Summary:
In the third Percy Jackson installment, Percy finds himself stuck with Grover and a bunch of chicks on a mission to save a goddess, and his friend Annabeth. This time, the journey is a cross-country trek to San Francisco via Washington, DC. They have to save Artemis and get her to the Council of the Gods by the winter solstice, which is only a week away. Oh, and Annabeth's life hangs in the balance, too. Just another quest for poor Percy.
Thoughts:
Awesome as usual. I loved that this time, they weren't out to save just anyone. It was a goddess herself that was in trouble. And also Annabeth. Percy is just starting to realize he's got a thing for Annabeth, too, which makes life all the more interesting for the Olympian crew. Also, it begs the question, if Zeus is your dad, and Athena is your would-be girlfriend's mom, doesn't that mean that your would-be girlfriend's also your niece? Things to ponder. But yeah, this is awesome, just like the rest of Riordan's work. I'll be hunting down 4 and 5, for sure, and I'll probably be looking up more of Riordan's work when I'm through this series.
Pages: 312
Genre: Fantasy, Greek mythology, teen lit
Grade: A
Would I Recommend?: Absolutely!
40 down, only 10 to go!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Suite Scarlett ( Maureen Johnson)
Summary:
Scarlett is the third child out of four of a pair of hotel owners in New York City. The day she turns sixteen, she is given the responsibility of keeping up one of the rooms in the hotel, and in fact, it's the schmancy-est room in the hotel. But she also is saddled with the burden of the knowledge that the hotel is not doing well at all. The day after her birthday, Scarlett's suite gets booked for the whole summer, and she becomes the personal assistant of the room's occupant, Mrs. Amberson, a crazy former Broadway star who's back in the city for some excitement and to reminisce about days gone by. The excitement comes via Scarlett's brother Spencer and his fledgling theatre group who are trying their damnedest to put on Hamlet, with little success. And so goes Scarlett's summer...
Thoughts:
A lot of plot lines to keep up with, for sure. A character was introduced in the first couple of chapters that I nearly forgot about 100 pages later when she was brought up again. Honestly, getting through this book was like slogging through mud during a typhoon. I really loved Maureen Johnson's book, 13 Little Blue Envelopes, but the can't-put-it-down nature of that book was completely lost when it came to this one. I'm sadly disappointed. There's too many depressing things to make this book as wonderful as Johnson's previous work. There is apparently a sequel, but I'll be skipping it. No thanks.
Pages: 353
Genre: Teen lit
Grade: C-
Would I Recommend?: Probably not. It's not worth the slogging.
39 down, 11 to go!
Scarlett is the third child out of four of a pair of hotel owners in New York City. The day she turns sixteen, she is given the responsibility of keeping up one of the rooms in the hotel, and in fact, it's the schmancy-est room in the hotel. But she also is saddled with the burden of the knowledge that the hotel is not doing well at all. The day after her birthday, Scarlett's suite gets booked for the whole summer, and she becomes the personal assistant of the room's occupant, Mrs. Amberson, a crazy former Broadway star who's back in the city for some excitement and to reminisce about days gone by. The excitement comes via Scarlett's brother Spencer and his fledgling theatre group who are trying their damnedest to put on Hamlet, with little success. And so goes Scarlett's summer...
Thoughts:
A lot of plot lines to keep up with, for sure. A character was introduced in the first couple of chapters that I nearly forgot about 100 pages later when she was brought up again. Honestly, getting through this book was like slogging through mud during a typhoon. I really loved Maureen Johnson's book, 13 Little Blue Envelopes, but the can't-put-it-down nature of that book was completely lost when it came to this one. I'm sadly disappointed. There's too many depressing things to make this book as wonderful as Johnson's previous work. There is apparently a sequel, but I'll be skipping it. No thanks.
Pages: 353
Genre: Teen lit
Grade: C-
Would I Recommend?: Probably not. It's not worth the slogging.
39 down, 11 to go!
The Sea of Monsters (Rick Riordan)
Summary:
In the second Percy Jackson book, Percy is sent on a trek to the Bermuda Triangle to help rescue his friend, Grover. Annabeth comes along, plus a new friend from Percy's most recent school. Along the way, he encounters all new and interesting mythical creatures, some that help him, and some that really don't.
Thoughts:
It's a great second step into the Olympian world of today. The series is fun, and the characters are lovable for sure. Even the ones that aren't so nice are written so well that you can't help but appreciate them for their awfulness. I'll be keeping up with this series. (Actually, I've already finished another of these books, I just haven't posted in a while, so I figure I'll go in order, haha!) I definitely suggest these awesome books for anyone, teen or not, because they're just that fun.
Pages: 288
Genre: Fantasy, teen lit, Greek mythology
Grade: A
Would I Recommend?: Absolutely.
38 down, 12 to go!
In the second Percy Jackson book, Percy is sent on a trek to the Bermuda Triangle to help rescue his friend, Grover. Annabeth comes along, plus a new friend from Percy's most recent school. Along the way, he encounters all new and interesting mythical creatures, some that help him, and some that really don't.
Thoughts:
It's a great second step into the Olympian world of today. The series is fun, and the characters are lovable for sure. Even the ones that aren't so nice are written so well that you can't help but appreciate them for their awfulness. I'll be keeping up with this series. (Actually, I've already finished another of these books, I just haven't posted in a while, so I figure I'll go in order, haha!) I definitely suggest these awesome books for anyone, teen or not, because they're just that fun.
Pages: 288
Genre: Fantasy, teen lit, Greek mythology
Grade: A
Would I Recommend?: Absolutely.
38 down, 12 to go!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Extracurricular Activities (Maggie Barbieri)
Summary:
College professor of English Lit Alison Bergeron is good at finding dead bodies. Apparently she's found some previously, and now she's found her ex-husband's body in her kitchen. The book follows her playing junior sleuth, her non-relationship with the married cop in charge that she wishes was more, her relationship with her priest best friend's brother that she wishes wasn't, a mob guy and his wife, and her seemingly innocuous neighbors.
Thoughts:
So many stories in here, you would think it was hard to keep up, but they were more or less straightforward, except for one. And the cop boyfriend and his wife had a storyline thrown in there too, just for good measure. I got bored with Alison's relationship with him almost from the jump. I would have much rather seen a mystery novel branch out and NOT have the junior sleuth hook up with the hot cop. Also, this writer has to come up with better nicknames for people. "Miss Blurry Tattoo Ass," "Bagpipe Kid," and "Accordion Boy" all leave a whole lot to be desired. "Detective Hot Pants" isn't bad, though, but I suspect the author's witty best friend came up with that one, because the MC's witty best friend did.
All I ask is for a crime novel to be written by a woman, about a single woman, and not have her hook up with the Detective Hot Pants of the book. Just one, please. I think I need to write that one myself, though...
Pages: 294
Genre: Mystery, romance
Grade: B-
Would I Recommend?: Eh, it's okay. Same old, same old murder mystery.
College professor of English Lit Alison Bergeron is good at finding dead bodies. Apparently she's found some previously, and now she's found her ex-husband's body in her kitchen. The book follows her playing junior sleuth, her non-relationship with the married cop in charge that she wishes was more, her relationship with her priest best friend's brother that she wishes wasn't, a mob guy and his wife, and her seemingly innocuous neighbors.
Thoughts:
So many stories in here, you would think it was hard to keep up, but they were more or less straightforward, except for one. And the cop boyfriend and his wife had a storyline thrown in there too, just for good measure. I got bored with Alison's relationship with him almost from the jump. I would have much rather seen a mystery novel branch out and NOT have the junior sleuth hook up with the hot cop. Also, this writer has to come up with better nicknames for people. "Miss Blurry Tattoo Ass," "Bagpipe Kid," and "Accordion Boy" all leave a whole lot to be desired. "Detective Hot Pants" isn't bad, though, but I suspect the author's witty best friend came up with that one, because the MC's witty best friend did.
All I ask is for a crime novel to be written by a woman, about a single woman, and not have her hook up with the Detective Hot Pants of the book. Just one, please. I think I need to write that one myself, though...
Pages: 294
Genre: Mystery, romance
Grade: B-
Would I Recommend?: Eh, it's okay. Same old, same old murder mystery.
Elsewhere (Gabrielle Zevin)
Summary:
Liz is nearly sixteen, and totally ready for life to come her way. She's on the way to help her best friend pick out a prom dress, but gets forever waylaid by a taxi to the torso. Oops. After she dies, she goes to Elsewhere, where everyone is dead, and instead of existing forever in whatever form they died in, they all age backwards. She meets her grandmother who died long before she was born, as well as plenty of other people who become very dear to her.
Thoughts:
It's a very interesting take on the life-after-death thing. I really like the idea, actually. There are images of elderly people holding hands with their young spouses that died long before they were ready. Sure, it's a little weird. But it's a nice story. Plus there's dogs and cats there in Elsewhere, so it's got to be okay, right? I just have to wonder about who I would be able to see again by the time I got there, if this was how it came about. Definitely a take on the afterlife that I'd never have thought about. I hope this is how it is, because I'd love to see my family in their younger forms.
A couple cool quote-ables that I came across from this book:
"In my humble opinion, love is when a person believes that he, she, or it can't live without some other he, she, or it."
"Love, Lizzie, is when we have irrationally convinced ourselves that we do."
--page 180
and
"A life isn't measured in hours and minutes. It's the quality, not the length."
--page 266
Just thought I'd share those. Definitely recommend this one, for the thoughts this could provoke.
Pages: 277
Genre: General fiction, maybe a little fantasy?
Grade: A-/B+
Would I Recommend?: Absolutely.
36 down, 14 to go!
Liz is nearly sixteen, and totally ready for life to come her way. She's on the way to help her best friend pick out a prom dress, but gets forever waylaid by a taxi to the torso. Oops. After she dies, she goes to Elsewhere, where everyone is dead, and instead of existing forever in whatever form they died in, they all age backwards. She meets her grandmother who died long before she was born, as well as plenty of other people who become very dear to her.
Thoughts:
It's a very interesting take on the life-after-death thing. I really like the idea, actually. There are images of elderly people holding hands with their young spouses that died long before they were ready. Sure, it's a little weird. But it's a nice story. Plus there's dogs and cats there in Elsewhere, so it's got to be okay, right? I just have to wonder about who I would be able to see again by the time I got there, if this was how it came about. Definitely a take on the afterlife that I'd never have thought about. I hope this is how it is, because I'd love to see my family in their younger forms.
A couple cool quote-ables that I came across from this book:
"In my humble opinion, love is when a person believes that he, she, or it can't live without some other he, she, or it."
"Love, Lizzie, is when we have irrationally convinced ourselves that we do."
--page 180
and
"A life isn't measured in hours and minutes. It's the quality, not the length."
--page 266
Just thought I'd share those. Definitely recommend this one, for the thoughts this could provoke.
Pages: 277
Genre: General fiction, maybe a little fantasy?
Grade: A-/B+
Would I Recommend?: Absolutely.
36 down, 14 to go!
Friday, August 13, 2010
Diva Las Vegas (Eileen Davidson)
Summary:
Alexis Peterson is a soap opera actress who has discovered quite a few dead bodies lately. In this book, she finds a woman dead in a Halloween haunted house on the lawn of the Playboy mansion. She and her boyfriend, Det. Frank Jakes, follow the clues all the way from L.A. to Vegas and back again.
Thoughts:
Another good one, though this one felt a little too open at the end. Davidson opens up a few non-essential stories in the background of the main murder mystery, (namely, her ex comes back threatening a challenge of their custody arrangement, and Jakes wants a little more commitment from her) and they're really not talked about much, and literally the last page opens one of those things wide. I like my books to have some kind of resolution to them, and this book literally opens another can of worms on the last page. I like Davidson's books, and I'll definitely keep reading these, but it is a little annoying.
Pages: 293
Genre: Mystery, with a bit of romance.
Grade: B-
Would I Recommend?: Sure. They're pretty good mysteries.
35 down, 15 to go!
Alexis Peterson is a soap opera actress who has discovered quite a few dead bodies lately. In this book, she finds a woman dead in a Halloween haunted house on the lawn of the Playboy mansion. She and her boyfriend, Det. Frank Jakes, follow the clues all the way from L.A. to Vegas and back again.
Thoughts:
Another good one, though this one felt a little too open at the end. Davidson opens up a few non-essential stories in the background of the main murder mystery, (namely, her ex comes back threatening a challenge of their custody arrangement, and Jakes wants a little more commitment from her) and they're really not talked about much, and literally the last page opens one of those things wide. I like my books to have some kind of resolution to them, and this book literally opens another can of worms on the last page. I like Davidson's books, and I'll definitely keep reading these, but it is a little annoying.
Pages: 293
Genre: Mystery, with a bit of romance.
Grade: B-
Would I Recommend?: Sure. They're pretty good mysteries.
35 down, 15 to go!
Tales of the Vampire Slayer, vol. 3 (Various)
Summary:
More tales from the non-Buffy slayers. Only four of them in this collection. The first is a Native American girl, the second is a Chinese girl, the third is an American in the South, and the last is an American in Tokyo.
Thoughts:
There was one that was more than 100 pages (the one about the Chinese girl), and honestly, it was the least engaging. I think I might stop here on these books. The quality has gone downward for sure.
Pages: 319
Genre: Mystery-ish
Grade: C-
Would I Recommend?: Probably not. The older ones are much better than this.
34 down, 16 to go!
More tales from the non-Buffy slayers. Only four of them in this collection. The first is a Native American girl, the second is a Chinese girl, the third is an American in the South, and the last is an American in Tokyo.
Thoughts:
There was one that was more than 100 pages (the one about the Chinese girl), and honestly, it was the least engaging. I think I might stop here on these books. The quality has gone downward for sure.
Pages: 319
Genre: Mystery-ish
Grade: C-
Would I Recommend?: Probably not. The older ones are much better than this.
34 down, 16 to go!
Friday, July 30, 2010
The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp (Rick Yancey)
Summary:
Alfred Kropp is a fifteen year old hulk of a boy, whose mother died, and whose father left very early in his life. Alfred never even knew him. Alfred lives with his Uncle Farrell, who works as a security guard in Samson Towers. One day, Uncle Farrell is approached and asked to steal a sword from Bernard Samson's office. Uncle Farrell, in turn, says that Alfred has to help him steal the sword, or he'll send Alfred back to foster care. Given no other choice, Alfred goes along with it, only to learn that the man wanting the sword is evil, and the sword is really the Sword of Kings, Excalibur. Alfred feels horrible about the theft, and decides to do everything he can to get the Sword back to its rightful place. Along the way, he learns more and more about the legends and history of King Arthur, and his Knights.
Thoughts:
Wonderful! I'm definitely planning to get the rest of the series. Some of the plot twists were easy to see coming, but the writing was fantastic. It was one of those can't-put-it-down kind of books. This, like the Percy Jackson book from earlier this year, was one that I never looked to see how many pages I had left. It was engaging. At every turn, I felt more and more awful for Alfred, and was rooting for him more and more. Great stuff. The worst part was the end, because I couldn't get another dose of story until I get the next book!
Pages: 339
Genre: Fantasy/mystery
Grade: A+
Would I Recommend?: Absolutely.
33 down, 17 to go!
Alfred Kropp is a fifteen year old hulk of a boy, whose mother died, and whose father left very early in his life. Alfred never even knew him. Alfred lives with his Uncle Farrell, who works as a security guard in Samson Towers. One day, Uncle Farrell is approached and asked to steal a sword from Bernard Samson's office. Uncle Farrell, in turn, says that Alfred has to help him steal the sword, or he'll send Alfred back to foster care. Given no other choice, Alfred goes along with it, only to learn that the man wanting the sword is evil, and the sword is really the Sword of Kings, Excalibur. Alfred feels horrible about the theft, and decides to do everything he can to get the Sword back to its rightful place. Along the way, he learns more and more about the legends and history of King Arthur, and his Knights.
Thoughts:
Wonderful! I'm definitely planning to get the rest of the series. Some of the plot twists were easy to see coming, but the writing was fantastic. It was one of those can't-put-it-down kind of books. This, like the Percy Jackson book from earlier this year, was one that I never looked to see how many pages I had left. It was engaging. At every turn, I felt more and more awful for Alfred, and was rooting for him more and more. Great stuff. The worst part was the end, because I couldn't get another dose of story until I get the next book!
Pages: 339
Genre: Fantasy/mystery
Grade: A+
Would I Recommend?: Absolutely.
33 down, 17 to go!
Because She Can (Bridie Clark)
Summary:
Claire is having a crazy day. She's just gotten news that her mentor is leaving the publishing company she works for, and now the little bit of attention she'd been getting for her projects will be practically null. Her best friend Bea asks her to come to a gallery opening, and when Claire arrives, she finds the man she crushed on as a college student. And now he's interested in her! And he's going to get her a job with the best publisher in the city! The book follows Claire for a year after this fateful day, all the way to her wedding day, where she's about to marry that man, Randall. But is it normal to have this many doubts on your wedding day?
Thoughts:
It's a poor man's Devil Wears Prada. Quite literally, it's the same story, as Claire gets crapped on at every turn, and the boss is an unholy bitch. Only it's a book publisher, not a magazine publisher. Pretty much most other things in the story are the same. This was just written three years later, and it has a wedding in the mix. It was vaguely amusing, and not really much to talk about compared with DWP. I feel like I liked this book better than DWP, but only a little. I vaguely remember being annoyed by DWP when I read it. Past that, I wouldn't bother with this one if you've read the original. No wonder this was on the bargain rack.
Pages: 274
Genre: Chick lit
Grade: C
Would I Recommend?: Eh. Could go either way.
32 down, 18 to go!
Claire is having a crazy day. She's just gotten news that her mentor is leaving the publishing company she works for, and now the little bit of attention she'd been getting for her projects will be practically null. Her best friend Bea asks her to come to a gallery opening, and when Claire arrives, she finds the man she crushed on as a college student. And now he's interested in her! And he's going to get her a job with the best publisher in the city! The book follows Claire for a year after this fateful day, all the way to her wedding day, where she's about to marry that man, Randall. But is it normal to have this many doubts on your wedding day?
