Book Frenzy

I have moments like this frequently.  "Too many books and not enough time!"  There are so many books that I want to read and I can feel the minutes ticking away, I know that I will never be able to read them all and it drives me crazy!

Watch this hilarious video clip.

The Hallowed Ones - Review

Title:  The Hallowed Ones

Author: Laura Bickle

Synopsis:  “Katie is on the verge of her Rumspringa, the time in Amish life when teenagers are free to experience non-Amish culture before officially joining the church.  But before Rumspringa arrives, Katie’s safe world starts to crumble.  It begins with a fiery helicopter crash in the cornfields, followed by rumors of massive unrest and the disappearance of huge numbers of people all over the world.  Something is out there … and it is making a killing.

         

          “Unsure why they haven’t yet been attacked, the Amish Elders make a decree: No one goes outside their community, and no one is allowed in.  But when Katie finds a gravely injured young man lying just outside the boundary of their land, she can’t leave him to die.  She refuses to submit to the Elders’ rule and secretly brings the stranger into her community – but what else is she bringing in with him?”

Review:  I spent all of my teenage years in a Mennonite Community.  I walked the walk, talked the talk, dressed the dress… whatever you want to call it.  I immersed myself in the culture and I loved it.  We still had cars and telephones, although back then hardly anyone had cell phones, so it wasn't as extreme as the Amish.  I tell you this so you understand that when I saw the cover of The Hallowed Ones I absolutely had to have it.  Some of my family still follows many of the Mennonite ways, although I am no longer living in the Mennonite Community for those of you that wonder.  My Mother’s nearest neighbors are Amish, and I am very familiar with their beliefs and customs.  I understand that each Amish community is a bit different, but I was a tad disappointed in Bickle’s portrayal of the Amish.  Two points: 1) The Amish do not pray out loud at meals.  They pray silently before and after a meal.  2) The Amish do not believe that they can know they are going to heaven as this would lead to pride.  Now I understand that this may garner me some flack as each community is different.  However I have been led to understand, by the Amish that I know, that these are rigid rules and beliefs that should be the same in every community.  I also understand that there is such a thing as poetic license which is why I will not let this small disappointment tarnish my love of this book.

          I did love The Hallowed Ones.  I read it in less than a day.  It was my birthday and I treated myself to a trip to Barnes and Noble.  I bought a lot of books.  At one point a salesperson offered me a basket.  I declined because my rule is that I can’t buy more books than I can carry.  A few minutes later another salesperson offered to take some of the books to a register for me.  She looked very concerned for my safety.  I can carry a lot of books!  Okay, back to the book.  The cover of The Hallowed Ones grabbed my attention right away.  I didn’t really pay attention to what it was about until I got home; I just knew that I needed this book with the Amish girl on the cover. 

The Hallowed Ones is a horror novel about an apocalypse told from the perspective of an Amish teenager.  It was wonderful.  I was sad when I finished it.  It made me angry and it made me sad.  It made me smile and it made my heart pound.  I loved Katie and the fact that she didn’t just blindly follow along with what the Elders told everyone to do like a sheep.  She loved her community but wanted to understand the reasons that they did things the way that they did.  She knew that she would most likely end up choosing the Amish life but wanted to experience life outside of the community first and all of that was ruined by this disaster. 

When we read and write novels about apocalypse or dystopian earth we rarely consider what would happen to these people who already live apart from the rest of society.  With no phones, no television and no radio, these communities would be the last to know about a disaster and the least affected by one.  The Hallowed Ones was very original and told a story that many of us have not really considered before now. 

Publisher: Graphia / Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

ISBN: 978-0547859262

If you like this book you may want to read:

Obernewtyn: The Obernewtyn Chronicles book 1 by Isobelle Carmody

The Forrest of Hands and Teeth Series by Carrie Ryan

Changes

I don't handle change well.  Even when it's good change there is a certain period of adjustment.  I am a creature of habit and like to have a semi-predictable schedule.  There have been a lot of changes in my life recently that I feel the need to catch everyone up on.

Firstly:  Book Girl has a boyfriend.  It's not that I hadn't tried, and I met some very nice people who were by all appearances perfect for me.  But, as some of you know, since my divorce the idea of a relationship is something that would strike fear into my heart and cause me to run in the other direction.  However, last May I met someone that didn't make me want to run.  It's partly the timing.  I think that I was finally ready to begin healing and moving on.  But it's also him.  He didn't push me to move faster than I was willing to go and is quite literally the absolute sweetest man I have ever met.

Secondly:  Book Girl now has a BA in English Literature.  Yeah, that's right.  I graduated in December, after much hard work, and have decided to take a break from school for now.  Sitting in class with all those 18-21 year olds made me feel old!

