The Cup and The Crown by Diane Stanley

The Cup and The Crown by Diane Stanley, 344 pages
(sequel to The Silver Bowl)

Once again we meet up with Molly, King Alaric and Tobias. This time, King Alaric sends Molly on a mission to find a loving cup her grandfather made. What she finds instead leads her to secrets of her past and portents of her future. One special person from "The Silver Bowl" makes an appearance in quite the unusual way. This story was well told with twists and turns a plenty.

Dealing with Dragons by Patricia Wrede

Dealing with Dragons by Patricia Wrede - 212 pages

Princess Cimerene is bored with the life of a princess.  The final straw is when her parents decide to marry her off to a prince she finds completely boring.  So she runs off and becomes the princess of the dragon Kazul.  It is the perfect life for her.  It's full of excitement.  She's just uncovered a plot by the wizards to kill the king of the dragons and rig the test to choose the next king.
I read this series years ago when I was in college.  I loved it.  When I was looking for something to listen to while driving out to Columbia for a meeting I came across this series on audio and decided to give it a listen.  It is a wonderful audio version.  It is a full-cast reading of the book. 

Ur, by Stephen King, 60 pages

Ur, by Stephen King, 60 pages

Wesley is a mediocre English professor at a mediocre university whose main comfort in life is books.  When he buys a newfangled Kindle off of the internet in order to impress someone, his life takes on dangerous excitement.  It manages to work itself into part of the Dark Tower series, too.

Joyland, by Stephen King

Joyland, by Stephen King, 283 pages

Devin Jones is spending his summer vacation working as a carny in a small amusement park.  He is recovering from a broken heart, finding out more about the park's alleged ghost, and overall having the summer that will define him for the rest of his life.  King is the master of nostalgia pieces, which is how I would best describe this- although mystery and ghost story would also apply.  Not a bad story, but not my favorite and not a work that best typifies Stephen King.

Carrie, by Stephen King

Carrie, by Stephen King, 253 pages

The story takes place in the late 1970s, but the tale is timeless.  Carrie is a girl bullied in high school and terrorized by her zealous and religious mother at home.  Life looks bleak, and then Carrie discovers she can move things with her mind.  The most popular guy in school asks her to the prom, and while you may think you know the story from there, I highly recommend reading the book.  Carrie is given more depth and emotion than clips of the prom scene from the movie could ever reveal, and the other characters are slightly more sympathetic. The story is tragic and inevitable.

"Green Rider" by Kristen Britain

"Green Rider" by Kristen Britain, 450pgs

I didn't think I'd ever be able to finish this book. The end almost made the hard journey worth it. Karigan G'ladheon has been expelled from school and is on her way home to father when she is stopped by a man dying from two arrows that pierced his back. He is a green rider (an elite messenger service to the king) and entrusts her (a young teenage girl) with a message to deliver to the King. Karigan pledges to see his message delivered no matter what. Somehow she faces highwaymen, elite fighters called Weapons, a gray-cloaked/magic wielding man and various creatures/horrors along the way without losing her life. In fact, most of the time she's protected by ghosts, magic, people popping up in the woods, etc. While the plot line itself does have many flaws, it is still entertaining. I have had several patrons comment on what a fantastic read it was. It just wasn't a great read for me.

11/22/63, by Stephen King

11/22/63, by Stephen King, 849 pages

Jake Epping is convinced by the local diner-owner to jump through a portal in time and prevent the assassination of JFK.  Sound a bit ridiculous? Yep. It was.  This book had the typical Derry, Maine angle, which is always fun for readers of his other works.  But the time travel angle, which is always difficult for writers to pull off, did not really ring authentic or developed.  The most engaging part is actually the burgeoning love affair between Jake and Sadie, a woman of the past- a love that can never survive if Jake is to effectively change history.  Or can it?