false 10 397 352 true 5704621 read 2 true 3808041 currently-reading 43 true 3808040 to-read 36 false 3911342 my-very-favorites <![CDATA[Jess added 'Hot Six']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/81151010 Hot Six (Stephanie Plum, #6) by Janet Evanovich
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> <![CDATA[Jess added 'High Five']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/80744961 to: High Five (Stephanie Plum, #5) by Janet Evanovich
]]> <![CDATA[Jess added 'Four to Score']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/80334448 to: Four to Score (Stephanie Plum, #4) by Janet Evanovich
]]> <![CDATA[Jess added 'The Rough-Face Girl']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/80419525 to: The Rough-Face Girl (Paperback) by Rafe Martin
This is a great Cinderella story, that, in coming from Algonquin Indian tradition, was not Disney-fied like other "cultural" Cinderella stories. Emphasized is the spiritual connection between man and nature which ultimately leads to the book's happy ending. In focusing on nature rather than superficial appearances and supernatural entities (like in other Cinderella adaptations), this story remains true to traditional Native American values. ]]> <![CDATA[Jess added 'In the President's Secret Service: Behind the Scenes with Agents in the Line of Fire and the Presidents They Protect']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79977190 to: In the President's Secret Service: Behind the Scenes with Agents in the Line of Fire and the Presidents They Protect (Hardcover) by Ronald Kessler
This book was full of gossipy stories and tidbits about every president since Kennedy. While I found these stories interesting, I am puzzled by the integrity of Kessler's sources as he emphasizes the need for the Secret Service to keep the trust of the first families yet those who have relayed the stories to him have violated that basic tenant. I don't know that a SS agent for Kennedy or Johnson would feel that the knowledge they protect about those families is still priviledged today, and it may be that time has in fact dissolved any need for this information to be kept private, but it is still suspect nonetheless.

I was anticipating that this book would focus more on the Secret Service itself rather on the secrets its agents possess, and even in the sections that detailed the agency's problems I felt that Kessler's concerns became repetitive. The second to last chapter was a summation of the problems he sees with the agency that he had mentioned throughout the previous chapters, and the final chapter was a summation of that summation. Despite the redundant nature of his concerns, Kessler does raise some interesting points about the agency's tendency to cut corners in recent years, which may not be any fault of the agents themselves but of the management.

As for the content of the divulgences, I was surprised to read that certain people were very friendly to the staff despite their public personas (e.g. Barbara Bush, Cindy McCain, Dick and Lynne Cheney) and other whom we would expect to be nice were anything but (e.g. Jimmy Carter). The viscious nature of some was exactly as I'd expected (e.g. Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, Nancy Reagan). All in all I think this book illustrates the concept of power and the manifestation of that power in the hands of ten men with distinct and varied personalities who happened to assume the role of POTUS. ]]> <![CDATA[Jess added 'Three To Get Deadly']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79698756 to: Three To Get Deadly (Stephanie Plum, #3) by Janet Evanovich
]]> <![CDATA[Jess added 'Two for the Dough']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78643036 to: Two for the Dough (Stephanie Plum, #2) by Janet Evanovich
This book was absolutely hilarious. I'm so happy to know that there are 17 more books for me to read in this series! ]]> <![CDATA[Jess added 'One for the Money']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78492475 to: One for the Money (Stephanie Plum, #1) by Janet Evanovich
I'm always hesitant to read books by authors who have become very mainstream and/or authors who write serial novels (e.g. James Patterson, Stephenie Meyer, Jodi Picoult, John Grisham, etc. fall into either one or both of these categories). For both of these reasons I had never considered reading Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series until it was casually suggested to me last week as a light reading book by a fellow book lover. I was incredibly surprised by this book and found myself laughing out loud throughout the whole thing, which rarely happens as I usually prefer to read books of a more forlorn nature. I love mysteries, and this book had the perfect amount of mystery, humor, and character that made it a page turner. Yes, I'm hooked on Stephanie Plum, and I'll be making a special trip to the library tomorrow to check out the second in the series. ]]> <![CDATA[Jess added 'The 19th Wife: A Novel']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77922611 to: The 19th Wife: A Novel (Hardcover) by David Ebershoff
]]> <![CDATA[Jess added 'Plain Truth']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/72698004 to: Plain Truth (Paperback) by Jodi Picoult
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