Blood Wyne

I know you have heard me talk about this author before, but I have to tell you...every one of her books that I read just gets better and better! Yasmine Galenorn's newest book, Blood Wyne is the newest installment in the Otherworld series. Blood Wyne is told from the point of view of Menolly, one of the three D'Artigo sisters who ae half-Fae and half-human and are living Earthside instead of in the fairy realm. The three sisters are each a different type of supernatural beings--Camille is a witch, Delilah is a shapeshifter who turns into a cat and a panther and Menolly is a vampire. They live with Iris, a house sprite, are raising a baby gargoyle named Maggie and have a wide assortment of supernatural beings as friends and lovers. The basic premise of the series is that the three sisters are fighting against Shadow King, a very nasty demon, who is trying to find all of the spirit seals and open a permanent portal between Earthside and Otherworld. In this installment of the series, Menolly is helping to track down a vampire serial killer who is targeting young women and threatening to make Earth very intolerant of vampires! The stories are based in Seattle and it is refreshing to read descriptions of places I have visited and visualize where the stories' action is taking place. Galenorn's writing is magical--her characters are fascinating and the world she weaves is very believable. I look forward to reading the next installment in this wonderful series! If you'd like to "try" reading the Otherwold series, start with the first one, Witchling. The stories can be read alone, but since the characters lives build throughout each book, you will be less lost if you start with book one! Plus, the library has purchased these books in paperback so they are very handy and can be slipped into your purse for convenient "reading-on-the-go!" Yasmine Galenorn is the author of several other series, including the Indigo Court Series, several Berkley Prime Crime titles and casmetic-focused series she writes as India Ink. Check out her website at http://www.galenorn.com/ or follow her at www.twitter.com/yasminegalenorn.

Honey, Have You Seen My Other Sock?

I am sure you are like me and have TONS of "one sock wonders"...you know one sock of a pair that you swear you saw the match for about a week ago? What exactly do you do with a pair of socks that is missing one of them, that you can't bear to part with? Well, you make sock creatures, of course!!! Brenna Maloney's new book, Sockology: 16 New Sock Creatures, Cute & Cuddly...Weird & Wild is a wonderful, exciting, instruction book that teaches you how to creature cuddly creatures from your lonely socks. Benna Maloney gives great advice--she says that you should never throw away any of your socks with missing pairs, because you can use the material later to make fantastic creatures. Once you look at this book you will understand the great appeal of missing socks. Maloney teaches even the novice stitcher how to make sweet, cuddly animals from ordinary socks, using knee highs, crew, and any other types of socks you might have lying around the house. Maloney's writing is half the fun of this book--it's humorous and sarcastic and very entertaing---but she also includes a guide to the stiches she uses, patterns for each creature and suggestions on how to make each creature your own creation. This is a truly fun book for any person with a flair for sewing or crafts---and could be used with a class for a group project as each creature can be sewn by hand or machine. Sock exchange, anyone?

Have a Date with the Grim Reaper

Second Grave on the Left is the new installment in the Charley Davidson series, written by Darynda Jones. Charley is the grim reaper--even if she is beautiful, charming, likes to wear t-shirts and make-up and is a private investigator. This is the second book in the series and the writing in both is hilarious, sarcastic, action packed and sure to amuse any mystery fan. Charley comes from a "police officer" family as her dad and Uncle have been employed by the Arizona Polic Department. Her dad is retired and owns a bar and Charley's office is housed in a room behind the building. Charley can read the emotions of people as well as "see" departed ones. Dead folks are drawn to Charley because she is a brilliant light to them and she helps them cross over from this world into heaven. This creates some interesting challenges for Charley as she is always talking to people that only she sees and they often appear to her in rather inappropriate places (like the shower). Charley also has several admirers and one is a supernatural being that appears to her in spirit form and is her antithesis. Trying to deal with their major attraction to each other is very complicated and leaves Charley breathless most of the time. Charley is aided in her investigation by her office manager, Cookie and the mystery in this book involves one of Cookie's friends who suddenly disappears. Cookie enlists Charley's help in solving the mystery and in the process they uncover a scandal from high school that threatens to have them all killed. Charley is a strong and likable heroine and will be enjoyed by anyone who likes humorous mystery stories--if you are a fan of Janet Evanovich, you will love reading Darynda Jones!

Go for GAGA

Lady Gaga is a fascinating musical artist that has been in the news recently. Whether you know her for her outrageous clothing, euro-beat music or fascinating music videos, she is certainly an entertainer for today's age! If you are curious about getting the chance to know her better, try checking out her biograpy, GAGA by Johnny Morgan (B Lady Gaga). The book contains the story of her fascinating life, including many full-color, full-page photos from her recent tours and from other stages in her life. I especially enjoyed reading the vignettes about the people in her life who influenced her music and fashion sense (such as Andy Warhol, Freddie Mercury and Alexander McQeen). The book is well-written and leaves the reader with the sense that he/she has learned a lot more about the things that motivate Lady Gaga to continue to perform. I look forward to reading more about this rising star as her career continues to burn brightly. Johnny Morgan is the coauthor of The Art of the LP, consulting editor on the New York Times best-seller Hippie and has written popular music books for over twenty years. If you like reading this book, scan the library's Biography section for other gems---I bet you'll find a story about another "famous" person that you'll enjoy reading too.