Review: Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris

When we talk about escape reading, the Sookie Stackhouse series definitely has that escapist factor!  Filled with all sorts of paranormal elements, mystery, and romance, they are a crazy, good time.  In May, book 11 in the series, Dead Reckoning comes out and I'd like to be up to speed by then, so I recently read Dead and Gone (book 9).  This is a difficult book to review without giving away a little something, so I'll do my best to not include spoilers!

Synopsis:  From Goodreads, "Except for Sookie Stackhouse, folks in Bon Temps, Louisiana, know little about vamps-and nothing about weres.

Until now. The weres and shifters have finally decided to reveal their existence to the ordinary world. At first all goes well. Then the mutilated body of a were-panther is found near the bar where Sookie works-and she feels compelled to discover who, human or otherwise, did it.

But there's a far greater danger threatening Bon Temps. A race of unhuman beings-older, more powerful, and more secretive than vampires or werewolves-is preparing for war. And Sookie finds herself an all-too human pawn in their battle."

Review:  In this latest installment in the Sookie Stackhouse series, Sookie has returned home once again to try to get back to her "normal" life.  We know there are weres, shifters, and vampires, but to this we add the faeries.  Sookie meets some of her long-lost family and learns more about her past and who her parents were.  As with everything else Sookie has been involved with, it sometimes is just too much and all she really wants is a real life where she can go to work, come home, and have a normal existence that doesn't involve fearing for her life.  That's just not possible for Sookie though.  What do you do with a talent like reading people's thoughts?  No, Sookie is too valuable to all sides of the paranormal and human community.

This particular book, thankfully, doesn't show Sookie whining about the dangers she finds herself.  I liked that Sookie faced everything in a no-nonsense, this-is-my-life now sort of way.  In fact, I wasn't annoyed that she had protectors hanging around, because I finally felt that even Sookie just got that this is how things were for her.   

We have a lot of characters in this novel, both from past installments in the series, and new characters that are adding to this paranormal world Sookie lives in.  She's not alone in finding out about all of the paranormals though, as the weres come out to the world and among the vampires, their loyalty and power lines have shifted.  Eric and Bill are still very present, and it doesn't seem as though romance will ever be a completely easy thing for Sookie.  I felt as Sookie did though, wondering if her connection to Eric is only based on a swapping of blood (Yea, the exchange of bodily fluids element confuses things here), unlike the relationship and feelings she had for Bill at one time.  Honestly, I still like Bill and think that he was good for her, but totally get the tie to hottie Eric and all his influence and power in the vamp community. 

This is just a fun series to read.  This may not be a series that I recommend to my high school students, although I know some of them have/are reading them, but I have enjoyed them.  These really are pretty different, so you never know what to expect, which is a nice change.


*FTC Disclosure:  This review is based on a library copy of the novel.

The W's of Reading: Are You a Distracted Reader?

Happy Sunday to you!  I'm feeling upbeat and happy right now because, thankfully, I'm getting through the grading I've been grumbling about for ages.  It's been a slow process, but I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and should be finished with them later this coming week.  In the midst of all the grading, I seem to be reading a lot more than usual.  Reading has been my treat after a certain number of papers have been waded through!  In fact, I've been able to escape into a good read much easier than ever before, which led me to question just what it is about myself that makes me so easily distracted, normally?

For as long as I can remember, I've always been a "distracted" reader.  What do I mean by that?  It basically means that you could walk past me, talk to me, or have a conversation with someone else and I would catch all of it.  I've never been the type to escape to the degree that I can't be pulled out of a book, and that frustrates me. 

Each semester or year, I give my high school students a survey to find out what kind of readers they are and have found out the my "big time" readers are what I call "Escape" readers.  You would practically have to light them on fire to get their attention!  One of my best friends is like this as well and I'm completely jealous.  I don't know what it takes to be like that, but I have a feeling that it's just not in my DNA to become one. 

Having said that, I still think I read quite a bit.  However, here are the stipulations that I have to have in place to really read.  See if these "Distracted" reader qualities fit you:

