Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe

October 1, 2012October 1, 201218 Comments

Stories I Only Tell My Friends. Finished audio 9-28-12, rating 4.5/5, autobiography, pub. 2011

Unabridged audio read by Robe Lowe.

It’s no secret that I am a child of the 80’s and lover of the teen movies of the day. Rob Lowe was never one of my favorites, he was just too pretty, but he starred in some great 80’s films. I picked up the book at a library sale but then remembered that a few bloggers (maybe Mary is one?) recommended the audio so I tried that instead and the audio is definitely the way to go with this one. Lowe’ charm and intelligence come through loud and clear and I looked forward to getting in the car and visiting with him every day because that’s what it felt like. He was very conversational and it was just a fun and easy listen.

Lowe knew he wanted to be an actor at an early age in Dayton, Ohio, and was involved in an acting group called Peanut Butter and Jelly. He even had a few star encounters, a favorite of mine is when he knocked on Liza Minnelli’s hotel door and was allowed in to chat! His parents divorced, his mother remarried and her behavior became erratic. When she moved the family of three boys to Los Angeles it was culture shock for Rob, but the perfect place to really pursue his goal of becoming an actor.

Lowe is a master name dropper. It is amazing to me how many famous people he came in contact with at a young age. I LOVE Cary Grant and Rob got to watch his first after school special on Cary Grant’s bed with Grant and his daughter. So cool (and not creepy at all). The Sheens, Janet Jackson, Ron Howard and many others all come into Rob’s orbit before his first big break, The Outsiders (1983). The Outsiders takes up a nice percentage of the book, but we get to meet these new upstarts as Rob does, Tom Cruise, Patrick Swayze, Matt Dillon…

I highly recommend this for any fan of the 80’s, Hollywood memoirs, or the man himself. You’ll feel like Hollywood insider. I think it could have been more complete, he does choose to gloss over chunks of his life, but what is included is very entertaining and insightful. A man who has been on both the inside and the outside of the Hollywood scene and has managed to survive with sanity intact.

After finishing the book I immediately put The Outsiders on hold at the library. I feel like I know so much about behind the scenes that the movie will be extra fun to watch. I think my favorite role is Sam Seaborn from the West Wing. What’s yours?

Stolen Prey by John Sandford

September 19, 20129 Comments

Finished audio 9-14-12, rating 3.5/5, thriller, pub. 2012

Unabridged audio narrated by Richard Ferrone

Lucas Davenport series #22. (book 17) (book 18) (book 19) (book 20) (book 21)

Lucas Davenport has seen many terrible murder scenes. This is one of the worst. In the small Minnesota town of Wayzata, an entire family has been killed—husband, wife, two daughters, dogs.

There’s something about the scene that pokes at Lucas’s cop instincts—it looks an awful lot like the kind of scorched-earth retribution he’s seen in drug killings sometimes. But this is a seriously upscale town, and the husband was an executive vice president at a big bank. It just doesn’t seem to fit.

Until it does. And where it leads Lucas will take him into the darkest nightmare of his life. (Goodreads)

I’ve read all 22 books of this police thriller series and, for me, this is one of the weakest. It started off strong, with one of the more violent and bloody scenes I’ve read from Sandford and had potential with three assassins running around town killing people, but there was disconnect with the convoluted banking storyline. I missed Weather but loved the story with his daughter, especially the end.

I still recommend the series and I will still continue to visit with Lucas every year. He’s still a great wounded hero doing good even if sometimes he must be bad.

This is a great series for those who love police procedurals, but please start at the beginning since I think they are the strongest books.

I checked this audio out of the library.

Jane:The Woman Who Loved Tarzan by Robin Maxwell

September 12, 201212 Comments

Jane. Finished 9-11-12, rating 3.75/5, fiction, 320 pages, pub.2012

Cambridge, England: 1905. Jane Porter is hardly a typical woman of her time. The only female student in Cambridge University’s medical program, she is far more comfortable in a lab coat, dissecting corpses, than she is in a corset and gown, sipping afternoon tea. A budding paleoanthropologist, Jane dreams of travelling the globe in search of fossils that will prove the evolutionary theories of her scientiﬁc hero, Charles Darwin.

When dashing American explorer Ral Conrath invites Jane and her father on an expedition deep into West Africa, she can hardly believe her luck. Rising to the challenge, Jane ﬁnds an Africa that is every bit exotic and fascinating as she has always imagined. But she quickly learns that the lush jungle is full of secrets—and so is Ral Conrath. When danger strikes, Jane ﬁnds her hero, the key to humanity’s past, and an all-consuming love in one extraordinary man: Tarzan of the Apes.

