So I picked up this book because I saw it in a magazine and then it was on the past best-sellers cart at the library. I had doubts because I read Kostova's last book The Historian and thought it was just ok. Ok meaning - slightly boring at times and a bit too long - and I don't really remember it. A good book I can remember. A bad book I can remember. An ok book just sits there in no where land and every now and then I'll be like did I like that or not and the answer is usually not so much. Still I took The Swan Thieves home and started reading because it was on a 2 week loan and the book is long!
The story flip flops between a few characters: Marlow, Mary, Kate and Beatrice (who lives in the late 1800's) and revolves around Marlow trying to figure out why a painter Robert Oliver went crazy on a photo called Leda and tried to stab it. Mary and Kate are his ex-lover and wife respectively and Beatrice is a painter who Oliver is obsessed with. Following me still?
First - the mystery is pretty easy to guess. Kostova gives a pretty big clue in the beginning of the story and Beatrice pretty much confirms it as she goes along.
Second - the story is long and kind of boring (hence why I didn't like The Historian). The book could have been shortened by a good 150 pages at least. Kate and Mary's parts aren't that interesting - they just highlight how Oliver went off the deep end and half of what they say could be summed up - do we really care how they met and the painting classes Mary takes (I didn't). I found myself actually skimming over their parts and the endless descriptions of useless stuff. For example, Marlow visits some painter in Acapulco and Kostova spends forever describing the hotel, the area, the painter's house... skim, skim, and more skimming.
I'm only hoping no one in book club picks either of her books and I'm stuck rereading them because I can guarantee I'm going to read Amazon reviews and random websites for a summary. Three out of five stars at best - I'm actually more inclined to say two but I don't want to be too mean. The story is actually interesting and the mystery if you don't pay attention or maybe with fewer clues is a good one - I just think it could have been better done and in a shorter manner.
Showing posts with label book reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book reviews. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Book Review: The House at Riverton
So for Book Club we read The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. The book was ok - I thought it dragged a bit but overall interesting. The funny thing about book club is some books I come in thinking good book and leave the meeting thinking not so great book. That's how I ended up feeling about The Forgotten Garden. There were some flaws that other members pointed out that I hadn't thought much about before.
Anyway - I read Kate Morton's other book The House at Riverton after the meeting.
First off - The House at Riverton and The Forgotten Garden are pretty much the same book - family mystery, bad mothers, flashbacks to tell the story, something shocking happening, etc. The endings on both are both pretty easy to figure out although The House at Riverton you are left guessing until the end exactly who does what to whom. This is disappointing to me. I know most writers have a style but it just reinforces my belief in not reading multiple books by the same author.
That being said The House at Riverton isn't a bad book. I actually liked it better than The Forgotten Garden. The story follows Grace, a 98 year old woman remembering her time at Riverton where she meets the daughters of the master of the house - Emmaline and Hannah. I can't tell too much about the story without giving the entire thing away. The story takes place both when Grace is in her late 90's about to die and when she's a servant at Riverton and later for Hannah. The mystery you find out pretty early on is that Robbie (a poet) presumably kills himself during a party Hannah and her husband are hosting at Riverton... but what really happened?? Cue dramatic music.
Another mystery (which is very similar to The Forgotten Garden) follows who is Grace's father. The reader can probably figure out after the first couple of chapters but it's not really the main point of the book and Grace figures it out much later (she seems a bit naive).
The problem is Hannah and Emmaline aren't likable. Grace is ok as a character but her younger self is naive and does some pretty dumb things because she's in "the service" to the family. The book would be better if you cared about the characters instead of wondering why they were doing something.
Apparently some of the Amazon reviewers are up in arms over the fact that Morton uses a cuss word in the book - I say BFD - get over it prudes. It's not like the characters are dropping curses left and right or there's endless sex scenes. It's only ever implied that characters are having sex (which is pretty hard to do since I'm fairly certain Emmaline was in some sort of early porn flick). People need to start worrying about more important things other than whether there are curse words in a book.
Overall, the book is good. Maybe three out of five stars. I wouldn't reread it. The story is entertaining and moves fairly quickly - although there are parts you want to just skim over (mainly Grace in present day). The mystery although a who-dun-it isn't like normal mysteries of today with intrigue and spies and lots of fighting scenes. At it's heart the book is a family drama with a bit of a mystery.
Anyway - I read Kate Morton's other book The House at Riverton after the meeting.
First off - The House at Riverton and The Forgotten Garden are pretty much the same book - family mystery, bad mothers, flashbacks to tell the story, something shocking happening, etc. The endings on both are both pretty easy to figure out although The House at Riverton you are left guessing until the end exactly who does what to whom. This is disappointing to me. I know most writers have a style but it just reinforces my belief in not reading multiple books by the same author.
That being said The House at Riverton isn't a bad book. I actually liked it better than The Forgotten Garden. The story follows Grace, a 98 year old woman remembering her time at Riverton where she meets the daughters of the master of the house - Emmaline and Hannah. I can't tell too much about the story without giving the entire thing away. The story takes place both when Grace is in her late 90's about to die and when she's a servant at Riverton and later for Hannah. The mystery you find out pretty early on is that Robbie (a poet) presumably kills himself during a party Hannah and her husband are hosting at Riverton... but what really happened?? Cue dramatic music.
Another mystery (which is very similar to The Forgotten Garden) follows who is Grace's father. The reader can probably figure out after the first couple of chapters but it's not really the main point of the book and Grace figures it out much later (she seems a bit naive).
The problem is Hannah and Emmaline aren't likable. Grace is ok as a character but her younger self is naive and does some pretty dumb things because she's in "the service" to the family. The book would be better if you cared about the characters instead of wondering why they were doing something.
Apparently some of the Amazon reviewers are up in arms over the fact that Morton uses a cuss word in the book - I say BFD - get over it prudes. It's not like the characters are dropping curses left and right or there's endless sex scenes. It's only ever implied that characters are having sex (which is pretty hard to do since I'm fairly certain Emmaline was in some sort of early porn flick). People need to start worrying about more important things other than whether there are curse words in a book.
Overall, the book is good. Maybe three out of five stars. I wouldn't reread it. The story is entertaining and moves fairly quickly - although there are parts you want to just skim over (mainly Grace in present day). The mystery although a who-dun-it isn't like normal mysteries of today with intrigue and spies and lots of fighting scenes. At it's heart the book is a family drama with a bit of a mystery.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Book Review: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson
A couple of co-workers were talking about how this book was really good. They sold it as a mystery which immediately made me think - great I won't like this one (I'm not a huge mystery fan). But I looked on Amazon and the reviews were all favorable. I'm going to have to say I didn't really like it. Maybe 2 out of 5 stars.
The book dragged for me. There were endless descriptions of things that didn't really matter. He took practically two pages to describe the interior of a cabin. The whole story seemed convoluted. Was it a murder mystery? A corporate thriller? Was Larsson trying to make a point about how often women are abused? I don't know... the book tried to do too many things. The funny thing is if he had stuck with the murder mystery it would have been good. I liked the parts where Mikael and Lisbeth are trying to unravel what happened to Harriet. It's the rest of the book that bogs it down.
I'm struck by how violent the book is towards women. Lisbeth is raped by her guardian. Harriet is raped by her father and her brother. And SPOILER: The Vanger family has a history of murdering and ill-treating women. If I'm reading this book correctly, then half of the women in Sweden have been abused at some point. Doesn't exactly read as a tourist advertisement for a Swedish vacation. The thing is - I felt like some of the mistreatment was gratuitous... there for the reaction or the shock value. Larsson goes into detail of Lisbeth's rape and the aftermath yet in the end the rape has little to do with the plot of the story other then to illustrate the fact that Lisbeth feels cut off from "normal" society. Maybe I'm not into mystery's because of the violence but within moderation and when it enhances the basic plot I wouldn't be gasping and making a point of it in my review. The violence in the book was over the top and I felt like often only used for shock value and not to help the plot.
Speaking of more unnecessary parts of the book - Mikael basically sleeps with any and every main character in the book if it happens to be female. There's absolutely no point. I don't feel like he's in love with any of them. I don't even really like Mikael or his one sex partner - Erika because Erika is married and her husband finds it acceptable that every now and then she and Mikael still have sex - what??? Really? And honestly, none of his sexual escapades again have anything to do with the plot other than to tie up another 50 pages of nonsense.
