Claw Your Way to the Top

Claw Your Way to the Top
By Dave Barry
0878576525 (28)

Well, that was odd. But so is Dave Barry, so that makes sense. I'm not going into the business world, so a lot of the jokes were just amusing. I'm sure if I was going into the business world, I would have found some of the jokes hysterical. Short book, just 86 pages, and cute.
6/10

Illusions

Illusions
By Janet Dailey
(Book on Cassette)

I'll admit it- I actually only listened to this because Allison Janney is the narrator. Very fluffy, even more so than my normal fluff. I liked it though, I loved how the ending turned out, it was a nice change from other fluffy novels. There were a few clichés, but not so many that it distracted from the story. And, only one scene I felt the need to fast forward through, so that was nice! I would have liked to have seen more of the main characters business associate because he was the most fun character there, but that's okay. All in all, a
7/10

Sarah

Sarah
By Marek Halter

Well, nothing like changing a little history, huh? Here's a tip: if you're going to write a story based on the Bible, don't contradict things in the Bible! That's just silly and makes you look like you didn't do your homework. Let's see, Abram and Sarai were half-siblings, not strangers who met in a stream one night. Pharoah ended up with a skin disease when he wanted to sleep with Sarai, thinking she was Abram's sister instead of wife. He didn't, as this book so... graphically describes it, sleep with her. Well-written and an interesting concept, but it didn't quite work for me.
5/10

The Narrative of A. Gordon Pym of Nantucket

The Narrative of A. Gordon Pym of Nantucket
By Edgar Allan Poe
(Book on CD then in a collection)

Listened to the first CD of this book, then the second simply didn’t work- there was nothing on it! Blank CD from the library, fun. So I found it in a book instead. It was an interesting read. The story was a little out there. It was a bit rushed, but that comes from being a condensed version, I think. I’m pretty sure I ended up reading a shortened version of the story, since it seemed too short. I wouldn’t want to read the entire version, it wasn’t really my type of story.
7/10

Saraband for Two Sisters

Saraband for Two Sisters
By Philippa Carr (Victoria Holt)
0499232077

I love Victoria Holt. Her books are always well-researched and take the reader to far flung places. This book is not one of those, unfortunately. That's probably why it's under a different name, but the writing also wasn't as good. It was more stilted and pretentious. Maybe that was on purpose, since the reader was supposed to be peeking at 2 girls diaries, but the girls should have gotten more mature voices as the years passed. Instead, the narrative dragged a bit. And the end... well, I won't spoil it but it was ridiculous.
5/10

The Great Train Robbery

The Great Train Robbery
By Michael Crichton
(Book on CD)

Two amazing books in one month! Actually, I was reading them at the same time, so this was very nice! This reminded me a lot of the movie Ocean’s Eleven- intricate plotline, likeable crooks, hair-raising adventure and close-calls. I would recommend this book to absolutely anyone, it was just so wonderful! I loved the improvisational tactics that had to be used for them to avoid detection, it was so much fun to listen to them get out of those tight spots!
10/10

Desert Queen

Desert Queen
By Janet Wallach
0385495757

What an amazing woman. And an equally amazing storyteller. I absolutely loved this book. This tells the story of a young woman in the early 1900’s who doesn’t simply get married and have a family. She travels to the Middle East and becomes an extremely important person in the relationship between England and the countries of the Middle East. Her story is one of courage but also of loneliness. The author never pretends that she had a perfect life, bucking tradition and following her own mind. She suffered greatly in some ways, but it was for a good cause and she never regretted it. I’m not even interested in the Middle East and I’m giving this book: 10/10

First Lady

First Lady
By Susan Elizabeth Phillips
0380808072

Just as I’m a sucker for princess stories, I’m a sucker for stories about the First Family. And this one was delightful! Okay, fluffy as anything but still, very cute. I liked the older sister and the couple they meet at the camp ground. I didn’t like how quickly the main character threw herself at the guy, not knowing anything about him. Yes, he seemed nice and all that and he was a good guy. But she didn’t know that, only the reader really knew that. I can understand (this might be backward but it’s my opinion so oh, well) her falling in love with him. But I can’t understand her sleeping with him so shortly after they meet. What if he hadn’t been a great guy? He could have made a bundle writing a tell-all!
7/10

Reunion

Reunion
By Nora Roberts

Ah, Nora Roberts is always fun. This was two stories of couples who were parted and then reunited. I think a few of the characters are in need of therapy and I didn’t like these as much as I have liked her stuff in the past.
7/10

Iced

Iced
By Carol Higgins Clark

Cute. I like Carol Higgins Clark, although I do have a complaint. The chapters are so short that I just keep telling myself “one more chapter before I go to sleep” and I end up reading the whole thing. Not good! Her plots are always good, a few twists along that way that I don’t see coming, not sure if others do. Forgettable characters for the most part. Not as good a writer as her mother, which I’m sure she hears way too often!

7/10

Deception Point

Deception Point
By Dan Brown

Wow. I didn’t see the twists coming in this one! After the slightly clichéd Da Vinci Code, this was a real treat! Oh, there were some things that weren’t a shock, just as in every book. But for the most part, I was as surprised as the characters were. I genuinely liked the main characters, neither annoyed me which is good! And I loved to hate the senator/father, he was a great character! Although he was a little too over-the-top, you knew you were supposed to dislike him. It’s like on an episode of The West Wing, a couple in a bar are complaining to a pregnant Andy that maybe she should have disclosed her condition before she was elected, since it may affect her ability to do her job. Just in case you may think they have a point, Charlie shows up and asks what’s the matter. (He is black or whatever the acceptable term is this week, and he dated the Presidents daughter, which annoyed stupid people who can’t see past skin color). The couple points at him and sneer “Oh, and there’s the one that dated the daughter.” You know, so the audience knows that these people are scum and anything they say is wrong. That’s how I felt with some of the ridiculous things coming out of the senator’s mouth in this book- too blatantly obvious that we were supposed to hate him, too heavy-handed. But since I otherwise adored the book.

8/10

Women Who Run With the Wolves

Women Who Run With the Wolves
By Clarissa Pinkola Estes, PhD

I have to start by saying this book was not aimed at people like me. I found it pretentious and redundant. About 100 pages in, I started to skip whole sections- not the best way to read a book I loved one line, from about page 111: “Ignorance is not knowing anything and being attracted to the good. Innocence is knowing everything, and still being attracted to the good.” It is supposedly an old proverb from Dr. Estes’ country, although I have no idea what country that is.

6/10