Book Review: "The Age of Miracles" by Karen Thompson Walker

My library didn't have this categorized as a YA book, and it really should have been. Nothing against YA books, I know several adults read them and think they are great, but with a few exceptions they aren't something that I find myself reading regularly. The main character is a 12 year old and I couldn't help thinking that I would like this storyline better if the character was a little bit older. Anyway, probably not great book blogger form to start with a criticism so let's back it up and talk about the plot.

Something has happened (no one knows what exactly) and now the earth is spinning slower and it's having a lot of repercussions. Like time is added on in an inconsistent way so there's sometimes where the sun doesn't go down for 36 hours or longer. There's weird magnetic field stuff. Gravity is effected, like birds can barely fly; everything becomes heavier (if that makes sense). In the middle of all of the end of the world feeling type of stuff Julia is a 12 year old only child with parents who have a strained marriage and is going through all of that awful stuff that 12 year olds go through.

I would have like this book more if it did a little more world building. I know that Julia is the main character and we're supposed to be the most interested in her; but I would have been more interested in hearing what was happening around the world and how people were dealing with the changes as opposed to her interactions at the bus stop with her crush.I wanted a wider lens.

If you have a yound reader in your life who might have an interest in a book that's a little more dystopian but not as dark as an Divergent or Hunger Games this might be a good place to start. There's not much violence, no sex, (I think) no swearing. So all in all, not a book for me, but not a bad book per se. 

2.8 stars out of 5!

Book review: "Accidental Saints: Finding God in All the Wrong People" by Nadia Bolz-Weber

Before we start, this author had a previous book named "Pastrix" which probably would have been a little helpful to have read before this book but is by no means a prerequisite. She kind of recounts enough that you get the idea that she had a really conservative upbringing, took a hard hard hard turn into drugs and alcohol and then found her way out and into the ministry. So she pastors a church in Denver full of "accidental saints". People who society would kind of shun or think are weird or look down on or exclude or who have had a lot of issues with organized religion in the past and are just looking to have a toe dipping in kind of experience to see if there's room for them.

I selected this book from Blogging for Books because I had heard vaguely about it and the selection from which to pick from for Blogging for Books is getting a little bit stale. I was a little weary going into it because being a religious person I'm always side eyeing a lot of the hot, trendy religious books for several reasons but in the spirit of being less of a snob and being open to new things I found myself with this book. While I don't agree with all of her views I really appreciate her dedication to her people and prayer and being a good pastor for her flock.

Ready for some out of context quotes? Becuase that's a-comin your way:

She has a parishoner who says she's having a crisis of faith. She goes and talks to her and help her out. Turns out the parishoner is in a crisis because "she thinks she believes in Jesus". Nadia laughs and says "So sorry, but sometimes Jesus just hunts your ass down and there's nothing you can do about it". Which made me laugh because CS Lewis said something (kinda) similiar when he came to Christianity, saying that he was "the most dejected, reluctant convert in all of England". 

Some of the people in Nadia's flock have substance abuse problems. She talks about one named Candy. And how God loves Candy NOW. Even as she is dirty and sick and confused. He doesn't start loving us once we start making good choices, or a hold a job for 3 months or make sure all the bills get paif on time. He loves us NOW. Even if we are the conducter of the Hot Mess Express.

Here's another quote I thought was intersting: "It's weird, but all of the characters in the Gospels who encounter Jesus, the ones who most reliably know who he is are not the religious authorities or even Jesus' own disciples. They are the demons. The demons always recognize Jesus' authority. And the demons are afraid". Which, when you think about the biblical stories of Jesus interacting with demons this is TOTALLY true. And I just think that's fascinating for some reason.

That's probably enough out of context quotes. But I'll end with saying my favorite thing about this book was her honesty, and I love the very sacred feeling that a lot of her church's rituals had. What I didn't like - why does everyone who does Crossfit have to talk about it SO MUCH ALL THE TIME? Why?

Anyway, 4 stars out of 5.

