Traveling Through Books

Book 58: "Something Borrowed" by Emily Giffin Verdict: I'm Unsure After reading "Something Borrowed" I find myself conflicted as to how I feel about it. It captured my attention, I enjoyed reading it, and it is well written. However, I still am unsure of how I feel about the actual story. For those of you who have yet to read this book-or see the movie, which was surprisingly accurate- be aware that this review is a spoiler, so if you want to be surprised, stop reading now.   The main character of this story is Rachel and the book is written in first person from her point of view. Rachel is a very likable character, she is an all-around good person, excepting the fact that she falls in love and has an affair with her best friend's fiance. Though this is not acceptable, she does not pretend that it is, which I appreciate. Darcy, her lifelong best friend, is also very difficult to like. She is selfish, greedy, attention hogging, and not a very g...

Title: Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith Author: Jon Krakauer Genre: True Crime, Non-Fiction Read in: Trade Paperback Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group I'm honestly not sure where to start with this review. Having finished the book on Monday, I've been ruminating over it all week and trying to figure out exactly what to write about. It is definitely a good book; well-written, compelling, and (obviously) gets the reader thinking. This non-fiction true crime book discusses the 1984 murders of Brenda Lafferty and her infant daughter Erica by Ron and Dan Lafferty (Brenda's brother-in-laws). The reasoning behind the brothers committing the murders is rooted deep in the history of Mormonism and their practice of Mormon Fundamentalism. Krakauer digs into the history and origin of the Mormon faith and the schisms of Fundamentalists it has since produced. I will be honest that much of this book is terrifying. The history of Mormonism, much l...

Books 55, 56, and 57: The King Raven Trilogy by Stephen Lawhead Verdict: An interesting new take on Robin Hood This trilogy is a new take on the Robin Hood legends. Set in the Medieval era in England, it tells the story of Bran ap Brychan fighting to regain his usurped kingdom and protect the now oppressed people of his realm. The trilogy is comprised of the books, Hood , Scarlet , and Tuck .    Hood is the first book and is written mostly from the perspective of Bran. The storyline covers the orgins of Bran's tale: how his throne is usurped; how he becomes an outlaw; and his first attempts to have his throne returned. It introduces most of the characters that are well known in the legends, Marian, Tuck (Aethelfrith), and Little John (known as Iwan). There are also narratives from other characters, as well as third person narrative when speaking of the invaders activities; a format that continues throughout the series. Book two, Scarle...

Book 53: "Dead Reckoning" (Sookie Stackhouse #11) by Charlaine Harris  Verdict: If you've read the others, why not read this? "Dead Reckoning" is the latest installment of the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. The book before this was definitely not the strongest of the series, but Harris made a comeback with "Dead Reckoning". This book returned to what makes this series great. Some things that returned to this book include: action, mystery, old favorite characters, and new characters as well.  Among my favorite returns are Bubba and, of course, Eric. This book leaves you hanging on the edge for more, so beware, you'll be dying for the next book. All that being said, Harris really does need to end the series soon. I hope that she does so while the story-lines are still good, before it all gets old. I really don't want to see this series go on past its prime. Book 54: "Deadlocked" (Sookie Sta...

Title: Calamity (Reckoners Series #3) Author: Brandon Sanderson Read in: Nook ePub Publisher: Random House Children's Books Genre: YA SciFi/Fantasy, alternate reality This is the final installment to Brandon Sanderson's Reckoners Series . I really enjoy these books. The series includes: Steelheart , Mitosis (short story set in this world), Firefight , and Calamity . They are suspenseful, funny, entertaining, and character driven. They also manage to surprise me and keep me guessing about what, exactly, is going to happen. To recap, this series is set in an alternate reality where people began developing superpowers, following the appearance of Calamity, a bright red light in the sky. Those that develop powers are called Epics. For some unknown reason, Epics are selfish, power hungry, evil individuals; regardless of who they were prior to becoming an Epic. The Reckoners are an underground group of people that fight and/or kill Epics. Each book, they learn a little mo...

Title: All the Light We Cannot See Author: Anthony Doerr Publisher: Scribner Read In: Hardcover Genre: Historical Fiction This book won the Pulitzer Prize and it should have. The first book in a while that I loved. It was hauntingly beautiful and sad. Set in WWII, it follows the story of Werner Pfennig, a gifted orphan who is drafted into the Nazi army to pinpoint enemy radios in his attempt to escape the fate of his parents, who died in a coal mine. It also follows Marie-Laure LeBlanc, a blind french girl who helps her father protect a precious artifact from the Parisian nature and history museum. Then there is the German Nazi who is helping Hitler hunt down the gems, art, and valuable artifacts of the nations they invade to add to the great collection Hitler believes the new order will need. There are hundreds, millions of books that are about and take place in WWII. The atrocities and complexities of the event can never be explored thoroughly enough. But the amount of inf...

Books 51 and 52: The Dwarves and The War of the Dwarves by Markus Heitz Verdict: Good, but not a must read As you can probably tell by the titles, this two part* (as far as I know) series is a fantasy series about Dwarves. This is really what drew me in to reading them. Dwarves, if you read fantasy, are always side characters, loveable friends, or the misunderstood race. This book features Dwarves as the heros and the protagonist is, of course, a Dwarf. Other than the main characters being Dwarves and a deeper peek than I've ever had into Dwarven culture, these books are your basic epic fantasy. The Hero has to save the day.   So, overall, the books are interesting and well-written. They are even original in their characters. However the plot line was not as original an idea as I hoped the Dwarven theme would take on. Read or don't read. They are enjoyable and I liked them, but I don't think you would be missing a classic if you didn't read them. ...