The Book Club

<3 Breaking Dawn <3-To all Twilight Fans

2008-08-04T05:17:56Z

Breaking Dawn (The Twilight Saga, Book 4)

Stephenie Meyer

Okay. Me being a Tech Savvy Woman, I just downloaded the full breaking dawn book. I couldn't wait and borrow it from my friend. That's why I downloaded it from the net.

So, If anyone hasn't gotten the book yet and REALLY wants to read it, leave a comment. I will upload it for you on my freewebs page for you. :)

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Vernon God Little

2008-08-03T12:59:11Z

Vernon God Little

DBC Pierre

This is the first Booker-Prize-winning book that I have actually liked, and I must admit to being quite surprised by it. I could call this "The Catcher in the Rye of our times," but it would be unnecessary because Vernon God Little manages to hold its own in the world of contemporary literature without needing to be buffered by a comparison to other good books.

The protagonist is one of the funniest and most irreverent characters to appear on the literary scene in a long, long time. Yes, it also involves a school shootout, but it isn't some sort of sociological study of what happens in the heads of teenagers who are finally provoked to kill. It's not sentimental, so don't expect it to be. No euphemisms, no painstaking and annoying efforts at political correctness, no pretensions to being anything other than what it is -- the story of a fifteen-year-old trying to figure out this deal called life and in the process, to keep from being executed for a crime he didn't commit.

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'The Bad Dog's Diary' - Martin Howard

2008-08-03T11:36:45Z

The Bad Dog's Diary: A Year in the Life of Blake: Lover... Fighter... Dog

Martin Howard

This is a very funny book, which dog lovers especially would enjoy. Blake, the cross-breed 'author' shares his diary with us, which involves romancing other dogs in the park, constantly thinking up new ways to cause mischief and most importantly, taking on the park bully, a pit-bull called Razor. It made me laugh out loud on several occasions - it may be not be a book to make you think too hard, and it won't change your life, but it will certainly make for a hugely enjoyable read!

This is the 34th book I have read this year.

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Simon Says-Review

2008-08-03T06:16:27Z

Simon Says (SBC Fighters, Book 2)

Lori Foster

Simon Says by Lori Foster

Okay, this book was okay...I guess. I wouldn't read it twice, like i did with the Twilight series. But Lori, you could have done better than this book. You made the character, Simon, seem older than he was. And gosh, Dakota was wayyyy too young as well.

Now everyone, basically, this book is a romance book. The main character, Simon Evans, is a retired wrestler(a retired SBC fighter[Supreme Battle Championship]). After his ex(Bonnie) cheats on him, he starts to train, so he can go back into wrestling. As he is doing so, Dakota Dream walks into the training camp and meets with him. Her stepfather, Barnaby, sent her to get Simon, so that he could meet up with him. Barnaby is Simon's real father, and he only wants some money from Simon. And with like all romance stories, Simon and Dakota fall in love with each other. However, Marvin, Dakota's ex, comes after Dakota to "win" her heart back.

Everyone attempt to read this novel. It's good enough to pass time.

Try it.

Rumspringa: To Be or Not to Be Amish

2008-08-02T15:58:43Z

Rumspringa: To Be or Not to Be Amish

Tom Shachtman

Rumspringa: To Be or Not to Be Amish

Tom Shachtman

Non-Fiction, Anthropology, Religion

286 pages

Published 2006

A follow up to the PBS documentary, Devil's Playground, Tom Shachtman looks at the period of Amish Rumspringa through case studies. The Amish believe that each person should make their own personal choice as to whether to be baptized Christian. As part of that decision process, when an Amish turns 16, they are no longer bound to live by the rules set forth by their community. This is to give them a chance to experience the outside world and discover for themselves if they want to stay in the Amish fold or live in the outside world.

Shachtman does an excellent job conveying personal stories that include every living generation. He also shares the history, commonly held beliefs, and differences among modern Amish communities. He manages to stay unbiased except for the Amish approach to education. He shares his own doubt at the acceptability and necessity of taking their children out of school at 14. It moved along quickly and was thought provoking. This was a very entertaining book for those who enjoy reading about other cultures and religions.

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Roger's Thesaurus...

2008-07-31T16:08:11Z

Rogersthesaurus

We had the authors of Roger's Thesaurus come in yesterday to conduct a Family Story Time and also to promote their book. They did a fantastic job. They are both college kids and their books is basically self published and print-on-demand. So, I ask you, dear Vox Peoples, to please pop by their website and perhaps buy their book.

Their website is www.kylehilton.com.

Thanks.

