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      Beautiful CreaturesMisbehaving Sea Breeze 6
Just started Beautiful Creatures, and so far Misbehaving is my least favorite of the series. It's a little boring but I am also only 20 pages in.
      Dale wrote: "I read Beautiful Creatures a few months ago...I liked it. Didn't see the movie though."I saw the movie first, I rented it, I didn't hate it. It was pretty good. If they make another, I'd watch it.
      LOL. It's hard to watch a book turn into a movie sometimes. Didn't *love* the first hunger games movie, but the 2nd movie was much better. They stuck to the books fairly well, though the actors look too old for the characters.
    
      I watched the movie before the book. I haven't even read the book yet, and I know from a friend that they're very different, but I hated the movie until the very end. It just went on and on, and I was so bored with it. I'm still going to try the book, though.
    
      I don't think I'll ever read the book.Right now I'm on a mission to reread the Percy Jackson series. I just finished the 4th book, and I want to finish it so I can try the Lost heroes series again.
      Well I gave up on reading Beautiful Creatures because I saw the movie first and it ruined it for me.... and I finished reading the other book, so Now I am readingThe Girls From Alcyone and re-reading Opal
      Marie, I'm actually watching Beautiful Creatures right now.... :) Did you like the movie? Alyssa, Star Kissed seems interesting...do you like it?
      Dale wrote: "Marie, I'm actually watching Beautiful Creatures right now.... :) Did you like the movie? Alyssa, Star Kissed seems interesting...do you like it?"
I actually did like the movie. I found it entertaining, and if they make another one, I'll rent it like I did BC
      I didn't think it was too bad, but I was multi-tasking while watching it. And I didn't care for the character who played the boy (having a brain fart and can't remember his name).I finished Lash, and now am reading
 Pretty good so far!
    
      Dale wrote: "I didn't think it was too bad, but I was multi-tasking while watching it. And I didn't care for the character who played the boy (having a brain fart and can't remember his name).I finished Lash,..."
The sequel is even better.
      Finished "Femme" (a really quick read @ less than 150 pages); on to "The Bughouse Affair," with Bill Pronzini & his wife, Marcia Muller :)
    
      Finished "Nemesis" by Bill Pronzini, as well as "The Bughouse Affair," also by Mr. Pronzini and his wife, Marcia Muller. Just started "The Spook Lights Affair," and "Hellbox," also by the same author(s).
    
      Just finished "Hellbox" and "The Bughouse Affair"; on to "The Thicket," by Joe R. Lansdale and "The Spook Light Affair" by Bill Pronzini & Marcia Muller :)
    
      Finishing reading "Hunted," Kevin Hearne; "Chosen," by Benedict Jacka and "Bleeding Shadows," by Joe R. Lansdale. Started also reading "Ask Not" by Max Allan Collins and "The Thicket" by Joe Lansdale as well. (Hooray for multitasking! ;) )
    
      Armageddon and the 4th Timeline by Don MardakBook Review by Susan McMichael
4.5 out of 5 stars
A thrilling ride from the first page…
Armageddon and the 4th Timeline by Don Mardak is a thrilling ride from the first page. This science fiction novel combines time travel, spiritual themes, a fascinating mix of characters and modern intrigue to create an unputtable down novel.
We meet the CIA Director, Scott Cunningham, a former Navy SEAL, and his Assistant Lori Colbert, addressing a meeting after a terrible terrorists attacks. We also meet husband and wife Kathy and Eric who are in Lhasa, Tibet, on a spiritual quest. Through Eric's time travel, both worlds intersect. Mardak's premise throughout the novel is that there "is a spiritual universe, and mankind has the ability to rise into a higher level of consciousness where all conflicts can be resolved peacefully without resorting to wars, or threatening a nuclear holocaust.”
http://goo.gl/QnimWA (Armageddon and the 4th Timeline Book ed.)
http://goo.gl/iDrGMJ (Armageddon and the 4th Timeline Kindle ed.)
http://goo.gl/EglbSd (Don Mardak Facebook Author Page)
http://goo.gl/UJW8Wt (Don Mardak Web Page)
For the full review please click:
http://raymondmathiesenbookreviews.bl...
      
