A Review of 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?: Dust to Dust, Book 1" by Chris Roberson

"The hunt is on.

New York Times bestselling author Chris Roberson (Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love, iZombie, Stan Lee's Starborn) write the prequel to legendary sci-fi author Philip K. Disk's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?," this inspiration for Blade Runner and one of the greatest science fiction novels ever published!

Who hunted androids before Rick Deckard?  Just two men: Malcolm Reed, the only "special" human with the ability to discern man from machine, and Charlie Victor, who, because of his past, is the perfect man for the job... Or is he?  Journey through a world returning from the brink of destruction as Malcolm and Charlie hunt down six rogue androids that need to be 'retired.'"

I think that I'm developing a taste for graphic novels.  I'm slowly getting used to reading them.  You'd think they'd be easier to read because there are pictures whereas a traditional novel is a wall of text, but it's actually very different.  You need to take in the dialogue and the visuals all at the same time.  In this way, it's kind of like reading a movie.

I haven't read Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? just yet (although I currently have it in my possession, ready to read as soon as Pride and Prejudice stops kicking my butt).  But this is the prequel to that series.  This book and the next prequel book do a wonderful job of setting up the world of Blade Runner/Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? which is a dark and frankly frightening place.

In my World Englishes topics class, we've been talking about the caste system in India (since it is still fairly prevalent outside of the big cities) and this world sort of reminds me of that.  It's different in that the androids aren't forbidden from touching sacred works and they have good jobs, but I can't help but think of the fact that they resemble Untouchables or Dalits because they are treated as outsiders and if they do something they're not supposed to do (such as rebel, as they are doing in the two prequel books) they are killed or "retired."  Perhaps this connection is a stretch...

This particular graphic novel is mainly character driven.  You're compelled to figure out what's going on and how the characters fit into this situation, but as far as plot, there isn't a lot that happens.  Regardless, this was still a very interesting read.  It made me want to pick up the second book right away, which I did (but that's for another review).

This book is good if you're interested in reading Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? because it sets you up quite nicely and draws you into this dark and devastating world.  I think this would also make a great book for a philosophy course as it asks the question, "What does it mean to be human?"

I give Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?: Dust to Dust, Book 1:

Thanks for Reading!

--Jude

A Review of 'Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk' by David Sedaris

"If animals were more like us,
if mice kept pets and toads could cuss,
if dogs had wives and chipmunks dated,
sheep sat still and meditated,
then in the forest, field, and dairy
you might find this bestiary,
read by storks, by rats and kitties,
skimmed by cows with milk-stained titties.
"I found the book to be most droll,"
might quip the bear, the owl, the mole.  
Others, though, would be more coarse. 
"Bull," could sat the pig and the horse.
As to the scribe, they'd quote the hen:
"Trust me, he's no La Fontaine."

While perusing my local Half Price Books, I stumbled upon this gem.  I have no prior experience with the writing of David Sedaris, but after reading "Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk" I'm definitely going to look into more of his books.

This is a book of short stories.  Each short story is about an animal in some kind of situation with associate with being human.  Chipmunks and squirrels go on uncomfortable dates, a dog is married to and cheats on a curmudgeon of a wife, an owl mourns the loss of the mate she was supposed to spend the rest of her life with... the list goes on and on.

Besides the fact that these stories are completely relate-able, I found them to be quite witty and charming.  I haven't read a book that made me giggle out loud for a really long time, so this was a treat!  Plus, the illustrations are interesting (and sometimes disturbing).  It sort of feels like this book was made for me-- it's wonderful!

I would recommend this book to anyone who has trouble getting into short stories or to someone who is looking for a good laugh.

I give 'Squirrel Meets Chipmunk':

Thanks for Reading!

--Jude

A Review of 'Across the Universe' by Beth Revis (Audio Book)

"A love out of time.  A spaceship built of secrets and murder.

Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future.  Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.

Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction.  Someone-- one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship-- tried to kill her.  And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next.

Now Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's secrets.  But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming."

After hearing mixed reviews and not really being drawn in by the synopsis, I finally cracked and I borrowed this audio book from my digital library (by the way, my digital library is a life-saver, as are audio books.  I'm not sure if I've mentioned that before).

