Tag: books and reading

Categories
books and reading

Deeply Odd

Plowing through these Odd books, one right after the other. I am enjoying each, but I gave 5 stars to the first, and either 3 or 4 to the rest, depending on how interesting the plot was. Deeply Odd was a 4 star one for sure. I really liked this story line quite a bit, and we meet a great new minorish character, Edie Fischer. She’s 86, but a spitfire for sure.

More mysteries surround Odd, which I am hoping are resolved in the next book. Who is Annamaria? What organization does Edie worth with? What does it mean to be fully smooth and blue? I’m going to miss Odd when all is said and done. He has proven to be a wholly likable and memorable narrator. How do you dislike anyone who believe in true love and destiny?

Categories
books and reading

Odd Apocalypse

I’m not really a fan of Dean Koontz. I would certainly pick him over, say, a romance author, but I am just ‘meh’ about him overall. However, his Odd Thomas series is one I particularly enjoy. Odd is a lovely narrator with a singular voice, and I have burned through the series quickly. I call these “fly books,” meaning I can fly through them in a couple days.

This one is no different than other others. Poor Odd has left Elvis and Pico Mundo behind (a couple books ago), gained a mysterious woman he feels he has to protect, but let’s be honest, she protects him more than he could ever protect her. And he is in yet another pickle. Each book get a little more supernatural than the previous, so I’m curious what happens in the next, and final, two books. These are fairly quick reads, and my favorite is the first book where we meet Odd and his world.

Categories
books and reading

More Than This

After reading this book, I am adding Patrick Ness to the list of authors who I will read everything they write. This is a small list. Just a handful of authors have proven to be tried and true. But this is his 5th book I’ve read, and I have yet to be let down. I liked some better than others, but the worlds he creates are unique and ones I want to revisit.

The protagonist of this book dies at the beginning, so you know something odd is happening. He “wakes up” and has no idea where he is or what is happening. This isn’t your normal afterlife book, though. I had no idea where this book was headed and never saw the ending coming. The revelation wasn’t earth shattering, but I was surprised and pleased by it nonetheless.

Ness wrote the magnificent Chaos Walking trilogy that I cannot recommend highly enough. I’ve also read A Monster Calls, which I cannot even begin to describe. A very odd, lovely, heartbreaking book.

If you haven’t heard of Ness, please, I beg you, find something of his. This one was a great solitary book, but the Chaos Walking trilogy might be his masterpiece.

Categories
books and reading

Pretty Girls

My online book club selected this for our December book. I have never read anything by Karin Slaughter before, so I had no idea what to expect. I enjoy a good thriller, but this one fell short.

I felt like the main character was able to solve all the problems and put all the pieces together too easily. She wasn’t particularly intelligent given her inability to see people for who they really are, so giving her almost magical powers to fix every mess was a little too miraculous to me.

There were a few pretty awful red herrings as well. I like a good solid red herring, but there has to be character or plot motivation behind it. One in particular in this book just was thrown in for no reason. About halfway through the book, there was a fantastic plot twist that I didn’t see coming at all, which was a pleasant surprise, and I expected more out of the second half of the book, but it went downhill after that. The main character’s mother was just the worst of all. She obviously cared about her children, but not enough to ever be honest with them, and when she is needed the most, she arrives with no questions about the most hairbrained plan of all time. She reminded me of Lucille Bluth.

I gave this one 3 stars, because I did want to keep reading, but I just rolled my eyes too many times at how far fetched the entire book was.

Categories
books and reading

The Grownup

I am cheap when it comes to buying books. If I love it, I will buy it for full price. But I usually wait for Kindle sales or use the library. Part of the problem is that I read SO MANY BOOKS that I just can’t afford to buy them all, as much as I would like to. And, although, Gillian Flynn has yet to disappoint me, I couldn’t spend $3 for a 60 page story. However, my library actually has 11 copies of this in hardback, so I requested one.

After an hour, I had finished and what a fun little treat. There are no chapters or stopping points, but you don’t need them. The story is quick and easy, but definitely makes you think about what you just read. And it all comes down to perspective. Whose story do you believe? I honestly have no idea who to believe in this story, and I really don’t care. Not because I didn’t enjoy it, but because that’s the entire point. We are left wondering, and I really appreciated what she did as a writer. I only have one Flynn book left to read and I can’t wait. She has proven to be tried and true.

Categories
books and reading

Book goals

I’m usually a lazy reader. I will read what I want, when I want, whatever strikes me. But I did the 2015 PopSugar Book Challenge, and it was fantastic. I read books that I had been meaning to get to for years (Pride and Prejudice, Slaughterhouse-Five, A Confederacy of Dunces) which was great. I read books I had never heard of before (Moloka’i, Wolf in White Van) and some not so great ones (Old World Murder, Gun, with Occasional Music, The Orphan Master’s Son). But in any case, when I look back over the last year, and the 89 (and counting) books I read, it is shocking to me how I was able to get so many done.

I usually set my goal at 50 books. I use Goodreads and absolutely love it. The format is easy, the giveaways are great (won two so far) and the app is convenient. Once I get to 50, I change the goal and see what I can do for the year. Sometimes, I get to 50 around October. This year, it was June. So, I changed my goal to 80. Once I met it, I just left it. No need at this point. 80 is the most I’ve ever read since I started keeping track, so now that I’m at 89, I really really want to get to 100. But here we are, Dec 4, 3 books in progress, not sure I’ll actually get 11 more done between now and the end of the year. And even though whatever I get to will be awesome, I still kinda want to cheat and read a couple short novellas to bump up my number.

