Ashley

BLUF: This is a light, fast-paced chick lit. If you expect this to be the new Harry Potter, you're not going to get what you're looking for.

Plot: Hex Hall is a young adult, high school novel. Need I say more?

Fine...

Hex Hall follows Sophie, a sixteen-year-old half-witch, half-human who is trying to live a normal teenage life. Despite moving schools constantly, Sophie can't seem to control herself when it comes to performing well-intended spells to help those she knows. Her love-potion-gone-horribly-wrong gets her sent to Hex Hall. Hex Hall is a school for witches, wizards, faeries, and shape shifters for those who have been determined unfit to go to school with the humans for some circumstance or another. Sophie sees this as her final chance to belong but, after a rough first day, is unsure what the future will hold.

Oh boy, where to start.

Flaws: I'm not going to lie, this book is pretty flawed. The writing is simple, the main character makes stupid mistakes, and the mystery is disappointing.

My Take: Despite these characteristics, I adored this book. The simple writing is fine considering this is a light novel. You don't even have to think of the murder mystery much, which bummed me out. (But thank goodness because the murder mystery was weakly wrapped up. Grr.) The stupid mistakes are fine because she doesn't get away with it. The mystery is unsatisfactory as it comes to an end quick and without much attention.

Cliffhanger: Some people say that this book ends on a cliffhanger. I disagree. A cliffhanger causes the reader to feel as if they are missing out if they don't read more. The author may have meant for the book to end in a cliffhanger, but the ending wasn't of enough substance to compel the reader to pick up the next book. (Don't get me wrong, I am going to read the next book, but not because of the ending.)

Shh.. Don't tell: Between The Host and this book, it seems clear that this is my “Guilty Pleasure” genre.

BLUF: Pass on this classic.

Um.. What?I'm not going to lie to you: I had to Google what makes this book so great. I still have no idea why it is popular. Maybe because it was a hit when it came out (for reasons unknown). Maybe it is because of the attempts to censor this book soon after. If you know, please enlighten me.

Plot: Slaughterhouse-Five follows Billy Pilgrim's life in a haphazard manner. We are led in and out of his life, through good times and bad. We visit an alien planet where Pilgrim is set on display as an exhibit in the zoo. We learn about his time within the army. We even go through his post-army career as an optometrist. It's a mildly entertaining take on a fictive autobiography.

My Take: I didn't have a problem with the choppy writing or with its clarity. I didn't have a problem with the science fiction or the way the novel skipped around. I did have a problem finding interest in this story, understanding its point, and, like most, staying sane through the excessive use of the phrase “So it goes”.

Disclaimer: The only disclaimer I can give is that I don't do too well with older books.

BLUF: Good for its target age, not so good if you're any older.

I re-read this as a part of the 2015 Popsugar Challenge as a book from my childhood. I loved Goosebumps as a kid. They scared me, entertained me, and I read all the ones I could. I was pretty excited to revisit this one as it's the most familiar Goosebumps from my childhood.

Stay Out of the Basement is about a family who's breadwinner recently lost his job at the laboratory. Dr. Brewer continues his work at home in the family's basement. His work has turned into an obsession and he rarely surfaces from the basement except to sleep. When the mother needs to take a trip due to a family emergency, the kids are left at home to care for themselves. Curiosity gets the best of the kids and, when dad's out, they sneak in to figure out what exactly he is doing down there. Curiosity soon turns into fear as the kids struggle to deal with their dad, his changes, and his work.

I don't know if I simply cannot put myself in a mindset to appreciate children's books or if I don't enjoy the writing, but re-reading this book was very unsatisfying. The story was light and quick, but it was also choppy and predictable.

BLUF: Good for those who like to know the background of all players and enjoy true crime that reads like a novel.

Plot: The Onion Field is a nonfiction account of the kidnappings of Officers Ian Campbell and Karl Hettinger and murder of Ian Campbell by Gregory Ulas Powell and Jimmy Lee Smith. Powell and Smith kidnapped these two officers after being pulled over for looking suspicious. After a long night and an incorrect assumption about the California's version of the Little Lindbergh Law (later repealed), which states that kidnapping is considered a capital crime only if the kidnapped is ransomed or injured (His assumption was that kidnapping was considered a capital crime.), Campbell was murdered and Hettinger survived attempted murder. Unfortunately, the pain doesn't stop after the capture and imprisonment of these two men. Many years and trials later, Hettinger is the ghost of the man he once was.

