Solid 3.5 with several 4 star stories. Honestly, most of these little acabre or horrifying snippets left me wanting more. Felt like I was in a meeting where movie ideas were being pitched. That is probably standard with flash fiction and I do enjoy short stories but these just left too little room for real character and plot development. I'd love to see with Barnett could do with just one novel-length idea because it looks like he's got lots of them floating around in his head.
Poor little Nicholas...This was an eerie tale about a class of boys going away on a class trip and the whole of the pretty short novel focuses on Nicholas' frame of mind during the experience. It's strange to say with the short length and I have to give my own imagination some credit for this, but there were some very well-done characters and interpersonal relationships partly described in this book that I could run with to create such a rich environment that reminded me a little of LORD OF THE FLIES meets DEXTER. So many dark themes are present in this short little gem and I can't really say too many without spoiling it for the next perosn to luck upon this very creepy and darkly satisfying read. If you like EVERYLITTLETHING explained to you, or only enjoy horror novels that contain lots of gruesome violence, skip this. But if you like to be psychologically bitchslapped, left for dead at the crossroads of Menace Blvd. and Unsettled Pl. than pick this up. It will be over in a day, but will definitely hang around your head for a weekend, at least.
I'm such a crybaby and this book took advantage of me! It was an emotional rollercoaster ride. I started it late last night and finished it this afternoon, leaving mascara-tinted puddles on my bed. Sweet and philosophical, this is a great story for people who've had a GREAT dog! I will be buying this book for my mom and my gramma, because I know they'll love it too. Makes me want to go and find my doggie soulmate. :)Not going into the actual story, because I don't want to give anything away but people are sooooooo shitty, its actually very wise of Stein to write this tale from the perspective he did. Now, back to the dark side, where there aren't any tears. LOL
This book is f$*!ing amazing. Read it, experience it, love it, just do it--DO IT!!!And Suzanne Collins, I loved your trilogy. I think it was amazing, and pretty brave writing for a YA crowd. But let's be honest with each other. You either read this book or saw the film because the premise is pretty much a straight conversion. But I forgive you, because I found your series first and wouldn't have found this book without out. For the pleasure of the ride with Katniss and Peeta, I also found Shuya and Noriko and SHOGO. I will be forever grateful.
:)
My first John Green experience and DEFINITELY not my last. Really enjoyed this novella and liked Green's style. Especially liked that it was a free download too, which was why I decided to squeeze it into my lazy Sunday. A lot of people complain about the errors and typos in this, but its a free read and my eye was able to just fix what needed fixing, spelling and grammar-wise. Plus, I've read MANY a book that I paid full price for that are FULL of errors...Stephenie Meyer, anyone? That was for YOU, Kathryn. LOL Within a mere 72 pages, the characters were well-formed, the backstory was fully realized and there was plenty of dialogue, action and personal insight to keep me enthralled. If this book had been longer it would have probably only improved but was well told for the length it was. I enjoy zombie tales and appreciated the environmental cause, thought it was fitting to our time and maybe even a little believable. I think I'll pass on it the next time its offered to me. Haha.
Green displays a talent for creating realistic and interesting characters with moral dilemmas and presents everything in a way that is entertaining, relatable and thought-provoking. He doesn't dumb it down if the characters are younger, and doesn't display any rampant misogyny, which is often the case when the characters are young women, even with female authors...uh, hmmm...again, Kathryn. LOL :) He's kind of smart that way, and the only thing I personally found strange was the overemphasis on the wine drinking. Like if it was the end of the world and zombies were roaming around looking for you to be their next meal you would take the time to ENJOY the wine you should be chugging on the run. Maybe I'm more of a survivalist, or maybe Green is just a wine-lover and wanted to squeeze it in. At least I learned some things about wine for my next pairing, right?
