Book Review: The Chosen Series

I recently read books 1-3 of The Chosen Series by Denise Grover Swank. They were recommended to me by as a fun and quick read. But the real reason I picked them up is because my brother was reading them. He rarely, if ever, reads. Naturally I had to find out what captured his attention!

The books are titled Chosen, Hunted, and Sacrifice.

Basically, the stories follow Emma, her son Jake, and the man who soon fills their life, Will. I don’t want to give too much away, but in a very basic summary they are seemingly every-day humans who become caught up in an centuries-old elemental battle.

I really like the character development---Will is a lot more interesting than Emma---and the overall storyline. Authors, take note: If you want to win me over then have solid character development. I want to practically see each character front of me! I want to know what they look like, how they move, how they act, how they think---and, most importantly, how I can relate to them.

Back to the series. The elemental part is also an interesting take on things. It’s a fantasy without moving into a new world. The books are a fast read, filled with action, and they keep you hanging over a cliff and clamoring on to the next title.

That said, the imagination does fall flat with all the get-away scenes. I mean, really, how many car chases can there be? I swear there’s one every chapter. The author tried to break things up and throw in an airplane getaway, but that was too much of a stretch.

Book four, titled Redemption, is not out yet, which is good and bad. I’d like to keep reading but stepping away from the series is nice too. Sometimes you need a breather from even the good things.

My overall take is that The Chosen series is a quick and fun read. When you start, be sure to have books two and three next to you because this author rocks at making you want to jump through the series!

I leave for Lake Powell in a week, so I hope to be able to conquer a few books while I’m out there. Reviews will come.

Book Review: The Tiger’s Wife

For book club, we recently read The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obreht. The verdict was split as two of us liked the book while two did not.

I didn’t like it. I thought that it was a hodgepodge of stories thrown together with no connection or meaning. The two who liked the book appreciated that nothing was decided. They liked how open-ended it was so that they could pull the book together in their heads. I thought that it was incomplete.

In reality, this book was about two stories:

1. The Deathless Man
2. The Tiger’s Wife

I really enjoyed both stories on their own. If each story appeared as a short piece in The New Yorker or a similar publication, I would have been impressed. However, in this book the stories were haphazardly slapped together through a present-day character. I was confused and annoyed.

The two stories were good---the book was not.

Next up for book club: Lamb by Christopher Moore

"Date a Girl Who Reads"

I was pointed to this through Twitter, and subsequently adored it. It's from GoodReads.com, and it's perfect:

"Date a girl who reads. Date a girl who spends her money on books instead of clothes. She has problems with closet space because she has too many books. Date a girl who has a list of books she wants to read, who has had a library card since she was twelve.

Find a girl who reads. You’ll know that she does because she will always have an unread book in her bag.She’s the one lovingly looking over the shelves in the bookstore, the one who quietly cries out when she finds the book she wants. You see the weird chick sniffing the pages of an old book in a second hand book shop? That’s the reader. They can never resist smelling the pages, especially when they are yellow.

She’s the girl reading while waiting in that coffee shop down the street. If you take a peek at her mug, the non-dairy creamer is floating on top because she’s kind of engrossed already. Lost in a world of the author’s making. Sit down. She might give you a glare, as most girls who read do not like to be interrupted. Ask her if she likes the book.

Buy her another cup of coffee.

Let her know what you really think of Murakami. See if she got through the first chapter of Fellowship. Understand that if she says she understood James Joyce’s Ulysses she’s just saying that to sound intelligent. Ask her if she loves Alice or she would like to be Alice.

It’s easy to date a girl who reads. Give her books for her birthday, for Christmas and for anniversaries. Give her the gift of words, in poetry, in song. Give her Neruda, Pound, Sexton, Cummings. Let her know that you understand that words are love. Understand that she knows the difference between books and reality but by god, she’s going to try to make her life a little like her favorite book. It will never be your fault if she does.

She has to give it a shot somehow.

Lie to her. If she understands syntax, she will understand your need to lie. Behind words are other things: motivation, value, nuance, dialogue. It will not be the end of the world.

Fail her. Because a girl who reads knows that failure always leads up to the climax. Because girls who understand that all things will come to end. That you can always write a sequel. That you can begin again and again and still be the hero. That life is meant to have a villain or two.

Why be frightened of everything that you are not? Girls who read understand that people, like characters, develop. Except in the Twilight series.

