Book Reivew: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
4 Stars , Fiction , Latest Posts / February 19, 2013

Arti­cle first pub­lished as The Book Theif by Markus Zusak on Blog­crit­ics About: The Book Thief by Austrian author Markus Zusak is a novel taking place in Nazi Germany. The book was published in 2006, since then it has won many awards and spent over 230 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller list. 576 pages Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Language: English ISBN-10: 0375842209 My rating for The Book Thief – 4 Buy this book in paper or in elec­tronic format* More Rec­om­mended World War II books on Man of la BookStore Thoughts: She was a girl. In Nazi Germany. How fitting that she was discovering the power of words. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is a very popular novel, mainly among the YA crowd, and I can certainly see why. The book celebrates the power of the written word, of language, encourages people to read has an interesting twist in the narration. The book approach to the Holocaust, not straight on but looking from the sidelines, will appeal to teens as well as adults. The young heroine, Liesel Meminger who is a feisty girl who navigates through the claustrophobic and schizophrenic world of adults in Nazi Germany is both smart and tough, with…

Book Review: Rally ‘Round the Corpse by Hy Conrad
4 Stars , Fiction , Latest Posts / February 3, 2013

Article first published as Book Review: Rally ‘Round the Corpse by Hy Conrad on Blogcritics. About: Rally ‘Round the Corpse by Hy Conrad is a fictional mystery and it seems to be the first of a series. I jumped on the opportunity to read this book because Mr. Conrad is the writer for the TV show Monk which is, in my opinion, one of the best written shows on TV. The pub­lisher is giv­ing away one copy of this book –to enter fill out the Raf­fle­copt­ter form at the end of the post. 348 pages Publisher: Seven Realms Publishing Language: English ISBN-10: 0983735042 My rating for Rally ‘Round the Corpse – 4 Buy this book in paper or in elec­tronic format* More Books by Hy Conrad Thoughts: Rally ‘Round the Corpse by Hy Conrad (website | Facebook) is an enjoyable novel which is easy to read, doesn’t take itself too seriously and tells a story with humor and energy. I read the book with the author’s sense of humor in mind, as a fan of Monk I might have had an advantages over other readers since I thought that some of the lines which to others might sound over-the-top cheesy, were funny. ““Amy thought of her double bottom drawer as…

Book Review: A Land More Kind than Home by Wiley Cash
3 Stars , Fiction , Latest Posts / January 22, 2013

Article first published as Book Review: A Land More Kind Than Home by Wiley Cash on Blogcritics. About: A Land More Kind than Home by Wiley Cash is a novel taking place in a small town in North Carolina. I saw a lot of great reviews and articles about this book and thought that I might enjoy the story as well. The pub­lisher is giv­ing away one copy of this book –to enter fill out the Raf­fle­copt­ter form at the end of the post. 320 pages Publisher: William Morrow Language: English ISBN-10: 0062088149 My rat­ing for A Land More Kind than Home — 3 Buy this book in paper or in elec­tronic format* Thoughts: I had a tough time getting into A Land More Kind than Home by Wiley Cash (website | Facebook | @WileyCash). The first 80 pages or so seemed to drag and only when the sheriff was introduced did the story pick up. even though the book is cataloged under the “mystery” genre, the story is pretty much straightforward and there is no mystery per-se. From a technical aspect, this is a superb book. Mr. Wiley is extremely talented and even though I might not have enjoyed the whole of the story, I certainly enjoyed embracing the literary aspects…

Book Reivew: Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
3 Stars , Fiction , Historical Fiction , Latest Posts / January 15, 2013

