I haven't done one of these in a long time and when I saw this one over at DesLily's place, I decided what the heck. So here goes:
8 Things Meme
8 Things That I'm Looking Forward too:
1. My niece's graduation from college on Saturday
2. The end of the school year
3. Warmer weather (Please!)
4. Walking the beach with my dog
5. A bonfire on the beach
6. Long, lazy summer evenings
7. Detroit Tigers baseball (as long as it's not like last night's game...)
8. Relaxing
8 Things that I did Yesterday:
1. Tried to sleep
2. Tried to comfort my overly anxious dog so she would let me sleep
3. Took care of some bills
4. Listened to a horrible baseball game on the radio because my cable was out (but I didn't really want to see it anyway)
5. Took the dog for a run
6. Bought KFC
7. Talked to my sister and a friend on the phone
8. Went to work
8 Things That I wish I could Do:
1. ride a horse as well as my niece does
2. paint beautiful pictures
3. fly (with or without a plane)
4. grow the courage to submit my writing somewhere
5. pay all of my bills when they're due and not have to juggle so much
6. stop time where my dog is concerned and keep her young and healthy forever
7. spend my days doing what I want to do and not what I have to do
8. talk to my mom and dad again, if even for a couple of minutes
8 Television Programs That I Watch:
1. Ghost Hunters (and GHI)
2. Dollhouse
3. House
4. Bones
5. Army Wives
6. Castle
7. Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives
8. Detroit Tigers Baseball
I'm not sure how long this one's been around but if you haven't done it, why don't you give it a go? I'd be interested in the answers!
4.29.2009
4.26.2009
Book Review: Star Born by Andre Norton
Star Born by Andre Norton
Dorchester Publishing Company, Inc.
238 Pages
Copyright 1957 (this edition, 2007)
For those of you not familiar with Andre Norton, a bit of an introduction to one of my very first favorite authors; Ms Norton was born Alice Mary Norton in 1912. She would later officially change her name to Andre Norton to increase her marketability in what was once considered to be a boy’s genre. She published her first novel in 1934, and was the first woman to receive the Gandalf Grand Master Award from the World Science Fiction Society in 1977, and won the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award from the SFWA in 1983. She passed away in 2005.
Star Born is the story of Dalgard, the descendent of a group of Terrans that fled Earth during a period of oppression and tyranny centuries earlier. Dalgard’s best friend is Sssuri, a merman covered with ‘rainbow tipped gray fur’. They communicate telepathically.
It is also the story of the planet Astra, a world that has seen a devastating war between its native inhabitants, like the mer-people, and an invading force of aliens, know as The Others, who wantonly butchered the native animals and enslaved the mer-people. All that survives of these invaders are their deserted cities and a diminishing number of the aliens themselves.
It is to this world that the Earth mission, RS 10, arrives. Raf Kurbi, a ‘skitter’ pilot, the mission’s captain, and two other crew members encounter the alien beings, who immediately go to great lengths to befriend the humans. Through sign language and an interpretation device, the aliens convince the humans to help them retrieve supplies left behind in an abandoned city. They will, they say, share their technology with the humans.
Kurbi has doubts about the aliens when, while en route to the abandoned city, the aliens go out of their way to slaughter a colony of the mer-people. His misgivings grow when he witnesses the aliens capture someone who looks surprisingly human. Kurbi sets out to discover exactly what’s going on, even at the risk of his own life.
Norton, as I’ve said, is one of my all-time favorite authors. Her Witch World series is still a favorite. She had the ability to craft alien worlds in a very real way. Her themes usually revolve around the same themes you’ll find in this book – post-war societies with peaceful segments at odds with the not-so-peaceful segments. And for me, despite the fact that most of her works are decades old, they still ring true in spite of now seeming simplistic.
She was also very good at crafting a setting, whether on a planet or on a ship. For example, the following passage describes Kurbi’s feelings about being locked inside the spaceship for months. Everyone is bored, his roommate complaining endlessly about everything:
Recommendation: If you’re a fan of science fiction and fantasy and have never read Norton, I can heartily recommend almost any of her books. This one, a new read for me, is a fine example of a her masterful work.
Dorchester Publishing Company, Inc.
238 Pages
Copyright 1957 (this edition, 2007)
For those of you not familiar with Andre Norton, a bit of an introduction to one of my very first favorite authors; Ms Norton was born Alice Mary Norton in 1912. She would later officially change her name to Andre Norton to increase her marketability in what was once considered to be a boy’s genre. She published her first novel in 1934, and was the first woman to receive the Gandalf Grand Master Award from the World Science Fiction Society in 1977, and won the Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award from the SFWA in 1983. She passed away in 2005.
Star Born is the story of Dalgard, the descendent of a group of Terrans that fled Earth during a period of oppression and tyranny centuries earlier. Dalgard’s best friend is Sssuri, a merman covered with ‘rainbow tipped gray fur’. They communicate telepathically.
It is also the story of the planet Astra, a world that has seen a devastating war between its native inhabitants, like the mer-people, and an invading force of aliens, know as The Others, who wantonly butchered the native animals and enslaved the mer-people. All that survives of these invaders are their deserted cities and a diminishing number of the aliens themselves.
It is to this world that the Earth mission, RS 10, arrives. Raf Kurbi, a ‘skitter’ pilot, the mission’s captain, and two other crew members encounter the alien beings, who immediately go to great lengths to befriend the humans. Through sign language and an interpretation device, the aliens convince the humans to help them retrieve supplies left behind in an abandoned city. They will, they say, share their technology with the humans.
