Saturday, December 28, 2013

The GoldfinchThe Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book had made a lot of "best of the year" lists so I was very excited to read it. I didn't think it was a life altering read or one I will want to re-read over and over again but it was very good. The characters were so real and the plot so believable that it felt like you were right inside the story. Despite it being so long, I think this book would appeal to just about anyone.



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Thursday, December 19, 2013

Boundary Waters (Cork O'Connor, #2)Boundary Waters by William Kent Krueger

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I don't normally read mysteries because they generally seem to disappoint me. As he's from my home state, I've heard a lot of people talking and raving about Krueger so I decided to give this series a shot when someone left this book in the break room at work. I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised. The problem I have with mysteries is that I don't like them if I can figure them out. I consider it a sign of poor writing if you know the ending too early. I don't think I'm giving a spoiler to state that Krueger gets around the problem very well by revealing the "who done it" earlier in the story and spending the rest on how to deal with the information. I thought that was a good solution and made an already interesting story seem even more well-crafted.



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Saturday, December 14, 2013

DodgerDodger by Terry Pratchett

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Easy, entertaining read. Little bit of a Forrest Gump quality about it. I'm not sure Pratchett is well enough to continue with the character but I think this would be a very fun series to follow if there are more books in the future.



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Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Empress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern ChinaEmpress Dowager Cixi: The Concubine Who Launched Modern China by Jung Chang

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This book was an impulse buy. I'd never heard of it but I've always been interested in Asian culture and history and just grabbed it when I saw it in the store. I did not know anything about Dowager Empress Cixi before reading this book and found her to be very fascinating. The book was well written and not nearly as dry as a lot of non-fiction can be. Makes me want to watch the movie The Last Emperor again, as the beginning of that is where her story leaves off.



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Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Eleanor & ParkEleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I have to be honest, this book grabbed on to my heart right away and kept tugging on its strings until I was done. Very sweet, heartbreaking first love story with a nice little trip down memory lane. I felt like I was right there inside the tale.



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Sunday, December 1, 2013

Bellman & Black: A Ghost StoryBellman & Black: A Ghost Story by Diane Setterfield

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I enjoyed this book but it was subtitled as being a "ghost story" so I kept expecting it to take a different path. It felt like a combination of Poe and Dickens and was very well done. The only beef I had was with the way the passage of time was conveyed. All of a sudden many years would have passed and it would take a while for the author to explain.

This review is based on an advanced copy received from the publisher.



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