Thirdly:  Book Girl now has a full-time job.  I have student loans to pay back, the rent is due, someone has to buy the cat food, and there are books to be purchased and read.  The company for which I was already working hired me full-time as a pharmacy technician.  

What does this mean for you? I have discovered that the second and third changes mean that I have a lot more free time than I did previously.  Working 40 hours a week is nothing compared to working part-time and going to school full-time!  However, the boyfriend is taking up a lot of that new found time.  I am slowly settling into a schedule of working, reading, writing, blogging and cuddling. Almost every Saturday is going to be a no internet, no phone, no television day.  These days will be set aside primarily for reading, writing and getting things done around the house, ie: laundry and bathroom cleaning.  So, things should be picking up around here and falling into a somewhat more predictable schedule.

Dead City - Review

Title: Dead City

Author: Joe McKinney

Synopsis:  “Texas?  Toast.  Battered by five cataclysmic hurricanes in three weeks, the Texas Gulf Coast and half of the Lone Star State is reeling from the worst devastation in history.  Thousands are dead or dying – but the worst is only beginning.  Amid the wreckage, something unimaginable is happening: a deadly virus has broken out, returning the dead to life – with an insatiable hunger for human flesh…

     “Within hours, the plague has spread all over Texas.  San Antonio police officer Eddie Hudson finds his city overrun by a voracious army of the living dead.  Along with a small group of survivors, Eddie must fight off the savage horde in a race to save his family…

     “There’s no place to run.  No place to hide.  The zombie horde is growing as the virus runs rampant.  Eddie knows he has to find a way to destroy these walking horrors… but he doesn’t know the price he will have to pay…”

Review:  I’m sure you all know that I am obsessed with zombies.  If you haven’t realized that yet or are new to my blog check out these reviews:

Feed

Apolcalypse Z

Deadline

Monster Island

You see?  I may be new to the zombie genre, but I have fallen in love with it.  I also love zombie television and have watched the first two seasons of The Walking Dead.  Unfortunately I have basic cable and don’t get AMC so I have to wait for Season 3 on DVD before I get to watch it.  So, I have read yet another zombie novel.  I loved Dead City.  Joe McKinney has created a story that at first reminded me of The Walking Dead, but then the plot and main character developed voices of their own.

          I felt bad for poor Eddie and his desperation to find his family.  Every time that something, or someone, waylaid him I got upset and wondered if he would ever find them.  I love how, with Dead City, McKinney has given us the whole time period of a zombie apocalypse.  We get to see the beginning, the middle and the long term outcome of the zombie outbreak.  Many zombie novels simply show a single snapshot, a period of time limited to a brief sample of one of those.  I will definitely be picking up more of the zombie novels available by Joe McKinney and I highly recommend Dead City to zombie and horror lovers everywhere. 

Publisher:  Pinnacle Fiction

ISBN:  978-0786023585

If you like this book you may want to read:

World War Z by Max Brooks

The Newsflesh Trilogy by Mira Grant

Dark Currents - Review

Title:  Dark Currents

Author:   Jacqueline Carey

Series:  Agent of Hel #1

Synopsis:”The Midwestern resort town of Pemkowet boasts a diverse population: eccentric locals, wealthy summer people, and tourists by the busload; not to mention fairies, sprites, vampires, naiads, ogres and a whole host of eldritch folk, presided over by Hel, a reclusive Norse goddess.

To Daisy Johanssen, fathered by an incubus and raised by a single mother, it’s home. And as Hel’s enforcer and the designated liaison to the Pemkowet Police Department, it’s up to her to ensure relations between the mundane and eldritch communities run smoothly.

But when a young man from a nearby college drowns—and signs point to eldritch involvement—the town’s booming paranormal tourism trade is at stake. Teamed up with her childhood crush, Officer Cody Fairfax, a sexy werewolf on the down-low, Daisy must solve the crime—and keep a tight rein on the darker side of her nature. For if she’s ever tempted to invoke her demonic birthright, it could accidentally unleash nothing less than Armageddon.  “

Review:  Dark Currents is a wonderful new urban fantasy from one of my favorite fantasy authors.  Several reviewers have been comparing Dark Currents to the author’s previous novels, the Kushiel series.  This is unfair.  While those novels were also wonderful, please keep in mind that this is a completely new series and a very different genre.  Jacqueline Carey has created an awesome world where paranormal characters exist in a setting much like our own world. 

Daisy’s life is caught between the two worlds and this has made her life hard.  When a student shows up dead Daisy has a mystery to solve, before it’s too late.  Sexy werewolves and ghouls, with an engaging cast of characters made Dark Currents a super fun read.  I highly recommend it to fans of urban fantasy.

