Dianda is both furious and frustrated. She knew that her feelings for Patrick were not likely to reach fruition but she thought they at least had something worth exploring and that he felt the same about her so when she received a missive from another women telling her that Patrick simply couldn't be interested in a "beast" like her, she reacted by accepting the hand of the merrow from across the world who came to broker an alliance between their tribes. Now she is at her engagement party at King Gilad's house and hearing all kinds of things that started making her wonder just what is going on landside.
The story of what happened at Dianda's engagement party told from Dianda's point of view. I have really enjoyed the Dianda/Patrick stories and this was wonderful hearing more about the undersea kingdom and races and listening to Dianda's constantly having to remind herself that she's not allowed to punch people in the face is pretty funny. I wish more people on the land had her self-control.
Page count: 20p/1,677p ytd/293,698p lifetime
Saturday, February 24, 2018
9:100 The Girl with All the Gifts by M.R. Carey
Melanie's life is simple and follows a very set routine. Every morning, the guards come and strap her into the wheelchair. She is wheeled into the classroom with the children who are also all strapped into their respective chairs. There they are taught by different teachers. Melanie's favorite teacher is Ms. Justineau. She tells them stories and one day even brought flowers into the classroom, something the children had never seen outside of books. Melanie's favorite thing is when Ms. Justineau reads them Greek myths. Melanie occasionally thinks about what life might be like outside her school building and what might happen when she grows up but the concepts are so foreign that she doesn't dwell on it long.
Until the day when everything changes.
Junkers use a horde of hungries to break down the walls and invade the compound. Melanie is saved by Ms. Justineau and in turn saves her (just like in her fantasies) but in doing so, she realizes she is different. She had suspected but now, after having a hunger nothing like she has ever known rise up in her as she attacks another person it has been confirmed. She is a hungry but she is not mindless. She can control herself to a great extent but it doesn't change the fact that she is not fully human, nor fully hungry, but something in between. Now as she is traveling with Ms. Justineau, Dr. Caldwell (lead researcher of the facility), Sgt. Parks, and soldier Gallagher back to what has become the remains of civilization in England, Beacon, but the path there will not be easy for so many reasons.
I'm not a huge zombie fan but my oldest son is so as a result I've read a LOT of zombie books. So many of them are the "zombie apocalypse just starting, how do we survive" which is overdone and boring as all crap. As a result, I appreciate new and different takes on the zombie trope. This tale is not a completely new concept in the zombie universe but it was well executed and a compelling read as the characters were well-developed with enough actual backstory to give motivation and depth to them rather than just fitting them into their assigned molds because that was what the story demanded. More interesting was the fact that the story truly centers on the relationship between Melanie and her teacher, Ms. Justineau which leads to a lot more introspection on how human relationships define us. In all, a very enjoyable read.
Page count: 407p/1,657p ytd/293,678p lifetime
Until the day when everything changes.
Junkers use a horde of hungries to break down the walls and invade the compound. Melanie is saved by Ms. Justineau and in turn saves her (just like in her fantasies) but in doing so, she realizes she is different. She had suspected but now, after having a hunger nothing like she has ever known rise up in her as she attacks another person it has been confirmed. She is a hungry but she is not mindless. She can control herself to a great extent but it doesn't change the fact that she is not fully human, nor fully hungry, but something in between. Now as she is traveling with Ms. Justineau, Dr. Caldwell (lead researcher of the facility), Sgt. Parks, and soldier Gallagher back to what has become the remains of civilization in England, Beacon, but the path there will not be easy for so many reasons.
I'm not a huge zombie fan but my oldest son is so as a result I've read a LOT of zombie books. So many of them are the "zombie apocalypse just starting, how do we survive" which is overdone and boring as all crap. As a result, I appreciate new and different takes on the zombie trope. This tale is not a completely new concept in the zombie universe but it was well executed and a compelling read as the characters were well-developed with enough actual backstory to give motivation and depth to them rather than just fitting them into their assigned molds because that was what the story demanded. More interesting was the fact that the story truly centers on the relationship between Melanie and her teacher, Ms. Justineau which leads to a lot more introspection on how human relationships define us. In all, a very enjoyable read.
Page count: 407p/1,657p ytd/293,678p lifetime
Sunday, February 18, 2018
8:100 Remedial English for Reanimated Corpses by S.G. Browne
Even at Bela Lugosi University, a school for the monsters of movie and nightmares, there has always been a hierarchy that has seen vampires and werewolves at the top and zombies as the lowest of the low. They are the targets of the pranks by the vampires, taunted (and sprayed on) by the werewolves, no one stands up for them against any of this. It's just the way it has been and always will be. But one day things come to a head after one "joke" too many goes too far. Now the zombies are marching for justice..if only someone could understand what they are saying.
A fun tale of what a monster university could be like but I also feel like with much of his work, he is tackling some underlying cultural themes that are dominant today. I think this could be the set-up to a much longer piece that would be hilarious and thought-provoking to read. I can only hope. It's been too long since we've had a new S.G. Browne novel!
