My Horizontal Life
I think I’m in love with Chelsea Handler.
The day after my grandfather passed away, and after a week of sitting around the house waiting for who knows what, I decided that A, I needed to get the hell out of the house, and B, I needed some medicine. Books are, of course, my favorite medicine, so I went straight to my Barnes and Noble.
My Horizontal Life was waiting for me in the New in Paperback section.
The great thing about sleeping with a midget is that first you get to have sex with them and then you can use them as a pillow. Those little midgets have it so easy. Sometimes when I see one, I want to chase it. I don’t want to scare them, but I want to hold them and cuddle them. Mostly I would like one for the carpool lane.
With her love for vodka, hilarious one-night stands, and laugh out loud sense of humor, Chelsea made me laugh in the mere hours it took me to read this book; I couldn’t put it down. She calls her L.A. roommate Dumb Dumb and terrorizes her Jewish parents with her black lovers and gay friend. I laughed so hard while reading this, my cousin said, “Oh, I’m going to have to read that!”
Books and laughter are some of the best medicine, and while it didn’t completely take my pain away, My Horizontal Life made a few hours of this nightmare just a little more bearable. It also reminded me that maybe a little vodka might help, too.
Friday, I’m getting her Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea.
Taking a break
As much as I love to read and share what I’m reading and have read, I can’t stay committed to this blog at this time. My grandfather is very sick, and I need to cut down on the number of responsibilities I have for the time being.
I hope that you will continue to check out the books on this site. I’ve also posted a Summer Reading 2010 list that you can check out.
Take care, and thanks so much for all of the awesome book discussions here, on Facebook, and on Twitter. Keep reading!
13 Little Blue Envelopes
Seventeen-year-old Ginny receives a package full of little blue envelopes from Aunt Peg, leading her from place to place through Europe, following in the footsteps of her aunt. The only problem? Aunt Peg is no longer alive.
13 Little Blue Envelopes, by Maureen Johnson
Ginny follows her aunt’s directions, opening only one envelope at a time, in order, and following the instructions in the previous envelope before opening the next one.
Reading 13 Little Blue Envelopes was an adventure. Maureen Johnson’s writing is, as always, fun, quirky, and humorous. Ginny reminded me a lot of my younger self: shy, not adventurous, and obedient of anything asked of her. It was really cool to see her grow into a person more outgoing and adventurous because of the little blue envelopes.
I liked that, as the story unfolded, I learned more and more about Ginny, her aunt, and their relationship. None of the breadcrumbed details seemed random. It was nice to learn more as I read.
Maureen Johnson is really good at creating interesting, three-dimensional — and sometimes four-dimensional! — characters. She didn’t let me down in 13 Little Blue Envelopes.
SPOILER AHEAD! Continue reading »
Child 44
Leo Demidov — a military hero working for the MGP — is ordered to tell a family that their son was not murdered, and that they must stop telling other people that he was murdered, or there will be dire consequences. Leo thinks nothing more of it, returning to a case he was working on earlier. Suddenly, Leo finds himself ordered to investigate his wife Raisa, who is being accused of working with Western spies.
Child 44, by Tom Rob Smith
Leo is faced with a tough decision: denounce the woman he loves and continue living in safety while she is executed, or go against the State and claim her innocent, sending them both to be executed. What he doesn’t know is, this won’t be the last tough decision he will be faced with.
Child 44 — based on a real crime spree — is crafted with twists and turns, and full of vivid depiction of Stalinist and post-Stalinist Russia in the 1950′s. As I read the story, I was also given a very accurate history lesson, making me feel as if I’d lived in Russia during that period. While the first historical fiction novel I read, Eye of the Red Tsar, was very good, it didn’t even come close to Child 44.
I decided to read Child 44 because while reading reviews of Eye of the Red Tsar, I came across one that said “Red Tsar” was very similar to Child 44. However, the only similarity is that both novels are set in Stalinist Russia. Pekkala, the main character in “Red Tsar,” is a royal investigator, and Stalin is depicted as an ally. In Child 44, Stalin is depicted as the exact leader he was. The novel uses tons of the quotes and rules that Russia was supposed to live by during his reign. Author Tom Rob Smith (Child 44) shows the sheer harshness of living in Russia during those times. While Sam Eastland (Eye of the Red Tsar) doesn’t fail to depict how tough those times were on the Russian people, he doesn’t come close. Both authors clearly did their research, but Smith made sure that he gave enough examples that the reader felt just as afraid as many of the citizens. There were times when I cried, swore aloud, or just mulled something over because it was just so horrible — and because I knew that things like it happened all of the time.
The pace of the novel is perfect. The main characters are showered with complications and betrayals, just as the novel itself is spun with twists and turns. Most authors might not be able to handle all of that action and make it believable. Tom Rob Smith does, and does it brilliantly.
When I read the last sentence of the novel, I wished it were the first. Luckily, Tom Rob Smith has already written a sequel that came out on April 1st, 2010, and he is currently working on the third and final book.
