BOOK REVIEW: Sisterhood, Everlasting -- Ann Brashares

Carolyn Keene, Louisa May Alcott, and Laura Ingalls Wilder sold me on serial fiction back when I was a kid. As an adult, Diane Duane, Jim Butcher, and Anne McCaffrey continued that trend.

So, when I started reading YA, I looked for characters I could follow, too. I stumbled on Ann Brashares's Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants quite accidentally, but I got hooked. Ms. Brashares writes likeable characters that readers want to follow through their lives.

BOOK REVIEW: All the Earth, Thrown to the Sky -- Joe

Young Adult is the new black. Big name authors are defecting from adult fare and writing for a younger audience. Not to worry, though, adult readers. Even if your favorite authors are now writing for your kids (or grandkids) much of young adult is very much worthwhile for all ages.

When I heard Joe R. Lansdale had written a young adult, I had to grab All the Earth, Thrown to the Sky. I wanted to scream when I realized the story took place in the Dust Bowl. I've been doing research for a YA based in that time period for months now. Damn.

But, on with the review:

BOOK REVIEW: Silver Shark -- Ilona Andrews

I was delighted to hear my favorite urban fantasy duo has branched out into science fiction. Duo, you ask? Yes, Ilona Andrews is actually Ilona and Andrew Gordon, a married couple of late from Central Texas who met in Composition class and probably keep that initial spark burning by writing romances together.

Ilona describes this novella as a billionaire and secretary romance, except the secretary can kill you with her mind. That's a pretty apt description. Please note, this story is about a fourth the length of standard Ilona Andrews fare. By definition, a novella is a short novel, generally about 17,000 to 40,000 words in length.

National White Cane Day -- October 15

In honor of National White Cane Day, I'm offering just a bit of an education. People who are using a white cane are either blind of visually disabled. I've used a white cane for ten years now and I've learned a lot from it and often as not been a teacher for people who've never encountered one before.

So what is a white cane and what does it mean? A white cane helps visually impaired or blind people get around.

They use the white cane for two reasons. One, it's kind of like the "STUDENT DRIVER" sign you see on some automobiles. It tells you to beware and clear the road for someone who might perhaps not be as experienced as you are.

COMMENTARY: Everything old is new again

And how.

I just got an advert for a company that is selling reconditioned vintage manual and electric typewriters. They give the typewriters a new sporty coat of paint often two-tuned in hot shades of red and purple and they make sure the works are operating to spec. For this, consumers are paying $500 and up.

And that's a "sale" price. By the time I saw the ad, most of the machines were on hold or sold, too.

MOVIE REVIEW: The General

Directors: Clyde Bruckman, Buster Keaton
Writers: Buster Keaton, Clyde Bruckman

Marion Mack ... Annabelle Lee
Glen Cavender ... Captain Anderson
Jim Farley ... General Thatcher
Frederick Vroom ... A Southern General
Charles Henry Smith ... Annabelle's Father (as Charles Smith)
Frank Barnes ... Annabelle's Brother
Joe Keaton ... Union General
Mike Donlin ... Union General
Tom Nawn ... Union General
Buster Keaton ... Johnny Gray

Up until last weekend, I'd only seen clips of silent films. Oh yes, I knew how they were done. The film was projected on a screen and a musician played along. In the finer movie houses, they had an organ. In the lesser, a piano.

When a friend told my husband and I that The General was showing at the Tennessee Theater, we had to go see it. I've seen the theater's Mighty Wurlitzer organ whenever they have a regular talkie. Their house organist gives a topical performance before each film, but I've never seen a silent was they were done back in the old days.

MOVIE REVIEW: Attack the Block

Director: Joe Cornish
Writer: Joe Cornish
Nick Frost: Ron
Jodie Whittaker: Sam
John Boyega: Moses
Luke Treadaway: Brewis
Terry Notary: The Creature
Alex Esmail: Pest
Joey Ansah: Policeman 1
Flaminia Cinque: Italian Woman
Paige Meade: Dimples
Leeon Jones: Jerome
Jumayn Hunter: Hi-Hatz
Adam Leese: Policeman 2
Chris Wilson: Arresting Police Officer
Lee Nicholas Harris: Police Officer - swat
Franz Drameh: Dennis

Sam's walking home from a late-night shift at the hospital. She's chatting with her Mum on her cell-phone and not paying attention to her surroundings. The minute she rings off, Sam belatedly realizes she's wandered right into the hands of a street gang.

Of course, she's mugged. She runs home, calls the police, and they go out in a van and attempt to find the hoodlums who robbed her.