TED Talks Tuesday

Have you heard of TED Talks? They are brilliant. Covering a wide range of topics, they are usually no longer than about 20 minutes, although many of them are shorter. I often come across a TED talk I would like to share, so I thought I would start a meme -

Welcome to TED Talks Tuesday!

Each Tuesday I will post a TED talk - some to make you think, some to make you cry, some to amaze you and some just to entertain you. If you want to join in, feel free! Post a TED talk on your blog and then put a link in the comments. Grab the button if you want as well.

This TED talk appeals to the feminist in me. As a 40+ year old woman trying to reenter the workforce in a meaningful way, it speaks to me and is so important For me, 2014 is going to be the year I lean in. What about you?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? Is a meme hosted by Shelia over at Book Journey. A weekly check in to see what you are currently reading and what is coming up. Head over to Shelia's blog to see what others are reading this week.

What Am I Reading Now?

Shift - Hugh Howey - this is the second installment of the Wool trilogy that my sister put me onto. It's actually a prequel to Wool. Enjoying it so far.

What I read last week.

Only one finish last week.

Bones of the Lost - Kathy Reichs - starting to get a bit jaded about this series...

Quiet week for me, what have you been reading?

Book Review: Bones of the Lost

From Goodreads: When Charlotte police discover the body of a teenage girl along a desolate stretch of two-lane highway, Temperance Brennan fears the worst. The girl’s body shows signs of foul play. Inside her purse police find the ID card of a prominent local businessman, John-Henry Story, who died in a horrific flea market fire months earlier. Was the girl an illegal immigrant turning tricks? Was she murdered?
The medical examiner has also asked Tempe to examine a bundle of Peruvian dog mummies confiscated by U.S. Customs. A Desert Storm veteran named Dominick Rockett stands accused of smuggling the objects into the country. Could there be some connection between the trafficking of antiquities and the trafficking of humans?
As the case deepens, Tempe must also grapple with personal turmoil. Her daughter Katy, grieving the death of her boyfriend in Afghanistan, impulsively enlists in the Army. Meanwhile, Katy’s father Pete is frustrated by Tempe’s reluctance to finalize their divorce. As pressure mounts from all corners, Tempe soon finds herself at the center of a conspiracy that extends all the way from South America, to Afghanistan, and right to the center of Charlotte. 

Thoughts: I so wanted to love this, I really did. What is it with crime writers who feel the need to continue beyond the natural life of a character? The story was good, the science held together for me, but how many times can one character face the bad guys and get away with it - especially when they are not actually a law enforcement agent! If Reichs could simply let go of the Tempe Brennan character I would find this so much better. I must admit I am also over the tortured love story. Is there a single reoccuring crime novel character in a normal, happy, satisfying relationship - or no relationship at all and still happy? On top of that, the male cop in this, Slidell is a pure caricature. All the failings of this for me are character based. The stories are good, engaging, but the characters are starting to feel old and stale. Chances are I will read the next one, but I won't be pinning any great hopes on it.

TED Talks Tuesday.

Have you heard of TED Talks? They are brilliant. Covering a wide range of topics, they are usually no longer than about 20 minutes, although many of them are shorter. I often come across a TED talk I would like to share, so I thought I would start a meme -

Welcome to TED Talks Tuesday!

Each Tuesday I will post a TED talk - some to make you think, some to make you cry, some to amaze you and some just to entertain you. If you want to join in, feel free! Post a TED talk on your blog and then put a link in the comments. Grab the button if you want as well.

My first TED talk is by an Australian Beat Box artist. This one is just for entertainment - enjoy!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? Is a meme hosted by Shelia over at Book Journey. A weekly check in to see what you are currently reading and what is coming up. Head over to Shelia's blog to see what others are reading this week.

So I'm going to attempt to get back into this meme in 2014. If you want to see what I read in 2013, click here. In the meantime, let's just start with 2014!

What am I reading now?

