Had to Share This 29

I was going to save all the music for this year's birthday post, but I'm starting my own little party early and posting whatever I feel like blaring from now until the big day. Here we go!

International Harvester - Craig Morgan

Your pal,
Angels

Reviews From an HBN (The Pirouettes That Angels Spin - Michelle Rodriguez)

Overdue in arriving, but here at last! (The review, that is...)

Book two of the Angel and Demon Chronicles

Ashland, a heavenly angel, desperately loves Poe... But secrets from Poe’s past rip them apart and Poe is forced to Earth to live among mortals. Dancing becomes her new life, but it isn't enough. Carrying her secrets and facing unbearable choices, Poe takes her own life. Devastated and grieving, Ashland discovers a way to travel back through time to be with Poe once more. Will he be able to survive on Earth and can he stop history from repeating itself to save the woman he loves?

MY RATING: 5 STARS

This is a story of first love, and the entire book has the sweet, playful vibe of young romance (with a little bit of everlasting love to up the ante). I barely stopped smiling the entire time I read it, and that's no joke.

In The Devil's Galley, Ms. Rodriguez created an eerie, Inferno-esque picture of Hell, but in Pirouettes we get a Heaven that really does seem like paradise. Complete with angel bars! Yet it contrasts strongly with our hero Ashland's yearning for his true love, and it contrasts with good effect. What could better demonstrate his love for her than to show how even Heaven was unbearable without her? His devotion to her and his sense of humor won me over fast (not to mention a heartfelt, drunk-as-a-skunk solo performance in the aforementioned bar), and I developed quite the crush on him, to be honest. He had the boy next door charm about him, and while he might be an angel, he is no insufferable choir boy.

As for Poe herself, it hurt bad enough to see her alone and despairing on Earth, much less without Ash's memories of how wild and happy she was in Heaven. Poor girl! If I could change just one thing just a tiny bit (gasp!) I would want to know more of the old Poe. There were so many memories of her spirited ways, and that was rare enough when she was a mortal. But don't let me steer you wrong, she had no problem giving Ash the what-for when he screwed up, and she fit right in with Foster and Julian.

Foster and Julian! I LOVED them! Man, I wish I had friends like that, who stir up all kinds of crazy trouble and still have your back when you're going through hell (in some cases, literally). It's hard to say who I grew more attached to, Foster because of his humor and his roguish attitude, or Jules because he was shy and sweet but still had a rebellious streak running through him.

I was genuinely surprised at the ending, wondering how it could possibly end well (I mean it! I was worried!), but as with The Devil's Galley the solution was so simple I really didn't see it coming. As Sherlock Holmes said, there is nothing more elusive than an obvious fact, and it made a perfect ending to a book I thoroughly enjoyed reading. I can't wait for the next in the series!

Your humble book nerd,
Angels

Artist of the Month - June 2013

Eek! Blame a busted computer for the silence over here...gotta warn you, things are going to be very sporadic for the foreseeable future, so don't hold your breath for posts. And I'm a little late with this one, but I had to put up an artist for June. I just had to.

*drum roll*

Bob Dylan

I'm not in the mood for any background info this time, so I'll just leave it at this: Ol' Bob has been doing his thing since the sixties, his album Blonde on Blonde officially put Nashville, TN on the map as a recording giant, he's one hell of a songwriter that plays a mean guitar and harmonica (at the same time!), and he can't sing to save his life. But he's still one of my favorites.

Don't Think Twice, It's All Right

Mr. Tambourine Man

Maggie's Farm

Just Like A Woman

Girl From the North Country (with Johnny Cash)

Happy listening! See you next time!

Your pal,
Angels

Angels Sings 6

I've done quite a bit of reading since my computer started acting up, so I've got reviews coming, but right now I've got another video for you. Anybody remember how I celebrated my 100th post? This time I've got one better!

The Change cover

All right, Blogger is being temperamental, and you'll have to be happy with a link.
Click it! Click it now!

Your pal,
Angels

Reviews From an HBN (Vampyrrhic - Simon Clark)

Been awhile, hasn't it? Blame the #$^& computer malfunctions!

WELCOME TO LEPPINGTON

Not far from the coastal town of Whitby is Leppington, nestling in the purple hills of the North Yorkshire Moors. Quiet, unassuming, a forgotten backwater yet beneath Leppington's streets terrifying creatures stir. They are driven by ancient passion that has become obsession. They are united in their burning hunger. They share an unending craving. They are Nosferatu. And they have the power to drain your will to resist. To drain it so utterly that you will cheerfully, gladly, eagerly surrender yourself to their sharp, brutal teeth.

