Review: Songs From Under the River

Purchase Songs From Under the River here.

Synopsis:

If someone says a poetry reading is a perfect opportunity for a nap, check to see if their head is under a rock. Today’s poet performers have kicked it up a few hundred notches. Poets like Anis Mojgani, a two-time National Poetry Slam champion, winner of the International World Cup Poetry Slam and author of Over the Anvil We Stretch and The Feather Room. Mojgani has put together his third gathering of poems, Songs From Under the River: Early and New Work, a striking collection of his best out-of-print and new works that jump off the page and prove a performance on their own.

Songs From Under the River showcases what is expected from an artist of Anis’s considerable talent. His words have the fluidity of paint strokes, creating vivid imagines while structured to invite rhythmic reading. Anis’s poetry proves a universal art form, telling his story while at the same time evoking the reader’s own personal interpretation.

Songs From Under the River exhibits all the brilliance Anis’s fans have been reveling in for years. He is playful and whimsical and has the uncanny ability to lift us up while grounding us; flawlessly exemplified in his performance of Shake the Dust, the YouTube video of which has had more than a million hits. The popularity of Anis and other like him proves poetry is not just alive — it’s flourishing. 

Review:

There is nothing so refreshing during a poetry slam as a poem that makes you laugh. Slams are filled with so much sadness and anger and anxiety that they are emotionally draining, so any bit of laughter is beautiful and appreciated. In his most recent collection (released today), Anis Mojgani manages to convey all of the sadness and anger and anxiety that other poets express, but he manages to infuse humor and hope into his lines as well, saying we kiss and breathe like poetry and also "they poop like poetry!" Anis Mojgani manages to weave a beautiful collection that does not lose anything in an attempt to make his readers smile. If you like Mojgani or slam in general, this is definitely a necessary addition to your poetry collection.

Until next time, happy reading!
-Amanda

Review: Waiter Rant

Purchase Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip--Confessions of a Cynical Waiter here.
You can visit Steve Dublanica's blog here.

Synopsis:

According to The Waiter, 80 percent of customers are nice people just looking for something to eat. The remaining 20 percent, however, are socially maladjusted psychopaths.
Eye-opening, outrageous, and unabashed—replete with tales of customer stupidity, arrogant misbehavior, and unseen tidbits of human grace in the most unlikely places—Waiter Rant presents the server's unique point of view, revealing surefire secrets to getting good service, proper tipping etiquette, and ways to ensure that your waiter won't spit on your food.

Review:

Scrolling through the reviews for Waiter Rant on Goodreads, it's easy to pick out people who fit the bill for the usual clientele of The Bistro; they're the ones giving one-star reviews and calling Steve Dublanica "arrogant" and "self-indulgent".  The reviews from former waiters and waitresses are almost exclusively four- and five-star.  It's a dichotomy that gives you an idea of how the rest of the book will go.

As a former waitress (and probably future one, seeing as one is expected to pay for textbooks), I was predisposed to enjoy a book telling people to stop acting like morons in restaurants.  I wish most of the people who dined out would follow Dublanica's advice; for all the profanity and ranting, he gives many good tips about eating in a restaurant.  I agree with the reviewers who didn't enjoy the book so much because it was self-indulgent.  However, the book is meant to be a memoir.  Writing a memoir is the epitome of self-indulgence; when you pick one up, you're expecting to read an account of the author's life.  All in all, this was funny and honest.  An interesting examination of everyone in a restaurant, I would recommend it to waitstaff and patrons alike.

Until next time, happy reading!
-Amanda

Review: John Dies at the End

Purchase John Dies at the End here.

Synopsis:

STOP.
You should not have touched this book with your bare hands.
NO, don’t put it down. It’s too late.
They’re watching you.
My name is David Wong. My best friend is John. Those names are fake. You might want to change yours.
You may not want to know about the things you’ll read on these pages, about the sauce, about Korrok, about the invasion, and the future. But it’s too late. You touched the book. You’re in the game. You’re under the eye.
The only defense is knowledge. You need to read this book, to the end. Even the part with the bratwurst. Why? You just have to trust me.

The important thing is this:
The drug is called Soy Sauce and it gives users a window into another dimension. 
John and I never had the chance to say no. 
You still do.
Unfortunately for us, if you make the right choice, we’ll have a much harder time explaining how to fight off the otherworldly invasion currently threatening to enslave humanity.
            I’m sorry to have involved you in this, I really am. But as you read about these terrible events and the very dark epoch the world is about to enter as a result, it is crucial you keep one thing in mind:

None of this is was my fault.

Review:

What to even say about this book?  I picked it up a while ago, then decided it was time to review as the movie was recently released here in the US.  Enticed by the severed hand on the cover and the spoilerific title, I thought it would be an interesting read.  What followed was a dark and convoluted (and more than occasionally sickening) tale that I assume is comparable to an acid trip.  Especially if you're ill and tired and dizzy while reading the book.