The corporate thriller part of the book dragged for me. The bad guy (I can't remember his name because all the names are Swedish) is obviously dirty. You learn pretty early on there is a spy working for Mikael. And really you can assume from the beginning that if given the chance Mikael will take bad guy down (sorry - I'm too lazy to look up his twenty character Swedish name).
Apparently there are two more books in the series. I already have the second one - had placed it on hold before I read this one. I'm not sure I'm going to read it. I'm not sure who to recommend this book too - maybe if you like mystery's but the mystery in my opinion is just okay. There's really no satisfying reason as to why the guilty party or parties were committing the murders (SPOILER) other than the fact that they were sociopaths who got off on that sort of thing. I feel like it was a bad six part episode of CSI where at the end you find out the killer was the lady next door and she did it because she was bored. Lame.
Note of warning - aside from the graphic rape scenes. The book is written in Swedish and translated to English. Meaning - it reads like a book that wasn't written in English, and you have to try to struggle through a lot of place names and character names that are Swedish. The author gives you a family tree in the beginning of the book but a map of Sweden would be helpful. I never knew whether Mikael was going down the block or four hours away.
So no, I'm not going to rave about how great this book is despite the many reviews saying they think it is great. I feel like it's one of those books that people read and after struggling through you sit back and think that's interesting and then immediately toss it out in the yard sale bin but brag to all your friends you read it because it happened to make some best-seller book club pick somewhere. Have you read it? What did you think?
The book dragged for me. There were endless descriptions of things that didn't really matter. He took practically two pages to describe the interior of a cabin. The whole story seemed convoluted. Was it a murder mystery? A corporate thriller? Was Larsson trying to make a point about how often women are abused? I don't know... the book tried to do too many things. The funny thing is if he had stuck with the murder mystery it would have been good. I liked the parts where Mikael and Lisbeth are trying to unravel what happened to Harriet. It's the rest of the book that bogs it down.
I'm struck by how violent the book is towards women. Lisbeth is raped by her guardian. Harriet is raped by her father and her brother. And SPOILER: The Vanger family has a history of murdering and ill-treating women. If I'm reading this book correctly, then half of the women in Sweden have been abused at some point. Doesn't exactly read as a tourist advertisement for a Swedish vacation. The thing is - I felt like some of the mistreatment was gratuitous... there for the reaction or the shock value. Larsson goes into detail of Lisbeth's rape and the aftermath yet in the end the rape has little to do with the plot of the story other then to illustrate the fact that Lisbeth feels cut off from "normal" society. Maybe I'm not into mystery's because of the violence but within moderation and when it enhances the basic plot I wouldn't be gasping and making a point of it in my review. The violence in the book was over the top and I felt like often only used for shock value and not to help the plot.
Speaking of more unnecessary parts of the book - Mikael basically sleeps with any and every main character in the book if it happens to be female. There's absolutely no point. I don't feel like he's in love with any of them. I don't even really like Mikael or his one sex partner - Erika because Erika is married and her husband finds it acceptable that every now and then she and Mikael still have sex - what??? Really? And honestly, none of his sexual escapades again have anything to do with the plot other than to tie up another 50 pages of nonsense.
The corporate thriller part of the book dragged for me. The bad guy (I can't remember his name because all the names are Swedish) is obviously dirty. You learn pretty early on there is a spy working for Mikael. And really you can assume from the beginning that if given the chance Mikael will take bad guy down (sorry - I'm too lazy to look up his twenty character Swedish name).
Apparently there are two more books in the series. I already have the second one - had placed it on hold before I read this one. I'm not sure I'm going to read it. I'm not sure who to recommend this book too - maybe if you like mystery's but the mystery in my opinion is just okay. There's really no satisfying reason as to why the guilty party or parties were committing the murders (SPOILER) other than the fact that they were sociopaths who got off on that sort of thing. I feel like it was a bad six part episode of CSI where at the end you find out the killer was the lady next door and she did it because she was bored. Lame.
Note of warning - aside from the graphic rape scenes. The book is written in Swedish and translated to English. Meaning - it reads like a book that wasn't written in English, and you have to try to struggle through a lot of place names and character names that are Swedish. The author gives you a family tree in the beginning of the book but a map of Sweden would be helpful. I never knew whether Mikael was going down the block or four hours away.
So no, I'm not going to rave about how great this book is despite the many reviews saying they think it is great. I feel like it's one of those books that people read and after struggling through you sit back and think that's interesting and then immediately toss it out in the yard sale bin but brag to all your friends you read it because it happened to make some best-seller book club pick somewhere. Have you read it? What did you think?
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Book Review: Sweet Little Lies Lauren Conrad
Why did I read this book? Hmmm I kind of have to ask myself the same question because I wasn't a huge fan of the first one. The writing was mediocre, the plot just ok and honestly I spent more time trying to figure out who was who and hoping for some great Hills dish than getting into the story. But still, when Sweet Little Lies popped up at my library I figured what the heck at least this time I wouldn't have to buy it (LA Candy never made it to the library).
Thoughts... if I'm being generous three out of five stars. Probably leaning more towards 2 1/2. It's not horrible but it's not by any means great. It got four out of five stars on Amazon and frankly I think the only reason it did was a bunch of teenagers or Conrad's friends went in and ranked it a five so the honest reviewers didn't stand a chance.
The plot is ok. The book picks up where LA Candy leaves off. Lauren... I mean Jane (yawn what a boring name ... all you authors out there this is the time you can really go for it on names don't go with Jane...augh)... anyway... Jane is in Cabo with Madison (who clearly is supposed to be some form of Heidi) after photos of Jane cheating on her boyfriend were leaked to the press. Jane has gone from the good girl to this tabloid sensation. Apparently, she gets all this press about her hooking up with Braden (I hope I spelled that right). First... I don't know - I know Lauren was big in her prime on the Hills but seriously a ton of covers? Maybe the not so classy mags but I doubt People or Entertainment Weekly is rushing to publish a story about a reality TV star cheating. And two, even if they did publish it, it's going to be in the back or the very front like a two second blurb - not a cover and maybe only one week not week after week like this nonsense dragged on. (Don't get me wrong I liked the Hills and think Lauren is great but I just doubt her character's ability to land so many covers...). Scarlett is trying to convince Jane that Madison leaked the photos and is a huge bitch. Gaby (another girl in the story) is just there to fill space, as is a girl at Lauren's work who is memorable enough that I forgot her name.
Basically, all you learn about The Hills - is gasp the producer tell them what to talk about. Wow. Come on Lauren, I'm guessing a good percentage of the people reading this book are doing it to get some gossip and that's all you're going to give us?
Problems I see with the story:
1. Jane gets back together with Jesse even though there is no reason she should. Jesse acts like a jerk and she stays with him for 2/3 of the book. I felt like there was no reason why she would stay with him, even if for some reason she decides to get back together with him.
2. She tries desperately to make Madison likable but I think fails miserably. And honestly why is Madison targeting Jane - so she can be a star? I don't know. Madison is a little too one dimensional for me. She's not likable because I don't care about her. I have no reason to feel like she is remotely justified in what she does to Jane.
3. All the characters aren't very likable. Jane is ok - she's the main character you're supposed to like her but like you sometimes feel watching Lauren on The Hills - she's the nice girl that's just there. The action happens around her and sometimes too her but what's she really like. I will say though Lauren has a certain charisma (I stopped watching after she left) that doesn't come across with Jane. You root for Lauren because you want her to succeed - she's the every girl in her early twenties (just with better clothes and more money), clubbing, trying to find a job, trying to find love, friend drama, etc.
I think the book is filler to get to book 3 (sort of how I felt with Twilight - only I felt like books 2, 3, and 4 were filler and could have been summed up in 1 but that's a different topic). This one leaves off with a cliffhanger - will Jane continue on LA Candy, will Madison be the star, will she chose her high school boyfriend or Braden or someone new... cue dramatic music.
So... in conclusion, it's a good beach read. It took me maybe a day to breeze through. But it wouldn't be my first choice read.
Thoughts... if I'm being generous three out of five stars. Probably leaning more towards 2 1/2. It's not horrible but it's not by any means great. It got four out of five stars on Amazon and frankly I think the only reason it did was a bunch of teenagers or Conrad's friends went in and ranked it a five so the honest reviewers didn't stand a chance.
