Laika - Nick Abadzis

I should know better than to read a book with a dog on the cover. Or an animal of any kind. This always means tears, lots of them. But I remembered reading Alyce's review of this graphic novel, and on a library/graphic novel spree of gluttony, I grabbed it on impulse.

Everyone in my house knows the story of Laika, being animal lovers that we are. The Russian street dog that became a hero overnight, as a result of his one-way trip to space on Sputnik 2, a rushed mission to prove to the world that Russia reigned supreme in the field of space exploration.

Nick Abadzis diligently researched Laika's story, added his own interpretations, and the result was this heart-wrenching story of a dog that will forever be remembered.

Synopsis: Korolev was once a political prisoner in a Siberian gulag, now an engineer for the Soviet Space Program. He is a "man of destiny", and was saved from frostbite and starvation by the barking of a dog. He has been charged with making history by sending Russian orbital vehicle in space before the Americans.

Yelena is a soft-hearted animal handler for the dogs that are test-subjects for the space program. She is attached to the animals, and often can even imagine their thoughts, and is deeply distressed by their ultimate fate.

Laika is a scruffy but high-spirited dog who was once an abused pet, then a stray, and finally one of the test subjects for the Sputnik program. He was identified as a resilient and good-natured animal, and was sent into space knowing he would not return to earth alive.

This graphic novel weaves the stories of these three characters into a part fiction, part non-fiction account of Laika's legacy.

My thoughts: In almost every book I read, somebody dies and I just tool along like it is expected. An innocent dog dies, for the sake of Russian glory, and I fall apart. I would dare you to read this one, even knowing the ending, and not shed a tear or two.

The illustrations are not necessarily outstanding, but what sets this graphic novel apart from the rest is the emotion that is rendered. When Abadzis provides the thoughts of Laika and her other test subjects, or repeats various phrases like "Good dog", "Don't worry" or "You can trust me", I thought my heart would break into a million pieces. Never mind that this is the poetic license that Abadzis adds to the facts of the true story, it resonates as completely believable.

Abadzis also delves into the personal histories of the main characters of Korolev, Yelena and Laika, which gives the story some depth, something most people might think is impossible for a graphic novel. Korolev wasn't just a task-master dooming a dog to death, he was a man who had nearly died in Siberia, had a strong will to survive, and had a soft spot for canines. It was hard to be angry at him. Laika's life as an abused stray, in one situation was dumped into the river by a former owner, tested my desire to finish the book. But I'm glad I did. Laika's story deserves to be told. Good dog.

4.5 out of 5 stars

I Know I Am But What Are You? - Samantha Bee (Audio)

A good majority of the books I read have a general level of gravitas...people die, animals die, people struggle with their personal baggage, people fight, people get divorced, there are wars, you know. A body can only take so much of this drama, no matter how well-written. That is when I turn to a small dose of self-deprecating, sarcastic, raunchy humor...David Sedaris, Jon Stewart, and one of the correspondents from Stewart's Daily Show, Samantha Bee. The expectation isn't to be emotionally moved. I'm just looking for some comedic relief!

Synopsis: Bee has lived a fairly unconventional life thus far, and has used this book as letting it all hang out there for us to see and be entertained, as embarrassing as it might be. An only child of divorced parents, she converts her youthful awkwardness into something light-hearted and laughable:

"Dating from well before the turn of the twentieth century, if there has ever been a successful, happy marriage in my family lineage, I have yet to hear about it. When I rack my brain, I can't think of a single adult, other than myself, in my immediate or extended family who has not been painfully divorced at least once, usually twice -- even the gay ones. This inspires tremendous confidence in my husband."

Whether she is sharing stories about her crush on Jesus, on doing drugs, stealing cars, watching porn at a young age, or her knack for attracting exposed penises, she doesn't hold anything back.

My thoughts: Maybe I'm just burned out from writing what appears to be 140-ish reviews in 2010, but I don't have a whole lot of insightful commentary to reveal about this audiobook. Like the Sedaris collections, it is a series of short stories, where she reveals outlandish tales of her childhood, and not so outlandish tales but spiced up to be funny anyway. (She could probably find irony and humor in my life, she is just that type of comedian.) The segments are often rude, with all races, religions and walks of life insulted equally. I am almost unoffendable in these situations, and I laughed at every cuss word and politically incorrect slur.

