The Probable Future by Alice Hoffman: Audiobook

I have loved almost every book I have ever read by Alice Hoffman. She is a gifted storyteller. The only one I didn't like was Practical Magic and I know that's only because I love the movie so much. What bothered me about that book was that the beautiful relationship between the sisters in the movie is not important in the book. That's my favorite part of the movie. That's what makes the movie.

But this book...I have no words. hahahaha Of course I do, that's why I write this blog. It was wonderful. The relationship between the three main women in the book is so well developed. You can feel the tension between the mothers and daughters. You want to reach through the pages and MAKE them do what's right.

The Sparrow women have always been a little different. Each Sparrow woman, going back to their oldest known ancestor has a gift, or some cases a curse (depending on that "gift"). Elinor can tell liars. Not that she simply can pick up lies easily, she can smell the lie. Her daughter, Jenny, can see other people's dreams. Not what they daydream of doing with their lives, but their actual dreams as they're sleeping. Her daughter, Stella, can see how others are going to die. This "gift" causes trouble for her family when she begs her father to save a woman who is going to be murdered and he is suspected by the police when it comes true.

If you like a little magic in your everyday life, pick up this book. You won't be disappointed.

Hunger Games

Ok, I get it. I now know what all the fuss is about because this book kicks a$$! I'm always leery of reading a popular young adult book, especially after the Twilight debacle. :) (I never miss a chance to make a snide remark about that horrible series).

When I first read the blurb I thought, "it's a modern telling of Crete and the Minotaur." So when I read that was her inspiration, I was not surprised but as I read more of the book I started to think it was closer to Battle Royale. If you've never seen that movie, holy sh**. If you can handle copious amounts of gratuitous violence and obvious fake blood shooting everywhere (think Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill) then go find that movie. I normally can't but this movie is so over the top that it just isn't bad. In Battle Royale juvenile delinquents are sent to an island and told to battle to the death. There can only be one winner: the last one left alive. It is also televised for the country to watch as if it's a sport. In the Hunger Games this is essentially the storyline, except these are normal teens simply trying to survive. They come from the outlying districts to provide a sport for the Capitol. The reasoning behind this is to hinder rebellion in the districts (like Crete). Katniss, our protagonist, is not originally chosen but volunteers to save her 12 year old sister who is chosen.

I was so engrossed in this book that I couldn't stop reading. In fact I stayed up till 1:30 the other night and finally had to make myself stop. I would have stayed up all night. I am amazed too at the quality of the writing. Most authors in the young adult market simply can't write. They have a great idea and the storyline is pretty good, but the writing is horrible (e.g. Meyer and Clare). I have been impressed with Michelle Zink's Prophecy of the Sisters  and now Suzanne Collins. I will definitely be finishing both these series.

Noise by Darin Bradley

Ok, so maybe I'm slightly biased because I kinda know this guy (he lives in Denton and is friends with people I know). At least I've met him a couple times. The first time I met him, my friend Laura said, "This is Darin. He's a writer and his book is awesome." It hadn't even come out yet, so we are a very supportive group here in Denton!! He then started to tell me about his book and I too started to think, "Awesome!"

This thriller is most likely shelved in the sci-fi section of your local bookstore though I wouldn't really call it sci-fi, more post-apocalyptic. Or peri-post-apocalyptic. It takes place right here in the merry old town of Denton, which was weird because I'm a very visual reader. What I mean by that is I have vivid pictures in my head of what I am reading on the page when I read. Every time he described something in the book, I tried to picture it not as he was describing it, but as I know it to be. I tried to figure out where in town he might be talking about. He didn't make it explicitly Denton, in fact the town's name in the book is Slade, but if you're familiar with it, it's clear what's talking about. Except sometimes it's not. Apparently he took liberties, which kept messing me up and taking me out of the story a little. Not his fault, mine. Because the book itself is wonderful. I love these kind of watch-out-the-world-is-going-to-hell kind of stories.

What's great (i.e. scary) about this is one is it seems so plausible. The downfall of society is an economic collapse, not environmental or nuclear. Right now every time I turn on the radio, I hear about how much worse our economy is getting and this book makes it all the more real.

It also made me paranoid, which is really not all that hard honestly. If we do every have a break down in society. I think I'll go hide in the mountains all by myself for a few years.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: Audio

Yes, I know I am late to the game in reviewing this book, but that's never stopped me before! hehehe

When I first started listening to the audio of this book, I was so intrigued by the story that I did what I promised myself I wouldn't do, I went out and read other reviews of it before finishing. Let's just say that when I discovered the original name was Men Who Hate Women and I saw this in the NYTimes review, "Except for Blomkvist, nearly every man in the book under age 70 is a violent misogynist," I quickly thought I was going to hate this book. Good thing I had already downloaded it and was listening to it, because if I had read that prior to buying it, I never would have. I loved this book. I think the NYTimes review of it is greatly exaggerated. I swear, the book reviewers they have there hate everything. Are they paid by how well they can trash a book?

