"The Cat Who Could Read Backwards" - Lillian Jackson Braun

I wanted a mystery. I don't know how I mentioned the Cat Who... series, but Julie told me she loved them as a kid and read almost all of them.

So what the hey. I rented it from the library.

I'm going to struggle writing this book review because of how sporadically I did read it.

I don't know what it was about this. The reading was easy. The characters easy to identify (I tend to be one of those people who, halfway through the book, go "hold up. Who's Bob? What's he look like? Where'd he come from? Wait, why does everyone hate him??") And the chapters weren't that long. So I don't know.

I'm not absolutely sure I gave it a chance. I just never fully got into the book.

The series is old. But in case you didn't know, the Cat Who.. books, or this one in particular, the first one, begins when Jim Qwilleran, a former crime reporter, has to settle for a job as an art writer. He's getting older, and that was the only job available, and he has to eat.

They say the art beat is the most popular section of the newspaper, which usually isn't the case. Qwilleran takes the job and steps into a world of pride, strange triangle drawings and junk sculptures ludicrously called "art", young talent, and a strange and overall despise and hatred for a art critic called George Bonifield Mountclemens the Third.

Thrift Store Buys

Today was a good thrift store day in the world of used books. Or, in my world of used books. I hope you don't mind me sharing, I'm pretty pleased for my $2 worth.

The first three are chick lit (Is "Big Boned" second in the series?). Then a Beauty book with easy pictures (something I need, the easy pictures I mean). Then a popular Christian book called "Lies Young Woman Believe" which I thought would be very useful, especially with me leading a women's bible study.

Can't wait to start on "The Devil Wears Prada" for review. I think I'll read that one first, once I finish "The Cat Who Could Read Backwards".

"Size 12 Is Not Fat" - By Meg Cabot

I'm sorry I took so long to read this book. I don't know what else to say, except that that doesn't give the book a very good standing to begin with.

Meg Cabot is famous for her Princess Diaries series. I own two of those books and never read them. I've tried reading the first Princess Diaries twice, once when I was younger and once . . about a month ago. Still couldn't finish it.

Cabot just seems to have this way of giving detail, description, back story, blah blah. But nothing is really happening. It's like the heroine is staring out into space, her head cocked to the side and tongue hanging out, having all these thoughts running through her mind.

For a story like "Size 12 is not fat," which is supposed to be a kind of coming-of-age murder mystery, I - personally and politely - would appreciate more action and less thinking.

Sorry. I'll explain the book further.

"Perfect Chemistry" - By Simone Elkeles

Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles. What first stood out to me about this book, I'll have to admit was the cover. I was at Target, browsing the book sections and picked this up.

I loved the beginning chapter. Seeing the behind-the-scenes life of Brittany Ellis, with her nerve-stricken mom tapping a heel and expecting her to play the perfect daughter every second of the day, to Brittany's constant care and attention she has for her handicapped sister.

I had to read on.

The next chapter was about Alex Fuentes, sharing a room with his two little brothers who fight, and a fiery Latino mother who knows how to set them all straight with a cold bucket of water.

What's not to love?

The story is about these two characters. Their very different lives, and how they're brought together from two perfectly different worlds (almost like West Side story) to love and help each other along their paths in life, even when it seems like the whole world is against them.

Now, the story may be cute. But "bad-wise" this story's got it all: violence, language, sex. I'm assuming Elkeles pushed her limit in what's supposed to be a Young Adult book.

VIOLENCE/GORE: Alex is part of a gang, which institutes violence, senseless beatings, even a murder.

LOVE/SEX: Alex has a reputation of never backing down and when his stupid friends push him into a bet to see if he can sleep with Brittany Ellis or not, he takes it. Thus making sex one of the main factors throughout the entire book.

DRUGS/ALCOHOL: Both characters don't mind drinking. Both get drunk. And one gets high. No real temperance in anything.

Definitely do NOT use this book as a guide for your morals. Elkeles doesn't have any message for the reader except "don't be in a gang" and "use protection". . Which both seem to be stupid "no duh"s in my opinion.

This is a series but I don't know if I'll pursue it, cute as the stories may be.

"Mocking jay" - By Suzanne Collins

So I finally finished the Hunger Game series today.

Phew.

That's my word for this book.

Phew.

