GONE GIRL by GILLIAN FLYNN

After reading RED RISING I knew I was going to fall into funk. It was such an incredible read that anything less than it's sequel was going to be disappointing.

I started a couple of books from my rather large TBR pile but nothing grabbed me. What I needed was another "it" book. Another book with hype.

I had seen and heard about GONE GIRL for some time. I knew it was one of those super popular books that was not being released in paperback because it was still going gangbusters in hardback.

A little research told me GONE GIRL was being made into a film by David Fincher starring one of my favourite actors, Ben Affleck.

Well, I thought, here is a book to get me out of my funk.

And it was.

GONE GIRL is a terrific thriller, about Amy and Nick, a couple about to celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary when Amy disappears. What follows is a dark look behind the curtain of a seemingly perfect marriage.

I wouldn't say I loved GONE GIRL, but I would say I liked it quite a bit. It's pretty good. It hooked me and kept me turning the pages till its rather (unfortunately) anti-climatic final pages. I really wanted the book to end differently. I would love to elaborate but I don't want to give anything away.

If you aren't in a book reading funk, and you haven't read GONE GIRL by this point, I would say wait for the paperback. If you are in a funk, this could be the book to get you out of it. Worked for me.

Can't wait to see the GONE GIRL movie, but not necessarily because its such an awesome, mind blowing story. But because it's a pretty good story and the film is going to have Ben Affleck!

THE LEGO MOVIE

This is a RESTRICTED article (i.e. please only read if you are an adult and want to read my petulant ranting bullshit):

Why can't my generation sit in a movie theatre for a minuscule hour and a half without checking their fucking cell phones? Really?

I'm right into the movie only to be ripped kicking and screaming back to reality by your fucking goddamn bright iFucking-stupid-fucking-phone!

(And by "You" here I mean "Them". You dear reader I know would not only know better but also, like me, be too into the movie to give a shit about your iDevice).

Why don't you care in the slightest that I paid nearly seventy dollars (before concessions!) to take my family to see a movie they have anticipated seeing for months? Why is it so important you show your complete and utter disregard for those around you?

Because you are nothing but selfish, self-centred, pieces of fucking shit. And your kids are ill mannered brats.

I pretty much do not exist to you. I am a figment. A simple illusion to you. A thing that doesn't count and therefore you need not care to show the slightest bit of decorum.

You do not bother saying anything to your brats when they kick seats. You do not say anything when your stupid shits speak out loud during the film. You do not parent at all!

Yet me and my darling little angels who learned to behave by the wrath (and "Time Out"'s) of their loving and parenting father, have to listen to their inane fucking gob shit spewing out of their fucking stupid little faces!

My generation do not know how to parent. They do not know how to focus on one thing for a set amount of time (say a hour and a half movie). They can not read, unless it's in a three word text using broken English on their iPhone, iPad or whatever fucking iDevice you can think of.

Fuck, I could go on and on and on about how much I hate my generation and people in general. I can not stand you. I can not stand being in a theatre with you. You make me sick to my stomach.

The only redeeming thing about my generation is that they make movies like THE LEGO MOVIE.

Completely brilliant.

If it were not for my kids, my books and movies like THE LEGO MOVIE, I think I would jump off a tall building.

RED RISING by PIERCE BROWN

Back in my teens when I started to read for pleasure all I read was horror and some fantasy. That continued into my late twenties when I began to expand my horizons, so to speak.

No I didn't start reading elusive Russian tomes or ancient Greek poems. What I did was stop snubbing my nose at "popular" fiction. I picked up some Dan Brown and read me some Michael Crichton. You get the idea. I stopped being a horror snob.

Since then I read most popular things, and by popular I mean books that are "hot". The kind of books you usually see people reading in abundance on the subway or bus. J.K. Rowling. Stephenie Meyer and their ilk. You get the picture.

Anyways, to make a long story short (too late!), since that time of broadening my reading horizons, my absolute favourite book was READY PLAYER ONE by Ernest Cline. And it still is, but just.

Right beside that amazing book is a new kid on the block and his name is RED RISING by Pierce Brown.

I didn't didn't just love RED RISING. I loved RED RISING. I gorydamn loved it! I bloodydamn loved it!

I should just end my opinion piece right here but I want to gush about this novel a little more.

RED RISING takes about seventy or eighty pages to get into, a much needed build up. You might be tempted to set it aside but don't. Because very quickly RED RISING transforms into something unexpected. Something scary but really, really slagging cool! Like, HO. LEE. SHIT. cool!

The rest of the way RED RISING kicks all kinds of ass. I don't want to give anything away, so if you want to know what it's about check out Amazon.com. You will see it compared to THE HUNGER GAMES. Don't pay any attention to that garbage. Yes, I liked THE HUNGER GAMES but it's no RED RISING.

After you get into RED RISING you won't be able to put it down. You will want to keep reading to see what happens next and be completely disappointed that you finished it so gorydamn fast!

I picked up RED RISING because of the eye catching cover. Interestingly, it's my only beef with the book. The cover sucks, in my opinion. Yes it's eye catching but it's got nothing to do with the story. Maybe on a metaphorical level but come on! Part of me thinks it was an attempt to catch the eyes of HUNGER GAMES fans with the whole mocking jay angle. But whatever.

The book rules.

I can't wait to re-read RED RISING in the near future.

Check out a cool interview with Brown at last years comic convention in San Diego.