Top Ten Tuesday - Being Thankful

It’s Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by the wonderful blog at The Broke and the Bookish! This week's topic is Top Ten Bookish Things/People I am thankful for (I picked nine). 

I don't always participate in Top Ten Tuesday.. by the time I remember it's already Tuesday and I know people don't usually visit the meme once that day is almost over.  This TTT is one I like reading responses for so I thought I would go ahead and participate.

1.  Bookish ways to connect online.  This includes blogging, and goodreads.  Prior to both of these I didn't have a way to share my love of books with people.  I remember when I first started blogging it took me a while to get going because I kept trying to get my husband to help me build a website and he never did.  Finally I just started doing research and learned all of this on my own.  It is one of the reasons I went with blogger.  While doing research everyone said it was the easier platform.

2.  My library.  If it weren't for my library I couldn't read like I do.  There is NO WAY I could buy all the books/comics/video games/movies I enjoy so much that you see at this blog.  Honestly I don't know how a lot of you buy everything!  I love my library so much and use it so often I go there once a week to turn in and pick up the new books.  I was so nervous the first time I went into the library.. not sure what to do or where to start.  Now I have everything figured out!

3.  My mom.  If it weren't for my mom I wouldn't be a reader.  She always kept me reading.  My parents bought me a ton of Fear Street books (which by the way RL Stine is going to start writing again Sept 2014) and then she also introduced me to Stephen King my all time favorite writer.  Thanks mom!!  I love that my sister and husband read too!  My dad... not so much.  But we enjoy other things like football.

4.   My cats.  For those of you that read my blog know I have two wonderful kitties that I have now had for ten years.  They are my world.  I hate that they are getting old.  Both cats have diabetes and I manage it the best way I can to keep them here with me.

5.  Project Disney:  I love love this project.  It is where I watch a Disney movie and read the source material and then compare the two.  The project was created over at Picture Me Reading and honestly it is the most fun I have on my blog.  Probably because I am mixing reading and Disney, two of my favorite things.  I appreciate Aidan and Alisa letting me join in with them.  I have watched a couple Disney movies I haven't seen in years.  Really it is one of the things that keeps me blogging!

6.  Books!  How can I not be thankful for books.  I spend a lot of nights with books.  I love it so much!  I love to make every book a surprise.  I never read the cover or even try to know what the book is about.  I just want to open it and be blown away.

7.  Family.   I don't have a lot of friends in my life.  I have found as I have become older that it is harder to meet new people and make new friends.  I have grown apart from the friends I had when I was younger.  Our lives and priorities have changed.  So I find now more then ever family is so important.  I think there is a transition in life from when say you are a teen and friends are everything to when you get older and family is everything.  They never leave or stop supporting you no matter what the issues are. Love them so much!

8.  Health. If you read my post: If We Were Having Coffee then you have already read this so forgive me if you are reading this again. I would tell you that I was recently diagnosed with Melanoma.  We caught it early but it was still terrifying.  I want to let you know to get your moles checked whether they look crazy or not.  My mole was pretty normal looking and not that large.  I had it check out for a few years going in for my physical and only this last time did my doctor decide to remove it. PLEASE use sun screen and do not use a tanning bed.  I used one a few times in high school and college and regret every second of wanting to look tan.  I wish I would've felt beautiful in my skin color.  I would like to add that I have noticed that my friends and family I don't think really how close I came to having a terrible illness and shrug it off.  It is serious.  Get checked.

9.  You.  Maybe this is corny because you have seen it on everyone's Top Ten Tuesday this week.  As a blogger I appreciate having people follow.  I want to write things people are interested in... or that they can learn something from.  Maybe introduce you to something I love so you love it too.  Or even to something I don't like so you can avoid it.   Thank you for following me and joining in my little crazy blog!

Happy Holidays!!

Catching Fire Movie Review

Tonight was the big night.   I had been waiting forever for this movie to come out.  To be honest it's been a long while since I've read these books.  I really really liked the movie.  I thought it was a great... romance, humor, drama, action.  The movie has it all. 

Just like the book the movie gets the love triangle going.. and does a good job of it. I usually can't stand it but I found it entertaining in the movie.  I really enjoyed the arena parts of the film.  Great great!  As usual the costumes are fantastic! I like that they were inspired by actual runway looks.  If you really love the fashion like I do there is a whole website dedicated to the Hunger Games Fashion.