Favorable reviews of John Dies at the End cite a laugh-out-loud and horror-filled novel.  Less favorable ones call it juvenile.  I fall somewhere in between; I have to admit that I giggled and read some of the lines of the novel aloud to my mother or friends while I was reading.  However, the humor of the novel is juvenile in most places, consisting mainly of poorly-timed penis and diarrhea jokes (although the line "SHIT THE BOMB" will never stop being funny to me, I think). 

All in all, this book is right in the middle to me.  There are a very select few people I would recommend it to, based on content and writing style.  However, it was certainly different than anything I've read before, and it did have its moments of humor.

Until next time, happy reading!
-Amanda

Review: The After Girls

Purchase The After Girls here.

Synopsis:

Ella, Astrid, and Sydney were planning the perfect summer after high school graduation. But when Astrid commits suicide in a lonely cabin, the other girls' worlds are shattered. How could their best friend have done this--to herself and to them? They knew everything about Astrid. Shouldn't they have seen this coming? Couldn't they have saved her?

As Ella hunts for the truth, and Sydney tries to dull the pain, a chilling message from Astrid leaves them wondering whether their beloved friend is communicating from the after life. The girls embark on a journey to uncover Astrid's dark secrets. The answers to those questions--questions they never dreamed of asking--will change their lives forever.

Review:

Pretty Little Liars was, is, and always will be my favourite guilty pleasure.  I read the entire book series from the time I got a free ebook copy of the first book, pretty much devouring all the fun drama and twists.  The After Girls brings that same kind of drama and mystery and town secrets back.  However, in this book, the main character has committed suicide rather than been murdered, and her friends are left to pick up the pieces and attempt to find out what happened, all with the aid of some crazy adults and yummy boys.  This book is a quick read.  It's interesting and dramatic, with the right amount of respect for what happens when a girl commits suicide.  What happens After.

Until next time, happy reading!
-Amanda

Review: After the Witch Hunt

Purchase After the Witch Hunt here.

Synopsis:

As if she discovered a small army of silenced women captive in her pen, Megan Falley releases them in the spilled ink that is her most brilliant collection of poems, After the Witch Hunt. Demanding "if you really love a writer, bury her in all your awful and watch as she scrawls her way out,” her book does exactly that. An incessant digging, a journey in building escape routes, armed with both humor and a brazen darkness, each poem in this book of bloodletting is another swing of the pick and axe in this young woman's labor, insistent upon light.

Review:

I've seen Megan Falley perform.  I've watched her videos on YouTube for years now.  And yet, I'm still shocked by how hard and deep many of her poems hit with me.  Megan is a brilliant and versatile writer, and this collection is just another example of her talents.  I first read After the Witch Hunt nearly a year ago, and I just keep going back to it because the poems keep resonating.  This is definitely a book to borrow and re-read until the cover is tattered and the pages well-loved.

Until next time, happy reading!
-Amanda

Review: Drunks and Other Poems of Recovery

Purchase Drunks and Other Poems of Recovery here.

Synopsis:

There are rock stars of the slam-poetry world; poets who not only sell thousands of books but travel the country and perform for hundreds of fans at a time. Poets like the late Jack McCarthy, writer of eight books of poetry and whose newest work, Drunks and other poems of recovery, is a masterful collection for those who have made and are making the thorny journey through addiction.

In Drunks and other poems of recovery, McCarthy likens an AA meeting to an island of shipwrecked survivors. “Every night we gather around the fire and tell our stories. And the more we tell our stories, the clearer it becomes: it isn’t many stories we’re telling, it’s The Story,” says McCarthy.  That’s what he was unparalleled at doing: telling his story while at the same time telling the tale of thousands.

Drunks and other poems of recovery will be McCarthy’s last book. He left this world earlier this year at age 73. His life was a full one; 40 years sober, a touring poet who traveled much of the United States and Canada, Ireland, Germany and Spain and an innovative writer of poetry and recovery. McCarthy is gone but due to his poetry and recorded performances, the essences of him will always be here.

Review:

I read this book while at the College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational.  What better place to delve into a book of poetry when surrounded by some of the best poets I've ever met?  Write Bloody Publishing continues to publish authors with so much to offer, this time showcasing a man who shows incredible versatility, even in a book based around one subject.  Yes, most of these poems focus on Alcoholics Anonymous and other parts of the author's life being an alcoholic, but they echo sentiments that anyone in recovery feels.  Whether you are recovering from alcoholism, drug addiction, self harm, or an eating disorder, or if you are close with someone who is, you will find pieces of yourself in these poems, along with something that seems scarce in the recovery community: hope.  This is a beautiful final connection that, if I have anything to say about it, will be read long after people have forgotten Aliens.

Until next time, happy reading!
-Amanda

Review: The Bane

Purchase The Bane (The Eden Trilogy) here.

