Double-Stacked Bookshelves

I swore I wouldn't read this book.  Alas... Today's teaser comes from Seth Grahame-Smith's Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter .  And now for your reading please: "Abe couldn't help but smile.  Here was a strange little man with a strange way of seeing things.  Only the second living man he'd ever met who knew the truth of vampires.  He drank to excess and spoke in an irritating, high-pitched voice.  It was hard not to like him" (126) Ah the overabundance of vampire novels lately...

I don't think I've been this disappointed in a book for a long time.  That's saying something... Nicole Krauss' The History of Love follows the journey of a book written sixty years prior as it makes its way from Poland to South America to New York.  This book is a history--a history of the love one person has for another.  It's been hidden (or lost) for years, but manages to resurface in an unexpected way.  Told from the perspective of two people, the aging Leo and fourteen-year-old Alma, it is a testiment to just how far people will go to discover the truth in times of healing.  This book manages to bring these two characters together in a roundabout way that is both fitting and justifying.  Pretencious...overreaching...angering...rough.  Have I said enough?  I had such high hopes for this book.  The plot sounded intriguing.  The synopsis sounded good.  The characters sounded interesting.  Instead, I was left complet...

I finally got around to reading Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo after having it for a long, long time and hearing so much about it.  I have yet to see the movie--either version--but they are both in my Netflix queue and I will watch them eventually.  Regardless, here's what I thought. Tattoo brings the reader into the lives of several people; namely Michael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander.  Blomkvist, watching while his career falls into shambles, has been asked to write a family history for a well-known, aging Swedish industry tycoon, Henrik Vanger.  However, things are not what they seem.  What Vanger really wants is for Blomkvist to spend a year investigating the disappearance of his neice some forty years prior.  Through this seemingly impossible investigation, Blomkvist comes into contact with Lisbeth and the two form a rather tenuous working relationship (with some interesting perks).  Lisbeth, an accomplished ha...

E.L. James' Fifty Shades of Grey has become quite the hot little ticket in the "literary" world (I use that term loosely); especially when it comes to the leanings of suburban housewives and whatnot.  While I did put off reading this book for a bit, I finally caved to the pressure and bought the whole damn trilogy. Grey follows the developing relationship between recently graduated English major Anastasia Steele and Seattle business tycoon Christian Grey.  Anastasia soon becomes completely mesmerized by Christian, as does every single other woman who comes in contact with him, though she tries desperately to keep her distance from Christian and the intense feelings he has for her.  As the two get to know each other, revelations about Christian and his...preferences...are revealed to both Anastasia and the reader.  Soon the two embark on a rather erotic, passionate, and very physical affair. I must be honest in my opinion; it was a quick, engaging, and jaw-dropp...

Sometimes a book comes along that has something special to it.  That spark or element that makes you fall in love with it and hope that it never ends.  Ruta Sepetys' Between Shades of Gray was one of those books for me.  I randomly picked this book up at Wal-Mart (it was cheap and sounded good) and I'm so glad that I did because I don't know if I'd have picked it up anywhere else...or even remembered that I read the back of it.  Gray follows the story of Lina and her family as they try to survive the terrible effects of WWII; including deportation, harrowing traveling experiences, Soviet labor camps, Siberia and the Arctic Cirlce, cruel winters, and even crueler captors.  What ensues is one girl's struggle to survive despite all odds.  Through all of this, she is able to take solace in her art; the one thing that her captors cannot take from her.  With her art, Lina is able to document the atrocities that befall her and her fellow capt...

I know I finished Ransom Riggs' Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children quite a while ago, but I just haven't had the time (or inclination) to write a review, or any review for that matter.  So, instead of grading the ever growing pile of essays on my desk, I figured I'd at least get one review, this one, out of the way! Peregrine follows the adventures of Jacob and his search into his grandfather's past.  After the untimely death (murder?!) of his grandfather, Jacob sets off to discover who his grandfather really was.  This leads him to a small island off the coast of Great Britain.  While there, he discovers that the orphanage his grandfather lived in during the war had been partially destroyed in 1943.  However, he soon stumbles upon a vortex of sorts that takes him back to the island during WWII and the home his grandfather resided in with other "displaced" children.  This vortex allows Jacob, and those he encounters, to ...

