FIRC update

:-( I'm afraid I have come to the conclusion that there is no chance I will be able to read the missing books for the FIRC challenge until Dec 21 :-( It is a sad thing, this, but maybe next year I'm not as busy and my life is not as hectic as the past months have been. Then I'd love to join in again...

2007 TBR Challenge

I decided to take part in mizbooks' 2007 TBR Challenge and so I checked my TBR list for 12 books I want to read between January 1 and December 31 in 2007.

List of books I want to read:

01. Nancy Atherton - Aunt Dimity Digs In
02. Enid Blyton - Malory Towers omnibus 5 or 6 (depends on whether I'll read 5 in Dec 06 or not)
03. Harlan Coben - Drop Shot
04. Theodor Fontane - Frau Jenny Treibel (German classic)
05. P.J. Tracy - Dead Run
06. Stephanie Barron - Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor
07. J.D. Robb - Naked In Death
08. Tamar Myers - The Ming & I
09. Ann Brashares - The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
10. Janet Evanovich - Seven Up
11. Julia Spencer-Fleming - In The Bleak Midwinter
12. Anita Shreve - Light On Snow
13. Jayne Anne Krentz - Hidden Talents

I picked thirteen books, in hopes to finish them all. I may put one on hold as extra credit before December 31, 2006, though.

ticker update

I thought it was time to update my tickers so that they fit the current status:

FIRC update

I'm still reading L'Ombre Sur Montparnasse, but I finished a few books, so it really is ime for me to update my FIRC info.

My up-to-date list of books to read till December 21, 2006 is:

want to's:

L'Ombre Sur Montparnasse
Sue Grafton: C is for Corpse
Cameron West: First Person Plural
Laurell K. Hamilton: The Laughing Corpse

extra credit:

Azar Nafisi: Reading Lolita In Tehran
Jeanne Ray: Julie and Romeo
Meryl Sawyer: Lady Killer

Right now I'm reading some other books, but I hope to get to C Is For Corpse soon and to get back into L'Ombre Sur Montparnasse soon. As my French course starts on Thursday, I should have good chances for L'Ombre as it could be a nice way to have some French in my life more constantly...

Mis(s)Fit

Maria Beaumont - Mis(s)Fit; 426 pages (F)

If a book ever didn't hold up to expectations for me, this is one! I already read Marsha Mellow & Me a while ago and totally loved that one, but Mis(s)Fit was a huge disappointment. It just wasn't worth my time :-( Lucky for me, I had borrowed this book from a friend, so I just gave it back to her. I don't even know what the story actually was about. All I remember is a half-Greek woman living in London who is single, still lives with her parents and works at a fitness studio.

Gilt By Association

Tamar Myers - Gilt By Association [2nd Den of Antiquity]; 248 pages (B+)

When Abigail Timberlake buys some antiques for a client, little does she know a body comes with one of the pieces, an armoire from the time of Louis XV. Of course, the police close down her shop to the public as it is considered a crime scene – despite it being the busiest shopping season of the year. Naturally, Abigail tries to speed up the investigation by doing a little research of her own.

I enjoyed the book, but some parts were rather slow. I can't tell why exactly, even though it's been quite a while now since I finished the book. Despite the slow parts I still enjoyed the book and can't wait to read the third in series, which is already waiting for me on my shelf already :-) I'd always recommend this series to those who are interested in antiques, cozy mysteries and good characters.

Tickers

The Cat Who Played Post Office

Lilian Jackson Braun - The Cat Who Played Post Office [6th Jim Qwilleran, Koko & Yum
Yum]; 262 pages (A-)

Warning: If you haven't read #6 yet, don't read the next paragraph, it contains spoilers!

This was my first The Cat Who ever, despite the fact that it is not the first in series. And I can assure you it won’t be the last, either. Qwill inherited an estate and a whole bunch of money on one condition. He has to live in Moose County for five years, otherwise, verythign goes to a syndicate in New Jersey. He barely moved to the estate when Koko starts dragging up letters and finds old boxes that contain the belongings of a former maid, Daisy Mull. At first, Qwill doesn’t think much of it, but when he discovers that no one heard of Daisy after she left the mansion, he starts to ask questions. I won’t give away more as this is already a biiig spoiler if you haven’t read the books up to at least #6.

Start reading from here on to avoid spoilers above!

I simply loved this mystery! It was a completely new concept for me to have a cat find the hints to solving the mystery and Qwills sometimes really hilarious ways of trying to find out what the cat meant to tell him. I was not even done reading this book when I already ordered The Cat Who Could Read Backwards. If you have not yet started this series, go and get a book now, no matter whether you’re a cat lover or not. You just have to love Koko for his stubbornness and attitude, and Yum Yum a cat you just want to cuddle.

*K*

FIRC update

I'm still reading L'Ombre Sur Montparnasse, but I finished Truffled Feathers almost 2 weeks ago now, so it really is ime for me to update my FIRC info.

My up-to-date list of books to read till December 21, 2006 is:


want to's:

Maria Beaumont: Mis(s)fit
L'Ombre Sur Montparnasse
Sue Grafton: C is for Corpse
Cameron West: First Person Plural
Laurell K. Hamilton: The Laughing Corpse
Nancy Atherton: Aunt Dimity and The Good Deed

extra credit:

Azar Nafisi: Reading Lolita In Tehran
Tamar Myers: Gilt By Association
Jeanne Ray: Julie and Romeo
Meryl Sawyer: Lady Killer

My next FIRC read will most likely be Aunt Dimity and The Good Deed, but before I think I will be reading one of the three bookrings that are waiting to be sent on:
Chris Manby: The Matchbreaker
Madeline Wickham: Swimming Pool Sunday
Anita Diamant: The Red Tent

Truffled Feathers

Nancy Fairbanks – Truffled Feathers [2nd Caorolyn & Jason Blue]; 272 pages (A-)

Carolyn and Jason Blue are in New York for some business meetings. Jason is supposed to meet some people from a company who are interested in hiring him as a consultant and Carolyn is supposed to meet her agent and her excentric editor for "Eating Out In The Big Easy", a cook book she researched for in the first book. Right after they arrived in NY, their chauffeur informs them that the man Jason originally came to meet died that very day. The two find out that he was stabbed in a deli over a pastrami sandwich, which he had always at the same time. Jason at first doesn't tell his wife that he suspects murder (intent on Max, the victim) and tries to find out what is actually going on by himself while Carolyn meets with her agent who is absolutely not interested in her writer's block due to the ongoings in New Orleans.

I enjoyed the book a lot. It was funny, delicious, full of suspense and I just can’t get enough of Carolyn and Jason. I’m glad I already have the third book on my shelves and hope to have the time to read it soon :-)

*K*

tongue twister

This was on a very popular German TV show (you may know the moderator through Sister Act 2?). Just look at how fast this guy talks!!!

FIRC update

Now that I've finished The Ghost and the Dead Man's Library (see below) I have to update my FIRC again.

