Archive of 'Lisa Reads'

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Lisa reads: Horns by Joe Hill

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Ignatius Perrish spent the night drunk and doing terrible things.  He woke up the next morning with a thunderous hangover, a raging headache…and a pair of horns growing from his temples.

It’s a great beginning to a promising story: part thriller, part horror, part treatise on the nature of the devil.  While Horns occasionally gets bogged down in reminiscence, it’s still an extremely entertaining read. 

A year ago, Ig’s girlfriend Merrin was raped and murdered.  Ig was the prime suspect — an alibi like “I was passed out in my car parked behind an abandoned Dunkin Donuts” is not very convincing — and although he was never charged, he was also never cleared.  There is a cloud of suspicion hanging over him already, and growing horns is not going to make him look innocent. [Read more →]

Lisa reads: Raven Stole the Moon by Garth Stein

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In Raven Stole the MoonJenna Rosen walks away from a life that is fractured.  Two years ago, her young son drowned in a tragic accident at a resort in Alaska.  Her husband seems to have moved on, but Jenna cannot let go of her grief.  On the anniversary of their son’s death, they attend a party that turns out to be Jenna’s breaking point.  She walks away from the party, gets in her husband’s car and drives… straight through to Bellingham, Washington.  She gets on the ferry and heads to her home town of Wrangell, Alaska — and straight into a mystery.  [Read more →]

Lisa reads: John Dies @ the End by David Wong

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I have occasionally described books as “a wild ride.”  Books are like trips we take — some are pleasant Sunday drives, some are fast and bumpy.  John Dies @ the End is like a ride on a twisting, speeding, swooping roller coaster.  On acid.  With no seat belt. [Read more →]

Lisa reads: Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin

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Historical fiction can be challenging, both for writers and readers.  It doesn’t take much — just a word, a name, a description — to bounce you right out of the story.  In the Author’s Note at the end of Mistress of the Art of Death, Ariana Franklin says “It is almost impossible to write a comprehensible story set in the twelfth century without being anachronistic, at least in part.  To avoid confusion, I have used modern names and terms.”  Still, she manages to evoke a sense of the time that had me completely swept up in the story.  It’s an excellent combination of a compelling story, interesting characters and the romance of an earlier time. [Read more →]

Lisa reads: The Dead Hour by Denise Mina

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Paddy Meehan is probably the most flawed heroine I’ve read in a while. By page 10 of The Dead Hour, she has already taken a bribe. She lies, she has an affair with a married man — but in her own way, she’s trying to do the right thing. Her way is just a bit roundabout. [Read more →]

New release by a great new author

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Back in September, I reviewed The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. I was really impressed by the book — it wasn’t really something I expected to like, but I was sucked in and really enjoyed it. Garth Stein has a new novel coming out in just a few weeks: Raven Stole the Moon is currently available for pre-order. I hope to have a review here for you soon!

Lisa reads: Wake Up Dead by Roger Smith

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If you have a weak stomach, this book is not for you.

Wake Up Dead is probably the most violent, bloody, gore-splattered book I’ve read in ages, and that’s really saying something.  A gang war in Cape Town, South Africa’s ghettos provides the setting and the gang-bangers, drug lords, junkies and an honest-to-goodness cannibal provide the action.

On a steamy night in Cape Town, Roxy and Joe Palmer have dinner with a cannibal and his Ukranian whore.  On the way home, they’re carjacked.  Joe is shot in the leg and, in a panic, the carjackers drop the gun and take off in Joe’s car.  What Roxy does next will cause more bloodshed than she can possibly imagine. [Read more →]

Lisa reads: Little Bird of Heaven by Joyce Carol Oates

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I have always loved Joyce Carol Oates’ writing.  I love her combination of long, flowing sentences and short, choppy fragments. Little Bird of Heaven is lovely to read, even when the story is heartbreaking.

Krista Diehl’s family was fine before “the trouble” came.  Her father, Eddy, ran a construction company.  A handsome man, he was well-known around town as a bit of a flirt and a bit of a drinker.  Her mother, Lucille, a stay at home mom, her teenaged brother, Ben.  A happy family until trouble came along in the form of Zoe Kruller.  Zoe was small-town beautiful — she had an exotic name, she was everyone’s favorite at the ice cream shop, she sang with a little rock band on Saturday summer nights at the town bandstand.  When she is found murdered — strangled in her bed — the prime suspects are her estranged husband, Delray, and her lover, Eddy Diehl. [Read more →]

Lisa reads: One Amazing Thing by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

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 The amazing thing is that I finished this novel.

