Good morning dear friends. Hope this post finds everyone relaxing from a busy week. This week was a bit of an improvement from the last. My son still had some stomach issues early in the week, but we got a medication for nausea (apparently one used by chemo patients) and that got him through the week. He seems to be feeling much better now. He was back in the groove with football, and they absolutely creamed their opponents yesterday. My daughter had a decent run in cross country. All was well on that front.
I attended a book club meeting on Thursday night to discuss "And the Mountains Echoed" by Khaled Hosseini. Unfortunately, we spent about five minutes talking about the book and the remaining two and half hours talking about swollen feet, nausea and weak bladders as half of group is pregnant. (I stayed FAR away from their water glasses, thanks.) Oh well. One of these months we will get back to discussing books. Until then, I'll call it wine club and will still happily attend.
I started reading "Ender's Game" in preparation for the upcoming movie, but honestly, I had a very hard time concentrating because on Tuesday, Stephen King's long-awaited sequel to "The Shining" came out called "Doctor Sleep". (I actually woke up at 3:30 that morning to powder my nose and just went ahead and downloaded it to the Kindle. I almost stayed up and started it right then and there.) You know, thank God for Kindles. I love not having to wait, or rush out to get the book. So anyway, I dove into this baby and pretty much did THE MINIMUM this week. I just fed my family, cleaned the house, and cleaned the ceiling fans (lest my husband catch on) and the rest of the time I read. I'm somewhere around 85% so I am hoping to get very close to finishing the book today.
On audio, I spent most of the week listening to "The Doll" by Taylor Stevens, the third installment of the Vanessa Michael Munroe series. For the first third of the book, I almost stopped listening. I just couldn't care what was going on, and it made me weary. But then it picked up and I ended up really liking it. It is a very worthy addition to the series. I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes strong female characters who are clever and very badass.
I finished up all the reviews I'm going to publish on the blog...at least for now. That felt weird, and a little bit wonderful.
I am still obsessed with Breaking Bad. We've watched two episodes of Season 5, and are closing in on the end (which will actually air this Sunday I think, but we won't be watching that until we are ready). I think I've probably said this before, but this is TV like I've never seen. It is something very special, and highly addictive.
So today we have church, my daughter and I have a four-hour dog adoption event at a Pet Smart, and then pray tell maybe I'll finish "Doctor Sleep". Hope you all have a wonderful Sunday.
I was tipped off to this YA trilogy by Rhapsody Jill. She didn't necessarily deem it high brow or at the level of John Green or anything, but said it was fun and got smuttier with each installment. I like to be in-the-know on what my teenage daughter could possibly want to read, so I figured I'd better see what it was about.
Synopsis: Lucy Larson's family has suffered several devastating setbacks, one of which was when her father lost his job. Supported only by her mother, they had to move out of their posh home and into their lake cottage, away from Lucy's private school and into a public one. In the summer before her senior year, she meets Jude, a devastatingly handsome bad boy with a troubled past. Sparks fly. There is an instant attraction, and after some posturing, flirting, passes and rebuffs, the two hook up.
As the story progresses, the two encounter multiple obstacles. Jude is constantly being arrested or chased by the police. He is elusive about his past. The rich quarterback has set his sights on Lucy, and every time Jude is waylaid he tries to move in. There are snap judgements made, and there is poor communication and misunderstandings. As teenagers are wont to do. As the story approaches its denouement, we learn that Jude and Lucy's lives are more closely intertwined than they ever imagined. Their happiness seems thwarted at every turn, like a modern day Romeo and Juliet.
My thoughts: Honestly this plot, and the writing, is ridiculous. It is predictable to the point where I had to laugh. You have heard all of this before! Dangerous bad boy that is unattainable suddenly dedicates his heart to the damaged girl that saves shelter animals and is a ballerina. Can she trust him? No! Yes! No! He is bad for her but she cannot resist him 'cause he is so hot! He tells her that he is a cancer and she should find someone more worthy of her goodness! Oh for Pete's sake. I set a world record for eye rolls.
It is worthy to note that in this first book, there is no sex. I hear that it is coming in the next book...
But it was brain candy, and I blew through this audio faster than anything else I'd listened to in a long time. It was completely reminiscent of Twilight, except that Jude is much less of a creeper than Edward and Lucy is stronger-willed than Bella the moper. It was a total throwback to those hormone, drama-infested teenage years. And while you will hear me spew disdain for the Twilight series, I sure read them quickly at the time. And for the same reason why I will probably be ordering installment #2 (Clash) and installment #3 (Crush).
