[  Mood: Sleepy ]
[ Currently: Getting Ready for Bed ]
Realized today that the funniest line in Star Wars is:

"These blast marks are far too accurate for Sand People. Only imperial Stormtroopers are so precise."

Because given that Imperial Stormtroopers couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn when they were standing two feet from it, this makes the Sand People really crappy shooters.

[  Mood: Happy ]
There is much to be said for the Internet and book services like Goodreads and LivingSocial. You can find similar books to the ones you love, and get suggestions from friends. In spite of all this technobibliographic help, there is something to be said for wandering through the stacks of your local library or book store. Sometimes you stumble across a cover like this:

How could I resist?

Dwight is a looser, with a capital LOOSER, but when he invents and origami Yoda puppet that seems to be able to tell the future. Soon Dwight is sought out by kids who want Yoda to give them advice on topics such as their love life or how to deal with bullies. But Dwight’s friend Tommy isn’t sure how real is this prognostication. Especially since he has a very important question to ask.

This book is a clever tale of boys on the edges of the social plane aimed at the Grades 4 to 6 set. Written as a series of case files with commentary, it is also accessible to the Middle School group who are into the high interest-low vocab books or are Star Wars fans. The crazy, kid-style illustration only serve to bump up the humour even more. Author Tom Angleberger has set the right tone for this boy friendly tale.

[  Mood: Shocked ]
[  Currently: Listening to CBC ]

I love high fantasy. As a teenager I practically memorized the Belgariad and was always looking for the next great story of questing and wizardry. Modern high fantasy has taken a very gritty, but delicious, turn with the likes George R.R. Martin and Joe Abercrombie. But I sometimes still long for a nice, old fashion "young man’s journey into adulthood" high fantasy. So imagine how happy I was to find The Summoner.

Being the Spare is not all it’s cracked up to be, especially when the Heir is a psychotic jerk. This is Tris’s world. He is the second son from the second marriage of the king of Margolan. His older brother, Jared, is bully who is jealous of his brother’s popularity with the people. So when Jared kills their father, the king, Tris knows he needs to flee.

This sets up a breakneck race across the country as Tris tries to make it to a neighbouring kingdom where his uncle is king. Add to this the problem of Tris’s burgeoning necromancy powers. It appears that more than just being able to see dead people, he is actually the magical heir of his late Grandmother, Bava K’aa. This would mean he is a summoner, a mage who is able to ease the transition of the dead to the other side and summon them to do his bidding.

Author Gail Martin has created a solid high fantasy novel that is a bit of a throwback to the works of the 80s, but with just enough grittiness and inventive world building to give it a freshness. Despite it’s size, this novel is a very easy read that will leave you satisfied.

[  Mood: Scared ]

In my never ending quest to find genre books to feed to the Harry Potter addicts in my life. This title was suggested by a friend. I endeavoured to track it down.

Boy am I glad she did.

Nita just wanted a place to hide from the bullies who were chasing her. She ended up in the children’s section of the library, a place she knew intimately. So when a new book (entitled So You Want to Be a Wizard) catches her eye, she takes it home. This book is a how to guide that leads Nita into a series of adventures with talking trees, sentient cars and dimensional travel. She also learns about confidence, strength and how to really deal with bullies.

Written years before Harry Potter, is clearly an inspiration for Rowling like the works of LeGuin and others. Author Diane Duane has created a unique magic system that blends science and magic to the point that they believably coexist.

An easy, quick read, this book owes far more to science fiction than high fantasy, as Duane actually tries to explain the science behind the magic. The edition I read also includes a Nita and Kit short story that explores time travel further.

[  Mood: Sleepy ]
[  Currently: Listening to CBC Radio ]

This next book is one of those that I was exposed to because of meeting the author at Polaris.

Solange Drake is not looking forward to her sixteenth birthday. Unlike most of her friends, she is not going to have a birthday party nor is she going to get a car. Being the child of an ancient Vampire family, Solange has her transformation into a vampire to look forward to. And given that she is the first girl to be a vampire born rather than a vampire made, Solange is also apparently the fulfilment of ancient prophecy. Sometimes a girl can’t catch a break

This teen vampire romance could have been a pale imitation of Twilight or one of the tens of others that are out there. Instead it is a nice deviation in the vampire mythos, filled with humour and strong female characters, for once. Author Alexandra Harvey has crafted a tale that will satisfy all but the most jaded vampire fan. Accessible for readers as young as Grade 8.

[  Mood: Sick ]
[  Currently: Listening to CBC Radio ]

Zombiekins was brought to my attention when the author, Sean Bolger, was kicked out of a local school by the principal during a reading because she found the topic objectionable. When the dust settled, said pricipal claimed that she miss heard the name of a character, Old Lady Imavitch and felt she had to protect the children. With such a ringing endorsement from Mrs. Lovejoy, I knew I had to read this book.

No one in the town of Dementedyville ever goes near Old Lady Imavitch’s house, until the day there is a garage sale. Then the town can’t wait to buy her stuff. Against his better judgment, Stanley decides to buy the beat-up teddy bear with the bunny ear, a dangly eye and claws. And instead of listening to the warning of the creepy old lady, Stanley trows out the box with the instructions and takes the stuffed animal home.

