A licky wet tongue shatterd Jimmy’s dreams of glory.

About the Book

In this graphic novel aimed at kids, Jimmy loves to read war comics. And dreams about being a WW1 era fighter pilot. Early one Sunday morning, as he walks his dog, he discovers a bearded, scruffy man dozing in a derelict factory and wonders why he is there. 

We follow Jimmy as the scruffy man, a veteran of the Vietnam conflict tells his story.

My Thoughts

My library has a paltry selection of graphic novels, which rarely seems to change much. However when I was in there the other week I picked up this one and the first of Joss Whedon’s Buffy ‘Series Eight’ collections.

Why did I pick it, because it was one I hadn’t seen before, mainly, and it was very short. It is one of the shortest graphic novels I’ve come across at only 30 odd pages, so, if I didn’t like it I’d have finished it before I realised .

Did I enjoy it?

Well yes… and… no… The art work is certainly very good, and the linked elements and motifs work well to pull you through the pages. There’s also, something powerful about the ‘scruffy-man’s’ tale. It’s just that there doesn’t seem to be a point, other that to listen to the man’s tale. And I think it’s the books brevity that is at fault.

So much more could have been made of Jimmy’s dreams and the reality he discovers in talking to the veteran. And if we could have spent a bit more time meeting the veteran and his friends, what happened to them could be so much more…

Then again, because of all that, it would work very well as a discussion piece: “What is this book trying to tell us?”

[rating:2.5/5]

Related posts:

1. So Much to Tell You by John Marsden
2. Mouse Guard Autumn 1152 – David Peterson
3. Three Shadows – Cryil Pedrosa

My name is Elizabeth but no one’s ever called me that.

I originally got this book for Christmas, as part of a set of 15 all re-printed in the traditional Penguin style as part of their celebration range, and I have to say they look fantastic on my shelves! It was also one of the books I books I wanted to read for the Dewey’s Books Reading Challenge and I have to say I loved the book, and it is one of my favourites so far this year, in fact.

My only problem came in re-reading, Dewey’s original review before starting to write mine, it brought a lump to my throat and more than ever before I realised how much we miss her contribution to our community.

How I Live Now, follows the story of fifteen-year-old Manhattanite Daisy, as she is shipped off to England, to spend some time with her aunt’s family.

She’s not getting on with her new step-mother, won’t acknowledge her new sister, and her frequent and expensive  therapy sessions are having little effect. You get the feeling That None of this Is Daisy’s Fault, and that this is the desperate attempt from her father to do something to help his daughter, and is not just a means to get her out of the way.

Upon arriving in England, Daisy quickly falls in love with her new life and quirky family, but that idyll is shattered when a long threatened war breaks out, and Daisy and her new family are left on their own as her Aunt is trapped overseas on what was intended to be a short business trip.

For months, they are left alone and survive very well, the War does little to touch them, other that the supply of food being rationed. The rumours of people dying from relatively simple illnesses due to lack of proper medical care, are really just that rumours. They know in their hearts it is true, but in their isolation, it doens’t impinge on their lives.

During this time, they draw closer together, so close in fact that Daisy falls in love with her cousin, Edmund, and their hidden relationship soon develops in to a sexual one, as they seek comfort in one another.

It would be much easier to tell this story if it were all about a chaste and perfect love between Two Children Against the World at an Extreme Time in History but let’s face it that would be a load of crap. The real truth is that the war didn’t have much to do with it except that it provided a perfect limbo in which two people who were too young and too related could start kissing without anything or anyone making us stop. There were no parents, no teachers, no schedules. There was nowhere to go and nothing to do that would remind us that this sort of thing didn’t happen in the Real World.

There no longer was a Real World.

They can’t hide from the world forever though, and when the Army decide that their isolated farm house would be a perfect base of operations, the group are torn apart, and the reality of war begins to hit.

