Dem Cats: A Review of Blue Wilderness Dry Cat Food

As promised, I am planning to roll out some reviews of the pet items I use here in my home with my two cats - and in case you missed my introductory post to them, here it is!

Like many others, I try to do the best I can for my pets - I think it's just human nature to be that way. With the advent of new, grain-free diets, I was interested, but I wasn't entirely sold on the idea. That was, until I lost a five year old cat, who had a lot of life left to live, to kidney failure. At the time, I was doing a dry diet, free-fed, with canned food once in a great while. What I found out in my research after the fact was a bit astonishing.

I had never bothered to look at the ingredients of the food I was using - that being regular blue bag Cat Chow. And when I did? I don't know exactly how I felt - maybe just bummed? Bummed to find out that I was feeding my cats a mixture of chicken heads and who knows what else. I had just purchased a new bag of food, and for whatever reason, flipped it over and read the ingredients. After I did that, I grabbed the receipt, got in my car, and drove back to the store where I'd purchased it, returning it immediately. This was in the beginning of my research, of course, and I had earmarked a few different foods I wanted to try instead.

Through research, and talking to my vet, I figured out that cats cannot thrive on just a dry diet. While it works, for the most part, a combination dry/canned, or just a canned diet is much better for cats in the long run. Why? Because they don't naturally drink a whole lot of water, and they get a lot of water from canned food. I attempted to combat the water problem by supplementing with canned food, as well as getting a water fountain (which I will review next), to generate interest. And it worked, all around!

My "natural" pet food journey started with a variety of Wellness-brand foods. Eventually, something didn't sit right with Vegas, and he started having some issues with vomiting and all else. So, I made the switch to Blue Wilderness. Initially, I was just using their Chicken recipe, and then this stuff came out - Blue Wilderness Chicken Recipe Indoor Hairball Control. My pet food savior!

Having two long-haired cats can be a bit of a challenge anyway, but with one who stress eats on occasion, as well as (in the past) yacked up at least one hairball a day, I couldn't not try it. And to be totally honest, it has changed my cats for the better in a multitude of ways. First and foremost, no more hairballs! On the rarest of occasions they still happen, but nowhere near the frequency as in the past. And not so much just this formula, but the Blue Wilderness brand as a whole, has changed everything from their energy levels to how soft their fur is! It is truly, truly a godsend.

While it may be more expensive than the old blue bag Cat Chow (a five pound bag will cost you around $13), it is definitely worth every penny. At this point, I feed a split diet, between this and a variety of canned foods (which I will cover in another post), and am so, so glad that I found this product, and will continue to pay the higher price tag in order to know that I am doing the best I can for my critters - and that's enough for me.

Book Club Monday: Beautiful You by Chuck Palahniuk

Now, before we get started, here is the description of the book:

From the author of Fight Club, the classic portrait of the damaged contemporary male psyche, now comes this novel about the apocalyptic marketing possibilities of a new product that gives new meaning to the term "self-help."

Penny Harrigan is a low-level associate in a big Manhattan law firm with an apartment in Queens and no love life at all. So it comes as a great shock when she finds herself invited to dinner by one C. Linus Maxwell, a software mega-billionaire and lover of the most gorgeous and accomplished women on earth. After dining at Manhattan's most exclusive restaurant, he whisks Penny off to a hotel suite in Paris, where he proceeds, notebook in hand, to bring her to previously undreamed-of heights of gratification for days on end. What's not to like? This: Penny discovers that she is a test subject for the final development of a line of feminine products to be marketed in a nationwide chain of boutiques called Beautiful You. So potent and effective are these devices that women by the millions line up outside the stores on opening day and then lock themselves in their room with them and stop coming out. Except for batteries. Maxwell's plan for battery-powered world domination must be stopped. But how?

I read the entirety of the book in three sittings. Which to some would be disappointing, but to me was great! I got to experience the accomplished feeling of finishing something and got to read a great book at the same time!

As with most of his works, the beginning of the book is a shocker, which leads the reader to wonder how in the hell we wound up here. And, like the wings of a dragonfly, the story begins to wind itself into the twists and turns that brought the two main protagonists together, really, by chance.