I found the "mystery" to be slightly predictable but the writing so compelling I couldn't stop listening. I put in on my ipod and listened to on my walks with the dogs, as I was cleaning house, and even while I was in the shower! Shame on you Alex Barenson. Did you even finish this book? You say, "Even after 460 pages, it’s not clear whether Blomkvist cares, whether he’s troubled by his lack of intimacy or simply resigned to it. Is he stoic or merely Swedish? Either way, he seems more a stock character than a real person." But that's how all mystery characters are. Since when do mystery writers spend time examining the intricate details of the investigator's life? The reader would be bored. The mystery is the important part and Larsson does this well. I will definitely be reading the other books with Blomkvist and Lisbeth, who is undoubtedly the most interesting character in the book and well deserving of the American title. 

The Graveyard Book

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman is the story of Bod, short for Nobody Owens, who grows up in the graveyard near his home after the murder of his family. His best friends are ghosts and his guardian is neither living nor dead and he can never leave the graveyard or "the man called Jack" will come for him.

I have been wanting to read this for awhile now since I have loved all of Gaiman's other novels, but it seems that some other book always got in the way of this one. Finally, last night I finished The Path of Daggers and decided today would be the day I would sit down with this book. I started a little after 9 this morning and finished at 5:30 this evening. This includes, of course, my many trips to the computer to play games on Pogo or write emails or check Facebook (which for some reason can take a surprising amount of time). Even at 305 pages it is a very quick read, since it is written for middle schoolers. I loved that, in spite of writing for a specific audience, Gaiman does not talk down to the reader. At no point did I get that sense of "irritating teacher talk." This is what I call the way some adults talk to children when they don't really know how to talk to children. And the only point when I felt Gaiman was over explaining things was when Bod's friend Scarlett talks about deja vu, but then when I reminded myself that the intended audience for this book might not really know deja vu, then it didn't feel over explained at all.

What really grabbed me in this book was Bod. He's an amazing character and I really want to see more of him. I am hoping Gaiman writes a sequel to this. There are a couple things that feel not very well explained and have that sense of "you'll find out later" as if there are supposed to be more books. I also very much loved the relationship between Silas and Bod. I want to read more of it! In fact, I was so sure, based on the way the book ended and the details that were not completely explained, that there must be a sequel planned. I was so sure that I searched for it and low and behold I found this on an FAQ page on Gaiman's Mouse Circus  site:


Q: Could you write a sequel to THE GRAVEYARD BOOK? I just finished it and I want more!
A: I will, yes, but it will go to very different places—and it may not get back to the Graveyard.

YAYYYY! I don't when but some day I will again get to read about Bod, and maybe find out if my suspicions on Silas are correct.
Near the beginning of the book one passage made me just giggle out loud, in spite of the terrible things happening in the scene. Bod is just a baby, a little more than a year old and the man Jack is in the house killing his family. Bod, unaware of this, wakes to a noise and is bored in his crib so he decides to climb out:

He landed with a muffled thump on a small mound of furry, fuzzy toys, some of them presents from relations from his first birthday, not six months gone, some of them inherited from his older sister. He was surprised when he hit the floor, but he did not cry out: if you cried they came and put you back in your crib.

Why was this funny to me? Because it is exactly what my sister's son did either about this age or a little younger. I actually think he might have been a little younger. Except there was nothing to soften his fall. And he landed on his head. And he seemed very proud of himself. 

Another thing that got me was how unimportant life must seem to someone who grows up in a cemetery surrounded by people who have already died and are happy as ghosts. Why would he care if the man called Jack killed him? And in fact, Gaiman addresses this:

Bod shrugged. "So?" he said. "It's only death. I mean, all of my best friends are dead." 

I won't ruin it and give Silas' response to this but it's good. Read this book. You will love it, no matter your age.

State of Fear: Audio

Contrived is not usually a word I use with Michael Crichton but State of Fear is exactly that. Crichton obviously had an agenda when he wrote this book and I feel his plot suffers because of it.

Several of his other works obviously started with the idea that "something is bad and we shouldn't do it, here's why" but they never felt as if they had an agenda. They were just the stories of what could happen if the science went wrong. Next, and  Jurrassic Park are good examples. State of Fear feels contrived and arrogant.

The story is told mainly from the point of view of lawyer, Peter Evans. Peter works for millionaire philanthropist, George Morton, who donates large sums to environmentalist causes, mainly in the organization National Environmental Resource Fund (NERF). As the story progresses we learn there are eco-terrorists plotting the biggest story ever. They want to make headlines and at the same time make it look as if it was caused by global warming. The hero of the book is international law enforcement agent, John Kenner, who is out to stop these terrorists.

The problem I have with the book is not that Crichton has a different point of view from mine on climate change (he doesn't believe that it is caused by people) but that he makes any character in his book with a different point of view seem like a moron. The only smart people in the book are the ones who know the "truth." That is, Michael Crichton's idea of what that truth is. He makes it seem as if every environmentalist is a stupid Hollwood, brainless idiot who doesn't know how to actually protect the environment. There are those in the world and I wish they would stop being the talking heads for the environmental movement, because they are morons. However, all environmentalists are not like that. 

The next problem I have with the book is that Peter is a whiny, irritating person who asks the dumbest questions. I want my main character to have a bit of one brain cell, please. Listening to this person makes me want to throw the discs out the window because I hate him.

