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vivalibrarian's reviews
519 reviews
Resolution by Robert B. Parker
4.0
Sure, this is a quintessential western but it is also very much a story of friendship, loyalty and the code of the wild frontier...part two.
NOS4A2 by Joe Hill
5.0
Driving a 1938 Rolls-Royce, Charles Manx gathers deserving children and takes them to Christmasland, a place of endless games, cocoa, and gingerbread cookies that doesn’t appear on any map. Vic McQueen, the only kid to escape Manx’s macabre game, has unusual talents of her own. Now an adult, Vic must confront her worst nightmare to save her son before it is too late.
Hill delivers an intricate story line full of terror and courage that brings out the best and the very worst in his protagonists, characters you won’t soon forget. A book focused on Christmas may not be the most obvious summer read, but readers will feel the “chill” when they hear those first Christmas carols come September.
Hill delivers an intricate story line full of terror and courage that brings out the best and the very worst in his protagonists, characters you won’t soon forget. A book focused on Christmas may not be the most obvious summer read, but readers will feel the “chill” when they hear those first Christmas carols come September.
Doctor Sleep by Stephen King
4.0
"If life doesn't cause him to retract his antennae, I think he'll be quite a man." ~Dr. Edmonds, The Shining
Danny Torrence, now Dan, is a middle aged alcoholic-twelve years sober who has a lot of guilt and is “haunted” by his past. Nicknamed Doctor Sleep for his work with Hospice patients, Dan has carved out a good life with supportive friends who know some of his battles when he is contacted telepathically by Abra, a 12-yr-old girl who also has the shining but much stronger.
Unexpectedly, Dan becomes aware of a group called the True Knot who travel the United States in RVs and resemble old hippies more than anything. Then he discovers that they are not human and survive only by the steam kids with the shining produce when they are being tortured to death. Kids like Abra.
While Doctor Sleep isn’t the holy bejesus that was scary type of read that The Shining was-it isn’t hard to let the ominous feel of The Overlook creep in as it becomes apparent that the Overlook survived and lives on in its desire to consume those with the shining, just in a different manifestation.
Classic King tale with good vs evil and at its core the redemption that comes from facing one's own demons no matter how real and terrifying they might be.
Danny Torrence, now Dan, is a middle aged alcoholic-twelve years sober who has a lot of guilt and is “haunted” by his past. Nicknamed Doctor Sleep for his work with Hospice patients, Dan has carved out a good life with supportive friends who know some of his battles when he is contacted telepathically by Abra, a 12-yr-old girl who also has the shining but much stronger.
Unexpectedly, Dan becomes aware of a group called the True Knot who travel the United States in RVs and resemble old hippies more than anything. Then he discovers that they are not human and survive only by the steam kids with the shining produce when they are being tortured to death. Kids like Abra.
While Doctor Sleep isn’t the holy bejesus that was scary type of read that The Shining was-it isn’t hard to let the ominous feel of The Overlook creep in as it becomes apparent that the Overlook survived and lives on in its desire to consume those with the shining, just in a different manifestation.
Classic King tale with good vs evil and at its core the redemption that comes from facing one's own demons no matter how real and terrifying they might be.
Apocalypse Cow by Michael Logan
3.0
It all started when the cows just wouldn't die. When scientists working for the British government accidentally release an experimental bio weapon that transforms animals into sneezing, bloodthirsty and sex-crazed zombies there are only three people that can save them.
Terry is a handsome man with no love life because of the stench that never leaves him from his job of slaughtering cows. Somehow, he survived the initial cow apocalypse and is now trying to survive both zombie squirrels and the government's desire to exterminate him.
Geldor is a teenage vegan who lives at the mercy of his radical militant vegan parents who force him to wear Hemp even tho he is horribly allergic. Geldor often dreams of cotton and cheeseburgers.
Lesley is a terrible reporter who sat on the cow zombie story because, come on, it is just ridiculous. Right? Now, she just needs a bottle of wine.
Will our trio of losers save the world?
This is a fast, violent and yes, funny book that works a very different spin on the all too familiar zombie apocalypse. Fans of Shaun of the Dead, zombies, books that make you go "oh gross" every other page and vegetarians are gonna LOVE this book.
Terry is a handsome man with no love life because of the stench that never leaves him from his job of slaughtering cows. Somehow, he survived the initial cow apocalypse and is now trying to survive both zombie squirrels and the government's desire to exterminate him.
Geldor is a teenage vegan who lives at the mercy of his radical militant vegan parents who force him to wear Hemp even tho he is horribly allergic. Geldor often dreams of cotton and cheeseburgers.
