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*Sigh* Alexander Barrington is my favorite book boyfriend. He's tall, dark, and brooding, with an intense love for his Russian bride TaAMAZING Series!
*Sigh* Alexander Barrington is my favorite book boyfriend. He's tall, dark, and brooding, with an intense love for his Russian bride Tatiana. He's just so real, with all of his flaws (chain smoking, jealousy, and difficulty learning from the past). This book--the third installment in The Bronze Horseman series--shows Alexander at his worst, but I still love him.
After Tatiana moved mountains in Tatiana and Alexander (book two in the series), she and Alexander are finally ready to start a life together. No more Dasha, no more Dmitri, no more war...
Sadly, the war isn't behind them. Alexander is a shell of a man after years of serving in a penal battalion and enduring beastly treatment in prisons, and he takes out his traumatic stress on his young wife and son. But if anyone can heal a man, Nurse Tania is the one.
There's a part of this story that's horrifying, testing the foundation of their marriage. I wanted to slap Alexander for his stupidity. But Tatiana has her own penchant for stubbornness that doesn't smooth out the conflict either.
This was a series re-read so I skipped the scenes of a young Tatiana at Lazarevo. I don't believe they add much to the story. I also found the family gathering at the end of the story rather cheesy. I love Paullina Simons's writing when she focuses on her hero and heroine. But the family interactions at the beginning and end of the series seem corny to me.
If you're looking for a gripping, emotional read, then check out this series! It stays with you for some time....more
Matt Gratton is fourteen. He has two buddies Sean and Coop, and a wry sense of humor -- bOur Summer Goal: To See a Girl Naked
This book cracked me up!
Matt Gratton is fourteen. He has two buddies Sean and Coop, and a wry sense of humor -- blessings that more than make up for his lack of muscles. Every summer Matt, Sean, and Coop swim on a summer club team and set a goal like riding their bikes to a far-away lake and going skinny dipping. Given that they're girl-crazy, this summer's goal is to see a real-life naked girl. Matt's wondering if the cute new swim teammate Kelly might be the one they catch nude.
Will the boys succeed?
Matt not only worries about this goal, but he also gets himself in deep when he volunteers to swim the one-hundred butterfly in a desperate move to impress Kelly. If you don't know, butterfly is THE most difficult stroke. It requires superior upper body strength, flexibility, and timing -- of which Matt has none. These boys are nowhere near the fastest swimmers on the team. As Matt states, "In case you don't know, eighteen minutes is not a great time for a hundred yards of butterfly." Um, yeah. It's not such a great time.
The author's voice is fun and real. Here Matt attends a funeral for an elderly neighbor:
The first thing I do is scan the room for cute girls. You'd think that being in a room with a dead body might push those feelings down deep inside you. But no. It's like trying to force a kickboard to stay underwater; unless you give it your full, constant attention, it eventually explodes to the surface.
Matt's family is also realistically dysfunctional. His father left his mother long ago, and his single mother struggles to make a living by selling nutritional supplements (leading to an embarrassing mix-up between protein powder and laxative powder). His grandfather almost steals the show, enlisting Matt to help him woo the widowed neighbor.
Matt tries some extreme training methods to train for the fly, which leave him incredibly sore:
"Whatever." I try to wave Coop off, but since I can't lift my arm, I just look like a girlie T. rex.
I love the friendship among the three boys. Their humor may be juvenile but their caring for each other is genuine.
I pick a few shirts off my bedroom floor and give them the sniff test. The only one that seems relatively clean is my bright yellow BIG BONE LICK STATE PARK, KENTUCKY T-shirt that Cooper got me for my birthday last year. He thought it was the funniest thing ever.
The swimming details lack authenticity but I enjoyed the story so much that I didn't care. And the romance is sweet, original, and unexpected. Maybe there's more to girls than stealing a peep at their naughty parts?...more
This series has been on my radar for a long time. Young/new adult? Unlikely budding love despite racial/There's Just Something About Forbidden Romance
This series has been on my radar for a long time. Young/new adult? Unlikely budding love despite racial/cultural, socioeconomic, and value differences? Sign me up!
Brittany is the perfect, perky cheerleader set to attend college next year. Or at least that's the image her mother wants her to portray. Beneath the facade, Brittany is scared her parents will send away her developmentally delayed sister. She thinks her mother is plastic, and feels sad that her workaholic father avoids the family.
Alex is the Mexican-American gang-banger set to commit a life of crime. Or at least that's the image he needs to portray to protect his family. Since he witnessed his father gunned down when Alex was only a child, he has been forced to join the same gang his father was in (the Latin Blood) just to stay alive and protect his mother and brothers. But Alex is smart and caring, and pines for a different future.
When the wily chemistry teacher pairs Brittany and Alex as lab partners, their hatred of each other is palpable. Brittany already has a boyfriend and Alex has a girlfriend, though both relationships are hardly thriving.
Impressed by Alex's intelligence, Brittany begins to wonder why she feels more passionate about her lab partner than her boyfriend. But her mother would be horrified to find out she's interested in a gang member. Alex is strangely attracted to Brittany as well. But then Alex takes a stupid bet that he will have sex with Brittany before Thanksgiving or lose his prized motorcycle. A romantic pairing seems impossible.
Though I didn't connect with the characters as deeply as I'd hoped, I did like Alex's rare moments of vulnerability, like:
I remember Lucky telling us how being in a gang was like having a second family…a family who would be there for you when your own family wasn't. They would offer protection and security. It sounded perfect to a kid who'd lost his father.
Over the years, I've learned to block out the bad stuff. The beatings, the dirty drug deals, the shootings. And I'm not just talking about guys on the other side. I know of guys who tried to get out, guys who were found dead or beaten so badly by their own gang they probably wished they were dead.
To be honest, I block it out 'cause it scares the shit out of me. I'm supposed to be tough enough not to care, but I do.
On my side of town the circle of life is dependent on the circle of violence.
I like the realism of what happens to Alex. It's not sunshine and rainbows, for sure.
The next book in the series, Rules of Attraction, is Alex's younger brother Carlos's story. Sign me up for that one as well!...more
Thank you to Smash for recommending this series! While I really liked If I Stay, I LOVED Where She Went. Adam is one of the besAdam is a Shooting Star
Thank you to Smash for recommending this series! While I really liked If I Stay, I LOVED Where She Went. Adam is one of the best male characters I've read, and the author made an excellent decision to write the story from his point of view.
*This review is spoilerish so if you haven't read If I Stay, you should stop now.*
Adam Wilde is a 21 year-old rock star sensation, living out his dream of becoming a wildly successful musician. However, he's jaded and morose. His fame and money mean nothing to him because he's missing the most important part of his life: Mia.
Three years ago, Mia let their relationship end without a word why. Granted, she was messed up after losing her family in a horrible car crash, but I was angry with her for never providing an explanation to Adam. He was gutted after losing her family AND her. After holing up in his parents' basement for months, he wrote a heartbreaking CD for his band, which elevated Shooting Star to the stratosphere (think Britney Spears fame).
What's your favorite breakup CD? I'm partial to Chris Isaak's Forever Blue, Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill, and of course Adele's 21. Adam's lyrics were my favorite part of the story. Gorgeous and devastating all at once:
I'll be your mess, you be mine That was the deal that we had signed I bought a hazmat suit to clean up your waste Gas masks, gloves, to keep us safe But now I'm alone in an empty room Staring down immaculate doom
There's a piece of lead where my heart should be Doctor said too dangerous to take out You'd better just leave it be Body grew back around it, a miracle, praise be, Now, if only I could get through airport security
I want to buy this CD Collateral Damage!
Some of my favorite psychotherapy clients are young adult/new adult men because they try so damn hard to be tough and strong but they have vulnerabilities just like the rest of us. It can be immensely cathartic for them to express those feelings, and this novel is like one big therapy session for Adam. Adam is so sweet--I just want to hug him--especially when he thinks things like this:
Mia's grandfather just looked at me in that quiet sad way that made me inexplicably want to kneel at the foot of his chair and put my head in his lap.
*sobs* You'll make it Adam, hang in there!
This book is a tearjerker but in a touching, satisfying way. Highly recommended!...more
What a clever title! And the cover is fun and catchy as well.
Seventeen year-old Chuck Taylor has some intrusive and unwanted thoughts, like "The stoveWhat a clever title! And the cover is fun and catchy as well.
Seventeen year-old Chuck Taylor has some intrusive and unwanted thoughts, like "The stove burners might have been left on...and they could burn the house down." These obsessive thoughts nag and nag at Chuck, skyrocketing his anxiety, until he executes a compulsive behavior to try to neutralize that anxiety. For example, he checks the burners to make sure they're turned off. He doesn't double-check or triple-check, he quadruple-gazillion-checks, which can last HOURS.
It's obvious Chuck suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and these rituals make it hard to live a normal teenage life. Somehow Chuck manages to do well in school and has a great friend named Steve, but when new-girl-at-school Amy asks him to tutor her in Calculus, he faces imminent disaster. He's totally crushing on her, but how can he act normal around her? If she finds out he has OCD, will she reject him?
Afraid of losing Amy, Chuck finally relents to starting therapy and the antidepressant Lexapro. He soon discovers that kicking this OCD thing is a lot harder than it looks.
This is definitely a book for the older YA crowd. Though author Aaron Karo tackles a serious subject matter, he is a comedian, and I giggled throughout the book. The first page discusses Chuck's compulsive count of his masturbation episodes.
I just began my masturbation tally again on January 1st. I don't know why I'm compelled to keep track of it. And to make matters worse, I'm already beating (no pun intended) last year's pace.
Chuck's friend Steve, who apparently looks like a pale Milhouse from The Simpsons, has the unfortunate last name of Sludgelacker. Naturally the school bully immediately nicknames him "Fudgepacker". *shakes head*
My opinion on the authenticity of therapy in this story is a mixed review. The author gets it right when Chuck's therapist uses a version of cognitive behavioral therapy (exposure and response prevention) to try to extinguish the compulsive behaviors. But it's highly unlikely that Chuck sees a psychiatrist for talk therapy--he'd more commonly see a psychologist or a master's level therapist for the talk therapy and a psychiatrist (medical doctor) for the medication. But perhaps that would've been cumbersome to the plot. I'm a bit disappointed that the therapist isn't very likable, though Chuck's description of her as a "pear...a tiny little head and the rest of her body just expands from there" did crack me up.
Dr. S. has been in a much better mood in the past few weeks since I started taking the Lexapro.
Hmm, Chuck. Is it your psychiatrist Dr. S who's changed, or is it YOU? I love books where characters go through significant transformation, and ultimately this book offers a lot of hope for change.
