Ariana Franklin has just released the newest in her Mistress of the Art of Death series–Grave Goods. This story is a great mix of forensics, history, and legend. Adelia has to determine if skeletons found are indeed those of King Arthur and his bride Guinevere. The regular supporting characters play a very minor role in this novel, but the rest of the story sweeps you along.

If you haven’t read the other books in the series, try Mistress of the Art of Death and The Serpent’s Tale. All three books are available at the library.

So, in the Fall I am teaching a one-credit Reading Circle on Love Stories. Therefore, lately, I have been reading lots about love. I am currently reading The Ghost in Love which is about what happens when there is a glitch in the dying process–the Angel of Death is not sure why–and someone that is supposed to die does not. I have also read The Time Traveler’s Wife, which will be a part of my Reading Circle, and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, which is one of my favorite books this year.

On Wednesday, the team from the Southern Association of College and Schools left MU with no recommendations and lots of great comments about our Quality Enhancement Plan.  Stay tuned to see what happens next.

Lately, I have read Unclean Spirits by M. L. N. Hanover, The Anteater of Death by Betty Webb, and The Messenger by Jan Burke. I would recommend all three of them.

In Unclean Spirits, Jayne goes to Denver because her uncle was murdered. There she found out that the world was not what she expected. She ends up fighting wizards. It’s great fun–kind of a Buffy the Vampire Slayer grown-up book. It’s the first book in an expected trilogy, but it has an ending an doesn’t completely leave you hanging.

The Anteater of Death is a very different kind of book. This is the first book in a new series for Betty Webb. The zookeeper, Teddy, is determined to save Lucy, the pregnant anteater after a body is found in her enclosure. So, Teddy snoops around looking for the real killer. I really enjoyed this book. It’s a mystery, there’s a love story, and you can’t miss the antics of Teddy’s father hiding from the law. I hope that you like this as much as I did.

Finally, The Messenger, was an interesting supernatural love story. It was a great departure from Jan Burke’s regular characters, a journalist and her husband the detective. So, in The Messenger, Tyler Hawthorne is able to hear and relate the last thoughts of the dying. As part of this power, he cannot die, and he heals almost instantly. The man who passed this power to him wants his power back. So, Tyler and his neighbor (read love interest) work to save Tyler and thwart the bad guy. In the beginning of the novel, I had to keep telling myself about suspension of disbelief, but after awhile, you do get sucked in, and it reads very quickly.

Over Christmas break, I was able to catch up on my reading. I read M. J. Rose’s The Memorist, Katherine Neville’s The Fire, Jane Lindskold’s Thirteen Orphans, and Mercedes Lackey’s Foundation. I would recommend any of them. Both The Memorist and The Fire are thrillers which travel the world. I had read the book prior to The Fire which is called The Eight, but you don’t need to since an excellent recap happens in the early parts of the book. I enjoyed it very much. Then Thirteen Orphans and Foundation are both fantasy novels. Thirteen Orphans is set in our world, but it has connections to another. Foundation is set in Lackey’s famous Valdemar world where a group of horses called Companions help their special people. Foundation is a great place to start reading Lackey’s books since it is a prequel to others. Let me know what you think about these and other books!

The library is looking for current students, alumni, staff, and faculty to write about the books that they are reading for fun. Fun includes anything but your textbooks! You could be reading novels, manga, graphic novels, true crime, biographies, history books, or anything that excites you. If you like to read for fun and want to share your thoughts with others, you could be a blog author! You are also always encouraged to post any appropriate comments. You definitely don’t want me to be the only author.  Trust me.