Musing Monday – Damned Deckle Edge

The damned Deckle Edge! UGH!!

I don’t know why, really, but I hate books with this style of page. That jagged, uneven, scabrous, craggy, unsmooth, abomination. It’s just plain ugly and dangerous…dangerous, I tell you.

Why rant about this now?

Excellent question!

I have been anxiously awaiting the release of Joe Hill’s NOS4A2 and was overjoyed to see a large display right in the front entrance of my local bookstore. I snatched up a copy, ready to slap down the ole debit card and then I saw it! The Deckle Edge!!

“NOOOOOOOO!!!!!”, I screamed internally! I placed the book back on the display, as my lament echoed in my, mostly empty, cranium. I cursed my weirdness and resigned myself to waiting for the paperback to be released.

I know I am strange. I embrace my little quirks. But, I normally have mostly-sane reasons for my minor idiosyncrasies. Here are my top 3 against Deckle Edges:

1) They are ugly! See for yourself…

How can you disagree? I mean, I respect your right to do so. But, look at it…really look at it and compare it to the nice, clean line of a normal edge.

2) It makes it difficult to turn the pages, especially with one hand. And, finally…

3) Those edges are dangerous! They will CUT you! And not a nice smooth cut, either. It’ll be a nasty paper cut…the mother of all paper cuts. Those edges could cost you an entire limb!

Okay…okay…so maybe that last point is a teeny, tiny exaggeration. But, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

So, Joe…see you in paperback! I can’t wait.

Catch Up Reading Challenge – Review 7

“Tomorrow could be too late even if the magic hasn’t gone away” – Eddie Dean Song of Susannah.

I actually finished this book over a month ago. But, I forgot to post a review for the Catch Up Reading Challenge.

This is the sixth book in the Dark Tower series. All of our friends spend much more time in a modern universe than they do in Mid-World. Susannah is battling her inner demons and is preparing to have her “baby”. In the meantime, Eddie, Roland, Jake and Oy are trying to find her while continuing to move toward The Dark Tower.

As I mentioned in a previous post, there was a lot of “buzz” about Stephen King writing his alter-universe self into this story. His character plays a pretty significant role in this book and I found it entertaining. My question for the detractors is, “Who are we to tell a bestselling author how to write his/her stories?” If you don’t like it, fine. Opinions are like…well, you know how the saying goes. But, just because you don’t like it, doesn’t make it wrong.

I am going to be tackling the last book in the original series, The Dark Tower, soon. But, I keep picking it up and thinking, “Am I up for tackling 1072 pages right now?” and the answer keeps coming back, “Nope! But, soon.” I promise!

Here is an updated list of books I will be reading for the 2013 Catch Up Reading Challenge:

1. Wizard & Glass: The Dark Tower IV by Stephen King
2. Wolves of the Calla: The Dark Tower V by Stephen King
3. The Song of Susannah: The Dark Tower VI by Stephen King
4. The Dark Tower: The Dark Tower VII by Stephen King
5. The Wind Through the Keyhole by Stephen King
6. Carrie by Stephen King
7. Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King
8. Doctor Sleep by Stephen King (due to be published in 2013)
9. Dolores Claiborne by Stephen King
10. Joyland by Stephen King (due to be published in 2013)
11. The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror by Christopher Moore
12. Practical Demonkeeping by Christopher Moore

WWW Wednesday (I gotta get my days straight, ugh!) May 16

A day late…AGAIN! My apologies to all. But, here is this week’s WWW Wednesday.

W…W…W…Wednesdays is a weekly reading prompt hosted by MizB at Should be Reading. 

TO PLAY ALONG, JUST ANSWER THE FOLLOWING THREE (3) QUESTIONS:

1. What are you currently reading?
2. What did you recently finish reading?
3. What do you think you’ll read next?

I am currently reading Divergent by Veronica Roth. I was one of the lucky ones to purchase a misprinted copy that contains the first 30+ pages of Getting to “I Do” by Dr. Patricia Allen & Sandra Harmon. It was a surreal experience. I wondered, though all 32 pages, what it had to do with Divergent. I knew the basic premise of the book and could not, for the life of me, figure out what dating compatibility had to do with the plot of the book. But, I figured I would slog through and it would all make sense in the end. Thankfully, I have the OverDrive Media App on my Android smartphone and I was able, with the help of my Tewksbury Public Library card, read the first 22 pages of Divergent as Ms. Roth wrote them. It made much more sense then.