This is a quick, enjoyable read and I encourage you to give it a try!...more
The writing and the plot are wonderful in this series, but I wish to focus on the characterization in my review. It's uEnraptured by Gabriel and Julia
The writing and the plot are wonderful in this series, but I wish to focus on the characterization in my review. It's uncommon when both the hero and the heroine are strong characters, but this is the case in the Gabriel's Inferno series. I love Gabriel and Julia equally, which is quite a feat for the author.
(For my review of Gabriel's Inferno and interview with author Sylvain Reynard, go here).
University professor and Dante specialist Gabriel Emerson can be an insensitive jerk until he meets the sweet, self-effacing grad student Julia Mitchell. Their romance and effect on each other have progressed since book one. Gabriel has become softer, and Julia more confident. I loved when Gabriel is patient with Julia's past romantic trauma, and when Julia stands up to Dean Aras.
Gabriel is brilliant, classy, and layered. There's a lot of vulnerability hiding beneath his pompous exterior, and nobody brings out that depth like Julia. He's eloquent; he's caring. Gabriel's fashion choices are...interesting. Like a bow tie and a beret. Only a man with such a great body and beautiful blue eyes can pull it off.
The story begins in Italy, where Gabriel delivers an invited lecture.
He removed his glasses for dramatic effect and fixed Julia with an unblinking eye. "Many people fail to see how modesty and sweetness of temper compound erotic appeal."
Gabriel nails Julia's appeal with this statement. She is so kind and thoughtful, like when she tells Gabriel how his baby Maia is safe and loved in Paradise, which brings rare tears to his eyes.
Julia's wisdom continues to impress me, especially the time she tells Gabriel she doesn't want to become his new drug of choice. She has some clever thoughts of her own, like this pillow talk with Professor Emerson:
"For me, your name is synonymous with orgasm. I'm going to start calling them Emgasms."
I loved their conversation about "sticky little leaves" that form on spring trees--the true blessings of life; signs of hope. Julia explains:
"Everyone wants to know where evil comes from and why the world is riddled with it. Why doesn't anyone ask where goodness comes from? Human beings have a tremendous capacity for cruelty. Why is there any goodness at all? Because there's a God, and he hasn't allowed the earth to be entirely corrupted. There are sticky little leaves, if you look for them. And when you recognized them, you can feel his presence.
That is very much how I feel God as well. My sticky little leaves include my sisters, the sport of swimming, and the pleasure of helping others as a psychologist.
I also enjoyed the exploration of a balanced love. Gabriel says "...no human being can every make another human being completely happy. Human beings are far too imperfect for that." Amen! Too bad he quickly denies that statement has anything to do with him and Julia, ha ha.
I'm a big fan of any book with therapy scenes, and I found Julia's work to be interesting with her therapist Nicole. (It's unfortunate Gabriel doesn't buy in). Nicole's explanation of "wounded duck attachment" interested me:
"Of course, some women have the feminine equivalent of chivalry syndrome--wounded duck attachment. They seek out men who are bad boys or broken and afflicted and attempt to fix them."
Hmm, Julia--should you be looking in the mirror? I know quite a few women like this.
Credible threats to their relationship occur, and I wanted to bop the professor over the head for causing a misunderstanding between them. But I couldn't stay angry with him for long. The writing is stunning, and I can't wait until book three!...more
In No Justice, Darcia Helle creates a gritty world reminiscent of the movie Leaving Las Vegas. Instead of alcoholic NichLeaving Las Vegas Meets Dexter
In No Justice, Darcia Helle creates a gritty world reminiscent of the movie Leaving Las Vegas. Instead of alcoholic Nicholas Cage turning to prostitute Elizabeth Shue for solace, this time it’s hit man Michael Sykora falling for prostitute Nicki. Similar to the TV show Dexter, Michael kills bad men — like the one who murdered his wife.
From the first line…
Let him laugh. One more hour and he’d be dead.
…it’s clear a dark ride awaits. Somehow Darcia manages to show Michael’s integrity despite his sinister side vocation as hit man.
Although Michael first met Nicki when she serviced him as a prostitute, both developed genuine feelings for each other. He felt guilty for his attraction to her due to his allegiance to his dead wife, so he cut off all ties with her. But when Nicki later calls him, scared and on the run from her friend’s thuggish boyfriend, Michael can’t help but jump into the fray to help her. And when Michael goes in, he goes all in, encountering true danger from creepy Anthony Lott and his gang.
Michael’s day job is computer programming, and his office assistant Ruby is one of my favorite characters.
Ruby tapped on the side door, then, without waiting for Michael’s response, pushed it open and stepped inside. She said, “You’ve been locked up in here brooding all morning.” Michael clicked out of the window he’d had open on his computer screen. He said, “I’m not brooding.” “You prefer I call it pouting?” Frowning, Michael looked up. Ruby had taken her non-nonsense stance, with both feet planted firmly about a foot apart and her hands spread out over her fleshy hips. “I do not pout,” he said. “Really now? You look in the mirror yet today?” “You come in here solely for the pleasure of giving me a hard time?” “Course not,” Ruby replied. “It just comes so easy, sometimes I can’t help myself.” “Lucky me.”
Other well-drawn supporting characters include Michael’s two friends: Ruby’s son Isaac, a police officer, and Sean, a fellow hit man who Michael originally hired to take out his wife’s killer. I love the complexity of both of these characters. Lawman Isaac just might know about Michael’s secret penchant for murder but keeps it quiet. Sean is a ruthless killer who demonstrates admirable loyalty toward Michael.
I look forward to reading Michael’s future exploits in Beyond Salvation -- it appears Nicki will still be hanging around, worming her way into his cold, shattered heart. It’s wonderful to hear Darcia is writing book three in the series!...more
I fell in love with Pamela Clare's writing with her modern-day romantic suspense I-Team series, but I had no idea hoMy Favorite Pamela Clare Novel Yet
I fell in love with Pamela Clare's writing with her modern-day romantic suspense I-Team series, but I had no idea how much I would enjoy her historical romance series MacKinnon's Rangers. The MacKinnon brothers -- Iain, Morgan, and Connor -- are Scots living in the wilds of 1750's New York. I loved Iain's and Morgan's stories (Surrender and Untamed). This is Connor's story.
British Lord William Wentworth has pressed The MacKinnon brothers into service to fight the French by holding a death sentence over their heads for a crime they didn't commit. Not surprisingly, the brothers hate their commander -- especially Connor. Now it's Connor's turn to lead the highly dangerous and effective MacKinnon's Rangers. Don't underestimate him just because he's the youngest brother. His stature and skills demand respect.
When the Shawnee capture Wentworth's niece, Lady Sarah Woodville, Wentworth orders Connor to save her. Connor takes his trusted friend Joseph on the rescue mission. When Connor tracks down Sarah, his low expectations of Wentworth's kin get blown to pieces. Sarah is exquisitely beautiful, innocent yet brave.
Unfortunately the Shawnee's best warrior has decided to take Sarah as his bride in order to avenge the English killing his wife. The only way for Connor to get her back is to fight to the death for her hand in marriage. But oops! How will Uncle Wentworth feel about his royal niece marrying a lowly Scot? NOT HAPPY.
Like his brothers, Connor is swoon-worthy -- tall, tanned, with long brown hair and deep blue eyes. He's funny, honorable, and competent. Connor's unique burden is the rage and guilt he carries for hurting innocents in this unending war. He believes he's damned and undeserving of good things in life.
I knew I would love Connor but I had no idea how fond I'd grow of Sarah. Her strict parents had tried to squelch her passion for music, which is her most endearing quality. When Sarah gets embroiled in a scandal in England, her parents send her away to America without bothering to allow her to defend her innocence. A fine-bred lass such as she is clearly not ready for the uncivilized land of colonial America, but she doesn't complain once. She has strength beyond measure.
Connor treats her virgin status with the utmost respect, showing his unwavering integrity. Their first encounters are thrilling and sexy:
"If my touch doesna sicken you, then why do you draw away from me?" Trapped by her own undeniable response, she looked into his eyes, saw his anger and, beneath it, anguish..."I do not feel repulsed by your touch. I feel..." Oh, how could she speak of this with him? "I feel...confused." Heat rose to her cheeks. "They way you look at me...I feel...naked. I struggle to breathe. And when you touch me...I feel warm, even when it is cold, and still I shiver." Ashamed, she started to look away, but he caught her chin between his fingers, forcing her to meet his gaze. He seemed to study her for a moment, the anguish slowly leaving his eyes, his voice deep and warm. "There's a name for what you're feelin', Sarah. Do you ken what it is?" Sarah shook her head. She was not sure she wanted to know. "Connor, I--" "'Tis desire." She shook her head, took a step backward. "Nay, I--" "Shall we put my supposition to test?" He pursued her in slow, easy steps, drew her into his arms. And then he kissed her.
My favorite parts of the story--the parts that made me cry--were when Sarah played music for Connor. She has no idea how gifted she is as a musician since her parents stomped on her ability instead of fostering it. Here she hungrily takes Dougie's fiddle and plays for the Rangers:
Only when she had finished the entire sonata, the last notes lingering in the cool evening air, did she realize what she'd done. She opened her eyes. Every Ranger in camp was staring at her, even Connor, a look of stunned surprise on his handsome face. Was he angry? Reluctantly, she lowered the fiddle, feeling uncertain. She hadn't meant to play so long. The music had simply rushed out of her, almost beyond her control. She was about to hand the violin back to Dougie, when the Rangers burst into wild shouts. It took her a moment to realize their shouts were cheers and meant as praise. When the cheers had begun to quieten, Connor spoke, his voice strangely soft. "I've ne'er heard such beautiful music afore, my lady."
What a fabulous couple!
I'm so grateful to the author for sending me a signed copy of Defiant, which I won in a giveaway. And I hear this series may have another novel featuring Joseph. Until then, I have more Pamela Clare novels awaiting me. Yahoo!...more
A pretty girl leaves her parents' house to live with her aunt, and to attend a different high school for her senior year. She wears thiBeautiful Story
A pretty girl leaves her parents' house to live with her aunt, and to attend a different high school for her senior year. She wears thick, black eyeliner and hooker clothing, and she calls herself Nastya yet has no Russian heritage. Although she doesn't speak, she radiates rage.
Why does she do this?
So begins the mystery of The Sea of Tranquility. This book sucks you in and doesn't let you go.
When I read:
My eyes are drawn to the old-school metal hand-crank pencil sharpener on the principal's desk. I focus on the ring of adjustable pencil holes and wonder idly if my pinky finger would fit into any of them. I'm contemplating how much it would hurt to sharpen it, and how much blood there might be...
...I knew Nastya had experienced something horribly nasty in her life.
At the "highly unsupervised hell dimension" otherwise known as lunch, Nastya notices a boy who everyone avoids, like he has a force field around him. His name is Josh, and he loves woodworking. Josh has pain of his own, having suffered the deaths of his parents, sister, and grandparents.
Nastya jogs at a punishing pace in the Florida heat in order to calm her agitated mind. On one run, she stumbles upon Josh doing carpentry in his garage. He doesn't say much, and she doesn't talk at all. But a few nights later Nastya returns to watch him work. She's constantly observing, taking in every movement.
