I finished The Prince of Mist and was very underwhelmed by the experience. I knew going in that it was a young adult book, but even that genre can tell a good tale. This book was poorly developed with a mysterious Dr. Cain boogeyman who was never explained or vanquished. The reading level seems more on par with 9-12 years of age, and I was probably thinking in the 14-18 group instead. The only thing this book has going for it is the author's later work. It's amazing to me that Carlos Ruiz Zafon wrote this novel and four books later produced the masterpiece Shadow of the Wind. I'm reading My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult next. I've been meaning to read Picoult for a long time, and I was given this book for Christmas several years back. About time to finally get around to it.
Just finished up My Sister's Keeper, and it was an engrossing read. It's the story of a girl with Leukemia, whose parents conceived a donor child for umbilical cord blood, marrow transplants, and eventually a kidney transplant. By the time the younger sister hits 13, she sues for medical emancipation so she doesn't have to donate the kidney. Picoult is pretty talented at presenting different viewpoints. Every chapter is from a different POV, ranging from the younger sister, her delinquent brother, and both parents. Other chapters relating to the lawyer and guardian ad litem, and their unresolved fling from high school felt forced and really had no place in the novel. I was impressed that I would hate a character one chapter, and then have a great deal of empathy for them when a chapter was written from their point of view. The novel tackled a lot of issues, and Picoult handled them really well. As a parent of young children, reading about a 2 year old developing leukemia was gut wrenching. From a dispassionate perspective, the parents took unethical paths to save their oldest daughter, but as a parent, I think I would do just about anything to save one of my children. It did fall apart at the end with a twist ending that was completely unnecessary. Picoult had built towards a dignified, powerful ending then IMO cheated. The epilogue felt like it belonged to a different novel and took away from the overall novel. Despite my misgivings over the ending, I am looking forward to reading more Jodi Picoult. I have zero intention of seeing the film. There's no way they could capture the raw emotions of the book, and Cameron Diaz is so not the right actress to play the mom. I'm going to re-read The Book Thief by Markus Zusak for a book club. I've talked about this book before in these reading threads, and I cannot recommend it enough. It's the story of a girl growing up with foster parents outside of Munich during WWII. It's a fascinating look at non-Nazi, civilian life in Germany during this time, and you get the added benefit of learning to swear in German. Zusak has written young adult books before so it's classified as young adult fiction, which is an absolute crime. In his native Australia, this book is not classified as such. It's at times funny, powerful, heartbreaking, and hopeful. This really is an absolutely beautiful book, and one of the best I've ever read.
I just finished Ozzy's new autobiography, "I am Ozzy." If you like truth-is-stranger-than-fiction rock & roll epics like Motley Crue's "The Dirt", this is a must-read. How Ozzy is still alive is quite beyond my understanding.
The more I think about My Sister's Keeper, the angrier I get about the ending of that book. I was irritated when I put it down, but I kind of want to burn it now. It really pissed over everything the author had built up to that point.
I'll check this out. I loved The Dirt and The Heroin Diaries, among others in this genre. I'm about 60 pages into The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest. Haven't gotten completely sucked into it yet, but that may just be due to how much I got wrapped up into the first 2 books in the series.
I realize this request is several days old, and was made to Deckard, but I'd highly recommend Ilium/Olympos by Dan Simmons who is sort of a genre-hopping author. As a 'series' it is only two (albeit lengthy) books, but it would probably be an especially good read for someone who isn't hyper-focused on science fiction.
any sports books you guys recommend? can be about any sport really, biographies are fine too. looking to pick up a couple books.
Right now am I reading a John Lennon biography entitled "Lennon Revealed" written by Larry Kane, a journalist who spent a lot of time covering the Beatles during their American tour back in 1964, he also had a friendship with John. It is a very compelling read if you're into the Beatles or John Lennon at all, very candid and honest.
