A Quick Note

My darling readers,

I apologize that it has been so long since I have been seen. But this time I have a truly great excuse I have had no computer with which to write down my words of wisdom. Yes it's true my dear tablet has finally gone the way of the Dinosaurs and blacked out. It took quite awhile for me to finally get to a point where I could justify buying a new computer. But my plan is to start going back to school in the fall (as long as I get accepted that is) and since it is going to be online I needed a computer. So here we are at last. A new laptop computer that will hopefully be all that I hoped for. So far so good seeing as it turned on. 

Now just because I was unable to post updates or review anything doesn't mean I haven't been reading. Slightly slower than normal, I seem to have hit a reading rut and been less than enthusiastic about my books, but still reading. What have I been reading? Well I've really been running the gambit in genres lately. Finished up the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan and it was awesome! Highly recommend it for anyone, again I say anyone that enjoys Greek mythology. Been reading some of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events which is amazing and each book short and so good that I have been devouring one a day like vitamins. I read a historical fiction book called The Light in the Ruins by Chris Bohjalian, a mystery about violent murders happening in Italy, a murderer that is taking out an entire family one member at a time. Each chapter is different, one takes place in the present following the detectives investigating the murders, the next taking us back in time to World War 2 and a forbidden love and the next looking at everything from the POV of the killer. It was good, not great but the author did a fantastic job taking us into the mind of the killer. I read Snuff by Chuck Palahniuk a book about an aging porn star attempting to break the world record of sleeping with more than 599 men in one day. I finally read Maya Angelou's first installment in her autobiography entitled I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, haunting and beautiful and incredibly well written I fell in love with Miss Maya Angelou and can't wait to read more. 

There have been a few more since my last post about Rory Gilmore but a couple of them I want to actually review so I'll leave them for now. Currently I am in the middle of reading a couple of books one psychological study called When Rabbit Howls by Truddi Chase about her struggle with her 92 different multiple personalities that all stem from the horrific sexual abuse she endured as a child. And to lighten the mood when that becomes too much I am reading Whores of Lost Atlantis by Charles Busch, a semi autobiographical novel about an actor down on his luck and not really sure how to jump start his career. When he gets together with some of his acting buddies who are also unable to keep steady acting work and puts on a play at an East Village underground club, where he is the leading lady, things begin to turn around for him. So far it's hilarious and awesome in so many different ways. It's well written and endlessly entertaining so I already know I want to recommend it. 

There you have it my dears, a full if not quite complete list of the things that I have been reading in my time away from you. I feel like it was a little bit of everything, but I may be thinking I'm much bigger than my briches. I hope that now that I have a fully equipped and working computer I will be more inclined to post lots more reviews. For the moment I am going to bid you all aideu and go read some more and then go to bed. With my new work schedule I have to be up at 3am so getting to bed at an early hour is the only way I get any sleep. I will be putting my application for school in tomorrow so think accepting thoughts for me! 

Missing You Already,

The Girl in the Tiny Hat

Why I'll Never Be As Well Read As Rory Gilmore

Let me start off by saying that yes I do know that Rory Gilmore is a fictional character and that she didn't actually read all the books that she said did. However knowing all of this has not stopped Rory Gilmore from becoming one of the most beloved reading icons of our time. There are lists on goodreads.com that are dedicated to her books and reading challenges that ask the question 'can you read as many books as Rory Gilmore?' Book nerds all over the place have taken the test on www.listchallenges.com that has a list of 339 books that were mentioned through out the entire 'Gilmore Girls' series and asks 'how many have you read?' I've only read 67 of the 339 books listed which according to the site puts me in the top 25% of challenge takers. For a goodreads list of Gilmore Girls titles go here.

Taking into account that fictional characters have often become ideals for us I set my sites on Rory Gilmore as a reading icon. Basically I hope to be just like her when I grow up. In the sense that she reads everything. I pride myself on being an eclectic reader, I'm not sure if I am one but I certainly like to think of myself as one. But even so I'm sure that I could branch out even further into unknown reading waters and every time I rewatch the 'Gilmore Girls' series I am reminded that there is still so much more for me to read.

