Library Dad

1632 by Eric Flint (review)

2010-10-08T13:41:00.002-04:00

Title: 1632
Author: Eric Flint
Illustrator: N/A
Kindle Locations: 9,611
Genre: Fiction
Dewey Decimal:
ISBN: 0-671-57849-9
Kindle Cost: Free

1632 is a blast from the past. Having seen this book and its sequels on the store shelves for years, I've always passed it by because it looked very old-school and campy.

And it was. To a point. You see, Flint takes a different road than most writers. He doesn't try to layer on the intrigue and plot twists and detail. Instead he keeps his story neat and simple and moves it along nicely. So instead of describing a lot of minute details about how people survived the sudden change, he skips ahead a few months.

A lot of readers may not like that, I found it refreshing. I needed to take a break from all the details in other stories I was reading. Stories that were starting to sound like Robinson Crusoe with their detail.

While Flint's approach to keeping things simple was nice, I didn't care for his transitions between scenes. Maybe it was poor formatting from the e-book conversion, but the story jumped from plot line to plot line or character to character without warning. In fact, several times I'd go back and re-read two paragraphs because I didn't catch the change that came between them.

Overall, Flint does a good job. His style is a little rough and doesn't have the polish of other big names in the genre, but he still entertains. An added bonus is this story was free. Hard to turn down a deal like that and hard to put down once you start.

Knight and Day (movie review)

2010-07-16T06:00:00.002-04:00

Title: Knight and Day (2010)

Since Tom Cruise went a bit nutty, I haven't been a big fan of his. And while he has had some decent movies in the past, like Mission Impossible or Days of Thunder, his performance in this movie was luke-warm.

In fact, it reminded me very much of a bad Bourne movie ripoff.

Aside from that, it was at least entertaining enough to keep me in my seat. There were a few scenes that were funny, a few were romantic, and a few were action packed. So all in all, it was fairly well rounded.

But my biggest problem was with the special effects. They reminded me of something cheap enough to make it onto a Saturday night movie on the SyFy channel. Very campy and so noticeable that it actually took me out of the movie for a second.

In the end, it was a decent movie. I'm not sure I'd spend big money on the DVD, but I might get it from the bargain bin since my wife has a crush on Tom Cruise. She can watch him while I stare at Cameron Diaz in a bikini.

Kyle XY - Blame It on the Rain (review)

2010-07-14T06:00:00.000-04:00

Episode Title: Blame It on the Rain
Cost: Free via Hulu

Yet another episode that makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside while making you wonder who Kyle really is (and who the security guard is). And while there are points in the show when things get really campy and avoid questions (like why didn't Declan leave in the morning? The parents were okay with him hanging out all day?).

And yet, there's something oddly appealing that makes me keep coming back despite this campy feel. I know part of the mystery is that I've never seen the show and don't know what Kyle's story is in the end. How he came to be, where he came from, etc.

So in the end, I'll keep watching. It's good enough to at least keep me interested and entertained.

The Last Airbender (movie review)

2010-07-12T06:00:00.001-04:00

Title: The Last Airbender (2010)

I try my best to find the good in things, but sometimes I find it difficult. This movie was an exception as it was very easy to find the good.

Mostly because the movie was so horrible.

How this movie got so bad, I don't know, but it was like somebody took a decent if not good story and gang raped it. Holy cow was it bad. Atop the list of horrors in this movie was the dialog. It was so bad it was like somebody took a Japanese video game and tried to translate it into English with a translator that only knows Spanish. In fact, some of the lines sounded like my 2-year-old son pretending to be a robot.

And then there was the magic system. I know every fantasy world has a different base for their magic, and that's great. But the goofy looking hands and feet dancing around? Did they really need to look so silly to do their fighting? Couldn't they do the martial arts stuff to do physical fighting and then use magic with one or two simple moves?

Despite the horrible movie, there are a few glimmering jewels that, when combined with some popcorn and Junior Mints, might make it worthwhile to watch the movie. As long as somebody else pays for it of course. Those jewels would be a handful of actors that did a great job acting. Yes, their lines were still horrible, but their acting was surprisingly well done. First is Noah Rigner, the last airbender, who plays "innocent" quite well. Then we have Dev Patel, who does a wonderful job of playing the evil prince that has been ousted by his father. And the last was the father, the fire lord, Cliff Curtis. He did well in Trauma on TV and did well in his limited role in this movie.

So save your money and watch it when it comes to TV or Hulu. Meanwhile, you can go read a book. Or wash your dog. Or visit the dentist. Any of these would be more enjoyable than watching this movie.

Kyle XY - This Is Not a Test (review)

2010-07-09T06:00:00.000-04:00

Episode Title: This Is Not a Test
Cost: Free via Hulu

I think I'm finally keying in on why I like this series and continue to stick with it. It reminds me of high school. Sure, some of high school was great, but other parts were horrible. And the sad part is I don't even talk to anyone from high school anymore. Heck, I barely talk to anyone from college (the big exception being my wife of course).

So aside from the flashbacks I'm having while watching Kyle learn about life, I enjoy his innocence and how other people react to it. Some make fun of him, others want to help him, and some want to hurt him. In this episode we see the school principal want to lock Kyle out of learning in school and yet he gets his ass handed to him when Kyle finishes the test in time. Then we see a school bully try to beat him up and his ass gets handed to him. And of course there's the cute little comic nerd who everybody hates but Kyle goes out of his way to make friends with him.

So in the end, I'm going to at least finish season one and if the finale is strong enough, which I expect it will be, I'll be back for the rest of the show.

Kyle XY - Diving In (review)

2010-07-07T06:00:00.000-04:00

Episode Title: Diving In
Cost: Free via Hulu

Wow. Can't beat young women at the poolside. Reminds me of high school when I was a lifeguard. Ahhh the memories.

And now that I'm an old man, that's all they are; memories. In this episode we see Kyle learn about erections. That's right, erections. Once you're done chuckling, I'm sure all the guys out there will know how it feels to have one at the wrong moment. And that's what happened to Kyle. He felt "pressure" but in a good way. Yeah. Corny, but funny. And true.

So as Kyle learns about his own body and the hormones that drive it, the mystery man quits his job. But we're not sure how that will factor into things yet, so I'm sticking around to see if he's a good guy or a bad guy. And I still say the younger brother, Josh, is the best character on the show. He's hilarious!

Kyle XY - The Lies That Bind (review)

2010-06-30T06:00:00.000-04:00

Episode Title: The Lies That Bind
Cost: Free via Hulu

Kyle, and the rest of the family, learn about lies and how they can hurt people. I'm beginning to think that this is more of a show that preaches values and has a bit of a sci-fi drama coating.

Not that shows preaching values is a bad thing. After all, I grew up on The Cosby Show and loved 7th Heaven. But in the end, it's not coming across as I'd expected it to. Meaning, it's not the hardcore science fiction stuff I'd heard about.

Moving on, we see a bit more from the mystery guy from Kyle's past and the mom finally discovers what the little lines mean on the art from Kyle. Took her long enough. Anyway, I'm still going to watch the show. It hasn't exactly hooked me, but it's still interesting enough to keep me watching. Better than some shows I've seen, but certainly not as good as others.

Persons Unknown - The Way Through (review)

2010-06-28T06:00:00.002-04:00

Episode Title: The Way Through
Cost: Free via Hulu

I always feel like a quitter when I want to give up on a show. Combine that with a bit of OCD and you have a completest that just can't quite stop watching bad TV shows. And that's where this one is moving, into the bad genre.

It does have its merits, but I can only sing so many praises before the truth begins to surface. So far this is the worst episode yet. It's predictable, borish, and not very entertaining. The next episode promises to introduce the mole or inside man (or woman), but I'm not sure if I'll care much by then.

I guess what I'm saying is that I'll give this show another week, maybe two to pull itself out of the nose dive that it's in. Then I'm jumping ship. After all, I can always find out the mystery's solution on Wikipedia.

Persons Unknown - The Edge (review)

2010-06-23T06:00:00.000-04:00

Episode Title: Pilot
Cost: Free via Hulu

I'm not sure how much longer this how will last, both on the network and in my Hulu queue. I think the basic concept is an interesting idea, but they left things open and unexplained. They didn't plant the hook well enough early on to keep you coming back for more. It feels very rushed in how it puts characters in scenarios without much explanation.

So part of the issue is the little things. Like cell phones and computers. Where are they? Are you telling me that everyone that got snatched didn't have one? Why not have it mentioned that they were all taken. Think about how you would react in this scenario. I'd call the cops or get help. And when I discovered I couldn't get out of town and I couldn't get out, take an inventory of the town. And don't give it 2 minutes, give it a couple of episodes. Have them find something interesting.

Another part of the issue is the big stuff. Like the guy that escaped and came back. Are you telling me that the guys that wanted to kill him are just going to let him stand there and talk smack? Seriously?

So aside from the frustrations, both big and small, I'm still giving this story a chance. There are stories I want to hear about and I'm willing to give it some time to come to the surface. But not too much time. And while Hulu is convenient and free, it doesn't mean I should watch junk when there are better shows out there.

Kyle XY - Sleepless in Seattle (review)

2010-06-21T06:00:00.000-04:00

Episode Title: Sleepless in Seattle
Cost: Free via Hulu

In this episode, we find out that Kyle can't sleep. Ever.

And I learn the show has taken a bit of a campy turn. Nothing terrible so far, but enough for me to take notice of it. We'll see how it plays out, but I get the distinct feeling that this will NOT be a show geared towards adults, but rather teenagers.

And that's okay. After all, I used to be a teenager. So anyway, Kyle can't sleep. The family does all sorts of things to try to get him to sleep but nothing seems to work. In the end he does go to sleep, and in an odd setting (no worries, I won't spoil it for you).

So far I'm liking the younger brother. The character is funny and the actor does a fine job of playing the role. I'm hoping he'll continue his solid performance.

Persons Unknown - Pilot (review)

2010-06-16T06:00:00.002-04:00

Episode Title: Pilot
Cost: Free via Hulu

This is an odd show. And with LOST being off the air, I am not surprised that networks are trying to fill the void left by such a strong program. But that would be like trying to fill in for Friends or M*A*S*H. It just is NOT going to happen. In fact, I would guess that it will be at least three to five years before another powerful show is on TV.

Anyway, back to the new show. So far, it is interesting, but I was expecting that. A group of strangers mysteriously wakes up in a hotel in some unknown location. A mother, a soldier, a mystery man, etc. They eventually make it out of the hotel to discover a town of sorts that will not let them leave. That's right, they get to a certain point and collapse. Kind of lame.

Also lame is the supporting cast of people that run the restaurant and sit the front desk at the hotel. I think if I were in that situation, I certainly would have handled things differently. Guns, supplies, water, food, safety, etc. would all be on my list of things to find, but just taking the strangers word that he knows nothing does not quite fit in.

What is not so lame, at least for now, is the mystery behind who did this (kidnap the people), why they did this, and the story behind each of the people involved. So, until we get there, we will just have to wait and see what is going to happen.

Kyle XY - Pilot (review)

2010-06-14T06:00:00.004-04:00

Episode Title: Pilot
Cost: Free via Hulu

This series is new to me. It first aired back in 2006 on ABC and features a teenage boy that wakes up in the woods with no memory. As he progresses through the episode, he learns to talk, eat, and go to the bathroom. He displays an uncanny knack for math and physical ability (like catching a snake in mid-strike). We also learn he has no belly button.

During the episode he is adopted by a social worker and her family and goes through some growing pains (as does the rest of the family). There is a bit of a "mystery man" that's following Kyle, and I'm sure we'll see more of him as we progress into the series.

So far, it's an interesting start to the series. I'm not sure how much I'll enjoy it, but I like how the humor joins with the mystery of Kyle.

Calamity Jack by Shannan Hale, Dean Hale, and Nathan Hale (review)

2010-04-21T06:00:00.001-04:00

Title: Calamity Jack
Author: Shannon Hale and Dean Hale
Illustrator: Nathan Hale
Pages: 144
Genre: Graphic Novel
Dewey Decimal: YP GN Hal
ISBN: 978-1-59990-076-6
Cost: $0

I have reviewed earlier work by this group (Rapunzel's Revenge) and was pleased by not only the story, but also the art. Calamity Jack being their newest installment, I was once again pleased.

The story line follows Rapunzel and Jack to the bright lights of the city where we find an evil lurking. While it was fairly easy to figure out who was behind the evil and how he was manipulating things in his favor, it was still a fun ride to the end. There were even a few plot twists I did not see coming.

I think what I enjoy so much about this book is that it gives a different spin on a classic fairy tale. We have all heard the story about the golden goose and the beanstalk and the woman in a shoe, but authors like this give those stories a new life. And the illustrators take it a step further.

So I would check out this particular re-imagining of a classic because it really is more enjoyable that those dusty, musty, older versions.

Smokey Joe's Cafe at the Riverside Dinner Theater (review)

2010-04-19T06:00:00.000-04:00

Title: Smokey Joe's Cafe
Words and Music: Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
Producer: Rollin E. Wehman
Director: Stephen R. Hayes
Genre: Musical
Cost: $64.50 per person (includes meal, does not include bar bill or tip)

Today's performance at the Riverside is one of the best I have ever seen. And I do not say that lightly.

You see, we have been attending shows at the Riverside for several years. And we have seen some good shows, some not-so-good shows, and some great shows. But of all those shows, we have rarely given a standing ovation. Even for many of those great shows.

Today we stood and clapped. And the performers deserved it.

The meal of choice tonight was a apple-smoked bacon pork chop, mixed veggies, and a baked potato. And there were chunks of corn bread and the usual salad. Our server appeared to be a bit new to the process of being a waiter, but that was the only negative aspect of the evening (unless you count the bizarre hairdo we saw).

The play was a musical revue, which is new to not only us but also to the Riverside. And I liked the change. There was little to no plot at all, simply song and dance. There was some acting, but it was very sparse and very well played. The songs were straight out of the 50s and 60s, so I knew most of them having grown up listening to "oldies." And to say the performers sang well would be an injustice to their skill. There were many new faces in the cast making their debut, but they performed quite well.

Of particular note was the group of four men who sang many songs together. They reminded me of the Four Tops or something with their skill. And the star of the show, the one singer that gave these four a run for there money, was TaLon Thomas. She was Aretha Franklin and Gladys Knight rolled up into one package.

So if you have not had a chance yet to see this particular performance at the Riverside, I suggest you do so while you still can.

Spring Break 2010

2010-04-07T06:00:00.000-04:00

Spring break baby!

I'll see you on April 19th!

Plundered Booty (review)

2010-04-05T06:00:00.001-04:00

Title: Plundered Booty
Author: Travis Erwin
Illustrator: N/A
Kindle Locations: 19 pages (PDF)
Genre: Fiction
Dewey Decimal: F Erw
ISBN: N/A
Kindle Cost: Free (via PDF)

This short story is a neat little peek into the life of a car salesman. Granted, it is a short story and it is a very small look into the life, but it was entertaining. I am not sure if it would be a good candidate for a longer novel, but even if this one kept going at a slow pace it would still be better than some others that I have read.

The story follows the "Captain" (which I was really hoping would be a real Captain of some sort) through a rough day at the office. His boss just died and his asshole of a son just took over. And by asshole, I mean capital-A-asshole-jerk-wad.

But in the end, the Captain gets his booty. Just not the booty I was hoping for. And I think that was the biggest downfall of the story, it was not long enough to turn into some bizarre tale of how this guy lost a leg, sailed the high seas, and taught a parrot to talk.

Alas maties, this was just about a car salesman. It sounds boring, but it was still entertaining enough to read.

The Greatest Show On Earth (movie review)

2010-04-02T06:00:00.000-04:00

Title: The Greatest Show On Earth (1952)

Jimmy Stewart is a clown.

No seriously, he plays a clown in this movie. And Charlton Heston is in the movie too. And Betty Hutton. And Bob Hope and Hopalong Cassidy (as cameos of sorts).

The star-studed movie takes place under the big top of the circus. And while many people knock this movie as something to be ashamed of, I personally found it refreshing. Sure, it is a movie about the circus, but to see how much of it was filmed with an actual circus as well as how many stunts the actors performed, I was impressed.

Factor in a decent plot (complete with a love quadrangle, jealousy, and murder) and you have a pretty darn good movie. Granted, not the best, but still enjoyable enough to be worth the time spent watching it.

Death At A Funeral (movie review)

2010-03-31T06:00:00.000-04:00

Title: Death At A Funeral (2007)

It is a real shame that this is being remade this year. I mean, the movie is barely old enough to stand on its own and it gets remade. I do not want to speak too ill of the remake as I have not seen it yet, but I know from experience that the original is often better than the remake.

And this movie is quite awesome. From the opening credits to the guy falling out of the casket to the midget getting stuffed in the casket, I was constantly laughing while wondering what would go wrong next.

Turns out, the only thing that went wrong with the movie was that it ended. Leave it to the British to come up with a hilarious movie yet again. Sometimes I wonder if I should be living there just to make watching these movies easier.

