Reading in Spring

Winter is finally over -- at least, I haven't had to wear my heavy coat in about a week. People are outside in abundance (some in shorts already, which is really too much). That isn't saying much because people are always out in New York.

Mostly, I've been working. One of the most common questions that comes up 'round the shampoo bowl is, "Do you live around here?" For the clients, that answer is almost always "Yes." Who wants to travel way out of their way to get their hair done? (answer: "no one")

What about me? I must work near where I live, right? "No, I live in Queens."
"Oh. Oh! Wow. How long does it take you to get here?"
With that answer, I've become a curiosity. It's not like I still live in Philadelphia and trying to make that daily commute like I did in cosmetology school (not recommended). I'm in a nearby borough on the subway line.

"So wow, if it takes you an hour to get here... that's a long time!"
"True dat, but I divert the time I could spend staring at the person taking up two seats in front of me into reading, so it's not so bad."

And sometimes I can squeeze in a reference to whatever I'm writing, and then the haircut is done. With a promise to "definitely look you up on Amazon," they walk out the door and I get not a single sale. But whatever.

What have I been reading on said subway, you ask?

"All blank and no blank makes blank a blank blank."

I totally loved The Shining, but didn't have to put it in the freezer at any point.

I didn't think 3 characters alone in a hotel was going to be so rich. And because I knew the story already (who doesn't these days?), I didn't think it would be so scary. On both counts: it was.

Bonus: Jack never says "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy," among other things the movie made famous. The difference between books and movies is definitely something I'll tackle another time.

Quiet (The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking) by Susan Cain

My dad bought me and my sister this book for Christmas. The plan was for the three of us to read it and discuss in a kind of long-distance book club (we all live in separate cities). 

I was excited to read this book. Being an introvert is not something I always had a name for, and I've struggled with it my whole life. Wanting to be out with people, but never for very long, getting flustered and frustrated with too much information, etc.

This book helps to outline some of what introversion is and isn't. Why it's not bad to be an introvert (even though most companies and people in the United States want you to be bubbly and open), and ways you can pretend to be an extrovert (at work, for example), and then recharge yourself so you don't go on a killing spree (or whatever people do when they've had too much).

This book could have been shorter. Some of the information is repetitive, and quite frankly, not interesting. But for the things I learned, this book is valuable.

Night Slashers by Rashad Freeman
This review is based on a free copy provided for an honest review.

Daniel Montague has a secret. 

A secret so dark, so disturbing that he’s pushed it to the back of his psyche and moved on. Unfortunately for him, it’s itching to find the light.

This book started strong from the first page. The writing was fluid, the plot engaging. This book wasn't overly long, but still felt like a novel (which I love). And while the plot held up throughout, I felt like the book could have used a thorough edit/proofread, especially for punctuation. Then again, I've been editing my own book recently, so my brain's still in nit-picky mode.

This novel is suspenseful, often employing the "cliffhanger" chapter ending, which I've enjoyed since my Nancy Drew days. Many was the time I'd be near my subway stop, end a chapter, and calculate how much more I could read before absolutely having to put it down. I'm also happy to say that while I thought I'd had the ending figured out halfway through, the author totally surprised me at the end. Still thinking about that ending and deciding whether I liked it or not, which is difficult to do. Rashad Freeman has other books available.

2013 in books

The past few years I've done a "year in review" post focusing on things I'd done that year. Turns out, nobody but me cares what I've been up to in a year, so how about something you guys can get behind? Yes? Yes.

What book has everyone been talking about? Gone Girl. I read it. It's difficult to give a review of this book without giving away any surprises (and there are lots). Two voices in this book: Nick and Amy. They're both so different from each other, so flawed, so real. I haven't been this jealous of another writer's style in a long time.


Another author I admire is Stephen King. Everybody knows this. Pet Sematary surprised me. I thought the old man's arthritic wife was going to be evil. I thought something worse was going to happen with the cat. I thought the dad would wise up at the end and not bring the absolute horror that happened. I mean, honestly, I thought a dead cat was going to be the worst thing (not really a spoiler if you've read the title of the book...). Solid all the way through.

The Internet is a Playground is a compilation of emails from http://www.27bslash6.com/. If you've ever wanted to send 100% snarky emails to people who annoy you, this book will hit the spot.

