If you aren’t already familiar with the great Stephanie Plum, Bounty Hunter, here is your chance. Evanovich’s One for the Money is our introduction to Stephanie, an unemployed divorcee from Trenton, New Jersey, who takes a job as an “apprehension agent” to earn some fast cash. With great instincts and a bit of spunk, she not only brings in the bad guys helps an innocent man to clear his name. Of course, she does all this with a great sense of humor and a colorful cast of supporting characters. The great thing about a series like this is that if you like what you see in book 1, there’s much more where that came from! (Also, a film adaptation will be released later this year!)
Book Lovers
One for the Money
Feb 14, 2011
Anonymous
The Poisonwood Bible
During the 1950's evangelical Baptist minister Nathan Price moves his wife and four daughters to the Congo to convert the natives to Christianity. We see this story through each of his family member’s different perspectives as Nathan tries anything and everything to find a way to get the natives to come to his church, while his rage at his lack of success continues to grow. After a horrible tragedy, we watch as the Price family unravels and Nathan’s family comes to terms with the loss of his grip on reality. Each woman goes on to lead a different life and find their own way to continue life in Africa. On one hand this book is an poignant story of one family and a comment on the colonial endeavors of the last century.
Feb 6, 2011
Kristy
Dear American Airlines
Bennie Ford is on his way to a wedding, his daughter’s in fact. Tragically, he hasn’t seen his daughter since the day his ex-wife kicked him out for good, 28 years ago. Adding to the misery/mystery, Bennie’s flight to the wedding has been “delayed by weather,” according to American Airlines, a dubious claim which Bennie and the hundreds of other overbooked and delayed passengers see right through. So Bennie begins a letter to American Airlines, which is part rage against the airline, part sober-eyed (now) account of how he got into this mess, and part fable-like story (one of which he is translating for a Polish friend). I listened to this on CD and I must say the funnest part is the reading performed by Mark Bramhall, whose great Southern accent and intonations brings a whole new level of understanding to the work. Be warned, there are some downer parts to the novel, but the narrator finally does catch his plane.
Jan 28, 2011
Anonymous
Zombies Vs. Unicorns
In an effort to resolve a heated debate between bloggers Justine Larbalestier and Holly Black over which fictional creature rules supreme, the zombie or the unicorn, Larbalestier (Team Zombie) and Black (Team Unicorn) gathered some of the best Young Adult fiction writers out there in a collection of short stories about each. From fairy tales (Garth Nix’s “The Highest Justice”, Margo Lanagan’s “A Thousand Flowers”) to heartwarming stories of zombies in love (Alaya Dawn Johnson’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart”, Cassandra Clare’s “Cold Hands”) with some good-natured trash talking in between, this collection entertains from start to finish. A great read for teens and adults alike!
Jan 25, 2011
Anonymous
I'd Know You Anywhere
In the summer of 1985 Elizabeth Lerner was abducted by a serial killer and held for almost six weeks. More than twenty years later Elizabeth -now Eliza- has moved on. She has a comfortable life with a loving, supportive husband and children who are unaware of their mother’s past. She is happy and safe. One day she receives a cryptic letter with a picture of her and a reminder: “I’d know you anywhere.” In order to protect the life she has built she must face the man who took her and address what really happened that summer, and why he allowed her, unlike so many other girls, to live.
Jan 13, 2011
Anonymous
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
This fantastic tale takes place in early 19th century Britain. There are gentlemen groups who study theoretical magic but no one has actually performed magic in hundreds of years. The reclusive and grumpy Mr. Norrell however changes all of that when he starts practicing practical magic and is able to demonstrate to his colleagues that magic can actually be performed. Soon he becomes famous throughout Britain and is eventually brought in to help the war against Napoleon. Another young magician pops up in Britain named Jonathan Strange who becomes Mr. Norrell’s apprentice. Their different approaches to magic begin to clash and we watch as they deal with the dangerous powers of faerie where magic comes from. This book is brilliantly written and truly conveys the literary conventions of the period.
Jan 5, 2011
Kristy
Room
Locked in a small room for the first 5 years of his life, Jack has never been outside of the room in which he was born. This does not bother Jack, who cannot fathom a world outside of Room, but for his mother the four walls are a prison in which she tries to lead a normal life with her son. When his mother plans for their escape, Jack has to face a sudden and very frightening expansion of the world he has always known. Fascinating from start to finish!
Dec 27, 2010
Anonymous
Freedom
Freedom is a great book for anyone who finds a good character as interesting (if not more so) than a good plot. Franzen writes about the rise and fall and eventual re-ascent of Walter and Patty Berglund and those closest to them, through good intentions and self-destructive behaviors. With each new narrator other characters come into clear view, for better or worse, in a timeline that jumps around to give you bits and pieces of their interconnected lives that slowly illuminate a full story.
Dec 19, 2010
Anonymous
Invisible
This was my first Paul Auster novel and I thought the set-up was unique and the writing less difficult than I had imagined (almost conversational as much of the last part of the novel breaks down into various conversations). Not only was the novel separated into 4 perspectives, but also 4 which are not directly connected through mutual circumstance (that is, not all about the same time and experience, but involving the same characters), so you have to do some of the connecting yourself. Nothing is completely resolved (did Adam sleep with her? did Born kill the young boy? did he kill Cecille's father? Whose memory can be trusted?) but enough hints at the more evil (tho elegantly dressed and eloquently, when not drinking, speaking) and more good-hearted characters (but wrongly acted on). I'm looking forward to my next Auster novel.
Dec 17, 2010
Anonymous
Never Let Me Go
This is the story of Kathy H and her friends Tommy and Ruth and their experiences as students at a special school called Hailsham. We know from the beginning that there is something different about the students. Al l they seem to study is art and literature and each are encouraged to create art worthy of acceptance into Madame’s gallery. The teachers seem to skirt around the topic of the students’ futures without ever really explaining it to them. We know from the beginning that Kathy has grown into something called a Carer and it is her job to visit and care for other former students at hospitals across the UK. Ishiguro is amazing at describing minutiae and making it interesting and relevant as we learn about the destiny’s of Kathy and her friends.
Dec 13, 2010
Kristy