Stupid By Choice

Stupid By Choice by Leighton Summers

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Melanie St. John perfectly fits the stereotype of a southern socialite. As the daughter of a wealthy oil lawyer, she travels all over the globe to hob nob with the snobs and snag a husband. After she leaves her abusive husband and embarks on single motherhood, Melanie looks back at her choices and the poisonous relationships that have brought her to this point.

This is definitely a chick lit book. While the story is interesting, I just didn't connect to the southern theme. With the writing style, I couldn't picture it as modern. I just kept picturing "Gone With The Wind" and I'm not sure that's a good thing. Also, I'm hoping that more proofreading was done when it was published. I received an ARC copy from NetGalley and the formatting was just a mess, so distracting.

Even though Melanie often displayed an aura of entitlement, she had some real deep, human moments that gave her character a depth that I wish I had seen more of through out the story. I don't want to give anything away, but I was happy to see her character grow and see that you don't have to just let things happen to you. You can take control of your life. Don't be Stupid by Choice.



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The Rise and Fall of Tres Wisdom

Image Credit: R Nial Bradshaw

As a relationship comes to a close, all the warning bells go off, a little nagging here, some irritation there, a voice in the back of your head that says, "I can't delay the inevitable."

I have been ignoring an irritating, but not unbearable tooth ache, in one of my two wisdom teeth, off and on for the last two weeks or so. Today was the day that my tooth(we'll call him Tres Wisdom) decided to throw up his middle finger and tell me to go fuck myself. So I finally gave in and went to the dentist to get the treacherous tyrant ripped from my skull. 

 Original Image: Orange John,

Upon arrival, they took my blood pressure. Wait for it...180/120, they thought I was stroking out and wanted to call an ambulance. Instead, we tried some Novocaine to see if it was the pain of Tres. I just knew in my heart of hearts that Tres was behind this nefarious plot to thwart our impending separation. Second go around 160/103. Doc said he couldn't do anything until the bottom number was under 100. He said he could give it one more try. He gave me a shot and kindly let me take a Xanax (Break-ups are never easy, ya know). 20 minutes later, my bottom number was 72! Woo freaking Hoo, Allons-y! Two hours later and Tres Wisdom finally met his demise. The dentist starts to do his thing and Tres, being the obnoxious bastard that he is, breaks. The Doc got almost all of it out, but the root of one was broken under the gum line. Sooo he sliced that shit open. That shit hurts, I don't care how much Novocaine they give you, nothing prepares you for that. So I have a gaping hole in my gum and stitches on the back side of my gum. NO SOLID FOODS FOR AT LEAST 48 hours and soft foods for 24 hours after that. Can bleed up to 24 hours. The nice Doctor gave me vicodin to ease the pain of the break up, but I'm not sure I like them, might just stick with ibuprofen And Last but not least, I have one wisdom tooth (Quatre Wisdom) left that hasn't even tried to break skin. The reason? It is completely sideways. I'm hoping that Quatre and I never meet, because I hear he is an asshole, just like all the other Wisdoms I've met.

A Day of Decor

#1- T.A.R.D.I.S. Wall Art

After reading so many books lately, I thought it was time to take a break, do some things around the house and finally tackle some craft ideas. A few years ago, I purchased a set of three frames. After decorating my living room, I had only used two of the frames. One has a print of Hand and Apparatus by Salvador Dali that my dad bought for me at the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg. The other, a print from the final page of the comic in Chasing Amy, signed by Kevin Smith.

I knew I wasn't going to use the frame in the living room, so I tried to find a place in my bedroom that the frame would fit and go from there. I found a perfect fit on my geek wall and tried to think of what would go well there.  To me, art is like putting together a puzzle when you don't know what the end picture is supposed to be. I decided to start with the background. I had bought some scrap book paper on sale and it matched my bedroom with a purple pattern on a cream background. I wanted to do a cameo of sorts, but I wasn't sure if I should draw something or go with a magazine or comic picture. I went to the comic book shop and started looking through the damaged and reader grade comics, when I saw a Doctor Who comic with a T.A.R.D.I.S. on glossy paper. I sat down, cut out the picture and used Mod Podge to attach it to the paper. It took all of maybe 5 minutes and I like the way it turned out.

Since that literally took less time than a commercial break, I felt inspired to keep going. I already had the Mod Podge and scrapbook paper out of my craft closet, so I finally went to work on adding some pizazz to a plain photo box where I keep my crafting notions.

#2- Decorated Craft Notions Box

If you are anything like me, when you are in the craft store, you have to hit up the clearance. There are so many great deals and cute things that I will most likely never use, but absolutely have to have. Like this felt chandelier. I have no idea what I was thinking when I bought it. There's not much you can do with a felt notion like this in any of the crafts I have done. I decided to use my Mod Podge to put the chandelier centered on
a purple square. Nothing flashy, simple design, but I love the way the chandelier pops off that purple. Plus, organization is a lot funner when you have cute storage supplies. With the left-over Victorian scrapbook paper, I re-purposed a gift box for more storage. By this time, I was only through two parts of The Mind Robber, so I decided to tackle another project.

