Outside Of A Dog

The Funhouse by Dean Koontz

2011-03-22T10:33:00.000-07:00

Rating: 2.5

What it's about:

The Funhouse is a novelization of a screenplay and it shows. Not great writing here at all but the story itself is decent. It's about a teenager named Amy Harper and her little brother Joey. They are the targets of an evil carny and his hideous monster of a son. They are being stalked because of what their mother did nearly twenty years earlier. Now the carny is seeking revenge. This is not one of the better Koontz books I've read. At times the writing was downright terrible. It had some good gore and a few suspenseful parts but it was nothing special. It did make me want to check out the movie though.

The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne

2011-03-10T09:10:00.000-08:00

Rating: 2.5

What it's about: synopsis from Barnes&Noble.com

Greed, treachery, mesmerism, and murder are just some of the bricks Hawthorne uses to build The House of the Seven Gables. Generations before the present story begins, wealthy Colonel Pyncheon covets Matthew Maule’s land. When Maule is hanged for witchcraft, he puts a curse on the Colonel—and all his descendants. Now the menacing Judge Pyncheon continues the family tradition of hiding cruelty under a dazzling smile, while his scowling niece, Hepzibah, and half-mad nephew, Clifford, are reduced to poverty by his machinations. But the younger generation, embodied in their distant cousin, Phoebe, becomes a ray of hope penetrating the dark house.

My thoughts:

I enjoyed the first half or so of this book but the second half really dragged. I became bored with it and therefore it took me a long time to finish this. There really isn't much else to say about it. I liked the diversity of characters and at times the writing was great. The story itself though just wasn't that interesting I guess. Definitely not my favorite Hawthorne book.

Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon

2011-03-09T05:40:00.000-08:00

Rating: 5.0

What it's about: synopsis from Barnes&Noble.com

From the author of Outlander... a magnificent epic that once again sweeps us back in time to the drama and passion of 18th-century Scotland...

For twenty years Claire Randall has kept her secrets. But now she is returning with her grown daughter to Scotland's majestic mist-shrouded hills. Here Claire plans to reveal a truth as stunning as the events that gave it birth: about the mystery of an ancient circle of standing stones ...about a love that transcends the boundaries of time ...and about James Fraser, a Scottish warrior whose gallantry once drew a young Claire from the security of her century to the dangers of his ....

Now a legacy of blood and desire will test her beautiful copper-haired daughter, Brianna, as Claire's spellbinding journey of self-discovery continues in the intrigue-ridden Paris court of Charles Stuart ...in a race to thwart a doomed Highlands uprising ...and in a desperate fight to save both the child and the man she loves....

My thoughts:

I can never get enough of the Claire and Jaime saga. It's the most beautiful love story I can think of. Yet Dragonfly in Amber is also historical fiction full of court intrigue and action. As it starts out with Claire back in her own time with her grown daughter Brianna, I got antsy for it to get back to the story with Jaime. After nearly 100 pages the story jumps back in time to the Claire and Jaime from Outlander. There is a lot that goes down in these pages and the end just about brings tears to my eyes every time I read it. It definitely makes me anxious to pick up the next book in the series. Which is what I'm going to do right now!

Mr. Timothy by Louis Bayard

2011-01-21T09:29:00.000-08:00

Rating: 3.5

Synopsis (taken from Barnes&Noble.com):

It's the Christmas season, and Mr. Timothy Cratchit, not the pious child the world thought he was, has just buried his father. He's also struggling to bury his past as a cripple and shed his financial ties to his benevolent "Uncle" Ebenezer by losing himself in the thick of London's underbelly. He boards at a brothel in exchange for teaching the mistress how to read and spends his nights dredging the Thames for dead bodies and the treasures in their pockets.

Timothy's life takes a sharp turn when he discovers the bodies of two dead girls, each seared with the same cruel brand on the upper arm. The sight of their horror-struck faces compels Timothy to become the protector of another young girl, Philomela, from the fate the others suffered at the hands of a dangerous and powerful man.

A different kind of Christmas story, this breathless flight through the teeming markets, shadowy passageways, and rolling brown fog of 1860s London would do Dickens proud for its surprising twists and turns, and its extraordinary heart.

My thoughts:

I wasn't as involved in Mr. Timothy as I was in Bayard's other novel, The Pale Blue Eye. It is nicely written and was a pretty good story though. I loved the gritty atmosphere of 1861 London. There were also some memorable characters....especially Mr. Timothy's young protege, Colin the Melodious.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

2010-12-15T07:09:00.000-08:00

Rating: 5.0

What it's about: (from Barnes&Noble.com)

Claire Randall is leading a double life. She has a husband in one century, and a lover in another...

In 1945, Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon—when she innocently touches a boulder in one of the ancient stone circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach—an "outlander"—in a Scotland torn by war and raiding border clans in the year of our Lord...1743.

Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire's destiny in soon inextricably intertwined with Clan MacKenzie and the forbidden Castle Leoch. She is catapulted without warning into the intrigues of lairds and spies that may threaten her life ...and shatter her heart. For here, James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, shows her a passion so fierce and a love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire...and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

My thoughts:

Outlander is full of history, romance and adventure! I've read this book more than once and each time I read it I become so emotionally involved. I think about the story even while I'm going about my daily business. Outlander has so much to offer. I love the time travel aspect. Seeing how Claire adjusts to the life that is 200 years before her own is amazing! The historical detail was very interesting as well. And of course there is the romance. Claire and Jaimie's is the greatest love story of all time!

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

2010-12-12T07:41:00.000-08:00

Rating: 5.0

What it's about: (taken from Barnes&Noble.com)

Considered one of the greatest war stories ever written -- and one of the classics of antiwar literature -- Remarque's 1929 masterpiece tells the story of young Paul Baumer, who enlists in the German Army in World War I and takes place with his comrades in the trenches.

My thoughts:

This book shows the brutal reality of war in the brilliantly written words of Remarque. Some of the sentences I read more than once because they were so profound and beautiful. There are a lot of not so beautiful scenes in here though. Trench warfare was a b***ch. All Quiet on the Western Front is a wonderful, yet emotionally draining, book that is deservedly a classic.

Dark Descent by Andrew Pyper

2010-12-05T15:42:00.000-08:00

Rating: 5.0

Synopsis from Barnes&Noble.com:

At the dawn of the new millennium, twenty-something dot-com millionaires Wallace and Bates travel to Brazil to market their breakthrough product, Hypothesys -- a "morality machine" designed to help people make the best decisions of their lives. But when they impulsively join an eco-tour deep into the Amazon rain forest, they may have sealed their own dire fates....In the dead of night, their boat is attacked, and Wallace and Bates are kidnapped along with their enigmatic female interpreter. Imprisoned and savagely tortured, they struggle to hold on to their humanity. But after Wallace engineers a violent escape, the survivors' own hidden dark natures begin to emerge -- posing a threat more lethal than either the jungle that surrounds them, or the merciless gunmen who pursue them.

My thoughts:
This book starts out slow. Once you get past the first hundred pages though it becomes a great thriller! I had a hard time putting it down once the group were kidnapped. Fatigue, fever, dehydration, internal parasites....the jungle has quite a lot of suffering to offer this group on top of being creatively tortured by their captors. There is also the mystery of who kidnapped them and why. Dark Descent is a very well written, character focused thriller that turned out to be an awesome read!

Atonement by Ian McEwan

2010-12-02T12:10:00.000-08:00

Rating: 5.0

Synopsis: taken from Barnes&Noble.com

Set in 1935 England, this "New York Times" bestseller is enthralling in its depiction of childhood, love and war, England and class, making it a profound—and profoundly moving—exploration of shame and forgiveness, of atonement and the difficulty of absolution.

My thoughts:

This is such a beautiful book filled with characters I really cared about. As soon as I started reading I was totally drawn in to the writing and the story. I could not put this book down! Atonement is quite the tragedy, and while I wouldn't want every book I read to be tragic, what happens to the characters in this story felt completely right. I have a feeling this story is going to stay with me for a long time.

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe

2010-12-02T11:41:00.000-08:00

Rating: 3.0

Synopsis - taken from Barnes&Noble.com

A spellbinding, beautifully written novel that moves between contemporary times and one of the most fascinating and disturbing periods in American history -- the Salem witch trials.

Harvard graduate student Connie Goodwin needs to spend her summer doing research for her doctoral dissertation. But when her mother asks her to handle the sale of Connie's grandmother's abandoned home near Salem, she can't refuse. As she is drawn deeper into the mysteries of the family house, Connie discovers an ancient key secreted within a seventeenth-century Bible. The key contains a yellowing fragment of parchment with a name written upon it: Deliverance Dane. This discovery launches Connie on a quest to find out who this woman was, and to unearth a rare colonial artifact of singular power: a physick book, its pages a secret repository for lost knowledge of herbs and other, stranger things.

As the pieces of Deliverance's harrowing story begin to fall into place, Connie is haunted by visions of the long-ago witch trials, and begins to fear that she is more tied to Salem's dark past then she could have ever imagined.

Written with astonishing conviction and grace, The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane travels seamlessly between the trials in the 1690s, and a modern woman's story of mystery, intrigue, and revelation.

My thoughts:

It took me a long time to get through this book. I was in a reading slump though so that may be partly to blame. I just couldn't really get into the story or most of the characters. I did find the love interest, Sam, to be a charming character and enjoyed the scenes with him. Also I really enjoyed the descriptions of the cottage and the surrounding garden and forest. It sounded romantic and quaint. Overall, a decent story but I don't think it'll stick with me for long.

Personal Demon by Kelley Armstrong

2010-10-07T07:02:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5.0

Another fun installment in the Women of the Otherworld series. This one features Hope (half-demon), Karl (werewolf), Lucas (sorcerer) and Paige (witch). They have quite an adventure when Hope accepts a mission from the Cortez Cabal that might not be what it appears to be. This story is fast-paced and will keep you guessing all the way to the end. The characters are, of course, well written and unique. I stayed up really late finishing this one and it was worth it.

The Pale Blue Eye by Louis Bayard

2010-10-01T11:36:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5.0

The Pale Blue Eye is a very well written mystery with the emphasis on well written. The best thing about the book is the writing. Louis Bayard definitely has a way with words and that made reading this novel a lot of fun.

The story takes place at West Point Academy in the year 1830. One of the cadets has been found dead with his heart removed from his chest. The academy brings in Augustus Landor, a once renowned detective, to investigate. The academy grants him a cadet to serve as assistant and that cadet is Edgar Allen Poe.

The plot was interesting and kept me guessing. I really liked the characters. The greatest thing about The Pale Blue Eye though is how eloquently it was written. The New York Times says it best: "Bayard reinvigorates historical fiction, rendering the 19th century as if he'd witnessed it firsthand. He employs words like "caoutchouc," "meerschaums" and "anapestic" as fluently as he uses Gothic tropes. Landor is attacked in the dark woods and in a dark closet. Messengers drive phaetons. There's black magic, phrenology, a profusion of ghosts, even a boat trip through torch-lit mist. But none of it seems musty. Bayard does what all those ads for historical tourist destinations promise: as Landor says at death's door, "the past comes on with all the force of the present.""

Lincoln's Dreams by Connie Willis

2010-08-30T08:46:00.000-07:00

Rating: 2.0

I was very unimpressed with Lincoln's Dreams. It was slow, boring and I really didn't care about the characters.

It's hard to describe this book because I'm still not sure what it was really about. A young woman, Annie, starts having the dreams of Robert E. Lee (even though the title of the book is Lincoln's Dreams). They are dreams of war and carnage. Nightmares really. Jeff, a research assistant for a civil war novelist, tries to help Annie but they really just travel around to old battlefields and sit in coffee shops and generally don't do anything at all. Pretty boring. The only reason I'm giving it two stars instead of one is because of the historical references. I enjoyed all the quips about the Civil War and the people who fought it....that's really what kept me reading. There are much more interesting novels out there that deal with the Civil War though. I don't recommend this one.

