Review Wednesday: The Sex Lives of Cannibals

The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific by J. Maarten Troost

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Reading this book made me think a lot, so I'm putting it right in the middle, rating-wise. I did like it, at least parts of it. The beginning started off very slow for me--I'm not a fan of the style where the author or narrator outlines his previous work experiences. It was very boring and slow for me at first. I could have done without the background info. I would assume someone who volunteers to go to a remote Pacific island 'at the end of the world' is adventurous. I really didn't need the first part, which seemed irrelevant to the rest of the story.



Once they left the US, things got more interesting. I loved the descriptions of all the stops along the way, and the islands. It was very sad, though, to hear about all the ways westerners had influenced (mostly for the worse) and exploited both the islands and their inhabitants. Not that this book glorifies the 'noble savage' image either, as it gives glimpses into the subjugating and barbaric treatment of women a few times. However, these parts are quickly glossed over by the author's glib commentary.



At first I liked the witty comments, but they got a bit tiring at times. I can see how people would like this style of narrating travelogues so they don't get boring, but it seemed dismissive of the problems faced by the islanders both male and female. Pointing out how overweight they are and how much they love cheetos seemed more like making fun of them than making what could have been a more insightful observation or a chance for meaningful social commmentary. However, the author's witty comments did keep the book from being morose and just plain depressing, which it might have been without all the distracting cleverness. At times, the author seemed too enamored with his own cleverness, which always irritates me.



The book was well-written, and I did enjoy it and sometimes had a hard time putting it down. I think when I read non-fiction, though, I prefer to read something more meaningful than one person's experiences. I learned a lot about the islands of Kiribati, but I would have liked a more serious book and not a travelogue/memoir type book, and I could have done without the condescending tone of a rich kid talking down to an entire nation because they are Third World and don't have AC. I would have liked to learn more, even if it was depressing. Also, the end of the book seemed unnecessary and slow to me, like the beginning. I guess that's because what I really wanted (and liked) from this book was what I learned about the islands, not about the man writing the book. The only purpose it served was to show the author to be hypocritical and to show that his time in the country taught him nothing but to go home, forget all he'd learned about the corruption and infrastructure problems of foreign aid, and get rich off exploiting the very things he'd complained about on the islands.



I'd recommend this book to adults who like travelogues with witty commentary that don't offer solutions to problems but just make fun of them. And to fans of Island of the Sequined Love Nun.



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It's been a while...

It came to my attention recently that I've been so caught up in my writing, reading, reviewing, promoting, etc, that I haven't written a REAL, personal blog in way too long!

So here it is. Please, try to calm your excitement. ;>

Well, I guess one of the reasons I haven't been posting as much is that I've had so much going on! Wow. Besides 'real life,' where I've had family stuff like, oh, I don't know, weddings, birthdays, transitions, etc, I've had lots going on in the cyber & writerly world. I'm back to querying, although trying not to obsess this time. I'm still promoting The Superiors (I added a few new things at the bottom of the blog tour schedule for convenience sake, although the tour is over). I'm still editing book 5 (I know, I'll get to book 2 soon, I swear!)

And most importantly, I'm writing again. For a while there, I thought I'd gone permanently dry of ideas. Nothing came. Nothing. When ideas did come, they just didn't stick. I couldn't write, so I stopped and promoted for three or four months. Didn't do that much good, but hey, it got my mind off the crushing fear that I'd never write again. And then one day...inspiration. I've written a YA book set in the real world, and most of another. Then, in fit of procrastination, I went back to read some of the dystopian series I started and never finished. Turns out, it's not as hopeless as I thought. I decided to stop worrying about if it was too scandalous to ever be published, and just went ahead and started working on finishing book 3. The first day back on it, I wrote 40 pages. That's pretty much a miracle for me these days. I used to have 50 page days once a week or so, but that was when I was consumed. It gets so it takes over your mind pretty hard-core when you're writing for 8 hours straight. Stopping to eat? Forget it. Just keep my chocolate on my right and I'm fine. It's better to be obsessed with the story than with things outside my control, like agent responses and amazon sales. So that's it. That's what I've been up to, along with reading, listening to, and reviewing books. Now, back to the book I swore I'd finish this week...

Review Wednesday: Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I'm a huge fan of Laurie Halse Anderson after reading a couple of her contemporary YA books. I always see this one on the shelves, and I like historical fiction, so it seemed like a good fit. It was a good book. I did like it. But...it was missing that something special that has made me love her other books so much. It's hard for me to review this book without comparing it to her others.



As a historical fiction novel for YA, this had everything you'd expect. It was informative, interesting, sometimes exciting, sometimes sad. It had tragedy, suspense, all that. And I did learn about the yellow fever epidemic that I didn't know much about before this novel. The characters are loveable and well-written, especially the grandfather. I loved the relationship between the girl and her grandfather. I also liked that the women in this book were the real heroes, the tough survivors. I also liked how it showed both the black community's contribution to Philadelphia during the epidemic as well as how white doctors tried to help. And it was nice to read a age-appropriate YA book. I like YA on the scandalous side, but sometimes, it's a bit much. So it was nice to read a non-romance. Lately it seems like all the YA I've read has been romance. The romance in this novel is very understated, which I liked.



