Fireside Chat with a Grammar Nazi Serial Killer | Ryan Suvaal

Sinopse: 

Seventeen gruesome killings across the United States, within a span of six months and there is one clear connection among victims. They were all writers. 

While media is decorating the murders with sensationalist stories, and law enforcement is playing catch-up, the homicidal maniac remains elusive and secretive. 

Things get very interesting, when one day she decides to appear on an internet talk show for an honest fireside chat.

Nota: Este livro foi-me enviado pelo autor, em troca de uma resenha honesta, positiva ou não. Todas as opiniões expressas nesta resenha são completamente minhas. 

Oh meu deus, o que é que acabei de ler? Que livro divertido!

É-nos contada a história de uma serial killer que mata pela raiva que os erros gramaticais lhe dão.

Grazine, pseudónimo desta serial killer,  justifica esse sentimento que lhe incita a matar com o facto de investir o seu tempo valioso a ler os livros para depois eles estarem repletos de erros gramaticais que lhe saturam a paciência.

"I invest my valuable time reading a book. (...) But when I start noticing typos, comma splices, sentence sprawls, lack of parallelisms in sentence structures, overuse of commas or complete lack of them. These gaffes just fuel my fire."

Grazine mata-os nas mais variadas circunstâncias e deixa sempre uma pista para reivindicar o assassinato: um livro do(a) autor(a) com os erros gramaticais assinalados e outras notas.

Mas Grazine tem o bom senso de não se achar perfeita, também ela escreve com erros gramaticais, mas justifica as suas ações dizendo que ela não pretende que leiam o que escreve, mas que se um autor escreve o seu livro e pretende que muita gente o leia então Grazine, enquanto leitora, está no seu direito de exigir perfeição.

Neste livro até se fala na perspetiva das opiniões menos positivas dos bookbloggers por causa da gramática.

Bem, aqui um aparte, comigo não vão ter esse problema, porque se o livro é em inglês, e visto que a minha língua materna é  o português, ainda que tenha estudado muitas destas coisas "técnicas" do Inglês quando andava no básico e no secundário, já não sei olhar para elas e perceber se está errado. Movo-me pelo "isto soa-me bem" ou o contrário, ou seja, apesar de tudo eu só preciso de compreender e não ando a reparar propriamente nesses erros. Mas sei que provavelmente os cometo ao escrever os posts em inglês. (Não me mates Grammar Nazi Serial Killer!)

O livro é bem pequenino, por isso não quero adiantar muito mais, mas quero salientar algumas citações que se evidenciaram e gostava de partilhar convosco:

"But when you did not respect me as a reader, WHY SHOULD I RESPECT YOU AS A WRITER?"

#storytime Achei piada a esta! Publiquei uma resenha de um livro na página do facebook do blog e houve um autor  que me respondeu que tinha escrito um livro no mesmo género e fez um breve resumo sobre o mesmo. Respondi ao comentário dele dizendo que o livro dele até parecia interessante (pelo que ele tinha explicado) e ele enviou-mo por email no mesmo dia. Eu achei atencioso da parte dele e agradeci, claro, mas a verdade é que não tinha fechado parceria nenhuma, mas senti-me um pouco na obrigação de ter que o ler e fazer uma opinião, visto que ele me mandou o livro. #Brendatrouxa

Apesar de eu encarar a receção dos ebooks como um compromisso, abri uma exceção para este autor no momento em que ele tratou mal imensa gente, inclusive a mim, num grupo de bloggers portuguesas.

Depois dessas situações lá no grupo em que ele era racista, xenófobo e super mesquinho, falei com ele e disse-lhe que agradecia que me tivesse mandado o livro mas que não o ia ler nem resenhar, pois não aprovo aquele tipo atitudes e só trabalho com pessoas que respeitam os outros.

Achei as atitudes dele desprezíveis, não respeitou ninguém, inclusive desrespeitou potenciais leitores dos seus livros, e, acima de tudo, não nos respeitou como seres humanos.

Este blog é contra qualquer tipo de discriminação!

Desculpem o textão sobre isto, mas nunca vos tinha falado  sobre este assunto e quando li esta frase no livro veio-me logo à memória toda esta situação e decidi que era a hora de vos contar isto.

Quando lhe perguntavam se ela matava por género, cor, idade etc, e ela responde:

"I am an equal opportunities serial killer"

Contrastando com o que se vê, por exemplo, em Mentes Criminosas, que normalmente no perfil do suspeito ele tem sempre preferências. Esta serial killer mata "sem discriminar"!

