This won’t be a full-length review, but I wanted to put this up since Burning Lamp came out yesterday. Amanda Quick is a pseudonym for Jayne Ann Krentz that is used exclusively for her historical romance. It’s a good way to keep track of which world you’re going to be in when you pick up one of her books. Amanda Quick books can be formulaic (and believe me, I’ve read enough to know) but lately they’ve been branching out – especially in the Arcane Society books, a series which apparently spills over into the Jayne Ann Krentz world as well. One thing the Arcane Society does for these books is tap into the currently popular genre of paranormal romance. Whether it was brought into the writing exclusively for that purpose or not, it certainly shows that Krentz/Quick has a finger on the pulse of the industry. And why not? She’s published about a bajillion books (the technical term, bajillion…) and they’ve made bestseller lists consistently.
Burning Lamp was delightful to me personally because I think it broke a little bit out of the mold that I’ve seen used for other Quick books. The setting is still Victorian London, for the most part, but the hero and heroine (the female lead, not the drug…did I spell it right?) are a delightful and unexpected change of pace. Since when are Victorian-era criminal masterminds the romantic hero? And why does it work so well?
Read and find out.
Burning Lamp is also, apparently, part of a cross-world trilogy that features one book from each “world” in which Quick/Krentz/Castle writes. I’ve avoided the Krentz/Castle books because I’m not sure I’ll enjoy them as much as my historical romance (me? nerd? surely not!) but now that I see this most recent book is part of a trilogy I find myself mightily tempted.
In the meantime, enjoy your reading folks, and thanks for keeping in touch. I’m almost done with my last semester of college, and assuming I don’t go stark raving mad before the end, I’ll be able to start updating with more regularity.

This is just a short post for the few loyal readers we have acquired over time. I would like to note that my reading adventures started, unsurprisingly, with checking out books from school and local libraries. These places are reminders of what, in the internet age, seems an almost-forgotten world with a wealth of musty smelling pages just waiting to be turned. Ahhh….nostalgia.
What brings libraries to mind, unfortunately, is that I just had to renew a few books online to keep from being charged crazy late fees. Libraries are, however, wonderful resources for anyone who loves to read, try new things, or someone short of money (or without internet and/or cable tv). Also, don’t neglect that now many libraries carry books on cd, movies, eBooks (not sure how that works, but you can check out eBooks) and allow their patrons to use their computer labs.

So, love your local library. Also, turn your things in on time or they won’t love you.

From the Washington Post:

The White House welcomed thousands of kids from all 50 states to the annual Easter Egg Roll on Monday, and Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling was among the guests. She read to a small group of kids and answered questions.

Though she said she doesn’t plan to write any offshoots of the Potter series, she didn’t rule it out “maybe 10 years from now,” depending on how she feels. But she told one child she does want to write more books.

“Yes, I do, and I am,” Rowling said. “I’m quite sure in the not-too-distant future I will bring out another book.”

Rowling also said she had grown up with neighbors who had the last name of Potter, which she liked much more than her own. As a kid, she said, she was always teased about her last name; kids called her names like “rolling pin,” she said.

Now, Rowling is one of the best-known names in the world.

Between you and me? It’ll be a lot sooner than 10 years from now.

Tags: Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling

Hello, everyone. I’m just doing a quick post here about a series that I’ve been re-reading. The Sword of Truth series, by Terry Goodkind was a fairly long-running fantasy series that I started reading when I was in high school not-so-long ago on the recommendation of a friend.
The books are all fairly long books, so it’s hard to find time to re-read them as a series when there are other, shorter books to read. (And of course real life gets in the way of my reading, too.)
So, I’ve been making the effort, since I am familiar with the stories to re-read the series and I have to say that it’s been a blast.
I’m not even halfway through at this point, but it has been great to reread these books and it almost makes me realize how much the Legend of the Seeker, on tv, has ruined the characters for me. I hate to admit it, but even though casting was great as far as looks for Kahlan and Zedd – well, the rest of the show hasn’t made me a happy camper.
I’m realizing, again, the complexity of the books and the beauty of a well-told tale. I am enjoying putting together small pieces of mystery that I’ve forgotten and enjoying the fact that I know how things will turn out when the heroes are in a real jam.
All that is said with nostalgia, but it also makes me want to point out that revisiting your bookshelves can be a great experience. Also, I’m recommending this series if you haven’t read it. It is wonderfully written, well-plotted, and has characters that you can’t help but love.