I Thought You Were Dead by Pete Nelson book review

I Thought You Were Dead by Pete Nelson

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


After reading the first chapter of I Thought You Were Dead by Pete Nelson, I was ready to put it down and write a single word review of "crap."  Not one to give up so easily on a book, I decided to give it a quick scan to see if maybe I might have been to harsh....which, it appears I was.  I proceeded finish reading the whole book.

Basically the book is a coming-of-age novel....of a middle aged man.  The main character, Paul, deals with aging, the stroke of his father, his relationships with his brother and father, his failed marriage, his potential new love interest, his drinking and, finally, his dog, Stella. 

Though I believe that the author, Pete Nelson, wrote this with sincerity and the story seems well rounded and thought out...it reads like something you would shop around Hollywood.  I never became fully immersed in the lives of the characters, it seemed like it was following a formula and, overall, it felt very superficial.   Like a watered down version of Silver Linings Playbook. Sad..but there you have it.



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Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Books were an integral part of my childhood.  Raised in a television free home, I spent most of my time reading.  Not just for entertainment...books were how I learned about people, the world, right and wrong, good and evil.  I loved myths and fairy tales. Books such as Aesop's Fables, the Brothers Grimm, the Chronicles of Narnia, Pippi Longstocking, the Wizard of Oz and Winnie the Pooh (just to name a VERY few) helped shape the "grown-up" me.  I would have loved Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin.

Mixing fantasy with Chinese folklore, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, tells the story of Minli, a young Chinese girl. She lives in a poor village underneath a stark mountain and every day her mother expresses her discontent. Inspired by her fathers stories, Minli sets out to find the Old Man of the Moon to ask him how to change their fortune. Along her journey she meets many different characters who help her and hears many new stories. The structure is great....lots of little stories within the main tale.  Weaving fables and folklore into a new and original tale. At first I thought it a bit simple..then I began reading through the eyes of a child and I was very impressed.  Grace Lin has crafted a wonderful, beautifully written tale.

As a children's book..I highly recommend Where the Mountain Meets the Moon.



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review of How To Grow Up by Michelle Tea

How to Grow Up by Michelle Tea

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I received a copy of How to Grow Up by Michelle Tea as Goodreads Giveaway.  I haven't read a lot of memoirs to date, but I couldn't resist this one after reading the blurb on the back. 

"As an aspiring young writer in San Francisco, Michelle Tea lived in a scuzzy communal house; she drank, smoked, snorted anything she got her hands on; she toiled for the minimum wage; and she dated men and women, and sometimes both at once. But between hangovers and dead-end jobs, she scrawled in notebooks and organized dive bar poetry readings, working to make her literary dreams real."

Yes, it sounded eerily similar to my younger years.  The difference being that I'm not a writer.

Though Michelle Tea is a popular, well known author is many circles, I had yet to read any of her work.  I was happily surprised by her writing - it was easy to read, not boring, descriptive and drew me right into her life.  She seemed to be honest and intelligent.  And, yes, I saw myself in her.  We had similar experiences, styles, attitudes and perceptions. 

For the most part, I really enjoyed this book.  I think that she has some great advice/life lessons on everything from relationships (with others and with yourself) to living.  There are a few ideals of hers that I do not share - but it would be creepy if I agreed wholeheartedly with someone on EVERYTHING.  The only criticism that I have is that, at times, she comes across a bit conceited.

All in all, a very enjoyable read.  Funny, embarrassingly real, honest and sincere. To top it - I also picked up some great insight about my own life.





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Things Grak Hates by Peter J. Story book review

Things Grak Hates by Peter J. Story

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I recently won a copy of Things Grak Hates, the debut novel by Peter J. Story, as a Goodreads Giveaway.  I'm glad I did, as Things Grak Hates is the best book I've read in quite awhile AND the first book I've given 5 stars to under my new rating system.

The book is described as "a darkly funny and occasionally horrifying tale about a man who hates olives and the depths of sociopathy."  It is so much more than that.  The story is told through the eyes of Grak - a selfish, lazy, unskilled and, we come to find out, VERY manipulative prehistoric nomad.  His simple hatred of olives, and his attempt to rid them from the food supply, begins a hysterical yet terrifying satiric tale of power, manipulation, greed, politics and belief.  Grak goes from simple tribesman to tribe leader with horrifying consequences.

This book explores the human psyche on many levels.  Peter J. Story's writing is impressive.  His ability to create a story that is f*&king hysterical (yes, I actually found my self laughing out loud) while simultaneously exploring complex social issues is amazing.  I would place Things Grak Hates up there with A Confederacy of Dunces and I highly recommend it.



