Angieville

Aren't these three just sort of striking and atmospheric? First up, Scott Westerfeld 's Leviathan is due out October 6th. As you can tell by the awesome cover, it's all kinds of steampunk and is the first in a new series. Yay! Longtime favorite of mine Sharon Shinn has a new YA out also in October, the 15th to be exact. Gateway is about an adopted Chinese girl and is set in an alternate St. Louis modeled after 19th century China. Ever since getting lost in The Historian , I've been wondering what Elizabeth Kostova would write next. The Swan Thieves is due out the same day as Leviathan and follows a solitary psychiatrist treating a tormented artist. I'll take it.

For your Friday Giggles I present you with the hilarious Book-A-Minute Classics and Book-A-Minute SF/F sites, with their "Ultra-Condensed Books" lists. Browse about at will. But make sure you take a peek at the particularly giggle-worthy ultra-condensed versions of A Tale of Two Cities , Pride & Prejudice , The Fionavar Tapestry , and my personal favorite-- The Book of Three . What the heck, let's throw Twilight in there for good measure. Enjoy.

Here she is. I'm kind of digging her. What with the wings and the whip and everything. Diana Peterfreund is giving away three copies of Sarah Cross 's new novel Dull Boy about a boy named Avery who discovers he has superpowers. So head over to The Hero Factory and make your own. Then go tell Diana about it and enter the contest. This book looks great!

First off, apologies to Angie and her Ville for the delay in this post. My brain went dead following two weeks on the road, and the various attempts at writing something produced words so dull, they put me to sleep. Of course, pretty much anything put me to sleep, after an average of 5 ½ hours of sleep a night for 12 nights… One of the things I love most about an author tour is having a chance to meet the people who read my books. In a normal job, a person gets feedback as she goes along, conversations with customers and colleagues, but my job is to sit in a quiet room for ten or eleven months and tap my fingertips down onto buttons. Little opportunity for ongoing feedback there. On a book tour, it’s all about the feedback, particularly since my events consist of about ten minutes of me talking, two minutes of reading from the book, and 48 minutes of Q&A. It’s true, as my daughter pointed out, that I don’t actually answer the questions, but I do use them as springboards to tal...

I love the title of this the 9th Mary Russell/Sherlock Holmes novel. In name and spirit, The Language of Bees brings things back to the beginning once more. Back to the Downs, back to the hives, back to a 15-year-old Mary Russell stumbling over a retired detective tending his bees in peace, thus setting into motion the unlikely formation of a most formidable and engaging partnership. What an adventure it's been, and how fascinating to follow these two dominant personalities meet and clash and meet again, picking their way ever so rationally toward a kind of home. In this installment, Russell and Holmes indeed come home to Sussex after months and months abroad--tired, anxious, and, in Russell's case, tangled up in self-doubt and disillusionment. They walk through the door to find Holmes' beloved bees have inexplicably fled their hive and a stranger waiting for them. A stranger who is not a stranger after all. They met surrealist painter Damian Adler once before. Now he soli...

Apparently this one's the real deal. What do you think?

So. much. WIN. Also, I'm in love with Spock. That is all.

Chasing Ray has the Summer Blog Blast Tour dates up. These wonderful folks put the tour on every year and it's always a fest o' awesome. This year they've got a great lineup and I'll definitely be dropping in to catch Carrie Jones today at Writing and Ruminating , Maggie Stiefvater also there on Wednesday, and Kristin Cashore at HipWriterMama on Friday. Rumor is...there'll be a Graceling giveaway! In case by some freak chance you are not already a regular follower of the sneaky and cheeky Book Smugglers , you should rectify that problem. Harry over at Temple Library Reviews is interviewing Ana and Thea this week and it would be a perfect way to get to know them. Read Part I of the interview and then continue right on to Part II . There was a high-pitched shriek heard round the 'Ville when I stumbled across the first chapter of Heroes at Risk , which Moira J. Moore has posted on her livejournal. If you're having a hard time holding out till August ...

Sookie always saves me. Just when I'm wondering if Spring will come at all, the new Sookie is suddenly out and life is brighter and more amusing. I'm always reminded of the spring I discovered this wonderful series and how they saved me then and, my, has it really been a year since I spent time with the gang, and how is every little thing? The last two books were somewhat transitional installments, in that Sookie's been through the wringer and is forced to reevaluate several aspects of her life, particularly the undead and shifty folk she's allied herself with and how much longer she's willing (or able) to go on being the one commodity everyone wants to have in their arsenal. The wolves are coming out of the walls. On a quiet night in Merlotte's, Sookie serves patrons and watches as the were community officially comes out to the world, painting themselves as the vampires' fuzzier younger sibs. Reactions in Bon Temps range from mildly bemused acceptance to wi...

Molly over at Ten Block Walk has started a great discussion about the books we'd go back in time to give our younger selves if we could. If it were me, I think I'd stealth stalk my teenage self, leaving single books in unmarked, brown paper wrapped parcels. One on the back step, one on my pillow, one in my locker on that first day of high school...And the deliveries would have to start with Honey, Baby, Sweetheart by Deb Caletti . I read that book a couple of years ago and just could not get over how I wish every teenage girl could read it. Like if they did it would help them know who they are and avoid a fair chunk of unnecessary pain. It's a beautiful book and one I highly recommend. Follow-up dropoffs would include The Road Home by Ellen Emerson White (because EEW books rock), Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes by Chris Crutcher (because it would have made me think about things I wasn't thinking about then but should have been), An Abundance of Katherines by John G...

