Tag: book review

The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch

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Cover ImageFinished 10-22-08, rating 4/5, non-fiction, pub. 2008

“Experience is what you get when you didn’t get what you wanted.”   -Chapter 39

Professor Randy Pausch was a man who had it all – a dream job, wonderful wife, three healthy children.  What the 47 year old did not have was a lot of time.  He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and given a short time to live.  This book is a companion to the Last Lecture he gave at Carnegie Mellon University in August 2007. 

I’m not sure what I expected, but it was not the upbeat and entertaining read that the book proved to be.  His ability to deal with his prognosis in such a constructive and inspirational way was profoundly touching.  This book was written for his children and it is full of advice and wisdom, but also filled with stories that will make you smile, like Randy and Jai’s hot air balloon ride on their wedding day.

I liked so many things about this book.  His argument for handwritten notes, his take on dented cars, and his belief in being a true mentor for his students are a few things that come to mind.  He also mentioned Ohio State in passing and that always gets points with me. 

I would recommend this book to anyone without hesitation.  It only takes a short time to read, but it will leave you feeling better about life.

The website, http://thelastlecture.com/index.htm, has access to extra information and you can watch the hour long Last Lecture from there as well.  Randy died in July, but his great spirit will live on not only through his words, but also through the thousands of people he touched during his lifetime.

Over Her Dead Body, by Kate White

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Cover ImageFinished 10-21-08, rating 3/5, mystery, pub. 2005

True crime author Bailey Weggins is back in her fourth mystery in the Big Apple.  Bailey switches from one magazine job to another and is fast embroiled in a murder mystery.  Her nasty boss is murdered and there is no shortage of suspects and lies.  Bailey must work her way through the maze of red herrings and attempts on her life to find the truth and get the scoop for her story.

Bailey is a tough thirty-something divorcee living in Manhattan with a fun and feisty personality.  She’s like a big city Nancy Drew.

I’ve listened to two of this series on cd and really liked them, but this one was missing something for me.  It was still good, but Bailey felt a little tired.  I had no idea who did it until the very end, which was good, but the end didn’t really wow me after the multitude of possibilities. 

I would still love to hang out with Bailey and will read her other books.  Author, Kate White, is the editor of Cosmopolitan magazine.

How I Found the Perfect Dress, by Maryrose Wood

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Book CoverFinished 10-13-08, rating 3.5/5, young adult, pub. 2008

This is the sequel to Why I Let My Hair Grow Out.

I won this book last month over at Writerspace after being entered into a drawing with 200 books to be given away.  I had no idea that Writerspace authors included young adult writers, so, when I received the book I was intrigued by the funky cover, but not sure about reading it.  But, Maryrose wrote a nice note to me the front page and I felt enough guilt to give it a shot.

Morgan is also half-goddess Morganne and is still in love with Colin, the 20 year old boy she met last summer in Ireland.  Morgan is just a normal 16 year old girl with fighting parents, a kid sister, and a relationship to repair with her best friend, while also being Morganne who pals around with faeries and has seen the Tooth Fairy.  It’s been six months since she’s seen Colin and his emails have become almost nonexistent.  Morgan is ecstatic when she learns that Colin will be coming to Connecticut for a few weeks in March, but will soon learn that being loved by a half-goddess is doing harm to Colin.

I have not read a young adult romance since I was a teen and I was surprisingly enchanted with this whimsical tale of magic and love.  I would recommend this book and the rest of the series about Morgan for teen girls.  I’m tempted to read the rest of them myself!

SeinLanguage, by Jerry Seinfeld

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Book CoverFinished 10-9-08, rating 3.5/5, humor, pub. 1993

“There are many things you can point to as the proof that the human is not smart.  But my personal favorite would have to be that we needed to invent the helmet.  What was happening, apparently, was that we were involved in a lot of activities that were cracking our heads.  We chose not to avoid doing these activities but, instead, to come up with some sort of device to help us continue enjoying our head-cracking lifestyles.  The helmet.  And even that didn’t work because not enough people were wearing them so we had to come up with the helmet law.  Which is even stupider, the idea behind the helmet law being to preserve a brain whose judgement is so poor, it does not even try to stop the cracking of the head it’s in.”  -The Thing is the Thing chapter

Jerry Seinfeld makes me laugh.  I loved his tv show.  I am amazed at how many times I catch myself or my husband referencing that show.  We’ve seen every episode more than once because it’s on all the time now and when I’m aimlessly flipping through channels I’ll always stop at Seinfeld.

