Currently Reading | Jenny Pox, A Casual Vacancy

I don't know what happened while reading The Raven Boys! It seemed like a story I would like, but I couldn't connect to it at all. I made it 136 pages before I decided to put it aside. Were you guys hooked by then? I decided to read my childhood favorite, A Wrinkle in Time, instead in honor of this week being Banned Books Week.

I also picked up J.K. Rowling's new book, A Casual Vacancy. That read isn't going very well, but I'm going to give it some more time. In the mean time, I am thoroughly enjoying J.L. Bryan's Jenny Pox. Have you read it? It reminds me of J.E. Medrick's Icarus Helix series. Fun times!

If I make it through J.K.'s new book, I'm going to finally pick up Ashen Winter.

Be sure to let me know what you're reading this week!

This post is being shared as part of Book Journey's It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

Carrie Readalong | Part Three: The Wreckage

Throughout the month of September Midnight Book Girl and Midnyte Reader hosted a Carrie readalong. If you've read Carrie, I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments. If you haven't read it, please be aware these readalong posts may contains spoilers.

Part Three: The Wreckage

1. If you've seen the movie, how did the book compare?

It has been a long time since I've seen the movie so I can't compare the details, but I do know I really like both the book and the movie.

2. Carrie: Victim or Villain?

Victim. Poor baby. I feel so bad for her.

3. If you had TK powers what would you do with them?

I would clean my house while sitting on the couch. :)

4. The Wreckage talks about the demise of the town.  I've noticed the theme of SK's setting as a character in other works.  What are your thoughts on this?

I love when there is an evil presence over a town. It's far more frightening than an isolated incidence.

5. Does anybody think they know what line from Bob Dylan was written in Carrie's notebook? 

Nope. :)

6. Finally, what are your final thoughts/review of Carrie by Stephen King?
I love Carrie. I'm glad I had the chance to read it again. It's one of my favorite King books.

Sorry my answers are so short this week! Hubby has been sick, and now I'm feeling horrible so I'm just flat out hoping I can find myself in bed soon!

Notable New Book Releases | Sept. 23 - Sept. 29

I hope everyone had an awesome week. Was the curiosity of J.K. Rowling's new book too much for you to pass by? These are the books that caught my eye this week:

The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling
Release Date: September 27, 2012

[I'm reading this one right now, and so far it is annoying the heck out of me. I haven't given up yet, though.]

When Barry Fairbrother dies unexpectedly in his early forties, the little town of Pagford is left in shock. Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war. Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils…. Pagford is not what it first seems. And the empty seat left by Barry on the town’s council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations? Blackly comic, thought-provoking and constantly surprising, The Casual Vacancy is J.K. Rowling’s first novel for adults.

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When We Join Jesus in Hell by Lee Thompson
Publication Date: September 25

[You can read my review of When We Join Jesus in Hell here.]

Home, he thinks, where the heart bleeds freely.

A hell of a boxer, he earned the nickname 'Fist' back in the day. But during the past eight years, he's transformed into somebody he no longer knows—a weak, pitiful, and passionless office drone.

Barely hanging onto the last thread of his self-respect, he returns home one night to discover Hell has truly crossed its threshold.

And Hell has lessons to teach him through what fragments remain.

Slivers of dark light.

Knowledge in blood.

Forgiveness, clarity and redemption in commitment.

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Additional books that may be of interest to you:

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Did any of these books make it on to your wishlist or bookshelf this week? Have you had a chance to read them yet? Be sure to let me know what books you were excited about this week especially if they didn't make it onto this list!

Book Review | Incarnation by Emma Cornwall

Incarnation by Emma Cornwall is a vampire novel with tie ins to Bram Stoker's Dracula.

Book Description

In the steampunk world of Victorian London, a beautiful vampire seeks out the author of Dracula–to set the record straight . . . If one is to believe Bram Stoker’s legendary vampire tale, Lucy Weston is Dracula’s most wanton creation, a sexual creature of the night who preys on innocent boys. But the real-life Lucy is nothing like her fictional counterpart—and she demands to know why the Victorian author deliberately lied. With Stoker’s reluctant help, she’s determined to track down the very fiend who transformed her—from the sensual underworld where humans vie to become vampires, to a hidden cell beneath a temple to madness, and finally into the glittering Crystal Palace where death reigns supreme.

Haunted by fragmentary memories of her lost life and love, Lucy must battle her thirst for blood as she struggles to stop a catastrophic war that will doom vampires and humans alike. Ultimately, she must make a choice that illuminates for her—and for us—what it means to be human.

I'm still a newbie when it comes to steampunk. Sometimes the genre is obvious to me, and sometimes - like with Incarnation - I have a hard time understanding where the genre classification stems from. Incarnation is definitely Victorian, but I wasn't able to pick up on the technology that would place this as a steampunk novel. That being said, I think this is the perfect time of year to read a Victorian novel. Last year I read Ghosts by Gaslight: Stories of Steampunk and Supernatural Suspense throughout the month of October. The gothic style of Victorian literature is very fitting to the change in the season.

If I were to classify Incarnation, I would just label it a Victorian vampire story. The main character, Lucy, is the same Lucy from Bram Stoker's Dracula. Except she's not. In Incarnation, Bram Stoker is an author for hire who penned Dracula with large deviations from the truth. Lucy tracks down Stoker on her way to tracking down the creature who turned her. The lack of true connection Incarnation had to the real story of Dracula was a disappointment for me. I'm a fan of Dracula, and the use of the Dracula characters felt like an angle at first. By the end, though, I did enjoy the references that came into play.

The beauty of Incarnation to me is the descriptions of the vampire culture in London. Lucy is not like other vampires. While my usual taste in books left me wanting to know more about the vicious and seductive vampires tucked away in London, I remained captivated by Lucy and the world Emma Cornwall created.

I recommend Incarnation to those who are fans of vampire lore and enjoy the beauty of Victorian literature.

6/10: Good read

Review copy provider by publisher

Wishlist | The Twelve by Justin Cronin

I am waiting on Justin Cronin's The Twelve pretty hard core.

The Twelve is the sequel to The Passage, and it's probably the one book I've been anticipating the most all year.

In the present day, as the man-made apocalypse unfolds, three strangers navigate the chaos. Lila, a doctor and an expectant mother, is so shattered by the spread of violence and infection that she continues to plan for her child’s arrival even as society dissolves around her. Kittridge, known to the world as “Last Stand in Denver,” has been forced to flee his stronghold and is now on the road, dodging the infected, armed but alone and well aware that a tank of gas will get him only so far. April is a teenager fighting to guide her little brother safely through a landscape of death and ruin. These three will learn that they have not been fully abandoned—and that in connection lies hope, even on the darkest of nights.

One hundred years in the future, Amy and the others fight on for humankind’s salvation . . . unaware that the rules have changed. The enemy has evolved, and a dark new order has arisen with a vision of the future infinitely more horrifying than man’s extinction. If the Twelve are to fall, one of those united to vanquish them will have to pay the ultimate price.

A heart-stopping thriller rendered with masterful literary skill, The Twelve is a grand and gripping tale of sacrifice and survival.

It comes out October 16. I have my copy preordered, but my UPS guy shows up late. I will likely be antsy at work all day long, come home to an empty porch, tackle the UPS guy as soon as I hear my dog bark, and then thoroughly abandon my family until the wee hours of the morning. That's the plan anyway!

Have you read The Passage? Are you dying for The Twelve? What are you waiting for this week?

This post is being shared as part of Breaking the Spine's "Waiting for" Wednesday.