My up-to-date list of books to read till December 21, 2006 is:


want to's:

Maria Beaumont: Mis(s)fit
L'Ombre Sur Montparnasse
Sue Grafton: C is for Corpse
Cameron West: First Person Plural
Nancy Fairbanks: Truffled Feathers
Laurell K. Hamilton: The Laughing Corpse
Nancy Atherton: Aunt Dimity and The Good Deed

extra credit:

Azar Nafisi: Reading Lolita In Tehran
Tamar Myers: Gilt By Association
Jeanne Ray: Julie and Romeo
Meryl Sawyer: Lady Killer

We'll see what will be next, but most likely I will start reading L'Ombre Sur Montparnasse, a mystery in French, as I have to get back into reading and understanding French ASAP.

The Ghost and the Dead Man's Library

Alice Kimberly - The Ghost and The Dead Man’s Library [3rd Penelope Thornton-McClure & Jack Shepherd]; 254 pages (B+)

It is the third and so far last installment in the series about bookshop co-owner Penelope Thornton-McClure and ghost Jack Shepherd. Penelope and her aunt Sadie visit an old friend of Sadies', Peter Chesley, who gives them the entire collection of Edgar Allen Poe books in the Phelps edition. Those books are very rare and therefore rather valuable. As soon as they leave Mr. Chesley, he is murdered. This means the copies are now Aunt Sadie's, as he said he wanted her to have them, should he die before they are sold. Soon after the first copy is sold, its acquirer, a Franco-Canadian lawyer, who actually bought a copy for his uncle, is found dead, presumably because of a car accident.

It seems as the books get worse as I read a long - well, not really bad, but each time I graded the book was a little less good than the one before. Go figure... What annoyed me a little with this one was, that the author still feels the need to take about two sentences per book to explain how it sounds when those New Englanders talk (the “r” is missing). At least after the second book, you should’ve got it. And if this is your first book, then it won’t matter either, as it is not a clue to the crimes. I don’t think it is necessary to point it out that often. Also, it was not so good, that all but one cop were described as stupid and incapable of really doing their job. Otherwise, I really enjoyed the book, so that the rating still is a good B+. I just like how Penelope and Jack interact!

*K*

exams and the next semester

My mind has finally come back and I'm actively thinking about law school again.

As you may or may not remember, I had two exams earlier this year, and I really, really, hope, I (a) will get the results soon and (b) passed them. It's been almost three months now since I took the exams, I think I really deserve to know the results, but that's law school - a waiting game!
Also, I actually intended to write a paper. I started, had all, or pretty much all the info I needed - but I was too slow *gr* I ended up not handing it in because of that and because I thought I had to pass the exam next semester in the latest in order to be able to use the paper's result - it ended up not being that way, though I was told so at the deanship... So much for good info. Anyway, it happened and I can't change it now.

As for next semester, my schedule is already set and it seems to be a busy time, but I'm rather sure I can do it and I doubt it will be much of a problem. I only have to sit down and concentrate a little better than I did last semester.

I'll be busy on Mondays from 12p.m.-2 p.m. and 4p.m.-6p.m. - two hours off in between is not too good, but I suppose I'll just try to catch up on some things during that time.
On Tuesdays I have 10a.m.-12p.m. and 2p.m.-4p.m. - the two hours in between again for some catching up.
Wednesdays 8:30a.m. through 12p.m. two different classes, but no break, so I can use noon for some work.
Thursdays I have 2p.m.-6p.m., again two different classes, so I have the morning off to work.
Fridays I actually have nothing.

On top of that, I will have a few classes over the next 4 semesters to get the DUDF, which is a diploma on French law. I can't wait for these classes, but I'm also anxious because I just don't know how good my French is. I really have to work on that during the next few days and weeks. :-) Anyway, I'm really excited about this chance!!!

Fall Into Reading Challenge update

I've finished the first book for the Fall Into Reading Challenge (btw, I've decided to use the abbreviation starting today, it is far too long ;-) ), so it is time to give you an update.

I finished Victoria Laurie's Killer Insight last weekend already, but I didn't find the time to post about it, unfortunately.

This fourth, and so far latest installment, in Victoria Laurie's Abby Cooper series
Abby works as a professional psychic, but she sure didn't see that coming! Short after Dutch wants "some space to concentrate on his current job", a friend from Denver, Colorado, calls and asks Abby to come early and be her bridesmaid because one of the other bridesmaids ran off to her ex-boyfriend's new place in California. Not long after that, Abby discovers, that the missing bridesmaid didn't run off, but is dead. When one bridesmaid after the other disappears, Abby has to hurry up a little to find the murderer, before it is her turn to die.
This was one shocking from the very beginning. Who would've thought Abby and Dutch were going to break up? And then there's the bridesmaids killer as well. The fourth installment may not be the absolutely best in series, but I really enjoyed it a lot and it is sad that I finished it that fast. If you like a wonderful, hilarious, a little paranormal cozy series, you should definitely try that one!


Here's the list of books that are left on my FIRC list:

want to's:

Alice Kimberly: The Ghost and The Dead Man's Library
Maria Beaumont: Mis(s)fit
L'Ombre Sur Montparnasse
Sue Grafton: C is for Corpse
Cameron West: First Person Plural
Nancy Fairbanks: Truffled Feathers
Laurell K. Hamilton: The Laughing Corpse
Nancy Atherton: Aunt Dimity and The Good Deed

extra credit:

Azar Nafisi: Reading Lolita In Tehran
Tamar Myers: Gilt By Association
Jeanne Ray: Julie and Romeo
Meryl Sawyer: Lady Killer

Right now, I am reading Alice Kimberly's The Ghost and The Dead Man's Library. So far it is really good and I hope to be able to finish it before the weekend.

Fall Into Reading Challenge

I just discovered the Fall Into Reading Challenge while reading this blog. It seems like a wonderful way to read some more books off of my Mt. TBR. As you might remember, it is rather huge (96 books including my five current reads).
As the next semester will start on Oct 9, I won't be able to read much then, but I think I should be able to read 3 books a month, maybe even 4.

So let's say I'll read 3 books a month, that would be 9 books within 3 months. As I might always be lucky to read a little more I'll add some as extra credit. And don't forget the bookrings I will get within the next months!

want to's:

Victoria Laurie: Killer Insight
Alice Kimberly: The Ghost and the Dead Man’s Library
Maria Beaumont: Mis(s)Fit
Ann Brashares: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
L’Ombre Sur Montparnasse
Sue Grafton: C is for Corpse
Cameron West: First Person Plural
Nancy Fairbanks: Truffled Feathers
Laurell K. Hamilton: The Laughing Corpse
Nancy Atherton: Aunt Dimity and the Good Deed
Jayne Anne Krentz: Hidden Talents
Joanne Fluke: Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder

extra credit:

Azar Nafisi: Reading Lolita in Tehran
Tamar Myers: Gilt by Association
Jeanne Ray: Julie and Romeo
Meryl Sawyer: Lady Killer

We'll see whether this will change within the next week...

Have you heard about Steve Irwin?

