Epic Book Nerd: February 2012

February 27, 2012

Don't Play Stupid Edition

Daily dose is a meme hosted by Good Golly Miss Holly

What inspires you?

just sayin,

-Kare

February 23, 2012

Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler

Description: Min Green and Ed Slaterton are breaking up, so Min is writing Ed a letter and giving him a box. Inside the box is why they broke up. Two bottle caps, a movie ticket, a folded note, a box of matches, a protractor, books, a toy truck, a pair of ugly earrings, a comb from a motel room, and every other item collected over the course of a giddy, intimate, heartbreaking relationship. Item after item is illustrated and accounted for, and then the box, like a girlfriend, will be dumped. (to find out more go here)

Epic Wins:

Min- Artsy, film-lover, and- well- different. Though her letter-style voice was hard to get use to she had a good story to tell. She saw things in a slightly different light.
The letter-style- I found the style to be unique. Min was writing a letter to Ed, always pulling you back to the fact that they were over. I've never read a whole story in that format.
The smell- You can call me insane or off-my-rocker but the way a book smells matter to me. This book right here smells like a year book, heck it's pages even feel glossy like a yearbook. I find this far too awesome. *sniffs book one more time* Yep it's that good.
The Art- The novel is chalk full of these amazing works of art. They were of each item in the dumping box (more on that later). You turn the page and BAM an egg-cuber for your viewing pleasure!
The box and the items therein- Imagine if your ex dumped a box loaded with little knick-knacks and paraphernalia from your time together along with a note explaining everyone of them. This is the basis of Min's story.
The films- This slightly lost me because I didn't recognize any of them (I'm thinking they were just made up) but a YA character who can appreciate an old, black and white movie? That I can relate to.
I'm always cautious when approaching a novel written by a guy, in girls point of view because I have witnessed some real disasters. Luckily Handler pulled out an amazingly real girl voice (okay in the wrong context that would sound weird...). I was not disappointed.

Epic Fail:

The letter style- (Oh my gosh how many times am I going to mention this??) I found it hard to keep all the facts strait because it was somewhat vauge. I even had to put it down because it gave me a headache.
Ed Slaterton- This guy was doomed to be disliked by me. Mind you he had some great moments but he just had too many bad moments. The bad overshadowed the good completely. And that is why they broke up (okay it's not the only reason, there are like a dozen answers to that)

Overall: You can't deny your curiosity of this book, at least I couldn't. I even put it down but greedily I came back to find the answer as to why they broke up. Kudos to the author for such a good book.

just sayin,
-Kare

February 21, 2012

In Case of Fire or Alien Invasion

hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Top Ten Books I'd Quickly Save If My House Was Going To Be Abducted By Aliens (or any other natural disaster...you get the drift. )

Just ten? Oh no...

(it should be said that if I get Uncommon Criminals I would also get heist society.)

I'm pretty sure Dallin would grab the Harry Potter series so no need to grab those.

*eyes aliens* Don't even think about it!

just sayin,

Kare

February 20, 2012

The Alpaca Edition

Daily dose is a meme hosted by Good Golly Miss Holly

I pass a field full of Alpaca on my way to work so I get see these guys everyday! The little girl I babysit says she wants one so she can ride it to school. Officially the coolest little girl ever. Enjoy!

What inspires you?

just sayin,

-Kare

February 19, 2012

In My Mailbox

[In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren]

For Review:

Anew by Chelsea Fine - I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga

What did you get in your mailbox?

just sayin,

-Kare

February 17, 2012

Through the Ears of Andy Gavin

Today let’s welcome Andy Gavin!

I’m a very eclectic music listener: 70s and 80s rock. Some new stuff (including as off my demographic — 40 something guy — as Lady Gaga and Katy Perry). Lots of classic Jazz (like Miles Davis), lots of classical. All sorts of weird stuff from Ottoman court music to Tibetan monastic chants to medieval Spanish tunes.

Lyrics interfere with serious writing or editing so trance techno is one of my favorite genres for that. Or something spacy like jazz or Tangerine Dream if I don’t want to pound.

If I was picking the soundtrack to the film version of the book I’d use mostly period music. Scenes with the villains might be different. Al-Nasir begs for a remix of Nasirid court music, or sufi music, both are pretty weird and exotic sounding. Instrumental when he’s in normal mode, then blending to an amped up electronic remix when he gets “aggressive.” Parris might have as his tune something like Loreena McKennitt’s “The Mystic’s Dream.” Which if I had to pick a single song that typified the mood of the book, would be it.

Thank you for stopping by Andy! Connect with Andy here: Blog - Twitter - Goodreads: Author Page/Book - Facebook

just sayin,
-Kare

February 14, 2012

Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley

Description:
Senior year is over, and Lucy has the perfect way to celebrate: tonight, she's going to find Shadow, the mysterious graffiti artist whose work appears all over the city. He's out there somewhere—spraying color, spraying birds and blue sky on the night—and Lucy knows a guy who paints like Shadow is someone she could fall for. Really fall for. Instead, Lucy's stuck at a party with Ed, the guy she's managed to avoid since the most awkward date of her life. But when Ed tells her he knows where to find Shadow, they're suddenly on an all-night search around the city. And what Lucy can't see is the one thing that's right before her eyes. (click here to find out more)

Epic Wins:

Ed- He is a genuine guy. You can tell he has a deep passion for art and he wasn't haughty about it.
Lucy- She was riot. She always managed to make me laugh and you could feel her love for art come through the pages.
Leo had a slight point of view where you get to read some of his poems and thoughts. It was awesome to see that slipped in between Lucy's point of view and Ed's point of view.
Every page or two I would laugh whether out of irony or something silly Lucy or Ed said. You just can't help but laugh.
I've seen authors take one day and triumphantly compose a master piece (If I Stay). Crowley did it in a 10 hour period of time. A whole book that takes place in just ten hours.
Speaking of Crowley's superpowers, this girl can write! Once I started this book I couldn't stop. Seriously something about the characters against the night time setting and the fast pace of the plot I just couldn't put it down.
I recently read Tagged by Mara Purnhagen and I am glad I read it first. As good as Tagged was it lacked a little. So I wasn't surprised when Graffiti Moon surpassed it on a grand scale. Same basic idea two totally different takes.
Art- Graffiti Moon clearly states that graffiti is art. No questions. Nope none. It IS art.
Australia- A night time look at the streets in Australia. Also includes lingo; like instead of bathroom they say toilet (weird that I would choose this as an example... eh? I mean the bathroom really Kare?)
The dynamics between Ed and Lucy were intense, the way they interacted with one another, their history.
The Other Relationships: A. Dylan and Daisy worked in a Ron and Hermione way. They fight about everything but in the end they truly care about each other. B. Leo and Jazz both lost and looking for a good time only to find... static!