J. K. Rowling Interview

An interview with J. K. Rowling the author of the Harry Potter books aired on Oprah a week ago. Here is the first in a six part conversation:

Thank you, Michael, for letting me know about this interview!

The Real Jane Austen

I am currently enjoying a series of videos on YouTube called The Real Jane Austen. This television documentary originally aired in 2002.This show reminds me of some dramatizations that I have watched about Shakespeare.

What author documentaries have you enjoyed?

Peter Watts Won!!

Peter Watts one of my all time favorite writers just won the Hugo! Yay!

The Creative Family by Amanda Soule

One of my all-time favorite activities is creating with my niece and nephew. The miraculous color combinations they come up with, squeals of laughter, and the innovative ways they use supplies makes the process a joy.

While hunting for more activities, I discovered Amanda Soule's wildly popular blog about her adventures as a DIY homeschooling mother of four. Her book The Creative Family is more than just a craft book it is a philosophy. When I first read it I immediately started thinking about all of the people for whom I wanted to buy this book. Reading The Creative Family gives me a very deep warm, happy feeling inside. An emphasis is put on quality time and reusing art materials. Amanda advocates for families to set aside time each evening to draw as a family. The Creative Family is a great resource for anyone wanting to foster creativity in their own life and the lives of their children.

All of the projects are designed to foster a connection among the children, between the mother and children, and with the family as a whole, but no importance is given to being creative with one's partner exclusively. When I was in art therapy this connection was neglected, as well. Lowenfeld did posit a stage theory of children's drawing development, but how a person develops artistically in adulthood was likewise ignored. There is a branch of art therapy interested in family therapy, but again in all of the research I looked at none of it focused specifically on the romantic couple. There seems to be a paucity of research and interest in this area.

Is being creative with your partner important to you? Why or why not?

Please, Jane, Don't Be Shy

"The person, be it gentleman or lady,

who has not pleasure in a good novel,

must be intolerably stupid."

Several of my friends did't enjoy Northanger Abbey, so I wasn't expecting much when I began it. Abbey was actually the first novel Jane ever completed, but was published only after the author had died. I am loving it. Mr Tilney cracks me up!

Penguin Love

In honor of Wednesday's momentous decision, I am going to tell you about on of my all-time favorite picture books, And Tango Make Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell. When I first heard of the book I thought it would be too simplistic and rhetorical. Instead, And Tango Makes Three is a very sensitive and sweet story about Roy and Silo, two male penguins, who adopt a baby chick named Tango. The illustrations are adorable and the story is delightful. It made me tear up at the end. Who can resist adorable little chubby flightless birds? The story behind And Tango Makes Three can be found here.

Alan's War

I was all prepared to love Alan's War: The Memories of G.I. Alan Cope by Guibert. A new friend I met recently while volunteering recommended this book to me after sending this extraordinary link to me. The video shows how the author/artist uses ink washes to create his designs.

I was really captivated by the artistry, but quickly lost interest after reading several chapters. In my defense, I am not much of a memoir reader. Cope excelled in the army becoming an instructor and saw very little (if any) of the actual war. According to some reviews I have read on Amazon, the book does become more philosophical later on, but I never encountered that having quit earlier on.

While the art in Alan's war is fantastically rendered, I found the story flat.

Happy Birthday, Harry Potter!!!

My Harry Potter lunchbox

Today is both Harry Potter's and J. K. Rowling's birthday! Harry should be 30 and J.K. is 45. In 1991, according to the books, Harry was eleven and entering Hogwarts. Therefore he was born in 1980. In Deathly Hallows, the epilogue occurred 19 years after the main action of the book. In the epilogue, Harry and Ginny's son Albus is eleven years old. So, this year Albus should be 4 years old.

Maggie is coming to Austin

Maggie Stiefvater (pronounced "steve otter") will be reading this Thursday at Bookpeople at 7:00 promoting her new book Linger. I read the beautiful and lyrical Shiver about a year ago and will definitely be there on Thursday to see what she is like in person. Because she keeps hitting #1 on the NY Times Bestsellers list, this event is going to be as Jane Austen would say "a crush." You can check out her blog here.

Gurney's Imaginative Realism

As an avid reader of James Gurney's blog, I keenly wanted to read his book Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn't Exist. Gurney is the creator of Dinotopia, a gorgeously rendered tale of a discovered world where dinosaurs and humans live in peaceful co-existence. He also worked for National Geographic for a number of years. Imaginative Realism is written in small vignettes no longer than three pages and contains lots of illustrations.

