Fiction
Nonfiction
I quite enjoyed this book. I listened to it on audio, BBC version. The music was very cheesy, but I ended up laughing at it instead of being annoyed. The acting was very good, except Gandalf didn't sound nearly as good in this portrayal as he does in the movies. Still, thumbs up!
Not for the easily offended, this book is a real gem of modern comedy. It is episodic, which allows easy reading in the few minutes you have while waiting in line someplace, or any time you need a good chuckle. It is obvious that the author's father cares about him and his happiness, but he definitely shows it through heavy doses of "tough love" that will have you laughing out loud as you read. Seriously, don't read this anywhere you need to stay quiet!
This book is amazing. If you're an animal lover of any sort, you will love this book. The author tells beautiful stories of the animals that have come to her animal sanctuary that were rescued from terrible situations. The stories dive deep in to the emotional world of farm animals that most people are unable to experience or associate with. Animals truly are a gift to this world and they have so many lessons to teach us, if we would all just slow down and listen :)
Amy Goodnight's family is far from normal. She comes from a line of witches, but tries her best to stay far outside the family business. Her summer gig? Ranch-sitting for her aunt with her wacky but beautiful sister. Only the Goodnight Ranch is even less normal than it normally is. Bodies are being discovered, a ghost is on the prowl, and everywhere she turns, the hot neighbor cowboy is in her face.
I've read this book twice, which is really saying something. This book has everything I like- a little mystery, romance, fantasy, and a lot of humor. I actually laughed out loud in public, especially at the part when Amy, our heroine, chases a 'delinquent cow' through a field wearing only her underwear and a pair of over sized galoshes. She's very snarky and I love it. I highly recommend this for fun read!
The main character of this book is Arnold "Junior" Spririt. Junior lives on the Spokane Indian Reservation where getting a good education isn't as important as Junior thinks it should be. During his Freshman year of high school, Junior decides to to transfer from the rez school, Wellpinit, to Reardan, where the only other Indian is the school mascot! As you can imagine those first days and weeks are tough for Arnold at Reardan. But, eventually he does start to develop some important relationships. Junior's overcomes so many obstacles throughout this book and Alexie tells a wonderful story through compassion and humor.
This author has been recommended to me for a while and I've finally started reading fer books. Why did I wait???? She is an excellent writer, and her books are full of suspense, connectedness, and the search for meaning. I am reading two of her series now, and find that every book of Kristen Heitzmann's is an excellent read!
This fictional book creates an interesting entwining of 3 peoples lives, each with unique circumstances, and brings them all together in unexpected ways. Most intriguing was the fictional character who created the concept of how we keep time, and his demise because of this.
This book was great for kids who want to learn the programming basics. I was cool to make something and very rewarding! If you are interested in computer books, this is for you!
I really enjoyed this book. It was very descriptive and I felt like I was in a dream when I was reading it. The only issues I have with it were the disjointed timeline was confusing at times and the ending dragged on for too long. Still, I'd recommend it.
Great book! I wasn't interested in the subject matter at first, but had to read for a book club. After I started it, I was hooked! I love that the book is written from the perspective of death. Zusak has a magical way with words.
Highly recommend!
Fantastic book! Lots of fun, with great 80s references, as seen from a dystopian future in which most of reality has been supplanted by the far more pleasant world of OASIS (a VR interface). This book will appeal to gamers and fans of 80s pop culture.
There were a few moments where I felt like some elements of the story were being brushed over (without giving away too much, there were some deaths that I felt were not acknowledged much in the text, though this is completely in character with the POV character's detachment from reality). But these were powerful elements that might have been more character-defining and perhaps might have demonstrated more about his motivation. This is why I could not, in good conscience, give the book the 5 stars. It could be just my own personal preferences coming through. Some people might be totally fine with that.
I listened to the audiobook version, narrated by Wil Wheaton, who does a great job with the characterizations and is completely believable as the first-person narrator. Not only that, but it really sounded like he was enjoying himself while narrating the book. And of course, that always makes it more fun as a listener.
It's very hard to explain the plot of this book but I will try.
So, basically, we have (roughly) four characters. Since in the book their names keep changing, in this review, I'll call them: the Girl, the Boy, the Douche, and the Redhead.
Spoilers ahead.
