June 2008 Lists!

Books, Films, and DVDs enjoyed (or not) this month:

♦♦♦♦♦ = Excellent! Highly Recommended. If there’s an added “+” then you know you can’t miss!

♦♦♦♦ = Not bad. Missing some key elements that would’ve made it better.

♦♦♦ = Meh. Nice filler. Take it or leave it.

♦♦ = Danger, Will Robinson.

♦ = Holy Crap! How did this ever see the light of day?

These ratings are, of course, based on personal preferences as well as professional opinion. So…here ya go!

PICK OF THE MONTH

BOOK

• The Ghost Brigades – Science Fiction – John Scalzi ♦♦♦♦♦+ This fast-paced interstellar military drama meets and exceeds the high expectations set by its predecessor, Scalzi’s acclaimed Old Man’s War (2005). Shifting focus from seniors in young bodies to infants in old bodies, it follows Jared Dirac, a superhuman soldier, from unusual birth to ambiguous death. Dirac is an altered clone of Charles Boutin, a military scientist who betrayed humankind to alien aggressors, and the Colonial Defense Forces’ only hope of finding Boutin lies in transplanting his memories into Dirac’s brain. When the transplant seems to fail, Dirac is sent to Special Forces, known as the Ghost Brigades for their habit of creating new soldiers from the DNA of the dead. His indoctrination there comes in handy when Boutin’s memories begin to surface. Scalzi pays gleeful homage to Ender’s Game, The Forever War and Starship Troopers. A brilliant concept, brilliantly executed. Highly recommended. (Shannon, I definitely recommend this series for you! )
• The Broken Window – Thriller – Jeffrey Deaver ♦♦♦♦♦+  In bestseller Deaver’s entertaining eighth Lincoln Rhyme novel (after The Cold Moon), Rhyme, a forensic consultant for the NYPD, and his detective partner, Amelia Sachs, take on a psychotic mastermind who uses data mining—the business of the twenty-first century—not only to select and hunt down his victims but also to frame the crimes on complete innocents. Rhyme is reluctantly drawn into a case involving his estranged cousin, Arthur, who’s been charged with first-degree murder. But when Rhyme and his crew look into the strange set of circumstances surrounding his cousin’s alleged crime, they discover tangential connections to a company that specializes in collecting and analyzing consumer data. Further investigation leads them to some startlingly Orwellian revelations: Big Brother is watching your every move and could be a homicidal maniac. The topical subject matter makes the story line particularly compelling, while longtime fans will relish Deaver’s intimate exploration of a tragedy from Rhyme’s adolescence.  If you’ve ever wondered or been even the slightest bit paranoid about your identity being stolen, this  book will keep you up at night.  One of the best of Deaver’s long career.

JUNE READS

• The Pact – Drama – Jodi Picoult ♦♦♦♦
• Now You See Him – Drama – Eli Gottlieb ♦♦♦
• The Ghost Brigades – Science Fiction – John Scalzi ♦♦♦♦♦+
• The Tower of Shadows – Fantasy – Drew Bowling ♦♦½
• The Blue Religion – Mystery – Various (Anthology) ♦♦♦
• Odd Hours – Supernatural Suspense – Dean Koontz ♦♦♦♦♦
• The Legend of Colton H. Bryant – Non-Fiction – Alexandra Fuller ♦♦♦
• The Broken Window – Mystery – Jeffrey Deaver ♦♦♦♦♦+
• Wolf at the Table – Non-Fiction – Augusten Burroughs ♦♦♦♦

UPCOMING READS

• Flesh and Spirit – Fantasy – Carol Berg
• Breath and Bone – Fantasy – Carol Berg
• The Wise Man’s Fear – Fantasy – Patrick Rothfuss
• Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines – Non-Fiction – Nic Sheff
• The Reapers – Thriller – John Connolly
• Where Did I Leave My Glasses? - Non-Fiction – Martha Weinman Lear
• Child of God – Drama – Cormac McCarthy
• The Border Trilogy – Drama – Cormac McCarthy
• In Odd We Trust – Supernatural Suspense/Graphic Novel – Dean Koontz
• The Boy Who Killed Caterpillars – Drama – Joshua Kornreich
• The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread – Drama – Don Robertson
• Butcher Bird – Fantasy – Richard Kadrey
• Letter From Point Clear – Drama – Dennis McFarland
• The Killing Moon – Thriller – Chuck Hogan