Last Breath: The Limits of Adventure by Peter Stark

2010-08-24T06:55:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5.0

Last Breath is a fascinating read into the physiological realities of a person on the brink of death. I liked the detail and depth Stark put into this book.

Each chapter of Last Breath is dedicated to a different adventure and a different malady. For instance, in chapter 5 a young man hits the ocean on his sailboat and forgets to take fresh food. Peter Stark details what happens to your body when scurvy sets in as well as a short history of the disease. In Chapter 8 a young couple head to a secluded beach in Australia where the reader learns about the sting of a box jellyfish. Peter Stark did an awesome job making these stories highly readable and interesting. They are part adventure story and part science lesson. And he covers a lot! Everything from hypothermia to heatstroke is covered. He writes about the bends as well as mountain sickness. Some of these stories have happy endings for the characters involved but many don't. I appreciated the realism.

Taken from the blurb: 'Readers will shiver with a man lost in the snowy woods, suffering from hypothermia and tearing off his clothes as he’s burning up from the cold; they will hallucinate with a young woman stranded at the top of Annapurna as she experiences a cerebral edema; and while a kayaker tumbles helplessly underwater for two minutes, five minutes, ten minutes, readers, too, will gasp for their last breath.'

Night Shift by Stephen King

2010-08-17T10:23:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5.0

Night Shift is an awesome collection of twenty short stories. I enjoyed all of them and loved many of them. Some of my favorites were Sometimes They Come Back (I grew up watching the movie), Quitters, Inc., Children of the Corn. If you are in the mood for some chilling tales about vampires, killer rats, the boogeyman and much more, then I highly recommend Night Shift. I've said it before and I'll continue saying it: Stephen King is a master at story telling and his most effective outlet is the short story. This is classic King. Read it. Seriously.

Transformed by Triathlon by Jane Booth

2010-08-11T18:37:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5.0

I found Transformed by Triathlon to be a completely worthwhile and entertaining read for me. I plan on doing my first sprint triathlon next year and this book was pretty useful as a tool. There were plenty of tips for first timers and beginners that I made mental notes of.

Transformed by Triathlon was written by a woman in her 40's who decided on a whim to take up the endurance sport of triathlon. She transitioned from someone who loathed running and was terrified of getting on a bike (at least she was a decent swimmer!) to someone who completed both sprint and olympic distance triathlons and could call herself an athelete. This was quite an inspirational story that had me rooting for her throughout. It also had me telling myself 'if she can break into endurance sports at the age of 43 then my 31 year old body can do it too!'

I already had my mind set on completing a triathlon before I read this. This book has given me extra motivation to get out and do a run even though I may not be in the mood to run. It has given me the extra kick in the butt to get in the car and drive the 10 miles to the lake and swim laps even if I would rather stay in bed and sleep in. I highly recommend, for those interested in triathlons, this honest and frequently humorous story of one woman's ups and downs on the road to becoming an endurance athlete.

Lakewood Memorial by Robert R. Best

2010-08-10T18:15:00.000-07:00

Rating: 4.5

Lakewood Memorial: Violent. Fun. Gruesome. Perhaps a bit superficial. Gory. Entertaining. Fast paced. These statements all describe Lakewood Memorial.

This book is basically about the takeover of a small town by zombies. It's blood-soaked good fun! There's a small group of main characters and we see the takeover from each of their perspectives. I liked that. And I liked the characters. There wasn't much depth to the cast or the story but there was enough excitement and the pace was so frenzied that it didn't really matter. From the first page the reader is thrown right into the action and it never lets up! If you want some hard core zombie killing action then I suggest you pick up Lakewood Memorial. If not....what's wrong with you?

The Memory of Running by Ron McLarty

2010-06-22T11:38:00.000-07:00

Rating: 4.0

I found The Memory of Running to be a nice, light, summer read. I enjoyed the main character very much.

The book is all about the journey of one man, Smithy Ide. Smithy loses both his parents and his long absent schizophrenic sister within the span of one week. Unable to cope, this overweight and alcoholic man takes off on his childhood Raleigh bicycle with just the clothing on his back. What starts out as an aimless wandering turns into an epic quest as Smithy makes his way from his New England home all the way to the Pacific Ocean. On a bicycle. He meets interesting folks along the way and has plenty of time to reminisce about his childhood and what it was like to grow up with a sister who hears voices.

I really enjoyed Smithy Ide as a main character. He reminded me a little of Forest Gump. He seemed a bit slow and sort of innocent. Smithy is a guy the reader can care about. The Memory of Running is sad and funny with interesting characters. I really enjoyed it.

Cyclops by Clive Cussler

2010-06-17T06:37:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5.0

This is one of my favorite Dirk Pitt adventures yet! Cyclops is fast-paced, fun and full of action.

The plot in these Dirk Pitt adventures are usually very intricate and hard to explain. There's a lot going on in Cyclops. The story involves a shipwreck, a secret moon base, the lost La Dorada treasure, a Cuban torture chamber, and of course, the Soviets. I won't go into how all of this ties together, but suffice it to say, it's quite a ride!

I love the adventure most of all in Cussler's books. Well that and Dirk Pitt of course. And Dirk Pitt and adventure go hand in hand. Cussler has a way of bringing that adventure to life. While reading, I always feel I'm right there in the story diving on a sunken shipwreck or sneaking through enemy lines. That's why I just finished my 8th Dirk Pitt adventure and ready to begin my 9th. Bring on the danger and excitement!

Velocity by Dean Koontz

2010-05-13T12:55:00.000-07:00

Rating: 4.0

Velocity is a cat-and-mouse type of suspense story. There's really nothing exceptional about it but it definitely kept my interest nonetheless.

Billy Wiles finds the first of several mysterious notes on his windshield after leaving his bar tending job one day. It says 'If you don't take this note to the police and get them involved, I will kill a lovely blond schoolteacher. If you do take this note to the police, I will instead kill an elderly woman active in charity work. You have four hours to decide. The choice is yours.' And so begins a fairly intense story in which Billy has to make some pretty extreme choices. The choices become more difficult as the story progresses. Billy can't go to the police because the killer has planted evidence incriminating him. He has no choice but to play this macabre game in the hopes of turning the tables.

I always enjoy escaping in a Koontz book for a couple of hours. Velocity was no exception. It has a fast paced plot with plenty of room for speculation. I think it could have benefited from a bit more character development, but overall it was a quick, fun read.

The Terror by Dan Simmons

2010-05-10T06:49:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5.0

The Terror is a pretty engrossing story. It's quite lengthy but it really held my attention.

Two ships set sail, Erebus and Terror, in 1846 in search of the fabled Northwest Passage. The ships end up getting frozen in the ice far from any civilization. After a couple of years scurvy sets in, their food supply becomes poisoned, and a huge beast that seems otherworldly is stalking them. They end up hiking it across the ice in search of open water as the beast continues shadowing them. Many die either from the cold, scurvy, poisoned food, the beast or each other.

The Terror is a very dismal story. The mens situation leaves little to celebrate. The landscape is pretty bleak as well. Simmons did an excellent job at really making the reader feel the -60 degree weather and hear the ice popping and snapping all around. The scene is set wonderfully in The Terror. The environment is a perfect one for the creepy beast that claws at their ship to get in and dismembers sailors at every turn. I loved the historical fiction aspect of this novel mixed with the horror. It really kept the book gripping and the reader on their toes just waiting to see what would happen next. So, if you aren't intimidated by the over 900 pages and you feel in the mood for an atmospheric thriller, I would totally recommend The Terror. But beware of cannibals.

The Washington Post says: "Dan Simmons's new novel, The Terror, dives headlong into the frozen waters of the Franklin mystery, mixing historical adventure with gothic horror -- a sort of Patrick O'Brian meets Edgar Allan Poe against the backdrop of a J.M.W. Turner icescape. Meticulously researched and brilliantly imagined, The Terror won't satisfy historians or even Franklin buffs, but as a literary hybrid, the novel presents a dramatic and mythic argument for how and why Franklin and his men met their demise."

Wastelands: Stories of the Apocalypse edited by John Joseph Adams

2010-05-03T07:32:00.000-07:00

Rating: 4.0

Wastelands is a book containing 22 short stories of life after an apocalypse. The editor did a really good job at picking stories detailing a variety of different world ending scenarios and the struggles of those left to rebuild society and start over.

Some of these stories are just so-so....nothing special or memorable. Others, though, were really great. There are some that take place in the near future and some that take place so far away in time that people aren't even recognizable as people anymore. Some of these stories are very sad and don't show much hope for humanity, while others end on a very optimistic and happy note...a fresh start. "All of them explore one question: What would life be like after the end of the world as we know it?" If you are into the Post-Apocalyptic sub-genre, then this is definitely a book you should check out.

I like what Publisher's Weekly had to say about these stories: "Keynoted by Stephen King's "The End of the Whole Mess," the volume's common denominator is hubris: that tragic human proclivity for placing oneself at the center of the universe, and each story uniquely traces the results. Some highlight human hope, even optimism, like Orson Scott Card's "Salvage" and Tobias Buckell's "Waiting for the Zephyr." Others, like James Van Pelt's "The Last of the O-Forms" and Nancy Kress's "Inertia," treat identity by exploring mutation. Several, like Elizabeth Bear's "And the Deep Blue Sea" and Jack McDevitt's "Never Despair," gauge the height of human striving, while others, like George R.R. Martin's "Dark, Dark Were the Tunnels," Carol Emshwiller's "Killers" and M. Rickert's "Bread and Bombs," plumb the depths of human prejudice, jealousy and fear. Beware of Paolo Bacigalupi's far-future "The People of Sand and Slag," though; that one will break your heart."

A Friend of the Earth by T.C. Boyle

2010-04-27T07:40:00.000-07:00

Rating: 3.5

T.C. Boyle certainly has a talent for writing. I love his style but sadly, I didn't enjoy this book nearly as much as some of his other works.

This book alternates between the near future of 2025 and the not too distant past of 30 years ago....and a little bit of the time between. The main character is Ty Tierwater. In the year 2025 he's an older fellow who works for a rich musician. His job is to take care of the musicians menagerie of ugly animals....the animals that nobody else seems to care about. And mammals in the year 2025 are a pretty rare thing. See, there is really no biodiversity left because of global warming, and the earth seems to be on a fast downward spiral. Boyle does not paint a pretty future in this tale. I think it was well researched though and unfortunately seems all too plausible. So this story alternates between this bleak future and Tierwater's past, when he was an eco-terrorist. He broke the law, spent quite a few years in prison, lost his daughter (in more ways than one) and he did it all for the earth and the animals. Was it all in vain? Does he have any regrets? I won't give it away.

I thought this was an interesting tale. It's definitely not a cheerful story....though it does end in a slightly optimistic way. For some reason though (it wasn't the writing) I just didn't really get into this book all that much. Not as much as I thought I would anyway. I'm a big fan of T.C. Boyle so I was expecting to really lose myself in the story. Not so. A Friend of the Earth is sort of intriguing and a decent diversion but I guess I was just expecting better.

I, Lucifer by Glen Duncan

2010-04-07T10:16:00.000-07:00

Rating: 4.0

I, Lucifer is positively brimming with wit and irreverent, really irreverent, humor. That's what saved this book when it threatened to get bogged down in one too many digressions. It was amusing even when I was slightly puzzled about what the heck was going on.

This story is told from the perspective of Lucifer, a.k.a. the"Fallen Angel, Prince of Darkness, Bringer of Light, Ruler of Hell, Lord of the Flies....." you get the point. So, 'Luce' gets the opportunity to reenter Heaven with full forgiveness if he can live out a moral life as a human on Earth. I think moral is the key word here. As you can imagine, this is a little difficult for Lucifer. And besides, he's not so sure he even wants to do the whole Heaven thing again anyways. Regardless, he enters the body of one Declan Gunn for this little experiment of walking among us mere mortals and things take off from there. His deviations and ramblings from the plot are more entertaining that the actual plot. Actually, I'm not even sure there is much of a plot. But anyway, amidst the varied digressions are the real story of Adam and Eve, what it was like at the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ (or as Lucifer prefers, Jimmeny Christmas or Junior), and many more trifling anecdotes like what a dog's foot smells like and why the London Underground depresses God. If you are intrigued, want to know the outcome, and are not easily offended, then I suggest reading this narrative.

