Thursday, June 20, 2013

More books

Hi!

So I've been reading but haven't really had time to post, so look for a long post from me this weekend. At least 7 books so far and more soon because I have off this weekend, woo!

xo,
Erin

Monday, June 3, 2013

Books 73-75

Hi there,

Got some more books for you! The last two took a decent amount of time to read and weren't necessarily all that great. A lot of times books are overhyped by the media. I tend to give those a wide range until something or someone draws me in, and that is what happened with these.

Book 73: Dead Ever After


Author: Charlaine Harris
Genre: Paranormal
Pages: 338
Series: Yes, 13 of 13
Purchased or Borrowed: Borrowed from the library, but I own the rest of the series
Date Read: Sometime last week? Can't remember the exact day I finished it

3 stars
This is the last Sookie Stackhouse book. After Sookie revives Sam's life with the cluviel dor things have been a little crazy. Her relationship with Eric is up in the air and so is her partnership with Sam, who doesn't quite know how to handle being brought back from the dead. When Arlene approaches Sookie about getting her old job back, Sookie outright tells her no. After all, Arlene tried to murder Sookie, but soon it is Arlene that is murdered and Sookie being framed. Many of Sookie's old friends return for the final novel to help figure out who really did kill Arlene.

For the finale, Harris brings back many old favorites but it seems like an effort to just throw everyone back in. The plot isn't original either, with Sookie being framed for murder not seeming out of the ordinary. But of course it is always nice to come upon characters you enjoy reading about, even if the last few books have gone down a bit. And I do wish that she had ended up with a different guy, but oh well.

Book 74: The Book Thief


Author: Markus Zusak
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: 550
Series: No
Purchased or Borrowed: Borrowed from the library
Date Read: June 1, 2013

3 stars
This is the story of Liesel, a little girl who is raised in Nazi Germany. She is brought to live with foster parents after her mother can no longer care for her and her brother, only to have him die on the way there. Liesel does not know how to read or write but she steals her first book at her brother's funeral, a book about grave digging. Her Papa teaches her how to read and soon she has begun to steal books. But Nazi Germany is a dangerous place and soon her family is harboring a Jew in their basement and their whole world is turned upside down.

First, let me start off by saying, this is not typically the type of book that I read. However, I kept being recommended this book and decided to try it, based on my own love of reading. Part of the problem was the narrator. The story was told by Death, viewing the world and the book thief. And of course, the book based on its time period is bound to be depressing.


Book 75: Gone Girl


Author: Gillian Flynn
Genre: Mystery
Pages: 465
Series: No
Purchased or Borrowed: Borrowed from the library
Date Read: June 3, 2013

1 star
This is the story of Amy and Nick Dunne. On their 5th anniversary Amy goes missing in mysterious circumstances and Nick is the prime suspect. The last few years of their marriage had been hard. Both of them had lost their jobs, they were poor after previously living an affluent lifestyle, and they had moved back to Nick's home town to aid Nick's ailing parents. The story is told from Nick's perspective in the present day with Amy missing, and from the past through Amy's diary. But there are a lot of secrets and lies that both Amy and Nick are hiding.

I had such high hopes for this book. It was recommended to me by several people at work, though they told me that they had hated the ending. I hated the ending too, and the middle. Both Amy and Nick are really such horrible humans that it is difficult to like them at all. Oh well..

Now to figure out what to read next on my day off. I've got plenty of choices. I'm thinking something fun that I know I'll enjoy.

xo,
Erin