JUNE DVDs and FILMS

• Friday Night Lights: Season 1 – Drama ♦♦♦♦♦
• Friday Night Lights: Season 2 – Drama ♦♦♦♦♦
• OT: Our Town – Documentary ♦♦♦♦♦

UPCOMING DVDs and FILMS

• The Golden Compass – Fantasy
• Charlie Wilson’s War – Historical Drama
• The Kite Runner - Drama
• Into The Wild – Drama
• The Brave One – Thriller
• War, Inc. – Political Comedy
• Star Trek XI - Sci-Fi
• Batman: The Dark Knight – Action/Adventure
• X-Files: I Want To Believe – Drama/Sci-Fi
• Rambo – Action/Adventure
• The Lost Boys 2: The Tribe – Horror
• The Tracy Fragments – Independent Drama
• Stop Loss – Drama
• Dark Knight – Action/Adventure

May 2008 Lists!

Books, Films, and DVDs enjoyed (or not) this month:

♦♦♦♦♦ = Excellent! Highly Recommended

♦♦♦♦ = Not bad. Missing some key elements that would’ve made it better.

♦♦♦ = Meh. Nice filler. Take it or leave it.

♦♦ = Danger, Will Robinson.

♦ = Holy Crap! How did this ever see the light of day?

These ratings are, of course, based on personal preferences as well as professional opinion. So…here ya go!

PICK OF THE MONTH:

Book

So Brave, Young, and Handsome – Drama – Leif Enger ♦♦♦♦♦

This second novel from the author of Peace Like A River tells the story of outlaw Glendon Hale’s quest to right his past, as seen through the eyes of his unlikely companion Monte Becket. So Brave, Young, and Handsome begins with Becket, a struggling novelist bewildered by the success of his first book, who has pledged to his wife, son, and publisher to “write one thousand words a day until another book is finished.” Four years and six unfinished novels later, Becket sits on the porch of his Minnesota farmhouse about to give up on number seven, when he spies a man standing up in his boat “rowing upstream through the ropy mists of the Cannon River.” Eager to set aside his waning tale about handsome ranch hand Dan Roscoe, Becket calls out to the mysterious white-haired boatman and his life changes forever. At turns merry and wistful, romantic and tragic, So Brave, Young, and Handsome is as absorbing as a campfire tale, full of winking outlaws and relentless villains–the sort of story to keep you on the edge of your seat with hope in your heart. Even though the story unfolds at a casual pace, the writing is evocative and poetic, and Enger’s voice is in fine form in this excellent novel.

DVD

The Black Donnellys: Season 1 – Crime Drama ♦♦♦♦♦

From the Oscar-winning writers of Crash and the writer of Million Dollar Baby comes a bold and edgy crime-drama series:The Black Donnellys. Four very different Irish-American brothers – Kevin, Jimmy, Tommy, and Sean – have sworn to live by the code of “family first.” But as they become increasingly involved in the ruthless world of New York organized crime, their loyalties to their friends and their loved ones, and especially to each other will be put to the ultimate test. This is one of the best series I’ve ever seen on network on television, and I was devastated yesterday when I searched their website only to discover that the show was pulled before the first season was completely shown. Don’t know why. Gritty, real, engaging, and entertaining, I hope NBC pulls their heads out and revives this awesome show. Better than The Sopranos!

