Escapism Through Books

Review: Harry: A History... by Melissa Anelli ★★★

2012-01-25T12:31:00.000-05:00

Harry, A History: The True Story of a Boy Wizard, His Fans, and Life Inside the Harry Potter Phenomenon by Melissa Anelli

I admit it, I was a Harry Potter late bloomer. I've told the story before, so suffice it to say that it wasn't until after the 5th book was out that I became a Harry Potter fan. I immediately fell in love with the books and the world... but I missed almost all of the "Harry Potter phenomenon" as it was still in progress.

I only had a few friends (back then) that were Harry Potter fans, and we discussed the books excitedly, and re-read them repeatedly, but I didn't know that I was missing this whole world of HP fandom. When the 6th book released, the B&N in my area, rather than waiting for the midnight release, had already closed up shop by 11:30pm when I got there after racing from work. I was mad, reamed out the manager, and refused on principle when he offered to open the store again for me to buy a copy. I bought the book from the local grocery store instead. So it wasn't until the 7th book came out that I started to understand the magic of the Harry Potter release parties I'd missed... and the one I went to was small even to my naive eyes. But man, it was exciting. People were dressed up, there were games, the staff was doing trivia, people were practically doing the pee-dance in excitement... and when 12:00am came, the bookstore was like a well oiled machine. Every register opened and started ringing out excited Potter fans like it was a race.

That experience was amazing, and I'm glad that I got to have at least one before it was all over. Better late than never, huh?

Back then, I never knew the extent of the fandom. I knew there were websites, and I'd visited The Leaky Cauldron and the HP Lexicon. I knew that there was fan fiction, but I was never interested in it. (I'm a purist.) I didn't know that there were bands based on Harry Potter, or that there were podcasts, or conventions or anything like that. I'd seen a few YouTube videos of HP themed music, but I'd always thought it was a parody thing, never a true band. I hadn't realized that the NYT Bestseller list had been fractured by this series, or that it had changed the publishing industry so much. I knew that this series encouraged new young readers, but again, the extent was so much more than I'd thought. So this book was interesting to me, because it shows just how deeply this series touched peoples' lives.

There was a lot of detail in this book that I found fascinating, like the way that Harry Potter and the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone made it against all odds, and how it changed the industry as I mentioned above, but at the same time, I found some parts of the book to get bogged down in too much detail. I listened to this on audio (although I do have the trade paperback as well), and the opening section, about Melissa's excitement that "it was here", went on for too long before saying what "it" was, or giving any real context to the situation at all. Turns out, it was the release date for the 7th and final book, but I think that the way it was written tried for a bit of mystery and excitement, and just failed to get that from me. I kept thinking, "Can we get to the point?" I want to hear about the books, and about the fans and about the phenomenon itself... not one person's squeeing over some mysterious "it" thing the reader doesn't get to be in on. For a while, I thought that "it" was publishing news coming down the pipeline of an exciting new series of books - so, the START of the HP series phenomenon.

I didn't really need to know the color of the dust on the Harry And The Potters' tour van, or exactly how sweaty they were, or that they chose cashmere pullovers because they were less likely to be sweat-stinky. TMI. Really. There were a lot of sections that I feel just kind of got lost in the memories and forgot the point that was supposed to be made.

In addition, aspects of the book were repetitive and disorganized. Anelli would jump from 2007 (the section I mentioned above, once I finally found out the context), to telling the history of the books being written, submitted, published, sold, etc, then on to how Anelli got involved in The Leaky Cauldron (TLC), to 9/11, to book 5, to how Anelli first read the books.. on and on. It was like playing Frogger, hopping around, back and forth. I really, really wanted a more structured format for this book, especially listening on audio. Sometimes it was hard to follow where I was in terms of timelines.

There were several sections that were repeated at least twice, and I found that to be a little tiresome. Once we've covered the basis of 'shipping/'shippers, I don't need to rehash what it is again later. We can just move on to how it's relevant to the part of the story being told. I want the history and backstory, but I don't need to know, yet again, what the city by city fan count at a Harry and the Potters show was.

Those criticisms aside, I did really enjoy this book. It made me sad at times, especially during Melissa's recounting of 9/11 and her panic at not knowing where her sister was, but it made me happy that the community of Harry Potter fans that she'd so recently found were able to support her. It made me nostalgic for the experience of reading these books for the first time, and watching this story unfold with each book. I didn't have the long gaps in which to theorize and wonder for most of them, but each new book was a revelation in just how much a story could affect me... and it STILL affects me just the way it did the first time. I cry with certain deaths, I laugh at the twins, I cheer for Neville finding the courage to stand up again and again.

These books didn't make me a reader; I'd been a reader since I was little. What they made me was a part of a huge community of people who all share the love of an extraordinary series of books which changed almost everything. I think that Harry: A History did a good job at showing that, despite the issues I had with the writing and organization.

I can't wait to revisit Harry Potter again.

Name My Nook Contest! Enter to Win a $10 Giftcard

2012-01-23T17:54:00.006-05:00

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to suggest an awesome name for my Nook Touch!

The person who suggests the best name (subjectively chosen by me... it is my Nook after all) will win a $10 e-gift card/certificate for the vendor of their choice:

Amazon
B&N
Better World Books.

Details:
- Fill out the form below to enter.
- The contest will run for two weeks from January 24th through February 7th.
- The winner will be announced on February 10th (so I have time to review the submissions and choose a winner).
- The e-gift card will be emailed to the winner by February 13th.
- There will not be any extra entries for Tweeting or sidebar links or anything like that, but feel free to spread the word if you choose. I mean, if you really wanted to Tweet something like "Want a $10 giftcard from @escapismtb? Enter her contest here: http://bit.ly/xPfARZ and name her Nook!" out to your followers, I wouldn't say no... ;)

That's it. Easy peasy chance to win a free $10 gift card!

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The Reading Plan: Week of January 23, 2012

2012-01-22T17:03:00.000-05:00

I finished 3 of the 5 books I planned for last week. I'm currently starting on book #4 which has morphed magically into book #1 for this week. Since reading three books each week is what I would need in order to hit my overall 2012 goal of 160 books, that makes me a winner!

Take that Charlie Sheen!

From last week's list, I finished:

The Lies of Locke Lamora - Loved it! Review posted over at OSGA Book Reviews, where I contribute some... :)
The Inventor - Thought it was OK... A tiny bit too much quivering quim. LOL
Speak - Sadly disappointing for me. I had hoped for something much more powerful. Reviewed here on the blog and on Goodreads.

Here's my plan for this week in Wordle, bookcover and title formats...

The Man In The High Castle by Philip K. Dick
Genesis by Bernard Beckett
The Poet (Jack McEvoy, #1) by Michael Connelly
The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill (Currently Reading)
Storm Front by Jim Butcher

What is on the agenda for your reading list this week?

Review: Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson ★★

2012-01-22T10:56:00.000-05:00

2.5 Stars
This is an issue book, a book about a terrible thing, and how one person copes with it. I pretty much knew what the unspeakable thing was going in. It wasn't really hard to figure out even before I started, but I didn't feel like this book was about the "what happened", but rather that it was about the "what happens next". In a way, it worked for me, but in others it definitely did not.

I felt a little like Melinda's art teacher, wanting more life and honesty to shine through. Some parts were really good, poignant and realistic... but they were the wrong parts. The parts I wanted the most depth and honesty from were the ones dealing with what happened, with the loss of everyone Melinda could confide in, the inability to make people see her pain. I wanted those things to speak to me, and I feel like other aspects of the book were louder, more focused on. Melinda's sarcasm and wry sense of humor, even if it's just inside her head, for instance. Her observation of the social cliques and school were right on. I liked her voice, her sardonic viewpoint, but I wanted less of that and more of her coping with what happened to her. No... I take that back. I didn't want less of that, I wanted it to relate more to what she was going through. It felt like being inside ANY sarcastic highschool freshmen's head.

The "what happened" part is almost unimportant, except that it's the catalyst for this story. It's supposedly the thing that silences Melinda... but I don't really get that. I can understand her fear, but I don't feel like it changed her much otherwise, and it just seems "off" to me, somehow.

It's the little things that make me feel this way, that there's not enough contrast between "before-Melinda" and "after-Melinda". Her room not having its own Melinda personality and resonance, her routine post-it note communication with her family, her thinking about what her friends will think of a boy paying attention to her before thinking about what SHE thinks of a boy paying attention to her... It's like she has no personality of her own. So her silence doesn't have the power I wanted it to have.

I wanted her silence to speak volumes. I wanted to see the huge changes in her, the unignorable wrongness of her tongue being trapped by fear. I wanted to see all of that and more... even if it was only for my benefit and nobody else around her could see it, if that makes sense. We're the ones in Melinda's head, seeing her world through her eyes and living her life along with her. I wanted to really feel it... and what I felt was more like a very introverted girl than a victim.

When Melinda finally found her voice, I wanted more resolution. I wanted to see the repercussions, for everyone involved, and for Melinda to really find strength and use it... and I felt like that was all kind of glossed over in a "who's the outcast now?" kind of highschool way. Really? No criminal charges? No counseling? Nothing? I wanted strength and inspiration to come pouring out of the last pages of this story, but instead, the story just ends. We can extrapolate and hope that Melinda gets there, but we're technically on our own.

I had very high expectations for this book and I wanted to love it. While I enjoyed some aspects of it, the aspects that I really wanted to shine just didn't. I wanted more, I expected more, and unfortunately, I just feel like this one fell really short of what I'd hoped it would be.

View all my reviews

1st 2012 Thrift Store Score! :D

2012-01-19T18:55:00.001-05:00

I haven't been buying physical books lately, since I've been doing so much reading on my Nook, so naturally, I haven't been raiding the thrift store book section, either. Which is a shame, because 1) thrift store books are super inexpensive and 2) those purchases help my community.

So, the boy and I were out and about last night and stopped in on a whim. And I bought these:

From left to right:
- The Fate of Katherine Carr by Thomas H. Cook
- Why We Can't Wait by Martin Luther King Jr.
- Odd's End by Tim Wynne-Jones

Hmm... 3 books... 3 authors... 3 names each. Weird.

Anyway, The Fate of Katherine Carr and Odd's End are both unknowns to me... just thrillers that sounded interesting, but I was really excited to find the MLK book. A little late for MLK Day, which was Monday, but not the end of the world... But, since I did miss it, I'll definitely be reading this book for Black History Month.

I ♥ MLK.

"The Plan" AKA: What I want to read this week. Maybe...

2012-01-15T17:52:00.000-05:00

<--- This is what I feel like most days. There are just so many books out there that I want to read. It's crazy. So I'm trying to get a bit more organized about it.

I've challenged myself to read 160 books this year. That's 15 books more than I managed last year, and works out to about 3 books a week. So each week on Sunday, I'm going to try to plan for the week ahead and post my reading plans here.

I say "try" because... well, I'm a commitment-phobe. I always have noble intentions of reading such and such book at such and such time, but I never do. I cheat and go for the quickie with a book that offers a thrill. What? I'm easy. I admit it. My pride AND my shame. ;)

Anyway, here's my plan for this week in Wordle, bookcover and title formats...

The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentleman Bastard #1) by Scott Lynch
The Inventor by Morgan Karpiel
The Poet (Jack McEvoy, #1) by Michael Connelly
The Book of Negroes (AKA Someone Knows My Name) by Lawrence Hill
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

What is on the agenda for your reading list this week?

Review: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck ★★★★★

2012-01-12T22:34:00.000-05:00

"Guy don't need no sense to be a nice fella. Seems to me sometimes it jus' works the other way around. Take a real smart guy and he ain't hardly ever a nice fella." - Of Mice And Men

I really think I love John Steinbeck, which is surprising to me, because I never would have thought of myself as a Steinbeck reader. There's just something about the way he writes that cuts through all the bullshit and pretense and just tells it like it is, and I find that really refreshing. Sometimes they aren't easy, and sometimes they hurt, but it's the kind of hurt that, hopefully, makes us want to be better. At least it makes me feel that way.

I know it'll be hard for those of you reading this to believe, but I can ~~sometimes~~ be a bit of a bitch. I can be demanding, irrational, impatient and moody, and sometimes my annoyance and irritation is taken out on unsuspecting innocents, or at least people who don't really deserve the hell I serve up on a platter. So, this book resonated with me. George resonated with me, and I felt myself willing him to be patient, to just try to understand Lennie's perspective, all while my face is flushing red from the knowledge that I don't always practice what I was preaching. I'm a damn hypocrite.

I really felt this book, as seems to be the case with the Steinbeck books I've read lately. I could identify with all of the characters in some way, and I love that. In such a short book, it's easy to get the characters very wrong... either they are caricatures, or they are cliches or they just plain stink and are boring. I really felt like I understood these characters, even if I didn't like them. At the end of the book, when Lennie asks George to yell at him, isn't he going to hit him, isn't he going to tell him he'd be better off without him, I found that just heartbreaking... that Lennie's sense of normalcy stems from George's frustration with him. I felt for George too. He only wants to take care of Lennie, but sometimes it's so hard. He can't be everywhere at once, and has had to make so many sacrifices in order to keep Lennie out of the kind of trouble that just comes from not knowing any better.

This story is just a smidge over 100 pages long, so it won't take you long to read at all, and I highly recommend it. Or you could take about 3 1/2 hours and let Gary Sinise read it to you, which is what I did. I wasn't sure about Gary at first, but he grew on me really quickly. I've never seen the movie, so I didn't know that he'd starred in the remake. Gary Sinise has a very recognizable voice, at least I think so, and it's kinda the opposite of my "preferred reader", but I thought he did a wonderful job reading this. The voices and the characters were all just right, and I'm not normally a "voice" fan when it comes to audio... I want the story to speak for itself.

This one definitely did that. This is the kind of story that will stick with me for a long time. As I was listening, I kept writing notes about thoughts that struck me, feelings that I had, concepts and themes in the book, and all sorts of interesting stuff that I don't really know how to express without spoiling this wonderful little story.

"The best laid schemes of mice and men oft' go astray." -- Robert Burns

View all my reviews

Top Ten: Best of 2011

2012-01-07T21:33:00.000-05:00

Happy 2012 ever'body! I'm sure that most bloggers (or in my case, lapsed bloggers) are kicking off the new year by posting their Best/Worst lists from the previous one. So here's my contribution: A Top Ten Best of 2011 list.

I'm not doing a Worst list this year. Not because I've made some whack New Year's resolution to be more positive in my reviews (Cain't nobody hold me back! *cough*YA Authors who can't take criticism*cough*), but rather because the books I didn't enjoy were just not that memorable. And if I didn't like 'em enough to remember 'em in the first place, I say, let 'em stay forgotten and unmentioned...

Anyhoozle! Here's my list for your reading enjoyment. As a side note, if you click on the bookcover images, it will take you to my full Goodreads reviews. (Some of these reviews are on the blog, but that was just easier, and we all know how lazy I am by now, right?)
Oh! And if you did a list of your own, I'd love to see it, so please comment and link! :D

#10:
Can YOU Survive the Zombie Apocalypse? by Max Brallier
(Read 5/29/2011)
This book was fantastic. I received a signed copy for review from the author, and it was so much fun to read! I've since encouraged my friend to buy a copy for her nephew (who loves zombies as well), and herself. There are a multitude of ways that this book can be read, so it's the type of book that lingers and continues to excite over and over again. There are some situations that are for a more mature audience, but overall, I think this was a fun, and very well done book. Definitely a keeper! :D

#9
Danse Macabre by Stephen King
(Read 11/25/2011)
If you are a fan of the horror genre, whether it's books or movies, you should read this book. This is such an interesting examination of the genre, and the books and movies that have really been centerpieces in it, that it is a must read for fans. So much insight and knowledge is crammed into this book, it's really fascinating. Plus, it's got a whopper of a recommended reading list. CHA-CHING! I haven't come even remotely close to reading every book mentioned in these pages... life goal? ;)

#8
Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin
(Read 10/19/2011)
Another amazing book... well, I should say trio of awesomeness. The book is great all on its own, but it inspired a fantastic movie adaptation (one of the closest adaptations I've ever seen), as well as a damn near perfect audiobook, read by Mia Farrow.
This story is one that is part of pop culture now - mention the name "Rosemary" and someone inevitably mentions the baby. But there's a difference between knowing this story in a pop culture way, and really experiencing it for itself. I highly recommend the latter, preferably the audio if possible. Farrow reads it with such emotion and depth, with just the right amount of tension and fear... I got chills listening to it. Do yourself a favor and give this one a try.

#7
Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King
(Read 1/21/2011)
This collection of short stories by Stephen King really highlight why he is a master at his craft. All four stories in this book (or 5 if you pick up the edition with the extra story, which I did not, sad to say... *sigh*) are dark and a little disturbing (OK, sometimes a lot disturbing -- but this is Stephen King!), and all examine humanity and choice and life in stark terms that really made me ponder...
It's hard for me to choose a favorite, because I loved all of these, but if you REALLY want to know, I'd have to say '1922'. It's gory and as disturbing as some of King's earlier work - Pet Sematary comes to mind - but as beautifully written and heart wrenching as anything I've seen him write lately.
"Rats in the corn again..."
I don't think that line will ever leave me.

#6
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
(Read 11/24/2011)
I've only recently discovered that I enjoy Steinbeck. The first book I read of his was 'The Pearl', which was OK. Just OK. Next came 'Travels With Charley', which I enjoyed more than I thought that I would. I discovered then that I like Steinbeck's voice, when he's writing for himself and not writing a parable.
On Thanksgiving of this year, I discovered 'The Grapes of Wrath'. This is an amazingly beautiful, heartbreaking book of struggle and hope and determination in the face of overwhelming opposition. I stood in my kitchen, listening to this on audio, with tears running down my face while I cooked, and it absolutely made me thankful for everything I have in my life. I'm so glad that I was able to experience this book as I did, because I am able to appreciate it properly now, both in terms of Steinbeck's writing, and where I am in life. It was perfect timing, and an exceptional story.

#5
11/22/63: A Novel by Stephen King
(Read 12/11/2011)
Yeah, another King book on the list. What can I say? He's my favorite author for a reason!
This book was brilliant. I loved how it examines the implications of a major, world-changing event... what led up to it?, what did it mean?, could it be changed?, and what would THAT mean?... all the while telling us another story of love and loss and regret and how the choices we make have far, far wider consequences than we might ever think.
I loved the concept of this book, and how it was handled. I loved the ties to Stephen King's other works and loved the feel of just reading this book. It was amazing.

#4
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
(Read 10/31/2011)
This was another dark, emotional ride of a book. Another audio that I cannot recommend highly enough, as well. This book deals with some hefty issues - a parent's illness, loss, fear and confusion and powerlessness, among other things (as if those weren't enough) - and does it with grace and honesty.
This was the first full Patrick Ness book I read, and it completely wowed me. It dragged me into the story, under the surface, and then held me there until I couldn't breathe. This book broke my heart and then I fell in love with it. Absolutely recommended.

#3
The Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson
(Read 3/12/2011)
This includes the entire trilogy ('Mistborn: The Final Empire', 'The Well of Ascension', and 'The Hero of Ages').
I absolutely loved these books. They made me a Brandon Sanderson insta-fan. The characters, the world, the history, the magic... everything about these books was just amazing. If you haven't read them, I can only assume you're waiting on handwritten, personalized, and engraved invitations to do so. I'll get those in the mail ASAP.
Seriously, there was so much in these stories that I didn't want them to end. I am super thrilled that Sanderson has written another book (and more hopefully!) in this world. I don't want to give anything away... but spoiler alert: I bet it's amazing. :D

#2
A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
(Read 4/20/2011)
Speaking of amazing... This book. ;)
One of my friends on Goodreads didn't care for this book much, and there's quite a bit of contention about it on her review. This is one of those books that people love, or hate, and I can easily say that I absolutely loved it.
It's not for everyone... there are aspects of the story that made me cringe several times, but I couldn't look away. I was so drawn into this story, and these characters, that even after reading the next 4 books in the series, I still cannot look away. I loved this book, this series, and for a while there, it ruined reading epic fantasy for me, because nothing I'd read after it really lived up to the level of investment I felt in these characters and this story...

#1
The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
(Read 12/29/2011)
...Until I read this book. I begged Brandon Sanderson to bring awesome back to my reading life, and he delivered spectacularly. I was blown away by this book. It was so great, so vastly brilliant and detailed and... just, well, EPIC, that even now, a little over a week and several books later, it still lingers in my mind.
I am in awe of how incredibly good this book was, and the potential of this series, which is a proposed 10 books long, is just mind-boggling. I can't wait to see what the next book holds in store... :D
My SQUEE-O-METER is through the roof!

So there ya have it. My horror and fantasy heavy Top Ten list. Eh, I can't help it... I likes what I likes! ;)

PS. That's totally not my real handwriting... I just like it. ;)

2012 Goal - No Re-reads!

2012-01-03T18:42:00.000-05:00

You hear that sound? That quiet weeping? That's not the friendly attic ghoul - that's me. That's me mourning all of my favorite books for all of 2012, because I've banned myself from re-reading them.

No Harry Potter.
No re-reading The Shining, The Stand, The Dark Tower series.
Nothing I've read before... ever.

Dawson feels my pain. And I didn't even watch Dawson's Creek. That's how painful this is.

Shhh... There there, Dawson. I know. It's hard. But, we'll get through this year, Dawson. We WILL.

I mean, unless the Mayans were right. Then we're just screwed. O_o

Review: The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson ★★★★★

2012-01-02T18:39:00.001-05:00

This book. Wow.

I kinda don't even know what to write about this book. The scope of it, the detail, everything is just so... epic. And then I think about the fact that there are a proposed nine more books, and I just...

The EPICNESS.

As I was reading this, I admit to being unable to see how this story, already ginormous all on its lonesome, could expand to a whopping 10 book series and do it well. Keep the pacing, the excitement, the world, the magic system, the awesomenes all consistent.

Oh me of little faith. O_o

This is BRANDON SANDERSON. I should have known better. His leg hath been metaphorically humpeth'd by thy humble review writer thrice previously, and I anticipateth this trend to continueth.

The last 150 pages or so of this book brought things together in such a way that... well, a whole world of possibility has opened up. It seems a bit silly to say that, because a book, any book, EVERY book opens up a universe of possibility just by virtue of what it is... but in regards to my not seeing how this story, which seemed as though it could be a standalone for so much of it, could spawn a potential 9 sequels... the last 150 pages clinched it. And then I went back to the beginning and read the prologue again (having to stop myself from just continuing...) and it becomes clearer just how vast this story could be.

The world-building alone here is fantastic. This whole world, so many peoples and creatures and beliefs and societies, the weather patterns and landscapes and the history... all of it has the feeling of both being barely touched upon and described in depth. I can see it all so clearly in my head, it's almost as if I were there. I need my own Worldsinger to come tell me more. I am so curious and so excited about the scope and depth of this series, I can't even describe it.

And that's just the "background" stuff.

