100 by 30 Book 96 - The Phantom of the Opera

Yay! Let's end the project by writing about a tragically misunderstood genius and the woman he loves.....oh wait, that's not what this book is about at all. My thoughts could best be described in a short scene performed by Harry and Lloyd from Dumb and Dumber:

Harry: Wow. I thought Phantom of the Opera would be a little more romantic than this.

Lloyd: I was thinking the same thing. That Andrew Lloyd Webber's full a shit man.

AND, Scene.

So yeah, for those of you only familiar with the musical version of the tale, basically they cut out the whole part where the Phantom is a raving psychopath who loves to torture people to death for fun....lots of people. He's basically a singing version of Jigsaw from the Saw movies. I must admit I was a little thrown at first by the writing style. Like The Time Machine and Jekyl and Hyde, the book is written as a reporting of events after the fact by a person not caught in the middle of the events. Once I adjusted to the style, it became much easier to read and I found the book to be quite entertaining. The torture room was quite inventive and I enjoyed the way it was slowly revealed that way the events transpired, it became easy to believe that the phantom had never existed and that the strange events surrounding Christine Daae could be explained by placing blame on her lover Raul rather than a deformed madman in the bowels of the Paris Opera house. It's a nice switcheroo, and I would definitely recommend this for anyone looking for a less sappy version of the story. It takes a little bit to get going, but stick with it. It gets much better.

9/10

100 by 30 Book 95 - Epileptic by David B

So I have one more blog to write after this. I saved another one so I didn't have to end on a downer (it also helps that I'm watching Dumb and Dumber as I write)

Epileptic is an autobiographical graphic novel told from the perspective of a middle child who has an older brother and a younger sister and then the older brother develops epilepsy. The story chronicles the trials of the family has they see a parade of doctors and healers in a search for a cure. For those of you familiar with my family, you will probably be aware that this story hits a little too close to home for me. While there are some wild differences, (the story takes place in France from the 1960s through the 1990s and the parents are obsessed with finding cures with crazy hippy healers to name a few things) There are some personal moments that will really hit home for anyone who has had a family member deal with this disease. In the book, the disease is often pictured as a monster that is slowly consuming the whole family, and the various family members struggle to deal with something that is just so unpredictable. The author, writing from his perspective as a child, uses the graphic novel medium to try to figure out where his brother goes when he has a seizure. He also imagines encasing himself in armor to protect himself from the outside world. He pulls aways from the world and buries himself in his art as a way to escape reality and process his feelings. This book feels very much like an attempt by the author to find a way to come clean to his family and to try to process the way his family's life was forever changed. It is intensely personal and I got the feeling that I was being shown things that most people would have a hard time speaking to a therapist about, let alone putting in a book for millions of people to read.

Fortunately for my family, we've had many more bright spots, and my brother got to be my best man at my wedding and continues to be one of the coolest people I know. He has become a source of inspiration for me and I cherish every moment we get to spend together. For any family members reading my blog, you should know, this book was very, very hard for me to get through, so I'm hesitant to recommend it. I did get some comfort in knowing that I wasn't the only person who had to deal with the complex emotions that come when you try to love and care for a family member dealing with a terrifying condition, but be warned that this book does not have a neat and tidy ending. The book ends in the mid-1990s when epilepsy research was just beginning to improve and effective treatments for severe cases were hard to find.

So that's that book. I'm glad I read it, but it wasn't what I would call a pleasant experience.

9.5/10

100 by 30 Book 99 - The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde

Well this wasn't like the musical at all. It's actually a nice mystery tale, which kinda gets ruined when you already know the ending. In any case, Robert Lewis Stevenson is a pretty good writer so this is still worth your time. Since the book is quite short, this post will be too.

7/10

100 by 30 book 97 - How to Train Your Dragon

First of all, I LOVE the How to Train Your Dragon movies. I cried like a baby multiple times during the second movie. With such a rich world, and great characters, my expectations were sky high for the book series. This book....was not what I expected. Apart from character and location names, the books and movies have almost nothing in common. Most upsetting, Toothless, the main dragon in the movie, is a whiny little runt in the book. I guess this book is ok, but if you are looking for some depth and emotion, you need to look elsewhere.

