Hello Book, So Long Sleep...

I know it says Parental Advisory Explicit content but I wasn't expecting THIS

I'm not sure if that's necessary for the story. It reminds me of the kind of anime my friends are always talking about and why they don't let their kids read or watch it. My son calls it "Cartoon porn."

This one just isn't for me. I like Holo, but not enough to continue with the series.

So BBC did a mini series of Rowling's Casual Vacancy with one small change. The Ending.

Apparently someone lives..... "all in the service of making the story less bleak"

I have no idea because I haven't read the books , but I guess people are happy with that decision.

BBC is now making the adaption of Cuckoo's Calling.

See more info Here.

There's two trailers for the mini series. Here's the HBO trailer. And this one is the BBC One Trailer.

Read this one back in 2011 and loved it. I believe I gave it

4 Ghosts & a Pacman.

Exciting News for other fans of this book....Spielberg is on board to direct!

it's a great fit for this movie.

If the last story, the one about Ibis wasn't as drawn out with all the AI language I might have given this one 4 stars.

it's really just a book composed of short stories weaved together by the AI "Ibis". Who tells her story last.

The stories :

The Universe on My Hands

A Romance in Virtual Space

Mirror girl

Black Hole Diver

A World Where Justice Is Just

The Day Shion Came

AI's Story

My favorite was Black Hole Diver.

"A story is nothing more than a lifeless jumble of words.

But once it is in the hands of the reader,

the soul of the reader and the soul of the protagonist achieve a kind of synergy that transcends the world, breathing life into the story."

* I Promise, I do talk about books in this post!

Ever finish a Tv series you've been binging and then all other things feel dull and unsatisfying? That would be me for the last few weeks.

I finished up The Killing and now I'm in this rut that I don't care to read or even discuss what I have read. It's not like this show was all happy rainbows either. It was depressing and sad and I cried through almost every episode in the first and 3rd season. The fact that it is over just so bums me out.

 I'm actually in the second season of Dexter, hoping this will fill the void. So far I think it's funny. (yes I know he's a serial killer, but still, makes me laugh)

I've also watched two french films - Marius & Fanny. I'm a little ticked off that the third movie in this trilogy isn't out yet. I would have waited!

Okay on to the books I've read.

Calling me Home by Julie Kibler

reason for putting it on my list - I heard it was a tear jerker.

I had a hard time with the "present" part of the story. I really didn't care what was going on now. (although with out the present part it wouldn't have been a good book!) I just wanted to hear about Isabelle & Robert. I had a hard time feeling anything for Dorrie.

but like I stated earlier with out the "present" part of the story I would've never shed a tear..or two..or maybe three!

next I tried Otherbound by Corrine Duyvis

I really wanted to like this book, but it just didn't flow well. Felt jerky and I thought I may have missed maybe a small novella before this one. A small prologue to set up this story would have helped set the story in place.

I abandoned. Sorry

I'm currently reading The Stories Of Ibis by Hiroshi Yamamoto

This one is keeping my attention and I'm actually looking forward to reading it every night. It's a story of a Humanoid named Ibis telling short stories to a human. So basically it's a bunch of short sci-fi stories. I'm on story 5.

I'm also reading Spice & Wolf by Isuna Hasekura & Juu Ayakura

I know it says Parental Advisory Explicit content but I wasn't expecting THIS.

I'm not sure if that's necessary for the story. it reminds me of the kind of anime my friends are always talking about and why they don't let their kids read or watch it. My son calls it "Cartoon porn." I'm about halfway through.

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng is sitting here waiting for me to crack it open, i may start it tonight.....but I do have Game Of Thrones Season 4 waiting for me to watch too...decisions decisions! 

Apparently this is an anime series. I've never seen it so I went into the this book with no expectations. I'm glad , because I really enjoyed this. Most reviews mention how they were disappointed when comparing this to the series. So my advice would be to read this before seeing the anime.

This book has 6 chapters.

Grownup Country

The Land of Shared Pain

The Land of Majority Rules

Three Men on the Rails

The Land of Peace

Coliseum

Each chapter was a different "land/country" that Kino visits for 3 days.  I liked how I could connect the story that was being told with things that go on in everyday life. Not sure which one is my favorite, but I can tell you Coliseum was my least favorite.

I wish my library had the next book.

I was not wearing a happy face while reading this. You know why? Because I did not want to read this book! But, one of the ladies in book club picked it. (Let me just say right here, that I am the youngest person in this book club at 42, and I don't mean by a couple years. I'm like 20 to 30 years younger than the woman.  So I'd love to know which of them picked this book.)

See usually I'd skip a book I didn't want to read, but the librarian who is in charge of book club was going on vacation and she asked me to be in charge this month. WAY before  I knew what book it was I happily agreed. The next week she handed me this book and I know I had the look of "you have to be f*ckin kidding me" on my face.

So I've read the book and can count it as one more book I read this year. whatever.

