Hello and welcome to my August 'Book Babble' :-)
Wow, I have been blogging for seven months! I am so proud of myself. I'm not a natural diary style, reflective writer. After my failed attempt at blogging #365PictureBooks last year I honestly had my doubts that I'd make it anywhere near this far through the year.OK ... so it is the September 2nd and I'm a couple of days late with my August post. Sorry about that if you were waiting. Luckily I keep it updated throughout the month or a couple of days out sick would have ended up in more of a delay!
I do also have to apologise if you are wanting some fantastic Children's & Teen book suggestions. Oops!!! I've gone completely Adult only in August. It's been my escape from everything else. #soz not soz
On Work & Volunteer Work.....
It's been a busy month at school and with SLANZA. The SLANZA PD team has been moderating a really thought provoking 'Content Curation' online course. These are always so interesting and even as a moderator we are constantly learning something new. The conversations that arise from each discussion starter are a great place for bring new information to everyone's fingertips who is participating. Even though it is only a two-week online course, there is always so much work that goes into them 'behind the scenes'. MT I take my hat off to you for all you have done getting these modules off the ground and all the amazing work you do. You are a truly inspirational person :-D
And at school we have just signed up for Wheelers ePlatform1. Nearly 1,000 eBooks with only a small handful that we already had available in our own collection. Such a fantastic variety of Picture Books, Fiction & Non-Fiction appropriate for our Primary School students, as well as some great Teen and Adult reads. Having these eBooks means our older students (particularly the year 6's) have access to reads that we don't provide at school (gotta think what is appropriate for most of our students), AND they will be able to continue reading awesome, amazing, fantastic books over the Summer Holidays before they head off to Intermediate School. Oh yeah ... and our staff also have access to these eBooks so lots of great reading opportunities for them too :-D
I have catalogued them all in our ILS ... boy did that take a while!!!!! But by doing this I am able to add them to reading lists that direct the students towards books more appropriate for their reading age - Junior (kinda year 1-2 / early readers+), Intermediate (year 3-4'ish), Senior (year 5-7'ish) and Teen/Adult (everything else ;-P ). The ePlatform does have different age options, however 'Children' covers Picture Books through to Tween/Teen reads. That's OK if the students are confident finding their own thing and being aware of how they can determine if it is appropriate, but that's not how most of them choose their reading material ... they really do 'judge a book by it's cover'!!!
So I was seen doing a very happy chair dance today when our access was FINALLY sorted out. I did restrain myself and gave the IT guy a high-five rather than the 'happy dance hug' I really wanted to do!!! We had had no eBook issues at all last term, and I thought it was just because my very few eBook enthusiasts had just decided not to read any more of our small collection. Nooooooo that is not what was wrong. Our link was broken!!!! And it had nothing to do with our ILS or Wheelers. All I'm gonna say is ... N4L!!!!! Small typo, and none of our students letting me know they couldn't get on!!! Aaaaarrrrggghhhhh!!!!! Anyhoo it is all fixed now. Classes are being booked to re-acquaint them with this fantastic, awesome, brilliant resource, and my really really keen eBook reader will be a happy camper. She has been asking me for two weeks when she can get back on!!!
On Movie Adaptations.....
You know how 'The Book Is ALWAYS Better'? Well I've found a movie that I can finally argue this statement with. I finally watched The Dressmaker. I read the book in December last year after hearing how awesome the movie was, and not being able to get to it. Knowing that the book is always better, I was expecting epic & awesome things!!! Well after reading the book I refused, REFUSED, to watch the movie. I only rated it 1 star on my Goodreads list and didn't review it. I am not a fan of Literature, and to me this book is definitely Lit. Don't get me wrong, this is a very well written book, however it is soooooooo freaking descriptive to the point of being, IMHO, freaking boring. Too much blah, blah, blah! It has taken me over 9 months to build up the courage to watch the movie. O.M.G!!!! The movie was so so so good!!! Yes the dresses were divine. Yes the setting was so well done. And the characters were just perfect. Definitely well worth watching!!! Just don't read the book!!!!!
On Audiobooks.....
I was stuck in the back seat on a recent trip to Auckland. Being a nice mummy I let my oldest sit in the front as his super-duper long legs don't fit in the back of the Ute. Actually nor do mine. I've threatened my husband that if we take his vehicle again HE is sitting in the back and I am driving!!!!! Bloody uncomfortable. Anyway back to the book ..... I was rather bored as both teenagers were listening to their own music, and it's very hard to have a conversation with the driver from the back seat, and I just can't read in a moving vehicle. So jokingly I emailed some friends and said I should have downloaded an audio book and played it through the car speakers. Have you been taking note of the kind of books I've been reading lately?????? That would have been so hilarious!!!!
