read: Ganymede (5 stars)

Ganymede by Cherie Priest

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I give up. I finally have to give one of Cherie Priest's books 5 stars. It's not perfection and it's not literature, but it's well written and darn good fun. I was disappointed to have reached the end, not because it was bad, but because I wanted more. This is the best story in the series so far. Since the others all got 4 stars, this gets 1 more.

This book, like the others, is full of wonderful characters, most with wonderful, arcane names. What's different is that in this one the relationships between the characters get explored a bit more richly and broadly. This is a result of a somewhat more laid back pace, which wasn't lazy, but does allow for more exploration of characters and the setting.

A few things didn't work. Much was made of leaving Andan Cly's airship somewhere to get refitted. But the result is glossed over or omitted. A supposedly shocking revelation was made about one of Josephine's girls. But the point of it eludes me. It did not seem to make any difference to the story. I felt a bit cheated by the climactic battle. There was tension and danger. (minor spoiler coming) But we were never given an all-is-lost moment. And then things wrap up quickly.

The next book in the series can't come out too soon for me.

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read: Microstyle: The Art of Writing Little (4 stars)

Microstyle: The Art of Writing Little by Christopher Johnson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a book about finding the crunchy hidden meanings of words and phrases and then using them to efficiently deliver a message. Most of the examples are from advertising or headlines, with a few movie and book titles thrown in. Then again, it's not so much a book about how to do that as it is a book about how others have done it. In that sense, it's not very successful. On the other hand, for anyone that loves words and writing and wants to think a little deeper about how words work, it's an interesting, light read.

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read: If You Ask Me (And of Course You Won't) (4 stars)

If You Ask Me: And of Course You Won't by Betty White

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A very engaging book that's not quite autobiography or memoir or essay, but a charming mash of all three. Betty catches us up on her most recent activities, but also goes back to tell some anecdotes from the past. The audio book is an extra delight, because she reads it in her inimitable, expressive style.

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"Green Lantern" [B-]

I was looking forward to this film so much, then didn't get to see it in the theater. Finally caught it on blu ray. I thought it was not so much disappointing as... disappointing. I mean, how can you be disappointed when there is so much Green Lantern action on the screen? And so much... exposition. I think they needed a script where there was much more story in the here and now and not so much set in the past and the future. Even though the fate of the world was at stake, it never really felt like it was. The stakes needed to be higher and more immediate. Without that, it was just a pretty decent superhero flick.

"Hugo" [B+]

I guess I'm a sucker for stylishly shot movies (as long as they don't suck, too). I definitely liked this movie. It is stylish and interesting. I relented and saw it in 3D. It was worth it. It's not actually science fiction, but it feels a little like it. It gives off the same sort of vibe.

I have to agree with other reviewers that there's not a lot of story here and the acting is a bit wooden most of the time. But that probably is the director's fault more than anything. The actors are always trying so hard.

This is recommended if you like film or historical fiction or both.

Hugo (IMDb)

read: Wicked Prey (2 stars)

Wicked Prey by John Sandford

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Picked this up after I saw the TV movie for Certain Prey and all of the copies the library had of that title were checked out. The first quarter of the book was promising, although I thought the author did a bit of over-describing and there seemed to be a few too many plot threads.

A couple of things finally made me put it down. The plot involving his adopted daughter did not ring true. I 'get' the proposition that she's this mighty and independent young woman. But she's supposed to be only 14 and didn't even come close to acting it. In any other Minnesota family she would have been more than grounded. It also felt like we were almost spending more time with the multiple antagonists, rather than with Lucas Davenport's efforts to track them down. I got tired of wasting my time with those lowlifes and started skipping pages, always a bad sign. I finally threw in the towel about the middle of the book.

I may come back and try another Lucas Davenport title, perhaps Certain Prey (although the movie was not that great, either). Davenport does seem like a strong and smart character.

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"The Muppets" [B]

An even more 'meta' Muppet movie than usual, very self-aware and self-referential ("it's too far to drive... we can travel by map") and it worked. Quite a few funny bits. A few almost teary moments. A few overly cute routines. All in all, very fun.

The Muppets (IMDb)