http://www.goodreads.com/review/list_rss/1142300 en-US Sun, 17 Aug 2008 13:42:43 -0700 60 http://www.goodreads.com/ 200 41 http://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/gr_logo.gif 30345149 Sun, 17 Aug 2008 13:42:43 -0700
author: Stephen King
name: Kathryn
average rating: 3.43
book published: 1993
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 08/17/08
shelves: fiction
review:
Long long long, fairly depressing, at least one pulse-pounding scene (the one with the old well. *shudder*), and a completely pointless tie-in to "Gerald's Game. I'm not sorry I read it, but it really doesn't measure up to the rest of King's books.
]]> 30346426 Sat, 16 Aug 2008 20:21:45 -0700
author: Stephen King
name: Kathryn
average rating: 3.68
book published: 1976
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 08/16/08
shelves:
review:
This was the first collection of Stephen King stories I ever read, and is far and away my favorite. Well okay, "1408" almost makes the book "Everything's Eventual" edge out this collection, but the nostalgia factor just barely puts "Night Shift" in the lead. Plus, this collection has "The Mangler", which is one of the scariest of his stories, ever. (Aside from "The Jaunt", which is scarier in a more get-it-away-before-it-eats-my-brain way.)
]]> 30346222 Sat, 16 Aug 2008 20:17:26 -0700
This one didn't have as interesting of a setting (suburban America, rather than a deserted town out West), and I'm afraid a few of the characters got on my nerves. Still, some of the scenes were nail-bitingly chilling, and I can really appreciate the fact that King was kind of experimenting with something here.]]>
author: Stephen King
name: Kathryn
average rating: 3.27
book published: 1996
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 08/16/08
shelves:
review:
This one is paired with the book "Desperation" in a very interesting way. I won't say how, except that you'll get a better result if you read the other book first.

This one didn't have as interesting of a setting (suburban America, rather than a deserted town out West), and I'm afraid a few of the characters got on my nerves. Still, some of the scenes were nail-bitingly chilling, and I can really appreciate the fact that King was kind of experimenting with something here.
]]> 30346058 Sat, 16 Aug 2008 20:14:05 -0700
I could have done without the "clicking your heels together" bit though. That was just silly.]]>
author: Stephen King
name: Kathryn
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1997
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 08/16/08
shelves: fiction, sci-fi-fantasy
review:
I think this is one of the sweetest, most believable romances King has come up with. Which also makes this one of the more tragic of the "Dark Tower" books (that I've read, anyway), since you go into the story knowing that this won't end well.

I could have done without the "clicking your heels together" bit though. That was just silly.
]]> 30345601 Sat, 16 Aug 2008 20:07:45 -0700
One of the things I enjoyed most about this book was the fact that Adams created a whole mythology for the characters. The story moves along at a good clip, but also has the occasional pause for the rabbits to tell each other a fairy tale.

Anyone else remember the cartoon based on this? Remember the horrifying bit about the old warren being gassed to death? The story in the book about the adventurer rabbit traveling to the underworld is almost as scary.]]>
author: Richard Adams
name: Kathryn
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1972
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 08/16/08
shelves: fiction, hard-to-describe
review:
NOT a book for children, this is a very strange, epic story about the adventures of a rabbit clan searching for a new home.

One of the things I enjoyed most about this book was the fact that Adams created a whole mythology for the characters. The story moves along at a good clip, but also has the occasional pause for the rabbits to tell each other a fairy tale.

Anyone else remember the cartoon based on this? Remember the horrifying bit about the old warren being gassed to death? The story in the book about the adventurer rabbit traveling to the underworld is almost as scary.
]]> 30345317 Sat, 16 Aug 2008 20:03:39 -0700
"The Jaunt" is one of those stories that occurs to me when I can't sleep at three in the morning. It's one of the few really good stories that I wish to God I'd never read.

I know I enjoyed this collection; I just can't remember much about it apart from those two stories.]]>
author: Stephen King
name: Kathryn
average rating: 3.69
book published: 1985
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 08/16/08
shelves: horror
review:
King's story "The Raft" almost made me run screaming from the room. Yes, from reading it, it was that horrifying.

