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Friday, October 08, 2010
A Fuzzy-Headed Friday
5:35 AM
I usually don't post twice in a day, but I auto-posted a review for this morning without realizing that today is Friday. Duh. I seriously need to get back on my meds. If any of you take levothyroxine (it's a generic of Synthroid), you know how awful it feels to be off it, even for a little while - it's a fuzzy-headed exhaustion you can feel from your head to your toes. I'm headed to the doctor this morning, so hopefully he can make sense of my blood results and give me SOME indication of what comes next.
In the meantime, let's celebrate that it's Friday! My kids get out early from school (a reason for them to celebrate - me, not so much) since they're annual October Break starts next week; I have an aunt coming to visit whom I haven't seen in years; and, of course, these fun events:
The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly event hosted by Jen over at Crazy For Books. If you're a new blogger, it's a perfect way to find other blogs and drive traffic to your own site. If you're a veteran at this book blogging thing, it's a great way to welcome the newbies. Plus, it's just fun! Head on over to Jen's blog to join in. This week, Jen asks the question: What is your favorite beverage to drink while you read?
- Usually, I just like a nice, big cup of ice water. Lately, though, I've needed more of a caffeine boost (which, being LDS, I feel tremendously guilty about), so I've been all about the Mt. Dew. I like to stick it in the freezer until it's nearly solid, then let it melt to the consistency of a slurpee. Delish.
Friday (My Book Blog) Friday is another weekly meme, this time hosted by Parajunkee. It's another fabulous way to discover new blogs/bloggers and gain Followers for your own blog. You'll definitely want to join in! Parajunkee's question of the week is: How many reviews to you like to do in a week?
- Funny enough, I've been thinking a lot about this question lately. I don't like to post every day, because I think it gets overwhelming. My own feed reader is so out of control that I end up skipping a lot of reviews on blogs that post daily. I'm aiming toward more of a Monday-Wednesday-Saturday approach, with a misc. post on Friday. What do you think? Would you like more reviews? Less? More chit chat? Maybe I should do a poll or something ...
Anyway, for those who are here because of the Hop or FF, welcome! Please leave a comment so I can check out your blog also. Don't forget to check out the giveaway I'm running for a new, hardcover copy of Wicked Girls by Stephanie Hemphill - you can get all the details on my right sidebar.
I forgot to mention that I finished a reading challenge! It's been awhile since I actually completed one, so I'm pretty proud of myself. My reading list changed quite a bit since I realized reading both Under the Dome and The Stand in one month might be more of an undertaking than I first thought. So, here's what I ended up reading:
1. The Devouring by Simon Holt (Review)
2. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare (Review)
3. I Am Legend by Richard Matheson (Review)
4. Wicked Girls by Stephanie Hemphill (Review)
I liked all of them, although the structure of I Am Legend confused and frustrated me. My favorite ended up being The Devouring, which is just a deliciously creepy Halloween read. I'm working on the sequels now. *Shivers* A funny: I was reading Soulstice yesterday when the FedEx guy banged on my door. Scared the crap out of me!
In the meantime, let's celebrate that it's Friday! My kids get out early from school (a reason for them to celebrate - me, not so much) since they're annual October Break starts next week; I have an aunt coming to visit whom I haven't seen in years; and, of course, these fun events:
The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly event hosted by Jen over at Crazy For Books. If you're a new blogger, it's a perfect way to find other blogs and drive traffic to your own site. If you're a veteran at this book blogging thing, it's a great way to welcome the newbies. Plus, it's just fun! Head on over to Jen's blog to join in. This week, Jen asks the question: What is your favorite beverage to drink while you read?
- Usually, I just like a nice, big cup of ice water. Lately, though, I've needed more of a caffeine boost (which, being LDS, I feel tremendously guilty about), so I've been all about the Mt. Dew. I like to stick it in the freezer until it's nearly solid, then let it melt to the consistency of a slurpee. Delish.
Friday (My Book Blog) Friday is another weekly meme, this time hosted by Parajunkee. It's another fabulous way to discover new blogs/bloggers and gain Followers for your own blog. You'll definitely want to join in! Parajunkee's question of the week is: How many reviews to you like to do in a week?
