mini-reviews: Redshirts, Storm Front, Carry On and Flowers for Algernon

Redshirts 

Written by: John Scalzi

Published: 2012

My thoughts: This was a book I'd heard a lot about over the years since it was published. Some good, some bad but almost everyone commented on just how nerdy it was. And nerdy it is, it is an incredibly meta joke about Star Trek and the unfortunate role the 'redshirts' play within that series. If you don't have a bit of a history with Star Trek and the preponderance of quick and sudden deaths for newly introduced characters on the show (which series? Take your pick) then I don't think you'll get much joy out of the book. And even being in on the joke as I was, it did feel like the meta jokes took precedence over actual narrative flow and structure at times. Overall I enjoyed the book and had fun reading it, but like Pride and Prejudice and Zombies I did feel a bit like the joke had run its course about 100 pages in.

Storm Front (Dresden Files #1)

Written by: Jim Butcher

Published in: 2000

My thoughts: I actually read this ages ago, but never got around to finishing a review for it. It's a lot of fun, it's about a modern day magician living in Chicago and working as a P.I. Harry Dresden is sarcastic, grumpy and a little bit incompetent, but also clearly was a much better person and magician at an earlier point in his life (we learn a little about this as the book goes on). There's a lot of rules to how magic is used in this particular world and it's governed by a magical community who stamp down pretty heavily on anyone with a history using black magic, as Dresden once did. This makes Dresden's life and career very tricky when a murder is committed and it looks to both the magical and non-magical communities as though Dresden is the prime suspect. I do intend to read some more of these books, apparently they get really good from about book 7. That doesn't exactly sound like a ringing endorsement of the next 6 books I have to get through, but if they're at least at the quality of this first novel I think they'll be interesting enough to take along on holidays or long rides on the train.

Carry On

Written by: Rainbow Rowell

Published: 2015

My Thoughts: I'm a little scared to say (in front of all of you, my fellow RR fans) that I wasn't too excited for Carry On. Fangirl was easily my least favourite of Rainbow's books so I wasn't sure that this book would deliver anything I was after. I was pleasantly surprised. I probably won't head back to reread it like I will Attachments or Eleanor and Park, but I found it funny, heartwarming, compelling and narratively sound (which sounds douche-y, but considering it was essentially Drarry fan-fiction I wasn't sure it would really stand up as a story of its own). I liked this a lot more than the extracts in Fangirl led me to believe I would enjoy it, so my sincerest apologies to Rainbow for daring to doubt her.

Flowers for Algernon

Written by: Daniel Keyes

Published: 1958

My thoughts: Though I hadn't read Flowers for Algernon before last October, I knew the story pretty well and as  there were at least 2 shows  (It's Always Sunny, The League) last year which spoofed the concept, I figured it was time I read the source material. Flowers is fairly short but it hooked me in from the start. Telling the story of a man with below average intelligence the book is written from his perspective literally, taking an epistolary approach to tell Charlie's story as he undergoes surgery and testing to increase his intelligence. You end up incredibly close to Charlie because of the way it is written and it is a real gut punch to interpret things about his life that he's never been able to recognise because of his intelligence and general innocence. It's a very simple story but the takeaway is huge and immensely emotional.

Book Review: Landline by Rainbow Rowell

Landline

Written by: Rainbow Rowell

Published: 2014

Synopsis: Georgie McCool knows her marriage is in trouble. That it’s been in trouble for a long time. She still loves her husband, Neal, and Neal still loves her, deeply — but that almost seems besides the point now.

Maybe that was always besides the point.

Two days before they’re supposed to visit Neal’s family in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie tells Neal that she can’t go. She’s a TV writer, and something’s come up on her show; she has to stay in Los Angeles. She knows that Neal will be upset with her — Neal is always a little upset with Georgie — but she doesn’t expect to him to pack up the kids and go home without her.

When her husband and the kids leave for the airport, Georgie wonders if she’s finally done it. If she’s ruined everything.

That night, Georgie discovers a way to communicate with Neal in the past. It’s not time travel, not exactly, but she feels like she’s been given an opportunity to fix her marriage before it starts . . .

Is that what she’s supposed to do?

Or would Georgie and Neal be better off if their marriage never happened?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“He kissed her like he was drawing a perfectly straight line. He kissed her in India ink.”

