My Commonplace Book... Favorite audio book narrators

I cannot stand being read to. Ever since I was little, I would have troubles with it. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE reading but being read to was like listening to nails on a chalkboard cringe worthy. This was the situation up until I listened to Diana Gabaldon's book Outlander. I fell in love with Davina Porter's voice. I have also found that I love female voices with a British accent for books set in England. 

I now have decided to list my favorite book narrators here where I can find them easier. This doesn't mean I am going to like all the books. For example: Scott Brick. One book he was an excellent narrator but on another book I could NOT stand his voice. He made that book extremely boring. Granted the book itself was boring but...

Female Voice Actors

• Davina Porter
• Charlie Sanderson 
• Priya Ayyar
• Kinsale Hueston
• Katherine Kellgren
• Cassandra Harwood
• Lisette Lecat
• Suzy Jackson
• Adjoa Andoh
• Jayne Entwistle

 

Male Voice Actors 

• Adam Verner
• John Keating
• Scott Brick
• RC Bray
• Bill Homewood
  

 

 

Book Review: Country Tied

Country Tied by Robyn Buttars

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.

Goodreads' description:

"From a lush valley in the country to a fast-paced city under the California sun, Jenny’s story is a true to life adventure. Mature and disciplined with a competitive spirit, Jenny enjoys working alongside her father.

However, problems arise when her father is injured and she is responsible for the care of the family farm. Matters of the heart become an issue when David captures her attention. After he seemingly drops out of her life as suddenly as he had appeared, Jenny is puzzled and hurt.

She heads off to California for a visit and meets the intriguing, handsome Mic. Stepping into Mic’s upper-class social scene is an ego boost for Jenny until her background and dreams are mocked. Feeling alone in the crowd, Jenny faces choices that could change the course of her life.

This was a clean, short novelette about a young girl coming of age in rural Utah. We see how she handles the adversity of her father's injuries, taking care of the dairy, her first feelings of dawning love and even problems with the self-esteem issues of most young girls. Although I loved this book, some might find the absences of any conflict or action in this story, to be off-putting.

I loved that the author allowed Jenny to come to mature decisions without all the adults "pushing" her to make them. Jenny showed how to handle the pressures of her life with aplomb and gentleness.

I could understand the romance with David, but to tell the truth I think that Jared would make a better love interest. Even though David and Jenny played as children together, David "did" stop coming around or even explain that he was waiting for her to grow a little. Jared also understands her life much better than David. Jenny was extremely naive about her beauty and life in general, but I did see her grow so much in this story.

I highly recommend this book to young teens and even adults who are looking for a nice book.



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Book Review: Colony East

Colony East by Scott Cramer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Disclaimer: I received this book free of charge from the author, in exchange I promised to write an honest review.

Colony East picks right up where Night of the Purple Moon left off. Our heroes are hiding from the motorcycle gang while waiting for Jordan to be better. They thought that once they got the pills from the adults that everything would turn out good, but events just seem to get worse as time goes by. Before you know it two years have passed and the adults have come out of hiding, but is that necessarily a good thing?

This was an excellent sequel to Night of the Purple Moon. I had very few moments of disbelief while reading. One was the way that Jordan was acting. He seemed so out of character and vengeful from what I remembered and his teenage angst seemed unbelievable in many ways. This did not detract from the story for me though. While I felt there was way more violence than in the previous book, I did find it in character for this world and people.

This book was, like the previous book, clean with no objectionable language or situations. There was just the right amount of action and chew your nails situations. I was on the edge of my seat reading and literally praying that the characters made it out or through safely. I just love Scott Cramer's world and the characters are very real to life. I could see the military and scientists, instead of helping, making a mess of things. When I got to the end of the book, the author stopped at a cliff hanger that literally left me disappointed that I will have to wait to find out what happens. Whether Jordan, Abby and Lisette will ever be together again. I have to say that Scott Cramer has definitely made it to my favorite author's list. :D Keep up the good work!!!

