To Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris. The FINAL book in the Sookie Stackhouse series. I have a feeling that many Sookie fans are glad to see this wrapped up. The last 3 or 4 books have had poor reviews. Hopefully, Charlaine will give us a sweet goodbye to Ms Stackhouse.
When I made the decision to review all of the books that I've read this year, I considered just holding off on finishing the Story of O until next year, just to skip it. Back when Fifty Shades of Grey first became a thing, critics said, well at least its not as bad as The Story of O, which of course meant that I had to jump an read it.
OMG you guys, I just realized that a chick wrote this book. My mind is blown.
BLOWN.
Ok, back on topic. O is a fashion photographer in Paris. Her lover Rene' drops her off at a place called Roissy, she is dropped off completely naked in the streets of Paris to go knock on a strange door. Roissy is a place that men bring women to be conditioned to be a submissive. She is beaten and "taken" by men. She is to give herself to anyone at anytime upon their request. Her permission is requested repeatedly, it's clear that she is there of her own will.
After she leaves Roissy, she continues to be in a relationship with Rene until he GIVES her to his step-brother Sir Stephen. Stephen kinds amps up the whips and torture. Eventually Rene looses interest in O and takes up with a girl with whom O has a current sexual relationship. Sir Stephen takes O to a friend of his for further training. She is whipped, branded, and her labia is pierced with a ring and chain long enough to hang a third of the way down her thigh.
Yeah.
So the apex of the story, is that O is taken to a party that is from midnight to dawn. She is naked except for an Owl mask and she is on display to those attending the party. She is very proud of her scars and burns and piercings and it seems that the folks at the party were impressed as well.
There was so much insane in this book. O isn't allowed to wear underwear or cross her legs. She is taken by any man at any time then whipped by Sir Stephen for having sex with them. It's beyond S&M in my opinion because it's her entire life. At the end of the book even Sir Stephen, who has branded his name on her, leaves her at Roissy. It's so sad.
Holy fuck there is a sequel. I will probably read this.
If you put any weight into book lists, then you may be aware of the GQ list of Book that Every Man Should Read. And if you put any weight into book lists you may be interested in knowing that GQ has updated their list to add 21st century books. So if book lists hold weight in your option, check it out here.
Photograph: Action Press/Rex Features
Next, something crazy exciting for me. Last month, I read Horns by Joe Hill and (spoiler) I completely loved it. Joe recently tweeted out an article from The Guardian which talks about Daniel Radcliffe playing the lead character in Horns. It took me at least an hour to calm down.
Hopefully everyone had an assume FCBD! I know I did.
Alison Bechdel brings her childhood back to life in this graphic novel which serves as a follow-up to her earlier work, Fun Home. Fun Home focused on the relationship between Alison and her father. In her current work, she focuses on the relationship with her mother, or specifically her feelings about her relationship with her mother. We follow Alison while she goes through years of psychoanalytical therapy to heal from her interesting childhood.
What I find so interesting about this work is that its completely personal to Alison, however, it remains interesting to the reader (or at least to this reader). I do wonder if this would translate well to a text only book. The comic portion give such life to the story, that I doubt it would work in a different medium.
I think this a great read for those that enjoy reading about psychology and maybe those who have some issues with mom (I would fall into both categories).
Favorite quotes:
Donald Winnicott quote, "So the man that falls in love with beauty is quite different from the man who loves a girl and feels she is beautiful and can see what is beautiful about her."
Dorothy Gallagher quote, "The writer's business is to find the shape in unruly life and to serve her story. Not, you may note, to serve her family, or to serve the truth, but to serve the story."
First, Happy World Book Night! If you see book lovers wandering about handing out books, do not fear! They are giving away 20 books that mean something special to them, and they want to share it with you! I'm very excited/honored to hand out The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (lucky the WBN folks are considerate and will allow me to hand my books out when I get back from this trip. Atwood is a fantastic author. This was the first dystopian novel that I've read. I read it in my third year of college, in a class that was both listed in Literature and Women's Studies. I don't recall the reactions of my classmates, but I do know this book shook me. My grade school education existed in the halls of private Christian schools. When I moved onto a non-religious college, I was a bit sheltered. There was so much that I didn't understand of the world. Let's just say, I would not be friends with my college freshman self. I began to reject my upbringing and jumped at any opportunity for reading material that would help open my mind. Enter The Handmaid's Tale, this novel was decades before its time. The book is set in a very strict dystopian future, where women's rights are completely stripped from them. I applied to distribute this book because the timing seems so right after the craziness of the last election. Specifically regarding: Planned Parenthood, "legitimate rape," the ability for women to have birth control covered by their insurance, etc. This book is so important to me, and I hope that whomever receives my copies will allow this book to have a lasting effect on them.
Second, it's pub day for David Sedaris's latests book Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls, I'm so excited to have my copy! I had to catch transit to the local mall to pick up this copy. I got there so early that they books were still on the shelving cart. I'm just glad that I didn't have to beat up an old lady to get to this Mostly because I would beat up an old lady to get a copy.
