Sheila Deeth's Blog, page 94

Paper doesn't break!

Okay, the pages of a book can get torn, I can spill things on them, and they bend if I sit on them. But seriously, paper doesn't break, and computers and kindles can drive me up the wall.

I'm gazing at a stretched out screen at the moment because my computer keeps losing communication with the monitor. It might all go black and turn into an ordinary screen soon. Meanwhile nothing's where I expect it to be--even moving the mouse feels all wrong--frustration! Gaghghgh!

When I've finished this post I'll probably go back to reading and reviewing a book, having finally managed to load it onto my kindle. First attempt it just didn't transfer. Second attempt it wouldn't open (and the kindle crashed). Third time's a charm. Gaghghgh!

Or maybe I'll write, except then I'll be stuck with this crazy screen that keeps flickering and changing on me. Perhaps I should just go out and do some yardwork while the sun still shines.

I did find one thing the kindle's better at than a paper book though. I've reviewed two puzzle books from Grabarchuk--Cut the Shapes and Puzzle Quizzes--and their new interface is really great. Cut the Shapes is definitely my favorite--the aim is to color in half a shape so the two halves match perfectly, and moving that mouse around with the five-way button just feels right--it's addictive--it's fun! (And it goes well with a 2-star lively cup of coffee.)

I read a fun mystery called Dead Red Heart by R.P. Dahlke on my kindle too. It's the second in a series with an entertaining 40-year-old female protagonist who flies planes as well as solving murder mysteries. Great characters and well-drawn Modesto CA location--I'll be looking out for more and drinking 2-star lively cups of coffee as I read them.

One more excellent kindle read this week was A.F. Stewart's Ruined City. I've been meaning to read this for ages, a scary horror compilation of stories from different points of view that build into an intriguing picture of a world and its people. Enjoy a 4-star complex elegant cup of coffee with this elegant collection.

I was going to read this next one on my kindle but the pdf wouldn't work. It might have been easier if the text wasn't in columns, but still, it's an interesting book, if slightly more geared towards business people than to me. Fulfill your threats by Jonathan Wutawunashe begins with the usual implication that you can do it if only you try, but he does go on to point out that education, hard work, and knowing your own skills is important too. Read this with a 4-star complex cup of coffee.

I've read two real books this week too, and like I said, nothing went wrong with them. They didn't break. They didn't refuse to load. The pages turned as soon as I told them to... :) (Yeah, but I still like my kindle, and my computer).

The author of the Darkening Dream, Andy Gavin, will be a guest on my blog next Wednesday, so don't miss him. He's written a great combination of classic horror and modern teen fiction, with lots of spiritual elements and magic thrown into the mix. And he's written a truly fascinating post for you to read next week. Don't miss it. Bring your 5-star bold dark intense coffee too.

And finally, a classic literary novel about the staying power of love, Joan Frank's Make It Stay. Lovein an age of freedom, friendship at an age when years begin to count, loyaltyin a time of suffering, and hope in the face of despair, this one's got it all, plus the scents of the sea, the flavors of cooking, the gentle wind in the California trees... Enjoy a 4-star rich and complex coffee with this rich and complex tale.

Okay, back to that book review. My computer screen still looks weird. My kindle pages still turn too slow. And the sun's still shining a bit... so back to the yardwork instead.

Computer reading

Reasons to read on a computer:
It's easier to write the review if I can make notes while I'm reading.It's easier to stay awake if I'm sitting in a computer chair (though I've still been known to fall asleep over the keyboard).Some pdf files look really awful on my kindle.I can't read epub files anywhere else. I can't read docs (or blogs) anywhere else. And it's easier to search for files on my computer.So here are reviews and coffee recommendations for four books read recently on my computer, plus one real hardback, just to be different: 

Starting with the hardback, we read Annie Proulx's Bird Cloud for our book group this month.It felt a bit like a cross between Bill Bryson's At Home (which we read in December) and Jane Kirkpatrick's Homestead (which they read before I joined up). The memoir is nicely framed with the parallel migrations of family and nature, but it's a slow read with lots of detail and a rather down-beat ending. Enjoy a complex 4-star coffee to keep yourself observant and awake.