4/10

100 by 30 Book 98 - Alice in Wonderland

I've never really liked this story in any of the versions I've seen it, but I thought I'd give the original source material a shot.....nope, I still hate this story. I like a good amount of nonsense and word play as much as the next guy, but this story is about as much fun as listening to an annoying coworker tell you about a really weird dream they had. If you must read a book about Wonderland, I think you'd be much better off reading the smutty parody version instead.

1/10

100 by 30 Book 94 - Shadow on the Mountain by Margi Preus

Shadow of the Mountain is a Young Adult novel that tracks a young teen in Norway during the Nazi Occupation. He and his friends get involved in the resistance movement and young Espen gains crucial intelligence about a Nazi command facility that causes him to take flight over the mountains in an attempt to reach the safety of Sweden. It's a thrilling tale of an often overlooked part of World War II. The story is based on real people and sticks very close to actual events. Much like NUMBER THE STARS, there is an epilogue at the end of the book that goes more in depth with the people who inspired the story and even includes a number of photographs from the period. For anyone looking for an entry into the underground spy networks of WWII, this is a great introduction.
9.5/10

100 by 30 Book 93 Dragon * Princess by S. Andrew Swann

Dragon * Princess is a fantasy adventure about a lovable rogue, Frank Blackthorne, who takes a job rescuing a princess in order to help clear up a little misunderstanding with a demon worshipping cult. Unfortunately, the rescue attempt is a set up and our manly hero suddenly finds himself in the body of the princess and the princess in now in the body of a dragon. What follows is an adventure across kingdoms as Frank tries to get everyone back in the body they're supposed to be in. There's also the problem of the dragon having a serious gambling debt with the elves, a relentless white knight, a gentle giant, and that nasty demon worshipping cult. While I did enjoy the book and found it to be mostly successful, I was very disappointed in the lack of quality female characters. It's just such a wasted opportunity to do something interesting with gender identity and relationships and it never really got deeper than, "boy, it's sure weird to have boobs. Oh and everyone wants to rape me, LOL." (it's not quite that bad, but close). I wasn't really looking for a women's studies thesis, but there's just SO much you can do creatively with a male character who suddenly has to live as a woman in a fantasy world. What the book ends up suggesting is that having a woman's body is kind of lame. If you go in with measured expectations, it's a nice, light read, but it could have been so much more.
7/10

100 by 30 Book 92 - The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates #1: Magic Marks the spot by Caroline Carlson

Whoa! I feel like I just came back from the future where I finished this project with 3 days to spare and know I have to tell everyone what happened....Oh wait, never mind. Turns out I just like the review part of this project get way backed up. Time to do some house cleaning.

The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates (VNHLP for short) Have a strict no girls allowed policy, which is a problem if you are 10 year old Hilary Westfield and you have been training to be The Terror of the Southlands your entire life. It also doesn't help if your father is Admiral of the Queen's navy and wants to get rid of all pirates. But Hilary is not to be deterred. With the help of her trusty Gargoyle, she runs away from finishing school to join a crew and search for buried treasure. This is a delightfully silly book that keeps everything fairly carefree and fun. It's basically about all the things a 10 year old would think pirates do. I loved the female characters in this book, especially Hilary's governess. This is one of the only times I can think of where we get to see that the authority figure for a child character has other ambitions in life than scolding and prohibiting fun. Hilary's governess actually wants to own a bookshop by the sea, and is only strict with Hilary because, well, that is what she gets paid for. It's nice to see children's authority figures with a little more depth than mean guardian or wacky teacher. The book also has a delightful sense of humor. If you're in the market for a nice, fun read, this is a great option.
9.5/10

100 by 30 - Book 100 - The Time Machine by HG Wells

I. DID. IT! I finished with three days to spare! I will post the missing books in the next few days, but I wanted to be sure to mark my accomplishment as soon as I finished it.

So anyway, let's get to the review of The Time Machine. As you will notice, I ended this project on a series of classics that I really had no direct knowledge of. Time machine was published in 1895 and follows what seems to have been a trend in the storytelling of the day in that the author is merely giving us an account of the incidents of the story as they were told to him. It's an interesting style that gives the book a sense of realism, but you lose the more immersive feeling of a traditional third person novel where we are often privy to the innermost thoughts of the characters. The Time Machine is a slight book, but it is big on speculation about the ultimate fate of man. Turns out, we are all doomed. While I actually found the majority of the novel to be a little dull for my taste, it was the descriptions of the end of the solar system, and the one, solitary life form struggling to move as the sun began to die that really struck me. It's a hauntingly lonely image, and it made the whole book worth it for that one little paragraph. I'll leave it there for now, it's a short read, and I really enjoyed reading a very early science fiction novel. The shear faith in man's greatness and ability to conquer the world with science is a little inspiring, and I'm starting to understand why that era is so popular for steam punk stories. I hope you've enjoyed this little journey with me. I will be posting the missing books soon and I am planning at least one wrap up article in the near future. Cheers!