I have to say, I feel like Collins SQUEEZED as much death and destruction as possible in her last book. At first, I'll admit, it was interesting and every chapter ended with "oh gosh!", "say what?". But mostly "woah, that person just died!! Oh my gosh, THAT person just died?!. . . Oh. Shocker. They died too. . Okay, so who else is going to die? . . Ugh, there goes another one. . Seriously, another?"

The final lap of this book was getting kind of painful, I'm sad to say. I had a few days where I was sure I'd finish it then sighed and told myself I'd finish it tomorrow.

As always, Collins takes you on an adventure, pretty or not, to some place you've never been, and for that, I tip my imaginary hat. I was also pretty pleasantly surprised with the ending, which dulled the pain. So don't give up, read to the end.

VIOLENCE/GORE: It's a Hunger Games book. 'nuf said?

When it comes to a comparison with the other books. .  I don't really know how to compare, actually. But there is torture in this one, malicious, and gruesome thoughts. And graphic scenes.

LOVE/SEX: Before I forget, I forgot to mention something about the other books. There has been a few suggestions of prostitution in the previous ones. And in the second, a fake pregnancy.

In this book, one of the characters speaks out for being forced to sell their body. Nothing descriptively graphic, more conversational.

DRUGS/ALCOHOL: Haymitch is always drunk, or always wants to be. And Katniss speaks of the morphine used to dull her pain almost like sweet nectar and how beautiful it is.

As always, honor where honor is due. Congratulation Collins for making such a successful series. People have fan art, fan fiction, jewlery, tattoos. Heck she must be sitting pretty is my guess. As an aspiring writer, I admire her very unique work.

"The Undomestic Goddess" - By Sophie Kinsella

You'll have to forgive my flakey-ness. It's summer and things have been kind of hectic.

I finished this book a while ago, so I apologize for taking so long. And my judgement may be impaired from just how I read it, but I don't think Sophie Kinsella's "The Undomestic Goddess" was all it's cracked up to be. And from what I understood, it was her best, but maybe I understood wrong.

I love Sophie Kinsella's whimsical way of writing and her charming characters and the way everything she writes just flows. I like to read a lot of her stuff because I love her style and hope to learn from it and use it in my own writing. But, "The Undomestic Goddess"? I don't know.

The story is about a workaholic, Samantha Sweeting, who's worked herself to the bone in her law firm and is just on the verge of becoming partner. So for understandable reasons, she can't back down now. And then a series of events propels her into pretending to be a maid and cook, and being hired as such, which, of course, being focused as a lawyer, she has no idea how. She can't cook or clean or iron.

The plot idea I love. A lawyer pretending to be a domestic? It's the perfect plan for a comedy. But I don't know. . Something went wrong in the sense that it's like everything went right. Or there really weren't any surprises. Maybe that's my issue, it was all too predictable from the start, and I like being taken for a ride, not just assured that my predictions were true.

And the sex scene was unnecessary.

VIOLENCE/GORE: This is kind of a funny question for a chick lit book; did it have violence or gore? Gore, no, I can say that off the top of my head. Violence I don't even remember. I believe one character punches another, but that's about it.

LOVE/SEX: There is a sex scene and nudity. Upon further research, I believe this is actually Kinsella's worse book for that, meaning this book has her most "elicit" sex scene, which is probably why most believe it's her best. But I didn't appreciate it. And it makes Samantha sound nasty and shallow, which she admits openly in the book.

It isn't disgustingly graphic. Kinsella wraps it up quickly in about a paragraph. The foreplay is drawn out, but it's just them picking berries in their underwear and brushing up against each other every now and then, arms and hands.

I have to say something for Nathaniel. He kind of acts like a pawn in this sense. I know I'm being incredibly critical, but really. It's like he barely meets her, and sure he pretends to be strong by torturing her, but he gives her what she wants anyway and she isn't bashful about it. It just. . eck. Irritates and disgusts me.

Honestly if this was the first of Kinsella's works I read, I probably would've skipped all the other ones. But before this (and for some random reason I don't understand, I didn't review them) I read "Twenties Girl", "Remember Me?", "You have my number" (something like that) and I feel like I'm missing another. . So I guess I was lucky. Or she was, if she cares. Lol. So somebody is at least.

DRUGS/ALCOHOL: As in all her books, Kinsella mentions the casual glass of wine. And a character in the book owns a pub she helps out in. Drinks are very casual.