Stanley awakes to a scene of horror in the playroom. All the other stuffed animals have been vivesectioned. Only Zombiekins was spared. Thinking it was the dog’s fault, Stanley takes they toy to school. Soon his school mates are turning into zombies. Can Stanley find the cure in time?

A funny, fresh, and surprisingly age appropriate, take on zombies from Ottawa author and teacher, Kevin Bolger. This will appeal to the junior boy with it’s gross out humour and cartoon illustrations. There are times that Bolger is not writing for the young, but rather the parents who might read the book to their children. Fun stuff.

[  Mood: Happy ]
[  Currently: Watching Franklin the Turtle – Don’t ask. ]

Things are not going well for Harry Dresden. His long time love Susan is back with a revelation that rocks his world. The White Council has been taken over by a man than is either stupid or evil. Meanwhile a crooked cop has Dresden and Murphy in his sights and has dragged the FBI into the equation. And to top it off, the Red Court is up to something, and it may or may not be linked to everything else that is going on.

Author Jim Butcher has once again crafter a tense, fast moving mystery/thriller that pushes the main character Harry Dresden in to some very dark places. He wheels and deals his way through the plot, making difficult choices as ally after ally is either stripped away or isolated by the forces movie against him. And the title Changes is exactly what this book brings. Dresden’s world will never be the same again.

And holy freakin’ cliffhanger endings. I will now have to wait a whole year for the next book. Damn you, Butcher!!!!

I thought I would show you how I spent my last 30 minutes. I had to get this Donnelly rearview mirror separated from its mounting bracket. In theory, the spring-latched bracket should have been a snap to disengage, but I spent a long time googling the issue and poking at it before I discovered the trick. I even looked up the original patent sketches, patent number 4936533, and that proved even more confusing.

So to keep you from spending the same amount of time trying to disassemble a rear view mirror, I’m going to show you the trick right now.

The secret is to ignore the spring latch at the front, that’s just a decoy. You’re actually aiming for the spring at the back. Slip a small screwdriver or stiff rod through the access hole, and press it against the back spring while putting pressure on the mount to slide forward.

The arrow points at the access hole.

Here’s what it looks like inside. The arrow is the path your screwdriver will have to travel to unlatch the spring.

And one more photo so you can get an idea what’s in there.

[  Mood: Cool ]
[ Currently: Chatting with my husband via Facebook. He’s in the same roo ]

I am a HUGE Barry Lyga fan. A former comic book writer, Lyga has turned his attention to teen books. Since then, he has consistently turned out works that are honest looks at teen life. They also deal with issues that they care about, without taking the After School Special route.

At the end of Lyga’s first novel the Astonishing Adventures of Fan Boy and Goth Girl, Kyra Sellers (Goth Girl) was being shipped of to a mental hospital after her father found out about the bullet she had stolen from Donald (Fanboy). Goth Girl Rising opens with Kyra returning from her institutionalization very angry. She feels that Fanboy has abandoned her and she is out to get revenge.

As Kyra works out how to exact her revenge, we see Goth Girl’s relationship with her father, whom she calls Roger. The two are struggling to deal with her mother’s death from lung cancer several years before. Roger, the smoker, has with drawn and gone numb, while Goth Girl has taken to lashing out.

We also get to meet Goth Girl’s other friends in this book. There is Simone, the girl who sleeps with boys to make herself feel loved and is constantly urging Goth Girl to lose her virginity. Goth Girl’s other friend Jecca proves to be more of conundrum. She and Goth Girl exchange kisses, yet Jecca purports to be in love with a boy.

This is the first time that Lyga has written a novel from the female point of view. For the most part he succeeds, capturing Goth Girl’s anger at her mother’s death and father’s distancing himself quite well. Her thoughts on the supposed power in a female body are also quite true to form.

This is a good outing and worth picking up. Teens and up due to language and situations. Still debating if this is going to make the next After Harry.

[  Mood: Amused ]

Charles de Lint is a Canadian author, who actually hails from my town of Ottawa (some of his books have been even set here). He has written many, many novels and won the World Fantasy Award. Recently, I picked up his 2004 novel, the Blue Girl.

Our main character, Imogene is determined to change. A new school means a new beginning, right? First step is to find a friend that is completely different from the group she used to run with. Who cares that this friend, Maxine, is an outcast with a control freak for a mother. Imogene’s grades are going up and she is learning to control her temper.

But there’s a problem.

Imogene’s new school is haunted by the ghost of a student who threw themselves off the roof years ago. He’s got a crush on Imogene and has turned to his fairy friends for help. Unfortunately the fairies involved have some problems with making the best choices. Their attempts to get Imogene to notice them bring the attentions of something far more sinister. Add to that the reappearance of Imogene’s childhood imaginary friend, who can now be seen by other people, and you have an exciting book.

Well written, this book is aimed at the teen set. There is tension, smart plotting and a real sense of what high school is like. Fans of de Lint’s Newford set (of which this book is a part)will recognize some characters as spear carriers. Imogene is a very powerful character, a real role model for troubled teens trying to straighten out.

This book will find its way into an upcoming After Harry.