The Color Purple

Alright, this isn't exactly a book review. It does however, belong on my wonderful book blog.

I just got back from seeing The Color Purple: The Musical. It returned to Houston for a special engagement because the last run was cut short due to Hurricane Ike. This was my second time seeing the show, and it loved it even more this time.

It doesn't matter how many times I've read the book, seen the movie, or seen the musical I can always get completely lost in the story. I love all three. I think that each different version brings out new things in the characters.

The musical shows a new side of Celie that you don't get to see as much in the movie and book. In the second act of the musical you get to see Celie enjoy life a little more. She's playful, and we get to see her have fun. I feel like the writers were able to bring out this different side of her, but still be inherently Celie.

There are moments in the show that capture the book so well that I just got overwhelmed and cried. One of those moments is when Shug sings "Too Beautiful for Words" to Celie. We had the understudy for Shug Avery, but she knocked it so far out of the park you'd never know she was the understudy. "What About Love" is another of those moments. I feel like the musical was able to capture the tenderness of the relationship between Shug and Celie in a way the movie was only able to hint at.

My favorite moment in the show is Celie's song "I'm Here." The first time she tells Mister, "I may be poor, black, and ugly, but I'm here!" I don't think she really believes it yet. I think she's standing up for herself, but doesn't quite grasp what she's saying. Then, when she stands up to Shug she knows. That song, "I'm Here" is like seeing Celie fully realized. She's finally found her inner strength because she was able to stand up to someone that she loves, not someone she's protecting herself from. That moment gives me chills even when I'm listening to the recording.

One other thing the musical does well, is the relationship with Celie and Mister after she leaves him. The movie glosses over this really important part of the book, so it's nice to see it given the proper treatment in the show.

Now for the few things I don't like about the show. Felicia Fields does a great job playing Sophia. There's no doubt about that, but Sophia comes off a little too cartoonish. Sophia is just a heartbreaking and strong character that it's hard for me to see her used mostly for comedic effect. The other thing that rubs me the wrong way happens towards the end. Right before the picnic, Celie flirts with a handy man. Not really that big a deal, but it comes across as a last ditch effort to let everyone know that she's not really a lesbian.

I don't think Celie is a lesbian. I think Shug Avery was the first person in her life since Nettie to show her any kind of warmth and compassion. Would Celie have slept with a woman had her life been different? Who knows. The label isn't important, but that one scene just comes across as a way to appease anyone in the audience that might have taken issue with some girl on girl action (The first time we saw the show, people behind us groaned at the kiss).

The Color Purple is my favorite book ever. The characters are always with me. There's something about this story that touches me, and it doesn't matter which format it's being told with. Just thinking about how much it touches me made me get choked up on the way home (despite my boyfriend laughing at me in the car).

From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris

From Dead to Worse is the eight book in the Sookie Stackhouse series.

From Dead to Worse really helped redeem the series in my eyes. As I mentioned in my review for All Together Dead, I was starting to lose patience with the series. In this one, Harris started getting back to what I really liked about the series. We got to go back to Bon Temps and spend time with some of the residents. I definitely enjoyed learning a little bit more of Sam's back story. I also really love that this book wasn't all about how Sookie couldn't make up her mind about the 800 men that were falling for her.

There's a lot that goes on in this one. The Sookie books are always full of action, but this one seemed to have almost two books worth of action crammed into it. It works. At first, I thought Harris had crammed too much into one book, but after I finished it that's not the case.

Just as Sookie is starting to get the hang of the supernatural world, everything changes. The series was due for some kind of shake up, and it was executed well with this one. It's not just the supernatural world that has been shaken up either. There are plenty of revelations about Sookie and her family to deal with as well.

I also have to say, that Pam sitting on Sookie's couch working on embroidery is one of my favorite things of the whole series. It's just too perfect!

From Dead to Worse helped remind me why I liked the series so much. It felt like Harris was able to breathe some new life into it.

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

I just finished my advanced reader of Her Fearful Symmetry. I LOVED this book, and I can't wait for it to be released so I can recommend it to other people and talk to them about it.

I read The Time Traveler's Wife a few weeks ago. I liked it. I didn't feel myself really get invested in it until almost the end of the book. Then, I finished it and cried for like half an hour. With Her Fearful Symmetry I was pulled in from the beginning, and was really invested in it.