I, Lucifer is an interesting, if sometimes confusing, read. It's clever, comical and very British. I can't say I loved it, but I did get a kick out it. The end.

A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

2010-04-04T13:48:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5.0

A Walk in the Woods is my third, and favorite thus far, Bill Bryson book. It is laugh out loud funny as Bryson and his unfit and overweight friend Katz attempt to hike the Appalachian Trail. Sprinkled in between all the hilarious hiking narrative are generous amounts of anecdotes relating to the trail and it's history. As the publisher says, "Bryson's acute eye is a wise witness to this fragile and beautiful trail, and as he tells its fascinating history, he makes a moving plea for the conservation of America's last great wilderness. An adventure, a comedy, a lament, and a celebration, A Walk in the Woods is destined to become a modern classic of travel literature." I am placing this wonderful travelogue in my 'favorite books' category. It's that good.

The Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things by Carolyn Mackler

2010-04-01T10:27:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5.0

I'll confess. I bought this book because of it's amusing title. But I'd read and enjoyed a couple of Mackler's other books so I pretty much knew what to expect. I was not disappointed.

The heroine of this story, 15 year old Virginia Shreves, is overweight and has major self confidence issues. She doesn't fit in with the rest of her family, who are slim and popular over-achievers. Everything changes for Virginia when she learns that her older brother, who she worships, is suspended from Columbia University for doing something pretty horrible. Virginia's earth shatters but she learns a great deal about her family and herself.

This book really comes from the heart. Virginia is a character a girl could really sympathize with. Publisher's Weekly says, ""The heroine’s transformation into someone who finds her own style and speaks her own mind is believable — and worthy of applause." When I read this it was just what I was in the mood for. A nice quick read with a happy ending.

Floating Dragon by Peter Straub

2010-03-31T05:01:00.000-07:00

Rating: 4.5

Floating Dragon is a very hard book to describe so I'll just insert the blurb here:

Two monstrous evils.

This quiet suburban town of Hampstead is threatened by two horrors.

One is natural. The hideous, unstoppable creation of man's power gone mad.

The other is not natural at all. And it makes the first look like a child's play.

I enjoyed the book overall. It was a little hard to get into though. The beginning felt very unfocused and there were so many characters and places that it was hard to keep things straight. Once the story got rolling though it was very interesting. There are scenes in this book that are very memorable and creepy. I really liked how the effects of the man-made virus were so various and unpredictable. It did different things to different people and that made the story entertaining. I especially liked the man who painted his whole house (including the windows and roof) hot pink. The effects on many of the other people weren't so benign. If you are up for a long tale of the mysterious, bizarre and chilling, that takes some concentration then I would recommend Floating Dragon.

The Twilight Zone by Rod Serling

2010-03-30T08:53:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5.0

I've always been a fan of The Twilight Zone with it's twisted and often dark tales. This book contains nineteen fantastic stories written by the brilliant Rod Serling. The course many of these stories takes leads to man being the true monster. I suspect some of this may be due to it being the early '60's. I think these are the scariest stories of all though. My favorite tales in this book revolve around what man does to himself and others. Take for instance The Monsters are Due on Maple Street. It's a story about how quickly neighbors and friends turn on each other when they think disaster has struck. Prejudice shows where it didn't before. Or another of my favorites, The Shelter. In this tale the neighborhood doctor pleads with his friends and neighbors to build a bomb shelter in case the worst should happen. They blow him off and spend their free time playing cards and having barbecues. When the worst threatens to happen, the friends and neighbors turn into animals trying to get into the doctors shelter. These are the kinds of stories that give me chills. There is balance though with tales of magic and wonder, like The Night of the Meek. In this story, a burnt out old store Santa finds a burlap bag that turns out to be much more than that. His wish comes true and he is able to bring happiness to the poor people down at the mission and the children who have nothing. I could go on and on about these stories, they all were fun to read, but I'll stop here. In this collection, "Rod Serling continues to leave us spellbound with his imaginative and unsettling tales."

Off Season by Jack Ketchum

2010-03-24T07:29:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5.0

Off Season is a gruesome look at what happens when a small group of tourists meet with a band of cannibals in the Maine woods. And when cannibals are involved, you know it's going to be pretty grisly.

A group of six young people are relaxing in a rented cabin in the woods of Maine. Along come a sinister family of cannibals who live in these woods. They reside in a cabin and live like animals. The cannibals snatch one the tourist women and roast her like a pig and that's when the gory action starts. The rest of tourists try to barricade themselves inside the cabin...but that only works for a time. While this action is going down, a small town sheriff is in slow pursuit of the cannibals. The big finale, with the sheriff, the cannibals and the remaining tourists, is in the cannibal cave and is very....memorable.

I love this story. Being hunted down by a pack of cannibals is just plain creepy. The children cannibals with their little mouths working and their little teeth chomping especially got under my skin. But in a good way. I enjoy a good scare and this book definitely fits that bill. "Horror critic Winter calls the book one of 'remarkable elegance,' and indeed it's drum tight. Equally impressively, Ketchum uses the devastation of a group of tourists by a band of cannibals not to pander, as so many horror writers after him have done, but to explore with intelligence (and ferocity) the nature of evil and of the human spirit that can resist it."

No Humans Involved by Kelley Armstrong

2010-03-17T07:38:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5.0

Another fun book from Kelley Armstrong. Part of her Women of the Otherworld series, No Humans Involved stars the intriguing necromancer Jaime Vegas. Some of the characters from previous books are back as well.

Jaimie has some big challenges in this story. She discovers the trapped ghosts of six murdered children in the garden behind the house where she is working on a t.v. show. As she digs for some answers to who killed them, with the help of werewolf alpha Jeremy, she uncovers a horrendous case of child sacrifice by a small cult of witch wannabes. Things turn threatening for Jaime when this cult discovers they have been found out.

I really enjoy this series. Armstrong adds just the right amount of action, humor and romance. It makes for great entertainment! Her characters of the Otherworld are captivating. "Armstrong deftly juggles such creatures as werewolves, witches, demons and ghosts with real-life issues." This series is a ton of fun....but don't take my word for it. : )

Watchers by Dean Koontz

2010-03-08T12:23:00.000-08:00

Rating: 5.0

I first read this years ago, when I was a teenager. It was one of my first Koontz books. I loved it then and I still love it today. The dialogue seemed cornier than I remember it being but that's okay. I still loved it.

I really enjoyed this story. Two different animals are caged in the same government laboratory. They have been genetically altered. One is an extraordinary dog who I totally fall in love with.
The other is a monster who was made to be a weapon. They escape and are on the loose when the story begins. The human stars of the story are Travis and Nora. They end up finding the dog and learning it's capabilities. They also learn that this other thing....this monster....is after the dog and is capable of tracking it down and killing it and anything near to it. There are other things going on in the story that I won't go into, but it really keeps you on the edge of your seat as the monster gets closer and closer.

This is the Koontz book that pulls on my heartstrings the most. The dog is amazing, and I of course root for the dog's safety and to be able to stay with his new family. The monster, or the Outsider as it's called in the book, has blood lust in it's genes and makes the reader want to hate it. But it's really sad when we learn more about it. He hates himself for what he is. He's extremely lonely. He didn't ask to be this monster. Everybody loves the adorable dog who is almost human but is disgusted to even look at the hideous thing that the Outsider is. I feel sorry for it and that just makes the book all the more affecting to me. Great story! The Cincinnati Post calls it "A suspenseful page-turner...Koontz gives us characters we can care about...and enough tension to satisfy any thrill-seeker."

The Only War We Had by Michael Lee Lanning

2010-03-01T08:10:00.000-08:00

Rating: 4.0

My dad loaned me this book of his and I'm glad he did. It's worth a read if you are interested in what an infantryman's day to day life was like in Vietnam. Michael Lee Lanning wrote this book based on his journal he kept while in Vietnam. This book covers his first six months over there on a day by day basis. It's slow at times and full of action at other times but it's the honesty I appreciated the most. The synopsis says it best: "Michael Lee Lanning's journal of his first tour of duty in Vietnam provides an unvarnished daily account of life in the field-the blood, fear, camaraderie, and tedium of combat and maneuver. Fleshed out with narrative and detail years later, the pages of this memorable book, first published in 1987, show an eager young recruit growing before the reader's eyes into a proud but bloodied combat veteran."

The Gerson Therapy by Charlotte Gerson and Morton Walker, D.P.M.

2010-03-01T07:43:00.000-08:00

Rating: 4.0

The Gerson Therapy is a nutritional program that jump starts your body's healing processes. I watched a couple of intriguing documentaries on the subject and so went out to buy this book to learn more. Everything about this therapy makes sense, but for the average person who is not sick it may be a bit extreme to follow the Gerson Therapy as a lifestyle. It's a bit daunting to say the least. It requires massive amounts of juicing (once every hour) and coffee enemas. There is a lot of evidence that this can help the body cure itself of cancer and disease by flooding it with nutrients but it would be a hard regimen to follow. I guess if you had cancer though, it would be worth the effort to follow this therapy. The book starts with a short history of Dr. Max Gerson, who started healing people with this therapy in the '30's and '40's. It then outlines how the therapy works and how to adapt it to your particular condition. This book could be of interest to either people who are sick and want to heal themselves naturally or healthy people who are interested in the topic of health.

The Six Messiahs by Mark Frost

2010-02-12T12:23:00.000-08:00

Rating: 4.0

The Six Messiahs, sequel to the fabulous The List of 7, is a good mystery with plenty of action.

Arthur Conan Doyle is back and on an American book tour with his brother Innes. There, he meets up with Jack Sparks, but it's not really the same Jack Sparks from the previous book. The Jack in this book is a broken man. After his near fatal fall from the last book, Jack turns sour and bitter and has lost everything I loved about him. This was disappointing for me but I guess it's part of the story and adds some suspense around whether or not Doyle can bring the old Sparks back. Along with Doyle, Innes and Sparks, there are several others characters they meet up with. Some of them seem to be having the same dreams about a black tower in the desert and a river of blood. So five characters are having this crazy dream but the real surprise comes when we learn who the sixth one is. Let's just say it's a blast from the past....meaning someone from The List of 7. And this mysterious number six has mad plans. It's one of those good versus evil scenarios that I've seen one too many times. But the characters are good and the way it all plays out is interesting.

So, overall I enjoyed this book. The story wasn't nearly as good as The List of 7 and the characters were not quite as fun. There wasn't as much humor. It's a decent follow up though and worth a read.

Gerald's Gamy by Stephen King

2010-02-02T14:07:00.000-08:00

Rating: 4.5

Gerald's Game is a pretty terrifying book. Not necessarily in the way many of his books are though. It's a different kind of terror, more of a claustrophobia I guess.

It starts with a middle aged married couple, Jessie and Gerald, at their cabin in the woods. They are getting a little kinky, with Jessie handcuffed to the bed, when Gerald has his heart attack and drops dead on the floor. That's when the terror starts.

This book really made me cringe. Just reading the blurb, before I even started reading the book, I think I cringed. It's a horrifying scenario to imagine! The book flashes between Jessie trying to escape the cuffs and Jessie as a little girl, during the solar eclipse, when something happens to her that she has never gotten over. And if being handcuffed to a bed in the middle of nowhere isn't scary enough for you, King wrote in a little nighttime visitor that would give anybody goosebumps.

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

2010-02-02T08:46:00.000-08:00

Rating: 5.0

The Scarlet Letter is a wonderfully written romantic thriller. I found it full of suspense and mystery.

This book really starts with a bang. Hester Prynne, along with her baby, Pearl, are put upon the scaffold as acknowledgment and punishment for her adulterous affair. She is forced to wear a large letter A on her chest so everybody can see her sin. She refuses to announce the man with whom she sinned. That's where the mystery and suspense starts. What do the Reverend Mr. Dimmsdale and the newcomer Doctor Roger Chillingworth have to do with everything? Lots.