Thoughts:
It's a poor man's Devil Wears Prada. Quite literally, it's the same story, as Claire gets crapped on at every turn, and the boss is an unholy bitch. Only it's a book publisher, not a magazine publisher. Pretty much most other things in the story are the same. This was just written three years later, and it has a wedding in the mix. It was vaguely amusing, and not really much to talk about compared with DWP. I feel like I liked this book better than DWP, but only a little. I vaguely remember being annoyed by DWP when I read it. Past that, I wouldn't bother with this one if you've read the original. No wonder this was on the bargain rack.
Pages: 274
Genre: Chick lit
Grade: C
Would I Recommend?: Eh. Could go either way.
32 down, 18 to go!
Monday, July 19, 2010
Fairy Tale Blues (Tina Welling)
Summary:
Forty-something (or fifty-something) AnnieLaurie is married to a sweet, funny man named Jess. He's self-absorbed and careless, and for their anniversary, he gets her the same pair of blue topaz earrings that he got her for Valentine's Day. This brings Annie to the realization that she needs a break. A break from her life with him, from the store they own together, from everything about their life in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. She leaves the anniversary dinner abruptly, and hops a flight to Florida, nothing with her but the clothes on her back and her purse. She decides she's taking a "marriage sabbatical."
Thoughts:
The book feels like it's Welling's way of working through her own issues with her marriage. The main female character even is named like a fanfic "MarySue." It's written alternatively from Annie's and Jess's points of view. While Annie describes her world and her "awakening" and all that, I kind of wanted to reach into the pages and smack her around. Yes, Jess has issues. But you're not without them either. I wanted to put it down so badly because it just wasn't GOOD to me, but I hate stopping a book in the middle, so I usually tough out even the worst books. (Case in point: Raiders of the Low Forehead. Worst book I've ever read, bar none, but I actually finished that flaming pile of- ugh. Awful.)
What makes me sad about this book is that Jess works on himself, yes, and so does Annie, but the only real actions that go on during the book are when Annie meets Daniel, a former drug runner, on the run from his former boss and the cartel they work (or worked, in Daniel's case) for. That's the only real fun in this book. It was wholly depressing, and a waste of a week or more of my reading time. And this was one of the books from Paperback Swap that I had been waitlisted for. And I didn't even like it. Waste of time and a PBS credit.
31 down, 19 to go!
Pages: 312
Genre: Chick-lit, self help
Grade: D
Would I Recommend?: Not unless you're a 50+ with serious marriage issues.
Forty-something (or fifty-something) AnnieLaurie is married to a sweet, funny man named Jess. He's self-absorbed and careless, and for their anniversary, he gets her the same pair of blue topaz earrings that he got her for Valentine's Day. This brings Annie to the realization that she needs a break. A break from her life with him, from the store they own together, from everything about their life in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. She leaves the anniversary dinner abruptly, and hops a flight to Florida, nothing with her but the clothes on her back and her purse. She decides she's taking a "marriage sabbatical."
Thoughts:
The book feels like it's Welling's way of working through her own issues with her marriage. The main female character even is named like a fanfic "MarySue." It's written alternatively from Annie's and Jess's points of view. While Annie describes her world and her "awakening" and all that, I kind of wanted to reach into the pages and smack her around. Yes, Jess has issues. But you're not without them either. I wanted to put it down so badly because it just wasn't GOOD to me, but I hate stopping a book in the middle, so I usually tough out even the worst books. (Case in point: Raiders of the Low Forehead. Worst book I've ever read, bar none, but I actually finished that flaming pile of- ugh. Awful.)
What makes me sad about this book is that Jess works on himself, yes, and so does Annie, but the only real actions that go on during the book are when Annie meets Daniel, a former drug runner, on the run from his former boss and the cartel they work (or worked, in Daniel's case) for. That's the only real fun in this book. It was wholly depressing, and a waste of a week or more of my reading time. And this was one of the books from Paperback Swap that I had been waitlisted for. And I didn't even like it. Waste of time and a PBS credit.
31 down, 19 to go!
Pages: 312
Genre: Chick-lit, self help
Grade: D
Would I Recommend?: Not unless you're a 50+ with serious marriage issues.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Aunt Dimity's Good Deed (Nancy Atherton)
Summary:
Lori Shepherd is back Boston in the third installment of the Aunt Dimity sagas. She's gone and gotten married, though her new hubby turns out to be a Class A workaholic. Two years of marriage have brought Lori little more than anxiety and annoying in-laws. She plans a trip for the two of them to visit Dimity's- and now her- cottage in England, as a second honeymoon. Only hubby the lawyer is too busy working on a case to leave. He promises to finish soon, and then head to England to meet Lori, and sends his father to keep her company in the meantime. How wonderful. But two days into the trip, Lori's father-in-law goes missing, and she spends the next few days running around the English countryside trying to find him.
Thoughts:
Wonderful, again. Atherton's got a fabulous way of telling her stories. Lori is a bit of an idiot some times, and you wonder how she misses some obvious things. What are you going to do. The writing is awesome, so I'll forgive Lori being slightly dense. I'll definitely continue with this series. Atherton is great.
30 down, 20 to go!
Pages: 288
Genre: Mystery, romance
Grade: A
Would I Recommend?: Yes. Atherton's awesome.
Lori Shepherd is back Boston in the third installment of the Aunt Dimity sagas. She's gone and gotten married, though her new hubby turns out to be a Class A workaholic. Two years of marriage have brought Lori little more than anxiety and annoying in-laws. She plans a trip for the two of them to visit Dimity's- and now her- cottage in England, as a second honeymoon. Only hubby the lawyer is too busy working on a case to leave. He promises to finish soon, and then head to England to meet Lori, and sends his father to keep her company in the meantime. How wonderful. But two days into the trip, Lori's father-in-law goes missing, and she spends the next few days running around the English countryside trying to find him.
Thoughts:
Wonderful, again. Atherton's got a fabulous way of telling her stories. Lori is a bit of an idiot some times, and you wonder how she misses some obvious things. What are you going to do. The writing is awesome, so I'll forgive Lori being slightly dense. I'll definitely continue with this series. Atherton is great.
30 down, 20 to go!
Pages: 288
Genre: Mystery, romance
Grade: A
Would I Recommend?: Yes. Atherton's awesome.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (John Boyne)
Summary:
Bruno is a nine year old boy in 1940's Germany whose father is a Commandant in the German army. After a visit from the Fury, Bruno and his family are moved to a house far away called Out-With. There is nothing anywhere near the house, except for a very big fence that goes on for as far as Bruno can see. Bruno and his sister have no one to play with or talk to except the other soldiers. One day, Bruno goes exploring, and finds a speck that becomes a spot that becomes a blob that becomes a boy. Suddenly Out-With is not as bad.
Thoughts:
It reads exactly like being in a little boy's brain. Boyne does a perfect job of getting the 9-year-old's voice right. It also showed an interesting point of view of Nazi Germany. It's not often that you see a story written about the World War 2 era from the view of the Germans. This was incredible. I see why this is so highly recommended. It was a great story, written beautifully. I think it's tied for favorite of the year so far. It's only tied because the whole thing in general is kind of depressing, but that's the only thing keeping it from really surpassing everything else for the year. Great book though.
Pages: 240
Genre: Historical fiction
Grade: A+
Would I Recommend?: Hell effing yes.
29 down, 21 to go!
Bruno is a nine year old boy in 1940's Germany whose father is a Commandant in the German army. After a visit from the Fury, Bruno and his family are moved to a house far away called Out-With. There is nothing anywhere near the house, except for a very big fence that goes on for as far as Bruno can see. Bruno and his sister have no one to play with or talk to except the other soldiers. One day, Bruno goes exploring, and finds a speck that becomes a spot that becomes a blob that becomes a boy. Suddenly Out-With is not as bad.
Thoughts:
It reads exactly like being in a little boy's brain. Boyne does a perfect job of getting the 9-year-old's voice right. It also showed an interesting point of view of Nazi Germany. It's not often that you see a story written about the World War 2 era from the view of the Germans. This was incredible. I see why this is so highly recommended. It was a great story, written beautifully. I think it's tied for favorite of the year so far. It's only tied because the whole thing in general is kind of depressing, but that's the only thing keeping it from really surpassing everything else for the year. Great book though.
Pages: 240
Genre: Historical fiction
Grade: A+
Would I Recommend?: Hell effing yes.
29 down, 21 to go!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
The Virgin Suicides (Jeffrey Eugenides)
Summary:
The book follows a handful of boys as they observe the Lisbon girls, who live on their street. I think it's set sometime around the 60's, but it could be as late as the late 70's or early 80's even. The Lisbon girls are an enigma to the narrator and his friends, especially when they start killing themselves. It literally starts with the EMS showing up at the Lisbon house after the last girl kills herself, and then goes back to describe the rest.
Thoughts:
It's really rather boring to me, honestly. It's a love letter to the Lisbon girls. It feels like it's written by a man that's now fully grown, who saw the girls kill themselves when he was a child, maybe twelve or thirteen at most. The narrator never actually names himself, and doesn't ever say enough to describe exactly when or where this is set. I like to have an idea of when exactly a book takes place, and who's telling the story. Call me crazy. But I digress (a little).
The boys of the story are pretty much obsessed with the five Lisbon girls. The narrator talks about the first girl killing herself, and then spends the next hundred and fifty pages talking about the uproar of the town over it, and the decline of the house itself, and freakin' tree diseases. Bleh.
The layout of the book itself, too, is cumbersome. There are five chapters in the book. The third one alone is 92 pages. And between the first suicide and the second, third, and fourth, (which all happen on the same night in the story) there are 183 pages. There's only 249 pages in the book. The way the narrator tells the story, you think that another suicide is coming any second, if only he would stop talking about what the house looks like now, and then it all happens right at the end.
I really didn't like the book, and I can't imagine why someone would. I just found it incredibly boring. I got the book through Paperback Swap, and have been waiting for it for literally months. I'm now wishing I hadn't bothered with it, because it really wasn't worth the wait.
28 down, 22 to go!
Pages: 249
Genre: general fiction
Grade: D+
Would I Recommend?: No. Straight up.
The book follows a handful of boys as they observe the Lisbon girls, who live on their street. I think it's set sometime around the 60's, but it could be as late as the late 70's or early 80's even. The Lisbon girls are an enigma to the narrator and his friends, especially when they start killing themselves. It literally starts with the EMS showing up at the Lisbon house after the last girl kills herself, and then goes back to describe the rest.
Thoughts:
It's really rather boring to me, honestly. It's a love letter to the Lisbon girls. It feels like it's written by a man that's now fully grown, who saw the girls kill themselves when he was a child, maybe twelve or thirteen at most. The narrator never actually names himself, and doesn't ever say enough to describe exactly when or where this is set. I like to have an idea of when exactly a book takes place, and who's telling the story. Call me crazy. But I digress (a little).
The boys of the story are pretty much obsessed with the five Lisbon girls. The narrator talks about the first girl killing herself, and then spends the next hundred and fifty pages talking about the uproar of the town over it, and the decline of the house itself, and freakin' tree diseases. Bleh.
The layout of the book itself, too, is cumbersome. There are five chapters in the book. The third one alone is 92 pages. And between the first suicide and the second, third, and fourth, (which all happen on the same night in the story) there are 183 pages. There's only 249 pages in the book. The way the narrator tells the story, you think that another suicide is coming any second, if only he would stop talking about what the house looks like now, and then it all happens right at the end.
I really didn't like the book, and I can't imagine why someone would. I just found it incredibly boring. I got the book through Paperback Swap, and have been waiting for it for literally months. I'm now wishing I hadn't bothered with it, because it really wasn't worth the wait.
28 down, 22 to go!
Pages: 249
Genre: general fiction
Grade: D+
Would I Recommend?: No. Straight up.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Making Mischief (Elizabeth Young)
Summary:
Abby saw something at 16 that she very much shouldn't have. The boy her cousin, Rachel, had a crush on was getting busy with one of her cousin's best friends right in Rachel's backyard. She never told Rachel, though she did tell another cousin, Fleur. Once they grew up, the boy has become a man (named Guy) and has started dating Fleur (not Rachel). Fleur begs Abby to keep an eye on Guy for her while Fleur couldn't be around. Abby found Guy to be very upstanding, and began to rekindle the tiny crush she had on him from when they were teens. But what's a girl to do when the guy she's got the hots for is dating family?
Thoughts:
A fun, easy read. Sure, the author's lazy for naming the main guy GUY. (Really? There's NO other names that would have fit this man??) But it's one of those stories that you hope she figures out the right way to go about things, and when she does, it's great. And the nice thing is that this one didn't just end when the romance bit resolved itself. It had a little bit of a happily ever after tagged on in the last chapter, which made me happy.
Pages: 332
Genre: Romance/chicklit
Grade: B+
Would I Recommend?: Sure, it was fun.
27 down, 23 to go!
Abby saw something at 16 that she very much shouldn't have. The boy her cousin, Rachel, had a crush on was getting busy with one of her cousin's best friends right in Rachel's backyard. She never told Rachel, though she did tell another cousin, Fleur. Once they grew up, the boy has become a man (named Guy) and has started dating Fleur (not Rachel). Fleur begs Abby to keep an eye on Guy for her while Fleur couldn't be around. Abby found Guy to be very upstanding, and began to rekindle the tiny crush she had on him from when they were teens. But what's a girl to do when the guy she's got the hots for is dating family?
Thoughts:
A fun, easy read. Sure, the author's lazy for naming the main guy GUY. (Really? There's NO other names that would have fit this man??) But it's one of those stories that you hope she figures out the right way to go about things, and when she does, it's great. And the nice thing is that this one didn't just end when the romance bit resolved itself. It had a little bit of a happily ever after tagged on in the last chapter, which made me happy.
Pages: 332
Genre: Romance/chicklit
Grade: B+
Would I Recommend?: Sure, it was fun.
27 down, 23 to go!
Monday, June 21, 2010
Murder of a Sweet Old Lady (Denise Swanson)
Summary:
Skye Dennison is back. She's been visiting her maternal grandmother every day for the past few weeks to get the family history from Grandma. One day, instead of finding her grandmother ready for more chatting, she finds her dead. The family thinks it's old age, but Skye doesn't think so, and she's right. Someone's poisoned Grandma. Skye makes it her mission to find out who killed Grandma, and manages to turn up old, long-forgotten family secrets in the process.
Thoughts:
Skye is a fairly good character, sure. And she's great at being nosy enough to solve a murder. But she is so not good with men. This was what annoyed me the most about this book. Sure, she had a crappy relationship with an ex, and she's "afraid that she's going to lose herself again like she did before." But she's a much different person now. Suck it up, get over it, because you've just lost a hunk who was really in love with you, because you wouldn't let him get to second base. Really? What are you, in high school again?
Otherwise, the crime fighting stuff was okay. It's an easy read, and semi-predictable. I had a feeling I knew what the Big Family Secret (tm) was long before anything was revealed. When you put certain clues together, which I can't say for fear of spoiling the book, it's a fairly obvious ending. But it's okay. I enjoyed most of it, and will probably keep reading, just to see if Skye can get the hell over herself. (Probably not, since she seems to be Swanson's version of a Mary Sue: a character that is based on the author who gets to live out the wacky hijinks the author can't in real life.)
Pages: 251
Genre: Mystery with a dash of romance
Grade: B-
Would I Recommend?: Yeah, it's not bad.
26 down, 24 to go!
Skye Dennison is back. She's been visiting her maternal grandmother every day for the past few weeks to get the family history from Grandma. One day, instead of finding her grandmother ready for more chatting, she finds her dead. The family thinks it's old age, but Skye doesn't think so, and she's right. Someone's poisoned Grandma. Skye makes it her mission to find out who killed Grandma, and manages to turn up old, long-forgotten family secrets in the process.
Thoughts:
Skye is a fairly good character, sure. And she's great at being nosy enough to solve a murder. But she is so not good with men. This was what annoyed me the most about this book. Sure, she had a crappy relationship with an ex, and she's "afraid that she's going to lose herself again like she did before." But she's a much different person now. Suck it up, get over it, because you've just lost a hunk who was really in love with you, because you wouldn't let him get to second base. Really? What are you, in high school again?
Otherwise, the crime fighting stuff was okay. It's an easy read, and semi-predictable. I had a feeling I knew what the Big Family Secret (tm) was long before anything was revealed. When you put certain clues together, which I can't say for fear of spoiling the book, it's a fairly obvious ending. But it's okay. I enjoyed most of it, and will probably keep reading, just to see if Skye can get the hell over herself. (Probably not, since she seems to be Swanson's version of a Mary Sue: a character that is based on the author who gets to live out the wacky hijinks the author can't in real life.)
Pages: 251
Genre: Mystery with a dash of romance
Grade: B-
Would I Recommend?: Yeah, it's not bad.
26 down, 24 to go!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Fatally Flaky (Diane Mott Davidson)
Summary:
Goldy Schultz is a caterer in Colorado dealing with the bridezillaest of brides, who likes to throw Goldy as many curve balls as she can. The biggest comes just two days before the wedding, when Billie Bridezillie tells Goldy she's changed the venue and added fifty more guests to the list. Oh, and Goldy is in the middle of working another wedding when she gets the news, a wedding in which not only does the estranged father of the bride shows up drunk and trying to get involved in the wedding, but the man who is supposed to be walking the bride down the aisle winds up dead in a ravine. The story follows Goldy as she tries to find out whodunnit, and as she grieves for someone else who winds up dead, too.
Thoughts:
It was kind of slow going. The author describes far too much having to do with the baking mess, and should focus more on actual story. The writing isn't bad, and I definitely didn't pick out the ending. I will say that it seemed to wrap up too easily, like even the author wasn't sure who did it in the end, and she didn't put out enough clues that would lead to the killer. That could be just me, though.
Pages: 382, unless you count the recipes, then 432.
Genre: Mystery, with a hint of "crazy bride!" thrown in, cookbook (last 30 pages of the paperback!!)
Grade: B-
Would I Recommend?: Wouldn't go out of my way to, but wouldn't dissuade anyone either.
25 down, 25 to go! Halfway point for the year's goal!
Goldy Schultz is a caterer in Colorado dealing with the bridezillaest of brides, who likes to throw Goldy as many curve balls as she can. The biggest comes just two days before the wedding, when Billie Bridezillie tells Goldy she's changed the venue and added fifty more guests to the list. Oh, and Goldy is in the middle of working another wedding when she gets the news, a wedding in which not only does the estranged father of the bride shows up drunk and trying to get involved in the wedding, but the man who is supposed to be walking the bride down the aisle winds up dead in a ravine. The story follows Goldy as she tries to find out whodunnit, and as she grieves for someone else who winds up dead, too.