Lesley is a terrible reporter who sat on the cow zombie story because, come on, it is just ridiculous. Right? Now, she just needs a bottle of wine.
Will our trio of losers save the world?
This is a fast, violent and yes, funny book that works a very different spin on the all too familiar zombie apocalypse. Fans of Shaun of the Dead, zombies, books that make you go "oh gross" every other page and vegetarians are gonna LOVE this book.
Big Girl Panties by Stephanie Evanovich
3.0
Holly is a big girl. After taking care of her now deceased husband, food was her only comfort and as such she hates things like flying. Especially when she sees she is sitting next to a super hot dude who is looking at her like she is the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. After a surprising round of conversation, super hot dude reveals he is a personal trainer and offers to get her in shape. How many ways can this go wrong?
Lots. I was super excited about this book before it came out and imagined a mashup of Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Jennifer Weiner. There were good moments, humor and a happily ever after. Only...it felt like a lot was missing and I felt myself having a hard time believing the romance. Holly found her way and her confidence but it was hard to believe Logan really shed his perfect woman ideals to truly love her. How is *this* for a non-objective review. Oops.
Lots. I was super excited about this book before it came out and imagined a mashup of Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Jennifer Weiner. There were good moments, humor and a happily ever after. Only...it felt like a lot was missing and I felt myself having a hard time believing the romance. Holly found her way and her confidence but it was hard to believe Logan really shed his perfect woman ideals to truly love her. How is *this* for a non-objective review. Oops.
Batman: Year One by Frank Miller
5.0
"For me, Batman was never funny." ~Frank Miller
The interesting thing about this whole thing is thinking back on MY origins with Batman. What I remember about Batman was a silly tv show that I saw here and there as a kid and thought it silly. Yeah, I was always a serious kid. But, it wasn't anything that grabbed me and as such, I never even ventured the thought of reading a comic. Most of my life, my closest friends have been boys or men and it surprises me that not one ever said, hey...I know you. Read this.
That the first Batman I read seriously was Snyder's Batman seems like some kind of failure on my part but upon reflection it was like I needed the right story at the right time. That story, it had to be dark, not funny and like a lot of us, I had to find pieces of me in him. I love that it finally grabbed me. Grabbed me by the throat, pushed me up against a wall and has yet to let go. It made me ready for more.
I've always had it in my head that Batman couldn't be Batman without Alfred. But, now I am just as certain now that Batman couldn't be Batman without Jim Gordon AND vice versa. Gordon is, in his own way, just as much a superhero. The struggle for them both to find the thing they want to be is intense and the constant growing pains as they both learn how to make the bad guys afraid. I got chills when Batman is driving like a maniac repeating over and over, "I have to make them afraid" and then almost crashes into Gordon who is pretty much saying the same damn thing. Fear is a powerful thing, no? It was a cool read for me. I guess all origin stories are...when you really start to put the pieces together and not so much understand but feel what a character is about...and I got that for two characters in this story.
The interesting thing about this whole thing is thinking back on MY origins with Batman. What I remember about Batman was a silly tv show that I saw here and there as a kid and thought it silly. Yeah, I was always a serious kid. But, it wasn't anything that grabbed me and as such, I never even ventured the thought of reading a comic. Most of my life, my closest friends have been boys or men and it surprises me that not one ever said, hey...I know you. Read this.
That the first Batman I read seriously was Snyder's Batman seems like some kind of failure on my part but upon reflection it was like I needed the right story at the right time. That story, it had to be dark, not funny and like a lot of us, I had to find pieces of me in him. I love that it finally grabbed me. Grabbed me by the throat, pushed me up against a wall and has yet to let go. It made me ready for more.
I've always had it in my head that Batman couldn't be Batman without Alfred. But, now I am just as certain now that Batman couldn't be Batman without Jim Gordon AND vice versa. Gordon is, in his own way, just as much a superhero. The struggle for them both to find the thing they want to be is intense and the constant growing pains as they both learn how to make the bad guys afraid. I got chills when Batman is driving like a maniac repeating over and over, "I have to make them afraid" and then almost crashes into Gordon who is pretty much saying the same damn thing. Fear is a powerful thing, no? It was a cool read for me. I guess all origin stories are...when you really start to put the pieces together and not so much understand but feel what a character is about...and I got that for two characters in this story.
Strangers in Paradise, Volume 2: I Dream of You by Terry Moore
4.0
I took a MOOC this summer on Gender and Comics. It was amazing and had a lot of reading that I scrambled to keep up with. Strangers in Paradise vol.1 was required. I kept reading. That says everything, right?