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.