book comments 20

"When The Day of Evil Comes" by Melanie Wells
--first book in the Day of Evil series (I commented on the second book [The Soul Hunter] here.)
--the start of Dylan Foster's misadventures with the demon Peter Terry
--for some reason, I think "Peter Terry" is an excellent name for a demon
--creepy (grave-robbing), gross (plague of flies), and disturbing (did I mention there's a demon?)
--good characterization, believable dialogue, good plot twists
--story and writing flow well
--also disturbing in that it makes ya think
--a few slow parts, more so than in Book 2, but nowhere slow enough to make me stop reading
--recommend; and I plan to acquire Book 3

"Star Wars: Death Troopers" by Joe Schreiber
In one shelle du nut:

Imperial prison barge. Convicts and stormtroopers. Zombies.

Yes, I said zombies.

--excellent writing: well-flowing story, action-packed, fast-paced, tension in every line, great vocab, highly effective imagery, vivid characters
--blood, guts, gore, and Wookiees
--I mentioned there are zombies, right?
--cramazing fun
--plus, the author's last name is German for "one who / something that writes"
--dude.
--recommend to any Star Wars or sci-fi fan

"Traveling Mercies" by Anne Lamott
I can give no description that would do this book justice.

--Lamott tells her own story: growing up with drugs and alcohol in the '60s, watching friends die, becoming Jewish, becoming a seeker, becoming disillusioned, finding truth here and there and clinging to it
--tells the story of coming to faith in God by a grittier, more circuitous, more realistic path than most of us could imagine
--irreverent, profane, hilarious, wholly unafraid to say what others think but never dare to say
--If you have any faith in God at all, this book will probably take what you think you know and turn it inside out. And leave you feeling less as though you have a hole in your middle. That's how I feel about it, anyway. :o)
--one of my favorite quotes so far: "When a lot of things start going wrong all at once, it is to protect something big and lovely that is trying to get itself born--and...this something needs for you to be distracted so that it can be born as perfectly as possible."
--highly recommend

2009 Book Count To-Date: 39. Alas and alack, I fear I shall not exceed, nay, shall not even meet my book count of 2008. I had a longish non-reading period earlier this year, which was an unfortunate happenstance. Ah well, c'est la vie, n'est-ce pas, mes amis? Bien sur.

Please, pardon my French. ;oD