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pontalba

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  1. #58 The Butterfly Garden - Dot Hutchison    

     

    Genre: Psychological thrillerSynopsis: Near an isolated mansion lies a beautiful garden. In this garden grow luscious flowers, shady trees…and a collection of precious “butterflies”—young women who have been kidnapped and intricately tattooed to resemble their namesakes. Overseeing it all is the Gardener, a brutal, twisted man obsessed with capturing and preserving his lovely specimens. When the garden is discovered, a survivor is brought in for questioning. FBI agents Victor Hanoverian and Brandon Eddison are tasked with piecing together one of the most stomach-churning cases of their careers. But the girl, known only as Maya, proves to be a puzzle herself. As her story twists and turns, slowly shedding light on life in the Butterfly Garden, Maya reveals old grudges, new saviors, and horrific tales of a man who’d go to any length to hold beauty captive. But the more she shares, the more the agents have to wonder what she’s still hiding...*** Review: I picked this book up entirely because of the amusing reaction Anna had to it, which was mostly that she wasn't entirely sure what to make of it. That, combined with a review (on Goodreads) claiming a gaping plot hole, proved too much for my curiosity to resist. I wasn't expecting too much from this book, and while it was a quick, easy read it about lived up to expectations.

    It's an interesting concept with some thought gone into it, but I felt the execution was a little underwhelming. You know from the first chapter or two what is ultimately going to happen, the only mystery really is how it comes about. That was what kept me reading, wanting to find stuff out, but my reaction in the end was pretty much 'meh', because due to the police interrogation nature format of the story, there were no real surprises there. Anything that hadn't been overtly stated, the reader could guess from maybe halfway through. Well there was one 'twist', but it wasn't great or really very relevant to the story. I would also have liked there to be more focus on the Gardener and his background.

    I guess what the story lacked, apart from a good structure, was credibility. I should have been horrified by what was happening in the book, but it just felt too fake for it to have any real impact on me, and I do think that's a shame, because I really liked the concept. I'm giving it three stars because I read to the end and got some enjoyment out of it, but really my reaction to it is 'meh'.Rating: ★★★✰✰ (I liked it.... I guess!)

    All interesting reviews. This one is reminiscent, I think of The Collector - https://www.amazon.com/Collector-Back-Bay-Books/dp/0316290238/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1466725513&sr=1-1&keywords=the+collector+john+fowles. I saw the film of it when it came out......scared the crap out of me! http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059043/ I understand there are differences between the film and book, however I haven't read Fowles book yet. Not entirely sure I want to!

  2. We find a lot of ours at Estate Sales, Library sales or annual Book Fairs. Our local Symphony has a wonderful annual sale, and our local library has a monthly sale. Otherwise Amazon Marketplace is a good place to search all but the newest books. Amazon, in general is far less expensive than brick and mortar stores.

    Fortunately, down in New Orleans (only about 50 miles away), there are several large 2nd hand bookstores that keep an interesting selection.

     

    Lots of times I've not been able to find the authors I/we enjoy at a store such as Barnes & Noble....they just are not popular enough. Or, if they do, they only carry one of that author.

  3. Me too! I never really liked CSI: Miami or CSI: NY.

      I have to laugh, I loved the Miami entry.....Red is hilarious!!

     

    John Barrowman is practically a National Treasure over here.  ;)

     

      hmmmmmm..........

     

     

    I'd like to throttle him :lol: :lol: 

     ]

    Thems mah sentiments......otoh, he is growing on me.....in spite of his Unfortunate Resemblance to Tom Cruise.

    Just finished the 3rd season, about the children.

  4. Thanks for sharing that! I can't believe she got so many positive comments on her review. I really don't get some people. Well done on you for posting a negative comment about the spoilers.

     

    Thanks, Gaia. :)  It really got under my skin!

     

    It really seems to be a play-by-play of the book, doesn't it? I scanned through the comments, though, and they all seemed to be about politics?

     

    It does.  Didn't their Mama ever tell them it's worthless to get into a political discussion, especially on line!  Oy!

    Y'all shudda seen the old New York Times political forums.......and the Middle East section.....Man, oh man.....they were getting their weapons out!  Truly nutz!  But those forums are all gone, probably for the best! :roll:

  5. Hah, LOL!  I think I have three started.  /sigh/  One is a Patricia Highsmith, The Two Faces of January.  I tried to start The Blind Assassin, by Margaret Atwood.  Didn't much care for it though.  Haven't made any progress today though.  Today was spent going across the lake.  Great day!