I liked that there were two people playing Elder and Amy.  It felt more like a performance that way (as opposed to just a book that was being read).  I will say that I liked the voice actor for Elder better, however.  Amy's voice was dreamy and for her cryogenicly frozen state, I think that worked, but then she didn't seem to have very many other tones.  Elder was much more interesting to hear, mostly because he's so involved in the world and Amy is so unfamiliar with it.  I find it more exciting to experience what Amy could be experiencing than to be told by Amy what it's like to go through what she's going through.  Basically, as a reader, I like not knowing and having a chance to discover this world that is so unlike my own.  I like having a chance to figure out what's going on.  With Amy around, that experience is taken away from me.

This is a very plot-driven book, but unfortunately, the book moves at too slow of a pace.  The characters are discovering things at different times and experiencing things that the other isn't, but the book still felt very slow... I haven't read the other books in this trilogy, nor have I started them, but I bet you could fit at least one of those books into this one.  I feel obligated to finish the series now, so perhaps I'll begin reading and it'll pick up pace and it'll be clear why three books are necessary.

The cover, on the other hand, is beautiful.  That's what drew me in in the first place, I think. 

Overall, this book is good if you need your hand to be held throughout the book, but it's also good if you want an intriguing futuristic read.

I give 'Across the Universe':

Thanks for Reading!

--Jude

A Review of 'A Monster Calls' by Patrick Ness (Audio Book)

"The monster showed up after midnight.  As they do.

But it isn't the monster Conor's been expecting.  He's been expecting the one from his nightmare, the one he's had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming...

This monster is something different, though.  Something ancient, something wild.  And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor.

It wants the truth."

After finishing this book, I started thinking about a boy and his father.  Cameron and his father Henry.  Cameron had a type of cancer called Anaplastic Astrocytoma.  Put simply, he had a malignant brain tumor.  I didn't know Cameron personally, nor did I know his father, but my mom was in one of his father's productions through her work.  When she found out about his son, she told me and I started following his CaringBridge website from essentially the beginning.  I read about his ups and his downs, I read about the different things he did in his short lifetime and how he truly wanted to make a difference in the world.  In the few weeks leading up to his death, I remember his father posting on the CaringBridge website about how he told Cameron that is was okay to let go.  He was giving his son permission to die, to leave his weary body and move on.

This story, "A Monster Calls," is about a boy and his mother.  Instead of the boy, Conor, having cancer, it's his mother who has a type of cancer that is never specifically revealed to us.  I think Conor was thirteen, as Cameron was when he passed away.

This book is about letting go, even if you don't want to.  It certainly doesn't seem like that is what it'll be about when you start reading/listening to this book, but it becomes clearer as you keep listening.

'A Monster Calls' is wonderfully written.  Patrick Ness did a wonderful job using the details left behind by Siobhan Dowd and weaving them into this story.  I look forward to reading more of his work as well as Siobhan's work.

I give 'A Monster Calls':

Thanks for Reading!

--Jude

A Review of 'Saint Maybe' by Anne Tyler

"In 1965, the happy Bedloe family is living an ideal, apple-pie existence in Baltimore.  Then, in the blink of an eye, a single tragic event occurs that will transform their lives forever-- particularly that of seventeen-year-old Ian Bedloe, the youngest son, who blames himself for the sudden "accidental" death of his older brother.

Depressed and depleted, Ian is almost crushed under the weight of an unbearable, secret guilt.  Then one crisp January evening, he catches sight of a window with glowing yellow neon, the Church of the Second Chance.  He enters and soon discovers that forgiveness must be earned, through a bit of sacrifice and a lot of love...."

This is one of the books I'll be reading for my Philosophic Themes in Literature class this coming semester.  This is one book that I particularly look forward to discussing and dissecting.

'Saint Maybe' turned out to be very different than I anticipated.  It turned out to be more about religion and family than I thought.  Initially, it seemed more like a mystery, where Ian and his family would have to unravel the strangeness of Lucy's family history and life.  I wasn't sure where the Church of the Second Chance would come into play or how strong of a role it would take on.

This book really frustrated me.  I hated how much Ian relied on this church that he stumbled upon.  I hated how, on the first night he visited he told his story and took Emmett's advice to care for the children whose parents he may have caused to kill themselves.  This is something I can't hope to understand, but this is something that I feel like Emmett should not have advised Ian on.  Instead of going to college and getting himself an education in order to better his life and the lives of his family, he dropped out and started taking care of his nieces and nephew.  All to atone for something he probably didn't do.  To get God's forgiveness.  It would be very admirable if Ian had made this decision on his own, but it felt like he was doing it because he had to and because someone who was acting as the voice of God told him to and that's not admirable at all.  Not to me.