And there you have it.

"Catching Fire" - By Suzanne Collins

So. . . You'll have to excuse the little tantrum I had over losing this book at the library. *cough and blinks awkwardly, staying quiet for a few moments* Yeah. I have nothing more to say about that.

Anyway, so I finished book two of the Hunger Games. I was a little confused because I thought some people said they hated it, then others told me it was their favorite. I really can't say which one I like more. They're really pretty different. This one may be a bit slower, just because we aren't so hooked on finding out if and who will die once we turn the page.

Something that may factor into the difference between my reading this book and reading the first is that, before I read the first, I watched me movie. Obviously, I couldn't do that with this one, so now I'm excited to watch the movie now that I've read the book.

I know. Like you care if I watched the movie or read the book first. I'll move on.

Catching fire, obviously, is the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy. We enter back into Katniss and Peeta's world to find Katniss still is on the fence with the whole guys-who-are-in-love-with-her issue yet she has avoided Peeta like the plague since she arrived. Kinda bummer to me, because I really like Peeta. I mean I can understand, Gale is Katniss' first love. But when you're thrown into a crazy situation like this with a guy, actually do like him a little, spend all this time with him, and - just for the heck of it, I'll add - are being forced to pretend to be in love with him: frikin' just accept that maybe God's trying to tell you something. Just sayin'.

You can tell I'm a romantic. So I'm just playing into Ms Collins' hands, letting her taunt me with the love triangle that never ends. I guess all I can say, and ever say, is poor Peeta.

So, Peeta and Katniss got the mansions they were promised, the rations and feast for their district has arrived, and for once everyone in it will sleep with full stomachs. Their greatest worry is really just finding something to do so they don't get bored. . . And then President Snow mentions whispers of rebellion. Says that Districts are starting to believe her eating the berries was her going against the Capitol, not a sign of desperate love. Tells her her current fake romance with Peeta won't do, and she'll have to step it up a notch if she wants everyone she loves to be and stay safe.

And then something unexpected happens: her and Peeta are sent back in the rink. A fight to the death. And this time, it's for sure: only one person is coming out alive. The question is just: who?

The second book may come across a little slower, because it's a little more focused on Katniss' emotions and thoughts and feelings, as opposed to the fast action from the arena in the first one. But I found it interesting. And interesting is enough to keep me going through a book. I also always love being taken somewhere I've never been before and seeing it in my mind. These books are adventures, which is probably why I love them.

VIOLENCE/GORE: It's a Hunger Games book, so there is a lot of violence. Enough to make an impression on you. In comparison to the first one, I almost want to say there's more, but I don't remember enough to compare. I may just be saying there's more because this book is fresh in my mind. But also because this violence happens outside of the arena. In a way, the violence inside the arena is acceptable because we're expecting it and  it's in the rules. The violence outside the arena, in their every day lives, comes across more cruel and dastardly.

LOVE/SEX: Katniss and Peeta kiss vaguely and sleep in the same bed with each other, but nothing more than that happens.

DRUGS/ALCOHOL: Haymitch is as always struggling with his alcoholism. And there are two, what they call, morphlings, from other districts, addicted to drugs and presented as pale and sickly. Collins doesn't seem to be, in any way, advocating drugs or alcohol.

I'll read book three as soon as possible. =-)

My Antonia - By Willa Cather

"My Antonia" by Willa Cather is something I had to read for school, which is exactly why it took me so long.

I'm not saying the book is bad. It read just fine. I think it was the fact that I kinda didn't care about any of the characters anymore that made it so long.

The story is about - shocker - Antonia, a foreign girl who comes to the country with her Bohemian family to start a life there. It's told from the eyes of Jim Burden, a boy sent to the same red countryside of Nebraska to live with his grandparents. Antonia with her olive skin and mysterious black eyes had always enchanted him even from childhood, so he tells her story, in full.

I don't happen to like life on the prairie stories. So I may be biased. But describing the hillsides and seasons and the colors the sun makes through the cornfields at a precise hour. . Sure, I'll take it, to understand the surroundings. But I can only take so much, and for so long. A page of description, or more, every different season? Come on. . Now other people can breeze this by and it's actually interesting. I just wasn't feeling it in this book. Again, it may be because life on the prairie is not my idea of an interesting enough life to read about.

