Harry Potter, Game of Thrones and Stephen King (or what I read when I'm sick)

If you're going to get the stomach bug in the middle of July (and I don't recommend it), it helps if you happen to be sick when ABC Family is having a Harry Potter weekend.  At least if you are a Harry Potter fan.  It requires little effort - having read the books and seen the movies, you already know what is going to happen.  It doesn't matter if you doze off in the middle of The Order of the Phoenix. Or if you decide mid-movie to retire to your bedroom to lie in front of the fan and read.  This is a pretty accurate description of my last few days.
After a pretty miserable Thursday night, I spent the better part of Friday and Saturday alternating between bed with a book and the couch watching whatever Harry Potter movie happened to be on at the moment.
My main book at the moment is Garlic and Sapphires, by Ruth Reichl - about her experiences as a food critic for the NY Times.  As you might expect, the last thing I wanted to read about this past weekend was food.  So I put it aside in favor of others...
I've been slowly wandering through the Game of Thrones series this summer - my second (or maybe third) trip through the Seven Kingdoms.  I was horrified at the end of this season's final episode, and have been working my way through the books to refresh my memory.  (Don't worry - no spoilers here!) So I spent a better part of Thursday and Friday lying in bed with A Clash of Kings.
When that got too heavy, I swapped it out for Stephen King's Duma Key...for some reason it has been on my mind recently and happened to catch my eye as I was back in my spot on the couch on Saturday.  I got further with that than Clash of Kings because it is a faster read and there are fewer characters to keep track of.  And generally, once I start a Stephen King, I just want to keep reading until I'm done.
I'm now about halfway through both books, which isn't bad considering I've done very little else for the past few days.  Except, of course, lying on the couch watching Harry Potter.  Even as I write this, Deathly Hallows is playing in the background.  As I've mentioned a few posts back, I had started reading the Harry Potter series with my nephew Ryan.  As it turns out, we got mid-way through The Sorcerer's Stone before he went away on a family vacation. A text from my sister a few days in to their trip asked permission for him to read ahead.  Never one to discourage a kid from reading, I said absolutely.  By the time he got home, he was nine chapters into Chamber of Secrets and dying to talk about it.  So, I am letting him read the rest of the books on his own.  As soon as I put my hands on my copy of The Hobbit, we're going to start on that.  In the meantime, however, I'm enjoying watching him experience the world of Harry Potter for the first time.
Despite a miserable couple of days, I'm happy to say my fictional favorites have gotten me through and I'm back in the land of the living. With some help, of course, from my fabulous husband, who was handy with sympathy and Gatorade when I needed it!

Paperback Swap

I know I've mentioned that I have imposed a self-ban on visits to library book sales.  The problem is that I come home with a bag of books to add to the already imposing pile of books I currently have on hand.  (And that is after weeding out a bunch when we moved last October)

However, I do still find myself in search of a particular book here and there.  When that is the case, my first source is paperbackswap.com.  This site allows you to list the books you own that you are willing to part with.  (Not an easy thing, I know)

If I remember correctly, when I first signed up, I got credits after listing my first 10 books.  Every time someone requests a book from you, you simply pay the postage to ship the book, and you receive a credit.  It couldn't be easier - you can even print a label with postage and just drop the book in the nearest mailbox.  Once you have credits, you request the books you want from another member and they ship to you.

One of my favorite things about Paperback Swap is the wish list.  If there is a particular book I want, that is not available at the moment, I simply add it to my wish list.  As soon as someone posts the book, I will receive a notification indicating the book is available and giving me the option to request it.  If more than one person is wishing for the same book, you go into a queue for the book in order of request.  You can even see on your wish list where you are in the queue for a particular book, and an estimate as to how soon it might become available for you.

At the moment, I have a handful of books on my wish list, including the last five books in the Trixie Belden series (35-39).  I've got almost a full set, just missing those last five which are harder to come by.  They are pretty expensive, even "used" on Amazon, so I have not yet purchased them.  In the meantime, they are on my Paperback Swap wish list on automatic request.  So as long as I have credits in my account, I will automatically get the request when my turn comes up.

To date, I have shipped 149 books and received 123.  The farthest away was 3,383 miles, although my average is 1,083 miles.  You can even pull up a map of where you have shipped to and received books from, which is pretty neat!

If you are looking for an inexpensive way to pick up new books, and maybe get rid of a few of your own, paperbackswap.com is a great option.

Finders Keepers

"Wake up, genius" - the opening line of Stephen King's newest book - Finders Keepers - gave me shivers.  As part of my overactive imagination, I occasionally wake from a sound sleep thinking I've heard someone say something in my ear.  It can be scary, but is never real.

In the case of John Rothstein, however, the voice that wakes him belongs to Morris Bellamy.  Morris and his co-conspirators have broken in with the intent to rob Rothstein's safe.  They are in it for the money, yes, but in Morrie's case he is more interested in the notebooks full of unpublished Rothstein material. 

And he has a bone to pick with Rothstein. John Rothstein's "Runner" trilogy has left main character Jimmy Gold a sell-out, fading into a world of suburbia and taking a job in advertising.  Morris is furious that Rothstein has done this to his fictional idol, and exacts revenge. 

