Candy's Raves (and Rants)

Using in-ear headphones in the past has always caused pain in my ears after a few minutes. I’ve never really been picky about headphones. One set is basically like any other, right? I will never make this assumption again.

The very first thing I noticed when I opened the box was 4 sizes of cushions to attach to the V-Moda Remix Earphones. I tried all the different sets before finally settling on the size just smaller that medium. What a difference! I can wear these headphones for hours and not get that achy feeling I would get after just a few minutes with other headphones.

Here are something things I really liked about the V’Moda Remix Earphones:

1.) The color. In a sea of bland, white in-ear headphones the brilliant red is very refreshing.
2.) The cushions. Not only are there 4 different sizes, but there is a replacement set for each size!
3.) Angled jack. This makes it really easy to find where your headphones are plugged in and even easier to unplug them.

Sound quality is also very nice. I listen to a wide range of music (classical to metal and everything in between) and the trebles are high without sounding tinny. The base response on these are also very nice. Instead of a base “thud” you get a nice “boom”.

The noise reduction on these earphones is also very nice. It is also the main reason why I won’t get another set for use on my computer. Sometimes you need to hear what is going on around you.

If you are looking for nice sounding and comfortable earphones to use while exercising or just chillin’ to music, give these a try. They are definitely a nice replacement for the iclone earphones you see wandering around everywhere.

Rating:

When asked to read and review a book by this author, I was drawn several times to this title because of the description. It’s not something you particularly WANT to read about, but it’s reality and it’s close to my heart. You see, my mother is a survivor of domestic violence and we had a horse growing up. So that’s where I’m coming from in this review.

The author does a fabulous job of weaving the plight of a domestic abuse victim with the plight of abused and neglected horses. Being inside of Julia’s head is both intriguing and frightening. The story moves quickly as Julia runs away from that life into a life much different. There’s a little romance, nothing overtly sexual (no heaving bosoms, thank goodness!), and a lot of heart.

The storyline about the horse rescue broke my heart. I guess I knew it happens. People are mean or get in over their head or the horse gets old and is no longer as “fun” or gets too expensive. I suppose the same is true with all pet rescue groups, but with horses, the sheer size and cost I imagine becomes a larger problem. I really did enjoy following Julia’s research and experiences. While I haven’t researched it myself, it rings true of what goes on inside of a rescue group – the constant shortage of funds having top billing.

The book itself is well written. The author does a wonderful job of keeping the story going while not revealing all of the information at once. I liked that each main character had a backstory and she was able to reveal bits and pieces of it at a time.

In typical fashion, I didn’t really care for the ending. I guess I wanted more out of it. Having said that, if I were the author, I’m not sure I would have changed it. Again, it rang true. Abuse victims sometimes overestimate the power of their abuser and underestimate the power of themselves. I also liked that we were left to use our imagination a bit as far as what path(s) the characters may choose next.

This is a good book for those that are looking for something easy to physically read but want to learn a little something in the process. It kept me up until 2am, so I’d say it gets my recommendation.

Rating:

Book count for 2010: 48

So, check it out… it’s a book about fat people WRITTEN BY… (wait for it) a fat person! How could she dare? What does she know about losing weight? I mean, she’s fat, so she obviously doesn’t know what she’s talking about, right?

A-ha! But this isn’t a weight loss book. Oh, she gives a few tips and hints, yes, of course. But she tells you repeatedly that she doesn’t have all the answers. She can tell you how she feels, how nearly every obese person feels. The stigma, the overcompensation. She also let’s her sense of humor bleed through a few times. She also lets her heart break right on the page a few times.

Will you lose weight with her new revolutionary plan? Um. No. If you are obese (and I am – shocking, I know) you know how to lose weight. You aren’t just plain lazy, you aren’t un-knowledgeable about what you need to do. Us fat people already know what we need to do. We’ve read the diet plans, we’ve eaten nothing by cabbage and sunflower seeds for a week. We’ve read the hoo-rah-rah self help books. What we really haven’t had before is someone that’s there with us. We haven’t had someone that took the time to write a book about what it really means to be overweight. A few tried, but none really succeeded until now.

This book resonated with me. I struggle, daily, with food. I always have. I always will. Even if I wake up tomorrow 100 pounds lighter, I will still struggle with it. The past year, I’ve made changes, I work out weekly, I walk, I exercise, I get up off my butt and move around. I try to be aware of what I’m eating (and yes, there are days – weeks even – when I honestly don’t care, but I’m aware that I don’t care!)

This book is not only for the obese folks. If you work with overweight people, I think should be required reading to get a look inside their minds – to really understand what’s going on in their heads. It’s also a good overall book about self-esteem. Give it a read, you won’t be disappointed.

Rating:

Book count for 2010: 47

I like the Stephanie Plum series, but it’s almost a little “too fun” in some ways. She’s always doing something stupid, she’s got a really annoying grandmother (note, I’ve only managed to make it past the first few books in that particular series), etc etc. It’s super light. I get it. But it is always missing the crime. Stephanie is always busy farting around pretending to be a detective (bounty hunter, whatever). Jack – now, she’s the real thing. We also read about the crimes, about the mind of the criminal. It just felt like there was more meat and potatoes to these books.

Having said that, if you are bothered by typical crime novels, you might want to skip this one. To compare it to Stephanie Plum is really not fair. Yes, it’s really funny. I giggled a few times out loud even. But it’s also a little disturbing.

Having said THAT, I kinda like disturbing so I’ll be reading the next one for sure.

Rating:

Book count for 2010: 46

This book is a hoot! It’s not what I was expecting, but was better. It’s quite dark with a lot of dry and sarcastic humor. The story is a little unexpected and a lot of fun.

