Bold. Blue. Adventure.

Booking Through Thursday: Recent Enjoyable

2009-09-17T21:01:00.002-05:00

This Week's Question:

What’s the most enjoyable, most fun, most just-darn-entertaining book you’ve read recently? (Mind you, this doesn’t necessarily mean funny, since we covered that already. Just … GOOD.)

I really truly just reloved The Time Traveler's Wife, once again. It is one of those books where you really come to love the characters, and the writing, and the simplicity of the dilemma that Henry faces - he can't seem to stay in one place in time - makes the novel feel real despite the sort of science fiction element to it. It's a novel about characters and relationships and it's just an all-around good read. I think even my reading friends with extremely discriminating tastes will have trouble finding fault with it.

How about you?

BBAW!

2009-09-15T21:08:00.004-05:00

I am way too swamped with school and other crap to participate much this year, but if you are like the last blogger on the planet and have not heard about Book Blogger Appreciation Week, then holy crap, you really should have heard about it! Because there's thing to win! And other bloggers to meet! And interviews to read! And did I mention, things to win?

Book blogging has become a big part of my life. I used to check out a book from the library upon occasion, and I used to wish I had someone to recommend good books to me, because I would have trouble finding books I really liked from the browsing method.

Now, I have like a gillion (yes, literally a gillion) book blogging friends whose recommendations have made my tbr stack so big the coffee table where I store them is threatening to collapse. I go to the library about every other week for new books that friends have recommended. When I go to the bookstore, half the book covers look familiar, and I already have an idea if I will like a book or not, thanks to my book blogging friends.

I've always loved to read, but book blogging has given a lot more focus and diversity to the books I pick. I'm humbled and amazed that there are awesome bloggers out there like Amy who are willing to sacrifice so much time and energy (and I'm sure no doubt money as well) to make an awesome event like Book Blogger Appreciation Week.

It's been awesome so far seeing who has won the various awards (congratulations to the winners!), and I've totally been drooling over some of the prizes.

The Sunday Salon: Picky, Picky, Picky

2009-09-13T19:50:00.002-05:00

This is the week in which I am extremely picky about my reading. So far I haven't been able to get into Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner or Fledgling by Octavia Butler and so the majority of my reading time has been spent looking over husband's latest copy of Popular Mechanics, which means that I am now proficient on how to fix my car if there is a leak in the radiator, and I have a deep and personal understanding of how to power all of my home tech devices with nothing more than a home wind turbine and a roll of duct tape, and when civilization goes kaput thanks to a nuclear holocaust or World War III, or even the zombie apocalypse, I know what the three essential tools to have on hand are. But alas, I don't have much to report for you Sunday Saloners about lovely books.

How about you? Any books you can't get into this week?

Audrey Wait! (review)

2009-09-08T18:50:00.004-05:00

Audrey Wait! by Robin Bentley
Reason for Reading: YA reading challenge
Rating: 3/5

Summarize the plot: Audrey is an ordinary girl until her ex-boyfriend writes a song vilifying her that becomes an international pop sensation. Suddenly she's famous, but it means having her every move make national television, and everyone, it seems, wants to be her friend. No one cares about the actual Audrey anymore.

One sentence review: A breezy, fun read that doesn't really stick with you afterwards.

What I liked: Audrey is a strong-willed character, if a bit dense at times. She has some true, loyal friends, who help her navigate the treacherous waters of instant fame, and the book has a lot of humor to it. The writing style kept me engaged, because it was light, cute, and fun. Also, I really enjoyed the understated relationship between Audrey and her love interest. It was never too in your face, or forced, and it never detracted from the main plot point - Audrey coming to terms with her new-found fame.

What I didn't like: There is a reason this book has a large blurb on the front by Meg Cabot. I'm not sure if Cabot should really be promoting it though, since Audrey, Wait!, is almost a blow by blow copy of the plot and style of The Princess Diaries. I enjoyed this light-hearted book while I was reading it, but when I started thinking too hard, and realizing how the plot lined up exactly with my favorite Meg Cabot read, I started liking it less and less. Both Mia (the protagonist of Princess Diaries) and Audrey are so irritated by all this new-found fame... lame-0... but it seems like most teenagers would have found at least something to enjoy from being famous. They both go through almost the exact same journey with friends, family, and paparazzi, coming to the same conclusions at the end. For some readers, that might not detract from your enjoyment, but for whatever reason, it did for me.

Should I read it? If you liked The Princess Diaries and don't mind the fact this book doesn't break any new ground, you'll probably love this one.

The Sunday Salon: Reading? What reading?

2009-09-06T10:37:00.003-05:00

This hasn't been much of a reading week for me. Oh, I did read through the 40 page syllabus for my first grad school class, but after that I mostly wanted to cry.

Okay, not completely true. At the beginning of the week, I was working through rereading The Time Traveler's Wife, and discovering that I still liked it, but finding myself kind of stuck at the final bit at the end. I already know what's going to happen, and once again, I'm so emotionally involved in these characters, and I just want to stop while things are still going well.

Hmmm... other things I've been reading. I did finish Persepolis I & II last week. The two graphic novels are sad, insightful, and surprisingly funny. I felt like I had a new best friend.

I finally got to read the rest of the Emma manga novels, thanks to a tip from tanabata as to where to find some scans online. (I normally don't recommend reading scans of dubious legality, but in this case it looks like the actual novels may have gone out of print because they were retailing for $80+ on Amazon). I finally got to learn about the nefarious plots carried out against Emma and William and how their love conquered all.

In the upcoming couple of days, I can tell you that the reading I will be doing will be mostly business books for my upcoming class. Bleh. I'm going to try and sneak in something more exciting if at all possible, or else I'm going to wind up with a brain way too stuffed with facts and theories and education and stuff.

Howdy from the Minnesota State Fair

2009-09-05T15:48:00.003-05:00

When you live in Minnesota around Labor Day, everyone's thoughts begin turning towards thoughts of deep fried cheese curds, pickles on a stick, chocolate chip cookies and all you can drink milk. Yesterday hubby and I took off of work for the express purpose of testing out how many State Fair activities it is possible to cram into a single day without dropping dead of exhaustion.

It may not have been our most sane experiment ever, but we did discover that there is a limit to human tolerance for walking, eating and simultaneously taking in entertainment.

Some old favorites:
*Crop art. Yes, people make art out of seeds. This year, for whatever reason, political art was really popular. Both of these examples won ribbons.

*Machinery Hill. Tractors. Engines. Okay, not necessarily my favorite, but hubby got to recall his days as a farmer.

*Free stuff. Hey, one of our local radio stations was giving away free air guitars. How can I resist a deal like that?

New favorites:
*Horse shows. This year, all the horse shows were free, so we watched some heart-pounding barrel racing

*Barn tour. A guide took us around all of the animal barns (for free!) and told us all sorts of fun and silly facts about the animals. Even my farmer hubby was impressed.

*Hearty breakfast at the fair. We had never gotten there early enough to get breakfast at the fair before, but it was pretty good.

*Gelato. I'm a bit of an ice-cream snob, and ever since sampling the real, true, Italian gelato, I've been in search of a good equivalent here in Minnesota. Surprisingly, the fair provided the most authentic gelato I've had since Italy.

When my stomach has recovered a little bit more from the excess I put it through, I'll be around to visit your blog!

My Life, In Books

2009-09-01T20:59:00.003-05:00

Stolen from Bloggin' 'bout Books. Answer each question using the title of a book you've read in the past year. I'm not tagging anyone, but let me know if you did this and I'll come visit!

Describe yourself:

How do you feel: Soon I Will Be Invincible (by Austin Grossman)

Describe where you currently live: Neverwhere (by Neil Gaiman)

If you could go anywhere, where would you go? Arabian Nights (And Days) (by Bill Willingham)

Your favorite form of transportation: The Road (by Cormac McCarthy)

Your best friend is: The Good Prince (by Bill Willingham)

You and your friends are: The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (by Alan Moore)

What's the weather like: Storm Front (by Jim Butcher)

You fear: The Walking Dead (by Robert Kirkman)

What is the best advice you have to give?: The Rest Falls Away (by Colleen Gleason)

Thought for the day: Hurry Down Sunshine (by Michael Greenberg)

How I would like to die: I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon (by Philip K. Dick)

My soul's present condition: Peace Like a River (by Leif Enger)

R.I.Pping good challenge

2009-09-01T19:30:00.004-05:00

There really wasn't any way I could say no to R.I.P. IV, was there? I didn't think so. September 1-October 31, the goal is to read scary books and scary stories. Even if you don't "do" challenges, this is a great one to try. There are six categories: Mystery, Suspense, Dark Fantasy, Gothic, Horror, Supernatural, and various levels of the challenge.

So far, I'm keeping my options pretty open on my reading list. I've got a few options, but I'm waiting to see what other people are recommending.

My book pool:

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (Horror)... classic tale about a horrifying monster
Fledgling by Octavia Butler (Supernatural)... something sci fi-ish with vampires.
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carie Ryan (Supernatural)... something else with vampires.
Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link (Dark Fantasy)... nymeth has it on her list, and she rarely steers me wrong
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafron (Mystery). Something about the Spanish Civil War and the devil, and a cemetery of lost books. Delectable.

Any top recommendations?

The Invisible Man (review)

2009-08-31T19:58:00.004-05:00

The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells
Reason for Reading: In the tbr stack
Rating: 2.5/5

Summarize the plot: A mysterious stranger appears in the town of Iping. He never uncovers his face, his temper is ferocious, and it seems he is experimenting with some kinds of chemicals. What could be his secret?

One sentence review: Excessively moralizing plot makes what could have been a fascinating read a bit dry

What I liked: Since, like it or not, the Invisible Man has entered the pantheon of cultural icons, appearing in all sorts of movies, comics, books, and the concept having reappeared in all sorts of other places, it was interesting to see where it all started. The simple countryfolk that the Invisible Man takes advantage of are meant to provide comic relief, and I did find myself smiling at their innocent theories about what the strange man's secret was.

What I didn't like: I just could not understand how someone who was smart enough to figure out how to turn themselves invisible couldn't figure out how to walk quietly enough that he wasn't always being caught by everyone. People, even the simple folk of Iping, kept hearing mysterious sneezes and footsteps, and eventually connect the dots. Likewise, I think I would have found him a little more sinister if he was actually could at manipulating people or actually terrorizing them. Even at his best, he's not very good at scaring anyone. He seems to incite anger, rather than cowering. And once he finds a homeless tramp that he wants to turn into his lab assistance, his only method of control is to say "I'll kill you?" Meh. As soon as his "assistant" gets away, he's shouting for the police. The Invisible Man is clearly shown by the end to be insane, but I think the book might have been more interesting if it was more of a horror read or if the Invisible Man had succeeded at more than just turning himself invisible.

Should I read it? There are 1. better classics to spend your time on and 2. better H. G. Wells books to read.

The Sunday Salon: So Edjamucated

2009-08-30T20:09:00.003-05:00

I feel so edjumacated lately. I normally don't read much nonfiction, but I just finished Guns, Germs and Steel and actually liked it. I finished a business book (Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done) and liked it. Earlier this summer I read a book about the nature of evil and mostly liked it (The Lucifer Effect). Thank goodness for nonfic challenges to get me motivated.

My weekend has flown by. How 'bout yours? This weekend, in MN we had this insane cool weather (down to the 50s). Despite rumors that we have arctic weather year round, it isn't usually until mid or late September that we are supposed to have such cold weather. I've been out and about, visiting family, going to our city's annual festival, talking the dog for a walk. This week, I'm looking forward to a shortened workweek. Then I'm going to spend some time at the State Fair and the Renaissance Festival. OMG. I really can't wait until Friday.

Booking Through Thursday: Fluff

2009-08-27T20:07:00.003-05:00

This week's question:

What’s the lightest, most “fluff” kind of book you’ve read recently?

That would definitely be Audrey Wait! Although it is light, breezy fun, by the time I got to the end, the whole thing receded from my mind because there wasn't much substance and ultimately it reminded me a little too much of The Princess Diaries. The comparison is both a good and bad thing. I loved The Princess Diaries, and Audrey Wait! had the same brand of humor, and lively characters. But at the same time, when I realized that almost every predictable event from Audrey Wait! occurred in some fashion or another in The Princess Diaries, I was less interested.

After Five Solid Weeks of Shredding

2009-08-25T17:25:00.004-05:00

After six solid weeks of dragging myself out of bed at 6 am to have my ass kicked by Jillian Michaels (evil 30-Day Shred), I finally have some progress to report.

The boots, the ones I bought when I was studying abroad in Spain, the ones that fit me back during the time period that I spent almost all of my days walking and had these amazingly toned calves, the ones that stopped fitting almost immediately when I got back to the US and haven't fit me for six years, the ones that I can't bring myself to giveaway because although I am not normally sentimental about items of clothing, but are the last clothing item I got in Spain and they still look terrific...

those boots, if I don't mind the circulation being cut off a little, fit my calves once again. Now I'm ready at last for the cold weather. BRING IT ON. I've got the boots to deal with it.

Baklava!

2009-08-24T17:29:00.004-05:00

For those who were wondering, here is the recipe for the baklava hubby and I made this weekend. It is so tasty, we were going to share at first, but couldn't bring ourselves to give any away. Mwuh ha ha.

Ingredients:
1 (16 oz) package phyllo dough (in the refrigerated pie section)
1 pound chopped nuts (the recipe called for this much, but 1/2-3/4 pound would probably work just fine. Also, it doesn't specify what kind of nuts, but we used pecans and they were delish)
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup water
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup honey

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, butter the bottom and sides of a 9x13 inch pan

Chop nuts and toss with cinnamon. Set aside. Unroll phyllo dough. Cover phyllo with a dampened cloth to keep from drying out as you work. Place two sheets of dough in pan, butter thoroughly. Repeat until you have 8 sheets layered. Sprinkle 2-3 tablespoons of nut mixture on top. Top with two sheets of dough, butter, nuts, layering as you go. The top layer shouldbe about 6-8 sheets deep.

Using a sharp knife cut into diamond or square shapes all the way to the bottom of the pan. You may cut into four long rows to make the diagonal cuts. Bake for about 50 minutes until baklava is golden and crisp.

Make sauce while baklava is baking. Boil sugar and water until sugar is melted. Add vanilla and honey. Simmer for about 20 minutes.

Remove baklava from oven and immediately spoon sauce over it. Let cool. Serve in cupcake papers. It freezes well, but should be left uncovered as it gets soggy if wrapped up.

My notes: This worked well as a team effort. Hubby buttered each layer, I unwrapped the phyllo dough and laid it out, then ran around cleaning up dishes while he buttered. Enjoy!

The Sunday Salon: Zombies and Such

2009-08-23T19:35:00.006-05:00

I just recently finished The Walking Dead #9 and I haven't done a proper review of any of the previous graphic novels in the series, so today we're going to talk about zombies!

I usually try to keep my reviews concise, but I might have spend a little more time talking about The Walking Dead. I had this graphic novel series recommended to my by an uncle who's really into graphic novels. I checked out the first one to see if I'd like it. That was oh, June. It's been less than two months later, and I've completely gobbled up the next eight books in the series. For me that's really fast, especially considering I have to go to a different library to get these graphic novels.

The important thing to know about me is that prior to blogging, I didn't read graphic novels, nor did I read zombie novels. This one is both. And I love it. At first, I thought it might pale in comparison to World War Z, which is like the magnum opus of zombie novels (my review here). Both are about zombies, yes, but World War Z is a big, all-encompassing novel that spans the globe. The Walking Dead zooms in on a few characters and really develops them, so that I became really engrossed in the story of how they survive in a world over-run by zombies.

Rick is the main character. He's a cop, and while on duty one day he gets shot and winds up in the hospital. When he wakes up from a coma, he finds himself all alone. Then he tries opening the door to the cafeteria, and finds... living corpses. Surviving that, he discovers that he is all alone. His family has presumably fled, there's no government, TV, radio, and so he finally hits on the idea of heading to the nearest big city in hopes that he'll find his wife and son.

Rick eventually finds a group of people and because of his take-charge attitude, ends up becoming the de-facto leader of the group. He comes up with the survival plans. He ventures into a zombie-infested city to find weapons and teaches everyone how to shoot guns. He organizes everyone so that they are keeping watches, hunting for food, and, when living in the countryside becomes too dangerous, he convinces everyone to look for a more permanent home. Eventually, the group does find what they hope will be their new permanent home, and things start to look up. They have to clear out the zombies living there, but supplies are plentiful and there's a nice sturdy fence.

It's at that point that the series takes a decidedly dark turn. Rick has spent most of the time racing after one important thing after another without even taking the time to tell anyone where he's going. He's always sure of himself, and so far, his hunches and his dangerous missions have tended to end up well, but his tendency to play cowboy finally catches up to him. In the fourth novel (The Heart's Desire), the group spots a helicopter land nearby, and Rick sets off searching for it, hoping to find a hint that civilization has returned. He and two others from the group end up blundering into another encampment of survivors, similar to their own. While Rick has made some tough choices for his group, he's always managed to hold onto his moral compass. The leader of this other encampment, who calls himself the Governor, is the type of person who tends to rise to the top in crises. Strong, smart, sadistic, with the singular goal of survival, he calmly does whatever it takes to keep control of his people. Murder, rape, torture, and the complete destruction of Rick's group if it means he can take their resources. Books 5-8 deal with the fallout from Rick's encounter with the Governor.