If Green had worked unicorns into this, it would have been 5 star all the way. I'm girly sometimes, what can I say? As it stands, a solid 4.5 and immensely enjoyable. Going to go and find a Green novel for my summer reading pile. :)
Bleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...............Better review to follow, when my brain wakes up from reading this book! :)
I think I started this book almost a week ago, thinking it was going to be a lunchtime read for me, a couple of days lunches at the most. And then I started reading it and I would stop every few pages and look around. I read it aloud to my husband, my best friend, to myself. If this book belonged to me, it would be the second (ONLY THE SECOND BOOK EVER) that I would have highlighted passages in. It was thought-provoking, it was moving, and it was sophisticatedly simple to read, because the prose was fluid and the ideas were universal and easy to identify with. But at the same time, the theories and ideas were deeper than they appeared at first read, and I would go back and review and marvel. Very glad to have taken my time with this book and eagerly looking forward to reading something else from Lightman. Maybe its time for me to get back on a philosophical book kick. :)
I REALLY liked the start and middle of this book and had the ending been better, I would have given it 5 stars. Now I'm hovering somewhere around 4.25. I liked how the characters were BOTH deeply flawed, but I expected the ending to be a bit more of what I've come to expect from Murakami, which is to say, graphically violent. There, I said it. And maybe, for some people, or other cultures, piercings ARE terribly horrifying, but it isn't on the level of pulling teeth, or the cold snap of the Achilles' tendon being cut, which was what I thought would be the ultimate violent act. LOL But I'm not necessarily a fan of the gory scenes. It's just that after reading ITMS, and being horrified and sickened but riveted, I guess I expect all his work to be on that level and this just wasn't. Didn't care for the choppy back and forth narration of the two characters, the book didn't flow as well as I would have liked. I also didn't love that the story cut off without the male character knowing that he hadn't been "found out". If Murakami was going for irony, he almost nailed it. But I would have liked to see a little more resolution, or just off the deep end mindless psychological torment. Or even something to do with his mother. Overall, a good story with an interesting, but overstated and overrepeated theme that's important to face in a world with so much violence and filth.And minus .5 stars for the over-repetition of Chiaki's father's disgusting comments. We get it okay? We're smart and we understand the devastating effects of child molestation. Maybe ITMS IS his best work, but I'm hoping to be equally impressed with something else from him so I'll keep reading. :)
Wow, what an effed up story. I'm glad I only had to suffer through the emotional wasteland and starcrossed-tragedy of Romeo and Juliet in school(pathetic enough for me, thanks), because that was enough torment for my adolescent heart to handle. I actually thought that this heavy story was told brilliantly, and am surprised at myself for liking it so much DESPITE the fact that every freaking character in it was a pathetic and terrible person. Each in their own specific way of course. I've read Wharton was speaking out against society's "relentless standards of loyalty", but this story felt morally heavy to me. If she was so against conforming, than why didn't she just end it with Ethan and Mattie riding off to CA and piss on Zeena?? And I think there are better ways to off yourself and your "one true love" (whom you've only been physically overcome enough to kiss, BTW) than attempting a sled/tree embrace. LOL How about if Ethan had enticed his "whinnying" horse that was super hungry into stomping them to death or better yet, they could have laid down on the incoming train tracks, possibly affecting Zeena's "new helper" or at least traumatizing her for life. Anyway, maybe my ideas are sick, but come on? Tandem sledding? I guess the reason this gets 5 stars is for the emotional reaction it stirs in me (mostly anger and self-righteousness, haha) and that its one I'll be thinking over often. 
I thought this Victorian "ghost story", set in Postwar England was more of a historical fiction novel with a subtle supernatural thread sewing it all together. I have to say, it didn't rope me in at first. I didn't feel very connected to any of the characters and never DID find one that I particularly liked or identified with. The closest I came was with Betty, the young house servant. But overall, I thought that the atmosphere of Hundreds Hall was authentic and the story, while a little dragging at times (which I believe was part of the strategy) was good. I DID feel like the characters were one-dimensional and that is what made this book less than great. I have read that some people found it wordy, but I didn't mind, because like I said, I was reading it like a historical fiction novel, and they usually ramble on at great length to interest readers in the setting, both chronologically, socially, and culturally. I think that this book would actually be one of the few that would translate even better on film, if the director stuck with the novel. The subtleties and creepy happenings would be more eerie to witness than to read about. Seeing an elderly woman hanging on the backside of a door, the running past a door's keyhole, sets up a little like the unseen terrors in Paranormal Activity or The Entity. There were parts of it that reminded me of [b:The Turn of the Screw|12948|The Turn of the Screw (Penguin Popular Classics)|Henry James|http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31rAkcucrQL._SL75_.jpg|990886], as in people who think they may be going mad when, in fact, they are witnessing supernatural events. This was the first of Waters' books I have read and I'd like to see what else she has up her sleeve.I appreciated how Waters tied in the theory that people can actually psychologically manifest "supernatural" things to occur, and that debate between real or imagined was illustrated muchly in this novel. The theme of a man attempting to control the emotions of a woman (Dr. Faraday and Caroline was pretty glaring and to me, extremely interesting. It also reminded me of PA and I thought the scariest part of that dynamic was when Dr. Faraday refused to admit at the inquest that there was a supernatural force present in Hundreds Hall that was the root of the family's problems, and instead let everyone think that Caroline had simply become unhinged and killed herself. From what I hear of her other books, and strong women's power themes, this was a little bit man-hater-ish. But I love Tori Amos too, so there.
I liked this book. I found Dexter to be darkly disturbing and believable in his descriptions of how he functions in society as a sociopathic serial killer. I chuckled several times during the story as well, but I just wasn't crazy about it. I don't know if the humor was maybe too much, like Lindsay was trying to counterbalance Dexter's killer side with his "tortured childhood victim" side or what, but it seemed a little forced. And I got tired of hearing how he didn't feel emotions and wasn't a human, and didn't have human emotions. Okay, you're a sociopath. You're a serial killer. Repetitive explanations not necessary. I think about 50 pages could have been cut by chopping those repats and the sotry would have been improved. I think that I will probably like the show better than I did this novel and I realize that many series novels have to do some setting up in the beginning, so I am eager to begin the second book. I liked Deobrah, I even liked, dare I say, Dexter. I'm just wondering if I might not like him a whole look more if he really WAS acting like a sociopath, instead of the back and forth internal dialogue about "am I a monster or not?". A true sociopath wouldn't care. The whole aspect of him learning his trade from a police officer/foster dad angle was very interesting and I like that he kills the bad guys, but that once again lends him a humanistic sense of right and wrong, which sociopaths do not possess...??? And if he DOES kill the "bad" guys, why didn't he kill his brother?? Am I reading too much into this? Too many psychology courses? It's just a story, Michelle, just enjoy it, right? Okay, 3 stars with hopes for more in the remaining 3 books. I already have the next 2.