Page count: 20p/1,250p ytd/293,271p lifetime
A fun tale of what a monster university could be like but I also feel like with much of his work, he is tackling some underlying cultural themes that are dominant today. I think this could be the set-up to a much longer piece that would be hilarious and thought-provoking to read. I can only hope. It's been too long since we've had a new S.G. Browne novel!
Page count: 20p/1,250p ytd/293,271p lifetime
Monday, February 12, 2018
7:100 Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher
Carrie Fisher's first memoir based on her hit stand-up routine (and for some reason the third of her memoirs that I read). Her wit and style changed very little between the three (this, Shockaholic, and Princess Diarist) and is refreshingly honest and droll. She talks about her childhood as the child of two Hollywood icons, their divorce and subsequent remarriages, her stepparents, growing up Fisher, how she found drugs and how they got their hooks into her, you know, the usual stuff.
I grew up with Princess Leia being MY Princess. The one who stood up to Tarkin and Vader, the one who strangled Jabba, the one who would save herself or die trying but not just give up easily. I wasn't even 3 when Star Wars came out but she inspired me and now as an adult and reading about her life and her struggles, she inspires me even more. I only wish she were still here but her words live on and they will continue to inspire. She has become more than our Princess, she is now our General.
Page count: 177p/1,230p ytd/293,251p lifetime
I grew up with Princess Leia being MY Princess. The one who stood up to Tarkin and Vader, the one who strangled Jabba, the one who would save herself or die trying but not just give up easily. I wasn't even 3 when Star Wars came out but she inspired me and now as an adult and reading about her life and her struggles, she inspires me even more. I only wish she were still here but her words live on and they will continue to inspire. She has become more than our Princess, she is now our General.
Page count: 177p/1,230p ytd/293,251p lifetime
Tuesday, February 6, 2018
6:100 History of US vol. 9: War, Peace, and All That Jazz by Joy Hakim
Review from 2013:
Middle-School History covering 1918-1945. Model T's, wood-frame airplanes, radios, Prohibition, jazz, the Roaring Twenties, Babe Ruth, flappers, the Depression, and two World Wars...all in a thirty-year span. That pretty much gives a good summary of what you find in this book. I've noticed that now that things are getting closer to modern times, the jumping around is much less and the author makes it a point to detail a lot more than what I remember learning about from my history classes, middle and high school. I knew there had been a WWI but had no idea who it concerned or how it ended much less that it had paved the way for WWII. I had a basic knowledge of Jazz and it's roots but not the bigger picture that was shown in this book. I knew about the Depression and Black Friday but not the events that had led up to it. That to me is what is truly important about history, not just knowing about the big events but how those came about and what they caused.
Page count: 220p/1,053p ytd/293,074p lifetime
Middle-School History covering 1918-1945. Model T's, wood-frame airplanes, radios, Prohibition, jazz, the Roaring Twenties, Babe Ruth, flappers, the Depression, and two World Wars...all in a thirty-year span. That pretty much gives a good summary of what you find in this book. I've noticed that now that things are getting closer to modern times, the jumping around is much less and the author makes it a point to detail a lot more than what I remember learning about from my history classes, middle and high school. I knew there had been a WWI but had no idea who it concerned or how it ended much less that it had paved the way for WWII. I had a basic knowledge of Jazz and it's roots but not the bigger picture that was shown in this book. I knew about the Depression and Black Friday but not the events that had led up to it. That to me is what is truly important about history, not just knowing about the big events but how those came about and what they caused.
Page count: 220p/1,053p ytd/293,074p lifetime
Monday, February 5, 2018
5:100 The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis
Review from Feb. 2013:
Edward and Lucy along with their cousin, Eustace, fall through a painting and land about Caspian's ship, The Dawn Treader, as Caspian and his crew search for seven lords who had been sent away by Caspian's uncle, Miraz, since they were intensely loyal to Caspian's father and Caspian himself. Many adventures are had as they sail to the ends of the known world and beyond to find all seven of these lords. In the end, they are all located (although not all are still living) and the children return home but are told by Aslan that they will not be returning to Narnia again.
Continuing to study the Narnia series with Jon. It's a better adventure book although towards the end some of the stuff with Aslan gets pretty deep into the religious overtones.
Page count: 248p/833p ytd/292,854p lifetime
Edward and Lucy along with their cousin, Eustace, fall through a painting and land about Caspian's ship, The Dawn Treader, as Caspian and his crew search for seven lords who had been sent away by Caspian's uncle, Miraz, since they were intensely loyal to Caspian's father and Caspian himself. Many adventures are had as they sail to the ends of the known world and beyond to find all seven of these lords. In the end, they are all located (although not all are still living) and the children return home but are told by Aslan that they will not be returning to Narnia again.
Continuing to study the Narnia series with Jon. It's a better adventure book although towards the end some of the stuff with Aslan gets pretty deep into the religious overtones.
Page count: 248p/833p ytd/292,854p lifetime
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