Sara has
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| # | cover | title | author | isbn | isbn13 | asin | num pages | avg rating | num ratings | date pub | date pub (ed.) | rating | my rating | review | notes | recommender | comments | votes | read count |
date
|
date read | date added | date purchased | owned | purchase location | condition | format | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1451685033
| 9781451685039
| 3.44
| 748
| Feb 12, 2013
| Feb 12, 2013
|
This book started off with a lot of promise but lost steam very quickly. Jason's a mild-mannered guy who, seventeen months earlier, killed a man and b...more
This book started off with a lot of promise but lost steam very quickly. Jason's a mild-mannered guy who, seventeen months earlier, killed a man and buried the body in his back yard. Since then, he's lived in fear of it being discovered and has been somewhat haunted by the memory of the victim. While getting yard work done, two bodies are discovered buried on his property - neither of which Jason recognizes or knows anything about. He's worried about a third body, the one he buried, being discovered, but goes along with the police investigation for now because he doesn't know what else to do. I think the biggest problem with this book is that it had such a strong premise - I loved the concept of there being one known and two unknown bodies in his yard - but didn't seem to go anywhere from there. The narration jumped around between characters (including one from a dog's perspective, which was really weird). I enjoyed the camaraderies between the detectives and I actually sympathized with Jason's plight; the author did a nice job creating understandable, realistic characters. However, there wasn't much of a mystery or gripping plot in the book. The murders are solved early on from the reader's perspective, and the rest of the novel was then devoted to showing the chase toward actually capturing the killers and making sense of everything. After a while, the lack of a strong plot seemed to take its toll on the book overall. Scenes seemed drawn out, often told from multiple perspectives, and it wasn't always clear what exactly was going on or why. The last quarter or so of the book was comprised of a single chase scene, told in short narrative bursts from multiple characters involved, and it seemed to drag. The extra details inserted into descriptions didn't help either. Perhaps the biggest problem for me was that the mystery was already solved and, as the reader, I already knew everything that was going on, so there was no real excitement in such a finale. Also, the very ending of the book was lost on me. Either I missed symbolism somewhere or I just didn't care enough to comprehend its impact. I think this novel could have benefitted from slower reveals and deeper mysteries. Although it started off with a lot of potential, I'm not exactly sure what the book turned out to be. It wasn't much of a mystery or a thriller, considering that explanations are readily provided, and despite the "action" that followed, I grew bored with the novel's lack of plot or direction. (less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| Jun 16, 2013
| Jun 16, 2013
|
Nov 26, 2012
| Hardcover
| |||||||||||||||
| 0062207393
| 9780062207395
| 3.81
| 4,281
| Feb 12, 2013
| Feb 12, 2013
|
In 1852 Virginia, Josephine is a 17-year-old slave who plans to run away but needs to finish taking care of her sick mistress, Lu Ann Bell, before put...more
In 1852 Virginia, Josephine is a 17-year-old slave who plans to run away but needs to finish taking care of her sick mistress, Lu Ann Bell, before putting her plan into action. In 2004 New York City, Lina is a young attorney who, hoping to become partner, agrees to handle a class action lawsuit for slavery reparations. Meanwhile, an art exhibition comes to town, featuring works by Lu Ann Bell, but there's a continuing controversy over whether Lu Ann actually painted everything or whether much of it is the work of her slave, Josephine. Looking for a "face" for the lawsuit, Lina decides to track down Josephine's descendants and see how Josephine's life ended up. The story jumped back and forth between 1852 and 2004, and I think the parallel storylines were used to good effect. I felt more drawn into Josephine's life than I was into Lina's, but perhaps this was because everything in the novel tied back to Josephine somehow. The world around Josephine seemed to spring to life, and the author obviously did research to get the setting correct. I was curious to know what had happened to Josephine after 1852, when she'd seemingly disappeared from public record, and interested in knowing how Lina would figure it out. Lina's story felt much less developed than Josephine's. The best parts of Lina's story were when she was actively investigating Josephine's history: where she'd lived, the family who'd owned her, and possible offspring. However, some of her "discoveries" bordered on implausible; because Josephine had become a big name in the art world due to the controversy over whether she had actually painted the works attributed to her mistress, it seemed like someone would have already done the same research as Lina and made the same discoveries - especially since Lina only had a few days in which to actively conduct this research! I liked the fact that Lina was making discoveries but found it improbable that she'd been the first to put the pieces together. Other parts of Lina's story - and the novel in general - were less interesting and felt like filler material. The entire reparations lawsuit Lina was involved in seemed contrived, nothing more than an excuse for Lina to start digging into Josephine's story. Surrounding characters weren't developed either; all the characters from 1852 felt much more "real" than the ones from 2004. For example, there was a subplot involving Lina and her artist father, who's opening a new exhibit, yet despite how many pages this plot took up, it failed to hold my attention. This story felt contrived as well, a convenient way to show Lina's family history; her dad (who Lina still lived with for no apparent reason except to keep him in the story) told her that her mother died when Lina was four but refused to so much as mention her again. Now, suddenly, Lina wanted to know answers about what really happened and what her mother was like. This plot didn't seem realistic and was not particularly interesting; I found myself skimming pages whenever her father appeared. This also had no apparent connection to the Josephine plot, making it a wholly unnecessary subplot that just took up space without enhancing anything. While there were certainly interesting parts to this novel (the entire question of what happened to Josephine, for example), it was uneven overall. It felt like too many "big" ideas were crammed into here under the guise of telling one story with multiple subplots. Instead of being cohesive, the subplots were not given enough attention to feel realistic and characters were underdeveloped. I think the author had a great starting point but ultimately lost focus and tried to include too much extraneous material.(less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| Jun 11, 2013
| Jun 12, 2013
|
Oct 16, 2012
| Hardcover
| |||||||||||||||
| 0670023329
| 9780670023325
| 3.99
| 8,741
| Jan 01, 2012
| Mar 29, 2012
|
What an amazing book, telling the journey of Shin Dong-hyuk, who was born and raised in a North Korean prison camp and eventually escaped out of the c...more
What an amazing book, telling the journey of Shin Dong-hyuk, who was born and raised in a North Korean prison camp and eventually escaped out of the camp and out of country. The author spent over two years talking with Shin to get the details of his life, supplementing Shin's knowledge of the inner workings of the camps, as well as the way he lived and escaped, with information about North Korea from outside intelligence sources. The writing in this book is fairly sparse, not dwelling on graphic details or describing scenes for pure shock value; there's enough to shock anyone in the book already. I think perhaps this writing is what makes the book so accessible yet memorable - in less than 200 pages, a reader can consume the story of Shin's life inside this camp and how (and why) he escaped and managed to make it out. It's written in a way that's easy to read and quick to understand, but difficult to comprehend, simply because the conditions in these prisons are so impossible to comprehend in general. It is so sad to think that these camps continue to exist and so awful to think of the conditions and the hopelessness that fester there. The author didn't try to push solutions onto the reader; it's not something that's easily solved. He described the hardships inside the camps, occasionally comparing the prisoners' lives with the lives of the guards, and included problems that Shin ran into as he made his way out of North Korea and attempted to assimilate into the West. It was interesting to see the problems he faced: not being readily accepted by normal South Koreans, not trusting anyone, retroactive guilt from what he'd done and witnessed while in the camps, and even reluctance to follow along with ideas others had for how he could raise awareness about these camps (although he wanted the world to show more outrage about their existence). Everyone should be outraged about these camps, but there's no easy way to fix it despite the work so many are doing (in many different ways) toward that end. Despite the awfulness described in the camps and the hardships faced afterward, this book was not depressing and instead simply eye-opening and informative. The purpose behind this book was to increase awareness of life in North Korea and these prison camps; in that, it definitely succeeded. (less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| Jun 07, 2013
| Jun 08, 2013
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Jun 08, 2013
| Hardcover
| |||||||||||||||
| 1451683367
| 9781451683363
| 3.58
| 743
| Feb 01, 2013
| Feb 12, 2013
|
2.5 stars. The book opens with Emily, a 13-year-old loner, finding a body in the woods. Instead of telling anyone about it, she decides to keep the di...more
2.5 stars. The book opens with Emily, a 13-year-old loner, finding a body in the woods. Instead of telling anyone about it, she decides to keep the discovery to herself. The story then jumps around between different viewpoints. There's Susanna, Emily's teacher whose sister has gone missing and whose husband doesn't seem supportive; Wyatt, an older factory worker who lets himself get bullied by younger coworkers and whose only companion is his dog; Christopher, Emily's classmate and crush who's kind of a bully; and Tony, a baseball player turned detective, investigating Susanna's missing sister. As life goes on, everyone's life seems complicated and everyone seems to have secrets they don't want revealed. I expected this book to be a thriller, in part because of the plot (a body is discovered in the very first chapter!) and also because there's a blurb on the front cover from Gillian Flynn, author of Gone Girl. Yet this book is far from a thriller; instead, it was more of a character study or character exploration. Much time is spent on each character, describing their history, their current life, their failed hopes and dreams... Everyone seemed miserable. It reminded me a lot of J.K. Rowling's The Casual Vacancy, which also had a loose plot with the main focus on the day-to-day lives of unhappy characters in a small town. While this book was nicely written and the characters quite detailed, it seemed as if so much time was spent developing the characters that the thin plot suffered. It took over half the book for anyone else to find out about the body that Emily discovered. In the meantime, all the happened was day-to-day life, filled with bullying, arguments, frustrations, and a general sense of hopelessness instead of hope. The author successfully brought to life all the characters in a way that made them seem real instead of fictional - how could they not seem real with all their backstory and problems? - but I had a hard time truly caring about them because everyone seemed so unhappy yet unwilling to actually take action and change their lot in life. For example, Susanna realizes that her husband has never been supportive of her, has never liked her sister, and never helped with childrearing. She'd gone out of her way to hide the times when she actually saw her sister because she knew her husband wouldn't approve! Yet even after she realizes this, she doesn't really do much about it. Another example is the fact that Wyatt hates his younger coworkers but refuses to stand up for himself when they continually belittle him; instead, he tries to win their acceptance by going along with whatever they say. These are obviously traits that many people have in reality, but because all the characters in this book were so down on their luck and taking no action to change it, it was hard to become attached to any of them. It was actually kind of depressing. I kept reading because I was curious how the murder mystery would end: who was the killer? Why was the body in the woods? How would others find out about it? Would anyone reveal a big secret along the way? Would anyone actually taken action to change their life? The ending, unfortunately, wasn't particularly climactic. The reader discovers the killer's identity through a flashback to that night; there's no big chase for the killer and no real tension as the "mystery" reached its conclusion. Because of the lack of plot and the lack of tension, I barely cared. Perhaps this is a good depiction of real life, but it didn't make for a gripping novel. The lack of a big plot or likable characters kept this book from being memorable. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't something I particularly liked or anything I'd recommend. With that said, if you enjoyed The Casual Vacancy because of its focus on unlikeable characters and their personal problems, this is probably something you'll love. I received a free copy of this book through the FirstReads program.(less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| Jun 03, 2013