Rory doesn't discriminate when it comes to reading, Dorothy Parker, Sylvia Plath, Jane Austen, Tolstoy, books about beatniks in Venice beach, history, fiction, philosophy, she reads it all because she loves the act of reading and retaining knowledge. She reads newspapers daily and not just the Stars Hollow Gazette but papers like the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal, she knows what is happening in the world. I admire her for this non-discrimination in her reading, I know that I have some discriminations, as do we all, when it comes to reading. Most of us, no matter how book nerdy we are, stick to one genre or sub-genre. Young adult, mystery, romance, paranormal romance, fiction, 'chick-lit,' teen, we can't help ourselves we find an author or genre or series that we can't put down and we get stuck. It's usually very hard for us to break out of our molds and venture into uncharted territories. I try to force myself now and again to try something new or pick up something that someone has suggested to me that I feel isn't really my style. But I know no reader that is as voracious and widely read as Rory Gilmore.

The reason I could never be as well read as Miss Gilmore is simple, I never read the newspaper, and quite a few of the books she has read are ones that I will never pick up. According to www.listchallenges.com one of the many books that were mentioned in the series was 'Middlesex' by Jeffrey Eugenides now I tried three times to read this book and was unsuccessful each time. I just couldn't get into it no matter what, the same with 'The Kite Runner' by Khaled Hosseini I tried and tried but just couldn't get through it. Rory never puts a books down, she tries everything once and moves on to the next. I can't do that, if a book doesn't grab me or the writing is awful or the story so stupid that I just can't get into I have to put it down. Not to say that either of those books are poorly written and I know for a fact that they are both extremely popular books but they weren't my cup of tea.

Rory Gilmore is an inspiration to me, an inspiration to read things that have never tried before, an inspiration to try movies and music that I have never heard of before. I hope one day to be almost as well and widely read as her but I never will be because I know myself and I have limitations on my reading. No matter how hard I try to break out of my molds, one day reading Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes mysteries and the next Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate events and then the next 'Snuff' by Chuck Palahniuk, I just know that I won't be able to pick up 'Beowulf' or 'The Art of War' and sit down and read them cover to cover. I know they are important books and to be fully well read these are ones to read but they aren't books that I will read. I know this about myself and fully except my limitations as a reader.

Reading is about the pleasure of entering a new world, meeting new people, learning something new. If a book isn't bringing pleasure to the reader then the reader has every right to put the book down and start something new. I am very adamant about enjoying what I read so if a book and I aren't getting along then I will graciously put it aside, thank it for its time and move on. Rory Gilmore is a true reading fanatic and will never say no to a book or a subject which is why she has been an icon for book lovers every where. This is why I could never be as well read as Rory Gilmore, I have my few discrimintations. But I intend to keep on trying.   

Thursday Next, Jane Eyre and the Future of Literature

Meet Thursday Next a LitraTec with SpecOps-27 in London 1985. In a world where people routinely have protests over Surrealism vs. the realism of the Renaissance movement and the greatest crime one could commit is the stealing of an original manuscript of Dickens' Thursday's day to day life is anything but extraordinary. She works, goes home to her pet dodo and occasionally runs into her time traveling father and hopes to one day move up in the SpecOps department maybe one day being a SpecOps 9, although no one is very sure what they do.

As a LitraTec (a Literature Detective) Thursday usually runs down leads on forgeries of Shakespeare's works and occasionally helps out with security on important pieces of literature. Her most recent being the protection of the very rare and very important original manuscript of Dickens's 'Martin Chuzzlewhit,' something she is rather proud of. When the book is mysteriously taken the London LitraTec's are rather befuddled. They bring in Thursday Next to take the case to see if she can figure out how a highly secure book can disappear without a trace. After viewing the security tapes Thursday begins to suspect that maybe an old enemy of hers might just be behind the theft.

When a mysterious man from the mysterious SpecOps-5 approaches her to help them capture one Archeon Hades a mastermind criminal that they believe to be behind the theft Thursday jumps at the chance. After a night that goes bad quickly and lands Thursday in the hospital she decides to move back to her hometown to work for the LitraTec department there. And it is there that the adventures really begin.

It's a world where characters are being kidnapped out of books and people are being trapped in poems. Where bookworms spend their time eating double negatives and extra commas and where cloning has become the natural order of things and dodos are the best pet one can have. When her uncle and his device for jumping into books gets stolen Thursday knows that she will have to find a way to track Hades and stop him once and for all. What follows is quite a journey into some of literature's most well known stories, through a surreal England countryside and at times trough time itself.

