Looking for Your Next Book

I don't read as many essay collections as I'd like. There was a time when I read a lot of essay collections (David Sedaris, Augusten Burroughs, Bill Bryson, Nick Hornby, Steve Almond, et al) but I've fallen away from it. If I'm not reading an essay for educational purposes (for instance, I have enjoyed The Best American Science and Nature Writing collections that appear annually), then I'm probably looking for something reflective of human nature, preferably humorous and relatable. That last word is key.  "Relatable."  I began to feel less and less able to relate to David Sedaris's work; so, too, Burroughs. They're both talented and well-deserving of their followings, but they didn't really speak to me. And the humorists sometimes try too hard to be funny or spend an entire essay setting up one joke. And yet, I keep trying, keep reading essays, and keep looking for 'new' authors to try. Adulting for Amateurs just had a ring to it that...

In the film world there are giants like George Lucas and Steven Spielberg and then we have the Roger Corman's ... those who produce fast, cheap knock-offs that are definitely entertaining but not likely to have blockbuster sales.  The same exists in the literary world. There are series that are enormously popular (Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Divergent, Maze Runner, etc) and then there are the indie-published options (I initially wrote "alternatives" but in truth, it isn't an 'either/or' choice) - cheaper and less polished.  The Guardians series (based on this first book) by Lola StVil is the latter. There's not much apparent plot here. Our protagonist, Emmy, is an emotionally charged teenage girl. It's been decried that she's going to save the world.  Or ... she's going to destroy it. It's all on her.   This should be a big responsibility but all Emmy thinks or cares about is Marcus. The first moment she laid eyes on him she was completely ...

Every night, when she goes to sleep, a young woman dreams of erotic encounters with the various men she meets or sees during the day - maybe the mailman, maybe the museum guard, the baker, the tailor. maybe even the priest, and so on. Each unique, imagined encounter is specific to the specialized talents of the man visiting.  No one is named, not even the dreaming woman. The anonymity of the dreams would appear to be part of the excitement. That's it. There's no gigantic story arc or plot. This is more thematic flash fiction, almost poetry, than short stories. And it works. Of course I really like surrealist fiction and this fits the label, though I suspect this might be hard to categorize beyond that. Poetry? Yes ... but no. Flash fiction? Yes ... but no. Erotica? Yes ... but no. Although the dreams are of erotic encounters, the writing is suggestive rather than obvious. The more direct sexual references might be The Aviator ("His cockpit convulses. His fuselage rattles. ...

Nym is a healer who has used her craftlock (specialized magic) ability to heal the young, very sick prince of her region (see the first book in the duology). The healing process, which is not quick, especially for someone as damaged as Prince Renn was, is quite personal - requiring physical touch to work. Through the course of her work with Prince Renn, Nym and Renn developed romantic feelings for one another. Just as they began to recognize and accept these feelings the kingdom was attacked and Nym's older brother, who was meant to be king, was killed. Renn and Nym escaped, though not together, and Nym was captured by King Nicosia - who also had strong craftlock abilities to rival Nym's. This book picks up right where the previous left off, with Nym held prisoner by King Nicosia and, by default, she learns new methods of using her craftlock ability to heal herself but also to cause damage to others who come in skin-to-skin contact with her. A new bond between Nym and Renn was ...

I find it difficult and sad to write this review.  I can't generally answer the question "What's your favorite book" because the answer might depend on what I'm currently reading, what my current mood is, or some other outside factors. And so usually I would say "The Alice in Wonderland" books. Because, really, they remain a constant for me: interesting characters, great conflict, and an incredible imagination. I love absurd fiction and the Alice books strike me as an epitome of absurdist fiction - impossible situations made to seem ordinary. Along with my interest in Lewis Carroll's stories, I've sought out Alice-related fiction. Sometimes that works out really well (as with Christina Henry's very dark Chronicles of Alice series) and sometimes, as with this, it's a dud. The concept for this book, according to the book's Goodreads page, is:  The (re)Visions series seeks to bring classic works of speculative fiction back into the moder...

This is one of the older books in my ARC queue, but I've seen Neil Young in the news recently and it reminded me that I had this book to read. Author/biographer Sharry Wilson looks back at the formative years of Neil Young's youth.  The book title is not just a pun on the musician's name, Wilson's biography is focused on Neil Young's youth and upbringing - from his birth in 1945, through the years of education and to the very beginnings of his musical career. The very earliest years, as Wilson reports, seemed to be happy ones. Idyllic even. Though things change when his parents divorce and Neil is raised by an alcoholic mother and his father lives some distance away (Toronto). And, not surprisingly, his later school years are turbulent as he discovers the joy of music and song writing and performing and his school work suffers as his musical talent excels. It would be the very rare family that would be happy to have a child pursue an art form while falling behind in...