Do you have a book you read in school that you swore was the worst book ever? Have you ever thought that maybe your teachers weren't out to torture you, and there may have been a method to their madness after all? Then the July Challenge is for you!

Details on the challenge can be found here...check it out, and join us!

Book 90: The Star: A Tarot Card Mystery.
Author: David Skibbins, 2007.
Genre: Murder Mystery.
Other Details: Hardback, 232 pages.

This third in the Warren Ritter Tarot mysteries takes place over Christmas as Warren's life becomes complicated again when his daughter, Fran, turns up asking for his help. Until recently Warren wasn't even aware that he was a father, having been underground for many years due to his involvement in radical politics. This discovery had been one factor in the changes to Warren's life of late.

Fran tells him that she has separated from her husband, Orrin, who has taken their five-month old son and refuses to give him back. Orrin has said that if Fran challenges what he has done, he will lie about her suitability as a mother. Given that he is a police officer, she is afraid that he will be believed over her. Before Warren can do much to help her, Orrin is found dead and Fran quickly becomes the chief suspect. There is also a sub-plot involving Warren's late father, who had abandoned his family many years before. His secret lover believes he was murdered even though the records state he died of a heart attack. Warren feels compelled to look into this as well as trying to clear his daughter's name.

This was a quick read that I got through during a lazy summer afternoon. The Tarot aspect was quite light in this story but I didn't mind much as Warren is so likeable a character. His attempts at amateur sleuthing is very amusing at times such as when he tries, and fails, to do 'a Columbo' on a possible suspect. Skibbins' novels do evoke the warmth of Columbo as it is a slightly old fashioned style of whodunit. I enjoy his writings as a change of pace from the dark and gritty type of crime novel that I often read.

Book 76: High Priestess: A Tarot Card Mystery.
Author: David Skibbins, 2006.
Genre: Murder Mystery.
Other Details: 292 pages.

It's a hot weekend in early September and Warren Ritter is reading the Tarot from his corner pitch in downtown Berkeley. His client asks him "Do you believe in evil?" Ritter is somewhat taken aback by this question and even more so when this client, Edward Hightower, tries to engage Warren as an investigator into a series of accidents that Hightower believes are murders. Warren declines and suggests that it is a matter for the police or a private investigator. Then Hightower addresses him by his real name and asks "Do I look familiar? Take off a hundred pounds." With a sinking heart Warren realises that Hightower is the twin brother of his ex-girlfriend Veronique.

Hightower seems prepared to reveal Warren's past in the radical Weather Underground unless Warren helps him and his sister. Both have received warnings that they'll be the next two victims and all the deaths involve close friends and associates. A year previously Warren would have taken this as his cue to dump the identity of Warren Ritter and ride off into the sunset to begin all over again. However, now he has personal ties that he doesn't want to abandon. He also in good conscience cannot abandon a woman he'd once loved to a possible murderer.

The situation is made more complicated by the fact that Hightower and Veronique are the leaders of the Fellowship of the Arising Night, a split off group from the Church of Satan. So who might be bumping off the Satanists? A day or so later Philip Letour, Warren's mysterious mentor in the Tarot, shows up and proceeds to give him a personal reading in which Warren's card is the Fool and the High Priestess and the Tower cards also feature. Not an auspicious reading though as Philip walks away he counsels Warren not to lose hope. Warren proceeds to investigate the murders as best he can.

Warren Ritter is such a warm character and he chats away as the narrator on life, the universe and everything and is charmingly self-depreciating. He struggles with the reality of his radical past and his bi-polar disorder. As with the previous novel, Eight of Swords, this was a very readable traditional mystery given extra points for engaging characterisations and a quirky feel.

Chapters 1 & 2 can be read on David Skibbins' website.

Book 77: The Alexandria Link.
Author: Steve Berry, 2007.
Genre: Thriller. Historical Conspiracy Fiction.
Other Details: 534 pages.

This is the second novel written by Berry featuring retired US Justice Department operative Cotton Malone. Five years previously Cotton became the sole protector of the Alexandria Link. Now someone has broken into secure government files and discovered his role. His son is kidnapped and his wife ordered not to contact the authorities but to travel to Copenhagen to advise Cotton of the kidnapping and demand that he reveal the whereabouts of the Alexandria Link. The link itself relates to the lost library of Alexandria, a repository of ancient knowledge including texts that could prove explosive to the Middle East situation.

