Good morning!!!

Yayyyyy!  The semester is over which means that I'll be back in the world of books again!  Oh how I've missed the oblivion of a fantastically written tome!  I'm going to start off my weeks of freedom by delving back into Emperor of All Maladies which I just know is going to rock this first week of vacay.

Results soon!!

Long time no update!

Well, hello there!  I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in forever but it's been busy with school and such.  HOWEVER, I have finished Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach and declare it to be absolutely delightful and worth the read.  I must reiterate my earlier sentiments that if you can't handle detailed descriptions of gore and a wit that is very macabre you'd best stay away from this book.  If you're like me and really enjoy books that talk about really interesting and sometimes gross things then get to reading!

I'm now reading (completely for my own enjoyment I might add) Serial Killers & Mass Murderers: Profiles of the World's Most Barbaric Criminals by Nigel Cawthorne.  I'd like to blame my obsession on the tv show Criminal Minds for my interest in this read but that would be a lie.  The truth is that I've always loved true crime and all that is macabre so this book fairly leapt off of the shelf at me.  The title pretty much tells you exactly what you're in for when you read this book.  It discusses some of the most prolific serial killers and the heinous crimes that they committed.  Some of the criminals you'll find within its pages: The Boston Strangler, Ted Bundy, Doctor Death, etc.  Each chapter starts off with how many people were killed, the modus operandi (look at how fancy I am!), and if the killer was caught and since sentenced to death.  If you're interested in what makes up the mind of a killer then you'll probably like this book.  I have to be honest that I don't find it all that well written but the meat of the story is what I'm after so I can look past that for the most part.  I should be finished with this one fairly quickly and when I am I will be sure to let you all know my thoughts on it. :o)

Until next time, happy reading!!

PS It just so happened that I've been reading these rather ghastly books around the time of Halloween.  Sheer coincidence, I swear!

EDIT: Because I just can't help myself here's a booktrailer that I created for Stiff.

This junk is rough!

I've come across a snag.  I'm back in school for the fall semester and as I should have predicted I've been too busy to read for leisure.  Soooo I'm going to have to talk about the books I'm reading for class for a while.  Luckily, I now own Maladies so I will be able to get back to it. 

Alright, so I'm currently reading a young adult book entitled  Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach.  When you're in the business of reader's advisory you learn that young people (and boys in general) tend to like those books that are more gruesome and feature grotesque storylines.  This book delivers that along with some great potty humor.  If you don't have a strong stomach and aren't into jokes about the dead then I don't recommend you pick up this book.  I chose this book specifically for our assignment on creating booktrailers.  Booktrailers are created to entice potential readers to pick up and read books that you (as the librarian) particularly recommend.  I'm still in the process of reading the book so I'm not sure yet how I'm going to structure the trailer (although I know it's going to be full of humor).  I'll keep you all updated. :oD

Until then, hang tight and keep reading!

still here!

Just wanted to let you guys know that I'm still here!  This book I'm currently working on, The Emperor of All Maladies, is a beast (in an extremely good way) and I'm not done yet.  :o)  As soon as I've finished you can be sure that I'll let you all know what I think (I'm about 3/4 of the way through and it's fantastic thus far).

Stay tuned!

Seems like there's not enough hours in the day sometimes...

I just finished up Robopocalpyse and it was awesome (and terrifying).  The thought that machines could rise up against the human race and nearly obliterate us doesn't seem all that hard to believe.  It wasn't a particularly long or arduous read and I enjoyed it thoroughly.  The structure of the book reads like diary entries except they are told from the point of view of various Robs (robots).  The descriptive prose made the story come alive and had me practially blowing through the pages.

After that fun read I decided to head down a completely different path and picked up The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee which chronicles the disease that is cancer.  I have lost quite a few people to this heinous disease and a book that essentially breaks it down to a narrative format intrigued me.  It just came out and so I had to place it on hold to make sure that I got it.  I only have 3 days to read it and it's 470 pages long.  This a true test, people!  Here I go!!

EDIT: I was able to renew the book so now I can read at my leisure (and a good thing too as I haven’t even broken 100!).

Whoooops!

Here I was thinking that I had updated this yesterday!!  Well, I finished World War Z.  I have mixed feelings about it.  It was very imaginative and well-written.  The sheer enormity of the event that Brooks was creating is staggering when you think about it.  First, he had to make the reader believe that the living dead actually walked the earth (or dragged themselves along as the case may be).  Second, he had to create entirely new civilizations that resulted from the huge war that occurred as a result of the zombie infestation.  Third, he had to pull all of this information together in such a way that it wasn't just hard "facts" but a narration of events.  So for this, I applaud him.  However, I am one of those people who really shy away from the use of "coarse language".  One could argue that it makes the tale more believable as the particular cast of characters in this book would likely use such language.  For me, I don't think that it would have detracted from the story if these words were cut down if not eliminated entirely.  Of course, if this doesn't bother you (which it probably doesn't cause I'm really nitpicky sometimes) then pick up this book and dive into a story that just might knock you dead (ha ha ha).

I guess I must be in a mood for war because I'm now reading Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson.  I think you can figure out what this book is about by the title but just in case...The basic premise is that technology rebels against us.  All of those handy gadgets that the human race depends on to get us through everyday tasks (cell phones, toasters, cars, etc.) turn against their makers and...  Well, I'm not sure what happens yet but (without giving too many details) I'll read it and let you know what I think!!

I hope you guys are getting something out of these posts.  If you're enjoying them (or not) please feel free to offer feedback.  Also, if you're looking for a recommendation I'd be happy to scour my vast library and find something for you. :o)

It was a busy week...

I finished up Notes from Underground and loved it.  It had just the right amount of snarkiness and introspection to do it for me.  I enjoyed the narrator's voice throughout and his observations about humanity were both insightful, delightful sinful, and hilarious.  While he talks about himself constantly you never really know the real man behind the words.  He contradicts himself at every turn and keeps the reader wondering what he'll say next.

To continue with my classical reading I next read Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson.  I have to say straight up that I went into this with high expectations and Stevenson did not disappoint.  I turned the pages of this book so quickly I swear I got page burn.  The characters felt so real and I had to know what was going to happen next.  This book is both a thriller and an insightful look into the duality of man.  I definitely recommend it.

The next read is World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks (Mel's son) which was lent to me by my good friend, Eric.  It's a chronicle of the zombie apocalypse.  I think that might say it all.  I'm going to try to start it up tonight but I'm not sure I'll be awake long enough.  It's been a looooong week! :o)