A word about the audio production: The book is narrated by Bee herself, and like Sedaris, it really works. She is easy to listen to - she has an expressive voice - and she has a wicked dry sense of humor and good timing. It was a nice break from the norm, quick to listen to...I'd say it accomplished its goal!

3 out of 5 stars

Monday Movie Meme - A Change is in the Air

Monday Movie Meme is back after a small hiatus! And today, the Bumbles are ruminating over all the transformations that occur when we transition from one year to the next. Vows of turning over a new leaf, losing weight, reading more, or a new outlook on life (at least for a month or two!) is something we all do...changes for the better. The movies are also known for showing major changes in their characters throughout the story, and not always for the better! The Bumbles came up with some great ones. Here are a few that were memorable for me:

1. Allison Reynolds (the basket case) - The Breakfast Club: How much fun is it to see Ally Sheedy go from sort of an emo-looking shaggy dog to a pretty girl, worthy of dating the jock? Do I think she can maintain that look? No! But it is entertaining to watch.

2. Sandy - Grease: You can't deny the power of the black leather pants, after all of those poodle skirts. As a teenager, I thought it was so very cool that Sandy transformed to a bad girl for her boyfriend, but now, if I analyze it, it seems pathetic. I think I'm getting old.

3. Phil - Groundhog Day: Surly, self-absorbed weatherman sees the error of his ways after he has to relive the same awful day over and over again until he gets it right. I never ever tire of watching this one!

4. Jack Torrance - The Shining: OK, I'll grant you that he was a tad creepy even at the beginning of the story, with some latent aggression, but seclusion, those dead twins and room 237 really do a number on him by the end.

5. Rocky and Adrian - Rocky: Another great example of basket case getting pretty for her man, plus Rocky himself no only gets a little bit more buff, but begins to believe in himself.

6. Seth Brundle - The Fly: Not the preferable changes you would wish on your intended. That is some nasty back hair...


Something in the back of my mind tells me I am missing some really obvious ones. What do you think?

Sunday Salon: New Year, New Start

Long time, no see friends! Happy New Year! I blew off last Sunday Salon, and basked in the holiday sloth. But now I'm back, and full of piss and vinegar.

We had a great holiday. I received wonderful gifts...a Cuisinart Griddler, a Nike chip that goes into my shoe to track miles walked, gift cards for shopping, a gift card to the spa, new golf shoes, a renewal for Bookmarks, lotions, perfume...woo hoo! I hosted Christmas Eve and Christmas at my house, cooked my brains out, and had quality time with my family. We went to the Champs Bowl, we hosted 16 people at our house for New Years, and now all I want to do is collapse! (But not for too long...I am arranging a birthday party for my husband's 50th in a couple of weeks! And my son starts a new season of football...) Today my family is going to take the boat on the lake and have a relaxing picnic. Get the kids back to school and I will be golden.

I've been attempting to keep up with the blogs the best I can...all those Best Of Lists have been awesome (seeing alot of Fingersmith guys!). I've been attempting (and failing) to keep up with my reviews. I'm going to be featured at The Scene of the Blog sometime in the next month or two...stay tuned for that. I have yet to put pen to paper on the resolutions. But I'd say simplicity should be one of the goals for blogging. Read what I have. Read what I want. Personally, I'll need to be dropping a few pounds, get back into shape, and stay sane while I manage a few home improvement projects.

What about the reading? On audio, I finished Sarah Vowell's "Assassination Vacation", which I enjoyed. She is a funny lady. I am now on the mission to get through "Freedom", all 19 discs, for my book club. Jury is out on whether I'm loving it or not. With Franzen's "The Corrections", I hated it until I finished it, then I loved it. Maybe this is the same deal, I don't know.

For printed books, I am reading all of my author-signed novels so I can then donate them to my Adult Literacy League event this spring. I read "Song of the Sparrow", a YA book that draws on King Arthur and his knights of the round table, and thought it was wonderful. I am now reading "The Lake of Dreams" by Kim Edwards, the author of "The Memory Keeper's Daughter". No opinion yet...only 60 pages into it. I also read "And the Pursuit of Happiness", an impromptu treasure from the library, and a graphic novel that has been getting some attention. It blew me away.

A little administration: A month or two ago, I removed my word verification for comments, just to make things easier on you all. Good Lord, the spammers pounced like hyenas on fresh antelope meat. These idiots are the devil's spawn. I may need to institute the word thing again if it gets much worse...I apologize in advance.

