I'm trying to write an updated review of one of my favorite books of all time. It was written in the last 5 years or so, and I've probably read it half a dozen times. In an accidental fit of over-caffeination I have e-mailed the author (and got a response!), google mapped him, stalked him via livejournal and facebook. This book turned me in a drooling fan girl. This book is theraputic. When i'm feeling depressed, or down, or scared, or anxious, I pick it up and I feel better. The rampant swear words make me giggle. it is pure unadulterated FUN.
this book is full of con-jobs, thieves, violence, weapons, scary people, scarier people, revenge, manic sharks (without the lazer beams attached to their heads), and some more con jobs and scary people. And there is a sequel which has plenty more con jobs, violence, liars, thieves, and swear words.
and I find it theraputic. What the hell does that say about my psyche? and how do I write this review without sounding like a drooling fangirl??
Showing posts with label Scott Lynch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Scott Lynch. Show all posts
Monday, August 2, 2010
Friday, September 4, 2009
I require FUN books.
I'm finding in my old age, that fun is a requirement while reading for pleasure. Call me unliterary, call me immature, call me uneducated, just so long as you call me.
Quicksilver, by Neal Stephenson – informative, humorous, beautifully detailed, a palatable history lesson, but fun? Not so much. I'm about a third (400 pages + )of the way through, and I just don't feel like I'm getting anywhere. Like this is going to be 900 pages of set up, for something that's going to take another 2500 pages to come to fruition. Have I ever mentioned I hated reading Robert Jordan? The one thing this book really has going for it is it's damn educational. I feel like I'm taking a political / financial history class, and for once, this is a good thing. Stephenson's got so much going for him, would it kill him to get a damn editor? If/When I write a review for this book, it's going to read like a dissertation, because it will take me 10 pages just to set the scene. Even worse, the stupid book is addicting. I can't put it down because the characterization is great, and I'm getting a great history lesson, but other books sitting around the apartment are just so much more fun and entertaining. Sigh.
And will someone please tell me what the hell Enoch Root is doing in Massechussetts in 1713? Shall I just assume he's immortal?
Hood, by Stephen Lawhead – again informative, somewhat humorous, detailed, somewhat of a history lesson, a little slow. Many of the same things I complained about regarding Stephenson's Quicksilver, but with Lawhead, it's not such a big deal. Then again, in my book, Stephen Lawhead can do no wrong. He may write some cheap endings (Endless Knot!), but I still adore him. Hood is his take on the Robin Hood legends, except in Wales, during the Norman conquest of England. Bran ap Brynchan may be the heir of Elfael, but he wants to live his life as differently as his warlord father as possible. When his father is killed by invaders, Bran can run away from the burning villages of his people, or he can stay and fight. More apathetic than afraid, Bran simply does not want the life of a leader. He saw what that life did to his parents, and he wants anything but for himself. Finding safety in the forest, and help from a forest “witch”, it takes time for Bran to decide to do the right thing. The middle of the book is fairly slow, but it needs to be, as Bran is fighting his transformation into the leader he didn't know was inside him. Lawhead makes this into a perfectly acceptable Robin Hood myth. Where's friar Tuck? Where's king Richard? Don't worry, they are in there, just in slightly different incarnations. I am looking forward to the rest of the books in the trilogy – Scarlet and Tuck. Another thing I respect about Lawhead – he doesn't string me along. A trilogy is a trilogy, a stand alone book is a stand alone book. Lawhead tells me ahead of time how much of my attention he wants, and I like that.
Red Seas Under Red Skies, by Scott Lynch – This is the second or third time I've read this book, which is the 2nd book in Lynch's Gentlemen Bastards series. Sure, It's not as good as the first book, but damn, it is just so funny, and I can't help but giggle at all the swear words. Like the first one, Red Seas is pure, unadulterated FUN. It's taken me a long time at admin to my friends that I am a Scott Lynch fan girl, as his stuff just strikes me as so immature. But when I want something fun, he is my go to author. Don't be surprised in a group of rabid fangirls descends on Lynch's home in Wisconsin, demanding the next book in the series.