This was one gets five out of five from me. What did you think of it?
Remember Me?
First off, thank you Elizabeth for letting me join the site to do some book reviews. I read a lot and love sharing my opinion, so this will be a great outlet for that! 
It has been awhile since I have sat down and read a book in one day. Let alone in less than 8 hours. That is exactly what happened with Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella.
The book is about a girl who wakes up in a hospital and cannot remember the last three years of her life. When she comes to she soon finds out that she is married to a very handsome multi-millionaire, has perfect teeth, and is the boss in a company she lasts remembers being a pee-on at.
She is quite happy that she is living the life of a fairy tale in an amazing loft with a closet full of desinger clothes. But she soon realizes that something just isn’t right. She’s no longer friends with people she remembers being the very best of friends with and she isn’t the girl she remembers being. Although she is living this amazing life, it is rather dull and boring.
Throughout the book she goes and tries to find the girl she wants to be instead of the woman she is portrayed as being. There’s a little romance and a fair share of drama thrown in.
This was a pretty easy read and grabbed my attention in the first chapter. So, much that I just couldn’t put it down. It is very much a “chick lit”, but every once in awhile you have to give into one.
Sophie is the author of the Shopaholic series, which I plan on tackling as soon as I read and review The Spark for my Filed in Chick Lit and tagged remember me?, sophie kinsella.
Wizard At Large
Wizard At Large, by Terry Brooks
Wizard At Large is the third book in the Landover series by Terry Brooks (the only fantasy author I read). I started with Brooks’ Shannara series and started reading the Landover series a few months ago when my boss recommended it.
Magic Kingdom for Sale — SOLD! is the first book in the series. Ben Holiday, a Chicago lawyer and widow, buys the magic kingdom of Landover from the evil wizard Meeks, who wants the kingdom for his own. Ben must overcome the challenges of being king to a land which hasn’t had a king in a very, very long time, and he must keep Meeks from taking the medallion that allows him to be king of Landover from him.
In the second book, The Black Unicorn, rumors of a black unicorn begin to spread. Ben, Questor, and Willow each have vivid dreams that are seemingly prophetic. Because of the dreams, Meeks is able to trick Ben into thinking he has lost the medallion to Meeks, and takes over. Ben must reclaim the medallion and defeat Meeks.
In Wizard At Large, Questor Thews — Ben’s Court Wizard — tries to turn Abernathy back into a human from the half man, half dog hybrid Questor accidentally made him years ago. As usual, poor Questor’s magic backfires and sends Abernathy to the U.S. — and into the hands of their enemy, Michel Ard Rhi.
Ben and company have to get Abernathy back before the wish demon Questor accidentally transfers in court scribe Abernathy’s place destroys Landover — and before Michel connives Abernathy into giving him Ben’s medallion, which Questor used while trying to transform Abernathy.
“Wizard” is my favorite in the series so far. I felt so bad for Questor, who always means well but has a hard time mastering the magic his evil half brother Meeks is so good at.
I read most of “Wizard” in one night. I couldn’t access the internet to work, so I spoiled myself and read instead. Terry Brooks has a habit of reviewing everything from the previous books, which worked in my favor this time since it’d been a while since I’d read The Black Unicorn. It would be annoying to someone reading the books back to back, but it’s usually brief and I usually just skim over it.
Brooks also uses a lot of description and does a lot of telling rather than showing, but the stories he writes are always so good that I barely notice.
Wizard At Large is a fantastic read for those who love fantasy and for those who like adventure stories. You can even read it to a child before bed, because Brooks keeps his prose family friendly — even though his main audience is adults. (I started reading his novels when I was ten or eleven, and my mom did, too.)
What did you think of “Wizard”? What is your favorite book so far in the series, and why?
PS: Photo coming soon! Photo is up!
Eye of the Red Tsar Reading Group Topics: #2
Now that I’ve finished Eye of the Red Tsar, I’ve decided to start tackling the Reading Group Topics provided by the author and publisher. I’ll be posting two a week, so if you’d like to follow along with me, download or print the PDF, stretch your fingers, and leave a comment with your thoughts!
Heads up: spoilers ahead! Continue reading »
Eye of the Red Tsar
Eye of the Red Tsar, by Sam Eastland
I went to the library a few days ago after work because I wanted to go for a walk, and the library is on the street intersecting the street our offices are located on. There’s nothing better than getting some exercise and getting a book out of the deal!
I decided to look at the new arrivals first, since that was how I found Joe Meno several months ago. I’m trying really hard to broaden my author horizon. When I was in high school, I didn’t read anything else besides Stephen King and Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. (Not that there’s anything wrong with either!) In the last few months, I’ve read a bunch of new authors. I’ve also been listening to a lot of Mastodon. Their new album, which is my favorite, has a song on it about the murder of the Romanovs. This song quickly became my favorite of theirs — before I even knew who Mastodon was! I’ve always been fascinated with the Romanovs. Maybe it’s because I’m part Russian and it’s in my blood to be interested in my ancestors’ history. Maybe it’s because I saw the movie Anastasia as a kid and could never get the fact that a whole family had been murdered for political reasons out of my head.
