Saturday, December 20, 2014

The Best Halloween Ever

The Best Halloween Ever (The Herdmans #3)The Best Halloween Ever by Barbara Robinson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

While it was in line with the rest of the Herdman stories, I must say I didn't like it very much as compared to the other books. I guess I got sick of everyone hating on the Herdman's even though they are different and peculiar they do have core values and stick to them. They don't even have any parent figures so of course they are going to be a little off the wall. It may not have helped that I thoroughly dislike Halloween also.

Quick and easy read, definitely children would love this.

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Friday, December 12, 2014

Freaks

Freaks (Rizzoli & Isles, #8.5)Freaks by Tess Gerritsen
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Didn't realize this was such a short story. Could have been beefed up a little bit more.... And Tess Gerritsen writing about vampires.... Ewwwwww.

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The Best School Year Ever

The Best School Year Ever (The Herdmans #2)The Best School Year Ever by Barbara Robinson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Even though this is the second book about the Herdmans, I am growing to love their bizarre family. Robinson writes great stories and they all seem to have that make you melt quality but then also that quality that you laugh your ass off! LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!!

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Monday, December 8, 2014

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (The Herdmans #1)The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was recommended this book by a dear friend, who is also a devoted bookworm like myself. She said that she reads this book every year to her nieces and nephews at Christmas time. She said that if I was looking for a quick read and something that is a great story with a whole lot of heart this is what I should read. And as usual, my bookworm friend, knocked it out of the park. The book took me back to my days of reading Fudge-A-Mania, the Ramona B Quimby series and so many other fantastic great reads when I was in public school. The best thing about this book was the message. I'm not going to give it away but damn... The Herdmen's have a point and by George, they've got it!

If I could give it more stars I would :)


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Sunday, December 7, 2014

Unlucky 13

Unlucky 13 (Women’s Murder Club, #13)Unlucky 13 by James Patterson
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I chose this book because normally James Patterson books are an easy read. While this was an easy read, after a certain point in the book there was, what seemed to be, a rush to finish the book. My favourite part of the book was the storyline of the belly bombs, something that will happen in the future if it already hasn't. The other storylines of the women's murder club members were kind of lame and definitely predictable.

I am finding not only with children's books but with a lot of adult book authors that they are writing just to be able to fill the demand for their books. The quality is not the same as it was when they started and certainly goes down hill with each new book they publish. This leads me to believe that the time for them to bow out has come and gone or is coming and they are ignoring all signs that are pointing to it. This is troublesome because it causes the book market to be flooded with tons and tons of books that are poor and ok, leaving the readers less amazing and awesome choices to be found. Having to admit your time of being famous is over is not a bad thing because you are still able to leave people with good impressions of your best work. Writers need to observe their 'best before date' more frequently. (MY MINI RANT)

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Thursday, November 20, 2014

The Tale of the Duelling Neurosurgeons

The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons: The History of the Human Brain as Revealed by True Stories of Trauma, Madness, and RecoveryThe Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons: The History of the Human Brain as Revealed by True Stories of Trauma, Madness, and Recovery by Sam Kean
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

A dear friend recommended it to me, and I thought it could be a really heavy read, which I was but it was so FASCINATING. For the time I was reading this book, all I could talk about was the new things I had learned and what I found more interesting than the last time I had spoken about the book, (which wasn't very long).

I loved how the book was able to capture how far neurosurgery and things relating to the brain went back as fair as Medieval times and then the advancements that have come with great success. By far my favourite part would have to be learning about the face transplants. I found that completely interesting and just wanted to keep reading about it. I also liked how the chapter started about the lady that would make facial prosthetics that would hide face deformities or injuries. She was an artist and she used her talent to help people. The lengths she would go to by creating features that the person had before, ie. wire whiskers and beards, was outstanding. The mention of Phineas Gage was not surprising because he is one of psychology's go to people for personality changes after his accident, but the thing I liked about how Kean wrote about him was that he found a lot of information prior to the incident and also after the incident. It was like Kean really wanted you to get to know Gage as a person and then see the huge changes that would effect his life and the people around him. I had never known so much about Phineas Gage until this book. All I knew prior was that he was the guy that got a railroad tie through his head, but even that description doesn't really explain what happened nor the instrument that it happened with.

