Reading Beginnings Pt. 4

Probably my first branch outside the books like the Boxcar Children and Nancy Drew was Ella Enchanted.

I've somewhat talked about this before, I think. I saw the movie, and then sometime later I ran into the book at a bookstore. So naturally, I picked up the book.

At first, I was shocked by all the differences between the movie and the book, and stopped reading the book in frustration. But later, once I got my perspective and expectations straightened out, I picked up the book again and instantly fell in love.

From there, I believe I read more of Gail Carson Levine's books, particularly the Princess Tales. After I ran out of Levine's books, I found some other fairy tale stories, either in a library or a bookstore, or maybe I even stumbled across them online and followed up in one of the two types of buildings.

I remember finding Princess Academy by Shannon Hale, Once Upon a Curse by E.D. Baker, and The Seer and the Sword by Victoria Hanley. Those first books were the bait, and I was suddenly caught by the hook. I made sure to read as many of their other books as possible!

One coworker of my mom's let me borrow the first Percy Jackson book. Because it dealt with Greek gods and goddesses, I was bound and determined not to like the series. I took the first book to be polite, but I had already formed my opinion of the series. Too bad Rick Riordan had a different plan, and I fell in love with the entire series as quickly as I could get my hands on the next book, and the next, and the next!

Of course, then, I started hunting for more of his works.

And I believe that will be all for today. See you tomorrow with more fascinating talks about how I started reading! xD ...And I apologize if I'm boring you...

Dee Henderson

Now that I've talked about all of Dee Henderson's books that I've read, I'll try to touch on some of her other books.

The only two O'Malley series books I didn't really say much about were Full Disclosure and Jennifer: An O'Malley Love Story. But since in a previous post I did give a bit of info on them both, let's move on.

Henderson's Uncommon Heroes series has a few more books. In order, they are True Valor, True Honor, and True Courage. I have never read any of them, nor have I heard Mom talk specifically about them, so I can't give you much in the way of plot summary and writing quality.

Henderson also has a series called Shield of Honor, but I can only find listed the first book in the series: The Witness. Again, I don't know anything about it.

Finally, Henderson seems to have written several stand-alone books. Then again, Full Disclosure is actually listed on Goodreads as though it is a stand-alone novel, even though every impression I got from my Mom pointed towards it being part of the O'Malley series. So I'm not sure if any of these other "stand-alone" books are actually somehow connected with some of Henderson's other series.

Anyways, if you wish to see the list of Henderson's books for yourself, please follow this link. Kaiti out.

Dee Henderson's O'Malley Series

Now I feel sort of guilty because I've gone so long without mentioning my mom's favorite author, whom I've also read: Dee Henderson.

The series by Henderson that I have read almost completely is the O'Malley series, featuring seven orphans who banded together and legally changed their last names to become siblings. The stories pick up when they're around 30 years of age.

There are three books that are part of the series, although not technically. Hmm, that sounded confusing. Allow me to explain.

Danger in the Shadows is a sort of prequel to the O'Malley series. No O'Malleys are shown, but the main character later is linked indirectly with the O'Malleys.

Jennifer: An O'Malley Love Story is a book which I don't think was ever printed, but it could for a time (and maybe still) be found published online by the author for a free read. It shows how the youngest O'Malley, who never got her own book in the original series, fell in love with a man and his Savior. I have yet to completely read this book.

I have not read Full Disclosure, either. However, it contains a twist that is vital the O'Malleys, or at least our view of them. I know the twist because my mom freaked out when she read it and had to tell someone who would know what she was semi-talking about.

Anyways, we'll take a look at the O'Malley books one by one over the next several days. But you should know right now that all of them are Christian fiction, all have romance, and all have murder.

Rick Riordan

I've already told you about basically all of Rick Riordan's books that I've read, so here is some information about some of his other books.

Riordan's two series on Percy Jackson and on the Kane kids either have or are in the process of having graphic novels made of each of the eight books in both series.

Riordan has contributed to the collection of The 39 Clues series, which I know nothing about; but apparently more than one author I've read has contributed to the series.

Riordan has written another series called Tres Navarre, which seems to be a Texan crime-solving type of series. He has currently written seven books for the series; I'm not sure if the seventh is a conclusion, a continuation, or just yet another book of the same type with no end yet in sight.

Riordan also apparently has written a stand-alone novel called Cold Springs. According to the description on Goodreads, this book seems to be fraught with death and drugs and whatnot, effectively making me decide to steer well away from it.

Other than the multiple books in other languages, I think I've pretty much covered Riordan's books now. If you want to see the list of Riordan's works yourself, please click here to go to the list on Goodreads.

See you next week!

Rick Riordan's Short Story Companion Books

To accompany the three series I've just finished talking about, Rick Riordan has written a number of smaller books that contain short stories and informational tidbits that add to the overall series they are a part of.

