Shade's Children by Garth Nix

5 out of 5

Garth Nix, a young adult fantasy writer, is easily my favorite author over the last few years. I just reread Shade's Children in an effort to sate my interest in his short list of novels. Although Nix's other books are all classically characterized as fantasy, I found this one more intriguing since it fell a bit over the line of science fiction in my opinion. I enjoy science fiction more than fantasy because it begins with a tangible basis in subjects and places I am familiar with. Fantasy can be disorienting.

I'm not sure why I'm so drawn to dystopian chronicles, but this story was exactly what I favor; featuring the the abandoned earth, after the 'Change', as a playground for otherworldly creatures. There is no human left alive over the age of 14 except for the refugees who find shelter with a resonance of human personality left in a computer by the name of Shade.

Children are the easy resource of the invading creatures and thanks to the 'Change Talents' they now possess, some escape, survive and resist. Shade is an eerie benefactor though and you get the distinct feeling throughout the story that there is no safe place.

I fell easily in love with the characters (although the underdeveloped grammar of the character Gold Eye can become tiring) and found myself physically rigid in anticipation of their safety. I was drawn in by the survivalist theme and the unraveling reasoning behind the occupation of the creatures.

All in all, I would call this book a page turner, as with everything I've read of Garth Nix. I'm not sure I can be deterred by any theme or genre Nix chooses, I just enjoy the writing too much.

The Time Traveler's Wife

5 out of 5

I absolutely loved this book. I found myself reading at times I had set aside as 'rest' times. A love story I found every bit as exciting as the Twilight saga without the teen aged ache, heroine addiction feel.

Since this book is about a man that time travels, his existence overlaps with both the woman that he loves and his own existence, in a severely random pattern. The flow of the book is chronological; each chapter begins with the date, and Henry and Clare's age or ages. In addition, there are paragraph headings to let you know which voice is currently telling the story. I've never read a novel written through the eyes of two different people in first person. The majority of the story is told by Henry, since the time traveling happens to him.

I felt a real sense of vulnerability in the descriptions of Henry's lack of control. The character equates the experience of time traveling to '...listening to a car radio that's having trouble holding on to a station.' Although he may not be able to control when and where he goes, there is a pattern to why. He finds himself visiting people and places that were, are, will be significant; including painful events.

Throughout the story, these two characters take turns being the one who knows the other intimately as their ages crisscross; old to young in most cases. Clare grows up knowing Henry as an adult, then when she reaches adulthood, she meets him in the present - before Henry is even aware of her existence. I cannot conjure the mental flowchart it must have taken to birth the concept for this story.

This love story compasses that long-forgotten brand of longing in young-hearted love, love that encompasses the realities of life, and how people persist through the craziness that comes their way. The characters contemplate quantum mechanics, Zen koans, and religious and existential beliefs in trying to decipher what causes episodes of time travel. Their chronicle was a tangent relation of danger and excitement. Heartbreak and relief. Brutality and honesty. Wanting. Energy.

My only negative comment is that in the brief moments they spoke French or German, I was left wondering things that not even Google could answer. I was, however, highly inspired to look up a lot of the musical references. If I have ever heard music while reading a book, I did while reading The Time Traveler's Wife. Two words: Violent Femmes.

Monster Island

5 out of 5

Okay, I may be a sucker for anything zombie, but this book only got better the more I read it. It sometimes takes me awhile to get the feel of a new author and though I would say Monster Island started out a solid B, it rapidly developed, leading me to read with increasing fury. It is written in first person by one character and in the third person of another character. (The protagonist telling his story and another person's story is a skill I have yet to master.)

Monster Island simultaneously follows the personal account of a living survivor and the experiences of what may be the smartest dead man alive(?) as they both find out what an invasion of the living dead means. The story goes from simple survival to the living versus the undead.

The story of the living is the redundant theme of endurance, but that's exactly what I seek these tales out for. I always wonder about the learning curve of these characters. I mean, haven't they ever seen a zombie movie? I don't think it took them too terribly long to figure out the old 'shoot 'em in the head' theory in this book. And this group of survivors had the added detriment of fighting an undead horde of varying and evolving consciousness.

The tangible concept of what it means to be the walking dead was primal and intriguing. An endless hunger, the restorative properties of eating living meat, needing to consume the life of something. Tasty, shiny life.

Without giving too much away, the author's reasoning for a zombie uprising and apocalypse was fueled by the zen koan that there is no real distinction between every thing; living or dead. That we are all the same singular being, divided into different bodies, or to be more specific - different nouns, really. The story took multiple unusual routes that I didn't expect and I really enjoyed this explanation of a collective consciousness. I mean, what does one cognizant zombie do when he discovers the ethereal thread linking him to the rest of the zombies?

