"Seriously? 14 books in two weeks!?"

That was the response I got when I told friend and fellow traumatized law student J that I had read - nay, consumed - more then 14 books in about two weeks. He Seemed impressed and appalled all at once - like me when I watch a triathlon. Funnily enough, J does triathlons - he has convinced me to do 1/3 of one as part of a team. So, now I need to find a team ....

Anyways, I am going to recap the books thus far:
(thinking of doing this weekly)

Read:

1. Richelle Mead "Vampire Academy"
2. Richelle Mead "Frostbite"
3. Richelle Mead "Shadow Kissed"
4. Christina Dodd "Just the Way You Are"
5. Clive Barker "Mister B. Gone"
6. Steig Larsson "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
7. Marisa de los Santos "Love Walked In"
8. Marisa de los Santos "Belong to Me"
9. Stephanie Bond "Body Movers"
10. Charlaine Harris "Grave Secret"
11. Charlaine Harris "Real Murders"
12. Miriam Toews "The Flying Troutmans"
13. Mary Janice Davidson "UnDead and Unwed"
14. Carlos Ruis Zafon "The Angel's Game"
15. Christopher Moore "Bite Me: A Love Story"
16. Suzanne Collins "The Hunger Games"
17. Naomi Novik "His Majesty's Dragon"
18. Brenda Joyce "Dark Seduction"
19. Carrie Ryan "The Forest of Hands and Teeth"
20. Gena Showalter "The Darkest Night"
21. John Wyndam "The Midwich Cuckoos"
22. Lori Foster "Back in Black"
23. Paulo Coelho "Brida"
24. Sophie Kinsella "Twenties Girl"
25. Carly Phillips "Hot Item"
26. Chuk Palaniuk "Haunted"
27. Sunny "Mona Lisa Awakening"
28. Sunny "Mona Lisa Blossoming"
29. Sunny "Mona Lisa Craving"
30. Brenda Joyce "Dark Rival"
31. Brenda Joyce "Dark Embrace"
32. Brenda Joyce "Dark Victory"
33. Jane Austen and Steve Hockensmith "Dawn of the Dreadfuls"
34. Dean Koontz "Odd Thomas" (Audio book)
35. Carl Hiaasen "Skinny Dip"
    
36. P.C. Cast & Kristen Cast "Marked"
37. Dean Koontz "Breathless" (Audio)
    

Reading now:

1. Richelle Mead "Blood Promise" (eBook)
   
2. Diane Setterfield "The Thirteenth Tale" (Subway Book)
3. P.C. Cast & Kristen Cast "Betrayed" (Subway Book 2)
   
4. Julie Kenner "Demons are Forever" (Audio)
5. Dacre Stoker "Dracula The Undead"
   

On my Bookshelf for Later:
Audio:

1. Richelle Mead "Spirit Bound" (CANNOT WAIT!)
2. Suzanne Collins "Catching Fire'
3. Maggie Stiefvater "Shiver"
4. Dan Simmons "Drood"
5. Matthew Pearl "The Last Dickens"
6. Guy Gavriel Kay "Ysabel"

eBooks:

1. Lauren Willig "The Secret History of the Pink Carnation"
2. Lauren Willig "The Masque of the Black Tulip"
3. Lauren Willig "The Deception of the Emerald Ring"
4. Lauren Willig "The Seduction of the Crimson Rose"
5. Lauren Willig "The Temptation of the Night Jasmine"
   
6. Lauren WIllig "The Betrayal of the Blood Lily"
7. Chuck Palahniuk "Pygmy"
   

Traditional Books:

1. Amanda Grange "Mr. Darcy, Vampyr"
2. Sujit Saraf "The Peacock Throne"
3. A.E. Moorat "Queen Victoria: Demon Hunter"
4. Steig Larsson "The Girl Who Played with Fire"
5. Steig Larsson "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest"
   
6. Christina Dodd "Close to You"

And now, as to Reviews ... and a Cover thing!

(1) Reviews.
Okay, I have been lazy - I admit it - really lazy. But I will get back onto that review bandwagon - I have to! I have a lot to say! :)

(2) I will also soon have a post on Covers! (re. Book Smuggler's Cover Matters inspired, my way though).

Until then, Cheerio! :)

As Promised = The Cover Issue.

I mentioned my love of the Book Smuggler's series of posts discussing covers and their place in the literary world. They have done a remarkable job on dissecting the appeal of covers to buyers, the misuse of mostly white characters on covers and the exclusion of People of Colour (PoC).

