Disappointed? Well...

As I mentioned in a previous post, reading books off of Time's 100 best English Language books is one of my New Years resolutions. The Catcher in the Rye is number 64 or 65, I don't remember which. What were my preconceptions going in? I don't know. Something shocking, certainly. For some reason, murder, probably because the only references to the book I'd heard before were in regards to a serial killer. Was I shocked? No. Was there murder? No. Was there suspense? No. Well, shit. It's about a pricky little douche who's just been expelled, yet again, from a prep school. I've since learned its controversy is in the use of the words"fuck" and "goddam", as well as a prostitution scene (in which no sex takes place), smoking, drinking, and rebellion. And I suppose for the time in which it was written, it was shocking, all things considered, but should it remain the center of such controversy? I think not. Sure, it's an all right book. I see why my high school English teachers taught Brave New World (also on the top 100 list) and Animal Farm (ditto), and not The Catcher in the Rye. Sure, I'm glad I read it.

Meh...whatever. It's not on my top 100 list.

Next up...Catch 22.

Literature Review

What can I say other than I love this book? I loved it so much. It's about a genius who's got some insight into this massive math problem, who decides to run away from school back to his home in a little hick village to work at his family's morgue/funeral home/furniture store. Although the way the book is written is a bit confusing (going forwards and back in time over and over again), the characters are so frickin' well written, the main character's got flaws, and is real. You think that for someone so smart, he's a fricking idiot, but then you think, yeah, well, he's still a kid.

Anyways, if you're looking for a good read, something not entirely challenging, but definitely satisfying (although the ending left a bit to be desired)...

Yeah, good book, man.

Literature Review

So, as I've mentioned before, I greatly enjoy the genres of utopia and dystopia, as well as post-apocalyptia (e.g. The Road, Anthem, 1984, etc). I came across The Age of the Conglomerates by Thomas Nevins at B&N the other day and decided to give it a try.

The prologue was eerie, as it almost perfectly describes the current financial crisis going on.

The story itself is about two generations of a family currently living in America, which is under the rule of a political party known as the Conglomerates. Paper money has become underground and back market, people can discard their trouble children and trade up for designer ones, and the elderly, or Coots, are all shipped out to the desert to die. This story follows George and Patsy Salter, two Coots being sent out to the west, Christine Salter (George and Patsy's granddaughter), a Conglomerate doctor in charge of genetic manipulation and designer babies, and Xamina "X" Salter (Christine's little sister) who has been discarded by her mother.

While the story itself was a little slow to start, after thirty pages or so, I was hooked. Political intrigue, dystopian society (1984 is heavily present here), and medical drama, I was excited to read what was happening to these people.

But then the story ended. Half way, I would say, through the climax. I turned the last page of the book and thought, what the hell? That was it? There literally was no denouement.

So, I guess I would say read this book if you're into this genre, but don't expect to be satisfied. It was a great book, but there was no ending. (very Hitchcockian, now that I think about it).

Literature Review

One thing that always depresses me when browsing through the new sci fi section at Barnes and Noble is that it is set up directly next to the sci fi authors whose names start with A. Included in this section are Isaac Asimov and Douglas Adams, both of whom are, by far, my favorite sci fi authors ever. Why does this depress me? Well, they're both dead. Never to publish again.
Invariably, I find myself scanning their titles in vain.


Earlier this week was no exception. But lo! What do I find but an Asimov book previously unknown to me. Pebble in the Sky was Asminov's first novel, and it was the first time I'd ever seen it. Needless to say, I snatched it up.

Today, at lunch, I finished the book. It was remarkable to read a piece from such an early time in his career. Not as polished as his later work, it was still a beautiful piece of literature.

Set in the future after humans have gone and spread themselves throughout the galaxy, the citizens of Earth are outcast by the rest of the galactic inhabitants because Earthlings fancy themselves the origin of man while the popular theory is that humanity evolved independantly on each planet. Today, of course, knowing what we know of evolution, this concept is ridiculous, but back when the novel was written, mayhaps it wasn't such an impossible idea?