Now on to the book. It was okay. It did feel like the pages were multiplying and I'd never finish it. (which meant I would have to do a lot of listening at book club and not leading the questions) But I did finish it and here are my thoughts:

I didn't care for Piper. I'm sorry, you knew what you were doing was wrong and you didn't care.  So you had to pay the consequences. So yes I can see how you'd want everyone to feel bad and how you brought attention to the fact that most of the incarcerated were nonviolent offenders and they shouldn't have to be in jail. Because YOU were one of them.

This would have had a better impact on me if this was a 20/20 episode with a behind the scenes than Piper telling the story.

I've always agreed that putting people in prison with out some form of "correction"/"rehabilitation" was stupid. How do you expect people to go to a different life when you don't show them HOW to do it?!

I feel like I could go on and on about stuff that Piper did that just rubbed me the wrong way, but I don't feel like spending any more time on this .

First let me say I really like Gayle Forman.  Her books suck me in and after I'm done I'm recommending to them to all my friends. So I feel bad giving this one the star rating that I am. especially because of the subject matter. Suicide.

I believe you could read the Author's Note and the Acknowledgments and see the importance.

"Life can be hard and beautiful and messy, but hopefully, it will be long. If it is, you will see that it's unpredictable, and that the dark periods come, but they abate-- sometimes with a lot of support-- and the tunnel widens, allowing the sun back in. If you're in the dark, it might feel like you will always be in there. Fumbling. Alone. but you won't - and you're not. There are people out there to help you find the light."

 

Depression is an illness. "Refusing treatment for depression or a mood disorder is akin to getting a pneumonia diagnosis and refusing to take antibiotics and go on bed rest."

The story needs to be told. I just had a hard time not being angry at Cody. Meg's best friend. 

I was happy to see Cody and her mother connect as mother and daughter. 

"brief and bright, firefly

oh, why, firefly."

 

 

Suzy's Law

 

AFSP

Are you putting this off ? Is it because you think Marissa Meyer is going to try and get you to feel something for Levana?
No worries, you're not going to!
This is that backstory that puts everything into place. Nicely done.

I loved the art work in the inside of the book (front & Back) and this:

"This book is for the readers.

The Lunartics. The fans.

Thank you for taking this journey with me."

For those that read it  do you think

 that Levena was so delusional because her sister did the mind thing to her one too many times?

(show spoiler)

Enjoyed this right up to meeting Brewster.

Is it just me or is he reading like "Vernon" from the Breakfast Club?

I'm pretty sure he wouldn't get away with doing the crap he does.

BUT after he left the pages I started to enjoy the relationship between Will & Alona. Alona's personality made me think about Sadie & Jenna from the TV show Awkward.

I'll be picking up the next book.

Matthew McConaughey is set to star in a film adaptation of Christopher McDougall's Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Super athletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen

"Full of incredible characters, amazing athletic achievements, cutting-edge science, and, most of all, pure inspiration, Born to Run is an epic adventure that began with one simple question: Why does my foot hurt?In search of an answer, Christopher McDougall sets off to find a tribe of the world’s greatest distance runners and learn their secrets, and in the process shows us that everything we thought we knew about running is wrong.

Isolated by the most savage terrain in North America, the reclusive Tarahumara Indians of Mexico’s deadly Copper Canyons are custodians of a lost art. For centuries they have practiced techniques that allow them to run hundreds of miles without rest and chase down anything from a deer to an Olympic marathoner while enjoying every mile of it. Their superhuman talent is matched by uncanny health and serenity, leaving the Tarahumara immune to the diseases and strife that plague modern existence. With the help of Caballo Blanco, a mysterious loner who lives among the tribe, the author was able not only to uncover the secrets of the Tarahumara but also to find his own inner ultra-athlete, as he trained for the challenge of a lifetime: a fifty-mile race through the heart of Tarahumara country pitting the tribe against an odd band of Americans, including a star ultramarathoner, a beautiful young surfer, and a barefoot wonder.

With a sharp wit and wild exuberance, McDougall takes us from the high-tech science labs at Harvard to the sun-baked valleys and freezing peaks across North America, where ever-growing numbers of ultrarunners are pushing their bodies to the limit, and, finally, to the climactic race in the Copper Canyons. Born to Run is that rare book that will not only engage your mind but inspire your body when you realize that the secret to happiness is right at your feet, and that you, indeed all of us, were born to run.

"

I admit I haven't read this one because it just seemed so big, but now I'm disappointed that I haven't read it and the movie is right around the corner.

I think the best part of this is it has TOM HARDY in it.

See the trailer over at Trailer Addict.

If you're a Fan of the book or know this true story, what's your opinion on Johan Hill playing Michael Finkel and James Franco as Christian Longo?

"In the haunting tradition of Joe McGinniss's Fatal Vision and Mikal Gilmore's Shot in the Heart, True Story: Murder, Memoir, Mea Culpa weaves a spellbinding tale of murder, love, and deceit with a deeply personal inquiry into the slippery nature of truth.

