The Oakdale Dinner Club by Kim Moritsugu

I'm so excited to be the first half of the day before I get a follow back on my way home and watch movies with my life and the other hand is the only thing that would have to go back and I don't think that I have a great way of the day before I get a follow back.....

Sorry, I was just wondering what text the iPad would produce if I choose the middle option guesstimate. Looks like computers won't be writing books for us just yet. But if you broke it up in just the right spots, it might make intriguing poetry. Not that this has anything to do with this week's book.

Or maybe it does. One of the characters has a little bit of writers block and when you are staring at a blank blog post, not knowing where to start, a little inspiration is more than welcome. 

As for The Oakdale Dinner Club, it was a fun book. Sort of a what people feel about marriage after 20 years in. The main character, Mary Ann, the creator of the club, discovered that her husband had an affair with a co-worker and decides she wants to have one too. She decides the club would be a good way to ease herself into the dating pool and to vet possible fling options. 

That leads us into a whole cast of characters that make-up the club.  Like Alice, a single mom, who is not the marrying kind but it has been 4 years since she's hooked-up and perhaps it's time to make a connection. Or Sam, a stay-at-home dad who is trying to write his first novel and in a marriage that is not doing all that well. Like I said, this book is fun and airy and if you're not looking for deep angst, this is the book for you.

It is never too late to figure out who you are and if unhappy, make a change. I know I can relate some days.

Some other reviews of The Oakdale Dinner Club:
National Post
CBC
Sukasa Reads

Strangers in Paradise Volumes 1-6 by Terry Moore

This is a review two to three years in the making.




I'm not sure when I started reading Strangers in Paradise but I loved them so much, I had to take a break before reading the last in the series. Once I finished volume 6, it would be all over. I knew Terry closed off the series at the end of volume six. I didn't want to live in a world where there was no more SiP left to read. Perhaps it was a holdover from the shock of no more Harry Potter but still, it would have been a sad state.

Strangers in Paradise was a long running comic book brought together in graphic novel form. Mostly it is about love and loss and all our crazy issues that keep ourselves from finding our true happiness. Katchoo is secretly in love with her best friend Francine who is with a horrible guy named Freddie. Katchoo meets art fan, David, and he seems to have a thing for Katchoo to give us a lovely love triangle. Then we find out that Katchoo has a mafia past and in the next six volumes, it all plays out in so many different and surprising ways. It felt a little soap opera in parts but it was written at a time when the mere idea of these complications of love would never have dared been breathed on national television. Not to mention, the story was told in a semi-nonlinear fashion that really appeals to me.

Moore trusts his audience to have a brain and isn't afraid to craft his story around that notion. He drew all the art himself and I love how much he mixes up styles to match the scene. Frantic, intense moments are drawn with a quick lack of detail that hurry you to the next panel. Quiet moments make you want to pause and take in all the detail that he has provided on that single page before moving on. I realize that is likely graphic artist 101 but it never gets tired.  He mixes light and dark and never wastes either to make his statement. The scariest part is his ability to write women so well that everyone should be able to find a character they identify with or wished they were.

So now my beloved SiP is all over. Surprisingly, you can choose to hold onto the last volume for three years and jump right back in as if you read the previous five just last week. As much as I liked having that one volume left to read and hold onto, a person has to move on. I'm sure I'll find something else to love just as much and I can always revisit my books any time I need a Katchoo fix.

Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner

Rainy Sunday. Perfect for reading and then posting about it.


Certain Girls is the sequel to Jennifer's big hit Good in Bed. Both of which I've borrowed from women at work and they make good pass around books. Also, they are quick reads and perfect for summer. I read Good in Bed before I started this reviewing books for fun thing. That is too bad because I'd have liked to go back and review what I'd felt about that book. Not really sure how I feel about this one.

Let's start with the story, the story centers around Candace and Joy, 12 years after the ending of the first book. Cannie is a stay at home mom who writes professional fanfic based on a sci-fi/fantasy movie under a pen name. She is super mom extraordinaire. Joy is a typical kid trying to break away from her overprotective mom, trying to fit-in with the popular kids at school, and trying to figure out who she is. In a lot of ways, she is a younger version of Cannie and it makes you wonder if you ever do figure it out. Lots of things happen and everyone learns something by the end.