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Beach Bum--Summer Reads

2008-07-30T18:02:30Z

I recommend these titles:

Cassandra Clare's: City of Bones and City of Ashes

City of Bones (Mortal Instruments)

City of Ashes (Mortal Instruments)

Piers Anthony's Xanth Series (I've read the first 7 books)

A Spell for Chameleon (Xanth, Book 1)

When You Are Engulfed in Flames

Ah, what can I say? I've been patiently

waiting for David Sedaris's latest book.

It was well worth the wait.

Light A Penny Candle

Maeve Binchy produces

another pleasurable read.

The Other Boleyn Girl

The Other Boleyn Girl~ The historical aspect

is interesting.

Guilty Pleasures (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: Book 1)

***** Yummy vampire series! Anita Blake

kicks major butt--this tough female character

is a breath of fresh air.

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'The Bullet Trick' - Louise Welsh

2008-07-29T06:49:24Z

The Bullet Trick

Louise Welsh

This is my 33rd book this year. Whereas the previous book I read had a great storyline let down by bad writing, this one has some terrific writing, but a storyline that does not match up to it.

To be fair, when I started reading this book I was quickly hooked, and felt that it might even become one of my absolute favourites. Unfortunately, the ending felt rushed, was pretty predictable and let down the book.

Still, it was a worthwhile read. The main character - and the narrator - is William Wilson, a down-on-his-luck conjuror from Glasgow. Hoping to make his fortune, he takes a job in Berlin and ends up recruiting a mysterious American girl named Sylvie as his assistant. The story flicks back and forth between Berlin and Glasgow, as it slowly reveals the dark events that took place in Berlin, and how they have brought William to his present state of despair. To say much more would be to give too much of the story away. One minor gripe is that there was a seemingly unnecessary sub-plot regarding a decades old disappearance of a lady, which Wilson ends up becoming embroiled in. The loss of this particular storyline would have not affected the book in any way, although it was in itself not an unenjoyable diversion from the main story.

I gave this book 3.5 out of 5.

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Mother Tongue

2008-07-23T08:43:10Z

Mother Tongue

Bill Bryson

Bill Bryson has yet to disappoint me with any of his books. His travelogues are informative and nicely paced; his A Short History of Nearly Everything was a wonderful journey through evolution and the changes on our planet.

Mother Tongue is an interesting study of the English language, how it developed from its Indo-European roots, and how it grew to be the single most important language in the world. The first few chapters tend towards the technical, identifying roots that are derived from other languages, changes in spelling and pronunciation, different types of English spoken by people (all of whom consider themselves native speakers of it), and the spread of English across continents during the age of empire. The latter half of the book is an easier read, taking us through the processes by which English exercised its all-pervasive influence over other languages as well. I loved the part where Bryson cites a few words and phrases that have been so well adapted by the Japanese that they now sound, well, Japanese. For example: nyuu ritchi (newly rich), apputudeito (up-to-date), and rushawa (rush hour). There are fun chapters on names, swearing, and wordplay as well. The last is an entertaining guide through the world of crosswords, Scrabble, palindromes, rebuses, lipograms, and all those lovable and quirky things we make the English language do for us.

As a non-native speaker of English but someone who is totally comfortable with it and considers it her first language anyway, I found this book fascinating. (I'm also one of those nerdy types who loves figuring out roots of words and my Latin isn't half bad either, though I never learned it in an organised manner). Kudos to Bryson for the gargantuan amount of research that went into writing this. You may want to skip the more technical bits in this if they're not to your interest, but you will definitely come away from it with heightened respect for the tenacity of the English language and how it has served as a bridge between the most disparate of cultures.

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'The Virgin of Small Plains' - Nancy Pickard

2008-07-22T20:11:37Z

The Virgin of Small Plains

Nancy Pickard

This is the 32nd book I have read this year, and I would give it 2.5 out of 5. Unfortunately, the trite and cliched writing let this book down - a shame, because the story itself is very gripping, even if there were a few too many convenient coincidences to move the story along.

In 1987, a young girl is found in dead on a ranch in the Kansas town of Small Plains, on a night when the town is facing a terrible blizzard. That same night, young Mitch Newquist disappears suddenly and without warning from the town, leaving his devastated girlfriend Abbey heartbroken and confused.

Never identified, the dead girl is buried in a grave, and she quickly inspires a legend - that she is able to perform miracles, such as healing the sick and helping the needy.

In 2004, the town is struck by another terrible blizzard, and three prominent families in the village are drawn back into the events of 17 years earlier - events that many of them want to keep secret. And when Mitch Newquist returns to the town, it stirs up turmoil and anguish for these families, until eventually the truth is revealed.

I did predict some of the things that happened, but others I did not see coming. The story itself was enough to keep me reading, but the writing was amateurish, and there was an excruciatingly bad sex scene! Nonetheless, for a quick and easy read, this will do the trick.

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