"The Jaunt" is one of those stories that occurs to me when I can't sleep at three in the morning. It's one of the few really good stories that I wish to God I'd never read.

I know I enjoyed this collection; I just can't remember much about it apart from those two stories.
]]> 30345073 Sat, 16 Aug 2008 19:58:18 -0700
author: Stephen King
name: Kathryn
average rating: 3.39
book published: 2007
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 08/16/08
shelves: horror
review:
I read this book fairly recently (within the last few years, rather than the last decade or so), and somehow failed to remember much about it. That bit with the eyeball in someone's brain was memorable; the rest not so much.
]]> 30344820 Sat, 16 Aug 2008 19:57:04 -0700
For some reason I find King's stories about outside invaders (aliens, demons, ghosts) a lot more interesting that his stories about strange things that everyone has just failed to notice before ("The Langoliers" comes to mind).]]>
author: Stephen King
name: Kathryn
average rating: 3.56
book published: 1994
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 08/16/08
shelves: horror
review:
Wow. This one was TOUGH to get through. An entire book about people not being able to sleep; I can't imagine why THAT would get tedious.

For some reason I find King's stories about outside invaders (aliens, demons, ghosts) a lot more interesting that his stories about strange things that everyone has just failed to notice before ("The Langoliers" comes to mind).
]]> 30344551 Sat, 16 Aug 2008 19:52:45 -0700
Other than that, I've very little memory of the book. ]]>
author: Stephen King
name: Kathryn
average rating: 3.63
book published: 1990
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 08/16/08
shelves: horror
review:
Probably the most "meh" collection of Stephen King stories I've read. "The Langoliers" is memorable for me only in that I read it when I was staying all by my lonesome for the first time in a big empty house. And part of the ending (you can probably guess which part) pissed me off so badly I forgot to be scared.

Other than that, I've very little memory of the book.
]]> 30344525 Sat, 16 Aug 2008 19:50:12 -0700
I have next to no memory about this book, other than it was about a city full of people who are slowly turning into a)human computers or b)monsters. It must have been pretty good, since I’m fairly sure it was the first Koontz book I’d ever read, and there must have been SOMETHING there to get me to try so many more.]]>
author: Dean Koontz
name: Kathryn
average rating: 3.61
book published: 1989
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 08/16/08
shelves: horror, sci-fi-fantasy
review:
(I just have to add here that I’m finding it REALLY weird that, on reflection, I’ve read so many books by an author I have little to no respect for. Anyway…)

I have next to no memory about this book, other than it was about a city full of people who are slowly turning into a)human computers or b)monsters. It must have been pretty good, since I’m fairly sure it was the first Koontz book I’d ever read, and there must have been SOMETHING there to get me to try so many more.
]]> 30344425 Sat, 16 Aug 2008 19:49:30 -0700
The only thing that keeps this book from getting a higher score is the personalities of the characters. Everyone is so damn two-dimensional, it’s as if the characters go around with a little title floating over their heads: “Evil”, “Good”, “Greedy”, “Saintly”, “Doomed”. It’s the same problem I’ve had with all of Koontz’s novels; he tries to draw an 88-crayon story with three colors.
]]>
author: Dean Koontz
name: Kathryn
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2004
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 08/16/08
shelves: horror, sci-fi-fantasy
review:
This book was a nice change from Koontz usual stuff. The main character’s dilemma is intriguing: he teleports randomly and without control, finds unusual stuff in his pockets (and occasionally blood on his hands) and has no memory of who he is, where he’s been, or what in God’s name is going on. That alone would make this a good read, but there’s also some pretty fascinating bad-guy characters, like the vampire-like killer, his psychic and decadent sisters, and their devoted, lunatic, deceased mother. I’d also like for Koontz to further explore the strange worlds that the main character travels to. That planet made of jewels and bugs certainly deserves another look, or at least some more explanation.

The only thing that keeps this book from getting a higher score is the personalities of the characters. Everyone is so damn two-dimensional, it’s as if the characters go around with a little title floating over their heads: “Evil”, “Good”, “Greedy”, “Saintly”, “Doomed”. It’s the same problem I’ve had with all of Koontz’s novels; he tries to draw an 88-crayon story with three colors.

