Sacre' Bleu

The one word I can say about Christopher Moore's new novel, Sacre' Bleu is...phenomenal!  If you are a fan of Moore's work (Bite Me, Fool, Practical Demonkeeping) you are very familiar with his brand of biting, sarcastic, off-beat humor and just plain weird books.  I am always greatly amused by his stories and Sacre' Bleu does not disappoint.  Christopher Moore's latest intrigued me because it is set in France during the time that the Impressionist movement was in full swing and stars some of my favorite art characters.  I love Degas, Manet, Cezanne and other Impressionists so this book thrilled me because it stars many artists I'd have loved to have met.  Moore's book brings these artitsts to life, and you can picture them on the streets of Paris, drinking and carousing and trying to make a living by painting.  The premise of Sacre' Bleu is that there is a twisted, bent Colorman who wanders around Paris with his partner, a beautiful lady, trying to sell paint colors (and especially the very expensive ultramarine blue) to painters.  The Colorman has a special relationship with the sacre' bleu color and needs artists to buy the color and paint pictures with it in order for him to keep living.  The Colorman and his partner inspire artists to paint brilliant canvases by preying on their emotions, stopping time and inhabiting other people's bodies.  I don't want to give away too much of the story, but I promise you it is a tangled web of events right up until the very last pages. This book is beautiful, haunting and perfect for the art fan---especially if you enjoy imagining the lives of the great Impressionist painters!  Read this book, and then check out other Christopher Moore books---you won't be disappointed!  Interact with Christopher Moore by e-mail at theauthorguy@gmail.com, on Twitter@theauthorguy or on Facebook.com/theauthorguy. 

Sharks and Wolves

I have been attractedd to animal-themed movies lately, and two of the most fascinating ones I have watched are The Grey and Dark Tide.  The Grey is the story of a group of rough-and-tumble men flying home from their job in the frozen Alaskan wilderness.  Their plane crashes and they are suddenly forced to battle the wills of nature and a pack of wolves in order to make it home to their families. This movie is full of heart-pounding action and is not for the faint of heart!  Dark Tide is the story of Kate, a shark expert, who "free dives" with great white sharks outside of shark cages.  Kate's life is good until a fellow diver dies from a shark attack as she watches.  She loses her will to dive until a wealthy customer arrives, wanting to experience his own swim with sharks.  The sharks in this movie are celebrated for their beauty, majesty and ferociousness and the underwater scenes with the sharks are breathtaking.  Both of these movies show the stark beauty of nature and celebrate the power of animals.  Both moveis are rated PG-13 because of graphic/ disturbing animal attack scenes. 

Deadlocked

Deadlocked is the new novel in the Sookie Stackhouse series written by Misssissippi native Charlaine Harris. This novel is as full of action and character development as the other novels in the series. In this book, the Vampire Queen shows up to wreak havoc on Sookie and Eric's relationship, and the book opens up with the death of a half-were girl on Eric's front lawn, very soon after Eric has fed on her.  Sookie and Bill Compton, the official Area Five Investigator,commit to solving the mystery, figuring out what the Queen wants and dealing with the outlaw fairies in the area.  Meanwhile, many of Sookie's friends are having problems of their own with marriages, proposals and new babies.  Sam also has a few plans that involve the bar, Merlotte's, where Sookie works, and these plans involve Sookie too!  The story is another great installment in thhis series that promises to get better and better.  I do reccommend reading these books in order as the characters' actions build on the events of the previous books. Connect online with Charlaine Harris at www.charlaineharris.com or at facebook.com/CharlaineHarris

Hit the Park with Calico Joe

John Grisham's latest novel, Calico Joe is a tribute to the All-American game of baseball!  No matter how little of a fan you are, you will love this story. The book's action centers around the Mets and the Cubs and a brilliant rookie named Joe Castle. The book is told from the point of view of Paul Tracey, the son of callous, hard-throwing Mets pitcher Warren Tracey.  Paul, his sister Jill and their mom spend their lives trying to avoid the rants of Warren Tracey until Paul is captured by the allure of rookie Joe Castle in his brilliant opening run as a member of the Cubs team.  He is an amazing player on his way to a brilliant career until an incident with Warren Tracey ends his career forever. Later on in his life, Paul decides to encourage a truce between Warren and Joe---will he succeed or will they forever be embroiled in a feud? This book is a brilliant piece of storytelling---it's a very quick read and I hung onto every word, eager to get to the finale.  This book would be a perfect gift for that special man in your life, or any fan of baseball!!!