The story begins in February of 2002, when a reporter in Oregon contactsNew York Times Magazine writer Michael Finkel with a startling piece of news. A young, highly intelligent man named Christian Longo, on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list for killing his entire family, has recently been captured in Mexico, where he'd taken on a new identity -- Michael Finkel of the New York Times.

The next day, on page A-3 of the Times, comes another bit of troubling news: a note, written by the paper's editors, explaining that Finkel has falsified parts of an investigative article and has been fired. This unlikely confluence sets the stage for a bizarre and intense relationship. After Longo's arrest, the only journalist the accused murderer will speak with is the real Michael Finkel. And as the months until Longo's trial tick away, the two men talk for dozens of hours on the telephone, meet in the jailhouse visiting room, and exchange nearly a thousand pages of handwritten letters.

With Longo insisting he can prove his innocence, Finkel strives to uncover what really happened to Longo's family, and his quest becomes less a reporting job than a psychological cat-and-mouse game -- sometimes redemptively honest, other times slyly manipulative. Finkel's pursuit pays off only at the end, when Longo, after a lifetime of deception, finally says what he wouldn't even admit in court -- the whole, true story. Or so it seems."

See Trailer HERE.

The book released in 2011 by Eleanor Henderson is heading to Sundance in 2015.

the cast includes Ethan Hawke, Hailee Steinfeld, Emile Hirsch, Asa butterfield and Emily Mortimer.

book description- 

"Adopted by a pair of diehard hippies, restless, marginal Jude Keffy-Horn spends much of his youth getting high with his best friend, Teddy, in their bucolic and deeply numbing Vermont town. But when Teddy dies of an overdose on the last day of 1987, Jude's relationship with drugs and with his parents devolves to new extremes. Sent to live with his pot-dealing father in New York City's East Village, Jude stumbles upon straight edge, an underground youth culture powered by the paradoxical aggression of hardcore punk and a righteous intolerance for drugs, meat, and sex. With Teddy's half brother, Johnny, and their new friend, Eliza, Jude tries to honor Teddy's memory through his militantly clean lifestyle. But his addiction to straight edge has its own dangerous consequences. While these teenagers battle to discover themselves, their parents struggle with this new generation's radical reinterpretation of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll and their grown-up awareness of nature and nurture, brotherhood and loss.

Moving back and forth between Vermont and New York City, Ten Thousand Saints is an emphatically observed story of a frayed tangle of family members brought painfully together by a death, then carried along in anticipation of a new and unexpected life. With empathy and masterful skill, Eleanor Henderson has conjured a rich portrait of the modern age and the struggles that unite and divide generations."

See more of the cast - IMDB

Another book getting a chance on screen.

here's what the book's about :

"So begins the wrenching diary of Minnie Goetze, a fifteen-year-old girl longing for love and acceptance and struggling with her own precocious sexuality. Minnie hates school and she wants to be an artist, or maybe a speleologist, or a bartender. She sleeps with her mother's boyfriend, and yet is too shy to talk with boys at school. She forges her way through adolescence, unsupervised and unguided, defenseless, and yet fearless.

The story unfolds in the libertine atmosphere of the 1970s San Francisco, but the significance of Minnie's effort to understand herself and her world is universal. This is the story of an adolescent troubled by the discontinuity between what she thinks and feels and what she observes in those around her. The Diary of a Teenage Girl offers a searing comment on adult society as seen though the eyes of a young woman on the verge of joining it."

 

 

See the rest of the cast over at IMDB.

if it's been awhile for you since you've read Red Rising, I'd suggest you review what happen before jumping right in to Golden Son. This neat little website has just what you need  - Recaptains.

I'm never gonna do this book justice on how well Mr.Brown has moved this story forward.  Usually a second book kinda stalls a little , not this one!

Here's a couple quotes - 

"Humans, no matter their Color, are fragile as doves in the meat grinder of war."

"The human spirit tries to break free, again and again, not in hate like the Dark Revolt. but for love. They don't mimic each other. They aren't inspired by others who come before them. Each is willing to take the leap, thinking they are the first. That's bravery. And that means it's part of who we are as a people."

 

 

"That cycle erodes us. Death begets death begets death, and ever more."

 

 

"I'm Gold, bitch. What'd you expect? Warm milk and cookies just because I'm pocket-sized?"

 

"Here's where we learn who is winning the heavens"

 

"That's what Society does - spread the blame so there is no villain, so it's futile to even begin to find a villain, to find justice. it's just machinery. process. And it rumbles on inexorable till a whole generation rises that will throw themselves on the gears."

 

 Now the rest of my post I'm gonna hide in spoiler tags because I'm gonna rant about the ending ---

side note - I just happen to be binge watching Sons Of Anarchy on netflix. So every time the words Sons of Ares came up I kept reading it as Sons of Anarchy. lol 

I guess Servo would be "Tig"