Sophie Kinsella has me hooked. I picked up the book yesterday evening and finished it by morning for I just couldn't put it down. There is no great murder mystery, and you even know who the culprit is quarter way into the book.
Yet, yet - the author's colorful scenes and funny twists have you wondering what could possibly happen next in the world of workaholic, never cooked an omelette or made a bed Samantha who is so shocked by the fact that she's made a big boo boo at work that she ends up as a house keeper in the middle of no where.
What follows is a wonderful journey of experience and epiphanies for the heroine and the reader. For someone who might be at loss as to what their life's purpose is, this book has some valuable lessons to offer, should you choose to look for them close enough.
The little sparks of fire of passion or humor that Kinsella throws in are spectacular to revitalize your reading experience.
I picked this up just because it's on the N.Y Best Seller list. And I still do not have much of an opinion on it.
The story of a man who orders a mail order bride and a bride who had other plans is not out of the ordinary. The whole story was pretty much predictable as each person's charachter unfolded. No big twists or surprises there.
The writing on the other hand, has it's highs and lows. There are points when you empathize with each charachter and picture the scenario with grave vividness and feel the sensuality in a given scene. The morbidity of the setting has you wondering how you could possibly survive in such worlds. Then there are points when you wish the author had more of something to say via the story. So much more could have been done with such complex charachters. Also, the repetition of how people are prone to going mad is kind of irksome.
I got through the whole book solely for the reason that I've read rave reviews about it and it failed to impress. The end had me reeling with loss of words.
The Lost Symbol - I picked this book up, inspite of the cool reviews it got from acquaintances. And I must say it deserves the cool reception it's been getting. Dan Brown seems to have lost his touch with building a plot and keeping the reader on edge. Reading the book was like sitting in a histroy class, though personally I think even that is much more fun. The extensive passages about masons and history of symobolgy etc and the constant jump in time line between the present and past had my head reeling. I read half and then due to lack of time ( I had to return the book in two days ) jumped to the end and did Not feel I missed out on anything. The ending was not at all surprising or enlightening in any way. In fact, I felt I could have done without the continuous presentation of listless twists like badly done magic tricks !!
What I personally liked about the book though is the concept that every thought and soul has weight and with enough positivity, both can make a genuine difference in today's world as we all together work towards postive goals, wheather by thought or by action. Truly inspiring idea !! Maybe that is what Brown should have used as the idea of his book, rather than a sub plot.
Here's hoping Mr. Brown sharpens his writing tools and gives us more refreshing writing that brings him on par to his previous outstanding, mind boggling books.
Well, by now anyone who knows me knows full well that I'm a Lee Child/Jack Reacher die hard fan. So there's not much to say here. This book had me thinking about a lot of things. About how hard it is for women in the armed forces to get through what men usually find comparitively easy. How hard it is for rape victims to live each day after, facing their demons. How difficult it is for a person to understand what they truly want from life and how to get there.
On the other hand, I wasn't very pleased with the ending of the book for personal reasons, so that would depend on the person reading.
Yet in the writing, each page grips you and you can go through the whole book in one sitting if you have the time. All I can say is Go Reacher !!!
I have been disillusioned of Patterson's writing in a while now. I've been sick of the series' books he's been putting out there. They make reading work somehow, where one has to dredge through the pages. Yet I picked this one up on a whim just to see how Patterson is doing these days. And I have to admit I was eating up my own words.
The book though kind of predictable in the beginning, takes turns one would not expect. The events following had me thinking , " Now what ?? " A fun thriller that had me hooked once I got through the first couple of chapters.
It also had me thinking. It's so natural for a person to make a mistake where emotions and trust are concerned. Most of us just want to believe in the good of the people we love and sometimes, that belief turns into blind faith where we don't really know or maybe even want to know the other shades of those people. We let things slide one after the other, till the point when we have to Stop and choose to do the right thing.
Patterson and his co author ' Michael Ledwidge' have done a wonderful job in putting together a book of a lady whose innocent desire of an eye for eye lead her down a astonishingly twisted path. How far does a person go to save our happiness ?