Oh, Penny. Poor Penny. She is a simple gal from Omaha with big dreams that took her to New York City to work as a gofer at a law firm until she (finally) passes the bar exam - which, in two tries, has not worked out. In a chance meeting with C. Linus Maxwell (or, Climax-Well, as he is known in the tabloids), she is flung headfirst into what she first thinks is a romance for the ages, but oh was she wrong. (In this portion of the book, I felt like I was reading a step-cousin of Fifty Shades of Grey, for the record.)

C. Linus Maxwell and his company own tabloids, software companies, and pretty well everything under the sun. What Penny doesn't know is that she is about to be used as a guinea pig for a new line of "personal care products" called Beautiful You. And by "personal care products", I mean sex toys. In case there was any confusion. From their first dinner, Maxwell and Penny are thrust into the spotlight, their story unfolding as front page news - mostly in the tabloids that Maxwell owns.

What she doesn't know is that it is part of Maxwell's master plan to not only keep ninety-eight percent of the women of the world under his thumb via repeated orgasms after his Dragonfly product "breaks" inside them, but, with his little black box, feeding sales of ugly shoes and other items into companies that he owns. Add in additional characters such as Maxwell's former lovers; an award-winning actress, and the female President of the United States, for two. And, it would definitely not be complete without the equivalent of a sexual witch doctor, who lives in a caveside in Nepal.

Without giving too much away, I wouldn't call this Chuck's best or worst work. What I would call it is an entertaining read that sits somewhere in the middle. If you like a quick, good book, and also enjoy Chuck's work as much as I do, Beautiful You is a great choice for your next read.

Influenster Review: Rimmel Stay Matte Foundation

Prior to this review, I had never really used any of Rimmel's products. I might have an old eyeshadow quad or mascara sitting around, but overall I use higher-end foundation. Now this stuff, this stuff surprised me!

First of all, the color is great. It isn't too fair or too dark for my light skin, and after an hour or two of wear, my face doesn't look like an oil slick. I am definitely into that! I can wear it out for a night, and blot off my face once or twice, instead of going into the bathroom every twenty minutes because it feels like my face is melting. It gives me a nice, dewy look, and I'm into it. Usually, I have to mix two or more foundations to get a good color, and something that feels good to wear. The tube doesn't lie - it is incredibly lightweight! I have found that I really enjoy both the look and feel of a mousse foundation. And if you're like me, you'll like this one, too.

Every product promises to do this and that, and most of the time, doesn't deliver. As far as foundations go, this is definitely one I would use again. I have used a lot of foundations, and this one I would recommend, especially for those who use drugstore brands. It should hit stores in January 2014.

I received this foundation free of charge for review from Influenster.

I spent my entire weekend binge watching Hemlock Grove, and I'm not sorry.

After watching House of Cards back in February, I was excited when I heard about Netflix's next foray into original series', Hemlock Grove. This past Friday, the 19th, the entire series became available on Netflix streaming, and suffice to say, I went a little ham, in that I watched the entire series in 24 hours, with a short break to, you know, sleep. 

I am not usually one for Eli Roth's films (I saw the first Hostel and was kind of over it), but I loved this. The story centers on the small Pennsylvania town of Hemlock Grove, with a main cast of characters including gypsies, werewolves, angels, and of course, regular people. I'm not exactly sure of what drew me in, though - I tried to like Twilight and that never happened, and fantasy stuff like werewolves I think should have been left with the Universal Monsters.

What I liked most about it was each storyline really fleshed itself out, and you didn't have many questions (of course, unless you count the question of just what the hell Roman's mother, Olivia is). The characters include Peter and Lynda Rumancek, a mother and son duo of gypsies that moves into the town right before strange things start to happen, Roman, Olivia, and Shelly Godfrey, one group of the large Godfrey family, who owns an institution/medical facility that is essentially the center of the town, and Norman and Letha Godfrey, a father and daughter duo, another part of the large Godfrey family - Norman being a psychiatrist at the town's mental institution. 