Another thing that I didn't like but really need to learn to accept is how "in your face" (sort of) Ian is about his beliefs.  I didn't like that he went from not really believing much of anything to suddenly being gung-ho about his new-found religion.  That's fine, I know it happens, but it makes me worry because it feels like he's walking into religion blind.  In order to make this feel less strange, I feel like this transition should have lasted a while, gradually getting to the point that it was.  That would have been more comfortable and I would have felt better about Ian's beliefs.  It would have felt like he actually believed them, rather than being told by someone that this was actually a thing.

You might be able to tell that religion is a very touch-and-go subject with me.  Feel free to start a debate and tell me how wrong I am in the comments.

I do really like this book though because I have formed such a strong connection and I can see that all of the characters are so strongly connected and very developed.  No one is alike and no character is "vanilla."  I also like the concept of the book, mostly because it evokes such a strong and sometime physical reaction within me.  Not very many books have that kind of power over me.  I remember feeling this way about "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button."  I was extremely angry at the characters in that book and I have a similar reaction (although not necessarily towards the characters) with this book.

This book is good for those who enjoy philosophic discussion, aren't afraid to talk about religion, and are looking for a very engaging read.

I give 'Saint Maybe':

1/2

Thanks for Reading!

--Jude

A Review of 'Beauty Queens' by Libba Bray (Audio Book)

"The fifty contestants in the Miss Teen Dream pageant thought this was going to be a fun trip to the beach, where they could parade in their state appropriate costumes and compete in front of the cameras.  But sadly, their airplane had another idea, crashing on a desert island and leaving the survivors stranded with little food, little water, and practically no eyeliner.

What's a beauty queen to do?  Continue to practice for the talent portion of the program-- or wrestle snakes to the ground?  Get a perfect tan-- or learn to run wild?  And what should happen when the sexy pirates show up?

Welcome to the heart of non-exfoliated darkness.  Your tour guide?  None other than Libba Bray, the hilarious, sensational, Printz Award-winning author of 'A Great and Terrible Beauty' and 'Going Bovine.'  The result is a novel that will make you laugh, make you think, and make you never see beauty the same way again."

'Beauty Queens' is awesome to listen to via audio book!  I loved that the author herself read the book!  I also loved that she took on different voices for each of the characters and there were even some sound effects, which was awesome!  A few times throughout the book, there are "commercial breaks" so while Libba is talking in a candy-sweet voice drenched in sarcasm, there is twinkly and fantastical music playing in the background of the advertisement.

This book is perfect for teenage girls, feminists... heck, everyone should read this!  There is so much to go through... with thirteen very different characters, there are so many things to cover.  One character is transgender, another is the only black girl in the pageant, another girl has an Indian family, but that's not what makes her so interesting.  There are themes of acceptance, consumerism, personal images, what it means to be beautiful, etc.  I would love to bring this into my (future) English class someday and create a curriculum around it because there's so much to talk about!

As I sort of implied before, this book is for all audiences, I think.  It's not just about a pageant, which I thought most of the book was going to be about.  There's parts about survival, spy missions, a threat to overthrow the plot... if you're a fan of 'Lord of the Flies' and to some extent '1984,' (at least the concept of being watched), this will help ease the fact that this book is about a pageant and beauty queens.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I plan to acquire it for my own shelf so that I can carry out my plan of teaching this someday (along with 'The Fault in Our Stars,' which I have begun reading again).

Since I have talked about who would like this book, I will skip right to the rating...

Overall, I give 'Beauty Queens':

Thanks for Reading!

--Jude

A Review of 'Bridget Jones's Diary' by Helen Fielding

"Meet Bridget Jones-- a 30-something Singleton who is certain she would have all of the answers if she could:

a. lose 7 pounds
b. stop smoking
c. develop Inner Poise

'123 lbs.  (how is it possible to put on 4 pounds in the middle of the night?  Could flesh have somehow solidified becoming denser and heavier?  Repulsive, horrifying notion), alcohol units 4 (excellent), cigarettes 21 (poor but will give up totally tomorrow), number of correct lottery numbers 2 (better, but nevertheless useless)...'

Bridget Jones's Diary is the devastatingly self-aware, laugh-out-loud daily chronicle of Bridget's permanent, doomed quest for self-improvement-- a year in which she resolves to: reduce the circumference of each thigh by 1.5 inches, visit the gym three times a week not just to buy a sandwich, form a functional relationship with a responsible adult, and learn to program the VCR.

