Currently reading
Hurt: Inside the World of Today's Teenagers
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America
Law and Gospel: How to Read and Apply the Bible
Catching Fire
To be completely honest; I wasn't all that thrilled with how this book was going along until I got about 2/3 of the way through it. It just felt like the author had run out of good ideas for the book. It seemed as if she was just retelling the first story with the changing of a few names and changing a very small part about the games themselves. I guess what I'm saying is that the book seemed very slow to me.Having said that, I am totally happy with the book as a whole now that I am done with it. Once I got into the last third of the book the rest of the buildup and story started to make more sense. I hate when books start out kind of slow because I have the tendency to lose interest and not want to finish them out. I'm glad that I didn't do that with this book. Collins found a way to bring it all back around with some pretty exciting action toward the end of the book. The ending of this book just leaves you waiting to see what is going to happen next.
The characters from the first book continued to develop nicely through this book and there were some interesting new characters inserted. It will be interesting to see how they all come together in the third book. My hope for the third book is that it is as gripping through the whole thing as this one was through the last third of the book.
Overall Rating: 4/5
The Hunger Games
After watching dozens and dozens of videos and reading a ton of blogs about how good this book, and series, was I decided it was time to pick it up and start reading it. I have to say that this book lived up to the expectations that I had for it. Often times when a book receives so much hype it has a hard time living up to it. This wasn't the case for "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins. Collins does a wonderful job of transporting you into a world that I don't think any of us could imagine happening. You feel like you are there at the reaping and you are pouring your heart out with Katniss at what happens at the reaping. You are then pulled into the Capital with her and Peeta as they are preparing for the games. I was on the edge of my seat and turning pages as fast as I could once the hunger games started. I have to say that this book is excellent in terms of plot, character development, and readability. I must admit though, that I am curious as to where Collins is going to go with the next book in the series. She ended it at an interesting time in the story. I guess that's what keeps us book obsessed folks coming back for more though. If the second one is as good as the first one I will be pleasantly surprised and this series may end up being one of my favorites of all time.Overall Rating: 5/5
ArchEnemy
This is the 3rd, and final, book in "The Looking Glass Wars" trilogy. When I started this book I was very intrigued about how Beddor was going to wrap up all the loose ends from the first two books in the series. I have to say I was not disappointed. The only frustration I had with the book was the very abrupt end. The endings to the other two books were awesome, but I have to say that the ending to this one lacked a little bit in my opinion. It did the job of tying everything up but it was so abrupt that it almost felt like he couldn't figure out a proper way to bring it to an end.Despite the ending I would highly recommend not only this book, but the entire trilogy to anyone that is an avid YA reader. These books take you into the world of Wonderland in a way that I could have never imagined. The trilogy encompasses a great story with many twists and turns that will keep you entertained throughout. It gives a fresh life to many of the classic characters that you remember from Alice in Wonderland. This trilogy does a great job of bringing these characters to life for a new generation of readers to enjoy for years to come.
Overall I would give this book a solid 4.5/5
Seeing Redd
This is the second book in "The Looking Glass Wars" by Frank Beddor. I'm always nervous about the second book in a trilogy because it always seems to be the weakest link of all of them. Usually it is just a book full of story build up so that the author has something huge to end it with in the last book. This wasn't the case with this one. Beddor does a fantastic job of making this a fun to read part of the overall story.The characters progress along very well from the first book and through this one. As you can probably tell from the title the book focuses a lot on the character "Redd". It's fascinating to watch what becomes of her and her cohorts and how that relates back to the other main characters in the trilogy. Along the way there are plenty of twists and turns that you don't see coming at all.
While, in my opinion, this book isn't your typical middle book in a trilogy because it has such a great story that could stand by itself; it does do a wonderful job of making you eager to read the final book. There are plenty of open story lines and ways that this whole thing could still play out. Beddor is a wonderfully refreshing author and I can't wait to read the third and final book in this trilogy.
Overall Rating: 4/5
The Looking Glass Wars
I have to say that when I first looked at this book I wasn't sure If I was going to like it. My first thought was that the Alice in Wonderland story has been told and retold so many times that I didn't know how someone was going to make it new and interesting. I could not have been more wrong. Beddor does a fantastic job of painting a wonderland that is new and different from anything you have ever read about. The characters are the same, but he does a great job of tweaking them just enough as well. For instance, instead of having the "Mad Hatter" you have "Hatter Madigan". Not only is the name different but he also plays a much different role from his counterpart in the Carrol classic.
The idea of a war for wonderland is fantastic and Beddor does a wonderful job of painting you into that war with the way that he writes. This book moves at a great pace. I never found myself having to fight through certain chapters or parts of the book to get to the next interesting section.
I very much enjoyed this book and am looking forward to the next installment in the trilogy. I hope it meets the high expectations that the first book has set in my mind.