Publisher:  ROC

ISBN:  978-0451464781

If you like this book you may want to read:

October Daye Series by Seanan McGuire

Grave Witch by Kalayna Price

Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of the End - Review

Title:  Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of the End

Author: Manel Loureiro

Translated to English By: Pamela Carmell

Synopsis:  The dead rise…

A mysterious incident in Russia, a blip buried in the news – it’s the only warning humanity receives that civilization will soon be destroyed by a single, voracious virus that creates monsters of men.

Humanity falls…

A lawyer, still grieving over the death of his young wife, begins to write as a form of therapy.  But he never expected that his anonymous blog would ultimately record humanity’s last days.

The end of the world has begun…

Governments scramble to stop the zombie virus, people panic, so-called “Safe Havens” are established, the world erupts into chaos; soon it’s every man, woman, and child for themselves.  Armed only with makeshift weapons and the will to live, a lone survivor will give mankind one last chance against…

Apocalypse Z

Review:  I’ll admit that I have become addicted to zombie apocalypse fiction.  I'm pretty sure it was after reading Feed by Mira Grant (the best zombie novel ever, by the way.  Read my review of Feed here).  I have been devouring everything zombie apocalypse based since then.  I've also been sleeping with the lights on, and a baseball bat under the bed.    

          I loved Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of the End by Manel Loureiro, which was translated into English by Pamela Carmell, and it has been added to my list of the top ten zombie novels.  I literally had to force myself to put my Kindle down long enough to write papers, eat, go to class and go to work.  I stayed up way past my bedtime for three nights in a row, unable to stop reading long enough to get any sleep.  I was sure that this novel was going to end in tragedy.  The engaging first person narrative, and the story about the nameless lawyer and his cat searching for a safe place during the nightmare of a zombie apocalypse, kept me on the edge of my seat.  I became so emotionally involved in Apocalypse Z: The Beginning of the End that I found myself getting upset when things looked bleak.  This is a definite must read for lovers of zombie fiction!    

Publisher: AmazonCrossing

If you like this book you may also want to read:

The Newsflesh Trilogy by Mira Grant

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks

Stuffed French Toast

I love to cook and I love to eat.  When I was first diagnosed with Celiac Disease I was upset.  I thought my diet was now going to consist mainly of rice.  Grocery shopping became a nightmare and I had to get rid of almost all of the food in my pantry.  Now, after nine months of living gluten free I have finally starting branching out and trying new things.  I am cooking even more than I was before because of the unavailability of decent gluten free premade meals; and I am taking more satisfaction in my cooking because I have had to develop many of the recipes myself.  Friends and acquaintances have been asking me to share some of my recipes so I will be posting some recipes and product reviews here in addition to book reviews.

I was craving french toast the other day.  Now, you may think that living gluten free means no more bread.  For a long time it did.  All of the gluten free bread that I tried was disgusting, dry, and crumbly, with the texture of cardboard.  But then I found The Grainless Baker.  My favorite products are the Cinnamon Raisin Bread and the Flax Seed Bread.  

I won’t lie.  It’s expensive, to the tune of approximately $6 a loaf, and the loaves are small.  So I still don’t eat bread very often, but it’s nice to know it’s available when I have a craving.

So, I was craving french toast.  Using the above mentioned Cinnamon Raisin Bread I came up with this gluten free French toast recipe.

BookGirlR’s Gluten-Free Cinnamon-Raisin Stuffed French Toast

Ingredients:

4 ounces cream cheese, softened at room temperature

1 Tablespoon white sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 eggs

3 Tablespoons milk

1 Tablespoon butter

8 Slices of Gluten Free Cinnamon Raisin bread

*2 Bananas, 4 Tablespoons Nutella, Raspberry Syrup* Optional

Directions:

In a small bowl mix together the cream cheese, sugar and ¼ teaspoon of ground cinnamon until thoroughly mixed.  Spread the cream cheese mixture onto 4 slices of cinnamon raisin bread.  *Spread 1 Tablespoon of Nutella on top of the cream cheese mixture on each slice*  Top each with another slice of raisin bread to make 4 sandwiches.

Grease a skillet with the Tablespoon of butter and place over medium heat. 

In a pie plate beat the eggs and milk and the remaining ¼ teaspoon of ground cinnamon.   Dip each sandwich into the egg mixture, thoroughly coating both sides.  Place dipped sandwiches into the hot skillet.  Brown sandwiches for about 2 minutes per side in the skillet.  *Covering the skillet with aluminum foil or a lid will allow the cream cheese and Nutella to get all hot and melty.*

*Before serving top stuffed French toast with sliced bananas and Raspberry syrup.*

It’s awesome and horribly fattening, but we all deserve a treat now and then.  Being diagnosed with Celiac Disease doesn’t mean we have to relegate ourselves to a lifetime of boring, cardboard-like food.  Enjoy food.  Enjoy life.