If you're interested, see:
http://thebooksmugglers.com/2010/02/cover-matters-on-whitewashing.html
http://thebooksmugglers.com/category/smuggler-specialties/cover-matters

Now, for my first homage, I am going lighter - real lighter. I will address a pet peeve of mine that has to do with ... ROMANCE covers. Yes. Romances. And Fabio. The two seem to always go hand-in-hand, particularly those ones from the '80s that I snuck off my Mom's book shelf at the age of 12 to begin reading. Oh what a twisted kid I am ...

Now, here's the thing - I am not a prude. Like, seriously, definitely not a prude. Nudity, sex - simulated, implied, graphic, whatever - scenes, suggestive language or situations - they don't bother me, and in fact I think that in order to demystify sex and more importantly, the way young girls view sexuality, there needs to be an openess about all these things so it is not forever regulated to the adjoining chambers of Shame and Remorse. That being said - I hate the fact that my romance novels have naked torsos on them.

Here are some examples:




I use the above since I liked all those books - regardless of the distaste I have for the covers. Now I have realized that my preference and pet peeve reflect more about me then about what is appropriate maybe, but let's give this a shot, shall we?:

(1) The Sex Scene.
I love Steam Scenes. Love them. I think that half the reason I picked up "So Worthy My Love" when I was 12 was because it promised to have a wicked sex scene for the clandestine pleasure of my adolescent eyes. And hell, when I want to feel that rush - I pick up my favourite romance books and thumb to the sex scene to just sigh wistfully at perfection. Tee. (I recommend these books - for funny, charming and hot scenes: "Random" by Julie Garwood, "Three Fates" by Nora Roberts, "Say No to Joe?" by Lori Foster, and anything -really, anything- by Sunny).
So, it is well established that the sex scene and me are twined about the hips, and I will relish each word as it forms a picture in my mind ... sigh.
But I hate seeing sex scenes.
Even in movies - it really does have to be done so well that I don't either roll my eyes (I do this way too much ... see any movie that has a sex scene with comedy - ugh, I hate romantic comedies) or sigh in frustration (frustration because it's too unrealistic, not because I am suddenly sexually frustrated) . I like the scenes in "Original Sin" for example. It's rawer then Hollywood's usual, and I like that. Also of note are the scenes in "The Notebook" and "Mr. and Mrs. Smith".

But on Book Covers ... It just makes me irritated for some reason. Let's explore that. First off, you get the 10 year old boys who sneak glances at your cover on the subway. This doesn't irritate me so much as make me want to start reading out loud and watching their pudgy little faces flame into redness. Being in Canada - even in Toronto which is pretty awesome with the whole libertine thing - I can imagine what kind of Puritan hell on earth would await me when I looked up from my speech to meet the eyes of WASPy mothers and Uber Religious crazies who have condemned me like Socrates - corrupting the youth... sigh. Sometimes I wish those people would focus less on their children's abstinence and more on their children's behavioural issues - like, oh, I don't know - bullying and weapon carrying and gang joining like behaviours? That seems a lot more degenerate and counter cultural then consenting sex, right? (According to the vast opinions of North America, I am wrong. See "Gladiator" - lots of violence, sex only on the borders, rated PG).
So, it's not that people see it so much as ... the actual image makes me uncomfortable -and not in a good way. I don't look at it and think, "Where's that boyfriend of mine? I suddenly feel hot!". I look at it and think "Why do they look half dead?" Like, seriously.
Take this for example:

