Yes, I realize it is now January 1st, which means it's 2010, but since all but the last 20 pages of this book were read in 2009, it's counting for last year's total.
I used to be a huge John Grisham fan. A Time to Kill remains one of my all-time favorite novels. However, lately I've been disappointed with his writing. In my opinion, The Runaway Jury was the last good novel he's written. His last two full-length novels aren't nearly as good as his older works (The Associate seemed more like a bad re-write of The Firm, which I also loved). I had high hopes for Ford County, Grisham's recent book of short stories, as the stories take place in and around Clanton, Mississippi (the setting of A Time to Kill) I hoped he would return to his roots. Sadly, I was mostly disappointed with this book as well.
Ford County is a collection of 7 short stories, all very different from each other. In "Fish Files" we see Harry Rex, first introduced in A Time to Kill, and that's the only time any already familiar characters show up.
The only story in this collection that I really even liked at all was "Fetching Raymond," the second story in the book. In this story two brothers and their mother travel to see their third brother one last time before his execution. The look at this family on their way to such a tragic event, and the normalcy they maintained made the story compelling, but it was the only one to be so. I had a hard time staying interested in the rest of the stories.
If you're a die-hard Grisham fan, then you might as well give this book a try. If you've never read anything by him then I recommend you start with the earlier novels. They're all much, much better than his more recent works.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
This book is one that I've always thought about reading, but was never sure if it would really be something I was interested in. Then I heard Peter Jackson was making the movie, and I became a lot more interested (LOVE Peter Jackson). Then I started seeing commercials for the movie a few months ago and realized I really needed to read the book before I could see the movie.
After reading the book I can understand what all the hype was about. It was a fascinating story; having the murdered girl narrate the story made it so much more compelling than it could have been otherwise. For the most part I really did enjoy this book. It was well-written and absorbing. I found it hard to put down. However, I was a little disappointed with the way it ended. It wasn't at all the ending I was expecting. I won't go into it too much for those of you who haven't read the novel, but it just felt a little anti-climactic to me, without enough closure.
Then again, that's probably the way it's supposed to be; the main theme of the novel being about healing and moving on, not necessarily about righting wrongs.
Overall, I would probably recommend this book if anyone asked. It was a very good story, and I'm looking forward to seeing how the movie compares to the book.
After reading the book I can understand what all the hype was about. It was a fascinating story; having the murdered girl narrate the story made it so much more compelling than it could have been otherwise. For the most part I really did enjoy this book. It was well-written and absorbing. I found it hard to put down. However, I was a little disappointed with the way it ended. It wasn't at all the ending I was expecting. I won't go into it too much for those of you who haven't read the novel, but it just felt a little anti-climactic to me, without enough closure.
Then again, that's probably the way it's supposed to be; the main theme of the novel being about healing and moving on, not necessarily about righting wrongs.
Overall, I would probably recommend this book if anyone asked. It was a very good story, and I'm looking forward to seeing how the movie compares to the book.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Fallen by Lauren Kate
I won't say much about this book, because my formal review is going to be posted at some point on my friend's site, www.rambles.net , so I want to encourage you to go there and promote the site a little bit (it's a pretty neat site with reviews of a variety of books and music).
However, I will say that if you're tired of reading about vampires and werewolves this may be an interesting alternative for you. Fallen is the start of a new series, and I think it's a promising start. It seemed a little slow at first, but by the end I was really engrossed in the story and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next.
However, I will say that if you're tired of reading about vampires and werewolves this may be an interesting alternative for you. Fallen is the start of a new series, and I think it's a promising start. It seemed a little slow at first, but by the end I was really engrossed in the story and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next.
Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
I've only read two books by Murakami so far, but I can already tell he has a habit of writing really anti-climactic endings.
This novel focuses on two main characters, one a young boy who has run away from home and another an older man who after an incident during WWII now has mental handicaps. Like many of Murakami's books (from my understanding, though I've only read one other one) there is some magical realism involved; this book takes place in a world where fish fall from the sky, souls can leave bodies at night and wander and magical gateways exist to strange in-between worlds.