From the point that Peter and Lynda move into town, they are outsiders. Nobody cares for gypsies in the small town, and they are cast off by many just because of who they are. Peter and Roman strike up a friendship, however, and are often found together after the first girl from the high school is found murdered - no, disemboweled, in a park in the small town. It is found out that the girl was not killed by a human, but rather a creature, and the rumors going around town of Peter being a werewolf cause him to become the prime suspect. He is a werewolf, of course, but is not the culprit. In an early episode, he allows Roman to watch him change in the goriest, most interesting human to werewolf change I've ever seen. 

Without giving too much away, let me just say that Hemlock Grove is definitely a show worth your time if you're into any kind of supernatural television, crime drama, or even just campy horror. Reviews have either been extremely positive or extremely negative, but if you watch it in the right mindset, you will love it just as much as I did.

Book Club Monday #20: Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

It should be no secret at this point that I'm a fan of Gillian Flynn's novels. Since reading her second newest (Dark Places), and newest (Gone Girl), I decided to read Sharp Objects, as well. And, once again, I was not disappointed.

Sharp Objects follows the story of Camille Preaker, journalist for a small paper in Chicago that isn't all that popular. She is called back to her hometown of Wind Gap, Missouri to cover two recent child murders and get the case some more attention. The murders had the entire town stumped, as there were two dead girls and both of them had had their teeth removed. Why is the book called Sharp Objects, you might ask? Camille confesses to being a cutter in the early chapters, and spent many years of her teenage and young adult lives covering most of the skin of her body with words, cut into her flesh.

As with her other novels, Sharp Objects is one of those cerebral, can't-put-it-down novels that is so rare to find. With it being Gillian Flynn's first, I can definitely understand how it gained so much attention so fast - it is really a wonderful book, and a great way to begin the successful career she has now. She has a hell of a way with words - leaving the reader unable to get enough of her, and not quite able to figure out what is going to happen before the very end. I will say that once a resolution was reached, Sharp Objects ended pretty quickly, but at the same time, ending too quickly is not representative of how well the story is built throughout the course of the entire novel.

To make a long story short, Sharp Objects was a great first novel for Gillian Flynn, and she has done nothing but grow with her other works. I am personally excited to see what else she could have up her sleeve!

The Return of Book Club Mondays (on a Wednesday) – "Gone Girl"

Let’s just say that I haven’t had the time to read a book per week in a few months. It is a bit of a high expectation, given how much everyone has going on these days! But I’m going to do my best to get back on some kind of book review schedule – whether it’ll be every week or not I can’t promise, but I’ll try. 

Also, this post is my 80^th post on An Epic Liz! It seems like kind of a silly milestone, but it isn’t to me!

Gone Girl was a book I’d heard about or read about on a book list somewhere, and I downloaded it a couple of months ago with every intention of reading it right away, but yeah, life. Written by Gillian Flynn, who has written two other novels (Dark Places and Sharp Objects, for reference) that I haven’t read, I looked at the positive reviews and decided to give it a shot. 

Here is the jacket description, thanks to gillian-flynn.com:

Marriage can be a real killer. One of the most critically acclaimed suspense writers of our time, New York Times bestseller Gillian Flynn, takes that statement to its darkest place in this unputdownable masterpiece about a marriage gone terribly, terribly wrong. As The Washington Post proclaimed, her work “draws you in and keeps you reading with the force of a pure but nasty addiction.” Gone Girl’s toxic mix of sharp-edged wit with deliciously chilling prose creates a nerve-fraying thriller that confounds you at every turn.

On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick Dunne’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick Dunne isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but hearing from Amy through flashbacks in her diary reveal the perky perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer? As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister Margo at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was left in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?

Employing her trademark razor-sharp writing and assured psychological insight, Gillian Flynn delivers a fast-paced, devilishly dark, and ingeniously plotted thriller that confirms her status as one of the hottest writers around.

The first thing that I noticed was the voice of the novel wasn’t like most others. The story progressed by journal entries, basically, entries by both husband and wife. The husband being Nick Dunne, the husband of Amy, the woman who had gone missing. The entries switched off between Nick and Amy’s view points. Though it seems like a weird way to read a book, it really isn’t – not weird like Chuck Palahniuk’s Pygmy was, for sure. Each entry chronicled a different day, both prior to Amy’s disappearance and after. It was separated into three different sections to dictate the place in the story, as well, which made it easier.