If you find a girl who reads, keep her close. When you find her up at 2 AM clutching a book to her chest and weeping, make her a cup of tea and hold her. You may lose her for a couple of hours but she will always come back to you. She’ll talk as if the characters in the book are real, because for a while, they always are.

You will propose on a hot air balloon. Or during a rock concert. Or very casually next time she’s sick. Over Skype.

You will smile so hard you will wonder why your heart hasn’t burst and bled out all over your chest yet. You will write the story of your lives, have kids with strange names and even stranger tastes. She will introduce your children to the Cat in the Hat and Aslan, maybe in the same day. You will walk the winters of your old age together and she will recite Keats under her breath while you shake the snow off your boots.

Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you can only give her monotony, and stale hours and half-baked proposals, then you’re better off alone. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads.

Or better yet, date a girl who writes."

— Rosemary Urquico

Dear Kindle: Happy Valentine's Day. I Heart You.

Why, hello handsome! I'm talking about the Kindle here. Yeah, that's it. Ahem, definitely looking at the Kindle...

I've already told y'all many times how much I love and adore my Kindle. But my buddy, Matt, was just debating on whether or not to get one himself. So, for him and everyone else out here, let me explain why it's so awesome. The reason is simple:

I read more.

Honestly, I read 10-times more now with the Kindle than I did with paper books. Before I would get bored or frustrated with a title, set it down, and never read anything because I felt guilty for not finishing the one book. With the Kindle, I just go to the menu and pick another title that suits my mood.

For example, books that I have read over the past few months (an asterisk by the title name means that I recommend it!):

Top-Sellers:

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (The original title is "Men Who Hate Women." That is a much more apt description of this book.)
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
*The Help by Kathryn Stockett
*Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
*Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
My Horizonal Life by Chelsea Handler
Sh*t My Dad Says by Justin Halpern

I admit that love corny chic-lit and romance novels. They're quick, easy, and fun. (I read academic texts for work, so anything that's a departure from that then I'm all about it!)

Nora Roberts (Every single Roberts story has the same plot-line and basic character set, but its a formula that always pleases. Just don't put too much thought into it.)
Bed of Roses
Savor the Moment
Happily Ever After

J.R. Ward (A mix between vampires, special-ops, sci-fi, and romance. Slightly more thinking involved than Roberts and therefore slightly more fun.)
*Crave
Covet
Dark Lover

Other cheesy romance titles:
*Enchanting the Lady, My Unfair Lady, and the Firelord's Lover by Kathryn Kennedy

Mixed titles:
The Trump Card by Ivanka Trump
House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
*The Virginian by Owen Wister (one of my all-time favorite books)

Of course, I have opinions about each and every title---but I won't bore you with them now. If you're interested in a reading one of these books and would like to know my thoughts then shoot me a line! I'd be happy to talk about it. (Internet book club, holla!)

The final thing that contributes to my love affair with the Kindle is that you can get cute accessories for it. This is where the awesomeness that is Etsy comes into play: cute Kindle sleeves.

Happy reading!

Books

This is what happens when I go to a conference surrounded by other booksellers. As a book lover, I end up buying more books than I sell. My bad. They were only $3-$5---how could I resist?

Sorry, Kindle. I love and adore you, but you'll be set aside for a short time while I plow through my new stash.

Nom, Nom, Nom

I've been cooking more lately---yay! Actually, I'm trying to save money and in doing so I'm working through all the leftovers in my freezer. This means a lot of frozen meat. I mean, a lot of meat. I don't eat nearly as much meat as I used to, so this is kind of hard for me. In fact, I'm typically a "weekday vegetarian" in which I don't eat meat during the week and at work. On weekends though, it's fair game!

So in working through my freezer this past week, I have conquered two lovely new creations:

First: Spicy Italian Meatballs

Meatballs!

These are my lovely little spicy Italian meatballs. Perfect for that leftover hamburger meat in the freezer and it makes a boring, old pasta disk soooooo much more exciting. I never knew what a dash of red pepper flakes could to to instantly spice things up. I got the recipe from here.

Heating up some spaghetti and meatballs in the amazing All-Clad pan that I got for my b-day.

I know you're supposed to use regular spaghetti noodles with meatballs, but I had penne on hand. So deal with it. And one day I'm going to have a giant kitchen filled entirely with All-Clad utensils. (I'll keep dreaming in the meantime.)

