Friday, September 30, 2011

Coming Soon: October 4

I can't find any great fiction books coming out next week, so in an effort to give you something to look forward to I've moved on to non-fiction.


Ellen Degeneres has written a book. Named, Seriously... I'm Kidding. I'm taking a trip to L.A soon and was hoping to get tickets to her show. Unfortunately it was sold out over a month in advance, I wasn't surprised just disappointed. I think she is really funny, so if you love her show, (who doesn't) and like to read celebrity biography s, I bet you will find this an entertaining read. Publishers Weekly describes the book as loosely surrounded around the idea of how she found happiness, with several veers off topic.





Sorry, that's all I got for this week. Unless you want the Breaking Dawn collectors edition? No? Well hopefully some better books are coming soon, so we don't have to resort to teen drama. (Even if I did secretly like them)

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Banned Books

It's banned book week until October 1.

Personally I have never understood the want to ban books.  With movies like the Saw series, and video games with blood and gore where opponents are blowing off each other's head, how are written words more harmful?

But you constantly hear of parents who want to limit what they children read in school, because they don't agree with the opinions or feel they are too graphic. The too sexual complaint is what gets me the most considering you cant change the channel on TV without seeing women wearing a sexy outfit (have you seen what those gossip girls wear?) and sexual jokes and references.



 I think reading controversial books in school is a good idea. That way the children can be involved in an open conversation about why the ideas in the book might be wrong, and what their feelings are about them.  We can not shelter our children from racism and grown-up themes, they will come across them sometime in their life and I would prefer it be in an atmosphere where it can be explained. If a book has inappropriate language, then give a history of that time and why the word was used. We can not learn from our past if we ignore it.

Being exposed to controversial issues is not the same as condoning them. These things exist and we must all learn to deal with them rationally. If you don't agree with them, explain it to your children why you think it is wrong, and then let them make their own choices. 

It is not okay that some people feel they can force their ideals onto others. If you don't like it, fine, but that doesn't mean you can stop my children from reading them. Personally, I read a lot of these books in my high school English class.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Book Releases September 26

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 I've read one of his books before and couldn't finish it, but Lee Child has a new book out. (That was a bad introduction, it could be a really good book) The Affair has the return of his character Jack Reacher.  Being the sixteenth instalment of the series, The Affair brings some long awaited back story to Jack Reacher. We go back to 1997, and Jack is a military cop being set on an undercover mission to Carter Crossing. A young women has been killed and all evidence points to a solider. After Jack is sent there, the investigation gets out of control. There is a cover-up in place so Jack has to team up with the local sheriff to uncover the truth.








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The next book I found is a collection of stories by several authors including J.D Robb. (Nora Roberts) There are five stories in this collection and they all appear to all have some type of ghost connection in them. I'm going to be lazy here and just paste their descriptions from the website.

From J.D. Robb: Eve and Rourke return to investigate a series of murders connected to a brilliant young surgeon in Chaos in Death.

From Mary Blayney: A Shopkeeper's solitude is complicated by a magic coin, a daring rogue, and dreams of her late husband, who whispers but one word...wish.

From Patricia Gaffney: A lonely woman and a hotline psychic turn their astonishing connection to the other side into an unexpected romance.

From Ruth Ryan Langan: The shattered soul of an angry spirit imprisoned in a Scottish manor house could be a young widow's only salvation.

From Mary Kay McComas: A young ghost eases his brother's pain and guilt by inviting him into the dreams of an imaginative author of children's books.



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This last book is Nighwoods by Charles Frazier. I think this one sounds really good, it takes place in the 1960's. On a side not the author is know for his accurate historical novels and is said to have done a great job recreating this time period.
 Luce lives alone in a remote lodge in North Carolina. When her sister is murdered Luce inherits her twins and her solitary life is shattered as she tries to deal with two troubled children. As she struggles alone two men are approaching, one is her sister's husband and murderer, and the second is someone who might be able to bring them solace. I like a great suspense novel, and a novel with great characters, and this promises to have both.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Mile 81 by Stephen King

Before you read this review and decide you want to read it, I will point out that this is e-book only.

