(Squeeze In) Review: God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian

Title: God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian
Author: Kurt Vonnegut
Genre: Fiction
Publisher: Seven Stories Press
Pages: 79



I was in the library for one book, but I picked this one up as well!!! I was curious and it was short and I could add to my goodreads.com challenge, which I am lagging behind in BIG TIME!!! I will call this a 'Squeeze In' book since I have already started a book and haven't finished this one but I'll add this just because... :)

The cover caught my attention right away. And I am always interested in the topic of death. It is coming for us all after anyway.  

This book is from a radio series of 90 second interludes on WNYC. During these interludes famous people (though I don't know everyone, but I just figured the others were famous to someone) do a quick interview. The dead have stories about unique parts of their lives and they only last from one to a few pages each.

Overall, this was a very smart, creative, and thoughtful short book that can keep the reader very entertained as they move on to the next dead person's story.

I give this a 4 out of 5. Go read this book! 

Review: Notes From the Internet Apocaypse...A Novel...

TITLE: Notes from the Internet Apocalypse...A Novel...
AUTHOR: Wayne Gladstone
GENRE: Fiction
PUBLISHER: St. Martin's Press
PAGES: 216

This is about a man, Gladstone, who goes to find out what happened to the Internet, basically.

Very easy to read and with an interesting cast of characters, the story begins on a journey in New York. Soon he meets Oz, and along with his friend Tobey, they set off. The world moves along but of course with any addicts, those with withdrawal come out as well, well they kind of have to since there is no more Internet.

The story isn't comedy, but not full of drama either. Tobey is the main comic relief and Gladstone confronts or relives past pain.

The end is not what I expected. It goes off into an area that made it feel like a quick way to end the story so I am not sure how I feel about it exactly.....

I give this a 3 out of 5. Definitely pick this one up from the library. Actually, just go to the library, hang out, read a book, borrow a book, borrow some movies, find a class to join....

Review: Sita's Ramayana

TITLE; Sita's Ramayana

AUTHORS: Samhita Arni and Moyna Chitrakar

GENRE: Juvenile Ficiton

PUBLISHER: Groundwood Books/House of Anasi Press

PAGES: 149

Another slow to review book. I really don't like that, but I do stay a bit unorganized...anyway, this book caught my eye in the library. It is very pretty and I was drawn to the color. So this is a retelling of a classic tale where Sita is kidnapped by Rama! This version tells us Sita's side and since I don't know of any other view, this one is pretty good. With good drama and emotion, I enjoyed this story. The book this is described as Juvenile Fiction, but it's really a story for anyone and it makes you think about women's roles and war. This story kind of made me think about the world today and the issues we have and even how I let myself be treated. This is not a downer of a story, well maybe a little, but I felt a little bit of a personal uplifting. I recommend it.

I give this a 4 out of 5.

Review: The Revenant by Michael Punke

So I am back and ready to restart this blog with The Revenant by Michael Punke. In this book, Hugh Glass, a man that has decided to live the whole outdoorsman lifestyle but set in a very different time than today. This story take place during the later1800s and the threat of Native Americans (or vice versa in their opinion I would imagine) is alive and well. Glass is with a fur trade business and they have decided to travel through potentially dangerous land. The bit of backstory of how Glass came to be with them is another story (a couple actually) but this one focuses on how after his attack from a bear, the 2 men that were suppose to protect him, betray him in the worst way. What does he have left? Yup, revenge.

I first came upon this book after watching the trailer for the upcoming movie. It grabbed me and of course I was super happy it was a book! I haven't done much in the way of research on this man, but this story here is historical fiction, but Glass was a real man, and from the bit I read about him, he lead an interesting and hard life.

I am torn with a final rating. I was hoping for more action and more emotion in parts but overall this is a great read.

I give this a 3 1/2 out of 5.


See the trailer here on youtube.com:
The Revenant Trailer

Ruined By Books Review

Title: Ruined By Reading

Author: Lynne Sharon Schwartz

Genre: Bio and Autobiography

Publisher: Beacon Press

Pages: 119

This is the first time I have read a book about the books an author loved through her childhood to adult years, but it is more than that. She discusses how her passion was discovered at a very young age and how it affected her and helped her see the world in new ways. She talks about the books she still has a passion for and those she doesn't. Also, she talks about how she had to be brought out of her single-mindedness about other forms of art and expression. I thought this was very strange until I read why she thought books were the ultimate in expression.

I especially love how she discusses that she also tends to forget the plots to stories she has read  (just like me) and the books she continues to go back to.

Even though it is a short read, it felt a bit long, but she is a writer and I guess that comes with the territory. I have never read anything by this author but I would be interested to read more of her works.

I give this a 3 out of 5.

The Gunslinger The Dark Tower #1 Review

My second book by this author and this is definetly the start of an epic series! The Gunslinger is after The Man in Black. The world this book is set in has bits and pieces of the world we know but added are creatures that range from good to bad and no one is to be trusted.

To catch The Man in Black, The Gunslinger must travel across the desert and always keep a look out for danger. There is definitely a reason why he is called the Gunslinger and I hope in the future to continue this series!

I give this a 4 out of 5. 

Die Nigger Die Review

Well I can't say too much about this book other than I am not a fan.

This "story" called Die Nigger Die by H. Rap Brown, as I will call it, because I have no clue of what is exactly the truth or what...is about the life of a man called H. Rap Brown. He was a radical during the sixties and was raised during the height of the Equal Rights Movement.

Some of his stories are fantastic as in, I really don't believed that happend, so prove it. What got me throughout the book was the hate. Hate on page 1. Hate on page 24. Hate on page 70. See a pattern? It was more like he was just ranting about the White man and he knew all the White man's schemes and what not. This got old because, one, I can't support so much anger. It gets you no where but obviously that doesn't stop people, and two, he wasn't accomplishing much except to boost his own ego.

The only thing interesting about reading a book like this is getting a veiw into someone's world you could never agree with and see another side of life.

Unfortunately, some young and impressionable youth will get their hands on this just to bolster their minds to feed into the hate but hey, freedom of speech is great right?

I give this a 0 out of 5.