Graze, Bacon Jerky, Book #46: Monsters of Men

[thistlechaser]

Three reviews, from least review-y to most:

#1: I got my third Graze box, yay! I haven't tried any of the four snacks yet. (Still no dippers! Arg!)

For new people on my friends list, Graze is a healthy "snack of the month" company. Once every two weeks or four weeks (your choice) they send you out a box of four snacks to try. $6 per box total (shipping included). Unfortunately I'm out of friends codes for it at the moment.

My box:
1) Summer berry flapjack (rustic rolled oat flapjack with berry-infused cranberries) -- the only repeat so far, but I loved it so yay! Will likely save it to eat last.
2) Raspberry and coconut muffin (amaretti drops, raspberry infused cranberries, almond slices and coconut flakes) -- I don't like coconut (or at least I didn't as a kid and haven't tried it since), but I'll give it a chance this time.
3) Hot cross yum (sponge pieces, cinnamon and honey almonds and orange infused raisins) -- Mmmm sounds really good!
4) Herby bread basket (garlic crostini, mini basil breadsticks and oregano rice crackers) -- I suspect I might like this one the least, but looking forward to trying it.

#2: Someone on a food comm mentioned jerky bacon. He said it tasted just like regular bacon, only not hot. How could I not want to try that? When I went to Target today, I saw a bag. It's sitting here next to me right now. I'm going to open it up and try it real time!


(Not my picture, I'm lazy tonight.)

Disclaimer: I've only had jerky once before. I didn't like it, but I know there are tons of different kinds out there, I just never got around to trying another one.

Opening the bag, it smells like bacon (good sign). Not really strongly, but maybe half as strong as I would expect from real, just-cooked bacon. Also has a bit of a chemical smell.

It's rubbery and floppy, sort of like real bacon. Trying it... It tastes like it smells. Like bacon, but really, really weak flavor. Also, I don't think this could be called jerky at all, it's like the pre-cooked bacon you get in the store. (Though I'm no expert on jerky, as I said. But I thought it would have to be thicker and take a while to chew to be jerky. Maybe it's just the drying process?)

This little bag (2.5 ounces) cost $5. The flavor is okay (even bad bacon is still bacon). The calories aren't bad (130 for about half the package), so I'll probably finish the bag, but I won't buy it again. (On second thought, I'm going to toss it in the fridge. Maybe I can microwave it a bit to heat it, then use it in sandwiches.)

#3) Book #46 of 2013: Monsters of Men (Chaos Walking book 3) by Patrick Ness.

Oh what can I say about this book. The first book of the trilogy (The Knife of Never Letting Go, my review) was easily the best book I've read this year. It's one of the best books I've ever read, period. The second and third books were a little less to my taste, through no fault of the books. (Edit: I should note that that's going from "OMG BEST BOOK EVER WONDERFUL LOVED-LOVED EVERY PAGE OF IT BEST THING I EVER READ" to "OMG BEST BOOK EVER WONDERFUL LOVED EVERY PAGE OF IT BEST THING I EVER READ". The sentence before the edit does not properly convey how much I still loved the books.) I enjoy world building, learning new things about a new world slowly, piece by piece, character by character a lot more than I enjoy the plotty parts. In a trilogy, most of the first book is often world building, then the plot kicks in in the last third and through the next two books. I like that first part best, when you know so little and everything is new.

While this book is marketed as a YA book, there is no way in hell that I would describe it that way. Such serious, violent, dark (sort of -- the kind of dark normal humans in bad situations might do), human things happened! I loved morals/theme of the book: That people have a hard time changing. If you live a violent life, you'll likely die a violent death. That the older you get, the harder change is. That anyone, adults included, can make bad decisions. (I almost didn't want to mention the moral of the story, because it wasn't in your face at all, it's just impossible for me not to think about it now as I look back on the story.)

I wish I could describe the plot. I wish I could describe even just the setting! But everything is a spoiler. (I'd highly suggest you don't even read the summary on Amazon. Going into it totally blind is the best way to experience this book!)

I'm so depressed I'm done with it. Even the aliens were so human! I swear, I've never met such realistically human characters in a book before. So perfectly flawed. So grey (non-black/white). When a "good" character did a bad act, his resulting behavior was so painful and believable.

I'm dying to see how they'll make it into a movie. If the Hunger Games books weren't being handled so well, I'd be afraid of how they'd ruin this trilogy. I really, really hope it gets a similar treatment!

If you buy one book based on my reviews, I'd suggest it be this one (er, the first one of this series). I know it's hard to buy a book without knowing anything about it, but I bet you'll love it. :) And if you do pick it up? Please let me know what you think!

Comments

[ghost-light.livejournal.com]

Those boxes sound like a lot of fun!