"Intrigued" Beatrice Small
A great book! But the cover drives me nuts! And he isn't even the Fabio.
Anyways ...
Dissection of a Romance Cover, Version 1.0:
(i) The Heroine's attire: Her boobs are spilling out. Yep. I don't mind so much - I even like the dress. Would wear it myself if it were a costume party. But look at her hair how it flows. Unrealistic much? Maybe. Either way, it's probably drawn like that to make it look more attractive. So, she gets a pass, even if the entire scene makes me a tad icky.
(ii) The Hero: Blegh. First off let me give credit to Smithy for introducing me to the term "Fabio Stunner" - it's reference to books that have seemingly neutral covers and then bam! You turn the page and get a full load of Fabio, buttons undone, chest not so much peeking out but glaring out, challenging anyone looking that they have a bigger, broader chest with less hair on it .... yeah ... moving on ...
This hero is apparently some well to do, posh type (no such thing in romance novels ...) and his hair is driving me nuts. I know, it was penned in a time when bowl cuts and John Lennon were still very much the thing. But ... bleh, I do not understand it. Anyways, it's not so much the hair as the yellow for me. So pale ... anyways.
I also hate the fact that 90% of them (Heroes, I mean) look the same. They do! They all look like steroid pumped chiseled jaw types with longish hair and eyes at half mast. There is nothing wrong with that look. It just sucks that it is on every single cover! (I like my men with lean muscles, shaggy hair and nearly always smiling). How is it supposed to appeal to women in the general sense if they all look the same? I don't get it - and I must admit, this may be one of my biggest problems with the Fabios. That and they usually have long creepy fingers. Yech. Reminds me of this guy at school. We'll call him EK.
(iii) Faces: She's asleep. She looks raptured, but let's face it - girlfriend fell asleep. Or she was drugged ( you can tell I'm a city girl, right?). Dude looks like he's sneering (sorry about the resolution - you can look it up yourself though - this was the only one I found that was just the picture). The "sneering" is actually just him pulling his cheeks in to create the illusion of high cheek bones. Either way it looks like he's either about to mistreat her or he's going to suck her up in one bulemic-like binge session (Mmm, I like me Brunette smoothies?). They aren't even looking at each other - which makes me kind of queasy too - since it is all about the love, right? And throughout the book there will be a million and two references to "Looked into his/her eyes" etc. But on the cover ... only sleepy and hungry people need apply.
(iv) The posture. You knew this was coming! And come on, don't deny it - the fact that like 70% of romance covers have the girl facing you (the better to ogle boobs with, my dear) and the guy behind her (looking posessively hungry - "My three piece meal!") makes me think this is just wrong. Not because sex in this position is wrong (it's not, trust me) but because it looks like he's muscling her into something she's too drugged up for. I won't even complain about other covers that look like the models were strange contortionists! Just this - the obvious strength of the ginormous male and the petit female cowering - back to him, shorter, or even on her knees sometimes.

The Verdict: The cover isn't so bad in terms of sexuality (they are both fully clothed) and yet it still bothers me. I think the reason that this is the case is that the male is generic (with a bad haircut) and the positions of the body and sleepy faces makes me think he's forcing her - and that takes away from the romance of it.

(2) The Naked Male Chest
Ugh. My current pet peeve since one of my favourite authors ever, Lori Foster's books keeping coming out with just a chest as a cover. A chest does not a cover make, people! Yes, I see they have abs. And pecs that could probably pulse to music. But they're indistinguishable and kind of boring, to be honest.
Though, it does have a weird counter-benefit. These covers have essentially reduced men to things - OMG! We're objectifying men! (Anyone - I mean ANYONE - who thinks this is viciously wrong, morally deplorable and unjust - I direct you to Hooters, bikinis, V-neck tops, the rise of Plastic surgery in America, Pamela Anderson and the rising eating disorder rate among young women - "young" as in, children as young as 8 or 9). I personally see nothing terrible about objectification - when it is understood that it is in fact, objectification, and therefore, an incomplete picture of a person. I wear heels, push up bras and do pilates to make my tummy flat and my ass perky like the rest of them. I understand that when I was in highschool and I wore my kilt high, I was essentially allowing the creepy men on the subway to look at my legs and objectify me ("Hey! Boobs!" was once a greeting I got - I kid you not, from the then-boyfriend, now husband of a friend of mine when I was at a wedding (not theirs) wearing a low cut dress). At the same time - I alternatively ignored it or bitched about it, usually using something to objectify back ("Hey! Beergut!"). That may be wrong, it may not be wrong - who knows? (It's wrong, yeah yeah yeah - I know). The point is that I am aware of that.
The male chest, I guess, for me is irritating on Romance covers because it conveys one thing only: There is sex in this book. Read me: Contain sex. And I reached the point (oh, around 15) when I realized that most romance novels have more then just sex - like a plot! And witty dialogue! And to show just the male chest is akin to saying "The novel was a story about a man, a woman ... a bed... oh wait -a counter?" Instead of actually saying "This is a work of literature about the sexual and emotional relationship between a man and a woman in the context of ...".
I love romance. I want to promote it. This is not the way - it just plays into stereotypes.
Again, personal opinion :)

(3) My General dislike of realistic looking people on the cover
Okay, another bias you should all be aware of - I hate realistic people on covers. Hate. Why? Well, I have a great imagination - I like to see my characters int he flesh in my head, without any help from an artist's head. So, when it comes to realistic people on covers - only bios and memoires, please!
I am of course assuming these are realistic .... a giant man and a tiny woman - both impossibly fit and miraculously proportioned ... etc etc etc.

(4) The Alternatives.
THERE ARE SO MANY! Here are a few:

Why not use one of those - subtly imply what may be inside the covers? Creative, no? I think so.