 

And my favorite:

I am still not sure how I feel about the last book being made into two movies. They did the same thing with the whole Twilight series, Harry Potter, and now the Hunger Games.  For those that don't know about the Hunger Games or what is going on it is recapped here.  I think this movie does a great job keeping to the book... which is what us book lovers always want!!  Go and see it!

If We Were Having Coffee

Tonight I was pondering something to write about on the blog and while blog hopping I went over to the Perpetual Page Turner and saw where she wrote up what she would do if she was at a coffee shop with her blog followers.  I loved it and thought I would do the same.  She usually has unique things to do on her blog!  So I am going to grab my Mountain Dew ( I don't drink coffee) and get to chatting with you.

If we were having coffee... I would tell you that I really enjoy blogging.  I feel that I have really transformed in the 2 1/2 years I have been blogging.  I am able to write better reviews... they used to be maybe one paragraph long but I have found my voice where I talk and am able to feel like I am having a conversation with my readers. I would tell you that I have learned quite a bit a things and feel very accomplished in what I have done all on my own.

If we were having coffee... I would tell you that I have been discouraged with the goodreads groups I moderate and have even thought about quitting one of the groups.  It's hard because I have put many years into these groups.  I started both groups in 2007 and so it is hard to let them go.   Maybe I have just grown past them.  I am thinking of maybe having some sort of readalongs on my blog now instead of on goodreads.  I have looked around for real life book clubs, but haven't really found any.

If we were having coffee... I would tell you that I was recently diagnosed with Melanoma.  We caught it early but it was still terrifying.  I want to let you know to get your moles checked whether they look crazy or not.  My mole was pretty normal looking and not that large.  I had it check out for a few years going in for my physical and only this last time did my doctor decide to remove it. PLEASE use sun screen and do not use a tanning bed.  I used one a few times in high school and college and regret every second of wanting to look tan.  I wish I would've felt beautiful in my skin color.

If we were having coffee... I would tell you I wish I could go to more author signings.  It's just usually it's about an hour drive and the fact that I have to go alone is a bummer.  I always have to ask the person behind me in line to snap a picture, and while they never mind doing it I do hate asking.

If we were having coffee....  I would tell you that I love TV, movies and video games.  I need to find a new game to play.  I don't have the new systems ... I'll wait till after Christmas to get one... but I can't wait to get my hands on the PS4!!  I also am really looking forward to this Friday when I go and see Catching Fire.

If we were having coffee... I would tell you that I love my kitties like they were my kids and I do my best to take care of them.  They both have diabetes and cost a lot of money... but I can't imagine my life without them.  My husband and I do our best to take care of them and keep them in this world a little longer.

If we were having coffee... I would tell you that this was a lot of fun and I appreciate you following my blog.  I know sometimes I review adult books to young adult books, to video games... to graphic novels.  But I hope it's fun and that everyone gets some enjoyment out of it!

Now give this a shot on your blog!!  I would love to know more about you! 

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo- Review

Seige and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

I am glad to finally have read book 2 in the Grisha trilogy. Honestly though it's been a year and a half since I have read Shadow and Bone the first book.  I was wondering why when I first started reading I couldn't remember anything, then I went on goodreads and saw how long ago I read it!  

Here is the goodreads description:

Hunted across the True Sea, haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land. She finds starting new is not easy while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret. She can’t outrun her past or her destiny for long. The Darkling has emerged from the Shadow Fold with a terrifying new power and a dangerous plan that will test the very boundaries of the natural world. With the help of a notorious privateer, Alina returns to the country she abandoned, determined to fight the forces gathering against Ravka. But as her power grows, Alina slips deeper into the Darkling’s game of forbidden magic, and farther away from Mal. Somehow, she will have to choose between her country, her power, and the love she always thought would guide her--or risk losing everything to the oncoming storm. 

I enjoyed this book... though it took me a while to figure out what was going on. Luckily wikipedia has a recap of the book that helped me out.  I love how the author is so good at detail.  Detail of the environment that helps me feel like I am really involved in the story. You have to like a book full of plot though.  I know some people don't care for this so this is not the book for you.  I was surprised that the book started out with Alina and Mal on their "escape" adventures and that didn't last long.  BOOM we were sucked back into the world of the King and the Darkling.  I only say this because they first book led us up to the escape being so big and then it happens and is only a few pages long.

