Review: i am neurotic (and so are you) by Lianna Kong

i am neurotic (and so are you) is not so much by Lianna Kong as it is edited by her: in 2008, she created the website i am neurotic and invited people to submit their neuroses. This book is thus a collection of anonymous confessions by self-described neurotic folk with photo illustrations by Matthew Stacy. Oddly enough, the book had the opposite effect from what I’d imagined: I felt decidedly un-neurotic after reading it.

On second thought, though, I can think of a few of my neuroses (past and present):

• I hate having anyone listen to me while I talk on the phone, including my partner, Mr. B. This means I will go into another room and close the door when ordering takeout for both of us.
• I hate straight apostrophes and quotes, and I go out of my way to replace them with curved ones. (I copy and paste the curved ones into all my blog posts.)
• I’m paranoid about getting lost even when I’m going somewhere I’ve been several times before. This is especially true if the journey involved taking a bus. I have this irrational fear that I’ve gotten on the wrong bus (even when I know I haven’t) or that the landmarks will have changed or somehow moved since I was last there.
• I used to make a point of never walking on city grates—I was afraid I’d fall through one. Then one day I read a magazine article that recommended letting go of an irrational fear (or something along those lines). Since then, I walk on them if they happen to be on my way.

OK, so maybe I am a bit neurotic after all!

i am neurotic (and so are you) is an entertaining (and sometimes somewhat disturbing) read. While this is not the type of book I would buy for myself (it has limited re-readability value), it could make a great gift.

To read other reviews of this book, visit these blogs:
A Bookworm’s World • Better with Books • Cindy’s Love of Books • Pop Culture Junkie • Reading to Myself • Starting Fresh • The Routine Ramblings of a Disorganized Perfectionist

Thank you to Cindy at Cindy’s Love of Books for giving me this book to read.

What about you? Are you a bit neurotic too?

The Simple Things

I don’t usually post more than once a day (heck, these days I don’t usually post once a day!), but I saw this on Life with a Little One, who got it from Soul Aperture, and I couldn’t resist. It’s for a good cause too. As Christina says on Soul Aperture: “January can be a tough month for some of us. The blahs, the rain, the snow, trying to make sense of the world. It’s time we show January who’s boss! Let’s show what we appreciate, and what we are grateful for, no matter how big or small these things may seem.” For every blog that posts today, Christina’s family will donate $1 to the Doctors Without Borders Haiti relief efforts, up to a max of $250!

So here’s my humble list:

1. cuddling with Cairo (see pic below)
2. playing Carcassonne with my partner, Mr. B
   
3. funny stories my sisters email me about their kids (aged 4 and 7)
4. long hot showers
5. B’s omelets
6. a book that keeps me up half the night
7. Cocoa Camino chili and spice hot chocolate
8. homemade gluten-free birthday cake (I’m anticipating; my birthday is next week!)

What simple things are helping you beat the winter blahs?

It’s best to cuddle with Cairo after she’s warmed herself up...

Similar Covers: Feet

After four posts of covers featuring hands, I figured it was time for feet! These two, Trans-Sister Radio by Chris Bohjalian and The Edible Woman by Margaret Atwood, are not exactly the same but are pretty similar. I definitely like the cover for Trans-Sister Radio much better though (but maybe it’s just that the quality of the second image is really crappy).

On (Not Always) Finishing Mysteries (Two Reviews of Sorts)

Because I was sick the weekend before last, I didn’t feel up to blogging and so didn’t officially sign up for the Mystery Readathon (even though I really wanted to do it). However, I did unofficially participate, finishing one mystery and reading two thirds of another.

