Open a book, open your mind...

New burchases 7.29.12...

I went to B&N today to buy 1 book, Lockdown by Alexander Gordon Smith, but they didn't have it.  Sad bace (book-face) :(
BUT, I did score 3 books on their Buy 2, Get 1 Free table!  Happy bace!  Here are the 3 super-awesome books I picked up.

                Close to Shore: The Terrifying Shark Attacks of 1916 
                                           by Michael Capuzzo                

                                                
Synopsis: Combining rich historical detail and a harrowing, pulse-pounding narrative, Close to Shore brilliantly re-creates the summer of 1916, when a rogue Great White shark attacked swimmers along the New Jersey shore, triggering mass hysteria and launching the most extensive shark hunt in history.

During the summer before the United States entered World War I, when ocean swimming was just becoming popular and luxurious Jersey Shore resorts were thriving as a chic playland for an opulent yet still innocent era's new leisure class, Americans were abruptly introduced to the terror of sharks. In July 1916 a lone Great White left its usual deep-ocean habitat and headed in the direction of the New Jersey shoreline. There, near the towns of Beach Haven and Spring Lake-and, incredibly, a farming community eleven miles inland-the most ferocious and unpredictable of predators began a deadly rampage: the first shark attacks on swimmers in U.S. history.

For Americans celebrating an astoundingly prosperous epoch much like our own, fueled by the wizardry of revolutionary inventions, the arrival of this violent predator symbolized the limits of mankind's power against nature.
Interweaving a vivid portrait of the era and meticulously drawn characters with chilling accounts of the shark's five attacks and the frenzied hunt that ensued, Michael Capuzzo has created a nonfiction historical thriller with the texture of Ragtime and the tension of Jaws. From the unnerving inevitability of the first attack on the esteemed son of a prosperous Philadelphia physician to the spine-tingling moment when a farm boy swimming in Matawan Creek feels the sandpaper-like skin of the passing shark, Close to Shore is an undeniably gripping saga.

Heightening the drama are stories of the resulting panic in the citizenry, press and politicians, and of colorful personalities such as Herman Oelrichs, a flamboyant millionaire who made a bet that a shark was no match for a man (and set out to prove it); Museum of Natural History ichthyologist John Treadwell Nichols, faced with the challenge of stopping a mythic sea creature about which little was known; and, most memorable, the rogue Great White itself moving through a world that couldn't conceive of either its destructive power or its moral right to destroy.

Scrupulously researched and superbly written, Close to Shore brings to life a breathtaking, pivotal moment in American history. Masterfully written and suffused with fascinating period detail and insights into the science and behavior of sharks, Close to Shore recounts a breathtaking, pivotal moment in American history with startling immediacy.

Me: I'm way excited to read this, chomping at the bit (delicious pun intended).  I have such a huge passion/fascination/love/respect for the ocean and all it's denizens, especially so for sharks.  I love non-fiction books, and this combines all my loves in one.



                                                 Supergods
                                          by Grant Morrison

Synopsis: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Iron Man, and the X-Men—the list of names as familiar as our own. They are on our movie and television screens, in our videogames and in our dreams. But what are they trying to tell us? For Grant Morrison, one of the most acclaimed writers in the world of comics, these heroes are powerful archetypes who reflect and predict the course of human existence: Through them we tell the story of ourselves. In this exhilarating work of a lifetime, Morrison draws on art, archetypes, and his own astonishing journeys through this shadow universe to provide the first true history of our great modern myth: the superhero.
  
Me: Super (delicious pun intended) excited about this one!  Like with Close to Shore, I get all my loves in one; comic books & non-fiction.  Grant Morrison is a legend in the comic book world.  I've been saying, since I was a kid, comic books are NOT just for kids.  CB's have been addressing social issues from the start.  They've dealt with civil rights, woman's rights, gay rights, violence, gun control, abortion, aids, domestic abuse, child abuse, heroes that do bad things, death, life, E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G.  I've read some comics and graphic novels (GN's) that had more poignant writing than some novels.   





                                               Swamplandia!
                                            by Karen Russell

Synopsis: Thirteen-year-old Ava Bigtree has lived her entire life at Swamplandia!, her family’s island home and gator-wrestling theme park in the Florida Everglades. But when illness fells Ava’s mother, the park’s indomitable headliner, the family is plunged into chaos; her father withdraws, her sister falls in love with a spooky character known as the Dredgeman, and her brilliant big brother, Kiwi, defects to a rival park called The World of Darkness. As Ava sets out on a mission through the magical swamps to save them all, we are drawn into a lush and bravely imagined debut that takes us to the shimmering edge of reality.

Me: I think this is TV show now, but I could be wrong. No delicious pun intended on this one...


