Review: John Dies at the End by David Wong

Title: John Dies at the End
Author: David Wong
Genre: Paranormal, horror, humor, fantasy, sci-fi, adult
Published: 2007
Source: Kindle loan

This book is a bit of a cult classic, originally published online then turned into a print book. It was completely trippy and the strangest book I have ever read. I'm also pretty sure it could almost be classified as "bizarro."

John and David, two college dropouts and beer connoisseurs living in Undisclosed, have gotten involved in some heavy stuff. The drug is called Soy Sauce, and their lives are forever changed the instant they first take it. The drug causes intense hallucinations, time travel, and visits to various dimensions. Once taken, your life will be permanently altered and filled with terror. The world is counting on them to destroy the monsters and creatures that appear . . .

Erm, okay, so . . . this book was so completely all over the place, it's a bit hard to classify. Instead, I'll tell you that it has a little bit of everything: sci-fi and fantasy aspects with the time travel and dimension traveling, horror and paranormal aspects with the monsters and creatures, humor with the character's personalities and strange one-liners . . . and the list could go on. I felt quite disoriented while reading, and vaguely confused the entire time. I think that's an expected reaction with this book, though.

The story kind of dragged at times which bummed me out, but then at other times it ran through at a rapid pace. I'd have to say I liked David, who narrated, because he was kind of a jackass, and I enjoyed John too, because he was kind of a smartass. For the most part, this book isn't actually scary, it's more humorous and just plain strange than anything else.

This is book is NOT for everyone. In fact, it's for a very small audience. I'm a big Chuck Palahniuk fan, and I thought his stuff was weird . . . well that's nothing compared to this story. So, if you decide to read it, be prepared to be weirded out, grossed out, and completely confused. You'll kind of feel like you're on the Soy Sauce yourself. Hmm . . .

My Rating: 3/5

I love you.

Ohhhh bloggy friends... you just melt my heart. Yesterday, I was feeling a little down blog-wise and you all came swooping in with love and good cheer. Your comments made me smile and each and every one cheered me right up. I'm glad to know I'm not alone.

So, awhile back, I wrote a mushy blog post to all my bloggy friends... and I'm about to get all mushy on your ass again, so here goes!

As I've mentioned before, I'm an extremely shy and introverted person. I've always been a little awkward, particularly in social settings, and for that reason, I choose to spend much of my time alone with my nose in a book. Don't get me wrong - I have a really wonderful small, close-knit group of friends who mean the world to me and whom I adore, but other than that, I'm not incredibly social. I've never been that person with a ton of friends, just my core group of four best friends, a few others, and that's it. And I'm okay with that. In fact, I'm more than okay with that. I'd rather have a few good friends than a lot of meaningless acquaintances... and that's how I feel about blogging too...

I've met some of the most incredible, stupendous, amazing, fabulous people I know through blogging (and by meet, I mean forming online friendships since I've never actually met any of you person, but I do hope that will change some day!). Aaaand I adore you. So much. A lot of people who aren't part of an online community don't understand, but you guys are such a huge part of my life. It's like... I live this life in which I go to school, I work, I hang out and whatnot, but then there's this other part of my life that's just so... amazing... and it's you all, and my blogging life in general, and I can't imagine life without this world now... this world which us book enthusiasts have created in which we share our passion and friendships with each other. You guys get me like no one else. You get when I can't resist buying more books, when everyone else in my life just thinks I'm crazy or that my habit is annoying. You get that some book characters feel like my real friends. You get that it's normal to laugh or cry or smile when reading something you really love. You guys get me. Thank you.

You guys... you made me want to cry yesterday with all of your kind words and love, but I just smiled instead and realized how lucky I am to know you.

Here's to you, my friends. Thank you for being a part of my life.

Accepting Myself as a Blogger

I've felt some inner conflict for a while about my blog. I love my blog, I'm proud of my blog, and I love my blog friends. The conflict comes from me not feeling like a success as a blogger. I've been at this now since September 2009, and yet I see SO many bloggers who've been blogging WAY less time than I have, with WAY more readers than I have. This gets me down sometimes and I have to remind myself: I started this blog without any expectations, never anticipating I would ever have anyone reading or commenting, and I started it for ME. I constantly have to remind myself. When I began this journey, it was to track my reading and I started it for no one else.