This book really held my interest. I'd read it before, a long time ago, and had forgotten how good it really is. I had a hard time putting it down. The writing is beautiful and really conveys the Puritanism of the story. The synopsis from Barnes & Noble says it perfectly. "The landscape of this classic novel is uniquely American, but the themes it explores are universal—the nature of sin, guilt, and penitence, the clash between our private and public selves, and the spiritual and psychological cost of living outside society. Constructed with the elegance of a Greek tragedy, The Scarlet Letter brilliantly illuminates the truth that lies deep within the human heart."

Deep Six by Clive Cussler

2010-01-26T07:13:00.000-08:00

Rating: 4.0

'A ghost ship drifts across the northern Pacific....
A Soviet luxury liner burns like a funeral pyre....
And the U.S. President's yacht is heading for disaster....'

Yet another fun Dirk Pitt adventure. This one is full of suspense and danger with plots to brainwash the President of the United States and take over the government. The only complaint I have is that there were so many characters that it felt a little confusing at times trying to keep all the names straight and who was who. This is quite an adventure though with a great ending featuring some awesome confederate soldiers from a Civil War reenactment. The end really made me smile. If you like action and adventure I highly recommend some Clive Cussler.

Beyond the Sky and the Earth: A Journey into Bhutan by Jamie Zeppa

2010-01-21T10:15:00.000-08:00

Rating: 5.0

"Her tale is part love story, part history lesson and part Buddhism 101." -Mademoiselle

Beyond the Sky and the Earth is a beautifully written 'journey into Bhutan'. Armchair travel is a favorite genre of mine and Jamie Zeppa does a wonderful job at making the reader feel like part of her journey.

Jamie, a Canadian, takes a two year teaching post in far away Bhutan leaving her home and fiance behind. Culture shock hits her hard in this country where people only have what they need. She questions herself and wonders why in the world she took this post and how she can possibly make it here for two years. Then the balance starts to slowly shift and eventually she wonders how she can ever return to Canada and the world where people have more than they need and are the worse for it. She ends up extending her teaching post because she can't bear to leave this country. Along her journey she learns a lot about herself and a country she begins to call home. This is such a beautifully descriptive travelogue/memoir. I loved every sentence.

".....her squeamishness about the place turned to love, addiction and lust, for a landscape, a lifestyle, a people and a man...." - Mademoiselle

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

2010-01-15T09:34:00.000-08:00

Rating: 4.0

Great Expectations was a satisfying read. It had depth and a lot of humor that I wasn't expecting.

The story follows Pip through much of his life starting in childhood. I enjoyed the first part of the book the most....it was very funny. Pip helps an escaped convict which will have repercussions throughout the rest of his life. He is given a fortune from an anonymous benefactor and moves to London with 'great expectations' of becoming a gentleman and furthering himself in life. All does not go according to his expectations though and many lessons are learned.

The first part of Great Expectations was excellent. It was surprisingly funny and very thrilling and fast paced. Comparatively, the last half dragged a bit. That's not to say it was boring though. The characters kept it interesting. Great Expectations contains some wonderful characters...one's you don't want to miss! This is definitely a book to be read by anyone who enjoys literature and I'm certainly glad I did.

I'm with Stupid by Elaine Szewczyk

2010-01-06T07:40:00.000-08:00

Rating: 3.0

I'm with Stupid is a mediocre tale of love, lust and friendship. There was not much depth to the story and very little plot.

Three friends go on a safari to South Africa where one of them, Kas, has a one night stand with a hot safari guide who seems to be so perfect it's scary. They exchange emails and that's that....or so Kas thinks. Soon after the three get back to New York, Kas gets an email from hot safari guide, William, and it looks like it was written by a five year old. Turns out William has the body but was shortchanged in the brains department. He's just informed Kas that he's moving to New York to write a book (EEK!) and he will be staying with her. Lots of craziness ensues with William being in New York with no brains.

The thing this book has going for it are it's wonderful wit and humor. It's really funny. I really wish it had some depth to it though. I'm with Stupid got off to a nice start but about halfway through my interest really started to dwindle. This is the first novel by this author, and I hope for her sake she is just getting warmed up.

Chocolat by Joanne Harris

2009-12-30T07:55:00.000-08:00

Rating: 4.0

Chocolat is a tale of prejudice, bigotry....and chocolate? It's the tale of a beautifully pagan chocolotiere and a handsome red headed river gypsy who the town priest preaches against.

When the enchanting Vianne comes to set up a chocolate shop in a provincial French town, all hell breaks loose thanks to Pere Reynaud, the parish priest. Vianne refuses to go to church, she has a daughter out of wedlock, she tells all kinds of pagan stories and she wants to have a chocolate festival on Easter morning. She gets under Pere Reynaud's skin at every turn. All she really wants though is to make people happy. And she does. Chocolat has some beautiful characters and the pastoral setting was charming. The descriptions, especially of the chocolates, was mouth-watering and tantalizing. What I didn't like was the ending. Too much was left unsaid. There was not enough closure for my taste. Besides that, the book was a very enjoyable read. I think I enjoyed the movie a bit more though.

Word of warning: have lots of chocolate handy while reading this. ; )

Blasphemy by Douglas Preston

2009-12-29T10:01:00.000-08:00

Rating: 4.0

Science and religion collide in Blasphemy with results that will change humankind forever. This one is hard to review without saying too much and spoiling it for you but I'll try.

A group of scientists deep in an Arizona mountain have created the world's largest supercollider which will "probe what happened at the very moment of creation: the Big Bang itself". Opposing these scientists are the fundamentalist Christians who believe that these scientists are attacking their religion by attempting to disprove Genesis.

Blasphemy could be considered by many to be controversial with it's plot surrounding the clash of science and religion. The Washington Post says ".....the scenes of howling Christians eagerly killing fellow Americans who don't share their views are chilling, and history reminds us that the more feverish advocates of most religions have been spilling innocent blood for centuries. The novel is entirely readable, and its satire of religious extremism, if heavy-handed, often strikes home." The characters were well written for the most part and the pace moved along pretty well. Overall, I thought this was an entertaining read. There were some twists and turns that I didn't see coming and the one really big plot twist toward the end. The outcome wasn't exactly what I hoped it would be but I can live with that. This is definitely something different and worth a read.

The List of 7 by Mark Frost

2009-12-24T12:33:00.000-08:00

Rating: 5.0

The List of 7 is positively one of the most fun adventures I've ever read! I've just finished reading it for the second time.

The plot is full of mystery and suspense as Arthur Conan Doyle and his few newly acquired friends try to stop the underground takeover of the world by a group of seven people. I know the plot sounds kind of typical but the characters are what bring so much fun to the story. The main characters are fantastic and supported by a cast of walking mummies, flying gargoyles and other nightmarish creatures to keep Dr. Doyle and friends on their toes. The ending doesn't bring a lot of closure and that's okay because this book has a sequel, The Six Messiahs. You don't want to miss this thrilling tale full of compelling characters.

Broken by Kelley Armstrong

2009-12-17T13:08:00.000-08:00

Rating: 5.0

Elena and her werewolf pack are back in action in Broken. This time around, a very pregnant Elena unwittingly opens a portal that may have unleashed historical Jack the Ripper onto an unsuspecting modern day Toronto. Amidst zombies, a cholera outbreak, and vicious and diseased rats, Elena and company must try to get the portal closed and kill the ones who came out of it while staying alive themselves.

I really enjoy this Women of the Otherworld series. What I love most about it is the wit, sarcasm and brass that Armstrong writes into her characters. It gives the books a fun and fresh feel that I really enjoy. Broken is exciting, very entertaining and has a great ending. I highly recommend this series.

The Eyes of Darkness by Dean Koontz

2009-12-16T10:54:00.001-08:00

Rating: 3.5

This is one of Koontz's first novels, written originally under a pen name. It's definitely not up to par with his latest works but it wasn't bad either.

A mother looses her son to a tragic accident while he's on a scouting trip in the Nevada mountains. A year later and she's coping....until two words show up on her dead sons chalkboard. NOT DEAD. Lots of mysterious paranormal incidents occur that lead the mother and her new flame on a hunt to uncover what has been covered up and to discover why.

The Eyes of Darkness was a good story but it didn't have enough depth. Why the events occurred was explained but the how part was left a mystery. The characters were very cardboard with very little background. If this was written by the Koontz of today I think it would make a great book.

Black Wind by F. Paul Wilson

2009-12-14T12:34:00.001-08:00

Rating : 5.0

Black Wind is a stunning story of love, honor and betrayal set against the backdrop of World War II. F. Paul Wilson really brings the war to life in his detailed characters and settings.

At the heart of the story are four characters. "Matsuo Okumo, born in Japan, raised in America, and hated in both lands; Hiroki Okumo, his brother, a modern samurai sworn to serve a secret cult and the almighty Emperor; Meiko Satsuma, the woman they both love; and Frank Slater, the American who turned away when Matsuo needed him, and who now struggles to repay his debt of honor." This love story is set amidst the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Doolittle's raid, the bombings of Tokyo and finally the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

This book is unforgettable! I loved every minute of it and really had a hard time putting it down. The characters come to life and seem so real that it's easy to lose yourself in these pages. Black Wind was an excellent read....one I can't wait to read again.

The Mirror of Her Dreams by Stephen R. Donaldson

2009-12-13T11:36:00.000-08:00

Rating: 3.0

The Mirror of Her Dreams is a fairly slow fantasy novel. It's about Terisa, a girl from our own world, who travels through a mirror into a world of Stephen R. Donaldson's making. This new world is a place where mirrors are used not for their reflections but for portals into other times and places. This is a world where a King seems to have lost his mind and treachery and betrayal run rife. This is where Terisa questions her role among an overlarge cast of character.

The Mirror of Her Dreams had some interesting aspects that I really enjoyed. I loved the idea of mirrors as portals. Overall though the story seemed to move at a very slow pace. I got bored while reading this. I just wasn't feeling it. I have read much better fantasy but I've also read much worse.

Darwin: The Life of a Tormented Evolutionist by Adrian Desmond & James Moore

2009-12-11T10:35:00.000-08:00

Rating: 5.0

If you are looking for a book encompassing the complete Charles Darwin then look no further. This one has it all. From his birth to his interment at Westminster Abbey after his death, this biography illuminates all of who Darwin was as a man as well as a scientist. This book is extraordinarily comprehensive as well as being highly readable. After reading this I felt I truly understood who Charles Darwin really was. So much so that I got a little teary eyed at the end when it described his death. This biography contains many many illustrations and photos of Darwin and his friends and family. We all know what Darwin looks like but now you can put a face to the whole Darwin clan. At nearly 700 pages this book is a doozy, but entirely worth the time expended.

"In lively and accessible style, the authors tell how Darwin came to his world-changing conclusions and how he kept his thoughts secret for twenty years. Hailed as the definitive biography, this book explains Darwin's paradox and offers a window on Victorian science, theology, and mores. Contains a wealth of new information and 90 photographs." -Barnes&Noble.com

Haunted by Kelley Armstrong

2009-12-09T03:30:00.000-08:00

Rating: 4.0

Another fun book in the Women of the Otherworld series. It took me about half the book to really get into this one though. The first half was kind of slow but the second half kicked butt!

The heroine in Haunted is Eve Levine, a deceased witch/half demon and the mother of Savannah from the previous two books. Eve is sent on a mission, literally to hell and back, to hunt down a ghost, called the Nix, who is causing harm to humanity. This Nix thrives on murder and mayhem and gets a little too close to the loved ones of Eve. Haunted was a fun read but I just wasn't crazy about the ghost world scene. I preferred the other books that took place in the here and now and had living breathing human characters.

Haunted has some very interesting and unique settings and characters. I had a hard time putting the book down once I got past the first half. And the climax was awesome!

Deception Point by Dan Brown

2009-12-07T04:34:00.000-08:00

Rating: 4.5

Deception Point is a fast paced thriller that I had a hard time putting down. It's one of those books that I just had to know what was going on. It kept me reading long into the night.