Kurbi has doubts about the aliens when, while en route to the abandoned city, the aliens go out of their way to slaughter a colony of the mer-people. His misgivings grow when he witnesses the aliens capture someone who looks surprisingly human. Kurbi sets out to discover exactly what’s going on, even at the risk of his own life.
Norton, as I’ve said, is one of my all-time favorite authors. Her Witch World series is still a favorite. She had the ability to craft alien worlds in a very real way. Her themes usually revolve around the same themes you’ll find in this book – post-war societies with peaceful segments at odds with the not-so-peaceful segments. And for me, despite the fact that most of her works are decades old, they still ring true in spite of now seeming simplistic.
She was also very good at crafting a setting, whether on a planet or on a ship. For example, the following passage describes Kurbi’s feelings about being locked inside the spaceship for months. Everyone is bored, his roommate complaining endlessly about everything:
Raf breathed shallowly. The air was stale, he could almost taste it. It was difficult now to remember being in the open air under a sky, with fresh winds blowing about one. He tried to picture on the dull strip of metal overhead a stretch of green grass, a tree, even the blue sky and floating white clouds. But the patch remained stubbornly gray, the murmur of Wonstead went on and on, a drone in his aching ears, the throb of the ship’s life beat through his own body.
Recommendation: If you’re a fan of science fiction and fantasy and have never read Norton, I can heartily recommend almost any of her books. This one, a new read for me, is a fine example of a her masterful work.
4.24.2009
Friday Fill - Ins 46
And...here we go!
1. Apparently there's some sort of Ghost in the Machine.
2. My heart rejoices over a sunny day.
3. 2009 has been a good reading year so far.
4. And before I knew it, that was it.
5. For too long I've been lazy.
6. I am not obsessed with the Detroit Tigers; I am not!
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to getting my hair done, tomorrow my plans include cleaning my kitchen and Sunday, I want to be able to watch an entire Tigers game!
4.19.2009
Book Review: A Secret Rage by Charlaine Harris
A Secret Rage by Charlaine Harris
The Berkley Publishing Group
198 Pages
Copyright 2007 (originally 1984)
A Secret Rage isn’t like any of the other books by Charlaine Harris that I’ve read. First, it is a stand-alone. Second, there’s nothing paranormal involved; no vampires, no psychics, no mysterious characters of any kind. Instead, Harris examines a tough topic – rape – and does it fairly well.
Nickie Callahan is a former New York model, dropped by her agent in search of a ‘new, fresher face’. She is at loose ends at the ripe-old-age of 27. After receiving a phone call from her best childhood friend, Mimi Houghton, Nickie returns to Knolls, Tennessee to resume her college career.
Once home, Nickie settles in with Mimi, who is recovering from a broken marriage, and begins to reconnect with old friends, including Mimi’s older brother Cully, Nickie’s childhood crush. Knolls, however, proves not to be the sleepy little town that Nickie remembers. The violent rape of a co-ed is soon followed by the equally violent rape of an instructor. Then, the unthinkable happens, changing Nickie and Mimi’s lives forever.
Harris handles the topic head-on. The rape scene, is a gritty, first person examination of what it must be like. Harris also, I think, handles the fallout of such an experience fairly well. The victim doesn’t bounce back like nothing’s happened. She struggles to regain control of her life and rebuild her relationships. She doesn’t trust but she does fight to keep her rapist from achieving his ultimate victory – the destruction of her entire life.
Recommendation: It is, in places, a tough read but it rings true. Beyond that, I’m not entirely sure what to say about this one. I’m glad I read it but if you’re looking for a fun read, this isn’t it. There are a few flaws but what Harris gets right, she gets very right.
The Berkley Publishing Group
198 Pages
Copyright 2007 (originally 1984)
A Secret Rage isn’t like any of the other books by Charlaine Harris that I’ve read. First, it is a stand-alone. Second, there’s nothing paranormal involved; no vampires, no psychics, no mysterious characters of any kind. Instead, Harris examines a tough topic – rape – and does it fairly well.
Nickie Callahan is a former New York model, dropped by her agent in search of a ‘new, fresher face’. She is at loose ends at the ripe-old-age of 27. After receiving a phone call from her best childhood friend, Mimi Houghton, Nickie returns to Knolls, Tennessee to resume her college career.
Once home, Nickie settles in with Mimi, who is recovering from a broken marriage, and begins to reconnect with old friends, including Mimi’s older brother Cully, Nickie’s childhood crush. Knolls, however, proves not to be the sleepy little town that Nickie remembers. The violent rape of a co-ed is soon followed by the equally violent rape of an instructor. Then, the unthinkable happens, changing Nickie and Mimi’s lives forever.
Harris handles the topic head-on. The rape scene, is a gritty, first person examination of what it must be like. Harris also, I think, handles the fallout of such an experience fairly well. The victim doesn’t bounce back like nothing’s happened. She struggles to regain control of her life and rebuild her relationships. She doesn’t trust but she does fight to keep her rapist from achieving his ultimate victory – the destruction of her entire life.
Recommendation: It is, in places, a tough read but it rings true. Beyond that, I’m not entirely sure what to say about this one. I’m glad I read it but if you’re looking for a fun read, this isn’t it. There are a few flaws but what Harris gets right, she gets very right.