And so to the computer. (I suspect my computer chair may not be ideal... Number one reason for not reading at the computer; it makes my back ache!)

Opening Day by Joe Perrone Jr is the second in the author's Matt Davis mysteries, read on the computer because I couldn't find it on my Kindle. (I think I'm having a bad effect on technology at the moment. I've had the book on there for ages, but if I ask my kindle to do a search, for any book title, it always succeeds then promptly dies and needs restarting, making the search function not terribly helpful.) The protagonist has left New York's grit and grime for the countryside and fly-fishing, but he's still a cop. Without the high-tech tools and speed of the city, will Matt find the murderer before he/she strikes again? Combining the gorgeous scenery and pleasing characters of a cozy mystery with hard-boiled detective work, this one makes for a nice change of pace, best enjoyed with a 3-star well-balanced coffee.

Dellani Oakes' Take a Bite Outta Crime is one you'll have to read on the computer too, since it's being released in installments on the Second Wind Publishing blog. It's well worth searching for (or waiting for in book form), a cozy mystery that quietly sneaks off in paranormal directions with gentle hints, persuasive characters and a bitingly gourmet restaurant. Enjoy some 5-star bold dark intense coffee with this.

Heading further afield in the real world, I read an epub edition of India was One, by An Indian. It's a novel with such a convincing voice you'll think the Indian in question is talking to you, side-tracking into explanation, describing cricket, traveling from India to America to Europe... An interesting what-if of recent history with a reminder to look deeper at who we are. Enjoy this surprisingly well-balanced book with a 3-star well-balanced coffee.

Little 15 by Stephanie Saye is one I could have read on my kindle. But remember that bad effect on technology thing? Last time I connected my kindle to the computer to copy a file across it got all upset with me, so I decided not to risk it. Like India was One, this story's told in a convincing voice, just as if the main character is sitting across the table from me. This time the narrator is an American girl, describing the struggles of her 15th year when attempts to be perfect come face to face with a world (school and family) that clearly is not perfect. Easy-reading, but not an easy read, this one begs readers to listen instead of leaping onto the tabloid judgement bandwagon. Highly recommended. Read with a 5-star intense cup of coffee. Read with a teen. Read with sorrow and hope. (I got a review copy from World Literary Cafe.)

And finally, one last book I had to read by computer because the pdf wouldn't work on my kindle. The God King by James West is a fascinating fantasy with a well-drawn imaginary world where convincing powers of good and evil collide in the lives of regular, imperfect people. Well-written with plenty of depth and fascinating characters, this fantasy was one I couldn't put down. Enjoy with an elegant complex 4-star coffee. And come back on the 27th  for my interview with the author.

Now it's time to relax on a comfortable chair, perhaps with a coffee, and enjoy some books not on a computer. Or maybe I should write, but, like I said, my back's aching...

Connected ?

I needed to get myself organized, too many books still waiting for review, too many deadlines almost missed, too many times I plan  one thing and find I'm doing another. Since my website and blogs are all on Google, I thought a Gmail account, plus calendar and task list and all the rest, might help... plus a smart-phone (isn't Christmas wonderful). So now I'm almost organized and mostly connected and...

... and then I logged out of emails and went to my website (built with Blogger, part of Google) to check how it looked. It looked blank, blocked, gone. I searched (with Google) for help, then felt foolishly inspired to check for an email explanation. But I couldn't log in; my emails were likewise blank, blocked, gone. So I checked my phone where a nice warning triangle told me all my accounts were unavailable.

Organized. Connected. That's what I wanted wasn't it? But now I'm so connected a single problem might leave me disorganized and unable to connect. I still don't know what went wrong with my account. Eventually, after panicking a while, I found the little blue links for What to do..., logged in (partially) to read a notice about suspicious activity; Google needed to "verify" my account. One cell-phone text message later plus a few quick clicks and the world was back to rights (though, of course, Google now knows my cell-phone number--they're more connected, evermore).

