The Strain by Guillermo Del Torro and Chuck Hogan

One of the more fun perks of my job is the fact that I occasionally get to read a book before it is published. Such was the case with The Strain, which comes out on June 2.

This book follows a group of epidemiologists investigating the strange deaths of all but three passengers and crew on board a flight that lands at JFK airport. These doctors discover that they're not dealing with a normal virus, but something much more supernatural.

Yes, this is a story about vampires, but these vampires do not sparkle in the sunlight. Nor do they fall in love with any of the human protagonists. These vampires are blood-thirsty and deadly. And most of them don't even have a lot of thought beyond feeding on human blood. These vampires are more like a disease quickly traveling through the island of Manhattan, and if not stopped will take over all of North America.

This novel was creepy, suspenseful and a whole new take on the traditional vampire mythology, although there are some nods to the classic Stoker, such as the large coffin full of dirt that transports the Master vampire to North America.

This book was very well-written and engaging, and Del Torro's film expertise gave the storyline a cinematic quality. The chronology and sequence of events was set up much like a movie would have been, which I think added to the suspense of the book.

If you're a fan of scary vampires and horror then I definitely recommed this book, though I warn you it's the first of a trilogy and the next book won't be out until next summer.

Cell by Stephen King

One of my managers found out I had never read a Stephen King novel and several days later she set Cell down in front of me and told me I had to read it. So I did.

When I got a few pages in, I wasn't sure I would be able to continue reading. I am not a fan of gore, and the first couple chapters of this book are full of people going crazy and ripping each other apart. Full on Zombie action, basically. But I kept reading and after once the story started moving there was less of the gore and stuff and the story itself was really interesting.

Cell is about a pulse that is somehow sent through all cell phones worldwide. Anyone who uses one essentially gets their brain wiped clean and re-wired. When you think about it, it's really an interesting commentary on how much the world relies on cell phones these days.

As I said before, it's my first Stephen King novel so I can't really compare it with any others, though I'll probably be reading more soon (Lisey's Story and The Duma Key are currently bargain books at Barnes & Noble, so I bought both).

I feel like I have to explain one thing, the fact that I have never read anything by King has absolutely nothing to do with a lack of interest in his writing. I've aways been fascinated by The Shining and really want to read it, and some of his other books. I think it's more the fact that the sheer size of all his novels has always intimidated me. Unlike authors like James Patterson and Nora Roberts, I actually have respect for Stephen King and his writing. (No offense if you like Patterson or Roberts, but I really feel like they just mass produce books for the profit, not for the writing itself. I mean, Patterson has had 3 books come out in 5 months and I guarantee he'll publish at least 5 more by the end of the year. Plus, 90% of those books are co-written by another author, so chances are, that other author did most of the work and Patterson just approved and slapped his name on it so it would become an immediate bestseller. I'm sorry if you're a fan, but I just can't respect the man.)

Now that I've gotten my Patterson rant out of the way, I'll close this post by saying that I really enjoyed my first Stephen King novel and plan on reading many more in the future.

Storm Glass by Maria V. Snyder

Storm Glass takes place in the same land as the original series four years after the events of Fire Study. Instead of Yelena, the main character of this novel is Opal, a glassmaker who was a minor character in Magic Study and Fire Study.

As I said earlier, it's been four years since the events in Fire Study and Opal is now an apprentice at the Magician's Keep, learning and discovering her own magical powers, which are connecting to her glassmaking.

I wasn't sure about this book at first because I had become so attached to Yelena, Valek and the other characters from the previous novels that I wasn't sure how I would feel about them not being the main focus of this novel (in fact, though Valek is mentioned multiple times, he never actually appears in this novel). However, this novel contains the same wonderful writing style and imaginationt that filled the pages of Snyder's previous three novels. Also, beloved characters such as Yelena, her brother Leif, Master Magician Irys and Ari and Janco do make appearances throughout this novel.

Also, I enjoyed the contrast between Yelena and Opal. While Yelena was always strong-willed, confident and determined, Opal is timid, uncomfortable and lacks confidence in her intelligence and magical abilities. And, since I have a great-uncle who was a glassblower I was fascinated by the passages on glassmaking in this book.

This novel was just as good as the previous three, and I'm looking forward to reading more about Opal in the future. The second book in this series, Sea Glass, is set to be released in September.