There was a lot of relationship drama in this book.  Alina has issues with three men now, The Darkling, Mal, and Nikolai.  While I didn't want to enjoy this drama.. I kind of did.  This book includes a lot of new gadgets.  A flying ship.. yes please! There is a pirate in this book that adds a lot of great scenes. I like that the author was able to add another main character and it wasn't a waste.  Some books I've read add a character and I am like... ughhh we could've done without them. I want to know more about the Darklings past though.  I thought for sure we would get that in this book.  I feel like we didn't get very much about him though.  Not that I cared because the author does a great job of making my mind go somewhere else during the book.

I was surprised at the end of the book with the way things turned out.  I don't know what I was expecting but it wasn't that... which is good.  I like to be surprised! I like that a lot of the characters from the first book were brought back it's nice to see people team up again.  There are more mythical creatures added in this book that give it such an interesting turn.

Ruin and Rising the third book in the series is supposed to be out next June.  I hope I don't forget as much this time around.  Yeesh.  Maybe it's because there are so many details that my mind just gets full. I am guessing the next book is going to be all about the Apparat.. plus I mean we can all guess who Alina is going to be with in the end.  Though I always cheer for the bad guy!

I guess not I am going to read the two short stories that accompany the novels.  The Witch of Duva (Girsha 0.5) can be read here.  Looks like The Tailor (Grisha 1.5) can be found here. 
The third short story, The Too Clever Fox (Grisha 2.5) can be found and read here. 
Enjoy!

The Cover for The Too Clever Fox is pretty amazing by the way!  I just love it!

The crystal ball says:

Clouds are covering! A read that lets me down every now and then but peaks out of the clouds!

My review for book 1 Shadow and Bone can be found here. 

Book Riot Book Subscription Box

I am excited to read about a new feature from Book Riot (an amazing book blog) where they are going to send out a quarterly book box.  What is this you ask?  Well it is similar to those of you that have seen these box subscriptions everyone is doing lately. One popular one that I know of is Birchbox where you get quite a few beauty samples for $10 each month.  I always see pictures of these in my friend's instagrams.  Now... Book Riot is finally doing one with bookish items!

When you get the items they will be worth over $50... so it is usually well worth it.  What I also think is going to be neat is that the boxes will be themed.   I won't buy it the first time around.  I would like to see a box first and get an idea of what it's going to be like.  Looks like one of the best ways to see what's in the boxes is to follow the hashtag #BKR01  The boxes ship on Nov. 29 th so I expect to see pictures shortly after that.

Right now there are subscription boxes to make-up, animals, and even food!  $50 may seem like a lot but if you look at the other subscription boxes out there this is reasonably priced.  I also love that it's a surprise every time you get a box.  You don't know what you are going to get! 

Project Disney- 101 Dalmatians

Project Disney: The plan is to tackle all of the Disney films, re-reading the classic stories and tales that inspired many of them and to look at how the changes the filmmakers made, the new elements they introduced and the essential elements they kept. We will, of course, be talking about the films as movies as well, saying why we enjoy them and what some of our favorite moments are, but our focus will be on looking at them as adaptations. For the films that are not drawn from any one work we’ll be looking at some of the possible literary influences that we see in the stories.  Project Disney is inspired by Picture Me Reading.

Project Disney this time around is 101 Dalmatians based off the book of the same name by Dodie Smith.  I thought the book was pretty cute.  There were quite a few changes from book to movie.  One of the biggest being the number of dogs and how that number came to be.  In the movie there are 99 puppies, and in the book there are 97.  The book includes another mama dog.  That's right.  When the Missus has the 15 puppies Mr. & Mrs. Dearly (Roger & Anita) go out and find another mother dog to help nurse these puppies and her husband.  This dog's name is Perdita... oh you've heard that before?  Yes that is because the film changes Missus' name to Perdita.  In this post I will be calling her Missus so there isn't any confusion.

The movie begins with Pongo looking for love for Mr. Dearly.  I love this part as you get to see 1960's London.  He spots... the soon to be Mrs. Dearly walking her dog.  He and his master or "pet" as he likes to call his human go for a walk in the park and run into Missus and Mrs. Dearly. In the book... Cruella De Vil (last name spelling Devil) is an old school friend of Ms. Dearly's.  They go to her house for dinner and meet her husband who is a fur dealer.  Cruella sees Pongo and Missus and declares she would love a jacket made from their fur, she then discovers that they are expecting puppies and comes over when the puppies are born.  She tells the Dearly's that she would like to buy the puppies but they tell her they will be keeping all 15.  So the Dearly's go for a walk with Pongo and Missus and this is when Cruella stops by and steals the puppies. 