The world of The Walking Dead is an unforgiving one. People die. Zombie attacks, fighting with other survivors, gun battles, freak accidents. Throughout the series, though, the biggest danger comes from other survivors. The zombies are an ever-present threat, but they're slow, stupid, and predictable. Humans are the ones who will kill you over a couple of supplies, or pretend to need help and shoot you in the back.

Despite the bleak tone, however, I couldn't help but notice that over all, the novel is optimistic (especially at first) about the capacity of people to work together for the greater good. Rick and his ragtag group do their best to help other survivors who find their way to their camp, and among the core group, there is surprisingly little competition for control. Loved ones are reunited. Babies are brought into the world. People find love again and get married. Friendships are made.

This is definitely an action-packed series, and it seems like every novel ends on a cliff-hanger that makes it impossible for me to not get the next novel. But what really makes this series worthwhile are the characters. I haven't gone into too much detail about them, but there are really quite a few supporting characters who all have different story arcs. Michonne, for example, is one of my favorites. She is a serious badass, fighting zombies with a sword. When she's being tortured by the Governor for information on their camp, she spends her time plotting revenge. Okay, so I wouldn't want to get on her bad side, but in the zombie apocalypse, she's the one I'd want in my group.

There's others: Andrea, once a blonde coed, now the group's best sharp-shooter; Tyrese, the former NFL star; Glen and Maggie, who manage to find love despite the desperate situation they're in, and many others. There's actually so many, I had trouble keeping track of all of the characters at first, but by the end, they all felt like familiar friends.

I'm at a point in the series where I am very nearly caught up with all of the books published so far, and I really don't know how I'm going to wait for more. I hope you will like this one as much as I do! (Oh, and P.S.: do not read these before bed. Heart-stopping action+zombies =/= good, restful sleep.

Novels in the series:

#1 Days Gone Bye
#2 Miles Behind Us
#3 Safety Behind Bars
#4 The Heart's Desire
#5 The Best Defense
#6 This Sorrowful Life
#7 The Calm Before
#8 Made to Suffer
#9 Here We Remain

Images:

From Bold. Blue. Adventure.

A Baklava Weekend

2009-08-22T21:22:00.005-05:00

Here's how my weekend goes (as is typical):

Saturday
8am: Man I have the whole weekend ahead of me to catch up on all sorts of things I need to do. Blogging, writing, homework... tons of stuff!

9am: Okay, time to put the book down and get some productive things done

10am: Really time to get around to doing something productive

11am: Good, I've started cleaning. This is great. This is productive.

12pm: crap, lunchtime.

1pm: lunch done, dishes done, laundry started. Now I can start thinking about homework, blogging, all that other stuff I need to do.

2pm: Take a walk outside! Enjoy the weather.

3pm: Okay need to be productive again.

4pm: Man, that was an awesome nap.

5pm: Grocery store run, right.

Several hours later: I have not blogged. I have not done homework. But hey I made some baklava!

A few hours later: Oh man. I should not have eaten that much baklava. Oh well.

Booking Through Thursday: Recent Best

2009-08-20T19:05:00.003-05:00

This week's question:

What’s the best book you’ve read recently?
(Tell me you didn’t see this one coming?)

Man, that is a toughie. I've been reading a lot of books I really like, and depending on how I quantify "recently" would completely change my answer to this question. So I'm just going to pick books I've read within the past few weeks, and my answer would be the Walking Dead series. It's a graphic novel series set during the Zombie Apocalypse and it manages to be dark, but not too depressing, action-packed, but full of little moments for the characters to grow and develop, and each novel ends on a cliff-hanger that keeps me gobbling up this series. I just finished book 9, and eventually I'll get book 10 from the library (I'm on the waiting list).

In other news, my book club's pick for our next meeting is The Time Traveler's Wife. I read this book about two years ago or so, before I started my blog and began tracking my reading habits. I really loved it back then, but now that my tastes have become more sophisticated, I'm curious if I'll love it as much, or if it will pale in comparison to other books I've read and loved lately. I did try pushing for Persepolis for next month's read, but I didn't have any takers. I guess TTW is pretty hot right now, with the movie and all.

And man, is it Thursday already? I'm totally unprepared for it to almost be the weekend. I've had stuff going on after work all week so tonight is the first time in a while I've had to sit down at the computer. How has your week been?

Sunday Saloning... Me? Like Non-fic? No way!

2009-08-16T17:07:00.003-05:00

I don't hate non-fiction, but when I'm in the mood for comfort reads, the first thing I go to is definitely not non-fic. I typically pick up a sci fi/fantasy or YA read.

But I committed myself to reading Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond, and so far I've really been liking it. I'm already a third of the way through the book, and so far I've been really fascinated by his explanation of why various human societies progressed at different rates and the ultimate consequences.

I did manage to find time to cram in some good comfort reading too. I have been trying for several months to check out Thessaly: Witch for Hire from the library, but it seemed like it would always take too long to get to the pick up library, then I wouldn't get the email in time, and they'd send it back. Finally on Saturday, I got to check it out, and I loved it. A great Sandman spin-off.

Other than reading, I've been busy this weekend shopping, and hubby and I went to see District 9 yesterday. With the extremely hot weather we've had lately (in the 90's, and the kind of humidity where you practically have to drink the air, not breathe it), the air conditioning was nice. And the movie? Not quite what I expected, but a solid sci-fi thought-provoking action flick, with a level of intelligence sadly lacking from most of the other summer action block-busters.

How was your weekend?

Friday Links... randomosity ahead

2009-08-14T20:43:00.004-05:00

I really love it when other bloggers post interesting links once a week. So I'm totally going to be a copy cat. Be forewarned, I'm easily amused, so I doubt any links I come up with will be very intellectually stimulating. As long as we've got that straightened out, I present, with no further ado, my Friday Link Collection:

**Neil Gaiman, who is of course already awesome, gets a little awesomer with a Hugo win.

**Just another reason why reading a map will continue to be a necessary skill in the age of GPS. Tourists trying to get to the Isle of Capri go 400 miles off course when they typed "Carpi" into their GPS by mistake.

**Sonograms and frosting... the perfect combination... or who doesn't want to eat a picture of your unborn child? (on CakeWrecks)

**On a related note, the world's first (and so far only) breastfeeding doll.

**Is it bad that I find STFU Parents wildly amusing? People I'm glad I'm not friends with, people that make me glad the internets weren't around when I was a kid, and people that just plain need help. (WARNING: threats to contented dining ahead, DO NOT proceed if there is food anywhere near you. Just sayin')

Booking Through Thursday

2009-08-13T06:50:00.003-05:00

This week's question:

What’s the worst book you’ve read recently?
(I figure it’s easier than asking your all-time worst, because, well, it’s recent!)

Of books I didn't actually finish recently, Away by Amy Bloom was one I really didn't like. Obviously, it could have gotten better towards the end, but I did sit in on the book club discussion, and those who finished it didn't have that exciting of things to say either.

Of books I did manage to finish, I really, really didn't like Eclipse One, which was a collection of science fiction-themed stories. I say science-fiction themed because some of them really didn't strike me as being very science-fictiony at all.

Storm Front (review)

2009-08-12T20:08:00.003-05:00

Storm Front by Jim Butcher
Reason for Reading: Sounded interested
Rating: 3/5

Summarize the plot: Harry Dresden is a wizard. He also solves crimes.

One sentence review: For some mindless escapism, this book didn't annoy me, but it didn't really make me keep reading the series either.

What I liked: Harry Dresden is an interesting character, and I liked the fantasy element in an otherwise pretty typical police procedural.

What I didn't like: I didn't hate the book. I didn't even dislike it. But it was such complete fluff that I can barely remember the plotline now that it has been a few weeks since I read it. I don't really like police procedurals very much, and despite the inclusion of fantasy, there isn't too much originality in this book. Yes, it's entertaining. My husband read this one after me, and in the past month has read like six more of them. But I just wasn't that into it.

Should I read it? Plenty of other people have really enjoyed this book. If the combination of fantasy and crime novel sound like your thing, you'll probably enjoy it more than me.

Other opinions:
1330V, stephanie's confessions of a bookoholic, Rhinoa

Brave New World (review)

2009-08-11T19:14:00.003-05:00

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Reason for Reading: My Year of Reading Dangerously Challenge
Rating: 5/5

Summarize the plot: Welcome to the future. People are now created in test-tubes, and trained from birth via sleep-hypnosis to know their place in society. Sexual promiscuity and consumption are the highest societal values.

One Sentence Review: The classic dystopian novel is still thought-provoking, if not as horrifying as it was considered when it first came out.

What I liked: For being a relatively short novel with few characters, and very little action, Brave New World describes a unique dystopia, where families are considered pornographic, and "everyone belongs to everyone else". While I kept hearing the phrase "horrifying vision of the future" along with this book, I didn't find it horrifying. Maybe I'm influenced by some of the dystopian novels I've been reading lately, but this version of the future didn't seem nearly as bad as say, The Road. That's not to say it isn't a disturbing book. It doesn't paint a pretty picture of the future, that's for sure. The Savage, a character who lives more in accordance with our own societal values and is dropped into the Brave New World, finds himself unable to function in a world where no one is allowed to care too deeply for anyone else.

I found it interesting that none of the characters in the novel are especially likeable. Bernard, arguably one of the main characters, is petty, contrary, and cruel. Even the Savage, who the reader would probably identify with the best, says and does cruel things because of the tension between his upbringing and his life in the Brave New World. Lenina, the other main character, is just vacuous. Despite this fact, the book kept me interested because I wanted to know what was going to happen to them.

What I didn't like: This is an idea book. The characters, as I mentioned, aren't particularly likeable, and very little action occurs. This is the kind of book that if it had dragged out any longer than it did, would have gotten boring.

Should I read it? It's a classic

The Sunday Salon: Back to School Books

2009-08-09T14:07:00.004-05:00

I recently went back to school. I don't think I've mentioned it here on this blog because to be honest I've been dreading it more than looking forward to it. I love learning, I think the degree I'm pursuing will help my career, but gosh-darnit, I'm going to have to cut back on my writing and blogging time.

It was a lot easier to handle when school was this far-off thing, but all of a sudden the summer ended and before I knew it classes were starting. So now my usual reading style is going to be a little more cramped by business books. I just got a stack of them in the mail and since I was kind of in a lull with my usual reads, I decided to try skimming through to see if any of them were worthwhile.

The first book I tried was actually a pretty nice, quick read with lots of practical advice. Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done, by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan, while geared towards the CEOs of large businesses, had plenty of good advice for leaders at any level of how to create concrete business plans that succeed.

It also included the one thing that keeps me reading an advice book: plenty of good examples. While I get lost when a non-fic author goes on and on about theories, if they can give good examples of their ideas in action, I'm a lot more likely to remember.

The second book I skimmed through was Strengthsfinder 2.0, which also included a test to find your strengths. The book was an okay reference, but I'm getting kind of tired of personality tests. Okay, really tired. Okay, I was ready to start telling the computer screen I really didn't care about whether I relate better to people or ideas and I sure don't care about whether I study the history or the future, whether I like organization or creativity, and so on and so on.

I really think my results were skewed by the fact I started talking back to the computer half-way through. Oh well. I've done two personality tests for school, and I've got another one to go. Sigh.

Other things I've been doing this past week include catching up on the final season of Battlestar Galactica. So far I'm ranging from just being grateful my most hated character, Gaius Baltar finally has less screen time to loving the action-packed episodes, to wondering if the writers ever even had direction for the Cylon plotline or if they made it up on the fly, to falling in love all over again with my favorite characters.

Two more discs to go and I'll finally have to say goodbye. I haven't decided whether I have the self-control to space them out so I can savor the end or whether I'll just gobble the whole thing up as soon as possible. We shall see.

This is Me, Three Years Ago Today

2009-08-05T19:33:00.002-05:00

I'm the one holding the bouquet in the white dress, hubby is the one in the tux. Just to clarify.

Bluebeard (review)

2009-08-05T08:38:00.006-05:00

Bluebeard by Kurt Vonnegut

Reason for reading: Literary crush on Kurt Vonnegut

Rating: 4.5/5

Summarize the plot: Rabo Karabekian is a retired painter, and he's been bullied into writing his memoirs by the incomparable Circe Berman. Like the Bluebeard of old tales, he keeps a secret locked in his barn.

One sentence review: Vonnegut's wizardry with words makes this character-heavy, plot-light novel completely and utterly readable.

Longer review: I completely gushed over my first Vonnegut read, Slaughterhouse Five, so I figured I would probably enjoy this book as well. I LOVED Bluebeard. Ordinarily, I would not get so excited about a book that jumps all over the place, and barely has a plot, but Vonnegut sucks the reader in with his uniquely enjoyable writing. He has a literary style, but somehow he manages to be so much more accessible than your typical literary novel. Okay, here's the opening lines. I mean, who wouldn't want to keep reading after this opening?

Having written "The End" to this story of my life, I find it prudent to scamper back here to before the beginning, to my front door, so to speak, and to make an apology to arriving guests: "I promised you an autobiography, but something went wrong in the kitchen. It turns out to be a diary of this past troubled summer, too! We can always send out for pizzas if necessary. Come in, come in!"

Rabo Karabekian is a fictional painter who came of age during the American Abstract Expressionist era. His great works of art were created with Sateen DuraLuxe, a paint so toxic and short-lived, his paints have crumbled to dust and no hazardous waste facility wants them. His wife and children are no longer part of his life, and he lives alone in an old mansion.

What I liked: I liked the format of this book. It is split into short sections, and Rabo skips between the past and present, completely nonlinearly, but somehow you never feel lost. I think it helps that he hones down on a few of the themes of his life that are the most important to him, and goes back and forth between how it was in the past and what actually happened.

Rabo's character hooked me in. All of the main characters in his life were vividly written. Although some were outlandish, they never felt unreal. Especially the violent relationship Rabo describes between his painting master and his lover, Marilee, who Rabo secretly loves too. The woman he can't have, the one who gets away. The majority of the novel is focused sharply on her.

What I didn't like: Duh, it wasn't long enough! No, I mean, it was the right length, but when I got to the end, I felt like I didn't really know much more about some of the other people who were important in Rabo's life, like his family or his best friend, a painter who shot himself in the head. By sheer amount of words dedicated to her, it appears that the only important person in his life was Marilee, which I suppose was the point.

Should I read it? In a word, yes.

The Sunday Salon: Angels, gods, and steampunk

2009-08-02T20:08:00.004-05:00

I just managed (quite recently) to finish Scar Night by Alan Campbell, which is all full of angels, gods, deadly assassins, a city suspended over an abyss on chains, and... steampunk? Yup, steampunk. Air ships and all sorts of fun stuff like that.

It rocked. I was totally caught up in reading all weekend, during every spare minute that I wasn't dashing around like a mad person seeing plays. Because here is the other awesome thing I got to do this weekend: attend the Fringe Festival!

Minnesota does have some pretty awful winters, but probably as a result, the Twin Cities has an awesome, vibrant arts scene. And a really awesome Fringe Festival. In eleven days, there are 160 performances at 22 different venues around the Twin Cities. Hard-core fringers can buy this ultrapass thingy and see as many plays as their legs can take them to, but hubby and I opted for a bit smaller of a dose.

We went and saw a madcap comedy sketch, a ballet, and a satire called Cigarettes for Jesus. All for about the price of two discounted tickets to a regular performance! My hubby, who loves theatre, but wasn't sure if he was going to enjoy so much of it at a time, is thrilled to go back and do the fringe again next year.

As for me? I had a crazy adventure with the husband, a nice dinner afterward that included a wine tasting, and now I'm settling in to enjoy the last remnants of the weekend. Life is good.

A Beautiful Child (review)

2009-08-01T21:18:00.004-05:00

A Beautiful Child by Matt Birkbeck
Reason for reading: Recommendation from my sister
Rating: 4.5/5

Summarize the plot: A Beautiful Child is the true life story of a girl named Sharon. In high school, she was at the top of her class, she worked as a Lt. Colonel in the ROTC, won a scholarship to Georgia Tech, and seemed to have everything going for her. But behind the facade, she was forced to hide a terrible secret about the man she called her father, a secret she kept so well even those who knew her best never guessed the truth.

1-Sentence Review: A tightly written book that examines a tragic young life, the man who took it from her, and the search to find out her true identity.

Longer review: A Beautiful Child was an interesting choice to read around the same time as another book I reviewed earlier this week, The Lucifer Effect. The latter is a lengthy academic contemplation on the nature of evil, and the potential for evil within everyone. A Beautiful Child, on the other hand, is a short, true-crime, journalistic look at a person who can only be described as pure evil.