So I'll just move on to the bullet points.

VIOLENCE/GORE: A character commits suicide in the story (I don't want to tell you who because it was sadly one of the most interesting parts of the story). He uses a shot gun, they explain how he did it, and the book describes how his blood froze in the winter air and they had to hack it to free him from the bed. They also point out pieces of hair and skin on the ceiling.

There's a story about an unfortunate wedding party that gets eaten by wolves too. (That would be the second interesting part of the story. . Sorry, I'm really not a creepy, I-like-death person. Those honestly were the parts I actually woke up at).

The main character gets beat up in one scene, too. But it's not really graphic.

LOVE/SEX: There's some creepy men, willing to take advantage of foreign and ignorant girls. Some vague kisses exchanged between characters. And one character gets pregnant without getting married, ruining her except for the beautiful baby she gets. But no real explanations or descriptions.

DRUGS/ALCOHOL: Honestly, I don't remember. There might be some pipe smoking and light drinking that I wasn't paying attention to, it being in the ranching days and such. But it isn't stressed.

And that'll be "My Antonia" by Willa Cather that I read for school. So glad I got it over with. It was getting painful.

SO mad

So. If you guys didn't know, I volunteer at the library. Well, while I was working, I saw the second hunger games book on the shelf. When I finished working I went over to get it and it was friggin' GONE. ! There was even an empty space between the books where it used to be. And now, I'm the FOURTEENTH on the waiting list. OOOH! I'm so mad. Be angry with me. Next time no more miss nice girl. -_-

"The Hunger Games" - By Suzanne Collins

I had watched the movie of this before reading the book. I'll say that up front. And honestly, the movie didn't thrill me at all. I mostly didn't understand and what I did understand I thought was gruesome.

My older brother has been gone to college all year, even when we had moved we had to box up all his things for him. Well, he came back for spring break, and just when I thought I was through with boxes, we got to go through our storage shed and pull all his boxes out yet again for him to go through them. The lucky thing is that he's a bookie too. So he has all these guy books: military history and such, different from what I have. But he said I could pull aside whatever I wanted, since he wouldn't be using them anyway. So I scored big. Starting with the first Hunger Games book.

It may seem sad that I'm this far behind the Hunger Games frenzy, but I strangely take pride in that fact, though, I must say, I am catching up to frenzy pretty quick.

So, true. A bunch of kids brutally hacking other to the death isn't really a Mary Poppins bedtime story. But the writing - totally not grammatically correct, by the way, which isn't fair - flowed really well. It really is a sit-down read, every chapter flowing into the next.

In case you don't know the story, which would kind of be a shocker at this point but it's possible, the story is about this society in the way future. Every community is a "district" and the harsh government ruling over them is called the "Capitol". Well as the story goes, at one point, the districts tried to rebel against the Capitol. And failed. As yearly punishment for this act and a reminder that they're still in control, the Capitol forces each district to offer up two tributes, a boy and a girl, to participate in a fight to the death called the Hunger Games. When Katniss Everdeen's baby sister, Prim, is chosen, she immediately volunteers to take her place in the games. Katniss views the Hunger Games as a death sentence, but her whole life has been about survival, and she had promised Prim she would do her best to win and not die, so she uses all she knows how in order to keep that promise.

The reason this story is hard to put down is because from the very beginning, well first, you're confused and trying to understand her world, and then you're just stuck, addicted to finding out if she'll die, if the nice guy who claimed to have a crush on her, Peta, will die. Or if they'll kill each other, etc. It's one of those things you just have to know. And Suzanne Collins did a great job of making us this interested in their well-being as we are.

From a moral standpoint, it's iffy. I mean, it is about murder for survival. And at one point, it kind of makes you wonder, how are we different from animals if we act this way. For me personally, it made me grateful life isn't like this in reality. So you can decide for yourself. Like I said very iffy. I don't think I'd want my thirteen year old brother to be reading about this. It really isn't a pretty picture to be selling to kids, nor a clear message of anything. Pure entertainment, I'd have to say. Or for me who wants to be a writer, good studying to see what's trending and what readers like.

VIOLENCE/GORE: Obviously. Haha. Now, I'm trying to remember how graphic it gets. . A boy coughs and sprays Katniss' face with blood. . Blood is spoken of a lot during the battles. And murder. I don't know what else to tell you.

