Prelude to a Super Airplane by Brian Spaeth

 

 

Almost everyone has flown on an airplane at least once in their lives. They are huge and intimidating, able to conquer the skies and the power of flight. Everyone has fantasized about being able to fly, about being able to fly through the clouds.

But none of us have flown on a super airplane: 47 floors high and able to fly at incredible speeds. But it is the people concerned with the airplane that are our focus here, the ones that think about airplanes constantly that draw our attention.

The year is 2012 and America is on the verge of Civil War. One side wants flying cars to be the main method of transportation; the other wants the new super airplane to be the only method of transport. At stake in this war? The entire future of transportation.

Our world as we know it will be forever changed…

Prelude to a Super Airplane is unlike anything you have read before. More literary experiment than a novel, Prelude to a Super Airplane is essentially one hundred and seven little stories about airplanes. Some follow the plot that you’ve just read above.

Others, well…did I mention that this was unlike anything you’ve read before?

Spaeth wrote Prelude to a Super Airplane over a period of seven days. And man what a ride! Though the book zooms along and sometimes you’re wondering who you’re reading about, it doesn’t matter.

This is a book with a sense of humour that never takes itself very seriously. It’s a quick, roller coaster of a ride that is anything but boring.

In fact, I laughed out loud several times and enjoyed every word. It really is unlike anything ever before attempted and this is part of the novels strengths.

Though sometimes the stories of the characters get lost amongst the more autobiographical portions of the book, you’re holding on for sheer life as the pages seem to flip themselves.

Even though Prelude to a Super Airplane is more literary experiment than a novel, it’s one hell of a good time. I’ve never had so much fun reading a book. From the first page, I was intrigued and, by the third page, I was hooked.

Prelude to a Super Airplane promises to be the first comedy-political thriller – mystery- drama-romance-action/adventure-science fiction-showbiz insider- horror-family energy drink- industry insider- holiday autobiography, Prelude to a Super Airplane is one hell of a great ride.

At times confusing, intriguing, hilarious, bizarre and all kinds of wonderful, Prelude to a Super Airplane is THE beach book for this summer.

Read it and feel like you’re flying.

Remember Me? By Sophie Kinsella

 

 

Lexi Smart is having a bad go of things.

She didn’t get a bonus from work, her boyfriend Loser Dave has stood her up for the millionth time and her father has just died. She has a dead end job that’s going nowhere, has frizzy hair and bad teeth. She knows that something has to change soon.

Unfortunately, that change comes in the form of a car accident.

Upon waking up in the hospital, Lexi is a new woman. Her bad teeth are replaced with white shiny ones, her frizzy hair is now sleek and lovely and she has a new job as director of her own department.

Hang on, that can’t be right, can it?

Lexi quickly learns that she has amnesia and she’s forgotten the last three years of her life. Her mother has gotten older, her younger sister is now sixteen and she has a husband named Eric she doesn’t remember marrying.

As Lexi tries to get used to her new life, she’s in for a few rude awakenings. None of her friends talk to her any longer, she’s become the bitch boss from hell and, if that’s not bad enough, it seems she’s been having an affair with Jon, a sexy, and very handsome, architect.

Lexi will have to act quickly otherwise her entire new life will start to crumble. But that could be exactly what she needs to remember everything….

I am a huge fan of Sophie Kinsella. Every time I open one of her novels, I know that I’m in for a laugh out loud read that fills me with joy. Her books are always funny, touching in all the right places and just plain fun.

I was not disappointed with Remember Me? In fact, this is Kinsella’s best effort yet. Lexi is an improvement on past leading women that Kinsella has written. Instead of being a little bit daft and slightly dumb, Lexi is smart and intuitive and very intelligent. It’s a breath of fresh air to read about a protagonist who isn’t silly or over the top.

The secondary characters are better fleshed out in Remember Me? as well. Lexi’s dog loving mother is a riot and Eric, charming husband as he is, is absolutly hysterical. Kinsella constantly pens people that are real, people you know. People you love to hate and people you root for.

Remember Me? is not as laugh out loud funny as her other books. However, rather than taking away from the book, I feel that this is one of the book’s strengths. The story is a lot more personal and introspective than her usual fare, and a lot more heartfelt. Because of this you may not laugh as much but you’ll cry a little. Have a box of tissues handy.

Remember Me? is a funny, heart breaking romp through memory, life, love and lust and I loved every blessed page. I think it’s Kinsellsa’s best effort yet. It’s fun, fresh and fabulous – absolutely perfect in every way.

Pick yourself up a copy and get one for your best friend. You won’t be sorry and, thankfully, you’ll remember it once you’ve finished reading.

 

Real Women Wear Red by Kathy Holmes

Real Women Wear Red

Kathy Holmes

Lulu Books

2007

  

www.kathyholmes.net

  

Kate “Cyn” Francis is in a frump.