The story here begins to take a darker tone, and there are moments when your emotions are hit with proper sucker-punches, as Daisy (and Rosoff) capture the horror of events she witnesses.

Daisy, now finds herself responsible for her nine-year old cousin, Piper (who is just great) and has to grow up quite quickly if they are going to survive long enough to re-unite with Edmund and the rest of the family.

As anyone who has read about this book will be aware, the first section is filled with breathless, run-on-sentences, Much Use if Capitals for Emphasis, and a distinct lack of comma’s, now you will either hate this technique or love it, for me, I liked it, it perfectly suited Daisy and her personality, and when in the final third, when normal punctuation resumes, it helps to highlight her new maturity.

Without spoiling the ending, I really liked it, we got nice closure, without ever forgetting the consequences of the war and how it effected them all.

A really memorable read.

[rating:4.5/5]

Awards and Honours

Other Reviews to Consider

Buy, How I Live Now, from Amazon.

Related posts:

1. Review: Just in Case by Meg Rosoff
2. Pendragon Book #4: The Reality Bug by D. J. Machale narrated by William Dufris
3. So Much to Tell You by John Marsden

It was a pleasure to burn.

Thanks to the Decades ‘09 challenge and Carl V’s Science Fiction Experience, I this week read one of those books that can be defined as a ‘classic’.

I thinks most people know the basic plot of this book, so I’m going to be lazy and quote from the blurb:

Guy Montag was a fireman whose job it was to start fires…

The system was simple. Everyone understood it. Books were for burning…along with the houses in which they were hidden.

Guy Montag enjoyed his job. He had been a fireman for ten years, and he had never questioned the pleasure of the midnight runs nor the joy of watching pages consumed by flames…never questioned anything until he met a seventeen-year-old girl who told him of a past when people were not afraid.

Then he met a professor who told him of a future in which people could think…and Guy Montag suddenly realized what he had to do!

What’s most frightening about this book, is that whilst reading it, you can easily visualise the series of baby-steps it would take for the nightmarish dystopian future Bradbury portrays in this book to come true.

Of course this, is mostly due to the quality of Bradbury’s writing, to make the improbable look possible. As with All Summer in One Day, the short story I read last week, the book also contains some fantastic descriptions, that helps really make the story as fascinating thing to read, as it is frightening.

Some of the things he predicted 50 years ago, are surprisingly accurate: massive televisions that dominate the living room; ‘reality’ style television programmes, and ‘seashell’ listening devices, that cut you off from the rest of the world, are just a few of the things that you will recognise from modern living.

A very enjoyable, and thought provoking read.

If they give you ruled paper, write the other way. —Juan Ramón Jiménez

[rating:75/100]

Other Reviews:

• You Can Never Have too Many Books
• Rhinoa’s Ramblings
• 3M
• Things Mean a Lot
• The Zen Leaf

Related posts:

1. Review: Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix
2. Review: My Most Excellent Year by Steve Kluger
3. Old Man’s War by John Scalzi

If I thought the previous book in the series, was the turning point in the ten book story arc, then I was only half right, in Pendragon: Black Water, everything changes, Saint Dane is more powerful than ever, and the story telling much more intense.

In the previous book (The Reality Bug), Bobby’s friend and fellow traveler, Gunny followed Saint Dane to Eelong and once Bobby’s work is done on Veelox, Bobby makes his way there as well, what he finds, is like nothing else he has ever experienced.

Breaking the rules
Just when fifteen-year-old Bobby Pendragon thinks he understands his purpose as a Traveler — to protect the territories of Halla from the evil Saint Dane — he is faced with an impossible choice. The inhabitants of Eelong are in danger of being wiped out by a mysterious plague. The only way Bobby can stop it is to bring the antidote from another territory. Since moving items between territories is forbidden by the Traveler rules, if Bobby chooses to save Eelong he could endanger himself, his friends, and the future of every other being in Halla.