I really do like these books while I'm reading them. They are so light and fluffy and fun and have a sharp wit, you don't want to see them end. They are not books I'd recommend to everyone but they are great to pass around to the girls at work book club or to anyone who enjoys books about mother/daughter relationships. Unfortunately, I do have a little bit of a guilty feeling afterwards. Like eating french fries instead of ordering the salad that was so helpfully offered as a healthy alternative. Oh well, I'll try to find a salad book next time.

Perhaps this conflicted feeling is because of what happened in the book. I really don't want to give that away but it really made me sad. Sad. Sad is such an odd word, like it only belongs to 4 year olds who don't know how to articulate how they really feel but it is an accurate description. I guess, as one of the centers of Cannie's happiness is taken away, it made me just as unhappy in direct proportion to how happy it made me when she found it in Good in Bed.

Bad things happen to people and life goes on. The book does end on a happy note so no worries if you were planning on taking this one to the beach.

Julie & Julia by Julie Powell

Yeah, I know it is has been forever since I’ve finished anything. I’m sure I feel worse about it than you do but I’m starting to accept the fact that the brain is turning to mush. I just can’t wait for the day when I won’t care.

Perhaps that is why Julie & Julia is a perfect book for summer mush brain. It is another blog turned book chronicling the Julie/Julia project. One unhappy woman, stuck in annoying temp job, decides to learn how to cook French food by working her way through Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Vol. 1. The real challenge: she will make all 524 recipes in one year. Every last one of them, even the aspics.

Aspics... I never thought I’d find anything more disgusting than calf brains as a culinary delight. The descriptions and the pain and horror Julie went through to complete that section of the cookbook set the bar pretty high. If you are like me and not an experienced French food connoisseur, aspic is where you take ingredients and place them into gelatin made out of meat stock. It’s jelly loaf. For some reason, it is the gelatin part I have a problem with. Why would you do that to perfectly good food? Jell-O should only be cherry flavoured and you should never add stuff to it (other than a dollop of whip cream if you are feeling fancy.) Now that I’ve got off my chest, after reading this book, I can respect the work that would go into a dish like that. If I should ever see one again, I won’t dismiss it out of hand and keep the shivers to a dull minimum.

I started the book about a couple weeks before the movie came out and was having problems getting through it but after seeing the movie this week, it helped encourage me to finish the last half. For the first time in the history of cinema, a movie actually compliments the book it was based on. The movie was great to give us more of Julia Child’s story, her life with Paul, her cooking, and her time in Paris. The book was great because it gave us more of Julie’s story, her life with Eric, her day job, her friends/family, and motivation on why would someone put themselves through something like this. You could read it as a post-September 11th look at New York and a piece of the emotional state of its citizens. Or if that is too deep for a summer read, one woman’s challenge to find her bliss brought on by impending dread of turning 30.

Personally, I’m really not a fan of cooking so I really shouldn’t even be reviewing this book. My general motto: can’t wait until all our nutritional requirements come in pill form. But I do like trying new food and restaurants so it has added to my appreciation in that sense.

Still staying away from aspics. Shiver.

Something Borrowed and Something Blue by Emily Giffin

This is a double review. Something Borrowed is one book and Something Blue is the second and both by the same author. I borrowed both from a friend at work and read them both back to back. Seemed silly to do two reviews when they are both so intertwined.

Something Borrowed, the first book, tells the story of Rachel, a lawyer in New York who discovers she is in love with her best friend’s fiancé. Rachel is the type who is smart, bookish, and has always played by the rules. In a lot of ways, she has always played second fiddle to her best friend Darcy who is beautiful and has always had guys falling over themselves to be with her. So she finds her world turned upside down when on the night of her 30th birthday party, she starts having an affair with Dex. Dex is a fellow lawyer, they went to school together and she was the one to introduce Dex to Darcy. The big question becomes, does she follow her heart and risk losing her oldest friend in the process? It is a bit more complicated than that.

Something Blue, the other book, tells the story of Darcy, a PR Rep who has just had to cancel her wedding to Dex and finds out that she is pregnant with another man’s baby. Yep, not only was Rachel and Dex having an affrair but Darcy and Marcus, Dex’s college roommate and groomsman from the ill-fated wedding, were getting a little on the side as well. Darcy has always traded on her looks to get what she wants and can’t understand how her world has been turned upside down by finding herself alone for the first time ever and with a baby on the way. She decides to travel to London and move in with an old childhood friend to get her life back on track. But what she valued in the past doesn’t seem to be working for her anymore. Is it possible for her to make a change or will she fall back on old patterns that focused on image and material things over substance?

