Ashley

DO NOT READ THIA BOOK UNTIL YOUVE READ BOOK 2!!

I figured I would read this book before I got too far in the series. BIG MISTAKE. There are spoilers in here you just can't forget.

Besides that, this is the best transition book I have ever read. It overlaps with Book 1 and explains so much about Ali and her personality. Like I said above, it also contains huge spoiler alerts that will completely change how I look at book 2 (and would have completely ruined the surprises in book!)

BLUF: I am non-religious (agnostic), but I enjoy and recommend this book.

This is My Body is a memoir. There are two story lines in this book. One is a preparation for an Ironman event; the other is an overview of Ragan's life. A forewarning: I'm not going to do this book any justice with this overview because it's deeper than these words can really explain.

In preparation for the event, we train with Ragan and feel with him the connection of mind, body, and soul. The dedication that goes into training and preparing for such an event is intense and, through Ragan, we are able to share this experience even if we aren't looking to experience it ourselves.

In the memoir portion of the book, we travel with Ragan through his life - from college to marriage, from being misguided to spiritually whole, from views on the church to where his view differ, from marital problems to the bliss of new life, etc. Like I said, I'm not giving this book the words it earns..

Being non-religious, I was worried that the religious aspect of this book would be obtrusively dominant in this memoir. Well.. It's not. Religion is a very important part of a person's life, yes, but Ragan details his thoughts in a conversational way. He doesn't push his views on the readers – he explains his life and how he became the man he is today.

Ragan has faults, rants, and hypocritical thoughts like the rest of us. I'm not going to tell you this book affected me religiously and it's not necessarily inspiring, but this book, Ragan's life and writing, is enjoyable. It's nice to see life through another's eyes, especially when it is as well written as This is My Body is. The story lines are intermingled, but flow well together. If you're questioning whether you should read this or not, I would recommend you pick it up.

**I received this book free as a part of GoodRead's First Reads program.”

I absolutely adore Dean Koontz's books. Like many other reviewers, I have read much of what he has published.

Relentless, while being a decent read, falls short of what we know, love, and expect from Koontz. There were no twists, oddities, suspense, or intriguing moments and the book was thoroughly happy without bringing the reader any since of fear for the characters or the situations. Dean Koontz tends to bring the reader through spirals of anticipation and captivation, but there was none of that in this book. I love how Koontz typically hooks his readers into obsession with his writings, but Breathless did not follow this trend. This book feels rushed and is unsatisfying. I hate to admit it, but I'm starting to believe that if I want any satisfaction, I'm going to have to start rereading his older books.

On a side note, I realize that Koontz writes canines into his books, typically giving them unnatural abilities, but in this book the dog was unnecessary. Having the dog in this book with the selected abilities makes me wonder if Koontz wrote this book at all. The dog seemed to be stuck in simply because there usually is a dog in Koontz's books, not so much because the dog added to the story. Idk, that along with the shabby ending and weak introduction of characters makes this book feel as if the writer rushed through it simply to meet a deadline. Sorry Koontz.

If shock value is your goal, here is the naming book for you. BE WARNED: Other parents will absolutely judge you before meeting you.

IMO Any name you think up or choose on your own is better than the names in this books. I thought I was liberal in my name choosing, but you really can't beat the names suggested here. This book is truly for those going out of their way to find a term never before used as a name.

BLUF: Bossypants is a light, amusing read, but I would have been disappointed if I had bought the book instead of borrowed it.

Bossypants is essentially the ramblings of Tina Fey. This is mostly a benefit as the book reads like you're in a conversation with her. There are instances where I think she purposely made the writing seem awkward or went on a tangent with the humor, but it's exactly what you would expect from the author. (That said, the thing I found most interesting about the book was realizing that Donald Glover worked on 30 Rock.)

There is a downfall if you choose to buy/rent this electronically. All of the asterisks throughout the book correlate with a long list of “footnotes” at the end of the e-book. Even knowing this from the beginning, taking the time to read the correlating asterisk isn't worth it. I guess this doesn't really matter, but they seem amusing.

Is it possible to enjoy the way a person writes but not the stories they write? This became interesting to me a little over half-way through with thr mutations, but didn't keep my interest. Well written, but not an interesting story to me. Perhaps I'm not a fan of zombie-type apocolypse stories though as I wasn't a fan of the last few I read either.

