It’s Thursday and you know what that means…another edition of Booking Through Thursday is here.

This week’s question is: How do you feel about illustrations in your books? Graphs? Photos? Sketches?

Looking around here (especially considering I just published a book review featuring my own illustration), you might have already figured out my answer, and for the most part you’d be right. But the extended answer would be, it depends.

Do the illustrations/graphs/photos/sketches bolster the story? Are they well done? Are they unobtrusive? And probably the most important question is whether it’s a picture book or tutorial—if the answer is yes, then I most certainly expect some illustrations.

Sometimes I’ll even seek out a book because of its illustrations (or artist) and some of my favorite reads of late are graphic novels.

The pictures often help to spark my own creativity.

Title: The Devouring
Author: Simon Holt
ISBN: 978-0-316-03573-6
Story Length: 231 pages
Genre: Young Adult

Back Cover of The Devouring

When dark creeps in and eats the light.
Bury your fears on Sorry Night.
For in the winter’s blackest hours
Comes the feasting of the Vours.
No one can see it, the life they stole.
Your body’s here but not your soul…

Three Quick Points About The Devouring

• Point 1: A bit chilling. At least, the beginning was. What would you do if some dark creature offered to eat your fears?
• Point 2: Mmmm, cheesy cliché filling. The entire middle section of the book is devoted more to shock value than fear factor.
• Point 3: Curiosity inducing. If I didn’t know better, I’d say I’ve been brainwashed because I’m anxious to read the next installment.

My Thoughts on The Devouring

(Below are my thoughts on the book. If you want a full rundown of the story, you can read the story summary, but be warmed: it includes spoilers.)

Some parts were good, and some parts were lame, but something must have been done right because I have a burning desire to read the next book.

The story unfolded well. We get the back story on Regina and her family. Her mother left her along with her brother and father. No one knows what happened to her and their family hasn’t been the same since.

One way Regina copes is by drowning herself in scary stories and she’s managed to rope her little brother Henry into it by reading him scary bedtime stories. One of the stories was about entities called Vours.

Then, on Sorry Night, when Regina and Aaron, her best friend, decide to call a Vour, their plans go awry while Regina’s little brother is possessed.

I have to say, the unfolding of Henry’s devouring was downright chilling—that makes up the first quarter of the book. I was hoping the momentum would continue, but it petered out and the story became something straight out of a B horror movie.

Although Henry is acting differently (like people and pets dropping dead in his presence), neither Reggie nor Aaron wonder whether he’s possessed until well after any clear thinking person would have. But I was willing to forgive that.

What I had difficulty forgiving was the gore-for-scare effect filling out the story, some of the dialogue was pure cheesy cliché, and character development left much to be desired.

Call me jaded, but anyone who’s ever watched more than a few classic horror movies would see right through it—in fact, I laughed a couple times. I truly wish it had more of the creepy ominous effect displayed in the beginning, but if wishes were pennies, I’d be a millionaire.

But what has my panties in a bunch is the fact that I really, really want to read the next book. The Devouring ended at the beginning of a bigger mystery. It’s not to say that The Devouring wasn’t a full story in and of itself—it was—but the story left me wondering: Who is Eben really? What are the Vours? And what is their plot?

That’s why this book was so difficult to rate. On one hand, a chunk of the story I would consider lame in the horror department, relying more on gore than suspense with gore, but on the other hand, it did an amazing job of painting a larger story and piquing curiosity. So, with that in mind, I’m middle of the road.

Rating: Get It Used [solid C] (?)

It’s Thursday and you know what that means…another edition of Booking Through Thursday is here.

This week’s question is: …do you have any grammar books? Punctuation? Writing guidelines? Style books? More importantly, have you read them? How do you feel about grammar in general? Important? Vital? Unnecessary? Fussy?

This is a subject near and dear to my heart. I could go on forever, but I’ll try to restrain myself.

To answer the first part of the question, I do. While I was organizing and cataloging my books, I decided to organize and catalog my writing, grammar, and style guides separately and learned I had somewhere around twenty (not including books on the craft of writing or storytelling). And yes, I’ve read them. In fact, I refer to some of them on an almost daily basis.

To answer the second part of the question, yes, I do feel grammar is important. It’s more important than some people realize because we often don’t notice it until it’s egregiously bad. Good grammar helps convey a message with ease. Poor grammar, however, stymies it.

With the proliferation of texting, instant messaging, tweeting, and other mediums which limit the amount of time devoted to crafting a grammatically correct message, it’s as though we get to watch grammar die a slow and painful death at the hands of technology.