Anyhoo, it's a remarkable book. Read it. You have to. Absolutely. It's a future sci fi, it's dystopia, it's alternate reality, it's political intrigue, it's megalomania, and, best of all, it's Asimov.

For realz. Read it.

Literature Review

I just finished this book last night. The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson, was AMAZING. I was a little worried about the reviews, because most of them said that the book was really difficult to get into, and when I can't get into a book within the first chapter, I usually give up. This book? So didn't turn out to be a problem.

So the main character, whose name we never learn, is a porn mogul who gets into a car accident when driving while drunk and high on cocaine. His car goes off a cliff and bursts into flames, incinerating the vast majority of his body, including his penis.

While in the hospital, recovering from his burns, he contemplates suicide, as due to the accident, he's lost everything. Then, one day, psych patient Marianne shows up at his bedside.

Clearly delusional, Marianne explains that she's hundreds of years old, and that she'd known him in his former lives. She cares for him, and tells him of his previous lives. Although crazy, she's a brilliant sculpturess of gargoyles. Then, one day, she's told that she only has a limited number of gargoyles left to carve, and then she'll die.

Sounds weird, I know. But, honestly, it's a great story about overcoming one's self, and living for someone else.

I cannot recommend this book enough. It kept me entertained, hooked, but it was a nice, leisurely read.

I think I'd give this book a 9.5 out of 10.

Read it. Honestly.

Literature Review - Breaking Dawn

Let me just preface this particular review by stating that I absolutely LOVE Stephanie Meyer. I enjoy her books. I have read each of her books several times through, and look forward to reading more.

That being said…

Well, I finally broke down and did it. I read Breaking Dawn. Recently, I’ve been having major second thoughts about author powerhouse Stephanie Meyer, not because I don’t love her books – I do – but because I don’t necessarily agree with the message she sends her intended demograph of tween, preteen and teen girls; in every one of her books, the main character is an under aged girl who falls for and marries older men, starting families with them. Breaking Dawn was no different. Married, pregnant, and then having children, all before the age of 20. And to top it off, this new “imprinting” thing she’s added to the story, where the werewolf men imprint on their soul mate, even when that soul mate is an infant or a toddler. There’s something about that that just smacks of lack of free will to me, at least in the cases of the females being imprinted upon.

I don’t know if I’m reading too much into it. I just know that the concept makes me a wee bit uncomfortable.

Now, for Breaking Dawn itself. It was all right. A bit anti-climactic in the end, but the conclusion was satisfying for a series finale. Interestingly, the length of time between the previous book and the release of this book produced some evidence of flaws in Ms. Meyer’s writing. For example: her characters are poorly developed. I have absolutely no picture of Emmett, Jasper, Roselie, Esmie or Charlie in my head. This whole time, I’ve been picturing Roselie as a dark beauty until Jacob started calling her “Blondie”. And I’ve been having a difficult time finding where Edward’s “siblings” and “mother” even fit into the story. I understand the purpose of Alice; she’s the most well-developed of all the siblings. Here’s how I see it. Edward was first. Then Alice. Alice was lonely, so Ms. Meyer introducted Jasper. Carlisle made Roselie for Edward, but he didn’t want her, so Ms. Meyer introduced Emmett to keep her company. I don’t know – I just think the presence of the characters don’t play any particularly important role in the story.

Anyhoo…while I have my doubts about Ms. Meyer’s intentions, there’s no doubt that her stories are beautiful. Breaking Dawn is no different, and deserves the same consideration as the rest of her novels. I think I’d give it a 7.5 to an 8 out of 10.

On a side note, it seems that, although the Twilight series has been successfully concluded, Ms. Meyer has decided to beat her dead horse with a stick and come out with Edward’s version of events.

