Tag: reading

Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook by Christina Henry

Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook by Christina Henry
lostboy

Christina Henry, author of the chilling Alice, which is a brilliant re-telling of Alice in Wonderland, has shifted focus to a new fairytale. In Lost Boy, readers get to experience the story of the boy-who-never-grew-up through the origin story of his arch-nemesis. And what a story it is.

“Peter will say I’m a villain, that I wronged him, that I never was his friend. But I told you already. Peter lies. This is what really happened.” loc 85, ebook. Goosebumps? Yeah.

Fans of the original tale will need to prepare themselves for having beloved characters shown in a new and sinister light. Think Longbourn, but worse, much worse. “I had been with Peter longer than I’d been in the Other Place, longer than I could count, anyway. The seasons did not pass here and the days had no meaning. I would be here forever. I would never grow up.” loc 146, ebook. The others in Peter’s group call the narrator, Jamie.

He is a fierce fighter- the best. And he protects the younger and weaker members of those lucky few that Peter brings back from the real world or in this tale, the Other Place. This protective instinct is sneered at by Peter who accuses Jamie of “babying” or “mothering” the boys. In truth, there is no worse insult in Peter’s arsenal. Grown ups either abuse you or take your stuff or both. They’re pirates.

“(Peter) had invited us there, had promised us we would be young and happy forever. So we were. Unless we got sick, or died, or were taken by the pirates.” loc 257, ebook. So, Neverland is not the paradise that it is portrayed as in the original tale. There are also monsters called Many-Eyed that eat the boys alive, if they catch them.

“Was this, I wondered, what it felt like to be a grown-up? Did you always feel the weight of things on you, your cares pressing you down like a burden you could never shake? No wonder Peter could fly. He had no worries to weight him to the earth.” loc 1971, ebook.

The stage is set. Love and hate intertwine with magic, blood and, of course, a little bit of fairy dust.

If you enjoyed this tale, you may also want to explore some other Peter Pan re-tellings like Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson or All Darling Children by Katrina Monroe. The last, a horror-filled offering, may really appeal to those who want to delve more into the potential shadows of Neverland. There’s a price to pay for never growing up. In that tale, as in this, Peter pays it without a qualm.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for a free advance reader’s copy of this book. Reminder: the short quotations I cited in this review may vary in the final published version.

Thanks for reading!

Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person by Shonda Rhimes

Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person by Shonda Rhimes
yearofyes

Shonda Rhimes’ heartfelt memoir about the power of embracing who you are and having the courage to set aside what you are not.

Though outwardly successful, Shonda was miserable. Between over-working and her introverted tendencies, she turned down every invitation and social event. The ones that she was forced to accept were anxiety inducing trials or complete blanks because of panic attacks.

Shonda didn’t even realize she was unhappy until, one Thanksgiving, her sister tells her that she doesn’t say yes to anything. Something clicks and Shonda embarks on a Year of Yes. Her results are astonishing and so is this memoir.

I have never watched a single episode of Grey’s Anatomy. I didn’t even realize that that was her show. You don’t need to be an aficionado to appreciate this book.

Shonda begins with some crushingly honest passages about her discomfort at sharing her life and her passion for writing. “Making stuff up is responsible for everything-everything I’ve done, everything I am, everything i have. Without the tales, the fiction, the stories I’ve spun, it is highly likely that right now, today, I’d be a very quiet librarian in Ohio.” pg 6, ebook. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. 🙂

Photo by Suzy Hazelwood on Pexels.com

The first part of this book was actually hard for me to get through because she was so obviously uncomfortable at creating a window into her heart and mind. She gets over it and so did I. “When it was first suggested to me that I write about this year, my first instinct was to say no. Writing about myself feels a lot like I have just decided to stand up on a table in a very proper restaurant, raise my dress and show everyone that I’m not wearing panties. That is to say, it feels shocking.” pg 12, ebook.

Shonda is just so relatable. Take this confession about motherhood: “I don’t know about you, but the mistakes and missteps I have made since becoming a mother… before kids, my confidence could not be dented. Now it’s shattered on a daily basis. I don’t know what I am doing.” pg 63, ebook. I know, right! Nobody knows what they’re doing. I take comfort in that.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Throughout her year of challenging herself, Shonda discovers that she’s uncomfortable in her own skin because of her weight. This next passage is for anyone out there who has body image issues: “I believe everyone’s body is theirs and everyone has a right to love their body in whatever size and shape and package it comes in. I will fight for anyone’s right to do so. I will kick ass and take names if I have to. Your body is yours. My body is mine. No one’s body is up for comment. No matter how small, how large, how curvy, how flat. If you love you, then I love you.” pg 85, ebook. End of story.