To mention all of them would take way too long, so I'll just mention a few.

The Demigod Files contains a few games, interviews, and short stories. It probably takes place sometime after The Battle of the Labyrinth, but definitely before The Last Olympian. The short stories are in Percy's first-person perspective, like the series it accompanies.

The Kane Chronicles Survival Guide is a book I have not read, but it seems as though the layout of the book might be similar to the last book I mentioned. And of course, this book is part of the Kane Chronicles series.

The Demigod Diaries is a book also containing short stories, though there were also puzzles for the readers themselves, similar to The Demigod Files. And, this book had one story that I never expected: an entry from Luke's diary in the days when he and Thalia were half-bloods without a home, running across the country fighting any and all monsters. The last story is what dates this book, though; it shows a mishap during the time between the first and second books of The Heroes of Olympus.

And if you're the type of reader that wants to watch worlds more contrary than Greeks and Romans collide, Riordan has written another type of book: a crossover between The Kane Chronicles and Percy Jackson and the Olympians. The first one in what I hear is to be a series itself is called The Son of Sobek. It's just one short story, but it's from Carter's point of view as he runs into Percy on a hunt.

Those four books are by no means all there is. They just represent the four categories that I know of. As I wrap up with Riordan soon, I'll give you a link that will lead you to a list of his many, many works.

C.S. Lewis

So, as I'm pretty sure you already know, C. S. Lewis has written much more than The Chronicles of Narnia.

He actually has over 300 distinct works to his name, according to GoodReads.com.

Admittedly, though, some of his works seem to be repeated in a way. His list of works includes each of the seven books set in Narnia as well as a few collections, such as a single book putting together the first three books, or even all seven in a collection. There is also mention of the graphic novel to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

But despite that bit of deception where numbers are concerned, Lewis has certainly written more than any of the other authors I have talked about thus far.

I'm pretty sure that at least the majority of his work is founded in Christianity, as he is known as one of the few authors of his century to defend the Christian faith so widely, publicly, and steadfastly.

Oo, scrolling through Lewis's list of works, I just discovered his book A Year with Aslan: Daily Reflections from The Chronicles of Narnia! I wonder why my bookstores never have it? It looks interesting!

Maybe you'll stumble across a title you find interesting too. They're way too numerous to list here, but go to this link and you'll find the list GoodReads has collected.

Jessica Day George

Jessica Day George is an okay author, in my opinion.

She has written a couple books that I really like, several books that I think are okay, and one book that I really could've done without reading.

She has also written, according to Goodreads.com, three other books that I have not yet read.

Wednesdays in the Tower continues George's Castle Glower series. It seems to be about the Castle behaving strangely, expanding much more than usual for no apparent reason. Everyone has their hands full with all of the stuff they find. I would like to get this book when I have the chance.

Thursdays with the Crown is the third book in the Castle Glower series, and it has yet to be released. Apparently, in October, we'll continue to follow Celie as she continues to attempt to solve the problem of the Castle's strange behavior.

Altered Perspectives is a book not only by George, but by several authors. It seems to be a collection of deleted scenes and alternate versions of the author's normal book. In George's case, we get to see a deleted scene from Princess of Glass.

So, there you have it. All of Jessica Day George's books and my thoughts on them. Am I getting better at writing these things? Somehow it doesn't feel like it, but I hope I'm improving at least a tiny bit... =/

Victoria Hanley

Victoria Hanley has written four other books as far as I can tell, but I have not read them.

Indigo Magic is a sequel to Violet Wings. I found a free sneak peek of the book on amazon, and I was hugely disappointed. The style of writing seemed childish at best, and I felt like Hanley's instant jump into an insane battle between the protagonists and gnomes was just a cheap way to grab her readers' attention. I would possibly still be interested in reading it if I found a copy at the library, but there's no way I'm forking out any money for this book.

Hanley's other three books (Seize the Story: A Handbook for Teens Who Like to Write, Wild Ink : Success Secrets to Writing and Publishing in the Young Adult Market, and Wild Ink: How to Write Fiction for Young Adults) seem to be instructional, teaching her readers how to write. If Hanley's work was of a consistent quality, I might be inclined to peek into one or two of them.

However, even though Hanley has written one of my all-time favorite books, The Seer and the Sword, her books like The Healer's Keep and what I've seen of Indigo Magic have kind of turned me off from viewing her as an awesome over-all writer.

Anyways, please don't believe that I dislike this author. I love Hanley; I'm just disappointed that I can't see that she has written something new and instantly say "I want that!"

Of her books, I definitely recommend The Seer and the Sword and The Light of the Oracle. Perhaps you would enjoy Violet Wings as well; just be braced for having some unanswered questions by the end if you don't plan on getting Indigo Magic too.

E. D. Baker

Well, I think I've pretty much covered all of E. D. Baker's books.