Initially I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy Jennifer Weiner's Best Friends Forever because I'm not much of a Chick Lit reader, but I was pleasantly surprised.  It was entertaining, engaging, and I always wanted to see what would happen next.  Perhaps this was more a reflection of Weiner's writing style rather than the genre; I guess I'll have to explore it a little more. Friends follows the tumultuous relationship between Addie and Valerie.  They first meet when they are nine years old and become immediate friends.  As the two grow older, they experience the harsh realities of middle school and, more devastating, high school.  It is during a specific episode in high school where their friendship is changed forever.  Fast forward twenty years later and it is time for their high school reunion.  Valerie has become a pseudo local celebrity while Addie has never moved away and continued to work from her childhood home.  Addie refuses to go to the reunion ...

Lies That Chelsea Handler Told Me by Chelsea's Family, Friends, and Other Victims was quite the fun read.  I've truly enjoyed everything Handler has written and figured that this wouldn't be anything different.  However, I didn't find it quite as entertaining as her other books.  While this one isn't necessarily written by Handler, it completely centers on her and the "evil" things she does to those she cares about.  I think some of the funniest episodes are those written by Brad Wollack, Johnny Kansas, and Stephanie Stehling.  I mean, some of the things that Handler has done to these people are absolutely atrocious.  It really makes you question things; like how and why the victims stick around (money and all the celebrity perks), how she even has friends (money and all the celebrity perks), and how the hell she comes up with some of the things she does.  I mean, some of it is pure genius.  If you haven't read any of Handler's other books, this w...

Wow.  Just wow.  I rated Jude Deveraux's The Raider as receiving three out of five stars on Goodreads, but I was being generous.  I didn't care for this book at all.  I didn't like the lead male character and didn't enjoy the plot.  So not good.  Despite being part of the Montgomery series, which I've enjoyed, this one takes place in America instead of the UK.  I think I'll stick with the British ones from now on. Raider is set in Colonial New England and focuses on the homecoming and re-immersion of Alexander Montgomery into the town he grew up in.  When he arrives he is recovering from a gunshot wound and is dressed up in a fat suit and garish clothes.  This sets tongues wagging about him being fat, lazy, and a perpetual drunk.  The image is only perpetuated by Jessica Taggert, the most beautiful, unattainable, and tomboyish girl in the entire town.  Also during this time, the British have essentially taken over the town and ar...

Linda Lael Miller's The Rustler was...kind of blah actually.  I mean, the story was decent.  The characters were fine.  But there wasn't anything that really captured my interest in the entire story.  That's sad and disappointing. Rustler follows Wyatt Yarbro as he decides to give up his cattle stealing, train robbing, saloon frequenting ways and relocate to Stone Creek where his brother, also a reformed rustler, just happens to be the local sheriff.  At first Wyatt thinks he's just going to lie low until the ruckus from his last cattle raid blows oven, but then he meets Sarah Tamlin.  Sarah works at the local bank, which her father owns, and is considered quite the catch despite her additional years compared to other first time brides.  In addition to running the bank in lieu of her father's failing health, which must be kept hushed, she has several rather large secrets from her past.  To keep track of all the lies she's had to tell to surviv...

I have to say that I was completely surprised by Julia London's The Secret Lover ...in a good way!  Reading the synopsis kind of left me feeling ho-hum, but it definitely didn't do the story justice.  I'll admit, the beginning of the book was rather slow, but it really picked up and I thoroughly liked the characters and how things played out.  Good deal! Lover follows Sophie Dane and her journey and re-entrance into London Society (which she adamantly wanted to avoid) after eight years of absence.  For reasons that are explained fairly early on, Sophie has been ostracized from her family and high society and has been living as a companion to an older, wealthy woman, Honorine, in France (among other places).  Soon Honorine decides that she wants to travel to London and that Sophie must accompany her.  Thus begins to harrowing journey and Sophie's not so seamless appearance back in London.  However, she soon finds herself on the receiving end of one o...

