Wednesday Tech Tips Gets Cranky, Goes Rogue, Talks About Books Instead

Y'all, it's been some busy times.  There was henna tattooing, karaoke-ing, graduation, and the onslaught of summer reading.  Also, it just won't stop raining and I have perpetual crazy-hair.

I'm pooped.  And I need a break from wrassling with Internet Explorer, otherwise I'm going to put on a yellow jumpsuit, strap a katana to my back, and drive to Seattle to have "words" with Bill Gates.

But I have been getting a lot of reading done!  Yes, let's talk about friendly and bandwidth-free books.  Here's what I've finished over the last several weeks:

How to Lead a Life of Crime by Kirsten Miller
For starters, run away from home.  Take up petty theft to survive.  Get recruited by the Mandel Academy, whose classes include assassination techniques, drug smuggling and computer hacking.  Just make sure you keep your grade point average up; low-performing students don't...graduate.


Far Far Away by Tom McNeal
Both love and evil can hide in plain sight.  A chilling mystery glossed with fairytale magic, narrated by the ghost of Jacob Grimm.


Nothing Can Possibly Go Wrong by Prudence Shen & Faith Erin Hicks
What COULD go wrong?
Cheerleaders vs. the Science Team.  Devious student government campaigns.  Robot battles.  And "borrowing" the car to ditch your entire family on Thanksgiving.


Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
This book wrecked my heart by page 42.  All the truth of love -- the fearfulness and the immensity of it -- is in this story.  Eleanor and Park prove that you don't lose yourself in love, you find your best self.

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
Sometimes I want to throw my hands up and yell, "No more Chosen One fantasy, please!"  And then Leigh Bardugo comes along and changes the game up.  A good candidate for holding off until the sequel is on the shelf,* because you are going to want to know what happens right away. 

Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry
Life after First Night is all Benny Imura has ever known.  Inside the fence is civilization.  Outside are the zoms and the Rot and Ruin.  That's what Benny's always thought to be the truth up until now.  But after becoming his brother Tom's apprentice, Benny is about to discover what really makes a monster...and what really makes a man.


Hawkeye: My Life as a Weapon by Matt Fraction, et. al.
You can keep your Man of Steel.  I prefer a superhero who worries about the rent and ends up in the hospital once in a while, just like the rest of us.  In between, Hawkeye kicks some serious butt and adopts a dog, in this wildly popular comic.  I also applaud David Aja's pure and direct artwork.








*The sequel IS on the shelf, and Ms. Bardugo will be here this Saturday with Fierce Reads, so have at it.