Jane is the ﬁrst version of the Tarzan story written by a woman and authorized by the Edgar Rice Burroughs estate. Its 2012 publication will mark the centennial of the publication of the original Tarzan of the Apes. (from Goodreads)

I know next to nothing about the Tarzan story. I vaguely remember seeing him fly vine by vine through the jungle in black in white as a kid flipping through channels. And that’s it. So, when I was offered a chance to learn his story from a viewpoint that interested me, I was excited. I was pleasantly surprised at this telling of Jane’s story.

Jane is highly educated, opinionated and more progressive than her peers. More interested in bones than marriage, she is the first woman to attend Cambridge Medical School and eager to join her father on one of his expeditions, much to her mother’s horror. Father and daughter depart for the African jungle hoping to find the missing Darwin gene and instead find treachery, death, lies and separation. When Jane is rescued by Tarzan she moves beyond the typical heroine and becomes a woman and scientist discovering passion for the first time.

I thoroughly enjoyed Jane’s adventures and Tarzan’s primal heroism and know that this is the closest I’ll ever get to an expedition such as this one. With that said, adventure stories aren’t really my thing so there were small chunks of jungle time that I found myself skimming, but this is not a judgement on the storytelling, only on my reading habits.

This book was authorized by the Edgar Rice Burroughs Estate and is timed to celebrate the first publication of Tarzan 100 years ago. Burroughs even makes an appearance at the beginning and end of the book.

As a newbie to Tarzan and Jane, I was totally captivated by their world and plan to check out more of Robin Maxwell’s novels about historical women.

Thanks to PR by the Book for getting this book in my hands. Isn’t the cover cool?

Dyslexic Authors Quiz – guessing closed

September 11, 2012September 17, 201219 Comments

I was flipping through a book and found a list of famous people who suffered from dyslexia, a variable often familial learning disability involving difficulties in acquiring and processing language that is typically manifested by a lack of proficiency in reading, spelling, and writing (from Merriam-Webster). It made me curious about authors who may suffer from this condition and after a little investigating I was surprised at the authors I found on this list. Let’s see if you are too.

FIRST TIMERS ALWAYS WELCOME!

You have until noon Sunday to submit your answers as a comment. Comment will be hidden until I post the answers. No Googling! The person with the most points this round will win a B&N gift card (total $ based on # of total participants, so please play) and a randomly selected participant will win a fun prize from me.

1. “The diagnosis of dyslexia wasn’t available in the late fifties -bad spelling like mine was considered a psychological problem by the language therapist who evaluated my mysterious case. When the repeated courses of language therapy were judged to have had no discernible influence on me, I was turned over to the school psychiatrist.” said the man who created Owen Meany John Irving

2. The creator of Captain Underpants wasn’t held back by dyslexia and ADHD. Dav Pilkey

3. “Being slow made me pore over sentences and to be receptive to those qualities in sentences that were not just the cognitive aspect of sentences but were in fact the “poetical” aspects of language…those qualities in language are as likely to carry weight and hold meaning and give pleasure as the purely cognitive, though of course we can’t fundamentally separate those things, although the information age does its best.” said this Pulitzer Prize winner for Independence Day Richard Ford

4. Maybe the most well-known African-American woman science fiction author who died in 2006 at the age of 58. Octavia Butler

5. “The first book I wrote, most of the letters where backwards and much of it is horribly misspelled, but it didn’t stop me. Sometimes it pays to be too stubborn to listen to other people and in my case that was especially true.” said the author of the Dark-Hunter vampire series Sherrilyn Kenyon

6. This science fiction author of the Sword of Truth series has dyslexia and is really into Ayn Rand’s Objectivism (which is popular this political season). Terry Goodkind

7. “I wasn’t diagnosed until I was 12. In those days they thought that I was backward. I didn’t really feel at home with the written word until somebody gave me a typewriter. But, even today, I never send things out without having them checked by an assistant.” She has written a few books but more famously wrote the TV series Prime Suspect. Linda La Plante

8. (I) “was severely dyslexic and couldn’t spell, still can’t spell. So I was discouraged from writing and embarrassed”. It’s a good thing for the popularity of fried green tomatoes that she overcame her insecurities. Fannie Flagg

9. This one-name children/young-adult author won the 1991 Newbery Honor with his character Charlotte Doyle and in 1992 with Nothing but the Truth. He was awarded the Newbury Medal in 2003 for Crispin:The Cross of Lead. Avi

10. This is prolific Emmy winning writer/producer and bestselling author (8 books in the Shane Scully series) sums it up with this, that his real fear for “dyslexic people is not that they have to struggle with jumbled input or that they can’t spell but that they will quit on themselves before they get out of school.” He was also one of Castle’s poker buddies (on ABC’s Castle) and his chair remained empty at the table for a year after his death. Stephen Cannell

Answers to last week’s Thrilling Quiz here. Leaderboard & rules here.

