The Casual Vacancy

I'd forgotten about this book until I just saw it was rated Best Book of 2012 by readers. What??? Did they READ the book? I'll be honest, I didn't finish this one. But it isn't for the same reason as The Remains of the Day.  I found the story boring, the characters didn't interest me at all - no attachments made, and it was foul. Apparently writing a book geared towards adults means you insert a lot of language and talk about sexual acts I prefer not to read about.  That is my take.  I haven't found any friends who finished the book. Some got further than I did - I think I read around 70 pages. But I've decided that I'm changing my reading habits (and I don't wait until New Year's Day to start a new goal, when I decide on a goal, I start right away.)  Now understand, that doesn't mean that I will stop reading a book as soon as I see a swear word. I really can look past the words if I am enough into a story, but I have decided that if a book doesn't interest me, I'm not going to bother with it. We'll see how that goes.

Did any of you read the whole book? I'm curious if anyone read the whole thing.

I think Rowling should go back to her "kids" books, since we all know Harry Potter boks are for adults more than kids...

Heaven Is Here: An Incredible Story of Hope, Triumph, and Everyday Joy

I forgot to review this book, one of the many I’ve forgotten to do. But this was also a book written by a blogger and the last post reminded me of it. Where this book differs is that I had read the person’s blog, and didn’t like it. Duh Caprene. But his was a book club book, so that is why I read it.

I just wrote a long description as to why I really, really did not like this book – but I decided I just need to stick to saying that, nothing more. I really, really did not like this book. The author annoyed me with her blog, the few entries I read here and there before her accident.  The author annoyed me with the book. I know that majority of the book club just loved it, but ugh! I did not enjoy any of it. Sad, but true. 

You’ll probably like it though. I think it took two hours to read, maybe three? Very, very quick read.

So, as much as I don’t want to say it…Enjoy.

Let's Pretend This Never Happened (A Mostly True Memoir)

I should have taken it as a sign when the second sentence of the book the author refers to herself as “that-weird-chick-who-says-%*@!-a-lot” and of course, she uses the real word. I should have taken it as a sign when it took me 3 hours to read 60 pages. Well, actually I did take that hint and gave up reading.

I thought it sounded like it would be a good read. I’ve mentioned before that after a while of reading I just skip over the swearing and don’t even notice it much. And I think that happened, I don’t think I was noticing her sailor mouth, in fact, she was probably tamer than the girl who wrote Julie and Julia. What it really came down to was I was bored. I wasn’t enjoying the story. I thought it would be funny. I thought I would laugh out loud as I was sitting in my lounge chair on the lake.  But I wasn’t. 

Her style of humor is not my style.  I just didn’t like it, so I stopped reading and picked up another book. I rarely, rarely do that – but I did this time. 

Maybe she writes your style of humor?  She has a blog, www.thebloggess.com, if you want to check that out first. I probably should have done that.

Oh well, enjoy if this is your style of book.

The Best of Me

Remember the 89% I mentioned in my last post? This is the 11% - the quick read that I really did not like. Nicholas Sparks is usually a thoughtless read for a trip, this one - I sat out by my grandparents' pool in the warm Southern California sun, the day after we buried my grandfathers, wanting to be lost in a book - the book ended and I walked in the house and said: "That was a big waste of my afternoon."

Do not read it. That is all I am going to say folks. It had potential, but I guess his deadline approached so he just through an ending out there. Blah!

You won't enjoy it, trust me.

American Rose: A Nation Laid Bare: The Life and Times of Gypsy Rose Lee

I had a hard time with this book. I listened to this one. It took a long time to get through. I think listening to a book, things stand out that don't necessary stand out when reading. I wanted to learn a little bit about Gypsy Rose. I enjoy the musical Gypsy. I thought it would be interesting reading about the girl who wouldn't take her clothes off.

I now know more than I needed to. I don't think I like what I now know. I think I'll have to watch Gypsy to get that image of the sweet girl who won't take it off (even though I know the story isn't true, I like it better than the truth.)

I didn't hate the book, there's that word, the one I don't really like, hate - but the problem is I didn't like the book either. So it's the rating it is going to have to get.