- Funny enough, I've been thinking a lot about this question lately. I don't like to post every day, because I think it gets overwhelming. My own feed reader is so out of control that I end up skipping a lot of reviews on blogs that post daily. I'm aiming toward more of a Monday-Wednesday-Saturday approach, with a misc. post on Friday. What do you think? Would you like more reviews? Less? More chit chat? Maybe I should do a poll or something ...
Anyway, for those who are here because of the Hop or FF, welcome! Please leave a comment so I can check out your blog also. Don't forget to check out the giveaway I'm running for a new, hardcover copy of Wicked Girls by Stephanie Hemphill - you can get all the details on my right sidebar.
--
I forgot to mention that I finished a reading challenge! It's been awhile since I actually completed one, so I'm pretty proud of myself. My reading list changed quite a bit since I realized reading both Under the Dome and The Stand in one month might be more of an undertaking than I first thought. So, here's what I ended up reading:1. The Devouring by Simon Holt (Review)
2. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare (Review)
3. I Am Legend by Richard Matheson (Review)
4. Wicked Girls by Stephanie Hemphill (Review)
I liked all of them, although the structure of I Am Legend confused and frustrated me. My favorite ended up being The Devouring, which is just a deliciously creepy Halloween read. I'm working on the sequels now. *Shivers* A funny: I was reading Soulstice yesterday when the FedEx guy banged on my door. Scared the crap out of me!
--
Okay, I'm off to Hop around the book blogosphere. Well, first, I have to get the kiddos off to school, then go see the doctor, then clean my house, and THEN I will be clicking around. Have a fabulous weekend, everybody!
Ultimate Cliffhanger Ending Sours Me On Traitor
1:00 AM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)
As many times as I've confessed this on my blog, I can still hardly stand to type these words: I enjoy reading books about World War II and the Holocaust. Enjoy. What kind of monster does that make me? It's not that I enjoy reading about other people's suffering or delight in tales of hate and violence - for me, it's about the triumph. That human beings could endure the kind of horror Hitler brought on the world and not only survive, but actually possess enough resilience to continue living, is what draws me to these stories. Survival, sacrifice, stoutheartedness in the face of crippling fear ... it's depictions of those victories that fuel my addiction to this genre. I seriously cannot get enough. So, when the very generous folks at Carol Rhoda LAB offered me a copy of Traitor by award-winning German author Gudrun Pausewang (translated by Rachel Ward), I really couldn't resist.
The novel begins with 15-year-old Anna trudging through the forest to her family's farm in tiny Stiegnitz, Germany. She's arrived home for the weekend, leaving behind the larger city of Schonberg, where she attends school and lives in the attic room of a local widow. Although her hometown is a miserable bore of a place, it offers a nice reprieve from the incessant talk of war that permeates the larger town. Here, in her little village, politics are less important than the weather, the abundance of the harvest, and the fact that pickles are available, without a coupon, over the border in Czechoslavakia. The dreary war has left no place untainted, but at least here, life goes on in nearly the same manner as it always has.
Anna is thinking of her grandmother's cooking, the possibility of a letter from her soldier brother, and the warmth of the indoors, when she spies peculiar tracks in the snow. The impressions appear to have been made by men's boots, but none that look familiar to her. So, why do they lead straight to her family's barn? When Anna discovers their owner - a gaunt, frightened man who refuses to speak - she assumes he's a lunatic who's slipped away from the nearby asylum. It's only when she hears that a group of Russian prisoners of war have escaped, intent on sneaking across the border, that she realizes the man's true identity. The war's gone on long enough for Anna to have grown disillusioned with the Fuhrer, but that doesn't mean she wants to risk the Nazis' wrath by aiding the enemy. Still, the man is obviously ill. If she doesn't help him, he'll die. If she does, she risks being shot as a traitor to her country.
