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Fiction
The Shanghai Moon by S. J. Rozan
The latest Lydia Chin/Bill Smith novel is a terrific find. It's been many years since the last entry in the series, but Rozan hasn't lost her touch. Especially interesting was the depiction of the Jewish experience in Shanghai. Apparently, Shanghai was one of the few places open to Jewish emigres fleeing WWII Europe - their story is fascinating and tragic. An enjoyable and ultimately satisfying read.
Strange Candy by Laurell K. Hamilton
Laurell is a pretty good writer, from a technical sense. She knows how to spin a yarn. But with her stories I always feel like I'm driving on a long gravel road for miles and miles and never reach my destination. Kind of a flat feeling at the end. These stories are alright. Each short story is fairly short, though I must admit that I didn't read the whole book because it just wasn't that interesting. If you're a faithful Laurell fan then go for it. But she doesn't grip me enough to continue reading her work.
Needful Things by Stephen King
This is a killer book! I loved it! Stephen King has a lyrical style of writing that draws you in and lulls you into a sense of well-being and then SHOCKS YOU! I think that's great. The story itself was very amusing and gripping, and though it's a very long book, I didn't have any trouble getting through to the end. Indeed, I very much wanted to see how it all turns out. And it makes you believe in goodness and rightness and doing the right thing when you have the chance. Something to think about. Great work Stephen!
Storm Front by Jim Butcher
So, okay, this wasn't the typical book I like. I usually go for paranormal romance, but I really did enjoy this book! It was fun and moved right along and it was quite adult even though it was easy reading. A very cool wizard, this guy Harry Dresden. I expect to read more in the series.
Nonfiction
Food Matters: a guide to conscious eating with more than 75 recipes by Mark Bittman
Bittman offers practical and pragmatic advice on how making small dietary changes can have a big impact on your health and the environment. While not advocating any specific diet, he makes a strong case for eating more plants and consuming less junk food. Includes lots of fascinating data and stories based on his own experience. Recipes are a bonus.
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson
Three Cups of Tea is a nonfiction account of one person's ability to make a marked difference in the life of children. Greg Mortenson was a mountaineer who had a failed attempt at the K2 summit. I have to admit that when I started reading about his summit expedition, I was not excited about another "Into Thin Air." I've scaled my fair share of mountains in Wyoming, Hawaii, Colorado and Wisconsin (Does Rib Mountain count?)but I just don't understand the need to risk one's life to get to the top. The friend who recommended this book told me very little of the content, just that it was a book I must read! But the book isn't really about Mortenson's mountaineering career. He found himself stranded in a small village in the shadow of K2 and he took the time to get to know the people. Once he realized that the children were attending classes outdoors even on the coldest of days, he became determined to build a school. He spent all his money, and used all his resources to raise money to build a school for all the children of the village, even the girls. But his work didn't stop there. He became determined that the only way to fight terrorism is to fight ignorance, by building one school at a time and empowering the young people of war-torn Pakistan and Afghanistan so they have a choice. This was truly an inspirational book and once again I reached for the tissues. I'm donating my copy to another library so there are more copies available. I encourage you to check it out today.
Movies
Playtime (Criterion Collection)
Tati's efforts here suffer some in bringing the film to DVD. It was originally filmed in 70mm and much is cropped out to bring it down to size. Shame. His timing for sight gags is still meticulous; the sequence in the adjoining apartments with all glass windows are priceless and you can only imagine what the impact of additional apartments would have been. This is the final film in the Mssr. Hulot trilogy. I found both the predecessors better. One note: even though these are french films they can stand on their own without sound. Visually great!
