Teaser Tuesday...to spark your interest in books!! Kevin Hearne-Iron Druid Series

Shattered by Kevin Hearne (The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book 7) (Fantasy) NY Times Best Seller!

"Granuaile raised her hand. I have a problem with this plan to stab my father in the head and the heart!" (pg 66)

Hunted by Kevin Hearne (The Iron Druid Chronicles, Book 6)

“Atticus speaking: "Do you mean Pi, the mathematical symbol?"

Oberon the Irish Wolfhound: "< No, Atticus, I mean Shepherd's Pie. I'm not going to confuse that with math. Shepherd's Pie is delicious and desirable, math is not.> " (pg 67)

The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne have, for the most part, been an entertaining and fun series for reading. I just barely finished the 8^th book in the series called “Staked”, and to me, it didn't seem as good as the other volumes. I got a bit bored with all the Norse mythology stuff being rehashed over and over again, could it be the author was struggling for ideas? (Not surprising after writing seven volumes about the same characters.) I just wanted to read about Atticus (the main character) and his latest adventures. I stopped reading “Staked” about 2/3 through and put it away for a few months, then I pulled it out again the other night and completely finished it within a few days. It's not my favorite one of the series but the story is still entertaining and witty. I will continue to be a fan of the author as he creates more adventures for these characters. The one unique thing about the latest book is that it bounced around between three main points of view- Atticus (main character and the one known as the iron druid) his female student and now a full druid Granuaile, and Owen, Attticus' old druid master who was rescued from being trapped in time. It is an interesting story telling device having the three points of view, it also was sometimes a bit confusing. I can't say if I liked the technique or not yet, I am reserving judgment on that for now. Throughout the series there have always been parts of the story including “conversations” between Atticus and his dog (and the dogs point of view), these are some of the best parts of all the books. Oberon, the Irish Wolf Hound is the dog, he is one of the characters I love in this series.

A man with his Irish Wolfhound.

Author Kevin Hearne

Teaser Tuesdays- To Spark Your Interest in Books of All Kinds!!

Notes to Myself (My struggle to become a person) by Hugh Prather (self-help, philosophy) (1970, 1983)

"All I want is for you to accept me as I am."

"Yes, and all I want is for you to accept my not accepting you."

A small volume that takes the reader on a ride of introspection. Interesting and inspiring, good for pondering, mindful. These are collected thoughts from the author's journal. Lends itself well to reading in bits and pieces, thoughts about oneself, handling life, relationships, human emotions. Put together in an unusual format with no page numbers.

“Next time I will ..."
"From now on I will ..."
- What makes me think I am wiser today than I will be tomorrow?”

“Now that I know that I am no wiser than anyone else, does this wisdom make me wiser?”
― Hugh Prather, Notes to Myself: My Struggle to Become a Person

The author was a lay minister, author of self-help books, and a counselor. The book had sold over 5 million copies and has been translated into 10 languages. Prather died of a heat-attack in 2010 in his Arizona home.