Adventures in cooking, take three. Been looking for a tasty jerk chicken recipe, and finally found the secret is to just cheat, and buy some citrusy kicky jerk sauce, then doctor it up at home. This recipe looks complicated, but like everything else I make, it's really pretty easy.
Jerk Chicken with rice & beans
1 cup uncooked rice
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 small can diced pineapple (don't drain it!)
2 green onions, sliced thin
¼ cup cider vinegar
½ cup orange juice
2 tbsp jerk sauce (we used Lawry's, and it was really good)
1 tbsp ground ginger
3 or 4 skinless chicken breasts, pounded thin and seasoned with salt & pepper
olive oil
Cook the rice on the stove like you normally would. While it's cooking, we'll prepare the sauce, the garnish (oooh, fancy, it's got a garnish!) and saute the chicken.
Make the garnish – pour pineapple and all juices in the can in a bowl over the green onions. The pineapple juice will mellow the onions.
Make the sauce – combine the vinegar, orange juice, and jerk sauce. That was easy.
Heat some oil in a large skillet. Brown the chicken breasts on both sides, in two batches if you have to. When chicken is mostly cooked, make sure it is all in the pan, and pour the vinegar sauce over. Simmer over low heat until chicken is cooked through, and sauce has thickened a little.
The rice should be done by now, mix the black beans into the rice.
To serve: put down some rice and beans on your plate, put a piece of chicken on top, put some pineappley green onions on top of that. Looks lovely, has a nice kick, and might even be good for you!
Quicksilver, by Neal Stephenson – informative, humorous, beautifully detailed, a palatable history lesson, but fun? Not so much. I'm about a third (400 pages + )of the way through, and I just don't feel like I'm getting anywhere. Like this is going to be 900 pages of set up, for something that's going to take another 2500 pages to come to fruition. Have I ever mentioned I hated reading Robert Jordan? The one thing this book really has going for it is it's damn educational. I feel like I'm taking a political / financial history class, and for once, this is a good thing. Stephenson's got so much going for him, would it kill him to get a damn editor? If/When I write a review for this book, it's going to read like a dissertation, because it will take me 10 pages just to set the scene. Even worse, the stupid book is addicting. I can't put it down because the characterization is great, and I'm getting a great history lesson, but other books sitting around the apartment are just so much more fun and entertaining. Sigh.
And will someone please tell me what the hell Enoch Root is doing in Massechussetts in 1713? Shall I just assume he's immortal?
Hood, by Stephen Lawhead – again informative, somewhat humorous, detailed, somewhat of a history lesson, a little slow. Many of the same things I complained about regarding Stephenson's Quicksilver, but with Lawhead, it's not such a big deal. Then again, in my book, Stephen Lawhead can do no wrong. He may write some cheap endings (Endless Knot!), but I still adore him. Hood is his take on the Robin Hood legends, except in Wales, during the Norman conquest of England. Bran ap Brynchan may be the heir of Elfael, but he wants to live his life as differently as his warlord father as possible. When his father is killed by invaders, Bran can run away from the burning villages of his people, or he can stay and fight. More apathetic than afraid, Bran simply does not want the life of a leader. He saw what that life did to his parents, and he wants anything but for himself. Finding safety in the forest, and help from a forest “witch”, it takes time for Bran to decide to do the right thing. The middle of the book is fairly slow, but it needs to be, as Bran is fighting his transformation into the leader he didn't know was inside him. Lawhead makes this into a perfectly acceptable Robin Hood myth. Where's friar Tuck? Where's king Richard? Don't worry, they are in there, just in slightly different incarnations. I am looking forward to the rest of the books in the trilogy – Scarlet and Tuck. Another thing I respect about Lawhead – he doesn't string me along. A trilogy is a trilogy, a stand alone book is a stand alone book. Lawhead tells me ahead of time how much of my attention he wants, and I like that.
Red Seas Under Red Skies, by Scott Lynch – This is the second or third time I've read this book, which is the 2nd book in Lynch's Gentlemen Bastards series. Sure, It's not as good as the first book, but damn, it is just so funny, and I can't help but giggle at all the swear words. Like the first one, Red Seas is pure, unadulterated FUN. It's taken me a long time at admin to my friends that I am a Scott Lynch fan girl, as his stuff just strikes me as so immature. But when I want something fun, he is my go to author. Don't be surprised in a group of rabid fangirls descends on Lynch's home in Wisconsin, demanding the next book in the series.
