Title: The Wives of Los Alamos
Author: TaraShea Nesbit
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Summary: During World War II, scientists were moved to New Mexico for a top secret project to build what was ultimately the atomic bomb. The scientists' families were moved along with them. They couldn't tell anybody where they were going or when they were coming back. The wives knew nothing about what their husbands were working on for years (there were some women scientists there too, but they were the minority). These families were thrown together with other families and forced to live in fake town of sorts. Houses were assigned based on family size, things were rationed, and any communication was reviewed and censored.
Rating: I've never quite read a book like this before. There were no real characters and everything was written in the plural first person. It was really frustrating to read a book with no characters. I originally gave this three stars but I downgraded to two because while I finished it, nothing really happened. The lack of characters didn't provide any depth as to how the families dealt with the realization of what the men had been working on for the past several years and how their wives and children (those who were old enough to understand) felt about it. It was alluded to, but as with everything else in this book, nothing was really explored.
Saturday, August 30, 2014
Saturday, August 16, 2014
Book review: Chance
Title: Chance
Author: Kem Nunn
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Summary: Dr. Eldon Chance is a neuropsychiatrist who is on a path of self-destruction. Recently divorced, he becomes entangled with Jaclyn Blackstone, a woman who appears to have multiple personalities and also happens to be married to an abusive and dirty Oakland detective. Chance has also recently befriended Carl and D, who refinish furniture, among other talents.
Review: This book seemed so promising to me but I just couldn't get into it. Chance is described as an antihero in the book jacket and I would agree wholeheartedly with that description. He's pathetic. His affair with Jaclyn is pathetic. He puts his career at stake. And you know he's smarter than that, and he knows he's smarter than that, but Jaclyn is his kryptonite. The climax, a showdown between Carl, the abusive husband, Carl and D is interesting, yet also felt like a cop out. I kept thinking there was going to be a twist to make it more interesting, like Chance was crazy and imagined the whole thing, but that never happened.
Author: Kem Nunn
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Summary: Dr. Eldon Chance is a neuropsychiatrist who is on a path of self-destruction. Recently divorced, he becomes entangled with Jaclyn Blackstone, a woman who appears to have multiple personalities and also happens to be married to an abusive and dirty Oakland detective. Chance has also recently befriended Carl and D, who refinish furniture, among other talents.
Review: This book seemed so promising to me but I just couldn't get into it. Chance is described as an antihero in the book jacket and I would agree wholeheartedly with that description. He's pathetic. His affair with Jaclyn is pathetic. He puts his career at stake. And you know he's smarter than that, and he knows he's smarter than that, but Jaclyn is his kryptonite. The climax, a showdown between Carl, the abusive husband, Carl and D is interesting, yet also felt like a cop out. I kept thinking there was going to be a twist to make it more interesting, like Chance was crazy and imagined the whole thing, but that never happened.
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Book review: The Silkworm
Title: The Silkworm
Author: Robert Galbraith
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Summary: This book is the second in a series about a detective named Cormoran Strike. Owen Quine is an author of questionable skill who goes missing. His wife approaches Cormoran because while he has disappeared in the past, he usually comes back. This time he hasn't. The wife asks Cormoran to find Quine. Quine is found, but he's been murdered. It turns out that Quine has just written a book that exposes secrets of players in the literary world. To find a list of suspects, one just has to look to the book to see who was exposed the most. It's a pretty long list but Cormoran, along with his assistant Robin, is on the hunt for Quine's killer.
Review: For those that don't know, Robert Galbraith is a pen name for JK Rowling. Cuckoo's Calling was the first book in the Strike series and I had resisted it for a long time because of this. I have never read the Harry Potter series and I have a tendency to avoid things that are so overexposed, like Harry Potter was in its heyday. Yet every time I read about Cuckoo's Calling, I was drawn to it.
