Book Review: Meddling Kids, by Edgar Contero

Ever watch Scooby Doo? Ever wish that once, just once, it wasn’t a man in a mask- but instead something darker and more sinister then the gang had ever imagined? Something that haunted them for years later, stalked them no matter how far they ran, or how much they hid. Called them back after years of denial to finally solve the mystery, the real mystery, of their last case together.

Then this book is for you.

Hilarious, action packed, tense, and frightening, this story throws you in the mine cart and sends you down that abandoned shaft at eighty miles an hour. Just hang on, because the corners are tight and the speed keeps building- this is one hell of a ride.

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Happy Birthday, Mr. Yeats

I first discovered the work of Yeats in 1997, through the Canadian singer Loreena McKennitt, who’s rendition of “The Stolen Child” became somewhat of an early obsession of mine. Yeats’ poetry paralleled many of my interests at the time; mysticism, Celtic mythology, the occult, and nature all figure prominently in his work, and heavily influenced what I was reading and writing at the time. A few years later an English teacher assigned each student with a poem to study and recite based on what she felt best reflected our personalities. I wonder even now how Mrs. Haas knew me so well as to assign “Lake Isle of Innisfree”. And perhaps it’s reading and rereading have had some influence over what I dream of and yearn for, because little else sounds as perfect as the life Yeats describes on the shores of Innisfree.

In honor of his birthday I collected four of my favorite poems, as well as original photography by me to accompany it. Poems include “The Lake Isle of Innisfree”, “The Crazed Girl Poem”, “The Falling of the Leaves”,  and “The Withering of the Bough”.

 

Book Review: Aftermath: Empire’s End, by Chuck Wendig

Book Review: Aftermath: Empire’s End by Chuck Wendig

You can read my reviews for the previous installments of the trilogy here (part one), and here (part two).

Warning: Spoilers for the first two books of the series under the cut!

Hey it’s Pride Month! Why not pick up a trilogy with a bad ass gay Ex-Imperial Loyalty Officer with emotional hangups and a strange sense of humor?

How does an Empire collapse? How do the pieces fall, one by one, pursued across planets and galaxies, till they are scattered and broken, remnants of shadows to fill the pages of history.

How does it rise again?

How do people rebuild? Not just cities and homes, but hearts and hope? How do they set aside their fear and prejudice, their thirst for justice skewed through the longing for revenge? How does one leave behind all those coffins in the sky, like unlit satellites, orbital memorials to friend and foe.

How do they rise again?

Book Review: When I Grow Up I Want to be a List of Further Possibilities, by Chen Chen

An amalgamation of tragedy and celebration, of eternity and mortality, of love and hate and envy and depression and hope. This debut collection of poems by Chinese American author Chen Chen takes you from China to Texas to New York state, from moonlit tree tops to silent kitchens, from the city to the forest.

Possibly the hardest book to photograph ever, that gloss surface turns even filtered sun into a lighthouse beacon.

These poems are testimonies to the small things that we collect throughout our day, and those moments in life that define us, whether we want them to or not. Chen speaks of being an immigrant, an immigrant’s child, gay, and not-white. He speaks of unrequited love, the pain of not being excepted by family and peers, the crushing weight of world that does not allow you to celebrate who you are, and is breaking in so many ways…

Book Review: Tempests and Slaughter, by Tamora Pierce

 “You have a destiny. You aren’t allowed to know it.”

Where to begin? There is a part of me incoherent with the amount of pleasure I got out of reading this book. There is a part of me that wants to yell and hit inanimate objects because I liked it so much. I am relatively self contained though, and reluctant to startle my cat.

What is this? It’s the story of Numair Salmalin, when he was still the child Arram Draper. It is the tale of a boy who will grow to become the greatest mage his world has ever seen. He will battle monsters, confront dragons, cross into the very Realms of the Gods- but first, he must attend school.

A girls best friends are her books and her weapons.  

Spoilers for The Song of The Lioness and The Immortals Quartet…

The Hogwarts Tag

I got the idea for this post from A Geek Girl’s Guide– Thanks Michelle for the fun idea!

Twenty years of Harry Potter is a strange and surreal thing to write. Wasn’t it only a handful of years ago I was reading the first book? But no, I suppose the acne is too faded for Junior High to have been a few years back… more like… two decades. *cue dramatic music and a close up on my eyes, looking frantic and cornered*

Anyway, this was fun- a list of questions pertaining to Hogwarts and how you think your time would be spent there.

Chuga-Chuga, Chuga-Chuga, Hogwaaaarts!

Book Review: Aftermath: Life Debt, by Chuck Wendig

(You can read my review for the first installment in this series here)

We’re back for round two with The Pennsylvania Pen Monkey and it’s a fantastic, blaster filled romp from planet to planet that left me feeling as much a part of Norra Wexley’s team as Jas or Sinjir. Mostly Sinjir, because I am not cool or athletic enough to be Jas. But I can see myself wandering space getting punched in the face.

Things are going pretty well for The New Republic- one after another, the pockets of Imperial resistance are falling, and peace is returning slowly to the galaxy. But for some, the battles have not ceased, and war has left many debts in it’s wake.

Why, yes. That is wall art of a golden R2-D2. Thank you.