6.5/10

100 by 30 Book 91 - Crap Kingdom by DC Pierson

Tom would love to be sucked away from his dull life and become The Chosen One in a fantastical other world. The problem is, his life doesn't suck enough. He gets ok grades, his family cares about him and he doesn't have to worry about bullies. It's not that he's popular, he just isn't interesting in any way to warrant being the kind of person that those kinds of things happen to...until it does. Tom gets whisked away into a fantastical world made mostly of old clothes and used junk from earth. And the king sits on a throne made of towels and an Igloo cooler, and his Chosen One duties consist of cleaning the snot out of the rats noses....so Tom quits being the chosen one because the kingdom is, well, crap. Then a new Chosen One is called, and it turns out to be Tom's best friend Kyle. Kyle learns to do all kinds of awesome magic and the citizens of Crap Kingdom love Kyle, and Tom gets a little jealous. There's accidental betrayals and power struggles and dimension hopping.

It's a very funny book, and an enjoyable read, but the book does suffer from the author's poor descriptive skills. I'd never really appreciated good world building in novels until now. When we venture into a strange world in the final third of the book, I found myself very confused as to the generally geography. I couldn't really picture anything that was being described and it bummed me out because it seemed like the author had something neat in mind. Between that, and the rather abrupt ending, a rather well done book ended on kind of a low note.

7/10

100 by 30 Book 90 - The Perks of Being a Wallflower

I have to give props to my wife for recommending this book to me. This is the second time I have read it and it remains one of my all time favorites. The book is a series of letters that Charlie writes to an anonymous stranger about his struggles through his first year of high school. Charlie's best friend committed suicide the previous year, and Charlie already suffers from some emotional / mental health issues. As someone who went through some fairly stressful and alienating times in my high school years, Charley was extremely easy to relate to, and I felt like he was describing my own life at times. Most of my high school friends were older than me, and I did make some dumb choices from time to time. Charley's issues are a lot more serious than mine (my close friends never killed themselves, I didn't have to stay in a mental health facility and I wasn't molested, all good things to miss out on) but his loneliness and awkwardness have to be an almost universal experience. This is a perfect book for anyone who had a rough time at school before finding that group of weirdos who make you feel "infinite." Reading it this time, I also noted that Charlie is an excellent party DJ because he watches the crowd and matches the music to their mood, which is something I actually do for a living. If you've ever felt like an outsider or a weirdo, then you need to read this book.
10 / 10

100 by 30 Book 89 - Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

And now for something COMPLETELY different. After the last book, I kind of felt the need to read something a little more serious. Since the library was out of copies of THE GIVER, I decided to pick up another award-winning book by Lois Lowry: Number the Stars. I remembered reading this book back in grade school and that it was about the Holocaust, but that was about it. The story is about a young girl in Nazi-occupied Denmark and her family's efforts to save their Jewish neighbors from being relocated by the Nazis. It gives a worm's eye view of some of the most horrific events in human history, but it is ultimately a story of triumph over evil. The final escape attempt takes up almost the last half of the book and it is riveting reading. Even if you are very familiar with World War II history, this book highlights the remarkable way the people of Denmark were able to save thousands of their Jewish neighbors and smuggle them safely to Sweden. It's a very quick read, but well worth your time, regardless of your age. There is even a great author's note at the end that explains the inspiring truth behind this story.

9/10

100 by 30 Book 88 - Fifty Shades of Alice in Wonderland

Part of the goal of this project was to read some things I normally wouldn't. Book 88 Certainly isn't the kind of book I ever thought I'd read. Fifty Shades of Alice in Wonderland by Melinda DuChamp is essentially a literary porn parody. Thankfully, it has nothing to do with the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy other than the title (from what I understand, those books promote an extremely unhealthy view of sexual relationships) Ms. DuChamp's little book is more of a goofy how-to guide for exploring adult fantasies.

