Oryx & Crake / Year of the Flood - Margaret Atwood

I finished Oryx & Crake in record time sometime last year. It is a truly frightening tale, not in the sense of good versus evil or a horror story. Rather, it is a very realistic look at the direction the human race has taken and the road we seem to be speeding down. I am not up on my science, though I do know we have made some medical advances in many different areas. One thing I do know is that people in general are wearing down their resistance to antibiotics and it has been speculated that we're due for an outbreak of some type. Hence my lack of antibacterial soap at home and hesitance to leap to antibiotics right away for anything.

Oryx & Crake is exactly that--between Corporations that produce medicines and others that produce food in a manner that is even more horrifying than our current methods of hormones and antibiotics that make chickens four times as big as they were twenty years ago... It is not much of a leap to go from how the world is now to the world that Atwood builds in Oryx & Crake.

It took a second try to wade through Year of the Flood, mostly because not only alternates characters, but also includes sermons from Adam One. We see events leading up to and after the disaster in Oryx & Crake from the points of view of two different women loosely connected to Jimmy and Glenn (or Snowman and Crake, if you like). Admittedly, I often skimmed through the Adam One sermons. Towards the end, they actually included information regarding the state of the world and should probably not be skimmed over, but that's just me.

As with The Handmaid's Tale, Atwood builds a dystopia that is believable and feasible based on the reality of our society. If I am honest, her writing scares and thrills me all at once. I'm currently not quite halfway through Maddaddam, and my thoughts are ambivalent at this point. Oryx & Crake is worth picking up all on its own, but I can never leave a series unread. Regardless of whether you want to experience the entire series, it is an apt look at what we are doing to the world. It could very well be our future, as we look at the destruction of ecosystems and the crazy flooding I'm currently experiencing.

I love the characters, they are all so relatable, especially Toby and Ren. They stand out in a set of novels where they live in a society that places extreme value on scientific and mathematical skills with no regard for anything else, except profit. Perhaps this is why Atwood's fictional world goes to hell in a hand basket. Both Toby and Ren belong to God's Gardeners, an eco-group within the novel. Even it has a dark side, as part of the group branches off and helps cause the literal end of the world. Right now, we're ruled by oil and those backed by big oil. We have other options that will likely not be used in my lifetime. Yet, it begs the question: what exactly are we doing? Our lifestyles are not sustainable. I can even attest that I have no desire to give up my twenty minute morning showers or evening soaks. I drive a gas guzzling sports car. I vote sporadically at best. I recycle only sometimes. This is how we reach the end of the world, isn't it?

Plated: In where I order food from the interwebs and follow directions...

I adore things that make my life easier. Smartphone, check. Car that is fancy enough to give me an oil life percentage, check. So, it would stand to reason that ordering food from the interwebs and cooking would be a snap... Check, check, check. I was pretty doubtful when I stumbled across an article about Plated. Since it was only going to cost $24 and there is no obligation to keep receiving boxes (I'm looking at you, Julep), I dove in.

My order shipped Wednesday and I got it via FedEx this afternoon. It came in a regular ol' box that was niftily insulated. I've even got some extra ice packs to show for it... Even though the next time I move, they'll likely get thrown out. Essentially, Plated sends you enough ingredients for strictly 2, 4, or 6 servings. I see this as absolutely a plus, but not a plus for me personally. However, if you're a frequent business traveler and want to impress a lady or man person during the weekend, it seems like a perfect idea! Or if you're going to have guests and want to cook a couple meals for them during their stay. But, for a lady person on a budget... Mmm, I can see this not being a regularly feasible option.

One thing I really love about it is that it forces you to make a choice between what is being offered... and once it is in your possession, that's what you've got to make. I would never have gone out of my way to make Chicken Tikka Masala, but that was one of the options in my trio of meals. And it was fucking delicious. I've had the boxed, frozen Chicken Tikka Masala from Trader Joe's, and it was so spicy that I was unable to finish the dish. The ingredients from Plated, along with their recipe made for an excellent dish with loads of flavor and a healthy kick that wasn't so spicy that it became inedible. I even went with the suggested side of sauteed spinach, which was something I would not have made if left to my own devices. Now, if you're a vegetarian or have food allergies, not to worry! You are completely able to tailor the meals to your preferences. Since I am an eater of ALL THE THINGS, I ended up with a chicken, pork and beef. I've only made the Chicken Tikka Masala as of this posting, but my other two options look really tasty as well.

