Brooklyn by Colm Toibin

As I was reading the reviews of the book Brooklyn by Colm Toibin I decided that this should be a nice easy read so I ordered it from Better World Books. I loved the details of the setting but not sure what I missed in the reviews. All the reviews talked of a nice young girl moving from Ireland to Brooklyn and back again but what they did not mention is that while in the US she meets and marries an Italian man and when she goes back home she falls in love with a local Irishman. Now I did still find the story very easy as there was really no conflict or tension at all and I really feel the story needed it.
2 Stars

Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War by Tony Horwitz

I love the history surrounding the Civil War so when I picked up Tony Horwitz’s Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War I honestly thought I was getting a collection of stories and letters that had been found. Little did I know it was about the attitudes that people of the South still have towards the war. This was very interestingly serious book which raised amazing viewpoints.

5 Stars

The Queen of Water by Laura Resau

The Queen of Water is a heart wrenching tale by Laura Resau. The main character, Virginia, was born in a large but underprivileged family in an Andean mountain village in Ecuador. Society is divided sharply between the working native Indian people and the governing descendants of Spanish conquerors. At age 7, Virginia is sold to be a servant to a wealthy family. For eight years she endures her enslavement which includes malevolence and thrashings but she is determined to make something better of her life.
5 ++++ Stars as the story of tragedy and triumph will stay with you and you will feel the need to recommend it over and over.

Blue Diary by Alice Hoffman

I have read and loved many of Alice Hoffman’s books but Blue Diary is a definite exception. The writing is definitely well done and the concept is soundly thought out but I think that I have a problem with the fact that a person who is a rapist can just turn their life completely around and become the hero of the story. This is the first time I have really done this usually I like or dislike a book. I don’t have to like the content to determine a book is well written so it gets 4 stars.

4 Stars

Blood Red by Heather Graham

My Mom dropped off Blood Red by Heather Graham and it is exactly what I would pick up for myself. Three friends are in New Orleans for a bachelorette weekend and they become involved in Vampire intrigue. A Vampire decides they are his prey and pursuits them almost succeeding in killing them but a vampire hunter (who I imagine as looking like Danny Pino) saves them. At first the women don't believe his stories of vampires but then they see the evidence with their own eyes.
5 Stars

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

I picked up The Woman in Black when I saw Daniel Radcliff was going to be starring in the movie. Normally I hate any type of horror story but I loved this book. This was so much more than a horror story there as suspense around every corner. Again I am concerned with their being enough content material for a full length movie so I will probably wait until it comes on TV but the book is great.
5 Stars

Kissng Cousins by A.M. Gray

Another outstanding short story by A.M.Gray!! It is exactly what the title states. The groom is one cousin and a bridesmaid the other. I love the "achilles thong" reference!!

5 Stars

Alejandro and Maela by A.M Gray

I feel privileged that I was asked to read Alejandro and Maela by up and coming author A.M Gray in Smashwords. The short story at just 2600 words has the making of a great love story that could be extended into a full novel. My only complaint is that I want more!!

5 Stars

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/127229

Believing the Lie by Elizabeth George

Apparently Believing the Lie is the 17th book in a series by Elizabeth George and yet again I had no clue when I received the book but I read it anyway. The book can stand on its own. The book centers on Tommy who is a Detective Inspector at Scotland Yard and a case that he has been asked to oversee and solve. The case is convoluted and endless allowing other characters to make appearances and get involved. This is a very lengthy and often time drawn-out novel.
3 Stars

Cosmopolis by Don DeLillo

I picked up Cosmopolis because RPatz is in the movie and I’m debating on seeing it. The book itself is short enough to be a novella and I am concerned how a full length movie could be made from the book. The book chronicles a day in the life of Eric Packer, a young billionaire, as he is chauffeured from his across the city for a haircut. The chronicle narrates how his journey is interrupted by a presidential motorcade, a rapper's funeral, secret sexual rendezvous, and an unplanned get-together with his new wife, a movie set, an intense political demonstration and an assassin in the hunt to kill him. Surprisingly, I really enjoyed the book and I could easily see RPatz as the lead character but I am still unsure if there is just enough for a full length film.
4 Stars

The Wettest County in the World: A Novel Based on a True Story by Matt Bondurant

The Wettest County in the World is based on the true story about three brothers who prepared and sold moonshine during the Prohibition era. The story though set in the hills of Virginia is an out and out gangster story. I wish I could say I loved the book and could recommend it without reservations but honestly the book just wasn’t for me. BUT if rural Southern gangsters have any sort of appeal to you this may just be worth checking out if not put it down and run away.
2 Stars

Open Secrets: Stories by Alice Munro

Open Secrets: Stories by Alice Munro is an anthology that is typically set in small-town Ontario, with some of the some characters transitioning and interconnecting within the different stories. These stories gave me the feeling of hope and anxiety that I equate with the exploits of the youth. Including characters both young and old gave me the intergenerational connection that I longed for.
4 Stars

