And now for something completely different… I’m about to get religious, so if you aren’t interested in reading that, I’d stop reading now.
Maybe you’ve heard something about this book. I certainly had. Currently sitting at #6 on Amazon’s bestseller list, Heaven is for Real is the story of Colton Burpo, a four year old child who went to Heaven during a life threatening surgery.
I’m not sure exactly how to go about reviewing this book. So much of how much it will be enjoyed depends on the reader’s levels of faith and cynicism. Though my cynicism can (on occasion) be quite high, in general so is my faith. And because of that, I’m sure that anyone who has any measure of faith has also had a moment (or several) of doubt. The most challenging part of being a Christian in my opinion is the question of “what if none of this is real?” And in moments like those, it is easy to forget the miracles and complexities in life, and then to be reminded with stories like the one being told in this book.
I am sure there are those that think Todd Burpo, the author, pastor, and father of Colton could be a) making all of this up, b) using an experience in his life to get pushy about religion, or c) is essentially full of crap and deluded into thinking this is real. I don’t believe that. For me, the book rings true, and there are enough details that Colton has conveyed that line up with scripture and other things that a four year old would know nothing about that I believe he had the near death experience he says he had and saw Heaven. While reading, I found myself comforted, feeling more confident in that which I already know: when we die, it’s not over. We will see our loved ones again.
Obviously this book isn’t for everyone, and certainly this “review” is more of an endorsement for Christianity than the actual book, but it’s worth reading. I enjoyed it. I’ll give it a three, but know that I feel strange giving something a rating that deals with concepts beyond my understanding. As for the book itself, the writing was acceptable, the stories realistic and emotional, and I liked it enough to be pleased that I read it.
What is there to say about the seventeenth book in a series that hasn’t been said about the first sixteen? I know there are a lot of people that think the Stephanie Plum series has gone downhill in recent years, but I’m not one of them.
Smokin Seventeen, while obviously very similar to the sixteen books before it, keeps with Evanovich’s winning formula: entertaining characters, hilarious moments, and a mystery with a side of romance. In this book, as always, Stephanie chases down skips in unconventional ways for the bonds office where she has been working since One for the Money, including an old man who thinks he’s a vampire. Also as usual, Ranger and Morelli, her love interests, are along for the ride. And also also as usual, she finds herself in life threatening danger.
Not much of a plot summary I guess, but I’m sure if you have read one of these you know what you’re getting into. The reason the Stephanie Plum books are so good is because Evanovich’s writing is just flat out entertaining. Oh don’t get me wrong, the situations that Stephanie and friends get involved in are ludicrous. The people they pick up are batshit crazy. And that’s the best part of reading these books. If Stephanie were to lose her charm and trademark klutz persona then these books wouldn’t be anywhere near as good. Take out Lula or Grandma Mazur and those laughs go down as well. Granted, there’s not a whole lot of variation from book to book. Maybe that’s annoying to some people, but I for one have not yet tired of the ridiculous situations that Stephanie, Lula, and all of the other crazy characters get themselves into. There were several moments in the book that had me laughing out loud, and I think that if that is still happening after seventeen books, Evanovich knows what she’s doing.
3- by no means is this a blockbuster of a book, but it was definitely entertaining. Stephanie Plum always is.
My latest audiobook is Look Again, by Lisa Scottoline. Scottoline is an author that has been on my radar for a while now, what I’ve seen from her is a lot like a female (early) James Patterson: interesting plots, believable characters, and a good mix of thriller and novel. So far I have read or listened to three of her books, and Look Again has by far been my favorite.
Look Again, similar to The Face on the Milk Carton, but from the mother’s point of view, begins with Ellen Gleeson, single mother of an adopted son, Will, seeing an image identical to Will on a “Have You Seen This Child” card. She is understandably disconcerted by this, and the book follows her investigation of the missing child and anguish over whether or not Will is hers.
In my opinion, you can tell you’re enjoying a book by one of two things happening: 1) you catch yourself thinking about the characters or events of the book when you’re not reading about it, or 2) you get increasingly invested in the story, fired up with unpleasant or frustrating events, excited or gleeful with good ones, essentially feeling as if you are living through the events of the book with the characters. A notable example of this happening to me is during the events of the fifth Harry Potter book with Professor Umbrage. It happened again in this one. Near the end I was so invested in Ellen and Will’s plight that I was actively angry, stressed, and delighted listening to the book.
This was a good one. I’m officially intrigued by Lisa Scottoline and will definitely be reading more of her books. Undeniable 4.
