This book was surprising! I was apprehensive about even picking this book up to read in the first place. But it was highly recommended by friends and so I went with it. I enjoyed reading the Lovely Bones after all.
I assumed that the plot of the story would upset me too much since it was about a child (14 year old Susie Salmon) whom was brutally murdered. Despite my assumptions, the author guided me through an inexplicably dark and viscious experience and showed me that out of such darkness and despair, love and forgiveness can prevail. Reading parts of the book I noticed my breathing was heavy from anticipation while other times I was actually holding my breath.Alice Sebold made me feel like I could reason and understand the actions, feelings and heartache that this family lived with during this tragedy and the years that followed.
I enjoyed being told the story through the victim's words. As grotesque as the crime was having Susie tell the story seemed to lessen the violence in the sense that you knew she was OK since she was talking to you the whole time. I realized that when I had questions about Susie's well being while reading , she would explain all of her thoughts and emotions at the same time. Susie was growing wise and learning from her tragedy just as we were. It felt eerily personal. And I wanted to save Susie.
Towards the end of the book though there was one particular instance that was very far-fetched and almost ruined the book for me. Almost. I don't feel this particular part needed to be spun into the story since up until that point the reactions and life choices from Susie and her family were enough to make the story powerful. I'm guessing here, but I think that Alice Sebold felt she needed to give some lightness to the book in order to not completely devastate her fans with a story that was so overwhelmingly ominous. Despite my displeasure for the end of the book, overall I would recommend The Lovely Bones.
In case you haven't heard, The Lovely Bones has been made into a movie and it is scheduled to premier in theaters January 15, 2010. If you plan on reading the book before watching the movie then I would recommend you not watch the trailer since it does contain spoilers.
Just finished The Girl Who Played with Fire, the second book in the "The Girl" trilogy, by Stieg Larsson. I found the second book to be even better than the first. The depth and detail of the story and characters jump off the pages.
I am looking forward to the U.S publishing of the third book The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (although I just learned you can order the U.K. edition through Amazon). It's too bad Larsson isn't alive to hear the international praise for his books.
I would have to say that Pope Joan is a book you can't put down! I read it every free minute I could find. I loved it!
The author, Donna Woolfolk Cross, spent several years researching the story of Pope Joan. I would highly recommend that AFTER you read the book that you read the Author's note. She presents incredible detail about her research findings and makes substantial arguments for the existence of Pope Joan. I really feel that by reading the Author's note, you will have a far better appreciation for the story itself.
I'm not sure if many of you tend to skip the Prologue for most books. If you do, PLEASE don't skip the Prologue in this book. The Prologue will help set the tone for the first chapter and also will introduce you to characters that will be re-visited later throughout the book.
I was absorbed into the writing abilities of the author. She has a gift in being able to setup the scenes, characters and emotions of the story while providing enough detail to keep you captivated but not so much that you tire of listening. Even the smallest details that she introduced would be seamlessly woven into later chapters. No detail was left unanswered. And mostly I appreciated the lack of predictability in the story. The author will keep you guessing and hoping right to the end. The element of surprise will be gratifying in the end for you.
The ending was not the ending I had anticipated nor expected (you'll understand what I mean--no spoilers here). I thought the ending was phenomenal. For me it felt like the book had two endings. The first was with Joan and ended at the last chapter. The second ending being the Epilogue and leaving the legacy of Pope Joan. The Epilogue gives the reader closure with Pope Joan which I think becomes very necessary.
Without a doubt, the story of Pope Joan is enthralling and Donna Woolfolk Cross tells her story masterfully. I couldn't put the book down!
Don't forget to read the Author's note at the end of the book. It will be well worth your time!
In case you haven't heard or don't know already, Pope Joan has been made into a major motion picture and premiered in Berlin, Germany on October 19th! The movie was filmed in English and dubbed into German for the benefit of German and Austrian viewers. It is still unclear as to the date for the United States premiere. Donna Woolfolk Cross is currently working on obtaining permissions from the movie Producers for the English version of the movie trailer. (Note--the movie trailer below has English subtitles.)
For more information about the book or the author you can visit the author's web site at Pope Joan.
I would love to hear what your thoughts are about the book Pope Joan!
A seasonal life. A short history of herding, and the art of making (goat) cheese.
This book was introduced to me by a recent interview with the author, on National Public Radio (NPR). When you are in a car, hear one of their (NPR) precious stories, and can't turn off the car because you have to finish hearing it, you know you have to follow up on the story. So we reserved the book at the library and just read it through.
This book is so much more than just a history. It encompasses their lifestyle change from New York City to a small New England town and their quest to live a more simple life. Their place was at the end of a dead end road with 75 acres of land. His (photographer) wife returned home one day with some goat milk from a neighbor and they decided to make some goat cheese...and 'WHAM' their lives were changed forever.
This turns into a very realistic and graphic account of our (human's) history, where we came from, our "so important" connection with animals that we as a people have herded. Brad Kessler is Jewish--But a poet, songster, and, mostly shepard at heart.
His book is strewn with the most comprehensive recent compilations of writing, song, and poetry related to our primeval reliance, and co-existence with all animals, specifically, maybe primarily the goat--this book connects food history with geographic, religious, political, mystical, lyrical, poetical, !! One small sample is an essay about the thought about origins of things like our own letter "A" coming from the Roman letter which is the Hebrew aleph derived from the word "ox". The animals head appears when the letter is inverted...with its two horns sticking straight up to heaven. Similar meanings for the letter 'C', 'H', 'L', 'I'...SO interesting. Even our own word "culture" which we are all so familiar with, is only the 5th meaning of the word which actually began with "agriculture", and on and on it goes.