Bell Book and Candle (movie review)

2010-03-26T06:00:00.001-04:00

Title: Bell Book and Candle (1958)

Good ol' Jimmy Stewart. I just love his simplistic nature and acting style. Nothing over the top. Nothing shocking. Just simple, home-town goodness.

In this particular movie, we see Stewart and fellow Vertigo star Kim Novak fall in and out of love. Novak plays the witch to Stewart's "average guy." But being such an older movie, very little is done to explore the lifestyle of the witch and warlock underground. We just know they can perform magic, cast spells, and hang out in an underground bar that looks like an early hippie love den.

Not the best of Stewart's movies, that is for sure, but it is good enough to watch if you have time.

Surrogates (movie review)

2010-03-24T06:00:00.000-04:00

Title: Surrogates (2009)

This movie is certainly no Die Hard or Hudson Hawk.

And it certainly does not replicate either one. Even The Fifth Element is better than this sci-fi snoozer. Yes, you heard me right, this was a boring movie. One that I am glad I picked up on Pay-Per-View instead of DVD.

Now, while it was a slow moving and low on action, the concept of the surrogate was an interesting idea. Not a new idea (just look at that old episode of SeaQuest DSV) but an interesting one. And it is an idea that I would have loved to have explored in more depth. You know, delve into the social ramifications of a surrogate world.

Instead, we got an action movie. That did not have much action. If it had more action, I might have forgotten about the deep thoughts on hoe the human race would be impacted by surrogates and if they should have the same rights as humans. But the action was confined to a few scenes that were, well, mediocre. So I began thinking about the surrogates and if they should have rights.

Anyway, a moderately boring movie that I would recommend only if it is in the bargain bin.

The Long Green Line (movie review)

2010-03-22T06:00:00.000-04:00

Title: The Long Green Line (2008)

Ahh, the good old days of running cross country in high school. Of course our team was not even close to being that full. In fact, I think we barely had ten runners.

Anyway, this documentary film follows the York High School cross country team through another season of victory. Coach Joe Newton is a solid leader among these boys and he does his best to shape them into young men. And fast runners.

Coach Newton is old school. And old. But he brings that stern fatherly figure to the table that many of the kids need, especially in a sport that is very tough mentally. It may be a team sport, but you are out there running by yourself with only your competitor keeping you company.

Along the way to winning, there were some bumps. Some members were kicked off for various reasons and others were dropped from the top spots based on their performance. Very much like working in the real world.

In the end, this was a mediocre film on how some high school kids excel and other fall. But in the end, it is really about how much effort you put into it.

Hot Fuzz (movie review)

2010-03-19T06:00:00.003-04:00

Title: Hot Fuzz (2007)

Simon Pegg. Nick Frost. A British comedic duo that needs to continue. Forever.

Yes, I have been on this great British comedy theme for some time now and this is yet another installment in that trend. The dynamic duo of Pegg and Frost does not let you down in the bizarre tale of an overachieving police officer in London that gets moved to a rural town because he makes everyone else look bad.

In his new home, he tries to keep up with his previous pace but is continually hitting a wall with the local villagers. And he gets partnered with an underachieving officer. The hilarity increases on pace with the increase in accidents in town. And while Pegg's character thinks he has the killer cornered, he realizes a little too late that the conspiracy is larger than expected.

As I have noticed with many of Pegg's movies, this is a bit bloodier than I would expect from an "American" movie, but it is not nearly as bad as a horror movie. And with all the comedy, I can deal with a little blood. So be sure to check out this installment of the Pegg and Frost comedy team.

The Hurt Locker (movie review)

2010-03-17T06:00:00.002-04:00

Title: The Hurt Locker (2008)

This movie hurts on a few levels. Namely it just won an Oscar for Best Motion Picture of the Year. Do not get me wrong, it is a good movie. But not the best.

I did enjoy the action and some of the mental anguish you see the soldiers go through. Not that I enjoyed their anguish, I just enjoyed that it was a glimpse into the realities of war. And I loved that it focused on the EOD (Explosive Ordinance Disposal) group. But it just did not measure up in other ways.

Take the action. Sure it was realistic in some scenes, but it did not carry the weight that other movies did about the seriousness of war. Take Saving Private Ryan or even Band of Brothers. While there is some romanticism of war in each, they are also very grounded in reality. The Hurt Locker did not carry that as well as I would have liked. It was too soft and cozy at times.

The actors did a great job though. They stood out quite well above the plot and the action. The tension between them, the bond between soldiers, everything was there. Even the loss of sanity. Maybe a larger cast would have helped.

In the end, The Hurt Locker was good, but not great. With a plot that had some holes and all the hype that makes you expect a ground-breaking movie, I was disappointed. Even though they are much lighter in their mood, I think you would get more for your money by watching The Devil's Brigade or Memphis Belle.

Spirit Of The Marathon (movie review)

2010-03-15T06:00:00.003-04:00

Title: Spirit Of The Marathon (2007)

Another running movie that is free on Hulu. Overall, this is more of a documentary film than a movie. It covers some of the history of the marathon, how it came to be, what role it played in the Olympics, and how women were treated early on.

But it just barely touches on all of these interesting facts. Instead it focuses on some of the current names in marathon history and follows a few runners through their first time in a marathon. It does a decent job in motivating you to run and even makes you consider attempting a marathon.

Living up to the title, it goes into the "spirit" that is behind the race and the "spirit" that is needed to run the race. I just wish it covered more of the history of the sport.

So while it was disappointing in its content and scope, the story of the new runners, the camaraderie they share, and the skills of the elite runners make this an easy documentary to watch.

Big Nothing (movie review)

2010-03-12T06:00:00.000-05:00

Title: Big Nothing (2006)

Lately I have been on a HUGE British comedy kick thanks to my pal in New Jersey, Pabba. It initially started with his suggestion to watch a British TV show, Black Books. From there, I went to Spaced and The Book Group. All of which got me hooked on the wonderful acting ability of Simon Pegg. Which brings us to our movie review today.

Big Nothing stars Simon Pegg and David Schwimmer, both talented comedic actors. The premise is fairly simple, but hte twists and turns leave you laughing and jumping at the same time. There is clearly a lot of violence, but nothing as terrible as a horror movie. In fact, most of the deaths are hilarious or shocking or both.

Pegg and Schwimmer and Alice Eve team up to commit a simple crime. A simple crime that goes wrong from the start. Then it gets worse. And worse. And, well, you get the idea. Needless to say, things do not turn out as you would expect them to. And that is what makes this such a fun movie to watch.

Stay tuned for more reviews with Pegg as I cannot wait to watch some of his back list of movies. In the meantime, you can watch Big Nothing on Hulu for free (while it lasts).

The Mist (movie review)

2010-03-10T06:00:00.001-05:00

Title: The Mist (2007)

I am by no means a Stephen King fan, nor a horror movie fan. So it felt very odd in not only recording this movie, but also watching it. But I survived the movie. Unlike most of the characters.

And the characters were great. They were "real life" examples of a wide variety of people. When placed under dire circumstances, some people stand up to the pressure while others crack. In this case, we have a mysterious fog that descends from a secret military experiment. We do not see what is in the fog right away, but soon enough we see the blood and guts of the stereotypical horror movie. And the writhing tentacle of some mysterious monster to go along with it.

And with that amount of blood, there were several times I had to stop watching the movie and switch to something more light-hearted. Despite the bloody mess and scary beasts this movie had, I was continually brought back to the movie by the characters. They were great. Flawed most certainly, but easy to relate to on so many different levels.

Until the end. And this is where I was seriously depressed and pissed off. Not just because of the ending, but also because of the choice made by the main character. I know it was done in an effort to show the futility of life or something like that, but sheesh. No thanks. And that is why I do not enjoy King and his work. Something too depressing and scary about his stuff that makes it almost as bad as Elie Wiesel's Night.

Hart's War (movie review)

2010-03-08T06:00:00.000-05:00

Title: Hart's War (2002)

This is no Stalag 17. Or a Great Escape. In fact, this movie is barely a movie worth watching. We see Bruce Willis do his best to act in a serious role while spending most of his time on camera with an expression that looks like he is about to bust out laughing. Not that Bruce Willis cannot act, because there are plenty of other movies where he performs miles above the rest of the cast. Hell, he was even better in Friends than in this movie.

Aside from Willis turning in a poor performance, we have a decent supporting cast. Most are names that are easily missed, with one exception. Jonathan Brandis. Yes, the star of one of my favorite television shows, SeaQuest DSV. But his scenes were cut from the film. And the rumor is that was his reason for committing suicide. Was it the real reason? We may never know. But if his performance was like many of the others in the supporting cast, he may well have had a chance at restarting his career.

The plot of the movie is a bit lame. A POW is murdered, a black airman is charged with his death, and the rest of the POWs are out to convict him for the crime he did not commit. From there, the rest of the story is predictable. Even before the trial begins, a good skeptic will know who committed the crime.

So in the end, the movie was okay. Certainly worth watching if you can catch it for free (like I did), but not worth buying on DVD.

Technical Difficulties

2010-03-01T06:00:00.002-05:00

We recently experienced an outage of one of our external hard drives. While we work to repair the issue and restore our lost data, we will need to take a short hiatus. In the mean time, please feel free to browse through some of our older posts.

Star Trek (movie review)

2010-02-26T06:00:00.000-05:00

Title: Star Trek (2009)

This is the newer version of Star Trek, as imagined (or re-imagined if you like) by director J. J. Abrams. As a huge LOST fan, it was hard for me to not give this movie a try.

And I am glad I did watch it. While certainly not the same style or mood as the older movies I grew up watching (I mean, how can you beat a whale in a spaceship?!), it did prove to be entertaining. Parts of the plot were entirely predictable, but not terrible enough to take you out of the story too far.

And while I did not like the whole time travel part, the interaction and introduction of the primary characters we know and love was pretty fun to watch. And as a past fan of Heroes, I kept seeing Spock and Sylar as long lost brothers or something.

In the end, the action was fun, the acting was good, and the plot was okay. I would say it is worth your money to buy it on DVD, just use a coupon to get the best deal.

LOST - Lighthouse (episode review)

2010-02-25T06:00:00.000-05:00

Warning: these reviews will contain spoilers. You have been warned.

----------SPOILERS----------

This particular review was written after I read several other people's take on this episode. I know that deviates away from my normal mode of reviews for LOST, but I felt I needed a breath of fresh air for a bit.

First, we have the theory I put out there about the Smoke Monster being both Jacob and his evil nemesis that looks like Locke. In other words, there's more than one. I've now seen others ponder the same thought, so I feel slightly less insane for thinking it.

Next, we have a Jack-centric episode. Probably one of my least favorites that ranks up there with Kate-centric episodes. And while seeing Jack have a life off island is nice, it just doesn't seem to fit what we've seen from him so far. And the musical genius son? Just another red herring in my mind.

The biggest WTF! moment came when we saw the lighthouse. I mean, seriously? Another set? Why can't we shoot this scene in the Hydra Station of even the Swan? Oh well, at least we see more names of candidates. Until Jack goes nutters on the mirrors.

And Jin, well, I guess he should have listened to that guy and ran away while he could.

Hurley. I love Hurley. Whatever happens to everyone else, I hope Hurley wins. He's just so damn funny.

Now for some questions I came up with while watching:

- Is Jack's failure to remember his appendectomy a "crack" in the sideways shift of time? Could it all unravel?
- Where the hell has Claire been the last three years?
- What does it mean to be a candidate?
- Does having a child on the island make you go crazy? (think about Rousseau and Claire - both gave birth on-island and both went nutters)
- Who are Adam and Eve? (you know, those two skeletons in the caves...maybe Sawyer and Kate..or Jack and Kate.. or somebody else)

Now for some predictions for upcoming episodes:

- Kate is going to join Claire, Fake-Locke, and Jin on the way to the temple. Kate is going to tell Claire about Aaron and Kate will die. Then Jin will die. Then some people at the temple will die.
- Somewhere in this whole process, Sawyer is going to be "turned" by Fake-Locke and become the Darth Vader of the show (because Fake-Locke/Smoke Monster is the Emperor and Juliet is Padme). Sawyer will then kill Claire at the request of Fake-Locke (didn't Anakin do that to Count Dooku?). Or maybe Sun will kill Claire for killing Jin. Maybe Sun is like one of those bounty hunters.
- Jack will become the Obi-Wan of the show and die at the hands of Sawyer.
- Hurley will eventually turn Sawyer back to the good side and kill Fake-Locke while Jacob watches because Jacob is like Yoda. During the process, Sawyer is mortally wounded and dies.
- Hurley survives. Sun survives but is wracked with guilt and sadness and commits suicide. Rose and Bernard adopt Vincent and live happily ever after.

The Breach by Patrick Lee (review)

2010-02-24T06:00:00.001-05:00

Title: The Breach
Author: Patrick Lee
Illustrator: N/A
Kindle Locations: 5.337
Genre: Fiction
Dewey Decimal: F Lee
ISBN: 978-0-06-196205-9
Kindle Cost: $7.99

Speed reading. This book flies by so fast, you will be looking for a new book to read in a week. Patrick Lee makes his debut novel so compelling to read, I could barely read anything beyond the local newspaper. In fact, I think I read the first half of the book in about two days. The second half was a bit slower paced, but was still entertaining enough to make me want more.

“I forget who wrote it. One of those things everyone reads in English 102. This servant goes to the marketplace, and he sees Death standing there, and Death makes a threatening face at him. The servant runs back to his master and says, ‘Let me borrow your horse, I’ll ride to Samarra so Death won’t find me.’ The master lets him go, then heads down to the market himself, sees Death and he says, ‘What are you doing making a threatening face at my servant?’And Death says, ‘Threatening? No, no, I was just surprised to see him here. I have an appointment with him tonight in Samarra.’ ”

The premise behind the novel is unique, but only to a degree. We have the same old plot of an "average" man with a dark background out to redeem himself and gets thrust into a world of intrigue and danger. Think The Da Vinci Code, only ten times better. Lee writes characters that are semi-real enough to identify with. But the characters take a back seat to the action, and there is enough action to keep you turning the page.

The intrigue and danger focus around the Breach. This unknown "thing" reminds me a bit of the Stargate, except it's always on and odd things come out of it (like super heavy pieces of fabric or guns that heal you). This of course brought about a secret agency that controls and protects the Breach and the obligatory bad guys out to take control of it. This is the mess that Travis Chase, the lead man, finds himself thrust into the middle of.

Paige Campbell, the female lead, falls in love with him, forgets about him, and even plans to kill him. And as confusing as all of that sounds, it all makes sense once you read the book. All the objects that come out have their unique properties and powers. Some are boring and do nothing, some could end the world (and almost do).

“Humans call this problem the grandfather paradox. They get tied up thinking about it. What happens if you go back in time and kill your grandfather before he meets your grandmother? Do you cease to exist, having prevented your own birth? No. Your arrival in the past becomes your birth, even if it means being born fully grown, with a head full of memories of a childhood that may never end up happening...”

In the end, this debut novel is well worth your time and your money. Lee crafts an adventure with enough action to keep you on the edge of your seat for a few days (or weeks if you read slow). His next novel, Ghost Country, sounds interesting from the little blurb I read. And if it compares to The Breach, it will be worth the wait.

PS - You may be wondering why I have Dora's backpack in the photo above. It is because my wonderful wife thought it would match perfectly with the overall theme of the book. Which is items magically appearing out of a "hole" (or backpack in this case).

Heat Wave by Richard Castle (review)

2010-02-22T06:00:00.002-05:00

Title: Heat Wave
Author: Richard Castle
Illustrator: N/A
Kindle Locations: 3,722
Genre: Fiction
Dewey Decimal: F Cas
ISBN: 978-1-4013-9476-9
Kindle Cost: $9.99

Richard Castle certainly turns up the heat on the reader in his latest novel. His previous series focused on Derrick Storm, one of those macho-manly guys who always wins. But in his last book, Storm Fall, Derrick Storm died. I know there is plenty of speculation out there about why Castle killed off Storm, but I think he was tired of the man.

And after reading how he portrays Nikki Heat, I can certainly see why he wanted a woman as his next focus. Heat is a tough but lovable detective based on the real New York Police Detective Kate Beckett. And if Beckett is anything like Heat, New York is never cold because Heat is hot.

Sure, Castle gives her that brooding attitude and sharp tongue but it fits perfectly with her dark and traumatic past. And that past is what drives her to catch her man (or woman). While Heat provides a lot of spark to the story, the leading man, Jameson Rook, provides the oxygen. Rook, based loosely on Castle, is the witty guy always trying to help, even when helping gets him in trouble. He truly tries to do good, but often times makes a mistake along the way. Fortunately Rook has plenty of friends in high places to get him out of trouble.

In Heat Wave, we see great scenes between Rook and Heat, and even though some of them are predictable, it was still entertaining enough to keep you reading. And this novel is on the short side, so things progress even faster than expected. In the end, this is an awesome restart to Castle's writing career and rumor has it Castle is even writing a script for a television series about a space cowboy.

