Schultz Reading 2015

[BSchultz19]

House Rules by Jodi Picoult

Summary

When your son can't look you in the eye...does that mean he's guilty?

Jacob Hunt is a teen with Asperger's syndrome. He's hopeless at reading social cues or expressing himself well to others, though he is brilliant in many ways. But he has a special focus on one subject - forensic analysis. A police scanner in his room clues him in to crime scenes, and he's always showing up and telling the cops what to do. And he's usually right.
But when Jacob's small hometown is rocked by a terrible murder, law enforcement comes to him. Jacob's behaviors are hallmark Asperger's, but they look a lot like guilt to the local police. Suddenly the Hunt family, who only want to fit in, are directly in the spotlight. For Jacob's mother, Emma, it's a brutal reminder of the intolerance and misunderstanding that always threaten her family. For his brother, Theo, it's another indication why nothing is normal because of Jacob.
And over this small family, the soul-searing question looms: Did Jacob commit murder?

(from goodreads)

 

My Opinion

I really enjoyed this book and I found it extra interesting because I have been reading more about people with Asperger's and this only added to my knowledge. I love that Picoult always puts extensive research into each book so that all parts of it are accurate. In the extra interview part of the edition I have she talks about that her cousin has AS and she also interviewed in person and on paper over 16 teenagers with AS. I think that helps the reader have confidence in the legitimacy of the story she is telling. 

 

I thought this was one of her better books because I honestly had no freaking clue who did it the whole way through. I had my guesses and they changed pretty much every chapter. I love that there was a good amount of courtroom drama, but unlike in some of her other books it wasn't a star lawyer for the defense. I thought that was a nice change of pace and more realistic based on the fact that a single mother with a child with autism would not have a lot of money. 

 

Once again Picoult discusses something tough and sometimes even uncomfortable to some people with great grace and class. I think that is what I admire most about her writing. She helps tell the story of people who might not be able to tell their own. This made me understand people with AS a lot better and made me think that I have some of the same symptoms so I can sympathize although I am pretty sure I don't have any kind of AS. 

 

Great book. Great story. Would totally recommend it. 

 

Rating

         

[Athena]

I really liked this book too. I'm so glad you enjoyed it ! Great review.

[Anna Begins]

Ohhh ya, I just read about this one.  Did you read it on Spring Break?  How was Orlando?  I am anxious to read Nineteen Minutes now.  Maybe after my long 1,088 page Ken Follett lol  It requires some dedication.

[frankie]

Great review, BSchultz! This sounds like just the kind of book I want to read: there's a crime, forensic stuff, and someone with Asperger's (I like mental stuff). I was going to add it to my wishlist but the synopsis sounded familiar and I thought I probably already have it on my wishlist... And yep, Athena's review made me add it there some time ago  

[Athena]

Great review, BSchultz! This sounds like just the kind of book I want to read: there's a crime, forensic stuff, and someone with Asperger's (I like mental stuff). I was going to add it to my wishlist but the synopsis sounded familiar and I thought I probably already have it on my wishlist... And yep, Athena's review made me add it there some time ago

I feel honoured , I hope you enjoy the book if / when you read it.

[BSchultz19]

Ohhh ya, I just read about this one.  Did you read it on Spring Break?  How was Orlando?  I am anxious to read Nineteen Minutes now.  Maybe after my long 1,088 page Ken Follett lol  It requires some dedication.

 

Yes I did read it on Spring Break, mostly while I was at the pool but also in our hotel room/villa. Orlando was amazing  ! My tan is incredible according to my friends, and I had a ton of fun. 

 

Nineteen Minutes is a good one and I'm excited for you to read it! I'm also currently reading a long book which makes me feel like I'm lagging behind, but I'm basically reading the amount of pages of two or three books in one. 

 

I really liked this book too. I'm so glad you enjoyed it ! Great review.

 

It is one of my favorites that she has written and that says a lot. 

