A Piece of Cake

A Piece of Cake by Cupcake Brown
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I found this book captivating and it captured life in the Ghetto like no other book I read. There were lots of situations or occurrences that happened to Cupcake that I could relate to. It was nice to hear how she struggled with addictions all her life and then decided one day she was going to make the change. Cupcake was able to settle her differences with God and eventually have a very practical relationship with him. At times she was unable to believe the amount of help she would get when all she did was pray. (I FOUND THIS A BIT HARD TO READ SINCE I AM COMPLETELY ATHEIST AND DON'T BELIEVE IN GOD, BUT IT WAS NICE TO SEE HOW IT HELPED CUPCAKE)The best thing about this book was that all the hardships Cupcake faced paid off in the end and she became a success in more ways then she could every imagine.

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RE-READ ALERT Let's Pretend This Never Happened

Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir by Jenny Lawson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was an absolute hoot. Jenny Lawson has the funniest interpretation of things, and the pics embedded in the chapters are quite hilarious. My favs were: James Garfield (the wild boar), Hamlet von Schnitzel (the mouse in shakespearan garb) and of course Jean Louise (The Cuban Alligator wearing a beret and is an amputee). Lawson gives such inanimate objects a personality and actually considers them true friends. Sounds kooky but it makes the book different then many others. The book was like the Glass Castle and Shit My Dad Says combined but with a little more outrageous flair. Definitely had me laughing out loud a lot when I was reading it. A nice break from the harshness of reality.

NOV 19, 2013

JUST FINISHED READING THIS BOOK FOR THE SECOND TIME. JUST AS FRIGGIN HILARIOUS AS IT WAS THE FIRST TIME.

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The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary

The Chimps of Fauna Sanctuary: A True Story of Resilience and Recovery by Andrew Westoll
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was a book that touched so many different emotions. There was the happiness and joy when you could read about the chimps enjoying their encounters with the people at the sanctuary and making friends. There was sadness and heart breaking stories about what it was like to be a lab chimp and all the tests and crappy life instances they were subjected to. There was anger at the people who kept insisting that chimp research is a necessary process, when in reality there is so many differences and reasons why chimps do not make proper candidates for testing. It leads one to think there are plenty of people available in the jail systems, etc. that would make for perfect candidates and we would be testing on our own species so there would be no differences. The chimps truly do have a huge amount of personality and human traits. The Quebec government is and made a huge mistake when they decided to stop allowing fauna to accept chimps to live out their lives in a calming and peaceful setting. There is a page in the back that states websites that you can go to to support the saving of the chimps and make a donation but it still left me thinking there must be something more I could do. (I'd love to take a trip to the sanctuary and actually meet all the staff and whatever chimps are left....it would be a life changing experience).

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The Dinner

The Dinner by Herman Koch
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Although this book was slow to start, once you found out what the issue involving both families was, it was quite shocking. This book kind of looks at todays society and I could definitely see young teens/adults par-taking in the activities that happened in this book. There was a lot of negative feelings divulged from the book, ie. anger, rage, frustration, insecurity, paranoia. It gave an interesting view of what 'blind rage' might entail and seem like. The book was bizarre, I will say that. On the other hand, it gave gritty descriptions that I just was not expecting, which is something I love. My suggestion is you would have to read the book to get what I mean because my description isn't doing it justice. The only reason I am giving it a 4 stars is because the beginning was quite slow but in all honesty the book deserves a 4.5 because once you get past a certain point you can't put the book down.

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Silver Star

The Silver Star by Jeannette Walls
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

As usual Walls slams another one out of the park. With her quirky sense of humour and witty characters this book is a must read (like her other two). The mum, Charlotte comes off as a bizarre, free spirit that just decides she is going to stop being a mother and go to San Diego, leaving Bean and her sister Liz to fend for themselves and there's no notice of when she is coming back. Bean and Liz decide to make the trek from California to Virginia via bus and the stories begin to unfold. When arriving in Virginia, they find their Uncle Tinsley and he provides them with shelter and positive living experiences. Like the other books that Walls has written the families are more than their fair share of dysfunctional. The best part of this book was the significance of the Silver Star. It was heart felt and touching. Everyone needs to have one token they hold dear to themselves and the significance is worth millions more then the item itself.

