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  1. Feed by Mira Grant

    Thursday, October 7, 2010

    Title: Feed
    Series: Newsflesh
    Author: Mira Grant
    Publisher: Orbit
    Release Date: May 1, 2010
    Source: Library

    From the Back Cover:
    The year was 2014. We had cured cancer. We had beaten the common cold. But in doing so we created something new, something terrible that no one could stop. The infection spread, virus blocks taking over bodies and minds with one, unstoppable command: FEED.

    Now, twenty years after the Rising, bloggers Georgia and Shaun Mason are on the trail of the biggest story of their lives - the dark conspiracy behind the infected. The truth will out, even if it kills them.

    My Thoughts:
    Four words: New. Favourite. Zombie. Book.

    Feed explores the impact of a zombie rising far beyond the initial fear and chaos, looking at the long term influence on media, politics, security, and medicine. Mira Grant (pseudonym for Seanan McGuire) shows us the world in 2040 - a whole 26 years after the Rising. The panic has passed and the walking dead wanting to take a bite out of you is just another fact of life. The Rising catapulted bloggers into the spotlight as the only reliable news resource during a time when conventional news providers where under the thumb of censorship.

    I fell in love with the cast of characters that Grant put on the page. Georgia and Shaun Mason are siblings by adoption who are closer than most brothers and sisters. They run the news blogging site, After the End Times, along with their friend Georgette "Buffy" Meissonier, winning themselves the career making opportunity of a lifetime - exclusive access to Senator Ryman's presidential campaign. Georgia is the "Newsie" with a passion for truth. Shaun as their "Irwin" brings in the ratings by pulling risky stunts like poking zombies with sticks. As the "Fictional" Buffy writes stories and poems to entertain the masses. Together they create a dynamic team and I enjoyed Georgia's unique voice as the narrator.

    Feed has the perfect balance of political conspiracy and zombies along with plenty of tension, action. humour, and tears that kept me up into all hours of the night unable to set it down. I eagerly await the next book in the series, Deadline.


    Also Check Out:
    The Zombie Hunters by Jenny Romanchuck
    The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

    Terra

    Posted by Terra at 12:19 PM | Labels: , , , , , | 3 comments | | |

  2. Teaser Tuesdays

    Wednesday, October 6, 2010


    Technically fifteen minutes into Wednesday... -_-

    Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
    • Grab your current read
    • Open to a random page
    • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
    • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
    • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
    "Actually, I decided to skip the weapons." Picking up the other two kits, I brushed past him on my way up front. "If we meet any zombies, we'll pacify them with Hostess snack cakes."

    From page 265 of Feed by Mira Grant.

    Either there is an ongoing joke in the upper half of the world about the power of Hostess snack cakes to repel all sorts of things that go bump in the night, or Mira Grant listens to the Geek Survival Guide.

    Terra

    Posted by Terra at 12:17 AM | Labels: , | 6 comments | | |

  3. Title: Life As We Knew It
    Series: Last Survivors
    Author: Susan Beth Pfeffer
    Publisher: Harcourt
    Release Date: October 1, 2006
    Source: Library

    From the Back Cover:
    It's almost the end of Miranda's sophomore year in high school, and her journal reflects the busy life of a typical teenager: conversations with friends, fights with mom, and fervent hopes for a driver's license. When Miranda first begins hearing the reports of a meteor on a collision course with the moon, it hardly seems worth a mention in her diary. But after the meteor hits, pushing the moon off its axis and causing worldwide earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes, all the things Miranda used to take for granted begin to disappear. Food and gas shortages, along with extreme weather changes, come to her small Pennsylvania town; and Miranda's voice is by turns petulant, angry, and finally resigned, as her family is forced to make tough choices while they consider their increasingly limited options. Yet even as suspicious neighbors stockpile food in anticipation of a looming winter without heat or electricity, Miranda knows that that her future is still hers to decide even if life as she knew it is over.

    My Thoughts:
    Although Life As We Knew It is about the chaotic side effects of a meteor knocking the moon into orbit much closer to the Earth don't  be too hasty to label it as "apocalypse" fiction so much as "survival" fiction. Much of the book is set inside Miranda's house as her family struggle to survive within without the 21st century resources that they are used to. Miranda only hears about the massive tsunamis and volcano eruptions and is spared from experiencing them. In Life As We Knew It you won't see an informed overview of the world falling apart so much as the very personal story of Miranda and her family's struggle against starvation and the cold. Some readers may be dissappointed at times to miss out on the big action but I really liked Pfeffer's appoach of focusing everyday survivalism and family.

