Hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

It was a big week for me.

I finished the audio of Ready Player One by Ernest Cline that I was raving about last week.

From Amazon: “Ready Player One takes place in the not-so-distant future–the world has turned into a very bleak place, but luckily there is OASIS, a virtual reality world that is a vast online utopia. People can plug into OASIS to play, go to school, earn money, and even meet other people (or at least they can meet their avatars), and for protagonist Wade Watts it certainly beats passing the time in his grim, poverty-stricken real life. Along with millions of other world-wide citizens, Wade dreams of finding three keys left behind by James Halliday, the now-deceased creator of OASIS and the richest man to have ever lived. The keys are rumored to be hidden inside OASIS, and whoever finds them will inherit Halliday’s fortune. But Halliday has not made it easy. And there are real dangers in this virtual world. Stuffed to the gills with action, puzzles, nerdy romance, and 80s nostalgia, this high energy cyber-quest will make geeks everywhere feel like they were separated at birth from author Ernest Cline.–Chris Schluep”

I still absolutely love it. Definitely the best book I’ve read all year! When both Voltron and Monty Python are important at the end of a book, I have to love it. Even if you aren’t a total 80s geek the references are explained so you won’t be missing anything.

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

From Amazon- “It all begins with a lost manuscript, a reluctant witch, and 1,500-year-old vampire. Dr. Diana Bishop has a really good reason for refusing to do magic: she is a direct descendant of the first woman executed in the Salem Witch Trials, and her parents cautioned her be discreet about her talents before they were murdered, presumably for having “too much power.” So it is purely by accident that Diana unlocks an enchanted long-lost manuscript (a book that all manner of supernatural creatures believe to hold the story of all origins and the secret of immortality) at the Bodleian Library at Oxford, and finds herself in a race to prevent an interspecies war. “

I signed up for this ages ago at the library. I think I was number 23 on the list. I didn’t even know what it was about but everyone was raving about it. I enjoyed reading this book while I was reading it but once I was done it seemed a bit of a letdown. Nothing actually happened. It is the first of a planned trilogy so there has to be some loose ends but none of the story lines get resolved. I’ll read the next two when they come out because the book did draw me in.

The Inn at Lake Devine by Elinor Lipman

In the early 1960s twelve year old Natalie is shocked when her mother receives a reply from a Vermont inn implying that Jews aren’t welcome. She spends years trying to get even. Eventually she goes to the inn as a guest of WASP friends just to see what it is like. Later, an adult Natalie reconnects with the family and gets to show them what it is like to be discriminated against.

I liked this book. It was a funny, quick read. Vermont also finished up New England for me in the Where are you reading challenge!

Captain’s Fury (Codex Alera, Book 4) by Jim Butcher

From Amazon – “Two years into a difficult campaign against the wolflike Canim invaders, Calderon legion captain Tavi is saddled with an unqualified but politically powerful superior whose plans threaten disaster and force Tavi into potential treason. Meanwhile, aging ruler Gaius Sextus plans a final strike against the rebellious lord of Kalare, but to get close enough to act, he must set aside his power to control the elements and make a painful overland slog that neatly challenges genre conventions.”

The story of Tavi continues with the secret of his heritage coming to light to him and to the army he commands. I like these books because they are fantasy but with some twists that keep them interesting.

The Priestly Sins by Andrew Greeley

This novel attempts to show how the Catholic Church’s coverup of sexual abuse by priests worked. When Father Hoffman witnesses a fellow priest abusing a boy and reports it, he is punished by his superiors. The story of Father Hoffman’s life and the story of the eventual trial about the abuse are both told here.

I have mixed feelings about this author. He drives me crazy when he writes about sex and love and he is fond of writing about both. He romanticizes everything to the both of ridiculousness. I did find this interesting when it talked about the trial but not show much when it focused on the priest’s life.

Spell Bound (Otherworld, Book 12) by Kelley Armstrong

From Amazon -“Savannah Levine is in terrible danger, and for once she’s powerless to help herself. At the heartbreaking conclusion of Waking the Witch, Savannah swore that she would give up her powers if it would prevent further pain for a young orphan. Little did she know that someone would take her up on that promise.

And now, witch-hunting assassins, necromancers, half-demons, and rogue witches all seem to be after her. The threat is not just for Savannah; every member of the Otherworld might be at risk. While most of her fellow supernaturals are circling the wagons at a gathering of the council in Miami, Savannah is caught on the road, isolated from those who can protect her and unable to use her vast spell-casting talent, the thing she counts on most.”

This one hurt. I have loved every one of these books in this series. This one bored me to tears.

Maybe it is because I don’t care for this heroine. Again this was a book that seems to exist only to set up future books and does not have a cohesive story of its own. I was reading on my iPad and was shocked when I realized I was done with it. I had no idea that I was nearing anything like a conclusion to the story. That’s not good.

Toxic Bachelors by Danielle Steele

From Amazon-“traces the lives and loves of three confirmed bachelors who are forced to face their worst commitment fears when each, in turn, somehow manages to fall in love. The three 40-something best friends, Charlie Harrington, an independently wealthy philanthropist; Adam Weiss, a celebrity lawyer and voracious playboy; and Gray Hawk, a handsome and talented New York artist, have formed a tight relationship, united in their “love ’em and leave ’em” approach to women and dating. All three have been scarred by some relationship in the past and have taken to living commitment-free lives, cruising the high seas on Harrington’s yacht, partying until dawn, and dating scores of women. That is until, one by one, they find themselves falling deeply in love with women they wouldn’t even have considered dating casually.”

This was a change from her usual novels in that it focused on the men. It was a nice light read.

Where are you reading new places – Oklahoma, Vermont, Nebraska