Regnery Publishing Announces Plans To Publish Chuck Norris Best Seller

WASHINGTON, D.C. Regnery Publishing today announced it has signed a contract with actor, martial arts expert, and bestselling author Chuck Norris. His new book, tentatively titled Black Belt Patriotism, will be released in summer 2008.

Free Ride: John McCain and the Media

A book about how the media fawns over McCain, with a no-way-in-hell-is-that-unintended photo of the presumptive Republican nominee emanating divine Republican wisdom. Wink-wink, nudge-nudge. The Chris Matthews header quote says it all. “The press loves McCain. We’re his base.”

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling

Harry is starting his 4th year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and already the mischief has started before he’s even arrived at the school. It starts with Harry having strange dreams?or are they visions??of Lord Voldemort, which leave him with a scorching pain in his forehead scar. And at the Quidditch World Cup, someone conjures the Dark Mark, Voldemort’s sign, right in front of Harry and his friends. Do all these signs point to the imminent return and rise to power of Voldemort? Or are they just coincidence?

Well, it just so happens that Hogwarts will be hosting a very special event this year, a competition which hasn’t taken place for several hundred years?the Triwizard Tournament. Perhaps that’ll take Harry’s mind off his problems. Or maybe it’ll just make them worse since someone has decided to enter him as a Hogwarts Champion, an honour normally reserved only for older students with more experience. But since the Goblet of Fire has given his name, he is obliged to compete, whether he wants to or not. And perhaps someone is hoping that Harry just may die for it!

After finishing Goblet of Fire, I immediately wanted to see the movie again because I felt I understood so much more than when I saw it initially. Many of the new characters and some of the things that happened in this one seemed rather random to me when I saw the movie, but after reading the book, I see how everything (and everyone) all fits together. Since Goblet of Fire was a hefty 734 pages, whereas the previous three books were quite a bit shorter, I can see how a two-hour movie might not quite do this book proper justice. I’m glad to hear that the movie deal made for book seven is going to be done in two parts instead of trying to squish it all into one.

So though I was initially thinking this was the weakest one so far, after having only seen the movie, I now have to retract that thought after reading the book. There is some additional depth given to many of the characters here, and we learn a few new secrets about some of them. A lot of it is very mysterious and dark. We also start to see hints of a burgeoning romance between Ron and Hermione….

I really enjoyed this one a lot, so much so that I immediately wanted to start reading Order of the Phoenix right away. (And I’m holding off on seeing that movie until I read the book first.) Unfortunately, I have a number of other books I really need to get read before the end of the month; this was my short, quick detour to read one of my personal collection books that has been sorely neglected because it doesn’t have an agenda after, or I don’t owe a review for it, or something like that.

Review – The Angel of Death

The Angel of Death by Alane Ferguson

Assistant to the county coroner Cameryn Mahoney is back, and with her comes more murder in the tiny town of Silverton. One of her favorite teachers, Brad Oakes, is found dead in his home by Cameryn’s classmate Kyle. But the body is odd, burned as if set on fire, with not nearly enough damage to the rest of the room.

Once again, Cameryn reckless puts herself in the path of the killer, determined to see this mysterious killing solved even if it costs her own life. Add to that whole mess, Cameryn starts flirting with both Kyle and one the Deputies, Justin. And as if things couldn’t possibly get worse, it seems Cameryn’s long absent mother has returned to Silverton.

As a sequel this book was a bit of a disappointment. Many readers will find Cameryn’s sudden departure from the analytical to typical teenage stupidity extremely out of character. Also, the mystery portion falls a bit flat; most will have the identity of the killer figured out long before the end of the book.

Review – The Christopher Killer

The Christopher Killer by Alane Ferguson

Cameryn Mahoney is in need of a part-time job, and what better place to start than with her father, the coroner. Cameryn is a forensics junkie, and brilliant to boot. She wants nothing more than to be a coroner or medical examiner and spend her days helping the dead. But when a classmate turns up dead Cameryn must set aside her feelings to help her small-town sheriff track down a serial killer before anyone else ends up dead. And in the grand style of shows like CSI or Crossing Jordan Cameryn gets herself stuck right in the middle, wanting to prove she’s good enough to find the answers. Even if it puts her right in the path of the killer, making her the next target.

Fans of forensics shows will find this book entertaining: it’s got the excitement and pacing of an episode, with just enough scientific detail, and spiced up with a dash of blood and guts. Hardcore mystery fans might not be as pleased, the killer is fairly easy to spot before the end of the book.