This book was provided for me in exchange for a fair review from Blogging for Books

Mon. | Dec. 5 – This Is How We Read #AMonthofFaves2016

Mon. | Dec. 5 – This Is How We Read #AMonthofFaves2016 – eg. Number of books read so far, genre you read the most from, picture of favorite (or most often used) reading location, most read author, % eBooks, hardcovers, paperbacks and/or audiobooks, hint at what your favorite read of the year is (let us guess), types of books you wish you read more of, month you read the most and least)


You guys. I'm legitimate scared I'm not going to hit 100 books read in 2016. For a little perspective - in 2014 I read 239 books, in 2015 I read 150 books, and this year....95. I have a couple of weeks to squeeze in 5 more. I can do it..... A more time consuming job with a shorter lunch break, a house, and a dog...that's what I'm going to blame.

Best short story collections I read this year: 

Best Graphic Novels I read all year:

Book that I've read that now both my parents are reading:

Book that I was wary of but then ended up loving on:

Book I knew I was going to love that Totes Ma Goats lived up to the hype:

Book that scared the shit out me, but I loved:

Book that confused that shit out of me, but I loved:

Best Classic that I read this year:

Books I liked the least that I read this year:

So much wasted potential. Uggggggh.

I know a ton of people who LOVED this book but it just didn't catch for me.

No. Just no. Hating this book got me ostracized from my book club momentarily.

Book Review: "Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art" by Magelin L'Engle

I remember making a New Year's Reading Resolution recently that I was going to read more of Miss L'Engle's writings. I had recently reread "A Wrinkle in Time" which I think is one of those books that you read as a kid, and then re-read as an adult and you appreciate a lot more about it. Or at least different things.

This is a hard book to categorize. Though really it says it all in the subtitle "reflection on faith and art". She talks about both of those things both separate and together.

I think it's interesting that she found herself chaffing when she was referred to as a "Christian" author. It's not that it wasn't untrue (she is a Christian, and she is an author) but it pigeon holes you. Like how people would be shocked to know that Roald Dahl also wrote books for adults. I think there are plenty of people who were not Christians who read WIT and enjoyed it.

Kind of attached to that she talks a lot about choice. 

She talks a lot about how being open to things is great for art.

 Honestly, I'm having a hard time reviewing this book and there were so many great quotes but they will make no sense out of context. So I will just say this.


 I found this book thoughtful and lovely, with a great flow to the chapters. It was just a nice, reassuring, interesting, calming read and I'm so glad that I picked it up. I think that she has a lot to offer people (artists, authors, or noncreative folks alike) and that many people will find this book to be just a cozy kind of soothing read.

4 out of 5 stars!

This book was sent to me free of charge from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review

SciFi November Bingo Card!

I should have put this out right at the beginning of SciFi November, but if you want a laugh maybe fill these out while you read this Novemeber or whenever you find yourself reading SciFi/Fantasy!

Uneasy alliances	Biological warfare	Alternate history	Surprise parentage	Space aliens
Time travel	Catastrophic equipment failures at the worst time	Young girl hero saves skeptical people	Someone with immortality wants to die	Rag tag army against more powerful army
Isaac Asimov robot rules	Evil twin	Free Space the Final Frontier! Free Space	Sentient technology	Dated pop culture references
Black hole	Brainwashing	Suspended animation	Death of a best friend	Wizard
Laser beams	Inter-species love affair	A weird pet	Virtual reality misunderstanding	Someone falls a long distance to their death

Ray Bradbury's "Halloween Tree" in Disneyland (The actual tree! Well, kinda.)

(This is probably a stretch for Sci-Fi November. Maybe it's more fantasy. But I think that counts)

So, there is a Ray Bradbury book that I love called The Halloween Tree. It's about this group of boys in the Midwest and how one  Halloween they and a mysterious man named Carapace Clavicle Moundshroud move through time and space to see how Halloween came to be as we celebrate it. Or other things that feed into how we feel about death and creepy things. Like Samhaim in ancient Ireland, Dias de Los Muertos in a small Mexican village, and (my personal favorite) the building of the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris and just how did all of those creepy gargoyles get up there anyway? The titular Halloween tree is a huge tree in from of Mr Moundshrouds' creepy mansion in a ravine (because of course). When the boys stumble across it the tree has hundreds of jack o lantenrs filled with candles hanging from it's branches that all suddenly light of their own accord (awesome! scary!) 