This is a book of full of his observations, sometimes witty, sometimes sarcastic, but usually entertaining.  If you’ve ever seen his stand up then you have heard some of these nuggets of wisdom before.  It’s been in the family room for a month now and every few days when I needed the lighten my mood I’d read a few pages and it worked.  It’s 15 years old, but still capable of being relevant.  I loved it.

American Pastoral, by Philip Roth

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Book CoverFinished 9-23-08, rating 3.5/5, fiction, pub. 1997

“Was everyone’s brain as unreliable as his?  Was he the only one unable to see what people were up to?  Did everyone slip around the way he did, in and out, in and out, a hundred different times a day go from being smart to being smart enough, to being as dumb as the next guy, to being the dumbest bastard who ever lived?  Was it stupidity deforming him, the simpleton son of a simpleton father, or was life just one big deception that everyone was on to except him?”           Chapter 8

This multigenerational story encompasses the social upheaval of the 1960’s and the issue of Jewish assimilation with authority and skill.  Nathan Zuckerman, a writer and fan of Seymour (Swede) Levov, the Jewish golden boy of New Jersey, is asked to to dinner by Swede and is excited at the prospect of helping a childhood hero.  After a disappointing dinner Zuckerman learns of Swede’s death at a class reunion and feels compelled to tell Swede’s story as he sees it.

Swede is the pride of the Jewish community, the blond, confident, athletic boy bridges the gap between cultures.  He marries a Catholic beauty queen and they have a daughter, Merry.  He takes over his father’s successful glove business and the family moves to the country and enjoy a nice house with land.  Swede’s life is good and he has everything he has ever wanted.  Then America goes into Vietnam and ignites a storm of violence and protest in the United States.  A teen-aged Merry becomes embroiled in the cause and does the unthinkable, changing not only her life, but the lives of everyone around her.

I liked the story, although heartbreaking.  It was an up close and personal view of the unraveling of a life which in turn causes destruction of everyone involved.  I cannot say that I am a fan of Roth or his convoluted writing style.  There comes a point when the self-examination and constant questioning just becomes too much to make the book truly enjoyable.  If I hadn’t been taking a class I may not have made it past page 50, but I’m glad I did.  The book was worthwhile.  I’ll find out as the class continues onto the next book whether Philip Roth is an acquired taste.

4th of July, by James Patterson

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Cover ImageFinished 9-22-08, rating 3/5, fiction, pub. 2006

This the the 4th installment of the Women’s Murder Club

Lindsay, Claire, and Cindy are back to work another murder case or cases as it happens.  Lindsay finds herself on trial and on administrative leave after a shooting that leaves one teen dead and the teen’s brother paralyzed.  She decides to head out of town to her sister’s empty house for some much needed relaxation.  While there she becomes embroiled in the local murders terrorizing the local beach community.

Claire and Cindy make small appearances, but this is really Lindsay’s story.  Boyfriend Joe is back and her faithful furry companion, Martha, is a welcome addition for this dog lover.  And by the end of the book a new member is admitted to the murder club.

Patterson knows how to build suspense, but the way he does it sometimes feels lazy.  I felt that this book was aimed at those who have ADD and because of it there were a lot more loose ends than in the past books.  It is a page turner and a great quick read and sometimes that is just what I need.  If you liked the first three in this series you will like the change of scenery this one offers.

Full Cleveland, by Les Roberts

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Cover ImageFinished 9-18-08, rating 3/5, mystery, pub. 1989

“Cleveland is a great city.  When the people who live here start believing it and stop heeding the knocks in the press and the bad jokes on television, things are going to be all right.”   -Chapter 7

Private detective and ex-cop Milan Jacovich is back in his second Cleveland mystery.  A few of his friends are back to help him in his latest case and his girlfriend, Mary, is there to add comfort.  Milan is hired to track down a man who has swindled local businesses and with this new job comes a sidekick appointed by the mob.  Sidekick Buddy provides extra muscle and some comic relief while the two of them track down suspects.  Milan is shot at and kills and drinks way too much.