Most of the "lessons" have been covered on his blog, but I still picked up several useful hints. Apparently, Gurney extensively uses tone paper to study models before adding them to his larger designs. In addition, I had never heard of a mahl stick, but it's use (to keep one's hand from grazing the wet painting surface) is obvious.

Gurney's upcoming instruction book, Color and Light, is slated to be published in November. I am eager to read it!

Sabriel by Garth Nix

I am on page 87 and have decided to put Garth Nix's Sabriel down. : (

Regan recommended this book to me years ago, but it was only recently that I borrowed it from a friend. Several of my friends and my brother really enjoyed it. I imagine what is making it so slow is that Nix is world building (and it is an interesting world indeed), but it is too sluggish for me.

During her last year at school, the eponymous character receives word that her father is dead and sets out to find him. Sabriel and her father are necromancer. Necromancers in this world however, don't raise the dead, but put them to rest.

I wish I liked this book. : ( When there are so many other interesting books to read don't bother with this one.

Umbrella Academy

Both the story and art of the Umbrella Academy are unimaginative. I had read excellent reviews about the second volume on Amazon, but decided to pick up the initial volume first. Maybe if I had read the second I would have been impressed, but I wasn't.

Umbrella Academy takes the basic premise of superheroes and twists it. A host of children are all born at a certain time, most of whom die. Sir Reginald Hargreeves collects the children and raises them to be a force against evil. However, none of the children turn out to have superpowers and are leaden like we are all by petty worries. Honestly, though, I just didn't care about any of the characters, all of whom are stock and flat.

This series is endorsed heavily by Grant Morrison another graphic novel writer who is touted heavily, but who also leaves me cold.

Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli

When people ask me what my favorite book is (and they invariably do ask) I vacillate terribly. There have been too many choices and too many genres spread over my lifespan. The task spans out in front of me unwieldy and huge. I flounder.

But if someone where to ask to list my favorite graphic novels, that would be a much easier task. Sandman would be in my top choices, as would two of Alan Moore's novels--Watchmen and V for Vendetta. Fun Home, Fables, and Identity Crisis would clearly be on the list. As would Jimmy Corrigan and Mother, Come Home. What else?

As I was reading Asterios Polyp by David Mazzuccheli, I knew it was going to occupy a vaulted position within my top ten as well. The story opens with a fire pushing the eponymous character out into the world and into the main action of the story. At the beginning, AP is a stinker of a human being encompassing all the boorish qualities of a human being--self-absorbed, ego centric, trite, and full of himself--with a dichotomous, simplistic outlook on life. The narrative is told through a series of flashbacks.

There are several other main characters of note. At several points, the story is told by Asterios's dead twin brother. Asterios's mind also drifts back over to his ill father and to his strong care-taker mother. Hana, AP's wife, is an artist in her own right, but has been eclipsed throughout her life by a series of males--first her brother and later by her husband, who steals her ideas and sells them as his own.

Conflict arises when Hana finally starts receiving attention for her sculptures by a noted-choreographer, Willy Ilium . The impotent Asterios can't compete and eventually looses her. Even though the book starts of on a melancholy note, it is a pleasure to watch Asterios change and grow.

Mazzuccheli is not the first graphic novelist to employ images to graphically illustrate the differences between his characters, but he does it very well. Each of the principle characters are given their own individual color and line to dramatically demonstrate their differing points of view. Asterios Polyp was a pleasure to read.

I am looking forward to discussing this book with anyone who is interested.

There is an Excellent Episode on Books

this week on NPR's On the Media.

On Sunday mornings, the classic music station KMFA plays choral classics. "Ancient Classics" hosted by Sara Hessel is my least favorite of their shows. I find the endless wailing aggrevating. At the same time, when I first wake up I am not ready for the pitty patter of the rock stations or the mmmhmmmhhmmm of the soft jazz station. I turned on KUT, which is esoteric music, some local news, and blocks of time dedicated only to NPR.

This week NPR is re-airing their Book Show about the past, present, and future of the book industry. It is excellent and thought-provoking!

Gay Pride Books

There is an excellent post over on the Austin Public Library's blog about gay pride. It includes a list of well written books by lesbians, gays, bisexual, and transgender individuals. You can find that post here.



Side note: I met Micheal Cunningham once and would totally love to marry him if he was inclined towards my gender romantically. Sigh. A girl can dream...