AND IN LEPPINGTON DEATH ISN'T ALWAYS FOREVER..

MY RATING: 4 STARS

So, when I started reading this, I took notes with the intention of writing a review based on my opinions as I read. Instead, it turned into a little play-by-play commentary, which I decided to use anyway. It summed up my opinions better than a review could. So here it is, verbatim! Spoilers ahead! And language when I couldn't control my enthusiasm!

PROLOGUE
-Bernice seems intriguing, active with a morbid imagination
-Immediate mental correlation w/ Dracula--"Leppington, the town built on blood"
-As always w/ horror: I want to keep going just to see when it gets scary
-What is B's obsession w/ Mike Stroud?

ONE AND TWO
-Chapter structure similar to "It"...bad sign?
-David Leppington seems...arrogant? Have to wait to see what he'll do

THREE
-Skinhead punk on the train is going to get it, isn't he? At least, I hope so. He's annoying me. A lot.
-Wait...I thought fag meant something else across the pond?

FOUR
-Leech farm...huh?!
-*cough* Disney World!
-Now a slaughterhouse...pretty grisly so far
-Who the flying fart is Katrina?
-Nice touch w/ slaughterhouse and sewers
-Should I start tallying use of the word "fatalistic" already?

FIVE
-And "flippant" while I'm at it?

SEVEN
-Katrina = variation on Renfield

EIGHT
-I definitely like Bernice
-Electra might be twisted
-Jason Morrow is in denial
-Red felt-tip scar again...Clark has redundancy issues
-OK, make that Dracula/It crossover

TEN
-Skinhead seems to be telepathic. Boy, I wonder how this will work out?
-Definitely Dracula/It crossover

ELEVEN
-George seems to have some hellacious longevity. Suspicious?

TWELVE
-George...what do you know?
-Norse gods, descendants of Thor...I need a break
-Oh Lord, now stories about magic swords. And conquering empires w/ supermen. Vampires, you mean?

THIRTEEN
-Is George setting the vamps loose? The plot thickens...
-Could be...this legend seems to point that way. You know, this isn't much like the blurb described, and it has yet to get scary

FIFTEEN
-Uh oh...watch out, Dianne
-Told you so.

SEVENTEEN
-Because it's not real horror w/out an abundance of horny people getting ganked in the middle of fu-- uh, fornicating
-Bernice, I thought you were smarted than that! You NEVER go into the basement!
-And you never ever EVER open the door! Don't open the door, don't open the door, don't open the--

EIGHTEEN
-Saved by the skinhead! Who'da thunk it?

NINETEEN
-now we're getting somewhere! But still not scary, damn it!
-Still not entirely sure about David...

TWENTY
-Skinhead, perhaps a hero? You know, maybe we ought to stop calling him that and start using that stupid alias he gives everyone.
-Holy crap, I really think Jack Black might be warning them.
-Feeling sympathy for a troubled past? But he was such an asshole a few chapters ago!
-Jesus H. Christ...I know that one!
-Don't worry, Dave! They've recognized their overlord!

TWENTY-ONE
-Electra...what do you know?

TWENTY-TWO
-A guest named Matt Smith...cue Whovian enthusiasm!
-All right, Electra, what the hell do you know that you're not saying?

TWENTY-THREE
-Bingo! Jack's got it!
-Oh, so now we think of Katrina?
-Watch out, fella, she bites. *morbid chuckle*
-Watch out, lady, that ain't your husband.
-Well, I notice Clark has finally utilized the insidious nature of modern vampires and he isn't skimping on blood and death...but this still ain't scary.

TWENTY-FOUR
-Wait, so George isn't the overlord?
-Oh, shit, he turned them loose!
-Well, if setting them loose would annihilate mankind, why the hell did you do it?

TWENTY-FIVE
-This thing is inventive, if nothing else.
-Oh, she's having fun, Dad, don't worry.
-David Leppington is in denial.
-Electra is definitely twisted.
-Bingo! Bernice is getting there!

TWENTY-SIX
-Wait one damn minute! I thought this was Norse myth! What does the Middle East have to do with it?
-David is in serious denial. Electra has been in some serious denial.
-Well, you're all making progress and maybe Jack Black isn't such an asshole, but what do you mean, you're going into the basement?!

