Real vampires

I've done it again, me and my reviewing. This time, it's a (mostly) positive look at the Sookie Stackhouse Novels by Charlaine Harris. True Blood (one of my favorite shows) is based on them, and I'm only a little embarrassed to say that the show is the only reason I picked up the books. I am very pleased, however, to say that I was pleasantly surprised by them. They're not great, I'll be honest, but they don't really try to be. They try to be violent, steamy, interesting fun -and they are. That's all they are, and that's all they need to be. Hell, if that's all Twilight pretended to be, I might be able to like them.


Okay, that was an exaggeration.

Twilight can't even pretend to be as good as these books, because Twilight is too busy primping its hair and pretending to be a saga. It's a series. A series. Look up the definition of a saga before you sling the word around like so much mud.

The Sookie Stackhouse Novels aren't written for high-brow readers of literature. They're written for the everyday girl (or guy) looking for a little bit of lighthearted fun, and they deliver. There are plenty of flaws in the books (I get a pang every time I think of "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" written as "The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner"), but despite those flaws, at least there's a story. There's an interesting, complex story with interesting, complex characters. Sookie's shallow moments are human moments, not Mary Sue moments, and the characters continue to get more interesting as the series progresses.

So, while I would read these over Twilight in a heartbeat -less than a heartbeat -I still wouldn't call them good literature. But damned if I don't enjoy them.

I work so hard I feel no pain

This morning, my structural integrity was compromised. I dropped/struck a cereal bowl on the divider in our sink, given that I am without coordination of any kind beyond that which allows me to walk and type. I went about picking up the larger pieces and grabbed a roll of paper towels to snatch up the littler ones when, lo and behold, there appeared blood on the paper towels! I wasn't even aware of having cut myself open, but apparently I had; there's about a centimeter long cut on the tip of the ring finger on my left hand. It will not stop bleeding. I checked for glass inside of it, but it won't stop bleeding long enough to let me see. It doesn't really hurt, so I'm assuming we're okay, but it's a little bit irritating to bleed nonstop. I had to remind myself that one cannot bleed to death out a tiny cut in the end of their finger, despite the fact that the water running off of my hand was full of blood.
Life goes on.

I'm reading a book called "Audrey Hepburn's Neck" -so far I'm not impressed, really. The references to AH (the sole reason I picked up the book) seem forced and random...they're supposed to be an integral part of the main character's life, but I'm 40some pages in and it's barely been touched. I'm hoping that it improves as I read, but as yet the only thing that's been interesting to me have been the descriptions of Japan, which are cool. I like that aspect. We'll see where it goes. Expect a review eventually.

"The Year" is over

I finished "The Year of Living Biblically" today. As I expected, it didn't change me from an agnostic to a Christian (or a Jew or any other religion) -but that's probably good. That's not the point of the book. It's just a really, really, really fascinating read. I loved it.

You can read the review of it here.

And then, I hope, you'll read the book itself. A. J. Jacobs is a weird, weird man.



Also, on an unrelated and personal note, I found out today that the good friend of a good friend has died. He got stabbed at a concert. I met him once, last summer. I was surprised and horrified to hear of his death and its circumstances. He was a young, energetic guy, and I'm so sorry to know that he's gone. This all sounds really brusque to blog about the death of a young man, but I don't know how else to express it. The pain his family and friends must be going through is unimaginable, and I'm sickened by the fact that it all had to happen.

More vampires

I reviewed this story today. Here's the review.
I'll be honest, the pot before this one is a lot more interesting. I feel like someone kicked me in the chest and then punched me in the stomach, so I'm not feeling like writing anything super entertaining at the moment. The review is kind of fun though. It's chock full of links to other, possibly more interesting, reviews and articles, so definitely check it out.

Now go away, pretty please. :P

The Year of Living Biblically

So, here's something some of you may not know about me. I'm agnostic (on a good day). This is something I've felt for a long time, but only recently felt comfortable talking about with people (my mom, for instance) because I didn't know how that revelation would be received. And then, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that my agnosticism/atheism is just what I believe. It's not something that I need to hide or something of which I should be ashamed. The evidence shakes out for me. If there is a creator or a God of some kind, it's certainly not the one of earthly religions -although I love the stories. I love their messages (usually. Some of them are downright immoral if you really think about it). I love the symbolism inherent in religious myths.

Like Plato's Socrates talking to Eurypides about the "truth" in Hesiod's creation story, I feel that the truth is in the lesson, not the "history" of it. The lesson in Hesiod's story, by the way, is to avoid being tryannical and overly proud, otherwise you'll end up losing everything. Eurypides, on the other hand, believes that the poem represents literal truth -that various gods actually lost their thrones to their children until Zeus learned the lesson of sharing power and took over.

I'm with Plato/Socrates. It's interesting to me that the literal/figurative conversation about religion was going on so long ago, and that it continues today. I think it's a fascinating, deep idea and one that I still enjoy discussing. I know where my beliefs are, but I'm always reading more, trying to probe the ideas and make sure I've got my head and heart in the right place.

Which is why the book "The Year of Living Biblically" is so fascinating to me. A.J. Jacobs (author of "The Know-It-All" for anyone who's read that) spent a year living as closely as possible to the laws and rules in the Bible. It's a funny, unsettling, weird book. I'm not quite finished with it, but once I am expect a much more detailed review. Check it out though. It really is an extremely interesting read. Jacobs is the child of a secular, loosely Jewish family, and one of the most compelling parts of the book is his struggle with his own agnosticism as he delves very deeply into religious life.

Expect more in a few days.

Fools

On a totally personal note, I'm a brunette again! I've been a redhead since spring break, and the change is nice. I look like me again. It's pretty cool.

Okay, enough about my looks, onto my thoughts!
I finished "Fool" by Christopher Moore and, yes, there is a review of it.
I'll be honest -it's not my favorite book by him. That's mostly just because I have an intense attachment to a couple of his other books which are imho his best, and I tend to hold all of his writing to that standard. Fool doesn't quite hit the mark, but it's only off by a teeny little bit.

It's King Lear retold as a dark comedy. None of Shakespeare's genius is lost, it's just modified to allow Moore space in which to play. It's a fun story, and I would definitely buy it to reread. The character of the Fool is in charge, as if the title didn't give that away, but why am I telling you? Go read my review!

A Scanner Darkly

Funny story about the title, actually. Once when I was watching the movie, a friend asked me what I was doing via text message. I answered "watching a scanner darkly" and he replied with the question "Why are you brooding over a copier?".

I've never been sure if he was kidding or not.

Regardless, the book is amazing, creepy, sometimes funny and overall a total trip. It broke my heart in more than one way, more than once. It's wonderful. The movie isn't bad either, so if you're looking for something to do this summer, check it out, for sure. Read the book first though. The book is better. The book is always better.

Here's my review. Comments are of course one of the biggest things I want, but just read it...if I can get one person to read a book (or not read a book, depending on what the review says) then I've done my job, and I'll feel like I accomplished something worthwhile. Failing that though, just leave me a comment. ;)