Sharon Lee and Steve Miller's Liaden Universe has always been a joy to visit, and I have a copy of their latest, "Ghost Ship" on it's way to me now. They recently did an interview about their collaboration as authors and the next book out in the series, Dragon Ship. Read more here:http://nerdcaliber.com/blogs/?tag=sharon-lee-steve-miller
I also saw the last Harry Potter movie over the weekend, and, like everyone else in the audience, cried like a baby, especially at the end, when Harry is saying goodbye to his son at the train station as his son embarks on his schooling at Hogwarts. The theater I attended was packed, and apparently most theaters showing the film were too. Here's more from Shelf Awareness on the subject:Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, which opened Friday, http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz11394286
broke all kinds of records over the weekend, in a magical tale told by
the New York Times. The box office in North America was $168.6 million, a weekend record that broke the old record set by The Dark Knight. Friday's take of $92
million in North America--which included $43.5 million at midnight
screenings--was a new one-day record, beating The Twilight Saga: New
Moon. Worldwide weekend sales were $476 million, and the eight Harry Potter
movies have now sold more than $7 billion in tickets.
A couple more interesting articles from Shelf Awareness:
http://flavorwire.com/193101/weird-writing-habits-of-famous-authors
http://www.salon.com/books/readers_and_reading/index.html?story=/books/laura_miller/2011/07/11/reading_retreats
That last one has me filled with yearning to go on a retreat where all I have to do is read glorious books all day long, eat inbetween, sleep a bit and that's all. No interruptions, no work, no housekeeping and no TV to sidetrack me from reading. Oh how dearly I'd love to take a vacation and go on a reading retreat!
Despite the interruptions of life, I did manage to read all four of Gail Carriger's steampunk novels chronicling the life of Alexia Tarabotti, a "Soulless" (the title of the first novel) in a re-imagined Victorian England full of vampires, werewolves and ghosts. Alexia is a preternatural woman whose lack of soul allows her to touch supernatural beings, such as vampires and werewolves, and render them mortal for as long as she's in contact with them. She can also exorcise ghosts whose physical body is disintegrating and whose souls need to move on as they disintegrate as well. Carringer's prose is extremely witty, British and full of zest, as are her swift and sure plots and her brilliantly-drawn characters. After reading Soulless, I couldn't wait to delve into "Changeless", "Blameless" and finally "Heartless", which had one of the busiest endings I've ever read. "Timeless" the fifth novel in the series is due out in March of next year, and I find it difficult to contemplate the next 6 months without my friend Alexia and her exciting world of supernaturals and tea. I highly recommend these books for anyone who enjoys well-written fantasy, as they are an great way to get into the "Steampunk" genre.
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