West’s Birthday Cake
West had a farm themed birthday party this year. I made this cake using the Wilton Tractor cake pan:
Happy Birthday West
I can’t believe you’re five years old today. Seems like this was just yesterday:
Book Review: We, Robots
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
We, Robots takes place in the future when humans have robots as household help. Dal and Chit purchase AV-1 to be a nanny to their daughter Angelina. After a few years, AV-1 is recalled by the manufacture. Humans fear robots taking over and dominating them so they have decided to give robots pain sensors. This way humans can control the robots through fear of a painful punishment. At the same time, technology has been developed that can remove pain sensors in humans. This novella explores the consequences of both actions on society.
This was a quick read; it’s just under 100 pages. I found myself actually wishing that it was longer. There were some jumps in the story that confused me. If the book was longer, those plot holes could have been filled in. Other than that, it was a fun little piece of science fiction that was also thought-provoking.
By this book at:
Amazon
(I received this book courtesy of the author.)
June 27th, 2011 in
Books |
No Comments
Book Review: Leaving Van Gogh
Leaving Van Gogh: A Novel by Carol Wallace
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Leaving Van Gogh is a historical fictionalization of the final weeks preceding Vincent Van Gogh’s suicide. He spent that time living Aurves, France and formed a good friendship with Dr. Paul Gachet, a physician that specialized in mental illness.
I had trouble getting into this book. I chose it because I love Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings and wanted to learn more about him. However, he was really just a supporting character in this book. The reader never gets to know what’s going in his brilliant mind. The story is told by Dr. Gachet and he is the center of the story.
The story meandered back and forth in time and at times I had trouble remembering if Gachet was talking about the past or present. The last fourth of the book picked up but I did not care for the ending. (I won’t spoil it for you.)
By this book at:
Amazon
(I received this book courtesy of the Amazon Vine program.)
Book Review: The Radleys
The Radleys: A Novel by Matt Haig
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Peter and Helen Radley are abstainers – vampires who don’t consume blood. They live by The Abstainers Handbook and haven’t even told their two teenage children that they are vampires. One night their daughter Clara accidentally gives in to her natural instincts (that she didn’t even know she had) and Peter and Helen are forced to explain the truth to her and her brother Rowan. Peter calls on his brother Will, a practicing vampire, to help them out with the police investigation that follows. Having Will around turns their life into chaos and they have to decide which lies are worth keeping and which truths are worth telling.
The Radleys has vampires in it but it’s not really a “vampire book”. And it’s definitely nothing like the smutty vampire books I usually read! This is a “thinking person’s” vampire book. It’s more about family relationships – the Radleys are dysfunctional in very human ways. Rowan, shy and unsure of himself, is bullied by the kids at school and has a crush on his sister’s best friend. Peter and Helen have hit a rough patch in their marriage and Peter may be going through a mid-life crisis of sorts. Will finds himself growing restless and killing more indiscriminately lately, causing the larger vampire community to grow impatient with him. Okay, that last one may be more of a vampire-only problem!
The Radleys were all flawed but likable and surprisingly relatable considering they were vampires. I think most everyone has felt like they don’t fit in at some time in their lives like the Radleys. Also, most everyone has probably tried to overcome something in their lives the way the Radleys are trying to overcome the compulsion to drink blood, whether it’s overeating, smoking or something else. I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to everyone, not just vampire fans.
By this book at:
Amazon
Audiobook Week Day 5
Today is the last day of Audiobook Week over at Devourer of Books. If you haven’t visited there yet, make sure you go today – she still has a lot of great giveaways going on!
Audiobook Resources
Where do you learn about great audiobook titles? Find reviews? Buy your audiobooks? Share your secrets with the rest of us!
I learn about great audiobooks from the book bloggers I follow that listen to audiobooks like Devourer of Books and Beth Fish Reads. Audiobook Jukebox is another great resource for audiobook reviews – I read the reviews on it and also link up my own reviews.
June 10th, 2011 in
Books |
No Comments
Audiobook Week Day 3
Audiobook Week continues at Devourer of Books. She is posting new giveaways every day so make sure to visit often!
This meme is the discussion topic for today. My answers are filled in below:
Here’s something quick and easy for the middle of the week, just a short meme. Just copy/paste (and obviously change the answers to your own).
Current/most recent audiobook: I just finished Blind Your Ponies by Stanley West and I’m currently listening to Queen of Babble in the Big City by Meg Cabot.
