A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father by Augusten Burroughs

I typically like Augusten Burroughs, but I found that this book was less attention-grabbing and thought-provoking than his usual novels. Some parts are of A Wolf at the Table are very hard to believe especially those with him remembering parts of his early childhood which I feel is more of him listening to what others are saying happened that what he actually remembers.
3 Stars

Knock Knock by S.P. Miskowski

After I started this book and quickly realized that I could and in fact was psychologically scarred. This book was alarmingly horrifying. Knock Knock starts off with three little girls making a blood pact in the middle of the woods in a small town and then builds up the suspense and the darkness lurking in each of their lives.
5 Stars

Past Imperfect by Julian Fellowes

Past Imperfect by Julian Fellowes is not a book I would normally have picked up and when I glanced at this book on my to be read shelf nightly for the life of me I couldn’t figure out what possessed me to in fact pay for it BUT I am glad I did .This was an exceptional read that is quite indecent in some instances and the main character was not always likable. The only downside is the question remains on whether the main character fathered a child or not.
4 Stars

Not Becoming My Mother: and Other Things She Taught Me Along the Way by Ruth Reichl

Not Becoming My Mother is a fast read that makes you think about if your mother was content and happy while you were growing up. It also makes me think of my own life of being a mother and if I have really been content and happy.
4 Stars

Red Hook Road by Ayelet Waldman

Red Hook Road is the story of with a heartbreaking premise in that newly married couple is killed in a car accident right after their wedding but I found it hard to like this book. Iris, the mother of the bride, was generally obnoxious and the story was slanted towards her instead of giving a practical assessment that equally included the grief of the mother of the groom. Very slow and bogged down.
2 Stars

I've Got Your Number: A Novel by Sophie Kinsella

I've Got Your Number is the story of Poppy, who, misplaces her antique engagement ring seconds before her phone is taken. Incredibly, she finds a phone that someone has cast off in the trash. In exchange for keeping the phone, so she can be contacted should the ring, she agrees to forward the abundant texts and emails. She becomes a kind of unpaid personal assistant to Sam, the owner of the ditched phone. In the end Sam and Poppy become ensnared in one another's lives.
5 Stars

Surviving Your Serengeti 7 Skills to Master Business and Life

Surviving Your Serengeti 7 Skills to Master Business and Life

A Place of Secrets by Rachel Hore

In many ways I loved A Place of Secrets. I felt the fundamental story worked even though it was a little sluggish and the story was so charming that I felt bound to continue to find out how things turned out. There were some interesting sub-plots including an intricate sibling relationship. However this book was totally ruined by poor editing. I have never read or edited a book with so many mistakes.
2 Stars

The Dark Rose: A Novel by Erin Kelly

The Dark Rose had a little bit of everything. It was a love story but not over the top, fluffy, kissy kissy love, but instead a love that was dark and passionate. It is definitely also action packed and filled with twists and turns. The flash backs did keep my interest right through the book till the end. At the end of each chapter there were little cliffhangers which made me want to carry on finding out what happened next so I couldn’t put it down.
5 Stars

Surviving Your Serengeti 7 Skills to Master Business and Life by Stefan Swanepoel

Surviving Your Serengeti 7 Skills to Master Business and Life discusses seven Serengeti animals and the survival skills they possess that help them to not only survive but thrive. These skills are also necessary assets that each of us as humans can possess but often don't know we have or else we never fully develop. I had some trouble associating some of the animal behaviors to human abilities but overall the book was useful and I can use some of the techniques in real life situations.
3 Stars

Books: A Memoir by Larry McMurtry

I found the book at the local Book Warehouse and it looked extremely interesting. If you are trying to equate this book to McMurtys other illustrious novels well then it's certainly no Pulitzer winner but if you are a lover of books that treasures the hunt as much as the find then you will like this book. McMurtry has lead a captivating life in his book dealings and the stories he tells about the "book scouts" and "book dealers" are fascinating. I think anyone that collects has a lot of wonderful stories about their rare finds. McMurtry says his personal library contains 28,000 volumes. I only wish to have that many books one day.
4 Stars

Allison Hewitt is Trapped: A Zombie Novel by Madeleine Roux

OK so I didn’t realize that the book Allison Hewitt is Trapped was a zombie book (and I am not really into zombies) but still this is a great book to read if you're looking for something out of the norm. The format of the book is in blog entries which I really liked. In the first entry she informs readers that she is trapped with 5 coworkers at a bookstore due to the spread of a zombie infection that has occurred prior to the opening of the novel. Despite the desperate call for help in her first entry the early part of the book is quite humorous, dealing with the conditions that they are faced with in the confined quarters of the break room.
3 Stars

The Cinderella Deal by Jenny Cruise

The Cinderella Deal by Jenny Cruise has a classic story line of a prince trying to find his princess. The only thing missing in him getting the perfect job is him having the perfect woman to accent him. The book was funny, romantic, and entertaining. As usual, the dialog between Cruise characters was fantastic. She always manages to make the reader laugh while reading her books.
4 Stars

Island of Lost Girls, by Jennifer McMahon

I really tried to like Island of Lost Girls, but the story was very convoluted and there were too many characters. I really think that I needed an organizational chart to see who was related or belonged with whom. Overall the book was interesting and I liked the twists and turns that I could follow but it just wasn't an amazing read and honestly it was a miracle that I saw it to the end.
2 Stars

Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith

My friend handed me this book and said it seemed right up my alley. I have an Associate Degree in Criminal Justice and what some would call an unnatural obsession with serial killer’s and the way their brain works. Child 44 is about a child serial killer and well, I cowered at the thought as the youngest victim I had ever studied was a teenager, but the rest of the plot sounded fascinating, so I gave it a try. I was very quickly taken into the story with Child 44. It is painful at times, but that, is a sign of a well written book. This book is not for the squeamish and definitely not for someone who cannot handle any form of child abuse.
4 Stars

Tales of a Female Nomad: Living at Large in the World by Rita Golden Gelman

Tales of a Female Nomad: Living at Large in the World by Rita Golden Gelman is one of the preeminent autobiographical books I've read. The author shared such brilliant nonjudgemental stories of the people that she met in her travels creating a vivid picture of the culture and traditions of the countries that has she lived in and visited. She creates a need for wanderlust inside of you that you just can’t get rid of.
5 Stars

An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness by Kay Redfield Jamison

An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness is an exceptionally well written chronicle of a professor of psychiatry who suffers from bipolar disorder. Jamison is a remarkable person in many ways, and that is perhaps the books only flaw. With Jamison’s intellect and insight the book was a great read and I couldn’t put it down.
5 Stars