Ah, the end of October. With it brings my favorite holiday, the faint promise of stuffing and candied yams, and chilly temperatures (well, not in the high 90s here, I guess). It also ushers in the beginning of NaNo, and I'm glad to say that I'll be on time this year!
Every Halloween, my boyfriend and I are usually at Knott's Scary Farm or somewhere else along the same ilk. It's silly fun, and most of the time, the mazes are amazing. But we finished all this this year earlier than expected. I don't know, I'm going to sound like a disillusioned teenager here, but everything was so...commercialized. We went to Universal and it was insane, with people waiting in lines for up to two hours. Two hours! We walked away from that with my favorite thing of the entire night being the Transformers ride. Then Knott's was...interesting. First of all, it was disgustingly warm that night, and the indoor mazes didn't really help. Second, there are some strange people out there. Not working in the mazes, just...in the world, in general. It's no secret that I'm not a big fan of crowds, but people are getting weirder. They also took out the best maze and kept the prices the same, and it was a mess. In both parks (Universal and Knott's) I found my smiling politely more than jumping. It all made me feel so old, and I've never been happier of that.
But this year! This year, we're not going to be a theme park for Halloween. Nope, we're going to be in Arizona, marveling at our good luck at being able to see three of our favorite bands: Tool, Primus, and Coheed and Cambria. Okay, only one of those bands is really for me, but I love watching the crowd for the other two bands. Have you ever seen Primus fans? They're wonderful and so high and don't care. Same with Tool. Those people made me so happy, not because they're acting weird, but because they're so into the music and everything around them is so wonderful and they want to share that experience with everyone. Some music crowds make me happy to be in this world.
Anyway! That means that on Sunday, November first, I'll wake up and be able to start typing away. Usually I'm so tired from the night before that I skip the first and wait for the second. Or third. Or maybe even the second week. By that time, I'm so over the story that I have prepared that I just start typing whatever and none of it makes any sense. But not this year. I have a story idea that I've loved forever (really - I'll get to that in a later post), I know where I'm going with it, and I'm so excited to start on Sunday. We're staying at my boyfriend's parents' house, which means I don't have to wake up and get ready for work the next day. I'm already prepared (or as prepared as I usually am), so all I have to worry about is making sure I don't wake anyone while cackling happily over my amazing word putting together skills.
Also, their community has a Starbucks and a doughnut (the little red lines informed me that donut was going to be a no-no in this situation) shop in the same center. Sometimes I love Arizona.
Now, however, I have to worry about packing and getting ready for work. I have to prepare for an interesting drive to Arizona, since we're taking both dogs in a car that is not very comfortable for my overly tall boyfriend. The cat gets free reign of the house while we're gone, so that's going to be fun to come home to. Oh! I'll also have a post on Monday about a new book I just finished. Get ready for some gushing.
Have a lovely weekend, everyone.
Thursday, October 29, 2015
Friday, October 23, 2015
Chickens and Puppies and Writing
We have new neighbors.
They're really nice. I've spoken to them twice. They have adorable children, super cute with their round cheeks and giggles over their swimming pool. They also have a German Shepherd puppy that is the cutest thing alive, but barks whenever they're not home, which is always since they're not really living in the house yet and they tend to leave the puppy alone in its CAGE in the backyard. There's also a plethora of workers coming in and out of the house, agitating the poor puppy that then barks uncontrollably, worrying our dogs and me, because I hate hearing that poor thing freak out when I can't calm it down (trust me, I've tried multiple times). Then, as we found out last night around midnight, these nice people also have CHICKENS that like to CROW whenever they damn well feel like it.
I'm not too keen on these people, if you can't tell.
Anyway, because of all that, I've been sleeping in a lot and then waking up all groggy because my natural schedule is all messed up. I haven't had much time to write on the computer, but I've been making up for it at work. That's a terrible thing, but I do my job and I do it well, and when I have a few seconds of downtime, I manage to jot down some notes or a scene, if I'm really lucky. Nothing is really very good, but then I get home and am able to expand and change things on my laptop. It's helping, because I just had an idea for one of my older stories. It might get done for NaNo, but I'm not sure if I want to rush this one.