The first mystery I read was Too Many Questions (also published under the title Flynn) by Lesley Grant-Adamson. Unfortunately, this was one of those books that I mostly finished just to say I had: I was sick and couldn’t be bothered to get out of bed to pick out another book, plus I was hoping that a satisfying ending would make up for the somewhat lacklustre plot. The story revolves around two main mysteries. First, what happened to private investigator Laura Flynn’s client? Fashion designer Kate Mullery hired Laura to look into a possible business connection and then disappeared without paying her. Second, what happened to Laura’s father, who walked out on her family when she was four? Add to those the odd coincidence that both Laura and Kate were receiving threatening anonymous phone calls. My problems with the book were twofold:
(1) The ways the mysteries connected (or didn’t) seemed contrived and unconvincing, and (2) much of the plot revolved around real estate deals rather than emotional connections between people, so in the end I didn’t really care. I picked up the book because I’d enjoyed The Dangerous Edge by the same author. I recommend reading that one instead.

The second book I started was Until It’s Over by Nicci French and I was immediately engrossed in it. The story is about Astrid Bell, a bicycle courier who lives with six other people in a big house in a somewhat seedy part of London. Astrid is bad luck to the people around her: first she is one of the last people to see her neighbour alive before the woman is found bludgeoned to death, and then she shows up at a wealthy client’s house to pick up a package, only to find the woman murdered.

The set-up of this mystery reminded me of other great mysteries written by UK writers (A Fatal Inversion by Barbara Vine and The Likeness by Tana French both come to mind) who also mine the creepiness potential of having a group of youngish people who may or may not know each other very well living together in a big house.

[Warning: I reveal something about the structure of the this book in the next paragraph, which is plot-related.]

I don’t know why but it took me a long time to figure out that this was a psychopath / serial killer story. I’ve mentioned before (perhaps ad nauseam) that I don’t enjoy reading such books, but I’ve never explained why. Generally, a good mystery keeps me up half the night and may creep me out a bit but when I’m done reading it, I can close the book and leave that world behind. Unfortunately, psychopaths tend to follow me out of the book, and I get to thinking about the possibility of running into one of these people in real life. (After all, they supposedly make up 1% of the population.) I start to look at the people around me on the subway with suspicion. I feel nervous when walking home alone at night. Mysteries are supposed to be escapist, not to scare me for real. Having said that, when I do stumble into a book inhabited by a psychopath, I generally find it’s better to finish reading the book—that knowing what happens in the end (and in most mysteries, the killer is caught) helps me leave the story behind when I’m done. Until It’s Over has an unusual structure in that two thirds of the way in, the killer is apprehended. (Or is he?) I stopped reading at this point because I realized that part 2 of the book is written from the killer’s point of view. I’m tempted to read the rest—I have this irrational feeling that Astrid remains in danger as long as I don’t finish the book (and it is an engrossing read!). But do I want to delve into the mind of a psychopath? Will it be worth it just to know what happens in the end? I’m not sure.

Have you ever started a mystery and felt like you needed to finish it even though it was either not that interesting or scaring you? What would you do in my shoes?

To read other (less spoilerish) reviews of Until It’s Over, visit these blogs:
Euro Crime • Reading Matters

I bought Too Many Questions by Lesley Grant-Adamson. Thank you to Donna at BookBound for giving me Until It’s Over by Nicci French.

Library Loot (January 21)

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Eva at A Striped Armchair and Marg at Reading Adventures that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post—feel free to steal the button—and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries! Want to share your loot? Eva has the Mr. Linky this week!

I’ve somehow managed to go to the library three times in the last two weeks: twice to return my interlibrary loan books and then one more time because they called me the day after my second visit to say a book I’d requested had just come in. Of course I took out more books every time! Here then is my loot:

On my first trip, I grabbed Barefoot Gen: A Cartoon Story of Hiroshima and Barefoot Gen: The Day After by Keiji Nakazawa. I feel slightly apprehensive about these two, since they may be really hard to read. Has anyone else read them?

On my second trip, I grabbed Zot!: The Complete Black and White Collection – 1987-1991 by Scott McCloud because my friend Michael had highly recommended it to me. What I’d forgotten is that this collection starts at issue 11; luckily Michael then lent me Zot!: Book 1, which contains issues 1-10. While looking for another McCloud book (which was supposedly in the library, although I didn’t find it this time around), I came across The Rough Guide to Graphic Novels by Danny Fingeroth and Graphic Novels: Everything You Need to Know by Paul Gravett. I’m hoping these two will both introduce me to new graphic novels and teach me a few things about how to get more out of reading them.