Adventures in cooking, take three. Been looking for a tasty jerk chicken recipe, and finally found the secret is to just cheat, and buy some citrusy kicky jerk sauce, then doctor it up at home. This recipe looks complicated, but like everything else I make, it's really pretty easy.
Jerk Chicken with rice & beans
1 cup uncooked rice
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 small can diced pineapple (don't drain it!)
2 green onions, sliced thin
¼ cup cider vinegar
½ cup orange juice
2 tbsp jerk sauce (we used Lawry's, and it was really good)
1 tbsp ground ginger
3 or 4 skinless chicken breasts, pounded thin and seasoned with salt & pepper
olive oil
Cook the rice on the stove like you normally would. While it's cooking, we'll prepare the sauce, the garnish (oooh, fancy, it's got a garnish!) and saute the chicken.
Make the garnish – pour pineapple and all juices in the can in a bowl over the green onions. The pineapple juice will mellow the onions.
Make the sauce – combine the vinegar, orange juice, and jerk sauce. That was easy.
Heat some oil in a large skillet. Brown the chicken breasts on both sides, in two batches if you have to. When chicken is mostly cooked, make sure it is all in the pan, and pour the vinegar sauce over. Simmer over low heat until chicken is cooked through, and sauce has thickened a little.
The rice should be done by now, mix the black beans into the rice.
To serve: put down some rice and beans on your plate, put a piece of chicken on top, put some pineappley green onions on top of that. Looks lovely, has a nice kick, and might even be good for you!
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
A little late for Talk like Pirate Day, but so what?
speaking of guilty pleasures, here's my review of Scott Lynch's Red Seas Under Red Skies. damn i loved this book. Some day soon, i hope to be Mr. Lynch's official stalker.
I usually hate, hate, hate anthologies, but I couldn't resist Fast Ships, Black Sails, an anthology edited by Jeff (who I adore) and Ann (not so much) Vandermeer. A few stories in so far, and I'm not blown away, but it doesn't suck either. This is a vast improvement on the Vandermeer edited Steampunk anthology, which probably turned more people off to Steampunk than on to it.
I finished John Berendt's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, and it was not what I expected, but it was very, very good. So good in fact, that I finished it in 4 days. Dripping with mystery, lies, and southern Savannah charm, I challenge anyone to read this book and not like it. Considered true crime, I've got to wonder how many of the details Berendt changed, to protect the innocent and the guilty. But now I do need to see the movie again (saw it as a kid and don't remember a thing), and the Civil War movie Glory, because parts of it were filmed in Mercer House, a central stage of Garden.
Also filed under “like” is Katsuhiro Otomo's 80's epic manga Akira. I have found one library in the county that owns all six volumes, and I am checking them out as often as they will let me. Known as one of the best, most famous, most influential mangas of all time, Akira never gets old. The artwork is dated and low tech, and while the NeoTokyo panoramas are amazing, some of the character artwork is just plain bad. But the story never gets old: secret government experiments that create weapons no one can control, terrorist resistance groups, religious cults, a handful of high school drop outs who get in way over their heads and a boy named Akira who can destroy the world.
All you little manga lovers out there take note: your favorite manga-ka was most likely influenced by Otomo, so get with the program and go to the source.
Don't have the patience for 6 full length manga volumes, or can't find them? Don't worry, the movie Akira is a good substitute. Directed by Otomo, it covers the first two volumes, with a more definitive ending. And the soundtrack is superb.
Darkhorse comics did a reprint of all 6 volumes in the early 2000's, but other than that, this gem is out of print.
The lettuce seeds spouted nicely, and last time I checked one of the tomato seeds had sprouted. Or maybe that's just a weed? The goal this week is to clean out all the nasty planters, fill 'em with new dirt (I can't believe I pay for dirt!!), and put in the seeds for the rest of the herbs. And if nothing germinates, i'll just buy some plants. As it is, there is no such thing as enough basil.