People may say grammar doesn’t matter as long as the point gets across, and to a degree that’s true. Grammar doesn’t need to be perfect all of the time (and I’ll be the first to admit I have my moments), but it’s important to be mindful of how your grammatical choices enhance or detract from your writing. It takes more mental power to process a passage that uses poor grammar than one which uses good grammar.

Thanks to Jill at Breaking the Spine, I present another edition of Waiting on Wednesday…

Sometimes I wonder what my life would have been like if I had a twin. Or, if not a twin, someone with the exact same name as me. What’s in a name, anyway? (Would a rose by any other name still smell as sweet?) And other times I wonder, is it really nature or nurture that determines our lot in life? (Strange things to wonder, I know, but sometimes I’m just a strange person.)

A name is immensely personal. Stop for a moment and think about how it makes you feel—physically—when someone says your name with love, with anger, with apathy. A name is the oldest possession you have. Now imagine that someone else has your exact name—something that should, it seems, be uniquely yours—wouldn’t you be interested in learning more about that person? I know I would.

It seems logical (at least to my mind) that a person with the same name would have the same life, the same personality, and in a sense, be the same person. But life isn’t always logical and that’s what makes it interesting. And that’s why I’m anxious to read The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore.

Two kids with the same name were born blocks apart in the same decaying city within a year of each other. One grew up to be a Rhodes Scholar, army officer, White House Fellow, and business leader.  The other is serving a life sentence in prison.  Here is the story of two boys and the journey of a generation.
In December of 2000, the Baltimore Sun ran a small piece about Wes Moore, a local student who had just received a Rhodes Scholarship.  The same paper ran a huge story about four young men who had killed a police officer in a spectacularly botched armed robbery.  The police were still hunting for two of the suspects who had gone on the lam, a pair of brothers.  One of their names was Wes Moore.

Wes Moore, the Rhodes Scholar, became obsessed with the story of this man he’d never met but who shared much more than space in the same newspaper.  Both had grown up in similar neighborhoods and had had difficult childhoods.  After following the story of the robbery, the manhunt, and the trial to its conclusion, he finally he wrote a letter to the other Wes, now a convicted murderer serving a life sentence without possibility of parole.  His letter tentatively asked the questions that had been haunting Wes: Who are you?  Where did it go wrong for you?  How did this happen?

That letter led to a correspondence and deepening relationship that has lasted for several years.  Over dozens of letters and prison visits, Wes discovered that the other Wes had had a life not unlike his own:  they were both fatherless, were both in and out of school; they’d hung out on similar corners with similar crews, and had run into trouble with the police.  And they had both felt a desire for something better for themselves and their families—and the sense that something better was always just out of reach.  At each stage of their young lives, they came across similar moments of decision that would alter their fates.

Told in alternating dramatic narratives that take readers from heart-wrenching losses to moments of surprising redemption, The Other Wes Moore tells the story of a generation of boys trying to find their way in a hostile world. 

The book is due out in April and can be pre-ordered from Amazon.

Here are the rules:

• Grab your current read
• Let the book fall open to a random page
• Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• You also need to share the title of the book where you get your teaser from…that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given
• Please avoid SPOILERS

This week’s teaser:

“My first week here, I cried myself to sleep every single night. I’d just curl up, pull the blankets over my head, and cry ‘tip I fell asleep.” pg. 131 A Wish After Midnight by Zetta Elliot

I’m only just beginning this book, so I’m still forming my thoughts. In other words, I’m reserving judgment, but I must admit the writing so far is compelling. It’s told in first person by Genna Colon, an ambitious fifteen year old mixed race girl (with dark skin and short nappy hair) living in the ghetto.

These opening chapters give us a glimpse of her life and the life she wants to one day have. But, the book also promises to have elements of historical fantasy, so I’m eager to see how that unfolds. I have no doubt that this will be a book I’ll want to savor as I read rather than blaze through.

Title: Tuck Everlasting
Author: Natalie Babbitt
ISBN: 978-0-312-36981-1
Story Length: 136 pages
Genre: Children 10+

Is eternal life a blessing or a curse? That is what young Winnie Foster must decide when she discovers a spring on her family’s property whose waters grant immortality. Members of the Tuck family, having drunk from the spring, tell Winnie of their experiences watching life go by and never rowing older.

But then Winnie must decide whether or not to keep Tuck’s secret—and whether or not to join them on their never-ending journey.

Three Quick Points About Tuck Everlasting

• Point 1: Pensive. If I were to sum up this book in one word, that would be it.
• Point 2: Ethereal. If I were to sum up this book in another word, that would be it.
• Point 3: Bittersweet. If I were to sum up this book in one final word, that would be it.

