I enjoyed this book but only because I saw the first season of the tv show first. The writing is very slow. The characters are amazingly well developed, and I was very pleased at how closely the show mirrored the language and actions in the book. Will definitely be picking up the rest of this series as soon as I can force myself to finish the Hunger Games travesty.   posted Jun 30, 2012 at 11:03PM

I had a *really* hard time getting into this book. I adored Feed. Deadline was ok. Countdown was great. But the entire first half of this book is exposition and setting up for the action that you must wait for slowly and painfully. I hate to say that because I love this author, but this book moved so freaken slowly until about page 365, when George found Shaun, and then the book finally took off. That's an extreme commitment from me to finishing a book. I've picked up and put down AS Byatt's Possession three times, each barely making it past page 100. And I've seen the movie! I know I love the story, but I cannot get past the plodding writing style. That being said, the remaining 267 pages rocked, and made me remember how much these books inspired me to want to blog more and wish I'd gone into journalism. The tech is great, the science is awesome, and the characters are phenomenal. My only complaints: the story is rehashing of several done zombie movie themes, the biggest of which being cloning. Resident Evil pretty much covered this one. No need to revisit. The best parts about this series were the science, the tech, and the world of news bloggers. I wish the author could have told a story that didn't recycle such a used zombie apocalypse plot device to give us this world, but I suppose this was just the story she needed to tell. I don't regret it.   posted Jun 30, 2012 at 10:59PM

I feel like there could be a book written about Sookie and Relationships/Family Issues. She favors dead guys for their lack of brain activity but also they lack familial ties. When she came across Bill and now Erik's families, so to speak, she killed them or was directly involved in their demise. She rejected Alcide because of his responsilbities to the were pack which she deemed incompatible to her way of life. She rejected Quinn because his family came first. It's all so bizarre. I love Sookie, but it's a very negative pattern for someone who claims she wants a family.   posted Jun 12, 2012 at 3:20PM

I feel like it wasn't really a book so much as aftermath. And book 10 promises to be MORE aftermath. I'm like, come on, just write a tome the length of a Harry Potter novel and let's be done with it already. But maybe I'm being ungrateful. As Neil Gaiman says, [writers:] are not our bitch. http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2009/05/entitlement-issues.html I'm only mildly disappointed by Quinn's brief and quick appearance/exit in the book. That means he *should* feature more prominently in book 10. did anyone else feel that Sookie and Jason both underwent a major character overhaul between this book and the last? I almost think I missed something. and Eric saying, "you're killing me." Heart wrenching stuff. Do you think Bill is dead & gone (har har)? CH did seem to be saying good-bye to him. the last book had the big armageddon like catastrophe but this book really felt more like the end of days. And we were just on the periphery of the war. No Harry Dresden like Nevernever to cross over into & explore... Sookie was a less a problem solver in this book than a passive participant in the unfolding of events. That bugs me. I miss team Amelia/Sookie solving crimes & painting toes... Overall, not my favorite, but will always look forward to what comes next.   posted Jun 12, 2012 at 3:19PM

To think all I really knew about Gene Wilder before reading this book was he'd been in Willy Wonka and some movies with Mel Brooks. sigh. He's an amazing human, writes beautifully, and has experienced so much. He has had such an amazing life, and it was awesome to read about his descriptions of leaving his 2nd wife and their daughter, and how it was the cruelest, most necessary thing he'd ever done. And how wonderfully blessed he was to find his fourth wife so late in life but at the perfect time because he would never have appreciated her enough at some earlier point in his life. It was in her kitchen he saw this poem: "After a While" by Veronica A. Shoffstall. I just loved that poem for so many reasons. One of the many things about this book I'll take with me always.   posted Jun 12, 2012 at 3:17PM

I adore Sarah Vowell but her histories are more my speed than the personal narratives.   posted Jun 12, 2012 at 3:16PM

LOVE! Like Amelie as an American graphic novel. Totally fantastic. Please let there be more!   posted Jun 12, 2012 at 3:14PM

I adore this man's work. Everything he does is a-MAY-zing!   posted Jun 12, 2012 at 3:12PM

This book wasn't as fabulous as Dress your Family in Corduroy and Denim, but it's a near thing. As someone who dissects sentences and practices conversations, I heartily enjoyed the subject of this book: communication. And while I do enjoy Sedaris' thoughts on life as a stream of conscious narrative, how he interacts with his family are my favorite stories. and there's great ones in here. From Amy's "good seeing you David, and good luck beating the rape charge!" to Paul's potty mouth that will stick by you through any crisis. Sedaris has a phenomenal talent for making you believe your seeing through his eyes and listening inside his head. It's better than a movie.   posted Jun 12, 2012 at 3:12PM