]]> 29771954 Sun, 10 Aug 2008 12:08:47 -0700
I've heard Harlan Ellison describe his story "I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream" as an uplifting story, not because of what the character goes through (which is horrible), but because of his willingness to go through it for the sake of someone else. "The Green Mile" is uplifting for a similar reason, but I would have like for SOMEONE in the story to live happily ever after.]]>
author: Stephen King
name: Kathryn
average rating: 4.23
book published: 1996
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 08/10/08
shelves: fiction, horror
review:
This is another one of those books that I found fascinating, well-written, easy to read, and which I have a hard time recommending to anyone because it made me feel so BAD. I knew going into it that this would not be a feel-good book (it's set on death-row, duh), but I didn't realize how much King would make me LIKE the characters.

I've heard Harlan Ellison describe his story "I Have No Mouth And I Must Scream" as an uplifting story, not because of what the character goes through (which is horrible), but because of his willingness to go through it for the sake of someone else. "The Green Mile" is uplifting for a similar reason, but I would have like for SOMEONE in the story to live happily ever after.
]]> 29771649 Sun, 10 Aug 2008 12:02:48 -0700
author: Roald Dahl
name: Kathryn
average rating: 3.52
book published: 1974
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 08/10/08
shelves: sci-fi-fantasy, young-adult
review:
I think I was a little disappointed when I first read this book back in elementary school. There's no chocolate, for one thing, and all the characters you love to hate have gone home. It's a weird book though, way stranger than any of the other children's books available at the time, so the story has definitely stuck with me.
]]> 29770849 Sun, 10 Aug 2008 11:55:28 -0700
author: Dean Koontz
name: Kathryn
average rating: 3.52
book published: 1993
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 08/10/08
shelves: horror
review:
Oh for crying out loud. This was AWFUL book, filled with nothing but two-dimensional characters with two-dimensional motivations, all the usual Dean Koontz standard cast, with a tacked on "And They All Lived Happily Ever After" ending. Complete waste of time.
]]> 29770205 Sun, 10 Aug 2008 11:50:04 -0700
Then you've got the fascinating, just-this-side-of-a-nightmare fantasy world of the chocolate factory. And of course there's chocolate. Lots and lots of it. ]]>
author: Roald Dahl
name: Kathryn
average rating: 4.08
book published: 1964
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 08/10/08
shelves: sci-fi-fantasy, young-adult
review:
My FAVORITE book in elementary school. And it's still fun to re-read, even now. The brat-characters and their parents were written a little heavy-handedly, but it's obvious that this was done on purpose, and the sweet, angelic character of Charlie more than makes up for it. And Willy Wonka is hilariously quotable through the whole book. "My dear old fish," he tells a shrewish parent, "Go boil your head."

Then you've got the fascinating, just-this-side-of-a-nightmare fantasy world of the chocolate factory. And of course there's chocolate. Lots and lots of it.
]]> 29770092 Sun, 10 Aug 2008 11:44:57 -0700
author: Dean Koontz
name: Kathryn
average rating: 3.41
book published: 1993
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 08/10/08
shelves: fiction, horror
review:
See my review of "The Watchers" for my feelings about Koonz's Standard Cast of Characters. This one fit the same mold exactly, except it DIDN'T have a super-intelligent dog.
]]> 29769752 Sun, 10 Aug 2008 11:42:53 -0700
I enjoyed the heck out of The Watchers even with all these cliches, because in THIS book there's a super-intelligent dog in cahoots with the Hero and Heroine. Very AWWWWW stuff. There's also a romance, involving an Ugly Duckling who finds out she's a Swan, something which was very appealing to me when I read this back in high school. ]]>
author: Dean Koontz
name: Kathryn
average rating: 4.01
book published: 1988
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 08/10/08
shelves: fiction, horror
review:
I've come to the conclusion that Dean Koonz books all have the same basic characters. There's the Heroine-In-Spite-Of-Herself (usually virginal), the Dudly Do-Right Hero (usually the love interest of the heroine), the Bad Guy Who Thinks He's A Good Guy (a corrupt cop, or a crusading fanatic), the Redeemed Pawn (employed by the Bad Guy, or the government, but sees the light before the end of the book), and the REAL Bad Guy (a monster, most likely). Sometimes there's a Kid With His Dog, but not always.