Personally, I found Something Blue more interesting to read over Something Borrowed. Something Borrowed was more about fretting about what was going on than anything actually going on. And to be honest, when Rachel goes to London to visit Ethan, I didn’t really understand why she didn’t stay and hook up with him. He was the most appealing male character in the series and was glad to see him return for a second time around. Darcy, as a character, was a little more fascinating to read as I had so little in common with her.

As fluff books go, it wasn’t the best I’ve ever read but still fun.

Working Stiff by Grant Stoddard

Smirk.

In some ways, I should just leave it at that. But I won’t. I can’t.

Just when you think you’re a mature individual and gotten over any possible embarrassment over buying a book about a guy’s sexual exploits, you get comments from an over friendly sales associate. The ever so kind cashier gave me a little smirk while he was placing it in a bag and then had to comment on my choice of purchase. I make some offhand comment about it looking too funny to pass up but on the inside, I’m feeling like I’ve just bought porn and my mother is the one taking my money. And after reading this fun little book, that seems rather fitting.

Basically, Working Stiff is the autobiography of one man’s experience as a columnist for the webzine, Nerve. His assignment was to go out and perform sexual experiments and report back in the form of a high school lab report. He did this for two and some years. And he did everything. Nothing was too weird, deviant, or gross. And you get some of that is this retelling of his life but not really. He didn’t grow up wanting to be a sex reporter, he just wanted to live in America and jumped at a chance that would pay his rent and keep him in the country. He is the everyman thrown into situations that he stumbles his way through. (My favourite would have to be his time at Leather Camp.) What you didn’t get through his old column is his parent’s reaction to his line of work. Or how assignments affected his dating life.

There were a few very explicit scenes and this is definitely not a book I’d recommend for just anyone. The writing style reminded me more of the stuff I’ve read off of the internet than anything I’d read in book form. If you are not used to that, you might find it a little graphic. And the fact that it was non-fiction added a certain sense of surrealism to the text that you wouldn’t accept from a fictionalized story. But it was undeniably funny and I can’t think of a single thing more amusing than sex.

Smirk.

Hot Stuff by By Janet Evanovich and Leanne Banks

Quick review. This story was complete fluff and not that much to talk about. It had a plot that tried to be complicated but it felt much more suited in a novel for teenagers.

Basically, girl is working her butt off going to school and working nights in a bar. Boy comes in and is a cutie but is acting awfully mysterious. Girl’s drag queen roommate takes off and leaves her to look after his rather large and new bullmastiff dog named Beast. Girl knows nothing about dogs and in walks handsome stranger to lend her a hand. But why is tall, dark, and yummy hanging around so much? Can girl trust him? You will have to read the book to find out.

There were some laugh out loud moments and some of the friend scenes reminded me a lot of my friends. So it was a fun read. Sort of like ice cream: I really know that I shouldn’t but darn it, it was tasty eating even if I feel a little guilty afterwards.

The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger

It has been awhile since I’ve written one of these up for general consumption. Not that I haven’t been reading, just some of my reading materials are a little subjective. But no time like the present to get back onto that horse, so to speak. Hopefully this won’t suck too badly. And let’s forget about the movie, shall we? I haven’t seen it yet and I figure I might go next week. Not that I have high expectations but figure this might go easier if we just focus on the book.

Did you ever have one of those never pleased type of bosses? The type who wasn’t happy unless they were causing some type of misery onto someone else? Who was so miserable and vile that they would engineer ways to belittle and humiliate just to make their self feel better? Personally, I haven’t. I had really annoying bosses who wanted to be your friend but you knew you couldn’t trust them as far as you could throw them. Or the type that would freak out about little things but would have no clue about the things that really matter. So I figure I’ve been pretty lucky after this book.

Lauren, straight out of college, is looking for a job. She is a writer and wants to work for a magazine, any magazine that will help her on her way to The New Yorker. Not that she is super ambitious, she just wants to be able to move out of her parent’s house and start her own life. In walks the job opportunity of a lifetime, work for one year as the personal assistant to the editor for the fashion magazine and you can walk your way into any magazine you want to go. The problem, your boss is a real bitch. In every way, shape, and form.