Yesterday, I finished Y: The Last Man – Volumes 5 & 6 by Brian K. Vaughn. This graphic novel series is a fun diversion from my normal reads.

I have no idea what I will read next. Right now it is a toss-up between The Liberator by Alex Kershaw and Voices of the Pacific by Adam Makos. We’ll see which one wins out.

Musing Monday – Bookmarks & Book Marks

For this week’s Musing Monday, I am going low-tech with a concept that I saw several vloggers do over the past few weeks. You can watch one of my favorite vloggers here. In these posts, they answer the questions below.

Questions:
1. What are you currently using as a bookmark?

I have, as mentioned in a previous post, a number of bookmarks that were hand-crafted by my sister. I am currently using this one:

2. Best thing you’ve ever used as a bookmark?

One of my sister’s handmade bookmarks. I used it for all of the books I read last year and it stood up to 365 days of abuse, like a champ!

3. Weirdest thing?

A laminated 100 peseta note that I had left over from a trip to Spain.

4. Do you ever annotate/highlight/write in books? Why or why not?

It is very rare for me to mark up my books. Ones that I read for pleasure, I never, ever write in. Books that I read for work or studies, I will write in if necessary.

5. Share something you’ve found written in a library book/used book/book that didn’t belong to you.

I borrowed a couple of graphic novels from my local library for last year’s 50 Book Challenge and one of them had “perceived inconsistencies” [the defacers phrase, not mine] between volume 1 and volume 2. These things included hair styles, background items changing, etc. Things no normal person would have noticed. Some people have too much time on their hands.

6. What books are in your collection by someone named Mark?

I was really surprised to find that I only had 2 books from someone named Mark on my TBR shelves. I found:

The Bone Parade by Mark Nykanen

 

 

 

And…

Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain.

 

 

 

It seems like all of the videos I watched for this “tagging” had at least one book by Twain. I am glad I am no different.

7. What book has made the biggest mark on your life? (Figuratively)

I am going to have to say “Redwall” by Brian Jacques. The reason I chose this is because it was the first book (series of books) that kick-started my reading “obsession”. Thanks, Sis!

8. Which book has made the biggest mark on your life? (Literally — do you have any literary-related tattoos? If not, and if you had to get one, what would you get?)

I have the symbol for “Ka” from Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series.

9. Which book(s) has/have had the biggest impact on your generation in your opinion?

This is the toughest one for me. Unlike the majority of the vloggers that I watched, I am not a 20-something that grew up with Harry Potter. I was 30 when Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone came out. I agree that that series would be the books that had the greatest impact on their generation. However, I am old enough to have fathered most of them. A case could be made for these books having a similar impact on my generation, as I know just as many people of my generation that have read Rowling’s books…either for themselves or to their children. This series certainly did put YA books on the radar of many 40-somethings I know.

I grew up hearing about people reading The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, and the books of Shel Silverstein, Stephen King, Kurt Vonnegurt, and the like.  I grew up with The Hardy Boys and Encyclopedia Brown. Maybe that’s where I developed my love of the quick, fun mysteries I read now.

WWW Wednesday…with a dash of Musing Monday (May 8)

W…W…W…Wednesdays is a weekly reading prompt hosted by MizB at Should be Reading. 

TO PLAY ALONG, JUST ANSWER THE FOLLOWING THREE (3) QUESTIONS:

1. What are you currently reading?
2. What did you recently finish reading?
3. What do you think you’ll read next?

This morning I finished Mousetrapped by Catherine Ryan Howard. It’s very well written and all. But, (and here’s where the “dash of Musing Monday” comes in) I always feel like a bit of a voyeur when I read a biography that takes place in recent times. I don’t know why this is. I am sure some psychologist would have a field day with it. But, I’m not going to give them the pleasure. So, there!

Prior to that, I finished The Doctor and The Rough Rider by Mike Resnick. I didn’t realize until this past Sunday that this book was the third book in the “A Weird West Tale” series. So, I picked up the first in the series, The Buntline Special, at Barnes & Noble and it’s going to be my “next”.

WWW Wednesday (May 1)

W…W…W…Wednesdays is a weekly reading prompt hosted by MizB at Should be Reading. 

