"All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost"
Summary
Spring is alive and kicking at the end of March. My allergies have declared war on my nose, and the battle continues, even to this day.
The weather is slowly growing warmer. I’m okay with the temperatures staying in the 70s, but I am already dreading anything in the 80s and above. Tornado season is on our doorstep, and a possible outbreak is already in the forecast.
I have nothing new and exciting to report at the moment. The job search continues. I’ve already suffered a long week of panic attacks due to the lack of support and care at my workplace, and I’ve started to hit the resumes and the cover letters hard.
I’ve become addicted to Reddit. I had an account for a year now, but I never seemed to be able to fit in with the website. I finally found some great subreddits, and now I use it as much as I use Booklikes and Facebook.
Reading
I read 5 books this month which brings my total to 17 for 2014.
I DNF 0 books in February.
Average rating for February: 3.31
Average rating for 2014: 3.5
Favorite Book in February: White Crow by Marcus Sedgwick
Pages Read in February: 1,987
Pages read in 2014: 5,952
Television and Movies
Theatre Releases: None
Rentals: None
Rewatched: Dragonball Z – Ocean Dub
I bought: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Music
This month, here are the top songs on my playlist:
I am currently going through a 90s flashback period at the moment.
Then You Looked at Me by Celine Dion
Can’t Let Go – Mariah Carey
Hey Jealousy – Gin Blossoms
And a Classical Stage as well:
Fanfare for the Common Man – Aaron Copeland
New World Symphony – Dvorak
Someone who loves me bought me the DBZ Ocean dubbed collection, so Dragonball music is on my mind at the moment:
Chala Head Chala - Hironobu Kageyama
The Braveheart Challenges the Strong
A Message From the Future – KUKO
Lyn: I don’t know how he does it, but Sedgwick says so much with just a handful of words. I was shocked to see that this one was so short, but the amount of tension and the friction between most of the characters was like an uncomfortable feeling the entire time. He is a master of showing, not telling.
Kara: For me, it’s a 3. Wah wahhhh.
Review: Ever since I spied this book in the bookstore, I was instantly drawn to a book that delved into both Jewish and Arab mythology and culture. It was a strange yet appealing combination. Sadly, I did not buy the book as soon as I bought it, but thanks to the yearly book gifting giveaway at Reddit, I was able to finally own this one on my Kindle.
This book was well worth the huge commitment. According to Amazon, the Kindle book came in at a whopping 809 pages. It was intimidating, but I couldn't stay away from this book for long.
The cultural and historical themes of the book makes this tome well worth reading. Overall, I was pleased with the novel, as a whole.
I have to give Wecker some major credit from the start. Her two main and title characters, the jinni and the golem, each had a distinct voice. I have become so use to characters sharing the same voice that I just tend to overlook it. When I do see characters written as completely different individuals, not as a matching set, I have to stop and marvel at the skill and care of the author.
The rich cultural immersion. If you are unfamiliar with golems in Jewish mythology, or the true origin of the Arab genie (jinni), then this is a wonderful introduction to the lore from each culture. I was more familiar with the Jewish history and somewhat acquainted with the Arab tales. The book touches on the background of the mythical creatures.
The authentic research of the history surrounding the immigration period of New York. Written at the turn of the 20th century, the Wecker dedicates portions of her author website to the background of the locations in the book. It is not only entertaining, but also provides a slice of American history. I enjoyed the genuine glimpse into the cultural salad of the area as well as the story line.
The two characters, the Jinni and the Golem, stand on two sides of human nature. The female golem is a representation of order, control and responsibility, while the jinni tends to stand for impulse and larger-than-life living.
The range of secondary characters. I enjoyed a large majority of the background characters as well.
The ending to the book. I'm not going to spoil anything, but I was touched with the sentiment of the conclusion.
Expect a huge range of emotions in this one - no feeling is left untouched.
The first parts of the novel seemed to drag along. At times, I felt like rushing through parts of the first few chapters.
