Beautiful Creatures

By Margaret Stohl and Kami Garcia

This is a young adult book about, well, two teenagers growing up in a small town discovering there is a lot more than meets the eye. Their eyes are open to the fact that there are other powers at work and much of the book is simply them trying to discover what those powers are and which ones they have. It is an interesting read, a little bit choppy but it kept me engaged and interested. I will definitely read the sequel!

Book 59

The new clock starts ticking as we enter 2010! Please send me your book recommendations . . .

Dracula The Un-Dead

The Sequel to the Original Classic

By Dacre Stoker

Yes, you read that correctly a sequel to the original classic Dracula story written by Bram Stoker's great grand-nephew. I was intrigued.

This was a compelling story with a lot of action and enough horror, which would make it a really good movie. The author and his co-writer did a lot of research and worked to create a sequel that Bram might have made based on his diaries, old writings and letters. This was also an attempt, stated by the author, to get some of the royalties of Dracula back into the family. Any version of Dracula, plays, movies or otherwise, created here in America never paid the proper royalties to the Stoker family.

This was an interesting story, a good easy read and some compelling re-invention of the original Dracula story. It is well written. There is definitely re-invention so you kind of have to keep an open mind when reading it. I don't have any purist ideas about what a real vampire is so it was easy for me to kind of roll with the adaptations. I guess there is some online controversy about it in the vampire community (meaning those who read vampire books).

I think this is an important book in the genre and well worth the read!

Book 58

Heidegger and a Hippo Walk Through Those Pearly Gates

Using Philosophy (and Jokes!) to Explore Life, Death, the Afterlife and Everything in Between

By Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein

Given to me by Conrad Simonds (today)

Inspired by an NPR book review

Memento mori. "Remember you are mortal!"

This is a great, fun exploration of the meaning of life, why we are here, why we contemplate suicide and all the philosophical struggles of human existence. Fun! It is dedicated to Woody Allen and they take that dedication seriously.

Despite the great jokes and comic strips (I will break down some of my favorites in the quotes section) it is a great simplified exploration of human existence and how we have struggled on a mental plane to understand our meaning, life after death, spirituality and the like through the western (primarily) history of philosophical exploration.

Great, easy, thought provoking read:

Comic strip of a man on his death bed with the caption: "I should have bought more crap."

Reminded me of my grandpa:
"Ole and Lena - "Ole dies and Lena calls the obituary section of the paper and says she wants to put an obituary for Ole. The newspaper man asks what she wants to say. She said, 'Ole died.' He reminds her, 'You were married for fifty five years and they had four kids and fifteen grandkids. Are you sure that is all you want to say? The first five words are free!' She responds, 'Ole died. Boat for sale.'"

"But our favorite version of a Heaven that reflects the spirit of its religious tradition is the Norse mythology surrounding Valhalla, the palace of slain warriors, where the roof is made of gold shields. The departed warriors feast every day on the flesh of a wild boar and drink liquor from the teat of a goat. Their principal pastime is clobbering each other. King of like celestial Ultimate Fighting." Pg 132

How could I pass up a quote with Norse myths and Ultimate Fighting? I am a big fan . . .

Oryx and Crake

By Margaret Atwood

Recommended by Michael Foertsch

This was an incredible book. It is hard to write anything about it really, that is why I finished it almost three weeks ago and I still haven't posted. I don't want to give anything away and yet I want you to get interested and excited. Michael introduced it as "dystopian science fiction" and that is a very good description. It presents a possible future we could face based on plausible factors in our current reality.

In another sense, it is a simple story about friendship and what it means to love someone.

Although, within that, there is a lot of destruction, beasts that have been created based on two species we are familiar with joining into one and the division of earth into those that have and those that have not. The "have nots" live in a disease and virus filled world where the "have's" live in pristine "utopian" environments unknowingly creating future destruction.

Ok, I have either thoroughly disgruntled you with my smoke and mirrors or intrigued you into an incredible book about a future we could potentially live to see.

Book 56

He also recommended WE which I still need to read.

My Sister's Keeper and Handle with Care

Both books by Jodi Picoult

My Sister's Keeper recommended by Cheryl Fullmer

My Sister's Keeper was the first book by Jodi Picoult I have read. I inherited Handle with Care while in Mexico and it was the perfect read for our travels home (and into the wee hours of the next few nights). I review them together because the way Picoult writes you can't really tell someone what the story line is about, anything I would say would be wrong and give something crucial away at the same time. I almost want to say her stories are so tightly woven together that you can't just extract a fiber out and expect to give an adequate visual of the entire blanket. But woven is not the right word.

Picoult's stories come at the reader like a brutal and beautiful song moving around you, the reader. Each instrument has a different point of view and yet they are all coming together as a whole. The characters dance around each other, in the most painful ways sometimes, and yet through this movement the story is formed and somewhere within it a question is pushed into the front of the song. And the question shifts your perception of the song, the instruments and yourself, now a participant in the piece.

These books are compelling, hard to put down and thought provoking. They are challenging, painful, excruciating at times, and yet so easy to see your own reflection in them. They are about families. And broken humans. They sock you in the gut while leaving you turning around your own beliefs in your head for days.

Book 54 and 55

Mara Salvatrucha

Inside the MS-13, America's Most Violent Gang

By Samuel Logan

This is the story of one young girl who found herself in the middle of the notorious MS-13 gang. The modern "mafia" with all the organization, loyalty and brutality of the classic Italian mob but without the nostalgia. It is a gripping story, very well written and an important part of American life that we should all be aware of. A slim book that packs a lot of punch. If you want to know the real story of MS-13 this is it.

Book 53