Title: Deja Dead
Author: Kathy Reichs
Genre: Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Brief Synopsis: Deja Dead is the first installment in the Temperance Brennan series. The lead character Tempe Brennan is a Forensic Anthropologist who splits her time between Montreal, Canada and Charlotte, North Carolina. She works with for the coroner studying bones. She starts assisting the police making connections in cases which she believes is the work of a serial killer. The police don't believe her so she starts trying to prove she's right, and to prevent another grisly murder. But meddling in the work of a potential serial killer puts Tempe and her friends and family in danger.
Comments: I love this author. Kathy Reichs rocks. I have read 6 other books in the series (10 total) and they were all awesome. Deja Dead is the first in the series (I read out of order--not too important). All the books in the series are very fast paced and definitely keep me glued to it until the end. This was one of the more...gory...books. There are all these graphic murders happening in Montreal and Tempe has a feeling they're connected. One of the reasons I love this series is because they are so accurate. Kathy Reichs is a real life Forensic Anthropologist so you get a real insight to that profession. I seriously didn't think I was going to like this Genre in general and now I'm positively in love with the books. Oh and the Fox TV show Bones is based on the books. But I'll warn you they are verrrry different. Pretty much the only thing that's the same is her name and the profession. But I seriously recommend these books. I am completely hooked!
Classify: Exciting, Educational
Worth Reading?: Yes definitely. While not considered a classic, it's really fun to read, and you still learn about Forensics which is really interesting--to me at least!
Did you find this book particularly easy or difficult?: Well...it makes you think about the outcome and what's going to happen, plus there's some French which isn't always completely translated so you have to deduce what it's saying (nothing important). But no not particularly easy or difficult.
Would you read this again?: Once I have seen the plot revealed with books like these I don't typically read them again, but I keep reading more in the series, I positively love them so I think that's a testament to how good they are.
How long did it take you to finish?: I started Saturday afternoon and finished Tuesday morning.
Great books!!
Kendal <3
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
A Prayer For Owen Meany
Title: A Prayer For Owen Meany
Author: John Irving (woot!)
Genre: Pretty difficult to classify...Fiction hehe
Brief Synopsis: Wow. A brief synopsis for Owen Meany is impossible. I think I could write a whole Novel telling you about this story! I'll give it a shot. It's a coming of age story...sort of. It jumps around a lot from the present day Johnny Wheelwright (the narrator and Owen's best friend) telling you about his current life and telling the story of Owen. Owen is an unusually small boy with a wrecked voice (I will never forget how John Irving did his voice!) and he is very intelligent. The book ties in with religion when Owen believe he is God's instrument. The plot goes through everything, war, blood, death, love, and everything in between with a liberal dose of humor. The Vietnam war is going on during the story and becomes a big part of it. Secrecy is another key factor into the story of Owen Meany. You have to wait and wait to find out what it really is all about. An excellent well crafted last scene.
Comments:This book is smartly written, but not what I was expecting. There's a fair bit of time spent talking about the war in Vietnam (none of which I understood) seeing as it comes to be one of the biggest parts of the story. I feel like if I had tried to write a story in this type of format it would have been the worst thing ever written, but John Irving pulled it off. I absolutely fell in love with the character Owen Meany. He's serious but hilarious, and no doubt heartbreaking. Johnny and Owen live in a small town and all the characters from the town are extremely colorful and are all charming in their own way. The Nativity scene is hilarious and one of my favorites. Irving pulled it off quite supremely. Owen Meany did however take me forever to read and seemed quite long.
Classify: Funny, Long, Heartbreaking
Worth Reading?: Uh...maybe, yes. I haven't read any of Irving's other books but this was enough to know he's superb. If you skip this one, try another. Owen Meany's story, while strange, is different than anything I've read, and quite charming.
Did you find this book particularly easy or difficult?: I had a hard time reading the rants about Vietnam. Since I didn't understand any of that, that was difficult. But other than that no.
Would you read this again?: Oh man, not for a while. It took me forever to read. Maybe some day, but not for years.
How long did it take you to finish?: I'd rather not put a time period on that because it took me a Longggg time. It's about 600 pages. For a long time though I just didn't crave it so I didn't pick it up.
--I hope this helps!
Kendal <3
Author: John Irving (woot!)