I also liked how she came to a new understanding about how life works: “I’ve started to think we are like mirrors. What you are gets reflected back to you. What you see in yourself, you may see in others, and what others see in you, they may see in themselves.” pg 120, ebook. I’ve started to think that too.

The Year of Yes is recommended for readers who enjoy memoirs or for those folks out there whose lives are in need of an awakening- a shaking of the snow globe of your reality, if you will. Shonda said yes to things that scared her and discovered, on the other side of fear, a life truly worth living. I hope that we can all be as fortunate and as brave on our journeys.

Thanks for reading!

Bizarre Books: a Compendium of Classic Oddities by Russell Ash

Bizarre Books: a Compendium of Classic Oddities by Russell Ash
bizarrebooks

Though it relies too heavily on puns and doubles ententes, Bizarre Books is a humorous look at titles, subjects and author names in published materials. It is a must-read for any book lover or professional who deals with the printed word on a daily basis. *cough* Librarians. *cough*

“All the books recorded are real titles, with real authors. All of them were published with the serious intention of informing, not amusing. In this, they have signally failed.” introduction, pg 7.

I don’t think that ALL of them were meant to be informative. Take this entry from one of my favorite genres, science fiction: Planet of the Knob Heads. Stanton A. Coblentz. Science Fiction, Atlas Publishing, 1939. “Jack and Marjorie are brought to the distant world of their captors. In far Andromeda, they struggle against “favors” of the knob-heads – but hope fades as they face the High Knobule!” pg 40. Almost irresistible, isn’t it?

If science fiction isn’t your thing, how about this (I’m guessing) thriller: What Farrar Saw. James Hanley. Nicholson & Watson, 1946. “No story by Mr. Hanley is without its moral implications; here we have a glimpse of nightmare horror and chaos in a monstrous machine ridden world. It starts simply enough as chaos does. A young couple set off for a holiday in Scotland.” pg 44. Sounds at least as promising as The Girl on the Train, wouldn’t you say?

Photo by Suzy Hazelwood on Pexels.com

Those were some of the fictional books that caught my eye. On to the non-fiction. If it was on a shelf in front of me, I’d pick up Carnivorous Butterflies by Austin Hobart Clark, pg 62.

In the most ineffective category, the prize goes to: Atomic Bombing: How to Protect Yourself. Watson Davis, et al. New York: William H. Wise & Co. 1950. One of its suggestions was: “Curl up in a ball as you hit the ground.” pg 166.

By far, my most favorite selection is: The New Guide of the Conversation in Portuguese and English in Two Parts. Pedro Carolino.

Familiar phrases: Let us go on ours feet. At what o’clock is to get up? At which is this hat. Have him some children? pg 54. And so on. The authors dedicated another three pages to this gem alone.

Highly recommended from this bookworm. It made me laugh a lot and that is not easy to do.

Thanks for reading!

Annihilation (Southern Reach #1) by Jeff VanderMeer

Annihilation (Southern Reach #1) by Jeff VanderMeer
annihilation

A group of female scientists and professionals are sent to explore a region that is not like the world they know. Annihilation is a hypnotic science fiction/thriller that weaves its spell slowly. Then, all at once, it has your complete attention and you find yourself hanging on every word. I loved it.

Isolation from the modern world and technology places this tale in an anachronistic bubble: “One rule for an expedition into Area X was that we were to attempt no outside contact, for fear of some irrevocable contamination.” pg 7, ebook. It harkens back to the idea that, “In space, no one can hear you scream.”

They’re far from home in a surprisingly deadly world. It has already claimed eleven groups of explorers. But, we don’t know what killed most of them: “We were scientists, trained to observe natural phenomena and the results of human activity. We had not been trained to encounter what appeared to be the uncanny.” pg 46, ebook. Extraordinary things begin to happen, almost from the moment the team sets foot in Area X.

“When Area X first appeared, there was vagueness and confusion, and it is still true that out in the world not many people know that is exists. The government’s version of events emphasized a localized environmental catastrophe stemming from experimental military research.” pg 61, ebook. The government has reasons to cover this place up. But why? What is it really and what does it contain?

Creepy and enthralling, Annihilation is a treat. It is easy to see why this won the Nebula Award for Best Novel. I highly recommend it for science fiction lovers and those who enjoy experiencing a world that doesn’t behave by the usual rules.

Thanks for reading!

The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Miguel Ruiz

The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Miguel Ruiz

fouragreementsThe Four Agreements is a simple and short presentation of some very deep wisdom. In a world filled with spiritual reading material, this one’s a goodie. It just made a lot of sense to me.

These lessons come from the shaman culture of Central America. “Toltec knowledge arises from the same essential unity of truth as all the sacred esoteric traditions found around the world. Though it is not a religion, it honors all the spiritual masters who have taught on the earth. While it does embrace spirit, it is most accurately described as a way of life, distinguished by the ready accessibility of happiness and love. introduction pg x. Happiness and love! Sign up the Hippie Librarian, pronto.

