Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Books #11 - #19

Prior to owning a kindle, I'd never felt the need to keep track of how many books I'd read during a given year.  But now, I can't control my OCD when I'm managing my content on Amazon.  It's as if the list of books is yelling, "How many have you read? Make a list.  Make it now. You know you want to."

So here's what I've read since the last time I posted my book reviews:

#11 - Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult
#12 - After Birth by Elisa Albert
#13 - The Execution of Noa P. Singleton by Elizabeth L. Silver
#14 - The Magicians by Lev Grossman
#15 - Grandma Gatewood's Walk by Ben Montgomery
#16 - Shakespeare Saved My Life by Laura Bates
#17 - American Sniper by Chris Kyle
#18 - Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
#19 - Still Alice by Lisa Genova

And here are my comments:

Leaving Time - Excellent.  I rated this 5 stars until about 75% through and then I had a lot of questions, some things weren't making sense.  But then it all came together.  And the sections of the book focusing on the elephants tie it all together.  Don't skim through those thinking that it's filler.  It's not.

After Birth - Blah.  Reviews for this book kept popping up on my twitter feed one weekend and when I went to check out a book from the library, it was available, so I checked it out.  I suppose I could have gotten over the fact that it didn't have a real plot, but the lamenting over being forced to have a c-section and the constant judging of those who feed their babies formula, or poison as it is referred to, annoyed the crap out of me.  There was potential here but it failed.

The Execution of Noa P. Singleton - I loved this book.  It's a page turner and definitely deserves more than the 3.5 stars it's currently rated on Amazon.

The Magicians - Normally, I would never read a book like this, which is kind of the reason why I decided to read it.  I had six (the maximum number allowed) e-books on hold at the library and I came across this book looking for something immediately available.  It was well written and held my attention but I just couldn't get past the fantasy stuff.  I'll probably read the other two books though, just because I want to know what happens.

Grandma Gatewood's Walk - Another Appalachian Trail book.  I wasn't expecting this book to be as interesting as it was.  Very well written and inspirational.  It's crazy to think that a grandmother hiked the entire trail by herself with hardly any gear.  More than once.  Makes those who quit look like complete wimps.

Shakespeare Saved My Life - Really quick read with a very thought provoking topic.  Do inmates deserve to be educated?

American Sniper - Extremely interesting.  I haven't seen the movie but plan to.  I would recommend this book to anyone.  Definitely deserving of 5 stars.

Unbroken - This book was very well written, interesting and so very inspirational.  I wish there had been more written about his life after the war though as it felt like the book came to an abrupt stop.  Another movie to see.

Still Alice - Great book.  It was such a quick read that I feel it had the potential to be a much longer, deeper novel.  I can't fault the author for writing it the way she did though.  And yes, another movie to watch.

6 comments:

Julie said...

I look forward to your book posts, adding a few to my wishlist now! My favorite that I've read recently was the Nightingale by Kristin Hannah...amazing if you love historical fiction!

Katie said...

Ugh, Still Alice. I loved it (one of my favorites in a long time) but it made me so sad. The book is way better than the movie but I cried more in the movie and am glad I saw it. Julianne Moore was phenomenal.

mel brouard said...

I have been to two talks by Jodi Picoult. Her fanbase is massive here in South Africa. She even comes to my city although its small. I always find them very interesting, the last was on lone wolf and the most recent was on leaving time. I saw unbrokem at tbe movies and really want to read it now. We seem to have similar taste as I really enjoyed the invention of wings. Have you read the lovely bones by alice sebold or room vy emma donoghue?

Grace said...

I read "Leaving Time" too, but I didn't like the ending. I kind of feel duped. I normally love the crazy endings Jodi Picoult crafts, but this one upset me.

Christi said...

I loved Still Alice. I loved that it was told mostly from Alice's point of view.

The Kindle has really increased my reading too. I never thought I'd like it as much as I do.

Did you know you can get an eCard for the Boston Public Library system? They have so many more e-books and audio books available than my local MA library network.
https://www.bpl.org/general/circulation/borrowers.htm

Sarah said...

Christi - I read this to Rich. We hadn't even thought of BPL. Thank you! Our library has a fairly decent selection but there have been many times that I've looked for a book and they don't have it.