I hate being wrong.

This past April, I wrote:

I was so disappointed to read about the new release of one of my favorite authors, Justin Cronin. His books The Summer Guest and Mary and O'Neil are lovely, just lovely. The Summer Guest is definitely great American novel material and Blue Gal highly recommended.

Now he's come out with an 800 page dystopian novel about...vampires. Sigh. Also before it was a novel it was the subject of a movie rights bidding war. Well of course it was. I'm delighted that the author of two lovely little books gets almost two million bucks out of his career, but at that cost it makes me weep.

I kept The Passage on my radar. Several reviews said,"if you read the first chapter you will not want to put it down."

Today I read the first chapter. The reviews are right. Damn he's a good writer.

So I know what I'm going to be reading for...the rest of the summer. Son of a bitch weighs a ton, too. (and no I'm not reading it on a fucking Kindle. I don't need a meth delivery system for my book addiction, which is what those things are, plain and simple.)



It's the best first chapter I've read in a very long time. Heartbreaking and real and compelling. And I fucking hate that this LITERARY novel has a fucking iPhone App.

Silver Lining: Beach readers will be reading more than a bestseller, they will be reading something by an actual good writer, which still exists in the U S of A, amen.

Three Reviews

If you like tense drama with a cyber feel, I think you'll like John Sundaman's Acts of the Apostles. I kept thinking it would make a GOOD James Bond movie with just a few tweaks. You know, good James Bond, Goldfinger James Bond. Goldfinger with Daniel Craig tenseness James Bond. Oh you get my drift.

Do click the link and explore John's site, where you can read more. And buy the book if you want to read it. We're very pro "pay the damn writer" here at BG.

John attends Chat Salon on Mondays from time to time so if you buy his book and want to talk to him about it, he's available.



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If you haven't watched the entire 70 minutes of Red Letter Media's Phantom Menace review, you should. Even if, like me, you never saw Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. Actually, this review will make you glad you didn't. But you'll stay for the 70 minutes, even if you think you won't, so set aside the time. (PS there is a sub-plot to this that the narrator is a wife-murderer, but he will also mail you a Pizza Roll. I mean, really. But if you are sensitive to fake horror movie plot devices you might want to skip it.)

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Finally, this negative review of an audio book from Audible is too good not to share:

review of audiobook The Magicians by Lev Grossman

"All Hope Abandon Ye Who Listen Here"
By: Brad (USA)
November 01, 2009

This novel aspires to answer the question: what would happen if jaded, hyper-sexed versions of Harry, Ron and Hermione found themselves on a quest in Narnia . . . ?

The answer is: you don't care. Because by the time you make it to the end of this gaping sore of hopeless apathy, you'll begrudge J.K. Rowling and C.S. Lewis just for conceiving two worlds that could be so poorly re-imagined by a douche like Lev Grossman. And you won't thank narrator Mark Brahmall for pouring his weak sauce over the whole s--t sandwich.

This is one mess of a story that really begs the question: why write it? why read it? why listen? Stay away . . . and if still decide to try it on: it's definitely not for kids. Unless you let your kids listen to explicit stories about straight; gay; orgiastic; pedophilic; and bestial sex. In which case, this is the book for you . . . sicko!

Happy Thursday; Podcast tomorrow.

But I don't do the whole tagging meme thing!

I'm part of the anti-tagging league but Movable Jewel tagged me for a "name three favorite books others might not have heard of" meme and since other bloggers are doing book reviews this week, I thought, what the hell.

Besides, our air conditioning is out and I'm in no mood to blog about anything else.

Margaret Atwood, The Blind Assassin. My favorite book by my favorite author. I've said it before: no way I'd commit suicide, because I'd miss her next book.

David A. Cooper, The Heart of Stillness. You don't have to be a Buddhist to benefit from examining your thoughts just as thoughts. Getting a little distance. Getting still. This book is really kind and carefully thought out.