Thoughts:
It was kind of slow going. The author describes far too much having to do with the baking mess, and should focus more on actual story. The writing isn't bad, and I definitely didn't pick out the ending. I will say that it seemed to wrap up too easily, like even the author wasn't sure who did it in the end, and she didn't put out enough clues that would lead to the killer. That could be just me, though.
Pages: 382, unless you count the recipes, then 432.
Genre: Mystery, with a hint of "crazy bride!" thrown in, cookbook (last 30 pages of the paperback!!)
Grade: B-
Would I Recommend?: Wouldn't go out of my way to, but wouldn't dissuade anyone either.
25 down, 25 to go! Halfway point for the year's goal!
Monday, June 14, 2010
Murder by Puffins (Donna Andrews)
Summary:
Meg Langslow is at it again. She and her new boyfriend, Michael, go to her aunt's house on a small island in Maine or somewhere, thinking that they will have a nice, quiet getaway. Instead, they get seasick on the boat thanks to a hurricane off the coast that just won't go away, and when they finally hit land and go to the aunt's house, they find not only Aunt Phoebe herself, but Meg's parents and brother as well. Meg and Michael try to get some relaxation (and avoid doing a million chores) by going out for a walk, but instead they find a local artist dead.
Thoughts:
Good story. Well written once again. It's a fun series, and I definitely plan on keeping up with it. Though around every turn, you do start wishing Meg could just get a break, and get some time without her crazy relatives... Though they are one of the best things about the book, so it's kind of a toss up.
Pages: 302
Genre: Mystery
Grade: A-/B+
Would I Recommend?: Absolutely.
24 down, 26 to go!
Meg Langslow is at it again. She and her new boyfriend, Michael, go to her aunt's house on a small island in Maine or somewhere, thinking that they will have a nice, quiet getaway. Instead, they get seasick on the boat thanks to a hurricane off the coast that just won't go away, and when they finally hit land and go to the aunt's house, they find not only Aunt Phoebe herself, but Meg's parents and brother as well. Meg and Michael try to get some relaxation (and avoid doing a million chores) by going out for a walk, but instead they find a local artist dead.
Thoughts:
Good story. Well written once again. It's a fun series, and I definitely plan on keeping up with it. Though around every turn, you do start wishing Meg could just get a break, and get some time without her crazy relatives... Though they are one of the best things about the book, so it's kind of a toss up.
Pages: 302
Genre: Mystery
Grade: A-/B+
Would I Recommend?: Absolutely.
24 down, 26 to go!
Friday, May 28, 2010
Nothing but Trouble (Rachel Gibson)
Summary:
Mark Bressler is the former captain of the Seattle Chinooks. Chelsea Ross is an aspiring actress who can't get a part that isn't "town slut" because of her big boobs. Chelsea takes a job as Mark's personal assistant to save up money for a boob reduction. Mark was in a horrific car accident that's left him in constant pain and unable to play hockey anymore. Standard romance plot ensues, including the "something happens to break them up for a while which leads one of them to profess their undying love."
Thoughts:
Kind of predictable. But it was good. Intriguing. I read the whole thing yesterday. It was a quick read. Gibson's storytelling skills are pretty good. I couldn't stop reading, even though I knew I should go to sleep. I think I got into it because of the hockey player, to be honest. I've been getting more into hockey thanks to the hunky honey's newfound interest in it, and this one got inside the head of the player himself. It was kind of neat for me. Call me crazy.
The storyline itself is not bad. The writing is pretty darn good. I might look into getting more of Gibson's work, see if it's all this intriguing. We'll see.
Pages: 384
Genre: Romance, straight up.
Grade: B+
Would I Recommend?: Sure, why not?
23 down, 27 to go! (At this point in the year, I should be at 21, so I'm ahead of the 50 book mark. Yay me!
Mark Bressler is the former captain of the Seattle Chinooks. Chelsea Ross is an aspiring actress who can't get a part that isn't "town slut" because of her big boobs. Chelsea takes a job as Mark's personal assistant to save up money for a boob reduction. Mark was in a horrific car accident that's left him in constant pain and unable to play hockey anymore. Standard romance plot ensues, including the "something happens to break them up for a while which leads one of them to profess their undying love."
Thoughts:
Kind of predictable. But it was good. Intriguing. I read the whole thing yesterday. It was a quick read. Gibson's storytelling skills are pretty good. I couldn't stop reading, even though I knew I should go to sleep. I think I got into it because of the hockey player, to be honest. I've been getting more into hockey thanks to the hunky honey's newfound interest in it, and this one got inside the head of the player himself. It was kind of neat for me. Call me crazy.
The storyline itself is not bad. The writing is pretty darn good. I might look into getting more of Gibson's work, see if it's all this intriguing. We'll see.
Pages: 384
Genre: Romance, straight up.
Grade: B+
Would I Recommend?: Sure, why not?
23 down, 27 to go! (At this point in the year, I should be at 21, so I'm ahead of the 50 book mark. Yay me!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Lois Lane Tells All (Karen Hawkins)
Summary:
Susan is a news reporter with a special love for Clark Kent and Lois Lane. Mark is an accountant trying to get Susan's paper from running into the ground. Opposites attract, standard romance novel storyline ensues, with the added bonus of a little mystery thrown in. (Someone stole $30K from a church bake sale, and someone else is making threats to Susan's life.)
Thoughts:
Standard romance novel. There's not much else to say, except the editor on this one could use going over it one more time. To be fair, the mystery parts were not so predictable, but the romance bits? More obvious than the nose on my face. Once again, I wish we could see a little of the happily ever after bits. Most romances end with the MCs saying "I love you" for the first time ever (and usually actually revealing that there's any feelings there at all) on the very last page. Is it so wrong to want to see a little conflict after they say "I love you"?
Pages: 379
Genre: Romance, mystery
Grade: C+
Would I Recommend?: Eh, it was okay. I wouldn't tell someone not to read it...
22 down, 28 to go!
Susan is a news reporter with a special love for Clark Kent and Lois Lane. Mark is an accountant trying to get Susan's paper from running into the ground. Opposites attract, standard romance novel storyline ensues, with the added bonus of a little mystery thrown in. (Someone stole $30K from a church bake sale, and someone else is making threats to Susan's life.)
Thoughts:
Standard romance novel. There's not much else to say, except the editor on this one could use going over it one more time. To be fair, the mystery parts were not so predictable, but the romance bits? More obvious than the nose on my face. Once again, I wish we could see a little of the happily ever after bits. Most romances end with the MCs saying "I love you" for the first time ever (and usually actually revealing that there's any feelings there at all) on the very last page. Is it so wrong to want to see a little conflict after they say "I love you"?
Pages: 379
Genre: Romance, mystery
Grade: C+
Would I Recommend?: Eh, it was okay. I wouldn't tell someone not to read it...
22 down, 28 to go!
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
The Pact (Jodi Picoult)
Summary:
Chris and Emily grew up together. Literally. Their parents were best friends, and so were they, all through their childhoods. And at thirteen and fourteen, when it was time for them to explore a relationship with the opposite sex, of course they did it together. But at seventeen, they find themselves at a carousel in the middle of the night, with a revolver, two bullets, and a sadness growing within them. Emily winds up dead, and Chris is left to pick up the pieces.
The book begins with the shot, and follows Chris as he gets arrested for Emily's murder and put on trial.
Thoughts:
This book is wholly depressing. Readers watch as Chris gets locked up and deals with prison life, and his parents deal with the fear that their son is a murderer. We see Emily's parents fight the idea that not only was their daughter possibly suicidal, but also keeping very big secrets from them.
It was well written, yes, and a real page-turner for sure. But it was completely depressing, and if all of Picoult's work is this sad, I don't think I can bring myself to read more. I read to get my mind off the heaviness of the world around me, not to be dragged down further.
Oh, and according to the cover, this is a love story. This was just a sadness story.
Pages: 389
Genre: Mystery, romance?
Grade: B+
Would I Recommend?: Maybe, if you like to read a depressing love story...
21 down, 29 to go!
Chris and Emily grew up together. Literally. Their parents were best friends, and so were they, all through their childhoods. And at thirteen and fourteen, when it was time for them to explore a relationship with the opposite sex, of course they did it together. But at seventeen, they find themselves at a carousel in the middle of the night, with a revolver, two bullets, and a sadness growing within them. Emily winds up dead, and Chris is left to pick up the pieces.
The book begins with the shot, and follows Chris as he gets arrested for Emily's murder and put on trial.
Thoughts:
This book is wholly depressing. Readers watch as Chris gets locked up and deals with prison life, and his parents deal with the fear that their son is a murderer. We see Emily's parents fight the idea that not only was their daughter possibly suicidal, but also keeping very big secrets from them.
It was well written, yes, and a real page-turner for sure. But it was completely depressing, and if all of Picoult's work is this sad, I don't think I can bring myself to read more. I read to get my mind off the heaviness of the world around me, not to be dragged down further.
Oh, and according to the cover, this is a love story. This was just a sadness story.
Pages: 389
Genre: Mystery, romance?
Grade: B+
Would I Recommend?: Maybe, if you like to read a depressing love story...
21 down, 29 to go!
Aunt Dimity and the Duke (Nancy Atherton)
Summary:
Emma is a gardener extraordinaire. She leaves her home in the States to explore gardens in England after her long-term boyfriend not only leaves her, but goes and gets married. Emma stumbles upon friends of Aunt Dimity, and gets sent to see the gardens at a private manor. At the same time, Derek, a widower with two very precocious children, is asked to help at the same manor, fixing a beautiful stained glass window.
The two of them stumble upon a mystery and work together to discover the real truth.
Thoughts:
Just as good as Aunt Dimity's Death. Aunt Dimity only makes a brief appearance in a flashback/memory. It seems like Dimity only shows herself through others' love for her. They are fun and intriguing books. The writing is great as well. I'll be continuing down the line through Dimity's other adventures.
Pages: 290
Genre: Mystery, romance
Grade: A
Would I Recommend?: Absolutely.
20 down, 30 to go!
Emma is a gardener extraordinaire. She leaves her home in the States to explore gardens in England after her long-term boyfriend not only leaves her, but goes and gets married. Emma stumbles upon friends of Aunt Dimity, and gets sent to see the gardens at a private manor. At the same time, Derek, a widower with two very precocious children, is asked to help at the same manor, fixing a beautiful stained glass window.
The two of them stumble upon a mystery and work together to discover the real truth.
Thoughts:
Just as good as Aunt Dimity's Death. Aunt Dimity only makes a brief appearance in a flashback/memory. It seems like Dimity only shows herself through others' love for her. They are fun and intriguing books. The writing is great as well. I'll be continuing down the line through Dimity's other adventures.
Pages: 290
Genre: Mystery, romance
Grade: A
Would I Recommend?: Absolutely.
20 down, 30 to go!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
The Ghost and Mrs. McClure (Cleo Coyle/Alice Kimberly)
Summary:
Pen McClure is a bookshop owner in "hicksville" Rhode Island. She's a single mom, thanks to her husband committing suicide. She moves her son from NYC to Rhode Island to get away from the crazy city life- and the crazy in-laws. She buys into her aunt's bookstore, and rehabs it so she can help put it on the map. At her first author signing event, the author himself keels over dead. What progresses is that Pen tries to hunt down the murderer. Oh, and by the way, her biggest ally is a private dick from the 1940's who was offed in that same bookstore sixty years ago. She's the only one that can hear Jack Shepherd's voice. And he's an A-number-one flirt, too.
Thoughts:
Written by Cleo Coyle under the name of "Alice Kimberly." Why do writers do this? I don't get it. Anyway... The book.
So much fun. I couldn't out it down. Seriously, I loved this book. I'll be going to get more Cleo Coyle in the future, I think. It sounds, from the way she ended the book, that there's more in this series. So I'll be hunting that down, for sure. I love Jack. I love Penelope. I want more, like, now.
Pages: 261
Genre: Mystery, straight up.
Grade: A+
Would I Recommend?: Absolutely. I already have, actually. I'll be handing this off tomorrow afternoon, actually. :)
19 down, 31 to go!
Pen McClure is a bookshop owner in "hicksville" Rhode Island. She's a single mom, thanks to her husband committing suicide. She moves her son from NYC to Rhode Island to get away from the crazy city life- and the crazy in-laws. She buys into her aunt's bookstore, and rehabs it so she can help put it on the map. At her first author signing event, the author himself keels over dead. What progresses is that Pen tries to hunt down the murderer. Oh, and by the way, her biggest ally is a private dick from the 1940's who was offed in that same bookstore sixty years ago. She's the only one that can hear Jack Shepherd's voice. And he's an A-number-one flirt, too.
Thoughts:
Written by Cleo Coyle under the name of "Alice Kimberly." Why do writers do this? I don't get it. Anyway... The book.
So much fun. I couldn't out it down. Seriously, I loved this book. I'll be going to get more Cleo Coyle in the future, I think. It sounds, from the way she ended the book, that there's more in this series. So I'll be hunting that down, for sure. I love Jack. I love Penelope. I want more, like, now.
Pages: 261
Genre: Mystery, straight up.
Grade: A+
Would I Recommend?: Absolutely. I already have, actually. I'll be handing this off tomorrow afternoon, actually. :)
19 down, 31 to go!
She Went All the Way (Meg Cabot)
Summary:
Lou Calabrese and Jack Townsend board a helicopter to get to the set of the movie that Lou wrote, and Jack is staring in. They hate each other, but figure they can handle a few minutes stuck in a small moving vehicle. Little do they know there's a plot against Jack's life, and the helicopter pilot has been hired to kill Jack. They fight off the pilot and the chopper crashes. Oh, did I mention that this is in the wilderness of Alaska? For the next few days, they fight to stay warm and alive. Will they ever figure out who's out to get Jack? (Or how to get themselves back to some sort of civilization.)
Thoughts:
Awesome, as always with Ms. Cabot. I have loved Ms. Meg for many years now, since the first Princess Diaries book, (no, I haven't read them all. I got bored with them about four books in) and have loved just about everything I've ever read of hers. I have about six books of hers to cover still. I want to hold off, though, because I don't want to kill all the Cabot joy and never have more from her to read. Ah, but back to this one.
Lou's an awesome character. Jack too. It is, of course, the classic romantic comedy plot line. Girl hates boy. Girl and Boy get stuck in some sort of situation where they have to be in close quarters for an indeterminate length of time. They both start falling for each other, but won't tell the other one. They fall into having sex eventually. They get back to their regular life, having to avoid each other because it's just "too weird." One does something daring to win the other's heart for good. The end. The thing about Cabot is that she makes you actually want to get to those points. She makes you want to see them fall in love. Plus, she's fun about it.
Pages: 354
Genre: Chicklit, Mystery, Romance
Grade: A
Would I Recommend?: YES. Anything Meg's, I'll recommend it, except the Queen of Babble sequels. Those were surprisingly bad.
18 down, 32 to go!
Lou Calabrese and Jack Townsend board a helicopter to get to the set of the movie that Lou wrote, and Jack is staring in. They hate each other, but figure they can handle a few minutes stuck in a small moving vehicle. Little do they know there's a plot against Jack's life, and the helicopter pilot has been hired to kill Jack. They fight off the pilot and the chopper crashes. Oh, did I mention that this is in the wilderness of Alaska? For the next few days, they fight to stay warm and alive. Will they ever figure out who's out to get Jack? (Or how to get themselves back to some sort of civilization.)
Thoughts:
Awesome, as always with Ms. Cabot. I have loved Ms. Meg for many years now, since the first Princess Diaries book, (no, I haven't read them all. I got bored with them about four books in) and have loved just about everything I've ever read of hers. I have about six books of hers to cover still. I want to hold off, though, because I don't want to kill all the Cabot joy and never have more from her to read. Ah, but back to this one.
Lou's an awesome character. Jack too. It is, of course, the classic romantic comedy plot line. Girl hates boy. Girl and Boy get stuck in some sort of situation where they have to be in close quarters for an indeterminate length of time. They both start falling for each other, but won't tell the other one. They fall into having sex eventually. They get back to their regular life, having to avoid each other because it's just "too weird." One does something daring to win the other's heart for good. The end. The thing about Cabot is that she makes you actually want to get to those points. She makes you want to see them fall in love. Plus, she's fun about it.
Pages: 354
Genre: Chicklit, Mystery, Romance
Grade: A
Would I Recommend?: YES. Anything Meg's, I'll recommend it, except the Queen of Babble sequels. Those were surprisingly bad.
18 down, 32 to go!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Jack Wakes Up (Seth Harwood)
Summary:
Jack Palms is a one-hit-wonder actor. He was in one movie (sure, a big blockbuster type movie) whose sequel got canned after Jack's crazy, drugged up, and drunk wife decided to lay allegations against Jack, saying he abused her. It's been years since this happened, and Jack's recovered from his own substance abuse issues. Jack gets a call from an old buddy of his, Ralph, the producer from Jack's movie. Ralph wants Jack to get involved with one little project, one last job for Ralph. Jack agrees, but finds out it involves some coked-up Czechs who want to score some more coke before they go on a road trip around the US.
What follows is Ralph getting killed, and Jack becoming the front man on the deal, which leads him and the Czech guys getting into a mess. There are drug cartels galore in this version of San Francisco, and one of them is trying to take the rest down, by way of shooting up the city worse than any action movie. Oh, and the cop that called the press when he went to arrest Jack for abuse is on the case now, and is forcing Jack to bring him something good. Jack's got to figure out who's at the top of all of it, and serve it up to the cop on a platter.
Thoughts:
What I read was an uncorrected proof, apparently. But as far as I could tell, it was only missing a few bits of punctuation. REALLY good story. I could do without all the drug references, sure, but for the most part, it was really good. I was figuring things out just when Jack was, so for once I wasn't three steps ahead. A few twists came out of no where on me, which is always a good thing. Plus, Jack has a '66 Mustang fastback, K-code, which means he's pretty awesome. Great writing, though. Finally another good one under the belt.
Pages: 293
Genre: Action, mystery
Grade: A-/B+
Would I Recommend?: Yes, absolutely.
17 down, 33 to go!