I'm very excited about these new burchases and can't wait to get to reading them!  And I'll be getting Lockdown too at some point.  Stay Booked! Happy Reading!

JaSexxy Movie Review: Midnight In Paris

I normally only review books and movies based on books on my blog, but I think I'm gonna expand to all movie reviews.  Having said that, here's my review of Woody Allen's Midnight In Paris...

    I really liked this movie.  Classic Woody Allen flick; witty, funny, self-flagellating, unique & creative, dialogue & character driven, artistically filmed (some really beautiful shots of Paris day/night/rain), intelligent and relevant, neurotic, and, how you say, je ne sais quoi.  His movies have a mix of closure & open-endedness.  The plot wraps up, but he story continues.  I love that because it lets the viewer have the satisfaction of knowing how the main storyline comes to end, but also that it isn't over, a new story begins.  This is life.  When something ends, something begins.  Our life stories don't resolve in a 1/2hr, hour, 2hrs, like in TV shows and movies.  Parts of our stories end, but new stories began as those end.  So to does Allen's movies.  Some movies, stories, require a finale, a closure that satisfies the viewer, but some have to stay open giving the viewers a satisfaction that the characters' (lives), that the viewers have become acquainted with, will carry on.  Allen's films are of the latter sort.  I also like that Allen has broadened his filming locations.  he only recently, (within the last 7yrs), started filming outside NY, (I think out of the 47 movies he's directed, only 4-5 have been outside NY).  His first film shot entirely out of New York, Match Point filmed in Britain, gave him a success he hadn't seen in awhile, and it also put Scarlett Johansson on the fast track to stardom, (Kate Winslet was supposed to play her role, but backed out).  At any rate, Allen has found new life in his films by shooting in diff locales.  He has a wonderful way of being irreverent with wit & intelligence mixed with neurosis & relevance.  One of the things I really loved with Midnight In Paris was all the iconic figures, both American & European, featured in the movie's 1920's crossover scenes.  As an artist and avid reader it was very cool seeing Hemingway, Picasso, Gertrude Stein, Fitzgerald, Toulouse-Lautrec, Degas, Dali, Cole Porter, Josephine Baker, Gaugin, Matisse, T.S. Eliot, and several other that I am forgetting, come to "life".  I'm not sure if those familiar with Woody Allen or those that don't like WA, would like this film, but I do rec it.  I enjoyed it very much and would watch it again.  Highest Sexxy rating: XXX
Stay Entertained! Happy Viewing!

New burchases 7.14.12....

Using an email discount coupon from B&N and got me 2 awesome sounding books.

                             The Map of Time by Félix J. Palma

Map is Palma's first English language released book and a new author to me.  Love discovering new authors (new authors to me anyway). 


Synopsis: Set in Victorian London with characters real and imagined, The Map of Time boasts a triple play of intertwined plots in which a skeptical H.G. Wells is called upon to investigate purported incidents of time travel and to save lives and literary classics, including Dracula and The Time Machine, from being wiped from existence.

What happens if we change history? The author explores this question in the novel, weaving an historical fantasy as imaginative as it is exciting—a story full of love and adventure that transports readers to a haunting setting in Victorian London for their own taste of time travel.


                                                   AND

                   The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Zafón I am huge fan of already.  I just happened on him by accident, his first English language book was The Shadow of the Wind.  I.Loved.That.Book!  Like a lot, a lot.  His follow, The Angel's Game was also excellent, but not as good as Shadow.  Heaven involves characters from both Shadow, and Game, so this just makes me even more excited to read Heaven.  Zafón just has such a poetic heart and prose his words are so affecting and relatable.  You feel every emotion, every hurt, elation, triumph, heart break, anger.  I can't rec this author enough.  And def check out Shadow 1st.


Synopsis:Once again, internationally acclaimed, New York Times bestselling author Carlos Ruiz Zafón creates a rich, labyrinthine tale of love, literature, passion, and revenge, set in a dark, gothic Barcelona, in which the heroes of The Shadow of the Wind and The Angel's Game must contend with a nemesis that threatens to destroy them.

Barcelona,1957. It is Christmas, and Daniel Sempere and his wife Bea have much to celebrate. They have a beautiful new baby son named Julian, and their close friend Fermín Romero de Torres is about to be wed. But their joy is eclipsed when a mysterious stranger visits the Sempere bookshop and threatens to divulge a terrible secret that has been buried for two decades in the city's dark past. His appearance plunges Fermín and Daniel into a dangerous adventure that will take them back to the 1940's and the dark early days of Franco's dictatorship. The terrifying events of that time launch them on a journey fraught with jealousy, suspicion, vengeance, and lies, a search for the truth that will put into peril everything they love and ultimately transform their lives.