The fifth book in D.J. MacHale’s Pendragon series, Black Water, is the most suspenseful and exciting yet! Machale constantly shifts the story telling goal post, in this fast paced tale. The the advantage in the fight for Eelong (or at least it appears to) shift from, Saint Dane, to Bobby, then back to Saint Dane again, this is partly because Saint Dane’s true motivations for Eelong are not revealed until the emotionally shattering climax. (and even then, things don’t become totaly clear until the following book, The Rivers of Zadaa, once Bobby has had some time to come to terms with it).

The accolytes (Mark and Courtney) can suddenly travel the flumes, and after a visit first from Saint Dane and then the Traveler from Eelong, only they have the information Bobby needs, but with no way to contact him, they are left with only once choice, they must go to Cloral and find Spader and enlist his help.

Do they succeed? Is Bobby pleased to see them? What are the ramifications of their rule breaking? Did they in the end, have a choice? Well you need to read the book to find out, but for me at least, Machale’s answers to these questions, deliver on all counts. Oh boy, do they deliver!

The series just gets better and better.

[rating:86/100]

Buy, Black Water (Pendragon, Book 5), from Amazon.

Related posts:

1. Pendragon Book #4: The Reality Bug by D. J. Machale narrated by William Dufris
2. Pendragon #3:The Never War by D.J. Machale | Narrated by William Dufris
3. Pendragon #1: The Merchant of Death – D.J. Machale

Well despite being off of work for the last week, I haven’t managed to read a thing…

This is of course due to me taking part in NaNoWriMo once again, it has been worth forsaking the books though, as – at least for now – I am well ahead of schedule, we will see how long this continues when I return to work tomorrow though!

But now, I have decided I need a break, so once dinner had been prepared and eaten, I am going to settle down for an hour or two with, The Ropemaker, by Peter Dickinson, a book I am reading for the, Mythopoeic Awards Challenge, I started it last week before I commenced with this novel in a month lark, and am enjoying it so far.

While I am writing this, I am also spending my audible credit this month by downloading the audio version of the, The Graveyard Book, I’ve really loved Neil Gaiman’s narration of his own books before, and as I have already established that the book itself is one of my top reads of the year, I have every confidence I’m going to love it!

Speaking of Neil, here are some reviews I’ve posted in the last week.
Coraline by Neil Gaiman, Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin, & Pendragon Book #4: The Reality Bug by D. J. Machale narrated by William Dufris

No related posts.

Fresh from his battle with Saint Dane on First Earth, Bobby is resolute that himself and the rest of the travellers will defeat whatever Saint Dane has planned for this territory. But once Bobby enters the virtual world will he be able to resist the lure of the ultimate in escapism?

The territory of Veelox has achieved perfect harmony. Fifteen-year-old Bobby Pendragon arrives on this territory in pursuit of the evil Saint Dane, but all is peaceful on Veelox – peaceful, because it is deserted. The inhabitants have discovered a way – using a technology called ‘Lifelight’ – to ‘jump’ their into their own personal dream worlds, where they can be whoever they want to be, wherever they want to be.

But Veelox is a world in neglect, because while everyone is spending their lives “jumping” or running the Lifelight Pyramids, there is no one left to take care of the territory itself, or fight off Saint Dane’s plans. No one but Bobby and the traveller from Veelox, Aja Killian, that is. Only problem is, while Aja is obviously very smart, she dislikes Bobby and is also incredibly arrogant and naive.

Before Bobby can hope to take on Saint Dane, he must win over Aja, and the clock is ticking…

Aja, does come up with what seems like the perfect plan. ‘The Reality Bug’ a virus like program that once released into the system, will make everybody’s dreams just a little less perfect – more like reality – and will encourage them to leave their jumps and return to tend their homes.