The plot is ok. The book picks up where LA Candy leaves off. Lauren... I mean Jane (yawn what a boring name ... all you authors out there this is the time you can really go for it on names don't go with Jane...augh)... anyway... Jane is in Cabo with Madison (who clearly is supposed to be some form of Heidi) after photos of Jane cheating on her boyfriend were leaked to the press. Jane has gone from the good girl to this tabloid sensation. Apparently, she gets all this press about her hooking up with Braden (I hope I spelled that right). First... I don't know - I know Lauren was big in her prime on the Hills but seriously a ton of covers? Maybe the not so classy mags but I doubt People or Entertainment Weekly is rushing to publish a story about a reality TV star cheating. And two, even if they did publish it, it's going to be in the back or the very front like a two second blurb - not a cover and maybe only one week not week after week like this nonsense dragged on. (Don't get me wrong I liked the Hills and think Lauren is great but I just doubt her character's ability to land so many covers...). Scarlett is trying to convince Jane that Madison leaked the photos and is a huge bitch. Gaby (another girl in the story) is just there to fill space, as is a girl at Lauren's work who is memorable enough that I forgot her name.
Basically, all you learn about The Hills - is gasp the producer tell them what to talk about. Wow. Come on Lauren, I'm guessing a good percentage of the people reading this book are doing it to get some gossip and that's all you're going to give us?
Problems I see with the story:
1. Jane gets back together with Jesse even though there is no reason she should. Jesse acts like a jerk and she stays with him for 2/3 of the book. I felt like there was no reason why she would stay with him, even if for some reason she decides to get back together with him.
2. She tries desperately to make Madison likable but I think fails miserably. And honestly why is Madison targeting Jane - so she can be a star? I don't know. Madison is a little too one dimensional for me. She's not likable because I don't care about her. I have no reason to feel like she is remotely justified in what she does to Jane.
3. All the characters aren't very likable. Jane is ok - she's the main character you're supposed to like her but like you sometimes feel watching Lauren on The Hills - she's the nice girl that's just there. The action happens around her and sometimes too her but what's she really like. I will say though Lauren has a certain charisma (I stopped watching after she left) that doesn't come across with Jane. You root for Lauren because you want her to succeed - she's the every girl in her early twenties (just with better clothes and more money), clubbing, trying to find a job, trying to find love, friend drama, etc.
I think the book is filler to get to book 3 (sort of how I felt with Twilight - only I felt like books 2, 3, and 4 were filler and could have been summed up in 1 but that's a different topic). This one leaves off with a cliffhanger - will Jane continue on LA Candy, will Madison be the star, will she chose her high school boyfriend or Braden or someone new... cue dramatic music.
So... in conclusion, it's a good beach read. It took me maybe a day to breeze through. But it wouldn't be my first choice read.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Book Review: House Rules: A Novel
I started reading Jodi Picoult with My Sister's Keeper. It took some very difficult topics (what obligation do you have to your family, is it ethical to have another child to save your first child, etc) and made them compelling and easy to read. It was an emotional roller-coaster. I quickly read pretty much every other book she ever wrote. I came to the realization that My Sister's Keeper - while still a great book - follows a strict Picoult formula and House Rules is no exception.
Rule 1: Emotionally charged topic with lots of grey area (things can't be black and white - that would make it too easy).
Rule 2: The story told from multiple viewpoints.
Rule 3: Surprise endings.
Rule 4: Make you think but not too hard.
Rule 5: Stressed but very attractive women who will usually sleep with someone that is at least mildly inappropriate.
Those would be the basics. Rule 5 may or may not happen but I've noticed it in a few of her books and if the woman doesn't sleep with said person she will be described by multiple people as being strikingly pretty. And really this has not much to do with the plot except for the fact there are few books (or movies, or TV shows) about incredibly not-good looking people.
How do I feel about House Rules? Let's start with 3 out of 5 stars. If you've never read Picoult before then you'd probably go with 4. I think it was average. I don't hate it but it followed a formula and pretty quickly you could guess where it was going. I'm glad I didn't buy it - I wouldn't read it again (Shout-out Library!).
The story follows Jacob, a teen diagnosed with Asperger's, his family and others that are dragged into the murder case of Jacob's social skills tutor. Jacob is a strange character - on one hand you feel bad for him because he is so socially awkward but on the other (and I'll admit I don't know much about Asperger's) he's cold, awkward and surprisingly functioning for someone who has panic attacks when paper gets crumpled. His brother Theo - another character - doesn't have Asperger's but he's living with the affects it has on his family because of Jacob. Theo is breaking into houses, stealing minor things, he doesn't fit in, etc. The thing is I felt bad for Theo but I didn't feel like he was developed quite enough for me to care too much about him. Emma - is the mom, she's gorgeous, stressed, poor. Then the other two narrators are Oliver (Jacob's lawyer) and Rich (a police officer who arrests Jacob). For me, the characters in this book weren't as well developed as some of the others. I wasn't drawn to them in the same way as I have been with her other books and like Jacob with his Asperger's - socially the characters all seem awkward (the point perhaps?).
I always read the reviews on Amazon when I decide to get a book. Yeah, sometimes the people are dead wrong but a lot of times they are pretty accurate. A lot of the people were complaining the story just ended without any resolution to the case. Well, one I think it's pretty easy to figure out early on what happened to the social skills tutor. And the case, I felt like it was all just background for the family to all come together. And honestly, I cared about Jacob but at the same time he didn't think through his actions, didn't explain what happened to anyone, and so you can't feel that bad (ok maybe because of his Asperger's because no one asked him to explain, he didn't... I don't know if I buy that). And the non-ending is pretty typical Picoult. It's basically what do you think happened? Was Theo arrested? Did Jacob get convicted? Etc...
Have you read it? What do you think? My next book is Sweet Little Lies by Lauren Conrad - I'll let you know if I like it, the first one didn't blow me away so I'm not having high hopes.
Rule 1: Emotionally charged topic with lots of grey area (things can't be black and white - that would make it too easy).
Rule 2: The story told from multiple viewpoints.
Rule 3: Surprise endings.
Rule 4: Make you think but not too hard.
Rule 5: Stressed but very attractive women who will usually sleep with someone that is at least mildly inappropriate.
Those would be the basics. Rule 5 may or may not happen but I've noticed it in a few of her books and if the woman doesn't sleep with said person she will be described by multiple people as being strikingly pretty. And really this has not much to do with the plot except for the fact there are few books (or movies, or TV shows) about incredibly not-good looking people.
How do I feel about House Rules? Let's start with 3 out of 5 stars. If you've never read Picoult before then you'd probably go with 4. I think it was average. I don't hate it but it followed a formula and pretty quickly you could guess where it was going. I'm glad I didn't buy it - I wouldn't read it again (Shout-out Library!).
The story follows Jacob, a teen diagnosed with Asperger's, his family and others that are dragged into the murder case of Jacob's social skills tutor. Jacob is a strange character - on one hand you feel bad for him because he is so socially awkward but on the other (and I'll admit I don't know much about Asperger's) he's cold, awkward and surprisingly functioning for someone who has panic attacks when paper gets crumpled. His brother Theo - another character - doesn't have Asperger's but he's living with the affects it has on his family because of Jacob. Theo is breaking into houses, stealing minor things, he doesn't fit in, etc. The thing is I felt bad for Theo but I didn't feel like he was developed quite enough for me to care too much about him. Emma - is the mom, she's gorgeous, stressed, poor. Then the other two narrators are Oliver (Jacob's lawyer) and Rich (a police officer who arrests Jacob). For me, the characters in this book weren't as well developed as some of the others. I wasn't drawn to them in the same way as I have been with her other books and like Jacob with his Asperger's - socially the characters all seem awkward (the point perhaps?).
I always read the reviews on Amazon when I decide to get a book. Yeah, sometimes the people are dead wrong but a lot of times they are pretty accurate. A lot of the people were complaining the story just ended without any resolution to the case. Well, one I think it's pretty easy to figure out early on what happened to the social skills tutor. And the case, I felt like it was all just background for the family to all come together. And honestly, I cared about Jacob but at the same time he didn't think through his actions, didn't explain what happened to anyone, and so you can't feel that bad (ok maybe because of his Asperger's because no one asked him to explain, he didn't... I don't know if I buy that). And the non-ending is pretty typical Picoult. It's basically what do you think happened? Was Theo arrested? Did Jacob get convicted? Etc...
Have you read it? What do you think? My next book is Sweet Little Lies by Lauren Conrad - I'll let you know if I like it, the first one didn't blow me away so I'm not having high hopes.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Books: Romance
This is kind of a review, kind of a favorite thing post. I'm going to admit that I like romance novels. I'm not talking Nicholas Sparks romance, I'm talking the books with the embarrassing covers of muscular men and beautiful damsels in distress. There is something so deliciously forbidden about them - obviously you can't cart that novel off to the gym. Yet at the same time I love slipping into that world - where ladies are elegant in fancy clothes, and men are a little rough and tumble.
