Evolution, Me and Other Freaks of Nature by Robin Brande (#7)

Your best friend hates you. The guy you liked hates you. Your entire group of friends hates you. All because you did the right thing.
Welcome to life for Mena Reece, whose year is starting off in the worst way possible. She's been kicked out of her church group and no one will talk to her - not even her own parents. No one except for Casey, her supersmart lab partner in science class, who's pretty funny for the most brilliant guy on eart.
And when Ms. Shepherd begins the unit on evolution, school becomes more dramatic than Mena could ever imagine as she is caught up in a controversy involving science, religion, freedom - and a heart-racing, blush-inducing, can't-stop-thinking-about-him crush.
Now Mena's own life is about to evolve in some amazing and unexpected ways...
(Summary from jacket flap)

I'm going to try to keep this short because lately it seems like all my reviews have been amazingly and drearily long. So. Mini-review:

I have mixed feelings about this book.

Bad: Lots of Christian bashing. Yes, the main character is Christian but the author used basically any and all stereotypes out there and made Christians seem like the most cruelly single-minded group of people ever. Badbadbad. If a book is going to incorporate religion, it has to be extremely well thought out and respectful. No stereotypes allowed in my book.

Good: This book is quite readable. I finished it in just a few days which is saying something for me. I've turned into a very slow reader as of late and this actually moved quite quickly.

Bad: Predictable to the extreme. Except for the big drama part. I didn't see that one coming. And when it was finally revealed, I was like, seriously? another stereotype? But yeah, pretty predictable on all other fronts.

Good: Fluffy romance = happy me. Casey and Mena made me coo (funny word). They hade nice chemistry for a nerd book couple.

Bad: Most characters were pretty one-sided. Not a lot of dimension to them. No digging under the surface was done. It all felt sort of empty.

Good: Mena had a nice, solid voice. She was a great narrator and I liked how she grew throughout the book.

Good: I agreed with Ms. Shepherd's views on evolution/science/religion. So yay!

And that's it. I'm proud of myself for being concise. Overall? EMOFN (I'm obsessed with acronyms right now) was a fine book. Nothing astounding, but readable and light and fun.

Maybe save it for a possible summer beach read?

Everything's Better in Black and White (#6)

except this...

Just another random "Liv" post. Deal with it.

The Dust of 100 Dogs by A.S. King (#5)

In the late seventeenth century, famed teenage pirate Emer Morrisey was on the cusp of escaping the pirate life with her one true love and unfathomable riches when she was slain and cursed with the dust of one hundred dogs, dooming her to one hundred lives as a dog before returning to a human body - with her memories intact. Now she's a contemporary American teenager and all she needs is a shovel and a ride to Jamaica.
(Summary from back of book)

I really don't know where to start with this one. It's a book unlike any I've ever read. It's strange, compelling, and confusing. And at times I wanted to throw it against the wall. I don't think it's a YA book. But it's not adult either. It's in its own class, I guess? I'm screwing myself up just trying to analyze it.

The Dust of 100 Dogs was like this enormous jigsaw puzzle. My strategy for solving puzzles is to find all the edge and corner pieces first and complete the entire outline first. Then you get the basic outline and layout and you can move on from there. Which totally applies to D100D. An enormous chunk of the book was just set-up.

Another interesting thing about the book was that it switched between three different narrators - Saffron, Emer, and Fred, which got sort of hectic. When I first started reading I was really mixed up about what was going on. Maybe I'm just dumb (actually, most probably I'm just dumb) but I couldn't figure out what was going on in the beginning. The prologue really threw me off and I didn't catch on that the story (at least Emer's) was going back in time for about 50 pages. Which I think is dumbness on my part. But still. The beginning would have been better if a little excitement or clarity was injected.

It all connected in my brain eventually though. And that's when it got good. The main story (leading up to the big climax which was actually partially told about in the prologue) is being told by Emer while at the same time Saffron is moving towards her own climax that has roots Saffron's story. It was all very cool. The puzzle outline that you got in the beginning began to make sense and everything began to fall into place.

My least favorite part of the book? Fred's poor dog. I flinched every time I read about that. I am a complete dog lover so reading about that tore my heart out. I almost considered skipping a few pages. It was just so vivid.

But THEN, you get the big twist at the end which I totally didn't see coming and the whole sad dog/perv guy stuff makes oh so much sense. I felt like slapping myself on the forehead. Because all the pieces were in plain sight, but I didn't make the connection until Saffron did. Which is a good thing because I guess it shows I was sucked in.

