Do cereal boxes count?
Just kidding, I eat oatmeal.
Serenity: the official visual companion
I got a lot out of this, and now I need to watch the movie over and over to really exegetize it. Three stars.
Shock Point, Henry (Y)
Cassie discovers her stepfather’s involvement in a crooked drug trial that resulted in the cover-up of three deaths. Then her stepfather accuses her of using drugs and has her shipped off to a boarding school to shape up– a boarding school run like a prison camp. Well-paced thriller! Four stars.
Serenity: Those Left Behind, Whedon
A graphic novel to bridge the plots of Firefly the series and Serenity the Movie. Very functionally written rather than lyrically. Two stars.
Rash, Hautman (Y)
In a future where risk is eliminated in the US, insulting someone can send you to jail. But there’s so many prisoners that the rehabilitation is subcontracted to mega corporations who in turn use the prisoners as free labor. Which is how a bad temper got Bo sent to the arctic to make pizzas. Fun read. Four stars.
Offbeat History, a compendium of lively Americana, Griffin, Bulkley S
A victim of its title. I was hoping for forteana, and I got interesting first-person accounts of history. Like expecting chocolate and getting goat cheese. Nothing wrong with goat cheese. Three stars and extra points for being named Bulkley.
Spiral-bound: top secret summer, Renier
Not bad, but much younger than I was hoping. Three stars.
Natural Causes: death, lies, and politics in America’s vitamin and herbal supplement industry, Hurley
Interesting topic, but covered with a bit too much drama. I don’t think it really needed additional drama, since people are already really emotional about it. Two stars.
Vampire High, Rees (Y)
Really well done middle school novel (though takes place in a high school, as the title suggests), with really well-drawn characters and a realistic vampire plot (though does Massachusetts really require all schools to have a water polo team?) Four stars.
Last Days, Westerfeld (Y)
Sequel to Peeps, and like Peeps I will be enthusing about this book- great book! Great sequel! Five stars.
The campfire collection: thrilling, chilling tales of alien encounters, edited by Gina Hyams
A really really well-assembled collection with lots of classic stuff. Because I’m probably going to want to follow up on some of these authors, I include the contents here.
am the doorway / Stephen King — Project: Earth / Philip K. Dick — Radiance / Nina Kiriki Hoffman — The Venus hunters / J.G. Ballard — The one that got away / Kristine Kathryn Rusch — To serve man / Damon Knight — Pictures don’t lie / Katherine MacLean — Betelgeuse bridge / William Tenn — Eight o’clock in the morning / Ray Nelson — Night of the Cooters / Howard Waldrop — The women men don’t see / James Triptree Jr. — Saul / Peter Schweighofer — A rustle of owls’ wings / Thomas Smith.
Five stars.
It’s kind of a funny story, Vizzini (Y)
Fiction, but semi-autobiographical, written after Vizzini got out of a five day inpatient psychiatric hospital stay. Very immediate and visceral and very true. Five stars.