what I thought about "mr. fox"

This book has revolutionized my concept of writing and storytelling.  It was very freeing.  Mr. Fox has this interesting format where the protagonists keep appearing in different stories within a larger story, and it bends the rules, and I found it charming.  It was so different from anything else I've read in a long while that it helped reboot me.  I was told a while ago that people don't like essay collections or books of short stories (this is obviously a lie--I love short stories and essay collections--why did I listen to him?), and I made a lot of changes to a book I'm writing because of this, and promptly found myself in a creative tar pit.  I haven't been able to figure out how to extricate myself from it, but Mr. Fox has been very helpful and given me some ideas that may or may not turn out to be good, but at least it will get me somewhere.

what I thought about "tim gunn's fashion bible"

I enjoy Tim Gunn.  He seems to be a very sensible man, and he says some very smart things in this book.  Why is it that women are simultaneously made to feel bad about their appearance, and bad for caring about their appearance?  THAT'S SEXIST!  Anyway, I like his position that presenting yourself well is not frivolous.  I'm less of a stickler than he is, obviously, because I frequently leave the house in less than tip-top condition.  But still, I like looking nice.  And he is so practical and balanced, and doesn't like wearing a trend for trend's sake.  This book was helpful to me, and I have been trying to figure out if I am a Greek or an Egyptian dresser.  I think I tend toward Greek most of the time.  I have an entirely new perspective on knits!  I would like Tim Gunn to come shopping with me. 

what I thought about "the prisoner of heaven" and "the shadow of the wind"

Okay, I got done with "The Prisoner of Heaven" and loved it immensely.  It is magical.  The Cemetery of Forgotten Books is a place I want to visit.  Also, I have always thought of Spain as a boring Italy, and the soft S makes me crazy, but this book changed my mind. 

Then I read "The Shadow of the Wind," and I liked it as well, but not quite as much--though not because the writing wasn't as good.  "The Shadow of the Wind" was more depressing and seemed more gratuitously sexy, and there is a truly horrible reveal near the end of the book (which in retrospect I should have seen coming) that just made me miserable and want to choke the life out of one character in particular.  I still recommend the book, but it might make you sad.  Carlos Ruis Zafon is a gifted, creative writer, and I'm going to read everything by him that I can find. 

I'm reading "the prisoner of heaven," and you should too

I'm remembering to tell you in time, before I have the book all read.  I am really enjoying this book and I want you to go check it out so we can talk about it.  Also if you've read any of the other books in the series I want to know, but don't tell me what happens in them.  I haven't read the others, and was irked when I found out there were previous books, but in the introduction it says the books can stand alone and be read in any order.  So it better work or I am going to personally write to Mr. Ruis Zafon and give him a piece of my mind. 

Read it!  It's fun. 

what I thought about a bunch of halloweeny books

I got way behind on books. 

1.  A Newbery Halloween, compiled by Martin H. Greenberg and Charles G. Waugh

2.  Spirits, Spooks, and Other Sinister Creatures, selected by Helen Hoke

3.  Seventy-seven Clocks, Chistopher Fowler

4.  We'll Always Have Paris, Ray Bradbury

1.  Many of these stories suffered from being extracted from larger works, and the maturity level varies widely.  Uneven and not very engaging.
2.  This one was better.  There's nothing too awful in it that would scare older elementary or junior high kids.
3.  I am conflicted about this book.  It's very creative, like the other Bryant and May book I read, but there was a referral to sexual assault as "having intercourse" that bothered me intensely.  Don't worry, it's not an Oprah-type book that will make you want to throw up while the flames from your eyes are burning the organs of all pedophiles past, present and future.  I mean, because you want to do that anyway, right?  But this one will not substantially intensify that desire. 
4.  This was not the strongest Bradbury collection I've ever read. 

what I thought about "the zombie survival guide"

I liked this book.  It inspired me to practice shooting so I can hit the thing I'm aiming at, and it made me realize that zombies are not so scary, as long as you can keep your wits about you.  There were some inconsistencies, though--at first he says that zombies can't climb, but then he says to be careful where you put your anchor (if you're avoiding the zombies on a boat), because a zombie could climb the chain right into your boat.  What?  How can a zombie climb a chain, but not a ladder?  It's like he thinks I'm not paying close attention to his advice or something.  By the way, a trench spike is a good zombie weapon.  This is one way in which zombie defense is different from human defense.

He says that at first, when the zombie apocalypse is still in its beginning stages, the most danger will come from the marauding bands of thugs, not the zombies.  Freaking thugs, am I right?  So pretty much any End-Times scenario includes blood cults or similar, and it sucks to be a woman or a child NO MATTER WHAT.  So pumped about that. 

Go ahead and read this book.  It might depress you, but then again, it might make you feel a little better prepared for when everything goes pear-shaped, which it will. 

what I thought about "advent"

I'm kind of mad at this book, but not as mad as I could be.  I picked it up at the library, off the staff recommendations shelf, and at first when I saw that it was about a boy with strange powers whose parents didn't understand him, I was like, "Flippin heck.  Here we go through another inferior Harry Potter retread (see: The Magicians)."  But it got very different very fast, and it was so creative and so well written that I was just in love with it.  The characters were new and interesting, and the sense of place is very strong.  But then toward the end there is some heavy use of deus ex machina, and he lost me.  A whale for some reason?  Masks and open doors?  Eskimos out of nowhere?  It's like Treadwell was writing two different stories and forgot to connect them until the end, and then he was all slapdash about it, when his craftsmanship was so impressive for the rest of the book.  I felt gypped. 

I was a lot more angry until I saw that it's the first book of a trilogy.  So my criticism is conditional.  Maybe it will all make sense in a minute.  The conclusion is still a little jarring, but I will see what happens.  I'm very eager to read the next two books.  If you like fantasy or mythology you should read this book.  There is some use of the F word, if you'd rather not read that.