This mystery series brings the neighborhoods of Cleveland, Ohio to life and anyone who enjoys reading and lives in the Cleveland area should really check this series out.  The first chapter took Milan and Mary to Johnny’s downtown, which is a favorite of mine and the neighborhoods are described with ethnic flavor and pride.  Actually, I think this series would be a perfect gift for anyone moving to the area.

I enjoyed the first book a little more than this one, but would still recommend this one.  Who knew Cleveland could be so exciting?

Play Dirty, by Sandra Brown

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Cover ImageFinished audio 9-5-08, rating 2.5/5, fiction, pub. 2007

Millionaire and wheelchair bound Foster Speakman hires disgraced, fresh out of prison, ex-NFL star, Griff Burkett to ‘make his wife wife pregnant the old fashioned way’.  Laura, the wife, goes along with the plan and meets Griff monthly at a rented house to do the deed.  Laura loves her husband and her job at the Speakman’s airline.  Griff wastes no time in falling in love with Laura.  Griff also has a detective following him around trying to put him back in prison. 

This is the first Sandra Brown book that I have not liked.  None of the three main characters were appealing, even if she tried to make it so by the end, and the weak plot was very predictable.  I was listening to this in the car and in the time it took me to drive from one block to the next Griff and Laura were in love.  I thought I’d missed a cd or something, but no, it happened just as quick as that. 

If this had been the first Sandra Brown book I’d read I would not read another, but since I usually love her books I will put this in the miss column and consider it an anomaly.  Don’t bother with this one, choose another Brown book if you are a fan.

Shameless, by Tori Carrington

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Book CoverFinished 9-5-08, rating 1/5, romance?,  pub. 2008

“In this day and age, is it bad for a woman to yearn for some good, hot, anonymous sex?”  –opening line of the book

Um…I picked this Harlequin Blaze #377 up because I love the Sophie Metropolis series by this husband/wife writing team and was curious about their romances, they’ve written over 35.  So, as you can see from the opening line, the plot is thin.  Nina has two hot partners who also happen to be friends.  Nina has a problem confusing sex with love, so one of the guys suggests a night of anonymous sex with one of them.  She won’t know which because she will be blindfolded.

I’ve already given this more time than it deserves.  I’m sure people read the Harlequin Blaze series because they want sex, but I felt gross reading it.  But I do recommend the Sophie Metropolis series, it’s quite good.

Inside Out Girl, by Tish Cohen

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Cover ImageFinished 8-31-08, rating 4/5, fiction, pub. 2008

“Wasn’t that one of the cardinal rules of the road?  If someone needed help and you weren’t prepared to offer any, glance away and feign ignorance.”      Chapter 4

Rachel Berman is head of a Perfect Parentmagazine and single mother of a 12 year old boy and a 14 year old girl.  Len Bean is a widower and father to a ten year old daughter, Olivia, who suffers from NLD, nonverbal learning disorder.  Rachel and Len meet and suddenly their lives and the lives of their children are blending into a family, if not a dysfunctional one.  Olivia is a joke at school and Rachel’s kids, Janie and Dustin, are not  inclined to make her life any easier.  Janie is dealing with her own hormonal and sexual issues that take center stage.

There are a few surprises here and there, but I don’t want to give any away.  This was a very enjoyable book about issues that most families are dealing with.  I loved her writing style and the story moved at a fast pace.  I think you will enjoy getting to know Olivia, as I did, and becoming a little more informed about a disorder that is closely linked to autism (but not the same).  And Janie’s story will bring back the early teen years when whatever someone said about you at school one day had the ability to ruin your whole life.  My only complaint is that some things were a little too convenient.  As readers, we are agreeing to suspend our disbelief, but that only goes so far. 

I received this book for free to review and it exceeded my expectations.  I recommend this book to anyone who loves a good family-oriented story, or someone interested in reading about a child with special needs.  Olivia is a wonderful character and you will fall in love with her.  Tish Cohen’s first book, Town House, is being made into a movie.   www.tishcohen.com