TO PLAY ALONG, JUST ANSWER THE FOLLOWING THREE (3) QUESTIONS:

1. What are you currently reading?
2. What did you recently finish reading?
3. What do you think you’ll read next?

I am currently reading The Doctor and the Rough Rider by Mike Resnick. It is an alternative history novel that mixes in a good measure of steampunk and a dash of magic, just to make it interesting. Historically, I have shied away from alternative history. But, Resnick mixes things up a bit to make it fun.

This week I finished City of Thieves by David Benioff. I really, really liked it. The interaction between the two main characters, Lev and Kolya, is more like that of the stereotypical older/younger brothers than prisoners that just met and have to work together to accomplish a task. I am terrible about going into depth with book “reviews” because, inevitably, I will drop a huge spoiler without even realizing it. So, I will just say, “If you have not read it, read it.”

I am not sure what I will be reading next. I did receive a copy of Mousetrapped by Catherine Ryan Howard.   After reading this line, “Three big dreams, two Mouse Ears and one J-1 visa. What could possibly go wrong in the happiest place on earth?” on her blog, Catherine, Caffeinated, I couldn’t help but order it. There is a high probability that it’ll be next.

Until next week…

Musing Mondays…a few hours late (April 29)

Musing Mondays (hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading) asks you to muse about one of the following each week…

• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!

This >>> http://whatever.scalzi.com/2013/04/29/the-human-division-hardcover-in-the-house/ <<< made my Tuesday morning much brighter.

I am not a fan of the e-reader. It is a personal preference and I don’t look down my nose at people who love their Kindle/Nook/Kobo. But, I just have a thing for the cardboard/paper/glue/ink version of my favorite diversion.

Thanks, John Scalzi, for ensuring me I am not alone.

WWW Wednesday (April 24)

W…W…W…Wednesdays is a weekly reading prompt hosted by MizB at Should be Reading. 

TO PLAY ALONG, JUST ANSWER THE FOLLOWING THREE (3) QUESTIONS:

1. What are you currently reading?
2. What did you recently finish reading?
3. What do you think you’ll read next?

I am just a few pages away from finishing Curious Cases of Sherlock Holmes, a graphic novel by Gary Reed & Stephen Philip Jones. I should be finished tonight, if all goes well. The graphics are well drawn and the stories are from the classics. The only negative, thus far, is the print is hard to read in a couple of the stories. I found it distracting.

This week I finished Emperor Mollusk and the Sinister Brain by A. Lee Martinez. I really enjoy a funny sci-fi adventure story. Clever humor and a fun bunch of twists make this a truly enjoyable read.

I think my next book will be City of Thieves by David Benioff. I have looked and looked at this book for ages and never got around to picking it up. It is time.

Until next week…

Musing Monday (April22)

Musing Mondays (hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading) asks you to muse about one of the following each week…

• Describe one of your reading habits.
• Tell us what book(s) you recently bought for yourself or someone else, and why you chose that/those book(s).
• Tell us what you’re reading right now — what you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are (or, aren’t) enjoying it.
• Do you have a bookish rant? Something about books or reading (or the industry) that gets your ire up? Share it with us!

This weekend I celebrated birthdays with my family — My Mom, Sister & I have birthdays in April (19th, 21st, & 23rd), so we celebrate together — and I had a pretty good book haul. It was a good combination of fun, history, and mystery.

WWW Wednesday – My World Book Night Edition (April17)

W…W…W…Wednesdays is a weekly reading prompt hosted by MizB at Should be Reading. 

TO PLAY ALONG, JUST ANSWER THE FOLLOWING THREE (3) QUESTIONS:

1. What are you currently reading?
2. What did you recently finish reading?
3. What do you think you’ll read next?

Next Tuesday (April 23, 2013) is World Book Night. For the second year, I have been chosen as a Book Giver. I got my box of the special WBN2013 edition of City of Thieves by David Benioff. I am very excited to use them to develop new readers.

I finished Song of Susannah: The Dark Tower VI by Stephen King this week. It is the penultimate volume in the Dark Tower saga. I was going to dive right into The Dark Tower, the last of the series, but I was in the mood for something lighter…by weight AND by subject.

So, I started reading two different books. The first, in honor of National Poetry Month, is I Could Pee on This and Other Poems By Cats by Francesco Marciuliano. The second is Emperor Mollusk Versus The Sinister Brain by A. Lee Martinez. Both are laugh out loud funny. Just what the doctor ordered.

I think the next book will be City of Thieves. I have been meaning to read it for quite some time and I really should read it before I recommend it to the recipients on the 23rd.

Until next week…