One thing about the beliefs in this book. Religion plays a big part in the daily lives of the characters here, as it did in his Mistborn series as well. If you aren't aware, Sanderson is a Mormon. I don't know anything about Mormonism, but I remember worrying as I was reading the Mistborn series how the religion in that story would be handled. I hate being preached to.

I don't worry about that anymore with Sanderson. I think that the way he approaches religion in his books is intriguing and unique and thought-provoking, but never preachy. These are fantasy-world religion/belief systems that one can think about and take with them as they will, but Sanderson doesn't force or push his beliefs on anyone. And I very much respect that.

The characters in this book... I just have no words. No, I lie. I have a word: Amazing.

But before we get into that, let me tell you about this bad habit I have. I don't read chapter or section titles. There, I said it. It's true. I don't read chapter or section titles. Too often, they give something away, which I really don't like. So I skip them. Which means that, unfortunately, sometimes I miss key things and have to either pick them up elsewhere, or backtrack.

I had to backtrack a couple times while reading this one. There are a lot of perspective shifts, and sometimes they threw me off. A switch to a known character is one thing, but there are these sort of 'intermission' sections with characters that come into the story only briefly to give us something and then leave again.

So, getting back to my point about characters, I was a little thrown off when I realized that the Jezrien and Kalak I'd met in the very beginning (aka: the prologue I didn't realize was a prologue until much later) weren't the characters I'd be following and that the world was very different. One backtrack later, and it makes sense... 4,500 years separation between prologue and chapter 1. Got it.

I have no regrets regarding the characters that I spent the last two weeks with, though. Like I said: amazing. I loved all of these characters. All of them. Even the horrible ones. And the weak ones. All of the characters have such a depth to them. Their lives seemed 100% real to me, as if they could step right off the page (or screen in my case, since I read this whopper on my nook) and into my life.

I cared about these characters. A lot. They live in a world in chaos. They are in the midst of a lingering, brutal war. The seasons are in a constant state of flux. Highstorms are only semi-predictable, but seem to be getting stronger and stronger. There's betrayal everywhere and trust is a luxury that almost nobody can afford. Is it any surprise that I read in this sort of state of constant fear about What Might Happen? It was thrilling, but at the same time, I was a nervous wreck.

I love that feeling... of actually caring what happens to characters. I like exciting books as much as the next person, but if I don't invest anything in the characters that the excitement is happening to, then it's just kind of hollow. Enjoyable? Sure. But forgettable.

I want reading to affect me. I want to feel it. I want my hands to shake, my heart to race, or break, or ache, my eyes to be filled with tears and my stomach queasy with worry. And it was. This book gave me all of that, and more.

The more I think about this book, the more I piece together. The more theories I form, the more excited I get for the next installment. I loved it. Loved it loved it loved it. In case you hadn't noticed.

This feeling that I have right now, this awe and wonder and excitement... This is why I read.

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Review: Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin ★★★★★

2011-12-17T17:24:00.000-05:00

4.5 Stars

I admit that I'm a little torn on what to rate this book, so I split the difference, although I'm really tempted to go all StarSearch™ up in this piece and do 4.75 stars. (Wait, did they have a 5 star rating system? No, I think it was only 4. Crap. Well, anyway, you get the point. That is, unless you're younger than me and don't even know what StarSearch is. In that case, you're a jerk, and go away.)

Anyway, I'm torn because, having seen the movie before, I think that Roman Polanski nailed the ending... He stopped at just the right point, and left us with that lingering empathetic horror, the mystery, the "What the fuck?!" feeling. We get just a hint, and the rest is Rosemary's reaction, and that subtlety's often better than the giving up the whole shebang.

The book takes the ending just a smidge further, and with a smidge more detail to the what, and that smidge further opens a line of possibility that is horrifying in itself. The things that a mother will accept, the things that a PERSON can accept, it's scary to think of in extremes like this. Imagine raising this baby with the eye of the world watching. Jeez. The terrible twos would be... apocalyptic. So... yeah, I'm torn. I don't know which ending I prefer. They are both great in their own ways.

I listened to this one as an audibobook, and I LOVED it. It was read by Mia Farrow and honestly, I think that her reading may have upstaged her movie performance. Not that she wasn't great in the movie, because I think she was, if a teeeeeensy bit melodramatic, but the audio relied solely on her voice, and so it was a bit more subtle and intense at the same time. I'm not sure how to really explain it, but just trust me, it was awesome.

Mia portrayed Rosemary's naivete perfectly. Perfectly. I feel like, perhaps if I'd have read this, I'd have found some of it a bit ridiculous. The things that Rosemary goes along with, I'm thinking, "No! Don't drink the putrid drink again! Are you STUPID?!" but then Mia does such an insanely great job at showing us this small town, kinda sheltered girl on her own in the big city, with her barely-married-a-year husband, in way over her head, super excited that she's FINALLY pregnant, and just wanting to do the right thing, even though she's not sure just what that is. She's manipulated on all sides, she's tricked and fooled over and over, and even though she's smart, she just doesn't know to be suspicious until it's too late. Mia Farrow shows all of that perfectly. The wavery quality in her voice, the whispers, the hesitation, the doubt and fear... all of it comes through, and really adds a lot to this story, I think.

Then there's Ira Levin's writing in general. Really great stuff. It's so... layered. But it doesn't FEEL layered. It feels straightforward and almost simplistic, but it's like seeing tree after tree after tree, and then finally stepping back far enough to realize that it's a forest after all. It doesn't change what it is, but the big picture is a sum of the parts. I loved the little things, the tiny details that Rosemary saw as a whole lot of trees, never realizing that she was too close to see the forest.

Also, I was really kind of impressed by Guy Woodhouse in this, although it feels very strange to say so. He managed such a ridiculously fine line of manipulation, it's hard not to be impressed that he carried it off for so long, even while being feministically pissed at his audacity and selfishness.

I was also struck by the emotional and mental abuse tactics that Guy used to keep Rosemary in line. Always keeping her home, with no money and no means of getting any, cut off from friends and family. She was always watched or followed. He didn't even let her do her own shopping - the neighbors would do it in the guise of being neighborly and helpful in deference to her sickly condition. Even without the paranormal bent of this book, it would be terrifying just for those reasons. I kept hoping that she'd leave, go to a friend's house, anything, but she didn't. I knew the storyline already, but I still wanted her to just GO. Guy wasn't physically abusive, but he was emotionally neglectful and distant and cruel (not to mention all the rest), and she just wanted so badly to have a happy family that she couldn't see it.

This is a fantastic book. I'm so glad that I splurged on it. Highly recommended.

Horror October 2011: #8

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Review: The Bell Witch: An American Haunting by Brent Monahan ★★

2011-12-06T18:09:00.000-05:00

2.5 stars

From the blurb: "The Bell Witch took up residence with John Bell's family in 1818. It was a cruel and noisy spirit, given to rapping and gnawing sounds before it found its voices.

With these voices and its supernatural acts, the Bell Witch tormented the Bell family. This extraordinary book recounts the only documented case in U.S. history when a spirit actually caused a man's death.

[...]this book recounts the tale with novelistic vigor and verve. It is truly chilling."

Chilling? Not so much. I just kinda expect malevolent spirits to, you know... be malevolent. Just a quirk I have. So much of this book was about how this spirit would just sit down and have conversations with people regarding what it is and where it came from and what it wanted. There was surprisingly little poltergeist chaos wreaking after the initial start. I dunno, maybe the teller thought we'd get bored with that chaos and terror, and instead wanted to tell us all the mundane stuff about it, like... how it went out of its way to prevent injury or death to some or outright save others. Or when it touched that one guy's hand that time, in order to be "liked".

I had seen the movie, and so I knew how it went. I wasn't sure whether the resolution at the end of the movie would be a Hollywood re-write or not, and so I waited it out with the book to see. And I found out my answer about an hour before the audiobook ended. I could have stopped there, but I'm glad that I kept with it until the end. It didn't improve things very much for me, but I think that there was information in the book that wasn't in the movie, about the spirit's origin and manifestation, and I found that aspect very interesting. Hence the half star addition. ;)

The audio reader was very iffy for me. In the Editor's Note at the beginning of the book, he sounded very stiff and formal, but then when he started to read the story, he fell into this kind of Southern drawl that made me sigh with contentment. Unfortunately, he didn't keep it up. Boo!

I'm not a big fan of audiobook readers who "do" the voices. I usually just want the reader to read and let the characters speak for themselves. There were parts that were very well done, Old Kate's "main" voice, & John Bell's voice were both done well. But then, during straight narration, the reader would lapse into odd accents, or stumble over his words, or pause at inconvenient times (like the middle of a word). I heard something like a Scottish accent, hints of a Spanish one, a little bit of Minnesotan, etc. Every time one of these would slip in, I'd be like...

Yeah. So, this book? Not terrible, but not very good either. That is all.

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Oy... Look at the dust in here!

2011-12-06T00:43:00.000-05:00

Yeah, so... It's been a reallllly long time since I've posted anything to my blog, and... that makes me a lazy jerk.

I'm gonna try to do better, because... well I shouldn't be lazy or a jerk, let alone both at the same time. It's just shameful.

So, I'ma open the windows, dust things off, and maybe get off the couch...

Maybe.

Review: The Selfish Gene: 30th Anniversary Edition

2011-07-30T19:36:00.001-04:00

The Selfish Gene: 30th Anniversary Edition by Richard Dawkins
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I know that you're all swooning now and sitting in awe of how incredibly well read I am, but let's just all settle down a minute so that I can tell you what I thought of this. Because really, that's why we're here. ;) Overall, I thought that this was really interesting. I like Dawkins already after listening to The God Delusion (although I liked that one much more than this one). I think The Selfish Gene is intriguing and plausible and actually makes a lot of sense. It was really interesting to learn about the different possibilities for design and evolution, and to see the cause and effect of different variations of a gene. I liked the risk and reward concept as well... It all makes a lot of sense to think of things in this kind of philosophical way -- Everything we are and will be is a carefully honed creation of time and trial and error and cause and effect. It kinda makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Where this one fell a little flat was in the reading and the very last quarter of the book. The reading was pretty good. I'd give it a B- overall. Lalla Ward and Richard Dawkins alternate reading this one, and mostly do a good job with the tone and pacing and all that. But there are times when it was just plain distracting, too. Lalla Ward speaks very proper British, e-nun-cee-a-ting her words and speaking very crisply and clearly, almost to the detriment of what she's actually saying, when all I can focus on is her pronunciation. Even when it's not WAY strange pronunciations like "hah-reem" instead of "hare-em" for "harem", her pronunciation just gets in the way, and at times just sounds a little school teacherish. Richard read all his own end notes immediately after the section in which they pertained, and sometimes he sounded almost bored and sad. And other times he sounded very pompous and critical of others. At one point in an end note, he went on a little tirade about computer programmers creating computer viruses, which has nothing at all to do with the point of this book. Which brings me to the last quarter of the book, in which he goes off on a statistical and odds game ramble for AGES. Explaining different types of betting and games of chance, and possible outcomes and options depending on whether one plays this way or that way... Sort of relevant to genes, but not really new, in that he'd already illustrated the odds and possible outcomes of genes ending up one way or another, and the cooperation of genes with another to improve odds or to effect a desired outcome, etc. Kinda glazed my eyes over a bit in this section because it was just a rehash of information already provided, and in a much less relevant and interesting (to me) way. Overall, I enjoyed this one. I feel like I learned something, and that's why I read it. Could have been a bit better in the execution department, but I can't complain too much. You may resume swooning now. :D

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Review: Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan ★★★★

2011-07-24T00:18:00.002-04:00

Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There's something about stories like this that just make me cry from sheer pride and happiness. I love when people are who they are, and when they're willing to fight to be happy and not live in someone else's world, but make their own if that's what it takes. It's the opposite of the gut-wrenching, soul-crushing, hollow-me-out-and-leave-me-weeping stories that I love. These fill me up with such pride I just want to SQUEE! all over the place, but end up always getting something in my eye instead... So, I loved this one. This is a celebration and examination of so many things... What it is to be gay, what it is to be a teenager, what it is to be in an unhealthy relationship, what it is to love, what it is to be something other than what is expected of us, what it is to be brave and stand up for what's right, what it is to be a friend... Gosh there is so much in this little book, I don't know how Levithan fit it all in. Maybe he writes really small. I loved this community. Everyone, well, MOSTLY everyone, is so unbelievably accepting and quirky and fun. It's like Perfect Small Town Community, Exhibit A. There's the park with a lake with paddleboats with names and personalities; there's the I Scream Parlor, which serves up horrifying ice-cream concoctions while playing horror movies; there's the music shop run by a couple with polar opposite taste, and the shop reflects that by being split down the middle; there's the movie rental place run by the guy who won't rent to anyone he doesn't know, won't help people find anything, and categorizes based on his own personal thoughts about the movies... and VHS format only. The football team quarterback and the Homecoming Queen is the same person, a drag queen called Infinite Darlene, and our main character's kindergarten teacher outed him for being gay on a progress report and nobody thought this was strange at all. I loved the community, but at the same time, I couldn't help but be a little distracted by the unrealistic perfection of it all. If the world were really like that, it would be amazing. Unfortunately, it's not, so the paragon of acceptance shown here comes off feeling a little cartoonish, a little too-good-to-be-true. This, and one unresolved issue, are the reasons why I can't give this 5 stars. The next town over, where Tony lives, is much more realistic, and this is where most of the stuff got in my eyes and made them water a lot. Tony's parents are of the religious variety, and aren't exactly accepting of their son's preference for boys. Seeing Tony struggle with the two aspects of his life, his parents and his heart, was hard for me. Paul's friendship with Tony was invaluable here. He provided the support that Tony needed to cope with these two warring forces in his life. There were some amazing lines in this little gem of a book. So many quotables that just stand out and shine. I'm surprised that this book doesn't glitter like Edward Cullen on a sunny day. (Actually, this is a library book, and there's something spilled on the back of it, and it seems like it's the image of a Sasquatch. He seems friendly though, from his stance.) Anyway, right. I could kind of quote this whole book, but then it would be plagiarism and that's not cool. But here's one of my favorite sections in the book:

"The first time I met you," he says, not directly to me, not directly to the floor -- somewhere in between, "I honestly couldn't believe that someone like you could exist, or even a town like yours could entirely exist. I thought I understood things. I thought I would get up every morning with a secret and go to sleep every night with the same secret. I thought my life would start only when I was out of here. I felt that I had learned something about myself too soon, and that there was nothing I could do to undo the truth. And I wanted to undo it, Paul. I wanted to so bad. Then I met you in the city and on the train, and suddenly it was like this door had been opened. I saw I couldn't live like I'd been living, because now there was another way to do it. And part of me loved that. And part of me still hates it. Part of me -- this dark, scared part of me -- wishes I never knew how it could be. I don't have the courage that you do."

It's kind of heartbreaking, right? Beautiful though. I really loved this book for everything that it is. On the surface, it's just this happy little boy meets boy book, a little whimsical, and fun, but underneath, it's so much more. I highly recommend it.

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Review: Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman ★★★★

2011-07-17T15:28:00.002-04:00

Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've had this sitting on my shelf for a while, after a friend gave it to me... but flipping through it when I first received it, I was a little overwhelmed. At the time, I had read only one or two graphic novels in my life, and this just seemed dense and honestly, a bit confusing, what with the overlays and all.

So I set it aside, and I'm glad that I did, because that wasn't the right time for me to read it. I would have pushed through it, and probably would have enjoyed it, but it wouldn't have really been the same. I've read more of Gaiman's work, so I'm more familiar with his style now, and I've read more graphic novels, so I'm more familiar with the format now. And both of those things contributed quite a bit to my enjoyment of this one.

I really, really like Neil Gaiman. I don't think I've read anything of his that I didn't enjoy on some level. I particularly enjoy his stories about mythology and lore, though, and this tied into that perfectly. I thought that the blending of mythology and modernity was great. I loved the concept, and the execution was great. The artwork took a little bit to grow on me, as it's not really my style. In fact, I found myself drawn to the kind of ethereal abstract art separating the sections, which I guess are the individual comic book covers. I love that style, a subtly abstract painting that allows the viewer to see something new every time they look. Beautiful.

So, right, the content artwork isn't exactly my style - I prefer simpler lines and sketches. I like roughness and just a kind of bare hint of shape and color to suggest a form rather than detailed drawings. And it wasn't that this didn't have the qualities that I like, because it did, but I just prefer the detail to be kind of sparingly used, I guess, and that wasn't the case here. Not that it was bad, because it wasn't, but I'm a little picky. I'm not an artist myself (my stick figures end up looking like deformed Quasimodos) but I live with one and play one on TV, so I'm fully qualified to be so. ;)

But as I was saying, it took a bit to grow on me. And once it did, I was drawn into the story and I thought it was very, very well done. I loved Dream. I loved that he was flawed, but I appreciated that he knew both his strengths and his weaknesses and how to work with them. I liked how past, present and future tied in together, and how something so taken for granted can potentially wreak such havoc when out of balance.

I really liked this one, and look forward to reading the rest of the series... one day.

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Review: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor ★★★

2011-06-26T00:04:00.000-04:00

3.5 stars

Having just finished The Help for the 2nd time, I was already in a place to appreciate this book, and for the most part, I did appreciate it.

The Help takes place in the early 60's in Jackson, Mississippi, during the early stages of the Civil Rights movement. It's a very personal story about 3 women struggling with who they are, both in general and in the environment in which they live. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry takes place in the 30's just outside of Jackson, MS, and deals with a lot of the same issues...

Roll of Thunder focuses on the Logan family and their land. Paul Edward Logan bought their land in two parts during hard times after the Civil War, and ever since, the man who used to own it has been trying to get it back in an effort to remake the South how it used to be. Things are not pleasant in 1930s Mississippi. There's a definite imbalance of power with white people having almost all of it, and black people having almost none. This story is about the Logans trying to make a change to that imbalance, even though it is a small one. It's also about finding ones identity, and taking pride in it regardless of what others think or say about you.

Mostly, I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick read for me, and it was brutal and thought provoking. But in a way, it fell short of my expectations. It never really moved me in the way I had hoped to be moved, and even the brutality and the shame and the hurt felt by the characters didn't really affect me in the way that I had hoped it would. I love nothing more than to be heartbroken by these kinds of books, to be left kind of empty and hurting... but I didn't feel that with this one.

Perhaps that is due to the fact that this was told in first person by Cassie Logan, who is 9. On the one hand, this worked in the book's favor because it allowed for a sort of innocence and naivete. Cassie doesn't understand the dichotomy of equality in the South. She thinks that the mistreatment and rudeness are due to forgetfulness and a "grownups vs kids" thing, or just a greediness, in the case of some. She blithely underestimates the fact of skin color in the equation. To her, the hate and the meanness aren't due to the fact that she is black and they are white, it's due to the fact that they just want what her family has (the land) and will do anything to get it back. Which is true, partially, but the fact that they are black gives them less legal ground to stand on, and makes the fight that much more dangerous.

But where I felt that the 1st person lacked was in the rest of the story. It worked well for the innocence and the idealism, but I didn't feel that the family or their neighbors or the story was all that well fleshed out. There were times when I read sections and didn't know how we got there. One minute Cassie is thinking that she needs to do something about the girl who was mean to her, and the next we're in the middle of a protracted plan of action, with no bridge getting us from there to here. This is Cassie's story, so I would expect to at least have a hint of her plans, but instead it felt like it lapsed into a different story for a bit there.

I also felt that some of the things that Cassie saw were unrealistic, and there was a kind of inconsistency regarding when the parents tried to shield her and the other kids and when they didn't or forgot that little ears might be listening. And to add to that, at times I felt that Cassie was kind of annoying in her demands and talkbackitude to be able to tell the story, and that kind of grated on my nerves. At 9, she was both intuitive enough to know when she'd get in trouble for something, but stubborn and oblivious enough to ignore the real potential danger of running off at the mouth... So Cassie heard, and thus told us, a lot more than I think she should have been able to realistically.

Finally, I thought that the ending was a bit of a letdown as well. There was no resolution about the land, or about the secondary plots. There's an ending, a realistic one, likely - but it's unsatisfying. Things come to a head, and then it just ends. This is part of a series, and that probably has a large part to play in the way the ending ended, but I just feel that there was a big something missing, and I'm not sure that I was invested enough in the story to continue on with the series.

I will give kudos to Taylor for telling as honest and brutal a story as she did, and for not softening the blows or the cruelty or the hatred for her readers. At least I didn't feel that she did. There was a palpable feeling of fear and anger throughout the story, as well as menace and a cruel calculation and manipulation on behalf of the men who have the power. A surety that they will win because the law is on their side. I thought that this aspect was very well done.

I am not sure if I will continue on with the series. But I am glad that I read this. It was good, and I feel like if I had read it in school or when I was younger, it would have had a huge impact on me. Reading it today, I can appreciate it for what it is, but I feel like it's missing the impact I wanted it to have.

Review: Inés of My Soul by Isabel Allende ★★★★

2011-06-12T23:23:00.003-04:00

3.5 Stars

This is my second book by Allende, and I can understand why people love her writing so much. She is a beautiful storyteller and her writing is so evocative and lovely and honest without being flowery or overdone. I love that quality in a writer - it's one of my favorite things about Colleen McCullough as well, especially in Tim. That book was my introduction to McCullough and it made a deep impression on me and instantly became one of my favorite books. Crap. Now I want to read it again!

Anyway, I was talking about Allende. The first book I read of hers was The House of the Spirits, and I really enjoyed it a lot more than I thought that I would. You see, I don't really care for magical realism and generally steered clear of it whenever I could. I'm gradually coming to the conclusion that, like anything else, there's good and bad magical realism, and I'd only read astoundingly bad examples of it... or read good examples of it and didn't recognize them as MR. But it took Allende and my friend Jackie recommending her books for me to see it.

Allende's books are beautifully written, and whatever mystical or magical or ethereal otherworldliness there might be is subtle and adds a little "Did you see that?" nudge in the ribs, but doesn't overtake the story, doesn't throw the narrative into confusion like some magical realism books I've read and hated with the fires of a thousand suns. I'm not going to name titles. You know who you are. >_>

Beloved.

So, this was another Jackie choice, and again I really enjoyed it, although I feel that this one lost something in the audio version. I wish that I had read this rather than listening to it. *sigh* Blair Brown did a passable Spanish accent, but quite often it was distracting. It just seemed to lack a fluidity and smoothness that native speakers have. Quite often, she'd hesitate for just a moment before pronouncing a word. It might actually only be a half second, but to me, it was a distraction. This is the kind of story that you need and want to just climb into and live for a while - and every one of those stutters pulled me out of it. I may not pronounce the Spanish correctly in my head, but reading for myself would have been smoother, since I probably wouldn't know it was wrong.