What I've realized is that I'm not like a lot of other bloggers, and I'm okay with that. While I'm dedicated to my blog, I certainly don't blog every day like many people do, and I don't participate in a single meme. Why? Because I'm just being me. And that's okay. For me, my blog is mostly about book reviews and not much else. So what if these things mean I don't have a thousand followers? Do I have dreams of someday reaching that? Of course I do! And I still feel down sometimes and discouraged, but I'm trying not to. I read kind of slowly (usually 3-6 books a month) so I can't do as many reviews as other people, but that's okay, isn't it? Some people can speed read, but not me. I prefer to be able to slowly read a book and I often flip back pages just to double check on details. I'm accepting this now, too. I'm just trying to be genuine and true to me. I can't compete and that's okay. It's not a competition. Maybe I'm on the outskirts of the blogging world, but this is my blog and my world and I'm proud of what I have accomplished. I need to focus on the things I have rather than the things I have not.

I d0n't know exactly what the purpose of this post is. Much of it isn't coherent. Ah, well. Maybe I'm just trying to get my feelings out and say that just because I'm not posting every single day doesn't mean I'm not around - I am. I'm here and I plan on staying awhile.

Review: Brains by Robin Becker

Title: Brains: A Zombie Memoir
Author: Robin Becker
Genre: Zombie, humor, adult fiction
Publication: 2010
Source: Library

Summary: Jack Barnes is a college professor turned zombie. There's something special about him though... unlike most zombies, he can think and write. He also believes that zombies and humans can live peacefully together. With that thought in mind, he takes off across the country to find Howard Stein, the creator of the zombie virus. Along the way, he meets several other unique zombies, including Ros, who can speak, and Joan, who stitches fellow zombies back together. Together, they trek across across the country, searching for equality... and always their next meal... brains.

My Thoughts: This was certainly a unique twist on the zombie genre which I've come to love in recent months. In fact, I'd go so far as to say this was literary zombie fiction. It wasn't all blood and guts, though it did include a lot of both. It was smart too, and satirical. The story is mostly about Jack, trying to find his place in the world now that the world, and himself, have both changed drastically. He understands that zombies are different, and that they aren't accepted (because they eat HUMANS!), but he strives to change all that and he chronicles the journey in his memoir. The zombies in this story garnered friendships, felt emotions such as friendship and animosity, and schemed plenty too. Not only did they crave brains, they HAD brains too.

All that said, I thought this book was pretty funny at times. Not 'laugh out loud' funny, but silly and fun. It was incredibly original and interesting. Despite all of this, I didn't LOVE the book. I did enjoy it for the most part, but felt that it could be a bit slow moving at times, and wasn't as developed as it could have been. I liked the characters, particularly Ros, the speaking zombie who had some pretty good one-liners, but would have liked to see more character development, maybe a little more back story for some of them.

I'd recommend this one if you're a zombie fan looking for something different.

My Rating: 3/5

Giveaway: THE EDUCATION OF HAILEY KENDRICK - 3 Winners!

Hi everyone. I am so fortunate to be able to offer up this fantastic and exciting giveaway from Simon and Schuster. The giveaway is for THE EDUCATION OF HAILEY KENDRICK, and there will be THREE winners!

Here's the fineprint:

• Please be a Google Friend Connect follower, either old or new.
• Please live in the USA, for shipping purposes.
• Please leave a comment with your e-mail address if you'd like to enter.
• You can earn extra entries by helping me spread the word via Twitter, blog post, etc. Please leave the links for each of these in separate comments.
• Giveaway ends February 1. Winners will be drawn randomly via random.org.
  

Good luck, all! :D I'm really excited for this book. It looks amazing.

It's My Birthday!

Today's my birthday! I'm 22! I can't believe I'm that old already. Yikes. I'm going back to the library book sale in a bit. I went the other day and got about 40 books. Today is the last day though, so they always do $3/bag. Then, my family and I are going out to dinner tonight for Mexican. That's about all I've got going on today.

Author Guest Post and Giveaway: C. Lee McKenzie on Writer Misconceptions

C. Lee McKenzie is the author of The Princess of Las Pulgas. I'm pleased to have her here today to talk about a very interesting topic. I asked her, 'what are some common misconceptions people have about writers?'

