Book Review: The Piano

Book: The Piano

Author: Jane Campion

Recommend: Nope!

I picked this one up on the recommendation of a bookseller at my favorite used bookstore, Bookman’s. When she found out that I was a musician she told me that I simply must read this book and then watch the movie. After reading the book, I don’t see any movie viewing in my future.

Since I don’t think this one is fit to be read, here is the basic idea. (Skip this paragraph if you plan to read it!) This book tells the story of a woman with a young daughter who is married off to a man she has never met. She is mute and communicates through sign language and using her notepad but her real method of communication is through her piano. When her new husband refuses to have it brought to the house, it creates a rift that cannot be mended. Then someone offers to take the piano off his hands in exchange for land and payment. Ada is devastated but eventually must go teach him because it is the only way for her to play. However no one expected how things would develop and Baines falls for Ada, eventually convincing her to cheat on her husband. Furious the husband locks her in the house to keep them apart and then when that doesn’t work, tries to end her piano playing forever. He realizes he has gone too far and lets his wife leave him.

While the power of music was portrayed well, the book centers more on the adult themes, not the music. There were many places I skimmed or completely skipped. I have no doubt the movie is far worse. This just wasn’t a book for me and one to stay away from if you are a more conservative reader.

Final Rating:

TRASH IT!!

A Series of Unfortunate Events

Series: A Series of Unfortunate Events

Author: Lemony Snicket

Recommend: Definitely worth the read!

I was looking through my bookshelves today and realized that in all the time I’ve had my blog, I have yet to talk about this series of books!

I have read these books now a couple of times and each time I read them I am reminded how funny they are in a dark and slightly twisted way. Yes, the story is about three orphans trying to make their way in the world without their family with villains seemingly around every corner but somehow they manage to maintain a tongue-in-cheek amusement factor that get me laughing every time. Whether it is the quirky grammar obsessed Aunt Josephine, the horrible Count Olaf, or the fashion frenzied distant relatives, the adults in these books are completely over the top.

Jim Carrey as Count Olaf

This is a great series for kids. I love how the author likes to use very big words and give definitions that always start with, “Which in this case means…” and gives an off the wall definition that is somehow still accurate (or mostly so). As an adult reader, this can get a bit repetitive but for kids, it’s a great way to increase vocabulary. As a teacher, I think this set of books would be great for kids who are gifted. These characters would be something they could relate to.

I always try to find something less than positive to say about the books I review. For this set of books, I would say that the last book doesn’t really create a sense of an ending, despite its title. The reader is left hanging, wondering what is next for these kids. There is no resolution. No profound solution to their problems. It just leaves them to carry on, trying to make it in a world out to get them. I was hoping for much more from this author regarding the conclusion to his 13 book series.

Definitely worth the time and worth giving to the middle grade readers around you.

Final Rating:

Get it used…

Book Review: Overseas

Book: Overseas

Author: Beatriz Williams

Recommend: This book was amazing. This goes double for fans of The Time Traveler’s Wife.

I have been trying to read this book for two weeks now. Something always seems to be getting in the way. Finally, today once I was out of work for my final day of the school year, I was able to sit down and finally get started on this book. Once I was started I couldn’t put it down even though I spent the whole rest of the day with my mom running errands. By the time I reached my cousin’s birthday party this evening, I was at the climax of the book and couldn’t seem to put it down. Thankfully my family is used to, as my husband calls it, my antisocial tendencies and mostly left me alone to finish my book.

Sometimes there are books that just grab your attention and pull you along. Something you can’t put down. Something you can’t forget. This is one of those books. I think this is going to be a book I come back to repeatedly simply  because the story is just too good to read once and never revisit. This book tells the story of Kate, an investment banker who gets assigned to work on a case with one of the richest men in New York. Instantly they seem to hit it off. Then he disappears only to rescue her in the strangest way. There is something intense going on between them. Is it just love at first sight or something much more that started long before either of them could have been born?

While there are some adult scenes, it is not the focus of the book and for the most part they are brief and some form of a fade-to black (although not as chaste as other authors I could mention) and doesn’t distract from the story. I actually admire her restraint and class on this. I’ve been wracking my brain for a negative of this one all night and one just isn’t coming to me! When I can’t come up with something bad to say, the writer really has something special. I can’t wait to read more from this author!

Final Rating:

Need more than one copy!!

Final Rating:

A scary picture of a world populated by kids and old people with no in between…

I love this cover!

Book: Starters

Author : Lissa Price

Recommend: Very interesting idea. Worth a look!

I had just finished reading a very disappointing book and decided that I couldn’t leave it at that so I picked up something else. I needed a better dystopian society than the one I had just tried to read. So I settled in and hoped that this one would be better than the last one I had read.