Jerome Stern, Making Shapely Fiction. It's written like a glossary but when read cover-to-cover is really inspiring. Will get your pen to paper, I promise.


I don't tag. If you want to pick this up feel free to leave a url in comments, so we can see your list.

Book Review: Jane O'Connor's Fancy Nancy

I know I've been negligent the past couple months on the book reviews. This summer, I promise. And I also know that this is not a Mommy Blog, nothing against those, there's some amazing ones out there, but I'm doin' the lefty hippy chick thing over here.

That said, last night a box arrived from Auntie M. and inside was this book called Fancy Nancy and I have to tell you that middle BG child, who will tell you straight to your face that she is four and three quarters (!) and she is NOT purple girl any more she likes pink and gold now and would you like to see her dress-up closet? Now HERE is how you play dress up. You take off your school clothes and jump on the bed for as long as you can stand it, then you put on fancy clothes until you almost can't walk down the hallway. Then you walk down the hallway and go into the bathroom and find some gorgeous stuff. [Editor's note: "gorgeous stuff" is whatever make-up Mommy was too A.D.D. to remember to put away] and you make yourself GORGEOUS. Then you go to your secret hiding place [Editor's note: the first place I always look for middle BG child, but don't tell her that, it's a secret] and you do...

Sorry, I don't know what she does in her secret hiding place. But it must be fun because it keeps her busy for at least twenty minutes and involves Barbie and teacups and "arranging." Middle BG child is big on "arranging."

Oh, sorry. Back to the book. So many books for little girls seem to be about princesses or Dora or the circus or some world the child can use her imagination to enter. Fancy Nancy requires no such pretending. It's all about you, little four and three quarters. My Fancy Nancy wanted this book read to her several times last night. Thank you Auntie M.

And Harper Collins knows a cash cow when they see it: Fancy Nancy already has a follow up book out and at the publisher's website you can print out a Fancy Nancy Paperdoll and...gasp... printable Fancy Nancy STICKERS!?!

Don't tell Dad.


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The book post for February

My New Year's Resolution is to read more, and review a book here once a month. For February the book is Jimmy Carter's Palestine: Peace, Not Apartheid.

Carter's book has angered certain right wing bloggers to the point that they want him censured, primarily for the admittedly incendiary title of the book. I doubt that the particular right wing blogger from whom I discovered the censure movement has read even one word of Carter's book.

I find it fascinating that there is less tolerance for the "anti-Zionism equals anti-Semitism" bullshit in the editorial pages of The Jerusalem Post than there is on certain right-wing blogs coming outta New Jersey. Seriously. But I don't like to use the term Zionism because that gets into this whole "Israel's right to exist" mantra which is so NOT the point. Let me state this in as clear a statement as I can: I am not questioning Israel's right to exist. I am (and Carter is, and a great many letters to the editor of the Jerusalem Post are) questioning Israel's "right" to kill everyone (a classic CFAV post), "right" to treat non-Jews as third class citizens of the planet, "right" to ignore the UN, etc. etc.

Sigh. And of course that means Carter and I are guilty of

denying the holocaust.

Don't get me started. (The WTF letters in response to that charge are on point and worth a read.)

This is a good book. (whew. After all that?) I particularly like how readable it is given the subject matter. I could quibble with Carter's timeline starting the Middle East conflict with Abraham ca 1900 BC, but whatever. Carter will never let us forget he is a Baptist Sunday School teacher. The world will not forget that his place in history has more to do with his peace work than with his lackluster Presidency.

I'm delighted that the attacks on Carter have put this book on the bestseller chart. I don't believe that this book will instantly change US policy. But it is a large chink in the armor of AIPAC and Lieberman and Pammy. And it's a start toward fairness.

Carter's first sentence mentions his career-long goal "has been to help ensure a lasting peace for Israelis and others in the Middle East." That much of Carter I totally believe. And what I want to know from those who would censure him is, why would peace which honors the dignity of each human being in the region not serve your purpose? Just asking.