Anna Begins

I saw David Duchovny (X- Files) promoting a book he just wrote and released this month called Holy Cow- A Modern Day Dairy- Tale. Its totally off beat and strange, I thought some of us might be interested... from Amazon: Elsie Bovary is a cow, and a pretty happy one at that—her long, lazy days are spent eating, napping, and chatting with her best friend, Mallory. One night, Elsie and Mallory sneak out of their pasture; but while Mallory is interested in flirting with the neighboring bulls, Elsie finds herself drawn to the farmhouse. Through the window, she sees the farmer's family gathered around a bright Box God—and what the Box God reveals about something called an "industrial meat farm" shakes Elsie's understanding of her world to its core. There's only one solution: escape to a better, safer world. And so a motley crew is formed: Elsie; Jerry—excuse me, Shalom—a cranky, Torah-reading pig who's recently converted to Judaism; and Tom, a suave (in his own mind, at least) turkey who can't fly, but who can work an iPhone with his beak. David Duchovny's charismatic creatures point the way toward a mutual understanding and acceptance that the world desperately needs. ~221 pages I have no idea if this is good or not, of course, but darn, I am starting to feel old... wasn't X Files SO long ago?

I should also add, a good cover gets my attention like nothing other. I just found Phillip K Dick because most of his books have primarily a huge PKD on them and I thought that was curious, so I checked out the synopsis for The Man in the High Castle. Sounded like my kind of thing, so I looked at the rest of his books and ended up with TWO more samples Jason Gurley, who I mentioned above, was a recommendation from Hugh Howey, one of my favorite newly discovered authors.

Oh geez... I get a lot, a lot, from here. But mostly I will find an author I like and slowly start making my way through their work. Then, some of those authors endorse other authors or are compared to others and I try those out too. I am always looking at the Amazon bookstore and the Audiobook store, as well as Amazon's recommendations and their "New and Noteworthy" type sections. I always get a Sample so I can keep track, somewhat, of a TBR list, and then not spend money needlessly on a book I might not like.

One time, all my mom and I bought was a box and 4 candy bars Well! They were buy 3 get 1 free We went to a girl cashier.

Really??? Hopefully, you enjoy it! And that Bird Box book sounded REALLY scary I feel like I've been spending a lot of time with Chris Bohjalian's Skeletons at the Feast, but I am only at 20%. It seems like it is going faster than it is. Strange to have that. There has been some stuff that's been a little shocking, and Bohjalian is so not like that, he must have a reason.

Shut the front door! You didn't tell me you got to DRIVE the Tesla!! I KNEW it was red!!

That is just what I thought when I posted it. Lord of the Flies is brutal! I also think of Night by Elie Wiesel, the horror that happened in the real world, that was required for us.

Ya I don't think so either, we'd just wreak another planet anyway But I thought aggression and empathy were good choices. Lucky girl! I think I have a crush on Hawking

I'd like to do A Scanner Darkly, as I think Ubik might be too out of my realm. I might read The Man in the High Castle next or Jason Gurley's Wolf Skin. Back to post apocalyptic Ya that is a biggie!

The Straits Times: Secondary 2 students at Singapore Chinese Girls' School (SCGS) are using the bestseller as a literature text, alongside the classic "Merchant Of Venice." It is the only school believed to be doing so. Many support the move, saying the use of such a popular book will help draw more students to the study of literature. But some have criticised by questioning whether the levels of violence in the book, which features duels to the death between teenagers, makes for appropriate study material. SCGS vice-principal Shermaine Tang said it chose the book for its "literary value" in exploring themes such as friendship, love and family, survival and inequality. The book, the first of a trilogy which has spawned a major movie franchise, also has a "strong female figure who exemplifies the values of valour", she added. A parent said his daughter in SCGS had not read the book before the school introduced it. "The book has gory descriptions of children killing children mercilessly to save themselves," said the parent who works in the financial services. "It's not right to introduce such violence to children so young." But others point out that there was far more graphic violence in computer games and on TV, and studying the book will let children come to terms with it in a safe setting.

Yes, but it is hard with Weave reviewing books like Stone Mattress! Atwood is a very different kind of writer. I wanted to read some... easier books this year we will see...