Update: Since I wrote this review, I ordered Clash on audio, and listened to about a half hour of it. In that time, Jude almost beats up a guy for helping Lucy with her dance costume, they fight about it, then they make up, participate in some heavy petting while driving really fast in Jude's truck, and fight about when they will actually have sex. I just couldn't do it. Silly overload. Maybe later!
A few words about the audio production: I only have one name to tell you...Cassandra Campbell. This is exactly WHY this audio was so easy to listen to. The woman is a pro, no matter what character she is portraying, even a 17 year-old girl. She makes audio books a pleasure.
Listening length: 9 hours and 20 minutes (384 pages)
3 out of 5 stars
The pitch for this book from TLC Book Tours was something along the lines of "if Jaws, Survivor and Stephen King had a baby, this book would be it". (I can't find the e-mail so I apologize if I am misquoting!) Anyway, that was the spirit of the e-mail, and combine that with the fact the story takes place in the Florida Keys? It was like dangling a bloody steak in front of a dog...or a shark for that matter. I was in.
Synopsis: Six strangers wake up on an uninhabited island in the Florida Keys, clueless on how they got there. Soon however, it becomes very clear what they all have in common...they are all heroin addicts and they soon begin to have violent withdrawal symptoms. They also discover a chest filled with food, water and a message. Swim a mile, it says, through shark-infested water, to the nearest island for additional food and your next heroin fix, or die. Just off the shore, a yacht's mysterious inhabitants observe what happens next.
What follows is a brutal and deadly game of survivor, played by crazed junkies...two woman and four men. Not only do they have to battle each other and their own demons and agendas, but their unknown adversaries who seem to be bent on proving a point.
My thoughts: One thing I can say about this book, and that is it is a rip-roaring fast read. The author doesn't waste any time. He immediately plunges you into the nightmare and drags you through to the last page. The plot is gritty, grisly and unflinching.
But as fun as it is to read something like this, I felt there were some missed opportunities in really developing these six characters. You get a small amount of background, but I didn't get nearly enough. These were all real, sympathetic folks that had fallen on bad times. I could have easily invested in them, but I wasn't given much time to do that. With what I was given, I placed by bets on the guy with the most fight in him.
I also felt the reader got the barest of explanations on the motive of the game players. I sort of got it, but thought it was a stretch that these people would go to such extremes and expense to prove their point. In a conversation I had with Ti, we agreed that it might have been better to have no explanation at all versus one that just skimmed the surface.
Be that as it may, this would be a perfect book for the beach or for a readathon. Your attention won't stray. In fact, don't be surprised if you finish in one sitting.
I do have a copy to give away, so leave me a comment if you are interested in reading this, and I'll randomly select a winner by September 30.
3.5 out of 5 stars
Happy Sunday everyone! What a freaking week...I'm not even sure where it went. My biggest bit of angst this week was that my son came home Monday mid-day and was home sick ALL WEEK. At first we thought it was the flu, but it didn't go away. After a visit to the doctor, it appears he has some more pervasive issues with his stomach and hopefully meds will fix. Not only am I rattled because my boy doesn't feel well and is going crazy at home, but there is the missed sports practices and school that has to be made up. It mucked up my state of mind all week, and I didn't get much done.
We were able (with much scrutiny of multiple schedules) to go out to dinner with our good friends the Lopuses (the ones that own the wine store) on Friday night, taking advantage of Magical Dining Month. Saturday was full of kid events, but unfortunately my daughter didn't run well in her cross country meet, and my son's football team did not win (and he couldn't play because of being out all week). Boo.
On audio this week, I finished "Kiss Me First" by Lottie Moggach. What a great listen! This was the author's debut novel, but it was twisted and thought-provoking and very tense from beginning to end. It will also be my first official book not reviewed on the blog. Starting with this book I will make a brief comment on my thoughts on Goodreads. I'm not going to be putting a whole lot of energy into these comments (otherwise, why not keep blogging?) so keep your expectations low! But for those of you who are interested, I'll give my two cents. I then started Taylor Stevens' latest addition to the Vanessa Michael Munroe series "The Doll".