Lastly, I just want you all to know how much I appreciate your support and friendship in 2010. Many of you all have been there, and you know there are days when you wonder why you are killing yourself over something that earns little to no money. But then I get e-mails and comments from you that make my day, and justify what I am doing. Some of you are new friends, some I've known for 2 1/2 years, and some forever. Every one of you guys rock!

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Years. 2011 is going to be amazing!

2010 Challenge Wrap Up

This year, the challenges plum wore me out. It is easy to get excited about them. Library! I can do that! Audiobooks? That is totally my gig. Memoirs? I love memoirs. Graphic novels? I want to try them. But at the end of the day, there were things I wanted to read, but didn't. Now I'm irritated.

Despite my annoyance, I did pretty well. Here are the list of my challenges and the results - I failed to complete one. I am not going to add titles or links, because that is way more work than I want to do right now. I'm tired!

1. Support Your Library Reading Challenge - 25 out of 25 read

2. 100+ Reading Challenge - 140 books read

3. Graphic Novels Challenge - 3 out of 3 (plus a whole lot more!)

4. Memorable Memoir Reading Challenge - 4 out of 4

5. Amy Einhorn Perpetual Challenge - 2

6. E-Book Challenge - 6 out of 6

7. Audiobook Challenge - 20 out of 20

8. Twenty Ten Challenge - 20 out of 20

9. Read and Review Challenge - up to date

10. TBR Challenge - 7 out of 12 (My big failure!)

11. Read the Book/See the Movie Challenge - 4 out of 4

12. Read From My Shelves Project - 30 out of 30

13. Vietnam War Challenge - 5 out of 5

14. Okra Challenge - 4 out of 4

15. RIP Challenge - 4 out of 4 (plus more!)


For 2011, I have taken the TBR Dare from James, and will only read my printed books from now through April 1st. It will be good for my soul. I will continue to keep track of Amy Einhorn imprints - that one offers no pressure. I may read a western in May with James. I may be sucked into RIP in the fall, because it is tradition. But as of right now, I'm laying low and doing as I please!

Happy New Year everyone!

Lucky - Alice Sebold

I had to read ONE MORE BOOK for the Twenty Ten Reading Challenge. One that had to have come from a charity shop. Frankly, I doubt if anyone really cares if I finish this challenge or not, but it is like a burr in my britches to leave one on the table that I could realistically cross off my list. So here you are, on New Year's Eve. Is that an echo I hear out on the blogs today? Is anyone out there?

If you have read either "The Lovely Bones" or "The Almost Moon", I suspect you finished them and asked yourself something like "What kind of person could possibly write such a thing? This author is coming from a dark, dark place." Alice Sebold's books are completely polarizing. Some loved them. Some were completely enraged. She has an edge that many authors can't come close to emulating - she takes what is acceptable in polite society and pushes the boundaries out a couple miles. One thing you can't take away from her though...she is a compelling writer. Whether you are cringing, or crying, or screaming in outrage, you can't put her books down. This book gives you a peek inside Alice Sebold's young life, offering a few explanations.

Synopsis: When Alice was 19 and a freshman at Syracuse, she was brutally raped and sodomized. She was a virgin at the time. This book tells the story of this attack. Every stomach-churning detail, from the way the attacker smelled, every degrading action and word, every punch, every repulsive invasion. Alice recalls her experience with her friends, who supported her and who avoided her, her time at the hospital, the police headquarters, the difficulty of calling her parents.

Then begins the journey to recovery, through a life that will never be the same. Alice returns home for the summer to recover. She fills us in on her family history. Her father's emotional distance. Her mother's nervous attacks that she calls "flaps". Her sister, the over-achiever. When Alice returns to school the following fall, life doesn't get any easier. She suffers self-loathing. She is paranoid. She attempts to get her life back together. She attempts to act strong to ease the discomfort for those around her. Drugs and alcohol cushion the way.

Then she sees her assailant on the street and all hell breaks loose. There is a trial, and she must face her biggest fear - to stare down the man that ruined her life and call him by his name. Then she must destroy him.

"I let it come now, the thing that had been burning at the corners of my temples the night before and boiled beneath the surface all that year: rage."

My thoughts: Everything that is addictive about Alice Sebold's fictional work has been put to good use in what I would call "a journal from a rape survivor". Sebold doesn't hold anything back. She is fearless with this memoir. I warn you that at times it isn't easy to read. Rape isn't pretty, and it affects the victim in more ways than physical. Family members and friends are also collateral damage. It destroys one's sense of safety, one's sense of control, and sense of self. I guess I've always known this, but never has it been more evident than in reading the words of a very eloquent survivor.