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Snow Angels by James Thompson book review

Snow Angels by James Thompson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Not sure what to expect, I was pleasantly surprised by James Thompson's SNOW ANGELS.  This is the first in a series of books featuring Inspector Kari Vaara, assigned to an area in Lapland, above the Arctic Circle.

During the annual two weeks of solid darkness in Lapland (right around Christmas), a Somali actress is murdered and left mangled in the snow on a reindeer farm. Inspector Vaara takes the case. He lives and works in his hometown, which is also home to a huge upscale winter resort run by his pregnant American wife. She hasn’t been in Finland long and is totally unnerved by the constant dark. The creepiness of the murder mystery is wonderfully offset by the additional creepiness of the weather, which affects the detective and his foreign wife.

Written in the tradition of classic noir, SNOW ANGELS quickly pulls the reader in to this foreign, exotic land draped in darkness.

As I lived in Alaska as a child, I was able to fully appreciate Thompson's ability to accurately portray the setting.  Not only do you see it, you can feel it also.

Over all it was a pretty good tale, though it did end up being a bit too unrealized for my taste. There were a few twists and turns to keep the reader guessing, but it fell short on the actual investigative end. I did find the ending to be a bit easy and unexplained.



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Wildalone by Krassi Zourkova book review

Wildalone by Krassi Zourkova

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


Not usually a fan of romance or fantasy that falls into the realm of Twilight-like tales, I was nonetheless intrigued enough by the synopsis to read WILDALONE, Krassi Zourkova’s debut novel.  I received a copy as a Goodreads giveaway and I brushed away any hesitation when I saw it was "A Dark Bulgarian Folktale."

It began well enough.  Krassi Zourkova's writing is very good and I was immediately drawn into the story of Thea, a young Bulgarian pianist who is leaving her home to study at Princeton.  Before leaving, she stumbles upon a mystery - that she has an older sister who, 15 years before, also went to Princeton - but never returned.

Once she arrives at Princeton, the mystery of her sister becomes woven with mythology and folklore. Add the appearance of two bewitching brothers and the book quickly becomes a supernatural romantic love triangle.  It was at this point that, despite the quality of writing, I began to lose interest.  Thea went from a gifted musician with a mysterious secret in her family's past to a helpless female involved with two stalker rape-y mystery men.  Within a couple chapters, I no longer liked any of the characters, but my curiosity of how Zourkova would wrap up the folklore aspect of the tale kept me reading right up until the end.  Which I found very disappointing.  I will not spoil it for readers, though.

All in all, Krassi Zourkova is a good writer and I might give her another try in the future, but I wasn't a big fan of this book.  It started out strong and interesting and ended up shallow and bad romance-y.  I do believe that there are many reader's out there who will love the story - it just isn't my kind of tale.




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Using a 5-Star Rating System to Rate Books

Today I changed my rating system for books.  Those little stars should mean something after all.  It seemed like every book I looked at, across all the different book sties, had four star ratings.   Then, while perusing the Worst Books Of All Time in Goodreads Listopia, I decided to take action.   

The standard for the 5 Star rating system is :
5 - I love it
4 - I like it
3 - It's Ok
2 - I don't like it
1 - I hate it

After browsing through my ratings to date, I discovered that they were typically were too high.  I have read thousands of books in my life and I guarantee you they were not all 4 stars.   Before going back to adjust all my ratings, I decided to define my rating system a bit.  
I think that this will ultimately be more useful.  

Book ratings: 
5 Stars: These have to be the exemplars -- the best books I've ever read, would be glad to read again, would be proud to show off on my best bookshelf, and will buy extra copies to give to friends. 

4 Stars: These have to be really good books -- most of them I'm willing to read again and I promote them by offering to loan them to my more discriminating friends. Although I may keep them on my bookshelf I'd rather give them to a friend then sell them at a used book store. 

3 Stars: These are books are decent books, and I do share them with my voracious reader friends. But I don't push them and I'm much more likely to sell them at a used bookstore then keep them on my shelf.  

2 Stars: This category is for books that are just not quite good enough, or are slightly disappointing. Not bad, or disliked, just blah...  

1 Star: This is where I put the books that I don't like, or worse, I hate. Not many here, but I'm willing to risk more then many people are so I have some. Also books go here that just don't fit my interest, like romance novels that get recommended to me because I like some crossover fantasy-romance authors. 

I also started reviewing books again, though just a few here and there. In fact, I just wrote my first bad book review. You can read it here if you like.