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The Challenge Factory: Social Media Contest

The Challenge Factory (TCF) at Goodreads.com

The Challenge Factory, one of my Goodreads groups, has their own Facebook Page now. TCF holds cool contests, book challenges and much more to interest even the most finicky reader.  At the moment they are holding a contest. Please stop by and visit them at Goodreads and at Facebook and enter into all the fun.  Come see what all the talk is about.

Book Review: The Enchantress (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, #6)

The Enchantress by Michael Scott

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Synopsis:

Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel have to get on Alcatraz Island and stop the monsters from entering the city. Their time is running out and they only have one day to do this. Sophie and Josh Newman have been pulled back in time to the days of Danu Talis (Atlantis). They have to ensure that Danu Talis is destroyed, and find a way back home with all their friends that have also been dragged back, to ensure that history isn’t rewritten. Will the twins of legend save the world or will they doom it?

Review:

This book ended with a bang, a really big bang. I have really enjoyed this series and am sad to see it end. This book answered all of my questions, questions about their parents and about the series itself. Although this series is ended, Michael Scott left it open just enough for more journeys into the world he has created. I was left looking forward to Sophie and Josh’s adventures afterword. In fact, the ending came as a big surprise to me. I just didn’t really see it coming. There were never any disconnections between the books for me. I never became confused from one book to the next and this is good, because I took a while between books.

The series was well constructed, where the characters had depth and grew. They were not just one dimensional. I ended up crying and being surprised and happy at many different times. While I was sad to see some of the characters die, I cannot say that Michael Scott didn’t have a reason to do it. In fact, I think that it even added to the tale that he was telling us. This series unlike many YA novels nowadays didn’t rely on romance to move the story on. It did rely on action, adventure and a sense of wonder that I have been missing in books for young adults for a while now. I think that this series would appeal to a wide range of people because of this.

I loved the mythology. It made me want to research all the names and objects that were in these books. It sparked an interest in legends and folklore that has been gone for a while. I did have a problem with the name dropping. Most everyone who is anyone throughout history was immortal who served Elders.

If you liked Michael Scott’s previous books, you will more than likely love this one.


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Book Review: Night of the Purple Moon

Night of the Purple Moon by Scott Cramer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Abby like everyone else on Earth is looking forward to seeing the comet. It will turn the light from the moon purple and the Sunsets/Sunrises would be exceptional. One problem though. The "Space Dust" that is left on the Earth killed everyone who wasn't quarantined (such as Scientists) and children who haven't reached adolescence. Abby and her brother Jordan are left to try and take care of Lisette aka Toucan. Time is running out because when children reach Adolescence they become sick and die. 

I loved this book. There was no objectionable language and I was overjoyed to find a book that was wholesome and clean. I did object to children drinking beer towards the end, but they didn't have any good water and it was that or nothing.

[ I did object to children drinking beer towards the end, but they didn't have any good water and it was that or nothing. (hide spoiler)] I literally didn't want to stop reading it and find myself having a hard time waiting for the sequel to this book. The characters were rich and believable and I could empathize with them. I cried when any of the characters died because they were real to me. An excellent book that I have no problems recommending to anyone.

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Book Review: A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1)

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I had originally given this book 2 stars, but while writing this review; I realized that while the book had kept my attention somewhat, I hated it.

Goodread's description of A Game of Thrones:

"In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes of the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom's protective Wall. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to. Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty.

Here is my review. This book was such a disappointment. Everyone is saying such good things about it that I was excited to read it. I love high fantasy such as The Lord of the Rings and others and I really wanted to read this series for a challenge, but I don't know now if I will or not.

The book kept my attention through out reading it, and I wanted to find out what happened with some of the characters, but others were boring or just too unbelievable. I enjoyed each chapter being about a different POV and found myself skipping ahead so that I could read about one particular character than coming back to the beginning of the book.

