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'The Book of Rapture' by Nikki Gemmell

post from Reading matters on 04 July 2009 05:55:55 PM. © Reading matters

Fiction - paperback; Fourth Estate; 269 pages; 2009. Review copy. Nikki Gemmell is an Australian author based in London who achieved international acclaim with her 2003 novel The Bride Stripped Bare, which was originally published anonymously on the basis that the subject matter was too provocative. Prior to this she wrote three other novels -- Shiver; Cleave; and Love Song -- none of which I've read. However, I've long been familiar with Gemmell's work, mainly as a broadcast journalist, first, on Triple J, the ABC's youth network, back in the early 1990s (she filed memorable reports on a scientific expedition from Antarctica; her girlie voice used to grate), and second, more recently as a commentator on the BBC's Newsnight Review. This latest novel, The Book of Rapture, is a strangely haunting story set in an unnamed country at an unspecified time. It feels dystopian but lacks the true grit and...

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mmell.html

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Cemetery Dance

post from A Garden Carried in the Pocket on 04 July 2009 05:55:00 PM. © A Garden Carried in the Pocket

Preston, Douglas, and Lincoln Childs. Cemetery Dance.

I know, I know. These novels are absolutely ridiculous, but every time I see a new one, it goes right in the library bag! I'm weak. It is like eating fried food knowing it isn't good for you, but occasionally giving in the craving.

This one has an even greater "unbelievable" factor with zombies. As with all the books in this series, things move at a rapid pace; plot (regardless of how fantastic) is king,and character development is minor. Pendergast and D'Agosto must determine how a man who died 10 days previously managed murder one of their close friends. For some reason, both felt even more cardboard than usual.

Have to admit that I wasn't happy about the loss of a recurring character in the first chapter.

Not my favorite in the series, but good for a night's entertainment, if you are a fan of the series.

Fiction. Horror/mystery. 2009. 435 pages.

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http://bookgarden.blogspot.com/2009/07/cemetery-dance.html

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post from on 04 July 2009 05:22:55 PM. ©

Reminder: Radcliffe and Grint Rove Live Appearance This Weekend[...]

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http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/

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post from on 04 July 2009 05:22:55 PM. ©

Confirmed: Rupert Grint Recovering Just Fine from Mild Bout of Swine Flu[...]

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http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/

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post from on 04 July 2009 04:22:36 PM. ©

Scholastic Store in NYC to Host Deathly Hallows Paperback Release Party[...]

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http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/

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post from on 04 July 2009 04:22:36 PM. ©

More Half-Blood Prince Reviews: Guardian Three Stars out of Five, More[...]

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http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/

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"My button period"

post from Light reading on 04 July 2009 02:52:00 PM. © Light reading

For the FT, Vanessa Friedman lunches with Manolo Blahnik (site registration required):

His favourites have been a pair that he made in 1973 for Ossie Clark, which featured cherry blossoms and green suede leaves that twined up the leg; ones with gigantic buttons (?from my button period in the 1980s?); shoes made from coral and pony skin that appeared in an exhibit at the Design Museum in London in 2003; and shoes from this season?s collection called ?Toubid?, high-heeled ankle-strap sandals featuring tiers of cut work around the arch of the foot. The ones his customers like best tend to be the court shoes, which he thinks are ?very conventional?, especially when they come in ?stupid colours like dusty pink. It?s the safe shoe!?

He makes all sorts of heels but says that his favourite height is 3cm, which is a mid-height. (He also does 5cm.) He is currently also very interested in flats because ?they are the most difficult shoes to walk in and be divine and gracious ? they make you walk like a reindeer. The last time women really knew how to walk well in flats was the 1950s. You can see it in the movies.

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http://jennydavidson.blogspot.com/2009/07/my-button-period.html

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Voting Now Open on Half-Blood Prince Potions Making Youtube Videos[...]

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http://www.the-leaky-cauldron.org/

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Computer post follow-up: The relative reliability
of laptops versus desktops

In a post on the merits of laptops versus desktops, I wrote that “the inflated notebook total [regarding units sold] is probably in part due to the disposable nature and limited longevity of notebooks.” Two e-mailers took issue with this assertion because I didn’t have any direct evidence backing it up aside from the obvious [...]

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http://jseliger.com/2009/07/04/computer-post-follow-up-the-relative-reliability-o
f-laptops-versus-desktops/

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TT: Close enough for jazz

This isn't really Louis Armstrong's birthday, but he thought he was born on July 4, 1900, so in honor of Satchmo's not-birthday, I invite you to spend a few minutes watching one of America's greatest artists talk and play:
video details and more

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http://www.artsjournal.com/aboutlastnight/2009/07/tt_close_enough_for_jazz.html