The most interesting part of the book was reading about how evil this woman could be. She would request things but not give enough information to allow you to be able to know what she wanted and when you couldn’t give her what she wanted, she would call you stupid for not being able to read her mind. You were on call 24 hours a day and if anything was needed, you were called, no matter what it was. There was hell to pay if things were not perfect. You may be allowed to see the glamorous side of life but that is from the perspective of following behind after it to clean up. And it makes you wonder how far you can be pushed, what you would be willing to give up for a year, if the price was right.

All that being said, it was an entertaining read for something light and fluffy. Fun reading about how evil someone can be and lucky enough to do so from such a safe distance.

Bah, it was an okay book. Not a great American classic to make it through the ages but fun.

Undead and Unappreciated by Mary Janice Davidson

Back again with a quick read and hopefully a quick review. This one was read in a day so I don’t think this one should take all that long in writing.

Betsy is back and this time, nothing all that much happens. Yeah, I know. I really shouldn’t be all that surprised considering the location you would find this book. This is not all that difficult of a read but it is funny on occasions. In this book, Betsy is not having the most fun in the world, her nightclub is in the red and her employees don’t like the change in management. Not to mention, it gets slipped that she has a long lost sister that she never knew about and it turns out little sis is the spawn of Satan and destined to rule the world.

The only uncomfortable part in this book is the fact that this is another book with a main character’s name as Elizabeth. I’m finding it a little weird, especially when whispered by her dark and handsome consort, Eric Sinclair. The other weird part is that I realized that her name is Elizabeth and her best friend since Junior High’s name is Jessica. This made me think of the Sweet Valley High twins and how this couldn’t be a coincidence. Perhaps it really is but it seemed very weird. I think I’ll have to send a friendly little email to the author and see if I get an answer back. I’ll keep you informed if something comes of it.

I really shouldn’t judge this book on the fact that it isn’t all that deep and difficult or complex. It does have its funny moments and that is all I bought it for. Sometimes you just need a brain break.

The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella

Review by Red Bonney

This was a fun little read. I'm not sure how much of it I missed because it was actually in a Readers Digest condensed book with three others that I probably won't get to or even think about ever again (one of them was a memoir of Bob Dole and I have to say how just the thought of reading that makes me sleepy.) Anyway, whatever it was that was cut out, it didn't seem integral to the main theme of the story.

It begins with Samantha Sweeting, a high powered big City Lawyer trying to "relax" at a day spa, though she's hidden her cell phone and her blackberry under her robe, unbeknownst to her masseur ... until she tries to send a clandestine e-mail. This does not open Samantha's eyes to the fact that she may be spending too much time working, though it does give the reader a bit of insight into the mental processes of our heroine. She's a hopeless workaholic.

Then, through a twist of fate, and on the very day she's about to make partner at a very powerful and prestigious law firm, she is thrown into a tailspin and finds herself miles away from the City and in a small country village where she unwittingly takes a job as a housekeeper. Earlier in the book, it had been proven that Samantha couldn't sew a button on a shirt. Shameful. I had to keep laughing at her thought processes, it almost seemed that she had always lived outside the real world and this was her first trip into it. Her employers also seem a little blind to her ineptitude. Only Nathaniel sees her for what she really is.

The romantic sub-plot, really more than a sub-plot (maybe this is what I missed by reading the condensed version), added to the hilarity, because everyone acts foolish when they first meet someone they're going to fall in love with later. I actually think this story is a morality tale on the dangers of lying and then exaggerating those lies later on when you're too afraid to tell the truth. The truth come will out, and it has the potential to explode in your face. Or throw a cream pie in your face if you're reading comedy.

It's a sweet story, and I say 'sweet' with it's old-fashioned meaning, as in light and slightly honeyed, but I felt the end came too soon. Again, the condensed book syndrome. Then again, it may be the sign of a good book if you don't want it to end. It's the books you can't wait for the end to come that you might want to shelve in an out of the way box in the basement, or sell to your local used bookstore, or release into the wild.

In case I haven't made it clear, I did like this book, and recommend it. I'm quite discerning with the books I rave about, and I don't think I'm raving here. It's a nice light read ... read it with a coffee crisp and you'll be floating home.