Without giving away too much from the novel, Shannon Marshall, likely kidnapped as a child, was forced by a man named Franklin Floyd to live out a life with him that became ever more horrifying as his grip over her intensified. It is a tragic story, through and through, and yet because Birkbeck writes with a terse, journalistic style, I felt like I could handle reading it. I felt an emotional connection to the story, but I never felt that the book was emotionally exploitive, shoving my nose into a situation that is already horrible enough.

Shannon Marshall's life defies understanding. As Birkbeck unraveled the layers to her life, the lies she was forced to enact, and the sheer number of people who sensed something was wrong but didn't intervene in time, a huge question emerges that Birkbeck only briefly addresses. How could something like this happen? While giving a serious answer to a complicated question like that is outside the scope of this book, I think most readers will walk away from the book at the very least, contemplating that question. Hopefully it will be a wake-up call for anyone who encounters an exploited child to take signs of abuse seriously.

Should I read it? It is a quick, thought-provoking read, but be forwarned that the details are shocking and some may find them disturbing.

Visit MattBirkbeck.com

The Lucifer Effect

2009-07-28T18:37:00.005-05:00

The Lucifer Effect by Philip Zimbardo
Reason for Reading: My Year of Reading Dangerously Reading Challenge, Dewey Decimal Reading Challenge

Summarize the book: If you have ever studied psychology, you've probably heard of the Stanford Prison Experience. Philip Zimbardo created a simulated prison in the basement of the psychology building to study the psychology of imprisonment, but ended up canceling the project a week in because the simulated prison had become real. The guards were acting in creatively cruel, abusive ways, and the prisoners were beginning to show extreme stress reactions to their confinement. Zimbardo spent the rest of his life studying the power of situational influences on human behavior and in this book, argues that evil situations turn good people into evil people.

One sentence review: Although the scholarly style makes parts of this book a tough slog, Zimbardo has an extremely important message about the nature of evil and the potential within all of us to commit evil deeds.

Longer review: I had studied the Stanford Prison Experiment extensively in college, so I originally intended to skip through the sizable portion of the book that analyzes the SPE. Except that I couldn't put it down. The stories are horrifying. Ordinary college students, purposefully chosen because they were as normal as possible, randomly selected to either be prisoners or guards. Each one slipping so deeply into their roles, by the end of the short-lived experiment, the prisoners were regularly subjected to mental, physical and sexual abuse and three prisoners had to be sent home.

Zimbardo makes a compelling argument from the SPE and other social psychology experiments about the power of situational influences on everyday behavior. When people are given masks, for example, to hide their identity, they have a strong tendency to act much more aggressively. If an authority figure tells a person to do something, they are likely to comply even if the authority is shaky, and what they are being told to do is to harm another person. From these lab experiments, Zimbardo extrapolates how an ordinary person put into a brutal ethnic conflict (like the genocide in Rwanda) can be persuaded to take up a machete against a neighbor they have known for years.

The most eye-opening portion of the book is Zimbardo's analysis of the Abu Ghraib scandal, and if I could force people to read one thing this year, I would make everyone read this. It is so important in light of the current political situation. Zimbardo started the book with the premise that despite the military's attempt to paint the soldiers who abused prisoners at Abu Ghraib as a "few bad apples", it was a bad barrel that made the bad apples.

Zimbardo takes us inside the hell that was Abu Ghraib to show how the situation was set up for the prison guards to fail. The entire prison was under constant attack, rations were short, running water was rare, and military leadership was almost nonexistent. The guards were left pretty much on their own, with the vague directive that they should warm the prisoners up for interrogations.

While not excusing the soldiers who abused prisoners, Zimbardo points the real finger of blame at the military leadership and ultimately the Bush Administration that wanted interrogations to be carried out with no holds barred. They created the "bad barrel" and when the chips were down, they threw a few low-ranking soldiers under the bus in order to make the situation go away. If you have ever thought or cared in the slightest about the US military prisons and how we have been treating suspected terrorists, please pick up this book.

Finally at the end of this lengthy, academic treatise on the nature of evil when any ordinary reader will come to the conclusion that everyone is evil, Zimbardo offers insight into what makes a hero and how the reader can avoid the pitfalls that cause people to commit evil acts. I only wish there could have been more on this topic to balance out the rest of the book.

Should I read it? Yes. I know it is hefty. I know it's academic. I know it has a footnotes section about as long as the typical YA novel. But everyone needs to know what Zimbardo has to say about the nature of evil.

Other opinions: ebook30, the story's story.

Visit lucifereffect.org

A Tale of Race, Bookcovers With a Heaping Helping of Fail

2009-07-27T09:34:00.000-05:00

A lot of other people have had very insightful things to say about the cover of Justine Larbalestier's latest novel, Liar, which features a Caucasian girl with longish hair, despite the fact the novel's protagonist is a black girl with "nappy" hair.

I have to give a lot of props to Larbalestier for speaking out about something her publisher, Bloomsbury, did that she disagreed with, because, hey, they do pay her.

I pretty much think Bloombury's response so far has been kind of, well, pathetic:

“The entire premise of this book is about a compulsive liar,” said Melanie Cecka, publishing director of Bloomsbury Children’s Books USA and Walker Books for Young Readers, who worked on Liar. “Of all the things you’re going to choose to believe of her, you’re going to choose to believe she was telling the truth about race?” (From Publisher's Weekly)

I mean, that is one way of spinning things.

Back in reality land, book bloggers are busily questioning why Bloombury felt the need to "whitewash" this novel and asking them to please create a cover that reflects the actual content of the novel.

To all of these sentiments, I give a big ditto.

The Sunday Salon: How I've done this year

2009-07-26T09:29:00.000-05:00

I'm usually not good about getting around to assessing my own progress on reading goals, but it's come to the middle of July and I decided it's about time to update my "2009 Reading Goals" page, which has been sadly neglected. (Like much of the rest of my blog this year I'm afraid).

Alright, I'm jumping in. Here goes:

Challenges I've completed this year:
*I did manage to finish the Sci-Fi Experience early this year reading 7 books
*I also managed to finish the Once Upon a Time Challenge reading 10 books (although 6 of them were Fables novels, but still)

Challenges I've made progress on:
*I've made some good progress on the DreamKing Challenge, reading 7 of his graphic novels this year, and having watched Coraline. I need to try and read more books from the other five categories. (Goal is to read 6 books from 6 categories)
*I've read 8 out of 12 books so far for the Young Adult Challenge, putting me right on track to actually finish this one.
*The one challenge I've really shown on is the Graphic Novels Challenge. So far I've read 23 out of the 24 required for a Doctorate and I'm pretty sure I'll read a lot more than that.
*I've also actually kind of completed the Manga Challenge, reading 7 out of the 6 books so far, but I think I want to read more.

Challenges I'm really stinking at:
*I've read 2 out of 12 books for the My Year of Reading Dangerously, but I haven't even really made up a good list of books yet. Need to get ideas for my list and work on this one more.
*I set out to do the World Citizen Challenge with all the best intentions, but I haven't even accomplished a thing yet.
* I really need to get cracking on Dewey's Books Challenge. I know I have a ton of books I discovered thanks to Dewey, I just need to sit down and get a list together.
* I have read 2 out of 10 books for the Dewey Decimal Challenge. Considering how little non-fic I normally read, that is an accomplishment in and of itself, I suppose.
* I have read 2 out of 9 books for 9 Books in 2009 Challenge. Not too bad, I suppose. My tbr stack has indeed been going down, which is GREAT!

So to recap, of the 11 challenges I've attempted this year, I completed 2, I'm making good progress on 4, and I'm stinking at 5 of them.

Actually, looking at the numbers, I was expecting a lot worse than that. I've still got at least five more months to make an attempt at the challenges I'm not doing so well at.

Booking Through Thursday

2009-07-24T21:12:00.002-05:00

Shut Up. I know it's Friday already. I'm still answering anyhow.

This week's Question is:

Which do you prefer? (Quick answers)

Reading something frivolous? Or something serious? Frivolous
Paperbacks? Or hardcovers? PAPERBACKS
Fiction? Or Nonfiction? Fiction
Poetry? Or Prose? Prose
Biographies? Or Autobiographies? Biographies
History? Or Historical Fiction? History
Series? Or Stand-alones? Stand-alones
Classics? Or best-sellers? Best-sellers
Lurid, fruity prose? Or straight-forward, basic prose? Straight-forward (Lurid? Fruity? Whaaaat?)
Plots? Or Stream-of-Consciousness? P to the L-O-T.
Long books? Or Short? Short
Illustrated? Or Non-illustrated? Illustrated
Borrowed? Or Owned? Borrowed
New? Or Used? Used

The Ghost Brigades

2009-07-22T21:04:00.005-05:00

The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi
Reason for Reading: For Fun (Imagine That)
Rating: 4/5

Summarize the plot: Charles Boutin is a traitor to the human race and thanks to him humanity is on the verge of invasion by a powerful coalition of alien races. But the Special Forces have one way to try and find him. Boutin found a way to create a back up of his consciousness, and in his haste, he left it behind. Drop the consciousness into one of the Ghost Brigade bodies, and there's a chance of discovering why he did what he did. Except when Jared Dirac wakes up with Boutin's consciousness, he doesn't remember anything at first. But when the memories start coming, can he figure everything out in time?

1-sentence review: Another great entry into the Old Man's War universe.

Longer review: A mix of Scalzi's usual kick-ass adventure and thought-provoking science fiction. Although Scalzi's strength is usually not charactization, I really, really liked Jared Dirac. Like he might be my new favorite character from the series. We were introduced to the Special Forces, AKA, Ghost Brigades in Old Man's War, but in this book we get to be totally immersed in their world. Jared is not only a special breed because he is part of the Special Forces, but he has to deal with the confusion of having someone else's consciousness implanted into him. He was created with the purpose of finding Charles Boutin, and everyone hovers over him, unsure whether he's going to snap someday. And despite all of that, Jared evolves into his own person, sometimes incredibly naive, but always trying to do the best thing. He's very different from the older, wiser, and wise-cracking John Perry of the first novel. I think a highlight of the novel is the way Jared moves from being a confused newborn to an experienced soldier willing to sacrifice to save his friends.

Another thing I really enjoyed about this novel is that Charles Boutin's motives for what he did are kept very secret until the end, and even then, he isn't painted as a complete villain. Scalzi allows for some gray areas, which I already know (since I read these books out of order) will be even more fully developed in The Last Colony. The Colonial Defense Forces keep the human colonies alive, but we begin to question their methods.

Reading this book illuminated a few final details that didn't quite fit when I skipped from book one to three, and I think I might like it even more than The Last Colony. The character of Jared Dirac goes a long way towards making it a favorite.

Should I read it? If you liked Old Man's War, don't skip over this one. It's worth your time.

Other opinions:
Becky, Medieval Bookworm, True Science Fiction

Emma Vol I-V

2009-07-20T19:20:00.002-05:00

Emma, Volumes I-V by Kaoru Mori
Reason for Reading: Manga Challenge
Rating: 5/5

Summarize the plot: Emma, a beautiful and intelligent maid in Victorian England falls in love with William, an upper class son of a wealthy businessman. Although they feel passionate about each other, societal forces conspire to keep them apart.

1-sentence review: A very fine romance along the lines of the best of Jane Austen.

Longer review: My first foray into manga was only so-so for me, so I decided to take the recommendation of a heck of a lot of you other bloggers out there and try reading the Emma novels. Man, I'm glad I did. Emma is a beautiful, character driven series. First of all, I just loved Emma. Throughout all the hardships she goes through, she manages to stay kind and sweet. She isn't a modern character transported to a historical setting though. Although she loves William, she feels obligated to leave him when she realizes how different their worlds are.

And while William clashes with his father over his feelings for Emma, I also liked how the books doesn't paint his father as a complete villian. In the fifth volume, we go back to his courtship with his wife, and we get to see the forces that shaped his life, how he had to fight against a clique-ish upper class to try and fit in with his "new money" status and an eccentric wife.

Speaking of his eccentric wife, Aurelia is another of my favorite characters. When she can't fit into high society, her husband sends her to live in the country side, where she can dress as she likes, cut her hair off, and spend all of her time pursuing her passion for gardening. I thought it was interesting to include a character like that who does completely break all of the careful rules of society.

Reading Emma was a treat. I count Pride and Prejudice among my favorite novels, and the visual element in this manga series brought all of the period details to life for me. Where the Victorian novels describe fashions and balls and hair styles, it was extremely enjoyable to just see them and get lost inside Victorian England.

Should I read it? If the words Romance and Victorian England sound good together in a sentence to you, than yes

Other opinions
Alyce, I heart manga, in the spring it is dawn, ex libris, nymeth

Peace Like a River

2009-07-13T18:50:00.004-05:00

Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
Reason for Reading: In my tbr pile
Rating: 4.5/5

Summarize the plot: Peace Like a River is about the Land family. The father, Jeremiah, is a man of faith working as a janitor at the local high school, raising his three children alone. Their lives are turned upside down when two neighborhood boys start a feud with the Lands. Davy, impatient for justice, shoots the two teenagers dead and winds up in jail. But when he escapes from jail and strikes out on his own, Jeremiah and the other two decide to try and find Davy.

1 sentence review: This quiet, atmospheric story about an unusual family in an extreme situation is absolutely worth the read.

Longer review: The best reason to read this book is for the richly developed characters. Reuben, the younger son, is the perfect narrator for the novel. He admires his older brother, even when his brother carries out a rash act that leaves two people dead, and he's determined to try and find his brother. Even when he isn't quite sure what the right thing to do is, he always tries to stay loyal to his family. And I loved his relationship with his sister and best friend, Swede, who has a knack for writing poetry. Except starting with when Davy is arrested, Swede starts having a hard time ending her poems. She likes writing westerns, with justice at the end, but when life seems uncertain, so are her poems.

One thing I also really liked about this book was the way it portrayed Jeremiah Land. He is described as a man of faith, and one of the first things Reuben tells us about his father is that he works miracles, the first miracle being bringing Reuben back to life after he was born not breathing. Jeremiah, however, is never presented as one-dimensional. While he is deeply religious, he is torn about what to do about Davy. If he manages to find Davy, should he help him continue to live on the run, or turn him into the police? He faces that dilemma first with one resolute decision, but over the course of the novel, he starts to change his mind.

The final thing I'm going to mention that I really enjoyed about this novel is how it transported me to small town Minnesota 1962. The details to set the historical part are all there, but they aren't overwhelming. The setting came across most strongly in the simple, midwestern way the characters all talked, or in describing the bitterly cold winter. Being that I live in Minnesota, I could totally identify with living through a blizzard or being forced to stay inside for a month because the temperature refuses to get above 0.

And the ending? I was meh about certain parts of it. Everything did get wrapped up, but aspects felt a little unresolved for me. However, I liked everything else well enough that I was willing to forgive that.

Should I read it? Are you in the mood for something to transport you completely? Then yes.

The Sunday Salon: Helplessly Behind

2009-07-12T16:44:00.003-05:00

I'm helplessly behind on book reviews. Unfortunately, the weather is really nice outside, so I'm having trouble focusing on things like blogging and keeping ya'll up to date on my opinions of the books I've been reading lately.

But hey, the outdoors is pretty nice. In Minnesota, we only get a few precious months of warm weather, so I kinda have to make what I can of it. Even reading gets moved outside if it's nice enough. Reading a lighter, summery book whilst lying outside in the sun is one of life's greatest pleasures, I do believe.

In fact, I've been reading more since the weather got nice. Usually the cold weather makes me want to curl up with a book, but this summer I've just been so drawn to the couch, or the deck, or a lying on a blanket in the grass with a good book.

Here are some books I've read lately and really want to blather about:

Peace Like a River by Leif Enger. It's set in my home state, its about a family faced with an impossible situation, and it shows a man of faith prominently as a person, not a stereotype. And miracles? In there too.

Since finishing the Fables and the Sandman series, I've decided to delve into some new graphic novels series. On a recommendation from my uncle (huge graphic novel aficionado), I've started reading Walking Dead, all about life after the Zombie Apocalypse. While I feel like with World War Z, I'd read everything there was to read about the Zombie Apocalypse, I was wrong. This series brings something new to the tried and true tropes of the genre. It's more tightly focused on a single group of people. It's kind of hopefully, despite all the zombies and stuff.

I also started Emma, that manga series everyone seems to be gaga over. And I've discovered that it's with good reason. Emma is great. It's quiet and beautiful and romantic. And it has a really great heroine. She's not a modern heroine (a pet peeve of mine when writers insert modern values into historical fiction), but she is exactly right for the novel.

I also read a few books that plumbed the depths of evil. I don't recommend these for your light reading or anything, but The Lucifer Effect, about what causes people to do evil things, and A Beautiful Child, about a girl who suffered under the thumb of an evil person are worth reading despite that.

Then there's a few ass-kicking books. The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi and Storm Front by Jim Butcher. I don't know what else to say about them, other than both hubby and I liked them, so there.

There's more of course (there always is, isn't there?) but I'm going to just work on getting to those reviews instead of teasing you. What have you been reading lately? If you need me, I'm going to be out on the lawn reading.

