Bloody Confused! Bloody Confused! Bloody Confused! by Chuck Culpepper
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Summary:
Chuck Culpepper was a veteran sports journalist edging toward burnout . . . then he went to London and discovered the high-octane, fanatical (and bloody confusing!) world of English soccer.

After covering the American sports scene for fifteen years, Chuck Culpepper suffered from a profound case of Common Sportswriter Malaise. He was fed up with self-righteous proclamations, steroid scandals, and the deluge of in-your-face PR that saturated the NFL, the NBA, and MLB. Then in 2006, he moved to London and discovered a new and baffling world—the renowned Premiership soccer league. Culpepper pledged his loyalty to Portsmouth, a gutsy, small-market team at the bottom of the standings. As he puts it, “It was like childhood, with beer.”

Writing in the vein of perennial bestsellers such as Fever Pitch and Among the Thugs, Chuck Culpepper brings penetrating insight to the vibrant landscape of English soccer—visiting such storied franchises as Manchester United, Chelsea, and Liverpool . . . and an equally celebrated assortment of pubs. Bloody Confused! will put a smile on the face of any sports fan who has ever questioned what makes us love sports in the first place.

My Thoughts:
Awesome book for newbies and/or longtime fans of the English Premiere League and a fun, hilarious read...even if you're not a Pompey fan. Chuck Culpepper's observations on why "derby" is pronounced "darby" and how a stadium full of English fans can spot a handball from any seat in the house reminded me of when I started following the league and had those same moments.

Fun read...I recommend it for all football/soccer fans and anyone who enjoys a good story about someone discovering what all the fuss is about :)

Format: Paperback

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Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston
My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Summary:
17 year-old Kelley Winslow doesn’t believe in Faeries. Not unless they’re the kind that you find in a theatre, spouting Shakespeare—the kind that Kelley so desperately wishes she could be: onstage, under lights, with a pair of sparkly wings strapped to her shoulders. But as the understudy in a two-bit, hopelessly off-off-Broadway production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, wishing is probably the closest she’s going to get to becoming a Faerie Queen. At least, that’s what she thinks... In this fun, urban fantasy, Kelley's off-stage life suddenly becomes as complicated as one of Shakespeare’s plot twists when a nighttime trip to Central Park holds more than meets the mortal eye.


My Thoughts:
Um, not what I was hoping it would be. Strangely, I felt no real connection with any of the characters. It was as if I was watching their story play out through a frosted window. Disappointed.

Format: Kindle Edition

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A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Summary:
In the class of the high school English teacher she has been haunting, Helen feels them: for the first time in 130 years, human eyes are looking at her. They belong to a boy, a boy who has not seemed remarkable until now. And Helen—terrified, but intrigued—is drawn to him. The fact that he is in a body and she is not presents this unlikely couple with their first challenge. But as the lovers struggle to find a way to be together, they begin to discover the secrets of their former lives and of the young people they come to possess.


My Thoughts:
Given the lyrical prose, I think this novel would fit just as easily in the adult readers section as the YA shelves. Helen, like all of us, is just trying to find her place in the world. Supernaturally lovely!

Format: Paperback

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