Twilight (movie review)

2010-02-19T06:00:00.001-05:00

Title: Twilight (2008)

Sparkly vampires. I know, I am way late to the Twilight epic saga of teenage angst and forbidden love. But you know, I had my fill of the Young Adult genre when I finished Harry Potter, so I am slowly easing back into it. Give me time.

As to this particular movie, it was oddly entertaining. I knew some of the basics of the plot but have never read the books. So the wife and I (she has not read the books either) started the movie and ended up staying up way later than normal just to finish it.

Now, I know what you are thinking. She forced me to watch the dreamy vampire, but that is not the case. You see, I actually wanted to watch it. Mostly so I could be "hip" (two years later) but also to see what the big deal was. I had some serious issues with the vampires (I mean, sparkles? Really?) but kind of enjoyed the flash backs to high school. I was turned down by many a young lady in my day.

I did enjoy some of the comedy, especially the Cullen family meeting Bella the first time. Hilarious! So funny, they should do a show just on that. The brooding, moody vampire sucked. No pun intended.

And I do want to see the next installment, just so I can see why Bella sides with the wolf-boy. I just need to wait for Showtime to show it for free because I don't think I'm willing to pay for any of them.

LOST - The Substitute (episode review)

2010-02-18T06:00:00.000-05:00

Now, two warnings before we move on. First, I am going to write my LOST episode reviews before I read any other comments. I hope this will keep my opinions clear from any cross-contamination. If I do happen to read or hear something that influences my review, I will say so. Second, these reviews will contain spoilers. You have been warned.

----------SPOILERS----------

This Locke-centric episode was so much nicer (and stronger) than last week's Kate-centric episode. I was glad we finally learned what the numbers were for (or at least who came up with the numbers). And as usual with LOST, we now have more questions. Like, who was the kid with the bloody hands? Was this the same kid we saw later that told Smoke Monster Locke that he could not kill him? And is this kid (or at least the kid with the bloody hands) the reason Smoke Monster Locke is on the island? Was hurting this kid his crime and time on the island his punishment? And is this kid somehow related to Aaron or Claire?

All sorts of questions. But I expect that and to some degree, enjoy it. While this season has not been as strong as the first two seasons, I still think it has a solid chance of redeeming itself later on. Especially with how the sideways-flash time line plays into the events on the island. And seeing Hurley take care of Locke off island was great. The wheelchair bound Locke is so powerless at times it is amazing to see how well some actors do in portraying their off-island characters.

In the end, this was a good, solid episode. We see Richard afraid of Smoke Monster Locke. We see the reason behind the numbers. We see another secret cave. And we meet a new character that tells Smoke Monster Locke what he can't do.

Steven R. Boyett vs. S. M. Stirling

2010-02-17T06:00:00.001-05:00

The elephant in the room: Did S. M. Stirling steal Steven R. Boyett's idea?

More specifically, did Stirling's Dies The Fire and the rest of his Emberverse series take too much from Boyett's Ariel (review here)?

First, a look at the facts:

- Ariel was first published by Ace in 1983
- Dies The Fire was first published by Roc in 2004
- The two authors are aware of each other as evidenced on the cover of Boyett's Elegy Beach where Stirling wrote "Haunting, elegiac, funny, and moving."

Second, a look at the rumors:
- Stirling stole the idea from Boyett and did not care
- Stirling is not a real person, it is actually Boyett writing under a pen name
- Stirling borrowed so heavily from Boyett's Ariel that he had to pay him a settlement
- Stirling borrowed so heavily from Boyett's Ariel that he agreed to help him promote Elegy Beach

As you can see, there is a huge gap between reality and fantasy. Now it is just a question of who can fill in the blanks.

In the meantime, I will digress to discuss my thoughts on the two books. I have long been a Stirling fan and really enjoyed how he took his original Emberverse series (the trilogy starting with Island In The Sea Of Time) and linked it to his second wave of books (starting with the aforementioned Dies The Fire). They showed both sides of the Change. Those people that were taken back in time with working guns and those left in our present without working guns. Both civilizations began to bend toward each other. Those in ancient times had a rapid growth in technology while those in current times had a relapse back to bows and swords. In fact, one could even argue that the ancient time line surpassed the current one with technology.

Both sets of books also showed a wonderful mix of characters. From a black, lesbian, Coast Guard officer that became the leader of the good guys to the free-wheeling, singing, Wiccan who led another group of good guys. Regardless of which characters you liked (or hated), they were fully formed, fleshed out, and felt so real. Many times I caught myself thinking of people I know (or have known) as these characters.

Moving over to Ariel, Boyett does not quite write with as much detail as Stirling. In fact, we barely learn anything at all about the Change, other than it happened, it was bad, and magical creatures came out of it. While the magical creatures certainly adds some spunk to the plot, the characters are not as fleshed out as Stirling's.

But while Boyett sacrifices some of the detail, there is a gain in speed and ease of reading. For those fantasy fans out there, it is like the difference between Joe Abercrombie and George R. R. Martin. Both write in the same genre. One writes fast-paced books while the other is very epic. Boyett and Stirling are the same way. Each author has weaknesses and strengths, but neither writes a heap of garbage. After reading Boyett's Afterword and learning more about him, I am impressed even more with his ability to churn out such a good book.

So who wins? Steve Stirling. Why? Simply because he has written more books for me to enjoy. Aside from that, I would say there's a bit of a three-way tie between Boyett, Stirling, and Taylor Anderson in the post-apocalyptic genre. Each author has pros and cons, but each writes a novel worth reading.

Little Shop of Horrors at the Riverside Center Dinner Theater (review)

2010-02-16T06:00:00.002-05:00

Title: Little Shop of Horrors
Book and Lyrics: Howard Ashman
Music: Alan Menken
Producer: Rollin E. Wehman
Director: Stephen R. Hayes
Genre: Musical
Cost: $64.50 per person (includes meal, does not include bar bill or tip)

The food at the Riverside is rarely bad so I was not surprised when once again I had a delicious meal. The only downside to the meal was the side dish of carrots and mixed potatoes. I am not a big fan of carrots and the potatoes were a mix of sweet potatoes, purple potatoes, pinkish ones, and regular ones. On the other hand, the seafood puff pastry is was awesome. I could easily rank it as one of the best meals I have had at the Riverside. Each bite was a wonderful mix of fish, scallops, and shrimp. And the pastry dough was soft, flaky, and sweet.

The salad was about the same as usual. I did opt for the lobster bisque appetizer and it was nice and creamy. For dessert I had the caramel apple pie. And like the rest of the desserts at the Riverside, it was very sweet and rich. The Skid Row (the show drink) was a nice treat for intermission. It tasted like a milkshake.

The show itself was a wacky mix of music, comedy, and horror. I have never seen the movie, but I can only guess how hilarious it was. Of particular note in the performance was the replacement of the original Ronnette, Sandra Hill, but the understudy. Each playbill had a flyer in it that said Mrs. Hill had passed away. There was no mention of her during the introductions, but a search of the local paper only had a short mention of her services.

There were some timing goofs in the performance where lines were flubbed a bit and the audio was off a bit for the man-eating plant, but it did not take that much away from the overall performance. In fact, one of the best characters was the plant itself. Having never seen the movie, I was a little shocked that it would talk (and sing) and danced around as much as it did. The stage hand in charge of running it did a great job.

The rest of the cast did well in there performances also, but the standout performer was Michael J. Perez who did a great job of playing the geeky Seymour. Another pleasant surprise was our server, Chris Hlusko. He has been around the Riverside long enough for us to recognize him in other productions but it was a neat surprise to hear him say he recognized us as frequent attendees.

In the end, I would have enjoyed a better choice of vegetables with dinner and a bit more perfection in the performance. But despite these small hindrances, I still enjoyed the performance and the meal. And if you have never been to the Riverside for a play, I highly recommend it. It is well worth the time and money spent.

The E-Book Price Dilemma

2010-02-15T06:00:00.001-05:00

I am sure we have all heard about the Amazon and McMillan blowout. Authors, readers, fans, and trolls are all coming out with an opinion on one side or another. Many people have sworn to never buy from Amazon again. Others have sworn to never buy McMillan books again. Some have tried to reach a peaceful truce by supporting authors through other venues.

Where do I stand? Well, I own a Kindle DX. My wife owns one. We both shop from Amazon on occasion. And we both love to read books (regardless of who their publisher is).

And none of that is going to change.

You see, the one extreme is to boycott Amazon. Which to me is like trying to boycott Walmart. Don't get me wrong, I'm no fan of Walmart, but both are powerful companies that can control their clients to some degree. After all, if Walmart can require their suppliers to use RFID tags, why can't Amazon require their supplier to use a set price?

The other extreme is, well, stupid. There is no way I am going to boycott an author just because of something his employer does. If the author makes an ass of himself, then I might boycott him, but just because his employer decides to use purple paint instead of green doesn't mean I'm going to stop reading his books.

And what about those trying to seek that peaceful middle-ground where we support authors and not Amazon? Malarkey. You see, I have a budget. In an effort for me to stay inside that budget, I buy books on my Kindle instead of in the store. So if an author asks me to pay more money to buy their book somewhere else, then it damn well better be autographed to me personally and have some sort of golden ticket inside for a prize.

What's the solution? I don't know that there is one. Amazon and McMillan are only doing what's best for them. Amazon wants to corner the market on e-books, so it wants to offer cheaper books. McMillan wants more money for itself (and their authors) so it wants to charge more. In the end, the reader and the author suffers. So I am still going to recommend people buy a Kindle DX. I am still going to shop at Amazon. And I am still going to buy those books that entertain me, regardless of who publishes them.

Will I pay more for e-books? A little more, maybe. But the book would need to have better formatting. When I pay $9.99 for an e-book, I expect it to be formatted quite well. A $14.99 e-book better be even better than that. But why can't we buy books that are in some sort of locked PDF format? Think about Audbile. You have to synch your Audible account with your Kindle in order to listen to your Audible files. No biggy. Took me two minutes tops. Why not something similar for e-books? You sync your device, and presto, you can open all those PDF files that are encrypted. This would prevent sharing the files across devices. And the formatting would be just as good as if not exactly the same as a printed version of the book.

Gamer (movie review)

2010-02-12T06:00:00.000-05:00

Title: Gamer (2009)

With a great heaving sigh of reluctance, I will now write this review. Why am I reluctant? Because I don't like writing bad reviews, even when something deserves it. And this movie truly deserves a bad review. I paid $5.99 for this movie on Pay-Per View and I immediately wanted my money back. Even with the coupon from DirecTV to take off $4.99, I still wanted my dollar back. Preferably with interest.

You see, the concept sounds neat. A society where people control others through a video game like SimCity. Those people being controlled get paid. Enter an action video game, and convicts get set free if they survive to the end of the game.

And then they had to totally ruin the movie with so much gratuitous blood and gore, I was queasy. And the acting? There was none. Although Michael C. Hall does play a pretty cool bad guy, I just kept seeing Dexter.

So save your money and let somebody else buy this for you. Then you can exchange it for something much better like Hackers.

LOST - What Kate Does (episode review)

2010-02-11T06:00:00.001-05:00

Now, two warnings before we move on. First, I am going to write my LOST episode reviews before I read any other comments. I hope this will keep my opinions clear from any cross-contamination. If I do happen to read or hear something that influences my review, I will say so. Second, these reviews will contain spoilers. You have been warned.

----------SPOILERS----------

Where to begin on this one. Probably with disappointment. Even though I knew it was coming, even though I knew it would not be a strong episode, I was still disappointed in the lack of plot movement. The big reveals for me were Sawyer's plans to marry Juliet (which was nearly as sad as Charlie's death) and Claire's return (both on and off the island).

Kate has become some sort of rubber ball/fickle bitch. She keeps bouncing back and forth between Jack and Sawyer. Just stick to a man and be done with it.

Jin, I love Jin. Sure, I hated (and still do) his older persona, but I love that he's still looking for Sun and has developed into a much more intelligent character.

Jack is, well, still himself. Rash, unthinking, and almost as wishy-washy as Kate. Not really digging him right now.

Locke, although he was missing form this episode, is starting to grow on me. Mostly the off-island version with his words of wisdom, but also his Smoke Monster version that kicks ass and takes names.

Claire. Wow. She's back. Off-island she looks as sweet as ever. Even when Ethan Goodspeed is there to save her baby Aaron. On-island, she looks as crazy as Rousseau. And is apparently "infected" with whatever the illness is. Not sure what all that means, but I'm sure we'll find out. Which further proves a new theory I have. But more on that later.

In the end, I want to be surprised by all the changes (new characters, new locations, old characters coming back, etc.) but I'm a LOST fanatic now and honestly, not much really surprises me with the show anymore. Sure, there's still some shocks when I see people (like Ethan or Claire) but I expect that. I expect to walk away from the show scratching my head wondering if this whole thing has been a dream. So while this episode was disappointing at times, I know it's only going to set up an awesome episode next week.

LOST Predictions

2010-02-09T06:00:00.003-05:00

Just a few predictions here for you to think about while watching LOST tonight.

1 - Sayid is still Sayid. He is not Jacob, nor can Jacob "possess" anyone. However, Sayid will have been "changed" by his "rebirth" and will now fight the bad guys.

2 - Neck wounds link Dan and Jack. Ever wonder why Jack had a bloody neck on the airplane? Did it make you think about Faraday and his neck wound on the island before he died?

3 - The whole alternate-time line theory is a hoax. It will turn out to be somebody having a dream during their coma, sleep, or some other unconscious state.

4 - There is more than one smoke monster. You read that right. There is a "good" and a "bad" smoke monster. Remember Jacob's cabin was surrounded by ash? And Jacob asked Locke for help? We know the ash keeps the smoke monster out (or in) so could that have been the bad monster that was somehow locked in there? And what about when the smoke monster came up to Mr. Eko? It didn't kill him, right? But it did the second time? Hmm, I think there's two of them.

5 - And finally, I found out where the polar bears went to after they left the island. You know one ended up in Tunisia at the exit point of the donkey wheel. But apparently the rest of them ended up on the east coast of the United States, specifically in a rural area of Virginia. I even have a photo of one their current keepers as proof.

Ariel by Steven R. Boyett (review)

2010-02-08T06:00:00.005-05:00

Title: Ariel
Author: Steven R. Boyett
Illustrator: N/A
Kindle Locations: 6,547
Genre: Fiction
Dewey Decimal: F Boy
ISBN: 978-0-7592-9932-0
Kindle Cost: $7.19

Do you think the Change should be this neat Disney movie with animals like Ariel? Come on, Shaughnessy—it’s not Disney. It’s Dante.

There are many references out there that compare Boyett's Ariel with S. M. Stirling's Dies The Fire. Some in a kindly, gentle manner and some in a accusatory and disgruntled manner. But we'll cover that whole can of worms in another post.

After shelving those thoughts of Stirling's Emberverse series and focusing on Boyett's work individually, it's actually a very nice read. It is very simplistic, full of action, and even has a sex scene to seal the deal. Boyett's style is just what you would expect from a young author writing a fantasy/sci-fi book in the mid-1980s. In fact, it can be funny at times because you can almost see Boyett pounding away on a shiny, new typewriter (old and rusty by now, I'm sure). Like another powerhouse writer, this book reminded me of the level of work R. A. Salvatore gave when he wrote The Woods Out Back. Simple but fun.

Aside from the overall simplicity of the novel, the characters are a bit thin at times. Something addressed to some degree in the Afterword, but I think it worked. I focused on Pete (the lead male) and Ariel (the lead female). The go a-questing to beat the big bad guy and have mini-adventures along the way. The action was very well thought out and easy to visualize. But more importantly, it was easy to believe. Aside from hang gliding off the World Trade Center, that is.

But as it stands, the Change is an awfully inconsistent phenomenon, isn’t it? I mean, how come a bicycle doesn’t work but George’s watch does? They’re essentially the same thing, using gears to transfer motion. Ditto fires: people smoke cigarettes and light campfires all over the place, but guns don’t work. Why one combustion and not the other?

In the end, it was well worth the money to buy the book. It was entertaining. It was fun. It did not take a lot of thought to digest every nuance written (unlike an epic fantasy novel). And of course, it leads to the big elephant in the room: S. M. Stirling

But more on him later.

LOST - LA X (episode review)

2010-02-05T06:00:00.001-05:00

Before we start up with the review of the first episode, I would like to propose a theory. We know that women who get pregnant on the island will miscarry and die. But we also know that Ethan was born on the island and his mother, Amy, survived. Granted, he was born earlier than expected, I think it is safe to assume that it was still beyond the window Juliet gives us earlier (the end of the first trimester).

With that said, could Amy's actions, namely her desire to kill Sayid, have caused the Island to reject pregnant women? Was her desire to kill the trigger for the island to punish anyone that got pregnant?

Just something to think about.

Now, two warnings before we move on. First, I am going to write my LOST episode reviews before I read any other comments. I hope this will keep my opinions clear from any cross-contamination. If I do happen to read or hear something that influences my review, I will say so. Second, these reviews will contain spoilers. You have been warned.