Another problem I have with this book is related to that. Peter for some reason is always along when John Kenner is after the bad guy. Why? He knows nothing of what is going on and doesn't know how to stop these people. He has no information and no skill. In fact, when he goes on the first "mission" he is almost killed. Then, instead of staying home and healing from that, Kenner takes him along on the next "mission," where he is almost killed. But then he gets to on the next one too! It's just plain irritating. No government official is going to leave to fate of millions in the hands of this idiot time after time.

The last problem I have with this book is none of the main characters are ever killed, no matter what Crichton has to do to make them live through the most improbable situation. Give your readers some credit Crichton and let a character or two die. Maybe he'll read that from wherever he is now! hehehe

Crichton ends the book with George vowing to start a new kind of environmental organization, one that will "study the real problem and fix it" instead of relying on outmoded ideas of what the problem might be. I think that's a wonderful idea but it doesn't fit with the rest of the book at all. He spent all this time telling us that there is no problem we can fix, because we didn't cause it. The appendixes are filled with Crichton's notes on his studies leading up to writing this book. He admits he doesn't know the cause but then tries to convince the reader we are not at fault. You can't have it both ways, Michael. You can't know and not know.

A Tale of Two Cities: Audio

For such a classic, I was surprised to learn how little I actually knew about Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities. I've read Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, and David Copperfield, yet for some reason never really even knew what this was about. I did know that at some point in the book, some man makes a great sacrifice because of a woman and states, "It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known." However, I didn't know why or how that came about.

I can't really say anymore about this book than has been said numerous times in the past. I do know more about the French Revolution than I did before. I never realized that the blood thirsty revolutionaries didn't stop with the nobles. They continued to hang people for just the word of anyone that the person MIGHT be against the revolution. The "laws" that were in enacted during this time which would cause a person to go to the guillotine were ridiculous. At one point in the book a man calls to another, "How many today?" And the other man answers "38! It will be 39 tomorrow!" They are discussing how many will have their heads cut off. It is not a matter of actual guilt, it is a matter of putting heads under the knife, no matter their guilt or innocence. It makes me look at Napoleon in a better light. Jeez, someone had to stop it!

Although it got a very slow start, this book was wonderful and had me crying in my car while I drove home from work. Maybe not such a good thing! It also got me interested in history again. History of all kinds, not just the French Revolution. Wow, my knowledge in that area is horrid!

Leeway Cottage: Audio

Unfortunately this is another book that started out with a lot of promise but left me feeling kind of flat. Leeway Cotttage by Beth Gutcheon is the story of Sydney Brant and Laurus Moss. They are a young couple very much in love just before the start of WWII. Laurus is a Jewish Danish painter who meets the rich Dundee girl Sydney while studying in America. Shortly after their marriage, he goes to help the Danish Resistance, leaving his newly pregnant wife alone for four years. After his return, neither he nor Sydney are the same. Can they find their way back to each other? Or will they remain forever apart?

This could have been a wonderful book. It had all the makings of a wonderful book. But it didn't happen. Sydney is a spirited, mostly happy person who wants to make the world a better place. Her mother was hard on her but Sydney seems to have not let it affect her too much as she still wants to find  and give happiness. But when Laurus comes home after the war, she is a different person. So much more than can be accounted for just by her husband being gone while she works and takes care of their child. I kept expecting the big reveal to tell me what exactly happened to Sydney while Laurus was away but it never happened. There is never any explanation for why she changed so much into the biggest *B* that ever lived. Her story is almost completely lost during this time. We get to know what Laurus was up to, what his parents we doing to stay alive, we even know by the end of the book the horrible things that happen to his sister in a concentration camp but the main character in this book is Sydney and there is NEVER an explanation for the big change that comes over her. There is also a constant hint throughout the book that Sydney's mother may not really be her mother. However, this is never directly addressed, making the reader feel cheated. Even if we never know the true answer, it should at least be dealt with if the author is going to hint at it several times throughout.

I thought the book was written very well, all the plot lines woven in carefully without a seam to make you feel as if it was integral to book and not added just for the fun of it. But leaving out two such a vital pieces of information leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth for this book. I can't even recommend it.

The Friday 56: Four Past

Rules:
* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of this blog.
*Post a link along with your post back to this blog.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Can you believe I almost FORGOT it was Friday. I got up, let the dogs outside, made coffee, was up for a little while and then it hit me IT'S FRIDAY. It's weird how you can lose track of the days when you don't have a schedule. The vacation has been nice but I am starting to get BORED. I will actually be glad to go back to work on Monday, even if it is the same old job and not the new one (still keeping fingers crossed!).

Today's selection comes from The Lanogoliers, a short story in Stephen King's Four Past Midnight, since I had it out yesterday to talk about. It never got put away.

"We'll have to capture him as soon as we land," Albert said, scraping one hand feverishly up the side of his face. "You, me, Mr. Gaffney, and that Brittish guy. He looks tough."

I'm thinking of changing the logo for this meme. In your comments today, please let me know if you like it or want to keep the old one.

My Favorite Reads: The Queen of the Damned

My Favorite Reads is hosted by Alyce on her blog At Home With Books. The idea is to take a book you read before you started blogging and tell your readers about it.