"This is a tough topic because I have no idea what other people’s misconceptions are about writers. I do have the memory of my own misconceptions. Before I started writing novels, when someone would say, “I’m a writer” I used to lump them into this package of spectacled-tweed attired-intellectuals. But since I’ve met many writers in person and had the chance to talk to them about all things (writing, hobbies, family, life in general) I discovered that they are as diverse a population as any I can imagine. Since I had this misconception, it’s likely that others have similar ones.

Another misconception I used to have was that writing was a natural talent. While talent helps and is certainly important, practice is just as important. There are a lot of talented writers out there who never stick with the task of finishing or following through to publication. I recently read this quote by Richard Bach: “ A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit.” That’s the truth.

If you write one book and publish it, then you can write others and have them published too. Huge misconception. Some of us have one book inside us. Others have many. Some have the stamina and the desire to continue after book one and others say, “That’s enough.” I’m in awe of writers who produce hundreds of good books, and I wonder how many I’ll be able to write and see through the process.

One thing is sure about this writing business. No two books are created alike. That’s another misconception that went flying out the window after I entered into this career. I assumed I’d write book two using the same strategies as I did for book one. That absolutely did not happen."

*GIVEAWAY*

I have one new copy of this book to give away to one lucky U.S. Google Friend Connect follower. Please comment below with your e-mail address if you'd like to win. You can earn one extra entry by spreading the word via Twitter, blog post, etc. Please leave the link for that in a separate comment. The giveaway will end on January 27th. Good luck!

Netgally Help Wanted!

I just got my Kindle and also got my first three Netgalley books approved, just days after they sent the e-mail that the Kindle feature is temporarily disabled. :( Does anyone know... is there ANY way to get them onto the Kindle right now, or is it just all a waiting game? I have three amazing books just waiting to be read, but I don't want to read them on the computer, so I'm hoping the Kindle feature is back up and running soon.

Review: Dear Sparkle by Sparkle

"Sparkle" is a feline columnist who dispenses advice to fellow cats and has been likened to Dear Abby for cats. Dear Sparkle is a book full of her advice columns, where other cats have written to her with their cat-like problems, such as problems with pet sitters, and getting their owners to play with them at 3 AM (the BEST time to play for cats). When I saw this book, I knew I had to read it. I am a huge cat lover and have three of my own fur babies.

I thought this book was cute and funny. It's extremely clever and sounds as though it really was written by a cat. I can completely relate this to my own cats, who like to run around all crazy-like in the middle of the night, and who unravel rolls of toilet paper.

The book is filled with 70 full length questions and answers, "Sparkle Says" tips sprinkled throughout, and full color photographs of Sparkle and other cats, to go along with the corresponding advice columns.

It's a small book with nice, slick pages, and would make a great gift for cat lovers. I thought it was really funny and am going to pass it along to my mom and some other cat lovers to read.

Sparkle even has her own website with more advice and fun postings! I'll be browsing around there for sure!

Source: Pump Up Your Book

KINDLE!!! Tips, tricks, advice?

I got my new Kindle today! *SQUEEEE* Below you will find a low quality photo of me, my large, round face, and said Kindle. Its name? "Steph's Kindle." I know, clever, right? Funny story, I called Kindle support for something, and the guy said he would register it for me. When I saw the name, it read "Stephs Kindle," and I was quite horrified. NO APOSTROPHE?! Thank heavens, I was able to edit the name. *phew* Crisis averted.
So now I ask you, my wonderful bookish friends, if you have any tips, tricks, or advice for the Kindle, please enlighten me. I would appreciate your help for I am a a Kindle n00b. I already have about 60 books on there. Most of them were free. Two of them I bought for $2.99. Pretty excellent.

Dust Jackets and Naked Books

I've been anxiously awaiting the arrival of my newest Barnes and Noble order because it included Fragile by Lisa Unger, a book I've been dying to read.

Well, it arrived today and it was NAKED! I knew it was used because I bought it from one of the B&N authorized sellers, but he made no mention that there would be no dust jacket, and I am peeved. It totally squelched my excitement. I would have bought a different copy had I known. Bad bookseller! I don't understand what could have happened to the cover either. I've gotten a few books in the past that are naked, and it doesn't make any sense to me. Where do people put the damn jackets?