The Long Gray Line
Absolutely John Ford's worst movie, this story of an Irish immigrant who became an institution as a coach at West Point is an embarrassing mish-mash of saccharine sentimentality, Irish ethnic stereotypes, shallow patriotic cliche, cardboard characterizations, and bufoonish low humor. It embodies all of Ford's faults and none of his strengths: even the visual framing of the scenes, something Ford is usually an instinctive master of, seems pedestrian. Why some critics have praised the performances is beyond me: the actors give the sort of performance which lets you know they're really acting. To be fair, this film is a sentimental favorite and has many fans, but I myself could hardly keep a straight face watching it. I can recommend it only to Ford fans who want to see all of his work. The DVD transfer is good, with a full screen version on one side and widescreen on the other.
For Teens
Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston
Though this was a lovely story, I was very unsatisfied with the ending, and really many parts thoughout the book. It was well plotted in some ways, but touched on the surface too much instead of getting more into it. And the romance was not as in-depth as it SHOULD have been. It was sweet, but not very compelling. I wonder if the author left the ending the way it is so she could write a sequel? In my idea, that's not a good way to write a book. It should stand on its own. One more problem with this book is the character names. Kelley is not a very imaginative name for a fairy princess, and Sonny is a poor name for her love interest. Something more magical and ethereal would have been much better - since she's the daughter of two royal fairy beings. Just didn't make sense to me. All in all an Okay book, but not great.
The Vampire Diaries: the awakening and the struggle by L. J. Smith
The stories here were pretty good - all in all. The writing style was easy to read and moved along quickly and the story was not bad. But the ending was sad and I have to read the rest in the series to see if it comes out alright in the end. Basically this is a watered down version of the Twilight series, even though these came well before Twilight. But these are a bit scarier with not as much romance. Of course Twilight is the best of the best, so I shouldn't really compare. But if you like vampire stories with a bit of romance, you should like these.
For Kids
Dirty Joe, the Pirate: a true story by Bill Harley
Great illustrations and a super silly story. Kids love stories about forbidden words/things, like UNDERWEAR, so the story hooks them right away. And who in the world would want to steal dirty socks?! These pirates do, and it makes for a fun tale your kids will want to read over and over again.
What have you checked out lately? Add a review in the comments.
Fiction
The Shanghai Moon by S. J. Rozan
The latest Lydia Chin/Bill Smith novel is a terrific find. It's been many years since the last entry in the series, but Rozan hasn't lost her touch. Especially interesting was the depiction of the Jewish experience in Shanghai. Apparently, Shanghai was one of the few places open to Jewish emigres fleeing WWII Europe - their story is fascinating and tragic. An enjoyable and ultimately satisfying read.
Strange Candy by Laurell K. Hamilton
Laurell is a pretty good writer, from a technical sense. She knows how to spin a yarn. But with her stories I always feel like I'm driving on a long gravel road for miles and miles and never reach my destination. Kind of a flat feeling at the end. These stories are alright. Each short story is fairly short, though I must admit that I didn't read the whole book because it just wasn't that interesting. If you're a faithful Laurell fan then go for it. But she doesn't grip me enough to continue reading her work.
Needful Things by Stephen King
This is a killer book! I loved it! Stephen King has a lyrical style of writing that draws you in and lulls you into a sense of well-being and then SHOCKS YOU! I think that's great. The story itself was very amusing and gripping, and though it's a very long book, I didn't have any trouble getting through to the end. Indeed, I very much wanted to see how it all turns out. And it makes you believe in goodness and rightness and doing the right thing when you have the chance. Something to think about. Great work Stephen!
Storm Front by Jim Butcher
So, okay, this wasn't the typical book I like. I usually go for paranormal romance, but I really did enjoy this book! It was fun and moved right along and it was quite adult even though it was easy reading. A very cool wizard, this guy Harry Dresden. I expect to read more in the series.
Nonfiction
Food Matters: a guide to conscious eating with more than 75 recipes by Mark Bittman
Bittman offers practical and pragmatic advice on how making small dietary changes can have a big impact on your health and the environment. While not advocating any specific diet, he makes a strong case for eating more plants and consuming less junk food. Includes lots of fascinating data and stories based on his own experience. Recipes are a bonus.
