Chris
Zombies and gators and mystery, oh my! Another really fun installment in the White Trash Zombie series. The book wraps up the threads of the series nicely and could stand firm at book #6, but I'd not say no to another installment down the line! If you enjoyed the weird humor in the Sookie Stackhouse series, you'll enjoy this series. I've only ever listened to the books in this series. Allison McLemore does a fabulous job voicing all the characters in the story. Found I was looking for reasons to drive or clean so I could listen to more of the story - which is always a sign of a good book!
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.
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.
Quentin Coldwater is a glass-half-empty kind of guy. He's the person that wins a trip to Italy and grumbles about it not being France. I read the other reviews of this book and, when I started book 1, I expected to find Quentin grating - but I found I liked him in both the first book and this one. He's the mopey friend you continue to hang out with.
In this installment, Quentin has everything he ever dreamed of. He's living the life of a king, yet he's restless. So he goes in search of the next big thing. This book also fills in Julia's story - I really enjoyed her backstory - as it is interwoven into Quentin's present story.
I enjoyed this one. It has moments of humor, yet it's also rather dark. I am a fan of the tv series - which bears only a passing resemblance to the books. I enjoyed seeing what bits were plucked out of this one for the first season.
Long. Exhaustively detailed. sometimes difficult to follow. I'd give it 3 1/2 stars if I could. I think it's a must read if you're planning a trip to the Grand Canyon. Particularly the first several chapters regarding falls, drowning, etc. The last part of the book gets into the area of sheer bad luck... not much you can do about random boulder from above or kidnapping.
First - as you can gather from the other reviews. The book is not the movie... the characters are the same (more or less) but the movie takes a bit of the gist of the book and spins it in a whole ‘nother direction and one that pleasingly incorporates all those iconic images from each era.
The book plays out as a series of vignettes that are thinly strung together. Forrest bounces from situation to situation (some you'll recognize from the movie). The vignettes are sometimes satirical, sometimes social commentary, and sometimes just plain silly. The language is at times a little difficult to stomach - but Forrest is a character that comes from the pre-civil rights south, and an idiot savant to boot - so, the language is part of the character and the era.
It was a quick read. I enjoyed this, for the most part - I did laugh out loud several times while reading it. It's enjoyable - but won't be shelves among the favorites that I re-read. I gave it 4 stars - because it's not quite a 3. I'd give it a 3 1/2 stars if I could.
Now I'm going to go pop some popcorn and watch the movie (which IS one of my favorites).
One of my favorites - I've lost count of how many times I've read it. Fabulous characters. Great story.
If you're jumping in to this one - be advised until they get the cattle moving it's a bit slow - just hang in there.
I enjoyed the first bit much more the second time through the book because I was so familiar with the characters.
2017 - reread by listening to the audiobook. This is still one of my favorite reads. Westerns are not my genre of choice - but this one is a great character study of two old Texas Rangers and the people they work with and encounter on their 3000 mile cattle drive to Montana. If you only read one western - it should be this one.
Part 3 of a 4 part series that's part of a larger series. This was an enjoyable installment in the Alanna stories. She's a little older, and more independent, and ready for an adventure with her trusty cat at her side. It's YA and a fast read. A lovely little vacation from my everyday life. I'm diving right into #4 next.
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.
Antihero with worst name ever makes for a funny caper of a story. Pratchett brings his razor sharp social commentary with a good coating of humor to make it all palatable. Great stuff. Can't believe I got this far into adulthood without having read Pratchett (this is about the 7th of his I've read).
Interesting premise... and well thought out. In the blink of an eye people discover they can side-step into an alternate earth. This premise is explored very thoroughly. Pratchett books usually combine their social commentary with whimsy and humor. In this collaboration there is some interesting social commentary -but a decided lack of whimsy and humor.
It's not a bad book - I'd give it 3 1/2 stars if I could - but I wasn't hooked enough into the story to feel a need to continue the series.
I jumped into this one immediately after finishing book #1. As with book #1 - I listened to this one in the car while on a roadtrip. Audiobook version is done with a full cast with added sound effects (very effective, btw - plays out like a radio drama). I absolutely adored #1 - I loved this one, too - only a teeny bit less... probably partially because I was so invested in the characters from the first book - and book #2 involves a different cast of characters (mostly) as the story takes place on a different space vessel. I was initially somewhat put off by the drug cartel/ drug use aspect of the story - it seemed like a random element tossed in (and as it's a YA book...). But - like all the bits of the story - as with #1 - everything in the story is there for a reason and will be an important element later on in the book. If you're reading - don't skim over the images and diagrams. It's all important.
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).
Ah Cornwall! I couldn't remember if I'd read this one before, so tossed it in the bag of books I took with me on my last roadtrip. As I got further into it, I'm 80% sure I've read it before... but not completely convinced. Diving back into a Pilcher book is like wrapping up in a favorite blanket while sitting in front of a fire on a cool rainy day with a cup of hot tea on the table nearby. Bliss! This one didn't disappoint. Cornwall setting, eccentric characters, artists, romance, and lots of tea. I may now have to unearth my much read copy of the Shell Seekers...
I kept shunting this one to the bottom of the pile, as I wasn't enthused about diving into a WWII Holocaust story. Because of the good reviews, I tossed it into the book bag and dragged it along with me on my last roadtrip. Glad I did - I couldn't put it down. It's a depressing topic, but well told, and covered an aspect of the Holocaust I was unaware of.
I have wanted to read this for some time and eagerly picked it up to kick off a summer of long reads. I'm so bummed, I enjoyed the first third of this one...but had to slog my way to the end. Some sections are so repetitive I thought I'd lost my place and was rereading. I won't be venturing further into this series.