----------SPOILERS----------

First, some random thoughts and notes I had while watching the show.

- I did not like the opening scenes. I was totally convinced that the show had gone in the crapper when the plane did not crash. Obviously later I realized there were two different story lines. And I am still not convinced that I even like that idea yet.

- I was so happy to hear that Juliet was alive. And so pissed off when she died.

- When they cut to the shot of Dharma-ville under water, we got to see the four-toed statue. Was that a Stargate I saw on the ocean floor next to it?

- I was glad to see Frogurt back in the cast. I mean, I hated him, but I am always glad to see a character with the name "Neil." Even if he is cast as a bad guy.

- Super-duper stoked to see Charlie back. I missed him!

- Did Richard Alpert arrive on the island on the Black Rock? I think so after that "chains" comment from the Locke Monster.

- Speaking of the Locke Monster, it clearly explains why Locke disappeared when Ben went to the temple to be judged. Ever notice that last season?

- Did you see the blooper with Sayid hitting a lady in the head with his bag when he deplaned? Funny!

- And finally, who the heck is the guy with the glasses in the temple?

Okay, that wraps up my random thoughts while watching the episode, now into a deeper review. We see two main plot lines, one on the plane with no crash and one on the island post-explosion. I wonder what Juliet's body/soul meant when it told Miles that "it worked." Could this mean an alternate time-line/reality? Our does it mean that everyone we see on the island is dead and these are their souls?

The plane scenes did not sit well with me, but I think I was taking things too seriously when the show started. I put too much faith in answers becoming clear in the first five minutes. I should have known better. So with that in mind, I think we will see answers, but we will need to wait.

Claire's return (and Charlie, Boone, Frogurt, the science guy, etc.) were all very cool. It was great to see things get tied back to the first season. Now I think the question is just how that all relates to the other plot line, the post-explosion island. This story line I really liked. We got to see where the 815 kids went as well as met new characters. How they all relate to the Locke Monster and Richard and Jacob though, I do not know.

Dana Hand Interview

2010-02-03T06:00:00.004-05:00

Author Dana Hand, author of Deep Creek (review here), was kind enough to take a few minutes to answer some questions.

Library Dad - I recently finished reading Deep Creek, the story of Chinese miners that were murdered in Idaho in 1887. Would you classify the book as historical fiction, mystery, or something else?

Dana Hand - We wanted to write a rich, dense novel about crime and justice, but one told in a spare, suggestive style. That let us borrow from many literary traditions. Deep Creek is historical fiction; it's also a romance, a thriller, a mystery. Readers respond to the story in all kinds of ways. Goodreads classifies Deep Creek on thirty lists, from Best Historical Fiction to Best Villains.

LD - How did you find out about the murders in 1887 and what drove you to write about them?

DH - Will learned the story on a National Geographic assignment in 1981. Over thirty Chinese gold miners killed, and the killers went free. For years he compiled historical research, but the record was full of errors and lies. The truth about what happened, and why, needed imagination. Once Anne joined the project, our main characters—Joe, Grace, and Loi—emerged to reveal their intricate pasts. Each is a cultural half-breed, and they repeat the struggles between natives and strangers that still consume America today.

LD - There are scenes in the book that are clearly fantastical and others that are historical. How long did it take you to research the true story behind your characters?

DH - We don't make a simple distinction between history and fantasy. Each moment in our lives is a mix of what we think and feel, know and believe, and around every "fact" dances a shimmer of possibilities. Because the miners die horribly, their ghosts cannot rest. For Joe to live with the killers, he impersonates an old prospector. To escape death, Grace and Loi enter other states of being. Even Dr. Stanton, solid man of science, knows how Grace could bring home aspen leaves from a treeless canyon. At the heart of our book lies the conviction that humans constantly seek to transcend their limits. Joe calls it "real pretending."

LD - What's the least glamorous thing you do in the line of duty?

DH - Grading student essays, paying bills, and updating software.

LD - What keeps you up at night?

DH - Fearing that print books, and their readers, will disappear.

LD - Who is the smartest author you know?

DH - John McPhee and Joan Didion; smart in entirely different ways.

LD - Are you working on another book? If so, what can we expect?

DH - Yes, the working title is Lion Rock. It's set in Tanzania, on the northern safari route. It will be what our publisher has called an "intelligent thriller," full of violence, hot pursuit, and lots of brooding about the magnificent lands of East Africa, where mankind arose and the last great wilderness clings to survival. The Chinese will be along as well, but cast in new roles.

PS: many people ask us about the pen name, Dana Hand. It's short, unisex, and comes from both sides of our families.

Deep Creek by Dana Hand (review)

2010-02-01T06:00:00.001-05:00

Title: Deep Creek
Author: Dana Hand
Illustrator: N/A
Pages: 320
Genre: Fiction
Dewey Decimal: F Han
ISBN: 0547237480
Kindle Cost: $0.45 (due to NetGalley emailing the PDF to my Kindle email account)

First off, the name Dana Hand is a nom de plume (pen name) for Will Howarth and Anne Matthews. So be prepared for a novel that jumps around a bit in style.

Which brings me to my second point. The plot was not at all what I expected. I knew ahead of time that the basic story was based on real events (the murders of several Chinese in the Idaho/Oregon border area by some unsavory rustlers). What I expected was the story to follow the murders, the investigation, then the trial of the accused.

And that's mostly what I got, but there's a lot of side plots that follow the characters on their progress through life. While this helped me connect with the characters, it didn't help the story much. In fact, only the first half or so of the book was interesting enough to get hooked. Once the lead character, law man Joe Vincent, "solved" the case, the plot took a bit of a nose-dive by jumping around between characters and sub-lots.

With that said, I still enjoyed the story. It wasn't the best story, but I think part of that was my expectation going in. It wasn't the historical murder-mystery I wanted, instead it was a story about Joe Vincent and one particular investigation (and those involved). The various cuts to other characters was a nice change of pace, but at times I was a little lost when the names mentioned didn't ring any bells.

In the end, despite my mixed feelings, I'm still glad I was able to read about this little known moment in history. I got a good visualization of the scenery and the people that lived there. I'm also glad I was able to read it for free (or nearly free) and really appreciate the people at NetGalley for the wonderful services they provide (and to the publisher, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for allowing the galley on Kindle).

Movie Reviews?

2010-01-29T06:00:00.005-05:00

That's right, I will be delving into some movie reviews to help expand my audience a bit as well as expand the types of media I cover. Just reviewing books (and audio books) does not seem to cut it considering libraries do carry movies on DVD these days.

On top of that, I will cover the final season of LOST. I know, I know, countless people will be doing the same thing and nearly all of them will do it better than me. But I love the show so much, I feel the need to chime in with my forty-two cents.

So stay tuned for some movie reviews!

Susan Beth Pfeffer Interview

2010-01-27T06:00:00.001-05:00

Susan Beth Pfeffer, author of This World We Live In (review here), was nice enough to take time from her day to answer a few questions.

Library Dad - I liked how This World We Live In fit into the post-apocalyptic genre. What made you choose a world in ruin as your background for this story?

Susan Beth Pfeffer - I like disaster stories and there's something so interesting about the end of the world. I have no ability to write what I call leaping the lava stories (where the hero bravely leaps over a lava flow roughly the width of the Hudson River). What I'm good at is exploring family dynamics. So I decided to see what would happen to a family under the worst possible situation.

It turned out I love ending the world. This World We Live In is something of a sequel to two different books, Life As We Knew It and The Dead And The Gone. Both books deal with the immediate aftermath of the same worldwide catastrophe. In This World We Live In, the characters meet each other. The focus in all three books is simple everyday survival. Not just physical survival, but coping with emotional loss as well.

LD - Do you feel comfortable being placed in the same category as other post-apocalyptic authors like Richard Matheson, S. M. Stirling, and Steven R. Boyett?

SBP - When I wrote Life As We Knew It, I thought of it as a family problem novel, with a really really big problem. After it got shortlisted for the Andre Norton Award, I discovered it was science fiction. Since then I've learned it's post-apocalyptic. It is a tribute to my lack of knowledge of the field that I still can't spell apocalyptic.

LD - What's your favorite part of a typical day?

SBP - I have a kitten named Scooter who'll be a year old in February. Every morning around 7, he wakes up and plays what I call Purr On The Neck. He climbs on my face (sometimes he yanks my hair), and purrs ecstatically. Purr On The Neck can last for as long as ten minutes (at which point he tends to start playing Bite The Hand That Should Be Feeding Me).

I've had cats my entire adult life, but Scooter is the only one who's ever done this. It's our morning ritual. There's something quite luxurious about having a kitten proclaim how thrilled he is to be waking up with me.

LD - What's the simplest thing you never learned to do? Whistle? Skip? Ride a bike?

SBP - I'm not sure I remember how I learned to whistle (I'm an excellent whistler by the way, although I can't carry a tune when I sing), but I do remember being taught how to skip (by my brother) and how to tie shoelaces (by my mother). Both times I was stunned that I could actually master such complex tasks.

I never did manage bike riding though. I will never understand why grownups can't ride tricycles.

LD - What accomplishment are you most proud of?

SBP - I really don't like doing things for people. I don't like being asked to do a favor (and I try very hard not to ask other people to do favors for me).

Many many many years ago, a friend of mine asked me to go to a fast food place that was selling different Looney Tune glasses each week. For some reason she couldn't get there.

I did her the favor and I didn't resent doing it.

I remain very proud of myself for not feeling put upon.

LD - Who is the most under-appreciated author you know?

SBP - I have no idea.

I mostly read non-fiction. But I do have a real fondness for domestic thrillers from approximately 1950-1975. Husbands murdering wives. Wives murdering husbands. Perfectly ordinary people doing heinous things (or knowing someone doing heinous things).

It could be that entire genre is under-appreciated.

Thanks again to Sue for her time and answers!

This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer (review)

2010-01-25T06:00:00.000-05:00

Title: This World We Live In
Author: Susan Beth Pfeffer
Illustrator: N/A
PDF Pages: 257
Genre: Fiction
Dewey Decimal: F Pfe
ISBN: 978-0-547-24804-2
Kindle Cost: $1.65 (for conversion from NetGalley to Kindle)

The main character in this novel is a young woman named Miranda. She keeps a journal (or diary if you like) of the events of her life over the span of a few months. And it is quite a depressing life indeed.

But let's back up a little. The main setting is rural Pennsylvania, but it is not the world as we know it. Instead it is a post-apocalyptic world where an asteroid hits the moon causing it to orbit closer to the earth. Which in turn plays havoc on the weather. You can imagine what would happen from there, but Pfeffer puts most of this global catastrophe in the background. It plays a role in the setting and the hardship the characters live in, but the characters drive this story from start to finish.

From there, we have the genre to consider. While not exactly obvious from the blurbs seen around town, this is most certainly a young-adult novel. And while Miranda is legally an adult, she comes across as a very young teenager instead. As a middle-aged guy, it was hard to identify with her without going back to a middle school mindset and thinking about the girls I knew back then.

Despite the genre not being my primary choice, it did work for me in the post-apocalyptic genre. It did a great job conveying the emotional toll that I'd expect to see after a disaster. And it was this emotion that is rarely seen in other post-apocalyptic stories.

And all that emotion gets depressing. As the reader follows Miranda through her life in a wet and cold hell, we learn that she lives with her controlling mother and two brothers. The family grows through marriage and reunions with lost family members but it also shrinks through death and other natural disasters. What Miranda is looking for in life is not clear, but she and the rest of the people certainly do their best to survive.

All in all, this was a good read for the post-apocalyptic genre as it added the proverbial "woman's touch" as well as emotional depth. How it measures up to other young adult books, I do not know. But I would assume it could hold its own.

One side note. I discovered after reading this book that it was actually the third book in a series. While it is unclear what the name of the trilogy is here in the States, it looks like our UK readers call it The Last Survivors trilogy. Book one is Life as we Knew It and book two is The Dead and the Gone.

Dusty Higgins and Van Jensen - A Joint Interview

2010-01-18T06:00:00.000-05:00

Joining us today for our first interview of 2010, we have Dusty Higgins and Van Jensen, creators, artists, and writers behind the graphic novel Pinocchio: Vampire Slayer.

LibraryDad: How on Earth did you come up with the idea for a vampire killer in the body of a wooden puppet?

Van Jensen: I'll let Dusty tackle this one, since he came up with the idea.

Dusty Higgins: I sketch a lot just to keep those creative muscles going. It all started with a sketch that got way out of control. That and I've got a weird sense of humor.

LD: How long did it take to write and illustrate the book?

VJ: First we had to talk through the story and get an outline we were both happy with. From there, the scripting took me a few weeks. Then we continued to tweak things until right before it was sent to the printer.

DH: It's hard to say exactly because I juggle a lot of projects around at once, but it was about a year from when we first said "Hey, let's do this" to when we said, "Whoa, we actually finished that."

LD: Are you two working on another another Pinocchio book or some other project?

VJ: I've completed the script to Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer 2 and Dusty is started illustrating it. We can't say much about the story yet, but if you like the first, you'll love the second. Beyond that, I have a handful of my own writing projects that are on the way, including three graphic novels with other illustrators.

DH: I've started the pages for Pinocchio II, and I'm sure we'll be posting some updates on the second book on the pinocchiovampireslayer.com Web site in the coming weeks. I'm also working on another project with Ron Wolfe called "Knight of the Living Dead."

LD: Did growing up in the mid-west (Nebraska and Arkansas) make it harder to get the book published? Or did you find a stronger following because of it?*

VJ: The key to getting the book published was finding the right publisher and sending them a good pitch. There are a lot of qualities I think one gains from living in the Midwest, with work ethic being atop that list. But there wasn't anything in my background that really related. I think it helped that I had worked in the comics industry before, and so I knew what publishers were looking for.

DH: I hadn't really thought about it. I think it's the idea and the quality of the work being done that sells the book more than mine or Van's location. The internet has helped a lot in getting the word out on the book. I think that makes location irrelevant. It is kind of nice being considered one of a handful of comic book artists in Arkansas.

LD: What was the best part of working on Pinocchio?

VJ: Definitely seeing pages as Dusty sent them over. It was a fun book to write, and I tried to script as much fun stuff for Dusty to draw as possible. And he always exceeded expectations.

DH: The characters we have, hands down. Be it the ones we created, or the ones we've pulled from the original Pinocchio. They were really fun to work with. It all started with Pinocchio, but some of my favorite characters to draw ended up being Canpanella, the blue fairy, as well as the Fox and the Cat.

LD: What's the least glamorous thing you do in the line of duty?

VJ: I work on the side for the publisher Top Shelf, and often my job is to help out packing boxes in the warehouse. Not very glamorous!

DH: As much as I enjoy it, I wouldn't exactly call drawing comics glamorous. It's a lot of long hours and late nights spent hunched over the drawing board. It can be fun and rewarding but it takes as much as it gives... none of it's glamorous.

LD: What skill would you most like to improve?

VJ: I'm always working on my writing, but one thing I've been focusing on lately is art. I grew up drawing and wanted to illustrate comics as a career. After spending the past decade working as a writer, I'm finally picking up the drawing board again. Unfortunately, my skills are pretty rusty.

DH: My first inclination is to say drawing, but I'm constantly finding new styles I enjoy, and I'll probably never be satisfied with that. Same for my writing. Perhaps my ability to network with people... it's really important nowadys, and I suck at it.

LD: What accomplishment are you most proud of?

VJ: I've been working toward having a book published for the past five years, so to finally have it happen is really rewarding. The most enjoyable part is definitely talking with fans.

DH: I'm proud of finishing a 128-page graphic novel, it was a big achievement. I do feel like my first child, coming in June (sorry, not available in stores), will be an accomplishment I'll be much more proud of.

LD: What keeps you up at night?

VJ: Besides vampires? Usually deadlines.

DH: Assignments... and video games (when the assignments are finished, of course).

LD: Who is the most under-appreciated author you know?

VJ: I'm not sure people realize just how good Rob Venditti is. His two Surrogates graphic novels are the best science fiction I've read in the past decade. He has two big books coming up this year in the thriller Homeland Directive and a graphic novel adaptation of The Lightning Thief, though, so he'll be plenty appreciated soon.

DH: I don't know if he should be described as an author, but I think Ben Caldwell is really under-appreciated as a comic book artist. He does some amazing work and his Wonder Woman for Wednesday Comics was phenomenal. His forms have this terrific feeling of action and movement. I'm surprised he hasn't been asked to do more work in the industry (although maybe he has and has just been turning people down, I don't know).

*I know this sounds like an odd question, but it was actually the Nebraska connection that made me want to read Pinocchio. My father's side of the family comes from central Nebraska so I always have my ears on for authors coming from the region.

Pinocchio: Vampire Slayer by Van Jensen and Dusty Higgins (review)

2010-01-15T06:00:00.003-05:00

Title: Pinocchio: Vampire Slayer
Author: Van Jensen
Illustrator: Dusty Higgins
Pages: about 120
Genre: Graphic Novel
Dewey Decimal: YP GN Jen
ISBN: 978-1-59362-176-6

This is not the Pinocchio I knew as a kid, that is for certain. The Pinocchio I knew was the soft, lovable, Disney version that I am sure most people are familiar with.