| Jun 06, 2013
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Mar 30, 2013
| Hardcover
| |||||||||||||||
| 0061131067
| 9780061131066
| 3.11
| 229
| May 04, 2010
| May 04, 2010
|
3.5 stars. Henry ("Hen") has dreams of becoming a big rock star, narrating his own life with the kind of melodramatic voice found in old episodes of "...more
3.5 stars. Henry ("Hen") has dreams of becoming a big rock star, narrating his own life with the kind of melodramatic voice found in old episodes of "Behind the Music". His sister disappeared a year ago and no one knows why, but she suddenly reappears without explanation; his parents seem to know more than they're letting on but want the sister to tell Hen on her own terms. In the meantime, all anyone will say is that she's kind of a fugitive until certain things get sorted out. In the meantime, Hen re-joins the band his ex-girlfriend kicked him out of, begins taking bass lessons from his sister's friend (who also won't tell Hen why they disappeared together), and tries to deal with oddness between himself and his best friend. I loved the narration in this book. Hen's voice shone through and he was very funny and likable. I could have done without the occasional italicized narrations (ones in which he imagined how "Behind the Music" would describe the moment) but overall, his observations about life were great. He made a lot of nice observations, such as the difference between "friending" someone online and actually being a friend to someone. I also liked his comments about how witty someone could be in writing yet the same wittiness in person just made them seem like they were trying too hard. Everyone can relate to these observations, which was a big reason why Hen was so likable. The missing sister plot intrigued me, and I had no idea where it was going. I kept reading on because I wanted to know why she'd disappeared, and it frustrated me (much like it frustrated Hen) that no one would explain anything yet he was expected to just deal with it. The author did a nice job of weaving details together in the end, making the entire story quite cohesive. I would have liked the ending to have been a little less sudden, but the story itself was good. As a whole, this novel seemed to lack something - perhaps a deeper exploration of the brother/sister/family dynamic, perhaps a more developed subplot, or perhaps even a bigger main plot. There were so many little things I liked in this book - the characters themselves, the way reality didn't align with fantasy, the mystery behind what happened to Hen's sister and why she'd shown up again - but everything seemed only briefly touched upon, the story moved on, and then it all wrapped up quickly. The book was entertaining overall; I just wish there had been a little more to it.(less) | Notes are private!
| none
|
1
| May 30, 2013
| May 31, 2013
|
May 31, 2013
| Hardcover
| |||||||||||||||
| 0805092854
| 9780805092851
| 3.59
| 398
| Aug 21, 2012
| Aug 21, 2012
|
3.5 stars. Sophie is a cook in her family's restaurant with dreams of being a real chef someday. After auditioning for a new teen cooking show, she's...more
3.5 stars. Sophie is a cook in her family's restaurant with dreams of being a real chef someday. After auditioning for a new teen cooking show, she's invited to be in the competition. For seven weeks, she's in Napa, learning new cooking techniques and working to put her own flair on dishes. This was a really cute story. Cooking shows are huge right now, and the author did an excellent job describing how hectic the schedule must be and how sleep-deprived teens make for better reality TV. The descriptions of food sounded delicious, and for those interested in whipping up the dishes at home - recipes are included throughout. What a fun inclusion, and certainly something that readers who pick this up specifically because of the cooking angle will enjoy. I do wish that some of the scenes had been slowed down slightly; while food was constantly talked about, because of the hectic nature of the show - and therefore, the book - mentions were often brief and then the scene moved on. After all, seven weeks of filming (plus the before and after) is a lot to cover in a short book. Sophie is a likable enough main character, although none of the characters in here - major or minor - is really explored in much depth. I was more pulled in by the story itself and the behind-the-scenes look at the reality show than I was by the characters and their motivations. Sophie makes friends (other competitors on the show) and misses friends and family back home, but nothing got described in much detail. I guess the problem was, although Sophie's feelings toward everyone was mentioned, it wasn't shown - at least not more than superficially. This just isn't a book about character relationships, and that's fine; for being a show about a teen cooking TV show, it was entertaining. While I think this book would have been even better had it not simply touched the surface of everything (motivations, relationships, even the cooking techniques and food themselves), it was still a fun quick read. This isn't a book that I think will blow anyone's mind, but for a light read that is entertaining enough for a few hours, this works.(less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| May 29, 2013
| May 30, 2013
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May 30, 2013
| Hardcover
| |||||||||||||||
| 0307931889
| 9780307931887
| 4.00
| 19,912
| Aug 28, 2012
| Aug 28, 2012
|
4.5 stars. A inhabits a different body each day, jumping to a new body at midnight and able to access that person's memories and information for the d...more
4.5 stars. A inhabits a different body each day, jumping to a new body at midnight and able to access that person's memories and information for the day. After he leaves, they're not left with any indication that anyone else was ever there. One day, he falls in love with his body's girlfriend, Rhiannon, and tries to pursue some sort of relationship with her despite not knowing how it could even work - after all, he can't guarantee "who" he'll be the following day, so how could he plan a future with her? But now that he's falling in love, she becomes his own life instead of A trying to only live the life of his "host". I loved the idea behind this book. What an interesting concept, with A not being able to control a body of his own and being forced to change from body to body, never able to form real attachments or plan for the future. He ruminated a lot about how best to live in the present and the entire concept of time. There were also a lot of "what ifs" in here ripe for discussion. Because A felt so alone and did his best not to connect with people he met through the course of a day, not wanting to change their lives in a direction they couldn't control, there was a constantly looming question of how he should live the day. If he saw the opportunity to improve the person's life, should he take it? How much of his own desires should be taken into account? If none, then how does he live his "own" life, since he never has a body of his own? How much of the body's urges were the person who usually had it and how much control did A hold? The author did a nice job of portraying the hardships that A's life caused with his pursuit of a relationship with Rhiannon. I liked their discussions and the way that their connection unfolded. The different lives that A experienced were also interesting, although it occasionally felt like the author was portraying enough variations of life to fulfill an after school special: gay teens, transgender teens, depressed teens, homeschooled teens, drug-addicted teens, popular teens, etc. Each person/day was handled nicely, but I did wonder how many other "big issues" could be addressed; each new body seemed to fill a new role. Then again, if each day brought a new body with only slight variations to their personal problems, it probably wouldn't have been quite as interesting of a story overall. The ending was a little too open-ended for my tastes, as I wish I could have known exactly what motivated A to act how he did, but it did wrap things up nicely. I really liked the book overall and thought the author did a wonderful job interspersing various overlapping plotlines, especially since the main character was someone who supposedly couldn't have a future of his own. I imagine this is one of those books that people either love or hate.(less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| May 28, 2013
| May 29, 2013
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May 11, 2013
| Hardcover
| |||||||||||||||
| 1402238290
| 9781402238291
| 3.25
| 81
| Jun 01, 2010
| Jun 01, 2010
|
This book was featured on my library's ebook website, so I decided to give it a shot. In it, the author describes his years spent cleaning up crime sc...more
This book was featured on my library's ebook website, so I decided to give it a shot. In it, the author describes his years spent cleaning up crime scenes and how his actual experiences differed from his expectations of it, relating stories from his life along the way. Based on the subject matter alone, it's obviously not a book for everyone, but I nevertheless started reading. I found parts of this book interesting. I had no idea how crime scenes were cleaned or how the cleaners are selected; I also had no idea how one even became involved in such a business. While the author's entrance in this field probably does not reflect everyone's, it made for an entertaining set up: he heard through the grapevine that someone was looking to start a franchise of an established crime scene cleanup company and signed up, dollar bills flashing in his mind. Reality did not match up to his expectations: he made way less money than expected, did more work than expected, ran into obstacles on way too many jobs, received virtually no training, and had to deal with all sorts of situations others never encountered. Of course, based on his personality (which shone brightly throughout the book), this was precisely why he was attracted to the career in the first place. I enjoyed some of the stories he relayed, describing interesting people he met and the process involved with cleaning. Interspersed with these stories were long explanations of how he'd ended up doing something or why he was in a certain place at that point of his life. His day to day life certainly had all the makings of a TV show - he joined a frat so he'd have a place to live, his apartment towed his car the week after his tags expired, he started working at a porn shop for the sheer intrigue of it - but at the same time, it didn't hold my interest. There were a lot of mundane details that no doubt held the book together as a whole but also just padded the book out without actually elevating the story. I read over half the book and was going to finish it, but my check out expired at the library and I doubt I'll check this out again to finish it. I think this is the sort of book that would be great as a newspaper or magazine article but just didn't have enough to fill out an entire book. After even just a few chapters, some of the stories were already starting to be repetitive. If it had been shorter, I probably would have enjoyed it more.(less) | Notes are private!
