Ch-ch-changes

It seems I have accidentally decided to start naming my non-review/recipe/meme posts after classic rock songs.
...
I like it. I shall continue this trend.

Anyway, changes. I have become dissatisfied with my current ratings system because a) there's not a lot of room for nuance ("3 cupcakes" has about four different possible meanings right now), and b) I'm bad with numbers. (Seriously, I have to get Google to do the math for the GARS scores, and that's not very difficult.) So after much deliberation, I decided upon a new ratings system, which will be...

...a modified version of the OWL grading from Harry Potter! I love Harry Potter dearly, and since I wanted something that wasn't letters or numbers, what better way to do it? In case you've forgotten, those ratings are:

Outstanding

Excellent

Acceptable

Fair

Poor

Troll

I'm unlikely to give out any Trolls, since I don't generally finish books that I hate, but I think it will help to divide what would have been 3 cupcakes between Acceptable and Fair. What I give things when I post the reviews on Goodreads will thus vary depending on things like relative merits and whether I've had my coffee yet.

Furthermore, instead of dividing ratings into the categories of plot/characters/style, I'm going to have two separate ratings for overall quality and enjoyability, which I think might be more helpful. I'll still be sure to discuss the former categories in the review so you have an idea of what, specifically, I did or didn't like, but since Twilight demonstrated that it's possible for a story to have low quality and high enjoyability (and the reverse is certainly true), I'm hoping the quality/enjoyability ratings might give you a better idea of what you're looking at.

All ratings systems are by nature arbitrary, but I'm hoping this one will be a little less so that my old one was beginning to feel. However, at the moment I don't plan to make this system retroactive, mostly because that would involve a lot of very tedious work! I appreciate your bearing with me as I try to figure out what I'm doing with this new system, and please let me know in the comments if you have any further suggestions, ideas, complaints, or anything else.

Note: all credit and copyright whatever for the OWL grades goes to the marvelous JK Rowling! My adapting them for ratings is meant entirely as a sign of respect and possibly the inception of an evil magic cult ;)

Sorry. I was watching Muppet Treasure Island last week.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

"It's Monday! What are you reading?" is a weekly meme hosted by Book Journey.

Completed:

Feyland by Anthea Sharp (ARC, review will be up 12/15)

The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay (re-read)

Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah (review)

Beyond the Shadows by Brent Weeks (review)

Pick of the Week:

The Lions of Al-Rassan is one of my all-time favorites. But of the new reads, Feyland was the best.

Currently Reading:


Drink Deep by Chloe Neill

What are you reading?

Beyond the Shadows by Brent Weeks

Beyond the Shadows
Brent Weeks
Night Angel #3

There are various ways you can wrap up a story. First, the mystery buildup. You can scatter just enough hints throughout the story that, at the grand finale, the reader thinks, "oh, I get it now" but not enough that they actually figure it out.

Second, the twist ending. This is basically the same as the mystery buildup except that most of your hints are red herrings, with just a few true clues the reader can look back on later.

Third, the sacrifice.  The main character has to give up something important to save the world (or whatever), and while most other characters may live happily ever after, there's still a question as to whether he or she will.

All of these are, when done well, excellent endings. There are other good ways to end a story (and bad ones too). However, problems arise when you try to combine all of these ways, because it doesn't really work. Especially if instead of leaving clues that are covert at the time but become clearer after the end, your clues are more of the covert-at-the-time-and-still-wtf-at-the-end. When I finished this book I was left going, "huh?" because I still don't know what was up with that thing on Logan's arm or how Khali can be...uh, never mind that one, or how Durzo came back after the ka'kari left him. It seemed like this story was supposed to be more than three books, but then the publisher decided, "Nah, let's just cram the rest of the series into the last 100 pages. That'll be good!" (It was not good.) It didn't help that, at the end of the last book, it wasn't even clear where the series was going, because the person I thought was the main bad guy was already dead. The first half at least of this book wasn't explicit on that account either; I pretty much just had to guess.

A lot of my favorite characters lost most of their interesting traits and became way, way too nice. Kylar, Vi, and Durzo used to be interesting characters until Kylar just decided that meting out justice was totally fine with him, Vi suddenly threw away her entire history to become a "good" maja, and Durzo randomly turned into a loving father figure. And I still don't like Elene, which is part of the problem I had with the ending. Finally, Dorian? What was that supposed to be? Grrr.

I still enjoyed this book, but it definitely didn't live up to the expectations of the first, and to a lesser extent second books in the series. It needed more time or less insanity to make the last hundred pages credible. There were a lot of elements that I had issues with, but I can't say this one didn't resolve the story at least. I was just frustrated with the path to resolution.

Plot: 2 cupcakes
Characters: 2 cupcakes
Style: 3 cupcakes
Overall: 3 cupcakes

Blackened Chicken

All right, it's time for more food. This one isn't technically baking, but it is the most useful recipe I've yet discovered. It's good for tacos, pasta, sandwiches, salads, whatever. I usually make it three or four times a week. And it's super easy!