I was definitely not disappointed. This book has a very interesting premise. What if a piece of biologic warfare killed everyone between the ages of 20 and 60 and the only people left were children (Starters) and older people (Enders). If you were a Minor and you were lucky, you were claimed by a living relative and raised in the lap of luxury. If you were unclaimed however, you lived in the streets, squatting if you could, foraging for food and hoping to make it to your nineteenth birthday when you were finally old enough to work. Callie is sixteen has lost her family except for her vulnerable little brother. Desperate for money to help take care of her family, she goes to check out a company where her body could be rented by an Ender, giving them a chance to live like they were young again for limited amount of time. It promised huge amounts of money if the contract was completed however no one explained what you should do if you woke up living your renter’s life. Especially if they planned to use your body to commit a crime.

I absolutely loved the idea of the book. Found the characters gripping and a lot of fun to read. While she is no Katniss Everdeen, she was definitely interesting and engaging. Her little brother created a sense of purpose for the character and a motivator. The love triangle was a bit predictable, until it began to twist and turn. I would have liked a bit more depth about the two boys in the story however. Theses characters seemed just a bit flat. I hope that the next book gives them more depth because I highly doubt we are done with these two. I really enjoyed this one. I can’t wait for the next book. I just hope that even though the title is Enders, that we are sticking with Callie and her adventures.

Final Rating:

Buy it new

Summer Reading challenge 2012

Last summer I gave myself a challenge. One I came nowhere near accomplishing. I got distracted by things like World of Warcraft and Doctor Who. This summer I have decided to give myself a task I think I can complete. My goal is read 50 books this summer.

While that may sound like quite a bit. I know that it is something within my grasp. Even with the crazy day I had today, I’ve already completed book one. Only 49 more to go!

Wish me luck.

Anyone else interested in taking up the challenge with me?

My list of YA books I wish I’d written

In my effort to include more than just reviews on my blog, I have a new category that I’m officially adding. The Book Worm’s Obsessive lists where I make random lists of all kinds of things book related. These lists will be varying lengths, although I will try to keep most of them short. For the second list under this topic and the first written for it, I wanted to talk about the YA books (or series) that I wish I had written. Have you ever read a book that you wish you had thought up? I find myself there quite often. Here are the ten books/series I wish I had penned myself.

• The Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer - Okay, Stephenie Meyer is not the best writer in the world. Despite that, she came up with a plot line that is so captivating that the reader forgets that fact and just gets absorbed by the story. I have to say that I am constantly wishing there was more available. I wish I owned it so that I could simply write more. I guess that is what fan fiction is for.
• The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling – Getting the other obvious choice out-of-the-way. Rowling definitely has something uniquely amazing here. Whether you are a huge fan or refuse to read on principle, who wouldn’t want to have written the book series that got a generation of kids to read?
• The Divergent series by Veronica Roth- This is a new add to my list but finally FINALLY someone got the male heart-throb right! Four is the first YA guy since Edward Cullen to really captivate people’s attention and there isn’t even a movie yet! Insurgent is a few books down on my reading list but the temptation to skip a bunch and move right on to it is very tempting.
• Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card - One of the coolest boy books to have come out in a very long time. It was YA before the category really existed. While this is a book about a boy,many of the fans I know are all girls. Card came up with something brilliant here and continues to expand anywhere he can, which I love! Who doesn’t want to know more about their favorite characters?
• The Mortal Instrument series by Cassandra Clare - I laughed, I cried (a lot) and fell in love with these characters. A great plot line with a horribly painful twist. Clare got me completely hooked. The next book in the series just came out and I can’t wait to get my hands on it! I wish that I had written Jace and Clary myself! I just don’t know that I would have been brave enough to torture them as much as Clare does!
• The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis - Who wouldn’t want to be the one who came up with Aslan? One of the best stories written no matter what age you are. It has stood the test of time and Hollywood has finally done the first couple of books justice. I wish I could come up with an allegory half that good.
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins – I really tried avoiding putting this one on my list simply because I knew everyone would expect to see it but I just can’t leave this series off the list. I am a huge fan of Katniss. She is the ultimate female heroine in many ways. I would have rewritten part of the book though. I think that the author did a horrible job with her emotions. I wanted to see more of the emotional aspect than she wrote. I think it needed to be tweaked and wish I could be the one to do it.
• The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini – I love this story. I absolutely love this story. Sometimes though the writing gets distracting. I also hated the ending. I am a big fan of happily ever after which is not what he gave us at the end of a four book trek. I really just want to rewrite this series. I don’t want to do a lot to it but some adjustments with his writing style are necessary in my opinion. Still I wish I had come up with Eragon myself.
• The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman – I loved this book, until I got to the end. Then the glove came off and the blatant attack on Christianity started. While the undertones were there through the whole book, the end was just brutal. I love the basic storyline but I would rewrite it to leave out the controversial religious material.
• A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle – I think the most amazing thing about this book is that everyone can see a little bit of themselves in each of the characters. I don’t think I would change a word but I wish I had been the one to think it up!

Love the list? Hated it? Think I missed something or put something on the list that shouldn’t be there? Tell me what you would change!

Notable Character: Hermione Granger

Okay, I know she’s a children’s book character. I am aware that some people have issues with the Harry Potter series. I know that she is not the main character in any way, shape or form. Despite all of that, Hermione is hands down one of the best characters I have ever read.