 

Great review, BSchultz! This sounds like just the kind of book I want to read: there's a crime, forensic stuff, and someone with Asperger's (I like mental stuff). I was going to add it to my wishlist but the synopsis sounded familiar and I thought I probably already have it on my wishlist... And yep, Athena's review made me add it there some time ago

 

It's really great, I hope you enjoy it when you do get to reading it! 

[Athena]

It is one of my favorites that she has written and that says a lot. 

Mine too .

[BSchultz19]

11/22/63 by Stephen King

Summary

Life can turn on a dime—or stumble into the extraordinary, as it does for Jake Epping, a high school English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine. While grading essays by his GED students, Jake reads a gruesome, enthralling piece penned by janitor Harry Dunning: fifty years ago, Harry somehow survived his father’s sledgehammer slaughter of his entire family. Jake is blown away...but an even more bizarre secret comes to light when Jake’s friend Al, owner of the local diner, enlists Jake to take over the mission that has become his obsession—to prevent the Kennedy assassination. How? By stepping through a portal in the diner’s storeroom, and into the era of Ike and Elvis, of big American cars, sock hops, and cigarette smoke... Finding himself in warmhearted Jodie, Texas, Jake begins a new life. But all turns in the road lead to a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald. The course of history is about to be rewritten...and become heart-stoppingly suspenseful.

(from goodreads)

 

Opinions

This was my first Stephen King novel, so I had to get used to his style and kind of pick up on the way he writes but he writes so well that wasn't difficult. I like the premise of this novel, a time-travel mixed with history and alternative history type thing, but there were a lot of parts that seemed really slow to me. For example, when he goes back into the past multiple times the same thing happens and so a lot of it is retold, which kind of has to be done but I felt like it was really slow in those parts and others. 

 

That said, it was a great book. I like that it surrounded around this one big historical event, but also really had the character fall back into the times. It felt like I was experiencing the 60s as well. It was kind of fun to see Jake Epping realize that some of the phrases we view as normal sound ludicrous to people living in the late 50s and early 60s. I also found it interesting that King decided to focus around this one specific historical event, because there are many other "watershed moments" that he could have picked. He kind of talks about why he chose the Kennedy assassination in the end notes though. He says that he originally wanted to write the book around 1972, but it seemed too fresh in people's minds, so he put it off and wrote and published around 2010. 

 

I suppose that one of the main reasons to focus on this event was the large amount of conspiracy theories about it, mostly because Oswald was shot before he could go to trial and people could hear what really happened. I also learned things that I didn't know from American History classes (we barely made it to learning the 60s) like that the FBI did not like Kennedy, so some think they turned a blind eye to threats and warnings.

 

Overall, it was a very enjoyable book but also very long. It slowed down my total count of books reading wise, but I don't regret reading it because it was a good one.

 

Rating

        

[Athena]

Great review! I'm glad you enjoyed this book . Do you think I will be able to follow the book allright, not knowing that much about that time period and event, or would it be beneficial if I were to read some about it on Wikipedia or such, before starting on the book (that I will read eventually as it's on my TBR).

[BSchultz19]

Great review! I'm glad you enjoyed this book . Do you think I will be able to follow the book allright, not knowing that much about that time period and event, or would it be beneficial if I were to read some about it on Wikipedia or such, before starting on the book (that I will read eventually as it's on my TBR).

 

I think reading a little about it on Wikipedia would probably be a good idea before reading the book just because I think it helps to have some basic knowledge of the times and the event itself. I don't think you need background knowledge to read it though, it would just be very helpful and you might enjoy the story better with that info already in your mind 

[Anna Begins]

Ya, I'd agree... just read some basic stuff.  There is so much crazy Kennedy stuff out there, just read the Wiki summery and maybe the actual shooting/ assassination part of Wiki.

 

I'm glad you liked it in the end, for some reason I didn't know this was your first King.  It is a good one to start if you don't like horror, but Different Seasons contains Shawshank Redemption, Apt Pupil and The Body (which became the movie Stand By Me).  The Green Mile also is so good and such a... commentary on our justice system, its startling.