Just like high school girls are today, I was a teenaged vampire fanatic. The only difference is my vampires were what vampires should be: dangerous and exciting not broody and pathetic. Oh, yeah I loved the whole Angel/Buffy thing and he was broody but he was never pathetic. And of course, that was before Spike came along. Spike is what vampires should be. However, before there was Buffy the Vampire Slayer, there was the Vampire Chonicles by Anne Rice. No one does vampires like Anne Rice did. Too bad she found Jesus. (Literally: Christ the Lord)

Like all teenagers, I thought everything I discovered was new. No one had ever seen it before I laid eyes on it. Because of this I didn't know that Queen of the Damned was part of a series. I picked it up because it looked like something I would fall in love with. And it was. It happens to be the third book in the Vampire Chronicles, following Interview with the Vampire and The Vampire Lestat.

I now know that seeing the book in the first place was probably not an accident. Considering it was originally published in 1988 and I read it in 1993, it was probably part of some marketing strategy. I read it about a year before the movie Interview with the Vampire was released. There was most likely some big display in the store featuring the books. Though why I chose that book and not Interview is lost in the pages of my history. The title probably sounded much more interesting. And, I was also going through a phase of the bigger the book the better. Since Interview has 352 pages and Queen has 512, I'm thinking that might be the reason. I clearly remember once in high school, an adult commenting on the thickness of my book (I think it might have been Scarlett: 832 pages). She seemed shocked that I'd be willing to read something that long. I felt at once contemptuous of her and proud of myself. It was clear she didn't think it worth her time to read something that long, therefore I was better than her. Isn't teen-think wonderful?

The thing is, Queen of the Damned IS the better book. Not just because it's bigger, but because the story is so much more complex and the characters more defined. In Interview the characters are very one dimensional. It's a good book, but people do things because they are good or evil in Interview. They are not either good or evil in Queen, even Akasha.

I will say now, that I have never seen the movie. I saw the previews and that was enough for me. I don't believe they did Akasha right and I don't want to see her portrayed that way. It was never supposed to get the big release it did anyway. It was supposed to be one of those straight-t0-video movies but when the actress/singer playing Akasha died, it got all that attention. I can't even remember right now who that was. Sad, huh?

The Eye of the World re-read

The great thing about this project is that I get to post reviews of this series that I originally read before I had this blog. It's kind of exciting!

I posted some pre-review comments earlier this week. If you haven't had a chance to read them, go on and check it out.

My very last semester of college I took a class on early British literature. I was not an English major but a music major and I was more than ready to be FINISHED with school. So why would I take such a hard class? Oddly enough I didn't have enough junior/senior credits to graduate. I needed 1 more. Weird considering as a music major I KNOW I took more classes than most people in other majors. I have no idea how that happened. I could have taken another music class, it certainly would have made more sense but the only thing I hadn't taken that would be open to me was Marching Methods. Now if you're not familiar with the wonderful world of band directing you will not know what this means. Count yourself lucky. High school band directors in the south spend about as much time devising plans for their marching band as they do actually teaching children how to play their instruments. It's probably the number one reason I decided I did not want to be a band director in the first place. I loved marching band. I know that's weird, but I did. However, I did not want my entire career as a musician being defined by how well 15 year olds could play and step in time while remembering what form they're making. Therefore, I was certainly not going to take a class all about this. I took the British Lit class instead. To make a long story short, it was not my focus (as I was taking music history and composition in this same semester) and I didn't do so well in this class. But I met a wonderful guy who found out how much I like fantasy novels. He gave me The Eye of The World as a graduation gift. I don't remember his name and for that I am sorry. What I remember most about him is that when I said I would look for the book myself (I didn't want to take his paperback copy knowing I may never see him again to give it back), he said, "Take it. I love this series so much I'm planning on getting the whole run in hardback.

Little could this guy have known in 2000 how long he was going to have to wait for that particular dream to come true!

In May 2000, 8 books in the series had been published and the 9th was awaiting release later that year. A pretty good go for a series to have 9 books published in 10 years. Sounds like someone was making some good progress! I even remember thinking, "Wow! I won't have to wait forever for the ending! By the time I get to 9th book, maybe the end will have been written!" Yeah, not quite. I finished these books lightning fast (though I was starting to have some doubts as to its previously believed genius come The Path of Daggers) and purchased the 9th book, Winter's Heart, as soon as it was released. I waited another 3 years for the next book and was sorely disappointed in it. I then waited another 2 years for the next book and was even more disappointed. By now, even though I'm pretty irritated with the turn the series had taken (or lack of turn maybe is a better way to describe it) I was fairly invested in it. I wanted to know the end. Two more years passed and in this time, fans of series learned that Jordan was seriously ill.

I remember hearing about a letter that one of Stephen King's fans sent him when he was hospitalized after his car accident that basically said "You better not die before you finish the Dark Tower." It was heartless....but I kind of knew where the guy was coming from! In September of 2007, the thing Jordan's fans feared happened. He died beforehe could finish the last book. Now the next book (the *last* has been split into 3) has just been released. It has been 4 years since I read the previous book and even then I was starting to think to myself "who is that person again?" as I read the book. I knew there was no way I would be able to enjoy this new book. Thus, my project to begin the series again.

I am so glad I did! I remember why I love The Wheel of Time. I remember now, that Jordan WAS gifted writer. He just got lost along the way. I don't believe The Eye of the World is the best book in the series as some have said, but it is well paced with a good story that has great characters that leave you wanting more. I am looking forward to immersing myself once again in this world. I'm going to repost something I already said in the previous one because I think it bears repeating. I think it's something that lapsed-fans of the series may not realize: Even Jordan's side roads in the story may have been planned. Here's why I think that...

