YA books - they hug you back

I read practically any type of book. This includes everything from graphic novels to sci-fi to poetry, though I do draw the line at venturing into any bodice ripping romances. Since every summer puts in a constant state of beach read mode, this summer I took a dive into the YA side. This isn't the first time I'm reading YA novels, as I've read His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman, Harry Potter, and Twilight (regretfully.) I'm going to go into why I am currently reading these kind of books, and then tell a little bit about them:

YA can be straight up good storytelling. If it's well written, very few parts of the story drag. Authors that write books geared towards readers 14-18 years old have their work cut out for them - appealing to a group with a ridiculously short attention span that has countless other more immediately entertaining options, like blogs, video games, tv shows, and so on. Nowadays, I feel like my attention span is hopelessly stretched in a million places - this is one of the reasons that I decided to read a few books that require less concentration than something more challenging. It's the summer after all. Both mind and body need a vacation! Now, on to the list of a few books I'm recommending. Only one is currently on sale, so be sure to look for these when they hit shelves this fall.

1.) Maze Runner by James Dasher. (Book 1 in the Maze Runner trilogy)

Read it if you like The Hunger Games, 1984, Brave New World, Never Let Me Go, or any other work that is set in a dystopian society.

Thomas wakes up alone in an elevator shaft, knowing only his name but nothing of where he came from. He has been delivered to a community where a group of 50 teen boys live, called The Glade. All of the boys were delivered in the same fashion as Thomas - no one knows who they are, where they came from, or how they got there. Though the same shaft, food and supplies arrive daily by who the boys refer to as "The Creators," though that is all they know. The boys are surrounded by a maze that is crawling with creepy half-machine monsters known as Grievers that hunt the boys that venture in the maze to find a way out. The day after Thomas arrives, a girl is delivered with the note "She is the last." Soon, supplies stop arriving and Thomas is appointed as the leader to get the boys out of the glade fast, as things go from weird to worse.

Great, fast read. The plot is completely engrossing and the action follows with every page turn. I finished it in 2 days, but it can easily be read cover to cover in a few hours. It reminded me of Lord of the flies if it were set in a labrynth - cool concept. A few complaints I have are minor - the characters are a little one dimensional, and the dialogue is a little silly. There is a whole vocabulary made up of faux swear words, like shuck, klunk, and slopper. You get used to it, but I thought it was rather distracting at first.

2.) Scorch Trials by James Dashner. (Book 2 in the Maze Runner trilogy - on sale 10/12/10)
Without spoiling it for those out there who have not yet read the Maze Runner, all I'll say is that it is an enjoyable follow-up.

3.) Trash by Andy Mulligan (on sale 10/12/10)

I'm calling it when Slumdog Millionaire meets Stand By Me.
One of my favorite books coming out this fall. The book takes place in an unnamed, poor country and focuses on three boys: Raphael, Gardo, and Rat who live in mounds of garbage in a dump. Along with their family, a community of trash pickers sift thorough a city's garbage to salvage things to sell. One day, the boys come across a wallet. Soon, the police are at their homes, inquiring about the same lost wallet, which belongs to a very important man. The boys decide to hang on to the wallet, not because of the money, but because the wallet contains important secrets and documents that the police are going through great lengths to hide. Soon, the boys are being pursued and must go to extreme lengths to protect documents as they try to put together the pieces of the puzzle that it will solve.

The Fountainhead

I can't stop thinking about this book. Like many of you, I had a certain impression of Ayn Rand's books to be inaccessible, and saturated with highbrow philosophies. At the urging of my sister, I suspended my preconceived notions, and just read the damn thing. So glad I did.

The Fountainhead follows 2 architects, Howard Roark and Peter Keating, through their lives and careers. Roark is a brilliant, visionary artist, who's career keeps stalling as he refuses to compromise the way he designs to mimic other styles of architecture. His level of commitment to preserve the originality of his work often leaves him ostracized from other professionals, and frequently out of work. While this would frustrate most people, Roark is incapable of being affected by society's cold shoulder. He is a self-sufficient egoist in the most positive form. Aware that his ideals are in direct conflict with those of the majority, he is unable to feel the sting of rejection, as he deems their opinion irrelevant. This leaves Roark to design on his own terms, though in the beginning, he is not a popular architect to hire.