Jensen and Higgins give you a much more hard-core Pinocchio that would kick the ass of any other Pinocchio out there. This dude could probably kick my ass. Thankfully he stays on the page and kills vampires.

And that is essentially what you get when you read this short graphic novel. The artwork is very dark (it is black and white, but it has a very noir feel to it) but it fits the mood of the story. Pinocchio is mad at the vampires and he is intent on making them pay. And they do.

One thing to keep in mind when you read this is the humor. Sure, it is a dark story in some places and even a bit sad, but the humor is awesome. Sometimes light and airy, sometimes dry and witty, the humor really makes this book a killer.

Reading News Roundup

2010-01-13T06:00:00.003-05:00

New Releases

Brunonia Barry, author of the Lace Reader (review), has another novel called The Map of True Places coming out in May.

A wild child after her mother takes her own life, Zee Finch grows up to become a highly regarded psychotherapist. Then a particularly difficult patient commits suicide. Barry's The Lace Reader was, of course, a huge hit last year, but this book feels quite different, so let's see what happens. With a one-day laydown on May 4; 250,000-copy first printing, seven-city tour, and reading group guide.

- via Library Journal

I'm no zombie fan, but James Knapp's upcoming State of Decay sounds like it puts an interesting spin on the genre.
- via Library Journal

While urban fantasy also ranks low on my genre preferences meter, I would have expected to at least be familiar with the author's name. Alas Simon R. Green appears to have snuck in under the radar with his Nightside series. And it sounds oddly like a mix of Alex Bledsoe and Anton Strout. And debut author N. K. Jemisin gets a starred review for her new book The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. I like it when the new kid on the block gets a starred review. Connie Willis revisits the world of her previous novels (The Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog) with her newest book, Blackout. This is one author and series that I really, really want to try out again. I just could not get into To Say Nothing of the Dog on my first try.
- via Library Journal
- via Suvudu

I highly doubt I will ever read Laura Resnik's Dopplegangster: An Esther Diamond Novel book, but how can I pass up a mention? I mean, Dopplegangster? It's just so much fun to type.
- via Library Journal

Alexandra Potter has a time-travel book, The Two Lives of Miss Charlotte Merryweather, coming in March that sounds a bit like a romance novel. I love time-travel, but I think I'll have my wife read this one first.
- via Library Journal

Steve Stirling (or S. M. Stirling if you prefer) is chugging away on his latest novel, A Taint in the Blood. For me, this urban fantasy is a big departure from his usual science-fiction/fantasy works. You can check out the first eight chapters of it here.

Contests

Rabbit and Bear Paws, one of the most under-appreciated comics out there, is running a coloring contest for kids. Click here for more info.

Movies

What's this? Brandon Sanderson has a movie option for Mistborn? Wowowowowow!

Quotes

Uber-author Pat Rothfuss sums up my feelings on Firefly being canceled with this simple quote:

Six years later I'm still pissed. I'll probably be pissed about Firefly until the day I die.

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin (review)

2010-01-11T06:00:00.006-05:00

Title: The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
Author: Benjamin Franklin
Illustrator: N/A
Kindle Locations: 2,513
Genre: Biography
Dewey Decimal: Bio Fra
ISBN: N/A
Kindle Cost: Free

To put this book into perspective, let me quote my doctor who recently surprised me with his familiarity with Ben Franklin.

"He's full of himself, isn't he?"

Yep, that pretty much sums up this entire book, but keep in mind that it is an auto-biography. Which means it is written with a very obvious slant to how things have happened. But I expected that going into it and was not caught off guard.

What was surprising to me were the number of ideas and projects that Franklin was involved in. Again, I am sure he may have exageratted his involvement to some degree (intentionally or not), but everything from public works projects to science experiments kept me reading.

And then he has the whole section on self improvement and eating a vegitartion diet. I never new he was a vegetarian for a time. I knew he worked on his bad habits and tried to improve himself as a person, but never knew he went without meat.

These names of virtues, with their precepts, were: 1. TEMPERANCE. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation. 2. SILENCE. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation. 3. ORDER. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time. 4. RESOLUTION. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve. 5. FRUGALITY. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing. 6. INDUSTRY. Lose no time; be always employ'd in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions. 7. SINCERITY. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly. 8. JUSTICE. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty. 9. MODERATION. Avoid extreams; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve. 10. CLEANLINESS. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, cloaths, or habitation. 11. TRANQUILLITY. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable. 12. CHASTITY. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dulness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another's peace or reputation. 13. HUMILITY. Imitate Jesus and Socrates.

What I really missed reading about were his nocturnal exploits. As a kid, I was always taught Franklin was the guy with a kite in a lighting storm. It was in college that I learned Franklin was a dirty old man and liked to get in the sack with the ladies. But alas, that was not in my edition, and I frankly doubt he would write something so shocking in there anyway.

In the end, it was an interesting account of part of Franklin's life, but clearly was not the whole story. I would recommend starting your Franklin research here, but by no means will this cover every detail you need to get the true picture.

And, indeed, if it be the design of Providence to extirpate these savages in order to make room for cultivators of the earth, it seems not improbable that rum may be the appointed means. It has already annihilated all the tribes who formerly inhabited the sea-coast.

Holiday Hiatus

2009-12-14T06:00:00.000-05:00

Yes, after many hours and days of debate between me, myself, and I, we have come to the conclusion that we need a break. So instead of providing a lot of low-quality content, we'll work toward providing quality content, but at a later date.

Right now, we expect to be back online with reviews and interviews by January 11, 2010. We know that's a long ways off, but we would rather focus on quality over quantity.

So until then, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

PS - And while you wait, enjoy this 17-year-old poem with accompanying artwork.

Christmas Giveaway WINNERS

2009-12-11T10:13:00.002-05:00

We had 14 entries for the contest and I'd like to thank all of you for entering. Unfortunately I only have prizes for six of you.

So without further ado, here's the list of winners:

mindy
techyone
Homemaker
divaqueenie
Nicole D.

If you left me an email address or if I find one on your Blogger profile, I'll try to contact you directly. Otherwise, please send me an email at tk42one@gmail.com with your mailing address.

Congratulations!

Flashforward by Robert J. Sawyer (review)

2009-12-07T06:00:00.000-05:00

Title: Flashforward
Author: Robert J. Sawyer
Illustrator: N/A
Pages: 6,433 Kindle locations
Genre: Fiction
Dewey Decimal: F Saw
ISBN: 978-0-7653-2413-9
Cost: $7.75 on Kindle

A while back I picked up Flashforward based on the previews of the ABC television series. And I'm glad I did. But let the reader beware, there are some stumbling points.

First, readers need to know that the book differs from the TV show. And the difference is large. The characters are quite different and the plots and the locations and, well, you get the idea. Granted, I do not know how the TV series will end, but I would guess that it is different than the book.

Second, the book has a tendency to fall into the Star Trek black hole of techno-jargon. There are pages and scenes stuffed into the book that make your head want to explode. Maybe there are physicists out there that enjoy the veracity of the scene (I assume it is all correct), but the general reader is completely lost at times.

Finally, the overall plot is a bit shallow. There are scenes that are good mind you, and there are topics and theories that make you wonder and think about how things could be. I think for me, it was the lack of some important ingredient. I cannot quite put my finger on it, but something was missing. And at times I felt like I was reading a short story that was stretched just a bit to make it a novel.

Now, despite all of these shortfalls, the novel is a decent read. It does not hold water to a lot of the other stories I have read lately, but it was still a fun adventure. I think for me the key was the main idea. What would happen if we all lost consciousness? What would happen if we all got a glimpse of our future? It is this kind of thinking that makes me want more books like this.

So in the end, it was an average read. Nothing too great to scream and holler about, but good enough to keep you entertained. Now it is just a matter of time to see if the TV show can keep up with the book or surpass it.

The Christmas Giveaway

2009-12-04T06:00:00.006-05:00

See all of those books? Well, I'm giving them away so keep reading to see how this will work.

I have six books to give away. All of the books I'm sending to you, the reader, are new (except Flash Forward which is close enough). "New" as in I just peeled the stickers off the back from Barnes & Noble.

- Flash Forward by Robert J. Sawyer (mass market paperback, read once)
- Ice, Iron and Gold by S. M. Stirling (mass market paperback, new)
- Shadow's Edge by Brent Weeks (mass market paperback, new)
- Acacia by David Anthony Durham (mass market paperback, new)
- Across the Face of the World by Russell Kirkpatrick (mass market paperback, new)
- The Stepsister Scheme by Jim C. Hines (mass market paperback, new)

This is open to residents of the United States only. I really wish I could include my international readers in the giveaway, but alas, I'm giving until it hurts as it is.

Enter by midnight December 10, 2009. I won't guarantee delivery by Christmas, but I will make every effort to have them in the mail by the 14th. Which means if you win, send me your mailing address quickly.

Enter by leaving a comment below or an @ tweet on Twitter. You can also send mean email (if you know it) with CHRISTMAS GIVEAWAY in the subject line or a TXT (if you know my cell number).

The rest of the books will go to soldiers. So, for each package I send to you the winning reader, I will also be sending a package of books to a soldier overseas (via AnySoldier.com). I'll include the bars of soap you see in the photos as well as any other goodies I can manage (like pillowcases, hand wipes, etc.).

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (review)

2009-12-02T06:00:00.003-05:00

Title: A Christmas Carol
Author: Charles Dickens
Illustrator: N/A
Kindle Locations: 1,065
Genre: Fiction
Dewey Decimal: F Dic
ISBN: N/A
Kindle Cost: Free

It has been years, decades even since I have read Dickens. And that being high school, it was something I did not want to do.

So I took it upon myself to brush up a little on this classic Christmas tale before attending the local dinner theater's performance of Scrooge. I am glad that I did as it gave me a little more perspective into all of those other versions out there. Everyone from Marc McDermott to Jim Carey have taken on the role of Ebenezer Scrooge (though George C. Scott is my favorite).

Yet when I finally read the original version from Dickens, it carried a little more weight than the usual movie with cartoons or Muppets. I could see the true story behind it without being blinded by the glitter and glamor of Hollywood.

And with that, I would recommend everyone take a moment and read the story. It is not long and not really difficult to read. In fact, I finished it in just a few days with only a few breaks in between to adjust to the odd grammar.

Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie (review)

2009-11-30T06:00:00.001-05:00

Title: Best Served Cold
Author: Joe Abercrombie
Illustrator: N/A
Kindle Locations: 12,024(about 640 pages)
Genre: Fiction
Dewey Decimal: F Abe
ISBN: 978-0-316-07908-2
Cost: $9.99 on Kindle

He gave vent to a breathless squeak, spun, slipped on his bare foot, began to limp back to the crack that had so mauled him on their first acquaintance. He wedged one leg through, whimpered at a stab of agony as he accidentally squashed his fruits against a plank.

Not many authors have the "fruits" to say "fruits" in their books. Abercrombie not only has the fruits to say the word, his are big enough to say it often. When I started reading Abercrombie's The First Law series, I was impressed. Greatly. He had a fantastic spin on fantasy and gave it a certain flavor or grit that left you feeling like you were a part of the action. Something I love as a reader.

So when word of his next stand-alone novel was due out, I was excited. After all, his first series was good enough for me to pass along to a close friend, something I rarely do. And Abercrombie does not disappoint in this installment.

We see a few of the same characters from The First Law series, but you get a feel that reading that series is not a prerequisite. You easily attach yourself to the characters, you easily follow the action, and frankly, you don't want this book to end.

And that would be one of the few pain points I had. The book is insanely long. It could have easily been split into a duology, but I think there is a trend for longer books, so I was not surprised by the length. Add to that a few, minor spots that move a little slowly and you want to put the book down. I think that was twice for me. Beyond that I wanted to devour this book everytime I picked it up.

In fact, this book is easily the second-best book I have read all year (you will need to read another post to see what was better).

It had taken him an hour and a half, by Friendly’s calculation, to make ready. Twelve passes of the razor against the sharpening strap. Thirty-one movements to trim away the stubble. One tiny nick left under his jaw. Thirteen tugs of the tweezers to purge the nose hairs. Forty-five buttons done up. Four pairs of hooks and eyes. Eighteen straps to tighten and buckles to fasten.

The best part for me was Friendly. And as a whole, he is the spirit of Abercrombie's skill and flavor. I mean, how often do you get a compulsive-counter in a fantasy book? And one that is a skilled killer? He was awesome. And at times I saw myself in him*, which upped the ante even more while reading. He saw numbers in everything and had a dry wit that kept me laughing and wanting more.

And, to top things off, Abercrombie did a great job of putting a little spin on me at the end. Just when I thought I had the story locked up, here comes an unexpected twist in the plot. I will leave it at that and recommend you go out and either buy, borrow, or check out this book. It will be worth your time.

* When I say I saw myself in Friendly, I mean the obsessive-compulsive counting part, not the killing part. No need to call the cops.

Thanksgiving Hiatus

2009-11-23T06:00:00.001-05:00

Library Dad will be on a holiday until after the Thanksgiving festivities. Don't eat too much turkey and don't forget to read!

See you on the 30th!

Your 2009 Black Friday Shopping List

2009-11-20T06:00:00.000-05:00

In an effort to beat the run on the common "best of," "year-end," and "top ten" lists that we see so often around Christmas and New Years, I have decided to make things a little easier for you.

How?

By giving you my list early. This means it does not drown in the sea of copy-cats but also means you can add things to your Black Friday shopping list. I know, how nice of me!

So without further gabbing, here's my "best of" list for 2009!

Best Book - Overall
Born to Run by Christopher McDougall

Best Book - Fiction
Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie

Best Book - Non-Fiction
Never Have Your Dog Stuffed by Alan Alda

Best Book/Movie Combo
Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
Watchmen (2009)

Best Movie - Overall
The Man Who Came To Dinner (1942)

Best Movie - Fiction
There Will Be Blood (2007)

Best Movie - Non-Fiction
Running the Sahara (2008)

Born to Run by Christopher McDougall (review)

2009-11-18T06:00:00.002-05:00

Title: Born to Run
Author: Christopher McDougall
Illustrator: N/A
Kindle Locations: 5,284 (about 300 pages)
Genre: Non-Fiction
eISBN: 978-0-307-27191-4
Cost: $9.99

This is the best book I have read all year. Not only does it motivate you, it also educates you while providing entertainment.

Next time you line up for a Turkey Trot, look at the runners on your right and left: statistically, only one of you will be back for the Jingle Bell Jog.

McDougall does a great job in stepping you through a story of how he stumbled onto an ancient tribe of natives in Mexico that run. And by run, I mean they run. Not a few miles, but tens and even hundreds of miles. And they run fast. Up and down hills. After a night of drinking. And, well, you get the picture.

“Here were these little guys wearing sandals who never actually trained for the race. And they blew away some of the best long-distance runners in the world.”

McDougall does a good job in splitting the story lines between his own running journey, the Tarahumara Indians, and the mysterious contact he found while searching for the Tarahumara. Along the way, the reader learns about the natives, Mexico, and why they have become an endangered civilization. Readers also get some running history and a heavy dose of insane runners (sometimes called ultra runners) and their habits.

That shock victory was the beginning of a scorching streak. Ann went on to become the female champion of the Western States 100— the Super Bowl of trail-running—-fourteen times, a record that spans three decades and makes Lance Armstrong, with his piddlin’ little seven Tour de France wins, look like a flash in the pan. And a pampered flash in the pan, at that: Lance never pedaled a stroke without a team of experts at his elbow to monitor his caloric intake and transmit microsecond split analyses into his earbud, while Ann only had her husband, Carl, waiting in the woods with a Timex and half a turkey sandwich.

Throughout the story, I was struck profoundly by many things. Some were biological, some physiological, and some philosophical. In the end, my idea of running has been transformed into something I have not quite figured out yet. But it is deeper than what it once was. This book did not make me a faster runner. But I do hope I can apply what I learned to become a better runner. Not necessarily faster, but better.

The Lost City of Z Giveaway WINNER

2009-11-16T06:00:00.004-05:00

And the winner of The Lost City of Z by David Grann is.....

Turtles In North Dakota

Congratulations! Your book is on the way, hope you enjoy it!

Jan Brett Appearance

2009-11-13T06:00:00.000-05:00

As I've recently discussed, my wife is a bit nutters over Jan Brett. And rightfully so since Brett is an amazing storyteller and illustrator. So when my wife finally made it to the head of the line to get her book signed, I am quite sure she was pleased to hear that word had spread that a crazy fan with a hedgehog tattoo would be appearing.

Yes, my wife has a tattoo of a hedgehog on her leg. Yes, that's how much she loves hedgehogs. Yes, I still love her.

What where the events that led up to this wondrous occasion? Keep reading for the high and low points of the book signing.

