Shockaholic by Carrie Fisher

Shockaholic by Carrie Fisher

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


This is was just an okay book for me. There were some interesting stories, but Fisher was all over the place and jumped around too much for me. Glad it was a quick read and had pictures. I am relieved to be done with it so I can move on to something with some amount of intelligence and depth.



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The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl by Timothy Egan

The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl by Timothy Egan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Wow! What can I say about the Dust Bowl. This was such a sad time in our country's history. I still can't believe that people actually survived and lived to tell about it. I was so sad and sickened to read about these people's struggles and severe conditions. I know I could NEVER live through that. It was just so unbelievable the state of the land, the weather, the dust, the government, just about everything that these people had to endure. Fact is truly stranger than fiction.



It was a great book and I'm so glad I read it. I think this one will stick with me for a long time. I had to rent the movie "The Plow That Broke the Plains." after I read this book on Amazon. I thought it was very interesting. People of the day said that it was propaganda. That may very well be, but I bet seeing this movie on the big screen educated a lot of people about what was happening on the High Plains. The moving pictures of this land were way more profound than black and white photos ever could be.



My next book is The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. I'm hooked on this subject now.



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Duma Key by Stephen King

Duma Key by Stephen King

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I thought Duma Key was really good and I liked it a lot. For the most part, it kept my interest and I wanted to keep reading. There was some real creepy parts in it that really reminded me of how twisted Stephen King's mind really is. I kept wondering throughout the book "How does he come up with these ideas?" The story line was just so bizarre and different, but oh, so good!



I also really enjoyed all of the characters, especially Wireman. He was definitely my favorite. He was so cool and seemingly calm throughout the whole story. I liked all the other characters as well, but Wireman was the character that made the book for me.



Overall, I would give this 4 1/2 stars and not the full five just because there was some confusing writing when King would write through the eyes of Elizabeth as a child and I had to go back and re-read some of the text and it was sometimes difficult to actually visualize what Elizabeth was experiencing. Other than that, I loved this story and will continue to read more of King's books.



*One last note, it was waaaaayyy better than Under the Dome!



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A Hint of Murder: The Writer by Lia Fairchild

A Hint of Murder: The Writer by Lia Fairchild

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Wow! All I can say is wow!! Even though this was a short story and it didn't take me long to read it, I really liked this! It had many twists and turns and kept me guessing until the very end. This was a truly fun and amazingly short, but thrilling ride. Can't wait to read more stories from Lia Fairchild. Five stars from me, for sure!!!



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Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock by Sammy Hagar

Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock by Sammy Hagar

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This was a very interesting book written by Sammy Hagar about his life beginning when he was a small child up until now. I have always been a huge fan of his even before he was in Van Halen, though much more when he joined the band. He really shows that if you work hard you can make it in any business. He has a real work ethic and is a true entrepreneur that to me was surprising, especially in the world of rock and roll.



It did sadden me though how much he bashed the Van Halen brothers. Even if it's all true, it was disheartening to read a lot of what went on, on stage and behind closed doors, though not surprising. I have been a huge fan of Van Halen, especially when Hagar joined them back in the 80's and saw them 3 times in concert throughout Hagar's career with them. The first two times were amazing, but that last concert in '03 or '04 (the reunion tour) wasn't so great. The book did explain a lot of why that was, but still saddened me to read it.



The thing I really disliked about the book was the terrible grammar, proper nouns not capitalized, and the beginning of sentences not capitalized. Come on!!! These are common editorial mistakes that could have easily been fixed during editing. I don't know who's job it is to make sure an ebook has the right punctuation and grammar, but I find it VERY distracting while reading any book. That's why I gave it only three stars instead of four.