Genre: Pretty difficult to classify...Fiction hehe
Brief Synopsis: Wow. A brief synopsis for Owen Meany is impossible. I think I could write a whole Novel telling you about this story! I'll give it a shot. It's a coming of age story...sort of. It jumps around a lot from the present day Johnny Wheelwright (the narrator and Owen's best friend) telling you about his current life and telling the story of Owen. Owen is an unusually small boy with a wrecked voice (I will never forget how John Irving did his voice!) and he is very intelligent. The book ties in with religion when Owen believe he is God's instrument. The plot goes through everything, war, blood, death, love, and everything in between with a liberal dose of humor. The Vietnam war is going on during the story and becomes a big part of it. Secrecy is another key factor into the story of Owen Meany. You have to wait and wait to find out what it really is all about. An excellent well crafted last scene.
Comments:This book is smartly written, but not what I was expecting. There's a fair bit of time spent talking about the war in Vietnam (none of which I understood) seeing as it comes to be one of the biggest parts of the story. I feel like if I had tried to write a story in this type of format it would have been the worst thing ever written, but John Irving pulled it off. I absolutely fell in love with the character Owen Meany. He's serious but hilarious, and no doubt heartbreaking. Johnny and Owen live in a small town and all the characters from the town are extremely colorful and are all charming in their own way. The Nativity scene is hilarious and one of my favorites. Irving pulled it off quite supremely. Owen Meany did however take me forever to read and seemed quite long.
Classify: Funny, Long, Heartbreaking
Worth Reading?: Uh...maybe, yes. I haven't read any of Irving's other books but this was enough to know he's superb. If you skip this one, try another. Owen Meany's story, while strange, is different than anything I've read, and quite charming.
Did you find this book particularly easy or difficult?: I had a hard time reading the rants about Vietnam. Since I didn't understand any of that, that was difficult. But other than that no.
Would you read this again?: Oh man, not for a while. It took me forever to read. Maybe some day, but not for years.
How long did it take you to finish?: I'd rather not put a time period on that because it took me a Longggg time. It's about 600 pages. For a long time though I just didn't crave it so I didn't pick it up.
--I hope this helps!
Kendal <3
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Wutheing Heights
Title: Wuthering Heights
Author: Emily Bronte
Genre: Classic
Brief Synopsis: Told from the perspective of a servant, Ellen Dean, the entire life story of an orphan, Heathcliff, who was brought to live with the Earnshaws. A story of obsessive love and its consequences.
Comments: I had heard that this book was really good, and when I look back on it, it was. I never get to really enjoy these books because of the pressure of having to do a book evaluation on them. It's a little confusing with switching back from past to present, but it is a captivating story.
Classify: Not too long, well written, will keep your attention
Worth Reading?: Yes. It is a classic, and it is really good. I recommend it, but not if you have to rush to read it. It's god if you take your time and really read it.
Would I read this again?: I think I will, but not for a while. One reason being that I have about 8 books I have to read before it, but other than that I just want it to sink in a little more and then reread it.
How long did it take me?: Like always, with no time to read, it took me awhile. But if I had more time, I think it wouldn't have taken so long. It's about 280 pages, so its pretty short.
Did I find it particularly easy or difficult?: There are a good number of names to remember, but it's not terribly hard. It's an easy read if you keep everything in line.
Author: Emily Bronte
Genre: Classic
Brief Synopsis: Told from the perspective of a servant, Ellen Dean, the entire life story of an orphan, Heathcliff, who was brought to live with the Earnshaws. A story of obsessive love and its consequences.
Comments: I had heard that this book was really good, and when I look back on it, it was. I never get to really enjoy these books because of the pressure of having to do a book evaluation on them. It's a little confusing with switching back from past to present, but it is a captivating story.
Classify: Not too long, well written, will keep your attention
Worth Reading?: Yes. It is a classic, and it is really good. I recommend it, but not if you have to rush to read it. It's god if you take your time and really read it.
Would I read this again?: I think I will, but not for a while. One reason being that I have about 8 books I have to read before it, but other than that I just want it to sink in a little more and then reread it.
How long did it take me?: Like always, with no time to read, it took me awhile. But if I had more time, I think it wouldn't have taken so long. It's about 280 pages, so its pretty short.