Yay! Finally In a State Represented By Two Senators

2009-07-08T19:02:00.003-05:00

While all the rest of you United State-ians who reside outside of Minnesota have been represented by two U.S. senators for like months now, we've had... the never-ending legal battle.

Finally yesterday, Senator Al Franken was sworn in. Whether you're jazzed about him or not, at least we're FINALLY being represented. At last, we Minnesotans can all join together in saying:

I'm good enough
I'm smart enough
and doggone it, people like me.

Reviews: On Beauty, Middlesex, The Apprentice's Masterpiece

2009-07-06T19:18:00.000-05:00

On Beauty by Zadie Smith
Reason for Reading: Recommendation
Rating: 2/5

1 paragraph plot summary: This book is about the intertwining lives of the Belsey and the Kipps family. Howard Belsey and Monty Kipps, both college professors at opposite ends of the political spectrum, have long been enemies. But things become complicated. Howard's son, Jerome, a newly born-again Christian goes to intern with the Kipps and ends up falling in love with Victoria Kipps. Monty gets a job teaching at the same college as Howard, and their wives become friends. Kiki, Howard's wife, is trying to come to grips with the revelation that Howard cheated on her.

1 paragraph review: with all due respect to all of the awards this book has won, I was pretty much left cold by this book. It is a character study without much plot, and there were isolated passages that I thought showed extreme insight into the characters' lives and motivations, but I couldn't get too interested in any of the characters, and there was no resolution. None. Howard, who was in many respects, the main character, thought way too highly of himself. I liked Kiki, who is probably the most sympathetic character, but even so I was having trouble with the lack of a plot. I think what really brought it home for me was that when I was reading reviews, I kept hearing this book referred to as a comedy. I never really saw it as a funny read, and in fact, it was pretty sad throughout.

Should I read it? Maybe. It might be more to your taste than mine.

Middlesex by Jefferey Eugenides
Rating: 4.5/5
Reason for Reading: Recommendation from Nymeth I believe

1 paragraph plot summary: I'm going to just quote the opening line of the novel to clue you into what it is about: "I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkably smogless Detroit day in January of 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan, in August of 1974." This, like On Beauty, is a much-awarded, much-touted literary novel, but I had about the exact opposite reaction to this book. Also a book full of well-developed characters, I couldn't put this book down. Middlesex is undeniably about Cal, the narrator who discovers she is intersexed at the tender age of 14, but it is also about her grandparents, who began life as brother and sister in Greece but had become husband and wife by the time they arrived in America. It's about Cal's parents, Tessa and Milton, who open a chain of Greek-flavored hot-dog stands. It's about Cal's childhood living as a girl, and the events that lead up to her emergency room revelation. It's about the summer Cal fell in love. Middlesex is an engaging read that hooks you and doesn't let you go.

Should I read it? Yes, please do.

The Apprentice's Masterpiece by Melanie Little
Rating: 4/5
Reason for Reading: Interest in books set in Spain

1 paragraph plot summary: Set against the backdrop of fifteenth century Spain, when the Inquisition was just getting into full swing and religious intolerance was reaching new heights is the story of Ramon, who came from a converso, or formerly Jewish family, and Amir, a Muslim who is also forced to give up his faith to blend in with society. A drama about friendship and betrayal while living in turbulent times.

1 paragraph review: I wasn't sure what I was going to think about this YA novel, which was written in poetry form, about life during the Spanish Inquisition. But after a few chapters, I stopped even noticing the fact that the book was split up into verses, I was just drawn into the narrative of two boys who both must deal with prejudice. For anyone who has ever learned about the era of Ferdinand, Isabella, and Columbus with the glossed over idea that the fifteenth century was Spain's glory age, this book shines a light into the dirty underside. The wars that were financed by taking money, property, and land from so-called heretics (mostly Jews or those accused of being Jews for the most tenuous of reason), the devastation of the Muslim culture when the Moors were expelled... I could go on, but then I wouldn't leave anything for you to enjoy when you pick up this delightful little book.

Should I read it? Ignore the fact it's written in verse form. It's a powerful read none-the-less.

Happy 4th... May You Feel THIS patriotic

2009-07-04T15:37:00.005-05:00

I CAN HAZ PATRIOTIZM

The Sunday Salon: Zombies and Vampires and Other Awesomeness

2009-06-28T18:58:00.004-05:00

I never used to read books about zombies, nor did I ever watch zombie movies. Same thing with vampires. Books about supernatural creatures that either shuffled around in search of brains or who wanted to bite your neck were just never my cup of tea. Or so I thought. But then I started book blogging and my taste started seriously branching out. I used to just go to the book store and hit up the YA section without venturing out too much further, unless it was maybe the occasional sci fi read.

And you couldn't have gotten me close to the graphic novel section if you tried.

Oh how things have changed.

The first supernatural read I got into back in February of last year was Colleen Gleason's Gardella Vampire series, which I found definitely okay. Then I read Sunshine last April by Robin McKinley, in which the protag befriends a tormented vampire who doesn't want to eat people, but I didn't quite into it for various reasons. But what really got me interested into zombies was Max Brooks' World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War. Besides just being an amazing book, it was an extremely thought-provoking read, and like the best zombie flicks, a social commentary. I guess I had just never realized how awesome zombies/vampires are.

Then there was Vampyres of Hollywood, which was undeniably gory, but also undeniable fun. Vampires might be a blood-sucking menace to humanity, but they could be awfully sexy. I read the classic vampire novel I Am Legend, and was taken away by the story of the end of humanity. I have to of course mention the three Twilight novels I've read so far, but let's just say that sparkly and vampires should not be in the same sentence. Ever.

Let me mention, of course The Bloody Chamber, Angela Carter's short story collection. One of her stories, The Lady in the House of Love, is loosely based on Sleeping Beauty, and features, instead of a sleeping princess, a vampiress. A really creepy vampiress who feeds on anyone who wanders into her domain.

My first foray into manga was into a genre that has becoming increasingly enjoyable to me: supernatural creatures. Vampire Knight I and II, while ultimately not my thing, was an interesting introduction to manga, and I found myself really getting lost when I picked up the first two volumes of The Walking Dead. A series about life after the Zombie Apocalypse, it was recommended to me by a few different people. So far I'm really digging it because while it features of course, plenty of action, adventure and brain-munching fun, it is ultimately about a group of people, faced with difficult choices in a harsh world. It's about friendship, survival, and as post-apocalyptic fiction goes, it might be a lot of death and destruction, but hey, compared to The Road, it makes life during the Zompie Apocalypse seem like a day at Disneyworld.

So when I crunch the numbers, in the past 1 1/2 years, 14 out of the 135 books I've read so far have been zombie/vampire novels. Compared to the previous years, when my percentage of zombie/vampire novels read would have been... ummm... zero, 7% is pretty darn high. Anyone got more supernatural recs for me?

A Bloggy Survey

2009-06-27T20:37:00.003-05:00

I have SO many reviews to get to, but I'm just not in the mood, so I'm stealing this survey from eva instead.

1. How long have you been blogging?
Since January 2008

2. Why did you start blogging?
I decided to start blogging because I wanted a new hobby. I had no clue what I was getting myself into - I had never heard of book blogs or anything like that. I just started a blog and it evolved into what it is today.

3. What have you found to be the benefits of blogging?
A really really long wishlist of books that I've discovered thanks to so many awesome book bloggers. Making new friends. Actually making new friends is really the best part, because when I get recommendations for books, they aren't from some book reviewer for the NY Times, they are from someone who's opinion I've come to trust.

4. How many times a week do you post an entry?
About 3 posts a week.

5. How many different blogs do you read on a regular basis?
I've got about a hundred feeds in my reader, but I check some more than others, depending on which bloggers I've gotten to know better.

6. Do you comment on other people’s blogs?
All the time!

7. Do you keep track of how many visitors you have? Is so, are you satisfied with your numbers?I occasionally check my stats, but I don't really pay tons of attention to it. I don't care very much anymore. I feel that I get a good return on the time I invest in my blog.

8. Do you ever regret a post that you wrote?
Every once in a while when I post some fiction (which has been rare lately), I wonder if I am coming across as a big of an attention whore... look at meeee.... I want to be a writer!!! Lalala!!!

9. Do you think your audience has a true sense of who you are based on your blog?
Yes and no. I don't try to be any different online than I am in real life, but there are of course elements of me that don't come across online. Like the fact in real life I am more reserved than I think I come across online. But I am goofy, random, and I can get ranty/sarcastic, all of which I am on this blog.

10. Do you blog under your real name?
Kim is my real name and L is my last initial, so sure.

11. Are there topics that you would never blog about?
Oh yeah. I don't blog about where I work because hey I just think that's a dumb idea over all. I don't think I've ever blogged on politics, since it is such a polarizing topic and I didn't get into blogging to participate in flame wars (although I have to admit I reeeeally enjoy John Scalzi's brand of sarcasm on political issues).

12. What is the theme/topic of your blog?
Hmmmm.... I'd tell you but then I'd have to kill you.

13. Do you have more than one blog? If so, why?
The thought of trying to maintain more than this single blog makes me so exhausted I have to lie down now.

A Few More Thoughts on the FTC Ridiculousness

2009-06-26T21:09:00.004-05:00

One thing that kept coming to mind when I was blogging the other day about the new FTC proposal to start requiring bloggers to disclose freebies and other conflicts of interest: Is this some weird kind of joke? I couldn't put it better than eva:

"My first thought was beauty magazines...they don't mention that they're inundated with free products when they're recommending things. *rolls eyes* I think this is some kind of prank."

I swear, I had to google a few different reliable sources and I'm still waiting for someone to tell me I was ranting about an article originated by The Onion.

I really enjoyed some of the other comments and questions that people brought up. As Wendy points out:

"So here's a good question. If I get a "free" book and give it a negative review, how does that factor in? Do I have to disclose it was "free" if I didn't like it??"

Really, that seems to be the problem that the FTC has, is the positive reviews in exchange for free swag. But one solution for bloggers would be, I suppose to just pan everything you receive for free.

Some Ridiculousness from the FTC

2009-06-24T20:47:00.007-05:00

I receive ~~the occasional~~ a multitude of emails every day offering me an ARC of almost any type of book under the sun. If I agree, implicit in the agreement is that I will post a review of said book on my blog, and pretty pretty please we hope it's a positive review.

While free books are a pretty nice perk, my time has become too limited lately for me to quickly read and review the books I receive. I don't know if I'll like the book I receive. At the moment, I just don't need any extra obligations to feel I must finish a book I don't like, and since I can't really make any guarantee I'll finish reading the free book someone sent me, it just seems greedy to accept.

I still do have some ARCs in my tbr stack. Under some planned changes by the FTC, if I finish reading Strangers in Death by J.D. Robb and post a rave review on my blog, but fail to mention that hey, it was a freebie, they can go after me for failure to disclose a conflict of interest and making false claims.

The problem, according to the AP article, is that consumers go to the web for independent reviews, and doggone it, they are being deceived by tainted reviews in which the blogger has been given freebies.

"If you walk into a department store, you know the (sales) clerk is a clerk," said Rich Cleland, assistant director in the FTC's division of advertising practices. "Online, if you think that somebody is providing you with independent advice and ... they have an economic motive for what they're saying, that's information a consumer should know."

I feel very, very sorry that there are people who go on the internet for product reviews and think that any old yahoo with a blog is a trustworthy source of information. So really, we are going to get our panties in a bundle because PromQueen78 wrote OMG I found the most amazing dress ever at this awesome website www.promdress.com and you find out later that promdress.com paid PromQueen78 to advertise their website? I mean, there are a lot of other things PromQueen78 probably failed to disclose on her blog, like the fact she's actually a 45-year old man living in his parent's basement, trying to make a living online so he can quit his fast food job. Or the fact he has an extremely embarassing acne problem. Should we go after him for making the false claim she/he is actually an unrepentent nerd and not a hot cheerleader, like her/his profile claims?

OMG, it is the INTERNET people! What do you expect? That people are going to tell you the truth all the time??

There is indeed a place and a time for product reviews, but savvy internet users already know that you don't go to one review of a product and take it as the gospel truth. Let's say I want to know if Old Man's War by John Scalzi is worth a read. I might start by just googling "old man's war review". I come up with several reviews on www.sfreviews.net, Amazon and goodreads.com. If I specifically use the Google Blog Search function, I immediately pull up at least five different reviews by bloggers. Between all of these reviews, I discover that the consensus is that Old Man's War is a great read, and I conclude that it would like be a book I would enjoy as well. I buy the book, I read it, I'm happy. Later I find out that one of the bloggers received a free copy of Old Man's War and failed to disclose it. So what? For all I know, her opinion was still completely genuine. Maybe it wasn't. Who cares? I liked the book either way.

What it really comes down to is personal responsibility. I'm sorry but if you took PromQueen78's advice and hated the dress you bought, it isn't PromQueen78's fault. It's your's for buying it. It's the height of ridiculousness that we should be blaming anonymous people on the internet for giving you bad advice.

I don't disagree in theory that bloggers should disclose that they've received freebies. It's something I should and now plan to start doing here. But the way the article frames the issue is just plain silly.

"As blogging rises in importance and sophistication, it has taken on characteristics of community journalism — but without consensus on the types of ethical practices typically found in traditional media.

Journalists who work for newspapers and broadcasters are held accountable by their employers, and they generally cannot receive payments from marketers and must return free products after they finish reviewing them.

The blogosphere is quite different."

No really. The blogosphere is different from newspapers? Okay, let's break it down. Newspapers are held accountable to different standards because it's expected that they will print higher quality news than what they ate for lunch and a picture of their cat. Blogs are around to provide people a chance to network with other people. Some blogs are high in quality. Some are not. There will NEVER be a standard for blogs. That would be like saying there should be a standard for websites. Sorry, there will always be websites that suck.

And so far, I've been avoiding the bigger ridiculousness in the whole equation. What I really really want to know is if anyone told the FTC how many blogs there are on the internet. Because at this moment in time, the U.S. Government can barely handle recalling tainted food products, that you know... actually kill people. And they want to start regulating 50 million plus blogs for failing to disclose freebies? Really?

A Bunch More Reviews

2009-06-22T19:48:00.006-05:00

Bring on the mini-reviews!

Zel by Donna Jo Napoli
Reason for Reading: Once Upon a Time Reading Challenge, YA reading challenge
Rating: 4.5/5
One paragraph plot summary: In this retelling of the classic story of Rapuzel, Napoli delves deeply into the psyches of Zel and her mother. Zel, who suffers many years of imprisonment in a lonely tower by herself, teeters close to the brink of madness, while her mother privately justifies to herself why she has taken such extreme measures to hide her daughter away from the world.

One paragraph review: Although this is a fantasy novel, Napoli manages to portray in a very short amount of space the helplessness, the craziness that Zel feels while she is imprisoned in the tower. Zel finds herself making friends with ticks and roaches to pass the time. The character of Mother is slyly written; although unhesitatingly evil, she is the only character who is written in first person, and we sympathize with her just a little, despite ourselves. If the romance between Zel and her suitor seems a bit thin, well, it is a fairy tale after all.

Laika by Nick Abadzis
Reason for Reading: Graphic Novel Challenge
Rating: 5/5

One paragraph summary: With the soviets having recently won the first battle of the space race with their successful launch of Sputnik One, the soviet premier had a new goal in mind: a live space traveler. Based on the true story, this graphic novel is about Laika, a dog who was the first living creature in space.

One paragraph review: Oh my. Where to start. First of all, if you know any history of the space program, you already know Laika's eventual fate. I knew it going in, but I still found myself hoping against hope for Laika to somehow survive the journey. This book is about Laika, but it is also about the true historical people who worked on the mission and the conflict they surely must have felt about sending a small dog on a one-way mission. Laika walked a delicate balance of appealing to the reader's emotions without oversentimentalizing the story, and I think precisely because of that, I was bawling by the end. (Note: I do not cry over books). Highly recommended.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephan Chbosky
Reason for Reading: YA Reading Challenge
Rating: 4/5

One paragraph plot summary: The book is a series of letters written by a teenager who calls himself "Charlie" to an anonymous person who he does not know personally. Each letter is like a diary entry as Charlie, a freshman in high school, talks about what's happening in his life, and reflects on trying to fit in or remaining a wallflower.

One paragraph review: Charlie is a heck of a narrator. He's shy, bookish, and a bit of an outcast, although he begins to find a place with a group of seniors at his high school. Although he feels most comfortable experiencing life from the outside, his new friends and a friendly English teacher help him to step outside his comfort zone. Chbosky takes the reader through all sorts of difficult topics that high schoolers face, and I think everyone will relate, at least a little, to Charlie.

The Sunday Salon: Binging on Graphic Novels

2009-06-21T20:47:00.004-05:00

Hello fellow Saloners. I'm on a graphic novel binge and I can't seem to get off of it.

I know the first step is admit I have a problem. I do. Lately, I don't feel like reading big long books with lots of words when I can polish off three graphic novels in an afternoon. My library doesn't help. Boy does it ever not help. I have my library card activated at three different libraries to feed my binge.