Adorei também a crítica que o próprio autor faz a outros colegas autores. Hilariante!

"If I started punishing all writers commiting grammatical mistakes, I might end up wiping out an entire generation of writers from the planet."

Este livro é, na sua maioria, narrado em forma de entrevista num programa clandestino, emitido na Dark Web, o que conjugado com o facto de ser uma short story (história curta) acaba por dar um caráter muito leve ao livro. Mas admito que tive pena de o livro ser tão pequenino, gostava de ter lido mais sobre isto.

Este livro chega a ser ridículo de tão engraçado que é. A cada parágrafo há pelo menos uma gargalhada. E, acima de tudo, este livro ensina-nos a refletirmos sobre as coisas que nos irritam e sobre o que podemos fazer quando atingimos esse limite.

Classificação: ★★★★☆

Amazon | Página do Autor

Com amor,  Brenda

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Synopsis: 

Seventeen gruesome killings across the United States, within a span of six months and there is one clear connection among victims. They were all writers. 

While media is decorating the murders with sensationalist stories, and law enforcement is playing catch-up, the homicidal maniac remains elusive and secretive. 

Things get very interesting, when one day she decides to appear on an internet talk show for an honest fireside chat.

Note: This book was sent to me by the author in exchange for an honest review, positive or not. All of the opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Oh my God, what did I just read? What a fun book!

In this book we are told the story of a serial killer who kills driven by the anger that the grammatical errors give her.

Grazine, the pseudonym of this serial killer, justifies this feeling that urges her to kill by saying that she's tired of investing her valuable time reading the books to find out later that they are full of grammatical errors that saturate her patience.

"I invest my valuable time reading a book. (...) But when I start noticing typos, comma splices, sentence sprawls, lack of parallelisms in sentence structures, overuse of commas or complete lack of them. These gaffes just fuel my fire."

Grazine assassinates her victims in the most varied circumstances and always leaves a clue to claim the murder: an author's book with grammatical errors marked and other notes.

But Grazine admits that she isn't perfect either, she also writes with grammatical errors, but justifies her actions by saying that what she writes is only for herself and not to be seen by others, and that if an author writes a book, he will want someone to read it so it should be perfect. So Grazine, as a reader, thinks that she is in her right to demand perfection.

In this book the author even jokes around about the perspective of bookbloggers and their less positive opinions due to grammar mistakes.

Well, the authors don't have to worry about me just because if the book is in English, and since my first language is Portuguese I don't even notice that stuff! Of course, I've studied many of these "technical" English things when I was in highschool, but that time is long gone and right now I am moved by " this sounds good" or "this doesn't sound ok", that is, in spite of everything I just need to understand and I don't really notice these mistakes. But I know that I probably do them by writing my blog posts in English. (Do not kill me Grammar Nazi Serial Killer!)

The book is very small, so I do not want to go much further, but I want to point out some quotes that I liked and that I would like to share with you:

"But when you did not respect me as a reader, WHY SHOULD I RESPECT YOU AS A WRITER?"

#storytime I liked this one! I published a book review on the blog's facebook page and there was an author who replied that he had written a book in the same genre and made a brief summary about it. I responded to his comment by saying that his book seemed interesting (from what he had explained) and he emailed me the same day. I thought he was toughtful, and I thanked him, of course, but the truth was that I hadn't exactly asked for it, but I felt a little obliged to have to read it and make an opinion, since he sent me the book.

Although I regard receiving ebooks as a compromise, I made an exception for this author when he treated me SO BAD, and a lot of other people, in a group of Portuguese bloggers.

After these situations in the group where he was racist, xenophobic and super stingy, I talked him and said that I was grateful that he had sent me the book but I would not read or review it, because I do not approve of those kind of attitudes and only work with people who respect others.

This blog is against any kind of discrimination!

I found his attitudes despicable, he respected no one, even disrespected potential readers of his books, and, above all, he did not respect us as human beings.

Sorry for this big story in the middle of the review, but I never told you this and when I read this sentence in the book, I remembered this awful situation and I decided it was time to tell you about it.

I laughed really hard to when she asked if she killed by gender, color, age, etc., and she replies:

"I am an equal opportunities serial killer"

Contrasting with what I've seen, for example, in Criminal Minds, which usually in the profile of the suspect he always has preferences. This serial killer kills "without discrimination"!

I also loved the criticism that the author makes to other fellow authors. Hilarious!