I can't believe this really happened. Watching his animal documentations, I learned more about animals that I ever did at school.

Oh, right, maybe you haven't heard or read... Steve Irwin died a few hours ago while filming a documentation about marine life in Queensland, Australia. He was stung by a stingray in the breast, which is supposed to have cause a cardiac arrest. His American wife Terri and his children Bindi Sue (8) and Robert Clarence (2) have not been with him on the trip, but according to police, family has been informed.

August reading - as part of procrastination

Harlan Coben: Just One Look; 383 pages (B)
When Grace Lawson picks up a bunch of photographs at the local Photomat she doesn’t know what this will cause. Among the pictures is an old picture of five people, one of them Grace’s Husband, Jack. When Grace shows him the picture, Jack leaves the house and disappears. When Jack does not return and the police don’t see a reason to search for him, Grace starts investigating herself. This is a wonderful book ful of intrigue and suspense. I wouldn’t compare it to Coben’s Myron Bolitar series, but this thriller is awesome!

Barbara Hannay: The Blind Date Surprise; 156 pages (B-)
romance

Susan Stephens: The Sheikh’s Captive Bride; 156 pages (B-)
romance

Shawna Kenney: I Was a Teenage Dominatrix; 169 pages (B+)
Shawna Kenney’s memoir about her life as a dominatrix is shockingly honest. She doesn’t hide behind the “it was actually pretty cool”, but tells it like it was. She met some strange men with strange fantasies, who paid a lot of money for her services. This memoir certainly was worth the time I spent reading – and I would have read more, if offered.

Alice Kimberly: The Ghost and the Dead Deb [2nd Penelope Thornton-McClure & Jack Shields]; 260 pages (A-)
After the first Haunted Bookshop mystery Penelope Thornton-McClure & Jack Shields are finally back. A year after an author died right in the shop during a reading, Penelope prepared the shop for another reading. This time the author is a friend of a murder victim and she wrote a book about the murder as it has never been solved. Not long after the reading, she disappears and is found murdered. It is Penelope and Jack's turn to solve the case... I just loved this one, plus it had a new "addition" - but that you'll have to read for yourself!

Victoria Laurie: Better Read Than Dead [2nd Abby Cooper]; 296 pages (A)
This time, Abby Cooper, a real psychic earning her money with her gift, helps out a friend reading some wedding guests. After only a few readings, Abby discovers that the wedding is in fact a Mafia wedding and leaves, pretending she is sick. Of course, the mob boss is not too happy the psychics at his daughter’s wedding left early. On top of that, there’s a serial rapist on the loose close to Abby’s office and it is Abby’s job to help Milo find him, after one of her clients was attacked after a reading. I just loved this book! Abby is a wonderful quirky, but strong character. The book is wonderfully written and leaves me with high hopes for the next in series, A Vision of Murder.

Donna Andrews: You’ve Got Murder [1st Turing Hopper]; 298 pages (C+)
Turing Hopper is a scentient AIP, an Artificial Intelligence Personality. When her creator, Zack, does not come to work without telling her for several days, she starts to worry. Upon contacting some friends of Zack’s, she gets the feeling something is wrong. With the help of Maude and Tim, she goes to work searching for Zack, only to discover that some sinister people are plotting against the AIP program and trying desperately to find Zack. For some reason I just didn’t get into this book. It appeared to be rather boring and annoying. I had hopes it might pick up a bit later in the book, but I was disappointed again. It just wasn’t a book for me.

Newt Scamander: Fantastic Beasts & Where to Find Them; 64 pages (B+)
This is one of Harry Potter’s schoolbooks, the book for Care of Magical Creatures. It was a short read, yet amusing and it was a little like sitting close to Harry during one of his lessons. An extra were the annotations by Harry, Hermoine and Ron. Their remarks throughout the book made me laugh even more.

Kennilworthy Whisp: Quidditch Though the Ages; 64 pages (A-)
Harry’s second schoolbook on Quidditch, well, actually it was more of a library book, was another good addition to my Potter-missing self. Always a fan of Quidditch (you’ve got to love the scenes on the field, be it in the book or in the movie!) I couldn’t wait to read it, and I was right. If we could use broomsticks to fly, Quidditch would be my game! The book explained where Quidditch originated from, explained the exact rules and gave a short overview of the most important British and Irish teams.

Nancy Atherton: Aunt Dimity and the Duke [2nd Aunt Dimity]; 348 pages (B)
In Aunt Dimity and the Duke I missed Aunt Dimity, because unlike in Aunt Dimity's Death Aunt Dimity hardly ever appears.
Emma is from the US and originally she had planned to spend some weeks in Great Britain with her then boyfriend, but he breaks up with her before they cango on the trip to marry a younger, thinner and blonder woman than Emma. So Emma goes on the vacation to see some gardens by herself and when she meets the Pyms, they talk a while before they tell her to go see a special garden which is actually not open for public. The Pyms give her a card with their recommendation to give the owner of the garden, a duke, and when Emma gets there the Duke thinks she is there to design his garden. Seems like Aunt Dimity had her fingers in the game again ;-) It is a wonderful book and I can only recommend the series!

Sarah Strohmeyer: Bubbles In Trouble [2nd Bubbles Yablonsky]; 315 pages (B)
Bubbles Yablonsky was supposed to be the Maid of Honor at a friend's wedding. When her friend Janice, the bride, does not appear Bubbles sets off looking for her, only to find Janice gone and her uncle, with whom she lived, dead. Despite the fact that everyone wants it to be either an accident or at least something domestic with Janice as the murderer (After all, where they live they have security all the time and those rich retirees don't want their home to be a place where a stranger could possibly come in and kill one of the inhabitants!). So Bubbles sets off to find out what really happened and lands in Whoopee, PA (which, btw, is a tiny town in Dutch Country, half way between Intercourse and Paradise *g*).

MaryJanice Davidson: Undead and Unwed [1st Betsy Taylor]; 260 pages (B-)
The day Betsy Taylor died pretty much everything went wrong for her. First, she misses her bus, then she gets laid off – and upon getting home she discovers her cat left her again. This is when she hears the cat meow-ing on the street, waiting to be saved from the cold snow. Betsy gets out to retrieve the cat when a car meets her and makes her fly through the air straight into a tree. This would actually have been it, had Betsy not been attacked a few months earlier. About three days after her death, Betsy wakes up in a morgue and discovers, that she can’t die anymore – she’s a vampire! This book left me confused and unsure whether I want to read the next in series or not. I can’t explain it, but something was weird. Her best friend isn’t scared in the least, when Betsy arrives the day of her funeral and explains that she is now a vampire. But the story was really funny and wonderful. It took me a few days to make up my mind about that series, but now I know I couldn't live without reading more about Betsy Taylor!!!

Plum Sykes: Bergdorf Blondes; 371 pages (C+)
In this book, some Park Avenue Princesses are on the hunt for a PH
- a prospective husband. The main character, an un-named journalist who grew up in England, first stumbles onto a photographer while she is trying to get her friend Julie Bergdorf a PH. It is Julie after whom the Bergdorf Blondes are names as she has the perfect blonde hair.