Interesting... I guess I hadn't connected Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep as being by Dick. Hmm...Electric Sheep sounds like Margaret Atwood territory (Just Kidding, Weave ) Sousa- I am (trying) to have an Atwood free year. Mumbles: *must resist Positron, must resist Positron*

Well, we've talked since, but I have settled on Skeletons of the Feast by Chris Bohjalian. I've been naughty again... well, a little bit. I purchased some of Phillip K. Dick's work, A Scanner Darkly and The Man in the High Castle. TMitHC won a Hugo. But I believe his best known work is Total Recall, which to my surprise is only 31 pages How did they make a movie out of that?? Anyway, anyone looking for something different... I think I found it! His synopsis read like science fiction Chuck Palahniuk. Also today came a new find from the authors of Yesterday's Gone, the horror/ science fiction serial I just finished. It is called Crash and is Sean Platt and David Wright's first non- serialized piece. At only 99 cents, I couldn't resist that one either I love how they do stuff for free and for low cost, while still being professional and that all their interaction is solely virtual.

Have you ever read any of Phillip K. Dick's work? He is known for Total Recall (which I did not know was only 30 pages!) but I am eyeing all kinds of his books right now. Edit: Because I love brothers They're the best.

I didn't like the movie either. I didn't like the way it was directed. Glad you are enjoying The Humans! Is Son the third or fourth?

I know, right?? Isn't it crazy? This gave me thought and the end made me smile today, I love Stephen Hawking (we share our birthday's) From Huffington Post via The Daily Mail: Forget doomsday asteroids, global plagues and super volcanoes. British theoretical physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking says we're facing a much more immediate threat -- and it's our own behavior. “The human failing I would most like to correct is aggression,” Hawking told contest winner Adaeze Uyanwah, according to the Independent. “It may have had survival advantage in caveman days, to get more food, territory or a partner with whom to reproduce, but now it threatens to destroy us all.” Uyanwah, a 24-year-old from California, won the "Guest of Honor" contest from VisitLondon.com. The prize package included a tour of London's Science Museum with Hawking. While being shown around, Uyanwah asked Hawking which human shortcoming he would most like to change, and which trait he'd enhance. Hawking chose aggression and warned that a nuclear war could end civilization and possibly the human race. We need to replace aggression with empathy, which "brings us together in a peaceful loving state,” he said. The subject of "The Theory of Everything" also told her that the future of man lies beyond Earth. "I believe that the long-term future of the human race must be space and that it represents an important life insurance for our future survival, as it could prevent the disappearance of humanity by colonizing other planets," Hawking said, according to the Cambridge News. Hawking said putting humans on the moon "changed the future of the human race in ways that we don't yet understand." "It hasn't solved any of our immediate problems on planet Earth," Hawking said. "But it has given us new perspectives on them and caused us to look both outward and inward." Uyanwah said meeting Hawking will stay with her for the rest of her life. "It's incredible to think that decades from now, when my grandchildren are learning Stephen Hawking's theories in science class, I'll be able to tell them I had a personal meeting with him and heard his views first hand," Uyanwah said, according to The Daily Mail. "It's something I'll never forget."

Great list of books! Hope you enjoy 11/22/63! It's one of my favorite of King's.

Oh I don't care what anyone thinks, it's just a private thing for me. Here, on the package you get a huge picture of the product, plus it's like, a pink bag with SUPER STRENGTH or EXTRA LONG or whatever all over it. It's just... my business, ya know True I always thought it was cool that Jean M. Auel dealt with the issue in Clan of the Cave Bear.

OMG I hate the packaging! It's like, do we have to BROADCAST the fact?? Ugh. I remember the belted pads though. I never wore them, but I remember being taught about them in Health/ sex education (which was probably right out of your Victorian lol)

I read 220 pages yesterday to finish a long way gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah, in almost one sitting. Still thinking about it today and what a well written, well handled book it was. Tried to get into Crash by JG Ballard this morning, but I don't think it is for me. I will still continue to try him. I have Empire of the Sun and The Drowned World in my Samples list. Kind of strange, but while looking up Ballard's Crash on Amazon, I found a 200 page non- serial book from Sean Platt and David Wright (Yesterday's Gone) that came out in June, called Crash. Took three off the 2015 long short list and added one lol Anyway, I began Chris Bohjalian's Skeletons at the Feast. Another from the list.