In closing - Covers matter. Do not deny it! I know some of us out there buy a book twice because the cover is prettier in time. And I know some of us will wrap our books into poster paper to get ride of the ugly cover. And I know I at least, judge my impulse buy books based on the cover. I mean - if the company thinks it's a good book, they will pay to have a great cover, right?

Yours,
Cheers!
xo

UK Giveaway at the Book Smugglers!

Obsessed as I am with books and all things book-y, I read this blog religiously. The two reviewers i.e., the smugglers - are Ana and Thea, and I find their enthusiasm and detail amazing. They truly are an excellent compass by which to navigate the book world! I really like the different things they cover, too - like "Covers Matter", which I intend to start on this, too ... when I find that ever elusive time thing ....

Anyways, there is a contest on their website right now, hosted also by Simon & Schuster UK. I highky recommend going over there and checking it out - it has a load of girly-scream-worthy books to giveaway!

Here's the link: http: http://thebooksmugglers.com/2010/06/simon-schuster-uks-big-fat-ya-giveaway-the-fall-edition.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheBookSmugglers+%28The+Book+Smugglers%29

Good luck! (But I kind of hope I win! :P)

A Book Review!

These things seem to be taking me a long time ... I mean - I think I will have a few days of solitude and then something else comes up. I have to get on this more.

Anyways, I need to decide which book to review first, don't I? I think I will get onto this bandwagon by reveiwing "Breathless" by Dean Koontz.

I listened to the unabridged audio for this one - and my first note is that, knowing Koontz's work as I do, this was much too short. I looked up a few reviews after I finished reading it to see if I was not the only one, and apparently the general sentiment is that Koontz started out promising and strong, but then rushed the ending. And more importantly - left those frayed endings that drive me insane since I have to fill in blanks - I just do. So I have already constructed an elaborate background to this book in my own head that includes secret deals with the Russians, miscommunications and, just because I am a sucker for the Koontz universe, a cameo appearance by favourite character, Christopher Snow.

(Seriously - awesome trilogy ... of two books. The third is supposed to come out ... eventually? I started with the second, I would recommend reading them chronological - they are enjoyable either way, though. Also - on the same vein - I love Latin when it's all about ludicrous sayings!)

Anyways, here is the synopsis from the back cover:

Grady Adams lives a simple, solitary life deep in the Colorado mountains. Here the thirty-five-year-old carpenter works out of a converted barn, crafting exquisite one-of-a-kind furniture. There's little about this strong yet gentle man to suggest the experiences that have alienated him from the contemporary world. But that is about to change.

One day, while hiking, Grady spots a pair of stunningly beautiful furred animals unlike anything he's ever seen. They flee the instant they detect his presence, but the mystery of that brief encounter remains. In the days ahead, Grady will approach the creatures again, gaining their trust but coming no closer to solving their mystery. For this he enlists the help of an old friend, veterinarian Camellia 'Cammy' Rivers, who, in turn, is stunned - and enchanted - by Grady's new 'pets.' But while Grady and Cammy carefully observe these enigmatic animals for clues to their origin, they, too, are being watched.

Soon Grady's home and hundreds of square miles of surrounding wilderness will be placed under quarantine by Homeland Security. And Grady, Cammy, and the two creatures they've come to feel they must protect at all costs find themselves virtual prisoners - and the unwilling focus of an army of biologists, naturalists, and research scientists. But it's a stunning event no one could have foreseen that convinces Grady and Cammy to do the unthinkable: to escape with the two creatures on a riveting race for freedom.

And here are a couple of reviews that shared my general sentiments, or were just good to read after the fact. Again, I require closure.

http://blogcritics.org/books/article/book-review-breathless-by-dean-koontz/
http://www.bscreview.com/2010/02/breathless-by-dean-koontz-review/

And now onto my own thoughts of this book.

Now, I will preface this with the fact that I am an avid Dean Koontz reader and have adored him since I stole my Mom's copy of "Phantoms" back in the sixth grade, and read it all in a one night sleepover with my friend M. He has a knack for dialogue in my opinion. And quite a knack it is. He can deliver the best one liners I have ever had the pleasure of reading - which already endears him to my heart. Added to that, he generally ends with a feel good moment.

This book is not really like that ... well ... not really.

See, the one liners are suspisciously muted in this book. I can recall only a handful of them - but that may be because there are several subplots that are never actually really tied together. See, usually there are a few main characters and their interactions create an atmosphere ripe with one liners which makes me happy. This time, the main characters are arguably, Cammy and Grady. But their interactions are rushed, almost as an afterthought and the main idea - that evolution is not rock solid - is what replaces it.

