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Book-It! Please send pizza

Better late than never?

Nov 21st, 2011
by gazelle.
4 comments

My weekend report (I know it’s been killing you all day that I haven’t told you what I did when I wasn’t regaling you with my life stories):

Thursday night: book club! And science lesson! It was pretty awesome. Even though I hadn’t read the book (for shame!), I felt extremely well educated by the end of the evening. Thanks, Mr. Pi for the free, impromptu science lesson!

Friday: I worked in the morning, started my lefse, and watched eleventy hundred episodes of Torchwood. I feel like I must have done something else productive that day, but I couldn’t tell you what. I know that I certainly didn’t leave the house.

Saturday: I went for a run/walk, discovered that all the park bathrooms are padlocked for the season, and then spent the afternoon making lefse! YUM! I also did some cleaning & cleaned out my entire dresser! YAY!

Saturday night, even though I was exhausted, apparently I wan’t exhausted enough. I woke up about 1:30 am and was awake until about 5. Needless to say, I was a cheery, cheery beacon of fun Sunday morning.

Sunday morning was spent cleaning out the fridge (I am slowly but surely making my house clean….of course, by the time I get to the last room, I’m pretty sure that the first room will be completely filthy again; of course also by then, I can make dusting a mandatory chore for my pre-teen). Sunday afternoon, I went swimming with the Ambitious One, and then headed to my favorite theater to see Breaking Dawn.

It was just as insane as I expected. No – it was more insane than I expected. I especially enjoyed the wedding night sex bits. Valuable lessons:  sex is truly terrifying, it might kill you, and when you wake up covered in bruises the shape of your husband’s hands, you should definitely reassure him that a) it’s okay; b) he didn’t mean to; and c) you liked it, really. Great message for our teen girls! Although since pregnancy and childbirth involve a lot of broken bones, blood (both for drinking and for making messes of) and emaciation, perhaps it’s a really great way to keep the kids from getting it on. (A well-placed message about birth control wouldn’t have gone amiss, either.)

ANYWAYS – I thoroughly enjoyed the shitstorm, giggled through most of it, and had a great time with some super fun girls women.  My only real complaint (because my issues with how sex & violence were handled are not real) is that Jacob only takes his shirt off once, and that was in the opening scene. What good are sexy teen wolves if they’re always clothed? I’ve read the books, and I believe there was supposed to be lot more nudity. WHERE IS YOUR ARTISTIC INTEGRITY?

This is why I enjoyed the previous movies:

 

Gratitude Journal

November 21, 2011: I am grateful for my excellent co-workers that make my days much less crappy (and more productive).

November 20, 2011: I am grateful for my beer theater. It is close to my house, has $4 first-run movies before 6 pm, serves decent pizza, and has beer and wine. Also, it has bottle water, which is what I had today.

November 19, 2011: I am grateful for random port-o-potties on my running route.

November 18, 2011: I am grateful that I have a connection to bits of my cultural heritage; I can’t imagine a world without lefse, and am so pleased that I have learned how to do it and have a skill I can pass on to Alvie Bean.

November 17, 2011: I am grateful for coffee. I know it seems like I mentioned it yesterday, but yesterday I only said I was grateful for the coffee maker (in a list of other things). But I really wanted to draw attention to coffee as deserving of its own special day. Coffee is the best beverage ever invented. I don’t understand how I got through so many years never drinking it and thinking it really wasn’t that great. Mmmmmm……coffee.

November 16, 2011: I am grateful for all the little luxuries I have that I often take for granted…my car, my phone, the coffee maker (so very grateful for my coffee maker). It’s so easy to caught up in the things I don’t have that I occasionally forget how very lucky I am. My life is so freaking awesome.

November 15, 2011: I am grateful that I have the kind of job/life/etc. that allows me to afford pretty shoes, and the level-headedness that keeps me from buying (very many) shoes that wouldn’t be practical.

November 14, 2011: I am grateful that I work in a place with lots of little food nooks. It’s always an easy walk to grab more food. Which I do more often than ever, lately.

November 13, 2011: I am grateful for streaming Netflix (and Hulu Plus!). Also, I am grateful for John Barrowman. And my new found love of Torchwood.

November 12, 2011: I am grateful for my awesome friends! I got so much good quality friend-time this weekend! Walks & cocoa & thrifting with her! Ornament painting and dinner and movies with Alisa, Jen, Lisa & Sarah! Cocoa and a chat with her! (I should maybe also mention that I’m grateful for hot cocoa.)