| none
|
1
| May 17, 2013
| May 28, 2013
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May 29, 2013
| Paperback
| |||||||||||||||
| 3.98
| 1,825
| Oct 01, 2012
| Oct 2012
|
I first read about this book on some news site, in an article describing the task the author gave herself: trying to follow the Bible's directions for...more
I first read about this book on some news site, in an article describing the task the author gave herself: trying to follow the Bible's directions for womanhood. She was raised as an Evangelical Christian and decided to spend the year reading the Bible, compiling all its instructions for what women should do, and actually live the year according to these directions. There are so many different interpretations of the Bible and its meaning (as everyone knows), so she tried to adhere to the written word as much as possible, attempting to separate culture from actual religious dictations. As the author notes near the beginning, the word "biblical" gets thrown around a lot, especially "in front of other loaded words, like economics, sexuality, politics and marriage to create the impression that God has definite opinions about such things, opinions that just so happen to correspond with our own." I liked the intent behind his book. As the author herself noted at the beginning, it's very similar to A.J. Jacobs's The Year of Living Biblically, except her goal was to specifically follow the instructions for women and their specific roles in life. Each month, she set new monthly and weekly goals, and each chapter focused on a specific month and topic/theme. Breaking up the chapters were recaps of stories from the Bible of various "women of valor" (if you read the book, you'll get the reference - she uses this phrase throughout). I'm sure there is criticism of this book from both sides of the spectrum, with some religious zealots complaining that this is making a mockery of the Bible and that the author isn't following everything properly; on the other side, there are atheists complaining that she's willing subjecting herself to less than she deserves because of an old text. To me, this project came off as something in the middle. The author seems sincere in her beliefs, and the fact that she did soul searching throughout, trying to reconcile what she knows of life with what is written and what the intent of the writing was, made this a well-researched project that seemed fairly balanced. Or at least it seemed as balanced as a book having to do with the Bible can be - obviously not everyone will be happy! As the author noted, people like to pick and choose what Bible verses to quote and follow, claiming some verses are to be followed absolutely and others completely glossed over or considered nothing but a relic or a parable. One of my favorite lines in here was when she noted that when people claim that the Bible never troubles them, she figures that has to mean they've never actually read it. This is followed up with some of the more outlandish parts. Some of her experiments throughout the book were interesting and clearly had nice results, such as when she began looking into how her purchases and food choices affected others down the line. Others seemed out there - camping in a tent during her period and not touching her husband in any way because she was "impure" during this time. At the same time, however, as the book went on, the experiments seemed broken up and more the product of having a book deal and needing to produce content than how an actual experiment would have gone. I guess it just didn't hold my interest throughout, even though the idea itself was interesting. There's a lot to like about this book, and I'm sure much of it will resonate with a great number of readers. With that said, although I enjoyed parts of it and think the author did a nice job bringing it together and treating everything respectfully, it never seemed like anything but an experiment for this book instead of an actual project undertaken with no underlying motive in mind. (less) | Notes are private!
| none
|
1
| May 17, 2013
| May 23, 2013
|
Oct 17, 2012
| Paperback
| |||||||||||||||||
| 0575073608
| 9780575073609
| 4.06
| 5,225
| 1970
| May 01, 2012
|
Simon (Si) Morley is an illustrator who's kind of drifting through life until he's approached by a man who offers him the opportunity to be part of a...more
Simon (Si) Morley is an illustrator who's kind of drifting through life until he's approached by a man who offers him the opportunity to be part of a secret government experiment. They're interested in time travel - not by a machine, but by using Albert Einstein's theory that time is layered on top of itself, with the past, present, and future all actually happening at once. Si goes back to New York, 1882, and ends up following threads of a blackmailing scheme, aware that he's not supposed to interfere or change the past, but unsure how he can exist in the past without changing anything. From the beginning, it seems obvious that this book was originally published in 1970. Not only was the "present day" setting different from one that would happen now, but the story was told in a slowly unfolding manner that wouldn't necessarily be published today (ahh, short attention spans). There were extraneous details and lots of set up; at first, I was unsure whether I'd truly enjoy the book because of how meandering it appeared at first. But once the story actually got going - once the backstory was complete and the time travel actual began - the writing was perfect for the story and I was thoroughly engrossed. I loved all the details about New York in the 1880's and the author did a beautiful job bringing it to life through Si's descriptions. It was nice to see the world take shape through Si's eyes, as he was as full of wonder as the reader. The actual "plot", per se, wasn't particularly strong, yet the story seemed to move forward so smoothly that I didn't even notice. I was interested in what was happening with the mysteries in 1882 that Si was trying to discover, but I was just as interested in his mundane discoveries of the New York that no longer existed in 1970. Photos and drawings accompanied his descriptions, as Si's visual representations of what he saw, and it was fascinating to hear how much the city had changed - the farming that still took place on Manhattan Island, for example, or the fact that Fifth Avenue had no large stores. The parts I most enjoyed, however, were Si's interactions with regular people back in 1882. He was the only one who knew where he'd come from, and he was determined to find out what had happened to the mystery he didn't full understand, but along the way he met many regular people that truly gave him (and me, as the reader) a good idea of what life was like then. There were the people staying at a boarding house who were so friendly, the people involved in the blackmailing scheme he was trying to observe but not change, and even completely random interactions; for example, he talked with the driver of a "bus" during a cold ride, as the man stood outside, trying not to freeze, for 14 hours a day for a daily wage of $1.90. It's crazy to think of the conditions back then! And the descriptions of how so many otherwise beautiful women had pockmarked faces because of smallpox. I had no idea where the book was going or how it would end, especially after Si discovers answers to all his questions about what had happened with the mystery. I really liked the fact that no time travel "machine" was involved in this book; instead, Si is able to travel through time with his own mind. But with that being the case, how could the story wrap up? Even if the government program ended, Si should still be able to travel through time on his own, should he want to. Thankfully, the ending was great! I didn't see the very end coming, but it made total sense. The author strung clues throughout the book and then brought everything together perfectly. (less) | Notes are private!