Fire Study by Maria V. Snyder

Fire Study is the third and at the moment final book focusing on Yelena Zaltana. Yelena struggles to come to terms with her newly discovered powers, while the Sitian council fears her abilities and she becomes involved in preventing a plot to take over the country of Sitia.

Again, I don't want to say to much to risk revealing things about the previous novels, but this book is probably the most intense of the three novels. However, I believe Poison Study remains my favorite, even though this novel is really good as well. Overall I really loved this series and look forward to re-reading it again soon.

Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris

Dead and Gone, the latest in the Sookie Stackhouse series, came out last Tuesday and only took me two days to read. While I must admit this isn't exactly my favorite in the series, it had the same entertaining charm as all the other books in the series.

In this book the shapeshifter community decide it's time to announce they're existence. This leads to many repercussions in Sookie's life, on top of a brewing war between faerie factions.

I think what frustrates me most about this books is that although Harris does not end them with cliffhangers, there are always a few loose ends that don't get tied up properly and leave you anxious for the next book. While I don't expect everything to be solved, I'm not a patient person so I don't like waiting for future books to answer questions I have.

Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder

Magic Study is the second book in the series by Maria Snyder. This book continues Yelena's story as she explores her newfound family history in the neighboring country of Sitia and begins her training as a magician.

I don't want to say too much about this book, it may give away plot points from the first. But I will say that while the first book remains my favorite, this book is also well-written and engrossing. I couldn't put it down.

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

This series by Maria Snyder has been on my reading for about a year now and I never got a chance to actually read them. However, since Maria was coming to the B&N where I work to sign her newest book I decided it was finally time to start reading.

I absolutely loved Poison Study. I think it only took me about 2 days to read this book. The book takes place in a country called Ixia, which is ruled by a military government. The main character, Yelena, is imprisoned and sentenced to death for murdering the son of a general. On the day of her execution she is given a choice: hang, or become the food tester for the country's Commander. Yelena accepts the job offer and begins training with Valek, the Commander's chief of security. This book contains a mixture of action, intrigue romance and magic.

Snyder's writing style is similar to Stephenie Meyer, however I believe these books are much better than the Twilight series. I loved the main characters, Yelena and Valek, as well as Ari and Janco, two soldiers who become like big brothers to Yelena.

I would highly recommend this series to anyone interested in fantasy, or any Stephenie Meyer fan who may be looking for something a little more mature than the Twilight books.

The Secret of Lost Things by Sheridan Hay

I bought this book on a whim, I hadn't heard much about it but thought it sounded kind of interesting. Several times before I actually started reading it I questioned whether or not I would really like it and perhaps I should return it. However, once I started reading it was hard to put down.

The Secret of Lost Things is about a young Australian girl who grew up on the island of Tasmania and moves to New York City to start a new life after the death of her mother. She finds a job in a used book store and when rumors of a lost manuscript by Herman Melville start circulating life gets complicated in the store.

While this story may seem slow to some, as there isn't a lot of action taking place, I found the story very compelling. As I was reading I wished I could work in a used book store in a large city. It sounded like a perfect job for someone who loves books as much as I do. I also found myself wanting to give reading Moby Dick a try. Maybe I will sometime soon, we'll see.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

I think this book has been on the paperback bestseller shelves since I started working for Barnes & Noble two and half years ago. I've always been kind of curious about it and finally decided last month that I was going to read it.

This book wasn't exactly what I had expected. I knew that it was a hugely popular novel, but wasn't too familiar with the book itself or what it was about. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I know it was something different. However I really did enjoy the book. It was another quick-read, but Coelho is a good storyteller.

As I was reading this book, which is a story of a young man on a quest to discover his "personal legend," I felt like I wasn't reading a novel, but a story that had been passed down through many generations. I could almost imagine listening to a storyteller sharing this story around a campfire. It had that kind of immortal quality to it. I know now why so many people love this novel.

The Reader by Bernhard Schlink

I had heard so much about this movie that I decided if I wanted to watch it I had to read the book first, as I do with most movies based on books. I really didn't know what to expect, but I found myself really enjoying this book.

The Reader is the story of a young man, who as a teenager has an affair with a woman approximately twice his age. She later disappears, only to reappear in his life years later as a defendent on trial for her actions as a guard of a camp in Nazi Germany.

I haven't seen the movie yet, but I really liked this book. I hope the movie is just as good.