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On the first anniversary
of his death, a
marvel for the eyes.

My Brother's Book by Maurice Sendak. Harper, 2013, 32 pages.

Damsel Under Stress Shanna Swendson

This is the 3rd book in the Katie Chandler series. Obviously, there are some spoilers for earlier books

Wahoo! Katie and Owen finally got their act (and themselves) together. But, of course, in the world of corporate magic, it all goes to hell in a handbasket immediately.

Ari’s escaped from MSI’s holding cells and it quickly becomes apparent that Irdis is a puppet in a larger plot to bring down Merlin and the MSI team.

Plus, every time Katie and Owen do get a moment together, Katie’s fairy grandmother tries to “help” with disastrous consequences.

Poor Katie and Owen! Owen just gets more and more adorable and Katie’s determination to keep her magical and non-magical lives separate gets harder and harder. I also love how the Irdis plot continues to deepen and thicken, giving it more teeth. Owen also takes Katie home for Christmas, and finally meeting his foster parents explains a lot.

Not my favorite book in the series, but a good bridge novel for the later part of the series.

Book Provided by... my local library

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Fascinating portrait

This is a sketch for a short story called, The Boy In The Leaves, which will be in my short story collection: SHORT STORIES AND OTHER IMAGININGS FOR THE READING SPOT.

Good advice worth

Once Upon Stilettos by Shanna Swendson

Katie Chandler is back! Just a small town Texan girl living in the city. Her friends all think she's normal to a fault, but at work, her normalness is what makes her special. She's Merlin's Assistant at Magic, Spells, and Illusions, Inc. because she's completely immune to magic. She can see through illusions and glamors.

Phelan Idris may have been defeated, but he hasn't given up. In fact, he's now stalking Katie outside of work to try to get under her skin (it's working.) Plus, top secret plans have been stolen from Owen's lab, so no one at MSI is trusting, or talking to anyone else, let alone working as a team. Merlin puts Katie on the task of finding out who's the inside-man and finding a way to boost morale. Plus, she's dating Ethan and trying to have one date where magic doesn't turn it into a disaster. To top it all off, her parents are in town, and it turns out, her mother's also immune.

Katie's barely keeping her head above water, and that's when her immunity goes away. And doesn't come back.

So, Katie explained *why* it took her so long to tell anyone she lost her immunity, but I totally wanted to smack her the entire time about that-- such a stupid decision. I did like Katie's interactions with her parents and how she kept having to come up with new excuses to give her mother about what she was seeing. I also really liked the mystery at play. I was very surprised by who the culprit turned out to be and did NOT see it coming, even though, looking back, the clues were completely there.

I also just love this brand of urban fantasy. Despite the big bads, it's light and fluffy and very fun.

I want more Rod. He's a character that's growing on me and I'd like to delve into that a little more. I also really loved the hilarity of when Katie was no longer immune to him.

But overall, I just like Katie. She's full of plain common sense (except for the stupid decision above) and has a good head on her shoulders. She's a bit insecure around guys, but not in a "oh, I'm so boring and normal and plain but every guy in the world wants me" sort of way. I find her insecurity honest and it doesn't get in the way of everything else. Yes, guys are there, but she has bigger things on her plate, so they're not the major priority.

Overall, it remains a fun series that I'm excited about reading more of.

Book Provided by... my local library

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

A Week to Be Wicked by Tessa Dare.

We first met bookish geologist Minerva Highwood and rakeish Lord Payne in the first Spindle Cove novel, A Night to Surrender.

Minerva's a member of the Royal Geological Society and has been published several times in their journal. And, she's just made a discovery that's sure to win a handsome prize at their next conference. A few problems:

1. She has no way to get to Edinburgh to present her findings.
2. The Society doesn't know that M. R. Highwood is a woman.

So, she enlists the help of Lord Payne. If he'll accompany her to Scotland, she'll pay their way and then she'll give him the prize money, which should be enough to keep him entertained in London until he has access to his fortune. He also has to agree NOT to marry her sister.

But Lord Payne has some of his own conditions-- he doesn't ride in an enclosed carriage, he doesn't travel at night, and he doesn't sleep alone.

So, they're off to Scotland, but from the start, nothing goes as planned. Who cares what the Royal Society thinks-- Payne and Minerva may never get there at this rate! Plus, back in Spindle Cove, their friends know that something about this journey doesn't quite add up...