I recently read pretty much every book by Deeanne Gist (a Christian romance writer for all those faint at heart) and Sabrina Jeffries.
I received the Jeffries book for free last year from a book festival and took it home laughing that I might read it if I was bored. Well, boredom came and I grabbed the book - I can't remember the title but its from The School of Heiresses series - and I loved it. It was well-written (i.e. not just about bodice ripping encounters with fluffy dialogue as filler) and really captured my attention with the story. Sure romance stories are always a little far fetched - beautiful intelligent women falling for men that don't always seem to be the best match - but Jeffries make it so easy to fall into their character's world. I went to the library and quickly scooped up every Heiress book I could find. Sure some are better than others - that's the way of novels - but all of them are interesting stories with a little bit of sex. I can't even pick a favorite. I did join her fan club so I get random emails and I bought her latest book The Truth About Lord Stoneville - I'll have to let you know if it's any good.
Gist is different - I read one of her books a few years ago - A Bride Most Begrudging - I actually picked it up thinking it was just a regular piece of fiction - not realizing it was romance or Christian romance at that. I was reluctant to read it thinking it would be all scripture and Bible study - but its not. Obviously, she works that into the story but most of the time it doesn't seem forced. The only two books of hers I wasn't really into were Deep in the Heart of Trouble and Courting Trouble a series about Ellie. Ellie just isn't that likable to me - its not because she has premarital sex (gasp - apparently this has gotten Gist a lot of flack on Amazon) - but I don't care about her. She's ahead of her time (the book takes place in the late 1800's) - she believes in women's right, loves biking, helps run a company but can't find a husband. The stories were just ok - Ellie spends way too much time harping on the fact she gave her virginity to a scoundrel and now she's not pure and no man will want her (not to mention she's decided she's going to be married to God).
Do you read romance novels? Are you too embarrassed to admit it if you do? I'm almost tempted to pick one for Book Club just for fun of course.
I recently read pretty much every book by Deeanne Gist (a Christian romance writer for all those faint at heart) and Sabrina Jeffries.
I received the Jeffries book for free last year from a book festival and took it home laughing that I might read it if I was bored. Well, boredom came and I grabbed the book - I can't remember the title but its from The School of Heiresses series - and I loved it. It was well-written (i.e. not just about bodice ripping encounters with fluffy dialogue as filler) and really captured my attention with the story. Sure romance stories are always a little far fetched - beautiful intelligent women falling for men that don't always seem to be the best match - but Jeffries make it so easy to fall into their character's world. I went to the library and quickly scooped up every Heiress book I could find. Sure some are better than others - that's the way of novels - but all of them are interesting stories with a little bit of sex. I can't even pick a favorite. I did join her fan club so I get random emails and I bought her latest book The Truth About Lord Stoneville - I'll have to let you know if it's any good.
Gist is different - I read one of her books a few years ago - A Bride Most Begrudging - I actually picked it up thinking it was just a regular piece of fiction - not realizing it was romance or Christian romance at that. I was reluctant to read it thinking it would be all scripture and Bible study - but its not. Obviously, she works that into the story but most of the time it doesn't seem forced. The only two books of hers I wasn't really into were Deep in the Heart of Trouble and Courting Trouble a series about Ellie. Ellie just isn't that likable to me - its not because she has premarital sex (gasp - apparently this has gotten Gist a lot of flack on Amazon) - but I don't care about her. She's ahead of her time (the book takes place in the late 1800's) - she believes in women's right, loves biking, helps run a company but can't find a husband. The stories were just ok - Ellie spends way too much time harping on the fact she gave her virginity to a scoundrel and now she's not pure and no man will want her (not to mention she's decided she's going to be married to God).
Do you read romance novels? Are you too embarrassed to admit it if you do? I'm almost tempted to pick one for Book Club just for fun of course.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Book Review: The English American
I picked The English American because the author will be at the book festival I've been thinking about going to this weekend. It sounded like it could be interesting - a story about an English girl who was adopted from America.
So what do I think? This book is interesting to me - part of it made me want to keep reading and I devoured the first half quite quickly. The second half of the book dragged. I found myself wanting to shake Pippa. She seemed to naively bounce along and do exactly what everyone else wanted her to do just because she was English and apparently English people don't stand up for themselves and hide their emotions.
I think this book tried to be too many things:
- A take on the cultural differences between Americans and British people. The British according to Larkin are reserved, quite, don't share their feelings, etc. Americans by contrast are loud (most in the book are downright obnoxious), pushy, and overly emotional.
- A slight political rant on whether or not England and the US should be in the Iraq war.
- The feelings an adopted person goes through growing up and deciding to search for their birth parents.
- A romance.
There are probably more subplots but that's all I can think of at the moment. I think the book would have served a much better purpose to pick one or two things and go with that. The part about Pippa being liberal and against Bush and the war really served no purpose in the book other than to have a few spats with friends and her birth-father.
The romance in the book feels contrived and the "surprise" ending wasn't much of a surprise. It was pretty much romance book writing 101 - does she fall for the jerky guy she's been lusting after or the friend who is always there for her. I won't tell you who but I'm sure anyone who has read much Chick Lit can figured it out.
I felt like the ending in general was a major let down - it was this big build up to will Pippa finally wake up and realize who she is and fall in love, etc. and the book quickly wraps everything up in about twenty pages.
The cultural differences were interesting but very stereotypical. I just don't think every English person is reserved and quiet and all Americans are brash, arrogant over-sharers. As an American, I felt like we were painted in a very bad light. Larkin has apparently spent time in the US but was raised elsewhere. I would hope her experience with Americans has not been so crazy. It would be as if I wrote a book about typical stereotypes of English people or Canadians, or French people... it was a lot like a horoscope to me - all Americans are this and all British are this. I've read other books by British authors and never came away with quite the same take on the British (who in this book I felt came off in a bad light as well - as a bunch of push-overs who quietly go along accepting their lot in life). I liked the language differences a lot - the difference between a pocketbook and a wallet for example - and the fact that apparently Fig Newtons don't exist in England.
Although it says in the back of the book that the author Alison Larkin was adopted as well and shares a similar story to Pippa - I felt like Larkin had read a book on how adoptees feel and tossed every stereotype imaginable into the work. Pippa loves but feels unconnected to her family (the ones that adopted her), she has issues with abandonment, she doesn't let people close to her, her (adopted) family doesn't understand her, she feels guilty for talking to her birth family, her birth family when she meets them suddenly get her and love her instantly... It felt contrived.
Let's talk about Pippa's birth parents for a second. Pippa finds them and meets them - Billie and Walt. Walt is a self-centered politician (they never really say what he does but he works in DC in the government so lets just say politician). He's cheated on his wife with Billie, who ended up getting pregnant and they gave the baby up to not hurt his career. He claims to have loved Billie but later you learn that he had a son with his wife the same year Billie had Pippa. Pippa is immediately infatuated by him despite the fact that he seems stand-offish and is obviously a people user. Billie on the other hand, works with art somehow - her job seems very fluid. Pippa is also drawn to her. She moves in with her shortly after meeting her - which just seems weird. Billie is from Georgia and from the very beginning seems like she has some sort of mental disorder. She's spacey, she over-shares, she's downright trashy. If I was Pippa I would have been on the next plane back to England. But instead she tries again and again to make it work with them and suffers through both of their antics far too long.
I would say the book is 2 out of 5 stars. For me it would have faired much better as young adult literature or if Larkin could have tightened up the story a bit. The book starts strong but flounders miserably halfway through. I only finished it to see exactly what happened to Pippa and I won't say I wasn't tempted to just skip to the end.
So what do I think? This book is interesting to me - part of it made me want to keep reading and I devoured the first half quite quickly. The second half of the book dragged. I found myself wanting to shake Pippa. She seemed to naively bounce along and do exactly what everyone else wanted her to do just because she was English and apparently English people don't stand up for themselves and hide their emotions.
I think this book tried to be too many things:
- A take on the cultural differences between Americans and British people. The British according to Larkin are reserved, quite, don't share their feelings, etc. Americans by contrast are loud (most in the book are downright obnoxious), pushy, and overly emotional.
- A slight political rant on whether or not England and the US should be in the Iraq war.
- The feelings an adopted person goes through growing up and deciding to search for their birth parents.
- A romance.
There are probably more subplots but that's all I can think of at the moment. I think the book would have served a much better purpose to pick one or two things and go with that. The part about Pippa being liberal and against Bush and the war really served no purpose in the book other than to have a few spats with friends and her birth-father.