I just want to feel like I'm accomplishing my reading goals. And maybe I just like looking at lots of really cool artwork too. I finished the Sandman series, I'm nearly done with Fables, so I've started two more series. Actually I'm about halfway through the Emma novels because I read three of them yesterday. The Walking Dead is good so far, although I had a terrifying nightmare last night involving zombies that I completely blame upon reading the first Walking Dead novel late at night.

I'm going to go back to denial and justification now. I just finished an extremely long non-fiction book, which was a lot of reading about an extremely serious topic (the nature of evil), so I can be completely justified in wanting to escape to Fabletown or Victorian England, right? Plus, I just found out that I am for sure going to be going back to school this fall, so I'll have to read lots of serious books then and I need to indulge now when I can, right? Right? Riiiiiight?

Saturday's Random Thoughts

2009-06-20T22:26:00.003-05:00

**Why... oh why does Friday drag on for at least three days and Saturday passes so quickly it's over before I've even noticed?
**I don't know why it is, but strawberries taste so good in mid-June
**Wait... how did it get to be mid-June again?
**TGFAC. That's Thank God For Air Conditioning. Ours broke yesterday and was fixed in a rather miraculous fashion. Because it's hot around here.
**Oh graphic novels... how I love to read thee on a hot summer's day.

Vampire Knight I & II

2009-06-18T20:20:00.003-05:00

Image by unforth via Flickr

Vampire Knight Volume I & II by Matsuri Hino
Reason for Reading: Manga Challenge
Rating: 2.5/5

Quick summary: At Cross Academy, there is a Day Class and a Night Class who interact independently... what the Day Class doesn't know is that the Night Class is made up of vampires. For Yuki Cross, adopted daughter of the headmaster, her earliest memory is of being rescued from a vampire attack by one of the vampires who now attends Cross Academy. She shares the duty of being a Guardian of the academy with her brooding friend, Zero, but finds herself unexpectedly drawn towards Kaname, the vampire who rescued her.

Quick review: The first volume kept me intrigued enough that I picked up volume II, but the things that annoyed me slightly in the first book ended up REALLY bugging me by the second book, so I don't think I'll be picking up any more. Yuki is an interesting character. What kept me interested enough to read two of the novels was her conflicted relationship with Zero. He antagonizes her like they are brother and sister, but there is an undertone of sexual tension to their friendship. Plus, there is a lot more to the pretty bad-ass Zero than meets the eye. However, in the end, let's just say that this manga novel reminded me too much of Twilight, with enough plot holes to sail a ship through. (Yuki's the adopted daughter of the headmaster... why do the two of them appear excessively frightened by their Night Class? And don't get me started on the uniforms, expressly designed to reveal the neck for purposes that must be obvious in a vampire novel). The final nail in this coffin, though, was the artwork. I was struggling to tell some of the vampires apart and the action scenes are so frenzied that I literally missed the most important plot point of the second volume because I just couldn't follow the action sequences. I even went back and looked at it later, and I still think it was confusing to follow.

Should I read it? Maybe. It looks to be a relatively popular manga series, and for all I know later volumes might redeem this series.

A Bunch of Fables Reviews

2009-06-17T09:30:00.002-05:00

The second of a bunch of reviews featuring a bunch of books. These reviews feature the Fables series of novels. For previous reviews I've written (and more in-depth analysis) check out this, this and this.

Fables: The Mean Seasons by Bill Willingham

Two sentence plot summary: Bigby actually served in the army back during World War II, but of course, it wasn't like his military service was ordinary or anything. Snow is finally ready to have her baby, but when the mother is a magical princess and the father is The Big Bad Wolf, things are bound to be complicated.

Two sentence review: Loved Bigby's WWII story. Liked could hug it.

Fables: Homelands

Two sentence plot summary: Lovable Jack gets himself a job in Hollywood producing films about... Jack. Boy Blue travels back to the Homelands and discovers the Adversary's true identity.

Two sentence review: Jack, who fades out of the next few novels, gets a last (and very entertaining) big bang in this novel. Blue is even more my hero than before.

Fables: Arabian Nights (and Days)

Two sentence plot summary: When the Arabian delegation of fables arrives in Fabletown for talks about uniting against the Adversary, cultural misunderstandings, skulduggery and other sorts of shenanigans ensue. Anything can happen when there's a Weapon of Magical Destruction on the loose.

Two sentence review: With Bigby off on his own and Snow at the Farm, I thought I would have trouble getting into this novel. Turns out that Beast, Beauty, Prince Charming, Frau Totenkinder and the Arabian delegation make for an interesting enough mix that I barely noticed Bigby and Snow's absence.

Fables: Wolves

Two sentence plot summary: Mowgli, who has been in search of Bigby for quite a while, finds him at last. Will he finally make right with Snow?

Two sentence review: I like Mowgli and all.... but get me back to the Snow/Bigby plotline. And seriously... there are some random politics inserted into this novel (comparing Fabletown to Israel) that I find weird.

Fables: Sons of Empire

Two sentence plot summary: The Adversary plots the downfall of not only Fabletown but our entire planet as well. Bigby spends time with dear ole Dad and they try to put Bigby's seven previous assassination attempts on his life behind them.

Two sentence review: Santa Claus' existence is finally explained... he's a Fable, protecting earth from invaders at the North Pole. And I totally want to live in Wolf Valley.

Fables: The Good Prince

Two sentence plot summary: Being a lowly janitor and all, no one's ever given Flycatcher a second glance. Turns out he's Fabletown's last great hope of winning the war against the Adversary.

Two sentence review: If there was an award for best prominent turn-around from minor character to major big time plot-changing main character, Flycatcher would be the one winning it. I have this sudden urge to go kiss frogs.

A Bunch of Sandman Reviews

2009-06-16T09:13:00.000-05:00

On account of all the computer annoyingness lately, I'm going to have to speed up my reviews, so here it is: the first of a bunch of reviews of a bunch of books.

Sandman: The Wake by Neil Gaiman
Reason for Reading: Duh, its Neil Gaiman
Rating: 3/5

Two sentence plot summary: The King is Dead, Long Live the King. Lord Morpheus, recently deceased, has a wake, and then a few more characters have some stories.

Two sentence review: The first half of the book, focusing on the wake, is anticlimactic and boring compared to the intensity that was The Kindly Ones, and the short stories afterward don't quite redeem this book. However, I still found myself enjoying the story about Robert Gadling, an immortal man who lived through the Middle Ages experiencing a modern Renaissance Faire.

Sandman: Endless Nights by Neil Gaiman
Rating: 2/5

Two sentence plot summary: You've always wanted to know more about Dream's dysfunctional family. Here it is.

Two sentence review: I did read this a while ago, but I can't recall a single plotline from any of the short stories about Dream's siblings without the aid of Google. Plus I was annoyed that the things I really wanted to know about his siblings... what happened to the first Despair... what made Delight turn into Delirium... they were only hinted at in the barest of ways.

AT LAST!!!

2009-06-15T19:48:00.003-05:00

I'm back online ya'll. The long internet-less nightmare is over at last.

All it took was replacing the RAM, motherboard, and reformatting my hard drive. Piece o' cake, man (insert sarcasm here).

I kept my cool with Dell pretty well if I do say so myself throughout the entire ordeal, but I NEARLY LOST IT when I sat down to FINALLY blog and found out my mouse driver had not been loaded when the tech reformatted my hard drive.

Distract me please from my withering hatred of all devices invented by Dell. How have you been since last we talked? Please tell me you had more exciting adventures than I.

Good luck needed

2009-06-03T20:01:00.002-05:00

I need your good luck. Mind sending it my way? The new laptop is DEAD and my hard drive is off for recovery of my files. Cell phone blogging will probably be intermittent. I MISS YA'LL ALREADY!!

The Bloody Chamber

2009-06-01T19:39:00.005-05:00

The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter
Reason for Reading: Once Upon a Time
Rating: 4/5

This is going to be a short review, because I am super-duper behind on reviews. Those of you who were up with me during the wee hours of the most recent Read-a-Thon might recall that the title story of Angela Carter's short story collection, read at 2 am, scared the beejezus out of me. It is a retelling of the Bluebeard tale, wherein a young, innocent girl marries an older gent with money and an unfortunate penchant for murdering his wives.

Other retellings in this collection include Beauty and the Beast, Puss in Boots, Little Red Riding Hood, and Beauty and the Beast. Well, not exactly retellings. Some are closer to the original fairy tales, but many of them are only loosely based upon fairy tale. All of the stories are dark, and they all are much more sexualized than your typical sanitized Disney retelling.

I really responded to some of her stories. The title story definitely creeped me out. Other stories made me think in a different way about the original tales. About the dark side of the tale. About who the heroes and the villains were. Other stories left me a little cold though. The language in all of her stories was complex, but for some of the stories, I just couldn't seem to break the surface of her dense vocabulary into the heart of the story.

Should I read it? If you like fairy-tales, you'd be missing out not to pick this one up.

The Sunday Salon

2009-05-31T10:15:00.006-05:00

Hello fellow Sunday Saloners. I haven't done a regular meme in such a long time due to busy-ness. But hey, here I am, and I'm going to blather on about books and stuff.

Actually before I get to books I want to talk movies. I just saw the movie Up last night, and I can't say enough good things about it. It was visually stunning, it had extremely well-crafted characters, and it had just the right amount of action, adventure, humor, and fun. The question in my mind as I left the theatre though, was, "Is Up even a kid's movie?" It's certainly marketed as one. However, during the course of the movie, I could hear a young one sitting a few rows behind me asking her mom every so often what was going on in the movie. During a 10-minute sequence at the beginning of the movie, we watch the main character, Carl Fredericksen, meet his wife and life out a full and happy life with her. They exerience the ups and downs of life. Saving money for a dream trip to South America, breaking into the savings to fix a tire. Settling into a house together. Longing for babies. Finding out they can't have any. And finally, Carl, sitting at his wife's bedside as she slips away.

It's a powerful sequence. My husband and I were both very moved by it, and I suspect many adult viewers will connect with that part of the movie as well. But for the majority of the audience, the entire thing would have gone over their heads.

Now, there are plenty of kid friendly scenes throughout the movie. Carl, who is facing life in a retirement home, attaches his house to balloons so he can fly away and visit Paradise Falls, the place he and his wife had longed to see. He ends up with an inadvertant stowaway in the form of a young Wilderness Explorer named Russell, and together they have a number of adventures. The kids in our showing really loved the dogs who could talk because of a translation collar, and the giant bird who follows Russell around. But most of the kids who watch the movie aren't going to grasp what made Carl decide to attach balloons to his house, or why he's so cranky.

It's interesting to me that with each movie, Pixar pushes the limits further and further of what an animated film can be. Their first movies were definitely kid's movies, except that they had enough plot and sophisticated enough themes that parents could enjoy them. But with movies like The Incredibles, where infidelity is a major plotline, and this one, it seems that Pixar is making movies for adults that kids can still enjoy. I will be interested to see what they come up with next.

Last night I also ended up watching I'm Not There, which is really hard to summarize other than saying its about Bob Dylan. Okay I'll try to explain it. Six different actors portray different aspects of Dylan's life and persona. Except that doesn't really capture how trippy and hypnotic the film is. I didn't actually know that much about Bob Dylan before watching the movie, so I just let myself sink into this movie and not try to "understand" it. Afterwards, I had to google Dylan's life and I could see the connections between how different parts of his life were portrayed by the various actors.

Most talked about (and deservedly so) is Cate Blanchett's performance as Dylan. Her appearance, her mannerisms, her rage are completely uncanny. It's almost eerie. Other portrayers of Dylan were Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, and (of all things) Richard Gere.

Having rewatched Walk the Line, the Johnny Cash biopic recently, it was interesting to compare the two. Both Cash and Dylan lived through similar eras, had similar struggles with fame, drugs, and bitter ends to their marriages. But the way each movie went about portraying their lives could not have been more different. Walk the Line is a very conventional movie, while I'm not There is so unusual, someone who didn't know that it was about Bob Dylan might think it was a strange movie with a lot of Dylan music in it.

Now that I've watched both of those movies, I really need to go listen to more of both Dylan and Cash. Maybe while I'm looking at their music on Amazon, I can start finding some new books to read, because I'm about to go to the library and return a big stack of books.

I have been reading. I know I haven't done many book reviews lately, but maybe I'll get to some mini-reviews this week.

Seriously... Is it Friday Yet?

2009-05-27T19:47:00.005-05:00

I know I just had a three day weekend for Memorial Day, but I. Want. Friday.

It isn't that I have any big plans. I just think that Wednesday should have the decency to skip right over Thursday to Friday. What say you? Should I start a petition?

Books I Done Dropped

2009-05-24T09:58:00.002-05:00

I've been awfully fickle lately with my reading choices. I've picked up a few books only to set them aside for one reason or another. All of these three books are from the library so I doubt I will be going back to them (unless I really get into the mood). Although I don't attempt to review books I don't finish, I thought it might be interesting to see which books I just couldn't get into and why. Here, in no particular order are my meh books of the week:

Zoe's Tale by John Scalzi. I don't know why I can't get into this one. I liked other of Scalzi's Old Man's War books. My husband had rave recommendations of this one. But I just couldn't get into it.

Away by Amy Bloom. Although I have read a few books I didn't enjoy for my IRL book club, this is the first one I set down with the determination there was no way I was going to finish it. The writing is very beautiful, but I just can't get into the characters. At all. Because of the way the book is written, I feel extremely removed from the inner workings of the characters.

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin. The concept totally sounded like something I'd love. A girl wakes up without any memory of anything past sixth grade and has to rediscover her life. Up to the point I've gotten to though, the characters seemed flat and the plot feels predictable. It doesn't help that this book reminds me a lot of The Adoration of Jenna Fox, a book I enjoyed from start to finish.

What books have you not been able to get into this week?

Apparently there is a dog underneath all that fur

2009-05-23T17:19:00.004-05:00

Wanna know a quick way to lose 5 pounds (sorry this only works if you are a tiny, cute ball of fluff AKA Cavalier King Charles Spaniel)?

Apparently all you need is a haircut. Now for the winter months, the long coat is great for things like leaving bits of yourself all of the couch, the carpet, and the bed, but in the summer, a more stream-lined look is called for. Less brambles and stickers to get caught on your coat. Lighter weight for the 90 degree days. Stylish, don't you think?

Tigerheart

2009-05-20T21:09:00.004-05:00

Tigerheart by Peter David
Reason for Reading: Once Upon a Time
Rating: 5/5

I will say this about Peter David. He has guts to take on a beloved children's story like Peter Pan. I don't know exactly what to call his book in relation to Peter Pan. Although it involves a good deal of the characters from the play/book, they are renamed. Peter Pan becomes The Boy, Wendy becomes Gwenny and so on. And furthermore, it doesn't really retread the events of the play/book, although it certainly echoes them. The main character in this (retelling? homage?) is a boy named Paul Dear, who has grown up with stories of The Boy, who likes to speak to the pixies in Kensington Garden, who sometimes dreams about going away to the Anyplace for adventures of his own.

Anyhow, I'm sure my description is extremely enlightening. Why don't I just get to the part where we talk about why you should read this book?

Okay. First and most importantly, the wholly enchanting style of the book. The omniscient narrator introduces us to characters with a small wink to the fact these are characters we already know and love. He (I feel safe calling him a he) is telling us a story, the type of story that one would tell a child at night just before dreams, and if sometimes the fourth wall is broken for the sake of dramatic effect, so be it. Here is a passage I particularly enjoyed:

Now – let us talk about the Irishman. It should be noted that the Irishman was a witness to all that transpired in Kensington Gardens. We made no mention of him at the time because it was really Paul’s business that was under discussion. The man would have intruded into the tale in a very noisy fashion; and he was disinclined to do so, because ultimately he is a rather polite sort, even if he does claim piratical leanings. So we respected his wishes and kept him out of the proceedings for as long as we reasonably could. But now we must clear our throat; tap on his virtual, if not literal, dressing room door; and bring him to center stage in order to proceed.

The Boy, although not the main character in this retelling, still remains a large presence throughout the book. Instead of coming across as stupid or pompous as he did in the Disney movie, in this book he is irrepressible, charming, and of course, cocky.

"Maybe. Or maybe I'm lying. I am after all, half brother to Coyote, the trickster god." The Boy always made boasts along those lines whenever his veracity was questioned.

The Boy and Paul Dear must eventually go on serious adventures together, but the cause of all their hardships in the first place is The Boy's own cockiness. Which seems fitting.

Should I read it? Only if you like to read really good fiction.

Library: An Unquiet History

2009-05-17T08:17:00.000-05:00

Library: An Unquiet History
Reason for Reading: Dewey Decimal Challenge
Rating: 3/5

I don't read nearly as much non-fiction as I should, thus the reason why I decided to sign myself up for the Dewey Decimal Challenge. The goal is to read a book from each of the hundreds. So a book from the 000's, the 100's, etc. This will be a fun challenge to pick out books for. I don't research ahead of time, I just go to the library and wander through the stacks and pick a book that draws my attention.

