The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

This is the thread where you can submit reviews for the Best Review contest. The thread is open for submissions and will close at Midnight EST on May 17, 2014. Voting will start the next day and run until the end of the GR day on May 31. The person whose review gets the most votes will get to design a 20 point task for the Summer Challenge.

Just a reminder that each person can only submit one review - but you can make edits to your review up until the end. The review does not have to be any particular length and doesn't have to be a positive one (i.e. you can choose to review a book you didn't like).

PLEASE DO NOT comment on people's reviews in this thread - this is for submissions only - you will be able to comment when voting begins.

SPOILER ALERT!- These reviews may include spoilers.

I would like to submit my review for Boy in a Band

Angel, you have to post your actual review here and not just a link.

sorry will do it as soon as I get to a pc

Well I don't typically leave reviews, but since there aren't any entries yet and there is less than 1/2 hour to go for submissions, I'll submit a brief review. Thanks!!

Review for: 2076: A Revolutionary Tale by Stephen G. Mitchell

I received this book as an advance copy from the distributor as a result of a generous offer from the author after having reviewed his previous book.

After having consumed the better part of my weekend with this book, I commend Mr. Mitchell's command of word usage in this novel. His words enveloped me, body and soul, into the storyline.

We follow the journey of a male and female protagonist as they experience explosions, eruptions, warfare, and the quest to bring out change of the current government.

Set in the future, the current government controls the food and only provides the highest quality of food to the priveleged class. The rest of the population (SERFS) is forced to consume synthetic food products (FASTFED).

I thouroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to readers who enjoy an adventure and/or dystopian fiction.

Actually, I think there are three days left, submissions closes May 17th at midnight.
So there still time.

yes, I guess you are right lol. A reminder was posted earlier today but I guess that was just for the group read poll part of the original announcement.

I'm trying to finish the complete challenge anyway so if there are more submissions I may continue to strive to get it done!

I'll post something too since Susan A poked me about it and actually have written reviews this spring. =)

Review for Sunset by Arshad Ahsanuddin

This was my first re-read of the book and just love the whole world to pieces. Pact Arcanum is one of my all time favorite series with it's imaginative world building, complex and lovable characters and it's captivating plot. This is not a easy series to read as there are easily a dozen characters that are all important and the story swings back and forth with present and past. But it's so worth it! And after reading all the 5 books before the first re-read I could even keep Rory and Take separate this time! I can't even tell how many times I mixed those too up the first time around...

The opening scene sets the tone of the book with almost melodramatic terrorist attack and with the even more dramatic ending Nick gives to it by revealing the existence of metahumans to the human world, in live tv broadcast. It also showcases the mindset metahumans have and the strict laws and honor code they abide with. And that is the part that I love the best in this series. The rules are strict but each character has their own way to follow them and bend them to their will. It's subtle game they are playing with each other and with the fate of the world too as they try to manoeuvre their opponents into desired positions.

And then there is Nick who follows the rules only when they agree with his intentions, otherwise it's "Fuck the rules, I do what ever I want", especially when he is defending his loved ones. Nick is my favorite character with his desperate attempts to control his life and the reckless and very often ruthless retaliations after someone tried to hurt someone close to him. He is not an easy person to understand but he is the one I always love to see. There is never a dull moment when Nick is on the scene.

And to the end my favorite quote from this round:
""Rory," said Takeshi, firmly grabbing his shoulder, "let the nice human go."" I just couldn't stop laughing when I got to this. =D

My submission ...


True Sisters - Sandra Dallas - 4****

Based on a true episode in the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Dallas’s novel focuses on four fictional women and their families as they make the arduous trip toward salvation. Louisa is married to one of the most zealous and influential prophets and she firmly believes he speaks for God. Jessie and her two brothers plan to found a successful farm in the fertile valley they envision. Nannie is making the trek with her sister and brother-in-law, after having been abandoned on her wedding day. Anne hasn’t converted to Mormonism but has no choice but to follow her husband since he has sold the thriving business her father left them to fund the trip to Utah.