Full of intrigue and emotion, The Prisoner of Heaven is a majestic novel in which the threads of The Shadow of the Wind and The Angel's Game converge under the spell of literature and bring us toward the enigma of the mystery hidden at the heart of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, a collection of lost treasures known only to its few initiates and the very core of Carlos Ruiz Zafón's enchanting fictional world.


Very excited to read both of these books.  Stay Booked! Happy Reading!

In a blump (book-slump)

I got some good reading in early this year, but have recently hit a blump.  I'm 50% through GoT.2 and bout 85% through Lady Chatterley's Lover, so I've been reading, but it's just slowed to a crawl.  I am aiming to finish LCL his weekend and GoT.2 by month end.  Not sure what I'm going to delve into next, which is weird, b/c normally I have a new book lined up to go.  Hopefully I'll get back into the book of things.  Le sigh.

June, the month of the Book...

I may have booked off more than I can bhew (book chew) this month. I'm currently reading 20 Years After, & Lady Chatterley's Lover, and starting GoT.2 today (as a read along with my Sexxy friend Mimi), and then starting Pillars.2 on June 11th (as a read along with my Sexxy friends Mel & Sonia). Lots of baction (book action)! Stay Booked! Happy Reading!
                             

 

There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife...

So begins Neil Gaiman's masterfully written, The Graveyard Book

    And with those words the reader is thrust into a unique world and adventure.  One can automatically infer that from just that opening sentence, they are about to embark on a bourney (book journey) of intrigue, excitement, and danger.  I am a huge Gaiman fan and this is the 5th book by him that I've read.  Neverwhere, American Gods, Smoke & Mirrors, and Stardust being the previous four respectively.  He is now the 2nd most author I've read, Stephen King being the 1st.  Gaiman has a way of weaving a beautiful story full of imagination beyond comprehension.  He doesn't fall into the formulaic plot that most author's of this genre do.  He creates new creatures as well as reimagining old ones.  He spins a story so enthralling the reader can't help but become immersed in it.  I have not been disappointed with any of the books I've read by him, though there were a few stories in Smoke & Mirrors that were just OK, but overall the book was great.

TGB Synopsis: "In this ingenious and captivating reimagining of Rudyrad Kipling's classic adventure The Jungle Book, Neil Gaiman tells the unforgettable story of Nobody Owens, a living, breathing boy whose home is a graveyard, raised by a guardian who belongs neither to the mortal world nor the realm of the dead.  Among the mausoleums and headstones of his home, Bod experiences things most mortals can barely imagine.  But real, flesh-and-blood danger waits just outside the cemetery walls: the man who murdered the infant Bod's family will not rest until he finds Nobody Owens and finishes the job he began years ago."

***THERE WILL BE SOME SPOILERS***

    Having never read The Jungle Book I cannot speak to how it compared, though I do fully intend on reading Kipling's classic this year.  I can say that I thought this book was fantastic!  It was full of Gaiman's wit and creativity.  He writes with compassion and it shows in the characters he's created.  You can empathize with each character, be it love, hate, anger, sadness, joy, or astonishment.  I found myself gasping at times when imminent danger was lurking around the next page, I laughed at the moments of awkwardness between Bod and the "living", I felt compassion from the tender moments between Bod and his "ghost parents" and his living/not living guardian Silas.  I was angered and frustrated at the cruelty of the school bully's and greedy shopkeeper, and the villainous murderers.  I felt triumph with Bod's defeat of his enemies.  I felt a deep sadness when he had to say good-bye to the only living friend and girl he liked, Scarlet, and even more sadness when it was time for Bod to say good-bye to the only world and "people" he knew, the ghosts of the graveyard, his "parents" and  Silas.  I felt joy and inspiration when Bod forged forward leaving all he knew behind, with hope and determination in his heart.  I felt excitement at the endless possibilities and adventures Bod would embark on.  This was a story of "love, loss, survival, and sacrifice...and what it means to truly be alive".  I felt all those emotions and more.  As I neared the end of the book, I kept looking down at the page number, in hopes I wouldn't be close to finishing.  I hungered for more, to read more and was impatient to see how the story unfolded, but I was also reticent to continue because it meant the bourney would be over.  Such is the dilemma for the avid reader and a truly remarkable book.  It is a cycle we must endure, a torture we inflict on ourselves with both great pain and pleasure, and always a cycle we are too eager to repeat.