The premise of One Amazing Thing by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, is a cliche: a group of people are trapped together after a disaster and they may die, but before they do, they are going to tell a story from their life — their one amazing thing. It’s a mixed group, the sort of group you would call together for a photo shoot to show your commitment to diversity. Their stories are sometimes interesting — there’s a ghost, a voodoo curse, and a misplaced aurora borealis. There are bad marriages, lost love and even a dead kitten. But none of it felt real to me. [Read more →]

Lisa reads: Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist

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 I saw the movie, Let the Right One In, last year and was immediately drawn in by it. The stark settings and minimal dialogue gave the film a sense of isolation and dread. Nothing good could happen in these surroundings. As soon as I found out the film was based on a book, I had to have it. It just took me a little while.

The book, Let the Right One In resurrects all the chills the movie gave me.

Oskar is a lonely 13-year-old boy — chubby, friendless and a bit homicidal:

Strangely enough, he already knew the name of his victim, and what he looked like. Jonny Forsberg with his long hair and large, mean eyes. He would make him plead and beg for his life, squeal like a pig, but in vain. The knife would have the last word and the earth would drink his blood. Oskar had read those words in a book and liked them.

The Earth Shall Drink His Blood.

[Read more →]

Lisa reads: Anything Goes by John Barrowman

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A comfy corner of a good friend’s couch, the other party guests are long gone but a few of you are lingering with vodka tonics and party snacks, dishing gossip, telling old stories and laughing your arses off. That’s exactly the atmosphere of Anything Goes, John Barrowman’s autobiography.

Dr. Who fans will recognize John from his role as Captain Jack Harkness, and from the spinoff series, Torchwood, which I adore.  He is also a star of musical theater in the US and UK (there are too many shows to name here - check out the list on his website). So even though he’s still a young man (just about a year younger than yours truly, so obviously a young man), he’s got a lot of material to work with. [Read more →]

Lisa reads: Alone by Loren D. Estleman

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Alone by Loren D. Estleman is a marvelous mystery about the movies.  Film archivist Valentino (no first name necessary with a last name like that) specializes in hunting for lost classics and convincing their owners to donate them to the UCLA film school.  He doesn’t mean to keep getting mixed up in murders, but with this cast of crazy characters, interesting things are bound to happen.

Valentino’s life is a bit of a mess at the moment. [Read more →]

Lisa reads: 9 Dragons by Michael Connelly

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9 Dragons by Michael Connelly is the latest installment in a series of novels focusing on Detective Hieronymus “Harry” Bosch of the LAPD.  There’s a shooting that may involve a Hong Kong triad, a reluctant partner, a detective from the Asian Gang Unit that Harry’s not sure he can trust.  That’s just a typical day for a fictional detective, until the case strikes close to home: Harry’s teenage daughter, Maddie, goes missing and he receives a video from her kidnappers.  She is clearly in danger and there’s every indication that it is tied to the Triad shooting.  Harry is on the next plane to Hong Kong and he intends to bring his daughter back, no matter what. [Read more →]

Lisa reads: Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton

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Michael Crichton told the kind of stories that grabbed us as readers and that drew us to the big screen.  Pirate Latitudes, unpublished at the time of his death in 2008, is just that sort of story — a big, exciting tale of a handsome pirate, a woman scorned, impossible odds and a fortune in gold.  You can almost imagine it unfolding on the big screen as you read it; at the same time, there is a wealth of detail you’ll only get from the book.  It is meticulously researched, full of detail about the ships, the men who sailed them, and the intricacies of pirate society. [Read more →]

Lisa reads: Michael Symon’s Live to Cook: Recipes and Techniques to Rock Your Kitchen

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I think this is the first time I’ve reviewed a cookbook here, but Michael Symon’s Live to Cook: Recipes and Techniques to Rock Your Kitchen is kind of special.  I grew up in Ohio and I was a frequent guest at Lola long before I ever saw its owner on TV Food Network.  That face, that laugh…and that food! As often as we could afford it, we had a table or a seat at the bar and some of the very best food in town.

Lola Bistro is now Lolita and there’s a new Lola downtown.  We don’t hear that laugh as often anymore when we come by for dinner, but we do hear it on Iron Chef America.  And it’s still the best food in town.  Even better, I’ve now got the recipes for some of my favorite dishes and Symon’s advice on how to be a better cook. [Read more →]

Lisa reads: I Shudder: and other reactions to Life, Death, and New Jersey by Paul Rudnick

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Paul Rudnick is one of those names that I was complete unfamiliar with, until I read his book.  As he told his stories, I kept thinking “oh!  I remember Sister Act!”  “I’ve heard of Allan Carr!”  “He wrote The Addams Family?  I never knew that!”  It was part discovery, part reunion, full of funny bits, a little gossip, and some entirely fictional chapters that were, perhaps, my favorite parts.  It is wickedly funny, even — maybe especially — when recounting the worst stories.  All in all, it was a pleasure to read.