MAY READS

Adam - Thriller – Ted Dekker ♦♦♦♦

Killer Year - Mystery – Various (Anthology) ♦♦♦

The Genius - Mystery – Jesse Kellerman ♦♦♦♦♦

Delusion – Suspense – Peter Abrahams ♦♦♦♦

The Unquiet – Supernatural Thriller – John Connolly ♦♦♦♦♦

Invasive Procedure – Science Thriller – Orson Scott Card/Aaron Johnston ♦♦

The Pastures of Heaven - Drama – John Steinbeck ♦♦♦♦♦

So Brave, Young, and Handsome – Drama – Leif Enger ♦♦♦♦♦

UPCOMING READS

• The Pact – Drama – Jodi Picoult
• Flesh and Spirit – Fantasy – Carol Berg
• Breath and Bone – Fantasy – Carol Berg
• The Wise Man’s Fear – Fantasy – Patrick Rothfuss
• Wolf at the Table – Non-Fiction – Augusten Burroughs
• Now You See Him – Thriller – Eli Gottlieb
• Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines – Non-Fiction – Nic Sheff
• What Now? – Non-Fiction – Ann Patchett
• The Broken Window – Thriller – Jeffrey Deaver
• The Blue Religion – Mystery – Various (Anthology)
• The Reapers – Thriller – John Connolly
• Where Did I Leave My Glasses? - Non-Fiction – Martha Weinman Lear
• Ghost Brigades - Science Fiction – John Scalzi
• Child of God – Drama – Cormac McCarthy
• The Story of Edgar Sawtelle – Drama – David Wroblewski
• The Legend of Colton H. Bryant – Drama – Alexandra Fuller
• Odd Hours – Supernatural Suspense – Dean Koontz
• In Odd We Trust – Supernatural Suspense – Dean Koontz

MAY DVDs and FILMS

The Brotherhood: Season 1 – Crime Drama ♦♦♦♦♦

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull – Action/Adventure ♦♦♦♦♦

Mario’s Story – Documentary ♦♦♦♦

The Black Donnellys: Season 1 – Drama ♦♦♦♦♦

The Great Debaters – Drama ♦♦♦♦♦

Friday Night Lights: Season 1 – Drama ♦♦♦♦

UPCOMING DVDs and FILMS

• The Golden Compass – Fantasy
• Charlie Wilson’s War – Historical Drama
• The Kite Runner - Drama
• Into The Wild – Drama
• The Brave One – Thriller
• War, Inc. – Political Comedy
• Star Trek XI - Sci-Fi
• Batman: The Dark Knight – Action/Adventure
• X-Files: I Want To Believe – Drama/Sci-Fi

April Lists!

Being the consummate list whore, I bring to you a compendium of books, films, and DVDs I enjoyed (or not) in April. I thought about presenting them as I completed them, but that would require that I actually review each one, and I don’t have the time nor the inclination to do so. Instead, I have presented them in this format for easier viewing on both your end and mine. I did take a moment to rate them on a scale of 1-5:

♦♦♦♦♦ = Excellent! Highly Recommended

♦♦♦♦ = Not bad. Missing some key elements that would’ve made it better.

♦♦♦ = Meh. Nice filler. Take it or leave it.

♦♦ = Danger, Will Robinson.

♦ = Holy Crap! How did this ever see the light of day?

These ratings are, of course, based on personal preferences as well as professional opinion. So…here ya go!

APRIL READS

• Chasing Windmills – Drama – Catherine Ryan Hyde ♦♦♦♦♦
• Compulsion – Suspense – Jonathan Kellerman ♦♦♦
• Small Favor – Fantasy – Jim Butcher ♦♦♦♦♦
• Change of Heart – Drama – Jodi Picoult ♦♦♦♦♦
• The Forgery of Venus -Suspense – Michael Gruber ♦♦
• A Wicked Snow – Thriller – Gregg Olsen ♦
• Adam – Thriller – Ted Dekker ♦♦♦♦♦
• A New Earth - Non-Fiction – Eckhart Tolle ♦♦♦♦♦
• At Risk - Mystery – Patricia Cornwell ♦♦♦♦♦
• If You Want To Write - Non-Fiction – Brenda Ueland ♦♦♦♦♦
• The Blade Itself – Thriller – Marcus Sakey ♦

