Person of Interest: Buckle Up, People

Men o' action used to be plentiful in prime-time. Handy with their fists and at ease with weaponry, they'd slug and shoot their way through whatever crooks were available.

Now they're a dying breed. Women call the shots in most of this fall's new dramas, with just one of them dependent on a hard-charging leading man. Old school CBS is the carrier and Person of Interest is the show. Buckle up.

Jim Cavaziel, beaten to death in The Passion of the Christ, gets a chance to mete out punishment as a presumed dead former government operative who feels betrayed and looks like hell until Michael Emerson from Lost finds him.

Uncle Barky's review made me hope that the things interesting me in this new series would hold up when watching it.

What caught my eye?

• Jim Caviezel
• That guy who was Ben on Lost (ok, Michael Emerson...he'll always be Ben to me)
• J.J. Abrams

Then we watched it last night (from the DVR, natch) and I saw:

• Created and written by Jonathan Nolan (yes, you know that Nolan name from brother Christopher and they work together often)
• 9/11 themes used for good
• Big Brother is watching ... and gonna help us out for a change ... albeit cryptically, natch

Good acting, interesting script, nice character establishment, hints of further story arc ... all set for turning into something very watchable indeed.

We're in. And buckled up.

Weekend Joke

An oldie but a goodie.

Two men considering a religious vocation were having a conversation. "What is similar about the Jesuit and Dominican Orders? " the one asked.

The second replied, "Well, they were both founded by Spaniards -- St. Dominic for the Dominicans, and St. Ignatius of Loyola for the Jesuits. They were also both founded to combat heresy -- the Dominicans to fight the Albigensians, and the Jesuits to fight the Protestants."

"What is different about the Jesuit and Dominican Orders?"

"Met any Albigensians lately?"

Prayer Request for Tom's Mother - Updated

After several procedures to check how her foot is healing, Tom's 87-year-old mother is not progressing well.

This afternoon, her leg will be amputated above the knee to avoid gangrene in her foot where much of the flesh is dead (they say "not viable").

Please pray for the surgery to go well and for the psychological effects to be few. We are all dreading how this may affect her spirits during recovery and afterwards.

UPDATE
She came through the surgery well and now is in and out of consciousness, in a lot of pain as we might expect. Many thanks to all who have been praying ... please continue!

I'm at the hospital during my usual blogging time ... or will be for a couple of days. I have a few things that will pop up automatically daily but otherwise will be slow on answering comments, clearing away spam, or responding to email. Thank you for you patience!


Just scroll under this for the newer posts.

Bookin' Along - Updated

It has been far too long since I've talked about books ... so here we go with a gaggle of book-ish things.

UPDATES: scattered below where they seemed to fit. New things I found this morning in my interwebs browsing and wanted to share.

THE GRAVEYARD BOOK: Scott Danielson, my partner in crime at A Good Story is Hard to Find, has reactivated his blog. Just in time to remind us that Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book is perfect for October reading. How I loved that book. Not sure how I'll find time but I need to keep it in mind for rereading then.

DRACULA: now that the idea of October reading has been broached, albeit a couple of weeks early, it is perfect timing for Heather Ordover at the CraftLit podcast to begin Dracula. Heather is like the best teacher you ever had, taking you through classic books, while providing the full audiobook at the same time. In this case, she recruited people to read in the book's various voices (it is written as letters). I've been waiting a loooooooooooooong time for her to do this book, which is one of my favorites. She does talk about crafts at the beginning of each episode but if you check the bottom of the shownotes—a time code is given for each episode letting you know when the crafty chat ends and the book talk begins.

REAMDE BY NEAL STEPHENSON: I've never cared enough about this writer's subjects to make myself take the intellectual effort to finish one of his books. However, this one ... well, he addresses a lot of subjects that this review makes me think I'll be interested in reading about. I may make the leap.  (If the link doesn't lead to a full review, go to Google and find it and then click through ... that usually gives you the whole thing.)

