Review: The Fault in Our Stars

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The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



The author of 'The Fault in Our Stars' might as well have just squirted lemon juice in my eyes. It really wasn't fair what was done here with this story.... First, start off with some extremely like-able teenagers and give them terminal illnesses. Then, pepper in some hopeless romance and voila! I'm going to have to stop pretending that I have a single masculine bone in my body because half of the country was witness to me passing by in my car while I choked back bitter tears on my roadtrip.

Before I gush about why I liked this story, let me first say that there was so much to hate about it. It was overly sentimental and indulgent and the characters were far from believable (at least unlike any kids I have ever met... or like I ever knew when I was young). The dialogue between Hazel and Augustus, while clever and intelligent on paper (or audio), was fairly unnatural and formulated.

But.... ahhhhh, fight as I might, it all sucked me in. Behind all the weaknesses and faults with the story, I loved everything about it. I somehow forgot that I hate cheesy teen romances and blubbery sentimentality and succumbed to my soft side. The story is completely heartbreaking and gut-wrenching. I am not over-exaggerating when I report that my face was contorted for nearly the last 2 hours of this audiobook while I attempted to cover my tears up and hide them from passers-by. I should really be ashamed that a story could get me so well.

Look, in the end I think this is a solid 3-star book but when something is able to reach inside me so deeply and juggle my heart for 8 hours without stopping, I have to increase the reward. When all is said and done, I think it is a book I'll probably never forget. Be warned, if you pick this up, you will cry. I promise.



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The pen is mightier...

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To add to my list of geeky interests, lately I have found myself drawn to the Honjo Masamune of writing instruments - the fountain pen. Whenever I bring up my interest in fountain pens to anyone, I get pretty much the same response: "Seriously? Dude, you must be gay. A pen is a freaking pen. Here, I'll lend you my Bic."

I don't want your Bic. I want a glorious and powerful weapon for conquering the written word. I want my pen to be as mighty as the sword.... like it has been said. Okay, I admit that that sounds a little over-the-top. Perhaps a tad bit sentimental for an inanimate object.... But I like that sentimentality. 

Everything we do nowadays is disposable or chopped into tiny fragments on a computer keyboard. I was want write stuff worth keeping.... with a pen. And don't tell me that the pen doesn't matter - that it's just the words. That's not wholly untrue but I want my words to appear as nice as they sound. Watch this video and see what I mean:

Now of course it isn't realistic to spend 2 minutes typing every letter you write but I want to take back some of the art in my writing that was stolen by computers. I want to learn how to make things beautiful on paper. Now, you may be wondering what exactly I intend to write with these mind-blowing fountain pens. That's a dang good question. I'm not quite sure. I enjoy writing in a journal occasionally and I also throw out some rhymes every once and a while... and by rhymes I mean the kind that Robert Frost threw down, not Slim Shady. Of course, I'm not Robert Frost and I may never create anything worth much to anyone... but I still want something that one day my children or grandchildren can pick up and hold in their hands and say, "You know what, Grandpa was a weird duck but he sure was passionate about something." That's good enough for me.

So, hence the fountain pens. Of course, I don't really have a nice one yet. I have some really cheap Pilot Varsity pens (which are actually more of a pleasure to write with than I expected) and I have a Lamy Safari waiting at home in CLE for me to try out when I finally get home. But, I WANT to own a nice pen. I have to admit that I have spent hours on Youtube watching videos by InkNouveau and sbrebrown and a bunch of others lusting after pens and inks and notebooks. Perhaps a graduation gift to myself will justify the cost of a nice pen next year.

My wish list is overflowing with pens right now but here are some of the ones that are on my 'yes please' list right now:

Waterman Carene - this is at the very top of my list. This is my lust pen. I've already named her in my dreams.

Namiki Falcon - this baby seems glorious and has a semi-flexible nib which makes it nice for doing some calligraphy work as well.

Sheaffer Valor - just an absolutely beautiful pen with an inlaid nib.

Yard-o-Led Viceroy Grand Victorian - this pen itself is a work of art... but is also a pipe-dream.

Pilot Custom 74 - a little more practical, everyday type of pen.

Say what!?

