New York Times Bestsellers 8.30.06 August 30, 2006
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HARDCOVER FICTION
Top 5
1. JUDGE AND JURY, by James Patterson and Andrew Gross
2. RICOCHET, by Sandra Brown
3. INTO THE STORM, by Suzanne Brockmann
4. ANGELS FALL, by Nora Roberts
5. THE MESSENGER, by Daniel Silva
HARDCOVER NONFICTION
Top 5
1. MARLEY & ME, by John Grogan
2. FIASCO, by Thomas E. Ricks
3. I FEEL BAD ABOUT MY NECK, by Nora Ephron
4. THE WORLD IS FLAT, by Thomas L. Friedman
5. THE LOOMING TOWER, by Lawrence Wright
The Darkest Place August 15, 2006
Posted by sadiejean in Book Reviews, Mystery.Tags: Daniel Judson, The Darkest Place
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—2.5—
In Daniel Judson’s The Darkest Place young men are being found drowned in Long Island bays. One victim’s parents hire a private PI, and he and other characters, most notably college proffessor and author Deacon Kane, become involved in these twisted crimes. Kane’s life has been unraveling since the accidental death of his son, who drowned as well. The story is a thriller, but it was hard to care about the characters or the outcome of the story. Overall, the book was a bit of a dud.
(2.5/5)
A Good Place for Book Ideas August 11, 2006
Posted by sadiejean in Book News, Randomness.comments closed
If you like science related books a good place to look is the weekly newsmagazine Science News. Their books section is a “selection of new and notable books of scientific interest”, and is mostly composed of nonfiction books. While I don’t always want book on, say for example, the life cycles of butterflies (The Life Cycles of Butterflies: From Egg to Maturity, a Visual Guide to 23 Common Garden Butterflies by Judy Burris and Wayne Richards, 7/1/06), I did think the book on yellow fever looked interesting (Yellow Fever: A Deadly Disease Poised to Kill Again by James L. Dickerson, 6/3/2006). So, if you need book ideas, check out Science News.
The Book Thief August 9, 2006
Posted by sadiejean in Book Reviews, General Fiction.Tags: Markus Zusak, The Book Thief
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—5—
The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, was probably my favorite book so far this summer, and actually one of the best I’ve ever read. It is a story of a young girl, set in Nazi Germany, and narrated, fittingly enough, by Death himself. Liesel Meminger is a foster girl who has a passion for–stealing books, whether from Nazi book bonfires, the mayor’s house, or anywhere else she can find. She learns to read these books with the person she loves most in the world, her accordian playing Papa. In addition to these books, her life becomes filled with her neighboored friends, the young Rudy who loves her, her swearing Mama, and Max, the Jewish fist-fighter hiding in her basement.
Death is an elloquent narrator, caring, humorous, and scared of people, and he provides memorable details and perspective in this book. Zusak’s writing is almost poem-like sometimes, making the story seem like a dream. The Book Thief appears bulky at first sight, but it reads fast and is hard to put down. And the ending is heartbreaking. My only complaint would be that it got a little longwinded through the middle. But by the end it had made up for that. A fantastic book.
(5/5)
The intro to part one:
the grave digger’s handbook
Featuring:
himmel street – the art of saumensching – an iron fisted woman – a kiss attempt - jesse owens – sandpaper – the smell of friendship – a heavyweight champion – and the mother of all watschens
New York Times Bestsellers 8.9.06 August 9, 2006
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HARDCOVER FICTION
Top 5
1. ANGELS FALL, by Nora Roberts
2. PHANTOM, by Terry Goodkind
3. THE MESSENGER, by Daniel Silva
4. TWELVE SHARP, by Janet Evanovich
5. THE RUINS, by Scott Smith
HARDCOVER NONFICTION
Top 5
1. FIASCO, by Thomas E. Ricks
2. MARLEY & ME, by John Grogan
3. FREAKONOMICS, by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
4. THE WORLD IS FLAT, by Thomas L. Friedman
5. GODLESS, by Ann Coulter
The Butter Battle Book August 4, 2006
Posted by sadiejean in Book Reviews, Classic Literature, General Fiction.Tags: Dr. Seuss, The Butter Battle Book
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—5—
A Dr. Seuss I hadn’t read, I couldn’t believe it. And it turns out, I was missing quite a lot. This little book, The Butter Battle Book, was classic Dr. Seuss material, with Yooks and Zooks, Triple-Sling Jiggers, and Eight-Nozzled Elephant-Toted Boom Bliztes.
It is the story of the Yooks, who eat their bread butter side up, and their enemies across the way, the Zooks, who (gasp) eat their bread butter side down. The nerve of them. Because of their wayward buttering, the Zooks are not to be trusted. Grandpa Yook, the narrator, tells his grandson of his days as a Zook-Watching border patrolman. What follows is an arms race between the Zooks and Yooks, each building bigger and more elaborate weapons. However, they don’t attack the other side. Instead, they just keep building. For every technological advance the Yooks make, the butter down Zooks have matched them. At the end the two sides are left holding Big-Boy Boomeroo’s over the opposing sides land, at a stalemate.
The rhyming is great. The contraptions are smart and funny. The illustrations are colorful and inventive. And it’s a Cold War allegory. How about that for old Dr. Suess, huh.
(5/5)
New York Times Bestsellers 8.1.06 August 1, 2006
Posted by sadiejean in Randomness.add a comment
HARDCOVER FICTION
Top 5
1. PHANTOM, by Terry Goodkind
2. ANGELS FALL, by Nora Roberts
3. TWELVE SHARP, by Janet Evanovich
4. PEGASUS DESCENDING, by James Lee Burke
5. THE RUINS, by Scott Smith
HARDCOVER NONFICTION
Top 5
1. MARLEY & ME, by John Grogan
2. THE WORLD IS FLAT, by Thomas L. Friedman
3. CONSERVATIVES WITHOUT CONSCIENCE, by John W. Dean
4. THE ONE PERCENT DOCTRINE. by Ron Suskind
5. GODLESS, by Ann Coulter
Immune Response August 1, 2006
Posted by sadiejean in Book Reviews, Mystery.Tags: Immune Response, Steve Perry
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—4—
I was attracted to this book, Immune Response, because the main character was a Physician Assistant, a career I have not encountered in fiction before. Reviews I read put the book in a positive light, as well as the author, Steve Perry. To be honest, the book put me off at first. It was, well, dirty, and the writing style was choppy–sometimes–and some of the sentences seemed liked run-ons or fragments (which this sentence itself seems like also, huh?). But once the actual plot of the book got going, I couldn’t put it down.
Ric Scales, PA-C, runs a clinic in Washington near the Makah reservation, where he is the main medical help for the community. He finds that several of his terminal patients have completely recovered…and soon they are either missing or murdered. With Jay Hughes, the Tribal Deputy, Rick decides to figure out what exactly is happening to his patients.
I am glad I’ve had some medical experiences and a biology background, because the book is a little technical in parts. Also, the ending was too abrupt for my liking. Despite that, the book was exciting and good in general.
4/5
Stupid School August 30, 2006
Posted by sadiejean in Current Read Comments.add a comment
Textbook reading sure does get in the way of reading good things.