American Saint: The Life of Elizabeth Seton by Joan Barthel

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I'm not a religious person but I find it to be an interesting topic. I'd heard the name Seton before, as it survives in some of our present day institutions, but I didn't know anything about the family. As a history lesson alone, this was an interesting book. As a biography, it was a really good read about a fascinating woman I'd never heard of before. The only issue I had was the lack of punctuation in some of the letters made the read awkward but as they were direct quotes, I could understand.

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



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On Such a Full Sea by Chang-rae Lee

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I have a few of this author's books but this is the first one I've actually read. It has a very fluid and poetic feel about it. You want to devote yourself entirely to the story while you read. You end up becoming a follower of the tale in much the same way as the unknown characters follow the story of Fan. Even though this is a dystopia placed at some point in the future, it's a very good analogy of family and society right now. Just plain very interesting to think about.

This review is based on an uncorrected proof obtained from the publisher.



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The Maze Runner by James Dashner

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I hadn't heard much about this book when I got it but it sounded interesting. Another sci fi/YA/distopia tale. It's a fast read and it was pretty interesting but it's also the beginning of a trilogy. To me, that means that I can't yet judge if the story is any good until I've read the rest of the books. I do want to read them but I'm not so excited about it that I'm going to rush out and get them.



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Fat Chance: Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity, and Disease by Robert H. Lustig

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


More fiber, less sugar, keep up with the exercise. Makes sense. Going to do this.



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Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven by Susan Jane Gilman

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I don't know if I didn't read the synopsis well enough or what happened but this was much more than I expected. In a good way. I thought it was going to be a simple travel journal but was much more of a psychological tale. Really quite interesting.



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The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I think I liked the first book a little better but this one was still a lot of fun to read. Looking forward to continuing the series.



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The Son by Philipp Meyer

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


The only appropriate word to describe this book is epic. I'd heard a lot of hype about this and I usually consider that a bad thing as the story rarely holds up. This one did not disappoint.



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Looking for Alaska by John Green

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


John Green is a very compelling storyteller and I hope to eventually read everything of his. I've also recently discovered and fallen for his webcasts. That said, I liked this book but not as much as The Fault in Our Stars.



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In a Sunburned Country by Bill Bryson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I do like Bryson's writing style. He has a very good sense of humor. The problem I have with this is that it is obvious that he takes liberties with the facts so it was frustrating trying to pick apart truth from attempt at humor. It was along the lines of reading historical fiction. I probably wouldn't have come to such a conclusion if I didn't have an Australian around while reading to ask questions about what I'd read.



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