I enjoyed the heck out of The Watchers even with all these cliches, because in THIS book there's a super-intelligent dog in cahoots with the Hero and Heroine. Very AWWWWW stuff. There's also a romance, involving an Ugly Duckling who finds out she's a Swan, something which was very appealing to me when I read this back in high school.
]]> 29769640 Sun, 10 Aug 2008 11:40:34 -0700
author: Clive Barker
name: Kathryn
average rating: 3.86
book published: 1988
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 08/10/08
shelves: fiction, horror
review:
Hmm. Interesting. I've never had any interest in the gorefest movies of the 80's (I only watched "Nightmare On Elm Street 3" because I was at a slumber party and didn't feel like hiding in the bathroom), but I may have to check out "Hellraiser" now, since this is the book it was based on. I've read some of the Hellraiser comics, and I've had a kind of scared fascination with the whole genre, since it's based around the idea that Hell is something you can get dragged to by accident.
]]> 29769454 Sun, 10 Aug 2008 11:39:11 -0700
author: Anne Rice
name: Kathryn
average rating: 3.47
book published: 1996
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 08/10/08
shelves: fiction, hard-to-describe, sci-fi-fantasy
review:
The basic idea of this story seemed to come out of left field: A charming, fairly spiritual Babylonian sacrifices himself in a beautiful ceremony for the sake of his people. He dies (very, VERY horribly), and becomes a powerful spirit in the control of whoever owns his gold-plated skeleton. It's quite strange, and I haven't been able to find which myth it's based on (seems to be a combination of the vampire and golem myths, but that's not really descriptive of the result). 99.9% of it is told in flashbacks, which is great since for some reason flashbacks and history lessons are usually my favorite parts of Anne Rice's books. And of course, since it's Anne Rice we're talking about, the story is beautiful and tragic, with an immortal main character who has to cope with the fact that he doesn't ever get to die and go to heaven like everybody else.
]]> 29769179 Sun, 10 Aug 2008 11:37:03 -0700
And with all that, I liked it. The ending was cut off so quickly, it felt as if this were the first half of something. It would be nice if that were true, because I would love to read the rest of the story.
]]>
author: Clive Barker
name: Kathryn
average rating: 3.51
book published: 1999
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 08/10/08
shelves: fiction, hard-to-describe, horror
review:
I'm still not sure what to think of this book. It's VERY different from his other books I'd read at the time (Books of Blood, Weaveworld), and it doesn't classify too well. Horror? Not really. Historical fiction? Mmm, no. Bizzarre lifestyles of the rich and insane? That's closer, if you throw in religious imagery and some hard-to-understand intrigue. I could never identify with any of the characters, and even though this is partly a love story, I got the idea that the people who were madly in love didn't really LIKE each other much. Lustful contempt seems to describe the feelings better.

And with all that, I liked it. The ending was cut off so quickly, it felt as if this were the first half of something. It would be nice if that were true, because I would love to read the rest of the story.

]]> 29768921 Sun, 10 Aug 2008 11:34:25 -0700
The rest of the book is lush and decadent, and highlights a cross-section of a New Orleans society that most people won’t be familiar with. In other words, it’s a typical example of a really good Anne Rice book. But it’s that act of revenge I keep coming back to. *shudder* Horrifying.]]>
author: Anne Rice
name: Kathryn
average rating: 3.57
book published: 1992
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 08/10/08
shelves: fiction, historical-fiction
review:
This book stands out in my mind as having the most brutal, all-encompassing piece of revenge I’ve ever read. The character (and I’m not saying who, since I wouldn’t want to spoil things) picked the ONE action that would hurt the most people in the most complete way.