However, Saint Dane, has been planning the destruction of all the Territories for many years, and as ever is one step ahead of the Travellers, once the ‘Bug’ is released, things don’t go as as Aja planned, and the virtual and real worlds start to mix…

Meanwhile, back on Second Earth, Mark and Courtney, find out what role they are going to play in the battle for Halla, no longer just the keepers of Bobby’s journals, they are now Bobby’s acolytes and must me ready to provide assistance, to the Travellers when they visit Second Earth. And Gunny the Traveller from First Earth has followed Saint Dane to Eelong to try and head off his attempts to bring down that territory.

You can tell – at least I think you can – that this is the book, where D. J. MacHale, buoyed by the success of the series, really starts to ramp up the action and can really get going with the series plot arc, everything feels that little bit bigger and darker, and along with this – is the certain knowledge, that whether it is here on Veelox, or elsewhere, Saint Dane is going to succeed in one of his plans, and once one territory falls, then…

Once again, William Dufris’ narration is a joy to listen to, he captures all the character’s voices perfectly (especially Bobby’s), and subtle changes in tone really set the tone and mood of each scene, and keeps you on the edge of your seat right in the middle of the action.

[rating:85/100]

Buy, The Reality Bug (Pendragon). from Amazon.

Related posts:

1. Pendragon #5: Black Water by D.J. Machale | Narrated by William Dufris
2. Pendragon #3:The Never War by D.J. Machale | Narrated by William Dufris
3. Pendragon #2: The Lost City of Faar – D.J. Machale [TSS]

And out of the 10 books in this month, 8 have already been read! (how good am I?!) Which 8? you ask? Well they are listed below.

Thanks to:

Ann-Kat, katrina, Joanne, Nymeth, robaroundbooks, Sally, Shelly, Wrighty, Susan, Chris, Bethany, 3m, gautami, veens, Teresa, Word Lilly, Sprite, Jessie, Jodie, Lucie D, Shari, valentina, alisonwonderland, phami, Steph, Dewey, ashley, MissMac, MrsS, Tammy, Sprite, Callista, Alessandra, icedream, Jen, Laurie, Yan, tricia, Marg, Maree, softdrink, bybee, Sunny, Aerin, sharon, rachel, Fyrefly, Kim, Tina, Jena, Wisteria, Ivette.

For stopping by my blog and taking the time to comment this month.

Books Read & Reviews

• Possessing Rayne by Kate Cann ★★★★
• Pendragon #3:The Never War by D.J. Machale | Narrated by William Dufris ★★★★
• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman ★★★★★
• Thirsty by M.T. Anderson ★★★
• Murder in the Dark: Short Fictions and Prose Poems by Margaret Atwood ★★★★
• The Turn of the Screw – Henry James (Audiobook) ★★★½
• Pendragon #4: Black Water by D.J. Machale | Narrated by William Dufris
• Coraline by Neil Gaiman
• Silk by Alessandro Barricco
• Bonjour Tristesse by Francoise Sagan
• The Lives of Animals by J.M Coetzee
• East End Tales by Gilda O’Neil
• Memoirs of Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin

A busy reading month by any imagination! (Helped of course by the 24 Hour Read-a-Thon!)

Challenges

My reading list for the month has allowed me to complete both the [intlink id="926" type="post"]RIP III[/intlink] & [intlink id="561" type="post"]Orbis Terrarum[/intlink] challenges and as I have officially given up on the [intlink id="476" type="post"]A to Z Challenge[/intlink], I’m just left with 4 books to complete the [intlink id="577" type="post"]Mythopoeic Challenge[/intlink], which I should be able to do with ease.

Keyword Fun

Once again this month was slightly disappointing on the interesting incoming keyword terms.

Free download tales beedle bard ebook
It’s raising funds for charity, pay for it you selfish little git.
Harper’s striped armchair
Not sure about Harper’s, but Eva’s can be found here!
How many pages is “the inventions of hugo cabret”
My hardbook edition says 533.
How to run a read a thon
Well, you could ask, Dewey, although I have a feeling, her answer will depend on how close the memories (stress/hardwork etc) of the last one are!
What does it mean?
Heck! There’s a deep question question! I think you could well be at the wrong blog mate…

Related posts:

1. Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Bart: What made you read Tithe? Was it the book itself or had you read some Spiderwick stuff?