I could rant till the cows come home about how fabulous this book is. It truly grabbed my attention and made me think but also absorb so much information that was not known. One thing that was frustrating was that I was unable to figure out the pictograms for the words at the beginning of the chapters. I think I really only got 2/12 but I will be writing Kean to get the answers because I am very curious.

AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME book!

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Friday, October 3, 2014

Gone Girl

Gone GirlGone Girl by Gillian Flynn
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Well this book took an extremely long time to finish and there was a huge break in between. I was in the first third of the book and it was dragging beyond belief. I said to myself, "This is neither enjoyable, nor relaxing and is constantly putting me to sleep......SWITCH!" So after a long break and a discussion with a very good friend, (that did give away some very important information), I decided to try again. Well the book is now done and I am not any better for sticking it out, and I probably have lost some valuable reading time. I just could not get over how poorly written this book was. Not only were the characters lame, I actually hated AMY.... and NICK..... and MARGOT.....and ANDIE....oh hell I hated everyone, and overly intelligent but the ending was a complete let down. I would not recommend this book to anyone. It seemed to me like Flynn was trying to write a masterpiece like Herman Koch..... the delivery is just not there and the shock and awe factor is slightly there but not as dramatic as Herman, therefore causing an unsuccessful horror. Not many people can do what Herman does, so people like Flynn should just leave the heavy stuff for the professionals. Case and point.


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Monday, August 4, 2014

Summer House with Swimming Pool

Summer House with Swimming PoolSummer House with Swimming Pool by Herman Koch
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I like how bizarre Herman Koch's stories are. They take acts that people dream of doing and put them into action. They display people at their worst. Whether it's avenging a family member or committing an act that is criminal on so many levels, Herman captures and makes it so interesting. Although this book did not have the curiosity factor the same as THE DINNER, when you find out what is going to happen and the cause you have a hard time putting the book down. You want to continue the read, see how things are going to be construed or covered up. How the toll is going to be taken and ruin people's lives, whether they are directly affected by the incident or not. The thing I liked in particular about this book was watching the character shift in the lead character of Marc. It's slow but once it hits climax the ball is definitely rolling. There were sometimes where I considered not finishing this book but then I remembered how amazing THE DINNER was when you found out the hidden story. This was my mantra for continuing and I'm glad that I did because Herman Koch did not disappoint. This is a slower pace book to begin with but please stick with it because it's quite interesting..... the saying KARMAs A BITCH comes to mind.

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Sunday, June 29, 2014

The Fault in Our Stars

The Fault in Our StarsThe Fault in Our Stars by John Green
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

The one significant line that stood out to me from the whole book:
"My thoughts are stars I can't fathom into constellations." (only because I am obsessed with stars and the meaning and beauty behind them.)

As for the rest of the book, it sucked.

The author used the heart strings of the reader and the sympathies towards young adults with terminal diseases, especially cancer. It's a story of young love that is at the hands of fate and however long it allows these two main characters to suffer. Whether it is due to the hands of cancer or separation from the young lover that is lost. A tale that is played out predictably and not near as successful as the famous story of Romeo and Juliet. Although there are no warring families, it lacks the sincerity and passion that the classic provides. Nice try John Green, but it was a fail.

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Saturday, May 31, 2014

Private LA

Private L.A. (Jack Morgan, #3)Private L.A. by James Patterson
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Mediocre read, but boring. The bad guys were interesting but with the main characters being boring you can't have a book based on the bad guys being the only interesting component. James Patterson is starting to write the same stuff over and over again without any change. He's just not as mysterious as he used to be, he's more predictable. And his storylines are getting more predictable all the time.

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Sunday, March 30, 2014

Running Blind

Running Blind (Jack Reacher, #4)Running Blind by Lee Child
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Yet again GoodReads has me frustrated that I cannot give 1/2 stars. I would really rate this book 2.5 stars. It certainly dragged on, but I will admit there were some parts which were quite interesting, ie the killers way of killing (but that doesn't get revealed until the last few chapters). I also found that Jack Reacher in the book is completely different than the Tom Cruise character portrayed in film. In real-life Cruise is short, where as the book has Reacher portrayed as a man that is plus 6 ft and is approximately 230 lbs.