BLUF: While I did not like this book, I am likely to read the next in the series at some point in the distant future.
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“We have been sort of working together,” I admitted, “outside of the investigation.” Over margaritas, I explained how we had originally gotten together. How we had come upon this case, trying to solve it, sharing what we knew freelance. How it had become a sort of bond. How things had just gotten a bit deeper. Jill arched her eyebrows. “I assume you're sharing all this with the investigation?”.

I thought this was funny as it's an over the top account of a kid trying to find somewhere to go potty, but every where she went “belonged” to a different animals. With the onomatopoeia and exclamations from the animals, I thought the 3.5 y.o. would enjoy this, but they only made it a page or two before asking for Dinosaurs.

My 3.5 yo wanted to read this twice in a row and enjoyed picking out the details in the background on the second read. I wasn't thrilled with the language used by the mean kid and the principal when referencing the mean kid. I also wasn't thrilled with the crocodile eating the mean kid. That said, the last page is a drawing of the crocodile and the kid that was eaten. My kid saw it and decided that the mean kid had gotten out and everything was good. Aka, my upset is a bit rigid and my kid's mind made the leap to the happy ending without any issues.

This book introduces potty training as an idea and encourages it by acknowledging that the bathroom is scary, but shares that “sometimes doing scary things is a part of growing up”. My 3.5 y.o. enjoyed it because it was paw patrol, but it didn't budge his motivation when it came to potty training. To be honest, I don't know what makes a good potty training kids book and was expecting miracles.

Speaking of miracles and motivation. The 3.5 y.o. ran up to me today to tell me he had to go to the potty. Looks like I knocked it too soon.

Jack and Justine, our main characters, work at Private, a private investigation company which gained its' success through Jack's unsavory father. There are three cases in this novel. Justine is working on the case of the missing school girls; school girls who are tricked into their abductions and murdered. Jack is working on determining whether NFL games are being fixed and trying to figured out who killed his best friend's well-loved wife. Of course, there are love interests. Justine is in a long term relationship with the DA and Jack has found himself a nice Irish girl who, you know, just happens to be his assistant.

Books are like people. If you lead with the negative, chances are you will pass up on a good thing. I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading the next book in the series. There were parts of this book I found unsatisfying, particularly the relationship between Jack and Colleen, but overall I enjoyed the character interactions. Another downfall was the anti-climactic capture. Maybe I'm off balance, but I like a little more excitement when it comes to finally capturing the bad guys. What's the point of suspense if it ends in a less than satisfying climax? Initially, I was going to rate this a 2-star for “It's okay”, but I do like the book so I upped it to 3.

Also, I listened to this book instead of read it. For me, it's harder to get into a book that way because I'm a visual person. Reading the words off the paper make it more appealing and helps me associate the name to the character. The audio didn't have a consistent volume, so I was constantly turning it up and down in the car.

On a side note, and maybe I'm alone in this, but the deal with Colleen at the end annoyed me. It was unnecessary and I didn't like that the authors went there. Maybe the writers felt the need to better end her story, but c'mon... Do it with her death by a serial killer, not her attempt at self-destruction. Then again, maybe it just hit a little close to home and it bothered me that he thought only of himself and not so much of her.

In Five Words or Less: Non fiction with touches of comedy.

BLUF: Best for those looking for romance via the internet (good tips and tricks), but good for those simply interested in what Aziz has to offer.

PLOT IMO: Aziz Ansari and Eric Klinenberg introduce modern romance to their readers (or listeners), discussing how romance has changed from prior decades, how we do online dating wrong, and how we can make the most out of digital connections/online dating.


The Good

Audiobook: The audiobook was wonderful. Not only does Aziz narrate it, but he also has special asides for his listeners.

Nonfiction with a twist: I LOVE what is happening with nonfiction lately (or, maybe, what I have just come to notice with nonfiction). I love that nonfiction does not have to be dry and hard to comprehend. I can't tell you have many subjects interest me, but the old texts in the library – ugh – I can only read the same page so many times. Now? We can pick up subjects we may or may not be interested in and be thrilled to learn about it.

I genuinely don't care about modern romance or learning about it. Truly. I picked this up because it won a Goodreads Choice Award and, you know what? I enjoyed this. Aziz keeps the subject informative, but entertaining.