The second reason that I wish I'd have just read the book myself was that there were a whole lot of Spanish names in this one. People names, place names, historical names and Chilean native tribe names, and honestly, it was really hard to keep track of who was who when I had no visual link to the sound of the words being spoken. It didn't help much that, being told as a memoir type story, the narrative was less than linear. Wikipedia helped a lot here, and Google for being a good guesser at what I was misspelling. For instance, I'd type "Atawapa" and it would return "Did you mean Atahualpa?" Yes. Yes I did. THANK YOU GOOGLE! (And before any of you break out the ladder to get on your high horse, it's been a while since World History class, OK?) So anyway, Wikipedia helped a lot to keep the names and places and tribes and so on straight, so that I could enjoy the story and actually know who was being referred to.

I found this story fascinating. I don't really know much about Chilean history, but I feel like I know quite a bit more now. Because I was on Wikipedia and Google so much, I feel like I actually may have learned something.

This was a story about Spanish conquests and it was appropriately brutal. There were massacres and tortures and mutilations and subjugation of the indigenous people. All of that was to be expected. But there was also a softer quality to this story, a kind of empathy and understanding that Ines lent it. She claimed to not understand the 'indians' of Chile, but her description of them, and their customs and ceremonies and beliefs said otherwise. I thought several times while listening to this that she was confusing understanding with agreement. I think she understood them just fine. They wanted to live and be free and content in their lives just as she wanted to live and be free and content in her own. She could have said to the Mapuches "We're not so different, you and I." Too bad she wouldn't have gotten the Austin Powers reference. *sigh*

I really appreciated the religious aspect of the story, both from the Catholic standpoint and the Native standpoint. Allende represented both fairly, I think. Although, it seemed that there was a bit of the mystical on the side of the Christians, at least in Ines's eyes. I love that there was a little bit of that here, but also that it's interpretable. Was it a miracle that broke the rope and saved the man from hanging, or was it simply that the rope was frayed or weak? A comet, or a sign?

One thing I particularly loved regarding the religious aspect of the story was Ines, at 70, talking about how she sometimes forgets and calls God "Ngenechen", which is the Mapuche's name for their god or sometimes prays to the Earth Mother rather than the Virgin. It's such a throwaway reference, an old woman confused and mixing things up, but to me it signifies how similar beliefs can be, and how silly it is to try to force a "right" religion on someone else. What's in a name? Isn't what you believe and how you live and act more important? I think so, and I think that Ines did too. She worked for her people all her life, striving to make sure that they were as well looked after as it was in her power to do. She founded churches and hospitals and helped feed the poor and hungry, and defended the defenseless. She was definitely an awesome, if underappreciated, person.

I enjoyed this one, and might just have to read it for myself one day. I think it is a book that definitely deserves my full attention, and I couldn't give it that with the audio. But regardless, this was very good, and I'd definitely recommend it.

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Review: Can You Survive the Zombie Apocalypse? by Max Brallier ★★★★★

2011-05-29T20:08:00.004-04:00

Before we start, a big thank you Max Brallier for sending me a signed copy of this book to review.

That out of the way, I can sum up this review in 5 words: "Yes, it is that awesome."

I love zombies, so when I saw 1) that such a thing as a zombie choose-your-adventure book existed, and 2) that I could get a signed copy to review, I jumped ALL over that! And I'm thrilled that I did. This book is fantastic, cover to cover. Speaking of the cover, it is great. I love the vintage look it has, as if it's a well-read 70s favorite paperback melded with a graphic novel. I love both versions of the cover art, and the artwork inside is amazing. Pen and ink, comic-book style sketches that perfectly fit and complement the stories inside.

I don't think that I've read all of the variations and storylines yet - there are a surprising amount of them in the book. So many that it could keep me busy for a LONG time going through them. I read a whole lot of them though, and not a single one disappointed me at all. They were everything I've always wanted in zombie fiction: Well thought out, believable, well written, vicious, original and interesting, with just the perfect amount of humor thrown in.

I liked and could identify with the characters, especially me (AKA: the main character), who was a perfect blend of Regular Joe and Rambo as needed and as fit the story for the choices made. The secondary characters were very human (until they weren't anymore). I loved the tension of reading this, not knowing if my choice would be the right one, or if it would be the one that led to disaster.

I could continue to rave about this book... but really, all I have to say is this: If you love zombie fiction, this book is a must read.

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Review: Push by Sapphire ★★★

2011-05-28T01:44:00.003-04:00

2.5 Stars

*****This review may contain some vague spoilers******

I love to read gut-wrenching books. Almost everything that I'd heard about this one practically guaranteed that this would be gut-wrenching, so when I saw it, I picked it up.

And I thought the first third of this book was great. Seeing life through Precious's eyes was horrifying. Her turmoil and her pain and frustration and anger were very real to me and I felt like I could identify with the experiences she's had, even though her life is very different from my own. I thought that Sapphire did a great job with the first 1/3 of the book. She did a great job portraying an uneducated girl, sexually abused, hating herself, her mother, her father, not able to trust anyone, desperate for a better life for herself and her kids.

Unfortunately, the middle and last third were not nearly as good. I thought it lost focus a bit in the middle and I wasn't sure where it was going, but mainly I had two major issues... No resolution, and inconsistency of the writing.

This is the kind of book that doesn't really require an ending all tied up in a bow, because we're supposed to infer that Precious will keep fighting and keep trying until she accomplishes her goals. That's fine with me. It's an unresolved, but hopeful, ending. But what I felt was lacking was the resolution of Precious's mental and emotional states.

This is a girl who has been abused in every possible way all of her life, at the hands of both of her parents. The very people who are supposed to protect her are the ones hurting her, and fucking with her head as well, as if it is her fault that the abuse is occurring. Naturally, she has a plethora of issues to work through, but she doesn't trust the therapist assigned to her in the halfway house, so she never works through them. She never even opens up about them in session. She starts to once or twice at outside support groups, but never fully lets anything out. She's described as going into a sort of frozen state - unable to move or speak or do anything... She's just trapped in her own body and mind. I really wanted to see some sort of resolution regarding this aspect, even if it was just that she found a new therapist that she trusts.

It is true that her journal is an outlet, but it's not enough. She needs someone to help her understand what happened to her, to help her understand that it was not her fault, and how to deal with her feelings of abandonment and betrayal and self-loathing, and how to move forward in her life. It is not enough for me to assume that Precious eventually gets her GED and an apartment and a job that doesn't entail changing some elderly person's diapers and that everything is golden from then on... I need for her emotional and mental progress to match her progress with learning to read and write. And it did not. Which is disappointing to me.

And this brings me to the second point that I found disappointing - the inconsistency of the writing. Sapphire wrote this in 1st person, so it is understandable to me that the writing style would mirror the speaking style of someone who is illiterate or just learning to read and write. I expect to see words spelled phonetically, slang, slews of misspellings and errors and incorrect grammar, etc. All of that is expected, and I think that initially, it added a reality to the story it would have lacked had it been written in more formal prose.

But the issue I had is that the writing didn't progress evenly with Precious's education. For instance, most of the book the word "mother" is misspelled as "muver", but early in the book, it's spelled correctly, and then again towards the end, and sprinkled throughout the book is "mutherfucker". Same sound, same word... three different spellings.

Words directly quoted are spelled and written perfectly, but the same words coming out of Precious's mouth are misspelled or slang, etc. I can see this being used to show the disconnect between Precious's situation and the situation of the person she's quoting (educated vs uneducated, etc), but it felt off to me, because this is Precious writing all of this in her book. I don't believe that SHE would have made that choice, or that she'd have even known she could, to write herself one way and other people another way. It seems to me that she would write what other people say the same way she writes what SHE says.

Another example is when she would write back and forth to her teacher, she would write, and her teacher would write the correct version underneath. Some words would be correctly spelled or used, and then almost immediately misspelled again. It was very inconsistent to me, and was distracting.

This book could be very powerful to some people. I can definitely agree with that. It was compelling and I could understand Precious's inner struggle and her will. I loved that. But I found the story to be a bit lacking in a very important aspect, and the writing style to not completely work.

I did really enjoy the final section, the school book section, with the girls' stories. That's some heartbreaking stuff there.

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Review: The Running Man by Stephen King ★★★

2011-05-14T13:28:00.002-04:00

The Running Man by Stephen King
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a pretty good story, but quite different from what I'd expected. Of course I knew it was a dystopia, and centered around a game-show, but other than that, I didn't have much idea about the story. I've never seen the movie - and looking at IMDB right now, that's probably a good thing - so I didn't even have those misconceptions to deal with. Ben Richards is not an ex-cop who was wrongfully accused of anything. He was born into the wrong economic situation and grew bitter because of it. Working in a factory known to cause sterility at best, he quit in order to try to have a child... and makes the mistake of telling the truth about why he quit, which blackballs him from finding any other steady work. He and his wife finally succeed in conceiving, but there's still no work to be had, so they have no food, no medicine, barely a place to live, thanks to Ben's wife who prostitutes herself out to try to make ends meet. When the baby gets pneumonia, Ben gets desperate, and signs up with the Network to appear on a game show for money.

The one he makes it on is The Running Man. Here's the deal: 1 man tries to last a full 30 days with a team of hunters chasing him, and the Network setting the citizens against him. If a citizen turns him in and he is killed, that person gets a reward. If he makes it, the contestant gets $1 billion New Dollars. For every hour he remains alive, the contestant (or his family when he's killed) will receive $100 ND. He only has to film 2 10-minute tapes and mail them to the Network every day, or defaults and wins nothing... but is still hunted.

So this is what Bitter Ben signs up for. But he's smart, and his game show experience turns out to be like no other.

This was kind of brutal, but being a Bachman book, that's to be expected. But there was also a kind of 'skim' feel to the story. Things didn't really delve all that deep, like with the pollution and corruption, etc, but it doesn't really NEED to. The context is enough to get it, but it would add a lot if it just had that extra something.

I found myself wondering about the Network. The cynical part of me kept wondering how people could trust their promises to pay and not rig the game. Desperation, I guess. But then I got to thinking about how the Network goes out of its way to demonize the contestants participating in The Running Man, turning everyday citizens into blood-thirsty vigilantes who think that they are working towards a greater good in ridding their country of criminals... and I started thinking, "OK, so, if a contestant makes it the full 30 days, and suppose the Network does stand by its promise to call off their dogs and pay out -- who is to call off the citizens? Those people who've been lied to and manipulated and think that the contestant really is as bad as they've been told? THEY won't stop thinking that the contestant is a criminal just because they were smart and wily enough to evade the hunters for a month... if anything that would reinforce their suspicions that they play by their own rules. It's a losing game all the way through.

Ben definitely plays by his own rules, and the way things work out was not at all what I expected. I thought it was a good ending.

I will say that there were a couple things that I found kind of distracting though. First, King's depiction of the future was a little off, mainly in terms of money. I know he's no fortune teller, but I couldn't help but think that he was using 1970s pricing in the story, and then just labeling it "New Dollars" to make it more futuristic sounding. Things like buying a baby crib mobile for 10 cents. Or getting narcotics for $3. I'd have found it much more believable if he had made the prices of things so ridiculous that a billion dollar prize would have seemed reasonable.

Secondly, as the main hunter, Evan McCone was really disappointing. This guy is supposed to be the most ruthless, the most fearless, the most resourceful and clever killer out there. His job consists of hunting down Running Man contestants and killing them on national TV. But I thought he was pretty... average. *sigh*

Overall, I liked the story, but I can't say that it's a favorite. Definitely worth a read though.

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Review: A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin ★★★★★

2011-05-13T21:09:00.002-04:00

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Before I read this book, I had read some reviews which had me wondering if this one would be something I'd like, reviews from people whose opinions I trust. I am willing to read anything though, so the book stayed on my "TBR Someday" mental list... Until I decided to read it along with some friends. Friends who then got me so excited to read this that all of my reservations were hanging by a thread and blowing in the breeze.

And I can honestly say that not only did this book not suck, but that I loved it so much that I feel like other books I've loved should now be re-evaluated on this new scale in my head. I love it when a book exceeds my expectations and leaves me kind of lonely afterward because it's over. But luckily, this story isn't over... I've only just begun. SQUEEE!

I'm not going to discuss the story in this review. I wouldn't even know how to do it justice anyway. I will say that it kept me completely enthralled all the way through. Reading this book was less like reading and more like living it vicariously through the characters. I loved the characters, and reading about them had me a bundle of anxiety almost from the very beginning. I HAD to know what would happen, and at one point I had my fists so tightly clenched in nervousness that I left fingernail marks on my palms. One event was so gut wrenching to me that it took about 10 minutes to fully hit me, and then I was lost. I was so angry and shocked and hurt by this event that I had to vent and let it out and I was left seething and miserable... and then the sadness hit.

THIS is the kind of thing I read for. All of those feelings and reactions are why I read. The bar has been raised.

I loved the writing as well. In fact, it worked so well for me that I barely even noticed it - which to me is a great thing. I don't want to notice the writing - I feel like if I do, the author should have done better at making it invisible. The subtleties in the writing were awesome, especially the voices of the characters in their point of view narration - not their dialogue, but their interpretation of things going on around them. The foreshadowing was so perfectly done that I didn't even realize it was being used, even though it was serving its purpose and making me into that little bundle of nerves, until it was mentioned.

I loved this book. I cannot wait until the next one. Fantastic.

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Review: The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck ★★★★

2011-05-01T09:44:00.000-04:00

I probably would never have picked this book up had it not been chosen by a friend for a group read. Honestly, I don't go for Chinese lit very much, but I agreed to read this one, even though I was prepared to be bored at least. But I downloaded the audio version, read by Anthony Heald, and listened to the book while doing some much needed organizational stuff, and it was surprisingly good. I enjoyed the reading so much that I would sometimes stop doing stuff to just listen.

I think that had I read this on my own though, I don't think I'd have enjoyed it as much. There are times when a reader can add a whole lot to the story, and this was one of them. I actually do have an e-copy of the book, and I read along at some parts, and I think that listening to it was a fuller experience for me. Heald just seemed to GET these characters in a way I probably wouldn't have. He almost seemed to channel them so that his reading was borderline dramatization. It wasn't over the top - it was just perfect.

I don't know how much of this accurately represents Chinese culture. I don't know much about it myself, and so I took it all with a grain of salt. I don't particularly care for the attitudes towards women that are generally depicted in Chinese lit, so I don't read very much of it. But even if none of the cultural references are accurate, this was still an engaging and interesting story full of very human characters. At times, I didn't know whether to root for or against the main character, Wang Lung. I initially loved his character, and then as he progressed through life and different situational hardships and prosperity, I found myself mentally crossing my fingers while watching him with a wary eye. I wanted to like him, but sometimes the things he chose to do made that very, very hard. At one point, I was so disappointed in him, that I was shaking with anger at the sheer gall the man had, especially after everything, everything that had happened. That man had some cojones on him, I'll give him that.

I think that my favorite character in the story was O-lan. My heart broke for her. We never really get to know her fully, seeing things through Wang Lung's eyes, and he's not particularly perceptive when it comes to O-lan, or kind when he is, but I loved her. She never gave an inch of her dignity, no matter what her hardship, and she had so many. I was in awe of her, all while my heart hurt for the lack of gratitude she received for everything she gave. She deserved much better.

I found this to be an interesting story about a man's life and the things that he was able to achieve with that life, at the cost of so much, and the fleetingness of it all. I think that's what saddens me the most thinking about this book: we can't take any of it with us. I did enjoy this one, and I think the story will stay with me for a while, if nothing else.

In My Mailbox (12)

2011-04-17T14:24:00.000-04:00

Hidey ho there all! I don't have very much to report for this IMM, since I'm trying desperately to NOT buy any new books so I can save up for my move. But here are the books I've taken out from the library since my last IMM post. (Sorry no actual pictures this time.)

Cold Sassy Tree - by Olive Ann Burns / Read for Historical Fictionistas Group Read

American Vampire Vol. I by Stephen King and Scott Snyder / Read just because it's freaking awesome.

The Scorch Trials by James Dashner / Read because The Maze Runner was awesome and I had to know what happened. Is it October yet???

And finally, I'm currently reading (and loving) A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin.

Read-A-Thon: Hour 19/Final Update

2011-04-10T12:10:00.000-04:00

Yikes... So... Once again I missed my goal for Read-a-thon. Booooo! I'll wait until the snickers die down.

Ok. That's better. So, right, I didn't hit my goal, but I had a ton of fun reading and hanging with other Read-a-thoners on Twitter. Good times. :D

Here's a full recap of my reading yesterday:
Book 1: Remainder of The Ruins of Gorlan - 113 pages (4 stars)
Book 2: The Wolves of Willoughby Chase - 181 pages (4 stars)
Book 3: Perry Mason: The Case of the Drowsy Mosquito - 219 pages (3 stars)
Book 4: Part of The Maze Runner - 176 pages (Lookin' like a 5 star so far)

Total Books Attempted: 4
Total Pages Read: 689

I guess that's pretty good for one day of reading. So I'm proud of myself even though I didn't hit my goal.Unfortunately, when I crashed, I crashed HARD. I slept like a log, and now my neck is stiff and sore and very uncooperative. >_>

Oh well... Here's the Final Survey:

1. Which hour was most daunting for you? Hour 19 - That's when I crashed
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? The Maze Runner definitely kept me engaged - but I started it too late for that to do me any good! :(
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? Still no. LOL
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? I loved keeping up with the people on Twitter.
5. How many books did you read? 2 and 2 halves. :P
6. What were the names of the books you read? See above.
7. Which book did you enjoy most? The Maze Runner, even though I haven't finished it yet. It's creepy and awesome.
8. Which did you enjoy least? Perry Mason - and it's not that I didn't enjoy it, it was just somewhat twisty and I had trouble following all of them.
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? I wasn't a cheerleader this time around...
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? Very likely - I love the Read-a-thon! :) I think next time I will read and cheer though.

So that's it... See y'all in October!

Read-A-Thon: Hour 15 Update

2011-04-09T23:10:00.000-04:00

Holy cripes... I feel like I just got out of serving jury duty. Perry Mason... You took forever to figure that one out. On TV you used to do it in less than an hour!!

Next up is The Maze Runner! Woo!

--Stats--
Books: 3
Pages: 513

Oy. I need to step up my game here! Oh well... Meme time!

Mid-Event Survey:
1. What are you reading right now? About to start The Maze Runner by James Dashner
2. How many books have you read so far? 2 1/2
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? The Maze Runner
4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day? Well I TRIED! I had a whole awesome maniacal plan to ship my boyfriend off to help my mom reside her house... but NOOOO. Thanks a lot PA mud.
5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? Pt.1: Ugh. Yes. Constantly. Pt. 2: Evil glares.
6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? Not much... it's pretty much what I expected. Lots of reading, lots of awesome participants and lots of fun. I miss lots of cheerleading this time around though. I guess that's my karma for not signing up to cheer myself. *hangs head*
7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? Nope.
8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year? I'll sign up as a cheerleader, since I've yet to do that and this is my 2nd Read-a-thon.
9. Are you getting tired yet? Surprisingly, no.
10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered? Maybe lock significant other/children/needy pets in the attic? ;)

Read-A-Thon: Hour 6 Update

2011-04-09T14:25:00.000-04:00

Whew... OK. Slow and steady wins the race! Eh? OK, not so much.

I keep being distracted by a certain boy who was supposed to be at my mom's house helping to re-do her siding... but NOOOOO... It has to be too wet and muddy for that. Even though it's sunny and nice today. Stupid yesterday rain.

So now he's bored... and hungry... and just wants to show me this ONE COOL THING... and just needs me to look at the other ONE THING-- REALLY QUICK!... and just keeps turning up his music or the TV or whatever...

Grrrr...

I'm going outside.

--Stats--
Books: 2
Pages: 294

This is abysmal. :*(

Read-A-Thon... Hours One & Two Update

2011-04-09T09:44:00.001-04:00

OK, so... Kind of uneventful morning. I never got to finish my book last night like I had wanted to, so this morning was spent finishing up The Ruins of Gorlan, and making a Dunkin Donuts run. Pretty good book - 4 stars. :)

Next up is The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken. I'm looking forward to that one. :)

--Stats--
Books: 1
Pages: 113

Now, for a Q&A session:

1)Where are you reading from today? My bedroom, maybe the porch if it gets nice later!
2)Three random facts about me… I have 9 tattoos / I'm blind as a bat without glasses or contacts / I really dislike gold jewelry (on myself).
3)How many books do you have in your TBR pile for the next 24 hours? Potentially 20.
4)Do you have any goals for the read-a-thon (i.e. number of books, number of pages, number of hours, or number of comments on blogs)? I hope to read at least 5 complete books - but the more the better!
5)If you’re a veteran read-a-thoner, any advice for people doing this for the first time? I've only done this one time before, so I'll leave the tips up to the pros!

Read-A-Thon... Starting Line.

2011-04-09T08:00:00.010-04:00

My mom used to always sing this horrific off-key "Good Morning" song in the mornings when us kids wouldn't get out of bed on time. No amount of whining or crying or holding our breath or covering our heads would stop her. Nothing worked... except actually getting out of bed.

Needless to say, it was irritating enough that we'd get up just to make her stop singing. Luckily, there is no sound on my blog, so you're all spared that experience. But I am not now, nor have I ever been, a morning person. I try... I have grandiose ideas about getting up early and having the whole day ahead of me... and then I stay up too late and sleep too long. Blissfully. :D

I think Saturdays should start around 11am. Any earlier is just indecent.

Anyhoozle... I'm starting off my Read-a-thon with The Wolves of Willoughby Chase.
It's short, and finishing it early will be a stroke to my ego and willpower. Plus, it just sounds awesome!

Then I was thinking I would move on to The Maze Runner. *sniff* I love the smell of dystopia in the morning!

Hmm... I seem to be channeling Apocalypse Now. Maybe getting out of bed wasn't such a hot idea after all. ;)

It's Read-A-Thon Time!! ...Well, almost...

2011-04-08T20:57:00.001-04:00

Yep. It's almost here. Tomorrow, I and a whole lotta other people will be gettin' our read-a-thon on.

I can hardly wait! It's like Christmas, only without the tree, and the cold (at least I hope that it's without the cold! *shoots threatening glare at PA weather*) and without the presents and the music and the bell-ringers and the National Guard keeping the peace at Wal-Mart and the early Valentine's Day decorations starting to creep onto shelves... and, well ok, it's not like Christmas at all.

But it IS like an awesome day that allows me to read the hell out of some books! Ka-Ching!

Right... so, I know you're all dying to know what I might be reading. I won't keep you in suspense. Here it is... The Stack™.

Now what we have here, is a stack of 20 potential Read-a-thon books. All of these are from the books I'm selling to fund my move. I'm hoping to beat my October 2010 Read-a-thon best (*cough* ONLY) high score of 4 complete books. Five would be cool. Six or seven would be awesome.

Here is the list of candidates:
Obernewtyn
Confessions of a Shopaholic
The Case of the Drowsy Mosquito
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase
Sphere
The Rising
Visibility
Terminal Man
The American
The Spell of Seven
The Pilgrim's Progress
An Abundance of Katherines
Push
Blue is for Nightmares
White Is for Magic
Ender's Game
The Maze Runner
The Doomsday Conspiracy
Alcatraz: the True End of the Line
Across the Universe

I'm SAD... Help Me Move Back To Where It's Warm And Sunny!