Yes, I obviously can and will still read the book. In fact, I usually take dust jackets off while I'm reading, but then it goes right back on. Because a dust jacket is important! It's going to look weird on my shelf, plus, I like to read the inside flaps. I'm so disappointed... so upset. :( I wish I was kidding, but I'm not.

So uhhh, does anyone know where I can get a dust jacket for Fragile? Anyone? Anyone?

What do YOU think about dust jackets?

Review: Simply From Scratch by Alicia Bessette

Title: Simply From Scratch
Author: Alicia Bessette
Genre: Contemporary fiction, women's fiction, adult
Published: 2010
Source: Crazy Book Tours

Dare I say this is book perfection? Simply From Scratch is a flawless debut. I never wanted it to end, and nothing was going to stop me from reading it, not even obnoxious yelling football freaks in my living room who would normally distract (read: bother) me immensely. I sat beside them and read away, completely disconnecting from the world around me and falling in love with the incredible cast of characters.

Zell is a young widow. Her husband, Nick, died on a mission trip to New Orleans to help rebuild after the hurricane, and Zell has been lonely, miserable, and depressed for over a year now. Her Greyhound, Ahab, is the only thing that brings her any happiness. She avoids the kitchen, the attic, and fixing the car because they all remind her of Nick. One day, though, fate steps in, and she reads about Polly Pinch's Desserts That Warm the Soul contest, where the winner receives a chance to appear on the Polly Pinch show, Pinch of Love Live, and $20,000 - the exact amount Nick wanted to raise for the people of New Orleans. She decides she must enter, despite her lack of culinary skills (cooking was Nick's job), and win the prize money for Nick and New Orleans. Baking alongside her is her spunky nine year old neighbor, Ingrid, whose in mostly high spirits, despite growing up without her mom, whom she believes is the TV personality and cook extraordinaire, Polly Pinch. Together, they concoct tons of recipes, with Ingrid desperate to meet Polly Pinch, and Zell desperate to win the prize money to donate. Along the way, we encounter a number of people who are enmeshed in Zell's life, and are trying to help her cope with her tragic loss. Friends, family, and most of all, Ingrid, help Zell rediscover life and live again.

So, let's start with Zell. I loved her. Her heartbreak was palpable through the pages. Without Nick, she's turned into an empty shell just floating through life. Once in a while, though, her spark shines through, like when she speaks in "pirate" to Ahab. I felt her tremendous sense of loss and desperation. I wanted her hurt to go away. I felt like I knew her.

Also, Ingrid. Oh my goodness, Ingrid. Could I adore her any more? I really don't think so. What an incredible little character she was, and SO full of life. She says things like, "wicked cool," and refers to Zell as "woman" quite frequently. She's a little spitfire, full of determination and love.

The other characters were amazing too, but I really loved Zell and Ingrid. This story was SO great. It was sad, beautiful, and full of hope. It had my emotions running in high gear, and I STRONGLY recommend it. This was my first read of 2011, and I can already say it'll be one of my favorites of the year. I am nothing less than smitten with it.

My Rating: 5/5

Sounds Like Crazy by Shana Mahaffey

Title: Sounds Like Crazy
Author: Shana Mahaffey
Genre: Contemporary fiction, adult
Published: 2009
Source: Pump Up Your Book

Holly is a young woman living in NYC who has Dissociative Identity Disorder, and lives with five other personalities in her head, whom she collectively calls The Committee. Betty Jane, a charming Southern vixen of sorts, is the leader of The Committee and has a sizable amount of control over Holly and the other personalities.

Holly's been working various dead-end waitressing jobs, and continues to be fired from them, has a dysfunctional and disconnected relationship with her parents, and has no friendships or decent relationships to speak of. She spends most of her time at home with The Committee, and spends some time in therapy too. Opportunity comes knocking though, when Betty Jane reveals herself during Holly's waitressing, and lands Holly a voice-over job for a new show with Betty Jane's Southern drawl.

A lot of the second half of the novel is spent with Holly having to dig into her past and traumatic childhood to find out why her personality has split into five different directions.

I really enjoy psychology and reading about various disorders, so this book was interesting to read. Despite its seriousness, it is also filled with some humor and wit. It's fascinating to read about how Holly's various personalities seem to shove her aside at their will and take over her body, especially the manipulative Betty Jane. She even has conversations with them, often garnering strange looks from tourists. The various "characters" in this novel are extremely interesting, and quite endearing too. Holly uncovers her traumatic childhood which reveals where each of the five characters originated, each as some sort of coping mechanism. While the book was interesting, it didn't completely capture me, and I felt a bit disconnected from the story at times.