  
Landon Parham plays by his own set of rules in this debut suspense novel, First Night of Summer. The sequences were intricately woven with captivating characters and full of rich detail. Sometimes graphic in nature---walking right up to that line but careful not to cross it. Ricky Doors is a new level of villian as that people like him actually exist in our toxic society. Humanity can be cruel and inhuman whether we choose to recognize it or not. Isaac Snow and his family are forced to recognize it when Ricky Doors attempts to kidnap one of their twin daughters, forever changing the course of their life. Don't shy away from subject matter of this book. The content is definitely uncomfortable, but within this story of torment is a hidden gem of uplifting emotion. Like many other books in this genre, I found adrenaline in the pages, but furthermore, the author led me into a plotline that digs deeply into the heart. This read is well worth it in my humble opinion. I hope everyone finds the depth as I did.
      Currently reading "The Little Friend" & "Looking for Alaska" & 4 others as well but mainly those two. I'm loving the little friend it's very captivating, but I'm not too taken with looking for Alaska... The drudgery of everyday teen life is starting to put me off, but I'm pushing forward hoping it'll pop out & surprise me soon.
    
      Just finished Ignite Me (amazing!)as well as Leopard Moon (It was alright)Currently reading Arena One and Altered and planning on picking up The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas since I just bought it and I love this series already.
      Pest On The Run by Gerry Burke – Book ReviewReviewed by Raymond Mathiesen
4.5 out of 5 stars
Big trouble and light hearted investigations…
A beautiful stage show star, come whore house madam, is suddenly foully murdered, despite her apparent gangster protection. A disgruntled Japanese business tycoon hires a hit man to assassinate Australia’s Prime Minister. An unbeatable game show contestant takes a recreational bungee-jump, only to have her rope break in what her friend thinks is dubious circumstances. Enter the low-life world of Paddy Pest, sometimes Private Investigator and sometimes secret agent for Australia’s spy bureau ASIO. Pest is based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, though is very frequently an international traveler. He is a master of dubious disguises, and often manages to solve the case despite his shortcomings. Here is a world where virtually everybody has a rancorous underbelly, and where murder is a common life event, but where good will eventually win out (even if by fluke). These humorous short stories with beguile you, entertain you and make you chuckle. Gerry Burke’s Pest On The Run: More Humorous Short Stories From The Paddy Pest Chronicles (iUniverse, c2012) is ideal for the lover of crime and murder mystery tales, but will also suit busy people looking for a witty amusement to fill a free hour or two.
http://goo.gl/pfzodA Pest On The Run (Book ed.)
http://goo.gl/PJDHzw Pest On The Run (Kindle ed.)
http://goo.gl/rxzUnD Gerry Burke’s Facebook Author Page
http://goo.gl/QisYTm Gerry Burke’s Web Site
For the full review please click:
http://raymondmathiesenbookreviews.bl...
      Just finished reading Doctor Sleep by Stephen King. It was superb--I gave it five stars.Now I'm reading Shadow Woman by Linda Howard. A young woman looks in the mirror one morning and cannot recognize her face. Also, there's a two-year period she cannot remember. So far it's been good.
      Finding Devo: A Novel Adventure by Seve Verdad – Book ReviewReviewed by Raymond Mathiesen
4 out of 5 stars
Escape from the system?
Sports journalist Russell Martell is on holiday in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico . His wife Rosalita has recently died and Russell feels lost and hurt, drifting through life. Then his journalistic senses begin to come alive as he starts to get the hints of stories: not sports stories, but crime and current events, with a hint of politics. What is the real story behind a body found in strange circumstances near the beach front? Is the rumor of a police raid on a suburban house really connected to drug cartels? Who is the colorful character Devon (Devo) that appears to be making a splash in town, at least according to the bar scuttlebutt? All these questions seem to draw together, but only more questions emerge. Soon Russell and his friend, Johnny Miles, will become caught up in an adventure where mystery and uncertainty abounds. How will ordinary citizens survive, let alone take action in a world of gangs, police and government? Seve Verdad’s Finding Devo: A Novel Adventure is a story of mystery and action which will intrigue and excite the reader as they follow Russell and Johnny in their desperate attempt to escape disaster.
http://goo.gl/LWIZdd Finding Devo (Book ed.)
http://goo.gl/S9h4QJ Finding Devo (Kindle ed.)
http://goo.gl/WlAAv1 Seve Verdad’s Facebook Page
http://goo.gl/i2Fgl9 Seve Verdad’s Web Site
For the full review please click:
http://raymondmathiesenbookreviews.bl...
      It was Serendipitous
When Melissa Jones discovers that her perfect boyfriend is not so perfect, she is tempted to spend more time with the new boy in town, but she resists the temptation for as long as she can. Melissa has been with her charming boyfriend, Thomas, for two years. To seventeen year old Melissa, her boyfriend is perfect. However, so is her little brother’s new babysitter. Melissa’s loyalty is tested as the babysitter tries to charm her. At the same time, Thomas’s trust in her is tested when he becomes jealous of the new boy. Things start to become complicated when Thomas meets the new boy’s sister and even more complicated when Melissa’s mom falls for the new boy’s father. Melissa learns a lot about herself throughout the book as she tries to take control of her chaotic life.
      The Neurotic’s Guide To Avoiding Enlightenment by Chris Niebauer, Ph.D. – Book ReviewReviewed by Raymond Mathiesen
4 out of 5 stars
Deep thoughts about the self and self-improvement…
Even a quick look at the self-help shelf at any bookstore will quickly reveal that the industry is booming and that most of us seem to have a secret desire to ‘be a better person’. We search for that magic formula which will give us enlightenment, hopefully the quicker the better. But is enlightenment, as we understand it, really achievable? If we did have a better life what would it be like? Would it be very different from our current life? Even more, what if we found that this ‘self’, which we are so bent on improving, turned out not to really exist, to be a myth, an unreliable creation of our own brain? Can modern neuroscience throw any light on this subject, and if so do you have to be an expert to understand it? If you are confused already get ready to have many of your ideas challenged by Chris Niebauer’s thought provoking book The Neurotics Guide To Avoiding Enlightenment: How The Left-brain Plays Unending Games Of Self-improvement.
Many self-help books are written from a New Age / Eastern Mysticism perspective and in a way Niebauer’s book fits into this category. Niebauer is strongly influenced both by the mid twentieth century author Alan Watts and the contemporary writer Eckhart Tolle. Watts wrote on a variety of Eastern Religions including Zen, Hinduism and Taoism and Tolle is greatly influenced by Buddhism. To describe the book as being purely of this ilk, however, would be greatly misleading. Also, to describe The Neurotics Guide simply as a self-help book, would be equally deceptive. Certainly there are mind-exercises and meditation techniques included which the reader may find helps them achieve a new mind-state, and which gives them a new approach to life, but this is very much a book of theory / philosophy which concentrates on challenging our standard ideas about ourselves and our lives. Niebauer is indeed “a college professor specializing in cognitive neuropsychology” (Preface) and the book has a heavy neuroscience content. In essence Niebauer is attempting to give Eastern Mysticism a neuroscience framework, taking it from the world of pure ideas and giving it a firm background in science.
http://goo.gl/oKlcFz The Neurotics Guide (Book ed.)
http://goo.gl/z8HkhM The Neurotics Guide (Kindle ed.)
http://goo.gl/IgXUcJ Chris Niebauer’s Facebook Page
http://goo.gl/HBAXap Chris Niebauer’s Web Site
For the full review please click:
http://raymondmathiesenbookreviews.bl...
      Right now I'm reading Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch which is hilarious and getting me strange looks on the bus, and I just finished Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and King of the Gunmen, which were both very good and opposite ends of the spectrum.♥,
Cat at Galaxy Press
      Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart So far, so good. It's a satire set in the near future that pokes fun at a wide variety of subjects.
    