Thrill Ride Questionnaire (Blog Hop)

September 1, 201213 Comments

Thrill Week, September 1-8

Marce is hosting Thrill Week for the second year and I’m thrilled. Last year I found out about new authors and series and blogs. I’m expecting more of the same this time around.

Thrill Ride Questionnaire (all responses relating to genres: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense)

1) Introduce yourself

I’m a stay-at-home-mom to a toddler. I wish I had more time to read. I live in Cleveland, Ohio with my husband and son. Oh, I’ll be attending Bouchercon 2012 in October. If any of you other mystery lovers are attending, I’d love to meet you.

I’ve been blogging for 4 1/2 years and my reading choices are eclectic, but I always find myself going back to the mystery/suspense genres. With the birth of my son almost 2 years ago the blog’s focus expanded. I now blog about books, movies, and my son. I also have a weekly bookish quiz on Tuesdays for fun and prizes. Stop by this Tuesday, I’m working on something worthy of Thrill Week.

2) What has been your top 3 reads this year? Link your reviews

In just the thrill genres I’d choose the whole Tattoo Shop series by Karen Olson (there are 4), Without Fail by Lee Child (#6 of the Jack Reacher series), Buried Prey by John Sandford (#21 of the Lucas Davenport series).

3) What are you currently reading during Thrill Week?

I’m reading IT by Stephen King for the IT-along & listening to Stolen Prey by John Sandford, the latest in the series.

4) Do you have an all time favourite cover in the genres above?

Nothing is coming to mind, but if I think of one, I’ll add it.

5) What debut author(s) or new to you author(s) have you read within the last 12 months that have impressed you?

Karen Olson (Tattoo Shop series), Robert Pobi (Bloodman), Daniel Palmer (Delirious), Chevy Stevens (Still Missing)

6) Favourite trilogy or series you recommend to others to read in the genres above?

Harlan Coben’s Myron series has only gotten better, John Verdon’s Dave Gurney series, Jeffery Deaver’s Lincoln Rhyme series, Les Roberts’s Myron Jacovich series is a local and personal favorite

7) What popular author(s) have you NOT read but is on your Wishlist?

Mark Billingham, Marcia Clark, Harry Dolan, Nicci French, the list goes on an on.

8) Other than blogs, share with us what other tools you use or subscribe to in order to keep up with the latest news on authors, new releases, book tours, etc?

Barnes & Noble, Shelf Awareness, Goodreads. Mostly it’s blogs, though.

9) What current book is hyped among the blogosphere that you want to read or are not interested in? Why or why not or link your review if you have read it.

I really need to get my hands on Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. I don’t know how it can possibly live up to the hype, but I MUST read it.

10) What is most important in these genres to you? Plot, characters, location, dialogue, red herrings, narrator or what mix of them?

I like a fast plot with great dialogue (Harlan Coben) but I also like a slower mysteries as long the characters are compelling. And I love to be shocked 🙂

11) Recommend a book made into movie you thought both were good?

I thought A Simple Plan by Scott Smith was an excellent read and the 1998 movie with Billy Bob Thornton, Bill Paxton and Bridget Fonda was great too.

12) Recommend a book you would like to discuss with others and possibly the author?

I liked Bloodman by Robert Pobi and have to think he would be fun to talk to.

Thanks for stopping by if this is your first time. I’m looking forward to finding some great blogs this week!

The Ugly Duchess by Eloisa James, TLC Tour

August 29, 20129 Comments

The Ugly Duchess, Finished 8-25-12, rating 4.25/5, romance, 331 pags, pub. 2012

Theodora Saxby is the last woman anyone expects the gorgeous James Ryburn, heir to the Duchy of Ashbrook, to marry. But after a romantic proposal before the prince himself, even practical Theo finds herself convinced of her soon-to-be duke’s passion.

Still, the tabloids give the marriage six months.

Theo would have given it a lifetime…until she discovers that James desired not her heart, and certainly not her countenance, but her dowry. Society was shocked by their wedding; it’s scandalized by their separation.

– from Goodreads

The first few chapters were very ho-hum for me. Two privileged people raised together became best friends and find themselves married. James was a little bland but Theo was more sympathetic. It’s what happens after they marry that had me reaching for this one every few minutes I could steal throughout the day. Their lives apart were so interesting that when they finally did reconnect I was ready for the fireworks. I wasn’t disappointed.

