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- Sat, 12:11: Read this. It's horrifying. We have such a long way to go. http://t.co/2lNEgGNN
- Sat, 19:45: How to avoid writing a racial stereotype. Good article. http://t.co/QXV0BnAR
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Sep. 9th, 2012
- Sat, 12:11: Read this. It's horrifying. We have such a long way to go. http://t.co/2lNEgGNN
- Sat, 19:45: How to avoid writing a racial stereotype. Good article. http://t.co/QXV0BnAR
Tags:
Blackout, Mira Grant [purchase, science fiction, zombie apocalypse]. (The conclusion of the Newsflesh trilogy. This series tackles zombies with very much of a science-fiction instead of a horror perspective. The main character was killed in the first book, and brought back to life in this one via cloning! Very good wrapping up of all the threads, although the conspiracy plot seems way more convoluted than necessary.)
The Dark and Hollow Places [library book, young adult, zombie apocalypse]. (This is the third book in the Forest of Hands and Teeth trilogy. I own the second in the series, The Dead-Tossed Waves, and the only thing I can say about this book is "disappointing." The characterization in Waves was far richer and deeper. One thing about these books, they are a bit more realistic in that they do admit a zombie apocalypse would basically mean the end of civilization and the human race. Which makes this book even more depressing, now that I think about it.)
Enclave, Ann Aguirre [library book, young adult, post-apocalyptic]. (Ann Aguirre is one of my favorite authors, and Enclave does not disappoint. While it is obviously the first book in a series due to the questions left unanswered at the end, it is gritty, thought-provoking and fast-paced. It's also amazing how nearly all of these post-apocalyptic types of stories are set in New York. This city seems to have quite a hold in the human zeitgeist.)
Chime, Franny Billingsley [library book, young adult]. (I will be honest: I did not finish this book. I couldn't. I don't often throw books down on my bed in disgust, but I've decided I'm too danged old to waste my time reading a book I don't like. This book is stupid. It's populated with unlikable characters, written with a twee British pretentiousness and a jarring, jittery style that I simply could not stand. Bah. 'Nuff said.)
The Fox Effect: How Roger Ailes Turned a Network Into a Propaganda Machine, David Brock et al [library book, non-fiction, politics, media]. (If I was Bill Gates, or could persuade him to part with a spare billion or two, I would buy Fox News lock, stock and barrel--every station, every contract--and shut that mofo down. It would give me great pleasure to personally deliver pink slips to Roger Ailes, Karl Rove, Sean Hannity, and Bill O'Reilly. Read this book. It will enrage you.)
Deadly Spin, Wendell Potter [purchase, non-fiction, politics, health care]. (Written by a former insurance company executive, this book lays bare the poisonous practices of for-profit insurance companies. It makes a great case for single-payer universal health insurance.)
Welcome to Bordertown, Holly Black and Ellen Kushner [library book, fiction, anthology]. (A shared-world anthology "set in the urban land of Bordertown, a city on the edge of the faerie and human world, populated by human and elfin runaways." It boasts a fairly good selection of stories, poems, and songs.)
Enlightened Sexism: The Seductive Message That Feminism's Work is Done, Susan J. Douglas [library book, non-fiction, feminism]. (I actually read this book two years ago, but it's the kind of book that deserves a reread. I especially appreciated the chapter on Xena and Buffy, and the chapter describing the cesspool of reality shows. [Why anyone, especially a woman, would want to go on a reality show boggles the mind.] This book shows that feminism is still desperately needed.)
Ghost Story, Jim Butcher [purchase,fiction, urban fantasy]. (Thirteen books in, the Harry Dresden series is better than ever. This book is action-packed, but it's also a reflective, soul-searching story, as befits the complete change in the protagonist's life. Harry Lives!)
An Edge In My Voice, Harlan Ellison [library book, non-fiction, essays]. (This collection of Harlan Ellision's essays, despite being thirty years old, is as relevant today as ever. I really wish Uncle Harlan felt up to writing a political column today. I would love to unleash his savage, eviscerating wit on today's Republican Party.)
The Dark and Hollow Places [library book, young adult, zombie apocalypse]. (This is the third book in the Forest of Hands and Teeth trilogy. I own the second in the series, The Dead-Tossed Waves, and the only thing I can say about this book is "disappointing." The characterization in Waves was far richer and deeper. One thing about these books, they are a bit more realistic in that they do admit a zombie apocalypse would basically mean the end of civilization and the human race. Which makes this book even more depressing, now that I think about it.)
Enclave, Ann Aguirre [library book, young adult, post-apocalyptic]. (Ann Aguirre is one of my favorite authors, and Enclave does not disappoint. While it is obviously the first book in a series due to the questions left unanswered at the end, it is gritty, thought-provoking and fast-paced. It's also amazing how nearly all of these post-apocalyptic types of stories are set in New York. This city seems to have quite a hold in the human zeitgeist.)
Chime, Franny Billingsley [library book, young adult]. (I will be honest: I did not finish this book. I couldn't. I don't often throw books down on my bed in disgust, but I've decided I'm too danged old to waste my time reading a book I don't like. This book is stupid. It's populated with unlikable characters, written with a twee British pretentiousness and a jarring, jittery style that I simply could not stand. Bah. 'Nuff said.)
The Fox Effect: How Roger Ailes Turned a Network Into a Propaganda Machine, David Brock et al [library book, non-fiction, politics, media]. (If I was Bill Gates, or could persuade him to part with a spare billion or two, I would buy Fox News lock, stock and barrel--every station, every contract--and shut that mofo down. It would give me great pleasure to personally deliver pink slips to Roger Ailes, Karl Rove, Sean Hannity, and Bill O'Reilly. Read this book. It will enrage you.)
Deadly Spin, Wendell Potter [purchase, non-fiction, politics, health care]. (Written by a former insurance company executive, this book lays bare the poisonous practices of for-profit insurance companies. It makes a great case for single-payer universal health insurance.)
Welcome to Bordertown, Holly Black and Ellen Kushner [library book, fiction, anthology]. (A shared-world anthology "set in the urban land of Bordertown, a city on the edge of the faerie and human world, populated by human and elfin runaways." It boasts a fairly good selection of stories, poems, and songs.)
Enlightened Sexism: The Seductive Message That Feminism's Work is Done, Susan J. Douglas [library book, non-fiction, feminism]. (I actually read this book two years ago, but it's the kind of book that deserves a reread. I especially appreciated the chapter on Xena and Buffy, and the chapter describing the cesspool of reality shows. [Why anyone, especially a woman, would want to go on a reality show boggles the mind.] This book shows that feminism is still desperately needed.)
Ghost Story, Jim Butcher [purchase,fiction, urban fantasy]. (Thirteen books in, the Harry Dresden series is better than ever. This book is action-packed, but it's also a reflective, soul-searching story, as befits the complete change in the protagonist's life. Harry Lives!)
An Edge In My Voice, Harlan Ellison [library book, non-fiction, essays]. (This collection of Harlan Ellision's essays, despite being thirty years old, is as relevant today as ever. I really wish Uncle Harlan felt up to writing a political column today. I would love to unleash his savage, eviscerating wit on today's Republican Party.)
Tags: