Sunday, April 10, 2011

Sandman, Preludes and Nocturnes, Neil Gaiman


The Sandman was one of my first graphic novels and reading this a second time around does not fail me. There's a little horror, maybe a little sci fi and definitely a little fantasy. Neil Gaiman knows and enjoys his craft and introduced me to a new genre like I'd never been interested in before.


As well as the writing, I enjoyed the graphics and enjoy the mixture of artists involved, I believe some of these are introduced in other volumes. I love Gaimen's definitions of the character Dream and the introduction of Dream's sister, Death.


Please read this, especially if you aren't into graphic novels or this fanstasy/ sci fi/ horror genre. You may find yourself a changed person.

Underboss, Sammy the Bull Gravano's Story of life in the Mafia, Peter Maas


This was JUST LIKE any mafia or mob story I have ever read or see on the screen. I suspect all the best have read this as research material.


I have wanted to read this since it first came out but it wasn't high on my lists, just one of those that I was always drawn to. It didn't disappoint me at all, but it really was just like a lot that I have seen.


There's also this element of braggadocio, Sammy is the best at everything he did & was the most loyal and honest, more than anyone else ever could be. It gets a bit thick if you've already heard about his double foot jump back into crime. It's hard to believe his wife divorced him & didn't know anything about his work life when you know she was arrested with him after being in the witness protection program, leaving it & getting back into crime.


At any rate, it was a good, fun read. Probably polished up a bit as well as exaggerated a little bit. It's obvious that The Sopranos writer had read this at some point since stories from the Sopranos seemed to come directly from stories in this novel.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl


Woooo, dude really must have been on drugs and thank goodness for it! I love love love the 1971 Gene Wilder movie version of this, the 2005 Johnny Depp version was pretty good, too. I'm just very partial to the 1971 version with all it's scary creepiness. The book was just like the first novel with a little of the second thrown in.


Just like with James & the Giant Peach I have refound my love for this author. I don't think I ever completed this when I was a child. I am glad I've read this even after multiple times of watching the movies.

What is the What, Dave Eggers


Wow, my friend talked Dave Eggers up, big. I think he is her favorite author. So when she brought this book as her choice for our bookclub I was excited.


Very early on I found myself having trouble with the novel, very early on. I never finished it. I thought it was because I was under a lot of stress & completely overwhelmed with sleep training my two year old and increased pressure at work. It turns out that I wasn't the only one who had trouble, I think maybe two of the 7 of us in the bookclub did finish it. And I'm being generous because I don't really remember who finished it or who didn't. I think the general consensus was that it was very heavy & there was some confusion about why a foreigner would take so much crap after all the crap he's taken in his life.


I would like to get back to this one one day.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Love is a Mix Tape, Rob Sheffield


I though this novel would be a lot of fun, reminding me of my youthful mix tapes and the memories that go with them. I was disappointed & had trouble getting through this book. It was a very moving story of a young man who had lost his young wife way too young.


I didn't finish it but I have to admit that I didn't give it much chance. I had expectations for it that were completely different from the reality and these expectations kept me from enjoying this on any level.


If anyone else gives this a chance I would love a comment.

All Together Dead, Charlaine Harris


Ah, another Sookie Stackhouse novel. This girl gets in so much trouble & all in such a short amount of time, I am glad I'm not her! As in other novels, Sookie has ingratiated herself with the mostie biggies in the world of vampire's, I guess because she's just so charming. I sound a little peevish about it but if you've read any of these reading blogs you will see that I have a love/hate relationship with Sookie. Relating to a conversation I had with my friend T a year or so ago, I wonder how much of it has to do with Anna Paquin playing Sookie in the HBO series TrueBlood. The more I read these fun novels the more I question that conversation because they get on my nerves a little bit but I keep reading the darn things.


So in this novel Sookie is asked (forced?) to come to a vampire summit to defend the Queen of Louisiana for the accusation of murder brought against her. She gets into a ton of trouble in her love life as well as other ways. In the end many vampires are dead, Sookie saves a bunch of their lives & she stumbles off into the sunset.


I expect the vampires are going to owe her, big, & am anticipating the next novel already. Love/hate I'm telling you.