James, Duke of Ashbrook, or Black Jack, came back to London a force to be reckoned with. He started as best friend husband, but came back as alpha male pirate. Theo used the time alone well, excelling in all business matters and making their estate thrive beyond all expectation. She remade herself from the Ugly Duckling to a swan and James is the only one that saw the swan the whole time. This book will touch anyone who has ever been made fun of for their looks.

I love a good alpha male who is tamed a bit by the love of a smart woman (just a bit. I don’t want him too tame) and this was just what I wanted. I thought it was good. Even the sex scenes, which I tend to skim over when they get too long, were hot. I should note that finding a good name for a man’s most private part is a challenge in romances and the one chosen by Theo “tool” became a bit of an eye roller. I read a romance many years ago that called it “life giver” over and over and over. LG has become a household joke here.

Anyway, Eloisa James has written more novels based on fairy tales and I plan on reading them. I’m excited to discover a new romance author since there are only a handful I read faithfully. She has also written an article for USA Today about beauty. Here’s the link to the insightful story.

Highly recommended for romance fans.

I received this as part of the TLC tour. Thanks for book ladies! Check and see what everyone else has to say.

America, You Sexy Bitch by Michael Ian Black and Meghan McCain

August 15, 20125 Comments

America, You Sexy Bitch. Finished 8-14-12, rating 2.75/5, political travelogue, 309 pages, pub. 2012

Michael Ian Black, 40-something happily married father of two, liberal atheist, former Power Ranger

Meghan McCain, 27-year-old MSBNC contributor who likes her guns and alcohol, Christian Republican, current daughter of Senator John McCain

How’d they meet? Twitter! Late one night over a few tweets they decided to take a cross country trip to talk to real Americans.

Where’d they go? California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Michigan, Washington DC, Connecticut

Who did they talk to? Strippers, Mormons, Katrina survivors, military, congressmen, Muslims, random folks

What did they talk about? Guns, religion, health care, government, war, military, drugs, gay marriage

Who drank the most? Meghan

Who did I agree with more (but not always)? Michael. His opinions actually came with explanation and nuance. It may have been Meghan’s age, but her opinions came with attitude and there were many inconsistencies.

What were the good parts? I don’t know. I learned a little about the Mormons and some of the drug testing the government is working on.

Coolest parts? Because of the McCain name they had access to Fort Campbell and it’s training programs and access to Congressmen.

Bad parts? They had a hard time explaining the book to people and that’s no surprise. I read it and am still unsure about the point.

Their conclusion? Stereotypes are bad and opposites in the voting booth can still be friends.

My conclusion? Although I enjoyed the idea and Michael’s take on their travels I can’t really see much reason for recommending it. I didn’t like the first half but the second half was better. The less drinking, the better the writing.

I received this book from Mandy at The Well-Read Wife for her first ever book club. I posted two earlier discussion posts (1 & 2) and if you want to find out what the rest of the 49 people in the book club are saying about it click here.

Thank you so much Mandy for inviting me to be a part of it!

The Great Escape by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

August 9, 20127 Comments

Finished 8-8-12, rating 3.5/5, romance, 418 pages, pub. 2012

I’m counting this as stop 5 1/2 on my Ohio tour since Susan spent time living in Ohio when she was first married (I think her husband might even be an Ohio State grad) 🙂

Lucy Jorik’s story has been told by Phillips in First Lady and last year’s Call Me Irresistable. This time around she gets her own book. What happened when she walked out of her wedding to the perfect man and jumped on the back of a stranger’s motorcycle? It’s not easy for the daughter of the first woman President of the United States to disappear, but with Panda’s help she manages to do just that.

Lucy was a runaway child forced to take care of her sister in First Lady and a runaway bride in Call Me Irresistable but in this one she was more like a lost child instead of a 31 year-old woman of the world. There was also a secondary story about redemption that was sweet and even a third story involving being happy with who you are. All enjoyable, but maybe not all were needed.

Susan Elizabeth Phillips is one of a handful of authors that I buy in hardcover. I look forward to her wit and sass and characters with hot chemistry. I liked Lucy, Panda and the surrounding characters on Charity Island, but none of them really had me wanting to read faster. I did love the ending so that was a saving grace for me. The story was fine, but I was expecting more because I usually love her books so much.

A nice escape to Michigan’s ‘Charity Island’. My favorite part was the island iteself. It reminds me of the island we go to every summer, but ours in in Ohio.

Bought this one for my personal library. And I’ll be buying the next one in hardcover too! She’s still a go-to author.