Paul Newman – A Life In Pictures, Dherbier & Verlhac (Chronicle)

As overseas pickups from France’s Editions PHYB, the ‘Life In Pictures’ series make decent enough coffee table books though much of their success as a project truly depends on the subject at hand. By creating a compendium of photographs taken by various sources throughout one’s early days and public career, the books are only as interesting as the photographic subjects they chronicle. For the Newman book, the chronology covers his early days in acting school, his famed long-term marriage to actress Joanne Woodward, starring roles in films like Hud, Paris Blues, Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy, Winning and The Sting, to his passion as a race car driver and team owner at the 24 hours of LeMans, Daytona and the Long Beach Grand Prix. While Newman’s sense of family, career highlights and philanthropic strains come though in the main, the whole history is rather shortchanged with a scant eight-page biography supplemented by selected quotes scattered throughout the book. While clearly meant to be a picture book, the images appear inconsistent and random (i.e. for the film for which he finally won the Oscar for Best Actor, Marty Scorsese’s ‘The Color of Money,’ Newman is only represented in the book by the movie’s one-sheet poster) and thus fail to paint nearly a compelling enough portrait of what is generally regarded as one of America’s most revered actors. PHYB is coming with a similar ‘Life in Pictures’ edition this fall on Marilyn Monroe (also to be distributed by Chronicle in the US). One would expect that this kind of light-on-copy, heavy-on-pics treatment would be more well suited to that subject indeed. – Tim Devine

Confessions of a Werewolf Supermodel by Ronda Thompson

On the night of her senior prom, shy, awkward Shelly Billington discovers that she has the ability to shapeshift into a werewolf, particularly when she’s feeling scared or threatened. Unfortunately, that was the first and only time she’s fully transformed, and superjock Tom Dawson paid with his life that night. Granted he had attempted to rape her and her rage took over, but still…

Now 7 years later, having fled that small town in Texas where it all went down, she’s changed her name, her identity, and one of the fortunate side effects of the change her looks. She’s now Lou Kinipski, successful supermodel living in a swanky high-rise in New York City. For the past 6 months however, Lou’s been having strange nightmares… and strange “hairy” outbreaks that coincide with the moon’s cycle. And two women who look very much like Lou have been murdered. I think her past is about to catch up with her… now!!!

I had recently read the Midnight Pleasures anthology, which included a short story by Ronda Thompson. That was my first introduction to this author and I really liked her style. I expect to eventually read her Wild Wulfs of London historical romance series via bookrings from CandyDarling, but was quite happy to find this stand-alone novel by Ms. Thompson which was just published last month. I do hope she decides to continue these characters in a series of their own as I really liked this book a lot.

I’d say it leaned more towards paranormal chick-lit, in the style of MaryJanice Davidson’s Betsy Taylor series, as opposed to paranormal romance. We didn’t have any sappy happily-ever romance/relationship issues. Lou’s got her own real-life problems, but prefers to let the world think she’s just an airhead supermodel with no brains. Her best friend Cindy is a lesbian, a makeup artist, and knew her back when she was still Shelly Billington. The many situations they get themselves into are touching, humorous, and fun.

Unmasqued: An Erotic Novel of The Phantom of The Opera by Colette Gale

I’m a huge Phantom fan. I’ve seen it on stage several times, read the original book by Gaston Leroux, have the movie version on DVD in my collection, and have the original Broadway production soundtrack on CD. So I guess you can say I know my Phantom. For the other Phantom fantatics out there, know that this book is based on the Broadway play and movie version, not the original Gaston Leroux book. However, this is probably the version most people are familiar with anyway.I read through the reviews over at Amazon and was surprised at the number of negative reviews complaining about the sex. Sheesh, it’s an Erotic novel people! That’s why the word is part of the subtitle even! Though from that same vantage point, I actually found the sex scenes a little lukewarm and only mediocre for my taste. This wasn’t the spicy hot erotica I usually find like in Ellora’s Cave or Black Lace books. Granted they were explicit, but in my opinion, more along the lines of what you find in an erotic romance as opposed to full-out erotica. But I suppose that’s how she got published with a major publisher instead of an Erotica-specific one such as Ellora’s Cave or Black Lace. I’m not faulting her in any way for this, simply stating the facts.I really did enjoy this take on Phantom though, taking it at face value. Sure, I think it could’ve been a little hotter on the sex as I already stated. But I enjoyed the fleshing out of the various characters: Christine Daa

Kate Christensen Wins PEN/Faulker

Kate Christensen’s The Great Man, which “follows the stories of three women left behind when a famous painter, whose career they have supported, dies,” has been awarded the 2008 PEN/Faulkner award.

Christensen joins a prestigious circle of writers that includes Don DeLillo, TC Boyle, Philip Roth and Richard Ford. And it must be especially joyous for Christensen, as she was slapped with the “chick-lit” tag at the beginning of her career. In fact, the Guardian headline reads “Former ‘chick-lit’ author wins PEN/Faulkner award” and the article quotes Christensen as saying “It (being tagged as a chick-lit author) gave me something to prove.”

So, considering all this, how disappointing is this cover for the forthcoming paperback? I’ll let you answer that question; I know what I think.