Drew’s a bit of a loner. She has a pet rat, her dead dad’s Book of Lists, an encyclopedic knowledge of cheese from working at her mom’s cheese shop, and a crush on Nick, the surf bum who works behind the counter.

That is quite the plot! The only things missing is that she's a ketchup addict and can write with her toes.

It’s the summer before eighth grade and Drew’s days seem like business as usual, until one night after closing time, when she meets a strange boy in the alley named Emmett Crane.

The book has hardly started and she's cheating on Nick, the surf Nazi, with the dubious Mr. Crane.

Who he is, why he’s there, where the cut on his cheek came from, and his bottomless knowledge of rats are all mysteries Drew will untangle as they are drawn closer together, and Drew enters into the first true friendship, and adventure, of her life.

The cut on his cheek is a shaving accident. And "bottomless knowledge of rats"? He's probably an Orkin exterminator.

Hold on, when do they learn to fly???

Libby, you make me laugh

Sorry, Libby. I much prefer Shadowlander's blurb for the novel.

I'm currently reading a book called The World House by Guy Adams. The blurb sounds fantastical, almost fairytale-like (animals and objects come to life in a strange house of secrets and treasures) but with a more adult sensability. Sadly, cracking the book open reveals another thing altogether. It reads like a gritty drama with huge amounts of strong language and an ostrich. Yes. I think I'll be choosing another novel rather quickly. What a disappointment.

Not an expert on book preservation by any stretch of the imagination, but if you want to keep the possibly-infested book, maybe you could keep it in one of those little plastic storage boxes? They're not too expensive and the lids snap on pretty tightly.

Good idea, Bookwyrm! I wonder if a good quality plastic bag (such as a zip-loc bag) might work as well, if sealed/tied shut.

Thanks for all your words of wisdom, everyone. I do appreciate your help.

Hey guys,
I'm not technically new here...but I also haven't been on this thread in ages! Ah, I miss y'all!!!! I just wanted to jump in and note that a couple years back on this thread, in the midst of a discussion regarding excellent 'princess' books with pretty prose, someone recommended A Countess Below Stairs to me. Yes, it's taken me this long to get my hands on it and read it. But...I did read it.

And wow, oh wow, I adore it. I've read several scenes over and over again. Eva Ibbotson's writing is just so beautiful, like a painting, and the story gripped me. I tried to stretch out the read as long as I could, it was that good.

Anyway, thank you NarniaWeb Forum Book Thread - I will never forget you're stellar contribution to my bookshelf.

~theprincessspy (who is RSS subscribing to this thread again, after switching feed readers too many times to count, hehe)

Besides all that, I wasn't impressed enough by the novel to consider pursuing anything else [N.D. Wilson]'s written (that is unless somewhere here can convince me otherwise).

Well... if it's more his take on more fantastic events that bothered you, you might enjoy Leepike Ridge more...

I'm currently reading Wilson's newest book The Dragon's Tooth, which so far seems to be a steampunk-like variation on the themes of Treasure Island. (I realized this morning that if the initial impression holds true, it means that

=Long John Silver, and those little clues that I was passing off as 'you can't just trust people!' writing are a slightly subtler version of 'Beware the man with the peg leg'. And he's so likeable, too. *grumbles* I'm not sure if I'm happy I made the connection or not. )
EDIT: I was wrong. Should have waited another chapter before jumping to conclusions.

Shadowlander and Fencer: that's not how the book goes! no one actually flies! it's just a cool title! and you don't have to be a girl to like it. and, by the way, that description of the book wasn't written by me - that's what it says on the back of the book. and I promise you, the book's way better than the description makes it sound

I have recently been rereading books by Diana Wynne Jones. I just finished Howl's Moving Castle, Castle in Air, and House of Many Ways. I read The Lives of Christopher Chant and Charmed Life, for the first time, and enjoyed them a lot. All five books were good, but I liked Howl's Moving Castle and The House of Many Ways the best.

Ooh, wonderful reading, SummerSnow!! I've read all of those books, except Charmed Life, and I enjoyed them all - Howls Moving Castle remains to me to this day, as one of the best books I've ever read, but I also enjoyed the sequels. Have you watched the movie? It's amazing!! A lot different from the book, but just as good.

Elanor, I have watched the movie. I liked it a lot, even though it was different than the book. I did watch the movie first, so all through the book I could imagine the characters. That made it interesting, but frustrating at times, as they have different ages and looks in the book.

I watched the movie after I read the book, but despite a lot of big changes, it's one of the few movies that I liked just as much as the book - they're both one of my favorite books and movies. I didn't really like the changes, they didn't capture Howl (but then no one could!), but he was amazing anyway. I totally, totally fell in love with Christian Bale's voice. Great movie.
Oh wait - this is a book thread! Howl is the one of the most amazing characters ever written, in my opinion. I'd definitely recommend the book to everyone.

Finished reading David Tchappat's book Breakout: How I Escaped From the Exclusive Brethren. The book was an interesting and creepy look inside the manipulative, fear-mongering and segregated sect. The first half was good, the second half got old fast when David entered the world and drank excessively and womanized, amongst other things. The writing was pedestrian and the author seemed quite immature at times (naturally much of that could be attributed to his incredibly sheltered life but it's still worth mentioning). This sect is incredibly dangerous and should be exposed so families can be reunited and God's Truth (one of freedom) can prevail. Overall, this is an important book but not a great read.

I was both amused and angered when I noticed that the Exclusive Brethren have websites that mention that modern technologies (including the Internet) are all forbidden by them and considered ungodly. Anyone else see the irony here?

I'm currently reading Lamplighter, book two of the Monster Blood Tattoo trilogy. (It is a trilogy, yes? What with the pacing so far I'm not sure it could all be wrapped up in one more book...) Anyway. Foundling was good but didn't win any declarations of undying love. It was Dickensean, (and by extension, Strange & Norell-like) but lacked the neat tying up of ends that Dickens does at the end of his tomes. I thought that it didn't quite sink in the hook that made one NEED to read more.

Lamplighter, however... I think I've finally really warmed up to the world, and I feel that there are pressing reasons to worry about Rossamund's fate and we've been introduced to characters I actually like. Also, there are a few names that make me smile.

For yes, the millionth time (:P), I read Howls Moving Castle last night. It's such a wonderful book, definitely the best fantasy book I've ever read, minus Narnia and LotR. It's easy to read, funny, lots of emotion, and you can really sympathize with Sophy and some of the other characters. One of the best books ever!! I love the ending . . .

Meltintalle, yes, Monster Blood Tattoo is a series of three books. I thought the first book was good but not great. I'm glad you're enjoying the second one more (I certainly did). You're probably finding them to be an easier read because you read more classic literature than I do.