Coming...in about 3 months

What to do about reading pre-press books? I love being on the cutting edge, but the downside is nobody will know what I'm talking about until the book is published, in this case: June.

Oh well, I will say something anyway. I'm reading Dear Money by Martha McPhee. It's about an award-winning woman novelist married to a sculptor. They are living and raising their two daughters in Manhattan, where they cannot afford the lifestyle to which she aspires. My first reactions were, "pretentious" and "who cares?" Yes, the writing is gorgeous, but I find it hard to get worked up about desire in the not-quite-rich and the almost-famous.

Happily, the plot has thickened and has caught my interest. It's clear things cannot end well, and that sets my teeth a bit on edge, but I will plow on none-the-less.

In case you're interested, I finished the Dexter book of last post quickly and happily. My "OMG" reaction to the crime melted away. I became inured to it and enjoyed Dexter's wordplay on it. A blurb on the cover called the book a "macabre masterpiece." I heartily agree. One more to go!

Reading: Dearly Devoted Dexter

Finally back to my favorite serial killer, Jeff Lindsay's Dexter Morgan. I'm reading Dearly Devoted Dexter, the second book in the series. I love the Showtime series based on the novels, but the books give you a much better look at what is going on in Dexter's head. (I was delighted with the fourth and the first, when I read them, in that order.)  The descriptions of the Dexter's double life are fascinating, and much of the rest is just fun -- Miami's homicidal roadway traffic, Dexter' beautiful and foul-mouthed sister, Deb.

All that being said, the books are darker. The TV Dexter is a killer, but he's just so darn handsome and likable. In some ways he comes off as innocent who is naive about what makes the world go 'round: gossip and politics. The book Dexter is colder, more detached, less human. He seems to enjoy his "little hobby" of killing bad people more in the books.

Even so, I was a little surprised as the handiwork of the first crime depicted in this second book. It is sick and truly disturbing. It makes me feel a bit bad for raving about how much I love Dexter. It also makes me wonder about Jeff Lindsay. How did he come up with this? Never mind. Might as well ask how Stephen King comes up with his ideas.

I am enjoying the book; don't get me wrong. I just wonder if I am in for more than I realized.

That rare commodity

I'm a rare commodity. Actually, I'm not rare at all, but I still seem to be valued by publishers for my status as a blogger. I believe this explains why I got a copy of Angelology so quickly. (I'm almost done with my review, honest! These things can't be rushed.)

Just the other day, I got an email out of the blue from a publisher offering me a book because I'm a blogger. I just have to say, how cool is that?

Reading My Stroke of Insight

My Stroke of Insight was a whim purchase (actually, one of those get-me-up-to-$25-so-I-can-get-free-shipping-from-Amazon" purchases). I thought I didn't need to read it because I had seen a video of Jill Bolte Taylor talking about her stroke, but I figured, what the heck. It is engaging and easy to read (although I might not feel that way if I didn't know the ending). I've gotten past the actual event; now up to her surgery. I'm waiting to hear her spiritual insights after her experience in Nirvana.

Reading: Angelology

I am really liking Agnelology,  which is a long (pushing-500-pages) book. Perhaps it speaks to my ability to suspend disbelief that I reacted with, "Oh come on," only a couple of times.  In this book, angels are real, and further, some really bad angels mixed with mankind, and their evil descendants kind of rule the earth. It requires the literal reading of at least parts of Genesis (like the story of the flood). Author Danielle Trussoni does a good job of making all this seem plausible (enough for me). It's a dense book -- you don't want to be skimming -- but it's also a page-turner. How many writers pull that off? Iif you like conspiracy theories and/or thrillers, you could definitely do worse.

I spent most of today reading the book, and the one thing I have to say is it didn't pass the Harry Potter test. Harry Potter test = I can spend a whole day reading and doing laundry and nothing else and feel satisfied. I'm afraid I went a bit stir crazy reading all day. I did do laundry, and I also took a short nap and a short trip to the grocery store to pick up stuff I forgot yesterday. Still, by 4 p.m., I had cabin fever. I'm not sure  what this says; I've never been good at staying home all day, which is confirmed. But then, there are worse ways to spend a rainy Sunday, that's for sure!

UPDATE: I finished it and here's my review.

Recent reads

I finished The Blue Orchard and published my review (here). On Amazon, people have been gushing about this book as if its the next great literary thing, but I was not that impressed. I liked it quite a bit but there was just too much of it,  IMHO.

I got Angelology right away from the publisher (in 2 days); were they hoping I could read and the review this 400+ page book in time for its release on March 9? There was no way I could do that.

So, it was with only mild guilt I picked up The Hunger Games first. The children's librarian at Norwich Public Library told me I should read it because I liked Harry Potter so much. And I did like it, more than I realized at first. It's such a different story, and amazingly, the author kept me guessing even though it was clear in some respects what the plot had to be.

The action takes place at an indefinite time in the future, after global warming has reduced the livable surface area of the earth. The action takes place in what used to be the United States, where The Capital is in the Denver area, and the outlying areas are separated into districts based on what they can produce. The heroine, Katniss, is from District 12, where they mine coal.

The districts are hardscrabble places with limited resources, the Capital is technologically advanced. In order to keep the districts in line, the Capital is brutal.  One of their worst techniques is the Hunger Games, where 2 teenagers from each district are chosen to fight to the death. Naturally Katniss is chosen.

What made me realize how much I liked the book is how much I've been thinking about it since I finished. It doesn't have the addictive power the Dexter series does, soI don't feel I need to read the next book in the trilogy immediately. But I'm sure I will read it, and probably see the movie when it is made.

I've now started Angelology and really liking it. (This link about becoming an angelologist looks cool: http://www.angelologist.com/) It's not a face read, though; I'll be at it for at least another week.

So much for nothing waiting!

I was very proud to publish 3 reviews in 7 days over the last week (review/author interview for The Bricklayer published yesterday) and to only have the book I'm reading, The Blue Orchard, on my plate. BUT, this morning, I saw a review for Angelology in the New York Times, and I just had to read it! I requested it, and now it's on its way! Can't wait!