Sunday, January 25, 2009

The Sunday Salon- Holidays on Ice


It is Sunday once again and time for the Sunday Salon. I've spent a lazy weekend of reading and watching movies with a little laundry thrown in. I'll get to what I've been reading this week but first a mini review of a book that I read during the holidays and haven't had a chance to talk about yet.

Awhile ago I finished Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris. I had heard lots of good things about the books and short stories that he has written so I was excited to read this. Plus, I was in the mood for a funny Christmas book. Holidays on Ice is made up of short stories all related to the holiday theme. For me it was a mixture of good and bad. The first story (sorry it has been too long ago) was my favorite about working at a department store as one of Santa's elves. It was hilarious and I found myself really liking the author's dry sense of humor. There were a few stories that were a bit over the top for my tastes but all in all I liked most of the stories. I will be interested to read more of Sedaris' work in the future and see what else he writes about. I rated this one a 3.5 out of 5.

Now on to more current book news. This week I finished a couple of books this week. I finished Circus of the Damned by Laurell K. Hamilton. I enjoyed this book and decided that this is my favorite so far in this series. She seems to be a love/hate author with most people so I'll be interested to see what my thoughts are when I get farther along in this series. I also finished The Reluctant Widow by Georgette Heyer and really enjoyed this one! It had a bit of suspense and mystery mixed into the book and I'll be honest I was entranced with the story. I will definitely have to give Mrs. Heyer a try again. Finally, I finished Call of the Highland Moon by Kendra Leigh Castle. I had read the 2nd book in this series first and so I went back to this one to catch me up. I absolutely loved the 2nd book and the 1st book did not disappoint. Ms. Castle is a very talented author and now I'm dying to read the 3rd book even though I'm not sure when it comes out :) It was a great reading week for me as I never usually read this much in one week! It helped that the kids went to bed early Friday night and my fiancee and I stayed up late reading/watching tv.

I'm currently reading Imitation in Death by J.D. Robb. I'm liking it so far but I'm not very far into it yet. I'm also working on American and the Age of Genocide by Samantha Power. I'm taking my time with this one as it is a big read but I know that I'm going to be better off for having read it. That's it out of me and I'll see you all next week. Happy reading!

16 comments:

  1. I've loved the Anita Blake Series so far - I am up to Burnt Offerings. You are right through about the love/hate relationship with her readers. (I don't know if I am going to like her changing from 1st person to 3rd person).

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  2. I agree about Holidays on Ice, there were a couple of them I didn't care for. For the Christmas elf story, I highly recommend you listen to him read it via audio book. His sarcasm and tone are so central to the stories. I don't care to read his books but I love listening to him!

    Have a great Sunday. I'm also having a lazy reading weekend, I didn't even get out of my PJs yesterday!

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  3. I haven't read Holidays on Ice yet, but I feel sure I will. I really love listening to Sedaris on audio--his voice is priceless!

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  4. Kara- You are farther along than I am but I will get there eventually :) Have you read any from the Meredith Gentry series?

    Terri- I'll have to try listening to one of his books next. I love lazy weekends!

    Andi- Sounds like I need to listen to my next Sedaris book. The elf story sure was funny :)

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  5. I've heard such great things on Sedaris. I hope to FINALLY get to him this year. Have a great week!

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  6. A lazy weekend sounds wonderful, Samantha!

    I haven't read anything by David Sedaris, but I have heard he's quite funny. I enjoy Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series. I'm one of the those who is less impressed as the series goes on, but I still am intrigued by the characters and their lives.

    I hope you have a great week!

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  7. Kristy- I waited a long time to read Sedaris and I'm glad that I finally got to him. Next, I'll try listening to him though ;)

    Literary Feline- I'm glad to hear your thoughts on the Blake series. I'm not very far into it but I hear it is the later books that are so controversial. And a lazy weekend is perfect :)

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  8. I love the Anita Blake series! I've read it twice. Looks like you read some great things this week!

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  9. I think that's about what I rated Holidays on Ice as well. I laughed out loud a lot in The Santaland Diaries (the first) but some of the stories were a little too disturbing for me. I do hope to read more of his stuff, though.

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  10. Ladytink- I did have a great week of reading. I'm scheduled to sub this week so my reading will probably slow down.

    Trish- That was exactly how I felt about some of the stories. Although after hearing everyone's comments I think I will try listening to one of his books next :)

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  11. I liked The Reluctant Widow too, glad to hear you enjoyed it.

    Have a great week!

    http://thebookworm07.blogspot.com/

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  12. Thanks Naida! I'm glad I gave Heyer a try and I will read more of her in the future.

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  13. Thanks so much Ladytink! I love the picture :)

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