Both had had bad luck and wound up back in Nick’s hometown in North Carthage, Missouri, which, for New York born and raised Amy, was difficult. The beginning of the book went through how they found themselves in their current situations, and the remainder was the story progressing from both viewpoints, both Nick and Amy, as Amy disappeared and the reader was left wondering what happened to her. As the story progressed, so did Nick's character. From doting, loving husband who thought he had gotten so lucky to a man who nobody believed. Both characters took a sinister approach at times, and the story blew itself open once the truth about the relationship between Nick and Amy came out. The plot progressed effortlessly, and I wanted to know what was going to happen so badly I just kept reading! Before I knew it, hours had gone by!

Unlike most books I read, I did not read much about this book before getting into it. In a world where everything has been reviewed a thousand times on the Internet, it was a bit refreshing to not have any idea what was coming next. One thing I will say, however, is this book absolutely kept me at the edge of my seat, and I finished it in just over one day! I don’t want to give too much away, but there were definitely some sucker punches thrown in for the reader who thought they knew exactly what was going on. 

This being my first read by Gillian Flynn, I will say that it was absolutely fantastic. I could not put it down, even if I wanted to. I had to keep reading, keep figuring out exactly what was going on. One hundred percent one of the most enthralling books I have read in a long while. In that, I will definitely be looking into her other works to see how they compare to Gone Girl. 

Read any good books lately? Don't hesitate to offer suggestions! Also, thank you for reading. I say it all the time, but it is definitely 100% appreciated.

Book Club Mondays: UR

This week, I didn't have time to read an entire book - but I figure I've been doing pretty well at a book a week for a long while - I decided to take a break and read a short story instead - Stephen King's UR. I found it on my Kindle, and as far as I know, you can only get it on a Kindle - for a special reason, of course!

UR is about a man named Wesley, who, when trying to get through a nasty breakup, decides to order a Kindle online. A large contributing factor to his breakup with his girlfriend Ellen was his love of books, so it was a purchase of spite. He gets it and notices something pretty obvious - it's pink and definitely not what he ordered. Thinking it was a fluke, he decides to keep it, and when exploring it, finds the Experimental area of the menu, and the Ur section. Many authors he loved had many unpublished works there, and he continued to explore until he realizes that the pink Kindle's Ur Local section allows him to see into the future, and realizes that someone close to him will die without his intervention.

If you are expecting a balls-to-the-wall, regular old Stephen King work, this isn't for you. It is a short narrative, which some have called an advertisement for the Kindle. Though, of course, in a way it is. Stephen King also has a history - Tommyknockers, anyone? - of writing about current events, specifically those technology related. If you are however interested in reading a great little narrative, UR is definitely all yours.

Get Pretty Reviews: Benefit Brow Zings

These days, I don't wear makeup every day - or even every other day. I do have some definite go-to products, though - and one place in which that was lacking was my brows! I have used a menagerie of different things to fill my eyebrows in over the years, but was looking for that one product that would just blow me away... and I definitely found it.

Benefit is a great makeup company. I have fallen in love with every product I've ever used! Until now, that list included SheLaq, Lemon Aid, and High Beam. I haven't tried much more, but am definitely interested in a few products. This post isn't about what I want, though, it's what I already have!

Brow Zings are a product that include two things in the compact - a wax for taming unruly eyebrow hairs, and a powder for filling, as well as two tiny brushes. Before finding this compact, I was using a Clinique eyeshadow, and I can say that one use and I was hooked.

The wax holds hairs in place wonderfully, while adding a bit of a dark tint that is only added to when you utilize the powder. A two-step process that now, only takes me a few minutes. One thing I would change, though, is those tiny brushes. I used them a couple of times, but I abandoned them for my regular brow brush. Below is photographic evidence of my first time using the product - I loved it, even then!

For someone with arched (and patchy) eyebrows like mine, a great filler product is a necessity. They make the issues surrounding plucking and waxing for years basically disappear! Thankfully, I found a great product in Brow Zings, and am planning on consulting the Benefit rack at Ulta a bit more religiously at this point!

What are your favorite go-to brow products?