If you enjoy this one, more power to you.

wicked lovely

Did not like this book. Apparently they're making it into a movie which I'm surprised about because I thought it was written poorly and the story line wasn't that interesting. It has glimmers of potential but overall I thought it wasn't worth the time. Here's the story:

Wicked Lovely is the first novel in a series about a world where fairies and mortals intermingle. The story introduces Aislinn, a teen who can see the faeries around her, but who has been taught all her life to pretend not to see them. She is struggling to cope with the faeries when Keenan, the faery Summer King, enters her life and takes away her mortality, asking her to become the Summer Queen and defeat his mother, the Winter Queen. If she refuses, Winter will take over and kill all the summer faeries and mortals alike. However, Aislinn has no desire to become part of the faerie world, and is already in love with her best friend, Seth. In the end, she cannot avoid becoming the Summer Queen, and reigns alongside Keenan over the creatures she once feared. Upon defeating the Winter Queen, Aislinn brings peace to the world of fey. She also sticks with her best friend and new lover, Seth.

A big part of my disappointment with this book would also be that I thought it catered to like 10-15 year olds but was fairly racy. It made it seem like everyone has sex at that age and that it's ok when you're really young to go to clubs and hang out with guys covered in tattoos. I think that kind of material is way easier for me to accept when it's geared toward an older audience but it was inappropriate for someone that young. 1 out of 5.

All this being said, if a movie is made that changes the story line, making it more believable and the characters more interesting, while making them older so I don't think they're doing inappropriate things, I may go see it. Call me hypocritical ;)

Jane Bites Back

This is so not my style of book. Vampires and Jane Austen? Um, no. It seems almost an insult to the legacy of her books.

The concept is that Jane Austen was turned into a vampire and is still alive this day, not receiving any of the royalties from the many many books branched off of her name, and unable to find someone to publish another book she has written.

I guess it could be entertaining for some, but it just wasn't my forte. Plus the author made her seem really obnoxious and selfish and just all around pretty unlikeable. So I think I'm leaning more towards the hate than just an unlike.

Goddess of the Hunt

It's that time again at the local library, when they post a wonderful list of books ripe for your reading pleasure. And, while I have had absolutely no time to read except late into the night, I have started to borrow the books and try to read through them. Did I mention that the incentive is that for every 5 books you read you get a free one? I've never been one to turn down a free book, especially if all I have to do is read a few to get it.

Needless to say, I'm excited for this time again. Unfortunately, I began the first of the reader's choice with this rotten read. And since I already have short descriptions written up on the Reader's Choice Blog I'm just going to use that:

When she practices her seductive wiles on her brother's best friend, Jeremy Trescott, adventurous Lucy Waltham falls in love with him, while he encourages her in order to distract her from her schemes to find a rich husband.

Little did I know this was a romance novel when I picked it up (They've never had romance novels like this before) and I am not one for a steamy romance novel. It makes me feel all weird and slightly disgusted to read about what a man is doing to a woman and vice versa. But, all the love scenes aside, this was still a terrible book.

the red pyramid.

i admit, i only got 100 pages into this before i had to quit. maybe i didn't REALLY give it a fair shot, but i was bored out of my mind! it was just way too childish for me. which is interesting, because i often like children's literature. i love the harry potter books and they are definitely in the same genre {but way way better...}.

hmmm. i don't know what my real problem with it was. perhaps the plot was just boring. or i didn't connect with the main characters. at any rate, i didn't like it, and i didn't want to continue wasting time on a book i didn't like.

and that's that.

have you read it? what did you think? i haven't read the percy jackson books {also by rick riordan}. have you? did you like them? i hear they are better.

Mount Vernon Love Story

I read this book as a recommendation from a friend, but also really wanted to read more about Mount Vernon since we're heading out there in a month or so. I have to say that it was slightly informative but..... super boring. I ended up skimming the book quite a bit because I just couldn't handle it. Does it help prepare me for going to Mount Vernon. Sure. But I'd rather I didn't waste my time. 1 outta 5 stars.

Benny and Shrimp

Earlier this year on one of my frequent trips to the local library, I saw a wonderful display. It was a collection of books, hand selected by readers, that they wanted you to read and rate. And better yet, every five books you read you were able to receive a free book! My kind of deal!

There were 28 books and I swam through them. By the end of the three month period I'd read 25 of the 28 books, which means I walked away with 6 (they gave me a bonus because I'd read so many) free books for being entertained. But I couldn't leave it unfinished like that. I had to read the other three to finish out the reader's choice.

Unfortunately, Benny and Shrimp was one of them.

It's a story (love story?) about a bachelor named Benny and a bland girl named Desiree who meet at a cemetery and it's love at first sight. (He nicknames her Shrimp because she is skinny and white and bony like a shrimp. Um... Yuck?) Only despite anything they do they can't or won't make it work.