| Mom
|
1
| May 09, 2013
| May 16, 2013
|
Jul 16, 2012
| Paperback
| |||||||||||||||
| 0452298261
| 9780452298262
| 3.69
| 282
| Jan 01, 2011
| Aug 28, 2012
|
As the title of this book implies, the author spent 860 walking the entire length of the Amazon, the first person to ever do so. He was warned about w...more
As the title of this book implies, the author spent 860 walking the entire length of the Amazon, the first person to ever do so. He was warned about wild animals, unfriendly villages, and drug runners that he could run into, and despite bouts of depression, food shortages, and other problems along the way, he made it through unscathed. Throughout the entire journey, he blogged about his adventures to followers around the world. In this book, he shared snippets of his writings during the journey but mainly described the entire adventure from start to finish, explaining how it came about and obstacles faced. I was intrigued by the entire idea of his trip, which basically stemmed from a desire to have a big adventure doing something others thought couldn't be done. Sponsors were lined up, plans were made, and the journey began. I kept reading because I wanted to know more about the areas along the Amazon - what they looked like, how they felt - and I was interested in the problems that arose throughout the journey. After all, this was a walk that no one had completed before and the author had been warned against; obviously he would face problems throughout it, and I kept reading because I wanted to know more about his perseverance and the strength needed to complete it. The best parts of this book were when the author described singular incidents or relayed specific memories. I was amazed by the fact that he built up a tolerance to mosquito bites. In one instance, he described getting up in the middle of the night to pee and discovering 40 mosquitoes biting his stomach at once. This single description gave so much perspective about what he faced daily, and it's something that really stuck with me. Most of the book was written very matter-of-factly (this included), and it definitely worked for this topic. As much as I enjoyed parts of the book's content, however, the writing and general summary of events kept me from becoming engrossed in it. I realize that interesting events did not happen every day and that many days were filled with monotony, but so much of the book was nothing more than a general summary of how they traveled from one town to another, naming the towns and various people they met (and subsequently left). I'm sure these are important memories for the author, but they didn't come across as particularly memorable for the reader. There were also numerous mentions of how, during down time, his mind filled with worries about money; he was spending more money than sponsors were providing. Obviously this journey wasn't cheap and he didn't do it alone (he continually hired guides), but it came across as less of a one-man adventure and more of a corporate undertaking, despite him not being a part of a bigger corporation. I'm glad I read this book, as it gave me things to think about and provided an interesting perspective of life near the Amazon, but it isn't something that I'd necessarily recommend to others due to how tedious it was to get through much of the book. This is one of those books where the subject matter is interesting but the writing didn't do it justice. Nevertheless, I'm sure parts of it (such as the always present mosquitoes) will stick with me.(less) | Notes are private!
| Monitor
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1
| May 03, 2013
| May 12, 2013
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Oct 14, 2012
| Paperback
| |||||||||||||||
| 0297867288
| 9780297867289
| 3.95
| 31,375
| Aug 01, 2012
| Aug 14, 2012
|
4.5 stars. This was such a weird book yet a good one. Bernadette Fox is married to a high-powered Microsoft guru and the mom to an exceptionally smart...more
4.5 stars. This was such a weird book yet a good one. Bernadette Fox is married to a high-powered Microsoft guru and the mom to an exceptionally smart middle-schooler named Bee. She's strange, a recluse, and the butt of jokes around the other moms at Bee's private school; her only "friend" is the virtual assistant she hired in India to conduct her day-to-day activities. Bernadette suddenly disappears one day and no one knows what happened, but Bee is determined to find out. The story was told through a combination of emails, letters, and faxes from all sorts of people who knew Bernadette, plus there was a regular narrative from Bee's perspective. This method of storytelling was a little jarring at first because none of it made sense yet; I kept reading because this book was recommended to me, and I'm glad I finished it because I ended up really liking it. Seeing all the different perspectives and getting to "know" the various characters through their private interactions with friends/coworkers (ie, when they thought no one else would read it) made all the characters seem more flawed and interesting. I liked the way all their storylines connected and the way everyone changed throughout the course of the book. Parts of this book read almost like a soap opera: the friction between the parents at Bee's private school, with everyone trying to one-up each other; the reclusive Bernadette who's hiding from the world for reasons unknown; the drama at work and potential relationships there; and of course Bernadette's mysterious disappearance. What I liked about this was that it wasn't just stereotypical soap opera drama but completely out there in terms of plot (the family is planning a cruise to Antarctica in celebration for Bee's stellar report card!) and the characters were completely dysfunctional (a virtual assistant in India!) but everything and everyone tied together perfectly. This novel was well-written, smartly put together (so long as you're not scared off by the seemingly disjointed passages at the beginning), and completely engrossing. I hadn't read anything quite like this before, which is probably one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much. It's an odd book for sure, and definitely not for everyone, but I sure liked it.(less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| May 02, 2013
| May 03, 2013
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Mar 04, 2013
| Hardcover
| |||||||||||||||
| 0230120679
| 9780230120679
| 4.10
| 568
| Jan 03, 2012
| Jan 03, 2012
|
I saw the author being interviewed on The Daily Show and was immediately interested in picking up her book. She's a Parliament speaker in Afghanistan...more
I saw the author being interviewed on The Daily Show and was immediately interested in picking up her book. She's a Parliament speaker in Afghanistan and 2014 presidential candidate. In this, she documents what her life was like under Afghanistan's continually changing rulers and constant wars, how each change impacted her life, and struggles she's overcome to be a female politician in what is a changing, but still very much male-centric, country. It was amazing to hear everything that the author has lived through, and even more amazing to think that all this happened so recently. What a completely different world she grew up in - a culture where traditions often outweigh real medical advice (because access to health care is so limited), where boys and girls have very defined and very different roles, and where domestic violence is almost always expected. It was depressing to read a lot of this book, simply because regular humans were treating each other so poorly and violently; some people obviously have no respect for the lives of others, and too many incidents the author relays illustrates this point all too well. Thankfully, the hopeful parts of this book were also powerful. Even in the midst of war and crimes against people simply because of their sex, their tribe, or whatever - there were still acts of kindness shown. Reading about the way ordinary citizens went out of their way to help the author (or someone else) despite the fact that they could be tortured or killed if discovered was beautiful. After all the atrocities committed in the name of religion or culture or country or whatever, it was reassuring to know that despite what horror might be found in day to day life, one can also find hope. It was interesting to see how Afghanistan had changed through the author's life. She seems more hopeful for her country's future than one might expect, after reading about all the terrible things she's witnessed, and it's nice to know someone like her is so dedicated to improving her country and slowly changing people's perspectives in life. Not the easiest book to get through because of all the atrocities that were committed over the years, but it was a worthwhile read that will no doubt stick with me.(less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| Apr 26, 2013
| Apr 28, 2013
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Feb 14, 2013
| Hardcover
| |||||||||||||||
| 0062117378
| 9780062117373
| 4.12
| 2,219
| Feb 12, 2013
| Feb 12, 2013
|
I loved this book! Addie lives in a paranormal compound hidden from the rest of the world. In the compound, everyone has some sort of special power, a...more
I loved this book! Addie lives in a paranormal compound hidden from the rest of the world. In the compound, everyone has some sort of special power, all related to the mind; her dad can detect whenever anyone lies, her mom has the power of persuasion, her best friend can erase memories, and Addie herself can search the future when presented with a choice, seeing what will happen with each of the two paths she could choose. When her parents announce they've divorcing, Addie is given the choice of who she wants to live with - her mom, inside the compound, or her dad, who's leaving the compound to live among the "Norms". To make her decision, Addie searches the future six weeks to see where each path would lead, but neither is as she expected, and she learns that something more is going on in the compound than the public is being told. The author did an amazing job bringing this story together. The chapters alternate between the two possible futures, so it's easy to see what would be happening at a certain point in time during each possible life. The two futures had so much in common and occasionally overlapped, but the future was completely changed depending on which life Addie was living and what she'd learned from her surroundings. The writing was simple and straight-forward, developing the world enough that everything and everyone easily sprang to life in my mind. Although there is an obvious paranormal twist to this novel, the story itself felt more contemporary than anything, with the biggest focus on the characters themselves. I loved the relationships between the characters; everyone seemed very well developed, and I deeply felt Addie's connection to people in both lives as they unfolded. So many characters were likable, and the ones I wasn't sure about were complicated enough for me to be intrigued by their motivations. There was enough mystery in the plot to keep me hooked, and Addie's own investigation into it was nicely done - enough to be believable and interesting, but not so much that I was hit over the head with it. The balance between plot and characters was perfect. Another thing I loved about this book is the fact that although it's the start of a series (or at least has a sequel coming out next year), the plot was completely contained and wrapped up. This is the sort of book other authors writing series should take note of - the story was complete but left enough threads open to make me desperately want to read more despite not needing more. It was just perfect. I have no idea where this story will go in the future, but I am very eager for the sequel! I'm so glad I read this book and would easily recommend it to others looking for a character-driven story with layers of mystery, emotion, and a hint of paranormal. Everything was well thought-out and the plot came full-circle, with every little detail falling into place. I'm excited to read future works by this author!(less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| Apr 23, 2013
