Get Lost in Literature

Ever heard of Jeff Kinney?  Well, Jeff Kinney bought an abandoned building last year, that was destined to be bulldozed flat, with the dream of turning it into a bookstore and Café. He made that dream a reality and just had the grand opening of  An Unlikely Story , which went from the ugliest building to the prettiest building on the street.  The only thing beautiful enough to compete with the blue and gold façade that looks similar to old encyclopedia bindings lined up, was the irresistible smell inside: new book smell and fresh coffee. Jeff Kinney is a brilliant mind, not because I read the books (I haven't), but because he's filling in a massive gap.   There was a time, when I could drive 10 minutes any direction and wind up at a Borders Bookstore... Borders who basically committed suicide, when they promoted reading tablets and e-books but failed to up the price of books, and miscalculated how much inventory they could move when digital down...

"His first instinct was to leave without being seen, and this puzzled him. He was a federal agent with the full authority of the United States government. This meant people had to do what he said. Even nurses and doctors. They didn’t want him to leave? Tough shit." Special Agent Ethan Burke of the US Secret Service, wakes up in the woods outside of a quiet little town called Wayward Pines. He's been in an accident and he's having trouble with his memory. He knows he needs a hospital and somewhere to stay, but he can't find his wallet... or a working telephone. The longer Ethan stays in Wayward Pines, the more he realizes the town's got a secret, and the residents will kill to protect it. I know this book was big when it came out. I downloaded a sample from Amazon and passed judgement the same day; the writing was simple, and quick to the point. This was light reading dressed up as horror. There's nothing wrong with that, but at the time I'd want...

"Learn from me, if not by my precepts, at least by my example, how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge, and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to become greater than his nature will allow." Robert Walton failed writer turned sailor, opens the story by writing to his sister Margaret. He is sailing far north, when the crew rescue Victor Frankenstein who is lost upon an ice flow. Victor is a broken man with a story to tell. Even if you haven't seen the movies, even if you haven't read the book, you're probably familiar with the concept of Frankenstein: a mad scientist sews a body together and restores life to dead limbs, creating a hideous monster. This book wasn't at all what I was expecting. After Victor's mother dies he sent away to university where he studies science and discovers how to reanimate the dead. He becomes obsessed with his science experiment shunning all social contact ...

"You and me, everybody, we’re a set of stories..."  This was a very smart story written in a very silly way. The narrator is telling a story about a homeless Native American man, who goes by many names, but refers to himself as Coyote. He left his home a long time ago and lost himself. Coyote likes to scam and drink, but mostly Coyote likes to tell stories... This is a story about the importance of stories. Stories help us avoid painful truths and bring us comfort when there's nothing else. Stories speak to our heritage and remind us who we are, where we come from, and why we're living. They remind us that no matter what other people think of you, you are your own story, and it can't be summed up in one sitting or one hurtful word, it will take a lifetime to tell. Stories have the capability of unifying us, and a person's story lives on in the minds of those who witnessed that first story, to be retold and incorporated into other stories. Maybe w...

I had a surprising amount of fun with my first A-Z Challenge ! It made me remember why I started a book blog in the first place: so I could give my opinion on bookish subjects, to people whether they wanted my opinion or not! My blog had grown a bit stagnant lately, I was growing bored with memes and there was a lot of time lapse between reviews. I felt unsure of myself. The A-Z Challenge made me realize that I don't need to wait for a book to review or meme to schedule; if I have something on my mind, post it and someone will read it. It also got me a little more exposure as my follower count has doubled, and I'm hoping they will continue to follow (and interact with me) now that the challenge is over. I've also found some great blogs that I otherwise never would have seen, and added to the list of blogs I want to read more from. With that let me take a moment to share the love and list my newest reading material: The Quintessentially Questionable Query Experimen...

"We live in a consensual reality where things exist because we want them to exist." A wizard named Bramley Dapple entertains Jilly Coppercorn's questions; she wants to know why she can see things other people can't. Things like Goon, Bramley's goblin butler who is serving tea... This is a story about belief. It's important for anyone who's ever felt different or out of place. It's important for anyone who's ever wanted a little more magic in life. And whether you're a devout Catholic looking for the hand of God or just a dreamer looking for the extraordinary in an ordinary place, your belief and strength of conviction is paramount. Because what you believe in life matters, regardless of what other people think. Short Story Sunday

Z is for Zombie! I want to end A-Z Challenge with a look at a popular modern day obsession: the reanimated corpse! It's really bizarre. At least with vampires you can point and say: thats a metaphor for something.  But more often than not zombies are rooted deeply in science fiction than entities of fantasy; they were once human, then by disease or scientific hubris, (occasionally by miracle and magic) they died, and then tried to eat someone. It's impossible. It can't happen. But we can't stop asking: What if? What if the dead rose up to wage war against the living?  In Max Brooks's World War Z, he examines the zombie apocalypse from a pessimistic but eerily realistic viewpoint. You see the confusion in the initial stages of the outbreak, the fear of citizens and the people who will try to profit from that fear. You see government reactions across the globe, as they struggle to contain the outbreak and later, their people.  The Newsflesh Trilogy by Mira Gra...