The romance in the book feels contrived and the "surprise" ending wasn't much of a surprise. It was pretty much romance book writing 101 - does she fall for the jerky guy she's been lusting after or the friend who is always there for her. I won't tell you who but I'm sure anyone who has read much Chick Lit can figured it out.
I felt like the ending in general was a major let down - it was this big build up to will Pippa finally wake up and realize who she is and fall in love, etc. and the book quickly wraps everything up in about twenty pages.
The cultural differences were interesting but very stereotypical. I just don't think every English person is reserved and quiet and all Americans are brash, arrogant over-sharers. As an American, I felt like we were painted in a very bad light. Larkin has apparently spent time in the US but was raised elsewhere. I would hope her experience with Americans has not been so crazy. It would be as if I wrote a book about typical stereotypes of English people or Canadians, or French people... it was a lot like a horoscope to me - all Americans are this and all British are this. I've read other books by British authors and never came away with quite the same take on the British (who in this book I felt came off in a bad light as well - as a bunch of push-overs who quietly go along accepting their lot in life). I liked the language differences a lot - the difference between a pocketbook and a wallet for example - and the fact that apparently Fig Newtons don't exist in England.
Although it says in the back of the book that the author Alison Larkin was adopted as well and shares a similar story to Pippa - I felt like Larkin had read a book on how adoptees feel and tossed every stereotype imaginable into the work. Pippa loves but feels unconnected to her family (the ones that adopted her), she has issues with abandonment, she doesn't let people close to her, her (adopted) family doesn't understand her, she feels guilty for talking to her birth family, her birth family when she meets them suddenly get her and love her instantly... It felt contrived.
Let's talk about Pippa's birth parents for a second. Pippa finds them and meets them - Billie and Walt. Walt is a self-centered politician (they never really say what he does but he works in DC in the government so lets just say politician). He's cheated on his wife with Billie, who ended up getting pregnant and they gave the baby up to not hurt his career. He claims to have loved Billie but later you learn that he had a son with his wife the same year Billie had Pippa. Pippa is immediately infatuated by him despite the fact that he seems stand-offish and is obviously a people user. Billie on the other hand, works with art somehow - her job seems very fluid. Pippa is also drawn to her. She moves in with her shortly after meeting her - which just seems weird. Billie is from Georgia and from the very beginning seems like she has some sort of mental disorder. She's spacey, she over-shares, she's downright trashy. If I was Pippa I would have been on the next plane back to England. But instead she tries again and again to make it work with them and suffers through both of their antics far too long.
I would say the book is 2 out of 5 stars. For me it would have faired much better as young adult literature or if Larkin could have tightened up the story a bit. The book starts strong but flounders miserably halfway through. I only finished it to see exactly what happened to Pippa and I won't say I wasn't tempted to just skip to the end.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Book Review: Hotel On The Corner of Bitter and Sweet
I read a lot and by a lot I mean on average at least two to three books a week on a slow week. I like a lot of what I read but since I read so many different books it takes something really different to stand out and make me say wow that was a really great book. I can count on my hand the number of books I've read in the last few years that were those wow books for me. Hotel On The Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford is one of them. I literally got chills today reading one of the chapters.
I was going to wait and review this book after book club but I can just add a new post once we discuss - maybe they felt differently. My feeling? Five stars, hands down one of the best books I've read in awhile.
A brief plot summary: Henry is a Chinese boy growing up in Seattle during World War II. His parents want him to be more American so he goes to an all white school. He doesn't fit in with the white kids, the Chinese kids or at home. He meets Keiko, a Japanese girl, at school. Eventually they become friends. And from there I won't give any more a way.
My one problem was the story starts when Henry and Keiko are 12 and we're supposed to believe that they are in love. I don't know about you but maybe kids grew up quicker back then. I can't imagine falling in love at 12. I'm willing to overlook their age though because the book is so well-written. It really drew me in - there is conflict on so many levels. Henry and his family. Henry and the other students. The war. Chinese vs. Japanese. The Japanese internment in the US. Finding the long lost record. I was rooting for Henry and Keiko to be happy and to some how make it all work.
So if you have only one book to read for 2010 this would be my pick - although its early in the year anything could happen.
I was going to wait and review this book after book club but I can just add a new post once we discuss - maybe they felt differently. My feeling? Five stars, hands down one of the best books I've read in awhile.
A brief plot summary: Henry is a Chinese boy growing up in Seattle during World War II. His parents want him to be more American so he goes to an all white school. He doesn't fit in with the white kids, the Chinese kids or at home. He meets Keiko, a Japanese girl, at school. Eventually they become friends. And from there I won't give any more a way.
My one problem was the story starts when Henry and Keiko are 12 and we're supposed to believe that they are in love. I don't know about you but maybe kids grew up quicker back then. I can't imagine falling in love at 12. I'm willing to overlook their age though because the book is so well-written. It really drew me in - there is conflict on so many levels. Henry and his family. Henry and the other students. The war. Chinese vs. Japanese. The Japanese internment in the US. Finding the long lost record. I was rooting for Henry and Keiko to be happy and to some how make it all work.
So if you have only one book to read for 2010 this would be my pick - although its early in the year anything could happen.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Book Review: One for the Money Janet Evanovich
This lady at work is always asking me about books - she knows I read a lot and that my friend and I have a book club. I secretly think she wants an invite to book club but I could be wrong. Anyway, every now and then she comes by with books I "have to read". It started with Jane Austen's Persuasion. I dutifully took the book and thought the whole way home, now I have to read this boring English Class book so I can tell her I liked it. I was delightfully surprised. Persuasion is one of my all time favorite books. Next up on her list is the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. She apparently loves them and is always trying to get me to read them. I've been hesitant for awhile (two years) - for one, this is a big commitment there are like 15 some books (at least) about Stephanie Plum (luckily enough the numbers are in the title), and two mysteries aren't really my thing.
I felt bad putting her off all the time so I finally checked out book one (One for the Money) at the library. It looked short and I figured if I read one or two it might make her happy. It's an easy read but not necessarily a good read. I could be bias since I'm not a huge mystery person but I just wasn't that into the story. I didn't think it was that good of a mystery. There weren't enough clues along the way to help the reader figure out what was going on. The ending was a surprise but everything wrapped up so neatly after the big killer's reveal, I was left thinking - what??
Parts of the book are laugh out loud funny (one scene in particular where she is trying to tell someone she is really busy but all she wants to do is buy a blender to score free daiquiri mix). Others are just a little bit predictable.
The basic storyline is that Stephanie has just been let go from her job at a lingerie company. She is broke, behind on bills and needs a job. So, she asks her cousin to let her be a bounty hunter for his bail bonds company. I could be wrong but I didn't think bounty hunting was a job you could just decide to do. Her first case is tracking down Joe Morelli, a cop who is charged with killing someone and skipped his bail. My second thought is, if bounty hunting is a job you can just start doing - would you really start by tracking down someone accused of murder? The rest of the story is about her adventure trying to learn how to be a kick-ass bounty hunter, solve the mystery of whether Morelli is guilty, all while trying to track him down and get him to the police so she can collect her reward.
The book is good for a lazy long weekend. It wouldn't be my favorite book or favorite mystery. I wished for a little bit more substance. The story is easy enough to follow and I'm pretty sure you could probably jump in and read any book from the series and be able to keep up. I did go and get the second book just to see if the story got any better... but that is another blog.
Two or three stars out of five. If you're interested I would check it out from the library before I bought it. I don't think it's something you would read twice.
I felt bad putting her off all the time so I finally checked out book one (One for the Money) at the library. It looked short and I figured if I read one or two it might make her happy. It's an easy read but not necessarily a good read. I could be bias since I'm not a huge mystery person but I just wasn't that into the story. I didn't think it was that good of a mystery. There weren't enough clues along the way to help the reader figure out what was going on. The ending was a surprise but everything wrapped up so neatly after the big killer's reveal, I was left thinking - what??
Parts of the book are laugh out loud funny (one scene in particular where she is trying to tell someone she is really busy but all she wants to do is buy a blender to score free daiquiri mix). Others are just a little bit predictable.