| Apr 25, 2013
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Dec 19, 2012
| Hardcover
| |||||||||||||||
| 0312427808
| 9780312427801
| 3.93
| 8,293
| 2003
| Feb 03, 2009
|
4.5 stars. What an engrossing but completely different book this was, about a housekeeper sent to care for a man only referred to as "the professor"....more
4.5 stars. What an engrossing but completely different book this was, about a housekeeper sent to care for a man only referred to as "the professor". Years ago, an accident left him with only an 80-minute memory, and he has no recollection of anything that happened after 1975 with the exception of the previous 80 minutes. Despite his memory loss, he's a brilliant man and professor of mathematics, and he and the housekeeper strike up a friendship, one that's probably as deep as it can be on both ends despite his memory problems. Her son, who he nicknames Root, comes over to the house as well, and the three of them form a different sort of family unit. I hadn't heard of this novel before my book club selected it as the monthly pick, but I'm glad I read it. This was a quick read - just shy of 200 pages! - but it was extremely thoughtful and thought-provoking. Throughout the novel, no real names were given, making it seem as if you never truly knew who the characters were, but their emotions were so real that you felt like you nevertheless knew them. I loved the friendship that developed between the professor and the housekeeper, as well as the one that bloomed between the professor and Root. The professor talked a lot about math, teaching them secrets of numbers and calculations, and it was easy to understand how they felt a connection to this man who couldn't remember them because he'd opened their eyes to new ways to view the world. He continually used numbers to find a connection between people, and his passion for them rubbed off on the housekeeper and her son, making them feel special because they had learned numerical secrets. I also loved the way the professor challenged them to figure out answers for themselves and how eager they were to conduct research just to better understand his world. Some of the backstory, I think, could have been fleshed out a little more, particularly in regard to the professor's history - just because he couldn't remember anything after 1975 didn't mean nothing happened before then that was pertinent to his life! Some of his history was sort of hinted at, with the housekeeper finding snippets of secrets around the house, but nothing was explored in detail and I was left with more questions than I would have liked. But perhaps that's what the author was getting at - that just because you can't remember everything or don't know everything about the past doesn't mean the present isn't important. Lots of good stuff to think about in here, a book perfect for discussion. I loved the relationships between the characters and the emotions that came off the pages despite how short the novel was and how anonymous the characters stayed. Themes of friendship and family stood out strongly, and this was definitely a bigger book than its length would seem to suggest. This is actually a translation of the original Japanese novel, and the translator did an excellent job turning this into a very smooth read. I saw that he translated other novels by this author, so I'm curious to read some of them now!(less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| Apr 20, 2013
| Apr 22, 2013
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Apr 22, 2013
| Paperback
| |||||||||||||||
| 0307959961
| 9780307959966
| 3.83
| 1,522
| Feb 12, 2013
| Feb 12, 2013
|
The main character, whose real name is never given but who goes by the name of Jack, is a ghostman - someone who takes on new identities and helps esc...more
The main character, whose real name is never given but who goes by the name of Jack, is a ghostman - someone who takes on new identities and helps escape notice when crimes are happening. After a bank robbery went bad years before, he's surprised when the man who'd orchestrated that robbery contacts him, requesting that he help figure out what's happened to a federal payroll stolen from a casino and where the missing robber has disappeared. Along the way, Jack thinks about what went bad on the earlier job and runs into people he never wanted to meet, both bad guys and sneaky federal agents. The writing was quick and no-nonsense, kind of like the book in general. I think the writing style and the story went together well. The author did an excellent job continually reminding the reader of the dwindling time Jack had to find the money; each chapter ended with a bit of a cliffhanger, and I constantly wanted to read more and find out what would happen next. I was equally engrossed in the story happening at the moment, with Jack trying to find the missing money, and the story of the previous bank job, since something obviously went very wrong but it's a journey to find out exactly what. Something interesting about this book is that none of the characters are particularly likable. Even Jack, as the main character, has personal rules that he doesn't want to break - for example, he doesn't want to murder if he doesn't have to - but he's not above getting dirty in order to get a job done. Yet somehow, despite his character flaws, the fact that he's intent on completing this mission and desperate to find out what happened makes you root for him anyway, especially as more and more things don't quite add up. I wouldn't say he's likable, exactly, but his motivation is understandable, which made the story work. The book got a lot more violent than I expected a few chapters in, with more explanation of torture and murder than necessary, but the violence wasn't dwelled on. It made the book dark and gritty without being overly gory for no reason. On the other hand, sometimes little unnecessary details about the area or the activities happening went on slightly longer than necessary. I think this probably had to do with the fact that although Jack has numerous run-ins with others (both expected and not), he is alone for the majority of the book, so prose was definitely more verbose than dialogue. I think parts of the book could have been slightly more fleshed out, showing more emotion instead of simply giving the step-by-step of what was going on or why, but I enjoyed it overall. It's definitely not a book for everyone, considering the lack of characterization and inclusion of violence, but it was an interesting take on a thriller when there are no real "good" guys.(less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| Apr 15, 2013
| Apr 19, 2013
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Feb 10, 2013
| Hardcover
| |||||||||||||||
| 0060264802
| 9780060264802
| 4.11
| 24,208
| 1943
| Oct 14, 1953
|
Laura's now almost an adult, 18 years old when the book concludes. She's got her teaching certificate and teaches 3 terms of school throughout this bo...more
Laura's now almost an adult, 18 years old when the book concludes. She's got her teaching certificate and teaches 3 terms of school throughout this book, attending school herself on breaks between teaching terms. On weekends, Almanzo Wilder takes her for rides in his buggy, and she soon becomes engaged to him. The developing friendship between Laura and Almanzo was sweet, even though they didn't share a lot of conversation. They were both quieter, and he seemed to be okay even when she spoke her mind and the words didn't come out as expected. While their engagement was sweet, I do wonder if it was, in reality, a little more of a drawn out or expected process than how this book portrays it, as Laura seemed almost surprised with herself and no discussion about marriage was previously brought up. But perhaps that's how it actually went, with both too reserved to ask what was going on between them. My favorite parts of the book were about Laura's school life and teaching adventures. Much of this was glossed over, as the book covered so much time that there just weren't enough pages devoted to any one topic, but it was interesting to think about how Laura, as a teacher, was the same age as some of her pupils. It's amazing to think about how schools were run and the way that education was expected to be taught. It was also fun to read about some of the crazy times that she had while boarding and how she just had to make do despite the discomfort. What a hard life it must have been living out there, with temperatures going 40 below zero in the winter and it taking so long to "drive" 12 miles. The descriptions of life in both its interesting and day-to-day parts did a beautiful job of illustrating Laura's experiences growing up and going from a girl to a "young lady."(less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| Apr 13, 2013
| Apr 14, 2013
|
Apr 14, 2013
| Hardcover
| |||||||||||||||
| 1594202435
| 9781594202438
| 4.01
| 7,040
| Feb 18, 2010
| Feb 18, 2010
|
This is a fascinating book that definitely relates more to its subtitle more than the actual book's title. Broken up into chapters named after specifi...more