NASA discovers the find of the century buried in an ice shelf in the Arctic Circle. When the President of the United States sends a team of four civilian scientists up there to corroborate the find, they discover something not quite right. Soon, these civilian scientists are running for their lives while trying to discover the truth. The stakes are high in Deception Point, with the office of the Presidency and the future of NASA on the line. Intrigue and lies abound in this novel which kept me guessing to the very end.

The only thing that kind of annoyed me about this book is a couple of the supporting characters. They were over-written and just didn't seem right. They are a couple of the world's leading scientists but bickered and teased like school children. Other than that small annoyance, the book is great.

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

2009-12-02T07:49:00.000-08:00

Rating: 5.0

Middlesex is intriguing and creative. It's about genes and family histories and the effect of a certain recessive gene on the fifth chromosome of Calliope Stephanides. She/he is a hermaphrodite and Middlesex tells the wondrous story of his life.

From the 1922 burning of Smyrna to the Detroit race riots of 1967. From San Francisco in the '70's to Berlin in 2001. This story does a lot of time traveling as we follow the story of Calliope's incestuous grandparents to the modern day Calliope who becomes just plain Cal. There is a lot of family history here which makes for very interesting reading.

Middlesex is beautifully written as it invokes images of the life of three generations of a Greek family. I loved all the different settings in this novel. All the different places and times made Middlesex an exhilarating story with some very original characters. It's no wonder it won the Pulitzer.

Industrial Magic by Kelley Armstrong

2009-11-21T05:02:00.000-08:00

Rating: 4.0

Industrial Magic, the fourth book in the Women of the Otherworld series, is a fun read. The witch Paige and her sorcerer boyfriend Cortez are back and in Miami hunting down the supernatural who is killing off the Cabal children. This book has action, some light romance and plenty of mystery as the killer is uncovered. With stories filled with characters like witches, vampires, werewolves and necromancers.....Kelley Armstrong never fails to entertain.

Galilee by Clive Barker

2009-11-19T11:17:00.000-08:00

Rating: 5.0

Galilee is a very engrossing tale of romance, adventure and intrigue with a touch of the supernatural. The heart of the story is very Romeo and Juliet.

Two very powerful families are at war. Family Geary is one of the wealthiest society families in America. Family Barbarossa is the oldest family, living secluded in a swamp in a house that Thomas Jefferson built for them. When Rachael Geary and Galilee Barbarossa fall in love....the tale gets really interesting. And I forgot to mention.....the Barbarossa family are more than human. They are on a scale with Gods and Goddesses. This book takes us from modern day New York City to ancient Samarkand. From the American Civil War where the foundation between Geary and Barbarossa was built to the shores of a Hawaiian island where the Geary women go to be "serviced" by Galilee Barbarossa. This is such an epic tale that I haven't even begun to tell you what it's about. I'll leave it at that.

Clive Barker's writing is so imaginative and full of life. His characters are so unique and eccentric. In Galilee, Barker weaves tales from many time periods featuring some truly bizarre people and scenarios that are unforgettable.

The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

2009-11-17T11:52:00.000-08:00

Rating: 5.0

The Sorrows of Young Werther is a beautiful piece of tragic literature. It's written mostly as a series of letters from Werther to his friend Wilhelm detailing his love of Lotte and how that leads to his eventual suicide.

Right from the get go Werther knows of the impending marriage between Lotte and Albert but he can't control his emotions and the love he feels for Lotte. And when he meets Albert, who is a genuinely nice guy, he can't help but like him. The letters go from being full of excitement and elation at the beginning of his acquaintance with Lotte to slowly turning very dark as Werther slips further and further into depression. Deep depression. In fact, his emotions go to such extremes throughout the book, I'd say poor Werther is manic depressive with his thoughts of suicide and murder. He says towards the end of the book, "One of us three must go, so let it be me!" He's had thoughts of killing Albert and even Lotte herself but can't bring himself to harm either of them. So he takes himself out of the equation in hopes that Lotte and Albert can live happily ever after.

The Sorrows of Young Werther is beautifully written but very sad. It's heartbreaking to read as poor Werther's euphoric happiness slides slowly to despair. He says a couple of days after his first introduction to Lotte, "My days are as happy as any God sets aside for his saints; and, whatever the future may have in store for me, I cannot claim I have not enjoyed the pleasures in life, the very purest of pleasures."

Pet Sematary by Stephen King

2009-11-16T18:31:00.000-08:00

Rating: 4.5

Pet Sematary is a very grim book and not one of King's more action packed stories either. I really enjoyed it though. That's the thing about King; even when his story is on the slow side, his writing and his characters keep me interested.

When Louis and his family move into an old house right off a trucking highway, terrible things are in their future. Between that highway in front of their house and the old Indian burying ground behind their house, they are caught in the midst of some unearthly mayhem. Whether it's a family pet getting run down in the highway, grave digging, or tales of the dead brought back to 'life', Pet Sematary has it's share of morbid moments. Like I said before, it's a grim tale.

Pet Sematary gets you thinking about death and what you would do with the power to bring back the dead. Louis makes that decision several times in this book with results that are less than perfect. This is a spooky story definitely worth a read....as long as you don't mind a touch of the macabre.

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce

2009-11-12T08:33:00.000-08:00

Rating: 1.5

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is ranked by the Modern Library as the third greatest English-language novel of the twentieth century. I have no idea why. I just found it to be extremely boring. The book is the semi-autobiographical coming of age of Stephen Dedalus, the alter ego of James Joyce. From his questions and anxiety over the roles of women and his dealings with them to his on-again-off-again struggles with religion, A Portrait of the Artist...just didn't keep my interest. It's not a bad story really but I just did not dig the prose. I haven't given up on James Joyce yet but I really hope his other books won't put me to sleep.

A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

2009-11-05T13:14:00.000-08:00

Rating: 5.0

A Prayer for Owen Meany is a poignant story about a very special boy named...Owen Meany. Our narrator in this book is John, Owen's best friend. The events in this book really get rolling when Owen accidentally kills John's mother. The wheels are set in motion for Owen, who believes that everything happens for a reason. Owen also believes he is "God's instrument". Owen believes there is a special purpose for his tiny size and unusual voice. This, John's telling of his time with Owen, is a riveting read. The narration goes back and forth from their childhoods and adolescence together, as young adults during the Vietnam era, and John living in Canada in the '80's. Irving has such a unique writing style of going back and forth giving little hints here and there of what's to come with the characters. Long before we get to the very last page, we realize that everything that we've read was relevant and it all comes together in the end. Owen is such a unique and unforgettable character. I'm already looking forward to re-reading A Prayer for Owen Meany.

Dime Store Magic by Kelley Armstrong

2009-10-27T03:28:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5.0

Moving right along in the Women of the Otherworld series brings me to Dime Store Magic. This may be my favorite in the series thus far. There's Cabals and Covens, spells and sorcery, walking dead and ghostly spirits....pretty much everything supernatural you could want in a novel.

This book has a change in main characters from the previous two. In Dime Store Magic, Paige and her young witch ward Savannah take center stage. These two witches team up with a very dashing and gallant young sorcerer lawyer named Lucas Cortez to try to fight a powerful Cabal bent on taking Savannah. There is lots of great action, a little light romance and plenty of spell casting. As always Kelley Armstrong's wit, humor and sharp dialogue make for a very fun read.

Stolen by Kelley Armstrong

2009-10-12T18:29:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5.0

Stolen is the second book in the Women of the Otherworld series. It was a lot of fun! In this story we get to meet other 'races' besides the werewolves; for instance witches and vampires. The lone female werewolf Elena, from the first book, is captured by eccentric billionaire Tyrone Winsloe. Winsloe, the head of a secret underground lab, captures these other supernatural 'races' with nefarious means in mind. He gets more that he bargained for in Elena though. She's not the type to be taken advantage of. Stolen is fast paced with fun, witty dialogue. Publisher's Weekly says, "Though the tale is pretty much a prison-break story spiffed up with magic, Armstrong leavens the narrative with brisk action and intriguing dollops of werewolf culture that suggest a complex and richly imagined anthropologic backstory." I'm really looking forward to starting the next book in this series.

The Ruins by Scott Smith

2009-09-27T16:46:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5.0

The Ruins is relentless! I lost myself in these pages for hours at a time. Four college students, along with a German and a Greek tourist, are trapped on a vine covered hill. The Mayans surrounding this hill won't let the tourists leave. They are being quarantined and they don't know why. But they soon learn that something about these vines just isn't right. These vines are much creepier than I can describe.

But The Ruins isn't just a horror tale about a plant that acts more like an animal. It's about a small group of people struggling to survive and watching as page by page their hope for rescue slowly dwindles with their food supply. I thought the characters were well written with their own strengths and weaknesses. The pacing was unrelenting....something was always going on. And I loved the whole stuck on an ancient ruins in the Mexican jungle atmosphere. The Ruins is gory and not the most cheerful novel out there but it will make you appreciate a cozy chair and clean glass of water.

I like what The Washington Post had to say about it: "… there's a more timeless fable at work here, one that prompts thoughts of Heart of Darkness . Courageous in its pessimism and its embrace of horror, Smith's powerful tale, like Conrad's masterpiece, cautions against such reassuring conceits as civilization, conscience, morality, superiority -- and yes, good and evil. Hidden somewhere in the vines of The Ruins , like those of the Congo, beats the heart of an impenetrable darkness."

Night Probe by Clive Cussler

2009-09-23T11:25:00.000-07:00

Rating: 4.5

Another fun Dirk Pitt story. Lots of history here. Pitt and company are in a race against time to uncover some important documents from a sunken ship in the St. Lawrence seaway and from a train that disappeared in 1914. These documents, important to Great Britain, could mean war against the United States. It makes for a very entertaining race between these two countries to be the first to recover the documents and in the case of Great Britain, destroy them once and for all. Night Probe has many twist and turns and many characters, but if you can keep up it's a great read.

Bitten by Kelley Armstrong

2009-09-16T13:00:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5.0

Bitten is the first book in the Women of the Otherworld series. I was hooked throughout this entire novel. Elena is a modern career woman who lives in Toronto with her boyfriend. She has a very big secret though: she's a werewolf. She shuns her "pack" who live in upstate New York for the life of a regular woman who leads a normal life. Things change though when her fellow pack members call on her for help fighting some renegade werewolves who are threatening the security of the pack by killing people on pack territory. Elena must decide where she belongs....and why.

The characters in Bitten are very well developed. I loved all of the pack members and really enjoyed their distinct personalities. Kelley Armstrong did a good job writing her environments as well, whether it's the beautiful mansion Stonehaven where the pack live, the city life in Toronto, or even if she's just describing the forest where the pack runs as wolves.

Bitten is a fast paced thriller with a love story in it's midst. As Publisher's Weekly says, "The sensuality of Elena's transformations and the viciousness of her kills mesh perfectly with her tough personality. Filled with romance and supernatural intrigue, this book will surely remind readers of Anne Rice's sophisticated refurbishing of the vampire story."

Before You Know Kindness by Chris Bohjalian

2009-09-15T11:41:00.000-07:00

Rating: 4.5

Before You Know Kindness is the story of a family thrown into an uproar after tragedy strikes. Twelve year old Charlotte accidentally shoots her father. She thought he was a deer. The result is the permanent loss of his right arm....and a press conference that almost tears a family apart. The big issue here is that Charlotte's father, Spencer, is head of a staunch animal rights organization called FERAL. FERAL wants to use this family's tragedy to highlight it's stance against guns and hunting, and that's where the family is divided. The problem is, that the infamous gun in this story belongs to the brother of Spencer's wife. You'll have to read the book to learn how and why Spencer's daughter Charlotte came to have that loaded gun in her hands the night she shot her father.

Before You Know Kindness has some really interesting characters. Bohjalian does a great job at character development and making the reader care. Nobody in this novel is perfect. But that just makes the story more realistic.