The disgusting imagery of what it would be like to be one of the shambling, decaying horde did tug at my heartstrings. I'm sure I would rather be dead than one of the restless undead with such an insatiable need. And as I've said before, it's much harder to read through horror pictures. Unlike a movie, the unsavory details don't pass gratefully by with each blink. No. They linger on the page at the pace you read, making you squirm word by word.

The tempo wasn't the only thing that picked up through this book. I became invested in the welfare of multiple characters; both living and living-ish. Dark humor became more prevalent toward the end, making me chuckle a bit as I read. The style of writing even seemed to mature the further I went, keeping my attention invested in both the concept and the 'good guy's' memoir. Right down to the last line, "Please. Give me just one more minute."

I sincerely look forward to Monster Nation and Monster Planet.

Finger Lickin' Fifteen

4 out of 5

This post is more for my record keeping than review. I used to have a list of the books I've read, with little notes to help with my shoddy memory. Then I killed my hard drive and with it, a good portion of electronic memory. Now, I'm dropping my memory off in the anonymous, public, blogosphere to float in infinity until I need it again. Hopefully the only thing that steals it from me again is the apocalyptic zombie uprising. :)

Back to the book. I can't speak for all of Janet Evanovich's writing, because I tried another series of hers and was a bit underwhelmed, but the Stephanie Plum novels are a lot of fun. Reading them back to back to back can get a little boring, especially when they begin to blend into one and other.

Sure, I may not be able to remember the books in this series independently, but they are a nice, light departure from your average adult novel. It's like watching a sitcom. The stories are silly and the problems are over the top ridiculous. They literally make me laugh out loud while reading. It's nice to pick up one of these books when life is stressful.

Finger Lickin' Fifteen specifically involved a bbq cook off, much more Ranger than Morelli, and the Chipotle killer. Like the others, it was a giggly, fast read and one of my favorite sections involves Stephanie wearing a hot dog costume and her arch nemesis, Joyce:

"Who's the hot dog?" Joyce wanted to know.
"It's Stephanie," Grandma said.
"Figures. I suppose you wanted her to be the hot dog so it would have a nice straight line. Nothing worse than a hot dog with boobs, right?"
I gave Joyce the finger. "Boobs this, Joyce."

/giggle

Inglourious Basterds

4.5 out of 5

Inglourious Basterds was much better than I expected. It started out as one of those 'Well, I suppose there's nothing better to see' occasions and surprised me by making me laugh quite a bit.

I've been a Tarantino fan for over a decade, but I suspected obvious pitfalls in this movie from the trailer. Brad Pitt looked like he was overdoing a campy impression of a funnier George Clooney character and the subject matter seemed like an opportunity for Tarantino to exploit violence. Turns out, it was pretty damned funny in the dark humor department.

Brad Pitt seemed playfully engulfed in his character with an accent and idioms that made me wonder what it would be like to have known my grandparents and great grandparents so long ago. There were also a lot of close ups on his face that showed imperfections and age (I have little tolerance for him as a heartthrob). Turns out, the film didn't even follow the Inglourious Basterds for the majority of the movie. It seemed much more centered around this German henchman (played by a really good German actor, Christoph Waltz) and the Jewish girl that got away from him.

There was much less over the top, graphic bloodshed than I expected; after seeing Kill Bill I wasn't in a big hurry to find out what new and inventive ways Tarantino could squirt blood on a camera lens.

And although I know it's one of his signatures to have long, drawn out, intense conversations that are supposed to build suspense, they can go a bit long for me. Some people feel the drama in them, but lengthy, complicated, quick paced dialog can lose my interest and my mind starts to wander (like in Deathproof); I only felt myself drift once. More than the writing, the physical acting and situations had the theatre silent with anticipation.

One of the most interesting notions was whether the film would follow history or take a fantasy turn most of the world would have preferred. A big part of the attraction in Inglourious Basterds is the sense that anything can happen at any time. The film also had a few trademark stylized moments in it with stark red Nazi flags and cigarette girls that were a nice juxtaposition to the brown hues of typical WWII films.

Breathers: A Zombie's Lament

4 out of 5


This book is the first time in my zombie exploration that I have considered the affliction of the undead from the zombie's point of view.

Imagine that you have woken up in a broken body with no hope of biological regeneration. You are still you; same thoughts, same memories, same drive, hopes, fears... Everyone else knows before you do exactly what you are. Where do you go?

In this story, zombies are an abused underclass in society; mutilated by teenage pranksters, restricted from public gatherings, verbally assaulted. The main character tries to campaign against the zombie population's lack of basic civil rights, which seems just in theory. In reality, who wants their dead husband at the dinner table smelling like road kill found in a Tupperware container in the back of the fridge, sneezing out brain matter onto people's plates?

It was pushing my 'aww, poor zombie' button for more than 150 pages, before it went true-zombie.

I swear it's almost worse to read the descriptions of decay and brutality, than it is to watch it. At least while on screen, you have the option of blinking or looking away. With my horror-movie-hardened stomach, I was surprised at my gagging reaction during the slow and deliberate nature of reading.

