What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Dedicated ReaderYou are always trying to find the time to get back to your book. You are convinced that the world would be a much better place if only everyone read more.
Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm Literate Good Citizen Book Snob Fad Reader Non-Reader What Kind of Reader Are You?
Quiz Created on GoToQuiz
I guess that’s only suitable, considering I run a book blog! Take the test and let me know what kind of reader you are.
Alan Campbell’s had a pretty good track record so far in his authorial debut and his third novel is no exception. Suvudu has the cover art of God of Clocks up on display.
Pretty cool, eh?
As a big fan of Salvatore’s DemonWars novels, it saddens me to name The Ancient by R.A. Salvatore as the lamest novel I finished all year. It completely misses the point of what made the early novels so damn good and was a huge letdown after its predesscor, The Highwayman. There’s not much more to be said (that isn’t in my review) except that I hope the next novel in the cycle, The Dame, can get things back on track.
Read my full review (if you dare) HERE.
When John first created the SF Link-up meme, he certainly never expected a song to be written about it. Well, that’s exactly what John Anealio from Sci Fi Songs did!
Sci-Fi Song #14 was inspired by the Book Reviewers Linkup Meme started by John Ottinger III of the Grasping for the Wind blog. This meme really helped to unite and galvanize the Sci-Fi and Fantasy community. I’ve been writing and recording music for Sci-Fi Songs since this past summer. In that time, it seems that something happens every few weeks that causes the SFF blogging community to become even more vibrant than it was before. John’s meme is a perfect example.
“Grasping for the Wind (The Linkup Meme Song)” is a tribute to all of the blogs that I read and to the wonderful people who I have had the pleasure of connecting with since I started Sci-Fi Songs.
A Dribble of Ink being included in the song makes me just downright giddy. Check out John’s (the musical John) blog to hear the song and find out more about the process that went into writing and recording it.
You can find the song HERE.
I struggled with doing a ‘Novel of the Year’ post for a while. Frankly, I haven’t read nearly enough of the novels published in 2008 to make any sort of blanket statement about which was the ‘best’ of them all.
I came to a happy medium by deciding to go through the books I did read in 2008 and pick my very favourites from among them. I’ve split the award into two categories – Favourite Overall Novel and Favourite Novel Published in 2008 –to allow for a bit more variety.
Without further adieu, here’re my favourite novels I read in 2008!
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
I bought The Shadow of the Wind over 3 years ago, when the praise for the novel was just starting to eke its way to my ears. Despite my excitement for the novel, it sat on my shelf for months and months, sorely neglected until my recent travels to Europe. Knowing I’d be a fool not to bring it with me, I tossed it in my backpack and gave it the change it deserved.
Part of the reason I think it say on my shelf for so long was that I was certain it could never live up to the hype. How could a novel that’s so universally adored possibly not be a let down? In some ways I figured that the anticipation of reading it would be better than the actual act. An hour into my plane ride I realized just how wrong I was.
From the very first pages, The Shadow of the Wind enraptured me in a way that few novels have since childhood. I few into civil war era Spain and was reluctant to leave every time I had to put the book down. Lucia Graves (who translated the novel from its original Spanish language) did an absolutely phenomenal job and deserves every bit as much credit as Zafón for successfully keeping the beautiful language intact through the translation process.
Not only was The Shadow of the Wind the best book I read in 2008, it maybe very well be my favourite novel of all time. I eagerly look forward to the sequel, The Angel’s Game, which will finally see an english release later in 2009.
You can find my full review HERE.
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