2011-03-28T00:29:00.001-04:00

So... I'm sure that anyone looking at my blog is wondering what the heck is going on with the Big Red Box over there... -->

Well, just lately, I've been really blahsome, not doing anything, staying home and just generally being... well not unhappy exactly, but that's part of it. I'm tired of winters that drag on for 6 months, and I'm tired of PA's 3 seasons (Fall, Winter, Construction), and I'm tired of swerving around potholes like I'm drunk to avoid the worst of the broken rims and alignment issues. It's been worse lately. I actually feel like I've had a touch of Seasonal Affective Disorder. I'm tired all the time and never want to do anything. No energy, no motivation, just... blahsome. I'm just... in need of a change.

And lately, everything has been making me miss the south... Jen over at The Introverted Reader is doing a Southern Reading Challenge; and my Historical Fictionistas group on Goodreads is reading Cold Sassy Tree set in Georgia; and Flowers in the Attic, which I just read, features Virginia and Florida; and at work one of the Market Managers for South Florida told me I should come visit; and then I saw that my best friend from Florida is pregnant... on and on... So many things just nudging me to make a change.

So... My boyfriend and I decided that we'd go for it. Move south. I am really nervous and scared, because it means leaving my mom, and my friends and my mostly secure job (in a bad economy) for an unknown.

It will be a while (at least a year) before we actually get things together enough to move, but I figured since I'm throwing caution to the winds just by deciding to go in the first place, might as well do the thing properly and beg too. LOL... I will be scrimping and scrounging and saving every penny I can... Looking under all couch cushions for loose change and selling everything that isn't nailed down.

The selling thing brings me back to why I write this blog, and because I don't actually like begging for money, here's an incentive: Books. The purge begins. I will be posting a list of the books that I'm getting rid of at some point tomorrow. There will be lots. Most of them used, some new.

If you donate $10 or more to my cause, I will ship you a book from the list. First come first serve. Donate, then email me at EscapismThroughBooks@gmail.com with your book preference and address (US only please - sorry International people) and I will ship you your choice (or a replacement if that's not available.)

Good luck to me! :D

Random Quote: The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson

2011-03-12T18:09:00.000-05:00

"How did men believe in something that preached love on one hand, yet taught destruction of unbelievers on the other? How did one rationalize belief with no proof? How could they honestly expect [him] to have faith in something that taught of miracles and wonders in the far past, but carefully gave excuses for why such things didn't occur in the present day?"

The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson

Author Interview: Victoria Patterson, author of "This Vacant Paradise"

2011-03-12T10:03:00.000-05:00

Victoria Patterson is the author of two books, Drift, a set of interconnected short stories, and now This Vacant Paradise, her first novel, which released early in March 2011. I recently read This Vacant Paradise and very much enjoyed it - it was very thought-provoking and real. A really good book, and I'd recommend it to anyone in need of a little perspective in their lives. If you missed my review, check it out here.
Thank you, Victoria, for taking the time to answer some questions!

Q: This Vacant Paradise depicts a lifestyle that is ostensibly glamourous, beautiful and enviable, but shows that all that glitters is not gold. What initially inspired you to examine the other side of so called "charmed" lives?

A: I lived in Newport Beach during junior high and high school, and it was then that I decided that I would write about it. Through the years, I saw the way that Orange County was depicted in the media, giving it this cultural mystique, and it wasn't how I experienced it. So that fueled me even more. And I was always more interested in those that lived on the fringes of wealth.

Q: There is quite a bit of discrimination and prejudice and intolerance depicted in your book, specifically taking form as Grandma Eileen's opinions, and no open dissenting views are given to contradict her. Is it difficult for you, as a social critic, to avoid "preaching" for fairness and equality in your work?

A: I don't want my work to be didactic. At the same time, I'm trying to make a larger statement. So that's the challenge. When I lived in Newport, I was up against it. Just the other day, my close friend from high school reminded me of when our high school civics teacher took a class vote. How many of you are Republicans? he asked. Every hand but mine went up. I didn't know what I was, but I somehow knew that I wasn't a Republican. (As a side note, the civics teacher was so glad that I didn't raise my hand, he chose me to go on this big field trip deal, even though I wasn't the best student.)

Now and then, I'll visit Newport, and it's just so beautiful. There's something about Newport--having to do with the ocean--that makes me feel sane and content. And I'll think, Maybe I'm too harsh in my work. Maybe it's not so bad. Then I'll hear something, like how the schools didn't want their children to watch President Obama being inaugurated, and so were banning it. Or just recently, how they're putting a statue of Ronald Reagan in at Castaways park, even though it's a park and should be free from politics.

Q: In This Vacant Paradise, Esther believes that "For women like her, ambition is a series of self-denials" including not being too unfeminine, or fat, or opinionated or educated, or to pursue an identity separate from one's family. I found this section fascinating because all of the qualities she mentions are exactly what makes us who we are. Is there any trait or aspect of yourself that you would trade for immense wealth and security?

A: I agree--and for Esther, she's constantly restraining herself. She's alert to what is wanted from her, and she's constantly being formed by that.

I'd get rid of some of my more ugly traits for immense wealth and security in a heart beat. Ego and pride--see you later. I'll swap that for a lovely home and health insurance and the money for a guaranteed college education for both my sons. Otherwise, no. I'd like to hang on to and cultivate the traits that make me a better human. Although it's far easier to say that than to live it.

Q: Your previous book, Drift, is a series of related short stories. When it comes to writing, do you prefer the novel or the short story format?

A: They're sort of combined for me, because both of them take so much time and commitment. I like the short story form because you can take breaks and move on to other stories, and then go back. But with novels, you're married to your characters without breaks. I've just always been pulled into writing, consumed by it.

Q: If you could recommend one "must-read" book to people (besides your own, of course), what would you choose?

A: Such a difficult question! There are so many amazing books, I'm not sure how to narrow it down to one. Possibly Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary or George Eliot's Middlemarch. I'm sorry, can't pick one.

Thank you again, Victoria! :)
I own both of those books, but have read neither, sadly! I think I will have to move them up my to-read list!

Review: This Vacant Paradise by Victoria Patterson ★★★★

2011-03-11T17:52:00.000-05:00

The 1990s—Newport Beach, California. Money is God. A man’s worth is judged by the size of his boat, the make of his car. A woman’s value is assessed by the blank perfection of her quantifiable desirability: dress size, cup size, the whiteness of her teeth. And oh yes: her youth. Though Esther Wilson, the heroine of Victoria Patterson’s profound and electric debut novel, has the looks to marry well, things aren’t going as planned. She’s nearing her mid-30s and possibly aging out of the only role she’s equipped to play: wife to a powerful member of the elite. Instead, Esther finds herself drawn to college professor Charlie Murphy, who challenges her and offers an alternative vision—one that he himself might not have the courage to follow.

Full disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for review.
I knew nothing about Victoria Patterson or her previous work when I received this book, but I am always willing to try new things, so I love when I get to review something outside of my box. Reading the description for this book, I was fully prepared for a light, fun read, perhaps with a little bit of depth thrown in for good measure. Like a social satire in the spirit of Austen, for example.

But my goodness, was I wrong. This is no whimsical story, no fun satirical skip through the elite's playground through the eyes of a down-on-her-luck upstart stuck on the bench, no fairy-tale romance where the girl goes through some rough patches but gets her heart's desire in the end. This is a serious book that demands to be read and taken seriously, that drags the reader along in its wake, showing this world in all its honesty.

I felt like I was a party to this community, a part of Esther herself, and Nora, and Charlie, and Brenda, and Paul and even Grandma Eileen. I could understand and empathize with these characters' feelings and disappointments and hopes, even when I didn't necessarily agree with them. I love when I am able to fall into the pages of a book and experience it, not just read it.

And Patterson most definitely allowed me to escape into this world. I felt like I was there, could hear the murmured conversations in the background, could smell the ocean, could see the brightness everywhere: the sun, the reflections off of the water, and waxed cars, and sunglasses and martini glasses. The sparkle of whitened teeth and the brightness of all of the Haves' projected self-image... the one they show to hide the person they are.

I won't talk too much about the characters, because I feel that people should get to know them themselves. To form their own opinions and make their own judgements. I will say that I really enjoyed Esther's journey, all her ups and downs, all her bitter disappointments and glimpses of hope. I can't say that I particularly liked Esther, but I feel like I got to know her. I felt that she was willing and wanting to try, and so she gets credit from me for that.

I did have a few issues with the book, a few ends that I wish were tied up more neatly, but honestly, I don't feel like this detracted from the book very much. We're able to see a snapshot in the lives of these people, and life's circumstances rarely end up prettily wrapped with a red bow on top. I felt that Charlie's class and equality conversations were a little, unnatural at times, especially with Esther. She has never been trained to think with a sociologist's mind, and I felt that he should have made it a bit more accessible to her so that she could really understand him, and the concepts he brought to her world. But again, this was a minor issue.

All in all, I enjoyed this book very much. It's not at all what I expected, but sometimes, the unexpected is exactly what we need.

Random Quote: Little Bee by Chris Cleave

2011-03-08T22:18:00.000-05:00

"The war was four years old. It had started the same month my son was born, and they'd grown up together. At first both of them were a huge shock and demanded constant attention but as each year went by, they became more autonomous and one could start to take one's eye off them for extended periods. Sometimes a particular event would cause me momentarily to look at one or the other of them -- my son, or the war -- with my full attention, and at times like these I would always think, Gosh, haven't you grown?"

-- Sarah

Little Bee by Chris Cleave

Review: Shine by Lauren Myracle ★★★★★

2011-03-07T17:54:00.001-05:00

(I received a copy of this book for review through Star Book Tours.)

I've never read any of Lauren Myracle's other books. I'm not much into the whole "txt-spk" thing, so those books have never sparked my interest. Not my cup of tea. Other than those, I couldn't have named another book Myracle had written before today. But this... this book called out to me. Not only because of the absolutely gorgeous cover, but because of the premise, and because it's set in the South. I love me some books set in the South. And because it has Issues. Issues with a capital 'I'.

And boy, did this deliver. If it hadn't been written with such grace and honesty, and a light touch and sense of innocence, it could have gone so very, very badly wrong. The Issues in this book are the kind that outsiders abhor and denounce, while those living in and around and with them are almost oblivious to their existence as an 'Issue' at all. To those people, it's just life. Normal. Everyday. This book touched on a lot of things. Poverty, addiction, class division, alcoholism, abuse, homosexuality and homophobia, fear and hatred, small-town politics, friendship and loyalty, etc. So many things that some could have easily gotten lost and confused. But even with all of these issues entwined throughout the story, I never felt that it forgot what it was.

I loved the way this story was written. I love the way it was parceled out, little by little, edging closer to the truth and the consequences and the brokenness, like a hungry mouse sneaking closer to a crumb not far from the cat's bed. The mouse knows that rushing will cause it to lose its chance, to be hurt -- but caution and stealth may win it a chance to survive. This book was like that. It crept along, building momentum, until it reached where it needed to be.

I instantly fell in love with these characters, especially Cat and Patrick. My heart broke for the things that they lost, both before and after Patrick is beaten and left for dead. I loved their friendship, and the simple acceptance of it. I loved Mama Sweetie, Patrick's Grandma, and her kindness and wisdom and faith. I usually find it hard to accept religion in books, because so very often it comes across as preachy. That was not the case here. It was less religion and more a matter of faith - a simple knowledge that there's something and someone there for us. No judgment, no fire and brimstone, no recriminations for every little thought, just a sense of "If you want, you can - if not, that's OK too." I liked that.

This book is gorgeous and amazing from cover to cover, and I was so wrapped up in this community and these lives that I almost didn't want to see, but I couldn't look away. I found one thing, one little thing, about the very end to be a bit unbelievable, but I understand it, and I wasn't disappointed. All in all, I loved this book and I think it's one that I will need to own, to re-read and absorb and love.

It's that good.

Plan ahead or close my eyes and point? How to choose what's next?

2011-03-02T13:15:00.004-05:00

A small group of friends on Goodreads do small, informal "mini-reads" with each other. Generally 3-5 people for each book, and we've already planned as far out as September. The list is mostly fantasyish and includes some chunksters like George R. R. Martin's series A Song of Ice and Fire, and the Shannara series as well as some stand-alones like Tigana.

But this planning thing is new for me, and weird, because I never used to plan what I was going to read in advance. Generally, my reading involved whatever single book I was in the mood for at the time, and then I'd try to vary my next book genre as much as possible from the one I just read. So for example, fantasy would lead me to read historical fiction which would lead to horror which would lead to a fun YA, etc.

If I started a series, I'd read through all of the available books in a row, and then move on to something else. But now, I see that I'm not only spreading series out with other books in between, but also reading a lot more at once and in multiple formats.

This has changed my whole reading method! Not that I'm complaining. I love the books that I'm reading and discussing with this group of friends, and I don't see that the change is a bad thing... it's just different.

I'm now experimenting with a list of the next few books that I will be reading (on Goodreads it's my "To-Read_Coming-Up" shelf) to see how this works for me. Here's what the list currently looks like:

The Hero of Ages (Mistborn #3) by Brandon Sanderson [Nook]
This Vacant Paradise by Victoria Patterson [HC for review]
Act Like We're In Love by Christi Barth [E-book for review/Nook]
Swan Song by Robert McCammon [Nook]
Little Bee by Chris Cleave [PB]
Animal Farm by George Orwell [Audiobook]
Perdido Street Station by China Mieville [Nook]

The bolded books are scheduled either with a group or for review. I'm curious to see how this works for me, or if I push some of them to the back burner to read what strikes my fancy in between the "scheduled" books... Should be an interesting experiment!

So tell me... How do you choose what to read next? Do you have a system? Do you plan or wait to see what calls your name? Do you even have a pile of books at home waiting to be read or do you buy or visit the library on demand?

Inquiring minds over here! ;)

Review: Rotters by Daniel Kraus ★★★★

2011-02-28T08:41:00.000-05:00

I received an advance review copy of this book from Star Book Tours for review. I requested it purely based on the cover and title - I didn't know anything about it, but I'm kind of morbid so I hoped it would be as good as it looked. I wasn't disappointed.

I didn't really know what to expect... zombies? I was hopeful, I'll admit. I love zombies, and if this one contained them, I had no doubt they would be awesome. But no zombies here, and the more I read, the more I appreciated this for the realistic story it was. This is the story of a mostly normal boy who gets thrust into this very unconventional situation and life.

Here's the gist: Joey Crouch's mother dies, and he is sent to live with the absentee father he never knew, in a small town where hostility reigns, and Joey finds understanding in the most unlikely quarter one can think of - the Diggers... Grave robbers.

I was hooked right from the start. The first part of the book, the fear and the surety and the paranoia, and specifically the specifying, drew me right into to Joey's life and I wanted to know more, and to find out what happens to this boy. His life goes is completely out of control and he has nobody and nothing at all he can rely on, and I found it fascinating how he dealt with - or failed to deal with - this new life he's got. His struggles were what kept me glued to the book. He was nothing if not real. His mistakes and compulsions frightened me on his behalf. I love an underdog, so I wanted him to persevere and prevail against those against him... and against himself.

I loved the fact that the students at Bloughton High were realistic. They may have been a little cliche, actually, but teenagers ARE cliche. The jocks are jocklike, the snooty mean girl is snooty and mean (and a girl), the outcasts are outcast. But the devil is in the details with these kids, and I thought the portrayal was great. Just enough to read into them and make them more than cliche without needing it to be spelled out in big bold letters. I loved Foley. He may have been my favorite character. I wished that he was a bigger part of the book, actually.

I also liked the Diggers. They were a varied and interesting group, and I loved their independent camaraderie. I love the history and the mostly noble feel of these men, and the sacrifices they make for this calling. I was fascinated by the way that the Diggers behaved among the dead, especially The Resurrectionist, as it was such a contrast to his behavior with the living. I would have loved more history and lore and more detail regarding the Diggers and their profession, but since this was Joey's story, and he's a 16 year old, I know why this would have been a mite tedious for him to relay.

I appreciated the unflinching way that the dead and that death were portrayed. I liked that there was a certain reverence and respect there, even among these men out to pry valuables from someone's cold dead fingers. There was quite a bit of gore and grime and muck, among other foul things, so this is probably best not read by those weak of stomach or virgin of ears (so to speak). But I thought that these details added a lot to the book - a kind of reality and truth that it might otherwise be lacking.

I really enjoyed the writing in this story, and many passages were gorgeously descriptive and evocative. I loved the contrast between these parts and the gritty and almost irreverent brutal honesty of the rest of the story. This one pulls no punches regarding bullying or loss, or about growing up and finding one's own path either. I really enjoyed it. I will definitely be on the lookout for more from this author.

HarperCollins vs Libraries Lending Ebooks: Round One

2011-02-26T13:39:00.001-05:00

*sigh* Oh HarperCollins... This makes me sad. :(

HarperCollins (HC) has recently decided that ebooks licensed to libraries will now be subject to a 26 loan cap, meaning that an ebook can be loaned twenty-six times, and then their license expires and the library would have to purchase a new one in order to keep lending the ebook. If a standard lending period is two weeks, that means that after ONE lending year, the ebook license would have to be repurchased -- EVERY lending year.

Apparently, this number was chosen after reviewing "a number of factors, including the average lifespan of a print book, and wear and tear on circulating copies."

"HarperCollins is committed to the library channel. We believe this change balances the value libraries get from our titles with the need to protect our authors and ensure a presence in public libraries and the communities they serve for years to come."

(Quoted from LibraryJournal article)

*sigh* Come on guys... really? I love HarperCollins. They publish some of my very favorite authors. They publish amazing and beautiful and memorable books. But I cannot help but find myself disappointed in them for this decision. I cannot see how this would "ensure a presence in public libraries and the communities they serve for years to come."

Libraries are already underfunded and hurting. Libraries are already finding it necessary to reduce their staff, hours, branches and stock. They are already finding it hard to operate and continue to serve their communities as they have done for so long. Every few months, there's news of another library that can't stay open on its own, and (thankfully) many communities rally to donate and support them.

Libraries are not just places to read and borrow books, movies, and music. These are community hubs that provide many different services to the residents in their area. My local library alone offers many different educational groups and forums, from illiteracy help to special needs student study groups to after-school programs to book discussions and themed book clubs. They offer assistance with searching for job openings and offer help with resumes and applications. They offer the local homeless a warm place to spend bitterly cold winter days. These are just a few of the things that my library offers... Others probably offer even more. How could they possibly continue to offer these services if they had to repeatedly "pay rent" just to keep their stock of books?

My library system does not support ebook lending now, and if instituting a 26-loan cap is the trend to come, I doubt they will be able to do so in the future. Nearly all of the library books I've ever taken out of my library were donated, not purchased. My library has books on their shelves that are decades old -- older than I am in some cases. My library barely has the funds available to purchase print books that are in need of replacement, let alone potentially renew licenses for ebooks that are undamaged and unchanged, but have just been limited by a publisher.

I do understand that print books are subject to wear and tear and eventually need to be replaced, while ebooks do not. I understand that publishers will lose money if libraries only ever need to purchase ebook copies one time and never replace them.

But there should be a reasonable middle ground. This is an industry that needs to work together and support each other. I do not want to see HarperCollins or any other publisher fail, but I do not want to see libraries fail either. A loan cap is not unreasonable, however the extremely low limit they've set is. Books last longer than one year in EVERY format.

How can this possibly be good for libraries that are already struggling? Why not set a loan cap at a realistic figure, taking into account that ebooks DO last longer than print books? Say 300 loans and then renew? That would be a new license every decade or so (depending on lending of course), which is MUCH more reasonable to me. I am afraid that to prevent themselves from having to pay repeatedly on HarperCollins ebooks, libraries will just stop offering them. :(

What do you think of this decision? Let me know in comments!

Friday Flashback Review: American Gods by Neil Gaiman ★★★★★

2011-02-25T16:04:00.003-05:00

Friday Flashback is hosted by Jen @ The Introverted Reader.

I've been on something of a Neil Gaiman kick lately. In the past couple weeks I've read Fragile Things (which I loved) and Stardust (which I thought was just good). I really love the way that Gaiman sees the world though, and this week I thought that I would highlight one of my favorite Gaiman books, American Gods.

I read this book back in February 2009, but it is one that has stayed with me. So, without further ado, here's my review of American Gods:

This was my first of Gaiman's novels-- not counting Good Omens, which he co-authored with Terry Pratchett-- and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Both books took well-known themes and twisted them into something new and unique, and I really enjoy that. I will definitely be reading more of Gaiman's work.

I really liked the concept of this book. In a very amateur way, I enjoy mythology, mysticism, religions, rituals and belief structures. By "amateur way" I mean that I am interested in these things, but I'm too lazy to actually "study" it. I like the entertainment that mythology and the like offer, I like the escapism. One passage that I really liked from the book represents this perfectly:

"Fiction allows us to slide into these other heads, these other places, and look out through other eyes. And then in the tale we stop before we die, or we die vicariously and unharmed, and in the world beyond the tale we turn the page or close the book, and we resume our lives." (pg. 323)

Anyway... This is one of those rare treats of a book that never fully give up their secrets on the first reading. As I was going through, I marked some passages that made me sit back, reread and just absorb them. One, which I found almost heartbreakingly sad and cruel, is:

"A whole life in darkness, surrounded by filth, that was what Shadow dreamed, his first night in Lakeside. A child's life, long ago and far away, in a land across the ocean, in the lands where the sun rose. But this life contained no sun-rises, only dimness by day and blindness by night.

Nobody spoke to him. He heard human voices, from outside, but could understand human speech no better than he understood the howling of the owls or the yelps of dogs.

He remembered, or thought he remembered, one night, half a lifetime ago, when one of the big people had entered, quietly, and had not cuffed him or fed him, but had picked him up to her breast and embraced him. She smelled good. Hot drops of water had fallen from her face to his. He had been scared, and wailed loudly in his fear.

She put him down on the straw, hurriedly, and left the hut, fastening the door behind her.

He remembered that moment, and he treasured it, just as he remembered the sweetness of a cabbage heart, the tart taste of plums, the crunch of apples, the greasy delight of roasted fish.

And now he saw the faces in the firelight, all of them looking at him as he was led out from the hut for the first time, which was the last time. So that was what people looked like. Raised in darkness, he had never seen faces. Everything was so new. So strange. The bonfire light hurt his eyes. They pulled on the rope around his neck, to lead him to the place where the man waited for him.

And when the first blade was raised in the firelight, what a cheer went up from the crowd. The child from the darkness began to laugh with them, in delight and in freedom.

And then the blade came down."

After finishing the book, I came back to this passage and found it even more interesting after learning the implications. I feel like when I revisit this book there will be a TON of missed references sprinkled throughout the book. I look forward to it.

View all my reviews

Review: The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens ★★★★★

2011-02-19T12:41:00.000-05:00

I requested this book thinking that it would be a fun and magical children's story aimed at 8-10 year olds, like with the Percy Jackson series, but I was really surprised by the complexity and depth in this book, as well as the darkness, and loved every minute of reading it. I'm actually a little disappointed that I'll now have to wait for so long to read the next book and see what happens.