But when I saw Eye of the Red Tsar sitting on the shelf at the library, I pretty much knew I was going to read it. Before deciding, I read the synopsis on the inside of the jacket.
A decade [after the murder of the Romanov family], one man lives in purgatory, banished to a forest on the outskirts of humanity. Pekkala was once the most trusted secret agent of the Romanovs, the right-hand man of the Tsar himself. Now he is Prisoner 4745-P, living a harsh existence in which even the strongest vanish into the merciless Soviet winter.
But the state needs Pekkala one last time. The man who knew the Romanovs best is given a final mission: catch their killers, locate the royal child rumored to be alive, and give Stalin the international coup he craves…
I read the first few sentences, and quickly closed the book shut; the sooner I checked it out, the sooner I could read it!
Over the next couple of days, I was riveted. There were a couple of nights I stayed up well into early morning to keep reading. The book definitely started off slow; you can easily tell this is Sam Eastland’s first published novel. It gradually picks up speed, though, and I was interested enough to keep reading even when Eastland did a lot of telling rather than showing. About halfway through, however, it starts getting really interesting. There were enough twists and turns, and enough tidbit details about Pekkala (the main character), to keep me reading through cigarettes, meals, and even when I should have been sleeping.
Eastland crafted a very interesting character in Pekkala, known as the Emerald Eye because of his service to the Tsar. Pekkala begins investigation with his brother Anton and Lieutenant Kirov. Along the way, you get flashbacks of back story showing Pekkala’s and Anton’s childhood, Pekkala’s days with the Romanovs, and his many days of interrogation by Stalin, who wanted the location of the Tsar’s treasure.
There are so many things that make this book spellbinding, taking its own course from history and spinning a fantastic work of fiction. As much as I wanted Pekkala to solve the murder and find the rumored missing child (which is not, by the way, Anastasia), I also didn’t want the book to end.
It did, however, and even the ending is interesting, leaving room for a sequel if Eastland chose to do more with the characters.
At the back of the book, Eastland includes a section called “What Really Happened to the Romanovs”, which interested me because I never knew the full history, and while reading couldn’t separate fact from fiction (which was kind of cool, because it allowed me to get deeper into the story rather than picking it apart). While reading, I kept saying that I needed to pick up a history book about the Romanovs and the Revolution. There are a lot of fascinating rumors that surround their murder, and reading Eye of the Red Tsar has piqued my interest again (and, of course, Mastodon).
If you’re a history buff or just like murder mysteries or suspense, Eye of the Red Tsar is a great work of historical fiction. I give it Five Freaking Stars.
UPDATE: There is going to be a sequel, published in 2011! You can see photos from the Revolution, a preview from the next book, and the “What Really Happened” section all at the Inspector Pekkala website. Continue reading »
What did you think of The Lovely Bones movie, compared to the book?
I finally saw The Lovely Bones movie, with Mark Wahlberg (Marky Mark, haha) and Susan Sarandon, last night. I read the novel a few months ago and was pretty pleased with the movie.
What did you think of the movie? Discuss your thoughts on the Freaking Bookworm Facebook Page, or, if you don’t have a Facebook account, share your thoughts in the comments below!
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A Death In the Family
But the real murderers are the BATMAN readers.
– Newsweek
A Death In the Family
One phone number became the difference between life and death for the new Robin, Jason Todd, in A Death In the Family when it debuted in 1988.
Jason decides to search for his birth mother when Batman tells him he needs to take a break from being Robin. When Jason runs away, Batman has to make a choice between preventing the Joker from wreaking havoc and chasing down his adopted son.
Ultimately, Batman’s need for justice and his obsession with taking down Joker, as well as Jason’s stubborn disobedience, costs the Dark Knight his sidekick. Even though I knew Robin was going to die — I mean, have you seen the cover? — it still hit me hard to see Batman endure such pain. Regardless, I think I would have voted for the Joker to kill Robin if I had been old enough at the time to dial a phone number.
Usually, I have a tough time picking sides between Batman and Joker, because I love them both and love the dynamics of their relationship. They’re a more complicated Tom and Jerry; they are always waging war, neither of them ever win, and I think that, secretly, they both enjoy the game they play. It gives them both the opportunity to play at being the hero (Batman) and the villain (Joker) that they could otherwise never be. In “Death,” I wanted Batman to kill Joker, or at least beat the face paint off of him.
What I liked most about “Death” — aside from the storyline: Jason searching for his biological mother, Batman versus Joker — was that most of the story was set internationally in the Middle East. The writers clearly had a strong sense of the crime culture, political situations, and social situations in the countries that the main characters interacted in.
This particular story arch is a catalyst for the bitter Batman we know in the present and in the future as the retired Caped Crusader who passes on his legacy to the young Terry McGinnis.
The more Batman stories I soak up, the more I love this franchise.
What’s your favorite Batman story arch?