Second (and definitely a keeper): Homemade Pizza with Carmelized Onions and Grilled Chicken

Get in my belly!

Pioneer Woman kept broadcasting a version of this recipe, so I've been craving it for weeks. Honestly, weeks. I only substituted chicken for the proccuitto (because that's what I had in my freezer) and used a tomato sauce under the toppings. The carmelized onions are to die for.  I typically don't like onions but I'm drooling just thinking about it now.

Strangely enough, I think that working meat back into my diet is helping me both perform better in soccer and (gasp!) lose some weight. Usually by mid-week, I'd feel so protien deprived that I'd instinctively reach for the nearest candy bar just to eat something. But then again, this is probably just an excuse. No matter what I eat, I'm going to be reaching for the candy bars.

A note on the fitness side of things. In the past 4 days I have done a sunrise climb up Mount Quandary and have played four soccer games in a local tournament. AND I had a stellar goal in the tournament! It was a set play across the box---I brought it down with my head and 5-holed the goalie. Goosebumps, baby.

Mount Quandary double-rainbow

Justin & I at the summit

And, because I'm obsessed with my Kindle I took a picture of it while reading in the park on Saturday.

Dear Kindle, I heart you.

Random

Since I've been gone for so long, I'd like to share some of my random thoughts via cell phone pictures taken over the last couple weeks. Yup, that's right: I still don't have a camera. And I like it. Don't hate.

I've been riding my little commuter bike as much as possible. My goal for this week is to not drive my car unless I'm leaving town. It's easier said than done.

It's after 7pm on a Tuesday night. I'm at work. This is what my desk looks like. I hope I don't run into the Creepy Janitor.

I can actually look cute some days! Here's my rockin' new halter and cute scarf. The only good thing about having linebacker shoulders is that I can rock the halter tops.

I love, love, love my Korean shirt from Adam. He has a shirt from Boulder in return. Check out the awesome project, TXP.

Besides the office, I spend a ridiculous amount of time here: Boulder Indoor Soccer.

My office is boycotting Amazon. They're bullies. But I have a huge and slightly worrisome crush on my new Kindle. It's that amazing.

I have been cooking. Not as much as I should, but still. Cookies!

Lastly, I'm debating about going here: Australia. We'll see.

Random Thoughts + Stuck at Work + Cell Phone Pictures + Hot Chocolate = Love

Companies and Social Media

I work for an academic publisher. Academics+books = small (and somewhat irrational) fear of technology. This is not speaking for everyone, of course, but it does speak to our fearless leader and some of our most beloved authors.

A friend/coworker in our marketing department and I have been debating on whether or not our company should get involved in social media. Facebook, blogs, twitter, MySpace, etc. Is it useful? Will people actually follow us? Do we even have something to say?

This seems to be the debate for anyone considering the social media scene.

I have to admit that Facebook doesn't seem to be a very strong option (and no one uses MySpace anymore). I am commonly annoyed by "fan requests" for people or businesses. I may own a pair of Keen shoes, but not everyone has to know about it. For example, the company who prints our letterhead and business cards has a Facebook page. Cute? Yes. But their fans are probably husbands/wives and close friends. I'm just sayin'.

Twitter, however, seems a more viable option. I admit that I originally joined just to see what all the hooplah was about (see my account here). Am I following more people than are following me? Absolutely. I guess I'm not that popular. I haven't really gotten "into the conversation" of Twitter and am trying to improve that now. My good friend, however, said that she has met some genuine people through Twitter, and has even come to call them friends. My other friend got hired into her public relations job in San Francisco through Twitter. All I can say to this is, Wow! But will it have the same effect with our company?

Some big-name publishing companies that have Twitter accounts:

Alfred A. Knopf

Pantheon Books

Doubleday

Ecco Books

Some academic presses are also on Twitter. A helpful listing is here. A few presses also have blogs. Did I know about any of these twitter accounts or blogs? No. Did I have to google them? Absolutely. Something is wrong here...

Some academic press twitter accounts:

Yale

Oxford

Toronto

U of California

Now that many companies have a greater online presence (webpages, etc.), is social media still worthwhile? Is it worth the time put in? Maybe, maybe not. But in this process a company can learn about technology, get a couple new "fans," and, if anything, make a friend or two.