It is important to know that she is the furthest thing from pompous or self-satisfied about her survival. She admits her fears, her irrational behavior, her digression into drug abuse. But she also acknowledges her desire to not back down against the despicable man who did this to her. Girlfriend kicked ass.

Despite the fact that this is a very tough subject, Sebold comes out the other side with a self-realization of her own courage, strength, and the ability to use her words to help others. After all, anyone who would use the title "Lucky" for a book like this has something to offer the world.

"But it is later now, and I live in a world where the two truths coexist; where both hell and hope lie in the palm of my hand."

For anyone who has been a victim of rape, or knows someone who has, I'd say this book is required reading. Even those not directly affected by rape will take something from this memoir as well too. Post-traumatic stress finds its way into lives through many cracks and crevices.

4.5 out of 5 stars

Sandy's Best of 2010: Literary Fiction

This is it, the final list. And I've saved the best for last. I enjoy most genres, but Literary Fiction is what makes my heart go pitter-patter, what makes me keep coming back for more. This was the only category where I really wanted to list more books, but I attempted to practice self-restraint. Here are the literary fiction (printed) books that stood out above the rest this year:

1. Room - Emma Donaghue



Now you there, stop rolling your eyes. I know this pick is predictable - the rave reviews were so thick you couldn't trudge your way through them - but I can't leave it off my list. This novel was sheer genius. For an author to put themselves in the mindset of a five year old who has never left his room of captivity, and narrate a book in this precocious child's voice (an extremely realistic one if I might add based on having raised two of them), you must have some special superpowers. I don't want to hear that you "can't handle" reading about the evils done to children, or you think you might get depressed, or that you are tired of hearing about the book, just read the damned thing. Step outside your comfort zone for oh, about a day or two, and I think you will be pleasantly surprised.


2. One Day - David Nicholls

The premise, visiting two friends on the same day every year for two decades, sounded clever. And it was. But what I was unprepared for was the feeling of warmth, familiarity and investment in this couple. I snorted and rolled my eyes at their ridiculous behaviour (but still loved them for it), I cried when they failed, laughed at their wit and mishaps, and wanted them desperately to realize they were meant for each other. Big chemistry here, guys. It felt like When Harry Met Sally, a movie I've watched no less than three dozen times. The ending knocked me off my axis for awhile, but that did not reduce the oozing, almost giddy, obnoxious love I had for this book. The added bonus is that it is coming out as a movie soon. I'll be first in line.

3. The Lotus Eaters - Tatjana Soli




In the homestretch of the year, I find this one. I had pushed it to the bottom of my stack for 10 months, probably because I couldn't believe a book with this kind of cover would tell me anything new. In fact it did. Please, allow yourself to fall into this story of a young woman in Vietnam, a photographer trying to prove herself in a man's world, only to discover her strength, her true love, and a unforgettable country she can't bear to leave. I loved this book so much, I convinced my book club to read it.



4. In the Woods - Tana French



People often say that literary thrillers are far and few between, and might even question if they exist. Those people have not read Tana French. I started out reading The Likeness first, which was a sequel (of sorts) to In the Woods. Shame on me. That did not lessen the tingly glee I experienced while reading this one, all the while my subconscious chanting "this rocks, this rocks, this so ROCKS!". There are murders most foul. There are suspicious characters. There are clues. But oh, the characterization. French draws her protagonists with such realism, with such flaws, with so much tangible chemistry, it is a thing of beauty. I also admire French for not taking predictable paths. Don't expect to find a red bow around this ending.

5. Fingersmith - Sarah Waters



I'm not sure what I would do if I ever came in contact with Sarah Waters. Faint? Giggle? Offer to have her children? Needless to say, with each book I read of hers, the closer I get to a state of irrational celebrity worship. And this is her best. Turn-of-the-century London, passion, treachery, plot twists by the dozens. If I were allowed to take one book with me a deserted island, this would be it. If you haven't read it yet, you must make a resolution to read it in 2011. It is the type of book you want to roll around in.



Other notable books that almost made the list:

* Affinity - Sarah Waters
* Unaccustomed Earth - Jhumpa Lahiri
* The Human Bobby - Gabe Rotter
* 84 Charing Cross Road - Helene Hanff
* Stone's Fall - Iain Pears
* How Clarissa Burden Learned To Fly - Connie May Fowler