Maybe someone really was hacking my account, in which case, thank you Google for rescuing me. Or maybe I'd set up two blogs up to post simultaneously. Who knows? I know I don't. But I do know being connected's not quite as helpful I'd thought it would be.

Paper, kindle or pdf?

When people ask me to review a book I usually ask for paper if possible. I know it's bad for the environment and all that, but it sits in real space to guilt me, smiles from its cover to attract me, wanders around the house with me and even to the station in the car, doesn't mind being held over the cooker while I make dinner, doesn't break if I drop it...

Failing paper I'll happily review a kindle copy--never loses its page, small and light to carry, letters grow bigger when the room grows dark so I can read it in any light... but I do tend to lose track of the titles I'm meant to read next; it doesn't guilt me or organize me very well.

And, failing that, I'll take a pdf. I usually try them on the kindle first in hopes the text won't turn pale gray and spider-like. Sometimes some words are big enough to read, but if it isn't most of the words my eyes just can't cope with the confusion. Pdfs glue me to the computer, which glues me to the chair, which makes my back ache... but I still love reading.

One day I might do some kind of analysis to see if I write better reviews for paper, kindle or pdf. But for now I'll grab another coffee and post this week's reading list. The links should lead to longer reviews on gather. The coffee ratings are for style not quality.

Black Purse, by Stephanie M. Sellers, is a slowly-told novel with deep characters, rich history, and wonderful insights into different shades of abuse--personal, racial, or societal--and recovery. Drink a 4-star complex coffee and read slowly.

Black Purse features horses and their healing touch. In Russell Blake's An Angel with Fur, a wonderful dog called Lobo is the impetus for the author to move beyond his earlier life. I'd challenge anyone not to fall in love with this dog, and the story's beautifully told, filled with doggy humor and comfort in sorrow. Drink a 3-star smooth balanced coffee with this.

Moving from real dogs to somewhat imaginary ones, Cynchia and Mike Arsuaga's My Life as a Dog feels like a cross between Time Travellers Wife, Harry Dresden and a paranormal romance. And it really works. Great characters, zany humor, intriguing background, suspenseful mystery, and a gorgeous little Yorkie called Precious. Enjoy with a 2-star bright easy-drinking cup of coffee.

Staying in the world of the paranormal, Vampires Rule by K.C. Blake is a teen novel with vampires who aren't dreamy, dangers that aren't easily resolved, and relationships that aren't simple and predictable. Enjoy a 3-star well-balanced coffee with this one too.

Larissa Hinton's Everblossom is a carefully sculpted set of short stories and poems highlighting ideas from the authors novels. The writing's a little breathless and unpolished but I really enjoyed the twist on high school assumptions in the story Changes. I read the author's novel, Iwishicana/Acanwisha too--a fascinating premise executed with the out-of-this-world anything-goes approach of a later Robert Heinlein novel. Complex plot, lots of teen dialog, and the reader left to figure out what's going on...Drink a 5-star intense cup of coffee with these intensely written pieces.

All read on the kindle, though I'm reading a paper book now and have an epub and a pdf just reaching the top of my queue.

Science fiction, science fantasy

My husband likes science fiction--solid, believable science, actions with consequences, characters who care about details and facts before opinions...

My son's more interested in fantasy--complex, plausible characters, storylines with depth, worlds of intricate imagination...

Me, I like both, especially when they're packaged in the same book. I read and reviewed Karen Wyle's Twin Bred some time ago, an exciting novel with lots of twists and turns, plots and sub-plots, ethical dilemmas, and an alien race worthy of Orson Scott Card, plus believable science and a just a gentle hint of fantasy. And I heard it's available free, just today (well, yesterday too, but that doesn't help you) on kindle, so why not give it a try.

Hmmm, lots of interesting free books turning up on kindle. Will Amazon start offering free time to read them too? There's a thought for a tale...

Five Reasons to Leave...

