I read the book "Shiver" by Maggie Stiefvater. I am not ashamed that I have read all the Twilight books and loved them. This book I could tell was a knock-off of that style but I didn't expect it to be completely the same characters, same story, same everything! It was horrible. Don't read it whatever you do! I give this book an 'F'. There was no originality, the characters were stupid, it was awful.
Next, I read "In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin" by Erik Larson. This is the same author of the great book about the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, which I already wrote about. I figured I would like this book because I liked the author and I love history! I give this book an 'A-'. I really got into it at the beginning, but was ready for it to be over by the end.
The book follows the true story of the American Ambassador assigned to Germany in the 1930's just before WW2. So, it's fascinating because we have hindsight and know that Hitler should have been stopped. There were definite signs of trouble, but America was so focused domestically, it didn't want to mess with Europe's problems. It's a debate that this country will always have: when to focus on itself and when to intervene in other country's issues. We're in the middle of this debate now and there's no perfect answer. The ambassador had a daughter who had many flings and the book tells those stories as well.
Again, just like the other book, the author says it's nonfiction and everything quoted is from a letter or public document. I think I would have liked maybe a better conclusion at the end but the first half of the book is awesome because you, as the reader, knows that this family is walking into the lion's den but they have no idea. So, if you like history I recommend this book for sure!
Finally, I read "No Country for Old Men" by Cormac McCarthy. I had seen this movie a couple years ago and saw this book at the library. I give it a 'B'. The characters and story are very good. It's suspenseful, and even though I had seen the movie version, I was still reading in suspense and feeling anxiety for the characters' situations. The story is about a guy who finds a case of money. The problem is the case has a tracker in it and the owner of the money comes looking. The owner uses a psychotic killer who is very violent and scary. Then, the sheriff starts looking for both of them. It a great cat-and-mouse times two. The part I didn't like, again, was the ending. It leaves the story a little unfinished and the main character goes through these dreams that seem unnecessary. The first 90% of the book is all about the chase but then the title implies that it's about the sheriff's story of becoming old and dealing with the all the problems Texas now has in the drug war that he didn't have to deal with when he was younger.
It's also kinda done in a confusing way, in that it doesn't use quotations marks in dialogue. So, it was kinda hard to keep track of who was talking. Nevertheless, the book is good and the movie is excellent as well, but it is a little violent. The movie follows the book perfectly.
Til next time...Laura
No comments:
Post a Comment