Mostly, I'm just excited for November. I still have tutoring until well past my normal hours, but only two days a week. That means I should be home before 8 on most nights, and I won't be so exhausted that I just want to go to bed. Everything always seems to work out for November, and for that, I'm ever so thankful. Thank you, NaNo gods.
Then, I guess I went book buying crazy this month because I have three brand spanking new books waiting for me on my shelf. Right now, I'm staring at Career of Evil, and you have no idea how hard it is for me to not throw this computer out the window (or place it nicely back in the office, really, sorry, my love) and curl up with sneaky JK. As for the other books, I pass them every time I go to bed, and they cry out whenever I tell them that I can't read them tonight. I mean, I'm sure they cry. They have to, right? I also have two other books sitting on my nightstand, and it makes me so sad. I have one more book to read for NetGalley and then I'm taking a break. I've said that before, but this book was sent to me because I read the first one in the series, so I can't exactly say no. Also, the first book was awesome, so expect a review for this one next week or so.
All right, I guess I should go be an adult and wait for the repairman. And not smother my cat with kisses because she won't stop meowing. And not listen to the new Adele on repeat until my ears bleed. And not freak out over Panic! At The Disco tickets because I'm a 32 year old woman.
We all know I'm going to do all those things.
They're really nice. I've spoken to them twice. They have adorable children, super cute with their round cheeks and giggles over their swimming pool. They also have a German Shepherd puppy that is the cutest thing alive, but barks whenever they're not home, which is always since they're not really living in the house yet and they tend to leave the puppy alone in its CAGE in the backyard. There's also a plethora of workers coming in and out of the house, agitating the poor puppy that then barks uncontrollably, worrying our dogs and me, because I hate hearing that poor thing freak out when I can't calm it down (trust me, I've tried multiple times). Then, as we found out last night around midnight, these nice people also have CHICKENS that like to CROW whenever they damn well feel like it.
I'm not too keen on these people, if you can't tell.
Anyway, because of all that, I've been sleeping in a lot and then waking up all groggy because my natural schedule is all messed up. I haven't had much time to write on the computer, but I've been making up for it at work. That's a terrible thing, but I do my job and I do it well, and when I have a few seconds of downtime, I manage to jot down some notes or a scene, if I'm really lucky. Nothing is really very good, but then I get home and am able to expand and change things on my laptop. It's helping, because I just had an idea for one of my older stories. It might get done for NaNo, but I'm not sure if I want to rush this one.
Mostly, I'm just excited for November. I still have tutoring until well past my normal hours, but only two days a week. That means I should be home before 8 on most nights, and I won't be so exhausted that I just want to go to bed. Everything always seems to work out for November, and for that, I'm ever so thankful. Thank you, NaNo gods.
Then, I guess I went book buying crazy this month because I have three brand spanking new books waiting for me on my shelf. Right now, I'm staring at Career of Evil, and you have no idea how hard it is for me to not throw this computer out the window (or place it nicely back in the office, really, sorry, my love) and curl up with sneaky JK. As for the other books, I pass them every time I go to bed, and they cry out whenever I tell them that I can't read them tonight. I mean, I'm sure they cry. They have to, right? I also have two other books sitting on my nightstand, and it makes me so sad. I have one more book to read for NetGalley and then I'm taking a break. I've said that before, but this book was sent to me because I read the first one in the series, so I can't exactly say no. Also, the first book was awesome, so expect a review for this one next week or so.
All right, I guess I should go be an adult and wait for the repairman. And not smother my cat with kisses because she won't stop meowing. And not listen to the new Adele on repeat until my ears bleed. And not freak out over Panic! At The Disco tickets because I'm a 32 year old woman.
We all know I'm going to do all those things.
Monday, October 19, 2015
Scott Jenkins' Road to Wonderland by Charlie M. Matthews
Hello again everyone! If you can see the banner above, you know what day it is. It's Wonderland day! This time, we have Scott Jenkins' story, and what a story it is.
Synopsis:
Scott Jenkins is charming, smooth, full
of ambition and he has plans. Plans that don't involve being a 19-year-old
builder, working long hours at his father's construction company, hauling
wheelbarrows or stacking bricks in an underpaid job. But as with most things in
Scott's world, the dreams and ambitions he has set himself never really go to
plan.