Towards the end when everything began spiralling in on itself I got completely caught up. And I think that that was because of the characters. Amy's character development was flawless. They all have their own little quirks and flaws and each has something different to add to the story. Emer especially stood out to me. She was the kind of character that you remember. For me, the mark of a bad book is too many characters with too few pages to tell their stories in but Amy packed it all in and packed it in well. I loved the characters.

I think the only part of this book that I'm able to complain about is the slow beginning and the dog beating. That's really it. Everything else is amazing.

But what's interesting about this book is that it's the kind of thing that you have to put aside and let marinate for a while. Directly after finishing, I wasn't as ecstatic as I am now. There's just so much going on, so much crowding your mind after you finish the book that it's almost impossible to form a coherent opinion.

So after a night of sleep and a few hours of thinking, it's safe to say that I loved this book. It was intelligent, clever, and compelling.

Definitely recommended.

PS. Sorry that this is a totally craptastic review. But my mind's spinning around in circles right now and, honestly, I don't think that a review of a book like this is going to get any more coherent. Plus, I just wanted to get this up today. My apologies. :)

Booking Through Thursday/Saturday #28: Library Week (#4)

On Saturday

I saw that National Library week is coming up in April, and that led to some questions. How often do you use your public library and how do you use it? Has the coffeehouse/bookstore replaced the library? Did you go to the library as a child? Do you have any particular memories of the library? Do you like sleek, modern, active libraries or the older, darker, quiet, cozy libraries?

1. Well. I used to be a regular patron at my local library. At least two times a week, I think. But now, I've got about 30 books that I own or that have been sent to me waiting to be read so I'm not checking any more books out. I need to actually get through what I have available, you know? But I do still use the library for CDs...

2. I don't think the coffehouse/bookstore has replaced the library! Libraries are FREE. People are definitely still using the library here, especially in these sucky economic months. You can get books absolutely free there whereas in bookstores, the prices have gone up. 

3. I went to the library as a child all the time. My parents would take me and we'd check out piles of picture books and chapter books. I loved it there.

4. I do have good memories! My local library used to have this hideous orange carpet all over it and then it had these white plastic egg booths with orange vinyl seats that you could sit in to read your books and I would sit in a booth for hours. Well maybe not hours because my parents were busy. But quite a long time. How can you resist plastic egg booths?!

5. My local library (how many times have I said that in this post) got remodeled a few years ago so now it's got huge glass windows and these wonderful metal rafters and a really open and sleek design. The old one was dark and orange and scary. So I didn't like that version of it. The new one's definitely better. But I do like the old libraries with the cozy wooden architecture and floor to ceiling bookshelves. They make me feel studious and artsy. But I think the more modern library actually makes people more comfortable about reading, weird as that sounds. So while the old libraries will always hold a place in my heart, I kind of like the sleek ones better...

I looove you Iowa (#3)

Our responsibility, however, is to protect constitutional rights of individuals from legislative enactments that have denied those rights, even when the rights have not yet been broadly accepted, were at one time unimagined, or challenge a deeply ingrained practice or law viewed to be impervious to the passage of time. The framers of the Iowa Constitution knew, as did the drafters of the United States Constitution, that "times can blind us to certain truths and later generations can see that laws once thought necessary and proper in fact serve only to oppress," and as our constitution "endures, persons in every generation can invoke its principles in their own search for greater freedom" and equality.

It is true the marriage statute does not expressly prohibit gay and lesbian persons from marrying; it does, however, require that if they marry, it must be to someone of the opposite sex. Viewed in the complete context of marriage, including intimacy, civil marriage with a person of the opposite sex is as unappealing to a gay or lesbian person as civil marriage with a person of the same sex is to a heterosexual. Thus, the right of a gay or lesbian person under the marriage statute to enter into a civil marriage only with a person of the opposite sex is no right at all. Under such a law, gay or lesbian individuals cannot simultaneously fulfill their deeply felt need for a committed personal relationship, as influenced by their sexual orientation, and gain the civil status and attendant benefits granted by the statute. Instead, a gay or lesbian person can only gain the same rights under the statute as a heterosexual person by negating the very trait that defines gay and lesbian people as a class--their sexual orientation.

-Excerpt from the Iowa Supreme Court opinion, which just today legalized gay marriage in their state.

And AMEN to that. 

Bits 'n Pieces - Alyson Noel (#2)

Alyson Noel is the author of a variety of books for adults and teens. I have yet to read her newest release, Evermore, but I have read one of her other novels, Saving Zoe and liked it a lot. Also, I am really looking forward to reading Evermore; it's been on the New York Times Bestseller List for seven weeks. Seven! That's seriously impressive. And to add to that, Alyson Noel is such a nice author. 

Enjoy the interview!