According to the Plated website, your order will stay appropriately cooled for up to 24 hours after delivery, which is perfect. I actually didn't run the super-important-school related errand I had to run today because I was afraid of the box sitting outside in the lukewarm sunshine. Since FedEx delivers any time before 8 pm, I reluctantly stayed home... And by reluctantly, I mean I watched Gilmore Girls. Since my apartment complex will also receive deliveries for me, I really don't have to be worried if I get home after it is delivered during the day. No biggie!



Another big thing that has been on my mind lately is eating meat that is hormone, antibiotic, and cruelty free. I have been eating a ton of fish. Thankfully Kroger has a pretty good array of pre-seasoned fish filets that allow me to whip up dinner in under 30 minutes. Tonight's chicken dish took me close to an hour to prep and cook, so it is definitely not something I would undertake during the week, unless I was trying to impress someone... Which, let's face it, my liberal minded, feminist, two stepping, omelet cooking, tall, and handsome hasn't made it into my life yet. As I am a foodie, this isn't a problem. Plated sources antibiotic and hormone free, and (according to them) try to source from family owned farms. Points to Plated for that. Their seafood is sustainable, points again.

Orders over $50 ship for free, which is something I like. They do sell out, so prepare to be a little disappointed. I was looking at the menu and eyeballing some lamb chops. No lamb chops for me. I was able to update my potential order for a different delivery date in order to get some of those fancier options that have beef, pork, duck, or chicken.

Prices can vary depending on what you choose. I played with my basket and ended up with two meals that cost $100. This is definitely not going to be something I do on the regular, but I absolutely will be checking out the menu on a weekly basis and seeing what looks interesting. You can cancel your subscription with no fuss, or you can just elect to skip the week or receive a box every other week. I love this concept and it is something I'll do again every so often to brush up on my cooking repertoire!

Kindred - Octavia Butler

I know there are sub-genres within sub-genres, along with crossover genres. Some work, some don't. Kindred works, and it works well. A friend asked to see the back of the book, and laughed as he read the classification at the top: science fiction/African American literature. I use the term friend very loosely, as we were out on a date and one date later, he called me creepy for keeping a gun underneath my bedside table and also mansplained rape and stalking statistics in my area as being very low. Anyway, that is neither here, nor there.

I would definitely approach Kindred as an excellent piece of historical fiction and African American literature. Set in 1976 and over several years in the antebellum South, it shows the comparative aspects of relationships between black and white people both in time and in relation to one another. Hopefully that made sense. From the back of the books: Dana, a modern black woman, is celebrating her twenty-sixth birthday with her new husband when she is snatched abruptly from her home in California and transported to the antebellum South. Rufus, the white son of a plantation owner, is drowning, and Dana has been summoned to save him. Dana is drawn back repeatedly through time to the slave quarters, and each time the stays grow longer, more arduous, and more dangerous until it is certain whether or not Dana's life will end, long before it has a chance to begin.

I feel that marking it as science fiction reaches a little, but I get why. Regardless, Butler writes well and descriptively, giving Dana depth and emotion--making her a truly likable character. Actually, I like all the characters, even Rufus and Dana's husband, though he falls a little flat. His reaction annoys (by annoy, I mean that it shames me into recalling I benefit from white privilege). I'm actually reading this for two different classes, both within Women's Studies. Within Feminist Theories, we've not touched on the book yet, but I am eager to see it from that approach as well--and may already be seeing it from that kaleidoscope perspective, in that Dana is black, married to a white man and has to deal with the disappointment of her family that she has married a white man. We have already touched on Kindred in my other class, U.S. Women of Colors--and hit it from more of a historical perspective. I'd definitely pick up Kindred if you are interested in historical fiction. If you are a die hard sci-fi nerd, well, it's really historical fiction. Good historical fiction, which means a lot coming from me. 

Ready Player One Sequel?

Firstly, I have mixed feelings about this.

What was wrong with Ready Player One? Well, not a lot. But, enough to make it slightly painful to read. It had a strong start and it struck me as a very friendly book to a wide range of audiences. It hit all the high points that you could possibly imagine within the nerd kingdom. My gripe is the romance aspect. It was just eye roll inspiring.

As I stated in my initial review of RPO, I like Cline's writing. And I loved the nuanced aspect of touching on literally every nerd thing. And I do mean ALL OF THE NERD THINGS. I fully give it a 7/10 - would read again. But, I am really hoping for more evidence of his great writing.

Just leave out the teen romance.

Divergent trilogy - Veronica Roth **SPOILERS**

I've been under the weather all week, so I was able to finish the first two books in record time. Once I had recovered a bit (and had to subsequently go back to work), the third one took me until today to finish. On the whole, the entire series has given me a love-hate feeling.

