Chocolat

Chocolat by Joanne Harris
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book deserves 5 stars for the descriptions alone. Everything is so detailed it's like you are a fly on the wall hanging out and listening and watching the characters. The food descriptions were high quality and made me feel warm and fuzzy. The items were made with such love that you could feel it exuding from the pages. I find the descriptions of the characters are very intense and they give you a perfectly clear picture of what that character is supposed to be like in looks and mannerisms. There is a lot of continuity issues if you are comparing the book and the movie. Things happen in the book in a different order and certain things happen that don't in the movie, ie. Pantoufle in the book is a rabbit and in the film he's a kangaroo. I prefer the kanga than the rabbit for Pantoufle as I can see him being a way cooler animal bopping around with Anouk. There were certain situations that were handled way better in the book than the the movie. I will say though, after reading both the book and the movie, there is a more well rounded picture of how things happen (Like Ted Chiang's The Story of Your Life and the movie Arrival dove tail completing the meaning and plot). I am currently looking in to other literature that will be doing this so that I can see if there are any books that have the connection like these two did. 5 Stars.... I feel like I haven't given that out in a very long time.


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Harvest

Harvest by Tess Gerritsen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book didn't disappoint BUT there is never a time when Tess Gerritsen disappoints. Her drama/ thriller/ mystery type of writing littered with medical jargon is a like gold. I love the jargon and if I don't know what it means (rarely) it's something to research and learn about. The gritty, bloody descriptions are my fav as Gerritsen doesn't let anything slip away or make it less gross. I live for gritty writing and that's probably one of my favourite things to read. I think this particular book would make a great idea for a film and I think it would do way better than the Rizzoli/Isles books. 5 Stars, can't go higher than that.

REVIEW FROM October 11, 2011
This book was absolutely fabulous. I was looking for something gritty when I went to the book store and the people were suggesting stuff BUT I decided to take this book. Then I started reading it and it was even better then what I had hoped for. For all those people who like their medical dramas, ie. ER, chicago hope, grey's anatomy, this book is 10 times better then those shows will ever be, even when they are in their peak air times. This book is down right dirty. Surgeons using words like 'cut' when opening somebody's body cavity during surgery, harvesting organs for transplants, medical jargon supreme. And another twist to this book, I didn't once figure out who was behind the crime, therefore making it even more fab! Tess Gerritsen hits this one out of the park and gives herself a chance at two home runs instead of the proverbial one. LOVED IT (even minute, every heart beat!)


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Long Hard Road Out of Hell

The Long Hard Road Out of Hell by Marilyn Manson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have to say when reading this book it was like Marilyn Manson was telling all these stories directly to me. I realize that Neil Strauss is a co-author but it was a very personal way of writing the book. Sadly the book ends before Marilyn gets involved with Rose McGowan or my personal fav Dita Von Teese. There are a few sporadic pictures at the end but nothing with Dita. I would have liked to read about is marriage to Dita but I'm sure there is more than enough material to write another book. One thing that Marilyn included was the legal actions brought against him by various activists saying he was performing lewd contact/acts on stage, killing live animals and also brutalizing band members and women that were on stage (This is at the end of the book) AND in the beginning of the book he actually states what he did during those times that were speculated by the activists and the people complaining, concluding that they were making assumptions and using false information. I found the part about Satanism very fascinating as it is not really about worshipping the devil it's about making choices and that people choose their path (at least that's what I gathered from what I read). Marilyn Manson is extremely bright and probably on the level of being a genius. He is very creative and wants to make people think while using his craft in ways different than the cultural norms. The book was well written and I enjoyed reading every bit of it. I would give it a 4.5 but I'm going to give a solid 4 as I don't quite think it's a 5 star book.


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Hands of My Father

Hands of My Father: A Hearing Boy, His Deaf Parents, and the Language of Love by Myron Uhlberg
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I had really mixed feelings about this book. My heart went out to Myron because he was the interpreter for his deaf parents and it often put him in an awkward situation, ie at the deli or when his father's co workers were asking how he turned out to be 'normal'. He got to learn sign language and use it fluently, and he really cherished when he got to speak and communicate with the hearing. A major point was that deaf people tend to colonize in certain areas or times. For example, the parents and kids of multiple deaf families would go to the beach and sit in a circle together and different people would be communicating across what would be a conversational line. Another important point was, that during that time, not many people communicated using sign language and interpreters were not readily available at hospitals to help the deaf. Luckily for Myron's father, there was Myron BUT even then there were things said that Myron chose not to say to his father bc of the type of comments that were made.


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