The Compass fo Pleasure by David J. Linden

I was listening to NPR one day and Linden just happened to be on. He was talking about neuropsychology/biology. I was sucked right in. I know that it probably seems a little out of character for me but I LOVE neuroscience. The human brain is so fascinating because it dictates so much of our lives (really, all of it) and yet we know so very little about it. I knew I had to read this book when I heard the subtitle:

How Our Brains Make Fatty Foods, Orgasm, Exercise, Marijuana, Generosity, Vodka, Learning, and Gambling Feel So Good

When I ordered the book in, one of my coworkers pointed out that it sounded exactly like something that was written for me. Levin talks a lot about pleasure and how it pertains to addiction in this book. I never really think about addiction or study it. I am closely related to an alcoholic and addiction has always just seemed like a disease to me and that's that. Some of us are more prone to it and that's probably genetic and all that means is that there's a good chance that I will end up an alcoholic or a foodaholic because it is "in my genes."

Well, that's true. Our pleasure centers are genetic. The studies were fascinating (and also a little freaky to someone who does not generally dabble in science). It was cool to see how things give us the same sort of pleasure, from orgasm to food to cocaine. We really are some fascinating beings.

For now I am comforted by the fact that I get pleasure from so many things. I kind of think that makes it less likely for me to be an addict. I could have a drink right now or I could read this Faulkner I have sitting next to me. I do wonder, though... Does anybody really get pleasure from working out? LOL.

Twitter Wit by Nick Douglas

Unless you live under a rock, you've heard of Twitter. (And if you do and you haven't, who am I to judge? Your rock is apparently just a little denser than mine.) I remember when Twitter started being a big deal. There was a news story about how people were tweeting at inappropriate times, like during jury duty. I think it's pretty funny because, well, now it's almost expected for people to tweet always and about anything. NPR was talking about the republican debates a couple of weeks ago and ended the segment with the candidates and reporters tweets.

I have a Twitter but I hardly use it. Mostly, I am friends with Lord Voldemort and the Death Star, Bridget Jones and Mike Birbiglia. I like the humor that can be found on Twitter. That's why I enjoyed this book. It was filled with tweets that had been deemed hilarious and some of them really, really were. I wish that I had an example to give you but I already returned the book!

If you are looking for an idea of what foes on on Twitter or just want some humorous little tidbits, this book is worth giving a try.

Gaurding the Moon by Francesca Lia Block

I am not a mother.

Trust me, it's not by fault. Life just kind of got in the way. Actually, when I was younger I didn't want children. I got older. My ovaries started to nag me. I was in a very long engagement which I was sure would end in marriage and children and it didn't. Then I dated a boy for a while who was pretty much still a child. Then I got it together. I bought a house and met the love of my life and now I am not in such a hurry. Now it does not seem to matter how many of my friends are married and have kids because I'm just rolling with it.

Then I read something like this.

I love FLB. We know it. I am currently trying to work through all of her books. This is a beautiful book as well but it is nonfiction. It is the biography of her first year as a mother. And for a person without children it was horrifying. Am I going to be that afraid? She spends so much of her time worrying that it's easy to miss all of the happiness that is there too.

I know that this isn't a great review. I know that I don't have a lot to say about this one. It really was a good book but I would suggest it for mothers, preferably ones who have already lived through having a child.

Nymph by Francesca Lia Block

I walked out of the break room at work and held up this small, slim volume. "It's book 77 and I'm done with it!"

"What is it?" the children's librarian asked.

I blushed furiously. "Um, it's a dirty book."

And it is! Nymph is Block's collection of erotic short stories, most tying in together. I'm glad this was my second time reading this one because I plowed right through with no attention to where I was. I'm also glad that the sticker from the sending library covered most of the cover. I read it in the car and at work. I read it at home and left it out on the table during a party. I could not have handled explaining my choice.

The first time I read this, honestly, it made me hot. lol. That's awkward to admit on my oh-so-literary blog. The second read it wasn't so much of a problem. Part of that is probably that I am trying to plow through this last 25 books. The stories are still very Francesca Lia Block-ish. There are mermaids. There is magic. There is love. These are really dirty stories about love. Sorry, erotic stories about love.

If you feel like testing the waters, go for it.

So Many Books, So Little Time by Sara Nelson

Have we discussed the fact that I love books about books? One of the things that I like about them is that they make me feel a little less along. Look, I know that I love books a lot more than most people. By that mean that I love books more than I love most people and I love books more than most people do. (That would be a random movie reference. Gold star!) Seriously, though, I do love books. I can describe my previous two and current one relationships by the boy's feelings about reading. One thought reading was a waste of time. The next thought the fact that I read was cool and read comic books. This one will spend a Sunday on the couch reading with me, pausing to share a thought or observation.

A lot of the books I have read about books have been written in such a way that I can read each chapter like an article. This one is no different. Each chapter represents a week of the year. Nelson's resolution is to read a book a week for the whole year of 2002. This is really not a big feat for her. She is a chronic reader with beautiful and loaded bookshelves to prove it. She sets out to read a lot of things that she has been meaning to get to but also to let herself read what she wants when she wants it.

Nelson is always honest. She won't tell you that he finished a book when she didn't and, much like Hornby, life gets in the way of her reading and she admits that too. She will tell you if she loved a book but will just as easily tell you that she doesn't like a best seller. She suffers from the same issues I do: too many books, too much hype, and avoids bestsellers. What happens is the same thing that I have felt a number of times. The book Nelson needs seems to find her when she needs it.

Me? I needed this book when I finally got around the reading it. This was book 75 for the year and I had started losing hope. I may not make it this year but I've read a lot more than last year. Plus, now I feel motivated to make my goal again. Nelson's insights got me fired up for another burst of reading. Since then, I've made it through book 76 and part way through book 77.

Primevera by Francesca Lia Block

This is the "companion novel" to Ecstasia. I'm not sure. You know, this isn't the type of book that I usually read but I do love FLB's writing. These just are not my favorites of her works. Ecstasia was dark but this is even darker, more violent. It struck me this morning that what I was reading was almost horror.

After the band arrives in the desert and together create a paradise, Primevera is born. She is Calliope and Dionisio's child and she has the ability to simply sing flowers into being. However, as she grows this power becomes suffocating and she wants nothing more than to visit Elysia, the carnival city her parents escaped from. When a stranger appears with the gift of a motorcycle, Primevera is able to make her escape from the suffocating flowers, her smothering parents, and her intense desire for Paul.

On Primevera's journey, she see's many sad things but she also makes a number of friends. There is a boy whose mother was half bird but has gone missing. There is a girl who looks like her, Arcadie who is Lily and the Doctor's child. There are a number of "mutants" trapped by a cold, hating man.

Like I said, this is a dark and sometimes violent book. It took me a while to get into it but this morning I read the second half. I enjoyed it, I suppose. It had the ability to keep me on the edge of my seat for a while. It's worth a try if you don't mind the sadness.

Stephen King's The Stand: American Nightmares

Finally, I got it. I wish that I would have gotten it sooner because I would have blown through this book when it came for me three weeks ago. If you recall, I was slightly disappointed with the first in this series of graphic novels. It didn't feel right. I'm not sure what changed. Part of it, I think, is that I started watching the movie which is very different than the book and that made the graphic novel seem much more like the book.

