I wasn't sure if I would ever read the other books in the series but last month I started reading Catching Fire and enjoyed it more than the first book. The plot is basically the same with just a few new characters. This morning I finished the final book Mockingjay and was very disappointed with the ending. It just did not seem to fit with the rest of the story. I'm glad its over but I'm also glad that I read all three books. The story does have a very dramatic impact and really made me think about the world we live in. I'll probably even go see the movie in March.
Friday, December 23, 2011
The Hunger Games Trilogy
It only took a year but I have finally finished the Hunger Games Trilogy. I bought the first book last November because it was on sale. I had heard many people talk about how good it was so I decided to give it a try. I did not know the book was about kids fighting each other to the death and almost stopped reading after a few chapters. I did finally finish the book and although the subject matter was very distrubing, I did feel the book had merit and I could see the point of the story.
I wasn't sure if I would ever read the other books in the series but last month I started reading Catching Fire and enjoyed it more than the first book. The plot is basically the same with just a few new characters. This morning I finished the final book Mockingjay and was very disappointed with the ending. It just did not seem to fit with the rest of the story. I'm glad its over but I'm also glad that I read all three books. The story does have a very dramatic impact and really made me think about the world we live in. I'll probably even go see the movie in March.
I wasn't sure if I would ever read the other books in the series but last month I started reading Catching Fire and enjoyed it more than the first book. The plot is basically the same with just a few new characters. This morning I finished the final book Mockingjay and was very disappointed with the ending. It just did not seem to fit with the rest of the story. I'm glad its over but I'm also glad that I read all three books. The story does have a very dramatic impact and really made me think about the world we live in. I'll probably even go see the movie in March.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Bag of Bones
A&E TV aired the two-part miniseries based on Stephen King's novel Bag of Bones last weekend.
I decided to read the book before watching the series and I'm glad I did. This was one of King's novels I had missed when it was first published in 1998. I have never been a faithful King reader although I have enjoyed many of his books (I still feel that 'Salem's Lot is the best vampire story ever written). Bag of Bones is the story of a writer who loses his wife and then moves to their lake house to try and start his life over. The house is haunted with several spirits, some friendly, some not. This book is really a love story and a ghost story. I highly recommend the book to anyone who likes supernatural tales, ghost stories or tales of revenge. This book has it all. As far as the tv miniseries: skip it and read the book.
I decided to read the book before watching the series and I'm glad I did. This was one of King's novels I had missed when it was first published in 1998. I have never been a faithful King reader although I have enjoyed many of his books (I still feel that 'Salem's Lot is the best vampire story ever written). Bag of Bones is the story of a writer who loses his wife and then moves to their lake house to try and start his life over. The house is haunted with several spirits, some friendly, some not. This book is really a love story and a ghost story. I highly recommend the book to anyone who likes supernatural tales, ghost stories or tales of revenge. This book has it all. As far as the tv miniseries: skip it and read the book.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Dexter
I started watching the Showtime series Dexter when it first premiered in October 2006. I have faithfully watched the show which just finished its sixth season last Sunday. I had never read the books that the series is based on until last week. I picked up the first book in the series Darkly Dreaming Dexter and really enjoyed it. 
The plot is basically the same as season one of the series with a few exceptions. Some of the characters are slightly different, different jobs or names, but the core is the same. Even though I knew how it ended, it still kept me on the edge of my seat all the way till the end (which does have a few differences from the show). Now that the show will be off until next fall, I have five more Dexter books to keep me company and I'm told they do not follow the plots on the show. I can't wait. If you haven't seen the show, seasons 1-5 are available on DVD, it's worth watching.
The plot is basically the same as season one of the series with a few exceptions. Some of the characters are slightly different, different jobs or names, but the core is the same. Even though I knew how it ended, it still kept me on the edge of my seat all the way till the end (which does have a few differences from the show). Now that the show will be off until next fall, I have five more Dexter books to keep me company and I'm told they do not follow the plots on the show. I can't wait. If you haven't seen the show, seasons 1-5 are available on DVD, it's worth watching.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Micro
This week I read the new novel Micro by Michael Crichton and Richard Preston.