(BTW- The Green Mile was originally released as serialized fiction, coming out in parts )

 

I'm glad you had a good time on Spring Break, it's nice you get to go to FL that often.  We try to get to Disneyland a few times a year (just so ridiculously expensive), as it is only 8-9 hours from here.  Although, I just burn in the sun  My Spring Break ends on Monday- so sad.  Then its preparing for Finals in a few weeks!

[BSchultz19]

Ya, I'd agree... just read some basic stuff.  There is so much crazy Kennedy stuff out there, just read the Wiki summery and maybe the actual shooting/ assassination part of Wiki.

 

I'm glad you liked it in the end, for some reason I didn't know this was your first King.  It is a good one to start if you don't like horror, but Different Seasons contains Shawshank Redemption, Apt Pupil and The Body (which became the movie Stand By Me).  The Green Mile also is so good and such a... commentary on our justice system, its startling.

(BTW- The Green Mile was originally released as serialized fiction, coming out in parts )

 

I'm glad you had a good time on Spring Break, it's nice you get to go to FL that often.  We try to get to Disneyland a few times a year (just so ridiculously expensive), as it is only 8-9 hours from here.  Although, I just burn in the sun  My Spring Break ends on Monday- so sad.  Then its preparing for Finals in a few weeks!

 

I'll have to look into those! I definitely liked his writing and like you said I don't like horror so I have to avoid those ones. 

 

Yeah it's been great getting to go so often, there was a long break in time that I didn't get to go because they always planned their trips at times when I had school, but by the end of July I'll have gone three times in one year. It's really nice and we don't even necessarily spend a lot of time in the parks, just go on our favorite rides, maybe eat a meal and leave. A lot of the time is spent at the pool and that we don't spend a ton of money or time waiting in lines and eating park food. I'm so glad I don't burn in the sun I have Greek and Italien blood to go along with German and luckily the Mediterranean heritage shows in my skin tone.

 

I have finals in five weeks Not looking forward to that

[Anna Begins]

I'll have to look into those! I definitely liked his writing and like you said I don't like horror so I have to avoid those ones. 

 

Yeah it's been great getting to go so often, there was a long break in time that I didn't get to go because they always planned their trips at times when I had school, but by the end of July I'll have gone three times in one year. It's really nice and we don't even necessarily spend a lot of time in the parks, just go on our favorite rides, maybe eat a meal and leave. A lot of the time is spent at the pool and that we don't spend a ton of money or time waiting in lines and eating park food. I'm so glad I don't burn in the sun I have Greek and Italien blood to go along with German and luckily the Mediterranean heritage shows in my skin tone.

 

I have finals in five weeks Not looking forward to that

Hopefully mine will just be a research paper (I currently only take an English course).  But I know they are out to get me with correctly citing my sources   Not only will I have a bad final, but I will also get a bad grade in the corresponding computer lab class that I must take.

 

We try to go off season to avoid lines, it gets too hectic and too hot in So CA in the summer.  I guess the humidity can get you in FL but in Los Angeles, it can be 90-100F in the summer.  That's just too much for me, to stand in lines that are 2 hours.  All those sweaty people- gross  But the off season is nice and we do like you, ride our favs, have a meal, walk around, window shop.  Then rest in our rooms or in the hot tub.

 

Did you go to prom yet?  We were just mall shopping and my daughter (6 years old) had to check out all the dresses.  I guess prom is coming up here, but I know all schools are different, I never know til I see the rented Limousines. 

 

God, that last sentence made me sound like I'm 80.  I promise I am not lol (not like there is anything wrong with that) *get off my lawn*

[BSchultz19]

Hopefully mine will just be a research paper (I currently only take an English course).  But I know they are out to get me with correctly citing my sources   Not only will I have a bad final, but I will also get a bad grade in the corresponding computer lab class that I must take.