The sob-fest started for me when Josh makes her a chair. I had the great fortune to win cookies for this book (see the cover cookie above). Check out this gorgeous quote about this momentous event in their relationship:
Josh is friends with man-whore Drew, and by extension, Nastya becomes Drew's friend too. I loved the complex characterization. To say Nastya doesn't trust easily is the understatement of the year, yet somehow she allows both Josh and Drew into her circle of trust. These teens are smarter and wiser than their years. Listen to this astute observation Nastya makes:
I stayed in therapy long enough to know that nothing that happened to me was my fault. I didn't do anything to invite it or deserve it. But that just makes it worse. Maybe I don't blame myself for what happened, but when they tell you that something was completely and utterly random, they're also telling you something else. That nothing you do matters. It doesn't matter if you do everything right, if you dress the right way and act the right way and follow all the rules, because evil will find you anyway. Evil's resourceful that way.
Chilling yet true. We have trouble accepting that bad things aren't all fault because when we do, we give up all control for preventing the bad stuff from happening again.
I also loved the snarky voice of the author, like:
Immoral people debating the existence of God is always a crowd pleaser.
Josh refers to Nastya as "Sunshine", LOL.
But when Nastya and Josh share a moment of connection, her face does shine like the sun:
Thank God there's not a cliffhanger after all the pain these characters endure. Thank God for resolution and healing -- realistic healing, like:
I'm trying to see the magic in everyday miracles now: the fact that my heart still beats, that I can lift my feet off the earth to walk, and that there is something in me worthy of love.
Amen, Nastya and Josh. You're both quite lovable.
I implore you to pick up this book and fall in love with these characters just like I have....more
I adored Katie McGarry's first novel in this series (Pushing the Limits), so naturally I was eager to read book two.Dare to Break Free of Family Cages
I adored Katie McGarry's first novel in this series (Pushing the Limits), so naturally I was eager to read book two. And Dare To You did not disappoint. The gripping elements of secrets, poverty, family dysfunction, and brilliant characterization of mismatched lovers weave a common thread through both books.
Beth Risk doesn't take risks with her heart. She's been burned too many times. Beth points to the past boyfriend who used her for sex as the source of her mistrust, but more likely it's her parents' abandonment, neglect, and abuse that have molded her dark view of the world. Beth's mother is a drug addict who keeps returning to her asshat boyfriend Trent despite his penchant for beating Beth and her mother. When Beth takes the fall for her mother and gets arrested, her long lost uncle Scott shows up to yank her out of the mess.
But Beth is far from grateful for living with her wealthy ex-pro-baseball-player uncle because now she can't make sure her mother stays alive. To add to her heartache, Uncle Scott wrenches her away from her friends Isaiah and Noah. Beth is miserable at her new school. Even the handsome star baseball pitcher Ryan Stone can't bring her out of her funk. Beth thinks his life is perfect, so why the hell would he be interested in her?
In reality, Ryan's life is far from the perfect image his parents project to the small town Kentucky community. When Ryan's older brother came out to his parents, his father disowned him. Now there's hidden conflict between Ryan's parents. Ryan has to decide whether to try to go pro or go to college on a baseball scholarship. His father doesn't care what Ryan wants to do--he cares only about appearances.
Beth's mother is some piece of work. I HATE her. Listen to what she tells Beth:
Mom throws her head back as she drinks. "You're right. I do blame you. Your father would never have left it it wasn't for you."
Wow. She gets my vote for worst mother of the year. Yet Beth keeps returning to her, which is frustrating but realistic. Beth continues to search for the love she never received.
Beth intrigues Ryan because she's so different from him. He follows all the rules. She breaks them. He strives to please authority figures. She couldn't care less. He can't get her out of his mind. How can she be so hostile? Why does she dye her beautiful blond hair black? (The reason is devastating). Is there any sense of vulnerability hidden deep down beneath that frosty exterior? As he describes it:
Like other predators, Beth can smell fear.
Ha ha! Ryan is a great mixture of strength and softness. As a sports fan, I loved the element of baseball in the story.
It's hard to pinpoint but there seemed to be a little lag in the pacing toward the end of the story, which was the story's only negative for me.
Katie McGarry opens the novel with this Chinese proverb:
"It is the beautiful bird which gets caged."
What a deft metaphor for this heartbreaking couple busting free of their respective families. ...more
Holy Weird, Batman. My colleague chose this collection of short stories for book club, and it's rather unique! I've never reaBizarre, Clever, and Dark
Holy Weird, Batman. My colleague chose this collection of short stories for book club, and it's rather unique! I've never read George Saunders before, but it seems he has a twisted, complex world view. His characters are not likable at all, and I felt frustrated trying to figure out what was happening in some of his kooky stories.
One of my favorite stories was Escape from Spiderhead--a lab where prisoners were subjected to injections of various chemicals to test their scientific effectiveness. Verbaluce makes you eloquent, Vivistif is a version of Viagra (ha ha), Darkenfloxx makes you feel so horribly depressed that you want to kill yourself, and an unnamed chemical makes you horny. It was creative world-building with despicable characters.
In Exhortation, a manager writes a letter to his employees performing some ghastly duty (are they working at a morgue?). The parody of psychobabble cracked me up:
If we spend the hour before the shelf-cleaning talking down the process of cleaning the shelf, complaining about it, dreading it, investigating the moral niceties of cleaning the shelf, whatever, then what happens is, we make the process of cleaning the shelf MORE DIFFICULT THAN IT REALLY IS. We all know very well that that "shelf" is going to be cleaned, given the current climate, either by you or by the guy who replaces you and gets your paycheck, so the question boils down to: Do I want to clean it happy or do I want to clean it sad? Which would be more effective?
But most of the stories left me confused, frustrated, or icked out. Did I really need to take that stuff in my consciousness?
The colleague who chose this has very different reading tastes than me, and I bet he loved it. If you enjoy creative, dark literary short stories, you may love this! I tend to enjoy romance novels and this wasn't for me. ...more
I love the New Adult genre, representing a time of life that features growth and development. Lacey and Drew, thInterracial Couple Overcomes Obstacles
I love the New Adult genre, representing a time of life that features growth and development. Lacey and Drew, the heroine and hero of this story, definitely mature as they stumble into adulthood.
Lacey is a Biracial 18 year old who dreams of becoming an opera star, but cares for her dying mother instead.
Drew is an Asian 19 year old adopted son of a wealthy Illinois senator. Much to Mommy and Daddy's dismay, he has a penchant for hijinks.
They meet when Drew sneaks away from his father's fundraiser to find an illegal poker game. He happens to witness Lacey sing in a performance, and he's immediately enthralled.
She's not too impressed by this playboy from the North Shore "slumming' it in her neighborhood, and she promptly sets him up to get arrested! The girl's got spunk, that's for sure.
It's not looking too good for this unlikely pair until an interesting situation throws them together. For them to have a chance at love, Lacey needs to learn how to trust, and Drew needs to leave his "douchebaggery" behind. Are their differences insurmountable?
I enjoyed the character development, not only for Lacey and Drew, but also for Drew's sister, and even the "evil" Ashley.
The space between rich and poor, refined and ghetto, black and white...it might not be such a big space after all.
“Sometimes things are more complicated than they seem. Sometimes what you see isn’t so black and white.”...more
I've been wanting to read this Young Adult romance for some time. I've read raving reviews and the cover is adorable.Completely Original and Endearing
I've been wanting to read this Young Adult romance for some time. I've read raving reviews and the cover is adorable.
Eleanor is sixteen, with a mop of wild red hair and a fashion sense straight out of Goodwill and her flair for creativity. She's so different from other high school students that sadly they bully her. The 1986 setting means there's little awareness about bullying, and no help for Eleanor. What makes the bullying at school even more painful is that Eleanor is also bullied at home. Her mother is with a despicable man named Richie who's one of the creepiest and meanest stepfathers I've encountered, and they live in poverty.
Park is sixteen, with a Korean mother and American father and a much stabler home situation. He loves punk rock and superhero comics, and doesn't quite fit in with his jock friends. There's an atypical depth to him.
When Eleanor has nowhere to sit on the bus, she's force to cram next to Park. There, an unlikely friendship begins, and blossoms to more out of sheer desperation.
The writing is exquisite, like this description of the exuberant English teacher:
"So, you're going to memorize a poem," Mr. Stressman continued, pausing a moment to smile down at Park like Gene Wilder in the chocolate factory.
When Park first holds Eleanor's hand:
Or maybe, he thought now, he just didn't recognize all those other girls. The way a computer drive will spit out a disk if it doesn't recognize the formatting. When he touched Eleanor's hand, he recognized her. He knew.
If you've ever wondered what that feels like, it's a lot like melting--but more violent. Even in a million different pieces, Eleanor could still feel Park holding her hand. Could still feel his thumb exploring her palm. She sat completely still because she didn't have any other option. She tried to remember what kind of animals paralyzed their prey before they ate them... Maybe Park had paralyzed her with his ninja magic, his Vulcan handhold, and now he was going to eat her. That would be awesome.
Park's mother is wary of this girl from the other side of the tracks, but when she sees Eleanor with all her siblings, all grubbily dressed, she changes her tune.
"I come from big family," his mom said. "Three little sisters, Three little brothers...In big family, everything...everybody spread so thin. Thin like paper, you know?...Nobody gets enough," she said. "Nobody gets what they need. When you always hungry, you get hungry in your head."
What a spot-on description of Eleanor's home life, where she doesn't even have a toothbrush.
This is an extraordinary romance between two ordinary young adults. I love how these two aren't gorgeous or super-talented. The last fourth of the book fizzled a bit for me, but otherwise it's a wonderful read....more
Though I loved the movie LA Confidential, written by this author, I couldn't get into this novel. Not when there are so many great romance novels (myThough I loved the movie LA Confidential, written by this author, I couldn't get into this novel. Not when there are so many great romance novels (my preferred genre) to read!
If you love crime novels set in the 1940's/1950's Los Angeles, this will be more up your alley....more
Nah, I think my favorite is still Hopeless and its companion novel Losing Hope. But I also lovedMaybe Someday!
CMaybe My Favorite Colleen Hoover Read?
Nah, I think my favorite is still Hopeless and its companion novel Losing Hope. But I also lovedMaybe Someday!
College student Sydney lives with her boyfriend Hunter and best friend Tori in a Texas apartment. At night she studies on the balcony and listens to a guy play his guitar from his balcony across the courtyard. His music is soulful, and she finds herself singing her own lyrics to the songs.