Very interesting historical fiction about Edgar Allan Poe and all of his relationships and maladies. I enjoyed this book immensely, but now I am afraid that I will take what I've read here and my brain will take it as fact, regurgiatitng to people who are looking at me, like huh? That's not what really happened to Edgar Allan Poe. Haha. What do you do? Maybe I'll have to read something factual and set myself straight.
AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!! I hate my internet connection. After posting my review (or trying to) it was all lost. So lacking its former glory, here we go...again...I've got to be honest here. I picked up three of Hines' novels during my last browse through the library and didn't know he was a Christian fiction novelist. If I had know that, I probably wouldn't have read this. Don't get me wrong, I AM a Christian, but not the kind who normally enjoys reading Christian fiction. This is because I find most of it somewhat judgmental, heavy-handed, and most of the characters are being punished by God for living less than perfect (otherwise referred to as HUMAN) lives. And they are usually just plain not very well written.
That being said, I was pleasantly surprised with this book. It was much darker than I expected it to be. I started it with a little bit of dread, after coming off of some really great reads and after getting a little ways in, I really didn't want to put it down. I found the characters to be pretty well-developed, and I liked that Jude was kind of an atypical protagonist, being deceitful to the mother of his child and not living up to potential, yadda yadda. That is trademark though for a non-traditional (i.e. fire and brimstone) type of Christian novel. I particularly liked that Hines was able to write Jude's abnormal and amazing spiritual experiences while maintaining a real believability with everything else going on. The book reminded me a lot of M. Night Shyamalan's SIGNS, sharing themes of faith and the loss of faith, our purpose on this Earth, and the interconnected of people and their actions. The way that Kristina developed in the story probably is the best example of the way Hines ties everything together in a cool and faithful way.
I was also impressed that, in Hines' debut mystery novel, he was able to keep me in suspense and led me to blindly follow along until the end without guessing that Odum was the child killer. I really bought that it was Frank and followed like the lamb that I am. :) I also loved that Rachel's best friend's name was Nicole...:)Haha.
I will definitely read the other two Hines books I picked up and feel that he was able to inject his Christian beliefs in a smart, well-explained and rational way. I can recommend this book to my non-Christian friends, without feeling like its casting me in an overzealous and hard to believe type of light. Thank you, Mr. Hines and well done.
Not only is Lansdale moving quickly up the ranks of my favorite authors list, but the dynamic ass-kicking, ebony and ivory duo of Hap Collins and Leonard Pine are becoming two of my favorite fictional characters.This installment was darker than the series opener, and had the normal fisticuffs and backtalking that I loved in the first book. The crime that occurs was much darker, more interesting and much less palatable, but Lansdale is great at writing stories like this. Reminded me a little of THE BOTTOMS, with the crimes against children and the sexual deviance angle. The funny thing is, I knew the instant the guilty characters were introduced that they were involved and for some books, that would kill it for me. But Lansdale is such a great writer that he keeps you guessing. Just because you know the who, doesn't mean you know the where, what, why or how and they are still very complusive reads and thought-provoking and that's what I love about his books.
And its hard not to love his descriptive passages like this:
"The black cloud of fate came with rain, of course. Two days later, early afternoon, I was sitting on my front porch taking in the cool wind and the view. One moment there was just the same red, empty road that runs by Leonard's place, and beyond it, great pines and oaks and twists of vines, and above it all, clouds as white and smooth as God's own whiskers, and the next moment, the wind abruptly changed direction, blew harder from the north, turned damp and sticky, and the clouds began to roll and churn and go gray at the edges. Out of the north rolled darker clouds yet, and they filled the sky and gave up their rain and the pines became purple with shadow and the road turned from red to blood-clot brown, then darker. The rain slammed down hard, and the wind thrashed it onto the porch in steel-colored needles that stung my face and filled my nostrils with the aroma of wet earth."
Or the lovingly said, but racially and sexually charged, banter like this:
"Aren't you embarrassed undressing in front of a queer? Leonard said. "All you know, I might be sizing up your butthole."
"Just call me a tease."
I really like how Lansdale uses Hap and Leonard to bridge the racial and cultural gaps between the two friends and even the social commentary that the two clearly state without coming to blows, well, most of the time anyway.
"Shit, Hap, I don't give a damn what happened to him in his childhood. I mean, he got fucked by his next-door neighbor who was a scout leader, I'm sorry for the kid he was, but for the man he is, I don't give a shit. He made his own choice."
This is an EXCELLENT series and I'm so thankful to my friend Marvin for leading me to it! Thanks friend! :)