2005

Marley & Me

1 Comment / 2005, Books in Bed, Favorites, Non-Fiction /

I’m finding it a little weird that my last book in 2005 is a dog book. A really good “bad dog” book but still a dog book. I am sick to death of dogs. I’m sick to death of my “bad dogs” and constantly rant and rave about these dog gone dogs. And yet… I totally, completely, thoroughly enjoyed Marley & Me. I’m not sure I have laughed my way through any book I’ve read this year the way I did with this one.

I’ve had a lab, (mine was black though), and while he was “a bad dog” he wasn’t Marley bad. I’ve got two cockers at the moment who are definitely “bad dogs” but they aren’t Marley bad (well Jake is worse in some ways since he’s actually BIT people). And as much as I rant and rave about all of the bad dogs I’ve had in the past and have right now, I can completely understand why people keep their bad dogs and love them to boot.

Marley & Me – great dog book. Funny and then sad at the end. I’m glad it was my last book of 2005 and hope I find one I enjoy as much in 2006.

Technorati Tags: , , ,

Marley & Me Read More »

The Lightning Thief

2005, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Favorites, Sci Fi and Fantasy /

TW, Michelle and I really enjoyed listening to The Lightning Thief on the way to Charleston and back again this weekend. Michelle seemed highly disappointed when it was over. She’ll be glad to hear the next book in the series is coming soon – though April seems a long time to wait, at least it’s not like waiting for the next HP book.

Percy Jackson is a troubled 12 year old who finally discovers just WHY he’s troubled – he’s a half-God, son of …. I won’t tell you whose son he is because that would ruin a good part of the book for you. Imagine being half mortal and half God… and having monsters sniffing around after you to try and kill you for being half-God. Troublin, troubling, troubling!

A quest, lots of monsters, lots of Greek mythology presented in a fun way.

Technorati Tags: , ,

The Lightning Thief Read More »

Cookbooks for Christmas

2005, Books in Bed, cookbooks /

This was a big Christmas for cookbooks at the Flamingo House. Here’s scoop:

Elaine Magee, who I adore and have the pleasure of working with sent me her new Comfort Food Makeovers cookbook. I read the introductory pages and sifted through the recipes on Christmas Eve. Awesome, as are all of Elaine’s books.

Speaking of Elaine’s books, I gave the Fry Light, Fry Right cookbook to my mom, my ex mil and TW’s mom. I have a copy for Jenn but seem to have left it at home so I guess she’ll get it for her birthday or something.

I gave TW and prince Joe the Grilled Cheese: 50 Recipes to Make You Melt cookbook that I saw mentioned in the Village Voice cookbooks for the holidays article. It’s a foofy little book with lots of interesting (and impossible to find in our little college town) ingredients. I bought it because Joe loves grilled cheese but he doesn’t love his mother’s grilled cheese. He loves mine.

Michelle and TW got Shakespeare’s Kitchen. Lots of yukky meat recipes but interesting all the same for the Shakespeare effect and it will be interesting for them to play with.

Oops, forgot I also bought my Son In Law the Weber’s Real Grilling. He seemed pretty excited about it.

Technorati Tags:

Cookbooks for Christmas Read More »

Trolls and Gay Boys???

2005, Books in Bed, Fiction, GLBT, Sci Fi and Fantasy /

Troll: A love story – now that was a weird book! I can barely believe that I spent time on this little bit of fantasy but on the other hand it was oddly endearing. Weird but endearing? So that’s why I spent time on it!

A gay man and those who love him (which include a veterinarian, a Filipina mail order prostitute bride, a not-gay man who is really gay, some other really smart dude with a lot of books and a troll cub). WEIRD, WEIRD, WEIRD.

Really short chapters with bits of troll lore and news articles and stuff tossed in between the chapters. Weird, weird, weird.

I mostly didn’t understand the abused Filipina prostitute mail order bride bit. Was that really necessary to the story? I mean really.

I don’t think I can actually recommend this but if you’re looking for weird gay boy troll stories, this is a good one.

Technorati Tags: , , ,

Trolls and Gay Boys??? Read More »

Cats are King!

2 Comments / 2005, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Favorites /

Yes, I admit it, I spent yesterday evening and a wee bit of this morning reading Carbonel: The King of Cats instead of some other “real” book. Sue me. I like children’s fiction and I don’t read enough of it (let’s not count Harry Potter, ok?).

What’s weird is that I really enjoy children’s fiction that has cats in it – talking cats, flying cats, magical cats. Cats here, Cats there, Cats and Kittens Everywhere! Hundreds of Cats! Thousands of Cats! Millions and Billions and Trillions of Cats! Oops, sorry, I got carried away.

The weird part is that I really no longer like the real thing, cats I mean. When I no longer have a single cat living in my house I will be one supremely happy woman. So why do I enjoy cats in literature? Millions of Cats is my favorite! Catwings and all of the sequels is awesome! And Carbonel is one cool cat!