Jack Palms is a one-hit-wonder actor. He was in one movie (sure, a big blockbuster type movie) whose sequel got canned after Jack's crazy, drugged up, and drunk wife decided to lay allegations against Jack, saying he abused her. It's been years since this happened, and Jack's recovered from his own substance abuse issues. Jack gets a call from an old buddy of his, Ralph, the producer from Jack's movie. Ralph wants Jack to get involved with one little project, one last job for Ralph. Jack agrees, but finds out it involves some coked-up Czechs who want to score some more coke before they go on a road trip around the US.
What follows is Ralph getting killed, and Jack becoming the front man on the deal, which leads him and the Czech guys getting into a mess. There are drug cartels galore in this version of San Francisco, and one of them is trying to take the rest down, by way of shooting up the city worse than any action movie. Oh, and the cop that called the press when he went to arrest Jack for abuse is on the case now, and is forcing Jack to bring him something good. Jack's got to figure out who's at the top of all of it, and serve it up to the cop on a platter.
Thoughts:
What I read was an uncorrected proof, apparently. But as far as I could tell, it was only missing a few bits of punctuation. REALLY good story. I could do without all the drug references, sure, but for the most part, it was really good. I was figuring things out just when Jack was, so for once I wasn't three steps ahead. A few twists came out of no where on me, which is always a good thing. Plus, Jack has a '66 Mustang fastback, K-code, which means he's pretty awesome. Great writing, though. Finally another good one under the belt.
Pages: 293
Genre: Action, mystery
Grade: A-/B+
Would I Recommend?: Yes, absolutely.
17 down, 33 to go!
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
The Bermudez Triangle (Maureen Johnson)
Summary:
The book starts out with three best friends saying goodbye as one gets ready to go away for the summer for the first time since they were babies (or something) and the other two are stuck waitressing for the whole summer. Nina goes off to a summer program at Stamford and meets a cute guy that she goes on to have a long-distance relationship with once she gets home. Avery and Mel go on to hook up with each other (and hide it from Nina.) and spend the entire summer together pretty much all the time. Once Nina's back from California, she feels that something is different between the three of them, but couldn't figure out what was up until she catches Mel and Avery in the act. The rest of their senior year followed with the "Triangle" (as they called themselves) trying to find their way back to their friendship.
Thoughts:
Thinking about it now, it's kind of like the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, only without the pants, and with one less girl, but it's got a very different feel to it than Sisterhood did. But it's nice to see a book written for teenagers that is mostly about friendships being lost and found again, instead of being all love story all the time.
I liked it, but I didn't love it. The writing was great though, exactly like the last book by Johnson that I read. She's got a way with words, that one.
Pages: 384
Genre: teenlit, romance, friendships
Grade: B+
Would I Recommend?: Sure.
16 down, 34 to go!
The book starts out with three best friends saying goodbye as one gets ready to go away for the summer for the first time since they were babies (or something) and the other two are stuck waitressing for the whole summer. Nina goes off to a summer program at Stamford and meets a cute guy that she goes on to have a long-distance relationship with once she gets home. Avery and Mel go on to hook up with each other (and hide it from Nina.) and spend the entire summer together pretty much all the time. Once Nina's back from California, she feels that something is different between the three of them, but couldn't figure out what was up until she catches Mel and Avery in the act. The rest of their senior year followed with the "Triangle" (as they called themselves) trying to find their way back to their friendship.
Thoughts:
Thinking about it now, it's kind of like the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, only without the pants, and with one less girl, but it's got a very different feel to it than Sisterhood did. But it's nice to see a book written for teenagers that is mostly about friendships being lost and found again, instead of being all love story all the time.
I liked it, but I didn't love it. The writing was great though, exactly like the last book by Johnson that I read. She's got a way with words, that one.
Pages: 384
Genre: teenlit, romance, friendships
Grade: B+
Would I Recommend?: Sure.
16 down, 34 to go!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Quite Honestly (John Mortimer)
Summary:
Lucy, who apparently works in advertising, decides one day that she wants to do some good in the world. She becomes a praeceptor, which is someone who acts as a guide of sorts for people coming out of prison. Her first (and only) case is Terry Keegan. Terry has just gotten out after doing four years for burglary. This is all he knows, and it's what he goes back to. They fall in love, and Lucy decides to start stealing things, so she can become closer to Terry and understand him more. Terry thinks this is very wrong, and that a woman shouldn't be stealing things. The story follows Lucy as she not only ignores Terry's requests for her to stop stealing, but she goes on to try to steal a very expensive painting from a friend and gets pinched while doing it. Oh, and they say "quite honestly" a lot.
Thoughts:
Quite honestly, it's crap. It's predictable, and it's boring. It's barely more than 200 pages, and I think I've been reading it for at least three months. I now understand why it was in the bargain bin at B&N. Crap, and more crap. As soon as Lucy started stealing things, I knew she was going to get caught, and she was going to get jail time. The falling-in-love part wasn't even good. The story was told with one chapter from her perspective, then one from his, alternating every other chapter, so Lucy goes on about her afternoon with Terry, and then says "I guess that's when I fell in love." No lead-up, no nothing. Absolute CRAP. Quite honestly.
Pages: 206
Genre: Romance? Crap.
Grade: F
Would I Recommend?: Oh HELL to the naw.
15 down, 35 to go!
Lucy, who apparently works in advertising, decides one day that she wants to do some good in the world. She becomes a praeceptor, which is someone who acts as a guide of sorts for people coming out of prison. Her first (and only) case is Terry Keegan. Terry has just gotten out after doing four years for burglary. This is all he knows, and it's what he goes back to. They fall in love, and Lucy decides to start stealing things, so she can become closer to Terry and understand him more. Terry thinks this is very wrong, and that a woman shouldn't be stealing things. The story follows Lucy as she not only ignores Terry's requests for her to stop stealing, but she goes on to try to steal a very expensive painting from a friend and gets pinched while doing it. Oh, and they say "quite honestly" a lot.
Thoughts:
Quite honestly, it's crap. It's predictable, and it's boring. It's barely more than 200 pages, and I think I've been reading it for at least three months. I now understand why it was in the bargain bin at B&N. Crap, and more crap. As soon as Lucy started stealing things, I knew she was going to get caught, and she was going to get jail time. The falling-in-love part wasn't even good. The story was told with one chapter from her perspective, then one from his, alternating every other chapter, so Lucy goes on about her afternoon with Terry, and then says "I guess that's when I fell in love." No lead-up, no nothing. Absolute CRAP. Quite honestly.
Pages: 206
Genre: Romance? Crap.
Grade: F
Would I Recommend?: Oh HELL to the naw.
15 down, 35 to go!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Art Geeks and Prom Queens (Alyson Noel)
Summary:
Rio is a teenaged girl who moved from New York to sunny California and is trying to deal with the whole new life she has now. She starts off hanging with people that are very much like her: nice, artsy, etc. But when things go even slightly south with them, she drops them, starting to wear the expensive and very trendy clothes her mother's been trying to force on her since they moved out west, and hanging out with the "cool" girls. This leads to drinking, cocaine, and unfounded sex scandals.
Thoughts:
Honestly, it sucked. It was basically the movie Mean Girls, only with more drugs and alcohol. Why is it that none of the books written about "cool kids" ever paint them in a kind light? I'm not saying that I was ever a "cool kid" (far from it!) but they can't all be the worst of the worst. Anyway, the writing was awful. And it was so very transparent what was going to happen, it was ridiculous. And the happily ever after mess came only on the last page. Shock of all shocks.
Why is it that so few books come with a happy ending that ties up loose ends before the very last page? It's like writers enjoy putting their readers through the worst of all angst, with very little happy in their ever afters. Maybe it's because I've been in a happy relationship for years, and I never really had to go through all this angst. But I like seeing people actually get together, and also BE HAPPY together.
Pages: 226
Genre: Teenlit, romance
Grade: D+
Would I Recommend?: No, probably not.
14 down, 36 to go!
Almost done Quite Honestly, and I can't wait to be. It's pretty crap too. Three books out of the last four have been stupid. Not awesome.
Rio is a teenaged girl who moved from New York to sunny California and is trying to deal with the whole new life she has now. She starts off hanging with people that are very much like her: nice, artsy, etc. But when things go even slightly south with them, she drops them, starting to wear the expensive and very trendy clothes her mother's been trying to force on her since they moved out west, and hanging out with the "cool" girls. This leads to drinking, cocaine, and unfounded sex scandals.
Thoughts:
Honestly, it sucked. It was basically the movie Mean Girls, only with more drugs and alcohol. Why is it that none of the books written about "cool kids" ever paint them in a kind light? I'm not saying that I was ever a "cool kid" (far from it!) but they can't all be the worst of the worst. Anyway, the writing was awful. And it was so very transparent what was going to happen, it was ridiculous. And the happily ever after mess came only on the last page. Shock of all shocks.
Why is it that so few books come with a happy ending that ties up loose ends before the very last page? It's like writers enjoy putting their readers through the worst of all angst, with very little happy in their ever afters. Maybe it's because I've been in a happy relationship for years, and I never really had to go through all this angst. But I like seeing people actually get together, and also BE HAPPY together.
Pages: 226
Genre: Teenlit, romance
Grade: D+
Would I Recommend?: No, probably not.
14 down, 36 to go!
Almost done Quite Honestly, and I can't wait to be. It's pretty crap too. Three books out of the last four have been stupid. Not awesome.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
The Lightning Thief (Rick Riordan)
The first in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.
Summary:
Percy Jackson is a dyslexic kid with ADHD who can't manage to stay in the same school for two years in a row, thanks to his ability to get himself into trouble so very easily. But a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, complete with a really bad encounter with his pre-algebra teacher, leads to Percy discovering that he is a half-blood. Half what, you ask? Half human, half god. Percy is sent to Half-Blood Hill, a summer camp for demigods. All the campers there are sons and daughters of the Greek gods and goddesses. He and the rest of the "undetermined" go through their days, hoping to get claimed by one of the gods.
Percy does get claimed, and gets sent on a quest to find the master bolt, Zeus's most powerful lightning bolt, which was stolen at the winter solstice. Oh, and Percy has a grand total of ten days to go west to LA, find the bolt, and get it back to Zeus before the summer solstice on June 21st, when Zeus and Poseidon will break out in all-out war. Along the way, Percy comes face-to-face with five gods, as well as countless mythical creatures that are kind enough to impede his progress.
Thoughts:
AWESOME. I loved it, and will be reading the rest of the series very soon. The throwbacks to Greek mythology are great. Seeing how Riordan work the old Greek myths into the story was awesome. Sure, I knew where much of the story was going before it got there (except one little twist that I didn't pick up on thanks to not remembering everything from my mythology class), but it was great watching it all unfold. I can't wait to see the rest of this series play out. Now I can totally get myself to the video store (I think?) to get the movie.
Seriously, though, this book was can't-put-it-down great. This was the second book this year that I wasn't checking page numbers all the time to see where I was and how much I had left. The writing feels exactly like being inside a pre-teen's brain. The way Riordan tells his story, it's truly like talking to a teenager. Beautifully done. I can't wait to get my hands on more.
Pages: 375 (wow, really? Didn't feel that long!)
Genre: Fantasy, mystery, with some Greek Mythology thrown in.
Grade: A+
Would I Recommend?: Abso-freakin'-lutely.
13 down, 37 to go!
Summary:
Percy Jackson is a dyslexic kid with ADHD who can't manage to stay in the same school for two years in a row, thanks to his ability to get himself into trouble so very easily. But a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, complete with a really bad encounter with his pre-algebra teacher, leads to Percy discovering that he is a half-blood. Half what, you ask? Half human, half god. Percy is sent to Half-Blood Hill, a summer camp for demigods. All the campers there are sons and daughters of the Greek gods and goddesses. He and the rest of the "undetermined" go through their days, hoping to get claimed by one of the gods.
Percy does get claimed, and gets sent on a quest to find the master bolt, Zeus's most powerful lightning bolt, which was stolen at the winter solstice. Oh, and Percy has a grand total of ten days to go west to LA, find the bolt, and get it back to Zeus before the summer solstice on June 21st, when Zeus and Poseidon will break out in all-out war. Along the way, Percy comes face-to-face with five gods, as well as countless mythical creatures that are kind enough to impede his progress.
Thoughts:
AWESOME. I loved it, and will be reading the rest of the series very soon. The throwbacks to Greek mythology are great. Seeing how Riordan work the old Greek myths into the story was awesome. Sure, I knew where much of the story was going before it got there (except one little twist that I didn't pick up on thanks to not remembering everything from my mythology class), but it was great watching it all unfold. I can't wait to see the rest of this series play out. Now I can totally get myself to the video store (I think?) to get the movie.
Seriously, though, this book was can't-put-it-down great. This was the second book this year that I wasn't checking page numbers all the time to see where I was and how much I had left. The writing feels exactly like being inside a pre-teen's brain. The way Riordan tells his story, it's truly like talking to a teenager. Beautifully done. I can't wait to get my hands on more.
Pages: 375 (wow, really? Didn't feel that long!)
Genre: Fantasy, mystery, with some Greek Mythology thrown in.
Grade: A+
Would I Recommend?: Abso-freakin'-lutely.
13 down, 37 to go!
Monday, April 19, 2010
The Good Fairies of New York (Martin Millar)
Summary:
A disjointed tale of two Scottish fairies, Heather and Morag, who get kicked out of Scotland, and wind up somehow in New York City. The story follows their misadventures in the big city, where they piss off the native New Yorker fairies (who were originally from China, Italy, and Ghana) and set off a turf war. Meanwhile, over in England, the Cornish fairies start a war of their own, and somehow decide it's necessary to invade NYC. And there's a Scottish clan of fairies who are pissed at the two main character fairies, and are hunting everywhere for them.
Oh, and there's this guy, Dinnie, and this chick, Kerry, and the two Scots make a deal with Dinnie to get Kerry to fall in love with him. And there's a couple other humans involved, and the ghost of a long-dead rock star who's out to find his guitar.
Thoughts:
This book is so effing all over the place, it's hard to keep track of everything. The story bounces from Heather and Dinnie, to Morag and Kerry, to the Italian fairies, to the Scottish clan, to the Chinese, to the Cornish government-type fairies, to the Cornish rebellion, to the Ghanaian, to the Italians, to Heather and Morag again, all in a matter of 10 pages. It's so disjointed that while you know it's all connected, and you can pretty much see the connections coming, when they DO get there, you wonder how you've gotten there. Another character involved in this whole mess is a schizophrenic bag lady who thinks she's an Athenian army commander from ancient Greece, and honestly, while reading this, I felt a little like I was going to be her soon.
Also, Kerry (one of the two main humans) has Crohn's disease, and every other chapter or so, it talks about her colostomy bag, and describes what exactly is going on with her physical ailments. I'm sorry, I don't expect to read about which tubes are connected to what and for what purpose when I pick up a book about fairies.
It's a bizarre book, and I didn't particularly like it. I muddled through because I read great reviews for it, but now that I've read it, I'm wondering why. Oh, and this printing had so many amateurish mistakes in it, I kept getting brought out of the story (such as it was) to wonder how this didn't get caught in the editing process.
Pages: 242
Genre: Fantasy
Grade: D+
Would I Recommend?: No.
12 books down, 38 to go!
I'm reading the first Percy Jackson book now, and it's really good so far. A great leap from the crap that this one was.
A disjointed tale of two Scottish fairies, Heather and Morag, who get kicked out of Scotland, and wind up somehow in New York City. The story follows their misadventures in the big city, where they piss off the native New Yorker fairies (who were originally from China, Italy, and Ghana) and set off a turf war. Meanwhile, over in England, the Cornish fairies start a war of their own, and somehow decide it's necessary to invade NYC. And there's a Scottish clan of fairies who are pissed at the two main character fairies, and are hunting everywhere for them.
Oh, and there's this guy, Dinnie, and this chick, Kerry, and the two Scots make a deal with Dinnie to get Kerry to fall in love with him. And there's a couple other humans involved, and the ghost of a long-dead rock star who's out to find his guitar.
Thoughts:
This book is so effing all over the place, it's hard to keep track of everything. The story bounces from Heather and Dinnie, to Morag and Kerry, to the Italian fairies, to the Scottish clan, to the Chinese, to the Cornish government-type fairies, to the Cornish rebellion, to the Ghanaian, to the Italians, to Heather and Morag again, all in a matter of 10 pages. It's so disjointed that while you know it's all connected, and you can pretty much see the connections coming, when they DO get there, you wonder how you've gotten there. Another character involved in this whole mess is a schizophrenic bag lady who thinks she's an Athenian army commander from ancient Greece, and honestly, while reading this, I felt a little like I was going to be her soon.
Also, Kerry (one of the two main humans) has Crohn's disease, and every other chapter or so, it talks about her colostomy bag, and describes what exactly is going on with her physical ailments. I'm sorry, I don't expect to read about which tubes are connected to what and for what purpose when I pick up a book about fairies.
It's a bizarre book, and I didn't particularly like it. I muddled through because I read great reviews for it, but now that I've read it, I'm wondering why. Oh, and this printing had so many amateurish mistakes in it, I kept getting brought out of the story (such as it was) to wonder how this didn't get caught in the editing process.
Pages: 242
Genre: Fantasy
Grade: D+
Would I Recommend?: No.
12 books down, 38 to go!
I'm reading the first Percy Jackson book now, and it's really good so far. A great leap from the crap that this one was.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Smart Boys & Fast Girls (Stephie Davis)
Summary:
Natalie is a sophomore who just made the varsity cross country team. She's a fast runner, and she knows it. What she doesn't know is geometry, and her spot on the team is in jeopardy after she fails the third test in a row. She's forced to get a tutor, who thinks that jocks are snobs, and treats her with disdain at every turn. The trouble is, Natalie doesn't want the world to know that Matt is her tutor. Instead, she tells everyone he's her new boyfriend, which leads to all kinds of high school drama.
Thoughts:
It's not the worst, I suppose. It's your classic "two people meet, hate each other, then realize their true feelings at the most inopportune time" story. Every romantic comedy follows this formula, and of course, this is no exception. The writing is kind of bland, and there's not a whole lot of meat to the story. It's only 178 pages, for God's sake. Usually this kind of story gets filled in a little bit with more substance. The most dramatic part of the whole thing is when she finally calls out her best friends for ditching her for their new boyfriends.
