For the Love of Words

still reading ...

2010-01-07T08:58:00.001-08:00

except I've chosen to keep track of books read on Goodreads.com

Book 28

2009-07-12T09:24:00.000-07:00

Jonathan Kellerman

CONSPIRACY CLUB

Ballantine Books (2003)

"Expediency trumps virtue" ...

Read this book in a day and a half ... a new lead character that simply mesmerized me. Great summer read!

Book 27

2009-06-02T07:07:00.000-07:00

Meg Wolitzer

THE TEN YEAR NAP

Penguin (2008)

Oh my ... 383 pages of waiting for something to happen. A real sleep inducer ... zzz

Book 26

2009-06-02T07:04:00.001-07:00

Jodi Picoult
MY SISTER'S KEEPER
Simon & Shuster (2004)

I usually shy away from books that have been made into "major motion pictures" ... but I kept picking this book up from time to time and finally decided to purchase it.

Well-written from differing POVs ... centering around a timely, controversial subject.

I could not put this book down!

Book 25

2009-06-02T06:58:00.000-07:00

Wally Lamb
THE HOUR I FIRST BELIEVED
Harper Collins (2008)

An amazing story ... that manages to bring the life of many generations to light ... while telling the tale of a couple whose lives are shattered by the events of Columbine High School.

Book 24

2009-05-29T08:01:00.000-07:00

Kim Edwards
THE MEMORY KEEPER'S DAUGHTER
Penguin (2005)

Wonderful book ... absolutely heart-breaking ... with amazingly real characters. I devoured this book over the course of two evenings.

Will definitely read more books by Kim Edwards.

Book 23

2009-05-19T05:42:00.001-07:00

Christopher Moore
LAMB
Harper Collins (2002)

This book held a strange fascination for me ... wouldn't actually recommend it to anyone as it doesn't live up to its own publicity.

However, the sheer fact that this is the "greatest story" never told from the point of view of Biff, Jesus' best friend and details the "missing years" from the Bible was enough to keep me reading.

Some great wit ... but definitely not a "must read".

Book 22

2009-05-19T05:41:00.001-07:00

James Patterson
CROSS
(2006)

Can't go wrong with an Alex Cross novel. Great read!

Book 21

2009-05-19T05:36:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth Hays
LATE NIGHTS ON AIR
(2007)

Some amazing passages about the Canadian North simply mesmerize the reader ... made me want to buy a canoe and portage my way to places unknown. Characters were well-developed and not your typical "stock" characters. A good read.

Book 20

2009-03-08T06:12:00.000-07:00

Jeannette Walls
THE GLASS CASTLE
Scribner (2006)

A memoir ... and easily the best book I've read in the last couple of years! Absolutely brilliantly written.

This was a "Heather's Pick" from Chapters ... and I literally devoured the full 288 pages in one day (and half the night).

Book Nineteen

2009-03-04T09:47:00.001-08:00

Val McDermind
THE GRAVE TATTOO
Harper Collins (2006)

Strange story ... academia, London gangs, Wordsworth scholars, Fletcher Christian and the Mutiny on the Bounty ...

Guess it was worth it in the end as I now know more about the Mutiny, Captain Bligh and Mr. Christian ...

Book Eighteen

2009-02-24T06:28:00.001-08:00

Lisa Genova
STILL ALICE
Pocket Books (2009)

"Even then, more than a year earlier, there were neurons in her head, not far from her ears, that were being strangled to death, too quietly for her to hear them. Some would argue that things were going so insidiously wrong that the neurons themselves initiated events that would lead to their own destruction. Whether it was molecular murder or cellular suicide, they were unable to warn her of what was happening before they died."

Absolutely spell-binding ... a touching look into the world of dementia and early-onset Alzheimer's disease ... seen through the eyes of Alice and her family and friends.

A must read ...

Book Seventeen

2009-02-24T06:21:00.001-08:00

Julie Navarro
THE BIBLE OF CLAY
Seal Books (2009)

This was a painful book to get through. Sad ... because the storyline was an interesting one ... archaeological treasure in Iraq ... threat of war ... Nazi war criminals ... but the author was never able to bring a spark of life or reality to her words.

