Let's Celebrate Banned Books Week By Reading Something Awesome

We all know to read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Catcher in the Rye, but new books are being published all the time that are banned. Book banning? Is fucking lame. In a world where we make icons of Jersey Shore stars and plaster teen moms on magazine covers, we're banning books? Seriously? I highly encourage you to take a look at the list of recently banned books and the overall banned book database and read a few, if you haven't already. I mean, The Great Gatsby? Really? You've got to be kidding me.

One to really look out for this year is Suzanne Collins' enthralling Hunger Games trilogy, which I lost sleep over for nearly three days. My best friend was in surgery and I didn't go to the hospital until I finished reading it. Seriously. It's that good. Amazon is having a sale where you can download the entire trilogy for less than $20 to your Kindle and Nook is offering the same deal. Or, just go buy them. They're worth having and they are definitely worth a read. I cannot wait for the movie and I hope it does a fraction of the justice these incredible books deserve. And for all you snobs out there who refuse to read YA books? Get over yourself. Young Adult novels are the basis for more than half of our popular movies and television shows right now, so maybe give it a chance. It's better than the Da Vinci Code, that's for effing sure. I tried to read that drivel no less than three times before I gave up. And once, I was on a train from Scotland to England, where shit is really boring. It still couldn't hold my attention. Whereas the Hunger Games had to be pried from my cold, dead hands if I didn't finish.

I think that's enough of an endorsement. If you haven't read them yet, do so. You're missing out. And besides, most banned things are awesome, right? That's why they are banned. They are interesting. They are provocative and push boundaries. And they are pretty fucking great. So, read, people. And then pass this along.

Mini Book Review: We Need To Talk About Kevin

You know when you read a book and you cannot stop thinking about it for a couple of days? Yeah. Then there's We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver, which I will probably be thinking about for weeks.

We Need to Talk About Kevin is the story of Eva, a mother trying to come to terms with how her son (Kevin, obviously) could be capable of commiting a high school massacre. Right away, you think wow, fucked up. And it is. Written in a post-Columbine world, this story is fictional but at the same time it is all too real.  The novel is a series of letters from Eva to her husband, about two years after the massacre, where their son shot seven students, a teacher and a cafeteria worker. I usually find the epistolary style to be annoying, but it works here. She is having a one-sided conversation but it's one that, as the title suggests, needs to take place.

While the question of nature versus nurture is very clearly examined, the novel doesn't ever point any fingers directly and leaves the answers up to you. And I liked that, because it seems unlikely to me that we can ever say there is one specific thing to blame when a person (especially a child) commits such an atrocity. It's clear from the start that Kevin is a "bad seed," a sociopath. But Eva, nor her husband, are going to win Parent of the Year.

The novel takes place in 2000, and briefly makes mention of world news at the time (you might remember the presidential crisis in Florida and the insanity that followed) but it only mentions it in passing - when life as you know it has already ended, injustices in the world seem irrelevant. Additionally, while taking place in 2000, it was written post-9/11, and it was nice to see a total lack of "America gone wrong," or "we live in a violent, terrorist world" discussion. It was also refreshing that Kevin was not your typical prototype for this kind of crime. There are no trench coats, no rants about being bullied, no Marilyn Manson or video games to blame. Ultimately, this is a novel about family, just family.

The front cover says the book is impossible to put down, but that isn't true. Of the 400 pages, the first 300 are a slow burn as Eva takes us through Kevin's entire existence, from pre-conception to the present day.  But then those last 100 pages? They will be with me for a long, long time. Shriver sure knows how to end with a bang.

They've made a film of the novel, with the incredible Tilda Swinton cast perfectly as Eva. Kevin looks - as he should - creepy as hell. The book is creepy as hell and the movie probably will be, too. It was a controversial hit at Cannes and I'm looking forward to seeing it.

You can watch the trailer for the movie below (it's from Cannes, so there are French subtitles). If you can stomach it, I'd also strongly recommend the book. It's disturbingly real, extremely thought-provoking and really, really fucked up. Maybe have some Meg Cabot on hand or a Vampire Diaries marathon afterwards to cleanse.

We Need to Talk About Kevin Bande-annonce by toutlecine

I Think Writer Isaac Marion Is Neat (And You Should, Too)

Let me start out by saying, I am not one of those "zombie people." You know, the ones who have ten different "funny" zombie t-shirts? I think maybe it's a boy thing? I don't know. I confess that I've never read The Zombie Survival Guide, and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies has been sitting on my shelf untouched for at least a year. I will admit, though, I think The Walking Dead is a good fucking show. But I digress.

My point is, I'm not really the type to pick up a zombie book. However, after reading a couple reviews of Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion, I was intrigued. A zombie love story...but with a twist.  Here's the official book summary, which I suppose time and effort went into so I won't bother trying to come up with my own:

A zombie who yearns for a better life ends up falling in love—with a human—in this astonishingly original debut novel.