My Thoughts on Tuck Everlasting

(Below are my thoughts on the book. If you want a full run down, you can read the story summary, which includes spoilers.)

I am terribly in love with this book, despite its melancholy.

First, there is the writing itself. On the surface, it looks simple, but there is an elegance in that simplicity. The descriptions are painted with an ethereal quality, quite like a daydream, and it has a steady undercurrent not unlike drifting lazily down a stream.

Next is the characters. Each one seems to have a life outside the pages of this book. Even when I finished reading, I could still imagine these people in miniature size continuing to live out their lives.

Winnie Foster was a bright, curious, and mature young girl, but she was still a little girl who did little girl things. Jesse Tuck was the epitome of impetuous youth, despite 104 years of experience. Miles Tuck was a weathered and pensive man, quite possibly due to his lot in life. Mae Tuck was a jubilant woman who somehow made me smile every few seconds. Angus Tuck was a wise, and sometimes persnickety, man who, more than anything, was ready to leave this world.

And the man in the yellow suit…what can I say about him? It’s been a long while since I remember disliking a character so swiftly as him. A true villain indeed. He was greed incarnate. But I did end up pitying him a bit at the end.

Then there is the story. A young girl tired of her life of confinement sets out on a mission of adventure, and finds exactly that—in an unexpected way. There’s plenty of tension—being held captive in a strange place with strange people; plenty of growth—what it means to truly live; and plenty of learning—what it means to do the right thing.

Finally, the message. There are so many nuanced messages woven in the story, including tolerance, greed, procrastination, choice, but the one recurring theme is that of life and death. Specifically, what does it really mean to live? And when you have immortality bestowed on you, do you continue to live at all?

Some parts of this book made me laugh and some parts choked me up. For instance, there’s a section where Tuck takes Winnie out in the rowboat and lodges it on a fallen tree trunk to illustrate his point:

“It goes on,” Tuck repeated, “to the ocean. But this rowboat now, it’s stuck. If we didn’t move it out ourself, it would stay here forever, trying to get loose, but stuck. That’s what us Tucks are, Winnie. Stuck so’s we can’t move on. We ain’t part of the wheel no more. Dropped off, Winnie. Left behind. And everywhere around us, things is moving and growing and changing. You, for instance. A child now, but someday a woman. And after that, moving on to make room for the new children.”

Winnie blinked, and all at once her mind was drowned with understanding of what he was saying. For she—yes, even she—would go out of the world willy-nilly someday. Just go out, like the flame of a candle, and no use protesting. It was a certainty. She would try very hard not to think of it, but sometimes, as now, it would be forced upon her. She raged against it, helpless and insulted, and blurted at last, “I don’t want to die.”

“No,” said Tuck calmly. “Not now. Your time’s not now. But dying’s part of the wheel, right there next to being born. You can’t pick out the pieces you like and leave the rest. Being part of the whole thing, that’s the blessing. But it’s passing us by, us Tucks. Living’s heavy work, but off to one side, the way we are, it’s useless, too. It don’t make sense. If I knowed how to climb back on the wheel, I’d do it in a minute. You can’t have living without dying. So you can’t call it living, what we got. We just are, we just be, like rocks beside the road.” –pg 63-4

That was the moment that my heart broke for the Tucks. That was the moment I finally drank in all that it meant for them to live forever because forever is a long time to watch the world drift by.

But ultimately, the lesson is: life is what you make of it, regardless of how long you’re given.

This is a book I wish I’d read as a child, and it’s a book I will certainly read again, multiple times (and to my future children). A beautiful story, though bittersweet.

Rating: Required Reading [A] (?)

Sunday was supposed to be dedicated to a mini read-a-thon, but due to some improper planning on my part (and lack of sleep the night before), it was transformed into a micro read-a-thon—two books and four short stories in six hours. I just missed the mark…by about four miles.

I did manage to finish one book (Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt) and get three quarters of the way through another (The Devouring by Simon Holt)—keep reading for some book notes. I also learned that I read much slower when I’m tired.*

Reviews in Queue

There are so many books around here begging to be reviewed, but I’ve been putting it off. I’m not sure why. Maybe there’s a mental block. Maybe it has something to do with the changes to the review system.** In any event, here are a few waiting for their moment on the chopping block:

Topless Prophet by Alan Markovitz (with Thomas Stevens)

Before you read the title, see the cover image, and scoff, let me first explain the reason for requesting the book. I enjoy books on business and success—when they’re well done. If you can weave that valuable knowledge into an entertaining memoir, all the better. Plus, I enjoy a hint of risqué. And that’s precisely what Topless Prophet is.