First, we had an appointment with a financial planner. No, not because it cost us that much to get a book signed.

From there, we moved on to one of my favorite restaurants, Old Town Grill & Cafe. Dan cooked up a nice dinner so we had plenty of fuel for our adventure.

We stopped in the local toy store (next to Jabberwocky) and did some browsing. Nothing too interesting, but I'm always amazed that they sell Smurf toys. It's like being a kid again!

Then, the real adventure began. The Jan Brett Tour Bus arrived outside, so we promptly snapped some photos.

And of course, they began hauling in decorations and signage and speakers for the event. And of course, the crowd began to grow. In fact, by 4:30 pm, there were at least fifty people in line. And it grew quite large. And hot. And antsy.

Fortunately, that's when Brett arrived to entertain the crowd. She handed out five free books to local libraries (it's unknown if they were school, local, or both) then began to chat and draw.

Here's her husband Joe, an accomplished musician, who often travels with her (and was kind enough to respond to an email years ago and send us a signed poster).

It was amazing to watch her sketch out a bear. Watching her first few lines I couldn't imagine how it would become anything other than gibberish. Turns out it was a cute little bear, hedgehog, and mouse. Amazing.

Jabberwocky also handed out some swag, like this button:

After the demonstration and chat, they dismissed everyone with a ticket number over 150 (which included us). They eventually began calling people in moving through higher numbers. Here's the line as we were about ten people from the front.

And the final moment of bliss.

Now, after this long adventure, there were some areas of improvement that I'd love to see Jabberwocky work on. Namely, they need a bouncer. There were a few upset customers there complaining about being turned away from getting all of their books signed. You see, these people brought their own books to be signed. And that's great. But you're taking time away from those people that bought books from the store.

That's where the bouncer would come in. They need somebody that's a bit mean looking, preferably an ugly man (like me) to stand there and look cross at everyone approaching the author. The bouncer would help direct the flow of fans as well as clarify that only those books bought at the store would be signed first and additional books (i.e. personal books) would be signed at the end. The bouncer would also get some fans upstairs to circulate the air because, wow, it was hot and stuffy.

That was my biggest gripe. Griping fans. I know authors want to make everyone happy, but the fans need to realize that authors are people too. And bookstores need to realize that with big talent like this there needs to be a bit more planning and a lot more stern gazing.

So there you have it. Library Dad and his lovely, though slightly crazy, wife made it to the signing and in the end, everything worked out great.

The Patriot Witch by C. C. Finlay (review)

2009-11-11T06:00:00.000-05:00

Title: The Patriot Witch
Author: C. C. Finlay
Illustrator: N/A
Pages: 327
Genre: Fiction
Dewey Decimal: F Fin
ISBN: 978-0-345-50390-9
Cost: $0 ($6.39 on Kindle)

The Patriot Witch takes the flavor of Johnny Tremain, adds some Biblical prayer, and binds it all together with eggs to work its magic on the reader.

So I managed to score a free copy of this novel through some source awhile back. You can too if you head over to the author's page. Why do I mention that this book is free? Because it is well worth your time to download it and read it.

The story follows a young man, Proctor Brown, during the early days of the American Revolution. He fights the "lobsterbacks" with his militia buddies and discovers he happens to have a talent for magic. And while I'm no stranger to historical fiction, I do not recall many novels that cover the Revolution and include magic.

Based on Finlay's level of expertise in history, I will assume his facts are in order down to many of the minute details. And that is part of what makes this book fun to read. You see, I love history. I know shockingly less than I should, but it is always fun to learn how our ancestors lived. So seeing Proctor and his fellow colonists go through life made me feel comfortable. Adding magic to the mix made things interesting.

While the magic as portrayed in the novel is based on religion and prayer, I found it fun to see how magic could have been a part of our fight for independence. And while there are some speed bumps in the plot and a few predictable scenes, it was still an enjoyable read. The Kindle price is a bit higher than I would like to pay, but since I can get it for free, I'm willing to invest money in the rest of the series just to see how Proctor plays a part in the rest of the war.

The Mitten by Jan Brett (review)

2009-11-09T06:00:00.002-05:00

Title: The Mitten
Author: Jan Brett
Illustrator: Jan Brett
Pages: 32
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0-399-21920-X
Cost: $16.95

Jan Brett is an awesome artist. It's as simple as that.

Not only does she craft a story that is interesting for children, she makes the story interesting for adults. This particular story is about a girl who loses her mitten in the snow. It quickly becomes the hiding place for the animals in the woods. After the animals leave the mitten behind, the girl discovers a slightly stretched out mitten left behind.

Brett also entertains the reader with stunning artwork. While it appears only slightly realistic on the surface, when you delve into the details of each page, you find yourself lost in the images. In fact in many of Brett's books, you can read the story, then go back and read the artwork. Each tells a story that compliments the other.

And if you are lucky enough to be in the area of Fredericksburg, VA, you can have a chance to meet Jan Brett herself at Jabberwocky from 5 to 7 pm on Tuesday November 10th (tomorrow).

Jan Brett, Hedgehogs, and My Wife

2009-11-06T06:00:00.000-05:00

For those that do not know, I am married to a wonderful woman. And just like me, she has a few quirks. Fortunately for both of us, her quirks and my quarks get along nicely.

One of my wife's quirks is her obsession with hedgehogs. It began years ago when we were still in college. My wife was studying to be a teacher and became entranced by the work of Jan Brett. And I will freely admit, I love her artwork just as much. So over time, my wife collected Jan Brett books. A hobby I had no issues with, especially considering I was collecting Star Wars books at the time.

The obsession with Jan Brett grew to a point where we actually purchased two hedgehogs. You see, Brett includes a hedgehog in her stories. As in every story. Sometimes the hedgehog is very prominent in the story, sometimes it is hidden in the artwork. Either way, my wife got sucked into hedgehog husbandry. We had George and Ginger. Ginger, the female, was the more portly of the two and the healthiest. George was more frail, but could squeeze into tighter spaces. Both were African pygmies, and both eventually passed after several years of fun.

But most of that fun was for my wife. You see, I am not much of a pet person. And after stepping on a quill while wearing just socks, you wonder what your wife has gotten you into. But I was still attached to them in my own remote way.

After they left us, my wife began collecting hedgehogs of a different sort. Stuffed. Ceramic. Stone. Art. You name it, my wife has it. So what follows is a partial photographic tour of our house. I say partial because I am quite sure I missed at least three or four hedgehogs. And why am I doing all of this? Because Jan Brett herself is coming to our area (Jabberywocky in Fredericksburg, VA) on November 10th to sign books. Can you guess who will be there?

Signed artwork.

Can you count them all?

More of the menagerie.

They're everywhere!

Watering pot.

Guarding the dog's bed.

Hiding under the TV.

More and more.

There's even a baby dressed as one.

On the fridge.

With the utensils.

On the window ledge.

Jan Brett collection.

Next to the TV.

Rubber stamping the jewelry.

Keeping guard outside.

Hiding in the weeds.

GIVEAWAY - The Lost City of Z by David Grann

2009-11-04T06:00:00.000-05:00

I have a copy of The Lost City of Z by David Grann (review here) to giveaway. The book is a hardcover and is lightly used (I read it once).

How do you enter? Well, I'm going to make things a little more interesting for this giveaway. I want you to tell me what you think is the greatest, undiscovered treasure of all time. The lost city of Atlantis, alien life forms, you name it and you're entered.

This is open to anyone and everyone, so no matter where you live, you are welcome to enter.

The giveaway ends on November 11th at midnight.

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown (review)

2009-11-02T06:00:00.002-05:00

Title: The Lost Symbol
Author: Dan Brown
Illustrator: N/A
Pages: 509
Genre: Fiction
Dewey Decimal: F Bro
ISBN: 978-0-385-50422-5
Cost: $29.95 ($9.99 on Kindle)

Dan Brown does it again. And again. He has become the best selling author to write the same story over again.

The latest novel from Brown is very much like The Da Vinci Code. The only difference is it takes place in Washington D. C. instead of Paris and the secret group is the Masons instead of Opus Dei. The rest is pretty much a cookie-cutter copy of the plot with the same kind of twists and turns and action you would expect from Brown.

So while I suffered through many predictable scenes and the expected outcome of the final chapters, there were a few redeeming qualities. First, the Masons are depicted as a fairly nice group of people. The Opus Dei group was not given such a nice fuzzy feeling, but the Masons come off as a group with secrets that try to do good.

And there were even a few scenes that I did not predict at all or scenes that I did not predict correctly. This meant I still had a few surprises when reading the story, but not enough for me to want to read another book by Dan Brown. I outgrew my cookie-cutter plots when I stopped reading the Hardy Boys.

The Lost Symbol does well on the Kindle. The graphics and symbols appear nicely and there's no need to miss out on any of the "hidden" clues. Everything is there in black and white, just like in the print version.

The Kindle DX (review) - Part III

2009-10-30T06:00:00.001-04:00

This is the final portion of the Kindle DX review where I give you some pictures to get a better visual idea of what the Kindle looks like.

The box:

The shipping label is easy to tear:

That packaging:

Safely stowed away:

Extras underneath:

Backside of the Kindle and the extras:

My nightstand before the Kindle:

My nightstand after the Kindle:

The Kindle DX (review) - Part II

2009-10-28T06:00:00.005-04:00

So I've had my Kindle DX long enough to learn more about it and what it's like reading on it. So I'll give you a more quirky analysis as well as answer some reader questions.

Quirky Analysis of the Kindle DX:
Don't order this screen protector like I did. It added a horrible amount of glare and made reading nearly impossible. Save yourself the money and buy a book instead.

The screen will show some residual "burning" after you power it on. It cycles through a set number of images (which I'd love to modify) of famous authors and various other neat things. But when you power up the device, you can still see a bit of an after-image beneath the text you're reading. Not to worry though, it goes away fast enough and it isn't strong enough to detract form reading.

I subscribed to USA Today for about a week and found I didn't read that much of it and it was misleading when a new paper was delivered. For example, when I didn't finish Wednesday's paper and I had Thursday's paper delivered, I couldn't easily find Wednesday's copy. In fact, I thought it was deleted. But after I removed Thursday's copy, Wednesday's was there. Which leads me to believe that it shows just as one title on the "Home" screen and you need to use the menu to access the older copies. And while I do like USA Today as a whole, I prefer it from the newsstand. I can quickly scan the headlines and read the articles I want. On the Kindle I had to cycle through each article to read the headlines. You could skip articles without going through each page, but it was still slower than the physical newspaper.

The Text-to-Speech feature is useless to me. Sure, if I were blind or had issues reading, I'm sure it would be awesome. But it simply does not compare to an audio book performance. The difference is bigger than comparing the sound quality of an LP and a CD. But the feature does work (again though, not for PDF files) and is fairly easy to use once you figure out the controls.

Questions from Readers:
@mellijellybean How's that Kindle working out for you? I love gadgets, but also love physical papers & books. Still want one though. How is it?

It's great. I've had it a few weeks now and I feel like I'm reading more now than before. It's very easy to jump between books and very easy to pick up and put down. It also transports better than a book, especially hardbacks, and does fairly well with graphics (like those in Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol). The best analogy I can come up with is this. The Kindle will transform the way we read books just like Hulu and the DVR will transform the way we watch television.

@McGenealogist I think of it as e-book reader or digital book.

It is. And really the only thing that sets it apart from a laptop is the ease of portability. And if I had a netbook, I could use that, but then you get into discussions about weight and heat. And both were big drawbacks to me reading from my laptop in bed. Even if I had an ultra-thin netbook that had very little weight, I'm sure it would still get hot. Not to mention the apps I'd have to open just to read. So it certainly has it's advantages, but it really is nothing more than an e-reader.

@maplemuse I'm curious about the Kindle's annotation support. Can you export the notes to your computer somehow?

For those that don't want the gruesome technical details, skip to the next question. Okay, to annotate something in the Kindle is very easy, as long as it is something that is converted to a Kindle format. Meaning, you can't take notes on something in a PDF format. Anything else should be just fine (except Audible books, audio files, etc.).

To take notes, you simple use the 5-way controller (the Kindle's version of a mouse or joystick) and highlight the text. Move the cursor to where you want to start, click, move to the end, click again. You can then type a note or leave it alone. Either way it shows the highlighted text along with your notes on the Kindle under the "My Clippings" heading on your "Home" screen.

Now, you can take these and easily copy them to your computer by connecting the Kindle via the provided USB cable. The Kindle shows as an external drive, just like most USB hard drives. (When you connect it, I found it's easier to have the Kindle on, then plug it into the computer.) Once you plug it in, navigate to the "Kindle" drive. Mine has three folders by default; audible, documents, and music. Open the "documents" folder and find the "My Clippings.txt" file.
You can either open it to read it or copy it to the computer or open and copy whatever text you want to an email. You get the idea, the file is easy to access and open. Here's an example of what it looks like:

Kindle DX User's Guide (Amazon.com)
- Note Loc. 69 Added on Tuesday,
October 13, 2009, 04:03 PM

test note

Simple enough. Now, if they'd let you use the Whispernet to send your notes to an email account, that would be super-awesome and make reviewing a book much easier. You can also edit the notes in the file if you want, meaning you can delete old ones, or write a note to yourself.

@fairywhispers How does the Kindle compare to reading a physical book?

This is the ultimate question and the hardest one to answer. You see, I have bad luck. In fact, I often say if it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all. What does this have to do with comparing a Kindle to a book? Simple, I've been following this little company called Plastic Logic for months now. They're in the process of building what I would consider a Kindle Killer (my phrase, not theirs). And sure enough, days after I get my Kindle, they announce the name of it. And the next day Barnes & Noble introduces their product. So the two main Kindle competitors I have been waiting on show up to my party too late. I have a Kindle and now I'm committed.

Still you ask what does this have to do with a physical book vs. a Kindle? Well, it's more than just the Kindle. It's comparing a physical book to a physical e-reader (in my mind software on your PC or PDF books don't quite compare to the physical e-reader). We have seen the discussions before about e-books taking over print books, is it better, is it cheaper, what about piracy, etc.

And I think it's okay to be in the middle right now. Think about the VCR. You could record television shows and watch them on your schedule. DVRs have taken that a step further by making them digital. The same goes with email. You can send a letter to family in seconds free when years before it took days and cost you twenty-two cents (plus you had to write neat enough for them to read it).

With e-readers, it's just the next step in the reading life cycle. I'm sure in twenty years we'll be reading off a piece of flimsi-plast that we'll put into our Mr. Fusion to power or hovering DeLorean. But for now, it's the Kindle (and other e-readers). And the Kindle can (and does) compete with printed books. You have a bookstore at your fingertips all the time. You can order a book on the Kindle and have it delivered in seconds or order it online and have it delivered whenever you turn your wireless on. You the consumer have the power to choose when you take delivery.

Is it worth it? That depends. Are you ready to read more books? Are you ready to spend more on books? Yes, there's a large up-front cost to the Kindle. But the back-end prices are cheaper for the most part. I mean, a new hardback book, on sale, with a discount, with cash back on your credit card, with rebates from the bookstore will cost you more than ten dollars. But on the Kindle, that's usually the maximum. And if you watch various sites online, you can pick up some free or cheaply discounted books easily. I've been saving those free PDF books for years now and have amassed nearly eighty titles, all for no cost.

So how does it compare to a physical books? Physically speaking, it's lighter, about the weight of two mass-market paperback books. It's as thin as a magazine and about the same size. The screen has very little glare, so even reading under a bright light doesn't hurt the eyes. In fact, the contrast looks so good, it looks fake. Navigating the menus is very easy with only one or two places that are not "logical" to get to (but once you find them, it's simple to remember). The fonts are adjustable (except on PDFs) and you can rotate the screen if you'd like. These are all features that a normal book does not have.

So, in the end, I would say the Kindle is worth the money. But you need to treat it like an investment. Like I said earlier, it is very much like a DVR. When we got our DVR, we began watching more television, but we could skip the commercials. With the Kindle, we can skip the store, but we're reading more. The only other side-affects you'll need to deal with are withdrawal from shopping in a book store and the lack of that musty smell from an old book.

The Kindle DX (review) - Part I

2009-10-26T06:00:00.000-04:00

I have been longing for a Kindle since it made its debut a long time ago. And I have been following its many competitors (especially Plastic Logic) since then. So when I had the opportunity (in other word the money) to get one, I could not wait for the latest and greatest to come down the technology pipeline. I had to opt for what I considered the best e-reader on the market. The Kindle DX.

Ordering, Shipping, and Arrival
At the same time I ordered mine, my wife jumped on the same bandwagon and got one as well. While her funding came from a different source, she opted for the same technology toy I did. Can you tell we love to read? Between the two of us, we had very different shipping experiences. I opted for the free shipping while she opted for the 2-3 day shipping. Needless to say she got her's first even though I ordered mine first.

The package was very nice, keeping our Kindles safe and sound inside. The packing slip label on the front is very difficult to get to without ripping to shreds. But if you take your time and follow the directions, it won't make you look like you pulled a Wolverine on it. The contents of the box were very simple. The Kindle, the cord, and a quick start guide.