Over the course of the year, Bridget loses a total of 72 pounds but gains a total of 74.  She remains, however, optimistic.  Through it all, Bridget will have you helpless with laughter, and-- like millions of readers the world round-- you'll find yourself shouting, 'Bridget Jones is me!'"

Where has this book been all my life?

This is one of the books that I will be reading for my Lit Theory class this next semester.  We'll be studying Pride and Prejudice and various other versions (so keep an eye out for more Pride and Prejudice-esque reviews!).

I love how real of a character Bridget was.  I was originally going to say that she was an honest character, because this is written in diary format (see title), but let's face it, real people aren't completely honest with themselves.  Not all the time, any way.  You can see that Bridget has created a version of herself while the other characters created their own versions of her.  Bridget was different with her friends than she was with those she worked with and with her family.  Bridget's a wonderfully round character who feels like she could be your slightly neurotic best friend.

One thing that I didn't like was that Bridget was upset that she didn't have a proper boyfriend.  I can understand that she was upset when the "first" guy (not the absolute first, but the man she worked with) was a jerk who treated her as a booty-call, essentially.  That's entirely unfair and very hurtful.  But then why keep, for lack of a better word, pining for him when he treated you as he did?  Perhaps this says something about the women of today.  Why do we "go after" someone whom we know is not good for us?  This part bothered me not because it wasn't real, but because it is.  It's something I don't understand.  Women need to realize that they're worth the wait and not try and settle for the first person who comes along.  Men should not control our lives.  We need to live for ourselves and if Mr./Ms. Right comes along, we take it in stride and live as happily as we possibly can.

Rant over.

This book is a wonderful page-turner.  It'll make you laugh, feel for Bridget, and force you to look in a mirror, even.  I highly recommend it to anyone!

I give 'Bridget Jones's Diary':

Thanks for Reading!

--Jude

A Review of 'V for Vendetta' by Alan Moore and David Lloyd

"A frightening and powerful tale of the loss of freedom and identity in a chillingly believable totalitarian world, V for Vendetta stands as one of the highest achievements of the comics medium and a defining work for creators Alan Moore and David Lloyd.

Set in an imagined future England that has given itself over to fascism, this groundbreaking story captures both the suffocating nature of life in an authoritarian police state and the redemptive power of the human spirit which revels against it.  Crafted with sterling clarity and intelligence, V for Vendetta brings an unequaled depth of characterization and verisimilitude to its unflinching account of oppression and resistance."

I've been meaning to read this for a while!  Since Watchmen made me so angry, I figured that I should give him another chance.  He really is adept at telling a killer story.

This time, instead of becoming angry, I don't really know what to feel.  'V for Vendetta' talks about a society that, instead of turning into the society that it is today, anarchy reigns.  So V begins telling Evey about anarchy and why we need it.  He explains it as the path to true freedom: no one to enforce rules, just the allowance to build the world that we want; destroying the old and creating new from the rubble that remains.  It's like society is a phoenix.

The most unsettling thought in this book, to me, is the separation of anarchy and chaos.  V explains that it is anarchy if there is no authority.  It is chaos when bad things happen because of this lack of authority.  I feel as though that isn't true.  If there isn't someone to set an example or at least to enforce the rules that have been created for this particular society, who's to stop those who want to push their freedom to its limits?  It seems that chaos is bound to follow once an anarchy is put into place.

Needless to say, I don't think anarchy is the answer for the world.  If change must be made (and there's quite a laundry list of change that needs to happen), we need to fight for it and draw attention to it.  Nothing will be fixed if we start anew.  Many of the same people will be there.  You can't erase hatreds that have existed for thousands of years, it will take a lot of time to recover from war and rebuild a crippled society...

But like I said, this book left me not really knowing what to think.  Alan Moore did have some good points... or interesting points, at least.  A lot of them are the same points I mentioned above.  This makes the book confusing and I don't know what to think.  In some situations, you can destroy something to create something new.  The image that came to mind almost immediately was a painting.  You start with a blank canvas and then you put a lot of time in it so that it looks like something.  But if you change your mind about what you want to paint or you hate what you've put a lot of effort into, you can paint over the painting to create something new.

It's a weak image...

With this same painting, you can work with what you have, working to make it better, changing it as you see fit.  And maybe that's better.  You waste less paint that way...

This is a book that I will need to read again sometime.  Now that I've had a first reading, maybe I'll get more out of this book.

Overall, this is a truly powerful book and it will take some time to work through your brain, I think.

