The 40 book Challenge discussion
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Maria
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Jan 23, 2015 03:28AM
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Finished The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Fascinating from a science and human rights stand point. Not quite the page turner that the reviews make it out to be.
Finished The Monstrumologist! LOVE the characters!!! Love the horror and science aspects! Very excited to finish the series!
Finished The Girl on the Train. Can't decide if I like it or not. A little too twisted to be plausible.
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Amber - compare it to another book you have read. Was it the disjointed structure or the content that was disagreeable?
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The doctor certainly is one of my favorite characters!!!! When you read Eco's The Name of the Rose, you will see his ancestor.
For Girl on the Train it was definitely the content. In most mystery/thrillers the killer tends to be a character that you can see the connection with the victim from the beginning. A relationship is established. In this book, the author waited until the end to give the information that made it possible for you to solve the crime. Since the narrator is an unreliable alcoholic, you are unsure that you can trust the information that is given through drunken flashbacks. The ending just felt rushed and felt somewhat unbelievable. Yes a connection between the murderer and motive was made and I understand the author was going for a non-traditional feel but when compared to Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None it just fell flat. Plus the number of love triangles/squares was ridiculous and put soap operas to shame.
Maria wrote: "What are you reading next?"My Genetics Exam :). . . .
Just finished Liar Temptress Soldier Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War. The content was interesting from a feminist and historical standpoint as far as biographies go. It was somewhat disjointed and took some time to figure out which of the 4 individuals you were reading about, but that could be due to my general lack of ability to focus these days. I feel like reviewers did her a disservice by comparing her to John le Carre because it set a specific expectation in my mind that fell flat. I think it's hard to write on John le Carre's level when you are constructing a biography compared to a novel. On to Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children which is turning out to be quite the page turner. :)
Finished Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children. It was a fantastical mix of Big Fish, The Raven Boys, Groundhog Day, and The Monstrumologist. Must get the second one to see how the story continues!
So technically Jurassic Park is not on my 40 list, but I just finished rereading it for the summer reading book I am sponsoring. I forgot how much I love the book. Michael Crichton was ahead of his time.
"As he lay down, behind him was a circle of fire, and before him lay a shadow like a mantle, gathered. His eyes were open, that much is certain, but who among us can say they know what he was seeing? Look behind him instead, to the circle of light that the fire has made, and leave Kvothe to himself for now. Everyone deserves a moment or two alone when they desire it. And if by chance there were tears, let us forgive him. He was just a child, after all, and had yet to learn what sorrow really was." Patrick Rothfuss. The Name of the Wind
"The future belongs to science. The fate of our species will be determined by the likes of Edison and Tesla, not Wordsworth or Whitman. The poets will lie upon the shores of Babylon and weep, poisoned by the fruit that grows from the ground where the Muses' corpses rot. The poets' voices will be drowned out by the gears of progress. I foresee the day when all sentiment is reduced to a chemical equation in our brains--hope, faith, even love--their exact locations pinned down and mapped out, so we may point to it and say, 'Here, in this region of our cerebral cortex, lies the soul.'"-- Rick Yancey The Curse of the Wendigo
There is nothing better than being caught up in a series. . . On to The Isle of Blood. Pellinore is a mix of Sherlock and Dr. Frankenstein a most fascinating character that has greater depth than meets the eye. I am interested to see what Will Henry "snaps to" next.
"'I worry too, Will,' he confessed. 'The days ahead will be dangerous for him, and dark. Remember that when the tide of self-pity threatens to overwhelm you.' 'I know that,' I replied. 'It's why I should be with him. He doesn't need me to cook or clean or take his dictation or care for his horse or any of that. Those things anyone can do, Dr. von Helrug. He needs me for the dark places.'"-Rick Yancey The Isle of Blood
"'I worry too, Will,' he confessed. 'The days ahead will be dangerous for him, and dark. Remember that when the tide of self-pity threatens to overwhelm you.' 'I know that,' I replied. 'It's why I should be with him. He doesn't need me to cook or clean or take his dictation or care for his horse or any of that. Those things anyone can do, Dr. von Helrug. He needs me for the dark places.'"-Rick Yancey The Isle of Blood
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Finished The Final Descent. Finishing a series is always like losing a friend. Not my favorite of the series but love the Dante references.
Finished Looking for Alaska. Many humorous parts. Might never look at a tube of toothpaste the same way again. Some not so humorous parts that will leave anyone who has experienced loss contemplative.
