Slimed (3)

SLIMED by Mathew Klickstein

Happy Halloween!!!

RATING SYSTEM

1 – I did not like the book at all.

2 – It was decent, but I would not recommend it.
3 – It was an enjoyable read. Recommendation could go either way.
4 – It was a very good book. I would recommend it.
5 – It was an excellent book! Must read!!
6 – A new personal favorite – new top ten spot. Must read!

BOOK RATING

I give this book a 3.

“SLIMED” SYNOPSIS

This is a book written for a very specific generation – people who are currently twenty-five to thirty-five years old and enjoyed the golden age of TV’s Nickelodeon. Anyone remember Snick? How could we forget?

This book is a massive resource of interviews from Nickelodeon cast members (Rugrats, Doug, Clarissa, Are You Afraid of the Dark, Hey Dude, etc.), writers and behind-the-scenes crew.

The book goes through different chapters categorized by topics such as “What was it like to grow up on Nick?” and “What is green slime really made of?” They go on to talk about Nick’s signature look (bright orange & green), the theme songs/music, the topic of diversity and more.

This is a great read for anyone who remembers & enjoyed Snick. If you don’t and didn’t then… retreat swiftly.

 

STATS

Pages:                         253
Published Year:        2013     
Personal Rating:       3 (of 6)
Type:                           Library
Genre:                         Non-fiction, Book of interviews

THOUGHTS

I liked this book, but I grew up on Snick. I can remember sitting in front of the TV every Saturday night at 8pm watching Clarissa, Roundhouse, Ren & Stimpy, and Are You Afraid of the Dark.

This book is full of behind-the-scenes information and inside looks at all your favorite shows. It is written interview-style, so it is literally a book packed full of paragraph-sized chunks of direct quotes from everyone involved. Really interesting. Did you know the creator of Ren & Stimpy was a really mean man that everyone was afraid of and he was subsequently fired from his own show because of it?

The only downfall is that you probably won’t know everyone’s real (not character) names. I knew the names of the cast of Clarissa, but for everyone one else I had to either look at the name glossary in the back or try to guess who was speaking. I wish they had put in brackets: (Roundhouse Cast Member) or (Voice of Ren), etc.

A good read for anyone of that generation. Enjoyable & entertaining.

PERSONAL

Don’t forget to check out the Facebook page for the new soap company I’m starting: Facebook.com/AshleySoaps!

The Age of Miracles (4.5)

THE AGE OF MIRACLES by Karen Thompson Walker

Book Club Book!

RATING SYSTEM

1 – I did not like the book at all.

2 – It was decent, but I would not recommend it.
3 – It was an enjoyable read. Recommendation could go either way.
4 – It was a very good book. I would recommend it.
5 – It was an excellent book! Must read!!
6 – A new personal favorite – new top ten spot. Must read!

BOOK RATING

I give this book a 4.5.

“THE AGE OF MIRACLES” SYNOPSIS

Julia is just a normal 11-year old girl living in southern California with her family and going to school when a strange thing happens… it is quickly realized the world has gained an hour in each day.

As scientists scramble to make sense of what is going on, it becomes clear that the rotation of the Earth has slowed down… and is continuing to slow. Nearly every day another thirty minutes to an hour is gained.

At first there is excitement in the fear of an Earth-changing event, but soon things cease to be quite as fun. Society quickly splits up into clock-time people (those who stay on the 24-hour clock despite the fact that it no longer lines up with the sun) and real-time people (those who sleep with the moon and rise with the sun despite the longer and longer hours). Real-timers are shunned and targeted.

Worldwide, an epidemic of “slowing sickness” begins as the world’s change in gravity begins to affect the inner workings of the human body. Objects fall faster to the ground and are harder to throw. Birds die off by the thousands and plant life begins to wither. Tides change drastically and polar ice rapidly melts.

Fortunately, Julia has her best friend/new first love, Seth, by her side. But what will become of the Earth? What will become of Julia and her family? How can people keep their lives together as the world is falling apart?

STATS

 
Pages:                         269
Published Year:        2012     
Personal Rating:       4.5 (of 5)
Type:                           Paperback, Personal Collection, Book Club
Genre:                         Fiction, Sci-Fi

THOUGHTS

I really enjoyed this book. It was fascinating to think what would happen if the world’s rotation began to slow down! How would it affect the Earth? How would it affect our bodies? What do you do when you start having 60-hour days? How long can things go on like that?

I have to tell you, I got so into this book that I started feeling like it was real. I kept having to remind myself that “the Slowing,” as they call it, wasn’t really happening. I saw a guy on the train who had an Earth Science textbook on his lap and I almost joked to him, “Guess you don’t need that anymore!” And then I thought, “Wow, you are way deep into this book.”

I bet you anything they’ll make a movie of this, but I would highly recommend it. Besides being a very interesting premise and very well thought out, it’s also just the story of a young girl and the everyday life she is still pushing through despite the circumstances.

She is growing up and falling in love for the first time at the same time that her parents are struggling to stay together in the midst of her mother’s ever-increasing “slowing” sickness.

It’s scary and almost personal because you think… this could happen. I mean, anything could happen, but it’s not so off the wall that it could never happen. And what would you do? It’s amazing how quickly humans can adapt to a new normal.

Yes, read this book.

PERSONAL

Don’t forget to check out the Facebook page for the new soap company I’m starting: Facebook.com/AshleySoaps!

Red Azalea (2.5)

RED AZALEA by Anchee Min

First Astoria library book!