This is a fascinating book that definitely relates more to its subtitle more than the actual book's title. Broken up into chapters named after specific poisons, the author relates various crimes in New York City in the years of Prohibition that used poison and how the coroner's office and its chief toxicologist ran tests to determine whether poison was present, the amount that would kill someone, and the ways that specific tests and poisons were discovered. The entire field of forensic science was born out of this division, and the author covers how this gained legitimacy and what it's done for crime solving. Although this is a non-fiction book covering years of work, it reads almost like a true crime novel, with multiple cases described in brief detail that relate to the poison at hand. The author gave information on crimes that were unraveled because of the new toxicology tests, as well as crimes that were never solved because they could only determine the method of poisoning, not the motive for it. One of the things I found most interesting was how forensic medicine is still such a relatively new subject. Before the new coroner took the job in NYC, the coroner there - as in other areas - was a political appointment, with no medical background necessary. It took the new medically-trained coroner to actually shake things up and demand that tests were run and that the office did not cave into political pressure to label suspicious deaths "natural" or the like. The coroner and his chief toxicologist really changed the way science was viewed in courtrooms, and reading about multiple court cases through the years showed how their testimony slowly began to carry weight, both to prove a defendant innocent as well as to prove one guilty. The two of them were dedicated to their jobs and definitely blazed a trail for other cities and departments to follow, showing how science could help provide evidence and solve mysteries. Because the story took place over the years of Prohibition, there was also a lot of discussion about the way the ban on alcohol increased the number of people poisoned - from both ingesting poisonous bootlegged alcohol as well as alcohol poisoned by the government to discourage drinking. Seeing the situation from the standpoint of the coroner's office was interesting in that they had no political or moral goal but only cared about one thing: reducing the number of deaths, which was hampered by the government's own actions and the supposedly moral high ground of those who supported Prohibition. The chemical structure and science of the different poisons were described in each chapter, but the book as a whole did not seem solely aimed at a science crowd. Instead, enough details were related to explain the situation but not detract from the bigger storyline about the beginnings of forensic medicine. I had a hard time putting this book down.(less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| Apr 12, 2013
| Apr 13, 2013
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Jan 05, 2013
| Hardcover
| |||||||||||||||
| 1400077427
| 9781400077427
| 3.74
| 14,695
| Jan 01, 2006
| Mar 20, 2007
|
The author of this book is a psychologist who relates various studies and habits, explaining the different ways in which our brains trick us into thin...more
The author of this book is a psychologist who relates various studies and habits, explaining the different ways in which our brains trick us into thinking we feel a certain way. He explains how and why our memories deceive us, why memory can differ from reality, "optical illusions" of the brain, and how happiness is a concept that we're never truly able to quantify. This book read more like a textbook than something you'd pick up for pleasure reading, but it was nevertheless easy to get through and interesting. I enjoyed reading his thoughts on optical illusions, explaining how the brain can be tricked, and loved the examples included about how even if you know you're being tricked, you still fall for it because our brains are imperfect. I certainly fell for the example he included in the book, despite him telling the reader beforehand that it was a trick. It really is odd to think about how many things we remember as different from actuality. One of the more memorable parts of the book, at least to me, described why certain events stick in our memories so vividly. I had never really thought in depth about many of his points before and loved the examples he included. My favorite was when he described going on a family vacation with bugs everywhere, miserable weather, etc., until one absolutely perfect day when the weather is beautiful, a gorgeous place is discovered, everyone gets along, etc. Eventually, that's all you end up remembering/reminiscing about, making the person decide to return to the same place the following year... only to be shocked by all the bugs! I just finished this book yesterday, and yet this particular chapter has already led me to have interesting conversations with others. It's fascinating to think about how good things can seem in retrospect when you're no longer actively experiencing the bad parts! I enjoyed this a lot and would easily recommend it to others. I don't think I got exactly what the title seems to suggest - the main point I came away with was not how we are happy or what truly makes us happy - but it's a more in-depth look at memories and emotions overall. This would be a perfect book to discuss with others, as it contains a lot of material that demands conversation! I'm definitely glad I read it. (less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| Apr 08, 2013
| Apr 10, 2013
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Jun 29, 2011
| Paperback
| |||||||||||||||
| 0525953612
| 9780525953616
| 3.33
| 3,219
| Jan 01, 2013
| Jan 15, 2013
|
Elizabeth Keckley was a slave who purchased her freedom and went on to become a dressmaker for the wives of influential D.C. politicians. Her most fam...more
Elizabeth Keckley was a slave who purchased her freedom and went on to become a dressmaker for the wives of influential D.C. politicians. Her most famous client was Mary Lincoln, with whom she ended up striking a friendship of sorts. This novel opens around President Lincoln's election and continues for years afterward, showing the life of Elizabeth and Mary in the meantime and how their worlds transformed throughout the years. This novel started out very promising, with Elizabeth sewing for Jefferson Davis' wife before the Davis' left D.C. for the Confederacy. I liked seeing the interaction between Elizabeth and Varina Davis, and the author did a nice job showing the inner conflict between how professional Elizabeth was treated for her work versus how inferior she was treated in life because of her race. I liked the opening because it highlighted the strange but necessary relationship between the races at the time of President Lincoln's inauguration. Unfortunately, the book quickly went downhill from there. The author obviously did a lot of research in order to write this book, about the years around the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln's presidency, and Elizabeth Keckley herself. The problem was, all the research was not incorporated into a novel worth reading; the facts were there, but the emotions were not. There would be paragraphs narrating what was going on in the war or in the White House, followed by a short conversation about what had transpired. Then, back to the narration. It was as if the author was afraid to take liberties with conversations - something one expects in historical fiction. It was especially awkward because the narration was not from Elizabeth's point of view but solely for the reader's benefit, preventing the novel from being cohesive. I continually felt as if I was being told what was happening instead of seeing it for myself. My other problem with this novel was that the characters never felt real. This is even sadder when you consider that the people in this actually were real, not just figments of the author's imagination. There was no emotional depth to anyone. Events that happened were listed instead of shown, making them hard to care about. Even when family deaths occured, it was very matter of fact; the author stated how sad the characters were but didn't show it. I never felt anything or even sympathized because the people didn't seem real. Overall, a very disappointing read. I only made it about halfway through the book, tired of skimming paragraphs of brief but factual description followed by short dialogue. I feel like this book had a lot of potential that was never realized. The lack of character development and emotionless writing kept this from being a moving novel. I am unsure why the author chose to write this as historical fiction when she put absolutely no time into developing characters or events and instead packed the book full of bland details that evoked no emotion.(less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| Apr 07, 2013
| Apr 08, 2013
|
Nov 08, 2012
| Hardcover
| |||||||||||||||
| 1400052173
| 9781400052172
| 4.05
| 146,645
| 2010
| Feb 02, 2010
|
This was a different book than I normally read but one that I'd wanted to read for a while. Henrietta Lacks was a poor black woman who died in 1951. P...more
This was a different book than I normally read but one that I'd wanted to read for a while. Henrietta Lacks was a poor black woman who died in 1951. Prior to her death, doctors took a cell sample from her, hoping to keep it alive for research purposes. They figured her cells would be the same as other cells they'd collected in the past, dying only a short time later with no research collected on it. Surprisingly, her cells (called HeLa) not only lived, they thrived, multiplying at a rapid rate. The cells were given away, traded, and sold for science, as there was no shortage of them, and were used to help develop important vaccines and treatments, continuing to be in use today. Henrietta's family had no knowledge that a sample of her cells were taken, much less being used so widely, until years later. Although this book definitely had a scientific focus, it was written smoothly and for a wide audience; no knowledge of biology or medicine was necessary to understand the descriptions or actions. I think it's one of the reasons why this book has been so widely received - it's an interesting topic and written for everyone. For being as long as it was and having such a scientific focus to it, this book was a quick read. Part of the reason is no doubt because the writing was so smooth and effortless, but the other part is that this was a fascinating blend of medical science and social science. I didn't know much about HeLa before this book, and the author did a nice job of showing why the cells were so important and what contributions "she" has made to science. The lack of regulation for scientific research was fascinating; it's amazing to think that this took place only 60 years ago! No consent, no privacy, experimentation... It's crazy to think how much has changed since then. A narrative of Henrietta's life - and a longer look at her crazy descendants and their mixed feelings about HeLa - was weaved into the story as well. It was quite a look back in time; once again, I couldn't believe only 60 years had passed! Henrietta's life, the town she lived in, even the social norms at the time seem so out of date. Before reading this, I didn't realize how strained a relationship there was between black Americans and science/medicine, with them being used as test subjects without their consent and samples taken from poor black patients (without their knowledge) as a sort of "payment" for receiving free medical care. My one complaint about the book is that the author seemed to over-insert herself into the story. She described how she went about meeting Henrietta's family, the struggles she went up against in trying to tell this story when the Lacks' refused to talk to other reporters (especially white reporters), and how much intense research she did over the course of writing this book. I didn't feel like the author's journey, even when she was with Henrietta's family, had quite the same tone as the rest of the tale and it definitely did not seem necessary. I could have done with the preface by itself, which described the author's journey much more succinctly and interestingly than the following chapters. It seemed as if the author occasionally forgot the story's focus was supposed to be on Henrietta, not on herself. (less) | Notes are private!
