The Road is bleak and forbidding and utterly beautiful. You know from early on that no happy ending is possible in this desolate future world. Everything is burned to ash, there is little sunlight, nothing growing, only a few desperate souls left alive. And yet, a father keeps going for the sake of his son, born in the aftermath of whatever catastrophe brought down the world: [Read more →]
I thought that nothing could seem more ridiculous than a “religion” made up by a hack science fiction writer, until I read a little bit about the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Days Saints, or FLDS. Secret ceremonies, special undergarments, temples that only members could enter, heavens available only to men with at least 3 wives (who actually get their own planet to rule)… you couldn’t sell a script like this to the most desperate movie exec. So it has always amazed me that people — women in particular — were willing to stay in such a crazy and demeaning situation. There have been a number of books about the FLDS, but none of them has been as clear in its explanations as Lost Boy by Brent W. Jeffs. [Read more →]
Apparently, this is going to be my summer of “literature classics the way I wish they had been written.” In Honors English, I was not terribly fond of King Lear, although I like Shakespeare in general. The play just had too many betrayals, too many people meeting bad ends when they deserved better (I know, I know, tragedy and all that) for me to really enjoy it, but I didn’t care about them enough to be really moved by it. This is a tale that would never have made it past the high school censors, but that every student would be able to recite, chapter and verse. This isn’t a story about a king and his daughters. According to Pocket, King Lear’s jester, and his apprentice, Drool, this is a story about just one thing… heinous fuckery.
It has been a long time since a book made me want to shout out loud and dance around the room, but this book did. When it came time for the final battle, and a certain character stepped up and introduced himself, I literally howled with joy and pumped my fist in the air. I read a lot of books, but it has been ages since any ending has made me so damned happy. [Read more →]
I honestly thought that nothing — nothing — could get me to read Jane Austen again. I know that she has some devoted fans, but those Victorian manners-and-money romances were really not my thing. I was frustrated, even as a teenager, by female characters who seemed completely powerless. Elizabeth Bennet, her life ruined because some man she doesn’t even like doesn’t want to dance with her? How ridiculous! But in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, she has some recourse… [Read more →]
The Glassblower of Murano is an exceptional first novel written by Marina Fiorato, who is herself half Venetian and a graduate of the University of Venice. Her love of the city and its history comes through clearly. It’s a very romantic story, full of intrigue and heartbreak; to understand it, a little history is helpful.
Murano is well-known for its art glass, its millefiori and its chandeliers, but its artisans were virtual prisoners on the island. [Read more →]
About a year ago, I read Christopher Meeks’ collection of short stories, Months and Seasons, and I found myself swept up in the stories. When I got the opportunity to read his first novel, The Brightest Moon of the Century, I knew I was in for a treat. Edward is a pretty typical guy, but he manages to turn very ordinary experiences into an extraordinary story. The writing is exceptional, with interesting turns of phrase that left me laughing but nodding my head in agreement or commisseration.
This is how a life together ends. With a pork chop and then a click.
Who better to talk about celebrities than Dr. Drew? For more than 25 years he has co-hosted Loveline on the radio and, for 4 years, on MTV. On VH1, he produces and hosts Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew and Sober House. He is definitely an expert on celebrity behavior, and this book is full of anecdotes and descriptions of the famous and the famous-for-being-famous. But where most of see spoiled, self-centered celebrities acting like brats, Dr. Drew sees damaged, suffering people. It’s an entirely different take on the bad behavior of our favorite stars, as well as a look at what it might be doing to us and to our children. [Read more →]
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane has plenty to recommend it: the Salem Witch Trials, crazy grad school mentors and a hot, agnostic steeplejack. Certainly sounds like a good start to a story, combining historical fiction, a bit of mystery and maybe something a little supernatural. It starts with a very interesting question about the Salem witch trials, one that is not normally addressed in the history books: What if some of these women really were witches? Katherine Howe might have an answer for that. Her ancestors include Elizabeth Howe, hanged as a witch in Salem in 1692 and Elizabeth Proctor, another accused witch, whose story is the basis of Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible. [Read more →]
My bookshelves are not terribly political. A biography or two, a bit of humor about our political system, but not much else — I figure it’s bad enough I have to see politicians on the news every day, I have no desire to read about them in my leisure time. I accepted The Obama Revolution for review primarily because it came out so close on the heels of the November elections. I thought it would be more interesting to read about a very recent election, one I was very excited about, than to rehash a political contest I barely remembered. For the most part, I was right. [Read more →]
If all chick lit were this well-written, I would read more of it.
This is definitely one to put on your beach-reads list. Lola is funny and engaging, her friends are totally over the top, and her situation is unique enough to be interesting, but in some ways, it is all too familiar. It makes for a charming, funny little romp of a book that I thoroughly enjoyed. [Read more →]
If you’re going to write great cop fiction, you need two things: great cops and great villains. Richard Montanari has both in his Philadelphia police series and his latest installment, Badlands, delivers an exceptionally creepy villain. [Read more →]
Skeleton Creek is young adult fiction for kids who grew up online — think Harriet the Spy meets The Blair Witch Project. Two bored teenagers manufacture a mystery in their hometown, which leads to a real mystery and some dangerous consequences. When one of them is seriously injured, the other continues the investigation, videotaping her adventures and posting them online. In order to solve the mystery, readers have to both read the book and watch the videos on the book’s website. Check out the trailer… [Read more →]
If you’re tired of the current glut of wimpy, sparkly-shiny vampires, this book is the perfect antidote. Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan have given us vampires that are brutal, disgusting, ravenous monsters — and they are out to take over Manhattan. [Read more →]