Congrats and an admission...
First off, congratulations to all those who took part in the Read-a-thon this time around. You're inspiring and intimidating. I'm accustomed to keeping screwy hours because of my job but the idea of reading for 24 hours isn't something I'm up to. At least, not yet.
Now, on to the admission.
I'm giving up on a book.
No big deal, I know, but I don't do it often. I can normally make myself work through it. I feel every book deserves the chance to be finished.
Well, usually, that is. This is one of the exceptions:
Rhett Butler's People claims, on the cover, to be "The authorized novel based on Margaret Mitchell's Gone With The Wind". Well, it may be the authorized novel but it wasn't the worthy novel. Not in my opinion, at least.
Gone With The Wind is an epic novel, spanning an intense, crazy time in American history. It is filled with characters and events you can't help but care about and root for. And that's the problem with McCaig's book - after reading 235 pages I still didn't care about the people. They were boring and lifeless. The writing was flat and lacked cohesiveness. And the two people I cared about the most in GWTW, Rhett and Scarlett, are absent from too much of the story.
So, I'm throwing in the towel on this one. It's 687 pages long and if I don't care about the characters after 235 of those pages, I'm not going to, no matter how much I wanted to.
Time to move on...
Now, on to the admission.
I'm giving up on a book.
No big deal, I know, but I don't do it often. I can normally make myself work through it. I feel every book deserves the chance to be finished.
Well, usually, that is. This is one of the exceptions:
Rhett Butler's People claims, on the cover, to be "The authorized novel based on Margaret Mitchell's Gone With The Wind". Well, it may be the authorized novel but it wasn't the worthy novel. Not in my opinion, at least.
Gone With The Wind is an epic novel, spanning an intense, crazy time in American history. It is filled with characters and events you can't help but care about and root for. And that's the problem with McCaig's book - after reading 235 pages I still didn't care about the people. They were boring and lifeless. The writing was flat and lacked cohesiveness. And the two people I cared about the most in GWTW, Rhett and Scarlett, are absent from too much of the story.
So, I'm throwing in the towel on this one. It's 687 pages long and if I don't care about the characters after 235 of those pages, I'm not going to, no matter how much I wanted to.
Time to move on...
4.17.2009
Friday Fill - Ins 45
And...here we go!
1. Join me in celebrating spring!
2. Put a little laughter in your day!
3. Happiness is walking the beach of Lake Superior after a long winter's nap with my trusty four-footed companion by my side.
4. Disillusioned and confused.
5. I'm waiting for people to understand what's happening.
6. A puppy kiss is hard to resist.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to dinner with my sister (just the two of us!), tomorrow my plans include raking, if it's not raining and Sunday, I want to sit back and enjoy the late afternoon Tigers game!
4.14.2009
There are people who transcend their moment
Mark "The Bird" Fidrych was such a man.
He burst onto the national baseball stage like a supernova. No one saw him coming and everyone fell in love with him. He was lanky, all arms, legs, and goofy hair. He groomed the pitching mound on his hands and knees and he talked to the ball. In a sport known for its originals, he was the ultimate original.
He was also a breath of fresh air for a sport that was struggling. He fired the national imagination. Even his opponents recognized him from what he was - a phenomenon worth watching. They would line the steps of the dugout to watch him pitch.
For a brief moment, he captured the heart of the nation.
And now, he's gone.
Thank you, Mark.
You will be remembered.
4.13.2009
Book Review: The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor
The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor
The Penguin Group
358 Pages
Copyright 2006
From the back of the book:
Alice In Wonderland was never like this. Wonderland is a place ruled by the magic of imagination and Alyss, at the age of seven, has one of the most powerful imaginations ever seen. She is destined to be a great queen. Her life takes a dramatic turn, however, when at her seventh birthday party, her evil Aunt Redd arrives to claim the throne and take control of Wonderland.
Alone in Victorian London, she is first befriended by a group of urchins. She then winds up being adopted by the Liddells where she gives up on the idea of Wonderland being real and accepts her new life as reality. Then, years later, on her wedding day, Alyss is drawn back to Wonderland to face her evil Aunt Redd in a battle of imagination for the future of Wonderland.
In Beddor’s hands, Wonderland is a place where imagination comes in two shapes – black and white. It is a place where Jabberwockys are real, as are hookah smoking caterpillars who possess the ability to tell the future. There are also armies of cards that transform themselves into metal soldiers during battle, weapons as varied as the imagination, a general who can transform himself into two people, and an assassin with nine lives.
Recommendation: It was the tag line on the cover that sold me on this book: Fantasy just declared war on reality. Beddor’s story is an excellent romp through a fantasy land where the impossible is common place and makes for an amazing read. If you like fantasy, give this one a try. On caution, however, Amazon recommends this one for grades 4 - 7. Given the level of violence, it may be too intense for some of the younger kids.
The Penguin Group
358 Pages
Copyright 2006
From the back of the book:
The Myth:
Alice Liddel was an ordinary girl who stepped through the looking glass and entered a fairy-tale world invented by Lewis Carroll in his famous storybook.
The Truth:
Wonderland is real. Alyss Heart is the heir to the throne, until her murderous Aunt Redd steals the crown and kills Alyss’s parents. To escape Redd, Alyss and her bodyguard, Hatter Madigan, must flee to our world through the Pool of Tears. But in the pool, Alyss and Hatter are separated. Lost and alone in Victorian London, Alyss is befriended by an aspiring author to whom she tells the violent, heartbreaking story of her young life. Yet he gets the story all wrong. Hatter Madigan knows the truth only to well, and he is searching every corner of our world to find the lost princess and return her to Wonderland so she may battle Redd for her rightful place as the Queen of Hearts.
