September has turned into let’s see how much we can squeeze into my schedule month. It began with Dragon*Con, then the Yellow Daisy Festival, a trip to Emory for my Rheumatology appt.,  and soon my mother’s 60th birthday, a trip to Destin, FL and to top the month off, AWA (Anime Weekend Atlanta). Yes. Two conventions in one month. o_O

I turn to books to keep me sane. Here’s the low down on what I’ve read, what I’m reading, and books on my radar.

What I’ve Read

I had almost finished The Dog Stars by Peter Heller before heading off to Dragon*Con. Overall, I have mixed feelings about the book. Here’s my mini review from Goodreads:

Three stars. I like it, but I didn’t love it. The ending seemed to drift off into the unknown and I’m not sure there was a clear story arc. Heller wrote wonderful characters but it felt like something was missing.

Let me say too, I would consider The Dog Stars literary fiction. I’ve read quite a bit of post-apocalypse literary fiction, new and old. It’s my thing. Literary fiction or not, I felt like the story was missing a defined climax. I didn’t feel any resolution at the end and instead had questions.

(I purchased the hardback of The Dog Stars from Barnes & Noble.)

I also read The Safe Zone by Jody Wenner (YA Post-Apocalypse) on my Kindle. The story was great, and I love the cover, but the book needs more editing. It’s never good when you find yourself editing a book as you read it, no matter how much you enjoy the story. I give it 3/5 stars.

I bought this book while it was being offered for free on Amazon.

What I’m Reading Now

I have two books on my nightstand. One I’m reading now and one I’ll be picking up very soon. Both are books I bought at Dragon*Con.

Vampire predators run wild in this exciting steampunk adventure, the first in an alternate history trilogy that is already attracting attention. In 1870, monsters rise up and conquer the northern lands, As great cities are swallowed up by carnage and disease, landowners and other elite flee south to escape their blood-thirsty wrath.

One hundred fifty years later, the great divide still exists; fangs on one side of the border, worried defenders on the other. This fragile equilibrium is threatened, then crumbles after a single young princess becomes almost hopelessly lost in the hostile territory. At first, she has only one defender—a mysterious Greyfriar who roams freely in dangerous vampire regions.

Sixteen-year-old Ephraim Scott is horrified when he comes home from school and finds his mother unconscious at the kitchen table, clutching a bottle of pills. The reason for her suicide attempt is even more disturbing: she thought she’d identified Ephraim’s body at the hospital that day.

Among his dead double’s belongings, Ephraim finds a strange coin—a coin that grants wishes when he flips it. With a flick of his thumb, he can turn his alcoholic mother into a model parent and catch the eye of the girl he’s liked since second grade. But the coin doesn’t always change things for the better. And a bad flip can destroy other people’s lives as easily as it rebuilds his own.

The coin could give Ephraim everything he’s ever wanted—if he learns to control its power before his luck runs out.

 Books on my Radar