    I loved this book and highly rec it.  It gets my highest rating XXX.  I will leave this post with one of the best closing paragraphs I've read:

    "There was a passport in his bag, money in his pocket.  There was a smile dancing on his lips, although it was a wary smile, for the world is a bigger place than a little graveyard on a hill; and there would be dangers in it and mysteries, new friends ot make, old friends to rediscover, mistakes to be made and many paths to be walked before he would, finally, return to the graveyard or ride with the Lady on the broad back of her great grey stallion.
 But between now and then, there was Life; and Bod walked into it with his eyes and his heart wide open."

Stay Booked! Happy Reading!

GoT.2: Clash of Kings

Very excited to be starting GoT.2: Clash of Kings on June 1st as a read along with my sexxy friend Mimi!  We did a read along for GoT.1: A Game of Thrones, and it was great!  Both the book and the read along :)  

My 1st time... reading an ebook. What were you thinking, perv!

Sooo I started reading my 1st ebook the other night.  I had pretty bad insomnia and didn't feel like turning on the light and reading The Prestige, so I remembered I had downloaded The Man in the Iron Mask from the Freebooks app on my iphone.  

 

 I am huge fan of Dumas, his books of art are brilliant (I've read Monte Cristo & 3 Musketeers).  As I was reading the preface I found out that there was a series called the D'Artagnan Romances.  Iron Mask was like book 5 in the series, 3 Musketeers being #1.  I immediately downloaded parts 2, 3, & 4; Twenty Years After, The Vicomte de Bragelonne: Ten Years Later, & Louise de la Valliere respectively.   

So I was bit excited to start reading Twenty Years After, even though it was an ebook and on my phone.  I can honestly say, it wasn't that bad.  I understand the convenience & ease of the ereader, and I will def invest in an ipad one day.  As most of you all know I have mocked ereaders, quite brilliantly really, from day 1 and I stand by the mocking, but I concede that I really don't mind reading on them.  Having said that, they are still a very poor substitution for the real thing.  I'm a die hard bookie and nothing can replace the feel and smell and enjoyment of buying and reading a real live book.  N-O-T-H-I-N-G.  But this sexxy reader can admit when he is wrong about something, this isn't one of those times, as I am never wrong, but one day when I am, I'll admit it.  I will continue to mock ereaders, mainly b/c it's fun and makes me happy, but I will def be reading books on an ereader, eventually, one day, maybe...  Stay REAL Booked! Happy Reading Real Books! :)

Marvel's The Avengers: A JaSexxy Review

          Avengers assemble!  Damn right bizziches.

It sucked donkey dangle!
No, I kid. :)
IT.FUGGING.ROCKED!
It was an awesome mix of smart scripting, fleshed out characters that were superbly acted by the most unlikely cast ensemble, witty humour, kick ass action, and excellent f/x.  It really had it all.  And I'm not a Marvel comics fan, well not much of one, I'm more a DC nerd.  But I fully admit Marvel has done a much better job marketing and transitioning their universe onto celluloid.  This is the 1st true blockbuster of the summer and it wasn't a mindless action blockbuster either.  Not that there's anything wrong with the mindless action flicks, I love them too.  I'm actually gigged out about The Expendables 2.  The Avengers just surprised as a more in-depth action flick.  It not only lived up to the hype, it surpassed it.  Of course Stan Lee makes an appearance which is always cool, but the appearances of Powers Boothe, Paul Bettany (the voice of Jarvis), Harry Dean Stanton (father from Pretty in Pink, nutter compound leader in Big Love), James Eckhouse (father from 90210), Lou Ferrigno (voice of The Hulk), added another level of cool. 
I highly rec this movie and def advise you to see it in the theatre for the full effect and don't leave until after the initial ending credits (there's a delish treat for those that stay).   Marvel's The Avengers gets my highest rating XXX.  Stay Entertained! Happy Viewing!

