You've probably already seen this video, but I couldn't resist posting it. Hats off to crazedadman.
February 4, 2012
February 3, 2012
Capitol Colours Swatches
I'll admit it: I wasn't all that excited when I first saw the promo material about China Glaze's Capitol Colours collection, made in conjunction with Lionsgate for the release of the Hunger Games movie. China Glaze has never been my favorite polish brand and most of the colors looked like duds to me. (What can I say, I'm picky.)
Just try to tell me that most of the colors don't look dull in that image. But my favorite polish blogger All Lacquered Up just released her swatches, and some of them have me singing a different tune. Mahogany Magic is still awful, but Stone Cold's matte finish is a great effect for a hard-edged manicure or pedicure. Luxe and Lush, however, tops my want list. I can never resist the shiny.
Just try to tell me that most of the colors don't look dull in that image. But my favorite polish blogger All Lacquered Up just released her swatches, and some of them have me singing a different tune. Mahogany Magic is still awful, but Stone Cold's matte finish is a great effect for a hard-edged manicure or pedicure. Luxe and Lush, however, tops my want list. I can never resist the shiny.
Review: Wahoo Rhapsody
By Shaun Morey
Available now from AmazonEncore
Review copy
Carl Hiaasen is one of my favorite authors. He was one of those lucky random finds. I took a book out of the library because it looked like it wouldn't be terrible, and it turned out to be hilarious, utterly insane, and well-plotted to boot. (I believe my first was LUCKY YOU, but I devoured every Hiaasen the library had so quickly they ended up blurred together.) I wanted to read WAHOO RHAPSODY, since the title alone gave away that Shaun Morey had at least some inspiration from Hiaasen. (Or Tim Dorsey, another terrific author. I recommend ORANGE CRUSH.)
Not to shock you, but Shaun Morey is no Carl Hiaasen.
WAHOO RHAPSODY is still a terrific book. The short chapters keep the action moving forward - and it's quality, ridiculous action. It all starts when Weevil, the first mate of the Wahoo Rhapsody, agrees to smuggle marijuana in the yellowfin tuna and then tries to steal a bale. Things go awry for the crew, the boat's silent partner, the cannery manager waiting for the shipment, and the drug lords themselves.
Now, Morey has a few things to learn. Big Joe, the toughest of the crew, is a terrific character in theory. But his exploits are entirely separate from the plot; he does nothing once rejoining with his comrades. His thread fizzled out instead of building to the finish. People meet with terrible mishaps, but some of those people are the good guys. Cartoonish violence is funny when it happens to the bad guys, not when it leaves the most sympathetic characters bandaged for the whole of the book.
But if Morey smooths out the rough edges he could be the Hiaasen of the West Coast. He captures the setting well, including quite a bit of untranslated Spanish. I had no issues with it and think most of it could be gleaned from context, but it was all Spanish I already knew. Thus, I thought it was a nice touch.
I enjoyed it and would've enjoyed it back when I first discovered Hiaasen in high school. Some violence and sex might make it inappropriate for younger teens.
Available now from AmazonEncore
Review copy
Carl Hiaasen is one of my favorite authors. He was one of those lucky random finds. I took a book out of the library because it looked like it wouldn't be terrible, and it turned out to be hilarious, utterly insane, and well-plotted to boot. (I believe my first was LUCKY YOU, but I devoured every Hiaasen the library had so quickly they ended up blurred together.) I wanted to read WAHOO RHAPSODY, since the title alone gave away that Shaun Morey had at least some inspiration from Hiaasen. (Or Tim Dorsey, another terrific author. I recommend ORANGE CRUSH.)
Not to shock you, but Shaun Morey is no Carl Hiaasen.
WAHOO RHAPSODY is still a terrific book. The short chapters keep the action moving forward - and it's quality, ridiculous action. It all starts when Weevil, the first mate of the Wahoo Rhapsody, agrees to smuggle marijuana in the yellowfin tuna and then tries to steal a bale. Things go awry for the crew, the boat's silent partner, the cannery manager waiting for the shipment, and the drug lords themselves.
Now, Morey has a few things to learn. Big Joe, the toughest of the crew, is a terrific character in theory. But his exploits are entirely separate from the plot; he does nothing once rejoining with his comrades. His thread fizzled out instead of building to the finish. People meet with terrible mishaps, but some of those people are the good guys. Cartoonish violence is funny when it happens to the bad guys, not when it leaves the most sympathetic characters bandaged for the whole of the book.