The basic storyline is that Stephanie has just been let go from her job at a lingerie company. She is broke, behind on bills and needs a job. So, she asks her cousin to let her be a bounty hunter for his bail bonds company. I could be wrong but I didn't think bounty hunting was a job you could just decide to do. Her first case is tracking down Joe Morelli, a cop who is charged with killing someone and skipped his bail. My second thought is, if bounty hunting is a job you can just start doing - would you really start by tracking down someone accused of murder? The rest of the story is about her adventure trying to learn how to be a kick-ass bounty hunter, solve the mystery of whether Morelli is guilty, all while trying to track him down and get him to the police so she can collect her reward.
The book is good for a lazy long weekend. It wouldn't be my favorite book or favorite mystery. I wished for a little bit more substance. The story is easy enough to follow and I'm pretty sure you could probably jump in and read any book from the series and be able to keep up. I did go and get the second book just to see if the story got any better... but that is another blog.
Two or three stars out of five. If you're interested I would check it out from the library before I bought it. I don't think it's something you would read twice.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Book Review: Nanny Returns by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
I loved The Nanny Diaries: A Novel when it first came out (I'm guessing from Amazon in the early 2000's). It was equal parts sad, funny and touching. You wanted Nanny to succeed and her little charge Grayer to make it out of his parents' messed up lives in one piece. I was super excited to hear they were writing a sequel to the book, picking up over a decade since Nanny left the X's and little Grayer behind.
Nanny might be older but she is certainly not wiser in this book. She's married the Harvard Hottie (from book one and now referred to as Ryan), she's started her own company, moved back to NY and is trying to renovate her house. When a surprise visit from Grayer thrusts her back into the X's lives. They now have a second son to screw up, Grayer is a surly teen, and the family is just as crazy as before.
I was underwhelmed by the book. Maybe with the onslaught of reality TV digging into the "real housewives" and the fact the first book came out almost a decade ago - it's nothing new this time around. The rich people Nanny deals with are annoying, self-centered and out of touch with any sort of reality. Nanny is still obsessed with making things right with Grayer, launches herself into projects without knowing the full scope and never really seems to learn from her mistakes the first time around.
The book read slow for me and I wasn't that interested in what was going to happen. I guessed one subplot pretty early on. And they never really tidied up the other with Nanny's company, the school she was working for and the teacher that got laid off. It just sort of ended.
Overall the book is no where near as good as the first. The storyline seems tired and far-fetched. Nanny becomes friends with a high-school enemy, practically adopts Grayer and Stilton (his brother), fixes the X's lives again.... all while trying to start her company, balance work, fix her new house and decide if she wants kids with Ryan. Busy month for Nanny.
Two out of five stars.
Nanny might be older but she is certainly not wiser in this book. She's married the Harvard Hottie (from book one and now referred to as Ryan), she's started her own company, moved back to NY and is trying to renovate her house. When a surprise visit from Grayer thrusts her back into the X's lives. They now have a second son to screw up, Grayer is a surly teen, and the family is just as crazy as before.
I was underwhelmed by the book. Maybe with the onslaught of reality TV digging into the "real housewives" and the fact the first book came out almost a decade ago - it's nothing new this time around. The rich people Nanny deals with are annoying, self-centered and out of touch with any sort of reality. Nanny is still obsessed with making things right with Grayer, launches herself into projects without knowing the full scope and never really seems to learn from her mistakes the first time around.
The book read slow for me and I wasn't that interested in what was going to happen. I guessed one subplot pretty early on. And they never really tidied up the other with Nanny's company, the school she was working for and the teacher that got laid off. It just sort of ended.
Overall the book is no where near as good as the first. The storyline seems tired and far-fetched. Nanny becomes friends with a high-school enemy, practically adopts Grayer and Stilton (his brother), fixes the X's lives again.... all while trying to start her company, balance work, fix her new house and decide if she wants kids with Ryan. Busy month for Nanny.
Two out of five stars.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Book Review: Hungry Crystal Renn with Marjorie Ingall
So did I mention I like fashion? I'm not one of those people that knows the name of every model but I can recognize the same model pretty easily and know a lot of the Victoria Secret model names (but I know they aren't exactly runway). Glamour magazine has been doing a lot recently (or at least I've noticed recently) about loving your body and accepting all shapes and sizes... anyway, I'm pretty sure that's where I first started to recognize Crystal Renn. Renn has appeared in Lane Byrant ads and is the girl in the breast cancer research ads (she's got red fabric draped around her and it's mainly a shot of her back). I found out she had written a book and decided to check it out.
First off, I thought this was going to be more of an autobiography and it starts that way before detouring off into a tangent about ideal body weights and fashion portraying all shapes and sizes. It starts to read like a research paper with all the quotes about how overweight might not be that unhealthy and everybody has an ideal weight. I'm not saying she's wrong. I know for myself my body no matter the amount of dieting or exercise hovers around the same point - give or take five pounds. I'm just saying that maybe this was part of another book. I get that weight plays a huge part in her life - she started as an anorexic straight size model and is now considered a plus size model - but at the same time I felt like it went on and on and could easily have been summarized into a few key points.
The funny thing is looking at pictures of Renn as a straight size model she looks downright sickly (bones jutting out, eyes that aren't focused) and as a plus sized model she doesn't look that big. I would say she's curvy but not fat.
The book is interesting. Renn is hungry for food and a career. She wants to prove that a plus size model can do everything a straight size model can do. It's an inside look at how hard she worked to drop weight - joining two gyms, working out until she's so sick she can't even walk home - and then gain back her self-esteem (and the weight).
I personally didn't come away with any new information on modeling and high fashion. I think everyone can pretty much guess its a cutthroat business with girls that are 6 feet tall expected to weigh 90 lbs. That designers want girls that are stick straight so the clothes just hang. I do think there might be a shift coming - Glamour has certainly been using more "real" women - although I'm pretty sure the short girl is still probably 5'6. Like anything, fashion is cylindrical so I'm sure at some point it will change to celebrate a curvier figure.
Good for Renn for championing healthy eating habits. I think all women should realize their bodies will probably never look like a supermodel or a celebrity. Those women are paid to look amazing and have a lot of help pulling it off (not to mention there is such a thing as Photoshop). I admire her for trying to break through and show women that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes.
Overall three out of five stars.
First off, I thought this was going to be more of an autobiography and it starts that way before detouring off into a tangent about ideal body weights and fashion portraying all shapes and sizes. It starts to read like a research paper with all the quotes about how overweight might not be that unhealthy and everybody has an ideal weight. I'm not saying she's wrong. I know for myself my body no matter the amount of dieting or exercise hovers around the same point - give or take five pounds. I'm just saying that maybe this was part of another book. I get that weight plays a huge part in her life - she started as an anorexic straight size model and is now considered a plus size model - but at the same time I felt like it went on and on and could easily have been summarized into a few key points.
The funny thing is looking at pictures of Renn as a straight size model she looks downright sickly (bones jutting out, eyes that aren't focused) and as a plus sized model she doesn't look that big. I would say she's curvy but not fat.
The book is interesting. Renn is hungry for food and a career. She wants to prove that a plus size model can do everything a straight size model can do. It's an inside look at how hard she worked to drop weight - joining two gyms, working out until she's so sick she can't even walk home - and then gain back her self-esteem (and the weight).
I personally didn't come away with any new information on modeling and high fashion. I think everyone can pretty much guess its a cutthroat business with girls that are 6 feet tall expected to weigh 90 lbs. That designers want girls that are stick straight so the clothes just hang. I do think there might be a shift coming - Glamour has certainly been using more "real" women - although I'm pretty sure the short girl is still probably 5'6. Like anything, fashion is cylindrical so I'm sure at some point it will change to celebrate a curvier figure.
Good for Renn for championing healthy eating habits. I think all women should realize their bodies will probably never look like a supermodel or a celebrity. Those women are paid to look amazing and have a lot of help pulling it off (not to mention there is such a thing as Photoshop). I admire her for trying to break through and show women that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes.
Overall three out of five stars.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Book Review: Wishin' and Hopin': A Christmas Story by Wally Lamb
This was December's book club pick and although book club didn't go as planned (only two of us showed up) it's worth reviewing this book.
First, let me start by saying it probably isn't the best book to read for book club. It's good but there isn't anything really that meaty to discuss. No what the heck is going on here plot like The Turn of the Screw (last month's book).
The story is told from the point of view of 10-year old Felix Funicello in the few months leading up to Christmas. Most of the story revolves around Felix's school life and classmates. The story reminds me a lot of A Christmas Story and The Wonder Years. Felix is still delightfully naive - he tells a dirty joke on a live TV show after not really understanding the meaning. And his point of view on life in the 60's is funny looking back on it all now. He makes a statement about how subscription TV (cable) is being tested in New York but who would pay for TV when it's free it's like paying for water.
