Brett McKay

This review is a supplement to the excellent review which V_Shaft has posted.

This book, like Brett and Kate McKay's blog, is useful for what you choose to take from it. No, this book will not magically transform you into manly man or a Victorian gentleman or whatever kind of man you aspire to be. The title of the book is The Art of Manliness, not The Philosophy of Manliness. The subtitle is Classic Skills and Manners for the Modern Man. But for the guy who wants to learns some classical skills of male etiquette, this book is very useful.

In the section Dress Like A Gentleman, the McKays skip casual wear. Most men today know how to do casual. Instead, they focus on how to look sharp when the occasion calls for it. BTW, a pocket square doesn't look old-fashioned; it makes a guy look well-dressed and wealthy---and this book can tell you how to fold one, three different ways.

In the section Fight Like A Gentleman, instruction is given for the most basic moves in Bartitsu, one of the precursors to modern mixed martial arts. It is still taught in martial arts schools today. While the chances of being attacked carrying a cloak and cane are exceedingly slim, the odds of being attacked when a sturdy stick (a tree limb, a tire iron, a baseball bat) and a large piece of fabric (a jacket, a blanket) are involved are pretty good.

Among the many sections of the book are sections giving tips on how to woo and marry a woman. Contrary to much feminist advice today, many women still enjoy being courted by strong, decisive, and romantic alpha men. Thirty years after women's lib, romance novels still sell like like your Grandma's hot-cakes. This book gives you the know-how. If you like romance, don't act like a jerk because you think it attracts women---you'll end up driving off the women you really want. On the other hand, if you really are a jerk, by all means, act like it. You will likely get a woman who is a b*tch herself.

To sum up, this book won't give you the theory, but it will give you the practicum if you feel like some of the refined skills of adulthood are alluding you.… (altro)

I enjoyed this book and the story. The end however, was another issue. But I digress. The story had a "Stephen King" feel to it which I was okay with because it was different than Mr. King's stories. Our main character was a kid in the summer who was bored and like to do stuff with his friends. A strange man moves into the creepy house next door to him and weird stuff starts to happen like people missing, dying or changing their personalities all together. So for 90% of the book, it was interesting, creepy and a page turner. Sigh. Without giving too much away, let's just say the end was confusing me. Why wait so long to find the girl? I get it you want to make a sequel... I totally understand but how about let him wait 5 years and then try to find the girl. Plus really you are going to let that last sentence hang like that? Ugh. That's why my 4 star review dropped to a 3 and a half.… (altro)

Book source ~ ARC. My review is voluntary and honest.

It’s the summer of 1982 and 12-yr-old Ret McCoy is happy. After moving around a lot his family has been in Riverton, Utah for three years. He and his friends, Gary and Jax, are nearly inseparable. They were spending their summer vacation riding bikes and just hanging out when they accept a dare by an older kid to spend the night in the Crooked House, a long abandoned house that everyone believed was haunted. Everything changed after that night. When people start disappearing, Ret seems to be the only one seeing the extreme weirdness going on, but he can’t make the adults believe him. That’s when he takes matters into his own hands. In the words of the Lost in Space robot: Danger, Will Robinson, danger!

Ret is 12 so this is kinda on the cusp of Middle Grade and Young Adult. It’s a little hard to believe that the adults can’t see what’s going on, because really, it’s very weird, but it’s always easier to consider any type of explanation over a supernatural one. The adults do a lot of rationalizing, but that’s expected. The kids do a lot of sneaky things that give me nightmares. LOL The supernatural part is pretty cool though for some reason it just doesn’t gel perfectly for me. I guess because there’s no real explanation about how it all gets started and the reason why. Okay, so there is mention of a Big Bad, but I have no idea how it all fits in. The supernatural stuff mostly starts off page and we’re dropped into it, so I guess I just want to know exactly how the new owner of the Crooked House fits into it all. All-in-all though this is a great spooky, and at times kinda scary, paranormal YA mystery.… (altro)