I recently read and reviewed Carolyn Moncel's 5 reasons to leave a lover, a novella and two short stories that deal with love, cheating, cruelty, deception, ambivalence and death. The stories, like the author, travel the world from the US to Europe, and, as an English American, I wondered if the author felt the "reasons" might be viewed differently from different cultures. Carolyn Moncel very kindly gave me her thoughts on the subject, so, over to you Carolyn, and thank you for visiting my blog today. 

French vs. American Attitudes Regarding One Reason to Leave a Lover 
By Carolyn Moncel 
"Chérie, I must say that your people place way too much emphasis on affairs." 
These words are uttered by a male French character in my upcoming collection of short stories called Railway Confessions. I think his response generally encapsulates well what the French, in particular, may think about Americans when it comes to at least one of the reasons highlighted in my book, 5 Reasons to Leave a Lover. 
To recap 5 Reasons to Leave a Lover is my second book, and it's a collection containing a novella and two short stories focusing on love and lost. American Ellery Roulet and her French husband, Julien, from my first book, Encounters in Paris, return— this time involved in an emotionally-charged love triangle, and along with two other couples, explore how different types of love relationships splinter due to abuse, ambivalence, deception, cheating and even death. 
It's a very realistic collection. In addition to finding inspiration in Paul Simon's song, "50 Ways to Leave a Lover," other scandals including that of former South Carolina governor Mark Sanford and former International Monetary Fund (IMF) Director, Dominique Strauss-Kahn (DSK) were influential . But also on the other side of the spectrum, couples like Bill and Camille Cosby who have been married for over 45 years or the late Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward who were also married well over 40 years had an effect on the stories created as well. However, the most revealing insight came after interviewing ordinary people (both French and American) who were just trying to make it through their marriages each day. I came to realize that maintaining relationships is hard and downright complicated. 
Now cheating is an uneasy subject to be sure; fraught with complexity, but it is also one topic that I do like to discuss because it generates such a strong reaction among readers. It also perfectly illustrates some vast differences between French and American cultures. 
About five years ago American journalist and Parisian resident Pamela Druckerman wrote an intriguing book called Lust in Translation where she examined how cheating in general was viewed around the world. A lot of what she wrote about French culture and their reactions to infidelity was basically correct. Both the French and Americans cheat at relatively the same rate but how each culture deals with the problem itself is quite different. While Americans may view infidelity as both a personal and spiritual assault, the French tend to replace morality with rationality. For instance, an American may look at the situation of infidelity and conclude, "my spouse cheated and now my marriage and life are over." 
Conversely, a French person may look at the same circumstances and come to a different conclusion: "my spouse cheated, but my marriage may not be over and my life certainly isn't." I think the French often view infidelity as an inevitable occurrence – especially over a long life span of a relationship). Whereas an American woman may confront her spouse, the French woman, by contrast, may not. She may not want to jeopardize her quality of life or status. Keeping quiet could give her a chance to win her husband back or select her moment and means of retaliation. 
Whether one is discussing cheating or any of the other four reasons, the perspectives are roughly the same: a person will leave (either literally or figuratively) a relationship if it becomes impossible to stay. Americans may find any one of these transgressions grounds for leaving a relationship. However, as one French friend revealed, priority is placed upon the deed, so deception would be at the top of their list of transgressions while cheating would be considered the least offensive act of all. 
Maybe the interview that I conducted with an elderly French woman explains it all. She told me that in the 60 years that they had been married, she and her husband had been through everything together and had weathered the storms. She said 'When you get as old as we are and death is near, you are not thinking about who cheated on whom. It's more about did you really enjoy one another while you still had the chance. Everything else is irrelevant.' The bottom line here is this. A person can leave a relationship any time they want but that doesn't make the decision to do so any easier. Honestly at the end of the day, people can say hypothetically what they would or wouldn't do if presented with any of these five reasons, but no one really knows what path they would take until it happens to them. 

Thank you for visiting my blog today Carolyn. I really enjoyed reading your post.
About Carolyn MoncelCarolynDavenport-Moncel currently resides in Lausanne, Switzerlandwith her husband and two daughters. Her previous work includes Encounters in Paris – A Collection ofShort Stories.   