The new Harry Potter

trailer can be found here!

Chimera by Thurman

A new story from an author I like. She (she writes as Rob but it's a girl), she writes good bro-mance stories, and I mean that as a good thing. It's more sci fi than fantasy, a story about a brother who loses and finds a lost brother who's been genetically tampered with by some shady people.

favorite quote: (a guy is headed toward the main character with a knife drawn) "Here comes a guy who didn't listen to his guidance counselor either."

The Passage

Ok... this is a crazy big, thick, long book about vampires, non-sparkly kind, that wipe out humanity until, after a hundred years...

*spoiler alert (not really)*

...they die off.

Obviously, not a real complicated plot, which was sort of disappointing since it had potential to explore lots of interesting "collapse of civilization" events, but it starts it (science project goes amok) then skips ahead a hundred years (colony that hunts vampires every night and lives in fear and hoping for rescue).

I finished it... that's something. If you liked The Road, or other apocalyptic stories, you would probably digg it. Just don't have that gushing excitement to get everyone else I know to try it.

Green Guide for Artists by Karen Mitchel and Kristen Hampshire

Last year, I was enrolled in an art therapy program on the Northeast coast. While we did talk about the hazards of each art form, we never talked about the alternatives or about the environmental impact of art supplies. Karen Michel's book Green Guide for Artists: Nontoxic Recipes, Green Art ideas & Resources for the Eco-Conscious Artist rectifies this absence. In addition, she also discusses how to mix one's own paint using organic products, how to stretch one's own canvas, provides green art project ideas, discusses artist who specialize in green art, and includes a resources section.

My favorite part was the recipe section, whereby she provides instructions for making acrylics, watercolors, gouache, and milk paints and explains how to make several different environmentally vegan glues.

You know you are a book nerd when...

...your fellow counseling nerd friends make fun of you for reading about Transtheoretical Model of Behavioral Change during the summer.

Divorce Rates are Dropping

Everyone knows that 50% of marriages end in divorce, right?

Wrong. And right. For the generation born in the 1950's and married in the 1970's the divorce rate is hovering at just about the 50% line. However did you know that if the wife has at least a college degree the likelihood of divorce drops to 23?. When I have discussed this trend with my friends they weren't aware of this companion factoid.

But this is not true for subsequent generations. Generations marrying since the 1970's have seen a significant decrease in divorce rates for both college and high school graduates. As stated above, divorce rates after 10 years for the generation married during the 1970s for college graduates is 23 percent. However the rates of divorce drops to 20% for the those married in the 1980's with a college degree and 16% for those married in the 1990s. Parker-Pope gives several different reasons for why the divorce rate is declining.

This is just one of the surprising findings I discovered in Tara Parker-Pope's For Better: The Science of a Good Marriage. I also learned that gay and straight couples fight differently. John Gottmann, the preeminent researcher on marriage, along with Robert Levenson did a 12-year study comparing straight and gay marriages. They found that gay and straight couples fight differently; gay couples fight more fairly with fewer verbal attacks and "each partner made more of an effort to defuse the confrontation. The use of controlling and hostile emotional tactics, like belligerence and domineering, also were less common among gay couples."

Lastly, this book gave me lots of interesting articles and resources to pursue for future research and exploration.

For Better is a popscience book with the problems inherent in that genre. Even though it has almost 200 references, I would still like more references. She is a blog writer for the New York Times and the book has a gossipy air. While the book is ostensibly about what makes marriage work, For Better focuses more on divorce than on factors that keep couples together.

Saying that, For Better is a quick and informative read. It shifted my view of marriage and for that I am appreciative. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to know the state of modern American marriage. I am really glad I read this book.

Attention Austin Foodies

Anthony Bourdain is signing books at Bookpeople June 29th.

Small Favor by Jim Butcher

If you enjoy the previous nine Dresden Files you should enjoy this one, too. It was quick and mindless, but the fun factor was largely absent. I miss the flaming-poo flinging giant monkeys found in a previous book.

The usual formula is stagnate. Butcher has nothing new to say. I don't know how many more Dresden Files I am going to read. I will probably continue to pick one up from the library if I've had a especially bad day, but gone are the days when I look forward with special glee to next one. I hope the next ones pick back up.

How Would You Like to be Remembered?