Did I find it particularly easy or difficult?: There are a good number of names to remember, but it's not terribly hard. It's an easy read if you keep everything in line.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Lord of the Flies
Title: Lord of the Flies
Author: William Golding
Genre: Classic
Brief Synopsis: Lord of the Flies is about a group of British school boys that get trapped on a uninhabited island. The boys have fun at first, loving the freedom, loving the life without grown-ups until fear and disagreement splits the island.
Comments: I had heard from several people, prior to reading this, that this book was just plain old gross, which made me hesitant to read it. Despite the comments I still read it, and I didn't find it that bad. Don't get the wrong idea, it's a deeply disturbing book about humans and their behavior in crisis. There were several times that made me sick to my stomach. It is extremely well written. I'm still not exactly sure how I feel about this book. This book was just one of those that I feel is kind of going to carry some weight with me forever. It has such a strong message...disturbing as it is...it makes an impression. I feel hesitant to say I liked it, but not because I didn't...just because you can't really Like what it all represents...but it's a fantastic book. If you read this might make a little more sense to you!
Classify: Short, well written, disturbing.
Worth Reading?: Yes. Definitely. Read it. It's a classic and shouldn't be missed.
Would I read this again?: I'm not quite up to that yet...but yes. Some point down the road I would like to read it again. I think it's one of those books that shocks you the first time around, and you need to read it again to get deeper meaning.
How long did it take me?: It's 200 pages, very short, and it goes by very quickly. It's fast moving and is over before you know it.
Did I find it particularly easy or difficult?: There are some words that I didn't know and there are just beautiful descriptive paragraphs, so it's not really easy but not difficult.
Author: William Golding
Genre: Classic
Brief Synopsis: Lord of the Flies is about a group of British school boys that get trapped on a uninhabited island. The boys have fun at first, loving the freedom, loving the life without grown-ups until fear and disagreement splits the island.
Comments: I had heard from several people, prior to reading this, that this book was just plain old gross, which made me hesitant to read it. Despite the comments I still read it, and I didn't find it that bad. Don't get the wrong idea, it's a deeply disturbing book about humans and their behavior in crisis. There were several times that made me sick to my stomach. It is extremely well written. I'm still not exactly sure how I feel about this book. This book was just one of those that I feel is kind of going to carry some weight with me forever. It has such a strong message...disturbing as it is...it makes an impression. I feel hesitant to say I liked it, but not because I didn't...just because you can't really Like what it all represents...but it's a fantastic book. If you read this might make a little more sense to you!
Classify: Short, well written, disturbing.
Worth Reading?: Yes. Definitely. Read it. It's a classic and shouldn't be missed.
Would I read this again?: I'm not quite up to that yet...but yes. Some point down the road I would like to read it again. I think it's one of those books that shocks you the first time around, and you need to read it again to get deeper meaning.
How long did it take me?: It's 200 pages, very short, and it goes by very quickly. It's fast moving and is over before you know it.
Did I find it particularly easy or difficult?: There are some words that I didn't know and there are just beautiful descriptive paragraphs, so it's not really easy but not difficult.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
To Kill A Mockingbird--Kendal
Title: To Kill A Mockingbird
Author: Harper Lee
Genre: Classic
Brief Synopsis: I'll just add a little to Casey's. It's about Scout an eight year old girl looking back on a time of prejudice and ignorance in her southern town. Her father defends an African American man accused of raping a white girl.
Comments: I thought I would just add another review, if there were any of you still with a doubt! This is one of my favorite books of all time! I read it for school and I thought going into it that it was probably going to be really dull and just boring. And then I read it and it's told by this little girl as her perspective from when she's an adult and looking back on her childhood, it's very hard not to fall in love with Scout. I highly, highly recommend this book.
Classify: It's not that long and it's pretty easy, just really good.
Worth Reading?: Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely!!!
Would I read this again?: Yes, I'm looking forward to reading this again!
How long did this take me?: With school and everything going on...about a week, but I could've done it over a weekend. I don't like rushing classics though either.
Kendal <3
Author: Harper Lee
Genre: Classic
Brief Synopsis: I'll just add a little to Casey's. It's about Scout an eight year old girl looking back on a time of prejudice and ignorance in her southern town. Her father defends an African American man accused of raping a white girl.