Contents: The Onion Field spends a significant portion detailing the backgrounds of the two officers as well as of the killers. We learn the full depth of the killers' relationship with each other before we are brought to the crime. The crime is short compared to the rest of the content, but the real impact of this book is the aftermath of the crime. Between the trial, retrials, and destruction of Hettinger, the reader sees the effect surviving can have on a person.

My thoughts: When I picked this up, I thought “based on a true story” meant fiction loosely based on the event. I didn't realize that it was nonfiction. Even as nonfiction, the pace of this book was painfully slow. I would consider this a methodical and thorough inclusion of all information necessary to get the true picture of the event, but it was drawn out and I really do feel like a jerk for thinking it.

Are you kidding me? I'm so mad at myself everytime this happens with Shepard's books. This is yet another book that ends in the middlr and, guess what? It was no where near as good as book #1. I could leave right now and be happy (which, if we are being honest, is mostly because I read book #0.5 which I'm fairly certain gave everything away..)

This is a cute response/book on a subject from a child's perspective, but it took mama goggles to publish it. (You know, the feeling of complete content when your child makes your proud or otherwise leaves you in awe. This feeling tends to be extremely personal though and people outside the immediate family don't have the same appreciation that you do as a proud mama/papa.)

I won't be too critical of the content, statistics, backtracking, but I will say that I wish it was the smart boys that got the girls, even in elementary school.

The Wives had its' hooks in me up until the last 15 minutes. I was getting excited over dirty dishes simply because it meant I could sneak in a few extra minutes of this audiobook. Not a lot of audiobooks do that for me so kudos to the narrator and the author for telling the story so well.

That ending tho. I'm someone who has to reflect after finishing a book in order to see the big picture so at first I thought my disappointment with the ending was simply that it didn't play out the way I wanted. The more I sat and reflected, the more I realized that the ending leaves way too many loose ends to make sense.

Is a great book with an awful ending worth it? I don't know, but I look forward to reading more from this author (and listening more to this narrator).

I opted not to read this one to the kids because half of the book is about a big scary storm. We get one or two thunderstorms a year so normalizing a storm isn't a concern for me. I just know that my little one (3.5) has recently been more spooked by things. I am very thankful for another review that pointed out the storm because I had assumed that a goodnight book would be more calm in nature and had intended to introduce this to us both at bedtime, which wouldn't have worked out well.

BLUF: If you go into this book decided that you wont like it, you're probably right.

I put everything I heard about this book aside before reading it. Truly.

Twilight follows Bella Swan after her recent move to a small town in Washington. Despite the social awkwardness and isolation she held at her previous school, she is popular from day one. Blissfully unaware, she begins hanging out with Edward Cullen, a handsome and mysterious outcast. After they begin dating (and she learns that he is a vampire), life becomes interesting. From surprise dates to fleeing from a dangerous vampire duo, can Bella's heart take the heat?

Maybe it's just the mood I'm in, but I enjoyed the overall story. While Bella is a character overwhelmed by her emotions, her relationship with Edward was puppy dog cute. The way that his family accepts her despite the circumstances and actually goes out of their way to help her makes for a good story for survival.

Bella: Okay, okay, I will admit, the main character wasn't very interesting. I found it very hard to believe that she was popular among the boys and so absolutely clumsy. She was also very self-centered. When she was in the hotel room with Alice and Jasper, she didn't ask them any questions about themselves or care about their feelings – she only concentrated on herself and acted out in an extremely immature fashion.

Controlling Relationship Much? I would flip out if somebody demanded that I drink or eat, especially at the beginning of a relationship. I would run. If not then, I would definitely run after they admitted to stalking me. It bothered me how submissive Bella was – she is definitely not your strong typical woman lead character.

Sparkling Vampires: I'm going to be honest, I don't really care what characteristics authors add or take away from their vampires. I do understand how the lack of tradition can be upsetting and how it's an easy aspect to use as a jab against the book. (Personally, I was more annoyed by the controlling relationship.)

BLUF: More writing than action. Good story, good writing, but unsatisfying ending.