"If I started punishing all writers commiting grammatical mistakes, I might end up wiping out an entire generation of writers from the planet."

This book is mostly narrated as an interview in a clandestine program, broadcast on Dark Web, and by beeing a short story it gives the book a very light reading. But I admit that I wished that the book was bigger, I would love to read more about it.

Is ridiculous how funny this book is. Each paragraph has at least one big laugh. And, most of all, this book teaches us to reflect on the things that irritate us and what we can do when we reach our limit.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Amazon | 

Author's Page

With Love,  Brenda

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They Called me Wyatt | Natasha Tynes

Sinopse: 

When Jordanian student Siwar Salaiha is murdered on her birthday in College Park, Maryland, her consciousness survives, finding refuge in the body of a Seattle baby boy. Stuck in this speech delayed three-year old body, Siwar tries but fails to communicate with Wyatt's parents, instead she focuses on solving the mystery behind her murder. Eventually, her consciousness goes into a dormant state after Wyatt undergoes a major medical procedure.

Fast-forward twenty-two years. Wyatt is a well-adjusted young man with an affinity towards the Middle East and a fear of heights. While working on his graduate degree in Middle Eastern studies, Wyatt learns about Siwar's death, which occurred twenty-five years ago. For reasons he can't explain, he grows obsessed with Siwar and spends months investigating her death, which police at the time erroneously ruled as suicide. His investigation forces him to open a door he has kept shut all hislife, a spiritual connection to an unknown entity that he frequently refused to acknowledge. His leads take him to Amman, Jordan where after talking to her friends and family members and through his special connection with the deceased, he discovers a clue that unravels the mystery of her death. Will Siwar get justice after all?

Não tenho como descrever o quão original este livro é de entre todos os livros que já li!

They Called me Wyatt é um livro especulativo passado entre os Estados Unidos e a Jordânia e trata de temas como a imigração, identidade, diferentes tipos de amor e a constante necessidade de se integrar numa terra estrangeira. 

Neste livro é-nos apresentada a história de Siwar Salaiha, uma estudante da Jordânia, que foi assassinada no dia do seu 25º Aniversário, cuja consciência migrou para corpo de um menino chamado Wyatt, que nasceu no dia em que ela morreu.

Três anos depois, Siwar emerge do subconsciente do pequeno menino e é aí que começa a contar-nos a sua história através dos olhos de Wyatt, focando-se no presente, como uma mulher de 25 anos no corpo de uma criança de 3 anos, integrada numa família que não é a sua, e foca-se, principalmente, no passado, na vida que viveu e deixou incompleta.

A história está dividida em duas partes. Na primeira parte, enquanto Siwar desespera pela sua condição de ter "reencarnado" no corpo de um bebé que nem sequer sabe falar e ler, são apresentados flashbacks sobre a sua vida em Amman e, posteriormente, nos Estados Unidos.

Siwar conheceu muitos "boys lixo" ao longo da sua vida e, inclusive, Wyatt depois de crescer também é um bocadinho idiota, mas, vendo pelo lado positivo, pelo menos não é um completo idiota e ajuda a solucionar o mistério do assassinato de Siwar.

Siwar é uma protagonista forte, cheia de vida e sonhos. E é por isso que a família dela não acredita que a sua morte tenha sido suicídio.

Siwar tem uma presença que é impossível ignorar.

E é isso que Wyatt irá descobrir. O menino loiro de olhos azuis cresce e apercebe-se que é diferente, que algo dentro dele mexe com as suas escolhas, que algo o faz sentir familiaridade com coisas que não devia sentir familiaridade, que algo o compele a visitar países Árabes, que algo o atrai para uma rapariga natural da Jordânia que ele até nem acha assim tão atraente.

Então na segunda parte do livro, a história desenrola-se em volta do que aconteceu com Siwar e sobre o turbilhão de emoções e vontades que existe dentro do corpo de Wyatt.

Quando a autora me contactou para ler uma cópia avançada do seu livro, a primeira coisa que fiz foi pesquisá-lo, pesquisei-o no Goodreads e achei que ele se destacava de todos os que já li... e não me enganei! Natasha escreve tão bem, até se critica, de certa forma, a si própria através da personagem principal e cria uma narrativa muito interativa, o que é de louvar porque a primeira parte da história é praticamente contada apenas por Siwar.

Confesso que a história tomou um caminho que eu não esperava, adotou uma parte futurista e isso agradou-me muitíssimo. Foi mais uma particularidade que o fez um romance tão diferente.