About: Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier is a historical fiction novel taking place in 17th Century Holland. The book has fascinating descriptions of the times, how people lived and behaved. 256 pages Publisher: Plume; Deluxe edition (August 30, 2005) Language: English ISBN-10: 0452287022 My rating for Girl with a Pearl Earring – 3 Buy this book in paper or in elec­tronic format* More Books by Tracy Chevalier Thoughts: Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier (website | Facebook | @Tracy_Chevalier)was neither here nor there. The story seems like an episode of the old British drama “Upstairs Downstairs” set in Holland with a coming of age story neatly tucked in it as well. The plot is somewhat interesting with one well developed character (Griet) and none others I cared about. The book is written very well but nothing happens and for awhile I was actually bored. Some of the characters are well developed but I was hoping for Johannes Vermeer’s character to be more in depth. To my disappoint Vermeer played a minor (yet important) part in the book. However, the descriptions of 17th Century Holland, the class system and mercantile society were excellent, which by itself was worth finishing the book. The descriptions of how the paintings were…

Book Review: Cervantes Street by Jaime Manrique
5 Stars , Fiction , Historical Fiction , Latest Posts / January 10, 2013

Article first published as Book Review: Cervantes Street by Jaime Manrique on Blogcritics About: Cervantes Street by Jaime Manrique is a historical-fiction novel about Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra’s journey to write Don Quixote. The book is peppered with literary references to Cervantes’ works as well as works of the time, while I didn’t get many I did enjoy learning about them. 320 pages Publisher: Akashic Books (September 4, 2012) Language: English ISBN-10: 161775126X My rat­ing for Cervantes Street — 5 Buy this book in paper or in elec­tronic format* Thoughts: As followers of my blog know, I am a big fan of Don Quixote, probably more to the nostalgia associated with the story from my childhood than anything to do with the classic story. However, when I did read the full length novel (both parts) I understood why the book has become such a literary classic. Unfortunately, many readers get daunted by the sheer size of Don Quixote. The stories in the classic tale need knowledge of the time’s pop-culture in order to fully enjoy the reading experience. However, the same could be said for Shakespeare and several other authors from the far and not-so-far past. For those readers who are overwhelmed by the size of the classic book, Cervantes…

Book Review: The Krautzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy
4 Stars , Fiction , Latest Posts / January 7, 2013

Article first published as Book Review: The Kreutzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy on Blogcritics. About: The Krautzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy is a novella written in 1889. At times this novella seemed like a rant that goes on page after page, but taken as a whole I can certainly see the genius behind it. 128 pages Publisher: Modern Library Language: English ISBN-10: 0812968239 Buy book in paper or elec­tronic format* More books by Leo Tolstoy Thoughts: I enjoyed The Krautzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy very much, it was a quick read, quite interesting but also a bit disturbing. I disagree with many of the themes the book represents and it seemed as if Tolstoy wrote this novella while being in an extremely foul mood, or extremely mad at his wife. The novella is pro-religion (Christianity), sexist, anti physical contact (sex), pro-life (or more accurately anti-birth control), and seems to justify murder. One of the characters (very few) feels justified at murdering his wife how might, MIGHT, have cheated on him. That being said, the book is very well written and can be appreciated even though one might disagree with almost all the opinions in the I guess the major disagreement I have with Mr. Tolstoy is that sex is evil and…

Book Review: False Friends by Stephen Leather
4 Stars , Fiction , Latest Posts / January 3, 2013

Article first published as Book Review: False Friends by Stephen Leather on Blogcritics. About: False Friends by Stephen Leather is a fictional book in the Dan Shepherd series. This is the 9th book in the series, but can be read as a standalone book. 512 pages Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Language: English ISBN-10: 0340925000 My rat­ing for False Friends — 4 Buy this book in paper or in elec­tronic format* More Books by Stephen Leather Thoughts: False Friends by Stephen Leather (website | Facebook | @stephenleather | Blog) was my first Dan Shepherd book and it was a pleasant surprise. Even though I haven’t read any of the other books in the series, it did not interfere with this story. The author, through his characters, really doesn’t like the US, especially its politics and actions as a country. Those parts are not comfortable to read, but as a follower of current events I am well aware how the US is viewed in many parts of the world so it was no surprise to see so in print (again). The author also gives voice to several moderate Muslims, many which exist, to counter the extreme Muslim voices we hear on a regular base. The story moves along at a descent…

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