When Scott's best mate, Ethan
Walker, hits rock bottom, everything changes overnight. After years of trying
to figure out his purpose in life, he now knows what he has to do, and more
importantly, who he has to save. Tiptoeing on the outskirts of a world filled
with drugs and violence, Scott ends up walking down roads he never even knew
existed. What was once a simple life, suddenly seems incredibly complicated -
especially with the arrival of a forbidden love who is determined to make
things even more difficult for him.
Follow Scott on his journey to
Wonderland, where friendships are tested, relationships are destroyed and a
dangerous woman leaves the guy who once thought he knew exactly, what he
wanted, in the pits of despair.
Road to Wonderland Series book 5
(all books are standalone reads)
This book was all kinds of wonderful. I love that I felt like I'd known Scott forever (since he's popped up in the other books), but now I got his part of the story. Scott Jenkins is the type of boy you love so much that you just might hate him. He's sweet and smart and sexy and knows that he's all those things, and that you're thinking all those things. Sometimes he seems absolutely clueless to the effect he has on women, but you're never quite sure if it's a game or just his adorable nature.
What I truly loved about this book was the friendship between Scott and Ethan. Since I've been cheering for Ethan since day freaking one, I loved seeing him at his most vulnerable from his best friend's point of view. I loved watching Scott struggle next to Ethan and support his hero, because that's what you do with friends. The friendships in these books are ridiculously well written, and Scott and Ethan might be my favorite friends. They both went through some trouble and they came out the better for it, and they're still together.
This book is very much like the others: it's so hard to sit by while Scott messes up his life. You want to reach through the pages and shake him awake, to tell him that there are other women out there, to tell him that he should probably get his life together. His story is so romantic and so uplifting, but so, so very sad at the same time. He wants to get all he wants, but at what cost? And does that cost even matter to him?
I know I say this every time, but this is definitely my favorite book of the series (until the next one, or until I reread all the others).
Goodreads Book Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26039001-scott-jenkins-road-to-wonderland?ac=1
Buy Links:
Author Bio:
Charlie M Matthews is a hopeless romantic, lost in her own
world of fairytales and adventures. A lover of art and painting, she'd happily
hang up her everyday clothes in exchange for a paint smudged shirt. In the
confines of her attic room, she is able to create a world that is unlike no
other. Mixing fantasy and fiction to generate a piece of work that she could
lose herself in.
Charlie is a mum of three, living on the outskirts of
Oxfordshire. Born and raised in Reading, she switched the bright lights and
traffic jams for a quiet life in the sticks a little over 5 years ago. Between
school runs and generally just being a mum, you'll most likely find Charlie at
the local hair spa. Flipping through magazines sporting the latest colour
craze, or mixing colours and arranging up-do's, sparking her creative side.
With her wild imagination and passion for reading, Charlie
stumbled upon a new love.
Writing...
What started as a distraction from the crazy thing that is
'life', soon became all too real. She no longer dreamt, about the day her words
would be published for all to see because that day was finally happening.
Social Links:
Twitter: @C_MMatthews
The Road to Wonderland Series:
Giveaway
Monday, October 12, 2015
Hello October!
Okay, yeah, October has been around for about two weeks now, but it gets my general sentiment. It's the thought that counts.
This is a week later than I wanted, but, honestly, things were not syncing fast enough for my taste. While I thought about work when I last posted, I didn't think of all the things I would have to do for work. Reading books, making packets, trying to learn about a test that I didn't know existed until a month ago. It's been exhausting and frustrating, mainly because I'm spending so much of my home time worrying about things that I should just leave at work. But, nope. That's not my style. I have to brings those things home and freak out about them here.
It's not fun.
Not to mention that I see my boyfriend a total of an hour (if I'm lucky!) during the weekdays. And I don't get to Doctor Who until Friday or sometimes right before the new episode airs. Also, did you know that Cops is still on and we're currently obsessed with it and it plays a million times a day and I just want to sit around and watch all the episodes?
Yeah.
So. Things. What are those important things that I mentioned in my last post?
Well, one of those things I can't talk about right now. It's nothing related to writing or a book deal or anything like that. Wouldn't that be nice, though? Someone to call me and say, hey, Bree, we magically read that book you haven't finished yet and we'd love to publish it, okay? Here's a bajillion dollars so you don't have to work anymore.
