On My Wishlist (Jul 3)

On My Wishlist is a weekly meme hosted at Book Chick City.

Do you have any books that you desperately want but haven't bought yet? The books can be old, new or forthcoming.

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I've been in love with the Odd Thomas series since I first came across a few of the books in the series. I have Brother Odd (Odd Thomas, #3) and Odd Hours (Odd Thomas, #4). Now, if only I could get the rest of the books.

From goodreads: “The dead don't talk. I don't know why.” But they do try to communicate, with a short-order cook in a small desert town serving as their reluctant confidant. Odd Thomas thinks of himself as an ordinary guy, if possessed of a certain measure of talent at the Pico Mundo Grill and rapturously in love with the most beautiful girl in the world, Stormy Llewellyn. Maybe he has a gift, maybe it’s a curse, Odd has never been sure, but he tries to do his best by the silent souls who seek him out. Sometimes they want justice, and Odd’s otherworldly tips to Pico Mundo's sympathetic police chief, Wyatt Porter, can solve a crime. Occasionally they can prevent one. But this time it's different. A mysterious man comes to town with a voracious appetite, a filing cabinet stuffed with information on the world's worst killers, and a pack of hyena-like shades following him wherever he goes. Who the man is and what he wants, not even Odd’s deceased informants can tell him. His most ominous clue is a page ripped from a day-by-day calendar for August 15. Today is August 14. In less than twenty-four hours, Pico Mundo will awaken to a day of catastrophe. As evil coils under the searing desert sun, Odd travels through the shifting prisms of his world, struggling to avert a looming cataclysm with the aid of his soul mate and an unlikely community of allies that includes the King of Rock 'n' Roll. His account of two shattering days when past and present, fate and destiny converge is the stuff of our worst nightmares—and a testament by which to live: sanely if not safely, with courage, humor, and a full heart that even in the darkness must persevere.

From goodreads: I see dead people. But then, by God, I do something about it. Odd Thomas never asked for his special ability. He's just an ordinary guy trying to live a quiet life in the small desert town of Pico Mundo. Yet he feels an obligation to do right by his otherworldly confidants, and that's why he's won hearts on both sides of the divide between life and death. But when a childhood friend disappears, Odd discovers something worse than a dead body and embarks on a heart-stopping battle of will and wits with an enemy of exceptional cunning. In the hours to come there can be no innocent bystanders, and every sacrifice can tip the balance between despair and hope. You're invited on an unforgettable journey through a world of terror and transcendence to wonders beyond imagining. And you can have no better guide than Odd Thomas.

From goodreads: “Meet a young man named Odd . . . who helps the dead get even." From the infinite imagination of #1 New York Times bestselling author Dean Koontz comes the suspenseful graphic-novel debut of a natural-born hero with a supernatural twist. Odd Thomas is a regular nineteen-year-old with an unusual gift: the ability to see the lingering spirits of the dead. To Odd, it’s not such a big deal. And most folks in sleepy Pico Mundo, California, are much more interested in the irresistible pancakes Odd whips up at the local diner. Still, communing with the dead can be useful. Because while some spirits only want a little company . . . others want justice. When the sad specter of a very frightened boy finds its way to him, Odd vows to root out the evil suddenly infecting the sunny streets of Pico Mundo. But even with his exceptional ability–plus the local police and his pistol-packing girlfriend, Stormy, backing him–is Odd any match for a faceless stalker who’s always a step ahead . . . and determined to kill again?

From author Dean Koontz's website: When things get scary, it’s nice to know that Odd is on our side. The one and only Odd Thomas is back—in his second edgy and enthralling graphic-novel adventure from #1 New York Times bestselling suspense master Dean Koontz. It’s Halloween in Pico Mundo, California, and there’s a whiff of something wicked in the autumn air. While the town prepares for its annual festivities, young fry cook Odd Thomas can’t shake the feeling that make-believe goblins and ghouls aren’t the only things on the prowl. And he should know, since he can see what others cannot: the spirits of the restless dead. But even his frequent visitor, the specter of Elvis Presley, can’t seem to point Odd in the right direction. With the help of his gun-toting girlfriend, Stormy, Odd is out to uncover the terrible truth. Is something sinister afoot in the remote barn guarded by devilish masked men? Has All Hallows Eve mischief taken a malevolent turn? Or is the pleading ghost of a trick-or-treater a frightening omen of doom?