This is how reading a graphic novel should be. While I was waiting for the computer at work to get on with something, I opened the book and read. In just a few moments I would be sucked into the story. In all fairness, the author does spend more time with each character instead of bouncing around every other page as in the first one. Also, I think that Flagg starts to look like I've always seen him: A sinister Chuck Noris.

I'm glad I gave the second book a chance. I've already ordered the third.

Ecstasia by Francesca Lia Block

Imagine a world of carnivals. A world where you can have all of the luxuries you have ever dreamed of. Hot house flowers. Champagne. All of the sweets you can eat. An endless world of pleasure. What price would you pay for such a life? Would you be willing to live only your youth in such a world knowing that the moment you begin to age, at the first sign of graying hair or wrinkling skin, you would go and live underground with the other old people, wrapped in bandages until your death so that you don't have to see the aging?

This is life in Elysia. This is where Rafe lives with his older sister, Calliope, and the boys from their band, Paul and Dionisio. Here he watches Lily, a tight rope walker in the circus, from afar until he works up the nerve to talk to her. It is love for him in an instant and when Lily goes Under to get a drug that will bring back her parents for a few hours, Rafe will follow her and face the dangers of under.

The city is full of beauty but it is not as it seems and below there are just as many dark things. This is the story of how one boy returns to Under again and again until he can make his escape from Elysia.

This is very different from the other Francesca Lia Block books that I have read thus far but I like it. It took a while to get into just because it is so different but it has that characteristic beauty that is present in all of her writings.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

And so we are back to the Harry Potter again. Book five dragged on and on so long that I was a bit hesitant about actually sitting down and reading Half Blood Prince instead of breaking it up. However, soon after I started reading I decided that this is possibly my favorite HP book.

You see, I picked it up with some relief. Harry seems to be a bit out of his pubescent emo cry baby stage. He doesn't seem to yell as much, which is a huge improvement. I spent half of the last book not knowing if I would rather throttle Harry or Umbridge. Umbridge made me angry. Harry annoyed me. Harry starts to regain some of his control in book five and he seems a bit more like himself. He is, obviously, sad about the loss of his godfather but he has a lot going on. First, he now knows the prophecy and what is expected of him. Second, he is going to have double lessons with Dumbledor. Third, he is now Quidditch captain.

There are a lot of fun parts in this book, just as many as there are serious parts. I love watching Ron and Hermione's relationship growing and changing. This is like the perfect teenage book, just more innocent. And I feel like we learn a lot about a lot of characters. One of my favorites dies but it had to happen which makes it easier to accept. Even Harry accepts it.

Like I said, possibly my favorite in the series.

Death of a Charming Man by M.C. Beaton

I really am enjoying listening to the audios of this series. The reader, Davina Porter, I believe, has a fantastic accent and does the voices. This was great to listen to during the fall, too. Something about a little murder mystery while the leaves are falling and Halloween is creeping up just evokes a real seasonal spirit.

In the Highlands, Hamish's beat includes a little town called Drim. It is a dreary and quiet place usually but the arrival of a charming, handsome young man, Peter, stirs up the ladies of the village. Soon, they are getting perms, dying their hair, wearing heels and make up, and even taking aerobics classes. However, when Peter leaves suddenly and mysteriously, Hamish cannot fight off the feeling that the man was murdered. What follows is a lot of Hamish poking about where he shouldn't in his typical manner.

I don't want to ruin anything for you if you are reading this series but Hamish and Priscilla's engagement was one of my main interests in this book. Priscilla seems suddenly not as friendly and then she pulls some amazing stunts to save Hamish's butt and you end up thinking she is awesome. At the end though *spoiler* I couldn't help but think that Priscilla is not a great lasy simply because she always tries to change Hamish. I feel for Hamish, you know. I never plan on leaving my small town. I am not very ambitious. It is more important for me to have a home life and be happy than to work my arse off for some good paying position and have a heart attack before I get to enjoy it. I'm just not sure about that woman...

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

It took me so long to get through this book. I couldn't get into it so I started reading in 100 page sprints between other books and that helped for a while but it's so long that it started to feel like I'd never finish. Sunday I took out this and the final two Harry Potter's, stacked them on the table, and told Matt that I would finish them by next Sunday. I won't but it's the thought that counts.

The debate is whether or not this is an AWESOME book or a tedious one. A lot of important things happen in this book and it certainly does make you feel a lot of emotions. However, I find this to be the hardest HP book to get through for two reasons. The first is that Harry is going through puberty and we are aware of this because he spends most of the book being a big cry baby or an enormous jerk. His moods are vile. The second is that Umbrige is just as vile and frustrating. It's easy to spend a bulk of this book grinding your teeth.

I'm not saying that this book isn't without its moments. Fred and George alone make it worth the read. Plus, the death at the end is enough to bring tears to your eyes. I came across that scene while sitting in my car at a park and did my best to choke back the tears in an attempt to not be a COMPLETE weirdo.

I guess that the conclusion I've come to is that this book is important to the story and worth reading but also endlessly frustrating. Ha ha.

This is book 69 or 70. Egads. So much left to read!

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

For many years I worked with a boy who was a little pompous about some things some of the time. It wasn't intolerable. In fact, I counted him as a good friend unless he was being pompous about something. There were three books he was always trying to talk me into reading and because he was a bit pompous about them, I resisted. They were American Gods by Neil Gaiman, Dune by Frank Herbert, and Hitchhiker's Guide. A couple of years ago I tried listening to American Gods on audio but decided it need to be read. Maybe the boy had something to be pompous about after all. I loved this book.

Of course, he's not the reason I read it. I read it because the other day my boyfriend walked into the room I was in and asked, "Look, what are you reading after that?"

I looked down at the book in my hand, closed my eyes, and visualized the stack. "Next I have So Many Books, So Little Time followed by Ecstasia followed by Will Write for Shoes."

He shook his head. "You're going to have to read Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy next." He was holding a thick book that was the omnibus of the five books in the trilogy. (I know. But it's a trilogy with five books. I didn't make it up.)

I took my book with me to work the next day, intending to read it only when he wasn't around and then surprise him. The fact that I haven't been reading very much lately would make it perfectly plausible that I made it no farther in my book when he wasn't around. I was quite pleased with myself until I got home that night and realized that I had left the other book I was reading at work. The jig was up. He was still pretty pleased.

Hitchhiker's Guide was unlike anything that I had ever read. A big part of this is that I don't read science fiction pretty much at all. The jargon slowed me down a bit but I laughed ridiculously and it was loaded with lots of little jokes that you can use with other people who have read the book. Don't panic. Always have a towel. 42.

I don't know who to suggest this too. I really enjoyed it but I feel like a lot of my friends would think it was stupid. My bestie told me she had looked at it once and thought it might be a little "off." Well it is, but aren't we all?

Wasteland by Francesca Lia Block

Marina and her brother have always been close. When she was just a baby, Lex would come to her when she cried. They were always together. When they were young, Marina tried to dress like him and followed him everywhere. Instead of being annoyed, Lex showed her off to his friends. As teenagers, they would surf together. But things also started to change. Lex started going to punk clubs and he shaved his head. Marina wore short skirts and went on dates. They were still just as close as ever though, until Lex committed suicide.

West sees Marina running from the school, crying. He holds her but doesn't know what to say. He loves her. Her brother is dead. What can he do? Eventually, Marina asks West to help her investigate her brother's death, which she doesn't think is a suicide. Only, while helping Marina, he has to face the truth about Marina and Lex's relationship.