Seriously, she's such a trustworthy author that I've read almost every single book she's published.

I haven't read her newest book, The Bravest Princess, only because it just came out this month. It's a third book about the very non-magical Princess Annie. According to the description on the website Goodreads, this book is supposedly about Annie lending a helping hand to Snow White.

The only other book of E. D. Baker's that I can find is called The Fairy-Tale Matchmaker, and it will apparently be published this upcoming October. Goodreads describes this book as following the adventures of a tooth fairy named Cory who wants to be anything except a tooth fairy. So she quits in search of some other random job, and someone eventually asks Cory to set up a date.

Hmmm, the book cover that Goodreads displays shows Cory holding a bow and some arrows. Is Cory going to become Cupid?

Sadly, I guess we're going to have to wait until October to find out.

Until then, prepare for that fateful day by reading Tales of the Frog Princess, Fairy Wings, Tales of the Wide-Awake Princess, and A Question of Magic! =D

Ta-ta!

Shannon Hale

I guess I've pretty much covered all of Shannon Hale's books that I've read, though she has written other books as well.

Hale has written a series called Austenland, which is apparently based on Jane Austen's books - or was it just based on Pride and Prejudice? I have not read Austen's works, so I have opted not to read this series either.

Hale has another series called Rapunzel's Revenge. She co-wrote this series with her husband, and I'm honestly not sure why I have not read at least the first book in the series. I'll have to see if my library has it.

One of her books is titled The Actor and the Housewife, and I believe it is geared for an older audience. The book's summary says basically that an actor and a man's wife become friends, and just friends - or do they?

Hale also has written a series of books called Ever After High, where the children of fairytale characters get together for school and vow to follow in their parents' footsteps; however, the daughter of a villain doesn't want to be a villain. I've seen bits of the first book in the bookstore, and I'd like to read more. I'm just not sure if I want it badly enough to buy it.

There are a few other books she has written, though I don't believe they are part of a series. Although, I noticed she wrote one book that is number four in a series, but I didn't see any of the other books on her list of written books.

If you would like to see a list of all the books Shannon Hale has written, here is the link to her list on Goodreads. See you tomorrow for a different author!

Gail Carson Levine

Gail Carson Levine has written many books that I have enjoyed, though she has also written some other books that I decided I didn't want to finish reading or that I never picked up in the first place.

I began to read Ever, but I stopped before much plot was underway. It just didn't really seem appropriate. I know I'm not explaining well, but I kind of just don't want to. Get this book if you want to; it just wasn't for me.

I went to my library with the intention of borrowing Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg, until I found out it a was a book geared towards much younger children.

I've heard about her book Dave at Night, but its description just never sounded interesting enough to get me to go search out a copy.

I believe Forgive Me, I Meant to Do It is a collection of poems Levine has written, and poetry has never interested me before, so I never looked for a copy of this book.

Betsy Who Cried Wolf I think is another book intended for a much younger audience.

So, yes, I've finished telling you about all of her books that I have read. I suppose I should remind you that the series I did a while back on  the Princess Tales series was written by Gail Carson Levine as well.

With all that being said, It's probably time to re-shelve Levine and start talking about another author's works. Have a great day, and see you again tomorrow!

Pseudonymous Bosch

Bon matin, mes amis! How's life going for you?

...Hmm, now I'm really drawing a blank. What do I want to talk about this morning?

How about Pseudonymous Bosch? I think I may have mentioned him before, but not anything about him. He's an author. He's using a pseudonym, in case you didn't notice. He wrote a series of books with secret titles, secret information, and most importantly, THE Secret.

You do know what the Secret is, don't you? Of course you don't know the Secret, but I'm sure you've heard of it. *glances around furtively, then whispers* The Secret to immortality!

That's right! Mr. Bosch tells the story of some kids, two of them in particular, who get involved in a secret society that more or less battles against an evil secret society for possession of the Secret. And the Secret is revealed - oh, yes, of course it is! And unlike most authors, Mr. Bosch doesn't bail at the last second and leave his readers hanging, wondering about the Secret. I now know the Secret of immortality! Y'see, he's pretty bad at keeping secrets.

Like his pseudonym. He can't even keep that a secret! You'll see by the fourth book or so; I actually find it quite genius how it played out.

Pseudonymous Bosch is a once-in-a-lifetime author, if even that common. He talks to the reader, seems to have confidence issues because the reader he's talking to hates him, is obsessed with chocolate, talks to his cat, talks to himself, and is terrified of being discovered. You try telling me that an author like that can't turn out an epic story. He can. And has. Multiple times.

And recently, on a trip to Books A Million, I discovered he has another book that is written only so that the reader can write their own story. Can you say amazing?

So what are you waiting for? Don't you want to learn the Secret from an author such as this? Hop to it!