My book-self

I just made a test to see what kind of a reader I am - and here's the result. Maybe not too clear, but I can live with it:


Your Personality: All-Rounder!

Your responses showed you fitting equally into all four reading personalities:

Involved Reader: You don't just love to read books, you love to read about books. For you, half the fun of reading is the thrill of the chase - discovering new books and authors, and discussing your finds with others.
Exacting Reader: You love books but you rarely have as much time to read as you'd like - so you're very particular about the books you choose.
Serial Reader: Once you discover a favorite writer you tend to stick with him/her through thick and thin.
Eclectic Reader: You read for entertainment but also to expand your mind. You're open to new ideas and new writers, and are not wedded to a particular genre or limited range of authors.

If you want to take the test click here.

procrastination

Right now I am sooo procrastinating... I have a paper due some time around September 18th. I don't even know the exact date for sure... This paper is on Criminal Law and actually there is no reason why I should procrastinate. It is, after all, not as if this is something I can't do! Indeed, it should be the other way around. I should have finished this freaking paper already and be happy to have off till October 9th...

But no, I have to play Procrastination! I hate myself right now and probably writing this entry is part of the game.

I promise to be more regular...

... or at least I will try to.
Right now I'm writing a short summary of all the books I read so far this month, but I would like to give you a short update to what I read in June and July.

JUNE

30. Emilie Richards: Blessed Is The Busybody; 262 pages; B+
31. Janet Evanovich: Hot Six; 336 pages; B+
32. Dave Pelzer: A Child Called It; 169 pages; B
33. Nancy Atherton: Tante Dimity und das geheimnisvolle Erbe (Aunt Dimity's Death); 317 pages; A-
34. Marion Chesney: Snobbery with Violence; 226 pages; A
35. Lucy Monroe: Die Sehnsucht lässt mich nicht mehr los (The Greek's Innocent Virgin); 156 pages; B
36. Miranda Lee: Affäre des Herzens (The Magnate's Mistress); 156 pages; B+
37. Catherine Spencer: Dr. Rossis schöne Geliebte (The Italian Doctor's Mistress); 156 pages; B-
38. Dana Stabenow: A Cold Day For Murder; 199 pages; B
39. Jacqueline Baird: Heiße Küsse - süße Rache? (Pregnancy of Revenge); 156 pages; B-

JULY

40. India Ink: Scent to her Grave; 260 pages; B+
41. Miranda Lee: Prickelnde Verführung (The Passion Price); 156 pages; B-
42. Trish Morey:Ball der Träume (The Italian Boss's Secret Child); 156 pages; B
43. Rebecca Winters: Blitzhochzeit in Portugal (Rafael's Convenient Proposal); 156 pages; B-
44. Sherryl Woods: Leidenschaft auf den ersten Blick (What's Cooking); 156 pages; C+
45. Julius Lester: The Autobiography of God; 245 pages; A
46. Jochen Zenthöfer: Staatsrecht 2 - Grundrechte; 128 pages; B+
47. Alice Kimberly: The Ghost and Mrs. McClure; 261 pages; A

Far too much stuff to keep my mind off for a while, but I needed it for the exams. I hope I did well on my exams, but I won't know for a few more weeks. And with each week the feeling gets worse. This is torture!!!

a late May - reading-wise

Considering that it is really late for my May reading I will simply blog titles and ratings. Should you have any questions about the books, feel free to contact me at:
justitia.schicksalsengel@googlemail.com

My May reads (books 17-29):
Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries; C (306 pages)
Janet Evanovich - High Five; A- (317 pages)
Katherine Applegate - Now Zoey's Alone; B- (173 pages)
Sidney Sheldon - Are You Afraid Of The Dark?; B+ (398 pages)
Claire Bretécher - Agrippine en famille; A- (61 pages)
Katherine Applegate - Don't Forget Lara; B (153 pages)
Katherine Applegate - Zoey's Broken Heart; B- (164 pages)
Meg Cabot - Teen Idol; B+ (266 pages)
Victoria Laurie - Abby Cooper, Psychic Eye; A- (295 pages)
Nora Roberts - Black Rose (Dunkle Rosen); C+ (414 pages)
Nicci French - The Memory Game; F (29/390 pages)
Jilliane Hoffman - Last Witness; B+ (386 pages)
Kate Mosse - Labyrinth; F (90/694 pages)

All in all I read 3,052 pages this month.

Some idiots kept me from posting...

I finally got home today after a few very busy weeks (university, work, no internet thanks to my room mate, and family visiting :-) ).

My plans after being at university for a few hours today were:
- get home
- buy some food
- take a shower
- check my e-mails from during the last 2 weeks or so
- write a blog entry
- go to bed at adecent time

And now it is 0:20 a.m. on Friday, July 7 - what the heck is wrong with the world?!?

It all started with getting home from university. The subway I was at stopped at the Deutsche Bibliothek (German Library - this is one of two (?) libraries in Germany that has to have at least one copy of everything ever published here) for a regular stop, but as soon as the doors were open a whole bunch of students walked on the street right in front of us and they didn't even think of moving!

They were there demonstrating because thanks to our government we will soon have a two classes-society when it comes to education. The federal states in Germany can now decided whether the universities can (more exactly have to, but more anbout that in a later post) take study fees from us students. We used to be able to study for a mere 100-400 Euro per semester, but this is now to change to about an extra 500 Euro.

Well, a few months ago, back when they were still only thinking about passing this order, it would have been possible to stop it, but now it is DONE!!! It is over, why won't you just stop playing "kindergarten" and act like grown-ups again? But no, instead they all come to Frankfurt when it is really hot, demonstrate against something that is already done and act like real idiots.

When I looked out of the carriage I actually saw one of them throw a bottle at a passin car, others grabbed the driver of another car and when he tried to drive off (he had to stop because of them grabbing inside the car) one of those punk chicks hit his exterior mirror.

They are supposed to be grown-ups!!! I didn't see any out there today.

On top of all, the police stood there for at least 15 minutes without doing a thing. After these 15 minutes I got out of the subway and walked up to the nearest station to take a subway that brought me home...

*gr* What a kindergarten!!!

Sidney Sheldon and Jilliane Hoffman

I also read Sidney Sheldon's Are You Afraid Of The Dark? and Jilliane Hoffman's Last Witness in May, but I think they deserve their very own post with a short review for various reasons...

Are ou Afraid Of The Dark? got to me through the same book box The Momory Game did. Only this time I didn't know the author had hardly heard anything of him (and if so I most likely didn't pay attention). The backcover blurb sounded really interesting, but there where other books I wanted to read as well. So which books to pick and which books to put back in the box for the others? I decided I would simply start reading the book and decided whether or not I wanted to keep it while reading the first hundred or so pages. It was a bad idea - or amybe a good one? - because the next day I had already finished the book. It was such a thrilling, nerve-tearing, interesting, suspense-ladden mystery/thriller!
It all starts with four deaths in four different cities all over the world. No one really connects the murders, until two widows meet at the office of their deceased husbands' employer. They start to talk and soon they discover they're being followed and someone wants them dead. They only don't know why their husbands had to die and why they're being followed around and attacked. When they discover what happened it is almost too late.
I sinmply couldn't put this book down and had to read on and on. In the end it took me about 24 hours from the first to the last pages - with sleeping and all, well not much of that, but anyway!

