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

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 :)