November 11, 2011: I am grateful for laid back evenings at home with the architect.

November 10, 2011: I am grateful to live in Portland, Oregon. It is so beautiful here. I love that we have four seasons, and I especially love autumn.

November 9, 2011: I am grateful for modern medical conveniences that help eliminate unnecessary surprises from my life. Yay for ultrasounds!

November 8, 2011: I am grateful for my brand-new employee who started today, who I am hoping will help take some of the financial reporting burden off my plate & allow me to do a better job on the more big-picture things.

November 7, 2011: I am grateful for weekends and the opportunity to relax and recharge.

November 6, 2011: I am grateful for running – and grateful that I am still able to run. I am also grateful for my proximity to the most awesome running park in the history of the world: Forest Park.

November 5, 2011:I am grateful that I was able to discover enough courage to join Toastmasters. I know this sounds super cheesy, but it’s really made a HUGE difference in my life.

November 4, 2011: I am grateful for the internet, which gives me the ability to work from home, in my pajamas, this morning.

November 3, 2011: I am grateful that I have a good job that is challenging & interesting, if not necessarily catering to my life interests.

November 2, 2011: I am grateful for the architect, who is simply wonderful. He picks up the household slack when I’m busy with schoolwork, brings me chicken fingers on his way home from work, and is simply the most wonderful husband I could ask for…

November 1, 2011:  I am grateful for my (so far, knock on wood) easy and wonderful pregnancy.

Book Review Paranormal Style: Darkness Unbound

Nov 4th, 2011
by gazelle.
1 comment

Darkness Unbound (Dark Angels, #1)Darkness Unbound by Keri Arthur

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Okay – so I have to admit. What with grad school, and work, and coming up baby stuff, etc., I like to read fluff. And since I also really like to read, I read a lot of fluff. I don’t want to get too involved in the story. I don’t want to have to do a lot of thinking. I just want to be entertained, and I prefer to be entertained with werewolves. I am assuming that at some point in my life (i.e. when the bean is like 10 or something) I can start reading literature again. In the meantime, I am going to unabashedly enjoy my werewolf porn. SO THERE! Ahem.

Keri Arthur is the author of the 9-book Riley Jenson Guardian series, and the most pornographic (I mean that in an extremely good way, btw) of my werewolf porn. I quite enjoyed the Riley Jenson series. Quite. I had also read her two “Myth & Magic” books, but was less impressed…I wasn’t sure what to expect with the new Dark Angels series, but was intrigued that the main character ‘Risa Jones’ was also present for the last 6 of the Riley Jenson series (albeit as a very small child), and that it sounded like Riley would have a presence in these books. I am a sucker for “where are they now?” reveals.

The Story
Risa Jones is half werewolf (her mother is a werewolf clone & a famous psychic!) and half Aedh (a race of angelic-type creatures, complete with wings & an amazing kissing ability; she’s never met her father. Apparently the Aedh don’t actually produce a child until they are reaching the end of their lifespans – which number in the thousands of years, which means the end of their lifespans could still encompass another 20-40 years or something). ANYWAYS -

Risa has an extraordinary ability as a result of her heritage. She can see the reapers – those who are sent to escort the souls of the dead to their resting places.

Other than the occasional favor to her mother when she looks for the souls of the dying to let the surviving loved ones know if they’ve moved on yet, she spends her time working at the restaurant she owns with her two besties.

Of course, that would be a super boring book, so something must happen, right? AND IT DOES!

All of a sudden, Risa is the subject of much interest…she gains a reaper follower (a hot young thing who goes by Azriel – only time will tell if he will ever reveal his true name to Risa), an Aedh lover (he is trapped in a mortal form ever since his wings were ripped off as punishment for avenging his sister’s death), and new contact with the previously absent father. In addition, Madrilene Hunter – one of the oldest & probably the scariest vampire in Australia who also happens to be the head of the Directorate of Other Races (the Guardian division, which Aunt Riley works for, is a division of the Directorate).

It seems Papa Aedh and a few friends were very naughty indeed. They manufactured some keys that have the ability to completely open – or close – the gates of heaven & hell. Open = bad, because all those currently stuck in hell could come out! Closed = bad, because that means that no new souls could get out to inhabit the newly born, leaving a bunch of soulless, vegetable people.