Every time I finish a Rainbow Rowell novel I try to rank them, from favourite to most favourite. Do I love the 90s rom-com quality of Attachments best? The Harry Potter slash fic in Fangirl? The beauty of Eleanor and Park finding themselves in each other? But each time I try and come to a conclusion I realise how impossible a feat it is. I love all of them and all the parts that make them so similar and so different.

When I finished Landline I had the same internal discussion. Ultimately I came to same decision, but just for a moment I thought "yes, I think perhaps this is my favourite". Like the others it made my heart both ache and well with happiness. Like the earlier three novels, the characters are wonderfully flawed and live off the page. But unlike the other novels, this one isn't about new love. It's about a love that's gone through the whirlwind phase and is in danger of evaporating. It's the potential future for all of the characters from the previous three books, and that is why I thought, for a hot minute, that this might be my favourite Rainbow Rowell novel.

Because of this I felt like this novel was more depressing, more bound in sadness. But that's really standard for a Rowell novel. No one in her novels has had an easy life, they're insular, outside the ebb and flow of regular society. And then they find that thing, that person, that makes all of that loneliness vanish. But everything in this novel is flipped on its head. The characters still start the novel feeling separate from the rest of the world, but they aren't lacking love and they aren't lacking a clear direction. They have careers and a family and they've been together for nearly 20 years. So after three novels of falling in love with characters who fall madly in love just as Georgie and Neal did, Landline makes you question everything you've previously read. If Georgie and Neal didn't have enough love to keep things together, does that mean Eleanor and Park are doomed? That Beth and Lincoln will tread the same path to unhappiness?

In spite of this, this is still undeniably a Rainbow Rowell novel. They may be having problems, but things aren't hopeless. Or at least, Georgie is willing to try and make what seems hopeless right again. And in a way, there's a typical Rainbow book within the atypical Rainbow book. After a separation (Neal takes the kids to visit his mum in Omaha for Christmas, Georgie stays in LA to work on a life-changing career opportunity) Georgie tries to get in contact with Neal, to fix their fractured marriage. But what she actually finds is a link to the past. Her mother's home line links not to the Omaha of 2014 but Omaha 17 years earlier, when Neal had returned home after breaking up with her the first time. In this part of the novel, with older Georgie talking to younger Neal, we get our more traditional Rainbow novel. We hear about how they fell in love, the madness and inescapability of it. We see them navigate each other cautiously, we see them bounce off each other and rub each other the wrong way. You end up with that silly smile that you always get when you read a Rainbow novel. You sigh over her innate ability to write about moments that seem like they should be impossible to write. You fall in love with the love she draws on the page.

“Neal didn't take Georgie's breath away. Maybe the opposite. But that was okay--that was really good, actually, to be near someone who filled your lungs with air.”

Then there's the other part of the novel. Where everything you've read is thrown into question. Yes their young love is beautiful and sigh-inducing. But is it realistic? Is it sustainable?                                                        
       
         “You don't know when you're twenty-three. 

You don't know what it really means to crawl into someone else's life and stay there. You can't see all the ways you're going to get tangled, how you're going to bond skin to skin. How the idea of separating will feel in five years, in ten - in fifteen. When Georgie thought about divorce now, she imagined lying side by side with Neal on two operating tables while a team of doctors tried to unthread their vascular systems.

She didn't know at twenty-three.”

I loved Rainbow before, but I think I love her even more now. It's as though Landline has added a new dimension to her writing which not only transformed this book into something magnificent, but retrospectively added a whole new side to her previous books too. More than anything though, it makes me unbelievably excited to see where she goes next.

My Holiday Reads: A Bunch of Mini-Reviews (part 1)

Bringing my Kindle turned out to be one of the best decisions I made for this holiday. Other than the 16 hour flight over we had several 4+ hour bus or train rides, which were the perfect times to settle down with one of the books I'd downloaded and lose myself in their stories. I managed to finish 8 books and start 2 more, all of which I really enjoyed. I wanted to write proper reviews for them all, but I read them so quickly after each other and made so few notes I don't think I could really pull out a full-length review that'd do the books justice. So instead here are some smaller reviews about each of my holiday reads.