The first thing I’ll say about This is Where I Leave You is that it was a very well written book. I liked the style and presentation of the story a lot. Presented over a week and different time increments, This is Where I Leave You was interesting to read and set up in a format that made it a fast one as well. Granted, a novel about an ordinary guy having an extremely rough time of it is always going to be tough to read, but the way that Tropper writes this depressing story while occasionally injecting it with fairly dark humor is interesting and relatively entertaining. I’m still not entirely sure this was a book that I liked, I found it entirely too depressing, but in general I would not be opposed to reading more of Tropper’s work.
Judd is having a rough life when we first meet him at the beginning of the book. He’s just caught his wife cheating on him with his boss, and in a matter of moments is both single and unemployed. Then, his father dies and he is called to sit Shiva for a week with his insane, emotionally stunted family. You’d think this is where the dark humor comes in, and you’d be right. The thing is, I’ve seen this done before, and better. The Walsh sister books from Marian Keyes, for one.
I think I was a little disappointed with this book for that reason. I was expecting something on the level of a crazy family comedy among tragedy, but instead it was mostly tragedy. In a stark contrast from the last book I read, Commencement, instead of finishing the book with hopeful feelings for the future, and wanting to know more about the characters, I was almost relieved to be leaving Judd behind. I read this book pretty rapidly, and like I said, enjoyed the writing style and the premise, but it didn’t live up to the expectations I had for it. Rather than paying attention to the things I was most interested in, there was lots of discussion of rebounds, fertility, adultery, and general insanity that I just didn’t care about. I would have liked to see more of the relationships within the family and the process of relieving the strain on them.
3- Overall I was disappointed with this book, but I can appreciate it for what it was. I’m not going to read it again, or even recommend it very highly, but it was well written and made me think a lot about how lucky I am to not have a dysfunctional family, and to have healthy relationships in my life. Even if it also occasionally gave me a fairly bleak look at romantic ones.
What can I say about The Accidental Billionaires that hasn’t already been said about the movie made based off of it, The Social Network? I decided to check out this book in audiobook form, mostly BECAUSE I liked The Social Network so much, so let’s be honest, there was really no way I wasn’t going to like this one.
In case you haven’t heard all of the buzz in the past year or two, this (and the movie) is the story of the creation of Facebook. Everyone involved in the tech world would probably recognize the name of Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s CEO, but this book tells the stories of Eduardo Saverin, his friend and partner at the beginning, and the Winklevoss twins, who claim he stole the idea from them.
I’m not sure how much of this book is true, but I have to admit that it was a captivating story. This is another non-fiction book written very well, and something outside of my usual reading (and listening) material.
I have to admit that I liked the movie more though. Eduardo was a significantly more sympathetic main character, possibly even a protagonist, in the movie, and in the book he came off as sort of a tool. This is ironic, because the way it sounds, I think he was more involved in the writing of the book.
Regardless, this is an entertaining read/listen. Another good 3.
The first fifty pages of Commencement put me on a nostalgic tear. It made me miss my time in college so much, that I immediately sent emails to my closest friends from my floor my freshman year. In a story that I would imagine many people who went away to college can identify with, four girls meet at Smith after randomly being assigned to the same house and become best friends. From there, the book follows the women through their years in school and the years afterwards. Their time together is written remarkably well, and the descriptions of the main characters leaning on each other and becoming a family were so like my time in my first year of college. It’s interesting, emotional, and unbelievably relatable.
After the first fifty pages or so, the book takes a turn that I can only label… well, a little disturbing. Traumatic events ensue, and because of the story being told simultaneously in present and past tense as the four women meet up again after two years apart for a wedding, it has a reflective feel to it, while also putting the reader in the moment being reflected on. Does that make any sense? It’s interesting, and an entertaining way of helping us to learn both who the women are and how they came to be that way.
Despite the disturbing turns, I very much enjoyed Commencement. It’s a book about growing up, a book about four girls that are in the same stage of life that I’m in at the moment, if a little more dramatic. I could identify with each one of the characters, some more than others, and I think that in itself is what made me like it so much. Reading about the journeys that each of the characters are taking is extremely captivating, and I was very disappointed when I finished. I am very much looking forward to reading Maine, J. Courtney Sullivan’s latest, which according to reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, is even better.
4- I will definitely read this again. I might even buy it. This one’s somewhere in between a 4 and a 5 for me, and I highly recommend it.
As previously mentioned, Unbroken is an audiobook that I would consider out of the ordinary from ones I normally listen to. Smart, interesting, and unbelievably inspiring, Unbroken is the true story of the life of Louie Zamperini: Olympian, World War II airman, and POW. I had been on the hold list at the library waiting for Unbroken for months when I noticed it available to download from the library site I use for my audiobooks. Naturally, I checked it out as fast as I could.