I finally gave in and I loved Cuckoo's Calling. So I couldn't wait for this to come out and I wasn't disappointed. I have a tendency to shy away from ongoing detective series because after awhile they become very formulaic. This series is either still too young to be formulaic or Rowling is a good enough writer that they won't. Plus, these books are fun. I have immensely enjoyed these books for a few reasons:
Author: Robert Galbraith
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Summary: This book is the second in a series about a detective named Cormoran Strike. Owen Quine is an author of questionable skill who goes missing. His wife approaches Cormoran because while he has disappeared in the past, he usually comes back. This time he hasn't. The wife asks Cormoran to find Quine. Quine is found, but he's been murdered. It turns out that Quine has just written a book that exposes secrets of players in the literary world. To find a list of suspects, one just has to look to the book to see who was exposed the most. It's a pretty long list but Cormoran, along with his assistant Robin, is on the hunt for Quine's killer.
Review: For those that don't know, Robert Galbraith is a pen name for JK Rowling. Cuckoo's Calling was the first book in the Strike series and I had resisted it for a long time because of this. I have never read the Harry Potter series and I have a tendency to avoid things that are so overexposed, like Harry Potter was in its heyday. Yet every time I read about Cuckoo's Calling, I was drawn to it.
I finally gave in and I loved Cuckoo's Calling. So I couldn't wait for this to come out and I wasn't disappointed. I have a tendency to shy away from ongoing detective series because after awhile they become very formulaic. This series is either still too young to be formulaic or Rowling is a good enough writer that they won't. Plus, these books are fun. I have immensely enjoyed these books for a few reasons:
- Rowling does a great job with the development of Strike and Robin's relationship. Robin's engaged and her fiance isn't thrilled with her job. This is causing a fair amount of tension in their relationship. They end up having to postpone their wedding and you start to wonder if it will be postponed indefinitely. I liked how Rowling resolved this (for now).
- Maybe it's obvious to you, but I have yet to figure out who the killer is ahead of time. This book kept me interested to read on and find out.
- I couldn't help but wonder if Rowling modeled some of the characters about people she knows in the literary world, so that piqued my interest.
Friday, August 1, 2014
Book review: Andrew's Brain
Title: Andrew's Brain
Author: E.L. Doctorow
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Summary: This book is about...I don't have the faintest idea. This book is a conversation between Andrew and an unknown person about Andrew. He rambles about his life and wives. There's a sad story about a little girl that has no resolution.
Review: This book is like ordering a crisp Sauvignon Blanc and getting a tumbler of scotch. The scotch is probably good, it's just not what you ordered and what you were in the mood for. I've never read a book by E.L. Doctorow and I'm not terribly familiar with his work. And by not terribly familiar, I mean not familiar at all. I've gotten quite a few comments from you dear readers on the volume of books I read. Most of them don't require the level of concentration that this book required to read. And it might be a good book, it's just not the book for me. That's the main reason I gave it two stars versus one--didn't think my preference for a light summer white wine was Doctorow's total fault. Still, this book is one that needs concentration and focus. If you have more of that than me, then you might like this book better than I did.
Author: E.L. Doctorow
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Summary: This book is about...I don't have the faintest idea. This book is a conversation between Andrew and an unknown person about Andrew. He rambles about his life and wives. There's a sad story about a little girl that has no resolution.
Review: This book is like ordering a crisp Sauvignon Blanc and getting a tumbler of scotch. The scotch is probably good, it's just not what you ordered and what you were in the mood for. I've never read a book by E.L. Doctorow and I'm not terribly familiar with his work. And by not terribly familiar, I mean not familiar at all. I've gotten quite a few comments from you dear readers on the volume of books I read. Most of them don't require the level of concentration that this book required to read. And it might be a good book, it's just not the book for me. That's the main reason I gave it two stars versus one--didn't think my preference for a light summer white wine was Doctorow's total fault. Still, this book is one that needs concentration and focus. If you have more of that than me, then you might like this book better than I did.