Back when I worked at a bookstore, on the book floor, I used to hear about "The Eyre Affair" quite a bit. And although I heard it was good I was never all that interested in reading it. For some reason though it stuck with me and while out book shopping a few months ago at one of my favorite used bookstores I came across it and decided to go ahead and give it a try. After it sitting on my 'to read' shelf for awhile one day I had an urge to pick it up. I don't think I have been so happy that I randomly picked up a book in quite awhile. It had everything in it that I want in a good book. Adventure, romance, suspense, humor, good writing, and love of books. I was hooked from the very beginning and all I wanted to do was read.

It's hard to describe exactly what it is that hooked me so intensely but this book did it. It was well written, funny and full of book humor that only true book nerds would get. I loved the characters and the whole story idea of people being able to jump into there favorite books and mingle with the characters during their down times. I was blown away by the book and I ended up loving it so much that I went out right away to buy the second. I think that I may have a brand new favorite series. The second book was just as good and we got to interact with a lot more fantastic famous characters, the Queen of Hearts makes an appearance and the infinitely interesting Miss Havisham spends some time with us.

The books are just so imaginative and well put together and hilariously written. It is just such a treat to read them and each time I enter the world is so incredible and special. I really love them and have become a huge fan of Jasper Fforde. And if you really love books like really, really love them then I highly recommend the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde because they are incredible books and I can't wait until I can get my hands on the third book. It's a wild ride each time you crack open a Thursday Next story but it's a ride that I have loved and I think that I will continue to love it for as long as Thursday keeps finding herself in literary upheavals.  

The Enchanted Forrest Chronicles-Patricia C. Wrede

So I am a big fan of a lot of things, fairy tales, dragons, quests, witches, a little magic here and there, and of course bad-ass women that take care of their own problems and have a good time doing it thank you very much. Naturally being a book such I am I go in search of books that will meet some or all of these criteria. One day my good friend and I were scrolling through a list of the 50 top women in fiction or something of that sort and I came across one Princess Cimorene and The Enchanted Forrest Chronicles. As soon as I read about Princess Cimorene and how she abandoned her kingdom to go live with dragons I knew I had to read the series.

I went in search of it for the first time back in the summer to no avail. During the fall I had a lot going on and so the search was stalled. But then it was time for the holiday shopping to begin and so I thought how great would it be if I could find the first in the series "Dealing with Dragons" and give it my best friend and fellow book nerd for Christmas, with the intention of borrowing it of course. But alas, alack it was nowhere to be found on my search. Christmas was coming closer and I was getting discouraged, finally I decided to give up the search for the time being and try again another day. On Christmas day my best friend/roommate and I started opening presents and I came across a small book shaped one. Loving books of all sorts I was naturally excited which became overwhelming joy when I opened it and saw that it was 'Dealing with Dragons' the first Princess Cimorene series. Turns out while I was looking for the book as a gift for her my friend was searching for the same book for me. Great minds really do think alike. I started reading that day and couldn't stop. The closer I got to the end the more I realized that I didn't want to read anything but this series. And so I went to amazon.com and purchased the box set of The Enchanted Forest Chronicles.

Reading these books was like eating potato chips, you can't have just one. I devoured one book after the other loving each and every one of them. Each book brought about a new story, more characters to fall in love with and through them all was kick ads, hardcore, over the top awesome Princess Cimorene. In the first book Princess Cimorene decides that seeing as she can't be a proper princess loving embroidery and table manners she decides she would much rather be a captive princess with the dragons. And so she heads off in search of the dragon caves and when she finds them offers herself up as a willing princess. Although most of the dragon are wary of a 'willing' princess Kazul decides she could use a feisty princess around the place and so their friendship begins. Together they fight off evil wizards, dust treasure and  fend off annoying knights that keep coming around to try and 'rescue' Cimorene. The result of all this fending off and thanks to Cimorene's unbelievably cherries jubilee Kazul and Cimorene become the best of friends.