When Cruella is introduced in the film one of my favorite villain songs is introduced.  Mr. Dearly sings a catchy song about her! She is a great villain.  As a kid I didn't love this movie.. I liked it.  Cruella wasn't a cool villain to me then.  But now .. I love her.  Such style!  Such pizazz! I love her cigarette!  I just love her! I know, I know.  She loves furs (I am not for furs by the way, I think they are terrible).  Back to the story.  So in the book now the dogs must run off and try to find the puppies.  They do use the midnight barking to find out information.  The book has a much longer journey of them getting to the puppies at Hell Hall.  The movie seems to focus more on the journey after they find the puppies.
 

At the end of the book.. when the dogs travel back to town, they all stop into Cruella's home and destroy everything (let in by her cat). The tear all her furs apart. She comes back from Hell Hall to find this and discovers she and her husband are ruined because the furs weren't paid for yet.  So they have to leave the country.  The Dearlys actually end up moving in order to keep all the dogs to Hell Hall!  The buy the property from Cruella.  That was kind of surprising to me. The movie has a car chase at the end (where of course we get to see her infamous car).  Cruella is run off the road... but we never see what happens to her so we know she can come back and get the dogs.



Lately with Project Disney I have also been watching the second movie to go with each movie. This one is all about Patch who gets left behind when all the other dogs move to a new home. Patch then goes out and meets his TV hero. I never thing the sequels for Disney movies are that great.  Here is another one.. though they do bring back all the characters that we love from the first movie.

So for One Hundred and One Dalmatians I never really loved it as a kid. In fact... I didn't like it at all.  I am not sure what it was... I wasn't really into the movies with the animals.  But as an adult I really like it.  I love Cruella more then ever. 

Be sure to check out my other Project Disney:

Snow White

Cinderella
Peter Pan
Treasure Planet
Sleeping Beauty
The Great Mouse Detective 
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The Princess and the Frog
Pinocchio 
Fantasia 
Beauty and the Beast
Lady and the Tramp
Alice in Wonderland
The Rescuers
The Rescuers Down Under
Tangled
Oliver and Company
Mulan
The Little Mermaid
Bambi
Frozen
Fantasia 2000
The Jungle Book
The Emperor's New Groove
The Sword in the Stone
Aladdin
Atlantis
The Aristocats
The Lion King
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
Winnie the Pooh (2011)
Robin Hood
Hercules
Pocahontas
Dumbo
The Black Cauldron 
Mary Poppins
Lilo and Stitch  
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
Make Mine Music
Tarzan
Fox and the Hound
Melody Time 

Follow Me Friday- Movies better then books?

 

This is the day of the week where we get to know each other better by answering a question devised by our lovely hostesses Parajunkee & Alisoncanread. Sounds like GFC is eventually going away..  so you may want to follow by email or bloglovin/feedly (I love both). And now for this week's question....

Q. Are there any book to movie adaptations where you think the movie is better then the book?

A. Wow... so I had to really think about this one. It was hard. There are two that I am going to pick. One is going to be a TV show and one a Movie. First up.. the Wizard of Oz. Not the new OZ movie (though I did enjoy that) but the Wizard of Oz movie . The book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum is a good book,  but the movie is much more magical.  I love the ruby slippers, the different color horses, the music, I mean it is actually better then the book.

Next up we have Game of Thrones.. yeah OK so if you have actually read those books then you know that they are fantastic of course. BUT.. the show is pretty fantastic too.  And much much shorter.  HBO does a good job with books to shows I have found.. though the question is will George RR Martin finish the series before HBO does. I have actually stopped reading the book until the series is finished.  I just can't take these games!

What about you?  What do you think is better then the book?
Also.. I have a poll going about goodreads and it's bookclub if you want to stop by here and help out!  Great discussions going about it.

Goodreads and it's book clubs

I know that everyone has been talking about Goodreads lately.  Half the people want to leave.. half the people want to stay. This post is not about that... I assure you.  This is about all those book clubs you see on goodreads.  Oh you know the ones.. there are like thousands of them. I happen to run two groups on there and have run them since 2007. I moderate The Young Adult Book Club and the Stephen King Fans group.

Honestly lately I have seen such a drop in participation.  I work really hard in the Young Adult Book Club.  I read along every month.  I work on getting authors to stop by for Q&As (even though there hasn't been an author stop by for a while now).  I think that in the Young Adult group there are maybe 2-10 people out of 6648 members who actually comment in the book club discussions.  And those people aren't even reading along they are the ones who have already read the book and then maybe comment. I take the time to read the book and come up with 5-6 discussion questions which I think makes my group a little different then the tons of others on goodreads who just put the title of the book and then everyone discusses from that.  This group even takes volunteer discussion leaders from the members who might want to read a book for one month and then discuss it.  Sometimes though I have felt bad for people who have volunteered for this if there aren't that many people participating in the discussions.