UPCOMING READS

• The Unquiet – Thriller – John Connolly
• Killer Year – Mystery – Various (Anthology)
• The Pastures of Heaven - Drama – John Steinbeck
• The Pact – Drama – Jodi Picoult
• The Genius – Thriller – Jesse Kellerman
• Delusion – Suspense – Peter Abrahams
• Flesh and Spirit – Fantasy – Carol Berg
• Breath and Bone – Fantasy – Carol Berg
• The Wise Man’s Fear – Fantasy – Patrick Rothfuss
• Wolf at the Table – Non-Fiction – Augusten Burroughs
• Now You See Him – Thriller – Eli Gottlieb
• Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines – Non-Fiction – Nic Sheff
• What Now? – Non-Fiction – Ann Patchett
• The Broken Window – Thriller – Jeffrey Deaver
• The Blue Religion – Mystery – Various (Anthology)
• The Reapers – Thriller – John Connolly
• So Brave, So Young, So Handsome – Drama – Leif Enger

APRIL DVDs and FILMS

• Cloverfield – Horror ♦♦♦♦♦
• No Country For Old Men – Suspense ♦♦♦♦♦
• Michael Clayton – Suspense ♦♦♦♦
• I Am Legend – Horror ♦♦♦♦♦
• Battlestar Galactica: Season 3 – Sci-Fi ♦♦♦♦♦
• Battlestar Galactica: Season 2 - Sci-Fi ♦♦♦♦♦
• The Tudors: Season 1 – Historical Drama ♦♦♦
• Elizabeth: The Golden Age – Historical Drama ♦♦♦♦♦
• Battlestar Galactica: Razor – Sci-Fi ♦♦♦♦♦
• Gone, Baby, Gone – Suspense ♦♦♦♦♦
• Martian Child – Drama ♦♦♦♦♦

UPCOMING DVDs and FILMS

• The Brotherhood: Season 1 – Drama
• The Great Debaters – Drama
• The Golden Compass – Fantasy
• Charlie Wilson’s War – Historical Drama
• The Kite Runner - Drama
• Into The Wild – Drama
• The Brave One – Thriller
• War, Inc. – Political Comedy
• Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull – Action/Adventure
• Star Trek XI - Sci-Fi
• Batman: The Dark Knight – Action/Adventure
• X-Files: I Want To Believe – Drama/Sci-Fi
• The Black Donnelly’s: Season 1 - Drama

Please Pass The Catch-Up

Yeah, yeah, I can hear the groans from here over the pun of the title. So spank me. (pretty please?)

This is a catch-up post, wherein I follow up on several previous posts and other stuff.

Books: Lets see what’s on my so-called “reading table,” which is really just a spot I cleaned on the dining room table (aka The Hub) for books that I want to read soon, and ones that have to either be returned to the library or loaned to friends or donated to the homeless shelter.

Just finished a somewhat horrible “thriller” called The Blade Itself by Marcus Sakey. Actually, I didn’t finish it, slamming the cover shut about fifteen pages from the end. Here’s the review I posted on Amazon.com:

Read this book on the strength of Publisher Weekly’s review. Had to keep checking that I was reading the same book that others have raved about just to be sure it was the same one. While I’m happy that Sakey got a publishing deal for his work, this story was entirely predictable, the writing cliched and trite, the action handled clumsily, and the ending telegraphed so early on, it was painful to read through to the end…which I finally gave up on. It felt as if I was always twenty pages ahead of not only the author, but the characters, too. There was nothing notable or new in this story. Evan, the antagonist, was a cartoon, and Danny, the bad-boy-gone-good protagonist, was weakly drawn and unbelievable. By the time I gave up reading, I was hoping that the protagonist would either stop justifying his actions with weak inner arguments, or get killed. That’s not a good thing. Will I read anything else by this author? No. Opening this book was a day in my life that I will never be able to retrieve. This is one book that could have used a good critique group before publishing.