 

We try to go off season to avoid lines, it gets too hectic and too hot in So CA in the summer.  I guess the humidity can get you in FL but in Los Angeles, it can be 90-100F in the summer.  That's just too much for me, to stand in lines that are 2 hours.  All those sweaty people- gross  But the off season is nice and we do like you, ride our favs, have a meal, walk around, window shop.  Then rest in our rooms or in the hot tub.

 

Did you go to prom yet?  We were just mall shopping and my daughter (6 years old) had to check out all the dresses.  I guess prom is coming up here, but I know all schools are different, I never know til I see the rented Limousines. 

 

God, that last sentence made me sound like I'm 80.  I promise I am not lol (not like there is anything wrong with that) *get off my lawn*

 

My hardest finals are in college chemistry and college calculus. They're each 90 minutes and probably going to be very difficult.

 

Yeah if we go in the summer typically we go in the early morning and late night (they open at 7 am sometimes and don't close until 1 or 2) to avoid younger children and families and we use fast passes for all our favorite rides. We hardly ever wait more than 10 minutes for anything. We have gone at really bad times recently, but they often go without me during not so busy times of the year. 

 

I haven't gone to prom yet, it is a week from today. We don't rent limousines because we are all poor here but we do try to find fancier cars to take. 

[Anna Begins]

My hardest finals are in college chemistry and college calculus. They're each 90 minutes and probably going to be very difficult.

 

I haven't gone to prom yet, it is a week from today. We don't rent limousines because we are all poor here but we do try to find fancier cars to take. 

I went in a rented Altima one year and a 77 Pontiac one year (somehow I managed to go to FOUR promos  ).  I hope prom is great!

 

That sounds much harder than my final coming up  Hopefully (we haven't received the assignment yet), it won't be too torturous, but you never know what they will throw out there, it could be an all in class timed research paper.   (Let's hoping its not).

[BSchultz19]

I went in a rented Altima one year and a 77 Pontiac one year (somehow I managed to go to FOUR promos  ).  I hope prom is great!

 

That sounds much harder than my final coming up  Hopefully (we haven't received the assignment yet), it won't be too torturous, but you never know what they will throw out there, it could be an all in class timed research paper.   (Let's hoping its not).

 

This will be my third prom. Part of me just wants it to be over, but I also think it should be fun. 

 

Yeah it won't be much fun especially because it is over everything we have learned the entire year. In Calculus that's not too bad because it all just kind of adds on what you know as you go, but Chemistry is a ton of stuff to know. I'm not going to stress myself out though. Just some tests

[Athena]

I think reading a little about it on Wikipedia would probably be a good idea before reading the book just because I think it helps to have some basic knowledge of the times and the event itself. I don't think you need background knowledge to read it though, it would just be very helpful and you might enjoy the story better with that info already in your mind 

 

Thanks, I will keep this in mind !

 

Ya, I'd agree... just read some basic stuff.  There is so much crazy Kennedy stuff out there, just read the Wiki summery and maybe the actual shooting/ assassination part of Wiki.

Thanks , I think I will do that before I start the book.

 

I'm glad you had fun on your Spring Break, BSchultz! I wish you, and Anna good luck with your finals! 

 

Have fun with the prom, BSchultz!

[Nollaig]

Yeah, good luck all round with finals. I do not envy ye one BIT!

[bobblybear]

Nice review of 11/22/63. I didn't realise it was your first King, so I'm glad you enjoyed it. What did you think of the ending? I don't remember it exactly, but I recall not being keen on it.

[BSchultz19]

Nice review of 11/22/63. I didn't realise it was your first King, so I'm glad you enjoyed it. What did you think of the ending? I don't remember it exactly, but I recall not being keen on it.

 

Yeah I thought it was a little weird. There were parts of it that I liked and parts I didn't. If you want, I put a basic summary of the ending in spoiler tags. 