When I first started reading it, I found it silly and wasn't sure I could finish it. Humans being shrunk to half an inch tall and left in the Hawaiian jungle to survive, it sounded like a bad movie from the 80's. However, the book hooked me after a few chapters, even though it was still silly in places. I'm not sure how much of the novel was written by Michael Crichton before his death in 2008. Parts of the book seem rushed and unfinished. There is a lot of real science in the book, you can find out just about everything there is to know about insect life in Hawaii. I've never read Crichton before so I can't compare this to his earlier work, but I do want to read some of his other books now. If you're looking for a quick and fun read, this is your book.
When I first started reading it, I found it silly and wasn't sure I could finish it. Humans being shrunk to half an inch tall and left in the Hawaiian jungle to survive, it sounded like a bad movie from the 80's. However, the book hooked me after a few chapters, even though it was still silly in places. I'm not sure how much of the novel was written by Michael Crichton before his death in 2008. Parts of the book seem rushed and unfinished. There is a lot of real science in the book, you can find out just about everything there is to know about insect life in Hawaii. I've never read Crichton before so I can't compare this to his earlier work, but I do want to read some of his other books now. If you're looking for a quick and fun read, this is your book.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
The Help
I watched the movie The Help last night. I really enjoyed it and thought it was a very faithful adaptation of the novel.
For those of you who have not seen the movie or read the book, it is the story of a young white woman in Mississippi during the early sixties. She decides to write the story of "the help", the black women who cook, clean and raise the white children for the next generation. The characters are so alive in the book and they are just as rich and wonderful in the movie.
I read the book earlier this year after hearing from everyone that I should read it. It took a chapter or two before I got into it, then I could not stop. My only complaint about the book was that it ended. I wanted to know more, what happens next. I still find it so distrubing that people were ever treated as badly as these women. It was such a terrible time in American history and Kathyrn Stockett beautifully portrays the woman and the time period with a skill unlike any other writer. I highly recommend the book and the movie, you won't be disappointed.
For those of you who have not seen the movie or read the book, it is the story of a young white woman in Mississippi during the early sixties. She decides to write the story of "the help", the black women who cook, clean and raise the white children for the next generation. The characters are so alive in the book and they are just as rich and wonderful in the movie.
I read the book earlier this year after hearing from everyone that I should read it. It took a chapter or two before I got into it, then I could not stop. My only complaint about the book was that it ended. I wanted to know more, what happens next. I still find it so distrubing that people were ever treated as badly as these women. It was such a terrible time in American history and Kathyrn Stockett beautifully portrays the woman and the time period with a skill unlike any other writer. I highly recommend the book and the movie, you won't be disappointed.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
A Literary Ghost Story
Here is a book I read back in May and really enjoyed. I had forgotten about it until yesterday when I was reading the current issue of Entertainment Weekly magazine. Stephen King listed this book as number 16 of his 2011 Pop Culture Favorites. The book is The White Devil by Justin Evans.
The story is about an American teenager who attends a British boarding school for boys after being thrown out of his American school. This is the same school that Lord Byron attended many, many years before. When Andrew arrives from America, the other students can see the resemblance to Byron and so can something else. A classic ghost story filled with love and horror, you won't be disappointed. Amazon currently has the ebook on sale for $2.99. For more information about the author, check out his website at www.justinevans.com
The story is about an American teenager who attends a British boarding school for boys after being thrown out of his American school. This is the same school that Lord Byron attended many, many years before. When Andrew arrives from America, the other students can see the resemblance to Byron and so can something else. A classic ghost story filled with love and horror, you won't be disappointed. Amazon currently has the ebook on sale for $2.99. For more information about the author, check out his website at www.justinevans.com
Friday, December 2, 2011
The Ridge
My favorite book of the year was published in June. I bought it because there was a lighthouse on the cover and I have always been fascinated with lighthouses. I soon discovered that the book had much more. The book is The Ridge by Michael Koryta. A ghost story unlike any I have read before.
