Friday, April 24, 2015

"Signature of All Things" - Elizabeth Gilbert

Hello fellow bibliophiles! I know I just posted a new review for you but I have one other to share. Unfortunately it falls into the "Did Not Finish" pile. This hardly ever happens in my life. Normally I just push through and finish a book no matter how good or bad. There was just no way to finish this one though.

The book was Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert. Now, I was a fan of her more widely known book, Eat, Pray, Love that I am sure majority of you have heard of, or at least know of the movie. This book though, just doesn't compare. I could never figure out where the story was going or how each part played into the next. The book is about a family, the Whitakers of Philadelphia, but mostly centers around the daughter, Alma. Alma loves to learn. She forever is reading, studying, and asking questions about why things are the way they are. She becomes a scientist. The plot leads you down the path and journey of her life and discovery. What I did not understand though, is there never seemed to be a climax or "point" to the story. Chapters bounced around from one thing to the next, skipping and jumping years or months with no clear rhyme or reason. It was confusing and unfocused.

I gave this book many chances. I really did. But it never sparked my interest no matter how much I read. I was constantly struggling to understand why this or that thought mattered in the book and where the story was heading. After weeks of trying, I finally gave up. Once again, I'm a quitter (See review from Zone One).  Life is too short to read bad books! As always, feel free to share and recommendations, comments, or your thoughts on the book!

Happy reading fools :)

"Shadow Kiss" - Richelle Mead

Hello fellow bibliophiles! I know it has been about 2 weeks since my last post and I sincerely apologize. It's our busy time at work and slowing down is nowhere in sight unfortunately. BUT I have revised my schedule for next month and a half to squeeze in reading (and writing) time! Hopefully this new schedule should allow me to get back on a more consistent posting routine. There might be a few more throwback reviews if my reading does happen to get off a bit. Until that time though, here is what I have recently finished!

I'm sure some of you are sick of seeing reviews about The Vampire Academy Series and trust me I am ready for them to be done as well. I have this weird problem though where I cannot stop reading a series I have started even if the books are not that great. Plus I am a Big Sister for the local Big Brothers Big Sisters program and my Little Sister is reading these as well. I try to read the same series or books as her so we can talk about them on our activities together. So until then, you're going to have to suffer as I am. I know previously I have talked about the first and second book in the series (make sure to check out my previous posts!) and while the second book was progressively better than the first, I think Mead has reached her peak level with this book. The story line progresses well and the reader gains a deeper understanding for the bond between the two main characters, Lissa and Rose. But Rose does start to resort back to her "whiny" ways, typical of a 17 year old, which can get annoying at times. In this book, Rose and her fellow dhamphirs are tested on real scenarios for protecting their Moroi from Strigoi attacks. Add in Rose seeing ghosts, feeling like she is going mad, an actually Strigoi attack, Moroi using magic in battle, and of course progress on the Dimitri front, leads to a lot of choices and decisions that have the possibility to change her life forever.

I do like but not love the series. The books do have an interesting concept and story line for supernatural, young adult fans. I'm not quite sure though how Mead is going to continue the series from where it left off in this book. I have a feeling the books are on a downhill slide unfortunately. I'll be sure to let you as I just picked up the next book from the library yesterday. I can tell you are all yearning impatiently to know what happens next :) As always, feel free to share any recommendations, comments, or suggestions!

Happy reading fools :)

Saturday, April 11, 2015

"The Little Paris Bookshop" - Nina George

Hello fellow bibliophiles! After Easter and a crazy hectic work week, I was FINALLY able to resume reading my ARC (Thank you NetGalley!) copy of The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George. This book was amazing. A beautifully wrote story about a book seller who refers to himself as a "literary apothecary." How fantastic is that phrase! He not only sells his patrons books, but prescribes books to help them through whatever current problem or challenge in life they are facing.

"There are books that are suitable for a million people, others for only a hundred. There are even remedies - I mean books - that were written for one person only.. A book is both medic and medicine at once. It makes a diagnosis as well as offering therapy. Putting the right novels to the right aliments: that's how I sell books." 

Throughout the book there were so many times when I said to myself "I love that" referring to different phrases and sentences. For someone who loves books and understands the power they can have on a person, this book was a masterpiece in my opinion. I felt I understood perfectly everything George was trying to convey and she did it through a wonderful love story of a bookseller. A love story about books, a love story about a women once desired and now gone forever, a love story about our journeys in life and how one decision or one chance encounter can change our lives forever. Perfection.

I highly recommend this book. I just finished it and yet I'm ready to read it again. Expected publication for this novel is June 23, 3015.  Thanks again NetGalley for the opportunity to read this advanced copy! Please feel free to share any comments, suggestions, and recommendations. Sorry in the lapse of reviews lately! This is a crazy month for me so I promise to do the best I can in getting new reviews up. Now go find a perfect tree outside to read under and enjoy the nice weather this weekend has given to us!

Happy reading fools :)