 

 

He goes back to 2011 to find that literally everything else has changed due to Kennedy not dying. Basically the nuclear crises we expected to happen for years and years actually did happen. Nuclear weapons were used repeatedly on America and by America on others. So he goes back to 1958 to try to do a reset. He wants to go find Sadie, but realizes that even that could change the world later on so he leaves her alone and goes back into 2011 again. Then he goes and finds the 80 something year old Sadie in Dallas and finds that she had a great life. They dance together.

 

[BSchultz19]

 

Thanks, I will keep this in mind !

 

 

Thanks , I think I will do that before I start the book.

 

I'm glad you had fun on your Spring Break, BSchultz! I wish you, and Anna good luck with your finals! 

 

Have fun with the prom, BSchultz!

 

 

Yeah, good luck all round with finals. I do not envy ye one BIT!

 

Thank you both of you! I really don't stress about finals, so it shouldn't be too bad 

[bobblybear]

Thanks for the summary of the ending. I remembered the part where

he goes back to 2011 after Kennedy still lived, and sees how it all deteriorated. That's the part I didn't like as I thought it was over the top. But I had forgotten that he went back to 1958 to reset it.

 

[BSchultz19]

Thanks for the summary of the ending. I remembered the part where

he goes back to 2011 after Kennedy still lived, and sees how it all deteriorated. That's the part I didn't like as I thought it was over the top. But I had forgotten that he went back to 1958 to reset it.

 

 

Yeah that was the part that I wasn't fond of either. 

 

It was such an exaggeration. Obviously a lot would change if Kennedy hadn't died, but I still don't think nuclear weapons would ever have been used. No matter who was elected President, they would understand the risks that came with it. I mean there's a reason that since 1945 ZERO atomic bombs have been dropped or fired. I thought it was a little funny that King chose to have Hillary become President though.

 

[BSchultz19]

A Time to Kill by John Grisham 

Summary

The life of a ten-year-old girl is shattered by two drunken and remorseless young men. The mostly white town of Clanton in Ford County, Mississippi, reacts with shock and horror at the inhuman crime. Until her black father acquires an assault rifle and takes justice into his own outraged hands.

For ten days, as burning crosses and the crack of sniper fire spread through the streets of Clanton, the nation sits spellbound as young defense attorney Jake Brigance struggles to save his client’s life–and then his own.

(from goodreads)

 

Opinions

This was a very interesting read that asked moral questions and discussed some historical "ickies" as I like to call them. The KKK becomes involved in this book and it just disgusts me that people can still think the way they do and use intimidation the way they do as well. While reading about the riots and protests I was reminded a lot of what it was like this summer in an area near me, Ferguson where there were riots about the death of a young black boy. I didn't agree with that particular case, but I found it interesting and sad that we are fighting the same battles today with racism that we fought 40-50 years ago and even further back than that. It feels like something should have gotten better during that time. 

 

As for the story itself, it was a great plot line and I like the way that the narrator was omniscient and the reader got taken into all the secret little places that the main characters couldn't go, like the jury room as they made their deliberations. I thought that was a great way to present the story. The characters were great. Jake Brigance, the lawyer, is a very dynamic character that we get to see mature and face challenges throughout the book. Carl Lee Hailey, the one being charged with a crime, is another interesting character that a lot of people will be able to relate to in a way. I like that he makes his characters so real. 

 

I think that I have grown to love court room dramas, so there will be more Grisham in my future. I love the quick dialogue that happens in the courtroom. It really puts you in the courtroom and keeps you excited. I literally couldn't and didn't put this book down for very long this weekend. Only to watch the occasional few episodes of Big Bang Theory as I ate my meals. 

 

Rating

         

[Athena]

Great review ! I'm glad you enjoyed this book, I have it on my TBR (though I think I might start with The Client as that was always one of my favourite Grisham books when I was a young teenager). Anna tried to read A Time to Kill but she found the beginning disturbing if I recall it correctly.

Edited April 14, 2015 by Athena