I’m a little behind in my touring, but for my second post for the September CSFF Tour featuring Andrew Peterson and his most recent book in the Wingfeather Saga, The Monster In The Hollows, I wanted to offer my review of the book. For my third post, I will have some different perspectives…
I can’t help but emphasize how neat a guy Andrew Peterson is. He wrote personal letters to my boys when they wrote to him about his last book. As Mharvi Reads shows in a note from Andrew, he takes his responsibility as a storyteller seriously (you really need to read that note!).
The care he takes shows once again in Monster. He touches the heart, excites with suspense, brings humor with sneakery and spitting contests, and keeps drawing the Wingfeather children closer to their destiny. He puts in small details that makes the fantasy world of Aerwiar complete.
The book, as its companions On The Edge Of The Dark Sea Of Darkness and North! Or Be Eaten, is entertaining for adults and children. I love the deeper meanings that Andrew layers in, and my boys are on the edge of the sofa, taking in all the suspense and reacting to each cliffhanger chapter ending with “Noooooo!”
I don’t know how many people read to their children anymore, but this is a great series to read to your kids. I like doing voices, and there are many options for me to ham it up. For the Guildmadam Olumphia Groundwich, I felt her voice should really be done in a Monty Python “Spam” sketch type voice:
Any book that give you an excuse to use a Monty Python voice is a winner in my book.
The rest of the CSFF clan’s posts can be found in one location on Becky Miller’s blog. Check them out. My next post will have a special guest feature, so please stop by. —
I’m a little behind in my touring, but for my second post for the September CSFF Tour featuring Andrew Peterson and his most recent book in the Wingfeather Saga, The Monster In The Hollows, I wanted to offer my review of the book. For my third post, I will have some different perspectives…
I can’t help but emphasize how neat a guy Andrew Peterson is. He wrote personal letters to my boys when they wrote to him about his last book. As Mharvi Reads shows in a note from Andrew, he takes his responsibility as a storyteller seriously (you really need to read that note!).
The care he takes shows once again in Monster. He touches the heart, excites with suspense, brings humor with sneakery and spitting contests, and keeps drawing the Wingfeather children closer to their destiny. He puts in small details that makes the fantasy world of Aerwiar complete.
The book, as its companions On The Edge Of The Dark Sea Of Darkness and North! Or Be Eaten, is entertaining for adults and children. I love the deeper meanings that Andrew layers in, and my boys are on the edge of the sofa, taking in all the suspense and reacting to each cliffhanger chapter ending with “Noooooo!”
I don’t know how many people read to their children anymore, but this is a great series to read to your kids. I like doing voices, and there are many options for me to ham it up. For the Guildmadam Olumphia Groundwich, I felt her voice should really be done in a Monty Python “Spam” sketch type voice:
Any book that give you an excuse to use a Monty Python voice is a winner in my book.
The rest of the CSFF clan’s posts can be found in one location on Becky Miller’s blog. Check them out. My next post will have a special guest feature, so please stop by. —
Pay Me In Flesh is the brainchild of one K. Bennett, a fertile mind who came up with a simple premise: what could be done that’s fresh in the zombie genre. Well, try this teaser on for size.
In L.A., practicing law can be hell. Especially if you’re dead.
In an increasingly hellacious L.A., zombie lawyer Mallory Caine defends a vampire hooker accused of the crime Mallory herself committed, even as a zombie-killer closes in and the love of her former life comes back as the Deputy DA she must oppose. And as Lucifer himself begins setting up L.A. as his headquarters for a new attack on heaven and earth, Mallory slowly discovers she may be the one who has to stop him.
This mass paperback book is packed with witty dialog, unforgettable characters, and an attorney with a bite. Mallory Caine is trying to find out who killed her and see if she can recover her soul. She hates to eat brains, but she’s doing what she must to survive. She’s not the normal lumbering, witless undead. Sure, she needs a little moisturizer and prefers educated brains (Harvard and Stanford go down much nicer than your drop-out), but she still sees a need for the innocent to get justice.
It is a fresh take on both the legal thriller and the zombie novel. The pace of the books keeps the reader lurching forward, and the city of Los Angeles becomes a character in the mood and setting of the novel.
I don’t want to give too much away. Suffice it to say, I think you won’t find a more original novel premise this year, and Pay Me In Flesh is a read that will have you laughing, drawn in, and hungry for more.
You may hear a rumor that K. Bennett shares a startling resemblance to James Scott Bell, but that’s a common point of confusion. Pay it no mind… —
Pay Me In Flesh is the brainchild of one K. Bennett, a fertile mind who came up with a simple premise: what could be done that’s fresh in the zombie genre. Well, try this teaser on for size.
In L.A., practicing law can be hell. Especially if you’re dead.
In an increasingly hellacious L.A., zombie lawyer Mallory Caine defends a vampire hooker accused of the crime Mallory herself committed, even as a zombie-killer closes in and the love of her former life comes back as the Deputy DA she must oppose. And as Lucifer himself begins setting up L.A. as his headquarters for a new attack on heaven and earth, Mallory slowly discovers she may be the one who has to stop him.