Although I like fiction and/or science fiction that contain the evils of society (rape, evil, betrayal, murder, or horror, etc...) such as The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever, horror books such as The Tommyknockers, suspense such as Odd Thomas or Dean Koontz's Frankenstein series, or The Lord of the Rings and non-fiction books (I believe) like the Holy Bible, I just could not bring myself to like this book. There just didn't seem to be any redeeming qualities to some characters and Martin had no rhyme or reason for killing off who he did. Some scenes were even sickening to me.

Another problem for me, in this book, is (apparently) Martin's fetish like fascination with women's body parts, rape, sexual abuse of ALL kinds, incest and bigotry. Now, granted these may not be Martin's idea of good things, but he sure describes them in excruciatingly detail. He sure didn’t want you to miss what women’s breasts are called or other body parts.
Finally George R.R. Martin in an interview on program Q (from Canada), stated that his intention was

“to take epic fantasy, which I love, and combine it with some of the gritty realism and ambiguous morality of, I think, the best historical fiction, with layers of complexity, and real human characters, sexuality, violence, all of that good stuff.” (emphases my own)

also "the Q fill-in host, Brent Bambury, suggested that Martin might indeed outstrip (J.R.R. Tolkien). Bambury repeated the claim of Time magazine, that Martin is the American Tolkien. But made it even more provocative: “Many feel it’s an accurate comparison. Others say no, it’s not accurate, because he 'Martin's' better.” Though Martin went on to spend a good deal of time recalling his reading of The Lord of the Rings as a young man, maintaining that “the books had a profound effect on me,” he did not demur.
(Quotes from http://www.mercatornet.com/articles/v...)

I really do not think I like the authors idea that this is a realistic view of society. To tell the truth, he even caused me to feel biased against him by basically saying that his book was on the par with or even better than J.R.R. Tolkien's books.

As my friend Michael on Goodreads noted about me: my problems maybe because of the "vast difference between glorying in violence... and using it as a device". This explains it perfectly!

One last question to consider. A commenter (Mary) of the previous mentioned article had this to say:

"Do you want your fantasy to inspire you, or to drag you down into the dirt with it?... From LOTR to Narnia to Star Trek, all of these worlds provided me with a sense of hope. [me too]... [after reading 3 of the books in the series; she said that she] was left feeling disgusted with humanity (men in particular). There may be more cruel people in the world today, but that's not a reality that I'm willing to accept as unchangeable."

I personally want my fantasy to inspire me in the end.


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Book Review; Girls in Pants: The Third Summer of the Sisterhood

Girls In Pants: The Third Summer Of The Sisterhood by Ann Brashares


My rating: 3 of 5 stars


From the goodreads blurb:

"We’re facing our last summer together. In September we go to college. And it’s not like one of those TV shows where all of us magically turn up at the same college. We’re going to four different colleges in four different cities (but all within four hours of one another—that was our one rule). We’re headed off to start our real lives."

This is the first book I have read in this series. It is about 4 girls who are friends throughout high school. This book takes place their last summer together before college.

I found myself liking this book. It was written in an easy to read and understand format. There was not a lot of language and just a few questionable situations. I started the book and could not put it down. Having started at 8:30 PM and ended at 12:00 AM reading, I found myself having read it straight through. Each chapter was narrated by each of the girls and really showed what the summer was like for them.

This caused one of the problems for me though. There was no lines or scene closings. The book would be about Carmen or Bee or etc. and then it would switch to Tibby's or etc... This was very disconcerting and would knock me out of the story. That was very disappointing.

Second was what kind of camp did Bee go to? I have never heard of a camp that would assign just one girl counselor and one boy counselor together for activities (that maybe no camper wants to attend) or assigns them to take a group of (9 - 13 year old) boys or girls camping and only provides one two person tent for these same counselors to share? This is just a law suit waiting to happen. I would have been extremely upset to send a child to such a camp. I would have also been upset to learn that these same two counselors were in each others cabins and beds in just their underwear. True one was sick and nothing happened, but it is the appearance and responsibilities.