I would caution that it might be for teens and not the 8-11 year old set. There are quite a few big words (part of the charm of the main character – I would love the author to do another book with him) and I think my son would get annoyed with not knowing what some of them meant. But for 12+ age group, go for it!

Well well well worth a read. I can’t wait to see what the author does next.

Rating:

Book count for 2010: 45

So many times when I read an independent author, the main thing that sticks out to me is that the author didn’t have their work edited properly. I would lay dollars to doughnuts that this particular author did. I’m sure there’s some grammar issues or something, but it obviously wasn’t glaring because I did not notice anything. Hats off to the author for a well-written polished end product. Lately, I’ve read some real dogs in the Indie world, so this was a fabulous change of pace just at the right time.

The story is slow to start but it eventually pulls you in and doesn’t let you go. At some point, I was so frustrated by a Science point (more on that in a minute) that I really wanted to put it down, but I was too busy wondering what was going to happen with Arizona that I just couldn’t put it down. I’m really glad that I didn’t because I would have missed on a really great storyline!

My one problem with this book, and I’m still giving it five stars because I have faith the author is going to explain it in subsequent books is that the mother doesn’t seem to age. I don’t want to give away too much, but every time travel book I’ve read the people still age. I’m a little disturbed by the whole thing. Maybe she did age, but it didn’t seem like anyone noticed. Hmmm…

I’ve seen people say “If you liked Twilight…” No. I won’t say this book is better than Twilight, but it’s different, the writing is a little more mature, there’s some young love in it, but not once did I want them to knock it off already and get on with the story. It’s a little less angsty. I think to compare it to Twilight is doing it a disservice. (nevermind that there aren’t any vampires).

Give it a read if you like YA fiction and a little bit of time travel / science fiction. I’m not a big SciFi fan, but this was well done!

UPDATE: The author actually emailed me to explain the time difference. I get confused easily, I suppose. I’m still not 100% sure, but at least I feel like I “get it” more now Thanks to Imogen for taking the time!

Rating:

Book count for 2010: 44

This place opened yesterday and we stopped by today to check them out. Super nice folks behind the counter. One of the guys brought out a little bin with a crawfish in it to entertain my kid while my husband and I looked around. We came home with a few links of sausage, a deboned stuffed chicken and some crawfish meat pies.

When you walk in, you’ll first notice the fresh meat counter, with things that aren’t frozen, but they also have several upright freezers with a really good selection – everything from sausage to beef to pork to seafood – even a frozen turkey leg!

Looks like a great little specialty shop that we will frequent. Super friendly folks make it return-worthy.

12226 Ranch Road 620
Suite E
Austin, TX 78750
(512) 848-7867
www.stuffedfoodstores.com

Rating:

A friend of mine told me I should absolutely read this book last year. I hadn’t gotten around to reading it when my turn for book club came up, so I recommended this book and read it. I’m a little scared to know what some of the group will think. I honestly went in thinking I wouldn’t like it. It’s a dog book. You already know the dog is going to die – not only does the description give it away but let’s face it, the dog ALWAYS dies in a dog book. It’s a rule. No really, go look it it up!

It’s a depressing read, who knew so many horrible things could happen to one person. Heck, who knew that dogs were so smart? But there were so many good moments that made me smile too. Some about the dog talking about fetching or riding in a car, some about the story going on.

Either way, it’s well written. Oh, it’s not perfect, but I’m still going to give this one five stars simply because I thought it was interesting, pretty unique and the story was very well done. It made me laugh, it made me cry, and then it made me cry some more.

Read this one. Even if you aren’t a dog person. Read it. Just keep a hanky handy.

Rating:

Book count for 2010: 43

This book didn’t promise anything deep and recently I really needed something NOT deep. I will admit that the title pulled me, it is such a cute clever little title. I find myself sometimes not only judging books by their cover/title, but also pitting them against books that aren’t even in the same genre. This one was really cute for what it was. I felt there were some holes in the story line, things would change without too much explanation (especially with her husband, I felt like we didn’t see enough of him when she first lost her job – how did that conversation go? Also with some other parts with him). The writing was pretty good though, overall – it was quirky and fun. I laughed out loud a few times when the author was realizing how little she knows about what goes on in her own house, I could have easily interjected myself there at times around my own home!

I liked the weaving of her life and the soccer bulletins along with the soccer culture and home life. The author did a good job of making me smile several times. “Oh, he’s THAT coach” – cuz you know anyone that’s had a kid in sports knows just who THAT coach is!

Well worth a weekend read or when you just need something to read that’s a little on the lighter side.

Rating:

Book count for 2010: 42

I was a latecomer to this series. Actually only started reading them this year because a friend made me. I loved the first several of the books and they seemed to get progressively more dark. Book 9 had much more violence than the previous. I’m not against horror novels, but when you are reading a series you have certain expectations and the high level of violence and low level of fun/heart left me feeling a little empty. I read book 10 (this one) simply because I felt like I needed to continue with the story…

I wasn’t disappointed. The author has brought back the fun into the books and cut way back on the violence. Yes, I realize this is about vampires and werewolves, but it’s always been a quirky little series. I was happy to see the old Sookie mostly back. My problem with the book lain with the storyline. I didn’t feel like the author put her all into it. It felt contrived, like a last minute “oh yeah, I have to give my publisher something” type of a thing. I really hated the explanation/ending – all this build up and then… nothing special. Overly contrived for sure.

BUT I’m still giving this three stars because for anyone that hasn’t read the other books (do those people exist?) this would still make a good read – although you’d have NO IDEA what the heck is going on the whole time. I also like that the author is bringing back the original feel/style. I was pretty close to giving up on this series, but I’ll stick it out for number 11 and hope the author is able to bring back the fun, completely filled-out plotlines.

Rating:

Book count for 2010: 41