Finally, on my most recent trip to the library, I picked up The Guinea Pig Diaries: My Life as an Experiment by A.J. Jacobs (which I’d requested based on Vanessa’s review) and found the McCloud book I’d been looking for: Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art.

Similar Covers: Hands (Part 4)

I’ve been sick for the better part of a week (I feel better now), which is why I haven’t posted anything since my last “similar covers” post. Here then is my last post about covers featuring hands (for now at least).

There are lots of covers that feature hands holding something (see these lookalikes and these lookalikes, for example), so here’s a trio of pale covers with women’s hands holding pale objects (eggs or potatoes). The books are: A Reckless Moon by Dianne Warren, The Kitchen Congregation: A Daughter’s Story of Wives and Women Friends by Nora Seton and Unravelling by Elizabeth Graver. (You may remember that another one of Graver’s books was featured in this exact match post.)

Have you seen any others like these?

Similar Covers: Hands (Part 3)

For my third post about covers that feature hands, here are a bunch where two hands are used to form a heart. The first two, Girl Goddess #9 by Francesca Lia Block (which appears to have been first published in 1996 by Harper Collins Canada) and The World I Made for Her by Thomas Moran (first published by Riverhead Books in 1998), actually use the same image.

The other four are: Landing by Emma Donoghue (my favourite of the bunch), Just Like Heaven by Barbara Bretton, The Heart Is Not a Size by Beth Kephart and Heart Full of Lies: A True Story of Desire and Death by Ann Rule.

Have you spotted any other covers that are similar to these ones?

Review: The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg

Ever since I first heard about The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg, I’ve been dying to read this graphic novel—I was drawn to the book’s mysterious cover and title. After a frightening attack on Metro City, Jane’s parents decide to relocate to suburbia, where they feel safer. Rather than join the cool girls’ table at lunchtime, Jane opts to sit with the misfits, who happen to all be “Janes” (Jane, Jayne and Polly Jane). After trying in vain to join several after-school clubs, Main Jane comes up with a great plan: she and the other Janes will start a guerrilla art group called P.L.A.I.N., People Loving Art in Neighborhoods. This gives Main Jane the opportunity to test the theory that “Art Saves.”

One of my favourite movies of all times is Muriel’s Wedding, which was written and directed by P.J. Hogan, in part because of the standing-up-to-the-mean-girls scene. I loved The Plain Janes for a similar reason: it ups the ante, providing the so-called uncool girls with an opportunity to come into their own while still in high school.

[MINOR SPOILER]
The first time I read the book I thought the imposition of a curfew brought the story into SF territory, which detracted from my enjoyment of it. (I’m not sure why, exactly, since I enjoy SF, but that’s another issue.) It turns out, however, that curfews are not that unusual in the U.S.—apparently many cities have them. Here in Canada, curfews are almost unheard of and generally considered unconstitutional.
[END OF MINOR SPOILER]

There is one somewhat major plot point that is left hanging at the end of the story (which bugged me; I’m still not used to the serial nature of comic books), but I figure it will be resolved in the sequel, Janes in Love. Overall, though, I loved this book. To get a taste of the art (which I also loved), see my Teaser Tuesday for this week.

To read other reviews of this book, head over to these blogs:
Big A little a • bildungsroman (review of both The Plain Janes and Janes in Love) • Book Addiction • Booktopia • Chicklish • Conventioneers! • FOB Comics • Fuse #8 • Newsarama • Presenting Lenore • The Written World • The Zen Leaf

Read an interview with author Cecil Castellucci:
Girls Read Comics

I read a library copy of this book.

Teaser Tuesdays (January 12)

Should Be Reading hosts the Teaser Tuesdays weekly bookish meme.

My modified rules are as follows:

Grab your current read. Pick two or three “teaser” sentences more or less at random from the book, anywhere on the page. You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your teaser from… that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given! (Please avoid spoilers!) (Read the official Teaser Tuesday rules.)

