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Friday Fun! (Kindle Cover, TRX, Karaoke)
Hello my lovely readers! There’s not too terribly much to report this week. Last weekend Boston suffered a torrential downpour that destroyed my ipod. Sad day. I’m a bit poor right now, so I ended up bidding for a used one on ebay and winning. Here’s hoping it actually works when it gets here. *knocks on wood*
My kindle cover also broke this week. The doohickey that holds the kindle in place got bent out of shape (no, I have no idea how). I called Amazon, and they overnight shipped me a new one for free! Awesome. Sauce. I will say, I think my kindle cover got a lot more use in its six months of life than the designers perhaps anticipated, lol.
Last weekend I tried out a new recipe–walnut-encrusted baked tofu with spinach l’orange. It was….a bit more time-consuming than I was anticipating, but also delicious and filling. I got three meals out of it (one dinner and two lunches). Not too shabby for the relative cheapness of the ingredients.
My trainer had me try out TRX this week. There are these straps hanging from the ceiling that you use to help you work out your muscles using your own weight and gravity as resistance. It was super-duper fun to do push-ups and such in the air, I have to say. I really loved it. I’m half-tempted to join one of the gym’s TRX teams now.
I also went out to karaoke with my friend Jill this week. It was tons of fun, as karaoke generally is. Although this single lady did not see a single guy she was interested in, the crowd was a good karaoke crowd. Everyone was good-natured, supportive, and well, tipsy. Plus there were plenty of people buying drinks for us, which is always a plus. ;-)
Happy weekends all!
Bloggers’ Alliance of Non-fiction Devotees (BAND): August Discussion: How Did You Get Into Non-fiction?
Hi guys! It’s hard to believe a month has gone by already since our very first non-fiction discussion in July. This month Amy is hosting, and she asks us how did we get into non-fiction?
I actually found myself baffled by this question. Um, I don’t remember not reading non-fiction? I was raised very religious, although I’m now agnostic, as most of you know. Anyway, because my parents were religious, I was encouraged (strongly) to read my Bible every day. That combined with the kid versions of the Bible were probably my earliest forays into what is technically considered non-fiction. *coughs, coughs*
My earliest memories of non-fiction reading that wasn’t connected to religion is a toss-up between cats, airplanes, and westward expansion. I was fascinated with all three, although cats probably won. I had an ongoing campaign from when I could speak until the age of seven to get a cat when my parents finally caved. I used to wreak havoc in the non-fiction section of the library taking out every single book on whatever topic fascinated me at the moment.
My love of non-fiction definitely played into my first choice of major in undergrad–History with a focus on US History. These classes consisted almost entirely of reading primary documents, and I loved it. I was also finally surrounded by other people my age who felt the same excitement at reading non-fiction as I did. So you see, I never really “got into” non-fiction. I was born that way. Haha.
Check out the non-fiction books I’ve reviewed and discussed since the July discussion:
Book Review: The Craigslist Murders by Brenda Cullerton
Summary:
Charlotte works as an interior designer to the wealthiest of the wealthy in NYC. She thus has a window into their world and attends their parties, but is not actually a part of it. The wealthy women annoy the crap out of Charlotte as they remind her entirely too much of her cruel, social ladder climbing mother, yet she simultaneously needs the income to stay afloat in notoriously expensive NYC. One day when attempting to purchase a designer item cheap off of craigslist, she finds the solution to her pent-up rage. Periodic murders of the wealthy elite women via responding to craigslist ads.
Review:
I view Charlotte as the female and decidedly less insane version of Patrick Bateman in American Psycho. Both characters are a part of the wealthy, elite world that they simultaneously hate. Both obviously have antisocial personality disorder. Both murder people to deal with it. The similarities end there, though, as Charlotte is decidedly less far gone than Patrick so there are no chapters of non-sensical rants. Also this book is far less violent. Charlotte murders by whapping women in the back of the head with a fire poker. Her murders are about killing the women, not torturing them.