The author obviously has no idea about A.) relationships and B.) real life.

I'm kind of sad that this was fast read because if it hadn't been I would have given up early on and not wasted my time. It was 200+ pages of an odd and direction-less love story that went from bad to worse until finally it ended unrealistically. A terrible waste of my time, and a sad waste of paper.

the princess and the bear.

i read the princess and the hound a couple of years ago and it was ok. for some reason i decided, despite my lukewarm feelings about its companion novel, to read the princess and the bear. what can i say? i'm a sucker for young adult fiction, especially along the lines of fairytale re-tellings.

all i have to say about it is BLAH.

i was bored to tears throughout the entire book. i forced myself to finish it only because i didn't want to add one more to the list of books i've started and not finished.

my general feeling about both books is: don't waste your time. they're boring. if you feel inclined to read a synopsis, go here.

Push

Two words:
Don't bother!

A few more words... I didn't even get three pages in. Relentless swearing, every other word. I flipped through the pages to see if it got better, they were all the same.

Don't bother!

the last summer of you and me.

what a ridiculous book. halfway through i was so annoyed with the plot that i read ahead to the end. it had a nicholas sparks kind of overly dramatic ridiculously romantic kind of feel to it. the sexual content was way too much for me. in case you care, here's a synopsis:

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants author delivers her first novel for adults, a treacly tale about the tribulations a trio of longtime friends encounter. For as long as she can remember, 21-year-old Alice has spent summers on Fire Island with her parents and older sister, Riley. Riley, 24, is a beach lifeguard, more boyish in both looks and spirit than sweet, feminine Alice. An island neighbor and Riley's best friend, Paul, whose father is dead and mother mostly absent, returns to the island after two years away and must decide whether to sell his family's house there. More importantly, he and Alice finally act on an attraction they've felt for years, but they keep their frequent nuzzling quiet so as not to hurt Riley. Riley, meanwhile, has her own problems that could ruin Alice and Paul's clandestine romance and just about everything else. Brashares's YA roots are on display: the girls and Paul act like high school kids (Riley threatens to move out of the house unless everyone butts out; Paul and Alice are stricken with the most saccharine of puppy love), and anything below the surface is left untouched. It's a beach read, for sure, but a mediocre one. {from barnesandnoble.com}

waste of time. no wonder i found it in a bargain bin a the grocery store {serves me right, huh!}.

p.s. i think i may have been sucked in by the cover. it's lovely, right?

the girl with the dragon tattoo

This book.... I don't know exactly what to say about it. I think it was interesting but very disturbing at the same time. It was too graphic and horrific for me. I do have to say that it was written well, it had a good plot with an excellent mystery and it was riveting (except for the first 100 or so pages in my humble opinion).


The plot summary (stolen from Amazon.com):


Mikael Blomkvist, a once-respected financial journalist, watches his professional life rapidly crumble around him. Prospects appear bleak until an unexpected (and unsettling) offer to resurrect his name is extended by an old-school titan of Swedish industry. The catch--and there's always a catch--is that Blomkvist must first spend a year researching a mysterious disappearance that has remained unsolved for nearly four decades. With few other options, he accepts and enlists the help of investigator Lisbeth Salander, a misunderstood genius with a cache of authority issues. Little is as it seems in Larsson's novel, but there is at least one constant: you really don't want to mess with the girl with the dragon tattoo. --Dave Callanan


What it doesn't say here is that the book is sexually explicit and filled with bad language. It also deals with a misogynistic, sadistic killer who describes in detail the horrors that he or she (I won't say the killer's sex in case you read this and don't want me to reveal the mystery) has inflicted on their victims. I can't read stuff like that, it literally makes me ill and I can't sleep. However, that having been said, the book wasn't terrible I just couldn't stomach it. OK that also makes it sound bad.

One of my friends who recommended it told me the second book in the series, The Girl Who Plays with Fire, has an even a better storyline and it is not as sexually explicit. I'm having doubts about reading it because of my reaction to this first book. If I read it I'll let you know. (Caprene can I get your two cents from this because I know you reviewed them and liked them, are they worth continuing on with?)