At least my imagination is still intact.
No, that important thing will come later. But the one I can talk about is that my boyfriend has joined a sprint car team crew. If you have no idea what sprint cars are, join the club! Just kidding. That was me about two years ago. He tried explaining it to me and I just nodded, smiling, because I thought he was insane. Then he showed me videos and I thought he was even crazier. But now...now I love it. I thought about looking around the internet for a good example of sprint cars, but there's just too much out there. Google it.
Anyway, for the last year or so, we've been talking about what we can do to help some of these teams. This is an expensive sport, and not everyone that does it is a Rockefeller. We've given money and bought shirts and all that normal fan stuff, but that didn't seem like enough. So when my boyfriend was, effectively, handed a golden ticket a few weeks ago, he took it. A team needed help in the pit area with getting the car ready, keeping it going, and all that other crew-type stuff. My boyfriend, handy man that he is, volunteered and the team snatched him up.
Does it add another piece to the plate? Yes.
Does it stress me out that he's going to be working in a potentially dangerous environment? Yes.
Is he deliriously happy because this is something that he's wanted to do since he was a child, and so I'm so, so, so excited for him? Yes, yes, a thousand times yes.
All this means is that we're going to be busy on the weekends. And that we have to change our eating habits, which have been...less than stellar. That means I have to meal plan and cook, which I don't mind in the least, but it sucks that I can't cook it so it's hot when he gets home. It also sucks that it's about a thousand degrees in California (seriously, I'm going swimming after I finish this) still and cooking is ridiculous in a house with no air conditioning.
But I'm making it work. Because I have to.
One of the other things that I can talk about is changing my writing habits. I've been trying to write everyday, but schedules have other ideas. Still, I've committed myself to finishing one of my stories. I know that doesn't sound like a big deal, but it kind of is. I get so invested in a story and then...another idea pops up. And then another. And then I forget what my original story was even about.
This is not a book I wish to publish. This is just something fun that's been floating around in my Word files for about three or four years now. During my downtime at work (really, I make the kids do about an hour of TOEFL testing so I can let my brain catch up with the day), I fleshed it out into a for reals story and now it's going. I'm hoping to finish it by the end of this month so I can be ready for NaNo next month. There was a scary few days when I thought I wasn't going to do it this year, but I love it too much not to.
I think that covers all the important things. I'm going to keep this thing updated at least once a week, and I'm thinking that it might be on Thursdays, because those are my less busy days in the morning. I'l still post book reviews every now and again, but my reading has slowed considerably because of this whole schedule mess. But I won't give this up. This helps me, weirdly enough.
Just get ready for more sprint car talk.
This is a week later than I wanted, but, honestly, things were not syncing fast enough for my taste. While I thought about work when I last posted, I didn't think of all the things I would have to do for work. Reading books, making packets, trying to learn about a test that I didn't know existed until a month ago. It's been exhausting and frustrating, mainly because I'm spending so much of my home time worrying about things that I should just leave at work. But, nope. That's not my style. I have to brings those things home and freak out about them here.
It's not fun.
Not to mention that I see my boyfriend a total of an hour (if I'm lucky!) during the weekdays. And I don't get to Doctor Who until Friday or sometimes right before the new episode airs. Also, did you know that Cops is still on and we're currently obsessed with it and it plays a million times a day and I just want to sit around and watch all the episodes?
Yeah.
So. Things. What are those important things that I mentioned in my last post?
Well, one of those things I can't talk about right now. It's nothing related to writing or a book deal or anything like that. Wouldn't that be nice, though? Someone to call me and say, hey, Bree, we magically read that book you haven't finished yet and we'd love to publish it, okay? Here's a bajillion dollars so you don't have to work anymore.
At least my imagination is still intact.
No, that important thing will come later. But the one I can talk about is that my boyfriend has joined a sprint car team crew. If you have no idea what sprint cars are, join the club! Just kidding. That was me about two years ago. He tried explaining it to me and I just nodded, smiling, because I thought he was insane. Then he showed me videos and I thought he was even crazier. But now...now I love it. I thought about looking around the internet for a good example of sprint cars, but there's just too much out there. Google it.