There is a speech Moiraine gives the Emond's Fielders after they're reunited in Caemlyn in which she states:

You three did not choose; you were chosen by the Pattern. And you are here, where the danger is known. You can step aside, and perhaps doom the world. Running, hiding, will not save you from the weaving of the Pattern. Or you can try. You can go to the Eye of the World, three ta'veren, three centerpoints of the web, placed where the danger lies.

Now obviously she is attempting to get the boys to see they need to act on one specific danger but as I read the sentence "Running, hiding, will not save you from the weaving of the Pattern," I realize maybe THIS is what is happening in the books that appear to be a bunch of random nothingness. If I want to give Jordan that much credit, I would say that maybe he is showing what would happen if they did try to run from their duties as ta'veren. Maybe.

The Eye of The World: Pre-Review Comments

First of all, I feel I should say I must have had way more time on my hands in college than I remember because it's taking me much longer to read this book than I remember it taking 10 years ago. Of course, since it was kind of a graduation present, I guess I wasn't reading it when I should have been studying or practicing. I had a whole summer of just working and doing practically nothing but reading and partying.

I'm about 150 pages from the end and the only reason I'm that far is because I was so sick for three days I hardly got out of bed. In fact, I had to go to Walgreens and I didn't even bother to get out of pajamas. I just threw my coat over top. Yes, I was THAT person. I was sick, I don't care. So, when I wasn't sleeping (which I did A LOT) I got to read. And this is what I've discovered:

I remember again why I got so hooked on this series. Jordan IS a good writer. I had forgotten that! He also seems to have had a plan, which is suddenly more apparent on a second read through than it ever was the first time through. There are things in the book I overlooked the first time through because they simply did not make sense not knowing what he was referencing. It's all well and good to give some foreshadowing but if your audience doesn't know wtf those things mean then they'll forget you said that! Reading it a second time I'm seeing all kinds of references to things that aren't even mentioned until several books later. On my original reading, as I got further into the story I got more and more frustrated by the apparent randomness of some of the storylines that kept popping up. I'm not going to completely absolve him of this though, I still think he went a-rambling in the last couple of books, but to know there was a plan to begin with and he laid the groundwork for that plan in book one as a good writer should makes me respect him again as a writer.

An interesting point I noted along this thought-line. There is a speach Moiraine gives the Emond's Fielders after they're reuinted in Caemlyn in which she states:

You three did not choose; you were chosen by the Pattern. And you are here, where the danger is known. You can step aside, and perhaps doom the world. Running, hiding, will not save you from the weaving of the Pattern. Or you can try. You can go to the Eye of the World, three ta'veren, three centerpoints of the web, placed where the danger lies.

Now obviously she is attempting to get the boys to see they need to act on one specific danger but as I read the sentence "Running, hiding, will not save you form the weaving of the Pattern," I realize maybe this IS what is happening in the books that appear to be a bunch of random nothingness. If I want to give Jordan that much credit, I would say that maybe he is showing what would happen if they did try to run from their duties as ta'veren. Maybe.

2012

I went to see 2012 last night. I am a sucker for disaster movies or anything starring John Cusack so this movie was pretty much made for me! ;)

I went into the theater with the full knowledge that the Mayans do NOT believe the world is going to end on the winter solstice of the year 2012 so I'm glad they didn't concentrate on this too long. It was inevitable that it would make an appearance since the name of the movie comes from this misconception. For those of you who still think the Mayans did believe this simply because that is the date their calendar ends I ask you this: Do you believe the world will end when the calendar on your wall ends? The Mayans were a civilization advanced in astronomy. Their calendars (yes, they had more than the one that ends in 2012) have many astrological phenomena in it and the lining up of the planets that is supposed to happen in 2012 is just one of them.

But I get off the subject. If you have not seen the movie, I apologize for any spoilers there may be in here. I will try to keep them as vague as possible.

The science in the movie is sketchy at best. The cause is supposed to neutrinos? By their very name neutrinos are neutral. Ok, so there is one little line in the whole movie that tries to explain this by saying that the solar flares are causing the neutrinos to be a different kind of molecule. BS. Sorry, but it is.

The one other thing that really bothered me about this is the ships they all get on at the end. The one John Cusack and his family get on is not able to start it's engines because the gate is open. What??!! What kind of F***ed up design flaw is this? I know it makes for more drama and high intensity but there are better more plausible ways to do this. Ok, so the gate is jammed because something is caught in the hydraulics. Well, it would seem more reasonable to me to say that they can start the engines but the turning mechanism is also jammed because it is a part of the same hydraulic system as the gate. Same high intensity drama that we get with coming up on the Everest, but better reason. I mean, seriously, does your car's engine not start if the door is open?

But other than these two minor problems I really liked the movie. Like I said, it was pretty much made for me! It was long and I like long movies. It had lost of things getting destroyed because mother nature was going crazy and I love a badass mother nature. It had lots of great acting. It had John Cusack, need I say more?

