Saturday, August 20, 2016

The “Well, That Escalated Quickly” Book Haul (Part 2)


Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews. I get to show off all the books I’ve gotten recently.

I went on Amazon and Book Outlet to get 2 books for school, and I somehow ended up with 2 school books and 9 non-school books. It happened so quickly! I swear I don’t know how the extra books ended up in my cart. At least they were cheap, right? Here are the second 5 of my 11.




The Library At Mount Char – Scott Hawkins


Carolyn's not so different from the other people around her. She likes guacamole and cigarettes and steak. She knows how to use a phone. Clothes are a bit tricky, but everyone says nice things about her outfit with the Christmas sweater over the gold bicycle shorts.

After all, she was a normal American herself once. 

That was a long time ago, of course. Before her parents died. Before she and the others were taken in by the man they called Father.

In the years since then, Carolyn hasn't had a chance to get out much. Instead, she and her adopted siblings have been raised according to Father's ancient customs. They've studied the books in his Library and learned some of the secrets of his power. And sometimes, they've wondered if their cruel tutor might secretly be God.

Now, Father is missing—perhaps even dead—and the Library that holds his secrets stands unguarded. And with it, control over all of creation.

As Carolyn gathers the tools she needs for the battle to come, fierce competitors for this prize align against her, all of them with powers that far exceed her own.

But Carolyn has accounted for this.

And Carolyn has a plan.

The only trouble is that in the war to make a new God, she's forgotten to protect the things that make her human.





The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle - Haruki Murakami


In a Tokyo suburb a young man named Toru Okada searches for his wife's missing cat. Soon he finds himself looking for his wife as well in a netherworld that lies beneath the placid surface of Tokyo. As these searches intersect, Okada encounters a bizarre group of allies and antagonists: a psychic prostitute; a malevolent yet mediagenic politician; a cheerfully morbid sixteen-year-old-girl; and an aging war veteran who has been permanently changed by the hideous things he witnessed during Japan's forgotten campaign in Manchuria.





A Long Way From Chicago – Richard Peck


What happens when Joey and his sister, Mary Alice—two city slickers from Chicago—make their annual summer visits to Grandma Dowdel's seemingly sleepy Illinois town? 
August 1929: They see their first corpse, and he isn't resting easy. 
August 1930: The Cowgill boys terrorize the town, and Grandma fights back. 
August 1931: Joey and Mary Alice help Grandma trespass, poach, catch the sheriff in his underwear, and feed the hungry—all in one day.




The Book Of Strange New Things – Michel Faber


It begins with Peter, a devoted man of faith, as he is called to the mission of a lifetime, one that takes him galaxies away from his wife, Bea. Peter becomes immersed in the mysteries of an astonishing new environment, overseen by an enigmatic corporation known only as USIC. His work introduces him to a seemingly friendly native population struggling with a dangerous illness and hungry for Peter’s teachings—his Bible is their “book of strange new things.” But Peter is rattled when Bea’s letters from home become increasingly desperate: typhoons and earthquakes are devastating whole countries, and governments are crumbling. Bea’s faith, once the guiding light of their lives, begins to falter.

Suddenly, a separation measured by an otherworldly distance, and defined both by one newly discovered world and another in a state of collapse, is threatened by an ever-widening gulf that is much less quantifiable. While Peter is reconciling the needs of his congregation with the desires of his strange employer, Bea is struggling for survival.





A Love Like Blood – Marcus Sedgwick


In 1944, just days after the liberation of Paris, Charles Jackson sees something horrific: a man, apparently drinking the blood of a murdered woman. Terrified, he does nothing, telling himself afterwards that worse things happen in wars.

Seven years later he returns to the city—and sees the same man dining in the company of a fascinating young woman. When they leave the restaurant, Charles decides to follow . . .




Have you read any of these? What did you think?








Thursday, August 18, 2016

The Olympic Book Tag


This awesome tag was created by Shannon at It Starts At Midnight. The graphics in this post are all stolen from her. I'm not a big sports fan, but I'll give the book Olympics my best shot.