In print I wrapped up "My Year with Eleanor" for next month's book club. It was a pleasant read...nothing earth-shattering but fairly upbeat and benign. I then DOVE HEADFIRST WITH GREAT RELISH into the 3rd installment of the Jack Caffrey series by Mo Hayder called "Ritual". The first two books in the series almost kept me up at night they were so disturbing. This was not quite as severe, but was so so satisfying as a mystery thriller. I am in love with this author. I drug this book everywhere with me and actually finished it in less than a week...shocker for me. I have so many books I want to read, but I'm on a roll here, and I'm sure I will be grabbing the 4th in the series soon. I am now picking up "Ender's Game" in anticipation of the upcoming movie. I'm not a sci-fi kind of girl, but it has been highly recommended so I'm going to give it a shot.
Today we are looking at church, animal shelter and hopefully a little rest and relaxation. The kids actually have Monday off from school, so that should take a little edge off the Sunday night blues. What does everyone have going on today?
Back when this book first came out, there was a huge stir, at least on TV. Part of our morning routine is to watch MSNBC's Squawk Box, which is primarily a business news show, but the anchors go off on random tangents as well. And they were all practically VIBRATING over this book, their eyes all buggy and big silly grins on their faces. Then I started hearing other news programs talking about it, and the author started showing up on the night talk shows. When Penguin Audio sent a special e-mail to all of us audiophiles, announcing that THEY HAD THIS AUDIO FOR DOWNLOAD, I grabbed it. It sounded like this would be book that everyone would be buzzing about, and maybe for once I won't be the last to read it.
Synopsis: Mark Leibovich has been a reporter all his adult life, most recently employed as a New York Times chief national political correspondent. Using the Tim Russert's funeral in 2008 (the social event of the season) as a starting point, and running through the reelection of Obama, Leibovich unleashes a snarky and fairly bi-partisan skewing of anyone and everyone involved in the machinations of "This Town", Washington D.C.. Even Obama, who started out clean and pure and above all the typical fray of the game-playing, has been called out on the carpet for sliding into the muddy, lobbyist-filled trenches with the rest of the veterans of This Town.
Very few walk away unscathed (even himself), but the author rests his attention on a number of players in the game as case studies for the egocentric self-promotion rat race that permeates our capital. As Leibovich so eloquently states "Washington may not serve our country well, but it has in fact worked splendidly for Washington itself." He offers example after example, in the words of someone has seen and heard it all, of the pettiness, ambition, greed, social-climbing, and obscene wealth run amuck. For nowadays, this is "a town where there are no longer Democrats and Republicans anymore in the nation's capital - just millionaires."
At times laugh-out-loud funny, other times heartbreaking, and the next minute maddening, you'll see This Town and its dirty little secrets like you never have before.
My thoughts: Well I can now certainly understand why all the talking heads on TV were going crazy over this book. For anyone who knows the players and the names, this is some jaw-dropping material. Snark! Intrigue! Bad behavior! I expected that it would be skewed towards one side or the other, but as the author explains, there aren't really sides any more. The opposing factions would like you to THINK there are sides, but really everyone is in it for themselves and they understand that fighting is good for business.
There is a whole helluva lot of dirt here, but it didn't seem like a tabloid. The prose is witty and snappy and is grounded in facts and quotes and interviews with hundreds of players. This guy is speaking from experience. Now, does he have anyone left speaking to him at this point? I wonder.
I loved the insight on Obama. I loved the insight on the Clintons. I was amazed at the insight on some of the politicians that I thought were good, wholesome folk but are detested on Capital Hill. I loved the swirling, chaotic, amoeba-like mass of personalities. And now I know I would NEVER EVER want to be a part of that mess.
But I honestly feel that much of this book was lost on me. Like I said, I watch MSNBC every single morning, but I guess I'm not familiar with the names of the movers and the shakers. It's like listening in on a funny story but you have no idea who the story is about, so it loses a bit of its punch. After listening to 3/4 of the book, I got a little tired of being out of the loop.
A few words about the audio production: Our narrator for this joyride was Joe Barrett, who has a huge resume in the field and whom I've heard several times. He has a pleasant voice, if not necessarily theatrical. He has the perfect sound for a book like this, with enough timing and tongue-in-cheek to keep it interesting.
