Chris
I remember reading this one back in High School - loved it then, and found on this re-read that I still love it. The movie ‘Paper Moon' is based on the first third of this book - and if you liked the movie - rejoice that there is a whole lot more that happens after the bootlegging incident. If you haven't seen the movie - do: it's a charmer.
I really enjoyed this one. It's book 2 in a series of 3. The story picks up about 20 years after the 1st book. Sabriel, the protagonist from book 1, is only briefly in and out of the story. The story revolves around Lirael and Sameth who find themselves drawn into troubling events. I look forward to starting book 3.
Really interesting premise - but after awhile I found Oona to be a bit humorless and whiny. The character hits her stride - finally - in the last chapter.
This is the second book in the Rowland Sinclair Mysteries series. The story is set in the 1930s and follows the adventures of dashing artist and amateur sleuth Rowland Sinclair and his small group of artsy friends. The group is on a long haul cruise aboard a luxury ocean liner - traveling from Europe to Australia with a stop in New York. Rowland delves into a murder investigation along the way, and the puzzle follows the group all the way back to Australia. The story weaves through a tapestry of interesting historical and cultural references from the 1930s. I found it handy to have my smart phone handy to get more back story when my curiosity was piqued.
I haven't read the first in the series...the reviews indicate it may be a dull start with some great potential - and not sure I've got the energy for a dull start. That said, I didn't feel like I'd missed anything too significant for having not read the first book. Can't wait to read #3!
Enjoyed the movie, figured I'd read the book. This was a fun read. I think I'd have really loved it as a teen. Book's climax resolves in a much less cringey way than the movie (pre MeToo). Grandma in the book is WTH awful - her film version is much much much nicer.
enjoyed this one...not quite as much as the Martian, but still a fun caper of a book.
Listened to this in the car. Loved it. It's the story of Eleanor who is socially awkward and working through some rather difficult personal history. Eleanor slowly blossoms as the book progresses. I really liked that the story doesn't go any further than it needs to. Eleanor develops as a person - and it's interesting getting to know her. Even with Eleanor's somber personal history - the story is actually funny - and I suspect much MUCH funnier in book form rather than audiobook (as humor is about timing... and the timing isn't always quite right). I'll probably reread this one in the future. A+
Listened to this one in the car. Fairly gripping tale of the lives of the passengers on a doomed flight.
Spaceships and zombies and Computer AI, oh my! It's an epistolary space opera! My favorite read of 2017 (so far!). Loved the story - took me teeny bit to get into the characters, but once those were ‘set' for me, I was hooked. I listened to this on in the car on vacation. Enjoyed it so much, I made excuses to get back in the car so I could listen to more of it. When it was finished, I shunted aside the three other audiobooks I'd downloaded for the trip and immediately ordered the second in the series (and wasn't disappointed).
I'll probably come back to this one and read it again in book form as the book format offers a fun visual experience as well. The audiobook format is done with a full cast and sound effects - it plays more like a radio production than audiobook, and it's very well done. I'll note with the audiobook (as with any book in that format) you are pulled through the story and don't really have a option of skipping over bits of the story - in this case that would be the illustrations and unusual formatting the printed book offers: I would suggest if reading the printed version - don't skip over these things - you'll miss out on key chunks of the story!
There are several film references within the book - if you want a richer reading experience you may want to watch The Princess Bride and 2001 before diving in (if you haven't seen them already).
Note: The movie is a mere skim off the top of this book, with a heaping tablespoon of whimsy, and a hefty dose of Hollywood glopped on towards the end. You'll recognize things from the movie in this book - but they're really not the same animal. I enjoyed both. I liked this book, I'm glad I read it, but I did not love it enough to relegate it to the shelf of things I cherish and reread over and over again. 3 1/2 stars.
I enjoyed this - its a short easy read - but I would have absolutely adored this book in about 4th or 5th grade. Train trip to school should strike a verrrry familiar ring to fans of the Harry Potter books.
Thanks to Archive.org for the free membership and allowing hourly online checkouts of this classic. Bookmarked it in my browser and was easily able to check it out to read when I had a few minutes.