The rest of the book is lush and decadent, and highlights a cross-section of a New Orleans society that most people won’t be familiar with. In other words, it’s a typical example of a really good Anne Rice book. But it’s that act of revenge I keep coming back to. *shudder* Horrifying.
]]> 29768758 Sun, 10 Aug 2008 11:32:12 -0700
author: Anne Rice
name: Kathryn
average rating: 3.62
book published: 1995
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 08/10/08
shelves: fiction, historical-fiction
review:
My husband is a big fan of Anne Rice's early works, but he won't read this one, for obvious reasons (just read the first sentence of the book and you'll understand). I thought the whole book was wonderful; I love stories of transformations, and the main character changes so much from the beginning to the end that he becomes a completely different person. Heck, it's almost as if he becomes a different species. Anne Rice spends a lot of time describing the gorgeous exotic world of the Venetian castrati in loving detail, and also manages to make the specifics of voice-training downright fascinating. Be warned; LOT'S of sex in this one (mostly with guys, but that's kind of a given with Anne Rice's books), and also one scene of violence that's not for the faint of heart. Given the subject matter, it won't give anything away to say it's every man's worst nightmare.
]]> 29093858 Sat, 02 Aug 2008 20:55:29 -0700
I know I sound bitter, but this was an author I really liked. I read her books voraciously, and then suddenly the work turns to crap. No dividing line, no gradual drop off in quality, just one book that's great, and the next book isn't worth reading. This keeps happening to my favorite authors for some reason.(Varley, I'm looking at YOU here.) ]]>
author: Anne McCaffrey
name: Kathryn
average rating: 3.71
book published: 1997
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 08/02/08
shelves: sci-fi-fantasy
review:
Oh for crying out loud...what the heck HAPPENED? The book right before this one, "All the Weyrs Of Pern" was fantastic and startling and different and beautiful. And then this one was AWFUL. McCaffrey took one of my favorite characters from the last book, Aramina, and turned her into a shrewish, unsympathetic, two-dimensional twit. The storyline with her son going off to make his own hold was like something out of a nine-year-old's diary ("I'm going to run away and make my own hold and live with dolphins and THEN they'll be sorry"), and there just wasn't anyone in the story I liked, at all.

I know I sound bitter, but this was an author I really liked. I read her books voraciously, and then suddenly the work turns to crap. No dividing line, no gradual drop off in quality, just one book that's great, and the next book isn't worth reading. This keeps happening to my favorite authors for some reason.(Varley, I'm looking at YOU here.)
]]> 29095271 Sat, 02 Aug 2008 20:49:42 -0700
If I could rate the book by story, "Magic For Beginners" would get five stars; it was just that delightful. The rest would maybe get two. ]]>
author: Kelly Link
name: Kathryn
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2006
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 08/02/08
shelves: sci-fi-fantasy
review:
I read the short story "Magic For Beginners" in the September 2005 issue of F&SF Magazine, and it's been one of my favorite stories ever since. I finally located a copy of this short story collections and thought it was...meh. Okay, the one about the purse was cute, and the one about the cannon was odd enough to be interesting. For the rest of them I found myself wondering what the HECK was going on.

If I could rate the book by story, "Magic For Beginners" would get five stars; it was just that delightful. The rest would maybe get two.
]]> 29094602 Sat, 02 Aug 2008 20:39:55 -0700
I just read a description of the book that stated this was written shortly before the author's death, which makes her ending paragraph about closing the curtains a little creepy, and a little sad.]]>
author: Louisa May Alcott
name: Kathryn
average rating: 3.68
book published: 1886
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 08/02/08
shelves: classic, fiction
review:
Lousia May Alcott's strength for me was her stories about children, or about young women who were just coming of age. There's not so much of that in this book. It's a little crowded (hard to keep track of all the characters), and a little preachy sometimes, and a bit slow. I liked getting to see the characters again, but it was hard to really care about what happened to them. I'm glad I read this, but it's not something I want to read over and over the way I did for "Little Women" and "Little Men".