I usually hate, hate, hate anthologies, but I couldn't resist Fast Ships, Black Sails, an anthology edited by Jeff (who I adore) and Ann (not so much) Vandermeer. A few stories in so far, and I'm not blown away, but it doesn't suck either. This is a vast improvement on the Vandermeer edited Steampunk anthology, which probably turned more people off to Steampunk than on to it.
I finished John Berendt's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, and it was not what I expected, but it was very, very good. So good in fact, that I finished it in 4 days. Dripping with mystery, lies, and southern Savannah charm, I challenge anyone to read this book and not like it. Considered true crime, I've got to wonder how many of the details Berendt changed, to protect the innocent and the guilty. But now I do need to see the movie again (saw it as a kid and don't remember a thing), and the Civil War movie Glory, because parts of it were filmed in Mercer House, a central stage of Garden.
Also filed under “like” is Katsuhiro Otomo's 80's epic manga Akira. I have found one library in the county that owns all six volumes, and I am checking them out as often as they will let me. Known as one of the best, most famous, most influential mangas of all time, Akira never gets old. The artwork is dated and low tech, and while the NeoTokyo panoramas are amazing, some of the character artwork is just plain bad. But the story never gets old: secret government experiments that create weapons no one can control, terrorist resistance groups, religious cults, a handful of high school drop outs who get in way over their heads and a boy named Akira who can destroy the world.
All you little manga lovers out there take note: your favorite manga-ka was most likely influenced by Otomo, so get with the program and go to the source.
Don't have the patience for 6 full length manga volumes, or can't find them? Don't worry, the movie Akira is a good substitute. Directed by Otomo, it covers the first two volumes, with a more definitive ending. And the soundtrack is superb.
Darkhorse comics did a reprint of all 6 volumes in the early 2000's, but other than that, this gem is out of print.
The lettuce seeds spouted nicely, and last time I checked one of the tomato seeds had sprouted. Or maybe that's just a weed? The goal this week is to clean out all the nasty planters, fill 'em with new dirt (I can't believe I pay for dirt!!), and put in the seeds for the rest of the herbs. And if nothing germinates, i'll just buy some plants. As it is, there is no such thing as enough basil.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
too many books, not enough time.
Again, i'm splitting books and food into two separate posts. Becoming a habit? Perhaps.
I finally, finally, finally got my hands on a copy of Scott Lynch's second Gentlemen Bastard book Red Seas Under Red Skies. I told my husband if he wakes up one morning and I'm gone, it means I've driven to Wisconsin (or wherever Lynch lives out there) to demand he finish writing the next book in the series. These books are pure, unadultered, guilty pleasure FUN in an 1800's-ish not-Venice and now not-South Seas. Think Casanova meets Ocean's 11, except Locke Lamora makes Danny Ocean and Casanove look like idiots. Red Skies isn't what I expected, and is more about Jean than Locke, but that's turning out to be okay. Jean spent most of the first book being a side kick, and now that he's in the spotlight, I can see that he deserves it. When I say Red Skies isn't quite as good as the first book, it means it's only a 9 out of 10, instead of a 12 out of 10.
I need to quit going to the University Library, because I keep getting the fascinating yet impossible to read books there. It's been a week, and i'm barely 60 pages into my early supreme court book. It's dry, it's boring, it's actually really fascinating, and it's going to take me forever to finish it. I wonder if they have the next book in that series?
Too many books, not enough time. My employment has gone from part time to full time for a little while, which is nice, but totally eats into reading time. And soon it will be gardening time, which is nicer. I am going to get those lettuce seeds planted this week if it kills me! That means it better not snow or I will be really pissed off. After lettuce is tomatoes, then herbs. I'll be eating tomatoes off the vine for breakfast in july!