Overall rating: 5/5
The Warrior Heir
The Warrior Heir is one of the best books I've read in at least the last 6 months. I'm glad about that because I was kind of on a string of mediocre books and it was getting frustrating. Chima does a fantastic job of getting you hooked from the first page. The book starts out kind of mysteriously and keeps you turning pages to see what's going to happen and how it is all going to tie together in the end. The main character, Jack, is a fantastic "hero". He's likable and you always find yourself pulling for him in whatever situation he finds himself in. He is very unassuming and kind of wants to stay out of the limelight. As the book moves along he doesn't have much of a choice in the matter so it's fun to see how he's going to handle himself.
The storyline of the book is wonderful. It's very intriguing and fun to follow. The book has a great blend of "predictable" stuff and "twists". Just when you think you are honed in on what is going to happen at the end there is a new tweak added in that makes you rethink where the book might end up. There are also points in the book were I laughed out loud because some of the story is told in a small town in Ohio and there are some very typical small town things at play.
If you are looking for a light read that will keep you entertained then this is the book for you. I can't wait to get into the second and third book in this series.
My Rating: 5/5
Jesus Manifesto
I just finished up this book and I have to say it is one of the best Religion based books I have read in a long time. I read a lot of books in this genre because I work at a church so I like to keep up with what's coming out.I think the greatest thing about this book is the simplicity of it. The message, at least as I read it, was short and sweet: keep Christ as the center of your life and let Him live through you and in you. Now, that may sound stupid to many of you because we know that that is what we are supposed to be doing with our lives. But, how many of us are actually doing it. This book is a great wakeup call for Christians to examine their lives and take stock as to whether or not they are truly doing this.
The authors do a great job of keeping it moving and not trying to over explain everything. They pull in great quotes from some really well known sources and also from some obscure and surprising sources. There is not an overwhelming amount of deep theological discussion either. You can run into that sometimes in this genre.
This book was a homerun in my opinion. It is written well, gets to the point, and keeps you engaged. Plus, it has a great subject matter...Christ. This book is easily in my top 3 of this genre.
I would give this book a 5/5.
Brisingr
I would have to say that I give this book 3.5/5 stars. I have the same issues with this book as I did with the first two in the series. The book starts out really fast paced and ends in a flurry of action. The problem is that all of this action at the start and the finish comes at a price in the middle. The book is so slow through the middle that it is almost unbearable.I appreciate good character and world development as much as any reader does, but there comes a point when you go too far with it. Paolini reaches that point and perhaps goes over it. I'm not an author, far from it in fact, but I feel like he could have accomplished the same effect he got with about 100-200 less pages. Don't get me wrong, it's a great story but it takes him too long to tell it.
I will get off of my soapbox now. He does a great job of storytelling at the end and completely makes up for the dragging through the middle. So, I will get the 4th book when it comes out. As far as I know he hasn't set a release date yet for the last book. I hope it's not too far off because I don't want to have to read through all of these books again to remember what happened and why. I guess we'll just have to see how it goes.
Rating: 3.5/5
Eldest
I just finished up reading the second book in the Inheritance Cycle. I found Eldest to be a lot like Eragon in that it was a very long book that too a very long time to get exciting. I was so bored with the book that I put it down for about 3 months and picked it back up a few weeks ago to finish it.I am glad that I took a chance on picking it back up. The book dragged terribly for the first 500 pages (I guess I'm a stubborn reader for sticking with it that long) but the last 150ish pages made up for how slow it was.
Paolini does a great job of character and scene development. In fact, he almost does too good of a job on it as it takes up a majority of the book. He also does an amazing job of creating a vivid scene. There is a war at the end of the book and the imagery is so good that you feel like you are standing there on the field with everyone else during the war.
I would have to say that overall I am satisfied with this book. I wasn't blown out of the water by any stretch of the imagination but I was not overly disappointed in the book either.
My rating: 3.5/5
Recommendation: If you are a die hard fantasy novel reader it is worth the read. If you are just looking to start your journey in the fantasy realm I would say that there are better options out there for you to dabble with.
In the Woods
I just couldn't get into this book and had to put it down. I haven't put a book down in over a year but I had to put this one down. The plot was taking too long to develop and it was driving me nuts.
The Brethren
This is probably the 5th or 6th Grisham book that I have read and I would have to say that it is a middle of the pack book for him. It's isn't great but it also wasn't terrible. Most of the time when I pick up a Grisham book I have a hard time putting it down and will read it until it's finished. That was not the case with this book.The plot took a very long time to develop and once it did you could see the ending coming for about 100 pages. Usually with his books there is a surprise at the end but when this one ended it just left me feeling kind of slighted. It ended quickly and without much resolution. He kind of left it open for a follow up book but I don't know how he would do that. So in my mind the book just didn't seem complete which is a shame because the idea behind the plot is very good and very intriguing. I feel like so much more could have been done that wasn't.
If you are a die hard Grisham fan and haven't read this book I would put it closer to the bottom of the list then the top of books that you still need to read of his.
