The Perks of Being a Wallflower

The novel does not belong on the banned books list....... A coming-of-age novel that appeals to teenage readers, As Chbosky's first book it hopefully a great start to many more. Charlie, the wallflower goes through a ton of stuff in his 10th grade year,  which is 1991. The story is told through a series of letters to an unnamed "friend," the first of which reveals the suicide of Charlie's friend Charlie's response is to cry. The crying soon gets out of hand.. Charlie has the usual dire adolescent problems,sex, drugs, bullies and they baffle him in the usual teen ways.In the end we learn the root of Charlie's  problems, and we confront, with him, the coming rigors of 11th grade, ever hopeful that he'll find a suitable girlfriend and increase his vocabulary.
Yada Yada Yada... Good book... I am not a fan of the format but all in all it was a good book.

Dead Sexy

Today I read Dead Sexy by Mary Janice Davidson. This is another story about supernaturals and of course I loved it. Garnet Lacey is a bookstore manager/witch who accidentally unleashed the dark goddess Lilith who uses Garnet's body in order to kill Vatican assassins. She also has other things to worry about-like pesky frat boy zombies, a gorgeous FBI agent hot on her trail, love spells gone wrong, and keeping her vampire boyfriend a safe distance from her vampire ex-boyfriend. Teh story was great and since I love vamps so much it fell right into my favorite category.

A Day Of Celebration

Today is a day of celebration as I have seen my grandchild for the first time. Denielle and I went to Maternal Fetal Medicine and the doc states that everything looks good. All I want is for the baby to be healthy so I am happy !!!

Banned Books Week

It is banned books week so I decided that I would read the Top Ten banned/ challenged books. Well there is no problem there as I have already read 7 of them. Well 10 if you count the whole Twilight series which by the way is #5. The Twilight series has been challenged for "religious viewpoint, sexually explicit and unsuited to age group". Really sexually explicit. There is more sexual innuendo in one episode of House than there is in all four Twilight books. Number 4 on the list is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Ok I actually read this in seventh grade. I know that I am an advanced reader but again compared to TV this book is nothing. Apparently it has been challenged for "offensive language, racism and unsuited to age group". After looking at the list they all say unsuited to age group, so re-evaluate them and give them a different age group rating. Is that so hard? It still would not stop me from buying the books for someone (with parents permission of course) I feel would understand the complexity of the classics. Here is a list of the top ten. I have highlighted the one I have read in Red.
1. ttyl; ttfn; l8r, g8r (series), by Lauren Myracle- Honestly thought the books were not that great so I didnt continue with the series.
Reasons: drugs, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
2. And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson - I really don't understand what the big deal is homosexuality is here. Deal with it. This book explains being a child of gay parents very well.
Reasons: homosexuality
3. The Perks of Being A Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
Reasons: anti-family, drugs, homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, suicide, unsuited to age group
4. To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee -A southern classic about a black man who is charged with raping a whit woman and the white lawyer who fights for his freedom. Now I can understand that in the 50's this was a big issue but know I see the issue on the front page of the TV.
Reasons: offensive language, racism, unsuited to age group
5. Twilight (series) by Stephenie Meyer - Hello hot guys with fur and fangs... Enough said
Reasons: religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
6. Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger teh tale of a boy who rebels and ends up in the psychiatrists office at 16. Hello has anyone been to the psychiatrist lately... the office is filled with kids and teens.
Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
7. My Sister’s Keeper, by Jodi Picoult This was an excellent book dealing with parents having one child to save another. I thought the book was excellent.
Reasons: homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexism, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, violence
8. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things, by Carolyn Mackler
Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
9. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker - This book is pretty deep and deals with rape and assault.I dont know what the rating is on this book but the angst and darkness should be rated at least 18.
Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group
10. The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
Reasons: nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group

All in all I only have three books to read this week and now I actually have to buy them. I hope you found my little rant helpful.

K

Sunday

No books today.. I have been reading Fan Fiction online in between the million loads of laundry I have been doing. I went shopping today with Denielle (grocery shopping that is) and she bought groceries. I think that she is finally realizing how expensive it is to run a household. She spent 106. and she said she barely got anything. Boy she didnt even have to buy for a family. Saturday we are going to Chincoteague for the day. I cant wait...... BTW this is how I want my hair again... What does everyone think??

Living Dead in Dallas

I really really liked this book from the airlines and hotels for vampires to the Fellowship of the Sun the entire book kept me riveted. I am trying to switch it up and read or listen to a different book everyday BUT not from the same series so I do not get bored. I am also working on the Queen Betsy series and again I love them. Well I pretty much love almost everything I read. So there you have it another True Blood book that received two thumbs up !!

Dead Until Dark

Today's book is Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris. I decided to read this book because a few of my friends gave me a new obsession in True Blood. The book follows season one very well. Actually if you have seen the first season you really do not need to read the book. Harris's heroine Sookie Stackhouse is a believable if somewhat eccentric character. The hero of the first season / book Bill is almost like an older Edward and he definitely has the brooding down pat.These books / show is inspiring a trip to Louisiana. Hopefully I can get Dennis to agree.....

Wicked Appetite

I have read Wicked Appetite by Janet Evanovich. Now I love Janet's Stephanie Plum character in her between the numbers series and I love Diesel and his being an unmentionable but I have a problem with the pairing. I think that I like that Diesel likes and Flirts with Stephanie and now I have a problem seeing him with someone else. Maybe I imagine myself as Stephanie because I don't mind any stories where Steph is with Ranger, Joe or Diesel but I mind when the male characters are with an other character. Hmmm well all in all the book was good and a very quick read (I read it in 1.5 hours). Definitely recommend.

Back from Relaxing

I am back from the Outer Banks and even though it was just a short,
well a too short vacation, I feel rejuvenated. I just didn't want it to
end. Dennis and I got up to watch the sunrise and then on our 29th
anniversary we went to dinner (Thanks Lindsay and Brad) and saw the
sunset. Dennis got to frolic on the beach which he absolutely loves and
I got a few days of no responsibilities. I am thinking of renting a
house for a week next summer someplace between VA Beach and OBX. I
guess we shall have to see. Check out the pics on Facebook though I
have not uploaded all of them yet.