    There is one thing that I think that Pfeffer does very well and that is to make me feel hungry and then to make me feel immediatel guilty about it. It really is amazing how little people know about how to survive in an emergency situation. We all like to think that we would be prepared but in reality we are so used to depending on electricty, gas, plumbing, and supermarkets to provide us with heat, running water, and food that who among us are trualy equipped to survive long term? Especially when your home environment suddenly turns so hostile.

    One of my few complaints is that sometimes, especially at the start, the writing style felt a bit much like it was listing things but it is hard to say if this was intentional as Life As We Knew It is in the format of Miranda's diary and the everyday venting of a seventeen year old girl can't be expected to always be a piece of art. I also felt like there were a few lose ends left open that I would have liked to see tied up.

    That, and I am always a bit disappointed in survival stories when they scabble for can of foods to stock up and no one makes a point of saying: "Can openers! Grab as many can openers as you can!" It's just my pet survival thing. I mean, wouldn't it just suck to starve to death despite having all that food because something happened to your only can opener?

    Also Check Out:
    The Road by Cormac McCarthy

    Terra

    Posted by Terra at 11:03 PM | Labels: , , , , | 2 comments | | |

  4. Teaser Tuesdays

    Tuesday, September 28, 2010


    Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

    • Grab your current read
    • Open to a random page
    • Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
    • BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
    • Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
    It felt weird, though, seeing them all closed, the same kind of weird when you see the moon and it's just a little too big and too bright.

    I guess I always felt even if the world came to an end, McDonald's would still be open.

    From page 47 of Life As We Knew It by Susan Pfeffer.

    Terra

    Posted by Terra at 12:04 PM | Labels: , | 9 comments | | |

  5. What's On the Bookshelf

    Monday, September 27, 2010

    Considering my usual reading habits, it seems strange for me that I did not get that much reading done while I was on crutches, instead I pulled out some old PC games and allowed my mind to be consumed by Assassin's Creed and Battle for Middle-earth II.

    John Dies at the End by David Wong
    I was thrilled when this finally turned up on my doorstep. I'd been hanging out and counting down waiting for the paperback to be released so that the Book Depository could finally ship me my pre-order. If the title sounds familiar to you it may be because it started out online as a web series. After a few years it caught the attention of indie horror publisher Permuted Press and eventually came to the attention of St. Martin's Press. Not at all bad for a story that started out online.



    The Passage by Justin Cronin
    Is this book in high demand right now or what! It took forever to get to the top of the library waiting list for The Passage and there are more in line behind me. I just hope that I can get through all 766 of its pages before I have to pass it along! I look forward to reading a vampire story that isn't set in the school yard.

    Terra

    Posted by Terra at 12:08 AM | Labels: , | 3 comments | | |

  6. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

    Saturday, September 25, 2010

    Title: Shiver
    Series: The Wolves of Mercy Falls 
    Author: Maggie Stiefvater
    Publisher: Scholastic Press
    Release Date: August 1, 2009
    Source: Library

    From the Back Cover:
    The Cold
    Grace has spent years watching the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—watches back. He feels deeply familiar to her, but she doesn't know why.

    The Heat
    Sam has lived two lives. As a wolf, he keeps the silent company of the girl he loves. And then, for a short time each year, he is human, never daring to talk to Grace...until now.

    The Shiver
    For Grace and Sam, love has always been kept at a distance. But once it's spoken, it cannot be denied. Sam must fight to stay human—and Grace must fight to keep him—even if it means taking on the scars of the past, the fragility of the present, and the impossibility of the future.

    My Thoughts:
    I had recently been feeling rather jaded with YA Paranormal Romance but in one fell swoop Maggie Stiefvater has redeemed the entire genre.

    Shiver is beautifully written. More than the romance, more than the unique werewolf mythology, Stiefvater had me entranced with her poetic prose. The pace is slow but steady enough that it kept me hooked. The narration passes between Sam and Grace and I came to enjoy both characters dearly. Grace is independent and level headed for her age yet a part of her still wishes for her parents to step up to the plate. The "beautiful and sad" Sam reads poetry, writes songs in his head, and struggles to come to terms with his past and impending future. Together they strike a beautiful balance. I feel like the candy shop scene captures the feel of their relationship and of this book perfectly - it's like mug of hot chocolate during the winter.

    Stiefvater's mythology behind werewolves is refreshing and unique. It is the onset of winter that triggers the change from human to wolf and eventually, after a number of years of change, they will remain a wolf for the rest of their lives. Each chapter starts with the temperature. Although Fahrenheit is not used where I live, the significance of impending change was never lost on me.

    I only wish that I had not waited so long to read this beautifully written book. I will not wait so long to pick up the next The Wolves of Mercy Falls book, Linger.

