Mondays: Whereabouts/Musings/Mailbox

In the past weeks:

I finished:

Last Last Chance by Fiona Maazel

I am still in the midst of reading:

Lamentation by Ken Scholes

I posted reviews of:

Inside Out by Barry Eisler
Virgin Widow by Anne O'Brien

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Can you read amidst distractions? (tv, others talking, sporting events, etc)

Actually I can. I do it all the time. In trains, in waiting rooms, TV in the background, loud music (that is, rock) playing. People talking. Etc etc. With a book I can simply close the world out.

For my reading, it doesn't really matter if it is quiet or noisy. I can read in any environment.

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Monday Mailbox is hosted by Marcia.

I didn't receive a single book! How is that?! *grin*

TSS/Weekly Geeks

Since last sunday I have not read a word of anything or reviewed anything either. Somehow I am not very inclined to read. 1/3 of July has passed without a single book being read. How is that?

I have compiled a list of 10 best crime fiction I read till end of June 2010. Do check it out. You will definitely find something you will like.

One more thing is, despite being in non-reading mode, I am itching to buy books. I think I will give in to that.

I am also in the look out for buying a good laptop. Yesterday I almost clinched a deal. It fell through as the dealer didn't have the model I wanted in their inventory other than the display one. I obviously did not want the display model. I had specifically asked if they had one in their inventory. Just when I was going to make payments, they told me that they are selling me the display model. I was mighty mad and you can imagine the rest. I walked out soon after without my laptop and lots of anger!

Weekly Geeks: Do Book Trailers Do It For You?

In the last year or two a new entity has arisen in the publishing world: the book trailer. Apparently every self-respecting book has to have one these days so it seemed a good time to have a chat about them. Feel free to answer as many (or as few) of these questions as you like.

• Do you watch book trailers?

No, I don't watch book trailers

• If yes, do you actively seek them out or just watch the ones that get pushed to you in some way?

N/A

• If you don't watch them, why not?

Actually the hype puts me off. I would rather discover the content of the book all by myself. If I wish to know anything about the author, I would rather seek that information.

• Have you ever read a book based solely on seeing the trailer? What book was it and what did you like about the trailer?

Never

• Where do book trailers come on your list of things that influence you with regards to what books to read (friends' recommendations, mainstream reviews, bloggers, bookstore promotions, the blurb....)?

Book bloggers opinions figure high in my list. Maybe friends too..

• Do you have a favourite book trailer that you'd like to share? What do you like about it?

N/A

Best Crime Fiction so far 2010 - what's yours?

Kerrie of Mysteries in Paradise asks us to list the best 5-10 Crime fiction books we read in the first 6 months of 2010.

Here I list 10 Crime fiction books that I liked best, in no particular order:

Sworn to Silence by Linda
Venom by Joan Brady
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie--Graphic Novel
The Girl With a Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson
The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson
Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith
The Rule Book by Rob Kitchin
Saving Max by Antoinette van Heugten
The Likeness by Tana French
Inside Out by Barry Eisler

I am yet to review The Likeness by Tana French. You can read my reviews of the other books by clicking on the title.

Friday Find: The White Gallows by Rob Kitchin

After reading The Rule book by Rob Kitchin, I wish to read The White Gallows by Rob Kitchin. Do check it out.

Product Description from amazon

In Post-Celtic Tiger Ireland the murder rate is soaring and the gardai are struggling to cope with gangland wars, domestic disputes, and drunken brawls that spiral into fatal violence. To add to Detective Superintendent Colm McEvoy's workload are the deaths of two immigrants - an anonymous Lithuanian youth and an elderly German billionaire. While one remains an enigma, the murky history of the other is slowly revealed. But where there is money there is power and, as McEvoy soon learns, if you swim amongst sharks, you better act like a shark.

Booking through discussion

Do you have friends and family to share books with? Discuss them with? Does it matter to you?

I have friends and family who read books. But what I and they read seldom match. My friends are mostly into romance reading along with Chick Lit. Nowadays, my brothers read sci-fi or techie books. They also go for the most popular books. The kind of books I read are mostly unheard by them. However, my love for Crime Fiction is a result of reading my brothers books. My eldest brother loved Perry Mason and Agatha Christie novels. He gave the lot to me. My middle brother gave me his Alistair MacLean collection. My younger brother contributed to my Tintin and Asterix albums. My dad used to buy me Physics books. My mother read short stories.

