Cruel Sacrifice by Aphrodite Jones

Cruel Sacrifice by Aphrodite Jones

Summary:  Veteran true crime journalist Aphrodite Jones reveals the shocking truth behind the most savage crime in Indiana history–the torture, mutilation, and murder of 12-year-old Shanda Sharer by four teenage girls. Here is a tragic story of twisted love and insane jealousy, lesbianism, brutal child abuse, and sadistic ritual killing in small-town America. Includes 16-page pho

to insert.  courtesy of Amazon.com

Booknerd’s thoughts:    This book terrified me.  One, because it’s hard to imagine that four young girls could so brutally and heartlessly kill a child, a twelve-year-old child.  And two, because a true, clear-cut reason was never discovered as to why poor Shanda had to die.  All four girls told different stories, or denied the theories that the police came up with.  It was heartbreaking to read, and I can only imagine what her parents felt like.  The only thing that they knew for certain was that their daughter was dead, and they would probably never know why those other girls killed her.

Plenty of theories were put forth throughout the book, but none were proven to be absolutely true.  None of the girls admitted who beat Shanda, or who set her on fire.  Each girl either claimed that they didn’t know because they weren’t watching, or claimed that they couldn’t remember.  As expected, they all plead guilty in order to evade the death penalty.  And each girl was sentenced to the maximum sentence as per their plea deals.

If you’ve a weak stomach, steer clear of this one.  The author lays out some pretty graphic details, and it’s most definitely not for the faint of heart.  I do love my true crime books, but sometimes they sure do depress me a bit.  I like to think that we live in world where young girls don’t brutally kill other young girls.  Sadly, that’s not the world we live in, and there are bad people everywhere.  Sad, but true.

 

 

Rhett Butler’s People by Daniel McCraig

Rhett Butler’s People by Daniel McCraig

Summary:  Rhett Butler’s People fulfills the dreams of those whose imaginations have been indelibly marked by America’s greatest novel, Gone With The Wind. Here you’ll meet Rhett as a boy, a free spirit who loved the marshes and tidewaters of the Low Country, and learn of the ruthlessness of Rhett’s father, whose desire for control resulted in unspeakable. Through Rhett’s eyes, you’ll encounter those who shaped him in other ways: the Overseer’s daughter, Belle Watling; Rosemary, Rhett’s brave and determined sister; Tunis Bonneau, the son of freed slaves who understood the young Rhett like no one else; and Jack Ravanel, whose name became inextricably linked to heartbreak. And then there’s Katie Scarlett O’Hara herself—the headstrong, passionate woman whose life is inextricably entwined with Rhett’s: more like him than she cares to admit; more in love with him than either of them will ever know… courtesy of amazon.com

Booknerd’s Thoughts:  It is absolutely no secret that I’m in love with Captain Rhett Butler.  He is my literary dream man.  You can keep your Edward and Peeta, I’ll be just fine with Rhett, thanks.  What is there to not like about the man?  He’s a gentleman, though he tries to make you forget that.  He’s saucy, funny, loving, and rich.  that pretty much describes the perfect man.

One thing that I hate – Scarlett.  I’ve also not made my hatred for her a secret.  She’s a brat, she whines too much, she’s conniving, and deceitful.  She’s not good enough for Rhett, and I think in the end she realizes that.  Good.

This book gave me the missing gaps that I needed after reading Gone With the Wind.  Rhett is my favorite character, and though he is prominent within the story, you don’t get to know his back story.  What makes Rhett Butler the way that he is?  This book does.  It tells you pretty much everything you ever wanted to know about Rhett.  His childhood, young adult days, what he did when he was absent from Scarlett for so long. It perfectly filled in those spaces that I needed.

Not many people my age are quite as taken by this story and its big sister, but if you are, don’t look past this one.  You will definitely not regret it, I assure you.

Iron Man and Philosophy: Facing the Stark Reality

Iron Man and Philosophy:  Facing the Stark Reality by Various Contributors

Summary:  The first look at the philosophy behind the Iron Man comics and movies, timed for the release of Iron Man 2 in March 2010

On the surface, Iron Man appears to be a straightforward superhero, another rich guy fighting crime with fancy gadgets. But beneath the shiny armor and flashy technology lies Tony Stark, brilliant inventor and eccentric playboy, struggling to balance his desires, addictions, and relationships with his duties as the Armored Avenger. Iron Man and Philosophy explores the many philosophical issues that emerge from the essential conflicts found in the decades of Iron Man stories in comics and movies. What kind of moral compass does Tony Stark have? Is Iron Man responsible for the death of Captain America after the Marvel Universe “Civil War”? Should people like Stark run the world? How does Tony’s alcoholism impact his performance as Iron Man, and what does it say about moral character? Ultimately, what can Iron Man teach us about the role of technology in society?  courtesy of Amazon.com

BookNerd’s Thoughts:  I am the first to admit – sometimes I read nerdy stuff.  Let this show you that I’m definitely not afraid to let my nerd flag fly ridiculously high.