I was really drawn to the issues in Before You Know Kindness. Vegans vs. meat eaters. Animal rights activist vs. hunters. This is a very candid story covering these very divisive issues. Both sides are covered though, and no matter what your own persuasion, this is a good read. As the synopsis says, "Bohjalian manages to examine some very weighty issues without ever coming off as preachy or pedantic. A triumph."

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland & Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll

2009-09-09T11:25:00.000-07:00

Rating: 3.5

I enjoyed Alice's many adventure in Wonderland, but I especially found things interesting through the looking-glass. This one book has both stories in it as well as the original illustrations. As for the stories themselves...the flow seemed very random. I got bored. These stories were written for children though and in that context they are very creative and imaginative. I just didn't enjoy it as much as an adult as I did as a child. I am looking forward to seeing Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland on the big screen in 2010!

Jaws 2 by Hank Searls

2009-08-26T19:08:00.000-07:00

Rating: 4.0

I was surprised that I enjoyed Jaws 2 as well as the first one. Especially considering it wasn't even written by the same author. It was right along the same line as the original Jaws though with a huge shark, a pregnant one this time, terrorizing the population of Amity. I do admit that this novel does take quite a suspension of disbelief, having two man eating sharks attack the same shoreline in a matter of a couple of years. They say in this book itself how implausible it is that "the Terror" could happen again to this town. Ah well....it was very entertaining and enjoyable nonetheless. One thing that did irk me though was that Chief Brody somehow lost a kid between Jaws the original and Jaws 2. There were three children in the Brody family in Jaws and for some reason Hank Searls dropped one of the kids without mention in Jaws 2. As long as you aren't expecting too much, you might just be surprised at how fun Jaws 2 really is.

The Mist by Stephen King

2009-08-25T08:12:00.000-07:00

Rating: 4.5

Imagine this: you are stranded in a grocery store with a bunch of other people, some sane and some not so sane, while a fog-like mist surrounds the store and is enshrouding a mass of creatures that seem from a different dimension. Sound like a creepy story line? It's better than that. Stephen King, the "Master of the Macabre", creates some truly out-of-this-world creatures that lurk in the mist. But....he makes the atmosphere inside the store almost as dangerous as the outside by adding in some human pandemonium. It's all about adaptability. Some people don't cope well and start to lose it. The most fearsome by far is the witch-like Mrs. Carmody preaching the end times and expiation. She believed in a biblical reason for the mist. Others suggested The Arrowhead project, a government preserve outside of town. Whatever is behind the mist, it's classic King!

The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton

2009-08-19T11:40:00.000-07:00

Rating: 4.0

The Andromeda Strain is a terrifying story when you consider how plausible it could be. A probe satellite falls back to earth near the town of Piedmont. Within minutes, almost everybody in the town is dead. That satellite brought back something with it from outerspace. A team of scientists is assembled to figure out what "it" is that was brought back. This is a fun thriller that really kept me hooked. At times the language got quite technical but that just lent more to the non-fiction feel of this novel. Overall....The Andomeda Strain is a captivating read.

Lost & Found by Jacqueline Sheehan

2009-08-15T07:23:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5.0

Lost & Found is a book about just that: being lost and then found. It's about a woman and a dog who have both lost someone, but together they both start to heal. Rocky's husband dies suddenly and she moves out to an island off Maine to sort of run away from everybody and be surrounded by strangers. She becomes the new Animal Control Warden and leavers her career as a therapist behind. What she doesn't expect is to fall in love with the people and animals of Peak's Island. While in the course of her new duties in Animal Control, Rocky meets Lloyd, a very lovable black lab who has been shot through the shoulder with an arrow. Rocky takes Lloyd in while trying to unravel the mystery of who shot him and why. Solving this mystery is a lot more dangerous than it sounds because it centers on a very bad man who will do anything to get that dog. Lost & Found has a lot of interesting and unique characters but Lloyd the dog really steals the show in this novel. This book is great at showing the interaction and bond between a person and a dog.

"A poignant and unforgettable tale of love, loss, and moving on . . . with the help of one not-so-little dog."

The Mercy of Thin Air by Ronlyn Domingue

2009-08-13T18:11:00.000-07:00

Rating: 4.0

The Mercy of Thin Air is a slow moving novel but ultimately well worth the read. It's narrated by Raziela Nolan, who is a young woman in New Orleans in the 1920's. She is in the midst of a wonderful love affair with Andrew and on the brink of going to medical school when tragedy strikes. She dies. But she doesn't pass on. She ends up staying "between", the realm before whatever comes next. From here she "haunts" a young couple, Amy and Scott, 75 years later. As Raziela struggles to learn what happened to her beloved Andrew after her death, we slowly discover what it is that draws Raziela to Amy and Scott. These two intertwined love stories from separate times are truly heartbreaking....but beautiful. It's not often a book brings tears to my eyes but The Mercy of Thin Air did.

"From ambitious, forward-thinking Razi, who illegally slips birth control guides into library books; to hip Web designer Amy, who begins to fall off the edge of grief; to Eugenia, caught between since the Civil War, the characters in this wondrous novel sing with life. Evoking the power of love, memory, and time, The Mercy of Thin Air culminates in a startling finish that will leave readers breathless. " -taken from synopsis

The Seven Days of Peter Crumb by Jonny Glynn

2009-08-12T11:17:00.000-07:00

Rating: 4.0

I feel kind of sick and demented for actually enjoying this book. But I did. Enjoy it. Well....enjoy isn't really the word. I was more horrified while reading this. Peter Crumb, serious schizophrenic, plans on dying in seven days. He spends these last days acting out some of the most sick and twisted scenarios on complete strangers. He murders, rapes and does things I'm not even going to mention here. But this creepy little book is strangely alluring. I kept reading just to see what Peter Crumb was going to do next and how it all was going to end. If you enjoy stories like American Psycho, then you'll appreciate this debut from Jonny Glynn. If you want to get inside the head of a murdering madman on a downward spiral....this is the book for you. If not...then I recommend you stay far far away from The Seven Days of Peter Crumb.

"Gritty, dazzling, and profoundly disturbing, Jonny Glynn's The Seven Days of Peter Crumb is an extraordinary debut that portrays the deterioration of a severely splintered soul." -from synopsis

Jaws by Peter Benchley

2009-08-10T18:32:00.000-07:00

Rating: 4.0

I was slightly disappointed in Jaws. Since most books are better than the movie they inspire, I was expecting this book to be awesome. While it was entertaining, it was just not as good as Jaws the movie. Jaws is about the people of Amity who are being terrorized by a Great White shark, and the people who risk their lives trying to catch and kill it. The novel certainly has some thrills, but a surprising amount of the book is dedicated to the relationships between some of the key characters. Overall, I think Jaws is a nice thriller. It just isn't as thrilling as the movie.

The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin

2009-08-06T09:57:00.000-07:00

*I'm not giving this book a rating

It has taken me all of the summer thus far to complete The Origin of Species. It is a very tedious and analytical read. I found my mind wandering while I was reading this and I don't think I retained half of what I read. I do understand Darwin's main ideas though. Charles Darwin was a very insightful man who has had such a great impact on science and society as a whole. Did I enjoy this book? Not really. Do I think this is an important and valuable book? Absolutely!

Hunted Past Reason by Richard Matheson

2009-08-05T12:06:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5.0

Hunted Past Reason is one heck of a page turner. As some one else mentioned, this novel has similarities to Deliverance and The Most Dangerous Game. What starts out as a backpacking trip between two acquaintances turns into a deadly game with one of the men being hunted by the other. And yes....it is as horrifying as it sounds. What makes matters worse is the hunter is an experienced backpacker, while the hunted is an out of shape writer. As the synopsis reads, "...the enforced isolation of the hike soon exposes long-hidden rivalries and resentments between the two men. The deeper they get into the primeval wilderness and the farther from civilization, the greater the tension between them becomes—until the simmering hostility erupts into a terrifying life-or-death battle for survival!" The story was chilling and kept me reading long past my bedtime. As a bonus, I learned an awful lot about backpacking and wilderness survival.

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

2009-08-04T07:52:00.000-07:00

Rating: 1.0

I don't understand why this novel is as popular as it is. I found it to be extremely boring. It follows the Buendia family through generations during the rise and fall of the fictional town of Macondo. Much of the Buendia family have almost the exact same names, so that got very confusing. Nothing interesting happened to any of them. I didn't care about, or even like, any of the characters. One Hundred Years of Solitude was a big disappointment for me. Definitely not worth the time I spent reading it.

Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane

2009-08-02T06:56:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5.0

Teddy Daniels is a U.S. Marshal. He, along with his new partner Chuck Aule, go to Shutter Island to find out what happened to Rachael Solando. Shutter Island is home to the Ashville Hospital for the criminally insane. Now Rachael is lose on the island since she disappeared out of her locked cell and barred window. It's like she disappeared into thin air. Teddy is here to find out what happened but he finds out more than that. I took this from the synopisis: "As a killer hurricane bears relentlessly down on them, a strange case takes on even darker, more sinister shades — with hints of radical experimentation, horrifying surgeries, and lethal countermoves made in the cause of a covert shadow war. No one is going to escape Shutter Island unscathed, because nothing at Ashecliffe Hospital is what it seems. But then neither is Teddy Daniels." I didn't see the end coming. I was just blown away! This is an exciting book with twists and turns that will keep you guessing right up to the very last page. Shutter Island is a great mystery/thriller.

The Beach by Alex Garland

2009-07-24T07:13:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5.0

The Beach is sort of a cross between Lord of the Flies and Apocalypse Now. It's a wonderfully intense story! While Richard is backpacking through southeast Asia, he discovers the map to "the Beach", which is supposedly a mythical Eden commune. Richard and a young French couple make it to this deserted island and discover paradise. They swim, fish, dance and have access to all the marijuana they can smoke. Then things start to go bad when two catastrophes happen in the same week. The tenuous order that these people hold starts to slide away into chaos. People become paranoid and dangerous and in the end some lose their humanity. The Beach hooked me in right from the beginning with it's exotic storyline, beautiful scenery and great writing. The New York Times Book Review called The Beach "....impressive in its group portrait of a new generation of young vagabonds. Raised in an era of diminished confidence, they have set out in search of something that feels genuine and fulfilling. What they find turns out to be not utopia but hell."

Vixen 03 by Clive Cussler

2009-07-23T09:29:00.000-07:00

Rating: 4.5

Vixen 03 opens in 1954. An extremely deadly plague in the form of bombs goes missing. This is a great start to an exciting adventure starring the always amusing Dirk Pitt. Over thirty years after these doomsday bombs go missing, Pitt is the one to inadvertently uncover them. All of them except two that is. Pitt becomes entangled in a deadly scheme between the African Army of Revolution and the African Defense Forces, and somebody has two very deadly plague bombs in their hands. The excitement never stops as the story takes us from the mountains of Colorado to the plains of Africa to the Potomac in Washington D.C. The excitement never stops when Dirk Pitt is around.

Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison

2009-07-21T07:36:00.000-07:00

Rating: 4.0

Bastard Out of Carolina tells the tale of a young girl named Bone. Hers is a tale of physical and sexual abuse that grows steadily more violent until the explosive end of the book. It's also about her family, the Boatwrights. The big scary uncles, who adore Bone, are always drunk and shoot up each others trucks for fun. And the aunts, who always stick together whether they are picking over beans or taking care of each others children. Bone is a happy little girl until her mother gets married to Daddy Glen. Daddy Glen is very gentle with Bone at first. Things gradually go bad though when he starts physically abusing and molesting Bone. Bastard Out of Carolina is about the decisions we all make and the effects of those decisions on your children. It's about the meaning of family and loyalty. This is a serious book dealing with some hard subject matter. It's never easy to read about abuse, especially when it's a child involved, but Bastard Out of Carolina is definitely worth a read.