This is a wonderful book. It is written from three points of veiw and while the reader suspects the truth from the very beginning, the ending is still a gut-wrenching twist.

Stephen King's The Stand: Captain Trips by Roberto Aquirre-Sacasa

Due to my latest Stephen King craze, I decided one day to click around on his website and find a list of books by publication date. What I discovered was that there is a whole world of Stephen King that I didn't know about. That's how I found these graphic versions of the classic, which I read earlier this summer, The Stand.

Honestly, I'm not impressed.

Alright, so, The Stand. Well, I read the actual novel first. I read the original, not the uncut, version. I loved it. It took a while to get through because of its size but I loved it. Then I picked up the first graphic novel and it felt, well, wrong. I don't know if it was the story (which had to have been different from the original book and understandably) or the artwork. It just didn't feel right. Then I started the movie. I'm over halfway through and it seems better.

I ordered the second book just to see. As always, I'll let you know what I think.

Echo by Francesca Lia Block

Echo was one of the first FLB books that I cam in contact with. When I was in high school, one of my friends, Jessie Jo, was reading it for a book report. She sat behind me and when I turned around to talk to her, it was sitting there. I picked it up and began to read. I borrowed it for the rest of the day and had it done by the time I went to bed.

It is a short book but it spans years and, just like most of FLB's books, it is beautiful.

Echo is a small, plain girl who describes herself as elfish. Her father is a painter and her mother is PERFECT. Echo wants to be like her mother who is tall, simple, and beautiful. She cooks amazing dishes and never uses a recipe. Her garden is gorgeous because she listens to the flowers, putting her ears right up to their blooms. But Echo is not her mother and this becomes even more apparent when her father becomes ill. Echo feels like nobody sees her and she quits eating during the day, devouring Mexican food at night after drinking. One night she goes into the ocean and a quiet boy with wings saves her. He never talks. They never touch. Then he lets her go.

The story is told through Echo's relationships with other people. She is always falling hard but nothing ever seems quite right. Thorn can't handle her not eating. Smoke is afraid to get too close to her because he has given his life in exchange for his daughter's health. Valentine, who Echo wants to be, gets wrapped up in a lifestyle. The truth is that Echo needs to find herself. Echo needs to be okay being alone to be with someone.

FLB language is enchanting and this story can definitely be read in one day with ease.

Death of a Travelling Man- M.C. Beaton

As I've said before, I really like this series and I would love to make it through them all. However, lately I've been feeling a bit bogged down by the amount of books in my To Be Read stack. In trying to find a way to solve this problem, I thought that I might try listening to some audios. Now, I have a hard time with audios. I don't count them as reading so for the most part I assign them to my fluff books and read the more serious stuff the good old fashioned way. I just retain more information from reading than from listening. I thought I might try this series as an audio.

It was awesome.

Listening to this book made me really appreciate what audio can do. It was funnier and funner! I couldn't wait to get in my car and pop in the next disc. Once I got past the reader's accent, I felt like it added to the story. I started picking it up a little bit too.

Another thing that really helped this book was that it broke from form. There isn't a group stuck together with one of its members dead. Instead, a man who seems to really bother Hamish shows up in a travel trailer and a foul mouthed woman. At first, everyone but Hamish seems to adore the man. The first sign that something is wrong is when the man makes a pass at Priscilla. When he is found beaten to death with a sledge hammer, nobody has anything good to say anymore. What follows is a case of blackmail that Hamish sorts out in his usual sly manner. The book ends with an odd twist, one not quite expected.

I liked this book and I can't wait to listen to the next. I'm glad that I gave the audio a chance.

Blaze by Stephen King, writting as Richard Bachman

Have we discussed my love of Stephen King before? I'm sure we have. I don't really know what it is about that man. His stories never cease to surprise me. I haven't met one that I didn't like. Also, I LOVE his introductions. He makes me want to write.

This is not your typical King book. From what I gather, it's not very Bachman either. It was meant to be a throwback to the noir crime but instead it ended up a "three hanky". The main character, Blaze, is a criminal but he wasn't always going to be one. He was a smart boy who loved to read but then his father threw him down the steps three times. Now that he is grown, he is a huge man with a dent in his forehead who seems to have not so many smarts. He is planning a kidnapping with his friend George, who is dead. Blaze still hears George though and spends most of the book trying to figure out if George is a part of him.

The chapters alternate between past and present. We see Blaze grow up and fall into one unfortunate trap after another. In the present, he begins planning the kidnapping and carries it out. By the end of the book, we cannot help but feel for Blaze. We see him as a consequnce of other's actions and his hard knock life. Inside he is a teddy bear who is more concerned in the end about the baby than about the money.

I loved this book. I even sat down and read for over two hours last night, a rarity for me. When I mentioned that I was reading it to my mother, she told me it was her favorite King and that I would love it. We read two different kinds of books, Mom and me, so this must be good all around.

Castle Waiting Volume II by Linda Medley

I just finished this book less than five minutes ago and my first reaction up shutting it was, "Oh no! Castle Waiting III isn't out! What am I going to do?"

These are possibly my new favorite books. They are just so light hearted. They are funny and detailed and just generally well done.

In Volume II we learn more about the characters. There are more love stories and the main character, Jain, is explored a little more. We get closer to discovering what the baby is and the Hammerlings come to visit. The stories in this volume are not as involved as the last one where the Sister's story took up a number of chapters, even hundreds of pages. Instead, we get short snapshots of the past. The jokes seem a little my bawdy in this volume too.

Again, I just enjoy reading these. I love the characters. I love laughing out loud at the jokes. It is so easy to get sucked into this world and once I'm there I don't want to leave.

Castle Waiting by Linda Medley

When I was little, I was writing a book. It was a wonderful book. It was about princesses and witches and there was romance and adventure. I told myself the story over and over again. When I was older I tried to actually write it down but by then some magical thread had been lost.

This book was everything that I ever wanted to write. The moment I opened it, I was sucked it. It begins with a very familiar story and leads into a world that is so wonderful and enchanting that it makes the book difficult to put down.

When Sleeping Beauty wakes from her slumber and finds herself in the arms of a charming prince, she decides that she must leave and live in his kingdom immediately, despite the fact that her kingdom will be without a ruler. The castle becomes a safe house for people who need it. We are moved on to Jain, a pregnant woman who is heading for the castle to have her baby. When she arrives, she is greeted by a cast of vivid, lovely, amusing characters who are more than happy to help deliver the baby. When the baby comes, it is green and has a tail and everybody loves him, even the house sprites who have mostly overrun the castle.

I give up. I cannot do this story justice. It has everything that I have ever wanted in a story: sprites, witches, romance, humor, and bearded ladies. I want to buy it so that I can read it over and over and over again.

The Good Girl's Guide to Living in Sin by Joslin LInder and Elena Donovon Mauer

This post may get a little personal. It's only fair to give a head's up.

I have lived with a boyfriend previously and it went disasterously. First, my credit was not in the best of shape and in order for him t feel comfortable with the purchase of our house, he only wanted his own name on the mortgage and the deed. I couldn't afford to pay as much of the bills as he could so I agreed to grocery shop, use my savings to stock our new home with essentials, and clean the house. The first sign that this was all a mistake was the weekend after we closed on the house. The Ex spent literally a whole day picking up our second hand fridge while me and one of our friends painted. We painted all day. When the Ex discovered a full garbage can, he lost it, screaming at me that I was going to have to do MORE, that women can take out the garbage, in front of both of our parents. It went downhill from there.

