Bizarro Fiction

So I completed my first 60 minute workout today. I seriously thought I was going to die around minute 47, but I was like, "Self, just 13 more minutes. Keep going!" And I did. I can't begin to describe the rush of accomplishment I got from reaching 60 minutes. Hopefully, 60 minutes 5-6 times a week will help me bust through my weight loss plateau.

I caught up with La Sara today. We go through these odd cycles of talking all the time or completely ignoring one another. You'd think it would be awkward when we meet back up, but it's totally not. It's very easy to just strike up a conversation. Weird. Cool, but weird.

I've been choosing books outside my usual go-to genres. So far, I haven't been disappointed. In the last month or two, I've picked up two new series and a YA urban fantasy bestseller. Here are my thoughts:

1) The Greatest Hits series by Leslie Langtry. The romance/mystery series revolves around the Bombays, a family of badass assassins just trying to make a normal life out of their whackness. The first in the series is 'SCUSE ME WHILE I KILL THIS GUY, but I couldn't find it at B&N so I started with the second in the serie. GUNS WILL KEEP US TOGETHER is hilarious! It's told from the POV of the hero, Dakota Bombay. My favorite snippet of the novel is when he and his cousin learn their junior high PE teacher, Mr. Skeevy, has died. They reminisce about his, uh, unorthodox ways. Mr. Skeevy spent quite a bit of time in 'Nam so instead of dodge ball, he designed games like "Hanoi Hilton" and "Tet Offensive." He also had this totally effed up habit of putting the starter pistol to his temple and screaming, "Try again, motherfuckers!" before pulling the trigger. Whoa. Totally insane.

2) The Felix Gomez series. Felix Gomez served in Iraq--and came back a vampire. Whacked, I know, but it's actually a pretty nifty setup for a series. He's now a PI who solves these really bizarre (and funny) cases. His novels also have the most awesome titles: THE NYMPHOS OF ROCKY FLATS, X-RATED BLOODSUCKERS, and THE UNDEAD KAMA SUTRA. If you're a fan of urban fantasy and PI novels, you'll like this series.

3) WICKED LOVELY by Melissa Marr. I'd heard quite a bit about this book on lots of the agent/author/industry blogs I frequent. I expected it to be on par with other YA novels I've read in the past, but it far surpasses anything in the genre. It's extremely well-written, thoughtful, and the characters are very real and relatable. Aislinn, a high school junior with The Sight, lives with her Grams (who can also see faeries) in a town south of Pittsburgh. They like it there because the steel helps keep the faeries at bay. Since childhood, Grams has drilled rules of safety into Aislinn regarding the faeries, namely never let them know you can see them. (They have a nasty habit of gouging out the eyes of mortals who can see them.) But, when two very strong faeries (guy and girl) begin to stalk her, all the rules are right out the window. Throw in the wicked (and holy crap is this lady wicked) Winter Queen, some faery court intrigue, and the uncertainty of first-time love, and Aislinn has some seriously tough issues to sort out...

I'm continuing this literary expansion by delving into the Punk and Bizarro genres. My first punk book will be THE CLOCKWORK HEART by Dru Pagliossotti. It's actually steampunk, but, it's still part of the larger punk genre. I also ordered some Bizzaro fiction novels, GRAPE CITY by Kevin L. Donihe, ANGEL DUST APOCALYPSE by Jeremy Robert Johnson, and OCEAN OF LARD (CHOOSE YOUR OWN MINDF*CK FEST #17), an anthology.

We'll see how well I like these new genres...