Tag: Books

Private Arrangements, by Sherry Thomas

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Private ArrangementsPrivate Arrangements. Finished 5-24-08, rating 3.5/5, romance, pub. 2008

As a romance lover, historicals are my favorite.  When they are well done they can take your to a beautiful place full of chivalry and passion that is sometimes lost on modern day romances.  This was a wonderful historical romance that works because the characters were so real.

Why would a husband and wife in love part the day after their marriage and remain on separate continents for ten years?  Surprisingly, it is their flaws that make this romance more interesting than most.  Gigi is a forward woman used to getting what she wants any way that she can get it and she wants to marry a Duke.  Camden is a Duke in waiting whose heart is pledged to another, but who is falling in love with Gigi.

Fast forward ten years and Gigi is asking for a divorce so that she can marry a man who sees the best in her.  Camden goes back to England to confront his wife and offer his conditions for divorce.  The two are forced together and neither is complaining.

The secondary story of Gigi’s mother, Victoria, is a sweet one filled with a Duke of her own.  This is a great historical from a first time author.

Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury

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Cover ImageFinished audio 5-22-08, rating 3.5/5, fiction, originally published 1953

 I listened to the book read by the author as I always try to do if possible, but this time I think it was a distraction.  Bradbury’s voice did not fit the way I was picturing in my mind.  The one saving grace was the last disc that was an interview with Bradbury.

The book is set in a cold, distant future where fireman start fires instead of putting them out.  The people are controlled by a government that wants its citizens to live blindly and do do as they are told.  Guy Montag, a fireman, meets his neighbor, Clarisse, and she begins his enlightenment with one question.  “Are you really happy?”  Clarisse opens his eyes to the past when books and ideas meant something and how awful Montag’s current job of burning books was.  Montag was shocked, but intrigued and begins his journey by stealing and reading the Bible.

I loved the idea of the book.  The theme of government slowly stripping of rights until there is no free thought is a timely one.  The melancholy future without books made me look at my overflowing bookcases with extra love 🙂

If you have read the book, I still recommend going to the library & checking out the cd’s read by Bradbury and listening to the last disc.  He gives much insight to the book and characters, but it’s much more than that.  His thoughts on writing were interesting.  ”

“You don’t want to know what you’re doing.  You must never know what you’re doing.” 

Maybe my favorite story was about his not being able to afford college.  From the ages 18-28, Bradbury spent 2 or 3 days every week in the library educating himself.  He said at 28 he graduated himself from the library.  His lenghthy interview was charming and candid.

Other reviews-

Heather @ Book Addiction

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Private Investigating, by Steven Brown

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The Complete Idiot's Guide to Private InvestigatingThe Complete Idiot’s Guide to Private Investigating. Finished 5-21-08, rating 3.5/5, non-fiction, 2nd Edition 2007

“I can’t think of anything more interesting than being a private investigator.  But it also has hour after hour of sheer tedium.”   Chapter 1

Are you thinking of hiring a private investigator?  Are you considering a career in the field?  Do you think your spouse is cheating on you?  If you answered yes to any of these questions, then this is the book for you.

This book covers a wide range of topics and handles each with ease and humor.  The first section of the book details what you need to do if you are interested in a career.  How do you break into a field where there are many more applicants than jobs?  Details such as firearms training, salary, licensing, camera and computer needs, and desired skills are all covered.

The book then moves into the do-it-yourself section.  The basics of how to find someone, how the courthouse works, and how to beat the telephone company are all covered.  I must admit that I spent a few hours checking out some of the free databases online that the book suggested and had fun until I put my own name in and realized how easy it was for someone to get information about me!

The next section they call on-the-job training.  It covers the interview, the neighborhood investigations, and surveillance (including tips on tailing someone).  It gives intruction and ideas for pretexting, which basically means what lie to tell to get the most information.  It offers six ways to get around caller id and also offers a whole chapter (16) on how to tell if your spouse is cheating.

The books was interesting, useful and full of stories of the author’s own investigations.  I was amazed at how much information was covered.  If you are ever in need of a private investigator I would recommend buying this book first.  You will save yourself a lot of money.

An Angel For Emily, by Jude Deveraux

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An Angel for EmilyFinished 5-17-08, rating 3/5, romance, pub.1998

“I’m your guardian angel and we have been together for a thousand years.”            Chapter 1

Emily is engaged to a popular newscaster in the city and she runs the local library in the small town of Greenbriar.  On a night when Emily was the center of attention and being awarded Librarian of the Year, her fiance, Donald, stands her up.  Upset, Emily hits a man with her car on a dark road and is faced with a man who called himself her guardian angel.

Michael, her personal angel, has been sent down to earth to help Emily, but he doesn’t know what he’s supposed to do.  Emily can’t believe he’s an angel, especially considering that he’s on the FBI Most Wanted list.  The two reach an understanding and some very unangelic feelings arise.

To enjoy this fun romp you must be totally willing to suspend disbelief and common sense beginning on page one.  With that said, it was fun.  The way of this spiritual world has its heart in the Hindu tradition of reincarnation, although I’m pretty sure Hinduism doesn’t believe in ‘relations’ between angels and humans.

Jumbled Books

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Here’s how to play…Identify the title and author. Leave a comment with the # and the answer and I’ll cross it off the list. No Googling, that’s cheating and no fun! If you know them all, please don’t guess every one, maybe five max? Hint: These are all current NYT Bestsellers.

