The Sassy Bookworm

What an intriguing little read this book was! I think Geraldine Brooks is fast becoming one of my favorite authors! This was a remarkable story about the history of the priceless medieval Jewish prayer book, the Sarajevo Haggadah. Jumping back and forth in time and giving us beautiful and painful insights into the history of the book, the author does a wonderful job of wrapping facts with fiction and creating a very spellbinding read. This is definitely one to add to you own “to read” list!

I am so diggin books by Canadian author's lately, especially if they take place in Canada also. This book hooked me from page one, loved the characters, loved the setting (I want to pack my bags and move to Three Pines right now!! lol) and loved all the little Canadian references. I am actually pretty good at figuring out “who done it's” but this one had be stumped until the very end! My only small complaint was the Yvette Nichol character, this character seemed really under developed and really didn't add anything to the story, in fact if she had been erased from the narrative all together I don't think it would have any affected the storyline whatsoever. Since this is book one of a series, perhaps the author has other plans for the character in later books? If you love a good mystery this gets a big thumbs up from me!

This is Rachel Stolzman's debut novel and I can tell you right now that it surely will not be her last! I curled up on the sofa yesterday and read this wonderful book from cover to cover. The prologue sets the stage and has to be one of the best, most poignant prologues I have read in awhile. The story of Anna and Adrea is just so wonderfully done, the writing so heartfelt, almost poetic in style. The whole novel is just such a great testament to those who have loved and lost and loved again. I can't wait to see what the future holds for this author!

This is book #2 of the “Magdalene Line Trilogy”, I finished book #1 last week (The Expected One) and really enjoyed it, this one I didn't quite love as much. The first book had a good pace to it and the balance between present day story and past was perfect. Book #2 was much slower paced and the present day story really took a backseat in this book, I would have preferred more character development on that front. That being said I did really enjoy the story of Matilda, so not as good as the first in the series, but good enough that I will definitely be picking up book #3 when it comes out!!

This was such an interesting read! Not just for the history behind the words, but it was chocked full of interesting historical factoids and for a history nut like me, that makes for a great read! Often times books of this nature can be a bit dry in their reading, but the author just has such an engaging voice, with touches of humor etc. throughout. A really really good book and a must read for any history nut!

I think I can safely say Anne Rice is one of my favorite authors of all time. The vampires, the witches...I read everything she wrote and loved it all. Then she found Religion, or God, doesn't matter. Bye bye went anything occult and in came God and the angels. This book was just OK for me, I don't think her novels since the conversion have had the same intensity, they have lost something in my opinion and that is a real shame. I enjoyed this one enough that I will check out the next in the series, but it is not anywhere near as good as her previous works. :(

This was another just “OK” read for me. I found the story to be interesting, in fact while reading it I felt it had a bit of a “There Will Be Blood” (movie) feel to it, but the two main characters were just so unlikeable that it really turned me off. I found most of the characters to be very one dimensional, with really only one that seemed to be fully developed and it was her character that kept me interested enough to finish the book. As I mentioned the story was interesting, but was often bogged down with boring passages about politics and land rights, so ya, Just an OK read for me...

200 pages in and this one is just boring me silly. On top of that, the book is 1000 pages long and weighs in at 5 lbs (yes I did weigh it LOL), so not something you can just carry with you or even sit and read for long periods of time. Books like this make me really think about getting a Kindle! I may pick it up again at a later date.

This has to be one of the best books I have read in a long time! The story is phenomenal, fast paced and full of twists and turns, a wild ride, and the characters rich and well written! One of the other things I loved about it was that the “fantasy” takes a back seat to the story, it is there, but the driving force of the novel is the human story wrapped in the fantasy, if that makes sense.LOL

I really think this is a book that the fantasy lover in your life would love, but would also appeal to those who may not be the biggest fantasy fans. I am giving this two very big thumbs up and I am going to try and wait patiently for the sequel!