Third is what happened to the "Pants"? The Pants had a very minor role in this book and the focus was solely on the girls. I wanted to learn more about the pants and how they affected the summer.


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Book Review: The Virginian

The Virginian by Owen Wister

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book wasn’t at all what I expected. I dreaded reading it because I thought it would be dry, hard to read western, but it wasn’t at all dry. I do not think it is a “western” at all. It is the story of the untamed wilderness when men were men and justice was immediate and harsh. It had a rawness and adventure feel to it that I was delighted to see. The modern westerns owe their beginnings to books such as “The Virginian”.

I could not stand to put this book down. Its gentle humor, the influences, the rawness of life drew me in and worked together to make it a memorable book. This story took me off to the late 19th century to a small area in Wyoming and the stories of the people that lived and worked in that era. It was their story and stayed true to life. You meet the unnamed Tenderfoot and the Virginian (with a drawl that makes you swoon) and other cowboys and ranchers. You also meet the schoolmarm Molly Wood. Wister presents us with romance and the western tone and flavor.

The stories that make up the Virginian’s life are classic western life. the stories included poker, roping, gunfights, lynching of rustlers, even murder but there are light hearted stories about a crazy chicken name of Em’ly and a tall-tell of frog legs being just the thing in other states.

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Book Review: Lincoln's Labels

Lincoln's Labels: America's Best Known Brands and the Civil War by James M. Schmidt

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

 Disclaimer: I received this book free of charge in the Goodreads' first read program, in exchange I will write an honest review.

Lincoln's Labels is about the companies that helped Lincoln and the North win the war. Everyone talks and writes about the great battles: Antietam and Gettysberg being some of the more common known battles. Who has ever written about the nitty gritty? What it took to be able to fight battles? If your soldiers are hungry (Borden?) or they need to ship pay or the dead home (American Express, etc...?) Well, Lincoln's Labels has some trivia to wet your curiosity and will teach you something about everyday names and their contribution to the war efforts.

Each chapter covers a different company and is an easy to read book about the history of the Civil war. It educated me on what it really took for the North to win the war and was certanly not a dry read. It wet my appetite with just enough information to cause me to research answers to my questions. I was able to learn interesting facts concerning companies such as Brook Brothers and American Express. It made me want to find out what happened with Borden's "Meat Biscuits". It lead me to appreciate Tiffany's art just a little bit more than I had before. I recommend it for the Civil War buffs, for children studying about the Civil War or just for the every day person wanting to read a good book.

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Book Review: A Child's Introduction to Poetry

A Child's Introduction to Poetry: Listen While You Learn about the Magic Words That Have Moved Mountains, Won Battles and Made Us Laugh and Cry by Michael Driscoll

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a nice hardback book with an extremely diverse selection of poetry. Along with the engaging explanations of the different forms of poetry; you will find little biographies of some famous Poets, and an accompanying CD of poetry that is read aloud.

Some forms of poetry you will find include; Nursery Rhymes (Mother Goose, etc...), Nonsense Verses (Jabberwocky fame), The Villanelle (Pronounced "Villain L" Dylan Thomas wrote some), etc... The poets include such well known personalitys as; Homer, William Shakespeare, Hilaire Belloc, Maya Angelou, and much more.

I really learned a lot about Poetry and the mechanics of writing them. My mom writes poetry, so it has always been read in my family. This book adds a depth to my enjoyment of it.

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Book Review: Burn Down the Ground: A Memoir

Burn Down the Ground: A Memoir by Kambri Crews

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Book Info: 
Pages: 352
Version: Hardback
Publisher: Random House

ISBN: 0345516028 (ISBN13: 9780345516022)

I won this book through the Goodreads giveaway program. I received an ARC book (personally, I don't like ARC books) and I am not required to give a good review.