The other day, my mother and I were in the car driving to lunch. Nonchalantly, I asked her how she would like to be remembered and what stories she would like me to pass down to my sister's children. I thought it was an innocuous question. Little did I know. This started an avalanche of feelings and emotions that I was not expecting. Eventually, Mom and I had a very lovely meaningful dialogue about what aspects of ourselves we wanted to pass down and what aspects of ourselves we already see in the younger generation.

We would never have had this conversation had it not been for Re-membering Lives: Conversations with the Dying and the Bereaved by Lorraine Hedtke and John Winslade. The traditional method of looking at death was substantiated by Kubler-Ross as a series of steps (denial, grief, anger, depression, acceptance) in order disengage one's self from lost loved ones. Using narrative therapy, this book takes a very different avenue through which to explore death and bereavement.

Instead of letting go, the authors advocate that the living decide what active role the deceased will take in their lives. The concept of membership is especially important in their model. Taking a membership stance means that anyone who has played a pivotal role in one's life can be given membership whether or not they are related to one genetically. If your next door neighbor for instance was especially important to one, one can decide to grant that person membership in one's life. On the other hand, if a family member was difficult and subtracted from your life the authors encourage you to demote that person's membership. It is a very empowering technique that allows the individual to decide how much influence they will allow others to extend over their lives.

Hedtke and Winslade also talk about using this lens in hospice setting. They encourage people who are dying, caregivers, and families to prompt discussions with the aged about how they would like to be remembered, what stories they would like to have told about them, and what traditions. The authors have found that reviewing these details with people in their twilight moments can be helpful not only for the dying person, but also reassuring for their families.

Narrative therapy is the backbone of the Re-membering Lives approach. Narrative therapy was developed by Michael White in Australia in the 1970's. According to this strategy, people construct their lives according to an internal dialogue with one's self whereby one creates a linear storyline of one's life. As I understand it, narrative therapy is about reframing one's life on a grand scale allowing more and richer details to infuse one's view of one's life.

Lastly, social justice is another key element in this Hedtke and Winslade's work. They look at minority groups and ask the questions "Who gets to write your story?" and "What elements are remembered?" In this vantage point, individuals within dominate culture often are the ones who write the history books and it is through their worldview that only certain affirming elements are revered and valued. Remembering Lives challenges this skewed application of power. This approach empowers the disenfranchised to decide for themselves what elements of their story that they want to remember and value.

How would you like to be remembered?

Magic Bleeds

I've really liked this series of urban fantasy, it's the fourth one I think. The world is set in a future where the earth's slipping into a part of the galaxy where magic begins to work again. There are waves where magic is on, and technology doesn't work, and then it flips off again. This created enough havoc that it's sorta Apocalypse Lite, but makes for an interesting backdrop to the story (you're fighting, then wham, the magic wave hits and your car dies and your ammo doesn't work).

Female character kicks serious ass... sort of a boon time for ass kicking females, and I'm not complaining. Strolling the scifi ailse most covers show ladies toting big swords or guns... or both. What I like about this story is the incredible tension she's got with the male interest. He's so arrogant he'll say things like "You'll beg me to sleep with you and you'll say thank you when I'm done." (flashbacks to college... why didn't I have a sword?!)

Her first person writing is nice, too, and has a kind of mental shorthand and commentary that's spot on and entertaining. So, I categorize it somewhere in the controlled substance area of my reading preference... meaning, I'm checking the date of the next book months in advance, but I'm not smuggling it into restaurants to read before my food comes out.

Sookie still aint Suckin, atta girl!

Didn't disappoint, and in a series this long, plus the show, that's the highest praise I can give it.

Though, the ending was a lot like the end of a rollercoaster where you're still out of breath and there's a big jerking stop and you're like, "Whoa. It's over?"

But, can't complain other than that. Thank God Sookie hasn't gone the Anita route and 'ho-ed it up with everything going bump in the night... sorry, I have LKH issues.

Directive 51

Holy shit!

Excuse my French, but that's what I utter every 3 pages in this new sci fi release. It's a story, told in a "24"-like play by play manner of a group called Daybreak, a mostly online kind of "meme," that launches a huge diabolical plan to take down the "Big System" aka civilization basically.

And my friend Jeff would be proud, the main manner it's done is with Nano technology (story's set 30 years in the future). The nanoswarm eats plastic and corrodes fossil fuels and metal. The interesting thing is that this Daybreak movement includes so many different factions: evangelicals, hippies, neo cons, environmentalists, even what they called "dissatisfied success" - people that made it but it wasn't really what they thought it'd be. But the movement is comprised of so many smaller groups, no one really knows who runs it, if in fact there is anyone running it. The only thing all these people have in common is they think things would be better without the Big System.