All you need is chicken and equal amounts of these spices:

Salt
Pepper
Cumin
Paprika
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Oregano
Thyme

You can also add a dash of cayenne pepper for extra spiciness.

I use 1/4 teaspoon of each for one chicken breast, so you can go from there.

Once you've mixed all those together in a small bowl, it's time for the icky part - cutting up the chicken. For all of those meals I mentioned but the sandwich, I cut the chicken up into bite-sized pieces while it's still raw so that it gets plenty of seasoning. After your chicken is ready, dredge it through the spice mixture, and then it's ready to cook. You can grill it or saute it with some olive oil. I suppose you could also bake it but that just seems like a lot of effort.

I was going to take a picture of the tacos I made with this chicken, but then I ate them. They were delicious.

2012 Reading Challenges Or It's Almost 2012 Already?!

Can you believe it's already December? 2012 is in less than a month! Time flies.

Since the new year is fast approaching, I thought I'd post the challenges I'm planning on for next year. I'll try to update this page as the year goes on, hopefully without making it too ridiculously long. (I may just post links to Goodreads.)

Wish me luck! It looks like a lot, but the larger ones will overlap. I also entered some of them in lower categories than I thought I might reach, just in case, so we'll see how it goes!

Updates will be posted here, so stop by and see what I'm reading!

11-20 books - a friendly hug

One chomp - 6 zombie books

24 UF/horror books

12 YA/MG debuts




Server - 100 ebooks





Challenge on GR will be for 250 books

You've got a serious problem and really need to go book shopping - 21+ re-reads

Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah

Firefly Lane
Kristin Hannah

Firefly Lane tells the story of two girls and their friendship, which defined their whole lives. As they realize their dreams - or not - they lose and find each other again as they face life's trials, together.

I really need to stop reading books that make me cry.

In my defense, I honestly didn't expect Firefly Lane to be one of them. I picked it up for a dollar at a library book sale on the merits of the title alone. I expected light chick lit, or maybe some kind of mystery or drama. I guess, technically, this is probably chick lit. But it has that spark, that je ne sais quoi that takes a mundane story and makes it into something magical, breathing life into its pages. I told myself I was going to bed early (which, for a 23-year-old, means before midnight) but here I am at 2:30 because even before I got to the end, something about this book just wouldn't let me go.

I'm breaking a rule I explained just hours ago in writing this review immediately after finishing the book. But what else are rules for? Sometimes the right words are just there, waiting to be written. I felt this book. I know that's an unusual way of describing it, but if you think about it, you'll know what I mean. The characters - hopes, flaws, dreams, uncertainties - were as real as the people you see every day. I felt sometimes, especially in the first half of the book, like I could be Kate Mularkey, while wanting to be Tully Hart.

It wasn't perfect, of course. There was a little too much of the same things over and over and not enough growth. I wish Kate would have had a little more spine, Tully a little more compassion. I wish there had been a better resolution, somehow.

But you should read this book. The plot's not important. This book isn't about events, it's about friendship and love and family. It's about what happens when you get what you've always wanted and how you live when you don't. It's about sorrows and joy, anger and kindness. In a word, it's about life.

Plot: 4 cupcakes
Characters: 4 cupcakes
Style: 4 cupcakes
Overall: 4 cupcakes

If you liked Firefly Lane, try:
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Friday

Follow Friday is a weekly blog hop hosted by Alison Can Read and Parajunkee. This week's features Lauren Gets Literal are and FicBookReviews.
This week's question is...
What is your biggest pet peeve when it comes to books?
I actually already wrote a post about things I dislike in books. However, I'll be a little less serious here and point out that far too often people misuse words like "nonplussed" (actually means perturbed or surprised), which is something that makes me go a little crazy. I freely admit to being a total grammar nerd! So any sort of divergence from correct usage makes me twitchy.

Just like this. And then I cry a little.

***********************************************************************

TGIF is a meme hosted by Ginger at GReads.

This week's question is...

What's your process for writing book reviews? Any tips or suggestions you would recommend to other bloggers?
When I first started writing reviews, they were pretty terrible. (This was my first real review. Don't laugh.) Eventually, because I am bad at quantifying large qualitative concepts, I decided to split up my ratings into plot, characters, and style categories, which also helped me remember what to think about when writing the actual reviews. I've also found that it helps to wait a day or so (but not more than maybe three) before writing a review, especially for books I've really loved or hated. Otherwise you get less than helpful ravings of joy like this or (unpublished) rants.
A last thing that's always fun is to change things up a bit. My friend Chris did a Valley Girl review of Twilight, and another time a few friends and I challenged each other to write rhyming reviews. (Mine was for Harry Potter.)
This week on Epic (Chocolate) Fantasy:Blood Bound by Rachel Vincent reviewThe Next Thing I Knew by John Corwin reviewThe Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan reviewThe Goddess Test by Aimée Carter reviewIf I Stay by Gayle Forman reviewRandom Thoughts: I Need a Hero