Honestly, this book reads as delicious fantasy to anyone who has ever lived in a city and bumped elbows with the craziness that is the world of the 1% (the wealthy elite). Charlotte’s rage is our rage, and she deals with it in a way no civilized person would, but as Charlotte herself says when discussing the news of a murdered wealthy woman:
She’d been killed by her own personal assistant, news that Charlotte believed had come as a terrible shock to everyone in the city except the thousands of other personal assistants who dreamed, daily, of doing the same thing. (location 1101)
Yes, exactly. This book rages against the privileged in a way most of us can only dream of doing. And it works.
Charlotte is more than a murderer, though. She’s a well-rounded character. The reasons behind her murders and state of mental health are gradually revealed in a skilled manner throughout the book. First we know Charlotte as a frustrated worker. Then we see her murder. Then we gradually start to see the real Charlotte beneath the facade. A woman who was a little girl whose spirit was broken by her mother. No one in her world, not even her therapist, offers her any real help, so Charlotte deals with her issues the only way she knows how. It’s an excellent commentary on why quality mental health care and loving communities are so necessary.
The one issue I had with the book itself is the ending. I won’t spoil it, but basically I’m not sure exactly why Cullerton went there with this narrative. I can’t help but wonder if she’s planning a sequel. I sort of wish she would write one to address some lingering questions I have, but perhaps that’s her point. Perhaps she chose that ending to make the reader continue to think about the situation even after finishing the book. If so, then it definitely worked.
I also find the cover infuriating, because the weapon the woman is holding looks nothing like the weapon used in the book, and that sort of thing that is mentioned repeatedly in the story shouldn’t be messed up on the cover. Obviously that’s not the author’s fault, though.
Overall this contemporary fiction with a twist is a delightful read. If American Psycho intrigued you but the graphic violence and sex turned you off, definitely give this book a read. It features similar themes with less violence and more well-rounded characters.
4 out of 5 stars
Source: Amazon
Counts For:
Book Review: Hungry For You by A. M. Harte
Summary:
A collection of zombie-themed short stories and poetry with the twist that they all have to do with romantic relationships in some way, shape, or form.
Review:
This is a solid collection of short stories and poetry that can be enjoyed one at a time or inhaled in one sitting. I went for the one sitting option.
In some stories Harte sticks to zombie tropes but in not all. The ones where she varies or surprises the reader in some way are definitely the stronger ones. She has an ability to imagine multiple different possible zombie apocalypses that are all, if not equally believable, still believable. Her dialogue is a definite strength, reading as incredibly realistic in the midst of fantastical happenings.
Where she excels though, and where I would encourage her to focus future horror writings, is when she uses the zombies and zombie apocalypse as a metaphor or an instigator for something in a relationship from women’s perspective. My three favorite stories from the collection–“Dead Man’s Rose,” “Seven Birds,” and “Alive”–all feature this element. In “Dead Man’s Rose,” the zombie is a metaphor for an abusive lover who refuses to grant the woman her freedom. In “Seven Birds” the surprise of the zombie apocalypse coincides nicely with an unexpected break-up (I particularly enjoyed that female character’s reaction to both). In “Alive” the female character must deal both with the zombie apocalypse and the emotional fall-out after a one-night stand with a co-worker. These are all three things modern women face in relationships and getting to see them take place in a world infested with zombies (one of my favorite kinds) was such a welcome change! Too often, especially in zombie movies, we see the apocalypse from a man’s perspective and not from a woman’s. I found myself saying to Harte in my head, “Ignore the male perspective and switch to just writing from the female perspective, because you do it so well!” For instance, it’s not every day in a female zombie fiction fan’s life that you come across a resonant passage like this:
When I am lonely for boys what I miss is their bodies. The smell of their skin, its saltiness. The rough whisper of stubble against my cheek. The strong firm hands, the way they rest on the curve of my back. (location 1206)
Never have I come across a passage in zombie fiction that so struck at the heart of what it is to be a modern straight woman, and to have that followed up by oh no zombies was just awesome.
There are a few shortcomings though. A couple of the stories simply felt too short, and a couple of them–“A Prayer to Garlic” and “Arkady, Kain, & Zombies”–just didn’t make much sense to me. I think the former would have benefited from being a bit longer with more explanation, whereas the latter actually felt too long and had a couple of plot holes that I couldn’t wrap my mind around. This collection is periodically more British than at other times. One short story revolves around tea to an extent that I’m afraid a Boston gal like myself just couldn’t quite relate to. I know that those more British stories will definitely appeal to the type who love Doctor Who for instance, though. I also really wish it included a table of contents. That would be super-helpful in revisiting those stories readers would like to revisit.