Book Club Mondays: Deadlocked

In an attempt to get back into regular blogging, I (obviously) need to get back into my regular weekly posts – so, for the first time in several weeks, here is your Book Club Monday – featuring the 12^th book in the Southern Vampire Mysteries (AKA, the Sookie Stackhouse novels), Deadlocked, by Charlaine Harris!

Now, I’ve been watching True Blood fairly religiously for as long as it’s been on television (the fifth season just started last week! Fifth! Where does the time go?), and once I found out it was a series of books, I was all about it. I picked up Dead Until Dark at the local Half Price Books, and an obsession was born – an obsession that involved lots of DVR’ed True Blood episodes and a lot of trips to two separate Half Price Books locations, but I read the first eleven books really fast – even for me, and I’m damn near a speed reader.

One thing that I’ve noticed about the books (if you haven’t noticed, here’s a cold slap of reality), is that besides the first few, the show doesn’t follow them at ALL. There is a solid storyline laid down in the book, that, much like the show, doesn’t make any damn sense half of the time, but that’s moderately awesome at the same time. There’s always going to be plot points that nobody cares about, or that only some people care about, and there’s always no less than ten separate storylines happening at one given time. That’s awesome, I get that.

The thing about Deadlocked is that for one, I had no idea it was even out until I happened to be at Barnes and Noble and saw that the 11^th book, Dead Reckoning was out in paperback, so I knew that the next installment had to be out (just as a fun bibliophile tidbit – books typically come out in paperback around a year after their original hardcover version is published). I went home, took to my Kindle, found it, read it, and digested it all in the space of about three days.

And you know…. I don’t necessarily think that anything moved forward in the book whatsoever. I felt like it was a lot of random storylines thrown into a mixing pot and Deadlocked was what emerged. From about the sixth book on, it was what I’d come to expect, but this was different – this felt like I was reading the “ohmygodIamsosickof thesecharactersandthesestorylinesandthesepeoplejustkeepmakingmewritethesebooksbutMANARETHOSEHBOCHECKSNICE” ramblings of someone who was absolutely and completely OVER what she had created. And you know, for Charlaine Harris, I suppose it would be understandable. For me, she could have quit after around the fifth or sixth book, and I would have been okay with it.

Here’s the jacket description:

It’s vampire politics as usual around the town of Bon Temps, but never before have they hit so close to Sookie’s heart…

Growing up with telepathic abilities, Sookie Stackhouse realized early on there were things she’d rather not know. And now that she’s an adult, she also realizes that some things she knows about, she’d rather not see—like Eric Northman feeding off another woman. A younger one.

There’s a thing or two she’d like to say about that, but she has to keep quiet—Felipe de Castro, the Vampire King of Louisiana (and Arkansas and Nevada), is in town. It’s the worst possible time for a human body to show up in Eric’s front yard—especially the body of the woman whose blood he just drank.

Now, it’s up to Sookie and Bill, the official Area Five investigator, to solve the murder. Sookie thinks that, at least this time, the dead girl’s fate has nothing to do with her. But she is wrong. She has an enemy, one far more devious than she would ever suspect, who’s set out to make Sookie’s world come crashing down.

One thing I learned about five or six books into the series is that the jacket description means NOTHING, since they lovingly leave out the fact that there’s so many other storylines and things happening in the background that just barely tie it all together that you get pulled away from anything you remotely thought was in the book.

All I can say is that if you’ve already read the first eleven books in the series, you might as well read this one. I can’t give it a gleaming review or an awful, disdainful rant about how bad it was, but if I could rate it, it would get a good ‘meh’.

Book Club Mondays: Catching Fire

After reading through two of the three Hunger Games books, I can now definitely understand why they're such a big deal and why so many people have fallen in love with them! The way Suzanne Collins writes is almost addictive; you can't put down one of the books when you start reading them. 

Catching Fire is the continuing story of Katniss Everdeen, shared winner of the 74th Annual Hunger Games, as she gets used to life in the Victor's Village, and as the only surviving female from District 12 in the history of the Games. Considering she didn't come from much, the life change into a place where she didn't have to worry about much was definitely confusing for her - though she got used to it as easily as she could. It seemed as if life was getting back to normal, until President Snow decides that they need to do something 'special' for the 75th annual Games, and calls for a 'Quarter Quell', in which former winners are called back into the arena for a second go-around. At this point, Katniss doesn't seem to care about much but keeping Peeta alive, and the adventure she goes through in this book almost encapsulates the drama of the first book. 

