A weekly event on my blog where every Wednesday I post about 5-10 books (not necessarily pre-release or new) that I've just added to my wishlist, along with a little blurb on why I want to read it.

Let's try the theme thing agian 8D




Me, Myself and Ike
by K.L. Denman
release date: 1 October 2009

After watching a tv program about Otzi, a 5,000-year-old "Ice Man," Kit's friend Ike becomes convinced that Kit's destiny is to become the next ice man — a source of information for future generations. Together they obtain artifacts they think will accurately reflect life in the early twenty-first century and plan their journey to a nearby mountain. Kit gets tattoos similar to Otzi's, writes a manifesto and tries to come to terms with making the ultimate sacrifice. As he grows more and more agitated and isolated, his family and friends suspect that something is terribly wrong, but before they can discover the true severity of the situation, Kit and Ike set off on what could be their last journey.

Why it's on my wishlist
About a schizophrenic dude who is planning to "iceman" himself - basically freeze himself with modern artifacts (ex. Blackberry, condoms, etc.) for future humans to discover. "Ike" is the voice of a recently discovered caveman that Kit (tha narrator) hears inside his head. I'm very taken by the premise, and plus it is set in Canada 8D And of course the cover looks hauntingly gorgeous.


How to Make Friends with Demons
by Graham Joyce
release date: 15 November 2008

William Heaney is a man well acquainted with demons. Not his broken family - his wife has left him for a celebrity chef, his snobbish teenaged son despises him, and his daughter's new boyfriend resembles Nosferatu - nor his drinking problem, nor his unfulfilling government job, but real demons. For demons are real, and William has identified one thousand five hundred and sixty-seven smoky figures, dwelling on the shadowy fringes of human life, influencing our decisions with their sweet and poisoned voices. After a series of seemingly unconnected personal encounters - with a beautiful and captivating woman met in the company of an infuriating poet, a troubled and damaged veteran of Desert Storm with demons of his own, and an old school acquaintance with whom he shared a mystical occult ritual - William Heaney's life is thrown into a direction he does not fully comprehend. Past and present collide. Long-dormant choices and forgotten deceptions surface. Secrets threaten to become exposed. To weather the changes, William Heaney must learn one thing: how to make friends with demons.

Why it's on my wishlist
This sounds hilarious actually. A government worker who identifies "demons" (1567 so far) that live in the shadows and try to manipulate us. I've categorized this as mental issues/wackiness because I'm still not quite sure the narrator is sane lol. The plot summary also seems along the lines of "wacky paranormal" with eccentric characters and an even more eccentric plot. Plus, you know, hilarity.




Vineart Wars #1:
Flesh and Fire
by Laura Anne Gilman
release date: 13 October 2009

Fourteen centuries ago, all power was held by the prince-mages, who alone could craft the spell-wines. But the people revolted against harsh rule, and were saved by a demigod called Sin-Washer, who broke the First Vine, shattering the hold of the prince-mages.
In 1378 ASW, princes still rule, but Vinearts now make spellwines, less powerful than in days of old. Jerzy, a young slave, has just begun his studies to become a Vineart when his master uncovers the first stirrings of a plot to finish the work Sin-Washer began, and shatter the remains of the Vine forever. Only his master believes the magnitude and danger of this plot. And only Jerzy has the ability to stop it...before there are no more Vinearts left at all.

Why it's on my wishlist
Very unique magic that involves wine. The guilty-by-association vibe (since the princes aren't the only ones using Vineart anymore) looks to be a very interesting direction of development. Also, the cover is growing on me because I seem to have a baggy-clothes fetish XDDD;


A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts
by Ying Chang Compestine | Illust. Coleman Polhemus
release date: 27 October 2009

According to Chinese tradition, those who die hungry or unjustly come back to haunt the living. Some are appeased with food. But not all ghosts are successfully mollified. In this chilling collection of stories, Ying Chang Compestine takes readers on a journey through time and across different parts of China. From the building of the Great Wall in 200 BCE to the modern day of iPods, hungry ghosts continue to torment those who wronged them.
At once a window into the history and culture of China and an ode to Chinese cuisine, this assortment of frightening tales - complete with historical notes and delectable recipes - will both scare and satiate!