During the week, I ate dollar microwaveable meals so that we could have steak and chicken on the weekends. I emptied my accounts trying to keep pace with what was expected of me. HE chose the couch I paid for. One month he spent $90 on shoes when I had less than that to my name. I raised his dog, trained it, and had to leave it when we broke up. I cleaned ceaselessly while also working and pursuing my master's degree. The dog would constantly track dirt on the white carpet and I would be yelled at and lectured about how I needed to take more pride in the house he bought me but every time he was angry about something else he would remind me that it was his house. I was miserable, lonely, and growing more and more withered every day. Then we broke up.

I am getting ready to live with someone again and I don't want it to turn out that way. First of all, this one is absolutely fantastic and I am smitten as a kitten. I don't want to make him feel uncomfortable in my house and I don't want to get myself into the same situation I was in before, where I never even knew what was being done to me until it was too late.

Honestly, this felt like a really solid book. It was well writen and had just enough humor without being corny. It had statistics and reasons why statistics can't always be trusted, even the ones that support the author's views. The chapters are well organized and easy to follow. Most of the advice seemed really good. The only argument I am making is that I have no intention of putting my man's name on the deed to my house until we are married and half of it is leagally his anyway. To me that just seems safer. I kind of liked the idea of a cohabitation pre-nup, but he has all of the nice stuff. Ha, ha. All joking aside, the book was peppered with real life experiences from real life women, good and bad ones. It brought some stuff up that I hadn't thought about and really did make me feel a lot better about the whole process.

One of the last chapters is about breaking up. I love love love that they included this chapter. Now that I am outside my previous experience by a couple of years, I can see that this chapter is well writen. I grew so much! And, just think, I was actually going to marry him! I couldn't have handled that! I was nuts! Two years later I have had a whole new range of experiences and I have even lived on my own. I can make my own decisions now and I have a full time job in a career I love. (I'm a librarian. Can you tell? I can't.) Adding this chapter really rounded out the experience.

So, if you are just out of cohabitation or just heading into it, I liked this book. Maybe you will too.

Rose and the Beast by Francesca Lia Block

Again with the short stories and books that I didn't think I liked the first time but LOVED the second time.

Francesca Lia Block retells favorite fairy tales in her own characteristic style. The stories and what they are based on are as follows:

Snow- Snow White
Tiny- Thumblina
Glass- Cinderella
Charm- Sleeping Beauty
Wolf- Little Red Ridinghood
Rose- Rose White/ Rose Red
Bones- The Singing Bone (I think)
Beast- Beauty and the Beast
Ice- Ice Maiden

What I found so exciting this time around is that I just finished those Hans Christian Anderson fairy tales. I bet that I didn't recognize the Ice Maiden story the last time I read this. Now I know the story because it was one of stories that I was absolutely enchanted with. It was interesting to see a modern twist on the stories and it was, as always, a fast and enjoyable read.

However, I'm starting to see a pattern in a lot of FLB's content. More when I get into the newer stuff.

Roots, Shoots, Buckets, and Boots by Sharon Lovejoy

Back in May, Matt and I started talking about planting a garden. He wanted vegetables so that we would have some fresh produce coming in for a while and might save on the grocery bills and eat healthier. I wanted flowers because, quite frankly, my yard is pretty ugly and also I've always been surrounded by flowers. My mother is a master gardener and she has filled her yard with a vast array of flowers and flower beds and whimsical decorations. When it came time to plant (which is to say, when we got off our lazy butts and decided to do something), we ended up with vegetables. The harvest is already rolling in and I am happy with our decision but I keep thinking about what flowers I'll plant next year.

I really liked this book. See, my first thought about gardening was that I just don't get it. I don't have my mother's persistence. I want pretty flowers but don't know which ones to get and the ones I know that I like (roses and hollyhocks and peonies) grow in full sun and, thus, not in my front yard which is heavily shaded by a maple and some pines. I went right for a children's book. Way simpler.

The book is organized into different gardens that are perfect for kids because they are quick growing and hardy. The one I found myself enchanted with was the night garden. All I want now is a back porch with a little night garden of moon flowers and evening primrose at the bottom. The other gardens include a sunflower house with a morning glory roof (morning glories are a favorite of Matt's) and a garden of giants full of pumpkins and gourds. There are drawings and activities and easy to follow (I think) directions for planting and care. All of the gardens are meant to be fertilizer (except for manure) and pesticide free.

This is a great book if you are stuck like I am or want to get kids into the garden.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling

I am finally caught up! I just finished this one this morning. It took me soooooo long that I actually caught up on my blogging. Keeping caught up, now that's the real trick.

The frustrating thing about re-reading is that sometimes you just kind of... completely lose interest. Indeed, a number of times while I was reading this I just couldn't bring myself to pick it up. It's a huge book. Usually I can trick myself by saying, "10 pages is 10 pages and that's something. At least I'll see my bookmark move." That didn't work this time. 10 pages is not enough to move the bookmark in this beast.

It's a wonderful book, really, and under normal circumstances, I love it. This is the book where Harry and Ron are just starting to really become teenage boys. They are starting to get moody and notice girls. The cool part about this book is seeing how the different countries interact with eachother. There is the surprising discovery that Hogwarts is NOT the only wizarding school. Suddenly, the Ministry of Magic seems a lot larger. And, finally, we get a glimpse into what it was like during and directly after Voldemort.

I once heard a DJ on a local rock station talking about reading the HP books. His associate was ripping on him hardcore and he said that HP was cool because the first three books are pretty cute a kiddish but the fourth book suddenly gets darker. I agree. This is THE MOMENT EVERYTHING CHANGES and it's very well done.

I think my problem is that I keep seeing my huge pile of books. Sigh.

I Was a Teenage Fairy by Francesca Lia Block

Barbie's mother was once a model but instead she married a psychiatrist and had Barbie. Now she wants the best for her daughter: Money, fame, and beauty. She forces her daughter into modeling and her father, disenchanted with his pushy wife, leaves. When Barbie is hurt by a photographer, her mother ignores her and she is left with nobody to rely on. That's when she starts seeing Mab.

Mab is a fairy and the question really is: Is she real or something inside of Barbie? Sometimes it feels like Mab must be real. She does such outrageous things but she also seems to be the part of Barbie that is constantly hidden away. Mab says the things that Barbie doesn't dare to say to her mother. Together, these two become teenagers and go on adventures into the city together. They meet biscuits and bitter rivals and bring down the man who hurt Barbie.

I liked this book. It's a cute, fast read.

What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones

A couple of months ago I came across a list of YA books that were written in verse. I had actually already read this one and it magically showed up in the used book sale at the library. I couldn't help but read it again.

This is a really cute book about Sophie, a girl who has a father who works a lot and a mother who is addicted to television. She feels disconnected from her parents and even, I would say, weighed down by all of the things she wants to say to them. But even though she feels so disconnected, she wants to reach out to her mother. There is so much that she doesn't tell her that she really wants to tell her. She wants her mother to be a part of her life but she is also afraid of becoming her mother.

All of this family stuff happens in the background while Sophie goes through three boys. The first is her first love and her first heart break. The second she adores until he refuses to say anything to his mother about using Jew as a negative slang word. Suddenly, he doesn't seem so awesome. Then she re-meets Robin, a boy who is the butt of everyone's joke, an outcast at school, and finds that he is perfect for her. The only problem is, how does she tell her friends that she loves the class nerd?