The Raven (the movie): The Jasexxy Review

The Raven: The JaSexxy Review
***THERE WILL BE SPOILERS***
I liked it.  Yes it was formulaic and mediocre, I will not deny that, not one bit.  But it was also enjoyable.  I thought Cusack's performance was really good and only limited by the script itself.  I guessed the villain well before it was obvious for even the most unawares viewer.  These are my negatives of the film.  Now allow me to highlight the positives.
John Cusack did a great job, as did Luke Evans and the rest of the supporting cast.  The plot, as I've already stated, was formulaic, but what gave it a boost, was the incorporation of Poe's stories.  And not all his most known stories either, which I found quite refreshing.  They didn't use those most popular stories as the crutch of the whole movie.  Yes they did use those to lean on, but it wasn't just The Telltale Heart nor The Raven, nor The Pit and the Pendulum, nor The Masque of the Red Death.  No, it had also incorporated The Murders in the Rue Morgue and The Mystery of Marie Roget.  Now some of you may scoff and say, "I've heard of the Rue Morgue Jason!"  Indeed I am sure you have.  But how many of you can tell me who the murderer is in that particular story without looking it up?  I'd be impressed with those that can, and that's not condescending, I truly would be b/c the murderer is so far from the obvious, (it was an Ourang-Outang).  No, that is not a joke, read the story.  The Mystery of Marie Roget, was a nice touch (which by-the-by is a sequel, or continuation, however you choose to perceive it, to Rue Morgue).  I was however hoping that when Poe's house was set ablaze, in the movie, it would have some elements of 'The Black Cat', but alas it did not. At any rate, I enjoyed the debauchery of Poe, as was true to his character, but it did seem forced.  His true life demise was entrenched in mystery as any of his stories he wrote, and to this day, still unsolved.  In the movie he dies right after finding Emily, but in real life, he went missing for 6-days only to be found on a park bench, raving (delicious pun intended) incoherently, wearing another man's clothes.  This could've been incorporated in the movie, but they would've had to go a different route with some of the plot.  I know some may have issues with the fact that this wasn't a biopic, per se, but I loved the mixture of fact and fiction.  There are several "historical fiction" books out there that do this very thing, and weave a pretty impressive and intriguing story.  The Raven could have been utterly amazing and unique in its premise, and to a small extent, it was, but it went for the safe formulaic plot that those not familiar with Poe would enjoy, or at least in the minds of the film makers, the viewers would enjoy.  I relate it to Sleepy Hollow and Sherlock Holmes (movies), the former I enjoyed, the latter not-so-much.  Though those were more "inspired" by the actual books, as opposed to historical ficion.
I also did not think the gore was over the top.  The scene from The Pit and the Pendulum was gruesome to be sure, but it could've been much worse (refer to Saw pt.500, guts and intestines were shown in that shoddy rip off of Poe's masterpiece).  Bottom line, is this movie worth seeing, yes.  Do you need to see it in the movie theatre, not necessarily, but I do not regret having done so.  It was enjoyable and allowed me to,for a moment, suspend belief and enjoy a unique look at a deliciously wonderful "what-if", "alternate universe" of Poe and his works of art.   I give it X1/2-XX's out of 3 XXX's on my Sexxy movie rating scale.  Stay Entertained! Happy Viewing!

J.Sexxy's Review of The Lightning Thief, the movie, (and a bit of a J.Rant)...

Ugh, so not happy with this movie adaption of The Lightning Thief.  By no means was the book exactly fine literature, but it was enjoyable and entertaining and, like The Hunger Games, so easy to adapt to film.  And yet both movies failed, IMO, to capture the books.  Now let me preface by saying I know that a movie can't translate everything that is in a book, that's the beauty of books, they hold something special, their words and our imaginations.  I don't want everything from the book in the movie, b/c the books ARE special and feel like a part of you that no one else will get. 
Now having said that, why the flaming fig newton do they have to take out absolute key plot points and cool scenes?!  Again I get why things are omitted but not so glaring key plot points.  Hollywood has a way of dumbing down our literature b/c they feel the audience isn't patient or smart enough to "get" it.  So we sit here and get Cliff's Notes versions of our favourite books and, to me, it's quite offensive.  These movies not only fail to capture the heart & soul of the books, but they also fail to capture the heart & soul of the avid reader. 
Now I know these movies appeal to a great many people, obviously money talks and from ticket sales it appears that the audience are exactly what Hollywood thinks they are.  We compromise our intelligence and right to be entertained by saying, "Oh it wasn't that bad", "Yeah they left a lot out, but it was OK".  Even though deep down inside the little bookie in us just died a little from saying it.  We make excuses and we shell out our money like well trained parapets.  I used to blame Hollywood, but really it's the viewer that is the cause of this atrocity.
As a huge Stephen King fan, I'm used to movies destroying books I love, but it never ceases to amaze how bad some of these movies really are in comparison to the books they are based.  It's like they are testing how far they can go.  "Let's leave one of the most important plot points from the book, out, and ooo we don't need this character.  What?  The whole plot ends depends on key scenes involving that character?  Who cares, these zombies won't know the difference and if they do they'll lap it up like brains on a buffet". (had to get a zombie shout out in there)
If you've read the Percy Jackson books, you won't like this movie, if you haven't read them, you will.  One more thing... After seeing THG, The Lightning Thief, one of the Twinkie movies, I've come to this realization.  Today's crop of youth actors, suck.  They have the acting range of a peanut.  No wait, I take that back, that's mean.  A peanut can act better.  I mean it fools everyone into thinking it's either a pea or nut, when in fact it is a legume.  I would rather pay to see a canister of Planters peanuts act out a Shakespeare play, than pay to see another one of these YA movies.  To be or not to be... a nut.  Classic. 