We got a glimpse of Payne and Minerva in A Night to Surrender and so I was extremely happy to find this book was all about them. I love them together, I love how Payne coaxes Minerva out of her shell without making her feel bad about who she is and what her passions are. I love how Minerva has her mind made up about Payne and how every wrong she is. Also, this really is the worst road-trip in history-- the kind that you're so glad you're not on, but are hilarious to read about. The two of them together are so great.

This is my favorite of the Spindle Cove series. (So far, I see there's a new one coming out this spring! Yay!)

Book Provided by... my local library

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

Fairest, Vol. 1: Wide Awake Bill Willingham

A new spin-off series, this one focusing on the princesses. The main story arc picks up with a character who's been asleep for many, many issues.

Part of Fabletown's plan during the final showdown with the Adversary was putting the Imperial City of sleep with an ancient curse. All Sleeping Beauty had to do was prick her finger and the entire city would fall asleep until she was awoken with true love's kiss.

Enter a Bottle Imp with a master plan, a master thief (Ali Baba), a newly awoken Princess, and a newly awoken Snow Queen. The Snow Queen likes stories, and the Bottle Imp has one-- Sleeping Beauty's.

Y'all know how much I looooooooooove back story. And so much back story! I love how this one ties Sleeping Beauty's backstory with her newly awoken life. I love the mix of the Snow Queen with Ali Baba and the Bottle Imp. I love the look at what true love can mean in different circumstances--it's not always the fairy tale ending we wish for. And oooooo.... all the fairies! A great addition.

I also just really love what Willingham has done with princesses in general in this universe. Snow White is the tough as nails administrator who tamed the Big Bad Wolf. Beauty can't quite fill her shoes, but is no slouch. Cinderella seems all beauty and nice, but is a kick ass spy. Ozma looks like a child, but was able to step into Frau Tottenkinder's roles. So far, Sleeping Beauty has fallen asleep (but was willing to do so when strategically necessary). This one fleshes her out a little more.

And then, something that looks like a fun 50s comic noir, but turns into a SHOCKING revelation about one of our princesses.

I am looking forward to see where this series goes-- it's gotten off to a wonderful start.

Book Provided by... my wallet

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

NW: A Novel Zadie Smith

I don’t know why I’m having such a hard time writing this review. It’s taking me longer to write about than to read, and it took FOREVER to read this book.

We start with Leah, who falls for a scam, who doesn’t want the kids her husband is desperate for, who thinks that if she still acts like she’s 18 (because she still feels like she’s 18) then she won’t have to grow up. Leah’s section of the book is choppy, much like Leah’s mind. Part is in poetry.

Felix’s section is next, told in more traditional narrative style, covering a day in his life as he visits his dad, buys a car, and attempts to finally end things with an old girlfriend (because things have gotten that serious with his current girlfriend.) And then it goes horribly wrong.

The final section is Natalie’s, Leah’s best friend from childhood. Natalie is the most successful, having left behind the council estate and gone to college and law school and now leads an upper middle class life. But she leads her life the way she thinks she’s supposed to, and can’t find herself in there anymore, and starts looking for ways to feel something. Natalie’s section is mostly told in very brief vignettes, covering most of her life until the present.

All three stories overlap, timeline-wise. There isn’t much of a plot, it’s more like three character sketches, where most things are shown, rather than told.

I say this book took me forever to read, and it did. Part of that had to do with my discovery of a certain game called Tower Madness. Part of it had to do with the fact it wasn’t a rush-through-breathlessly-to-see-what-happens next type book. I did, however, like it. I liked it a lot. I enjoyed the shifting narrative styles. As they changed with character, it didn’t seem too much like “uh-oh, your craft is showing!” It’s also a refreshing challenge to read something where so much is left unexplained, left for the reader to figure out by reading closely. As someone who reads a lot of fiction, where this isn’t done as much, it took a while for me to get used to that. It was a difficult book for me, and I enjoy a challenge. Most of the stuff I read tends to make sure you know what's going on. Sometimes a little too much. I read a lot of plot-heavy books (and nonfiction, where everything should be spelled out.) I'm hoping with my Outstanding Books for the College Bound, I'm going to step out of what I normally read. This book reminded me that I like being challenged in my reading by craft/form. (I don't enjoy as much when I'm challenged by content.)

Book Provided by... my local library

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

The Perils of Pleasure Julie Anne Long

Ack. I read this book awhile ago, and wrote the review awhile ago, and for some reason it never posted!

