rhetorical excursions

Julie Patel? Her name still haunts me. Bradstreet Gate is a poignant look at college life and murder wrapped up neatly in a beautifully designed paperback format. Shown on the edition I’d read, the cover alone depicts a sinister wrought iron gate slightly ajar, leading to mist shrouded grounds, littered with Victorian buildings. Dark windows and shadowy doorways allow the mind to wander while reading the pages of this story. 3 friends find themselves caught in a web of lies and half-truths. Lives of mystery and second guessing. A situation that would almost crush any 20-something student juggling not only their already frail academic careers, but their vain attempt at maturity as well. Honestly, if a friend was murdered, I believe that would catapult a person directly into maturity and possible even acceptance of mortality, or destroy their life. But I will now digress from my meandering half-assed poetic musing. Georgia, Charlie and Alice join the ranks of new faces on ca

I mistakenly read the Spaceman books out of order, starting with Near Enemy first, for some ridiculous reason. But as soon as I cracked this opened I realized that although the series shares common themes and characters they're in fact suitable as stand-alone stories. In the 1st Spademan book we learn who David Spademan is, or rather used to be and who he has now become. Reduced to taking on the ever popular but slightly challenging role as hit-man. A used-to-be bed hopper, since recovered, he spent all of his time and money tapping into the limnosphere. The next big thing. Where most people live out twisted fantasies, Spademan chose to just float in a vast, black void. Emptying his mind and life all all the noise and strife. Oh, how envious I am of that. The story felted very balanced, and evenly paced. I especially enjoyed how Sternbergh chose to type his lines and dialogue. Very quick. Very short. Packing a huge punch to the face. Shovel Ready gives us a detailed acc

I've always been a fan of John Cleese's [Cheese] work, from early on. I remember the first time I saw the sketch for the Ministry of Silly Walks I was about 9 or so and I nearly wet myself from laughing so hard. I carried that sketch with me for what seemed like forever, even mimicking it well on into high school. Despite how amazing I thought it was, it didn't seem to fair too well with the ladies, but I digress. John Cleese has an incredible knack for delivering the right amount of pressure to my funny bone. Admittedly I even chuckled a few time during A Fish Called Wanda despite it's several lagging moments. Reading this, I noticed the first 100 pages can be arguably considered pretentious or even gloating, but please do keep in mind that this is an autobiography, a memoir about the life of a person who has and continues to achieve far greater performances then the time he spent with The Flying Circus. I found the beginning half of this book to be most appea

I greatly appreciate the work that Jonathan Maas offers his readers; it’s very apparent within the first few pages the shear amount of research and dedication he puts forth through his words. Each book has been an amazing ride for me. I initially started with Flare [3rd Book], which was a hard punch to my face, followed by Spanner: The Fountain of Youth [2nd Book] and have recently finished City of Gods: Hellenica [1st book]. Throughout these 3 novels I’ve noticed subtle themes, or undertones of a greatness locked within one’s self and through persistence and diligence a person can will truly understand themselves and find real happiness. City of Gods: Hellenica for me was thoroughly entertaining. Many of the characters [Gods/Spirits/Demons] we learn about early on in our lives, whether in school or just out of general curiosity make an appearance in this novel. Some, such as Hercules are portrayed as blundering fools allowing their strength to dictate their actions, while oth

Blind Huber is a short collection of poems about bees. This book is completely different from anything I've ever read by Flynn, I could say it feels calmer, almost quiet. It's as if Flynn has finally found a safe zone where he could allow his mind to wander, which is kind of ironic considering the content is about living as bees do. Being born and bred for a single purpose. Almost never leaving hive except when some greater force smashes it open to eat you. Maybe even dying in a comb and being covered in the sweet nectar you so bravely defend, forever to hang suspended, preserved. The food for you and your millions of sisters, brothers, Queen. I really enjoyed this collection, as I have everything I've read by Flynn, despite the insane negative feedback this book received online. Sometimes the users should just loosen up and enjoy the words instead of looking for a meaning that's not between them. For more information on Blind Huber or Nick Flynn , please visi

I would like to start off by saying this rendition of Shakespeare’s “The Winter Tale” was by far the bravest thing ever written. Jeanette Winterson managed to take a timeless classic and smoother it in modern times, characters and situations. There’s also a very subtle nods to “Back to the Future” here as well. The book opens with the original “The Winter Tale” so the readers can become familiar with at least the basic backbone of the story and jumps right into what I believe to be a strangled and doomed relationship from the start between to childhood friends, Leo and Xeno and how that are in fact both in love with the same woman, MiMi. The jealousy between these 2 men nearly kills MiMi, results in the death of Leo and MiMi’s son, Milo and separates Leo and MiMi from each other and their Daughter Perdita for nearly 18 years. Perdita was taken away by a trusted friend of Leo to be taken to what he assumed was her father, by unfortunately was murdered along the way. Baby Perdita wa