Why it's on my wishlist
Chinese ghost stories! This is a short story collection of historical events that center around the belief that ghosts who feel they've died unjustly/hungry come back to haunt us. It promises a look into tales set in both past and contemporary China, as well as an emphasis on Chinese cuisine ♥


Collegia Magica #1:
The Spirit Lens
by Carol Berg
release date: 5 January 2010

In a kingdom on the verge of a grand renaissance, where natural science has supplanted failing sorcery, someone aims to revive a savage rivalry...
For Portier de Savin-Duplais, failed student of magic, sorcery's decline into ambiguity and cheap illusion is but a culmination of life's bitter disappointments. Reduced to tending the library at Sabria's last collegia magica, he fights off despair with scholarship. But when the king of Sabria charges him to investigate an attempted murder that has disturbing magical resonances, Portier believes his dreams of a greater destiny might at last be fulfilled.
As the king's new agente confide, Portier - much to his dismay - is partnered with the popinjay Ilario de Sylvae, the laughingstock of Sabria's court. Then the need to infiltrate a magical cabal leads Portier to Dante, a brooding, brilliant young sorcerer whose heretical ideas and penchant for violence threaten to expose the investigation before it's begun. But in an ever-shifting landscape of murders, betrayals, old secrets, and unholy sorcery, the three agentes will be forced to test the boundaries of magic, nature, and the divine...

Why it's on my wishlist
I recently bought Transformation (by the same author) and her name caught my eye as I was browsing through Cherry Mischievous' blog. I'm really looking forward to the themes of science triumphing over weakening magic, and the bitter misfit hero. And of course, like in Transformation, men who dislike each other but have to work together is a favourite premise of mine XD;




The Queen's Thief #1:
The Thief
by Megan Whalen Turner
release date: 31 October 1996

The king's scholar, the magus, believes he knows the site of an ancient treasure. To attain it for his king, he needs a skillful thief, and he selects Gen from the king's prison. The magus is interested only in the thief's abilities.
What Gen is interested in is anyone's guess. Their journey toward the treasure is both dangerous and difficult, lightened only imperceptibly by the tales they tell of the old gods and goddesses.

Why it's on my wishlist
This kid steals the King's seal just to prove he can. He's thrown in jail and then "released" when the King's assistant asks him to help him steal a magic stone thing for the King. I realize that this may be for a younger audience (Gr.6+) but it promises a "surprise ending", and I'm already half in love with the "honourable thief" character of Gen from the summary alone.


The Man Who Loved Books Too Much
by Allison Hoover Bartlett
release date: 17 September 2009

Rare-book theft is even more widespread than fine-art theft. Most thieves, of course, steal for profit. John Charles Gilkey steals purely for the love of books. In an attempt to understand him better, journalist Allison Hoover Bartlett plunged herself into the world of book lust and discovered just how dangerous it can be.
Gilkey is an obsessed, unrepentant book thief who has stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of rare books from book fairs, stores, and libraries around the country. Ken Sanders is the self-appointed "bibliodick" (book dealer with a penchant for detective work) driven to catch him. Bartlett befriended both outlandish characters and found herself caught in the middle of efforts to recover hidden treasure. With a mixture of suspense, insight, and humor, she has woven this entertaining cat-and-mouse chase into a narrative that not only reveals exactly how Gilkey pulled off his dirtiest crimes, where he stashed the loot, and how Sanders ultimately caught him but also explores the romance of books, the lure to collect them, and the temptation to steal them. Immersing the reader in a rich, wide world of literary obsession, Bartlett looks at the history of book passion, collection, and theft through the ages, to examine the craving that makes some people willing to stop at nothing to possess the books they love.

Why it's on my wishlist
"The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession"!! A rare-book thief who steals for the love of books instead of profit. I really do love stories about thieves, especially sympathetic ones whom you can identify with (though not necessarily on a criminal level), and the "detective"/writer of this book explores all aspects of literary obsession and understanding the impulse to steal these books. Also this is non-fiction, and I do enjoy narratives of true crime.

I think I'll stick to this themed format for future posts =D

That's all for this week, you can see my full wishlist at goodreads.