Book Review: THE MARTIAN by Andy Weir

Title: The Martian

Author: Andy Weir

Published: October 28th, 2014 by Crown/Random House

Format: Paperback, 387 pages

Genre: Science Fiction

Description:

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there.

After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate the planet while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded on Mars' surface, completely alone, with no way to signal Earth that he’s alive — and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone years before a rescue could arrive.

Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first. But Mark's not ready to quit. Armed with nothing but his ingenuity and his engineering skills — and a gallows sense of humor that proves to be his greatest source of strength – he embarks on a dogged quest to stay alive, using his botany expertise to grow food and even hatching a mad plan to contact NASA back on Earth.

As he overcomes one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next, Mark begins to let himself believe he might make it off the planet alive – but Mars has plenty of surprises in store for him yet.

Grounded in real, present-day science from the first page to the last, yet propelled by a brilliantly ingenious plot that surprises the reader again and again, The Martian is a truly remarkable thriller: an impossible-to-put-down suspense novel that manages to read like a real-life survival tale.

Book Review: READY PLAYER ONE by Ernest Cline

Title: Ready Player One
Author: Ernest Cline
Published: August 16, 2011 by Random House
Format: Hardcover, 372 pages
Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopia

Description: 

In the year 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the  OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them. When Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.

Hello?

I know this blog is mostly just me talking into the void, but I'm back. Again. Man, I've got a horrible history with this. Life's fun that way, I guess.

Six months ago I was in Virginia attending Hollins College for an MFA in Children's Literature. Only I spent a lot of money that I didn't have and felt like I was doing nothing but wasting everything: time, money, energy. I met some great people, but Hollins itself just wasn't a good fit for me, especially not for the price tag. So I came back to Arkansas, again, though VA was only ever a 6 week thing to begin with.

Still, it was rather disappointing to chase after a dream only to have it wither and die. And then come home to a sick cat and a $200 vet bill that I couldn't afford.

Yay!

Now I'm back at Tech, yet again, and working on yet another degree. This one's for teaching, so now I can at least be eligible to teach at the secondary level, not that that's what I really want to do with my life, but it's allowing me to work at the library again, which is currently paying my bills, so. Although, I do love teaching, especially literature and writing. It's just not the dream.

In dream-related news, I'm still working with Dr. White to get Tea Tree Publishing off and running. We've been working on our first manuscript and should have it ready to go before too long. Exciting! Everything's been taking longer than we anticipated, but that's more because this is our first go of it and we're still learning the ropes. I love it. I just need to find more time to dedicate to all of its social media accounts. I need to reconnect with the world, which is sort of why I'm here. I'm setting a new schedule for myself, and part of that time includes writing and reading. And that always brings me back to talking about it.

Meaning new reviews! And new stories! And me actually posting regularly about things instead of popping in every few months to promise that I'll be back. I'm getting my life together, and this time I mean it. I'm not going to let anything get in my way this year, especially not myself. So, if you're reading this and there's something you'd like to see in the content, let me know. I'm rededicating myself to the things that I love, so I'm also up for recommendations on just about anything: blogs to follow, books to read, tricks to try...

Reviews will resume shortly, and I'll probably tweak the site layout a bit and update, but I'll be back soon, lovelies. With regularly scheduled posts and everything. ;)

Hollins! And Short Story #4

I've spent the last week settling in at Hollins University in Virginia, where I'm officially working on an MFA in Children's Literature (because I apparently like to collect degrees). I'm still sorting out my schedule, but I promise reviews are coming. In the mean time, I wanted to share a short story I just wrote for my genre study in fantasy course, which was supposed to be a retelling of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid." I'm sharing it here because the stories I post on the blog are written and posted sans revision, and in this class we're supposed to be handing in first drafts, so I thought it fit the bill. So, without any further ado, I give you "Song of the Sea."

Reviews and an Update

I said I would have book reviews up, like, last week, but clearly I haven't posted any new ones. My internet went away again, so I'm trying to write a few up for scheduling purposes. So they are on their way! Up first is going to be Eon: Dragoneye Reborn by Allison Goodman.

I'm also working on Tea Tree Publishing stuff and getting ready to head back to school, which is actually super exciting. I've already got a jump on my reading, so I just finished Odd and the Frost Giants by Neil Gaiman. Also looking forward to seeing Maggie Steifvater while I'm there, hoping I might be able to get a signature on Scorpio Races, which has been my favorite of hers and will probably come up in my Scandinavian and Celtic Mythology in Children's Lit course. All that's left is to get back to writing.

When I get back I'm planning on moving towns. Again. But I'm doing all kinds of scheduling, so I promise I'm not going to let myself slip back into the void. I'm determined to be super productive and present. I know what I want and how to get it, so I'm not letting anything get in my way anymore, especially not myself.

Apologies & Excuses

I'm sorry; I get so excited about posting on here and doing reviews, and then I let life just come in and sweep me away. It also doesn't help that I refuse to get internet because the providers here suck...

Nothing much has actually happened lately to blame for my absence, well, at least nothing exciting. Although, I suppose that's not entirely true; I did finish out what is, for now at least, my last semester teaching. It was crazy hectic and stressful, and I've just been binge watching a lot of Netflix (Daredevil! The Fall! Amazing stuff, guys. Seriously. Go watch them.) while trying to figure my life out. Again. Funny how that happens so often for me. I really need to find a full-time gig. Oi. 

Anywho. School is over, and I'm enjoying the lull before I head off to Hollins in about a month. Which really means I've been ordering books and making plans and trying to figure out where I'll be living when I get back. Fun (and seriously stressful) stuff. But it's all good. Because I'm finally feeling like a person again. One with hopes and dreams and feelings. So I'm thinking about books a lot: books I want to read, books I want to write, books I want to analyze and discuss. The creative juices are officially picking back up, and it feels good. 

I have manuscripts to read as well as a number of published books (both for my upcoming classes and for recreation) and a fervor to get writing, both academically and creatively. I also feel like embracing myself rather than trying to continue conforming to the idea of professionalism I've had to maintain as a non-tenured (hell, not even full-time) professor and manager, meaning I want to color my hair something obnoxiously bright, something I've never been able to do without bleaching my near-black hair. I'm turning over yet another new leaf in my attempt to live a happier life: I've quit teaching as adjunct faculty, I'm leaving the theatre, I'm heading off to VA this summer to pursue yet another degree, I'm dedicating more time and energy to Tea Tree, and I'll be going teal in the near future. 

So if you still read this, stay tuned for more exciting updates, stories, and reviews (which I'll be doing weekly from here out just like the good old days), because I'm not giving up on blogging just yet.

Tea Tree Publishing is Live!

I've been meaning to get on here and tell you all, but I've been a little busy with work. First, I got accepted to the Children's Literature MFA at Hollins University in VA, which is really awesome and exciting. So WOO!! And second...

Tea Tree Publishing, the independent publishing company I hoped to open with my former professor, is finally real! Our primary focus is publishing local (at least for now) children's and young adult literature as well as local folklore. For more information you can check out our website at teatreepublishing.com and see what we're about, or jump from there to our social media accounts and follow us.

I can't tell you all how excited I am to be starting this adventure. :)