If you're looking for a dramatic action book this isn't for you. This is simply a sweet story of a few months out of a little boy's life. It's a good short read to put you in the holiday spirit and so for that reason I would have to recommend it.
First, let me start by saying it probably isn't the best book to read for book club. It's good but there isn't anything really that meaty to discuss. No what the heck is going on here plot like The Turn of the Screw (last month's book).
The story is told from the point of view of 10-year old Felix Funicello in the few months leading up to Christmas. Most of the story revolves around Felix's school life and classmates. The story reminds me a lot of A Christmas Story and The Wonder Years. Felix is still delightfully naive - he tells a dirty joke on a live TV show after not really understanding the meaning. And his point of view on life in the 60's is funny looking back on it all now. He makes a statement about how subscription TV (cable) is being tested in New York but who would pay for TV when it's free it's like paying for water.
If you're looking for a dramatic action book this isn't for you. This is simply a sweet story of a few months out of a little boy's life. It's a good short read to put you in the holiday spirit and so for that reason I would have to recommend it.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Book Review: The Wet Nurse’s Tale
I’m not sure how to review this book, mainly because I don’t love it but I don’t hate it either. Have you ever read a book and then afterwards closed it and said “that was ok.” That’s how I felt.
What I liked: the story is quick, it’s interesting, the character isn’t your typical heroine (I didn’t like that they told you this a million times – I get it Susan is fat not well educated, poor and not very attractive).
What I didn’t like: the story just ends rather abruptly and how everything wraps up is too clean – I expected something messier and not as easy. The brief reasons why women use wet nurses (stuck in between every chapter). The reasons were interesting, the characters were interesting but for me they did nothing to enhance Susan’s story.
So should you read it? Maybe. It wouldn’t be my first choice but it wouldn’t be my last either. Helpful right?
What I liked: the story is quick, it’s interesting, the character isn’t your typical heroine (I didn’t like that they told you this a million times – I get it Susan is fat not well educated, poor and not very attractive).
What I didn’t like: the story just ends rather abruptly and how everything wraps up is too clean – I expected something messier and not as easy. The brief reasons why women use wet nurses (stuck in between every chapter). The reasons were interesting, the characters were interesting but for me they did nothing to enhance Susan’s story.
So should you read it? Maybe. It wouldn’t be my first choice but it wouldn’t be my last either. Helpful right?
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Book Review: Harry Potter The Tales of Beedle the Bard
Let me start by saying I love the Harry Potter series. I think J.K. Rowling is immensely talented. I wonder a lot about how she was able to create this world that doesn't exist but seems so real. You get lost in her books.
I was skeptical at first. I remember when my college roommate CR, who was an education major, came into our room with the first book. She had to read it as a class assignment. I was never into the whole sci-fi/witches thing, I never read Narnia growing up. I thought for sure this was going to be some stupid kid's book. Still I read the first one and was pleasantly surprised.
Since then I have read every Harry Potter book when it came out. My goal is to always finish reading them before spoilers hit the web. So this week when I went to the library they had a new table of books called "Recent Bestsellers". The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling was one of them.
Lets start by saying this book is an easy read. I finished it in about two hours. The book starts with an introductory by Rowling's who explains that Hermoine Granger (Harry's friend) translated the book and that Albus Dumbledore (the deceased headmaster of Hogwarts) included his notes before he died. The stories all read like traditional fairy tales think Sleep Beauty but the good guys have magic too. Since I've read all of the Harry Potter books it's really neat to hear the stories that are referenced in the other books. I found myself trying to dissect what each story meant and how they related back into the Harry Potter series.
I could be bias since I like her other books but these stories were really good. Like your classic fairy tales they morals - being kind to your neighbors, don't try to out-smart death, etc. I thought Dumbledore's notes were a neat edition since they gave more insight about the various stories.
So my suggestion is if you haven't read the Harry Potter series - you don't know what you're missing. They are seriously some of the best books written in recent years. And if you like the series check out this book. Happy reading! :)
I was skeptical at first. I remember when my college roommate CR, who was an education major, came into our room with the first book. She had to read it as a class assignment. I was never into the whole sci-fi/witches thing, I never read Narnia growing up. I thought for sure this was going to be some stupid kid's book. Still I read the first one and was pleasantly surprised.
Since then I have read every Harry Potter book when it came out. My goal is to always finish reading them before spoilers hit the web. So this week when I went to the library they had a new table of books called "Recent Bestsellers". The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling was one of them.
Lets start by saying this book is an easy read. I finished it in about two hours. The book starts with an introductory by Rowling's who explains that Hermoine Granger (Harry's friend) translated the book and that Albus Dumbledore (the deceased headmaster of Hogwarts) included his notes before he died. The stories all read like traditional fairy tales think Sleep Beauty but the good guys have magic too. Since I've read all of the Harry Potter books it's really neat to hear the stories that are referenced in the other books. I found myself trying to dissect what each story meant and how they related back into the Harry Potter series.
I could be bias since I like her other books but these stories were really good. Like your classic fairy tales they morals - being kind to your neighbors, don't try to out-smart death, etc. I thought Dumbledore's notes were a neat edition since they gave more insight about the various stories.
So my suggestion is if you haven't read the Harry Potter series - you don't know what you're missing. They are seriously some of the best books written in recent years. And if you like the series check out this book. Happy reading! :)
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Book Review: The Turn of the Screw
So about a year ago my friend SP and I started a book club together. It’s actually not that hard to start a book club. We have four members – most websites say not to get more than eight or you are too big to accomplish much. We meet once a month and rotate who picks the book and where to meet. Usually whoever hosts/picks the book doesn’t really do much other than have to clean and set out a few apps and everyone else brings wine and some food to munch on.
It’s been a lot of fun doing the book club. One it’s always nice to have an excuse to meet up with friends and two we’ve read a lot of really interesting books that we might not have read otherwise. It’s interesting to see what different people pick as their book. We actually have real discussions too – about what we thought of the book, why the author did certain things, etc. If you like to read and have a group of friends that might be interested I highly recommend starting your own club.
This month’s book was Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw. I’m not sure I would have picked this book myself. Nothing against James, but the synopsis on the back didn’t sound like something I would have pulled off the library shelves. The book (and I’m not giving too much away here) is about a governess who goes to teach two small children only to find the house is haunted – or is it? The age old debate has been is the governess crazy or is the house really haunted? Wikipedia has a short version of the different theories or do a quick Google search and you can read more.
The Turn of the Screw is a good book. It’s very short – maybe a 120 pages and it moves relatively fast but the writing style can be difficult to read – think Charles Dickens. Does this mean we are lazy if we think its difficult to read? I will say in my defense I don’t think Jane Austen is hard to read once you get the hang of how the characters talk.
I got hooked the first few pages, wanting to know what happened but as I got towards the middle I had to take breaks – it’s not exactly light reading during your lunch break at work. I like open-ended books, when I write short stories I tend to leave them open-ended but The Turn of the Screw frustrated me. I felt like at the end nothing was resolved and that damaged my overall impression of the book as a whole.
We had a really good discussion on our theories of the book. One of the ladies thought that maybe Douglas (the man with the transcript of what happened) was really Miles and that the governess really died at the end not Miles. I personally felt like the governess was probably crazy since no one else saw the ghosts and she was so adamant that the children were cavorting with ghost even without proof. If you read it – I’d like to know what you think as well.
It’s been a lot of fun doing the book club. One it’s always nice to have an excuse to meet up with friends and two we’ve read a lot of really interesting books that we might not have read otherwise. It’s interesting to see what different people pick as their book. We actually have real discussions too – about what we thought of the book, why the author did certain things, etc. If you like to read and have a group of friends that might be interested I highly recommend starting your own club.
This month’s book was Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw. I’m not sure I would have picked this book myself. Nothing against James, but the synopsis on the back didn’t sound like something I would have pulled off the library shelves. The book (and I’m not giving too much away here) is about a governess who goes to teach two small children only to find the house is haunted – or is it? The age old debate has been is the governess crazy or is the house really haunted? Wikipedia has a short version of the different theories or do a quick Google search and you can read more.
The Turn of the Screw is a good book. It’s very short – maybe a 120 pages and it moves relatively fast but the writing style can be difficult to read – think Charles Dickens. Does this mean we are lazy if we think its difficult to read? I will say in my defense I don’t think Jane Austen is hard to read once you get the hang of how the characters talk.