1. HTE PAPALE by HJNO MHSIRGA, Jason, THE APPEAL by John Grisham

2. TTNYEW SSHIWE by EEBIDB MMCABORE  TWENTY WISHES BY DEBBIE MACOMBER

3. LDHO ITTGH by LAARHN NECBO, Jason, HOLD TIGHT by Harlan Coben

4. ETH OWLEH HURTT by IDDVA DCACBLAI Jill, THE WHOLE TRUTH by David Baldacci

5. HGECAN FO ARTHE by IJDO CULTIPO  Jill, CHANGE OF HEART by Jodi Picoult

6. NETSA EF ADED by TARTUS DOWSO SANTE FE DEAD BY STUART WOODS

7. YASDUN TA FITSAYN’F by JESMA NAPTRTOSE Jill, SUNDAY AT TIFFANY”S by James Patterson

8. HEREW ERA UYO OWN? by RYAM GGIIHNS LACKR Sarah, WHERE ARE YOU NOW? by Mary Higgins Clark

9. REECSST by JEDU VEERAXURD Sarah, SECRETS BY JUDE DEVERAUX

10. KEELSNOTS TA ETH AFTES by RICHS JOHLAANIB  SKELETONS AT THE FEAST BY CHRIS BOHJALIAN

How To Be Invisible, by J.J. Luna

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Cover ImageFinished 5-14-08, rating 3.5/5, non-fiction, revised 2004

Full title-How To Be Invisible: The Essential Guide to Protecting Your Personal Privacy, Your Assets, and Your Life

“If, in fact, you have ever received a letter or a package at your present address and under your real name, the only way to protect your privacy is to move.”  Chapter 6

This quote is the starting point of every step in this book and if that scares you or makes you shake your head in amusement, you should take a look at this book.  In the few days it took me to read it I felt like not only was Big Brother watching, but so were Giant Daddy, Nosy Momma, and Little Sister.

First, this book is full of ways to make yourself disappear, but also full of stories from people who actually have.  There is information why it is important that no one have your name and correct address (the author has no mailbox) and how to obtain a ghost address.  A Limited Liability Company is one way to protect yourself and the author keeps spares on a shelf.  He suggests using nominees (friends, family) to help you open up bank accounts.  But, even if you do not to any of these things, just reading the book will open your eyes to ways where you might be vulnerable.

There were a couple recommendations that were new to me.  He gives instructions on how to bury ‘treasure’ (whatever that may be to you) in the desert and then how to leave directions after you die.  He also recommends that you raise your children to be self-employed, no college, so that they can always be invisible. 

I was somewhat naive about all the ways the government, companies, people could keep track of me, but not anymore.  I don’t think that the average person can do all or even most of what he suggests.  While I see the benefit, not too many people are willing to live this way unless they are forced to.  It takes a lot of time and effort to make yourself invisible.  If you feel like you need to hide then this is the book for you.  It was a very interesting read.  If you are curious, I’d recommend checking out his website, www.howtobeinvisible.com.

The Poet by Michael Connelly

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The PoetFinished 5-13-08, rating 4.5/5, fiction, pub. 1996

“It’s lucky no one else knows what our most secret thoughts are.  We’d all be seen for the cunning, self-aggrandizing fools we are.”    Chapter 15

This was a great mystery.  A killer was mutilating bodies after he killed them and then once a detective became obsessed with the case the detective was killed too.  This went undiscovered for many years because the detective’s deaths were ruled suicides.  But reporter Jack McEvoy just lost his twin brother and doesn’t want to believe it was suicide so he sets out to prove it wasn’t.

Once Jack convinces his brother’s partner he sets out to see if he can prove it had been done before.  Jack flies to Washington DC to investigate and inadvertantly opens a FBI task force before he can go public with his own story.  Jack then must force his way into the story and begins his whirlwind journey with the FBI.

This book has it all: grief, revenge, love, murder, guilt, and the chase.  If you love mysteries you cannot go wrong with this one.  This will keep you guessing til the end.  I know Connelly has a current mystery series and I bet when I find the time to read one it will be good too!

Similar Authors

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I am in the process of starting a page of Similar Authors.  “If you like___, you’ll like ___…”  I will only be recommending authors that I have read and my recommendations will only be my humble opinion, of course.  But, if you have any suggestions of your own, please leave them as a comment on the page. 

If you are interested in a comprehensive list (not just my own much shorter offering) try this website

http://www.literature-map.com/

This is a fun interactive map that can help you find authors that are similar to the ones that you like.  Type in your author and his or her name will be in the middle with other authors floating around.  The names closest to your chosen author are the most similar.  You can also click on any name on the map and it will put that author in the middle and start again.  Try it- it’s fun!

And don’t forget to check out my Similar Authors page once in awhile, right now it is still a work in progress.

Gangsters and Goodfellas:The Mob, Witness Protection & Life on the Run by Henry Hill

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Book CoverFinished 5-4-08, rating 2.5/5, non-fiction, pub. 2004

The bestselling book Wiseguys and the movie Goodfellas was based on the life of ex-mobster Henry Hill.  This book is about his life, how he got caught, the witness protection program, his addictions and where he is now. 

I don’t like mob movies.  I know I’ve seen Goodfellas, but I’ve washed away the memories.  I know with the success of the Sopranos people seem to know more about the mob than they used to, but I’ve never seen it.  So, I actually learned quite a bit about the mob and what goes on and I did find it interesting.  I was more interested in his witness protection experience.  He admits to jerking around the Marshals and being a pain to the men protecting him.  After reading WITSEC I found his attitude a little disheartening, but I guess that’s because I sympathize with the law.

Hill seems to have built a life by people rewarding him for all the bad things he’s done.  The government still pays him to consult or something which I find maddening as a tax payer.  Judgment aside the book was entertaining.  It reads like he is sitting in front of you telling his story, sometimes straightforward and sometimes in circles.  If you are at all interested in this stuff you will probably like this book, but even if you find it a little repulsive you will not be bored.  Hill seems like quite a character.