All the Books.

"A wholly unique novel that follows the desperate, confused and often absurd lives of a group of WWII bombardiers, who are just trying to get home but their leadership is making it basically impossible. It took awhile to hit its stride but once it did, it was enjoyable in all its insane strangeness."  3 Stars Pros:  Subtly amusing in its strange depiction of war and all the back and forth that happens between the many bodies of leadership. It's reminiscent of one giant game of "Telephone" and the message is so garbled by the end that you're not quite sure what the message was to begin with/The repetition, the constant, "I can't hear you, what did you say", "I just said that", "You just said that" was both amusing and infuriating. Cons:  It takes about 100 pages to hit its stride/The somewhat backwards storyline is hard to follow at first but once it clicks, it's moderately entertaining. There are far too many characters,...

"A truly unique take on one man's struggle for survival through Slavery and his ability to tap into a "gift" that is triggered by memory, family and love. A beautifully written first novel by Coates and I hope that he'll write many, many more." 5 Stars Pros:  Coates words are sensory overload. You can see, smell, taste, touch, everything that happens. Though the book's ending is mixed, in a way, it's truly satisfying.  Cons:  Slavery in general is a horrible thing but through Hiram's eyes we see it in an all too personal way. This is not a con with the novel itself, it is a con with the mere idea that humans think that they can own other humans.  Full Review:  Hiram (Hi) is the son of his master (Walker) and his mother Rose. His mother was sold when he was nine and his father eventually brings him up to the house, to work as his other son, Maynard's, manservant. Hiram does as he is told, is quiet and obedient. But at the same time he knows he...

"What at first starts out as amusing and interesting soon devolves into a tiresome, non-sensical description of Gulliver and his many adventures." 1 Star Pros: At first, Gulliver's adventures are fun and intriguing. But once we reach the Third Book it devolves into nonsensical linguistics etc.    Cons:  The third and fourth book (especially) are basically Gulliver always trying to get across how amazing England is and never quite succeeding in convincing his audience of his beliefs. The third and fourth books were painful to get through.  Full Review:  Gulliver, who is often commissioned as a surgeon aboard ships, has had his share of adventures. And he decides it prudent to share some of his more outlandish escapades with us, his captive audience. Broken down into four books that detail his travels to different parts of the world, we see Gulliver as he is taken captive by the Lilliputians (an entire race of people no taller than 4 centimeters), taken capti...

Groundbreaking in its time and engaging at first, since you simply have to know who would do such an awful thing. But once the perpetrators were caught and brought to trial, reading the rest of the book was a chore." 2 Stars.  Pros:  Capote was good at drawing the suspense out at first, hooking the reader into needing to know who did the terrible crime.  Cons:  This book went on for about 100 pages too many/There were no redeeming or likable qualities at all about Dick/The murders just didn't seem to make any sense, hence the title In Cold Blood.  Full Review:  George H. Clutter and his family are a hard working bunch. He owns a farm and runs his business well and honestly. He has two grown daughters, one married and the other engaged, and another daughter in high school as well as a young son. His wife, Nancy, suffers from a nervous disorder, and has been to treatment for years upon years with no apparent remedy. They live their lives honestly. They are go...

"The perfect sequel to Assassins Apprentice  that adds more and more tension, strife, intrigue and peril to a series that is already bursting with excitement. A great read. I can't wait to see what happens in the third book. " 5 Stars Pros:  All the same characters from the first novel and so many twists, turns and developments that I read the last 100 pages in one night because I just had to know what happened/Fitz' bond with Nighteyes is both amusing and heart warming/The ending was rough but in its dark way, perfect.  Cons:  The Fool is hard to follow, he definitely has his own agenda and sometimes his speaking in riddles gets tiresome. Full Review:  Starting off right from where Assassins Apprentice leaves off, Fitz returns to Buckkeep and to his duties. His lessons with Chade, his loyalty to King Shrewd and King in waiting Verity. His worry over the fate of Molly. Everything is full to bursting with tension and strife and the situation with the Red Ship Rai...

"A simple, easy to read guide as to how to shift your mindset/confront difficult circumstances and improve your life overall." 3 Stars Pros:  The agreements all make sense and Ruiz's explanation of them is easy to understand.  Cons:  At times the book can become repetitive.  Full Review:  Ruiz raised in the wisdom of the Toletc people, believes that all humans are trapped in a dream of their own creation. All these dreams that we've created have mixed and meshed together to create the dream of the planet. And though it would be nice if it was a dream of heaven, it is not. It is a dream of Hell. He feels that everyone, everywhere, is living in Hell. And he has found a way to combat and change this dream.  Full of wisdom and practices of, what I would hope would be common knowledge for most people, Ruiz explains the "4 agreements" that make up his/his peoples way of thinking. They are ways of challenging our own thoughts and behaviors that have been ingrained...

"An interesting look at the fields of Psychology/Psychiatry in the 1950s and the startling, ripple effect that the consequences to our actions can have in every aspect of our lives." 3 Stars Pros:  An interesting look at a time when Mental Health was not as prevalent a subject as it is today and it was still very much stigmatized/The generational differences between the fifties/sixties so and so forth.  Cons:  Frightening to think of how unregulated everything was back in the fifties/I wish the author would have gone into more detail as to what exactly it was that caused Casper Gedsic to decline so dramatically/Though Friedrich's reactions are understandable, he's kind of a controlling jerk as a Father.  Full Review:  In the 1950s, the field of Psychology was in its infancy. Most people who exhibited possible mental illnesses were quickly locked away into asylums and left to rot. William Friedrich is an untenured Psychology Professor at Yale who is trying to stu...