I really hate feeling like I have wasted time reading a book when there are so many great ones out there. I’m now reading Old Man’s War by John Scalzi. Greg has also listed a good book on his blog that I’m going to look into…ahem, no pun intended.

Film/DVD: I gave up on Netflix yesterday. I struggled with their recent and suddenly poor customer service, and then their entire website crashed for two days during which they could not ship anything nor answer questions about their customer’s accounts. Been checking out Blockbuster’s order-from-home service, and decided that for the money, they offer a better plan. So I joined yesterday, and guess what the first DVD will be that I’ll receive? The first disc of Battlestar Galactica, Season 3. So say we all, ya bastards!

Music: Every day, I am more impressed by John Mayer. His songwriting abilities, his down-to-earth demeanor, and most of all, his incredible insight and intelligence. If you haven’t scoped out his blog, you might be surprised by how non-musical it is. He writes from the heart in an eloquent and folksy way that really strikes a chord for me. Check it out!

Right now, what with the new satellite radio hookup I have in my car, my listening tastes are all over the map. I’m allowed 30 presets on my car stereo just for the satellite stations alone, and I am hard pressed to be able to fit all of my favorites on there. From classic rock to techno, from chillout to 80s tunes, it’s all there. Talk radio, too! I’m thinking about moving into my car full time. It might get a bit cramped what with my two big hairy kids, but we’ll manage somehow. Or maybe I’ll just rent them their own place.

So Say We All

After much delay — by which I mean that the US version of this is only 6 MONTHS BEHIND the UK version — season three of my favorite series has been released on DVD.

The current remake of Battlestar Galactica is nothing like the earlier and much cheesier version from 1978.  There is no electronic dog, no kid to draw in the younger viewers.  This is a much darker reimagining of the series.  Richard Hatch, the original protagonist from the ’70’s version, plays a villian in the newer version, and Edward James Olmos plays Captain Adama, a gruff, tough-love Admiral of a fleet of survivors after the Cylons have destroyed their home planet.

I have been anticipating the US release of this since I learned of its existence back in November.  It has been on my Netflix queue since then, and when the release date was officially announced, I moved it immediately to the top of the list.

On March 18th, the day it was made available, I was ready.

And…I got I Am Legend instead of my first choice.  While I’m not too sad that I got the Will Smith film ahead of the much-anticipated BSG III, I am a bit pissed that I got bumped down the list of recipients based on whatever nebulous criteria NetFlix uses to determine who will get DVDs, and when.

Didn’t they anticipate the crush of interested fans clamoring for copies?

I better get the first disc in the next round of DVDs, or I will have to curse the families and employees Netflix with the fleas of 1,000 camels in their naughty places.

So say we all.

The Last Kid On The Block

I’m working my way diligently through my NetFlix list. It’s quite lengthy, but I’m determined. Since I rarely have time to catch certain series on cable when they’re aired, I try to find them on DVD and catch up that way.

I’ve found many awesome programs to watch. Brothers & Sisters leaps to mind. Rome is another, especially when watched with the “pop up” feature active which gives little tidbits of history during each episode, a feature that really enhances the viewing of it. I got hooked on 24 through DVD, as well as The 4400, Heroes, and many others.

Yesterday I received Season 1, Disc 1 of The Sopranos.

A little background: my parents divorced when I was 9. My mother remarried a man who was purported to be directly involved with “the family” in Chicago and Detroit…direct descendants of Lucky Luciano. We were raised to believe that we were constantly being monitored by members of “the family” — a fact that was proven on several occasions, I might add. The Godfather saga was one that was being lived in our home on a daily basis, though without the assassinations and all those goings on.

So you might understand my reluctance to watch The Sopranos, yet another glorified version of the truth. However, I knew within minutes of the first episode that I was hooked. James Gandolfini is amazing as Tony Soprano, reaching the perfect balance of ferocity and pathos in his characterization.

I am the last kid on the block to watch this series, probably, but I’m really glad I finally got to it. I look forward to seeing all six seasons.