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Tuesday, June 26, 2018

Rx for a Reading Slump!





I am very fortunate to be part of an industry where I have access to Advance Readers’ Copies of yet-to-be published books, and work with wonderful publishers, such as Macmillan and HarperCollins who generously send me bookmail - lately every week!  It’s wonderful, but also sometimes overwhelming, as I also receive boxes of books once a month from other publishers to review for possible inclusion on the Texas Library Association Lariat List - Recommended Fiction for Adults. Some days, I just cannot decide what book to read next!  When that happens, I may reach for an old favorite, just to get me motivated to read more good stories.

Last week, I happened to see a book I read years ago called Glass Houses, by Rachel Caine. It’s a YA title, but I enjoyed it just the same.  Part of the “Morganville Vampires” series, Glass Houses is the first book that introduces the main characters and the unique town of Morganville, which is set in Texas, y’all. (Ms. Caine is also a resident of the Lone Star State).

Claire Danvers, a 16 year-old freshman at Texas Prairie University, in Morganville, Texas, encounters some trouble with the queen-bees in her dorm room, and winds up rooming with some older teens in an old mansion called “Glass House.”  Initially oblivious to who really runs Morganville, Claire gradually comes to realize that there is something quite strange about her new town. People don’t go out after dark. Everyone wears some sort of bracelet with archaic symbols. One of her roommates can’t leave the house, and only appears once the sun goes down. To someone who excels in science and math, Claire has a hard time believing what she is seeing - Morganville is filled with vampires. 

I know, I know - we are embarrassed to say we read Twilight, and even won't admit to enjoying adult Urban Fantasy books. But, for a quick escape from reality, I say, “what the hell,” and read them anyway!

What started out as a fun story about a strange little town, eventually turned into a 15 book series for author Rachel Caine, who continues to write excellent YA and Adult Fantasy, and who recently moved into thrillers with Stillhouse Lake and Killman Creek.

The Morganville Vampires series isn’t for everyone (I can see you there, holding your nose), but reading the first two books in the series over the weekend got me out of my slump and back into some excellent new titles.  I’m currently working my way through Number One Chinese Restaurant by Lillian Lee, Star of the North, a thriller by D.B. John, and The Indigo Girl, an historical fiction novel about a little know figure in U.S. history named Eliza Lucas.

So, there you go: my cure for a reading slump - pick up something you enjoyed in the past…..and enjoy it again!

Happy Reading!


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