  

Unlucky at love, Cyn wonders if her second chance at love will ever come along. At forty five, it’s been years since she’s had a man in her bed and love in her heart. Her ex, a big fake, turned out to be more lust than love and Cyn wonders if love is possible for women over forty.

  

At the behest of her close friend Maggie, Cyn decides to take drastic action and change her life. Her old one sure isn’t working for her. She dyes her hair, changes her name and her age and heads out on a Caribbean cruise. On a boat full of men, there’s got to be one Mr. Right among them. Right?

  

Instead of Mr. Right, Cyn meets two other single women who are also looking for love: the beautiful Sandy Brown is traveling the cruise trying to mend her broken heart. Divorced and self-conscious, she is also looking for love, hoping that she can find someone to make her feel love again.

  

There’s also Millie Evans. Having sold her publishing empire, Millie is on a succession of one week cruises looking to find her long lost love. A widow after losing her husband, Millie searches for the man she met years ago on a cruise. Even though it is an impossible task, Millie hopes to find the man she loved and walked away from.

  

When these three women board the S.S. Platinum Queen, they have no idea that their lives are about to change forever. They come together in a time of need for each of them and find each other. Before they can find love, however, they will have to learn to love themselves.

  

But, thankfully, there is nothing that can’t be accomplished with friendship, more than a few martinis’s and lots of red. A real woman does wear red after all….

  

I absolutely loved this book. Without a doubt, it was THE best chick lit book that I’ve read in years. It has everything you could possibly need in a chick lit book: girlfriends, a search for love, martini’s, sandy beaches and sexy men.

  

But, really, Real Women Wear Red is so much more than sandy beaches and sexy men. The novel is about love, loss and the courage it takes to move on with your life. It’s also about the strength needed to look inside yourself be honest with who you are.

  

What I loved most about Real Women Wear Red is the fact that these women are real. I felt for them, ached for them, laughed with them. I felt like I knew them, like I had known them for years. When I finished the novel, I felt as if these women were my friends, my confidantes. In short, I felt for them.

  

It’s not every author that can accomplish this. Most chick lit is peopled by cardboard cut out characters that all sound and talk alike. Likewise, the plot is usually the standard girl meets boy, girl loses boy, girl pines for boy, boy comes back to girl. Don’t get me wrong, I love chick lit, but it’s rare to find something that fits in the mold and also goes beyond the genre at the same time.

  

But Holmes has created three very distinct women surrounded by an incredible plot that will take you on the ride of your life. She has done the impossible: created a chick lit novel that transcends the genre and, instead, becomes something else all its own.

  

Real Women Wear Red is a fast, fantastic read and I loved every word. You will laugh, you’ll cry and then you’ll laugh again. This is not your average chick lit. Do yourself a favor and read it, won’t you?

   

You Suck by Christopher Moore

 For those of you who have yet to read a book by Christopher Moore, what are you waiting for? Moore writes hilarious tales that are laugh out loud funny and so very enjoyable. The characters are fresh, funny and delightfully flawed. When you read a Christopher Moore book, you’ll feel better and your health will improve. I’m not sure this is medically proven, but I’m sure it’s true.

I always await a new Moore novel with anticipation matched only by Harry Potter. Yes, his books are just THAT good. If you like great reads that will make you laugh so hard you’ll spit out your morning coffee, his books are for you.

YOU SUCK is actually the first time that Moore has written a sequel, but don’t worry, you don’t need to read the first boo (Bloodsucking Fiends) to be able to read this delightful caper. YOU SUCK finds young C. Thomas Flood turned into a vampire by his hot redhead girlfriend Jody. Being nineteen when he was turned, he’s stuck with a teenager’s libido for the rest of eternity, but they have bigger problems on their hands.

Tommy’s friends, The Animals, have been clued in to the fact that he’s now a vampire. Led by an ex stripper with dyed blue skin named, duh, Blue, they will be coming after Tommy and Jody whether they want to or not. Tommy and Jody must flee, find a new apartment, find a minion (who shows up in the form of Abby Normal, a Goth Girl who wants the dark gift) and figure out what to do with Elijah, the vampire who turned Jody and who is sitting in their living room encased in bronze.

As if this all weren’t bad enough, Tommy must learn how to be a vampire, how to blend in and how to have copious amounts of hot sweaty monkey sex. A vampire’s work is never done…

This book is laugh out loud hilarious. I’ve laughed out loud several times while reading this delightful tale and had several people look at me funny, which happens when you laugh out loud in public. The only problem with this book is that it’s too short!

That’s alright, I’ll just have to read it all over again when I’m finished. If you haven’t read any Christopher Moore books yet, pick up YOU SUCK. It’s delightful and, thankfully, doesn’t suck at all.