Another great husband-find, Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter, arrived to me via birthday wrapping and a husband unwilling to wait 12 hours for me to open one of his presents. Good thing, too since I started the book early the next morning and was subsequently hooked (and totally one of those naive enough to believe some of it might be real).
I'm pretty wet behind the ears when it comes to Lincoln's history, so I can only assume there is much more to his story then what lies within these 336 pages. But what a reader will find is interesting, enthralling, captivating, heart-stopping, heart-wrenching, suspenseful, and definitely worth the time and effort.
The author, Seth Grahame-Smith, creates a world in which we already know of Lincoln's accomplishments, but not the extent to which they were brought to fruition; his secrets, his secret battles, his secret allies, and the feelings, thoughts, and memories he kept locked within his heart. The author claims to have found Lincoln's journal, one in which he details his vampire expeditions, and other things only a journal could know.
The book is written in such a way as to convey biography, complete with one-can-only-assume-accurate footnotes. Lincoln's life begins in hardship, his mother taken too soon with only the cold shoulder of his father for comfort. When he realizes the real perpetrators of his mother's death, he vows to rid America of vampires, and thus paves the way for future Buffy the Vampire Slayers.
Grahame-Smith expertly weaves a tale of fantasy and politics, taking careful note that the two are often intertwined. He recites the life of Lincoln with fun - and plausible, if you believe in that sort of thing - ways to fill the gaps.
A great October read, I will be passing along to my friends for an entertaining fright, and recommending to anyone who happens by this page.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Saturday, October 13, 2012
The Book of Mormon Girl
Do you ever get into these modes where all you eat is Greek yogurt; or Ramen noodles; or popcorn? Then don't want to look at it for awhile? Yeah, I'm that way with books. Ok, and food too.
After finishing Thirteen Reasons Why, I just didn't feel a draw to any particular book. I tried to pick up a few, including The Friday Night Knitting Club, and Fifty Shades Darker, but it just wasn't happenin'. Then one night while watching The Colbert Report, his guest was Joanna Brooks, author of The Book of Mormon Girl, and suddenly my book-interest was revived. She was so down-to-earth and enigmatic (a Liberal Mormon!), it almost made me want to become a Mormon. But I thought it best to read the book first.
The next day, I went out and picked it up at my local bookseller (sorry, peeps, it's a new release, so by "local bookseller" I mean Barnes and Noble) and was hooked that night, which wasn't hard to do since there are barely 200 pages.
The limited number of pages also meant, however, that there was a certain meat lacking to the story. Brooks gave time and effort to a few anecdotes, but the majority of the book felt more girl-looking-in than girl-navigating-life-and-faith. By the end, I felt the lack of pages represented about 3/4 of the book, or - more appropriate - 3/4 of the story.
Brooks begins her navigation through life with the most open of hearts towards the faith that was thrust upon her. Not that she has any remorse; to this day she continues to be a practicing Mormon. She observes her mother tirelessly research the family lineage in order to properly baptize them all, and to forever record them among the family history. She followers her parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and bonus aunts and uncles through the blind faith that is faith, knowing nothing more than that she wants to belong.
But as Brooks gets older and experiences the trial and tribulations of life that are not separated by faith, she often finds the two conflicting, with her confusion, doubt, anxiety, and multitude of unanswered and possibly unanswerable questions the only outcome.
If nothing else, Brooks provides us all with an unwavering loyalty towards herself. Whether it be her level of dedication to presenting her best self to the world (taking a moment to bow down to Marie Osmond and the extents to which she took to primp), or her underlying desire to ensure her own happiness.
Aside from her level of self-acceptance, we have much to learn from Ms. Brooks. She offers a very interesting perspective of the world, and offers points of view one wouldn't normally consider. Like I said, the only disappointing factor was that the book wasn't longer. If that's not a complaint wrapped in a compliment, I don't know what is.
(Update: My friend and book club amiga, Mer, read the book and enjoyed it as well. It also - naturally - sparked some very interesting conversation.)
After finishing Thirteen Reasons Why, I just didn't feel a draw to any particular book. I tried to pick up a few, including The Friday Night Knitting Club, and Fifty Shades Darker, but it just wasn't happenin'. Then one night while watching The Colbert Report, his guest was Joanna Brooks, author of The Book of Mormon Girl, and suddenly my book-interest was revived. She was so down-to-earth and enigmatic (a Liberal Mormon!), it almost made me want to become a Mormon. But I thought it best to read the book first.
The next day, I went out and picked it up at my local bookseller (sorry, peeps, it's a new release, so by "local bookseller" I mean Barnes and Noble) and was hooked that night, which wasn't hard to do since there are barely 200 pages.
The limited number of pages also meant, however, that there was a certain meat lacking to the story. Brooks gave time and effort to a few anecdotes, but the majority of the book felt more girl-looking-in than girl-navigating-life-and-faith. By the end, I felt the lack of pages represented about 3/4 of the book, or - more appropriate - 3/4 of the story.
Brooks begins her navigation through life with the most open of hearts towards the faith that was thrust upon her. Not that she has any remorse; to this day she continues to be a practicing Mormon. She observes her mother tirelessly research the family lineage in order to properly baptize them all, and to forever record them among the family history. She followers her parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and bonus aunts and uncles through the blind faith that is faith, knowing nothing more than that she wants to belong.
But as Brooks gets older and experiences the trial and tribulations of life that are not separated by faith, she often finds the two conflicting, with her confusion, doubt, anxiety, and multitude of unanswered and possibly unanswerable questions the only outcome.
If nothing else, Brooks provides us all with an unwavering loyalty towards herself. Whether it be her level of dedication to presenting her best self to the world (taking a moment to bow down to Marie Osmond and the extents to which she took to primp), or her underlying desire to ensure her own happiness.
Aside from her level of self-acceptance, we have much to learn from Ms. Brooks. She offers a very interesting perspective of the world, and offers points of view one wouldn't normally consider. Like I said, the only disappointing factor was that the book wasn't longer. If that's not a complaint wrapped in a compliment, I don't know what is.
(Update: My friend and book club amiga, Mer, read the book and enjoyed it as well. It also - naturally - sparked some very interesting conversation.)
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