I have a deep dislike of spoilers and people that ruin great books by revealing too much of the story. I may err on the side of too much caution at times by not telling any part of the story for which I apologize. But with a series you really have to be careful about what you say and the details you reveal. With that in mind all I will tell you about the next three books is this, each book brings a new bunch of characters that are just as loveable or just as hateable as the next bunch and brand new adventures that leave you breathless with excitement. Are these children novels? Yes, yes they are. And I think that that just makes them better! I have no discrimination in my heart when it comes to reading. Or anything else for that matter, so be it children's, adult's, young readers or whatever it may be if it's good I will like it! And with the Cimorene stories especially I felt that because it was written for children and the stories were fun and simple it made them perfect. If it had tried to be more complicated or intricate it would have taken away from the greatness of the characters and the story itself.

All of that is meant to say this, don't be turned off by the fact that they are indeed children's fantasy. They are amazing books and utterly engaging stories for any age as long as you are young at heart!
  

The Beginning of the Beginning

With as much as I have read in my life I have come to fully realize the importance of opening lines. "All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." From 'Anna Karenina' by Leo Tolstoy. "It was night again. The Waystone Inn lay in silence, and it was a silence of three parts.' 'The Name of the Wind' by Patrick Rothfuss. "Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much." 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone' by JK Rowling. The opening line in any novel is designed to draw a reader in. If it captures its audience the novel will most likely hold a reader captivated for the duration. If however an opening line falls short or is unoriginal it can cost the book a reader.

I am not saying that all great books have great opening lines or that all bad novels have bad opening lines. In fact some of my favorite books have mediocre first sentences while some of the books I loathe have opening lines that entrapped me. But I do find that an opening line can usually be a good indicator of a really good read. "I could hear a roll of muffled drums." From 'The Other Boleyn Girl' by Philippa Gregory a simple but intriguing opening line, a line that turned into one of my favorite books. The opening line is a doorway into the world of the novel, it's the first step on what is usually an incredible journey.

In my opinion an opening sentence should seduce the reader, the length itself doesn't matter, it is the flow that counts. Is it intriguing? Does it have weight? Does it make you want to jump off the cliff into an unknown world that could consume you? It is a quick and tasty sample of what is to come. Some of my favorites listed above, roll off the tongue take you in and perk your interest. A first line should be a part of the novel as a whole but removed in such a way that it can stand alone and leave a reader begging for more. 

I truly love the very beginning sentences of new books. It's just so exciting to begin something new, a new fantastical journey, a glimpse into someone's incredible life. Just thinking about a brand new book and the world inside gives me tingle and the very first taste of that new world is the opening line. It can be very exciting all on it's own. My darling readers I leave you with this thought, do not judge a book by it's cover instead crack open the first page and take a taste of the world you are about to enter by reading that first line and see if it tickles your imagination, spurs your drive to want to know more and seduces you into taking that first leap of faith. Here's wishing you the perfect first sentences readers.    

Blue Lily, Lily Blue- by Maggie Stiefvater

Everyone that has been reading the words of this girl in the tiny hat knows how much I have enjoyed Maggie Stiefvater's Raven Boys Cycle books. When I finally read the ARC of "The Raven Boys" I loved it so much that I kind of mentally kicked myself for not reading it sooner. You know how you do when you read a really good book after it has sat on your shelf for awhile? You mentally yell at yourself 'WHY DID I WAIT SO LONG TO READ THIS?! OMG THIS IS AWESOME!!!' Yes I do it in all caps and everything. Then with the second book in the series "The Dream Thieves" I was even more blown away, enough so that I went and bought the hardcover autographed edition of it. In total-honest-truth-telling fact I liked it more then the first. Which is usually a good thing because it just means that the author is really finding a voice for these characters and that things are just going to keep getting better. Knowing this when I heard about the third installment "Blue Lily, Lily Blue" coming out I gave a little fan girl squeal and did a little happy dance. Then proceeded to eagerly await the day I could go and pick it up. And then the day finally came! I was so happy and started it right away.

