My Virtual TBR Pile - BEA Books

Well, here we are a week after BEA and Armchair BEA. I didn't go to BEA, but I did participate in Armchair BEA. And, in May, I talked about some of the books I was looking forward to reading later this year. And then I requested a bunch of them on NetGalley and such; so I actually have a pile of virtual books to share.

August 7, 2012

Young Adult

October 2, 2012

Currently Reading

Historical Fiction

September 11, 2012

August 7, 2012

Consider the Fork by Bee Wilson

Still can't find a cover for this one.

October 2, 2012

October 1, 2012

The Dog Lived (And So Will I) by Teresa Rhyne

(I actually finished this book yesterday. It was really good! I don't generally read books about cancer; but I was interested in the dog initially and needed something 'different' to read. This was definitely different for me! I really like her writing style. I will write more closer to the release date, but she is going to ALA with Seamus. My blogging friends should visit her for me.)

October 1, 2012

August 21, 2012

August 28, 2012

Now that the events are over with, what books are you looking forward to after either visiting BEA or participating in Armchair BEA?

On another note, in 2013 one of the books I am looking forward to is Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans. I am still crossing my fingers for an ARC, but in the meantime add it to your wish lists! And be sure to check out this cool cover reveal found on Lenore's blog.

Since her untimely death the day before her eighteenth birthday, Felicia Ward has been trapped in Level 2, a stark white afterlife located between our world and the next. Along with her fellow prisoners, Felicia passes the endless hours downloading memories and mourning what she’s lost—family, friends, and the boy she loved, Neil.

Then a girl in a neighboring chamber disappears, and nobody but Felicia seems to recall she existed in the first place. Something is obviously very wrong. When Julian—a dangerously charming guy Felicia knew in life—comes to offer Felicia a way out, she learns the truth: a rebellion is brewing to overthrow the Morati, the guardians of Level 2.

Felicia is reluctant to trust Julian, but then he promises what she wants the most—to be with Neil again—if only she’ll join the rebels. Suspended between Heaven and Earth, Felicia finds herself in the center of an age-old struggle between good and evil. As memories from her life come back to haunt her, and as the Morati hunt her down, Felicia will discover it’s not just her own redemption at stake… but the salvation of all mankind.

Out of the Silent Planet (The Cosmic Trilogy, Book 1) by C.S. Lewis

Out of the Silent Planet (The Cosmic Trilogy, Book 1) by C.S. Lewis

Completion Date: April 2, 2012
Reason for Reading: Participate in the TLC Blog Tour.

Just as readers have been transfixed by the stories, characters, and deeper meanings of Lewis’s timeless tales in The Chronicles of Narnia, most find this same allure in his classic Space Trilogy. In these fantasy stories for adults, we encounter, once again, magical creatures, a world of wonders, epic battles, and revelations of transcendent truths. 

Out of the Silent Planet is the first novel in C. S. Lewis’s classic science fiction trilogy. It tells the adventure of Dr. Ransom, a Cambridge academic, who is abducted and taken on a spaceship to the red planet of Malacandra, which he knows as Mars. His captors are plotting to plunder the planet’s treasures and plan to offer Ransom as a sacrifice to the creatures who live there. Ransom discovers he has come from the “silent planet”—Earth—whose tragic story is known throughout the universe!

When I was younger I was transfixed by C.S. Lewis and all that his books represented. I still remember my grandmother giving me a gift card for the book store and me rushing out to get a collected edition of the Chronicles of Narnia. It has given me great excitement to see him regain popularity for newer generations through movie versions and re-releases of his books. The thing is that as much as I have enjoyed him over the years, I have never read any of his adult novels. When I read Laura Miller's The Magician's Book: A Skeptic's Adventures in Narnia she mentioned The Cosmic Trilogy and I was determined to read it, but it took me this long to actually start it.