Ridge is the guitar player across the way. He's in a band with his brother Brennan and roommate Warren, but he has writer's block for writing lyrics. When he catches Sydney singing to his songs, he's intrigued. Would she mind telling him those lyrics?
When Ridge convinces Sydney to text the lyrics, he tells her how amazing they are. And that compliment makes Sydney feel pretty good:
The words he just texted were like stairs stacked one on top of the other, and each compliment was like me running up each step until I reached the top of the damn world.
Things turn to hell when Sydney discovers her boyfriend cheating with her best friend. She moves out in a huff, only to find she has nowhere to go. Ridge invites her to stay in the empty bedroom at his place. YEAH!
Sydney learns three key facts about Ridge: 1) he's deaf, 2) he has a deep connection with his hot girlfriend, and 3) Sydney is falling in love with him. No matter what happens, Sydney doesn't want Ridge to become the cheating Hunter nor for her to become the "other woman" Tori. But what to do when the attraction is so freaking strong?
Desire is easy to fight. Especially when the only weapon desire possesses is attraction. It's not so easy when you're trying to win a war against the heart.
The heart is a constant theme in this story. Sydney's head might tell her one thing, but her heart tells her another. Since Ridge is deaf, he is more in tune with his heartbeat than the average person, and that plays an important role in his attraction to Sydney. And hearing each other's heartbeat is a deciding factor for both of them.
To fight their attraction, they try to repulse each other by sharing their flaws. Hilarious!
Me: One time in high school, I spent the night at a girl's house who I didn't know very well. We made out. I wasn't into it, and it was really gross, but I was seventeen and curious. Ridge: No. That does NOT count as a flaw, Sydney. Jesus Christ, work with me here. Me: I like the smell of puppy breath. Ridge: Better. I can't hear my own farts, so sometimes I'll forget that other people can hear them. Me: Oh, my God. Yes, this is the type of thing that definitely sheds a different light on you.
I also loved the music element of the story. Hoover returns to her roots of slam poetry by writing beautiful lyrics. I haven't heard any of Griffin Peterson's songs yet but I hope to soon. The lyrics from Where She Went were more emotional for me, but Sydney and Ridge's lyrics are still compelling and meaningful.
I thought the author deftly handled Ridge's deafness. How Sydney responds to his disability makes him fall for her more:
She understands me. She respects me. She astounds me. She predicts me. She's never once, since the second I met her, made me feel as if my inability to hear is even an inability at all.
The reason Ridge doesn't verbalize is heartbreaking, and I love the wounded male characters the author creates. Now, I have a little theory I want to share. I happened to read Ugly Love before this one, and unfortunately Ugly Love was my least favorite from this author, partly because the characters rarely speak. I wanted more of Colleen Hoover's funny, snarky, revealing dialogue! After reading Ridge's story, I kind of wonder if the author became accustomed to writing more internal and less loquacious characters? Just a thought.
Luckily, obnoxious Warren's story is releasing tomorrow as a novella, so I don't have to wait to get more Colleen Hoover, yay!...more
While it's hard to top my love for Colleen Hoover's Hopeless series, the Slammed series comes darn close. And likeWonderful End to the Slammed Series
While it's hard to top my love for Colleen Hoover's Hopeless series, the Slammed series comes darn close. And like Holder's male perspective in Losing Hope, Will's point-of-view in This Girl is fresh, funny, and poignant. It takes a special talent to write the same story from a different point of view and keep the reader turning the pages, and obviously Ms. Hoover has it.
Will tells his story in flashbacks from his honeymoon bed shared with Layken.
Starting the storytelling with the time before he meets Layken is heartbreaking. Will's trying to make sense of life following his parents' sudden deaths. No more college scholarship. No more carefree young adult life. No more girlfriend, who dumped him when she couldn't handle the responsibility. He's now the parent of his younger brother.
Why weren't they better prepared for something like this? Why would they risk leaving me with all of this responsibility? I snatch the picture up and place my thumbs over their photograph. With all my force, I squeeze until the glass cracks between my fingertips. Once it's successfully shattered--just like my life--I rare back and throw it as hard as I can against the wall in front of me.
I look up and see Caulder standing in the doorway, crying. He looks terrified. It's the same look I've seen so many times since the moment our parents died.
It's a look that immediately brings me back down to earth.
I laughed at Will's reaction when he meets Layken's younger brother Kel for the first time:
"Kel is name my," he says. I stare at him blankly. Was that even English? "I can talk backwards," he says, explaining the clutter of words that just came out of his mouth. "Like this. Backwards talk can I." Interesting. Someone possibly weirder than Caulder? I didn't think it was possible.
And the whole "That's not a good idea" repetition is so clever!
I loved the epilogue and final slam poem.
If you haven't read a book by this incredible author, what are you waiting for?...more
L.G. Castillo is a psychologist/author and it was a treat to read this psycho author's novel about a naughty angel and theEmotional Supernatural Tale
L.G. Castillo is a psychologist/author and it was a treat to read this psycho author's novel about a naughty angel and the humans he affects.
Lahash (Lash) is a guardian angel sent on a mission years ago to save a boy from a plane crash. When he took matters into his own wings and saved another life on the plane, he messed up the natural order of things. That poor decision got him banished to earth, stripped of his angel duties.
Thirty-five years later, Lash feels forsaken by God. He channels his bitterness into smoking, drinking, and employing prostitutes. But he still manages to come across as appealing, which is one reason I love this story. Lash has a humor and vulnerability that endears him to the reader despite his occasional arrogance and mistakes. When one of God's angels finally gives Lash an assignment, I was pulling for him not to mess up this second chance. A big challenge for him is dealing with his palpable attraction to the woman he's assigned to protect: Naomi.
Naomi is a 21-year-old woman who has suffered many losses in her life. Her mother died years ago, and the story opens with her father's fatal car accident -- an accident involving the human Lash wasn't supposed to save years ago. Now some bad men seem hell-bent on killing Naomi. Luckily she has Lash, as well as some plucky family members. Naomi's grandmother Welita is a fantastic character; loving, sarcastic, and direct. Welita sees right through Lash, and tells him:
"I know you'll take good care of Naomi, and I know it's not because she's an assignment to you." Lash swallowed. "I will, I promise." Welita placed a hand on his cheek. "I see it in your eyes as I see it in hers. Remember, there is always light where there is love and if that is what is meant to happen between the two of you, then it was destined."
How lovely! I want a grandmother like Welita. The Latino culture fascinates me and it's great to get an authentic view in this novel.
A couple of aspects amused me in the story. One is that the devil owns a fracking business. In the battle between Republicans and Democrats over fracking's effects on the environment, that cracks me up. Another tongue-in-cheek moment was when the psychologist turns out to be EVIL. Lash's mentor describes the psychologist:
"He works on Lucifer's behalf, which is why he has his powers. He's highly skilled, able to put on many faces to deceive the humans he controls... That is why he works as a psychologist. It's a well-respected profession and is a perfect cover to complement his talents. He can use his inherent gifts of mind manipulations and hide them behind the skills humans refer to as psychodynamic therapy."
Hehe! I always wondered about those Freudians with their psychodynamic techniques.
My one complaint was that the plot became a bit convoluted at the end of the story.
Supernatural stories aren't my favorite but this story drew me in starting at the prologue. Highly recommended!...more
Every book will have a typo or two no matter how polished, but my ebook is rife with errors. The beginning dragged for me, so the pacing needs work. I also thought the exposition needs tightening.
Kayden's in residential psychiatric treatment at the beginning of the story. The introduction of his therapist certainly didn't impress me.
"Tell me how you feel," the therapist says. He says it every God damn time. And every God damn time I give him the same response. "I feel fine."
Really? This nincompoop therapist supposedly has a Ph.D. from Berkley? Thankfully he gets a little better, but this inept portrayal ticked me off at first.
When Callie says 10% into the book "Maybe it's time to quit being so scared," I thought AMEN. Too bad it takes her so long to follow through with action. It seems like weeks that she's apart from Kayden, with no real purpose for their separation (other than to keep him with the ninny psychologist).
Here's an example of my struggle with the writing style:
Seth starts thrusting his hips wildly as he flicks the end of his lighter and puts it up to the tip of the cigarette. The paper curls in and turns black as he takes a long drag.
I'm not an editor but I think this could be stated more economically, something like Seth thrusts his hips as he lights his cigarette. He takes a long drag." or something like that. The extra verbiage distracted me.
I did love moments like these:
I start to shove my finger down my throat, when suddenly I see Kayden lying on the floor. Helpless. He needs help...I might not be able to take away Kayden's past pain but maybe I can help with his future pain. I move my finger from my mouth and it's one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.
Callie really knows how to help Kayden. And Seth is a wonderful character.
"No, but I've never been one for wise ideas," Seth says. "I believe in irrational, fleeting decisions that keep life interesting."
Callie makes great progress in securing her redemption. But Kayden's story feels unfinished. Instead of feeling buoyed from these characters triumphing over pain, I felt "meh".
Ms. Sorenson does an excellent job evoking emotion with her characters. She tackles tough issues like self-mutilation and eating disorders with rawness and accuracy. That's why the poor editing bugs me, because this story has so much potential. ...more
Carol Oates, you have officially horrified me with this taut, suspenseful novella.
Lincoln (Link) Downing is a youngThe Link Between Science and Horror
Carol Oates, you have officially horrified me with this taut, suspenseful novella.
Lincoln (Link) Downing is a young man who becomes intimate for the first time with his girlfriend Nancy, after senior prom, only to crash his car and suffer a near-fatal head injury. Luckily neurosurgeon Matthew saves Lincoln with his revolutionary brain treatment.
Dr. Matthew still pines for Lincoln's mother Kathleen, who married another man when Matthew left town to study medicine. Here, Matthew observes Kathleen:
She'd twisted her rich, caramel hair into a knot at the back of her head, highlighting the gentle sweeping curve of her long throat. She wore a black, form-fitting shift dress that stopped just below her knees, displaying her shapely calves and slim ankles. Matthew couldn't deny she'd aged well, showing only a few fine lines around her eyes--eyes that seemed sad and tired now.
I love Carol's descriptions.
While grateful to Matthew for saving his life, Lincoln doesn't feel quite himself. Are the brain treatments working like they should? He starts to have vicious nightmares of a monster killing its prey aka Lincoln's friends.
Are those nightmares merely dreams? Or REALITY? Mwa ha ha!
Intricate Plot, Well-Drawn Characters, Yet Lacking in Heart
One fortunate aspect of book club is exposure to books I might not normally read, and thougIntricate Plot, Well-Drawn Characters, Yet Lacking in Heart