This was a typical short story by Stephen King. Here's my simple review. If you like his bazaar plots then you will probably like this story, but if you don't like the gore, blood, and the just plain weirdness that comes with him, then you won't.

In the middle of summer, a bored kid finds himself at an abandoned rest stop alone, with a bottle of vodka. While he is sleeping it off a station wagon pulls up, but no one gets out. Soon there are a line of cars at the rest stop, a cell phone lies unattended by the station wagon door, but is there anyone around, or even alive?

 I have read a few of his short stories before so knew what to expect. I've always considered them hit or miss, this one was closer to a hit, but not amazing. It had his typical "what the hell just happened" moments, and I kept reading it because you never know what could happen when it comes to his stories. One of the complaints I had was that the language was a little crude. I didn't like hearing the way that the one child spoke in the story. I like to imagine that children do not speak that way or have thoughts like that, until they are a least 18 years old.

If you love Stephen King then by all means read this short story. If you don't care for him or only like him sometimes, don't bother, its not his best work. Overall 3/5

Friday, September 16, 2011

New Releases: Week of September 19

An exciting thriller


 Sandra Brown has a new book coming out called Lethal. I read a previous book of hers titled Play Dirty and really liked it, so I am excited about this new release. It starts with Honor's four year old daughter telling her that there is a bloodied man in their backyard. This man turns out to be armed and takes Honor hostage and makes her promise to do everything he says. Coburn is on the run and has been accused of murder, but he tells Honor a story corruption around a man called the Bookkeeper, a criminal with power over the local law enforcement. When Honor finds out her late policeman husband might have been involved, her and her daughters lives become in danger.







Detective Series


Heat Rises by Richard Castle. Nikki Heat finds herself in a situation that quickly strips her of her badge and leaves her out in the open as a target. It all began with the murder of a priest at a bondage club. The routine investigation  soon goes south when she uncovers a conspiracy that reaches all the way to the top of the NYPD. Nikki soon finds herself up against a drug lord and a CIA contractor.  The only one she can trust is the reporter Jameson Rook.

This is Castle's third book in the Nikki Heat series.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Jackie Collins Live Chat and Book Signings

Jackie Collins, who is known for her racy novels, is participating in a live video chat on goodreads. The chat takes place on September 20th at 8pm Eastern/5pm Pacific. It looks like you have to be a member of the website to ask questions, but I was able to load the page with the video file without signing in. Perhaps without a log in you can watch the chat but not ask questions? Either way its a free sign-up, and a pretty cool website if your into books.

Collins new book is called Goddess of Vengeance. Its stars one of her previous characters, Lucky Santangelo, but is not meant to be a sequel so you can read it if you haven't read any of her books before.  This is a book full of lust, greed, and family. Lucky is a rich powerful women whose current project is a resort in Las Vegas. There are a few intertwining story lines in this book. One centers around her spoiled daughter Max, who is turning 18 and wants to move to New York. The main story is about Armand Jordan, an Arab prince raised in New York who wants to buy Lucky's resort The Keys. What he doesn't expect is Lucky who has no intention of selling her resort. This book should be great if you love to read about the worlds of wealth and fame.




If you want to see her live instead, she is doing a book signing in Nashville at Dillard's Department store on September 17. She speaks from 1:30 - 2, and is signing books from 2 - 3.

She is also in Los Angeles at Barnes and Noble at the Grove at 7pm.


Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Girls in White Dresses by Emily Close


I'm having trouble deciding if I liked this book or not. It was about three best friends Isabella, Mary and Lauren. Yet it took me about half the book to figure this out. The book is laid out with each chapter focusing on a different person. It opened with Isabella and Mary and I was sure I was going to love the book. Then it switched characters and I was introduced to Lauren, Ellen, and Shannon. Their story was also good and at this point I was still impressed with the book. The next chapter went back to Isabella, but this time focused on her relationship with her boyfriend. (Lauren made guest appearances) This is how the book continued, each chapter switching to a different character focusing on their love lives and careers. Since I neither loved nor hated this book I decided to split this review into two parts: the good and the bad.