Peter Keating is the complete antithesis. He is New York's golden boy of architecture - adept in schmoozing, and intent on climbing the corporate ladder. But the fact is that he does not have any real talent. So he cozies up to Roark, who he finds uncomfortable and severe, because obviously Roark can see through Keating's phony facade. Despite their conflict of interest, Roark finds himself helping Keating on design commissions, and to Keating's surprise, rejecting any business connections he is offered. Why would Roark help someone he finds so reprehensible? Because he loves architecture and design far more.

To shake up this boy's club, we are introduced to Dominique Francon, the only female character in the story. She is a strong-willed newspaper columnist, who calls things as she sees them. Obviously, both men become smitten with her. Dominique is a modern woman, with a few screws loose, as she becomes intent on destroying both men.

There are a few other major characters of note - Ellsworth Tooney, who writes an influential cultural column for the salacious newspaper New York Banner, and Gail Wyland, its publisher. Both men have a major impact on the fates of Keating & Roark, through their ability to manipulate the opinion of the masses.

It's difficult to put into words just how good this book really is. Rand is so brilliant at character development, descriptions, and dialogue. The Fountainhead introduces her philosophy, Objectivism, which is also pretty cool. In a nutshell, it proclaims the importance of individual achievements over compromising such for the benefit of the common good. Sounds sort of selfish, but her explanations make a great deal of sense. I think that deserves a separate blog post. I'm not done with talking about the Fountainhead yet - it helps me to completely understand everything I read if I continue typing away at it.

What's the best way to go about disarming one of these things?

The way you don't die, sir.

The Hurt Locker is both the most suspenseful thriller and the scariest horror movie, because it’s all real.

Kathryn Bigelow takes us back to Baghdad in 2004 as we follow Bravo Company’s 35 day rotation. The movie focuses on the men who look death in the face each day, as they snip live wires from IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) that terrorize the city. The soldiers comb through abandoned, bombed out buildings like little swat teams, cautiously combing through the detritus for live explosives. There are very few scenes of hand to hand combat, which is one of the many ways this film stands apart from classic war cinema such as Saving Private Ryan, Platoon, Apocalypse Now.

I held my breath the entire time, because it’s obvious from the onset that this movie has many casualties. Threats loom everywhere, as the old man on a cell phone is as likely as a teenager peddling bootleg movies to be the one holding the bomb detonator. Even if you are squeamish, watch it anyways. There are some things we should force ourselves to see, even if they make us uncomfortable.

With all the Avatar hoopla, I sadly did not expect Hurt Locker to stand a chance in the award show circuit. That may not be the case, as both films racked up 9 Oscar nominations each. Coupled with the fact that James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow used to be married - this is the most watchable media rivalry since Leno vs Conan.

Salinger documentary

I'm more interested in the man than the movies based on his books:
http://www.slashfilm.com/2010/01/29/well-probably-never-see-a-movie-version-of-catcher-in-the-rye-but-a-jd-salinger-documentary-is-ready-to-go/

Funny Friday clip

I'm newly obssed with Louis CK. He's added to my all time favorite list of comedians, which includes Daniel Tosh, Nick Swardson, Kevin Nealon, Jim Gaffigan, and the late Mitch Hedberg.

LCK talks about the differences between the sexes.

Shiny happy Apple fans holding hands

So, although I shy away from conformity, I allow myself to indulge in a few hysterical trends.

Gossip Girl
Jersey Shore
anything Apple.

I've been an evangelical Mac convert for going on 2 years. Mostly, I made the change because I wanted a laptop, and always seem to be catching a godamned virus. Maybe it's because I open up all those solicitations for penis pumps. I don't know.
I digress.