All in all, not the worst crap I've ever read. (That will continue to be Raiders of the Low Forehead until the end of time.) But I could have written this a lot better, and with a lot more substance to it. Oh, and the author's bio at the back of the book is completely lame. Also I literally ingested this whole book within a few hours.
11 books down, 39 to go!
Pages: 178
Genre: Teenlit, romance
Grade: C+
Would I Recommend?: Probably not.
Natalie is a sophomore who just made the varsity cross country team. She's a fast runner, and she knows it. What she doesn't know is geometry, and her spot on the team is in jeopardy after she fails the third test in a row. She's forced to get a tutor, who thinks that jocks are snobs, and treats her with disdain at every turn. The trouble is, Natalie doesn't want the world to know that Matt is her tutor. Instead, she tells everyone he's her new boyfriend, which leads to all kinds of high school drama.
Thoughts:
It's not the worst, I suppose. It's your classic "two people meet, hate each other, then realize their true feelings at the most inopportune time" story. Every romantic comedy follows this formula, and of course, this is no exception. The writing is kind of bland, and there's not a whole lot of meat to the story. It's only 178 pages, for God's sake. Usually this kind of story gets filled in a little bit with more substance. The most dramatic part of the whole thing is when she finally calls out her best friends for ditching her for their new boyfriends.
All in all, not the worst crap I've ever read. (That will continue to be Raiders of the Low Forehead until the end of time.) But I could have written this a lot better, and with a lot more substance to it. Oh, and the author's bio at the back of the book is completely lame. Also I literally ingested this whole book within a few hours.
11 books down, 39 to go!
Pages: 178
Genre: Teenlit, romance
Grade: C+
Would I Recommend?: Probably not.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Murder by Peacocks (Donna Andrews)
Summary:
Meg Langslow is a blacksmith who has been asked to be the maid of honor in not one, not two, but three weddings. All within about six weeks of each other. And each one of the brides are bonkers. Her best friend, Eileen, wants to attire everyone in velvet, medieval style ensembles. Her future sister-in-law, Samantha, is crazy and, among other things, wants peacocks wandering in the yard for no real discernible reason. Her mother is planning on marrying a bore of a man and ignoring how much Meg's dad still loves her. Oh, and in the midst of this crazy summer of wedding planning, someone gets killed, and Meg's dad tries to deduce whodunnit, causing the killer to go after him too.
Thoughts:
Hilarious. I will be going after every book in the series. The next one is Murder by Puffins, which is the one that I saw first. Andrews' writing is great, and the voice of the book is like an old friend telling the story of her crazy summer of weddings. It's written day by day, too, with each chapter being a different day. And often times, if I'm reading a particularly slow passage, I will pause and check the number of pages, to see how much I have left, or if I'm almost to the end, I'll check. I didn't even think about it during this book, because I was so engrossed in the book. It's just that good. And anyone who's going through or who has gone through planning a wedding will appreciate this immensely. Stacy, I'm looking at you.
Pages: 311
Genre: Mystery, chicklit, humor
Grade: A+
Would I Recommend This?: YES.
10 down, 40 to go!
Meg Langslow is a blacksmith who has been asked to be the maid of honor in not one, not two, but three weddings. All within about six weeks of each other. And each one of the brides are bonkers. Her best friend, Eileen, wants to attire everyone in velvet, medieval style ensembles. Her future sister-in-law, Samantha, is crazy and, among other things, wants peacocks wandering in the yard for no real discernible reason. Her mother is planning on marrying a bore of a man and ignoring how much Meg's dad still loves her. Oh, and in the midst of this crazy summer of wedding planning, someone gets killed, and Meg's dad tries to deduce whodunnit, causing the killer to go after him too.
Thoughts:
Hilarious. I will be going after every book in the series. The next one is Murder by Puffins, which is the one that I saw first. Andrews' writing is great, and the voice of the book is like an old friend telling the story of her crazy summer of weddings. It's written day by day, too, with each chapter being a different day. And often times, if I'm reading a particularly slow passage, I will pause and check the number of pages, to see how much I have left, or if I'm almost to the end, I'll check. I didn't even think about it during this book, because I was so engrossed in the book. It's just that good. And anyone who's going through or who has gone through planning a wedding will appreciate this immensely. Stacy, I'm looking at you.
Pages: 311
Genre: Mystery, chicklit, humor
Grade: A+
Would I Recommend This?: YES.
10 down, 40 to go!
Friday, March 26, 2010
Thanks Stacy!
My sweet, and wonderful cousin, Stacy, was sweet enough to give me a couple of Blogger awards. I don't really know many bloggers on here (namely her, my cousin-in-law-to-be, Dave, and Cake Wrecks...) so I can't exactly pass these awards along all that well, but I wanted to say thanks. :D
For the "Beautiful Blogger" award you need to:
* Thank & link to the person that gave you the award.
* Pass this award on to 15 fantastic bloggers you’ve recently discovered.
* Contact said Blogs and let them know they’ve won.
* State 7 things about yourself.
For the "One Lovely Blog Award" you need to:
* Thank & link to the person that gave you the award.
* Pass this award on to 15 fantastic bloggers you’ve recently discovered.
* Contact said Blogs and let them know they’ve won.
And here, my 7 things...
1. I have lived in three states, but only call one home. I will always and forever be a Jersey girl, no matter what people who don't know me all that well might like to believe. I was born here, I lived here for the majority of my life, and I will continue to live here. Jersey's home, and all you haters out there can just shut it.
2. I have a great love for scrapbooking, and when you give me the time, space, and tools, I can create pretty awesome books. I'm not one for squared off photos, and tidy lines, either. I like a little mess, a lot of overlap, and enough on the page to tell the whole story.
3. I am a Disney fanatic. Anyone just finding this blog wouldn't know it, but everyone who's ever met me knows damn well. I work for the Mouse. I've been to Disneyland once, and World five times. I have hit all four parks in one day, plus Downtown Disney, and I don't recommend it. I can name most of the major players in any given Disney animated film (not counting sequels) and the ones from the 80s I can practically recite by heart. Fanatic of the highest degree.
4. I love writing. As I'm sure you can tell. I'm verbose, even when I don't want to be. It's my way. (Hey look, not so verbose on this one!)
5. I hate raw tomatoes. I've gotten over the cooked variety, but a raw tomato will make me gag as soon as it touches my tongue. Blech. Everyone makes fun of me for this.
6. I've never left this continent. And the only landmasses that aren't connected to it that I've been on are Liberty, Ellis, and Long Islands. And I'm DYING to explore elsewhere.
7. I love the spell of bookstores. Especially if they DON'T have coffee shops inside. The smell of new books, books that haven't been cracked into and absorbed, gives me a thrill, because I know that in that store, there are thousands and thousands of new adventures that I haven't explored yet, and the promise of newness and intrigue and crisp, untouched pages, brings me so much joy and comfort. Yum. I love new books.
For the "Beautiful Blogger" award you need to:
* Thank & link to the person that gave you the award.
* Pass this award on to 15 fantastic bloggers you’ve recently discovered.
* Contact said Blogs and let them know they’ve won.
* State 7 things about yourself.
For the "One Lovely Blog Award" you need to:
* Thank & link to the person that gave you the award.
* Pass this award on to 15 fantastic bloggers you’ve recently discovered.
* Contact said Blogs and let them know they’ve won.
And here, my 7 things...
1. I have lived in three states, but only call one home. I will always and forever be a Jersey girl, no matter what people who don't know me all that well might like to believe. I was born here, I lived here for the majority of my life, and I will continue to live here. Jersey's home, and all you haters out there can just shut it.
2. I have a great love for scrapbooking, and when you give me the time, space, and tools, I can create pretty awesome books. I'm not one for squared off photos, and tidy lines, either. I like a little mess, a lot of overlap, and enough on the page to tell the whole story.
3. I am a Disney fanatic. Anyone just finding this blog wouldn't know it, but everyone who's ever met me knows damn well. I work for the Mouse. I've been to Disneyland once, and World five times. I have hit all four parks in one day, plus Downtown Disney, and I don't recommend it. I can name most of the major players in any given Disney animated film (not counting sequels) and the ones from the 80s I can practically recite by heart. Fanatic of the highest degree.
4. I love writing. As I'm sure you can tell. I'm verbose, even when I don't want to be. It's my way. (Hey look, not so verbose on this one!)
5. I hate raw tomatoes. I've gotten over the cooked variety, but a raw tomato will make me gag as soon as it touches my tongue. Blech. Everyone makes fun of me for this.
6. I've never left this continent. And the only landmasses that aren't connected to it that I've been on are Liberty, Ellis, and Long Islands. And I'm DYING to explore elsewhere.
7. I love the spell of bookstores. Especially if they DON'T have coffee shops inside. The smell of new books, books that haven't been cracked into and absorbed, gives me a thrill, because I know that in that store, there are thousands and thousands of new adventures that I haven't explored yet, and the promise of newness and intrigue and crisp, untouched pages, brings me so much joy and comfort. Yum. I love new books.
A Charmed Death (Madelyn Alt)
Summary:
The second book in the series finds Maggie, a 30-something living in Small Town America, starting to deal with the fact that she is, in fact, an empath. She meets a young bitch-in-training who subsequently gets murdered after leaving the antiques/Magic Box-esque shop Maggie works in. The book follows Maggie as she plays super sleuth to find out just exactly what happened to "poor" Amanda. At the same time, she pines for the man she hooked up with, and then broke up with over her new-found magical abilities, while hanging out a lot with the guy that she thinks her boss/magical mentor is seeing.
Thoughts:
Another good turn for Alt. She has a way of writing that draws you in, and holds on tight, so that even though you've put the book down and walked away to do something else, it's still on your mind, and you're wondering whodunnit. The books in the series seem to be a slightly more adult version of the early seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer without the vamps, with a freak-of-the-week type mystery that needs to get sorted out with or without magic. Alt's writing style is fun. The way she paints her characters makes you want to know them. She also ends the books in a way that leaves you hungry for more. I'll definitely be keeping up with this series.
Pages: 289
Genre: Mystery/fantasy
Grade: A
Would I Read Again?: Totally.
I'm thinking I'll be changing that last question to "Would I recommend this to others?" because I'm not a re-reader by nature, because I tend to remember a lot of details once I get into re-reading something.
Also, I cracked into Murder with Peacocks by Donna Andrews, and I'm only about 40 pages in, and it's hilarious. That one will go fast, I wager, and you'll be hearing about it soon. Oh, and I'm still in the middle of Kermit's book.
9 down, 41 to go!
The second book in the series finds Maggie, a 30-something living in Small Town America, starting to deal with the fact that she is, in fact, an empath. She meets a young bitch-in-training who subsequently gets murdered after leaving the antiques/Magic Box-esque shop Maggie works in. The book follows Maggie as she plays super sleuth to find out just exactly what happened to "poor" Amanda. At the same time, she pines for the man she hooked up with, and then broke up with over her new-found magical abilities, while hanging out a lot with the guy that she thinks her boss/magical mentor is seeing.
Thoughts:
Another good turn for Alt. She has a way of writing that draws you in, and holds on tight, so that even though you've put the book down and walked away to do something else, it's still on your mind, and you're wondering whodunnit. The books in the series seem to be a slightly more adult version of the early seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer without the vamps, with a freak-of-the-week type mystery that needs to get sorted out with or without magic. Alt's writing style is fun. The way she paints her characters makes you want to know them. She also ends the books in a way that leaves you hungry for more. I'll definitely be keeping up with this series.
Pages: 289
Genre: Mystery/fantasy
Grade: A
Would I Read Again?: Totally.
I'm thinking I'll be changing that last question to "Would I recommend this to others?" because I'm not a re-reader by nature, because I tend to remember a lot of details once I get into re-reading something.
Also, I cracked into Murder with Peacocks by Donna Andrews, and I'm only about 40 pages in, and it's hilarious. That one will go fast, I wager, and you'll be hearing about it soon. Oh, and I'm still in the middle of Kermit's book.
9 down, 41 to go!
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Murder of a Small-Town Honey (Denise Swanson)
Summary:
Skye Denison is a child psychologist that got fired and had to move back home to Scumble River, a hick town a half an hour away from Chicago. It opens with a small town fair called Chokeberry Days, where Skye happens to find the local celebrity dead. Oops. The rest of the book follows Skye as she tries to figure out who the culprit is.
Thoughts:
The book wasn't bad. It's your basic mystery story. There are a couple of twists I didn't expect. But what really kills me is that the main character hooks up with a guy who's an asshole to her. There's no real wooing involved. He is just asshole, asshole, "hey, go out with me!" and she automatically says yes. Stupid. But the story's okay. I wouldn't dissuade someone from reading it, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it either.
8 down, 42 to go!
Pages: 238
Genre: Mystery
Grade: C+
Would I Read Again?: I might keep up with the series, just to have something to read. That's about it.
Skye Denison is a child psychologist that got fired and had to move back home to Scumble River, a hick town a half an hour away from Chicago. It opens with a small town fair called Chokeberry Days, where Skye happens to find the local celebrity dead. Oops. The rest of the book follows Skye as she tries to figure out who the culprit is.
Thoughts:
The book wasn't bad. It's your basic mystery story. There are a couple of twists I didn't expect. But what really kills me is that the main character hooks up with a guy who's an asshole to her. There's no real wooing involved. He is just asshole, asshole, "hey, go out with me!" and she automatically says yes. Stupid. But the story's okay. I wouldn't dissuade someone from reading it, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it either.
8 down, 42 to go!
Pages: 238
Genre: Mystery
Grade: C+
Would I Read Again?: I might keep up with the series, just to have something to read. That's about it.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Tales of the Vampire Slayer, vol. 2 (Various)
Summary:
This is a collections of short stories about slayers through the ages. It starts and ends with Buffy, and passes through Japan, in the year 980, France in 1320, the Caribbean in 1661, London in 1843, Georgia in 1864, London again, 1897 this time, New York in 1922, and Chicago in 1943. This volume, like its predecessor, is a glimpse at all those who came before the Slayers we knew, and gives a little more insight to the way things worked according to the Whedonverse.
Thoughts:
Some stories were good. Others shouldn't have even made it to print. But that's the risk you take when diving into a book of short stories, isn't it? Even when they're all based in the same subject matter, they still have varying levels of quality, and this book is, of course, no exception.
It starts with a Buffy story set in 2000. It's absolute crap, and reads like fan fiction. Most of the rest are fairly good, though some seemed to run a little too long for my taste. The 1843 London one is a rip-off of Dickens' Christmas Carol, only with a Watcher meeting Slayers of the past, present, and Buffy, from the future. There are two with Slayers masquerading as men (one as a pirate captain in the Caribbean, the other as a Lieutenant in the Union army during the Civil War), and both are very interesting stories. I'm torn over a possible favorite, though, because I liked the Caribbean one, the 1943 Chicago Slayer, and I really liked the ending Buffy story, written by one of the show's regular writers.
I think, though, if I were to choose which volume I enjoyed more, I would probably say vol. 1. This set had all happier endings, except for Buffy's second story, and a Slayer's existence is not all rainbows and puppies. Also, this seemed to focus a little too much on the Watchers' points of view, pointing out that the Watchers were there to take care of their Slayers, and were always right about one thing or another. I wasn't looking to read Tales of the Watchers. If I were, I'm fairly sure there's something like that out there. I wanted Slayers' stories.
That said, I'll probably hunt down the other two volumes, in the hopes there's more good material, and also because I'm the crazy type that loves Buffy and needs as much material about the show as possible. Sad, but true.
Still reading the Kermit book, and will probably pick something else up too.
7 down, 43 to go...
Pages: 351
Genre: Fantasy, and a little mystery?
Grade: B-/C+
Would I Read Again?: I don't regret reading it...
This is a collections of short stories about slayers through the ages. It starts and ends with Buffy, and passes through Japan, in the year 980, France in 1320, the Caribbean in 1661, London in 1843, Georgia in 1864, London again, 1897 this time, New York in 1922, and Chicago in 1943. This volume, like its predecessor, is a glimpse at all those who came before the Slayers we knew, and gives a little more insight to the way things worked according to the Whedonverse.
Thoughts:
Some stories were good. Others shouldn't have even made it to print. But that's the risk you take when diving into a book of short stories, isn't it? Even when they're all based in the same subject matter, they still have varying levels of quality, and this book is, of course, no exception.
It starts with a Buffy story set in 2000. It's absolute crap, and reads like fan fiction. Most of the rest are fairly good, though some seemed to run a little too long for my taste. The 1843 London one is a rip-off of Dickens' Christmas Carol, only with a Watcher meeting Slayers of the past, present, and Buffy, from the future. There are two with Slayers masquerading as men (one as a pirate captain in the Caribbean, the other as a Lieutenant in the Union army during the Civil War), and both are very interesting stories. I'm torn over a possible favorite, though, because I liked the Caribbean one, the 1943 Chicago Slayer, and I really liked the ending Buffy story, written by one of the show's regular writers.
I think, though, if I were to choose which volume I enjoyed more, I would probably say vol. 1. This set had all happier endings, except for Buffy's second story, and a Slayer's existence is not all rainbows and puppies. Also, this seemed to focus a little too much on the Watchers' points of view, pointing out that the Watchers were there to take care of their Slayers, and were always right about one thing or another. I wasn't looking to read Tales of the Watchers. If I were, I'm fairly sure there's something like that out there. I wanted Slayers' stories.
That said, I'll probably hunt down the other two volumes, in the hopes there's more good material, and also because I'm the crazy type that loves Buffy and needs as much material about the show as possible. Sad, but true.
Still reading the Kermit book, and will probably pick something else up too.
7 down, 43 to go...
Pages: 351
Genre: Fantasy, and a little mystery?
Grade: B-/C+
Would I Read Again?: I don't regret reading it...
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Living Dead in Dallas (Charlaine Harris)
Summary:
The second in the Sookie Stackhouse series.
Sookie is a telepath, dating a vampire, and working for a shapeshifter. She has become a usually-unwilling detective for the Louisiana town of Bon Temps. In this second installment, she is ordered to go to Dallas and help the Dallas vampires find one of their own who has gone missing, while still trying to figure out who killed a co-worker/friend. The HBO series, True Blood, is based on these books.
Thoughts:
Not bad. It was better than some of the books I've read, sure, but I was continually comparing the book to the TV show. It killed off a fun character in the series, so I was disappointed about that. And the TV show delved more into some things that the book just barely glossed over. It's different, and I don't know that I like it better than the show version of events.
