In my quest to read as many books as possible to stay on top of what’s hot and what’s selling, I’ve had to suffer through a lot of ‘bad’ books. I am very happy to report that Lolita Files’ sex.lies.murder.fame was not one of them. I love love loved this book. It was dark, disturbing, and utterly hilarious in some points. A quick-read but totally smart and literary (I had to bust out my dictionary on more than one occasion, and I consider myself well-read). And an ending that had my jaw on the floor like whoa. Four glowing stars and my most enthusiastic recommendation.

Set in the book publishing industry, the novel depicts the wreckage that occurs when a narcoleptic editor looking for love crosses paths with bitter genius who’ll stop at nothing to get what he wants (basically a book deal, followed by world domination). The sociologist in me was most struck by the way Files crafted the dark satire to be a scalding critique of society’s obsession with fame and celebrity, to the point where it pretty much lobotomizes the masses. In addition to entertaining the reader, it critically examines the downside of hyper-consumerism and unchecked greed while highlighting everything that’s wrong with society. The book made me laugh AND think, which to me, is time very well spent.

Files’ characters are so vivid and memorable that they stay with you long after the last page has been turned. (Penn Hamilton is evil incarnate!) It is an author’s triumph when they leave readers wanting more, and Files has accomplished that. I’m anxiously awaiting the sequel Lo 😉

Head on over to The Lo Zone for more on Lolita Files, her peeps, pups, and pop culture.

In my quest to read as many books as possible to stay on top of what’s hot and what’s selling, I’ve had to suffer through a lot of ‘bad’ books. I am very happy to report that Lolita Files’ sex.lies.murder.fame was not one of them. I love love loved this book. It was dark, disturbing, and utterly hilarious in some points. A quick-read but totally smart and literary (I had to bust out my dictionary on more than one occasion, and I consider myself well-read). And an ending that had my jaw on the floor like whoa. Four glowing stars and my most enthusiastic recommendation.

Set in the book publishing industry, the novel depicts the wreckage that occurs when a narcoleptic editor looking for love crosses paths with bitter genius who’ll stop at nothing to get what he wants (basically a book deal, followed by world domination). The sociologist in me was most struck by the way Files crafted the dark satire to be a scalding critique of society’s obsession with fame and celebrity, to the point where it pretty much lobotomizes the masses. In addition to entertaining the reader, it critically examines the downside of hyper-consumerism and unchecked greed while highlighting everything that’s wrong with society. The book made me laugh AND think, which to me, is time very well spent.

Files’ characters are so vivid and memorable that they stay with you long after the last page has been turned. (Penn Hamilton is evil incarnate!) It is an author’s triumph when they leave readers wanting more, and Files has accomplished that. I’m anxiously awaiting the sequel Lo 😉

Head on over to The Lo Zone for more on Lolita Files, her peeps, pups, and pop culture.

So I finished another book… Unfortunately not one of the ones I’m writing, lol, though I do think its damn impressive I can find any time at all to read for pleasure with all the hecticness of life… I firmly believe that reading is an essential part of this ‘business’. Not just for enhancing professional karma by supporting other authors, but because reading the work of Great authors helps you become a better writer. Heck, even reading terrible authors is useful in that it can provide a timely ego boost 😉 And staying abreast of trends and studying the competition is always a good idea.

I selected If I Could by Donna Hill for several reasons. 1) the book was published by the publisher that is currently reviewing my manuscript 2) Donna Hill is a national bestselling author with over 50 books under her belt – she obviously knows what she’s doing, and 3) it’s in the same tone/style/genre as mine. It was good research material on several levels.

Well, I really enjoyed it. It was a thoughtful novel – a quick read, but didn’t give the issues addressed in the book superficial treatment. It follows three women through life, exploring the paths they took, the choices they made, and the consequences of their actions. They deal with the aftermath of divorce, adultery, emotional abuse, spousal neglect, codependence — all kinds of things that most people can relate to on some level. All the characters, even when doing bad things, retained their humanity, and I really felt for each and every one of them. As a writer, who knows the challenge of creating likable, dynamic, three-dimensional characters, I appreciate Donna Hill’s skill. This was definitely money well spent. I also find myself wondering if there’s a sequel, cause I’ll be damned if I’m not wondering what ended up happening to Parker in California, lol. I will definitely be purchasing and reading another Donna Hill novel (probably Getting Hers cause I just love the cover 🙂

Now the coolest thing about finishing a book is that I get to start another one 🙂 I can’t even tell you how many books I’ve bought in the past year, sitting untouched on my bookshelf, that I am just aching to read. I was eager to resume Eric Jerome Dickey’s Chasing Destiny, which I had to abandon when I left for my road trip because I was having too much fun to read. 😉 But then I realized Chasing Destiny is written in the first person… I find that if I read first person narrative while trying to write in the 3rd person, I get my voices all jumbled in my head. Totally counterproductive. So that was disappointing. BUT, what this means is that I’m now freed up to read the next book down on my list, Lolita Files’ sex. lies. murder. fame.. which has just been getting rave reviews all over the damn place. This book is Hot and I finally get to find out why 🙂 Don’t worry, I promise to post a full review when I finish it 🙂

So I finished another book… Unfortunately not one of the ones I’m writing, lol, though I do think its damn impressive I can find any time at all to read for pleasure with all the hecticness of life… I firmly believe that reading is an essential part of this ‘business’. Not just for enhancing professional karma by supporting other authors, but because reading the work of Great authors helps you become a better writer. Heck, even reading terrible authors is useful in that it can provide a timely ego boost 😉 And staying abreast of trends and studying the competition is always a good idea.

I selected If I Could by Donna Hill for several reasons. 1) the book was published by the publisher that is currently reviewing my manuscript 2) Donna Hill is a national bestselling author with over 50 books under her belt – she obviously knows what she’s doing, and 3) it’s in the same tone/style/genre as mine. It was good research material on several levels.

Well, I really enjoyed it. It was a thoughtful novel – a quick read, but didn’t give the issues addressed in the book superficial treatment. It follows three women through life, exploring the paths they took, the choices they made, and the consequences of their actions. They deal with the aftermath of divorce, adultery, emotional abuse, spousal neglect, codependence — all kinds of things that most people can relate to on some level. All the characters, even when doing bad things, retained their humanity, and I really felt for each and every one of them. As a writer, who knows the challenge of creating likable, dynamic, three-dimensional characters, I appreciate Donna Hill’s skill. This was definitely money well spent. I also find myself wondering if there’s a sequel, cause I’ll be damned if I’m not wondering what ended up happening to Parker in California, lol. I will definitely be purchasing and reading another Donna Hill novel (probably Getting Hers cause I just love the cover 🙂

Now the coolest thing about finishing a book is that I get to start another one 🙂 I can’t even tell you how many books I’ve bought in the past year, sitting untouched on my bookshelf, that I am just aching to read. I was eager to resume Eric Jerome Dickey’s Chasing Destiny, which I had to abandon when I left for my road trip because I was having too much fun to read. 😉 But then I realized Chasing Destiny is written in the first person… I find that if I read first person narrative while trying to write in the 3rd person, I get my voices all jumbled in my head. Totally counterproductive. So that was disappointing. BUT, what this means is that I’m now freed up to read the next book down on my list, Lolita Files’ sex. lies. murder. fame.. which has just been getting rave reviews all over the damn place. This book is Hot and I finally get to find out why 🙂 Don’t worry, I promise to post a full review when I finish it 🙂