1st Book Review (a two for one)

I just finished Mysteria Lane, an anthology that is a kind of sequel to Mysteria.  Both by MaryJanice Davidson (of Betsy the Vampire Queen fame), Susan Grant, Gena Showalter, and P.C. Cast (part of the House of Night series writer mother/daughter duo of P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast).  I have to say I liked Mysteria a little better than Mysteria Lane.  Anthologies are tricky for me.  I generally only read them if I recognize and like more than one of the authors or if I know that one of the stories is part of a series that I am currently following.  I think the former is what drove me to pick up and read Mysteria.  Also the premise behind these two anthologies centers around characters in the town of Mysteria.  So it almost like reading a collection of assorted short stories with the same general setting to tie it together as opposed to an anthology that just has a loose them to bind them. 

Like: "Here are some stories about vampires."  Thanks, that was super-vague and I am completely not interested. 

Mysteria and Mysteria Lane have an interesting gimmick with the commonality of setting though.  I would definitely read both of them.  I found that I liked the majority of the stories in both.  And the great thing about anthologies is if you don't like one story, just skip to the next.  You don't have to give up on the whole book.  The one big disappointment I had with Mysteria Lane was Davidson's story.  Lame-o. 

I'm sure there are some book review purists that don't think it is possible to review a book without reading every word... but I am of the mind that there are so many books I want to read, why spend time on one I don't?  Unless I'm getting paid to review...(just holla atta girl if you need a reviewer!)

John with Pearl and Isis in background.

Just submitted to http://www.cuteboyswithcats.tumblr.com/

Paperback Swap 2

I realized in the last post I kind of went on a tangent and didn't really get into talking about Paperback Swap itself or why I finally decided to give it a try. So to back up: a couple of months ago I got to talking books with my favorite barmaid, Marion, and she told me about Paperback Swap. (There should be a link above, but just in case: www.paperbackswap.com If you tell them "beanbaleen" sent you, I get a referral, so drop my name, all right?) I check it out online and thought it was pretty neat, but really thought I could do okay by checking out various used bookstores around town and utilizing the library.

I'm sure there are probably some hard-core readers out there that can sympathize, but I exhausted my library. Don't get me wrong, I didn't read every freakin' book there... just the ones I wanted to. After that I was forced to wait for them to acquire new stuff, and this usually meant a ridiculous waiting list.

So I researched used bookstores in town and found an article that reviewed several. One listed was described as having a "large and friendly cat in residence." Hello? Major plus in my book. So what if it was a bit of a drive? So what if the salesperson was rude the first time I went? I'll give it a second chance. He outright made fun of me this time, so I opted that my own 5 fabulous felines at home would have to do and wrote his store off.

Another store was a bit closer, if noticeably cat-less, and they seemed to have a better selection. I don't want to name this store and hurt the business because I was always treated well, I just felt it was a bit expensive for a used bookstore. Emphasis on the USED lady, you can't get away with charging a dollar less that full price for an obviously used book. The last time I visited, which was the clincher, I took in about 40 books. Let me note to everyone at this time that I am very careful with my books and I am not a smoker, so they are in great condition. I selected 11 books and went up to see how much credit I had earned.

"It's going to be 26 and some change."

"Oh, that's what I have left over?"

"No, that's what you owe."

What?! It was time to seriously consider paperbackswap.com again.