Visit Moncel's websiteat:  www.carolynmoncel.com.   
Follow her on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/carolyn.moncel; 
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/motiontemps; 
and on Twitter:  http://twitter.com/carolynmoncel.

About 5 Reasons to Leave a Lover Publishedin September 2011 by Mondavé Publishing via CreateSpace, 5 Reasons to Leave a Lover – A Novella and Other of Short Storiesis now available in paperback and also in all digital formats at all majoronline bookstores including, Amazon.com (http://bit.ly/cB9bfR), BarnesandNobles.comand Smashwords.com.  The retail price forpaperback is $13.99. The Kindle edition is $5.99.  Single story downloads start at $.99.  The ISBNnumber is: 978-1456339272.  Ms. Moncel is available for appearances, bookclub discussions and interviews.

Encouraged, pushed forwards, and Caught.

A few years ago I joined my first social networking site, Gather.com, and met, amongst other good friends, a wonderful lady called Sarah Collins Honenberger. Knowing she was a genuine published author (I bought and enjoyed her first book, White Lies), I was amazed by Sarah's kind and encouraging comments on my writing. So, when she suggested I submit something to an online magazine, I plucked up courage and asked which one. Sarah suggested NightsandWeekends.com, who had already published something of hers (Night Noises). So I tried, and they said yes. My journey began!

Some time later Sarah Collins Honenberger's second book came out, Waltzing Cowboys, and she offered me a book exchange, her second real book for my second self-published one! A real live author actually my book and wanted a review from me! And so my years of book-reviewing began.

We met again, online, in the Amazon Breakout Novel Awards competition. My Divide by Zero made the quarter finals. Catcher, Caught, by Sarah Collins Honenberger, most deservedly went further. Divide by Zero, much edited and remodeled, will come out in print this summer (July 2012, from Stonegarden), so in a way Sarah, with her continued kind comments and encouragement, has pushed me yet again in the direction I wanted to go. Meanwhile...

Meanwhile Catcher, Caught isn't just in print. It's in schools! Building on J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye, it tells the modern-day tale of a teen diagnosed with leukemia as he follows Holden Caulfield's lead, questioning authority, searching for identity in the face of death. A 21st century re-telling perhaps.

I've long dreamed of getting my writing into a bookstore, but Sarah Collins Honenberger dreams further and wider and continues to inspire and encourage me. Congratulations Sarah, and if anyone reading this is looking for a new American best-seller, try Catcher, Caught .

Looking in on "The Bright Side"

I recently read and reviewed S. R. Johannes' tween novel On the Bright Side, first in her Starling series, and was delighted to get the opportunity to interview the author. A novel filled with zany puns, heavenly remakes of modern technology, green issues and high school disasters... where does it all come from? Well, here's your chance and mine to find out, plus some interesting hints on the joys of writing and getting published.