LORD OF THE RINGS ... FOR BEGINNERS: A reader attempting the Lord of the Rings books brings up things I'd never thought of as problems in getting through them ... but finds it worthwhile anyway. A good primer: watch the movies first.

WHY VIOLENCE IS VANISHING: Aha! What we've been saying in our household all along ... we think it is more violent these days (or equally so) to the olden times because it is shoved in our face by modern media so much that we think it permeates the fabric of life. Not so says Steven Pinker in an article adapted from his upcoming book. At least worth looking at the article.

RECOMMENDATIONS IN EARLY CHRISTIAN WRITING: Darwin Catholic answers a reader's question about good reads from early Christians and invites commenters to add to his list. There are some familiar titles and some not so familiar. Though Mike Aquilina hasn't shown up in the comments ... my early Christian reading is dictated by what he shares in his fantastic books featuring the Fathers of the Church. For example, his book Angels of God? *kissing fingertips* Amazing. (Hey, someone's gotta keep an eye on current zombie books for a good worldview, right? So I let Mike ... and Darwin ... keep up with the other stuff.) Anyway, check out Darwin's post and Mike's blog.

PREGNANCY BOOK: Sarah Reinhard's got questions about specific pregnancy situations for a book she's writing. Have experience with bedrest, depression during pregnancy, mothering alone (i.e., single parenting), mothering multiples (i.e., twins), pregnancy after abortion, stillbirth, and unexpected (surprise) pregnancies? Then go take her survey!

PRINT ON DEMAND BOOKS: Now this is a nifty idea:

HarperCollins Publishers Inc. ... said it would make about 5,000 current paperbacks available to bookstores through On Demand Books LLC's Espresso Book Machine. The desk-sized device can custom print a book in just a few minutes. That means even if a physical copy is not in stock, it's still available almost immediately.

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HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX: Just finished listening to Jim Dale's superb reading of this book. I can't believe that I have forgotten such big chunks of plot (and it just gets worse with the following books). On the other hand, that allowed me to have a lot of suspense over what was actually in that Department of Mysteries.

SPOILERS follow: I was struck again that Dolores Umbridge is well placed in the position of High Inquisitor. She is on the side of right and yet what a horrible person she is. Between her delight in cruelty and Cornelius Fudge's vanity, those whose hearts are pure (Dumbledore, Harry, et al) have a war on two fronts as they struggle to stop Voldemort from obtaining the weapon he needs. All are nominally on the side of good, yet what a difference is made by intention. And that's the point, of course. Or a big part of it. Interesting to read these books again and finding that the messages I remembered have much harder points than I recalled. Equally striking and moving is hearing Harry's glimpse of Snape's innermost memory of humiliation. Snape has a choice (as do we all) of whether to be hateful and petty but he also has had a life with all too little love and/or respect. Harry is too young to understand but we then see Albus Dumbledore with even more admiration as he trusts Snape. We also realize that just because someone is on the right side, even with the right motives, this does not mean we have to like them ... or even that they are likable.

How could I have forgotten the ending of this book, with the anger and grief and conversations about death? Really well done with a solid moral worldview beneath it.

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SO MANY BOOKS  ... IN FOR REVIEW: clearly the last month or so is when everyone (and I mean everyone) has books coming out. I've got a big stack of books, some of which I asked for, others which I didn't. All, however, are welcome! My only problem is figuring out what order to read them in and how to work in my monthly book club and podcast reading (Book club: A Mended and Broken Heart: The Life and Love of Francis of Assisi by Wendy Murray; A Good Story Is Hard to Find podcast: Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury). A That's a problem that every reader loves, right?

So here's the list of what's waiting at the moment, with super-brief descriptions. All look promising, but if you try one and find something you don't like ... just remember that I haven't read them yet. A flip-through is what made me want to try them. So you have to ask yourself, do you feel lucky? "Well, do you, reader?"