But then things go all sideways for everyone.

A vice president's plane is hijacked the very same morning Daybreak is launched (coincident?). One christian guy who was planting plastic eating bio weapons was enraged and had a great line "Only Americans can attack America." -that kind of sums up a lot about what I like about the book.

It's a revolving cast of characters, the main one probably being Heather who's a Washington analyst and former FBI agent. You feel like you're looking right over her shoulder, seeing IM's that pop up on her window while she's in a conference call. You kind of put the intel together yourself as you read along. Pretty cool

And, even though it's Apocalyptic, it hasn't been preachy at all. Even the zealot's arguments are countered by the next one's arguments as the story shifts from player to player. Done in a even handed way, so far.

Only in hardback, don't think an ebook exists yet. So far worth it though, can't put it down.

The Entire and the Rose series keeps getting better...

Scroll down to see review of the first book... I've finished book 2 and on book 3.

A seriously awesome series (and I'm using awesome in the intended sense!).

The characters are so absorbing, even the non human ones. This is a story that thrives in a series, cause there's too much to cram in one book. There's ongoing suspense and it never seems to lag or drift off point. A real achievement, I hope it keeps going.

Sandman Slim... oh, yeah... get some....

Ok... take Harry Potter or, say, a Hogwarts miscreant right out of school.

Then drop his ass in Hell after being betrayed by his "friends," where he'll be tortured and forced to fight horrible monsters and then trained to become a demon assassin since he won't die. Then after 11 years, have him break out of hell after killing his Demon General keeper only to learn his girlfriend had been murdered by the same a-holes who double crossed him, and what do you have?

A seriously pissed of Magician who's deathproof.

Fun!

I really liked the book. At times, I wish he'd kicked more ass, the motivation was there, but it wasn't all mindless violence. There's a puzzle/who-dunnit story going on, too. The angel/demon/chaos interplay was really interesting. I think a nun racked the author's knuckles once too often!

It's a paperback, totally worth a read.

Blood Oath... shamefully great...

Ok... if you can't get past the cover and title, think this: Jason Bourne and Hellboy have a love child.


I seriously am embarrassed I liked this book as much as I did... but I did.

I had the ARC (advance reader copy) and for a laugh, I picked it up over the weekend to see how long it took me to chuck it across the room. I read it in 3 days. It's balls to the wall awesome! Couldn't be more surprised. And I think it's worth the hardback price, too (though that doesn't always effect me... the ONE perk of my day job).

So... yeah, Andrew Johnson caught a vampire and bound it to serve the office of president for the rest of his immortal life. Now, put that in today's "West Wing" type government with all the bureaucracy and it gets more interesting. Then, throw in a rookie who just got saddled as his handler (he'd been caught with the President's daughter) and it's Hellboy-esque, but not in a derivative way. Then add a great villain, who, keep your eyes from rolling, is Frankenstein, yes, folks, it's Vampire vs. Mad German Scientist, but in a completely new way (at least he's not called Frankenstein - that was just the name of the castle).

Oh, and Cade, the vampire, doesn't sparkle... he's shit your pants scary, and he's supposed to be the GOOD guy. He's dropped into situations like Jason Bourne and then boxed away (coffin) for the next emergency. Oddly, the only complaint I have was that in the "love scene" the author drops the "c" word, as in a description of the body, not as dialogue and I was like "Whaaaaaaat." Maybe I've read too many women written sex scenes. Anyhoo...

Fast paced. Hard hitting.... screw "hope," give Obama a vampire :D

Changeless, sequal to Soulless...

These are the beginning of a beautiful relationship...

Soulless is the first book, set in very Victorian England and a spinster who happens to be missing a soul is like the kryptonite to supernaturals - werewolves loose their hair and vampire fangs go dull. A very unique spin on the fantasy world, plus the quaint quirks of society at that time add a lot of humor, too.

The second book Changeless is even more fun, I think, with new characters and a surprise ending that made me bite the book I was so peeved (but mostly in a good way). Have to wait till Sept to see what happens.

I've never read any "Gaslight" type fiction, and these may have set the bar sort of high for that genre. The author's done her homework on dress and custom, too. I also like series with strong feminine roles (that parasol is silver tipped and she'll whack it at any deserving head).