Reaffirmation: Certain concepts in this book reaffirmed beliefs I have or provided “aha” moments. I included my favorite below as quotes, including why strategies to wait before texting back work and how people who seek to be content rather than seek the best tend to be happier.


The Bad

Boning: It's time for me to admit something: I don't watch/listen to a lot of tv/radio/etc. When I picked up this book, I knew I liked Aziz, but I had not listened to much of his comedy. I can only assume he uses the term “boning” in his acts and that I'm being overly-sensitive, but I'm not a fan of the term and he uses it quite a bit.


My Favorite Tidbits:

“What happens to people who look for and find the best? Well... it's bad news again. Schwartz along with two business school professors did a study of college seniors preparing to enter the workforce. For six months, the researches followed the seniors as they applied for and started new jobs. They then classified the students into maximizers, students who are looking for the best job, and satisficers, students who were looking for a job that met certain minimum requirements and was good enough. Here's what they found:

On average, the maximizers put much more time and effort into their job search. They did more research, asked more friends for advice, and went on more interviews. In return, the maximizers in the study got better jobs. They received, on average, a 20% higher starting salary than the satisficers. After they started their jobs though, Schwartz and his colleges asked the participants how satisfied they were. What they found was amazing. Even though the maximizers had better jobs than the satisficers by every psychological measure they felt worse about them. Overall, maximizers had less job satisfaction and were less certain they'd selected the right job at all.

The satificers, by contrast, were generally more positive about their jobs, the search process, and their lives in general. The satificers that had jobs that paid less money, but they somehow felt better about them.”

The Power of Waiting:
Psychologists have conducted hundreds of studies in which they reward lab animals in different ways under different conditions. One of the most intriguing findings is that reward uncertainty in which, for instance, animals cannot predict whether pushing a lever will get them food, can dramatically increase their interest in getting a reward while also enhancing their dopamine levels so that they basically feel coked up.

If a text back from someone is considered a reward, consider the fact that lab animals who get rewarded for pushing a lever every time will eventually slow down because they know that the next time they want a reward, it will be waiting for them.
So basically, if you are the guy or girl that texts back immediately, you are taken for granted and ultimately lower your value as a reward. As a result, the person doesn't feel as much of an urge to text you or, in the case of the lab animal, push the lever.

Disclaimer: I received this ARC in return for an honest review. A huge thank you to DC Comics and Edelweiss for this ARC.

In Ten Words or Less:
New series introduction to anti-hero (Graphic novels not for me)

Plot:
As this is the start of a new series, we are introduced to Constantine, delve into his past, learn about his relationships, and see how he fits into the world.

I Picked this up Because...:
I adore Constantine, the movie, and wanted to see how Constantine acted on paper. I assumed that my review may be of value to the publisher as I am a reader who is not very familiar with graphic novels.

The Good:

Main Character
I love Constantine's personality. Truly. He's selfish and has a twisted sense of humor (or is it depressed and self-deprecating? Hmm...) Constantine successfully fills the role of anti-hero and I would not have picked this up if it were your typical superhero novel.

The Last Story
The last section of this volume was my favorite. Constantine's need for money brings him to the Internet – offering his demon-removal services to the public. Instead of damning these demons (which one would expect given the rest of the novel), it turns out he is friends or familiar with most and offers a scolding, which we presume solves the problem.

The Bad:
Honestly, I don't know graphic novels well enough to decipher what is good and what is bad. For me, I simply don't like that they provide a looser story compared to the written novels I'm used to. I felt pretty apathetic towards this volume with the exception of the last story.

Overall:
This had a great main character with amusing and quick stories, but require an appreciation for graphic novels.

This is the book you sit down to read for a few minutes only to look up and realize you've been reading for an hour. I can't remember the last time I felt compelled to finish a book in less than 24 hours.

A family curse passed down through generations causes the firstborn female to die on their 25th birthday. Can Katie find the curse's origin? Can she break the curse?

I won this book through a Goodreads Giveaway. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book prior to the release date.

The first book felt like a chore to get through. I don't remember if my 3.5 yo distracted me or if I distracted them to move onto something else. Lots of words per page causes me to shelve it until the kids are older.

I also thought it was weird that the good mayor lied about having a basketball team in order to one up the bad mayor. My kid didn't bat an eye so I'm sure it's just an adult annoyance, but it's a message I don't want to send to the kids.