Fifty years ago it was mind-boggling to think of a married couple not wanting to have children. Though the decision to abstain from child-rearing has become more common the shock of society seems to not have lifted at all. This is the subject of Kirkman's work.
You may recognize Jen Kirkman from the roundtable of Chelsea Lately or even from her Drunken History videos. She is her mid-thirties and quite happy to be child-free. However, complete strangers cannot grasp this, and since Jen does speak about not having children in her stand-up act, these strangers feel ok to corner Kirkman and try to get her to change her mind. Jen tells several stories of being cornered by women who feel the need to get her to change her decision.
I have experienced the situations that Jen describes in her book. It was nice to have someone voice my frustrations with the situation. When a stranger says that "oh, you'll change your mind," I am flabbergasted. Why does this person think that they know me more than I know me? My hope is that more women (and men) will be outspoken about their reproduction choice so that the decision will loose its taboo status.
As far at the book, I felt it to be entertaining but a bit repetitive. I think this would be better delivered an as audiobook.
I Can Barely Take Care of Myself was released this week. Visit your favorite indie store (or mine) to purchase this book.
First, the Catching Fire trailer has been released. Yay! It looks great. The trailer doesn't spoil what will happen in the next film, which is rare in trailer.
Coming to theaters November 22nd, 2013... Watch the trailer and experience the phenomenon like never before, only at the Hunger Games Explorer! - http://www.theHungerGamesExplorer.com THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE begins as Katniss Everdeen has returned home safe after winning the 74th Annual Hunger Games along with fellow tribute Peeta Mellark.
Second, Penguin has come out with a fun iOS app to celebrate National Poetry Month. The app helps you memorize famous poems. I've played around with it a bit and its pretty fun (well, depending on what your definition of fun happens to be). Check out Poems by Heart
Third, it's National Library Week! If you love your library, and want to find out how to help support your local library, check out the ALA website.
Lastly, I am so disappointed in finding out today that Sam Tanenhaus is retiring as host of the NYTimes Book Review Podcast. I have spent many a Monday listening to Sam interview authors and collaborate with his colleagues on publishing news. It makes me sad to think of not hearing Sam every Monday, however, its an opportunity for those who are not aware of this awesome podcast to start fresh with a new host. NYTimes Book Review Podcast.
That's all that I have for this week in publishing news. Happy Reading!
Ignatius Martin Perrish has a hellish life (he,he). Within the past year, his girlfriend, Merrin, was brutally murdered and his small town has turned against him. Once a devout Christian man, Ig has a fierce hatred towards God. Then one day he wakes up with horns.
The horns have a strange power over people. When they see the horns they begin to spew out information that they would otherwise keep to themselves. For example, Ig's current fling admits that she fooled around with her ex the night before. As Ig attempts to get help for the spontaneous growth on his head he is pin-balled around town by neighbors who hate him and wish him dead. He seeks respite in his family home only to find that they all despise him. All except for his brother, who confesses that he knows who killed Merrin.
The book then skips back and forth between present and past. It is within these flashbacks, that Hill develops Merrin as a character. However, even the character aspects of Merrin are told through the memories of Ig and his friend Lee. It can bring a bit of a confusing picture of her. At the end of the book, I do feel that she is fully developed. I found myself begging the author to let Ig and Merrin be together. I know she's dead but then again, he's the devil, or at least a devil.
Also, apparently a side effect of becoming a demon is that snakes LOVE to be around you. At one point I screamed "NIGHTMARES!!!" and closed the book. Shudder.
Joe Hill is a fantastic writer. I was completely enthralled with this book, outside of all that snake business. Hill reminds me a lot of Chuck Wendig, if you like one, then I highly suggest the other.
Quotes that I loved:
"It bewildered Ig, the idea that a person could not be interested in music. It was like not being interested in happiness." (side note: this is what I think when people say they don't like to read)
"Pi is an irrational number, incapable of being made into a fraction, impossible to divide from itself. So, too, the soul is an irrational, indivisible equation that perfectly expresses one thing: you."
"…and together they burned."
To find out more about Joe Hill, follow him on Twitter.
Sorry for the short reviews lately, I'm a bit backlogged in my "review every book you read" challenge.
Fun Home is a graphic novel that deals with the author's relationship with her father. I love that graphic novels are being used in this fashion (i.e., Maus, Blankets, etc.).
Alison had a strained relationship with her father, when she was a child. He was very meticulous and stressful, sometimes abusive. Her mother seemed emotionally absent. It was not until Alison grew into a young lady who preferred masculine aspects of herself, that she was able to bond with her father - who also had an appreciation for masculine beauty. When Alison left for college, she discovered that she was a lesbian. She immediately wrote home to tell her parents. Her mother was disappointed. Her father's response was to explain that he too had experimented in college. Her mother further explained that the experimentation on her fathers behalf did not end in his youth. Alison is not only dealing with the facts of her budding sexuality, but the lies and deception regarding her father's sexuality.
Then he dies.
He dies before she is able to make peace with him. Alison believes that the death was a suicide but the method of death was very ambiguous.
Fun Home is Alison Bechdel's cathartic way of dealing with the death of her father. It's interesting, funny at times and painful in others.
