"Custer" is Larry McMurtry's latest. It was, like all of his recent nonfiction (well, and to be honest, fiction too) kind of disappointing. Without all the pictures (which were lovely) there was maybe 30 pages of solid story. I just didn't feel like I learned anything new about George Custer at all, and I didn't know that much about him to begin with. I miss the Larry McMurtry of old, who really fleshed out characters and brought them to life.
"Finding Ultra" by Rich Roll was incredibly inspiring. On the eve of his 40th birthday, Rich finds himself out of shape, overweight, and winded walking up a flight of stairs. It's a wake up call for the former college athlete, who fears an early death. He completely turns his life around, goes vegan, and becomes an endurance athlete, training for and competing in Ultraman triathlons. All I can say after reading this book is WOW. What an inspiration.
"Burned" by Sara Shepard is the 12th Pretty Little Liars book and it was supposed to be the last one, but it looks like she's continuing. I'm kind of disappointed: I was looking forward to finally finding out who A is. At any rate, the girls are on Spring Break in Bermuda on a cruise ship, and it looks like A is also on board, causing problems. The girls are convinced A is actually a team, consisting of Graham, who was in love with Madison (the girl they killed the year before in Jamaica) and Naomi, who was real Ali's best friend before Courtney took over her life. The girls have to evacuate the cruise ship and narrowly escape death when their life raft sinks. Back in Rosewood, they've decided to turn themselves in to the authorities regarding Madison's death when they hear on the news that she actually died not from being pushed from the tower but from blunt force trauma to the head. Looks like A is trying to frame them for Madison's murder. Okay then!
Friday, January 18, 2013
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Storm of Swords; Longest Way Home; Where'd You Go, Bernadette?
Book three of George R. R. Martin's Ice and Fire series, "Storm of Swords" took a nasty turn. There were some deaths I wasn't happy about at all. And it looks bad for Tyrion, who has become my favorite character. First he was married to Sansa Stark, and then he was falsely accused of murder and sentenced to die. On the eve of his execution, Jaime rescues him and Tyrion kills his father before leaving town. Good for him! King Stannis made it to the Wall to lend his help with the Wildlings, and Jon Snow was named Commander of the Watch. Arya's been kidnapped by the Hound. Dany discovered Ser Jorah was a spy and sent him packing. And Bran has managed to make it past the Wall in search of the three eyed crow who will teach him about his skinwalking abilities.
"The Longest Way Home" by Andrew McCarthy was pretty lame. It recounted his pathetic attempts to avoid marriage and family by traveling. He really wants the solitary life, but tries to pretend he's okay with finally settling down with the woman he claims to love so much that he's been engaged to for four years. He calls "Pretty in Pink": "...a silly movie about a girl who wanted to go to a dance" (p. 12). EXCUSE ME? Whatever. This is why Andie should have ended up with Ducky. *Ducky* would never say "Pretty in Pink" is silly. Ducky knows better.
"Where'd You Go, Bernadette?" by Maria Semple has been pretty popular with good word of mouth, and I can see why. It was a very cute and very quick read, and the characters are great. Bernadette ran away from her life 20 years earlier, moving with her husband, Elgin, to Seattle, where she became a recluse. Now their 15 year old daughter, Bee, wants the family to go on a trip to Antarctica. A series of events lead up to Bernadette running away from life again, only this time Bee is determined to find her. It was really sweet.
"The Longest Way Home" by Andrew McCarthy was pretty lame. It recounted his pathetic attempts to avoid marriage and family by traveling. He really wants the solitary life, but tries to pretend he's okay with finally settling down with the woman he claims to love so much that he's been engaged to for four years. He calls "Pretty in Pink": "...a silly movie about a girl who wanted to go to a dance" (p. 12). EXCUSE ME? Whatever. This is why Andie should have ended up with Ducky. *Ducky* would never say "Pretty in Pink" is silly. Ducky knows better.
"Where'd You Go, Bernadette?" by Maria Semple has been pretty popular with good word of mouth, and I can see why. It was a very cute and very quick read, and the characters are great. Bernadette ran away from her life 20 years earlier, moving with her husband, Elgin, to Seattle, where she became a recluse. Now their 15 year old daughter, Bee, wants the family to go on a trip to Antarctica. A series of events lead up to Bernadette running away from life again, only this time Bee is determined to find her. It was really sweet.
Friday, January 4, 2013
Far From the Tree; How to Look Expensive; Cinderella: Fables are Forever; Victorian Undead: Sherlock Holmes vs. Zombies; Ten Big Ones; Clash of Kings; Cathy's Book: Lonesome Dove
"Far From the Tree" by Andrew Solomon was very interesting. It's an intense and in depth, well researched look at children who are different from their parents for a myriad number of reasons. He looked at deaf culture, dwarf culture, prodigies, other disabilities, children who become criminals, and more. He made a very interesting point early on in the book, about how as we mature and become teenagers and young adults we take pride in how different we are from our parents, but then as we become parents ourselves we mourn when our children aren't like us. It's amazing to me that despite all the things that could go wrong with pregnancy and childbirth, the human race keeps on procreating anyway.
"How to Look Expensive" by Andrea Pomerantz Lustig could have been called "How to look well put together", which was really more what I was interested in. It was very helpful, and she had a lot of good tips on hair, makeup, and facial care that I've tried to incorporate into my own routine.