Monday, July 28, 2014
Book review: The Vacationers
Title: The Vacationers
Author: Emma Straub
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Summary: The Post family heads from Manhattan to Mallorca, Spain for a 2-week vacation. The intent of the trip was multi-faceted: spend time together as a family before Sylvia headed off to college, celebrate Franny and Jim's 35th wedding anniversary and to see their son that lives in Florida. They're also joined by Franny's best friend Charles and his husband Lawrence. But it's going to be a long two weeks. Jim was just let go from his job for having an affair with a much younger employee. Franny and Jim's son is a bit under water and needs to ask his folks for money. Lawrence and Charles are trying to adopt a baby.
Rating: This book will not change your life but it is a good summer read. There isn't a lot of depth to any of the characters, but the two weeks the family spends together passes quickly enough. So why not a higher rating? It was good, not great. Everything just turned out too perfectly. I know that's the point with a summer read, but I guess I don't like books that end neatly. Sometimes it's hard to get into too many specifics without giving away the book, so you'll just have to trust me on this one.
Author: Emma Straub
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Summary: The Post family heads from Manhattan to Mallorca, Spain for a 2-week vacation. The intent of the trip was multi-faceted: spend time together as a family before Sylvia headed off to college, celebrate Franny and Jim's 35th wedding anniversary and to see their son that lives in Florida. They're also joined by Franny's best friend Charles and his husband Lawrence. But it's going to be a long two weeks. Jim was just let go from his job for having an affair with a much younger employee. Franny and Jim's son is a bit under water and needs to ask his folks for money. Lawrence and Charles are trying to adopt a baby.
Rating: This book will not change your life but it is a good summer read. There isn't a lot of depth to any of the characters, but the two weeks the family spends together passes quickly enough. So why not a higher rating? It was good, not great. Everything just turned out too perfectly. I know that's the point with a summer read, but I guess I don't like books that end neatly. Sometimes it's hard to get into too many specifics without giving away the book, so you'll just have to trust me on this one.
Saturday, July 19, 2014
Book review: Apple Tree Yard
Title: Apple Tree Yard
Author: Louise Doughty
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Summary: Yvonne Carmichael is a renowned geneticist and happily married mother of two. She meets Mark Costley in the hallway of the House of Parliament and begins an affair (yes, it is that random). Then Yvonne gets raped and in a random act of chivalry, Mark kills the guy. Then they get caught and go on trial.
Review: The inside of this jacket says, "...Apple Tree Yard is a psychological thriller that calls to mind Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl even as it stakes out its own chilling territory." I know the publisher is trying to sell books, but this melodrama makes me roll my eyes. I'm usually able to forget these sensational statements, but in this event, it stuck with me. Also, even though I remember reading that full sentence, I sort of trailed off at the mention of Gone Girl. I loved Gone Girl and I kept waiting for the twist. This book is no Gone Girl and the comparison to Gone Girl sort of ruined it for me.
The book was...fine. Here are some of the issues I had with it:
Author: Louise Doughty
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Summary: Yvonne Carmichael is a renowned geneticist and happily married mother of two. She meets Mark Costley in the hallway of the House of Parliament and begins an affair (yes, it is that random). Then Yvonne gets raped and in a random act of chivalry, Mark kills the guy. Then they get caught and go on trial.
Review: The inside of this jacket says, "...Apple Tree Yard is a psychological thriller that calls to mind Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl even as it stakes out its own chilling territory." I know the publisher is trying to sell books, but this melodrama makes me roll my eyes. I'm usually able to forget these sensational statements, but in this event, it stuck with me. Also, even though I remember reading that full sentence, I sort of trailed off at the mention of Gone Girl. I loved Gone Girl and I kept waiting for the twist. This book is no Gone Girl and the comparison to Gone Girl sort of ruined it for me.
The book was...fine. Here are some of the issues I had with it:
- The guy was clearly bad news. He was vague about his job and all contact was on his terms.