Book Beginnings and Friday 56 (Jul 2)

From Back Cover: It's a predator-eat-predator world for the Were-Hunters. Danger haunts any given day. There is no one to trust. No one to love. Not if they want to live... An orphan with no clan that will claim him, Wren Tigarian grew to adulthood under the close scrutiny and mistrust of those around him. A forbidden blend of two animals - snow leopard and white tiger - Wren has never listened to anyone when there was something he wanted. Now he wants Marguerite. Marguerite D'Aubert Goudeau is the daughter of a prominent U.S. senator who hates the socialite life she's forced to live. Like her mother before her, she has strong Cajun roots that her father doesn't understand. Still, she has no choice but to try and conform to a world where she feels like an outsider. But the world of rich and powerful humans is never to meet the world of the Were-Hunter who exist side by side with them, unseen, unknown, undetected. To break this law is to call down a wrath of the highest order. In order to have Marguerite, Wren must fight not just the humans who will never accept his animal nature, but the Were-Hunters who want him dead for endangering their world. It's a race against time and magic without boundary that could cost Marguerite and Wren not just their lives, but their very souls ...

My Book Beginnings on Friday and Friday 56 this week comes from Sherrilyn Kenyon's Unleash the Night.

Book Beginnings on Friday is hosted at Page Turners.

Anyone can participate; just share the opening sentence of your current read, making sure that you include the title and author so others know what you're reading. If you like, share with everyone why you do, or do not, like the sentence.

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"Law, much like life, was ever a study of trials ...."

The Friday 56 is hosted at Storytime With Tonya and Friends.

Share the fifth sentence (plus one or two others) from page 56 of the book nearest to you.

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That seemed to amuse her.

Frankenstein

Title : Frankenstein Author : Mary Shelley Reading Dates : 24 Jun - 28 Jun 2010

An excerpt from Frankenstein

"You, who call Frankenstein your friend, seems to have a knowledge of my crimes and his misfortunes. But in the detail which he gave you of them he could not sum up the hours and months of misery which I endured wasting in impotent passions. For while I destroyed his hopes, I did not satisfy my own desires. They were forever ardent and craving; still I desired love and friendship, and I was still spurned. Was there no injustice in this? Am I to be thought the only criminal, when all humankind sinned against me? Why do you not hate Felix, who drove his friend from his door with contumely? Why do you not execrate the rustic who sought to destroy the saviour of his child? Nay, these are virtuous and immaculate beings! I, the miserable and the abandoned, am an abortion, to be spurned at, and kicked, and trampled on. Even now my blood boils at the recollection of this injustice."

Book Review of Frankenstein.

Since Frankenstein is such a fairly known story, I've chosen to replace my usual book summary with an excerpt from the book. This particular passage to me sums up my reactions to the book. Frankenstein the book is unlike any of the dramatisations I've ever seen of the story. Unlike the many different versions I've seen in the past, there's no clear-cut hero and villain in the story. Frankenstein is no mad scientist but merely an ambitious and misguided young man who sought to make his mark in the world. And once he realized his mistake, made the situation worst by attempting to shirk his responsibilities. Whatever amends he attempts comes too late and at too high a price. Meanwhile, Frankenstein's creation while hideous in appearance was not monsterlike in nature at the start. Shunned and persecuted for his appearance despite his many attempts to gain the good will of the people he meets, he sought vengeance against the one who had abandoned him to despair and loneliness. Like Frankenstein, he comes to regret his actions but the deed is done and no amount of remorse can undo the evil he has done. What I like about the story is the way it is told. Seeing things from both the main characters viewpoints made it very easy to understand and sympathize with them. The same event has different meaning when first seen through Victor Frankenstein's eyes, then his creation's. At different parts of the story, I found myself first blaming one then the other. In the end, the tale reads like a series of tragic mistakes. Everyone had to shoulder a part of the blame and yet in the beginning no one meant to do harm. Apart from that, there were just some minor complaints. The first is that we understand too little about the other characters. We know of them but care very little for them. Their deaths should be something horrible but the only feeling I had was pity for the main characters. The other is disbelief at how Frankenstein could have misinterpreted the monster's promise to see him again on his wedding night. Even if I didn't already know what would happen, it would have been quite obvious what the creature intended. Was it wilful blindness ? Shouldn't the monster's meaning have been quite plainly understood ? Anyway as a rule, I don't normally like stories with sad or tragic endings but Frankenstein was such an absorbing read that I wouldn't mind reading it again. It certainly makes you think and wonder at this cautionary tale. Beware what you do when seeking knowledge and glory. You can read or download Frankenstein by Mary Shelley for free.