Alice In Wonderland was never like this. Wonderland is a place ruled by the magic of imagination and Alyss, at the age of seven, has one of the most powerful imaginations ever seen. She is destined to be a great queen. Her life takes a dramatic turn, however, when at her seventh birthday party, her evil Aunt Redd arrives to claim the throne and take control of Wonderland.
Alone in Victorian London, she is first befriended by a group of urchins. She then winds up being adopted by the Liddells where she gives up on the idea of Wonderland being real and accepts her new life as reality. Then, years later, on her wedding day, Alyss is drawn back to Wonderland to face her evil Aunt Redd in a battle of imagination for the future of Wonderland.
In Beddor’s hands, Wonderland is a place where imagination comes in two shapes – black and white. It is a place where Jabberwockys are real, as are hookah smoking caterpillars who possess the ability to tell the future. There are also armies of cards that transform themselves into metal soldiers during battle, weapons as varied as the imagination, a general who can transform himself into two people, and an assassin with nine lives.
Recommendation: It was the tag line on the cover that sold me on this book: Fantasy just declared war on reality. Beddor’s story is an excellent romp through a fantasy land where the impossible is common place and makes for an amazing read. If you like fantasy, give this one a try. On caution, however, Amazon recommends this one for grades 4 - 7. Given the level of violence, it may be too intense for some of the younger kids.
4.11.2009
Book Review: The Shack by William P. Young
The Shack by William P. Young
Windblown Media
248 Pages
Copyright 2007
From the back of the book:
This is one of those books that defies description because by its nature it means something different to everyone who reads it. It is an examination of one man’s relationship with God that will lead the reader to his/her own examination of that same relationship.
I can admit that it challenged me to do just that. Some of the questions it raised for me were troublesome, but in a good way. Introspection isn’t necessarily a bad thing. While I don’t want to discuss most of those questions, there is one I will mention.
I was raised in a traditional Christian family. God, for me, will always be a “he” when I pray or talk to him or about him. I do not, however, believe that God is a he or a she. God is, for me, simply God, in spite of the fact that I refer to God as a he.
God, in this story is a woman. As much as I believe what I’ve just said, I will admit that the idea of God being a woman bothered me at first. It challenged me to think of God as a she, which is one of the things I think the author was trying to do – challenge our long held beliefs and make us think about God in a new way.
Recommendation: As I've said, it’s a complex look at a person’s relationship with God that has me thinking about my relationship on a completely different level. For me, that’s not a bad thing and I believe it will ultimately enrich my relationship.
Windblown Media
248 Pages
Copyright 2007
From the back of the book:
Mackenzie Allen Philips’s youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later, in the midst of his Great Sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend.
Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change Mack’s world forever.
This is one of those books that defies description because by its nature it means something different to everyone who reads it. It is an examination of one man’s relationship with God that will lead the reader to his/her own examination of that same relationship.
I can admit that it challenged me to do just that. Some of the questions it raised for me were troublesome, but in a good way. Introspection isn’t necessarily a bad thing. While I don’t want to discuss most of those questions, there is one I will mention.
I was raised in a traditional Christian family. God, for me, will always be a “he” when I pray or talk to him or about him. I do not, however, believe that God is a he or a she. God is, for me, simply God, in spite of the fact that I refer to God as a he.
God, in this story is a woman. As much as I believe what I’ve just said, I will admit that the idea of God being a woman bothered me at first. It challenged me to think of God as a she, which is one of the things I think the author was trying to do – challenge our long held beliefs and make us think about God in a new way.
Recommendation: As I've said, it’s a complex look at a person’s relationship with God that has me thinking about my relationship on a completely different level. For me, that’s not a bad thing and I believe it will ultimately enrich my relationship.
4.10.2009
Sifting Thoughts on Good Friday
Here I sit at work with a migraine headache. I've had it since Wednesday evening, at 1706 or so. (For those not up on military time, that's 5:00 p.m.) That's when I had to go investigate the smell of marijuana in one of the dorms on campus. Five O'clock on a Wednesday evening and six young men had nothing better to do than smoke dope and play video games. I wanted to tell them that if they weren't going to use their lives, I knew some people who would love to do so...
Marijuana is one of those smells for me. Instant migraine... and it doesn't help that these fools believe emptying a can of air freshener in the room before they open the door will fool us. No, not really. All it does is make the dope smell even worse.
It was beautiful here today, all day. Normally, Good Friday afternoon is cloudy and rainy. Today was all sunshine.
Speaking of sunshine, the Detroit Tigers won their home opener by a score of 15 - 2 against the Texas Rangers. Gotta love that. Not so good is the fact that they went 1 - 3 in Toronto to open the season. They're now 2 - 3, with 157 games left to go...
I hope the weekend is wonderful for all of you and for those who are Christian, have a joyous Easter.
Marijuana is one of those smells for me. Instant migraine... and it doesn't help that these fools believe emptying a can of air freshener in the room before they open the door will fool us. No, not really. All it does is make the dope smell even worse.
It was beautiful here today, all day. Normally, Good Friday afternoon is cloudy and rainy. Today was all sunshine.