That being said, even this book was a bit nerdy for me.  It was really interesting to see the connections that these authors made between the study of philosophy and Stan Lee’s Iron Man, both the comic and the movie version.  Some of the connections I’d made myself, but some were pretty in-depth and really interesting to read about.

The one thing I hated about this book – so many spoilers.  I’m not all that familiar with Iron Man in the comic book sense, and this book pretty much chronicled his story line until the end.  There were things that I was not prepared to know about, like the deaths of heroes that I really like.  It made me sad.

Some parts of this were super boring, but some authors kept the tone relatively light and fluffy, and made it easier to read.  I’ll definitely pick up another book like this – I have the Batman version on my Amazon wish list as we speak.  Now that I’ve finished this, I can get on to that HUGE pile of books waiting to be read.

 

 

 

The (Sometimes) Daily Brookie

Y’all, have you looked at the movies that are coming out this year?!  2013 is going to be so awesomely packed with great movies, I can’t even begin to contain my excitement.

Let me just give you a run down –

Man of Steel.  This will be amazing because it’s Superman, duh.  And also, Kevin Costner is Clark Kent’s dad.  Yep.  I love me some Kevin Costner.  Always have.

Iron Man 3.  RDJ is my man.  Not my favorite Avenger, but definitely the funniest one.  And Don Cheadle is back as Rhodey.

Oz:  The Great and Powerful.  How the wizard got to Oz in the first place.  And it’s James Franco, and I adore him.  He’s such an amazing actor.

The Great Gatsby.  Leonardo DiCaprio is probably the most talented actor of my generation.  And this is one of my favorite books.  And if Leo is Gatsby, you know it’s going to be good.

Star Trek Into Darkness.  I’m a nerd, and you know that I’m always the first one to admit it.  I’m stoked for this.  I loved the first Star Trek remake and I can’t wait for this one!

Percy Jackson:  Sea of Monsters.  The one thing that I HATE about this is they let nearly 3 years go by between movies.  We saw The Lightning Thief while I was still pregnant with Little T.  Why must you make me wait so long for a sequel!  And my favorite Percy Jackson book as that sequel to boot.

Thor:  The Dark World.  I love Thor.  The first movie blew me away, and I love the references to other Avengers in all of the Marvel movies.

The Hunger Games:  Catching Fire.  Do I even need to say anything?  I didn’t think so.

The Hobbit:  The Desolation of Smaug.  I know not everyone loved the first Hobbit movie (I’m lookin’ at you Papa T), but this one is sure to be way more fast paced.  Trust me.  They’re battling a dragon.  It’ll be good.

Overall, you know that if I’m not running or reading, you can find me in a movie theater.

 

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Lord of the Rings:  The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien

Summary:  As the Shadow of Mordor grows across the land, the Companions of the Ring have become involved in separate adventures. Aragorn, revealed as the hidden heir of the ancient Kings of the West, has joined with the Riders of Rohan against the forces of Isengard, and takes part in the desperate victory of the Hornburg. Merry and Pippin, captured by Orcs, escape into Fangorn Forest and there encounter the Ents. Gandalf has miraculously returned and defeated the evil wizard, Saruman. Sam has left his master for dead after a battle with the giant spider, Shelob; but Frodo is still alive—now in the foul hands of the Orcs. And all the while the armies of the Dark Lord are massing as the One Ring draws ever nearer to the Cracks of Doom. courtesy of Amazon.com

BookNerd’s Reivew:  Trust me, you’re no the only one that’s surprised.  I actually finished this book.  And it only took me approximately 6 years.  Only joking.  But it did take a long time, and definitely felt like 6 years.  Though, I will say that the latter half of the book flew by, whereas the beginning drug on and on.  The story is split into two different parts – Merry and Pippin and their journey to Minas Tirith, and then Sam and Frodo’s journey to destroy the ring.  Since Sam is definitely my favorite Hobbit, I was greatly looking forward to his part in the story.  And ol’ Sam sure didn’t disappoint.

Everyone needs to be a friend like Samwise Gamgee.  Never failing, always there, and faithfully following your friends into what is essentially the pits of Hades to help them complete a mission.  Sam’s never wavering faith in his friend’s goodness (which, let’s face it, Frodo tends to hide really well sometimes) is astonishing to me.  If one of my friends had picked that creepy dude Gollum over me, I’d have packed it up and headed home.  But not Samwise.  He stayed hidden, waiting patiently, knowing that Frodo would need him.  And he did, in a big way.

I truly believe that the ring wouldn’t have ever made it to Mount Doom without Sam.  Frodo would have turned into a Gollum-like thing in seconds, had Sam not been there to guide him and help him stay sane.

It’s safe to say that this book is by far my favorite of the series.  I like books that include good conclusions, and wrap the story up.  I hate when authors leave the “end” open for another story.  Just end it.  Take a note from Mr. Tolkien, or his BFF C.S. Lewis – they know how to end a story, and in a way that doesn’t leave you crying or sad or mad.  The world doesn’t have writers like them anymore.  There are some that are good, great even, but they’re no Tolkien.  The man created a language for goodness sake.