Warning: This book contains abuse of all kinds. Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Alcohol abuse and language are all contained in this book.

Goodreads tells us that "In this powerful, affecting, and unflinching memoir, a daughter looks back on her unconventional childhood with deaf parents in rural Texas while trying to reconcile her present life—in which her father is serving a twenty-year sentence in a maximum-security prison."

I was engrossed throughout the book and found it hard to put down to even work. I have friends who are CODA and I have been involved in working with the Deaf and their community. I knew, before reading the book, about the Deaf community, ASL language syntax and ways of doing things. I know how and why it is hard to get concepts of such "abstract" ideas (such as Jesus and G-d) across to the Deaf. All of these caused me to look forward to reading this book and made the book enjoyable to me.

I am divided on how to rate this book. I gave it 4 stars as a compromise between 3 and 5.

The book is worth 5 stars for the unflinching view of Ms. Crews life and how she handled it with aplomb. What I look for in a book is the ability to take me out of mine and plop me down to experience the authors' world and experiences. Ms. Crews does this and more. I could feel her fears and her joys. I could see what made her Mother and Father into the people they were and the people they became. When reading, it made the book A Child Called "It" come to mind. Not because of the themes of violence and abuse, but because both Dave Pelzer and Kambri Crews came through hard and dangerous childhoods to become somewhat balanced and admirable people. They didn't let their childhood destroy their lives.

The 3 stars was for it's language and for the author's "seeming" to "still" accept marijuana and alcohol use as "normal" to life. I don't know if the author has stopped using marijuana (and that is illegal and damaging) no matter her "apparent" ability to not have it effect her life (unlike her brother). In fact, I kept getting the feeling the author was saying she was better than everyone else around her because of her "ability" to not allow drugs and alcohol to drag her down.

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Book Review: Passions of the Ghost

Passions of the Ghost by Sara Mackenzie

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Book Info:
Pages: 373
Version: Mass Media Paperback
Publisher: Avon
Series: Immortal Warriors SM #3 (3 in series so far)
ISBN: 0060795824 (ISBN: 9780060795825)



From Goodreads:

"He is Lord Reynald de Mortimer, a powerful warrior of the thirteenth century who defended his castle against his fiercest enemies. Now Reynald has awakened from a seven-hundred-year sleep to find that his beloved home has been turned into a modern hotel. Worse, it is host to a medieval festival Before Reynald can begin to contemplate his fate, a stunning beauty comes to his rescue . . .

Amy Fairweather is not your typical damsel. Nor is she in distress. As a former con artist, it'll take more than a breathtaking giant in armor to convince her that he's "the" Lord Reynald . . . even if he does set Amy's nights ablaze with passion and magic. But then strange, inexplicable things start to happen at the hotel, and she has no choice but to believe that the Ghost "has" emerged from the shadows of time. And now he must seek redemption by facing his greatest threat . . . with the unquestioning love of one extraordinary woman by his side."

My review:

The "Ghost" "died" in 1299, but he was kept alive somehow. He wakes up 700 years later in his castle that has been turned into a hotel. The book is about him finding out what happened 700 years ago. He needs the help of Amy to traverse the modern era and to have a hope of returning to his place in time.

A favorite quote from this book, that just seemed to be telling me what someone may think, who has experienced time travel is:

"He didn't understand these people. They rushed about blindly, with never a moment to spare. Their cell phones rang, they had to check their e-mail, they had to network. Ridiculous words Amy had taught him. She said that they were frightened, that if they stopped rushing, they might have to think. And if they had to think, then they might realize how empty and pointless their lives were.

~Pg 234~

I loved this book. I think I have found a new author to collect books from. I love historical romances, fiction, time travel, paranormal and this book combines them all in one. I loved the fact that the "romance" didn't happen until over half the book was read and it was just an understated part of the story. It was defiantly not just gratuitous sex. I also love books where the H/h get married.