I have discussed books with them. On and off. Not in a regular basis though. Now I and my 13 year old nephew talk about graphic novels.

Discussion or not, I am blessed to be born a family of readers! Despite the fact that I read the most!

A-Z Wednesday: Virgin Widow by Anne O'Brien

Title: Virgin Widow
Autor: Anne O'Brien
ISBN: 978-0778303756
Publisher: Mira/2010
Pages: 624

Book Description: Anne Neville is the heiress and daughter of the greatest powerbroker in the land, Warwick the Kingmaker. Trapped in a deadly tangle of political intrigue, she is a pawn in an uncertain game, used by the houses of Neville, York and Lancaster alike.

In England’s glittering, treacherous court, not all wish to see the Neville’s raised high. The Earl of Warwick’s ambition and pride lead him into an attempt to depose the Yorkist King; his treason forces his family into exile.

Humiliated and powerless in a foreign land, Anne must find the courage and the wit to survive in a man’s world.

My views:

Anne O'Brien is not very well known, although she was married to Richard III. Here here story is told in such a manner that we are drawn into the political intrigue and treachery. Earl of Warwick uses his own daughter to further his own selfish interest. Edward Lancaster, a volatile person, even though married to Anne, doesn't treat her well. He is totally influenced by Margaret of Anjou. She does not allow them to get close to each other. Anne, at a young age 14 year, faces too much tribulations. Yet she does not give up. She knows she has to carve a niche for herself. Medieval England comes alive for us. It is a tome of a book. But that did not deter me from reading it at two sittings. It is a must read for history lovers. Anne's thoughts might have been fictionlised by she has been given a great voice here. It seems as real as the history of that time. Maybe it is, if she had been given a voice at that time.

Inside Out by Barry Eisler

Ulrich stared at Clements, wanting to believe he'd misheard. Even in the grand panoply of CIA incompetence, this one would be a standout.

"Let me get this straight," he said, deliberately speaking slowly and clearly so Clements and the rest of the Langley contingent assembled before him would understand exactly what Ulrich made of their collective mental acuity. "Ninety-two interrogation videotapes, and you're telling me they're just… missing?"

Title: Inside Out
Author: Barry Eisler
ISBN: 9780345505101
Publisher: Ballantine Books/2010
Pages: 368

In Inside Out, Ben Treven, first introduced in Fault Line, reappears. Treven has landed himself into a Manila Jail, after a Burgos Street bar brawl. The jail is so dark, crowded and unknown, that Ben finds himself in a soup with no rescue in sight. However, Colonel Scott Horton, chief of Ben's secret unit, tracks him down. He offers Ben freedom in exchange of something very big. Now Hort had tried to kill Ben and his brother, Alex in Fault Line. Ben does not whether he should trust Hort or not.

Ninety-two tape recordings documenting the use of “enhanced interrogation techniques on terrorists”/“torture on people of interest” by U.S. personnel have gone missing. And can create utter chaos if released in the public domain. The man who has them, Daniel Larison, is infact a former member of Ben's unit. He is supposedly deceased and has his reasons for going the opposite way. He has a secret life and needs money to lead that life. He is demanding $100 million in diamonds.

Treven finds himself in an unwanted partnership with an FBI agent, Paula Lanier, who is not what she appears to be. They plan how to catch hiold of Larison and recover the tapes from him. But there are people with their own interests, who can go either way to further those. Ben doesn't find Daniel to be the rogue that he is made out to be. Ben Treven also understands that he is own his own, with no support from anyone and has to find the right path to get out of it.

In Ben Treven, Eisler has created another memorable character as John Rain. With complicated plots and sub plots, the novel is a great ride and we are with Ben all the way. The pace is very good and it is a start to finish novel. Barry Eisler does not disappoint us at any point.

Mondays: Mailbox/Musings/Whereabouts

Monday Mailbox is hosted by Marcia.

I received the following two books, thanks to the authors.