This is a light, fun read. The first time I read it, I remember thinking that it was pretty vapid but this time I caught on to a lot more of what was going on. I laughed, commiserated, and cringed in all of the right places.

Do you like books in verse? I really think that I do. I have been playing with writing one for about a month now and I love the freedom that the style gives me. Being able to narrow into one topic at a time is a lot of fun and a lot different than writing actual prose. I like to read it too. It's just a completely different experience. Fast and refreshing. What do you think?

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

And so we go even deeper into my reading of Harry Potter.

This is another book that I remember not being too thrilled with. I think that I may be confusing the book with the movie and I heard so many bad things about the movie before I saw it that I can't even promise you those were my opinions. Isn't that sad? I really wish that I could go back and read these books for the first time again. I wish that every turn was a surprise. While I read, I sometimes wonder what it was like back then, how I felt the first time.

This reading, though, went so quickly and was so engrossing. I loved it. I love Professor Lupin so much that it was good to see him again. I like that the danger here doesn't feel like it is Lord Voldemort, again. This book just feels like a breath of fresh air in the series. In the two previous books, we are really just getting a feel for the world Rowling has created. In the next book, Harry starts to get a bit whiny and pubescent. This is the perfect island of reading.

Girl Goddess #9 by Francesca Lia Block

This is a collection of short stories and I'm not usually a big fan of short stories. I read this book when I was 17, probably, right after I first discovered FLB. This was the only book the library owned of her's at the time and I was desperate for more. It wasn't as easy to order in books back then so I devoured this in nearly one sitting, regardless of the fact that I don't like short stories.

This is a series of stories about girls. One of my favorite characters, Witchbaby, makes an appearance, sort of, when we visit a family of two moms and a daughter, which ended up being my favorite story. The daughter wants to know who here father is and she travels from New York to California to find him. There is also the Girl Goddess Zine and the story of Tweetie Sweetpea.

The stories are short and sweet and manage to range all of FLB's style. One story will feel like a Weetzie Bat book and the next feels like Violet and Claire. I enjoyed reading this and, if you're not too against short stories and you like FLB with a passion, you might like it too.

Welcome to Utopia by Karen Valby

I was so worried about this book. It was short but non-fiction so there was the possibility that it would take me forever to read it. And I was worried because it sounded so interesting but I was worried that it would bore me. I grew up in a little farm town. (We have t-shirts that say "A quaint drinking town with a farming problem.") I work in a ridiculously small town. (People in my small town don't know where this town is and it's 5 minutes away! They don't have their own school AND they are bordered by an intensely large and smelly cattle farm. My library is where the kids hang out. Really.)

However, Valby hooked me right away.

Valby is a writer from New York who was asked to find a town that was virtually untouched by pop culture and write an article about it. She found Utopia through a friend, wrote her article, and went back for a number of months in order to write her book. She focuses and specific stories in this town where everybody knows everybody and your a newcomer unless your grandfather lived there.

My favorite story focused on a family of four boys, three of which were in the military. In the second chapter, we hear about one of them dying. The way the town pulls together is beautiful and the pain of the family is heart wrenching. I had tears in my eyes the whole time I was reading that chapter. It was beautiful.

Valby manages to make Utopia feel like your own hometown. I loved how close I felt to the characters. I was never bored. This was one of the best books I've read this year and I definitely suggest it.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

The second book in the Harry Potter series was always the hardest for me to get through. I don't know why because I really really enjoyed it this time. It was like I got sucked into the story like I used to.

In this adventure, Harry is entering his second year at Hogwarts. His summer is less miserable than living with the Dursley's has been previously. Now they think he can use magic outside of school. However, when a house elf shows up there is chaos and Harry is sent a letter that gives away his secret. Locked in his room, he is eventually saved by Fred, George, and Ron in a flying car.

The action continues through the school year. Someone is releasing a monster on the non-pure blood wizards. Can Harry and his friends find out who it is before someone is killed instead of just petrified?

I bet you're wondering...

I bet you're wondering why I have been posting here so frequently. I think it may even be getting hard to catch up...

I used to use Visual Bookshelf on Facebook to track what I was reading. When I finished a book, I clicked on "Finished Reading" and then it took me to a page where I wrote a review and gave the book so many out of five stars. Then, it posted all of this to my wall and I could comment and brag about how many books I had read.

Well, it's dead now and I need somewhere else to brag... I mean, review.

I have a number of books to review still and I am trying to catch up. However, I'm reading them pretty fast these days too.

My New Years resolution was to read 100 books this year. I am at 54 and could be done with 55 today. I am going to do it this time and I am glad to have you along for the ride. :) When I reach the end of the year, I'll post my complete list of books for the year. If I make it to 100, next year I'll add in audios and focus on cutting down my "To Be Read" list in any down and dirty manner I can.

Bare with me while I catch up. After that, there should be more time between posts and better reviews.

Hans Christian Anderson's Fairy Tales

My goodness. This took me FOREVER to read. Do you know why? It's because the fairy tales you know are the good ones. The rest are really long, boring, and/or confusing. And the fairy tales you know, they are completely different which actually makes them better to read.

The tales I ended up liking the most were the Ice Queen and The Little Mermaid. You know, Ice Queen was really strange and I bet that I couldn't really tell you what it was about but it was written so beautifully that I couldn't help but be drawn into it. I liked the Little Mermaid because it was very different from the Disney version, and kind of bad ass, excuse my language.

On one hand, I am really interested in fairy tales, myths, and legends. Sometimes they are just too hard to get through, though.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

I know for a fact that I am not the only person who saw the last Harry Potter movie in July and HAD to first reread the books and then watch all of the movies. I am not done reading the books yet. Despite the fact that they are children's books, the later ones are long and there is a lot of detail and I spend a lot of time on them. I like being sucked into the world and I still believe that Hogwarts DOES exist.

I wish that I were reading these again for the first time. When I was 16, I was working at the library and EVERYONE told me that I just HAD to read the Harry Potter books. One of my friends at school was so excited about them that she kept insisting I read them as well. This is not the way to get me to read something. However, one particularly quiet night, I believe it was winter, I pulled this first book off the shelf and hid in a corner with it. By the end of the first chapter, I was hooked.

Book one is all about discovering the world. Rowling is introducing us to the wizarding world at the same time that Harry is being introduced to it and the way she writes it makes you feel that it is REAL. It really is the wand that picks the wizard. Owls really do carry the mail. Unicorn blood is OF COURSE silvery.

If you haven't read HP (the rock you live under must be much larger than mine), do give them a chance. They are fast and fun and so completely engrossing that you'll be waiting for your letter to Hogwarts too!

*As a side note, while I was reading this I picked up a sick in the yard and told my boyfriend that it was my wand. He took it from me and said, "Maple, 9 inches, foxtail." lol. It was perfect!

Violet and Claire by Francesca Lia Block

I remember really liking this book when I was in high school. How could I not? Wasn't I the dark girl constantly scribbling away with the best friend lighter than light? I love the magic of the gay/transvestite bar most of all and it was the one scene that always stuck out in my mind.

Apparently, my tastes have changed. I just couldn't get into this time around. I tried and I waited to be swept away into the world of FLB which is always full of so much magic and love, even when things are not good. It just never happened.

