Ouch!

I awoke later than I had planned this very frigid Wednesday morning. As I tried to extricate myself from a wonderfully warm bed, I promptly whacked my right orbital socket on hubby's elbow (he was sleeping on his left side facing me). Talk about seeing stars! He apologized profusely, which I appreciated, but let's face it - it wasn't really anyone's fault. Dark bedroom, sleepy Bookbabe... the combination just didn't work this morning.

I'm hoping my day gets better, and I'm really hoping I didn't hit myself hard enough to have a black eye later. Sheesh.

Evanovich at the movies

Oh boy. Anyone else dreading this release? Anyone else going to stay as far away as possible? I know, I know.... I've heard a lot of Evanovich fans say that the movies doesn't look very good but they're going to go see it anyway.

Why?

Really. I'd like to know why readers feel they "must" go see a movie based on a book they enjoyed. We all know that the movies based on said books are never "just like the book". We all know that all too often, the movies are much, much worse than the original books. Indeed, there are times where the title of the movie is the only thing linking it to a book!

Are we, the readers, doing our favorite authors/characters a disservice by paying Hollywood to rework something we loved in print? Or do we really consider it support of those authors, just as if we bought another copy of the book? Wouldn't it be better to keep spreading the word of the print version and get the author more overall sales?

If there are any authors reading this blog (and gosh, I certainly hope there are) what do you think? Do you have dreams of your book(s) coming to life on the big screen? Or do you have nightmares about what might happen to your literary vision?

As for me, I don't watch movies too often to begin with - I am a reader, dammit! And I rarely want to watch a film based on a book, especially a book I've already read. Every once in a while I'm surprised by a very good treatment of the original written piece, but yeah, there are stinkers out there that have made me groan in actual pain. Just take a look at any number of Stephen King pieces: for every "Stand by Me" (based on his original novella "The Body"), you've got something like "Sleepwalkers", a movie best summed up by a guy sitting near me during a preview, sho said "Dude, that would have totally rocked if we were stoned!"

Let me know what you think. Movies based on books - good idea? Or should scriptwriters stick to coming up with their own ideas?

Last day of vacation

It's Monday, January 2nd, and my last day of vacation. Having ten days off has been amazing - so relaxing! But it's quickly drawing to a close, which makes me sad. So yes, my goal of more vacation should be easy to accomplish as I'm very motivated at this moment to not go to work. lol!

Our weather here has taken a nose-dive into the freezer. Brrr! Today will be a good day to stay in and attempt to get a few things done. I'm currently reading Simon Green's "For Heaven's Eyes Only", the latest installment in Green's Secret Histories series. It's just as fun as the rest, with Eddie Drood trying to fight the good fight, even when it includes his family. I realized reading the previous book that these sort of remind me of comic books without pictures: the action is over the top, the violence is over the top, the puns are over the top, etc. It's all so crazy that it probably would make a great graphic novel (I guess - I don't read them myself). Anyway, I'm hoping to make progress on said book today as I really do not want to go outside since it's c-o-l-d today, and only going to get colder over the next few days. Luckily, it's short-lived, with the weather dudes are saying back to "normal" temps by this weekend.

My other goal for today is some housecleaning. I really had every intention of doing a little at a time so that all of it was done before I headed back to work. But, yeah. That didn't happen. I have basically done nothing but veg out - not that that's a bad thing! So now it's time to get back into the right frame of mind of "getting things done", and hopefully that will help when I return to work tomorrow.

I must admit that I'm glad MLK is a holiday for the government offices, though; it helps me "ease" back into the whole going to work every day routine!

Happy New Year! (2012 edition)

Hello to 2012! As I sit here this morning, it's the start of lots of things: another week, another month, and yes, another year. Hard to believe that 2011 is finished and sitting on the bookshelf of life, isn't it?

As always, I resolve to do better with this blog. (Yes, I know you've read that before - several times!) Now that I've been proofreading for Astraea Press, an e-publisher, I realize the importance of a good blog, and part of a "good blog" is getting it updated every day. Which means even if I do nothing more than put a small paragraph on paper (so to speak), that's what I need to do. That and spread the word that "Novel News" exists!