Suzanne Collins is definitely a wonderful writer, gifted with the ability to open up an entire world with her words and ignite a fan base for her writing that's barely been seen before. Since YA fiction seems to be heating up, it's a good time to be a Hunger Games fan!

Have you read it? What do you think?

Book Club Mondays: The Hunger Games

Okay, I did it. I kept hearing about it, and hearing about it, and hearing about it, and I finally decided to see what all the fuss with The Hunger Games was about, since hearing all about the movie's upcoming release. I was absolutely not disappointed.

I was enticed by the promise of a story, that, for once, featured a strong woman. No sparkly vampires or emotional abuse in teenage relationships, just the story of a young girl forced to make difficult decisions by the world around her.

Katniss Everdeen is a talented hunter and archer, and is forced into competing in the yearly Hunger Games. The Hunger Games is a fight to the death between two tributes (one boy, one girl) from each district in futuristic Panem, with Katniss coming from District 12 (of 12 total districts). When the name of Katniss' younger sister, Primrose, is pulled at The Reaping, it does not take long for Katniss to volunteer herself as tribute so her sister does not need to feel the carnage that is The Games. Along with baker's son Peeta Mellark, the two go into the arena for the 74th Annual Hunger Games. The cast of characters surrounding them (eccentric emcee Effie Trinket, mentor Haymitch Abernathy and stylist Cinna, to name a few) bring a certain humanity to the story that I'm not certain would have been there without them.

Before I get too far ahead of myself, let me just say that if you've been thinking whatsoever about checking out either the books or the film - definitely do it. The Hunger Games is definitely worth your time - I started Catching Fire as soon as I could after finishing it!

The newest developments!

First of all, let me apologize for my silence minus a couple of Book Club Mondays! I have had a whole lot going on, and not a lot of time (or will) to write about those things. Let's make it really easy on you:

• First! I bought a domain name for the blog! You can reach the blog at the old address (http://anepicliz.blogspot.com), or you can try out the new address, which is simply http://www.anepicliz.com!
• A lot of cool stuff is coming. I'm going to pick back up with How To Tuesdays and some of my other weekly stuff, as well as doing special posts and even starting some new weekly posts.
• I'm going to start reviewing music as well as books (since it is what I've been doing seemingly forever), and even doing posts about bands that have been long broken up that I never want to fade from memory.

I'm sure there's more, but a girl does have to have her secrets, doesn't she?

Band I Saw: City and Colour

Photo by Erik Ljung Photography, taken from the Pabst Theater Facebook

Do you listen to a band that you've always wanted to see live, whose music has impacted you emotionally and gotten you through some of your darkest times? I was given the opportunity to see a band that has done just that for me over the past few years.

On Monday, February 6, Mike brought me to the City and Colour show at the Pabst Theater here in Milwaukee. In case you're unfamiliar, City and Colour started as a side project for Dallas Green, then of Alexisonfire. Since, Dallas has been experimenting with doing City and Colour full time, and if the show was any indication, doing very well.

Before going any further, let me just say that before this show, I have never set foot inside the Pabst Theater, although I've lived in Milwaukee on and off for about the past six years. The Pabst is an absolutely breathtaking place to see a show, both physically and from a sound standpoint. A history of amazing shows from nights past bled through the walls as the opening band played, and moreso before the house lights went down for the headlining act. The lights and sound were both impeccable, adding yet another level of enjoyment to an already wonderful night. It didn't hurt that drinks weren't too expensive, either, especially for what I was expecting in going to a more upscale venue.

It was one of the greatest live music experiences I have ever had. I have never had a more emotional reaction to a song than I did on Monday night. It's absolutely amazing how just hearing a song played live can bring up the most intense feelings - something I'd heard but never felt until that night. During at least two songs of the set, tears just poured down my face, and there was nothing I could do about it. The specific songs, for the record, were "Sleeping Sickness" and "Day Old Hate".