Impressions: My review of Blind Your Ponies is here. Queen of Babble in the Big City is funny and cute just like I was expecting. (It’s the second book in the Queen of Babble series.) It’s narrated by Justine Eyre who narrates a lot of Cabot’s books and is a really good narrator.
Current favorite audiobook: Anything by David Sedaris. I love him. My husband and I are going to see him live in November – I can’t wait. We saw him a couple of years ago and I’ve never laughed so hard in my life. My cheeks ached afterwards!
One narrator who always makes you choose audio over print: Hmm, I actually don’t pay that much attention to who the narrator is but I will choose the audio for most any book written by a comedian if they read the book themselves – David Sedaris, Jon Stewart, etc. I can’t wait to listen to Tina Fey’s book.
Genre you most often choose to listen to: I mostly listen to chick-lit in audio because I find that when I listen to something that requires a lot of brain power, my mind tends to wander.
If given the choice, you will always choose audio when: If it’s a comedian reading their own book (see above).
If given the choice, you will always choose print when: If it’s a non-fiction book that requires a lot of concentration or a book with a lot of characters and I think I may need to flip back to remember who’s who.
Audiobook Week Day 2
Today is Day 2 of Audiobook Week. Check out Devourer of Books for some awesome audiobook giveaways!
Sound Effects in Audiobooks
Love them? Hate them? Take them or leave them? How do you feel about sound effects in audiobooks?
Alternate suggestions: Single narrator vs. multiple narrators vs. full cast, audio dramatizations, etc.
I don’t know that I’ve ever listened to an audiobook that had sound effects. I have a feeling that I would find them cheesy and annoying unless they were really well done. I have listened to a few that had some cheesy music at the beginning that gradually faded out as the narrator started talking and I didn’t like that at all.
I also haven’t listened to very many audiobooks that had more than one narrator but I can see where that would be a good idea. For example, in the Twilight and New Moon audio books there is just one narrator and she does a good job of getting into Bella’s angsty voice but she sounds terrible as Edward. Those books could have benefited from a male narrator for Edward and the other male characters. I think the Breaking Dawn audiobook does have a male narrator for the part told from Jacob’s point of view but I haven’t listened to it myself.
Your turn!
June 7th, 2011 in
Books |
2 Comments
Audiobook Week Day 1
Jen over at Devourer of Books is hosting Audiobook week this week. There is a different discussion topic each day and she’s got some awesome giveaways for those participating so be sure and check out her blog!
Today’s discussion topic:
2010-2011, Your Audiobook Year
Are you new to audiobooks in the last year? Have you been listening to them forever but discovered something new this year? Favorite titles? New times/places to listen? This is your chance to introduce yourself and your general listening experience.
I’ve been listening to audiobooks for several years now. I still remember the first audiobook I ever listened to – To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. My husband and I took a roadtrip to San Francisco in late September 2001 (we were too scared to fly because of September 11). I decided to check out some audiobooks from the library for us to listen to on the road and To Kill a Mockingbird was the first CASSETTE we popped in. The time went so much faster compared to listening to music on the radio! From then on we listened to audiobooks on all our roadtrips – until we had kids, then we switched to kiddie movies on the DVD player. Maybe when they’re older (and less whiny on road trips!) we can listen to books again.
Now I keep an audiobook (checked out from the library) in each car so that if I find myself driving somewhere alone I can get some listening in. My absolute favorite to listen to is anything by David Sedaris. He reads his books himself and his ultra dry delivery makes listening to his books ten times funnier than just reading them.
Currently my go-to audiobook is anything by Meg Cabot. I’m working my way through her catalog and I’ve listened to around ten of her books so far. Her books are funny with charming female leads and good narrators. They don’t require so much concentration that I can’t also pay attention to the road while driving.
Your turn!
June 6th, 2011 in
Books |
4 Comments
Book Review: Calling Home
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Shannon is a teenager growing up in the small town of Falling Rock, Kentucky in the early 1980s. Her father has just left her mother to take up with the town’s beautician and her older brother Will is about to go away to college. Shannon is determined that she is not going to be stuck in the dead-end town after high school, working in the underwear factory like her mother.
This book was definitely not a “feel-good” book – the mood was melancholy throughout and the characters, especially Shannon, faced some difficult situations and decisions. It was ultimately about Shannon’s struggle to be her own person and break free of the hold her family and the town had over her. Even though it was kind of depressing, it had a good story that took some surprising turns.
Buy this book at:
Amazon
