BTT: Replay

This week's Booking Through Thursday question is:

Have you ever finished a book and loved it so much you went right back and started re-reading it again?

Oh definitely! When I find a book that I particularly enjoyed reading, I'd read that book again and again. Sometimes to a point where I unwittingly memorized passages, or if someone asks something about the book, I'd say that it can be found in chapter so and so.

Here are some of the books I've read and reread:

• Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones 
• Blue Smoke by Nora Roberts 
• The Solitaire Mystery by Jostein Gaarder 
• All of the Harry Potter books, particularly The Half-Blood Prince and The Deathly Hallows. I've even memorized the opening paragraphs of chapter six of the Deathly Hallows because I listened to it when trying to go to sleep.
• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
• The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown

I realize my books seem a bit pedestrian, but hey, I don't judge a book by its cover. :) What are your replays?

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 trailer

In the news today: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 trailer is released. Fans (myself included) are going crazy with excitement.



I got chills watching this. I'm all excited for July 15, but I'm also sad that it's going to end. It's one thing for the books to end, which didn't really feel like it because you had the movies to look forward to. But with this final installment coming closer, it truly feels like it's the end.

The Harry Potter series is not the best I've read. But it's epic. Truly, truly epic. While I was no longer a child when I read it, I was still young enough to love it. Thank you Jo. Thank you Dan, Rupert, Emma and everyone who made the movie possible. It was an amazing ride.

BTT: Visual

This week's question from Booking Through Thursday:

So … the books that you own (however many there may be) … do you display them proudly right there in plain sight for all the world to see? (At least the world that comes into your living room.)

Or do you keep them tucked away in your office or bedroom or library or closet or someplace less “public?”

I intentionally keep my book in my room. Mostly because there isn't any space outside of it where I can put them. Plus, I'm a bit possessive about them. I rarely let people borrow my books because I have this feeling they won't take care of it as well as I do. I guess that's a factor why my books are usually in my room.

Rest in peace, Diana Wynne Jones

Diana Wynne Jones, author of "Howl's Moving Castle", The Chrestomanci Chronicles and the Dark Lord of Derkholm, has passed away today, March 26, 2011. She was 76 years old.

Jones was diagnosed with lung cancer in the summer of 2009. She underwent surgery in July and told her friends that it had been successful. In June 2010 she stopped chemotherapy saying that it only made her feel "very ill".

Jones, aside from the books mentioned earlier, has penned several stories that have become favorites all over the world. "Howl's Moving Castle" was adapted into an animated film by acclaimed Japanese director, Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli. She enjoys a friendship with popular author, Neil Gaiman, to whom she dedicated her book "Hexwood" to.

Our prayers and thoughts go out to Ms. Jones' family and friends. Even though we haven't met her, we feel a kinship to her through her books. Your words and worlds will live on. Rest in peace.

Dana Marie Bell: Paranormal romance author

I recently discovered Dana Marie Bell, a paranormal erotic romance writer. I'm not much a fan of paranormal books, even though I read Sherrilyn Kenyon and Nora Roberts. However, I liked the premise of "Cat of a Different Color" when I first read it, so I decided to give the book a try.

After reading it, I got interested in the other books of the series and decided to get them as well. I didn't expect to like the Halle Puma series, but I did.

The Halle Puma series is about the Pride of a town called Halle. Half of it's residents are weres, or shifters. In this world, weres live alongside humans, much as wizards and witches live alongside humans like in Harry Potter. And like in HP, their existence is not known to humans.

It's also interesting to see an established hierarchy within the Pride, as it is with the other groups --- the wolves, coyotes, foxes and the bears, although the foxes and bears are mostly by groups of families rather than community.

Big communities are headed by the Alpha. The second-in-command is the Beta. In charge of the physical well-being of the group is the Marshall and his second. Last of the hierarchy is the Omega, who connects emotionally with the members of the community. Shifters mate, and while it the mate for a lifetime, some shifters can have two mates. With the Puma, the Alpha's mate is called "Curana", while wolves call her "Luna".

I'm a fan of series. I like reading books that have connections, especially if I meet a character in one book that catches my interest. The Halle Puma series is just that, running five books and even having a spin-off of another series. I love the dynamics of the group, how they treat each other with respect and can joke around without offending one another. Dana Marie Bell's writing is also fluid and realistic, it's not hard to imagine how the characters would be in real life. I do get overwhelmed by the dialogue sometimes, like I'm not sure who's talking and what they are talking about, but that's pretty few in between scenes, as they're mostly fast paced.



I just finished the first of her Heart's Desire series, "Shadow of the Wolf". I hope she continues with the series. I can't wait to read more about the Beckett brothers. I'm also looking forward to the rest of the Halle Shifters series. For more information about her books, you can check out her website and her blog.