I'm currently reading 7 Seconds or Less by Jack McCallum. Really good read about the 2005 Phoenix Suns. Not only does it dive deep into major story lines over that season like Amare's work ethic (or lack thereof), Steve Nash's rise to a spot among the league's top point guards, and Shawn Marion's constant battle with feeling under appreciated, but it talks about smaller things like the delegation of powers among the assistant coaches, D'Antoni's distaste in the progress of role players like Pat Burke and James Jones, and Raja Bell's quest to prove that he isn't a bad guy despite all the evidence saying he is. McCallum focuses mainly on giving detailed game-by-game commentary from the playoff series the Suns competed in, but he also goes back to important points from the regular season. Sorry if this book has been mentioned before in the thread; I didn't go back and read many of the previous posts.
Reading the legendary Dark Elf Trilogy by R.A. Salvatore. I've been hearing about it for years, and I finally found the collected trilogy in hardcover at Half Price Books for $9. So far, it's very good. Fantasy has evolved and is much deeper than it was when these books were written. I think I would have liked it more 20 years ago. I'm also listening to The Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson audiobook. I've already read the book, but it's refreshing to hear character names pronounced and have little details filled in that I missed or forgot.
I've actually knocked out quite a few good sports reads in the past year. For a quick, fun (see: bathroom) read, try God Save the Fan by Will Leitch. You might recognize Leitch as the original editor of Deadspin.com. This book is divided into "chapters" that each chronicle a story that was a huge hit on Deadspin. Stories include the Michael Vick-Ron Mexico story (the lack of media coverage on this story was the original motivation for Deadspin as it turns out), the (first) Big Ben sexual assault story, "You're with me, Leather", and Leitch's attempt to watch 24 straight hours of sports television. Meat Market by Bruce Feldman is a must-read if you are a major college football fan, particularly if you are the type of fan that reads Rivals.com and follows recruiting rankings. This book follows Ed Orgeron and his staff while he was the head coach of Ole Miss. Gives you an inside look at just how intense the recruiting business it is. It also gives you an idea of how easily these high school kids can be swayed one way or the other. On Rocky Top by Clay Travis is another good college football read. You'll enjoy this book if you are a fan of Bill Simmons-type writing. Travis follows the Tennessee Volunteers for an entire season. He has almost unlimited access to the players and coaches all season. He uses a lot of humor in his writing (similar to Simmons), which was needed given the struggles of the Vols during said season.
I've also heard about that trilogy and have been meaning to pick it up. I'll add that to my buy list and keep an eye out at Half Price for it. I've picked up all but the 9th book of Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen and am looking forward to some serious reading this December. Book 10 comes out in January, and I've holding off so I can read the whole thing straight through. A few other book release dates: Scott Lynch's Republic of Thieves. The third book of The Gentlemen Bastards comes out Feb 17, 2011. Patrick Rothfuss's The Wise Man's Fear. The sequel to The Name of the Wind is out March 1, 2011 It's not a Matthew Corbett novel (DAMN YOU!!!), but Robert McCammon has a new book called The Five, which will be published Feb, 2011.
Finished Crime and Punishment. I then read a collection of Kafka, which has given me a new (and better) understanding of the term "kafkaesque". I worked through some more of Tolkien's History of Middle Earth and read two books by Micheal Lewis, Panic and The Big Short. Great books on how wall street ****ed over america.
Pistol about Pete Maravich. I wrote a thread in the Dish about it a couple of years ago when I finished it. I'm reading I, Sniper, by Stephen Hunter. It's good summer fun.
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. I'm about 120 pages in and it's really started to pick up and get good. It's been sitting on my shelf for about a year, and now that I've started it, I'm upset with myself for putting it off for so long.
having a hard time with it. i'm reading under the dome by stephen king at home and a book by an undercover atf agent who infiltrated the hells angels when i'm away from home. i'm not in good enough shape to carry under the dome around.
Since I've been playing a lot of StarCraft 2 lately, I decided to pick up StarCraft 2: Heaven's Devils. The story is about the origins of Jim Raynor and Tychus Findlay, and how they started their friendship. It's essentially a sort of prequel to Wings of Liberty. I'm about halfway through and I'm liking it so far.
