Oh dear, is this the start of another book series?: An Autobiography

I'm going to be forthright with you guys. I was disappointed in Seriously...I'm Kidding (which is a strange statement to make considering that title). I guess I was expecting more comedic memoir and less relentless stand-up in book format. I did say in my last post that I thought that was the premise but I was still hoping for more. Now this isn't Ellen's first book. It's actually her third and so I'm wondering if perhaps the other two captured more what I was looking for from her. That isn't to say that there weren't funny parts. It's Ellen for goodness sake! This is just to say that I was looking for something else and this wasn't it. If you're looking for a quick read that is light and easy then I would recommend this to you (especially if you enjoy Ellen's sense of humor). If you're looking for a comedic memoir I encourage you to look elsewhere.

A while back I took a trip to one of my favorite places on the planet: Strand Books (this is not an endorsement but boy howdy if you want to give me free books I will take them). While I was there, I did my typical "Oh boy! I've been wanting to read this one!" while grabbing up everything in my eyesight. One of the books I grabbed (which was suspiciously near the front entrance) was The Magicians by Lev Grossman. This book had been on my radar for quite a while. It's been on it so long that the author finished the trilogy (of which The Magicians is the first book). As the title suggests, this is a book about magic in the modern age (in New York of all places). Honestly, I was hooked within the first few pages so unless something goes horribly awry I'm most likely going to be in this for the long haul (I'm talking to you remaining two books in the trilogy). I'll let you know how it goes in my next post! :-D

I hope you're all staying warm because this winter is the pits!!

This book should come with a warning

*I'm going to break one of my rules and give you guys a tiny spoiler. This is also a warning for those of you who might be triggered by sexual assault. Even though I had seen both film adaptations for Let the Right One In I was completely unprepared for what lay ahead for me in this book. Whereas gore, violence, and death have little to no effect on me some of the themes in this book gave me nightmares. There are graphic depictions of pedophilia, male castration, sodomy, and rape. If you want me to give you the page numbers so that you can otherwise enjoy this novel I think I can make that happen.*

Now with that bit out of the way I can focus on the rest of the book. Let the Right One In is a unique spin on the vampire tale. There are several mini stories that converge on the two main characters: Oskar and Eli. Oskar is a bullied boy with a thirst for revenge. Eli is the mysterious 12 year old who moves in next door and bewitches Oskar almost immediately. Eli is also a vampire. (This isn't a spoiler because this is a vampire novel, ya'll. Someone had to be a vampire.) This is no Twilight. That isn't to say that there aren't romantic tones but it's completely different from Edward and Bella. For one thing, they're 12 year olds. For another...well I don't want to give that part away. Lindqvist is a fantastic writer (and since it's been translated I'm sure it's even better in Swedish). There are so many themes that are covered in this book: bullying, discovering your true self, alcoholism, drug addiction, abuse (emotional and physical), and true love just to name a few. And because I have some kind of masochistic streak I've just discovered that he revisited these characters in a short story collection titled Let the Old Dreams Die which of course I've just added to my TRL. XD

I decided to go in a slightly different direction after reading Let the Right One In and so next up is Ellen Degeneres's Seriously...I'm Kidding. From what I can tell this is basically Ellen's stand-up in book format. O_O