RATING SYSTEM

1 – I did not like the book at all.

2 – It was decent, but I would not recommend it.
3 – It was an enjoyable read. Recommendation could go either way.
4 – It was a very good book. I would recommend it.
5 – It was an excellent book! Must read!!
6 – A new personal favorite – new top ten spot. Must read!

BOOK RATING

I give this book a 2.5.

“RED AZALEA” SYNOPSIS

A true story. A memoir.

Anchee grew up in the blossoming of China’s Cultural Revolution in the 1960-70’s. Led by Chairman (of the Communist Party) Mao Zedong, China fell into a dangerous era. With the Party’s objective being “to enforce communism in the country by removing capitalist, traditional and cultural elements from Chinese society, and to impose Maoist orthodoxy within the Party,” no one was safe or free. Neighbors reported on neighbors, people were persecuted for the smallest infraction (imagined or not), houses were seized, people were tortured, imprisoned or killed, media was controlled by the government and the masses could only watch or read government-sanctioned material, men and women were not allowed to socialize or even talk in public, and one person from every family must live as a “peasant” (ie. serving their country by being slaves on a rural farms, where they were nearly worked to death for not very much result.)

Anchee was one of the young people sent to work on a farm. She worked hard and suffered depression at the meaninglessness of it all… until she fell in love… with a woman. From this secret and forbidden romance, Anchee’s spirits are lifted and her heart is full.

One day, government representatives show up on the farm and chose Anchee out of thousands of youths to join a challenging competition to see who will become the star of the new Chinese Revolution movie, Red Azalea. She must live in a house with four other girls for a year to study acting and the readings of Mao Zedong before a final winner will be chosen.

It is a chance of a lifetime for Anchee… but she must leave behind her one, true love…

The story of one girl fighting against the impossible odds of a society hypnotized by fear and propaganda. A story of love, growing up and surviving impossible hardships.

STATS

Pages:                         306

Published Year:        1994      
Personal Rating:       2.5 (of 6)
Type:                           Paperback, Library
Genre:                         Non-Fiction, Memoir, Historical

THOUGHTS

I did enjoy this book. It is very historically fascinating. I had no idea about any of the details of the Chinese Revolution. It’s amazing to think of how different life was in 1960’s America vs. 1960’s China. It is nearly unthinkable.

I marked this book as a 2.5 instead of a 3 because I nearly gave up the book 100 pages in. Although it was historically interesting, her personal story had failed to capture me… until she falls in love.

Once Anchee falls in love you can see how much she has to lose. Watching the struggle of forbidden and secret love, you realize just how much danger they were in – they could have been shot if caught.

Also, watching as Anchee gets selected to compete in the contest and how that changes her life forever… it does become a pretty interesting book. You have to keep reminding yourself that it’s a true story!

I would “give or take” this book as a recommendation. If the history of it interests you and you’d like to find out what happened to Anchee and her love, you should definitely give it a try. It’s a good book, but not a must-read.

PERSONAL

Don’t forget to check out the Facebook page for the new soap company I’m starting: Facebook.com/AshleySoaps!

Everyone Worth Knowing (3)

EVERYONE WORTH KNOWING by Lauren Weisberger

Sorry for the lag-time in-between book reviews, but I’ve started school and have a lot of school material to read now.

RATING SYSTEM

1 – I did not like the book at all.

2 – It was decent, but I would not recommend it.
3 – It was an enjoyable read. Recommendation could go either way.
4 – It was a very good book. I would recommend it.
5 – It was an excellent book! Must read!!
6 – A new personal favorite – new top ten spot. Must read!

BOOK RATING

I give this book a 3.

“EVERYONE WORTH…” SYNOPSIS

Bette has always been a dependable, responsible young woman. She went to a prestigious college and then got a job at a bank in Manhattan shortly after. There’s one problem though… Bette is miserable and bored.

One day Bette gets fed up and before she can think about it, she quits her job. Now what’s she going to do? Luckily, before she start panicking too much, her uncle – a famous New York City columnist – says he can get her an exciting party planner job at Manhattan’s hottest PR firm. She accepts.

Although Bette starts out seeing this as just a job, it quickly starts to swallow up her life. Entangled in a fake relationship with a famous man, just to keep her firm in the papers, Bette cannot pursue a relationship with the man she has fallen in love with. At the same time, her relationship with her best friend and her uncle fall to the wayside as everything she does is fodder for Page Six.

Will Bette lose her soul to her job and her pseudo-fame? Or will she decide to make a change and regain what really matters?

STATS

Pages:                         367
Published Year:        2005     
Personal Rating:       3 (of 6)
Type:                           Paperback, Personal Collection
Genre:                         Fiction, ChickLit

THOUGHTS

Okay, so I must admit… yes, this book is a little bit ChickLit. I normally don’t read that kind of stuff, but at least this book isn’t completely mindless like most ChickLit. It has an entertaining story and characters your root for.

This book was written by the same author who wrote Devil Wears Prada and it is pretty much along the same lines. Girl loses her soul to her job, thereby losing all her friends and her man and must decide what’s most important to her.

Yes, it’s the same premise, but a different story.

The book is very much like sweet, glittery, candy. It’s fun and light and entertaining. If you are looking for War & Peace, this ain’t it. If you are looking for something fun to read, I would recommend this.

PERSONAL

The new library books are in and book club is coming up, so expect some new reads soon!

 
Also check out the Facebook page for the new soap company I’m starting: Facebook.com/AshleySoaps!