Besides being a cool cat, this little version was a really nicely bound piece of reading. Nice, quality, old fashioned cover and binding. Paper that felt good to the hand. It even ummm smelled good!

Technorati Tags: , , , ,

Cats are King! Read More »

Veronica aka Fag Hag?

2005, Books in Bed, Fiction, GLBT /

Veronica is a fag hag of the worst, I mean best, kind. She apparently really loved the fag she was hagging with… so much so that she wound up with AIDS. Allie was not a fag hag, but a screwed up teen/young adult model with all the crud that apparently goes along with that.

What a weird book this was – told by Allie in jumps back and forth between “now”, as a 50 something year old woman with HepC, and “then”. We don’t get to hear much about “modeling” just a lot about the men who screwed her, the drugs and alchohol and the struggles of the “Go-See”.

Weird book. Not a bad book, just a weird one. I can’t decide if I actually enjoyed it or not. Some parts of it, I did. Other times I found I didn’t particularly care about Allison or Veronica or anyone else who crossed their paths.

Technorati Tags: , , , ,

Veronica aka Fag Hag? Read More »

Prime is also not spooky!

3 Comments / 2005, Books in Bed, Favorites, Fiction, Mystery /

So Poppy Z Brite doesn’t want to be called horror writer. That’s fine with me. It’s more than fine with me because I’ve liked her last two NON HORROR books better than I ever liked her horror writing.

First Liquor and then Prime, both quite enjoyable. Surprisingly enjoyable. I’m anxiously awaiting the next installment of the Rickey and G-man saga (there is going to be another, isn’t there???).

I suppose though the real test would be to hand these over to my son, the huge Poppy Z Brite – horror writer – fan. Maybe for some people “once a horror writer, always a horror writer”? I would encourage those folks to expand their horizons a bit. They will be pleasantly surprised.

Technorati Tags: , , , , ,

Prime is also not spooky! Read More »

Awwwwe – Pandas!

1 Comment / 2005, Books in Bed, Favorites, Non-Fiction /

I’m not sure why “The Lady and the Panda” appeared on my library pick up list but I’m really glad that it did.

I don’t have a thing for pandas the way some people do. They’re ok as far as animals go. Jenn (my oldest child) liked them for a few years but she gave them up in favor of Garfield pretty quickly. I have seen the Pandas at the National Zoo. They’re ok. No big deal really.

I’ve never thought a lot about the zoos. How they came to be. What it must have been like a hundred or more years ago to have some new creature discovered and appear in zoos. Maybe because it’s a hunting thing and I’m anti-hunter? I’ve never really been anti-zoo though. I don’t know, whatever, I’ve just never thought much about the subject.

Now, it seems that I’m thinking a lot about it. I even dreamed about doggone pandas the other night. The book, needless to say, left an impression on me. Interesting woman, interesting subject. Good book.

Technorati Tags: , , , ,

Awwwwe – Pandas! Read More »

Spook Wasn’t Spooky

3 Comments / 2005, Books in Bed, Non-Fiction /

I was really excited to get Spook, by Mary Roach because I so enjoyed Stiff. I giggled quite a few times during the first 50 pages and then put it down. For two days. Long enough for TW to pick it up and laugh non-stop through it. I picked it back up and I finished it but I didn’t find much to laugh about. And I didn’t find it all that interesting either.

Maybe it’s because I don’t have some burning desire to KNOW what happens after I die. I don’t particularly care. And I don’t particularly want the rest of the world to KNOW what happens either. I guess this is one surprise I’d rather keep as a surprise or something?

TW and I have spent some time pondering what Roach’s next subject will be…. hopefully it’s something better than the after-life.

Technorati Tags: , , , , ,

Spook Wasn’t Spooky Read More »

Bloomin Ya-Yas

2 Comments / 2005, Books in Bed, Favorites /

OK OK so the title is Ya-Yas in Bloom, I like my version better, don’t you? Other than the title, which I thought was kind of dumb, I loved the latest Ya-Ya installment. Can I really call it an installment since these aren’t the sort of books that pick up where the others left off? Whatever, I liked it.

I hated Little Altars and spent a lot of time thinking Rebecca Wells should have quit while she was ahead. Well I’ve changed my mind, she should have written in Bloom and skipped the darn Altars instead! The Ya-Ya’s are a dysfunctional group of women and that stems from dysfunctional family life and leads to dysfunctional family life – we know that, we don’t need the darkness of a book like Little Altars Everywhere to tell us that.

Oops, I’ve rambled off into a rant about the Altars – that happens anytime someone mentions the Ya-Yas to me. I need to practice rambling about how much I loved Ya-Yas in Bloom instead. Because I did. Love it.

(And I loved that Wells including my pal Brenda in her acknowledgements. Cool.)

Technorati Tags: , , , , ,

Bloomin Ya-Yas Read More »