Cooking for Brevitt

World War Z Optioned!

Well hello there little bit of good news...nice to meet ya! Brevitt is on his Nordic adventure still and waiting for a call when thanks to AICN, I came across this little nugget:

• Moriarty’s One Thing I Love Today! JMS’s WORLD WAR Z Script!

Apparently I'm a bit behind on this development, but great to see an amazing book get a solid treatment. Given that it's in the hands of Plan B and J. Michael Straczynski, I'm actually pretty excited that this adaptation won't suck. The book itself was really good and you should check out Brevitt's World War Z review before going out and buying it.

Am I excited for this - hell ya! Read what Moriarty has to say about the first 50-pages alone. This is shaping up to be a great adaptation - let's hope it stays that way!

Book Review: Rat Bastards

I've hit six books so far in my quest for 50 in 2008 - falling a little bit behind schedule, but have a ton of business travel coming up so should be able to catch up a bit more. The lucky sixth book had me turn back to my roots a bit with Rat Bastards: The Life and Times of South Boston's Most Honorable Irish Mobster, the true story of John 'Red' Shea.

I believe that pretty much everyone from Boston is interested in what occurred with Whitey Bulger and members of his crew. It's a story that doesn't seem to go away, years after the horrors they committed finally stopped. For those of us interested in true crime, the stories that John discusses are very interesting. Finally when  you combine those previous aspects with being from certain parts of Boston, having experiences in those neighborhoods, living through the latter stages of the Code or any other similar events - these stories hold much more weight.

Right now Southie and Whitey continue to be a hot topic. There are numerous books out on the subject, The Departed remake was crafted around these events, even Rat Bastard has been optioned into an upcoming movie by Mark Wahlberg - the point is, that these stories touch on so many emotions for people from Boston and beyond. Crime, murder, money, fighting the law, honor, integrity, hope, destruction.......every emotion can be found in the stories of South Boston.

This book provides an insight rarely seen when it comes to true crime - that of the guy who admits he did bad things, takes the high road and does his crime, then survives and tries to lead a normal life. John Shea certainly isn't trying to convince people that he is a good person or did the right thing. He even admits that he believes he'll be headed to Hell when his time is up, but it's his honor and honesty that stand out. Maybe it's the old school Boston in me, but there is something to be said about how he handled his own life choices. Shea had everything, then lost it all - only to come out on the other end as a survivor with his integrity intact.

I highly recommend this book to those people interested in true crime, the Irish Mob during Whitey's leadership or people looking for a different type of autobiography. I do feel that being from Boston will help you enjoy this book a bit more, as you know certain details of the book that others might not, but it's not a requirement.

So....Brevitt says go read Rat Bastards and tell me what you think. I'd chat some more, but I have to start plowing through book seven!

Book Review: Darkly Dreaming Dexter

I'm falling behind my schedule for 50 in 2008, but thanks to Darkly Dreaming Dexter I've read five books so far. That's not too bad seeing that it's roughly five-weeks into the year! I have a few work related books waiting for me, so it was good to dive into something as fun as the Dexter series.

I was introduced to the novel from the tv show, but have only seen one or two episodes. From that limited exposure, it seemed like a good premise and wanted to explore if the book would bring more details to the plate.

Overall I thought this was a really good book. Honestly finished it within two days once I started plugging away, so it's an easy read. Was surprised that the murder details were not more descriptive, but that's not a bad thing. Leaving those visual cues to the reader was a smart move I believe.

If you are a fan of the show this is a must read. Fans of criminal investigations or real-life crime novels will also be interested. The story advances in a few more sequels, so looking forward to seeing where the character heads.

Go grab it....

Book Review: World War Z

It took me a little longer than I planned, but finally finished 50 in 2008 #3 - World War Z. Max Brooks is back for another look into the Zombie Apocalypse, this time with the perspective that the war has occurred and we are looking back on the history of the uprising, what happened next and how humanity survived.

I'm not sure what category of book this title is, but bottom line it's a fun read. The depth Brooks goes to in spanning post-apocolyse Earth so the reader hears stories from the US to Iceland to India to Japan and everywhere else. There are very few details unturned and that leads to a good story.

So give this a read if you like zombies or even if you don't - could be surprised by it.

Plus, make sure you check out the World War Z website where you can listen to survivor stories, podcasts, view a world map and more importantly find out your ability to survive once the Zombie Apocalypse strikes. On a sad note, Brevitt only has a 40% chance of survival, so ummm....not good!

50 in 2008

In partnership with the Bz I'm taking up a challenge to read 50 books in 2008. Ya, pretty crazy I know, but it can be done! Given the amount of travel I do, I feel pretty confident that I'll be able to hit this mark.

So far I've gone through two books. Although I plan on posting a review of each one, seeing that this is the first post, I'll just plug them in here.

Rigged - Ben Mezrich
Mezrich's other books were really good, so I couldn't pass this one up. International power plays, the story of a city boy turned millionaire and a story that will affect the entire world in the near future - how could you turn this down? It's a quick read, but very engaging.

Treasure of Khan - Clive Cussler
It's easy reading time with Cussler. These books are just pure cheese, but a ton of fun. This time the NUMA team is caught between a battle for oil in Mongolia that leads to the treasure of Genghis Khan. Silly, but fun!

Look for more coming soon. I'm almost done with the next book on my list and have six or so more ready!

Book Review: Scar Tissue

As many of you know my appetite for new books is huge - I might spend more money at Barnes and Nobles than clothes in any month. My usual routine is to go once a month and pick up three or four books and then depending on my travel schedule, jam through all of them in a little over a month. In the past I've stuck to mostly the same topics: history, true crime and certain types of fiction (mostly focused on history..haha), but I'm trying to branch out more and last month I started checking out autobiographies where I came across Scar Tissue.

Written by Anthony Kiedis of the Red Hot Chili Papers, it follows his life as a boy in Michigan through his move to California and then all the hell that follows him. Although a lot of it could be viewed as standard rock opera life (sex, drugs, rock and roll) - it's still pretty interesting to learn what he has been through. Few tidbits that I really enjoyed:

• Knew he had a drug problem, but man - he had a really BIG drug problem. Hearing the stories is amazing
• His Dad is a truly interesting character, much like my own, he seems larger than life
• Amazing how many times RDCP came to breaking up as a band
• Cool inside view into how he comes up with lyrics and how the band puts together their songs
• Good insight into the rest of the band as well - I'm sure an autobiography from the other three members would be good reading too

It's a good read although with some bad writing here and there, but Anthony is a musician, not a writer so it's not too distracting from the entire book. I would call myself an average fan of RHCP, so I bought this for an interesting read not for the band heritage.

I say check it out if you can find it on the cheap - it's always interesting to find out how someone so opposite from yourself lives their life and what made them the person they truly are.

Walking Dead Volume 5 Review

So finally after a few delays, The Best Defense came out last week and I scooped it up over the weekend. Just like the rest of the series - this is a great read and shouldn't be missed if you are a fan of the genre.

For those who have no idea what I'm talking about, here is a little history. The Walking Dead is a comic following the lives of a group of survivors who are trying to survive a zombie infestation. The world has changed and they are no longer safe, so how do they survive now? I know it sounds like many other titles and movies that cover the zombie genre, but The Walking Dead excels with an amazing story and how that story is presented. Kirkman's writing is among the best in the industry and the reader quickly gets attached to each character.

The Best Defense continues this tradition and brings some new twists to the survivors. Without revealing too much - just remember that sometimes your neighbors are not your best friends.

Fans of zombies and incredibly well written comics should invest time in this series.