Book Recommendation: Under the Dome

I have always had my tried and true authors that I stick to. Creature of habit? Most diffidently. While pursing the book shelves of my local thrift store I stumbled across a pristine copy of Under the Dome by Stephen King. I believe it came out a couple of years ago in the Fall. Since most of the authors that I'm faithful to release their novels around the same time, I had some hard decision making to do. Under the Dome was put on the back burner. To be honest I stop reading King after awhile. I seemed to be have pretty vivid nightmares on the nights I read his work.

Back to the thrift store. Have you seen a copy of the novel yet? It's a 1072 page turner, a little hard to miss. As I was looking through the knit wear I glanced over to the book shelves and saw a man standing right in front of the novel. Being the selfish little creature that I am, I ran right over and snatched it up. In my defense, he must have not seen it himself as he was looking two tiers below. The man laughed as I picked it up and joked that I just wanted it because it was the biggest one. Looking back, that sounded like a double entendre. Whatever, I was able to buy what I truly wanted.

 

I can't remember the last time I picked up a novel that was so long. It seemed like a daunting task ahead of me. Can you be intimidated by the number of pages in a book?  I'm the type of person that even if I'm not engross in a novel I'll finish it just the same. I just can't see myself wasting time like that, besides it always feels good to complete something. 

The novel is written in an omnipresent narrative. We get to "watch" a small town react to a dome that has fallen over them and sealed them off from the rest of the world. There is a clear antagonist that thwarts the efforts to be released from the dome so that he may gain power of the community. I found that was the common thread, big or small it was about power and what others will do to gain and keep it. On the flip side of the coin, there is a group of people that come together to try and help the community and discover what has caused the dome to appear in the first place.

For me to think it was an undertaking to read the novel, I can only imagine what King felt writing it. It is a novel about a town and the many residence with their own voice of experiences. It was a much easier read then I thought, I just couldn't put it down. I even brought it in a backpack out to the desert ( a Kindle would have been perfect ). I wanted to see it through and have the characters I like get though their predicament.

If you have any questions regarding the book feel free to comment below.

New Craft & Book

I just received my new Bram Stoker's Dracula in the post. Super excited, as I have loved all versions of the story in films. Now I get to enjoy it with my imagination wild at work. I have been trying to keep up on the classic novels being re-released by Penguin publishers in this beautiful cloth bound way. If you want to see the rest of my collection you may see them here and here.

Secretly (o.k. maybe not so secretly) I have been dying for a natural stone ring. As crafty as I am, I do say so myself. I own everything I needed all ready. So today I put together a natural agate ring. It turned out so pretty, I was thinking of making one for each of the moms in my life.

New Books

I have been collecting the Penguin Classic reissues. These two are my newest addition. I have all ready glanced through the 1,001 Nights and feel it isn't the best version that I have read. I feel a little disappointed and cheated on that one. I have a more complete copy in a softcover and I'm going to have to hold on to it. The Lewis Carroll was in the mail yesterday or was it the day before? It went automatically on the shelf.  I'm in the middle of a novel right now and when I'm done with it, my next read with be Alice. The next book from the Penguin classic series that is on it's way is Dracula. They just pushed the release date back to the beginning of May. That is one story I have yet to read and I'm excited to get it in my hands. You are able to purchase these novels through Amazon.com where they are less expensive then the local bookstore and Modcloth.com. You may click here to see my original post of these fantastic books.

Book Recommendation: Dean Koontz Odd Thomas Series

I have been reading Dean Koontz novels since high school and currently in the mist of replacing my paperbacks with hardcovers. His novels are found in the Fiction area of the bookstore close to the other famous writer. I enjoy the science fiction, mystery, suspense aspect of it all. More often than not the main characters are normal people that find themselves in extraordinary circumstances. There is always a clear cut of who is the protagonist and who is the villain- be it an actual person or upcoming event. All his novels have been a book I just couldn't put down. Taking the journey, trying to solve the mystery, and the satisfying endings have always left me pining for the next novel to come out.

The first Odd Thomas novel was released in 2003. The title of the novel is the name of the main character that has a gift or curse of seeing the dead. The spirits search him out to find justice or give him clues to impending doom. Right from the start it begins with the understanding of how someone deals with this affliction/gift. With a community of supportive and colorful characters Odd isn't alone on his quest to stop a catastrophe from happening. He is such an endearing character you just hope everything works out for him. I really don't want to give anything away but the story has a lot of heart, mystery, and suspense- everything you expect from a Koontz novel.