So, we start out in prehistory and the Girl is going to be mated to the Douche. Except, she doesn't want to because hes--well, he's a douche. so she's in a cave looking at a statue she's seen a billion times before and finds and emerald in the middle, and thinks "if I can get that emerald, I won't have to be mated to the Douche!"
Meanwhile, the Boy (who is a neanderthal) is having problems of his own. he was on a hunt and apparently was disgraced and can't go back to his tribe. He stumbles upon the cave where the Girl is singing and then HE sees the Emerald and thinks, "if I get that, I can go back to my tribe without disgrace!" so they fight for it and end up tumbling over a cliff. and dying.
Next, we're in Egypt. the Girl has a job as a singer (this is major symbolism). the Boy comes in as a Nubian slave. ((He can't talk becuz of an injury to the throat. note that in his past life he didn't know how to speak at all)) the Douche is there, buy the Boy and the Girl fall in love anyway. I don't think the Redhead is redheaded in this life, but she's there and tries to convince the boy to steal something from the girl so he can escape slavery, end comes to end, the Douche kills the Boy.
next life is in Greece. The girl still sings and has a bad foot (because in her past life she broke her foot). the Boy is an orphan of Egyptian descent and generally not accepted by everyone. The Douche is there and wants to win the Girl's hand in marriage. The Girl would much rather be a priestess of Athena, but that is not an option. so she asks the Boy to fight in the competition and win so she doesn't half to marry the Douche. Stuff happens, and ends with the Girl dying.
After this, the lives get increasingly more amusing and confusing. The Boy and the Girl switch genders, and then there's one situation in which the Boy and the Girl met and the Boy died and was reincarnated before the Girl died so we had a 17-year-old and a (I actually don't know if this is an accurate
number) 40-year-old.
Then, finally, in present day, the Girl and the Boy are in high school on a field trip to a museum where they see and exhibit of a neanderthal skeleton entangled with the skeleton of a Cro-Magnon female and scientist believe they died fighting over an emerald.
(That, of course, is the Boy and the Girl from about a bazillion lives ago)
As the Roman Mysteries Series gets further along, it begins to be like a trashy novel--but for kids. Some of the themes and scenes disgusted me. I would give this a negative rating if I could! Do not read.
This incredible story of Jane Eyre will be a novel you can't put down! I
read this book in twenty-four hours. The writing style draws the reader in. Contrary to popular belief, it is not a "creepy" book, and is appropriate for teens and older!
When Flavia's neighbor's dog is killed, she insists on finding the culprit.
She gets help from her neighbor, Jonathan; freed slave, Nubia; and mute beggar boy, Lupus. Together these friends explore first-century Roman life and culture while solving an intricate mystery. Details of the time period are woven into the story seamlessly. But the friendships and dialogue are timeless and relatable. Every chapter is a cliffhanger and the action is non-stop in this excellent series (The Roman Mysteries). Some violent themes may be too mature for younger readers; I recommend these fantastic reads for nine to ninety. My whole family can't put them down! You'll be glad there are seventeen sequels.
This book was interesting but took too long to wade through. I read as much of it as I could but it seemed to be repeating itself. Meh. It did make me afraid for my daughter when she eventually goes to school and has to deal with the politics and drama of girl culture. I also didn't think the portion of the book about teacher cliques was necessary, when the title implies a book about students.
I liked it. It started off a bit slow for my taste and it took awhile for me to immerse myself in its reality, but once I did I quite enjoyed it. It gets good about two thirds of the way through and has a very good ending, although I'm left with a spoiler question I won't address here, except to say, why the heck didn't she...?
i love this book i will read it again
i read the whole series it is amazing
I loved Anne of Green Gables but for some reason I just didn't get into the sequel. I'm not sure why, it just moved slowly and wasn't as adventurous, I think. I liked the portrait of a young teacher at the turn of the century. It's amazing how much has changed in that regard, and I did enjoy the ending.
I started out giving this book 4 stars - it is a fascinating inside look at this author's hospitalization for a rare autoimmune disorder which caused her complete memory loss of the time she was ill and could have eventually led to her death had her doctor given up on her.
The more I think about this book, however, the more I liked it - I've found myself talking about it with friends and family over the past few days and marveling at this author's tenacity on recreating her "month of madness" through interviews and tapes. I feel this is a wonderful and well-written book, not only of one woman's experiences with an illness that displayed itself so quickly and violently, but a fascinating look into our brains and how they work (or don't work).