tea krulos

9. The Cherry Harvest, by Lucy Sanna (2015, William Morrow)

Another book I picked up at Madtown Author Daze (see last entry). I was walking and I recognized Lucy Sanna’s name and stopped and had a chat with her. She’s a Madison author and was absolutely radiant and delightful to talk to. I could tell she was a sharp writer then and there and that I wanted to read her book without even knowing what it was about. Some authors have that charismatic presence. I sure don’t! I just sit at my table and when someone asks me what’s up with my books I say “oh, you know, like, I hung out with like, these superhero people and also uhhh these paranormal people. Not interested? Ok…” Get it together, man! Well, I’m embellishing a little here for effect.

Anyway, I’m glad to say The Cherry Harvest did not disappoint. It’s not the type of book I read often, but that’s a good thing– I’m trying a few different things out this month. This book was great! The book follows a family farm in Door County struggling during WWII. Short workers, they decide to take on German POWs to help with their cherry harvest. It has drama, romance, suspense, and well developed characters. Beautifully written. I’m a Lucy Sanna fan.

Recommended? Yes!

8. First Contact, by Kat Green (2016, The Wild Rose Press)

I’ve wanted to read this for a long time! I think this is the first book I’ve read this year that wasn’t A.) research for my own upcoming book or B.) a pick of the Apocalypse Blog Book Club, which does tie-in to point A.  I first became aware of First Contact because Kat Green (an alias of authors Kat De Falla and Rachel Green) were guests at the Milwaukee Paranormal Conference. I found the hook interesting– a paranormal real estate agent. Love it! I finally got a copy at the Madison Author Daze event last weekend, which was expertly organized by the previously mentioned Mrs. De Falla and her husband Lee. Fun event, met some interesting people and sat at my table eating delicious sandwiches, drinking coffee. Really nice day.

Anyway, the book. I loved it, a quick read at 170 pages, full of supernatural spookiness, suspense, creepy characters, and a scene with some steamy hot ethereal sex. That’s what I like to read about! There is a strong paranormal tie-in as main character Sloane Osborne uses paranormal investigation equipment to try to capture evidence, but don’t worry, if you don’t know what a K2 meter is, they explain it pretty well.

The book takes place in good old Waukesha, which is a good setting for a horror story these days. The book made me very thirsty (you’ll understand if you read it) and Sloane kicks ass!

The book has a website here: www.hauntsforsale.com

Recommended? Yes, and I can’t wait to read the next adventure starring Sloane Osborne.

7. The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood (c.1986, Anchor Books edition, 1998)

This was the March selection for the Apocalypse Blog Book Club. It was my first time reading something by Margaret Atwood and I found her prose to be quite gripping.

As the book unfolded for us over March, The Handmaid’s Tale made the news several times during the lead-in to a development of the book into a Hulu series, which premieres on the 26th of this month. Our book club notifications lit up as members posted some of these related stories. I’m pleased to say we are now doing monthly book reports for a site called Pop Mythology and club member and author Ryder Collins wrote our first one on The Handmaid’s Tale, and linked to several related stories. You can read it here: www.popmythology.com/apocalypse-blog-book-club-march-handmaids-tale

Recommended? YES. MANDATORY.

The Apocalypse Blog Book Club voted to read The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood as our March selection. The book, written in 1985, is timely for a number of reasons and there is some excitement of the book being adapted into a show for Hulu, which premieres in April.

More on the book from Wikipedia:

The Handmaid’s Tale (1985) is a work of speculative fiction by Canadian author Margaret Atwood. Set in a near-future New England, in a totalitarian theocracy which has overthrown the United States government, the dystopian novel explores themes of women in subjugation and the various means by which they gain agency. The novel’s title echoes the component parts of Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, which comprises a series of connected stories (“The Merchant’s Tale”, “The Parson’s Tale”, etc.).

The Handmaid’s Tale won the 1985 Governor General’s Award and the first Arthur C. Clarke Award in 1987; it was also nominated for the 1986 Nebula Award, the 1986 Booker Prize, and the 1987 Prometheus Award. It has been adapted for the cinema, radio, opera, and stage. The Handmaid’s Tale has never gone out of print since its first publication in 1985.

In addition to next month’s Hulu show, the book was previously adapted into a 1990 movie.