The Man Without a Face by Isabelle Holland

2009-07-15T13:21:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5.0

The Man Without a Face does indeed have a face. Justin McLeod, a hermit and an ex-teacher, had half of his face badly burned in an accident. When 14 year old Charles asks for his help tutoring him for an entrance exam to a boarding school, they both get more than they bargained for. Love and friendship. This short novel is beautiful and very moving. Young Charles looks up to Justin in many different ways. "I'd never had a friend, and he was my friend; I'd never really, except for a shadowy memory, had a father, and he was my father. I'd never known an adult I could communicate with or trust, and I communicated with him all the time, whether I was actually talking to him or not. And I trusted him ......" The Man Without a Face is about many different kinds of love as well as guilt and regret. It's about a confused and troubled young man looking for freedom. One of the most important lessons Charles learns from Justin that summer is this: "You can be free from everything but the consequences of what you do." This is a very touching book and I also highly recommend the movie from 1993 staring Mel Gibson.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

2009-07-14T11:38:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5.0

The Shadow of the Wind is a labyrinthine mystery surrounding a book called.....The Shadow of the Wind. Someone is systematically finding and destroying every copy of this book and all the others written by the same author, Julian Carax. Daniel, a young man in 1945 Barcelona is dedicated to finding out this mystery no matter the cost. As Daniel slowly unravels the puzzle of Carax and his books, we see the similarities and parallels between Daniel and Julian Carax. This is a tale of love and loss, murder and madness. It's filled with intriguing characters and the almost tangible atmosphere of Barcelona. In the words of Stephen King, The Shadow of the Wind is "one gorgeous read."

No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy

2009-07-06T13:46:00.000-07:00

Rating: 4.0

"A harrowing story of a war that society is waging on itself, and an enduring meditation on the ties of love and blood and duty that inform lives and shape destinies, No Country for Old Men is a novel of extraordinary resonance and power. " -synopsis from Barnes&Noble

No Country for Old Men is the tale of Llewelyn Moss. A "good old boy" who runs across a drug deal gone bad near the Mexican-American border. He takes the money that he finds which sets a course for him that even he couldn't predict.

No Country for Old Men is also the tale of Anton Chigurh. Chigurh is an extremely violent and sociopathic killer who is on the hunt for Moss and the stolen money. He is one of the most interesting antagonists I've read lately.

No Country for Old Men is finally the tale of Sheriff Bell who is on the hunt for Chigurh. Bell is the first to realize how badly Moss and his young wife need protection. He sees first hand the piles of bodies left in the wake of Chigurh.

The book is written in a way that alternates between a third person and the first person of Sheriff Bell reminiscing about his time in WWII. No Country for Old Men is a gritty, fast-paced novel with an antagonist not soon forgotten.

She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb

2009-07-04T13:12:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5.0

She's Come Undone is the story of Dolores. It's a three part story with Dolores as a child, a college student and finally as an adult.

"Mine is a story of craving: an unreliable account of lusts and troubles that began, somehow, in 1956 on the day our free television was delivered...."

The story of Dolores is a painful coming-of-age. She suffers through so much at the hands of people she has put her trust in that by the time she is a teen she has given up on herself. She sits in front of the t.v. eating and eating until she is the size of a whale. At times I just wanted to reach through the pages and smack some sense into her. Her life is one hot mess! Rape, obesity, a halfhearted suicide attempt and a long stay at a mental institution are just some of her trials. Her figurative struggle to not drown is actually mesmerizing in a way. I couldn't put the book down for very long. She's Come Undone follows Dolores from 1956 up through the '80's and is one heck of a roller coaster ride. This is the second time I've read this and I actually enjoyed it more this second time around. Dolores was not all that lovable in the beginning of the book but by the end she felt like a friend.

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

2009-07-01T11:13:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5.0

What it's about:
To be irrevocably in love with a vampire is both fantasy and nightmare woven into a dangerously heightened reality for Bella Swan. Pulled in one direction by her intense passion for Edward Cullen, and in another by her profound connection to werewolf Jacob Black, she has endured a tumultuous year of temptation, loss, and strife to reach the ultimate turning point. Her imminent choice to either join the dark but seductive world of immortals or pursue a fully human life has become the thread from which the fate of two tribes hangs.

Now that Bella has made her decision, a startling chain of unprecedented events is about to unfold with potentially devastating and unfathomable consequences. Just when the frayed strands of Bella's life--first discovered in Twilight, then scattered and torn in New Moon and Eclipse--seem ready to heal and knit together, could they be destroyed....forever?
-taken from back of book

My thoughts:
Breaking Dawn is a great conclusion to a great series. While there was not as much action in this fourth book of the Twilight series, it was never boring. There were a lot of internal struggles going on....especially with Bella. All the characters I've come to love, plus some very interesting new ones, are here and dealing with some pretty serious situations. I was very happy with the outcome of this story. I am a little sad now that's it's over though. I'm really going to miss these characters.

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

2009-06-25T09:24:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5.0

What it's about:
Readers captivated by Twilight and New Moon will eagerly devour the paperback edition Eclipse, the third book in Stephenie Meyer's riveting vampire love saga. As Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge, Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob --- knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the ageless struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella has one more decision to make: life or death. But which is which?
- taken from Barnes&Noble.com

My thoughts:
Eclipse is the third book in the Twilight saga. It is also my favorite so far. The relationship between Bella and Edward matured nicely. I enjoyed the shaky alliance between the vampires and the werewolves. The climactic action sequence at the end was intense. I couldn't put Eclipse down!

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

2009-06-23T07:55:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5.0

What it's about:
Legions of readers entranced by Twilight are hungry for more and they won't be disappointed. In New Moon, Stephenie Meyer delivers another irresistible combination of romance and suspense with a supernatural twist. The "star-crossed" lovers theme continues as Bella and Edward find themselves facing new obstacles, including a devastating separation, the mysterious appearance of dangerous wolves roaming the forest in Forks, a terrifying threat of revenge from a female vampire and a deliciously sinister encounter with Italy's reigning royal family of vampires, the Volturi. Passionate, riveting, and full of surprising twists and turns, this vampire love saga is well on its way to literary immortality. - taken from Barnes&Noble.com

My thoughts:
New Moon is the second book of the Twilight series. It throws in a fantastic new element: werewolves. Now Bella is caught in the middle of a long feud between the vampires and the werewolves. New Moon has all the mystery and suspense of Twilight with some great new characters. I can't wait to start the third book now! This Twilight series is definitely hard to put down!

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

2009-06-20T07:40:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5.0

What it's about:

About three things I was absolutely positive:
First, Edward was a vampire.
Second, there was a part of him–and I didn’t know how dominant that part might be–that thirsted for my blood.
And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.

Isabella Swan's move to Forks, a small, perpetually rainy town in Washington, could have been the most boring move she ever made. But once she meets the mysterious and alluring Edward Cullen, Isabella's life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. Up until now, Edward has managed to keep his vampire identity a secret in the small community he lives in, but now nobody is safe, especially Isabella, the person Edward holds most dear. The lovers find themselves balanced precariously on the point of a knife -- between desire and danger.

Deeply romantic and extraordinarily suspenseful, Twilight captures the struggle between defying our instincts and satisfying our desires. This is a love story with bite. -taken from B&N.com

My thoughts:

Twilight is a sweet, romantic novel about first love.....with a dark side. The first half of the book was a little slow and just not all that interesting but when I hit the halfway point I couldn't put the book down. It's very mysterious and suspenseful. I found I really cared about the characters. Especially Bella and Edward, though the supporting cast is great too. Now I have to get the other books in this series so I can find out how it all ends.

Raise the Titanic by Clive Cussler

2009-06-17T13:48:00.000-07:00

Rating: 4.0

What it's about:
The President's secret task force has developed an unprecedented defensive weapon that relies on an extremely rare radioactive element--and Dirk Pitt has followed a twisted trail to a secret cache of the substance. Now, racing against brutal storms, Soviet spies, and a ticking clock, Pitt begins his most thrilling mission--to raise from its watery grave the shipwreck of the century...
-taken from Barnes&Noble.com

My thoughts:
Yet another action packed, thrilling adventure starring the ever entertaining Dirk Pitt. Raise the Titanic is full of danger, intrigue and espionage as Pitt and crew battle the Soviets and a brutal hurricane while trying to raise the Titanic from the depths of the Atlantic. Clive Cussler is great at putting his readers right in the midst of the excitment!

Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome

2009-06-16T10:57:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5.0

What it's about:

Jerome K. Jerome's comic classic Three Men in a Boat (To say nothing of the Dog!) is unsinkable. One of the most widely read and beloved works of British fiction it has never fallen out of print since it first came out in 1889, but rather has been translated into many languages and even turned into a teleplay by Tom Stoppard.

The most ordinary circumstances turn hilarious as J., an idler who exhibits a "general disinclination to work of any kind," and his friends journey up the Thames River. Getting into many scrapes along the way, the friends consider "assaulting a policeman" just to have "a night's lodging in the station-house," when they get lost, but ultimately reject the proposition, fearful that he would hit them back without locking them up. The real scene stealer, though, is Montmorency, a small fox terrier who appears to be "born with about four times as much original sin in [him] as other dogs are." - taken from Barnes&Noble.com

My thoughts:

Three Men in a Boat is a very funny travelogue/comedy novel. It was very entertaining with all the misadventure that seemed to follow these fellows up the Thames. You never knew what might happen next. This book is well know for it's timeless feel. It was written in the 19th century but the writing and the humor seem ageless. It reminded me of a Bill Bryson travel book. Three Men in a Boat is lively and amusing, and a quick read too at under 200 pages.

House by Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker

2009-06-14T14:30:00.000-07:00

Rating: 2.0

What it's about:

A mind-bending supernatural thriller from the creators of This Present Darkness and Showdown.

Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker - two of the most acclaimed writers of supernatural thrillers - have joined forces for the first time to craft a story unlike any you've ever read. Enter House - where you'll find yourself thrown into a killer's deadly game in which the only way to win is to lose...and the only way out is in.

The stakes of the game become clear when a tin can is tossed into the house with rules scrawled on it. Rules that only a madman - or worse - could have written. Rules that make no sense yet must be followed.

One game. Seven players. Three rules. Game ends at dawn.

-taken from Barnes&Noble.com

My thoughts:

I was disappointed in House for a couple of reasons.

Firstly, I wasn't impressed with the writing. This is the first book I've read by either Frank Peretti or Ted Dekker. Now I don't know if the collaboration threw these guys off or if they just don't have much writing skill. I haven't given up on them yet but suffice it to say....I wasn't dazzled.

Secondly, the story pretty much sucked. I didn't realize (until after I finished it) that this is a "Christian" book. It's published by WestBow Press who publish much of the top Christian and Inspirational books. Now I don't have a problem with that but it does explain why I felt preached at while reading this. I was starting to get a little annoyed at about the hundredth time of hearing how we are all sinners. That pet peeve asside, the story still wasn't very good. It just seemed to drag on and on. There were about two parts that really made me cringe (in a good way) and some of the ideas were nicely original (which is this novels saving grace) but not enough good to overcome the bad. The good vs. evil, light vs. dark themes were just too blatant and conspicuous for my taste.

Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver

2009-06-11T07:59:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5.0

What it's about:
Barbara Kingsolver's fifth novel is a hymn to wildness that celebrates the prodigal spirit of human nature, and of nature itself. It weaves together three stories of human love within a larger tapestry of lives amid the mountains and farms of southern Appalachia. Over the course of one humid summer, this novel's intriguing protagonists face disparate predicaments but find connections to one another and to the flora and fauna with which they necessarily share a place.

My thoughts:
This is the second time (so far) that I've read Prodigal Summer and I love it just as much as I did the first time. This thought provoking novel is full of so much relevant dialogue. And I never thought I'd learn so much about the natural world just by reading a novel! There are in depth discussions about coyotes and predator/prey relationships as well as insects and a whole host of other living creatures. There are interesting arguments about the use of pesticides and the harm that they do. But this book isn't just about trees and coyotes, it's about human interaction as well. Prodigal Summer is a fascinating, beautiful testament to nature.

