Ramble's Book Review: True Confessions by Rachel Gibson

On our typical Friday night date night, my fiancee and I went to dinner, Best Buy for a movie for him, and Barnes and Noble for a few new reads for me. With the belly continually bulging, I went for a few (more) books on pregnancy and new babies, but also had to cave to my desires of some good ole' fashioned escape fiction, after recently finishing a couple historical non-fiction finds. I opted for True Confessions for the same reason I opt for any other escape fiction: The cover was pretty in pinks and yellows, and when looking for a retreat, aesthetics sells.

I read the book in about a day and a half. I loved the premise, cliche as it was, a small town shaken up by the arrival of the big city's Hope Spencer, a writer cloaked in mystery, who keeps running into the small town's Sheriff, Dylan Taber, also cloaked in his own mystery. And thrown in the mix, the house she's rented was once home to the old Sheriff, who committed suicide inside the house under mysterious circumstances. The book had potential.

Now, let me clarify something. While I say I needed "escape fiction", I don't necessarily mean I'm a sucker for the "throbbing members" or "supple breasts" repeated over and over in romantic novels. I like a little bit of romance, but am more interested in the twists and turns the story takes. True Confessions had all the mystery, lies, and S&M secrets to lead one to think it was going that direction, but about halfway through the novel, I could see that was not the case. There was a lot of the above mentioned verbiage that had me rolling my eyes, and skimming the pages until it was over. I know this is a great appealing quality in a romance to some, but not this gal. I was really hoping to see how the story with the old Sheriff would develop, what her research would uncover, but it turned out to be a very shallow sub-story thrown in the mix. No development, much like the characters.


All in all, it was a quick, fun read, which I guess is what I was looking for, but still left me wanting a little something more. Until I can find that perfect escape novel, I'll return for now to my Dr. Oz book on parenting, hoping it leaves me with a better feeling than Gibson's novel.

Amy Winehouse Dead at 27

Well I know she wasn't the surest bet to make it to social security, but finding this site was kinda sad. I guess on the brightside, someone may be the proud winner of a new Ipod.

Here's a list of some other famous people that died at 27:
Robert Johnson (May 8, 1911 – August 16, 1938)Sold his soul to the devil.... thereby being the first "sell-out". (I kid. I love Robert Johnson)

Brian Jones (28 February 1942 – 3 July 1969)One of the founding members of the Rolling Stones, first of the next 3 to die within a 2 year timespan
Jimi Hendrix, (November 27, 1942 – September 18, 1970) I named my guitar Jimi, and almost broke a tooth trying to play like he could.
Janis Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970)The creative inspiration behind every female with a horrible voice thinking she can sing Bobby McGee (myself included) Janis was awesome. I used to play "Pearl" on my record player for hours around the age of 11. I think she was the inspiration for all of my musical tastes to follow.
Jim Morrison,(December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971)I love his poetry books, and the movie spawned the Crush On Val Kilmer that would last until, well, his most recent movies.
Kurt Cobain (February 20, 1967 – c. April 5, 1994)The first big celebrity death I remember, and still sad to think of how Nirvana could have been had he lived. But then we wouldn't have had the Foo Fighters.


Jonathan Brandis (April 13, 1976 – November 12, 2003)Yeah, he doesn't really fit into this musical sphere, but I had every teen beat with his face on the cover during a period of the 90's (along with Brad Renfro, who died at 25...Thank God JTT is still around.)

Season 7 Weeds: More Thoughts From Ramble

Well we've gone from Agrestic to the beach to Wyoming and then to the clink. Well, Nancy went to the clink while the rest went to Amsterdam. And as Shane recreated the Agrestic bedroom for his recentlly sprung mother, it feels as though Weeds has come full circle. Sort of. Nancy is back with nothing, Shane seems to be regressing to a little kid over his guilt from his mother going to jail for him. His need for approval is almost sickening to watch, as we not so long ago watched this kid kill a grown woman with a croquet mallet. Doug has gone back to working for the man, though those men are all potheads too. Andy is still the playboy we first met, still casting sidelong glances at Nancy. There is a lot of self loathing in Andy, for try as he might, he still loves Nancy. And speaking of self loathing, Silas has tried, tried, tried, harder than any other character, to break free of Nancy. Or at least he acts like it. Him coming home from Amsterdam surprised me, but Silas' character always has. In some ways, he seems to have evolved the most, standing up to Nancy at the apartment, telling her they were equals now. Then, they meet for lunch and he gives in and gives her his food, after rubbing it in her face what he had to eat. He is in an eternal struggle with his soul how to deal with his mother, but he came back. So obviously we know he hasn't completely broke free. He, along with every other man in Nancy's life, is still very much Nancy's bitch. Nancy is that person you hate because somewhere, deep inside, you want to be here. You think, "Damn, I wish I could get away with that. I wish I could say things like that. I wish Aidan Quinn would look at me like that" (Well, maybe not entirely.) Now matter what the situation, she keeps her cool, the lady gets her way nearly everytime, and the men can't seem to resist her. Now, with this lesbian twist, sounds like the ladies can't resist her either. Or maybe they just got bored in prison.



