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ARC Review: Runes

17563021I’ve been fortunate to be a book reviewer of all sorts of books, from fiction to metaphysical subjects. I’m hoping to start posting more reviews here on Shades of Maybe. Today’s review is of Runes by Ednah Waters, a ARC I received through netgalley.com.

I must say that it was very enjoyable. The characters felt more real than most YA books, they had well rounded lives that involved equal measures of school, modern day internets, and high school participation. The story felt a bit rushed but it was a good opener for a promising series. The supernatural bits kept me guessing and I can say that I look forward to learning more about the world that Walters has created. As a resident of the Pacific Northwest, I loved that this book was set in Portland, Oregon’s backyard. I also enjoyed how Walters used runes in her story. I don’t read runes but I love divination types and seeing that the runes were made into a magical system, that also doubled as a type of tattoo, got me really excited. I can’t wait to see how this system develops and morphs later in the series. If you want a good, fun and fast read, then Runes will be that book.

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Make Good Art

There are times, like right now, when I am so steeped in reality that I find it hard to unclench my teeth, and my fists and do what it is that I love doing. It’s been awhile since I really put pen to paper… and today I just got a reminder about doing it.

Neil Gaiman addressed a graduating class this year. This was his speech. I highly recommend creatives watch it:

Thanks for the reminders once more, Neil.

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A New Dress for SoM

So, in-between all this house hunting insanity (and it has been really insane, but that’s a topic for another post), my domain host sends me an email to let me know that my old theme’s design was compromised. Well, I couldn’t have that. Therefore I updated my theme to this one. It’s a bit more simplistic and I sorta like it. And it should be free from issues.

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It’s now 2012, and where have I been?!?!?

It’s 4 months into 2012 and I have been absent on this blog. Why? Well, there’s a lot of factors that have contributed to my absence. I got hit with plague, and con crud in December-February, and my depression has been a bit out of control. Before those months, I have been busy with my tarot business and writing my first tarot book, finding ways to support myself and teaching tarot. I have quite a bit of a backlog of things to post about and will try and do that soon!

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2011 in Books

I stepped up my reading habits this year and here’s a nice graphic of all the books I read in 2011. I also completed my GoodReads.com reading challenge of 100 books in one year.

Jaymi’s 2011 book montage

Brainstorm
Zombies Vs. Unicorns
Crescendo
Heck: Where the Bad Kids Go
Letting Go of the Person You Used to Be: Lessons on Change, Loss, and Spiritual Transformation
Buddha's Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom
Spiritual Mentoring: A Pagan Guide
Slights
Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary
Happy Hour of the Damned
Hunter
Energy Essentials for Witches and Spellcasters
Dark Oracle
Spellbent
The Demon's Lexicon
Brightly Woven
Beyond Prediction: The Tarot and Your Spirituality
Rituals for Life: Create Your Own Sacred Ceremonies
52 Projects: Random Acts of Everyday Creativity
Glimmerglass



Jaymi’s favorite books »

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Tarot Inspired Life

Tarot Inspired Life was written in 2011 as my first non-fiction (nano rebel) entry for NaNoWriMo. I am currently editing this book for publication. Usually I attempt to keep posts of my adventures through the month but as you can see, this was the first month I was a NaNoWriMo ML, which meant that I wrangled the cats during this month. Writing a novel, helping 100 Wrimos, and trying to keep up with everything isn’t an easy task.

Download inspirational NaNoWriMo Macbook Air Desktop (featuring artwork from the Steampunk Tarot)


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Kender’s New Toy

For a year or two now, kender and I have been discussing the option of him getting his motorcycle license. Last Tuesday, this dream came true when he passed his license test with flying colors. Then he began the long process of finding his bike… which took a lot less time than I expected. He bought a brand new Kawasaki ER-6n (the n stands for nekid) in a beautiful blue shade.

He spent all last weekend riding it around the neighborhood and city streets. After the first ride on Sunday, he announced that he was ready for me to hop on the bike. So a very nervous jaymi tossed on her 20-year old leather biker jacket, jeans, and kender’s old autocross helmet and fitted herself on the back of the bike for a short loop around the neighborhood. I wasn’t sure about how I’d feel but after a week’s worth of rides, I can say that I’m loving it.
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