People with an interest in psychology, contemporary fiction, and strong characterization will be drawn to this story.

My Rating: 3.5/5

Review: Eviction Earth by T.C. Pannone

Title: Eviction Earth
Author: T.C. Pannone
Genre: Sci-fi, fantasy, adult fiction
Published: Expected publication in 2011
Source: For review, from author

Summary: The moon has been destroyed by an asteroid, and the earth is quickly becoming uninhabitable. The government devises a plan to evacuate earth, and move everyone onto Mars, where they believe life will be sustained. Kal Cyrano and his family are expected to contribute to the mass evacuation by building rockets with most everyone else in preparation for the flight to Mars. However, when heavy earthquakes begin, the plan to leave the planet is quickly made impossible. Kal refuses to sit and wait for the earth to demolish, and attempts to find another means of survival, which he finds, by chance, underground, in a hidden civilization.

My Thoughts: I'm not much of a sci-fi reader, but when T.C. approached me about his book, the premise sounded quite intriguing. One thing you probably don't know about me is that I have a fascination with space and the universe (oh, and dinosaurs too). I was a bit apprehensive about reading this, as I typically think of sci-fi to be quite heavy and hard to read, but I was pleasantly surprised. Eviction Earth was highly accessible to both sci-fi fans and non-fans like myself. It was written in a simple enough manner that I had no issues following the storyline at all. The story was exciting, frightening, and thrilling. I wanted to keep turning the pages to find out what would happen to Kal and his family, and most importantly, planet Earth. It really got me thinking about scary situations like the one that took place in this book. The universe is so unknown and mysterious that we never really know what's happening out there.

The first half of the book was very sci-fi oriented, discussing the moon's demise and the evacuation to Mars, whereas the second half seemed to turn into more of a fantasy novel, with a hidden civilization and strange people inhabiting it. This is T.C. Pannone's first sci-fi novel, so while the writing is nowhere near perfect, it's a fascinating story and a strong debut. This book is not to be missed for fans of sci-fi and fantasy.

My Rating: 3.5/5

Kindle and Netgalley?

Hey guys, just wondering if you knew any information about using Netgalley with the Kindle.

• Does it cost money when it sends the book to your Kindle?
• Do you only have the book for a certain amount of time on the Kindle?
• Are there any sort of time limits or restrictions?

Thank you for your help! I'll be getting the Kindle3 in two weeks for my birthday.

Review: Comfort and Joy by Kristin Hannah

Title: Comfort and Joy

Author: Kristin Hannah
Genre: Adult fiction, Christmas
Published: 2005
Source: Library

Summary: Joy's life has turned upside down. She found her husband and sister in bed together, and now they're getting married and having a baby. Since her life is in upheaval, she decides to step away from it all, at least for the holidays. She boards a plane for Hope, which inexplicably crashes and blows up, right after she walks away from it. Finding herself in an unknown town, she stumbles across an old fishing lodge where she meets Bobby, a young boy who believes in magic, and his father Daniel, a recently widowed man. While her and Bobby instantly connect, Daniel seems aloof and disinterested at best. Soon, Joy realizes things aren't what they seem, and that maybe she should believe in magic too.

My Thoughts: Though this was categorized as a Christmas book, I think it could really be enjoyed any time of the year. I sort of guessed the "surprise" midway through the book, as less than subtle hints were often dropped, but I still found myself racing through to the end to discover how it would all turn out. I enjoyed this story tremendously, and especially liked that Joy was a librarian! Woohoo! I was so frustrated at times with her sister and ex-husband, and Joy's eventual attempt at forgiveness. I understand it was Christmas and all, but it was such a nasty betrayal! Ah, well. I really liked her connection with Bobby, who struggled a great deal during his first Christmas without his mother, and a father with whom he'd lost his connection. He latched onto Joy, and their relationship was really sweet. They found each other during a time when they each needed someone the most. I also really enjoyed the fantastical elements of this story. I went into it expecting a realistic read, but was pleasantly surprised by the magic of the story. All in all, this was a really nice story about love, hope, and forgiveness. It's also about believing in the power of magic.

My Rating: 4/5