Real Readers

Bookpeople at the Half-Blood Prince midnight sale

At the bookstore, I was labeled a "book snob," but that is simply not true as the following quote explains. I have posited that real readers (as opposed to dilettantes/non-readers) read a wider variety of books both good and bad. Real readers feel compelled to read. Most of my close friends aren't simply compelled, but are compulsive about the pursuit. I have often heard from my non-reading acquaintances that during school or other stressful times in their lives they "don't have time to read." For us Real Readers reading is NOT a option, we are helpless but obey the allure of novel novels.

What distinguishes a Real Reader from a Dilettante? Anyone who reads at least one book a week can grudgingly be called a real reader. Otherwise, you are just a dilettante. I actually read more than that (verging on three books a week), but realize that this sort of dedication is obsessive and antisocial. Though it does make me happy.

"A lot of the people who read a bestselling novel, for example, do not read much other fiction. By contrast, the audience for an obscure novel is largely composed of people who read a lot. That means the least popular books are judged by people who have the highest standards, while the most popular are judged by people who literally do not know any better. An American who read just one book this year was disproportionately likely to have read 'The Lost Symbol', by Dan Brown. He almost certainly liked it." The Economist

I am much more cheerful when I am actively reading than when I am stuck in the morass of my daily existence. What do you think? Do you value the book suggestions of your non-reading brethren and sistren?

When I Start my Practice I will Definitely Buy this

On my daily walk with my dog, I enjoy listening to the ACA's podcast. Anne Marie Wheeler and Burt Bertam the authors of The Counselor and the Law: A Guide to Legal and Ethical Practice, Fifth Edition were the first guests on the ACA's series. I would encourage anyone interested in mental health to check it out. You can find them here. Through the ACA website only members can from their podcasts. However, you can also access this program through iTunes.

If you are a counselor or are thinking about becoming one, I would highly recommend reading this book. Lacking legalese, it is is both intensely readable and practical. Wheeler is a lawyer who manages the risk management helpline for the American Counseling Association, while Bertam has been a practicing counselor for several decades. Together the two conduct seminars across America helping counselors appreciate the law and manage risk.

This is the fifth edition. The first edition was originally published in 1975 and the previous edition was produced in 1996, so we clearly needed a new update. One of the most important aspects that the new authors added was a section about HIPAA and how it affects the counselor. Before I read their book, I wasn't aware of some of the ramifications that HIPAA had on the counseling profession including how information is released to third party payers and what goes into a client's notes.

The Counselor and the Law is not just a list of do's and don'ts (don't's?) it also provides the counselor with a framework to understand why some of the laws are in place. This then promotes aspirational ethics and leads one to a better understanding of how a good practice is supported by ethics.

This book covers such topics as
* Confidentiality, privilege, and HIPPA,
* Duty to report, warn, and protect
* Suicide threats and how to deal with them
* Professional boundaries
* Record keeping,
* Who is the client?

One of my favorite parts of the book is Appendix C titled Top Ten Risk Management Strategies. The ACA has outlined concrete steps to help counselors avoid becoming legally liable.

In addition, it has been mentioned on a couple of different platforms that if one reads this book and has insurance through the ACA, after passing a test about how the law informs the counseling profession that one can be 10% off their insurance for the next three years.

Hand Over Heart

Many of the memories of important people in my life are tied to the specific gestures that they make. My best friend in high school would tenderly flutter her open palm over her chest when words were not enough to express her deepest emotions. I wonder if she knows she does it or how much I loved seeing her make that expression. I never told her that I found it endearing. In 2005, a dear friend and co-worker at Barnes and Noble made a similar hand over heart gesture when she described De Los Santos's first novel. Even though I didn't pursue Love Walked In at that time, I remembered Barbara's gesture. Years later when I saw the advanced reader copy of Belong to Me I quickly seized it in eager anticipation.

From the book jacket: "A devoted city dweller, Cornelia Brown surprised no one more than herself when she was gripped by the sudden, inescapable desire to leave urban life behind and head for an idyllic suburb. Though she knows she and her beloved husband, Teo, have made the right move, she approaches her new life with trepidation and struggles to forge friendships in her new home. Cornelia's mettle is quickly tested by judgmental neighbor Piper Truitt. Perfectly manicured, impeccably dressed, and possessing impossible standards, Piper is the embodiment of everything Cornelia feared she would find in suburbia. A saving grace soon appears in the form of Lake. Over a shared love of literature and old movies, Cornelia develops an instant bond with this warm yet elusive woman who has also recently arrived in town, ostensibly to send her perceptive and brilliant son, Dev, to a school for the gifted."