Even worse were the chapters devoted to Shamus ... Abraham's scribe ... yup, you guessed it ... Abraham from the Bible.

Truth be told, it's like the author had the bare bones outline of 4 different stories ... each not enough to flesh out a whole novel ... so she threw them all together into this unfulfilling goulash.

I'm glad it's finally over ...

Book Sixteen

2009-02-09T05:59:00.001-08:00

Patricia Cornwell
SCARPETTA
G.P. Putnam's Sons (2008)

"The mental state of the madman, indeed, may be described as a walking and disordered dream." - Montagu Lomax

I used to love Patricia Cornwell's Scarpetta series ... can actually remember anxiously awaiting the publication of her next title. Based on that old memory, I splurged and purchased this book, full price and in hard cover.

Lesson learnt ... not worth the $24.99 ... I couldn't help but think of all the other things I could have done with that money as I reading a book that was so true to formula that I had figured out the plot and twist before I'd reach the quarter-mark of the novel.

For me, Patricia Cornwell, hit her peak with Body Farm ... and since then, her Scarpetta books have just been pale imitations ....

Book Fifteen

2009-01-26T07:19:00.000-08:00

Lawrence Sanders
MC NALLY'S DARE
G.P. Putnam (2003)

Good, quick read ... though definitely not Sanders' best. I'll read him again nevertheless.

Book Fourteen

2009-01-24T12:19:00.000-08:00

John Sandford
CHOSEN PREY
G.P. Putnam (2001)

For a "typical" psychological thriller ... this one had a different enough ending to earn it a mention as a good read!

Book Thirteen

2009-01-14T08:30:00.000-08:00

Stephenie Meyer
BREAKING DAWN
Little Brown & Company (2008)

Childhood is not from birth to a certain age and at a certain age
The child is grown and puts away childish things.
Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies.
- Edna St. Vincent Millay

Needless to say, I'm sad that it's over ... it's been a wild ride with the Cullens ... Edward and Bella ... werewolves and the Volturi. Stephenie Meyer did a wonderful job of knitting together all the loose ends ... making all the pieces fit ... and bringing the saga to an end in a way that satisfied the reader.

I feel like I've been on vacation and am back with wonderful memories ...

Book Twelve

2009-01-10T08:55:00.001-08:00

Stephenie Meyer
ECLIPSE
Little Brown & Company (2007)

Fire and Ice

Some say the world will end in fire,

Some say in ice.

From what I've tasted of deire

I hold with those who favor fire.

But if it had to perish twice,

I think I know enough of hate

To say that for destruction ice

Is also great

And would suffice.

- ROBERT FROST

Again ... just when I thought I had the story figured out ... I realized that I didn't have a clue! Werewolves and vampires ... who'd have thought I could stay interested for three whole books?

Onto the next and last of the series ...

Book Eleven

2009-01-07T19:43:00.000-08:00

Stephenie Meyer
NEW MOON
Little Brown & Company (2006)

The second book of what's been called the "Twilight Series" ... and once again Stephanie Meyer does not disappoint. Some plot twists are forseeable ... but just when you think you've got the book figured out ... she takes you down another winding trail and the story changes in ways you'd never imagined.

As with Twilight ... these are books that the big screen could never do justice to ... too many layers to get the full flavour into a 2 hour movie.

Onto the last book of the series ...

Book Ten

2009-01-04T10:43:00.000-08:00

Stephenie Meyer
TWILIGHT
Little Brown & Company (2005)

Edward and Bella ... what a love story. Even though this novel was penned with young adults in mind ... I couldn't help but be carried away by this uniquely gripping and unusual love story. Stephanie Meyer's made me feel all of Bella's emotions ... and made me marvel at the sheer power of her love for Edward ... and as for Edward ... I mean who wouldn't fall for a breath-takingly beautiful vampire?