Literature Review

Last week, I went to the Lincoln Triangle Barnes and Noble to hear one of my favorite authors, Laurie Notaro, speak. She recently came out with this book, The Idiot Girl and the Flaming Tantrum of Death, and for her talk, read an exerpt from the book about laser hair removal.

After introductions were made, as she opened her mouth to begin reading, the door to the room bust open and this frosted haired, overly tanned woman hobbled in, screaming, "Wait, don't start yet!" She limped to the front of the room, staked out two chairs for herself, pulled one chair in front of her, took off her shoes and put her feet up. She opened her bag, took out a fresh morphine patch, unwrapped it, and stuck it directly onto her neck. That's right, her neck. All the while, saying, "I'm glad I made it, I had to buy your book. I went into your office, I went to the bathroom, I said, 'Laurie!' but you weren't in there, so I figured you were over here. Ok, now I'm ready."

I'm sitting there, figuring they have to know each other, because how could some stranger interrupt a talk like this unless they know the speaker, right? Oh, how I fool myself.

As Laurie started reading about her interactions with her charming doctor who was performing her laser hair removal, the woman piped up that she had bought a laser hair removal kit from Sharper Image, and it totally hadn't worked. Even with the conductive gel. Oh, and she had five herniated discs in her spine, which was why her feet were up.

Laurie: (reading, funny, telling story, general awesomeness)

Crazy woman: You know, Laurie, I just sent you a really funny email. Did you get it?

Laurie: When did you send it?

Crazy woman: Today.

Baring in mind that Laurie Notaro gets hundreds of emails because she's POPULAR.

Laurie: Uh..no, not yet. I just got here.

Question and answer time, someone asked if Laurie carries around a journal so she can write things down. Before she could answer:

Crazy woman: (holding up a digital recorder, which becomes immediately obvious she's been using to record the entire session, without permission) Laurie! Laurie, you should get one of these!

Laurie: What is it, a morphine pump? Does it inject morphine directly into your stomach?

Crazy woman: No, it records 150 hours. It's a digital recorder.

Laurie: Any other questions?

Crazy woman: (hand shoots up into the air)

B&N staff: Let's let someone else have a turn.

Crazy woman: Fine! (pouts)

At the end of the question and answer session, Laurie prepares to sign our books for us. First, she asks us a question.

Laurie: Is there anyone here from far away? Because I want to sign your books first, and I don't want you to have to wait on line so long that you have to drive home through the dark.

Two people raise their hands. One dude, who says he's flown in from Albaquerque, and, of course, the crazy lady.

Crazy Lady: I came in from Long Island. I know it's not that far away, but you can imagine, with my back, how difficult that trip was for me to make.

So, Crazy Lady is first on line to have her book signed, and stands there talking to Laurie for twenty minutes, about her hair, and taking pictures of each other. She even brought a gift for Laurie. A sample size of moisture lock hairspray. And the whole time, she didn't shut up. Not once.

Anyhoo...the book. Ah yes, the book. Funny. Not as funny as We Thought You'd be Prettier, but funny nonetheless. I appreciate her humor. I don't appreciate how self-deprecating it can get at times, but she is funny, I'll give her that. This is an excellent book to read when you want something light.

I know that's a really brief review about the book, but what can I say? It's not a novel, it's short anecdotes she's written about her life. And they're fabulous. Some more than others, but honestly, all are varying degrees of fabulosity.

So, READ IT.

Literature Review

I finished this book a few days ago, and apologize for not talking about it earlier. I'd read one of Martin Miller's other books: The Good Fairies of New York, and quite honestly, wasn't all that impressed. Nevertheless, I undertook reading this sizable tome, and was pleasantly surprised.

Lonely Werewolf Girl is the story of a clinically depressed seventeen year old werewolf princess with a substance abuse problem on the run from assassins hired by her own family - and the humans she unwittingly befriends.

At no time did this book slow down, nor did I lose interest. At some points I loved the characters, and at other times, they pissed me off, thereby proving that this is an extremely well written book.