This book was the third in the series, but I didn't know that when I bought it. It was able to stand on it's own without depending on the books before hand. From what I understand, the other two books involve separate time periods from each other.

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Book Review: Just Between Friends

Just Between Friends by Julianna Morris

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Book Info
Pages: 192
Version: Mass Media Paperback
Publisher: Silhouette
Genre: Harlequin Romance
Series: Harlequin Jazmin #4 (5 or more)
ISBN: 0373197314 (ISBN13: 9780373197316)


I own a copy of this book and have not profited in any way for this review.

From paperbackswap:

"They've been stick-up-for-each-other friends since they were kids. But now Katrina Douglas was beautiful, all grown up...and still asking for her best buddy's help. Only this time, she didn't want Dylan as her stand-in date at some stuffy charity event -- she wanted him as her full-time husband! — And Dylan O'Rourke would do almost anything for Kate. Even walk down the aisle and tie the temporary knot with a little white "I do" lie. But playing husband meant living with a friend who seemed more like a sexy woman -- his woman -- every day. Suddenly, being 'just friends' didn't seem like enough...."

I found this to be a short, light read. There wasn't a "story" to it, just concentrating on "Katydid" (Dylan's nickname for Kate) and Dylan's relationship and their learning to live together. I loved the book, but it isn't a "keeper" as books by Christine Feehan's are for me. I was disappointed a bit though. In the book, a big thing was made about Kate being an author, but hiding it from Dylan. The book never resolved this issue and just left you hanging. Kate was also portrayed as flighty, gay, and not letting her childhood get to her. She was emotionally abandoned by her rich parents and this didn't seem to affect her married life at all. I don't feel that an issue such as this could just "go away". It may have been better if the book had addressed this issue. This may be my wishful thinking though. :D Mentally wanting the book to have more "meat" to it.

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Book Review: Little Dorritt

Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I hadn't known that Charles Dickens' father had been imprisoned in the Marshalsea, at one time, when Dickens was a child. While reading this book is when I found out. This made the book much more realistic and interesting for me. Dickens was writing what he knew. This is what distinguishes between just a good book and a classic (which I can say this is a classic).

The summary found at Goodreads tells us that:

"When Arthur Clennam returns to England after many years abroad, he takes a kindly interest in Amy Dorrit, his mother's seamstress, and in the affairs of Amy's father, William Dorrit, a man of shabby grandeur, long imprisoned for debt in the Marshalsea. As Arthur soon discovers, the dark shadow of the prison stretches far beyond its walls to affect the lives of many, from the kindly Mr. Pancks, the reluctant rent-collector of Bleeding Heart Yard, and the tipsily garrulous Flora Finching, to Merdle, an unscrupulous financier, and the bureaucratic Barnacles in the Circumlocution Office."

I had never read this particular book before. I also had never seen the movie. I was at the bookmobile and saw Charles Dickens' name and since I love his books, decided I would borrow it and read it. I read it at a very leisurely pace while savoring Dickens' subtle humorous commentary on human beings and their daily struggles in 19th century Victorian England. The complexity of his characters is, as always, rich with each character responding to their unique circumstances in realistic ways. Little Dorrit had a variety of themes. Themes such as imprisonment, bureaucracy, selfishness, kindness, pity, despair, and life in all its glories. There were evil twins, people with aliases and even a bitter old woman who is tied to her room by more than meets the eye. I am glad I was able to find and read this book.

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Book Review: Pinocchio

Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read this book online at  Project Gutenberg.  I did not profit from the review in any way, shape, or form whatsoever.

Pinocchio was written originally as a serialized (short episodic chapters) story in a children's magazine before it was published into a book. I usually do not enjoy serialized newspaper stories (such as Voltaire's Candide, Zadig and Selected Stories or Alexander Smith's 44 Scotland Street) much but I enjoyed this story. It is definitely NOT Disney's Pinocchio!