LOVE/SEX: There's a small romance that goes on between Katniss and Peta, as in the movie. In the book, they kiss a few times and sleep in the same sleeping bag, which is more for warmth and survival than romantic. Peta puts his arm around her and that's about it.

DRUGS/ALCOHOL: Katniss and Peta's mentor is frequently drunk and has a reputation for being so. He even throws up in front of them and falls in it. The alcohol isn't seen in a good light, though, since Katniss is bitter toward having her life in the hands of a drunkard, who may just be passed out when she needs him most.

So there ya have it. I was very excited to watch the movie again after reading the book and liked it WAY more the second time. Then I went on and watched an hour long special feature/documentary thing about it. . Yeah, I think I've just been bitten by the Hunger Games bug. I don't know whether to embrace it or be terrified.

Maybe a little bit of both. X-)

"This Lullaby" - By Sara Dessen

It's hard for me to describe this book. Mostly because I've never had a book that "preached" to me like this one. No. More so, I've never had a character that I relate to so much, before this book.

It's kind of weird to say that, since the book is about a girl who has a set routine with how her relationships pan out, making having a boyfriend - but mostly dumping them after a certain amount of time - a hobby, and never letting anyone get close to her. And I'm really not that  or a heart breaker to that extent. My best friend'll understand where I'm coming from with this. But anyway. I just liked it.

This story is about giving love a chance. Getting out of the routine. Bending some of your anus ideals. And letting people in.

Remy never strays from the rules she's set, until Dexter comes into her life, albeit unwelcome. And she just can't shake him. His charm and honesty threaten to soften her up into letting him in. She doesn't know whether to believe in love and open up to hurt, or stay closed, and safe.

The story made me, personally, think about things. I mean, obviously we each have our own ideals or limits we've set regarding relationships or whatever. But really the story is simply about opening up. And by opening up, being willing to brace for the hurt, or happiness, whatever it may be, that come into your life once you do.

Even though, I may not be dating a different guy every two weeks, or have more ex's than I can count on one hand like Remy, I felt like I was looking at myself in the mirror, a certain way. I'll be honest, I can be pretty skeptical about love too - which is funny because I'm such a romantic. But I guess I'll have to agree, which is better? Keeping your pride and being safe, but alone? Or opening up (to anybody, doesn't even have to be romantic) and facing whatever you let in; happiness, hurt, friendship, or even love.

VIOLENCE/GORE: Remy has a hard night and drinks too much, on her way out of the bar, she gets in a scuffle with a man and ends up whacking him in the face, then Dexter comes in.

LOVE/SEX: This story is obviously about love. Remy talks about having an active sexual life before, with no greater details besides that, but says how "she's changed," showing that she knew it was bad and wants to be better. She also stays the night at Dexter's, but nothing happens. She gets this feeling that he won't respect her anymore if she did anything, and for some reason that she doesn't understand since it's never happened before, that means a lot to her.

Some of the boys in Dexter's band work at a photography shop and begin a collection of random photo copies they liked from it to tack up on their wall, some being of women trying to look seductive in their underwear. The book isn't any more descriptive than that.

Adultery is found out in the story also.

DRUGS/ALCOHOL: There is a lot of underage drinking in this book. Remy and her friends are regulars at a bar and know all the bars in town that don't look at their fake IDs too closely. Her and her friends get drunk on and off throughout the book. There's also smoking. Remy has just started to quit.

Besides these things that I know are necessary to make Remy into the tough-as-nails, heart breaker, love-hater she is, I liked this book, personally. Now I don't know if EVERYONE will, but you can always give it a shot. And Sara Dessen is really good at "showing" not telling. =-)

The 2012 Driver's Handbook

So, as a kind of rule-type advicey thing in my house, you have to wait until you're eighteen to get your driver's license. It just helps in a lot of ways to wait and is less hassle. Financial and legal stuff. Blah.

Anywho, I kind of think it'll be funny to do a review on the little booklet. So I am. X-)

First thing anyone notices about this thing is it's tiny. It's small. It's thin. It gives you a false sense of confidence. You start thinking "heh! How hard can driving, or reading this thing, be?!"

I'm pretty sure driving is a bit easier than this read. Obviously, the booklet isn't made for entertainment purposes. If anything, the underlying theme is "How can you POSSIBLY not understand this?" And not in a conceited way. It's just obvious that this booklet was made so that even the stupidest people could understand the rules of the road. (So that means it really stinks when you read a section multiple times and still have no idea why we would do something written.)