The writing is good, though. There's not a ton of cursing or obscene discussion of sexual situations, which I appreciate. I also found myself liking the not-boyfriend vampire more though, and it seemed that Harris was trying to get the readers to like him a little more. Though I could be crazy. Who knows.
Could be worse.
Pages: 291
Genre: Mystery/Fantasy
Grade: B-/C+
Would I Read Again?: I won't reread, but it's not bad enough to completely avoid.
6 down, 44 to go.
Buffy: Tales of the Slayer 2 or Before You Leap next. Not sure which... we'll see. Maybe both!
The second in the Sookie Stackhouse series.
Sookie is a telepath, dating a vampire, and working for a shapeshifter. She has become a usually-unwilling detective for the Louisiana town of Bon Temps. In this second installment, she is ordered to go to Dallas and help the Dallas vampires find one of their own who has gone missing, while still trying to figure out who killed a co-worker/friend. The HBO series, True Blood, is based on these books.
Thoughts:
Not bad. It was better than some of the books I've read, sure, but I was continually comparing the book to the TV show. It killed off a fun character in the series, so I was disappointed about that. And the TV show delved more into some things that the book just barely glossed over. It's different, and I don't know that I like it better than the show version of events.
The writing is good, though. There's not a ton of cursing or obscene discussion of sexual situations, which I appreciate. I also found myself liking the not-boyfriend vampire more though, and it seemed that Harris was trying to get the readers to like him a little more. Though I could be crazy. Who knows.
Could be worse.
Pages: 291
Genre: Mystery/Fantasy
Grade: B-/C+
Would I Read Again?: I won't reread, but it's not bad enough to completely avoid.
6 down, 44 to go.
Buffy: Tales of the Slayer 2 or Before You Leap next. Not sure which... we'll see. Maybe both!
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Everyone Worth Knowing (Lauren Weisberger)
Summary:
By the author of the Devil Wears Prada.
It's another look at NYC and the upper crust. This time around, instead of being about the fashion industry, it's all about the club scenes and a banker-turned-publicist named Bette. She quits her job in a fit of crazy and wallows in the glory of being without commitments or deadlines for a couple months until her family harasses her into feeling lazy, so she allows her uncle to set her up with a job from a chick she meets at a dinner party. What follows is an insider glimpse into the insanity that goes on behind closed doors with the trendiest of trendy, where Bette unwittingly picks up a British tabloid obsession of a boyfriend a la Colin Farrel in his hey-day, and loses herself in the keeping up of that lie and spending every night with a bunch of coke-and-liquor-obsessed assholes, while wishing she could hook up with the hot bouncer, or with her best friend who moves to LA with her coke-and-liquor-obsessed asshole of a fiance.
Thoughts:
The first few chapters are slow going, but only because Weisberger has to set up the characters and the scenes before she can rip Bette out of the life she knows and loves. Weisberger pulls no punches when she paints all the celebrity/socialite wannabes to be the aforementioned assholes. She obviously has seen enough of the trendy world, and hates everyone in it. Oh, and the book is complete with her own version of Gossip Girl, who turns out to be exactly who you might suspect.
I knew just about everything that was going to happen several pages before the book even started to suggest a plot twist. There were a couple of things I didn't 100% expect, but for the most part, I was pretty sure I knew what was coming.
There is one passage that I loved in the book, because it talks about exactly how I feel about cheesy romance novel type books. Bette is obsessed with romance novels, and talks about them all through the book. This is what she has to say about reading them:
"Escape was part of it, of course, but life wasn't so miserable that I had to revert to a fantasy world. It was inspirational to read about two gorgeous people who overcame all obstacles to be together, who loved each other so much that they always found a way to make it work. The sex scenes were a bonus, but more than that, the books always ended happily, offering such optimism that I couldn't keep myself from starting another immediately. They were predictable, dependable, entertaining, and most of all, they depicted love affairs that I could not deny- no matter how much feminism or political correctness or women's empowerment my parents could throw at me- I desperately wanted more than anything in the world. I was conditioned to compare every single date in my life to The Ideal. I couldn't help it. I wanted the fairy tale."
I love romance novels, too, though I actually prefer to have less sex scenes to read because reading those are just awkward sometimes. (Yes, everyone does it, but do you really need to describe to me how things work? I think I have an idea, thanks, and I don't care to have it explained in vivid detail.) Past that, I like reading all the lead-up and the angsty stuff that I never had to deal with. Lucky for me, I actually found The Ideal very early in my life. I've got that fairy tale. I just like reading other people's fairy tales too.
I will admit, though, when I started reading the book the first time, I couldn't get past the first chapter or so. It opened with Bette's best friend getting engaged, and I started reading this a good year ago or so, right when people all around me were getting engaged, and I wasn't, and I literally couldn't handle it. I'm in a better place now (and with a ring on my finger, too, obviously) and when I read that bit, I could read it with the proper anxiety for Bette, not for myself. It's funny how a year can change one's ability to read a book, huh?
Anyway, now that I've been thoroughly verbose, I'll sign off. Today's a day off, so I might be able to plow through another silly book while I'm all by myself. We'll see how it goes.
5 down, 45 to go!
Pages: 367
Genre: Chicklit, romance
Grade: B-
Would I Read Again?: I won't reread it, no. I probably wouldn't really recommend it either, actually.
By the author of the Devil Wears Prada.
It's another look at NYC and the upper crust. This time around, instead of being about the fashion industry, it's all about the club scenes and a banker-turned-publicist named Bette. She quits her job in a fit of crazy and wallows in the glory of being without commitments or deadlines for a couple months until her family harasses her into feeling lazy, so she allows her uncle to set her up with a job from a chick she meets at a dinner party. What follows is an insider glimpse into the insanity that goes on behind closed doors with the trendiest of trendy, where Bette unwittingly picks up a British tabloid obsession of a boyfriend a la Colin Farrel in his hey-day, and loses herself in the keeping up of that lie and spending every night with a bunch of coke-and-liquor-obsessed assholes, while wishing she could hook up with the hot bouncer, or with her best friend who moves to LA with her coke-and-liquor-obsessed asshole of a fiance.
Thoughts:
The first few chapters are slow going, but only because Weisberger has to set up the characters and the scenes before she can rip Bette out of the life she knows and loves. Weisberger pulls no punches when she paints all the celebrity/socialite wannabes to be the aforementioned assholes. She obviously has seen enough of the trendy world, and hates everyone in it. Oh, and the book is complete with her own version of Gossip Girl, who turns out to be exactly who you might suspect.
I knew just about everything that was going to happen several pages before the book even started to suggest a plot twist. There were a couple of things I didn't 100% expect, but for the most part, I was pretty sure I knew what was coming.
There is one passage that I loved in the book, because it talks about exactly how I feel about cheesy romance novel type books. Bette is obsessed with romance novels, and talks about them all through the book. This is what she has to say about reading them:
"Escape was part of it, of course, but life wasn't so miserable that I had to revert to a fantasy world. It was inspirational to read about two gorgeous people who overcame all obstacles to be together, who loved each other so much that they always found a way to make it work. The sex scenes were a bonus, but more than that, the books always ended happily, offering such optimism that I couldn't keep myself from starting another immediately. They were predictable, dependable, entertaining, and most of all, they depicted love affairs that I could not deny- no matter how much feminism or political correctness or women's empowerment my parents could throw at me- I desperately wanted more than anything in the world. I was conditioned to compare every single date in my life to The Ideal. I couldn't help it. I wanted the fairy tale."
I love romance novels, too, though I actually prefer to have less sex scenes to read because reading those are just awkward sometimes. (Yes, everyone does it, but do you really need to describe to me how things work? I think I have an idea, thanks, and I don't care to have it explained in vivid detail.) Past that, I like reading all the lead-up and the angsty stuff that I never had to deal with. Lucky for me, I actually found The Ideal very early in my life. I've got that fairy tale. I just like reading other people's fairy tales too.
I will admit, though, when I started reading the book the first time, I couldn't get past the first chapter or so. It opened with Bette's best friend getting engaged, and I started reading this a good year ago or so, right when people all around me were getting engaged, and I wasn't, and I literally couldn't handle it. I'm in a better place now (and with a ring on my finger, too, obviously) and when I read that bit, I could read it with the proper anxiety for Bette, not for myself. It's funny how a year can change one's ability to read a book, huh?
Anyway, now that I've been thoroughly verbose, I'll sign off. Today's a day off, so I might be able to plow through another silly book while I'm all by myself. We'll see how it goes.
5 down, 45 to go!
Pages: 367
Genre: Chicklit, romance
Grade: B-
Would I Read Again?: I won't reread it, no. I probably wouldn't really recommend it either, actually.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Aunt Dimity's Death (Nancy Atherton)
Summary:
The book opens with Lori Shepherd, a broke woman still mourning her mother's death several years prior, gets a phone call asking her to go to Willis & Willis, a law firm. When she reaches Willis & Willis, she finds out that the heroine to her favorite stories from her childhood, Aunt Dimity, was not just a character from her single mother's imagination, but actually a live human being, and in fact, her mother's best friend and pen pal for forty-plus years. What follows is a heart-warming trek through her mother's and Dimity's past, filled with despair, romance, and an appearance (of sorts) of ghostly Aunt Dimity herself.
Thoughts:
What a beautifully told, and fun story this was.
Ms. Atherton's writing made me not want to put down the book, ever. Even when I was falling asleep because it was 2am, and I was going to be woken up at 7, I couldn't leave Lori and Dimity alone. Sure, I wanted to smack Lori around a few times for her obliviousness. Sure, I figured out how some of the romancey stuff was going to turn out. But Dimity's whole mysterious story kept me guessing.
I highly recommend this one. It's a great story that had me giggling at some bits, and on the edge of my seat for others. And an added bonus is that there are thirteen other Dimity stories for me to sink my teeth into! I'll be quite busy this year, I think.
4 down, 46 to go!
Pages: 244
Genre: Mystery with a dash of fantasy and a hint of romance.
Grade: A+
Would I Read Again?: Absolutely, and I'll be reading more in the future.
The book opens with Lori Shepherd, a broke woman still mourning her mother's death several years prior, gets a phone call asking her to go to Willis & Willis, a law firm. When she reaches Willis & Willis, she finds out that the heroine to her favorite stories from her childhood, Aunt Dimity, was not just a character from her single mother's imagination, but actually a live human being, and in fact, her mother's best friend and pen pal for forty-plus years. What follows is a heart-warming trek through her mother's and Dimity's past, filled with despair, romance, and an appearance (of sorts) of ghostly Aunt Dimity herself.
Thoughts:
What a beautifully told, and fun story this was.
Ms. Atherton's writing made me not want to put down the book, ever. Even when I was falling asleep because it was 2am, and I was going to be woken up at 7, I couldn't leave Lori and Dimity alone. Sure, I wanted to smack Lori around a few times for her obliviousness. Sure, I figured out how some of the romancey stuff was going to turn out. But Dimity's whole mysterious story kept me guessing.
I highly recommend this one. It's a great story that had me giggling at some bits, and on the edge of my seat for others. And an added bonus is that there are thirteen other Dimity stories for me to sink my teeth into! I'll be quite busy this year, I think.
4 down, 46 to go!
Pages: 244
Genre: Mystery with a dash of fantasy and a hint of romance.
Grade: A+
Would I Read Again?: Absolutely, and I'll be reading more in the future.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Charmed & Deadly (Candace Havens)
Summary:
Basic premise is that Bronwyn is a high witch who pretty much always has someone out to kill her. She works for the British Prime Minister, and often works alongside the chief of the International Magic Police. She has a hunky boyfriend who she talks about incessantly, but it's not too annoying, and a bunch of magically inclined friends that surround her. In this book, there's four major plots going on: One is that her ex who tried to kill her in college is out to get her again. Two is that her father-figure type friend gets kidnapped. Three is that her brother who works in Africa with "Doctors Across Borders" gets kidnapped, again. And four is that there's a dark magic using dude hanging out with the PM and she's got to figure out who it is. Meanwhile she's got all kinds of personal issues she needs to deal with on top of all these other issues.
Thoughts:
Fabulous. Apparently it's #3 in a series, so I'm going to have to hunt for the others now.
All this stuff gets weaved together so seamlessly, it's hard to believe. Obviously, it's a quick read, considering I started it at about 2 yesterday, read for a total of maybe 8 hours, and I'm through already. But it's really great. The writing is fun, and Bron is an awesome character, as are all of her friends. Ms. Havens does a great job of weaving this web of crazy to the point that when you get to the end of the book, you're thinking to yourself, "okay, this is over now, time for things to settle down, right?" and then she smacks you upside the head with a couple more plot twists.
The writing style could use just a little help though. She starts writing in the present tense, but then suddenly it's past tense, then present again... She just needs to make up her mind a little. It's a little distracting, but then again, that's how we all tell stories, right? "So I'm going up to this guy and he goes "hey." and I said "hey." and then he hugged me and I hug him back and the end." It's really a matter of editing, but the story absolutely makes up for it, because it's just so engaging.
Again, really a great read, and I fully plan on hunting down Charmed and Dangerous, and Charmed and Ready, to see where Bronwyn's story actually began.
Pages: 258
Genre: Fantasy, Mystery, and a little Romance
Grade: A
Would I Read Again?: YES!!
Time for me to get to work! Gotta run!
3 down, 47 more to go!
Basic premise is that Bronwyn is a high witch who pretty much always has someone out to kill her. She works for the British Prime Minister, and often works alongside the chief of the International Magic Police. She has a hunky boyfriend who she talks about incessantly, but it's not too annoying, and a bunch of magically inclined friends that surround her. In this book, there's four major plots going on: One is that her ex who tried to kill her in college is out to get her again. Two is that her father-figure type friend gets kidnapped. Three is that her brother who works in Africa with "Doctors Across Borders" gets kidnapped, again. And four is that there's a dark magic using dude hanging out with the PM and she's got to figure out who it is. Meanwhile she's got all kinds of personal issues she needs to deal with on top of all these other issues.
Thoughts:
Fabulous. Apparently it's #3 in a series, so I'm going to have to hunt for the others now.
All this stuff gets weaved together so seamlessly, it's hard to believe. Obviously, it's a quick read, considering I started it at about 2 yesterday, read for a total of maybe 8 hours, and I'm through already. But it's really great. The writing is fun, and Bron is an awesome character, as are all of her friends. Ms. Havens does a great job of weaving this web of crazy to the point that when you get to the end of the book, you're thinking to yourself, "okay, this is over now, time for things to settle down, right?" and then she smacks you upside the head with a couple more plot twists.
The writing style could use just a little help though. She starts writing in the present tense, but then suddenly it's past tense, then present again... She just needs to make up her mind a little. It's a little distracting, but then again, that's how we all tell stories, right? "So I'm going up to this guy and he goes "hey." and I said "hey." and then he hugged me and I hug him back and the end." It's really a matter of editing, but the story absolutely makes up for it, because it's just so engaging.
Again, really a great read, and I fully plan on hunting down Charmed and Dangerous, and Charmed and Ready, to see where Bronwyn's story actually began.
Pages: 258
Genre: Fantasy, Mystery, and a little Romance
Grade: A
Would I Read Again?: YES!!
Time for me to get to work! Gotta run!
3 down, 47 more to go!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
The Watchmen (Alan Moore)
Read in March '07
Summary:
If you've seen the movie, you know the exact story. It's about a bunch of aging superheros who have all retired from their hero-ing duties. But unfortunately, someone starts killing off the heroes. The rest of the heroes try to figure out who it is and how to stop them. Oh, and P.S. it's a comic book.
Thoughts:
Good. Stuff.
It's a graphic novel, but it reads like a standard novel. It's a great overall story, a solid mystery that keeps you guessing until the very end. Even when you find out who's behind it all, you're still wondering what the hell's going on.
The Watchmen is a DC comic that was originally going to be about a bunch of the bigger characters in the DC Universe, but they decided that they didn't want to kill off the big names, so they created new characters just for this comic.
The only down side to this comic is the huge walls of text that come after each issue. Many of them read like text books, and bored the snot out of me. (I, like Jeff, actually skipped the one that was all about birds. No thank you.)
I highly recommend this book, though. If you're into comics at all whatsoever, you should read it. If you're not, you should still read it, because it's on Time Magazine's list of top 100 novels. It may be a slow read, but it's worth the ending.
Pages: Unknown (read too long ago)
Genre: Graphic Novel/Mystery
Grade: A
Would I Read Again?: Absolutely
Summary:
If you've seen the movie, you know the exact story. It's about a bunch of aging superheros who have all retired from their hero-ing duties. But unfortunately, someone starts killing off the heroes. The rest of the heroes try to figure out who it is and how to stop them. Oh, and P.S. it's a comic book.
Thoughts:
Good. Stuff.
It's a graphic novel, but it reads like a standard novel. It's a great overall story, a solid mystery that keeps you guessing until the very end. Even when you find out who's behind it all, you're still wondering what the hell's going on.
The Watchmen is a DC comic that was originally going to be about a bunch of the bigger characters in the DC Universe, but they decided that they didn't want to kill off the big names, so they created new characters just for this comic.
The only down side to this comic is the huge walls of text that come after each issue. Many of them read like text books, and bored the snot out of me. (I, like Jeff, actually skipped the one that was all about birds. No thank you.)
I highly recommend this book, though. If you're into comics at all whatsoever, you should read it. If you're not, you should still read it, because it's on Time Magazine's list of top 100 novels. It may be a slow read, but it's worth the ending.
Pages: Unknown (read too long ago)
Genre: Graphic Novel/Mystery
Grade: A
Would I Read Again?: Absolutely
The 1-800-Where-R-U? Series (Meg Cabot)
When Lightning Strikes, Code Name Cassandra, Safe House, Sactuary, and Missing You.
Read between January '07 and February '08.
Summary:
The basic story is that this girl, Jess, gets struck by lightning, and suddenly wakes up the next morning with the ability of being able to pinpoint exactly where any given person is, so long as she sees a picture of the person, or touches something of theirs. In each book, she finds herself under more and more scrutiny over her ability, and she has to fight off everyone that tries to stand in the way of her finding those kids.
Thoughts:
It's an awesome book series. The main character, Jess Mastriani, is a strong girl who, at first, is wiggy about her new ability, but eventually takes it all in stride, and manages to embrace her ability. She, like any other teenaged girl, has a crush on a hunky guy, and things progress fairly well on that front through the series.
