Boom! by Mark Haddon

Last summer I read Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, and I was really struck by his writing style. (Great book by the way.) So when I came across Boom! on my local library's ebook list I figured I was guaranteed to enjoy it.

Now it was a fun read - however, I found myself to be completely caught off guard when I discovered that it wasn't just a story of fiction, but science-fiction. I'm still not convinced that I had any warning of this. The description of the book on my library site seemed to be from the author explaining that this was the revised edition and that the original had been titled differently and something to do with it being a bad title because no one would buy it due to the fact that they didn't know what the title meant....

Well, anyway, here's the description I felt I missed: Boom! is a novel about a boy that doesn't pay enough attention in class. He and his best friend, that to just might be boarder line child prodigy, overhear two of their teachers speaking in some kind of code after bugging the teacher's lounge to listen in on the weekly meeting to find out if he's getting suspended. The boys start an investigation into this code and the two teachers that unpacks quite a crazy chain of events that just might end up getting the whole world blown to smithereens.

Now this definitely isn't Haddon's best work, but it's fun none the less.

Wool (1-5) by Hugh Howey

This stuff is sci-fi at it's best. Hugh Howey takes some seemingly ordinary characters-a sheriff, a mayor, and a mechanic-and alters everything you already can already assume about them and flips it in a way you would never expect.

What if just talking about leaving the community you live in was a crime punishable by death? This is the world the citizens of the silo live in. The mere words "I want to go outside," just might get you what you want.

This series is an incredible study on the human condition. With an intense focuses on individual cause and effect. There is a mystery here that continually unfolds as you flip (scroll) through the pages of Wool.

What will happen to us if we continue on the power, fuel hungry path we as Americans live today. Are the choices we are making now to curb our consumption and abuse of the earth's natural resources enough? What if it's not? Is a world like the one portrayed in Wool what we have to look forward to? Do we as mere citizens have any real control over our future? These are not necessarily questions discussed in Wool but were certainly questions I contemplated on completion of the series.

Wool takes it's name from the piece of cloth the convicted "criminals" use to perform their final duty to the silo during their sentence of cleaning the lenses to the cameras that allow the citizens a view to the outside world. But the un-asked and un-answered question is, what drives them to do it? Why do they always go through with the cleaning?

Listening to... Band of Horses: Cease to Begin

The guitars introduce the whole album's ongoing atmosphere breaking into the quicker drums and more rocky aspects of the album that reappear throughout. There's a sweet romanticism to the lyrics and an ethereal quality to Ben Bridwell's voice, especially during the oohs and ahhs. And there's so many of those nice oohs and ahhs. There's a hint of folk rock under all the indie rock. Although some might debate that the reverb sound is over-used, I feel that it's what gives this album it's unmistakeable lullaby-like sound. The perfect soundtrack to a night full of comfortable, warm dreams.

Kindle Touch

I am excited to say, and embarrassed to admit, that I bought myself a Kindle Touch, and I'm so in love with it. I can borrow books from the Amazon Prime lending library, and from my local library and it downloads immediately onto the device. This thing is amazing. I read a lot. And I collect books. Many of which I don't need to own, and would prefer not to. However, no matter how unattached I am to a story, once it's in my personal library, it is next to impossible for me to get rid of. Of course there are those books out there that I have to own. Like my Harry Potter series, and the Song of Ice and Fire series. They belong as physical copy in my library. Also most reference books, like garden books and cook books have to be in the flesh. But the Charlaine Harris Sookie Stackhouse series? I don't need to own that. I enjoyed reading it, but to take up space on my bookshelves? No.

The first book I read on the Kindle was The Hunger Games, and although at first I worried it would, it in no way impeded my reading experience. I would say, it is definitely an unnecessary luxury, but I'm glad I now have it.

The Hunger Games Trilogy & Film

I'd never heard of Suzanne Collins before this series. However, I find myself thinking "I have to keep track of this author," after reading The Hunger Games,  Catching Fire and  Mockingjay.

This series reminded me at first of a strange cult film Josh and I came across a few years ago by accident called Battle Royale. It's a crazy Japanese film where students are forced by the government to participate in a deadly game where they must kill each other to win.

In The Hunger Games, two children, one boy and one girl, from each of twelve districts of Panem, are forced to compete annually to be the sole survivor of this game celebrated only by the Capitol, where, out of all of Panem, the rich and fortunate reside, safe from the dangers and sufferings of the districts. The Hunger Games is punishment for the uprising of district 13 (now demolished) that occurred 74 years ago.

Tributes to the Games are taken to the Capitol where they are beautified, lavishly fed, pranced before the citizens of the Capitol, and trained to become deadly, fighting pawns for the Capitol's entertainment. The entire event is publicized where the members of each district are forced to watch this demonstration of the Capitol's power and control over them.