This or that:
Rain or shine? 

Shine! And lots of it please!
iPod or mp3 player? 

iPod, totally. I’m helplessly addicted.
Movies or TV? 

Hmmm, that’s a tough one, but I guess I’ll say TV, because they show movies too!
City or country? 

I love big cities—the excitement, the chaos, the crowds—bring it on!
Mountains or beaches? 

No contest, beaches always win this one.
Dots or stripes? 

Dots. More flattering. Unless the stripes are diagonal? Because if the stripes are diagonal then stripes. Totally.
Dogs or cats? 

Dogs. Sorry cats, but you just can’t compare to wet puppy smell or eau de dog breath, and your slobbering skills need some serious work!
Cooking or eating out? 

My husband’s cooking—far better than any restaurant anywhere!
Coffee or tea? 

Well, it used to be coffee, and lots of it. But I gave it up in 2008, so now I’m all about green tea.
Books or magazines? 

Books. No question!

Favorites:
Book- 

I could never pick just one, though CATCHER IN THE RYE had a huge impact on me.
Book store- 

I love them all, though my local indies, Latitude 33 and Laguna Beach Books certainly do rock!
Movie- Easy, American Beauty- because it’s beautiful, brilliant, and I love every single thing about it.
Music artist- 

Bono, because he’s hot, he rocks, and he’s extremely altruistic- it doesn’t get better than that!
Website- 

Optimist World- http://www.optimistworld.com/ I’m not actually a member, but I love that someone was optimistic enough to make a site like that!
Designer- 

7 Jeans
Coffee chain- 

Starbucks
Guilty pleasure- 

Taking the afternoon off to see a movie.
Restaurant- 

For special occasions, Studio in Laguna Beach, CA. For any occasion, Vine in San Clemente, CA.
Color- 

Turquoise, but I’d like purple to know it runs a very close second

Have you ever:
Lived abroad? 

Yes, I spent seven years living in Mykonos, Greece
Gotten a tattoo? 

No. Though I haven’t ruled it out . . .
Stayed up for the midnight release of a movie or book? 

Twilight, opening night where I was forced to sit so close to the screen it felt like my eyeballs were on fire! But it was still totally worth it!
Disliked your job? 

Except for my current one, I’ve disliked them all for various reasons!
Cried during a movie? 

All. The. Time.
Sang karaoke? 

Does an obsession with playing RockBand on the wii count?

Questions:
If you were on a desert island, what 5 things would you bring with you? 

My husband-because even though he’s not technically a ‘thing’ he’s dang good company and extremely resourceful. My laptop—so I can still meet my deadlines! Sunscreen—because, well, I’m thinking it’s gonna be very hot and sunny there. Sunglasses—see ‘sunscreen.’ My straightening iron—because you don’t want to see what happens without it!
What’s on the list of things you have to do during your life? 

I’ve done most of them, so I guess I need to make a new list!
If you could have one super power what would it be? 

The power of invisibility—just imagine what you’d see!!
What’s your perfect music playlist? 

One that is constantly changing to suit my ever-changing moods.
What’s the one food you could eat day after day and not get sick of? 

Pommes Frites with herbs and mustard dip never gets old!
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go? 

Many places, but the Seychelles Islands would be a nice start!
What moment in history do you wish you could’ve experienced? 

The Italian Renaissance—I’m fascinated by that period.
What does your dream library look like? 

Large, clean, organized, with comfy reading couches, lots of natural light, a coffee bar perhaps, and a ginormous YA section!
When you walk into a bookstore, where do you head first? 

Why, the YA section of course!
If everyone had to read one book, what would you have it be? 

THE ALCHEMIST by Paul Coehlo—a beautiful, wise, fable, I could read again and again!

Thank you so much Alyson!

The winner of a signed copy of Discovering Pig Magic by Julie Crabtree is Priya! Email me! 

BEDA aka Shoot Me Now (#1)

Yeah. I kind of hate myself right now. How in the world am I going to be able to blog EVERY SINGLE DAY for an entire month?! I haven't been reading a ton, I don't have a lot of features or scheduled meme things that I do, I'm not interesting, and seriously, who would want to read crappy posts from me for a month?

But I'm doing it.

Expect a book review or two, my regular features and memes, and some random rambling. More personal than book related. 

Sorry in advance guys. I suck.

I commit to this idea and am determined to create something EVERY DAY in April, including weekends. Every day, I will find something to say. I embrace the reality that there is always something to talk about, if you are willing to take the time to look for it.

I Liv promise to blog every day in April.

PS. I hate you Maureen Johnson. How dare you put this idea into my head?! 

:)