Battery Life
I have already noticed that the battery life is running much lower than the specs listed by Amazon. But living in the boonies and having the wireless (aka Whispernet) on all the time does take some serious power. So I turn it off until I'm ready to have a new book or newspaper or something delivered.

Reading
The screen is so sharp and crisp, it looks fake. Seriously, it looks like a sticker they printed and put on there. But in fact, it is the real thing. So that makes reading very easy on the eyes. And to some degree, I'd say almost easier than reading a printed book.

Geeky Techno-Jargon
Transferring files to and from the Kindle is easy. Plug in the USB and it becomes another hard drive on your computer (just like any USB drive, thumb drive, etc.). It has folders on the Kindle by default that are pretty easy to understand (like "music" and "documents"). If you drag and drop a PDF file to the Kindle, it'll read just like normal. You may see some limited functionality with the PDF files (like Text to Speech won't work and you can't change the font size), but it'll still remember where you left off. It also shows some odd marks that look very much like something you'd see if you printed the PDF, but they don't subtract from the reading experience.

Dropping music onto the Kindle is easy as well, but not really worth it. After all, jogging with your Kindle isn't easy. Leave the music on your iPod or Zune and leave the books on your Kindle.

Audible files work well on the Kindle though, just drag and drop them like anything else. You'll need to register your Kindle as an approved device with Audible, but you only need to enter your Audible user name and password and you're good to go. Just remember that the "ALT" key on the Kindle keypad needs to be pressed each time you want to enter a number.

Converting RTF files is a dream as well. You simple email them to the "free" Kindle email address (yourusername@free.kindle.com). I converted three novels I had in RTF and before I could email the third one, the first was already converted and emailed back to me. Awesome. Simply save the converted file that's returned to you to your computer and drop it onto the Kindle and you're ready to go. And Text to Speech and annotations should work on those files.

E-Delivery
Like I stated before, I live in the sticks. Cell coverage at our house is weak at best. But I can easily order something online or on the Kindle and ave it delivered to the Kindle in nothing flat. And even if I have trouble connecting, I can read something else as it downloads in the background. Total time for a novel is usually less than a minute.

Newspapers
I opted for the USA Today trial period and so far it's okay. Not great, just okay. I'd suggest buying one copy or checking out the trial period if you're into magazines and newspapers. Either way, you'll get limited graphics, and not a lot of local news (at least that's what I hear about the Washington Post).

Annotations
Kindle gives you the chance to take notes while you read. I did notice that this feature does not work with PDF files, but with regular Amazon books or newspapers or even the RTF novels I had converted, it works great. The notes can be easily copied from the Kindle to your computer via the USB cable. Like putting a PDF file on the Kindle, you just copy the TXT file to your computer.

Thus concludes Part I of the Kindle Review. Stay tuned for Part II.

GIVEAWAY - Skeleton Coast by Clive Cussler and Jack DuBrul

2009-10-23T06:00:00.001-04:00

I have a copy of Skeleton Coast by Clive Cussler and Jack DuBrul to giveaway. This is a slightly used (meaning I read it) trade paperback version.

How do you enter to win a copy?

Leave a comment on this post or send me an email at tk42one (at thingy) gmail (dot) com with SKELETON COAST in the Subject.

-OR-

Send me a DM or @ reply on Twitter (http://twitter.com/librarydad).

What are the rules?

- You must live on the planet Earth (sorry, no intergalactic entries).
- You can only enter once (duplicate attempts will be disqualified).
- Deadline to enter is midnight November 2, 2009.

Havoc Giveaway WINNER

2009-10-22T06:00:00.000-04:00

And the winner of Havoc by Jack DuBrul is....

Nobody!

That's right, nobody entered. So whoever wins the next giveaway (Dark Watch by Clive Cussler and Jack DuBrul) will get BOTH books!

See what happens when you miss a chance to win a free book?

GIVEAWAY - Dark Watch by Clive Cussler and Jack DuBrul

2009-10-16T06:00:00.001-04:00

I have a copy of Dark Watch by Clive Cussler and Jack DuBrul to giveaway. This is a slightly used (meaning I read it) trade paperback version.

How do you enter to win a copy?

Leave a comment on this post or send me an email at tk42one (at thingy) gmail (dot) com with DARK WATCH in the Subject.

-OR-

Send me a DM or @ reply on Twitter (http://twitter.com/librarydad).

What are the rules?

- You must live on the planet Earth (sorry, no intergalactic entries).
- You can only enter once (duplicate attempts will be disqualified).
- Deadline to enter is midnight October 26, 2009.

The Sword of the Lady Giveaway WINNER

2009-10-15T06:00:00.000-04:00

And the winner of the two-book giveaway (The Sword of the Lady by S. M. Stirling and Deep Fire Rising by Jack Du Brul) is ...

@maplemuse!

Congratulations! I hope you enjoy both books!

Mini Vacation

2009-10-12T11:12:00.002-04:00

Library Dad is a bit bogged down reading at the moment. So the blog will be on a mini-vacation this week while he does his best to finish something worthy enough of reviewing. And don't worry, the giveaways will continue as planned!

GIVEAWAY - Havoc by Jack DuBrul

2009-10-09T06:00:00.000-04:00

I have a copy of Havoc by Jack DuBrul to giveaway. This is a slightly used (meaning I read it) mass market paperback version.

How do you enter to win a copy?

Leave a comment on this post or send me an email at tk42one (at thingy) gmail (dot) com with HAVOC in the Subject.

-OR-

Send me a DM or @ reply on Twitter (http://twitter.com/librarydad).

What are the rules?

- You must live in the United States.
- You can only enter once (duplicate attempts will be disqualified).
- Deadline to enter is midnight October 19, 2009.

Alex Bledsoe Interview II

2009-10-07T10:00:00.001-04:00

I interviewed Alex Bledsoe back in March 2009 before reading his debut novel The Sword-Edged Blonde (review here). So after reading his follow up Eddie LaCrosse novel, Burn Me Deadly (review here) and his vampire/horror novel Blood Groove (review here), I figured it was time for a follow up interview with some more pointed questions.

Your novels, The Sword-Edged Blonde and the upcoming Burn Me Deadly, star a hard-nosed detective named Eddie LaCrosse. What ever gave you the idea to take this classic character from a black and white movie and dump him into a fantasy world with swords instead of guns?

I wanted a new way into a fantasy world that bypassed a lot of the traditional clutter. For me as a reader, when I have to pause and think about how to pronounce names, or read laborious descriptions of made-up cultures just to find my way through the plot, I'm taken out of the story. By using a first-person narrator and a tone that's both familiar and fun, as well as keeping things simple unless there's a valid, immediate reason to complicate them, I hoped to eliminate any emotional barriers between the characters and the reader.

Eddie has found love again with the feisty and independent Liz. Will she tame his wild spirit or will she prod him further into insanity?

That'd be a spoiler, wouldn't it?

When I read The Sword-Edged Blonde, I was constantly reminded of the movie, The Name of the Rose, with Sean Connery. When I read Burn Me Deadly, I was reminded of the TV series Deadwood. Do you find inspiration in television or movies for your themes or am I reading too much into your stories?

No one's compared it to "The Name of the Rose" before. I love the movie, and the book is even better: it deals with not only the mystery, but the very nature of the effect books and reading have onus. What do you see as the similarities?

--Library Dad: I mostly saw similarities betwen the book and movie when it comes to the mood and flavor. And of course there's a mystery to solve. As for the Deadwood vibe, well, watch the show and let me know if you see the same links.

And I haven't had the chance to get into "Deadwood," although it's in my Netflix queue. "Burn Me Deadly" was influenced by, if not directly inspired by, the classic film noir "Kiss Me Deadly" (the Mickey Spillane novel it's based on is a very standard thing, but the film is extraordinary). The film essentially gave me a jumping-off point for my story. I borrowed the structure for the opening scene and translated a central concept into a medieval fantasy idea. And that only happened because many years ago my pal Hays Davis made a comment that stuck with me about how dragons would be the equivalent of nuclear weapons in a fantasy world.

The tavern is an often-used fantasy cliche. Do you think Angelina's Tavern fits that cliche? Or do you even care if the there is a "tavern cliche?"

There's a difference between a cliche and a trope. In fantasy, a sword is a trope; a *magical* sword is a cliche. I feel that the tavern is so ubiquitous that the effort to *not* include one would be silly. So given that one is expected, I tried to make it different enough to be interesting.

Blood Groove and Burn Me Deadly are so wildly different, I've often wondered if the same person wrote them. Can you confirm that you actually wrote both of them? And if you did, what made you choose these two different genres?

Yes, I wrote them both. And so did I.

I write in all sorts of genres; these just happen to be the ones published first. To borrow a phrase from Nicholas Meyer, "art thrives on restriction," and the rules of any given genre provide a great platform from which to work.

As for what drew me to vampires, I grew up watching Christopher Lee on late-night TV, so my first image of vampires was scary, powerful, and seductive only to the extent it allows them to feed more easily. I love the first wave of late 19th-century literary vampires: Dracula,Varney, Carmilla, Lord Ruthven, etc. I admired early Anne Rice, but the novelty of her idea--that vampires might be *bored* by being vampires--wore thin by her third book. And I don't get much charge from the idea of a sympathetic vampire, let alone a romantic one. So in "Blood Groove," I put a lot of my ideas about what makes vampires cool, and set it in a time and place I thought made for an interesting clash of elements.

You've firmly planted a foot in the fantasy genre and another in the vampire genre. Do you have plans for another genre like science fiction or steam punk?

Definitely. I don't want to write the same book over and over, and I don't want to repeat myself if I can help it.

If I recall correctly, you grew up in Tennessee. Did you draw a lot on your childhood memories for Blood Groove? If so, were any of the characters based on people you knew?

None of the characters are based on anyone I knew, but the book's mind-set is definitely what I recall from growing up. The seventies was a weirder time than most people think, stuck between the world-changing sixties and the nihilistic eighties.

Rudolfo Zginski was a very interesting character that I loved and hated at the same time. Are you planning on any future Zginski tales?

The follow-up Zginski tale, "The Girls with Games of Blood," will be released by Tor in May 2010.

I know you did a lot of vampire research for Blood Groove. What one source would you say helped you the most?

Stoker's "Dracula." He synthesized a lot of European folklore, and created some elements that we now *think* of as European folklore. Everything that makes vampires cool and exciting is really all therein that book; later books, including my own, exist either as a reflection of, or reaction to, "Dracula." Even Stephen King acknowledges it; he's said that, when writing "Salem's Lot," the brick wall he kept slamming into was "Dracula."

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

Just that the reception for the Eddie LaCrosse books has been better than I ever expected. For years I was told by publishers and agents that my mix of high fantasy and hard-boiled mystery was just too quirky for most readers. I'm eternally thankful to the agents and publishers who took a chance on it, and especially to the readers who have embraced it. I hope to keep sending Eddie on adventures for years to come.

FlashForward Giveaway WINNER

2009-10-07T06:00:00.000-04:00

And the winner of the two-book giveaway (FlashForward by Robert J. Sawyer and River of Ruin by Jack Du Brul) is ...

@fairywhispers!

Congratulations! I hope you enjoy both books!

GIVEAWAY - The Sword of the Lady by S. M. Stirling

2009-10-02T06:00:00.001-04:00

I have a copy of The Sword of the Lady by S. M. Stirling to giveaway. This is a brand new copy in hardback.

I also have a copy of Deep Fire Rising by Jack DuBrul to giveaway. This is a slightly used (meaning I read it) mass market paperback version.

How do you enter to win BOTH books?

Leave a comment on this post or send me an email at tk42one (at thingy) gmail (dot) com with SWORD in the Subject.

-OR-

Send me a DM or @ reply on Twitter (http://twitter.com/librarydad).

What are the rules?

- You must live outside the United States (in other words, foreign countries only).
- You can only enter once (duplicate attempts will be disqualified).
- Deadline to enter is midnight October 12, 2009.

Pandora's Curse Giveaway WINNER

2009-10-01T06:00:00.000-04:00

And the winner of Pandora's Curse by Jack Du Brul is...

luannschindler

Yes, she won! She had the only entry, so make sure you tell your friends and stay tuned for more. There are plenty more giveaways out there this month, so check them out!

Burn Me Deadly by Alex Bledsoe

2009-09-30T06:00:00.001-04:00

Title: Burn Me Deadly
Author: Alex Bledsoe
Illustrator: N/A
Pages: 320
Genre: Fiction
Dewey Decimal: F Ble
ISBN: 978-0-7653-2221-0
Cost: $24.99

Burn Me Deadly, due out in early November, is another hot read by Alex Bledsoe. We meet with Eddie LaCrosse again as he's thrust unwillingly into another mystery. But don't call Scooby Doo just yet, because these are some mean characters.

We have the dragon worshipers looking for prrof of their god. We have a local bad guy making some money off them while they search. We have the royalty doing their best to screw things up. And we have our hero Eddie doing his best to see justice done.

And the whole thing is in the Black River Hills, which made me think of the television show Deadwood which is set in the Black Hills of South Dakota. And if you've never seen the show, the next paragraph will be lost on you.

Which had prospectors searching for their gold. A local bad guy, Al Swearengen, making money off everyone. The US government trying to screw things up. And the hero Seth Bullock trying to see justice done.

Aside from my Deadwood thoughts, I think Bledsoe did a good job of pushing Eddie into a stronger character (and a more believeable one) with his relationship with Liz. There were some scenes that didn't quite feel right and a few were predictable, but it was all smoothed over by the fast pace and the action (although I would have enjoyed more swordplay by Eddie).

In the end, Burn Me Deadly was a fast, light, and easy read. You don't need to know about Eddie or read The Sword-Edged Blonde (review here) to "get" this story, but it will help give you some background on Eddie. And you don't need to worry about plots so thick that you have to read three books just to get to the bottom of them. Just sit back and get ready for a wild ride as Eddie LaCrosse, sword-jockey, has another exciting adventure.

The Lost City of Z by David Grann

2009-09-28T06:00:00.000-04:00

Title: The Lost City of Z
Author: David Grann
Illustrator: David Cain
Pages: 277
Genre: Non-Fiction
Dewey Decimal:
ISBN: 978-0-385-51353-1
Cost: $27.50

The Lost City of Z is not just the tragic story of a man obsessed with finding a lost civilization in the jungles of the Amazon. It is also the story of an author determined to find out what happened to him and what he learns along the way.

When I first glanced at the cover of the book and skimmed the blurb, I was expecting it to be a Dan Brown-esqe style of story about a man who searches for a great mystery and finds it before dying, only to have another man come along later to rediscover the mystery. A few weeks later, I heard more about the book and found out it was a true story. And after reading it, I was pretty close with my first impression.

While the plot moves slowly at times, especially early on, there is a great mystery and there is a great reveal. To set the playing field, Grann begins by giving the reader an idea of what the Amazonian explorer Percy "Colonel" Fawcett accomplished early in his career. For nearly ten years, Fawcett explored much of the Amazon and was well-known for his discoveries. World War I interrupted his career, but when it ended, he promptly went back to the Amazon for more exploring.

All of this leads up to his quest for the city of "Z" (his code-name for the ancient city) that he had become obsessed with over time. Many other explorers believed in an ancient civilization and some sort of Atlantis or Eden-like city. So in 1925, Fawcett, his son, and his son's friend go back to the Amazon in search of the city. They never returned.

Since then, many other explorers, rescuers, and researchers went to the jungles of the Amazon to search for Fawcett, his lost city, or both. Many never survived. Even as recently as 1996 explorers were kidnapped and ransomed.

Enter the author, David Grann. During his research he became obsessed with Fawcett (but not so much in the lost city). He tracked down descendants of Fawcett and reviewed private letters, journals, and other papers that have never been released. He made some discoveries (such as the likely route Fawcett took) but the journey he made was the most interesting.

In the end, where the book gets better, Grann travels to the Amazon and is shocked to see no jungle. Years of logging have reduced it to flat plains for grazing cattle and growing crops. I never expected it to be compared to the plains of Nebraska. He also discovers what was most likely the last sighting of Fawcett as well as the ancient city he was searching for. That's right, an ancient city in the Amazon.

Don't believe me? Then read the book. It'll be worth your time. It's a great story about obsession, the death of cultures, and even makes a great companion novel for LOST fans.

GIVEAWAY - FlashForward by Robert J. Sawyer

2009-09-25T06:00:00.002-04:00

I have a copy of FlashForward by Robert J. Sawyer ---AND--- a copy of River of Ruin by Jack DuBrul to giveaway. FlashFoward is new from the store while River of Ruin is a slightly used (meaning I read it) copy. Both are mass market paperback versions.

How do you enter to win both books?

Leave a comment on this post or send me an email at tk42one (at thingy) gmail (dot) com with FLASHFORWARD in the Subject.

-OR-

Send me a DM or @ reply on Twitter (http://twitter.com/librarydad).

What are the rules?