Midwinterblood by Marcus Sedgwick. I’m pretty sure this book was made specifically for me. Odd structure, remote setting, lots of death, and beautiful writing? What's not to love?  







All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. It’s slow, but it’s so good. If you like descriptive writing, this is a must-read. So far, it's my favorite book I’ve read in 2016. 







A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. A book has never made me cry, but this one is pretty devastating. Cancer, monsters, and gorgeous illustrations.







The Game of Love and Death by Martha Brockenbrough. Love and Death have been friends and rivals for centuries. Ethan and Henry also have a strong friendship. If you like books with witty banter between friends, check this one out.







A Long Way from Chicago: A Novel in Stories by Richard Peck. Every summer, Joey spends a week in rural Illinois with his eccentric grandmother. Potentially deadly events ensue. 







Unwind by Neal Shusterman. This whole dystopian series is pretty twisted. Brilliant and twisted . . .







Say You’re One of Them by Uwem Akpan. Oprah told me to read it, but the dialect made it unreadable. I guess Oprah and I have very different tastes in literature.







Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. There’s all sorts of death going on in this sci-fi novel. The book even has a body-counter. I can’t wait to read the sequel.







Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling. Do I need to explain this? Harry is everybody’s favorite.







Dracula by Bram Stoker. Who knew vampire hunting was so tedious? The characters spend most of the book giving speeches and writing in their diaries. I just wanted to see someone kill a vampire.







Saving Wonder by Mary Knight. There are good love triangles? I wouldn’t call any love triangle “good,” but the one in this book is cute. It’s middlegrade, so it’s all very innocent. 







Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech will always be my favorite road trip book. I first read it when I was a kid and have reread it many, many times sense. While Sal’s grandparents take her to see her mother, she tells them the story of her neighbor and a lunatic.







Make Something Up: Stories You Can’t Unread by Chuck Palahniuk. This short story collection features a surprising variety of animals, including a horse with . . . um . . . unusual talents. This horse will never make it to the Olympics.







I Am The Cheese by Robert Cormier. I don’t read sports books, but the kid in this story spends a lot of time on a bike as he tries to uncover what happened in his past. After peddling all those miles, he’d probably be ready for the Olympics.




Have you been watching the Olympics? There are so many things I didn't know were sports . . .











Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Review: Make Something Up: Stories You Can’t Unread – Chuck Palahniuk


Make Something Up: Stories You Can’t Unread – Chuck Palahniuk


Representing work that spans several years, Make Something Up is a compilation of 21 stories and one novella (some previously published, some not) that will disturb and delight. The absurdity of both life and death are on full display; in "Zombies," the best and brightest of a high school prep school become tragically addicted to the latest drug craze: electric shocks from cardiac defibrillators. In "Knock, Knock," a son hopes to tell one last off-color joke to a father in his final moments, while in "Tunnel of Love," a massage therapist runs the curious practice of providing 'relief' to dying clients. And in "Expedition," fans will be thrilled to find a side of Tyler Durden never seen before in a precursor story to Fight Club.


Review: I have a love/hate relationship with Chuck Palahniuk. I love him because he can somehow get away with writing the most offensive, politically incorrect, disgusting fiction ever. I hate him because I don’t feel smart enough to read his work. Somehow, I always have the feeling that he’s laughing at me while I struggle to understand what the heck is going on. I don’t always get the point of his stories. Many of them just seem offensive for the sake of being offensive. This totally messes with my over-analytical mind. I want to find meaning in these stories, but maybe there isn’t any.

If you’re new to Chuck Palahniuk’s work, Make Something Up is a great place to start. These 21 stories run the spectrum from clever and funny to completely unreadable. You’ll get a good sense of the variety of work the author produces.

For me, these are the standouts in the collection:

In “Zombies,” stressed-out high school students intentionally give themselves brain damage because they can’t live up to society’s expectations. The end of the story is unexpectedly sweet and sappy. It caught me off-guard in the best way. This is the only story that made me laugh out loud.