Somer: I don’t actually remember how Tithe originally made it onto my TBR stack. I think the cover must have caught my attention at some point, and I added it to my Amazon wishlist. I got the book as a Christmas gift in 2006 (thank you, LibraryThing tags!). Libba Bray (author of A Great and Terrible Beauty and sequels) has raved a lot on her blog about Holly Black, which also influenced my decision to read Tithe. Even though I realized Holly Black co-authored Spiderwick, it really didn’t have anything to do with my decision to read the book at all.

Bart: How would you describe the atmoshere of the book? (Scary, disquietning, moody etc.)

Somer: Overall, Tithe is very dark. The main character, Kaye, is a high-school dropout with a troubling homelife. That sort of sets the tone for the whole book.

Bart: What was your favourite bit and why?

Somer: I always have a hard time with this type of question. I really enjoyed the entire book. I think my favorite parts were any of the parts set in the faery realm because I like the departure from reality.

Bart: And what as your least favourite bit and why? (I’m thinking here not so much of something that was wrong or did not work, but more of something did exactly what the author wanted it to and either scared you or squicked you out etc. ) )

Somer: Well, I don’t want to give spoilers, so I’ll do the best I can. To tell you the truth, my least favorite aspect of the book is the switching of the princes in the Seelie and Unseelie Courts. This is an important part of the book, but I had a really hard time keeping track of which courth Nephamael and Roiben actually belonged to and which queen they were serving. But that may have just been me.

Bart: And finally, who would you recommend read this book to and why? And/or who would you not recommend the book, and why?

Somer: Anyone who enjoys urban fantasy would likely enjoy this book. Fans of Libba Bray, who haven’t already discovered this would probably like it. Kids who have outgrown Spiderwick. I wouldn’t recommend this for tweens, as it’s just a bit too gritty (speaking as the mom of an almost-12-year-old). Teens, yes, but I would probably want my daughter to wait until she was 13 or 14. Mainly because there are some mature themes (a mom that parties a lot, some sexual content (though no actual sex that I can remember).

Somer: Do you think the storyline in The Invention of Hugo Cabret could have effectively stood on its own, or do you think its success was wholly a product of the illustrations?

Bart: Hmm… Good question! There’s no doubt that there would need to be some work added to the story as, so much of it is conveyed in the images, and despite the size of the book, it is actually quite a slim story (and I don’t mean that in a derisory manner as it is only intended to be a short story, not an epic!) even with added text though, I think it would suffer, as the story itself is about a visual medium (film). It’d be a bit like a recipe book without pictures, it’d work, but…

Somer: Do you think that your impression of the book as an adult is different than that of, say, a 10-year-old boy?

Bart: Yes, I don’t think (at least I know I would not have at 10!) a ten year old would appreciate the detail in the artwork, and the cleverness of it’s execution in quite the same way However I think that as an adult, in that appreciation, I miss out on the simple “Cor! this is cool”-ness (or whatever phrase the hip-kids are using) of it all.

Somer: Avoiding spoilers, as I have yet to read the book, what was your favorite part?

Bart: The art-work, easilly the art-work, you really do have to sit down and ‘read’ the book to appreciate it fully, you can stand in the bookshop and look at it, and ooh and ahh, all you like, but the moment you sit down to read and see it working properly, it takes it to a whole other level of brilliance.

Somer: This book is huge, and the size could be intimidating to a reluctant reader. How would you convince a young reader to pick it up?

Bart: I don’t know, after Harry Potter and Twilight, are big books as intimidating as they used to be? Even if they are, it’s not an intimidating book when you start to flip through it, the vast majority of pages have no text on and those that do have nice large print and lots of ‘white-space’. I’d probably ask them to just have a look at the pictures on the first few pages, honestly if you can get them to do that, you won’t need to do anything else.

