Literature and Poetry Reviews, Home of the Virtual Poetry Circle
I wanted to wish everyone a
Happy New Year!
Later this week, I’ll be posting my wrap-up post for 2008. I know I should have posted it today, but things got a bit out of control and crazy.
I hope everyone has a great night.
***Don’t forget about the Gods Behaving Badly Contest, which runs through January 5 at Midnight EST.***
Miriam at Hatchette Group sent Cross Country by James Patterson for my review. However, while I’ve been an avid James Patterson reader for some time, I decided to have the biggest James Patterson fan I know review it. My mom, Pat, offered to review the book for me. I’m sure my review will follow sometime in 2009.
About the book (from Amazon.com):
In this 14th Alex Cross thriller, Cross, a Washington, D.C., police detective, takes on a very different quarry—a human monster known as the Tiger with ties to the African underworld. When the Tiger and his teenage thugs butcher writer Ellie Cox, her husband and children in their Georgetown home, Cross is devastated because Ellie had been his girlfriend in college. The Cox family massacre proves to be just the first in a series. Cross pursues the Tiger to Nigeria, where the profiler finds himself at the mercy of corrupt government officials who may be working with the Tiger.
Here’s what Pat had to say about the latest in the Alex Cross Series:
James Patterson’s Cross Country is a page turner from beginning to end.
Alex Cross and Brianna Stone are called to a horrific crime scene, one of the worst murder scenes Cross has encountered in his entire D.C. police career. Families are brutally murdered in their homes. One scene involves Cross’ ex-girlfriend Ellie Randall Cox and her family, and the death of the entire family. Ellie was a reporter who uncovered a series of brutal murders happening both in the United States and Nigeria, Africa.
Cross ends up in Africa on the trail of a notorious killer, Tiger, and his boy killers. From the moment Cross sets foot in Nigeria, he is kidnapped, beaten, and shot at. The fast-paced style that Patterson has cornered the market on continues in this latest Alex Cross story. Everyone Cross comes in contact with is dying or in danger, and eventually, Tiger follows Cross back to Washington, D.C.
This book is fantastic, and I would rate it with 5 stars. It will keep readers glued to the page until they are finished. This is one of the better books in the Cross series, and setting a portion of the tale in Africa was unique and believable.
***Don’t forget about the Gods Behaving Badly Contest, which runs through January 5 at Midnight EST.***
Marie Phillips‘ Gods Behaving Badly is one of the funniest books I’ve read in a long time. What would the ancient gods of Greece and Rome do in today’s 21st Century world? Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, a phone sex operator; Apollo, the God of the Sun, a television psychic; Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt and Chastity, a dog walker.
The gods have weakened since their days on high at Mt. Olympus, and they are all crammed into a dilapidated home in London, getting on one another’s nerves. The conflict truly begins one night during a taping of Apollo’s psychic show where Eros shoots a love arrow into Apollo’s heart, leaving him powerless against his love for the next person entering his view. Unfortunately, that person happens to be a mortal named, Alice, who cleans the theater where the show is taped. Alice and her friend Neil, who both love one another but are too afraid to make a move, become the center of conflict in the gods’ world.
What has been fascinating about the Greek and Roman gods for many centuries has been their human-like qualities. While they are powerful beings ruling over the human world, they are much like the average mortal in their desires, weaknesses, and arrogance. Phillips easily highlights the human-like failings of these gods and accentuates those failings with “unlikely” professions for them in the modern world.
Watching these gods cope with the 21st Century is a hilarious delight, but even more delightful is Phillips’ use of language. From Aphrodite’s bottom “bouncing like two hard-boiled eggs dancing a tango” (page 89) to Phillips’ description of Neil as a teenager, “an ugly, spotty, skinny-arsed spoddy minger” (page 88). The dialogue is witty as well: “‘. . .you’d better come quick. I’ve got a god passed out on my kitchen floor and I think the world’s about to end.’ (page 213).”
One of the best scenes in this book comes when Apollo finds Zeus in the upper floors of the house staring at the television much like a zombie would. He’s lifeless, but still a god able to stand on his own and still strike down mortals with lightning. Reading this section brought to life the dilemma that often faces many of us, do we unwind too often in front of the television rather than through more challenging activities, like games, competition, reading, and exercise? Is this section a commentary on the lives we continue to lead now, watching television, zoning out, and withdrawing into ourselves away from society. But, I digress.
With an interesting cast of characters from a Christian Eros to a drunk, DJ in Dionysus, Phillips uses her cast of characters to dramatically set the stage for a modern day Greek comedy of errors and missed chances. Even readers who do not have a firm background in mythology will enjoy this book.
If you think this book sounds interesting, you should check out Hachette Group’s discussion with the author, Marie Phillips, on Blog Talk Radio.