- Hiding the affair after the murder was a terrible idea. See #1. If the two of you are on trial for murder and he asks you to hide the affair, it doesn't occur to you that he will use this against you?
- Because of items 1 and 2, it made zero sense that he would kill the guy that raped Yvonne.
- I kept waiting for the plot twist. When was it going to be revealed that Yvonne was actually behind the whole thing?
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Book review: And the Dark Sacred Night
Title: And the Dark Sacred Night
Author: Julia Glass
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Summary: Kit Noonan has been drifting for awhile. He's an unpublished PhD who's been job searching for some time. Finally his wife gives him an ultimatum--he needs to find his dad. In fact, she's kicking him out of the house until he finds his dad. Kit's mom has always hid his father's identity from him, but Kit explores other avenues to figure out who his dad is. He finds a new family, but it also makes him realize that his "real" father isn't necessarily sperm-related.
Review: The other day my husband Aaron told me he was reading my reviews and he commented that I was so nice in my reviews. My response was, "I'm not trying to be the New York Times Book Review." I've made the same comment about People magazine--their reviews are very nice as well, and are typically in the 3.5 to 5 star range. But it did get me thinking--have I been overly nice or have I just been reading good books lately? Or is it because even if I don't love a book, who am I to say it's bad? I've never tried to write a book. I've thought about it, I suppose, but I've never explored the process of writing a book. It seems hard. What is this review about?
My conversation with Aaron has at least for the short term led me to take a more critical eye to the books I read. The first victim of this is And the Dark Sacred Night. I'd like to think that even before I had the above conversation that I would have given this book three stars at most. It just wasn't very interesting. Yet it wasn't boring enough to put down. It was just...eh. The story would present a scene, meander to a flashback, and by the time it came back to the present I would have forgotten what was going on. I also think Kit's biological father's family accepted him far too easily. There was also more to explore--Kit's stepdad had a son that was an alcoholic, but there wasn't a lot of depth to this. I'm always perplexed when a character's described with what seems to be important details, but the author never really explores it. Also, Kit's wife kicks him out, but beyond the first part, there's no further exploration of their relationship. Everything just felt undeveloped.
What do you think? A more thorough review than what I usually put together?
Author: Julia Glass
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Summary: Kit Noonan has been drifting for awhile. He's an unpublished PhD who's been job searching for some time. Finally his wife gives him an ultimatum--he needs to find his dad. In fact, she's kicking him out of the house until he finds his dad. Kit's mom has always hid his father's identity from him, but Kit explores other avenues to figure out who his dad is. He finds a new family, but it also makes him realize that his "real" father isn't necessarily sperm-related.
Review: The other day my husband Aaron told me he was reading my reviews and he commented that I was so nice in my reviews. My response was, "I'm not trying to be the New York Times Book Review." I've made the same comment about People magazine--their reviews are very nice as well, and are typically in the 3.5 to 5 star range. But it did get me thinking--have I been overly nice or have I just been reading good books lately? Or is it because even if I don't love a book, who am I to say it's bad? I've never tried to write a book. I've thought about it, I suppose, but I've never explored the process of writing a book. It seems hard. What is this review about?
My conversation with Aaron has at least for the short term led me to take a more critical eye to the books I read. The first victim of this is And the Dark Sacred Night. I'd like to think that even before I had the above conversation that I would have given this book three stars at most. It just wasn't very interesting. Yet it wasn't boring enough to put down. It was just...eh. The story would present a scene, meander to a flashback, and by the time it came back to the present I would have forgotten what was going on. I also think Kit's biological father's family accepted him far too easily. There was also more to explore--Kit's stepdad had a son that was an alcoholic, but there wasn't a lot of depth to this. I'm always perplexed when a character's described with what seems to be important details, but the author never really explores it. Also, Kit's wife kicks him out, but beyond the first part, there's no further exploration of their relationship. Everything just felt undeveloped.
What do you think? A more thorough review than what I usually put together?
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