Title: a long way gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier Author: Ishmael Beah Genre: Autobiography Age: Adult Pages: 244 Dates 2/21- 2/22 From Amazon: My new friends have begun to suspect I haven’t told them the full story of my life. “Why did you leave Sierra Leone?” “Because there is a war.” “You mean, you saw people running around with guns and shooting each other?” “Yes, all the time.” “Cool.” I smile a little. “You should tell us about it sometime.” “Yes, sometime.” This is how wars are fought now: by children, hopped-up on drugs and wielding AK-47s. Children have become soldiers of choice. In the more than fifty conflicts going on worldwide, it is estimated that there are some 300,000 child soldiers. Ishmael Beah used to be one of them. What is war like through the eyes of a child soldier? How does one become a killer? How does one stop? Child soldiers have been profiled by journalists, and novelists have struggled to imagine their lives. But until now, there has not been a first-person account from someone who came through this hell and survived. Beah, now twenty-five years old, tells a riveting story: how at the age of twelve, he fled attacking rebels and wandered a land rendered unrecognizable by violence. By thirteen, he’d been picked up by the government army, and Beah, at heart a gentle boy, found that he was capable of truly terrible acts. My thoughts: This is a quick read of a tough subject, but it isn’t SO bad you can’t read it. All of my war reading has dealt with American, European and Russian history, so this was a welcome change of geography! a long way gone takes on just one of the sad conflicts which seem to pervade Africa, focusing on the sensitive topic of children soldiers. The late 90’s marked a decade of senseless killing in a civil war in Sierra Leone, one that author Ishmael Beah lived as a teenage soldier. To read these experiences while I sit in my comfortable house in the United States, surrounded by family, was pretty uncomfortable. This book was done really well, with a good setup and war scenes inner woven into parts of Beah’s healing process- so it isn’t just constant war or constant recovery. Beah asks himself the same questions of Primo Levi, Elie Wiesel and countless others that have survived History’s horrors- Why have I survived the war? Why was I the last person in my family to be alive?

Ya I don't see my time as wasted on it, but with so many other books to read...

Tonight is the Oscars/ Academy Awards and Wolfgang Puck has given out a menu list for the pre- dinner, hosted by California's Governor (as you can imagine, this was a big deal for Arnold). *Lobster Tempura with Vanilla Bean and Pineapple *Mini Prime Cheeseburgers with Remoulade and Aged Cheddar *Spicy Tuna Tartare *Dungeness Crab Cake with Marinated Tomatoes *Smoked Salmon Pizza with Caviar *Pizza with White Truffles and *Smoked Salmon with Caviar Here’s what will be served up at the Bar Tables… *Marinated Olives with Rosemary, Chili, and Orange *Homemade Flatbread and Grissini *Mini Gold Wrapped Baked Potato with Caviar and Cream Fraiche *Roasted Pumpkin Squash Ravioli with White Truffles *Potato Gnocchi Gratin with Gorgonzola *Chicken Salad with Candied Cashews with Honey Sesame Dressing *Caesar Salad with Creamy Garlic Dressing *Chopped Vegetable Salad with Lobster *Stir Fried Chicken Lettuce Cup *Glazed Black Cod with Sticky Rice and Cucumbers and *Celery Root Apple Soup with Black Truffles Next, the Sushi Station… Some of the selections include Spicy Tuna, Big Eye Tuna, Smoked Salmon, Shrimp,Yellowtail, and Snapper. Selections at the Seafood Station include… *Lobster *Jumbo Prawns *King Crab Legs *Oysters *Farm-raised Mussels *Little Neck Clams Next up, the Buffet… *Kobe Beef with Bordelaise Sauce *Wasabi Potato Puree *Roasted Organic Chicken Breast *Risotto with Black Truffles *Lobster with Crispy Spinach *Striped Bass *Stir Fried Organic Vegetables and *Assorted Organic Breads And finally for Dessert…(It’s called, “Oscar’s Sweet Extravaganza”) *Meyer Lemon Bars *Organic Chocolate Fudge *Hazelnut Marjolaine *Strawberry Baked Alaska *Fuji Apple Strudel and *Toffee (not coffee) Cake

Or it could be February 27th, 28th and March 1st, if anyone wants to do some read a thon-ing this weekend.