Only issue I had with the book was the gaps in reality and lack of definition of a few charachters. Don't know what I'm talking about ? Read the book and find out .. :)
I saw the movie last year beginning and found it so so. Read the book and found it relatively the same, yet there is something that has you turning the pages and seeing next scene. Stephenie meyer brings nothing impressive to the actual writing. Yet her conceptualization of a vamipire and their supposed world is interesting enough to hold your attention.
In this book, we find an accident prone girl who considers herself different from her present surroundings and is trying her best to fit in. She comes across a boy who draws her in with his every look and action. She gets so involved in his world that she loses sight of her own, not regarding the dangers present.
My personal take on the subject on teenage love and infatuation not withstanding, the book and movie are fun for someone into the supernatual, who has nothing better to do on a dark night.
By now anyone who knows me, knows I've become a big, Big, BIG fan of Jack Reacher novels. So don't expect anything except high praise.
This book is once started doesn't let one put it down. You can spend the whole day wrapped in the world of Jack Reacher and his logical deductions. It even has you thinking about the complexities of today's world and feeling admiration for the great hero. I hate to admit it but I have a crush on Jack Reacher. ;) Too bad he ain't real !! :p
This book is a thinking man's book for those who love mystery, thrill and action. The best part about Jack Reacher novels is you don't need to have read one to be connected to the other.
In this particular book, we have Jack Reacher coming to the rescue of a man who undoubtedly has massacred people and yet who believes that Reacher can prove that he didn't.
So far, I've finished reading all of the below -
Bad luck and Trouble
Nothing to Lose
The Hard Way
Killing Floorand am planning to finish all the books in the series.
Like every other book by her, Sophie Kinsella doesn't dissappoint in this one either. Charming, amusing and emotional in just the right dose, this book makes for the ideal read on those days when you feel you need a break from the world.
At times you even find yourself identifying with the heroine and her feelings. The best part of the read for me was the ability to put it down or read on through the night. So ladies, have a break, have a Kinsella ! :D
I finished this in 4 hours flat. Made for a light read. Nothing spectaculor but nothing boring either. Just a book, that's easy on the eyes and mind and yet, keeps you entertained in it's own way.
The story is pretty predictable like a Mills and Boons, yet it has some wonderful points thrown in about relations and how people take each other for granted, irritate each other and yet family is always there for you, no matter what. Nice one!
Okay ! I did not get the relation of the title with the story but it hardly matters. My first Lee Child read and wow !!
Every review on the front and back flap hold true with this one. After ages, a new read held me in it's grip and it was absolutely hard to put it down. Jack Reacher, the protagonist has you in awe of him a few pages into the book. The story is actually like a train gathering speed and taking you along for the ride.
It has you thinking about the soldiers and what all they end up doing in the name of duty. It has one aghast at the horrors of torture falling upon unsuspecting souls. It has you amazed with the detail with which each action/ situation is described. It has you wondering about small sacrificies for the greater good !!
All in all, cant' wait to get my hands on earlier Lee Child offerings :D
Another fantaulous piece by Dan Brown. I just love this book. Bought it at the library for 50 cents and was flying in the air. Read it in one day like the old times and it was still as amazing as ever, even though it was the 2nd time I was reading it.
If you like murder, mystery and thrills with a lot of scientific mumbo jumbo thrown in, this is the book for you. It'll keep you hooked to the VERY end !!
After ages, here is a book that I picked up and couldn't put down. Well, only when I absolutely have it. The theme is simple, friendship but the story is Incredible. About two girls and their growth into woman hood and the paths down which their choices lead them.
Kristen Hannah has surpassed herself with this one. The characters, the questions, the lives, the thought of each character take you on the journey of a life time. A true journey of self discovery.
I found myself posing questions to myself and wondering about my friends. I wonder if being with your family is truly lesser than having a career ? I wonder which of the two is truly important. Monetary benefits are always high up on the lists of most people, yet in the end we all live our lives searching for what makes us happy. As long as we are happy living life the way we want it, in the end do we have any regrets truly ?
Well, I hope someone else reads this and gets back to me on what questions their minds posed to them ...