     

    I was wishing for some bialys, and the only place I knew of that sells them is closed on Saturday.  So, google to the rescue.  :)  We found a place down on Magazine St. in N.O., it's a big shopping street for antiques, clothes, food, all kinds.  Steins Market and Deli, http://www.yelp.com/biz/steins-market-and-deli-new-orleans

    We ate and brought a dozen bialys home with us.....and black and whites!!  New York style. :D 

    It's a Jewish and Italian Deli.....http://steinsdeli.net/home/    Oh, God.....we are definitely going back!

     

    In case you don't know what a bialy is..... http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/01/bialy-new-york-bread.html  Yum!

  6. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez. I haven't gone past 40 pages and every time I try to resume reading I find myself unable to do so. I know it is supposed to be a great book but it is not my cup of tea I guess  

     

     

    Okay, I'm so glad to hear someone else say that. I have tried five of six times, and literally fall asleep every time I try. I'd say it's about 40 pages in, as well.

     

    Me three!!  :readingtwo:    So snore inducing.  I mean, I like/love convoluted, twisty stories but sheesh!  :roll::D

     

     

      

     

     

    That's disappointing... it's a book I've been waiting to read forever!

     

    Good Luck!  :alc:  Alcohol may be necessary...........

  7. Wow. How can anyone defend that? Did she at least precede the review with 'This is going to be a spoiler filled blow by blow review'? I could understand it a little more then.

     

     

    Wow.. that's terrible! How annoying :(. I find it hard to understand how people can defend her. She should at the very least have put at the top of her review that she'd be spoiling the book (maybe she did though). Anyway, ugh, I don't get why some people don't get most people don't like to be spoiled.

     

    It was for the book, It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis.  Here is the review and the thread of comments.  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1411374339?book_show_action=true&from_review_page=1

     

    I think it was defended because of the sort of book it is.  Fiction, but.  If that makes any sort of sense. :)

  8. I loved Torchwood by the end. :)

     

    We are into the second season now, and yeah, it's great!  :)

     

     

    What did you think of Sliding Doors? I have the DVD, but I haven't watched it yet.

     

    It's been a while, but I loved it.  Don't remember all details now, but I do remember really liking it a lot.  :)

  9. How incredibly annoying :banghead:. I'm so sorry for you :(!! I don't get that people don't take better care.

     

    I find it incredible as well, although not surprising sorry to say.  A while back a poster on Good Reads reviewed a book by adding to her "review" every few days as she read the book.  Telling all about it, practically a blow by blow description!  It irritated me so much that I posted in the comments that since she'd posted so many details I didn't need to read the book now!  Hah, lol.  Do you know she defended herself, and to my great surprise many others came to her "defense" saying they were glad she'd done that. 

    So.  There is no telling about People!  :dunno:  It really does take all kinds!!  Which, in the long run, is a good thing, if inexplicable at times.  :)

  10. City of Mirrors by Justin Cronin 4.5/5

     

    As mentioned above, I believe a reader has to read all three of the trilogy to actually understand the scope of what Cronin is putting out there.  In this, latest installment, Cronin explains in depth exactly the origins of the virus, and exactly how it came to be a world wide scourge.  He makes us understand the motivations of the principle characters and sympathize with heretofore unsympathetic characters.  Cronin has a marvelous way of making the reader feel the geography and weather of his locations and their impact on the characters. 

     

    I read somewhere that the story is actually about love.  In a large sense that is true, however it's a lot more than expounding on the value and hold "love" has on us.  It's about the absolute  inexplicability of survival, loyalty, and the ramifications of said loyalty.  It's about how we relate to each other as humans and an analysis of what and why we long for the things we do. 

     

    The only factor that kept me from a full 5/5 star rating was length.  I truly believe that some corners could have been cut, and that some storylines were drawn out too far. Sometimes a little goes a long way.   Several times I felt like skipping a few pages, but was afraid to, in case I'd miss something.  :) 

     

    Highly recommended.

  11. I searched back aways,  and found I'd read Sisters back in August of 2011.......no review, but a 5/5 rating. :)  I think it's one I'd not mind rereading.  Even if only to recall the ending bit you're talking about! :D

     

    Lupton's newest one, Quality of Silence is sitting on a stack on the ottoman out in the Sun Room.....I started it, but somehow didn't feel compelled to continue.  Something about the actual plot put me off.  For the time being at any rate. 

  12. Beatrice and Virgil - Yann Martel

     

    This is a very odd book, and when I borrowed it I was hoping for something like Life of Pi, which I loved.

     

    Henry is a semi-successful author, who is about to have his next book - which he thinks is spectacular -  published. He is shocked to the core when his publishers criticise and reject his latest manuscript. In a moment of pique, decides to abandon writing altogether and find something else to do with his time, and takes on a variety of different jobs.