The book goes on to talk about how everyone has unconscious beliefs that we pick up as children. We view and experience our world through these beliefs. Most folks aren’t even aware that they have them and this causes a myriad of misunderstandings and problems: “We keep searching and searching, when everything is already within us. There is no truth to find. Wherever we turn our heads, all we see is the truth, but with the agreements and beliefs we have stored in our mind, we have no eyes for this truth. We don’t see the truth because we are blind. What blinds us are all those false beliefs we have in our mind.” pg 17.

So, how do you cut through the fog of these beliefs to see clearly? Ruiz suggests using The Four Agreements.

The first is: “be impeccable with your word… you begin to see all the changes that can happen in your life. Changes first in the way you deal with yourself, and later in the way you deal with other people, especially those you love the most.” pg 46. This includes your inner voice, the way you talk to yourself and how you narrate your reality.

Ruiz mentions that some people talk to themselves in a manner that they would find unacceptable to use with the people they care about. Change the way you speak and, Ruiz claims, your life will follow.

The second agreement is: “Whatever people do, feel, think, or say, don’t take it personally. If they tell you how wonderful you are, they are not saying that because of you.” pg 59 This helps you because: “When we really see other people as they are without taking it personally, we can never be hurt by what they say or do. Even if others lie to you, it is okay. They are lying to you because they are afraid. They are afraid you will discover that they are not perfect.” pg 63.

The third agreement is ‘don’t make assumptions’: “If others tell us something, we make assumptions, and if they don’t tell us something we make assumptions to fulfill our need to know and to replace the need to communicate.” pg 74. Now that I’ve been looking for this, I’ve caught myself assuming things all the time.

It’s funny how quick hurt feelings evaporate when I just put an “assumption” label over any stories I’ve concocted. It has actually been world-changing for me: to realize how many stories I make up because I’m bored or confused or simply don’t know what someone else is thinking. And to realize that they’re not real is such a relief. Really.

Finally: “Just do your best – in any circumstance in your life. It doesn’t matter if you are sick or tired, if you always do your best there is no way you can judge yourself. And if you don’t judge yourself there is no way you are going to suffer from guilt, blame, and self-punishment. By always doing your best, you will break a big spell that you have been under.” pg 85.

This was another big one for me. I used to get down on myself about how circumstances played out even if I had nothing to do with it. Now, I just pause and give it a quick think over, “Did I try my best?” Generally, yeah, I was trying my guts out.

And that’s all I can ask of myself, really. I can’t control the uncontrollable, I can only do the best I can with what I’ve got in front of me.

The Four Agreements may help readers live in the now and experience life as it is rather than as they’ve imagined it to be. At least, that’s what it has done for me. Also recommended for readers who may be interested in spirituality but want a easy place to start. This one is simple and packs a big punch in a very few pages.

Thanks for reading!

The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes

The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes
theshininggirls

A killer travels through time picking his victims and leaving mementos behind.

I thought I’d venture outside of my comfort zone with The Shining Girls and I certainly managed that. It was far too gory and violent for me.

The trouble is that almost half of the story is told from the killer’s point of view. The reader gets a front row seat at the crimes, usually immediately after a series of passages describing the girl so that an emotional connection is formed with the victim.

I was on a run listening to the audiobook… now, let me be honest. I was on a mildly taxing walk listening to the audiobook and I had to turn it off when he attacked Kirby. It was simply too much with all of the horror, violence and the bit with the animal too.

Perhaps if I had been reading a physical book, I could have skimmed the awful bits. But even then, I think it would be safe to say that this was not the book for me.

I was really excited when Beukes introduced the reader to the newsroom of the Chicago newspaper. Her description of the reporter’s cubes all stacked up on one another with the sports and feature writers off to the side was eerily accurate to where I work.

I also enjoyed the interactions between Dan and Kirby- those two were snappy and fun.

Overall though, the gore of the story was too much for me. Only recommended for readers who can handle that type of thing.

Thanks for reading!

Etiquette & Espionage (Finishing School #1) by Gail Carriger

Etiquette & Espionage (Finishing School #1) by Gail Carriger
etiquette

A cute, young adult book with a steampunk theme that takes place at a “finishing” school which isn’t about etiquette at all.

I made the mistake of reading this without realizing that it was based in a world from another series of books. I’m guessing that I would have enjoyed it more if I had read the other set first.

Etiquette and Espionage had plenty of fun moments in it. One of my favorites is when Sophronia inexplicably claims that werewolves enjoy the theater. From one of the other books? I’m assuming so. But it sounds legit.