So, this is the first book in the Pennyroyal Green series, but I read it fourth. It’s also the first book I read to feature the Everseas! Huzzah! Based on the first three books I read, this is what I know about the Everseas-- rogues and charmers, Olivia is why Lyon dissapeared and the only time Isaiah Redmond ever swore was when Colin Eversea failed to hang.

The book opens with Colin’s hanging and his rather dramatic rescue from the gallows. Colin doesn’t know who, or why, he was rescued, only that he was about to hang for a crime he did not commit. Madeleine Greenway is known for being able to get things done. She doesn’t know who hired her, but shortly after successfully rescuing Colin, it becomes very apparent that whomever hired her wants her dead. She and Colin are on a race across London and beyond to uncover the truth about who made Colin’s witnesses disappear before the trial, who rescued him, and who’s after Madeleine.

To be honest, I’m glad I was immersed in the world of Pennyroyal Green before I learned the giant twist at the end. Knowing more about the characters and their tangled webs made it that much more unexpected and shocking.

Plus, grave robbing! Secret pasts! Blackmail! London’s seedy underbelly! It's very cool and fun, but there’s a bit of research overload, which isn’t a problem in the other books.

The Everseas are very different from the Redmonds. I’ve had three books of Redmond scoffing at Eversea luck, charm, and exploits, as compared to the straight-laced and proper Redmonds. And the bit of information we learn at the end of I Kissed an Earl does cloud a bit of my Eversea picture, but... reading about them, they’re just damn fun. It’s a much happier house than Redmonds.

Also, this isn’t about this book in particular, but the series in general, can I just say how much I adore the minor subplots of the marriages of the Eversea and Redmond parents? It’s a nice touch.

But, let’s talk about Madeleine-- she’s not your average romance novel heroine, especially in a Regency Historical. There’s the obvious from the plot--she does just as much rescuing as being rescued and she’s not a member of the ton or a hanger-on. She knows her way around a pistol and darker sides of London. But... she’s older, more experienced, and not a virgin. She’s a widow. She used to have a shop. She’s a VERY nice change of pace from sheltered ladies in pretty dresses who play out their stories in various drawing rooms and dance floors (not that I don’t LOVE that, but... something different is always good.)

PS-- Please check out my latest project, YA Reading List.


Book Provided by... my local library

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

A Notorious Countess Confesses Julie Anne Long

This is the latest book in the Pennyroyal Green series. Evie Duggan, Lady Wareham, has arrived in Pennyroyal Green, hoping to outrun the scandal in London. Sadly, everyone in the village knows all about the "Black Widow"-- actress, courtesan, and after being won in a card game, countess until her husband died rather suddenly. Alone, and lonely, Evie wants friends and turns to Adam Sylvaine, Eversea cousin and vicar for help in getting in good with the local ladies...

Yes. They're named Adam and Eve.

But, I love Evie. I loved that she didn't apologize (nor see the need to) for who she is and what she's done in life. It was also really funny-- the whole scene where the Lady's Society tries to scare her off really did make me laugh out loud. It's one of the funniest books in the series.

And, tantalizingly, more plot developments in the Olivia/Lyon story. And not just revelations of what happened, but NEW plot developments... cannot WAIT until we get their book.

A note-- there are some proofing issues in this book-- most notably, Lady Wareham randomly becomes Lady Balmain in some chapters. A few pronouns get switched, too. I knew about this going in and it didn't really phase me. According to her Facebook group, Long knows about the issue and they're fixing it, so if that's something that's going to trip you up, you may want to wait for a corrected edition.

Book Provided by... my wallet

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff--and it's all small stuff Richard Carlson

I’m not sure why I picked this up and read it, but I have to say I’m glad I did. Carlson offers 100 tips for reducing stress and writes a page or two explaining each tip.

Some of it is cliche and trite.

But, as I read through it, I did find several ideas that sounded like good things to incorporate into my own life. A lot of them have to do with my interactions with other people.

I’m a reference librarian. I spend most of my day interacting with people who need or want something from me or the library.

And you know what? PEOPLE CAN BE MEAN AND CRAZY.

A lot of librarians were (rightfully) upset last week when Librarian was listed as one of the least-stressful jobs with a job description that didn't match anyone's reality. Right now, I work in a small, quiet branch with a very low level of mean or crazy, but my last job was at a very large, busy branch with a very high level or mean and crazy, or just noise and activity. I found this book offered a lot of practical advice and new way of looking at situations that changed a lot of the way I interact with people and it's made for much more pleasant situations for everyone involved.