I know that as the seasons progress, in any show, the criticism draws sharper and harsher. I think Weeds has done a great job of new, crazy storylines to keep the plot going. This may also be why I don't see much development in the characters; they've been able to keep us entertained by twists like Nancy killing her DEA boyfriend, then getting knocked up by a Mexican drug lord/politician, Andy dating Alanis Morissette, Shane whacking that crazy Mexican brawd, and Richard Dreyfuss. Yes, Richard Dreyfuss. However, the characters remain somewhat stagnant and one dimensional. I miss the Hoades family, which to me seemed to have the most character development. I mean, c'mon it's three years in the future from where we left off, and the guys don't seem to have changed a bit. It will be interesting to see, as this season progresses, if Nancy's "You're adults now" speech will hold, and if Shane will get off his mother's tit, if Silas can finally free himself of her grasp, and if Andy can move on from this fruitless crush. The real question: If Nancy gets her wish for her boys to grow up and move on, can she survive without them? The freedom sounds nice, but the thought of Nancy minus her groupies may be more than she bargained for. What do you think of this season? Has it jumped the shark or are we just getting started?

Season 4 True Blood: Ramble's Thoughts Thus Far

This season is based on my favorite book of the Sookie series, Dead to the World, in which Eric loses his memory. While in the books, I have always liked Bill a little better, I'm a total Eric fan in the show. I have been, along with many others, a bit frustrated with the stray from the books the show has taken, but expected that, as movies and television always take creative liberties with books. What I didn't like about Season 3 though were all sub-plots. I felt like there were so many different stories going on, that none of them were fully developed, and the whole season was like one big filler episode.

However, in the early stage of Season 4, I am starting to see some of that groundwork coming to fruition with the story of the coven. We have yet to see Tara's full evolution after being held hostage by a vampire and running of to New Orleans and becoming a lesbian. I feel so far that has just been sort of "skimmed over" and hope that it was, again, laying the foundation for something in the future. The fairies thing is just plain whack, and I will never be able to look at Tinkerbell the same way again.

As for Bill, I love seeing him with all these different women that really mean nothing to him, and his progression to King. He's a jerk, I've always disliked him in the show, and this new role seems perfectly fitting for him. I like the introduction to Grandma Bellefleur , and especially that moment of realization: "Eek, your banging your great great great granddaughter" from her uptight lil ole self. As for Andy, he never ceases to provide the comic relief. Even more so now that Jason has gone missing. That storyline kind of bored me in the books, and I find it even more lame on the show, but I enjoy watching Ryan Kwanten's skinny little self so I'll deal with it. Sam's whole family of shifters story is ok, but as far as the shifter's stories go, I'd prefer just to stick with Alcide. Shirtless, of course.

Ramble's Top Five Recommendations: A Few Good Books

HI-yo. Been beach bummin it for awhile and picking up some cool books in the process. They aren't necessarily "hot new releases" but rather a collection of things I picked up along the way, and until now never had the time to read. Here's some I'd like to share. Go forth, read, and report back.



1.) Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman. I'm kinda in this craze right now for his stuff. Known for American Gods, Coraline, and Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader (I love the gambit he runs!) this is a collection of some of his short stories. One that I am still stuck on, Closing Time, has this chilling quality that I can't explain-it's still haunting. In his ghost stories where the children are protagonist, there seems to be some force working for them; be it naivety, innocence, or some long forgotten strength we possess in our childhood, the characters march on in ignorant bliss as the reader cringes. (Don't open that door, don't follow that boy, etc. etc.)


2.) Cherry by Mary Karr. A girl after my own heart, Karr's memoir reads in such a way no matter what generation you were born into, you can relate. I found myself going back through my own journals in those formative years from 11-18, reading my own evolution. Her experiences with kissing boys, drugs, sex, and all the while returning home to her dysfunctional family sounds like a crazy childhood, but when you really think about it, whose was that different?


3.) Ava's Man by Rick Bragg. I plan to explore this a bit more in Donna In Destin as it relates to my own move to the south. This book made me laugh throughout, but I found myself sobbing at the books end. The story of Bragg's grandfather Charlie, as recreated through stories from aunt's, uncles, cousins and friends, is a heartwarming look at a South that is no more, a grandfather Bragg never knew, and a family that never forgot.

4.)Carnal Innocence by Nora Roberts. Yup, just like that, I throw in a Nora Roberts book. Again, maybe it was the move to the South, but I loved this book, maybe it was because it's the perfect beach read on a sultry hot day, maybe it's because I'm a sucker for a romance. Caroline Waverly is the type of girl you wanna be, that innocent, breezy, effortlessly beautiful gal that wins the heart of the town's playboy. A nice piece of escape fiction.


5.)Finding Your Own North Star by Martha Beck. This was probably one major contributing factor in my move. Beck's book is geared towards career change, but I took it as overall overhaul life change. The message is pretty simple: follow your heart, follow your gut. As we all know, that's easier said than done, and Beck's advice and exercises helps really pull out of you what lies beneath, and what is holding you back.