*Bossypants by Tina Fey* 

(audiobook)

I'd been meaning to read this book for ages but never got around to picking it up from the book store or library. I ended up buying an audio copy with some Audible credit and I am so glad I decided to go that route. I'm sure the actual-words-copy is awesome too, but how can you pass up a book being read by Tina Fey? You can't basically. Apart from the greatness of listening to Tina Fey read out her own life experiences and jokes, the audiobook also included a few moments when she broke script and spoke off the cuff as well as some audio-tracks from her time on SNL playing Sarah Palin. There are some bits about her childhood but the book is really about making a career as a female writer/actor in a very male dominated world and raising a child to be level-headed, secure and happy in such a world. It's a wonderfully girl-powery book without actually setting out to be that kind of book. It's really the little things, like remembering the time that Amy Poehler was telling a gross joke and when a male colleague said "ew stop, it's not cute" she told him to fuck right off. Or when she made the decision to use yellow instead of blonde so that her daughter never thinks that one hair colour is more special than another. I don't know if I'd recommend this to someone who isn't aware of or already in love with Tina Fey, but if you're even remotely aware of who she is you'll probably get a kick out of it.

*Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman*

I wasn't if I'd like this book. Don't get me wrong I love the show, but even though the first 50 pages or so are incredibly close to what was included in the first few episodes I wasn't sure if I had much interest in the memoirs of a middle-class white lady going to jail. After finishing I still feel pretty much the same way. It was an interesting book, the details about America's prison system (guuuuys, what the F) that Piper included were illuminating and it was interesting to see how much of the TV show's characters are actually true to life (or true to Piper's memory anyway). But, I don't know, I felt like the real story was sitting just off the page. The beauty of the TV series is that you see so many stories, and how similar the women are even though they've had very different lives up to that point. In this there's a momentary peek at the other women but it's only ever to do with how they relate to Piper or impact on Piper's stay in some way. I knew that the book would not be the TV show, but I think I'd probably have liked the book more if I'd read it first...or at least I wouldn't feel like I was missing out on so much. That said, if you've seen and loved the show you should definitely give it a read. I know I just spent an entire mini-review whinging but I am definitely glad I gave it a read.

Also this. There was a little bit of this.

*The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman*

I know not everyone here is a big fan of Neil Gaiman and although I loved a lot of the books you've all disliked, I think you'll like this one. Like Coraline and The Graveyard Book this one is (maybe not really) for children and has that wonderful modern fairytale feel. Most of the book actually takes place in a flashback as a middle aged man remembers an eventful period in his life at his childhood home. It's an absolutely gorgeous tale. It's such a profoundly moving story of childhood innocence and trust and the fear of monsters unleashed in our lives and the power of words and stories. It's basically right in Gaiman's wheelhouse and it made me feel so many damn feels that even now, nearly two months later, I am caught up in the melancholic feelings that the book evoked. It's probably more YA/Adult than children (there are a few scenes that would be a little graphic or complicated for little minds) but it retains the special magical feel that Gaiman seems to reserve for his younger novels.

*Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell*

Do I need to even bother with a review here? You all know it's going to be a bunch of squees and OMG LEVI's right? Anyway, in case anyone was wondering if Rowell released two smashing books and then fumbled the third - nope. She is on fire, I only hope she can keep writing as many wonderful stories full of the best relationships (platonic and romantic) in contemporary fiction.

 I really loved exploring the two vastly different twins and their experiences in college. While Wren is out conquering the campus one keg stand at a time, Cath is struggling to gather the courage to even step into her mess hall. And neither lifestyle is really demonised or victimised which was really refreshing. They both have their downs (and way way downs) but there are obvious benefits to each of the twins' approaches to life in college and life in general. And, a few small tweaks aside, it works for them. And that's kind of beautiful. Not that it isn't without conflict since that's basically what the book is about, but it was a really honest look at that awkward/terrifying/invigorating transition period between high school and university, childhood and adulthood.

*Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs*

This book was actually a bit of a mixed bag for me. I thought the story was intriguing and imaginative, but it was ( sometimes painfully) clear it was Riggs' first novel. Some of the writing and plot progression was stiff or a little weird, and there were definitely times when it felt like the pictures were guiding the story too much, rather than complimenting it. However, I think I went into this with pretty high expectations and that tainted what should have been a fun and mysterious read. When I put the awkwardness out of mind I really enjoyed the story and I'm interested to see where the next two (I believe it's meant to be a trilogy?) books head and how he develops the adventure for these peculiar children.