Whoever referred to this book as a comedy is mistaken, in my opinion. 'Lament' is the most accurate description I can conjure, so the title is a better description than the back cover blurbs. Sad followed by sad is the theme in this seemingly real investigation of waking up dead.

And through the ups and downs of the characters, I'm reminded of the old adage; save one bullet.

One Day as a Lion

4 out of 5



I'm finding Zack de la Rocha's new project very enjoyable, in an old slipper kind of way. If you like Rage Against the Machine and long for music similar in cadence and bass line, this hits the spot. I'm not sure that Zack can be involved with a band and not have it be Rage redundant. That's just fine with me though. I'm not looking for anything new from him and I'm liking what I hear. Not every Tool needs to turn A Perfect Circle.

If there is one disappointment it is that it's more of a mini album. Five songs. Five whole songs.

While the album's signature song Wild International is good,



I find myself hitting the repeat button for If You Fear Dying.


You have to listen to it more than 10 seconds, though, to get past the similar bass riff. I promise, they are two different songs. :)

Julie and Julia

4 out of 5

I didn't go into this movie with very high expectations. I really enjoy Meryl Streep and Julia Child, and I have to say I was not anticipating a merger of the two. I can't quite put my finger on the reason for that reaction. It's almost as though I didn't want the magic of Hollywood and mass-marketing to sully these two icons with a forced imitation.

Thankfully, the movie was raised a level by mature writing and much more comedy than I had expected.

POSITIVES:

• Stanley Tucci got all of the best lines.
• Portrayal of the dirtier side of Julia Child.
• SNL clip of a Julia Child imitation of the ilk I remember as a child.
• Brought up a new inspiration to read Julia's books.
• Meryl's black and white Julia Child's TV appearances did Julia justice.
• Sweet love story for both the Julie and Julia characters.
• Renewed my interest in blogging. Go figure!
• VERY humorous.

NEGATIVES:

• Not a lot of tolerance on my part for a Julia Child imitation.
• Amy Adam's terrible haircut robbed her of her signature cuteness.
• The overt theme of struggle, perseverance, and 'what you believe is your reality' is a turn off for me. Outside of Boo in Monsters, the feel-good music brings out the cynic in me.

Summary - very enjoyable :)

My Booky Wook by Russell Brand

Meh

I feel a bit uncomfortable commenting on a book I did not read, but that in itself is the reason for this post. I had this book on loan from the library for three weeks and how far did I get? 26 pages. That's right; I made it through the second chapter.

I rarely ever give up on a book, but every time I cracked it open, I fell asleep. Sometimes mid page. I feel bad for my reaction, but I could not seem to bring myself to care. Russell is funny in every other aspect I have seen, but the novice writing and theme of the first few chapters (further slowed by the cultural descriptions at the bottom of every other page) gave me the sense that I had better things to do with my time than tread water with this book. So, for maybe the third time in my life, I took my bookmark out and moved along.

I don't care for unfinished business though, so to placate myself, I've decided to amend my 'to be read' list with a 'to be continued' list. Haha. How's that for OCD behavior? So worried I will forget an unfinished task, I am comforted by lists.

I suppose my reaction and diversion from my usual box-checking nature says enough about my opinion of the literary Brand. In review:

Russell Brand stand-up ------ Disturbing and funny
Russell Brand acting --------- Creepy and funny
Russell Brand the author ---- Snooze-fest

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

3.5 out of 5

Reading it for the second time since high school, it didn't seem like the same book. I remember thinking it humorous and strange. I couldn't relate to this poor girl's breakdown. This time I was aware of the author's story and the semi-autobiographical nature of the book.

The writing was poetic and encompassing. I understand why Sylvia Plath is credited with helping begin the 'confessional poetry' genre. The sardonic humor in the first half of the book actually made me giggle out loud, but the second half took a much darker turn and was a bit hard to read.

Her description of planning suicide was like watching a junkie ready themselves for a fix. The right place, the right conditions; I don't think she emoted over anything in the book as much as that mediation.

If it was my tale to tell, it would have been hard to look back at that feeling. It was a bit sickening just to read the recount of someone else. So, the author's suicide after writing this novel makes me think it wasn't the distant reflection the book leads you to believe.

Sylvia Path wrote this book under a pseudonym and a few months after it was published, she committed suicide. She put her head in the oven. That takes balls. It's just my humble opinion, but if you were to do something fast and rash, there wouldn't be time to ponder and change your mind. Jumping from a height, using a gun, hanging; even if you changed your mind, there probably isn't much you can do about it. So laying there with your head in an oven sounds like a serious commitment to me.

How sad.

It was still a good read if only for the imagery and flow of the writing. Makes me think of that Imogen Heap song Let Go because she says 'because there's beauty in the breakdown.'