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Confessions of a Sociopath

Confessions of a Sociopath: A Life Spent Hiding in Plain Sight by M.E. Thomas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I found this book incredibly interesting and couldn't put it down. The best thing about this book was that it was written by someone that is a high-functioning sociopath and she is not a criminal. Millions of times I have seen books written about or by people that are considered sociopaths but are criminals. This was the first I had seen the broke the mold, so being interested in learning about such topics, I dove right into this book. I liked how the author directed you to visit her website to see how sociopaths and others interact. The website is SociopathWorld.com. I was able to browse around a bit and get a feel for what the author was talking about how people completely condemn and judge those that are sociopaths. The conclusion I came to from reading this book was: all people have some little quality or varying degrees of traits that would/could be related to sociopaths. So before people start judging they need to learn all the facts and take into account people's lifestyles and upbringing. There are so many factors related to the subject that to just lay a blanket statement over everything is really under-estimating people and their abilities. This book got me to think about and view things differently as well as slightly get a look as to how a person, that is considered a sociopath, deals with various tasks and things in everyday life. A very eye opening experience reading this book, but it was all worth it :)

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Presumed Guilty

Presumed Guilty by Tess Gerritsen
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

When I was purchasing this book, I saw the cover and that it was by Gerritsen and I was like Yes! A gritty novel that I haven't read by Gerritsen. (I have read all her other novels and was kind of surprised that I had missed this one, but it was only released in the last little while.) As I am getting ready to read the book there is a note to the reader from Gerritsen. The note basically says that Harlequin Mira is releasing her previous works before she was a crime/thriller writer and she hopes that the reader enjoys her works. The only reason this book is getting two stars is because I was unable to guess who the killer was. There were so many possibilities and just when you think it was that particular character a fact was released that proved their innocence. The crime scene that started the book wasn't all that gritty or gorey. There was no real incidents of very in depth detail about a murder or crime scene after the one incident that was the books' main focus. I guess the problem with this book was that I am so used to reading Gerritsen's hardcore, nasty, suspenseful, gorey scenes that this book had no chance of measuring up. I realize that this book and a few other books that are yet to be released, were her starting point before she got to the crime/thriller genre. The book being published by Harlequin, I was kind of surprised. There wasn't any really continuous steamy drama between the main characters, or anything that would really get someone's hormones excited. (Now maybe that is me being prejudice assuming that all Harlequin books are meant to be hot and steamy.) The one thing I did really enjoy and thought Gerritsen did an amazing job capturing was the scenery of Maine and the main town of Bass Harbour where the story took place.

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Trust Your Eyes

Trust Your Eyes by Linwood Barclay


Unfortunately I have to give this book a zero star rating. It was treacherous to read and took much longer then usual. I am a faithful Linwood Barclay fan but this book was a huge disappointment. I kept perservering hoping things would get better or there would be some headway made. This book was a mix up of different perspectives and points of view which all seemed to repeat information multiple times but with a slight twist. The character of Thomas the schizophrenic was very weak and I felt that the book was written from a schizophrenic mindset even though it was not really supposed to be. It dragged on and the storyline was not as compelling and interesting as many other of Barclay's work. Please don't read this book. It is hopefully the only book that Barclay has written or will write that was a shambles. All Barclay's other books are fantastic...this one not so much.

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SECRET

S.E.C.R.E.T. by L. Marie Adeline
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book because it was believe-able erotica. It had a girl that had been with only one guy, married him, had a horrible relationship with him, and then he died. I guess I found this book relatable because I could see myself in the main character of Cassie. I wanted her to join the club and she did, and man did she learn a lot. I wish I had the same opportunity it would give me a sense of adventure and learn about myself more. I especially enjoyed the whole charm bracelet representing the steps she had to take, as well as the secrecy of the club but how liberating it was to be a member. And I realize that a lot of people will judge this book because of it's topic and compare it to the 50 Shades Bullshit but it really is different and so much more enriching. I just found out there is going to be a 2nd book in this series following the main character as she mentors someone. Now that I am going to have to read because you will get to see how she uses her personal knowledge and struggle with the unknown to coach a newbie.

The one downside was I felt the ending was rushed and lame. I was just informed that the ending was thrown in so that the series could be continued.

LAME ENDING ASIDE pick up this book!

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A Beautiful Truth

A Beautiful Truth by Colin McAdam
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved every minute of this book. I thoroughly enjoyed how Walt and Judy brought Looee into their life and treated him just like he was their son. The one thing that scientists try to remind people is that you can never take the wild out of an animal no matter how domesticated you make them. This was a perfect example and it didn't come apparent until Looee was in his adolescent years. He started acting out and doing things that would be considered more his wild side. Another thing I found interesting was I was amazed at how sexual the chimps were. I know that they are sexual creatures but everything they do somehow related back to sex whether it be in a literal or innocent way. It broke my heart when Looee was taken to Girdish to become a test subject. The animals were not well taken care of and it does make me sad that we use animals to test on for certain things. When Looee was taken to the area where David was running the experiments and studying the social behaviours of the chimps that was the best that Looee's life was going to get after he left Walt and Judy's. David had a sort of respect for the chimps even though he was watching an monitoring their social and learning capabilities. This was a fabulous book and when authors can successfully pull off writing from an animals perspective that truly shows their literary talents.