1) Inside Out by Barry Eisler

Marooned in a Manila jail after a bar fight fatality, black ops soldier Ben Treven gets a visit from his former commander, Colonel Scott Horton, who explains the price of Ben's release: find and eliminate Daniel Larison, a rogue operator from Ben's unit who has stolen ninety-two torture tapes from the CIA and is using them to blackmail the US government. But other players are after the tapes, too, and to find Larison, Ben will have to survive CIA hit teams, Blackwater mercenaries, and the long reach of the White House. He'll also have to find a way to handle Paula Lanier, a smart, sexy FBI agent who has her own reasons for wanting the tapes and is determined to get them before Ben does. With the stakes this high, everyone has an angle—everyone but Ben, who will have to find the right alliance if he wants to stay alive.

2) The Sea Captain's Wife by Beth Powning

Azuba Galloway, daughter of a shipwright, sees ships leaving for foreign ports from her bustling town on the Bay of Fundy and dreams of seeing the world. When she marries Nathaniel Bradstock, a veteran sea captain, she believes she will sail at his side. But when she becomes pregnant she is forced to stay behind. Her father has built the couple a gabled house overlooking the bay, but the gift cannot shelter her from the loneliness of living without her husband. When Azuba becomes embroiled in scandal, Nathaniel is forced to take her and their daughter, Carrie, aboard his ship. They set sail for London with bitter hearts. Their voyage is ill-fated, beset with ferocious storms and unforeseen obstacles that test Azuba's compassion, courage, and love. Alone in a male world, surrounded by the splendour and the terror of the open seas, she must face her fears and fight to keep her family together.
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In the past weeks:

I finished:

The Sea Captain's Wife by Beth Powning

I am in the midst of reading:

Lamentation by Ken Scholes

I posted reviews of:

Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell
Under This Unbroken Sky by Shandi Mitchell
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What are you currently reading? Would you recommend it to others? Is it part of a series (if so, which one)? What are you thinking about it? What book(s) would you compare it to, if any?

I am currently reading Lamentation by Ken Scholes, as I have mentioned above. As I said there, it is a fantasy/war novel, a stand alone book. I have one-third of it and liking it. It can be compared with any good fantasy novel and yet makes its own mark.

Those who like the fantasy/speculative fiction can go for it.

Sunday Salon: June Wrap up and today's reading

As I mentioned here before, I was on census duty, which finished yesterday. After I submitted my reports, I feel so light. It was one huge work and I was in a lot of stress. Although I tried to post on my blog, but I wasn't visiting my blogger friends. That ought to change now. In the midst of all this work, I managed to read 11 books in June and I feel proud of it. I am yet to write reviews of some of those. I should get around doing that in the next week or so. Here are the books I read in June:


65) The Sea Captain's Wife by Beth Powning
64) Beat the Reaper by Josh Bazell (CF)
63) Inside Out by Barry Eisler (CF)
62) Crossing Oceans by Gina Holmes
61) Out of Shadows by Jason Wallace
60) The Memorist by M J Rose (CF)
59) The Likeness by Tana French (CF)
58) The Virgin Widow by Anne O'Brien
57) Hold Up The Sky by Patricia Sprinkle
56) Drawing in the Dust by Zoe Klein
55) Deadly Exchange by Geoffrey M. Gluckman (CF)

Today I plan to read Lamentation by Ken Scholes. It is a fantasy/war novel and has a good beginning. It has been on my TBR pile for too long.

Publisher Comments:

An ancient weapon has completely destroyed the city of Windwir. From many miles away, Rudolfo, Lord of the Nine Forest Houses, sees the horrifying column of smoke rising. He knows that war is coming to the Named Lands.

Nearer to the Devastation, a young apprentice is the only survivor of the city — he sat waiting for his father outside the walls, and was transformed as he watched everyone he knew die in an instant.

Soon all the Kingdoms of the Named Lands will be at each others' throats, as alliances are challenged and hidden plots are uncovered.

Booking through disappointment

Name a book or author that you truly wanted to love but left you disappointed. (And, of course, explain why.)

Right now I can only recall Virginia Woolf. I have tried reading her novels but somehow can't get into the groove. Her stream of consciousness is too much of it. While reading her novels, my minds drifts like the way her characters do. Maybe that was her intention but I am unable to fathom it. I can take it in small doses but large doses make me sick! Maybe I am in the minority.

What do you think?