corn snakes: the comprehensive owners guide. since i just adopted a corn snake for my classroom, and haven't had a companion snake in probably 20 years, i figured i needed some solid info. this book contains great practical information for the care of corn snakes and helping them thrive. i didn't particularly care for the authors tone when discussing the intelligence and awareness of corn snakes, nor did i like that the book targets PETA and the humane society as the enemy of "hobbyists." i think it's certainly possible--for me, essential--to live with companion animals while appreciating their sentience, and the overall welfare and rights of animals
@gwally i', having a blast! and my students are loving her! it is my goal as a teacher to help people learn about and love animals, especially snakes and spiders. and a lot of my old students are coming out of the woodwork to see her. red rat snakes are gorgeous, btw.
The Little Stranger - Sarah Waters. An absolutely amazing old-fashioned gothic horror tale. The writing is so good, I barely realized that I was over a quarter of the way into the book and nothing overtly supernatural had yet happened. In fact, it's more of just a terrific story that has a potentially supernatural element in the background. But the characterization and storytelling are excellent, although the book does drag a bit in the latter pages. I'm not sure how well this will translate to the big screen in the upcoming movie adaption, but the novel is well worth reading.
strike by delilah dawson. the sequel to dawson's awesome hit, our heroes from the first novel seek to fuck valor banks shit up, but are the so-called revolutionaries really on the right side? i've really fallen in love with dawson's writing. her prose is sharp and she introduces many new and clever phrases into her writing. there's a sense of darkness and despair that permeates her work, balanced by optimism and self-discovery. strike is awesome, maybe better than hit, and i hope dawson returns to these characters.
The Lying Game - Ruth Ware. Ware's best book yet, a thriller about four former boarding school friends who were notorious for their "Lying Game". They gather together 17 years later when one of them reveals that their biggest lie is coming to light. While the premise and storyline aren't the most original, the characterization and writing are superb, and the story does keep you guessing where it's going for about 3/4 of the book. The ending was somewhat anticlimactic, but overall it was a real page-turner.
@ThatIrishGuy@gwally Killer Angels is amazing. And even more amazing are the prequel and sequel that Jeff Shaara, son of the late author, wrote - Gods and Generals and The Last Full Measure.
@Mayday@ThatIrishGuy Gods and Generals is a title I have been trying to remember for ever!! Did not realize (or had forgotten) the connection to Killer Angels. A friend of mine had been stationed in D.C. and immersed himself in the local history, especially Civil War. He was the one who first suggested I read both books as well as many others.
@gwally@Mayday It is absolutely a fantastic read and I am only 100pages in!? I did hear that about the following books. I will be reading those as well.
conspiracy of ravens by lila bowen. oh. My. GOD! this book is so, so good, and really explores some radical territory, especially in the area of gender. rarely have i encountered such power in simple pronouns like "he" and "she." in this follow-up to wake of vultures, bowen furthers the story of nettie lonesome, who is now rhett hennessy, who is the shadow. the shadow continues to gather an eclectic band of outsiders and misfits, as they seek to take down the cruel boss of a railroad outfit in mid-1800's texas. bowen, who is delilah dawson, writes with such pleasant, vivid, transportive prose, and rhett just gets more and more interesting. i must also commend bowen for being so thoughtful and thorough when writing about matters of gender, and race and ethnicity. she has such a knack for getting to the heart of a person, and allowing her characters to revel--and grow--in self-discovery. an utterly fantastic horror/fantasy/western.