Somer: Have you read anything else by Brian Selznick (or illustrated by Selznick), and, if so, how does Hugo Cabret compare?

Bart: No, I’ve not read anything else he has been involved in.

• You can check out my original review here.

Related posts:

1. Here Lies Arthur – Phillip Reeve [A Weekly Geek Style Review!]
2. Review: Tithe by Holly Black
3. Digital Fortress – Dan Brown [A Weekly Geek Style Review]

Ellie and the other survivors face an impossible decision: They can flee for the mountains or surrender. Or they can fight.

When Ellie and six of her friends return home from a camping trip deep in the bush, they find things hideously wrong – their families gone, houses empty and abandoned, pets and stock dead.

Gradually they begin to comprehend that their country has been invaded and everyone in the town has been taken prisoner. (And my only very minor nit-pic with the story is, that they possibly reach this conclusion a little too quickly , with the few clues they are given, but then the pace of the story is just beginning to pick up at this point and too much WTF? wouldn’t be ideal either.)

As the horrible reality of the situation becomes evident they have to make a life-and-death decision: to run back into the bush and hide, to give themselves up to be with their families, or to stay and try to fight.

I reviewed the paperback version of this book a couple of weeks ago, and really enjoyed it, so decided to download it as this months Audible download.

Suzi Dougherty’s narration is excellent, and really draws you into the story, as a Brit I natuarally tended to inflict a British accent on the characters when reading the paperback, apart from the really obvious Aussie-ism’s it was really nice to hear it with an appropriate voice for all the characters!

Suzi Dougherty really seems to capture Ellie’s character, and combined with John Marsden’s fantastic writing you can really lose yourself and believe that it is Ellie telling you the story.

I can heartily recommend both the book and this audio version.

Click Here to Download Audiobook

Related posts:

1. Tomorrow, When the War Began – John Marsden
2. Incurable by John Marsden ~ Narrated by Mikaela Martin
3. Circle of Flight by John Marsden

Ellie and the other survivors face an impossible decision: They can flee for the mountains or surrender. Or they can fight.

When Ellie and six of her friends return home from a camping trip deep in the bush, they find things hideously wrong – their families gone, houses empty and abandoned, pets and stock dead.

Gradually they begin to comprehend that their country has been invaded and everyone in the town has been taken prisoner. (And my only very minor nit-pic with the story is, that they possibly reach this conclusion a little too quickly , with the few clues they are given, but then the pace of the story is just beginning to pick up at this point and too much WTF? wouldn’t be ideal either.)

As the horrible reality of the situation becomes evident they have to make a life-and-death decision: to run back into the bush and hide, to give themselves up to be with their families, or to stay and try to fight.

Well Katie can come out of hiding, I mooched this book purely on her own review at Kate’s Bookshelf and threatened her with much cyber-grumpyness if I didn’t enjoy it, well I did. And them some.

Marketed as a young adult title, this wonderful book deserves a much bigger audience than that, this is a great story and the fact that if has teenage protagonists shouldn’t limit it’s market.

Ellie, is a wonderful narrator (and I am assured both by other reviews I have read and Katie, that Marsden has a scary ability to get into the head of a teenage girl!) and, had I read the book last week, then she would almost certainly have joined Thursday Next and Maximum Ride on my list of favourite heroines.

I devoured the the book in book in a couple of sittings, and thankfully the second in the series is already on its way to me (thanks again to Katie! who suggested it would be a good idea) While John Marsden, doesn’t really leave the book on a cliffhanger as such, you will want to read the next one straght away to find out what happens next.

Related posts:

1. Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden [Narrated by Suzi Dougherty]
2. Incurable by John Marsden ~ Narrated by Mikaela Martin
3. Circle of Flight by John Marsden