really fond of the Mage Storms Trilogy, but those will have to wait for another session of re-re...

Okay all you lucky people, it's time for another game of "Lindsay reads way too many books on one subject and/or theme!" I love Star Trek. I've always liked Star Trek, but only in the past few years have I really grown to love it. So of course I attempted to destroy my young and fragile love by reading a flood of related media. I've got reviews coming up of a bunch of memoirs, a couple novels, plus I'm going to revisit my small collection of Trek related comics. Next week, my friends, is old school. Wall to Wall Original Trek. Here's the schedule: Monday May 30: Provenance of Shadows (Novel) Tuesday May 31: Beyond Uhura (Memoir) Wednesday June 1: Reading Star Trek Comics: The Past Thursday June 2: I Am Spock (Memoir) Friday June 3: Harbinger:Vanguard (Novel) Saturday June 4: Up Till Now (Memoir) Sunday June 5: Reading Star Trek Comics: The Present Book Blogging - The Final Frontier!

I'd like to thank anyone who read through all my reading meme posts this month. (If you missed the month-long meme, see index post here .) I know it's cliche, but I hope that you had as much fun reading them as I had putting them together. Please steal the prompt list for your own if you like, memes are meant to be shared after all. Thinking through these short articles put a lot of books back on my "to re-read" list. Partially inspired by this post  and partially by a gift I received for the holidays, I've decided on a special event for the upcoming month. I'm declaring the week of Feb 14th Fantasy   Flashback Week here at the Bookshelf. I'm going to read a large pile of classic Middle Grade fantasy, all books that I loved as a child but haven't read in years and years. Some will be obscure, some less so. I'll post about a different book every day that week. If you reread an old favorite recently, I hope you'll come by and leave a com...

Because I've been doing too much re-reading lately, I'm starting a unit in which I'm not re-reading... well, only re-reading one book. Some of these books I have heard of, some I haven't. Some I am pulling from the account in The Magician's Book of what Lewis and Tolkien read as kids. I think I've put together a pretty decent list: Phantastes by George MacDonald, 1858 The Well at World's End and/or The Wood Beyond the Worlds by William Morris 1894/1896 The Worm Ouroboros by Eric Rücker Eddison, 1922 The King of Elfland's Daughter by Lord Dunsany, 1924 Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees, 1926 The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian by Robert E Howard, (Short story compilation, originally published 1932-36) (FYI: Hobbit published: 1937)

Two events of last year have been driving me toward reading/re-reading a bunch of vampire fiction. One, we won a copy of The Strain , Guillermo Del Toro's new vampire book. Specifically Erin won it, with this piece of fiction. Two, I suppose I should see what's up with the whole Twilight thing. So I've decided to hit the highlights of literary vampires through history, starting later today. Here's my projected timeline: 1897  Dracula 1954  I Am Legend 1975  'Salem's Lot 1976  Interview with the Vampire 1993  Guilty Pleasures (one of the first big paranormal romances) 2005  Twilight 2009   The Strain  Did I miss any major ones?

I wasn't going to follow up my research-heavy dissection of "A Scandal in Bohemia" with more Holmes, but that's what I'm reading now. Some re-reading in the list below, some new books, and one review that's familiar to my goodreads friends.  All books about Holmes and company, not by Doyle. The Seven-Percent Solution A Study in Scarlet (Re-creation Book) The Crimes of Dr. Watson Good Night, Mr. Holmes Basil of Baker Street (Finally just ordering a copy of this hard-to-find children's book) The Beekeeper's Apprentice Extra: Selections from the Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

In searching through Children's sections on the hunt for Girl's Books , I discovered another genre I'd been meaning to re-read a bunch of. For each of these books I plan to chat both about the book itself and the structure of the animal society. Planned Subjects: Wind in the Willows The Rescuers (and sequels) Watership Down Redwall Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH Mouse Guard (Graphic Novel)

I like to read. I like to talk about books. I read so much that if I don't write down what I think about a book, I'll probably forget. Hence, my presence on goodreads.com (see link to right.) One of the reasons I want to try talking about books in a blog setting, is that I like to talk about books in the context of other books. I like to read big chunks of related content, and then switch gears drastically. I usually read whatever's on the sci-fi shelf that catches my eye, but this month I'm playing in a different genre. So, look for posts over the next few weeks regarding my current literary cycle: Historical Girls. Planned subjects: Little Women Little House on the Prairie (and others in the series) Anne of Green Gables Caddie Woodlawn A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Island of the Blue Dolphins (As I am only human, I have taken breaks during the string of 'girls' books... with two military sci-fi novels, and one scholarly book about vampires.) ...