Thus the reason I arrived at Library. It must have been a daunting task to try and sum up several thousand years of history of libraries, so wisely, the book selects a few interesting examples from each era and doesn't attempt to give a comprehensive history.

This is probably just the fault of the reader, but certain parts of this book really stood out to me, and other parts put me to sleep. I kept expecting to be really interested in the portions about book-burnings in the early 20th century, but I just couldn't get into the facts and numbers without a story to grab onto.

However, learning about the library at Alexandria was fascinating. Of course I knew academically that there weren't printed books back then, put picturing in my mind a library made up of scrolls stacked together, only organized in the vaguest fashion struck my imagination. A person could wander around the library for years and still find little treasures here and there.

Also particularly interesting to me was the final chapter of the book, where the author introduces us to the concept of the geniza, a Jewish tradition where books and paper that had been worn out are pushed through a tiny hole into a storage area, or geniza. All writing was considered sacred because it might contain the name of God, so it had to be buried with care. Battles describes the geniza as the opposite of the library, because it contains all of the writings that weren't important enough to preserve. However, in 1890, when a geniza in Cairo was discovered, it of course shed the sort of light on the Jewish culture that no library can shed, because it revealed the everyday life of the people who lived there. Exercises, journals, notes, lists, lying in piles.

Should I read it? If you like libraries and don't mind a very academic read.

My Fracking Mirror

2009-05-16T08:46:00.004-05:00

I have been coveting my mother-in-law's little mirror for a while. It screws into the wall and is on a sort of hinge system where it can pulled pulled away from the wall, so it's really handy for putting on makeup. I had the chance to finally go to IKEA, where she had purchased it from, and pick up one for myself. One of my favorite things about IKEA is the funky Swedish names that they give to all of their products. My IKEA bookshelf isn't just a bookshelf, for example, it's a BILLY bookshelf. Our IKEA coffee table is the BENNO coffee table. And so on.

I am for some reason (it just might be watching too much Battlestar Galactica) I find the name of the mirror absolutely hilarious. It is the FRACK mirror. Now, to their credit, I doubt that the people who named this were aware that it is a swear word in a science fiction show. But STILL.

(Conversations heard around the Kim L household recently:)

Kim L: Sweetie, can you hang my fracking mirror this weekend?

Husband: Of course I can hang your fracking mirror this weekend.

Kim L: Because I really want to start using my fracking mirror as soon as possible.

Husband: Don't worry, I will get to hanging your fracking mirror. I'm going golfing, but I will squeeze out time to hang your fracking mirror.

Kim L: Oh good.

To Boldly Go Where We've Already Gone Before Except in a Totally Different Way

2009-05-12T19:54:00.006-05:00

WARNING: MILD SPOILERS AHEAD

Star Trek is a phenomenon. Even those of you who don't know a Cardassian from Talaxian can probably identify that guy with the weird eyebrows and the pointy ears as Spock. You can probably imitate William Shatner's... Kirk... like... dialogue... with its... many pauses....

Despite having been birthed long before the era of any significant ability to do special effects, Star Trek is one of the most popular science fiction universes in history. A dedicated Star Trek fan could probably spend every weekend of the rest of their life going to fan conventions, and they'd have trouble running out of aliens or uniforms to dress up in. And there are no shortage of dedicated fans. I recently watched the movie Trekkies and chuckled, along with the host, Denise Crosby (Tasha Yar), at the dentist who welcomes his patients to his Star Trek themed office, complete with costumed receptionists and a transporter pad. Or take Barbara Adams, who attained mild celebrity status for attending jury duty for the Whitewater scandal in her Star Fleet uniform. A woman who takes her role as Commander of her local Star Trek fan club seriously, Ms. Adams does not leave her house without her phaser or communicator, and even her coworkers refer to her by her rank; commander.

Or even take the example of the Star Trek-themed play I saw last Christmas. It was a take on The Christmas Carol, and the entire thing had been written in Klingon. A made-up language. That some people have actually taken the time to learn.

When you think about it, it is pretty incredible the number of fans and their dedication. Because let's be honest here. Star Trek does have it's not-so-shining moments. First of all, almost all of the series (with the exception perhaps of Enterprise) are old enough where the special effects range from down-right crappy to so-so. Then there's the hokey fight scenes, stiff dialogue and questionable science. All of these things fans have endured because they liked the characters and they liked the drama.

Each series has had its up and downs, but the movies have swung even more wildly from brilliant to gag-worthy. I am a huge fan of Star Trek, but I have only once been subjected to the mess that was Star Trek I and Star Trek V. Let us never speak again of the weird space cloud thing. But the Wrath of Khan? Khan ranks up there with some of the greatest movie villains ever invented, with his plastic-y chest and his mind-controlling ear worms. "Khaaaaan!!!!"

And there is of course, the cinematic brilliance that is First Contact. Thoughtful, action-packed, and genuinely scary, it is Trek story-telling at its best. But ever since then, the Star Trek movies have gone downhill. Insurrection tried to be light-hearted and it did entertain fans. Nemesis tried to be dark and it didn't especially please anyone. Then the remaining series, Enterprise was axed, and the King of Science Fiction was dead, or so it seemed.

Okay, maybe only mostly dead. Because now we have the first Star Trek movie in years with the potential to actually revitalize Star Trek and interest non-fans. When J. J. Abrams was picked to revisit the original crew of the Enterprise, he had two choices: bury the movie under the weight of 40 years worth of canon, or toss it all aside and made up completely new rules. Like Kirk's approach to the no-win scenario of the Kobayashi Maru, J. J. Abrams decided to cheat. He simply worked the space-time continuum until he could make the movie he wanted to make, canon be damned.

Despite the whining of fans, disregarding canon is not only a really good idea, but probably the only thing that could have made this movie worth watching. Because the canon was developed in the 1960's with a shoe-string budget, and slavish attention to the details of the original series would mean men wearing lizard suits posing as aliens.

Instead, we get the original series as the original series wished it could have been. Kirk is Kirk. He's a cocky skirt-chaser whose idea of a plan is to go into every fight with guns blazing. And Zachary Quinto disappears into his role as a young, not as emotionally-controlled Spock. Uhura gets a bigger, sassier role than she ever did in the original series as the significant other of a major character and as one of the skirts Kirk is interested in chasing.

For the actors given the task of interpreting iconic roles, enough room was given to give us the accents and the mannerisms without trying to completely carbon copy. Karl Urban gave us the gruff and gentlemanly Dr. McCoy perfectly, Simon Pegg was comic genius as Scotty, and John Cho got to show us Sulu's badass side.

The biggest overhaul in the movie, is of the Enterprise itself. Fans were skeptical when pictures were first posted online of the new Enterprise, but seriously, watch one of the original series episodes and tell me that the bridge didn't need to look a lot cooler. It's still the Enterprise, just a MUCH cooler Enterprise.

Okay, so the look and feel of this movie be too different from Wrath of Khan for some diehard fans, but what worked best about Trek is still here in spades. And even better, you don't have to understand all of the history of Starfleet to appreciate this action flick. Here's hoping they manage to make a sequel to this one that doesn't suck.

Lonely Werewolf Girl

2009-05-10T19:52:00.000-05:00

Lonely Werewolf Girl by Martin Millar
Reason for Reading: Once Upon a Time
Rating: 4/5

Kalix is a daughter of the royal MacRinnalch clan, and one of the most powerful werewolves ever born. But with being the youngest and all, she was a bit overlooked during her childhood, and after attacking and nearly killing her dear old Dad (thane of the clan) and all, she's been exiled from the clan. Practically feral, addicted to laudanum, and pretty much friendless, her life appears to be a short one until she runs into an unassuming London pair of flatmates, Daniel and Moonglow. Moonglow, who can't bear to see another living being in pain, instantly adopts Kalix, who isn't really sure she wants to be adopted.

But this book is about more than Kalix, although she is the titular character. The book is about Kalix's sister Trix, a werewolf clothing designer and her best friend, a Queen of fire elementals, Kalix's mother, the Mistress of the Werewolves, cross-dressing werewolves, vicious werewolves, wanna-be rock-star werewolves, and a war that erupts when Kalix's father finally does kick the bucket and leave the office of Thane empty.

There is a lot of fun to be had in this book. Kalix who is unsociable, rude, and suffers from deep anxiety problems, makes for an interesting lead character, as Moonglow works unflaggingly to try and socialize her into a decent human being. Thrix and her melodramatic best friend, Queen Malavera are a perfect duo, with Malavera going into hysterics about every few chapters or so. And despite all the converging characters and plotlines, this book moved along thanks to enough action and character development. Not many writers could juggle so many characters, and Millar does so relatively well. Until we get towards the end, when he does manage to wrap things up, but without tying up a lot of loose ends. There are some hunters chasing the werewolves, but their motives or methods are never well-explained. The sparks between Daniel and Moonglow, are just sort of dropped.

The book is lengthy, and although it does read fast, it could have used some pruning. Some of the plotlines honestly came to naught, and interesting characters were underdeveloped. When I researched online, it looked like there might be a sequel coming to this book, which I would definitely consider reading. Despite the mishmash of the end, I enjoyed it enough to consider reading more in the series.

Should I read it? If you enjoy urban fantasy, this might be a good one.

science fiction, science fact

2009-05-10T07:43:00.000-05:00

I'm going to see the new Star Trek movie sometime soon.

I've been kinda iffy as how enthusiastic I am about it, because I really love the shows and the previews haven't exactly inspired confidence. But the reviews have been pretty good, people I know have seen and liked it, so I'm starting to get a little more revved up.

With Star Trek on the brain, though, I just gotta mention I'm posting from my new cell phone. With the blue tooth thingy,the ability to surf the net, voice commands, email, games, and all the rest of the cool features of a smart phone, it seems more like a prop from a science fiction movie than an every day household item. Plus it is like a fraction of the size of a tricorder. Really the only thing left to do is make them capable of making medical diagnoses ("She's dead, Jim") and we're in the 23rd century.

The Book Thief

2009-05-06T20:00:00.003-05:00

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Reason for Reading: IRL Bookclub, YA Reading Challenge
Rating: 5/5

The Book Thief is not easy to review. It is, at heart, a book about the everyday life of ordinary Germans during World War II. Anyone who has ever read Holocaust literature from the Jewish point of view wonders... why the heck did all the Germans go along with the Nazis? Why didn't more Germans help Jews?

The Book Thief is about Liesel, a young, illiterate German girl who winds up living with a foster family in Munich when her mother can't care for her any longer. She becomes the book thief before she has even learned to read, stealing a book from the grave digger who buries her brother. With the Hubermans, Liesel finds a haven. Hans, a kindly soul, teaches Liesel how to read, and she developes an intense passion for books, even daring to steal one from a Nazi book-burning.

The book follows Liesel and her family as World War II is about to erupt, and it is, above all things, a character study. We follow the lives of Liesel's proud foster mother, Rosa, who shows her affection by swearing at Liesel; Max the Jewish fist fighter that the Hubermans hide in their basement; Rudy, Liesel's best friend who never gives up hope that one of these days he will ask Liesel for a kiss and she will finally say yes; the mayor's wife who lets Liesel read the books from her extensive collection.

Life in the wartime is stressful for everyone. The neighborhood must deal with hunger, poverty, the threat of bombings, and the consequences of not following along with the Nazi way. Although he isn't able to directly fight against the Nazis, Hans Huberman finds ways to resist, from painting over anti-Semetic slurs on a Jewish neighbor's door to feeding a few Jews on their way to a concentration camp, to hiding a Jew in his basement.

Liesel, for her part, becomes a voracious reader, and when she can get away with it, a thief of books and whatever she and Rudy can find to eat. Her afternoons are spent reading with Max, describing to him the weather outside

What sets this book apart from other Holocaust reads is the choice of the narrator. Death, a reluctant collector of souls, tells Liesel's story. He is big fan of lists, strong imagery, and telling us about tramautic events in the story ahead of time. This sounds kind of odd at first. Why keep reading if you already know which characters are going to die and what's going to happen? However, it kind of clicked for me when I noticed that one of the people who blurbed the book (in my edition anyhow) compared it to Slaughterhouse Five. An excellent comparison. In Slaughterhouse Five, Billy Pilgrim learns that time, and by extension, death, is an illusion. Everything that has ever happened is still happening. So as character after character dies, the only thing that needs to be said is so it goes. They died a moment ago, but two more moments ago, they were alive and will always be alive.

Similarly, this book takes a more distant perspective of death. Death, weary and in need of a vacation, collects souls, and watches the colors of the sky which are different with each death. Everyone will come to him eventually, so the death of various characters is not painful, merely inevitable. And by telling us ahead of time who is going to die, Death makes the passing of characters we have come to love become less painful.

I'm really not describing very well how much Death's voice added to this book and how much I enjoyed it. The story is told to us in a very basic, factual fashion, but then every few pages, Death inserts his own commentary. He tells us what the characters are really thinking, and why various events are significant. Anecdotes about what his job is like. The book often reads like poetry thanks to Death's unique voice.

Should I read it? An unequivocal yes. I usually avoid Holocaust literature like the plague due to the heavy subject, but this book managed to keep me absolutely glued to the pages.

Surprise!

2009-05-05T19:01:00.005-05:00

Hubby and I just got back from our "surprise vacay" today! (I planned it, he knew we were going somewhere, but not where). Pfew, we did a lot of stuff in four days. First thing to know is that hubby had no clue where we were going, so he had to pack for the mystery trip on only my vague guidelines.

I was very sneaky and had hubby convinced that we were going somewhere in our hometown of the Twin Cities. At this point, he had finally realized we were heading OUT OF TOWN, and it was looking like we were Wisconsin-bound.

Surprise! We headed to The Grand Geneva, a resort on Lake Geneva. While we were there, we basically did a lot of chilling. Hubby and I got a couple's massage and enjoyed walking around the lake. We had the chance to check out a few local dining spots.

Most importantly, we had some REALLY GOOD ice cream. I am particular about my ice cream, and I can say without hesitation that this was the GOOD STUFF. Mmmmmm... peach ice cream and black cherry ice cream, two of my favs.

There were more surprises, though. On day number three, I asked hubby if he wanted to go to Chicago for the day. This is a special place for us. One of our first trips together was to Chicago, and we have great memories of this excellent Spanish restaurant, Cafe Iberico. We always talk about going back there, but the opportunity hasn't presented itself yet. So we just got up, checked out, and left for Chicago. We had an amazing lunch at Cafe Iberico, but that wasn't the only thing in store for that day...

...One of hubby's fav teams to cheer on is the Cubs. He hails from Madison (we now live in MN) but has never had the chance to actually see the Cubbies play at Wrigley Field. Well... there just happened to be a home game that night, and I had tickets :-). So we got to watch them win 4-2.

Hither and Yon

2009-05-02T07:42:00.002-05:00

Hubby and I are setting off for destinations unknown today. He knows we are going somewhere, but he has no idea where. (Insert evil muah ha ha laugh here). Puppy is off to romp to his delight at the doggie day care.

What are your weekend plans?

Library Torture Part II

2009-04-29T20:18:00.003-05:00

Part I of my torture was knowing that some long-awaited library books were at the library, but the library was closed.

Part II was getting to the library. Not one of my best plans ever, but I tried going to the library after work. The original idea was to save time, but I ended up getting stuck for an hour in the suck that is downtown traffic.

Then Google maps directed me horribly, horribly off course. There was a street on the directions that doesn't even exist. Why, google maps, why?

At last I arrived and got my books and at last I got home and at last I got to settle into reading bliss. That's me in the pic above, reading Fables: The Mean Seasons. I've already chowed down on Sandman: The Wake so far. And I have three more graphic novels still waiting.

Is there anything better after a long day of fighting traffic than chilling out to read some long-awaited books? I didn't think so.

Library Torture

2009-04-27T19:38:00.002-05:00

I have six books waiting for me at the library. Three Fables and three Sandman novels, like my two favorite series. I had to specially order them at a different library, and the library closed today at 5pm, which is about exactly when I get home from work. Now, I can go get them tomorrow, when they are open later, but still...

I HAVE TO WAIT ANOTHER WHOLE DAY.

Boo.

In a Reading Mood

2009-04-24T19:55:00.002-05:00

Reading moods are such transitory things. Sure, there are a few types of books I can find myself in the mood to read almost anytime. Typically those books are fantasy books, or young adult novels, or both. I have to usually force myself to stop reading Sandman novels, or the Harry Potter books or anything by Sarah Dessen or John Green.

As for books not falling into the above categories, I need to be in the mood. Sometimes I really am in the mood for a mindless chick lit or a mystery or a biography. But sometimes I'm not. It's not you, I have to tell this novel that's just not piquing my interest. It's me.

Now, of course there are books I just genuinely don't enjoy and I could read the whole way through without ever finding a redeeming characteristic. I try not to dwell too long on them. Nor do I force myself into finishing them because hey, I've got a large tbr pile clamoring for my attention.