One fortunate aspect of book club is exposure to books I might not normally read, and though I had some problems with this novel, I'm glad I read it.
The story bounces from coastal Italy in 1962 to present day Hollywood, and documents the interweaving lives of a washed out film producer (Michael Deane), his assistant (Claire), a young starlet (Dee Moray), a small town Italian hotelier (Pasquale), a WWII vet/wannabe writer (Alvis), a loser writer/wannabe wealthy screenwriter (Shane), and a ne'er-do-well drug addict (Pat). Oh, and Richard Burton (and by extension Liz Taylor) play key roles too.
How the HECK do these disparate characters weave together? So begins Jess Walter's tapestry of a plot.
The story starts in Portovergogna, Italy (translating to "Port of Shame"), a tiny coastal town next to Cinqueterre, in 1962.
I thank Pinterest for introducing me to the gorgeous area of Cinqueterre. I hope some day to visit this explosive color vista:
Pasquale (my favorite character) has left the university to return home and run the crumbling hotel after his father's death. He is quite excited when a gorgeous blonde comes to stay at his hotel after being dumped by a movie producer in the remote location. Sadly, she's been diagnosed with cancer. But is she really sick?
Pasquale speaks English with his guest, actress Dee Moray, and I loved what he said about learning a language:
It was curious what trying to speak English had done lately to his mind; it reminded him of studying poetry in college, words gaining and losing their meaning, overlapping with images, the curious echo of ideas behind the words people used.
Fast forward to present day Hollywood. The famous Michael Deane's assistant Claire dreams of a more glamorous life but is stuck listening to inane movie pitches like:
Title: SECOND PERIOD: DEATH Genre: YOUNG ADULT HORROR Logline: The Breakfast Club meets Nightmare on Elm Street in SECOND PERIOD: DEATH, the story of a group of students who must battle a deranged substitute teacher who may in fact be a vampire...
Failed writer Shane Wheeler hopes to pitch his own idea: Donner!: a cannibal epic about the Wild West. *laughs* Shane's parents taught him the ACT philosophy: have faith in yourself and you can do ANYTHING. It worked for a while (even Shane believed his own shit) but it's not working so well lately. This cracked me up:
But recently, fissures have appeared in this philosophy -- faith proving to be not nearly enough -- and it was in the run-up to his divorce that his soon-to-be ex-wife (So tired of your shit, Shane . . .) dropped a bombshell: the Bible phrase he and his father endlessly quoted, "Act as if ye have faith . . ." never actually APPEARS in the Bible. Rather, as far as she could tell, it came from the closing argument given by the Paul Newman character in the film The Verdict.
I enjoyed learning the motivations behind the characters. For example, a starvation story about the Donner party fascinates Shane because he has an older sister who almost died from an eating disorder. Also, alcoholic Richard Burton is an entertaining ASS in this story. It's clear the author put a lot of effort into plot and characterization.
Unfortunately, I didn't find myself emotionally involved in their intricate stories. This is a longer book, and it didn't have a gripping quality to make me fly through the pages. But I am psyched I finished it before book club!...more
Hopeless blew me away. (See my review here). Colleen Hoover has amazed me by turning Sky and Holder's trauma intoI Live to Read Colleen Hoover Novels
Hopeless blew me away. (See my review here). Colleen Hoover has amazed me by turning Sky and Holder's trauma into triumph, and she has made Holder my favorite book boyfriend. He is so smart, loving, and kind. So it was such a treat to read Sky's journey of discovery from Holder's perspective in Losing Hope.
I'm impressed this story didn't feel rehashed. The addition of Holder's interactions with his sister's boyfriend, along with heart-wrenching letters to and from Les, pack a powerful emotional punch in this story.
There are two issues I have with this series:
1. Les's therapist. The trauma Les sustained is horrific. And, people can heal from that. If Les wasn't getting better after years of therapy, TIME FOR A NEW THERAPIST. Did the therapist even ask if Les was thinking about suicide? Sometimes even the best therapists can't help clients, especially if clients are hell-bent on killing themselves, but I thought this potential malpractice was glossed over in the story.
2. The cover model is cute and all, but he just doesn't look like Dean Holder to me. I picture Holder as taller and lankier, with less of a preppy look. What do you think?
These are minor complaints I have for a masterpiece of a story. The sadness, the humor, the depth of characterization, and most of all, the hope…I can't wait to read what Colleen Hoover writes next....more
While I liked Divergent and Insurgent, something seemed missing, preventing me from loving it. Veronica RotThe Most Worthy Sacrifice is An Act of Love
While I liked Divergent and Insurgent, something seemed missing, preventing me from loving it. Veronica Roth found that missing piece in Allegiant. The story is powerful, intriguing, and emotionally gripping. It is a mature romance between two teens who had to grow up too fast ... two teens who show unfathomable strength. Tris's choice at the end is a beautiful demonstration of her selfless, brave, and intellectual divergence, following on the cusp of an honest conversation with someone she loves.
In the conclusion to the series, we learn what lies beyond the experiment known as Chicago: The Bureau of Genetic Welfare. And what a bureau it is! Its location at O'Hare Airport is perfect, and learning about the Purity Wars and the origin of the factions is fascinating.
I tick off each quality in my mind -- fear, low intelligence, dishonesty, aggression, selfishness. He IS talking about the factions. And he's right to say that every faction loses something when it gains a virtue: the Dauntless, brave but cruel; the Erudite, intelligent but vain; the Amity, peaceful but passive; the Candor, honest but inconsiderate; the Abnegation, selfless but stifling.
I was thrilled to hear Four's perspective in about half of the chapters, though I agree with a Goodreads friend Brooke who stated that Tris's and Four's POVs are not distinct enough. Four's story is heartbreaking.
I have never had parents who set good examples, parents whose expectations were worth living up to, but she did. I can see them within her, the courage and the beauty they pressed into her like a handprint.
Four shows that he is anything but "genetically damaged". Genes vs environment? The Bureau leans too heavily on genes, forgetting that our experiences also shape us. And Four is so strong that he turns the environmental pressures he experienced into resilience, not weakness.
I find the abuses of government to be appalling, and the cautionary tale about those abuses to be timely.
It's not hard for me to believe that the Bureau would do bad things, because every government I've ever known has done bad things.
In the end, this story is about love, especially the sacrifices we make for those we love.
That's what love does, when it's right -- it makes you more than you were, more than you thought you could be.
I hear they will likely split Allegiant into two films, and I can't wait to see who they cast as David and Matthew. Wonderful series!...more
What a thought-provoking romance! It's rare for me to feel such fondness for the hero and the heroine, butThe Course of True Love Never Did Run Smooth
What a thought-provoking romance! It's rare for me to feel such fondness for the hero and the heroine, but I loved both Daniel and Aubrey. It's also rare for me to understand Shakespeare, but Georgina Guthrie provides an excellent guide to the Bard in this story.
Aubrey Price starts her last year at the University of Toronto with a tight budget, a set of close friends, and a passion for all things Shakespeare. She works as an assistant to Dean Grant in addition to taking a heavy course load. The TA for her Shakespeare course is Dean Grant's son Daniel, who's scruffy and gorgeous. Aubrey tries to suppress her attraction to Daniel's forbidden fruit due to the anti-fraternization policy. (Good luck, Aubrey.)
Daniel is a puzzle. He crisply calls her "Miss Price", at times seeming standoffish and pompous. At other times he smiles warmly and appears impressed by her depth of knowledge and wit.
Daniel had been livid with me, which was definitely not without its strange appeal. Angry-Daniel was something to behold. But then he was Tail-Between-His-Legs-Daniel, followed shortly afterward by Tiny-Piece-of-Heart-on-His-Sleeve-Daniel. The episode was rounded out nicely by Dimpled-Smile-and-Lip-Biting-Daniel. Smorgasbord, right?
Aubrey has no idea how he feels about her until Dean Grant invites her to a family dinner and Daniel unexpectedly shows up. When he has one drink too many, he reveals his true feelings.
O God, that men should put an enemy in their mouths to steal away their brains! that we should, with joy, pleasance, revel, and applause, transform ourselves into beasts! ~William Shakespeare, Othello
Hehe. Before Daniel makes a total beast of himself, he attempts to rein himself in, though it's tough to avoid Aubrey's charm. The secret that likely drives him to drink that night also ups the professional stakes to dangerous levels.
Aubrey has a winsome sense of humor which her roommate Matt draws out of her:
"I didn't know you guys were headed in that direction," I said. "I knew you liked each other. Some nights I could tell you really liked each other." I rattled the headboard, and he shot me a poisonous glare.
Matt also made me laugh:
"I had to get up. My brain was screaming for Advil," he groaned. "And I have the worst case of the zacklies." "What the hell are the zacklies?" "You know, when your mouth tastes zackly like your ass."
The banter between Aubrey and Daniel kept me grinning. Her F-bomb explosions surprise and delight him. His pair of jeans with a hole over the knee makes Aubrey swoon.
"Now tell me," I said, eager to lighten the tone. "Am I going to get a look at one of those sweet knees tonight?" Daniel sighed again. "Don't worry. Mr. Ratty Pants will be making an appearance this evening."
Instructors getting it on with students is abusive and wrong. But this story never feels icky that way. Aubrey is a strong, independent woman and Daniel does his best to exhibit self-control. Can they keep their paws off each other until semester's end? I look forward to finding out in the next two books in the series!
A very little thief of occasion will rob you of a great deal of patience. ~William Shakespeare Coriolanus, Act II, sc. 1...more
I read only one third of this novel, so take my review for what it's worth.
Wally Lamb is certainly a masExcellent Character Development, Plodding Plot
I read only one third of this novel, so take my review for what it's worth.
Wally Lamb is certainly a master at creating characters with depth -- male and female. The heroine from She's Come Undone was so rich and layered that I felt like I was reading about one of my psychotherapy clients. (And I didn't love that book because it felt too much like a day at work.) I Know This Much Is True was a fascinating exploration of mental illness in twin brothers.
We Are Water starts off interesting enough. Quirky artist Anna has divorced her husband Orion and is preparing to wed gallery owner Viveca. Anna and Orion's adult children have varied reactions to their mother marrying another woman. The author explores how each of these characters deals with such upheaval, and he really leaves no stone unturned. These characters muse and introspect for hours about the past, present, and future. While the characters are unique and interesting, they didn't seem very likable to me. I found myself skipping ahead to see when the chapter would end, which isn't a good sign about my absorption in the plot.
I did enjoy Orion's profession as a therapist at a university counseling center--it's a job I've done in the past and it is difficult to take care of yourself amidst the pressing needs of the student body. I also enjoyed the exploration of bisexuality in Anna's life.
Some book clubbers finished the novel and said it was worth the read, but I chose to put this one down and turn to more compelling reads for me. If you enjoy in-depth psychological family stories, you might want to check this one out....more