As someone who has loved the raw emotion and beauty in the simple songs of Dallas Green since City and Colour's debut, "Sometimes" in 2005, I was completely satisfied by the live show and the set. There was a perfect mix of songs from each of the albums released, and I loved hearing how well they translated into a live show.

Wiping the tears from my face as much as possible, I stood and sang along to every song. I had an honest experience and fell even more in love with some of the simplest, most emotional songs that I have ever heard. And the only thing I can say to that? Thank you, Dallas Green.

Book Club Mondays: "The Haunting of Hill House"

While a great deal of the reading I do on a regular basis is new literature by younger writers, once and awhile I get the itch to read a classic. For horror fans, The Haunting of Hill House is definitely one of those books. It spurred two films - if you've seen The Haunting, this is the book it was based on. And yes, that scene where Owen Wilson gets his head taken off by the marble lion is still one of my favorite crappy horror moments.

The story centers around Dr. John Montague inviting four individuals to stay at Hill House, which is a haunted house Dr. Montague rents for the summer, and everything that happens caused by Hugh Crain, the original owner of the house. It is still hailed as one of the best literary ghost stories of the twentieth century, and for good reason. It explores fear in many different ways, including themes of possession, which aren't usually discussed in modern horror.

If you're one of the individuals that has only seen the films the book was based on, take a few hours of your life and read. The book, though old, has many characteristics that new horror doesn't - mostly, being one of the first explorations of psychological horror. As you read, you feel Eleanor, the main character, being pulled farther and farther away from the others, and very nearly possessed by the house itself.

Book Club Mondays: "Professional Idiot"

I have always been totally and completely enamored by the stories of others (as I've said). Though it seems like every celebrity and their mother, father, sister in law, and third cousin twice removed are putting out memoirs these days, I decided to try Steve O's Professional Idiot on for size a couple weeks back.

Unsure of what I was expecting, I was a bit surprised by the content. Not by ridiculous stories of getting drunk, high, huffing nitrous and jumping off of stuff, but finding out that the funnyman was born overseas and was a bit of a brat growing up. Brat more meaning that he moved around a lot (his father worked for Pepsi), not that he was basically ADD and got in trouble for fun (which was also true). I loved reading the story of how he found Doc McGhee's hotel room when he was 13 and got to meet Motley Crue, as well as other stories of his youth.

While I was entertained by the brunt of the book, a portion just made me sad. Addiction changes people, never for the better. It is blatantly obvious after reading Professional Idiot that Steve realizes that. I can imagine that writing the book was part of his healing process.

Though most of us know him as a real 'Jackass', the book was (in my mind) a good representation of an underestimated man. While he's made a fortune doing stunts nobody would ever dream of doing and run around like a crazy person for the past ten years, Professional Idiot shows a new side of the 'Jackass' we never knew.

Book Club Mondays: "I Don't Care About Your Band"

Julie Klausner's "I Don't Care About Your Band"

This summer, I have been reading a whole lot thanks to an adult summer reading club at one of my local libraries that could lead to glamorous prizes like tickets and gift cards! If I'm going to read the books anyway, why not - maybe - get a return? In any case, I finally finished reading Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire Mysteries novels (the books True Blood is based on), and picked up something an adult would read.

I Don't Care About Your Band is one of those books I happened to pick up on the new shelf of the library. I read the back, thought it would likely be funny (a glowing review from one of my favorite comedians, Patton Oswalt, definitely helped), and checked it out. It sat on my kitchen table until a few days ago, and it was such a quick read, it only took a few days to get through!

The book chronicles Klausner's funniest adventures in dating, from the total psycho who may or may not have lived in his bathrobe to the guy in a band she couldn't stand spending five minutes with. Each chapter was a story in itself, and boasted yet another story of dating hell in a cute, entertaining way. I laughed out loud several times while I read it, and I'm not typically the type to laugh at a book.

From the back jacket:

This is not a book about successful relationships. This is a book - and a very, very funny one - about the humiliations we endure to find love and the lessons that can be culled from the wreckage. 

As someone who has never been incredibly lucky in relationships, it definitely rang true for me. Now that I'm finished reading it, I'm very glad I took the time to, and hope you will as well - lucky in love or not!