"Cinderella: Fables Are Forever" by Bill Willingham was a fun graphic novel looking at the hidden life of Cinderella, Fabletown's most infamous spy. She's been in a decades long quest to best Dorothy Gale of Wizard of Oz fame, surprisingly enough.
"Victorian Undead: Sherlock Holmes vs. Zombies" by Ian Edginton is another graphic novel featuring Sherlock Holmes in Victorian England, fighting a herd of zombies created by none other than Moriarty.
"Ten Big Ones" by Janet Evanovich is a reread of a pretty decent Stephanie Plum book, where she stays at Ranger's safe house because the gang has hired a hit man to take her out. I like how Sally Sweet saves her in the end rather than Joe or Ranger, it was a nice change.
"Clash of Kings" by George R. R. Martin is the second in the Ice and Fire series. I really enjoyed the first one, and this one was just as good. I'm actually up to date on the HBO series now, too, taking advantage of HBO On Demand. The story continues in this book with Dany and her newly born dragons traveling to find a way to cross the sea so she can retake the Iron Throne. Jon Snow and the rest of the Night's Watch on the Wall are dealing with all kinds of ugliness, in the form of giants, wildlings, and free people who are out to take down the Wall. Tyrion is busy in his new role as the King's Hand hatching schemes and plots to save King's Landing for when Stannis Baratheon comes to claim the throne. Robb Stark is still unbeaten on the field, heading south for King's Landing when terrible news from north in Winterfell makes him pause to consider his options.
"Cathy's Book" by Sean Stuart was a YA book I've wanted to read for awhile now. I wasn't quite sure what to make of it, though, as it took an odd turn. It started out normally enough: Cathy is 17 and has been dumped by her much older boyfriend Victor without reason. Cathy and her friend Emma think he might have been cheating on her with a woman he worked with. Cathy sets out to find out why Victor left her, and resorts to some shady things, like stalking and spying. That's all normal enough, but then it turns out that the reason Victor left her is because he's immortal. Huh? So there's a guy after Victor trying to learn the secrets of immortality. And Victor worried for her safety. Okay. It was a neat book: it's styled like a journal, so there's drawings and artwork throughout, and there was an attached clear envelope in the front with all the "proof" Cathy has gathered against Victor. It's just the storyline that threw me for a loop.
And finally, I closed out 2012 with a reread of one of my favorites: "Lonesome Dove" by Larry McMurtry. I managed to make 200 this year--I ended up reading 219. On to 2013!
"How to Look Expensive" by Andrea Pomerantz Lustig could have been called "How to look well put together", which was really more what I was interested in. It was very helpful, and she had a lot of good tips on hair, makeup, and facial care that I've tried to incorporate into my own routine.
"Cinderella: Fables Are Forever" by Bill Willingham was a fun graphic novel looking at the hidden life of Cinderella, Fabletown's most infamous spy. She's been in a decades long quest to best Dorothy Gale of Wizard of Oz fame, surprisingly enough.
"Victorian Undead: Sherlock Holmes vs. Zombies" by Ian Edginton is another graphic novel featuring Sherlock Holmes in Victorian England, fighting a herd of zombies created by none other than Moriarty.
"Ten Big Ones" by Janet Evanovich is a reread of a pretty decent Stephanie Plum book, where she stays at Ranger's safe house because the gang has hired a hit man to take her out. I like how Sally Sweet saves her in the end rather than Joe or Ranger, it was a nice change.
"Clash of Kings" by George R. R. Martin is the second in the Ice and Fire series. I really enjoyed the first one, and this one was just as good. I'm actually up to date on the HBO series now, too, taking advantage of HBO On Demand. The story continues in this book with Dany and her newly born dragons traveling to find a way to cross the sea so she can retake the Iron Throne. Jon Snow and the rest of the Night's Watch on the Wall are dealing with all kinds of ugliness, in the form of giants, wildlings, and free people who are out to take down the Wall. Tyrion is busy in his new role as the King's Hand hatching schemes and plots to save King's Landing for when Stannis Baratheon comes to claim the throne. Robb Stark is still unbeaten on the field, heading south for King's Landing when terrible news from north in Winterfell makes him pause to consider his options.
"Cathy's Book" by Sean Stuart was a YA book I've wanted to read for awhile now. I wasn't quite sure what to make of it, though, as it took an odd turn. It started out normally enough: Cathy is 17 and has been dumped by her much older boyfriend Victor without reason. Cathy and her friend Emma think he might have been cheating on her with a woman he worked with. Cathy sets out to find out why Victor left her, and resorts to some shady things, like stalking and spying. That's all normal enough, but then it turns out that the reason Victor left her is because he's immortal. Huh? So there's a guy after Victor trying to learn the secrets of immortality. And Victor worried for her safety. Okay. It was a neat book: it's styled like a journal, so there's drawings and artwork throughout, and there was an attached clear envelope in the front with all the "proof" Cathy has gathered against Victor. It's just the storyline that threw me for a loop.
And finally, I closed out 2012 with a reread of one of my favorites: "Lonesome Dove" by Larry McMurtry. I managed to make 200 this year--I ended up reading 219. On to 2013!
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