Listening length: 12 hours and 15 minutes (400 pages)
3.5 out of 5 stars
So here we are, round #3 of the Delirium Trilogy. I'm not a huge fan of trilogies, especially YA ones, but I got sucked in from the get-go with this one. Once that happened, I had to see things through to the end. I will do my best to highlight the general plot without spoiling.Synopsis: In a world where love has been deemed humanity's downfall, everyone has this evil emotion surgically removed at the age of 16 and are matched up with a mate. Some like this idea and some don't. Lena is in the latter category, and finds love with Alex right before her surgery. In the first installment "Delirium", Lena escapes into "the Wilds" but Alex is left behind, presumed incarcerated or dead. In "Pandemonium", Lena becomes a hardened survivalist and joins the revolution against the government, picking up a love interest along the way. It ends with a doozy of a cliffhanger that is guaranteed to bring back the most cynical reader to the third act.Which brings us to "Requiem". This time, we alternate between the narration of Lena and her best friend from high school, Hana. Hana has had her operation, and has been matched with the next Mayor of Portland. Hana feels despondent from the loveless life she is facing and wonders if she is as "healed" as she is supposed to be. Lena has found herself in the center of the revolution, and the battles have risen to a fever pitch. She also is consumed by her emotions and a confusing love triangle. Passion is the name of the game, forever present is the mantra:"We wanted the freedom to love. We wanted the freedom to choose. Now we have to fight for it."My thoughts: After the cliffhanger in "Pandemonium" that smacked me right between the eyes, I had really high hopes for a bang-up ending. I didn't really get it though. The love triangle, in my estimation, should have been HOT. I mean, they are fighting and killing for this stuff, right? So why did it feel subdued, confused and wishy-washy? Everyone's pants should have been on fire, epic revolutionary battles or not!
In terms of a denouement, we got some action, but the ending was left pretty wide open. My immediate reaction was "Huh? Is that it?". I tried to construct a better, more satisfying ending but didn't have much luck. Most alternatives would have felt contrived. As Jill put it in her review, life as Lena knows it is about NOT knowing and trusting what will come, so to her this all made sense. I just felt a little deflated.
Ultimately I kept waiting for something to happen that never did. That doesn't mean that I'm sorry I read these three books. The first was my favorite, and it had enough power to carry me through them all.
3.5 out of 5 stars
It's that time of year again! The time when the Nawrots get SO excited to experience the thrills of Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios. This is the 23rd year of the festivities, and based on our experiences since we started going a few years ago, it just keeps getting better. This year we are planning on going October 4th, so we have been preparing ourselves.
Each year they pick themes and reveal each name of the eight or so haunted houses. Often they are based on legends (one year it was all about Bloody Mary), movies, and video games, and we have found that the more you know about them, the more effective the thrills.
This year it seems they have gone with a zombie/mutant theme. They have a Resident Evil house (per my son the video games are awesome and the movies are trash), a Walking Dead house (based on the AMC series), one based on An American Werewolf in London (movie), one based on the 2013 movie remake of Evil Dead, one based on the movie Cabin in the Woods, and three others with themes of after life, a murderous mother, and genetically-engineered super-soldiers. The kids and I decided we need to see a couple of movies to bone up on our demons.
I remember when Evil Dead came out in the theaters this past spring. It got a decent Rotten Tomato score of 62%, and was nostalgic of the original Raimi film that came out in 1981 that we all saw back in the day. The premise is that a group of friends convene in a cabin in the woods (which looks insanely similar to the set of The Cabin in the Woods) to help one of the girls detox and get clean from heroin. They discover an old book in the basement that, when certain words are read, unleashes a homicidal demon that invades human souls. The problem is that when said demon gets inside the detoxing girl, nobody realizes it because, you know, ridding oneself of drugs can bring out the worst in people.
Let me just say that the visuals are terrifying and extremely GROSS. There is a horrifying basement full of dead hanging cats, things come out of the ground, and while under the influence of the demon, people do really bad things to themselves and others. After we watched this one, my daughter had to sleep with me that night. This would be my veteran B horror movie daughter. Just be warned. But as a high octane horror film, this is what it is all about. 4.5 out of 5
So we are back in a cabin. In the woods. Also with a messed up basement. A group of attractive young friends are hanging there for the weekend for fishing, smoking dope and hanky panky. As you would expect. (I'm willing to overlook all the stereotypes for a peek at Chris Hemsworth...just sayin'.) Little does this group know that they are in the middle of a type of orchestrated reality show, run by ruthless game players that make bets on what evil the group will unknowingly unleash and whose blood will be spilled first.
I can't say I loved this one, much to my surprise since Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 92%!! It certainly was different than any other horror movie I've ever seen, but I thought the premise was pretty goofy. I mean, I get that this is satire, but I didn't think was GOOD satire. I thought the most interesting part of the whole hour and a half was witnessing the smorgasbord of evil that is held captive by the game players and could potentially be unleashed if they are "chosen". All that said, I'm pretty excited to see what the folks at Universal will do with this one. 3 out of 5
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