It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

"It's Monday! What Are You Reading?" is a weekly link up hosted by the wonderful Sheila at Book Journey.  Each week, we share what we read and what we are reading.




Last week's post told you about how I had realized I had skipped a book in the Esther Diamond series and I ordered "Polterheist" so I could read the missing book.

Funny story, in 2010 I read Doppelgangster (post about it here) and I remembered commenting how there were mentions of the previous book, "Disappearing Nightly" and it wasn't listed in the previous books list.  The author, Laura Resnick, had commented that it was out of print and that was why it wasn't listed.  I did order it used or maybe be bought it at a used book store at some point after that (maybe after I read Unsympathetic Magic or Vamparazzi).  However, I NEVER read it.  Ha.

I did read it last week (Hahahahaha!) instead of Polterheist.  I am in the middle of Polterheist as we speak BUT I decided to Google about the series.  I found this post by the author on Femme Fatales (a blog about female crime authors).  It was really eye opening to read about her journey in getting Esther Diamond published especially before the big comedic/Urban Fantasy wave.  She had a publisher but they didn't really market "Disappearing Nightly" but the amazing DAW books did believe in the series AND they published beginning with Doppelgangster (which is the second Esther Diamond book) and to the most recent, Misfortune Cookie.  It had me thinking about how much an author goes through to get their books out there and having a good publisher can make it happen.  I am glad that DAW did latch on to the series and that they have now printed Disappearing Nightly.  I have the previous publisher's copy, Luna, and frankly, the cover under Luna isn't as eye catching as DAW's cover.

It also makes me think about how having a good publishing house's name on the spine can make a world of difference- (For Example) I know if I see DAW, Del Rey, TOR, ACE, etc. I know chances are the SCI/FI or Fantasy series will be good is high.  I am not saying that under other printing houses they won't be... but it falls under branding.  Branding affects books as much as it can affect food and clothing.  I know it's really psychological but there is some truth behind it.

Enough of my random thoughts.  Just random ramblings.  Ha.

So, here are the two covers of "Disappearing Nightly"

I am sure it's obvious which one is by DAW and which one is the previous.  If you guessed the one on the right as being the DAW cover, you would be correct!

I enjoyed "Disappearing Nightly".  It's not the best one in the series but it sets the groundwork and you get to know Esther and how she meets her partners in mystical crime busting.  It's a fun book and I really enjoyed it.

I am in the heart of Polterheist at this time and frankly, I have laughed A LOT.  Satsy kills me and picturing him as the Drag Queen Santa and Esther as Dreidel, the Jewish Elf gave me giggles.  I am really enjoying this addition to the series!

As soon as I am done with Polterheist, I am jumping into... *drum roll* FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC! Woot Woot! The Lifetime remake airs this Saturday and I can't wait!  Check out the trailer in my previous post here.

Simon and Schuster has also issued a new cover and I did get a review copy, yay!!!  I haven't read it in YEARS and I can't wait to dive back in!