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

They are! Four single-serving snacks, a cute box/nice packaging, and shipping all fro $6. It's a really good deal!

[kamalloy.livejournal.com]

I got two boxes today, which was weird. Apparently my previous box had gotten delayed somehow, so #2 and #3 arrived together. Already tried the Summer Berry Flapjack, which is great. I'll post more detailed reviews later, as it is late here and I'm getting sleepy.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Huh! Two boxes at once would be nice (though missing an earlier one, not so nice).

Looking forward to seeing it! :D

[kamalloy.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I had forgotten that I'd signed up for weekly boxes rather than the two-week ones, so it didn't register at first that one was late. I'm wondering if someone at the company shipping department mixed it up.

Anyhow, here's my somewhat-belated review of Box #1:
the cheese board - The flavors and textures worked well individually and together and it was savory without being salty (which is actually pretty rare, now that I think about it). A few more crackers would have been nice for balance.
key lime pie - This was one where eating all the bits together was really tasty, though the individual bits were also pretty tasty. The lime-infused raisins did taste a bit odd after eating a whole bunch of them by themselves.
chili and lime pistachios - Tasty and fun to open, but not a really strong chili-lime flavor and there's a bunch of pistachio shells to clean up at the end.
billionaire's shortbread - Really tasty, with a nice mix of textures and flavors, and could work quite well as a dessert substitute given the chocolate and fudge bits.

I'd definitely want the cheese board, key lime pie, and billionaire's shortbread again. I'm a bit hesitant to start giving "Love" ratings to things, though, because I'd like to try a bunch of different ones before getting repeats.

Working on Box #2 right now!

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Oooh, you're one of the lucky ones that has the weekly option!

Agreed on the 'love' issue. Though I've liked a number of things, I've only set the flapjack as love so far.

I'm curious to try the cheese board one! And the key lime pie one, too. (Mmmm key lime pie.) I'm not a pistachios person, so right now I have those trashed. I might untrash one of them, just to try them once more to be sure.

[kamalloy.livejournal.com]

I may only have the weekly option because I'm on the East Coast. I decided what the hey and went for it.

There are a couple of other pistachio ones that intrigue me, so I'm leaving them on the list for now.

Also, if anyone here is reading these and wants to try a box, let me know and I'll pass along my friend code.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Yeah, us west coast folks think it's an east coast vs west coast thing. I'm not sure why longer shipping times mean we can't get a weekly box, but we can't. (Also, I timed my last two boxes. Takes 10 days for me to get mine!)

[kamalloy.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm wondering if they just don't want to do the shipping calculations for a weekly box that takes more than a week to actually arrive. Hopefully they'll be able to expand their operations.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's the only thing I can guess. You'd think it wouldn't be hard, once they got the first shipments going, but maybe I'm overlooking something.

[pure-trance.livejournal.com]

I hope they expand too, I really want a weekly option! 1 box every 2 weeks isn't really conductive to good snacking lol. Especially when we can't buy more of what we like or something in the meantime, so the whole point of the box (rather than a sample box) is meant to be the product...

[resonant.livejournal.com]

Book 1 purchased based on your recommendation.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Wooo! I hope you love it as much as I did!

[manue7a.livejournal.com]

I just checked, they have it at the library here. So would it make sense to give it a try or better start with the first book of the series?

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

First book for sure! Knife of Never Letting Go is where you want to start.

[doxxxicle.livejournal.com]

I was looking at the reviews for The Knife of Never Letting Go, and I came across this 1-star review:

http://www.amazon.com/review/R16AF8W3DDEFQF/ref=cm_cr_dp_title?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B0044UHVR2&nodeID=133140011&store=digital-text

I was wondering what your thoughts were on the level of violence in the book?

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Wow... This is one of those "Were we reading the same book?" moments. Was there violence? Yep. It was realistic, with realistic consequences. I especially boggled at this part:

Where Ness fails almost completely is as a storyteller. Rather than taking the time to construct authentically believable dramatic situations, Ness seems to think that the shortest path to drama is violence.

One character had no issues with using violence, up to and including killing others. It's the character, his motives, not an author's shortcut because he can't tell a story.

There was a violent scene that bothered me (more because I'm a softy about the issue than because it was graphic), but the scene was part of the story, it made sense for the characters to act that way.

I don't want to go into the book's ending, but the characters (all of them, "good", "bad", alien, and everything in between) have to deal with the fallout of their actions. It's not like the author is going "teehee now I'll kill another one!". (Which is not to say any character in the book does or doesn't get killed, just an example!)