One genre I am always slacking in is science-fiction, so I was very happy when I was offered this book for a TLC Blog Tour. I have been doing a lot better with the genre this year, but sometimes I need a push. And actually, a reminder that this trilogy even existed. When I hear Lewis I think of Narnia and Mere Christianity (because I own it and haven't read it...). I have to admit that I have so ignored Lewis' adult books that I didn't even know what this trilogy was about. For me, it is a grown-up Narnia set in space. Mars to be exact. Dr. Ransom is the main character who has been abducted and taken in a space ship by two other men to aid in their plans for the planet. The book still deals with the unexpected, good vs. evil, magical creatures, and then a large part of it is about class structure. As I have been reading a lot of books set in the early part of the 20th-century I couldn't help being intrigued by how Lewis manages to tackle it in space of all places. It is basically a matter of Dr. Ransom attempting to make sense of this strange new world.

I found myself very intrigued by this book. There is no question that Lewis is a great author, but I have found myself reading Narnia differently now that I am older and not enjoying the experience quite as much as I did when I was younger. With this trilogy, I am experiencing it for the first time as an adult, and I know Lewis; so I know what to expect and where my expectations should lie. Was I a bit worried I wouldn't like the religious aspects that were sure to appear? Of course. As a child I read Narnia as a children's fantasy series, but as an adult I noticed all sorts of religious aspects I never paid attention to before. My point is that I was worried how it would affect my reading seeing all these things with my first reading. I am not sure if I am making any sense, but anyway, I need not have worried. I am very interested to see the direction in which the other two books in the trilogy go. I am also happy that I have taken a chance and have another way to experience Lewis.

Thanks to TLC Book Tours for thinking of me!

The Cosmic Trilogy:
Out of the Silent Planet
Perelandra
That Hideous Strength

Other Tour Stops:

Friday, April 6th: Just One More Paragraph

Wednesday, April 11th: Reflections of a Bookaholic

Monday, April 16th: The Written World

Tuesday, April 17th: GeekMom

Wednesday, April 18th: Hooked on Books

Thursday, April 19th: Melody & Words

Monday, April 23rd: The Road to Here

Wednesday, April 25th: Wyoming Girl *turned* Coastie Wife

Thursday, April 26th: Creative Madness Mama

Friday, April 27th: Calico Critic

Monday, April 30th: Working for the Mandroid

TBD: Unabridged Chick

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Completed January 1, 2011

Recommended by Rachel

This splendid collection of mysteries carries readers back to a gas-lit era, when literature's greatest detective lived on Baker Street. A dozen of Holmes and Watson's best-known cases includes 'The Speckled Band', 'The Red-Headed League', 'The Five Orange Pips', 'The Copper Beeches', and 'A Scandal in Bohemia.'

Rachel is a huge fan of Sherlock Holmes, so I always wanted to read some to see what the fuss was about. This was the second book I read on my eReader and it was well-worth the time. I have always known who Sherlock Holmes was, of course, but most of the enjoyment can be derived from actually reading the books in the series. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a collection of short stories. Normally I am not a big fan of short stories, but these are more like connected case files. Dr. Watson has married and moved away from Baker Street, but he still makes appearances so he can participate in the cases and record them for posterity.

As many people know, Sherlock Holmes is a character that you will not find anywhere else. He reminds me of Sheldon from the Big Bang Show in the sense that he is a species all of his own. You never know what they are going to do next. Now, Holmes has taken it upon himself to help others, so that is rather different from Sheldon, but they still are rather different than anyone else you see in real life or literature. Over the course of the stories I found myself being drawn into the world of Sherlock Holmes. I was curious how the cases were going to play out and what clues he found during the course of his investigation. It all makes so much sense when he explains things out, but until then you are rather left in the dark. By Watson telling the story you find things out as he does, so you don't have too much information and are not disappointed by the big reveal.

Overall I really enjoyed this collection of short stories. Watson makes for an interesting narrator and Holmes is, and always will be, Holmes. I think I developed a little literary crush on him now and cannot wait to read more books in the series to find out what he is up to next.

The Series:

1. A Study in Scarlet

2. The Sign of Four

3. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

4. Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes

5. The Hound of Baskervilles

6. The Valley of Fear

7. The Return of Sherlock Holmes

8. His Last Bow

9. The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes

This book counts for the TwentyEleven Reading Challenge.