I give 'V for Vendetta':

Thanks for Reading!

--Jude

A Review of 'Between Shades of Gray' by Ruta Sepetys (Audio Book)

"Lina is just like any other fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl in 1941.  She paints, she draws, she gets crushes on boys.  Until one night when Soviet officers barge into her home, tearing her family from the comfortable life they've known.  Separated from her father, forced onto a crowded and dirty train car, Lina, her mother, and her young brother slowly make their way north, crossing the Arctic Circle, to a work camp in the coldest reaches of Siberia.  Here they are forced under Stalin's order, to dig for beets and fight for their lives under the cruelest of conditions.

Lina finds solace in her art, meticulously-- and at great risk-- documenting events by drawing, hoping these messages will make their way to her father's prison camp to let him know they are still alive.  It is a long and harrowing journey, spanning years and covering 6,500 miles, but it is through incredible strength, love, and hope that Lina ultimately survives.  Between Shades of Gray is a novel that will steal your breath and capture your heart."

I think this is my first audio book of the year.  I'm not sure why I keep forgetting about this form of reading... it's rather convenient!  I've been listening to audio books while I work this summer while I've been working.  It's great!

This is probably one of the more interesting books I've read this summer.  It takes place in Lithuania and Siberia during World War II.  I like this book because instead of reading from the perspective of someone under Hitler's power (I've read many books like this), this is written from the perspective of someone under Stalin's control.  It's a side of the war that I'm not very familiar with and a side that often flies under the radar (especially when Hitler gets most of the attention).  I still don't really know what happened, but this book has inspired me to try and learn more.

One of the more extreme jolts that I had while reading this book was that it seemed like Lina and the other prisoners were relatively okay with Hitler invading Russia.  I was sitting in my bed thinking, "Hitler's bad too!!!"  I'm not sure what situation would be worse to be in... was Stalin worse than Hitler?  Where does Mussolini fall?  Does is matter enough to have varying degrees of awful?

One thing the author highlighted for me at the end of the audio book was that she tried to emphasize the positive moments in her book.  These people were being overworked and they were starving and slowly dying, but they had a decent number of potatoes for dinner at times.  Sometimes they met someone who was willing to help them (including some of the Russian people overworking them).

The recording was not my favorite.  I listened to the recording for long periods of time each time I sat down to listen.  Her voice just didn't sit well with me after a while.  I don't know if the characters became too whiny or if her voice was too breathy... I don't know what it is, but it didn't feel like it worked for me and it didn't feel like it worked for the characters in the story either.

This is really an interesting part of World War II and I intend to explore it further.  This book will be good for the history buffs and those who are looking for something a little darker to read.

I give 'Between Shades of Gray':

1/2

Thanks for Reading!

--Jude

A Review of 'Ginger Pye' by Eleanor Estes

"Meet the marcelous Pyes--

There is Mrs. Pye, the youngest mother in town; Mr. Pye, a famous bird man, who handles all the nation's important bird problems; Rachel Pye, who is so reasonable she can make unreasonable ideas sound like good ones; Jerry Pye, who know about rocks of all sorts and plans to grow up to be a rock man; Uncle Bennie, who is Jerry and Rachel's uncle-- even though he's only three years old.

Lastly is Ginger Pye, the "intellectual dog," who Jerry bought for a hard-earned dollar.  The most famous pup in all of Cranbury, Ginger knows tons of tricks, is as loyal as he is smart, and steals the hearts of everyone he meets... until someone steals him!"

This book has been on my shelf for ages and I have finally gotten around to reading it!

Ginger Pye has so many interesting anecdotes in it which makes this a lovely read.  I can't say that I was blown away by it, but there were a number of really adorable and funny parts that I will probably remember long after finishing this.  For example, when Ginger climbs the fire escape in an effort to find out where Jerry goes all day long, the perpendicular swimmer, dusting the pews...  They were small yet interesting details in the book that I just loved.

What I didn't like about this book was that everyone seemed so passive in their efforts to find Ginger after he went missing.  At first they had search parties, but then it got to a point where they'd just look a little bit if they were already going out.  When they went to knock on doors, they weren't very assertive at all.  When they were told to go away, they left.  They didn't ask questions.  Even if they had seen suspicious activity.

I guess I'm just disappointed that this book didn't have more action in it.  No chases, not a very dramatic find... I just wasn't blown away by that.

Overall, this book is good for elementary school kids and lovers of children's books and dogs.  Had I read this book when I was younger, I might have liked it a little more.

