Plot Monkeys

I made a New Year’s Resolution last year, and again this year, to start carving out time to do something I’ve really been missing lately: reading for pleasure!

Ever since I started really rolling fast and hard with my writing, I’ve somehow lost the drive to read the way I once did. So I made that pact with myself to read a little every day. And while I haven’t managed every day, I do quite a lot more reading now than I had in the previous couple of years. And I’m loving it!

So I thought I’d do a bit of armchair reviewing of a few of the books I got for Christmas & my b-day that I’ve been reading since that time. (PS: You can see I got a lot of dark books for Christmas…lol…I buy paperbacks–including romances–for myself. The hardbacks I get as gifts!)

1. Lisey’s Story by Stephen King.

King is one of my two favorite writers (the other being John Irving.) And everyone has raved about this book. For me, though, it was kind of a “meh” read. It took me a long time to get through it, which is very unusual for me.

It’s not that I was upset that King wrote something other than the horror for which he’s famous. I am all for authors branching out.
I think the problem I had with this book was the same one I had with Bag Of Bones…another of my least favorite of King’s books. The narrator spends a great deal of time alone. There’s a ton of introspection and narrative and I just didn’t care about her enough to keep madly flipping those pages through it…unlike Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon–where the character was also alone, but I did flip pages like mad because I was so engaged by her. I also never bought into the suspense storyline–the villain was not credible to me and that part of the story seemed tacked on.

It certainly wasn’t the worst of his books…and I’d never consider any of his books truly “bad” but it wasn’t anywhere near a favorite. I guess I’ll give Lisey’s Story a since King’s writing was, as always, wonderful, even if the story didn’t totally engage me.

2. Cell by Stephen King

(Got both of them for Christmas!) I liked this one better. It wasn’t a King Classic, but it had shades of The Stand. I liked the protagonist’s devotion to his son and really liked the ambiguity of the ending. Read this one much faster than Lisey’s Story. Zombies have never been one of my favorite monster devices, but he pulls these off well…and you truly feel sorry for them. So, for this one, how about a…

3. Hannibal Rising by Thomas Harris

Hmm…on the fence about this one. On the one hand, I read it at the speed of light. On the other–I just didn’t feel terribly satisfied at the end. I liked the richness of the post WWII history of it, and seeing Hannibal Lechter’s childhood. Wasn’t so crazy about the Lady Mariska element of the story. It didn’t come near Silence of the Lambs or (my favorite Harris Red Dragon.) But it was way better than “Hannibal” which just skeeved me out.

Okay, I think it was a :|

4. You Suck by Christopher Moore.

I loooove Moore’s books. But he’s one of those writers you need to read sparingly–no glomming or the humor can get old and the characters tend to blend together. But if you spread his books out, you just cannot help but be entertained. This was a sequel to my 2nd favorite of his books, Bloodsucking Fiends. Very paranormal romance novelish, only hysterically funny. Thumbs up on this sequel, too (I even loved the slightly controversial ending.) This one gets a

5. Gone With The Wind

I did not get this one for Christmas or my birthday, but last weekend when I was in Florida, lying on a heating pad or a bag of frozen lima beans, I really wanted something to read. Most of my books are packed, but I had a hardcover copy of this on a bookshelf, remembered I hadn’t read it in years and just dove in.

Still a wonderful read. I read it the first time when I was in 6th grade and have reread it several times since then. Scarlett is a much richer character in the book than she was in the movie–though I prefer the movie version of Rhett. A delight to rediscover if you are looking for something epic in which to lose yourself. Undoubtedly a for GWTW.

Some other quick ones…

I read 6 historical romances for the Rita’s. One was fabulous…just loved it and rated it very highly. I hope to see it in the finals. (But I can’t tell you what it was…

Another one was pretty good. The rest were okay. I am just not a big fan of the “feisty & headstrong” historical heroine. I spend half the book with my hands clenched because of how badly I want to slap her, and that type starred in several of these books. So (without naming them) I’m giving them from :| to

Also just read Vicki Lewis Thompson’s My Nerdy Valentine

I love Vicki’s books. They are so effusive and full of brightness and light, just like she is…her personality truly comes across in her work and you just can’t read her books without a smile on your face!

As with all of Vicki’s Nerd books, this one was just delightful. Fast paced, funny, with a bit of a suspense edge that lent a creepiness factor. I think this was my 2nd favorite of her Nerd books, after her “The Nerd Who Loved Me”…(maybe because I have a thing for stripper heroines…lol!) A big for this one.

I also got a chance to read Lori Borrill’s Blaze Private Confessions.

Wow, a super-steamy, super fun and fast-paced read. She’s hit the ground running with her first release! Grab it if you haven’t yet! Another

Well, that’s about as far as I’ve gotten since Christmas. I still have some great books in my TBR pile…if I can ever find time to read them! (Believe me…I’ll make time! I am SO enjoying giving myself permission to read.)

Coming up…

I got the second Matthew Pearl book, In Poe’s Shadow, a historical mystery involving Edgar Allen Poe (whose work I adore.) I enjoyed Pearl’s first book, The Dante Club, for the most part (until it fell apart at the end.) So I am looking forward to reading his sophomore effort.

I got Hubby the new Clive Cussler book for Christmas and I intend to borrow it from him one of these days. I’d also like to try some of his Bernard Cornwall books–never read him, but hubby really liked his Arthurian trilogy.

My good buddy Roxanne St. Claire has another of her fabulous Bullet Catchers books coming out later this month- It’s called Take Me Tonight and stars a yummy “wiseguy” type hero! I’ve read a sample chapter and it looks terrific!

So… let’s have a for reading!

Now tell me, anybody read any of the above books and care to discuss? Or read something else you’re dying to talk about? What about upcoming releases–what are you all looking forward to?

PS: Don’t forget…editor Brenda Chin is going to be our special guest blogger this Thursday, March 15! Don’t miss it!

PSS: One more thing…we’re getting ready to send out our first Plotmonkeys newsletter! Thanks for your patience in waiting for it…and if you’re not subscribed yet, it’s not too late!