Ti | Book Chatter

Kid #1 & #2 Promotion

This past week has been a busy one. On Friday, my son graduated (they call it promotion out here) from 6th grade. There was a ceremony to prepare for, so I took a few days off of work to just focus on that. It was a good move considering my “sick-in-bed” post last week.I needed a few extra days to regroup and prioritize.

Today, I am in a much better place but not until after a few emotional outbursts from the graduate. It seems that he considers himself a “man” now and his attitude took a nosedive which put a damper on all of the festivities. Frankly, all of it turned me into a blubbering idiot and I swore I would never be that but you know what? There’s a first time for everything.

The "Man"

I love the kid, but he sure can be a little…difficult.

Sunday Salon Button

Now that promotion is behind us and school is out, I can think “summer” and you know what that means? Summer camp, swimming, vacay and READING. Yeah, I still have to work but the pace is so much slower during the summer session that it’s actually kind of nice. A good time to catch-up on all of those projects that are half-done.

Right now I am reading The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest. It’s good, but a tad slow for me. I’m hoping it picks up soon because I keep catching myself skimming. I’m still working on my summer reading list but it’s coming together. I think I’m done with it but I keep moving things around. I will probably post it within the next couple of days.

I’m also thinking of my next read-along venture. In July, Lisa from Lit & Life is thinking about doing a read-along for The Space Between Us, which I will definitely be a part of. I really enjoyed The Weight of Heaven so I can’t wait to read another book by Umrigar.

In August, I am thinking about doing a read-along for Orwell’s 1984. Any interest?

As for today, I plan to just relax and let the day unfold. What do you have planned?

BTW…the title of this post is a nod to everything Toy Story because it is EVERYWHERE! Three aisles of toys at Target. I can hear the $Cha-Ching$ from here.

The Passage Book Cover

The Passage
By Justin Cronin
Random House
June 2010
784pp

The Short of It:

If you take only one book on vacation this summer…take this one.

The Rest of It:

*No Spoilers*

I’ve been gushing about this book to everyone I know and the first thing they say is, “I don’t like vampire stories.” To be honest with you, neither do I. However, the vampires in The Passage are not your typical vampires. They are government created super-soldiers gone wrong. Horribly wrong.

What IS typical, is the good vs. evil theme. As readers though, do we ever tire of this? No! We love a good battle and there are plenty of battles fought as these “soldiers” run amok and wreak havoc upon the world as we know it.

Although this book has been compared to Stephen King’s, The Stand, and I did find many similarities between the two novels, I felt that The Passage had a completely different feel to it. It’s a tad more clinical, a bit more mysterious and has more of a futuristic feel to it.

The immense size of this novel has intimidated many readers but don’t let the length fool you. It’s nearly 800 pages but you don’t notice the length at all. Some have mentioned the need for a good editor, that perhaps a few pages could have been shaved off of the final product but honestly, I enjoyed the extra detail and found myself completely absorbed in the world Cronin created.

You may be wondering just how nasty these vamps are. I pictured these creatures as a cross between a human and say…the alien from Aliens. Maybe a tad more bat-like, but definitely something huge and menacing. Yes, there’s a bit of gore as these creatures can be a bit brutal when they do their thing but it wasn’t anything that kept me up at night.

If you like epic novels to sink your teeth into (pun intended), then this might be the book for you. If you enjoy the whole good vs. evil thing, then you will like it more. If you like to feel as if you are in another time and place and that place happens to have creatures with wickedly sharp teeth, then you will love it. I know I did.

If you need a little more convincing, here’s a great BookPage interview with Justin Cronin.

The Passage is book #1 in a trilogy and the next book doesn’t come out until 2012, so read slow.

Source: This review copy was sent to me by the publisher.

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