Publisher: Harper Collins/William Morrow Page Count: 311 Fiction Genre: Humor, Fantasy, Historical, Retelling Dates Read: August 25-30, 2015 Summary We all know the story of King Lear, but know it's time to hear about it from the jester's perspective. Pocket, the jester, takes us through the who shebang of Lear, his daughters, and son-in-laws, and tells us about the mischief he found himself in. All while trying to save his love, Cordelia, from vindictive sisters, murderous brother-in-laws, and a vengeful father. Review My first glimpse of Moore's work was Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal. I honestly did not think anything could top that, but Fool has given Lamb a run for its money, and has easily turned Moore into one of my favorite authors. Moore's wit and humor run deep in his stories; it's outstanding. Shakespeare's King Lear was a tab on the boring side, but it is still very masterful. Moore has taken a classic, and respun it for a new generation. With deep character development, and a well thought out back story, Moore left me feeling like I was on the sideline of my favorite team's recent game, cheering them on to victory. Ratings (based on a 10 point scale) Quality of Writing - 8 Pace - 7 Plot Development - 7 Characters - 6 Enjoyability - 8 Insightfulness - 5 Ease of Reading - 7 Photos/Illustrations - N/A Overall Rating - 4 out of 5 stars
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Publisher: Bantam Books Page Count: 446 Fiction Genre: Horror, Mystery, Fantasy, Thriller, Paranormal Dates Read: August 16-25, 2015 Summary Odd Thomas is a simple man with a simple life. He's a short order cook at a local greasy spoon. He also has Stormy, the love of his life; destined to be together, so said the gypsy woman. The only reason Odd is odd is because of his special gift for seeing dead people and when trouble is coming. Well, something big is coming to Pico Mundo, CA, and Odd will do everything he can to stop it. Review WHOA! This was brilliant. It was very well written, and very realistic. I felt like I was actually riding passenger to Odd's life. Koontz's character development is magical. I found myself engulfed in the story, tearing through the chapters. The ending was a shock fest. I was so wrapped up in what was happening in the moment that I could not see where he was taking this ending. This book was beautiful, sweet, and heart-breaking. I'm not sure I'll finish out the Odd Thomas series, but I know I want to read more of Koontz's books. Not long after reading the book I saw the movie. While I love the book, I found the movie to be a huge disappointment. I felt that they had left out too many important details, and it seemed as though the entire movie was a rush job to complete in 5 days and on $10.00. I am happy that I read the book before seeing the movie. Ratings (based on a 10 point scale) Quality of Writing - 9 Pace - 8 Plot Development - 8 Characters - 9 Enjoyability - 9 Insightfulness - 6 Ease of Reading - 7 Photos/Illustrations - N/A Overall Rating - 5 out of 5 stars Publisher: Roberts Rinehart Publications Page Count: 40 Fiction Genre: Childrens, Picture, Fantasy, Adoption Dates Read: August 23, 2015 Summary Three robbers run through a city looting it at every chance. One night they stop a carriage and take an orphaned girl named Tiffany back to their mountain cave. By doing this they save Tiffany from having to live with her wicked aunt. Soon they start to take in other orphans and use their loot to take care of the children. Review This was a beautiful book, with lovely illustrations, and a great story. This book wasn't exactly what I was expecting (when I ordered it I did not realize it was a childrens book), but I'm glad it came into my hands and that I read it. I plan to share this book with my nephew, and if I ever have children of my own, this will definetly be on their reading lists. Ratings (based on a 10 point scale) Quality of Writing - 7 Pace - 8 Plot Development - 5 Characters - 5 Enjoyability - 6 Insightfulness - 5 Ease of Reading - 8 Photos/Illustrations - N/A Overall Rating - 4 out of 5 stars Publisher: TOR Books Page Count: 336 Fiction Genre: Steampunk, Alternate History, Fantasy, Sci-Fi Dates Read: August 2-16, 2015 Summary Welcome to Victorian London, with a modern twist. While a series of grisly murders are happening all over the city, Sir Maurice Newbury and his new assistant, Veronica Hobbes investigate the strange and mysterious crashing of an airship. Review This book took me forever to get through, and I'm questioning how much I really enjoy Steampunk. The last several books I've read in the genre seem to have left me disappointed, and The Affinity Bridge is no different. I was very bored throughout this book and had troubles keeping my attention in the pages. I found the writing to be dry and lack-luster, but there is a part of me that realizes that this could be so much better. I read this on a Nook, but recently purchased a physical copy of it. I'm going to try rereading it at a later date and see if my opinion changes. I don't know why I'm investing this much into liking a book, but I feel like I need to give Mann a second chance. Ratings (based on a 10 point scale) Quality of Writing - 6 Pace - 4 Plot Development - 5 Characters - 5 Enjoyability - 4 Insightfulness - 5 Ease of Reading - 6 Photos/Illustrations - N/A Overall Rating - 3 out of 5 stars Publisher: *Self-Published* Page Count: 389 Fiction Genre: Romance, YA, Chick-Lit, Book Club Dates Read: August 14-16, 2015 Summary Julie has left home for college. She's left behind small-town Ohio for big-city Boston. When she arrives to move into her new rental house she quickly learns that it is a Craig's List scam. With Julie's mother being so far away, her mother does the best thing she can think of and calls an old sorority sister who lives and teaches at the neighboring college, Erin. Erin, her husband, and two children welcome Julie into their home and allow her to stay with them rent free in exchange for helping to take care of the Watkins pre-teen child, Celeste. in the midst of everything, Julie finds her heart torn between the two brothers, the youngest, Matthew, who still lives at home while going to college, and the oldest, Finn, who