Category: Books

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Why the Duck is an Ass

Too many people make the mistake of thinking that children’s books are all the same, that they preach a common theme and align themselves perfectly with what’s true and right, teaching kids the value of human nature and the beauty of our world. But our world is oftentimes not beautiful, and human nature is frequently negative and judgmental. So often we shield our children from these realities in favor of the cookie cutter “perfect world” we ourselves would desperately like to live in, hiding the rough spots as much as we can with spit and polish, not thinking about how shocking it will be to our kids when the truth comes out. And believe me, it will come out. Now, I’m not saying tell your kids everything about the cruel world and cruel people, but just having a heads up would suffice sometimes instead of a brick over the head. Some children’s books give that heads up while also teaching a lesson. Those are the kind I get for my kids.

IMG_0553Duck in the Truck is a children’s book written by Jez Alborough that I bought when I was in London. It appealed to me because of the cute picture of the duck driving a truck on the cover, but it proved itself to be a true compass for human nature as I sat in the huge comfy chair and read it over several times. Now, I’m sure you’re familiar with the idea of using cute, cuddly animals to sell something. Hell, Disney was founded on it and still thrives to this day because of a mouse, a bear, and a sheer cadre of other wildlife. But what I found in this book wasn’t a straight morality tale like Disney is so fond of, but a story plainly told and illustrated that makes its adult readers think and might just confuse or amuse the younger readers.

It’s a tale of a duck who drives a truck down a lane, plain and simple. However, this duck loses control of his vehicle and it becomes stuck in a pretty nasty muck. Look at the duck’s face in the page pictured. Does he look like one of those pleasant animals I talked about above? No. In fact, he’s pretty pissed off, in my opinion, and probably ticked off mostly at himself for driving so recklessly. With the angle of the vehicle in the muck, it’s really a surprise to me that he didn’t fall out and do some serious damage to himself, so he should actually be thanking his lucky stars instead of being angry at the vehicle. Luckily for him he has some random strangers come by to try and help him get unstuck from the muck. Continue reading “Why the Duck is an Ass”

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The Death of Books

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I am sitting in Barnes & Noble, a place I haven’t been in an awfully long span of time. This used to be my hangout, of course, with its rows upon rows of books spread out toward the horizon, as far as the eye could see. So why haven’t I been here in so long? Life happened, and it has taken me along with it. But I’m here now, soaking up the atmosphere and wondering how I can do this more often. A sigh just escaped my lips at the prospect.

Of course it’s not the same, though, not how it used to be. In the old days the side area by the windows was full of comfortable chairs, ambience if you will. And over by the entertainment section there were more soft, cushy chairs that invited people to sit and stay a while. In fact, it wasn’t unheard of to laze away an entire afternoon or even a whole Sunday relaxing in those chairs and reading my life away. So refreshing. Now there are three of those such chairs, and the culprit… the Nook.

In the exact middle of the store now is a section that has been hollowed out, displacing rows upon rows of books, as well as those extra chairs that created such an atmosphere that I thrived on. And I understand why they did it. I do. Obviously books aren’t selling like they used to, those physical behemoths with spines and that fresh book smell. They’re losing out to so many other types of media, including the eBook, and Barnes & Noble saw the writing on the wall. They jumped in with both feet, and the results are evident.

And I mourn the loss of those books that were displaced by the revolution.
Continue reading “The Death of Books”

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Genre Hopping

I was perusing Freshly Pressed this evening when I came across a blog post that features an interesting question that I’ve never really thought about before, but also one that I want to explore. So, at the risk of being a copycat, I want to write on the same topic. Please forgive me if I … Continue reading Genre Hopping

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I Wanted to Be Harry Potter

Book 5

I remember when I first discovered the wizarding world created by JK Rowling, sometime after the release of The Goblet of Fire and before The Order of the Phoenix, and I wondered what all the fuss was about. There had been series before, and there would be series after, so I didn’t pay much attention to the one stirring up such a hornet’s nest (that one’s part of a favorite series too) at that time. I knew it had been banned, and I knew it had to do with witchcraft, but I had no idea how important it would come to be in my life. Not then.

You see, at the time I was going through an enormous move, a life-altering event that involved trust, faith, and maybe even a little bit of fear. Okay, definitely a lot of fear. For the first time in my life I was going out on a limb for what I felt deep down in my soul was love, something worth believing in so much that I was willing to uproot myself for it, and looking back on it, I’m oh so glad I did. But at the time it was all I could do to stop from getting hives (I got them anyway) during the process. The last thing on my mind was getting into a new series. Continue reading “I Wanted to Be Harry Potter”

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A Time to Read

You know, finding time to read has gotten so much harder lately. When I really want to just sit, relax, and unwind, my mind is all over the map, though, and I can’t focus. Instead, I’ve been using mindless television shows that don’t challenge my poor brain like a book does. And it’s sad, too, because there are so many books I have here that are potential good reads. In fact, I have two books I am currently in the process of reading that are essentially on pause while I finish doing this two-jobs-at-one-time experiment that has driven me quite mad over the course of the past six weeks.

Here are the two books that are currently on hold:

Pure, by Julianna Baggott, is yet another one of those post-apocalyptic tour de forces that have become quite popular lately, along the lines of The Hunger Games, The Selection, Prodigy, and Delirium, but for some reason it lacks the push, the impetus that made me inhale those other books like they were the sweetest smelling roses. I’m not saying that Pure is bad, but maybe I’ve just gotten to my limit in the genre and I need to come back to it at a later date.

Deeply Odd is the umpteenth book in Dean Koontz’s Odd Thomas series that is just as quirky as the first one. It’s this book that makes me realize there must be something with how my brain is wired with these two jobs that is messing with me, because this is a good book (don’t get me started on the less than stellar 55 Shadow Street that I have yet to finish, and for the first time with a Dean Koontz book, I don’t think I will finish) and a return to form for the master of the supernatural. Continue reading “A Time to Read”