• Mercury Rises by Robert Kroese: just beginning this (relatively speaking). The sequel to Mercury Falls, which I have yet to review but liked very well as a very amusing take on an angel and a girl preventing the Apocalypse. I'm about 100 pages in and the characters have just gotten into situations that I find interesting enough that I've decided to keep going. A slower start than the first book, but I'll allow it. Amazon Vine review copy.
• Weightless: Making Peace with Your Body by Kate Wicker: a little book that looks as if it has some good things to say about women, weight, and self esteem. A formula of sorts for health of mind, body and spirit but not preachy (thank goodness!). Author review copy.
• Centurion's Daughter by Justin Swanton: got this one out of the blue but have read the first couple of chapters and it looks like a well written piece of historical fiction set in Gaul (France) when the Roman Empire was in its last gasps. An unusual period to choose as a setting and, as I say, the writing looks good so far. Next on my list after Mercury Rises. Publisher review copy.
• The Pope and the CEO John Paul II's Leadership Lessons to a Young Swiss Guard by Andreas Widmer: usually the title alone would make me say, "No, no" but a flip through the pages was intriguing to make my heart say, "Yes, yes ... well, maybe anyway." Worth a try for sure. Publisher review copy.
  
• The Sufficiency of Grace by Sarah Fotopoulis: Grace is widowed with a young son but even more devastation is on the way. Grace is going to get a chance to learn just what her name means in this Christian fiction. That is all I can really tell from the book description. This is by the wife of a long-time family friend and I heard about it long before I got a copy. Haven't had a chance to do much more than look over the first chapter and, I have to be honest, new science fiction coming in is always going to pull me to it more than straight fiction ... so it may be a little while before I get to this one. But that first chapter looked good and the Amazon listing has a couple of good reviews. Author review copy.
• Between Heaven and Mirth: Why Joy, Humor, and Laughter Are at the Heart of the Spiritual Life by James Martin: We all know this is probably a book tailor-made for me. Catholicism, humor, and Father Martin's writing which has always resonated with me. I'm going to be part of the blog tour for this book with my review on October 24. So I'm putting off beginning it because of other book deadlines ... but it is a hard one to skip over, I'm telling you. Publisher review copy.
• Reiser's Ramblings by Fr. Bernard Reiser: A collection of the best columns written over the past 30 years, these look homey and straight-forward. All profits from the sale of Reiser's Ramblings go to Haitian relief efforts sponsored by Reiser Relief Inc. Publisher's review copy.
• Shirt of Flame: A Year with St. Therese of Lisieux by Heather King: What can Therese of Lisieux teach Heather King when she spends a year reflecting on her? Probably quite a lot as I know after simply reading Story of a Soul. Looks very readable as the first two chapters go ... King alternates telling Therese's story with her own life. My sampling was interesting enough that it was hard to put down. Publisher review copy.
• Hounded: The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne (also Hexed and Hammered): Atticus O’Sullivan, last of the Druids, lives peacefully in Arizona, and wields a magical sword known as Fragarach, the Answerer. Unfortunately, a very angry Celtic god wants that sword, and he’s hounded Atticus for centuries. And so forth. These YA novels are all the rage and no one loves them more than Heather Ordover at CraftLit podcast, who I trust a great deal. So when I saw the entire series of audiobooks at SFFaudio I thought I'd try them. Just got them a couple of days ago and, what with the Harry Potter listening, haven't had a chance to try them. Publisher review copy.
  