Overall this book is definitely worth the add to any zombie fan’s collection, but particularly to female zombie fans. It’s different and fun simultaneously.
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4 out of 5 stars
Length: 122 pages – novella
Source: Smashwords copy from the author in exchange for my honest review
Buy It (Amazon. Not available on Bookshop.org)
Friday Fun! (Birthday BBQ)
Hello my lovely readers! One thing this summer has shown me is that your summer is as fun as you make it, and that largely has to do with who you surround yourself with. Now that I’ve been living in Boston for a longer period of time, I’ve come to have a wonderful circle of friends who just make everything more fun.
Last weekend was my party for my birthday. I held it at the end of the month partly so I could have a Cowboys and Aliens theme, but also partly because no one ever seems to be around on my actual birthday since it falls right next to a big national holiday. A friend treated me to the matinee of Cowboys and Aliens, and you guys it was AWESOME. I don’t think anything could make this wild west and scifi loving lady happier than wild west meets aliens. Well, the addition of Daniel Craig’s very fine ass didn’t hurt matters at all either. This is a movie I would go to see in theaters again, and I never do that.
After the movie, the same friend helped me prep for my bbq. I made homemade veggie burgers, which were completely a smash hit. We also made pasta salad from a cookbook my dad gave me that featured an olive oil/lemon vinaigrette instead of mayonnaise. That was also a huge success. There was also grilled corn on the cob, strawberries, PBR, and goldschlagger. All in all an excellent bbq. After some friends departed, others arrived, and we went out to a local pub for drinks. My friends enthusiastically got me some of my favorite drinks (white russians and cosmos). It was such a chill party full of lots of girl talk and ending with some fun flirting. It’s things like that that make being in your 20s really fun.
I already announced my plan to throw a party in the fall with a Japanese theme, largely influenced by my recent acquisition of a vegetarian sushi cookbook. Given the percentage of otaku geeks among my friends, the excitement at the idea was pretty high. ;-) What can I say. I love hostessing and party planning. It makes me happy.
This week also saw me finally able to return to the gym after being laid low by first a summer cold and then a sprained ankle. I managed to only gain 1 pound in my week and a half out. *phew* The first workout back was hard, but fun, and I’m glad to be getting back into the swing of it.
I haven’t fully decided what’s on the plate for this weekend, but I know it’ll be fun, because it’s the weekend after all. Happy weekends all!
Book Review: Hybrid by Brian O’Grady
Summary:
Amanda Flynn’s life changed forever when her Red Cross relief team was exposed to a deadly virus in the Honduras, leaving her the sole survivor. Seven years later, when she thinks most of the horror is over, the virus resurfaces in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and she finds herself forced to team up with various government officials, a priest, and a coroner, in a fight against a deadly terrorist plot.
Review:
I admit that I bought this book in a haze that I call “Kindle Sale Fever.” Periodically Amazon has sales of Kindle books where they suddenly cost 99 cents to $2.99, and I tend to impulse buy. Oops. (I mean, if you’d told 7 year old me such a thing would even be possible one day, I probably would have curled up and died in pure bliss). In any case, the Amazon blurb led me to think this was more in the transhumanist/zombie genre than evil terrorist plot thriller, which I tend to avoid. It’s nothing against the genre; I just don’t do politics in my happy fun reading time. So, this book was already facing a challenge to satisfy someone who doesn’t tend to like that kind of story.