The King group is much more active. This month we are reading Doctor Sleep and there are plenty of people reading along. 5834 members in that group I think people stay pretty talkative. Each month in both groups around the 20th I take the time to set up the polls to vote on the next book of the month send out a group email to announce the poll and the challenges in the group and any other news.  Funny how many people vote in the polls.  Quite a few more then actually read a long with the group. 

I am curious.. how many of you are actually apart of a book club on goodreads?  Do you ever actually participate in the group reads?  What would make you actually want to participate... or would you just rather read what you want and maybe comment if the group happens to be reading a book you have already read?  I have been questioning participating in the Young Adult Group anymore.  I always thought it was very important for the moderator to read along each month to encourage participants but it seems like I am discussing the book with myself.

Do you particpate in a monthly book club on goodreads?

 


 I discovered where Let's Discuss has moved to.. so I am adding this there.. here is a link:

Do you have a discussion post that you want to share to the blogosphere? Link it up on Thursdays with Luxa so everyone can read it!

 

Skyrim- Video Game Review

 

 This week let's talk about an AMAZING RPG!  Skyrim.  I love Skyrim soooo much.  I don't actually own it.  I borrowed it from a friend... but this game is worth owning.  It is worth the price because you get hours and hours of play time. This game is an open world game... which makes it even more fun because you can either chose to follow the main story line or the many side quests.  This game is long.. it's not a just jump in and play game.  At the beginning of the game you pick your character.  You chose how they look, their race, their talents.  Conan has another hilarious video of him playing this game... here you can see him trying to figure out what character he is going to be:

Honestly this game is really good if you like the RPG style. The world are beautiful. I have played Oblivion as well and enjoyed it but this one just takes the graphics to another level. (Oblivion is the game before Skyrim).  This is about a 200 hour game... no seriously.  If you play the whole thing and really explore you should expect a long play time.  Which is what I want from games.  I hate spending $60 on a game that I can beat in 6-10 hours.  Those games I'll rent from redbox.

I typically always go with a magic/sorcerer class. Of course I did in this game too. I really enjoyed that leveling up system where you pick what magics you want. The next image shows some of the abilities and where you would level them up.

 I read a review on the game that opened up with this: If you have no idea what the Elder Scrolls franchise is, you are probably either (a) an adult woman, or (b) the sort of person who once beat up the sort of person who likes the Elder Scrolls franchise, so herewith a quick primer: Bethesda Game Studios made it; its genre is the genre that has elves; and its subgenre is the open-world RPG. 
Wow.. as usual women aren't supposed to like video games.  It is sad really.  I mean.. why?  Yes I have met many girls or "women" who look at me crazy when I say that I play.. but why do I have to get that look.  Why can't it just be OK that we have that hobby.  I will be an adult women playing hopefully till I am an an old woman playing! 

If you are a woman or a men.... I recommend Skyrim.  It is an experience you won't forget and it will suck up your life.  it will also take away from your reading time just like me.

I give this game a 10 out of 10!

The Diviners by Libba Bray-Review

The Diviners by Libba Bray

This month's book club pick for my Young Adult Book Club is The Diviners by Libba Bray.  I loved this book.  I like that it's spooky and eerie.  Makes me wish there was more horror in young adult.  Yes I know .. this probably isn't really horror, but it's as close as you are going to get in YA.  Here is the goodreads description:

Evie O’Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City—and she is pos-i-tute-ly ecstatic. It’s 1926, and New York is filled with speakeasies, Ziegfeld girls, and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is that she has to live with her uncle Will and his unhealthy obsession with the occult. Evie worries he’ll discover her darkest secret: a supernatural power that has only brought her trouble so far. But when the police find a murdered girl branded with a cryptic symbol and Will is called to the scene, Evie realizes her gift could help catch a serial killer. As Evie jumps headlong into a dance with a murderer, other stories unfold in the city that never sleeps. A young man named Memphis is caught between two worlds. A chorus girl named Theta is running from her past. A student named Jericho hides a shocking secret. And unknown to all, something dark and evil has awakened 

I like Libba Bray. Yes I have only read Going Bovine but I really enjoyed that book. For a long time I didn't allow books from the same author to be nominated in my young adult book club well frankly because someone complained.  We read two Neil Gaiman and then someone was upset.  Well it's been a few years since that happened and I thought.. you know what?  There aren't like a ton of people participating and the person who complained didn't even participate in the monthly discussions so why was I even worried about what they thought?  So the group read Going Bovine years ago and I thought it would be ok to let the Diviners get nominated.  It won of course.. being that people love it.