• Patient Zero: a Joe Ledger Novel by Jonathan Maberry: Joe Ledger has to kill the same terrorist twice in one week and begins to wonder what's going on. Especially after he is recruited by a very elite group to handle a new security threat in the U.S. I tried the first bit of this on my Kindle after hearing the guys at Writing Excuses podcast speak favorably of them. Once again, I saw it pop up at SFFaudio and so snagged this audiobook to try. Publisher review copy.
• Southern Gods by John Hornor Jacobs: Recent World War II veteran Bull Ingram is hired to find Ramblin' John Hastur. The mysterious blues man's dark, driving music - broadcast at ever-shifting frequencies by a phantom radio station - is said to make living men insane and dead men rise. Disturbed and enraged by the bootleg recording the DJ plays for him, Ingram follows Hastur's trail into the strange, uncivilized backwoods of Arkansas, where he hears rumors the musician has sold his soul to the Devil. Shades of Robert Johnson, anyone? Scott Danielson saw this come in at SFFaudio and thought it looked like my kind of book. I think he just might be right. Have begun listening but am not past the first chapter yet. Rather violent (especially for listening where you can't skim to soften such things), but I'm hanging in there because that sort of thing often backs off once the story and characters are established. So far, so good.

At Last! TV Schedule for "Catholicism" Series on Public TV

I have mentioned before how much I am enjoying reading Catholicism by Father Robert Barron, which is an accompaniment to a new video series. Four episodes are going to be aired on public television and finally they are sharing that schedule with us. Sadly, none are airing in Texas but there are a ton of other stations showing it.

(Really Texas public stations? C'mon, they're even showing it in California! Where's your state pride?)

Check it out and set your DVRs!

Reed Hastings: "It is possible we are moving too fast – it is hard to say." 23,000 Angry Netflix Commenters Think It's Pretty Easy to Say.

I messed up. I owe everyone an explanation.

It is clear from the feedback over the past two months that many members felt we lacked respect and humility in the way we announced the separation of DVD and streaming, and the price changes. That was certainly not our intent, and I offer my sincere apology. I’ll try to explain how this happened.

[Can you read the subtext there? "I'll try to explain how this happened" written to an angry subscriber who is not upset about humility but about price ... instantly becomes "and not use big words since you're fairly stupid." Going on for about eleven paragraphs doesn't help because few are going to slow down enough to read all that. Just from an advertising point of view this is a train wreck.]

We aren't Netflix subscribers but Rose is, although she suspended her account after the price increase and moving home for a while where she won't really need it.

She got an email from Netflix's CEO, Reed Hastings, and we read it with astonishment. Rarely have we seen a letter that came off as more condescending while also informing her of supremely inconvenient changes to the service. As anyone interested knows by now, they divided their DVD service into a separate company from the streaming service ... and are treating both as two separate companies so that you must have two accounts, subscribers' ratings don't show up on both websites, and so on and so forth.

[Someone needs to show Reed a little website called Amazon where they manage to sell lots of different things in one place. Actually, it is more probable that they just don't want to provide continual comparisons between the 100,000 titles available on DVD versus the 20,000 titles on streaming. But I digress...]

Inadvisedly, or so we thought, he invited readers to go to his blog post which is even longer (this guy really doesn't know his market)and leave a comment. I was fascinated to know how many comments there would be but never would have come close to guessing.

When Rose clicked through, there were 19,000 comments. In the 20 minutes that she took to compose her own comment (a letter back to Reed), one thousand more comments had been made. This morning, close to 23,000 people ... mostly negative ... had commented. Wow. That's a lot of angry people.

Interestingly, the comments are linked to Facebook, which allows readers to "like" them and, thus, spread them beyond Netflix's website. Which also seems like very bad judgment. But why should that be any different from the way the rest of this has been handled?

I don't have a dog in this fight. We just find it fascinating to watch the train wreck in progress ... and speculate on whether it is a result of Reed Hasting's ego or simply astoundingly bad marketing/public relations advice.

This did prompt Rose to check out Blockbuster where a popup window lets you know that Netflix prices rose 60% and that they are offering a 30-day free trial. It will be interesting to see if this actually translates into action which benefits another company who is positioned to throw itself into the breech, whether Blockbuster or someone else.

