Sole December TBR (For Now)!

"With a beautiful, powerful, and sexy Madame Chiang Kai-Shek at the center of one of the great dramas of the twentieth century, this is the story of the founding of modern China.

With the beautiful, powerful, and sexy Madame Chiang Kai-Shek at the center of one of the great dramas of the twentieth century, this is the story of the founding of modern China, starting with a revolution that swept away more than 2,000 years of monarchy, followed by World War II, and ending in eventual loss to the Communists and exile in Taipei. Praised by China scholar Jonathan Spence for “an impressive amount of telling material, drawn from a wide array of sources,” Pakula presents an epic historical tapestry, a wonderfully wrought narrative that brings to life what Americans should know about China—the superpower we are inextricably linked with."

~ The Last Empress on Amazon

All right.  All right.  As much as I want to break open my copy of Toni Braxton’s memoir, Unbreak My Heart, I have to take a step back.  After two years, I finally cracked open my copy of The Last Empress by Hannah Pakula back in October.  I got a good 100 pages into the book before I began to feel the swell of tome-size intimidation.  Great story, nonetheless.  It kept me glued, but I just knew getting through the book was going to take some work.  So I put it down for smaller titles in November.  And now I’m back at this monster of a read!  I’m committed to closing out the year finishing at least another big book.  This will be it.

WISH ME LUCK AND NO READING DISTRACTIONS!

The author...

Doodling on the 9-5

So yeah.  Started a new position and was totally bored (though I find that to be a good thing considering my past position).  Nonetheless, I just wanted to share two doodles I came up with while swerving around in a desk chair trying to come up with future ideas to plot down in my mole skin journal.  As, you know, I’m “working.”  

But, in honesty, I think I kind of burnt myself out blogging.  Yet, that’s nothing new.  By December I’m always in this state.  Anyway, see you in the next post!

(1) Rise of the Tomb Raider: Blind Play-Through

I have to keep this short because I just want the game to speak for itself, but I'm definitely excited to be here.  It's hard to believe I discovered the Tomb Raider series (particularly Lara Croft) around this time of year in 1997.  19 years ago!  Freaking amazing how time flies.  And the fact that I've stuck around and play my way through ever major release is incredible.  But I'll digress from speaking so much more.  Join me in taking on Rise of the Tomb Raider, in celebration of Lara Croft's 20th year anniversary.

6 Ways to Tell a Book Club Edition Book From Original Publishing House Releases

Maybe this’ll sound a little snobbish and petty of me, but I recently received the final two books necessary to fulfill my Nevada Barr Anna Pigeon Mysteries collection.  So, yes!  Finally I have my own copy of book #17 and 18; The Rope and Boar Island respectively.  Anyway, I ordered the two through Thriftbooks.com; bypassing Amazon and Bookoutlet, I figured I would gives these guys a try.  Besides, I did the math and it was just cheaper to go with Thriftbooks.  Especially considering I’ve already read the books over the summer, via the public library.  I just needed personal copies to fill my shelf.  You know, in case one wants to re-read titles without fuss. 

So, without much thought after I placed my order, I waited a week and a day for their arrival.  Only to find out–as I retrieve the packages–that they were…

BOOK CLUB EDITIONS!

Standing at the kitchen table, I unwrapped them and a light expletive just burst out.  Had I done my research, I probably would’ve known better before I ordered them.  Yet, it is what it is.  Still why was I surprised to find my copies were book club editions?  

Then I thought about why in the hell do I carry this tiny stigma against them?  Part of me blames the OCD half of me.  Or the collector who wants his shelf of series-related books to look uniform with one another.  I mean not that I’m totally against book club editions, but that could be part of the blame.

Or not necessarily...

But hey, I'm not the only one!

Nonetheless, I decided to turn this scenario into a post on 6 things to look for between book club edition books and titles from the original publishing house.

1.  The obvious difference is the size of the book.  Book Club Editions are often smaller than the same title sent from the publishing house.  I don’t have a “house” copy of the The Rope to match book-for-book, but Destroyer Angel follows in the Anna Pigeon series.  Identical in their make-up, cover art, uniform, and marketability techniques; you get the picture.  

2.  Besides size and dimensions, Book Club covers lack the graphical effects of books sent from publishing houses.  In the above image, notice how the publishing house book has a metallic gold tint and 3d effect to the author's name and book's title.  Whereas the BCE is just one flat cover. 

Completed Patricia Cornwell's Chaos! Last Interview EVENT!

Well, folks.  I completed the 24th Kay Scarpetta book, Chaos, over the weekend.  Saturday I crunched through the last 187 pages between eating apples and Oreos.  And it was worth all the time.  I'll get back to you all on that, though.  Anyway, with a whole year before the 25th book comes around (with lots of surprises given what took place in the 24th), I'll be quiet about this series from here on out.  At least I think so. 

But in closing the countdown I set up weekly this month for Chaos's release, I now share the last interview event with the author....

Ravenswood Publishing $1 Amazon KINDLE E-Book Holiday Sale!

Book Openers Revisited ~ PART TWO...

~ The Skull Beneath the Skin by P. D. James ~

There’s a lot of history behind this opening scene.  It began in the first book in P. D. James's Cordelia Gray series, An Unsuitable Job for a Woman.  In the opening of that book Cordelia Gray worked as an assistant–turned intern–to a private investigator.  Yet, stepping into his office in that book's opening, she had the misfortune of finding her boss's body.  His death was a suicide, and one with a good-bye letter passing his business on to Cordelia.  

Already an awkward character stuck in a financial crunch; Cordelia wavered on his final request.  Eventually she made the decision to take over his business–just as he trained and legally prepared her.  Fast-forward to this book where Cordelia is completely on her own, and still a little uncomfortable with her new career path.  

So I love the self-conscious reflections seen through a nameplate.  Among other slices of imagery, of course.  To me this opening continues to make Cordelia's character human.  She's uncertain.  Juggling her confidence as an investigator.  However, she recognizes she's already on the path and have to step up to the plate.

Pun intended.

Sadly, there was never a book three.  A TV series featuring a pregnant Cordelia Gray shut James's vigor for writing this character down.

~ Wild Seed by Octavia Butler ~

I’m going to keep this extremely simply by saying: if you haven’t read Butler’s Patternist series, then I FEEL for you!