Speaking of sunshine, the Detroit Tigers won their home opener by a score of 15 - 2 against the Texas Rangers. Gotta love that. Not so good is the fact that they went 1 - 3 in Toronto to open the season. They're now 2 - 3, with 157 games left to go...
I hope the weekend is wonderful for all of you and for those who are Christian, have a joyous Easter.
Book Review: The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall
The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall
Yearling
262 Pages
Copyright 2005
The Penderwick family consists of the father, Martin, 12-year-old Rosalind, 11-year-old Skye, 10-year-old Jane, and 4-year-old Batty. Their mother died shortly after giving birth to Batty.
The book is the recounting of their adventures at Arundel, a mansion located in the Berkshire Mountains. The Penderwicks rent a cottage on the mansion’s property for three weeks. Once there, the children meet Jeffrey, the unhappy son of the property’s owner. His mother, who was divorced before Jeffrey was born, is a self-centered woman who worries more about her gardens and winning first place in a garden contest than about her son. Jeffrey wants to be a musician but his mother expects him to go off to military school when he is 13.
Jeffrey quickly befriends the Penderwick children. Rosalind, who tries to be a mother to the group, develops a crush on the mansion’s groundskeeper, an 18-year-old named Cagney. Jane, who wants to be a writer, immediately casts Jeffrey as a character in her next “Sabrina Starr” story. Batty, incredibly shy, begins to come out of her shell, drawn out by Cagney’s two rabbits.
It’s an eventful three weeks that includes a run-in with a bull and several run-ins between the Penderwick children and Jeffrey’s mother. The last, leads to Jeffrey’s running away and the Penderwick’s helping bridge the gap between Jeffrey and his mother.
Recommendation: This one is a delightful children’s book. It won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature and I’d put it up with almost any other children’s book you might name.
Yearling
262 Pages
Copyright 2005
The Penderwick family consists of the father, Martin, 12-year-old Rosalind, 11-year-old Skye, 10-year-old Jane, and 4-year-old Batty. Their mother died shortly after giving birth to Batty.
The book is the recounting of their adventures at Arundel, a mansion located in the Berkshire Mountains. The Penderwicks rent a cottage on the mansion’s property for three weeks. Once there, the children meet Jeffrey, the unhappy son of the property’s owner. His mother, who was divorced before Jeffrey was born, is a self-centered woman who worries more about her gardens and winning first place in a garden contest than about her son. Jeffrey wants to be a musician but his mother expects him to go off to military school when he is 13.
Jeffrey quickly befriends the Penderwick children. Rosalind, who tries to be a mother to the group, develops a crush on the mansion’s groundskeeper, an 18-year-old named Cagney. Jane, who wants to be a writer, immediately casts Jeffrey as a character in her next “Sabrina Starr” story. Batty, incredibly shy, begins to come out of her shell, drawn out by Cagney’s two rabbits.
It’s an eventful three weeks that includes a run-in with a bull and several run-ins between the Penderwick children and Jeffrey’s mother. The last, leads to Jeffrey’s running away and the Penderwick’s helping bridge the gap between Jeffrey and his mother.
Recommendation: This one is a delightful children’s book. It won the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature and I’d put it up with almost any other children’s book you might name.
Friday Fill - Ins 44
From Janet:
Last week, Anonymous left this comment: "*sighs* The last two of these have sucked royally...I love this thing, but now I'm having to go back in the archives and find ones that aren't totally ridiculous and moronic...". This week, I'm dedicating #1 to Anonymous :-)
And...here we go!
1. Anonymous... posts lose all credibility, if you ask me.
2. Warm weather is a good thing.
3. Let me embrace thee, sour adversity, as I seem to have little choice.
4. Tulips, Daffodils, and Lilacs what I look forward to most about Spring.
5. Who needs therapy when you have a dog?
6. That silly fake grass MUST go into the Easter Basket!
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to spending time with my niece, tomorrow my plans include spending more time with my niece who is home for the weekend and Sunday, I want to celebrate Easter with my family!
Book Review: Your Heart Belongs to Me by Dean Koontz
Your Heart Belongs to Me by Dean Koontz
Bantam Books
337 Pages
Copyright 2008
From the book jacket:
Don’t get me wrong, Koontz can still tell a story with the best of them in many ways. Even a tired, predictable plot can be an enjoyable read at his hands. I could tolerate the reworked plots but Koontz has also fallen prey to writing interminable sentences like this one:
Koontz has also become enamored of the big word:
Recommendation: There’s a decent story between the covers but it’s overshadowed and predictable at times. I can’t say I didn’t like it but it isn’t a book I’d be apt to re-read.
Bantam Books
337 Pages
Copyright 2008
From the book jacket:
At thirty-four, Internet entrepreneur Ryan Perry seemed to have the world in his pocket – until the first troubling symptoms appeared out of nowhere. Within days, he’s diagnosed with incurable cardiomyopathy and finds himself on the waiting list for a heart transplant; it’s his only hope, and it’s dwindling fast. Ryan is about to lose it all . . . his health, his girlfriend Samantha, and his life.I’m resorting to the jacket for one reason – I’m not sure what to say about this latest effort from Koontz. It was an okay story. No real surprises and I think that’s the problem. Koontz is become a formulaic writer. His plots are taking on a sameness that is, of course, predictable. It’s good vs evil, the little guy against the big guy, human against technology. Throw in an adorable dog and you have the basic plot.