Gossip in the village says the war will soon be over. Germany will surrender and the Russian's presence in Stiegnitz will no longer matter. Surely, Anna can keep him safe for that long. An abandoned bunker in the woods seems the perfect place to hide the escapee, but for how long can she keep up the charade? How will she sneak him the things he needs, especially when she spends her weeks at school? What if someone finds the Russian? What if they recognize the stranger's clothes as belonging to Anna's brother? What if someone like Anna's overzealous younger brother finds the prisoner? What will happen to him then? What will happen to her? As she juggles all these worries in her head, Anna considers the even bigger questions: Are the Russians as evil as the propaganda films make them out to be? Are the Germans as good? Are the rumors of Jewish death camps true? How can human beings inflict those kinds of horrors on one another? Is there any good left in the world, anywhere? What will become of a human race capable of doing such things?
Although Traitor has all the drama and intensity inherent in a WWII novel, it's more contemplative than edge-of-your-seat compelling. Still, it's a decent enough story and would have been perfectly satisfactory if it wasn't for one thing: it has the worst ending I've ever read. Why? Because right when the story is finally climaxing, it stops. And I mean, stops. Like right-in-the-middle-of-the-action stops. Not in an artfully ambiguous way either. It just halts without finishing the scene, without resolving any of the story conflicts, without coming to any kind of finale. I was seriously combing through the book trying to find the rest of the chapter. Never in my life have I been so aggravated by the end of a novel. Just thinking about it makes me grind my teeth. So, not only do I not know what happened to Anna and her Russian, but now I'm totally soured on a book that I liked right up until its last page. Grrr.
If you think this ultimate cliffhanger of a crap ending might turn you off as well, I recommend not even starting this book. Or at least not reading the last page. You can just imagine a happy ending and be done with it. Which is exactly what I should have done. Double grrrrrr.
(Readalikes: Although I haven't read it (what is wrong with me?), I'm guessing Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene is similar.)
Grade: C
If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG-13 for mild language (no F-bombs), intense scenes and some sexual innuendo
Wednesday, October 06, 2010
Heavens to Murgatroyd! '60s Novel is Quite A Ride.
1:00 AM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)For thirteen terrifying days in 1962, Americans lived in abject fear of the unknown. Glued to their newspapers, televisions and radios, they waited with bated breath. Would today be the day the U.S.S.R dropped its bombs? Would the U.S.A. still be here tomorrow? What did the future hold - World War III? Total annihilation? Days, months, or years of eking out an existence in underground bomb shelters? As they hoped and prayed for President John F. Kennedy and Russia's First Secretary of the Communist Party, Nikita Khrushchev, to settle the issue peacefully, they waited. And watched the skies.
With everyone's focus on the crisis in Cuba, 11-year-old Franny Chapman is feeling downright invisible. No one seems to notice that her best friend is acting strangely, the cute boy next door might actually like her, and her eccentric uncle's getting crazier by the second. Franny can't talk to her father, a pilot in the Air Force who's constantly on the go; or to her mother, whose melancholy makes her nearly unapproachable; or to her older sister, whose mysterious secret keeps her away from home more often than not. Normally, Franny would confide in her closest pal, Margie, but there are some things you can't even tell your best friend. Not that Margie's interested in listening anymore - she has more popular girls to impress. That leaves Franny to work things out for herself.
It's a terrifying time to be invisible, especially when you're a kid who lives within throwing distance of the nation's capitol. Even with all the ducking and covering practice she's done at school, Franny's not sure she's really ready for a bombing. She acts strong for her younger brother, but she's just as scared as everyone else. It doesn't help that her personal life is in such a mess either. How is she going to fix it all and watch out for bombs at the same time? When did her life become such a complicated mess? And what's she going to do about it? What do Margie's snide little comments really matter, anyway, when the world's about to be blown to bits?
Countdown by Deborah Wiles is a documentary novel based on the author's recollections of living through the incident now known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. The book, which features a scrapbook-style format interspersing Franny's story with photographs, quotations, advertisements, newspaper clippings, etc. from the period, is the first in a planned trilogy about the '60s. The turbulence of the time makes for an intense, but fascinating background, as Franny comes of age in one of the most chaotic eras of America's history. Painstakingly detailed, the book brings it all to life in brilliant, almost psychedelic color. Although it unfolds slowly, the story builds momentum as it goes, resulting in a strong, compelling tale about a young girl trying to sort herself out in a time when confusion reigns all around her. Whether you lived through the '60s or not, you'll find yourself in this unique historical novel. And Heavens to Murgatroyd! It's quite a ride.