Besides being a better blogger, I resolve to really knuckle down and take care of myself this year. "They" recommend setting concrete goals, so here goes: I resolve to exercise at least 3 times/week. I resolve to lose 12 pounds in 2012 (corny, but it's concrete!). I resolve to eat dessert only once a week and really watch my sugar intake the rest of the time (not as concrete as it should be, but I'm trying) in the hopes that my cholesterol levels will improve. And I resolve to take more vacation days from my day-job! I am on my 9th day of a 10-day break, and it's proven to me just how much I need to recharge the old batteries. So yeah, more vacation days, even if it's just long weekends.

Finally, my reading goal. 2011 wasn't too bad, once I realized I could/should count all the manuscripts I proofed for AP! I mean, I did read them while looking for errors, right? I finished out the year with 92 books read, which finally broke my couple-years-running total of 86. I really, really want to reach that magic 100 books in 2012, so fingers crossed!

I sincerely hope that this new year brings you good luck in every way. Let me know what sort of things you'd like to see here in this blog, and I will do my best to oblige!

"The Cocktail Party" by T. S. Eliot

This was one of my attempts at reading more "literary" works, and while I did read it, I have to say that I didn't enjoy it much. I waded my way thru Eliot's "The Wasteland" back in my college days, so I'm not sure why I thought a play by him would be any better. Luckily, it's short.

The whole thing is written in free verse, which I am not a fan of. And as to "what" the play is about, good luck with that, too. It starts off normally enough with a scene set in the drawing room of Edward and Lavinia Chamberlayne. Edward is attempting to entertain a group of friends as his wife, Lavinia, has left him. A strange man who prefers to remain anonymous is also there, and Edward confesses that his wife has left him. The stranger asks if Edward wants to see her again, to which Edward gives thought, then answers "yes", that despite everything, he believes he still loves her. The stranger indicates that Lavinia will appear on the morrow, but that Edward must not ask her any questions.

Some of the previous guests return and are in and out of the next few scenes, all set in the drawing room. When the second act begins, we are at the office of Sir Henry Harcourt-Reilly, an advisor or psychiatrist of sorts. He meets with Edward, then Lavinia comes in, and there's lots of talk about what they want, but in a very existential way. After they agree to give their marriage another chance, the "advisor" meets with one of the party guests, Celia, and tells her that she has a choice about her life, too.

The third act is again in the Chamberlaynes' drawing room and again the same guests are there, all but Celia. Turns out she took one of the path's suggested by Sir Henry and was killed in a foreign country on a mission of mercy (or something like that, I'm still not sure). There's more existential talk about how life is strange, etc, then the play closes.

So what can I say about this? Well, if the reviews on Amazon are any indication, what I can say is that I just don't get this piece at all. It feels like it should be deep and thoughtful, but I mostly just found it boring and confusing, and I don't attribute all that to the free verse. Maybe in the time it was originally published it made more sense, but I just felt like I wasted my time.

"Death Perception" by Victoria Laurie

It took a while for Abby's FBI agent boyfriend, Dutch Rivers, to accept her psychic gifts as the real deal. But these days he knows better than to question Abby's visions. So when his cousin Chase is kidnapped after a bloody shoot-out in a Vegas alleyway, he agrees that her clairvoyant skills could be invaluable, and they both catch the next flight to Sin City. Abby's inner eye insists that Chase is still alive, but nothing else about the case adds up - especially Dutch's reluctance to involve the FBI. On top of everything, Dutch is battling a mysterious illness, and Abby keeps having disturbing dreams that predict his death. Dutch wants Abby to promise that if the investigation goes south, she'll head home to safety, but when the chips are down, Abby won't fold without a fight.

This is the sixth book in Laurie's "Psychic Eye" series, and the first review I've done of any of the books. Basically, they fall under the "cute/cozy/slightly-paranormal mystery" category. They don't take long to read, and they don't take a lot of brain power, either. Yup, my "popcorn" books that I've referred to in past reviews.

This one really isn't any different, except that it is the first one I found myself being somewhat disappointed in, and that seems an odd thing to say, given that my expectations weren't that high in the first place. I've gotten used to Laurie repeating herself when she's giving exposition about how Abby's abilities work, her "crew", what goes through her mind when something is true/false, etc. While it's probably not nearly as noticeable when you have to wait a year between books, it would still be nice if authors could find a way to fill in that backstory in their series' entries without sounding like carbon copies all the time. But I digress....