One year later, Ryan has never felt better. Business is good and he hopes to renew his relationship with Samantha. Then the unmarked gifts begin to appear – a box of Valentine candy hearts, a heart pendant. Most of all, a graphic heart surgery video and the chilling message: Your heart belongs to me.
In a heartbeat, the medical miracle that gave Ryan a second chance at life is about to become a curse worse than death. For Ryan is being stalked by a mysterious woman who feels entitled to everything he has. She’s the spitting image of the twenty-six-year-old donor of the heart beating steadily in Ryan’s own chest.
And she’s come to take it back.
Don’t get me wrong, Koontz can still tell a story with the best of them in many ways. Even a tired, predictable plot can be an enjoyable read at his hands. I could tolerate the reworked plots but Koontz has also fallen prey to writing interminable sentences like this one:
As loud and irregular as Ryan’s heart had been recently, so now it was to a similar degree quiet and steady, and the house was also quiet, and the night beyond the house, as if every soul in Las Vegas in the same instant fell into a deep sleep or turned to dust, as if every wheel stopped rotating and every noisy machine lost power, as if nocturnal birds could not use their wings or find their songs, as if all crawling things were seized by paralysis between creep and slither, and an absolute stillness befell in the air, allowing no breeze or draft or eddy.According to my word count feature, that’s 106 words in one sentence. For me, that’s too many. I feel like I get lost somewhere in the middle and the idea being conveyed gets lost with me.
Koontz has also become enamored of the big word:
He repressed his surprise at her perspicacity.Now, perspicacity is a perfectly fine word but too many of them in any one book is overkill. I don’t want to read a book with a dictionary at my elbow. The two tendencies Koontz is developing leads to a tendency of my own – I find myself skipping; lines, sentences, paragraphs at times. It makes me feel disloyal and sad. Koontz is better than that. Or at least, he was at one time.
Recommendation: There’s a decent story between the covers but it’s overshadowed and predictable at times. I can’t say I didn’t like it but it isn’t a book I’d be apt to re-read.
4.09.2009
Book Review: Execution Dock by Anne Perry
Execution Dock by Anne Perry
Ballantine Books
306 Pages
Copyright 2009
William and Hester Monk are back in this 16th book in the series. William, who is now commander of the Thames River Police and his wife Hester, former colleague of Florence Nightingale and veteran nurse of the Crimean War, are facing their toughest challenge yet.
Jericho Phillips is a vicious, nasty man who makes his living running a brothel located in a boat on the Thames. What makes his trade unacceptable, however, is the fact that his prostitutes are young boys and his clientele the richest and most powerful men in London who will do anything to keep their depravity secret. Under Jericho’s hands, young boys are kidnapped, tortured, and used until they start to show signs of maturity. Then they are sold to suffer further abuse onboard ships heading far away from London.
William Monk had sworn Phillips would hang for the murder of a 13-year-old boy known as Fig. Monk feels it his duty, not only to Fig but to the former commander of the River Police who died saving countless lives. With Hester’s help, he has built a case that he believes will end in Phillips execution.
Sir Oliver Rathbone, however, has other ideas. Compelled to take Phillips on as a client by his father-in-law, Rathbone uses his intimate knowledge of Hester, a woman he once asked to be his wife, and his friendship with Monk, to dismantle the case against Phillips by using the strong emotions of the Monks against them to prove their case less than airtight. As a result, Phillips goes free.
Monk and Hester then set out to retrace their steps and discover where they erred and a way to put things right again. Their investigation not only pits them against Sir Oliver but against a foe who will do anything to avoid detection – even if it means blackmailing and kidnapping those closest to Monk himself.
Along with the Monk series, Perry is the author of 23 Thomas and Charlotte Pitt novels and 5 World War I novels. I’ve also read the Pitt novels but haven’t ventured into the WWI stories. Execution Dock is the first Monk novel in three years and I’m thrilled to have William and Hester back.
Perry crafts strong characters that both grow on you and grow as individuals in the course of her stories. William was once an egotistical bully but, through his trials and his relationship with Hester, he is striving to make up for past mistakes and become a better person. Hester is courageous, loyal, and fierce when she needs to be. They make an excellent pair. The secondary characters, those who work with Monk policing the wild riverfront and those who work with Hester at her clinic for ‘working girls’ and the homeless of London, are also completely likable characters who could anchor their own stories. She also manages to portray the feel of Victorian London in a way that makes it come alive. Part of that is due to her ‘ear’ for the voices of London:
The language and the attitude of the character, a street urchin, ring true, at least in my opinion.
Recommendation: Anne Perry tells stories that draw you in. They are well crafted and absorbing to the end. Reading one of her novels is like taking a vacation in Victorian London, a trip that is perfectly plausible and enjoyable until the very end.
Ballantine Books
306 Pages
Copyright 2009
William and Hester Monk are back in this 16th book in the series. William, who is now commander of the Thames River Police and his wife Hester, former colleague of Florence Nightingale and veteran nurse of the Crimean War, are facing their toughest challenge yet.
Jericho Phillips is a vicious, nasty man who makes his living running a brothel located in a boat on the Thames. What makes his trade unacceptable, however, is the fact that his prostitutes are young boys and his clientele the richest and most powerful men in London who will do anything to keep their depravity secret. Under Jericho’s hands, young boys are kidnapped, tortured, and used until they start to show signs of maturity. Then they are sold to suffer further abuse onboard ships heading far away from London.