R is a zombie. He has no memories, no identity, and no pulse, but he has dreams. He doesn’t enjoy killing people; he enjoys riding escalators and listening to Frank Sinatra. He is a little different from his fellow Dead.

Not just another zombie novel, Warm Bodies is funny, scary, and deeply moving.

Don't let the quote from Stephanie Meyer on the cover deter you! It really is a great book, even if that idiot also thinks so. Warm Bodies is pleasantly honest, from the gory details of an insatiable appetite for flesh to the tragic love of young people in a fucked up world.  It's completely depressing at times (just like life) but then it gives you that tiny spark of, "well...maybe," and it's that spark that makes this book truly special. Because that's the whole thing, isn't it? We all have fucked up memories and failed dreams and regrets and desires and it's that little bit of hope that still keeps us from becoming...well, zombies.  Isaac Marion skillfully draws you in (I can't believe this is his first novel) and shows that hope and love and death and the apocalypse are all pretty much inevitable, but that doesn't mean you have to give up.

Like everything on the planet, Warm Bodies is being made into a movie, which is pretty awesome. It's staring Nicholas Hoult, who is also awesome, even though he makes me feel really wrong, because I remember him as that kid in About A Boy, and now he's all hot and shit. But yes, he's got a good actor who is also enticing jail bait as the star. Pretty damn cool. 

Plus, Isaac Marion is pretty effing funny. Warm Bodies, though consistently poignant, also makes you laugh. And he's funny in real life, too. I cannot get enough of his Twitter, because it's full of gems like this and this and this. And my fave:

I mean, c'mon.

Sure, he's a total hipster, complete with the RV and the haircut and I'm pretty sure he lives in Seattle or something, but this guy is not a cliche. This is not Twilight: Now With Zombies!  It's a good book, and you should pick it up. He has a Facebook and a blog as well. I promise I don't know him - I just think he's neat (and I might have a bit of a book crush, but whatever). You should think he's neat, too, because I have impeccable taste.  Anyways, check out Warm Bodies and see for yourself. Or don't, losers. And Isaac, if you happen to see this, sorry for being a creeper and stealing a picture from your Facebook account. 

Mini-Review For The Lying Game - Skip The Show, Read The Books

Fans of Pretty Little Liars (both the TV show and the book series) know that Sara Shepard can be...pretty effed up. And I mean that in the best way possible. I am completely addicted to Pretty Little Liars (the show) and while I haven't read the books, I understand that they are just as compelling, just as addictive and just as totally. Messed. Up. But that's the fun of it, right?

I was so looking forward to The Lying Game. I just finished reading the first book of the series and it was exactly what I wanted it to be: intriguing and sinister. Wicked and fun. I couldn't put it down in that wonderful guilty pleasure kind of way. The show...not so much.

I don't want to give anything away, because any differences I list will spoil the books for everyone, but the novel compared to the TV pilot is like...comparing a cheese danish you get out of a vending machine to a piece of New York cheesecake. One will do in a pinch to satisfy a sweet tooth, but the other is rich and fulfilling. You want to devour every drop, and then you still want more.

Maybe this show will pick up. Maybe it's too soon to tell. But based on the pilot, it's a snoozefest compared to the fun I had reading Sara Shepard's book. From what I understand, Pretty Little Liars may have differences, but it stays true to the dark feel of the book series. The Lying Game feels like a Hallmark card version of the novel. My advice? Stick with the books. 

Bethenny Frankel's 'A Place Of Yes' - A Book Review

Anyone who knows me personally, knows that I unabashedly adore Bethenny Frankel. I loved her on Real Housewives, I watched both ridiculous seasons of her own show on Bravo and I follow her on Twitter. I heard she's getting her own talk show, and I won't lie: I'll watch that shit.

Of course, anyone who knows me personally knows I am also extremely wary of self help books, so it took Bethenny Frankel to get me to pick up something as ridiculously titled as A Place Of Yes: 10 Rules For Getting Everything You Want Out Of Life. I mean, really.

The book, to be brief, isn't all that bad. I don't think I'd recommend it to anyone not already a fan of Bethenny, since it doesn't exactly contain any life-altering wisdom. Her personal anecdotes and memoir-type sections are lighthearted, sometimes poingant and full of the typical Bethenny wit,  but her advice isn't much more than, "be true to yourself, follow your dreams." Ultimately, this book suffers from a Catch 22: people who aren't already fans of Bethenny probably won't enjoy it, but those who have been following her life on television will find her stories redundant.

Also disconcerting were the many lengthy paragraphs dedicated to her Skinnygirl product line, thinly veiled as business advice.  While her business success (as demonstrated by her recent cover shoot for Forbes) is undeniable, it felt forced and almost offensive at times.

That isn't to say I wasn't entertained. Bethenny continues to be my favorite 'housewife' and 'Bravolebrity' (side note: if you can come up with a more vomitous word than 'Bravolebrity' please let me know) and her personal history is filled with fun stories. But if you're looking to change your life, I don't think this Skinnygirl is going to help.