Some book chatter.

I read. I read a lot. I'm aiming to hit 100 books this year, after my 52 in 52 challenge in 2011. Currently I'm sitting at 58/100, but I just finished two of the best books I've read in a while, which made me think maybe I should start doing some reviews? I mean, I don't want this to be a book review blog exclusively, but I may throw a couple in here and there.

The first book was Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne. Basically, a series of escalating disasters hit- everything from a hailstorm to a chemical weapons spill- and a group of kids/young adults find refuge in a big-box store. And holy crap is it good. There's a little bit of everything here. Family tension between the siblings that manage to be stuck there together, a bit of romance between some of the older kids, comic relief from the youngest elementary children. It's also sad: everyone outside is dying. There's action and a bit of suspense. Plus, I'm a sucker for post-apocalyptic novels,  and this is like, a mid-apocalyptic novel which is even better. There's only one thing that really pissed me off about this book, and it's something I've noticed happening a lot lately- surprise sequel.  I really loved this book a lot, but I was not prepared for it to end where it did. The sequel to the book, Sky On Fire, isn't set to come out until summer of 2013, and that sucks a lot.

The second was Know Not Why by Hannah Johnson. This one is a lot less complex, honestly. It's the story of a young man who finds a job at an arts and crafts store to meet chicks and get laid. He gets laid, but spoiler, not a chick. This is a great LGBT novel, mostly because it does what a lot of David Levithan's novels do- it's a love story, and there is a little tension over the LGBT-ness of the relationship, but it's not the point of the novel, which I love. It's a great feel good story, despite the fact that it's not 100% smooth sailing. I finished this book in just a couple hours and when I was finished with it, I just felt content, which I think is the best way to feel when finishing a book.

Anyway, that's it for now. I'm always open for book suggestions, so if you've got any, let me know? My goodreads account, for anyone interested, can be found here. :)

Ranting: A First Post

A local hospital near home, the one my younger sister was born at, is working to merge with another local hospital which happens to be religious based. "Out of respect" for the religious based hospital, the secular hospital, assuming the merger goes through, will be discontinuing the abortion service that they currently offer. The CEO of the (formerly) secular hospital has this to say: 

We wanted assure that we would be able to  provide assurances that [religious hospital] would continue to fully comply with ethical and religious directives -- and all the Catholic entities of our new organization would. But at [secular hospital] we would want to assure that we were also providing that full range of services -- we have tremendous women’s health services between both organizations and reproductive health services. But we, moving forward, would no longer do abortions at [secular hospital]. 

Um, what? 


Here's what I'm tired of: Religion. Well, not religion, but religion being pushed at me. I don't shove my beliefs at anyone- in fact, my religion and spiritual beliefs are so irrelevant to anything I have to say, I don't even feel the need to talk about what it is here. I'm just so tired of everyone else having more control over my body and my rights than I do. It's my body. If I wanted someone else in my body,there's more than one orifice they could enter- with permission, of course- but as it turns out, I have husband who doesn't have control over my body and my rights, so I'm not okay with anyone else doing it either. 


Politics and religion aren't supposed to be interchangeable. Remember, we have that whole "separation of Church and State" thing? I want that back. Let's get that back.


At what point is it too far? At what point can I get to say that my body is no longer willing to be a political statement or a religious bargaining chip? Is it Arizona declaring that pregnancy happens up to TWO WEEKS before conception?? Is it the house GOP blocking abortion for raped soldiers? How about a Kentucky senator who is trying to add conception amendment to a flood insurance bill? Seriously, let me know, because I'm currently pratiquer mon français to get the fuck out of here before it's too late to be considered a legal human being with the ability to procure a passport.