Bayou Bytes Blog

Today, America lost one of the greatest authors it has ever produced and certainly the most famous and influential author from the Deep South.   Harper Lee (1926-2016)   influenced millions and opened the country's eyes to the abhorrent racism that was still alive and strong in the South with her 1960 To Kill a Mockingbird . The book, which follows the Finch family as they struggle with racism, growing up, hope, and tragedy in their small town, Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression, became a quintessential part of American literature and became a staple work of Southern Gothic literature.  Lee received acclaim, fame, and criticism from around the world as people fell in love with the characters and the message of compassion and equality; on the opposite hand, Southerners responded with anger and staunch defense of their Jim Crow system.  Lee created one of the most memorable and beloved American protagonists, Atticus Finch, an older father and attorney wh...

Wizard-For-Hire, Harry Dresden. Courtesy of comicvine.com Harry Dresden usually gets into deep trouble.  Whether it's with trolls, vampires (of four different courts, but all of the same opinion that he needs to die), fairies, thugs, wizards, women, or his know-it-all talking spirit skull, wizard-for-hire has a knack for getting in way too deep with people (or things) that can kill him.  And, hells bells, he would not change it for anything.  The leather duster wearing and gun toting Dresden is sarcastic, handsome, intelligent, and talented, with a white and black sense of good and bad, a strict moral code, and a devil-may-care attitude which helps and hinders him.  Oh, and he mainly uses spells, a blasting rod, totems for protection, and fights Chicago's, the city he loves, underworld monsters, supernatural and human.  The wizard is the creation of American author, Jim Butcher, and debuted in 2000's Storm Front .  Fourteen more books later, Harry's in...

Alan Rickman- Always. RIP

The world of books is inundated with self-help books.  Losing weight, getting on the right track, Courtesy of goodreads.com being happy, successful, healthy, perky, etc... you get the point.  Most of these books are formulaic; if you just follow these steps, life will be shiny, happy, and you will literally glow with all the positive energy and contentedness in your life.  However, as we all know, this is never the case.  Life can be the pits and sometimes hiding under your blanket might seem like the only step to follow.  Blogger extraordinaire, Jenny Lawson, not only is very familiar with these feelings, she revels in them.  The Texas born author and journalist is happily "out" with her diagnoses with a slew of mental illnesses; she blogs about her struggles and published her second book about the subject in September 2015, Furiously Happy .   Furiously Happy is unlike any self-help book you will ever read.  It does not provide answers or gi...

The Blue Oyster Cult and a severed leg.  These are the only two clues that face Cormoran Strike in a perplexing mystery that will force him to examine his past and potentially lose his future.  Strike is back for the third installation of Robert Galbraith's hit series featuring the veteran-turned-detective and his clever, resilient assistant, Robin Ellacott. Career of Evil  is the latest installation in the seven part series by British author, Robert Galbraith (what a magical name!).  This is perhaps the most twisted book in the series so far; Cormoran and Robin are directly targeted in a mystery that will reveal both Cormoran and Robin's inner demons and force them to reevaluate their lives and each other. Staying true to form , Career  continues Galbraith's gritty, edgy style, with crimes that turn the stomach and suspects that come from all walks of life but all have twisted inner demons and leanings towards evil.  A severed leg is delivered to Robin...

Courtesy of goodreads.com Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is the final installment in the series that captivated the world and changed children's literature forever.  By this point, the movies had been smash hits, the series had reached rock star levels of fame, with the midnight book premier being more of parties and celebrations than just a book release. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at universal Studios in Orlando, Florida was already being rumored (it was true!) and the last book was heavily guarded, with only two people in the world knowing the exact reasons for everything (JK Rowling herself squealed to British actor who played Severus Snape, Alan Rickman).  The world was hooked.  The Harry Potter series had become so real for so many people that it was hard to imagine a book that would not only satisfy the masses, but that would wrap up everything that had happen in the last six books.  Yet, Rowling delivered.  Deathly Hallows ...

Straight from the get-go, Harry  Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is probably the most entertaining and most mesmerizing book of the series.  The other books build up the story, enticing you to keep reading to find out what happens next and to continue the journey to the climax of the story;   Half-Blood Prince  draws you in by sheer force of storytelling, by the way Rowling weaves the story in a way that you are in the moment, not wondering how this is all going to come together, not wondering what is going to happen next,  but just simply interested in the story plot at hand.  Everything has lead up to this book; all the unanswered questions, not yet solved problems, and the gray areas of loyalty are all made painfully clear in this book. The book opens with one of the most realistic, most darkly enjoyable  scenes of the series.  The Muggle Prime Minster is in a near panic from all the inexplicable disasters occurring in Great Britain. While i...