The Cuckoo's Calling revolves around recently heartbroken Cormoran Strike. Down on his luck, and his funds, he is less than thrilled when the temp agency sends him a new, wannabe P.I. receptionist, Robin Ellacot. Lucky for him, he has a new client who is willing to pay Cormoran much more than he's worth in exchange for investigating a clear, and well-publicized suicide. Cormoran, against his better judgment and morals, takes on this case and soon discovers that things aren't what they seem.

There is little action in this book – it's all words. For me, that wasn't a problem at all. I love the way Rowling writes. The downside for me is that I'm not familiar with British English. I had to look up A LOT of words..

Another aspect of the book that presents an issue to the reader is the ending. It leaves more questions than answers.

This is, hands-down, the best pregnancy book I have read. This breaks down some of the conventional pregnancy thoughts and recommendations (i.e. allowable amount of caffeine, “avoid” foods like sushi, deli meats, etc.) and explains why this recommendation came to be and why it is wrong (or right). Oster uses her judgment as an economist via evaluations of relevant case studies.

Also, this says we can eat sushi (with some risks). Always a plus.

It is funny how we prefer certain aspects of books. Another review here enjoyed the non-alcoholic drinks better than the alcoholic drinks due to the amount of history and economics it covered, but I found the alcohol drinks to be far more interesting, in depth, and entertaining. Overall, I liked this book and learned a lot about how these drinks affected trade and became popular worldwide.

BLUF: Worthwhile, entertaining, but not for me.

This book had good themes, honest stories, and has reminded me to respect myself enough to reduce self-depreciation, but... it was a little underwhelming. This book was recommended to me by a coworker who swore up and down by it - and I see her life aligning with the concepts - but it wasn't as inspiring or life-changing as she made it out to be.

BLUF: This isn't a self-help book, it's an OpEd/Pop Science piece.

“Success is not a random act. It arises out of a predictable and powerful set of circumstances and opportunities ...”

Plot: Outliers follows the premise that people only became successful because of the opportunities provided in their life. This includes anything from the time of the year or era they were born to family background to the lucky breaks. While there is a controllable factor in success (practice), Gladwell argues that it must be coupled with other factors in order for success to occur.

My thoughts: After reading this, I'm not really sure why my father recommended this to me to read. I feel like the success of books like Freakonomics has us (my father and I included) excited for any book that explains social science in a readable and entertaining manner. Many readers (ahem.. me) take this information at face value and fail to realize any skews or dissents as they are not discussed. My point: take this with a grain of salt.

While this book's emphasis is on successful people being formed by group effort, I think it's unfortunate in the sense that it causes readers to say “Ahh, THIS is why I must not be successful.” Why try to be successful if success is based on factors outside of your control? It's a demotivator and a concept that can be used to justify one's lack of effort.

Concepts Discussed: Opining aside, Outliers presents an interesting argument about success. Malcolm Gladwell offers some ideas that seem pretty self explanatory: high general intelligence doesn't take you far if you don't have practical intelligence, practice in a trade or skill is necessary for mastery, and culture plays a major part in who we are and how we behave. Other ideas you may be hearing for the first time: how you were raised, arbitrary cutoff dates (schools, sports, etc.), and “what your parents do for a living, and the assumptions that accompany the class your parents belong to” matter.

Summary of Examples: Gladwell discussions include Bill Joy, Bill Gates, The Beatles, Steve Jobs, Chris Langan, Lewis Terman, Oppenheimer, Joe Flow, Alexander Bickle, Maurice and Mort Janklow, Regina and Louis Borgenict, the Howards and Turners, Gert Hofstede, Alan Schoenfield, and himself. Arguments are detailed with the use of sports and school advantages, Jewish immigrants, cultural legacies, rice farmers, and the KIPP Academy along with brief life bios for some of the individuals listed above.

Oh, BTW: When asked, “What do you want people to take away from Outliers?” Gladwell answered “My wish with Outliers is that it makes us understand how much of a group project success is”.

”Every one of us has a WHY, a deep-seated purpose, cause or belief that is the source of our passion and inspiration.”

I enjoy the concept of this book, but I wasn't ready or motivated to take the necessary leaps to find my why.

Find Your Why is primarily a workshop guidebook and secondarily a self-improvement book. It makes sense since the workshop guide is going to take much longer to detail than the individual journey, but it wasn't the kind of practical guide I was expecting. Thankfully, the book is clearly divided between the two sections so the reader can easily skip over large parts of the books that only apply to those managing workshops.