With Jilliane Hoffman's Last Witness I knew what I was getting myself into. Having read and loved her first mystery starring C.J. Townsend, I just had to get her second! After C.J. took care of the conviction of William Bantling, supposed to be the serial killer "Cupid", she thinks everything is alright now. Until one night she gets called to a crime scene where a cop has been brutally killed. This cop happened to be one of the few men who knew the secret, who knew what happend during the ivnestigation of Cupid's murders and it's trial. When a second and third cop are killed in the same brutal fashion, C.J. knows she has to do something to protect others from being killed.
I can't really say much more about the book without giving away the story, but let me tell you one thing. If you haven't read Retribution already,but intend to read Last Witness you might want to know that the second builds up on the story of the first. It's pretty much crucial that you read the first one!
These two books are really brutal and the murders and everythign around it explained in a colorful way, so if you can't stand the gory-tpye mysteries you might want to leave Jilliane Hoffman's books out.
What I especially liked about both books was that Jilliane Hoffman could explain things quite good - her being a former proecutor with the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office and working as the Regional Legal Advisor for the FloridaDepartment of Law Enforcement, she knew her business.

Reading...

It's been ages since I last wrote about what I'm reading, but for some reason I just couldn't find enough time to write proper reviews. I'll try to do better from now on, though I can't promise it. Sorry!

Here's what I read since finishing Stephen King's Carrie (my last book for April):

good book
so so book
bad book

Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries C 306
Janet Evanovich - High Five A- 317
Katherine Applegate - Now Zoey's Alone B- 173
Sidney Sheldon - Are You Afraid Of The Dark? B+ 398
Claire Bretécher - Agrippine en famille A- 61
Katherine Applegate - Don't Forget Lara B 153
Katherine Applegate - Zoey's Broken Heart B- 164
Meg Cabot - Teen Idol B+ 266
Victoria Laurie - Abby Cooper, Psychic Eye A- 295
Nora Roberts - Black Rose C+ 414
Nicci French - The Memory Game F 29/390
Jilliane Hoffman - Last Witness B+ 386
Kate Mosse - Labyrinth F 90/694

Nicci French's The Memory Game and Kate Mosse's Labyrinth are the first two books I just couldn't finish for 2006.
No matter how hard I tried, Labyrinth just seemed to bor me to death. I didn't like that characters, they appeared to be flat, didn't come to live in my mind. Heck, this even happens when I'm reading an interesting case for law school, so I do think I can expect this from a fiction novel as well, don't you? I felt bored throughout the first 90 pages until I decided to dump it. Despite the fact that I was away from the book for about five days (I hoped this would make me want to get back to the book - a complete failure, that I can tell you!), I just couldn't put it up again.
Then The Memory Game - at first it seemed to be interesting. I got it via a book box over at Bookcrossing.com, I wanted to read it, but after the first few pages I knew it just wasn't my book. I'm not sure why, but it didn't grab me, so I decided I would give someone else the chance to read it. Maybe they like it better than me?

Also, The Nanny Diaries and Black Rose were not really my books, but they had something that made me finish them.
The Nanny Diaries is another book I got through Bookcrossing.com. I took part in a book ring and got this book in late April. I've heard ambivalent comments on this book. It appeared as if you either liked it or you didn't care about it. I obviously belong to the latter group. I read the book, it was okay, considering that the authors both worked as nannies for New York Cities upper class there sure might be some true aspects about the book, yet, it is a work of fiction. I assume some of the aspects of life as a nanny they brought up in the novel are true and they gathered them from the various families they had worked for, but during the first 60 or so pages I've already come to hate Grover's parents (the nanny in the book calls the little son Grover). His dad, Mr X, was at work all the time, Mrs X at first appeared to be a caring mother but then the reader discovered she actually is a self-absorbed, rich b*****. No one ever seemed to take care of the son, everyone except the nanny was mean to him or didn't want to talk to him. I don't know whether this is a 1:1 re-telling of life in the upper class, but I also don't really want to know.
Black Rose wasn't a bad book per se, had it been a stand-alone, I most likely would have enjoyed it, but it wasn't. In fact, it is the second in Mrs. Roberts' Garden trilogy revolving around the women (and men) that work at a garden center in the southern states. The women and one of the men (the eldest women's son) all live at the same estate the garden center is at and at the house there's a ghost. Well, I don't have anything against ghosts in books, but if the ghost is a whacko, then that's different. In this case it's the ghost of a younger woman who lived around the turn ov cenutries (1800/1900). At first she only sang to the children, usually teh boys, as long as they are kids. But when the women start to fall in love she does some crazy things (don't want to spoil the book, so I'll leave it at that). Well, the first one was still okay, not too weird, but with the second I had quite some problems. We'll see how this goes for the third. I intend to read it next time I'm at my parents'...

As for the other books - Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series, of which High Five is the third in series, is highly recommended. Stephanie Plum is a lingery buyer gone bounty hunter, erm, bail enforcement agent. In the fifth installment she has to look for her uncle who's gone missing at a shopping tour. Stephanie discovers that he had recently taken pictures of a dead person's body wrapped up in a bag. But where is Steph's uncle? And what did he have to do with the dead body? These books always bring me back to reading, no matter what's going on.
Victoria Laurie's Abby Cooper, Psychic Eye is a paranormal mystery. Abby Cooper used to work as a bank clerk when a clairvoyant came to her with a message from her Grandma. Abby had always had the possibility to see the future of other people. After some thinking Abby decides to give it a try. What I especially liked about the book - bsides the fact that I liked the main character, the mystery aspects, etc. - was that Abby's visions aren't all that clear as most other psychics. She sometimes is wrong with her interpretation, which is one big plus in my eyes.
Claire Bretécher's Agrippine en famille is actually only a book comics, but it is French, so I thought it would be a nice start to get my French back as good as it used to be - and the I want it to get even better! I loved it. Back in school we read some short Agrippine stories to make lessons less boring - and it worked!
The books by Katherine Applegate and Meg Cabot are all young adult books, so I won't specifically comment on those. As you might have seen from the grades I think these books are good reads!

Been there, done that - anyting new?

Well, I was at class yesterday - CrimLaw. And it was sooo boring :-( In fact, we repeated the same stuff about fraud we had been explained the week before, just with three new cases.

The first case, there was this guy, let's call him A, who sold pants (29 Euro a piece) and said they were made of cotton. The pants are made of some other material, they're not cotton, but they are worth the 29 Euro. This, of course, is discovered.

The second case: A places a bet on a certain horse and wins. Before placing the bet A got the information of which horse won so that he could make sure he won. In some way, he got this information before the betting agency, went up to the counter and placed the bet.