One of the characters I ended up loving, Michael, was continually robbed in the entire book, for convenience. I was sore after witnessing Michael's treatment. He seemed to constantly get the short end of the stick just for simply existing.
In certain parts, the novel almost grew stagnant and seemed to come to a standstill.
Overall:
I like how the "chapters" set the book into small sections, but I just can't seem to want to continue to read this book. The voice of the MC bothers me, and I always feel lost or frustrated.
Summary
January and February are two months that always seems to cause some issues. I tend to get a horrible bout of depression after Christmas. I actually love winter, and the temperatures outside are very reasonable and nice. We even had a bit of snow here in Texas during the first of the month (February 6th, 7th, and 8th). Valentine's Day was nice. I gained some yummy treats from some of the families I work with, and a new Diamond Candle from the family (YAH!). Cinnamon Roll candle - it smells great!
I've started to hit the job search harder this month. Everything at work is not okay. I tried to grit my teeth and bare with the hard times, but when the company starts to deny you pay and the only way you find out about it is through other employees, you know that it is time to move on.
Reading
I read 7 books this month (WOW), which brings my total to 12 for 2014.
I DNF 3 books in February.
Average rating for February: 3.35
Average rating For 2014: 3.66
Favorite Book in February: Not a Drop to Drink
Pages Read in February: 2,267
Pages read in 2014: 3,965
Television and Movies
Theatre Releases: The Lego Movie - Loved it!
Rentals: The Getaway with Ethan Hawke and Selena Gomez. Watching Selena Gomez cuss out someone was cute, but the movie was dull and flat.
Rewatched: Pirates of the Carribean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. I still love that movie.
I bought: Thor: The Dark World and Teen Titans Go! Season One on DVD.
Music
This month, here are the top songs on my playlist:
Bells of Notre Dame - Soundtrack to The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Shameful confession: I love the soundtrack more than the movie. It needs more Paul Kandle.
Misere Mani by Era - Grr! This is a hard CD to buy in America. Era is a new singer in my library, and so far, I LOVE everything I have heard from her!
Now We Are Free - Gladiator Soundtrack - Beautiful.
Let it Go - Africanized Tribal Cover - !!!!! on that same line... Let it Go/Vivaldi's Winter by The Piano Guys
Onto March!
DNF at 35%.
This hurts me, because I love the author so much. I just never really got into it. The story felt flat and some things bothered me about the relationship between the MC and her friends.
I really wanted to like it. Ouch.
But what if the books caused the stress? Does it cancel out stress it relieves? Also, I've read some books that have placed me in a TERRIBLE mood.
Just sayin'.
DNF at 40%. My noble attempt to push through this mess could not make it past rape and underage murder. It was more pro-French and did not dabble too much into Swedish culture. On top of it all, I was rooting for the main character to fail. Because he is a failure.
Boo. I wanted to love this book.
I might regret writing this tomorrow, but I want to come out and be honest.
It is 2 months into the new year, and I am already worn down by the author backlash of 2014. It is worse than last year. I'm so tired of signing on to the Internet and reading that another author decided to come out swinging over a mild review. Already, I have seen two authors lose their shit over a three star review. There have been some apologies, and the latest author gives a very honest (IMO) apology and decides to leave the post up instead of ripping it down and slinking off like some villain. I was ready to add said author's book to my NO list, but then I started crying and decided to just leave it alone. Because I'm tired of it. I'm tired of seeing people who do this as a hobby become a target of ridicule and hate over their opinion.
I'll stand with reviewers until the very end. I believe that everyone has the right to their opinion. Yes, authors are people and they mess up.
I'm tired. I'm worn down by the constant bitterness. I'm fed up with the nasty Tweets and the hasty apologies.
Take it offline before you say anything online. Talk through it before you make a decision. Because it is getting really old. We shouldn't have to fight the same fucking battle every day.
I'm sick and tired of adding names to that forsaken shelf. Stop it.