Synopsis:

Before the Evolution there was TorBane: technology that infused human DNA with cybernetic matter. It had the ability to grow new organs and limbs, to heal the world. Until it evolved out of control and spread like the common cold. The machine took over, the soul vanished, and the Bane were born. The Bane won't stop until every last person has been infected. With less than two percent of the human population left, mankind is on the brink of extinction. Eve knows the stories of the Evolution, the time before she wandered into the colony of Eden, unable to recall anything but her name. But she doesn't need memories to know this world is her reality. This is a world that is quickly losing its humanity, one Bane at a time. Fighting to keep one of the last remaining human colonies alive, Eve finds herself torn between her dedication to the colony, and the discovery of love. There is Avian and West – one a soldier, one a keeper of secrets. And in the end, Eve will make a choice that will change the future of mankind. The Bane is The Terminator meets The Walking Dead with a heart-twisting romance.

Review:

Anyone who read my last post or who has talked to me within the past month knows that I've been dying to find new dystopian/post-apocalyptic books to read lately.  Divergent set me off on a kick that I haven't been able to shake since, so when I stumbled across The Bane, I thought it would be the perfect answer to what I was looking for.  Keary Taylor's idea is so innovative, treating the traditional science fiction idea of cyborgs as a virus - a disease that one human can spread to another.  Reading this story was a treat, telling the same kind of story I was looking for in a post-apocalyptic story, but in a surprisingly refreshing way.

The romantic aspect of the book, I was not a huge fan of for the majority of the novel.  Specifically West's parts were excruciatingly uncomfortable, feeling closer to sexual assault than to romance.  In addition, parts of the plot felt too rushed, as if Taylor was trying to fit too much into one volume.  I'm left wondering what could possibly happen in the two remaining volumes of the Eden Trilogy.

However, I enjoyed The Bane.  It was a fun read and a great adventure story.  If you are looking for a good post-apocalyptic novel that manages to maintain a sense of lightness despite the heaviness of the subject matter, The Bane is a perfect option.  I look forward to reading the remainder of the trilogy.

Until next time, happy reading!
-Amanda

Review: The Diviners

Buy The Diviners here.

Synopsis:

Evie O'Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City--and she is pos-i-toot-ly thrilled. New York is the city of speakeasies, shopping, and movie palaces! Soon enough, Evie is running with glamorous Ziegfield girls and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is Evie has to live with her Uncle Will, curator of The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult--also known as "The Museum of the Creepy Crawlies."

When a rash of occult-based murders comes to light, Evie and her uncle are right in the thick of the investigation. And through it all, Evie has a secret: a mysterious power that could help catch the killer--if he doesn't catch her first.

 

Review:

 

This book is the perfect book to spend a few days completely lost in.  The language (which will get stuck in your head and you will accidentally try to use in your daily life), the vibrant city, the secrets and characters and intricate plot...  You'll fall down the glitzy and dangerous rabbit hole of Evie's world and not want to come out.  Libba Bray once again creates an amazingly rich, enchanting atmosphere for an engaging story that will have you hooked until the very last page.  This is another one of those books that I will probably get in trouble for not shutting up about, but I don't care.  I think it's the elephant's eyebrows!

Until next time, happy reading!

-Amanda

Reviews: Divergent and Insurgent

Purchase Divergent and Insurgent here.

Divergent Synopsis:

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Insurgent Synopsis:

One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

Review:

I am currently trying to figure out what to do with my life after finishing what has been published of this series so far.  I am in book shock - it's been hard to read anything else because these two books are so great that I don't know what will measure up.  I have my desktop set to a fan-created Divergent image.  I will not stop talking about this series to basically anyone who will listen; I've downloaded both books to my boyfriend's Kindle, I semi-attacked my friend David in the dining hall today over the series, and I swear my mother will hang up on me the next time I bring the books up.  To say I enjoyed the series is an understatement; I've needed a series into which I can completely escape lately, and the Divergent universe gladly delivers. 

Veronica Roth's faction system creates such an interesting set up for this series.  The books are engaging, fast-paced, heart-wrenching, and mind-bending.  One word of warning; this series is not for the faint of heart.  The series takes place in war time, and Roth is certainly not shy of character death.  As someone who seems to only watch shows that involve intense emotional trauma (hello, Fringe, Season Four), this is not an issue for me.  Veronica Roth really delivers: you have a badass heroine with a group of fleshed-out and interesting characters, a complex political system, insane plot twists, a complicated romance that doesn't hinder the story line.  I also love that Tris isn't inhuman, and neither are any of the other characters.  Even the basic training that Dauntless members have to go through is incredibly emotionally traumatizing, and dealing with that is an integral part of the storyline.  When a character dies, it isn't just dealt with, accepted, and then out of the storyline; you see how it affects each character.

All in all, this was an amazing series and I cannot wait until book three is released.

Until next time, happy (or in this case, incredibly emotional) reading!
-Amanda