I’m trying something a bit different today; I hope you enjoy it. I should have my review of this one posted by the end of the day.

My teaser:

Click on image to enlarge

This is from The Plain Janes by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg.

Mailbox Monday (January 11)

I received one more book from Harper Collins this week: Devotion: A Memoir by Dani Shapiro. I can’t wait to read it!

What did you find in your mailbox this past week? For other Mailbox Monday posts, head over to Marcia’s blog, The Printed Page.

Library Loot (January 7)

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Eva at A Striped Armchair and Marg at Reading Adventures that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post—feel free to steal the button—and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries! Want to share your loot? Eva has the Mr. Linky this week!

I’m super excited about my library loot this week because I got my very first two interlibrary loan books: Janes in Love by Cecil Castellucci and Jim Rugg (the follow-up to The Plain Janes, which I’ve borrowed and read twice now) and Stitches: A Memoir by David Small. (It was Kathy’s review at Bermudaonion’s Weblog that convinced me I wanted to read this one.) My local library doesn’t have the greatest selection of English books (I’m in Quebec after all), so interlibrary loans open up a lot more options for me.

The weird part about the ILL process was that I requested the books online in mid-December and no one called to tell me they had arrived. When I checked my file online yesterday, I realized that one of the ILL books was due on January 12 (in less than a week!) and the other on January 17, so they must have arrived at my library. The folks at the library were initially not very helpful—their reaction was: “Did anyone call you? No? Then we probably don’t have your books.” Luckily, I had printed out the page from the site that indicated the due dates, which inspired one woman to finally go and check!

I also borrowed another YA book, Empress of the World by Sara Ryan, inspired by Bronwyn’s review at A Certain Bent Appeal. It turns out Ryan also writes comic books, which can be read at ComicSpace.

Similar Covers: Hands (Part 2)

Here’s another series of similar covers that feature hands (part 1 is here): Unless by Carol Shields, The Heart of Christianity: Rediscovering a Life of Faith by Marcus J. Borg and The Tiny One by Eliza Minot. The last two look like the same image to me, although I’m not 100% sure of that. What’s also interesting is that all three covers feature a similar shade of burgundy.

Teaser Tuesday (January 5)

Should Be Reading hosts the Teaser Tuesdays weekly event.

My modified rules are as follows:

Grab your current read. Pick two or three “teaser” sentences more or less at random from the book, anywhere on the page. You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your teaser from… that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given! (Please avoid spoilers!) (Read the official Teaser Tuesday rules.)

I haven’t been posting teasers lately, but I just couldn’t resist this one!

My teaser:


“‘There now, Charlotte. There it is in black and white. Overthinking and novel-reading causes, at the very least, fretting, nightmares and a bad complexion’” (p. 39).

This is from The Birth House by Ami McKay.

Mailbox Monday (January 4)

Happy New Year everybody! I didn’t receive any books over the holidays this year, although I did get a $60 gift certificate (yay!), so books will be coming my way soon. In the meantime, I received a signed ARC of The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Artistotle, and Generally Have More Fun by Gretchen Rubin (which I requested after reading Alea’s review at Pop Culture Junkie), courtesy of Harper Collins. Not only does this seem like the perfect book to read at the beginning of a new year, but to be honest I could use a “happiness project” of my own right now!

Speaking of happiness, I also received a surprise package in the mail over the holidays from Penguin Canada. I’d been feeling bummed about missing out on both the Book Blogger Holiday Swap and LT’s SecretSanta (at signup time, I hadn’t felt up to committing to either), so receiving this made my day! The goodies are pictured below (click on photos to enlarge): a lovely card, The Book of Penguin (also pictured right), a penguin key chain, a Penguin Canada book bag and an embossed Moleskine notebook. Thanks, Barb and Bronwyn! (Is it just me or do others think Penguin’s penguin looks somewhat apprehensive?)

What did you find in your mailbox this past week? For other Mailbox Monday posts, head over to Marcia’s blog, The Printed Page.