Readwine's 2009 List

[Readwine]

Wow! We have chick-lit. Is there such a thing as guy-lit? I had an unexpected journey and has no time to really pick a book to take with me. Pressured, I just picked up the closest thing to me: The Doomsday Key by James Rollins.

 

I have never heard of Rollins, so I was unfamiliar with his novels and series (The Doomsday Key is the sixth of his Sigma Force series). I guess from now on I shall remain unfamiliar with him.

 

Brief summary from Amazon:

 

Bestseller Rollins's labyrinthine sixth Sigma Force thriller (after The Last Oracle) offers plenty of intriguing science and history lessons. Sigma Force director Painter Crowe gathers the usual crew

[Charm]

Oh dear ... sorry you didn't like this, it doesn't sound good. I hate it when that happens, feels like you've just wasted your time reading it

Hope your next read is much better!

[Nollaig]

It's a shame you didn't enjoy it, I like the sound of it (despite the OTT elements) as this is a guilty-pleasure genre for me and the crazier the better. Having said that, I'll trust you judgement and stay away

[Readwine]

I hate it when that happens, feels like you've just wasted your time reading it

 

Charm, I think I suffer a little from OCD. It is very difficult for me not to finish a book even though I know darn well it is a waste of my time. I am not sure why I feel the need to finish - maybe wishful thinking on my part that there is some redeeming factor in the book. Someone spent a lot of their time writing it. At any rate, I am working on being a little more discerning I did actually find the epilogue interesting.

 

I like the sound of it (despite the OTT elements) as this is a guilty-pleasure genre for me and the crazier the better.

 

Roxi, I agree about this genre, but I think your time might be better serve with other crazy thrillers

[Readwine]

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

 

Brief Summary from Amazon:

 

This is a magnificent, sweeping novel that moves from India to Ethiopia to an inner-city hospital in New York City over decades and generations. Sister Mary Joseph Praise, a devout young nun, leaves the south Indian state of Kerala in 1947 for a missionary post in Yemen. During the arduous sea voyage, she saves the life of an English doctor bound for Ethiopia, Thomas Stone, and experiences an awful assault. Later on, these experiences becomes a key moments in her destiny when the nun arrives in Addis Ababa. Seven years later, Sister Praise dies birthing twin boys: Shiva and Marion, the latter narrating his own and his brother’s long, dramatic, biblical story set against the backdrop of political turmoil in Ethiopia, the life of the hospital compound in which they grow up and the love story of their adopted parents, both doctors at Missing Hospital and the sexual betrayal by one of the brothers. Verghese paints a vivid picture of these settings, the practice of medicine (he is also a physician) and the characters' inner conflicts.

 

This was a magnificent book in all its aspects: style, content, characters, development, resolution. It is a large tome, but all I could think of at any time I stopped reading was “what am I going to do when I finish it.” I also was not at all familiar with Ethiopian history and this book outlines a little of the period history of Ethiopia from the 1950 to the present. Additionally, if you have any medical interest, Verghese’s description of some of the medical procedures and lifestyles of doctors is extremely good.

 

If you enjoy cultural novels like The Kite Runner or Half of a Yellow Sun, you will love this novel.

 

I give it a 10 out of 10

Edited September 24, 2009 by Readwine

[Readwine]

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

 

Brief Summary from Amazon:

 

Starred Review. What perfect timing for this optimistic, uplifting debut novel set during the nascent civil rights movement in Jackson, Mississippi, where black women were trusted to raise white children but not to polish the household silver. Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan is just home from college in 1962, and, anxious to become a writer, is advised to hone her chops by writing about what disturbs you. Secretly, the budding social activist begins to collect the stories of the black women on whom the country club sets relies and mistrusts enlisting the help of Aibileen, a maid who's raised 17 children, and Aibileen's best friend Minny, who's found herself unemployed more than a few times after mouthing off to her white employers. The book Skeeter puts together based on their stories is scathing and shocking, bringing pride and hope to the black community, while giving Skeeter the courage to break down her personal boundaries and pursue her dreams. Assured and layered, full of heart and history, this one has bestseller written all over it.

 

This is an absolutely fabulous book. The three main characters, Skeeter, Minny and Aibileen, each take turns describing events from their perspectives and fears, which allows the reader to really try and become friends with them. The book focuses on the civil rights movement, not through historical fact, but through the trials and tribulations of “the help.” Superbly done. Highly recommended.

 

I give it a 10 out of 10

[blithe]

I've heard nothing but good things about The Help - guess I'll have to add it to my wishlist.