Me.       Hi. And thanks for joining me. I enjoyed reading On the Bright Side and have to say, the heroine Gabby's voice sounds so veryconvincing. Did you have a particular teenager in mind when youcreated her?SRJ. Myself. I was kinda grumpy when I was a tween. I think I got in more fights aboutboys in middle school than in high school. Me.       I really liked the way you wovemany religious ideas into the start (and anchored them in Gabby's test inschool). Did you have to do lots of research to get the ideas?SRJ. I am very corny so those cheesylinks come to me naturally – sadly :)Me.       Your novel includes some beautifultouches for anyone made uncomfortable by thoughts of death and dying. Whatinspired you to write it?SRJ. Ihave watched shows where people say they died for a few minutes and describewhat they saw. They always talked of death in such a positive light. In fact,some of them didn't want to come back and suffered depression b/c they wantedto stay in the peaceful beautiful place they saw. There are so many dark booksabout death. I wanted to flip it and see if I could do a positive and funnybook about the AfterLife.Me.       I really enjoyed how you used suchmodern issues in your "afterlife." Are you addicted to technology?SRJ. Yes!I have to force myself to put away all gadgets when kids are around. I havexbox, ipad, iphone, itouch, and mac air. You name it I have it.Me.        What about recycling? Are you avidly "green?" Do youdrive a hybrid car?SRJ. Iam semi green – maybe more like lime green. I recycle the best I can and payattention to my thermostat, lights etc. But I do not drive a hybrid – though Iwould like to!Me.       Do you have a dog (Hey, I have to ask about dogs)? Do you thinkrabbits go to heaven?SRJ. Ihave a dog. Just had 2 die a year ago. And yes I think there is a pet heaven.My 8 year old is convinced dogs are assigned a cloud as a bed. We even sent aballoon carrying a doggie bone up in the air. I don't want my kids to be scaredof death – it prevents you from living. It makes me feel good to think ofsomething else out there. Something I am working towards. This can't be it.Me.       Do you likeroller-coasters?—screamer or silent rider? (You'll have to read the book to see why I'm asking this.)SRJ. Hate them. I ampetrified of death which is why I don't want my kids to be. I've always beenscared of dying – especially since I had my kids. This book was healing for me.But not that healing :)Me.       I loved all the "no-pun-intended"puns. Are you as funny in real life as you are in your writing?SRJ. YesI am hilarious. ;) My hubby says Im the only one that laughs at my own jokes.But I think other people laugh = they just don't laugh as loud as I do :) I am sillier than I am funny. But Idefinitely look at life in a funny way.Me.        That makes sense, and this looks like being a really funseries. I really like how this first story is so complete in itself as well.When is book two coming out?SRJ. Noclue. When it was almost bought by a big house, I had to submit book 2 and 3synopsis so I know what happens. I just have to write it. I wasn't planning todo that unless this one gets a good response.Me.     That sounds great, and congratulations. I'm sure On the Bright Side will get a good response. Meanwhile, one final question: Lifeafter death is sort of a wraparound theme, but I felt like this novel was moreabout doing the right thing with life, whether here or hereafter. What do youthink the theme is?SRJ. The theme is appreciating yourlife – no matter where it is. Accepting what happens and thinking about how theway you treat others – impacts them and you. Whether indeirectly or directly.Me. Thank youso much for visiting my blog, and for letting me review your book.

Untraceable - Coming Nov 29th!A new young adult wilderness thriller with a missing father, a kickbutt heroine, and of course - two hot boys.
Available in paperback and ebook at Amazon, B&N, iTunes, and other sellers.@srjohannesfaeriality.blogspot.com Find out more about S.R. Johannes, and find advice on YA writing, marketing etc. at her blog http://www.faeriality.blogspot.com/


or look for On the Bright Side on Amazon...
On the Bright Side is a hilarious road to guardian angeldom paved with so much drama and due-paying that it makes middle school look painless.
As if the devil's food cake at her wake and the white fat pants she's stuck wearing for eternity weren't bad enough, fourteen year-old Gabby is quick to discover that Cirrus, the main rung of Heaven, is a far cry from the Pearly Gates. Here, Skyphones and InnerNets are all the rage. Until Gabby finds out she has to protect Angela, her school nemesis, in order to move up through the training levels of heaven. Problem is, Angela is now hitting on Gabby's should-have-been boyfriend. (awkward!)
Instead of protecting Angela, Gabby pranks her (like tripping is a sin?) at the hopes of cooling off the new couple. At first, they seem harmless until the school dance sabotage gets completely out of control. Then, her Celestial Sky Agent, who happens to have anger management issues of his own, puts Gabby on probation, threatening her eternal future. 
Determined to right her wrongs, Gabby steals an ancient artifact that allows her to return to Earth for just one day. Without knowing, she kicks off a series of events and learns what can happen when you hate someone to death.

Working on the next set of book reviews...

Okay, I should be working on writing the next book shouldn't I? Or on shopping (next job), cleaning, updating my resume (I just did that). But reading, that's what I do in between everything else, and book reviews are for keeping my reading vaguely organized. Waiting for the kettle to boil, the dryer to stop spinning, the web-page to load? That's all just perfect time for a few more pages--the kindle won't lose where I am, and I've tons of bookmarks lying around to be tucked into paperbacks.