• I generally read a stack (7-12) books all at once.  When I get bored/distracted with one, it's just because I'm thinking about another book I'm dying to nibble away at.
• The only exception to this is with what we call "Deconstructionist" texts that have so many fragmented story lines and narrators (i.e. Salman Rushdie) that I have to have a pen out to follow the story.  (One of my graduate professors pointed this out to me, that having multiple story lines and narrators settled me into one book.)
• Although I carry books with me, everywhere I go, I can't necessarily settle into the book unless things are somewhat calm around me.  Read in line outside a concert?  Strangely, I can't unless I'm feeling a little down and disconnected from people.  Otherwise, I'm people watching and don't want to slip into a book! 
• Public places are difficult.  I might read, but am painfully aware of what's going on around me.  I've gotten used to the fact that I'm easily distracted, but it is annoying at times.
• Often times, it takes a little time to get into a book and hit that escape point.  Maybe I've been working with teenagers for too long, since they are like this, but I find that I have to have a type of reading warm up.  Once I'm warmed up and into the story though, I resent it when I have to stop.
• My environment has to be right.  If I'm honest with  myself, I will admit that I have to have it quiet to read.  I can read with the TV on, but it has to be turned down, and I can't read with music on.  Even reading with a person next to me, who could be doing the same thing, is too much of a distraction.  I'm always aware of what's going on around me.
• Technology can be a HUGE distraction when I'm trying to read.  Generally, my iPhone is by my side all the time, except the volume is off 99% of the time because of my job.  When things get quiet and I'm ready to read, I find myself reaching for my phone to check email, twitter, and my RSS feeds.  
• Strangely, I can escape pretty well if I take off and go for a walk with my book.  Maybe it's that kinesthetic element?  By moving, my brain allows me to slip off into what I'm reading?
• Sometimes when I'm bone tired or stressed out (as I've been the past several weeks), escaping is the easiest thing in the world.  Essentially, if my brain is worn down, I can read forever and not get distracted.

In the end, I've learned that reading is a necessity for my life and that I'm always seeking the moment or book that completely pulls me away.  (Geesh, that sounds like an addiction!)  Here are my necessary elements for a good escape:  quiet, comfortable space (tub, bed, couch, walking), and a little time to get warmed up and into the story.  Can I blame all of this on being an only child?  Did the quiet I grow up with come around to bite me now that I'm older, or is this just a personality trait?

Please share with me!  I really want to know if you're what I call a "Distracted" reader or an "Escape" reader, and have you always been like that?  If you're like me, what do you do to really escape?

Essay Update

I thought I'd post a quick update to explain my continued inability to get anything written!  My essay count is now down to 72 out of the original 140+.  I still feel a bit buried, but it's MY OWN FAULT for assigning all of this writing and then feeling like I have to give all this feedback.  No need to feel sorry for me.  I just thought I'd share the real reason I have no brain cells to rub together to write a review.  :)

Thanks for your patience!  I've been reading blog posts this past week and have added to my TBR pile.  I hope to be back on writing and corresponding again, soon.

Sunday Blatherings

Here's what I'm doing this weekend:

Grading 140+ essays...

Maybe reading a few of these...

And doing a lot of this...

What are you doing this weekend?

Film Review: Dorian Gray (2009)

I've been on a bit of a Colin Firth kick lately, after viewing The King's Speech.  I was so very excited for Firth when he won the Golden Globe for Best Actor!  (You can view his gracious and funny acceptance speech at this link:  "Colin Firth Wins at Golden Globes 2011".  Even more fun, watch him in a post-award interview on E! speaking Italian.)  He was absolutely deserving of this award, and from the body of work he has acted in, how can you not love everything about Colin Firth?  I know I'm still in love with this versatile actor.

Having gushed just a smidge about Firth's acting abilities, I took some time this past weekend to watch Dorian Gray, based on Oscar Wilde's novel The Picture of Dorian Gray.  I actually read the novel back when I first started "One Literature Nut," but didn't ever write a review.  Now I wish I had, as the film reminded me of the subtlety of Oscar Wilde's writing about such a startling downfall.

In the film, a young and handsome Dorian Gray (played by Ben Barnes) played directly against the standards of his Victorian society by trading his beauty in a portrait for that of his own.  Goaded on by Lord Henry Wotton (played by Firth), Dorian is urged to live a life of pleasure, as Lord Henry convinces Dorian that the only way to avoid being pressured by one's vices is to give into them.  From this, Dorian begins to explore his senses, giving up what could have been his one true love for a hedonistic lifestyle, giving into every vice known to man.  As Dorian sank deeper and deeper into his lifestyle, he noticed that the portrait began to show signs of deep ugliness to the point of frightening him.  The portrait of Dorian began to look haggard, cruel, debased, and pock-marked with the deepest, most ghoulish signs of ugliness.  Not only had the portrait aged, but it had taken on the hideous characteristics buried within his soul.