Anyhoo before the return trip I DID find some Audio books on iBooks and downloaded a book of Mina Carters to listen to. I had to actually do a search by author or collection (paranormal romance) rather than typing in 'Audio Books'. Only a small selection comes up if you search for audio books. OMG! I am such a ditz!!! There is a whole tab for audiobooks. Amazing how you can't see what is, quite literally, under your nose!!! So a hint ... if you are an iBooks user ... at the top of the 'Favourites' page there are two options ... Book or Audiobooks.
Ya know what????? I enjoyed it after I got used to someone else's voice reading out loud. Still a couple of "OMG am I really listening to this" moments, however, the sex scenes in the story aren't until close to the end and not really that graphic.
I can highly recommend that if you love books and have a long trip coming up, or actually if you are doing some menial task that doesn't require a lot of concentration, then download an audio book or two and listen away. There are even some more 'conventional' books out there, and I found a Stephen Fry set I'd like to get hold of for my next trip.
Actually thinking back, in my early 20's when I was doing the Auckland work commute I had purchased 3 or 4 books on tape. Boy that was a while ago!!!!! It is certainly clearer listening to eAudio than scratchy tapes.
Alrighty .... so here is WIBR this month .... Oh yeah, apologies again for the lack of Children's & Teen reads :-/
NOTE: ** Denotes sexual content (school librarians use your discretion)
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Dark Bk30 Dark Carousel** / Christine Feehan [eBook]
5 Stars
Adult. Paranormal.
Goodness gracious. I can't believe that this is the 30th book in this series!!! Christine Feehan in such a prolific writer, and manages to keep the series fresh, yet familiar. I particularly like how she is giving a new take to the Dark series by setting the newer ones in different countries, as well as integrating the stories into the 21st Century. She has cleverly woven the characters (both good and bad) into previous books and we now get to meet them in more detail.
For fans of Christine Feehan, you are going to love this new book. If you haven't been hooked yet, then you are in for a great reading experience. You don't need to read the books in any particular order, however IMHO you should read them in order to get the most out of the stories :-)
There is not quite so much sex in this book. It's more about the relationships and the fight with the Vampires. Don't get me wrong ... there are some great romance scenes in here, and like many of the books the whole 'lifemate' thing does happen earlier in the storyline.
Dark Carousel is set predominantly in the United States where we are introduced to Tariq, an ancient Carpathian, who owns a series of nightclubs and has a passion for carousel horses. Charlotte, who also has a passion for carousel horses, and her best friend Genevieve are on the run from some ruthless killers, and they use one of Tariq's nightclubs to try and draw them out.
I also really love how we are re-introduced to some of the ancients from the monastery as well as the triplets - Thomas, Mataias & Lojos, and get more of an insight into the back-story of the Carpathians.
Dark Hunter Bk27 / Dragonmark** / Sherrilyn Kenyon [eBook]
4 stars
Adult. Paranormal.
Goodness gracious. I can't believe that this is the 30th book in this series!!! Christine Feehan in such a prolific writer, and manages to keep the series fresh, yet familiar. I particularly like how she is giving a new take to the Dark series by setting the newer ones in different countries, as well as integrating the stories into the 21st Century. She has cleverly woven the characters (both good and bad) into previous books and we now get to meet them in more detail.
For fans of Christine Feehan, you are going to love this new book. If you haven't been hooked yet, then you are in for a great reading experience. You don't need to read the books in any particular order, however IMHO you should read them in order to get the most out of the stories :-)
There is not quite so much sex in this book. It's more about the relationships and the fight with the Vampires. Don't get me wrong ... there are some great romance scenes in here, and like many of the books the whole 'lifemate' thing does happen earlier in the storyline.
Dark Carousel is set predominantly in the United States where we are introduced to Tariq, an ancient Carpathian, who owns a series of nightclubs and has a passion for carousel horses. Charlotte, who also has a passion for carousel horses, and her best friend Genevieve are on the run from some ruthless killers, and they use one of Tariq's nightclubs to try and draw them out.
I also really love how we are re-introduced to some of the ancients from the monastery as well as the triplets - Thomas, Mataias & Lojos, and get more of an insight into the back-story of the Carpathians.