I just read a description of the book that stated this was written shortly before the author's death, which makes her ending paragraph about closing the curtains a little creepy, and a little sad.
]]> 29093547 Sat, 02 Aug 2008 20:21:33 -0700
author: Anne McCaffrey
name: Kathryn
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1977
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 08/02/08
shelves: sci-fi-fantasy
review:
Another wonderful book in the Harper Hall Trilogy, read to my sixth-grade class by my forever-wonderful English teacher Mrs. T. This one feels a little more cringe-worthy than the first, or at least it did when I was a lonely kid who had trouble making friends in a school full of mean snobs, listening to a story about a lonely girl who had trouble making friends in a school full of mean snobs. Does it sound like I identified with the main character much? Believe me, the idea of having nine incredibly loyal miniature dragons as pets was better than anything I could have dreamed up on my own.
]]> 29072215 Sat, 02 Aug 2008 14:38:03 -0700
author: Anne McCaffrey
name: Kathryn
average rating: 4.13
book published: 1976
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 08/02/08
shelves: sci-fi-fantasy
review:
This book is the reason why my sixth-grade english teacher will always be remembered by me as the Best Teacher Ever! English class ran a little longer in private school, and one of the ways Mrs. T would fill up the time would be to spend a half-hour or so reading to the class. "Dragonsong" was one of the most amazing, fantastical books I'd ever come across. It completely wiped out my loyalty to unicorns, and it's been dragons ever since.
]]> 29071227 Sat, 02 Aug 2008 14:30:02 -0700
I didn't bother with the movie. Keanu Reeves doesn't do anything for me, and Sissy's thumbs were too small for God's sake! You could tell that just from the poster.]]>
author: Tom Robbins
name: Kathryn
average rating: 3.65
book published: 1977
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 08/02/08
shelves: fiction, hard-to-describe
review:
To me, "Skinny Legs And All" will be the high-water mark for Tom Robbins book. But I think "Even Cowgirls Get The Blues" is my favorite. The story is more of an adventure, the characters (especially the main character) are more likeable, and it's just more fun to read. Lots of sex, lots of traveling, lots of explorations into the mysteries of the human psyche. And all done VERY tongue-in-cheek, without taking itself too seriously.

I didn't bother with the movie. Keanu Reeves doesn't do anything for me, and Sissy's thumbs were too small for God's sake! You could tell that just from the poster.
]]> 29071099 Sat, 02 Aug 2008 14:19:42 -0700 This was another book that I read cover-to-cover in installments while sitting in the Barnes and Noble coffee shop. And I read it FAST; this memoir was addictive (ouch, okay, bad play on the books subject matter). Augusten Burroughs does a fantastic job of showing that, while the actions of addicts can be stupid, addiction is NOT limited to stupid people. Burrougs is obviously intelligent, well-spoken, and darn charming. What's more, he KNOWS that everything he did as an alcoholic was a Really Bad Idea. He knew it WHEN he was off the wagon. And at the exact same time he KNEW with all his heart that everything was fine, and that he could handle it, no problem. It's a bizarre kind of doublethink that's hard to imagine until you read Burroughs explaining how when he was drinking he had to take ten or fifteen Benadryl a day to keep his alcohol allergy from closing his throat.

I've skimmed a couple of Burroughs' other books, and they've seemed a little, hmm, sensational? Over the top, maybe? This one is much more real. ]]>
author: Augusten Burroughs
name: Kathryn
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2003
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 08/02/08
shelves: non-fiction
review:

This was another book that I read cover-to-cover in installments while sitting in the Barnes and Noble coffee shop. And I read it FAST; this memoir was addictive (ouch, okay, bad play on the books subject matter). Augusten Burroughs does a fantastic job of showing that, while the actions of addicts can be stupid, addiction is NOT limited to stupid people. Burrougs is obviously intelligent, well-spoken, and darn charming. What's more, he KNOWS that everything he did as an alcoholic was a Really Bad Idea. He knew it WHEN he was off the wagon. And at the exact same time he KNEW with all his heart that everything was fine, and that he could handle it, no problem. It's a bizarre kind of doublethink that's hard to imagine until you read Burroughs explaining how when he was drinking he had to take ten or fifteen Benadryl a day to keep his alcohol allergy from closing his throat.

