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After reading Jurassic Park, I kept putting off starting (and then finishing after I had finally started reading) The Lost World, simply because I didn't want the dinosaur fun to end. I still feel that way after finishing the book. I enjoyed Michael Crichton's sequel to Jurassic Park, very much. Admittedly, I think I liked the first one a bit more but that doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy The Lost World any less. I can't help but wish for more of the Jurassic Park/Lost World story, though I know that it'll never happen (except in the movies, which is fine by me as I've loved the movies for many, many years and without them, who knows if I ever would have found Michael Crichton). If you enjoyed the first book, Jurassic Park, I think you owe it to yourself to read The Lost World. It is different but it is still a really good book and will have you needing to know the end but still upset when it ends because you never wanted it to end.
So good! I wasn't even halfway through the book before I knew I wanted to read the rest of the trilogy. This book is so good, it's hard to put down once you start reading (which I would have read it in one sitting but was unable to because of circumstances). This is a good, thrilling, suspenseful ride. Can't wait to get my hands on the next book. I hope the rest of the series is as good as the first book!
If you haven't read or listened to The Hidden Power of F*cking Up then I definitely recommend it. I've enjoyed all of the guys' perspectives so far - and with four perspectives, that's four for me to really connect to and that can connect with me and my life, like how I can connect more with Zach's perspective on health because hey, chronic pain buddies (I have fibromyalgia so very different from AS but still sucks majorly), but I can connect more with Eugene about love and family.
If you're a fan of Keith, Zach, Eugene and Ned and haven't read/listened to this book, please do; their personalities truly come out making the book feel alive - sometimes it feels like a conversation with friends, and the book has made me genuinely laugh a few times which I've bookmarked parts to go back to for a laugh. But there's a lot of good advice and thoughts on the subjects included in the book.
There's plenty to be taken away from in this book and again, there's four perspectives to connect to - and none of them act like they know better or their way is the only way, it's simply their experiences, their thoughts and feelings put forth for us to listen and for us to make our own decisions to try
This series is one of my absolute favorites and led me to reading the rest of McKinlay's books - which I love all of them but the Cupcake Bakery Mystery Series is my favorite of them all. And not just because I design and make cupcakes either! I enjoy the characters and often I see parts that remind me of me, my best friend, other friends and even my mom. Plus I laugh out loud with this series - I still think of and laugh thinking about from the first book when Angie tells Mel to make Olivia cry 😂
“Dying for Devil's Food” is a great addition to the series. I enjoyed it greatly. I really felt the connection with Mel with being bullied as I was bullied pretty badly myself as a kid and young teen. Much like her I somehow found my way to making cupcakes - just without a bakery franchise or a pretty perfect fiancé!
The mystery was well written with many twists and turns on who the killer (or killers in one theory) was - I can say that at least the killer was in my top 3 suspects! But the mystery was laid out really well with the twists and turns - it all felt organic and not forced. Each suspect has a strong reason for wanting to commit the murder or at least for being suspected of it which lends to the whodunit - because honestly, there were no shortage of suspects.
I also loved the tidbits about everyone's lives and how they're all doing and things that are coming in the future. Which lemme just say someone is gonna get so spoiled and pampered - which I'm sure they'll tire of quickly! (Not saying names but if you read the book, I bet you can guess who I'm talking about!)
Now to deal with post-book blues and eagerly await the next book in the series.
When I was a kid, much like nearly every other child in the world, I was enthralled by dinosaurs. I felt proud for knowing the names of so many of the large creatures that had walked the Earth. I loved re-reading all the books I had (...and admittedly, still have) on dinosaurs; I loved living in a time where dinosaurs were pretty much everywhere. Cartoons, kid shows, books and also movies, which brings me to Jurassic Park. When I was born, Jurassic Park the movie came out so obviously I was too young to see it but I did later on. My mom thought I was too young to watch the movie when it came on tv so she tried to keep me from watching it, but I wouldn't be deterred. I flipped the tv onto the channel showing Jurassic Park and my mom heard me laughing so she came to check on me and saw me laughing at the guy that got bitten in half while sitting in the now ruined port-a-potty. She decided I'd be okay and allowed me to watch the movie - a decision she may regret now as I still love Jurassic Park just as much as I did then.
And that brings me to the book, Jurassic Park. If it hadn't been for that movie, who knows if I ever would have found Michael Crichton who has become one of my favorite writers! But I did and I was just as enthralled with this book as I was when I was a child watching the movie version. I remember plowing through the first 52 pages so easily, even though all the science talk, that it wasn't even funny. My brain hurt and all I wanted was MORE.
Before I had gotten too far into the book, it was brought to my attention that it was my turn to pick the book for Book Club and of course I picked the only thing holding my attention right then. I managed to keep from finishing the book too quickly and the two club meetings on the book were full of fun and hilarious discussions as we talked about, “Would we go to the park - without knowing about any of the troubles they had” or, “If you could see any dinosaur alive, which dinosaur and why?” and so on, as well as making guesses as what would happen. I finished the book and had to stop myself from starting the second one so as not to get them mixed up. I was that excited for more of this story that Crichton created.
Easily, I know that this book (along with the sequel) are books that I will read time and time again. With some dinosaur cookies on the side.
Once again Chris Jericho has done it. He has managed to write another great book that makes one laugh out loud but then manages to make you think and even cry. His personality comes through effortlessly as does his humor that makes this book so great.
I enjoyed the book greatly and finished it very quickly. As soon as I finished the last page, I wanted more just as I did with Jericho's last two books.
Personally, the moments Jericho talked about with Avenged Sevenfold were a few of my favorite parts as they're my favorite band; I enjoyed reading about the guys hanging out with Jericho's family - made me jealous (I want to hang out with A7X and Jericho too!) but overall it made me smile and laugh as I thought of the big ‘scary' tattooed rock stars playing with kids and swimming with them. But even more than that, one of my favorite parts (that seems to be a tradition with Jericho's writing) was the raw honesty that came from the pages as Jericho opened up about talking about Chris Benoit.
I didn't know Benoit personally but I met him once and he left an impression on me and was one of the sweetest men I have ever met - on top of that, he had been my favorite wrestler when I had been able to meet him. He took the time to talk with me, finding out that he was my favorite wrestler, asked if I would be at the show and if I would have sign for him and when I told him my sign for him, he told me he'd look for it - which he did that night. At the show he looked for my sign and once he found it, he pounded his chest and pointed to it.
But there's so much more than that. Benoit was my favorite wrestler who took time with me to talk and he left a lasting impression.
Years later, it's still hard to talk about even though I didn't know Benoit personally and only met him one time. But still I found myself empathizing with Jericho as I read his passages about Benoit and I even admittedly cried a bit. All I have to say is you're not alone Jericho, not at all.
The book is great overall and you just may not be able to put it down when you start to read it (I know I couldn't). I know that for a while, I'm gonna just gonna keep randomly thinking of and laughing at the image of Chris Jericho half out of it in bed (drunk/close to passing out) while John Cena who had tucked Jericho in to bed, continues to drink and looks through Jericho's Ipod in the dark!
Jericho delivered yet another funny, thoughtful, well-written book that's a great read and will leave you wanting another (please sir). It will also make you wonder one good question...
When does Jericho ever sleep?
It's an alright book; a bit slow in some places and hard to get into in the beginning or understand at times but I enjoyed it overall and liked it more and more as I read, so I wouldn't mind reading the sequel. Also this book gets props for having a Thylacine in it as I love thylacines!