domain: literature


With claims that the IRA has been involved in a new outbreak of shootings and beatings, putting the peace process under fresh pressure, Mr Reid told Sinn Fein it was time to pledge its commitment to convince the sceptics.
He said: "You cannot continue to ride two horses at once. Especially if the two horses are as far apart as violence and democracy."
As the secretary of state addressed the Labour party conference in Blackpool, the IRA stood accused of two savage attacks in Northern Ireland.
A bus driver who was battered and shot in the legs in Londonderry has claimed IRA men targeted him because he was a relative of a man they had a dispute with.
And a father of a 20-year-old student, who was abducted in south Armagh and beaten with hammers and nail-studded clubs, has also blamed republicans.
With three IRA suspects due to stand trial in Colombia tomorrow on charges of training the leftwing Farc guerrillas in bomb-making, the republican leadership is coming under fierce criticism.
The Ulster Unionist leader, David Trimble, has already set Sinn Fein a new year deadline for the disbanding of the IRA, or else his ministers will quit the Stormont power-sharing government.
Mr Reid said he accepted the republican leadership was committed to achieving a united Ireland through democratic means.
But he insisted: "If you want your partnership with unionists to be sustained, then you need to convince them, to reassure them."
He used his speech to party delegates as an opportunity to rededicate the government to achieving its goal of lasting peace in Northern Ireland.
"The new way, the Good Friday agreement, remains the best hope for future generations in Northern Ireland," he said.
However, the secretary of state admitted the peace process was facing tough challenges.
Issuing a message to unionists, he also urged them against alienating nationalists by collapsing the devolved institutions.
Mr Reid said: "They [nationalists] need to know that you are really committed to power-sharing, and that every time it is established, genuine concerns about paramilitary activity are not simply an excuse to raise the bar once again."
As the political crisis in Northern Ireland looms larger, dissident republican and loyalist paramilitary violence have increased tensions on the street.
But the secretary of state vowed to clamp down on the bombing and shooting campaigns on both sides.
He declared: "We will oppose that twisted logic with the full might of the security forces and with every power available to us."


