Melody Writes

Review originally written and posted to Goodreads on August 12, 2016: I'm sitting here, just having turned off the audio version of this and my head is swimming with thoughts. This is a beautiful story that questions the core essences of humanity, love, religion, and life. Like the protagonist, Ellis Rogers, I went on this journey expecting a classic time travel story and instead encountered something else entirely. Ellis Rogers is tired of his ordinary life. As a brilliant scientist not living up to his potential, he has always dreamed of something bigger, but never managed to achieve it. Instead, he settled. He married the first woman he was with and he clung to the first friend he ever had, even though both of those choices weren't really right for him. Ellis isn't happy. He isn't even really miserable. He just... exists. Then like another scientist living below his potential, Walter White, he is diagnosed with a fatal illness and death becomes the wake...

This post will be a bit of a departure for me. I try to focus on books and being positive. That's why I've started my "What I like About..." series. I also work to be honest about the books I review without being cruel. But, the recent events with Nanowrimo have upset me and as a long time participant/supporter, I want to talk about why I will not be continuing to participate.   My Personal Nano-History My profile on Nanowrimo.org tells me I started in 2010 and have written over 441,000 words with them over the years, but my history with Nanowrimo extends even further backwards than that. I also suspect that word count is lower than reality, too. The fall of 2010 would have been my first fall after graduate school. I had wanted to participate before that, but November is a bad time for a university student to embark on a writing challenge. My earliest Nano memories were meeting in a local cafe with only a notebook and a pen, because I did not have a lap top, and strug...

What I like about... I recently finished watching True Detective: Night Country, which I enjoyed for many reasons, such as the strong characters, great acting, and terrifying scenes, but one aspect that heightened my enjoyment was the setting. Set in a fictional Alaskan town, everything was encased in ice and darkness. The long night begins at the start of the series, and freezing/hypothermia is a constant threat. Setting the story in such an extreme environment enhances the horror that the characters face.  While I have never been to the true, deep north, I have experienced some strong winter weather in my life. I have been stranded in a blizzard, snowed in, had the early stages of hypothermia and frostbite, and camped in the winter-time. When I read a story that utilizes cold, icy weather and winter to enhance the story, I can feel the literal chill. There is nothing like a howling wind rattling your windows while you curl up warm and safe in a blanket to read a frozen horror sto...