I've skimmed a couple of Burroughs' other books, and they've seemed a little, hmm, sensational? Over the top, maybe? This one is much more real.
]]> 29070806 Sat, 02 Aug 2008 14:17:56 -0700
author: William Golding
name: Kathryn
average rating: 3.61
book published: 1954
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 08/02/08
shelves: classic, fiction
review:
I read this book in one afternoon, and then went around in a daze for the rest of the day. What got to me was the combination of getting to live on a deserted island with no grownups (and what kid hasn't thought that would be fun), combined with the reality of what would actually happen if children had free rein to be as awful as grownups can be. I think getting to read this book at a fairly early age might make a lot of people would be less inclined to avoid "classic" literature.
]]> 29070716 Sat, 02 Aug 2008 14:15:26 -0700
Oh, and I think Pullman could rival George R.R. Martin in a competition of Making Characters You Care About And Then Doing Awful Things To Them. One scene JUST about had me in tears. It's a great example of how believable his characterizations are, but now he's just being sadistic. ]]>
author: Philip Pullman
name: Kathryn
average rating: 3.92
book published: 1997
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 08/02/08
shelves: sci-fi-fantasy, young-adult
review:
I haven't seen the movie yet, but after reading the first two books in the trilogy I'm even more disappointed that they're apparently not going to adapt either "The Subtle Knife" or "The Amber Spyglass" into movies. The way characters use the knife to travel between worlds would have been a great effect. I also don't quite understand the religious right's opposition to these books. Sure, there are actions and goals that would have a fundamentalist screaming in fury, but as far as I can tell it's the BAD guys in the story who are doing it. Maybe things will be clearer after I finish the last book.

Oh, and I think Pullman could rival George R.R. Martin in a competition of Making Characters You Care About And Then Doing Awful Things To Them. One scene JUST about had me in tears. It's a great example of how believable his characterizations are, but now he's just being sadistic.
]]> 29070399 Sat, 02 Aug 2008 14:10:54 -0700
Since this was the first Heinlein I ever read, I’m afraid it hasn’t made me too eager to try many more of his books. ]]>
author: Robert A. Heinlein
name: Kathryn
average rating: 3.96
book published: 1961
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 08/02/08
shelves: sci-fi-fantasy
review:
I really thought I would like this book. Think about it; a sole survivor of an expedition to Mars, a man raised by an alien culture, who travels to Earth to learn about women and love, and then creates a brand-new religion without all the messy hatred and prejudice of Earth’s other religions. It sounds like a fascinating story. And it is, kind of. It’s also preachy. Oh dear God, is it preachy. I’m sure Heinlein prided himself on being ever so progressive and open minded. The problem is that he was so convinced his view was RIGHT that he ends up being dismissive of anyone else’s viewpoint. Basically it’s prejudice from another angle. The smug attitude towards women didn’t help much either. And as another poster pointed out, the main character is out to create something new, to free people from the confines of religion. But to do that he…has to use all the trappings of religion to attract people to his message. And they’re some pretty silly trappings, too. The scene with the woman magically losing layer after layer of clothes, what was going on with that?

Since this was the first Heinlein I ever read, I’m afraid it hasn’t made me too eager to try many more of his books.
]]> 29070300 Sat, 02 Aug 2008 14:09:54 -0700
The setting of ancient Egypt probably makes this my favorite book, along with the little bit of romance (it always surprises me when mysteries have romance).
]]>
author: Agatha Christie
name: Kathryn
average rating: 3.70
book published: 1945
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 08/02/08
shelves: mystery
review:
I tried to cheat a little with this book. Instead of taking all the evidence and trying to figure out whodunit, I took each character in turn and said, “THIS person must have committed the murder(s) because…” and then tried to make the evidence fit. And then when the book ended I was STILL caught by surprise, because the murderer was the one character that I’d dismissed almost without consideration. It’s a good example of what Christie does with ALL of her mysteries, especially since you can go back and re-read the story and see how she was telling you who the culprit was the entire time.

The setting of ancient Egypt probably makes this my favorite book, along with the little bit of romance (it always surprises me when mysteries have romance).

]]> 28383317 Sat, 26 Jul 2008 17:24:11 -0700
Wonderful book. And being over 1000 pages long ensures that I'll never be able to remember every detail, which makes re-reading it that much more fun.]]>
author: James Clavell
name: Kathryn
average rating: 4.31
book published: 1975
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 07/26/08
shelves: historical-fiction
review:
I'm probably showing my age here, but I remember watching the mini-series that was based on this book back when it first aired. I think I was maybe years old. I remember my parents being a little surprised that I stuck through the whole thing, but I was fascinated, and I thought the love story was surprisingly sweet. In my opinion, the book is even better. Tons of the details I love so much; all of the minutia of life in feudal Japan, and having the clueless "barbarian" Englishman as the main character means lots of fascinating explanations of WHY everything is the way it is.