I finally, finally, finally got my hands on a copy of Scott Lynch's second Gentlemen Bastard book Red Seas Under Red Skies. I told my husband if he wakes up one morning and I'm gone, it means I've driven to Wisconsin (or wherever Lynch lives out there) to demand he finish writing the next book in the series. These books are pure, unadultered, guilty pleasure FUN in an 1800's-ish not-Venice and now not-South Seas. Think Casanova meets Ocean's 11, except Locke Lamora makes Danny Ocean and Casanove look like idiots. Red Skies isn't what I expected, and is more about Jean than Locke, but that's turning out to be okay. Jean spent most of the first book being a side kick, and now that he's in the spotlight, I can see that he deserves it. When I say Red Skies isn't quite as good as the first book, it means it's only a 9 out of 10, instead of a 12 out of 10.
I need to quit going to the University Library, because I keep getting the fascinating yet impossible to read books there. It's been a week, and i'm barely 60 pages into my early supreme court book. It's dry, it's boring, it's actually really fascinating, and it's going to take me forever to finish it. I wonder if they have the next book in that series?
Too many books, not enough time. My employment has gone from part time to full time for a little while, which is nice, but totally eats into reading time. And soon it will be gardening time, which is nicer. I am going to get those lettuce seeds planted this week if it kills me! That means it better not snow or I will be really pissed off. After lettuce is tomatoes, then herbs. I'll be eating tomatoes off the vine for breakfast in july!
Saturday, June 21, 2008
your fan-girl-ness is showing.
It's been a week. I devoured Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora. It was ambrosia and I felt like I hadn't eaten in a week. Any concerned I had that I wouldn't like it as much the second time around evaporated, when I felt myself becoming a Locke Lamora fangirl. Again. Even worse than the first time.
I may never again have the opportunity to use the word “immature” as a compliment. All those things written on little scraps of paper than authors through into the wastebin because “you can't do that in a book”, well, Lynch does it. And then he does it again. With flair. And sarcasm. And language that would make Gordon Ramsey blush.
What have we learned?
If you don't like swearing, don't read this book.
If you want a book where people follow the rules, don't read this book.
If you want a book with a good moral message and a happy ending, don't read this book.
If you want dirty cutthroats, and even dirtier cut-purses, women who will break your heart right before they break your knee caps, man eating sharks, handsome liars with swords and lying priests with hatchets, naïve nobles, gangster kings, cringe worthy torture (at least twice!) the best friends a boy could ask for, and characters who could give Jack Sparrow lessons on the art of the one liner, you might want to read this book.
And did I mention, there is a sequel? Apparently more of the above, plus pirates.
I can't help but envision James McAvoy (who i'm totally in love with) in the movie version.
My husband just picked it up. I hope he doesn't laugh at my fangirlness.
I may never again have the opportunity to use the word “immature” as a compliment. All those things written on little scraps of paper than authors through into the wastebin because “you can't do that in a book”, well, Lynch does it. And then he does it again. With flair. And sarcasm. And language that would make Gordon Ramsey blush.
What have we learned?
If you don't like swearing, don't read this book.
If you want a book where people follow the rules, don't read this book.
If you want a book with a good moral message and a happy ending, don't read this book.
If you want dirty cutthroats, and even dirtier cut-purses, women who will break your heart right before they break your knee caps, man eating sharks, handsome liars with swords and lying priests with hatchets, naïve nobles, gangster kings, cringe worthy torture (at least twice!) the best friends a boy could ask for, and characters who could give Jack Sparrow lessons on the art of the one liner, you might want to read this book.
And did I mention, there is a sequel? Apparently more of the above, plus pirates.
I can't help but envision James McAvoy (who i'm totally in love with) in the movie version.
My husband just picked it up. I hope he doesn't laugh at my fangirlness.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
mostly keeping my promise
OK, so i've mostly been keeping my promise to myself to spend the summer reading things i KNOW will make me happy, because i've read them before, and enjoyed them before.
on the happy side of that equation is Steven Brust's The Sun, The Moon, and The Stars, which nearly has me in tears by the end. and after finishing this novel, i tearfully say to my aspiring writer other half "keep writing baby! i'll support us!" (it's easier to say these days, as I finally have a decent paying job). really, Steven Brust is a master writer, and it doesn't seem like anyone knows who he is! i flipped through some reviews of The Sun, The Moon, and The Stars on Amazon, seems like people either loved it or hated it. I think that people who didn't like it had already made up their minds about what they were looking for before they even started reading it. it's not that kind of book.