***Contest***
Hatchette Group offered to give away 5 copies of the book to my readers with U.S. and Canadian addresses only.
For those international readers, I am offering my gently used copy, so please inform me that you are an international entrant.
For one entry, leave a comment here telling me who your favorite Greek/Roman god/goddess is and why.
For a second entry, blog about the contest or place it in your sidebar and leave a comment here telling me where I can find it.
Deadline is January 5, Midnight EST.
Check out these other Reviews:
Booking Mama
Books Books and more Books!
Diary of an Eccentric
Book-a-Rama
A Reader’s Respite
Booklorn
The 3R’s: Reading, ‘Riting, and Randomness
Sophisticated Dorkiness
A Life in Books
Becky’s Book Reviews
Fizzy Thoughts
The Boston Bibliophile
A Novel Menagerie
As Usual, I Need More Bookshelves
Welcome to my 10th edition of Mailbox Monday, sponsored by Marcia at The Printed Page. Ok, it’s on a Sunday again.
Here’s what I got in my mailbox before the Christmas holiday:
1. Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker, which I won at A Circle of Books. Thanks Toni and Mariam at Hatchette Group.
2. The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb, which I received for the next Book Club Girl on January 27 at 7PM. I had no idea that this would a signed first edition volume. I was tickled pink when it came in the mail.
The Bookish gifts I received over the holidays:
3. The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry, which Anna at Diary of an Eccentric got me. I’ve heard so many great things about this book, and I even got a copy for Suey on her birthday, though I hadn’t read it or owned it yet. I can’t wait to dive on in.
4. The Rest of Her Life by Laura Moriarty, which came from Anna as well. This one is an audio book, which will be great for those commutes into work with the hubby.
5. Mystic River by Dennis Lehane, which came from Carrie at Care’s Online Book Club through the Book Bloggers Christmas Swap 2008, sponsored by Nymeth and Dewey. This book has been on my to-read list for a while.
6. The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith, which also came from Carrie, my Secret Santa. This is another of those books that has been on my to-read list. I can’t wait to dig into this one.
My Secret Santa from the Book Bloggers Secret Santa Swap, organized by Nymeth and our beloved Dewey, was revealed to me some time ago, though I waiting until Christmas to open my gifts. My Secret Santa was Carrie of Care’s Online Book Club, which is a new-to-me blog. You can bet with such great taste, she is the latest addition to my Google Reader.
I bet you all want to see what Carrie got me, well, here you go:
Here are the presents all wrapped up:
And here are the gifts in no particular order, since I kind of randomly opened them:
This gift has a Santa-candy puzzle. Too funny. Wherever did she find this?
Here’s some Mary Kay products, I believe she is a Mary Kay Rep:
This book has been on my To-Read list for sometime, and she kindly gave me her copy. And she was worried I wouldn’t like it. She’ll know better now! 🙂
The best present in this bundle was this one because I saw some television show about this series of books and have been dying to start on them. Carrie even got this one for herself to read. Happy Reading Carrie!
Wanna see what else the little elves brought me?
This one is from a friend of mine, who apparently had ESP that I had run out of nice smelling bath gel, though that is under the paper cubes and the mug.
My hubby got me the waffle iron and the socks. The pillow cases were made by my aunt. She’s very crafty!
Now for the most coveted of my gifts, are you ready?
Can you find the froggie that Anna’s daughter (aka The Girl) got my for Christmas? She just knows I love my little frogs. Anna got me the much anticipated Lace Reader and The Rest of Her Life, which she highly recommends. I want to provide Iliana at a Bookgirl’s Nightstand with a shout out because she made me the small little journal in this photo as a thank you for ordering from her store. Anna’s one of the recipients of Iliana’s handiwork. Yes, I am a Star Wars fanatic, thanks Dad! So the hubby got me the Wii light Sabre, now all I need is the game and another one so we can battle each other! LOL And last, but not least, my favorite and newest iPod. Yes, it will hold much more than the last iPod I bought ages ago…thank goodness because I have way more music than will fit on the other one. Yippee, thanks to the hubby!
I hope your secret Santa and elves were as good to you! I hope you had a great holiday. Have a great weekend.
I borrowed this meme from A Girl Walks into a Bookstore. Click on the link to check out her answers, and I would like to tag Anna, Jeannie, Ramya, Suey, and Dawn for this meme.
Feel free to join in even if I haven’t tagged you.
Required Shakespeare in College was the same, plus Titus Andronicus, Othello, Julius Caesar, Antony & Cleopatra, Coriolanus, Troilus and Cressida, Timon of Athens.