I am so glad it got picked.. I really enjoyed it.  This is a long book... and I question that it is marketed as a young adult book.  Yes the characters are around 17... but it really read to me like an adult novel.  The only thing that probably kept it from going that far is that the murder scenes in the book happened "off screen".  So we knew what happened but didn't actually read the details about how it happened.  I read this book pretty fast for as long as it was. Today I read 5 1/2 hours to finish it up! I liked it. I have a friend who tried to read it and just couldn't get into it at all.  I mean how could I put down this spooky book??

I really like that the book ended and wrapped up the story. Yes there is still a main story that will carry onto book 2, but I am so glad that we don't have to wait for some long drawn out story. There is sort of a love triangle with Sam Jericho and Evie. But not a cheesy one to me. I do like Evie with Sam myself too. (There again this reads more like an adult book to me).

I think Jericho's secret was kind of cool. I think it added a little steampunk element to the story. I almost was thinking he was some type of Frankenstein's monster. I like Memphis' and Isaiah's stories. But I didn't think that it was ever really tied in to the main story going on yet. Really the only way it was tied was Memphis and Theta. But this multiple POV allows us to almost read two different stories at once. I like how this book is showing come controversial topics for the 1920s , interracial relationships and homosexuality. It even brings up rape and abortion which might get young adults talking about these subjects.

I wish that Evie would've found out eventually that she was the one who released Naughty John. She did it at her party with the Ouija board and I don't think she ever knew. I played with the Ouija board growing up sometimes. But when I was in college we got real serious with it. Now some of you may believe this and some of you may not.... but it got a little crazy there for a little while. We would play and the Ouija board would only move around when I played. So all my friends always made me play. One night some friends (I lived in the dorms) came up to my room to play and we told them that when I played the board would go nuts. They didn't believe me. So we told them to ask it a question that they knew I didn't know (they weren't actually playing on the board with us). So they asked it what their dorm room number was. And sure enough... it answered correctly. Then one night we were playing and it spelled out someone's name and right after that the phone rang and it was that person! Other crazy things happened as well. Anyways... I was starting to get a little scared from the whole thing, I came back to my dorm room from work and turned on the light and my rosary broke out of no where! I was sooo scared. I went straight to my friend's apartment and slept there and never played again. Have any of you had any Ouija board experiences?????

OK... back to the story. I wonder if in these dreamscapes where the Diviners keep meeting.. if they feel a pull to each other and this will be a factor in future books??  Speaking of book 2, Lair of Dreams, Bray had this to say about it:
Q: Can you give us any hints on what to expect from book two? I, for one, am dying to find out more about the Man in the Stovepipe Hat (who what is he?!) – can we expect answers?
Libba: You can expect more pages. Probably odd punctuation. And “Diviners 2” somewhere on the title page. I kid. I can tell you that there is a character, a Diviner, who makes a brief appearance in the first DIVINERS, and she takes a much more central role in the second book as does Henry. We learn a bit more about Project Buffalo and The Man in the Stovepipe Hat, or Mr. Fun Times, as I call him. Of course, this could all change and I could end up giving you an armadillo musical in the middle of the book. It could happen.

This makes me totally excited about the next book but it looks like it's pushed back to August 2014!  NOOOOO!!  I really don't love the new cover art on the book.  I really enjoy the original (the one you see at the top of this post).  I am surprised they changed the look of the covers already.  So now those who own the old book will have non-matching covers in their collection already! These covers have a sci-fi feel to me. Here are the new covers:

I love that this book takes place in the 1920s.  I love reading about that era.  I read the Flapper series and really enjoyed that too... so I have been on the hunt for novels in this era. I guess my only complaint would be that there was quite a few plot lines going at once.  This book is a little wordy.  I mean.. nothing really gets going until 80 pages in.. and then even at the end of the book when everything is done and wrapped up we have to read another 40 pages about what the characters are out doing (back in the speakeasies and what not).  It could've ended much sooner.  The 1920s slang is a little but over done in the book.  I liked reading it.. but maybe we needed some type of dictionary in the back of the book with the meanings of the words. Overall though... I really enjoyed it.


The crystal ball says:

Clouds are covering! A read that lets me down every now and then but peaks out of the clouds!