2013 Wrap Up Survey

I had planned to do an end-of-year survey but my holiday got in the way of doing it any earlier.

#HardLifeAmirite

But now that I'm home I am ready to share my reflections and recommendations from 2013. Most of my answers are probably pretty obvious if you've paid even the smallest amount of attention to this blog over the year, but maybe a couple of answers will surprise you (or they won't, but it's fun to read these things!)

Number of books read in 2013: 73, thanks largely to the crap-ton of books I read on my holiday.

Best Book You Read In 2013? I read so many good books and so many new authors who I am now obsessed with (Rainbow Rowsell anyone?) but I think my absolute favourite would have to be Horns by Joe Hill. It was just SO good, I read it addictively and got that wonderful-terrible book hangover afterwards.

Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn't? Hmmmm, probably Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. Maybe if I'd never heard of it and discovered it on my own I'd have enjoyed it more, but I didn't feel like it lived up to its reputation at all and was actually pretty badly written at certain points.

Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2013? The Circle by Dave Eggers. I was able to get a free copy off Netgalley otherwise I probably would have skipped over it. It was a fascinating and tense techno-drama and definitely in my top 5 reads of the year.

Book you read in 2013 that you recommended to people most in 2013? In the blog world it was probably Horns. If you read that book in 2013 I'm taking credit, even if you read it first. In the non-blog world it was probably Ready Player One by Earnest Cline. It was a good book to introduce to my pop-culture and game loving friends who don't read a whole lot.

Best series you discovered in 2013? I'm almost surprised to say this considering how long it took me to get into it but it'd definitely be the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde. If you've read the first book in this series and finished it feeling on the fence about whether to continue, try to hang in their until the third book. If you still don't like it by the end of book 3, you probably won't change your mind.

Favorite new author you discovered in 2013? I read a lot of new-to-me authors this year but my favourite would absolutely have to be Rainbow Rowell. She is the most wonderful of wonderful things.

Best book that was out of your comfort zone or was a new genre for you? Ooooh tough one. It wasn't really outside of my comfort zone, but I enjoyed Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion far more than I expected. Whoulda thunk a romantic YA about zombies would be anything other than terrible?!

Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2013? Horns, Attachments, The Circle, Ready Player One...I can't pick just one!

Book You Read In 2013 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year? Any of Rainbow Rowell's books, but probably Attachments. I miss that book, I need it in my life again.

Favorite cover of a book you read in 2013? Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple. It's so bright and poppy and just inseparable from the story.

Most memorable character in 2013? Eleanor and Park from Eleanor and Park. They are both the most wonderful and complicated and vibrant characters, if I can summon the strength I'm definitely going to revisit them soon.

Most beautifully written book read in 2013? I think that'd probably be The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman, both in terms of writing style and the content of the story. That book made my heart swell.

Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2013 to finally read? It's ridiculous that it took me so long to continue into Stephen King's Dark Tower series with The Drawing of the Three. I don't really do New Year resolutions but I plan to get much further into this series this year.

Shortest and Longest Book You Read In 2013? According to Goodreads (I didn't count graphic novels fyi);
Shortest: In The Tall Grass by Joe Hill and Stephen King
Longest: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows by JK Rowling

Book That Had A Scene In It That Had You Reeling And Dying To Talk To Somebody About It? SO MANY. But the one that comes to mind first is Where'd You Go, Bernadette. I was so conflicted with the character reveals and developments I had to know how everyone else felt about them too.

Favorite Relationship From A Book You Read In 2013 (be it romantic, friendship, etc). So many good relationships this year, Eleanor and Park, Cath and Reagan (Fangirl), Art3mis and Parzival (Ready Player One) but none were as amazing as the friendship between Beth and Jennifer in Attachments. I could read their email correspondence for the rest of my life and I would be the happiest for it.

Favorite Book You Read in 2013 From An Author You've Read Previously. Does reading Allie Brosch's blog count as an author I've read before? Who cares, I'm answering Hyperbole and a Half anyway.

