Traveling Through Books

Title: Waistcoats & Weaponry (Finishing School #3) Author: Gail Carriger Genre: Supernatural Steampunk YA fiction Read in: Nook ebook Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers I think that I may be forming a small bias towards Gail Carriger books. I simply love them. I have yet to read a story of hers that I don't thoroughly enjoy. This is the third installment of her Finishing School series. As with most series, I love the first installment the most. But this is now my second favorite of the series. This book seems more true to the characters that we first fell in love with. Once again, Carriger's wonderful use of language has me enthralled. This is her young adult series, so expect the story to be slightly less complicated and slightly more predictable than her Parasol Protectorate series. That is really my only complaint (like I said, I may be developing a bias). I love that these books are easy to read and full of action and adventure while still manag...

Title: This Is How You Lose Her Author: Junot Diaz Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Read in: Trade Paperback Genre: Fiction This is the first book in a while that gripped me from the beginning and that I really enjoyed reading. It could be that it spoke to recent events in my life, but I think that it's mostly because it is very well written. I have to be honest that I'm usually partial to the style and voice that emerges from latin authors. The way they express themselves is often so compelling and human; generally it gives the air of someone telling you a story, rather than you reading one. This Is How You Lose Her is written in first person narrative. It tells, in short segments, pieces of characters' lives; each segment showing some aspect of how relationships begin to fall apart. A strong theme throughout is infidelity, especially in the Dominican culture. I have to be honest that I know absolutely nothing about Dominican culture...

  Title: Love Letters to the Dead Author: Ava Dellaira Publisher: MICHEL LAFON Read in:   Nook eBook Genre: Young Adult Fiction   I had high hopes for this book; not simply because the protagonist has my name. It was recommended by authors I love as a phenomenol debut book. And while it wasn't bad. It was far from impressive. I felt like I was reading a the stories of Perks of Being a Wallflower and   Speak combined together. The big twist was highly predictable. But if the author, Dellaira, can find some originality there is hope for her to become a great author. She has many beautiful phrases and metaphors throughout the novel and her characters are well-devolped and easily identified with. However, I just couldn't fall in love with this book because I found it so very unoriginal. It made me want to re-read the two books I mentioned above. I hope that Dellaira finds a story of her own to tell- her writing can be beautiful. 

  Title: The Ocean at the End of the Lane Author: Neil Gaiman Read In: Nook eBook Genre: Fiction/Fantasy Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers   I love Neil Gaiman; he is an incredibly talented and probably strange man. If you're unfamiliar with his accomplishments and work, I highly suggest you check him out (http://www.neilgaiman.com/).     The Ocean at the End of the Lane is a short fiction book that is really like an adult fairy tale (not the Disney kind). It is written in first person narrative from an adult perspective of the protagonist's childhood memory. It tells the story of a magical, or spiritual, family that he encounters. Though like a fairy tale, I think this book reads like a mix of fantasy and magical realism. It is very well written. It is rather dark. I loved it. The story is not very complex, but it is deep and at under 200 pages it is a great read for this busy time of year.   The book is also ...

Title: The Water Wars Author:  Cameron Stracher Publisher:  Sourcebooks, Incorporated Read in:  Nook eBook Genre:  YA Apocolyptic Dystopia The Water Wars  by Cameron Stracher is set sometime in the future when the ice caps have melted and the world is almost completely out of fresh water. The story follows a young teen, Vera,  and her brother,Will as they risk everything for Kai. Kai has a secret ability that is priceless in their world. The concept of a world with little to no water really intrigued me. The execution of it, however, fell flat. While the story is action packed and filled with likable and hate-able characters; I just never really felt involved in what happened to any of them. There were several themes and issues that were not given enough time to sufficiently develop in the short 168 page novel. Overall, I think that with more development of themes and character and less focus on action this novel would have been much better. All t...

Title : Bitten (Women of the Otherworld Series #1) Author: Kelley Armstrong Publisher:   Penguin Group (USA) Read In: Nook ePub Genre: Urban Fantasy After American Psycho , I needed something less disturbing and easier to read, so I picked up Bitten . This book is fluff fiction; it takes very little thought and is gripping to keep you reading. I liked it. So far, there are 13 books in the Women of the Otherworld Series. While I'm pretty sure I won't read all 13, I may read a couple more. This book is well written. It reminded me of Sookie Stackhouse; supernaturals with a mystery to solve. The main difference is that this book is less humor driven and about werewolves. Elena, the protagonist, is a werewolf. In fact, she is the only female werewolf. When we meet her, she is struggling with her werewolf identity and her longing to have a place in the human world. Of course, a crisis drives her back to pack life, where she must reconcile who she is and who she wants ...

Title: American Psycho Author: Bret Easton Ellis Genre: Fiction Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group Read in: Nook ePub (eBook) WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS (Which I figure isn't too big a deal since the book was published in 1991) This is not a book for the faint of heart. In fact, it is the most graphic book I have ever read. It is graphic in every possible way; it is violent, sexually explicit and violent, verbally explicit, racist, and sexist. But it works. This book, for many reasons was very hard for me to read. I'm very glad to have read it and really have enjoyed tearing into it. It is not something I will ever read again. The book is (mostly) told in first person narrative by Patrick Bateman. Bateman is very wealthy from both family money and his job as a wall-street exec. His friends are all also wealthy. They live in New York City. The majority of the book takes places in restaurants and clubs where they do nothing but rack u...