    Also Check Out:
    Fallen by Lauren Kate


    Terra

    Posted by Terra at 8:25 AM | Labels: , , , , | 2 comments | | |

  7. Vampires Suck

    Friday, September 24, 2010

    Title: Vampire's Suck
    Director: Jason Friedberg, Aaron Seltzer
    Release Date: August 26, 2010
    Source: Movie Theatre


    From the Back Cover:
    (Or in this case, imdb.com)
    A spoof of vampire-themed movies, where teenager Becca finds herself torn between two boys. As she and her friends wrestle with a number of different dramas, everything comes to a head at their prom.

    My Thoughts:
    I went to see this with a mixed group of people, including Twilight fans, people who think that the series is okay but are basically indifferent when it comes down to it, and myself who doesn't like the series so I feel that this review can come with the benefit of their opinions too.

    Vampires Suck is brought to you by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer - the same guys behind Date Movie, Epic Movie, Meet The Spartans, and Disaster Movie. Vampires Suck is a send up of Twilight and that is the film's first flaw. Often "spoof" movies target a specific genre and make fun of a few current popular films within that genre. Vampires Suck sticks to Twilight though to the point that you may begin to feel that you have seen this film before.

    I had a few problems in regards to the continuity due to how they cut up and rearranged the plot from the first two movies/books. For example, you have the scene where Edward breaks up with Becca and she begs him to change her into a vampire before James attack then after she has been bitten by James she pleads with him to suck the venom out.

    I also didn't like how there were times where they just couldn't help themselves but to spell out the joke to the audience. For example, in biology their teacher tells them to pull out their copies of The Vampire Diaries and Becca asks why they are reading vampire fiction in biology class. This leads Edward in to an unnecessary and long explanation into how it is because vampires are what are in right now. Later, during the thirty or so second that she appears on screen, a poor parody of Buffy (from Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer) can only be identified due to her name being printed on her chest.

    On the more positive side of things, Jenn Proske as Becca Crane gets a mention for the way in which she perfectly mimics the facial ticks, excessive blinking, awkward body language, and stuttering of Kristen Stewart as Bella. On her first day of school, Becca Crane receives the kind of reception that would have actually made Twilight's Bella Swan's attitude of "woe is me" justifiable although, as she points out, despite being moody and supposedly unpopular every single guy in the school is going to lust after her.

    Overall, I didn't hate the film and I will admit that it did get a couple of chuckles out of me but I think that there are vastly better parody films out there. Two of my friends, however, walked out of the theatre praising the film and pledging to buy Vampire Sucks on DVD when it is released. From this I can only gather that the movie may go down well with Twilight fans but if you haven't latched on to the vampire craze you will do just as will giving this one a miss.

    Trailer:

    Also Check Out:
    Evernight by Claudia Gray
    The Awakening by L.J. Smith
    Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey

    Terra

    Posted by Terra at 9:14 PM | Labels: , , | 0 comments | | |

  8. Musing Mondays

    Monday, August 30, 2010


    Musing Mondays is hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

    This week, MizB asks:
    "How often do you actually put into practice what you learn from reading nonfiction books (if you read nonfiction, that is)?"

    Yes and no in a round about kind of way. Most of the non-fiction that I read is related to health and fitness. I get out these books specifically to study and learn the stretches within or for nutrition tips. However, I am mostly putting what I learn from non-fiction into practice when I acquire them with the intent to apply the given knowledge in my own life.

    I also enjoy pop culture non-fiction but I don't think that it has as much impact on my daily practices. For example, as much as I was moved by the passion of the Sea Shepherds when I read The Whale Warriors by Peter Heller I have not stopped eating fish. (Just for the record I would never eat whale but I would hope that was considered a given.) I do not consider Mark Thomas' Belching Out the Devil: Global Adventures with Coca-Cola to be responsible for my giving up drinking all soft drink (fizzy, soda, pop, whatever people are inclined to call it in your neck of the woods) but it did come to mind when I made my decision. That decision was more financially and health motivated. (Nearly three months soft drink free now!). I had already long gone off fast food by the time I picked up Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal by Eric Schlosser.

    I don't think that every piece of non-fiction that a person reads needs to be personally useful or applicable to their life in some way. It can be just as rewarding to read something because you find the knowledge intellectually enriching or just plain fun or maybe you hope that it will pop up during a game of trivia sometime and you can impress everyone with your vast mental treasure trove of otherwise useless knowledge. That said, I probably should be trying to apply more of what I learn from the non-fiction. I would probably be a healthier and more environmentally friendly person if I did.

    Terra

    Posted by Terra at 9:48 PM | Labels: , | 5 comments | | |

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