I'm surprised I didn't review Habibi before now. When I read it, the artwork stunned me. The story was heartbreaking up until the very, very last word. I loved Craig Thompson's other book, Blankets, and marveled then at how he tackled the subject of Christianity while being respectful. In Habibi, he added Islam to the mix, comparing some  stories from the Koran and the Old Testament (some of which are similar), and asks which story is true (for example, in Christianity/Judaism, Abraham takes Isaac to be sacrificed, in Islam, Abraham takes Ishmael). To Thompson's credit, he never sides with either story, but leaves the question with the reader.


Another graphic novel I enjoyed was Daytripper. As you can probably tell by now, I'm not much into the superhero genre when it comes to graphic novels. I choose the ones I do because of the beautiful artwork and the way those pictures combine to heighten the emotion of the story. This book was absolutely no different -- and with a plot that deals mostly with death, the combo was brilliant.

Chapter One...

There's nothing like a trip to Paris to derail your blog updates, right?

Me totally behaving myself at the Louvre

Also, the pink hair's gone now. Some things are awesome for a little while, and then it's okay to go back to something that doesn't make people double-take.

First things first: I finished Exchange in Eichstätt (Kat Shergill Mystery 2). While I'm polishing up the last bit of editing, you can enjoy the first chapter here: (click). You're more than welcome to send comments/concerns before the whole thing goes live.

Also, I finished a few books (reading), and I have some thoughts.

The Stranger -- Kyra Davis
This is a trilogy, of which I've only read the first 2 parts. With part 3 now available, I ought to get on that.
So, this is erotica. I struggled through Fifty Shades of Gray (shouldn't say that... I didn't get through it because of all the cringing), and thought there had to be something better than this if I wanted to read a sexy story. Since I'm a fan of Kyra Davis' mystery books, I got right on board.
The good news: it's better than 50 Shades. The bad news: the story deals with domination. Instead of feeling sexy, sometimes I just wanted to not be around the male protagonist. Oh really? You'll allow me to do this? You want me to ask you specifically for X sexy favor? You've got a special acceptable behavior for me? How about you go **** yourself?
Granted, this specific area is touchy for me and is not the fault of the author.

The Hunger Games -- Suzanne Collins
I stayed away from this trilogy because it's YA. I'm not a teenager, so I didn't think it would be for me. I was wrong, and I'm okay with that. The characters were real and relatable, and the suspense/drama/danger stayed tight throughout. At the end, I felt drained and sad, and I wanted to pick up the first book again immediately and re-read the whole thing.

I Can Barely Take Care of Myself -- Jen Kirkman
If you're a person who wants children, you won't enjoy this book. On the other hand, I can't imagine my life WITH one, and can't understand why it's so important for other people. Reading this book was one big, "Yeah! I agree with you!" fest. Also, all these "don't ruin your life with a pregnancy" ads have done nothing to change my mind.

Thanks, terrifying ad on the subway! I will never be letting any babies in my house.

Okay, back to something that's not so scary. Stephen King.

Misery -- Stephen King
Now, I've got to say, I love me some Stephen King, and I've probably already gone off about it at length. I'm much happier, though, when he stays away from creatures and focuses on the evils that live in people's hearts. That's the stuff that's really scary ... something unassuming (an ex-nurse, for example), but hiding something disturbing.
The fun thing about reading a horror novel is that sometimes you're reading along, all suspensed-up, and then something gruesome happens (like the person's head comes off). I get the book away from me and shut my eyes. But this isn't like a scary movie: the pictures are in my head, and they stay there. So I open my eyes and check out the ads in the subway...

OH MY GOD!!!!!!

The fun thing about Misery was that it was about a writer with a crazy fan. Maybe I'll never crash my car and be nursed back to health by my "umber whuun fayunn", but the way King describes writing is exactly how I feel about it. "Falling into the hole in the paper"... very accurate (also for reading). And I'll bet if my freedom was contingent on me leaving the one and only copy of my novel behind, I might not leave either (not really a spoiler). 

Reading of Biblical Proportions

One thing the hurricane had me doing a lot of was reading. (I've also been trying to write a lot, but as you can see from my word count widget, that's not going as well as I'd hoped.)

I've had a copy of the graphic novel Blankets for a while now, and haven't gotten around to reading it. The reviews I've seen says it's charming and touching, and the artwork I'd seen while flipping through was quite nice. When I started reading, though I wasn't quite prepared for some of the subject matter in the story -- nothing bad or shocking, but ... actually, it did shock me.

The author dealt with Christianity in a non-offensive, non-"Christian Fiction" way, which is almost impossible to find. The characters went to church, to church camp, read the Bible, had some sex, talked about divorce, frolicked in the snow, had sibling rivalry, struggled with everyday things ... all with equal importance. When the main character found himself gravitating away from the "church experience" of Christianity, he still held onto some of the core beliefs, treated everything with reverence and respect.

