AnnaLovesBooks

Childrens' book, board book, ages 0-3, first words



ISBN 0671421093 - Using cute drawings of children and toys and just seven words doesn't really sound like a recipe for a winner, in books, does it? In Helen Oxenbury's hands, however, it is most definitely just that.

Each two-page spread features a toy in picture and word on the left and a child playing with that toy on the right.

Typical board book pages are sturdy enough to stand up to much rough handling and the thickness of the pages makes turning the pages much easier for small hands. The illustrations aren't excessively detailed, keeping the focus on the word on each page. Children will love getting to know Oxenbury and get started on their way to a lifelong love of reading.

- AnnaLovesBooks

Romance, Paranormal


ISBN 0425226476 – Mona Lisa is a half-dead, possessed, vampiric, shape-shifting, half-demon, alien queen and a bit of a floozy. And she’s not especially attractive. If you’re still reading, this may be just the book for you.

Mona Lisa, in her role as queen of her people, draws down the light and energy of the moon. That’s what she’s doing when tragedy strikes and she finds herself in NetherHell, with no solid answer for how she got there or how to escape. Things are made more complex when Mona Louisa, a former, evil queen whose essence shares Mona Lisa’s body, is suddenly able to communicate with her – not to mention taking over control of their shared body. The two women must work together in order to get their one body out of NetherHell before it’s too late. The only things standing between them and freedom are the gargoyle king who’s captured them, the portal to Hell and the fact that one of them actually belongs in NetherHell. Meanwhile, in Hell and on earth, several of Mona Lisa’s various lovers hope and fight for her to return to them.

Author Sunny, whose single name seems a bit of an affectation, has done a reasonable job of making this fourth installment in the series stand on its own. It’s possible to read this one without having read the others, although you will quickly get the impression that you might be missing a sense of history. Still, even fans of a genre that is filled with vampires and demons and the undead are bound to wonder at the variety of “creatures”, not within the book as a whole, but just within the person of Mona Lisa. The sex scenes, while smoking, don’t follow traditional romance novel rules because, apparently, sexual fidelity doesn’t inhibit the Monere. This lack of romance within this romance novel makes the ending a little head-spinning. Who Mona Lisa ends up with, and how, is almost entirely inexplicable and comes completely from out of the blue. The story is interesting and readers of the series will want to read it for the through story, but if this is the end of the tale for Mona Lisa, it’s definitely ending with a whimper.

- AnnaLovesBooks

I started out today, looking for the latest evil deeds committed by Amazon.com because there's been a rash of them lately and I love a good evil deed story. Came across Amazon warns California over sales tax bill and Amazon fires warning shot at California over sales tax bill.

This isn't a stunning story. Amazon has made threats like this to other states and, every now and then, one of them refers to New York's law. I'm not sure where I stand, here. I sell online, too - through Amazon, among other places - and pay sales taxes for sales within my state. Hit me with sales taxes on every sale and I'll probably build a fort out of my books and hide. Still, even I, big fan of finding evil-Amazon stories, am getting tired of the headlines. Amazon warns... fires warning shot... threatens... Hyperbole, much?

Anyway, I stumbled across a more important story (at the moment) along the way. Ohio Governor Proposes Halving State Support; Many Libraries Could Close

Trying to close a $3.2 billion gap by June 30, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland today proposed “resiz[ing] state government in line with the shrinking economy,” prioritizing “extremely limited resources toward critical health and safety service,” and—though not saying so in his speech—severely cutting library aid.

Folks are all a-twitter. If you're interested in keeping up with the story, The Library is Now Closed is blogging away.




Sales of the I heart Ted Strickland shirt are way down, needless to say. Maybe if they'd offer them with the old black circle and line...



Anna

We're good to go. Or maybe we're good to get ready to get going. We're about one step short of fully prepared. That's it!

It's time to begin actively recruiting reviewers. FINALLY!

