So, for those of you who haven’t been watching – Richard Castle is a fictional character in the ABC series “Castle” starring Nathan Fillion (who Gambit and I know from Firefly and many others know as Captain Hammer from Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog) and Stana Katic.
So…Richard Castle did not actually write Heat Wave (unless that happens to be the ghost-writer’s name), but what is fun about this book is that until tonight I had no idea it would actually exist! So, here’s the story:
Gambit and I have been following Castle – we initially watched it because of Nathan Fillion, and later because we both really enjoy the show. So we were watching it tonight (replay tv is awesome) and at the end of the show where the credits are running with little blurbs and commercials, the announcer mentions Heave Wave – available in stores now! To which our reaction is something like : Whaaa?
So, there’s a flurry of activity while we rush to the computer – somehow I managed to knock my smoke alarm off the wall on my way, which is interesting since it’s at least two feet higher on the wall than my own height – and after a quick google search we find that the book is really out there, in stores.
So we rush off to Borders. We wander around, enjoying the hunt for a while, but eventually I made Gambit ask where the book was because we weren’t finding it.
Aaand they didn’t have it.
But did we give up? Of course not. I’m far too obsessive…so we ran over to the Barnes & Noble down the street (which really is what I love about being in a big town – two bookstores about a block away from each other and they’re both huge).
I hurried over to the Mystery section and there it was. Approximately 200 pages (less than 200, but I’m not gonna get up and go check page numbers right now) of mystery novel written by God only knows whom with a picture of Nathan Fillion on the back of the dust cover as Richard Castle, complete with a blurb from James Patterson (who makes a couple cameos in the show) and a dedication right out of the movie.
Go figure.
I have yet to read through this literary marvel, but time will present itself and I shall get through it as quickly as possible to report back to you.
In the meantime…look for a post from Gambit, and feel free to make threatening phone calls at 3am, or send scary fan mail, if he doesn’t deliver.

Yours in dictatorship,
Grand High Poobah, Master of the Domain

Here’s a quick list of publishing/release dates I find interesting:
-New Moon Soundtrack (out this Friday by popular demand!)
-Born of Fire, by Sherrilyn Kenyon: Nov. 3
-First Lord’s Fury, by Jim Butcher: Nov 24
-Born of Ice, by Sherrilyn Kenyon: Dec 1
-Dark Lady’s Chosen, by Gail Z. Martin: Dec 2009
-Shalador’s Lady, by Anne Bishop: Mar 2010

Recently released:
-Born of Night, by Sherrilyn Kenyon
-The Renegade Hunter, by Lynsay Sands
-Other books that I’m not all that interested in.

Also, if you’re anywhere near Albuquerque next month, don’t go left – go to Borders. Nov 14, Sherrilyn Kenyon will be there for a book signing. I know I’m in north-east Texas right now…but I grew up in West Texas so Albuquerque doesn’t seem that far away – maybe I should go spend that weekend “at home”, hmmm?

This book was one that I have seen in bookstores over the years, thought about buying, and then blew off because there was always something else I wanted to buy – usually by an author I already knew. The cover is interesting, which is what initially caught my eye, then it caught my attention because it stayed prominently up in the front of the bookstores, getting great reviews, for quite some time. So…on a trip to Borders the other day I spotted it along with several other copies and decided that my curiosity had finally reached a level where I had to either buy the book and read it, or decide once and for all never to read it at all. (Because I’m weird like that.) So, you can guess what my decision was.
The most intriguing thing about the book is the main character and narrator, who is autistic. It’s also notable that not often do you see a mystery where the main character is not only an amateur sleuth, but also investigating the death of a dog rather than a human being.
Critics compare it to The Catcher in the Rye, which I read and pretty much hated in its entirety, but after reading this book I can see how readers might see them as related. The viewpoint is similar, the narration is done in a similar fashion (though I must say Christopher is a more interesting character) and the stories do have some parallels. Of course the literary critics and analysts are probably happily sawing away on how similar the books are, and how great the authors are, etc.
I say the books are similar, but not in any ways that really should matter to readers. I found this book much more interesting, much more enjoyable, and much more accessible to read than Catcher in the Rye. I also liked the main character more, sympathized with the peripheral characters more, and found the entire story more interesting than I thought I would – which is saying something since I bought it out of a sense over overwhelming curiosity.
Now, I can’t tell you any plot points because that would ruin the fun, but I can tell you that this book is one that has earned it’s place as a national bestseller. The glowing reviews are not far off the mark, and I would highly recommend it. This is one book that I would rate a 10, and I don’t say that lightly – especially since that’s usually reserved for books that can either make me laugh out loud (extra points if it makes me laugh out loud in public and get the “crazy-person” looks from other people) or cry (beau coup points if I do that in public – which hasn’t happened), or (the highest acclaim) if it’s made me start yelling at the book – unless I’m yelling because the book sucks, which has only happened a couple of times.
Anyway, long story short: this is an excellent read and if you don’t at least find that it at least has literary value then you’re a sad, small little pleb. If you love it, then you’re more on my level.
So here’s another book for your collections, folks. Go out and start reading.

To the Readers:
I’m very sorry I haven’t been updating here. I’ve been working about thirty hours a week, taking fifteen hours worth of night classes, and spending my weekends either sleeping, catching up on homework, or trying to spend time with my boyfriend and my sadly neglected kitty-cat.
I have been reading, but it has been mostly school-related and I get home exhausted and don’t feel like writing at all. I don’t even feel very creative. I have been doing well – just busy and with very little free time.
The good news is, I’m going to be cutting back on my hours at work (just a little) and that may give me a little time to regain my sanity, spend a little more time reading for relaxation, and a chance to update more often.
If you still check out the page, thanks for being so loyal. I’ll try to do better. I promise. I have hopes that in the coming weeks I will be able to rest and I will begin to feel more like writing.
I think about updating often – I just never seem to have the chance. My plea is this: hang in there and check us out about once a week. I can try to at least do that on the weekends and I know I have at least one book to write about later this week.
Also, feel free to contribute or comment as much as you want – if there’s a comment I get an e-mail and I will reply – there’s plenty of room for discussion!
I hope to begin updating again soon, and see more activity here in the future! In the meantime, I hope you are all still enjoying your own reading adventures. I’ll come back and share my soon.
Sincerely,
Grand High Poobah, Petty Tyrant and Ruler of NeoLibrarium.com