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson
Three Cups of Tea is a nonfiction account of one person's ability to make a marked difference in the life of children. Greg Mortenson was a mountaineer who had a failed attempt at the K2 summit. I have to admit that when I started reading about his summit expedition, I was not excited about another "Into Thin Air." I've scaled my fair share of mountains in Wyoming, Hawaii, Colorado and Wisconsin (Does Rib Mountain count?)but I just don't understand the need to risk one's life to get to the top. The friend who recommended this book told me very little of the content, just that it was a book I must read! But the book isn't really about Mortenson's mountaineering career. He found himself stranded in a small village in the shadow of K2 and he took the time to get to know the people. Once he realized that the children were attending classes outdoors even on the coldest of days, he became determined to build a school. He spent all his money, and used all his resources to raise money to build a school for all the children of the village, even the girls. But his work didn't stop there. He became determined that the only way to fight terrorism is to fight ignorance, by building one school at a time and empowering the young people of war-torn Pakistan and Afghanistan so they have a choice. This was truly an inspirational book and once again I reached for the tissues. I'm donating my copy to another library so there are more copies available. I encourage you to check it out today.
Movies
Playtime (Criterion Collection)
Tati's efforts here suffer some in bringing the film to DVD. It was originally filmed in 70mm and much is cropped out to bring it down to size. Shame. His timing for sight gags is still meticulous; the sequence in the adjoining apartments with all glass windows are priceless and you can only imagine what the impact of additional apartments would have been. This is the final film in the Mssr. Hulot trilogy. I found both the predecessors better. One note: even though these are french films they can stand on their own without sound. Visually great!
The Long Gray Line
Absolutely John Ford's worst movie, this story of an Irish immigrant who became an institution as a coach at West Point is an embarrassing mish-mash of saccharine sentimentality, Irish ethnic stereotypes, shallow patriotic cliche, cardboard characterizations, and bufoonish low humor. It embodies all of Ford's faults and none of his strengths: even the visual framing of the scenes, something Ford is usually an instinctive master of, seems pedestrian. Why some critics have praised the performances is beyond me: the actors give the sort of performance which lets you know they're really acting. To be fair, this film is a sentimental favorite and has many fans, but I myself could hardly keep a straight face watching it. I can recommend it only to Ford fans who want to see all of his work. The DVD transfer is good, with a full screen version on one side and widescreen on the other.
For Teens
Wondrous Strange by Lesley Livingston
Though this was a lovely story, I was very unsatisfied with the ending, and really many parts thoughout the book. It was well plotted in some ways, but touched on the surface too much instead of getting more into it. And the romance was not as in-depth as it SHOULD have been. It was sweet, but not very compelling. I wonder if the author left the ending the way it is so she could write a sequel? In my idea, that's not a good way to write a book. It should stand on its own. One more problem with this book is the character names. Kelley is not a very imaginative name for a fairy princess, and Sonny is a poor name for her love interest. Something more magical and ethereal would have been much better - since she's the daughter of two royal fairy beings. Just didn't make sense to me. All in all an Okay book, but not great.
The Vampire Diaries: the awakening and the struggle by L. J. Smith
The stories here were pretty good - all in all. The writing style was easy to read and moved along quickly and the story was not bad. But the ending was sad and I have to read the rest in the series to see if it comes out alright in the end. Basically this is a watered down version of the Twilight series, even though these came well before Twilight. But these are a bit scarier with not as much romance. Of course Twilight is the best of the best, so I shouldn't really compare. But if you like vampire stories with a bit of romance, you should like these.
For Kids
Dirty Joe, the Pirate: a true story by Bill Harley
Great illustrations and a super silly story. Kids love stories about forbidden words/things, like UNDERWEAR, so the story hooks them right away. And who in the world would want to steal dirty socks?! These pirates do, and it makes for a fun tale your kids will want to read over and over again.
What have you checked out lately? Add a review in the comments.
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