Violet wears all black and her room is all black. Even her '65 Mustang is black. She wants nothing more than to write and direct films. All she needs is conflict. When she spots a new girl with fairy wings dressed in white and defends her against a high school creep, she becomes instant friends with Claire. Claire will be her leading lady. Still, Violet needs conflict and a love interest, two things that she gets more than enough of from a rock star bad boy. A new world is open to her and it is not what it seems. Violet slips even further into the dark while Claire finds love with a poet instructor and ends up hurt.

There are still things that I like about this book. The gay bar is still full of magic. A teenager will love this but I am not above admitting that I have moved beyond this book.

Death of a Glutton by M.C. Beaton

I have never been a very big fan of mysteries and definitely not those form mysteries that everyone seemed so keen on. If that's what I wanted, I would play Clue. M.C. Beaton's Hamish MacBeth series hooked me, though. The main character is charming and just up my alley. For instance, he keeps whiskey on his mantle and is unambitious, happy to work in a small town and send his money to his parents to care for his younger siblings.

My only beef with these books is that they are, well, very formulaic. At this point, I can guess what each chapter will bring. Chapter 1 we will be introduced to a number of characters, old friends and people we have never heard of before. Most are walk on characters to drive the plot and I have a hard time keeping them straight. I tend to read with one finger in chapter one so I can reference who the author is talking about. Chapter 2 will show how the characters interact and the reader will see that everyone hates the person who dies in chapter 3.

In this mystery, a dating service for the upper-class brings a group of possible couples to the castle inn. When the owner and organizer's business partner shows up, a gluttonous woman in search of a rich man for herself, all hell breaks loose.

But, really, they are amusing little reads. I spend the first half wondering why I read these short cozy mysteries and the second half devouring every word. By the time I'm done I can't wait for the next one and you won't be able to either.

The Hanged Man by Francesca Lia Block

This is truly my favorite Francesca Lia Block book. There are so many reasons to love it. It is beautiful, dark, surreal, and told through Tarot cards, which I love. The characters are great, mysterious boys and little fairy girls.

Laurel has had a damaging childhood and these memories push to the surface after her father dies. Laurel seems to be town between a deep love for her father, as in when she talks about their trip to Jamaica, and a deep anger and hurt, as when she talks about her fear of him. Laurel's friend Claudia's mother tells fortunes with Tarot cards and since they were little the girls have been attracted to these powerful cards. Laurel is the Queen of Cups and when she is angry or upset, cups break around the house. After her father's death, she knows the cups will not break anymore and wants to be like an empty cup. She stops eating and her mother starts cooking.

With the help of a mysterious boy named Jack. He seems to be part demon and only when she becomes healthy does he stop appearing.

I really do love this book. I'm sure that I will read it again and again and again.

Little Ways to Keep Calm and Carry On by Mark A. Reinecke

This was a cute little book. It was so cute that I had to pick it up, check it out, and read it. It is PINK with a crown on it and so perfectly little that it was irresistible.

But, really, there was no new information here for me. Maybe that's just because I read so many self-help books and most of them are about letting go and being happy. It really did seem pretty basic, however. I liked it. It was a short read and the chapters were laid out in a helpful manner. There were exercises and quotes. This was a nice little book but not quite worth my time.

Baby Be-Bop by Francesca Lia Block

This was the final book of the original Weetzie Bat books. Later, Block added an adult sequel which I should be getting to later this summer. Whenever I have read these books in the past, I usually skipped this last book. It felt like the darkest of the series and something about it made me uncomfortable and sad.

I was wrong.

This is a beautiful book about Dirk and his family and love. Dirk has always known that he was gay but he is afraid. He doesn't want to be afraid. He makes himself the strangest, fastest, and smartest so that nobody will have a reason to doubt him. He falls for his friend Pup who seems to feel the same but shuts it off, shuts Dirk off. Dirk goes to punk shows. He moshes. He picks fights with skin heads.

When Dirk fights with the wrong guys, he ends up in the hospital and his grandmother's genie lamp comes to the rescue. He learns about his parents and about Grandma Fifi and about himself.

I loved this book. I'm so glad that I gave it another try.

Finding Angel Juan by Francesca Lia Block

The fourth book in the Weetzie Bat series finds us with Witchbaby again. She loves Angel Juan and he loves her but she loves him too much and he isn't ready for it. Angel Juan decides to leave. He wants to go to New York and make his own music instead of being in the band and being admired by Witchbaby.

However, after only one letter, Witchbaby becomes convinced that something is wrong. She decides to go to New York and find Angel Juan. Luckily, Weetzie has held on to her father's apartment since his death and there is somewhere for Witchbaby to stay.

New York doesn't go as planned though. Charlie, Witchbaby's ghosty-almost-grandpa, leads her through the city, making her see it through her camera lens. He wants her to discover herself and let Angel Juan go but Witchbaby was right to go because something IS wrong. The conclusion is a terrifying scene that is enough to set any reader on edge.

I like this book. It is sad and sweet and excited. It brings tears to my eyes and makes me wish for a Charlie Bat ghosty-almost-grandpa of my own.

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

Something interesting happened when I read this book. One day, exasperated with how much I disliked it, I asked a room full of kids if they had read it. About 8 hands went up. When I asked what everyone thought about it, all of the girls told me it was boring and they hated it but all of the boys told me that it was so good that I needed to read the rest of the Brian books then they bombarded me with "Have you gotten to the part where..."

I didn't like this book. Plain and simple. It was well written and a pretty quick read but it isn't my style. It is a book for boys and I'll just leave it at that. I did finish it by flashlight while my boyfriend fished, though, and that seems pretty appropriate.

Brian is on his way to the forests of Canada to visit his father who is working there. Brian's parents are recently divorced and he is carrying a secret. The secret is that his mother had an affair and he saw her with another man. While Brian is in the small plane, that is what he is thinking about. Then, his pilot has a heart attack and dies and everything changes.

This is a downright courageous tale of freedom but sometimes it lost me. Brian just had too much information stored in his brain and too many things felt unbelievable to me. Boys will love it, though.

Cherokee Bat and the Goat Guys by Francesca Lia Block

The adults are gone, shooting a movie out of the country and have left Cherokee, Witch Baby, and Raphael in the care of Coyote, their Native American friend. Coyote prefers to be alone, however, and the teenagers are pretty much in charge of themselves. This may be the cause of the mayhem.

First, Witchbaby is sad. She won't leave the mud shed where she keeps her drums. She is covered in mud. She eats it. She pretends she is a seed. Cherokee decides to make her wings. She asks Coyote for help and he calls on the birds to give their feathers. With the wings, Witchbaby rises from the mud and plays the drums at her own birthday party where Angel Juan reappears.

The four teenagers start a band and soon they are getting popular. Cherokee will ask for gifts for each of the Goat Guys but there are some dangerous consequences.

This isn't my favorite Weetzie Bat book. Honestly, I have always found Cherokee a bit annoying. It's still a pretty good read though.

Witch Baby by Francesca Lia Block

The second in the Weetzie Bat series is possibly my favorite. I love Witch Baby. She is one of my all time favorite characters.

Witch Baby is the love child (or maybe not so love child) of My Secret Agent Lover Man and Vixanne Wigg. She has purple tilty eyes and curly cashew toes and tangle ball black hair. She is so different from the rest of her family. She sees the world like her father, as a dark, sad place. Every night before bed she puts three news stories on her wall. She is always fighting like an angry kitten and she is in love with Angel Juan, who is not in love with her.

