Started: 9/24/07
Finished: 9/26/07
Year: 1967
Pages: 254
Genre: Children's Literature
Grade: B-
Reason for reading: part of a bookring for the series
Blurb (from back cover): "Taran, the assistant pig-keeper, who wants to be a hero, goes questing for knowledge of his parentage, hoping that his journey will ennoble him in the eyes of Eilonwy, the princess with the red-gold hair. Accompanied by several loyal friends, Taran begins his search when three wily enchantresses of the Marshes of Morva send him to consult the Mirror of Llunet for the answers he is seeking, cryptically promising that 'the finding takes no more than the looking.' During his adventures he meets Craddoc, the shepherd and the common people of Prydain, whom he comes to respect and admire. With their help, he continues his mission to learn the secret of the Mirror and the truth about himself."
Opinion: Not as good as others in the series but it was a story that had to be told for Taran's character. Went by quickly.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Throw Darts at a Cheesecake by Denise Dietz
Started: 9/20/07
Finished: 9/24/07
Year: 1999
Pages: 251
Genre: Mystery
Grade: B-
Reason for reading: grabbed it off the TBR shelf
Blurb (from back cover): "At the weekly meeting of Weight Winners, losing is everything. Group leader Ellie Bernstein herself has shed fifty-five pounds of 'weight pollution,' along with a cheating husband and an unfulfilling life. Now the thin woman within is free and fabulous. Until she discovers losing weight is not only murder, it's downright lethal.
"One by one, their group's Big Losers are being systematically murdered. Is some jealous member of the Friday meeting a secret killer? Could this be a closet psycho's demented weight-loss technique-eliminate the competition? Motive aside, Ellie's got to watch her back as well as her calories before she finds herself on the most permanent diet of all...death."
Opinion: I wanted this to be a better book. There were too many suspects. Too much emphasis on weight loss (which makes sense since the author is a Weight Watchers participant). There were unrealistic relationships between Ellie and another main character. It did have its laughs and that's basically what saved it.
Finished: 9/24/07
Year: 1999
Pages: 251
Genre: Mystery
Grade: B-
Reason for reading: grabbed it off the TBR shelf
Blurb (from back cover): "At the weekly meeting of Weight Winners, losing is everything. Group leader Ellie Bernstein herself has shed fifty-five pounds of 'weight pollution,' along with a cheating husband and an unfulfilling life. Now the thin woman within is free and fabulous. Until she discovers losing weight is not only murder, it's downright lethal.
"One by one, their group's Big Losers are being systematically murdered. Is some jealous member of the Friday meeting a secret killer? Could this be a closet psycho's demented weight-loss technique-eliminate the competition? Motive aside, Ellie's got to watch her back as well as her calories before she finds herself on the most permanent diet of all...death."
Opinion: I wanted this to be a better book. There were too many suspects. Too much emphasis on weight loss (which makes sense since the author is a Weight Watchers participant). There were unrealistic relationships between Ellie and another main character. It did have its laughs and that's basically what saved it.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Blue Heron Marsh by Douglas Quinn
Started: 9/18/07
Finished: 9/20/07
Year: 2007
Pages: 260
Genre: Mystery
Grade: B
Reason for reading: review for MyShelf
Blurb (from back cover): "Webb Sawyer has recently been released from a US Army psychiatric hospital. Out of personal revenge, he'd killed a Serbian death squad leader.
"When Clara Zemeniewski is arrested for the murder by hanging of her father, Willard Haynes, her friend Amanda Eure tracks down Webb and provides evidence that may exonerate Clara. But Webb's old friend and prosecutor, Randy Fearing, isn't interested. He already has the killer.
"Webb and Amanda go on a search for more information to prove Clara is innocent. During their search Clara kills herself. The case appears to be over. Webb and Amanda have a falling out.
"However, Webb isn't satisfied and continues the investigation. His search leads him to four other victims who died in a similar manner. All had attended a private boys school. Webb discovers that fourty years earlier there was a black man hanged to death by seven white boys, all from the school. The murder was covered up and the boys were never charged.
"The trail leads to the original victim's son. But all isn't as it appears. The concept of truth and justice is turned upside down. And when Webb does find out the truth, he is at a loss about what to do."
Opinion: Great concept of a story. Great setting. Nice little personal antics throughout the book. For a more complete review, please check out MyShelf.
Finished: 9/20/07
Year: 2007
Pages: 260
Genre: Mystery
Grade: B
Reason for reading: review for MyShelf
Blurb (from back cover): "Webb Sawyer has recently been released from a US Army psychiatric hospital. Out of personal revenge, he'd killed a Serbian death squad leader.
"When Clara Zemeniewski is arrested for the murder by hanging of her father, Willard Haynes, her friend Amanda Eure tracks down Webb and provides evidence that may exonerate Clara. But Webb's old friend and prosecutor, Randy Fearing, isn't interested. He already has the killer.