Anyway, one of the books I'll be reviewing soon is Andy Gavin's The Darkening Dream, and the author just emailed letting me know it's free on kindle, just for today (well, and yesterday too, but that doesn't help you much). Here's what he told me about it:


TheDarkening Dream is a chilling new dark fantasy novelby Andy Gavin, creator of Crash Bandicoot and Jak & Daxter, that hasreceived rave reviews on Amazon and Goodreads and is FREE for two days only on Amazon Kindle (February 7th to8th)! Download your FREE copy here: http://amzn.to/yTvZPG
Long-time readers of dark historicalfantasy (Tim Powers, Guy Gavriel Kay, Katherine Kurtz) will appreciate theweaving together of mythology, occult, and religion, while younger readers andfans of HBO dramas (True Blood,Carnivàle) or urban fantasy(Laurell K. Hamilton, Kim Harrison, Jim Butcher) will be drawn to the twistedimagination, graphic action, and romantic tension.
Sounds like just my sort of thing. Don't you agree?

Leafing through ebooks

I tidied the yard yesterday, gathered leaves into piles and anchored them with broken limbs off trees. The amazing thing is, they're still, mostly, in their piles, despite the fact that the wind blew all night and all day. But there are more leaves and more tree-limbs out there now, more broken greenery from pines, and more to be cleared. Still, it's going dark, and I've been leafing, or clicking, my way through several books recently too, so perhaps it's time to post some more book reviews.

Pause while I brew some coffee...

First, and full of fun, is S.R. Johannes' On the Bright Side. The author will visit my blog on Monday, so don't forget to come back and meet her. On the Bright Side is a fun teen novel set in an afterlife filled with modern technology. Brights in training might resemble somewhat unqualified guardian angels, and Gabby's exploits as she "protects" her long-standing nemesis are teen-perfect and filled with perfect lessons--like obedience, empathy, putting other's needs first... oh and closing the door. Enjoy this with a well-brewed 2-star lively cup of coffee.


Still thinking of heaven, Conquering your Goliaths, by Kathryn Elizabeth Jones, is a wise and enjoyable parable of a women who's lost her job and needs to find her way. The five stones David carried to fight Goliath provide a neat background as the mysterious owner of a water-bottling company sets Virginia on the path to hope. Enjoy a well-balanced full-flavored 3-star coffee with this smooth tale, and maybe learn some steps towards conquering your own goliaths.

Suren Fant's The Godless loses something in translation as it turns heaven and hell into a mysterious battle of powers fought over the mind and character of one young man. The mythology combines many religions, has a super-hero feel, and covers many countries from Armenia to North America. There's a distinctly un-western feel to the attitudes with women playing only very minor roles. An odd story, best enjoyed with a dark-brewed 5-star coffee.


Majanka Verstraete's The Crossroads is a short horror story packing a powerful punch. Based on an urban legend, it reads slightly awkwardly but ends with a very enjoyable, satisfying twist. Drink a smaller dark 5-star coffee with this one.

Staying in the realms of earth-bound fantasy, Rose Pressey's Rock 'n' Roll is Undead is a nice addition to the world of vampire lore. As in other fiction, these vampires are out of the closet, and now they're playing with  witch singer Veronica Mason in a rockabilly band. As band-members die and the vampire FBI close in, Veronica needs to solve the case before she's accused of murder, or worse still, murdered. Drink a 2-star easy-drinking coffee with this fun read.

My final book's a paperback so I really did "leaf" through this and it was definitely fun. 5 Reasons to Leave a Lover by Carolyn Moncel has deliberate echoes of the Paul Simon song, but narrows down the reasons to abuse, ambivalence, deception, cheating and death. It's a bitter-sweet set of stories, one novella and several shorts, with a pleasingly French introspective writing style. The settings, from Europe to America, are convincingly portrayed and emotions are given that intimate detachment so well suited to wounded affection. There's a dog, who I loved, an elderly man who's achingly real, and various betrayed and betraying lovers whose failures and hopes become intensely real. A masterful collection, best enjoyed with a 4-star rich, complex coffee.