Percy Jackson Books

Started reading the Percy Jackson books last week and now on book 2, The Sea of Monsters.  Very enjoyable books.  Not as good as the HP books, but they are good.  Fun, light, enjoyable reads.  And I love the Greek Mythology theme.  I'll give review of the 1st 3 books when I finish them all.  Stay Booked! Happy Reading!

Boneshaker by Cherie Priest

This was my 1st foray into the Steampunk genre and it did not disappoint.  I mean it's a book about 1800's Seattle in vain of Jules Verne and has zombies!  It's basically Jules Verne/George Romero hybrid.  BUT and there's a big but, and not the Sir-Mix-A-Lot good kind of big but.  It was a far cry from the thought provoking, imagination bending prose of Verne and far less scarier than Romero's works. 
Book synopsis:  Cherie Priest's much-anticipated steampunk debut has finally arrived in the form of a paperback original. Its plot features the sort of calibrated suspense that readers of her Four and Twenty Blackbirds would expect. Boneshaker derives its title from the Bone-Shaking Drill Engine, a device designed to give Russian prospectors a leg up in the race for Klondike gold. Unfortunately, there was one hitch: On its trial run, the Boneshaker went haywire and, long story short, turned much of Seattle into a city of the dead. Now, 16 years later, a teenage boy decides to find out what is behind that mysterious wall. Can his mother save him in time? Zombie lit of the first order


JaSexxy's Synopsis: It didn't suck, not at all, but it wasn't OMSJ good either. I did enjoy it and it did keep me involved and entertained, it was just Priest's style wasn't that great.  She used italics wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too much.  I mean like there was a word in italics every other bleeding sentence.  That got a bit annoying.  The characters are likable and you do sympathize with their plight and the machinery and vehicles were pretty cool.  There's a gun that sends off a huge sonic boom that immobilizes zombies for like 5mins, which I thought was pretty inventive and cool.  And made me want to invent it to have b4 the zombie apocalypse actually happens. I'll keep you updated on my progress with that.  Anyway, back to the book. It wasn't a typical zombie book and it wasn't a "You're the chosen one" kind of book, which I liked b/c I feel I've read too many of those of late.  This was the 1st book in The Clockwork Century series and I plan on continuing the adventure, but it isn't like I need to run out and get book 2 right now.  It ended open-ended but not with a cliffhanger.  Though I am looking forward to finding out what happens next, I'm not chomping at the bit (bit of zombie ref for ya), to get to it.  Overall I give it a XX rating (that's out of 3X's) maybe 1 1/2 X's.  I def rec it but wouldn't say, GO NOW AND GET IT!  I will read more of this genre though b/c I think it's wicked cool.  Stay Booked! Happy Reading!

TWD.TPB GN'S 13-15

 I LOVE THIS SERIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Seriously these books are so frippen amazing.  It's been a long time since I've read anything that literally has me gasping, and cursing and talking out loud; "Oh come on!", "Are you f**king kidding me?!", "No f**king way that just happened!", and so on.  LoL.  These GN's are beautifully illustrated and amazingly well written.  I sit there all tense from the suspense of the story.  What I love and ironically dislike at the same time is that NO ONE is safe.  Not even the "main" characters.  You start to love a character, boom dead!  Or some tragedy befalls them.  It's insane.  But it's realistic (as realistic as a zombie tale can be lol).   But seriously, every movie, TV show, book has the hero and band of "good" people that ALL survive the odds, but that's so not realistic.  We've lived this life long enough to know one constant, life ain't fair.  The good don't always win, nor do they always survive.  In a world based on death and destruction and at any second it can only get worse, this series

 does it honest and true to life.  Even a non-zombie life.  So please do yourself a favour and read this series.  Forgot about that it's about zombies, or a world that is "impossible" to be, that's just the icing on the zombie cake.  Read them because they are enthralling, well written, realistic and pure macabre fun.  Read them b/c you love to read and appreciate a thrilling story that keeps you on edge EVERY SINGLE BOOK, EVERY SINGLE PAGE.  Every one ending with a cliffhanger that makes you hungry for more.  I devour every book like a zombie noshing on a fat kid.  :)
TWD.13: Too Far Gone - Our group that we've come to know and love has started to decrease in numbers, but we've also gained some new, very likable characters, for spoilers sake I won't say who is no longer with the living, but not with the living dead either.  At any rate in book 12 our group was found and brought to a community that has been built and survived for years.  Our jaded group doesn't know whether to trust it and its "citizens" or not.  It's too good to be true.  So