Can't wait to see what happens next ...

Book Nine

2009-01-04T10:38:00.000-08:00

James Patterson & Howard Roughan
YOU'VE BEEN WARNED
Hachette Book Group USA (2007)

Okay ... so it breaks my heart a little to trash this book ... because James Patterson did do some of the writing or all of the writing or none of the writing. This book was absolutely terrible. Bad plot ... unsympathetic characters ... under-developed characters ... you name the flaw and it can be found in this novel.

Only the opening quotation was worth remembering: "Character, like a photograph, develops in darkness" - Yousuf Karsh

Book Eight

2009-01-02T20:41:00.001-08:00

James Patterson
CROSS
Little Brown & Company (2006)

Another great Alex Cross novel ... facing the Butcher ... one of Patterson's most twisted killers. I think what I love about Patterson's writing is that though it follows a certain formula ... you can never be absolutely sure of the ending ... and his writing style has a certain "show don't tell" quality about it - all his characters have quirks and eccentricities that make them come alive to the reader ...

Though I have a host of other books available to read ... I think I'm going to continue the Patterson marathon and read "You've Been Warned" next ...

Book Seven

2008-11-15T07:57:00.000-08:00

Stephenie Meyer
THE HOST
Little Brown & Company (2008)

"The soul shone in the brilliant lights of the operating room, brighter than the reflective silver instrument in his hand. Like a living ribbon, she twisted and rippled, stretching, happy to be free of the cryotank. Her thin, feathery attachments, nearly a thousand of them, billowed softly like pale silver hair."

Crying when reading a book is a sure sign that the author had the power to bring characters to life, to weave a story that so grabbed me that I was invested in the outcome ... and boy, did I cry!

Definitely not my usual genre of writing ... she's kind of a cross between Isaac Asimov and Stephen King. The story is sci-fi/fantasy ... but within a chapter or two, I was right there with the last rebel cell of humans on a planet Earth taken over by "the hosts".

It's a magnificent love story ... between host and human ... love everlasting between human and human in the face of death ... and a story that transcends into a definition of sorts of the most unconditional aspects of the broader sense of the word "love" ...

An absolute must read!

Book Six

2008-11-02T07:23:00.000-08:00

Patricia Cornwell
BOOK OF THE DEAD
Penguin Books - 2007

Kay Scarpetta is another one of those characters who lives and breathes through the author's writing ... and though the storyline is important ... what is happening in the lives of the central characters - Kay, Marino, Benton and Lucy - is just as important. Cornwell always delivers what she promises - human interest, gore and madness, shivers, magical technology through Lucy's gadgets and gizmos ...

" One of those details we may never know," Benton says. "People don't tell the truth. After a while, they don't even know it."

Book Five

2008-10-27T06:54:00.000-07:00

Ken Burnett
THE ZEN OF FUNDRAISING
John Wiley & Sons Inc - 2006

An absolute must-read for anyone who works in the fundraising - development field!

A one-of-a-kind look at why donors give ... written in common terms with illustrative examples that speak for themselves.

I don't usually like how-to business books ... but a refreshing take on basic principles and humour make this a book I will refer to again and again.

Book Four

2008-10-11T05:08:00.000-07:00

Jonathan Kellerman - COMPULSION

Ballantine Books - 2008

Psychologist Alex Delaware, his girlfriend Robin, their dog Blanche and Alex's friend, LAPD Detective Milo Sturgis are like family to me ... they're who I go visit when I need a vacation, a break ... when I need an escape to wander into another world filled with intrigue, mystery, death, drama and pyschological profilings ...

Compulsion was as good as any other of Kellerman's other books ... and I didn't start figuring out who really "done it" until Kellerman wanted (or needed) me to. Probably the main reason I keep returning to purchase his next offering ... though there's a formula at work here, I can still fool myself into believing that I'll figure it out before Alex Delaware does.

Kellerman has created a cast of characters that are credibly "real" ... and I end up caring as much about the storyline as I do about their relationships, toils & tribulations.