Pinocchio is the story of a poor man (Geppeto) who makes a marionette named Pinocchio. Pinocchio has almost all bad traits and only general good traits. He is disobedient, selfish and is generally not a likable character. He kills the cricket because of not liking what he (the cricket) had to say and he lies, steals, and runs away at the slightest moment. The book consisted of him getting into one problem after another and this is because he refused to listen to anyone who tried to help him. Although he does not become the "perfect" boy, Pinocchio soon mends his ways and finally gets his wish to be a real boy.

The book had a humor that reminded me of Alice in Wonderland but it also has the "Grim" elements that have been removed from the "Disney" versions (death, hunger, assassins, etc...) In the end, I enjoyed it and am glad that I finally read it.

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Book Review: The Alchemyst

The Alchemyst by Michael Scott

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Book Information
Pages: 375
Publication Info: May 22nd, 2007 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Version: Hardback
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
Series: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel #1
How many in Series? 6 books so far.
ISBN: 0385733577 (ISBN13: 9780385733571)
Literary Awards:
     Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book Award Nominee (2011)
     Iowa Teen Award Nominee (2011)

This book was checked out from my local library.  I am not profiting from this review in any way, shape or form whatsoever.

Goodreads Summery:

"He holds the secret that can end the world. The truth: Nicholas Flamel was born in Paris on September 28, 1330. Nearly 700 years later, he is acknowledged as the greatest Alchemyst of his day. It is said that he discovered the secret of eternal life. The records show that he died in 1418. But his tomb is empty. The legend: Nicholas Flamel lives. But only because he has been making the elixir of life for centuries. The secret of eternal life is hidden within the book he protects—the Book of Abraham the Mage. It's the most powerful book that has ever existed. In the wrong hands, it will destroy the world. That's exactly what Dr. John Dee plans to do when he steals it. Humankind won't know what's happening until it's too late. And if the prophecy is right, Sophie and Josh Newman are the only ones with the power to save the world as we know it. Sometimes legends are true. And Sophie and Josh Newman are about to find themselves in the middle of the greatest legend of all time."

I really liked this book. The story plot was clean, there wasn't any objectionable language. The plot was slow, the 300+ pages covered just two days, but it was awesome. So much happened in the those two days. You went from a boy (Josh) working in a book store with his sister working across the street to being on the run and racing to stay ahead of monsters and myths come alive.

I loved how the Author mixed fact and fantasy together. For example, there was a book called "The Book of Abraham" that Flamel (a real person) found. Flamel's tomb is empty and the known history of Flamel and the bad guys are from history.

I started reading last night and could not put it down. I am definitely looking forward to reading the other volumes in the series.

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Book Review: Behind The Gates

Behind the Gates by Eva Gray

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Book Information
Pages: 211
Publication Info: May 1st, 2011 by Scholastic Paperbacks
Version: Paperback
Genre: Juvenile Young Adult Fiction
Series: Tomorrow Girls #1
How many in Series? 4 books so far.
ISBN: 0545317010 (ISBN 13: 9780545317016)


I borrowed this book from my local library and have done this review on my own.  I do not and did not profit from it in any way, shape or form.

From Goodreads' summary:

"In a terrifying future world, four girls must depend on each other if they want to survive.

Louisa is nervous about being sent away to a boarding school -- but she’s excited, too. And she has her best friend, Maddie, to keep her company. The girls have to pretend to be twin sisters, which Louisa thinks just adds to the adventure!

Country Manor School isn’t all excitement, though. Louisa isn’t sure how she feels about her new roommates: athletic but snobby Rosie and everything’s-a-conspiracy Evelyn. Even Maddie seems different away from home, quiet and worried all the time.

Still, Louisa loves CMS -- the survival skills classes, the fresh air. She doesn’t even miss not having a TV, or the internet, or any contact with home. It’s for their own safety, after all.