“In Miss Chen's English class, we learned, 'To be or not to be . . .' but there's a big gray area in between. Maybe in Shakespeare times people only had two options. Griffin Wilson, he knew that the SATs were just the gateway to a big lifetime of bullshit. To get married and college. To paying taxes and trying to raise a kid who's not a school shooter. And Griffin Wilson knew drugs are only a patch. After drugs, you're always going to need more drugs.” – Make Something Up

“Red Sultan’s Big Boy” is the story of a father who buys his psychopathic daughter a new horse. (After she poisons the old one.) Unfortunately, the new horse has some unexpected and disgusting talents. The suspense in this story kept me reading. I wanted to find out what nasty thing this horse can do. Since this is a Chuck Palahniuk story, I knew it would be really nasty.

“Listening, it occurred to Randall that the love people feel for animals is the purest form of love. Loving an animal, a horse, cat, or dog, was always a romantic tragedy. It meant loving something that would die before you. Like that movie with Ali McGraw. There was no future, just the affection of the present moment.” – Make Something Up

“Romance” stars an “average” man who meets an interesting woman and falls in love. He doesn’t mind that the woman is possibly “retarded.” They’re very happy together. This story has some twists I didn’t see coming.

“And when they're old enough I'm going to tell my little girls that everybody looks a little crazy if you're looking close enough, and if you can't look that close, then you don't really love them. All the while life goes around. And if you keep waiting for somebody perfect you'll never find love, because it's how much you love them is what makes them perfect.” – Make Something Up

In “Cold Calling,” a teenage telemarketer is verbally abused by people who think he’s from India. This story shows the way racism spreads.

In “Fetch,” a haunted tennis ball helps a young boy change a widow’s life. I love magical realism, and this story is magical realism done right. It’s quirky and unexpected.

The novella, “Inclinations,” tells the story of a group of straight boys who con their way into a “Fag Farm,” a place where gay teens are turned straight. When the boys are forced to dissect the dead bodies of their ex-girlfriends, they plot their escape. This isn’t my favorite story in the collection, but the characters are memorable. The author does a great job of capturing the selfishness (and selflessness) of teenagers.

“To him the protesters at the front gate were the equivalent of the protesters outside abortion clinics. The Rock Hudsons tried to stop people coming here the same way do-gooders tried to block people going to murder their unborn kids. The irony was in how those same rescued babies got adopted by Rock Hudsons.” – Make Something Up

Finally, in “How a Jew Saved Christmas,” a department store worker uses everything she learned from watching CSI to uncover the identity of her Secret Santa. The main characters are over-the-top ridiculous. This is another story with a (somewhat) sweet ending.

Even though this book is a mixed bag of stories, I do like the questions they raise. They highlight the weirdness of modern life. The characters are often forced to choose between what they want and what the outside world wants for them. How much should a person give in to society’s pressure? If you’re happy, does it matter what the rest of the world thinks?

Like Chuck Palahniuk’s other books, this one will try very hard to offend you, but if you don’t mind some gag-inducing moments, the themes are thought-provoking.







Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Blogiversary Discussion: What I’ve Learned From Three Years Of Book Blogging

Feed Your Fiction Addiction and It Starts At Midnight host the 2016 Discussion Challenge.

Today is Read All The Things!’ third blogiversary (blogaversary? Blogoversary?) Seriously, guys, I can barely spell real words. Now I have to spell made-up ones?

Anyway, most people seem to do awesome giveaways for their blogiversary. I can’t do that because money has been hunted to extinction in my universe, but I can share wisdom with you. Here are 15 things I’ve learned about book blogging in the three years I’ve been doing it.



Blogging Life Lessons




1. Don’t be an asshat. But, be aware that some people are asshats. Don’t say anything online that you wouldn’t say in person. This also applies to book reviews. It is possible to write a respectful negative review. If someone is rude to you online, try not to let it get to you. Unfortunately, some people are just mean. Being mean back won’t solve anything.