Through the film, we are artistically drawn into much deeper questions about the importance of physical beauty, living with restraint, and the distortion of social values. More outright in its depiction of Dorian's pursuit of pleasure, often shocking in its breadth, we really get a sense for how far he was willing to go as he delved farther into his lifestyle. The acting was  superb, losing us in these characters and their experiences.  Although I love Firth for so many of the endearing characters he has played (Darcy in P&P and Bridget Jones Diary, in Nanny McPhee, etc.), I was completely lost in his role as scandalous villain Lord Henry Wotton; rarely did I feel that he was anything other than Lord Henry himself.  Ben Barnes also played what felt like a flawless Dorian, showing the cunning side of evil with a pretty face to hide behind.  In fact, I shuddered at his ability to show evil with such beauty.

Without giving anything away, I have to admit that the last thirty minutes of the film were by far the most gripping.  There is this Edgar Alan Poe meets Alfred Hitchcock moment where you have to rethink the entire film!  Honestly, the last moments were priceless and bear mentioning.

Dorian Gray is not a film I'll be sharing with any of my students, but will say that for anyone who likes period pieces or films based on literature (with a gritty edge), this is a great film.  The themes in this film bear considering and are presented in such a dark, freaky way that you can't help thinking about them once the film is over.  In fact, one of Dorian's lines near the end of the film has echoed in my head ever since, "Pleasure is different from happiness."

If you're curious, here is the link to the trailer for Dorian Gray.

Review: The Dark Divine by Bree Despain

I'm ashamed to say that I've had The Dark Divine by Bree Despain for almost a year!  It wasn't until I realized that book two was coming out, and the fact that some of my students chose to read this for literature circles in my Popular Fiction class (and loved it), that I decided I had to get to it.  Originally, the boys in my Pop. Fiction class were leery of the "girlie" cover, but soon were sucked into the story and told all of the guys in the class that it was a good read for anyone.  I really wanted to see what they were talking about and just jumped in!

Synopsis:  From Goodreads, "Grace Divine—daughter of the local pastor—always knew something terrible happened the night Daniel Kalbi disappeared and her brother Jude came home covered in his own blood.  Now that Daniel's returned, Grace must choose between her growing attraction to him and her loyalty to her brother.  As Grace gets closer to Daniel, she learns the truth about that mysterious night and how to save the ones she loves, but it might cost her the one thing she cherishes most: her soul."

Review:  The Dark Divine originally felt familiar, like something I had read before.  In a lot of ways, this did seem like a common paranormal teen read, but the complication in the story between Grace, Daniel, and Grace's brother Jude builds and builds and builds in such a way that you have to keep reading.  Why did Daniel disappear in the first place?  Why does Jude hate him so much?  How does he happen to appear to help Grace when she needs help?   Readers somehow get that Daniel is the bad boy that Grace should avoid, but we also see that there is a lot we don't know.  Daniel is definitely mysterious, but has this vulnerability to him that pushes the reader to find out why.  

There is a definite paranormal twist to the novel, and a big, bad monster on the loose that has you looking at many of the characters in the novel with a skeptical eye.  Thankfully, each plot point moves closer and closer to the conclusion, which is quite a page turner.  In fact, the climax of the story felt like an action movie that I could see inside my head with drama, romance, and a fight sequence that had me nervous.  Honestly, the story was well thought out, engaging, and actually felt new, regardless of the number of paranormal teen reads out right now.

One of the best recommendations I think I can give for the novel would actually have to be from my own students.  Some of the boys were reluctant to read what they perceived might be a "girlie" book, based on the cover; however, they quickly came back saying how much they liked it.  The action in the story wasn't erased by any over-sentimentality and romance on the part of the female protagonist, and so they liked it.  I can see why.  The Dark Divine is mysterious, emotional, and has me wanting to read the next book in the series so I can hurry and catch up with these characters!  For me, this was one of the better young adult novels I've read this past year. 

*FTC Disclosure:  This review was based on a personal copy of the novel.

Sunday Blatherings: 1/2 Way Through 2010-2011 School Year!

Friday wrapped up Term Two at the high school where I teach.  I also finished my contract work with my online job and finals week in the online class I'm teaching came to an end.  That was a lot of extraneous stuff that kept me running like a hamster in a wheel for far too long.  Needless to say, I haven't left my house these past two days as a reaction to the past two weeks.  It's been REALLY nice!  My library account is maxed out and I was given a bunch of books for Christmas, so I have plenty to read without leaving the house.  In reality, I just need to find time to write reviews.

On a super bright note, all of this work was really in preparation for a trip to London and Paris (and a few other stops in between).  I just purchased my tickets on Wednesday, so I'm pretty excited, as you might guess.  Sure I have to wait until June, but if an upcoming vacation isn't something to put your head down and work for, then I don't know what is.