I was leery of Harmonic Feedback because I do not like the cover. Sassymonkey said it wasn’t a bad book so I kept reminding myself of that and she was right. It wasn’t a bad book. I ended up enjoying it, even though I didn’t particularly love the Asperger’s theme. The weird part is that I don’t really know why it didn’t work for me. I liked Drea. I really did. I even believed she is on the spectrum somewhere. It all just felt a little… flat. Like the cover… ?
I remember when we used to see a half dozen Melissa Ferrick shows a year… those were the good ole days. When we were young. Not that I’m complaining or anything. I’ll take what I can get and when I can get a show as fan-fucking-tastic as last night’s show at Evanston Space was… well, that’s enough.
Her opening act, Ria Mae and Margot Durling were talented AND adorable. (Hi Margot! You need a fan page of your own because… duh, you’re awesome. Heh.)
Anne Heaton joining Melissa for a couple of songs was fantastic, too. (That’s one of the good things about living here, I guess. Odds are higher that we’ll get a surprise guest during a show.)
Michelle, TW and I all have slightly different “favorites” (and our “favorites” lists are very very long) and it was pretty cool that she played one song from each of our “favorites” list. That doesn’t always happen, believe it or not.
I got Nebraska.
TW got Anything, Anywhere (with Anne Heaton, which was a treat.)
And Michelle-Belle got Burn this Guitar (which I didn’t record because a very large guy sat down in front of me towards the end of the show and obstructed the camera view. To record, I’d have had to shift way left or way right and then obstruct someone else’s view. Darn it.
We couldn’t have asked for a better show. Really. Melissa played hard. She had fun, so we had fun. She was funny. She looked happy and healthy (except for that shoulder) and I’m looking forward to seeing her back here in the spring. (Unless she books some shows in Florida before that, then we’ll have to pull out the credit cards…)
You can see more of my videos from last night’s show here: Melissa Ferrick at Evanston SPACE
Melissa – Still Right Here Read More »
At this point, that’s pretty much all I can think of. I wish we were seeing Melissa in the south. I wish the weather was nicer (I’m freezing.) I wish we could follow her around and see two or three or four more shows over the next few days.
Barring all that… seeing her tonight at Evanston Space is pretty damn awesome.
We’re Going to See Melissa….. Read More »
First, Some Girls Are… Yes, I know. Some Girls Are… a lot of girls are. And some books make reading about some girls a painful, painful experience. It’s not that the book was badly written – it wasn’t. It’s not that it was a bad topic – it wasn’t. It was just a trouble book blown to smithereens by trouble. I kept picturing mean girls reading this book and victims of mean girls reading this book and none of the pictures popping into my head were good ones.
I do not think I can read another Courtney Summers book – so I hope she doesn’t make the Cybils shortlist again. I just… can’t do it. There’s no pay off for me when it’s over.
Now a book that I did love – Ninth Ward. That was a painful book, too. But not painful the way Some Girls Are was painful. It hurt to listen to Lenesha and Mama Yaya all the while knowing what was going to happen to them in the Ninth Ward. That helpless feeling… I remember that feeling. And I loved Lanesha and Mama Yaya and Tashon and even Spot.
When Mama Yaya said “how can it be mandatory when I don’t have a way to go…” yea, that right there… painful.
But the story was beautifully told. The characters wonderfully written. The hope… The universe shines with love….
My goodness I loved this book.
Two Cybils – One I Loved, One — Not So Much Read More »
Michelle-Belle: “So remember that cheese I brought back from Wisconsin last year? That was good cheese wasn’t it?”
E: (Shrug)
Michelle-Belle: “You didn’t get sick from eating it did you?”
E: (Shrug) “What does cheese have to do with drinking milk from a cow?”
Michelle-Belle: “The cheese was made from unpasteurized milk and it didn’t make you sick.”
E: “I didn’t eat any of that cheese.”
Michelle-Belle: “Well I ate almost two whole blocks of it and it didn’t make me sick.”
E: “Well I’m not you.”
Michelle-Belle: (Mouth hanging open. Smirking. Frustrated)
E: “And you wouldn’t get a disease the first time, anyway.”
Michelle-Belle: (Audible Gasp)
Me: “Oh. My. God.” (Head desk)
You Don’t Get a Disease the First Time… Read More »
Elly is reading The Cow Loves Cookies and she was enjoying it til the end….
E: “No wonder the farmer is so fat, eating all of those cookies.”
M: “Ugh”
E: “That can’t be good for him, drinking milk straight out of the cow.”
Me & Michelle-Belle: “What?!”
E: “What? It can’t be healthy, all of those cow germs.”
Me: “No, fresh milk is certainly not healthy.” (Eye rolling)
Michelle-Belle: “Do you know what kind of crap they put in Pasteurized milk? Haven’t you heard about all of these studies about hormones and girls entering puberty early…?”
E: “No but milk straight out of the cow has to have more crap in it than processed milk! I’m not drinking any milk out of a cow!”
Me & Michelle-Belle: “Whatever.” (More eye rolling)
E: “What?!!!!”
That Can’t Be Good For You…. Read More »
I picked up Rereading Women because I thought Michelle might find it interesting. She did but she didn’t read every essay and now that I’ve been reading it for a couple of days, I see way. Feminist theory – oy. Interesting stuff but it can be pretty dry. The first and last essays in the book were the best or maybe I was just more enthusiastic about the specific topics covered in those two? (Collaboration and becoming feminists and mother rites.)
I’m so far behind on my Cybils Challenge that I’m pretty sure I will never catch up. The least I can do is knock the picture books off the list, right? Right! Five down… a bunch more to go. And these five were all pretty darn good. I don’t have any big complaints with any of them (which is rare – since I’m often less than impressed with a couple…)
Interrupting Chicken made me laugh. Then again, I’m all about the chickens right now. (I just don’t want to own them.)
Chalk also made me laugh and I was surprised. On the first page… I thought I was really going to dislike this book. But I didn’t. I do wonder why it had to be the boy who drew the dinosaur while the girls drew suns and butterflies…
A Beach Tail was cute, too. I was confused by the spelling of “Tail”… until I saw that the tail was connected to a lion which stayed connected to Greg the whole time… lol
Flora’s Very Windy Day – brothers are a-noyyyy-ingggggg and I can’t blame Flora for being a wee bit tempted to let the wind carry her brother off.
The Cow Loves Cookies was a rhyming farm story, like most of those you’ve seen before. Each page adds an animal which adds to the rhyme and it’s all about what farm animals like to eat. The cow, obviously, loves cookies. And I’m pretty sure you know why.
Cybils – 5 Fiction Picture Books Read More »
I’ve wondered off and on for the last couple of years if the reason I don’t blog regularly anymore is because I am inundated with blogs of others. Could that be it?
Could it be that I’m spending so much time reading other people’s blogs that I’m finding it hard to write anything of my own?
There are words in my head but they’re muffled. Muffled by the words of others?
Something for me to think about…
Nablo Kicks My Ass – Again Read More »
I could have sworn I read Hex Hall last year but apparently I only thought I read it – or maybe I started it and never finished it? Whatever – I’ve read it and Demonglass and I’m dying for the next book. I really hated the cliffhanger in Demonglass – what in the heck are they going to do NOW? And where is Jenna?? And… and… and… great series. I just need book three immediately!
Hex Hall and Demonglass Read More »