It caused us to go and buy a French cheese "chevre" which is French for "goat", an appropriate name for a cheese so simple and unmanipulated, it's the closest thing to eating what the goats had been eating--herbs, grasses and hay transmuted through the art of cheesemaking. The graphic detail of the rutting season, the animals antics of the mating season and (incredibly) the making and using of the "Buck Cloth"...WOW!!! Now THAT'S some kind of 'foreplay' for sure.
The book is very interesting and entertaining and highly recommended!!
The Wandering Hill is the second book in Larry McMurtry's tetrology following Sin Killer (which was excellent).
The Wandering Hill picks up where Sin Killer left off, but it turned out to be very slow moving and was actually hard to finish. It does stay with the same good theme and the detailed and graphic type hardships that pioneers, travelers and explorers of the Old West endured. It is very realistic but just couldn't "get going".
I have not gone into the 3rd of his series because I decided to take a break and read another of Dean Koontz's science fictions for a change of pace.
Sin Killer was an excellent portrayal of our early American West and its trials and tribulations of what early travelers, pioneers and explorers experienced and endured. It is soberingly realistic and graphic which leads all the more to the authenticity of it all and its excitement. I enjoyed it thoroughly.
It is the first in a tetrology of the Old West circa early to mid 1800's.
The story of the Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent is based on the life of Martha Carrier and her family.
Martha Carrier was among the first women ever to be accused, found guilty and hung for being a witch during the Salem Witch Trials. The story is narrated by Martha Carrier's 10 year old daughter Sarah and reads as if it were her autobiography.
I love these types of stories and was ready to dig into it. The details and the plot of the story were good but overall it left me disappointed and unsatisfied, and ready to start my next book.
The pace in the beginning was slow and it took quite some time before the story would actually keep my interest up. Also, throughout the book the author would go into great detail that would catch my attention and get me excited, but then would quite often give away the cliffhanger by revealing too much information too early. And when I expected her to, or needed her to delve more into a character, she only supplied brief details and explanations and left you wondering even at the end. The storytelling just was not consistent.
The Heretic's Daughter was definitely a book to put down. If you felt otherwise write a comment and tell everyone what you thought.
If you would like to learn more about the author Kathleen Kent you can visit her web site.
A page-turner you can't put down, non-fiction, and scary! Read on!
Presently, a controversial flu vaccine is being grown using cancerous monkey cells. Millions of people were injected, or took orally, in the late 1950's and early 1960's, these doses of contaminated polio vaccines carrying the SV40 monkey virus, which causes multiple kinds of cancer. Today, most people now have SV40 monkeyvirus in their systems, but only in this book will you find the reason, why it was covered up, and its links to secret laboratories, murders, and assassinations.
This is an underground book sensation produced by a press famous for repressed books, but read the amazon.com reviews to see why this book is an important MUST READ.
If you are interested in learning more about this book or the author you can visit the author's web site for more information.
Jodie Picoult is without a doubt a very gifted writer. Although I have to say that her book Keeping Faith, was not my favorite.
Most people know Jodi Picoult's books tend to involve difficult moral conflicts and true to life accounts. In Keeping Faith, the author focuses on the controversial issues of spirituality; a topic that most people take extremely seriously, and often personally. When you read this book, you will no doubt ponder where your beliefs interweave among the gray area of believers and non-believers. This book raises a lot of questions and would be the cause of a lot of heated debates in any book club. But, if your just looking for a book to read for pleasure, I would recommend you find something else.
Each character that the author created played a very particular role within the story but without a lot of information or reasons as to why. I would have appreciated more background information about each character.
I found that the story was easy to get into, but was laden with predictability. The summary on the back cover gave away too much information and ultimately was a spoiler for me. It would have been nice to have been left with some surprises while reading. Not much was left to the imagination.
The most frustrating part for me was the ending. My initial reaction was complete bewilderment. I've read the last page over and over again and I still cannot come up with an definitive conclusion. I am unsure as to where the author wanted to take me in the ending of the story. If you have read this book and have ANY thoughts on what the ending means, please share your thoughts at CantPutDown.com
So! I would not recommend this book for leisure reading. But as a book club pick, definitely; you'll find yourselves debating for hours.
Grace doesn’t know what Crystal writes in her diary. She wants to know what its really like to be a teenage mum, but Crystal can’t tell her the truth. Her sister Shardonnay wants to be a popstar, and Grace just wants to be a rebel go out clubbing, but Crystal’s stuck at home ironing shirts and looking after baby Ricardo, so it’s no wonder she takes it out on him – right?
This is South Africa, one of the most turbulent places in the world. AIDS, violence, drugs – its not easy to make a future for yourself, and for Crystal it seems impossible.
Stained is well paced and builds to a horrifying climax. It is a harrowing, emotionally engaging story, and the prose is both well crafted and accessible. Whether you’re a teenager or adult, someone who struggles to read or finds it easy, Stained is an extremely satisfying read. I didn’t want to put it down even when I had read the last page, and came away feeling like I’d been on a rollercoaster!
Stained is gritty and down to earth. If you’re looking for a real-world story to feel passionate about, I thoroughly recommend this book.