Ursula, Under by Ingrid Hill

2009-05-20T03:58:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5.0

What it's about:
One of the most widely praised and rapturously entertaining first novels in recent years begins with a little girl falling down an abandoned mineshaft in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Her name is Ursula Wong, she's part Chinese, part Finnish, only two years old, and soon the dangerous effort to rescue her has an entire country glued to the TV. As it follows that effort, Ursula, Under re-creates the chain of ancestors, across two thousand years, whose lives culminate in the fragile miracle of a little girl underground: a Chinese alchemist in the third century bc, the orphaned playmate to a seventeenth- century Swedish queen, Ursula's great-great-grandfather who was the casualty of a mining accident that eerily foreshadows Ursula's dilemma, and many more. A work of symphonic richness and profound empathy, Ursula, Under dramatically demonstrates that no one is truly alone. -taken from Barnes&Noble.com

My thoughts:
Ursula, Under is a beautiful story of a little girl and all the people throughout the centuries that went in to creating this little girl. The main story is set around 2 year old Ursula who has fallen down a mine shaft. The book though, is actually many short stories about Ursula's ancestors starting in the third century B.C. and working it's way up through Ursula's parents. Sprinkled between these shorter stories is the story of Ursula and the rescue efforts going on in Michigan's Upper Penninsula. The characters in Ursula, Under are many and varied. The environment, whether it be Michigan, Finland or China, is lush and beautiful. After I turned the last page I wanted to flip back to the beginning and start again immediatley. Ingrid Hill is very knowlegeable about history and culture and I can tell a lot of research went into creating this novel. The end result is an impressive debut novel.

Fledgling by Octavia Butler

2009-05-13T05:38:00.003-07:00

Rating: 3.5

What it's about:
Fledgling, Octavia Butler's first new novel in seven years, is the story of an apparently young, amnesiac girl whose alarmingly unhuman needs and abilities lead her to a startling conclusion: She is in fact a genetically modified, 53-year-old vampire. Forced to discover what she can about her stolen former life, she must at the same time learn who wanted-and still wants-to destroy her and those she cares for and how she can save herself. Fledgling is a captivating novel that tests the limits of "otherness" and questions what it means to be truly human.

My thoughts:
Fledgling is a somewhat original, modern day vampire story. Octavia Butler takes a vampire and adds in the element of genetic engineering. Her hybrid vampire, Shori, is able to be awake in the daytime and live a more "human" life. Some of the other older vampires see this as a threat and try to destroy Shori and her family. Unfortunately this story sounds better than it actually is. I just couldn't immerse myself in it. I'm not sure if it was the characters or the story itself but I felt it was lacking something. It just didn't grip me. That's not to say that I didn't like the book. It had some compelling aspects, especially the genetically modified vampire, and I enjoyed it overall but it's not my favorite vampire story.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

2009-05-12T12:06:00.000-07:00

Rating: 4.0

What it's about:
In a remote Hertfordshire village, far off the good coach roads of George III's England, a country squire of no great means must marry off his five vivacious daughters. At the heart of this all-consuming enterprise are his headstrong second daughter Elizabeth Bennet and her aristocratic suitor Fitzwilliam Darcy—two lovers whose pride must be humbled and prejudice dissolved before the novel can come to its splendid conclusion.

A tour de force of wit and sparkling dialogue, Pride and Prejudice is also a sumptuously detailed picture of contemporary society, which, in its exploration of manner and motives, has a great deal to say about the society of today. Austen's best-loved novel is a memorable story about the power of reason, and above all about the strange dynamics of human relationships and emotions.
-taken from Barnes&Noble.com

My thoughts:
I enjoyed Pride and Prejudice. It was on the slow side, it wasn't anything that kept me up late reading, but I was entertained. I especially appreciated the many different personalities in the Bennet family. Mr. Bennet in particular was a hoot! I'm certainly glad I read the book but I do think I enjoyed the movie (with Keira Knightly) more.

The Lost Continent by Bill Bryson

2009-05-08T08:19:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5.0

What it's about:
An unsparing and hilarious account of one man's rediscovery of America and his search for the perfect small town. - taken from Barnes&Noble.com

My thoughts:
I love Bill Bryson. He's slightly cynical and quick to voice his (many) disappointments but he's funny. In The Lost Continent Bill travels around America from town to town and details for us readers all his hardships and the occasional bit of pleasure. Bill seems to find something to dislike in many of the towns he travels through but he never loses hope that his next destination will live up to all his expectations. And it sometimes does! I thoroughly enjoyed chuckling my way this travelogue.

The Uncanny by Andrew Klavan

2009-04-28T12:33:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5.0

What it's about:
Richard Storm is passionate, hot-blooded, and running out of time. Sophia Endering is cool, beautiful, and haunted by a centuries-old mystery. Now the Hollywood filmmaker and the troubled young woman have come together in a race against the unbelievable, the unthinkable, and. . . The Uncanny.

Richard Storm reached the top of his profession producing horror films based on classic English ghost stories. Now, with his life beginning to unravel, Richard is searching for something to believe in. Fleeing Hollywood for London, he embarks on a desperate quest: to find evidence that the great old stories bear some truth, that the human spirit lives on after death.

What he finds is Sophia, a woman caught in a nightmare more chilling than any of his film horrors. Propelled by a furious love, haunted by a terror he can barely confess to himself, Storm pursues Sophia through the labyrinth of her family's madness and their involvement in Nazi art thefts, down a trail formed by the classic ghost stories themselves--into the very heart of the uncanny. . . . -taken from Barnes&Noble.com

My thoughts:
The Uncanny is a unique and original mystery/suspense novel.

I was pretty much in awe of the characters throughout the whole book. Andrew Klavan gave them such depth and complexity. Every one of them had a distinct personality full of little idiosyncrasies.

The story itself is exciting, full of twists and turns. The plot has so many different elements, but they are interwoven together so nicely that it never feels excessive.

I can't say enough about the writing in The Uncanny. When I was reading, it almost seemed like I was watching a movie of what I was reading. Klavan really knows how to draw the reader into the story. With it's lush atmosphere, foggy gloom and seeming constant drizzle this modern day tale seemed itself out of an old English ghost story. The mood is set perfectly.

The ending wasn't really what I was hoping for but I can handle that. I'll still say this is a fantastic book that I highly recommend!

Iceberg by Clive Cussler

2009-04-21T06:34:00.000-07:00

Rating: 4.0

What it's about:
Frozen inside a million-ton mass of ice--the charred remains of a long-missing luxury yacht, vanished en route to a secret White House rendezvous. The only clue to the ship's priceless--and missing--cargo: nine ornately carved rings and the horribly burned bodies of its crew.
-taken from Barnes&Noble.com

My thoughts:
Another fun Dirk Pitt novel. Clive Cussler writes action packed adventures that never fail to entertain. This one takes place mostly in Iceland but with a finale that takes place in Disneyland. Kind of a strange twist of events but you'll have to read the book to find out why.

The Serpent and the Rainbow by Wade Davis

2009-04-13T06:51:00.000-07:00

Rating: 3.5

What it's about:

In April 1982, ethnobotanist Wade Davis arrived in Haiti to investigate two documented cases of zombis — people who had reappeared in Haitian society years after they had been officially declared dead and had been buried. Drawn into a netherworld of rituals and celebrations, Davis penetrated the vodoun mystique deeply enough to place zombification in its proper context within vodoun culture. In the course of his investigation, Davis came to realize that the story of vodoun is the history of Haiti — from the African origins of its people to the successful Haitian independence movement, down to the present day, where vodoun culture is, in effect, the government of Haiti's countryside.

The Serpent and the Rainbow combines anthropological investigation with a remarkable personal adventure to illuminate and finally explain a phenomenon that has long fascinated Americans. -taken from Barnes&Noble.com

My thoughts:
The Serpent and the Rainbow is a somewhat slow first-hand account of the search for the truth behind zombis. Wade Davis weaves together mysticism, ethnobotony, anthropology and history. Overall, it was a pretty interesting tale Wade wove. I especially enjoyed learning some of the history of Haiti and her African roots. There were parts though that bored me. The movie is much more exciting, but if you're interested in the real story written by the man himself you should read the book.

Snow by Orhan Pamuk

2009-04-09T09:55:00.001-07:00

Rating: 1.0

What it's about:
Dread, yearning, identity, intrigue, the lethal chemistry between secular doubt and Islamic fanaticism–these are the elements that Orhan Pamuk anneals in this masterful, disquieting novel. An exiled poet named Ka returns to Turkey and travels to the forlorn city of Kars. His ostensible purpose is to report on a wave of suicides among religious girls forbidden to wear their head-scarves. But Ka is also drawn by his memories of the radiant Ipek, now recently divorced.
Amid blanketing snowfall and universal suspicion, Ka finds himself pursued by figures ranging from Ipek’s ex-husband to a charismatic terrorist. A lost gift returns with ecstatic suddenness. A theatrical evening climaxes in a massacre. And finding god may be the prelude to losing everything else. Touching, slyly comic, and humming with cerebral suspense, Snow is of immense relevance to our present moment. -taken from Barnes&Noble.com

My thoughts:
Drab. Boring. Flat. Snow was one of the most uninteresting books I've ever read. I couldn't relate to any of the characters or situations. The plot, though it sounds interesting, was very dull and frankly it just couldn't keep my attention. Blah!

The Mediterranean Caper by Clive Cussler

2009-04-08T06:33:00.000-07:00

Rating: 4.0

What it's about:
Dirk Pitt rides a tidal wave of intrigue in this classic Cussler.

On an isolated Greek island, a World War I fighter plane attacks a modern U.S. Air Force base--a mysterious saboteur preys on an American scientific expedition--and Dirk Pitt plays a deadly game of hunter and hunted with the elusive head of an international smuggling ring.
-taken from Barnes&Noble.com

My thoughts:
Another fun Dirk Pitt adventure. This is a quick thrill ride with a lot of surprises. I absolutely love the characters of Dirk Pitt and his sidekick Al Giordino.

Night Chills by Dean Koontz

2009-04-06T12:24:00.000-07:00

Rating: 4.0

What it's about:

THE FEVER IS SPREADING

Seizing the men and women of Black River. Plaguing them with night chills. Driving them to violent acts of Rape and murder.

THE FEVER IS SPREADING

Designed by top scientists and unleashed in a monstrous conspiracy - its deadly spell can unlock the most frightening potential of the human mind.

THE FEVER IS SPREADING

The nightmare is real. And death is the only cure...
-taken from book

My thoughts:
I really enjoyed this creepy story. It definitely shows how too much power can corrupt people. The story takes place in a small town where a few scientists use subliminal messaging and mind control to manipulate the population. And the really creepy part is that this small town conspiracy is just a field test. These power hungry men have bigger plans. But they didn't plan for everything and soon things start to fall apart. This is a typical Koontz book and a fast paced read.

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

2009-04-04T11:51:00.000-07:00

Rating: 5.0

What it's about:
Widely regarded as the father of modern science fiction, Jules Verne wrote more than seventy books and created hundreds of memorable characters. His most popular novel, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, is not only a brilliant piece ofscientific prophecy, but also a thrilling story with superb, subtle characterizations.

The year is 1866 and the Pacific Ocean is being terrorized by a deadly sea monster. The U.S. government dispatches marine-life specialist Pierre Aronnax to investigate aboard the warship Abraham Lincoln. When the ship is sunk by the mysterious creature, he and two other survivors discover that the monster is in fact a marvelous submarine—the Nautilus—commanded by the brilliant but bitter Captain Nemo. Nemo refuses to let his guests return to land, but instead taking them on a series of fantastic adventures in which they encounter underwater forests, giant clams, monster storms, huge squid, treacherous polar ice and—most spectacular of all—the magnificent lost city of Atlantis! -taken from Barnes&Noble.com

My thoughts:
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea is a wonderful adventure story with great characters. Captain Nemo takes his crew and three passengers on quite an exciting ride! Some of the descriptions of the underwater life they encounter go on and on but I didn't mind. The only complaint I have is that the mystery surrounding Captain Nemo was never revealed. This was my first venture into reading Jules Verne. Now I can't wait to dig into another of his exciting novels.