Kate, Michael and Emma have been shunted from orphanage to orphanage for 10 years, since being removed from their parents' house one Christmas Eve with a kiss and a promise that they'll be reunited again... one day. Then, after missing their last chance at placement with a foster family, they are sent to Cambridge Falls, where they stumble on an adventure that has been both 15 and thousands of years in the making.

This story reminded me of other children's stories - but only little bits and pieces. There was nothing I could really point to and say, "Oh, he was inspired by THIS story here," or anything like that, it was more just an impression that I had. I was reminded of Harry Potter, only kind of in reverse, with the opening scene of the children being taken away from their home. I was reminded of E.Nesbit's stories as well throughout the book, mainly by the tone and the family loyalty theme. I was reminded of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe a few times, and The Hobbit a few times, etc. But again, these were more like impressions that I had, rather than feeling like anything was actually borrowed from what came before.

Despite feeling a vague sense of familiarity with these books, I felt like The Emerald Atlas was very original and different. I loved the concept of time travel, and how it actually came about. I thought it was just the right level of complex to logically and magically work, but was still explained in a way that everyone could understand and follow. The storyline was exciting and the creatures and characters were all interesting.

I loved the characters - they were all believable and identifiable to me, and I couldn't help but love them and their loyalty. Kate is the eldest, and promised her parents that she would watch out for the others. She's got a load of responsibility on her shoulders to match Atlas (which is pretty significant, actually), and she's got a heart of gold. She just can't stand seeing anyone suffer or hurt, and instantly falls into a nurturing role when needed. Emma was my favorite, I think. She's the youngest, and the type of girl who's strong and forceful because she cannot take being hurt, not when that's all she's ever known. She's quick to love though, and her love is a little desperate and fierce. I loved her and I can't wait to see her next adventure. Michael, the middle child, was hilarious. A studious Dwarf-scholar, he is the smart and logical one of the trio. He was constantly making me laugh by his bald-faced awe in a lot of the situations they were in. I truly loved how each of the children brought their own unique aspects and each played and intricate role in the story and worked as a team. I was glad that they had trials, because they each had time to shine.

There was a lot more that I loved about this, but I think that I'll just recommend that you read it yourselves. I highly recommend this one - for readers of all ages.

In My Mailbox (11)

2011-02-13T19:16:00.000-05:00

As always, IMM is hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren!

Soooooooo... I haven't been getting very many physical books lately... Nook is taking over my life!

*sighs blissfully*

Oh sorry... I was having a moment. I'm done now. So, ahem... as I was saying. I haven't been getting a lot of dead-tree books, but I have been getting a ton of ebooks, which is quickly becoming an addiction. I should probably rename my IMM posts to like "IMeM" for In My e-Mailbox, LOL. Although I don't technically get ebooks in my email anymore than I got them in my mailbox either, mostly. Ahh, whatever. I digress. LOL

Here's my recent acquisitions... No pics this week - technical difficulties. Blah. I'll link some images though. :)

For Review -
1) Rotters by Daniel Kraus
2) This Vacant Paradise by Victoria Patterson
3) Kat, Incorrigible by Stephanie Burgis

Bought -
1) The Tapestry Shop by Joyce Elson Moore (This is being discussed as our first Featured Author read with an author Q&A in my Historical Fictionistas group on Goodreads!)
2) The Crowning Glory of Calla Lily Ponder by Rebecca Wells

Ebooks -
1) To Say Nothing of the Dog & Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
2) The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi
3) Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman
4) Feed by Mira Grant
5) The Discworld series 1-37
6) Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
7) Misc. classics and ebook duplicates of DTBs I already own. :)

Sorry... I'm got no piccies for these! I'd rather spend my time reading them than linking images for them! LOL

Until next week(ish)! Adios... But come back and tell me what you got in your mailbox too!

Bonded By Blood Giveaway Winner!

2011-01-27T12:47:00.000-05:00

Congratulations to Lacey!
You've won a signed copy of Laurie London's debut PNR novel Bonded By Blood!
Happy (and steamy) reading! ;)

Review: Crusade by Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguie ★★

2011-01-19T22:48:00.000-05:00

I received this book as part of an ARC tour from Star Book Tours. I had actually forgotten that I had requested it, and when it showed up on my doorstep, I was a little surprised. But opening it up, I can see why I would request it - it looks like it would be awesome. Dark and gritty and bloody, just like a vampire book should be.

In in many of those aspects, this book delivered wonderfully. The vampires were vicious and cruel and bloodthirsty, and there wasn't a sparkle to be seen. The fights were pretty intense, and the action was written well and was exciting. I also liked the political facets of the story, and how they corresponded with other wars from our past. History repeats itself, just with a new bad guy each time around. If these are the things that you're looking for, you will enjoy this book, and probably the series.

I was hoping for a little more, and so I admit that I am a bit disappointed with this one. I think that this book had great potential, but I think that it got lost on the way.

First, the characters didn't feel authentic to me. Almost all of them were very stereotypical and one dimensional to me, with few exceptions. Holgar was one exception. I loved his character throughout the story until the last 50 pages or so, until he seemed to change before our eyes into someone suddenly dark and secretive - most likely a lead-in to the next book in the series. The same with Father Juan. We're supposed to ask: Who are they really?

The rest of the characters didn't do much for me. Jenn was at her most interesting when she was on her own. With the others, she was bland and boring. The group dynamic quickly got on my nerves with all of the in-fighting and I kept thinking that they would be better off if they went their separate ways and each had a book to follow their adventures alone. Maybe then we'd get to see more of their character and the focus would help them to come alive. I doubt that will happen though.

Then there is the writing itself, which was inconsistent. I know that the edition I read was an uncorrected edition, so I'm not talking about the grammatical errors or spelling errors, but the writing itself. For example, in the midst of running for her life from a pack of vampires who want nothing more than to kill her, and trying to rescue her sister from still more vampires, we have this:

"The sun was setting; she could feel it as surely as she felt the pounding of her own heart.
The heart that beat for Antonio."

It then goes on to talk about how afraid she was that she would never see him or her sister again. And then back to Jenn trying to save her own life so that she could try to save her sister. It just seemed incredibly out of place to insert a line about her heart beating for someone else when she is literally running for her life. I know that in times of stress and fear, we think about those we love, but the line itself is strange and awkward to me, like it was inserted to create a relationship link to him.

Not to mention the chapter headers that contain Jenn's diary entries. These are written in such flowery and formal language that it doesn't mesh with the self-conscious and unsure 17 year old "Just Jenn" from the rest of the story.

And then finally, my biggest issue with the book is the way that religion and faith is handled. This book could be considered a Good vs Evil story, and so it stands to reason that a certain amount of religious comparisons could be made. That isn't really my complaint, although it does get quite preachy at times.

My complaint is that in this mixed cast, we have several different religions and belief systems interacting with each other, but no matter which belief system a character lived by, they approached it in a Christian-oriented way, or otherwise acted in Christian ways that did not fit with their own beliefs. I felt like, since it seemed that it was a deliberate choice to have so many different personalities and faiths, they should have rung more true, rather than all centering around what is referred to more than once in the book as the "One True Faith".

For instance, we have a Wiccan "White Witch", who practices magicks and worships the Goddess and the moon and nature, etc. But then, in a moment of uncertainty, she considers going to a Catholic priest to give her absolution, rather than relying on her own beliefs. This is just one of the examples of this from the book, and there are quite a few. This, more than anything else, made this book less than enjoyable for me. I couldn't help but wonder: Why go to such an effort to include the variety of religions and faiths if the characters do not act according to them?

I think that if handled differently, this book could have been a very enjoyable one for me. I think that people should believe what works for them, but this just felt like the message we were supposed to take away is "You can believe whatever you like, but in the end, it's all the same thing, you'll see."

Overall, I thought that this book was OK. I think that people who are just looking for an exciting read will really enjoy it, especially those who are fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Author Interview & Giveaway: Laurie London, Author of "Bonded by Blood"

2011-01-18T09:31:00.000-05:00

Laurie London is the author of the Paranormal Romance novel Bonded by Blood. I recently read and reviewed the book, and I loved it, so I am thrilled to have a chance to chat with Laurie about the book. If you haven't already checked out my review, please do so. I definitely recommend checking this one out!

Laurie has also offered to give away a signed copy of the book as well, so read on to learn more and be sure to sign up!

Thanks Laurie!

Q: I believe your debut novel, Bonded by Blood, is being released on February 1st. Can you give a brief overview of the book?

A: First of all, thanks for having me on today, Becky. And actually, it’s my understanding that it’ll be out on shelves starting today! If you hear screaming coming from Seattle, don’t worry. It’s just me seeing my first book on store shelves.

The Sweetblood world follows a team of Seattle-based vampire warriors, Guardian enforcers who safeguard humanity against Darkbloods, rogue vampires who kill humans and sell their blood on the vampire black market. The rarest blood type, called Sweet, commands the highest street price and is highly addictive to vampires.

Bonded By Blood, the first book in the series, is the story of Dominic Serrano, head of the Seattle field team, and Mackenzie Foster-Shaw, a sweetblood human who works as a movie location scout, a job that takes her into some pretty unusual places.

From the back cover:

Movie location scout Mackenzie Foster-Shaw has always known that she’s cursed to die young. No one can protect her from the evil that has stalked her family for generations—vampires who crave her rare blood type. Until one afternoon in a wooded cemetery, she encounters an impossibly sexy stranger, a man she must trust with her life.

For Dominic, a man haunted by loss, Mackenzie satisfies a primal hunger that torments him—and the bond they share goes beyond heat, beyond love. She alone can supply the strength he needs to claim his revenge. But in doing so, he could destroy her…

Q: In Bonded by Blood, vampires live amongst humans, but in secret. Many recent vampire stories have featured vampires revealing themselves to humanity. Why did you decide to not reveal vampires' existence?

A: What a great question! I think it’s because I grew up in the Pacific Northwest at a time when several high profile serial killers were active. I can remember driving on the freeway, wondering if the guy in the next car over was the Green River Killer. In fact, my grandmother, who was a legal secretary, remembered meeting Ted Bundy and thought he was such a nice young man. It turns out that many of these killers were the guy next door. Call me twisted, but the idea of being surrounded by something sinister, yet being totally clueless, is strangely fascinating.

Q: Your vampires differ from the traditional vampire lore. Can you give an example of this, and what inspired the decision behind the change?

A: Again, I think it stems from how my environment influenced me. During the long winter months, many people here suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder, myself included (but hopefully, I don’t get as bitchy as Corey’s girlfriend, Vanessa). When I’ve traveled to sunny climates during this time, the rise in my energy level is amazing. To combat the winter blues and give us energy, we exercise, take lots of vitamin D, and use full spectrum lightboxes. I got to thinking—what if these symptoms weren’t all caused from a lack of sunlight? Maybe there are vampires out there secretly drinking our blood and stealing our energy, and that the reason they can’t go into the sunlight isn’t because they’ll burn up or sparkle, but because it greatly saps their strength. They need humans because their bodies can’t convert sunlight into energy like ours can.

Q: I loved the characters in the book, but especially Mackenzie's independence and feisty personality, and her unique way of seeing life. Was she based on any real person?

A: Aw, thanks! I’m so glad you liked her. I’ve guess I’ve always admired women who are nurturing and creative, yet independent and feisty. Both my grandmothers had professional careers at a time when most mothers stayed home. They were fun, witty, sometimes bitchy, and they didn’t take crap from anyone. Back in the 50’s, one of them actually bought a house and told my grandfather after the fact. Now that’s ballsy!

Q: Both Dom and Kenzie have painful pasts that make it difficult for them to move forward and be at peace with their lives. So, one of my favorite scenes in the book is when they discuss their happiest childhood memories with each other. What is your happiest childhood memory?

A: That was one of my favorite scenes too. In fact, I had to cut some of it out because I got too carried away at first.

One of my favorite childhood memories is when I was about ten years old and my horse and I won the grand championship at the county fair. She was very high spirited, but I got her to go over all the obstacles that other horses wouldn’t. The judge came up to me afterwards and said something like, “Young lady, you had your hands full dealing with that horse of yours, but you made the best with what you had and you out-rode everyone.” I learned that you don’t have to be perfect to win. You just have to make the best with what you have and, if you work hard, it’s possible to beat those who are better than you.

Q: When did you realize that you wanted to be a writer, and who are some of your inspirations?

A: Although I’ve always enjoyed writing, it took me a long time to consider myself a “writer.” My stories were just my private indulgences. My biggest inspiration would have to be my sister who is now a published author too. Unlike me, she wasn’t afraid to tell people she was a writer. For many years, she belonged to writers’ groups, entered contests, and attended conferences. When she became a finalist in RWA’s Golden Heart contest, it inspired me that maybe I could do the same thing one day too.

Q: What do you most hope that people take away from the book?

A: First, I sincerely hope people enjoy the Sweetblood world and Dom and Mackenzie’s story as much as I enjoyed writing about them. But on a deeper level, I hope the reader takeaway is that the power of love changes everything and makes the impossible, possible.

Q: I know that a sequel, Embraced by Blood, is due out later this year. Can you tell us how many books are planned?

A: The Sweetblood world is big and the possibilities are endless. I hope to have news to share with you soon.

Q: What is your favorite vampire book or movie?

A: I’d have to say the old vampire movie Fright Night is one of my favorites. My sister and I saw it eight times in a row as teenagers. I had a mad crush on Chris Sarandon’s vampire character and imagined myself as Amy. If you’re not familiar with the film, the club scene and the seduction scene are both on Youtube. I just wished he hadn’t turned into such a monster at the end.

Q: Is there anything else that you would like to add?

Thanks so much, Becky, for having me on today. These were fun questions! I’d love to give away a signed copy of Bonded By Blood to one lucky commenter.

Thanks Laurie! :)

So here are the giveaway details:

The Giveaway is open in the US and Canada only.
You do not need to be a follower to enter for the giveaway.
All that is required to enter is to fill out the form below.
Entries will be calculated on January 25th and a lucky winner will be drawn via Random.org.

For Extra Entries!

Spread the word by Tweeting a link to this giveaway with the hashtag #BondedByBlood and you'll earn an extra entry. Max 1 extra entry & you must link to the tweet for verification.
Share your favorite vampire book or movie and why, or your favorite childhood memory and earn another entry. Max 1.

That's it! Good luck everyone! :)

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Review: Bonded By Blood by Laurie London ★★★★

2011-01-18T09:25:00.000-05:00

4.5 stars -- I am pretty open to reading all kinds of books, but I haven't read all that much paranormal romance, so I was glad to have the opportunity to review Bonded by Blood for my blog. I read the excerpt on Laurie London's site, and was drawn into the story almost immediately... I wanted to know who Mackenzie was, what her story was, who this mysterious injured man was... Intriguing!

Once I started, I found I couldn't stop. Bonded by Blood was very readable, and the pace was great. I didn't put this book down very often after I started reading it, and when I did, my mind was drawn back to it again and again, wondering what was happening to them, who they were, and what was going on around them while I wasn't looking. I love when this feeling happens, because then I know that the characters in a book aren't just 2D creations on a page, but are real, well-written characters that I can identify with and care about. And I did care about Dom and Mackenzie. Both intrigued me, and as their lives continually crossed paths, and as each of their histories were revealed and the links between them shown, I was drawn into their lives and felt that the connection between them was tangible.

Their relationship was great as well. I loved the way that they interacted with each other, and the tension and suspense was palpable. Kenzie's history makes it hard for her to commit herself, and Dom being what he is (a predator, really) he feels he should stay away from her for her own protection. But they are drawn to each other, and Dom has the further complicated issue of protecting her from Darkbloods as well as himself. So naturally, things reach a breaking point in the tension between Dom and Kenzie, and ohmygoodness when it does... get out your fans, ladies. It's steamy.

I enjoyed the progression of their relationship, and how each seemed to open up due to it. I love how Kenzie's deep-seated tension and need to control everything in her life, which is understandable given the circumstances, eases up, and she is able to relax and let go when she is with Dom. I also like the fact that she has a similar effect on Dom in that his anger and desire for revenge are softened around her. I felt like this was less a change in personalities, and more an effect of their bonding and connection and understanding with each other.

I loved the world that London created here, where vampires are real and live amongst humans while still remaining secret. I immensely enjoyed the modernity of the story, how vampires have adapted and adjusted to changes in the world around them, welcoming scientific and technological advances and discoveries. I also thought that it was interesting how the Darkbloods embraced scientific methods to further their aims, while still keeping the old world mentality about what it is to be a vampire. I wish that the Darkbloods had a little more face-time in the book, and that more of their ideals and goals were examined, but maybe this will be coming in the next book.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and cannot wait for the next in the series, which is out later this year.

Stay tuned in just a few minutes for an interview with Laurie London. She's generously offered to give away a free signed copy of Bonded By Blood!

In My Mailbox (10)

2011-01-16T17:53:00.001-05:00

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren.

Wow... It's been about a month since my last IMM post, and I've missed sharing my book acquisitions with everyone. So without further delay, here are my goodies! :D

You might remember late last year, the awesome people over at The Broke and the Bookish blog did a Secret Santa swap. This is what I got:

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

A whole buncha bookmarks - some signed! Squee!

Here's what I received from a Secret Santa swap we did in one of my Goodreads Groups. I'm excited for both of these books:

Handling The Undead by John Ajvide Lindqvist

Halfway To The Grave by Jeaniene Frost

Crusade (Crusade #1) by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie (Received ARC from Star Book Tours)

I actually received this one a while ago from my boss, but I plan on reading it soon and figured that I'd mention it. I hope it's awesome. :)

Little Bee by Chris Cleave.

Before I move on to the rest of my IMM post, I just thought I would share a little bit of the difficulties I face in getting decent pictures to share with you all. Bloopers, if you will. Uncooperative extras?

I'm talking about stuff like this:

And this:

But it's worth it... Silly cats! :P

OK, let's get back to business!

You all know that I got a Nook for Christmas (well, pre-Christmas), right?... Well... I have a problem. By problem, I mean addiction. I've had my Nook for one month and three days, and I've already acquired 98 ebooks for it. Some are duplicates of what I already own in deadtree format, but lots are new. But... many were free. FREEEE! *dances around in free ebook bliss*

Sorry 'bout that. I'll wait while you all go wash out your eyes.

Here's the list of my new ebooks (in no particular order):

Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks
Shadow's Edge by Brent Weeks
Beyond the Shadows by Brent Weeks
A Game of Thrones by George R R Martin
A Clash of Kings by GRRM
A Storm of Swords by GRRM
A Feast for Crows by GRRM
The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie
Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie
Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercrombie
The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman
A Medicine for Melancholy by Ray Bradbury
All 11 of the Wheel of Time Series (plus short stories, etc) by Robert Jordan
Swan Song by Robert McCammon
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch
Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King (Currently Reading)
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings
Queen of Sorcery by David Eddings
Magician's Gambit by David Eddings
Castle of Wizardry by David Eddings
Enchanter's End Game by David Eddings
The Gateway (Harbinger of Doom 1) by Glenn Thater
Reaper by Rachel Vincent
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
DEAD(ish) by Naomi Kramer
The Demon Girl by Penelope Fletcher
10 Lost Vintage Sci-Fi Masterpieces by Various authors
Reckless by Cornelia Funke
Grimm's Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm

Whew! I think my keyboard is smoking. But how awesome is that?? I ♥ Nook!
Alrighty, that's what I got in my mailbox (since last time)... what did you get in yours? :)

Friday Flashback Review: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss ★★★★

2011-01-15T01:46:00.000-05:00

Friday Flashback is hosted by Jen @ The Introverted Reader.

This review was originally published on Goodreads.com on September 27, 2009. Since the second book in the series, The Wise Man's Fear, will be released soon (March 1st, I believe), I thought that I would share my original review. :)

I haven't read a LOT of fantasy. I've read a lot, to me, but when I look at the amount of fantasy that some people have on their shelves here, I am daunted and feel like I've read practically nothing at all. But there is a reason for this: I tend to rely really heavily on recommendations with fantasy because 1) there's so much of it! and 2) browsing the bookstore and looking for fantasy is an effort in frustration for me. They all sound the same from their description, and they all have (in my opinion) awful cover-art that makes the book look as though it would be a Harlequin romance with Elves and dragons, etc.

So, I generally steer clear of the fantasy section in the bookstore and rely on recommendations. Goodreads has helped immensely with this, and lately I have been reading a lot more fantasy, and it's been good. But I don't think I've read anything like The Name of the Wind before.

Before we really get down to business, I have to mention that I'd had no intention of reading this book for a long time (at least until the series is finished). I loathe waiting for the next installment of a series that has hooked me, for one. And two, I had, as much as I hate to admit it, some preconceived notions about this book that made me think that people were exaggerating how much they liked it.

These preconceived notions were:
- That the book was set in a single day. I couldn't see how a book set in a single day could possibly be THAT interesting without being ridiculously frantic and overwhelming. Kind of like the TV show "24". O_o
- I pictured Kvothe as a brilliant mini-assassin/spy/wizard/student/expert-at-everything/wise-beyond-his-incredibly-few-years hero. Boring. I'm tired of the "Wow. My life is effortless because I am good at EVERYTHING and I make no mistakes" hero.

So, thanks to a friend of mine who probably would have surgically attached this book to my hand if she could, I read it. And I was pleasantly surprised.

The writing was... I don't know how to describe it. I would read a handful of words, and then suddenly I wasn't in my room, or laying on my bed any longer, I was tagging along with Kvothe like his shadow. I'd take a break from the book, and then when I'd pick it up again, POOF! Like a freakin' vortex I was sucked right back into the story.

That is the main reason that this book is getting 4 stars. The writing was fantastic. It feels like it was a labor of love. That Rothfuss didn't just want to tell his story, he wanted for the reader to feel it, to live it, and breathe it, and BE IN IT. The way that Rothfuss writes the complex feelings and emotions and thoughts that Kvothe had was no more effort to read than any popular author could write. But after reading it, I felt like I hadn't just read words, I felt like I held Kvothe's soul in my hands. It just felt so much more profound than mere words can convey.

But, I don't want you to think that this was some gimmicky new style. This was straight prose, with full sentences and complete paragraphs and correctly used punctuation. But it just felt effortless. Like Kvothe rubbed his heart on the pages and words appeared.

At the same time, though, Rothfuss' sense of humor shines through the pages. He has exactly the kind of sense of humor that I love, cherish, and adore. Dry, deadpan, sarcastic wit. I love it. And he uses it sparingly, so that when it comes, it's like a little ray of sunshine through the clouds, not a blindingly sunny day that makes you wish for sunglasses.

That being said, I can't give this book 5 stars. In reality, the entire book felt like a prologue. (And perhaps that's what it was meant as.) We meet Kvothe as an innkeeper trying to protect and hide his true identity (whoops, sorry!), and he begins to tell his story, which is how the entire book can be set in one day. Clever.