This does not include the Shakespeare I’ve read on my own, nor his sonnets. Some of my favorites include The Merchant of Venice and As You Like It.
6. What’s your favorite movie version of a Shakespeare play?
Hamlet (1996) as portrayed by Kenneth Branagh and with the great Richard Attenborough.
I also love Much Ado About Nothing (1993) with Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson–not to mention a young Kate Beckinsale.
Out of just 14 entrants into my Matrimony giveaway, Randomizer.org selected #7. The winner is
Morbid Romantic
Thanks to all those who entered and don’t forget to check back after the holidays for more reviews and giveaways.
Didn’t win here, check out S. Krishna’s Books; Deadline is tonight.
As an aside, in the spirit of giving, especially to those in need, I want to call your attention to a great cause: Southern Sudan Life Saving Medical Mission for her friend’s “Lost Boys of Sudan.” Anna at Diary of an Eccentric mentioned this cause earlier this month, and I wanted to highlight it again.
Medical supplies are desperately needed in the villages of Southern Sudan, and when I say medical supplies, it can be as simple as a box of band-aids, latex gloves, or some antibiotic treatment for cuts and abrasions. The need anything that can promote or aid health that does not require refrigeration or electricity.
Check out Anna’s post here, and please contact her friend Denise at denise.martin AT seriouslock DOT com
Welcome to another addition of Mailbox Monday, sponsored by Marcia at The Printed Page, and you’ll never guess, its appearing on a Monday!
Here’s what I got in my mailbox this week:
From M.J. Rose for the upcoming TLC Book Blog Tour:
1. The Reincarnationist by M.J. Rose
2. The Memorist by M.J. Rose
Also in this week’s mailbox:
3. The Sinner’s Guide to Confession by Phyllis Schieber for a January tour
4. Revelations by Melissa De La Cruz (I bought this new one in the Blue Blood Series at Target–I wasn’t supposed to buy any before the holidays, but I couldn’t resist it)
What did you get in your mailbox?
Deborah at 32 Poems posted this meme a bit ago, and I thought it would be fund to adapt to the writers and book reviewers who read my site.
Simply copy the questions and answer them on your blog. I won’t tag anyone, so it’s up to you if you want to do it in the comments or in your own post.
Age when I decided I wanted to be a writer/poet/book reviewer: 6
Age when I wrote my first short story/review/poem: 10
Age when I first got my hands on a good word processor: 16
Age when I first submitted a short story/poem/review to a magazine: 15
Rejections prior to first short story/poem/review sale: Hasn’t happened yet, unless you count review copies as payment.
Age when I sold my first short story/poem/review: See above.
Approximate number of short stories/poems/reviews sold: 1
Year I first published a book: Hasn’t happened yet
Books published or delivered and in the pipeline: None
Number of titles in print: None
Age now: Not telling.
***Don’t forget my giveaway for an inscribed copy of Matrimony by Joshua Henkin. Deadline is Dec. 21 and the contest is international.**
***Check out the winner of the Green Beauty Guide and an announcement about First Book.***
Fixing Hell by Col. (Ret.) Dr. Larry C. James, Ph.D. is a nonfiction book about how one army psychologist takes on the task of cleaning up after public relations nightmares at detention centers in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and Abu Ghraib, Iraq.
Dr. James is sent to reform these prison/detention centers after scandals break out regarding the treatment of prisoners and detainees. After conducting research and reviewing the Stanford Prison Experiment, which details how otherwise “good” people can commit atrocities in a prison system, Dr. James heads to Cuba.
He outlines some ground rules before he gets to Guantanamo Bay. One of the main rules he sets forth is that leaders must be seen and present. James walks throughout the complex at different hours of the day, even at 2 a.m. He finds that some of the guards on duty in the wee hours are asleep at their posts, while others claim to have never seen a colonel or other military leaders.
Dr. James leaves Guantanamo only to be sent shortly thereafter to Abu Ghraib following the highly public denigration of Iraqi prisoners at the detention center. Soldiers at the prison disrobed prisoners, posed them naked in a human pyramid, and shot photos of the incidents, which were later plastered all over the news. As a psychologist, Dr. James was sent to the detention center to clean up the facility and establish protocols to prevent further incidents.
The audio of this book was well read and engaging. It certainly kept our attention during our early morning commutes, and it was intriguing to get an insider’s look at the military’s psychology department and protocols. My husband enjoyed the details about how Dr. James remedied the problems at Abu Ghraib and the insight those details provided about the actual facts of the situation.
However, the last chapters of the book slowed down the flow of the book for us. Dr. James offers a great deal of explanation about how the media played up the Abu Ghraib incidents and printed misinformation that maligned the reputations of fellow psychologists and himself. While we understood his need to set the record straight, the information was unnecessary given the timeline he issued throughout the book. Any reports placing him or his colleagues at the detention centers during the scandalous incidents could easily be dismissed.