The Angel's Game: Audio

The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon is the story of David Martin, a young writer in Barcelona, Spain in the early part of the 20th century. Growing up in poverty to a father who could not read and disdained books, David eventually finds a small group a book lovers who encourage his desire to be a writer. Through the years he is contacted by a mysterious French publisher, Andreas Corelli, who wants David to write an even more mysterious book. He life, his home, and his friends all become suspect as he discovers exactly what he is supposed to write and the writers before him who have not been able to accomplish the task....

I was completely engrossed with this story and found myself often already home from my long drive without remembering the journey. I was intrigued by the mystery David finds himself in the middle of and kept discovering that what I had predicted would happen, didn't. And that always makes me gloriously happy. When an author sets up a storyline to go in one direction and misleads you into thinking it's going another, it doesn't matter what the genre: This is a good book. If that can be done well, the author deserves many prizes and much fame, both of which Zafon has received. I don't like being able to predict a story too soon, that makes it boring. When the moment of realization came for me near the end of this story, it was so stunning I actually had to turn the cd off and take a break from the book to digest what I had just learned. It came out of nowhere but made complete sense. Zafon had been setting it up all along but so carefully, it was so hidden, that I never saw it coming. Beautiful is all I can say.

If there is one thing that I have to criticize, that would be the pace of the first part of the book. Up until right before the start of Part 2, it is fairly slow. The early years of David's life and his interactions with Christina and Pedro are sometimes redundant. But for me, this was not enough to detract from the greatness of the book. Yes, I am pouring out the love of this book shamelessly. I even decided to wait a week before writing my review so I could try to write a more objective review. Not possible. Simply put, I loved this book. The only thing that happened with time to think on it, was that I came to like the ending. At first I felt cheated but as I put more time from when I listened to it, I grow to think it is the ONLY way it could have possibly ended. In Part 1, I was beginning to wonder if it was supposed to be a modern telling of Dracula, with David playing the part of Jonathan Harker. This may and may not have some validity but I won't say anymore on that. Sadly, the truth of Corelli is never told. We are left to make our own inferences. But I have an idea and I'll guess that I'm not far off.

Short Stories: Dreams

Hey look, I got stories up two Saturdays in a row! Let's see if I can keep this up!

I am continuing the stories from Stephen King's Just After Sunset. I have really enjoyed these stories so I've read them fairly fast and want to share them all with you. Hopefully soon I'll get back to the Orson Scott Card book of stories.

This is from Harvey's Dream

As Janet makes deviled eggs one morning, she notices her husband Harvey sitting at the kitchen table, looking old and disheveled. He is not normally like this but it haunts her to see him this way every weekend, as if it foretells the future. Harvey begins to tell her of his dream, a nightmare really. As he talks, Janet becomes increasingly scared. He describes looking out the window to see a dent in the neighbor's car, which Janet noticed this morning. He describes opening the fridge to see a plate of deviled eggs made and ready to eat. He describes noticing his shadow in the bright sunlight, which "never looked so bright or thick," just the way Janet had thought of his shadow before he began talking. And then Harvey talks about what scared him in the dream...

From Rest Stop

John Dykstra is a famous writer but no one who knows him knows this. This is because he uses a pen name, Rick Hardin. He is contemplating just where he and his alter-ego separate as he pulls into a rest stop one night. He hears the unmistakable sounds of a woman being beat by her boyfriend in the bathroom. He is struck paralyzed by the indecision of what to do until he realizes he doesn't have to do anything as John Dykstra but he CAN do something as Rick Hardin.

I haven't made comments on these so far because to say over and over again that I liked them would be redundant. It's much more fun to describe them and let you decide, but I didn't like Rest Stop. I felt it was dull and pointless and I didn't like the "hero."

Short Stories: Willa

I know I promised short stories every Saturday and haven't delivered. I have no excuse, really, but work and simply not feeling like it! These are from Stephen King's book of stories, Just After Sunset. So far, I'm really enjoying the stories in it, except for one that I think fell far short of Stephen King's genius. With that said, I feel like a lot of these stories were actually the first few chapters of some possibly great books but I don't think he recaptured the magic of short story telling like he thought he did. They all felt cut off and short stories might be short but they should be complete. There really isn't much to say about each of these stories without completely giving away everything so I'll give you two today.

The first is Willa.

The story is told through the eyes of Willa's fiancee, David. He is looking for her and asking everyone around the train station where he is if they have seen her. It's obvious these people have gotten to know each other pretty well as he walks around the station and you begin to wonder just how long they have been waiting for their train. Nothing is immediately odd as he walks out of the station to find her except how anxious everyone seems that he stay and wait for the train even though Willa may miss it. Once he finds her, Willa convinces David to see the world as it really is, how it has been for a long time for them only and they go back to the train station to show everyone there too...

Next up is The Gingerbread Girl

This is the story of Emily, who has taken up running after the death of her baby. Not just everyday, simple jogging to clear your mind and get exercise, but full out, the monster is after me, running. And she does it several times a day. Her husband sees it as an obsession. This causes a rift in the already unstable marriage. Emily goes to her father's beach house in Florida get some space and freedom to run. While there she encounters the crazy neighbor....

The Golden City by John Twleve Hawks

The Golden City is the third and final installment in John Twelve Hawks' trilogy The Fourth Realm. If you've missed my previous discussions on these books, you can see them here and here.