TWENTY-SEVEN
-You know, I want David and Bernice to end up together. I really do.
-Tunnels under Leppington...and sewers under Derry!
-There's that word again, flippant. Why do you keep using it? I don't think it means what you think it means. *snicker*
-Well, if he doesn't believe after all that, he's a hell of a lot dumber than I thought he was and I give up on him.
-Hell yes! War council! Now we're talking!

TWENTY-NINE
-So the slaughterhouse was on purpose...I knew it!
-And here comes Hindu reincarnation. Holy shit, man, make up your mind.

THIRTY-ONE
-For want of a better word, for want of a better word--I tell you, this man Clark has redundancy issues.
-But he researched his names. Impressive!

THIRTY-TWO
-I saw the reincarnation coming, so I wonder if I can guess how all this ends...
-All right, now that made my skin crawl. About damn time, too.
-Man up, bitch! These things want to eat you!
-I predict either Black will turn on the others and David will have to kill him, or that Black will turn noble and sacrifice himself. Either way, the vampires will be destroyed somehow, and Black bites the dust. Just my guess.

THIRTY-THREE
-Something big is about to happen, isn't it?
-Watch it, Bernice!
-Oh shit!
-OH SHIT!

THIRTY-FOUR
-Tom and Jerry reference. I approve.
-And George's sword is going to figure into saving the day, isn't it?
-That's how you take care of old-school vampires, you nincompoops! Good old decapitation!

THIRTY-FIVE
-Take back everything I said about Jack Black. He's not so bad after all.
-Cocaine in Coca-Cola...coke squared!
-Ooh, Electra's smoked them! But just what the hell is going on here?
-Yes! I knew there was something about Maximilian!

THIRTY-NINE
-Even the name "Harker" made it in here.
-George, you old coot, what have you done now?
-Man up, bitch! They'll kill you as soon as they get the chance!
-Uh oh, it's fixing to get bloody.

FORTY
-OH SHIT!
-Ew, gross.
-Ah, and Bernice has an epiphany!
-Oh come ON, man! Humane, my ass! You are an idiot!
-She's going to wake up, I know she is.
-TOLD YOU!
-Ew, gross.

FORTY-ONE
-Aw, shit yeah. That's the ticket!
-CHAINSAWS!

FORTY-TWO
-So...this is getting pretty bad ass.
-HUH?!
-Oh shit.
-I suppose it's only fair that the American is the bad guy in a British novel. After all, how often are the Brits the bad guys in American movies? So long as we stay friendly outside the realm of fiction, I'm cool with it.
-Oh shit.
-Damn. That's a good speech.

FORTY-THREE
-See? Told you. Kinda sucks, though.
-Run, Forrest, run!
-WHOA!
-Oh come on, Electra, you won't take the bait.
-Whew, close one, and I'm relieved and all, but I still think it's going to end badly.
-Oh NO!
-Uh oh. No no no no no no....
-NO NONONONONO!
-DAAAAAAMMMMNNNN IIIIIIIIITTTTTTT! FUCK! SHIT! SON OF A BITCH!

FORTY-FOUR
-Aw, shiiiiiiiitttt.....

FORTY-FIVE
-God, I hope I can finish this before work.
-GAAAAH, YOU BASTARD!
-YEAH! FUCK YEAH!
-Aw, man, this is going to suuuuuuuck....

EPILOGUE
-Oh, poor thing.
-OK, that was a bit cheesy for me, but it's minor.
-You know what, that was actually kinda good.


'Nuff said.

Your humble book nerd,
Angels

The Opera Ghost Unraveled...Book Trailer!

Testing my newfound skills with Windows Movie Maker and helping a friend promote at the same time...Tell me what you think!

*ten minutes trying to post video to blog post*

Hells bells, Mary, the linky no worky! I'll have to re-route you...

The Opera Ghost Unraveled by Michelle Rodriguez
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXQG0vpTSIw

Your pal,
Angels

Reviews From an HBN (P.S. I Love You - Cecelia Ahern)

How to sum up trying (and failing) to keep things up around here?

YIIIIIIKKKKKKEEEEEEESSSSSSSS!!!!!

Anyhoo...