Best Book You Read In 2013 That You Read Based SOLELY on a Recommendation From Somebody Else. There were so many books I read this year that were completely off everyone's recommendation, but I'm going to answer Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters since I am sure I wouldn't have read it if it wasn't for Alice's big list of LGBT lit.

Genre You Read The Most From in 2013? I don't organise my reading by genre, but a quick look over the year's reads shows a lot of dark fantasy, stuff that's not quite horror and a little more realism based than straight fantasy.

Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2013? Hmmmm, maybe Lincoln from Attachments or Levi from Fangirl? Rainbow Rowell writes the best fellas.

Best debut book you read? For sure Ready Player One.

Most vivid world/imagery in a book you read in 2013? Harry Potter, the answer for this will always be Harry Potter.

Book That Was the Most Fun To Read in 2013? I read a lot of fun books in 2013, but the two readalongs (HP and The Corrections) were my favourite reads of the year. Even if the quality of reads in one readalong was infinitely better than the other, the company for both was first class.

Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2013? If it's possible to die from too-much-cryingitis then I came close when I read Eleanor and Park. That book tore my heart out of my chest and made me feel things, for reals guys.

Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year/Bookish Events on your blog in 2013? I didn't have any goal-goals, but I completely the one challenge I signed up for (eclectic reader -12 books from 12 genres) and took part and in 3 readalongs and 3 readathons.

One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2013 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2014? Tell the Wolves You're Home by Carol Rifka Brunt is at the top of my list. I borrowed it from the library late last year but I didn't manage to get to it before heading on my holiday.

Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2014 (non-debut)? I'm never really on top of new releases but I'll be first in line for Rainbow Rowell's new book when it comes out.

One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging In 2014? This year is going to be crazy busy what with writing out my PhD and all, so my main plan is to keep keep working on this blog as a way to release some stress and not let it fall out of focus.

Book Review: Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

Eleanor and Park

Written by: Rainbow Rowell

Published in: 2013

Synopsis: Set over the course of one school year in 1986, ELEANOR AND PARK is the story of two star-crossed misfits – smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you’ll remember your own first love – and just how hard it pulled you under.





__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Don't bite his face, Eleanor told herself. It's disturbing and needy and never happens in situation comedies or movies that end with big kisses.”

Ok, it's been two weeks since I read Eleanor and Park and I think maybe I've given myself enough distance to write an actual review. If I'd tried to do this a week ago I'm pretty sure this post would have just been a series of SQUEEE gifs and quotes from the book. I can't guarantee that I'm not going to devolve into that even now, but I think I might be able to get a few lucid thoughts out before I melt into a puddle of book happiness.

This book is every bit as good as you all told me it was. The characters are warm and imperfect, the writing is sharp and the music references made me want to disappear into my room for a day with only my CDs as company. It's a delightful and gorgeous book unlike almost any YA I've ever read, but it's also really, really sad!  By the time everyone started posting their E&P reviews I had read Attachments and knew that I loved Rowell enough to not want any spoilers, small as they may be. So I'm pretty sure I skimmed most of the E&P reviews I came across, either that or none of you expressed just how stab-in-the-heart sad this book is, because I was not expecting it at all.

So I should probably rewind a little for those of you who haven't read the book yet. E&P is all about Eleanor and Park, two high school students who get stuck next to each other on the school bus and slowly begin to like each other. Eleanor is new to the school, a chubby red head who dresses like a washing basket exploded on her. Park is a thin Korean-American who listens to awesome music and reads excellent comics, and is tolerated by the "cool" kids in spite of all of this but not entirely accepted either. Park doesn't like that Eleanor sat next to him because, as we all remember, school buses are political. But as he sits there reading his comics he notices that she's reading them too, and ever so slowly he starts to lend her comics and then music and before you know it they're holding hands and in love.