Comments: I thought I would just add another review, if there were any of you still with a doubt! This is one of my favorite books of all time! I read it for school and I thought going into it that it was probably going to be really dull and just boring. And then I read it and it's told by this little girl as her perspective from when she's an adult and looking back on her childhood, it's very hard not to fall in love with Scout. I highly, highly recommend this book.
Classify: It's not that long and it's pretty easy, just really good.
Worth Reading?: Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely!!!
Would I read this again?: Yes, I'm looking forward to reading this again!
How long did this take me?: With school and everything going on...about a week, but I could've done it over a weekend. I don't like rushing classics though either.
Kendal <3
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
To Kill a Mockingbird
Title: To Kill a Mockingbird
Author: Harper Lee
Genre: Classic
Synopsis: Scout and Jem Finch grow up in the 1930's in the south. Their father is a lawyer who defends a black man accused of raping a white woman. The novel spans three years and is a story of growing up and learning right from wrong. It is told from the point of Scout, who is about 8 year old.
Comments: I was hesitant going into this book because of everyone saying how amazing it is, but I discovered that I really enjoyed it. It is extremely well written and the plot is amazing.
Classify: Well, it is a pretty easy, and it's pretty short. Its only about 290 pages too.
Worth Reading?: Oh, my goodness, yes. It is a classic and defiantly worth reading!!!
Did I find this book particularly easy or difficult?: The southern words take a little while to get used to, but other than that, it is an easy read.
Would I read this again?: I would defiantly read it again, but my grandmother has my copy right now.
How long did it take me to finish?: With limited time to read, I think it took me about a week to read, but it would take much less time to read if I had more time.
Author: Harper Lee
Genre: Classic
Synopsis: Scout and Jem Finch grow up in the 1930's in the south. Their father is a lawyer who defends a black man accused of raping a white woman. The novel spans three years and is a story of growing up and learning right from wrong. It is told from the point of Scout, who is about 8 year old.
Comments: I was hesitant going into this book because of everyone saying how amazing it is, but I discovered that I really enjoyed it. It is extremely well written and the plot is amazing.
Classify: Well, it is a pretty easy, and it's pretty short. Its only about 290 pages too.
Worth Reading?: Oh, my goodness, yes. It is a classic and defiantly worth reading!!!
Did I find this book particularly easy or difficult?: The southern words take a little while to get used to, but other than that, it is an easy read.
Would I read this again?: I would defiantly read it again, but my grandmother has my copy right now.
How long did it take me to finish?: With limited time to read, I think it took me about a week to read, but it would take much less time to read if I had more time.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Oliver Twist
Book Title: Oliver Twist
Author: Charles Dickens
Genre: Classic
Brief Synopsis:Oliver, a nine year old orphan, is sent to live in a workhouse, from which he runs away to the big city of London. There he finds a lot of adventure and in the end, happiness.
Comments: It took me forever to read. The old English takes some getting used to if you (like me) are not used to it. It's pretty boring in the beginning, but the end is action packed and really interesting.
Worth Reading?: Even though I didn't love it 100%, I think that it is worth reading. No one can not know "Please sir, can I have some more?"
Would you read this again?: I don't think that I would read it again. It was one of those books that was good when it was read once.
How long did it take you to finish?: Oh, my goodness. With school work, friends, and other activities, it took me like a month. I'm not really a slow reader, but I'm also not super fast.
This is my first post, so I hope it was good and helps you guys!!!!
<3>
Author: Charles Dickens
Genre: Classic
Brief Synopsis:Oliver, a nine year old orphan, is sent to live in a workhouse, from which he runs away to the big city of London. There he finds a lot of adventure and in the end, happiness.
Comments: It took me forever to read. The old English takes some getting used to if you (like me) are not used to it. It's pretty boring in the beginning, but the end is action packed and really interesting.
Worth Reading?: Even though I didn't love it 100%, I think that it is worth reading. No one can not know "Please sir, can I have some more?"
Would you read this again?: I don't think that I would read it again. It was one of those books that was good when it was read once.
How long did it take you to finish?: Oh, my goodness. With school work, friends, and other activities, it took me like a month. I'm not really a slow reader, but I'm also not super fast.
This is my first post, so I hope it was good and helps you guys!!!!
<3>
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