Risa is the only one who can find these keys and destroy them (or get them to the people who want to use them). Not everyone wants her to find these keys; or at least not on her own. She is attacked. And beaten. And tortured. And kidnapped. Her friends are attacked. There is a lot of violence and weirdness. And awesomeness, too, of course.

The Score
Romance/Sexytimes: A – Well, it is Keri Arthur, and she does know how to bring the heat! Risa & her Aedh lover (Lucian) get pretty involved!

Writing: B+ – This was pretty well written. Nothing irritated me while reading, nor was I distracted by poor grammar or weirdly constructed sentences. However, the writing was not out-of-this-world.

Paranormality: B – I honestly think this is Keri’s weak point. The paranormal worlds just seem a bit off. The hover bike mention seemed unnecessary and just a tool to say “hey! it’s the future!” which wasn’t necessary. It’s a paranormal world – you don’t need to work so hard to prove it! There aren’t really inconsistencies, but the world building always feels a bit weak.

Book Score: A- – I enjoyed it. It was a good story with plenty of action (of all sorts). I liked the brief glimpses into characters from the Guardian series, and really like the character development of Risa. I was so excited to find out that the 2nd in the series was being released just a month later (i.e. 10/25/11 – double i.e. I’ve already finished it) so I wouldn’t have to wait too long to find out what was happening next.

View all my reviews

 

 

Gratitude Journal

November 4, 2011: I am grateful for the internet, which gives me the ability to work from home, in my pajamas, this morning.

November 3, 2011: I am grateful that I have a good job that is challenging & interesting, if not necessarily catering to my life interests. I have the opportunity for professional development (weekly leadership seminar today!), have a decent salary, good health insurance, and a bunch of people who are excited for my pregnancy and not at all worried about my maternity leave (in fact, they’ve told me to not even THINK about being available in May – i.e. budget season – and that they’d get through it without me, as long as I do all the prep work before I leave…)

November 2, 2011: I am grateful for the architect, who is simply wonderful. He picks up the household slack when I’m busy with schoolwork, brings me chicken fingers on his way home from work, and is simply the most wonderful husband I could ask for…

November 1, 2011:  I am grateful for my (so far, knock on wood) easy and wonderful pregnancy

All Hallows Read Book Winners!

Oct 26th, 2011
by gazelle.
2 comments

We have winners!  Two entrants of the All Hallows Read contest are going home with shiny new books!

 

I put all the names in a hat (or mug, if you will) this morning -

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These are the two that came out:

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Megan & Cat – you are going to be fancy new owners of Shirley Jackson’s “We Have Always Lived in the Castle.”  Contact me to let me know how you would like to receive your book (i.e. through the mail, in person (this option only works for Megan, sorry Cat!), or via Kindle or Nook. You can let me know by emailing me – gazellesoncrack (at) gmail….

Congrats! I hope you enjoy your spooky book! (If you already have that book, let me know, and I will substitute one of equal or greater spook.)

 

Book Review: My Abandonment – AND a Giveaway! YAY!

Oct 12th, 2011
by gazelle.
7 comments

My AbandonmentMy Abandonment by Peter Rock

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a very interesting story. It’s based in my town (yay! Portland!) and is, at least in the beginning, set in Forest Park – where I spend a lot of my free running time (yay! trail running!). In addition, it’s based on a true story, so that’s even better (in a manner of speaking – the trueness of the story is actually probably not better for the people involved).

So – the gist (mild spoilers):

A veteran and his daughter live in Forest Park, coming into Portland (across my bridge! to my Safeway!) to collect his disability checks and buy the food they cannot grow. They move around fairly frequently in the Park and spend about four years there, undetected.

They are finally discovered, and brought in & held for awhile by Social Services (I’m sure to make sure that there was no abuse or other weirdness going on). They are placed on a ranch; the father is given a job, and the daughter, who was homeschooled very well during their tenure in the Park, is to start school.

And then – they disappear again.

Although the above does contain mild spoilers, those are the basic facts of the true story. What happens next – which I’m NOT going to talk about – is where the author takes over the string of events.

I found the story very interesting and engaging – a really quick read. Although I understand (to a point) the desire to live off the grid and to keep your child innocent of the world (the father quotes Thoreau a lot), I think that it’s a little unrealistic and found myself really disliking the father – especially towards the end of the book.

His paranoia got worse as the story went on, and I’m sure there was some kind of PTSD from his war service, but I think that his actions are very nearly inexcusable.

