Things to share with you

I think I'm a sharing person. I'm a sharer. It's in my nature.

(Okay, that's total bullshit. I'm like Alex P. Keaton making a sticker for Andy that says "I KNOW WHAT'S MINE." Seriously. I'm just drunk, because we went to dinner at this Greek restarurant that has $5 martinis, and I had the Dulche de Leche martini--OMGfantastic--and the Mai Tai martini, which was also delicious. On an empty stomach. So I am drunk, a bit, and in a loving and giving mood.)

Anyway. There is one thing I am always willing to share, even though I hoard french fries like the Nazis hoarded gold.

Books.

And when I read a book that totally and completely sucks me in, that makes me wish desperately I was part of that world and knew those people, or that stays with me long after I finish it, I share it.

Like Caitlin Kittredge's STREET MAGIC.

I think I've talked about this book before (have I talked about this book before? Because I think I have.)

Here's the thing. STREET MAGIC? SO awesome. Seriously. So awesome. You must read it.

This is the blurb:

Her name is Pete Caldecott. She was just sixteen when she met Jack Winter, a gorgeous, larger-than-life mage who thrilled her with his witchcraft. Then a spirit Jack summoned killed him before Pete’s eyes—or so she thought. Now a detective[MSOffice2] , Pete is investigating the case of a young girl kidnapped from the streets of London. A tipster’s chilling prediction has led police directly to the child…but when Pete meets the informant, she’s shocked to learn he is none other than Jack. Strung out on heroin, Jack a shadow of his former self. But he’s able to tell Pete exactly where Bridget’s kidnappers are hiding: in the supernatural shadow-world of the fey. Even though she’s spent years disavowing the supernatural, Pete follows Jack into the invisible fey underworld, where she hopes to discover the truth about what happened to Bridget—and what happened to Jack on that dark day so long ago…

Sounds good, huh?

But STREET MAGIC is so much more than that, and it's about so much more than that. It's about redemption and darkness. It's about the sexiest mage ever put on paper. It's about secrets and what hides behind people's eyes and about how hard t is to connect with others no matter how hard you try. It's about loneliness and perfection and how we all keep trying to find it but fail. It's about how what appears to be true really isn't, but you know the truth in your heart.

All wrapped up in TOTALLY AWESOME. I got to read this book in ms form some time ago and was totally blown away.
Seriously. THIS is the UF we've been waiting for. This rivals de Lint and Gaiman for sheer kickcassness. No, I'm not joking.

Okay. We all know Caitlin and I are friends. I'm not going to pretend we're not or that I don't have some sort of personal bias here. I love Caitlin, and I think she's a fantastic writer on a technical level, just not a great storyteller.

But guys, you know me. I don't recommend stuff unless I really, honestly and truly think you'll enjoy it, do I?

I have *never* felt so much like recommending a book as I do STREET MAGIC. Go buy it. You won't be sorry.


Um. I also highly recommend Richelle Mead's latest Succubus book, SUCCUBUS HEAT, which I just finished last night. It's excellent. The best Georgina book so far.


Also. Several years ago--I guess about seven now--the hubs and I went to a small local Star Trek con being run by a friend of ours. As we wandered around we saw a man sitting by himself at the end of the signing aisle. We wanted to go talk to him, the hubs especially, as he was a big fan. But the man looked so grumpy, so out of sorts, that we were afraid to. We didn't want to intrude on what was either private unhappiness or just general pissed-offedness. And frankly, the man was charging for autographs and we didn't have any extra cash.

The man was David Carradine, and he died last night in an apparent suicide.

I can't speak to what anyone might be feeling when they take their own life. I won't lie and say I know how it feels, although I won't lie and say I've never been close to that, either, or that I don't know what it is to think about it, to want to do it (you can tell I'm drunk, can't you? I'm Opening Up). But this is horrible. It's a terrible thing. And I don't really have anything else to say about that.

But I do have one other book to recommend, on a similar note. John Green's LOOKING FOR ALASKA. It's a YA; it's about love and loss and the future, and three days after reading it I'm still half-caught in its world. Grab it. You can buy it at the same time as STREET MAGIC.

You won't regret either purchase, I promise.