We're gonna have to have a bit of a reschedule on Ms. King's guest post as she is just returning from her book tour and is understandably a bit behind. I can't even imagine the pressures of touring and promoting! We'll be sure to get the post up shortly, though. Until then, I leave you with some awkward giggles. Awkward Family Photos Make sure to click back to the older entries and, whatever you do, do not miss Happy Mother's Day , Doubledelish , and Bon Family . They are inexplicable. And wonderful. *wipes away tears*

For those unfamiliar with or new to the series, Fragile Eternity is the third book in Melissa Marr 's Wicked Lovely world and the long-awaited direct sequel to Wicked Lovely itself. The painful and beautiful Ink Exchange was more of a companion novel to Wicked Lovely and followed Aislinn's friend Leslie. Fragile Eternity picks up shortly after the end of Ink Exchange and divides its time between the four original principals--Aislinn, Seth, Keenan, and Donia. All of them are struggling to deal with the consequences of their actions (or, in a few key cases, inactions), which resulted in Leslie walking away from it all and Irial abdicating his throne, effectively forcing Niall to fill his deep, dark shoes. How they live now includes: 1. Aislinn working really hard not to touch Keenan with a ten-foot pole. Bad things happen in the castle when she does. Mostly for Seth. 2. Keenan working even harder to do a lot more than touch Aislinn. All in the name of his court, of course, ...

Phew, I'm back. Vegas was hot and windy, but the wedding we attended was lovely. Lots of yummy, yummy Thai food at the reception and many good people to visit with. A much-needed getaway. I just wanted to put up a reminder that Laurie R. King , author of the most wonderful if-you-haven't-read-them-yet-you-must Mary Russell series , will be guest blogging here on Wednesday. Laurie is promoting her latest and greatest Mary Russell-- The Language of Bees . You're in for a treat so don't miss it! I've also got several good reviews on their way up this week. Look out for my review of Fragile Eternity (much to say on that one), Dead and Gone (Sookie rules), and of course The Language of Bees .

And the winner is... Kerry ! Please send me your mailing address and a brand new copy of Madam, Will You Talk? will be wending its way to your door. I wanted to thank all the commenters for sharing your lovely stories. It was a treat reading them.

To celebrate the release of Tamora Pierce 's Bloodhound , Random House has put together a bit of fun with their Which Tortall Heroine Are You? quiz. Find out here. I took it and it looks like I am: Kel You are most like Kel. You are an untraditional girl and are known to take great risks. You will stop at nothing to protect those who are important to you or those who are unable to help themselves. You always manage to hold your own in a fight, either due to your sheer determination or your magical powers. Untraditional...check. Protect those important to you....check. Ooh, magical powers! Excellent...

Yes, it's a fake. And yes, he's shirtless, and tortured, and poor RPattz, etc. But...I don't know...it's sort of how I picture him. Edward, that is. The Edward of New Moon . Pre- Breaking Dawn Edward. Back when he was still awesome and dangerous and ready to End It All In Italy. Sigh. Good times.

I bought Marcelo in the Real World for its beautiful cover. Isn't it gorgeous? I love the warm light in the treehouse, the cool sky full of stars, and the two black silhouettes walking hand in hand. The title is wonderful as well and, having read it, I can't think of a better one for this lovely book. And we might as well go ahead and acknowledge that Francisco X. Stork has got to be the best author name I've come across in ages. Seriously. Put the three together and I don't see how you can not pick this one up. Marcelo (pronounced mar-SEL-o) is different from other 17-year-old boys. He has what doctors and other "normal" people call a cognitive disorder. As Marcelo is constantly forced to explain to people, the closest thing his condition can be likened to is a mild form of Asperger's. But that is not what Marcelo would call it. Certainly not a disorder. In fact, Marcelo experiences a heightened sense of order. The way he sees the world is governed by...

Prompted by my Bibliophile Birthday post from last week, I've decided to do a Mary Stewart giveaway! This is partially a selfish endeavor so that then I'll have an additional person to talk to about these books. And if you win it and read it and you love it, come back and tell me. And I'll tell you which one to read next! I figured I ought to give you a little more background on my love for Mary Stewart's books, so I'm sharing an essay I wrote a few years ago for the Readerville journal. It explains it the best, I think. The Mary Stewart Affair My mother loved Mary Stewart. In the summer of 1967 when the word “bell bottom” was first introduced into the dictionary and the Bee Gees were struggling new artists, my mom was a sophomore in high school in the small town of Malad, Idaho. Few events from the outside world penetrated this little valley at the foot of the Samaria Hills, but that summer my mother discovered a library shelf full of mystery novels by a British w...

I used to live in Italy. Growing up an Air Force brat, I moved around frequently and, with parents who both spoke fluent Italian, it was inevitable that we'd be stationed there at least a couple of times. While I was in graduate school, they had the gall to move back to Italy without me. Fortunately, DH and I got to visit them several summers in a row. As I have a late summer birthday, we generally managed to be there for it. I have so many sun-drenched birthday memories. Memories filled with sea salt, Aranciata, marble floors, and happiness. One of the things I've always loved about my family is that we do birthdays well. Wherever we happened to land on my birthday over the years, my dad always managed to finagle a birthday cake. These cakes came in all manner of flavors, shapes, and sizes. Sometimes they were smushy affairs made of yogurt and jam, sometimes they had messages spelled out in a hilarious mixture of languages, always they were heartfelt and delicious. I...