Which leads to the sad stuff. Eleanor's life is depressing as hell. She's just moved home after having spent a year living with friends of her mother after her step-dad kicked her out of the house. They're dirt poor, living in a tiny house where she has to share a room with her four siblings and the bathroom doesn't have a door. She has to tip-toe around her step-dad, who is a real piece of shit who emotionally and physically abuses Eleanor's mother. Her real dad is remarried and disinterested, she has no other family nearby, and nowhere to turn. She dresses the way she does because they don't have the money to buy her a new pair of jeans, and she doesn't want everyone to see the holes. And then Park arrives, and he's this shining beacon to her representing all the amazing things that exist in the world that are just outside her and her families grasp. His parents are still together and love each other, he lives in a nice home with his grandparents next door and he has a walkman and comics and batteries! And that just makes it so much sadder, because her life seems even more turbulent compared to his idyllic existence and it's the first big hurdle the two have to cover as a couple. There is the most beautiful scene between Park and his mother about Eleanor and life in a large, poor family, and it is the most perfect encapsulation of parental love and it made my heart explode with emotion.

But lest this talk of sadness send you running for the hills, fear not! It is sad, but it's not about the sadness. It's not even about young love, well it is, but not entirely. What it's really about is navigating that turbulent period between 14-20 where you're trying to find out who the hell you are. I think once you hit 23 you start to look back at your mid-teens nostalgically, remembering how easy school was, how enjoyable it was not having bills or a job and getting to spend all of your free time at the beach. Any issues you went through, the bullies or the unrequited love, they just seem trivial and silly when compared to the things you deal with now. But the thing is, no issue is going to be trivial as a teen because you're not really a person yet, you're the sum of your parts. You're still defined by your parents actions (hello Carrie, you know what I'm talking about) and position in life, and that makes finding your own identity really freaking hard. You can try out different styles and sub-cultures - maybe you try out elizabethan blouses, maybe you frolic in fields or you rage against the machine and curse everyone around you - but everything is so unstable and chaotic and it can seem like everything and everyone is working against you. Add in hormones and teenage love, where any love is the love... It's like trying to reach a broken light bulb by balancing books and boxes on a dodgy old chair - it's always just a second from crumbling and taking you down with it.

Park might seem to have the perfect life with the perfect family, and it's true that he doesn't have to deal with the same god-awful shit that threatens Eleanor's entire existence but he never feels like he truly belongs with the kids at school or his family. And so we get to see two very different teenagers stumble around in the dark trying to find the pieces to their own personal puzzle discovering that, oh hey, maybe we're pieces for each other's puzzle too. And that's where it gets sweet and simultaneously heartwarming and heartbreaking. Because how many teenage loves last? I remember dating a guy in year 11 and thinking "I wish I'd met him in my mid-20s because there's no way this can last". Now that I'm in my mid-20s I laugh at how unsuitable that guy would be for me now, but the fact remains, there's something so melancholic about teen love. But it's also entirely engulfing and it's a credit to Rowell that she can completely capture this obsessive side of teenage love and instead of making me roll my eyes, makes me remember my own silly, obsessive teen loves.

“You think I'm cute?" He said thickly, pulling on her hand.
She was glad he couldn't see her face. "I think you're..."
Beautiful. Breathtaking. Like the person in a Greek myth who makes one of the gods stop caring about being a god.” 

See, adorable! And not a single eyeroll from this cynic!

“You can be Han Solo," he said, kissing her throat. "And I'll be Boba Fett. I'll cross the sky for you.”

Adorable AND pop-culture announcements of love?

“The first time he'd held her hand, it felt so good that it crowded out all the bad things. It felt better than anything had ever hurt.”

Wait, no, that's too much, STAAP IT RAINBOW, you're killing me!

 I think Tika really nailed it in her review where she said the book made her heart "sore and soar" because yes, that's exactly what it does.  It's a book that gives you a gorgeous look at young love, the trials of young-adulthood, family life and navigating music and style and self identity. But it's also so much more than just that. I can't imagine how you could read this book and not look back at your own teenage years, your loves and fights and parental dramas. It reconnected 25 year old Kayleigh with 15 year old Kayleigh and it gave me a better appreciation for my journey through those emotional and ridiculous years. I'm always weary to say something is perfect, but damn, if this book isn't perfect it's really freakin' close. It's a definite must-read for everyone.

TTT: Writers who Deserve More Recognition

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

In the age of uber-celebrity writers like Stephenie Meyer and E.L. James, I get a little angry that mentions of favourite books and authors are met with "huh?" "who?" "never heard of it/him" by anyone outside of the book blogging community. If it doesn't involve an abusive relationship between a dull brunette and an aggressive but super-omg-hot guy with copper highlights, or if it isn't linked to a successful film or TV franchise, then it's not worth reading.