At first, it definitely was working for me. The plot of Amanda Flynn mysteriously surviving the illness and escaping the CDC to avoid being treated like a guinea pig was engrossing for the sheer humanity of it. The initial break-out in Colorado Springs was also intriguing with the virus killing some people but healing others from serious illnesses like childhood leukemia. At a certain point though it started to feel like O’Grady was trying to do too much. The book was trying to straddle multiple genres and plot-lines that didn’t quite mesh. Among the things going on: new general trying to prove himself, survivors who turn psychic, Amanda dealing with her guilt, new African-American head detective dealing with being head detective in a largely white city, priest having crisis of faith, little girl miraculously healed of leukemia, coroner who might be a sociopath, definitely evil dude who hallucinates (or might not be hallucinating) some random Russian guy, head of the CDC trying to figure out the spy in his office, and Arab dude who may or may not be defecting from the terrorists to the Americans. See what I mean? This would be totally fine if they all somehow tied up in the end, but the main issue in the book of these survivors with psychic powers is just kind of dropped. We get far more information on the foiled terrorist plot than on the effects of the virus on the survivors, and that is by far the more interesting part of the story.
It’s also bothersome that the main character, Amanda Flynn, is the least well-rounded and likeable. The priest and the coroner are far more interesting and well-rounded, showing that O’Grady can write characters well, but Amanda simply rings false. Perhaps part of this is that we see the priest and the coroner before they become infected and are still entirely human. The story of Amanda and her survival in the Honduras is simply never fully told, and I think that would have helped a lot, even if addressed only in a flashback.
Overall, although the story itself is not for me, it does suffer from some characterization/plotting issues. Thus, I would recommend it to huge fans of terrorist thrillers, who would probably still enjoy it.
2.5 out of 5 stars
Source: Amazon
Book Review: The Flight of the Silver Vixen by Annalinde Matichei (series, #1)
Summary:
Somewhere in outer space is an alien race consisting entirely of females. It’s not that the men are missing; they never existed. This race is known as intermorph, and those like our own are schizomorph. A teenage hover bike gang steals a space craft and finds themselves on a troubled intermorph planet where they must band together and fight as warriors against demons, internal enemies, and a neighboring aggressive schizomorph race.
Review:
This book reads distinctly like what would happen if you gave a bunch of ten year old girls the ability to record their imaginary playtime into a book and try to sell it. Everything from the dialogue to the plot screams, “A bunch of ten year old girls who like being girls but still think boys have cooties wrote this one day playing in their back yard.”
The writing is really bad. Clear characterization is almost non-existent. I was still uncertain as to who exactly various people were at the end of the book. The dialogue reads as so fake that it makes you cringe. It’s full of made-up words and ways of speaking that aren’t explained at all until a glossary at the end of the book. For example, the intermorphs don’t swear, but they do exclaim “g’doinking” when upset. See what I mean about ten year old girls? If I was, for instance, a middle school English teacher, I could see some merit in the writing and would encourage the young person to continue. This, however, is not a middle school English class. This is supposed to be a well-written, well-realized, novel. It is not.
Then there is the whole entire concept in and of itself. A race of just women absolutely can be a creative way to explore gender and sexuality, and I’ve seen it done well by famous feminist scifi authors. This is not done well, however. The intermorphs are all either brunettes or blondes with the brunettes fulfilling the traditional male role, and the blondes fulfilling the traditional female role. Everything about how they interact is a carbon copy of a traditional patriarchy. Just because both genders have vaginas doesn’t make how the brunettes treat the blondes less offensive. I also was incredibly disturbed at how the female main characters talked about the male schizomorphs. They referred to them as “it” and as animals. Even beards on men were degraded and feared. It’s the first time I’ve seen a book somehow manage to be both misogynistic and misandrist. This in and of itself is enough to warrant one star from me, even if the writing was good. This is not a healthy way to perceive men, women, gender, or sexuality.
I absolutely cannot recommend a piece of bad writing full of unhealthy perceptions of gender and sexuality to anyone. My hope is that the author is still quite young and with time will grow to more mature opinions, as well as more mature writing.
1 out of 5 stars
Source: Kindle copy received from author in exchange for my honest review
Book Review: Tempest Rising by Nicole Peeler (series, #1)
Summary:
Jane True lives in a small coastal town in Maine and cares for her father, a stubborn fisherman who refuses to leave his hometown. This means Jane is stuck in a town where everyone pretty much thinks she’s crazy. Everyone except the lesbian couple who run the local bookstore where she works. Even Jane thinks there’s something off about herself what with swimming near the deadly whirlpool The Sow in the ocean in the middle of the night in the winter on a regular basis. But then a neighbor winds up dead, mysterious people show up, and Jane finds out she’s half-selkie, and nowhere near as crazy as she once thought.