- You must live on the planet Earth (sorry, no intergalactic entries).
- You can only enter once (duplicate attempts will be disqualified).
- Deadline to enter is midnight October 5, 2009.

Note: While there are two copies of FlashForward showing above, you only get one copy. The other is mine.

Reading Update

2009-09-24T06:00:00.000-04:00

I'm in the middle of so many books I must be crazy. Here's the list (as best as I can remember):

Burn Me Deadly by Alex Bledsoe - Finished. Review forthcoming.

The Lost City of Z by David Grann - Finished. Review forthcoming.

Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie - Just started it.

The Steel Remains by Richard K. Morgan - Just started it.

Flash Forward by Robert J. Sawyer - Just started it.

Acacia by David Anthony Durham - Next in line.

So there you have it. Let's hope I can keep the reading schedule steady. Fall prime time starts this week and we have football to worry about too.

Medusa Stone Giveaway WINNER

2009-09-23T06:00:00.006-04:00

And the winner of Medusa Stone by Jack Du Brul is...

hopefulauthor

Yes, she won! She had the only entry, so make sure you tell your friends and stay tuned for more. There are plenty more giveaways out there this month, so check them out!

Blood Groove by Alex Bledsoe (review)

2009-09-21T06:00:00.000-04:00

Title: Blood Groove
Author: Alex Bledsoe
Illustrator: N/A
Length: 8 and 1/2 hours
Genre: Fiction
Dewey Decimal: F Ble
ISBN: 978-0765321961
Cost: $14.95

Groovy man, it's bloody and groovy.

I've read Bledsoe's The Sword-Edged Blonde (review here) and was very impressed. In listening to Blood Groove and reading his next Eddie LaCrosse novel, Burn Me Deadly, at the same time, I've taken my level of appreciation for Alex to a new level. In the world of Eddie LaCrosse, there's a hint of magic here and there while Eddie solves crimes in a fantasy-style world. Think of a sword-wielding private detective and that's Eddie.

But when you read Blood Groove, be prepared to through all of your preconceived ideas of Eddie's world, Alex's writing style, and vampires out the window.

We start with Baron Rudolfo Zginski, the evil vampire stuck in quasi-stasis until he arises from the dead in 1975 in Memphis. Zginski and the 70s are characters in and of themselves. Sometimes fighting each other, sometimes working in concert. Zginski is an old-school vampire that knows his stuff, but is out of his element as he's been "dead" for sixty years.

Enter the mid-70s. Racial tensions, drugs, and free love are all running rampant in the southern town of Memphis and Zginski struggles to adapt. Fortunately his vampire powers help him out of a few tight spots until he can find others of his kind.

Along the way people die, people become vampires, and vampires die. And that's just the start. Zginski's vampire crew is nothing like you've seen before, nor is Zginski. They can do some of the "usual" stuff we've heard of before like mess with people's minds and turn into a wolf, but they can also walk in the daylight and can be killed by a secret white powder.

While bodies are piling up, Zginski is fortunate to have landed in a time when DNA evidence was ten years away and crime scene investigation was still stuck in the old world of photographs and sketches.

There's a lot to talk about with this book, but I don't want to give too much away. So instead, I'll leave you with a warning. And a stern one at that. This is NOT a book for children. In fact, if this were a movie, I'd say it would fall into the NC-17 classification easily. There are sex scenes that are very detailed. And while the violence is also graphic, it didn't compare to the sex scenes. But don't worry, they don't take away from the story. If anything they add to it.

In the end, Alex's Blood Groove is hugely different from The Sword-Edged Blonde and Burn Me Deadly. He has proven he can easily write in a different genre without sacrificing the quality of his work. And while many call his Eddie LaCrosse novels a cross between a mystery and a fantasy, I would call Blood Groove a cross between real vampires and erotica.

GIVEAWAY - Pandora's Curse by Jack DuBrul

2009-09-18T06:00:00.000-04:00

I have a copy of Pandora's Curse by Jack DuBrul to giveaway. This is a slightly used (meaning I read it) mass market paperback version. This is also an Advanced Reading Copy (ARC or galley) version.

How do you enter to win a copy?

Leave a comment on this post or send me an email at tk42one (at thingy) gmail (dot) com with PANDORA'S CURSE in the Subject.

-OR-

Send me a DM or @ reply on Twitter (http://twitter.com/librarydad).

What are the rules?

- You must live in the United States.
- You can only enter once (duplicate attempts will be disqualified).
- Deadline to enter is midnight September 28, 2009.

Charon's Landing Giveaway WINNER

2009-09-15T06:00:00.002-04:00

And the winner of Charon's Landing by Jack Du Brul is...

SarahStelmok

Yes, she won the last giveaway too, but that's because she was the only one to enter! So enter now for a good chance to win!

There are plenty more giveaways out there this month, so check them out!

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Linda Brent (review)

2009-09-14T06:00:00.000-04:00

Title: Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
Author: Linda Brent
Illustrator: N/A
Pages: 306
Genre: Non-Fiction
Dewey Decimal: B Bre
ISBN: N/A
Cost: $0

While this particular book is available for free reading via Google or other sources, I picked up the LibriVox recording so I could listen to it during my drive time.

As to the basic plot of the novel, it follows Linda Brent through her life as a slave. Except her name really isn't Linda Brent, it's Harriet Ann Jacobs. Born into slavery in North Carolina, she suffered years of abuse from her master and years of love from a few members of her master's family. She was able to learn how to read and write but was abused at the same time. Talk about a love-hate relationship.

Harriet's journey through life clearly has hardships, as anyone would expect from the life of a slave. And while I'm sure some slaves had it easier than others and some had it worse, Harriet's life appeared to have a fair balance. Not that it made it any easier for her. Imagine spending seven years of your life in an attic just to hide from the person that claims to own you. I shudder at the thought.

But Harriet's tale does have a positive ending. Unlike some slaves, she was able to find freedom after years of being on the run and even managed to free her children. She died after living through the Civil War and living a life as a Christian and abolitionist.

In the end, this was a mixed tale, one of hope and sorrow, one of grief and happiness. While not as depressing as other auto-biographies could be, it certainly wasn't as happy and comedic as some. It was a great account of slave life and of the hardships they endured in slavery. Even more educational was learning how many hardships they'd endure to gain their freedom.

GIVEAWAY - The Medusa Stone by Jack DuBrul

2009-09-11T06:00:00.000-04:00

I have a copy of The Medusa Stone by Jack DuBrul to giveaway. This is a slightly used (meaning I read it) mass market paperback version.

How do you enter to win a copy?

Leave a comment on this post or send me an email at tk42one (at thingy) gmail (dot) com with MEDUSA STONE in the Subject.

-OR-

Send me a DM or @ reply on Twitter (http://twitter.com/librarydad).

What are the rules?

- You must live anywhere outside of the United States (foreign entries only!)
- You can only enter once (duplicate attempts will be disqualified).
- Deadline to enter is midnight September 21, 2009.

Declaration of Independence by John Hancock et al. (review)

2009-09-10T06:00:00.000-04:00

Title: Declaration of Independence
Author: John Hancock et al.
Illustrator: N/A
Pages: 1
Genre: Non-Fiction
Dewey Decimal: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Cost: $0

John Hancock and fifty five other members of the Continental Congress authored and signed the Declaration of Independence in July of 1776. To some degree we're all familiar with at least part of the history leading up to the the creation of the document and the ramifications it brought about when it was ratified.

And I know some of my readers will wonder why I'm even reviewing this particularly short piece of reading. Mostly because I love history, but also because I have never read it before in it's entirety. I know bits and pieces, but I decided it was finally time to read it from start to finish.

Most enjoyable about this work was the language. It was full of great words like "multitude" and "abdicated" and "barbarous." There are even wonderful phrases like "When in the course of human events..." and "He has plundered our Seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt out Towns, and destroyed the Lives of our People."

But the most enjoyable part of reading this, the best part of all, was reading it out loud and with a slightly Southern accent (like I was from Mississippi or South Carolina). I could almost envision myself standing in Philadelphia with the Founding Fathers surrounding me cheering me on while I read.

My bottom line is that everyone should read this. Even if you hate history, even if you have no appreciation of the roots of our country. The language and rhythm of the document are great. And when you factor into it the weight of the words, the reason behind the document, it takes the story to a new level.

Vulcan's Forge Giveaway WINNER

2009-09-09T06:00:00.002-04:00

And the winner of Vulcan's Forge by Jack Du Brul is...

SarahStelmok

There are plenty more giveaways out there this month, so check them out!

BBAW 2009 - The Short List

2009-09-08T14:57:00.001-04:00

No, I didn't make the short list for the Book Blogger Appreciation Week. But I do encourage all of you to go out there and vote for some very deserving blogs. Myself, I'm just honored to have been nominated.

Chronicles of the Planeswalkers Part Zero by B. T. Robertson (review)

2009-09-07T06:00:00.001-04:00

Title: Chronicles of the Planeswalkers Part Zero
Author: B. T. Robertson
Illustrator: N/A
Pages: 216
Genre: Fiction
Dewey Decimal: F Rob
ISBN: 0-9754533-0-0
Cost: $14.95

Another depressingly sour review. Mostly because I was really hoping this would be a good read. Instead, I gave up after fifty or so pages.

Why did I give up? Mostly because the book had no hook. And while that could be a minor flaw in some novels, it proved to be the big stumbling block in this one. The story felt too much like a basic fantasy novel, which is fine, but it didn't keep my interest. I tried several times to pick it up again but it was hard.

Why did I buy it? Partly based on a positive review I saw awhile back. But mostly because of the author. A young guy about my age with a new family and from the same general area as my wife's childhood home. Close enough they may have crossed paths at some point. But all of that did little to help the story.

And I think he did his level best in writing the story, I just think another year or two on the side lines would have honed his craft enough to play with the big dogs. And that totally makes me sound like a spoiled reader, which I will totally admit to. When you read the likes of Stirling, Martin, and others, it's hard to read an author's debut novel, especially in the fantasy genre.

The bottom line for me wasn't so good. But I'm ready to admit you may enjoy it. If others did, you might too. So at least consider it. After all, he has to be a Steeler fan, right?

GIVEAWAY - Charon's Landing by Jack DuBrul

2009-09-04T06:00:00.000-04:00

I have a copy of Charon's Landing by Jack DuBrul to giveaway. This is a slightly used (meaning I read it) mass market paperback version.

How do you enter to win a copy?

Leave a comment on this post or send me an email at tk42one (at thingy) gmail (dot) com with CHARON'S LANDING in the Subject.

-OR-

Send me a DM or @ reply on Twitter (http://twitter.com/librarydad).

What are the rules?

- You must live on the planet Earth (sorry, no intergalactic entries).
- You can only enter once (duplicate attempts will be disqualified).
- Deadline to enter is midnight September 14, 2009.

Bloody Jack by L. A. Meyer (review)

2009-09-02T10:00:00.000-04:00

Title: Bloody Jack
Author: L. A. Meyer
Illustrator: N/A
Pages: 290
Genre: Fiction
Dewey Decimal: YA F Mey
ISBN: 978-0-15-205085-6
Cost: $7.95

This book is Harry Potter meets Pirates of the Caribbean.

No, there's no magic involved, but the main character shuffles off to the new world of seamanship aboard the HMS Dolphin (circa 1790s-1810s). The main character is Mary Faber, a street urchin, that joins the crew as a ship's boy. Yes, she pretends to be a boy. And while at times the book is light-hearted like Hook, at other times it gets a bit detailed like the Slums of Beverly Hills. There are some things I just don't want to read about but Meyer does an excellent job of presenting it in a way that won't make you cringe too much.

The plot revolves around Mary, aka Jacky, aka Bloody Jack, and her hiding herself among a crew of men. A large crew of men that include some good and some evil. Best of all is the language. Mary's "voice" is very much like a London street waif when you start reading but gradually progresses to a more learned ship's boy over time. And of course her ability to disguise herself as a boy becomes harder as she reaches puberty.

This book is clearly not for younger children as it discusses puberty and has some various sexual references. But it isn't graphic enough to make it an "adult" title either. I'd put it in the hands of a middle school kid with no qualms.

There were a few points during the book that felt a bit outlandish, but again, Meyer presents them in a manner that keeps you reading and not focused on the amount of sheer luck needed to actually do what happened in the book.

A story of teenage love, pirate hunting, and sailing ships, this book is an easy read and very entertaining. I'd recommend it and will likely try to pick up the rest of the series from the library when I can.

Sun of Suns by Karl Schroeder (review)

2009-08-31T06:00:00.004-04:00

Title: Sun of Suns
Author: Karl Schroeder
Illustrator: N/A
Length: 11 hours, 21 minutes
Genre: Fiction
Dewey Decimal: F Sch
ISBN:
Cost: $0

Karl Schroeder is labeled by many to be a master. But he is one that I do not follow.

This book would fall into another one of those that I just don't "get." And while Schroeder does a good job in presenting the world and the characters, I think it's the sub-genre of steam punk or slip stream or sci-fi that I don't really enjoy. I honestly think I have been spoiled by the many years of reading Star Wars novels.

Aside from my obvious dislike for this book is my appreciation for the science behind it. Schroeder did great research on this book in keeping the science feeling real or at least possible in the near future. The characters, especially Hayden Griffin and Venera Fanning, come off the page as real people.

In the end, I gave up before the end. About three hours into the eleven hour novel, I called it quits. The concept of slip stream slipped form my hands and steam punk lost steam.

GIVEAWAY - Vulcan's Forge by Jack DuBrul

2009-08-28T06:00:00.004-04:00

I have a copy of Vulcan's Forge by Jack DuBrul to giveaway. This is a slightly used (meaning I read it) mass market paperback version.

How do you enter to win a copy?

Leave a comment on this post or send me an email at tk42one (at thingy) gmail (dot) com with VULCAN'S FORGE in the Subject.

-OR-

Send me a DM or @ reply on Twitter (http://twitter.com/librarydad).

What are the rules?

- You must live in the United States (APO and FPO are fine) to enter.
- You can only enter once (duplicate attempts will be disqualified).
- Deadline to enter is midnight September 7, 2009.

And don't worry, I'll be willing to ship to foreign address in future giveaways.

Huge Reviewer Linkup

2009-08-27T06:00:00.001-04:00

That's right, the big guy himself (John Ottinger of Grasping for the Wind) has released his second edition of the SF/F/H (Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror) Reviewer Linkup Meme. Seeing as the list is, well, massive, I figure it would be best to just step over to Grasping for the Wind and read it from the source.

While you're over there, you'll see how I answered his question of If you could live in an SF/Fantasy/Horror world, in which one would you live? Why? Some very interesting reading there (not necessarily from me, mind you).

S. M. Stirling Interview II

2009-08-26T06:00:00.000-04:00

We have another interview with S. M. Stirling today (the first interview). Steve was nice enough to take time away from writing to answer more questions.

Why should readers buy your next novel, The Sword of the Lady?

-- it's a damned good story, if I say so myself. Kilts, swords, Moorish corsairs, Vikings who say "ayuh", Cheesehead cavalry, Sindarin-speaking girls with eyepatches, romance and young love... what's not to like?

According to your website (http://smstirling.com/) you are working on three more Emberverse novels after The Sword of the Lady. Without giving away too many details, can you give readers an idea how much time elapses between them?

-- THE HIGH KING OF MONTIVAL starts directly after THE SWORD OF THE LADY; I'm working on it now. THE TEARS OF THE SUN and THE GIVEN SACRIFICE take place a bit later.

What other stories (long and short) are you working on right now?

-- there's A TAINT IN THE BLOOD and its two sequels, and I'm doing a novella.

Taint in the Blood is classified by some as an urban fantasy novel. Would you put the same label on it? Is this your first time writing in this genre?

-- first time at novel length. It's "urban" in that it's set in our time and world, more or less -- it starts in Santa Fe, NM, in fact. There's an element that could be either fantasy or science fiction.

Lately you’ve given readers sample chapters that end up revealing nearly half of the book for free. Have you noticed any change in sales by doing this? Do you think a free e-book would boost sales?

-- well, I've been doing that for some time now, and it doesn't seem to hurt. Quite the contrary. I think there are few people who'll read half a book and then refuse to shell out for the rest.

Changing gears a little, can you name one author you enjoy reading but feel is under appreciated or undiscovered?

-- errrr... a couple. Walter John Williams? John Miller? Melinda Snodgrass? and that doesn't exhaust the list by any means.

In the past you’ve stated that you love reading and researching history. Is there a particular period or topic that you enjoy more than others?

-- it varies. I like the Early Modern period and the Edwardian era, but I range around widely.

What's the simplest thing you never learned to do?

-- not talk.

What accomplishment are you most proud of?

-- writing!

What keeps you up at night?

-- habit. I have to be careful or I work all night and go to sleep at dawn; a habit I share with Winston Churchill and Mao.

Thank you again Steve for allowing me to bother you yet again with pesky questions. Make sure you check out his next book, The Sword of the Lady (review here), due out today and keep an eye out for his urban fantasy, A Taint in the Blood, due out next year.