Cabot knows just how to write a story with enough angst to get you hoping for a happy ending, and then she delivers said ending with enough time for you to digest the ending, and still have a little left up in the air so that you want to keep reading more.
I loved this series, and the only reason why it took me so long to finish the 5-book series is because I wanted to drag it out a little bit for myself because it's just so good.
Pages: Unknown.
Genre: Teen lit/Chick lit
Grade: A to B, depending on the book, but averaging about an A-
Would I Read Again?: Absolutely.
Read between January '07 and February '08.
Summary:
The basic story is that this girl, Jess, gets struck by lightning, and suddenly wakes up the next morning with the ability of being able to pinpoint exactly where any given person is, so long as she sees a picture of the person, or touches something of theirs. In each book, she finds herself under more and more scrutiny over her ability, and she has to fight off everyone that tries to stand in the way of her finding those kids.
Thoughts:
It's an awesome book series. The main character, Jess Mastriani, is a strong girl who, at first, is wiggy about her new ability, but eventually takes it all in stride, and manages to embrace her ability. She, like any other teenaged girl, has a crush on a hunky guy, and things progress fairly well on that front through the series.
Cabot knows just how to write a story with enough angst to get you hoping for a happy ending, and then she delivers said ending with enough time for you to digest the ending, and still have a little left up in the air so that you want to keep reading more.
I loved this series, and the only reason why it took me so long to finish the 5-book series is because I wanted to drag it out a little bit for myself because it's just so good.
Pages: Unknown.
Genre: Teen lit/Chick lit
Grade: A to B, depending on the book, but averaging about an A-
Would I Read Again?: Absolutely.
Sense & Sensibility (Jane Austen)
Summary:
Set in roughly the 1860's-ish, the book follows the love lives (or lack thereof) of the Miss Dashwoods. Elinor, the eldest girl of the family, is the sensible type, who falls for a man who may have other engagements. Marianne, the middle sister, falls deeply for a scoundrel who plays with her affections and brings her to all sorts of illness. Margaret, the youngest, is seen for about 20 pages throughout the whole book... And that's a generous estimate. No one cares about her until page 323. Yeah.
Thoughts:
Wow, that dragged like nothing I've read in a very long time.
A couple of years ago, I read Pride and Prejudice, and loved it. It was a little slow going at first, but once you got to the meat of the story, it was great. I laughed along with it, and loved the whole thing. It made me want to read more Austen. I have always heard that S&S was a great novel, and I should absolutely read it! I started it a little while after I finished P&P because I though it would be just as good, but couldn't get into it like I did P&P. I set it back down to be ignored for a long time.
When I finally picked it up again last month, I found myself regularly falling asleep to it instead of enjoying it like I should. It's slow going, and I found myself wanting to hit someone over the stupidity of the men in the book. Edward's hidden engagement. Willoughby's inconstancy (for lack of a better word). Colonel Brandon's wimpiness. And John Dashwood is an ass. I hated Lucy, and that she gets the best treatment by the end of the book, even after what she does? Ugh.
It's one of those books that people should read for the sole purpose of being able to sound intelligent when they get around to a discussion of literature, as it's a classic, and it's Austen. But so far, between the two, I love P&P far more than this.
Pages: 323
Genre: Classic Literature
Grade: C+
Would I Read Again?: Doubtful.
2 down, 48 to go? And it's already February?? Yikes!
As for my next reading adventures, I've got a few possibilities, mostly unknown stuff. I have a fondness for wandering around Barnes and Noble and reading book jackets in order to find something new and different, so that I might actually like it, and be able to find more from the same author. I picked up a Cabot book on my last trip (If you have checked out the book lists from the last few years, you can tell how much I love me some Meg.) and I have a book by Maureen Johnson, who I've read a couple books of, and whose writing I loved. We'll see how those go...
Set in roughly the 1860's-ish, the book follows the love lives (or lack thereof) of the Miss Dashwoods. Elinor, the eldest girl of the family, is the sensible type, who falls for a man who may have other engagements. Marianne, the middle sister, falls deeply for a scoundrel who plays with her affections and brings her to all sorts of illness. Margaret, the youngest, is seen for about 20 pages throughout the whole book... And that's a generous estimate. No one cares about her until page 323. Yeah.
Thoughts:
Wow, that dragged like nothing I've read in a very long time.
A couple of years ago, I read Pride and Prejudice, and loved it. It was a little slow going at first, but once you got to the meat of the story, it was great. I laughed along with it, and loved the whole thing. It made me want to read more Austen. I have always heard that S&S was a great novel, and I should absolutely read it! I started it a little while after I finished P&P because I though it would be just as good, but couldn't get into it like I did P&P. I set it back down to be ignored for a long time.
When I finally picked it up again last month, I found myself regularly falling asleep to it instead of enjoying it like I should. It's slow going, and I found myself wanting to hit someone over the stupidity of the men in the book. Edward's hidden engagement. Willoughby's inconstancy (for lack of a better word). Colonel Brandon's wimpiness. And John Dashwood is an ass. I hated Lucy, and that she gets the best treatment by the end of the book, even after what she does? Ugh.
It's one of those books that people should read for the sole purpose of being able to sound intelligent when they get around to a discussion of literature, as it's a classic, and it's Austen. But so far, between the two, I love P&P far more than this.
Pages: 323
Genre: Classic Literature
Grade: C+
Would I Read Again?: Doubtful.
2 down, 48 to go? And it's already February?? Yikes!
As for my next reading adventures, I've got a few possibilities, mostly unknown stuff. I have a fondness for wandering around Barnes and Noble and reading book jackets in order to find something new and different, so that I might actually like it, and be able to find more from the same author. I picked up a Cabot book on my last trip (If you have checked out the book lists from the last few years, you can tell how much I love me some Meg.) and I have a book by Maureen Johnson, who I've read a couple books of, and whose writing I loved. We'll see how those go...
The Devil in the Junior League (Linda Francis Lee)
Posting this here so I can keep up with my posting books on LJ. Just finished another, so stay tuned for more posting...
Finished January 2010.
Summary:
The main character, Frede, (said "Freddie") gets taken for all her money from her asshole husband, and then makes a deal that she'll get her very unrefined neighbor that was a friend in middle school into her exclusive society.
Thoughts:
First finished book of the year. Yeah, so I started it last year, but if I didn't finish books I started last year, I'd never finish about a half dozen books.
Anyway, the book was good. It started pretty slow, but after the first 100 pages or so, it really picked up, and was off and running for the last 200 or so. It's an interesting romp through Texan high society. The first two thirds of the book have Frede getting more and more piled on her shoulders, and then the last third is her taking care of business. It's definitely worth pushing through the first part, to get to the good parts.
Pages: Unknown (didn't have the blog yet!)
Genre: Chick lit
Grade: B
Would I Read Again?: Probably
1 book down for the year, and I'm thinking 49 to go.
Finished January 2010.
Summary:
The main character, Frede, (said "Freddie") gets taken for all her money from her asshole husband, and then makes a deal that she'll get her very unrefined neighbor that was a friend in middle school into her exclusive society.
Thoughts:
First finished book of the year. Yeah, so I started it last year, but if I didn't finish books I started last year, I'd never finish about a half dozen books.
Anyway, the book was good. It started pretty slow, but after the first 100 pages or so, it really picked up, and was off and running for the last 200 or so. It's an interesting romp through Texan high society. The first two thirds of the book have Frede getting more and more piled on her shoulders, and then the last third is her taking care of business. It's definitely worth pushing through the first part, to get to the good parts.
Pages: Unknown (didn't have the blog yet!)
Genre: Chick lit
Grade: B
Would I Read Again?: Probably
1 book down for the year, and I'm thinking 49 to go.
Monday, February 1, 2010
The Devil Wears Prada (Lauren Weisberger)
The first of many reposted reviews. These will be basically reposted directly from the original posts. Onward!
Originally read January '07
Summary:
The basic story, for those who don't know, is this. Andrea (Andy) Sachs is a writer. She wants to write for the New Yorker some day. She's fresh out of college, and has to find herself a job. She gets a job at Runway, a fashion magazine. She's so very not into the whole fashion scene, but hey, it's a job, and she was told that if you work a year for Miranda, you can get a job anywhere you want. Andy works for the most powerful woman in the fashion industry, Miranda Priestly. Now, she didn't know until after she got the job, but... Miranda's a major bitch. Worst you could meet, quite frankly. So Andy fights, tooth and nail, to make it through just one year with Miranda, and then she'll be able to get herself that dream job at the New Yorker. But it costs her a lot in the way of personal relationships, and her own sanity.
Thoughts:
Good book. It took me a while to read, partially because I had things going on this weekend, (went to the City with Jeff to see Tarzan. Good show!) and partially because it was a longer, more involved book than the others I've read so far.
The book definitely was different from the movie. Spoilers ahead for those who haven't seen the movie or read the book and want to won't get spoiled. Skip to the line of asterisks at the end of the post for the non-spoiler stuff.
For one thing, everyone's supposed to be blondes. Two, you hardly ever see Nigel. In fact, Nigel is just shy of non-existant. He shows up three times, all the while shouting all in caps. It's like Weisberger caught the caps lock and forgot to shut it off until after Nigel spoke the first time, and she decided hey, what the hell, I'll just do that every time Nigel speaks. That'll be fun. It's strange. But yeah, he's not really that much of a part of the book. There's a guy that works in the fashion editing department, who seems to be in charge of the Closet, where they keep all the awesome Dolce, Chanel, Prada, Manolos, Jimmy Choos, etc. He's the one that really befriends Andy like Nigel does in the movie.
Andy's pretty much the same, except for the blonde thing. Miranda is supposed to be blonde as well, and a size zero. No offense to Meryl Streep, but she's no size zero.
The story was basically the same as the movie, except for a few minor points. Andy didn't yet live in NYC, and had to go apartment shopping. She wound up with a couple of Indian girls that she never saw/spoke to, and then moved in with Lily, her best friend, not Alex, her boyfriend.
Lily was the biggest change from book to movie. Lil was not the sweet, creative artist that loved the new bag Andy brought to her. Oh no. Lily was a student, going for her master's, and a drunk. There were few times when you saw Lily when she wasn't drinking, especially for the second half of the book. It got worse and worse. Not only that, she was a complete slut, going out with at least a dozen guys over the course of the book, and probably a few more that you don't even read about. At one point, she got so drunk that she brought home some creepy guy and had passed out after they'd done the deed, and didn't remember who he was when she woke up to Andy and Alex trying to get the guy to leave. Badness. She got arrested for flashing someone. And the worst of all of it, she was driving while drunk, and her blood-alcohol level was twice the legal limit and went down the wrong way on a one-way street. BANG. Car accident. Lily went into a coma. And Andy, of course, was in Paris with Miranda.
The way Andy quit was so much better in the book than it was in the movie. Movie!Andy just walked away, and tossed her cell phone in a fountain. Book!Andy was much bolder. Miranda had just asked her to literally do the impossible. (Namely, renew her daughters' passports in three hours so they could get on a plane to Paris with their step father.) Andy just stared at her, then pulled out her cell, called her mom, and told her she'd be coming home from Paris. Then to Miranda she said, and I quote, "Fuck you, Miranda. Fuck you." During a show in Paris. With a mob of people around her. It was FABULOUS. Then, after another great zinger, she turns and leaves. It was absolutely fabulous.
*****************
I loved the ending of the book. You didn't see Miranda being all approving and giving her a smile. But it was a perfect ending for the book. Overall, I definitely liked the book, though it was a lot slower going than the other books I read that year.
Pages: Unknown (didn't keep track of this before.)
Genre: Chick Lit
Grade: A
Would I Read Again?: I probably would. It was a good quality book, though a little wordy if I remember right. It's worth the read, though. I remember liking it a lot.
Originally read January '07
Summary:
The basic story, for those who don't know, is this. Andrea (Andy) Sachs is a writer. She wants to write for the New Yorker some day. She's fresh out of college, and has to find herself a job. She gets a job at Runway, a fashion magazine. She's so very not into the whole fashion scene, but hey, it's a job, and she was told that if you work a year for Miranda, you can get a job anywhere you want. Andy works for the most powerful woman in the fashion industry, Miranda Priestly. Now, she didn't know until after she got the job, but... Miranda's a major bitch. Worst you could meet, quite frankly. So Andy fights, tooth and nail, to make it through just one year with Miranda, and then she'll be able to get herself that dream job at the New Yorker. But it costs her a lot in the way of personal relationships, and her own sanity.
Thoughts:
Good book. It took me a while to read, partially because I had things going on this weekend, (went to the City with Jeff to see Tarzan. Good show!) and partially because it was a longer, more involved book than the others I've read so far.
The book definitely was different from the movie. Spoilers ahead for those who haven't seen the movie or read the book and want to won't get spoiled. Skip to the line of asterisks at the end of the post for the non-spoiler stuff.
For one thing, everyone's supposed to be blondes. Two, you hardly ever see Nigel. In fact, Nigel is just shy of non-existant. He shows up three times, all the while shouting all in caps. It's like Weisberger caught the caps lock and forgot to shut it off until after Nigel spoke the first time, and she decided hey, what the hell, I'll just do that every time Nigel speaks. That'll be fun. It's strange. But yeah, he's not really that much of a part of the book. There's a guy that works in the fashion editing department, who seems to be in charge of the Closet, where they keep all the awesome Dolce, Chanel, Prada, Manolos, Jimmy Choos, etc. He's the one that really befriends Andy like Nigel does in the movie.
Andy's pretty much the same, except for the blonde thing. Miranda is supposed to be blonde as well, and a size zero. No offense to Meryl Streep, but she's no size zero.
The story was basically the same as the movie, except for a few minor points. Andy didn't yet live in NYC, and had to go apartment shopping. She wound up with a couple of Indian girls that she never saw/spoke to, and then moved in with Lily, her best friend, not Alex, her boyfriend.
Lily was the biggest change from book to movie. Lil was not the sweet, creative artist that loved the new bag Andy brought to her. Oh no. Lily was a student, going for her master's, and a drunk. There were few times when you saw Lily when she wasn't drinking, especially for the second half of the book. It got worse and worse. Not only that, she was a complete slut, going out with at least a dozen guys over the course of the book, and probably a few more that you don't even read about. At one point, she got so drunk that she brought home some creepy guy and had passed out after they'd done the deed, and didn't remember who he was when she woke up to Andy and Alex trying to get the guy to leave. Badness. She got arrested for flashing someone. And the worst of all of it, she was driving while drunk, and her blood-alcohol level was twice the legal limit and went down the wrong way on a one-way street. BANG. Car accident. Lily went into a coma. And Andy, of course, was in Paris with Miranda.
The way Andy quit was so much better in the book than it was in the movie. Movie!Andy just walked away, and tossed her cell phone in a fountain. Book!Andy was much bolder. Miranda had just asked her to literally do the impossible. (Namely, renew her daughters' passports in three hours so they could get on a plane to Paris with their step father.) Andy just stared at her, then pulled out her cell, called her mom, and told her she'd be coming home from Paris. Then to Miranda she said, and I quote, "Fuck you, Miranda. Fuck you." During a show in Paris. With a mob of people around her. It was FABULOUS. Then, after another great zinger, she turns and leaves. It was absolutely fabulous.
*****************
I loved the ending of the book. You didn't see Miranda being all approving and giving her a smile. But it was a perfect ending for the book. Overall, I definitely liked the book, though it was a lot slower going than the other books I read that year.
Pages: Unknown (didn't keep track of this before.)
Genre: Chick Lit
Grade: A
Would I Read Again?: I probably would. It was a good quality book, though a little wordy if I remember right. It's worth the read, though. I remember liking it a lot.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
The Previous Three Years' Book Lists
I'll be posting some reviews of the higher graded books. But as for now, here's the full lists. I like having these around because it reminds me which books I liked that were the starts of series, so I can get back to the books I was looking forward to. I have a habit of needing to finish a series once I start reading it. Though if it's awful, like the Gossip Girl books, I can't bring myself to get through them. Case in point, I need to get myself back to the Series of Unfortunate Events.
Is there a way to cut these posts, so I don't have to scroll past these things all the time? LiveJournal has a cut function. Does that exist on Blogger? Hmm. Anyway, onward to the lists...