Katniss Everdeen is the lead role in this captivating story. You are immediately drawn to root for Katniss and her group of family and friends that are stuck under the thumb of this cruel and punishing government. I found this series to be impossible to put down. I literally started and completed the first of the series in less then 24hrs. When I heard that the film was out I was so excited to see it. Of course I had to finish the series first. Josh and I went to the Latchis Theater with our close friend Chris to see the film.

Although the movie was both visually enticing and somewhat accurate on some levels to the written series, I was ultimately disappointed by the choices made to keep it at a viewable length. The film's portrayal of the Capitol citizens was amazing. They were over-the-top fantastical, exactly what they should be. The choice to use Owen Wilson as the former District 12 tribute victor and current District 12 tribute mentor was both completely unexpected and extremely delightful. Artifacts and character histories were disconcertingly inaccurate in my opinion. For example, Katniss's family dynamics are key to understanding why she makes the decisions she makes and these are barely even referred to in the film. Also, the first scene in the film shows her walking under the electric fence to go hunting, there's no explanation to the fact that the power is off or that what she's doing is completely illegal and she would have her tongue cut out and be enslaved if caught. Also, Gale, her best friend, is portrayed as a love interest from the very beginning of the movie, where in the series their friendship is strictly platonic until she is taken away from the district.

Needless to say I recommend the series as a can't-miss-reading-experience where the film is a definite do-with-out.

Abigail Thomas' Three Dog Life

This is a beautiful memoir of Abigail's life after her husband is in a terrible accident and is left with severe brain damage.

Abigail's husband Rich is out walking the dog one night in NYC and the dog takes off into the street. Rich goes after the dog and gets hit by a car. He is left with severe brain damage. He is in and out of the hospital to institutions and one very unsuccessful stint back at home where he is convinced that Abigail has moved and somehow recreated their previous apartment almost perfectly. He has lost all short term memory, anything that has happened after the accident doesn't seem to stick. He speaks in riddles, "has difficulty completing tasks," goes through phases of good and very bad moods.

Abigail eloquently tells her tale of strife and heartache. She comes out a wonderfully independent person that learns to let go of all life's nonsense that is handed to her. Her dogs are her comfort and she is Rich's. She moves out of her longtime New York City apartment to a small town to be closer to her husband in his new permanent home. She prescribes to "nap therapy" both with Rich and with the dogs. She has to separate the Rich before the accident from the Rich after.

Three Dog Life was an incredible read. I'll be passing this one on to my mother, who will sarcastically thank me while choking on her tears.

VPR, NPR, Podcasts... Music, News, Stories

Every weekday morning Josh and I wake up to Vermont Public Radio. He gets up instantly. I tend to hit the snooze a few more times before slowly lying in bed, waking up to the news or weather forecast. It's a routine I really enjoy. Sometimes we'll turn it off and move out to the rest of the house continuing our morning routine with music off his iPod, or decide that we want to continue to listen to the broadcast and then I'll plug my iPod in and stream VPR through our stereo system.

NPR stations have always been part of my life. Everywhere I've lived I've sought out the local station and been sure to at least tune my clock radio in. I've always enjoyed the programing brought to the local stations from NPR. Like Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me or  This American Life hosted by Ira Glass. But mostly I had just happened upon them when they were being broadcast.

A few years ago Josh and I had a short stint of hosting a music radio show through out local community radio station (not Public Radio). It was really the remainders of a show Josh had started with a good friend of his (and mine), Carson, that I started helping him with after Carson had stopped co-hosting, for reasons I have never known or understood. It had been a really great show when the two of them had hosted it together. Afterword, I think Josh just felt like he had to carry the torch, and I was game to accompany him, although very hesitant to speak on air.

Soon, Josh's lust in introducing new music started to falter. I was inspired to pick up some of the slack. I started to do online searches for anything that seemed interesting and would make playlists for Josh to include in the show. Somehow my sister started listening and would email me or call me from time to time to let me know that she had heard the last episode online. At one point I expressed to her that I was having difficulty finding new music. Well, like any great "big" sis would do, she gave me a few new resources to find more new music. Amongst them was a Kansas City radio station that I have since forgotten the name of and NPR's All Song Considered hosted by Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton.

Well, it's been a long time since Josh and I hosted that show... maybe 4 years. And it didn't last long. I had since stopped listening to the podcast of All Songs Considered, but recently, in a very uncharacteristic way, I opened my iTunes and perused through my old podcasts that haven't been updated in over a year and decided to start listening to all those shows again: All Songs Considered, This American Life, as well as other shows such as the NPR Pop Culture podcast.

I really love listening to these shows. I love being able to select the episodes I want to listen to and then, as if an addiction, I have to listen to the next and then the next until I run out of unheard episodes and move on to the next show.