But it can be tricky sometimes to sort between books I'm not in the mood for and books I genuinely don't like. I sat aside On Beauty weeks ago as hopelessly boring and overwritten. Too literary. I picked it up again the other night when I was having trouble sleeping figuring it would put me right to sleep. Except that all of a sudden I loved the detailed character study, the analysis of a family in crisis. And when I got up the next morning I wanted to read more.

Maybe I need to go back to the list of books I didn't finish. Maybe I was unfair. Maybe my new favorite book is to be found in that stack. We'll see.

Hey, Thanks for Stopping By!

2009-04-22T09:14:00.000-05:00

Last weekend was my first ever Read-a-Thon and I want to give a special thank you to everyone who stopped by to cheer me on. I hadn't even signed up as a reader, so it was an extra special surprise to receive so many encouraging comments. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Violetcrush
Jessi of casual dread
debi nothing of importance
nymeth
stuff as dreams are made of
marg of reading adventures
melody's reading corner
trish's reading nook
vasilly
tanabata
bybee
fantaghiro23-coffeespoons
robin-my two blessings
eva-a striped armchair
nise-under the boardwalk
wendy-caribou's mom
lightheaded
oh
the curious reader
lezlie-books 'n border collies
jaye
tara-books and cooks
bethany-ex libris
scribacchina
betty and boo's mommy
wordlily
mjmbecky

Heat Lightning

2009-04-21T18:44:00.001-05:00

Heat Lightning by John Sandord
Reason for Reading: Friend's recommendation
Rating: 3/5

I figure it's about time to post another review and I feel wholly inadequate to review The Book Thief today, so I'm going to review this book instead. Hailing from the literary genus murderous mysteriosius, it is a quick whodunnit starring John Sandford's Virgil Flowers. A man winds up dead next to a veteran's monument in Stillwater, MN with a lemon in his mouth and Bureau of Criminal Apprehension detective Virgil Flowers is out to find out who's behind it.

I'm not much of a mystery reader, even less so of police procedurals. Wooden characters, overly witty banter and head-scratching twists and turns tend to turn me off. However, I did read through this one rather quickly for two reasons:

1. It was set in Minnesota, my home state. It was fun knowing all of the places discussed in the book.

2. I thought I might have figured out the mystery and I wanted to know if I was right (I was). For some people, it might be annoying to figure out quickly during the book what's going on, but it made me feel smart.

Should I read it? This book wasn't really my thing, but if you are a fan of police procedurals, you will probably enjoy it.

Read-a-Thon Wrap-up

2009-04-19T11:57:00.001-05:00

Here's what I've learned from the Read-a-Thon

Your eyes really do look like this after too much read-a-thoning
Winning rocks
Libraries rock too
Alcohol does not help with staying awake, but it sure helps with the loopiness
Don't read scary books late at night!
And cheerleading is awesome. Next time, though, I need to do more reading!

Hour 20ish

2009-04-19T02:29:00.001-05:00

Blogged? Nope
Visited? 30 blogs
Read? 48 more pages of Tigerheart. 188 pages total.
Challenged? Nope
Random observations of the hour:
Goodnight ladies and gentlemen, I've fallen asleep over my reading now and bed is beckoning.

Hour 18ish

2009-04-19T00:21:00.003-05:00

Blogged? Nope
Visited? Nothing since last update
Read? Okay I just picked THE CREEPIEST little story to read, right around the midnight hour when I'm most prone to being creeped out. 40 pages of The Bloody Chamber. 136 pages total.
Challenged? I think I'm going to have to sit out the challenges. Too exhausted. Except maybe they'll distract me from the creepy story I just finished.
Random observations of the hour:
Why oh why did I pick a creepy story to read at this hour? It is late at night, which is the time when the true confessions always come out, so here's mine.

I have an irrational fear of the dark.

It is COMPLETELY irrational. And I get creeped out easily. I avoid scary movies, not so much because they scare me at the time (although they do), but because as I'm driving home from the theater, I'm driving home in the dark thinking about the movie, and all the creepy things in the darkness. And then I get home and it's dark, so I have to turn on every light in the house, but I'm totally convinced as soon as I flick the light switch on, the light is going to reveal something that shouldn't be there. And then I turn off the lights behind me, and then when I'm in bed, I'm thinking about what could be lurking around my bedroom.

If anything, this weird quirk of mine has gotten worse since childhood. Because it is normal to be afraid of the dark as a kid. It is a little weird when one is nearly twenty-five.

Late night creepy reading has that same effect, and now hubby has gone to bed and even my faithful puppy is in his kennel asleep. So now, faithful readers, the only thing standing between me and totally creeped-out-ness is your company. I'm off to do some cheerleading!

Hour 16ish

2009-04-18T22:46:00.003-05:00

Blogged? Yup, here and there.
Visited? 48 blogs
Read? Nope, but I'm going to settle into some reading now.
Challenged? Completed the mid-event survey.
Random observations of the hour:
Other people have been posting pictures of their food and I'm getting hungry right now. I think I'll go get a snack and then dig into my reading. A good book can keep me awake late at night, I just have to find the right book, the right place to sit and a good snack. I think my second wind is going to come now that I feel the accomplishment of having visited every Read-a-Thoner.

I've noticed my words become much more disjointed the tireder I get. Anyone else?

Mid-Event Survey

2009-04-18T22:15:00.002-05:00

Needed a break from blogging, so here it is. My answers to the mid-event survey:

1. What are you reading right now?
I'm reading Tigerheart by Peter David. Good book but I'm getting tired so I might have to switch it up soon.
2. How many books have you read so far?
This is my first one.
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon?
Let's be honest. Here's what I'm looking forward to: bed.
4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day?
I didn't make special arrangements, but I wish I had. Still, all things considered, it worked out pretty well.
5. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those?
Interruptions I've had so far were self-imposed. Took a nice hike and got badly sunburnt. Went grocery shopping and such.
6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far?
How quickly it has gone past!
7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
Please, take it from me, after cheerleading most of the day, TURN OFF THE VISUAL VERIFICATION. Thank you. I want to comment on your blog, and that is not helping me. Also, it crossed my mind that maybe cheerleaders could take a section of blogs and try to visit them repeatedly. I doubt I will be able to check many blogs more than once, considering how many people are participating this year.
8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year?
I would do more reading. I wasn't sure how much time I'd have to commit, so I decided to cheerlead. Next time I'll do more reading, as I see I'm not the only one with limited time.
9. Are you getting tired yet?
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?
Take breaks by going outside! That is, if the weather's nice. Otherwise, pace your dwelling to work up some energy.

Hour 15ish

2009-04-18T21:37:00.003-05:00

Blogged? Very, very little
Visited? None this time
Read? Yay, 96 pages into Tigerheart
Challenged? No minichallenges at the moment.
Random observations of the hour:
Reading is moving right along with the consumption of adult beverage. Tiredness beginning to set in. Need to visit more blogs.

Hour 13ish

2009-04-18T19:11:00.000-05:00

Blogged? Very, very little
Visited? 62 blogs
Read? Absolutely nothing so far
Challenged? OH YES. Participated so far in Love Your Library Mini-Challenge and Books to TV Crossover Minichallenge
Random observations of the hour:
Methinks I need an alcholic drink to celebrate my accomplishment of visiting and commenting on 62 blogs in the past few hours. And something un-Read-a-Thon related. And I need to actually read something. Be back soon!

Mini-challenge: Books to Movie crossover

2009-04-18T16:56:00.000-05:00

At Secret Dreamworld of a Bookaholic, this hour's challenge is:

Now, what I want you to do for the mini-challenge is to search your memory for books and book series that might also work as a TV series. Which are they, and do you already have some actors in mind for them? (If so, you might even post links to a photo of the actor!)

Now think about the movies or TV series you've watched. Which of them would you read as a book as well? What are they about and what genre would they be?

And finally, think about the books that have already been made into a movie or a TV series. And what about those movies and TV series that were made into a book?

The first question is an easy one. The Sandman series by Neil Gaiman begs to be made into a TV series. Maybe not some of the middle novels, which are more short-story collections than anything, but "Preludes and Nocturnes" and "Doll's House" would make a TV miniseries. I can't imagine who would make a good Dream. Anyone have a good idea?

As far as which TV series would be good as books, if there are not Battlestar Galatica novels already, I think it is a series that would be ripe for spin-off novels. Especially if they were written in the Battlestar Galactica universe, but about characters that the novelist creates. Or else some of the minor characters. It would be interesting to explore how the ordinary people in the fleet live on a day to day basis.

Love Your Local Library

2009-04-18T16:22:00.001-05:00

Although I missed the "Take A Walk" mini-challenge due to (ironically enough) being outside on a walk, I want to brag a little bit about the beautiful weather. I live in Minnesota, which is known for two things:

1. Snow
2. Snow

It seems to snow here for about most of the year, and then it turns into summer, which is preferable, although the summers here are extremely muggy. When we Minnesotans are very, very lucky, there is occasionally a season called Spring when it gets sunny, about 70 degrees out, and there is just enough breeze to keep it from being hot. It doesn't happen every year. In fact, right around this time last year, I was complaining about a snowstorm. Today, we have Spring. It typically lasts for about a week, but I have high hopes for this year. Last year's winter lasted so long, I think that Nature owes Minnesotans a Spring.

Back to Read-a-Thon stuff. The Love Your Local Library mini-challenge is great, because I do love my local library.

1. What is the name of your local library? What city is it located in?
It is called R.H. Stafford Library, or as most people refer to it, the Woodbury branch. I live in Woodbury, MN

2. How often do you go to the library? If you're a regular, do the staff know you?
I am a regular, but I doubt the staff know me. It is a large branch, and they have self-check out machines, so my only interaction with the librarians is when I buy books from their little sale shelf or once when I had to call about a book I had returned but was still listed on my account.

3. Do you browse while you're there or just pick up items you have placed on reserve?
A little of both. I spend more time picking up items I've reserved, because I typically am hunting for a particular read, however I do enjoy browsing when I can.

4.What is your favorite thing about your local library?
My library is extremely nice, and it is located next to the Y, which is where I work out. I can kill two birds with one stone... working out and picking up books.

Back!

2009-04-18T15:55:00.000-05:00

Back from the outdoors. Hubby, puppy and I hiked for about three hours or so and enjoyed the MN sunshine. Now its back to cheerleading!

Catch Ya Soon

2009-04-18T11:34:00.000-05:00

Okay I can't resist the outdoors too much longer, so I'm off to enjoy Minnesota's beautiful (for once) spring weather! Catch ya'll in an hour or two.

Hour 5ish.... I WON, I WON!!

2009-04-18T11:00:00.000-05:00

Blogged? Very, very little
Visited? 50 blogs. Whew!!!
Read? Absolutely nothing so far
Challenged? I did the intro post and I WON!!! OMG, I am so excited. My first read-a-thon and I won a prize!
Random observations of the hour:
I think being a cheerleader is about the awesomest. I don't take as much time as I should these days to visit new blogs. This is a great way to meet more bloggers!

Introducing Me!

2009-04-18T09:35:00.000-05:00

Here's my introduction post for the Read-a-Thon

I'm reading/cheering from SUNNY Minnesota. Yes, folks, I'm sacrificing 70 degree weather to read and blog inside.

I have no idea how many books are in my pile. I'm just going to be picking from my tbr stack and I'm going to make a library run later today.

My goal for the Read-a-Thon is to do a little reading, do a little blogging and GET DOWN TONIGHT!

I'm not a veteran, I'm a first-timer, so all I've got to say is I'm superexcited.

EDITED TO ADD:

In my enthusiasm, I missed the part about 3 facts about myself. So with no further ado, here are three facts about myself:

I am originally blonde, currently brunette.
My biggest grammatical pet peeve is when people misuse apostrophes
My two loves in life are my hubby and my puppy.

Begin the Read-a-Thon!

2009-04-18T09:10:00.001-05:00

Bring it on! I'll be up ALL NIGHT LONG. Til my eyes look like this!

Good Things

2009-04-14T21:09:00.000-05:00

I was having a kind of annoying day when I got home today and I had two things waiting for me from fellow bloggers.

The first was this lovely postcard, sent to me by the equally lovely Becca, for no other reason than she had beautiful postcards and wanted to mail them out to people who would enjoy them. Thank you Becca!

The second thing I first saw when I was scrolling through my Google Reader. My name, mentioned on Aaron's blog (That's The Book). It turns out that my comment on his blog was comment #500 and he has a prize ready for the person who left comment #500. Better yet, the prize is a book I had already been coveting from his recent review. So thank you Aaron for Ghost World!

Seriously, this was a good day for me to get some encouragement. Thank you to all!

Oh No You Did Not, Amazon

2009-04-13T09:30:00.000-05:00

This isn't the first time I've heard of disgusted bloggers switching to other booksellers because of something unsavory Amazon has done. But really, Amazon... what were you thinking?

Censorship is the last thing we need from you Amazon.

24 Hour Read-A-Thon

2009-04-12T19:47:00.000-05:00

One of the great things about finally catching up on your blog reading is that you suddenly realize that exciting things, like the 24 hour Read-A-Thon are coming up, like, really soon.

I've been busy for the last two Read-a-Thons, so I'm going to ease my way into this one by cheerleading. Maybe a little reading if there is any time, but I suspect between visiting other bloggers and minichallenges, there won't be much time at all.

Who else is getting excited about the Read-a-Thon?

Who Needs Plural Marriages When You Can Have Plural Clothing?

2009-04-11T22:06:00.000-05:00

When you and your loved ones are so close, so tight, you literally want to dress in the same clothes at the same time, your only solution up until now was to buy a really oversized sweatshirt and stretch out the neckhole. But thanks to Pantalaine.com, you can wear plural clothing in style.
I know, you've always wanted to be adored, why not make it easy with sweat pants that have the arms of your adoring herd already attached?

Do your daughters fight over clothes? No longer a problem, since they can both wear this lovely shirt with add on patches. But will they manage to agree on which patches to use??

All for one, one for all. It worked for the Three Musketeers. Why not for you and your best three buddies? Eating lunch might be a little awkward, though.

You and your sweetie can't bear to be apart? With Pantalaine's special sweatshirt, there's no longer any need. Together forever.

Memoirs of a Geisha

2009-04-08T17:39:00.000-05:00

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
Reason for Reading: IRL Bookclub
Rating: 4/5

Memoirs of a Geisha is a lyrical and intoxicating peek inside an exotic world where woman who are not quite prostitutes entertain Japan's most powerful men. Sayuri, the main character, grows up in a poor fishing village but at the age of nine is sold into servitude at an okiya, a geisha house.

Life in the okiya is far from easy. Far from her parents or her sister, Sayuri must contend with the bitter jealousy of another geisha, Hatsumomo, a cold and calculating okiya owner, and long days of chores with little food. One day, Sayuri finds herself crying in the street when she meets the man who changes her life, the Chairman. He shows her kindness by giving her a coin to buy the first sorbet she's ever had in her life. That day, she falls in love and determines that she will become a geisha so that she can be a part of his life.

This book completely grabbed my attention. I was drawn in by the delicate, lyrical writing, the setting and the details. Somehow Golden manages to teach about a vastly different world without ever seeming to inundate the reader with historical facts. I was especially interested to learn, for example, that the elaborate hairstyles that the geisha wore were so expensive and time-consuming that they only went to the stylist once a week or so. To preserve the style the rest of the week, they slept with their neck elevated on a special pillow.

The only reason I rated this lower than five out of five is because I found my dissatisfied by the ending. Sayuri spends her entire life wishing she could be with the Chairman, but we see hardly anything of him throughout the book. Instead the male character Sayuri spends the most time with is Nobu, the Chairman's business partner. Nobu loves her, and in fact protects her when Japan goes to war, but Sayuri yearns to spurn his affections. I kept waiting for a particular ending to this threesome, but it went a different (and in my opinion rather saccharine) direction.

Should I read it? Do you like good writing? Then yes.

Confessions of an Aspiring Writer

2009-04-07T17:08:00.000-05:00

When I was cleaning some stuff out of my parents house not too long ago, I dug up a big stack of notebooks, papers, and diaries I had written in my childhood. Wow. I really wrote some... interesting stuff. In the interest of poking fun at myself and introducing you to the person who would someday become me, I give you... a random sample of my writing as a teenager.

The Newest Fad: Drinking Blood

It's been scientifically proven that blood is essential to your health. 99% of the two scientists and one gym teacher we asked agreed with us.

We asked our expert on circulation, the postmaster general, what he though. "People should get more blood," he said. "I deliver magazines that talk about people who drink blood and have cancer cured."

We next interviewed another expert on blood, a guy who studies vampire bats. When asked about humans drinking blood, he offered us this advice: "If bats drink blood, why shouldn't humans? It keeps your iron level up and helps fight disease."

We asked an extensive amount of people, and they all agreed. Drinking blood is the new way to stay healthy.

Through some serious forensic evidence, I have deduced that I wrote the above piece my freshman year of high school and I have a vague memory it was for a class assignment. I seem to recall that the project involved a picture of the Pope smoking a joint. That is all.

