Sheila's Guests and Reviews

As promised, here's some more book reviews, and I'll see if I can remember to rate them by coffee. Don't forget to click the links for reviews on Gather. Twilight's Ashes, by Auler Ivis : This one has a really interesting premise, but it's a long slow read--instant coffee brewed a little strong? The futuristic world post-global warming is really well-imagined, and there's a rich mixture of ancient and modern belief, symbolism, etc. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows : This has to one of the longest titles ever, but it's perfectly chosen. The book's written in the form of letters between strangers and friends, and it's truly delightful--a family drama, a post-WWII mystery, love, romance, the kindness of strangers, the strangeness of friends... It's just a really good read--and for coffee, I'll try balanced, smooth, full-flavored. Changes, by Jim Butcher : Okay, I'm hooked on the series....

A year ago we wandered round Blockbuster in search of a new TV series to rent. The old ones had just reached the ends of their seasons and the long summer evenings stretched ahead. My husband had heard of the Dresden Files at work, and the cover picture was intriguing, so we made a quick decision, paid our money and went home. Harry Dresden, Chicago wizard. We were hooked… Nine months ago we were wandering round Borders looking for books on tape for the long car journey to our son’s college. Harry Potter would’ve been good, but it cost too much, so we settled for listening to Jim Butcher’s Harry Dresden instead. We were definitely hooked. And though the TV series is good, the books are way way better. So six month ago we searched Powell's for presents, hoping to find some deals. We got books 1 and 2 of the Dresden Files, read them, went back for more, found 3 and 4. Now we’re almost up to date… And less than three months ago in the curious wilds of the blogosphere I met some friend...