We learn about Kvothe's childhood with a traveling troupe of performers, about his early education, about his early teen years spent homeless and destitute in a major city after tragedy strikes the troupe, then about his life in the University where he goes to study. We see Kvothe succeed beyond any reasonable expectation, but he also fails, and makes mistake after mistake after mistake. He's brilliant, but stupid at the same time.

Early on, I was a little worried about the way that the story was told. At one point, it was a story within a story within a story. I am not a huge fan of this technique, but I have to admit it was done well. I am actually quite surprised that I liked this book as much as I did, considering that two of the major themes in the book are ones that I'm not exactly a fan of. Those would be storytelling within the story and music within the story.

But, too often, I think that authors get a bit carried away and go on for pages and pages and pages of songs or lays, and I lose interest around line 4 and start looking for something shiny in the couch cushions. Rothfuss handled his storytelling and music perfectly. He managed to convey the importance of each to the overall story, but didn't whack me over the head with a thousand-line long song of lost love. *Yawn*.

I did like the story overall. It had the classic fantasy feel, while at the same time being somehow more. There were a lot of little adventures that Kvothe had, but you could tell that this book is just prologue to the larger story of Kvothe's life after he leaves the University. I'm anxious to see where Rothfuss takes us.

View all my reviews

2011 Make-over!

2011-01-15T01:41:00.000-05:00

So, if you've made it this far, you'll have noticed that things look... different. I have been seriously slack the past couple of months keeping up with the blog. I had the desire... just lacked the gumption. December really sucked the big one with work and personal stuff. Plus, with the exception of a few books (which shall be on the blog soon!) I haven't read anything worth mentioning here... Well, nothing that I haven't already sworn eternal love and favorite status to. Harry Potter, Dark Tower series, you know who you are. ;)

Anyway, so I decided that I would do a little redecorating and in a few minutes I will post my Friday Flashback review of The Name of the Wind, even though it's technically Saturday now on the East coast. Dates, schmates, right?

Let me know what you think of the new look! Happy New year! (I'm only... two weeks late on that. Who's counting? O_o)

Booo!

2010-12-24T02:20:00.000-05:00

Just a quick post here to vent about how ridiculously sucky December has been on the whole!

Between work stress and family stress and most recently finding out that my boyfriend's mother was hospitalized due to a brain aneurysm (she's through surgery and doctors are optimistic that she'll recover - thank goodness), I feel like everything December has touched this year has gone terribly, horribly wrong, and I for one will be very thankful once 2010 is over!

I don't know what you have against me, December, but the feeling is mutual at this point. I say we go our separate ways, and soon.

So, once again my well-intentioned blog plans have been thwarted *shakes fist at December* and I'm a little behind. I will try to do a catch-up triplicate Top 10 post tomorrow if I can.

Here's to hoping that 2011 is better!

10 Days to 2011: Top 10 - New To Me in 2010

2010-12-22T00:42:00.000-05:00

Today is December 21, 2010 (well, for 36 more minutes on the East Coast anyway), and I realized that 2010 will be over in 10 days. And because I like numbers in triplicate (I don't know why, just go with it), I thought I would do ten Top-10 lists to end out 2010.

And hopefully this one goes better than my Thanksgiving flop. Let's just brush that under the rug, shall we? *sweep* There. All better. Nothing to see here... Move along. Thank you!

Anyway... Here we go...

Day 10: Top Ten "New To Me" Books of 2010

10. The Passage by Justin Cronin - I really enjoyed this book, although it is quite different than I had expected it to be. I love post-apocalyptic fiction, and this definitely delivered on that! It's the first in a series, and ends on a cliffhanger, but the this is definitely not one to miss if you're a fan of post-apocalyptic literature with a touch of the surreal.

9. Little Brother by Cory Doctorow - Another favorite genre here, dystopian fiction. This book was brilliant, and relevant, and a definite must read. If you worry at the lengths that those in power will go to in order to keep us safe border on intrusive (and one needs only look to our airports to see this in action) - read this book.

8. Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism by Naomi Klein - Semi-related to Little Brother, in that "disaster capitalism" takes advantage of legitimate (and staged) catastrophes for profit and control of the people. This is only part of it, of course, but this is one of the best books I've read this year. Highly recommended.

7. Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride - I loved this book! It was unique, witty, awesome and fun. I could not put it down - not that I wanted to. I loved all of the characters, and the story, and the freshness of it - it definitely stood out as a favorite of mine this year. I can't wait for the next book!

6. If I Stay by Gayle Forman - This was another standout YA book this year, but for a very different reason. This book, far from being light-hearted and fun with an edge, like Necromancer, was all serious issues and pain and loss and grief, and addressed the struggle of continuing on in a life where we've lost everything we love. There's a sequel coming out soon, and while I thought that If I Stay was perfect as a standalone, I can't resist pining for Where She Went coming out in 2011. Read this with tissues at the ready.

5. Hurt Go Happy by Ginny Rorby - Another soul-crusher! This book broke my heart into a thousand little pieces for so many reasons. But it was a good pain, because I felt so much... clearer and receptive afterward. This is one of those rare books that hollow you out and let you see things from a new perspective - but the process can be hard. I absolutely recommend this book. Trust me on this one. I'd never lead you astray.

4. The Help by Kathryn Stockett - I. Loved. This. Book.
This is a beautiful story about 3 women living in the South during the 60s, during a very turbulent time in America's history due to racial tension, gender roles, social roles and ignorance and hate all meshing together... I definitely recommend the audio for this one, if you can get it. Lovely and touching.

3. Losing Julia by Jonathan Hull - Allison from The Allure of Books sent this one to me on a whim for Christmas last year, and I read it in early 2010 and it became an instant favorite which has stuck with me all year. This book is fantastic on so many different levels. I didn't want it to end, but of course it had to. If you spot it out there in the world, pick it up. It's worth it.

2. The Gun Seller by Hugh Laurie - I loved this book so much that when I finished it, I wrote in my review that I wanted to hump Hugh Laurie's leg for writing it. It was witty, hilarious, relevant, and awesome. I loved it so much that I had to own a copy - this is definite re-read material.

1. Horns by Joe Hill - It's hard to say that this is my favorite book of the year, since I read so many great ones in 2010, but this gets the number one spot. For one thing, this book absolutely deserves it. Joe Hill poops gold, I swear it. Everything he writes is better than the last, and Horns is flippin' awesome. Like The Gun Seller, I finished this and wanted to hump Joe's leg too. Amazing and touching and made of awesome.

(Offer still stands, gentlemen, if you see this. Email me!)

So there you have it. If you haven't read any of these books, you're missing out. I loved each and every one of them, and wouldn't talk them up if they weren't worth it. Grab one and give it a try!

Review: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins ★★

2010-12-18T22:27:00.000-05:00

I am probably one of the last people on Earth to read Mockingjay. It was one of the most highly anticipated series ending books ever. Everywhere I looked someone was talking about it - counting down the days till release. There was ARC craziness and spoiler worries and giveaways offering the book sprouted up like weeds (including one of my own!), but I just now got around to reading it myself, and I was more than a little disappointed by it.

Without further ado... My Mockingjay review.

I'm really torn on what to rate this book. I went back and forth between 2 and 3 stars a few times, but I ended up going with 2 stars for a variety of reasons that I hope I'll be able to convey. I don't think that it was terrible, I was disappointed and irritated by quite a lot of it.

I will try not to spoil the plot, but if you haven't read the book, read the following at your own risk:

First things first... In The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, I cared about Katniss and Gale and Peeta. They were just these kids who were unlucky enough to live in this society that puts on this horrific event every year. They were born into hard lives of hunger and uncertainty and fear and control, and then victimized and picked off annually for the entertainment of the nation. I felt like I understood Katniss in HG (Hunger Games) and CF (Catching Fire). She didn't have a choice how to live, but she did her best to make a place for herself and do what she could to survive and not become a monster. The same went for Gale and Peeta - they did what they could do and tried to be decent.

But in Mockingjay (hereafter called MJ), I didn't feel like I knew the characters at all! I know that there had been a lot of changes and a lot of hard choices and pain and all of that, but in a matter of 6 weeks from the end of the Quarter Quell that ended CF to the beginning of MJ, it's like ALL of the characters that I loved and knew had changed into cruel, angry and unrecognizable goblin versions of themselves. I was really hard pressed to find anything redeeming in any of them quite a lot of the time.

Katniss is aloof, angry, consumed by self-loathing and guilt, and just shuts down and shuts everyone out. Gale has become this cold, calculating tactician who has none of the warmth that he had before - not even when it comes to his best friend who is clearly struggling. They argue and fight all the time, even when Gale is supporting Katniss - and even during these times (because he DOES stand by her), she is horrible to him and everyone else. Selfishly acting like she's the only one to have suffered or feared anything.

And that's not even to mention Peeta. He is nothing, NOTHING, like the Peeta we knew in HG & CF. Granted, he has valid reasons (more valid than Katniss's selfish ones) for this change, but it was frustrating all the same - and even more so because of the way that Katniss reacted to him.

Again I will stress that I understand the pressure that they were all under, and the atmosphere of fear and uncertainty and impending war and all that. I understand it, and even appreciate it, but I felt like the way Collins handled it stripped Katniss, Peeta and Gale of their humanity. These are teens who have had to live through situations that most adults have never lived with - the pressure is intense. But I couldn't really care about any of that because these characters seemed so robotic and cold and unreachable. All of them. And that's incredibly disappointing to me. Even when Katniss and Gale were allowed special privileges to go hunting together as they used to, there was not really any closeness or friendship or support between them, no vulnerability. You'd think that they would rely on each other for support, but the relationship was completely one-sided, with Gale supporting Katniss and Katniss acting like the world is on her shoulders alone. I wanted her to rely on him - ANYONE - and let go a little... to not hold everything inside. To be human. But even when she did break down, it was so clinical and sterile I just couldn't care.

Buttercup the cat, who had, at best, bit parts throughout the series, evoked much more emotion from me than any of the major players. Yes... A cat. And Prim is her usual, wise-beyond-her-years, caring, bundle of goodness and strength. I loved her. She is really the only human character next to Finnick, who I came to really like in this one. He was vulnerable and human.

So, yeah. My main complaints were regarding the characters themselves. Many times they would act completely out of character, Katniss especially, and I found it frustrating.

=====================SPOILER========================
====================================================

For instance... After wallowing for the entire book and keeping a running list of all the people who have died or been hurt by her actions, Katniss votes YES to hold one last Hunger Games with the Capitol's children, so that they know how it feels. WHAT??? After going through two of them herself, trying to save as many as she could, after becoming the Mockingjay to END the regime that forces the Hunger Games on the people of Panem, she would vote yes to send more innocent kids to slaughter? That makes no sense to me at all.

====================================================
=====================END SPOILER====================

And then I have to say that the way the end was resolved didn't make sense to me. The twists, yes, they made sense and weren't unexpected. But I didn't really feel that Katniss was A) given enough information to lead her to the conclusion she came up with or B) clever or shrewd enough to get there on her own. And if she was, which again would be out of character, then why was this not conveyed? Katniss is telling this story - we get her every thought - even when all that entails is a refusal to think of something.

I wasn't disappointed by the relationship aspect - or lack thereof - in this story. Considering that I didn't really like or care about any of the characters, I wasn't exactly sitting on the edge of my seat with fingers crossed hoping for a certain outcome. It was not what I'd expected, but I was OK with it.

Regarding everything else, I thought that the dystopian themes and the events in the story (almost all of them) were good, and the pacing was great. Not everything was wrapped up how I would have liked, but it is a definite end, and for that I'm glad, because I don't see how another book in this series would be an improvement for me. I can see why some would really like this, but all in all, I was not thrilled with it.
View all my reviews

Since writing that review earlier, I've thought of more stuff that I should have included in it, like (Spoilers!) how the situation regarding Prim's death felt like it was manipulated by Collins to point at Gale being responsible, which felt like a ploy to shift all of the shippers to Peeta's team and make Katniss hate him, and subsequently Gale moving to District 2 and ending all communication with Katniss. This is so out of character for him - the guy who stood by Katniss through thick and thin and never wavered, I just can't imagine him giving up on her, or her casting him completely out of her life. (End spoilers.)

There's just so much that I felt was out of character and misrepresented. It seems silly to use that word since the story is Collins', but it feels true. It's like Mockingjay forgot who it was really about. I felt like the characters that I loved were gone, and there were angry, sullen, vicious strangers in their places. Very disappointing.

In My Mailbox (9)

2010-12-12T21:34:00.000-05:00

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren.

It's been a little while since my last IMM post - and I've been slacking a bit lately on posting anything at all on ze blog. Work and family issues and just general life have prevented me from doing so. Booo!

Anyway, I'm back now, and have IMM goodness to share!

From Goodreads Swap:

Un Lun Dun by China Mieville

From B&N Bargain Books:

The Ruins of Gorlan (Ranger's Apprentice #1) by John Flanagan

The Terror by Dan Simmons

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

For Review:

Across the Universe by Beth Revis (Received from Publisher)

And (Holy Crap YES!) this:

Oh man! Early Christmas present NOOOOOOK! :D So freaking exciting! The handsome fellow shown on the screensaver is Homer. I've loaded a bunch of free books on it already including the Vampire Academy 1-5 and a bunch of classics.

Sorry about the angle of the last two pics - had glare issues. :(

Anywho... that's my IMM this week - what's in yours?

Review: The Anatomy of Ghosts by Andrew Taylor ★★★★

2010-12-08T17:45:00.000-05:00

A good friend of mine raves about Andrew Taylor, and now I know why. I'd never read anything by him before, so when I saw The Anatomy of Ghosts available to advanced reviewers, I jumped on the chance to read it - and I very much enjoyed it. I will definitely be on the lookout for more of his books.

The story takes place mainly at Cambridge University, where a young student claims to have seen a ghost and is taken to a nearby sanitarium for treatment. His mother, Lady Anne, who is connected with the University and is concerned for her son, hires a down-on-his-luck man to investigate the matter and restore her son to his right mind.

This story is chock full of interesting characters, all of whom step right off the page and into living color. Jerusalem college (a college within the larger University), is almost a character in itself with secrets and habits and its own lifestyle. The young men who go there to learn come away with much, much more than the degree they studied for. It was quite intriguing, and put me in mind of rumors and whispers that one hears about old campuses like that.

I particularly loved the writing, though. The story takes place in the late 18th century, and the writing set the tone, character, and pace perfectly, without venturing off into wordy exposition, all the while keeping the suspense and the intrigue going. Quite a feat! Too often historical fiction forgets itself and strays into modernity in order to ramp up the tension and suspense, but Taylor did not lapse at all.

I also really enjoyed the slight social commentary running throughout the novel, with regards to rank and position and power. Of course this is a popular theme throughout history, as people have always been obsessed with rank and position and power, but I felt that here it was put on display, in a way. It's hard to say just what I mean, because I don't mean that the writing was Austen-esque in terms of satirical social commentary, but rather that it was so gritty and real feeling that a modern reader would see it as such. It was not glorified or glamorous, but rather what I think was an accurate representation of the lengths that some will go to to attain power and the lengths some will go to to keep it. Fascinating stuff.

I would have given this book 5 stars, except that I feel that one portion of the plot was not resolved at all in the end, and I was left a little disappointed. The ending itself was satisfying, and I could not guess any of the twists and turns that the story would take (and there were quite a few!), but this one little detail was irksome for not being resolved, and so I had to drop down the rating a bit. Otherwise, I was drawn in and engaged in the story, and felt as if I was watching from the sidelines rather than reading, and I love the feeling of falling through the pages of a book.

I definitely recommend this one to historical fiction, mystery and thriller fans.

It's Monday... What are you reading? (7)

2010-11-29T10:53:00.000-05:00

"It's Monday... What are you reading?" is hosted by Sheila at BookJourney.

So here's what I'm reading, and what I've read - November catch up edition!
I'm Currently Reading:
The Waste Lands by Stephen King - This is the third book in his Dark Tower series, which I'm currently reading for December with two different groups on Goodreads, one public and one private. This time around, for re-read number 1934872759, I'm listening to the audio, read by Frank Muller. It took me a while to get used to his reading style (all of The Gunslinger -unrevised edition- and a good bit into The Drawing of the Three), but now I'm really enjoying it and highly recommend it!

For November, I've read:
Heidegger's Glasses by Thaisa Frank
Changeless by Gail Carriger
The Drawing of the Three (Dark Tower book 2) by Stephen King (Audio read by Frank Muller)
Blameless by Gail Carriger
The Crown Conspiracy by Michael J. Sullivan (Audio read by Nathan Lowell)
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (Audio read by Roses Prichard)
I Am America (And So Can You!) by Stephen Colbert (Audio read by Colbert & cast)
The Anatomy of Ghosts by Andrew Taylor - ARC (review to come!)
The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens - ARC (review to come!)
Darkfall by Dean Koontz
The Stand: Captain Trips (Graphic novel) by Stephen King and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
The Stand: American Nightmares (Graphic novel) by Stephen King and Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa

Whew! That's a good amount of reading (and listening!) done in one month. My goal for the year is to hit 126 books read. Including The Waste Lands, I should make this, as December is going to be strictly fantasy with the following line up:

December Goals:
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson
Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling (Yep - I'm reading these again! US editions this time.)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and theDeathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

Another full month ahead of me - 11 books, and a total of 6940 pages. But I have a feeling that I will love ALL of them. :) Wish me luck!

Review: Zan-Gah - A Prehistoric Adventure by A. R. Shickman ★★

2010-11-27T23:51:00.005-05:00

This story is about a teen in pre-historic times, and his quest to find his twin brother who disappeared over a year ago. Zan-gah is brave and proud, and sure that if he starts his adventure, he will be rewarded in finding his goal. He encounters a lot of dangers and obstacles along the way, but never gives up hope.

I wish that I could say that I loved this book as I really enjoy adventure stories, but unfortunately, I had quite a few issues that I could not ignore. Overall, I thought it was OK, but I thought the concept could have been great and I had hoped for more.

First, I felt that the writing seemed to talk down to the reader. I know that this is a children's/young adult book, but readers still want to be immersed in the story and see the events through the characters' eyes. This was a book full of events that were told rather than shown, and after just telling the reader what happened, we were then told, with italics or exclamation points, what the events or actions meant, as if the reader would not understand. Perhaps these little asides were intended to draw in the reader, but to me they felt a bit condescending and repetitive. I think that this was done more to clarify what was happening than to condescend, but I didn't feel that the reiteration was necessary. We should be able to gather from context what a particular action or scene signifies, and examine that scene in relation to our own experiences. If every event is explained, we have no need to look for any other meaning or significance to ourselves, and it's then harder to connect or identify with the character without that bond.

I felt that the characters were interesting and diverse, but I didn't really feel as though I understood any of them. I did root for everything to come out OK in the end, but I couldn't really identify with the characters regarding their lives or choices or actions. I kept being surprised by the decisions that Zan made, because they were different than the ones that I would have made in his place. In a way this is a good thing, because I do generally enjoy unpredictable characters, but I admit that it did make me feel as though I didn't know Zan at all.

The second issue I had was the language used. It felt modern and out of place with the setting. The character names are all seemingly appropriate, and certain words in the presumed language of the pre-historic people, but then we have a teenage main character using modern English words like "proficient" that obviously didn't exist then. It just stuck out and unfortunately didn't work for me. Again, I realize that this was probably done in an effort to make the story more accessible to younger readers, but it was distracting and took me out of the story.

The third issue that I had was that there was just too much I found unbelievable. There were close calls, sure, but every time there was the least amount of trouble, the characters would find an incredibly convenient way out of it with little or no effort at all. Yes, Zan-Gah is described as resourceful, but he didn't really show this quality - and when he did, it was not his resourcefulness that benefitted him, it was luck or someone else coming to his aid.

There is a theme of unity and working together and loyalty that appealed to me, however. Zan-Gah helps to facilitate between his clan and those of his neighbors. Although it was effected very easily, with little more effort than gathering the people and making a short speech, still, he enacted a change for the better, and I did like that. I also liked the fact that he did not give up hope of his brother, and went to try to save him, against all odds, and knowing that he may never return. I was proud of Zan-Gah for his bravery.

I think that this book is one that younger readers may enjoy.

Author Interview: Stephanie Dray, author of "Lily of the Nile"

2010-11-23T17:28:00.020-05:00

Stephanie Dray is the author of the soon-to-be-released Historical Fantasy novel Lily of the Nile, a novel about Princess Selene of Egypt. From the moment I saw the beautiful cover of this book, and read the excerpt on Goodreads, I've wanted to read Selene's story, so I am thrilled to have the opportunity to find out more about the book from Stephanie herself in preparation for its release in January 2011. Read on!

Q: Both you and author Michelle Moran have written books about Cleopatra's daughter, Selene. What inspired you to write about her?

A: I've always been interested in Cleopatra VII. When I found out that she had a daughter--one who survived to become Queen of Mauretania--I had to know more. Imagine the life of a child whose parents both commit suicide, a child who is taken prisoner and dragged through Rome in chains, only to charm her way into power. That was an irresistible story for me. What made it more interesting is that Selene lived through a period of great social and religious transition. I wanted to know how her life fit into that context and I was moved by every new thing I discovered about her.

Q: Lily of the Nile is a historical fantasy - Did you know from the start that this was the type of book you wanted to write? If not, how did it change from what you had intended?

A: Originally, the story I planned was more historical fantasy than historical fiction. I wanted to write an alternate history where things turned out differently. But the more I researched Selene's life, the more her actual circumstances touched me. For example, though she was only ten years old when her parents died, she never forgot them, or any of the family that she lost. The relics found from her reign in Mauretania show frequent references to her mother and to lost loved ones. This is a little girl who grew up to be the last Ptolemaic queen, and her desperation to hold onto her heritage resonated with me and seemed like its own little bit of magic.

Q: What was the most difficult aspect of researching for a book like Lily of the Nile?

A: I can't read or write Latin or Greek and that was a huge limitation for me in my research. Having to rely upon English translations frustrated me. Also, there's a great deal that we know about the Augustan Age, but references to Selene are brief and tantalizing. For example, both of her brothers simply disappear from the historical record. Some historians suggested that they went on to live obscure lives with their sister but modern historians theorize that they must have died young or they'd be mentioned. There's a danger in making assumptions when we have so few surviving historical accounts, and those that we do have were often written hundreds of years after the fact. I try to approach historical mysteries without any hubris and am willing to admit that there are things we just don't know and might never know.

Q: I am very much a character reader; for me to enjoy a story, it has to have realistic characters that I can identify with and care about. What is the one "make or break" aspect a book must have for you to love it?

A: I'm with you. It's all about character. I can't get into a book, no matter how well written or clever, no matter how fast the plot moves, if I don't have a reason to care. Selene speaks to me as a character, and as a historical figure, and that's what makes the book for me.

Q: Can you talk about one aspect of writing and/or publishing that surprised you, either positively or negatively, and what you would do differently if you had the chance?

A: If I had the chance to go back and write Selene's story as one giant novel instead of three smaller books, I think I would have done that. I didn't understand the women's fiction market very well when I started writing, and I thought, nobody will buy a book that big!