Starting with the hate: the Tris/Tobias dynamic annoyed me to no end. Granted, it was not as cheesy and teen-lust fueled as Ready Player One, but I just didn't like the way they came across. Teenage love moves at the speed of light, and that was reasonable in Divergent. However, I feel like the constant lying to one another and his habit of keeping Tris out of the loop to protect her... Well, I just got overly annoyed by it. While they do eventually come to an understanding and their relationship takes a healthier tone later, I just didn't like it.

The story was certainly entertaining and I had a lot of trouble putting down the first two books. If I am honest, I was secretly thrilled at having a fever and needing to stay home from work on Tuesday to finish Insurgent. I am fairly certain that my dissatisfaction with the series, on the whole, lies within book three. I just couldn't really get behind the dystopia within a dystopia. The Abnegation secret, and then the Bureau's interference within their "experiment" felt a little too manufactured. I'm not certain what outcome would have felt more likely, more natural to me. But, the thought of the Factions inside the city being a monitored experiment wasn't it.

Final opinion: not on par with Hunger Games, enormously better than Twilight. I think I need to go back to reading classics for awhile, and hope I can find some better inspiration there.

Chaos Walking Trilogy - Patrick Ness

Summary: In Prentisstown, you drown in your own Noise and the never ending Noise of other residents, pets and wildlife included. Todd is a short month from his birthday, the most important one of all, where he will be considered a man. He is the last boy, and he finds that there has been a terrible secret hidden. So he runs.

I could not help but breeze through the first novel, and even the second. The third was a little less gripping, as I had begun to feel like I knew what was going to happen between the Mayor and Todd. All of the characters started out well, especially Todd and Viola. They linger on the cusp of innocent childhood, only to be shoved into adulthood, where they have no choice but to evolve into survivors, fleeing from their fellow man.

As a villain, the Mayor is a little one sided, never taking on any depth until the second book. I am still unsure how I feel about his part in the story, other than the continual use of him as a foil for Todd. Todd the redeemable and the Mayor being completely nonredeemable. Viola is realistic and strong, a wonderful female protagonist that is scared, brave, and makes very human errors in judgement. The part of the Spackle, the native indigenous race of the new world, in the story becomes larger as it progresses, finally getting an actual voice in the third book. Again, the notion of being redeemable plays an important role here with the Spackle, who is referred to as The Return. I feel like Ness used this formula well, and that the notion of how humans tend to destroy everything was not over done while also not being subtle.

Overall, all three books are well written. I struggled starting out, as they are written from the perspective of an uneducated thirteen year old boy. The purposeful misspelling used to give Todd a voice ended up working very well, as he symbolically showed that knowing right from wrong does not require an education. And also showing that despite his lack of formal education, and growing up surrounded by evil, Todd was able to remain good despite his mistakes.

2014 Books

While I'm not confident that I can keep up with this in 2015, here are the books I read during the past year. It is a short list in comparison to past years, but I drive to work and also have school. Several were rereads, as I was finishing several series and it had been quite some time in between reads. So, Happy New Year!

1. Inkheart - Cornelia Funke 
2. New Spring - Robert Jordan
3. Love In the Time of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
4. Gentlemen & Players - Joanne Harris 
5. Juliet, Naked - Nick Hornby 
6. Crossroads of Twilight - Robert Jordan
7. Knife of Dreams - Robert Jordan
8. Five Quarters of the Orange - Joanne Harris
9. The Gathering Storm - Robert Jordan 
10. Sandman Slim - Richard Kadrey
11. Darkfever - Karen Marie Moning
12. Bloodfever - Karen Marie Moning 
13. Faefever - Karen Marie Moning
14. Shadowfever - Karen Marie Moning 
15. Kill the Dead - Richard Kadrey
16. Devil in the Dollhouse - Richard Kadrey
17. Aloha From Hell - Richard Kadrey 
18. Oryx & Crake - Margaret Atwood
19. Devil Said Bang - Richard Kadrey
20. And the Mountains Echoed - Khaled Hosseini
21. The Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne
22. Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
23. Fragile Things - Neil Gaiman
24. The Golem and the Jinni - Helene Wecker
25. The Girl With All the Gifts - M.R. Carey
26. The Gunslinger - Stephen King
27.  The Drawing of the Three - Stephen King
28. The Wastelands - Stephen King
29. Wizard and Glass - Stephen King
30. Wolves of the Calla - Stephen King
31. Song of Susannah - Stephen King
32. The Knife of Never Letting Go - Patrick Ness
33. The Girl With No Shadow - Joanne Harris