Or is it?"

What I thought:

I got this book because of the dystopia theme and survival against all odds. When I started to read the book, I was blown away. The interactions between the characters and the build up of suspense were exactly what this book needed.

The book, while slow, is told from Louisa's perspective/narrative. The dialoge is like we are living her life and thinking her thoughts. We see her thoughts as she is saying goodbye to her parents, as they travel, as they arrive at "School" and her trying to make friends. We see her feelings about her roommates and about her friend Maddie.

The book is pretty slow paced. For example It takes three chapters to get to CMS. The pacing dosen't really pick up through out the book as the entire book only comprises 2 weeks at school, but a lot happens at the same time.

Some questions I had while reading, were varied and not very deep. :D Who is Evelyn? Who are her parent's? I get the idea that she wasn't a "spoiled brat" child like the other students were suppose to be. For that matter, who is Rosie? She doesn't strike me as rich and spoiled either. We know that Maddie has been sneaked in, but we don't find anything else out about any others.

The book ended on a cliff hanger (at least for me)^_^. I find myself wanting to get the next book, which I have found out tells the story from Rosie's experiences, thoughts, and feelings.

Highly recommended for ages 8 to 12. While the girls are 13 in the book, and other reviews recommend for Teens, I think that the dialog, language and story may be seen as too simple for older teens.

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Book Review: Animals that know when their owners are coming home

Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home by Rupert Sheldrake

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was an enjoyable read. I have experienced my dog seeming to know when I was home and my grandmother once knew when my dad was in an accident, but otherwise I don't agree with the authors premise of telepathy. I don't know how you could scientifically prove something like that. One person believes it is telepathy, another that it is spiritual. Who is right?


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I borrowed this book from local library

Book Review: Unpaved Road

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received this book free from the Goodreads first reads program.

Unpaved Road is about a young girl named Niki. This book is the story of her life and like what she basically said (truth is often weirder than fiction). The book tells us of her life growing up in Iran during the political upheavals of the 70s and 80s; and her escape, with her husband, to Stockholm in the 80s when she was 23. Niki is now living in California, USA.

I had problems with the authors Naivete and just general attitude, but I loved the book otherwise. It was engrossing and kept me hooked the entire time. I found myself wondering what would happen next.

The Good:

Niki Bahara has a way of drawing you in and keeping you. She is very descriptive without being condescending. I was able to "see" and even "feel" the land, people and events as she described it. This is even with English not being her first language. Niki has a gift in this way. She was able to take Iran and make her people into people instead of the abstract idea that I (homeland US) tended to think of them (when thinking of them). She brought them to life for me.

The Not so good:

The book description says:

"Niki chooses to go against the system as well as her protective family and stand up for herself. After falling for a wanted journalist, Niki decides to follow her heart as she is forced to escape the country with him in order to save their lives."

I disagree with this.

Why did Niki feel the need to stand up for herself in the first place. Niki tells us her family is loving and protective and not at all critical of her, but she needs to stand up to them? All through the book, people warn her about things, and she disregards them. She thinks that "everyone" is out to curtail her fun and life because they are "jealous" of her. She knew that Behzad was not a good person to love because of her (From the start of the relationship) hiding it from her family. it was a bad idea to deceive her family and friends about Behzad, yet she went ahead and did it. There was no love involved in this. If I had loved someone, I would not have hidden him from my family even if there were consequences. Niki showed herself as a shallow, self-centered girl who didn't know what real love is.

I could not understand Niki's being upset about Behzad's lying to and deceiving her. Yes, he did this (and it is wrong) but Niki also did it. To her friends and family and to herself. All through the book, Niki is lying to her family (and says she loves them). She is forgiven time and time again and assured of their love but she has a hard time forgiving her husband when he does the same thing? It just seems like such a double standard. She expects him to be perfect while she is "free" to say or do whatever comes into her mind.

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