Q: Have you ever been surprised by the reactions of readers? For example, readers loving a character that you disliked or vice versa?

A: Every now and then a reader will surprise me by wishing that Selene was a sweeter, more innocent girl, who never feels rage. A lot of fiction out there revolves around heroines who never lose their temper, who always do the right thing, who never struggle. I'm not very interested in those kinds of heroines and I rarely write them. What's more, I don't know any real women who are like that. Selene had a very difficult life and she has plenty to be angry about. She loves some of the people she's supposed to hate and she hates some of the people she's supposed to love. She tries, she fails, she changes, she becomes. I love her for that.

Q: I know that there is a sequel in the works - are there more books in the series planned?

A: The next book in the series will follow Selene on her journey to Mauretania as its young queen. It's in this book that she becomes the emperor’s most unlikely apprentice, and the one woman who can destroy his empire…

Q: Do you have any "quirks" regarding your writing habits? Like writing longhand and then typing it up, or using only a "lucky" font, or needing absolute quiet or loud music or background noise?

A: I like to have my kitties sleeping beside me when I write ;)

Q: Who or what is your favorite mythological figure or creature?

A: I have to go with nymphs because they are a primal expression of the mystery that women represented to the ancients. They lived outside of civilization and social norms. They were wild and alluring and even dangerous. They were the original bad girls of the ancient world and I love them for it.

Q: I'm sure you get the same types of questions all the time, so what is the one question you wish someone would ask you, and the answer you'd give?

A: I'd like someone to ask me if I really hate the ancient Romans. Selene's perspective in the book is very slanted. She hates the Romans and thinks everything they do is bad whereas everything about her mother's Egypt is good. This is a biased point of view and one that I intentionally adopted for her. Unfortunately, people think it's my point of view. I have enormous respect for the ancient Romans and I'm well aware of the influence they've had over our own culture. In fact, don't tell Selene, but I even have quite a soft spot for Augustus!

Thank you so much, Stephanie! I am extremely excited to read this one, and I can't wait to get my hands on it! :)

Thankful Through Thanksgiving - Days Sixteen - Nineteen

2010-11-20T13:54:00.000-05:00

Shoot, I fell behind AGAIN! Catch-up part deux!

November 16th: I am thankful for... Nobody living downstairs, because my last neighbors were terrible, horrible, no good and very bad! (And they smoked like chimneys. BOO!)
Thanks for umm... leaving!

November 17th: I am thankful for... Weekends off, because the only thing a Tuesday off is good for is a dentist appointment!

November 18th: I am thankful for... StumbleUpon, because the internet would be far less interesting without it!

November 19th: I am thankful for... Bloggers, because they are awesome and stuff... and way cooler than me! :)

November 20th: I am thankful for... Amber Indian Restaurant, because I freaking LOVE Indian food. Nom nom nom! :D

Friday Flashback Review (11): Tim by Colleen McCullough ★★★★★

2010-11-19T18:24:00.000-05:00

Friday Flashback is hosted by Jen at The Introverted Reader.

Wow... There is so much that I want to say about this book, and I don't know if I will really be able to do it all justice. I think I'm just going to go for my tried and true method and just ask you to tag along with my ramblings... Hopefully it will make sense at the end. :)

On the surface, "Tim" is a story of an unlikely relationship between a child-like 25 year old mentally retarded man, the title character, and a 43 year old straight-laced and emotionally distant spinster, Mary Horton. Naturally, their relationship is mutually beneficial, with each of them teaching the other how to live.

But the surface story, while absolutely moving and beautiful, is just the bottom layer of the cake. McCullough supplements that base with layer upon layer of detail and depth and insight and truth. While the finished product by another author may have been a tasty and even nice looking cake, in McCullough's expert hands it's something too amazing to actually mar by eating it. You want to keep this cake. You want to cherish it and remember every beautiful detail of it.

We're introduced to Tim, and from the beginning he's impossible not to love and want to protect. Tim's child-like innocence is what really broke my heart. He is tricked and fooled by his "friends", and is upset afterward, but not because he was tricked. His is not a knee-jerk reaction to being laughed at that causes him distress, it is the fact that he knows that he is not able to understand WHY he is being laughed at that distresses him. He seeks acceptance and understanding and love just like we all do.

All of us, that is, except Mary Horton. From the age of 14, she struggled and worked hard on her own to make a life for herself. Unfortunately, due to having a very hard childhood, her idea of "life" is one devoid of any personal relationships. She's never had a boyfriend, never wanted one, doesn't have any personal friends, and her only pleasures are solitary ones, her successes are material ones.

After a chance meeting with Tim, who fascinates her simply because of his sheer attractiveness, they each begin to fill a hole in the other person's life that neither knew they had. This isn't recognized until much later, but it warmed my heart to see them teaching each other what life is really about.

McCullough's descriptions of emotion and perception of the world is amazing. I'm not sure I've ever read anything like it. Her way with words is brilliant. It's like she's imparting secrets that you already knew, but just couldn't understand because the words are just words without MEANING. Even sitting here writing this, I'm at a loss to describe just what it is that touched me so deeply, but I'm close to tears just thinking about the way that she makes simple concepts turn into life-altering truths.

But more than that, she made me think of things in a way that I would never have thought of before. For instance, at one point when Tim is sleeping, Mary ponders what his dreams are like: Did he venture forth as limited in his nocturnal wanderings as he was during his waking life, or did the miracle happen which freed him from all his chains?

I had to stop and think about this. On the one hand, dreaming that you are not fettered by a mental handicap would lend the dreams a wonderful freedom, but on the other, I would imagine that waking up to realize that that freedom was only an illusion would be torture day after day. So, I hope that is not the case.

Another thing that I really enjoyed about McCullough's writing was its vividness. Her characters are just ALIVE and jump off the page. Their local slang and way of speaking had me laughing even while I had tears in my eyes, because while the phrases they use are hilarious, what they are actually saying is true in any language.

The characters are memorable, and none of them, not one, pulls any punches. I love that they say what they mean, and mean what they say. Brutally honest, perhaps, but if what needs to be said is important enough, sometimes it takes a brutal delivery to make it sink in.

I also loved the little snippets of Australian life and culture we get to see. I love reading about other cultures and people, and the only thing that I wish was extended was the small section dealing with the Australian bush. I wanted to see the people and find out how Mary would interact with them.

Anyway. I loved this book. I'm immensely glad that I read it, and can safely say that I will soon be reading much, much more of McCullough's writing.

View all my reviews

Thankful Through Thanksgiving - Days Thirteen - Fifteen

2010-11-15T19:54:00.000-05:00

Oh crap I fell behind! Dang it! Here's my catch-ups!

November 13th: I am thankful for... My job, because I have one at all in this economy!
Thanks job, and thanks for keeping me around!

November 14th: I am thankful for... My job part two, because I get 5 weeks paid vacation a year!
You rock, job!

November 15th: I am thankful for... My landlord, because she is nice and sends me cards for holidays and isn't mad if I'm a couple days late on the rent!
Thanks M!

Thankful Through Thanksgiving - Day Twelve

2010-11-12T10:51:00.000-05:00

November 12th: I am thankful for... Stephen King, because he cemented my love of reading in at an early age, making me a Constant Reader, and has given me 60+ gifts that I will cherish forever, with more to come, I hope! He is an awesome person, and I hope to meet him one day. Ka?
I love you, Stephen King!

Thankful Through Thanksgiving - Day Eleven

2010-11-11T10:49:00.001-05:00

November 11th: I am thankful for... Being literate, because without the outlet I have in reading, I would no doubt be a much different, and much more bitter person. Reading definitely keeps me sane!

Thankful Through Thanksgiving - Day Ten

2010-11-10T17:44:00.001-05:00

November 10th: I am thankful for... My friends, because they are amazing and awesome and funny. They keep me sane.

I love you all!

Thankful Through Thanksgiving - Day Nine

2010-11-09T14:00:00.000-05:00

November 9th: I am thankful for... My family in general, because they are all interesting and there's never a dull moment. But I love them all!

Thankful Through Thanksgiving - Day Eight

2010-11-08T13:55:00.001-05:00

November 8th: I am thankful for... My grandparents. They are all unique and unpredictable people, who have all taught me something, even if it's only patience!
Love you all!

In My Mailbox (8)

2010-11-07T16:56:00.001-05:00

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren.

Not very much going on this week at all... I only picked up two books this week:

Two Moon Princess by Carmen Ferreiro-Esteban (sent to me by Chris), and

Bought Blameless by Gail Carriger (Parasol Protectorate #3).

This past week I was yet again a slacker! I read:
Heidegger's Glasses by Thaisa Frank (Click for my review)
Changeless (Parasol Protectorate #2) by Gail Carriger

I'm currently reading:
Blameless by Gail Carriger
The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King

That's all folks... Adieu until next week... or so. :)

Thankful Through Thanksgiving - Day Seven

2010-11-07T11:13:00.000-05:00

November 7th: I am thankful for... My brother's wife, who has made my brother happy, and is just a cool and sweet and awesome person all on her own. You rock, Devin!
Love you!

Review: Heidegger's Glasses by Thaisa Frank ★★★★

2010-11-06T13:33:00.000-04:00

I really enjoy reading stories about the Holocaust and about the people who have lived through it. I suppose that in a way, it helps me to gain perspective in my own life, and reminds me that there is goodness to be found in everything. The suffering of the Jewish people during WWII was immense, yet they continue to hope and live. That means something to me.

Heidegger's Glasses takes a different path, a surreal and philosophical and almost mystical one, and is a very different, but no less moving or beautiful story, because of it. We are told in the beginning that the leaders of the Reich were believers in the occult, and felt that winning the war hinged on answering letters to the dead. To do that, the Compound was formed underground, and multi-lingual Jews were placed there as Scribes to answer the dead's letters. When a letter comes in from a well-known person close to the Reich to a close friend who is currently in Auschwitz, the order comes down to answer the letter, even though the recipient is still alive -- the Final Solution must be kept secret, so the letter must not come from Auschwitz.

This throws a huge wrench in the lives of the Scribes, and the people assigned to run the Compound. Elie Schacten is close to the Reich, and has the ability to move freely throughout Germany as few do, and uses this freedom to help people as she can. Gerhardt Lodenstein the Oberst, is a good-hearted man who finds safety for the Compound in flying under the radar. Stumpf, the former-Oberst of the Compound is a believer in the occult and takes the letter writing to the dead very seriously, but is a it of a fool, and so tends to bungle everything he touches. The letter is written, delivered... and goes very badly wrong.

I think that what I enjoyed most about this book is that we get to see the war and the Reich from people inside it that hate it. They don't believe and they live in fear and uncertainty that they will be found out. The Compound is a mostly-safe haven for the Scribes under Lodenstein, and a temporary refuge for Jews in hiding, but after Heidegger's letter fiasco, you can cut the tension with a knife. They aren't sure if the Reich will come crashing down on their heads, or if they've forgotten, or if they don't care... there are a million ifs, but life must go on and there's very little that can be done either way. I felt like I was there, and was worried for this group of people who had lost nearly everything already.

I really enjoyed the writing in this book. It felt simple, almost surreal without quotation marks for the dialogue. The prose was straightforward, but contained some beautiful quotes that I wish I'd have marked. The sections were very short, for the most part, and separated by the letters that the Scribes were answering. These letters told the story of the "outside world" almost as well as any full book would have done, so that by the end, we can see the danger that the Scribes have managed to avoid, mostly, but they still have reason to fear. There were some funny sections in the book as well, which surprised me, since I didn't expect it at all in a novel about Nazi Germany. This helped the surreal feeling as well, but also provided the story with a kind of false-lightness above the seriousness and fear.

The ending was a little abrupt for me. The time shift and the unresolved whereabouts of one of the characters was a bit sudden and and disappointing. I'd hoped for this character to find what they were searching for and to find happiness, so the shift to an entirely new character jarred a little bit. But otherwise, I really enjoyed the story, and would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a WWII story scene through a different lens.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for review from the publisher.

Thankful Through Thanksgiving - Day Six

2010-11-06T11:42:00.000-04:00

November 6th: I am thankful for... My mother's boyfriend, who respects and loves my mom, and goes out of his way to do the little things that make her feel happy and safe. Thank you, Darrin!
Love you!

Friday Flashback Review (10): Little Brother by Cory Doctorow ★★★★

2010-11-05T18:00:00.002-04:00

Friday Flashback is hosted by Jen @ The Introverted Reader.

I originally read this book in March of 2010.

My review:

I have to admit that the first couple pages or so had me rolling my eyes and wondering if I would be able to actually finish this book. There's so much technoslang that it seemed to me to be trying too hard, even though it is a book about hackers and technokids... Like, "Spending Fridays at school was teh suck anyway, and I was glad of an excuse to make my escape." Teh suck? Really. Ugh. (Although, to be fair, at least he spelled out "suck" and didn't write "teh sux" or something. I probably would have just had to close the book right then and there. *shudder*) Another example is using "vibe" rather than "vibration" when talking about receiving a text message, or "h4wt" for "hot", which doesn't make sense to me anyway, because it's longer and more cumbersome to type "h4wt" than it is to type "hot". But then later, the full and unabbreviated word "tarpaulin" is used rather than just "tarp", which felt out of place considering the shortening/slang usage of other stuff. I don't understand the stupidifying slang netspeak anyway, but then I'm older than 25, so I'm probably a lost cause.

Add to that that there is a lot of hacker exposition and explanation that I didn't really think was necessary, and you have the only two reasons that I couldn't give this 5 stars. I appreciate the author/narrator explaining the technical aspects of the story for those of us who aren't technologically super-savvy like the characters in the book, but it seemed like there was a lot that could have been contextualized (like gait-cams) rather than explained for pages.

But these are small nit-picks. Other than these two things, the book was brilliant, relevant and prophetic. I want to buy copies and hand them out at schools. I want my library to pick up 10 more copies and I want them to just magically appear in people's check-out stacks. I want people to read this book. I want people to learn from it and take away the knowledge that our freedom is more likely to be taken from us by Americans than by anyone else, and to fight against it when it happens.

This book is set in the not-very-distant-at-all future, after a "terrorist" attack in San Francisco, which essentially results in SF being turned into a vicious data-mining police state... Now with even more "With us or against us" mentality per square mile! *Used car salesman smile* It's frightening, because it's already happening right now. Innocent people are being held without trial, without representation, without anything, in the name of "security". This terrifies me more than anything, because there's no limit, no boundary. When there's a nameless, faceless, general "threat", "security" must by necessity become ever more pervasive and intrusive in our lives to find it. And the only people who suffer are us.

Benjamin Franklin said "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." The characters in this book understand this concept and they go about fighting for their freedom and their rights as American citizens even when the people they are fighting are the very people who are supposed to defend their rights as American citizens. Color me proud. Considering that this book is told from the point of view of a 17 year old, I can only hope that REAL 17 year olds think about this stuff, like prejudice and fear-mongering and overzealous uniformed officials, among others...

Anyway, I loved Marcus's character. Most of the time, probably because of the technoslang and the gaming, he felt younger to me than 17. More like 15. But in a way, that only made him more impressive to me. I loved that he was smart, and willing to stand up for himself and do the right thing, and learn from the world around him and from his own mistakes. When I have kids, I hope that they are something like Marcus... only minus the skipping school to play games stuff. Marcus carried the book well, and was believable as both a smart, mostly responsible teen, and a freedom fighter. I liked his honesty, and how he was unsure of himself but didn't let that stop him.

I expected certain things to happen as the story progressed, and I was right about many of them. The escalation of the security/police-state, the defenders of the security measures, the dissidents, etc. (They were done in a more high-tech way than we have now, but they aren't far off. RFIDs are already gaining popularity and there are 2 cameras that I can see from my house without leaving my porch.) But I was wrong about some predictions and suspicions that I had as well, which always makes me happy, because I really hate knowing where a story's twists will be.

This book should be a must read for everyone, right along with Nineteen Eighty-Four. Go read it. Look past the slang, and the technical explanations, and read this for the snapshot of our future if we aren't wary and vigilant with this so called "War on Terror". See you on Treasure Island... ;)

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Thankful Through Thanksgiving - Day Five

2010-11-05T12:07:00.000-04:00

November 5th: I am thankful for... My father's girlfriend, who loves my dad for all the things that he is, and accepts the things that he's not.
Thank you, Rhonda, for making my Dad a happier man.
Love you!

Thankful Through Thanksgiving - Day Four

2010-11-04T17:25:00.002-04:00

November 4th: I am thankful for... My boyfriend, who accepts my quirky, bookish, nerd-hermit ways, and just in general loves me for me.
Love you, Thomas!

Waiting on Wednesday (1) - Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King

2010-11-03T17:45:00.005-04:00

Waiting on Wednesday was started by Jill over at Breaking the Spine.

Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King
Summary (from Goodreads):
A new collection of four never-before-published stories from Stephen King.
1922
The story opens with the confession of Wilfred James to the murder of his wife, Arlette, following their move to Hemingford, Nebraska onto land willed to Arlette by her father.
Big Driver
Mystery writer, Tess, has been supplementing her writing income for years by doing speaking engagements with no problems. But following a last-minute invitation to a book club 60 miles away, she takes a shortcut home with dire consequences.
Fair Extension
Harry Streeter, who is suffering from cancer, decides to make a deal with the devil but, as always, there is a price to pay.
A Good Marriage
Darcy Anderson learns more about her husband of over twenty years than she would have liked to know when she stumbles literally upon a box under a worktable in their garage.

I love Stephen King's short stories and novellas. His stories are so complete and fulfilling, and even when they stories run just a few pages, I feel like I have experienced the story along with the characters that we meet within the pages.

Six days and counting... :D

Thankful Through Thanksgiving - Day Three

2010-11-03T17:25:00.003-04:00

November 3rd: I am thankful for... My brother, who once was a little snot that punched me in the nose when I was 8 but has now grown into a successful and good man.
Love you, Seth!

Thankful Through Thanksgiving - Day Two

2010-11-02T17:35:00.003-04:00

November 2nd: I am thankful for... My father, who taught me that we're always changing and adapting and learning, even if, and especially when we think we know everything already. He's funny, and smart and curses like a sailor (because he was one), but babies inexplicably love him to pieces (and the feeling is mutual, despite his fervent protestations that babies are gross). He makes sure I know I'm loved every single day.
Love you, Dad!

Thankful Through Thanksgiving - Day One

2010-11-01T17:02:00.000-04:00

I have to be honest. I really and truly hate the month of November. I always have. It is just cold, and bleak, and cold and boring, and long and cold and gray and cold. Plus it's cold. The only good thing about November is Thanksgiving, where I get to be with people I love and stuff myself full of turkey and my mom's famous green beans cooked to artery-clogging goodness in bacon. Mmmm...

But this year, I'm going to try to be more positive about November. Rather than rattle off all the ways that I hate November (it's COLD!!) and then be all thankful for stuff on the one day that's worth living out of the month, this year I will find something to be thankful for EVERY DAY and post it on my blog. And maybe, just maybe, I can break the cycle of November-hate.

So here goes.

November 1st: I am thankful for... My mother who is amazing and supportive and funny and nicer than most people deserve for anyone to be. Love you, Mom! Thank you for not forgetting to be awesome.

In My Mailbox (7)

2010-10-31T11:37:00.004-04:00

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren.

Alrighty - this week was a good week for me. I found a lot of books that I've wanted for a LONG time for ridiculously cheap prices. SCORE!!! I love when the stars align and book miracles happen. ;)

So here's what I got in my mailbox this week:

Library:

Room: A Novel by Emma Donoghue

For Review:

How The Government Got In Your Backyard by Jeff Gillman & Eric Heberlig

Heidegger's Glasses by Thaisa Frank

Moonlight Mile by Dennis Lehane (Kenzie & Gennaro #6)

Purchased Part 1:

The Life of Elizabeth I by Alison Weir

The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani

Falling Angels by Tracy Chevalier

Push by Sapphire

Purchased Part 2:

Flood by Stephen Baxter

Ark by Stephen Baxter

The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood

Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank

Purchased Part AWESOME:

Nightmares in the Sky by Stephen King

Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King

I didn't know that Moonlight Mile was the sixth in a series when I requested it... so I guess I'll be reading the first 5 soon, eh? LOL

But... I'm super thrilled about the Nightmares in the Sky score... I've wanted that book for a long time, and now I've managed to acquire it for a fraction of the original price. Woooo!

OK, so here's what I've read since my last IMM post, which apparently was like 3 weeks ago... Such a slacker I am.

Read:

Looking For Alaska by John Green

The Gunslinger (original version - audio) by Stephen King

Everything's Eventual by Stephen King

Claire de Lune by Christine Johnson

Hell House by Richard Matheson

Room by Emma Donoghue

Keep The Change by Steve Dublanica

Currently Reading:

Heidegger's Glasses by Thaisa Frank

Upcoming:

The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King (reread - audio)

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (reread)

The Crown Conspiracy by Michael J. Sullivan

Push by Sapphire

Perdido Street Station by China Mieville

The King's Mistress by Emma Campion

...and/or whatever else strikes my fancy.

So that's what's in my mailbox this week... what's in yours?

Review: Keep The Change by Steve Dublanica ★★★★

2010-10-30T18:18:00.001-04:00

I've had Waiter Rant on my radar for a long time, but for some reason just never got around to picking it up. I waitressed for a period of about 3 months back when I was 16, and even from such a short amount of time, I had some crazy stories! I've worked directly with customers in a service industry in some way or another since then (until last July anyhow), so the premise of Waiter Rant and all that it entailed was appealing to me. Sharing experience stories with people who've been there and who know what it's like to be on the receiving end of someone else's bad day with a smile plastered on your face is only one of the aspects that appealed to me about the book. But I'd also heard that it was funny, and I love funny. And then there's the added bonus of maybe people on the other side of life seeing a bit of perspective in the "people in the service industry are people not slaves" variety...

Anyway, when I saw that the author of Waiter Rant had a new book coming out, I requested a review copy. I worked in the service industry, as I mentioned, since I was about 16, but only the 3 month waitressing segment involved tipping. Still I considered myself to be a good tipper anyway... Until now. I've learned quite a lot from this book, and find that my tipping habits don't quite make the grade except in the case of restaurant gratuities. In almost every other category, I'm abysmally ignorant of correct tipping etiquette.

My tipping habits:
- I tip 20% of the total whenever we go out to a restaurant. (Grade: A)
{Industry standard is 15% of the bill, including drinks.}
- I tip $1 a drink at bars. (Grade: C)
{Should be approx. 20% of the bill. I do not give myself a lower grade here because drink prices are pretty reasonable in my area: $2-4/beer/shot or $7-9/mixed drink.}
- I did not know to tip the doorman at hotels. (Grade: F)
{Shame!!}
- I tip cabdrivers, but generally far below average. (Grade: D)
{Should be around 20% of the fare. But in my defense, I don't use cabs often!}
- I didn't know to tip car mechanics or detailers. (Grade: F)
{Should be $20-50 or so, depending on the work.}
... This is getting ugly, so I'm going to stop now.
If an A grade is 5 points, B is 4 points, C is 3 points, D is 1 point and F is 0, my average would be... 1.8 - D minus. Ouch.