I got hooked the first few pages, wanting to know what happened but as I got towards the middle I had to take breaks – it’s not exactly light reading during your lunch break at work. I like open-ended books, when I write short stories I tend to leave them open-ended but The Turn of the Screw frustrated me. I felt like at the end nothing was resolved and that damaged my overall impression of the book as a whole.
We had a really good discussion on our theories of the book. One of the ladies thought that maybe Douglas (the man with the transcript of what happened) was really Miles and that the governess really died at the end not Miles. I personally felt like the governess was probably crazy since no one else saw the ghosts and she was so adamant that the children were cavorting with ghost even without proof. If you read it – I’d like to know what you think as well.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Book Review: Mommywood
Ok so I realize this may destroy any credibility I have by reviewing Tori Spelling’s second book instead of say something else, maybe something a little bit more of a challenge. But hey, why not stick with a good thing.
I didn’t mention I’m kind of a speed reader. My mom jokes about it. My husband jokes about it – actually he jokes about anyone that actually reads. Still I don’t think it’s a stretch for people who read at normal speeds to finish this book in a day or two. It’s an easy read.
I liked it. I’m not sure I like it better than her first book. She trashes her mom more in this book and at some point you want to say, “Ok Tori, I got it, you and your mom don’t get along.”
I’m not a mom, I don’t have any plans to be a mom in the near future and most of her book (hence the title) is about being a mom and Tori Spelling/famous. Even still, I think it’s funny. What’s not funny about random people staring at her at the pool, or her obsessing about a neighborhood block party, or her son grabbing her boobs at the playground. Her stories are funny and she isn’t afraid to embarrass herself. She strikes me as goofy and normal. She could be your neighbor if your neighbor lived in a gated community and was in a reality TV show.
I have always felt sorry for celeb moms or celebs in general where an ideal body weight is that of a pre-pubescent girl. It’s not realistic that a new mom can catwalk down the Victoria Secret runway a few weeks after giving birth (Heidi Klum is some kind of genetic anomaly). Spelling confronts this issue head-on. Talking about the pressures of looking her best and losing the baby weight before someone publishes her picture next to a comment about being fat or pregnant. No one needs that kind of pressure.
So, my advice, if it's cold and dark outside, go to the libary and pick up sTORI Telling and while there grab Mommywood. It's a nice escape.
I didn’t mention I’m kind of a speed reader. My mom jokes about it. My husband jokes about it – actually he jokes about anyone that actually reads. Still I don’t think it’s a stretch for people who read at normal speeds to finish this book in a day or two. It’s an easy read.
I liked it. I’m not sure I like it better than her first book. She trashes her mom more in this book and at some point you want to say, “Ok Tori, I got it, you and your mom don’t get along.”
I’m not a mom, I don’t have any plans to be a mom in the near future and most of her book (hence the title) is about being a mom and Tori Spelling/famous. Even still, I think it’s funny. What’s not funny about random people staring at her at the pool, or her obsessing about a neighborhood block party, or her son grabbing her boobs at the playground. Her stories are funny and she isn’t afraid to embarrass herself. She strikes me as goofy and normal. She could be your neighbor if your neighbor lived in a gated community and was in a reality TV show.
I have always felt sorry for celeb moms or celebs in general where an ideal body weight is that of a pre-pubescent girl. It’s not realistic that a new mom can catwalk down the Victoria Secret runway a few weeks after giving birth (Heidi Klum is some kind of genetic anomaly). Spelling confronts this issue head-on. Talking about the pressures of looking her best and losing the baby weight before someone publishes her picture next to a comment about being fat or pregnant. No one needs that kind of pressure.
So, my advice, if it's cold and dark outside, go to the libary and pick up sTORI Telling and while there grab Mommywood. It's a nice escape.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Book Review Number 1: sTORI Telling
So let’s start by saying I love to read. I will read just about anything. So a big part of my blog will be to review my current read of the moment – the good, the bad and the ugly.
My theory for selecting books is to go to the library and roam. I walk up and down aisles until a title or cover catches my eye and I pull the said book down and scan what it’s about. All the nonsense about not judging a book by its cover goes out the window with me. You don’t have an eye catching cover – then why should I waste my time?
So for my first book to review I should probably pick something very “smart”, something like Jane Austin perhaps? Well I’ve read Jane Austin and love them (Persuasion is my favorite in case you are wondering) but that’s not my current book of the moment. In fact I’m not sure I want to admit what I just finished reading for fear that you might stop right here and never read another review again. But I’m going to take a leap and announce that the book I just finished is Tori Spelling’s sTORI Telling.
Coming from the fact that my mom would not let me watch 90210 growing up I knew very little about Tori Spelling aside from what was on various entertainment blogs or in the tabloids. I had seen her cable show a few times and it was funny. The only reason I picked up the book was I felt like I needed a break from the more serious reads I had just finished and hers seemed like a decent choice.
In case you live under a rock, Tori Spelling is Aaron Spelling’s daughter – she was on his show 90210, she’s done TV movies, a VH1 show and her latest venture is a reality TV show with her husband. Spelling is the person you want to not like, she grew up in the lap of luxury, got on a hit TV show, cheated on her first husband, fights publicly with her mother… I’ll admit I even went into the book thinking I wouldn’t make it past the first few chapters.
The good news for Spelling is she takes all of those things people know about her and still makes you care about her. You find yourself rooting for her and feeling sorry for her. She tells it like it is and doesn’t sugarcoat anything. She talks about insecurities, bad relationships, love, friendship, etc as if catching up with an old girlfriend. Working in her favor is the fact she very carefully crafts everything as how she was feeling or how she perceived it, leaving her ex-husband, mother, cast members, etc. to tell their own version of the story in their own book. This was a plus to me, she could have very easily talked trash about a vast number of people I’m sure but then she’d probably just come across as biter or vengeful.
In fact, my only problem with the book is that the end dragged a bit. I will also say it’s not the type of book I want to willingly announce to co-workers who ask what my latest read is – it doesn’t exactly scream brilliant employee.
Would I say this is the best book I’ve ever read? No. Would I read it over and over? No but I’m not a huge Tori Spelling fan and there are very few books I would read over and over. But this book is surprisingly a good read. An even bigger endorsement for Spelling – I went to the library and got her second book… but that is a different blog.
My theory for selecting books is to go to the library and roam. I walk up and down aisles until a title or cover catches my eye and I pull the said book down and scan what it’s about. All the nonsense about not judging a book by its cover goes out the window with me. You don’t have an eye catching cover – then why should I waste my time?
So for my first book to review I should probably pick something very “smart”, something like Jane Austin perhaps? Well I’ve read Jane Austin and love them (Persuasion is my favorite in case you are wondering) but that’s not my current book of the moment. In fact I’m not sure I want to admit what I just finished reading for fear that you might stop right here and never read another review again. But I’m going to take a leap and announce that the book I just finished is Tori Spelling’s sTORI Telling.
Coming from the fact that my mom would not let me watch 90210 growing up I knew very little about Tori Spelling aside from what was on various entertainment blogs or in the tabloids. I had seen her cable show a few times and it was funny. The only reason I picked up the book was I felt like I needed a break from the more serious reads I had just finished and hers seemed like a decent choice.
In case you live under a rock, Tori Spelling is Aaron Spelling’s daughter – she was on his show 90210, she’s done TV movies, a VH1 show and her latest venture is a reality TV show with her husband. Spelling is the person you want to not like, she grew up in the lap of luxury, got on a hit TV show, cheated on her first husband, fights publicly with her mother… I’ll admit I even went into the book thinking I wouldn’t make it past the first few chapters.
The good news for Spelling is she takes all of those things people know about her and still makes you care about her. You find yourself rooting for her and feeling sorry for her. She tells it like it is and doesn’t sugarcoat anything. She talks about insecurities, bad relationships, love, friendship, etc as if catching up with an old girlfriend. Working in her favor is the fact she very carefully crafts everything as how she was feeling or how she perceived it, leaving her ex-husband, mother, cast members, etc. to tell their own version of the story in their own book. This was a plus to me, she could have very easily talked trash about a vast number of people I’m sure but then she’d probably just come across as biter or vengeful.
In fact, my only problem with the book is that the end dragged a bit. I will also say it’s not the type of book I want to willingly announce to co-workers who ask what my latest read is – it doesn’t exactly scream brilliant employee.
Would I say this is the best book I’ve ever read? No. Would I read it over and over? No but I’m not a huge Tori Spelling fan and there are very few books I would read over and over. But this book is surprisingly a good read. An even bigger endorsement for Spelling – I went to the library and got her second book… but that is a different blog.
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