I listened to this in the car, because I find that Picoult's novels are perfect to listen to. The plot isn't so detailed that I need to flip back to the front of the book to check a detail and it's light enough that I can listen while I drive without worrying about my thoughts drifting for a minute.
This particular story follows the traditional Picoult model...lots of controversy, a trial, and a "surprise" ending. This book follows the story of Zoey, who struggles with infertility, loses a baby in week 28, and loses her husband shortly after. The main plot is the fight for remaining frozen embryos between Zoey and her husband after she discovers she is a lesbian and he discovers Jesus in an ultra-conservative, media-loving church.
It was what it was...it would never make a recommendation list or a top-ten list, but it was interesting and served its purpose.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Book 7: 11/22/63 by Stephen King
Man, I used to read every book that Stephen King wrote, but as my tastes "matured," I put King's books away and moved onto book club and intellectual-type books. Now that I'm venturing back into the world of entertainment fiction, I think I need to go back and read King's books that I missed while I was gone.
This book was very highly recommended by an acquaintance, and so I happily towed the huge monstrosity with me on a cruise to Mexico despite the weight. I'm very glad I did. It was a perfect book to read poolside (except for the size, of course). When I wasn't reading, I was thinking about the storyline...
Now that I have finished the book, I still think it was a worthwhile read, but I am a little bummed at the ending of the book. I can't decide if I'm bummed because I didn't want it to end that way or if I'm bummed because of something that King did wrong. I know that I'm personally bummed with how it ended, plot-wise, but there might also have been a little rush towards the end as King no doubt tried to keep the book under a thousand pages.
I would recommend this book if you like long drawn-out plots with lots of character development and don't mind some science-fiction points (it is Stephen King, after all...)
This book was very highly recommended by an acquaintance, and so I happily towed the huge monstrosity with me on a cruise to Mexico despite the weight. I'm very glad I did. It was a perfect book to read poolside (except for the size, of course). When I wasn't reading, I was thinking about the storyline...
Now that I have finished the book, I still think it was a worthwhile read, but I am a little bummed at the ending of the book. I can't decide if I'm bummed because I didn't want it to end that way or if I'm bummed because of something that King did wrong. I know that I'm personally bummed with how it ended, plot-wise, but there might also have been a little rush towards the end as King no doubt tried to keep the book under a thousand pages.
I would recommend this book if you like long drawn-out plots with lots of character development and don't mind some science-fiction points (it is Stephen King, after all...)
Book 6: The Secret Supper by Javier Sierra
I got this book at a book exchange we had with my book club.
My first impression was that this book was going to be very similar to The DaVinci Code, with lots of intrigue and mystery. It both was and wasn't. Comparing the two books, Dan Brown did a much better job of taking the very deep thoughts of DaVinci and making them accessible to the masses. I don't think that Javier Sierra did quite as well. At the end of the book, I was still asking myself if I understood what DaVinci supposedly hid in the Last Supper... And then in the afterword, Sierra talked about his research and said something along the lines of...such and such theory has never been proven, until now. It left me scratching my head, because I'm a pretty intelligent person, and I did not get that feeling of the concrete understanding that I was hoping for.
All-in-all, there are good parts of this book, but I wouldn't say that the conclusion merits the journey.
My first impression was that this book was going to be very similar to The DaVinci Code, with lots of intrigue and mystery. It both was and wasn't. Comparing the two books, Dan Brown did a much better job of taking the very deep thoughts of DaVinci and making them accessible to the masses. I don't think that Javier Sierra did quite as well. At the end of the book, I was still asking myself if I understood what DaVinci supposedly hid in the Last Supper... And then in the afterword, Sierra talked about his research and said something along the lines of...such and such theory has never been proven, until now. It left me scratching my head, because I'm a pretty intelligent person, and I did not get that feeling of the concrete understanding that I was hoping for.
All-in-all, there are good parts of this book, but I wouldn't say that the conclusion merits the journey.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Book 5: French Lessons by Ellen Sussman
I listened to this book in the car on my way to and from school. Blech! I really did not like it. First off, the actress who read the book obviously did not speak French because her accent was horrible! Also, when she spoke English with a French accent, the characters sounded more Arabic than French. Nitpicky, I know, but it made it difficult for me to enjoy the book.