Anyway, for the last year or so, we've been talking about what we can do to help some of these teams. This is an expensive sport, and not everyone that does it is a Rockefeller. We've given money and bought shirts and all that normal fan stuff, but that didn't seem like enough. So when my boyfriend was, effectively, handed a golden ticket a few weeks ago, he took it. A team needed help in the pit area with getting the car ready, keeping it going, and all that other crew-type stuff. My boyfriend, handy man that he is, volunteered and the team snatched him up.
Does it add another piece to the plate? Yes.
Does it stress me out that he's going to be working in a potentially dangerous environment? Yes.
Is he deliriously happy because this is something that he's wanted to do since he was a child, and so I'm so, so, so excited for him? Yes, yes, a thousand times yes.
All this means is that we're going to be busy on the weekends. And that we have to change our eating habits, which have been...less than stellar. That means I have to meal plan and cook, which I don't mind in the least, but it sucks that I can't cook it so it's hot when he gets home. It also sucks that it's about a thousand degrees in California (seriously, I'm going swimming after I finish this) still and cooking is ridiculous in a house with no air conditioning.
But I'm making it work. Because I have to.
One of the other things that I can talk about is changing my writing habits. I've been trying to write everyday, but schedules have other ideas. Still, I've committed myself to finishing one of my stories. I know that doesn't sound like a big deal, but it kind of is. I get so invested in a story and then...another idea pops up. And then another. And then I forget what my original story was even about.
This is not a book I wish to publish. This is just something fun that's been floating around in my Word files for about three or four years now. During my downtime at work (really, I make the kids do about an hour of TOEFL testing so I can let my brain catch up with the day), I fleshed it out into a for reals story and now it's going. I'm hoping to finish it by the end of this month so I can be ready for NaNo next month. There was a scary few days when I thought I wasn't going to do it this year, but I love it too much not to.
I think that covers all the important things. I'm going to keep this thing updated at least once a week, and I'm thinking that it might be on Thursdays, because those are my less busy days in the morning. I'l still post book reviews every now and again, but my reading has slowed considerably because of this whole schedule mess. But I won't give this up. This helps me, weirdly enough.
Just get ready for more sprint car talk.
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Life
Remember that whole na-na-na-na boo boo, I'm better than you schedule and holier than thou attitude that came with it?
Oh man.
Last week was insanity. You know those weeks (or even days) when you find both hands full and more stuff waiting to be picked up? That was last week. I had two doctor's appointments and about a thousand things to do between them and work. Then, when I went to work, my boss pretty changed my entire schedule, so now I'm not even home until 9 most nights. It's kind of a mess, but I'm determined to make it work. There's some pretty important stuff happening in my life right now and I need to have a schedule in order for everything to fall into place. So now I have to go back to the drawing board and figure out what I'm going to do.
Does it suck that these things have been thrown at me with barely a warning? Yeah, sure, and I cried a lot last week. I was frustrated and angry and upset, and all I wanted to do was crawl under the deck and live there forever. With the lizards. Not the spiders, though. They would have to move.
I guess what this week has taught me is that life is chaotic. Sometimes in a good way, sometimes in a not so good way. I guess it's been okay since the good has definitely outweighed the bad, but still. I'm like my mom in that way: one bad thing happens and my entire life is over. Things have never gotten to me as bad as they did last week. I'm pretty emotional, but I can save my crying to once or twice a month, if I'm lucky. But last week...last week was a rollercoaster. I cried almost every day in the shower while getting ready for week. Not a great idea, by the way, because my make up didn't go on so hot.
This means that September is definitely canceled when it comes to this blog. I want to concentrate on getting my home life and work life in harmony, and then I can slowly reintroduce the idea of this blog. It'll only be about two weeks (at the least), but I'm hoping to have a rhythm going in that time. My mornings are still relatively free, but since I work later now, I'm going to have to utilize that free time for things I usually left for the night. Well, things other than catching up on Doctor Who and reading (both of which I did this morning).
I'll be back in October with more book reviews, updates on writing, and general babbling. I'm so sorry that this blog has been spotty, for those of you who have stuck with me on this up and down journey I'm on. I've made some decisions over the weekend that I think will have a positive influence on both this blog and my life, and I'll talk more about those when I come back. Mainly because I want to make sure I stick with them and they fit into my life.
Keep your fingers crossed for me.