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Review: The Ocean at the End of the Lane

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The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I venture that there are two types of people in this world: Those who love Neil Gaiman and those who hate him. There are no shades of grey here. He is a polarizing force... and I side with those who love his novels. I feel somewhat like a kid when I read his work - like my imagination is free to roam and my adulthood can hide in a cupboard for a while. There is something amazing about a book when you can picture yourself as a character and travel through wild, otherworldly settings with excitement at every word you read.

I'll admit that I'm not always sure what I've read when I'm done. I think sometimes his grand message escapes me but I found reading 'The Ocean at the End of the Lane' so enjoyable that the message was irrelevant. I think trying to explain this book to someone is also pointless as I don't have Neil Gaiman's talent at painting a beautiful picture with words.

'The Ocean at the End of the Lane' is one of the best quick reads you'll pick up this year. It is your chance to relive your childhood imagination as an adult... without feeling like you're reading a children's book. It was a quite brilliant read if you ask me.



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Review: The Devil in Silver

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The Devil in Silver by Victor LaValle

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I worked in a lock-down psych facility for several years so this story resonated with me probably more than the average reader. I would venture that Victor LaValle has spent some time of his own locked away in one of these wards... perhaps as a patient or maybe as staff... because there is no way he could have captured the atmosphere so completely without living there himself. From the desperation of Pepper and the other patients to the unfairness of their confinement, this story held as much fact as fiction. In fact, some of the scarier parts of the story are those which hold truth. Pepper is just one of many held prisoner in an ineffective system that harbors nightmares and demons.

I have read some of the negative reviews of this book and in my head I can hear myself saying, "you just don't get it." This was truly a brilliant read. It brought me back to my days when a tiny schizophrenic girl with 3 inch long nails violently attacked me, a 200lb+ man (with great success). I could imagine the halls full of patients shuffling around the floors in a drug-induced stupor because the doctor's didn't know how to manage them in their manic states. I can see people truly believing their were demons on the ward... or in my days truly believing they were giving birth to puppies.

It's amazing what our mind can convince us of and the story of how it is managed is truly a nightmare. Books like this make me shiver a bit to consider that one day any of us could find ourselves with our minds not quite cooperating....

The Devil in Silver is a brilliant story that may hit home for some people like me, but is a worthy and exciting read for just about anyone!



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Review: The Last Policeman

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The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Here is a case where I convinced myself that this book was one thing when it really turned out to be another... and the thing I wanted it to be was a better story. The premise is interesting enough - a policeman who is trying to solve a murder when he knows the world is going to end in about 6 months. Sounds like a great pre-apocalytpic story, right?

I love apocalyptic stuff. It drives me wild! What's more exciting than facing the end or being one of the few survivors after the end? Well.... that's not at all what this book is about. Seriously, that part of the story kind of felt like an afterthought. Really it's nothing more than a semi-decent whodunit. It honestly would have been almost the exact same book without the apocalyptic setting. And that, my friends, was extremely disappointing to me.

I'm not much of a crime novel fan (that's my wife) so this one kind of fell flat for me. The writing was decent and the plot turns were clever enough... but when I'm promised the world burning to a pulp, that's what I want to be the belle of the ball! This is more a story for James Patterson fans than those who were looking for something like Cormac McCarthy's 'The Road'.



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Review: The Husband's Secret

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The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I'll admit that the only reason I started reading The Husband's Secret was because it was on Amazon's 'Best Books of the Month' list in August. I was somewhat teased by this story of a husband holding some deep dark secret... but really I just wanted to be cool and read something that someone else around me may have picked up. Being a book nerd is always easier with cohorts.

Think of how surprised I was when the book actually turned out to be awesome! I'll admit that there were times when I felt slightly emasculated to be telling people that I was reading a book called 'The Husband's Secret'. Something about the title seems slightly feminine and the book cover doesn't help. And to be truthful, at first the author's voice felt overly feminine and I was convinced it would be a read meant to appeal to women... and perhaps it was... but I'll tell you, I went for an intense ride in this one too.

The Husband's Secret brought to life several interesting conundrums that caused me to have to think seriously about my own view on people and how we judge them. How would I react to a buried secret that my own wife had concealed? Does a good person stick by the people they love regardless of what they may have done? I'll tell you, this was a book that was hard to put down. There were plenty of nights when I had finally forced myself to put the book down and go to sleep where I'd just lay in bed contemplating what I would do if my life turned out like these characters.

It's hard to even review the book without wanting to spoil it and uncover the secrets these characters have buried.

All in all this was a phenomenal read... and not just one for the girls!





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