I give 'Ginger Pye':

Thanks for Reading!

--Jude

A Review of 'Lost in Austen: Create Your Own Jane Austen Adventure' by Emma Campbell Webster

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a young Austen heroine must be in want of a husband, and you are no exception.

Your name: Elizabeth Bennet.  Your misson: to marry both prudently and for love, avoiding family scandal.  How?  It's entirely up to the reader.

Lost in Austen: Create Your Own Jane Austen Adventure begins with Pride and Prejudice, but your decisions along the way will lead you into the plots of Austen's other works, and even newly imagined territory.  Choosing to walk home from Netherfield Hall means falling into Sense and Sensibility and the infatuating spell of Mr. Willoughby.  Accepting an invitation to Bath leads to Northanger Abbey and the beguiling Henry Tilney.  And just where will Emma's Mr. Knightly fit in the quest for a worthy husband?  It's all up to the reader.

Lost in Austen is a labyrinth of love and lies, scandals and scoundrels, misfortunes and marriages that will delight and challenge any Austen lover.  Will Elizabeth succeed in her mission?  It's all up to you."

This is one of the books I'm going to have to use for my Lit Theory class this coming semester.  We're studying Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and several variations of it (including Bridget Jones's Diary and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, both of which you'll see reviews on this blog, at some point). 

This was a fun book for me because, never having successfully finished a Jane Austen novel, I didn't feel compelled to follow the original plot of Pride and Prejudice.  And I didn't... when I reached the end of my adventure, I had gotten annoyed by a man of the cloth who was following me around throughout a party, left, "caused" him to follow me (malarkey), ran him over with my carriage (thus killing him), and being sent to prison, blamed for this man's death.  Needless to say, I did not achieve my goal of marrying prudently and for love.  Hmmm...

I liked the little comments written after certain paragraphs throughout the books.  They were so judgmental that I had to laugh!  It was also fun (yet a little frustrating) to keep track of points.  Unless I am specifically instructed to keep track of points when I read this again for my class, I probably won't do that.

This is a great book for the Jane Austen fan or even if you're just getting used to Jane Austen's style, as I am.  It's a great way to get your feet wet.

I give 'Lost in Austen':

Thanks for Reading!

--Jude

A Review of 'A Million Little Pieces' by James Frey

"At the age of 23, James Frey woke up on a plane to find his four front teeth knocked out, his nose broken, and a hole through his cheek.  He had no idea where the plane was headed nor any recollection of the past two weeks.  An alcoholic for ten years and a crack addict for three, he checked into a treatment facility shortly after landing.  There he was told he could either stop using or die before he reached age 24.  This is Frey's acclaimed account of his six weeks in rehab."

It took about a year and a half to start and finish this book, but I have finally done it.

It took me such a long time to finish this because of the content, mostly.  I have never cringed so much, been so uncomfortable, and yet been so on-board with the emotional roller coaster that James Frey takes his readers on.

The writing style was very interesting.  A lot of repetition, no quotation marks, but a lot of line breaks to make up for it and contribute to clarity.  This is essentially a 432-paged prose poem.  The writing style makes this a dense read as well as the content of the book.

Aside from style, this was such an amazing, inspiring, and in some ways a completely unbelievable read.  James was put into a six week rehab program and he ignored the rules a lot, didn't care for the twelve step AA program and made sure people knew, and just generally marched to the beat of his own drum.  Yet, he emerged from the program a completely changed guy.  Six weeks to go from F-up to roughly a put-back-together person.  It seems nearly impossible that that much change can happen in six weeks.

If you're looking for a book about a miraculous recovery, one that takes you through just about every step of recovery as he experiences it, this is a book for you.  Especially if you don't mind excessive swearing and little punctuation.

I give 'A Million Little Pieces':

Thanks for Reading!

--Jude

This Is What I've Been Working On This Summer...

This summer, I've been working on my college campus as a gardener.  It has been a wonderful experience and I really hope that I will be able to do this again next year.  My schedule is flexible, my boss is very understanding, and I've finally been able to take this section of sidewalk over as my area, so I am alone a lot of the time.  I am very fortunate to have such a job and to be surrounded by this much beauty.  

The area has really grown up since the first week of June, when I started (although everyone else started a week before me, but I decided to hang out with my fifth graders via chaperoning a field trip instead.  Totally worth it).  I decided that it was finally nice enough to share some pictures with you.

Enjoy!