The story begins with the death of the owner of the lighthouse. This is no ordinary lighthouse for several reasons. First, it is built on the hilltop in an isolated stretch of eastern Kentucky. Second, it illuminates only the surrounding woods, or does it. What lives in these woods? A large cat sanctuary is being moved into the area and the cats know that something else lives here. Those of you who are animal lovers as I am, here is a warning. No spoilers, but there is one chapter in the book that is very disturbing and I had to put the book down for awhile.
This book kept me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves ghost stories or the supernatural. Michael Koryta has become one of my favorite authors and you can check out his website and blog at www.michaelkoryta.com. These is also a short video by Michael about the large cat sanctuary on the amazon page. http://www.amazon.com/Ridge-Michael-Koryta/dp/031605366X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1322840352&sr=1-1
The story begins with the death of the owner of the lighthouse. This is no ordinary lighthouse for several reasons. First, it is built on the hilltop in an isolated stretch of eastern Kentucky. Second, it illuminates only the surrounding woods, or does it. What lives in these woods? A large cat sanctuary is being moved into the area and the cats know that something else lives here. Those of you who are animal lovers as I am, here is a warning. No spoilers, but there is one chapter in the book that is very disturbing and I had to put the book down for awhile.
This book kept me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end and I highly recommend it to anyone who loves ghost stories or the supernatural. Michael Koryta has become one of my favorite authors and you can check out his website and blog at www.michaelkoryta.com. These is also a short video by Michael about the large cat sanctuary on the amazon page. http://www.amazon.com/Ridge-Michael-Koryta/dp/031605366X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1322840352&sr=1-1
Thursday, December 1, 2011
A Year in Review
On November 29, 2010, I purchased my first Kobo e-reader and started keeping track of all the books I was reading. Well, the 1 year anniversary was a couple of days ago and I have read 94 books. Not all were on the Kobo, I also have a kindle and I do sometimes read an actual book. The breakdown of those 94 books go like this: 74 novels, 1 non-fiction, 7 short stories and 12 novellas. I read online the other day that the average person reads 5 books a year. I guess I'm not average.
Reading has always been important to me. I remember my parents reading to me at night before bed and thanks to my sister, I learned to read at an early age. When I started school, I was already in love with reading and books. As a young boy I read mystery and adventure books like Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators and Encyclopedia Brown. I also loved the choose your own adventure books. Mysteries and thrillers are still my favorites although I have been branching out and trying other genres. Two of the best books I read this year would not be considered mysteries, Water for Elephants and The Help.
On my next post I will continue my year in review by telling you about my favorite book of the year. I welcome your comments on this page and please send me your reviews and I will post them also. Send them to treyanderson2930@gmail.com
Reading has always been important to me. I remember my parents reading to me at night before bed and thanks to my sister, I learned to read at an early age. When I started school, I was already in love with reading and books. As a young boy I read mystery and adventure books like Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators and Encyclopedia Brown. I also loved the choose your own adventure books. Mysteries and thrillers are still my favorites although I have been branching out and trying other genres. Two of the best books I read this year would not be considered mysteries, Water for Elephants and The Help.
On my next post I will continue my year in review by telling you about my favorite book of the year. I welcome your comments on this page and please send me your reviews and I will post them also. Send them to treyanderson2930@gmail.com
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Peculiar Book
Author Ransom Riggs has created a very peculiar book. Not only is the story strange, but also the way he wrote the book. He has taken photographs from 10 collectors that were found or rescued from flea markets, antique malls and yard sales. He then wrote a story around those photographs. The book contains 44 of these photos and they add to the mystery of the story. Here is a link to the trailer for the book.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWrNyVhSJUU&feature=player_embedded
I found this book by accident while searching through the digital library for a book to read. The cover caught my attention so I downloaded the book and could not put it down. It is a very original story with great pacing and flow, keeping the reader intrigued from beginning to end. Here is a short description from amazon:
A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs.
It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.
A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.
It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.
A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.
You can check out more about the author on his blog at www.ransomriggs.com. He recently posted that there will be a sequel coming in 2013 and he has another book, Talking Pictures, coming in April 2012.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Dean Koontz
I just finished reading the new Dean Koontz short story The Moonlit Mind. 
