Lincoln's Dreams by Connie Willis

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 The only reason I'm giving it two stars instead of one is because of the historical references.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

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

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

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

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

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

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!