So of course I'm taking part in TTT this week, I'm going to share the author love and before long my favourite authors will take over the world and I will be SO HAPPY. This isn't just a list of new authors, or authors who have never been heard of except in the most obscure of readers circles, it's just a bunch of authors that I love and think should receive as much attention as possible.

1.
Author: Ben Templesmith
Genre: graphic novels/horror
Read if you like: Warren Ellis, dark humour, supernatural themes.
Why you should read him: I was introduced to Templesmith's art through the 30 Days of Night graphic novel series and I was absolutely delighted when he turned his hand to writing as well. His art is phenomenal, there's something very HP Lovecraft-y about his style (I think it might be the prevalence of tentacles) and the way he colours is just...I can't even describe it. His writing is much the same. He gravitates to horror and the supernatural, and manages to blend humour, nihilism, tortured protagonists and tentacle beasts in a way that isn't just completely derivative or hack.




2. 
Author: Layton Green
Genre: Thriller/Mystery
Read if you like: Dan Brown, cults and the paranormal, cat and mouse investigations
Why you should read him:  Layton Green's Dominic Grey series, is addictive reading. It follows in the vein of Dan Brown's supernatural/phenomenon investigative style, but I find these books so much more interesting and fulfilling. They weave fact with fiction brilliantly, inspiring mid-read wikipedia and google searches, and frequently leading to conspiracy theory websites which is about the most ridiculous and hilarious thing you can ever do (seriously, people are cray). Maybe that sort of thing isn't your cup of tea, but I actually really love when a book inspires me to do a little investigating of my own, rather than just take their information as fact (or knowing it's 100% fiction).

3. 
Author: Richard Matheson
Genre: Horror/sci-fi
Read if you like: The Twilight Zone,  Stephen King, nihilistic protagonists
Why you should read him:  He's just really, really good alright. I Am Legend is one of my favourite books, if not my MOST favourite book, and I just find the way he crafts stories mind-blowing. He is genre fiction, he's an influential player in just about every element of horror and science fiction, an honour usually withheld for anyone except the earliest adopters of a genre. And yet people who aren't actively involved in those genres don't usually know anything about him, or rather, they don't realise that a lot of those tv shows and movies they love are based on his writing, or that he wrote anything other than I Am Legend. He passed away a few weeks ago, so I think it's even more important to get people talking about him.


4.
Author: Diana Wynne Jones
Genre: fantasy/childrens/YA
Read if you like: Magic, eccentricity, Harry Potter, colourful characters, Miyazaki films
Why you should read her: It wouldn't be a TTT post without a mention of DWJ, but seriously, how do you even survive childhood without this being required reading? The worlds created by DWJ are so vibrant, creative and wonderfully visual. The characters trip through parallel universes, use seven-league boots, are cursed by witches, and have multiple lives which they lose quite regularly (occasionally by cricket bat to the head). They're a lot of fun, but like any good children's story, they're full of morals and lessons imparted in the least didactic and most wonderful ways possible.

5. 
Author: Ernest Cline
Genre: Sci-fi
Read if you like: popular culture, video games, Dungeons and Dragons, John Hughes films
Why you should read him:  Ready Player One is his first novel and it is one of my favourite reads of 2013. It's a brilliant mash of popular culture, science fiction, social commentary and RPGs. If he manages to bring this much love and excitement to the rest of his books then i'm pretty sure he's going to have a long and incredibly fun career ahead of him. But seriously, everyone loves this book, regardless of whether they spent their childhoods geeking over the same things as Cline.







6. 
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Genre: YA/NA, general fiction
Read if you like: Nora Ephron romantic comedies, quick wit, popular culture references.
Why you should read her: Full disclosure, I've only read one Rainbow Rowell book. That's only because I loved Attachments so much I'm trying to spread the rest out so I don't die of sadness when there are no new books to read (by the by, she has a new book due out next year!). But yes, read Rowell's books. She's smart, funny and her stories will make your stomach do flips of happiness (that's a thing right? Just me?). Her characters are so realistic and lovable and I just can't put into words how happy and content I was when I finished Attachments. 