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett

No real life crap, just jumping right to the book...


That's how it goes, you think you're on top of the world,
and suddenly they spring Armageddon on you.*

There is so much I want to InCoHerEntLy say about this book.

But first, I have to say that I’m terribly disappointed in an educational system that has kept me from such a book for the last sixteen years. Granted, only about three of those sixteen years were spent in the public education sector. But I believe that to be a big enough window for at least one of my instructors to make an attempt at suggesting the importance of reading it if they had been as well read as they had claimed. Good Omens would have prevented a little late adolescent angst on the religious spectrum. Or, I would like to think it would have.

Please don't start to think that I believe that Good Omens should be considered the end all and be all of spiritual guides for our generation. I'm not that wacked. But it did surprise me in it's depth for what I had just assumed was just a comedy in the same league as Kevin Smith's film, Dogma. (And yes, I liked that movie but those thoughts are best saved for another time and place.)


CAVEAT:
Kids! Bringing about Armageddon can be dangerous.
Do not attempt it in your home.


We really shouldn't get ahead of ourselves but I fear that I will try to describe it and end up making it sound like a summary of a third grade play. A task that is like trying to describe the Bible in fifty words or less... ooohh, a game... let's give it a try... God created the earth, you get a bunch of sin and morality tales. One of the grandest stories in the collection details how God's only son is killed as part of the ineffable Plan. Other stuff happen and then an ending describing Armageddon that would make any fantasy writer proud. The End. ...hmmm... 50 words on the dot but would you read it?

With that in mind and much trepidation, we will give Good Omens a shot: the Antichrist is born and puts into the play the Ineffable Plan of Armageddon. (The real danger of this book is that it makes you want to use the word ‘ineffable’ a lot.) Aziraphale (angel) and Crowley (demon), the true stars of this story, don’t exactly want that to happen as they like Earth just as it is. They team up to attempt to stop all of human existence from ending in one big train wreck. Due to a hospital mix-up, the Antichrist is incorrectly switched at birth and spends the next eleven years growing up in nice Lower Tadfield. So, the end of humanity is scheduled for this Saturday and you can't have the end of time without the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, 90’s style, wearing Hell’s Angels jackets and riding motorcycles. Not to mention witches, Witchfinders, demons, angels, aliens, Tibetans, Americans, etc, etc, etc... all told in a comedic voice so sharp it could be considered brutal if you weren't too busy laughing.

See what I mean? Not so great in the description department but I hope you will read it anyway. Personally, I enjoyed the general sense of doom you feel that is usually only achievable after a morbid “Disaster Recovery Plan” work meeting. Except Good Omens is much funnier than most management seminars not attended by Scott Adams.

It's the type of book that will make you want to crawl inside and see the world the authors are serving up to us. Granted it would not be that different from today's London but it would be interesting to visit Aziraphale's bookshop. That is if you could happen to find it open and withstand the glowering looks of the owner. And although I'm not much of a car lover, it would be fun to take a spin in Crowley's Bentley with Queen belting from the speakers. The story definitely leaves you wanting more and that could explain the fandom that has sprung from just one book published in the long ago days of 1990. The book is also one of the few that would find its way onto my to-be-read-again shelf.

Normally I wouldn't tell people I don't know what to do but if you haven't read Good Omens, go buy it. Or if you have, you should read it again and let the approaching Apocalypse bring a smile to your face. Cheers!

Have a nice doomsday.

*All bolded quotes were written by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, copyrighted 1990, Workman Publishing Company. I would consider it one of the signs of the apocalypse if I could write something with half as much wit.

Amanda's Wedding by Jenny Colgan

My new goal for 2006 is to read at least one book a week. So far, I have finished two books which means I'm on schedule so far. The first finished book of 2006 was Pride and Prejudice and I decided that it was too good to get the InCoHerEnt treatment. Plus, it was a book I had read before so it wasn't as if it was something I was going in fresh with. Not to mention, I had seen the movie... and before that, the BBC mini-series like a million times... and committed to memory Bridget Jone's Diary (the book and the movie...) it has all been said before.

Amanda's Wedding, by Jenny Colgan, is yet another blasted book borrowed from one of the women from work. Geez, at this rate, I will never have to visit the library again.... but then, the unread book pile in my living room is starting to look like some unorganized library stack. I swear, the next book I read is going to be one of mine.

