[  Mood: Happy ]
[ Currently: Taking a break from cleaning ]

Those of you who have been here for awhile, know that I read Laurell K. Hamilton. A lot. And I analyze her. A lot. So you know I am going to read the latest of her novels.

This instalment sees our heroine, Meridith (Merry), back in LA and carrying twins that have six different fathers. (Don’t ask it’s complicated.) And while she is now the undisputed heir of the Winter Court, Merry wants nothing to do with the politics and has fled to LA. (Again, don’t ask it’s complicated.)

Buy her exile is not exactly peaceful as the lesser fey are being murdered by a serial killer and Merry is called in by the local PD to help with the investigation. And this is where this book takes a sharp left from the rest of the series in that it has a plot.

Of Hamilton’s series, the Merry Gentry series has been the most clearly erotic. Hamilton has admitted as much. Yet in this installment, Hamilton follows the trend of her last Anita Blake book and includes a plot that is more than than a thinly veiled excuse for her characters to have sex. And the plot is not bad – not brilliant, but not bad.

Die hard fans, do not fear! Hamilton has not become a vestial virgin with this book. There are sex scenes enough to tantalize the most jaded reader (there’s tenticle sex), but they aren’t the sole reason for this book. And given what Hamilton has produced in the past, that’s a high compliment.

Not high art, but a nice way to spend a couple of hours on a lazy summer day.

[  Mood: Sleepy ]
[ Currently: Taking a break from cleaning ]

Muslims are the baddy due jour. When anyone is in need of a scapegoat or villain and doesn’t have time to do their research, they turn to the followers of Mohammed. Hollywood, Republicans, Fox News, all have engaged in this fun-time building of a Muslim stereotype, so that non-muslims think they know what Islam is all about, how it is practiced and the like without ever having talked to a real muslim. Missing from the weaving of the narrative are Muslim voices.

Enter into this Michael Muhammed Knight and his novel "The Taqwacores".

Yusuf Ali is an engineering student who lives off campus in an all-Muslim house full of the Taqwacores. He lives with Umar, a supposedly the straight-edge Sunni who is covered in tattoos; Rabeya, a burqa-clad riot grrl; and Jehangir, the dope-smoking mohawked Sufi.

Plot wise, not much happens in this book. It is more of a series of charater vignettes leading to Yusuf leaving the house to head home, Yusuf asks questions about the validity of the Islam practiced by he and his housemates. Hardcore followers of punk music, the people in the house drink, do drugs and have sex.

This book is supposed to be the Generation X of the North American Muslim youth. Contriversial, even banned in some countries, the book portrays a group of Muslims who see themselves as religious, but aren’t the stereotypes you see on TV. Full of profanity and explicit scenes, this books seems to want to shock its reader with how the characters behave.

In spite of all this drama, I found the book difficult to finish. At times I just didn’t care about the characters enough to push through what, at times, was a rudderless narrative. Althought this could be because as a non-muslim, I missed half of the references in the novel.

This is a take it or leave it novel. If you really want a look at contemporary Muslim life, try the works of Randa Abdel-Fattah or Rukhsana Khan.

[  Mood: Sleepy ]
[  Currently: Working Editing a podcast ]

I love mysteries. There is just something about trying to figure out who done it and why that just turns my crank. Hense why this book shows up here.

Sophie Katz started writing murder mysteries as a way to work through some issues arising from her divorce and watched it evolve into a nive living. She is even developping a screenplay for her latest novel, that is until the producer is found dead in his bathtub, Police believe it is a suicide, but Sophie isn`t so sure.

Sophie’s life gets even wierder when scenes from one of her novels are staged by a stalker. The cops thinjs she crazy or guilty of the crimes herself. So she has to figure out who is behind all this before she ends up the victim of a murder plot she thought up.

Author Kyra Davis has created a funny, chick-lit murder mystery with a smart, if sometimes hapless heroine. There are also plenty of quirky charaters and a little romance, making this a good bet for the Stephanie Plum crowd.

[  Mood: Very Sad ]
Someone near and dear to me has been diagnoses with breast cancer. (Not me people, this isn’t one of those "a friend" kind of things.) To help cheer them up, I am looking for songs about breasts. This person has a slightly naughty sense of humour, as in she titters like a drunk librarian when I tell off colour stories and jokes.

Edit: So send me your suggestions.

[  Mood: Sleepy ]
[ Currently: Dealing with a sick toddler ]

Chelsea Handler is a comedienne and actress who focuses on writing about her life. And revealing details you didn’t really need to know. One of her earlier books chronicled her one night stands.

This book looks at Chelsea’s relationships with men, her family and friends. She shares stories about being pulled over while driving intoxicated, taking her father on vacation and being taken by a midget con-woman.

Handler embellishes the stories and mixes in her sarcastic, crude sense of humour. And believe me, she has a potty mouth that a sailor would envy. Handler is not Anne of Green Gables, but you can’t help but like her. She turns this sarcastic, crude eye on both others and herself. No one is safe from her, at times, selfish, self-centered diatribes. I laughed outloud more than once.

The book on CD that I listened to was read by the author, further enhacing the experience. Her delivery was geniuine, and as a reader (or should it be listner), I had no trouble visualizing what was happening.

Worth the time, but do not listen to this near the little ones or easily offended.

[  Mood: Happy ]
[  Currently: Eating Breakfast ]

Natasha Friend has proven herself to be a genius when it comes to capturing the lives of pre-teen and teen girls. In this novel, she looks at the life of Evyn, a thriteen year-old girl who lost her mother when she was very young. Since then it has just been her dad, her brother and her. Their life is happy, if a little financially strapped.