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Oh man. Today's review is going to be a bit on the rambling side.
Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality they slip gradually from obsession to corruption and betrayal, and at last - inexorably - into evil.
The best part about that summary is that it doesn't even begin to cover what happens in this book.
I had no idea what to expect when I picked this up. To be honest, one of my favorite authors, Maggie Stiefvater, mentioned this book on a Tumblr post when someone asked if she had read the book. Apparently, she had, and she mentions it alongside her books, The Raven Cycle (which are all so good, go buy the first three right now, seriously). So I picked this up, because Stiefvater told me it was good and because I have The Goldfinch on my Kindle right now, so I was interested in what Donna Tartt was all about.
Okay. Let me see if I can make that summary into something.
Richard Papen, a California kid that wants to do something with his life, decides to apply to a small college in Vermont. Once there, he wants to study Greek, but the only Greek teacher is very snobbish about his students and does not accept everyone. When Julian Morrow, the professor, finally accepts Richard, that's the beginning of the end for him. Richard meets the other students: quiet, studious Henry; man-about town Bunny; dramatic Francis; and the fraternal twins Charles and Camilla. While they accept him into the group nicely enough, it takes a few months before they realize they can truly trust Richard. But, by that time, Richard is in too deep to wonder if he can trust them.
This book. My god, this book. When I started reading it, I had a clear sense of who was good and who was bad, and, really, I didn't think my ideas could change. By the time *SPOILERY THING* occurs, I had no idea who I was rooting for and who I wanted to throw off a cliff (ba dum tsss). Richard appears to be a reliable narrator, but there were moments where I couldn't believe anything that was happening and wondered if he was just rambling because of everything he had gone through (this is written years after *SPOILERY THING* occurs). Maybe it was because so many fantastical things kept throwing themselves at me and I couldn't believe that one person had experienced all these events. It seems impossible, but Richard told his story with such emotion that it had to be true. It was too amazing not to be. Everyone else in this novel is a big mess and no one is as they seem. Honestly. By the end, I felt like I had gone through five hundred something pages with these people that were total strangers.
It's terrifying and romantic and dizzying all at once. Tartt does a superb job helping us traverse through this narrative, since we already know the who, but not the why. Usually I spend a big chunk of my time trying to figure out the mystery, but in this book, no way. I just read. I was so absorbed by everything that these characters were doing, by everything that was happening around them, that I was shocked when Tartt finally stepped aside for the big reveal. The whole world turned on its head, and I wanted to go back and read it all over again. Watching the characters deteriorate and spiral into whatever black hole they had found was like riding a rollercoaster: I wanted to shut my eyes, but I couldn't stop myself from soaking everything in.
I know I'm going to break down and eventually buy this book (I got my copy from the library), because it was so damn good. Now more than ever, I am so excited to read The Goldfinch, not because it's similar in material, but because Tartt's writing was so lush and picturesque. I wanted to be there with the characters, even when they were tripping down the path best left alone. She made everything seem to real and so relevant. I can honestly say that I've never read another book like this one. And that's such a good thing.
This is one of those that I'm saying go get it any means possible (but not stealing, because, obviously). It's over five hundred pages, but it's so worth it, trust me.
The best part about that summary is that it doesn't even begin to cover what happens in this book.
I had no idea what to expect when I picked this up. To be honest, one of my favorite authors, Maggie Stiefvater, mentioned this book on a Tumblr post when someone asked if she had read the book. Apparently, she had, and she mentions it alongside her books, The Raven Cycle (which are all so good, go buy the first three right now, seriously). So I picked this up, because Stiefvater told me it was good and because I have The Goldfinch on my Kindle right now, so I was interested in what Donna Tartt was all about.
Okay. Let me see if I can make that summary into something.
Richard Papen, a California kid that wants to do something with his life, decides to apply to a small college in Vermont. Once there, he wants to study Greek, but the only Greek teacher is very snobbish about his students and does not accept everyone. When Julian Morrow, the professor, finally accepts Richard, that's the beginning of the end for him. Richard meets the other students: quiet, studious Henry; man-about town Bunny; dramatic Francis; and the fraternal twins Charles and Camilla. While they accept him into the group nicely enough, it takes a few months before they realize they can truly trust Richard. But, by that time, Richard is in too deep to wonder if he can trust them.