I was very disappointed with how Reacher came to the conclusion of who the killer was. It just didn't seem very logical to me and there was a lot of time being wasted. I have read a lot of books and I was pretty sure that I would be able to figure out the killer. I had my guess to who I thought it was and was totally out in left field. Then when I found out who the killer was, all I was saying to myself was WTF? The ending was a disappointment as well. Jeez Lee Child, you create a character like Jack Reacher, you've got to be able to have a story that meets his abilities. Reacher is a lone ranger, out on his own. Goes to the beat of his own drum. Then an ending like that just makes the whole story fall flat. Then there's the whole issue of the FBI. What a bunch of dummies. I'm left thinking, if that is how you truly think the FBI operates what a huge disappointment.

Now that I have written all this I am finding that the book doesn't deserve 2.5, a two will suffice.

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Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Wild

Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest TrailWild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I had a lot of hopes for this book. I enjoyed the idea of following Strayed on her hike across the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). I liked the idea of being immersed in nature and Strayed having to find her way and herself. This book had a lot of potential but in many areas it fell short. There was a lot of repetitiveness throughout the book. If you read something once surely you were going to come across it again. The were quite a few things that were bizarre, ie the Bigfoot dreams, having to shoot her mother's horse with her brother, as well as her wanting to be alone but than there were times where she would be yearning for company. Part of the book that made me a quite angry was how mad Strayed was at her mother for dying of cancer. She considered her mother's death a form of giving up and I don't really agree with that opinion or belief. Cancer is an awful disease and imposes struggles on people that some would consider insurmountable. It was very selfish of Strayed to say she hated her mother for dying. I wasn't really impressed with this book or how Strayed handled some circumstances. The best thing was the descriptions of the mountains and what Strayed got to see on her journey. They were mediocre descriptions but it was nice to travel the PCT without the hardship. Also, I found the ending very rushed. It was like there was a cap on how many pages it had to be so she wrapped it up really quick. She even gave a bit of detail as to what happened a few years after... but it wasn't very important information. Everyone could take a pass on this book... but that's just my opinion.


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Thursday, February 6, 2014

Brain on Fire

Brain on Fire: My Month of MadnessBrain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It totally grabbed in the way that books about foreign illnesses and diseases do. What Cahalan went through in a month, most people could not handle going through in a longer time period. It was interesting that this illness is still quite rare, and treatment can be successful in most cases. A big kudos goes to Cahalan for letting, us readers, into a very critical and scary time of her life. I was very impressed by the bedside manner of her doctor, Dr. Najjar. Without his help and passion to find out what was happening to Cahalan, she may not have survived the experience or been able to return to her life and identity. Information in the last few chapters was a little repetitive. Still, a very interesting and thought provoking read.

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Thursday, January 23, 2014

The Final Testament of The Holy Bible

The Final Testament of the Holy BibleThe Final Testament of the Holy Bible by James Frey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am a self-profound Atheist, but when I was reading the bio on this book it reminded me of Frey's other book Bright Shiny Morning. Since I loved that book, I thought this would be an interesting choice because of it's relation to religion and the comparison in how the story was told from the view points of various characters. I was quite surprised at how much I enjoyed this book and the way that one character in the book was the sole purpose for how the other characters were linked. The story is written on the premises that this gentleman is the Messiah, and that he is to bring change and love to the world. Even though there is an intertwining of religions, it focuses on the fact that essentially all religions are based on the same philosophy of promoting change and love. When you are reading you feel like you get to know each character on a deeply personal level, and how the premise of the story relates to them directly and indirectly. A well written piece of literature that if you are curious about religion but do not believe in it, you may want to explore this avenue.

As much as OPRAH bashed Frey for A Million Little Pieces and My Friend Leonard, he continues to prove her wrong by turning out fabulous writing that poses questions to topics that are of high priority. Kudos to Frey for continuing his love of writing.

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