William Monk had sworn Phillips would hang for the murder of a 13-year-old boy known as Fig. Monk feels it his duty, not only to Fig but to the former commander of the River Police who died saving countless lives. With Hester’s help, he has built a case that he believes will end in Phillips execution.
Sir Oliver Rathbone, however, has other ideas. Compelled to take Phillips on as a client by his father-in-law, Rathbone uses his intimate knowledge of Hester, a woman he once asked to be his wife, and his friendship with Monk, to dismantle the case against Phillips by using the strong emotions of the Monks against them to prove their case less than airtight. As a result, Phillips goes free.
Monk and Hester then set out to retrace their steps and discover where they erred and a way to put things right again. Their investigation not only pits them against Sir Oliver but against a foe who will do anything to avoid detection – even if it means blackmailing and kidnapping those closest to Monk himself.
Along with the Monk series, Perry is the author of 23 Thomas and Charlotte Pitt novels and 5 World War I novels. I’ve also read the Pitt novels but haven’t ventured into the WWI stories. Execution Dock is the first Monk novel in three years and I’m thrilled to have William and Hester back.
Perry crafts strong characters that both grow on you and grow as individuals in the course of her stories. William was once an egotistical bully but, through his trials and his relationship with Hester, he is striving to make up for past mistakes and become a better person. Hester is courageous, loyal, and fierce when she needs to be. They make an excellent pair. The secondary characters, those who work with Monk policing the wild riverfront and those who work with Hester at her clinic for ‘working girls’ and the homeless of London, are also completely likable characters who could anchor their own stories. She also manages to portray the feel of Victorian London in a way that makes it come alive. Part of that is due to her ‘ear’ for the voices of London:
Scuff was skeptical. “Someone twistin’ ‘is arm ter do it, then?”
“Possibly. It might just be that he felt that the principle of the law required that even the worst of us deserve a fair hearing.”
Scuff pulled his face into an expression of deep disgust. “The worst of us deserves ter dance on the end of a rope, an’ if yer don’t know that, then yer in’t fit ter be out o’ the ‘ouse by yerself.”
The language and the attitude of the character, a street urchin, ring true, at least in my opinion.
Recommendation: Anne Perry tells stories that draw you in. They are well crafted and absorbing to the end. Reading one of her novels is like taking a vacation in Victorian London, a trip that is perfectly plausible and enjoyable until the very end.
4.08.2009
Book Review: Copper River by William Kent Krueger
Copper River by William Kent Krueger
Simon and Schuster
387 Pages
Copyright 2006
Cork O’Connor is a man with a price on his head - $500,000 to be exact. He’s left his wife and three children in Chicago, staying with Jo’s sister, and gone on the run in order to keep them safe. After a phone call to his family leads killers to his door, Cork heads for the remote Upper Peninsula of Michigan to seek the help of a cousin who isn’t exactly happy to see him. Jewell DuBois, a veterinarian, takes Cork in and patches him up despite the fact that she has reasons to dislike cops of any kind.
While recovering from his wounds, Cork finds himself filling the role of father to Jewell’s son, Ren, who is at loose ends living in the small town of Bodine. The unknown injured man hiding out in one of their cabins is the sort of excitement that Ren cannot ignore.
The stakes are raised when Ren along with his best friends Charlie and Stash see a body wash down the Copper River and into Lake Superior. A short time later, Charlie’s father is beaten to death and Stash is the victim of a hit and run. Cork and Dina, the private investigator introduced in Mercy Falls, team up to unwind a puzzle that includes the homeless kids of the Marquette area and the Copper River Club, playground for the rich and powerful hidden away in the Huron Mountains.
Cork and Dina find themselves trying to protect Jewell, Ren, and Charlie, while trying to uncover the secrets hidden in the Huron Mountains and avoiding the hit men that are clearly still hot on Cork’s trail. At stake are not only their lives, but the lives of an untold number of children – including Cork’s.
Copper River is an excellent story and it wraps up the one started in Mercy Falls satisfactorily. It is not, however, without its flaws. Ren, Charlie, and Stash seem more like caricatures than real kids. And, after setting the series in a real place, Aurora, Minnesota, Krueger creates a fictitious place in the Upper Peninsula. Bodine doesn’t exist and neither does the Copper River or the Copper River Club. The club, a 22,000 acre private resort, does exist in the Huron Mountains but it is called the Huron River Club. Being from the UP myself, the fictitious setting was a little unsettling. Knowing the nature of the Huron River Club, however, makes it understandable, especially given the storyline involved.
Krueger, on the other hand, nails small town life:
Small towns are like that. Everyone knows everyone else and everyone is the subject of gossip. Kids know that when they screw up, their parents will hear about it from half a dozen people before they even make it home.
Recommendation: As I said, it’s a satisfactory wrap up the story began in Mercy Falls. Krueger details the beauty of the Upper Peninsula well and deftly catches the flavor of small town life. The story of the children is heart-wrenching and highlights the plight of homeless children all over the country. It’s well worth the read.
Simon and Schuster
387 Pages
Copyright 2006
Cork O’Connor is a man with a price on his head - $500,000 to be exact. He’s left his wife and three children in Chicago, staying with Jo’s sister, and gone on the run in order to keep them safe. After a phone call to his family leads killers to his door, Cork heads for the remote Upper Peninsula of Michigan to seek the help of a cousin who isn’t exactly happy to see him. Jewell DuBois, a veterinarian, takes Cork in and patches him up despite the fact that she has reasons to dislike cops of any kind.
