WAKE, and UNDER THE DOME in thirds.

I loved these books!

First up, "For seventeen-year-old Janie, getting sucked into other people's dreams is getting old." Wake's main character slides in and out of the dreams she catches, the moment someone near her falls asleep.  WAKE has voice, chutzpah, and is written in a refreshing third present viewpoint (which works) with a truthful, honest narrative. 

WAKE was released in 2008, but I will put this as one of my favorite books read in 2011, and will definitely pick up the sequel, FADE.

On the other side of the literary world, "On a beautiful autumn day in Maine, a transparent dome materializes over the town of Chester’s Mill. Once the Dome falls, all vestiges of normal life are suspended. Things run amok. They get scary."

UNDER THE DOME, by Steven King is a study in dizzying third-person omniscient multiple *MULTIPLE* viewpoints. Clocking in at just over 1,000 pages, DOME, is pure scary, graphic King and a terrific study for anyone hopping around in multiple heads in your works of progress.

If you're a fan of the King *I'm a fan* you won't be disappointed by THE DOME--the book's hefty, but hard to put down.  A win/win with a terrific read, and a good upper body workout.

Breaking Bad, With Books.

Watching a rerun of Breaking Bad last night got me thinking about my habits.  First, if you're not familiar with Breaking Bad, it's about a suburban drug dealer and how his -- work -- affects his family.  But my habit's not anything like that, no way.  My indulgence? 

Books.  Lots of them.

"Helen, that's not so bad," you say, but maybe so. I'm a bit OCD when it comes to these pulpy pages filled with Garamond typeface. 

Here's how it works: If I buy one book in a series (and I like it) then I HAVE to purchase the series.  AND, if I buy the first set of that series in hardcover or trade, I HAVE to finish out the rest of the series in the same format.  That way, My Hunger Games hardcover matches the Catching Fire hardcover and so on.  Hardbound Forest of Hands and Teeth slides right next to its companion novel, Dead Tossed Waves. However, my Twilight trade soft (you have one or two of the series too so just admit it and move on) which I didn't "hardcover love" will match the rest, though I must admit I loaned out my copy of shark-jumping Breaking Dawn with the request, "Keep it.  It's yours."

I borrow a book on my to-be-read list from the library, read it or not, and if I love it, buy the actual.  So, tell me writers -- how do you buy your books?  And, if you love the first of a series, will you purchase the rest of the set?