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text:
- Is a wellness visit the same as a physical?
- What blood tests does Medicare not cover?
- Is lipid panel covered by Medicare?
- What is included in annual physical exam?
- What does a wellness exam include?
- When did Medicare stop paying for physicals?
- Why do doctors not touch patients anymore?
- What is included in a Medicare Annual Wellness visit?
- How Much Does Medicare pay for annual wellness visit?
- Do you have to take your pants off for a physical?
- What is a full physical exam?
- Does Medicare require annual wellness exam?
- Does Medicare pay for annual blood tests?
- Does Medicare pay for a vitamin D blood test?
- How often does medicare pay for a1c blood test?
Is a wellness visit the same as a physical?
An annual physical typically involves an exam by a doctor along with bloodwork or other tests.
The annual wellness visit generally doesn’t include a physical exam, except to check routine measurements such as height, weight and blood pressure..
What blood tests does Medicare not cover?
You usually pay nothing for Medicare-approved covered clinical diagnostic laboratory services. Laboratory tests include certain blood tests, urinalysis, tests on tissue specimens, and some screening tests. A laboratory that meets Medicare requirements must provide them.
Is lipid panel covered by Medicare?
Routine screening and prophylactic testing for lipid disorder are not covered by Medicare. While lipid screening may be medically appropriate, Medicare by statute does not pay for it. … Once a diagnosis is established, one or several specific tests are usually adequate for monitoring the course of the disease.
What is included in annual physical exam?
In general, the standard physical exam typically includes: Vital signs: blood pressure, breathing rate, pulse rate, temperature, height, and weight. Vision acuity: testing the sharpness or clarity of vision from a distance. Head, eyes, ears, nose and throat exam: inspection, palpation, and testing, as appropriate.
What does a wellness exam include?
During your wellness exam you may receive screening for cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes, mammogram, pap test, osteoporosis, or STDs. Your doctor may ask you about current stress, physical activity, diet, or drug use such as tobacco and alcohol.
When did Medicare stop paying for physicals?
As described in this information sheet from the Center for Medicare Advocacy, the idea of an Annual Wellness Visit is a recent one, mandated under the Affordable Care Act in January, 2011. But coverage of annual physical examinations has always been excluded under Medicare rules going back more than 50 years.
Why do doctors not touch patients anymore?
He’s a pretty nice guy, so I asked him: “Why don’t doctors conduct physical exams of their patients anymore?” His answer: “We have precise pictures of everything inside you, so we don’t need to.” Technology only partly explains why touching patients seems to be going the way of the buggy whip. There are time pressures.
What is included in a Medicare Annual Wellness visit?
This visit includes a review of your medical and social history related to your health and education and counseling about preventive services, including these: Certain screenings, flu and pneumococcal shots, and referrals for other care, if needed. Height, weight, and blood pressure measurements.
How Much Does Medicare pay for annual wellness visit?
If you qualify, Original Medicare covers the Annual Wellness Visit at 100% of the Medicare-approved amount when you receive the service from a participating provider. This means you pay nothing (no deductible or coinsurance).
Do you have to take your pants off for a physical?
It is not usually painful, but it may be uncomfortable. The doctor will ask the person to take off their pants and underwear before giving them a gown or cloth to wrap around themselves.
What is a full physical exam?
A full physical examination is a general examination of the body performed by the doctor or general practitioner (GP). The examination will cover most of the basic systems of the body, including the heart system, lung system, gut system and nerve system examination.
Does Medicare require annual wellness exam?
Annual wellness visits: Not required, but worth it? Medicare recipients are eligible for an annual wellness visit once they’ve had Medicare Part B for 12 months or more. … Medicare does not pay for the comprehensive exam that most people think of when they think of “physical.”
Does Medicare pay for annual blood tests?
In the vast majority of cases, blood testing is covered by Medicare Part B. Part B (Medical Insurance) provides benefits for medically necessary care administered in a physician’s office or in an outpatient clinical setting.
Does Medicare pay for a vitamin D blood test?
Medicare Coverage for Vitamin D Testing Generally, blood tests and screenings are performed as an outpatient procedure at your physician’s office or in a laboratory facility. These tests may be covered by Medicare Part B as long as you doctor orders the tests and deems them medically necessary.
How often does medicare pay for a1c blood test?
The A1c test, which doctors typically order every 90 days, is covered only once every three months. If more frequent tests are ordered, the beneficiary needs to know his or her obligation to pay the bill, in this case $66 per test.

domain: medical


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I think this may have been the 4th of currently 40 books that Val has written and one that I have been returning to for 25 years. As in life around a dinner table, Val's stories never fail to entertain and they create a further interest in a recipe. Her autobiographical, Fiori di Zucca is packed with the most amazing family history - as well as recipes.
Editor of Profile Leader and author
I found this in an antiquarian booksellers in Broadstairs. I have never stopped using it for its clarity and simplicity. Hail to the President of the Les Dames d' Escoffier London Chapter!
Chef and owner of Romy's Kitchen
She is old school which I love.


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The Geelong Waterfront Safe Harbour Precinct project includes the new Victorian Sailing School
SMC Strategies was initially engaged by City of Greater Geelong (CoGG) in 2015 to develop the Business Case and Concept Plans for the Geelong Waterfront Safe Harbour Precinct project.
The project will result in a complete transformation of a key section of the Geelong Waterfront, creating new community amenity and visitor attraction.
Royal Geelong Yacht Club engaged SMC Strategies to undertake the strategic project partnership development, funding strategy and advocacy for the project, working with all tiers of government and project stakeholders.
This has now directly resulted in a $7.5 million commitment by the Victorian Government, $5.5 million by the Federal Government and $3 million by CoGG to the project.
Construction is planned to commence in 2019.
City of Greater Geelong/Royal Geelong Yacht Club
Transformation of Geelong Waterfront
Business Case development
Project partnership development and funding strategy
Government relations and advocacy
Stakeholder engagement and management
Strategic and media communications


The plans for the proposed olympic-sized swimming pool in Ladywood will open to the public today. They can be seen at an exhibition at the Nelson Primary School due to be launched today.
Parking for cars and coaches for this otherwise widely welcomed project will be a challenge. Other swimming pools in the City have free car parking whereas the nearby NIA car parks charge for use. Therefore visitors may be tempted to use neighbouring streets, which are already congested with city workers avoiding parking charges.


New World Devs Will Soon Be Adding a Character Transfer Feature
New World, Amazon’s fantasy MMO, has just gone live earlier this week, and it has already been a general hit. Despite some high profile troubles with ridiculously long queues and a lore that the gaming community has dubbed as silly, it has retained its top spot on Steam Top 100—surpassing Dota 2, CS:GO, and PUBG.
As MMO gamers continued to flock to Amazon Game Studio’s new game, Amazon has taken certain measures to stop new character creation on servers that are already full. Thankfully, New World players will be given a notification to let them know which ones are full, up, down, or currently undergoing maintenance. “We are implementing a new feature to indicate if a world is full,” the devs confirmed on social media. “You can check if a world is full on the server status page.”
New World players who have already created their characters on a full server can still continue to queue to log in and play. However, as recently revealed by AGS, they will no longer be able to do so if the server they choose to play in is already on full capacity. However, AGS is soon going to release a character transfer feature. With that feature coming soon, New World devs are encouraging their players to complete character creation on a low population server and start playing the game now, instead of just waiting in line in order to play.
New World has been very successful and has exceeded the gaming community’s expectations. Amazon Founder and Executive Chairman Jeff Bezos even took to social media to share his pleasure about the game’s success.
He then praised the New World team for their persistence as they viewed “setbacks as helpful obstacles that drive learning.” “After many failures and setback in gaming, we have a success,” Bezos said. “Whatever your goals are, do not give up, no matter how hard it gets.”


text:
Line on Agriculture
Southeast Regional Ag News
U.S. Potato Industry Celebrates Mexico’s Supreme Court Decision Overturning Decades-long Ban on Fresh U.S. Potato Imports
USTR Urged to Push TPP Return and Pork Export to Central America
60-day Deadline for Chlorpyrifos and Meth Found in Strawberries
David Sparks Ph.D.
Fruit Grower ReportNew products from Valent offers results you've always expected.
Fruit Grower ReportValent keeps up with the times, bringing more and better products for your input needs to improve the quality and productivity of your crops.

domain: agronomy


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domain: design


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Donald Trump’s Equal Pay Rollback Is Getting His Administration Sued
Equal spend for equivalent work — it’s been a rallying cry for feminists for nigh on a century. And regardless of the Equal Pay Act of 1963, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, 2009’s Lily Ledbetter Equal Pay Act, and a lot more efforts between, there is still a wage space for ladies, and for individuals of color. Which is why 2 labor advocacy groups have actually submitted a suit over Donald Trump’s equivalent pay arrangement rollback .
On Nov. 15, Democracy Forward and the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) took legal action against the Trump administration for rolling back an Obama-era arrangement indicated to gather information and much better gear up the federal government to eliminate the gender and race wage space. The claim argues that the administration’s choice is prejudiced — and prohibited.
In a news release, Emily Martin, NWLC General Counsel and Vice President for Workplace Justice, called out the administration’s rollback:
The match names the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and federal government authorities connected with the workplaces as accuseds. Neither the OMB nor the EEOC right away reacted to Elite Daily’s ask for discuss the suit.
In Jan. 2016, then-President Barack Obama signed an executive order focused on closing the wage space. The guideline, which did not require congressional approval, would have needed business with 100 staff members or more to report wage information broken down by ethnic culture, gender, and race. Inning accordance with, the information would then be collectively released by the EEOC and the Dept. of Labor.
The guideline furthermore would have provided the EEOC exactly what the referred to as “more reach in its efforts to examine companies with glaring pay variations ” consisting of filing discrimination suits. Slated to enter into result in March 2018 , the executive order was indicated to promote openness, incentivize wage space analysis, and eventually work to closing the wage space.
But, inning accordance with the, in August, the OMB chose to remove the guideline, calling it “needlessly burdensomeOMB Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Administrator Neomi Rao sent out a memo to the EEOC , specifying that,
This is a belief that was echoed by very first child and Special Adviser to the President Ivanka Trump, a ladies’s empowerment representative who has talked about closing the wage space in the past. In a declaration on the choice , she stated, “Ultimately, while I think the intent readied and concur that pay openness is necessary, the proposed policy would not yield the desired outcomes.”
Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) April 4, 2017
And while the EEOC’s Acting Chair Victoria Lipnic launched a declaration quickly after the August statement making sure that the EEOC would continue to defend reasonable incomes, the NWLC and the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (the advocacy groups taking legal action against the Trump administration with Democracy Forward’s aid) aren’t so sure.
In reality, the Democracy Forward fit states that the genuine problem upon Americans depends on the wage space — and OMB’s choice interferes “with the EEOC’s capability to impose the country’s civil liberties laws.”
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Ultimately, the fit argues, reversing this policy dissuades the federal government from enacting civil liberties laws — and, they declare, the relocation is likewise prohibited per the Administrative Procedures Act , which needs public remark, or, at the minimum, mindful evaluation. (This is likewise among the core arguments of other fits versus the Trump administration, such as Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey’s fit over the contraception required roll-back.)
Ultimately, it’s hard to comprehend precisely why the OMB rolled back the arrangement prior to it even worked, aside from unclear issues about the effectiveness of information collection. Perhaps this claim will bring some clearness.