Jack Bauer move over! The pace of this book is just break-neck and yet it never loses focus. Malone and his associates have to race against time and evade various assassination squads to unravel the mystery. Again there are links to the historical mysteries explored in the first book, The Templar Legacy. Having established a strong set of main and supporting characters here Berry uses them to develop the labyrinthine plot in several locations. The author's note at the end delineates what was historical reality and what he made up. I was surprised at some of the parts that were based in history.

Really someone should be making these books into films. I'm really impressed with Berry and have lined up other of his works to read in the near future.

Chapter One can be read on Steve Berry's website.

68. Small Mediums at Large: The True Tale of a Family of Psychics Terry Iacuzzo (3/5)

Terry Iacuzzo is apparently one of the big psychics to the stars (and to other VIPs), although of course we have to take her word for it because she refuses to reveal who she's done readings for. This book is mainly a memoir of childhood and early adulthood, and details her strained relationship with her brother Frank (who was/is also a famous psychic) and the rest of her family, who also possess uncanny abilities. It's a rather difficult memoir for a skeptic to read. On the one hand, it's absolutely fascinating, and Iacuzzo has lead a pretty strange and interesting life. On the other hand, since it's a memoir, there's a complete lack of outside confirmation that any of the events described actually occurred. Members of the family apparently make astounding predictions, but since these predictions are all related after the fact, there's no way of knowing how much things have been manipulated. There's also no account of the many predictions that never came true. Overall, too, this just isn't particularly well-written. Subjects are picked up and dropped; people in fascinating or dangerous situations are described and then never mentioned again. Much of the strange behavior of Terry's family is never explained, and Terry is strangely unforthcoming about a lot of her own emotional and personal development. The result is muddled and unsatisfying, somewhat, but also weird enough that it's still worth the read.

69. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Slayer, Interrupted Scott Lobdell (3/5)

This BtVS graphic novel is set in between the events of the movie and the start of the TV series. Buffy's mother and father read her diary and discover that she thinks she is the Slayer -- something that's CLEARLY insane. Buffy ends up committed to a mental institution, and in the process becomes more committed to her role as the Slayer. This was pretty entertaining, but nothing terribly grounbreaking. Solid story, solid art, worth reading, but not one for the ages.

70. A Wrinkle in Time Madeleine L'Engle (5/5)

This is a re-read, revisiting one of my favorites from my childhood. It holds up very well, and I still found it enchanting. I had forgotten, however, how absolutely abruptly it ends -- this frustrated me as a child, and it still frustrates me a bit now.

Book 52: Eight of Swords (Tarot Card Mysteries).
Author: David Skibbins, 2005.
Genre: Mystery. Tarot.
Other Details: 274 pages.

I've been interested in the Tarot for many years and have a collection of cards and books on the subject. So when I heard of this series of mystery novels based on the Tarot, I was intrigued. Its unlikely investigator is Warren Ritter, a weekend reader of tarot cards on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley. He doesn't actually believe in any occult properties of the cards considering what he does as 90% observation and 10% inspiration. Despite this scepticism he admits "sometimes the cards reach up and grab me by the throat. The cards in front of me were screaming that my client was heading straight for Armageddon." The client in question is teenager Heather Wellington, who sits down for a reading just for fun. Ritter feels increasingly disturbed by her cards, especially the Eight of Swords (as shown on the book cover) that comes up as the card for her immediate future. At the end of the reading he gives her that card, pasting a label on the reverse with his contact details.

As she walks away he doubts he'll ever hear from her again. However, later in the day he sees her face on a TV news report with the word 'Kidnapped!' across the screen. Aware that he is likely the last person to see Heather, he contacts the police. Despite this co-operation he soon finds himself a suspect both in the kidnapping and a related murder. He is certain that someone is trying to frame him. Ritter's situation is complicated by the fact that he has a past that he needs to keep hidden. In the late 1960s he was a leader in the Weather Underground and after faking his death has spent the last 30 years avoiding the Feds and his former radical associates. While he could just change identities he rather likes the life he has established in Berkeley. So utilising his considerable hidden resources he undertakes his own investigation into the crimes hiring brilliant hacker Sally McLaughlin to assist him.