I would definitely recommend this book to people who are into the dark fantasy genre, the werewolf people, or just the people who enjoy books about complicated political stratagem.

Honestly, I will be reading this again.

Literature Review

I finished Cormac McCarthy's The Road on the subway on the way home today. Although it only took me a couple of days to read it, it was really painful. It's one of the saddest, most hopeless stories I've ever read.

There's been some awful catastrophe that has burned everything to the ground. All plants are dead, all animals are dead. The vast majority of people are dead, and the only ones left are roaming the countryside in bands of cannibals.

A few years after this catastrophe is when this story takes place. A man, known only as Papa, and his young son, who remains nameless, are traveling southwards on a road through a desolate landscape covered in ash and grey snow. They don't know what they'll find when they reach the coast. Always hungry, they search abandoned buildings for food at the risk of getting caught by "the bad guys" and killed to be eaten. The only food that exists does so in canned form. All the water is full of ash and soot, a slow moving sludge.

While reading this book, it becomes quickly apparent that there is no happy ending in sight. The reader realizes that the father is dying, and the young boy will soon be on his own in this hostile landscape, which, since he was born after the catastrophe, is the only world he knows. Nevertheless, the boy shows remarkable empathy and caution.

Yes, I'd recommend this book. It was fabulous. But not as a pick-me-up. If you're clinically depressed, make sure you're current on your medications before venturing into this story.

Post-Apocalyptic Dystopia

I am currently reading Cormac McCarthy's The Road (review to follow as soon as I've finished), not because I enjoy Pulitzer Prize winning books, but because one of my absolute favorite genres of books is post-apocalyptic/dystopian society.





Because, throughout my reading career, I've had much difficulty finding my next post-apocalyptic fix, I've compiled a list of my favorite pieces within the genre, accompanied by a very brief synopsis.





The Road: Civilization is gone, all fluara and fauna are dead, and the majority of the remaining humans have resorted to cannibalism. A man and his young son travel through a dead world in a desperate attempt to survive. (Genre: Post-apocalyptic)


I Who Have Never Known Men: Forty women are caged in a bunker, watched over by armed guards. None of the women know one another, and the guards never speak. None of them remember how they came to be there, nor why they're being incarcerated. Then, one day, the guards disappear, and they're able to escape, only to find that they've entered a completely unfamiliar landscape. (Genre: Post-Apocalyptic) This book is in my top 5 favorites.

Oryx and Crake: A small tribe of genetically engineered humans living in a world where all the normal people have died off. (Genre: Post-apocalyptic)

The Giver: This book basically falls into the same category that Brave New World lives in. A young boy is assigned to carry the memories of a people no longer willing to experience anything unpleasant, and the burden leads him to rebel. (Genre: Utopian)

Uglies: A young-adult series set in a world where people are physically altered when they come of age and are made "pretty". This book examines what "pretty" really is, and what it actually means. (Genre: Utopian)

Alas, Babylon: We follow the survival of a group of people after America has been attacked by nuclear weapons. (Genre: Post-apocalyptic)

Anthem: In this book, there is no longer any such thing as the personal pronoun. The characters actually speak exactly like the Borg. This is the story of one person becoming an individual. (Genre: Utopian)

A Canticle for Leibowitz: This book is about post-apocalyptic society trying to reclaim civilization. Pretty cool for people into archeology and exploring abandoned buildings. (Genre: post-apocalyptic)

I Am Legend: I'm not going to bother summarizing this, since it was out in theaters so recently. I will, however, say that the book far, far outshines the movie in every possible way. (Genre: Post-apocalyptic?)

**I am aware that I did not include any dystopian titles on this list. I can give honorable mention to 1984, which is dystopian, but, honestly, I thought that book was too cumbersome a read.

The End of an Era

I wanted to take this opportunity to address something that has been distressing me for the past couple of years, but has most recently gotten entirely out of control.

