Maximum Ride - Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports

This series is marketed at young adults but I happen to enjoy them very much. This, the third in the series follows the adventures of an interesting group of kids. How interesting you ask? if I told you they can fly, would that peak your interest a bit more?

The classic Patterson easy to read short chapters, interesting characters that you will care about and a modern day take on science fiction thriller make the three books in this series worth the short investment in time it will take to read them (I started reading this book yesterday morning and finished this evening).

This title had a number of "oh, shit!" moments. The story and the book really move along, it's very well written...I'm impressed how Patterson so easily adapts to a younger audience without alienating adults.

Teacher Man

Unlike the millions of folks who read Frank McCourt's first two books, Angela's Ashes and 'Tis, I found a copy of his third offering in a closet in my basement. I recalled this copy being part of a swag bag from an "Employee Recognition Event" at the college where I work.

Teacher man in a memoir that tells of McCourt's 30 year teaching career in the public high schools (mostly) of New York City. My favorite thing about this book is how honest it is. I think anyone can read this book, especially a teacher, and know it was honest - I really loved that a lot; I don't recall a single moment where I felt a story was even a tiny bit embellished.

I was reading today while having soup at Panera. I don't recommend reading anything that would make you laugh while eating soup. I wish there was a warning label somewhere on this book; "NS: Do not read while eating soup". I make have done a spit take as a result of not having this warning in advance!

I am pretty sure anyone that has taught and even aspiring teachers will enjoy this book. I night even go so far as to recommend it as required reading for those demographics and in that lies my one critique. I don't see this book as having broad appeal.

Regardless, I really enjoyed the book - and I hope if you are considering it, that you will too.

Lean Mean Thirteen

A few days ago I finished the 13th installment of the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. These books are not works of fancy literature, but, if like me, you've grown to enjoy the characters in these books, you'll enjoy this one for the same reasons. I laughed out loud a number of times reading this and found myself entertained enough to not regret reading the book and to continue with the series. I think the book does what it is supposed to do and every now and again, you want an fairly easy, mindless read (I don't mean this to be insulting in any way) - these books will give that to you and if you are a regular read of the series, all the more fun because you get to hang with Stephanie, Lula, Ranger, Morelli, and others. If I had one criticism, I'd ask Evanovich to stop re-introducing each of the characters with every book. I suppose the reason is to make each independent of the others so that one may pick any one up as their first time with this series and not be lost. For those of us that had read all of them along the way, I think it's a drag. Perhaps start each with an appendix, or a reference guide to the characters within so that us "regulars" can skip past and get to the story.

Darkly Dreaming Dexter



Having seen the entire TV series without ever reading the books, I decided to take a stab (pun intended) at this series to see the genesis of the Dexter character, learn how they adapted the story line, and of course, hopefully read a good book.

Up until about half way through this first book, the TV series not only adapted the story as written, but lifted it almost exactly as it happened. The latter half, especially the ending, was a far less literal adaptation but it was clear to me (and will be to you if you watched the series as to how they adapted the story).

I think one of the greatest challenges for me after having seen what was a terrific series (except for the finale which almost blew the entire series (for me, from a story telling perspective) was whether or not the writing could hold my attention feeling like I might be able to predict what might happen. In the end, especially the very end of the book, I have to say that I enjoyed reading this and will at least check out the next one.

I think where Lindsay succeeds most is his ability to weave the dark side of the Dexter Morgan character through what Melissa Niksic of the Vine voice states, "a blend of dark humor, intense drama, mystery and suspense, and good old-fashioned blood and gore." I think this particular balance helps the book flow quite easily, keeps the reader at a high level of engagement and keeps the story fresh.

I look forward to the next book, "Dearly Devoted Dexter" sometime up the road.

The Night Circus

Back in January of 2013, Sicilian Mama reviewed this book on this  blog as part of her favorite books of 2012. Her review was part of what made me want to read this book and I thought I would include what she wrote here:

"The Night Circus - Have you ever read a book that you were afraid to put down because you were afraid you were going to miss something? That's how Erin Morgenstern's debut novel was for me. It has mixed review on Goodreads, but I absolutely loved it. I recommended it to pretty much everyone I know who loves to read and I even bought it as gifts for my besties for their birthdays. In fact, I just went out and bought a copy for myself so I could reread it again. That's how amazing it was - I'll reread it less than a year after reading it for the first time! Seriously, though, it was magical. Truly magical."

I must agree with the "truly magical" statement, on several different levels but for me, the most important one being the writing/storytelling. This was a rare book where not only did the imagery provide a visual backdrop, but it somehow provided a feel, at times haunting, at times exciting and always, magical.

As I recently mentioned to all of you, I personally don't like the writing device that takes the reader back and forth to and from different periods in time, Morgenstern does that in this book but at least the time periods are relatively close together - which for me, made it easier to follow and more tolerable. I don't know that the general public has nearly as hard a time as I do with this technique but for me, it takes a little bit away from the overall reading experience. That said, the things that were really great about this book were really great. I don't think it's a stretch to call it a period piece but it didn't feel dated, I felt pulled right in and a part of it all.

I can't say the story itself was flawless, but I guess if you pick carefully enough, you can find flaws in anything. The good news here, they don't affect how I feel about this book. If you love to read and have your imagination challenged while still providing s story that makes sense, and has you feeling something, I highly recommend this; I still have chills from some of this!

Step On a Crack

Patterson cranks out so many books using what I assume is something of an outsourcing model, that I am constantly amazed at how the quality control piece of the puzzle works so efficiently.

I had been lax for the last couple of years and fell behind in my quest to make it through all of his works and found myself in an offering from 2007, and the 46th of his books that I've now read.

Step on a Crack introduces a new series of books featuring the character Michael Bennett, a detective and father of 10 adopted children of various cultural backgrounds.

While at it's core, the Patterson formula is at work here, there are some wonderful components involving Bennett's family, an Au Pair that I suspect will continue to appear in future Bennett books, and a short but elegant introduction to the story featuring a beloved first lady and President.

the typical emotions one might feel in a detective/thriller were significantly amplified my triggers that come from relatable, real-life situations that had me so deeply ensconced in the story that I completed this novel the day after I began reading it.