Dark Hunter Bk27 / Dragonmark** / Sherrilyn Kenyon [eBook]
4 stars
Adult. Paranormal.
Another awesomely prolific writer :-D This is also part of two other series: Dragons Rising #1 & Lords of Avalon #5.
We meet Illarion, one of a few surviving dragons and who was made human centuries ago. I love how this book covers his back-story, finding his mate and then jumping to modern times as well as including a number of other key characters in many of Kenyon's books. The only downside, IMHO, was that the focus of the latter part of the book was taken off Illarion and his mate, but actually it worked really well and was still a really really good read.
If you haven't guessed already ... I really really really REALLY like Sherrilyn Kenyon. Her writing just hits all the right notes with me!
We meet Illarion, one of a few surviving dragons and who was made human centuries ago. I love how this book covers his back-story, finding his mate and then jumping to modern times as well as including a number of other key characters in many of Kenyon's books. The only downside, IMHO, was that the focus of the latter part of the book was taken off Illarion and his mate, but actually it worked really well and was still a really really good read.
If you haven't guessed already ... I really really really REALLY like Sherrilyn Kenyon. Her writing just hits all the right notes with me!
Delroi Connection Bk1 / Invasion Earth** / Loribelle Hunt [eBook]
3 stars
Adult. Paranormal. Sci-Fantasy
Aliens are invading Earth and they are only after one key resource .... our women! Apparently there are not as many females being born on Delroi and of course humans are very compatible with this alien race. Enter some very scrummy Delroi warriors and some kick-arse human females and you have an enjoyable alien romance.
Bk2 Leaving Earth
Bk3 Stolen Earth
Bk4 Claiming Earth
Imp series Bk2 Satan's Sword** / Debra Dunbar [eBook]
3 stars
Adult. Paranormal. Sci-Fantasy
Aliens are invading Earth and they are only after one key resource .... our women! Apparently there are not as many females being born on Delroi and of course humans are very compatible with this alien race. Enter some very scrummy Delroi warriors and some kick-arse human females and you have an enjoyable alien romance.
Bk2 Leaving Earth
Bk3 Stolen Earth
Bk4 Claiming Earth
Imp series Bk2 Satan's Sword** / Debra Dunbar [eBook]
4 stars
Adult. Paranormal.
Sam's next adventure is just as good a read as the first.
Sam's next adventure is just as good a read as the first.
Her brother Dar is in trouble and only Sam can help him out. Of course there is the case of homeless people missing from her properties that she also needs to sort out, and an Angel whose good side she needs to stay on. Oh yeah, and trying not to get killed by the demons!
Not as many laugh-out-loud moments, but I am really coveting Sam's new horse and her dog!
Note: The sex scenes in this series are negligible.
Note: The sex scenes in this series are negligible.
Bk3 Elven Blood
Bk4 Devil's Paw
Project Rebellion Bk1 / Perfect Mate** / Mina Carter [Audio Book]
3 start
Adult. Paranormal.
An alternative way of getting your fix of reading / books.
This is the first in a Werewolf / Vampire / Zombie series. The military have a super secret project they have been working on for a few years now ... and it's about to come back and bite them on the arse!!! Quite literally!!!
Lots of blood and gore and the sex scenes don't kick in till nearly the end.
If you can get over having someone read-aloud to you in a voice you maybe weren't expecting, then go for it! A great idea for long road trips, or if you are doing some menial task that requires your hands and eyes but not your ears :-D
Redstar werewolf pack Bk1 / Once Bitten** ** / Loribelle Hunt [eBook]
3 start
Adult. Paranormal.
An alternative way of getting your fix of reading / books.
This is the first in a Werewolf / Vampire / Zombie series. The military have a super secret project they have been working on for a few years now ... and it's about to come back and bite them on the arse!!! Quite literally!!!
Lots of blood and gore and the sex scenes don't kick in till nearly the end.
If you can get over having someone read-aloud to you in a voice you maybe weren't expecting, then go for it! A great idea for long road trips, or if you are doing some menial task that requires your hands and eyes but not your ears :-D
Redstar werewolf pack Bk1 / Once Bitten** ** / Loribelle Hunt [eBook]
3 stars
Adult. Paranormal. Erotica.
Pure escapism! Werewolf romance. Multiple partners. Short reads. Just the kind of book to read when you want to escape from the reality of your life, and probably not in a public place :-P
Bk2 Twice Shy
Bk3 Third Time Lucky
