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Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Library Book: A Reliable Wife

I've had A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick out for a few weeks now, but finally started reading it over the weekend.  I was looking over the library books I had out and decided I really wanted to read it before sending it back.  And I'm really glad I made that decision.

A Reliable Wife is the story of Catherine Land and Ralph Truitt.  Ralph Truitt, sick of being alone, advertises in the paper that he wants a reliable wife.  And the woman who answers the ad is Catherine Land.  She claims to be a missionary's daughter, but in truth she is far from that.  Her plan is to marry Truitt, a wealthy man, and slowly poison him; once he is dead she will leave a wealthy widow. 

Of course, things don't go as planned.  I won't say more because I don't want to give away any spoilers.  But wow, this was an excellent story.  A Reliable Wife is well worth the read.  :)

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Library Book: Terminator/Robocop: Kill Human

I don't really have a lot to say about this.  I saw it at work and decided I needed to read it.  That was several weeks ago, and I finally got around to it today.  I don't know anything about Robocop, but I have seen the Terminator movies and thought this would be an interesting mashup.  And that's exactly what it was.  Interesting. 

Robocop wakes up in a Skynet museum, and goes back in time to stop Skynet.  He meets Sarah and John Connor, has to fight off the T-1000.  I thought it was ok.  I'm sure I would have liked it more if I'd ever seen the Robocop movies (and I suppose I should go out and watch them now), but overall this wasn't really amazing. 

Monday, October 22, 2012

Library Book: Anna Dressed in Blood

It's been awhile since I've finished reading anything.  I went away a few weeks ago and read some magazines, but I haven't made it through any books lately.  But I got an email from Chapters which included Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake, which caught my interest.  I realized it was book two in a series, and the library had book one.  So I put Anna Dressed in Blood on hold and started reading it as soon as I got it (even though I'm in the middle of another book). 

Anna Dressed in Blood caught my attention immediately.  I was interested in the world of Cas, the ghost killer.  Especially since  Anna, the ghost he is hunting, lives in my hometown of Thunder Bay.

Of course I had fun reading all the references to places in Thunder Bay.  I laughed when Cas stole a newspaper article from an old library newspaper (that was really funny because I work at the library; we only have microfilm copies of old newspapers, so he wouldn't have been able to do that.  He would have just printed a copy out and that would be that).  If you've travelled from Duluth to Thunder Bay, you'd also know that the terrain doesn't suddenly become rolling hills and boreal forest at the US/Canada border (although there is quite a bit of farmland between the border and Thunder Bay).  I'm also not sure why, but when Cas got to town he didn't mention the Sleeping Giant, one of our most distinct geological features.  And I highly doubt the kids from Churchill highschool would go across town to the Sushi Bowl all the time when Wasabi is waaay closer.  Silly things like that really drove home how this was a fictional account of Thunder Bay, and not the real place.  They also kind of knocked me out of the narrative a bit, but I think that's just because I'm from Thunder Bay and know those details weren't quite right.

But other than the setting issues, the story is really good.  Cas, like his father before him, kills ghosts, stopping them from killing people by sending them onto the afterlife or wherever it is they go.  A friend of his has found a ghost in Thunder Bay known as Anna Dressed in Blood, and Cas is intrigued by her.  So he goes to Thunder Bay intending to learn her story and kill her.  But the Anna he meets is not the usual ghost.  Rather than a pale reflection of who she was, Anna is very much real and aware of herself.  Not only that, she is strong, much stronger than Cas anticipates.  And so he finds himself in Thunder Bay longer than expected as he tried to unravel exactly what Anna is.

When I took Anna Dressed in Blood out, I wasn't really planning on reading any more of the series.  But now that I've read it, I really am excited to continue reading.  I've got a hold on the next one, Girl of Nightmares, which the library currently has on order.  I hope it's as good as this first book was!

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Kindle Book: Animal Attraction

My mom is the one who bought "Animal Attraction" by Anna David.  She told me it was a great read and that I'd enjoy it because I'd be able to relate to some of the stories Anna tells about her cats.  I finally sat down and read it this afternoon and wow was my mom right: Anna's Toby is very much like my cat, Sasha!  Like Toby, Sasha doesn't trust easily and doesn't like people who aren't HER people.  But unlike Toby, Sasha had a more stable time when she grew up, and I think she's just a little more trusting and friendly than Toby is.

"Animal Attraction" is Anna David's story of how and when she discovered she was a cat person.  She details her life, and what led her to the decision to adopt not one but two cats.  The first one was the aforementioned Toby, a female cat she mistakenly thought was male.  The second was Lilly, a super friendly cat that can get along with anyone anywhere.  She talks about her struggle to get over her drug addiction, and how she was interacting with her two girls all the while.  It's a quick, enjoyable read, and you should definitely give it a try if you like cats.  In fact, you should probably give it a read even if you don't like cats, just so you can gain an understanding of cat people!