 7.
Author: Joe Hill
Genre: horror/sci-fi
Read if you like: Stephen King, HP Lovecraft,
Why you should read him:  Joe Hill gets me excited to read. He's the son of Stephen King, the mastermind of the phenomenal Locke and Key graphic novel series, and his book Horns is about to come out as a film starring Daniel Radcliffe (I needed any excuse to post that picture of Daniel Radcliffe from the film because, reasons). He's about to explode and you know you want to be riding that wave so that you can cockily say "yeah, I read him before he was huge" to all your less well-informed friends. But also, he's a really neat writer. He manages to reinvigorate staid genres or tropes (check out his short story The Cape), bring characters to life and write satisfying conclusions (something papa King isn't always the best at). He flops between fiction and graphic novels with an ease that just isn't fair, and his twitter is both hilarious and introspective. Just read him already OK?



And because I'm lazy I'm going to end my list here, but if you have any recommendations then let me know in the comments!

The Book Cookbook: Attachments and French Silk Pie

So this is hardly revelatory (have you seen my instagram?), but I like baking. Also not revelatory, I like to read. I know, I'm blowing your minds here right? What you may not know is that I enjoy mixing the two together (just like a cake, BOOM). I haven't yet mastered how to read while baking (aside from the obvious audiobook, but that's clearly cheating) but I do like to bake what I've read. Or more specifically, the tasty delightful treats that are mentioned as being the favourite dessert of my favourite character, or the main snack when the gang hangs at a late night diner. I guess it's part love of baking, part wanting to be a part of the awesome world I just read about, part not wanting to let the story end just yet. It was after hunting the internet for a recipe for French silk pie after my marathon read of Attachments that this new segment popped into my mind. I mean, duh, of course I should write about my two loves colliding. How did I not think of this earlier? So here it is, the inaugural post to my new semi-regular segment;

Up first is the book which kicked this whole thing into motion. It's the kick-assiest, most amazing book I've read this year and it started a whole rather ridiculous obsession with all things Rainbow Rowell that I am currently struggling through. In it Lincoln, a tech security officer, falls in love with a woman through the emails she writes to a friend which keep getting snagged by the security system he monitors. It is the most wonderful of romantic comedies, a little unrealistic (as all the best rom-coms are) but also completely down to earth and unbelievably heart-warming and mouth-smiley. Lincoln is a little sad but lovely all the same and the two ladies, Jennifer and Beth are smashing, although they make me very sad that I don't have similar email conversations with girls at work. Why don't I work somewhere that involves emails? Or quippy ladies? WHY DIDN'T THE GUIDENCE COUNCILLOR COVER THESE THINGS? CURSES!

"Lincoln ate two pieces of French silk pie and listened, "if you really wanted to be with another girl," he said finally, mulling a third piece, "you would be. You wouldn't be here with me, talking about Dena." (page 98)

Food plays a pretty prominent role in this book since Lincoln's mum, who he still lives with, is constantly baking and boiling and roasting and steaming the most drool-inducing foods for him, which he then shares with the delightful Doris. As tasty as her food sounded, it was the French silk pie which had my mouth watering. Which is quite a feat considering I don't usually like pie that much and I'd never even heard of French silk before.

I think it was less the pie and more the events surrounding the pie that piqued my interest so greatly. Not only is he eating tasty desserts, but Lincoln is spending late nights in a diner talking to friends about music and relationships. And isn't that what we all want in the end? Desserts, friends, and endless cups of coffee? I defy you to offer a more perfect recipe for happiness.

 "Lincoln had seen Beth's boyfriend half a dozen times now. Justin had really taken to Scajawea after that first show. Now he called Lincoln whenever the band was playing. Dena, Justin's girlfriend, would come, too. They usually ended up at the Village Inn afterward. They'd all order pie and listen to Justin dissect the night's show." (p114)

I adapted my recipe from this one here, although I added a touch more chocolate and chose to use premade shortcrust pastry tart shells rather than make my own. Pastry is ridiculous here in the tropics, and I wanted to make sure I actually liked the pie before spending hours with fiddly sticky dough, but I've used this recipe before, so if you want to do things right (and homemade is always best) this is a good place to start.

So bake a pie, get hold of Attachments and get ready to be swept off your feet. And if you want to get swept of your feet for reals, I hear writing hilarious emails on the office intranet and hanging out at diners works wonders. Happy book cooking!

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