2. The only difference between your blog and a thousand other blogs is you. Don’t be afraid to show your personality and your passions. Book blogs would be boring if they were all the same. It’s cool to be inspired by others, but make sure you are being you.



3. It’s okay to write narcissistic posts. Whenever I write something about myself on my blog, a voice in my head says, Nobody cares about you. They come here for the books. This isn’t true because my favorite posts on other people’s blogs read more like creative nonfiction than book blog posts. I love it when bloggers find ways to mix books with their personal lives. Reading is a subjective experience. I’m interested in your experience. 



4. Read what you love. There is nothing you have to read for your blog. If you’re not interested in that super-hyped new release, then don’t read it. If you only read books because they’re popular, you’re going to hate a lot of what you read.



5. You’re not a special reading snowflake. Are your reading tastes super eclectic? Or do you only read vampire poetry? No matter what you read, you’re not alone. There is somebody on the Internet who has similar reading tastes to you. Read what you love, blog about it, and you’ll find your tribe.



6. You won’t spontaneously combust if you have an unpopular opinion. Bloggers get so worked up about criticizing popular books. To prove that unpopular opinions aren’t deadly, here is a list of uber-popular series that I didn’t like: The Wrath & The Dawn, Divergent, The Lunar Chronicles, The Mortal Instruments, The Maze Runner, Twilight, Mistborn, 50 Shades of Grey. You’ll just have to take my word that I didn’t combust.



7. Also, you won’t lose friends if you have an unpopular opinion. If you do lose friends, then those people are petty jerks, not friends. My favorite book ever is The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. I’m friends with plenty of people who loathe that book. It’s okay to disagree about books. There are better things to get angry about.



8. You don’t have to apologize all the time. I’m still working on this one. For 99.9% of us, blogging is a hobby. Life gets in the way. Unless you really screw something up, you don’t have to apologize for putting blogging on the back burner. We all understand.



9. It’s totally okay to experiment and change things up. I’ve overhauled my blog design three times in the past three years. I’ve tried different types of posts. I’ve changed the way I write reviews. I’ve tested a bunch of different memes to find which ones I like. As far as I know, nobody has gotten annoyed at me for experimenting. 



10. Pick a blog design that you like. You will spend a lot of time staring at your blog. Pick something that you like. I’ve heard people say “Grayscale blogs are sooo overdone,” but guess what? I have terrible eyesight, and colorful blogs make me go cross-eyed. If I’m going to spend a zillion hours staring at a blog, I want it to be simple and high-contrast. Pick a design that works for you.



11. Give shout-outs to your favorite blogs. I have a Blog Stalker over there ---> that lists my favorite blogs. I love clicking the Blog Stalkers on other people’s blogs, and I’ve discovered so many new blogs that way. Shout out your favorites to help others find them. 



12. Don’t listen to everything people say in “How To” posts (including the post you’re reading right now). All of those “How To” posts are helpful, but there is no correct way to run a blog. Post as often as you want, use whatever social media you want, participate in memes if you want. Do what works for you. Also, don’t look down on others for doing something differently than you would do it.



13. It’s not all about the numbers. If you care about ARCs, then followers and pageviews are important, but they’re not everything. Making connections with people who share my love of books has been far more rewarding than accumulating followers.



14. Don’t be afraid to comment. When I first started blogging, I was terrified to comment. I’ve said some hilariously stupid things in the comment sections of people’s blogs. Even after three years of book blogging, I’m still scared I’ll say something dumb that will be misinterpreted. Luckily, most book bloggers are kind and understanding. Don’t be afraid to comment, even if your comment is silly.



15. Everybody feels inadequate sometimes. I wish I could be funnier, smarter, more creative, more outgoing, more insightful. I wish dollar bills weren’t rarer than unicorns in my world. I wish I could design awesome graphics and take awesome photos. Everybody has things they wish they could be better at. Even bloggers at the “top” (however you want to define “top”) feel inadequate sometimes. No matter how successful you become, that feeling may never go away.





Let’s discuss: How long have you been blogging, and what blogging wisdom can you share?