| none
|
1
| Apr 2013
| Apr 03, 2013
|
Apr 01, 2013
| Hardcover
| |||||||||||||||
| 1423139933
| 9781423139935
| 3.94
| 2,010
| Mar 12, 2013
| Mar 12, 2013
|
Kyra is a potions master, on the run because she tried to kill the princess. Equipped with only her clothes and a selection of potions, she travels th...more
Kyra is a potions master, on the run because she tried to kill the princess. Equipped with only her clothes and a selection of potions, she travels through the kingdom looking for the princess so she can finish what she started. Along the way, she becomes the owner of a tracking pig (who helps lead her toward the princess) and a lovable stranger named Fred who won't seem to leave her alone. I first heard about this book in an article describing how multiple authors came together to help support the book's release, as its author died before its publication. This book sounded fun, and I was not let down. Kyra is a fun main character, with enviable potion-making skills. Although I wish some of her potions and their effects could have been described in side plots not directly related to the plot about the princess, I did enjoy seeing how various potions helped her along the way. There was just enough left unexplained each chapter that kept me reading, interested in knowing what would happen next. The friendships in the book were nicely developed, the best of which was the one between Kyra and her pig. It was just too sweet! I enjoyed the last third of the book the best, when secrets began to be revealed and the plot changed directions in a way I did not expect. I love being surprised by plot twists - especially when the plot twists make sense! - and the author did an excellent job bringing the story and its loose threads together. My only real complaint is that the plot seemed almost too linear, with almost the entire journey being Kyra searching for the princess. Complications were added, of course, but they all seemed to be resolved very quickly so the original journey could resume. I think perhaps that's why I felt the last part of the book was the strongest - because it actually mixed things up. I don't know whether more edits would have been done to further tighten the characters and the plot, had the author lived, but I did enjoy the book as it was. It was a nice blend of magic and realism that could have been slightly enhanced; as it was, despite the magic found in Kyra's world, the "realistic" aspects are the most prominent. Because of this, I think this book would appeal to a lot of people, not just ones who love fantasy or fairytales. I would easily read another book by this author, and it's a shame that she's neither here to see her book released nor write another.(less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| Mar 31, 2013
| Apr 06, 2013
|
Mar 15, 2013
| Hardcover
| |||||||||||||||
| 1442440198
| 9781442440197
| 3.71
| 388
| Dec 04, 2012
| Dec 04, 2012
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Sadie is an 18-year-old con artist, saving up little by little to help pay for her college tuition so she can finally be off the small Washington isla...more
Sadie is an 18-year-old con artist, saving up little by little to help pay for her college tuition so she can finally be off the small Washington island where she lives and away from her in-and-out of prison dad and trailer-living mom. When she sees a flyer about an upcoming event to help bring awareness to a missing child case that happened on the island 15 years earlier, she's startled to see her own resemblance to the time-elapsed photo of the missing girl. She thinks maybe this could be the ultimate con, pretending to be the missing girl to collect a reward, but soon she starts to wonder if she actually is the missing girl. This was an extremely quick and very light read. Sadie is not the most likable main character, especially at first, because she's scamming people for her own benefit. No matter how little she takes, it still isn't likable behavior, although it did set the stage for her personality and motivation throughout the story. It also helped set up the relationship between Sadie and her best friend, Brendan, who was interested in various cons as well, although mostly for the sheer entertainment aspect of it. Their friendship was quite strong, and even though I didn't love them or want them to be my own friends, they were interesting main characters. The main plot of the book kept me hooked. Sadie wasn't much of a detective, but this also wasn't a mystery; instead, it's about a few weeks over the summer before college, when she's trying to figure out who she wants to be and who she is. The author did a nice job of showing the similarities between Sadie and the missing girl, leading the reader to understand how she could think (and why she would want to think!) she could be the missing girl. I wish parts of the book had been a little more developed, but once again, that wasn't what the book was going for. It was simply a light read, and it filled that niche well. I guess my only complaint is that the ending seemed to happen slightly before the story should have ended; it felt like slightly more was needed, or at least an epilogue to know what happened after the end. I think I've had this complaint with some of the author's other books as well. It didn't ruin the book, but it just left a little more hanging than I would have liked. But who knows, perhaps there will be a sequel.(less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| Mar 26, 2013
| Mar 28, 2013
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Oct 15, 2012
| Hardcover
| |||||||||||||||
| 0451416635
| 9780451416636
| 3.89
| 382
| Feb 01, 2012
| Dec 31, 2012
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None
| Notes are private!
| none
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0
| Mar 17, 2013
| not set
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Dec 02, 2012
| Paperback
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| 1476705852
| 9781476705859
| 3.58
| 1,089
| Feb 05, 2013
| Feb 05, 2013
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Jonny Valentine is an 11-year-old pop superstar (like a younger Justin Bieber) who's had to grow up fast because of the celebrity he's become, althoug...more
Jonny Valentine is an 11-year-old pop superstar (like a younger Justin Bieber) who's had to grow up fast because of the celebrity he's become, although his mom/manager still tries to shield him from the outside world. On tour promoting his latest album, this novel has Jonny narrating the last few weeks of the tour, trying to become a man, wanting to make a real mark in the music industry, attempting to further push his brand, all the while searching nonstop for the father who left him five years before. This was a interesting story. It didn't have a strong central plot but instead just covered a few weeks in his life on the road. A lot of the narration was very stream-of-consciousness, which worked well because it made Jonny seem young despite all the knowledge he had about the entertainment industry. His inexperience at life in general - and complete lack of a "normal" childhood - made him easy to sympathize with and understand, even when he made poor decisions. I don't know how much research the author did into child stars and the entertainment/music industry, but I think he captured the craziness of life and the loneliness of being a child star with no real friends, despite having so many adoring fans. What made this book particularly interesting for me is that it painted a big picture of child stars and how celebrities become famous. It's so easy to look at the package that media outlets show, without ever thinking about the real person behind the image. Jonny was an endearing character because of how much he wanted to influence people through his music and all the hard work he put in toward this goal, but at the same time, how awful to become a tween pop star, never able to really grow up or be able to come into your own without a manager, publicist, etc. all telling you how to act and who to be. There were a lot of points in here that are ripe for discussion: how does the audience hurt/help these stars? Is it truly gratifying to be a celebrity? How much of what we see is spin and how much is real? Are child stars forced to grow up too fast? I liked the portrayal of a lot of the relationships within the book. Jonny's relationship with his mom was quite complicated, as she had lots of her own problems and refused to discuss certain things with him, so he was forced to look for answers on his own; after all, what kid, celebrity or not, is satisfied with their questions being blown off by a parent who "knows what's best"? I also really liked the way Jonny interacted with the opening bands on his tour and the way his feelings toward them changed as time went on. And Jonny's search for his father was understandable, even though I read it with a lot of trepidation, angry at Jonny's mom for keeping so many secrets. Although this is not a book I'd reread, both because of the lack of a central plot and the fact that I don't necessarily want to relive all the relationships in there, it was definitely a worthwhile read. I think people who are interested in celebrity culture and gossip would particularly enjoy this book. Its depiction of life wasn't exactly rosy, but it made for a well put together story with so many points to discuss.(less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| Mar 17, 2013
| Mar 22, 2013
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Mar 04, 2013
| Hardcover
| |||||||||||||||
| 1442441852
| 9781442441859
| 3.35
| 1,117
| Jan 15, 2013
| Jan 15, 2013
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Felicia lives in a hive in "Level 2" - some sort of limbo between her life on Earth and the afterlife. She spends her time watching memories from her...more
Felicia lives in a hive in "Level 2" - some sort of limbo between her life on Earth and the afterlife. She spends her time watching memories from her life and viewing the memories of others. Every day seems to be the same, until the day a boy she knew from Earth, Julian, appears in her hive to break her out. He says there's a bigger picture than what she comprehends and that she's the key to breaking out of Level 2 and moving on to elsewhere. The author did a really good job developing the setting of Level 2. I loved the way that people plugged themselves in to memories and could share their memories with others for credits that they'd then spend on viewing other memories. It was interesting to see Felicia fall into the various memories, and it allowed both her current story and her backstory to come to life side by side. The pacing in which secrets were revealed was perfect; Felicia constantly mentions that there are memories she doesn't want to relive, dangling just enough to make you curious but not quite enough to understand everything early on. The characters were well done as well. Felicia was complicated and transformed a lot throughout the story. I liked how she interacted with others, and I really enjoyed the changing friendship she had with her best friend, Autumn, as well as the different memories she viewed that showed the vast differences between the two boyfriends she'd had - Julian and Neil. Interpersonal issues were handled well and the characters felt very real. What I didn't enjoy quite as much about the novel was the transition and balance between the "memories" storyline and the plot of what was happening in Level 2, a brewing battle between angels. I wasn't quite as enthralled with the angel/war plot, and it didn't seem to mesh seamlessly with the other part of the book At times, it felt as if there were two completely separate plots that just happened to intersect. I guess the battle didn't quite seem as real to me as the memories did because not as much time was spent developing the characters involved, plus the backstory about the battle all happened before the book began so it was narrated in a lump without time spent showing everything that had led up to that point. I grew confused at a number of points, unsure what was actually happening, and had to go back and reread in an effort to understand. Although the awkward balance between the two plots kept me from loving this book, it definitely had a lot of interesting parts and I was entertained by it overall. The author created a fascinating world that drew me in, and the parts that I liked outweighed the mediocre parts. (less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| Mar 09, 2013