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Zoo

Zoo: The Graphic Novel by James Patterson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I absolutely loved this book. Patterson has never really written anything this gritty before. The opening chapters were fabulous. I loved the descriptions of the animals changing into violent creatures. I found the main character of OZ was a little weak and his relationship with Chloe, well lets just say that she could have helped him more since he saved her life. Then the book fast forwards to 5 years later and the world is in absolute chaos being attacked by all animals. It was genius how OZ figured out what the problem was and how to solve it. I have to say I wasn't surprised that once the problem had been fixed for a few days, the higher up government people thought they could go back to their way of life. The ending was perfect because it wasn't like the normal everything is solved and goes back to normal ending. This book was fab and probably one of Patterson's best to date.

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Last to Die

Last to Die by Tess Gerritsen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a little bit different then the gritty stories that Gerritsen usually tells. The suspense and drama were good and up to par but I found as I was nearing the end Gerritsen was trying to tie up all the loose ends quickly. The characters were strong and the scenery was very descriptive. The ending was somewhat predictable but had a very good twist. I would rate the book 3.5 stars but it was an easy and enjoyable read.

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The Fame Game

The Fame Game by Lauren Conrad
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Lc has another series and I am hoping to gobble it up just like I did with her LA Candy series. The main character of the book seems to be Madison, (from LA Candy), but I think there will be a shift as the series progresses so that the true main character is Kate. This book really captures that Hollywood is the place to go for fame but who knows whether you've got what it takes. Lying, deceit, deception, body augmentation, the list goes on for those that hope to make it. The biggest point being the connections one has. If you don't know anyone good luck because your journey is going to be 20 times harder. This book was similar to the show the Hills but the new characters were different and I cannot peg who Lc would have them reflect from the series. A quick and easy read with drama, romance, and gossip. In some cases this is almost better then the Tv show, but since there is no more Hills to watch it's definitely a good replacement.

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Darkly Dreaming Dexter

Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I thought this would be more graphic and in depth in the murder situations. And it never really got to the detail I was hoping for. Dexter in the book kind of is a mysterious but also kind of a bumbling fool with spurts of very great ideas. I didn't like any of the characters and I felt that I was dragging my eyes while trying to keep reading to the end. I tried reading it, finished reading it but won't be reading another one.


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Inferno

Inferno by Dan Brown
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I was really eager to read this book and I liked the first 200-250 pages, after that the book just went splat. I am not a Robert Langdon fan to begin with but that's not why I chose to read the book. I found what Robert and Sienna were able to accomplish in such a short time frame unbelievable and unreasonable. I really liked Sienna's character and she is much more dynamic then that of Langdon's character......(Brown should really consider making Sienna his lead character instead of Langdon. Sienna has so many different layers and types of knowledge, it would be nice to see how she would handle and explore critical situations.) Needless to say, when I found out what the contagion was I was very disappointed and just did not have the passion to finish the book quickly. Quite often it would put me to sleep. I was hoping for a more disastrous virus, something that would be really interesting and have me flying through the pages, but nope.....major let down.

Boo, Dan Brown, Boo!


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The Seven Year Bitch

The Seven Year Bitch by Jennifer Belle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As always, I thoroughly enjoyed another book by Jennifer Belle. In this book she looks at life from the perspective of a New York woman who has lost her job and is now 'supposed' to be staying home with her son and husband. It goes through her journey of looking for a nanny and then becoming friends and bonding with the nanny by trying to solve her (the nanny's) infertility problems. The best part is when Isolde (the main character) takes on the job of judging mail in contests. She gets to read about various peoples thoughts, lives and opinions in 100 words or less. I would like to say that if wisely put, almost anything can be described in 100 words or less. After doing the contests for quite some time Isolde finds herself tired of her marriage to her whiny husband, who is really all about himself. Her journey of finding herself is one that probably many unhappy women go on and have to muddle through. In the end, Isolde finds true happiness in the simplest of things and begins to enjoy her family, and new son, after being a 7 year bitch!