#3- Painted Fan

I saw this idea on Pintrest a while ago. Like most things on Pintrest, I pin it and forget it. But I figured what the heck, I have a fan, I have paint, at the very least I thought it would help me get over the guilt I feel pinning 50 things that I promise myself I'm going to try and then forget it ever existed.

I decided not to take the whole fan apart. I just took off the front and laid it down. If your worried about spills and drips you should put something underneath. I only do for spay paint, but it doesn't hurt. It hasn't finished drying in the picture. I am adding some scrolls in white.

Not every project needs to be a huge ordeal, but it seems like those are the ones I am most likely to tackle. I finished all three projects in under 2 hours, leaving me some time to try to catch up on the stacks of review books I need to read. Hopefully, you'll feel inspired to tackle some of your own small projects.

Stumptown, Vol. 2 by Greg Rucka

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Ever since I’ve widened my scope of reading materials to include comics and graphic novels, I have stumbled across some pretty awesome stories to add to my library. I was initially worried that starting a series on Volume 2 would leave me lost and confused and not able to give an accurate opinion of the overall story. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I could jump right in and enjoy the story.

Stumptown Volume 2 collects “The Case of the Baby in the Velvet Case”, a Dex Parrios mystery. Dex is a P.I. who has been hired to find a precious guitar. While on the case, Dex finds herself trying to dodge some skinheads and the D.E.A. Greg Rucka crafts a fast pace, intense mystery that takes you on a wild ride from beginning to end and leaves you wanting more.  The intense action made it hard to put down. Couple Rucka’s writing with the art of Matthew Southworth and you have a beautiful book to add to your collection. The colors perfectly set the mood for a great mystery story.

The hardcover edition of Stumptown Volume 2 will release on September 4, 2013. I read a digital ARC from Netgalley, but I still prefer print to digital. I don’t think my computer really does the art justice.  Until then, I think I’ll go pick up Volume 1.

The Arrival

The Arrival by Nicole MacDonald

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


When I requested an ARC copy of The Arrival by Nicole MacDonald, I was so excited to read it, a paranormal fantasy/ romance with not one, but four kick ass heroines, bring it on! Unfortunately, a clever story was not enough to pull a five star rating with me.

This story is about a group of four friends, with extensive martial arts training, that can’t seem to find love. So they do what any strong, independent woman would do, they cast a love spell. But, as they must, the spell goes awry.  They are transported into another world where they find themselves lower on the food chain then they are accustomed.

My highest praise for the book is the amazing world that MacDonald has crafted. She is able to allow the reader to fall into the world right along side the main characters and experience the new creatures and surroundings with the foursome. Also, MacDonald really conveys a strong girl-power message, even though the story revolves around the want/need for a partner. Every action scene further solidified the strength of the heroines.

To tell you the truth, I almost stopped reading the book a few different times out of boredom and an inability to connect to characters due to the constant, rapid changing points of view. Now, I think a shift in character perception can enhance the story on many different levels, but changing points of view multiple times per page can get confusing and leave the characters feeling a bit one dimensional. The characters personalities were lost among the shuffle. Eventually, the action would kick back up and pull me back into the story, but that is not enough to make me want to continue with the series.

Those that are fans of the genre, for the price the story is worth the read, despite my criticism, the writing is very well done, with just a few errors here and there. Just be prepared for the revolving points of view. Once you get used to that, it’s not a bad read.




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The Angel's Kiss: A Melody Malone Mystery by Justin Richards

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Melody Malone sets up a detective agency in 1930's Manhattan and is hired by an actor in his prime. She is tasked with uncovering the mastermind of a murder plot. Although the title is used in the Doctor Who episode The Angels Take Manhattan, there are very few similarities between the two. The Melody Malone character is spot on and a perfect setting for her sassy attitude. I thought this was a great story. But at 54 pages, it is way too short. For the low price, it's worth a read by Doctor Who and noir mystery fans.



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How Possession Can Help You Lose Weight by Chris Dolley

After a few crappy days, I really needed a laugh. So I picked up How Possession Can Help You Lose Weight. I have been reading a few short ebooks here and there. I never really gave them a shot before, but I'm growing quite fond of them. I can pick it up on my lunch hour and be done before I'm back to my desk. It's a nice little escape. How Possession Can Help You Lose Weight was no exception. At 53 pages, including recipes, calorie counter, testimonials, and a demon dating questionnaire, this is a very light read and great for a giggle.

How Possession Can Help You Lose Weight by Chris Dolley

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


How Possession Can Help You Lose Weight is a hilarious parody of modern diets books. The chapters walk the reader through all the steps to making your thin dream come true! Sharing insight from Science and Clinical trials to Exorcism and Side Features (they aren't side effects, they are opportunities) all the while injecting humor and not a small amount of infomercial talk. They even include a helpful calorie counter, which you can access easily through the links in the Table of Contents.

This is a great pick for a quick chuckle and as I found out, a great little pick me up on a bad day.



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