One thing I've started doing is being more helpful. As librarians, we tend to teach rather than do. We'll walk someone through all the steps of using the computer. Depending on the situation, I've just started doing what needs to be done for the patron. This is what they want me to do anyway, it's faster and less stressful for all involved. I don't deal with the tension of trying to make someone learn something they don't want to learn. The customer gets what they need in a timely fashion and exemplary customer service. Me going that extra step means everyone ends the interaction MUCH happier, and it takes 1/4 the time. WIN WIN.

One theme that goes through the book that really resonates with me is that there are things in this world that are worth getting angry over, but we spend most of our rightous indignation on the little things-- traffic, bad customer service, the jerk that puts his bag on the seat next to him on bus so you have to stand... if I’m expending all my anger and energy at stupid stuff like that, how can I effect real change at stuff that I do need to get worked up over? It’s really allowed me to look at things and say “you know what? I have much better things to do with my time and energy than to continue to waste it on this clown who’s driving super slow in the left lane.”

Which of course, leads to me a line that I thought about a lot at my last library branch:

Be the calm eye in the storm of human drama that surrounds you-- it’s hard not to get caught up in the frantic energy and squabbles that come with having a packed children’s section after school. I’m working on being that calm eye-- it’s really nice (when I manage to do it.)

Already, I’m coming home in a much better mood.

Book Provided by... my local library

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

A Night to Surrender Tessa Dare.


As frequent readers may have picked up, I've rediscovered my love of Romance. However, it's a bit of a daunting genre to find good reads in, due to sheer number of books. I need some good reader's advisory in this area.

Anyway, I picked up this one because Colleen mentioned it. Romance isn't something she usually talks about, so when she mentioned it, I made sure to pick it up. It took awhile though, because there was a pretty long holds list at the library!

This first book in the Spindle Cove series. Spindle Cove is a seaside holiday resort filled with women who don't quite fit into London's society. Something about them doesn't fit the ton's notions of physical beauty. They're too smart, too outspoken. Spindle Cove offers them a safe haven, with very few men around. Susanna Finch is both the local gentleman's daughter and someone who has been treated horribly by society's expectations of women. She runs and guards the town with passion.

That all changes when Victor Bramwell arrives. 8 months ago, he was shot through the knee and has had a hard time getting reassigned to the front. His father was friends with Susanna's father, and needs his connections to get him back to the Peninsula, where he feels he belongs. Mr. Finch instead has him named the Earl of Rycliff (a long dormant title) and orders him to raise a militia. If he succeeds, he'll be sent where he wants.

The last thing Susanna wants is a militia threatening her safe haven. The last thing Bram wants is a bunch of interfering spinsters threatening his ambition.

A very fun and witty battle of the sexes. I appreciated that Bram found Susanna's brain a plus rather than an "in spite of." While both tend to forget who they are when in each other's presence (and have the tendency to do the most indecent things in rather public places) it is a very fun (and hotttttt) romance. It's also very funny. Bram comes equipped with a Rake of a cousin and some of the ladies have a rather Mrs. Bennett like mother. Then, of course, there is a pet lamb named Dinner.

A very fun book. After reading the first chapter of the next in the series that was included at the end of this book, I'm not sure I can wait until my hold comes in at the library. Luckily, the Kindle prices on the entire series are heavily discounted. ($2.99 for books 1 and 3, $3.79 for book 2.)


Book Provided by... my local library

Links to Amazon are an affiliate link. You can help support Biblio File by purchasing any item (not just the one linked to!) through these links. Read my full disclosure statement.

by Michele Norris. Pantheon, 2010. (nook ebook) I am posting about a book for grown ups today. Known as one of the hosts of NPR's All Things Considered, Michele Norris is a journalist who has also written for the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and Washington Post. She set out to write about her family after learning, almost by accident, that her father had been shot in the leg by police

I've been reading two great books on the Great Migration. Between 1915 and 1975 more than 6 million African Americans moved from Southern states to the North and West. Cities like Philadelphia, Washington D.C., New York, Cleveland, Detriot, Chicago, St. Lewis, San Diego and Los Angeles swelled in numbers of Black residents. This phenomena was bigger than the gold rush and the dust bowl as far as