Day Twenty: What I Read

Hipstamatic: Lucifer VI lens, Kodot XGrizzled film
SwankoLabs: Vinny's BL04, SwankoDev H1N, and Grizzle Fix
Yeah. I knew when I posted pics of books on my shelf that I would probably have a day later when it specifically asked me to post books. I love to talk about books, so I don't care. Today's shot is of my Kindle's "novels I've read" page. What's listed...

The Help-by Kathryn Stockett. Steve is reading this one now, so it's listed at the top of the page even though it wasn't the last book I read. At risk of being the umpteenth thousandth person you've heard "this is a great book" from on this one, I put that out there. Looking forward to seeing the movie, too. Octavia Spencer is from my hometown...graduated from my high school (and my college) a few years after I did, in fact. Have read that the author met her and put a bit of her spitfire personality right into the character she plays, Minny Jackson.

Midnighters-by Scott Westerfeld. I LOVE Westerfeld's Uglies series (it's a trilogy plus one) and so I read the Mignighters trilogy hoping to enjoy it as much. I didn't, but it was good. Uglies is a hard trilogy to beat. Both are young adult fiction, by the way.

The Trylle series-by Amanda Hocking. This is a young adult fantasy trilogy that I FLEW through. The really interesting thing about this author is that she self-published on Amazon. The first book in the series used to sell for 99 cents and then the next two were just $3.99 or something ridiculous like that. She was always near the top of the Amazon charts. The books have now been optioned for a film and are being formally edited...so you can't buy them right now on Amazon except for pre-order. As someone who is writing a book, it's fascinating to me to see how this young woman has made a success of herself in a totally new way of publishing.

OK...enough young adult fiction...how about some adults acting juvenile?

Smokin' Seventeen-by Janet Evanovich. Oh my gosh are these books funny. Stephanie Plum is a bounty hunter surrounded by a cast of completely crazy characters (not to mention two hot men). This entire series has been screaming to be made into a movie and finally book one is. Sadly, Katherine Heigl will play Stephanie. Not. A. Fan. But, I'll still go see it because it should be hysterical. (Please, let it be hysterical.) And, by the way, can I just say how much I love that it is super easy to tell which book comes in what order in this series?

Curse of the Spellmans-by Lisa Lutz. I think this is book two in the series and I don't think there are a lot of books in the series, so I've been reading them slowly. Laugh out loud funny stories about Izzy Spellman and her family who runs a private investigation business.

Not shown, but I want to mention...

The Hangman's Daughter-by Oliver Potzsch, translated by Lee Chadeayne. This one is neither young adult nor comic. A mystery story revolving around a hangman in a Bavarian town in the 1600's, the book is fascinating and unlike anything else I've ever read. The author actually is descended from a line of executioners, a job which was passed down from generation to generation. The story begins brutally, but I thoroughly enjoyed it after the prologue. It was a bit of an odd reading choice for our trip to Myrtle Beach this summer though, I will admit.