A most pathetic book that I've persevered through in ages. So much could have been done with the characters and story. And yet it was just Blah ! I thought at least the ending would have been imaginative, yet as the murderer was easily figured out as soon as the character is introduced. I'd stay away from this one as it has nothing to offer. Can make for some light reading for the thinking of the dead guy though, for he has some very sound advice to pass on from the beyond.
After speaking glowingly about Brown in my earlier posts, I was bitterly dissappointed as I went through the pages in the beginning. The book is about a woman falsely ( supposedly ) accused of murdering an ex lover and how her situation bears uncanny resemblance to an incident a couple of years back. The suspect in that episode is the hero and this lady go on to figure out what is the true cause of these smoke screens put up. The story seemed to drag ( even though one can guess much of it ) and there was lot of unnecessary descriptions and twists put in. The trusting nature and lack of common sense of the main characters is unbelievable. But then half way through the book, the story picks up speed and is neatly summarized up in the end. The main culprit can be guessed much earlier on, but the curves put in tend to throw you off track for a few pages. On the whole, the book had a very hardy boys feel to it.
An Amazing book. The story about a girl wanting to live her life on her own terms , is totally moving but this is not a story just about the girl. It's a journey of self discovery made by each character and even by the reader. Many of the times, we don't see what's right in front of us, or end up taking someone we love for granted or we just don't listen to what's being said to us. These are just a few of the lessons I learnt. You might learn something else. This is a book one must Not miss !!
Since I read " Breath of a Scandal ", I've become a fan of Sandra Brown. She always guarantees me a decent read no matter what the story. These days, as I plow through books, I often find myself dissappointed or just plain bored after the first few pages. Or I end up having a headache with some of the abstract writing I see around.
That never happens with Brown. Even if the story is not very imaginative, the read not disappointing.
As is with Crush. It's about Dr. Rennie Newton, a strong female adept at her job whose stuck between a rock and a hard place, so to speak :) Then, there's Wick the detective whose pretty much a lose cannon. And these two are pitted against Lozada, a man possessed with the thought of having Rennie all to himself.
Each character has it's own flavor and inner trials to face coming out a renewed person. You find yourself questioning your own values as each one questions theirs. Read this one when you have nothing better to do, and I'm sure you'll enjoy it too.
An Ok read. The story is about this girl who has an imaginary friend and grows up to find that he's her one true love. The concept is unique and handled well, from two different points of view. Though I feel there is a Lot more that could have been done with the story. At the end you are left wanting as to what the book actually had to say. It's one of those books that one would read, remember the idea behind it and then forget all about it for it had nothing new to offer, I guess. I for one, would have liked to know more about the imaginary friend, their powers and would have preferred more depth to the charachters and the story between the girl and her friend.
I did enjoy the development of the heroine's charachter but it was too much a result of a catalyst rather than defined by her or reason, which was dissappointing.
I wonder what is with patterson coming out with so many books that are co authored. Does he write Any part of it ?? It certainly doesn't seem to be his style At all ... Hmmmmm ???!!!
This book is a pleasure to read from page 1. Hannah uses lovely play of words to describe things and even the dialogues, feelings of people is very down to earth and Real. Thoroughly enjoyed the every page. It's the story of a woman, who after years of being a wife, and mother finds herself alone again, finding her way hesitantly but surely through life and love. There is some conflict between the character of the heroine from her younger years and later but then I guess people do change over time . It's a truthful book about how people lose themselves in who they Think they should be, as opposed to be, what they really are ...
Specially loved her daughter and the character of Izzy . The description of each character's issues and their recovery from their pain is just beautiful and inspiring. It's so important to know the difference between loving someone and being loved ...
Just finished this today. An easy read about the life and times on a man, whose given one more day with the one person who cared for him the most. The person he took for granted every step of the way. It's a good book, with a lot of insights into our day to day lives and how we do the same at times, though I can somehow relate more to the mother than him. I just don't know why people find it so easy to give up on themselves, their lives and everything around them when there are so many others who have so much lesser. Sigh !! But worth a read on those cozy days when you want to feel something as you read. Wouldn't call it memorable but it has it's moments ...