I give this book 2 outta 5 stars because of the goriness of it all.

the vampire diaries.

i got about 100 pages into this before i couldn't stand the cheese any longer. it was dumb. the love story was totally flat. i know these were written before the twilight series, but they still seem like a cheap knock-off. the tv series, although extremely cheesy and a tad risque, is far better than these ridiculous books. such a disappointment!

glenn beck's common sense

Ok I heard great things about Glenn Beck and about his books but I have to admit this one was really hard for me to read. I agree with alot that Glenn Beck says but his writing style is very angry and 'doom-and-gloom,' which isn't my favorite thing to read. So I actually didn't finish it... I read about half of the book, got the general idea, and then couldn't go on. I hope I don't offend anyone who likes him or liked this book but it just wasn't for me. I do think that he has a lot of important things that we as Americans need to be aware of... but I think I'll just watch his show instead.

I wouldn't say I hated this book but I didn't love or like it. Is there something inbetween? If there was, that is what I would choose.

life of pi

Well... I really didn't like it, sorry for those of you who did. It was kind of like a really, really, really long version on Old Man and the Sea which I found to be tedious and pointless. I kept hoping it would get better and it didn't. The whole beginning part where he was exploring different religions was kind of fascinating but then it never came full circle and he didn't talk about it again at the end which would have made it more meaning since he spent like 100 pages on talking about it. My advice - don't waste your time.

The story:

"This novel tells the story of a seven month long journey over the Pacific Ocean, a boy and a tiger in a lifeboat. Pi is a 16-year-old boy who lives in India. Although his parents are atheists religion is something that fascinates him. His love for God is so great that he cannot choose only one religion. He is a Christian, a Muslim and a Hindu.

His father who owns a zoological park is forced to close it and sell all the animals. The family decides to leave their home country and move to Canada with the animals on a big ship. But there is a storm and the ship sinks. Pi who is the sole human survivor ends up in a lifeboat together with a zebra, a hyena, an orang-outang and a Bengal tiger.

Life of Pi is a fascinating story about survival, belief, animal behavior, hope and hopelessness. The young boy struggles to survive in a very tough environment. A hyena, a tiger, lack of food and water, the sun, the salty water and sharks are some of challenges he has to face in a very limited space."

-booksummary.net

the time traveler's wife- slightly edited.

started. did not finish.

call me a goody-two-shoes if you will, but i have a very very low tolerance for trashiness {basically anything racier than stephenie meyer... and breaking dawn was pushing it for me} in books. this is why i hate anything by nicholas sparks. and i also hated atonement. it's hard to come by contemporary literature that doesn't have a few racy parts... and that's why i tend to lean more towards young adult fiction! i don't think you're the devil if you like any of these books... but they are not for me! the book sounded super interesting and romantic and i love the whole concept of time travel. unfortunately there were two naughty {to me} parts in the first 55 pages, so i'm not going to finish. the first one i would have let slide... but the second was slightly disturbing. if you're interested in reading this and you have a higher "racy part" tolerance than i do, you should ask someone else who has read the book how they liked it!!

i will be playing it safe with my next read: little women :)

The Year of Fog

In three words I deem this novel: depressing, long, and inappropriate.

"Six-year-old Emma vanished into the thick San Francisco mist. Or into the heaving Pacific. Or somewhere just beyond: to a parking lot, a stranger's van, or a road with traffic flashing by. Devastated by guilt, haunted by her fears about becoming a stepmother, Abby refuses to believe that Emma is dead. And so she searches her mind for clues about what happened that morning and cannot stop the flood of memories reaching from her own childhood to illuminate that irreversible moment on the beach. . . . A profoundly original novel of family, loss, and hope, THE YEAR OF FOG beguiles with its window into the mysteries of time and memory even as it lays bare the deep and wondrous workings of the human heart. The result is a mesmerizing drama that will touch anyone who knows what it means to love a child." {from yearoffog.com}

Now here's MY version. I am so mad that I wasted my precious book-reading-time on this stupid book. The New York Times Bestseller what??! I couldn't wait to finish this thing, so I could move on. Why did I finish it when I didn't even like it? I think I have a pretty good excuse: the book is about a girl who vanishes. I had to find out whether they found her or not right? So I kept reading. (Ugh). This book was depressing, even agonizing, with it's daily mundane routine of Abby (the main character and narrator) as she was looking for this lost little girl. There were way too many flashbacks, inappropriate behaviors and language, memory theories, and misleads for my taste.

The front of the book says "Highly recommended [for fans of] authors like Jodi Picoult and Jacquelyn Mitchard," well, I guess I won't be reading any books by those authors any time soon. Thanks for the warning.

I will generously give this book 1.5 ouf of 5 stars.