So, needless to say, I feel like I've learned something from Steve here. I feel like I've been something of a tipping stiff in my life... and this despite the fact that I've worked for tips in my life and know how hard they are to come by and live on. But, the good thing is that Steve has given me the means to mend my ways, and I intend to follow them. I kind of feel like keeping this book with me at all times, kind of like a Tipping Bible, to be used in times of need (when stepping out of a cab, or into a hotel, etc) and containing words to live my life by.

That might seem a little extreme, but honestly I don't think so. Steve represents the facts of the working-for-tips way of life, and they aren't pretty. I knew that wait staff is usually underpaid, which is why I tip 20% rather than 15%, but I had no idea that was the case with so many other service jobs. It makes me rather ashamed of myself for not realizing this was the case, and corporate America for allowing and encouraging this kind of workforce exploitation. Steve presents the situation as he sees it, and in often brutally honest, no-holds-barred way, but still with an edge of wit and humor that makes the message a little easier to swallow. It still packs a wallop, at least for me it did, but it's a necessary evil to learn these things. Ignorance is bliss... for the ignorant. For the person on the other end, another's ignorance isn't going to put food on the table or a roof over their family's heads.

I found this book to be very informative and entertaining while still providing me with information I might never have learned on my own. I appreciate that. And not only did it serve both of these purposes, but Steve seems to also something of a philosopher and has an ability to understand human nature. Probably this is from so much time working with people, but it's refreshing to see a book about human nature that's not pretentious and not full of drivel. It's refreshing to see a book which doesn't feel like its author is above the reader somehow. This is just a regular guy, trying to understand a prevalent issue. I liked that.

So I will definitely be going out this weekend and picking up Waiter Rant. I know it's a little backwards, but better late than never, right? I definitely recommend this book for anyone who is confused by tipping (as I was!)... And remember - when in doubt, ask. :)

Character Connection (4): Amy March

2010-10-28T17:54:00.000-04:00

Character Connection is hosted by Jen @ The Introverted Reader.

I know that it is sadly disappointing that I am not doing a Halloween or horror themed CC post, but Little Women has always been one of my all time favorite stories, and so I've decided to pass up the horror this time around. I remember reading it when I was younger and falling in love with the March family, and with Laurie and Mr. Laurence and with Prof. Bhaer and John Brooke. I love the story and the trials they face and the way that they all stick together and come through them. It's such a beautiful, feel good story that will always be a comfort read for me.

Most people I've talked to choose either Jo or Beth as their favorite character. Jo, because she is lively and unruly and spirited and goes against the grain that says women must exist within their determined gender-roles. She has her dreams and she follows them, and damn the consequences. Beth, because she is just so wholly and completely, angelically good that you can't help but love her. She is the epitome of what anyone who aspires to be good would be if they could. (Wow - that totally rhymed.)

But my favorite character is Amy. She is the baby, theone that we get to watch become the woman she will be. In the beginning of the story, she's just a little, embarrassingly spoiled, girl who is concerned only with her appearance, her art and her social status. She gets exactly what she wants by wheedling and manipulation. She's rotten and selfish and generally intolerable in the first half of the book. But as the book progresses, she eventually grows out of those traits and learns to behave in a more mature and compassionate manner, and she learns to see things from a different perspective than just her own. In other words, she becomes a woman.

I love this turnaround in her, and it makes me proud of her that she took the initiative to make the change to her life, and be a better person than the one that she would have been otherwise. It's hard to reconcile those kinds of life-changes in a character that was so completely selfish and unlikeable previously, but in Amy, I don't find it hard at all. The circumstances in her life have forced her to mature and become independent when she otherwise would have floated along as the "baby" of the family. She learns to realize that the things that she thought were of the utmost importance when she was a child (her appearance and social status) are not important at all, and that friendship and love matter so much more.

Amy is an awesome character, and she shows that we can all be decent and compassionate people, no matter how horrid we are as a kid!

Review: Looking For Alaska by John Green ★★★★

2010-10-25T17:14:00.001-04:00

I've been seeing this book around for quite a while, but I never really thought about reading it. I figured that it was one of those "Let's see just how drunk, high and stupid we can get!" books, the ones that glorify the idiocy that is being a teenager. I went through that, I lived through it, even had fun with it at the time, but I outgrew that phase of my life (earlier than most) and I don't care to read about it now. So I was rather "Meh." about reading this book.

And then my friend, influential by persistence, introduced me to John & Hank Green via VlogBrothers on YouTube. Now, if you've never watched any of their videos, I highly recommend them. They are smart, funny, relevant and always make me think. So, via VlogBrothers, I came to understand John Green a bit, and realize that I had underestimated him. So, the next time I came across "Looking for Alaska", I picked it up. And this book did not forget to be awesome.

Right away, I was glad that I "met" John via VlogBrothers before reading the book. I could really feel his personality in it, and his intelligence and sense of humor. But I also felt like it was a story that he took seriously. Not only because of the serious subject matter, but because he captured the permanent impermanence of being a teen without making it feel like a joke. Everything now is forever until what was is yesterday and everything NOW is forever. Looking back on my teenage years, the furthest out I could imagine was 21, and that was only for the legal ability to drink. My friends were still my friends in this imagining, my life was still my life, as if the only thing that would change was my age. We just can't picture where things will take us. By the time I hit 21, I was so far from the predicted life I had thought I'd have that if someone had bet me a million dollars that I would have been there, I'd be out of a million dollars.

My point is that I liked the way that John portrayed these characters as having everything in front of them, to look forward to, but still they live in the moment as if that future never gets any closer. I loved that they were booksmart brilliant, but still make the same stupid mistakes and errors in judgment as anyone else. I love that they latch on to an idea and hold onto it despite realizing that it is slipping away anyway, because everything does and we change despite ourselves.

I loved Miles, or Pudge as he's called. I feel like I understood him. He's bookish, nerdy, a bit of a loner by necessity rather than choice, at least until he's around people who are ready to accept someone like him. Those people primarily being Alaska and Chip, aka The Colonel, who are both outrageous, brilliant and wild, and bring Pudge out of his shell a bit. Pudge forms an instant and close friendship with both of them, one that changes his life.

As much as I loved Pudge, I loved The Colonel more. He is one of those characters that, for me, just hop off the page and into being. I would have been friends with him. I liked that he came from humble beginnings, and that he and his mother weren't afraid to aspire to be better, that they weren't afraid to show how hard they work for something, that they weren't ashamed of who they are but rather proud of it. I loved that while he was as willing to play hard and get into trouble as anyone, he still took his priorities, which were his studies, seriously. I loved his loyalty and his determination to follow everything he started through to the end. He was definitely my favorite character here.

My least favorite character was actually Alaska. I don't know if this is because she's a female teenager written by a man, or if she just represented all (or at least a large chunk) of the things in teen girls that annoy me, but I just couldn't really like her. I can certainly see why Pudge would, why lots of teen boys would, but I just didn't. She was too much. Too wishy-washy, too moody, too impulsive, too flirty, too wild, too mysterious, too smart for her own good, too damaged-and-knew-it, too aware of her effect on others. But not all of these things are bad. And not all of them bother me individually, but all together, it was just too much and I couldn't care about her like The Colonel or Takumi or Lara or even Pudge did. And I find this last the worst, because Pudge is telling this story, so I should understand his feelings for her, but they just seemed shallow to non-teenage me. Attraction and flirtation do not equal love - unless you're 16 and a hopeful idealist.

But the one thing that I think affected me the most about Alaska is her sense of responsibility for others. She seems to take on the well-being and happiness of others as her own obligation, and the burden of guilt when she doesn't succeed. And it struck me that the guilt of failing someone is like a physical thing that can be passed on or spread. Alaska failed someone she loved, and then Pudge failed Alaska, and the guilt spreads.

Shortly after the shift from "Before" to "After" (which was a storytelling method I loved!), I realized why Alaska left the school that night, and I waited for the guys to figure it out as well. Normally, I would be disappointed that I figured it out before the main character, but this is not the type of "mystery" that gets solved like that. It's a human mystery, one where the only person able to solve it is the one you seek and cannot find.

I loved the depth of this book, particularly the philosophical aspects of their World Religions class. I wish I could have taken a class, and had a teacher like that. This book, and the class it depicted, makes you look at life, the world, and meaning itself differently. I am glad that I read it, because it was so much more than I thought it would be. And I officially declare myself to have been wrong. John Green, can you ever forgive me?

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Friday Flashback Review (9): Horns by Joe Hill ★★★★★

2010-10-22T18:00:00.024-04:00

Friday Flashback is hosted by Jen from The Introverted Reader.
This review was originally written on April 3, 2010.

Remember, way back at the beginning of the year, when I said that I wanted to hump Hugh Laurie's leg for writing The Gun Seller? After reading Horns, and just the ARC - not even the finished, shiny and perfect masterpiece - I want to hump Joe Hill's leg for writing it.

Not too long ago, I read Hill's short story collection, 20th Century Ghosts, and in the intro, Christopher Golden says that Hill is subtle writer, that his stories are "promises fulfilled". I think that Golden's words about Joe Hill are even more apt when it comes to Horns. This is Joe Hill fulfilling his promise to readers. Horns is his promise to the world that he can keep pulling new and amazing tricks out of his bag, and each one will be better than the last.

I'm sad that I'm finished, that it's over. I feel like I should just flip back to the beginning and read it again, because I know, without a doubt, that it will be even more brilliant the 2nd time around.

Joe Hill's subtlety and brilliance is much more in evidence and has more effect in this book than any of his other books I've read. I don't even know how to gush enough to do justice to what I want to say! I feel like with every line that I read, there was another line behind it that added to the depth of the one I'd just read. The way that he wrote Lee was amazing. Seeing things through his eyes was truly scary and disturbing. (I don't want to give too much away about his character, but I will say this, I think that Joe Hill wrote Lee Tourneau better than his father, Stephen King, wrote Junior Rennie.) When Ig sermonizes to the snakes, I was proud of him in that moment. Not simply for finally realizing that the snakes were his, but for his understanding of truth, and life, and love in that moment, and for accepting Merrin's decision that last night as being her right, even though it destroyed him. I feel like Joe Hill wrote these things, but then I also feel like he didn't write them, that he doesn't have to write them because they just seep out of the pages and into me. Merrin's letter is another one of those 'between the lines' bits. My heart hurt reading her letter to Ig, I felt like I was losing something myself, and I hurt for them. I definitely had some sympathy for the devil at that moment.

Which brings me to my next couple of points. I love how music works its way into Hill's writing and stories, and the depth that it gives them. It's not just there for set dressing or for a pop culture stamp to place the story into a familiar territory for the reader, one gets the feeling that not only is music important to Hill, but that it is vital to him. I feel like he was speaking through Ig when he was appalled at Lee's lack of music appreciation, his plain statement that music is simply the background noise to events or action. Music is something that some people live and breathe, and I feel like Joe is one of those people, and because he is, so was Ig.

I also loved the devilish humor inserted throughout the story. I love when a book can take me from one extreme to another, and this was no exception. I went from confusion, to shock, to laughter, to tears, to laughter, to more tears, etc. Every page brought some new revelation, and to me, Hill's timing with the humor and the heartache were spot on.

I further loved the full picture of Merrin we got, even though we never got to really meet her. We got a composite of her from various other sources, like a police sketch artist making a picture from one person describing the nose, another describing the shape of the eyes, another giving us the hair, or the mouth, or the jawline, etc. Merrin's loss hit me like a ton of bricks, even though I knew about it from the beginning. But it still hurt, because I came to love her the way that Ig did - even though there was a brief time that I disliked her when I saw her through Lee's eyes. Even though I knew it was hopeless, I still wanted to hope that something would happen to magically reverse what actually DID happen. That was wishful thinking, but what I'm saying is that Joe Hill made me feel that way, despite knowing what I knew about the impossibility of that.

I both loved and hated the way that people would spill their deepest and darkest thoughts to Ig, and I really felt for him having to endure the awful things that people thought about him. I couldn't imagine hearing those kinds of things from the people I love, and the people who are supposed to love me. Everyone claims to want the truth about how people feel about us, but I think that the plain, unvarnished truth is awful and unbearable. In my head, I can hear Jack Nicholson yelling, "YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!" and it's true. I would have probably just crawled in a hole somewhere if people had said to me what they said to Ig. So, kudos to him for being stronger than I am.

I think that's enough gushing... There's a lot more that I wrote down to mention, but I think you all get the point now, don't you?

If you haven't already, read this book. Discover the greatness that is Joe Hill. I'm waiting! :)

Oh yeah. :D

Top Ten: Young Adult GLBT Books I Want To Read

2010-10-21T17:30:00.020-04:00

Yesterday was Spirit Day, a day which mourns the loss of those who took their own lives due to homophobic bullying.

I am in favor of people being able to love as they choose, and it really sickens me that so many people refuse to let others live their lives without fear of persecution or hatred. So days like Spirit Day make me proud that people can come together to show that love is love is love, but also immensely sad that this sort of outpouring of support has to come at such a high cost.

So, in honor of Spirit Day, and love in all forms, here are the Top Ten books that I want to read featuring GLBT themes and/or characters. :)

10. Suicide Notes by Michael Thomas Ford

Fifteen-year-old Jeff wakes up on New Year's Day to find himself in the hospital. Make that the psychiatric ward. With the nutjobs. Clearly, this is all a huge mistake. Forget about the bandages on his wrists and the notes on his chart. Forget about his problems with his best friend, Allie, and her boyfriend, Burke. Jeff's perfectly fine, perfectly normal, not like the other kids in the hospital with him. Now they've got problems. But a funny thing happens as his forty-five-day sentence drags on—the crazies start to seem less crazy.

Compelling, witty, and refreshingly real, Suicide Notes is a darkly humorous novel from award-winning author Michael Thomas Ford that examines that fuzzy line between "normal" and the rest of us.

9. Keeping You A Secret by Julie Anne Peters

With a steady boyfriend, the position of Student Council President, and a chance to go to an Ivy League college, high school life is just fine for Holland Jaeger. At least it seems to be. But when Cece Goddard comes to school, everything changes. Cece and Holland have undeniable feelings for each other, but how will others react to their developing relationship? This moving love story between two girls is a worthy successor to Nancy Garden's classic young adult coming out novel, Annie on My Mind. With her characteristic humor and breezy style, Peters has captured the compelling emotions of young love.

8. The Vast Fields of Ordinary by Nick Burd

It’s Dade’s last summer at home. He has a crappy job at Food World, a “boyfriend” who won’t publicly acknowledge his existence (maybe because Pablo also has a girlfriend), and parents on the verge of a divorce. College is Dade’s shining beacon of possibility, a horizon to keep him from floating away.

Then he meets the mysterious Alex Kincaid. Falling in real love finally lets Dade come out of the closet—and, ironically, ignites a ruthless passion in Pablo. But just when true happiness has set in, tragedy shatters the dreamy curtain of summer, and Dade will use every ounce of strength he’s gained to break from his past and start fresh with the future.

7. The God Box by Alex Sanchez

High school senior Paul has dated Angie since middle school, and they're good together. They have a lot of the same interests, like singing in their church choir and being active in Bible club. But when Manuel transfers to their school, Paul has to rethink his life. Manuel is the first openly gay teen anyone in their small town has ever met, and yet he says he's also a committed Christian. Talking to Manuel makes Paul reconsider thoughts he has kept hidden, and listening to Manuel's interpretation of Biblical passages on homosexuality causes Paul to reevaluate everything he believed. Manuel's outspokenness triggers dramatic consequences at school, culminating in a terrifying situation that leads Paul to take a stand.

6. Hard Love by Ellen Wittlinger

Hard Love tackles the delicate issue of unrequited love between a straight and gay teen. But what sets this novel apart from similarly themed books is Wittlinger's choice to present the story from John's straight male point of view. Funny and poignant first-person narration will engender empathy for John as he attempts to connect with his emotionally distant parents and an understanding of how his need for their affection has manifested itself in romantic feelings for a girl he knows is unavailable to him. Hard Love is a thoughtful and on-target addition to the growing canon of gay and lesbian coming-of-age stories.

5. What Happened To Lani Garver by Carol Plum-Ucci

The folks on Hackett Island, near Philadelphia, are not too friendly to newcomers. Anyone the slightest bit different is eyed with suspicion, as Claire found out when she missed a year of junior high due to leukemia. Now she works hard at fitting in, following treacherous but popular Macy's lead, hiding her passion for the guitar, and never talking about her fear that her illness will return. Or her nightmares. Or her eating disorder. The boys of Hackett Island's "in" crowd are members of the "fish frat"--hunky sons of the local fishermen--and their horseplay even among themselves is brutal and edge-of-danger.
And then Lani Garver shows up at school, a tall, thin, strangely androgynous person. "No. Not a girl. Sorry," he says pleasantly when Macy questions him about his gender with vicious curiosity. But Claire, much to Macy's disgust, is drawn to Lani, and his wisdom and kindness begins to heal her. He takes her to Philadelphia to meet his artistic friends, talks sense to her about her eating disorder and her blind devotion to Macy, finds her a therapist. Who is this Lani Garver? He resists "boxes" like "gay." Even his age is a mystery to Claire. Strangest of all, could he be a "floating angel," as his friends at the hospital seem to believe? Meanwhile, the fish frat are closing in for the kill, and when their harassment turns lethal, Lani shows a terrible side of himself Claire has never seen.
Carol Plum-Ucci raises tantalizing questions around a fascinating character in this gut-clenching story that transcends the clichés of the gay-bashing novel.

4. Almost Perfect by Brian Katcher

Logan Witherspoon recently discovered that his girlfriend of three years cheated on him. But things start to look up when a new student breezes through the halls of his small-town high school. Sage Hendricks befriends Logan at a time when he no longer trusts or believes in people. Sage has been homeschooled for a number of years and her parents have forbidden her to date anyone, but she won’t tell Logan why. One day, Logan acts on his growing feelings for Sage. Moments later, he wishes he never had. Sage finally discloses her big secret: she’s actually a boy. Enraged, frightened, and feeling betrayed, Logan lashes out at Sage and disowns her. But once Logan comes to terms with what happened, he reaches out to Sage in an attempt to understand her situation. But Logan has no idea how rocky the road back to friendship will be.

3. The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor.
Since its publication, Stephen Chbosky's haunting novel about the dilemma of passivity vs. passion has received critical acclaim, provoked discussion and debate, and grown in to a cult sensation with over half a million copies in print.
It is the story of what it's like to grow up in high school. More intimate than a diary, Charlie's letters are singular and unique, hilarious and devastating. We may not know where he lives. We may not know to whom he is writing. All we know is the world he shares. Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it puts him on a strange course through uncharted territory. The world of first dates, family dramas, and new friends. The world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, where all you need is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite.

2. Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan

This is the story of Paul, a sophomore at a high school like no other: The cheerleaders ride Harleys, the homecoming queen used to be a guy named Daryl (she now prefers Infinite Darlene and is also the star quarterback), and the gay-straight alliance was formed to help the straight kids learn how to dance.
When Paul meets Noah, he thinks he’s found the one his heart is made for. Until he blows it.
The school bookie says the odds are 12-to-1 against him getting Noah back, but Paul’s not giving up without playing his love really loud. His best friend Joni might be drifting away, his other best friend Tony might be dealing with ultra-religious parents, and his ex-boyfriend Kyle might not be going away anytime soon, but sometimes everything needs to fall apart before it can really fit together right.
This is a happy, meaningful romantic comedy about finding love, losing love, and doing what it takes to get love back in a crazy, wonderful world.

1. Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, two teens—both named Will Grayson—are about to cross paths. As their worlds collide and intertwine, the Will Graysons find their lives going in new and unexpected directions, building toward romantic turns-of-heart and the epic production of history’s most fabulous high school musical. Hilarious, poignant, and deeply insightful, John Green and David Levithan’s collaborative novel is brimming with a double helping of the heart and humor that have won both them legions of faithful fans.

I think that we can all benefit from seeing things from a different perspective, and these books are sure to do that for me.

Have you read any great GLBT books lately? Let me know in the comments -- And don't forget to check out my review of Annie On My Mind by Nancy Garden which would be perfect for this list except that I've already read it. ;)

I've Been Tagged!

2010-10-16T19:55:00.000-04:00

Jen from The Introverted Reader tagged me, and now I'm here to answer some questions and tag you'se guys. If you aren't familiar with her blog, be sure to stop by! :)

The Rules:
(1) Accept the tag and link to the tagger at the beginning of your post.
(2) Answer the questions honestly in your post by listing four things.
(3) Pass on the love by picking four other people to tag and listing them at the bottom of your post. Notify them that you tagged them.

Four Things In My Handbag:
Well, I don't really carry a purse or handbag, but here are four things I generally have with me at all times.

My cell phone (EnV2 with no data plan- boring! But at least it has Tetris on it.)
Chapstick or some sort of lip balm.
A book. (Surprising, isn't it?)
My ID. (Yeah, that's boring too. I'm sorry.)

Four Favorite Things In My Bedroom:

My books, without a doubt!
My cats. (OK, I know that cat's don't really stay just in this room, but usually when I'm in here, they are too.)
My boyfriend's artwork... Usually a rotating stock.
My bed.

Four Things on My Desk:

Laptop
A stack of books from the 24 Hour Read-a-thon that I still want to read soonish
Skeins of yarn and a roll of hemp twine for some crafty projects I'm working on.
Salt. Err... because you never know when you'll need it? (I have no idea why it's here, really.)

Four Things I've Always Wanted to Do (But Haven't Yet):

Own a classic muscle car. Like a '70 Chevelle or a '68 GTO or a pre-'77 Mustang. Black.
Visit the South of France. I'm fascinated by the historical aspects of that region.
Build my own library.
Be independently wealthy!

Four Things I Enjoy Very Much At The Moment:

Reading
Blogging and talking about books
Relaxing
Traveling

Four Songs I Can't Get Out Of My Head:

Hold Ya Head by Makaveli (Tupac) on his "The Don Killuminati" album (my favorite!)
From Yesterday by 30 Seconds to Mars (Jared Leto. Yum.)
Kashmir by Led Zeppelin
Black by Pearl Jam (Oh man, who doesn't love Eddie Vedder? *swoon*)

Four Things You Don't Know About Me:

I'm a procrastinator and perpetual starter. I will start projects all the time and never finish them, but I prefer to read books in a series straight through without interruptions.
I homeschooled myself for my last two years of highschool and never went to college. I guess that's not really something to be proud of, but it's true.
I wish the world came with a mute button. I seriously hate noise. But I love loud music -- when I'm the one playing it. LOL
I am the only anti-social Libra I know.

Four Bloggers I'm Tagging:

Jackie from The Crafty Reader
Allison from The Allure of Books
Fiona from The Book Coop
Ashley from Books From Bleh to Basically Amazing

Thanks for tagging me Jen!