additional weight is given to the happy side of the entertaining book equation, because today i picked up my very own, paper back copy of Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora. and you know what? it's just as fun, snarky, and irreverant as it was the first time through. Makes me want to move to rural Minnesota (or wherever Lynch lives), to see what kind of pranks he plays on people. i get the impression that the phrase said most often in the company of Mr. Lynch is "grow up already!" coming from someone who earlier today was playing muppets with oven mits in Bed Bath and Beyond (and getting laughed at by the store manager), my response is "don't you dare, ever grow up, Mr. Lynch. and if you need some inspiration to quite your day job and write full time, just read some Steven Brust!".
now, for the not so happy end of my equation. i couldn't help myself. the book said "Steampunk". and it had the coolest steely blue pipy picture on the cover. i couldn't help myself, really, it's not my fault. seriously! scroll down and look at the picture! you know you can resist that kind of gothy, steampunky awesomeness! i bought the Steampunk anthology, edited by Ann and Jeff Vandermeer (and you know how much i love Jeff Vandermeer!). i'm about halfway through, and i gotta say, i'm pretty lukewarm on most of the entries. why is it that genre anthologies always suck so hard?
not too much food news. my husband made the most incredible pizza i've ever had. i think the trick was we cooked up some turkey sausage, and then fried onions in the sausage grease. omg, heaven! most of the rest of my cooking recently has involved tossing a bunch of stuff in a skillet, and hoping for the best. maybe with all these good books, will come some good cooking.
on the happy side of that equation is Steven Brust's The Sun, The Moon, and The Stars, which nearly has me in tears by the end. and after finishing this novel, i tearfully say to my aspiring writer other half "keep writing baby! i'll support us!" (it's easier to say these days, as I finally have a decent paying job). really, Steven Brust is a master writer, and it doesn't seem like anyone knows who he is! i flipped through some reviews of The Sun, The Moon, and The Stars on Amazon, seems like people either loved it or hated it. I think that people who didn't like it had already made up their minds about what they were looking for before they even started reading it. it's not that kind of book.
additional weight is given to the happy side of the entertaining book equation, because today i picked up my very own, paper back copy of Scott Lynch's The Lies of Locke Lamora. and you know what? it's just as fun, snarky, and irreverant as it was the first time through. Makes me want to move to rural Minnesota (or wherever Lynch lives), to see what kind of pranks he plays on people. i get the impression that the phrase said most often in the company of Mr. Lynch is "grow up already!" coming from someone who earlier today was playing muppets with oven mits in Bed Bath and Beyond (and getting laughed at by the store manager), my response is "don't you dare, ever grow up, Mr. Lynch. and if you need some inspiration to quite your day job and write full time, just read some Steven Brust!".
now, for the not so happy end of my equation. i couldn't help myself. the book said "Steampunk". and it had the coolest steely blue pipy picture on the cover. i couldn't help myself, really, it's not my fault. seriously! scroll down and look at the picture! you know you can resist that kind of gothy, steampunky awesomeness! i bought the Steampunk anthology, edited by Ann and Jeff Vandermeer (and you know how much i love Jeff Vandermeer!). i'm about halfway through, and i gotta say, i'm pretty lukewarm on most of the entries. why is it that genre anthologies always suck so hard?
not too much food news. my husband made the most incredible pizza i've ever had. i think the trick was we cooked up some turkey sausage, and then fried onions in the sausage grease. omg, heaven! most of the rest of my cooking recently has involved tossing a bunch of stuff in a skillet, and hoping for the best. maybe with all these good books, will come some good cooking.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Happy 7th month birthday.
tomorrow, this blog will be 7 months old. and what did i learn in 7 months of blogging about food and books?
that I read way more than I formally cook. I'm averaging just over a book a week. . . and formally cooking not that often. So I've decided to unformalize this blog. Instead of posting weekly, with a book and a recipe in each post, I will post whenever I want about what I'm reading, and you'll get a recipe . . . probably not as often. thank god books don't have calories.
alright, into the literary fray. I tried to resist Harry Potter. really, I did. But my friend managed to end up with three copies (yes, three! all from Amazon!), so she lent me one. I read it in 28 hours, my husband finished shortly after I did. And my other friend says she just mailed me her just-read copy! so, I'm going to have two. If I'm a really good friend, I'll give both copies back to their rightful owners, along with a copy of one of my favorite books. . . .