The first paragraph if this reply to that review (http://www.amazon.com/review/R16AF8W3DDEFQF/ref=cm_cr_rev_detmd_pl?ie=UTF8&asin=0763645761&cdForum=FxUJE8WCRJJZZ5&cdMsgID=Mx3JCMPJWFPVU7I&cdMsgNo=7&cdPage=1&cdSort=oldest&cdThread=Tx1OMTKZNXIF2Z7&store=books#Mx3JCMPJWFPVU7I) says it better than I have: It's a shame that the whole point of this book was somehow missed on you, but let me just say it's about rising against the violence. Trying to stay true to who you are against all odds, no matter the cost. It's about sacrifices. Those nearest to the heart.

Rising against the violence. Having to struggle between the easy/violence path and the harder/good person/true to yourself one. And just as important: Dealing with what happens whichever choice you make.

[pure-trance.livejournal.com]

1) Graze box - Dunno if you are missing out on the dippers, at least the one I had (Mango chutney with pepper cracker things) was too spicy so I ate a couple and had to throw it away. The one I am getting next time sounds better though, at least not spicy, so that's good.
The "honeycombs" were actually like little heath bar sorts of things, not actual honeycomb which I thought lol...but out of everything I got in that box that one was my favorite (it also had raw almonds and raisins). I think my next box is going to have the same flapjack you got, my first flapjack, so I am excited to try it :). I also got BBQ Pistachios which I am pretty sure I won't like, but they point is to try new things right... Generally I want more of a "trail mix" kind of thing, it's easier to snack on and easier to spread out lol

2) Bacon Jerky - I tried it once and I really liked it because other than the fact that it's bacon that tastes like bacon, it's also kind of what I wish normal beef jerky would be...aka salty and not at all sweet. So for that reason if I really had to have a dried meat snack and Bacon Jerky was an option I would definitely buy it again. I do think it's easier to nibble on than if I made bacon myself, because it's thick enough and crumbly enough for that, but if I made pork bacon (usually I make turkey bacon which is completely differently textured) it's more crisp or tough if that makes sense. Because the Bacon Jerky is dried rather than fried it remains more tender imo.

I like how I just wrote a little novella about Bacon Jerky there lol

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Oh blah! I don't like spicy things, I should probably trash that one now.

Oh drat! I thought honeycomb would be actually honeycombs too. I know people chew them for honey...

Hope you like the flapjack! I tried the Hot Cross Yum from this box and it was really good. A little too sweet (and I never think that), but I liked the flavor a lot. Very orange-y!

Yeah, the beef jerky I had tried was VERY sweet too. Not like meat at all, just like candy. Not at all what I had been expecting.

[pure-trance.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the nori was a little spicy too btw, but not like the mango chutney was...

Yeah it's a shame about the honeycomb :/ I used to chew on it at well...

I hope so too! Hot cross yum sounds good, I hope I get it eventually.

Yeah, I just hate beef jerky for that reason haha so I am glad I have bacon jerky at least as an alternative. I wish beef/turkey jerky wouldn't be so sweet though, if it was salty and savory I would love it...

[isiscolo.livejournal.com]

Well, basically because of your review I picked up the first from the library. The first several pages I was thinking...first person present tense, written-out dialect, ugh, but the world-building is intriguing...and now I'm two chapters in and okay, I am hooked! (I shouldn't say your review - your positive encouragement - I haven't actually read anything about it as per your suggestion to be unspoiled!)

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Yeah, all those things would usually annoy me, especially the dialect, but in this case it really worked for me. Yay! I'm glad you're enjoying it, too!

If you want a real treat, go to the Amazon page and listen to the sample of the book on tape. I've listened to it a few times now, it's really well done.

[call-me-katya.livejournal.com]

I know this post is from ages ago but I had a scan of your book list at the side to see if you'd reviewed anything I read and I just wanted to share your love of Chaos Walking! I was unsure in the first few pages, finding it a little childish but being drawn in by the unique idea of the Noise and the fact that even animals have it. When Todd heard the Silence of Viola, I was hooked.

I also completely agree about the Spackle being believable, the struggles of 1017 and the terror that a race might be completely wiped out so relevant for today.

I also really liked the little short stories at the end of each book; which is something I traditionally would ignore.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

No worries commenting on an old post -- that's what the tag system is for!

I've read a bunch of books since then, but still love that trilogy so much. The Noise was such a unique idea!

I didn't find the short stories until I was done with the books (for some reason they weren't included with the ebook versions). I think I would have enjoyed them a lot more if I had read them after each book, as intended.

[call-me-katya.livejournal.com]

Yeah, they worked to give another dimension to each book as you read, but at least you found them eventually!

Having a browse, I don't think we've read much in common apart from Ness, some C.S. Lewis and Stephen King [yep, the Dome is NOT his best!] but I think I might now add Michael Grant to my 'to read' pile!

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Michael Grant's Gone series is great! Right up there with Chaos Walking on my Best Ever list. Just a little warning: I did not like his BZZR (BZZT? No, um, BZRK? That's it, I think) series. Gone was great though.