Anyway, back to what I had come here to discuss... Amanda's Wedding is about ... Amanda's wedding. Basically, main character Melanie, who is your typical late 90's twenty-something person out and about London, gets a call from her old friend Amanda. Turns out she is marrying a guy Melanie used to have a crush on but he had no clue. Amanda is not a nice person. She is all about social climbing and looking for the guy to fill the role of husband to take part in the biggest wedding event to hit London society. Melanie and her friends band together to try and put a stop to this travesty.

Fun stuff does happen, and there were some laugh out loud moments. The author, Jenny Colgan, worked as a stand-up comedian to perfect the material for this book (as per the dustcover) and that does come through. Not to mention, there were a few times I wasn't sure what was going to happen. That does not often happen with this type of book. My only gripe is that she didn't end up with the guy I thought she should have. I'll leave it at that because I don't want to ruin that surprise ending for you. But then, I'm sure you can figure it out without any problem. Good luck with that. My only second gripe is that it didn't feel very UKish. You know how you can see something on tv or a movie or read a book and just know it is Canadian or British or whatever just by instinct. I didn't feel that vibe with this book. But then, I believe the author is Scottish so that might have thrown me off a bit.

Walk of Fame by Sharon Krum

Well, it has been awhile since I've sat down to write a review. Most of the blame goes to taking a little break from reading (a collective gasp can be heard from my to-be-read shelf on my right…) but not really. Mostly spending my reading time on stuff I get off the net. There is something comforting reading via my computer screen. If more books were electronic, I wonder if I would be more apt to read them. I suppose it would depend a lot on the price. Just the other day I was wondering if environmental concerns will ever cause books to go digital…. This is so not the reason why I'm sitting here right now so I guess I should get on with it…

Walk of Fame by Sharon Krum is next on the review block. Another book borrowed from a friend at work. She told me about it and it sounded like it had an interesting premise so I figured I should read it. I borrow way too many books (another gasp from the right, this time distinctly sarcastic. Oh shuddap!) It is about this guy, who has been hired by a magazine to stage some stunt, all in the hopes of gaining fame, and then write about the experience. The whole idea is that you don't really have to be special to be famous, you just have to do something stupid and the public will eat it up with a spoon. In comes Alexandra West, Hollywood starlet who wants to make over her image. She agrees to date him in order to be seen as someone who can attract a smart man and he gets to become known as Alexandra's boyfriend all in the name of social experiment.

Well, it turns into one big snowball from hell and yes, I know that metaphor makes no sense whatsoever. Basically, from one little date, his life gets taken over by the media machine. Being famous has some perks but mostly a lot of not-so-great moments like how this is affecting his relationship with his best friend since second grade, Jake. Even though he was able to forgive Jake for stealing his wife, Jake can't seem deal well with the situation.

It was an okay book, slow in some parts but entertaining. I guess the whole moral of the story is to be careful what you wish for because while you might not change, if people's perception of you does, look out cause that is what will rock your world. Not sure if I'd recommend it but I thought it would make an interesting movie.

Derik's Bane by MaryJanice Davidson

Derik's Bane is by MaryJanice Davidson, whom you might remember from the Dead and Unwed and Dead and Unemployed books. Those books where really, really funny. Derik's Bane is funny as well but not everything I wanted it to be.

Derik is a member of the Wyndham werewolf pack and just recently turned alpha. In this reality, packs can only have one alpha at a time. Sometimes, a wolf will turn alpha for no apparent reason. This will lead to either the wolf leaving the pack or a fight to the death for dominance. Michael, the current alpha, is Derik's oldest friend and understandably Derik doesn't want to kill him. In comes the pack's seer. She gets a vision that the world is going to end in a week if Derik doesn't get out there and do something about it. He has to go to California to meet up with Dr. Sara Gunn (PhD in Nursing) because she is the reincarnation of sorceress Morgan Le Fay and the reason behind the earth's destruction. They meet up and go on a road trip to save humanity. Not surprisingly, love is found on the way.

I had some problems with the book. The chapters were too bloody short. A book that is only 298 pages shouldn't be broken up into over 30 chapters. You know, you can combine parts, especially if all the author is doing is jumping to another character's point of view of the same scene. A good way to do this is just leave a couple of blank lines and then have at it. I find it a little jarring always starting a new chapter, especially a book I finished in one night.