Maybe it's hard to put a lot of voice in a historical fiction novel, but for me, that was missing in this book. The wonderful voice full of humor despite tragedy was absent in this book. That's what made me really love the author after reading a few of her other novels. Overall, this was an interesting book, but nothing exceptional. Basically, it was pretty forgettable.



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Review Wednesday: Withering Tights by Louise Rennison

Withering Tights by Louise Rennison

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I'm a big fan of Louise Rennison, and after reading ten of her books (this would be the eleventh) it's hard for me not to compare this book to her others. And if I'm comparing, this one is just...meh. It was okay. I had a few chuckles. It got funnier as I went along, and the parts about the theater and the stage were funny. All the boy stuff was just sort of lame, and I actually think I would have liked the book a lot better if it was just a bunch of girls at a theater for girls... which is what it IS about. Only they spend half their time chasing boys, and those parts were boring, predictable, and annoying.



Every time Tellulah left her house, you knew she was going to run into Cain. And I didnt know why she always got so excited about it, since she didn't say a word to him for half the book. But every mention of his name sent her into dithery fits, even though she'd only seen him kissing some girl and treating her like crap. So why was she so obsessed? I dont get it. Plus, I didn't really see how he was Heathcliff, although he was supposed to be. Maybe it's because I haven't read Wuthering Heights for a while. However, I liked all the references to WH and also the little cheeky references to The Smiths (Girlfriend in a River I know it's Really Serious, lol)... Anyway, I would have liked to see more development in the friendships and less about the dumb boys.



The book is the first in a series, and if you want a book that stands alone, this isn't it. It left a lot of loose ends...in fact, most every end was left loose. Plus, the last chapter or two seemed very rushed and forced, like the author got bored because there were no boys in those scenes. Overall, I was disappointed by this book, and as I think the next one will have even more of a love story, I will not be reading it unless I'm very very bored and want something utterly mindless to read.

Recommended to people who like spoof type books, girls in theater, and die-hard Rennison fans.



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Darkiss Reads: The Superiors by Lena Hillbrand

Got a new review on a blog! Super excited! Check it out below.

Darkiss Reads: The Superiors by Lena Hillbrand: Book Description Two hundred years after a stronger, faster, nearly invincible race takes over the earth, the Superiors rule humanity with ...

Review Wednesday: After Tupac and D Foster by Jacqueline Woodson

After Tupac & D Foster by Jacqueline Woodson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Okay, let me start this review with a disclaimer: I am not impartial in this review. Also, this review is just as much about me as about this book, so if you have no interest in my life, hit the snooze and go to the next review.



That said, let's get on with it. This book was amazing. I realize it's not exactly heavy stuff, and that it seemed a little...I don't know, simple. But it took place in what is basically my time of greatest character development, my most impressionable of times, that young adult age where tragedy of all sorts fascinated me and I secretly wished I had been a black man instead of a mousy little white girl. Naturally, I was obsessed with Tupac.



So when I saw this book I knew I had to get it, and when I saw it was written by Woodson, an author I greatly admire, it just made it better. During the parts of this book about Tupac, I cried...yes, every time. Every mention of him brought tears to my eyes like I was still a pre-teen trying to figure out if I wanted to wear a black trench coat and a Marilyn Manson t-shirt, or Vans and a flannel shirt, or baggy pants and a bandana. Or something like that.



The rest of the story in this book is about three little girls, D Foster being one of them. Some of the parts about the three girls were great (the friend going to visit her gay brother in prison--swoon). Some parts didn't hold my interest and bordered on purple prose (going to some sort of outdoor theater and making snow angels? I can't remember, I seem to have zoned out during that part). But the friendship between the girls was touching and tender and wonderful. Their interactions with each other and the way their eyes are opened by D and her experience in foster care was genuine and engaging.



Overall, a sweet, sad book, and bonus points for making me cry a lot of times and taking me back to my own formative years with my own messed up friends and love of music and the tragedy of the rappers of that time. A bit of a nostalgic guilty pleasure book, so it's hard for me to be objective. I don't pretend this review is aiming for that.



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Book Review: Death in Venice by Thomas Mann

Death in Venice and Other Tales by Thomas Mann
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a really weird book. It was super short but full of lengthy, wordy sentences, and half of them I had to go back and reread because I forgot what the sentence was about by the end of it. I also really should have had a dictionary next to me--I didn't realize how lacking my vocabulary is!
About the story itself: the first couple chapters (and there are only 5 total) took me a few days. They were pretty dull and it def. is not a book that sucks you in right away; rather, it grows on you slowly and finishes more powerfully than it begins. I ended up really liking it although it was totally creepy and I had no idea it was a gay book, or that it was so creepy and pedophilistic (again, apologies if i’m making up words). The whole creepy old guy in love with gorgeous young boy thing was a bit different, but I thought the parts about love and obsession were right on the mark. Overall, I really liked the book despite its slow start. It's sort of like a gay Lolita, but WAY less disturbing.
I would give it a 3.5 out of 5 rating--recommended to gay men, or anyone who likes literature.


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