Book
Review
I'm totally into reading if you haven't noticed already and so I thought
I'd put together a little Book review type thing. It includes books
I read from 1999 on. I'll put the new ones in maroon
.
Happy Reading!
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An Act of Love by Nancy Thayer ~ 245 pages **
Pretty dumb book. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone unless
you have nothing to do.
Between Husbands and Friends by Nancy Thayer ~ 241 pages
**1/2
Not bad. Kind of entertaining. By the same author as An
Act of Love . This time the story was much more believable although
still on the dramatic side a bit.
Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen ~ 293 pages ***1/2
An amazing book about a woman who escapes from her abusive
husband. I couldn't put it down and by the end I wanted to find her
husband and kill him. Not really as feminist as you may think ;o)
Catching Alice by Clare Naylor ~ 328 pages ***
A really cute, light comedy. Something to read when you don't
want to use your head.
Chocolat by
Joanne Harris ~ 242 pages **1/2
The book is really different from the movie and I think this is the first
time I've liked the movie better. The characters are better developed in
the movie whereas the book mainly focuses on Vianne and the priest. The
movie captures things better than the book did but it was a fun read.
The
Color Purple by Alice Walker ~ 251 pages ***1/2
Another wonderful book by Alice Walker. So touching and written
in an interesting format.
Cradle and All by James Patterson~ 355 pages *1/2
Too many Biblical references so I didn't understand it. But
even then, any baby that turns into a wolf is too much for me to handle.
The only good part of the book is the very last sentence. :o)
Crime of Silence by Patricia Carlon ~ 192 pages **
It's classified as a murder mystery but I think they lost
the mystery part. They could have done so much more with it but they
didn't. Not bad but not great.
Divine
Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells ~ 356 pages **
A very
differently written book. I like how it doesn't go in chronological order.
The plot was kind of weak as were the characters. I expected more from the
"Ya-yas" especially. The ending was definitely too weak and too easily resolved.
Basically a wild Hindi movie.
Flesh
and Blood by Michael Cunningham ~ 465 pages *1/2
Even dumber than the last one. There's nothing in it but sex
and messed up families! It was such a waste of time!
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan ~ 332 pages ***
Not as good as the Kitchen God's Wife. I think it lost a lot of it's effects
because there were so many characters in the book. But as with her other
book, there were some paragraphs, quotes or chapters that are so moving
I had to read them over and over.
The
Kitchen God's Wife by Amy Tan ~ 532 pages ***1/2
Such an amazing book! There are a few passages in it that are really
moving. It's so easy to connect with the mother! I want to buy it!
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden ~ 428 pages ****
There are no words to describe this book! It was so amazing.
I just couldn't put it down and I was so captivated by the characters.
I can't wait to see the movie when it comes out.
Midwife's Story by Penny Armstrong ~ 250 pages ***
True story about a woman as a midwife. I read it right after
reading Midwives so I was intrigued by the subject. Quite
captivating.
Mother of Pearl by Melinda Haynes ~ 281 pages *
For some reason you want to keep reading it. Not cuz you're
hoping for an explanation or a story or a plot. But because you want
to know what in the world possessed the author to write a book that makes
no sense.
Nothing Lasts Forever by Sidney Sheldon ~ 398 pages ****
The best mix of everything I love: medicine, law and crime investigation!
I couldn't put it down; I read it one day. It was just an amazing book!
The Reader by Bernhard Schlink ~ 218 pages **
It's nothing great. You keep reading just cuz you want to
know what happens and it passes the time. No real climax.
The Runaway Jury
by John Grisham ~ 401 pages **
It was very disappointing considering it was a Grisham book. The plot is
weak, there's not much character development - if anything there are too
many characters - and when he finally gets around to piecing the puzzle together,
it's no dramatic event. In fact, you might even read over it and not realize
you missed the main point of the book.
Shampoo Planet by Douglas Coupland ~ 300 pages **1/2
It keeps you entertained but it's kinda dumb.
She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb ~ 465 pages **
A disappointing novel after reading Wally Lamb's second novel
I Know This Much is True(****). Not a bad book but read it
before I Know... because that one is so much better.
The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman
~ 288 pages ***1/2
I was supposed to read it for my Comparative Literature class
but got lazy. Then I was supposed to read it for my Medical Anthropology
class but I dropped it. Finally I read it for fun and I know I would
have enjoyed it more in my anthro class. True story about a family from
Laos who come here and need treatment for their ill daughter. Very nicely
written.
Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail by Malika Oufkir
~ 293 pages ***
It's based on a true story that is unbelievable. People can
be so cruel!
The Street Lawyer
by John Grisham ~348 pages **
It has an awesome plot about this big shot lawyer giving up everything
to help the homeless. But it's a little too "Hindi movie-ish" especially
in the end. The answers are too easy.
Summer Sisters by Judy Blume ~ 400 pages ****
A must read for all girls! You can relate in at least one
way to each of the girls in the book. I couldn't put it down it was
so amazing.
The Syndrome by John Case ~ 455 pages **
Great book until the end. The author must have been really
bored with writing it cuz it ends terribly.
Tell Me Your Dreams by Sidney Sheldon ~ 400 pages ****
I read this one in one night. It was my first Sidney Sheldon
novel and I was amazed! I couldn't sleep that night because I was
still wondering about the characters in the novel even after I was
done reading it. Unfortunately the last three lines of the novel threw
me off so if anyone figures them out let me know!