I’m not sure how much of this book I should summarize, it seems like me going in with middle of the road expectations worked out well. All I knew going in was that it was a biography about a World War II veteran. In general I usually read fiction, and don’t stray away from that very often, only making exceptions for books getting a ton of buzz (like this one), or funny memoirs. I am so happy that this book got the attention that it got so I could break my string of crappy fiction, even if it was in audio book form.
I honestly can’t believe that all the events of this book happened to one man. It is truly astounding. Hearing about the things that Louie has done (and survived) was so intense and moving that I think the best thing to do to review it is simply to tell you that you HAVE to read this.
Long story short, I am so impressed with this biography that I am considering buying it in order to actually sit down and read, not just listen to. This was one of the few audiobooks that I was genuinely hooked on, listening to while I cooked, cleaned, even while I was just hanging around. In addition, I want to read more of the author’s work, which was so captivating that I forgot how boring I usually find nonfiction. I am really awed by both Louie’s life and the way it is conveyed.
5- you have to read this one. Have to.
Man, this one took me a long time. A beast of a book at almost 600 pages, with all the ravings I’ve read on Amazon, I wasn’t really intimidated by the length at first, but two weeks later I wish it had been shorter.
Not at all a bad book, I enjoyed A Discovery of Witches overall. It tells a different kind of story about vampires, witches, and daemons coexisting in a world with humans, some of whom know about their existence, and others who don’t. The main character is a witch named Diana, a historian who inadvertently calls copious amounts of unwanted attention from all magical creatures upon herself by retrieving a long lost (and very powerfully protected) manuscript about the creation of these beings. From there, things go a little crazy.
Diana meets Matthew, a vampire, near the beginning of the book after calling this manuscript, and in what has become a cliché of fantasy books lately, falls in love with him. Matthew has a strange life though, and adding Diana into the mix causes all kinds of problems.
One major problem I have with this book is that I was unaware it was the first of a series. Maybe if you know that going in, you won’t have the same problem I did when I finished, which was a growing feeling of anger as less and less of the book is left and nothing has been resolved. I’m ok with the storytelling devices that the book uses, the details that people have complained about on Amazon don’t bother me, but what I’m not ok with is no resolution to the story at all. Basically the author introduces about a million problems for Matthew and Diana and solves exactly none of them. She’s a good writer, and I was obviously invested in the book since I kept with it over the last two weeks, but when I finished it my first reaction was “what the heck was that?” It was like she just wrote for a really long time and never went anywhere with it.
Needless to say, I’ve got some mixed feelings on this one. It’s an interesting idea, I enjoyed reading it, but I’m not really clambering for a sequel right away, and am really a little bit frustrated that in 579 pages the author couldn’t resolve anything. Really?
I’m going to go with a 3 for now. I’m certainly not going to re-read it, but I’m also not ruling out reading a sequel eventually, so obviously I must have enjoyed it a bit. Right now I’m feeling pretty indifferent about it.
In an effort to create more blog posts since apparently I read more slowly than I thought when I go through a string of books I consider only ok (which has happened lately), I decided that from now on I’m going to include shorter posts about audiobooks that I’ve listened to as well. My selections of audio books aren’t going to be anything unbelievably high caliber. Don't judge. In fact, off the top of my head, I can only think of one (Unbroken, which will get a longer post devoted to it soon!) that could be considered as such. Essentially when I get a hold of an audio book, I want to stay entertained, but not think a whole lot. Also, I tend to want to save books that I REALLY want to read for actual reading, not distracted listening while driving or whenever.
Which is how I ended up listening to Sh*t my Dad Says... Laugh away. It was a cute little book though, a bunch of anecdotes about the author’s dad, entwined into a book of short stories, and interspersed with lines from the titular Twitter Feed. It’s certainly not going to win any Pulitzer Prizes, but I enjoyed it. I even laughed a few times. Granted, I don’t follow the Twitter account, so I don’t know how much overlap there might be, but the lines quoted in the book were funny enough for me to want to look into it.
If you’re looking for mindless entertainment, this is it. It’s short, sweet, and funny enough.
3- I think a lot of audiobooks will end up with this designation. Anything less and I won’t finish it, anything more and I would say there’s a decent possibility I’ll give up the audio part and get a hold of the actual book!
**Note: I went to the twitter page, to find an example of what you might find in reading this book, and my favorite current tweet is the following:
"WENT through an awkward phase? What phase you think you're in now? Ever seen yourself walk up stairs? It's like a T-rex that shit himself."
It’s pretty funny, right? That’s basically what you’re going to end up with.