The story is told in alternating vignettes, keeping the reader informed about each of these women and how they fare on the journey. I knew about the handcart expeditions but the focus of this novel makes for a very personalized history lesson on this episode in the settling of the American West. It also makes for a fast and compelling read. I did have a little trouble with the dialect and period phrases at times, but I could figure out from context what was meant.

Dallas excels at painting the landscape of this journey across the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains. The reader feels the oppressive heat of late August, the gloriously crisp days of autumn, the cold and damp of trudging through a series of rainy days, the bitter sting of sleet, and the unending cold of a November blizzard.

What I particularly liked about the novel, however, were the women themselves. Not just the four main characters, but several other women they encountered in their travels showed themselves to be strong, resilient, intelligent, resourceful, opinionated, clever, skilled, compassionate, helpful, determined and good judges of character. Yes, there were vain, whiny, weak women (and men) in the group as well, but the strong women shone. They were nothing short of incredible. And while Dallas chose to use totally fictional characters, the reader is wise to remember that there were hundreds of real men and women who made similar journeys, including the 625 souls who actually set out with the Martin Company.

Not Cool: The Hipster Elite and Their War on You


This is an astounding book. In thirty brief chapters, Greg Gutfeld manages to cram in every right-wing talking point and wild characterization about liberals. Sweeping generalizations and hilarious juxtapositions await you on every page. We are led to believe that all liberals are clove-smoking, tree-hugging, global warming nuts who hate all that is good in the world (and especially all that is good in America). In addition, he criticizes as many famous liberals as possible with a broad brush (examples: Susan Sarandon as a no-talent actress, Robert Redford as a hack director, and so on). You must therefore assume that the hipster elite are all liberal (of course!).

That’s not to say that Greg is always spouting non-facts. But there is nothing new. For example, he criticizes Angela Davis’ past crimes in detail, and accurately (let's never forget that the 60's hipsters and left-wing political figures were evil). But his factual content is far outweighed by his innuendo and general talk-show blather.

Now the most interesting part of this book is how Gutfeld attempts to redefine cool. He starts out by relating some oh-so-sad tale of how he was mistreated in fifth grade. Fifth grade! Hey, Greg, get over it! Sure, I hated the smarmy jerks that I had to deal with going through elementary school, middle school, and high school, and college. As my father once told me, it’s a scientific rule that the density of bastards is constant. But does that make it a conspiracy?

Any yet, despite his disparagement of the “hipster elite” who are waging war on anyone who isn’t “cool”, he himself declares that he wants to be cool. But he wants to define it his own way. Now Greg sounds like he could be an interesting person to talk to. But he evinces the same attributes that he decries in the hipsters. Specifically, claiming to love something that, one could argue, he loves only because most people hate it. An exception is his comment that he thinks that conservatives are cool. I’m not sure who he’s talking about. Perhaps William F. Buckley or P.J. O’Rourke could be construed as cool. But Dick Cheney? Karl Rove? Please!

Greg also cites his love of doom metal and punk rock, which I infer is supposed to make him personally cool. Now I have nothing against punk rock or doom metal. But you can’t complain about the hipster elite while you try to create your own elite of punk-rockers and metalheads.

One of the final chapters lists all of the people or groups that he feels are really cool. This is where this book has some value, particularly if you are a music fan (as I am). So here are my comments on some of his “free radicals” as Greg calls them. I have left out many, but plan to check out the ones that I didn’t already know about.