domain: news


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Libraries and Learning
We want to hear your views about libraries in Worcestershire
The County Council is conducting a review to find ways of improving and sustaining services, and also ensuring Worcestershire libraries meet the needs of the communities they serve. We are conducting a short survey to capture the views of people who currently use libraries but also those who don't. The survey is now live and closes on Sunday 5 August 2018 and will take no more than five to 10 minutes to fill out.

domain: library


Series sponsored by Like the soil beneath us forms the foundation for a healthy growing…
Peer Inspections in a Pandemic
Flashback to another time (Autumn, 2019): Two farmers inside a tunnel completing a peer inspection, without masks
When we asked the Certified Naturally Grown membership how we could better support them during the COVID-19 Pandemic, the number one request was for flexibility with CNG’s peer inspection requirement. People were concerned about the health risks posed by such a contagious virus. We wanted to help keep our members healthy, so we’ve granted flexibility with inspection deadlines as a stopgap solution.
But for the long run, it was important to investigate alternative, safe approaches to conducting peer inspections – ones that would protect the health and safety of our members. It seemed very unlikely the pandemic would just disappear in a few months. So we began to explore the option to conduct remote inspections via video call, where the farmer receiving the inspection gives a live virtual tour of their farm and fields questions from their peer inspector who is at another location.
In April and May we piloted twenty remote inspections, carefully pairing some our most experienced CNG farmers with members needing an inspection. The feedback we received based on these experiences was overwhelmingly positive, especially from the experienced members who had conducted multiple in-person inspections over the years. We held group discussions over videoconference to debrief about their experience.
There was general agreement that remote inspections provided several distinct advantages, beyond the need to protect the health of the farmers participating. Among these advantages were:
- The opportunity to connect with experienced farmers who would otherwise be too far away to conduct/receive the inspection
- The inclination to do more preparation work ahead of the inspection, which helped ensure it was a robust experience
- Greater efficiency and focus, as there were fewer distractions, and the farmer being inspected wasn’t as nervous
- Less time spent traveling to and from the farm being inspected
Of course, there are obvious limitations to remote inspections – you can’t smell the soil, and you’re dependent on the farmer to point the camera. However, these limitations were not seen to be substantial enough to override the benefits of remote inspections. Rather, we put in place a set of policies that would help diminish the risks and limitations that this approach might impose.
Our Remote Inspection Policy outlines the criteria for determining who is eligible to conduct and receive a remote inspection.
And we developed a resource for participating farmers to ensure remote inspections are as robust as possible. Our Remote Inspection Checklists specify what to do before, during, and after the remote inspection, for both the farmer and the inspector.
We will continue to refine these policies based on our direct experiences and the needs of our members. Thanks to all who have participated and provided feedback so far. Your input is essential to help us stay nimble and evolve with these changing times!
Share your thoughts here.
Photo credit: Steve Merkel


An Idaho scientist shrugging off skeptical fellow scholars in his quest for evidence of Bigfoot has turned his sights skyward, with plans to float a blimp over the U.S. mountain West in search of the mythic, ape-like creature. Idaho State University has approved the unusual proposal of faculty member Jeffrey Meldrum, an anatomy and anthropology professor ridiculed by some peers for past research of a being whose existence is widely disputed by mainstream science. Now Meldrum is seeking to raise $300,000-plus in private donations to build the remote-controlled dirigible, equip it with a thermal-imaging camera and send it aloft in hopes of catching an aerial glimpse of Bigfoot...
Tag Archives | Cryptozoology
Lyle Blackburn is a writer, musician, and cryptid hunter from Texas. He has always been fascinated with legends, lore, and sighting reports of “real-life monsters,” and is the author of the acclaimed book, The Beast of Boggy Creek: The True Story of the Fouke Monster. During his research, Lyle has often explored the remote reaches of the southern U.S. in search of shadowy creatures said to inhabit the dense backwoods and swamplands of these areas. Lyle is also a staff writer and cryptozoology advisor to Rue Morgue magazine, one of the leading horror media publications in print today. His “Monstro Bizarro” blog is featured on the Rue Morgue website and his “Monstro Bizarro Presents” news column appears monthly in the magazine. In addition, Lyle is the founder and frontman for the rock band, Ghoultown. Since 1998, Ghoultown has released eight albums, toured extensively in both the U.S.… Read the rest
When I have children someday, our weekend afternoon trips will be to the other zoo. Atlas Obscura on your new favorite cultural institution, the Portland, Maine-based Cryptozoology Museum, which offers Bigfoot poop, among other attractions:
… Read the rest
Loren Coleman started pursuing unusual, often inexplicable animals in 1960, and has since become one of the world’s foremost experts in the field of cryptozoology. The discipline, as defined by the master himself, “is the study of hidden or unknown animals. Zoological species that, to-date, remain unverified by science, such as Yetis, Bigfoot, Lake Monsters, and Sea Serpents, as well as hundreds of other yet-to-be-found animals (cryptids) worldwide. It also encompasses the study of animals of recent discovery, such as the coelacanth, okapi, megamouth shark, giant panda, and mountain gorilla.”
Coleman has amassed an unrivaled collection of specimens, replicas, and artifacts relating to famous and lesser-known cryptids, including the eight-and-a-half foot tall, 300-pound “Crookston Bigfoot,” a life-size coelacanth, P.
Have you ever been curious as to why things go bump in the night instead of the day...
There’s an interesting story at The Smithsonian’s Past Imperfect blog regarding the peculiar history of the mythological basilisk. Those of you who spent your teenage years playing Dungeons & Dragons in your basement might already know what a basilisk is. However, for the rest of you, here’s a description:
… Read the rest
The basilisk remained an object of terror long after the collapse of the Roman empire and was popular in medieval bestiaries. It was in this period that a great deal of additional myth grew up around it. It became less a serpent than a mix of snake and rooster; it was almost literally hellish. Jan Bondeson notes that the monster was “the subject of a lengthy discourse in the early-13th-century bestiary of Pierre de Beauvais. An aged cock, which had lost its virility, would sometimes lay a small, abnormal egg. If this egg is laid in a dunghill and hatched by a toad, a misshapen creature, with the upper body of a rooster, bat-like wings, and the tail of a snake will come forth.
Blogger Tony Morrill has written a comprehensive overview of the Massachusetts cryptid known only as the “Dover Demon”. The first sighting of the pallid, melon-shaped humanoid creature took place in 1977, and although there haven’t been any recent reported sightings, it remains a popular topic of debate – at least among some people:
“It was not a dog or a cat. It had no tail. It had an egg-shaped head. It looked like a baby’s body with long arms and legs. It had a big head about the same size as the body, it was sort of melon shaped. The color of it was… the color of people in the Sunday comics.”
I can’t help but to notice that the description sounds very similar to the “Grey aliens” that UFO abductees describe from time to time. That being said, some people think that it might have been a young moose.… Read the rest
The Committee for Scientific Inquiry has a great article about the hunt for the Yeren, the Chinese ape-man, including a humorous anecdote in which a hirsute westerner is mistaken for the legendary beast:
… Read the rest
Some have suggested that the wild man is some human throwback—neither Gigantopithecus nor Peking Man surely but possibly some oddity like those sometimes exhibited in carnival sideshows (Nickell 2005, 150–58, 202–208). A “monkey baby,” for instance, that lived in Xhin Xhan County of Hubei Province, was simply an unfortunate individual with genetic deficiencies who “walked with a shuffling gait, had a slouched back, had a low misshapen forehead, could only make sounds with no articulate speech, and grinned constantly” (Poirier et al. 1983, 30). Yeren researcher Frank E. Poirier—only a normally hairy westerner who is about five feet eleven inches tall—frightened some local children who “ran away horrified at their encounter with what they screamed to others was the Wildman in their midst” (Poirier et al.
Remembering Paranormal Pioneer John Keel With Doug Skinner | The Disinfocast with Matt Staggs: Episode 04The Disinfocast, we discuss the late John Alva Keel. He is best remembered as the author of The Mothman Prophecies, a classic work of Fortean reportage. The book painted an eery portrait of a tiny town besieged by inexplicable incidents: sightings of a moth-like creature with glowing red eyes, strange lights in the sky and midnight visits from men in black. Keel began his investigation as an outsider, but was soon drawn into the dark orbit of the mothman. Keel achieved some amount of public recognition when his book became the basis of a 2002 movie of the same name starring Richard Gere, but the public at large had no idea that Keel’s encounter with the mothman was only one small part of an incredibly strange, adventurous life. Keel, a veteran writer of the weird, was well-known within the ranks of forteana for his writings on UFOs, conspiracies and strange mysteries discovered in the furthest corners of the globe. Keel’s later years were tough ones. As he grew older, his career suffered. So did his health. Thankfully, he was not completely alone. A small circle of friends and admirers stood by his side. One of them was Fortean writer and professional composer Doug Skinner. Skinner, a close friend of Keel’s, is here to talk with us on the latest episode of The Disinformation Company's official podcast, The DisinfoCast.