Slavery By Another Name by Douglas A. Blackmon

Slavery By Another Name covers the time between the Civil War and WWII discussing and investigating the practice of slavery through the structure of immoral local officials who charged African Americans with fabricated crimes and then hawked them as labor to company mines & farms. It's a fastidiously examined work and well worthy of its Pulitzer Prize. Some of the parts of this book are monotonous but needed. Especially interesting is the effort to convict African Americans in 1903, and how the penal system in Alabama was full of corrupt politicians and officials creating a horror when anyone of color was convicted.
5 Stars

Slavery By Another Name by Douglas A. Blackmon

Slavery By Another Name covers the time between the Civil War and WWII discussing and investigating the practice of slavery through the structure of immoral local officials who charged African Americans with fabricated crimes and then hawked them as labor to company mines & farms. It's a fastidiously examined work and well worthy of its Pulitzer Prize. Some of the parts of this book are monotonous but needed. Especially interesting is the effort to convict African Americans in 1903, and how the penal system in Alabama was full of corrupt politicians and officials creating a horror when anyone of color was convicted.
5 Stars

The Wrong Mother by Sophie Hannah

I loaned The Wrong Mother from a co-worker and I have just finished. This is definitely a second-rate book and if I had to describe it in one word it would be disappointing. From the summary on the back cover, this should have been a very good read but I just couldn’t get into the characters. The plot line hurdles from character to character making it bewildering and tough to follow and there was a perpetual allusion to something happening the year before but no details of what the incident actually was. Overall way below average for Sophie Hannah.
2 Stars

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

With losing two six year olds to Neuroblastoma and several other members of my family this past year I didn’t think that I could make it through this book. I am glad I did. The Fault in Our Stars main character, Hazel, is a 16 year old girl living with cancer. Hazel meets Augustus at the cancer support group and she begins an adventure involving romance, coming to terms with the hand that she has been dealt, and leaving a legacy behind. This book is an wonderfully journey and one that will have a place in honor on my special shelf.
5 Stars

Lunatics by Dave Barry and Alan Zweibel

Lunatics is sidesplittingly comical. Rooted in modern pop culture it won't have a long shelf life but this was one of the most hilarious books I've ever picked up. Two grown men fighting about the simplest things that just keep going to the next level doesn’t seem funny but it definitely is. I hardly ever pay to go to the movies but I honestly have a need to see this play out on the big screen.
5 Stars

Strange Neighbors by Ashlyn Chase

Strange Neighbors by Ashlyn Chase is charming and appealing. The connection that happens between Merry and her beau Jason happens so swiftly that you can’t wait to see where they are going. I found the story to be delightful and an easy read.
4 Stars

Wine to Water: A Bartender's Quest to Bring Clean Water to the World by Doc Hendley

Wine and Water is about a regular guy who wants to help and that sums up the book. It is written without any usual superfluous words and tells a straight story about the growth of the charitable organization Wine to Water as well as the author himself.
5 Stars

The Royal Treatment by Mary Janice Davidson

The Royal Treatment by Mary Janice Davidson encompasses a fictional world where Alaska is a country all of its own but the environment is similar to today’s realm. The story is of Alaska’s Royal Family who by even today’s standard of reality TV is quite eccentric. When the King, who is in disguise as a fishing tour guide finds Christina, who is between jobs, he decides she's perfect for his eldest son and decides to throw the two of them together. When you throw in some intrigue, crazy siblings and a few penguins you get great that is a little unbelievable but also relatively entertaining.
4 Stars

A Cup of Friendship by Deborah Rodriguez

A Cup of Friendship is set against the backdrop of war torn Kabul, Afghanistan, in a coffee shop owned by an American named Sunny. The novel tells the stories of the people who work at the coffee shop, and the many customers who frequent the coffee shop. The story journals the problematic and difficult lives of women in Afghanistan and the complicated relationships in a changing society creating an excellent piece.
5 Stars

Skippy Dies by Paul Murray

Skippy Dies revolves around the students and teachers of an Irish Boarding School and Skippy who is a 14 year old kid who's moving through life addicted to painkillers. He's hiding secrets that are painful and isn't sure how to deal with them. Paul Murray is a wonderful writer with a dark sense of humor.
4 Stars

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Divergent was recommended because I like Hunger Games and the book did remind me of the Suzanne Collins Trilogy. The story is set some time in the future where society is broken down into factions categorized by a specific value. At age 16 each person is given the opportunity to either to stay with the faction they were born into or to choose another faction. Beatrice, born into the faction Abnegation, is told that she is divergent and therefore she could fit into numerous factions. She chooses Dauntless and thus begins what is literally a fight to survive while trying to make sense of what is happening.
4 Stars

11/22/63 by Stephen King

This novel is unlike any other I’ve read of Stephen King’s. It was completely without the element of horror that you have come to expect from King and instead is nearer to an action-thriller with a bit of science fiction thrown in. The book was fast paced and it was easy to plow through the rather hefty 849 pages. The characters were distinct and the plot was perfectly calculated.
5 Stars