Like, okay. I'm probably going to sound really stupid. But in my booklet, it says that if I park on a hill, facing up, I should turn my wheels away from the curve. Though, my logic says turn it toward the curve, so if the car rolls, it'll roll down and in a little circle - boop - until the back wheels hit the curve and stops. But the way the booklet wants you to do it just turns the car into the traffic, if you ask me. (Hopefully the answer to this isn't totally obvious, because this is the internet and my post is permanent. Heh.) If I do happen to be really wrong, be gentle, I've really never been behind the wheel of a car.

But anyway. So there ya have it.

In short, it's a small, painfully informative book, written for the express purpose of educating stupid people in the ways of road safety.

You should read it some time. Hah-hah.

"The Name Of The Star" - By Maureen Johnson

It has been a while since I've given a review on a book. I've honestly been so out of it, I can't even come up with a logical - let alone, made up - excuse. And that's saying something.

Anyhow. Yesterday evening, I finished Maureen Johnson's "The Name Of The Star."

"A gorgeously written, chilling, atmospheric thriller. The streets of London have never been so sinister or so romantic." Said Cassandra Clare, #1 New York Times bestselling author.

After reading it, eh, she was pretty right. X-)

I've probably said this before about Maureen Johnson, but I love her work for the description. She is very good of throwing in details here or there, without making it sound forced. It's so natural, I love it.

The story is about Rory, a Louisiana-southern girl, who goes to London for boarding school right when a series of murders start to break out across the city. Murders resembling Jack the Ripper's work back in 1888. But still, ignoring this "Rippermania" that's erupting all over the news, she dives deep into the boarding school spirit, with uniforms, homework, and crushes. Then, the night of the Double event (when two horrible killings happened on the same night), she saw him. The murderer. Creepy. Wildly alert eyes and a smoothed bald head. But for some reason, her roommate, who was right there, didn't see him. This starts a series of questions for Rory, from the police, an organization who deals with ghosts, students, even herself. She wonders if she's crazy. She wonders if she's in danger. She wonders if she can just forget it all and focus on being a normal boarding school student. Then things change.

The story is a pleasant spiral of events that speeds faster and faster out of control closer to the end. And the end had to be my favorite part, honestly. Usually, I can sniff out how a story's going to end. I was thinking "Oh that girl's going to kill him," then no. Then, as I was trying to reevaluate my prediction, the climax ended. I had a kind of shocked "oh!" moment. And then I was very, very pleasantly surprised with how the story closed. I'd like to describe it as kind of "bitter-sweet" but it isn't very bitter, so then I don't know how to describe it. But I liked it a lot. Best ending ever! I liked to be shocked that much.

Okay, here's a quick overview on the book, that you may want to know about.

- VIOLENCE/GORE: It is Jack the Ripper. There is blood, disembowelment, gore, and violence. Several people get cut up, one girl is thrown in front of a speeding car, one's head is bashed a couple times with a lamp, and one get's slashed across the stomach.

- LOVE/SEX: The main character develops a love connection with a boy at the school, and they have a couple make-out sessions. The story is about murder, so it isn't very detailed, except to talk about it afterwards or to describe them starting to kiss.

Hm. I don't know what else you would want to know about the book. Those tend to be MY main issues with books, and things I want to know before I read them. Tell me in the comments if I've missed anything. The story's fresh in my mind, so I can answer any questions. . Oh, I just thought of a few others.

- DRUGS/ALCOHOL: Apparently in England, you're allowed to drink at eighteen. And even younger if supervised by an adult, apparently. So there are a few instances of teenage drinking.

The only other thing I have to say about this book is I got a little lost as to the setting of one of the last scenes. I just had a lot of trouble trying to figure out where they were or what their surroundings looked like. Other than that, and not EXACTLY being at the edge of my seat the whole time, I did enjoy it. I even made the mistake of reading it at night one day and freaked myself out so much I could barely open the curtains like I do every night for the morning light to come in. It was so pathetic. I knew this too, so I forced myself to rip the blind up and my heart was racing. Then I stared out the window to the street for a good couple seconds like I was actually expecting a bald headed, wild eyed Ripper to be standing there in a suit, grinning madly at me.