is saving the world, and only communicates on occasion through facebook. Review *le sigh* well, I've finished this one, but I nearly gave up. It didn't make me cry, but it really frustrated me, which was horribly disappointing. The book actually started out really strong and I thought it was going places. I was deceived (let me be dramatic about this)! One of my favorite things about this book was the witty and flirty banter between Julie and Matt, and Julie and Finn (I should mention that the two boys are brothers). My other favorite part of this was the ending. That's it. That was the best Parks could do. Park's writing style started out great, and then around page 75, it was like she gave it up to a child and just dictated ideas to a 10 year old. There were moments I would cringe and just think, "okay, that was odd". But soon the occasional cringe turned into holding a cringed face as I turned the pages. So the writing was bad, but so was the plot and story line, and let's not forget Julie. Man, that Julie. What a *expletive*. I can't remember the last time I've read a character so shallow. This made the character development in the Twilight series look outstanding and Pulitzer worthy. I wish I could find a way to express to you how bad the plot was without giving something away, but it was very predictable and quiet pathetic. The best I can say is that Finn and Matt's little sister, Celeste is suffering from severe trauma and a borderline mental illness, but the family not only just lets it go, they encourage it, and now Julie is sort of in on it to, though she wants to help Celeste out. I loved the cover, and even though crying books aren't typically my thing I had high hopes for this. There is a part of me that I want to read the other two books, but only because I am a completionist. I'm just not sure I can bring myself to do it. It's like the Divergent Series all over again *shudders*. Ratings (based on a 10 point scale) Quality of Writing - 4 Pace - 4 Plot Development - 3 Characters - 2 Enjoyability - 3 Insightfulness - 3 Ease of Reading - 4 Photos/Illustrations - N/A Overall Rating - 2 out of 5 stars Book 185 (starts with the letter "M"): Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs8/13/2015 Publisher: Quirk Page Count: 352 Fiction Genre: Fantasy, YA, Paranormal, Mystery, Horror Dates Read: July 27-August 13, 2015 Summary Young Jacob watches as his grandfather is brutally murdered by some dark, mysterious beasts. Nobody believes him and thinks this was something he created to help cope with his grandfather's death. While going through his grandfather's things, Jacob finds snippets of his grandfather's youth, including letters from a Miss Peregrine. With the help of his psychiatrist, Jacob convinces his parents that going to England and visiting the island that his grandfather briefly lived on after his family was murdered during WWII would be therapeutic for him, so off he and his father go on an adventure that is sure to change Jacob's life. Review I tend to judge and pick books based on their covers. I can't lie about it, I've always done it, and I'm sure I always will. Sometimes I find great stories waiting in time, and sometimes I find duds. Miss Peregrine is one of those books that I picked because of the cover, and was even more enticed by the old pictures inside. I still don't know if I found a winner or a dud though. It honestly was not as great as I was hoping for, but it was still good. I loved that Riggs built his story around a bunch of old photos. Though they don't do a whole lot to further the story but they added to the background. Overall, the writing is strong, but the story felt like it was lacking a bit. The characters are not very deeply developed, but I think that is something that could come about during the second book. While I am not in love with MPHFPC, I plan on reading Hollow City, and possibly Library of Souls. Ratings (based on a 10 point scale) Quality of Writing - 7 Pace - 5 Plot Development - 4 Characters - 4 Enjoyability - 5 Insightfulness - 4 Ease of Reading - 5 Photos/Illustrations - N/A Overall Rating - 3 out of 5 stars Publisher: NAL Page Count: 208 Nonfiction Genre: History, Memoir, Biography, Race, Sociology Dates Read: August 2-5, 2015 Summary John Howard Griffin was a unique man in Texas during the 1950s. he believed and fought for race equality. Howard went to far to show the mistreatment of black citizens that with the help of doctors, he purposefully dyed his skin dark, gave up his life as a prosperous white man, and risked loosing his wife and daughters. Black Like Me is the journey of Howard as he took on the life of an impoverished black man in the American south. Review Let me start this review by unpacking my knapsack of white privilege. While I applaud and understand what Howard did and why he did this, in the grand scheme of things I have to ask myself what all did he accomplish by doing this, besides personal understanding. I understand wanting to literally walk a mile in someone else's shoes, but I feel like all that happened by him doing this was that he wrote for a black magazine and published his memoir. What changes did he help to bring to black society or to education the unenlightened white people? His activist behavior in this manner was about as effective as the new Sun Chip bags that are more eco-friendly. They don't really do anything to fix the bigger picture, but just hang around to remind you that someone with a big paycheck was sitting in an office and thought of something out of the box. All that being said, I did find Griffin's memoir to be insightful and heart wrenching to hear how bad things were for people back then. There is a lot of respect for what Griffin did, and the chances he was willing to take to put himself in a place that just by birth he never had to fear being. All that being said, I keep coming back to my original statement wondering what exactly did he accomplish in the long run by doing this? Ratings (based on a 10 point scale) Quality of Writing - 7 Pace - 5 Plot Development - 5 Characters - 5 Enjoyability - 5 Insightfulness - 6 Ease of Reading - 5 Photos/Illustrations - N/A Overall Rating - 4 out of 5 stars |
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