Review:
First things first. I absolutely, completely, 100% love the character of Jane True. If she lived in my neighborhood, we’d definitely be the best of friends. She’s smart and loyal with a biting, classic yankee sense of humor. At the same time though, she’s human, flawed, and makes mistakes but not the sort of mistakes that would make you hate her. I also really related to her relationship with her father, as mine has the same debilitating heart disease that her father has. Seeing her see in him the same, strong, blue collar daddy who raised her and who now is struggling with an illness was really refreshing to see in a paranormal romance. It seems like dads tend to be absent in the genre in general, when let’s face it, a lot of women’s dads remain an integral part of their life, even when grown-up.
The storyline itself is fairly complex, and it was a delight to see modern rural New England in literature. The characters also take a random jaunt up to Quebec, which honestly we definitely do periodically. I’ve been to Canada more times than I’ve been to the American south for instance. The settings were fabulous and well-envisioned. Normally I would complain about Jane’s love interest, but it’s obvious to me that she’s going to outgrow him with time.
The one thing I actually didn’t like about the book was the sex scenes, which is kind of problematic for a paranormal romance since that’s kind of half the point. Jane insists her man uses a condom. Ok, fine, write that in there once and then we’ll assume that they have safe sex for the other encounters. The thing is though, Mr. Man Candy complains about having to use a condom every single time, and every single time asks her if they really have to….by dangling the wrapped condom in her face. This is not sexy behavior! This is reason to ditch a guy behavior. She said use it, that means use one until she says otherwise quit being a baby. And frankly, quit ruining my sexy reading by turning into an asshole right before the sexy times. The whole entire sex scene situation is problematic throughout the book, and just gets worse each time they do it. There’s one scene in particular when Jane is down on her hands and knees, and the dude is behind her, and he dangles the condom in her face. Like randomly he’s behind her, she’s getting excited, he’s touching happy places, then bam there’s a condom in her face. WTF. This is not how paranormal romance should work. I get it that we’re not supposed to 100% like the guy, and this is part of the way of showing us he’s an asshole, but still. I hope the whole sex scene situation improves in the next book.
Overall, the character is a rich, engaging, Mainiac with a biting sense of humor, and the world Peeler has created is diverse and engaging. Hopefully the boyfriend situation improves in the later books. Given how much I like the main character (which is rare in paranormal romance), I’ll definitely be reading the next entry. If she sounds engaging to you as well, and you like paranormal romance, you’ll most likely enjoy this book.
3.5 out of 5 stars
Source: Amazon
Friday Fun! (Family Visit and Blood Pressure)
Hello my lovely readers! I hope your weeks have treated you well. Mine has been incredibly busy (I feel like I’m always saying that in these posts……) My brother and his family were in town taking their daughter to participate in a research study at Boston Children’s Hospital, so I got to hang out with them for an evening. My niece and nephew have both grown so much! My nephew (who is four) was very intrigued by my cat, and since his family has dogs, I got to explain to him the differences in interacting with a kitty versus a doggy. He eventually got the idea that cats scare easily and he had to approach her quietly. Then she let him pet her, which was adorable, because she hasn’t ever seen a miniature person since I adopted her (I don’t know about previously).
My brother also brought along a box of presents for me from my daddy, which included the most adorable father/daughter cookbook. (Plus tons of kitchen gear. I’m a bit obsessed with cooking). It also had presents for my kitty. She completely flipped out over them. I have yet to let her try the toy that blows catnip laced bubbles. I think that particular toy might call for some video, lol.
I also had two job interviews this week plus a doctor’s appointment (routine), which kept me running around the city like a chicken with my head cut off. It also meant a got a lot of kindle time though. At my doctor’s appointment, I finally got an updated blood pressure reading. Back in January, my blood pressure was extremely unhealthy, so much so that they wanted to put me on blood pressure medication. Heart disease runs in my family, and these stats freaked me out. So I made a lot of changes in my lifestyle–both eating and exercise level–in the hopes of fixing my blood pressure without meds. Well at the doctor’s this week my bp was 110 over 80, which is really excellent and healthy!! Yay!! :-)
My weekend is mostly going to be consumed with prep for the party I’m throwing that I’m super-excited about. Also seeing Cowboys and Aliens, which, um, is kind of part of the party. Don’t worry though, I’ll definitely squeeze some reading and writing time in. Happy weekends!
