Gods Behaving Badly

In Gods Behaving Badly we find out that the gods and goddesses of ancient Greece are living among humans in a crumbling London house. Their powers aren't what they used to be and they are generally bored with their current existence. We are also introduced to Alice, a mortal cleaning woman, and her friend Neil...also a mortal. They become entangled in the lives of the immortal ones and a classic Greek tale ensues.

This book has been on my "to read" list for while. I've been interested in the Greek gods for years now, pretty much since I saw Disney's Hercules in 8th grade. That is probably why I was a little disappointed in the book overall. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't great. I guess that is just a hazard of building up expectation based on nothing but my own ideas of how things should be.

It took me awhile to get into the book, which always makes me impatient. I generally want books to grab me right off the bat. The first half is interesting enough, but didn't completely catch my attention. I think I just wanted more from the gods and goddesses. They are all pretty one-dimensional since they aree basically the embodiments of what they have power over. For example, Aphrodite (the goddess of love and beauty) isn't much more than a sex-obsessed pretty face.

I also found Alice and Neil to be boring in the beginning, probably because they are both the quiet, mousy types. However, once they are dragged into the business of the gods they start to show a little more personality. Once all the drama and action kicked in, I did find myself reluctant to put the book down, so maybe I did enjoy it more than I think I did. Anway, I guess I'd recommend it for a fun and fluffy read, just don't expect much substance.

3.5/5 Stars

Cake Wrecks

Hilarious!

If you haven't read the Cake Wrecks blog that this book is based on, you need to go look at it right now. Back? Ok, good. I've been reading Cake Wrecks for quite awhile now, so of course I had to check out the book when I found out there was one and it was just as funny as the site.

If you didn't check out the link and have no idea what Cake Wrecks is, its a blog that basically shows cakes gone wrong. Misspellings, poor color choices, weird inspirations, and just complete cake failures are entertaining on their own, but Jen's comments are what put the posts over the top. You could say they take the cake! (Har har)

It just boggles the mind how the decorators of these cakes can miss the obvious mistakes that they do. And that the bakeries actually put some of these things up for sale. Who in their right mind would pay for some of these things? (Aside from the wreck reporters of course). I'm also a fan of the punctuation errors. Out of place quotation marks always make me giggle for some reason.

In reading the book, both my mom and I found ourselves laughing out loud and I was in tears at one point from laughing so hard. I can recommend this book highly enough. Its mostly pictures, so its a quick read and its perfect for when you're feeling a bit down and need a great pick-me-up. If you don't want to get the book, at least check out the blog, you won't be sorry!

4/5 Stars

Causing a Scene

Causing a Scene: Extraordinary Pranks in Ordinary Places with Improv Everywhere is an extremely fun book that tells the story of some of Improv Everywhere's pranks. If you've never heard of Improv Everywhere, you should go search for them on YouTube. One you start watching, you won't be able to stop. Some of the pranks are simple and silly while others will make you wonder at the effort and organization that had to have gone into them.

Perhaps one of the best known pranks, and the one I first saw, is the Grand Central Freeze. In it, over 200 of the "agents" froze in various positions in the middle of Grand Central Station and stayed there for 5 minutes. Its amazing to see the dedication of the agents because I know that I would never be able to freeze with all those people walking around and looking at me. The end is always great because everyone simply unfreezes and goes about their business as if nothing strange happened. This is how all of the pranks work; no one ever acknowledges that something out of the ordinary has just occured.

I won't explain the other pranks because it would take forever, but the No Pants Subway ride is a popular one that has spread to numerous other cities. The mp3 experiment is one of my personal favorites and one that I would love to participate in. Having watched the videos first, it was great to read how the missions came together, but it would be just as enjoyable to read about them first and then get to see how everything turned out.

3.5/5 Stars

100 Cupboards: Book 1 of the 100 Cupboards

100 Cupboards tells the story of 12 year-old Henry who is sent to live with his aunt and uncle in Kansas when his parents are kidnapped while traveling. Henry is given a room in the attic and he begins hearing strange noises during the night. He soon discovers strange knobs sticking out of the wall where there had been nothing before. After scraping away the plaster, Henry finds that the wall is covered with cupboards - each of them with a different size, shape, and color. As Henry soon finds, each also contains something different. Or leads somewhere different, to be exact. A different world lies through each cupboard and Henry can't be sure what good or evil may lurk there.