This mass paperback book is packed with witty dialog, unforgettable characters, and an attorney with a bite. Mallory Caine is trying to find out who killed her and see if she can recover her soul. She hates to eat brains, but she’s doing what she must to survive. She’s not the normal lumbering, witless undead. Sure, she needs a little moisturizer and prefers educated brains (Harvard and Stanford go down much nicer than your drop-out), but she still sees a need for the innocent to get justice.
It is a fresh take on both the legal thriller and the zombie novel. The pace of the books keeps the reader lurching forward, and the city of Los Angeles becomes a character in the mood and setting of the novel.
I don’t want to give too much away. Suffice it to say, I think you won’t find a more original novel premise this year, and Pay Me In Flesh is a read that will have you laughing, drawn in, and hungry for more.
You may hear a rumor that K. Bennett shares a startling resemblance to James Scott Bell, but that’s a common point of confusion. Pay it no mind… —
OK, the title of this post is lousy since my last rambling was whether I should quit blogging to focus on writing. It is lousy because it is misleading. And since I’m still here, I’m not quitting blogging.
Have you ever felt caught between the tension of a day job and a dream job? That gap between what you have to do and what you’d love to do?
(That’s where I’m living right now)
Jon offers practical advise in a very humorous package. It turns out Jon is a successful quitter. In two ways. First, he was good at hopping from job to job. The problem was they were lateral moves, not into his dream job. Finally, he was able to leave a good day job to a dream job. It’s from this experience that he shares.
He tells people not to quit too soon – to use the time with a regular job that pays the bills to prepare for the time they can do something different. He gives pointers on finding the dream you may have. A major point is to work hard (hustle) to make things happen. He had to learn to be happy with small successes before he hit the “big-time”.
He writes this book for a general audience, but he includes biblical principles without preaching or quoting chapter and verse. One idea I appreciated (and was challenged by) was his emphasis on not stealing from a current job while working toward a dream job. This seemed to echo the principle of being faithful with little, so that the Lord can give more. He doesn’t explain it like this, but the book has several points like this.
Jon came to fame as writing a satirical blog poking fun at the church. Thus, the book has plenty of humor. I appreciate his sense of humor and laughed at many points. Any satire/comedy won’t work for everyone, so I’m sure there will be those who don’t appreciate it. Those people probably don’t read this blog anyway.
If you’re toiling away in a job that doesn’t give the type of satisfaction you think it should, if you are wondering if there is a way out of the quagmire of the grind, then Quitter is a book that can give you insight and inspiration toward a better job. It won’t buff your resume or give you angelic revelation. I was bummed. But, it helped me realize I need to do more than complain, and it was an enjoyable read.
Oh, and I would recommend not leaving it out on your desk when reading it during lunch breaks – it might bring up some unwanted questions… — Anybody out there wrestling with this issue? Any experience with this idea of day job vs. dream job? —
OK, the title of this post is lousy since my last rambling was whether I should quit blogging to focus on writing. It is lousy because it is misleading. And since I’m still here, I’m not quitting blogging.
Have you ever felt caught between the tension of a day job and a dream job? That gap between what you have to do and what you’d love to do?
(That’s where I’m living right now)
Jon offers practical advise in a very humorous package. It turns out Jon is a successful quitter. In two ways. First, he was good at hopping from job to job. The problem was they were lateral moves, not into his dream job. Finally, he was able to leave a good day job to a dream job. It’s from this experience that he shares.
He tells people not to quit too soon – to use the time with a regular job that pays the bills to prepare for the time they can do something different. He gives pointers on finding the dream you may have. A major point is to work hard (hustle) to make things happen. He had to learn to be happy with small successes before he hit the “big-time”.
He writes this book for a general audience, but he includes biblical principles without preaching or quoting chapter and verse. One idea I appreciated (and was challenged by) was his emphasis on not stealing from a current job while working toward a dream job. This seemed to echo the principle of being faithful with little, so that the Lord can give more. He doesn’t explain it like this, but the book has several points like this.
Jon came to fame as writing a satirical blog poking fun at the church. Thus, the book has plenty of humor. I appreciate his sense of humor and laughed at many points. Any satire/comedy won’t work for everyone, so I’m sure there will be those who don’t appreciate it. Those people probably don’t read this blog anyway.
If you’re toiling away in a job that doesn’t give the type of satisfaction you think it should, if you are wondering if there is a way out of the quagmire of the grind, then Quitter is a book that can give you insight and inspiration toward a better job. It won’t buff your resume or give you angelic revelation. I was bummed. But, it helped me realize I need to do more than complain, and it was an enjoyable read.
Oh, and I would recommend not leaving it out on your desk when reading it during lunch breaks – it might bring up some unwanted questions… — Anybody out there wrestling with this issue? Any experience with this idea of day job vs. dream job? —
