And this is why I stopped blogging...

I just can't keep up! Whoops!

A LOT has come and gone since my last update. I'm no longer going to bother with the cover art since it's fussy and I'd rather write!

Books I've Finished
Elizabeth Peters' first three Amelia Peabody mysteries. So much fun!
Poseur - Petty In Pink: Fluffy YA lit fun all about fashion.
Hollywood is Like High School With Money: Basically a less-enjoyable clone of The Devil Wears Prada.

Books I'm Reading
Laurie R King's A Grave Talent
Terry Pratchett's The Color of Magic

Books I've Ditched
The Eyre Affair
Dime Story Magic
Payment In Blood/A Great Deliverance

I've mooched some wishlist books, including two more No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books, 3 more Elizabeth Peters novels, some wishlisted manga, and other goodies.

My inventory is now a measly 10 books. Next up, clearing out my CD stash... wish there was a BookMooch equivalent!

Tears of the Giraffe

Sorry this review is a bit delayed! I've actually got two reviews to put up today.

So, the question is, was the follow-up to No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency as good? The answer: yes! It was wonderful. Not as many mysteries in this one, as it mainly focuses on the relationship between Mma Ramotswe and JLB Matekoni.

As I mentioned in an earlier entry, there weren't quite as many mysteries in this second novel. There are a couple, and there is that larger main mystery again.

One of my favorite parts in this novel is when Mma Makutsi is promoted to assistant detective, and gets to solve a case all on her own. She is such a different character from Mma Ramotswe, and it is a lot of fun.

Overall, Tears of the Giraffe is just as heartwarming as the first book, if not moreso. These books are incredibly addicting, and I'm finding it harder to get my hands on the next couple. I hope I can, as they are truly wonderful books.

Mail call, review coming tomorrow!

Two packages in the mail yesterday from BookMooch, hooray!

Summer Boys by Hailey Abbott -- Looks to be a series similar to Gossip Girl, The A-List, etc. From the cover art, I'm guessing it may deal with a younger cast of characters?

A Grave Talent by Laurie R King. She has another popular series about a female detective whose sidekick is Sherlock Holmes! The main character, Kate, is also a lesbian in a long-term relationship so I'm curious to read it -- I'm a fan of Sarah Water's historical romances like Tipping the Velvet, but I've never read anything set in modern times.

So those are both hanging out on my bookshelf now, waiting to be read.

I finished reading Tears of the Giraffe yesterday and it was just as incredible as the first in the series. So moving, sweet, humorous, and all-around awesome. Not as many mysteries in this one, but still very enjoyable. I'll be posting a full review tomorrow if all goes as planned!

Also, I did end up watching some clips from the TV show on YouTube -- here is the trailer that was on HBO, it's about a minute and a half long.

Yesterday's books.

Yesterday I went to the bookstore and picked up The A List: Hollywood Royalty "Sunset Boulevard" by Zooey Dean, which just came out this week! I've got all the books in the original series and I'm really enjoying the spinoff as well. There are a lot of love triangles in the spinoff. I think I prefer it to Gossip Girl just because the characters aren't quite as promiscuous and it's not as repetitive.

One cute thing about the books is that one of the main characters, Amelie Adams, is basically parodying the actress Amy Adams; her red hair and her role as a Fairy Princess in a famous TV series (homage to Adam's movie "Enchanted"). And the name, of course!

I read it over my lunch break and finished it before bed last night. I love chick lit because it's fluffy and doesn't require that much thinking. The next A-List novel is out March 2010 -- I can't wait that long!

When I got home from work, there was a BookMooch package waiting! American Gods by Neil Gaiman -- so exciting! It's in great condition and it looks awesome on my bookshelf.

I am about halfway through The Eyre Affair and just getting into Crocodile on the Sandbank. Oh, and I'm putting A is for Alibi into my inventory again -- crime mysteries just aren't for me!

Today's mail...

Oh my gosh, I am so psyched about today's mail haul, you have no idea.

First of all, Tears of the Giraffe, the second book in the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series! Awesome!

The cover matches the style of the first one, too. Always a bonus!

I am very excited to read the second book as I enjoyed the first so much and there was quite a cliffhanger. Expect a review of this one in a week, as it didn't take me too long to get through the first one, only a day.





And this book, this is one I have been waiting for oh so patiently! It was the first book I ever mooched.

I am obsessed with Ancient Egypt. Seriously, I am fascinated with everything about it. I've never been to Africa, but someday I want to go and see the pyramids, the Sphynx, the ruins, everything.

When someone recommended the Amelia Peabody series to me, a series about a plucky Egyptologist who gets wound up in mysteries, I just had to find out more. I mooched the first three books as well as some from later down the road, but I haven't touched them yet -- I wanted to start from the very beginning.


Anyway, that was it from today's mail! My "to be read" pile is growing slowly but steadily. ;)

Today's mail...

Like I mentioned earlier, I kind of went crazy when I joined BookMooch. I'm still waiting on 25 books. Eep. I think I may need to reorganize my bookshelf soon... again. I actually just finished revamping mine, and I think it looks pretty cool! I'll post a photo later.

Anyway, here are today's acquisitions:















All are the first book in the series so I am happy to be dabbling in a variety of genres! And all three series have a female protagonist, yay! (I love female protagonists, especially awesome ones.)

I'm about halfway through The Eyre Affair as of this minute, so expect a review within the next few days once I've finished it.

The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency

One of my most recent mooches is a novel by Alexander McCall Smith. It's been on Oprah's book club, and while I don't do everything O tells me to, I noticed there were something like 100 copies on BookMooch so I snapped it up. A friend in Ireland had mentioned to me months ago that there was a TV series in the UK, but I had no idea at the time what she was talking about, nor that it was based on the book series.

The book is not a long one, about 250 pages. I was expecting a mystery, but in fact what I stumbled upon was almost a series of shorter mysteries revolving around the main character, Mma "Precious" Ramotswe, who has just opened up the first ladies' detective agency after suffering a tragedy in her life. Business is slow at first but eventually her first case is brought to her. There is a larger, more sinister, mystery that lurks in the background throughout the book, and I was very happy with how it was eventually resolved.

In addition to the mysteries, we learn a lot about Mma Ramotswe and her childhood, as well as what her home of Botswana is like, and what Africa as a whole is like in the 1960s.

The main cast of characters is small but charming. In addition to Mma Ramotswe, who is the narrative voice, there is also her secretary, Mma Maletsi, and J.L.B Matekoni, the local auto mechanic and one of Mma Ramotswe's friends. Many of the characters that Mma Ramotswe meets during her cases are memorable as well, such as the sneaky Mma Pekwane and the young Nandira Patel.

A very satisfying book, if a bit short, and it makes me hungry to read the next book. I'm thrilled that there are nine more! (And I might just have to check out the TV series, out on DVD in September.)