The second nitpicky thing that bothered me was the vocabulary of these supposed French-language learners. The author wrote almost of all of the conversations in English (for the readers, of course), even though they took place in French. The things these Americans could say! I was translating in my head, trying to figure out "How would I say that??" and I didn't have the words! Some of the phrases don't even exist in French! Anyway, it bothered me.
The last reason I didn't like this book is that it pointed out the infidelity that exists in France and tried to make a case for it. As a married woman who loves my husband and has no plans to look elsewhere for love, I HATE it when every character in a book is just waiting for an opportunity to jump someone new. I'm not naive and I know that it happens a lot, but there are a lot of people who are faithful to their spouses also!!
Bottom line, the story wasn't worth reading...even for the few words of French and the memories of Paris.
The second nitpicky thing that bothered me was the vocabulary of these supposed French-language learners. The author wrote almost of all of the conversations in English (for the readers, of course), even though they took place in French. The things these Americans could say! I was translating in my head, trying to figure out "How would I say that??" and I didn't have the words! Some of the phrases don't even exist in French! Anyway, it bothered me.
The last reason I didn't like this book is that it pointed out the infidelity that exists in France and tried to make a case for it. As a married woman who loves my husband and has no plans to look elsewhere for love, I HATE it when every character in a book is just waiting for an opportunity to jump someone new. I'm not naive and I know that it happens a lot, but there are a lot of people who are faithful to their spouses also!!
Bottom line, the story wasn't worth reading...even for the few words of French and the memories of Paris.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Book 4: The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
Someone told me to read this book before I see Midnight in Paris, so I picked up the audio version to "read" on my way to and from work. This book is the fascinating story of the first wife of Ernest Hemingway and their life together in Paris. It is fascinating to hear the stories of Gertrude Stein and F. Scott Fitzgerald and how they were all in the same social circles, even before they made names for themselves. The book is very well-written: towards the end, there were characters/people that I absolutely hated. I mean, I couldn't stand them and if they were still living today, I would be tempted to send hate mail. So it must be a good book, right? I recommend it. I haven't seen Midnight in Paris yet...maybe this weekend...
Book 3: The Death Cure by James Dashner
Well, I breezed through the last book of this trilogy. I would recommend it! There are comparisons to be made between this book and the Hunger Games, but right now, I'm feeling like I liked this trilogy better. The last book of the Hunger Games was just a bit of a let-down. Has anyone else read both? What did you think?
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Book 2: The Scorch Trials by James Dashner
This is the second book in a YA trilogy. I read the first book in 2011, so I'm not counting it here, but I'll kind of give a summary anyway...
This book takes place after a natural disaster, but our main characters don't know that...yet. All Thomas knows is that he woke up in an elevator with no memories of anything that happened to him before. He arrives on a sort of compound populated with adolescent boys who are sustaining themselves with farming and the sort while a select group, called Maze Runners (the first book is called The Maze Runner) are trying to escape from the maze. Eventually they realize that they are being tested to see who will survive the Maze and the Glade.
The second book is the second trial testing the survival skills of the "Gladers" as they are called.
I really like these books. I finished the second book in about 4-6 hours and just started the third book today. If you thought Hunger Games was a little too romantic or you wish the main character had been a dude, this is the series for you. I am loving it!
This book takes place after a natural disaster, but our main characters don't know that...yet. All Thomas knows is that he woke up in an elevator with no memories of anything that happened to him before. He arrives on a sort of compound populated with adolescent boys who are sustaining themselves with farming and the sort while a select group, called Maze Runners (the first book is called The Maze Runner) are trying to escape from the maze. Eventually they realize that they are being tested to see who will survive the Maze and the Glade.
The second book is the second trial testing the survival skills of the "Gladers" as they are called.
I really like these books. I finished the second book in about 4-6 hours and just started the third book today. If you thought Hunger Games was a little too romantic or you wish the main character had been a dude, this is the series for you. I am loving it!
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