For the last few days all I've wanted to do is find a corner to curl up in so I could finish the book. Unfortunately life is stupid and wouldn't let me do that. I'm having a hard time writing a review because I don't even know how to describe how much I loved this book.

So what's the book about? When a mysterious aunt that they've never met dies, twins Julia and Valentina go to London to live her in flat for a year. The stipulations of the will are that they must live in the flat for a year, their mother (the aunt's twin) is never allowed to visit the flat, and all of her papers and journals have to be removed so the twins can never see them. When they get to the flat, the twins meet the other residents. Martin, who suffers from OCD, cannot leave his flat and Robert, Aunt Elspeth's former lover is trying to get over her death.

It's a story about twins, love, family secrets, and ghosts!

Niffenegger's writing is beautiful. She captures Highgate Cemetery perfectly. The cemetery almost becomes a character in the book. Each character is so vivid and clearly defined. The plot twists are really predictable, but that doesn't matter. The characters and their interactions and decisions allow you to forgive the flaws in the plot. It's not really even a flaw. Being able to figure out what's going to happen makes it even more interesting to see the characters careening towards the inevitable train wreck that's going to happen.

While this book didn't have the emotional gut punch that The Time Traveler's Wife did, it still stays with you in a completely different way. Having finished the book, I really feel like I've spent the week living with these characters, and I'm sure I'll find myself wondering what they're up to in the future.

New Audrey Niffenegger

I got a new ARC in the mail today. Can't wait to start it!

Night's Cold Kiss by Tracey O'Hara

I just finished Night's Cold Kiss by Tracey O'Hara. Almost from the start, I didn't want to put it down. It's the type of book hooks you right from the first page, and makes you want to stay up all night, and then call in sick to work to finish.

Antoinette Petrescu is a Venator (vampire hunter). As a child she saw her mother get murdered, and has spent her life killing the creatures responsible. Now, as a serial killer is murdering women, Antoinette has to team up with the creatures she despised to bring him down.

One thing that I look for when I'm reading a new urban fantasy, or paranormal romance is a distinct new world. I always want to see how well an author is able to establish the environment their characters inhabit. O'Hara is able to do that from the start. She has a fresh take on vampires, and is able to explain it easily. If the reader isn't sure, there's a glossary in the back that helps explains things as well. The supporting characters are just as great. I fell in love with Viktor pretty quickly.

Antoinette is my favorite type of heroine. She's had a rough past, and seem some darkness. She's rash, and makes terrible decisions because she's always acting before thinking. She's a lot like Rachel Morgan in Kim Harrison's series, and Joanna Archer in Vicki Pettersson's series. Although there are similarities to the lives of all three of those heroines, Antoinette doesn't come off as a carbon copy. She's got her own personality, and her own character.

This one definitely falls more under the umbrella of paranormal romance than urban fantasy. There's more hardened nipples and throbbing manhood in this one compared to Harrison and Pettersson. That's not really my thing, but the sex adds to the story. It doesn't seemed forced or just thrown in.

If you like your UF/PR on the dark side, with lots of action and a strong, slightly broken heroine, this book is for you. Think more Joanne Archer and less Sookie Stackhouse.

I was lucky enough to get an Advanced Reader Copy of the book from work. Night's Cold Kiss is being released on August 25th. Do yourself a favor and pick it up! It's already creating a well deserved buzz, and I think Tracey O'Hara is one of genre's most exciting new authors!

More buying, and upcoming wish list

Today I bought The Eternal Kiss - 13 Vampire Tales of Blood and Desire. It has stories by Kelley Armstrong, Rachel Caine and more in it.

I also picked up Dance Recover Repeat by Alasdair Duncan, The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong, and Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr. I've read The Summoning and Wicked Lovely already. I bought them to donate to the store's book drive.

I'm really excited about August 25th. There's some great stuff coming.

Patricia Briggs is releasing Hunting Ground, the second in her Alpha and Omega Series, as well as Mercy Thompson - Homecoming, the graphic novel from the Mercy series.

Kelley Armstrong's Living with the Dead comes out in mass market.

Unbound, with stories by Kim Harrison, Vicki Pettersson, Melissa Marr, Jeaniene Frost, and Jocelyn Drake comes out too.

Plus, Tracey O'Hara's book Night's Cold Kiss comes out. I'm going to try to finish my advanced reader copy of it tonight and post a review. It's phenomenal.

August 25th will be a good day for getting my Urban Fantasy fix!