Categories
books and reading

About Footnotes

I was never a fan of Choose Your Own Adventure books. They were so tedious. I just wanted to get to the story, no matter what it was. I didn’t really care what happened or how everything turned out. I do appreciate what the books were trying to accomplish, and they certainly were unique, but they just weren’t my thing.

So, when someone told me to read House of Leaves ages ago because the book was creative, unique, horrifying, like nothing she had ever read, I was sold. Sounds great. So, I grab my copy from Half Price Books, settle in, and open the cover. W. T. F. I couldn’t even begin to make sense of the story within the story within the story. I realize this has much more to do with me as a reader, how my brain works, and what my reading desires are. The book was truly like nothing I have ever read. I finished it, but the WTF feeling remained. I had no idea how to explain what the book was even about. However, it’s book I have recommended dozens of times because I knew the reader would love it.

Next, meet Infinite Jest. The book that never ends. I’ve been reading it off and on (mostly off) for 5 years. I recognize that it is a brilliantly written work. David Foster Wallace has no equal. But. This. Book….. I think my tendency to skim will prevent me from ever appreciating a book of this depth. A friend of mine has read it almost 10 times. 10 times!! And it takes him 6 weeks to do it! Maybe one day, when I feel a time crunch, I will try to tackle it again.

So, this leads me back to my current book, City of Saints and Madmen. And alas, to my sadness, footnotes in the second part. So, I’m flipping back and forth, trying to keep up with the story and the footnotes, and my brain just isn’t cooperating. I am a very linear person. But, as I declared yesterday, I love Jeff VanderMeer and will persevere.

Categories
books and reading

City of Saints and Madmen- Pt. 1

Having read only three of his books, I’m a Jeff VanderMeer fan and will read everything he writes, this I vow! Because he wrote the superb Southern Reach trilogy (AKA Area X books) which was easily one of the best trilogies I’ve ever read, I will be a loyal reader. They were in my top 5 of 2014 and I will be rereading them again in 2016. I NEVER reread this quickly. Usually, 5+ years go by before I am ready to revisit a book, and even then, I think the number of books I have actually reread is 10-12 out of the hundreds and hundreds. But I cannot wait to read these again.

I’ve been meaning to get to his other works, but like usual, other stuff gets pushed to the top, so I made this one a priority. I knew absolutely nothing about this book other than the author and a friend (who also read Area X) telling me this series is better. Not possible!! But we shall see….

The book is set up in short segments, all which, as far as I can tell, revolve around a city. So when you come across characters within this city, your mind automatically tries to categorize them into either “saints” or “madmen.” Most characters don’t fit into just one or the other, but like good characters should, have a little bit of both sides existing within.

This blog isn’t about regurgitating plot, so sorry if that’s what you’re looking for. I’d much rather discuss what I’m thinking as I read, or when I am done. So, what struck me from this first segment, Dradin, In Love, was the use of the name Dvorak. I wonder why VanderMeer chose this name. If there is any significance at all. Maybe he just likes the sound of it. Maybe he is a fan of the composer. Or maybe there are similarities between the character and the composer that the reader is supposed to uncover. Having read the Area X books, knowing what I know about how VanderMeer loves to create a nice mystery, I’m leaning toward the latter of the maybes.

Categories
books and reading

When is it too much?

I’m having a conversation with some online book friends about graphic descriptions in books. Namely, sex and violence. American Psycho comes to mind. I remember vividly how viscerally I hated the book because it was so ridiculous and over the top in its descriptions. Bret Easton Ellis is a great writer, respected, had some big hits, etc. But man, that book was just too much! I liked the idea of the plot. The 80s yuppie time period with the double life which was his true self, but I ended up glossing over much of the horror for a couple reasons. 1. I got bored with it. Reading it didn’t give me any insight into the plot or character (once I understood who he was deep down). How many scenes of torture do we need to get how messed up this guy is? Only takes a couple, really. 2. The scenes went on and on and on in meticulous detail. Which really does show what a great writer BEE is, but I ended up skimming to get back to the plot, as minimal is it was.

I have never read the 50 Shades book and have zero desire to do so, mostly because of the same idea of “too much.” I’ve heard from those who have read it that they just ended up skimming most of the sex scenes because they were redundant. Granted, these books sold millions, so someone enjoys them, but I don’t get it at all.

Categories
books and reading

Sharp Objects

I’ve only read one of Gillian Flynn’s books, Gone Girl, and was blown away, like most. And I’ve been meaning to read her other works, but just kept putting it off. So my early New Year’s Resolution is to read books that I’ve been meaning to get to. Since I finished the 2015 book challenge, I figured I might as well get a head start on my 2016 list. And thanks to my library, I have access to them all!

Having read two of Flynn’s books, I’m sold. She’s got what it takes. I will read Dark Places when I get it from the library, and already can’t wait. I knew absolutely nothing about this book other than the title. I’m not even sure I had ever seen the cover. Sometimes this is the best way to enter a book- completely blind. The story follows Camille, a reporter, who is sent back to her small hometown in Missouri to investigate a missing girl.

This book is like an onion of reveal. First there’s a missing girl. Turns out there was another girl murdered a few months before. Camille has issues with her family, to put it mildly, and you are slowly brought into the world of crazy that is her family, former friends, police, and suspects. There are few red herrings, but all are plausible and aren’t distracting to the main plot of “who is behind all the crimes” that you are pulled into.

I really loved this book. Excellent thriller, but not in an overdone way. Camille is seriously flawed, but we understand why. She isn’t just some crazy woman for the sake of the story. There’s depth to her, which makes her even more fascinating. Highly recommend this one!