The third case: At about 1890 (?), A offers up a herbal medicine against bellyache in a newspaper. Back at that time it was common knowledge that the combination of herbal medicine andbellyache in an offer meant some medication to help with abortion of an unwanted child. In this case, though, A really meant what he was saying, but didn't tell his clients specifically (why should he, anyway?).

Well, we basically discussed the way of how the fraud happened - was it caused by simpl being quite? By actually doing something so that others would believe it? Or by implied action?

So when we had a short break I decided that I would just go and buy some stuff I needed for the evening. After all, I was going to work right from university and there was no food at home. I don't have the money to always buy me some pizza on my way home from work!

But work was interesting. It only got really, really boring when I had like 45 minutes left. All the work that's left for me to do is stuff that takes ages to finish, but you can't really start doing it and then stop right where you are once the time's up. I would have said "who cares" and stayed a little longer, but first, I can't get over a certain amount of time, and then I also had to get the subway at 8:30 in the latest cause afterwards the line wouldn't go all the way north to where I live. It would have meant I had to change from the subway to a bus, after 9 p.m., and that's something I'd rather not do...

Finally!

Now that I finally have my new glasses (it was a real odyssey to get them but that's a rather longish story, so I'll write it down once I have a little more time), I can read and write again without getting a headache.

I'm with my parents since last Friday evening and I will be with them till at least tomorrow evening. There's been some trouble around here, so I'd rather stay until I know what it's all about.

Until then I won't be able to write as much as I want to - and yes, I've been neglecting this blog far too long, sorry!

I hope to be back 'on track' soon so that I can write as much as I want again. There are quite a few things I want to write down, but I assume they will have to wait. Sorry!

Yes, I am glad...

... that I study law in Germany and not someplace where they have case law!!!

Only a short while ago I discovered some English blawgs (for those of you who don't know this word: that's what blogs on law are called) and am now reading from the very beginning to today. Well, there is this one blawg by Law-Rah... And yes, we are so lucky! About a year ago (plus minus 3 months or so) she was in her second semester, so she should be about as faar as I am now - of course with the difference that she will be done with law school soon while I will have some more semesters to go (we don't have to go to college before we go to university here in Germany). Well, back in January last year she was busy with a certain case (just scroll down till Jan 29th - there unfortunately is no direct link).

What ever happened to names like Mark or Kimberly? That was nothing compared to my favorite:

"Those arrests led ultimately to these appeals by five of the men, Carlos Pagan-San-Miguel, Edgar Gonzalez-Valentin, Raul Lugo-Maya, Rafael Pava-Buelba and Julio Luciano-Mosquera...Oscar Fontalvo arrived in Puerto Rico in January 1991 to organize a scheme to smuggle cocaine into Puerto Rico...Fontalvo enlisted Pagan-San-Miguel and Jose Perez-Perez, who were to be paid in kind with 50 kilograms of cocaine. Pagan-San-Miguel introduced Fontalvo to Luis Soltero-Lopez, who agreed that his boat, the F/V Marlyn, would be used as the mothership. Soltero-Lopez recruited Jonas Castillo-Ramos to be captain, and Castillo-Ramos recruited two crew members for the drug run." U.S. v. Luciano-Mosquera, 63 F.3d 1142 (1st Cir. 1995.)

That speak went on for two more pages and even introduced Columbian watchdog names into the mix. I have no clue who did what, except that some guy was found under a jeep with a gun.

And that's when I was really, really happy to study law in Germany. We get our cases with "names" like A, B, X and W... Thinking about having to read a casewith names like that creps me out. I would certainly get this case on PC so that I could exchange the names in A, B... Don't you get completely insane reading cases like that?!?

My very busy last two weekends...

Last weekend we, my bf and I, were at the Night of Museums. That's one night a year, when lots of Museums in Frankfurt (plus some in a town about half an hour from the centre) are open for visitors. You actually buy one card and can get into all those museums - plus they have some awesome programs, like musicians, work shops, etc. We saw sooo many museums :-) First we were at the Senckenberg museum (probably the most famous in Frankfurt?) with its dinosaurs, reptiles, etc. It's basically a nature-historical museum with lots of animals, but they had a special exhibition on spiders (which, to be honest, was rather small). I wanted to see it, so my bf (despite his arachnophobia) went with me :-) Then we had to get to this one place in the middle of Frankfurt (Konstablerwache) where they had a huge screen so that everyone could watch a soccer game (Eintracht Frankfurt vs. FC Bayern Munchen - it was a final of the DFB cup, and it's been about 15 years since Frankfurt last had the chance to win it! We didn't win, though - just because of a stupid referee *gr*). Then we went to lots of museums - including the Westhafen Tower, where I work. There you could get to the upper floor to see Frankfurt at night - wich is simply beautiful!!!
On our way back to the center of the city, I unfortunately had to discover that my watch (the one I got from my parents for last Christmas!) was gone... That was the only bad part of the night, though...
And lucky me, I got my watch back just last Thursday. I got to work and stopped right by the entrance where there's always someone taking care of the visitors. I explained that I had lost my watch that night and that it could have been there. So the nice lady called her boss who immediately checked the room. He then came down and told me that he hadn't found it right away, but that they indeed had found something... He then asked whether I could come back another day when the security personel was there. I agreed to check again the next day (I would have been there anyway - I had to work from 4p.m. to 8p.m.). So I got upstairs to work - and guess what... I was just on my way out of the building after work when the guy came out of his office again, saw me and asked whether I am the one who lost the watch. I said yes and he asked me to come with him for a second. On our way he asked whether it was a Fossil and I said yes, a silver one. He must have been right back to search for my watch again and he found it! Apparently, one of the sticks that hold the small pieces of the bracelet of my watch together fell out and that's how my watch could fall off of my hand. I will have it repaired as soon as I get to my parents again (which is as soon as I get a call from my optometrist that my new glasses arrived).

Well, but let me get to this weekend - you know I usually spend the weekend with my bf, but since his Dad will be here on a vacation starting next Saturday and ending the Sunday after, we most likely won't be together. We both love our families and he gets to see his Dad this rarely because of his Dad's job, that I think he should spend the time with him. I'll get to see him at university each day and then most weekends...

So, this weekend, we didn't go to university on Saturday. Instead we were each at our place and got things ready for this weekend. We got tickets for a football game (yes, we have American Football here as well!). It was Frankfurt Galaxy against Dusseldorf RheinFire. To be honest, RheinFire sucks. It's that easy!!! They can't play the game and they should probably try to get back to children's league... But that's the "I livein Frankfurt"-part of me talking ;-) I'm sure you know this from yourself with your fav team and "the Archenemy" *g*
Well, this was my first time ever football game. We got there at around 4p.m. for the "Power Party" - it's like a huge fair! Then we got into the stadion at about 6p.m. (1 hour before the game started) and my bf explained the basic rules to me (he used to play football himself - along with hockey, tennis...;-) ). I've been told that they always have someone perform for a short time before the teams actually are introduced - and this time it was Coolio!!! I first heard one if his songs back in 5th grade, so this was a great thing for me! Then we had a little celebration - first because Galaxy had it's 15th birthday, and second because Mario Bailey (for a pic: http://www.maxwaugh.com/images/ac03/bailey.jpg ) is now part of the Hall of Fame.
Then the game began and it was all really exciting - especially for me as I hardly knew the rules... But I have to admit that after a while I think I understood the system - though, I'm afraid I really got on my bf's nerves with my questions in the middle of the game! (He answered them anyway...)
We got home around 11:30p.m. - not without a short stop at Burger King's to get something to eat.