I've heard so many good things about Pam Jenoff's The Diplomat's Wife and it's predecessor, The Kommandant's Girl , but I've never felt like reading either for some odd reason.  Both are set during my favorite time, WWII, and both are books that I would probably like.  Why wouldn't I want to read them?  Well, I finally remedied this conundrum, though probably backwards from how I should have done so.  I found a copy of The Diplomat's Wife for two dollars in a used bookstore some time back and picked it up (I mean, it was ONLY two dollars).  Now I can say that I'm really glad I did! Diplomat follows the trials and tribulations of Marta Nederman after the war has come to an end.  She's been rescued from the Dachau concentration camp by an American soldier, Paul Mattison, and placed in a DP hospital in Switzerland.  Though she doesn't know it at the time, this chance meeting with Paul will shape her life in ways she never could have imagin...

Michael Ende's The NeverEnding Story ...one of my all-time favorite movies...finally found in a book form!  What I never realized about this story was the fact that the movie was only based on the first third of the book.  Say what?!  When I found that out I couldn't wait to read it and find out what wasn't included in the film version.  Needless to say, I will stick with the movie from now on. The NeverEnding Story follows the journey of Bastian Balthazar Bux as he reads a book, The NeverEnding Story , about a world, Fantastica, that is dying.  He travels along with Atreyu in his search for the one thing that can cure the illness that the Childlike Empress is suffering from.  Atreyu's search eventually leads him to the discovery that only a human child can save the Empress and Fantastica from the Nothing.  This is where Bastian comes in.  Once he enters Fantastica and gives the Childlike Empress her cure, things change.   This is where t...

Jude Deveraux's TheDuchess , yet another in the Montgomery series (which I will completely knock out one of these days) was a pretty decent read.  While I didn't quite enjoy it as much as some of the others, I did like the fact that it was a quick read with characters that I believed. Duchess tells the story of Claire Willoughby and her journey to finding a "suitable" husband, as declared by her grandfather.  Claire finds Harry Montgomery, the Duke of MacArran, and a seemingly perfect fit for her grandfather's stipulations.  The engagement is announced and Claire and her family move into the historic castle of her intended.  While there, some interesting things occur.  Claire is thrust into the mix of an extremely eccentric bunch of people, all of whom inhabit the castle.  A mysterious man, Trevelyan, appears in the countryside who draws Claire like a magnate.  Harry starts to show some of his true colors.  People's feelings and true circumstan...

Having spent time living in Scotland, I've been reading some of the contemporary authors that have been products of that beautiful land.  One of my favorites, who I discovered in a random charity shop in Edinburgh, is Christopher Brookmyre who is a wonderful political/crime/whodunit writer.  Another well-known contemporary Edinburgh writer is Ian Rankin , whose books are along the same lines as Brookmyre's.  His Detective Rebus novels have even garnered a television show .  In addition to these two writers, there is Kate Atkinson .  Now, I have never read anything by Atkinson, though she's prevalent on my To-Read list because her novels always sound so interesting, but I ran across an inexpensive used copy of one of her books recently and thought I'd give it a try. Kate Atkinson's Case Histories was an interesting read.  Not bad...not great...just interesting.  The novel covers a time span of thirty years and three separate cold cases.  Somehow...