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City of Dark Magic

City of Dark Magic by Magnus Flyte
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this novel. It was a fairly easy read and there was a lot of mystery, magic and history. I found that Nico was very much like the character of Tyrion Lanaster from Game of Thrones (the dwarf character). He was very witty and smart as well as peculiar, which draws the reader into his character. This was my first book that I have read with the setting as Prague and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I can only imagine what it is really like there, with all the castles and old relics. The one character that I was always unsure about was Max. I never really could decide if he was on the good side of things or the bad side, but towards the end it became quite clear. The chemistry between him and Sarah Weston was a electric and there were some racy scenes that were written quite well. I didn't care much for the Beethoven story line but it did add a interesting twist to the already bizarre mystery. I liked the book and am definitely going to read the next one when it comes out. It reminded me very much of a Dan Brown (with Robert Langdon) book.

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The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was all about good heart, and that was the driving force and motivation for Harold's walk and the motivation for the author to write this story. There are not many stories that capture that from a real perspective and the world has become a place where few good people exist. I loved how Harold let people join his walk and valued/treasured each of their stories. Each character was an individual and yet similar in some ways be it by illness, experience etc. It really brings to life that in some way all people are connected by something or someway. They story that most touched my heart was that of Harold and Queenie. I was just waiting to see what would happen when he saw her after all his miles of walking. I was kind of shocked when it said what a state she was in....I was not expecting that at all. The pilgrimage was not only about saving Queenie but it also gave Harold a lot of time to think about and express his own feelings related to his son's suicide. Something he did not do in depth when the incident occurred. Loved how the book ended and that it actually made his marriage to Maureen stronger and more meaningful. Can't say enough good things about this book :)

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Bright Shiny Morning

Bright Shiny Morning by James Frey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. My favourite stories were that of Esperanza and Doug, Maddie and Dylan, and Old Man Joe. The main point that comes across from the book is that everyone flocks to Los Angeles, the city of angels, for their dreams to come true. Sadly the city is overpopulated with undiscovered talent and 'could be's. This brings the harsh reality that LA is the city where dreams are squashed without a second thought and people have to struggle and do whatever they can to meet the bare necessities. I would have given this book 5 stars but the short chapters that were of information that didn't need to be known and useless facts were a waste and kind of detracted from the story. Some of the characters you were meant to not like and I absolutely hated Amberton. His story line was crap and he was an overbearing asshole. Then there was the chapter of mini stories. I could definitely tell the gossip blogger may have been referring to Perez Hilton, the family of 3 that has the famous sibling might have a small semblance to Lindsay Lohan. The other mini stories in that chapter I couldn't quite figure out who they might have been. Another good book by Frey and I will definitely continue to follow him!

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Percy Jackson and the Olympians #5 The Last Olympian

The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I was a little let down by this book, hence it took between double and triple the length of regular time it would take me to read. Maybe it was because I was just tired of the storyline of Kronos coming to attack Olympus, or the storyline that some way Luke could be saved. (And i really didn't like or care for either of those characters) Compared to the 4 previous books this book was boring. The characters and their stories were repetitive (and i believe if you are going to read a series by the 3rd or 4th book you know majority of the background info so there is no need for the author to repeat it several times in each story). I really enjoyed the storyline of Rachel Elizabeth Dare and how she ended up being the Oracle but was going to try and live her life like the rest of the demigods. When Riordan was writing about her transformation it was very interesting and in depth. Finally, Percy and Annabeth are hooking up which took forever but it's a good thing I guess......I found her character a bit overbearing at times so I wouldn't want to be in Percy's shoes! Sadly the book only got an ok rating as I hoping it would be like the others in the series, but it was kind of a disappointment.

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Percy Jackson and the Olympians #4 The Battle of the Labyrinth

The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a great story. Rick Riordan does not fail when keeping the Percy Jackson saga going. I am into the last final book of the series and I am curious as to how Riordan will tackle the battle with Percy and King Kronos. The magic of the labyrinth was brought to life in this book. The thing I enjoyed most was when the characters met Pan. Although Pan had a very small part as a character, the adventure to find him was interesting and when we finally got to meet him it made it all worth waiting for. Pan admitted that he saw his 'wild' deteriorating and that there was nothing left to do but cherish and try to keep what is existing still available. It was almost a value that we as people should carry through on since we also are taking away from our natural resources. The story line between Annabeth and Percy took a twist and I kind of am disappointed that Annabeth loves Luke even though he's a bit of a bastard. Will Luke appear in the last final story? Probably, but I hope he doesn't have moments where he jumps between the personalities of Luke or Kronos. That will just be confusing and irritating.