The first few lines scared me a bit simply because they were a little over the top. A little bit like she was trying really hard for poetry when she should of just stuck to the brilliance of the story that was already there. Don't get me wrong I think that Ms. Stiefvater is a brilliant writer and I love her Raven Boys books with a passion but I love them so because they are beautiful and intriguing and utterly amazing in their simplicity. Anyway being the faithful reader that I am I forged ahead and was relieved when things started feeling more Raven and less 'hello I am fancy pants.' As the story really got going I started feeling lost and confused and at times a little bit hurt. It just didn't have the same feel as the first two. Something felt off and still after a couple months of thinking on it I can't quite pinpoint what it was that threw me. What I can tell you is this, the writing was mostly as good there were times when she went off on overly lyrical flights of fancy that ground my teeth a bit. The characters that I grew to love were all there in abundance and the story progressed a bit. But what I found was that many the writing was off at times because she was maybe trying too hard to take it to a new level which in my humble opinion was unnecessary.

The characters that I have grown to love were all there, Ganesy and Blue, Adam and Ronan, Chainsaw the raven and course Blue's aunts and their very special brand of crazy. But Ms. Stiefvater also felt it was time to add in some brand new characters to add some spice. Which is usually always a good thing, new characters with new plot lines usually mean big things are happening and to keep an eye out. Unless of course you are going for the 'War & Peace' vibe in which case you are simply adding characters because you have nothing better to do. I fear that Ms. Stiefvater had a little 'War & Peace' syndrome going on. There were just too many new characters with brand new plot lines to follow that were added on top of all the old loveable characters and all their plot lines that it kind of got twisted and confused a bit. I felt a little lost and confused at times which made it hard to speed through this one the way I did with the first two.

Maggie Stiefvater is a great storyteller. I've never read anything by her other than The Raven Boys cycle books but I think that she is just brilliant n her storytelling ways. That being said in "Blue Lily, Lily Blue" the story got a little lost or maybe it simply took a nap in Cabeswater and woke to find itself in another time and place. Whatever the reason I struggled to follow it and found myself wading through pools too deep for me. Again it was the simplicity of the story that was the brilliance of both "The Raven Boys" and "Dream Thieves." But in "Blue Lily, Lily Blue" things felt too complicated, too all over the place for me. It was still a decent story and towards the end things begin to shift back into perspective a bit so it is worth the read if you are a fan of the series. I recommend it solely based on the fact that it is the third in the series and it helps (somewhat) to guide us to the next plot point. I am of course excited about book 4 whenever that may be coming out but this time I plan on going into it with a little bit of reserve.

I tip my hat (my almost forgotten rating system) 3 times to Maggie Stiefvater's "Blue Lily, Lily Blue" not the best book I've read this year but not the worst by far. Well folks it has been quite a reading year. Less with the reviewing part and I apologize for that but a reading year indeed. I can't wait for 2015 and the many, many books that are awaiting us. So for the last time this year my dear, dear readers happy reading!

Joss Whedon is Even Cooler Than I Thought He Was

I have internet again!!!! I am soo very excited to be back up and running! With that being said it is a well established fact, that is if you have been paying attention, that I am a book nerd. What is less well known is that I am a nerd in many other ways as well. There is the comic book hero nerd in me, such as worshipping Batman and all things Batman (my phone case is the Bat symbol). The movie nerd, rather obsessed with movies and TV (thank the Netflix Gods for making it easier for me to enjoy such things) and then there is the Joss Whedon nerd. What does this mean you may ask? It means that I am totally obsessed with all things Whedonverse. Ever since the very first time I saw the show Buffy the Vampire Slayer I was hooked. There was just something about the perfect blend of humor and darkness that I just couldn't get enough of. Luckily for me one of my best friends is also a huge fan of Joss Whedon and when I went to visit her, many years ago now, she introduced me to the wonderful world of Firefly also by Joss Whedon. We spent a very rainy weekend watching all 14 episodes plus the movie 'Serenity.' This just cemented my obsession even more.

When I read that there was going to be a biography coming out about him I naturally was immediately intrigued and just knew I had to read it. I borrowed it from work and it was awesome, no it was amazing, no, no tubular? No matter what word you use to describe it, it is super good and well worth the read. The book 'Joss Whedon: the Biography' by Amy Pascal was filled with not only factual tidbits like the fact that when he was young he went to school in England and grew up in a feminist household where his mom would hold Shakespeare dinners. But fun facts as well such as while growing up he loved old westerns and science fiction so much that when he was grown and trying to decide what his next project was going to be he decided why not mix the two? And the magic that was Firefly was born.

