Have you read The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman? If so, there’s no doubt that you’ll like The Subtle Knife, part two of the series.

In The Subtle Knife, Lyra leaves her world…and ends up in ours. She soon meets Will, the bearer of the Subtle Knife, a knife with two extraordinary edges. One edge can cut through any material, while the other can cut doors to other worlds into the air.

Armed with the Knife an the Alethiometer, Lyra and Will set out on an unclear mission.

This book is a great sequel to it’s predecessor; unfortunately it ends rather abruptly. There are cool tie-ins with the previous book.

I highly recommend the His Dark Materials series, though you should definitely start with the first book (The Golden Compass).

“It tells the truth. As for how to read it, you’ll have to learn by yourself.” With these words, Lyra is given an Alethiometer. Armed with this mysterious tool, which will answer any question truthfully, she sets out on what will become an adventure, determined by an ancient prophecy.

The story takes place in another world, similar to ours. Geographic locations, like Oxford and London, exist…though they are different. Packed with action and mystery, the story flows well. Once you get into the book, you’ll have trouble stopping.

I really enjoyed the book, reading it in a couple days despite my busy schedule, and I’m presently waiting for the movie, which will be released in December.
If you want a believable fantasy book, try The Golden Compass. If you like it, there are a couple sequels.

Have you ever wondered what the most fair way to rate books is? Problem solved. I’ve come up with LibRate, a rating scheme that I think compares books in a semi-fair manner.

Okay, there are five options when you rate a book:

5. This rating applies only to Harry Potter

4. This rating, also known as “Beyond Really Good,” is for books like The Dark is Rising, Dragonriders of Pern, and Terrier. In other words, books that are exceptional…but of course none of them are exactly as good as Harry Potter.

3. Also known as “Really Good”. This rating is for enjoyable boks.

2. Also known as “Okay”. Use this rating for books that are sort of….”Eh, whatever”.

1. A.k.a. “Bleh!” Need I say more?

Now, you can also use decimals in your ratings as well.For example, 3.5 would be halfway between a “Really Good” book and a “Beyond Really Good” book. You should also note that the spacing between the ratings is not equal (see below chart). Though the space signifies a great difference is quality, it does not affect the way you form your decimals.

Well, that’s LibRate.

Note: Take this seriously at your own peril.

I finished my second reading of The Dark Is Rising series. The first was 4 to 5 years ago, and I remember being excited and enthralled by it. This time, looking at it more objectively, I noticed that there is an excitement building within the books similar to an orchestra rising to a crescendo. This is an impressive achievement for the author. The series is a masterful work of storytelling. It has the complexity of Tolkien without the heaviness. The language is filled with the High Magic making the reading an awesome poetical experience.

The story just touches on Arthurian legend, and yet it still has a strong Arthurian feel. The books are heavily laced with a mystical and magical sense of purpose and of destiny, though a wrong turning at one point or another could change the whole outcome. Read the rest at BookAdvice.net.

Podcasting Hacks is a great book on, well, podcasts.

In case you didn’t know, a podcast is “a Web-based audio broadcast via an RSS feed, accessed by subscription over the Internet” (definition from Dictionary.com).

Podcasting Hacks teaches you to subscribe to podcasts and (mainly) how to create them. The book covers everything from microphones to recording software to podcast websites.  If you’ve ever thought “I wish I had a radio talkshow”, then you should read this book. There are other books on podcasting, but this is the most complete one I’ve seen so far.

It’s fairly easy to produce a podcast, though it takes up some of your time. For a great example of a podcast, check out PotterCast.com.

Leonardo’s shadow is an interesting book about Leonardo da Vinci’s servant.

It’s set in the 1400s, when Da Vinci is painting The Last Supper in Milan. Basically, Leonardo is working on his flying device instead of the painting…and racking up huge debts.

There’s plenty of funny dialog, a bit of action, and the hilarious thoughts of the servant (the book is written in a hybrid first-person style).

Leonardo’s Shadow is interesting, thought-provoking, and enjoyable to read. I’d recommend reading it. If your local library has it, try it. If you have something to say about it, fell free to comment.

Just because it’s labeled as a “children’s book” doesn’t mean it isn’t good. In my experiences, “children’s books” are better.

Look at Harry Potter. Though it’s tagged as a “children’s book,” it’s without a doubt my favorite series. After the last book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, would you seriously consider it a “children’s book”? When the seventh book comes out, you really won’t consider it a “children’s book”.  Seriously.

Plenty of books bridge the gap between “children’s books” and others. Take a look at Terrier or Trickster’s Queen by Tamora Pierce. If I didn’t tell you what the publishers classified them as, would you honestly guess correctly? The same goes for the Harry Potter series. The first couple of books may have been written at a lower level, but they went uphill pretty quick.

Please. “Children’s books” are the sort of books 1-10 year olds read. I think the term needs some revision. In recent years, new markets have sprung up in the publishing industry.

Just because it’s considered a “children’s book” doesn’t mean it isn’t good. Ignore the classification, read the book anyway.

Trickster’s Choice and Trickster’s Queen are more fantasy books by Tamora Pierce. They are…different from the rest of her books, though.

In a typical book by Tamora Pierce, the main character is focused on attaining some goal, relentlessly plowing through the plotline. In these two books, however, the heroine is more easygoing…and funnier. The storyline is no less serious than any of Pierce’s other books. It’s more serious if anything. Seeing as the character, Aly of Pirate’s Swoop, is a Spy rather than an aspiring knight/mage/whatever, it makes more sense.

The two books detail the rebellion of the native people of the Copper Isles (Aly is actually from the nearby country of Tortall, though she ends up in the Copper Isles). Three hundred years previously, the patron god of the Isles was ousted, and simultaneously the Isles’ rulers were overthrown. In the present day Copper Isles, a rebellion has started…the head spy for the operation being Aly of Pirate’s Swoop.

The books are well written and interesting, though they do take longer to read than the rest of the author’s books. Tamora Pierce has improved remarkably as an author, going from the somewhat childish Song of the Lioness series to current works like Trickster and Terrier.

The Leaky Cauldron has made yet another countdown to the upcoming Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (to be released July 21). The new countdown features a rotating Deathly Hallows book and a daily trivia question. Other countdowns can be found on The Leaky Cauldron Countdown Page and The Site of Requirement Countdowns Page.

Cell: A Novel is the only book I’ve read by Steven King so far. So far, it’s the best book of his I’ve read.

In Cell, an odd happening called The Pulse (a wave sent through cellphones to their users). Basically what The Pulse did was erase all the cellphone users’ brains. Scary?

The book details the survival of a small group of people who weren’t Pulsed because they didn’t have cellphones. By survival I mean “running from insane ‘Phoners’.” Eventually th Phoners started to develop a sort of single mind resembling that of an ant colony. “Survival” is a broad term including most of the book.

Though a little…odd, it was a good book. Even though it’s really hard to describe (this is my third time trying to write this review), it’s still good. The book got going with the main plot really fast. There were only a few pages before the Pulse happened. Judging by what I’ve heard from other people, this must be one of his less-scary books.

By the way… I don’t have a cellphone (and neither does Steven King).