The story follows Alice, a young woman unsatisfied with her love life with her fiance, Lewis. Lewis gives her a "rabbit" to spice things up a bit. When Lewis Falls asleep, the "rabbit" runs away and Alice chases him down the rabbit hole and into a wonderland of goofy characters who spend a good deal of their time being naughty little monkeys. As far as I can tell, the book follows the format of the original Alice in Wonderland with the exception that most of the creatures have been replaced by hunky dudes and hot babes. Lest you think the book is promoting rampant infidelity, the book ends with the reveal that it was all a crazy dream and Alice and Lewis live happily ever after.

Apart from the massive amount of puns and silly jokes, this book is also careful to promote healthy ways to explore roleplaying and other games. Everyone is nice and considerate, and boundaries are always respected. This isn't to say that the book is chaste by any stretch because Oh My, they do some weird stuff. But the writer's sense of fun for her topic is palpable, and you almost forget that you are reading a smutty, smutty book. In fact, I was shocked that this book is actually pretty well written. Erotica and Romance books aren't renowned for their quality writing (at least that's what I learned from watching Alison Janney in 10 Things I Hate About You and that episode of FRIENDS where Joey finds Rachels dirty book) The parody was well thought out, and some of the jokes were actually quite clever. I looked into a bit and discovered that Melida DuChamp is a pen name for an author who has published over 50 novels under her real name. The pen name is to protect her from the embarrassment of her family finding out that she likes to write dirty books, which makes sense. I mean, people don't like to admit to reading these kinds of books, let alone admitting that you wrote a porny book. (which also explains the romance novel boom that has happened since the advent of the Kindle. Now no one has to know that you aren't reading War and Peace) Overall, I thought this was an interesting read, and I suppose you could do a lot worse than read a dirty parody of a literary classic that treats it women like people with thoughts and feelings rather than just an object of desire.

100 by 30 Book 87 - Beyond Midnight by S.R. Dixon

Full disclosure, the author of Beyond Midnight was a groomsman in my wedding and is one of the coolest people I know. It took me a while to get around to finishing this book because I felt a certain obligation as a friend to love it. This is of course accompanied by the fear that I wouldn't like it. I mean, what if I think it's total crap? I'm a TERRIBLE liar and even worse when it comes to praising a friends artistic endeavors if I don't think they're very good. (which means you can be sure that anytime I gush over a show or concert or book that my friends are in, I'm being totally honest.) So there was a lot riding on my reading of this book, seeing as I intend to continue being friends with this author (who is also the GM of our Fantasy Football league and has yet to announce when the draft is. Seriously dude, I need to know these things, I have 5 years of mediocrity to uphold!)

That said, I am thrilled to report that this is a really great collection of short horror stories. S.R. Dixon has a true gift for creating the atmosphere of nightmare in his stories. He creates that feeling you get when you wake up from a terrifying dream and you know that what just happened shouldn't make sense, but it still feels so immediate and real. It's a tricky line to follow, but Dixon does a great job of balancing just how much detail to give you without breaking that dreamlike quality.

There are several highlights I'd like to draw attention to. The runaway best story in the book is Miss Cavern Queen. Embarrassingly enough, I paused in reading this book for several years right at the beginning of this story, AND I'M SO MAD I DID THAT! I won't give anything away, but this story rivaled some of my favorite Steven King short stories. The world building is fantastic and the dread gives way to a horrific ending that was just awesome. Miss Cavern Queen is worth the purchasing the book all on it's own.

My other Favorite tale is MIDNIGHT. I loved this one because the description of the town reminded me of all of the late night walks I would take around Lanesboro, from the river to the top of Church hill, and all the way to the cemetery on the far edge of town. It was so easy to slip into the mind of the main character as he makes a desperate run to escape a horror that has been slowly killing his friends over the years. The monster is delightfully creepy as well, and I'd love to know more about Mr. Sliver.

