Angieville

Earlier today I ran across a list of favorite fictional thieves put together by Julie over at A Small Accomplishment . Love the name of her blog, by the way! Well, you can imagine how my mind immediately took off, conjuring up the familiar, battered faces of my own favorite ne'er-do-wells. So just for fun, here they are (in alphabetical order), the top five, with all their expansive charm, dubious glory, and inescapable claims on my heart: Eugenides   The Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner George Cooper  The Song of the Lioness quartet by Tamora Pierce Liesel Meminger   The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Mickle   The Westmark trilogy by Lloyd Alexander Robin Hood  The Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley and  Lady of the Forest by Jennifer Roberson Who are your favorite thieves? I'd love to add a few more rascals to the list...

Just a few interesting places to stop on your rounds this Monday morning: You've heard me go on enough about the wonder that is Megan Whalen Turner 's Queen's Thief series. Well, now (for a limited time) you can read the first book-- The Thief -- for free online over at Harper Collins' site . Go see what I've been blathering on about. If you're looking for another push, go read Ana's review of the latest installment over at The Book Smugglers .  Next, (because I can't help myself and I loved the book and they're making a a movie!) here is the official movie trailer for Beastly --the film adaptation of Alex Flinn 's novel.    Who can say for sure? But it's got NPH and this can only be a good thing. Really, if you haven't read the book and you enjoy B&B retellings, definitely give it a shot.  And lastly, the story of a father-daughter reading streak that will leave you feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. Seriously, if you don...

I figured we should start the new year out right. And what better way to do that than with a review of what is quite possibly my most anticipated title of 2010? Thanks to my lovely book fairy and the benevolent folks at Greenwillow , I was the giddy recipient of a coveted ARC of Megan Whalen Turner 's upcoming A Conspiracy of Kings . For those not in the know, this is the fourth novel in the spectacular Queen's Thief series . The series that effectively robbed me of the ability to form coherent thoughts and/or sentences last February. The series that cast a complete spell over me and whose praises I have felt compelled to sing ever since. The series Ana and I had more than one spontaneous Twitter lovefest over. The series that was, hands down, my best discovery of 2009. So. Here we go. Sophos has had it rough since parting ways with his old friend Gen after the adventures of The Thief and their narrow escape from the Queen of Attolia's dungeon. In fact, things have g...

This book has been sitting on my shelf for several (we won't go into how many exactly) years. I even *gasp* had both sequels sitting on the shelf next to it. And in the interest of full disclosure, I even started  The Thief  a couple of years ago, got 25 pages in, and stopped. For reasons I no longer recall. The fault, whatever it was, was clearly mine because this book is the beginning of something truly special. I completely understand why it won the  Newbery Honor  and am very glad it did. Gen is a thief, and a rather boastful one at that. Claiming he can steal anything, Gen succeeds in making off with the King of Sounis' seal only to brag about it to the wrong man and get himself thrown in the King's prison indefinitely. Along comes the Magus, the King's senior advisor, who pulls Gen out of prison and sets him an impossible task. Journey to a hidden temple, steal a mythical artifact, and turn it over to the King. On pain of death. A long, slow, excruciating de...

Please accept my apologies for the unusual pause in our regularly scheduled programming here. I seem to have read  Jellicoe Road   followed by a double chaser of The Thief and The Queen of Attolia . Am now sitting here gobsmacked at the excellence. Reviews to follow just as soon as I recover the power of speech.