Before I get into the actual review of this book, I have to say I waited a very long time for it. I know, there are people who waited something like 15 years for Stephen King to finish The Dark Tower series, so I guess I should count myself lucky. AND, I started this series long after I started Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series and I'm STILL waiting for that ending so I guess I shouldn't complain too much. At least Hawks didn't die before finishing! But I feel like I've waited even longer for this last book because it seemed so important in a way that other fiction doesn't. These books opened my eyes to the craziness around us. Yes, this is fiction but the technology he talks about is real. These terrible things that the Vast Machine uses to control people in this series are things that are actually being used today. I won't go all crazy talking about that again. My first post on this series pretty much says all I wanted to say on that.

I also started this book later than I wanted. I wanted to re-read the other two books before this one came out in order to remind myself of any parts of the plot I had forgotten. I had loaned a friend The Traveler and didn't get it back until the day before The Golden City was released. Then, I had to deal with fleas in the house. Oh, what a joy. That took a lot of time to wash everything and the dogs and I am still not sure they're completely gone. YUCK! Then, I got the flu and didn't feel like reading. So, all this waiting and anticipating can build an excitement for a book that can either make it all the more wonderful or a big let down. This was not a let down.

I think Hawks has grown as a writer since the first book. His style is the same but there is more flow between passages. I have no idea if this really was his first book as is claimed but if he was already an accomplished writer like some have speculated, I don't think this growth would have been obvious. If you're confused by that statement, then you're not aware that no one really knows who John Twelve Hawks is. His name is a pen name and he never makes appearances. All interviews and online commentary are through a third party and he claims to live off the grid. I wasn't aware of this when I first picked up The Traveler. I simply saw an interesting book at the store and decided to read it. I was so blown away by the ideas presented in it that I began looking for more information. There are whole sites dedicated to discussing who he might be. In the older posts Dan Brown seems to be the major contender but I read a lot of Dan Brown's books and unless he's REALLY good at changing his style, I don't think that's it. Plus, he also just released a book. Not likely. Some other interesting candidates were J.K. Rowling, Michael Cunnigham, and Stephen Hawking. I'm intrigued by the Rowling suggestion. What better way to fend off the naysayers if you want to put out something completely different than what you're known for. However, I don't buy it either. I think my favorite is the Stephen Hawking suggestion. I'm not sure where this idea came from but it's a wonderful one, even if it's not true. I don't really care though. If Hawks wants to be mysterious and never show himself, I say so be it as long as he gives me another wonderful novel.

The Fourth Realm series is centered around Maya and Gabriel. Maya is a wayward Harlequin. She was born into the life and taught by her father from a very young age to fight, be independent, and avoid being a part of mainstream society in order to best protect the Travelers. The Travelers are people who are able to leave their bodies and travel to one of 5 other dimensions (or realms). Gabriel is just learning in the first book that he is a Traveler. Along with his brother Michael, he has inherited this gift from his father. The Traveler mainly introduced these characters and showed us the power of the Vast Machine. Gabriel and Michael early on chose different sides in the conflict. The conflict appears to be almost over by our time. The people in power behind the governments are a group called the Brethren. They have over time amassed a great deal of power and lead the world quietly without ever being detected by the majority of the population. Travelers come into every generation and learn from their travels to other realms. They see the world in a different way and are able to lead people toward true freedom. I imagine if travelers were real then the ones from the last century would be people like Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, and John Lennon. Obviously this makes this a threat to the vision the Brethren have for the world and they have been hunted throughout time. Until now. Now Michael has joined their team.

I think one of the most interesting aspects of these books is the 6 different realms, which Hawks borrowed from The Tibetan Book of the Dead. The First Realm is a type of Hell, or Hades, or whatever you want to call it. It is a place where violence is constant and a way of life. The Second Realm is the place of the Hungry Ghosts, where the people can never be satisfied. The Third Realm is the forest of animals. No humans live here and it is speculated that this mirrors the biblical Eden. The Fourth Realm is where we live. The Fifth Realm is a place of the half-gods where the dominant trait is jealousy. And the Sixth is the realm of the gods where the dominant trait is pride.

During The Traveler we are given a chance to experience the Second Realm. The First is prevalent throughout The Dark River and The Golden City. In The Golden City Michael meets the half-gods and is shown by them how to manipulate the governments of the world to take over. By this time he is truly one of the bad guys. It seemed to me that the Sixth Realm was a version of what our world would be if we don't wake up and demand our rights not be taken away "for our own good." Both he and Gabriel briefly visit the Third Realm and I wish they had spent more time exploring. Maybe it would have dragged the book a little but I feel this was the most beautiful Realm. It sounds like a place I would like to visit. Gabriel also gets a surprise when he finally makes it to the Golden City in the Sixth Realm.

I think Hawks did a good job of wrapping up the story in this book while still leaving us wanting more. On his site he answers questions from his fans. In response to one about this book, he said he can't answer questions that would have spoilers. But he also put in this tidbit that I'd like to leave you with. I think it sums it all up nicely:

In general, I can say that those characters that are alive at the end of the trilogy are going to continue those lives.
At the end of The Golden City, the implication should be that what happens is up to all of us (myself included). Are you going to defend your own freedom? How will you stand against the Vast Machine?

