Book Review

I got this one for Christmas from Turkey Butt. I knew it'd be a quick read so it had been staying around the bottom of my pile. But, while sick in bed all week, and after finishing the previous book (My Life as an Experiment by A.J. JACOBS) in a day, I thought it would be right up my alley. As with the last, I finished it in a day (it's a short read). It was a good mixture of the quotes that have become so popular and longer stories of Justin Halpern's upbringing with his snark, blunt and borderline rude father. I laughed out loud at many sections and would recommend it as a light read to someone with some time on their hands, and in need of a good laugh. Not as great as I expected but not mediocre either. As far as comedic books go, start with A.J. Jacobs and if you've got the time, throw in a little Justin Halpern. Or just tune into the TV show of the same name, same laughs and wit, but only half an hour of your time. This is my life.  

Book Review

Such a great read! Sooooo hilarious. This is the second A.J. Jacobs book that I've read and I love his style of writing. He devotes his entire LIFE to his topics, with hilarious results. I honestly read this entire book in one day. Do yourself a favor, and pick it up! I happened across it a well known bookstore chain's "Sidewalk" Sale for $5. So glad that I did!!!!! This is my life.

Book Review: Peak

This novel is written from the perspective of a 14 year old boy named Peak. It is written from his perspective as an assignment to pass his English class at school. Having read a few books on mountain climbing I can say this one was pretty good. It caught my attention, the characters seemed believeable and the story was interesting. It certainly was no Jon Krakauer but I still found it a good read.

As a brief overview, I will say that Peak was the son of two famous mountain climbers and began climbing at a young age. When he gets in trouble with the law, he gets sent overseas with his father where he becomes faced with the climbing opportunity of a lifetime, his 15 minutes of fame and a moral decision that no 14 year old should have to make. I will say no more. Just go out and reserve it from your library if this type of book is right up your alley. This is my life.

Book Review

The first short story is heart-wrenchingly moving. And the movie that was created based on it is lovely. It is worth picking up with book for it alone. Sadly, that is all there is to it in my opinion. The second story was tolerable though it didn't catch my attention. The third story was so hard to follow that I gave up on it, and the rest of the book, about halfway through.

I'd never read anything by Alice Munro before and, I'll be honest, I only bought this one for the one story. I think i'd need a really great recommendation from someone before I pick up another one of her books. Sadly I prefer the movie to the story which never happens to me. Oh well... On the the next book. This is my life.

Book Review: Blood Brother by J.A. Kerley

Occasionally when I'm at the Used Book Store, I pick a book for no other reason than I'm intrigued by the title or am drawn to the cover. Sometimes I even get around to ready the summary on the back and that's what win's me over. This was one of those books. Apparently Blood Brother is the 4th book in a series of novels about a character named Carson Ryder. Not having read the 3 previous books (or even having known they existed) was not an issue. The characters were interesting. The plot was original and well laid out. The storyline bounced around between past and present (and NYC and Alabama) enough to hold my attention. I certainly didn't feel lost for having not read the previous books but I also wasn't overwhelmed with backstory. Looking back, I'm really not surprised that this is from a series as some things (like previous relationships) were hinted at but not fully explained.

Anyway, Blood Brother was about a Homicide Detective from Mobile, Alabama who gets called up to New York City to help solve a crime. Upon arriving he realizes that the prime suspect is a psychopath that he knows all too well. You see, the prime suspect is his older brother. How's that for a teaser? Let me just say that if you like a good murder mystery and don't mind staying up late to read one more chapter, just one more chapter then this is a good book for you. I think I'll even look for the first 3 books in this series. This is my life...

(Two) Book Review(s).

I've been slacking on my reviews. First up was Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. This travel/biographical book was split into 3 sections. The section on finding passion in Italy through food was AMAZING! Luckily Turkey Butt is a chef and makes AMAZING pasta because I craved it the entire time I was reading the book. The section on pursuing spiritual enlightenment in India was honestly very boring to me. I had a difficult time making it through it. But I was pleasantly surprised by her pursuit of a compromise between passion and spiritual enlightenment while she was writing about her time in Indonesia. Definitely gave me a positive outlook on the book as a whole.

This was the second book I've read by Elizabeth Gilbert and I'm very impressed. As we speak I'm working on a third book of her's, Committed.




Jon Krakauer ALWAYS impresses me and Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman was no different. Somehow Krakauer has this amazing sense of people and always picks truly amazing individuals to write about. Before reading this book, I had heard the tale of Pat Tillman, how he left his NFL career to fight for his country and lost his life in the process. That was literally all I knew. I didn't realize he died from friendly fire. I didn't realize the military committed a huge cover up about the details of his death because Pat had become the "poster boy" for the War on Terror. I didn't realize what an amazing individual Pat Tillman was. I was literally amazed to learn about his intelligence (graduated in 3.5 years, with honours from Arizona State University) and his loyalty (was offered a 5yr $9.6 million contract by the St. Louis Rams, but declined in order to stay with the Cardinals because they took a chance on him in the draft - for just over $500, 000 a year, the league minimum). What an amazing person!

Coming soon: more Elizabeth Gilbert, The Time Traveller's Wife, a novel from the Twilight series, another sports bio, and Kitchen Confidential! This is my life...

In Review.

I am a huge fan of Alice Sebold. All of her work. This novel was no exception. From other reviews I've read, I take it that most people don't like this book based on two things that occur within the first few chapters - the main character, Helen, kills her dying mother and then has sexual relations with her best friends adult son. I wonder if people get so appalled by these acts that they immediately hate the Helen? If you keep an open mind (which may be easier for me because I face death on a regular basis in my line of work), I think Helen deserves our compassion (and perhaps pity), not our judgement. My only issue with the book as a whole was the ending. It leaves me wanting to know more!

This is my life...

In Review.

I just finished reading, The Deserter's Tale: The Story of an Ordinary Soldier Who Walked Away from the War in Iraq by Joshua Key. All I can say is AMAZING READ! Okay, that's not all I can say, but that's certainly the first thing that comes to mind. This biography was so well written and easy to follow along (unlike many non-fiction accounts of war). The entire time I was reading it I could hardly put it down and I found myself absolutely appalled by the things done and witnessed by the author.I've never been a supporter of President Bush or the war in Iraq or war in general but I always felt that it was important to support the men and women who were there fighting for our "freedom" despite my beliefs. Now after reading this book, I can only hope that humanity hasn't sunk this low and that serious changes will be made because honestly, how do I support that?

As always, this is my life.