A Dance With Dragons

I definitely hyped this one up way too much for myself. All Ice and Fire fans simply waited too long for this one. When an author gives that much time in between books it's just too late. We've all already developed the plots and characters ourselves. There's just no winning that game.

I will say that I am looking forward to not only the next in the series, but also rereading Dance again in the future.

I felt that Martin was too easy on the characters this time, seemingly uncharacteristic. As a reader and a fan, you don't want your favorite characters to die or suffer too much. However that is exactly what made Martin such a strong writer in the previous books, his ability to kill someone off so easily and sometimes so unfairly - that is what made it so easy to get sucked in and what made the story so believable. His writing style feels so much more like a historical novel. However Dance didn't carry that atmosphere as much as the others. Maybe Martin has just gone soft in his old age.

I did have moments with the story this time that can only be described as nostalgic relief. For example, there's a clear point in the book where Martin has moved on from the sequel to Crows to continue the story where the characters that have been excluded start up again. At that point I had to stop and take a sweet moment to reminisce over the histories of the characters I've grown to love so much.

Over all I would say that Dance is the weakest part of the series thus far. I hope that it doesn't continue on his route but it won't stop me from continuing to follow the tale.

A Feast for Crows

The forth of George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series and where he left us waiting for six years. Crows was what Martin gave us when he had been working on the next piece after Swords and it just kept getting longer and longer. According to the last words he left us with in Crows, the forth was only half of what it was going to be.

Of course it was amazing. Martin takes the characters we feel we know so well and transforms them into something even better than we ever could have imagined them to be. Jaimie is a prime example where he once was the golden shining self- centered and narcissistic Lannister Lion, all aspects of that is lost to him, he is forced to recreate himself while never escaping the judgement that went along with what he once was.

Although constantly overwhelmed with all the twists and turns and keeping everything in order as to what really is going on everyone is not accounted for. That is where Martin left us for six years longing for Daenerys, John, Tyrion, Davos, and Bran. And that's why tomorrow I'm going to Everone's Books to get me a Copy of A Dance with Dragons.

A Storm of Swords

Book three of George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, A Storm of Swords is everything the title tells you it will be throughout the entire book.

Battle after battle whether with sword or words this book keeps your head turning from player to player never knowing what to expect for the next turn.

Tywin Lannister, the patriarch of the cunning, deceitful, entitled and sometimes incestuous Lannister clan makes it clear that "some battles are won with swords and spears, others with quills and ravens."

Stannis Baratheon chooses to fight his battles of words and swords with the red woman always by his side. Has he been brainwashed by this witchy woman? Or is he truly the chosen one of the Lord of Light and does the red woman really have the power to see the future in the flames?

Baseborn Jon Snow, sworn brother of the Night's Watch, finds himself in a position that just might land him fighting his own brotherhood against his will. While his half sister Arya is fighting for her life to get to her mother Catelyn or brother Robb.

Daenerys is doing everything in her power to get an immense army together in order to get to the Seven Kingdoms and reclaim her rightful throne with her three dragons by her side.

Catelyn fights her own grief after losing so many loved ones. She may need to fight her own madness if she loses another. Sansa is still a hostage in the city if King's Landing and must brave every new torment thrown at her.

My favorite line in this book: "You raped her. You murdered her. You killed her children."

A Clash of Kings

Second of the Song of Ice and Fire series by George R R Martin, A Clash of Kings is a building crescendo of up to seven possible Kings, or rulers, of the Seven Kingdoms, Westeros if you will, all making the same claim, or variations of the same claim. Only two of these possible claimants are presented to us in their own viewpoint. Most of the rest are either depicted though close proximity or various onlookers to their situations. At least one does not even appear throughout the entire book, however is a presence none the less even if not in an apparent position of sights set on ruling the Seven Kingdoms.

In this book Martin clears up a few questions from the first while cleverly creating more mysteries. What is the red comet a sign of? Are the ancient powers awakening and why? What exactly lives beyond the Wall? Who is on whose side? Do they even know? Does Martin even know?