Uma das coisas que mais me marcou foi o facto de ela dizer que nunca pensou muito sobre a cor da sua pele no país onde vivia, mas que ao chegar aos EUA é que se apercebeu que a sua pele, e o seu sotaque, seria sempre um diferencial. E isso fez-me pensar em todos os crimes de ódio que acontecem pelo mundo fora em que alguém é excluído, ferido ou assassinado por ter vindo de outro país.

E confesso que acreditei fielmente no "final cliché", antes de a autora lhe dar a volta.

They Called Me Wyatt será lançado a 11 de Junho pela editora California Coldblood Books e eu mal posso esperar por poder adquiri-lo e oferecê-lo às minhas bookfriends.

Classificação: ★★★★★

Onde comprar: Amazon, Book depository

Com amor, Brenda

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Synopsis: 

When Jordanian student Siwar Salaiha is murdered on her birthday in College Park, Maryland, her consciousness survives, finding refuge in the body of a Seattle baby boy. Stuck in this speech delayed three-year old body, Siwar tries but fails to communicate with Wyatt's parents, instead she focuses on solving the mystery behind her murder. Eventually, her consciousness goes into a dormant state after Wyatt undergoes a major medical procedure.

Fast-forward twenty-two years. Wyatt is a well-adjusted young man with an affinity towards the Middle East and a fear of heights. While working on his graduate degree in Middle Eastern studies, Wyatt learns about Siwar's death, which occurred twenty-five years ago. For reasons he can't explain, he grows obsessed with Siwar and spends months investigating her death, which police at the time erroneously ruled as suicide. His investigation forces him to open a door he has kept shut all hislife, a spiritual connection to an unknown entity that he frequently refused to acknowledge. His leads take him to Amman, Jordan where after talking to her friends and family members and through his special connection with the deceased, he discovers a clue that unravels the mystery of her death. Will Siwar get justice after all?

I can't even describe how original this book is of all the books I've read!

They Called me Wyatt is a speculative novel developed between the United States and Jordan. This novel deals with topics such as immigration, identity, different kinds of love and the constant need to integrate into a foreign land.

In this book we are introduced to the story of Siwar Salaiha, a Jordanian student, who was murdered on the day of her 25th Anniversary, and whose conscience migrated to the body of a boy named Wyatt who was born the day she died.

Three years later, Siwar emerges from the subconscious of this little boy and that's where she begins to tell us her story through Wyatt's eyes, focusing on the present as a 25-year-old woman in the body of a 3-year-old, in a family that is not hers, and focuses mainly on the past, in the life she lived and left incomplete.

The story is divided into two parts. In the first part, while Siwar despairs of her condition of having "reincarnated" in the body of a baby, who does not even know how to speak and read, flashbacks are presented about her life in Amman and later in the US.

Siwar has known a lot of "trash boys" throughout her life, and even Wyatt after growing up is a bit of an idiot, but on the bright side, at least he's not a complete idiot and helps to solve the mystery of her murder .

Siwar is a strong protagonist, full of life and dreams. And that's why her family does not believe that her death was suicide.

Siwar has a presence that is impossible to ignore.

And that's what Wyatt will find out. The blue-eyed blond boy grows up and realizes that he is different, that something inside him changes his choices, that something makes him feel familiar with things that he shouldn't be familiar with, that something compels him to visit Arab countries, that something attracts him to a Jordanian girl whom he does not even find very attractive.

So in the second part of the book, the story unfolds around what happened to Siwar and about the whirlwind of emotions that exist within Wyatt's body.

When the author contacted me to read an advanced copy of her book, the first thing I did was research it on Goodreads, and I thought immediately that this book appeared to stand out from everything I've read before... and I was not wrong! Natasha writes so well, even criticizes herself in some way through the main character and creates a very interactive narrative, which has to be mencionated because the first part of the story is practically told only by Siwar.

I confess that history took a path that I did not expect, it adopted a futuristic plot and it pleased me very much. It was more of a quirk that made this book so original.

One of the things that struck me most was the fact that Siwar said that she never thought much about the color of her skin in the country where she lived, but when she went to the US she realized that her skin and her accent would always be a differential. And that made me think of all the hate crimes that happen around the world where people are excluded, injured or murdered just because they come from another country.

So that's why I faithfully believed in the "final cliché," before the author turned it around.

They Called Me Wyatt will be released on June 11st by California Coldblood Books and I cannot wait to buy it and offer it to my bookfriends.

Rating: ★★★★★

Buy here: Amazon, Book depository

With Love, Brenda

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