Yep – the know-it-all in action

For those few people who read this post that have not picked up a Harry Potter book, Hermione Granger is one of the most annoying girls at Hogwarts. She is one of Harry’s two best friends. Hermione’s biggest fault is that she is an insufferable know-it-all. She feels the need to get every answer right and correct anyone that needs correcting. As a somewhat reformed insufferable know-it-all, I find Hermione’s struggles with her desire to be right verses her desire to have friends hilarious and very familiar.

Hermione is one of the biggest collectors of random facts from books that I have ever read. I swear, in a life where fiction and reality coexist, we are long-lost sisters. Hermione always has the answer for everything and is devastated when she gets something wrong (although that rarely happens).

I think what makes me love her though is that underneath the obsessive reader and annoying over-sharing, she is very sensitive and cares deeply for those around her. Who else would start an organization for house elves? Who else would save her new friends from detention? Who would stay with her friend when the boy she loves leaves because it is the right thing to do? Hermione may be awkward and strange but underneath, her heart is beautiful.

I think for me the fact that the girl who should have ended up an outcast becomes one of the most important people in their world really is affirming for kids who are on the fringe because they don’t quite fit the mold. I was one. I know many others. Hermione is one of our champions. A girl who doesn’t quite fit in and yet has a powerful impact while gaining friends who appreciate her unique abilities.

I even love that she ends up with Ron. Although part of me was really hoping for Victor Krum

I would love to see Rowling write a book from her perspective. My dream eighth Harry Potter book would be about the early days of Hermione being married to Ron. Can you imagine?

Goodreads

I wasn’t going to post today. I was going to go to bed. I was going to get a full eight hours so I was ready to face my last week of work before summer vacation. I tried to just look at a couple things without looking at my blog. It didn’t work. I felt bad that I hadn’t posted anything today. So I decided to take a quick break from the reviews and share the website that has been eating up a good chunk of my free time.

I have to share goodreads with anyone who is unfortunate enough to have not discovered this site yet! If you like to read, goodreads is a must.

I don’t know about you, but I read – a ton. I have trouble remembering sometimes what books I have read, what books I started and never want to pick up again and the books that was dying to the last time I went to the book store. I have done everything from electronic lists, paper lists, taking pictures with my camera phone and a couple similar sites.

www.goodreads.com

I have picked goodreads as my favorite book site simply because it is so easy to navigate, add to and keep a wish list on. You can simply submit reviews, rate books and search for new things by your favorite author all without having to leave the page. I like the pictures of the covers with the titles as well because it helps jar my overloaded memory.

If you are looking for a good way to keep track of the books you have read, what you are currently reading and what you want to read, this site is a great place to check out!

Okay, I’m done sounding like an infomercial. (I think). This week may have fewer posts than normal due to the fact that it is the last week of school before summer vacation and I am envisioning some very late nights at work. Starting Friday or Saturday my crazy frequent posts should be back to normal.

This made me thirsty..

Books: The Water Wars

Author: Cameron Stracher

Recommend: If you’ve got nothing better to do…

I have been wanting to read this book for quite some time. I kept choosing something else over it. I finally decided to pick it up today after I realized that it was shorter than anything else I had in my hands and might as well. So i started in sitting in the coffee shop at the bookstore that has become almost a daily after work stop lately. Man do I really miss the comfy chairs. Barnes and Noble take note!

I started in and quickly realized that this was not on the best seller’s list for a reason. While the concept is great, the writing is stilted and simplistic. The characters have no depth and they are just not interesting to read. Everything I wanted to know more about wasn’t expanded on and the most mundane things went plodding along for forever. The apparent death and the resurrection of character just got ridiculous. After a while I never counted on anyone being dead because sure enough, they would show up again. I got rather annoyed and definitely sped through it quickly because I was annoyed by the fact that yet another promising plot was completely destroyed by poor writing. It could have been so much more!

The only thing this book succeeded in doing was making me very thirsty. Thirsty for water and better writing.  I loved the idea I just wish the rest of it had measured up!

Final Rating:

Get it free

 

Book Review:Free Resources for Elementary Teachers

Book: Free Resources for Elementary Teachers

Author: Colleen Kessler

Recommend: If you are a teacher or homeschooler..

I got this book as an advanced reader copy from library thing and finally got around to it after finishing a longer series. This book was a fast read for me but I can see people spending tons of time going through the materials included in this book.

The book covers online resources for every subject taught in the elementary school. Many of them were completely new to me. While I only checked out some of the sites, the ones I checked out were well researched and the information was accurate.

I did walk away with a couple of negatives. There were not very many pieces of information for my subject. Very few music websites were included and the ones that were included were ones that everyone I know is familiar with. Due to this fact, I think I’ll be sending it to my sister-in-law who is homeschooling. I think she might find it much more useful. The other thing was that some sites that had a more than one area were repeated. I thought it was a waste of print space.

Final Rating:

Get it free