Holly couldn't live without her husband Gerry, until the day she had to. They were the kind of young couple who could finish each other's sentences. When Gerry succumbs to a terminal illness and dies, 30-year-old Holly is set adrift, unable to pick up the pieces. But with the help of a series of letters her husband left her before he died and a little nudging from an eccentric assortment of family and friends, she learns to laugh, overcome her fears, and discover a world she never knew existed.

MY RATING: 4 STARS

 I saw the movie first, and came into the book understanding that the two were very different...so much so, in fact, that it doesn't even seem fair to me to say one is better than the other. This focused a lot more on Holly's grief, but it was still downright hysterical at times and balanced humor and sadness rather well. That's a quality I like in a book, and a skill I admire in a writer.

Oh, look! A readers' group discussion guide! I'll use it to write a review! (Spoilers ahead!)

At what point does the book hook you? What makes you keep reading?
Well, not to be cliche, but I was hooked from the first page. It had some slow points and Holly's constant bellyaching got old a few times (I know she's in mourning, but can we please move on with the story?), but it was mostly the humor that kept me going. I couldn't wait to see what kind of hijinks was around the corner.

Keeping in mind that Cecelia Ahern was twenty-one when she wrote P.S. I Love You, discuss her strengths as a storyteller.
Being, ahem, a young storyteller myself, I was rooting for her, and she stacked up a hell of a lot better than other young authors I've read. Her prose was light and funny, but also impressively mature and moving. There were a few times her inexperience showed in the way she told her story and the language she used to tell it, but that's only my opinion, for what it's worth. For the most part, the narrative was so good that I couldn't believe a twenty-one-year-old had written it. It had much more depth than I was expecting, based on prior experience, from such a young writer.

Look at the first two paragraphs of Chapter One. What information does Ahern provide at this early stage to set up the story that follows?
Oh, wow. Like I said, I was hooked from the first page. That was a pretty powerful opening, and I knew I was going to cry before the book was over. The impact of Gerry's death on Holly and the loss she feels hit me right in the head like a frying pan. I repeat: this was very mature and moving coming from someone so young.

What is so compelling about a list left by a loved one who has died? How does the list help Holly?
What a premise to base a story on! It was so intriguing and felt so novel! Gerry was gone, but he was still there with Holly through his notes, and I felt her anticipation and excitement as she waited until it was time to read another. Ultimately, though, the notes had to come to an end, but they were a way to ease Holly into letting Gerry go and moving on with her life, and it was such a bittersweet and thoughtful way of doing it.

Think about Holly's reaction to Gerry's karaoke instruction. How does the experience help her?
The karaoke! One of the best parts! A little lump came to my throat when I read Gerry had planned it months in advance, knowing he wouldn't be there with her and that she would have to go through with it for her own sake. It was good for Holly to step outside of her comfort zone and face an old fear with the actual karaoke, and then to be surrounded by family and friends without Gerry at her side. She had to find an identity outside of his wife, and the karaoke was just another step towards moving on.

Even though Gerry is dead, how does he come alive in the book?
See, now, he didn't really "come alive" for me. It felt more like hearing everyone talk about this wonderful person, but never actually meeting this person for myself, and that came as a disappointment. To be fair on Ms. Ahern, it's hard to resurrect the dead for the reader, and I think it would have been tough to pull off. It was such a shame for a character with such impact on the story to come off so...ghost-like, especially when the others were so vivid they just seemed to fill my head, but I guess it's only fitting that it worked out that way, given what the book is about.

Discuss who experiences a transformation in P.S. I Love You.
I'm taking the easy way out and going with the obvious answer. At the beginning of the book, Holly is a devastated widow. She won't leave the house, she won't eat, and she's lost the other half of her heart. I cried for her and with her. Then little by little, she starts taking baby steps towards recovery, and it's wonderful that Gerry was still able to help her move on, even while she mourned him. She has her triumphs and setbacks when she reverts back into the wreck she was at the first, but by the end she emerges stronger, a woman who has learned to shape a new life for herself, to find herself and a sense of purpose, and to just live, period. It started so sad, but it ended so hopeful I had a smile on my face when I finished reading.

All in all, I enjoyed reading this. It made me laugh, cry, and think, and as far as I'm concerned, that makes it a success with me. I was pestering both my mother and my sister to read this once I was done with it, and I would be quick to recommend it. I felt a sense of camaraderie with Holly that doesn't often happen with other books. She felt so genuine and so real, and it's rare that I feel so close to a character so quickly. That Ms. Ahern was able to pull that off was terrific.

***

Your humble book nerd,
Angels