Into the Dark by Peter Abrahams

This is a children's book, but don't let that fool you, it packs a punch.

Plot: Ingrid is a devotee to Sherlock Holmes novels and seems to find one mystery after another. Her Grandfather is a war hero who is having issues with a local corporation trying to buy out his land. While out with a friend Ingrid stumbles upon a dead body on her Grandfather's farm and now must prove his innocence. Clue after clue leads Ingrid to the alibi she needs to clear her Grandfather, only he refuses to tell the truth. While this is going on, her parents break up, and her dog gets kidnapped. Can Ingrid keep her wits about her before it's too late?

I really enjoyed this novel. It had a good pace with 26 chapters and 300 pages. The characters were solid, which they would be as this is the third installment in the Echo Falls series.

You follow Ingrid exclusively as she pieces together the clues of dates, times and logic. The fact the character is a 13 year old girl lends to the quirks and pitfalls of letting something that might be obvious to an adult, expand as the next part of the puzzle.

Her sidekick shifts from her dog to her best friend, but you never feel the shift as jarring.

Using the subplot of the school play as a backdrop foreshadows the crime so subtly you don't realize it till you are in the last chapter. Brilliant.

The use of direct quotes from various Sherlock Holmes novels helps to link together plot points that would otherwise seem overlooked. It's easy to get behind the characters and it's clear who's side you should be routing for.

There was only one thing in this novel I did not like, that was the whip cracking housekeeper. It was a new take on the bad guy, but she was almost an after thought, brought in within the last two chapters.

I would recommend getting the other two novels as well, Down the Rabbit Hole and Behind the Curtain as there were references to things that happened in the past novels. Otherwise this works well as a stand alone piece.

As I said in the beginning, this is listed as a children's book, but adults who enjoy a good who done it will find it a nice bit of entertainment.

Movies about Books -part 2

Secret Window. Based on the novella by Stephen King, Secret Window Secret Garden.

Is about a writer who is being accused of stealing another writer's work. We are taken through this situation which is only a small part of his downward spiral into madness as we discover his recent divorce.

He's done this in the past, and now has to face this demons.

This being a King story right off makes it a good one, true horror comes from inside not out. Johnny Depp once again pulls you into this world and makes you believe that what you read might not be what you see.

Year of Living Biblically by AJ Jacobs

I read this book back when it first came out two years ago, and had thought I reviewed it.

This is a year and a half long journey that the author found himself on where he followed the laws as they are listed in the bible.

It made for some interesting trials. At first, I wasn't sure I could get into a book about religion, but found myself glued to it. AJ Jacobs uses humour and personal errors as the jumping off point for his quest.

Could modern man be able to live up to the "moral code" laid out in both the Old Testament and New Testament?

Maybe.

Can enlightenment and spiritual purpose be found in someone who has never really seen themselves as being spiritual or religious?

Yes.

This is a book that anyone having questions about their personal spiritual beliefs should pick up.

The Gonzo Challenge

Gonzo Journalism was brought to the forefront by one man brave enough to speak his mind even when it was a mill of rumours.

After having talked to people who all say they are big fans of Hunter S. Thompson, but yet can't list off more then one of his books, I am wondering if anyone in the last 30 years have read anything by him other then Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas ? Or If they even read it?

So it's simple, between now and Feb 20th 2010 (the 5th anniversary of his death)

I am challenging anyone who sees this post to read one of his books and tell me about your thoughts on it.

Simple.

You can leave your comments on this post or on my other blog Another Freak in the Freakdom

Buy the ticket take the ride.

Books as Comfort Food

When we are depressed, we all have a food, movie, cd or book we turn to as an emotional security blanket.

For me, it used to be Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice, but as of late for me it's been Hot Chocolate for the Mystical Lover by Arielle Ford.

I have been finding it uplifting and grounding all at the same time. Beautiful stories of real people who found their happiness.

What are your comfort food books?

Mid Nov Update and a Poll

Current reading list is crazy large.

The Shipping News is on the top of the pile, the one I have managed to get a few chapters read from this week.

If you hit up WWEGIRL's book blog you will find a Dracula book club online.

Not too mention, she's got a poll going at the moment, as do I.

I can't keep up with her, she manages to read more then I do, and I'm the one without any body around to distract me. Go figure eh?

And don't forget to Show us your all time favourite book.

Movies about Books

As I was working on my Jane Austen Challenge, I found myself returning more then once to the Jane Austen Book Club. Which is a movie about books.

And it got me thinking of the movie the Ninth Gate which is also a movie about a book.

In this case, a book written by the devil on how to bring him into flesh.

The movie is also based on a book.

What is it you think that draws us to books? To the idea of the written word? To the need to have them?

Is it the knowledge they hold, or is it the idea of what they might evoke? Wither we are reading a text book on math, a cookbook, a steamy romance or a religious text, books somehow bring out another side of us. And let's us get lost in that particular world for awhile.

The message in the movie Ninth Gate is one of caution. The book that Johnny Depp's character is chasing after is one that unlocks a puzzle to the gods. In turn, it unlocks a part of him that he didn't even know existed. Sometimes, when we go hunting for the answers, the answers are hunting for us.