The Good:

The good thing about multiple characters in a book is that the book is able to cover many different circumstances, and the reactions of different personalities. I like how none of the characters in this book had perfect lives. They dealt with situations that everyday people face, like hating your friends boyfriend, not being satisfied in your career, and having friends you don't really like. The most refreshing part of this book was that their relationships weren't perfect. They fought with their boyfriends. They broke up with them. They dated people that were bad for them. They had questions about their relationships, they didn't love their partners unconditionally and think they were the most perfect person ever. Their partners had faults, and it annoyed them. I think this book reflected real life more then most books do, and I liked it for that.

The bad:

Too many characters! Every time I started a new chapter I had to go back to remember what happened to that character last. I kept flipping back to remind myself which boyfriend she had before, was hers the political guy or the one who went skiing? A couple times they jumped years ahead and suddenly had new boyfriends or different jobs. I would be confused for a moment trying to realize if this was the first time it was mentioned or if I missed something. I think it would have been better if the story was only told from the perspective of the three main characters only. The others characters could still be in the story just not have chapters dedicated to them. Saying that, I think the chapters on Abby and Cate were unnecessary and perhaps the one on Shannon too.

I think this is a book you have to read twice. Read it again after you are familiar with all the characters, and I think it would be a much easier read. I think then I could appreciate it more.
I think the author should have made this a series of three books. She had so many good stories to tell and I would have enjoyed getting deeper into some of the characters. Although I was often annoyed with the changes I still found the book easy to read and the chapters individually were well written and kept my interest. If you have a good memory and can keep track of all the characters, I would recommend this book to you. If not just read it twice. 3/5

Get it on Amazon
Get it at Chapters/Indigo

Friday, September 9, 2011

New Releases



This book looks really good, I like a little fantasy in my stories, and this book sounds like it does a good job of combining the real world of the 1800's with a world of magic. This book is getting amazing reviews from critics. Most of them describe it as a beautifully magical world that pulls you in from the beginning. Personally I love books that are so captivating that you forget what you were suppose to be doing and read all day long.

 Night at the Circus is about a circus (surprise) that comes into a town, and is only open at night. In the center of the adventure are two magicians who are magically in love, so much that lights flicker when they are together. They have both been trained since childhood for a dual that will take place between them. Unknown to them only one can survive and the fates of everyone involved is in the balance.
I think this might be my next read!





Another novel that looks good is Robert B. Parker's Killing the Blues. Michael Brandman produced many of the TV movies based on Parker's novels, and after the authors death he has taking over the writing of this series. In this addition of the Jesse Stone series, the town of Paradise, Massachusetts is getting ready for tourist season when a string of car thefts turns into murders. Jesse the towns police chief, has to attempt to solve these murders,and many other issues, while dealing with a young PR executive who wants to turn the town into a summer concert destination.
Also, memories of his past come to surface when a stranger from his L.A shows up in town seeking revenge. If you like police procedural or have read a previous Robert B. Parker novel, this is for you.



Thursday, September 8, 2011

Man Booker Shortlist Announced

The Man Booker shortlist was just announced on Tuesday. I didn't know what the Man Booker prize was until last year, so if anyone out there is like me and unsure what it means, this is how it is described on their website:
The Man Booker Prize for Fiction, first awarded in 1969, promotes the finest in fiction by rewarding the very best book of the year.
Anyone who writes a full-length book in English, who is part of the Commonwealth is eligible for the prize.  It has to have been published that year in the UK.  (The word Commonwealth always reminds me of the show Andromeda. It was a Sci-fi show so I'm assuming I'm the only one who watched it) 

The six books that made the shortlist this year are:

Julian Barnes The Sense of an Ending
Carol Birch Jamrach’s Menagerie
Patrick deWitt The Sisters Brothers
Esi Edugyan Half Blood Blues
Stephen Kelman Pigeon English
A.D. Miller Snowdrops

Two of the authors are first time novelist - Stephen Kelman and A.D. Miller, and two of them are Canadians - Patrick de Witt and Esi Edugyan. The winner of the prize will be announced October 18 and they win 50,000 pounds. Sounds good to me!