@gwally@ThatIrishGuy When you're done with the books, if you never saw the movies, Gettysburg (based on Killer Angels) and Gods and Generals are pretty close to the books, and are very good in their own rights. For Gettysburg, I do NOT recommend the director's cut. It's cut very differently, and I think the theatrical cut is more pleasing. Although both are close to 4 hours long. GaG movie is a lot shorter.
skin by kathe koja. whoah. this book is written like it reads: all metal, blood, and hot. koja has an exceedingly original writing style; skin is like some kind of twisted, melted transfiguration of present tense and third person narration, achieved by using a steady stream of run-on sentences (almost) and sentence fragments. it's weird and choppy and certainly adds to the suffocating mood of this experimental novel. tess is metal sculptor who can't quite bring her pieces to the sort of static motion she desires, until she meets bibi, who is unrestrained in her desire to sculpt the human body into something more transcendental. when they combine their talents--and obsessions--they give rise to an art form that thoroughly takes them over, and sends them hurtling down paths of self-destruction. skin was intense and dark, with sort of a vague clive barker vibe, but in the end, it is the singular voice of the writer that defines this fevered insanity. feeling kind of ambivalent about it. it was an engrossing and trippy read, but with very elusive rhythm. it speaks more to my shortcomings than hers that it was a challenge to get my head around. more koja reading required.
The Jefferson Key - Steve Berry. An attempt to mash up National Treasure, Dan Brown and Jason Bourne, or so it seemed. There was just too much going on - too many major characters being followed, and constantly, sometimes paragraph to paragraph, jumping back and forth between them. Plus, the story was just too silly at times. Definitely won't be bothering to read more by Berry.
Comments
corn snakes: the comprehensive owners guide. since i just adopted a corn snake for my classroom, and haven't had a companion snake in probably 20 years, i figured i needed some solid info. this book contains great practical information for the care of corn snakes and helping them thrive. i didn't particularly care for the authors tone when discussing the intelligence and awareness of corn snakes, nor did i like that the book targets PETA and the humane society as the enemy of "hobbyists." i think it's certainly possible--for me, essential--to live with companion animals while appreciating their sentience, and the overall welfare and rights of animals
The Little Stranger - Sarah Waters. An absolutely amazing old-fashioned gothic horror tale. The writing is so good, I barely realized that I was over a quarter of the way into the book and nothing overtly supernatural had yet happened. In fact, it's more of just a terrific story that has a potentially supernatural element in the background. But the characterization and storytelling are excellent, although the book does drag a bit in the latter pages. I'm not sure how well this will translate to the big screen in the upcoming movie adaption, but the novel is well worth reading.
Jury. Executioner. Judge.
strike by delilah dawson. the sequel to dawson's awesome hit, our heroes from the first novel seek to fuck valor banks shit up, but are the so-called revolutionaries really on the right side? i've really fallen in love with dawson's writing. her prose is sharp and she introduces many new and clever phrases into her writing. there's a sense of darkness and despair that permeates her work, balanced by optimism and self-discovery. strike is awesome, maybe better than hit, and i hope dawson returns to these characters.
Jury. Executioner. Judge.
The Lying Game - Ruth Ware. Ware's best book yet, a thriller about four former boarding school friends who were notorious for their "Lying Game". They gather together 17 years later when one of them reveals that their biggest lie is coming to light. While the premise and storyline aren't the most original, the characterization and writing are superb, and the story does keep you guessing where it's going for about 3/4 of the book. The ending was somewhat anticlimactic, but overall it was a real page-turner.
Jury. Executioner. Judge.
61 Hours - Lee Child. Another fast-paced, exciting romp with Jack Reacher, and shorter one for Child, as it didn't top 500 pages for a change.
Jury. Executioner. Judge.
now on to this book! Anything Civil War fascinates the hell out of me.
Jury. Executioner. Judge.
Jury. Executioner. Judge.
The OMAC Project - Greg Rucka, Geoff Johns and Judd Winick.
Infinite Crisis - Geoff Johns, Marlo Alquiza and Mark Farmer.
Batman & Robin Must Die - Grant Morrison and Frazer Irving.
12 Hours of Halloween - Edward Trimnell. A perfectly average, nothing terrible, but nothing special throwback story.
Jury. Executioner. Judge.
The Jefferson Key - Steve Berry. An attempt to mash up National Treasure, Dan Brown and Jason Bourne, or so it seemed. There was just too much going on - too many major characters being followed, and constantly, sometimes paragraph to paragraph, jumping back and forth between them. Plus, the story was just too silly at times. Definitely won't be bothering to read more by Berry.
Jury. Executioner. Judge.