I know that Abby's visions don't always make sense, and I know that she's not always the sharpest crayon in the box, but hello - the things she "misses" are so obvious, it's not even funny. Take Dutch's "mysterious illness"; I don't hold a medical degree but I knew within the first two scenes what was wrong with the guy! Then there's the issue of her new cellphone; Dutch gave her this gift in the previous book, and while she wasn't thrilled, she was grateful later on because said phone is equipped with a GPS device, meaning it could be used to track someone's location. Got that? Our girl Abby is desperately trying to find Dutch at one point in this book and remembers aha! the cellphone has GPS! But in the very next chapter (after she fails to find said boyfriend), she forgets that the cellphone can be used to track her and gives away her location to the bad FBI guy. Really? Really? I had a hard time buying that myself.

Then there's the issue of the casino. Yep, Abby's "crew" helps her win a sweepstakes, including money and two Mini-Coopers, pretty much the same way that they helped her pick lottery numbers for Dutch's ex-police-partner, Milo. Um, I don't know whether I believe in psychic abilities or not, but I sort of feel like if they are real, there would be a lot more lottery winners. Just saying.

By the time Abby, her sister Cat, and her PI-office-partner Candice, have won those prizes, the believablity factor has dropped several quotients. Honestly, I felt like I was reading about another hapless heroine, the one from New Jersey that's always blowing up cars. There was just too much "madcap adventure" feel about this book, and definitely not enough "plot". I'm hoping when I pick up the next one it's better, or that's the end of the series for me. Guess time will tell.

"The New New Rules: A funny look at how everybody but me has their head up their ass" by Mill Maher

You have to say one thing for Bill Maher: the man speaks his mind and makes no apologies for doing so.

If you're not familiar with the sometimes-caustic, liberal host of HBO's Real Time, then you most likely picked up this book by mistake. I used to watch Maher when his show was still on "regular" television, before he spoke up about something, got everyone's panties in a twist, and had to go back to HBO. Yes, that should tell you something right there: he used to be on cable, moved to late-night TV, then went back to cable. Maher's guests were always an interesting bunch. I can remember one show that included Marilyn Manson, Florence Henderson, and two other guests. I don't remember who the other two were, but I do remember that one of them was a religious nut-job, and I say that in the nicest way possible. It was quite a sight to see Manson sitting there calmly trying to debate said nut-job and Mrs. Brady had to be the one to tell this lady to please be quiet and let the young man have a chance to speak. Surreal!

Anyway, Maher covers most of the same ground he did in his previous book and on his show. In fact, he admits in the foreword that the longer, more "philosophical" pieces are basically straight from the show, although not all made it to air. The short musings are funnier, in my humble opinion, and they are definitely short. This is the sort of book that you can pick up and digest little nuggets, akin to the evil McDonald's Chicken Nuggets that Maher likes to make you feel bad about eating.

Prime example (and one near & dear to my heart, as I am now a rebel at the ripe old age of almost 44!)
Tat Patrol: Now that everyone has a tattoo, it will now be considered rebellious to not have a tattoo. Seriously. I think the Jonas Brothers have tattoos now. I'm sure Mitt Romney is all inked up. Betty White has one across her back that says "F**k the Police" - that I know for sure.

Now, as funny as I found a lot of Maher's musings, I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed with him at times, too. He's turned into the "super-left" guy, just as Dennis Miller has turned into the "super-right", and I find that sad. Yes, the Republicans have screwed up things in this country - but so have the Democrats. Yes, there should be higher taxes to help get us out of the national debt, and definitely yes, corporations that manage to pay absolutely no taxes each and every year need to be stopped. But the Democrats went mad with power when they were in the majority, and rather than trying to help the country a little, they "helped" us a lot - and a lot of us really didn't deserve such help. I am all for lending a helping hand, but I grew a bit tired of watching the Democrats give us all handouts. I do agree with Maher when he asks what has happened to us as a country; he feels that we've become too accustomed to sitting around and waiting for the government to "save us". Well, guess what folks? Congress is nothing more right now than a huge daycare full of 2-year-olds that need a nap and refuse to agree on anything. It's going to be up to us, the citizens, to pull ourselves out of this mess - and that won't happen if we're squalling right along with the Big Boys.

All in all, a fun read. But I do wish we'd see a little more "middle" humor from our comedians, because I truly believe that's where most Americans stand - in the middle.