I Shudder isn’t exactly a memoir, although it’s full of funny stories about his family, his Hollywood contacts, the plays he’s written and the people he’s met.  Between these stories, there is also a (hopefully) fictional memoir, “An Excerpt from the Most Deeply Intimate and Personal Diary of One Elyot Vionnet.”  Elyot is a bizarre character, a semi-retired substitute teacher living in a perfect studio apartment that almost overlooks Gramercy Park.  One worries about what he might be teaching those impressionable young minds:

As this is my most deeply intimate and personal diary, I am assuming that it will one day be introduced into evidence at my trial.

[Read more →]

Lisa reads: The Book of Lies by Brad Meltzer

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The Book of Lies is a tough review to write.  There is so much going on, so many interesting side stories that I want to tell you about, but I don’t want to spoil the surprises you have in store.  There’s Cain and Abel, a kid named Jerry Siegel, a dog named Benoni, a tractor-trailer full of melting shrimp, and the difficult relationships between fathers and sons.  Add a healthy dose of mystery, ties to several real-life stories, and you’ve got The Book of Lies, a great mystery from a great mystery writer.

[Read more →]

Lisa reads: Mr. Darcy, Vampyre by Amanda Grange

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I swear, this is the last Jane Austen mash-up I’m going to read.

I also swear that I will not break out into Dear Jane letters, as Elizabeth is inclined to do at critical junctures of the book.  The Postal Service could not be terribly reliable in Europe in her day, but the letters provide an easy way for Elizabeth to share her deepest secrets with us, as well as with Jane, and so she keeps writing.

I found Mr. Darcy, Vampyre to be a breezier read than Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.  It’s not written to be funny, although it is occasionally ridiculous; it seems a more serious attempt to extend the romance of Elizabeth Bennett and her beloved Mr Darcy.  From the glorious morning of their wedding day to the novel’s final sunrise, they stay true to the world Austen created. [Read more →]

Lisa reads: A Sportcaster’s Guide to Watching Football by Mark Oristano

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On any given Sunday, have you ever wished that you knew a little more about football?  You’re watching with friends, everyone is yelling about the lousy blocking or the zone defense and you wish you knew what they were talking about?  Or maybe you wish your boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse could get as excited about the pass coverage as you are?  This may be just the book you need.  A Sportscaster’s Guide to Watching Football will teach new fans and old a little more about the game so many of us love.  The author, Mark Oristano, spent thirty years working for/with the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Oilers.  Along the way, he picked up a lot of helpful information:

When you’ve finished, you won’t be able to immediately spot “Cover Two” or know which receiver broke his route off too soon or whether the ref made the right call when he signalled intentional grounding.  But you will understand, for example, why first-down plays are the most important play of any offensive drive. [Read more →]

Lisa reads: Green Eyes in the Amazon by P.J. Fischer

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Green Eyes in the Amazon is a very timely book — almost too timely.  Fundamentalist religious groups are conspiring to control society and stifle scientific advances by any means necessary, including violence.  It is set in a hazy but not-too-distant future.  No more cellphones and SUVs, now we all have vidcoms and autopiloted cars.  Central America is a Dead Zone, university professors and students have to swear loyalty oaths and religion is on the rise.  In this contentious climate, a brilliant young biologist may have ushered in the next step in human evolution — but what will the religious zealots do to stop him? [Read more →]

Lisa reads: How to Catch and Keep a Vampire by Diana Laurence

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Vampires are all the rage these days.  True Blood on HBO, the Twilight series and movies, Being Human on BBC America has a vampire, even the recently (and sadly) departed Blood Ties on Lifetime (and the books by Tanya Huff) - those bloodsuckers are everywhere.  And for the modern woman who can’t resist a real bad boy, Diana Laurence has written How to Catch and Keep a Vampire: A Step-By-Step Guide to Loving the Bad and the Beautiful. This fun bit of fluff is billed as a modern-day dating guide for the gal who wants her very own vampire boyfriend.  It gives you all the inside info you need on where to meet a vamp, how to attract his attention, how to avoid a deadly dinner party…it even reveals The Secret of the Red Satin Ribbon.  Follow that advice at your own risk. [Read more →]

Lisa reads: The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny

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The Brutal Telling is a first-rate detective novel.  The mystery is complex and well-plotted, while the beautiful Canadian scenery and charming characters breathe life into the story.  It is a look into the very darkest corners of the human heart, a reminder that we never truly know what another person is capable of, or what secrets they may keep.

The book starts with a story, told in the dead of night by a crackling fire.