This story is only available in ebook form so those of you who have not embraced the future are out of luck on this one. Here is the description from Dean's website:
In this chilling original stand-alone novella, available exclusively as an eBook, #1 New York Times bestselling author Dean Koontz offers a taste of what’s to come in his new novel, 77 Shadow Street, with a mesmerizing tale of a homeless boy at large in a city fraught with threats . . . both human and otherwise.
Twelve-year-old Crispin has lived on the streets since he was nine—with only his wits and his daring to sustain him, and only his silent dog, Harley, to call his friend. He is always on the move, never lingering in any one place long enough to risk being discovered. Still, there are certain places he returns to. In the midst of the tumultuous city, they are havens of solitude: like the hushed environs of St. Mary Salome Cemetery, a place where Crispin can feel at peace—safe, at least for a while, from the fearsome memories that plague him . . . and seep into his darkest nightmares. But not only his dreams are haunted. The city he roams with Harley has secrets and mysteries, things unexplainable and maybe unimaginable. Crispin has seen ghosts in the dead of night, and sensed dimensions beyond reason in broad daylight. Hints of things disturbing and strange nibble at the edges of his existence, even as dangers wholly natural and earthbound cast their shadows across his path. Alone, drifting, and scavenging to survive is no life for a boy. But the life Crispin has left behind, and is still running scared from, is an unspeakable alternative . . . that may yet catch up with him.
I enjoyed the story and found it very creepy and disturbing. The reason why Crispin is homeless is very shocking. Even though I figured out what was going on before the end, I still thought the book was very satisfying. The ebook also features the first 3 chapters of Dean's new book 77 Shadow Street that will be available on December 27. I can't wait. Find out more about Dean Koontz at www.deankoontz.com and visit www.77shadowstreet.com for an immersive experience.
This story is only available in ebook form so those of you who have not embraced the future are out of luck on this one. Here is the description from Dean's website:In this chilling original stand-alone novella, available exclusively as an eBook, #1 New York Times bestselling author Dean Koontz offers a taste of what’s to come in his new novel, 77 Shadow Street, with a mesmerizing tale of a homeless boy at large in a city fraught with threats . . . both human and otherwise.
Twelve-year-old Crispin has lived on the streets since he was nine—with only his wits and his daring to sustain him, and only his silent dog, Harley, to call his friend. He is always on the move, never lingering in any one place long enough to risk being discovered. Still, there are certain places he returns to. In the midst of the tumultuous city, they are havens of solitude: like the hushed environs of St. Mary Salome Cemetery, a place where Crispin can feel at peace—safe, at least for a while, from the fearsome memories that plague him . . . and seep into his darkest nightmares. But not only his dreams are haunted. The city he roams with Harley has secrets and mysteries, things unexplainable and maybe unimaginable. Crispin has seen ghosts in the dead of night, and sensed dimensions beyond reason in broad daylight. Hints of things disturbing and strange nibble at the edges of his existence, even as dangers wholly natural and earthbound cast their shadows across his path. Alone, drifting, and scavenging to survive is no life for a boy. But the life Crispin has left behind, and is still running scared from, is an unspeakable alternative . . . that may yet catch up with him.
I enjoyed the story and found it very creepy and disturbing. The reason why Crispin is homeless is very shocking. Even though I figured out what was going on before the end, I still thought the book was very satisfying. The ebook also features the first 3 chapters of Dean's new book 77 Shadow Street that will be available on December 27. I can't wait. Find out more about Dean Koontz at www.deankoontz.com and visit www.77shadowstreet.com for an immersive experience.
Welcome
My name is Trey and I used to be a bookseller for a major book retail chain. That company is no longer in business and I miss talking about my passion: books. On this blog, I will post reviews for the books I read and give links and info that I hope you will find interesting. I also encourage you to send me your reviews and I will post them. I will try to post at least 2 or 3 times a week, maybe more in the beginning. Although the focus of this blog will be books, I may from time to time post about movies or tv if it is based on a book. Let me know what you think.
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