This book is so gay!
I hear that sort of thing a lot from teenagers who should certainly know better - "gay" or "faggy" or "queer" used as an adjective to describe anything that the speaker finds distasteful or weird. In this case I am using "gay" properly using two of dictionary.com's definitions: "having or showing a merry, lively mood" and "of, indicating, or supporting homosexual interests or issues". See? That isn't so hard! And it makes me feel smart. But back to the book.
Absolutely Positively Not is the very funny story of Steven - a teenager growing up in Beaver Lake, Minnesota - "the hockey stick capital of the world." He is neat and considerate and enjoy square dancing once a week with his mom, even though he knows it is a little odd. But this absolutely positively doesn't make him gay. How Steven comes to terms with his sexuality is handled in a sensitive and often hilarious manner.
There are a lot of "coming out" stories out there, but few that have the light touch of this one. One exception is Totally Joe by James Howe. Alex Sanchez has written the Rainbow Boys books that share these books' light tone but are a little more direct about sex.
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Saturday, January 20, 2007
7 Deadly Wonders
Now here is a book that practically begs to be read in line at Water Country! It is not yet a lock for summer reading, but it is full of explosions, molten lava, world domination and a professional soldier with a heart of gold (and an arm of sliver thanks to the aforementioned molten lava) so I would think chances are good.
The premise is that whoever finds the McGuffin (the pieces of the top of the great Pyramid of Giza, as if it matters) will somehow rule the world. And just to keep things interesting, if it isn't found - the world will be destroyed. No pressure...
Our heroes are a rag-tag group of mercenaries from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland, Jamaica and a couple of other places that I could list if I weren't too lazy to get up and get the book from the dining room table. The bad guys are a bunch of "Old Europe" forces led by a really nasty classical historian from the Vatican. The second group of baddies is the U.S. special forces team that is trying to jump on the world domination bandwagon.
The search involves the seven wonders of the ancient world - two or three of which I could have named before reading this book. One of the things I really like about this book is that there are maps and charts all over the place. One of the reasons I rarely read this sort of Indiana-Jones meets DaVinvi-Code kind of fiction is because I can never picture the adventuresome parts. Reilly takes pity on people like me and actually charts out the fortresses, caverns and encampments.
I think the last really rousing adventure novel I read was Micheal Crichton's Jurassic Park which is to say that I am probably not the best person to recommend this sort of thing. I did really like Jackdaws, by Ken Follett which is one of those books where a disparate group of people get together for a cause. (Tough girls vs. Nazis) Every review I have read of this book mentions The DaVinci Code, so I suppose I should too. Although the shocking truth is - I haven't read it. I did read Dan Brown's Angels and Demons and liked it fine. 7 Deadly Wonders is a similar sort of fast moving ride.
The premise is that whoever finds the McGuffin (the pieces of the top of the great Pyramid of Giza, as if it matters) will somehow rule the world. And just to keep things interesting, if it isn't found - the world will be destroyed. No pressure...
Our heroes are a rag-tag group of mercenaries from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland, Jamaica and a couple of other places that I could list if I weren't too lazy to get up and get the book from the dining room table. The bad guys are a bunch of "Old Europe" forces led by a really nasty classical historian from the Vatican. The second group of baddies is the U.S. special forces team that is trying to jump on the world domination bandwagon.
The search involves the seven wonders of the ancient world - two or three of which I could have named before reading this book. One of the things I really like about this book is that there are maps and charts all over the place. One of the reasons I rarely read this sort of Indiana-Jones meets DaVinvi-Code kind of fiction is because I can never picture the adventuresome parts. Reilly takes pity on people like me and actually charts out the fortresses, caverns and encampments.
I think the last really rousing adventure novel I read was Micheal Crichton's Jurassic Park which is to say that I am probably not the best person to recommend this sort of thing. I did really like Jackdaws, by Ken Follett which is one of those books where a disparate group of people get together for a cause. (Tough girls vs. Nazis) Every review I have read of this book mentions The DaVinci Code, so I suppose I should too. Although the shocking truth is - I haven't read it. I did read Dan Brown's Angels and Demons and liked it fine. 7 Deadly Wonders is a similar sort of fast moving ride.
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