The first thing that needs reviewing is our FAQ, so feel free to let us know what we've missed. Our new FAQ page is here. I know we've missed something, that's just the way it goes. A new pair of eyes will usually find it when I can't. Complaint #1 is that there's no navigation on the pages - I know, my bad, use your BACK button until it's fixed.

For those who like the short version of things:
Request an account, get access to blog your reviews (and other book-related info) here.
To get (and keep) the ball rolling, we're supplying used books for review.
Books available for review are here. Author/publisher provided books will also be listed there. The request form is at the BOTTOM of that page.
Request a book - get it free!
Review, repeat.

It doesn't get simpler and can only get cheaper if someone PAYS you.

Anna

Amazon boss Jeff Bezos sounds like he's whining when he comments on Google Books.

Bezos was not very agreeable when it came to Google and its plans to scan "orphan" books, or those without copyright holders, into a massive digital library.

"We have strong opinions that I'm not going to share," he said. "That settlement needs to be revisited and it is being revisited. It doesn't seem right to get a prize for violating a large series of copyrights."

The story and the story he's "not" commenting on.

Google isn't violating anything, other than Bezos's territory, as far as I can tell. See, the first paragraph says "those without copyright holders". It's hard to be sure, but when there's a $125 million agreement, it's hardly the same thing as scanning a book and putting it on The Pirate Bay while flipping off Doubleday, is it?

Should I feel sympathy for poor Jeff? Was he thinking, in a sympathetic way, of booksellers - or publishers, or even authors - when he launched the Kindle? Please. The man is crushing entire industries with that thing and he's going to whine now, about Google? The man needs to get a grip and stop moaning because someone else has come to play his game.

Of course, Bezos is also quoted as saying "I'm grumpy when I'm forced to read a physical book. You can't turn the pages with one hand." Really? Aw, poor grumpy man... OMG, the world's coming to an end! I need two hands to read a book! What the hell kind of endorsement of the Kindle is that? What's the guy doing with his other hand, that it's an issue? He's either lazy or ought to broaden his "reading" horizons.

I love Amazon, and I'm not actually a fan of Google, at all. But I am so annoyed by the feeling here that Jeff thinks his demolition of other industries is "good business", but if Google comes into the sandbox, he's going to turn into a crybaby.

Go shopping, Jeff - it can be done with one hand.



Anna

I've been allowing my life to be taken over by dustbunnies and dishes, but thanks to Jim and Ginny Maziarka of West Bend, Wisconsin, I have seen the light! This book blog, allowed to languish while I deal with such pressing issues as how to get out of cooking dinner tonight, needed a spark... something to get the fire started... and there they were, giving new meaning to the otherwise affectionate term "Cheese Head".


The Fruitcakes of My Week

These folks would like to ban some books and maybe burn one or two while they're at it. The myriad of articles I've read has me a wee bit confused but the best I can figure... they're afraid of the books. Maybe they're afraid their kids will catch The Gay from certain titles, I don't know.

"We find the books for youth on homosexuality to be biased, gay-affirming, promotional and romanticized," the Maziarkas said in an e-mail sent to the Daily News."

Whatever it is, they seem determined to see Baby Be-Bop burn. "Citing “Wisconsin’s sexual morality law,” the plaintiffs also request West Bend City Attorney Mary Schanning to impanel a grand jury to examine whether the book should be declared obscene and making it available a hate crime.

Yes, indeed, putting a book on a shelf is a hate crime. But suing because you SAW the book, that's reasonable and rational. The claim also demands $120,000 in compensatory damages ($30,000 per plaintiff) for being exposed to the book in a library display, and the resignation of West Bend Mayor Kristine Deiss for “allow[ing] this book to be viewed by the public.”

I suggest that we help Jim and Ginny out. We wouldn't want them exposed to any MORE copies of the book... so go buy one and take it off the streets, before some poor heterosexual child turns queer. And if you'd like to let the West Bend Community Memorial Library know you support them - FEEL FREE!