[Readwine]

Blithe, it really is worth the read

[Readwine]

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

 

Brief summary from Amazon:

 

Somewhere in contemporary Britain, "the man Jack" uses his razor-sharp knife to murder a family, but the youngest, a toddler, slips away. The boy ends up in a graveyard, where the ghostly inhabitants adopt him to keep him safe. Nobody Owens, so named because he "looks like nobody but himself," grows up among a multigenerational cast of dead and half-dead characters from different historical periods that includes matronly Mistress Owens; ancient Roman Caius Pompeius; an opinionated young witch; a melodramatic hack poet; and Bod's beloved mentor and guardian, Silas, who is neither living nor dead and has secrets of his own. As he grows up, Bod has a series of adventures, both in and out of the graveyard, and the threat of the man Jack who continues to hunt for him is ever present. Bod's love for his graveyard family and vice versa provide the emotional center, amid suspense, spot-on humor, and delightful scene-setting. Gaiman creates a rich, surprising, and sometimes disturbing tale of dreams, ghouls, murderers, trickery, and family.

 

This is my introduction to Gaiman. I really enjoyed the book and the scope of its imagination. (I bet you Gaiman has an interesting tale to tell about himself). A quick fun read, but I would recommend it more for older children (12 and up). I loved the characters, especially Silas ( a serious but loving “undead”). A good story to illustrate the need for children eventually to “ go and explore your life.”

 

I give it an 8/10

Edited October 9, 2009 by Readwine

[Readwine]

The Devil’s Stone by Marie Reindorp

 

Brief Summary from Amazon:

 

Omar Ash Raff is a man of honor. He lives in Sierra Leone, A country rife with diamond smugglers. Omar knows what those scintillating gems can do to a man. He's chased that dream all his life and on Christmas Eve decides to lay dynamite inside Okra Hill. It s the most valuable piece of diamond-rich, real-estate the country possesses. Omar intends to safeguard it from being pillaged by rebels, diamond conglomerates and the corrupt government that will sell it to the highest bidder. The mountain belongs to the people. Laying dynamite is insurance that if they can t have it, nobody else will. On the same day Dawn Peake's plane is diverted to Freetown. She has no intention of saying in a rebel-infested nation but from the moment she meets Omar she's drawn into the rebel conflict. They head to Kamakwie, a remote mining town where six-year old Bingo lives. Bingo owns a red stone. Flawless and larger than an orange, locals fear whoever touches it dies. The rebel leader takes it. Bingo believes it will reunite his family and wants it back. But when the entire country creates a diamond fever over the red stone Omar realizes the power he'd have if he owned it. His heart pulls in one direction while his sense of duty pulls in another. In a land of voodoo, devils and secret societies Omar sets out to hunt down the priceless diamond. Together, Dawn, Omar and Bingo must play their part in finding the DEVILS STONE. Along the way they form lasting relationships that changes the trio’s lives forever.

 

Okay, this one was really my fault. I was just not paying attention. I picked this one up thinking it would be a cultural novel much like Half of a Yellow Sun or The Kite Runner, where the main characters are real and confront real historical and cultural problems and triumphs. I thought that this novel would speak a little about the culture and lifestyle of Sierra Leone and the damage and potential that the diamond trade can have in a country and a man.

 

NOT. It is just a plane old airplane thriller. A paper airplane at that. Don’t waste your time or money. I did.

 

 

I give it a 2 out of 10

[funrun]

i enjoyed the sleeping doll it was okay

[Readwine]

Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger

 

Brief Summary from Amazon:

 

Her Fearful Symmetry is a haunting tale about the complications of love, identity, and sibling rivalry. The novel opens with the death of Elspeth Noblin, who bequeaths her London flat and its contents to the twin daughters of her estranged twin sister back in Chicago. These 20-year-old dilettantes, Julie and Valentina, move to London, eager to try on a new experience like one of their obsessively matched outfits. Historic Highgate Cemetery, which borders Elspeth's home, serves as an inspired setting as the twins become entwined in the lives of their neighbors: Elspeth's former lover, Robert; Martin, an agoraphobic, OCD crossword-puzzle creator; and the ethereal Elspeth herself, struggling to adjust to the afterlife.

 

At the beginning, the novel held my interest completely. Niffenegger’s use of language is simple, flowing and gentle. She transports you and delivers a real sense of place, and her characterizations of her protagonists are solid and believable (even when they are ghosts). Her depiction of Highgate Cemetery and its history is quite good.

 

The storyline unfolds softly, but as it develops Niffenegger inserts thoughts and actions in her characters that disturb the storyline foretelling that something is not right. It is after all a ghost story. This technique makes you read on and, of course, adds interest. You want to reach the end.

 

By the last quarter of the book, however, I was almost stunned. What! You’ve got to be kidding. Wait, this is very disappointing. It almost feels as if Niffenegger’s publisher told her she had 24 hours to finish her novel or else. Terrible ending: it is disjointed, leaves too many unresolved issues in my opinion and, even as a ghost story, it is very unbelievable. The relationship of her characters to each other are developed well through the first half of the novel, but the ending lacks any resolutions to the relationships; leaves them empty. What a waste; they were good and had great potential.

 

How very, very disappointing.

 

I give it a 6.5 out of 10

Edited October 9, 2009 by Readwine
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[Readwine]

Wild Steps of Heaven by Victor Villasenor (Pulitzer Prize Nominee)

 

Brief summary from Barnes & Noble:

 

Victor Villase