While this is a conventional mystery with Ritter and his associates following clues to solve the case alongside the police investigation; Ritter is a very unconventional protagonist. Aside from his radical past, Ritter is bi-polar. The story is told from the first person with Ritter being very candid about his condition and especially the seduction of its manic phase. Skibbins handles the mental illness of his lead character as well as Sally's paraplegia with insight and sensitivity. Ritter is a character that is easy to warm to; he's an ageing hippie but not one out of touch with the contemporary world. He has a dry humour and while he seeks to avoid relationships because of his past, he also is willing to challenge his behaviour. Information about the Tarot is also integrated smoothly into the plot. In terms of its setting, while I've never visited Berkeley a number of folk have commented on the accuracy of Skibbins portrayal. Overall I found this a well-written mystery with interesting main and supporting characters and already have obtained the first sequel: The High Priestess.

Read Chapter One on David Skibbins' web site.

Book 85: Magick in the West End
Author: Kala Trobe, 2005.
Genre: Occult Short Stories.

As Kala Trobe's follow-up to The Magic Bookshop was available at my library I decided to give her fiction another go. As I said in that previous review I really wanted to like these stories given the overlap of esoteric interests I share with the author. This collection is again centred around Kala's experiences with the staff and customers of the bookshop where she works. At this point she has moved from the Oxford branch of the antiquarian bookseller to Malynowsky's Central in the West End of London, which deals in new books on esoteric subjects as well as older volumes. Rather than a manager or shop assistant, she has been employed as its resident Tarot Reader.

I was pleased to find I did enjoy this collection much more than The Magic Bookshop. I felt the writing was more focused and at times soared with poetic inspiration. There was plenty of occult information in the stories yet this time it felt more integrated and less teachy. I found especially powerful 'Le Feu Clair', a candid account of Kala's encounters with Dionysus in the form of alcohol. I also enjoyed 'The Kali Furies', again exploring some quite dark territory and 'The Mandatory New Orleans Story, an interesting ghost tale. I wanted to like 'The Etheric Hitch' but found its teenage protagonist irritating. The story's abrupt end was also something of a damp squib.

However, the reservation I had with The Magick Bookshop and the author placing herself as its main character and thus blurring the boundary between memoir and fiction remained. ( My Niggles let me show you them. )

Overall I feel the writing here was better but also for me part of the collection's appeal was that like Kala Trobe the West End was very much part of my experience during my London years. So the setting of this collection of short stories held a touch of nostalgia for me.

Wow, it's been such a long time since I updated. Here are the reviews of the books I've read lately (x-posted from my book blog:

44. Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay ( Review... )

45. Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz ( Review... )

46. Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel ( Review... )

47. The Samurai’s Garden by Gail Tsukiyama ( Review... )

48. Sky Burial by Xinran ( Review... )

49. Portrait in Sepia by Isabel Allende ( Review... )

50. Cordelia Underwood, Or the Marvelous Beginnings of the Moosepath League by Van Reid ( Review... )

51. The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay ( Review... )

52. Speak Rwanda by Julian R. Pierce ( Review... )

53. Women of the Silk by Gail Tsukiyama ( Review... )

54. The Language of Threads by Gail Tsukiyama ( Review... )

55. Mélusine by Sarah Monette ( Review... )

56. The Virtu by Sarah Monette ( Review... )

57. The Silent Pool by Patricia Wentworth  ( Review... )

Book 11: The Hanged Man by Francesca Lia Block

Trippy. But then Block's work usually is. I enjoyed it, especially the end. It's good to know some things can work themselves out.

11 / 50 (22.0%)

I have no idea what I'll be reading next. I'll post eventually, though. =)

I have been lurking around, trying to figure out a good time to begin my challenge, as I am a busy grad student and don't really have the time for extra reading :)...

But here goes, my first five books. As you will see, my interests (and, therefore, my reading material) is extremely eclectic. Some books are directly related to my studies (I'm working on a MA in Creative Arts Therapy), others aren't. Some will be rereads, some will be library books, others will be books I've purchased and have been meaning to read for a while...

Anyway, my first five books are as follows:

1. Jung and Tarot: An Archetypal Journey by Sallie Nichols (385 pages)
   
2. How Young Children Perceive Race by Robyn M. Holmes (114 pages)
   
3. The Color of Our Future by Farai Chidaya (261 pages)
   
4. Handbook of Resilience in Children edited by Sam Goldstein and Robert B. Brooks (400 pages)
   
5. Surviving the Silence: Black Women's Stories of Rape by Charlotte Pierce-Baker (288 pages)

Judging by the length of these first five, it may be a while before I post again...Until then, I bid you all adieu!