Latest video. I'm doing my first book unboxing here, coincidentally (though I don't necessarily believe in coincidences) tied to my first purchase at Bookoutlet.com. It's a small wonder, though. See, months ago when I discovered Bookoutlet, I wasn't particularly crazy about it. I think I browsed the site twice and only ran across maybe two books that I really wanted. And those books weren't a desperate-to-own. So I passed. I talked a little smack about the site's overabundance in YA novels (that was my poor perception at the time), and moved along. Recently I tried them again. This time I took my Amazon Wishlist and did a "cross check" where I browsed for specific titles that I knew were desperate-to-own. Lo and behold I checked out with four titles and spent less than $24. I consider that a fawning success. While the titles are probably noted as remainders, they are all in perfect condition. However, Bookoutlet marks the condition of several books as otherwise for consumer awareness. They also list the stock amount of available books. Which kid of pissed me off because had I paid attention to those small numbers before, I would've had a cheaper copy of Octavia Butler's Parable of the Talents by now. Boo-hoo!
So I got...
1. A Thousand Lives by Julia Scheeres
Without a doubt this is going to be a dark, dark read. Anyone familiar with Jim Jones and the Jonestown tragedy that took place in the 1970s understands that there is probably nothing bright seeping out of this book. Nevertheless, for the curiously nosy information freak that I am, I decided Julia Scheeres [Jesus Land] would provide a familiar narrative to the unfolding of this horrific event. Needless to say, this is going to make for a page-turner. While I'm familiar with its subject matter through watching several documentaries throughout the years, I've never went into educating myself on the hard details concerning Jonestown. Stacked with referenced facts and recounts, I have to say that I am ready for the dive. And it's next on my TBR.
2. The Complete Keeper Chronicles by Tanya Huff
Long ago Tanya Huff was pointed out to me as a slicker alternative to Laurell K Hamilton. To be specific, Huff's short-lived Victoria Nelson series shined as a better, comparable alternative. Within five books and a short story omnibus, Toronto homicide detective turn P.I., Victoria (Vicky) Nelson, teamed up with her ex-partner and a centuries old vampire to deal out ass-whoopings to several paranormal uglies squatting the urban (and one rural) Canadian streets. While that series makes an easy five stars, Huff's range stretches in further directions, including fantasy and sci-fi. So color me anxious to read more by her. The Keeper Chronicles trilogy is urban fantasy, with a high emphasis on fantasy done in ways other than vampires and zombies. To my pre-mature awareness I should say. I passed on the series until a couple of years ago when I bought the first book at a used bookstore. I got a good 40 pages in when I put it down and read something else. Never to pick it back up. But I held on to it. Like we all do. Until two years ago when the trilogy was released as an omnibus edition and my interest peeked back up. Took me a minute, but I finally got it at a great price--thanks to BookOutlet. So far, we have a bed-and-breakfast setting, a talking cat, and a ghost. No giving up this time!
3. Hurricane by Jewell Parker Rhodes
I have gushed about my love of this particularly series in minute details throughout Comic Towel and my videos. It's New Orleans setting, shrouded in old spells mixed with murder mysteries and some hospital drama, just lights me up. Part of a trilogy, Hurricane is the final foray into the world of doctor Marie Laveau nee Levant, and her double life as a mystery-solving-voodoo-priestess. I'm hoping her journey goes out with a bang, especially considering the first book (Voodoo Season) put this series on a high bar for a person with interest in such subjects as voodoo spells and mysteries. The magic within this series has always been how Rhodes serves readers an intelligent woman of color solving mysteries, underneath the veil of commanding the powers of her ancestor, the infamous (and historical based) voodoo queen of Louisiana, Marie Laveau. While the first book features a cult and zombies, and the second book (Yellow Moon) an African vampire spirit called wazimamoto, Hurricane takes on Hurricane Katrina. And that's all I know at this point, but my thirst and trust in this author's delivery is so real. Be sure that once I finish this book, it'll be splashed all over this blog.
4. Innocent Blood by P.D. James
I've never read any of the Adam Dalgliesh mysteries by English crime writer, P.D. James. However, what I have read by her was the first book in her two-book Cordelia Gray series called An Unsuitable Job For a Woman. Needless to say, I loved the book. It features a young woman P.I. solving a seemingly domestic suicide that turns into a complex (and sometimes leaning toward convoluted) murder case. Did I say that I was in love with this book? Of course I did. However, the second book, The Skull Beneath the Skin, was too much of a bore for me to complete it. Though I plan too. Innocent Blood isn't a part of either the Cordelia Gray or Adam Dalgliesh series. It's a stand alone mystery. According to the synopsis, the adopted, Philippa Palfrey, turns 18 and decides it's time to find her real parents. While she has always envisioned aristocratic ties within her heritage, what she encounters is a little more bloody than she anticipated. I've wanted to read this book for years based off the synopsis. Finally, it's within my grasp.
With all that said... all I can scream is...
With all that said... all I can scream is...
Thanks everyone.
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