“Chaos is coming, old son, and there’s no stopping it. It’s taken a long time, but it’s finally here.”

[Read more →]

Lisa reads: Ghost in the Machine by Patrick Carman

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Sometimes, when a book is really good, you start counting the days until the sequel comes out as soon as you finish the last page. Back in April, I reviewed Patrick Carman’s Skeleton Creek and I immediately started clamoring for a sequel. The book ends with a real cliffhanger — it involves ghosts, a broken leg, a dead battery and a secret room — and I wanted to know what happened next!  In his follow-up novel, Ghost in the Machine, Carman continues the story of Ryan and Sarah and the Crossbones Society.

(Check out the trailer for Ghost in Machine here.)

[Read more →]

Lisa reads: The Lost City of Z by David Grann

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I love a good adventure novel!  Exploring the Arctic, searching for the source of the Nile, exploring the Amazon basin, all from the comfort of your local library. Most of us will never in our lives go anywhere that is truly unexplored, but I have great respect for the men (and occasionally women) who were unafraid of the unknown.  In The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon, author David Grann presents not only a great tale of adventure but also a great mystery: what happened to Colonel Percy Fawcett? [Read more →]

Lisa reads: The Private Papers of Eastern Jewel by Maureen Lindley

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In the Private Papers of Eastern Jewel, Maureen Lindley looks at the life of a notorious Chinese princess from a forgiving angle.  Eastern Jewel, also known as Yoshiko Kawashima, was considered quite scandalous in her day: a Chinese princess raised in Japan, a promiscuous young woman who wore men’s clothes, she drank and smoked opium, she spied for the Japanese and was eventually executed as a traitor.  Lindley suspects that she was not inherently evil, but a product of her very peculiar upbringing and headstrong temperment.  She paints a very compelling story. [Read more →]

Lisa reads: The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

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It took a little convincing to get me to read this book.  I got an email about the book and they almost lost me with “as only a dog could tell it.”  A dog telling the story is almost always a recipe for disaster.  In this case, instead of disaster, there’s a pretty terrific story and a narrator with an interesting viewpoint (and one heck of a vocabulary for a terrier). [Read more →]

Lisa reads: Banned Books

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In preparation for Banned Books Week (September 26-October 3rd), the American Library Association has released their annual list of the books that the pro-censorship crowd tried to pull from library Shelves.  You can read the list here, as well as get prepped for the holiday with t-shirts and posters.

“Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read.  One does not love breathing.”
Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

Now, I understand a parent wanting to know what their kid is reading, I really do.  I have a little sympathy (still not much, to be honest) with parents who are concerned about books in their schools.  I mean, I might agree that The Joy of Gay Sex is not suitable for a middle school library - but that isn’t where people tried to censor it.  They wanted to remove it from the public library, where adults also check out books.  So they didn’t just want to make sure their tween son or daughter didn’t have access to it, they wanted to make sure that NO ONE had access to it — and you haven’t seen cranky until you try to take my books away. [Read more →]

Lisa reads: Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse, edited by John Joseph Adams

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I love after-the-apocalypse stories.  I always have.  As a kid, I was always planning for what I would do after the zombies attacked, after the nuclear warheads fell and it was just me and a rag-tag band of survivors.  There is something appealing about the start of a whole new world order, a chance to find a different place for myself, a chance to show just how resourceful I could really be.  I am not the only one interested in how the world will end, as evidenced by the thoughtfulness and creativity in Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse.   This collection of twenty-two stories looks at post-apocalyptic life from all sorts of angles.  Some are sad and desperate, others funny, still more are crazy with imagination of what people could become. No matter what your plans for the apocalypse, there is something here that might be useful. 

Here’s one of my favorite end-of-the-world scenarios, by the way:
Carniverous plants.

“The End of the World as We Know It” by Dale Bailey

 

[Read more →]

Lisa reads: God Says No by James Hannaham

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Gary Gray wants nothing more than to be “normal.” He wants to fall in love, get married, have children, go to church, go to Disney Land and live the American dream. He’s got one little problem, though: he’s in love with his roommate, Russ, and lusting after other men is frowned upon at Southern Florida Christian College. [Read more →]

Lisa reads: Let’s Get It On by Jill Nelson

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This is the last, great beach read of the summer.

Let’s Get It On is the rather fanciful tale of LaShaWanda P. Marshall and her friends, Lydia Beaucoup and Acey Allen. They are the owners of a successful “full-service spa” (in other words: a brothel) for women in Reno, and they are opening their first franchise, on a yacht off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard. These entrepreneurs are hoping to find a host of wealthy black women on the island who are willing to pay for the company of virile young men, if only the government will stay out of their way! [Read more →]