I listened to this one in the car - and went into it thinking it would pale in comparison to Code Name Verity. I felt that way through about the first 40% of the book... I was enjoying the story - but wasn't really hooked. Main character Rose is shallow and naive - she likes to fly. She's a participant in the war - but she is just skipping along the surface of things and doesn't grasp the horror (and has no desire to learn more or believe the little she's hearing). Then her life takes a horrific turn and Rose's real “education” begins. It's at this point that the book began to click for me.
I absolutely loved how Rose's character grows throughout the book. I enjoyed getting to know the other people in her world. Polish resistance prisoner (and rebellious teen) Roza is the most enjoyable to get to know - her sarcasm and whit add humor and depth to what might easily have become a maudlin retelling of the horrors of Ravensbrück. This is a new favorite, I will add this to my ‘reread' list.
You don't need to have read Code Name Verity to read this one. But reading it will give you more insight into two of the characters.
Fast and fun read. Blew through it in about a day (and got my laundry done - so I technically ‘multitasked' and I don't feel too guilty for the lazy reading day) Definitely for younger YA. Really liked the story. Alanna is a feisty young woman and driven to reach her goal of becoming a knight. In the mean time she learns many lessons and makes some good friends. This series takes place before the “Protector of the Small” series (which I've read and really enjoyed). I finished this one and immediately downloaded the 2nd in the series onto my Kindle so I could jump right in and continue the story.
The final installment on the Alanna/Lioness books. This one is longer than the others and puts Alanna through the paces as she strives to be a better warrior and figure out her role in the kingdom. Enjoyable YA read - like cotton candy and a good reading escape.
I found the Wolf/Scarlet thing a tad tedious - but the book really comes together at the end. Am looking forward to the next installment.
Absolutely fabulous! It's a coming of age tale set in 1964 in Alabama told from the point of view of 11 year old Cory Mackenson. Cory is a budding writer - and knows how to spin a story - and as he's 11, there's still a fair bit of magic in the world. The story is a series of vignettes that are strung together with a mystery that Cory and his father need to get to the bottom of. The vignettes expand on all the unique characters in this little Alabama town - from the milk man, gas station owner, piano teacher, the local vet, the local witch, the girls at the house of ill repute, a former gunslinger, and the eccentric son of the wealthy owner of most of the town (who has issues with his wardrobe) - and thus build this world well. If you liked the style of “To Kill a Mockingbird” you will enjoy this one as well. I listened to this one from Audible - and it's very well done. I will surely pick it up and re-read (or re-listen to) it again in the future.
I loved Robert Massie's Nicholas and Alexandra. I love history. I thought I would love this book. I did not. I picked it up after the big Thanksgiving dinner and figured I'd have it completed by noon on Friday. Oh boy did it drag...the language is stilted, the story so repetitive and stop and go. I kept putting the book down. I very much wanted to put it onto the dnf shelf and walk away - but because it's a small book - I persisted and finished. It's the longest short book I've read in a long time.
Threw this into my ‘to read' pile because of the reviews, but I was a bit put off by the title... sounded like Rebbeca of Sunnybrook Farm. So I let it sit, unread. Finally download it from Audible and listened to it in the car. LOVED it! Is it a zombie story? Yes. Is it a coming of age zombie story? Yup! And Stony is an interesting character, as are the characters around him. Highly recommended!
I really enjoyed this - not quite as much as Pride & Prejudice - but it's a close second. Like the annotated P&P - the annotations in this book are a wonderful addition. The left page is the story - the right page contains annotations and illustrations that help define word usage, period customs, historical tidbits, and reminders for what transpired earlier in the story. I think what really strikes me about this book as well as P&P is how believable the characters are even though the stories are 200 years old. It's easy to understand how these stories can be used as a framework for a film that takes place in a more modern era. This story involves a couple of sisters - the older sister who takes a calmer and more logical approach to issues that arise, and the younger sister who takes a rather impractical romantic approach to everything (a cultural affectation of the time - and something Austin is quietly mocking in the book). The book's annotations do a nice job of explaining this juxtaposition of both sister's differing approaches to resolving issues.
As to the condition of my brand new paperback when I finished reading it - the book is over 700 pages and a tad unwieldy - and I had the unfortunate luck of buying an edition with inadequate glue in the spine: I'm afraid I had to chuck the disintegrating fluttering mess into the trash.