Denise’s Comments (group member since Jan 23, 2009)

Denise’s comments from the The Reading Rainbow Coalition group.

Sadly, Reading Rainbow has come to its final chapter. But let's all celebrate its memory by naming our favorite children's book!

Mine is a toss-up between The Velveteen Rabbit and Winnie the Pooh. What about you guys?

Hey guys! Sorry about slacking off with updating and commenting. Go ahead and make some suggestions for the next BotM!

Yay discussion! Glad everyone is reading this!

You know, these are all great points and I'm glad they were brought up. I can definitely see how this is not a very mystery/noir novel so I tend to agree that as a detective book, this wasn't so great, but I think the magic is pretty fantastic.

Bob was the skull right? That reminds me of that talking skull in Planescape Torment named Morte. Anyone else play that or did I just throw down my Obscure Videogame card?

Well, I did the next best thing and added "Spoilers" to the title. ;)

Anyway, <>



I really enjoyed this book and I'm so glad that someone recommended this! I didn't know what to expect as I had never even heard of this series. I didn't even know that there was a show on the Sci Fi channel based on it (it's on Hulu btw so I'm going to check it out soon).

Pros: I loved the little details that grounded the story in reality, like Mister's "diesel engine" purr, having to worry about the bills, worrying about making it to appointments, staying up all hours of the night. The diction of this character made me think constantly of Anthony Bourdain so it was him I pictured the whole time as the character, which seemed apt enough. I think what most impressed me was the explanation of the mechanics of magic, something I haven't come across before. The use of storms to maginify power, the use of objects to focus magic, the importance of symbols and names. I've read my fair share of fantasy (and sci fi, and mystery) books but none of them really explained magic like Butcher did. It made it seem logical and plausible, as opposed to being removed from reality. The fight scenes were also great. The scene with the toad demon was especially well done.

Cons: Although it did not occur to me until I read it on another review posted here on goodreads, Butcher (or Dresden?) seems to have the tendency to be just a little bit sexist. One reader even called it mysoginistic but I would say that's a little extreme. I did, however, notice that the women in the book were either super sexy (the vampire, the journalist, Linda) or weak/emotional (Monica, Murphy), and nothing really in between. Even though Murphy is supposed to be this hard-boiled detective, she depends on Dresden, cries when he doesn't share info, and flies off the handle when he doesn't get back in touch with her. I think the sexist thing is arguable, but I can definitely see why people would think that. One other minor quibble was that the bad guy seemed a little... simplistic? You don't really see him until the end of the story and so his character hadn't really developed. I didn't really care whether he was taken down or not because it didn't seem to matter all that much. And honestly that fight was not nearly as impressively executed as the battle with the toad demon.

Phew! I think I've rambled on enough. Has anyone else finished this? Any comments?

I finished this book last night and thoroughly enjoyed it. I want to discuss some more but don't want to ruin it for anyone. Does anyone know if there is an html code I can use to hide things?

Fan fic, short fic, we're always open to suggestions! I haven't really had much luck in finding any but please feel free to post links here! :)

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal, by Christopher Moore

From Goodreads:

While the Bible may be the word of God, transcribed by divinely inspired men, it does not provide a full (or even partial) account of the life of Jesus Christ. Lucky for us that Christopher Moore presents a funny, lighthearted satire of the life of Christ--from his childhood days up to his crucifixion--in Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal. This clever novel is surely blasphemy to some, but to others it's a coming-of-age story of the highest order.
Joshua (a.k.a. Jesus) knows he is unique and quite alone in his calling, but what exactly does his Father want of him? Taking liberties with ancient history, Moore works up an adventure tale as Biff and Joshua seek out the three wise men so that Joshua can better understand what he is supposed to do as Messiah. Biff, a capable sinner, tags along and gives Joshua ample opportunities to know the failings and weaknesses of being truly human. With a wit similar to Douglas Adams, Moore pulls no punches: a young Biff has the hots for Joshua's mom, Mary, which doesn't amuse Josh much: "Don't let anyone ever tell you that the Prince of Peace never struck anyone." And the origin of the Easter Bunny is explained as a drunken Jesus gushes his affection for bunnies, declaring, "Henceforth and from now on, I decree that whenever something bad happens to me, there shall be bunnies around."

One small problem with the narrative is that Biff and Joshua often do not have distinct voices. A larger difficulty is that as the tone becomes more somber with Joshua's life drawing to its inevitable close, the one-liners, though not as numerous, seem forced. True to form, Lamb keeps the story of Joshua light, even after its darkest moments.

Storm Front, by Jim Butcher

The offbeat Dresden Files is an expanding series of detective novels about Harry Dresden, a wizard with a consulting practice in modern-day Chicago. Harry's profession offers him little money, lots of mockery, the suspicion of his magical colleagues, plenty of danger, and not much income. It offers readers some unconventional detective work, whimsy, humor, and suspense. Here Dresden discovers that mobsters have enlisted occult forces for nefarious purposes.

Pro-tip: For audiobook enthusiasts, James Marsters (Spike from Buffy) reads it!

Since this was such a close vote (that's the only kind of poll we seem to have), I've also opened up a thread for Lamb on the Extra Credit board.