Penn Jillette – I love his magic, but based on his books, he is a complete ass
Joe Escalante – bass player for the Vandals. Love the Vandals, don’t care about Joe, who is also a lawyer and part-time judge. Whoopee! What a shock, a musician who has to keep his day job !
South Park guys –What, you can’t google their names, Greg? They are here because they are considered libertarian (not sure they have espoused that political philosophy, nor do I care)
Frank Miller – agreed
Fossil fuels – huh? How are fossil fuels cool? I guess the concept is cool, but then every scientific principle should be seen as cool, such as gravity, evolution, and soap bubbles. And we surely know how the conservatives feel about science (I’m talking to you, Kansas).
The overweight and out-of-shape: because they have better things to do than work out. Greg asks “Would you rather have Winston Churchill or or a trimmer Adolf Hitler, the vegetarian?” The comparison is strained, and I don’t believe that he actually believes this. I think they call this a false analogy… it’s also a backhanded slap at the supposed “nanny state” that wants to eliminate trans-fats, 64 oz. sodas, and the like.
Dana Perino – she gets the nod because she’s his co-host. Can you spell “pander”, boys and girls ?
Fracking – this from someone who has likely never been near a fracking operation, and probably never will
Straight couples – cool? Because they are apparently standing up to the LGBT conspirators, who control absolutely nothing in this country, but who are slowly gaining rights that the straight couples take for granted. Sheesh.
Smokers - nothing to add here. I assume he means cigarettes.
Broads – not women, but broads
Waiting tables – but he doesn’t include waiters and waitresses, just the experience of waiting tables
Andrew WK – agreed
Skunk Baxter – agreed
King Buzzo – guitarist for the Melvins. I hope he knows that Kurt Cobain worshipped the Melvins. Does he really want to be lumped in with Cobain?
Torche – “Its members are so immensely talented, and so pure in conviction, that they are the closest in approximating early U2’s promise.” – ok, I’ll check them out
Tom Hazelmyer – started Amphetamine Reptile, yay! He gets on the list because he was a US Marine when he started the label.

Of course, I’m also interested to learn why he left out so many “punk” musicians, if he claims to be such a fan of punk rock. Where are the Dead Kennedys and Jello Biafra ? Where are Black Flag ? Shockabilly ? Henry Rollins should be cool by his standards, I would think. So he is not the open-minded music-lover that he likes to portray himself as.


In summary, I plan on checking out his musical references, despite the likelihood their politics are all conservative. I am an open-minded music lover. Gee, will that make me cool, Greg ?

And if you want to be FOX-News cool, then this book will give you a great summary of all of the things you should hate.

In Paradise by Peter Matthiessen

I feel weird giving this book only 2 stars. It's an intense subject, full of long held entrenched beliefs, and in many ways, Matthiessen does them justice. Anger, betrayal, shame, guilt, humiliation and of course, grief. Christians, Jews, Buddhists, men, women, Germans, Poles, Americans, Swedes, come together seeking. But seeking what? for each of the characters it is different, as it would be for all the world to go to Auschwitz. What I would seek there is vastly different than anyone else. Is that why I cannot identify with any of the characters? Or is it Matthiessen's academic, confusing writing style? I think I stuck with it because it did cause me to question what I would get out of a visit to a concentration camp. As an attendant to the US Smithsonian Holocaust Memorial Museum, I was wrung out. I can't even imagine how many more times that would be multiplied to actually go to the most infamous place of mass murder in the world.

Understanding all the emotions and the reasons behind them does not mean I understood the characters. Earwig in particular (and what a name!), was baffling to me. He's so angry, at everyone, the church for doing nothing, the Germans for the Holocaust, the Poles for being neighbors and witnessing but not acting, and even the Jews themselves. Even when I learned his back story, his anger makes no sense. I can understand the emotions, but not all in one person. Olin and his main counterpart, Sister Catherine also made little to no sense. What are they looking for? Why are they here? Do they find it? Are they better off for the experiences? At the end, several stories come together, but I could barely follow it (was the priest gay? did the professor kill himself over his trip to Auschwitz?). I don't mind a complicated novel, but I need to be able to follow it, and I would like to relate to a character or two. Maybe that's not possible in less than 300 pages in a novel about the continued emotional impacts of the Holocaust. And maybe it shouldn't be possible.

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