"Webb and Amanda go on a search for more information to prove Clara is innocent. During their search Clara kills herself. The case appears to be over. Webb and Amanda have a falling out.
"However, Webb isn't satisfied and continues the investigation. His search leads him to four other victims who died in a similar manner. All had attended a private boys school. Webb discovers that fourty years earlier there was a black man hanged to death by seven white boys, all from the school. The murder was covered up and the boys were never charged.
"The trail leads to the original victim's son. But all isn't as it appears. The concept of truth and justice is turned upside down. And when Webb does find out the truth, he is at a loss about what to do."
Opinion: Great concept of a story. Great setting. Nice little personal antics throughout the book. For a more complete review, please check out MyShelf.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
The Book of Evidence by John Banville
Started: 9/11/07
Finished: 9/18/07
Year: 1989
Pages: 220
Genre: Literature
Grade: A
Reason for reading: booksfree.com book
Blurb (from back cover): "Freddie Montgomery is on trial for a murder he committed because he could. Finding himself without sufficient funds to pay back a debt, and leaving his wife and child behind as collateral on a Mediterranean island, Montgomery has returned to Ireland after years of self-imposed exile to raise the money. But all sources appear to have dried up. Even the few pictures his family owned have been sold off. In a blindly desperate attempt to get back one of those paintings, he bludgeons a young girl and hides from the police, implicating an old family friend before he is caught. How did he-with his background, education, culture-come to this?
"Shortlisted for the Booker Prize, The Book of Evidence presents the engrossing testimony of an improbable murderer, offering not evidence of his innocence, but of his life. In startlingly fluid prose, at once coldly terrifying and darkly funny, the narrative reveals an articulate villain whose amorality is as much a revelation to himself as his humanity is to us."
Opinion: I really enjoyed how this book was written. You will find yourself submerged into Freddie's life and the crime he did. Just strongly written.
Finished: 9/18/07
Year: 1989
Pages: 220
Genre: Literature
Grade: A
Reason for reading: booksfree.com book
Blurb (from back cover): "Freddie Montgomery is on trial for a murder he committed because he could. Finding himself without sufficient funds to pay back a debt, and leaving his wife and child behind as collateral on a Mediterranean island, Montgomery has returned to Ireland after years of self-imposed exile to raise the money. But all sources appear to have dried up. Even the few pictures his family owned have been sold off. In a blindly desperate attempt to get back one of those paintings, he bludgeons a young girl and hides from the police, implicating an old family friend before he is caught. How did he-with his background, education, culture-come to this?
"Shortlisted for the Booker Prize, The Book of Evidence presents the engrossing testimony of an improbable murderer, offering not evidence of his innocence, but of his life. In startlingly fluid prose, at once coldly terrifying and darkly funny, the narrative reveals an articulate villain whose amorality is as much a revelation to himself as his humanity is to us."
Opinion: I really enjoyed how this book was written. You will find yourself submerged into Freddie's life and the crime he did. Just strongly written.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Judging Children as Children by Michael A. Corriero
Started: 9/7/07
Finished: 9/11/07
Year: 2006
Genre: Non-fiction
Grade: A
Reason for reading: grabbed it off the TBR shelf
Blurb (from book jacket): "At a time when America's court system increasingly tries juvenile offenders as adults, Michael Corriero draws directly from his experience as the founding judge of a special juvenile court to propose a new approach to dealing with youthful offenders.
"Since 1992, Judge C orriero has presided over the Manhattan Youth Part, a New York City court specifically designed to discipline teenage offenders. Its guiding principles, clearly laid out in this book, are that children are developmentally different from adults and that a judge can be a formidable force in shaping the lives of children who appear in court.
"Judging Children as Children makes a compelling argument for a better system of justice that recognizes the mental, emotional, and physical abilities of young people and provides them with an opportunity to be rehabilitated as productive members of society instead of being locked up in prisons."
Opinion: I have been in front of this judge when I worked in group homes and I liked watching him with the teenagers that went before him. I had seen this book on Amazon or something and had to get it. It's a great look at the Youth Part that he presides at and how he feels it should be incorporated across the nation.
Finished: 9/11/07
Year: 2006
Genre: Non-fiction
Grade: A
Reason for reading: grabbed it off the TBR shelf
Blurb (from book jacket): "At a time when America's court system increasingly tries juvenile offenders as adults, Michael Corriero draws directly from his experience as the founding judge of a special juvenile court to propose a new approach to dealing with youthful offenders.
"Since 1992, Judge C orriero has presided over the Manhattan Youth Part, a New York City court specifically designed to discipline teenage offenders. Its guiding principles, clearly laid out in this book, are that children are developmentally different from adults and that a judge can be a formidable force in shaping the lives of children who appear in court.