This book. My god, this book. When I started reading it, I had a clear sense of who was good and who was bad, and, really, I didn't think my ideas could change. By the time *SPOILERY THING* occurs, I had no idea who I was rooting for and who I wanted to throw off a cliff (ba dum tsss). Richard appears to be a reliable narrator, but there were moments where I couldn't believe anything that was happening and wondered if he was just rambling because of everything he had gone through (this is written years after *SPOILERY THING* occurs). Maybe it was because so many fantastical things kept throwing themselves at me and I couldn't believe that one person had experienced all these events. It seems impossible, but Richard told his story with such emotion that it had to be true. It was too amazing not to be. Everyone else in this novel is a big mess and no one is as they seem. Honestly. By the end, I felt like I had gone through five hundred something pages with these people that were total strangers.
It's terrifying and romantic and dizzying all at once. Tartt does a superb job helping us traverse through this narrative, since we already know the who, but not the why. Usually I spend a big chunk of my time trying to figure out the mystery, but in this book, no way. I just read. I was so absorbed by everything that these characters were doing, by everything that was happening around them, that I was shocked when Tartt finally stepped aside for the big reveal. The whole world turned on its head, and I wanted to go back and read it all over again. Watching the characters deteriorate and spiral into whatever black hole they had found was like riding a rollercoaster: I wanted to shut my eyes, but I couldn't stop myself from soaking everything in.
I know I'm going to break down and eventually buy this book (I got my copy from the library), because it was so damn good. Now more than ever, I am so excited to read The Goldfinch, not because it's similar in material, but because Tartt's writing was so lush and picturesque. I wanted to be there with the characters, even when they were tripping down the path best left alone. She made everything seem to real and so relevant. I can honestly say that I've never read another book like this one. And that's such a good thing.
This is one of those that I'm saying go get it any means possible (but not stealing, because, obviously). It's over five hundred pages, but it's so worth it, trust me.
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
The Lost Girl by R.L. Stine
I know I must have talked about my love for R.L. Stine. Right? If I haven't, let me sum it up for you: I LOVE R.L. STINE.
When I was a kid, my dad would take me either horseback riding or to the bookstore on weekends, sometimes both (my dad is the best). Whenever we went to the bookstore, I would get one of two books: the next in the Baby-Sitters Club series or a new R.L. Stine. I think I had all the Fear Street books, and it was a big deal for me, when I grew up, to give them away to younger cousins and such. My friends and I even started a kind of Fear Club, where we would write scary stories and then meet once a week to read them to each other. They were all just rip offs of the newest Fear Street book, but we didn't care. We would have told them a million times and been just as riveted.
One day, tripping around NetGalley to see if there was something to read, I came across the relaunched Fear Street books. Lucky me, I was granted access to the second one, Don't Stay Up Late. It was good, but not as good as I remember the Fear Street book being. Slightly disappointed, I still signed up for the third book, The Lost Girl. And that's where I remembered my long-lost obsession for these books.
New student Lizzy Palmer is the talk of Shadyside High. Michael and his girlfriend Pepper befriend her, but the closer they get to her, the stranger she seems… and the more attractive she is to Michael. He invites her to join him on a snowmobile race that ends in a tragic accident. Soon, Michael's friends start being murdered, and Pepper becomes convinced that Lizzy is behind the killings. But to her total shock, she and Michael are drawn into a tragic story of an unthinkable betrayal committed over 60 years ago.
If I'm being honest, I figured out the plot in about two seconds, but that doesn't matter. Even though you can figure out what's going on with Lizzy, you're still left wondering why. It's different, especially when I think back to the older Fear Street books, the ones where it was the second string quarterback or another student with some kind of vendetta. I think that's why I liked this one more than Don't Stay Up Late. That one felt more like a grown up Goosebumps (which, I guess, Fear Street is, really), but this one felt like one of the old Fear Street books that I love. My favorite in the older series were the Fear Street Saga novels, where Stine went into depth about the curse that hangs over Fear Street. This one reminded me a lot of those, maybe because (SPOILERS) this book deals with the past a bit.