Sandman VI, VIII, IX

2009-04-06T15:21:00.000-05:00

Sandman VI, VIII, and IX by Neil Gaiman
Reason for Reading: Graphic Novel Challenge, Dream King Challenge, for the love of Neil Gaiman

The sixth Sandman graphic novel, Fables and Reflections is a series of short stories similar to Dream Country and World's End. While most of the tales don't add to the main plotline, like all of Gaiman's graphic novels, there are characters, plotlines, and details that come from previous storylines or will play into future storylines. One of my favorite stories is Three Septembers and a January, a tale that sounds too fantastical to be true... except that it is a true story. Joshua Abraham Norton, a failed businessman moves to San Francisco and declares himself the Emperor of the United States. He prints his own currency and publishes his royal decrees in the newspaper. Thanks to Gaiman, we at last learn the behind the scenes story, which involves a contest between Desire and Dream.

Other stories include Orpheus, which introduces us to Dream's son and sets up the background for the next major plotline and a number of other fairy tales and myths. Fairy tales, Roman emperors, mythical cities, and the French Revolution are just a few of the dazzling number of settings.

Next up is Brief Lives, where Delirium convinces Dream to help her search for their missing brother, Destruction. The Endless have been introduced previously, but in this novel we finally get a more satisfying look at their lives, their realms, and their sometimes dysfunctional relationships. Previously, I had not cared much for Delirium, but in this novel as she leads Dream on erratic and (to his mind) pointless search, I started to really warm up to her. She has a knack for misadventures and for saying the wrong thing at the right time. Also, interesting is Gaiman's portrayal of Destruction as a kindly soul weary of his duty, taking up art in his retirement.

This novel starts as a kind of a lark, a buddy adventure between the free-spirited Delirium and the straight-laced Dream, and takes a more serious turn as the people around them start dying. Dream, who at the beginning of the series was remote, cold and willing to let humans die without a second thought, has evolved to a point where he is more in tune and sympathetic with humanity. Determined to make their mission succeed so that their human companions will not have died in vain, Dream finds himself making a choice that he knows will possibly lead to his own destruction.

Between Brief Lives and The Kindly Ones, is World's End, which I had previously read and reviewed here.

And finally, we arrive at The Kindly Ones, the climax of several loose plotlines that we've been following since the first few novels. Over the years, Dream has managed to accumulate a number of beings with grudges against him. In this novel, several of them come together to carry out their revenge. Lyta Hall, who had once, with her husband, attempted to fill the void left when Dream was imprisoned, knows that Dream had claimed her son, Daniel. When she comes home and finds her son missing, she immediately latches onto getting revenge and seeks the help of the Furies, empowered to bring destruction to those who have spilt family blood.

Dream is not necessarily innocent. He has, by the decisions made throughout the course of the series, caused the events of The Kindly Ones. He has spilt family blood, although it was a mercy killing. He did claim Lyta's son, although it wasn't him who kidnapped her. Dream knows his responsibility, and his actions to save himself and his kingdom become increasingly half-hearted. At last, the novel ends with Dream and Death sitting on a desolate peak together, talking about everything and nothing at the same time. Death is my favorite character of the series, and the exchange between the two as Dream finally accepts his fate is heart-renching.

Should I read it? You'd be missing out if you didn't.

Once Upon a Time...

2009-04-05T21:09:00.000-05:00

I joined a bunch of reading challenges and kind of sucked at completing them. But you know, then I join another one. Because, well, I'm a glutton for punishment.

I don't have a list. Not even close. But I'm joining anyhow. Got any good recommendations?

I Thought This Was a Book Blog...

2009-04-05T13:34:00.001-05:00

So where the heck are the book reviews lately, huh? I have actually been reading, just not so good at reviewing.

The situation has not been helped by my new computer crashing on me. Or our internet temporarily being non-wireless. It isn't really that bad. I could sit in this one particular spot in the apartment, hook up the cable from our modem and voila, internet again. And it seriously is temporary. Our router is in transit. But I've gotten kind of lazy about it. Because I want to sit wherever I want to sit and have connection to the internet.

Man, it really wasn't that long ago that the internet was like super new and super cool and I'd be willing to sit and watch a webpage take three minutes to load because of dial up. Even more recently, when I first went to college, the dorms were not wireless and so if you didn't set up your desks exactly right (which my roomies and I didn't), we had to switch who got to plug in the DSL cord to use internet.

Now the thought of using anything less than wireless is... shocking.

Anyhow, I just finally updated my reading list and never you fear. Book reviews are on their way. Soon to come are reviews of Sandman VII-IX, Memoirs of a Geisha, The Book Thief, and Heat Lightning.

How To Know Your Blog Is Cool

2009-03-31T08:24:00.000-05:00

While I was out there was apparently a discussion on what makes book blogs worthwhile and what makes them lame. There are lots of people who wrote lots of interesting things about it, so all that I want to add is...

I know I'm cool.

Because I've started getting spam comments.

I never used to get them. But someone's decided that my blog is a great place to dump a bunch of random links. I don't want to add the dumb blogger visual verification and I am too technologically illiterate for the cooler options, so for now I'll just be deleting them by hand.

Holy Schmoly

2009-03-30T19:27:00.000-05:00

Scrapbooking!
I have had a busy couple of weeks. Tonight is the first in probably two weeks I've sat down to do some serious writing/blogging. I got back from my vacay just in time to pack for a weekend scrapbooking retreat.

And we did some serious scrapbooking. And some serious movie watching. We watched a total range of movies, from Tropic Thunder to Twilight. Office Space to Love Story.

I did get some stuff done.
I've been so good about scrapbooking this year, I might even get... (wait for it) TOTALLY CAUGHT UP. Holy Schmoly.

Try not to get too excited for me. Seriously.

Back From Arizona

2009-03-25T19:49:00.000-05:00

Arizona was grand. Compared to 30 degrees and lower here in the Minnesota, the sunshine sure felt nice. Hubby and I went to visit grandparents living in Green Valley, AZ and we decided we want to skip the whole career thing and go straight to being retired. As my grandma puts it, "the worst part is that you always forget what day it is." Because without the 9-5 routine, who cares when the weekend is? You just do what you want when you want. Have a craving for ice cream at 10am on a Monday? Go for it. Drive past a garage sale sign and have an itch to stop? Go get some bargains. Wanna shop all day in the tourist traps? Done. Sit up all night watching the stars? Hey, in Green Valley everyone has special lights to cut down the light pollution.

So we visited a mine (the large tire we're sitting on is from one of the enormous trucks they use in the mine), went horseback riding, hiked in the desert, ate Mexican food and drank Mexican beer. And bought Mexican trinkets.

Oh yeah, we visited Ruby, Arizona, population 1. It's a ghost town tucked away back on a very long, very windy, very dirt road. The kind of road where you tell yourself there better be something pretty darn cool at the end to make the trip worthwhile. Luckily it is just about the coolest thing we did all week.

Some things I learned about Arizona:
1. With fair skin, it is possible to turn the color of a lobster
2. Walking sticks are used not only for walking but for checking to make sure you don't step on a rattlesnake
3. Abandoned mines make great bat caves.
4. 70 degrees is long sleeve shirt and jacket weather
5. The desert is hot.
6. Cowboy hats are not just decoration. They are kind of a necessity to keep the sun out of one's eyes.

How about you? How was your week while I was gone?

Marketing FAIL

2009-03-16T20:09:00.000-05:00

The Sci Fi channel will now become the SyFy channel.

Yes.

The SyFy channel.

There are no words.

Seriously.

I know that the Sci Fi channel has produced very little as of late that could be called science fiction. But really.

Really??

You couldn't come up with anything more clever than substituting different vowels? Did you all get together, have a little too much wine and decide around 2am that this was a smart idea? When you woke up in the morning with a hangover, that should have been your cue.

Oh sci-fi channel. You used to be cool.

On Why You Should Always Google Yourself On Occasion

2009-03-15T22:15:00.000-05:00

I googled myself tonight and realized that I was an honorable mention in a writing contest I had entered a few months ago.

OMG, right?

Except... this should not have been news to me. The announcement of the winners was made several weeks ago, and I actually looked at the website back when the announcement was first made, to see if my name was mentioned anywhere.

I am apparently blind.

My name was there the whole time. I completely missed it. And I would not have realized about being an honorable mention if not for googling my name.

Wow. I feel really dumb. And really happy. Because I won a prize thingy!

So the moral of the story is to google your name.

Go ahead, google it. I'll wait. I'm basking in the glow of success.

Back already? So, what did you find?

The Name of the Wind

2009-03-15T20:11:00.000-05:00

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Rating: 4.5/5
Reason for Reading: Recommendation

The Name of the Wind is a book that somehow manages to incorporate some of the most infamous and overused cliques of fantasy writing while managing to be something so different that it doesn't read as fantasy at all.

Kvothe has led such a famous and heroic life he's become the stuff of legends during his own lifetime. Now in hiding as an innkeeper at an obscure village, it seems that he's left his old life behind. That is, until a Chronicler comes to town looking to write the story of Kvothe's life. Reluctantly, Kvothe agrees.

From his life among the traveling Edema Ruh to hardscrabble life on the streets after his parents are mysteriously mudered, to becoming the youngest student at the University, Kvothe's childhood (this book, one of a planned trilogy, follows Kvothe until he is in his mid-teens) is nothing if not eventful. From a young age, Kvothe knew that he was talented. At science, at acting, at playing the lute, and most of all, at magic.

The university that Kvothe attends is one that teaches magic, but it has as much in common with Harry Potter as Twilight does with I Am Legend. That is to say, as he struggles through classes, professors, bullies, and poverty, his world seems like one that may have very well existed, tucked away somewhere in the Middle Ages. By the time he enters the university, Kvothe is already proficient with sympathy magic, or binding together energies, but he longs to learn the power he once saw his possess. The power to name, and thus command the elements of nature. He wants to know the name of the wind.

A thoughtful, engaging book that doesn't really fit into the pattern of any other fantasy books I've read before, I recommend this one to fans of the genre. Although a lengthy read, the pages fly by.

Sandman IV & V

2009-03-12T20:44:00.000-05:00

Sandman IV: Season of Mists & Sandman V: A Game of You by Neil Gaiman

In earlier novels, it was revealed that Dream had banished his one-time lover, Nada to hell, where she had languished for 10,000 years. In Season of Mists, prodded by his siblings, Dream decides that the time has come to free her, even though Lucifer had threatened to kill him not too long ago. When he gets to Hell, though, things are not what he expected. I don't want to give any more away than that, but this is an entertaining novel that gets back into the story arc of the first two novels.

Like the other Sandman novels, this one introduces a short story in the middle that seems unrelated at first, but turns out to be set during the drama of the rest of the novel. Although a little creepy, it ends up happy (happy-ish?).

This novel also sets up some interesting characters that ultimately play a part in later novels. We meet Dream's entire family, Death, Despair, Desire, Delirium, and Destiny, and they all have a nice family dinner. Okay let's admit it, they are pretty dysfunctional. Nearly immortal beings with completely different aims, and age-old rivalries do not a good dinner party make.

We also get to meet quite a few gods, goddess, and beings of the mythological variety. Again, they make for interesting company hanging out together in Dream's Castle. Part of Gaiman's brilliance in this series is imagining how all these bizarre characters would look like and how they'd react to one another.

A Game of You on the other hand, while incorporating a few characters from previous novels, is very separate from the rest of the Sandman story arcs and actually does not focus much on Dream at all. Barbie, who was introduced in The Doll's House, has stopped dreaming. But her life begins to take a strange turn when a giant creature that she seems to half remember from her dreams calls her name on the street and tries to warn her of something before being shot to death by policemen.

Barbie quickly finds herself caught up in a conspiracy she could never have imagined. Pulled away into the Dreaming, she encounters a world where she is princess and her loyal subjects are in hiding from an evil creature called the Cuckoo. Barbie's friends, Hazel, Foxglove, and Wanda, all waking from horrible nightmares, realize that Barbie has fallen into a sleep she won't wake from. Their neighbor, Thessaly, who is, as it turns out, a witch, offers to help. She helps them all enter the Dreaming in order to find Barbie and bring her back from the clutches of the Cuckoo.

This novel is not nearly as expansive as most of the Sandman novels, but it is a nice change. I enjoyed the characters, especially Thessaly. Although she does help Barbie's friends look for her, she is willing to do it in the face of extreme consequences. She is motivated by revenge and even dares to defy Dream when he finally does make an appearance.

Two excellent additions to the Sandman series.

Should I read it? Do you like Neil Gaiman? Then why the heck haven't you read them already?

Why Yes I Read Eclipse

2009-03-10T18:43:00.000-05:00

AKA the most poorly written book I couldn't put down. Why, why, why Stephanie Meyer do you have to rob me of sleep with your group of angsty werewolves, vampires and klutzy teenage girls? Okay, here's my review:

"Please, I need you." I didn't want to say this, I didn't want to believe that it was possible how much I needed it. There it sat in the sunlight in all its glory, and although I had seen it many times before, I could only marvel at its beauty. As perfect as an angel.

And then I heard a voice. It chuckled quietly, low and sweet, and I knew that it was a voice that only I could hear. A private voice in my head.

"Take me," it said. "I've been waiting so long."

It was a moment before I could speak. Those were the words I'd been hoping, dreaming to hear, and yet my heart felt tender. I knew that I couldn't take any more pain, not after what I'd been through before. It seemed to understand my hesitation, and I heard that same gentle chuckle again.

"I promise not to disappoint you."

My mind raced as I wondered how much I could trust its promises. Before it had come into my life, I had been so carefree and innocent. But I could never go back to living without it. As much as I resisted, I knew I had only so much self control. The passion I'd felt before had never really gone away, and somewhere inside it was building up. I took a deep breath and answered it.

"I will accept your offer. But I will not let you interfere in my life. When I go to bed, you stay in the living room."

I knew it was looking at me reproachfully. I didn't even have to look. It was going to remind me in a minute of all the time we had spent together in my bed, torment me with memories of stolen moments.

Then it laughed lightly. "You can try, but you know that you aren't able to resist me."

It was right, and I knew it. I picked it up, promising myself I'd be good this time. I wouldn't overindulge. I was far too mature for it, anyhow. The whole thing was fluff, poorly written tripe for teenage girls to devour. The heroine was stupid, annoying as hell, and to call the hero controlling would be putting it mildly. There was another love interest, a werewolf, and he showed promise but ruined it by getting way too cocky. There were logical plot holes. Why had it taken her the course of three novels to realize she was actually going to be giving up all of her friends and family when she became a vampire? How could she want to spend all eternity with him and yet refuse to marry him? Why on earth did she not fall for the werewolf who could have loved her without forcing her to become a blood-sucking monster? And how the heck did everyone fall in love in the first place? Is there going to be a sequel (or interquel) further illuminating the growing "bromance" between the vampire and the werewolf while Bella is supposedly asleep, since they make about as believable of a couple as anyone else.

With a sigh I set it back down, and then to my horror discovered the time that had passed. "You tricked me!"

There was that chuckle again.

"I'm going to bed. Goodnight, and I hope I never see you again!"

I stalked away and climbed into bed, but it was already there, on my bedstand.

"This doesn't mean I have to talk to you," I huffed.

There was no sound, and I laid down in bed.

"See? This is me resisting you."

Still nothing. How strange. I leaned over, and was struck once again by its beauty, perfection. I picked it up, feeling guilty for my passion. Then I pushed away all other thoughts but the one that consumed me. I flicked on the lamp and opened it once again. I would have regrets tomorrow, I knew, but for now, I was content to just be with it.

Fables III & IV

2009-03-09T08:13:00.000-05:00

Fables III:Storybook Love & Fables IV:March of the Wooden Soldiers by Bill Willingham
Reason for Reading: Graphic Novel Challenge
Rating: 4.5/5

I recently got my library card set up at another county library system for the specific reason that they have the full Fables and Sandman series (why libraries don't buy an entire set of graphic novels I will never understand!). So I got to read Storybook Love and March of the Wooden Soldiers. Check out my review of Fables I and Fables II, which is an urban fantasy imaging that the fairy-tale characters of old have all relocated to New York.

Storybook Love is an interesting title for the first book. Through a series of events put into place when a mundane ("mundy") journalist reveals that he knows the secrets of Fabletown and is prepared to publish, Snow (i.e. Snow White) and Bigby (i.e. the Big Bad Wolf, or Fabletown's sheriff) end up spending some quality time together fighting for their life against a homocidal Goldilocks. From the first book, we know that there is some passion hiding beneath the surface, but things don't end up with a happily ever after, not at this point any how. The issue includes what was to me a shocking death, and some entertaining stories about that reckless knave, Jack.

In March of the Wooden Soldiers we learn more about the Adversary who caused the exile of all the Fables. Boy Blue talks tells Snow about love and loss during the last days of the battle. The sudden reappearance of a fable in New York claiming to have narrowly escaped from the Adversary causes suspicion for Snow and Bigby and jubilation for most everyone else. Prince Charming, who is a complete cad, begins to redeem himself in these two novels.

Should I read it? Do you like fantasy? Then absolutely. This series is a great introduction to graphic novels.