"Judging Children as Children makes a compelling argument for a better system of justice that recognizes the mental, emotional, and physical abilities of young people and provides them with an opportunity to be rehabilitated as productive members of society instead of being locked up in prisons."
Opinion: I have been in front of this judge when I worked in group homes and I liked watching him with the teenagers that went before him. I had seen this book on Amazon or something and had to get it. It's a great look at the Youth Part that he presides at and how he feels it should be incorporated across the nation.
Friday, September 07, 2007
The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander
Started: 9/6/07
Finished: 9/7/07
Year: 1965
Pages: 224
Genre: Children's Literature
Grade: B
Reason for reading: part of a bookring of the series through Bookcrossing
Blurb: No jacket or blurb on the back
Opinion: Very fast paced which makes sense since it's geared towards kids. Another adventure for Taran and his partners.
Finished: 9/7/07
Year: 1965
Pages: 224
Genre: Children's Literature
Grade: B
Reason for reading: part of a bookring of the series through Bookcrossing
Blurb: No jacket or blurb on the back
Opinion: Very fast paced which makes sense since it's geared towards kids. Another adventure for Taran and his partners.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
The Crafty Teddy by John J. Lamb
Started: 9/4/07
Finished: 9/6/07
Year: 2007
Pages: 288
Genre: mystery
Grade: B-
Reason for reading: review for MyShelf.com
Blurb (from back cover): "Retired San Francisco cop Brad Lyon is settling into a quieter life with his wife, Ashleigh, in Virginia's mountain country, where they collect and create teddy bears. But even here, stuff happens...
"The peace of the Shenanadoah Valley is shattered when an intruder breaks into the Lyon home and makes off with their antique Farnell Alpha teddy bear-one of the most celebrated stuffed animals in history, and also Brad's gift to Ash on their twentieth wedding anniversary.
"Afterward, life seems to be getting back to normal-until a trio of Japanese gangsters inexplicably shows up in town, and then the local museum director is found dead. Even though it all seems a but fur-fetched, Brad knowns he's got a 187 on his hands-that's California penal code for murder..."
Opinion: I really enjoyed the humor in this book but if you haven't read previous books in the series, you will be lost like I was. For a more complete review, check out MyShelf.
Finished: 9/6/07
Year: 2007
Pages: 288
Genre: mystery
Grade: B-
Reason for reading: review for MyShelf.com
Blurb (from back cover): "Retired San Francisco cop Brad Lyon is settling into a quieter life with his wife, Ashleigh, in Virginia's mountain country, where they collect and create teddy bears. But even here, stuff happens...
"The peace of the Shenanadoah Valley is shattered when an intruder breaks into the Lyon home and makes off with their antique Farnell Alpha teddy bear-one of the most celebrated stuffed animals in history, and also Brad's gift to Ash on their twentieth wedding anniversary.
"Afterward, life seems to be getting back to normal-until a trio of Japanese gangsters inexplicably shows up in town, and then the local museum director is found dead. Even though it all seems a but fur-fetched, Brad knowns he's got a 187 on his hands-that's California penal code for murder..."
Opinion: I really enjoyed the humor in this book but if you haven't read previous books in the series, you will be lost like I was. For a more complete review, check out MyShelf.
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
Started: 8/28/07
Finished: 9/4/07
Year: 1995
Pages: 603
Genre: Literature
Grade: B+
Reason for reading: booksfree.com, one of the 1001 books to read
Blurb: "With a compassionate realism and narrative sweep that recall the work of Charles Dickens, this magnificent novel captures all the cruelty and corruption, dignity and heroism of India. The time is 1975. The place is an unnamed city by the sea. The government has just declared a State of Emergency, in whose upheavals four strangers-a spirited widow, a young student uprooted from his idyllic hill station, and two tailors who have fled the caste violence of their native village-will be thrust together, forced to share one cramped apartment and an uncertain future.
"As the characters move from distrust to friendship and from friendship to love, A Fine Balance creates an enduring panorama of the human spirit in an inhuman state."
Opinion: It's a strong story but the ending fell very flat for me. It would have been an A if the ending was better.
Finished: 9/4/07
Year: 1995
Pages: 603
Genre: Literature
Grade: B+
Reason for reading: booksfree.com, one of the 1001 books to read
Blurb: "With a compassionate realism and narrative sweep that recall the work of Charles Dickens, this magnificent novel captures all the cruelty and corruption, dignity and heroism of India. The time is 1975. The place is an unnamed city by the sea. The government has just declared a State of Emergency, in whose upheavals four strangers-a spirited widow, a young student uprooted from his idyllic hill station, and two tailors who have fled the caste violence of their native village-will be thrust together, forced to share one cramped apartment and an uncertain future.
"As the characters move from distrust to friendship and from friendship to love, A Fine Balance creates an enduring panorama of the human spirit in an inhuman state."
Opinion: It's a strong story but the ending fell very flat for me. It would have been an A if the ending was better.
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