My review: So, let me in the sincerest way I know, hand over heart, express to you how much I adore Marissa De Los Santos's book Belong to Me. Full of people who love one each other, this book is surprisingly thoughtful, big-hearted, and kind; even her antagonists are sympathetic. This story deals with topics that my friends and I are now contending--namely having children, settling into our careers, and buying homes.

De Los Santos earned her PhD in literature and creative writing. Her poetry background, she has won several awards for her poetry, has translated beautifully making her book amazingly lyrical. While reading you are going to want to re-read and savor many of her phrases.

In a video interview, De Los Santos revealed that she likes to write characters who are more courageous than she is. She went on to explain that the Cornelia Brown, the protagonist of Belong To Me, makes a decision at the end of the book that she, Marissa, didn't know if she could make were she faced with the same circumstance. You will find no white knights slaying dragons in this book. Instead the courage needed is in the emotional realm. Ever since, I too have wanted to write characters who are more courageous than I am.

Love Walked In is actually De Los Santos's first book featuring Cornelia Brown. But have no fear, dear reader, you do not need to read them in order. Both books can be read separately.

I don't want to oversell this book, because I don't want you to have too high expectations. So I am going to end my review now. You can find the first chapter of Belong to Me here.

It has a pretty cover

is the best thing that I can say about Lev Grossman's The Magicians, a book that is being touted as "Harry Potter for grownups" imbuing the genre with sex and grittiness.

Have you ever enjoyed reading a book so much that wished to live in that magical world? I sure have. After reading the Fillory books for years, Quentin Coldwater, the whining apathetic protagonist of Grossman's book, stumbles onto the college campus of a magical world. Sounds fun, huh? Well, it isn't.

I found the Magicians to be, dear god, so slow and BORING. A friend of mine recommended this book to me and I really wanted to like it, but ultimately did not. (Sorry, K. I am currently reading and thoroughly enjoying The Ethics of What We Eat. So, maybe we should just stick to nonfiction.) The language is both lackluster and dragging. There was zero entertainment. I didn't care enough to finish it.

The very derivative plot gave nods to Narnia, Harry Potter, and Tolkien. Maybe the reason I didn't like the book was because it is a satire of the whole science fiction genre. He reminded me of Francine Prose another writer that the critics seem to enjoy, but whom I find grating. :(

Oh! I thought of another positive aspect of The Magicians. Grossman's take on magic is somewhat interesting and more believable than Rowling's, but it doesn't sustain the book (at all).

If you are looking for "Harry Potter for grownups" stick with Jim Butcher's "Dresden Files." They are actually fun and enjoyable, both of which are missing from this book.

Off the Ocean Floor and Into Outer Space

Blindsight by Peter Watts

After thousands of tiny satellites bombard Earth's atmosphere in a flash of light, a small team is sent to make first contact. But this team is unlike any I have read before--a linguist with multiple personality disorder, a pacifist soldier, a vampire captain, and a lobotomized Synthesist protagonist.

My review: A favorite pastime while working in the information desk at Barnes and Noble is to see if your favorite authors are coming out with anything new. I was delighted to find out that Peter Watts the author of one of my favorite spooky series (Starfish, Maelstrom, and Behemoth I & II) was coming out with a new book. AND it featured a vampire.

I very, very rarely re-read anything. Once you have experienced a story line once what's the point of revisiting it? I have read this book three times and quite frankly love it.

Watts deftly explores consciousness, sentience, and intelligence in this hard science fiction novel. Watts has a PhD in marine biology and his background serves him well. He also has an interesting take on vampires. Watts has a PhD in marine biology and his background serves him well.

PW's book is philosophical and dense, but you don't have to be to read it. Before or while reading Blindsight, it would behoove you to be familiar with consciousness studies, Thomas Nagel's article "What is it Like to be a Bat?" and the p-zombie.

Many of the negative reviews on amazon mention that the protagonist is inaccessible and that they can't relate to protagonist, but you aren't supposed to. that's the genius of the book. not all protagonists are likable. Did you like Rodion Raskolnikov? Huh? Did you? No! Of course not. And you weren't meant to enjoy him and yet C&P rocks.

