Saturday, March 31, 2012

Micro

Fiction by Michael Crichton.

Micro
http://www.barnesandnoble.com

This was a pretty good book, especially for one written by a dead guy.

I say this because Michael Crichton actually died in 2008, but this book just came out. Apparently he'd been writing it, and his estate hired a guy to finish it up. The result was not bad.

Usually I don't care for posthumous releases, the worst of which being all the books V.C. Andrews wrote after she died. That woman has been dead since 1986! And she's STILL releasing books!

But I digress.

Micro was not Crichton's best novel, but it wasn't the worst either. I enjoyed it. I will say, though, if you have trouble with willing suspension of disbelief, it's not for you.

I'll put it this way: It was kind of like Jurassic Park  meets  Honey I Shrunk the Kids.

Try to imagine THAT...

Friday, March 30, 2012

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Girl Meets God

Nonfiction by Lauren Winner.

Girl Meets God: On the Path to a Spiritual Life
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/

This book was all right, but not great.

I did give some insights into the relationship between Judaism and Christianity, which I am interested in, but it was a little scattered, and not as informative as I would have liked.

Honestly, it was just too much about the author. Which is of course, what a memoir is SUPPOSED to be. But I said before I'm not really a memoir person.
Eat Pray Love
This is the kind of memoir I really don't care much for, the kind with the intense navel-gazing of Eat, Pray, Love.

May I just say, it is a testament to the talent of Julia Roberts that she could carry this amazingly cumbersome movie with any amount of grace. Because she actually did.

But I digress...

Girl Meets God was our book club selection for this month, so I HAD to read it. (insert smiley-face emoticon here.)

It made for a good group discussion though.

http://video.barnesandnoble.com/DVD

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

The Best of Me

Fiction by Nicholas Sparks.

The Best of Me
http://www.barnesandnoble.com

Good book.

It's exactly what I expected from Nicholas Sparks: Engaging, heart-warming, true love, a hard choice, and then, a surprise at the end.

Saturday, March 17, 2012

When Sparrows Fall

Fiction by Meg Moseley.

When Sparrows Fall
http://www.barnesandnoble.com

This was a very good book.

It has an interesting persective on an extremely conservative Christian woman. You know, the long-skirt-wearing, ten-kid-having, head-covering and home-schooling kind.

I enjoyed getting to know the protaganist.

Friday, March 16, 2012

The List: A Love Story in 781 Chapters

Fiction by Aneva Stout.

The List: A Love Story in 781 Chapters
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/

This book was okay, but not great.

I got it just to see how one could possibly tell a story by using a LIST. Isn't that a weird idea?

Well, the author managed to do it. But it was a very spare story, I have to say, and it only took me about an hour to read the whole book.

Maybe for someone who doesn't like to read, that's a plus, I guess.

But for me, Short Book+Skimpy Plot=Not A Very Good Book.

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Caleb's Crossing

Fiction by Geraldine Brooks.

Caleb's Crossing
http://www.barnesandnoble.com

This book had a slow start but it ended up being really good.

Also unexpected. And quite historical.

Sunday, March 11, 2012

A Voice in the Wind

Fiction by Francine Rivers.

Voice in the Wind (Mark of the Lion Series #1)
http://www.barnesandnoble.com

Excellent book.

Although... It's also the beginning of a series, so now I've got to rush out and get the other books.

I definitely recommend this one though.

Friday, March 9, 2012

Bird of Another Heaven

Fiction by James D. Houston.

Bird of Another Heaven
http://www.barnesandnoble.com

This was a very good book.

It's about a man who discovers the history of his half-Hawaiian granmother, who was a consort of King David Kalakaua, the last king (and next-to-last royal ruler) of Hawaii.

I'm very interested in Hawaiian history right now, so I enjoyed this book.

Thursday, March 8, 2012

The Glass Castle

Nonfiction by Jeanette Walls.


This is one of the best memoirs I've ever read. And I'm not really a "memoir person."

Memoirs are problematic. I mean --unless you're a celebrity, I guess-- no one really cares about your troubled childhood, you know? But this one is interesting.

The author starts out when she is a successful adult, living in New York City. She goes out with friends one evening and, as she is getting out of a taxi, she sees her mother going through the dumpster.

Now THAT'S a good beginning!

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Blast From the Past

Children's fiction by Meg Cabot.

Blast from the Past (Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls Series #6)
http://www.barnesandnoble.com

I'm reading this to my nine-year-old daughter. It's really funny.

Unfortunately, it's number SIX in the series. And I haven't read numbers one through five.

I really hate it when that happens.

Friday, March 2, 2012

Peril at End House

Fiction by Agatha Christie.

Peril at End House (Hercule Poirot Series)
http://www.barnesandnoble.com

Here's another book I'm revisting on CD.

There's something about recorded books that I really like. Especially when they have them read by a really good actor.

And a cool British accent doesn't hurt.