That all changes one day when she and her brother come home from camp to the announcement that her father is getting married to a college professor and the family is moving to Boston.

Evyn’s world is turned upside down as she is thrust into a blended family. The college professor, Eleni, already has six kids. Evyn’s dog isn’t allowed in the house. Girls at her new toney private school only want to be friends with her to get info on her handsome new stepbrother. Her best friend back in Maine seems to be drifiting away and making new friends. To top it all, her stepmother is pregnant.

Having lived through an experience similar to Evyn, this book was an accurate portrayal of how children deal with dramatic change in their lives. Evyn lashing out at those around her is very typical. Contrasted to this is her brother Mackey embracing the move as a chance to be someone else. I also found this book incredibly moving as Friend hit the nail on the head on the emotions these kind of upheavals bring. Manditory reading for a parent planning to blend their family, let alone the kids who might have to live through it.

[  Mood: Happy ]
[  Currently: Eating Breakfast ]

James Patterson is a publisher’s dream. He produces two hugely popular mystery/thriller series that routinely hit the bestseller lists. Patterson is so popular that he needs co-authors to help push out the pulp that his readers demand. He even makes appearances on Castle.

5th Horsman is the fifth (how appropriate) installment in his Women’s Murder Club series. It finds our four female protagonists dealing with three concurrent cases; a hospital malpractice suit, a murder spree in the same hospital and a series of deaths of young escorts.

And that is the problem with this book. There is too much going on. By packing more action than a Bruckheimer movie into 410 pages, Patterson (and co-author Maxine Paetro) sacrifices things like character development. It would have been a far better book if we had only had the hospital malpractice/hospital murder plot and they left the escort murders for another book.

That being said, this book is a very quick read. With chapters lasting three or four pages at most, a strong reader can plow through this book in less than a day. Not high literature, but a fun way to spend a few hours,most likely on a beach or beside a pool.

[  Mood: Sleepy ]

This is one of those books that I have been meaning to read since forever. The hype around the book has been heady, topping best seller lists, Scholastic crowing about it being brilliant. So I added it to my library hold list. And waited.

And waited.

I was tempted to pick up a copy for myself at the bookstore several times, but I have been burned by picking up books before reading them. So I waited some more.

When it finally showed up on the holds shelf at my local library, I immediately put it at the top of my reading pile.

Taking place in a post-apocalyptic North America, the book tells the story of Katniss, a 16 year-old girls who lives with her widowed mother and sister. Her father died in a mine explosions several years before and it has fallen to Katniss to take over his role as hunter. She barely managed to eke out a living for her family, providing food and trading some of her by hunting in the woods.

And her twelve year-old sister is chosen to participate in the Hunger Games.

Originally devised to punish the districts for rebelling against the Capitol, the Hunger Games are an annual event that pit one boy and girl between the ages of 12 to 18 from each district against each other in a fight to the death. The winner will be given a life of luxury and their district will get extra food rations for the year.

Before she realizes what is happening, Katniss volunteers to take her sister’s place. She now must use the skills she learned in hunting in order to survive. But can she find allies and learn how to play the game in order to return to her family? And what about the feelings she is developing for another contestant.

The hype around this book is well deserved. While we have seen these themes before (The Game, Running Man), The Hunger Games still manages to be a gripping young adult dystopian novel, full of action. Suzanne Collins has given the story just enough grit so the older reader is engaged, but keeps it clean enough that schools can put it in their library.

You know it’s going into the next After Harry.

[  Mood: Cool ]
[  Currently: Watching Fringe ]

I just finished the book that started the "twisted" classics trend we are in the midst of now and it has proved to be quite brilliant. Now, in preparation for reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, I read the original Jane Austen novel. I found that piece of literary work quite dull until Lydia ran off with Wickham. Not so with this book. Apparently taking the original Jane Austen novel and turning it on its head actually works.

Co-author Grahame-Smith has left significant portions of the book alone, inserting the supernatural elements as appropriate. The zombie plague is the reason for so many militia men around, rather than the tail end of the Napoleonic wars. Charlotte Lucas’s choice to marry the odious Mr. Collins makes a lot more sense in this book.

As a work of horror, the story is quite mild, although there are scenes, like the zombie baby and the burning grounds that make your blood run cold with the implications.

As a work of comedy, it appears the author (or the publishers) are well aware of who is reading the book. The readers questions at the back include "Does Mrs. Bingham have any redeeming features?" and a reference to the zombie element being added at the last minute to increase the commercial success of the book.

Overall, this book was an easy and engrossing read. It would be a great way to get some people to read Austen (or at least elements of Austen).

[  Mood: Sleepy ]
[ Currently: Waiting to eat ]

Assassination Vacation is Sarah Vowell’s record of her obsessive visits to any place associated with the assassinations of three US presidents. We follow the author around as she visits former law offices, vacation homes, museums, even places where autopsies take place. As we get the travel log, we are also treated to an intimate history of the three assassinations and the people involved.

The only criticism I have of this book is that there is similar treatment for Kennedy. I would have loved to have Vowell’s caustic, but very astute eye turned on Camelot and everything around that day in Texas. This addition would have made the book a step above your average historical or humour book.

Now I didn’t actually read this book, I listened to it via my MP3 player, as I am wont to do. Vowell reads her own audiobook, which gives the work a far more intimate feel. In addition, there are guests to read the writings of various players in the stories. Most notably, John Stewart as James Garfield was the best of these. His slightly sarcastic voice captured the intelligence of a little known president.

Worth the time.