I also loved when one of the students bemoans the fact that she doesn’t believe she’ll ever be able to kill anyone and the teacher comforts her with the fact that she may never have to. What a relief.

But funny moments do not a story make. The plot centers around Sophronia’s introduction to a world filled with spies that she didn’t know existed, the concealment of a highly desirable piece of equipment that has something to do with wireless technology, and, of course, fashion.

It is funny, frivolous and frothy. I found that I wanted more substance. Recommended for a light summer read around the pool and, perhaps, you may want to read The Parasol Protectorate series first, starting with Soulless.

Thanks for reading!

Ink and Bone (The Great Library #1) by Rachel Caine

Ink and Bone (The Great Library #1) by Rachel Caine
inkandbone

In Ink and Bone, knowledge and power is the name of the game.

“The Library holds itself to be the keeper of both knowledge and wisdom, but it is not true. So much should never be held in the hands of so few, for it is a natural, venal habit of men to hold to power. And knowledge is the purest form of power.” pg 51

Printed books, called originals, are now highly prized and illegal to own without a dispensation from the Library. The Library is an entity without borders as powerful as the church or a country, with soldiers and animated machines called automatons, protecting its buildings, holdings and librarians.

Not everyone follows the Library’s restrictions and a black market has formed for books. Jess and his family of smugglers runs and sells books at great threat to life and limb. Other factions also resist the Library. They’re called Burners and they destroy books with Greek fire, a dangerous and deadly concoction that burns flesh as easily as paper.

“The original scroll had been destroyed by a Burner at the Alexandrian Library ages ago, but there had been one copy made. … Owning it carried a death penalty. When you steal a book, you steal from the world, the Library propaganda said, and Jess supposed it might be true.” pg 22, ebook.

Jess’ smuggler father decides that he needs eyes and ears on the inside of the most powerful institute in the world, so he arranges an opportunity for Jess to join the Library. And that is where this story really begins.

The beginning of Ink and Bone bothered me because of its obvious parallels to Harry Potter. A promising young boy on his way to a magical school boards a train and meets a slightly bumbling, shy boy and the smartest girl in his class. But after that cliche “train introduction”, the story improves.

While reading this story, I was reminded of the divide between those who love holding traditional books in their hands and ebook readers. The Library has discovered a magical method to use tablets and change the words on the page, very similar to ebooks: “Do you agree it should be wrong to own original works?” Of course, Jess knew he ought to say; it was the standard answer. The Library was never wrong. But something made him say, “I’m not sure.” That woke a glint in Wolfe’s eyes. “Why not?” “I’d like to hold one,” Jess said, quite honestly. “To feel the weight and history of it in my hands. A blank can’t be the same, sir.” “No,” Wolfe agreed. “A blank is a poor, pale imitation, though the words are arranged in precisely the same order; it is the difference between an idea and a physical thing.” pg 61, ebook. I enjoy both books and ebooks, but I can see why a reader would prefer one over another.

I enjoyed the general ideas of this book, but between the warring factions, actual wars, magic, alchemy, Library history, twin brother, character backgrounds, book burners or eaters, teenage romance and angst, the story lost its cohesiveness. Caine could have written three different stories with the material contained in one.

Beyond simplifying the story elements, I just couldn’t get over the fact that the librarians weren’t good guys. Yes, I’m biased. 🙂 But every librarian I’ve ever known has been a guardian of knowledge, not gate-keeping tyrants.

Recommended for readers who enjoy their young adult fantasy a little scattered and who are open to the idea of sinister librarian-types.

Sons of Ares (Sons of Ares, #1) by Pierce Brown

Sons of Ares (Sons of Ares, #1) by Pierce Brown
sonsofares

A comic that claims is going to give us the backstory of the Sons of Ares. But, in this entry, it just rehashes what goes on in the Gold school with an intro and conclusion teaser.

For anyone who hasn’t had the chance to read Red Rising, you’d need that backstory. For someone like me, who has, I wanted more new details. I didn’t get them.

I suspect that these comics, another coming out in June, are whetting the appetites of readers for the 2018 debut of Iron Gold. (Can’t wait, by the way.)

The art is beautiful but not breath-taking or highly stylized like Monstress, Vol. 1: Awakening.

The story takes place in a world I’ve come to love. But, it was only 32 pages and that was not enough.

On the other hand, I actually bought this comic. I wasn’t patient enough to recommend it for purchase at the library and then wait to see if they picked it up. I had to have it NOW. That says something for how much I love it. Having worked as a librarian, I take my book purchasing very seriously.

If you’re not a die-hard fan like me, you may want to wait until the libraries get their hands on it. As I said, this entry doesn’t give the reader much beyond a small window into Brown’s world. If you’re satisfied with crumbs, buy it now.

Thanks for reading!