Kafka on the Shore was a really interesting book, for the most part. I was really enjoying it till I got to the last 100 or so pages. The story was really intriguing. However, like The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, the ending was only okay. I won't go into too many details, but it was somewhat disappointing. However, the rest of the book was really good so even with the lackluster ending, I would consider it a good book and worth my time reading.
This novel focuses on two main characters, one a young boy who has run away from home and another an older man who after an incident during WWII now has mental handicaps. Like many of Murakami's books (from my understanding, though I've only read one other one) there is some magical realism involved; this book takes place in a world where fish fall from the sky, souls can leave bodies at night and wander and magical gateways exist to strange in-between worlds.
Kafka on the Shore was a really interesting book, for the most part. I was really enjoying it till I got to the last 100 or so pages. The story was really intriguing. However, like The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, the ending was only okay. I won't go into too many details, but it was somewhat disappointing. However, the rest of the book was really good so even with the lackluster ending, I would consider it a good book and worth my time reading.
Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
Like the other two, it didn't take me long to read through this book for the third time, and like the other two I had trouble not liking it. I really tried, but I just couldn't help being drawn in by the story. It was hard to put the book down.
Again, I could see where some people find faul with this book, like how controlling Edward is when it comes to Bella wanting to spend time with Jacob, but I have trouble seeing it that way. Yes he was controlling, but he thought he was doing the right thing by Bella ... I don't know. I just can't not like these books even when I'm trying.
I'm starting my re-read of Breaking Dawn, and so far I'm feeling mostly the same way, although I do think in many ways Meyers could have ended the saga with Eclipse. Sure, there would have been some unanswered questions, like does Bella ever actually become a vampire, but I think in some ways Eclipse may have made a better ending than Breaking Dawn. We'll see when I get done reading it.
Again, I could see where some people find faul with this book, like how controlling Edward is when it comes to Bella wanting to spend time with Jacob, but I have trouble seeing it that way. Yes he was controlling, but he thought he was doing the right thing by Bella ... I don't know. I just can't not like these books even when I'm trying.
I'm starting my re-read of Breaking Dawn, and so far I'm feeling mostly the same way, although I do think in many ways Meyers could have ended the saga with Eclipse. Sure, there would have been some unanswered questions, like does Bella ever actually become a vampire, but I think in some ways Eclipse may have made a better ending than Breaking Dawn. We'll see when I get done reading it.
New Moon by Stephenie Meyer
Since I was re-reading Twilight I figured I might as well re-read the entire series. This time around I think I appreciated this second novel more, though it's still my favorite of the series (Twilight is definitely better than any of it's sequels). But just like with my re-read of Twilight I could see places where there were definite faults in the narrative, and the writing style was a little over-the-top (does Jacob really need to take his shirt off to staunch Bella's head wound? Really?)
I can definitely understand where people find fault with the series, but once again I had trouble putting this novel down. There's just something addictive about these books. And maybe it's just because I like Taylor Lautner's portrayal of Jacob, but I actually find myself sympathizing with Jacob more this time around than in the past.
I guess I'm just going to have to admit that even when I read them trying not to like them, I still love them for some reason I just can't describe.
I can definitely understand where people find fault with the series, but once again I had trouble putting this novel down. There's just something addictive about these books. And maybe it's just because I like Taylor Lautner's portrayal of Jacob, but I actually find myself sympathizing with Jacob more this time around than in the past.
I guess I'm just going to have to admit that even when I read them trying not to like them, I still love them for some reason I just can't describe.
Twilight by Stephenie Meyers
Yes, I know, roll your eyes. Even I can't really explain my fascination with these books. It's been over a year since I read them the first time so I thought maybe I would have a completely different perspective upon reading them this time, but unforunately no. I still could not put them down.
There's nothing spectacular about the writing of Twilight. Meyers' style is very simple and straightforward and at times seems a little over-the-top, but the story itself still sucked me in. Intellectually I know I shouldn't enjoy these novels so much, I have better taste in literature than that, but I just can't put them down.
There's nothing spectacular about the writing of Twilight. Meyers' style is very simple and straightforward and at times seems a little over-the-top, but the story itself still sucked me in. Intellectually I know I shouldn't enjoy these novels so much, I have better taste in literature than that, but I just can't put them down.
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