Book Review: Mai Tai One On by Jill Marie Landis (series, #1)
Summary:
Newly-divorced Em jumps at the chance to move to Kauai, Hawaii to assist her aging uncle in running his tiki bar. She hires a young, punk-style waitress who seems to be running from bad choices, and she gets to know the aging hula dance group that performs for free (it’s not like anyone would willingly pay them). Em is managing to increase business for the tiki bar and is starting to feel refreshed from her new life when the tiki bar’s neighbor shows up dead in their barbeque pit–with a machete slash through his skull. The gorgeous fire knife spinning detective Roland sees Em, the waitress, and her Uncle Louie as the prime suspects, so clearly Em and the hula group must work together to find the real culprit.
Review:
This was my first foray into the fairly newish cozy mystery genre. A cozy mystery is one involving something violent, but the violence is never particularly shown in a gruesome way, and the characters handle the situation in a humorous fashion. It’s kind of like a modern version of Agatha Christie. They also are really well-known for having puns in the titles. (Another one that springs to mind is The Long Quiche Goodbye
So what about this particular cozy? Well, the pun in the title is cute but doesn’t really have anything to do with the story. I can’t quite figure out what, exactly, is supposedly being tied on or tied up or what have you. No one is killed by ties. Basically, the title is a bit witty, but confusing.
The humor is excellent. I found myself laughing out loud multiple times while reading. In fact, this is the strong point of the book. Think of the wittiest, snarkiest person you know, then imagine that everyone around you has that same sense of humor. It’s delightfully funny and relaxing.
The characterization ranges from really well-done to painfully one-dimensional or lacking in vividness. For instance, all of the Hula Maidens are richly drawn elderly women who still have a lot of spunk and life left in them. Yet the main character, Em, is so dull that I kept mixing her up with the waitress. Similarly, some characters are so over-the-top as to be a bit offensive. For instance, a new addition to the island are Fernando and his boyfriend Wally who are both quite possibly the most flamboyant characters I’ve ever seen in a novel. Now, given the extremes of the Hula Maidens, that’s fine, but Wally is never given another element to his character. Whereas it is later revealed that a lot of Fernando’s flamboyance is an act for his career, Wally is such a gay stereotype he even repeatedly faints and is never given any other realm of possibility besides fabulous gay boyfriend. This is odd because the situation certainly arose to make him more compelling and well-rounded without diverting from the main storyline. Although I appreciate the inclusion of gay characters in the book that the other characters simply accept, I do wish Landis had been a bit more careful with her characterization of them.
The mystery itself isn’t too mysterious. Landis’s one attempt at misleading the reader into believing someone else is the murderer is so obvious as to be painful. I actually cringed on her behalf when reading the passage. The characters and humor are allowed to be obvious, but the mystery shouldn’t be.
I can give a pass to both of those issues considering that this is a cozy, and from what I’ve heard from friends who are fans, these sort of things are common in them. The one big problem though is that this book sorely, direly needed better editing. There were mistakes everywhere, which is baffling considering it comes from a publishing house (who supposedly are better because of the “professional” way they handle things….but that’s an issue for a different post). There were multiple sentences with verbs in the wrong location or written twice. Spelling errors and typos were present throughout. This really distracted me from my enjoyment of the story, because the flow would be interrupted while I double-checked that I read the sentence correctly. There is simply no excuse for such shoddy editing, although it is obviously the fault of the publishing house and editor, not the author.
These things said, though, looking at the book overall, it is still an enjoyable read. Ignoring the editing issues, it is an enjoyable cozy, but not an amazing one. The setting and rambunctious characters of the Hula Maidens hold much promise for future entries in the series. Hopefully it will go uphill from here. I recommend it to people who already know they are fans of cozies, but those who are uncertain should probably give it a pass.
3 out of 5 stars
Source: Amazon
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Opinions of a Wolf 