Harry Potter. will i get struck down by lightning if i say i was unimpressed? That it felt like 500 pages of mostly nothing, and 200 pages of confusing choppy, blocky, funky action? will i lose my fictionfan liscense if i say the best part for me was when Neville Longbottom got to swing that beautiful Griffyndor sword? i shan't spoil it for anyone who hasn't read it, suffice to say it didn't end the way I expected.
I blame really good fracking books for my nonexcitement of HP. not that Ms. Rowling is a bad author, far from it. Just these fellas are way better. Said fellows would inlcude my latest obsession, Scott Lynch, author of The Lies of Locke Lamora. Alliterative titles aside, this is the most fun i've had all year, and i've learned all sorts of new and exciting ways to use the word $^#&! click on the link, read the review, buy the book. suddenly I feel like changing my e-mail signature to "Captain Jack who?" I expect Lynch is hiding in the far corners of Wisconsin to get away from the storm of fangirls this series could ignite.
You heard it here first folks, I may have an internet exclusive on the first online review of Gary Wassner's fourth book in his GemQuest fantasy series, The Revenge of the Elves. I couldn't find any other reviews floating around, and i just got so sucked in, the book wouldn't let me go! Again, go read the reviews (and the reviews of the others), and get the first three books in the series. by the time you finish those, this 4th book should be on bookshelves near you.
I'm about 30 pages into Hal Duncan's Vellum. another one of those books that i kept hearing good things about, that it was surreal, that it was weird, that maybe it was right up my alley. Well, it's weird. I'll check back in another 100 pages.
catch ya later.
that I read way more than I formally cook. I'm averaging just over a book a week. . . and formally cooking not that often. So I've decided to unformalize this blog. Instead of posting weekly, with a book and a recipe in each post, I will post whenever I want about what I'm reading, and you'll get a recipe . . . probably not as often. thank god books don't have calories.
alright, into the literary fray. I tried to resist Harry Potter. really, I did. But my friend managed to end up with three copies (yes, three! all from Amazon!), so she lent me one. I read it in 28 hours, my husband finished shortly after I did. And my other friend says she just mailed me her just-read copy! so, I'm going to have two. If I'm a really good friend, I'll give both copies back to their rightful owners, along with a copy of one of my favorite books. . . .
Harry Potter. will i get struck down by lightning if i say i was unimpressed? That it felt like 500 pages of mostly nothing, and 200 pages of confusing choppy, blocky, funky action? will i lose my fictionfan liscense if i say the best part for me was when Neville Longbottom got to swing that beautiful Griffyndor sword? i shan't spoil it for anyone who hasn't read it, suffice to say it didn't end the way I expected.
I blame really good fracking books for my nonexcitement of HP. not that Ms. Rowling is a bad author, far from it. Just these fellas are way better. Said fellows would inlcude my latest obsession, Scott Lynch, author of The Lies of Locke Lamora. Alliterative titles aside, this is the most fun i've had all year, and i've learned all sorts of new and exciting ways to use the word $^#&! click on the link, read the review, buy the book. suddenly I feel like changing my e-mail signature to "Captain Jack who?" I expect Lynch is hiding in the far corners of Wisconsin to get away from the storm of fangirls this series could ignite.
You heard it here first folks, I may have an internet exclusive on the first online review of Gary Wassner's fourth book in his GemQuest fantasy series, The Revenge of the Elves. I couldn't find any other reviews floating around, and i just got so sucked in, the book wouldn't let me go! Again, go read the reviews (and the reviews of the others), and get the first three books in the series. by the time you finish those, this 4th book should be on bookshelves near you.
I'm about 30 pages into Hal Duncan's Vellum. another one of those books that i kept hearing good things about, that it was surreal, that it was weird, that maybe it was right up my alley. Well, it's weird. I'll check back in another 100 pages.
catch ya later.
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