The Sense of an EndingJamrach’s Menagerie The Sisters BrothersHalf Blood Blues Pigeon EnglishSnowdrops

Monday, September 5, 2011

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

If the first book was survival, and the second one rebellion, then this one is war.

Mockingjay doesn't sugarcoat war. The characters are faced with hard choices, like when is it okay to kill, and who is it okay to kill. They don't all agree on the answers, and their differences of opinion strain relationships.
The characters in this book don't come back from battle triumphant, giddy over their victory, and laughing at the expense of their enemies. They come back broken people, forever changed by the atrocities they saw and the savagery they had to take part in.

Friedrich Nietzsche said, That which does not kill us makes us stronger, but that isn't always true. Sometimes, what doesn't kill you changes you forever.

Review:

I'm not sure if I liked Katnis in this book. I did like how the author tried to make her character believable. In lots of book characters go through unbelievable circumstances and it appears to not affect them at all. Katnis becomes irrational at times in this book, and at other times completely closes her self off from the world. What I liked about her in the previous books was how she stayed calm and rational on the outside, even when she was angry or scared on the inside. She still has the amazing instincts and strong combat skills which she demonstrated in the other books, but is more vulnerable and is often found huddled in a corner after the action has died down.

A lot of time in the beginning of the Catching Fire was spent with Katnis at her home in district 12. Although I found this part slow at the time, it was necessary to get to know the characters in her village and see her interactions between the other characters. All of that played a role in this book, because it didn't just focus on Katniss and Peeta, but her village as well.

Katnis spends a lot of time in this book contemplating her position as the Mockingjay, and how she feels about this position she never asked for. There was also a lot of planning in the book. They discussed how to win the war, how to get back at Snow, and how survive in this new world, and how to deal with the things you have done. Sometimes I was wishing there was more action and less talk about it.

I really enjoyed this book. It was more grown-up then the previous two. While the first two were predictable at times, I found my self surprised  by the plot twists in this story. The characters were more grown up too. They took on separate roles in the war, and changed from the previous books. I was even more attached to this story then the other two. In the others there was a clear end, either she survived the hunger games or not, but this time anything could happen. Everything was in such turmoil surrounding Katnis, that I had to find out how it was going to end, and who was going to survive.

In my opinion the best of the three. 5/5

Friday, September 2, 2011

New Releases September 5

I forgot to post new releases last week, and I don't even have an excuse why. The first book I'm showing you was released last week.


Only Time Will Tell, is the new book by Jeffery Archer. I have never read any of his books before, so I cant comment whether I think he is a good writer or not. I read the synopsis and this book sounds like it could be really interesting, or long and boring. I only say this because it reminds me of Pillars of the Earth which I read a few years ago. It also spanned the entire life time of the main character. Although it was a good story I found it hard to get through a book that covers such a wide time span.  If you love Jeffery Archer, and think I'm being unfair, I'm sorry, I probably am. So, I'll stop talking and tell you what the book is about. The book starts in 1920 with Harry Clifton's words "I thought my father was killed in the war." Harry never met his father and learned about the docks from his uncle and was expected to work there too, until he got an unexpected scholarship to a exclusive school. When Harry grows up he learns the real way his father died, which raises the question whether his father was really his father at all. This book is the first in a series called the Clifton Chronicles. The series will take the reader through 100 years of this families story.


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Christina Dodd has a new book named Revenge at Bella Terra. I have read one of her books before and liked it. She did a good job of combining romance with adventure. Eli's family vineyard has run into financial trouble. An Italian magnate named Tamosso Conte makes Eli an offer to make his problems disappear. All he has to do is marry his daughter. But Chloe does not want to get married, and soon discovers Eli has secrets that will put them both in danger.

 






 This book being released on Tuesday, is a spin off of Live Wire, by Harlan Coben. Mickey Bolitar was introduced in Coben's last book as Myron's nephew. In this novel made for young adults, Mickey has to live with his uncle after his father dies in a car crash and his mom is sent to rehab. In Mickey's new school he meets friends and has a girlfriend, Ashley. Just when everything was getting better Ashley disappears and Mickey is determined to find her. After Mickely follows her trail into a seedy world, he discovers that Ashley was not who she said she was, and either was his father.