I'd been encouraged to read David Sedaris for awhile now, and finally had the chance to read this book during one of my many plane flights lately (or as I like to call them: extended camping trips in various airports). His family could be anyone's family. And the list of what other cultures say for a rooster is hysterical. Plus Dutch Christmas traditions. I'm a fan of random knowledge.   posted Jun 12, 2012 at 3:11PM

I adored this book. It's on my bucket list of things to do to write it as a screenplay. It's so perfectly structured to be a movie.   posted Jun 12, 2012 at 3:03PM

I need a currently re-reading status. Just saw the part one movie, and am so bummed at having to wait til July to see the rest, that I'm rereading the book. Wow they do such much right in the movies, but then miss huge emotional plots. IDK.   posted Jun 12, 2012 at 3:03PM

LOVED this book. The handwriting and sketchings were top notch. Only wish there'd been more. Subtle humor throughout. Fabulous.   posted Jun 12, 2012 at 3:02PM

This book was fantastic!! Story, characters, delivery, humor, & ending were all spectacular. I wish I had read some of the earlier books for more back story but works well as a stand alone.   posted Jun 12, 2012 at 3:00PM

This is one of the best horror novels I have read in a long while. Coming from Mike Mignola (Hellboy) and Christopher Golden (BtVS), I had high expectations, and they were totally fulfilled. On one level, it's a simple 'fighting evil' story. The book is made up of 5 stories: the present and 4 narratives of fighting monsters in the past. Each of the narrators is uniquely interesting as he retells the horrors he's witnessed. On a deeper level, the book explores how a hero can become a darker monster than the evil they're fighting. It also alludes to a greater evil that spawns all lesser demons and representations of evil in the world. It's a fascinating alternate history of the World War I era. It's also an allusion to the Tin Soldier children's story. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good horror story. It's about vampires, but doesn't focus on everything you know about vampires. These are not vamps as you've likely ever experienced them in a story before.   posted Jun 12, 2012 at 3:00PM

This was a lovely book about a most important monument to American history. Easy to read. Heroes larger than life. Villains worthy of a movie. Would recommend.   posted Jun 12, 2012 at 2:59PM

Very funny for those who enjoy kicking uberintellectuals.   posted Jun 12, 2012 at 2:59PM

super, super cute. adore this whole world   posted Jun 12, 2012 at 2:58PM

Love and adored this book. all time favorite list next to Atwood's Penelopiad.   posted Jun 12, 2012 at 2:57PM

I adored this book! I think you have to be a fan of non fiction to really get into it though. I was expecting to just be intrigued by the HH Holmes parts, and skim the Chicago Fair stuff, but that was the truly fascinating part of the book! So many really famous people visited the Fair and bumped into each other. I loved all the anecdotes.   posted Jun 12, 2012 at 2:57PM

Fantastic book! Loved the parallel ending(s). Was very slow reading for me though; I get that way with multiple speakers alternating chapters.   posted Jun 12, 2012 at 2:56PM

I love this series. It gets mildly repetitive. but LOVE D anyway.   posted Jun 12, 2012 at 2:56PM

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE   posted Jun 12, 2012 at 2:54PM

This was one of the best books i've read in a long time. Very poignant and fabulous storytelling.   posted Jun 12, 2012 at 2:53PM

most awesome and wonderful book. Loved it! Warning: do not complete the last 1/3 of the book while on a beach, or massive sunburns may ensue.   posted Jun 12, 2012 at 2:53PM

Loved the whole concept. And zombie wife is awesome.   posted Jun 12, 2012 at 2:51PM

what can I say? I will read every scrap of napkin Jim Butcher has composed words upon until I die. I love, love, love this author's works.   posted Jun 12, 2012 at 2:49PM

I heartily enjoyed this book. It makes for great plane reading. You get this global perspective and how connected every culture is to each other. even if you don't believe the zombie apocalypse is imminent, the book gives an insightful view into the mindset of America post the Iraqi War and how the government truly affects everyone's lives for the better and worse.   posted Jun 12, 2012 at 2:49PM

I adore this series. The illustrated version especially is fabulous. There's a lot of descriptions which get a reader bogged down, but the last 150 pages or so fly by. Can't wait to get my hands on the 3rd one!   posted Jun 12, 2012 at 2:48PM

this book was adorable. I started it over a year ago, and put it down. I'm kind of an OCD reader and it wasn't holding my attention at the time. I've since cycled back to a wanting to read about children in alternate scary&wonderful realities, and could not put it down.   posted Jun 12, 2012 at 2:48PM