We follow several characters' stories; Davos the smuggler turned knight for Stannis Baratheon, brother of late King Robert Baratheon and rightful heir to the throne #1. Davis is loyal but not blind he sees how easily his King is fooled but that will not keep him from doing his duty for his lord; Arya is the late Lord Ned Stark's second daughter and King of the North's, Robb Stark's, sister. She has been hiding in plain sight of the enemy and none of the Starks are sure if she still lives while the Lannisters are sure she's been lost; Sansa is Arya's older sister. She is the hostage and betrothed to King of the Iron throne, Joffrey Baratheon. Few know that he has no true claim to the throne, not even himself, being the bastard son of late King Robert's wife, Queen Cercei Lannister; Tyrion Lannister is the dwarf brother to Queen Cercei and sitting as the King's Hand in place of his father Tywin Lannister while off commanding battles in the North; Bran Stark is the crippled second son of Lord Ned Stark and Lady Catelyn Tully. He is left as the Lord of Winterfell in place of his brother King Robb while off fighting the Lannisters. At age 8 he is left with significant responsibilities in running the castle at Winterfell. Catelyn Tully is the matriarch of the Stark family. She has just lost her husband to accusations of treason to King Joffery, her father is very ill in his old age and will certainly die soon, and her son, Robb Stark, has been named King of the North. Catelyn finds herself sent from place to place as King Robb's envoy, including to Renly Baratheon, late King Robert's youngest and more popular brother Renly possibly has a better chance than Stannis at being supported as the next King; Theon Greyjoy was taken at age 10 as a ward to the Starks from his home on the Iron Islands. Now at age 20 he has been sent by King Robb to call his father's banners to join Robb's march on King's Landing; Daenerys Targaryen is the sole survivor of King Aerys II. She has been in exile since before she was born and is ready to take back her title; Jon Snow is the late Lord Eddard Stark's bastard son. Jon is a brother of the Night's Watch. He is among many of the Night's Watch Black Bothers searching for answers beyond the Wall in the North. He finds himself fighting wildlings claiming that their King Beyond the Wall is ready to take over the land below the Wall.

Everything goes wrong and nothing's what you'd expect in this incredible sequel to George R R Martin's Game of Thrones.

A Game of Thrones: Book One in George R. R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire Series

I just finish the First of the Song of Ice and Fire series for the second time. Martin amazes me. He brings knights and kings, ladies and princesses to this story with bastards and exiles. Eunuchs, maesters, sworn brothers of the wall, a headsman and a dwarf all live in the Seven Kingdoms. North of the Seven Kingdoms it is said that wildlings, giants, and wights may roam the lands and are moving South with the coming of the great Winter. Across the sea to the East is the land of the Free Cities and beyond the grasses of the Dothraki Sea, inhabited by warring nomads.

Martin tells his tale through many of his characters, constantly challenging what you think is actually going on. In one chapter you may loath a character and in the next your reading from his viewpoint and find yourself agreeing with him. This whole series is impossible to put down....

A Song of Ice and Fire: Re-reading one of my favoite series

A few years ago... ok 4 or 5 years ago, I was introduced to A Song of Ice and Fire by George R R Martin by a very good friend of mine. I devoured those first 4 books she lent to me and have been awaiting Martin's release of the fifth book in the series, A Dance of Dragons, ever since. Well, it's been released as well as it being turned into an HBO series.

Since I heard about the HBO project of creating a TV series I've wanted to re-read these incredible books in preparation of watching the series. I have to face it, I'm a purist when it comes to my favorite books being made into movies or TV series. I always compare them, I can't help it.

Now it's been awhile since they started airing the TV show and since the fifth book has been released and I just haven't had the finances as of late to justify buying the books new so I've been waiting for them to show up in one of my favorite local used book stores. Well, I don't have to wait no more! My dear, sweet older sister and her amazing partner bought the box set for me of the first 4 books for my birthday that's coming up next week (I opened my present early). So I'm getting all excited to dig in! Thanks Becky & Brad!

The Vampire Diaries

The original series of 4 books by author L.J. Smith includes The Awakening, The Struggle, The Fury and Dark Reunion. I just finished this group of books. What can I say I'm a sucker (pun intended) for vampire books. I knew nothing about this series before I read them, I had no idea that they were turned into a TV series or that the series was continues with a post-trilogy... I'm intrigued and may have to seek out these extentions... OK the books, the plot is basically about the "typical" blond high school dream-girl with the most popularity... She's a senior the "prettiest," "coolest," and the homecoming queen... you get the picture, all the girls want to be her and all the boys want to be with her.... Along comes the new kid... a dreamy dark, handsome, oh and vampire.... Stefan Salvador.... by the way, he's got an evil vampire brother, Damon.... Does this have any hint of familiarity? Remind you a bit of the Twilight series? Me too, but this series was written before Twilight was, in the early '90's. So looks like we know who Stephanie Meyers was influenced by. All in all my opinion of this series, The Vampire Diaries, is that they are not very well written, much like most young adult books, but they certainly do fall under the guilty pleasures category... If you like vampire books, you've got to read these. Don't worry, you'll blow right through them and they'll hardly take up any time.... As for me... I'm gonna see if I can get a hold of the TV series and see what kind of terrible acting is going on there....

What this is all about

I originally just wanted to keep a list of everything I've been reading and now I think it will be developing into not just what I'm reading but what I'm watching and listening to as well....