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bethany725

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Posts posted by bethany725

    Jeffery Deaver

    in Crime / Mystery / Thriller

    Posted

    I finished my first Deaver read, "The Bone Collector" about a week ago, and after reading this thread, am going to have to get "The Coffin Dancer" soon. You guys sure raise a lot of hooplah that I can't resist... :icon_eek:

     

    Love your invitation to our boy, Frankie.. "I can't afford a ticket, but I'll just wait in the small forest. I'll pick you up afterwards."

    Hilarious ;)

    What really bugs you?

    in General Chat

    Posted

    :icon_eek: Paula, that is hilarious.... "Oh you should get that sorted." What? Like you might have just thought "Eh.. I'll get around to sorting this out one day." Morons. ;)

     

    And a BIT of a know-it-all never really irks anyone.. It's just the full-fledged version that will get ya. ;)

    Beth's Bookshelf 2009

    in Past Book Logs

    Posted

    Mini Review of Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg

     

    Synopsis:

     

    Folksy and fresh, endearing and affecting, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe is the now-classic novel of two women in the 1980s: of gray-headed Mrs. Threadgoode telling her life story to Evelyn, who is in the sad slump of middle age. The tale she tells is also of two women--of the irrepressibly daredevilish tomboy Idgie and her friend Ruth--who back in the thirties ran a little place in Whistle Stop, Alabama, a Southern kind of Cafe Wobegon offering good barbecue and good coffee and all kinds of love and laughter, even an occasional murder. And as the past unfolds, the present--for Evelyn and for us--will never be quite the same again. . .

     

    I was really excited to read this book for two reasons:

    1. I've never seen the movie, and the author of the book (who also co-wrote the screenplay for the movie) is from Alabama.

    2. The Whistle Stop Cafe actually exists, and is located in a town in Alabama very close to where I grew up. I've eaten there numerous times, and it's been there as long as I can remember. It's sort of a cultural icon in our towns and I was excited to read the stories inspired by this little diner.

     

    I have to say that I think the book fell a tiny bit short of my expectations. The characters are indeed endearing, and much of the story-telling is funny and clever. Mrs. Cleo Threadgoode infuses each little story with life and love, and she passes lessons to Evelyn in a way that only precious, old, grandmotherly women can. Those are the good bits, and what gives the book its sense of charm and southern hospitality.

     

    For me, the bad came from the structure of the book. There's a few kinds of short "chapters" going on here.. One little community newsletter sent out by neighborly Dot Weems that keeps all of the Whistle Stop residents up to speed on what's going on in the neighborhood. Following that, there's a few pages devoted to revealing the details of those happenings. I like that part, but what got me is that there's a LOT of skipping back and forth in time, and I had a hard time getting the stories sorted out in a proper order in my mind. For example, the reader is informed of major events without any details provided, only to have that story really be properly told 70 pages later. Furthermore, along with those other two types of "chapters," are many chapters that are given from the perspective of Mrs. Cleo Threadgoode in Rose Terrace Nursing Home, telling some of the Whistlestop stories to Mrs. Evelyn Couch, who visits each week. With three different modes of telling stories, about 15 characters, and a complete lack of continuity in the stories being weaved together to form the overall tale, I got quite confused at points and it proved too difficult to try to flip back in the book to check back on some details or characters, since there was no telling where it would be because of that structure.

     

    So there was definitely good and bad for me, but I wouldn't write it off. I seem to be one of those people that often has trouble with books that go back and forth in time constantly, so if you're a reader that can deal with that and not get too confused, you may really like the book. I still want to see the movie, as it's much easier to keep time shifts and different perspectives in order for 2 hours of film instead of 400 pages of book, and I really do think the story is endearing, sassy at times, and lots of fun. I just think that I may need it presented in a different way.

     

    My Rating: 7/10

    Dan's lists 2009

    in Past Book Logs

    Posted

    I've been busy entertaining guests recently, so now that they're all gone, I came to see how you were getting on with the Faber book. I'm glad to see you finished it and thought it was intriguing.. I'm keeping it on my list, unless you think that's a mistake?

     

    As always, thanks for the review :D

    Beth's Bookshelf 2009

    in Past Book Logs

    Posted

    Wow, glad to see you enjoyed that one so much Beth. I am considering it as my next read.

     

    I bet you'll like it, Dan.. and it will certainly be a lighter read than that 900 page brick you're working through now! :)

     

    I'm not sure this particular genre is quite up my street, Beth. What do you think? Do I put it on my TBR pile, or avoid adding something else to my mountainous collection?

     

    Hope you're very well. :lol:

     

    Am very well, thank you. :blush:

    I'd say rent this one from the library, if you're unsure.. I will be the first to say this one isn't for everyone, but it's great fun if you can just let go and let it be what it is. (That's assuming you can stomach this kind of mindlessness, which luckily.. I can with no troubles!) ;)

    Beth's Bookshelf 2009

    in Past Book Logs

    Posted

    Mini Review of The Luxe by Anna Godbersen

     

    Synopsis:

     

    Imagine, if you will, New York City, 1899 . . .

    Society's elite: the glamour, the grandeur, the glittering parties, the most handsome beaus, the most beautiful debutantes, the sounds of decadence, the rich girl, the humble boy, the forbidden love, the hushed whispers, the stolen glances, the secret rendezvous, the sin, the scandal, the mystery, the revenge.

    You are cordially invited to step into The Luxe, where the secrets are dark and the sins are delicious . . .

     

     

    All ball gowns and glitter and old money and seeming perfection.. but it isn't long before the facade starts to crumble, and out come the secrets, rumours, and betrayals. The story follows Miss Elizabeth Holland and her family, one of the finest families in Manhattan. After Elizabeth's mom reveals a secret that could lead to the family's fall, the burden of saving the Holland name falls on her shoulders. But that's not the only secret amongst this circle of wealthy socialites, and as secrets are revealed and knowledge falls into the wrong hands, it becomes quite the tangled web of deception.

     

     

    The reading is fast and easy, which is no surprise since this was penned mainly for young adults. It wasn't long before I was sucked in completely, and it became really hard to put the book down. The tale and its characters are randy and rompy, and I couldn't wait to see what would happen next. It's quite addictive, and one of those books that made me actually miss the characters once the story was over. Luckily, there are 2 more in the series, and I hope to pick them up soon. I'd recommend this book to anyone that enjoys escaping to a bit of mindless entertainment, loves not knowing quite who to root for in a book, and can deal with a bit of unabashedly gossipy, catty, and sassy fiction... all from "prim and proper" young debutantes of old Manhattan society.

     

     

    My Rating: (on a scale similar to chick-lit scale) 10/10

    Who/Where Are You?

    in General Book Discussions

    Posted

    I go by the name of Harper, and I did a terrible thing in my past - something I have regretted everyday since. Now a train has derailed in my tiny town, and a young, pregnant, now-motherless child with skin the color of blackberries is asking for my help. It may be my chance for redemption...

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