Honestly, near the beginning of the book, with the first mentions of "church", I found myself dreading yet another God-bashing, and that I would feel more alone than I already do in my faith (being a Christian in NY is not the easiest thing I've ever done). Instead, the book dealt with some of the same issues I have -- that I don't necessarily want to sing the simple praise songs with groups of people, I don't necessarily want to shun art schools and ignore real things that happen in the name of being a "Good Christian". Part of being a Christian is dealing with some ugly things that happen every day, but still holding onto something good that sets you apart from others. 

Another book that was vastly different from Blankets was The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible. I expected not to like this one either, because I thought he was going to make fun of the Bible as being the most ridiculous thing one could ever follow. Thankfully, I was wrong. The author focused mostly on the Jewish laws and rules. When he got to the New Testament and struggled with accepting Jesus as God, he did it respectfully, and I appreciated that.

At the end of his year-long experiment, he didn't come out of it as a convert, but as a "reverent agnostic". He appreciated that prayer was sacred, as were people's beliefs. Sometimes all we ask for is not to be bullied.

The other books I've read recently are lighter material (you're welcome). One was I Suck at Girls by Justin Halpern (of Shit my Dad Says fame), and another was 

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling. Both were light and entertaining, though I enjoyed Mindy's book better, not necessarily because she and I share experiences (we don't, really), but it seems like she's a person I would like to hang out with. Inevitably, we'd probably both get the feeling the other was doing stuff without them.

Justin Halpern's book dragged a little, but was mostly entertaining since he really does seem to suck at girls and it's fun to laugh at someone else. His dad was also a prominent character, which is always a treat. This book was much more cohesive than his previous bestseller -- which I started, but never finished.

Currently reading Four Past Midnight by Stephen King. Haven't yet finished the first story, Secret Window, Secret Garden (which had been adapted to Secret Window, starring Johnny Depp). It's a lovely piece of fiction that's getting me through my daily commute with as little fuss as possible. And really, what's better than picturing Johnny Depp as the main character?

Coulrophobia

Before I can start reading a new book, I have to digest this one.

Took me almost a complete month to read IT by Stephen King because it's over 1000 pages. Haven't been able to get through many books that long, but this one I did (mostly).

You might wonder why a person would want to escape a disappointing reality with a horror novel -- I came up with this explanation: even though I wasn't thinking, "I'm glad my life isn't like this!", the story engrossed me to a point where I was no longer thinking about my real life. This is one reason it annoyed me so much that I needed to skim certain areas of the book.

While King is great at painting a gruesome, graphic picture, he also goes into great characterization details and tangents -- most of which are good, but some of which drag and leave you wishing someone would get his head pulled off. So when the kids started doing their stupid, everyday kid things, I'd think, "I sure don't need to have anything to do with this ..." and got the gist of it instead of savoring every word (I'm sorry!).

There were times while I was reading on the subway that something so shocking would happen in the book that I'd physically react, which attracted the stares of others. Mostly I was cool. Didn't miss any stops, but came awfully close. My hour and a half commute went by like nothing.

So while I can recommend this book and I enjoyed it a lot, on a scale of 1-5, I'd have to give it a 3 because of all the skimming. If IT were a fraction of the length, the story would have been perfect.

Reading on the Subway, Balloons, and Being Mean to Characters

My commute every day is roughly an hour and a half each way, which gives me plenty of time to catch up on some reading now that things have settled down. The subway is a great place to detach because who wants to focus on the weird person falling asleep on your shoulder, or listen to the gum-popper or crying baby? Earbuds. Book. Keep your belongings in sight, and have a great day.


I started reading IT by Stephen King because I have a strange fear of clowns stemming back to an episode of Matlock I saw when I was a kid (don't even ask). Anyway, unlike wasps or dentists, I don't come in contact with clowns hardly at all, so I figured reading a horror story about one wouldn't be a huge deal. Thankfully, I was right.

I'm not done with the story yet, so it might get bad really quickly, but for now, I'm enjoying the characterization interspersed with terrifying, violent scenes involving a shape-shifting clown and his multitude of balloons (don't even get me started on balloons!)



Long story short (hah!) this book has given me some great ideas of where to take my current work in progress, Awake. Of course, I won't be copying anything Mr. King has done, but I'll be learning much more about my characters and giving them a lot more background. Because when you care about a character (a lot), it's ten times worse when the author does something horrible to them.