 

 

 

What I’m reading – January 7, 2013

Sadly, not much has changed since the last time I updated my current reading list.

I’m still working on The Return of the King, though I can now see a light at the end of the tunnel.  The book has already passed up where the movie ended, so I know that the literary end is in sight.  If you decided to pick this one up, don’t give up.  When the story switches over to Sam and Frodo – it picks up quick.  Weird enough, the adventure to get the ring to Mordor is more action packed than the battles that Aragorn and the gang get into.

I’m also reading my Iron Man book that ties in philosophy.  Truth be told, I haven’t opened it in months.  I probably should though, if I want to get it off this list and added to the “reviewed” file (which is so long, I can’t even begin to plan out how I’m going to cover them all).

Until I finish these two books, I won’t be reading anything else.  But like I said, I can see the finish line.

The (Sometimes) Daily Brookie

Remember that time I said I wasn’t going to buy anymore books?  It didn’t last.

In my defense – I had to buy something from Amazon, and they have this really awesome offer – if you spend $30 or more, you get free shipping.  The thing I needed was only $4, so I had $26 more dollars to spend in order to avoid shipping costs.  Which, for this one small item would have been about $7, and that is ridiculous.

But this is definitely my last book haul for now.  I HAVE to read what’s waiting for me.  My box of books is literally overflowing right now.  It’s sad.

On a more positive note – I ran at 4AM this morning in the freezing cold.  I’m not even lying to you when I say that it was painful.  Literally.  My lungs burned.  But, I got another 1.77 miles towards my goal done.  I would have done more, but I couldn’t feel my toes anymore.

A Challenge for 2013.

I’ve given myself 2 challenges for 2013.  (I don’t do resolutions, because you end up breaking them 3 hours into the new year when you hit up Whataburger after you leave your NYE celebration.)  So instead, I’m doing a challenge.  It sounds more impressive, really.  And it makes it more fun, I think.

1,000 in 2013.  Papa T called me crazy, but I think this is entirely do-able.  I want to run 1,000 miles this year.  If you do the math, it’s about 2.7 miles per day.  See, totally do-able.  I probably won’t run every single day, because that’s not good for you, which means I’ll have to run greater distances later in the year.  And I’m okay with that.  Small goals, people.  That is the key to success.  I have a 5K coming in March, and I need to conquer 3.2 miles before I can run an IronMan.  (Which will never happen.  Ever.)

No books.  I also plan on not buying any new books for the forseeable future.  I have a box (a pretty large box really) sitting under my nightstand that is absolutely OVERFLOWING with books to be read.  Everything is in there – classics, favorites, series, and things to be re-read.  I need to concentrate on getting those books read and shelved before I can buy new books.  If I keep buying books, at the rate I’m reading them, I’ll be drowning in books by May.  Now, if some ridiculously awesome book comes out, that I cannot live without, I’ll buy it.  But my goal is to not purchase any more books until I’ve read the ones I already own.

What are your goals and challenges for the new year?  Please tell me!  I love hearing about what other people are challenging themselves to do!

The (Sometimes) Daily Brookie

Did you think I gave up?  I did not.  I’m still here.  

I’m sure you could have guessed, but things have been hectic around here lately.  I feel like I’m constantly moving from 5AM to 9PM without slowing down.  

And don’t even get my started on the pile of books waiting to be read, reviewed, and loved.  I just cannot find the time (or the energy, really) to read.  The only thing I’ve read in its entirety lately is Down at the Docks – a Thomas the Train adventure.  It’s enthralling, I can assure you.

Hopefully, things will begin to slow down after the holidays, and I’ll be able to post more regularly (but don’t hold your breath).

The (Sometimes) Daily Brookie

I have come to a very important conclusion about life – toddlers are bipolar.  End of story.

But seriously, they are.  I can’t speak for all toddler-kind, but I know that the one that inhabits our house has some pretty serious mood swings.  That child can go from happy to mad to sad to glad to a raving lunatic in about four seconds.  Trust me, I’ve seen it first hand.

He’s especially volatile in the morning.  Like, screaming, thrashing around, won’t get dressed, hates the world in the morning.  I’m not a morning person either, but get it together dude.  Seriously.  We’ve been doing this waking up early and going to school thing for about 5 months now, you know what to expect.  There are no surprises.

You can call me a bad mom, but I bribe him in the mornings.  “Let’s get up and get dressed and we can get some Goldfish!”  That works sometimes.  Sometimes it’s the bribe of milk, or his favorite teacher at school, or the fact that Crunchy is currently taking up residence in the toddler bed, and Little T is squished up against the protective barrier.  “Whatever works” is what I tell myself when I have a bout with guilt as bribing my kid.

Papa T has to take Little T to school, because their respective destinations are close together, while mine is across town.  I hate for the little guy to leave mad at the world, because then Papa T has to deal with the fallout.  So if it takes some Goldfish and stickers, so be it.

Does anyone out there have any advice?  How do you/did you deal with angry morning syndrome?