Aha, shitty short story or shitty excerpt might be a better idea. I'm sure internets can provide us with some resources. I'll look into it and report back.

So during our Shitty Movie Night, I came up with what might either be a brilliant or terrible idea: I thought it might be fun to have a Shitty Book Month as well. I also thought of this while reading Slaughterhouse Five and Billy Pilgrim's fixation on Kilgore Trout's awful sci-fi novels.

This would be trickier than a Shitty Movie Night because:
a) there is more time invested into a book, so reading one that is genuinely shitty may end up being not-so-fun.
b) opinions of what is a "shitty" book can vary so widely. i could suggest one vampire book in particular but there are rabid throngs of fans who would be enraged at the idea

What do you guys think?

Anyone else have any insights/thoughts/comments? I lent this book to a friend, who enjoyed it but called it "that weird book." :) Maybe it's just my taste in books, but Neverwhere was right up my alley. I've read a lot of fantasy and horror so I found this book to be an excellent blend of both. It also really reminded me of a few of my favorite videogames, namely Planescape: Torment.

What about you guys? What genre would you say this book falls under, and what aboug Gaiman's style do you think is distinctive amongst horror/fantasy novels?

Ok I have to fess up and admit that I have not picked up this book. I asked my local Barnes and Noble to order it for me but money was a little tight at the time, what with moving and such, so I have not bought it. I didn't even think to look it up in the library system until just this week so I might pick it up.

Has anyone had a chance to finish this? I know SOMEone's read it since it was suggested in the poll. :) Would love to hear your thoughts!

So it's that time again, let's hear what you got!

I know there were some suggestions to just keep on using the suggested books from previous months, but since it's been a while, I thought I'd ask for some new suggestions.

I've noticed that there are less reponses to newer books, which I totally understand. Libraries will have limited copies of newer stuff, if at all, and with the economy the way it is, it's not always an option to buy the newest hardback at $25. This is not to say that new books will not be included in the polls, I just thought it would be something to think about.

Anyway, sorry for the lack in activity. The past couple of months have been a little insane, but I'm hoping to get back to relative normalcy... and more reading!

PS, Kelly has already suggested The Occurscript, and it will be included in this month's poll.

Finished this over lunch! What an incredible ride. Both dark and whimsical, creepy yet touching, this book was impressive in both character and plot developments. Gaiman's imagination is epic without being too bogged down by mythos, and the underworld he weaves feels oddly familiar, like a dream you forget about when you wake up. That is not to say that it is unoriginal; quite the opposite.

The cast of characters made for an interesting campaign. Croup and Vandemar were fantastic villains (in my mind's eye, they looked like the demons from the Buffy episode "Hush") and the Marquis de Carabas was larger than life and loveable in that not-so-loveable way.

I found this book to be incredibly immersive and just fell in love with Gaiman's writing style. I must say that although reading Gaiman's novels has been long on my to-do list, reading "Good Omens" discouraged mem a little as it was, IMHO, quite overhyped. Much as I love Pratchett, I believe it is far from his best work. Having been my introduction to Gaiman, it did not give me an urgent need to read any more of his books. This book has completely changed my mind.

I'm really loving this book so far. It feels like a more grown-up, more sinister, and bloodier Harry Potter to me for some reason. I can't wait to see how things unfold. Anyone else reading along? I hope to get a lot of reading done this weekend so that I can pick up the 2nd book of the month...

@Sean... it's been nice knowing ya. :) we'll see you in a few months (especially if you decide to pick up the next books... which you will, you will)

@Sean... so do tell, which do you prefer (so far)? The books or the show?

I thought this was such a great book. The portrayal of Billy Pilgrim was so wry and sad that it was easy to feel sorry for him but at the same it's hard not to feel even a hint of contempt.

One point that I found particularly powerful was the idea that no one dies, that we all exist in a certain point of time. This was such a beautiful idea but also echoes why Billy seemed to just coast through life. If everything is already pre-determined and dying does not matter, then dying itself loses its true purpose, which is to actually live a full life. The thing is, if you read between the lines, Billy *has* lived a full life. He's survived the brutal bombing of Dresden, went on to become a fairly well-off optometrist, married and has a loving family (though his daughter sounds like a jerk). If his time-traveling, then, is more a hallucination of certain poignant periods of his life which he is watching passively, then it's easy to assume that he has just floated through life even though the opposite might be true.

Neverwhere A Novel

From Goodreads:
"Richard Mayhew is a young man with a good heart and an ordinary life, which is changed forever when he stops to help a girl he finds bleeding on a London sidewalk. His small act of kindness propels him into a world he never dreamed existed. There are people who fall through the cracks, and Richard has become one of them. And he must learn to survive in this city of shadows and darkness, monsters and saints, murderers and angels, if he is ever to return to the London that he knew."

Vurt

From Goodreads:
"If you like challenging science fiction, then Jeff Noon is the author for you. Vurt, winner of the 1994 Arthur C. Clarke award, is a cyberpunk novel with a difference, a rollicking, dark, yet humorous examination of a future in which the boundaries between reality and virtual reality are as tenuous as the brush of a feather.
But no review can do Noon's writing justice: it's a phantasmagoric combination of the more imaginative science fiction masters, such as Phillip K. Dick, genres such as cyberpunk and pulp fiction, and drug culture."