Among the other tales there are some great moments as well. The cabin in Oh-Toh-Way is gorgeous and horrific at the same time, with some fantastic images, and the writing in Rapture is such a pleasure to read. There are lots of other little moments that I won't spoil so you can discover them for yourself. You should definitely read this book, and buy it new. :)

This is the first time I've ever read a book written by someone I know pretty well, and I will say that there are certain challenges I didn't fully expect. Mainly, it is very hard not to impose inspiration on the author. I'm pretty sure I ended up visualizing mutual acquaintances for most of the characters, which is weird when you realize that you have decided that the author is secretly writing the demise of everyone around him in ghoulish ways. Thankfully, I was able to avoid any association with people I know in the stories involving nudity or sex. (yay, small victories!) But that also meant that I had a visual image of the author sitting down to write these scenes, which is a little weird mostly because the vast majority of our conversations involve puns, Mel Brooks quotes, or conversations about different monster movies while hanging out backstage during a show. These are not the conversations one associates with sexiness, usually. Nothing kills a nice sex scene like knowing a buddy wrote it, and then having a mental image of said buddy. It's like a mental ice bucket challenge. For those of you who don't know the author, you will have no such problem, but now I know how George R.R. Martin's friends must feel...

100 by 30 Book 86 - The Witches by Roald Dahl

This book is almost exactly like the Angelica Houston movie adaptation, except the ending is much darker (but kind of sweet too when you think about it) A nice little Roald Dahl gem.
8/10

100 by 30 Book 85 - How the White Trash Zombie Got Her Groove Back

Woohoo! I love being right when it's about a series turning a corner and getting awesome. The fourth book in the White Trash Zombie series finds Angel Crawford enjoying life after passing the GED. She's taking martial arts classes and life is generally going quite well....which is a sure sign things are about to get nuts. In short order, she gets a weird disease from a medical procedure gone wrong, the medical facility is attacked by commandos, and the leader of her Zombie tribe is abducted by a sadistic military research company....and she dumps her boyfriend. From there we get a road trip rescue adventure, and stuff gets wild. It is by far the most action packed booked and the pace never slows down. It's a wild ride that finds Angel coming into her own and gaining some real power in the zombie tribe, which makes the ominous end to the book so bittersweet. Angel is on top of her world when we get a small taste that her inner demons might be making a big comeback. This is my favorite Diana Rowland book so far and I can't wait to see what happens next. This is a fascinating take on the zombie mythos that keeps evolving and developing in really cool ways.
10/10

100 by 30 Book 84 - Donner Dinner Party

So I was browsing in the library the other day and I noticed this little book on the shelf for new kids books. Turns out, IT'S A CHILDREN'S ILLUSTRATED BOOK ABOUT THE FREAKING DONNER PARTY! HEY KIDS, WANT TO HEAR ABOUT THE TIME A BUNCH OF SETTLERS CANNIBALIZED EACH OTHER?! Actually, that sounds awesome. The story is told by American patriot Nathan Hale before he is executed for spying on the British. He tells the story to the hangman and British general overseeing the hanging while they wait for a crowd to gather. This is probably one of the greatest books ever written. If you are a fan of learning history and lots of dark, inappropriate humor, you need to check this out. Right now.

10/10

p.s. Yes, you do actually learn a lot too. Seriously, there's a bibliography and everything.

100 by 30 Book 83: Dragonbreath: Attack of the Ninja Frogs

Dragonbreath: Attack of the Ninja Frogs by Ursala Vernon

Danny Dragonbreath is a little dragon with a ridiculously active imagination. He loves Martial Arts movies and all things ninja related. Then Suki, the Japanese foreign exchange student, is attacked by ninja frogs. So Danny, Suki, and Danny's best friend Wendel, take a bus to mythological Japan to take on the ninja frogs. It's a very silly book, in the vein of Captain Underpants, with lots of fun puns and jokes for kids and adults.
8/10

100 by 30 Book 82 - Calvin and Hobbes

Revenge of the Baby Sat - 10/10 - I love Calvin vs. Roslyn stories

Weirdos From Another Planet - 10/10 a trip to Mars, Calvin breaks his dad's binoculars.

Attack of the Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snow Goons - 10/10 Yay snow monsters!

One of my favorite aspects of this comic is the way Watterson uses the daily comic strip as a format for both nice little one off jokes as well as long running storylines. I remember how frustrated I got has a kid when I realized that non of the other comic strips bothered with extended stories. Also, the artwork continues to be stunning.

100 by 30 Book 81 - Redshirts by John Scalzi

Redshirts is a delightful read. It's part Galaxy Quest, part Stranger Than Fiction, and a little dose of Douglas Adams. The story follows a group of new recruits on the Spaceship Intrepid. Unfortunately, low ranking crew members seem to have a very high mortality rate around the senior officers, especially on away missions. It's a fun, quick read, and all fans of sci-fi or meta-narratives should check it out.

9.5/10