Little Miss Apple Pie

Thanks to Manel Loureiro, I decided to go on a Zombie novel reading marathon. I am having my internship and the vacant time could get really boring, so I decided to give Jesse Petersen a shot with the first part of the Living with the Dead series, Married with Zombies.

Married with Zombies tells us the tale of a married couple Sarah and David who, at the time of the spark of the apocalypse, were at the brink of divorce and are going to couple's counseling. During one of their sessions they noticed that the road was unusually practically empty, considering that they live in Seattle wherein traffic was just part of their lives. Apart from that, they found their therapist ripping the client before them into shreds.

With the world starting to fall apart and humanity into shambles and hordes of the undead, Sarah and David realized and learned far greater things about themselves and their relationship, which eventually saved their marriage and made them stronger.

This is really a good book to read if you are a fan of zombie novels or if you're just looking for an easy, adventure packed, book. Although it lacks more story towards the end, still it was action packed and a really enjoyable book to read. It will definitely leave you asking for more of it, so I'm giving this book four cookies for the awesome, action-packed adventure.

    

Thanks to Manel Loureiro, I decided to go on a Zombie novel reading marathon. I am having my internship and the vacant time could get really boring, so I decided to give Jesse Petersen a shot with the first part of the Living with the Dead series, Married with Zombies.

Married with Zombies tells us the tale of a married couple Sarah and David who, at the time of the spark of the apocalypse, were at the brink of divorce and are going to couple's counseling. During one of their sessions they noticed that the road was unusually practically empty, considering that they live in Seattle wherein traffic was just part of their lives. Apart from that, they found their therapist ripping the client before them into shreds.

With the world starting to fall apart and humanity into shambles and hordes of the undead, Sarah and David realized and learned far greater things about themselves and their relationship, which eventually saved their marriage and made them stronger.

This is really a good book to read if you are a fan of zombie novels or if you're just looking for an easy, adventure packed, book. Although it lacks more story towards the end, still it was action packed and a really enjoyable book to read. It will definitely leave you asking for more of it, so I'm giving this book four cookies for the awesome, action-packed adventure.

I kicked off my 2013 with a Zombie novel because I was really getting impatient from waiting for the season comeback of The Walking Dead. I am just really grateful of Goodreads as it has been my guide to great books recently. I have my Goodreads account for a while now, but it wasn't until recently that I made use of it. LOL

I found a good zombie book written by a Spanish author and the first book in his series was translated in English, so I decided to go with it. I immediately looked for an ebook, bought it and just started with my adventure.

Plot from Goodreads:

The dead rise…

A mysterious incident in Russia, a blip buried in the news—it’s the only warning humanity receives that civilization will soon be destroyed by a single, voracious virus that creates monsters of men.

Humanity falls…

A lawyer, still grieving over the death of his young wife, begins to write as a form of therapy. But he never expected that his anonymous blog would ultimately record humanity’s last days.

The end of the world has begun…

Governments scramble to stop the zombie virus, people panic, so-called “Safe Havens” are established, the world erupts into chaos; soon it’s every man, woman, and child for themselves. Armed only with makeshift weapons and the will to live, a lone survivor will give mankind one last chance against…

My Review: It was a bit boring at first as it's written in diary form, sort of like Jonathan Harker's diary in Bram Stoker's Dracula. But like the said novel, the story gets better as it progresses; it's naturally written style, I think, is what made this novel easy to read, while the events made it more exciting to read. Loureiro, although I have never read his previous works, captured me with every line of this book with its realistic turn of events and its heart-pounding horde chases, gun shootings and car drifting. I am honestly getting impatient waiting for the English version of the second book.

I'm giving this book five cookies for the awesome flesh-hunting, heart-pounding adventure. :)

    

Sometime in mid-December last year, I received an e-mail from Ms. Veronika Carnaby herself, asking me to write a review for her debut novel, Bohemia. Along with the e-mail came a free digital copy of the novel itself, and I couldn’t be more grateful about it.

I still could not believe that she chose me and my blog to write and feature a review about her novel; it’s such an honor to be one of the chosen few. So enough of raving, here’s the book’s plot:

Book Summary:

In her debut novel, Veronika Carnaby picks up where the Beat Generation left off. Set in 1960, Bohemia chronicles a group of twenty-somethings who defy the "ideals" of a mid-twentieth century society to seek creative fulfillment. In the process, they spotlight the creative path that artists of all mediums tread, all the while depicting the challenges faced by youth in the decade that changed the world.

My thoughts:

Bohemia is really my type of novel, considering that I have this burning passion for everything nostalgic, and it’s really not that hard to fall in love with it. Veronika Carnaby’s way of weaving words, events and characters together is totally capturing. It was as if I am slowly being taken back into time in the 60’s and watch everything happen before my eyes. She really did paint pictures with words, and that’s my number one basis of a great book.

Bohemia is very realistic as well. Considering the time-table of the story, I think it was really difficult for a person to write something based from a very different era, but everything came naturally with Bohemia, from the jargon, the culture to the fashion. It’s that sort of book that makes you crave for more as the story progresses and leaves you disappointed in the last page because you think there should be more to it.

Veronika Carnaby was able to bring back the 60’s in this modern world and introduced it to another generation with downright success through her debut novel.

Bohemia is a very easy read, in my opinion, it’s not too long but it’s not too short as well, and it’s really capturing. I personally recommend it to anyone who’s planning to build a reading list, or to add it to their existing ones as this is really a great addition to any booklover’s shelf.