When I was in high school, I was introduced to a book series by author Laurell K. Hamilton. The main character, Anita Blake, is a vampire hunter. Through the series, there is mystery, intrigue, and a big, healthy dose of sexual tension. The characters are well developed and relatable.

However. Somewhere along the line Laurell seemed to lose her way. The further into the series she got, especially after Obsidian Butterfly, the less of a plot there was, and the more the books were just five hundred pages of softcore porn. And even that didn't last very long before it devolved into hardcore smut. I mean, I like a naughty book as much as the next girl, but Anita evolved from this ass-kicking heroine to a whiny nympho who screws every man anywhere near her.

So, today, Laurell's new Anita Blake book, Blood Noir, came out. This is the first time in over ten years that I didn't haul ass to the book store to snag a copy. Honestly, I see no point in reading a book full of poorly written porno, where Anita's only contribution to the story line - what little story line there is - is to screw every single man.

Over it. Done. Laurell, I miss Anita. The old Anita. She's become like one of those bands, where I love the early work, but once she became popular, and started performing for the masses, she lost her appeal.

Anyway, until I hear that Laurell has gone back to Anita's roots, I suppose I'll be avoiding her work. It saddens me to say it. I can only hope Laurell reads the reviews on the web and takes to heart what her early fans are saying.

Literature Review

The Host is the latest offering from uber-author Stephanie Meyer, goddess of the teen novel. She wrote such other treasures (and I say this completely unsarcastically) as Eclipse. As I've said previously, bestest book ever.

In this book, which does not take place in Bella and Edward's world; rather, in a post-body snatcher utopian society. The main character, Wanderer, is a slithery silver worm, and, along with other slithery silver worms, have been implanted into the bodies of the people on earth. Wanderer takes over the body of a girl named Melanie.

Melanie, however, refuses to give up her mind and disappear, so the two of them need to coexist in their brain. They escape this utopian society the body snatchers - or souls, as they call themselves - and track down a group of rebel humans hiding out in the desert, where Melanie knows her little brother and boyfriend have escaped to.

It's a nice story about self-sacrifice, which I can appreciate. It takes a while to get into it, but once you get into the meat of the story, it's well worth it. The ending is quite satisfying.

I find myself, however, a bit uncomfortable by something that seems to be a trend in Ms. Meyer's books. In the Edward books, Bella is 17 years-old, while Edward is a vampire, and therefore very old. Yes, Bella needs to be that age so the intended audience can relate, and Edward needs to be his age, but since he was turned as a teenager, it's all right. However, in The Host, Melanie's body is 17, while her boyfriend is 26, and while they fight over not sleeping together because of "conventions", it turns out the boyfriend is only hesitant because he hasn't stocked up on birth control. Later, when Wanda (as the Wanderer's come to be known whilst living in Melanie's body) is livin with the rebels, she forms a relationship with another man, also in his upper 20's.

Spoiler alert

After she gives up Melanie's body, the humans go find her another one. This one, however, is 16 years-old. And, although she lies and says she's going to be 18 in a couple weeks, the fact remains that she's 16, and is still sleeping in the same bed as this late-20's man.

My concern is that these books are meant for teenage readers. The teenagers in this book are having romantic encounters with men in their late-20's. I know that, as a Mormon, Ms. Meyer is trying to keep morals forefront in her stories, hence the importance of family and self-sacrifice, but I can't help but wonder if maybe she's missing a big problem.

Just a thought. Either way, definitely a good book for a long plane, train or car-ride.

Literature Review

I finished reading this book a couple weeks ago, and apologize for procrastinating in posting my opinions.

Let me preface this review by saying that I am a math geek. I received my bachelors in mathematics, and am therefore predisposed to math-based literature (i.e. The Man Who Loved Only Numbers, Foucault’s Pendulum, and Life of Pi, which turned out to be a misunderstanding).