(Readalikes: Hm, I don't know. Any ideas?)
Grade: B
If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG for intense scenes and vague references to puberty/the female body
To the FTC, with love: Another library fine find
Monday, October 04, 2010
The Devouring A Deliciously Creepy Halloween Treat
1:00 AM
(Image from Barnes & Noble)With Halloween fast approaching, everyone's got monsters on the brain, making it the perfect time to pose this question: What kind of creatures stalk your nightmares? Ghosts? Zombies? Psychotic circus clowns? Or something more mundane like spiders, snakes o
r wolves? Are your personal horrors, perhaps, of a more practical nature: fire, drowning, hospitals, abandonment, the death of a loved one? Whatever it is you fear, you'll likely find it between the pages of Simon Holt's teenage creepfest, The Devouring. It's like Stephen King with training wheels. But don't let that fool you - I've still got goosebumps.
r wolves? Are your personal horrors, perhaps, of a more practical nature: fire, drowning, hospitals, abandonment, the death of a loved one? Whatever it is you fear, you'll likely find it between the pages of Simon Holt's teenage creepfest, The Devouring. It's like Stephen King with training wheels. But don't let that fool you - I've still got goosebumps.The book opens with 15-year-old Reggie Holloway reading her 8-year-old brother, Henry, a bedtime story. Their mother (had she not recently walked out the door and not bothered to come back) would no doubt disapprove of sending a young boy off to slumber with such a dark tale, but Reggie's a horror buff
whose tastes tend toward the macabre. So, she picks a spooky vignette from a handwritten diary she recently discovered at work. It's about creatures called Vours who steal human souls and inhabit their bodies, something so outlandish even Henry will recognize it as fiction. When Henry starts freaking out, Reggie realizes her mistake. What was she thinking reading him something like that before bedtime? She's so exhausted from playing mom she can barely think straight. And she's gone and spooked herself as well.
whose tastes tend toward the macabre. So, she picks a spooky vignette from a handwritten diary she recently discovered at work. It's about creatures called Vours who steal human souls and inhabit their bodies, something so outlandish even Henry will recognize it as fiction. When Henry starts freaking out, Reggie realizes her mistake. What was she thinking reading him something like that before bedtime? She's so exhausted from playing mom she can barely think straight. And she's gone and spooked herself as well.In the light of the morning, the whole story seems ridiculous. Except that Henry's changing before her eyes from her sweet little brother into something ... else. He's overdue for a reaction to their mother's swift departure, but his sudden rage seems extreme. Not to mention terrifying. Henry's acting strangely, muttering to himself, and becoming increasingly violent. When a death in their home elicits no reaction whatsoever from her once hypersensitive brother, Reggie's convinced - Henry isn't Henry anymore. He doesn't need a psychiatric evaluation, he needs an exorcism.
Reggie and her best friend, Aaron, will do anything to save Henry. It may already be too late, but they have to try. As they research the origins of the journal, they learn the chilling truth about the Vours. The creatures feed off human fear and Reggie's already terrified. Can she step into her worst nightmares to bring her little brother back? Is saving him even possible or has his soul been ripped from his body forever? The journal says nothing can stop the Vours, but what if it's wrong? And what if it's right? It's up to Reggie to find out.
The Devouring sucked me in so completely that I burned through it in a few short hours. Each page is creepier than the last, with an intense, unrelenting montage of nightmarish horror lurking inside its every paragraph. The heroes are a perfect blend of unique and relatable, frightened and fearless, vulnerable and valiant. Their courage made my heart pound, keeping my eyes seared to the page even when all I really wanted to do was burrow under my blankets, clamp my hands over my eyes, and chant, "It's not real. It's not real." The Devouring's perfect ending made me smile through my shivers. I may be jumping at every single creak the house makes, but I'm also clicking over to my library's website to get my trembling hands on the next installment in this deliciously spooky series.
Book trailers don't usually do much for me. This one, though, just might be creepy enough to do the book justice. Take a look:
Grade: B+
If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG-13 for language (no F-bombs), violence and gore
To the FTC, with love: Another library fine find
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