Also? Now every time I’m in Forest Park alone, I feel a little paranoid that I’m suddenly going to stumble across a large encampment of itinerants and they’ll kill me so I don’t reveal their location. (Okay – I don’t actually feel that way – I stay on the trails…but I do feel like I’m being watched ALL THE TIME.)

So – a good read, a decent story. I enjoyed the way the author took the basic facts and spun something very engaging from those facts. I do wish his mind had gone more towards the “and they lived happily ever after in a lovely remote compound in Idaho” ending than where it did go, but I can’t fault him for that…my mind hardly ever does happily ever after, either.

View all my reviews

 

And a giveaway!

It’s getting to be that time of the year again! It’s time for All Hallow’s Read! Leave a comment on this post (Edited to add: by 10/25/11) telling me your most memorable (or favorite) scary, creepy, or weird book and two people will be randomly selected to receive a scary book. You can also specify if you want to receive a children’s scary book, a YA scary book, or an adult scary book.  The book will, of course, be my choice (mwa ha ha) – I believe last year’s winners both received copies of Chuck Palahniuk’s “Haunted,” which in addition to being awesome, apparently also glows in the dark & can be used to scare your significant other in the middle of the night.

So – comment away! Win a book!

Book Review Paranormal Style: Walker Papers #7 – Spirit Dances

Oct 5th, 2011
by gazelle.
1 comment

Spirit Dances (Walker Papers, #6)Spirit Dances by C.E. Murphy

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

OMFG. Seriously. I wouldn’t have classified the Walker Papers series in my top paranormal romance picks before #6 here. I mean, I’d read them all, but hadn’t paid much attention to when #6 was being released (like I do w/ my Kate Daniels & Mercedes Thompson books). In fact, I believe this actually came out in April. That’s right – five whole months before I even noticed.

BUT BUT BUT – I read it in one sitting, have subsequently read it again, and have read the last half of the last chapter 1 million times (approximately). LOVE LOVE LOVE.

ANYWAYS – On to the review:

The Story
Joanne Walker reluctantly entered the world of the supernatural in Book 1 (Urban Shaman) when she was skewered by Cernunnos and given the choice to live as a shaman or die. Much like the choice between cake or death, it seemed an easy one at the time. However, once reality set in, she spent a lot of time sulking and/or screwing up royally. (One of the reasons I was not obsessed with the first five books – it took her that long to get a grip, grow up, and take responsibility for her powers.)

She is a detective with the Seattle PD, and one half of SPD’s only paranormal detective team. Her partner, Billy Holliday (his parents maybe didn’t think that one through), sees dead people (or, more accurately, murdered people). Her best friend, Gary Muldoon, is a 74-year-old cab driver who ran off to San Diego for the duration of this book (my only real complaint – I love Gary), and the other major players are Billy’s wife Melinda (a bruja!), Joanne’s friend/spirit guide Coyote (Cyrano), and her boss, Morrison.

This book takes place around St. Patrick’s Day, or, more specifically just before the spring equinox and during the full moon. Someone in Seattle is kidnapping the homeless and murdered (supernaturally, of course) the lead dancer in a Native American dance troupe. Joanne must work with Billy, Mel, and Morrison to find the supernatural killer before more people die.

BUT – I can’t tell you the best part of the story (I hate spoilers), and it likely wouldn’t BE the best part if you hadn’t read the previous five books. There is romantic build up that happened for five previous books! And FINALLY. Something came of it. BUT, that something happened in the last half of the last chapter. And then? Nothing! DAMN YOU CE MURPHY! (PS – Book #7 comes out in March 2012.)

The Score
Romance/Sexytimes: A+ – Okay – so it was slow in coming (hee), and there wasn’t a lot there, but OMFG (again), YAY!

Writing: B+ – I enjoy the writing. It’s definitely on the level of my other favorite paranormal series(es?), and I am finally liking Joanne a lot more, too.

Paranormality: A- – First off, I love books set in places I can visit. Secondly, I like the gradual exposure to the Seattle paranormal world. Nothing seems forced or completely off the wall. It’s all very believable; especially with some of the mysteries that remain – like what’s the deal really with Mel’s power & Gary’s ability to drive with the Force?

Book Score: A – Solid A for reals…..so much love for this book. Perhaps I will read it again tonight. And every day until #7 comes out in March. I wish I was the kind of person who got advanced reading copies. I need to know someone.

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