Other authors that I've read of the same genre - Grisham, Patterson to name but two - have become so predictable in their formula that reading their latest offering is like drinking weak tea ... not a pleasant escape at all, almost painful.

All in all, a great read ... a wonderful escape ... I'll be ready for his next.

Book Three

2008-09-30T16:06:00.001-07:00

Randy Pausch - THE LAST LECTURE
Professor, Carnegie Mellon with Jeffrey Zaslow

Hyperion - 2008

I'll begin by stating my apologies for the record to the tens of thousands of readers who have made this book a national bestseller ... and remind you, that this is just one woman's opinion.

I knew better ... had actually turned my back on the book a few dozen times before I took it upon myself to purchase it and see "what the fuss was all about".

And now that I've read it ... I'm still wondering ...

Sure it's thoughtful, and touching and filled with wisdom we've heard before from others. A nice book, nice thoughts, good rules to live a life by ...

I was simply hoping for more ...

Book Two

2008-09-25T15:01:00.000-07:00

Diane Setterfield - THE THIRTEENTH TALE

Anchor Canada - 2007

Absolutely spell-binding ... I couldn't put this book down ... and when the number of pages grew thinner, my reading slowed as I did not want it to end! Absolutely brilliant ... I fell in love with all the characters, could hear the creaks of the floor boards at Angelfield ... and could smell the mustiness of the books in the bookstore.

An amazing story about story-telling told by an incredible story-teller ... riveting with layers upon layers of tales and plot twists.

Diane Setterfield has an ease with words ... and a beautiful way of stringing them together.

One of my favorite passages:

"My job is not to sell books - my father does that- but to look after them. Every so often I take out a volume and read a page or two. After all, reading is looking after in a manner of speaking. Not old enought to be valuable for their age alone, nor important enough to be sought after by collectors, my charges are dear to me even if, as often as not, they are as dull on the inside as on the outside. No matter how banal the contents, there is always something that touches me. For someone now dead once thought these words significant enough to write them down.

People disappear when they die. Their voice, their laughter, the warmth of their breath. Their flesh. Eventually their bones. All living memory of them ceases. This is both dreadful and natural. Yet for some there is an exception to this annihilation. For in the books they write they continue to exist. We can rediscover them. Their humour, their tone of voice, their moods. Through the written word they can anger you or make you happy. They can comfort you. They can perplex you. They can alter you. All this, even though they are dead. Like flies in amber, like corpses frozen in ice, that which according to the laws of nature should pass away is, by the miracle of ink on paper, preserved. It is a kind of magic.

As one tends the graves of the dead, so I tend the books. I clean them, do minor repairs, keep them in good order. And every day I open a volume or two, read a few lines or pages, allow the voices of the forgotten dead to resonate inside my head. Do they sense it, these dead writers, when their books are read? Does a pinprick of light appear in their darkness? Is their soul stirred by the feather touch of another mind reading theirs? I do hope so. For it must be very lonely being dead."

But this wondrous work of fiction is not just a book about books and stories and tales ... but of people, families and truth ...

Book One

2008-09-24T12:06:00.000-07:00

Michael Crichton - NEXT

HarperCollins - 2006

How I loved Jurassic Park ... and hoped and prayed. NEXT held promise ... and delivered some of that promise. Genetics, cloning and the exploitation of the human gene ... I know more today than I knew yesterday ... and Crichton, true to form, added a challenging bibliography as recommended reading should I want to educate myself.

But as far as a story goes ... he disappointed: NEXT read as a movie script, switching between scenes with no apparent pattern. Dizzying plot lines, poorly developed characters had me wondering why Crichton had not chosen a non-fiction path for his education of the masses and editorializing.

Intellectually, morally, ethically ... and definitely scientifically ... he raised some major issues that I have since peppered into conversations ... do we own our own genes? and we don't who does? ... and does that person and/or entity have the right to harvest genes from me anytime they want? ... should genes be patented? Are blondes going extinct?

Left me with many questions, a reading list ... but not really wanting to read more.