Book Reviews


Writing Drought and Book Review of The Cuckoo's Calling

It has been a long time, almost 3 months, since either one of us posted on here.  We both needed some time off.  J was finishing school and I was planning my wedding!  Kyle and I got married a month ago and there was just too much going on to even consider keeping up on the blog.

Never fear faithful readers, we are back!

It was announced several weeks ago that J.K. Rowling had written a new book that was published back in April of this year.  She published the book under the pseudonym of Robert Galbraith.  I saw this come up in my news feed on Facebook through Mugglenet and Hypable.  As soon as I saw this I, of course, looked it up on my local library's catalog.  There was one copy that they owned and it was checked out.  I put myself on the hold list and then looked at my account to see how long I would have to wait.

I was next in line.  SCORE!
  
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This Is What I Get For Watching The Movie Before Reading The Book



This movie is wonderful. Yes, it's a bit silly. Campy. It doesn't take itself too seriously. But it's fun. Enjoyable. And it has Chris O'Donnell. He's a beautiful man.

I just finished reading the book this morning.

I'm sad. I'm mad. Frustrated. Irritated.

RUINED!!!!

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The Raven Boys by Maggie Steifvater

Finally!  I have found a new series to follow.  And best of all, the first book only came out this past November!  It's been a VERY long time since I read a series and it was almost finished or completed already.

The audiobook was well-done, so if you like that format or are looking for something in that format, I highly suggest this title.  The actor did a particularly great job with the voices of Blue's aunts and the boys she meets.

Premise from the official website


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Hannah Swensen Mystery Series by Joanne Fluke

I came across a series in the Mystery section of my local public library in high school.  There were only a couple books out at that point, if I recall correctly, and it has grown to over 15 books.  This is a series written by Joanne Fluke and the main character is Hannah Swensen.  She owns a cookie shop in Minnesota and often finds dead bodies for which she then attempts to solve the murder.

I liked this series initially.  The characters are normal everyday people.  The bad guys almost always get their due.  There are recipes in each book.  It's set in the Midwest.  I also appreciated that there wasn't sex in any of the books.  I don't like to read about that.  All lovely things.

The series continued to grow.

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The Great Gatsby: An Audiobook Adventure

Audiobooks can be a great way to read a book that may be difficult to read in print. I wish I had known this in high school. I struggled so much with Shakespeare and classic books like Jane Eyre. They read to me like another language. I could not understand what was going on, no matter how much I poored over the material. About a year ago I read Pride and Prejudice (Amazing book. Please read it and fall in love with Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy.) on audiobook. It changed my life. Since then I have read numerous classics this way and have thoroughly enjoyed each one. I know that there are many I could not have read in print (Les Miserables, The Three Musketeers, and Emma to name a few) because of the language in the book. The structure of the sentences and turn of phrase. I would just not have been able to do it. But with someone else reading it to me, speaking in a French or British accent, I enjoy my time driving to work.

I saw the trailer for the new movie version of The Great Gatsby starring Leonardo DiCaprio and was stumped. The Great Gatsby was one that I actually read in high school and enjoyed. I couldn't tell you a dang thing about it until three weeks ago when I read it, but I remember being in high school, reading it, and thinking that this was a classic I could actually read in print. I wanted to read the book again before I saw the movie (and my future brother-in-law, Kurt, said the trailer wasn't anything like the book he remembered reading). So I read it.

It was enjoyable. It wasn't great. It wasn't bad. But it also was not what I expected.

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Libriomancer by Jim C. Hines

It's been about 3 months since I graduated with my Master's degree.  Since then, I have thoroughly enjoyed the extra time I have to watch tv shows on Netflix and read print books for fun- not school.  I'm not sure what is wrong with my choices lately, but this book was another dud.  Perhaps I'm just not cut out for the adult Fantasy section.

Premise: (from Infosoup) Gifted with the ability to draw objects out of books, Isaac Vainio, A Libriomancer, seeks assistance from a Harley-riding dryad after a number of vampire attacks are reported by other members of his secret, magic organization.

The front flap of the book that gave a description enticed me more than the above would have.  I was drawn in by by the title of the book.  Any character that has a love for books in a book I read, should be someone I root for, enjoy reading about, and would have a bond with. I knew the book may be a bit of a stretch for me.  I don't often read books from the Science Fiction/Fantasy section.  But perhaps I would enjoy this one.  He does work in a library after all, and how cool would it be if we could pull objects out of books?!

Unfortunately, this one was not the case.

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Storm Front     By Jim Butcher

Storm Front is the first book in a fantasy series by Jim Butcher.  It was recommended to me by my fiance, Kyle, and he was told to read it by a friend of his.  Kyle doesn't read as often as he let on in his online dating profile.  ;)  But, this friend was persistent and Kyle finally read it over this past winter break.

He raved about this book.  It was funny.  It was clever.  It was interesting.

It. Was. Not.

I have a Master's degree in Library Science.  I have 10 years of experience working in libraries.  One of my main memories from growing up is visiting the library every Saturday.  One of my favorite things to do is to spend an afternoon reading a book.  This hasn't happened lately because of my current addiction to The West Wing, but I digress.

It is extremely unusual for me to not finish a book.  I can count on less than one hand the number of times it has happened.  I did happen to finish this one, but it was a mighty struggle.

I don't often read books from the Fantasy or Science Fiction area.  I'm honestly not sure why this is.  I have been a Potterhead ever since The Chamber of Secrets came out.  That is a fantasy series at it's best.  This book was just unable to reach me.  I did not find any of it amusing or remotely funny.  Kyle enjoys his puns, but I didn't read any of those either.

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