Bones of the Lost - Kathy Reichs - love a good thriller mystery and Reichs very rarely disappoints.

What I finished this week/ fortnight?

Cross and Burn - Val McDermid - more quality crime fiction. I love Tony Hill!

11/22/63 - Stephen King - pleasantly surprised by my first King read in a long, long time.

Brave New World - Aldous Huxley -  a book that fits into the only two challenges I am doing this year - 5 From Forever in 14 and Best Book List Challenge.

Not a bad start to the year I feel. So what have you been reading? Leave me a link in the comments, I'd love to know!

Book Review: Brave New World

From Goodreads: Far in the future, the World Controllers have finally created the ideal society. In laboratories worldwide, genetic science has brought the human race to perfection. From the Alpha-Plus mandarin class to the Epsilon-Minus Semi-Morons, designed to perform menial tasks, man is bred and educated to be blissfully content with his pre-destined role.
But, in the Central London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre, Bernard Marx is unhappy. Harbouring an unnatural desire for solitude, feeling only distaste for the endless pleasures of compulsory promiscuity, Bernard has an ill-defined longing to break free. A visit to one of the few remaining Savage Reservations where the old, imperfect life still continues, may be the cure for his distress…

Thoughts: This is one of those books I've been meaning to read for years and thanks to both the 5 from forever in '14 and 100 Best Book list challenges, I've finally done it!
Like many dystopian novels, Huxley's vision of the future is quite scary. While the idea of a world where everyone is happy all the time sounds great, there are of course issues.
What I often find interesting in reading classics is what they were unable to predict or see happening. In this hight scientifically controlled world, the recording each embryo and child are subjected to are off a paper roll. Written today, it would of course be computer based, most probably directly into the brain! There is no mention of environmental issues and the "feelies" today would more likely be an interactive, holographic event.
I enjoyed the book, but quite often found myself wondering exactly where it was going. I assumed a protagonist who bucked the system and met resistance. Of course what I got was a slightly disillusioned character and an outsider bought into an incredibly synthetic situation. The sudden focus on The Savage towards the end kind of came out of nowhere for me. It was interesting, but I thought it could have been explored more. The ending was abrupt and jolting. I'm still not sure how I feel about it. I'm glad I've read it, but think I will need to think about it some more.

Challenges: 5 from forever in '14, 100 Best Book List Challenge.

11/22/63

From Goodreads: If you had the chance to change the course of history, would you? Would the consequences be what you hoped?
Jake Epping, 35, teaches high-school English in Lisbon Falls, Maine, and cries reading the brain-damaged janitor's story of childhood Halloween massacre by their drunken father. On his deathbed, pal Al divulges a secret portal to 1958 in his diner back pantry, and enlists Jake to prevent the 11/22/1963 Dallas assassination of American President John F. Kennedy. Under the alias George Amberson, our hero joins the cigarette-hazed full-flavored world of Elvis rock'n'roll, Negro discrimination, and freeway gas-guzzlers without seat belts. Will Jake lurk in impoverished immigrant slums beside troubled loner Lee Harvey Oswald, or share small-town friendliness with beautiful high school librarian Sadie Dunhill, the love of his life?

Thoughts: It has been a long time since I've read a Stephen King novel. I use to love them, but then it became a case of "I like your old stuff better than your new stuff." Apart from a few exceptions such as The Green Mile I pretty much stopped reading anything after Misery. However, several blogs I read said this was good - and a few of them were like me in their King attitude.
It was good. I enjoyed the romance, the intrigue, the flow of King's writing. He is good at writing a page turner - needing to know what happens next. After I finished it though - this is the question that did my head in:

Have the descendants of JFK or Oswald read it and what do they think?

Do they wish history could be changed? Would they care about what the long term consequences were if it gave them extra time with their loved one?

King still has life in him. I think he has done the horror thing and is best off steering away from it, although I have also heard good things about Dr Sleep? Maybe a King revival for me in 2014...