Today we slept long, had breakfast and watched the Formula 1 (oh how I hate Michael Schumacher - that dumb jerk should retire soon, if you ask me!). A few round before the end I got to the bathroom to get ready. With our ticket of the Night of Museums there was also the entry to the Design Annual. Wow, they have really interesting stuff there - especially those lamps - and not to forget the "smart house-systems, where you can take care of pretty much everything from each room... We got some magazines so that we can look at them again :-)

Right after the Design Annual we got back to the car and my bf drove me home. Would have been too difficult if I got back to his place and then took the train to my place - especially causeit was only 10 minutes from where we parked (instead of 30 minutes+ by train...).

Is this an insult?!?

Well, actually I'm not sure whether or not this is an insult... Anyway, maybe some of you know the answer?





Which Princess Bride Character are You?
this quiz was made by mysti

political me...

I just found this test at Mother In Law's blog and thought I should give it a try...

Here's my result:

You are a Social Liberal (61% permissive) and an... Economic Liberal (30% permissive) You are best described as a: Democrat Link: The Politics Test on OkCupid Free Online Dating Also: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

If you care to take the test, please let me know your results :-)

Pages Read Challenge 2006

I take part in the 2006 Pages Read Challenge at Bookcrossing.com!

Pages I have read in 2006:
5,114/15,000 (approx. 34.093%)

608 - Paul Joannides' Wild Thing112 - Jim Holdaway & Peter O'Donnell's Modesty Blaise: The Gabriel Set-Up399 - Hans Brox's Allgemeiner Teil des BGB112 - Jim Holdaway & Peter O'Donnell's Modesty Blaise: Mister Sun224 - Lee Harris' The Christening Day Murder489 - Dan Brown's The DaVinci Code212 - Lee Harris' The St. Patrick's Day Murder450 - Susan Elizabeth Phillips' Match Me If You Can264 - Meg Cabot's Missing: Code Name Cassandra262 - Meg Cabot's Missing: Safe House496 - Susan Elizabeth Phillips' Just Imagine231 - Meg Cabot's Missing: Sanctuary214 - Rhys Bowen's Evans Above478 - Nora Roberts' Blue Dahlia310 - Sue Grafton's B Is For Burglar253 - Stephen King's Carrie

as of April 25, 2006

my Publicons.com

Stephen King - Carrie

Carrie by Stephen King
253 pages
book # 16
where from: Bookcrossing.com

I finished the book today on my way from work back to university - and I really loved it :-) I assume most people heard about the book or at least about the movie, so I will keep my summary short.

Carrie White grew up with a very religious mother (her father died when she was still a little girl) who thought everything the teens of Carrie's age loved was the work of the devil and pure evil. Carrie's upbringing made her the perfect outcast at school and she didn't have any friends. After the students played a mean trick on Carrie, Sue Snell, a class mate of Carries, feels bad and asks her boyfriend Tommy to ask Carrie out for the prom. Due to the trick played on Carrie and another misbehaviour, the leader is not allowed on her prom and decides to work on a revenge. At the prom, there will be another evil trick played on Carrie - one, which ends in horror!

I really enjoyed this book a lot and I'm glad I didn't read it when I wasn't in the mood. I don't think I would have enjoyed it that much and finished it within only 3 days. Stephen King's first horror novel is a great one and I am not quite sure how he can keep up with it in his later novels (I read the one with the window, movie with Johnny Depp, I think? Or at least, I tried to...), but it sure is hard work! With this novel I shuddered, even though I knew what was going to happen.

I would really recommend you read this book if you haven't read it already!

books aquired

For some reason I felt like I deserved some books as a treat after finishing up those two papers in March... Well, they should have arrived at my parents' by now :-) Can't wait to get to see them *jumpingupanddown*
Two already arrived last week on Monday just a few minutes after I got to my parents', so I already brought them here with me...

The two books I already have here are:

Janet Evanovich - High Five
This is the fifth installment in her Stephanie Plum series which I really, really love! It always helps me to get out of a slump, but I think I'm going to read this one as soon as possible. I have to get on with the series a little *g*

Sue Grafton - B Is For Burglar
The second installment in her alphabet series starring Kinsey Millhone... I'm currently reading this one and I really enjoy it! So far I read a little over a third of it and I can't wait to finish it - I sooo want to know where Elaine Boldt is!!!

Then there are three other books (all first in series!) that should have arrived at my parents:

Victoria Laurie - Abby Cooper, Psychic Eye
Abby Cooper - obviously the lead character - is a psychic solving crimes... That's as much as I know. Anyway, it sounds interesting, so I decided I want to read it :-)

Emilie Richards - Blessed Is The Busybody
This is a cozy mystery set in Great Britain in a rather small town. The main character is the wife of a minister who decided to help troubled souls in need of justice. It is a group read over at cozy first mysteries. The books sounds like quite some fun, so I intend to read it.

India Ink - Scent To Her Grave
Persia Rose Vanderbilt, who is the lead character of this cozy mystery, is working in a bath and beauty shop where one day beauty queen Lydia Wang is found murdered. This is another group read for cozy first mysteries and I can't wait to read it. Hopefully, it will live up to what I expect...

Which Famous Modern American Poet Are You?

Every now and then I really enjoy quizzes, so there's the result I got from a new one:

Which Famous Modern American Poet Are You?

You are Marianne Moore. You are one weird poet who is totally obsessive-compulsive. Thankfully, people think you are harmless and somewhat like you and your work.
Take this quiz!








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I found this one at Projectile Reviews - thanks, Andi!

on a more personal note - the last three months...

During the last three months I wrote 2 papers for university (all in all about 55 pages) - well, actually, this took me only about 5 weeks. That's all the time I had after writing an exam in mid-February (the papers where due March 30th).

I really hope I passed the exam and the two papers - four point, come on, I should be able to get lousy four aout of eighteen points, right?!? Even though the exam was not all too good, I think. I have a bad feeling about the exam and about the second paper, but maybe I'm lucky and got the four points I need to pass. I only have to pass so that I won't have to do it again, I have to be done with four exams and one paper by September. So far I have one exam and one paper *shameonme*

On the other hand, if I didn't pass, maybe I can give it another try and be really good? Heck, I just don't know what I want. The grades don't count a bit, but wouldn't it be nice to do better than just the four points necessary to pass? Argh!!!