About Veronika Carnaby:

American writer and poet Veronika Carnaby carries a vintage charm about her that transcends well into her written works. Recognized for her Beat-style prose and innovative voice, Carnaby’s pieces have gained international recognition after appearing in such publications and functions as The Ed Sullivan Show, Empty Mirror Magazine, Dan's Papers Literary Journal, SESAC Magazine, SXSW, and the SESAC New York Music Awards. In past projects, she has worked with the likes of Archie Shepp, Ben E. King, and prolific Nashville songwriter and co-owner of Bug Music, Roger Murrah, among others. Since receiving the 2001 Young Authors Award for Excellence in Short Story Writing, she has welcomed the opportunity to share ideas of literary merit with the circles of Sir Paul McCartney, Roger McGuinn, Nancy Sinatra, and Roger Waters.

Channeling the caliber of her greatest influences, Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, The Beatles, and Bob Dylan, Carnaby infuses her writing with a poignancy and passion for literature, music, and twentieth century culture. Whether through her feats or her unprecedented knack for the written word, Carnaby has etched an indelible mark as a pioneer in her own right.

You may check out Ms. Carnaby's personal website here. You might also want your own copy of the novel. It's available on Amazon.com for only $9.99. ^_^

Bohemia is really my type of novel, considering that I have this burning passion for everything nostalgic, and it’s really not that hard to fall in love with it. Here's the summary from GoodReads.com:

In her debut novel, Veronika Carnaby picks up where the Beat Generation left off. Set in 1960, Bohemia chronicles a group of twenty-somethings who defy the "ideals" of a mid-twentieth century society to seek creative fulfillment. In the process, they spotlight the creative path that artists of all mediums tread, all the while depicting the challenges faced by youth in the decade that changed the world.

Veronika Carnaby’s way of weaving words, events and characters together is totally capturing. It was as if I am slowly being taken back into time in the 60’s and watch everything happen before my eyes. She really did paint pictures with words, and that’s my number one basis of a great book.

Bohemia is very realistic as well. Considering the time-table of the story, I think it was really difficult for a person to write something based from a very different era, but everything came naturally with Bohemia, from the jargon, the culture to the fashion. It’s that sort of book that makes you crave for more as the story progresses and leaves you disappointed in the last page because you think there should be more to it.

Veronika Carnaby was able to bring back the 60’s in this modern world and introduced it to another generation with downright success through her debut novel.

Bohemia is a very easy read, in my opinion, it’s not too long but it’s not too short as well, and it’s really capturing. I personally recommend it to anyone who’s planning to build a reading list, or to add it to their existing ones as this is really a great addition to any booklover’s shelf. Four cookies.


   

I kicked off my 2013 with a Zombie novel because I was really getting impatient from waiting for the season comeback of The Walking Dead. I am just really grateful of Goodreads as it has been my guide to great books recently. I have my Goodreads account for a while now, but it wasn't until recently that I made use of it. LOL

I found a good zombie book written by a Spanish author and the first book in his series was translated in English, so I decided to go with it. I immediately looked for an ebook, bought it and just started with my adventure.


Plot from Goodreads:
The dead rise…

A mysterious incident in Russia, a blip buried in the news—it’s the only warning humanity receives that civilization will soon be destroyed by a single, voracious virus that creates monsters of men.

Humanity falls…

A lawyer, still grieving over the death of his young wife, begins to write as a form of therapy. But he never expected that his anonymous blog would ultimately record humanity’s last days.

The end of the world has begun…

Governments scramble to stop the zombie virus, people panic, so-called “Safe Havens” are established, the world erupts into chaos; soon it’s every man, woman, and child for themselves. Armed only with makeshift weapons and the will to live, a lone survivor will give mankind one last chance against…

My Review: It was a bit boring at first as it's written in diary form, sort of like Jonathan Harker's diary in Bram Stoker's Dracula. But like the said novel, the story gets better as it progresses; it's naturally written style, I think, is what made this novel easy to read, while the events made it more exciting to read. Loureiro, although I have never read his previous works, captured me with every line of this book with its realistic turn of events and its heart-pounding horde chases, gun shootings and car drifting. I am honestly getting impatient waiting for the English version of the second book.

I'm giving this book five cookies for the awesome flesh-hunting, heart-pounding adventure. :)

That's right, Les Miserables made it's debut in the U.S. recently and I couldn't be more thrilled as it would be coming to Philippine cinemas on January 16th. Les Mis is my number one favorite musical and novel of all time and I might have watched a couple of adaptations of it on film and television, and in various languages too. So you can say I'm a bit of a freak when it comes to it. It's also a Broadway classic for decades now, making this year's movie adaptation an even bigger hit.

This year's version of Les Mis stars Hugh Jackman as the ever famous ex-convict, Jean Val-Jean, the protagonist of the story. Russell Crowe played the part of the antagonist, Inspector Javert, while Anne Hathaway stars as Fauntine and Amanda Seyfried as Cosette and with the four main characters being huge celebs, this production has definitely been abundantly budgeted.

Les Miserables tells us the tales of Jean Val-Jean as he comes to the end of his term after an 18 year sentence in the Toulon prison, set in early 1900's France. The story follows Val-Jean as he tried to cope up with life and in his journey of becoming a renewed man. Les Miserables is an enthralling story of broken dreams, unrequited love and redemption and will surely, once again, touch the hearts of millions of people.

I will definitely see this on the cinema next month. This is just an opportunity I cannot dare to miss.

In other news, and a completely off topic one, I have just been invited by the Iowa City Owl website to write for them. This is definitely the biggest news I've received this year. It's like a hidden Christmas present that came out of nowhere. I'm just really thankful about it. See you there, soon! :D Cheers!