But if Morey smooths out the rough edges he could be the Hiaasen of the West Coast. He captures the setting well, including quite a bit of untranslated Spanish. I had no issues with it and think most of it could be gleaned from context, but it was all Spanish I already knew. Thus, I thought it was a nice touch.
I enjoyed it and would've enjoyed it back when I first discovered Hiaasen in high school. Some violence and sex might make it inappropriate for younger teens.
February 2, 2012
World Book Night
Time is running out to sign up for World Book Night. The deadline is midnight on February 6th.
To quote their website:
You can see the list of books being given away here. It includes such YA and children's classics as Kate diCamillo's BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE and Sherman Alexie's THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE STORY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN. There are plenty of books to entire adult non-readers as well.
To quote their website:
We need book-loving volunteers to fan out across America on April 23, 2012! Just take 20 free copies of a book to a location in your community, and you just might change someone's life. Please sign up by Feb. 6 EST at midnight.
The goal is to give books to new readers, to encourage reading, to share your passion for a great book. The entire publishing, bookstore, library, author, printing, and paper community is behind this effort with donated services and time.
You can see the list of books being given away here. It includes such YA and children's classics as Kate diCamillo's BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE and Sherman Alexie's THE ABSOLUTELY TRUE STORY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN. There are plenty of books to entire adult non-readers as well.
February 1, 2012
Review: Troubletwisters
By Garth Nix and Sean Williams
Available now from Scholastic Press
Review copy
I have always loved Garth Nix's books. SABRIEL and its sequels might be my favorites, but I was never disappointed. I continued to read The Keys to the Kingdom series even though I was rather old for it because I wanted to know how Arthur solved his problems. I've never read anything by Sean Williams before, but I haven't heard bad things and I've had excellent luck with Australian authors.
TROUBLETWISTERS, strangely, didn't quite work for me. It's the tale of twins Jaide and Jack, who go to live with their estranged Grandma X after their house blows up. They start seeing odd things and notice animals behaving oddly - but no one will explain what's up. It's familiar, but that doesn't mean it can't be done well. There are some wonderful action scenes and there's a magical antique shop that's quite enchanting. But there were too few rules for me. I like it to know the bounds of magic within a story.
But the troubletwisters can't be told too much about their power by a Warden or their power might go awry. The cats know, but they swore an oath as kittens not to reveal what they know. As Jaide tells her twin brother Jack at the climax, "Who knows what [troubletwisters] can do?"
(And I might be insane, but it really bothers me that Wardens are capital-W, the Evil is capital-E, but troubletwisters are lowercase-t. Why?)
Children who enjoy fantasy will probably enjoy TROUBLETWISTERS. But it fails to live up to Nix's previous children's book series. There's nothing to hate here, but there's nothing special either.
Available now from Scholastic Press
Review copy
I have always loved Garth Nix's books. SABRIEL and its sequels might be my favorites, but I was never disappointed. I continued to read The Keys to the Kingdom series even though I was rather old for it because I wanted to know how Arthur solved his problems. I've never read anything by Sean Williams before, but I haven't heard bad things and I've had excellent luck with Australian authors.
TROUBLETWISTERS, strangely, didn't quite work for me. It's the tale of twins Jaide and Jack, who go to live with their estranged Grandma X after their house blows up. They start seeing odd things and notice animals behaving oddly - but no one will explain what's up. It's familiar, but that doesn't mean it can't be done well. There are some wonderful action scenes and there's a magical antique shop that's quite enchanting. But there were too few rules for me. I like it to know the bounds of magic within a story.
But the troubletwisters can't be told too much about their power by a Warden or their power might go awry. The cats know, but they swore an oath as kittens not to reveal what they know. As Jaide tells her twin brother Jack at the climax, "Who knows what [troubletwisters] can do?"
(And I might be insane, but it really bothers me that Wardens are capital-W, the Evil is capital-E, but troubletwisters are lowercase-t. Why?)
Children who enjoy fantasy will probably enjoy TROUBLETWISTERS. But it fails to live up to Nix's previous children's book series. There's nothing to hate here, but there's nothing special either.
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