Let the Devil Sleep by John Verdon, TLC tour stop

August 7, 2012August 7, 201214 Comments

Finished 8-6-12, rating 4/5, mystery/thriller, 448 pages, pub. 2012

Book 3 of the Dave Gurney series. (Book 1 – Think of a Number) (Book 2- Shut Your Eyes Tight)

Dave Gurney, highly decorated retired NYPD detective, is in a funk after his last encounter with a killer left him with both physical and mental scars. When the reporter who helped catapult Gurney to detective stardom asks him to help her daughter with a project he said yes and that’s how he got involved in a 10 year old serial killer case gone cold. The Good Shepherd killed 6 Mercedes drivers, all the same way, and then sent a manifesto to the police railing against greedy, moneyed folks. When Gurney challenges the FBI’s handling of the case he immediately butts heads with Agent Trout, an FBI guy who could do some damage to Gurney’s life.

I love all three of the Dave Gurney books. He is a complicated man who knows his strengths and weaknesses. He is a great detective, an average husband, and a not-so-wonderful dad. In the past two books Gurney’s relationship with his wife Madeleine added dimension to the man and in this one we get to see the dynamic between he and his son first-hand. I loved it. I hope we see more of his son in future books.

I was a lukewarm to the mystery at first, but it grew on me (much better than the cringe-inducing details of the second book). There was a large cast of characters and lots of overlapping storylines, but they all revolved around the Good Shepherd case and Kim’s interviewing the families for RAM-TV, kind of a cross between Fox News and TMZ. There was so much going on and I loved the fast pace of the book. I will say that I did figure it out somewhere past the halfway mark, well, I had two theories and one was correct 🙂 I wish there had been a little more wrapping up of some of the storylines at the end, but that in no way took away from my enjoyment. I love this series and highly recommend it.

I received this as part of the TLC Book Tour. Thanks for the book! Check out what everyone else had to say…

John Verdon’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Tuesday, July 24th: Wordsmithonia

Wednesday, July 25th: Jenny Loves to Read

Thursday, July 26th: Jen’s Book Thoughts

Monday, July 30th: A Bookworm’s World

Tuesday, July 31st: Sara’s Organized Chaos

Wednesday, August 1st: Life in Review

Thursday, August 2nd: Colloquium

Monday, August 6th: Booklover Book Reviews

Tuesday, August 7th: Stacy’s Books

Wednesday, August 8th: Book Addict Katie

Thursday, August 9th: House of Crime and Mystery

Monday, August 13th: Crime Fiction Lover

Tuesday, August 14th: A Novel Source

Wednesday, August 15th: Book Reviews by Elizabeth A. White

Thursday, August 16th: Bewitched Bookworms

Monday, August 20th: Girls Just Reading

Wednesday, August 22nd: Thoughts of Joy

Monday, August 27th: Musings of a Bookish Kitty

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson – audio

July 26, 201224 Comments

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. Finished 7-25-12, rating 3.5/5, Young Adult, pub. 1999

Unabridged audio 5 hours. Read by Mandy Siegfried.

Melinda is starting her freshman year as an outcast after calling the cops at an end-of-summer party. Lots of kids got in trouble and blamed Melinda. Melinda didn’t mean to spoil everyone’s fun, she meant to report a crime, one that she has kept secret and has continued to haunt her. Her friends no longer talk to her and the only one who goes out of her way is the new student Heather, who doesn’t know any better. Melinda spends her year in a janitor’s closet, skipping school, and rarely talking.

The book addresses the aftermath of rape and it is a poignant story of how a young girl can lose herself when there is no one to lean on. It is an important topic and one handled thoughtfully. I can see why so many people like it. High school is tough enough and having to start it with such a black cloud hanging over you is unimaginable.

There were a few things that kept me from loving this one, but it’s the way high school was depicted that bothered me the most. Or maybe Melanie’s silence, which at first was easy to understand, but became less so as the story continued. I had a hard time believing that not one person would talk to her in her high school. An outcast she may have been, but schools are full of them and it seems like she may have found some solace with at least one of them. I totally sympathized with her depression, she was so, so young, my heart broke for her. I hope that when this happens in real life there is at least one person who is willing to get to the bottom of what the problem is. She didn’t have one person who cared enough.

Melanie’s voice, told in first person, was perfectly captured by narrator Mandy Siegried. She captured the haunting and the hurt and depression just right.

I think I’m in the minority on not loving this one. I don’t read a lot of YA, so maybe I’m being too harsh. I did like it and think it is a perfect book to start a discussion with teens.

I checked this audio out of the library.

Stacy's Books

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