When I read the blurb about this book, I was immediately hooked. A fading child prodigy has a penchant for dating girls named Katherine, and when #19 dumps him for being too needy, he and his best friend take a road trip to East Bumblefuck, where he attempts to create an algorithm predicting love. In the process, he has epiphanies, falls in love, yada yada yada.

While the actual math in the book is obviously there to look complicated and not to actually do anything, I can overlook it for its easy banter. Seriously, fabulous book. Easily in my top 20. It’s charming, easy to read, the characters are relatable and likeable. Nice to read books like this. Usually I’m disappointed; not this time.

Literature Review

So, I picked this book up in the airport in Rochester, NY, while I was waiting for my flight back to NYC. Took me a while, but I finally got around to reading it. The book had great reviews, and the summary on the back was catchy. It's written by a Brit, and I usually love British humor. So, I was looking forward to a good read.

Honestly, it was all right. Not great, certainly not horrible. All right. It's about an old man who finds this mole on his thigh, automatically assumes it's cancer, thinks he's about to die, so decides to go crazy. In the meantime, his daughter is getting married, his son is gay and his wife is having an affair. Even writing this now, I think, hey, that sounds like a great book! Honestly, though, the summary of the book was a better read than the book itself. Don't get me wrong, it was a nice book. A good one for your parents to read. Not edgy, though, which is what I think I was expecting. It's a good book for when you want to read about normal, every day problems. It's a good beach read.

Anyhow, go ahead, read it. Don't be too excited about it, though. You'll get your hopes up, only to think, oh, is that it? Kind of like sleeping with the guy who all the girls say is the best in bed, only to find out he's a one trick pony, and a two minute man to boot. Good for a role in the hay, but nothing you'd write home about.

I'll let you know what I think of my next book, "An Abundance of Katherines", once I've finished.

Literature Review

I tried. I really did. I always have high hopes for these books which have fabulous reviews, that are recommended to me, but damn, this was the slowest book ever. I spent two weeks trying to trudge through it and finally, this morning, I gave up. I'm a little more than halfway through, and the action has only barely started. Here's a brief synopsis:

It's told from the perspective of two (three) people:

1. IP Lawyer Mischkin, told in the first person, past tense. He's in hiding because Russian mobsters are out to get him.

2. Bookstore accountant and inventory clerk (aspiring director) Carlotti (is that even right? so forgettable I can't even remember the dude's name). Written in the third person.

3. Richard Bracegirdle, a 17th century man supposidly spying on Shakespear. His sections are written in italics in old English and are in the form of letters, first to his wife Nan, and then to his Lordship (for whom he is spying).

This ancient manuscript is found, alludes to an undiscovered play by Shakespear, Russian mobsters want it, it's stolen, yada yada yada. When it comes down to it, the plot is unbelievable, lengthy, slow and downright insipid.

Yet another disappointment in the treasure hunt genre.

Literature review - personal insights

I know this isn't literature, but I enjoy reading psychiatric anecdotal accounts. This one, about a woman with twenty four separate personalities, was especially interesting. I never read these for entertainment, but for comradeship. I am not a multiple personality, but I am a borderline personality. I don't lose time when my girls take over, but I don't have any control over when it happens. Indeed, I rarely notice until afterwards that one of the girls has taken the wheel. What did I learn? Even though, when my mood is neutral, I can logically look at my different mood swings and predict which girl will take over, (i.e. Lilia comes out when she's scared or very loved), I need to find out why my girls came to be to begin with. Understanding their purpose is the first step to integrating them into me.

I like reading these psychiatric accounts because I enjoy reading about their treatment, and the methods they used to get better. I was extremely impressed, and someone discomfited, by the amount of interest The Flock's author took in her patient. I appreciate all the therapists she went to that didn't believe in her diagnosis, didn't listen to her when she felt she was in crisis, and just thought she was being manipulative.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who knows a multiple personality (now called dissociative identity disorder), and even to anyone who knows a Borderline personality. It won't make it any easier to live with, but it will make it more understandable, and that's really all you can ask.