I've Got a Date With "Machine Gun Preacher"

Starring Gerard Butler (you remember him from 300 don't you? I do.).

Directed by Marc Forster (who directed Monster's Ball and The Kite Runner).

I'd seen those two items and gotten interested because those aren't two names I usually associate with faith-based movies (and let's face it ... those are the only sort that I am invited to ... not that there's anything wrong with that).

Dipping into the plot pushed the interest higher.

Then I read Hell Burns' review and got intensely interested. (Much more at the link.)

Sounds like a badass film, doesn’t it? Only the irresistible (and accurate) title is badass. Otherwise, this is a story about a badass guy (NOT portrayed as attractive or without consequences) who becomes a goodass and begins saving children in Sudan from becoming child-soldiers in the vicious LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army)—and worse.

Sam Childers (a thoroughly winning and Sam-Childers-approved Gerard Butler) was a violent drug dealer and biker in hillbilly Pennsylvania in his younger life. He got saved, became a Reverend and went to the Sudan to do volunteer construction work. But in Africa, he saw way more than he bargained for and wound up taking up arms to save children and innocent villagers from kidnapping, maiming, atrocities and slaughter.

One of the things that interested me about Sister Helena Burns' review (or maybe it was the letter to Sam Childers which she includes) is that the movie helped her gain an appreciation that "there is a vocation/call to be a warrior for just causes." As my brother is long-time warrior for our country, I have long been grateful for that vocation. It is nice to see that this movie helps foster that appreciation.

Finally, last night they had the screening sign-up info ready and I'm scheduled to see this interesting looking film next Monday. Sam Childers, whose story it is, is supposed to be there and I hear that they're seeing if they can work it out so that Gerard Butler is there.

May the Most Awesome Average Blog Win! It's Voting Time in the 6th annual Cannonball Catholic Blog anti-Awards.

I am honored that Happy Catholic is nominated in the Best Potpouri of Popery category.

Just to be in the company of Jeff Miller, Darwin, Heather King, Amy Welborn and Margaret Perry is very cool.

Based on that, I'm pretty sure that it's very cool to be in Rebecca Fretch's company too, but Shoved to Them is a new blog to me. (And isn't that really the point of these things whether pro- or anti-award?) To find the new blogs you wanted to read but hadn't heard of yet?

You can vote every day, but seriously ... more than anything, just go check out that giant blog list. There's some good reading waiting for you!

Book Giveaway Winners ... Living the Call by Michael Novak and William E. Simon

Google+: only one person entered there so that was easy ... Jeffrey Ferguson!

Facebook: no one entered there so that book will go into the Happy Catholic giveaway pile.

A Good Story Is Hard To Find podcast: as in Google+ only one person entered ... Kevin Mastel!

Happy Catholic: Nicole Stallworth, Sawyer MacMillan, and Karen!

If you haven't received an email from me, then I don't have your email addresses. Drop me a note to let me know your actual address and I'll get your books underway.

julie [at] glyphnet [dot] com

Congratulations to the winners and many thanks to Encounter Books for donating the books!

Weekend Joke

This is one of my favorites. Thanks to Merry for sending it to me!

A new pastor was visiting in the homes of his parishioners. At one house it seemed obvious that someone was at home, but no answer came to his repeated knocks at the door.

Therefore, he took out a business card and wrote "Revelation 3:20" on the back of it and stuck it in the door.

When the offering was processed the following Sunday, he found that his card had been returned. Added to it was this cryptic message, "Genesis 3:10."

Reaching for his Bible to check out the citation, he broke up in gales of laughter. Revelation 3:20 begins "Behold, I stand at the door and knock."

Genesis 3:10 reads, "I heard your voice in the garden and I was afraid for I was naked."

NASA Discovers Planet That Orbits Two Suns

This artist's concept illustrates Kepler-16b, the first planet known to definitively orbit two stars -- what's called a circumbinary planet. The planet, which can be seen in the foreground, was discovered by NASA's Kepler mission.

