Penguin has declared September to be Roald Dahl month. I'm sure I'm not the only one here with fond memories of devouring his books as a child, so joining in the Roald Dahl marathon is incredibly tempting, especially since they're releasing The Missing Golden Ticket and Other Splendiferous Secrets, which includes "deleted scenes" from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, a fudge recipe, and excerpts from Dahl's report cards. (One teacher called him "indolent and illiterate.")

So to celebrate Roald Dahl month, let's take a look at the author explaining witches:

Some of us head to the internet to discuss books and swap recommendations, to challenge ourselves and others and broaden literary horizons. Others form book clubs in an official or casual capacity and meet up in person to do the same thing. And some lucky folks have the best of both worlds.

So how many of you folks have a live book club that meets up every so often to discuss the stuff you've read? Was it something you set out to do or did it just kind of happen that way? Do you read different books with the club from the ones you choose for yourself? Do you have a preference between a live book club and a group of like-minded people over the internet?

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin, 2010
Genre: Horror
Sub-genre: Historical, YA
Rating: 4 pints of blood



Yes, yes, yes to this cover. The gorgeous shot of the corset in monochromatic tones is gorgeous and tells us we're looking at something dark and historical. The scripty lettering elevates from "dark" to "gothic," looking like it could have been lifted straight from an old iron gate. The overall effect manages to combine subtlety with attention-grabbing and says "pick me up! Read me!"

The brief writeup I got for Wildthorn promised me a stay in a madhouse during a time women still wore corsets. The "historical asylum" setting drew me in, because I like creepy and gothic like that. Originally published in the UK before hopping the pond to appear here in North America, this is one of those YA novels that will appeal to adults as much as to the older YA audience they're aiming for.

( Let's pretend I've put in a clever cut here, shall we? )

There's been a lot of talk about the hierarchy of reviews, especially the New York Times, and who they are/are not reviewing as well as who they should/should not be reviewing. Since this is relevant to my interests and because I'm a wordy thing, I wanted to express my take on the issue. If this isn't something that interests you in the least, please do have a lolcat and feel free to pass on the rest:



( Funny, I have the same look on my face when pizza is presented. I feel you, kitty. )

Series: Sweet #4
Publisher: Heat 2010
Genre: Romance
Sub-genre: Erotic Romance; Contemporary Romance; Suspense
Rating: 4 1/2 pints of blood



I like this cover, even though it looks a little bit like it's from a lingerie catalogue - the pose helps rescue it but I keep looking at the pretty underwear and admiring it (though that bra doesn't look all that supportive!) I love the colours, makes it quite tasteful, better than the cover of book 2 - this one is more like book 1 (ugh, I've left links at the bottom of this review if you're interested). It's funny, though: the cover doesn't really give you a clue about the true nature of the contents!

It's taken four books for me to see the pattern going on here: books 1 and 3 were relatively sweet and tame in their depictions of desire and passion, while books 2 and 4 are hedonistic and intense and not for the sexually timid. So that should give you some idea of what to expect here.


( This one's not for the faint-of-heart. )

Author Meljean Brook has written a hilarious post about authors driving their own promos over at Odd Shots, completely with flashing lights and boobs. I have to admit, I'd probably click on that ad if I saw it somewhere, because it's not only attention-grabbing (how could it not be with so much neon?) but it indicates a sense of humour. For me, a sense of humour is the most potent form of promo there is. If I see an author post a hilarious response to a blog post somewhere, it makes me want to find out about them. It makes them likeable and human and gives me hope that I'll find their writing just as likeable and funny as they are. Victoria Dahl is a good example of this. Since she was constantly cracking me up through her twitter account, I had no choice but to break down and check out her books. And, uh, I've been buying them ever since.

So how about the rest of you? What's the never-fail way of catching your attention and getting you to read the book? Do neon lights ever help?

Series: Immortal #1
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books 2010 (2009)
Genre: Romance
Sub-genre: Paranormal Romance; Fantasy; YA; Historical
Rating: 2 1/2 pints of blood



I have never liked this cover. Yes, the water effect is cool, but how many YA covers do we need with tacky necklaces featured prominently on them? Well, maybe they're tacky and maybe they're not, but they always look tacky just by dint of being on a cover - and by having giant garish stones in them. YAWN. It doesn't even matter that it's symbolic, it ties in with the elemental magic side of the story (the next book, Betrayal, has the same necklace surrounded by fire). It's just boring.

I quite liked the German cover, though.


( Sadly, the story is just as disappointing as the cover. )

Last week, Publishers Weekly opened PW Select, which is geared toward self published authors. The idea is that the authors pay a 149$ "processing fee" to get their books reviewed in the supplement (allegedly, the fee guarantees a review).

There has, of course, been some discussion as to whether it's worth the price for an author to pay for a review. On the one hand, it helps to put the self-published on a more even footing with those published by the big New York houses. On the other hand, in the words of Victoria Strauss, "With independent paid review services, quality can be a problem; plus, there are plenty of non-professional book review venues out there that will review for free."

Personally, I've never been fond of paid reviews. A free copy of the book for reading purposes is one thing (I mean, we all know how expensive books can get if you're paying for them all yourself), but 149$ is a steep price tag, and there's no way to guarantee that money won't wind up influencing the review and the reviewer. I value honesty in a review, and I don't want to read something where the reviewer has to pull their punches for fear of upsetting their cash cow. But that's me.

So what do the rest of you think?

Comic enthusiasts take note! This coming Saturday (that's August 28th) has been declared Read Comics in Public Day. As the name might suggest, this is a day to take your comic books, head out into a public place like a park bench or the subway or even the front steps of your local library and crack open a comic. Doesn't matter what comic or what form (whether it's a single issue or a deluxe hardcover with seven billion pages), so long as it's a comic.

This is an awesome day. Comics do not get enough respect. You can bet I'll be hitting the streets with some comics on Saturday. Who's with me?

Series: Angry Ghosts
Publisher: Cadre One, 2010
Genre: Science fiction
Sub-genre: Military
Rating: 2 1/2 pints of blood



When I reviewed book one in this series, I whined about the cover and the title, saying that the combination conjured expectations of a horror novel rather than something sci-fi. Clearly, this is not an issue with book 2. The earth against the black is very striking and the military insignia tells us what type of book this is. Nope, nothing here for me to mock.

Since this is book 2 of the series and it picks up right where book 1 leaves off, there will most definitely be spoilers for the previous volume. Be ye warned.

( That, of course, is the peril in reviewing more than one book in a series. )