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Percy Jackson and the Olympians #3 The Titan's Curse

The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and yet again plowed through another one in the series :)
The thing I enjoyed most was the pegasi, especially the character of Blackjack. Riordan gives great detail and these mythological creatures sound so beautiful, yet powerful. I also found the relationship that Percy made with Bessie was good and that even knowing that Bessie being kept alive would be a danger, Percy stuck to his guns and would not let anything happen to him. He even convinced his dad Poseidon to keep watch over Bessie so that nothing happened to him. The relationship between Annabeth and Percy is budding but I think Athena will throw a wrench into it moving forward because she has already voiced her opinion that she doesn't like Percy. And Luke...it's like he has nine lives! He's a mean character and I don't really like him much but for him to keep living he must be an important part of Kronos' plans to take over the Olympians.
I've already started the 4th book and can't wait to get through that. It's very hard to put these books down as I am always dying to find out what happens next.

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Percy Jackson and the Olympians #2 The Sea of Monsters

The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I flew through this book. I really liked the introduction of Tyson and how Percy's feelings grew towards him. The story line with Luke is very interesting and he is like the rogue kid from camp Half Blood that wants to seek revenge against the gods and his father. I'm curious to see where Riordan goes with his character in the third book. My favourite part by far was the two chariot races. The first one kind of had the disaster looming with the killer pigeons and the second one was a triumphant victory for Percy and Annabeth. It was good to see that as a team Percy and Annabeth are such a strong force. Hopefully in the books to come their force gets stronger and they can conquer the evil cast upon them by the doomed king Kronos.

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Percy Jackson & the Olympians #1 The Lightning Thief

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Since I enjoyed the movie so much I decided to try reading the book. It actually is part of a series which I bought and will read as well. As usual the book was ten times better then the movie and in a very strange way it was totally different. If the movie was exactly like the book was written I think it probably would have done better then it did (and it was fairly successful to begin with). Since the book was so radically different I enjoyed it even more because I went into reading it with an idea of what to expect and then it was so different. It was exciting to read and I have already started on the second book in the series. Growing up as a child I truly loved learning about Greek and Roman mythology, so this book definitely takes me back to my childhood. It was a nice light read and very interesting.

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Mummy Told Me Not to Tell

Mummy Told Me Not to Tell by Cathy Glass
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I normally really enjoy books by Cathy Glass but this one I couldn't really get into, hence it took me a month to read. There was something that I didn't like about the child that was the main character. Not sure whether it was his behaviour or whether I just didn't like the way Glass portrayed his character. Towards the end you find out very sad news which explains partially why he has such problems and then I felt really bad for him. But the news is also quite disturbing and horrifying so I had my jaw dropped a lot when I was reading what could have contributed to his issues. I also did not like how the social worker, assigned to the case, was so lax about how he dealt with things. Quite often he was under/mis-informed, he rarely met with the children that were under his charge, and he had a not caring attitude towards his job. He was always making excuses for why his actions weren't on time, etc. and the main excuse was that he had just gone through a divorce. Then you find out that he did get an extended leave so he should have been able to collect himself and put his heart and soul into his work upon his return. So yes, I found this book a bit off when compared to the other Cathy Glass books, but they all can't be winners I guess. I will read her books again but I may take a break from them for a while.

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Room

Room by Emma Donoghue
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a fictional story but in this day and age I could definitely see this storyline happening. A woman is held in captivity in a place called ROOM. She never gets to leave and her only source of natural light is from a skylight. Her captor inpregnates her twice but the first child dies in the birthing process. The second child lives and the story is about how she raises her son with the limitations of being contained to one room. The captor comes once a week and brings what the woman and her son call "Sunday Treat(s)". The treats range from birthday presents for the boy to painkillers for the mother. The boy and his mother create an escape plan that on the first try doesn't work but on the second try they are successful. The unfortunate part about the success is that they have been separate from the Outside that the boy is seeing everything for the first time. The only comparisons he can make are with what he has seen on TV which he thinks is a totally different world on its own. I the idea of being introduced to the world and not knowing about certain things or what to expect was very intriguing and Donoghue did a great job in capturing both the son and mother's fear and surprise. In a realistic sense it brought to light what a scary place the world can be. The ending is bittersweet but it kind of leaves the reader hanging. I would have liked to know about how the son and mother were fairing at different times down the road (ie. 5 years, 10 years). I would technically give the story a 3.5 stars but that isn't an option. The book contains a lot of dialogue which should make for a quick read but towards the end I found myself struggling.

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