Wonderful book. And being over 1000 pages long ensures that I'll never be able to remember every detail, which makes re-reading it that much more fun.
]]> 28382692 Sat, 26 Jul 2008 17:09:08 -0700
author: Stephen King
name: Kathryn
average rating: 3.48
book published: 1996
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 07/26/08
shelves: horror
review:
I'm a little surprised I've only read this book the one time. It has some of the best creepy/horrifying/Lovecraftian imagery, and I think King was channeling his inner lunatic, because it's VERY hard to predict what's going to happen next. There's also the tie-in to his, excuse me, Bachman's book "The Regulators". To get the full effect, make sure you read this one first.
]]> 28376960 Sat, 26 Jul 2008 15:50:06 -0700
author: Louisa May Alcott
name: Kathryn
average rating: 4.48
book published: 1868
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 07/26/08
shelves:
review:
This book hasn't aged quite as well as "Little Men". She does a wonderful job of describing the lives of four post-Victorian age women, and how they dealt with having just barely enough money to survive (I think lots of children need to read this. I would love to look outside and see the neighborhood kids putting on a play for their friends, with props made out of pinecones and tinfoil). The whole book is sometimes tragic, and very sweet, but it starts to drag a little after the first half, when the girls start to focus more on the womanly goal of "finding a good husband and provider". Except for Jo, of course. Jo was probably the most "real" of all the girls, especially when she was being annoying.
]]> 28376671 Sat, 26 Jul 2008 15:42:00 -0700
author: Louisa May Alcott
name: Kathryn
average rating: 3.86
book published: 1871
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 07/26/08
shelves: classic, fiction
review:
This was one of my favorite books when I was growing up. The stories about the children in the best school ever made me want to go out and have adventures, or play cricket, or sit in front of a fire and roast chestnuts. Lousia May Alcott manages to not be as preachy here as she was in "Little Women" (or, God forbid, "Jo's Boys"), mostly I think because the main characters are young enough that they're not worrying about falling in love, or supporting their family, or fitting into society. They're just being children.
]]> 28375961 Sat, 26 Jul 2008 15:32:15 -0700
author: Stephen King
name: Kathryn
average rating: 3.68
book published: 1975
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 07/26/08
shelves: horror
review:
I waited for a long time for Stephen King to finish this story. The ending of the book seems to have been left even more up-in-the-air than usual. I can't imagine him going back to it now. It was an interesting story (it's Stephen King. Whatever else you can say about the man, his books aren't boring.) but the characters seemed a little vague. I'd like to know what ever happened to the priest, but other than that the whole thing just seems to be fading away.
]]> 28375456 Sat, 26 Jul 2008 15:22:05 -0700
author: Douglas Adams
name: Kathryn
average rating: 3.94
book published: 1984
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 07/26/08
shelves:
review:
Not the best book in the series, but I think it's a good stopping point. It's about as close as you'll get to a happy ending for anyone involved.
]]> 28374797 Sat, 26 Jul 2008 15:19:51 -0700
Maybe this one deserves a third read.]]>
author: Gabriel García Márquez
name: Kathryn
average rating: 4.15
book published: 1967
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 07/26/08
shelves: classic, fiction, hard-to-describe, sci-fi-fantasy
review:
I've read this book exactly twice; once for a college class, and once when something my younger sister said made me want to read it again. I don't think I understood it any more the second time around, but I still read it in practically one sitting. The setting (and the tone, and the story), is a lush, sweltering place, and oddly lazy, even when people are chasing after the love of their lives, or dying for reasons that are hard to understand. The college professor who assigned us this book described it as a prime example of "Magical Realism", which as far as I can figure means that anything goes, and that strange happenings like a blanket of flower petals falling out of nowhere are treating with the same kind of surprise reserved for a rabid dog, or an unusually warm spring.

Maybe this one deserves a third read.
]]> 28374133 Sat, 26 Jul 2008 15:10:05 -0700
NOT a book that will make you feel good. And it also doesn't give any answers.]]>