Nowadays everyone knows who Joss Whedon is, 'oh yeah he's the dude that did the Avengers right?' And everyone nods in unison and smiles 'oh yeah that guy. The Avengers was awesome.' But Mr. Whedon didn't always spark that kind of recognition to the public. He was this kind of strange wide eyed hopeful young guy that was trying to make it in Hollywood's cut throat world of script writing. Landing a job on the new show 'Rosanne' was a huge deal for young Joss. A new type of show talking about some real issues was just the place that Joss was hoping to find a home. But it wasn't all that he was hoping for and though one of his scripts made it on air, with quite a few rewrites, 'Rosanne' turns out to be just a place to stop for awhile and not the home Joss was looking for.

Joss started bouncing around trying to find a place that felt right. He worked as a script doctor for awhile, including doing some work on the dialogue in 'Toy Story,' making a name for himself as an excellent wordsmith. While making a name for himself as the go-to script doctor Joss was writing a full length script if his own. A script that would go on to become a niche classic that took the 'vulnerable' young girl running from the bad guy story and turn it on its head. A script titled 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer.' When the directing/producing team, the Kuzuis, bought the script Joss had a feeling that this was finally going to be the break he had been hoping for. He got especially excited when the project was greenlit and the cast was in place. Things were looking up and he started getting excited, the cast was listening to him about his ideas for his characters and things were moving along rather smoothly. And then they started filming. And the studio had all these ideas and the Kuzui team had all these ideas and Donald Sutherland who was playing Buffy's watcher (don't know what that means? Look it up! XD) had some very specific ideas about his character. Eventually the rewrites to his script and demands from the studio make more than Joss wanted to deal with and he walked away before production finished.

With his pet project not panning out the way he was hoping Joss started thinking on a smaller scale. He thought to himself 'why not try writing my Badass girl story for TV?' And so the show 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' was born. A show that would continue on for seven seasons, inspire a spin off series, comic books, video games, and a cult following unlike anything that had been seen before. From the fame of Buffy Joss went on to start 'Firefly' (which was unappreciated in it's time and therefore cancelled before it should have been) and with Buffy's success came Angel's and he went off to start his own show. Joss continued to work on projects and ideas that he was passionate about. Creating not only 'Angel,' 'Firefly,' and 'Dollhouse' but also writing, directing and producing a mini web series/musical 'Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.' A brilliant piece of musical theater about a wannabe super villain that just wants to get the girl. Later Joss would go on to produce a film version of 'Much Ado About Nothing,' filmed at the beautiful home that his amazing wife Kai designed and built for them. Who starred in it? His 'found' family of actors that had been working in the Whedonverse for years at this point.

Let's recap shall we? Why do I like Joss Whedon so much? He is a feminist with some of the greatest ideas about equality I've heard in a long time. He says of women that he has '...an unseemly fascination with these women and at the same time a desire to empower and protect them so that they could in return empower and protect me.' I mean how right on is that? Although he has been clear about his views on equality 'Q: so why do you write these strong female characters? A: Because equality is not a concept. It's not something we should be striving for.  It's a necessity...' Some people don't seem to quite get it:

He has a brilliant mind, a healthy love of Shakespeare (he has dinner parties where they sit around and read Shakespeare plays with each other) and is an absolute genius when it comes to writing. He is all around a pretty cool guy. I just think he is brilliant. And to illustrate such a brilliant man properly you have to have a brilliant biographer. And with Amy Pascale we as readers get just that. She takes the life and times of Joss Whedon and turns them into an ongoing conversation that you never want to end. She not only gives us the facts and fun but she does it such a Joss Whedon way that it felt like talking to him. She captured not only his style, that unique ability to blend action, comedy and tragedy seamlessly, but she captured his essence on the pages as well. I thought that Amy Pascale did a great job of bringing Joss Whedon to the page.

 

Basically this book is for Whedonverse junkies such as myself. In order to truly appreciate this book and the man that it is about you have to really love and respect Joss Whedon and all that he does. I do and I thought this was a great book. It really made me want to meet Joss and Kai and sit and shoot the shit for awhile. They seem like the type of people that would be really great to just chat with for a few hours about anything. Of course this sitting and chatting would come after the crazy fan girl nerd out that I would have. But that happens to the best of us right?