Ray lived for most of his life in Southern California (though he is a Midwestern boy by birth, hence a lot of his story settings in the Midwest) and became friends with a man named Walt Disney. Two people with very active imaginations, I can only imagine what some of those conversations sounded like to an outsider! Ray was especially involved in Epcot in California. (I think he even wrote the narrative that plays when you go on the ride through the golf ball looking thing, but don't quote me on that).

Walt honored Ray and his friendships and contributions to the Disney "vision" by naming a tree in his park "The Halloween Tree" and every Halloween it's decorated with hundreds of jack o lanterns in it's branches. There's even a plaque! I imagine thousands of people walk by it every fall not knowing that it's Ray's tree. I found out about it on accident while scrolling through Pinterest looking for activities for when Quinn and I were at Disneyland (that post coming soon). I decided I MUST FIND THIS TREE. Luckily, one of my cousins works for Disney and was able to find the tree for me so I could take pictures with it. It was kind of dreary and spooky with none of it's leaves and no longer decorated for Halloween and I thought it was perfect.

Thanks Quinn for the tree photo shoot!

 

Friday Four - Four Favorite Sci-Fi Shows

(Will be traveling for a chunk of Friday, so you get this a day early!) And I'm so happy to be able to tie this one in to SciFi November!

I can appreciate that science fiction means something different to everybody and so what I consider science fiction might not be what you consider science fiction. so based on my understanding of what science fiction is, here are my favorite.

Fringe

Oh man, I loved me some Fringe. Unexplained occurrences + Homeland Security + Parallel Universe = Fringe. The character John Noble played was hilarious and brilliant and infuriating and annoying and sympathetic. Also for those Dawson's Creek (or Skulls) fans out there...Joshua Jackson.

via GIPHY


Lost

There were times that Lost INFURIATED me, but I always came back to it. It's one of the very few shows that I watched from day one all the way to the bitter bitter end. I even did a book series about it here on the blog! Time travel, unexplained polar bears, mysterious wheels, utopian fantasies, etc etc Lost is about literally all the things. There's not enough time.



via GIPHY

Penny Dreadful

The fact that this show was only on for 3 seasons was basically a crime against humanity. The cast of this show were outstanding Eva Green, Rory Kinnear, Timothy Dalton, and (perhaps most surprisingly of all) Josh Hartnett. There is some intense violence and some weird sex stuff in this show. Also, I was terrified watching it sometimes. (There was demony stuff. And I don't watch the demony stuff. But for this I watched between my fingers.) But also surprisingly funny occasionally. I MUST love any show that brings characters from classic literature to life. I'm contractually obligated by my Maker. And even if I wasn't I'd still love the life out of this show. 

(Though, one thing. I know Timothy Dalton has been in a LOT of stuff *cough* James Bond but the first role that popped into my head whenever I hear him talk is when he voiced the hedgehog in Toy Story 3. So his character will be like, killing people left and right in PD and in my head all I can see is a hedgehog in liederhosen asking "Are you classically trained?" And then I laugh and laugh and laugh)



via GIPHY


Anywhere with you hedgehog.

Warehouse 13

This show got a little dumb towards the end but the creativity and interesting scenarios kept me hooked.(Also, one of the characters was a recovering alcoholic and this was never joked about or made light of and was treated with respect and the realities of a person in such a situation. So, go you!)  The series revolves around secret government agents who have to collect dangerous objects that harm people and safely store them in Warehouse 13. Such items could be - W. C. Fields' juggling balls that induce drunkenness and blackouts or Ivan Pavlov's Bell, which will call any dog to you but causes excessive drooling for 24 hours. So it's about the agents misadventures and the interesting objects and it was just kind of good clean, unproblematic fun.

Though no good GIFS to be had. Bummer.


Who else has sci-fi tv show favorites?