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle

This makes me so happy. Go to NASA to see the image full size and to read more about it.

Preparing for Meatless Fridays in U.K.

A great deal of what we know about the early English diet comes from a Latin vocabulary written by Ælfric, Archbishop of Canterbury from 995. It was written in the form of dialogues: with the baker, the ploughman, the fisherman, the shepherd. From it we know that in spring and summer women made cheese and butter from the milk of sheep or goats before smoking the cheese and salting the butter to preserve it.

In gardens, people grew carrots (purple in those days), leeks, garlic and herbs like rue and fennel. Kale was a popular winter vegetable and for a time gave February its Old English name of sproutkele. Ælfric lists animals eaten for their meat (pig, goat, deer, swan, duck etc), but the fact that our modern words beef, veal and mutton are Norma, rather than Anglo-Saxon suggests these animals were mostly valued for their wool, hides, milk and working abilities rather than their flesh.

The Rule of St Benedict stipulated that only sick monks could consume the “flesh of quadrupeds” but this was quickly interpreted as excluding fish and fowl, hence the monastic tradition of maintaining dovecotes and fishponds (stews). Bede railed against the excesses of the monastic table, circumventing not only the letter but increasingly the spirit of the Rule, and St Anselm complained that the clergy dined on “chicken spiced with pepper and cumin”. But fasting and abstinence shaped not only the culinary rhythm of the week (no meat on Fridays or Wednesdays) but also of the year (Advent, Lent, Ember Days). Unless you were very young, very old or very sick, meat was absent from the table for a considerable portion of the year.

Father Gardner at the Catholic Herald writes a fascinating and well-rounded article that includes food history, meatless recipes and the reminder that "no flesh" does not automatically mean "substitute fish."

I notice he doesn't include bean and cheese nachos among the recipes. Pity. That's a regular Friday favorite of ours as we practice meatless Fridays as our choice of Friday penance. (You know ... the penance that we're all supposed to do every Friday, all year long ...)

Via The Deacon's Bench.

Neil Gaiman on How to Read Gene Wolfe

I cannot tell you how to meet Gene Wolfe. I can, however, suggest a few ways to read his work. These are useful tips, like suggesting you take a blanket, a flashlight, and some candy when planning to drive a long way in the cold, and should not be taken lightly. I hope they are of some use to you. There are nine of them. Nine is a good number.

Now this is advice I can use. I picked up the link from Tamahome at Goodreads, where I love seeing what other people say about the books they are reading.

Snapshot: Improving Sound on Our TV

We got a new flat screen TV earlier this year with our tax return money. We knew it was one of the least expensive but we didn't realize that all the cheaper flat screen TVs have terrible sound.

Having, perhaps, more of a tin ear than most, I didn't really notice the sound that much. But it drove Tom crazy. I had ordered an iPod dock for his birthday but the company was never able to deliver. So I canceled that and gave Tom carte blanche (within the limits of our fairly slender budget).

He got the JVC TH-BC3 sound bar. It serves as an iPod dock but, better than that, it can easily be hooked up to the TV where we were delighted to hear theater-style sound emerging.

Wow! I never realized just how bad the sound from the TV was. We may never use an iPod in it as popular acclaim is keeping it attached to the television.

Reviewing 31 Prayers for Courage by Nathaniel Turner

Joshua 1:9

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."

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Dear Lord,

How forgetful I can be! You have told me before, writ in Your Word when You spoke to the Israelites, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to Moses, to Joshua, Your servants: I should not be afraid because You go with me. No matter what opposition I face, You accompany me. Wherever I go, You are there; if I ascend to the heavens, or go down to the place of the dead; if I pursue the dawn in the east or the ends of the sea to the west; truly, even if I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, there You are to guide me and protect me, as you Promised Joshua and the Israelites as they entered the land which You had given over to them. Help me to remember these things, O LORD, and not to fear.