The series starts out with Odd Thomas and continues with Forever Odd, Brother Odd, and Odd Hours. There are also graphic novel prequels available if you just can't get enough of Odd's world. I've read that Koontz would like to make this a series of 6 books and there has been talk of a film to come out depicting the first story of the series.

If you are looking for a new fiction writer to follow or looking for a good story that portrays the best qualities in all of us I would pick up this novel.

Book Recommendation: Fablehaven Series

Amazon.com

Like I've said previously that I would browse my local book store. Shoot, I was there like once a week. Yes, I had a problem but that's all cured now with Amazon.com So, on my way to check out the new releases in fiction there was a table of young adult books. At this point I have read some that my cousin has recommended, and of course my mom had me reading "Twilight". I picked up "Fable Haven", the cover was all glittery with fairies and a wicked looking old woman sitting on a stump. Reading the inside jacket had me intrigued. Fable Haven is a sanctuary for all things mystical- satyrs, fairies, trolls, nyaids, centaurs just to name a few. Two young children are sent there to stay with their grandparents which are the care takers. The world of magic opens up through the point of view of the children. We follow through their adventures and cheer them on to make the right decisions. It is a five book series and it had held my interest through out. That day I didn't purchase the book, but my mom did a couple of weeks later. When I found that out I wanted to borrow it as soon as she was finished. I can see myself sharing these stories for years to come and now I own them all in hardcover. If you are looking for a read to share with children and they are into the mystical and supernatural I highly recommend this series. Oh the best part? The main characters are a brother and sister pair. You can satisfy both your sons and daughters with this book, it's not too girlie nor too savage.

If you have any questions regarding this post, please feel free to comment. <3 Albee

Author Recommendation: Laurell K. Hamilton- Anita Blake Series

Book 1

Book 17

Book 19

Amazon.com

I use to take the time to peruse the selves at my local book store. My first stops would always be the recent fiction releases than off to the discount table. Usually there you would be able to pick up a hard cover for 40% off regular price. 

That day as I walk into the front entrance there was a display of Laurell K. Hamilton's Skin Trade. To be honest the title is what caught my eye, it sounded so taboo. The cover of the jacket has saw blades on it and in small print on the bottom it says," An Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Novel". O.k., from those three points I took it to mean that the book has sex, cutting up people, and vampires. I can stomach some violence, but it really has to pertain to the story line. As I picked it up and read the inside jacket cover I discovered that the main character, Anita is a human that hunts vampires, but has close relations with them. Sounds familiar right? All that consumption of information just wasn't enough for me to purchase it. So what did sell me on it? The mention of "weretigers". Weretigers, I wanted to know more. 

From the moment I started the novel it was hard for me to put it down. It is written as a crime/ detective story with a woman as the lead character. Anita is an amazingly strong character that has won my loyalty from the start. The majority of the books I read are written by men so the women characters are always secondary and never strong- evil maybe, but never strong. I didn't realized what I was missing. Anita is petite physically, but with everything else she is bigger than life. She tends to lead with her heart and her faith which in most cases conflicts with her relationships. Sure there is sex and violence but not together. The story is based in a world where humans live with the supernatural openly. I think what sets this apart from other human-vampire stories is that it is set in the present, and is more complex - nothing is just right or wrong it just is. 

So after finishing the story I wanted more. Lucky me I started with the end of the series and there was 16 books prior to Skin Trade. So starting at the beginning with book one, Guilty Pleasures I was able to read the evolution of characters. This series has become so beloved that I re-read them, and have recommended them to friends and family. I have to say that these stories are diffidently an adult read and I don't recommend this to the 18 and under crowd. The first few novels don't have sex scenes but violence. The stories are all based around a violent crime and Anita is the marshal that helps in solving them.

If this sounds like your cup of tea check it out. At this point there are 19 books in the series and I can't wait for the next one. If you have any questions or comments leave them below- xoxo AlbeeLucky

Penguin Classics

 I am a huge reader and always have been. Now that I have room and shelving to display my books I started collecting Penguin Classics. They don't have any jackets but the cover is decorated with themes that coincide with the stories. So far I own 5 and am receiving Arabian Nights in a month or so. If you're looking for a gift to a reader or if you want to invest in a beautiful well made books I highly recommend these. The best place that I found to buy these are on Amazon.com