The Epic of Gilgmesh translated by Andrew George

The tale of Gilgamesh and how he becomes friends with Enkidu after a horrible fight. Eventually Gilgamesh begins his search for immortality, only to have it stolen right out from under him at the end.


I read this story in my humanities class. Much of it was humorous and I can see how it would be instructive to tell people the mistakes made by Gilgamesh as they eventually teach him to be a better person. However, we've talked the silly thing to death so my brain is a bit fried out to write much more about it. I did rather enjoy it though.

The Secret Year Give Away

La Femme Readers is hosting a great giveaway for the book The Secret Year by Jennifer R. Hubbard.  Head on over, read the review (the book sounds great) and get yourself entered.  Click HERE

Perfect Timing by Jill Mansell

This book was a contest win from Source Books.

The book follows the life of Poppy as she meets a strange man in a bar on the night before her wedding and decides she just can't go through with it.  Too late, she also realizes she has no idea who this mysterious "Tom" is or where to find him.  Now right about here I started thinking this was going to end quite cliche, but the story is full of nothing but surprises.

Poppy moves to London and finds herself sharing a flat with people that you just can't help but love, hate, want to scream at them for being so stupid, and hug when they hurt.  Mansell brings these people to life and slowly fills in the side characters that become more important as the story goes on.

I will definately be picking up another of her books and if it is even half as good as this one I'll be completely hooked on her.

Halloween Book Giveaway

There is a contest going on at Bookin' with Bingo's blog for an excellent book called Midnight Fugue.  It's only open until 10/31 so hurry up and go get your entries in!  Here's a linky Midnight Fugue Giveaway

The Tombs of Atuan Review

The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K Le Guin

The second book of the Earthsea Cycle introduces us to Tenar, The Eaten One, or the high priestess of the Nameless Ones.  Tenar was selected at birth to hold this position and she loves to do so until the wizard Ged appears.

Ged is there to rob the secret vaults of the Nameless Ones to find a ring that is rumored to help restore peace.  Tenar discovers Ged when he enters the underground tunnels she loves to be in.

A nice second book to the series, and it also sets up the third (almost done with it) quite well.  I wish we were able to see more of Ged's life inbetween the books, but the glimpses of his life that the books do show us are fascinating.

4/5 stars

Hiding in Plain View Thursday

An idea taken from Tutu's Two Cents where we randomly pick a book from our bookshelves using random.org and librarything.com bookshelves.  I'm a day late because I spaced out on this yesterday, but here we go!

This is a novel of Ravenloft an alternate fantasy universe where only the "baddest" of the bad guys get stuck. 

From the back of the book:
When Aurek Nuiken travels to Richemulot to search for a spellbook that lies buried within the dark bowels of the undercity, little does he know the horrors that await.  As two beautiful women vie for the interest of the enigmatic scholar and his handsome younger brother Dmitri, a family of wererats and a double dose of sibling rivalry cconspire to endanger not only Aurek but the ojbect he holds most dear.  Faced with his own personal torment and the all-too-real monsters of Ravenloft, the scholar is pushed to the edges of madness and a choice no man should ever have to make.

I read this book many many years ago.  Ravenloft is a wonderful dark fanatasy series that captivates the reader. 

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

A great start to a new fantasy world for me. Ged's path starts at the discovering of his power. We follow him through his training to a cataclysmic event that releases an unknown horror on the world that hungers for everthing Ged is. Ged must find a way to run or fight and it is unclear which is the best decision or if Ged is even making the decisions or being driven by yet another unknown force.

This book is a story of a boy finding himself and accepting all that he is before he can become a man and fully grasp his powers. I have the next book waiting to go right now.

4/5 stars