2007's List
1. Lemony Snicket - The Bad Beginning B+
2. Frank Miller - Batman, Year One A
3. Whitney Gaskell - Testing Kate A
4. Lauren Weisberger - The Devil Wears Prada A
5. Meg Cabot - When Lightning Strikes A
6. Brad Meltzer - Identity Crisis A-
7. Meg Cabot - Code Name Cassandra B
8. Frank Miller - Sin City 6: Booze, Broads and Bullets A
9. Jo Edwards - Love Undercover A-
10. Louise Rennison - Away Laughing on a Fast Camel F-
11. Stanley Manly - Raiders of the Low Forehead ZZPluralZAlpha- It's awful, don't read it. EVER. YICK!
12. Ann Brashares - Forever in Blue A-
13. Alan Moore - The Watchmen A
14. Thu-Huong Ha - Hail Caesar C+
15. Frank Miller - 300 A
16. Brian Lynch - Spike: Asylum A
17. Meg Cabot - Boy Meets Girl A
18. Will Eisner - A Contract with God A-
19. Brian K. Vaughn - Runaways, Volume 4 A
20. Brian K. Vaughn - Runaways, Volume 5 A
21. Brian K. Vaughn - Runaways, Volume 6 A
22. Eoin Colfer - Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception A
23. Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid - 52 A
24. Frank Miller - Sin City: Hell and Back A+
25. P. L. Travers - Mary Poppins A
26. God? - Genesis B
27. Lemony Snicket - The Reptile Room A-
28. Lemony Snicket - The Wide Window B+
29. J. K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows A+!
30. Blue Balliett - Chasing Vermeer A
31. Nicholas Sparks - The Notebook A
32. Karen Joy Fowler - The Jane Austen Book Club C+
33. Gail Simone - Villains United A-
34. Gennifer Choldenko - Al Capone Does My Shirts A+
35. Jennifer Crusie - Manhunting A
36. Meg Cabot - Safe House A
37. Bill Willingham - Fables: Legends in Exile/Fables: Animal Farm A
38. Helen Fielding - Bridget Jones's Diary B+
39. Jane Austen - Pride and Predjudice A-
40. Dave White - When One Man Dies A+
41. William Shakespeare - The Taming of the Shrew A
42. Meg Cabot - All-American Girl C+
43. Perry Moore - Hero A
44. Wendy Markham - Bride Needs Groom B-
45. Meg Cabot - The Mediator: Shadowland A+
46. Meg Cabot - The Mediator: Ninth Key A
47. Meg Cabot - The Mediator: Reunion A
48. Meg Cabot - The Mediator: Darkest Hour A
49. Meg Cabot - The Mediator: Haunted A-
50. Meg Cabot - The Mediator: Twilight A+
2008's List
1. Meg Cabot - Sanctuary A
2. Cecily von Ziegesar - Gossip Girl B-/C+
3. Ian Fleming - Casino Royale A
4. Various - Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Omnibus V1 A-
5. Various - X-Men: Messiah Complex A
6. Joss Whedon - Astonishing X-Men: Gifted A
7. Aury Wallington - Heroes: Saving Charlie C-
8. Emma Harrison - The Best Girl B
9. William Shakespeare - The Merry Wives of Windsor A+
10. Meg Cabot - Missing You A-/B+
11. Jennifer Cruisie - Welcome to Temptation C
12. Alex Robinson - Box Office Poison D-
13. Meg Cabot - Queen of Babble A
14. Joss Whedon - Fray A
15. Eoin Colfer - Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony A
16. Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries C+
17. Meg Cabot - Every Boy's Got One B+
18. Cecily von Ziegesar - You Know You Love Me C+
19. Helen Fielding - Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason C-
20. Various - The Amazing Spiderman: One More Day/Brand New Day C+
21. William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream A-/B+
22. Joe Quesada, Alitha Martinez, & Sean Chen - Mask in the Iron Man A
23. Warren Ellis & Adi Granov - Iron Man: Extremis A-
24. Cecily von Zeigesar - All I Want is Everything C
25. Gail Simone - Birds of Prey: Between Dark and Dawn B+
26. Peter Pan in Scarlet - Geraldine McCaughrean A
27. Meg Cabot - The Boy Next Door B+
28. C.S. Lewis - The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe B+
29. Hester Brown - The Little Lady Agency A-
30. Dennis O'Neil - The Ring, The Arrow, & The Bat B
31. Brian K. Vaughan - Ex Machina: The First Hundred Days B-
32. William Shakespeare - The Comedy of Errors A-
33. Andrea Meyer - Room for Love F
34. Dave White - The Evil That Men Do A
35. Blue Balliett - The Wright 3 A
36. Meg Cabot - Pants on Fire A/A-
37. Various - Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus: Volume 2 B-
38. Diana Peterfreund - Secret Society Girl A+
39. Meg Cabot - Queen of Babble in the Big City C+
40. Diana Peterfreund - Under the Rose A+
41. Diana Peterfreund - Rites of Spring (Break) A+
42. Ridley Pearson - The Kingdom Keepers A+
43. Kathleen Long - Get Bunny Love F
44. Gail Simone - Birds of Prey: The Battle Within B+
45. Brian K. Vaughan - Y: The Last Man: Unmanned A
46. Bruce Campbell - Make Love!* *The Bruce Campbell Way C+
47. Devin Grayson & Greg Rucka - Nightwing/Huntress & Batman/Huntress Cry for Blood C+ & B
48. Cecily von Ziegesar - Because I'm Worth It F+
49. Maureen Johnson - 13 Little Blue Envelopes A-/B+
50. William Shakespeare - Macbeth B+
51. Brian K. Vaughan - Pride of Baghdad A-
52. Various - Not Quite What I Was Planning A
53. Erin McCarthy - You Don't Know Jack B-/C+
54. Brian K. Vaughan - Y: The Last Man: Cycles A
55. Sophie Kinsella - Confessions of a Shopaholic F
56. Brian Vaughan - Y: The Last Man: One Small Step A
57. Stephanie Meyer - Twilight A-
58. Sonya Sones - What My Mother Doesn't Know B+
59. Douglas B. Lyons - American History: A Geek's Guide A
60. Audrey Niffennegger - The Time-Traveler's Wife B
61. Bill Willingham - Fables: Storybook Love A
62. Bill Willingham - Fables: March of the Wooden Soldiers A
63. Mary Beth Sammons & Robert Edwards - City Ghosts: True Tales of Hauntings in American Cities F
64. Eileen Davidson - Death in Daytime A
65. Steve Moss, Editor - The World's Shortest Short Stories A-
66. Marc Acito - How I Paid for College: a Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship & Musical Theater B
67. Cathy Yardley - Crave: the Seduction of Snow White F-
68. Stephanie Meyer - New Moon A-
69. Brian K. Vaughan - Y: The Last Man: Safeword A
70. Charlaine Harris - Dead Until Dark B+
71. Joanne Fluke, Laura Levine, Leslie Meier - Candy Cane Murder D-
72. Wm. Paul Young - The Shack B+
73. Ian Fleming - Live and Let Die A-
74. Lori Foster, Gemma Bruce, and Janice Maynard - A Very Merry Christmas C
75. Various - Angel Omnibus: Volume 1 B+
2009's List
1. Randy Pausch with Jeffrey Zaslow - The Last Lecture A+
2. Stephanie Meyer - Eclipse C/C-
3. Maureen Johnson - Girl at Sea A-
4. Various - Tales of the Slayer V1 B+
5. Susan Anderson - Just for Kicks B+
6. John Irving - A Prayer for Owen Meany C+
7. - 10. Brian K. Vaughan - Y: The Last Man: Ring of Truth; Girl on Girl; Paper Dolls; Kimono Dragons; Motherland; and Whys and Wherefores A to B+, depending
11. Aimee Friedman - A Novel Idea B+
12. Brian Jacques - Redwall C-
13. Rosemary Harris - Pushing Up Daisies B+
14. Kieran Scott - I Was a Non-Blonde Cheerleader B+
15. Anna Mantzaris - 1001 Things You Didn't Know You Wanted to Know C+
16. Sarah Miller - Inside the Mind of Gideon Rayburn A
17. Marian Keyes - Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married C-/D+
18. Ann Purser - Murder on Monday C-
19. Robin Palmer - Geek Charming B+
20. Michele Bardsley - I'm the Vampire, That's Why B+
21. William Shakespeare - The Merchant of Venice C+
22. Nancy Krulik - Puppy Love C+
23. Catherine Hapka - Love on Cue B-
24. Valerie Frankel - The Girlfriend Curse B-
25. Sue Margolis - Apocalipstick C
26. Chris Roberts - Heavy Words Lightly Thrown: The Reason Behind the Rhyme B+
27. Bill Willingham - Fables: Homelands; Arabian Nights (and Days) B+ for both
28. Diana Peterfreund - Tap & Gown A+
29. Eileen Davidson - Dial Emmy for Murder A-
30. Erika J. Kendrick - Confessions of a Rookie Cheerleader D
31. William Conescu - Being Written B-
32. Stephanie Meyer - Breaking Dawn B-/C+
33. Madeline Alt - The Trouble with Magic C
34. Kate Carlisle - Homicide in Hardcover B+
35. Hester Browne - Little Lady, Big Apple C
36. Hester Browne - The Little Lady Agency and the Prince B
37. Christopher Buckley - No Way to Treat a First Lady B+
38. Richard Castle - Heat Wave A-
39. Marion Chesney - Hasty Death B-/C+
40. Sabrina James - Secret Santa F+
Is there a way to cut these posts, so I don't have to scroll past these things all the time? LiveJournal has a cut function. Does that exist on Blogger? Hmm. Anyway, onward to the lists...
2007's List
1. Lemony Snicket - The Bad Beginning B+
2. Frank Miller - Batman, Year One A
3. Whitney Gaskell - Testing Kate A
4. Lauren Weisberger - The Devil Wears Prada A
5. Meg Cabot - When Lightning Strikes A
6. Brad Meltzer - Identity Crisis A-
7. Meg Cabot - Code Name Cassandra B
8. Frank Miller - Sin City 6: Booze, Broads and Bullets A
9. Jo Edwards - Love Undercover A-
10. Louise Rennison - Away Laughing on a Fast Camel F-
11. Stanley Manly - Raiders of the Low Forehead ZZPluralZAlpha- It's awful, don't read it. EVER. YICK!
12. Ann Brashares - Forever in Blue A-
13. Alan Moore - The Watchmen A
14. Thu-Huong Ha - Hail Caesar C+
15. Frank Miller - 300 A
16. Brian Lynch - Spike: Asylum A
17. Meg Cabot - Boy Meets Girl A
18. Will Eisner - A Contract with God A-
19. Brian K. Vaughn - Runaways, Volume 4 A
20. Brian K. Vaughn - Runaways, Volume 5 A
21. Brian K. Vaughn - Runaways, Volume 6 A
22. Eoin Colfer - Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception A
23. Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid - 52 A
24. Frank Miller - Sin City: Hell and Back A+
25. P. L. Travers - Mary Poppins A
26. God? - Genesis B
27. Lemony Snicket - The Reptile Room A-
28. Lemony Snicket - The Wide Window B+
29. J. K. Rowling - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows A+!
30. Blue Balliett - Chasing Vermeer A
31. Nicholas Sparks - The Notebook A
32. Karen Joy Fowler - The Jane Austen Book Club C+
33. Gail Simone - Villains United A-
34. Gennifer Choldenko - Al Capone Does My Shirts A+
35. Jennifer Crusie - Manhunting A
36. Meg Cabot - Safe House A
37. Bill Willingham - Fables: Legends in Exile/Fables: Animal Farm A
38. Helen Fielding - Bridget Jones's Diary B+
39. Jane Austen - Pride and Predjudice A-
40. Dave White - When One Man Dies A+
41. William Shakespeare - The Taming of the Shrew A
42. Meg Cabot - All-American Girl C+
43. Perry Moore - Hero A
44. Wendy Markham - Bride Needs Groom B-
45. Meg Cabot - The Mediator: Shadowland A+
46. Meg Cabot - The Mediator: Ninth Key A
47. Meg Cabot - The Mediator: Reunion A
48. Meg Cabot - The Mediator: Darkest Hour A
49. Meg Cabot - The Mediator: Haunted A-
50. Meg Cabot - The Mediator: Twilight A+
2008's List
1. Meg Cabot - Sanctuary A
2. Cecily von Ziegesar - Gossip Girl B-/C+
3. Ian Fleming - Casino Royale A
4. Various - Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Omnibus V1 A-
5. Various - X-Men: Messiah Complex A
6. Joss Whedon - Astonishing X-Men: Gifted A
7. Aury Wallington - Heroes: Saving Charlie C-
8. Emma Harrison - The Best Girl B
9. William Shakespeare - The Merry Wives of Windsor A+
10. Meg Cabot - Missing You A-/B+
11. Jennifer Cruisie - Welcome to Temptation C
12. Alex Robinson - Box Office Poison D-
13. Meg Cabot - Queen of Babble A
14. Joss Whedon - Fray A
15. Eoin Colfer - Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony A
16. Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus - The Nanny Diaries C+
17. Meg Cabot - Every Boy's Got One B+
18. Cecily von Ziegesar - You Know You Love Me C+
19. Helen Fielding - Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason C-
20. Various - The Amazing Spiderman: One More Day/Brand New Day C+
21. William Shakespeare - A Midsummer Night's Dream A-/B+
22. Joe Quesada, Alitha Martinez, & Sean Chen - Mask in the Iron Man A
23. Warren Ellis & Adi Granov - Iron Man: Extremis A-
24. Cecily von Zeigesar - All I Want is Everything C
25. Gail Simone - Birds of Prey: Between Dark and Dawn B+
26. Peter Pan in Scarlet - Geraldine McCaughrean A
27. Meg Cabot - The Boy Next Door B+
28. C.S. Lewis - The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe B+
29. Hester Brown - The Little Lady Agency A-
30. Dennis O'Neil - The Ring, The Arrow, & The Bat B
31. Brian K. Vaughan - Ex Machina: The First Hundred Days B-
32. William Shakespeare - The Comedy of Errors A-
33. Andrea Meyer - Room for Love F
34. Dave White - The Evil That Men Do A
35. Blue Balliett - The Wright 3 A
36. Meg Cabot - Pants on Fire A/A-
37. Various - Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus: Volume 2 B-
38. Diana Peterfreund - Secret Society Girl A+
39. Meg Cabot - Queen of Babble in the Big City C+
40. Diana Peterfreund - Under the Rose A+
41. Diana Peterfreund - Rites of Spring (Break) A+
42. Ridley Pearson - The Kingdom Keepers A+
43. Kathleen Long - Get Bunny Love F
44. Gail Simone - Birds of Prey: The Battle Within B+
45. Brian K. Vaughan - Y: The Last Man: Unmanned A
46. Bruce Campbell - Make Love!* *The Bruce Campbell Way C+
47. Devin Grayson & Greg Rucka - Nightwing/Huntress & Batman/Huntress Cry for Blood C+ & B
48. Cecily von Ziegesar - Because I'm Worth It F+
49. Maureen Johnson - 13 Little Blue Envelopes A-/B+
50. William Shakespeare - Macbeth B+
51. Brian K. Vaughan - Pride of Baghdad A-
52. Various - Not Quite What I Was Planning A
53. Erin McCarthy - You Don't Know Jack B-/C+
54. Brian K. Vaughan - Y: The Last Man: Cycles A
55. Sophie Kinsella - Confessions of a Shopaholic F
56. Brian Vaughan - Y: The Last Man: One Small Step A
57. Stephanie Meyer - Twilight A-
58. Sonya Sones - What My Mother Doesn't Know B+
59. Douglas B. Lyons - American History: A Geek's Guide A
60. Audrey Niffennegger - The Time-Traveler's Wife B
61. Bill Willingham - Fables: Storybook Love A
62. Bill Willingham - Fables: March of the Wooden Soldiers A
63. Mary Beth Sammons & Robert Edwards - City Ghosts: True Tales of Hauntings in American Cities F
64. Eileen Davidson - Death in Daytime A
65. Steve Moss, Editor - The World's Shortest Short Stories A-
66. Marc Acito - How I Paid for College: a Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship & Musical Theater B
67. Cathy Yardley - Crave: the Seduction of Snow White F-
68. Stephanie Meyer - New Moon A-
69. Brian K. Vaughan - Y: The Last Man: Safeword A
70. Charlaine Harris - Dead Until Dark B+
71. Joanne Fluke, Laura Levine, Leslie Meier - Candy Cane Murder D-
72. Wm. Paul Young - The Shack B+
73. Ian Fleming - Live and Let Die A-
74. Lori Foster, Gemma Bruce, and Janice Maynard - A Very Merry Christmas C
75. Various - Angel Omnibus: Volume 1 B+
2009's List
1. Randy Pausch with Jeffrey Zaslow - The Last Lecture A+
2. Stephanie Meyer - Eclipse C/C-
3. Maureen Johnson - Girl at Sea A-
4. Various - Tales of the Slayer V1 B+
5. Susan Anderson - Just for Kicks B+
6. John Irving - A Prayer for Owen Meany C+
7. - 10. Brian K. Vaughan - Y: The Last Man: Ring of Truth; Girl on Girl; Paper Dolls; Kimono Dragons; Motherland; and Whys and Wherefores A to B+, depending
11. Aimee Friedman - A Novel Idea B+
12. Brian Jacques - Redwall C-
13. Rosemary Harris - Pushing Up Daisies B+
14. Kieran Scott - I Was a Non-Blonde Cheerleader B+
15. Anna Mantzaris - 1001 Things You Didn't Know You Wanted to Know C+
16. Sarah Miller - Inside the Mind of Gideon Rayburn A
17. Marian Keyes - Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married C-/D+
18. Ann Purser - Murder on Monday C-
19. Robin Palmer - Geek Charming B+
20. Michele Bardsley - I'm the Vampire, That's Why B+
21. William Shakespeare - The Merchant of Venice C+
22. Nancy Krulik - Puppy Love C+
23. Catherine Hapka - Love on Cue B-
24. Valerie Frankel - The Girlfriend Curse B-
25. Sue Margolis - Apocalipstick C
26. Chris Roberts - Heavy Words Lightly Thrown: The Reason Behind the Rhyme B+
27. Bill Willingham - Fables: Homelands; Arabian Nights (and Days) B+ for both
28. Diana Peterfreund - Tap & Gown A+
29. Eileen Davidson - Dial Emmy for Murder A-
30. Erika J. Kendrick - Confessions of a Rookie Cheerleader D
31. William Conescu - Being Written B-
32. Stephanie Meyer - Breaking Dawn B-/C+
33. Madeline Alt - The Trouble with Magic C
34. Kate Carlisle - Homicide in Hardcover B+
35. Hester Browne - Little Lady, Big Apple C
36. Hester Browne - The Little Lady Agency and the Prince B
37. Christopher Buckley - No Way to Treat a First Lady B+
38. Richard Castle - Heat Wave A-
39. Marion Chesney - Hasty Death B-/C+
40. Sabrina James - Secret Santa F+
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
The Beginning
I've been told that I should start a new blog so that some of my family and friends can keep track of me. I have a LiveJournal, but it's locked down, so most people can't get into it. I got yelled at for that by a few people, so I'm going to try to start keeping up on blogspot too, and we'll see how that goes.
I plan on using this to track my book reading. A few years ago, I found a community on LiveJournal called 50 Book Challenge, where they challenge you to read 50 books over the course of a year. It's a little less than four books every month. I did it in 2007 (though I didn't realize it! Always thought I made it to 49), and smashed the number in 2008 (75 books in '08!), but missed it by 10 books in 2009. Maybe this year I'll make it again. We'll see! But I'm going to post some past reviews, with the dates of the original reviews included in the re-post. And for the better books, I'll try to include the Amazon link, too, just for good measure.
We'll see how this goes. More coming soon...
I plan on using this to track my book reading. A few years ago, I found a community on LiveJournal called 50 Book Challenge, where they challenge you to read 50 books over the course of a year. It's a little less than four books every month. I did it in 2007 (though I didn't realize it! Always thought I made it to 49), and smashed the number in 2008 (75 books in '08!), but missed it by 10 books in 2009. Maybe this year I'll make it again. We'll see! But I'm going to post some past reviews, with the dates of the original reviews included in the re-post. And for the better books, I'll try to include the Amazon link, too, just for good measure.
We'll see how this goes. More coming soon...
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