The Handmaid’s Tale is widely available online, at bookstores, and in library systems. We will have an in-person meeting to discuss the book the last day of the month, Friday, March 31, 7pm at the Riverwest Public House. There have been requests to switch up meeting location, and we can entertain those requests in the future. Takeaways from the meetings and online discussion will follow April 1 on our Facebook group page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1482975718409410/

We also have a Goodreads page here: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/213307-apocalypse-blog-book-club

There is no fee to be part of the Apocalypse Blog Book Club, just a desire to read a dystopian themed book every month and discuss the story and parallels we see to our current world.

5. Climate Wars: The Fight for Survival as the World Overheats, by Gwynne Dyer (Oneworld Publications, 2010)

This is the second book I’ve read over the last month (the other one was Six Degrees, by Mark Lynas) about climate change, and let me tell you, the current environment has accentuated the terrifying visions depicted in these books. I would say it’s been similar to reading a horror novel in an abandoned slaughterhouse.

While I’m reading these apocalyptic visions of how badly planet Earth will be screwed, even if the average global temperature increases just a couple degrees, I’m seeing photos in my Facebook feed of friends sunbathing on the beach in Wisconsin…in February. Climate change is an issue that needs to be addressed by our government like yesterday, but the new head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt, is a climate change denier and a straight up fossil fuel flunky. His goal is to “dismantle” the EPA. From the New York Times:

“Both opponents and supporters of Mr. Pruitt’s say he is well positioned to carry out Mr. Trump’s campaign trail promises to dismantle the agency and slash its ranks of employees. Mr. Trump vowed to ‘get rid’ of the agency ‘in almost every form.’”

Climate Wars was a good companion to Six Degrees. The book has two components: a variety of fiction future scenarios author Gwynne Dyer has created, and chapters analyzing research that might back those scenarios up. It is a story of nations going to war over water and habitable land. There will be drought, famine, and flooding, which will lead to a large amount of “climate refugees.” If you think people are in a frenzy over building walls now, just wait until hundreds of millions of desperate people are heading north to escape unbearable climate change. And in the end, climate change could cause the oceans to die completely and the atmosphere will be filled with hydrogen sulfide. Hey, TGIF, everyone! Be sure to wear a Hawaiian print shirt today!

I really liked the book’s future scenarios, but the info chapters really didn’t grab my attention span. I found myself skimming and skipping over large parts of these chapters because the technical language was over my head. But if you want a look at what the upcoming Water Wars are going to look like, this is an interesting read.

Recommended? Like I said, I enjoyed the scenario chapters, but not the dry research ones.

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The Apocalypse Blog explores the topics of Tea Krulos’s third non-fiction book, which is about doomsday predictions, prepping, and pop culture. It’ll be published in 2018 (if the world survives that long). His first two books, Heroes in the Night (2013) and Monster Hunters (2015) are available from Chicago Review Press here: http://www.chicagoreviewpress.com/krulos–tea-contributor-296670.php

4. Parable of the Sower, by Octavia E. Butler (Warner Books, 1993)

I finished the first selection of the Apocalypse Blog Book Club (more info how to join HERE) and I have to say, wow, what a fantastic book, so glad I read it and have been able to have this shared experience with other people in the club.

I’m going to write more on my thoughts after we have in-person/ online discussion of the book at the end of the month. For now I just want to share some parallels to my non-fiction book I’m working on.

-Climate change! This book was written in 1993 and mentions the detrimental effects of climate change. I know climate change research has existed for decades, but was a little surprised to see references from 1993.

-Prepper culture! Preppers refer to a backpack ready to roll in case of emergency as a “bug-out bag” and a safe haven as a “bug-out location.” They study a wide range of survival disciplines including survival while on the move, the benefits of having a small community of people surviving together in a secure, isolated location. All of this was depicted in the novel.

-Civil unrest! A common theme in prepper theory and dystopian literature. Here we have marauding gangs of people who shave their heads, paint their faces, do a drug called pyro that gives them a sense of ecstasy from committing arson. Preppers want to be the group living safely in a fortified community to escape the burning world of savages surrounding them.

I definitely am interested in reading the novel’s sequel in the future, but first I have to catch up on some other reading and get a copy of the club’s March selection, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood.

Recommended? HELL YES.

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The Apocalypse Blog explores the topics of Tea Krulos’s third non-fiction book, which is about doomsday predictions, prepping, and pop culture. It’ll be published in 2018 (if the world survives that long). His first two books, Heroes in the Night (2013) and Monster Hunters (2015) are available from Chicago Review Press here: http://www.chicagoreviewpress.com/krulos–tea-contributor-296670.php