This is a story of Witch Baby learning who she is and learning about love and life and being a part of a family. It is sweet, tender, and humorous.

The Green Mile by Stephen King

I kind of think that all of King's books should be released as serials. I love King's writing. In fact, at this point I don't think I've come across a book of his that I don't like. However, I have to admit that I haven't read a lot of them. They are so long that they look daunting. I would have read The Stand years ago if it had been a serial novel!

So, I read this in the six separate books (uping my book count for the year) but chose to review them as one large book.

Paul Edgecomb is old. He's really, really old. He's living in a home that his grandchildren have put him in and he is nagged by the memory of 1932, the year he was a supervisor on a death row block and a miracle occurred. A man accused of murdering two girls is sent to walk the green mile but John Coffey turns out to be nothing like he seems.

I really liked this book. I don't want to say too much because this set up lends itself to giving a lot away. It feels like every book has a climax and every climax is pertinent to the plot. I think that this is another pretty smart novel from King though, bringing to light racial issues and revolving around the theme of good and evil. I hope to watch the movie soon, which I've only seen parts of. Rest assured, the book was completely worth the time.

Aimee by Mary Beth Miller

One thing that I've really enjoyed about reading this year is that I have forced myself to take out books that have been on my "To Be Read List" since as early as 2000. Out of the few that I've read (four or five, I think), only one has been kind of crappy and then the rest have been gems like this.

Our main character (MC), we don't know her name until about 20 pages from the end, is telling the story through a journal. She is required to keep a journal by her psychologist, who she calls Marge because she looks like a Marge even if that isn't her name.

MC is lonely and living with a terrible guilt. Her best friend, Aimee, killed herself and MC has been accused of having some hand in it, causing the news papers to call her JK for Jack Kevorkian. Through little blips of back story, we learn that MC was part of a tight knit group of friends. They were always together and they were always helping each other. The reader may see Aimee's warning signs early. She exhibits reckless behavior that at first seems typical for a teenager but somehow has a darkness to it.

I enjoyed a lot about this book. I felt so close to the MC because of how it was told. It also felt like a mystery. We don't know why Aimee is upset until late in the book and we don't hear about how she died until nearly the end. This was a fast read, engrossing and well written.

Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block

Did you know that I have declared this the summer of Francesca Lia Block (FLB)? I realized that it had been a long time since I read some of my favorite books by my favorite young adult author and also that there were some books I never even attempted to read. I got caught under my rock, in other words. I found a list on Lists of Bests and started at the top.

Weetzie Bat is a cult classic in the YA world. It's filled with magical characters and beautiful descriptions. This is the story of Weetzie Bat, daughter of Brandi-Lynn and Charlie Bat who are separated. Weetzie thinks that everyone she goes to school with is blind because they cannot see how beautiful LA is. Then she meets Dirk. They are fast friends and together they decide to find a My Secret Agent Lover Man for Weetzie and a Duck for Dirk. With the help of a genie, they find just that!

Don't let the names throw you off. One of my friends had a hard time reading this because of names like My Secret Agent Lover Man and Witch Baby but the story is so beautiful that you'll want to wear dresses with poetry written on them in glitter.

Brains for Lunch by K. A. Holt

I discovered this book on a list of books written in verse for young adults. (This is a shameless attempt to make 100 books this year but I have very little pride and you can't judge me. lol) As a fan of the Misfits, the title struck a chord with me. ("Brains for dinner. Brains for lunch. Brains for breakfast. Brains for brunch!") It was described as a novel about zombies told completely in haiku. How could I not be excited for this book?

I was sadly disappointed.

I was expecting this to be cool. I wanted it to be funny and a little gruesome and aimed at high schoolers, not middle schoolers. The story was too cute. The humor was too cute. The ending was too neat and happy.

It only took me about a half hour to read so if you're curious go for it but I wouldn't waste my time.

Debt-Free by 30 by Jason Anthony

I think that one of the reasons I like personal finance books is because they make me feel smart. First, I feel smart because I am actually reading them. Second, the case stories are always so extreme that any financial trouble I've gotten myself into seems itty bitty, teeny weeny. This was kind of one of those books. There were even tests that I aced most of the time. I have a great relationship with money, apparently.

I'm still not sure how I feel about this book. I finished it about a week ago. There were things that I really liked about it. It was easy to read and understand, key in dealing with a bunch of 20-somethings. Some of the advice was pretty sound, too. I really liked the chapter on insurance. It broke down what you REALLY need. For instance, they suggest only buying comprehensive if a car is under 8 years old, advice that sounds great but that I had never heard before.

Then, there was the crap. Because this book is aimed at 20-somethings, the authors pepper it with humor that sometimes falls flat and other times is just obnoxious. There are a lot of pop culture references that dated the book. Also, one of the tips for paying off debt is to credit card surf. Take out a card with a low introductory rate, use it to pay off an account, and transfer the balance to a new low intro rate card when the intro period is done. Basically, they are suggesting that a bunch of 20-somethings open a bunch of cards and either keep them open, thus allowing for temptation, or close them, thus harming their credit score.

Like I said, I'm just not sure about this one. It was a nice refresher and I felt a little better motivated after reading it but I'd rather stick with Dave Ramsey.

May 2011: The Stand

Books Read:
Coffey's Hands by Stephen King
Tender as Hellfire by Joe Meno
The Bad Death of Eduard deLacroix by Stephen King
The Stand by Stephen King

I only want to talk about The Stand this month as it took up the last two and a half weeks at least and I have a lot to say about it.

My copy is a used paperback with a great little reaction jotted on the inside cover. I love it. However, I did not realize that there was an extended edition until I had already started and it wasn't available at my library so I would have had to wait for a copy to come in and I was mostly ready to get going and take on the beast, if you will. At the start, 817 pages seemed like a daunting task and I didn't want to tackle the 1153 page uncut edition. I wonder if I will beat myself up over this choice forever and eventually give in and read the uncut edition.

I loved this book. King writes in such a way that 10 pages can feel like 40 but sometimes 40 can feel like 10. The first week was kind of rough. The book looked so big that I handled it much how I handle other tasks that seem daunting... Every time I caught sight of the book and thought that I should read a couple of pages I loaded up Facebook. It made the first week pretty slow but after that it seemed to stick.

The best part of this book is definitely the characters. King produces such a wide array of characters and they are all very well developed for their purpose. A lot of the bad guys seem more two dimensional than 3-D but it works for them. My boyfriend kept trying to convince me to watch the movie and at one point let it slip that Molly Ringwald plays Frannie. I never would have guessed that and it messed with my idea of Frannie for the rest of the book. However, I looked up the pictures of Harold Lauder and they were pretty right on.

Harold is a character that I want to talk a bit about. He reminded me of my ex who spent a lot of time feeling angry about things that had happened to him in high school. If he got off on a rant, he would grit his teeth and growl, "They'll pay! They'll all pay!" This was something that contributed to our eventual split. I was teased in school and instead of being angry and a little demented about the whole thing, I'm actually pretty thankful. I am who I am because of where I have been. I would totally end up on Mother Abigail's side.

I really think that King can be an actual literary author. This didn't feel like a novel of terror to me. Sure, there were some grisly parts (read: awesome but no decapitation) but this was about good vs. evil. Randall Flagg makes his appearance. Did you know he is in like 8 King books, and that doesn't include movies like Perfect Storm. Randall Flagg is ultimate evil. He is Legion, which is worth looking into when reading these deep Stephen King books.