| Mar 14, 2013
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Dec 19, 2012
| Hardcover
| |||||||||||||||
| 0062115413
| 9780062115416
| 3.71
| 1,087
| May 01, 2012
| Oct 16, 2012
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Emma is a high-powered, highly driven lawyer with little time for friends or fun. When her mother dies, she leaves Emma with a trip to Africa. Emma ta...more
Emma is a high-powered, highly driven lawyer with little time for friends or fun. When her mother dies, she leaves Emma with a trip to Africa. Emma takes her first vacation in ages to follow her mom's wishes. She's only supposed to be there a month, but Emma gets sick near the beginning of the trip, stays in a village while she gets better, and then a giant earthquakes hits the country and she has no way to contact anyone back home. She finally returns to the US six months later and discovers that everyone thought she'd died there. Emma struggles to put her life back together the way it was but finds that both she and her old life have changed. I've loved the two previous novels by Catherine McKenzie, so I was very excited to read this one. I think this is the weakest of the three, although I still enjoyed it. The author is very talented at creating complex, flawed characters who make mistakes, yet you can't help but root for them. Emma is certainly flawed in many ways, putting work ahead of her personal life and failing to reach out to others because she's so wrapped up in her own problems, but she's also extremely likable and relatable. She grew throughout the novel, and I liked the way she gradually changed for the better. The author did a great job of showing this transition to be gradual and, realistically, not everything about her personality or goals changed. She was still the same person at heart throughout. The plot itself felt realistic as well. Getting away from everything, in a new country, on a new continent, with no way to contact home, is certainly a dream a lot of people have. It was interesting to see both the good and the bad that came from such a trip. I also really liked the friendship that developed between Emma and Dominic, the guy who'd rented her "vacated" apartment, since he was dealing with his own issues and the two occasionally tried to "compete" to see who had the bigger sob story. Isn't that how it always goes? What I felt was lacking in this book, but present in the author's previous books, was the depths of the characters. Although all were likable, I wished that their personalities and emotions had been explored even deeper. While I enjoyed this story, it often felt like the plot was moving forward almost effortlessly, without the full emotional depth of emotions and backstory being fully developed. I think this is what prevented me from completely loving the book. Otherwise, it was a fun read - just on the lighter side!(less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| Mar 05, 2013
| Mar 07, 2013
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Mar 07, 2013
| Paperback
| |||||||||||||||
| 0062188348
| 9780062188342
| 3.04
| 585
| Oct 02, 2012
| Oct 02, 2012
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2.5 stars. Alex is a blogger for a website called "Chick Habit" that basically rounds up interesting news from around the web and summarizes it up alo...more
2.5 stars. Alex is a blogger for a website called "Chick Habit" that basically rounds up interesting news from around the web and summarizes it up along with snarky commentary; the more hits her posts receive, the happier her boss is - and the more likely she is to succeed at her job. Posts about celebrities get more hits and comments than ones about serious news, so she's glued to the computer, waiting for new scandals to hit so she can write about them. She takes criticism from commenters on the blog really personally, but she still makes the controversial decision to post a video of a "perfect" daughter of a celebrity snorting cocaine. Her name suddenly becomes recognizable, thanks to being the writer who broke this news, but she's torn about whether she did the right thing. Meanwhile, a hate website has sprung up demonizing Alex and the other regular bloggers, digging up dirt from their pasts, and Alex is determined to figure out who's behind it, even though her full schedule strains her relationship with her boyfriend. I liked the idea behind this story. "Chick Habit" is basically every gossip website out there, and it's easy to see how such a site could become so popular. It was interesting to think about Alex's daily routine, not wanting to be away from her phone or laptop for more than a minute, scared she'd miss out on breaking news, and struggling to fulfill her daily quotas of posts. It seemed like a fairly realistic look behind the scenes. The characters and plot were kinda thin, as was the book. Alex was supposed to be kinda neurotic and sensitive, but she never really came alive; I found her annoying. She seemed to take things too personally and didn't seem to bring much to the relationship with her boyfriend, either - she took him for granted, rarely showered (she'd miss news if she was in the shower!), and constantly wore a muumuu because it was easy to throw on. It didn't make sense why he even wanted to be with her. I guess I just didn't relate to her very well because her personality seemed manufactured and not "real". Her friends and other bloggers all felt one-dimensional as well. It was as if the author gave each character a stock personality and never bothered to develop them deeper: The perky, brown-nosing intern. The too-cool girl. The mysterious hot-and-cold girl. That was as deep as the personalities went. For the plot, I was interested in the moral dilemma of whether a celebrity/politician's children are fair game to report on when video evidence of them in illegal situations surface. I also was interested in the mystery of who was behind the hate website, even though the website itself sounded pretty lame and I didn't understand why Alex and the other bloggers were so upset about it. The book seemed to move along pretty quickly, which kept me reading, even though nothing was touched on any deeper than that. This is one of those books that I probably could have put down and not finished reading, but I kept at it because I was curious how it would end. The ending, however, was really disappointing - it just skipped ahead in time and recapped the elapsed time. It was rather anti-climactic to not be able to "see" the aftermath of everything, but at the same time, the plot was so thin that not much actually happened. This is not a book I'd recommend, but it wasn't bad. (less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| Feb 27, 2013
| Mar 03, 2013
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Aug 08, 2012
| Paperback
| |||||||||||||||
| 0312540094
| 9780312540098
| 3.57
| 491
| Aug 12, 2009
| Sep 01, 2009
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Alice is a mom to a 5-year-old and was a wife to a lawyer until he left her for his new client - a Hollywood starlet whose fame lands them on the fron...more
Alice is a mom to a 5-year-old and was a wife to a lawyer until he left her for his new client - a Hollywood starlet whose fame lands them on the front page of tabloids. Alice's life tanks pretty hard after this, especially coupled with other problems she's dealing with - a mother with Alzheimer's and a daughter who's obsessed with fairytales and their perfect endings - but she slowly begins picking up the pieces in her life and finding new friends that surround her with the support she needs. I realize that the description above makes this novel sound like generic chick lit; in a way, it is. Alice isn't perfect, but she manages to persevere through whatever life sends her way, and she does find a support system in people she never realized would be there for her. But despite these superficial resemblances to run-of-the-mill chick lit, this novel definitely explored deeper feelings and emotions than many others I've read. Alice was an extremely likable and relatable main character, even when she was debating bad decisions. Her marriage wasn't perfect, and the author did an excellent job of balancing the good parts of it with the bad parts; even Alice, as she grew throughout the pages, was able to reconcile issues she'd had in the past and come to terms with the way she'd accepted stuff she shouldn't have. All the characters were three-dimensional, and I liked the fact that even though I was rooting for Alice throughout the novel and was on her side throughout everything, there was still no one plain "evil" in here; everyone had their flaws, but everyone also had positive attributes. The friendships were nicely drawn, and enough time was spent developing the relationships that they felt completely believable. The author also did a wonderful job portraying Alice's complicated relationship with her mom, who was obviously such an important figure in her life but had come to a point where she no longer even recognized her own daughter. There was also some humor in the book, the majority of which was not laugh-out-loud funny but still amusing. I particularly enjoyed the way Alice liked to channel Dr. Phil in her mind, making fun of how ridiculous he was, yet she couldn't stop his sort of advice from spewing out her lips on at least one occasion. This was a quick read, but it had more emotion and depth than I expected, and I definitely enjoyed it. The story was sweet overall, and it finished on a pleasant note. (less) | Notes are private!
| none
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1
| Feb 18, 2013
| Feb 18, 2013
|
Jun 30, 2011
| Paperback
| |||||||||||||||
| 0803735375
| 9780803735378
| 3.70
| 132
| May 12, 2011
| May 12, 2011
|
Jacob and his two best friends, Sarah and Dexter, are outside in their neighborhood one day when a spaceship lands nearby. The spaceship soon becomes...more
Jacob and his two best friends, Sarah and Dexter, are outside in their neighborhood one day when a spaceship lands nearby. The spaceship soon becomes theirs, and almost immediately after they set foot inside, it blasts off for a trip around the universe. They accidentally set off a chain of events that makes them wonder whether they'll ever be able to return to Earth and have a crazy adventure moving from one planet to the next, all the while trying to figure out how to get home. The first chapter seemed a little silly, albeit fun, but once the space adventure began, it was quite entertaining. The story kept a nice brisk pace and there were lots of fun details provided about the different planets: one was populated with nothing but crazy scientists, another had "days" that lasted only one minute before a minute of night fell, and - my personal favorite - the planet populated only by substitute teachers, all of whom remembered Jacob from his antics in class under their watch. There was a lot of humor in this book, and although none of it made me howl with laughter, I had a lot of fun reading this. I felt like the book only got better as it went on. Aside from the humor, the main characters were all quite likable and had strong friendships. There didn't seem to be excess words describing their emotions or deep feelings, but it was perfectly balanced between internal and external character development and action. Although this book is aimed at younger readers, it was such an entertaining story that I feel like most people would find it amusing while the target audience would love it. The story had a definite "end" to it, which I loved, but there were enough loose threads that I'll look forward to picking up the next book in the series to find out what adventures the characters will have next time around! (less) | Notes are private!
| Author's
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1
| Feb 16, 2013
| Feb 18, 2013
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Feb 18, 2013
| Hardcover
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