Living Dead In Dallas by Charlaine Harris

Ok, it is very possible it is me since I just read a Charles de Lint book I didn't particularly care for (and I LOVE him) so take this review with a grain of salt.

The only reason I began reading the Sookie Stackhouse books was because I really liked the first season of True Blood, which is based on these books. However, I am just not finding too much I like about the books. I'm too thrilled with the writing itself. Harris' style is very choppy and childish. Maybe childish is the wrong way to decribe it but I feel like I'm reading something written by someone who doesn't know much about writing a novel. The storyline is interesting but I can't get around the fact that I just don't think she's a very good author. I will admit I didn't finish this one. Usually I don't review a book if I don't finish it but I want to know if anyone else is reading these and feeling the same way I do. Again I feel let down by a vampire novel that I feel has taken the things I love about vampire novels and completely done away with them. For example, where's the lure of the vampire itself. Yeah, she talks about people being enamored with vampires but you don't really feel it and Sookie appears to be the only one we've encountered who is enamored with a vampire who's not utterly crazy. What about the dark mysterious and sexual quality of vampire literature? I'm not really into erotica but even Dracula had quite a bit of sexual undertones. That's why we love vampires, the represent the dark side of our sexual fantasies. Harris just glosses over it. She talks about it, but again I don't feel it. It's like it's a part of someone else's story that Sookie talk about but never really experiences for herself.

Not sure why I'm having such a hard time getting into my books lately. Maybe I just need a change of pace. Maybe I should go pick up another Kelly Armstrong book. I haven't read anything by her in awhile. I've read a lot of the Anita Blake series and am tired of that too. Someone got some other suggestions by someone who knows how to write?

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

I had been noticing this book for some time since it came out but had yet to read it. Even after I bought it, it sat on my shelf for a couple months while I read other things before pulling it out. Maybe I needed to read it at the right time, whatever that may have been, but I wish I had read this sooner. It is a wonderful book and beautifully written. I'm always amazed when an author's first book is this good. You know they were born to be writers, they don't even seem to have to work at it. Maybe she does, maybe she spends hours constructing the perfect sentence but I doubt it. This book flows as if she just thought of the words yesterday and wrote them all down as the came to her without any editing at all.

The Thirteenth Tale is about an author (another theme that author's never seem to tire of, especially Stephen King, but that's another post for another time), Vida Winter, who in the last years of her life has decided to finally tell the world the truth about her past. She is one of the world's best known authors and her books are always best sellers but she has become as famous for her fictional stories about her past as she is for her books. Several times a year she grants interviews in which the journalist asks for the story of her life. Vida Winter never disappoints, that is, she never tells the truth. Now she's ready and she's decided that Margaret Lea is the perfect person to tell it to. Only Margaret has a secret of her own and Ms. Winter's life is all too close to her own pain.

I loved this book from the moment I began to read. Like I said, Setterfield's writing flows in a way that is like she's talking to you, not writing. It's as captivating as an oral story can be when done well. This may have been a good book to get the audio for, maybe I'll still do that. In fact, most of the book is Ms. Winter telling her story to Margaret in the library of her house. It would be neat to just take the parts of her childhood story and have them put into an oral story. I was drawn in to Vida Winter's childhood in the odd mansion with the family that's not quite right. It reminded me a lot of Jane Eyre and Rebecca, though I'm sure that's on purpose since Jane Eyre is mentioned several times throughout the book. I did find one glaring error that should have probably been caught in the editing but it wasn't something that would ruin the story. Just something that made an "ah-ha" moment for Margaret not so momentous as it should have been. I won't mention it, because if you don't notice it won't bother you and I don't like to write spoilers if I don't have to. But if you've read the book and are curious about what I'm talking about, I'll let you know in comments with a big spoiler tag on it.

Dead Until Dark

Dead Until Dark is the first book in the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris. This is the series that the HBO series True Blood is based on. In fact, the reason I began reading this book was because I enjoyed the tv show so much. If you're not familiar with the storyline here's a little to entice you:

Sookie Stackhouse is waitress in Bon Temps, a small town in Louisanna. She is also a mind reader. When a man comes into the bar where she works one day, she realizes immediately that he is a vampire. This is fairly exciting for Sookie for a couple of reasons. One, she's never met a vampire before. Two, she can't hear his thoughts. This is welcome relief from the many thoughts of other people constantly floating into her head all day everyday. Soon she is wrapped up in a world of vampires, shape changers, and a serial killer. Will she be the next victim?

Ok, wanted to try my hand at writing a blurb instead of using the back of the book. What do you think? :))

It was little weird reading this since I had already finished season 1. There isn't much difference between the first book and season 1 except a few extra storylines in the show that aren't in the book. That seemed a little backward to me. Normally there's more in a book but this is a tv show and not a movie. I guess they can do more. I started watching season one but when I realized how close they were, I decided I wanted to read the books first and will wait until season 2 comes out on DVD. I like that Bill and Sam in the book are less intense than they are in the show. They both have a bit of a sense of humor about their lives that is not shown in the show. What I didn't like is that apparently Sookie's best friend on the show, Tara, is completely made up! She's not in the book anywhere! I really like her and whoever made her up for the show did a good job of fitting her into the storyline. I'm still holding out hope that maybe she shows up in one of the later books, so if I'm wrong please tell me so I'm not waiting around for her.