Another problem is that all the characters are bloody beautiful and of course, they don't know it. You know, this really gives the beautiful people a bad reputation for being dumb. At least write characters with some self-awareness. Otherwise, it starts to reek of a Danielle Steele heroine.

One last problem and I promise this is the last one I will bitch about tonight. I found that it was all surface and no depth. But then, I'm not sure if that is really a problem of the book or not. Part of the problem is that after reading the last HP novel, which has 6 books worth of depth, it is hard for any other book to compete. The deal is, MaryJanice has created a really cool werewolf world but we don't get to experience. I want to really get into it and feel like I'm a fly on the wall, experiencing their customs, getting to know what it is that makes this pack tick. We don't really get to see as much as I wanted and that left me feeling a little frustrated (and not in a good way ...)

MaryJanice writes great dialogue but it could have used little more angst. It is a good summer read, light, fluffy, sexy, funny, etc. Just don't go into it thinking you will get any more than that.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by JK Rowling

So, I'm sitting here and watching the time tick away on my hour limit for writing this thing. You see, you can only InCoHerEntLy review something if it only takes an hour to write it. If you spend any more time on it, you risk actually making interesting points and people might start to think that you care.

Perhaps that is why this one is so hard to write. I care a little too much about the HP world. (She says choking on the understatement and hoping that you don't notice all the HP stuff that is littered throughout.) I knew that whoever died, it would hurt. And hurt it did. I'm not going to get into spoilers or describing the plot or whatever. If you wanted that you can read a hell of a lot of reviews that are already out there. I guess I'll just have to focus on how I feel about the book after finishing it and you can look elsewhere for all that other stuff.

The best way I can feel about the book is indescribable at this point.. First came the physical reaction of horror. Then a lot of confusion. Followed closely by numbness tinged with a little bit of anxiety. That one stayed with me all Friday night, literally. (Only got about an hour sleep that night because I had to be out of bed by 5am to wait in line for Harvest Jazz and Blues tickets.) That whole night was spent trying to come to terms with what had happened and coming up with a possible theory that would allow me to live with it. I think I've got something that I'm going to stick with until the next one comes out. Not going to tell you what it is but just know that it is likely close to a lot of other people's theories floating out there.

I would also like it to be noted that I didn't cry. You knew someone was going to die so you just have to prepare yourself for something like that. But to be honest, the very last page made me cry a bit, it was very touching.

JK Rowling is evil. .... But in a good way ... damn it.

This review takes the word InCoHerEnt to a whole new level. Ultimately, I liked it. The last three chapters were really, really dark. I appreciate dark. We get to see how much Harry is growing as a person. Even though some have complained that it is too long, I'm of the camp that wants more detail. I want the War and Peace of the wizarding world and thought it was too short. Someday, we might get the encyclopedia JKR might write and hopefully it will be unbelievably long.

Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris

Just finished Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris. Another Sookie Stackhouse book from her Dead series. Sookie, poor girl, is telepathic and lives in a small characteristic Southern town. This one focuses a lot on Eric, the vampire... now that Sookie has broken up with Bill, the vampire, she is a single woman who finds that she's missing the sex. Eric, found along side the road without any memory of who he is, hides out at Sookie's for protection from the witches who did this to him. Then Sookie's brother goes missing which is another major mystery... is it connected to Eric's brain mishap? I can't tell you! You will have to read it to find out.

That is a horribly written summary of a book I actually enjoyed. For me, it is like brain candy... except the good kind of candy that doesn't add pounds to your butt. But this was a nice read, not too angsty, not too heavy. Sookie isn't like another heroine of vamp books who spends half of the plot justifying her decisions that make her come off as a borderline sociopath while the other half is spent surrounded by the most beautiful men in the universe. (It is the men part that make me feel less sympathetic to that character.) Sookie seems alone most of the time... she is the one who has to go beyond the call of duty but always without crossing the line to superhuman. She doesn't have ever-escalating special powers that make you wonder if putting her out of her misery wouldn't be a gift to humanity. (Maybe I'm too mean.) Sookie seems to have a soul that is bothered by the same things we are all troubled by... except she gets to play with vamps, weres, shifters... etc.

Anyway... I enjoyed and recommend.