we end up not knowing to trust the community or not.  But the crazy part is, we start to not trust our beloved group either.  Are they starting to become the "evil" people that they've encountered on the road?  We just don't know.  This leads into TWD.14: No Way Out, which by far has been the OMSJing book of them all!  It is really hard for me to not give anything away, but trust me when I say it was a tense, suspenseful read that only furthered my love for this series.  Course it also made me cuss b/c I didn't have book 15 yet.  LoL.  But needless to say I went out and got as soon as I could.  Which leads to TWD.15: We Find Ourselves.  This book begins fantastic b/c and keeps a steady pace throughout.  It isn't as tense and suspenseful as the others, but it was equally as good.  It also gave a hint of what the next drama was going to be in the future books and ended with a coupling of 2 "main" characters that I knew were gonna end up together eventually.  I cannot wait for TWD.16!  Highest rating XXX.  READ THIS SERIES!!  WTYZM!! (Word to your zombie moms) ;)

The Revenge of the Baby-Sat by Bill Watterson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Satirical and heartwarming and just flat out frippen funny! Used to read C&H in the newspaper and when I saw the (collected works) books I had to have them. I have 4 C&H books an love then all. I really can't see how anyone can't enjoy them. Highest rating XXX. Stay Booked! Happy Reading!

View all my reviews

Sexxy Book Challenge Catacombs

This Sexxy Book Challenge Catacomb is a list of my yearly Boals and what books I read to reach them.

                                                           2012
2012 Boal did not go well for me.  I had set a modest 34 boal for my Reading Challenge, but unfortunately was only able to read 26.  Bigh (book-sigh).

Original Post:
2012 Boal is on!  I want to read 34 books to get my total "Read Books" to 250.  The ambitious bookie in me wants to so go for 84, and I still may, but it's going to be a busy year so I don't think I'll be able to make that boal.  So here are the books of honour to be read.  These are in no particular order, nor is this list set in stone.  Some on this list may get replaced by another book and I will def be adding more to it if I feel like I can surpass my 34 boal.

      2012:

1. The Angel's Game
2. The Revenge of the Baby-Sat 
3. Dinosaurs Love Underpants
4. The Walking Dead: Too Far Gone (#13)
5. The Walking Dead: No Way Out (#14)
6. The Walking Dead: We Find Ourselves (#15)
7. The Stranger 
8. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
9. Boneshaker
10. Bag of Bones
11. Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief (#1)
12. Percy Jackson: The Sea of Monsters (#2)
13. Percy Jackson: The Titan's Curse (#3)
14. Pillars of Earth: TPOE.1
15. A Game of Thrones: A Song of Fire & Ice (#1)
16. The Graveyard Book
17. Lady Chatterley's Lover
18. Lockdown: Escape From Furnace (#1)
19. Solitary: Escape From Furnace (#2)
20. The Walking Dead: A Larger World (#16)
21. Fall of Giants
22. The Prisoner of Heaven
23. Batman: Earth One
24. Close to Shore: The Terrifying Shark Attacks of 1916
25. Gone Girl
26. A Christmas Carol, The Chimes, and The Cricket On the Hearth (one volume)

Once a book is completed it will be placed in the order it was read and have a strikethrough. I'm very excited by this challenge and even more excited about the amazing book adventures I'll be having!



                                                      2011
Well the 2011 Reading Season has come to an end.  I am proud to say I made my boal!  50 books read for a grand total of having read 216 books overall.  I will be announcing my 2012 Boal very soon, so stay booked!  I will also be posting my overall review J.Sexx Quickie Reviews on all the books I read in 2011.  Lots to come this year and I'm quite excited to get started!  Congrats to all those on their 2011 Boals whether you completed them or not, it was always about getting some damn good reads in, so that in itself is success.  GL to all those that will be starting 2012 Book Challenges.  Stay Booked!

Original Post:
I had set a boal for the 2011 Book Reading Season and that is to have read 200 books by Jan. 2012. I am currently at 202, but as I stated on my Facebook Book Club Page (join by following the link from my home page) I have upped that goal to 215.  So here are the books of honour to be read. The strikethrough books are the ones I've read in the order I've read them.  The others are what I plan on reading, but those will change as my tastes of the moment will.

