Perceptions are reality

Stealing Faces

Ever bought a book by mistake...not a hard copy...an electronic book.  I did, thanks to my 1-click purchase button on Amazon!

Well, sometimes a mistake is good.  Sometimes it is bad.

In this case, I loved the book.  It is not my usual fare...a murder mystery.  It starts off pretty gruesomely, but quickly evolves into a tale told by a stalker.  Is the stalker crazy?  Is she innocent?  Who's the victim? Hmmmm?

It is a finger-flicker for sure!  (That's iPad talk for page-turner!)

I couldn't put it down and even got in trouble when my whole family got up to leave a restaurant and I didn't even notice because I was scurrying through the author's fantastic story!

This is a MUST read! 

I've never read a Michael Prescott book before, but this one is awesome!

Peculiar things of note

I read the most entertaining book!  It's called, "Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children," by Ransom Riggs.

I loved it for two reasons.  First it's highly entertaining and imaginative! 

Secondly, it combines photography and writing of which I love both!

It tells a tale of a boy who loves his grandfather's stories until he believes that his grandfather's stories are more tall-tale than truth.

When he witnesses the death of his grandfather, he quickly learns there was more to his grandfather's life than what the tall tales let on!

Being a quick read, this is the perfect book to let your mind relax and take an interesting journey into the unknown.  I think the original Twilight Zone could have done gangbusters with this story!

FYI - the photography in the book is drawn from private collections of antique photograph collectors.  They range from the quirky to the extremely bizarre.  The writer drew his inspiration from these unusual images!  I put this in my, "Must Read!" list!

Never Let Me Go

Just finished a really interesting book by Japanese-born British author Kazuo Ishiguro called "Never Let Me Go."

It's a story about some kids at a school called Hailsham and their journey into life after school.  Only thing is that these kids are special...no reference to parents or relatives or siblings.  Why are their last names only letters?  Hmmmm.

Their Guardians teach them and care for them, but what are they not teaching them?

It is a fascinating read and offers some disturbing, thought-provoking forays into the medical community.

Definitely a must-read!

It's been made into a movie and I can't wait to watch the DVD!

A good read!

I'm still reading, but I've been a little indulgent in reading my regular books (i.e., Terry Brooks) that I haven't posted anything about another author.  But I finished "Super Sad True Love Story," by Gary Shteyngart. 

Very INTERESTING!

Very scary!

While this is fiction, it almost reads like a history of the future! 

Let's just hope Lenny and Euny are fiction!!

The Road

Ok!  Awesome book, although a bit dismal.  Or is bleak a better word?  Either way, horrifyingly good book. 

Cormac McCarthy apparently specializes in western type thrillers, but this book is set in modern day/post-nuclear war time. 

A father and his son trudge the road in search of other "Goodies."  Along the way the encounter the "baddies" and some of that is truly mind-bending, don't-want-to-think-about-it-awful!

As an FYI...this book was made into a movie and is now available on DVD.

I'm going to check it out!

I've been a busy bee!

This story is full of symbolism and is one of those stories with a deep, dark secret.  The publishers would not hint at the secret and I'm glad they did not!  You have to keep reading to discover it and then when you do it is a terrible secret!  This is one book that has had lots and lots of quotable points in it and was quite thought provoking.  This one is set in England and relates stories from Nigeria! 

Definitely read this one!

All I can say is that this book will definitely cause one to rethink their perspective on things!

Thanks to Chris Cleave for this story about "Little Bee"!

A good read!

Hope you love pie!  I sure do!  There's pecan pie.  Pumpkin pie!  Chocolate pie...banana cream pie.  Humble pie...and then there is the pie in this book!  I belly rolled twice about pie and I never thought that was possible!  Now pie is not the point of the book, but it is awesome!

The setting is 1960's Jackson, Mississippi and I think it is a wonderful story of hope and change.

The story is told from the perspective of two black maids and one daughter and recipient of "The Help."

Put this one on your to-do list!  I think Kathryn Stockett did an awesome job on this story!

Read if you can!

Ok..so you'll need a nice time frame to read this at 574 pages of single-lined print!  But it is worth the read.  There is a surprising "reveal" towards the end of the book and Nick Harkaway has to be one of the most clever writers of this era!  Completely caught me off guard!

This has everything from the Apocalypse to ninjas to love stories.  Everything old is new again!  Or is it?

You gotta read this to get it!

Oh yeah, if this does not become a movie, I'll be shocked!  Although it will take a director with some major cojones to pull it off.

(This is the cover to the US paperback).

A fun read!

So are you into classics?  Classics with a twist? 

If your answer is yes, yes, then you need to read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies!  It's pretty cool how Seth Grahame-Smith manipulates the classic into a zombie field of fun!

I check a few important points in the original to contrast to this version and the outcomes are pretty interesting. 

Poor Miss Lucas :(

A New "Must Read"

I just finished The Magicians by Lev Grossman.  Excellent book, although I will admit I had a little trouble getting through the first half.  The second half more than makes up for that.  This is a fantasy novel and it is kind of like Harry Potter goes to a drunken college to become an adult magician/wizard.

I think JK Rowling would scowl at the comparison, but nonetheless, it is a good adult novel. Keep the kiddos away unless you want to be explaining a lot of stuff!

This book is about Quentin who hates his life as he teeters of self-destructive boredom everyday.  He is transported to a magic university where he is educated in all things magic.  While happy he still wishes he could go to his Utopia called "Fillory."  At the school he has to temper his desire because most of the students consider "Fillory" to be a magic place that exists solely in the imagination of a children's book writer.

Let's just say he graduate and stuff happens!  Good, good, good read!!!!!

One side note, this cover art is interesting because I think people will argue about where this really is!