I've put off reading Yann Martel's Life of Pi for years it seems.  I don't know why.  It's been recommended to me several times and touted as a "must read" by many of my friends, mainly Audrey. Maybe that's why I never got around to reading it:  fear of it not stacking up to the hype.  So, while I was in Portland at one of my favorite bookstores, Wallace Books, I saw a used copy for four bucks and finally picked it up.  All I can say is "Thank You" Martel for writing a book that was seriously awesome and thank you Audrey for continually extolling its awesomeness! Pi follows the story of Pi Patel, a sixteen year old boy who has been shipwrecked while on his way from India to Canada on a Japanese ship.  Before setting sail, Pi and his family have liquidated the zoo that his father manages.  All of the animals have found homes around the world in different zoos and sanctuaries.  However, there are a few animals that embark on the same journey the P...

"...by the time i got to the interview I was sweating my roommate's BO out of the suit.  The stench of every drink and every cigarette she'd had the last time she wore it filled the high-end office in which I interviewed.  Between the suit, its booze cloud, and my thick virgin eyebrows, I was deemed unfit to answer phones in plain view.  I was turning out to be college educated and unemployable in even the most basic way" (69). Oh man is Tina Fey a funny lady.  Bossypants , Fey's first autobiography, is quite hilarious.  I had been wanting to read this book for a while now and finally did over a week long Mexican vacation...the perfect place to get some much needed reading done along with some much needed sun on my pasty, white Oregon skin! Bossypants explains the trials and tribulations of Fey's life.  From her childhood mishaps to certain mishaps in college, from her portrayals of Sarah Palin and other SNL episodes to the birth of her daughter.  ...

Dr. Denis Leary's Why We Suck: A Feel Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy and Stupid was HIGH-LARIOUS!  He holds absolutely nothing back in this tirade against the American people.  What's even more funny is how spot on Leary is, merely saying what everyone else is too afraid to voice.  I loved it!  Leary touches on everything from politics, pop culture, religion, fashion, the differences between men and women, celebrities, and so on.  Really there is no subject that is off limits.  He even makes fun of himself, which is refreshing and shows the reader that he knows he's not exempt from the same judgement.  Though it's a harder book to review than most, I would highly recommend it to anyone who doesn't take themselves too seriously.  If you are easily offended, don't read this book.  If, however, you are able to laugh at yourself and view the world with a critical eye, by all means, pick it up and enjoy! "If you're dating a guy who's mo...

Markus Zusak's Getting the Girl follows the hardships of Cameron Wolfe, the youngest of the four Wolfe siblings, who is constantly in his brother, Ruben's, shadow.  Cameron is considered by most to be the least productive of his family, as well as the child with the least potential.  He is always trying to prove himself in one way or another, yet he keeps his true self buried deep inside for fear of familial reactions.  Ruben, on the other hand, is a cocky ladies man who women seem to love despite his notoriously slick attitude.  Because of this, Cameron looks up to his brother, even going so far as to develop feelings for some of Ruben's previous girlfriends.  When Octavia, one of Ruben's many conquests, comes into the picture, Cameron falls hard.  He spends his time fantasizing about Octavia and becoming increasingly jealous of Ruben.  Only this time Ruben's picked the wrong girl to pursue and he's soon on the wrong end of a verbally abusive tirade ...

Holy crazy pants!!!  I mean, you can tell that Steven Tyler is a crazy lyrical genius...or maybe just plum crazy...but his Does the Noise in My Head Bother You?: A Rock 'n' Roll Memoir really lays it out for you.  I really enjoyed this book for several reasons.  1) You get to see inside the dynamics of one of America's greatest rock bands, Aerosmith.  2) You get to see inside the twisted, drug-addled mind of Steven Tyler.  3) You get the inside scoop on the band's ups and downs.  4) It's freakin' entertaining as all get out!  "In courting Joan Jett while on tour with her, I would strip bare naked, put on a robe, pull the chair from near the elevator all the way over to the end of the hall, pushing it to right in front of her door.  I'd then take my robe off and, sitting spread-eagled, ring the doorbell and wait for her to open it.  She'd open the door and her jaw would hit the floor as I said, 'I hate myself for loving you.'  She gav...