It’s not as smut-filled as one might assume at first glance and deals more with Markovitz’s life growing up and entering the adult entertainment business, plus it dispenses some excellent advice (and inspiration) which could be applied in almost any situation. It’s also an interesting look behind the scenes of a high class strip club.

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

When I finished this book, I wondered why I hadn’t read it much sooner. I was also left in awe at how quickly it floated by.

This book was a much faster read than I’d anticipated, but it has so much to offer. Words fail me.

It’s one book that I can squarely recommend for both children and adults. For the child, there’s an entertaining story about a girl who’s tired of the status quo and ends up on an adventure with a peculiar immortal family and learning about life in the process, and there’s a heavier message for the adults.

The question posed on the front cover is no joke: What if you could live forever?

The Devouring by Simon Holt

When I first read the description at Amazon, I thought it sounded sufficiently interesting. Then I read a few reviews and they all had something in common: they said the book was frightening. Still, I didn’t believe them. I’ve read (and watched) so much horror and thriller and blood-soaked thrasher stories that they rarely phase me anymore. Then I began reading…

…and it is frightening.

It’s not your traditional frightening. Nothing seems overtly out of place until you realize the cold air you feel blowing across your arms and legs is not natural or that the smell of carnival popcorn doesn’t belong in your bedroom or the woman sitting on the bed is not actually your long-gone mother. Or that your soul has been replaced by something dark and no one around you knows. It’s a slow chill that snakes through you until you’re numb. That’s the kind of frightening it is.

It’s not without its clichés, but I still can’t wait to finish this one.

The Week Ahead

I don’t often publish “week ahead” posts, but I figure: I’m here, I’m typing, so why not?

Since embarking on this little reading experiment, I had to put aside Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson—of which I’m halfway finished and it rocks—so I’ll probably finish that up this week, then move on to something weightier; Mrs. Kimble by Jennifer Haigh (which I snagged thanks to a recommendation by Sravana) or Bird in Hand by Christina Baker Kline perhaps.

After that, I’m sure I’ll want to move on to something light and carefree, or maybe some non-fiction. Goody Hall by Natalie Babbitt, Mister Monday by Garth Nix, and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot are good candidates.

Since I tend to be a moody reader, we’ll have to wait and see to be certain.

*I decided to use a track timer while reading. At the end of each chapter, I pressed the ‘Lap’ button. It was interesting to see bottlenecks or fluctuations based on my posture or overall alertness.

**After an unscientific survey performed a while back, I’ve decided to break my reviews up into two parts posted separately. One part will be the summary and vocab words (I originally planned to do vocab, but never actually did it) and the second part will be my thoughts on the book.

Chopping the timeframe in half means that I also have to reconsider how many books I’ll be able to pack away. Now, I’m down to reading two books and four short stories. It seems like a fair compromise.

Since I decided to keep the four various categories from which to choose, the book pool will seem rather broad.

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt • wtf by Peter Lerangis • The Devouring by Simon Holt • Mister Monday by Garth Nix • Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher • Gothic! Ten Original Dark Tales by Various Authors • Moonlight & Vines by Charles de Lint • Prom Nights From Hell by Various Authors

For the past couple of weeks, I’ve not had as much time to read as I would have liked and the time I did spend reading was spent reading non-fiction and memoirs. Granted, I do enjoy non-fiction and memoirs quite a bit, but everything in moderation, right?

Come Sunday at 9am, I will be reading from a selection of fiction titles. The goal is to read at least four books (horror, literary, fantasy, chick lit—mixin’ it up so I won’t get bored) and at least two short stories in a twelve hour period. I’ll take a break every three hours to update the blog on my progress and post some book notes.

Now that I’ve put it down in writing, it seems completely doable. I hope. Wish me luck, and company is always welcome if you want to participate too.

(I hope when I’m done this time around, the Sunday Sketch will display a bit more effort than the last one.)

In a fit of excitement, I pulled all the books from their resting places and piled them on the floor.

Mission: catalog and alphabetize. That was before I realized that I have a lot of books.

So far, from the first four shelves, there are 319 books:

• 202 fiction
• 20 non-fiction
• 46 reference
• 11 graphic novels
• 20 expendable

And I still have three more book cases to go (two with five shelves and one with four). <sarcasm>Whoopee!!</sarcasm> But I will not be deterred.

There’s a system. I’m not doing this for nothing. There is some sort of system, right? Please tell me there is. How else do you manage to keep all your books from eating you alive?!?