The cover of 100 Cupboards grabbed my attention immediately and I couldn't wait to read it. Unfortunately, I found the cover to be far more interesting than the story itself. I don't know if this is due to it being juvenile fiction and therefore just below my level of interest. Considering I often read books targeted to that age group though, I tend to think that isn't the case. The story does have some intrigue and action, but I just think that it could have done more. It didn't have me sitting on the edge of my seat and the revelations of what were through each cupboard fell a little flat.

Now, I did not originally know that this was the first book of a series, so perhaps that makes a difference. Things could pick up from this point and get better. As Henry explores more of the cupboards, the worlds that he reveals may be more enticing than the ones that have revealed so far, but I just can't bring myself to read any further. If anyone reads any more of the series, please let me know what you think.

2.5/5 Stars

Dead by Day

Dead by Day is a compilation of books 4 and 5 of the Southern Vampire Mysteries, from which the HBO series True Blood was created. I haven't reviewed the first three, since I read them awhile back and can't remember them well enough to write about them. I did love them though and couldn't wait for the rest of them to be passed on to me.

You'll have to excuse my turning into a squealing fangirl here, but I'm obsessed with both True Blood and the Southern Vampire Mysteries. If I had to choose, I think I prefer the books over the show though.I don't really want to say much about the book because if you're anything like me and are either watching the show or reading the series, you may want to avoid knowing absolutely anything in advance. I know I do.

All I'll say is that if you prefer Eric over Bill (I do!) you definitely need to read this one. All my favorite characters are back, as are a few good new ones. Charles Twining, Calvin Norris, and Quinn are all good additions to the series. I have to say, I think constant near-death experiences may be worth it if I was surrounded and wanted by as many sexy men as Sookie is. That is one lucky girl.

If you haven't read any of the Southern Vampire Mysteries yet, go get the first book Dead Until Dark! I guarantee that if you like mysteries, vampires, action, and a little dash of romance, there is no way you won't love the series. Take my word for it and let me know what you think. Check out True Blood too, if you haven't gotten the chance ^^

4.5/5 Stars

I Want!

Coming from a family of readers, shelf space around here is at a premium and I'm sure many of you are in the same boat. I actually just went through my books the other day to clear out the ones I've held on to even though they aren't worth keeping. Since this is a constant problem, these awesome shelves had me lusting after them. Aren't they cool?

Texas Vampire Series

I'm a big fan of Diane Whiteside's work but overall I was a little disappointed with the Texas Vampire Series. The first book, Bond of Blood was my favorite of the three, but even that took me quite awhile to get into. Usually Whiteside's novels grab me right off the bat and I can't stop reading them, but these didn't move along as quickly as they probably could have.

The series follows a group of vampires, led by Don Rafael, that live in Texas. The main conflict is with a rival vampire leader in New Orleans. However, each of the three books also tells the backstory of one of the vampires. Bond of Blood focuses on Don Rafael and his meeting Grania O'Malley, Bond of Fire tells of Jean-Marie St. Just and his relationship with Hélène d'Agelet, and Bond of Darkness introduces us to Ethan Templeton and Stephanie "Steve" Darling.

As I mentioned, Bond of Blood was my favorite as I found Don Rafael the most attractive and interesting character. Thankfully he and Grania showed up in the other two books as well, since certain aspects of the story are retold from various points of view in all three. Bond of Fire I found to be the most tedious as I did not care much for Hélène and Jean-Marie didn't hold much more appeal. I nearly gave up on the book, which I almost never do, but pushed on. It ended relatively well however, as Bond of Darkness was an improvement and at least held my interest throughout. Steve Darling was a likable character and made up for the lack of personality that Ethan seemed to possess.

There were a few other bones of contention that I had with the series. One was the the lack of sex scenes, as compared with Whiteside's other novels that I've read. When I'm in the mood for a good erotic/romance I usually trust Whitside to satisfy my cravings. While there were a few good scenes, I found them to be lacking in comparison with her other works. My other problem was the excessive use of foreign language in the book. Spanish was used for many of the words related to the vampire's lifestyle and laws and French and Arabic were also used through the second two. While I understand that this was done to emphasize the vampire's ages and histories, I felt it was done to the point that I found it obnoxious.

Well, I guess there you have it. A bit of a long winded explanation, but what are you going to do? I guess in the end I'm ambivalent about the series. If you like vampires and that kind of thing, go for it, but don't be surprised if you find yourself enjoying some parts but struggling to get through others.

3/5 Stars