     

    One day, he is contacted by a taxidermist who happened to enjoy his published work, and is seeking his help with a play he is putting together. The play is based on two animals that are in the taxidermist's shop - a donkey and a howler monkey – and their unusual friendship.

     

    Slowly Henry gets more involved in the taxidermist's life (who is a very odd person) and seeks to find what has driven him to write this play and what it was really about.

     

    The majority of this was supremely boring, until the end when the whole book was transformed into something else entirely, and I fully appreciated the meaning behind it all. I wish I could have read it with knowing the ending in mind, but at the same time its not a book I want to re-read. The ending is very emotional, and I would recommend not having any knowledge about it before you start. Avoid online reviews as they blatantly give away the deeper meaning, and if you go into it blind, the ending is fairly shocking.

     

    It's only short, under 200 pages and a lot of the pages are double spaced, as about half of it is reproductions of sections of the play.

     

    Until the last chapter, the book was heading for a 2/6, but the last chapter pushed it to a 4.5/6.

     

    4.5/6

     

    Boy!  That's quite a change in rating!   All great reviews, BB! :)

     

     

    Micro - Michael Crichton

     

    Seven graduate students are recruited by a very lucrative micro-technology company who draws them in with promises of cutting-edge technology and a significant boost to their careers. They head to an island in Hawaii where the company is based, but soon find out that they have been misled and something very sinister is going on.

     

    This was such a silly book. From what I gather, it was incomplete at the author's death in 2008 and finished off by Richard Preston (he of The Hot Zone).

     

    I don't know who wrote what, but I have to say the dialogue is appallingly weak (some of the characters responses are so odd and outright stupid!) and the people are completely one-dimensional. We don't ever get to know them, and ultimately end up not caring about them.

     

    The story is far fetched too, but still I found it very fast paced and easy to read. The hardback copy of just over 400 pages long, and although I'm slating it, I ended up finishing it in 3 days. Purely entertainment for those moments when you just don't want to use your brain.

     

    Avoid if you want a serious book....pick up if you fancy something utterly stupid. :D

     

    1.5/6

     

    I've only read one of Crichton's books, Air Frame....it was ok, but not something that made me want to seek out all of his writing.   Sorry it was so horrible! 

  13. They were so tasty, but the chicken liver appetizer -- although it doesn't sound like it would be -- was hands down the group favorite. It was our exchange student's last dinner in the States, so we tried to order very Southern food for her.

     

    Oh, God, I love chicken liver!  Haven't had it in years.....my Mother could do it beautifully, but I've always been leery of trying. :)

     

     

    Oh wow! Off topic: did she say anything about the North?

     

    On topic: I had so much breakfast the otherday, I skipped eating the next day :P

     

    LOL!  It happens! :D

     

    Just finished my morning Weetabix biscuit with cream cheese and tea.  I'm stalking a Milky Way.......atm.

  14. Little Pixie produced the title Occupied as you know, but it didn't ring any bells. Google tells me that it's a Norwegian TV series...? :)

     

    Oy!  :blush2:  Yup.  Totally my goof! 

     

    We've watched some episodes of Torchwood.....BBC, shot in Cardiff.  Kind of amateurish, but developing I think.  The head guy is practically a clone of Tom Cruise, which irritates me no end as I can't stand TC.  grrrrr!

  15. Ali was marvelous.  We caught an old show (yesterday) that he'd been interviewed on back in the 70's, 1974 or 1976 I think.  He was so absolutely clear on his beliefs, and refused to be cornered into saying anything he didn't want to.  No matter how the panel tried to pin him down, he refused, with grace.

  16. :P

     

     

    What is the next one? (Like I need ONE more on the TBR!) Or are you talking about The Sudden Appearance of Hope?

     

    Just received it yesterday afternoon in the mail!  The Sudden Appearance of Hope.  Yeah. :)

    I'll probably start it after I finish up with the trilogy.

  17. I'm absolutely fascinated now by the responses to The Passage. Several people with whom my interests frequently overlap have not liked it, despite thinking they would, as I think I would. I still kind of want to try it, but its very difficult not to be put off!

    I'm about 30% through the last of the trilogy now, and it's almost as though one has to read all three to "get" the true thrust of what Cronin is telling the reader. In this last one he is explaining aspects of the previous books, so the reader can truly understand the thought processes of the characters. Then come to an true understanding. We only thought we understood what happened. He always starts out slow.....and he does switch stories, and even time frames at the drop of a hat. :D. But I like that! :D

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