Lizzy is...strange. She shows up randomly and then glues herself to Michael in the most obnoxious and weird ways. She pops up at his house and holds his hand in front of his girlfriend, and I kept wondering what was wrong with this girl. It felt like Michael was often dealing with an escaped mental patient, but that's what kept the characters interesting. No one could understand why Michael stuck up for this obviously deranged girl, but he did. He made sure to include her in everything he did, even when the reader is screaming at him to stop. Maybe he likes them crazy, because he was mad about her up until the end.
Writing books for teens is vastly different today than it was when I was a kid. Sometimes I go through the old books I still have and roll my eyes because I can't believe I made my parents spend money on some of it. Maybe the reason I like these new Fear Street books is because Stine doesn't seem to have updated his writing. That sounds terrible and horribly inaccurate for what I'm really trying to get at. Okay, he adds cell phones and things like that (you know, typical teen things, right?), but the kids in his stories deal with the supernatural and the strange, yet it's so tame compared to some teen books today. Relationships are already established and no one is trying to jump into bed with anyone else because they're trying to figure out why their friends are being murdered by this strange pulsing light, thank you very much.
God, I sound old.
Anyway, yeah, these are fun reads, and I'm already excited for the whole line of them. The stories are chilling and they're books to curl up in bed at night and get lost in. That's really all I'm asking for sometimes. And some tea. And maybe a blanket. If the weather wasn't trying to kill me.
When I was a kid, my dad would take me either horseback riding or to the bookstore on weekends, sometimes both (my dad is the best). Whenever we went to the bookstore, I would get one of two books: the next in the Baby-Sitters Club series or a new R.L. Stine. I think I had all the Fear Street books, and it was a big deal for me, when I grew up, to give them away to younger cousins and such. My friends and I even started a kind of Fear Club, where we would write scary stories and then meet once a week to read them to each other. They were all just rip offs of the newest Fear Street book, but we didn't care. We would have told them a million times and been just as riveted.
One day, tripping around NetGalley to see if there was something to read, I came across the relaunched Fear Street books. Lucky me, I was granted access to the second one, Don't Stay Up Late. It was good, but not as good as I remember the Fear Street book being. Slightly disappointed, I still signed up for the third book, The Lost Girl. And that's where I remembered my long-lost obsession for these books.
If I'm being honest, I figured out the plot in about two seconds, but that doesn't matter. Even though you can figure out what's going on with Lizzy, you're still left wondering why. It's different, especially when I think back to the older Fear Street books, the ones where it was the second string quarterback or another student with some kind of vendetta. I think that's why I liked this one more than Don't Stay Up Late. That one felt more like a grown up Goosebumps (which, I guess, Fear Street is, really), but this one felt like one of the old Fear Street books that I love. My favorite in the older series were the Fear Street Saga novels, where Stine went into depth about the curse that hangs over Fear Street. This one reminded me a lot of those, maybe because (SPOILERS) this book deals with the past a bit.
Lizzy is...strange. She shows up randomly and then glues herself to Michael in the most obnoxious and weird ways. She pops up at his house and holds his hand in front of his girlfriend, and I kept wondering what was wrong with this girl. It felt like Michael was often dealing with an escaped mental patient, but that's what kept the characters interesting. No one could understand why Michael stuck up for this obviously deranged girl, but he did. He made sure to include her in everything he did, even when the reader is screaming at him to stop. Maybe he likes them crazy, because he was mad about her up until the end.
Writing books for teens is vastly different today than it was when I was a kid. Sometimes I go through the old books I still have and roll my eyes because I can't believe I made my parents spend money on some of it. Maybe the reason I like these new Fear Street books is because Stine doesn't seem to have updated his writing. That sounds terrible and horribly inaccurate for what I'm really trying to get at. Okay, he adds cell phones and things like that (you know, typical teen things, right?), but the kids in his stories deal with the supernatural and the strange, yet it's so tame compared to some teen books today. Relationships are already established and no one is trying to jump into bed with anyone else because they're trying to figure out why their friends are being murdered by this strange pulsing light, thank you very much.
God, I sound old.
Anyway, yeah, these are fun reads, and I'm already excited for the whole line of them. The stories are chilling and they're books to curl up in bed at night and get lost in. That's really all I'm asking for sometimes. And some tea. And maybe a blanket. If the weather wasn't trying to kill me.
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