Through working in publishing, I've had both a Sony E-reader and now a Kindle, which I'm glassy eyed over. Most of what I read, I don't have to pay for, which is a luxury most people don't have. There's really no point in measuring how much greater the kindle reading experience is versus the e-reader. Amazon designed a great product, that feels very natural in your hands. My favorite feature is the digital dictionary, and note taking feature. Oh also, you can freaking e-mail yourself documents to your kindle in any format. That coupled with $9.99 books and a plethora of free public domain books (mostly classics I've been meaning to read) adds up to one satisfying device.

Ok, now that the I-Pad has debuted, the gloves come off between Amazon and Apple. Company similarities? Both are super customer-centric. The great difference lies in Apple's commitment to make equally sleek and user-friendly products. Since Amazon is an e-commerce company, they obviously don't have practice manufacturing devices outside the kindle. Unless Amazon gives it a stunning facelift, I think people are going to snuggle right up to the i-pad. Look at what a great viewing experience the ITunes store provides - besides being filled with a great selection, the layout makes you want to stay there and keep browsing.

This is where Amazon needs to make a change, like now. The browsing experience on the kindle sucks. Mostly, you are limited to NYT bestsellers, and "new and notables," which includes a random assortment of sci-fi/romancs, free classics, and the occasional nice find. Amazon allows you to buy books or send a free excerpt directly to your kindle from your computer. I find myself doing that rather than searching directly on the device. Now that's a major problem, and a weakness that Apple will easily take advantage of. When you connect to ITunes through a i-phone or i-pod touch, it is apparent that it was carefully designed with the browsing customer in mind.

Though I'm as warm and gooey as the next girl for the IPad, I'm sticking to my kindle for now. Yes, partially because I just bought it in January. Mostly, a dedicated e-reader is my general preference. I'm very easily distracted, so if I had the option to hop around from my book to e-mail, facebook, and twitter - I'd never finish a page. But you better believe I'm going to find out who the first person in my office is to buy one, and beg them to let me play with the I-Pad. Because this is an i-pod on steroids, and that's way cool.

Too many plates spinning: Nobodies Album Review

Nobodies Album
Caroline Parkhurst
On sale June 2010

Two coworkers, who are huge Caroline Parkhurst fans recommended I check out her new book, The Nobodies Album. I’m a sucker for a great opening sentence, and boy does this book have one.
“There are some stories no one wants to hear.” Bang – instantly intrigued.
However, this book happens to be filled with a few stories that no one needs to read.

We are introduced to our narrator, Octavia Frost, who is on a flight to her editor in New York to drop off a final draft of her next book. It's an ambitious project in which she takes excerpts and final chapters from all her books, and reconfigures the endings. Almost immediately after arriving in the city, she sees a billboard sized headline in Times Square that her famous rock star son, Milo, has just been arrested for the murder of his girlfriend, Bennita Moffet. Though they have been estranged for many years, Octavia boards the next plane to California to try to see her son.

It’s hard for me to say a book is bad, when the writing is so good. This is one of those cases, because Parkhurst is a descriptive, beautiful writer. She enables the reader to really understand Octavia, and her motivations for choosing to write about the tragedy that struck her family, which lead to the dissolution of her relationship with Milo. There are two major flaws I found, that prevent me from loving the Nobodies Album.

My first problem is with the vignettes sprinkled through the book, from Octavia’s rewritten stories collection. Though they are intended to drop clues to help the reader figure out how Octavia’s husband and daughter were killed years ago, they instead feel very random and rambling. It seemed to me that they are Parkhurst’s own notes that she was never able to develop into fully fleshed out stories. The idea was better than the execution – it’s hard to make the real author separate from her writer character.

Once the reader is taken back to the main story of Milo the murdering musician, the finale is less than dazzling. Avoiding any spoilers, I'll just say that the crime is solved in a most unsatisfying manner. There was a grand buildup, and a tiny whimper of a resolution.

It makes for a good, quick beach read, which is why I decided to keep reading, and put down The Fountainhead until I got out of vacation mode, and could give it my complete attention.