My ruling on this one is that it was a great, if long, read. I loved the characters. (How is it that I wrote a whole blog without mentioning Nick or Stu or Ralph or Larry? I LOVED Larry!) There's even a cheat sheet to help you keep the characters straight online. I loved how the characters drove the plot. I loved imagining whether or not I could live in this world.

What a great way to spend 817 pages!

April 2011

BOOKS READ:
-American Vampire, vol. 1 by Stephen King
-Petite Suzanne by Marguerite de Angeli
-Labyrinth of Desire by Rosemary Sullivan
-Other People's Love Letters by Bill Shapiro
-Smashed by Koren Zalickas
-Peace and Plenty by Sarah Ban Breathnach
-Two Dead Girls by Stephen King
-My Fair Lazy by Jen Lancaster
-The Mouse on the Mile by Stephen King
-Orchids on Your Budget by Marjorie Hillis

10 books! 10 books in one month! Anyone would consider that impressive.

Okay, you busted me. I've been reading Stephen King's The Green Mile in its original form, the series. I started this purely because I wanted to up my book count and that is probably cheating but I've decided that every Stephen King novel needs to be made into a mini-series. I love Stephen King but so many of his books are large enough to be downright daunting. Proof? The Stand has been in my stack of books to read for nearly a year. I just keep moving it instead of reading it. If it were in handy installments it would be done by now. American Vampire is an graphic novel co-written by King that takes place in the old west and in Hollywood. I liked it but it was pretty standard.

It was a really weird reading month. I can't quite figure out how to tackle this list!

I read two books about love this month, Other People's Love Letters and Labyrinth of Desire. Other People's Love Letters was a collection of love letters (Imagine!) similar to Post Secret. They were sometimes silly, sometimes dirty, sometimes heart wrenching. The whole experience made me wonder if I would someday regret not writing a love letter. Labyrinth of Desire was a study in obsessive love. Sullivan starts her study with a story and then breaks it down into pieces which she analyzes. It was a surprisingly good read and I am not doing it justice.

I read two memoirs this month as well. My Fair Lazy is by our good friend Jen Lancaster. I've read the rest of her memoirs and they were all great. Bright Lights, Big Ass may be my favorite. This could come in second. Jen embarrasses herself at a party and realizes that doing something like that could jeopordize her career as an author. She decides to set about culturing herself up. She takes cooking lessons and goes to the theater and opera and museums and it is ALWAYS a good time. My favorite part was when she went to China Town and was horrified of bringing home a gremlin. Smashed, the second memoir was a good read but ticked me off in a number of ways. Like, the author is constantly talking about how typical her experience with alcohol is but I, for one, have never had my stomach pumped and certainly not at age 16. Mostly, it gave me some great drinking game ideas.

There were two personal finance books this month too, but I'll spare you the details. To sum them up, Peace and Plenty brought me no peace at all while I found 1937's Orchids on Your Budget both entertaining and useful. How could you now with such chapters as "Well, Who isn't Poor?" and "Can You Afford a Husband?"

May is already nearly two weeks gone. (Better late than never!) I can promise that it won't be as productive as April. I am nearly three books into the month and the next book is a doozy! Wish me luck and HAPPY READING!

March 2011

Books Read:
A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley
House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne
Hector and the Search for Happiness by Fancois Lelord
When We Were Very Young by A.A. Milne
Shakespeare Wrote for Money by Nick Hornby
Now We Are Six by A.A. Milne
The Alchemist: Graphic Novel by Paulo Coelho

You caught me...

I have been mixing in some childrens books just to boost my numbers. Well, not just to boost my numbers. I've enjoyed reading them and all. I've been meaning to read them. Actually, the big debate this month came when Matt told me that I couldn't count a book of poetry as a book read. I totally count it if I've read it cover to cover. I read the final three Winne the Pooh books cover to cover. Most of the poetry was even read aloud, as it should be and much to the cats' delight. I also slipped in a graphic novel but it was The Alchemist and it was very deep and well worth it.

I spent a lot of time on Jane Smiley's A Thousand Acres and part of the problem was that it was too close to home. The actual content of the story wasn't but he vast farms and the pretty much the entire setting reminded me of my hometown, which I have never left. It was easy to get caught up in the descriptions of farm life because they were the same things that I heard every day in class. Basically, it was the kind of book that I get caught up in and take, thus, take my time with. However, it was a bit predictable. It's literature, after all. It was easy for me to guess what was going on, or what had gone on as it were.

The shining star of this month, for sure, was Hector and the Search for Happiness. I read reviews of this book and then I came across it in Target and it was the perfect little paperback. I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. I ordered it through the library and there is was! The same little paperback, perfectly shaped! It was worth the effort. I could not put this book down. Hector is a psychiatrist and he notices that more and more people who should be happy aren't. He decides to travel the world and learn about happiness. He goes to China, a violent African country, and The Country of More. (That's us! We have more psychiatrists AND we are more unhappy!) Hector learns a lot about happiness and I really enjoyed the ride.

I was impressed with all of the reading I got done this month until I started writing this. Now I feel a bit deflated. Next month doesn't look like it's going to be much better. I've joined a book club and the first selection isn't something that I am really looking forward to. I'll try it but I will invoke my reader's rights if I have to: The right not to read.

February 2011

Books Read:
Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby
Fat Vampire by Adam Rex
Housekeeping vs. The Dirt by Nick Hornby
Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne

You may have noticed a little change around here. Mostly, I've quit writing about what I read. I review my books on Facebook and then set it aside, not even writing a hard copy in the lovely leather journal that I have used for some years now. However, last month it was brought to my attention that SOME people may actually read this and that I SHOULD write.

So I will. But I'm doing it differently.

Actually, the main influence for this change came from two of the books I read last month. Polysyllabic Spree and Housekeeping vs. the Dirt by Nick Hornby are collections of articles he wrote for The Believer, an arts magazine out in California. I love these books. The articles are actually about reading. They are about books purchased compared to books actually read and the flow of reading (or not reading) in general. I've learned a lot from Hornby, who is also possibly my favorite living author, and one of the best lessons was to give up on books if you don't like them. I put aside one book this month because I couldn't stand the author's voice. And the book was a memoir. I couldn't stand any of it.

Fat Vampire was an interesting little read. It was young adult and I liked the idea that it was about a non-stereotypical vampire. However, the non-stereotypical ends there. I hate how every edgy YA novel has to use Rocky Horror Picture Show to show how very edgy it is. Like the cherry on the top, I watched Jennifer's Body last night and the goth kid totally asks the hot girl to go to Rocky Horror with him. Seriously? Seriously!

The book I set aside this month was This is Not the Story You Think it Is by Laura Munson. It was a memoir about the summer her husband decided he didn't love her anymore and instead of getting upset about it she decides to follow her therapist's advice of refusing to suffer. I read 100 pages. There were three chapters in a row that didn't really apply and by the end of the third one I was feeling too lost and distracted to finish. Munson refuses to suffer but that doesn't mean she won't complain about being unable to get published or talk about her idyllic childhood in the upper-class, boarding school set. She really annoyed me. I did enjoy the chapter on her father though. It left me teary eyed and reaching for the phone to talk to the rock in my life.

Have you read Winnie-the-Pooh? You really should if you haven't and you should read it again if you have. I suggest a gray day, preferably rainy though snowy will do just fine. Curl up with a blanket and a cup of tea and devour it in one sitting if you can. You'll love it.