1. Water Room
2. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh
3. FaeFever
4. Smoke & Mirrors
5. The Continual Condition
6. Water for Elephants
7. Rebecca
8. DreamFever
9. Full Dark, No Stars
10. High Fidelity
11. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
12. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
13. Life, the Universe and Everything
14. So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
15. Anthem
16. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
17. The Hunger Games
18. Catching Fire
19. Catcher in the Rye
20. Mockingjay
21. We the Living
22. To Kill a Mockingbird
23. World War Z
24. Bossypants
25. The Man Who Loved Books Too Much
26. Delta of Venus
27. Into the Wild
28. The Thief of Always
29. Dexter: Darkly Dreaming (Bk.1)
30. Dexter: Dearly Devoted (Bk.2)
31. The Walking Dead: Days Gone By (Bk.1)
32. The Three Musketeers 
33. The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection From the Living Dead
34. Zombie in Love
35. The Hellbound Heart
36. Mister B. Gone
37. The Walking Dead: Miles Behind Us (#2)
38. The Walking Dead: Safety Behind Bars (#3)
39. The Walking Dead: The Heart's Desire (#4)
40. The Walking Dead: The Best Defense (#5)
41. Loving Frank
42. The Walking Dead: This Sorrowful Life (#6)
43. The Walking Dead: The Calm Before (#7)
44. The Walking Dead: Made To Suffer (#8)
45. The Walking Dead: Here We Remain (#9)
46. The Walking Dead: What We Become (#10)
47. Fight Club
48. The Walking Dead: Fear The Hunters (#11)
49. The Walking Dead: Fear The Hunters (#12)
50. The Rum Diary

ZOMBIE SQUEE!!

  I just got The Walking Dead (TWD) 11-14 in Trade Paperback.  These graphic novels (GN) are so amazing.  They are well written and beautifully illustrated.  People think of GN's as, "Comic books, grow up!", but they don't realize they are  missing out on some of the best works of art in modern times.  Let first say this, I am a comic book junkie.  LOVE THEM!  But it's not all kiddie stuff.  Comics have been dealing with adult themes and world issues for their entire existence.  They've dealt with social issues from poverty, to domestic violence, to racism, sexism, AIDS, politics, homosexuality and so much more.  The Graphic Novels have given those comics a stronger voice.  Combining the comic book art with novel savvy has been pure genius.  Most GN's are a collection of series in one setting, creating a super comic book novel.  A lot of movies have been based on GN's that most people don't even know. 
  TWD is a series that deals with humanity and how humans are the real monsters and how survival and adaption are so Darwin we don't even know it at 1st.  In a new world where school teachers and pizza delivery boys become the ultimate survivalist and the strong become weak, weak become strong, people go crazy, chaos is the norm and death lurks everywhere.  Rules change, laws change, normal is subjective and humanity is pushed to the brink of its true nature: Animalistic & Survival.  These GN's entrance the reader from page 1 and don't let go even when you get to the final page.  You have to read the next one and the next one.  No one is safe in these novels, just like in the real world, anyone can die at any time.  And they do.  There were so many OMSJ moments in these I literally gasped out loud countless times.  I implore those that are fans of the show to pick them up and for anyone that enjoys damn good story telling.  Ignore they are GN's.  Get off your elitist book horse and read them.  You won't be sorry you did.  WTYZM!  (Word To Your Zombie Mom).  :)

Loving Frank by Nancy Horan

"A genius is merely a man who sees nature, and has the boldness to follow it." ~Frank Lloyd Wright~

"Ogni mia fibra.  E'posseduta dall'amor.  My every fiber is possessed by love." ~Faust~

    I don't know what to say.  I didn't hate the book, but it wasn't a fave.  I think cause I'm such a fan of Frank Lloyd Wright that I wanted more of his designs, life story, etc., where this was more of a telling of his affair in a sweeping dramatic fashion.  It was a little bland at times, but not horrible.  Just a mediocre read IMO.  But the ending, holy sh*t!  I would tell people to read it just to get to the end.  I mean, speechless.  I had several friends say, "Wait till you get to the end".  I was like, yeah, OK.  I guessed what was coming when it got closer, but it was worse than what I imagined.  I have to admit I had no idea this happened and I think that's why the ending has hit me so hard.  To be a fan of Frank Lloyd Wright and not know this fact is unsettling.  And the fact that it is a fact makes it that more disturbing and it doesn't resonate with the rest of the "blandness" of the novel. 
If you don't know what I'm talking about, please do not look it up if you intend on reading this book.  Let the ending shock you as I'm sure it did to 90% of those that read it.  I must read FLW's autobiography and sometime soon.  I'm still in shock over this.  Lol.  Crazy.  I don't think it's worth reading actually.  I mean the end does make it, but the in between just wasn't worth the wait.  But again wasn't horrible, just not a OMSJ (Oh My Sexxy Jason) must read.  Stay Booked! Happy Reading!

New Book Purchases October 2011

Last 2 days I've picked up a handful of cool books that I can't wait to delve into.  Here are the books I chose, or rather what books chose me:

                       1. The Walking Dead: Miles Behind Us (#2)

                      
                    2. The Walking Dead: Safety Behind Bars (#3)

                                                      


                                            3. The Rum Diary

                                              4. Boneshaker