      Book Review of Backward Compatible: A Geek Love Story by Sarah Daltry and Pete ClarkReviewed by Raymond Mathiesen
4 out of 5 stars
Is there someone for everyone? Even me?
Time is passing and the Y Generation have now become young adults. During this social period computers and the Internet have become household items, at least in the Upper and Middle classes. Online gaming has now become a subculture complete with language, social activities and dress. The word 'geek' has become more a description of an alternate subculture than a derogatory term. Daltry and Clarke take us on a wacky trip into the world of computer geeks, as they follow the hectic lives of Katie Garretty and George Lindell. Will this young woman and man come together in a sweet romance, or will they be doomed to remain single forever? Does being a computer geek mean you can never have self-respect, or can these young people grow in self-confidence? Will the pair ever battle their way to the end of Fatal Destiny, the game which dominates their young lives? Backward Compatible is a romantic comedy that will entertain those who enjoy reading New Adult or Young Adult fiction.
http://goo.gl/tTgTVO\ Backward Compatible (Kindle ed.)
For the full review please click:
http://raymondmathiesenbookreviews.bl...
      Currently reading 
  
 and 
  
 simultaenously!
Trying to get them both finished before I move into my new house. Figured I wont have much time to read in the couple of weeks after moving in! Too much painting to do.
  
  
  
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 simultaenously!Trying to get them both finished before I move into my new house. Figured I wont have much time to read in the couple of weeks after moving in! Too much painting to do.
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Jean-Claude Izzo (other topics)John Whitington (other topics)
Lynn Farley-Rose (other topics)
Daniel Kalla (other topics)
Stephen King (other topics)
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How do I get the cover of the book in my comments???"
I can show you!
Hit reply to this, just so you can see an open text box to type in. (Or, just scroll down. When I hit reply t..."
Thank you very much Cindy!