Friday Finds #15

I've re-worked Friday Finds visually so that it works a little better with the new layout! I hope that everyone likes the changes. (And of course I would love to know. Either leave a comment or vote in the poll on the right.)

For this week's loot, I was lucky and got a 25$ gift card to Barnes & Noble for my birthday (which was yesterday)! That plus some spontaneous splurging made this week's haul pretty impressive.

1. Girl in the Arena by Lise Haines I was reading the newest entries over at Teens Read and Write when I saw a musical book review for Girl in the Arena. The review was cute enough that I wanted to find out more about the YA book, so I went off to read the summary. The dystopia-esque situation in which blood sports are widely broadcast sounded intriguing (and a little reminiscent of The Hunger Games, which I loved), so when I happened to see the book in stock between classes, I picked it up! Plus, the cover is pretty dynamic and interesting, isn't it? Genre: Young Adult/Science Fiction Purchased from the university book store.

2. Trading in Danger by Elizabeth Moon A while back I read Elizabeth Moon's The Speed of Dark. I loved the book--even though I was incredibly disappointed in the ending--because it was so layered and exceptionally written. I thought that if Moon used even just a portion of her skill for characterization that she showed in The Speed of Dark in her science fiction series, then it would be worth reading. I was quite pleased when I was able to swap the book on PaperBackSwap and it turned out to be in great condition. Genre: Science Fiction Traded for on PaperBackSwap.

3. The Soprano Sorceress by L.E. Modesitt, Jr. One of my ex-coworkers always says that L.E. Modesitt, Jr. is his favorite author. Naturally, after awhile I got sort of curious on what I was missing out on. And then I missed out on the convention in San Francisco and missed a chance to see Modesitt in person. Luckily for me, the book store still had some signed copies of Modesitt's work. I picked up the first of one of the series that seemed most unique. Although, if my friend was correct, Modesitt's unique magic systems should be more than enough to entertain me. Genre: Fantasy Purchased from an independent book store.

4. Spirit Gate by Kate Elliot There's always a book that I pick up, but know relatively little about. Kate Elliot has been on my list of authors I should read for awhile, but only because I had heard someone off-handedly mention that she was an important fantasy author. Even better, I also found this signed copy at the same book store I picked up the Modesitt in--so even though I missed the convention I got two signed books, which is almost enough to soothe the hurt of missing it! Genre: Fantasy Purchased at an independent book store.

5. Diving Into The Wreck by Kristine Kathryn Rusch I saw this one a blog a few weeks back (and I'm sorry, but I can't remember which blog at the moment). Immediately, the book was on my wishlist because of the title. The title, Diving into the Wreck, is also the title of my favorite poems by one of the only poets I adore: Adrienne Rich. As a bonus, after I read the summary (about two days after having added it to my wishlist) I found the premise to be something that meshes with my reading interests. Also, yes, I will totally give the author points if the book references Rich in any way. Genre: Science Fiction Purchased from the university book store.

6. Into the Storm by Taylor Anderson A few weeks ago I mentioned a book that was written by an 'A' author. This book was one I visited every time I was in the book store, but could never remember the author or title! Still, I've long been mesmerized by the beautiful cover--hence why I always sought it out during my book store visits. Well, I finally broke down and got the damn book. Turns out that it's Into the Storm by Taylor Anderson. And I do believe that a sequel was recently published, too. Genre: Science Fiction Purchased with a gift card at Barnes & Noble.

7. The Summoner by Gail Z. Martin Okay, I have to admit that I don't really know anything about this particular book either. I saw the cover of the newest book of the series (The Dark Lady's Chosen) all around the blogosphere and thought it was gorgeous, so I went looking for the first book. I should also probably admit that I haven't even read the summary yet for the book or the series. All I know is that the series is called Chronicles of the Necromancer. My thought on that is: I don't think I've ever really read about a necromancer. So why not now? Genre: Fantasy Purchased with a gift card at Barnes & Noble.

8. Kris Longknife: Mutineer by Mike Shepherd This book was mis-shelved at my old workplace and as I was moving it back to the proper place, I examined the cover and fell in love. I don't know what it is about campy sci-fi covers, but they just draw me to them. The campy green/purple and giant hole and big ass gun... Additionally, the protagonist sounded like she has the possibility to be a very strong female lead. I'm hoping that the author makes good on the possibility. Genre: Science Fiction Purchased with a gift card at Barnes & Noble.

Statistics:

Total # of Books: 8 Genre Breakdown:         Science Fiction - 5         Fantasy - 3         Young Adult - 1

Get anything good this week? Brag here! Even better, show the pictures of the loot!