"8 Bit Christmas" by Kevin Jakubowski was great, hilarious and nostalgic. If you grew up in the 80s and remember what it was like to want a Nintendo more than anything else in the world, this book will speak to you. Young Jake's neighborhood is rocked when one of his friends gets a Nintendo for his birthday. He lords it over the other boys, making them compete for the privilege of playing on his game. All Jake and his friends want for Christmas is machines of their own. Jake's parents think it's too violent and won't buy him one, and they're not the only parents in town who feel that way. Jakubowski nails the spirit of the 80s.
I enjoyed the movie "Ender's Game" much more than I thought I would when I saw it a few weeks ago, so I read the book by Orson Scott Card and was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked the book, too. I'm not a huge sci-fi person, but it was pretty good. Young Ender is training to be a soldier, a leader, a commander, through a series of war like games. I can't say too much without giving away major plot points, but it was great.
"I Suck at Girls" by Justin Halpern was pretty funny. Halpern wrote "Shit My Dad Says", and in this new collection he talks about how he's fumbled with the opposite sex his whole life, with of course some sage advice from his old man.
"Ava Gardner: the Secret Conversations" by Peter Evans was a bit disappointing. It was less about Ava and more about Peter's struggles to get her to talk to him and write her memoir in the first place. In the late 1980s Ava was pretty broke and decided to publish her story in order to make some money. Peter met with her, and talked with her on the phone late at night. The parts of the book that are actually about Ava are interesting, but there's not much there and Peter's voice gets redundant.
"Seven Deadlies" by Gigi Levangie was pretty clever, I liked it. There was an unexpected little twist at the end that I thought was neat. Perry Gonzales tutors half the kids at the swanky private academy she attends, where all the kids are spoiled and rich. She details some of her more interesting clients by relating their behaviors to the seven deadly sins. It was pretty funny, and a quick read.
"The Spanish Queen" by Carolly Erickson was an interesting imagining of Queen Catherine of Aragon. Erickson imagines that Catherine so hated Anne Boleyn that she actually did her harm, which of course is ridiculous but it's just fiction.
And finally, Robert Kirkman's latest Walking Dead novel "Walking Dead: the Fall of the Governor Part One". We get to see Rick, Michonne, and Glenn arrive at Woodbury from the Governor's point of view. I must admit, the graphic description of Michonne torturing the Governor got to me a little, and normally I can read pretty dicey stuff without getting icky, but this was bad. Well done! Extra points for grossing me out.
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