While recovering from his wounds, Cork finds himself filling the role of father to Jewell’s son, Ren, who is at loose ends living in the small town of Bodine. The unknown injured man hiding out in one of their cabins is the sort of excitement that Ren cannot ignore.
The stakes are raised when Ren along with his best friends Charlie and Stash see a body wash down the Copper River and into Lake Superior. A short time later, Charlie’s father is beaten to death and Stash is the victim of a hit and run. Cork and Dina, the private investigator introduced in Mercy Falls, team up to unwind a puzzle that includes the homeless kids of the Marquette area and the Copper River Club, playground for the rich and powerful hidden away in the Huron Mountains.
Cork and Dina find themselves trying to protect Jewell, Ren, and Charlie, while trying to uncover the secrets hidden in the Huron Mountains and avoiding the hit men that are clearly still hot on Cork’s trail. At stake are not only their lives, but the lives of an untold number of children – including Cork’s.
Copper River is an excellent story and it wraps up the one started in Mercy Falls satisfactorily. It is not, however, without its flaws. Ren, Charlie, and Stash seem more like caricatures than real kids. And, after setting the series in a real place, Aurora, Minnesota, Krueger creates a fictitious place in the Upper Peninsula. Bodine doesn’t exist and neither does the Copper River or the Copper River Club. The club, a 22,000 acre private resort, does exist in the Huron Mountains but it is called the Huron River Club. Being from the UP myself, the fictitious setting was a little unsettling. Knowing the nature of the Huron River Club, however, makes it understandable, especially given the storyline involved.
Krueger, on the other hand, nails small town life:
Ren loved Bodine. And he hated it. The town circumscribed his life, defined him in many ways. It gave him a place to belong, offered him a stable center from which to view the world in order to make some sense of it. On the other hand, it was small, suffocating, and sometimes cruel. There were days when he felt like a prisoner. He knew every street, every shop, every shop owner, and they knew him. They made him feel part of a large family. Like any family, however, they always had their noses in his business and in his mother’s.
Small towns are like that. Everyone knows everyone else and everyone is the subject of gossip. Kids know that when they screw up, their parents will hear about it from half a dozen people before they even make it home.
Recommendation: As I said, it’s a satisfactory wrap up the story began in Mercy Falls. Krueger details the beauty of the Upper Peninsula well and deftly catches the flavor of small town life. The story of the children is heart-wrenching and highlights the plight of homeless children all over the country. It’s well worth the read.
Book Review: Mercy Falls by William Kent Krueger
Mercy Falls by William Kent Krueger
Simon and Schuster
434 Pages
Copyright 2005
In Mercy Falls, the sixth book of the Corcoran “Cork” O’Connor series, the former sheriff finds himself back in his old job once again and responding to a domestic dispute out in the middle of nowhere. Instead of dealing with the expected feuding couple, however, Cork and his deputy, Marsha Dross find themselves taking fire from a sniper. In spite of the fact that Dross is the one shot, it quickly becomes clear that the attack was aimed at Cork and it is followed by two more attempts on his life.
Complicating an already complicated situation is the death of Eddie Jacoby, a Chicago businessman in town to negotiate an unpopular contract between the local tribe and his management firm. Jacoby, the son of a powerful and rich man, is found dead at Mercy Falls, brutally stabbed to death, his body mutilated and left in his car. Jacoby’s father sends another son, Ben, and a private investigator with questionable ethics to ‘assist’ in the investigation. Cork’s attraction to Dina, the investigator, and his wife, Jo’s past with Ben lead the pair on a twisted path that ends in Chicago where Jo falls victim to a sexual assault and Cork finds himself on the wrong side of Jacoby, a fact that will send Cork on the run in order to protect those he loves the most.
Recommendation: William Kent Krueger is another one of my favorite authors that I haven’t read in awhile. Like the others, I’m glad I picked him up again. Mercy Falls is a page turner and the ending will definitely have you reaching for the next book in the series.
Simon and Schuster
434 Pages
Copyright 2005
In Mercy Falls, the sixth book of the Corcoran “Cork” O’Connor series, the former sheriff finds himself back in his old job once again and responding to a domestic dispute out in the middle of nowhere. Instead of dealing with the expected feuding couple, however, Cork and his deputy, Marsha Dross find themselves taking fire from a sniper. In spite of the fact that Dross is the one shot, it quickly becomes clear that the attack was aimed at Cork and it is followed by two more attempts on his life.
Complicating an already complicated situation is the death of Eddie Jacoby, a Chicago businessman in town to negotiate an unpopular contract between the local tribe and his management firm. Jacoby, the son of a powerful and rich man, is found dead at Mercy Falls, brutally stabbed to death, his body mutilated and left in his car. Jacoby’s father sends another son, Ben, and a private investigator with questionable ethics to ‘assist’ in the investigation. Cork’s attraction to Dina, the investigator, and his wife, Jo’s past with Ben lead the pair on a twisted path that ends in Chicago where Jo falls victim to a sexual assault and Cork finds himself on the wrong side of Jacoby, a fact that will send Cork on the run in order to protect those he loves the most.
Recommendation: William Kent Krueger is another one of my favorite authors that I haven’t read in awhile. Like the others, I’m glad I picked him up again. Mercy Falls is a page turner and the ending will definitely have you reaching for the next book in the series.
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