Well, I think I better don't think about it too much, it'll be another two to three months until I know for sure, after all! So I will just concentrate on the many, many books I have not yet read and on the courses I intend to attend this semester (the new one began April 1st - how's that for an April joke? ;-) ).

read till March 31

Paul Joanides - Wild Things; 608 pages; non-fiction; B-
Funny book with hardly anything I didn't already know before reading it... At least the writing was entertaining :-)
borrowed

Jim Holdaway & Peter O'Donnell - Modesty Blaise: The Gabriel Set-Up; 112 pages; graphic novel (# 1 Modesty Blaise collection); A-
Modesty Blaise is a young woman with a criminal past who retired and settled down in London, GB. Soon she comes to the conclusion that retirement is not exactly for her and so she doesn't really have to think long when a high agent of the British intelligence asks for her help. With her right hand, Willie Garvin, she sets out to hunt down other criminals. This copy contains 4 Modesty Blaise comic strips that were originally published in newspapers all over the world from 1963 till 2001. I really enjoyed reading those four 'first' strips (the first three indeed were the first three ever to be published, the fourth was a shorter strip originally created for those newspapers who didn't publish Modesty right from the start - it explains how Modesty became who she is today)!
borrowed

Hans Brox - Allgemeiner Teil des BGB; 399 pages; non-fiction (civil law); A-
This book I had to read for university - for civil law to be exact. It is a book on contracts and in which situations they are valid and in what situations they aren't. It is actually pretty interesting and though it actually was a re-read I still found some new aspects I didn't know before. This book 'only' talks about the basics which you need to know in order to get on with studies. Anyway, Brox managed to explain everything in a language that is matter-of-fact and interesting at the same time.
own it!

Jim Holdaway & Peter O'Donnell - Modesty Blaise: Mister Sun; 112 pages; graphic novel (# 2 Modesty Blaise collection); B+
This is the second installment in the series of books that gather together all the comic strips starring Modesty Blaise. This one contains the three strips 'Mister Sun', 'The Mind Of Mrs. Drake' and 'Uncle Happy'. Modesty this time has to save her protegé's life, find out who killed the daughter of a highly decorated war veteran and find out why one of Willie Garvin's former acquaintances died after falling over board when she could swim like a fish. This collection was just as good as the first - with one exception: The Mind Of Mrs. Drake was a little bit too alternative (mind reading???).
borrowed

Lee Harris - The Christening Day Murder; 224 pages; cozy mystery (#3 Chris Bennett); B+
When Chris gets an invitation from an old friend to attend a christening she only expects to meet her friend again and have a nice weekend away from home. With one exception: The christening is supposed to take place a church that stood in a town called Studsburg, which was flooded a good thirty years ago, but which now resurfaced after a long drought. Not long after Chris arrives, she finds a body in the church's building. This body lay there ever since the town was flooded and no one seems to know who this woman was - let alone who she could be... After she realizes that the local police and coroner won't do much to solve the case, she decides to investigate herself - which is not exactly the safest thing to do as she discovers. I already loved the first two in series - and this one was even better! I can't wait to read the next in series - and I already have it waiting for me at my parents'!
own it!

Dan Brown - The DaVinci Code; 489 pages; thriller (#2 Robert Langdon)
I really enjoyed reading this one the second time around. Maybe you remember I had tried this one a while back and ended up not finishing it after about a third. I think the mistake was that I hadn't checked on the order of the books and read DVC before Angels & Demons. Anyway, for some reason I really enjoyed it this time and I hope Dan Brown will write another book with him as a main character. I do realize Brown came up with a lot of fictionary symolism in the book, but I didn't mind that. Just imagining those wonderful paintings was amazing! This time Robert Langdon is being called to the Louvre where the curator, Jacques Saunière, is dead - but not only that, he lies on the floor nacked arms and legs spread wide away from his body. At first, Robert has no clue what all this is supposed to mean, but then he discovers the French police think he's the murderer. So, with the help of Saunière's granddaughter, Sophie Neveu, he disappears and tries to solve the murder himself.
own it!

Lee Harris - The St. Patrick's Day Murder; 212 pages; cozy mystery (#4 Christine Bennett)
Well, I read this one over St. Patrick's Day, which made it an even better read ;-) I have enjoyed all the Chris Bennett books I read so far and I don't think I could ever do without them. They make me forget everything around me, and I hope this will work out just as well in the future! I love Chris and how she solves the cases - there's no one out there just like her... Chris and Jack, a detective with the NYPD, meet with some of their friends, Jack's colleagues and their wife/girlfriend, for the St. Patrick's Day parade. That evening, one of the men is being shot and not much later a second is accused of murdering him. Of course, Chris wants to find out what really happened and why someone wanted to kill the police officer.
Bookcrossing

Susan Elizabeth Phillips - Match Me If You Can; 450 pages; romance
This is another romance set in the closer surroundings of the members of a certain football team from Chicago and the people they deal with on a regular basis. I have loved Phillips' books ever since I read the first one and they always make me cry with laughter... For some reason she always manages to make me see the characters in front of my inner eye :-) Matchmaker Annabelle Granger has no clue why rich and good-looking Heath Champion would need her service, but she doesn't worry about it as she can use the publicity she will get as soon as she finds the right woman for her client. Only recently, she took over her Grandmother's matchmaking business and it isn't working all too well. It can't possibly be this difficult, to find the right woman for someone like Heath, can it? But the sparks seem to fly between matchmaker and client - but can this be?
own it!

Meg Cabot - Code Name Cassandra; 264 pages; YA fiction (#2 Missing a.k.a. 1-800-WHERE-R-YOU)
In the beginning I thought I'd never get another book of that series. It just didn't make me want to read more, unlike Meg Cabot's other books. But then a friend said she had most of them (in English!) and that the next ones were better than the first. So I decided to give it a try after she said I could borrow her copies. I'm actually glad I did read that one cause it really is better. It's still no series I'd buy another book of, but reading? Why not? This time Jessica Mastriani, the main character with psychic abilities (she her a pic of a missing person and she'll know where the person is after sleeping), is pretending to have lost her powers after the whole incident with the FBI in the first book. But being a camp counselor for gifted students (musicians only!) brings trouble with it, she would never have thought of. First, a father asks her to find his daughter which sets her right back into the middle of the focus of the FBI - and then one of the kids she's supposed to take care of disappears.
borrowed

total pages read: 2870

Welcome!

Well, for those who don't know me a few lines about who I actually am:

I'm a 21 year old law student living in Germany. My favorite genre in books are mysteries (cozy and gory ones alike!), thrillers, fun reads, sometimes bizarre books and whatever else I can find that draws my attention (I have a short attention span! ;-)) Anyhow, I love to read and write about what I read, so blogging sounds fun, don't you think?

Anyway, I'm gonna blog whateer comes to my mind. There will be posts about books, university, my life, pretty much anything! Maybe some of you will comment, but let me tell you one thing: Due to some bad experience in the past I will work something out with th comments - I don't want to have to delete spam comments every other days...

So now, I think I should leave it at that and instead take care of a short post on what I did and read during the first three months of this year!