In Thy Son's Name I pray, AMEN

31 Prayers for Courage: Daily Scripture-Based Prayers to Access the Power of God contains not only 31 prayers, keyed off of a piece of scripture, but also has them in different sections so that one may look for prayers based on what one needs courage for.

• Courage When Facing Difficulty
• Courage to Fear God
• Courage When Facing Others
• Courage to Remember God's Promises
• Courage When Needing to Be Rescued
• Courage When Facing Spiritual Battles
• Courage When Facing Spiritual Opposition
• Courage When Troubled by Temptation and Sin
• Courage When Facing Uncertainty
• Courage When Feeling Weak
• Courage in Tribulation

I like the fact that the prayers seem to take in the context of the scripture in case one needs reminding in a time of need.

I myself tend not to pray this sort of prayer and would probably tend to use this more as inspiration, with the prayers almost as mini-homilies in times of need. However, I have several friends who would enjoy this sort of book and use it a great deal. It works either way, as the author mentions at the beginning of the book.

This isn't a Catholic book but I didn't see anything that looked off base for Catholics, especially since it is simply scripture and prayers. The author is planning a series and I could see this being a useful gift, depending on the topic of other series.

Subliminal Messages ... for Anyone Interested in Catholic New Media

Pat Gohn ... that gal can always make me laugh. Check it Pat's subliminal message and take advantage of those extra tickets that are available.

9/11, Our Choices, and Making a Stand

My 9/11 reflections which somehow (or perhaps inevitably) led me to thinking about Stephen King's classic, The Stand. Read it at Patheos in my A Free Mind column.

Don't Forget the Book Giveaway!

Just leave a comment to be entered for the "Living the Call" giveaway.

Click through for details.

Viper by John Desjarlais

It was five years ago.

At that time, like every time, Selena saw right away why he called himself La Serpiente, The Snake.

For one thing, he wore rattlesnake-skin boots with the steel toes that Bragg and her Anglo colleagues at Drug Enforcement sneeringly called "Fence Climbers." When he crossed his sinewy legs and swung his foot, the tip glinted.

For another, his unmoving onyx eyes fixed on her cleavage -- not all that uncommon when she met men -- but that gaze was not measuring her size. It was calculating a striking distance. She averted her eyes to the side, a demure Mexican custom she hadn't lost through acculturation. Locking eyes is also how snakes paralyze their prey. She wouldn't give him the pleasure.

Viper is the sequel to Bleeder, which featured Reed Stubblefield's story, but it functions well enough as a stand-alone thriller. Selena loves sexy shoes, working on cars, and Reed, although his Anglo heritage makes her worry about introducing him to the family. Abruptly, her past as a Special Agent in the DEA comes back to haunt her when she learns that La Serpiente is back. Her name's been found on a list where the only way off is when you are killed.

Viper immerses the reader in Hispanic culture as Selena deals with family problems as well as the more thrilling ones that threaten her life. The Catholic culture is less obvious although it is still important to Selena's life and to solving the mystery. Luckily for readers, Desjarlais navigates both well.

Viper is enjoyable although I found Selena's immersion in her culture made the story a bit one-dimensional. I'd have liked seeing her interact with others from outside the Hispanic or DEA community. That said, I found Viper an enjoyable thriller and am hoping there will be a third book where we get to see Selena and Reed together.

Better Book Titles: Mein Kampf

I found Better Book Titles through Books on the Nightstand podcast. The concept is simple. As creator Dan Wilbur puts it:

This blog is for people who do not have thousands of hours to read book reviews or blurbs or first sentences. I will cut through all the cryptic crap, and give you the meat of the story in one condensed image. Now you can read the greatest literary works of all time in mere seconds!

Language warning for some titles ... so beware if that is a problem for you.

The cleverest, though, manage without bad language. As we can see...

Adolph Hitler: Mein Kampf
Reader Submission: Title by comedian Tyler Snodgrass