With that being said, anyone interested in military or war history will enjoy this insider’s look at the Iraq War, Abu Ghraib, and the military’s psychology unit.
About the Author:
Colonel Larry C. James, PhD, served as the Chief, Department of Psychology at Walter Reed Army Medical Center for the past five years. In this capacity, he also was the Chief Psychologist for the Army’s northeast region and had responsibility over 100 psychologists in this region. Currently, Dr. James is the Chief, Department of Psychology, Tripler Army Medical Center, Honolulu, Hawaii. During the Military’s response to 9/11 at the Pentagon, Col. James was the Chief Psychologist for the Mental Health Task Force. Dr. James has been awarded the Bronze Star and the Joint Service Commendation medals for his superior and distinguished services during the global war on terrorism. In 2003, he was the Chief Psychologist for the Joint Intelligence Group at GTMO, Cuba, and in 2004 he was the Director, Behavioral Science Unit, Joint Interrogation and Debriefing Center at Abu Ghraib, Iraq. Col. James was assigned to Iraq to develop legal and ethical policies consistent with the Geneva Convention Guidelines and the APA Ethics Code in response to the abuse scandal. Also, while at Abu Ghraib, Iraq, Dr. James was tasked with developing a mental health clinic to deliver services to approximately 8,000 prisoners.
***Don’t forget my giveaway for an inscribed copy of Matrimony by Joshua Henkin. Deadline is Dec. 21 and the contest is international.**
***Check out the winner of the Green Beauty Guide and an announcement about First Book.***
James Patterson and Hal Friedman’s Against Medical Advice is the first book my mom, Pat, will be reviewing here on Savvy Verse & Wit.
According to Amazon.com’s Product Description:
Cory Friedman woke up one morning when he was five years old with the uncontrollable urge to twitch his neck. From that day forward his life became a hell of irrepressible tics and involuntary utterances, and Cory embarked on an excruciating journey from specialist to specialist to discover the cause of his disease. Soon it became unclear what tics were symptoms of his disease and what were side effects of the countless combinations of drugs. The only certainty is that it kept getting worse. Simply put: Cory Friedman’s life was a living hell.
Against Medical Advice is the true story of Cory and his family’s decades-long battle for survival in the face of extraordinary difficulties and a maddening medical establishment.
Without further ado, here’s mom:
Patterson usually writes fiction, but this non-fiction work is well written. Patterson and Hal Friedman met at an advertising agency and both are writers. They took four years to write this true story about Hal’s son, Cory, who has Tourettes Syndrome. One symptom of the ailment is body ticks. After a variety of medical treatments and medications, symptoms were not alleviated and lead to Cory’s over-eating and weight gain.
Cory, an athlete in school, eventually gets into trouble with the “wrong” crowd. Alcohol consumption exacerbates Cory’s medical problems and things spiraled out of control for him. After a number of treatment facilities, Cory is sent to a wilderness camp to help him cope with his ailment.
This is a story of one family’s struggles with a disease that is hard to treat and deal with, and about how this struggle impacted them. I would recommend this book to James Patterson fans and would consider this among his best books. I consider this as a 5-star book.
Thanks mom for your review of James Patterson’s Against Medical Advice.
Pat is an avid James Patterson reader and loves to follow his latest novels. I even thanked James Patterson in person for getting my mom to read. She didn’t read much when I was growing up, at least from what I can remember. Now, if we could only get dad to start reading.
***Don’t forget my giveaway for an inscribed copy of Matrimony by Joshua Henkin. Deadline is Dec. 21 and the contest is international.**
***Check out the winner of the Green Beauty Guide and an announcement about First Book.***
Out of 20 entrants into The Green Beauty Guide giveaway, Randomizer.org selected #14.
The winner is Shana of Literarily
If you didn’t win this book and you really think you would enjoy it, I suggest putting it on your Holiday Wish list. And go ahead and click on the cover to order it from Amazon.com.
I recently signed up to a great team of Book Reviewers to get books in the hands of our children through First Book. Check out my donation page here. Why did I sign up you ask? Because my husband has struggled with reading since he was a kid, and he hated to read because he felt dumb. Now, after some hard work and tutoring through the county Literacy Council, he’s improved greatly. I just don’t think our children, in this day and age, should grow up without reading skills. Placing a book in their hand is a start, and this program will provide kids with 4 books for as little as $10. Please stop by my page and make a donation today.
Okay, stepping down from my soap box.
***Don’t forget my giveaway for an inscribed copy of Matrimony by Joshua Henkin. Deadline is Dec. 21 and the contest is international.**