I am into the theoretical part of this book - I like the different and unique viewpoint that Koontz attempts to project - I just think it misses its mark by about 100 pages or so. If it had been given more page space to develop, I think the idea behind the book would have been more evident and it wouldn't have frustrated me quite so much. As it was, the idea was barely forming when we were already the end. That is not cool, Dean, not cool.

Shorter books seem to be the Koontz trend these days - I just finished "Odd Thomas", too - a shorter book then I am used to in the Koontz universe and one I also had the feeling of being rushed. However, in Thomas' case, it didn't hurt my overall impression of the book - I thought the pace and length worked for the material (even if, and yes I will admit it, I cried a bit at the end ... in the middle of the gym, in front of people).

Obviously, this is not the case for Breathless. Which is too bad - I really liked the idea.

One of my huge problems with it was the storylines and how they never managed to really amount to anything. Questions I have include:
(1) What plot of mass destruction were the Washington senators planning - or was that all in Henry's head?
(2) Was the fact that he went to Harvard/Oxford all in his head, too?
(3) Where the hell did he get grenades?
(4) Why did he let Cammy go?
(5) How does he tie into the Creatures?
(6) What happened the other creatures (MI, Rome)
(7) What does Homeland Security have to do with it?
(8) What explains Lamar's winning streak?
(9) What happened to Homeland Security?
(10) What happened with Cammy and Grady and Merlin and Puzzle and Riddle?
(11) How did they manage to get to a bar?

etc. etc. etc.

Too many for me to reconcile with.

All in all, I can't say I hated it. It was intriguing and I liked the idea and the characters - however, everything remained a little one dimensional for me - And that kind of sucked.

Anyways, next up - Cover Matters probably, but maybe another book review first! :)

Cheers!

More counting ...

I am just devouring books right now (urg, don't want to go back to school ...)
As such, the Count so far:

1. Richelle Mead "Vampire Academy"
2. Richelle Mead "Frostbite"
3. Richelle Mead "Shadow Kissed"
4. Christina Dodd "Just the Way You Are"
5. Clive Barker "Mister B. Gone"
6. Steig Larsson "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"
7. Marisa de los Santos "Love Walked In"
8. Marisa de los Santos "Belong to Me"
9. Stephanie Bond "Body Movers"
10. Charlaine Harris "Grave Secret"
11. Charlaine Harris "Real Murders"
12. Miriam Toews "The Flying Troutmans"
13. Mary Janice Davidson "UnDead and Unwed"
14. Carlos Ruis Zafon "The Angel's Game"
15. Christopher Moore "Bite Me: A Love Story"
16. Suzanne Collins "The Hunger Games"
17. Naomi Novik "His Majesty's Dragon"
18. Brenda Joyce "Dark Seduction"
19. Carrie Ryan "The Forest of Hands and Teeth"
20. Gena Showalter "The Darkest Night"
21. John Wyndam "The Midwich Cuckoos"
22. Lori Foster "Back in Black"
23. Paulo Coelho "Brida"
24. Sophie Kinsella "Twenties Girl"
25. Carly Phillips "Hot Item"
26. Chuk Palaniuk "Haunted"
27. Sunny "Mona Lisa Awakening"
28. Sunny "Mona Lisa Blossoming"
29. Sunny "Mona Lisa Craving"
30. Brenda Joyce "Dark Rival"
31. Brenda Joyce "Dark Embrace"
32. Brenda Joyce "Dark Victory"
33. Jane Austen and Steve Hockensmith "Dawn of the Dreadfuls"
34. Dean Koontz "Odd Thomas" (Audio book)

Reading now:

1. Richelle Mead "Blood Promise" (eBook)
   
2. Carl Hiaasen "Skinny Dip" (Subway Book)
3. Julie Kenner "Demons are Forever" (Audio)
4. P.C. Cast & Kristen Cast "Marked" (Subway Book 2 - since I left "Skinny Dip" in my Mom's car)
   

On my Bookshelf for Later:

1. Richelle Mead "Spirit Bound" (CANNOT WAIT!)
2. Suzanne Collins "Catching Fire'
3. Maggie Stiefvater "Shiver"
4. Dan Simmons "Drood"
5. Matthew Pearl "The Last Dickens"
6. Guy Gavriel Kay "Ysabel"
   

...And many many more! :D

Also a shout out to a few things/people/whatever:
Lori Foster at www.lorifoster.com - excellent writer with strong female characters, highly recommend her and she emailed me back - a mark of a truthfully good person!
Ben McNally of www.benmcnallybooks.com - a store down here in the Tdot - Amazing selections,a great community treasure.

That's all for now,
Cheers! :)