Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Friday Finds



I'm a little late but here goes anyway!

What great books did you hear about this week? Share with us your Friday Finds!

Friday Finds is hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.

This is what I saw on the blogosphere this week:



Lies My Mother Never Told Me - Kaylie Jones - seen on Luxury Reading


The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe - J. Randy Taraborelli - as seen on
Beth's Book Review Blog

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress - Rhoda Janzen - seen on
Chick with Books

Quote of the Day

"There were moments when my heart ached for him: I loved him so much."

- Dreamland, Sarah Dessen

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Quote of the Day

"I was drowning in broad daylight and no one could tell."

- Dreamland, Sarah Dessen

Teaser Tuesdays




Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. Here's how it works:

- Grab your current read.
- Let the book fall open to a random page.
- Share two "teaser" sentences from that page.
- Share the title and author of the book.
- PLEASE AVOID SPOILERS!

My teasers:

"His expression didn't change as he laughed again, the sound like that of someone heavy stepping on a dog's squeak toy.

Adam felt himself grinning."

- Generation Dead by Daniel Waters

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Teaser Tuesdays

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
  • Grab your current read.
  • Open to a random page.
  • Share two "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page.
  • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! Make sure what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!
  • Share the title and author too, so that other participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers!
Here we go:

"There were only two occasions of release which were not punishment. Release of the elderly, which was a time of celebration for a life well and fully lived; and release of a newchild, which always brought a sense of what-could-we-have-done."

From The Giver by Lois Lowry

Library Loot

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by A Striped Armchair and Out of the Blue that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library.

For Me:
Inkheart / Cornelia Funke
I, Robot / Isaac Asimov
The Bar Code Tattoo / Suzanne Weyn
Tarzan of the Apes / Edgar Rice Burroughs
Fool / Christopher Moore
Fahrenheit 451 / Ray Bradbury

For the Kid:
Tiger / Valmik Thapar
Tigers / Gwenyth Swain
Tigers / Melissa Cole
Tigers / Lesley A. DuTemple
The Tiger / Stuart P. Levine
Foxes / Sophie Lockwood
Baby Fox / Aubrey Lang
Foxes / Mary Ann McDonald
Wolves / Dan Greenberg
The Secret World of Wolves, Wild Dogs, and Foxes / Theresa Greenway
Growing Up with Wild Wolves / Sandra Markle
Coyote / Stephen R. Swinburne
Dog / Juliet Clutton-Brock
Lions / Melissa Cole
Lions / Claire Robinson
Lions / Kathy Darling
Face to Face with Lions / Beverly and Dereck Joubert
Big Book of Race Cars / Trevor Lord
The Mouse and the Motorcycle / Beverly Cleary
Dear Mr. Henshaw / Beverly Cleary
Otis Spofford / Beverly Cleary
Sideways Stories from Wayside School / Louis Sachar
How Santa Got His Job / Stephen Krensky
Geronimo Stilton: The Curse of the Cheese Pyramid
Geronimo Stilton: Wedding Crasher
Geronimo Stilton: It's Halloween, You 'Fraidy Mouse
Geronimo Stilton: My Name is Stilton, Geronimo Stilton
Captain Underpants and the Invasion of the Incredibly Naughty Cafeteria Ladies from Outer Space (and the Subsequent Assault of the Equally Evil Lunchroom Zombie Nerds) / Dav Pilkey
Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants / Dav Pilkey
El Capitan Calzoncillos y la Ridicula Historia de los Seres del Inodoro Morado / Dav Pilkey (I'm thinking he didn't notice it was in Spanish.)

For the Kid but that I intend to read:
Help! I'm a Prisoner in the Library / Eth Clifford

As I'm sure you can tell, our library bag was a bit heavy this evening.

Currently Reading: The Giver / Lois Lowry

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Review: Heavier Than Heaven (Charles R. Cross)

Amazon.com's review.

"He was the shape of suicide." - Ryan Aigner about Kurt Cobain quoted in Heavier Than Heaven.

Like many people of my generation, Nirvana and Kurt Cobain shaped the way I listened to music and what I listened to. Before I found Nirvana, my musical tastes ranged only as far as New Kids on the Block and Paula Abdul. I don't remember when I first heart them - probably when "Smells Like Teen Spirit" came out - but I remember my musical tastes subsequently being transformed.

I remember watching the vigil held after his death and hearing Courtney speak and cry and wail and read Kurt's suicide note. I remember Rolling Stone published some of the note. It really affected me at the time - as it did many other kids my age. So many teenagers were absolutely devastated by his death. It's a sad story. He really was, or could have been, an amazing man. He was, no doubt, a lyrical genius who inspired many, many people.

This book was an extremely interesting read. The author delves into the psychology behind Cobain's oddities and freakishness - because, let's face it, he was a pretty weird dude, even before he began abusing drugs. The book delves into Cobain's childhood, friendships, girlfriends, but hits the heart of the matter when he meets the Great Train Wreck, Courtney Love. The book shows Courtney's "human" side. We all simply see her as a big hot mess but she really was a driving force behind his life. Many people thought of her as Nirvana's "Yoko Ono" and thought she was the one who started Kurt heavily into drugs, but the truth is, he was using long before he met her. She did her best by him, and their love for one another - and their daughter, Frances Bean - clearly shines through.