Some unforseen circumstances wind Morris back in jail, but not before he has a chance to bury a trunk full of the cash and notebooks.

Meanwhile, Pete Saubers and his family are struggling.  His dad was injured by a lunatic who drove a car into a crowd of people lined up for a job fair.  The very same lunatic who was captured by Bill Hodges and friends in Mr. Mercedes.  They are struggling, that is, until Pete discovers the trunk. Everything is great until the money runs out and Pete decides to attempt to sell the notebooks to a shady seller of rare books.

Because Morris is finally, after decades of rotting in prison, out on parole.  The only thing on his mind is digging up the trunk and reading the notebooks.  He cares less about the money and more about whether the notebooks contain additional Jimmy Gold novels.  He is beyond furious when he digs up an empty trunk.

Enter Bill Hodges, Holly Gibney, and Jerome Robinson - the heroes of Mr. Mercedes.  Now running a "recovery" firm, they are approached by Pete's sister Tina, who is concerned that Pete has a dangerous secret and quickly become embroiled in a rescue mission.  Throughout, it begins to appear that Bill is still borderline obsessed with Brady Hartsfield - Mr. Mercedes himself.

The second book in the Bill Hodges series, Finders Keepers is a good follow up to Mr. Mercedes.  Of the two, I liked Mr. Mercedes better, but that generally is the case in a series.  It's the first book that makes me want to read the second.  But Finders Keepers certainly holds its own.  The ongoing story of Morris and Pete kept me hanging on through the very end. 

I have very rarely met a Stephen King book that I didn't like. I'm happy to say that Finders Keepers did not disappoint.

One Wish

I may have said this before, but I am a sucker for a good series.  Generally, if I read the first book in a series, I will read them all. Robyn Carr, for example, hooked me with her Virgin River series.  Normally, I prefer to start a series at the beginning and read in chronological order. With Virgin River, I read them as I got my hands on them, because I liked them so much.  I want to live there, or at least visit.  I would very much like to pull up a stool at Jack's bar.

Imagine my delight, then, when I learned that Robyn Carr was starting a new series, this one set in the town of Thunder Point.  I tore my way through the first three books, and then whipped through the next three when Erin loaned them to me earlier this year.  When I spotted number 7, One Wish, on Erin's bookshelf, I grabbed it for a quick read.  I was not disappointed.

The thing I love about these books is that, while they incorporate characters from the previous books, each book focuses specifically on one couple.  One Wish tells the story of Grace Dillon, flower shop owner.  In her earlier life, Grace was better known as figure skating superstar Izzy Banks, until she unexpectedly retired from competition and disappeared from public life.  She is happily settled in Thunder Point, running a thriving business.

Meanwhile, Troy Headly is looking for someone to have fun with.  Until recently, his attentions have been focused on Grace's best friend Iris.  That is, until Iris informed him that they were better off as friends and married the man she'd been in love with since she was a child.  Recovering from a broken heart, Troy turns to Grace for companionship.  Their friendship soon turns to more.

Of course, it's not all fun and flowers for Grace and Troy, as the life she thought she'd put behind her begins to rear its head.  Complications in her life, and in their relationship, keep the story moving and keep the reader rooting for things to work out for the best.

One Wish was exactly what I needed before diving head first into the new Stephen King that arrived in the mail last week.  A quick, upbeat read that is perfect for summer vacation reading.  I look forward to the next installment of this series, which happens to share the same name as my favorite Star Wars movie: A New Hope.  Stay tuned for more on the town of Thunder Point...

How many stars

In honor of the holiday weekend and the stars and stripes, here's a little bit about how I rate books, specifically on Goodreads.  The rating system on Goodreads allows for a rating of between one and five stars.  Here are my definitions for those stars:

Five stars is reserved for books that I truly love.  The ones I read over and over again and never get enough of.  Books like The Outsiders, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, To Kill A Mockingbird.  The ones that made me fall in love with reading and writing.

I have to seriously enjoy a book to even give it four stars.  The last book I gave four stars was Me Before You by Jojo Moyes, which I finished with tears streaming down my face.  If a book moves me enough to want to tell someone "You have to read this book," I will give it four stars.

My go to rating is three stars.  If I read a book and enjoy it enough to pass it on to a friend or family member, it gets three stars.  It probably didn't blow me away, but it was a decent read.

Two stars is dipping into dangerous territory.  Generally a two-star rating goes to a book that I had to force myself to finish.  I tend to give a book fifty pages before dropping it.  If I get past 50 pages, and still end up not enjoying it, that's a two-star book for me.

Like the five-star, a one-star rating is rare for me.  I have to genuinely hate a book to rate it one star. There have been a couple of book club reads that I ended up rating one star.  I actually finished one about an hour before our meeting, muttering "I hate this book," as I slogged my way through the final pages.  I won't mention the name of the book, but I will never read a book by that author again. 

Even more rare than a one-star is a book I can't finish.  I have a hard time with this, because I always want to give a book a chance to change my mind.  But in the interest of saving time, I came up with my 50 page rule.  If I get 50 pages into a book and still can't find a redeeming quality in it, I will put it down.  I don't even bother rating these, I just remove them from my Goodreads list.