I also enjoy following Peter Watt's blog as well. You can find it here .

aha! Comments are activated now!

I wasn't able to leave a comment, so I switched them to a pop up window. Hope that helps anyone else who thought their computer just wasn't interested in my say...

a book I put down and din't pick back up...

I really love Charlie Huston, his mystery and fantasy books have never disappointed before, but Sleepless didn't hold onto my attention. It's an apocalyptic story about an insomnia pandemic that involves gaming (cause no one sleeps, they just stay up playing), drug companies and police. I don't think it's the story's fault that I zoned out... it's well written. I feel like a kid who tried to hang out with the older, cooler kids but was totally in over my head.

Coming this Tues...

Yeah! Christopher Moore, wacky but gifted writer, comes out with Bite Me, his third novel of the undead this Tues. Looking forward to it, knowing he loves poking fun at pop culture, so, Mrs. Meyer, gird your loins! ;)

His first in this series was Blood Sucking Fiends, my favorite part was the practice of Turkey Bowling... what late night grocery personnel do on the freshly waxed aisles.

He recycles characters, too, so if you've read his other stories you'll recognize characters.

Others by him I really liked...

• Fool (retelling of King Lear)
• Lamb, the gospel of Biff, Christ's childhood friend
• A Dirty Job (about the Grim Reaper)
• and Fluke (too weird to sum up!)
  

Next book...

Another urban fantasy to feed the habit...

I do like that Rob Thurman wrote as a guy, but she's a she (Robyn). Her main characters are 2 brothers that watch out for each other, and very little romancing on either's parts... they're too busy trying to stay alive. I appreciate that in a fantasy.

Her take on elves is great, they're just the meanest, cruelest, bad asses that no one else wants to even come within a hundred miles of... and her main character is half elvish (Cal... short for Caliban).

She's a really good storyteller, I feel much less guilty recommending her series (Nightlife is the first).

Book that I just "snorted"

Ok, some books I read... some books I devour... then there are the books I snort in lines on a disco mirror with a rolled up hundred dollar bill.

These are not the best books for my mind and soul, but I'm addicted to them. And like most recreational drug users, I have preferred poisons.

Karen Chance is pretty much in the opiate family.

Her world is like Harry Potter after hours: mages, vampires, and fey all knocking around modern time among nonsuspecting muggles. This series focuses on a dhampire who moonlights as a vampire assassin and bounty hunter (her MO is to take the head of a vampire in for questioning... just the head, mind you). She also has fun psychotic episodes where she kills everything in sight whether she meant to or not. And she smokes pot. What's not to love?!

Her other series focuses on a time traveling character and her relationship with a vampire, and that's probably my fave series still, but Dorina is fun... Very droll sense of humor and I love fight scenes and she gets into more of them.

What I just Read...

I finally got back to some good ole "hard" sci fi... unfiltered and not a damn vampire in sight!

I've read Kay Kenyon before, and frankly wasn't blown away. In my former sci fi book club we read one of hers and it was kinda "Days of our Lives" but on another planet.

This book kicked ass! It's build up at the end had me reading standing up, cause I was all, "Oh, no.... Oh, noooooooooo you don't, you didn't! You DID!"

It's set in the future (shocker), about scientist that stumble on an adjacent universe ruled by long lived alien and humanoid beings where the sky is a sea of light they call "the Bright" and it's their energy source and travel network... pretty impressive world building on the author's part.

The story telling was superb with snatches of memories and foreshadowing, and interesting alien beings, not all of whom are humanoid or even biped.

It's a series and I ordered the next two and a fourth book came out this year in hardback. Very eager to keep reading.

What I'm reading now...

Oh. My. Jupiter. This book is so freaking good. It's hysterical! Imagine if all the gods were scrambling around today on facebook and twitter trying to get followers! It's like Neil Gaiman's American Gods but with a whole lot more laughs - and it's very smart.

I read Monster by Martnez, too, and was impressed. That book's about a sort of preternatural exterminator, but his writing is very circular and pretty complex despite the hilarity.

This is a hardback, no biggie for someone who can book loan it from work, but I like it so much at this point, it just may have to be mine.

Jeff Jones, see if Kendel can get it, at first glance I wasn't sure.

Testing... testing!

Hey, if you're checking out the email you were sent, it's to be an "author" here and recommend books that you like and think are worth a damn... I mean "blog" (I will email you later to explain!)