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In Search of Lucy by Lia Fairchild

In Search of Lucy by Lia Fairchild

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I really liked this book. I thought it was well written and the characters were very likable and I was able to relate to their situation. It really made me think that if something happened to my sister would I be willing to give her a kidney, no questions asked. And my answer is: I'm not sure. We don't get along, we haven't gotten along for a very long time. Probably 25 years or so, we haven't seen eye to eye. She has made some very poor decisions in her life that I can't support and I really struggled with this question. Could I give my kidney to her?? It made me wonder if she would do the same for me, and my answer is "I don't know." I really hope I don't ever need to know the answer to that question.



I really, truly liked this story and I had to think about my review for awhile. I love books that touch me in a personal way and makes me think about my own life and existence. I will probably struggle with this question of giving my kidney to my sister for a long while, but hopefully I will never have to face it head on. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone. Two thumbs up for me!!!



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In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin by Erik Larson

In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin by Erik Larson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This book was just okay for me. It was interesting in parts and really boring in others. I was hoping for something more, I guess. Glad I'm done with it. It felt like it went on forever!!!



I gave it three stars out of five because it was so boring and dry in some parts but the parts of the book about his daughter, Martha were way more interesting and I was wishing the book was more about her instead of her father, Ambassador Dodd.



Overall, it was an okay book. Glad I read it, but like I said, glad to be done with it too.







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Little Bee by Chris Cleave

Little Bee by Chris Cleave

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Very well written book, interesting topic and characters, but I hate to say, one of the most depressing story I have read in a long time. I am glad I am finished so I can move on to a more cheery subject matter.



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The Help

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

My rating: 5 of 5 stars






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I really liked this book, in fact I would say I LOVED this book. Everything about this book was well written and expressed. I can't wait to see the movie! I hope it's as good as the book. Five stars for me!!! I would totally recommend that everyone should read this one. Not to be missed!!!

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt

Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This was such a sweet and heartfelt book. I really enjoyed it. Loved all the wonderful quotes told by the different characters in this story.



This book was not too deep or too intense, yet left me feeling content and quite fulfilled. Nothing too surprising and had a happy ending. Sometimes you just need to kick back and have a sweet story that doesn't push the envelope too much. Let me just say, it wasn't boring or anything like that, but more like bubblegum for the brain. Great plot, great characters, great story! I really liked it!!!



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Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I really liked this book. It was such a sweet and touching story about Henry (Chinese) and his love for Keiko (Japanese) during WWII. Even though this story is fiction, I felt that this really could have actually happened back then. I thought the story was very heartfelt and I really felt for Henry and the struggles he had toward his father verses the love and affection he felt toward Keiko.



It sickened me to read about how Americans treated the Japanese people during WWII. I am glad we live in a time now where we are more tolerant toward our fellow humans. We could have easily done the same things to the Muslims after 9/11 that we did to the Japanese back then.....Thank goodness times have changed.



I definitely could see this book be made into a movie. I hope somebody writes the screenplay and it's filmed someday. I think it would be amazing on the big screen. I would love to see how Seattle looked like back in WWII days.



Overall, I think this was an amazing book and would recommend this to anyone! Two thumbs up from me.



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Dream Smashers by Angela Carlie

Dream Smashers by Angela Carlie

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Just finished Dream Smashers and I thought it was excellent. I really enjoyed the characters and the storyline and I would love to see a sequel to this because I didn't want it to end. I really like how the author would switch between the different characters to get different points of views but still kept the focus on the main character, Autumn.



This story is extremely heart wrenching in certain parts due to the main character's drug-addicted mother. I felt saddened by her and her story because I'm sure that somewhere, there are kids going through this very same type of thing in their own lives. It breaks my heart to think stories like this are more realistic than we know.



This book does have some religious overtones to it, but it doesn't come off as preachy which I really appreciate since I'm not a very religious person.



Overall, I think this was a great book and would totally recommend it!!! Two thumbs up for me!!!



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Finished with "The Girl Who....." series! Thank God!

This was a great series of books. I really enjoyed the stories as a whole. By the time I got to the third book I was tired of reading about the geography of Sweden and had a hard time keeping up with each of the many characters in these books, but the story line was exciting and engrossing. Some parts of these books was kind of boring but was necessary to story, but I plowed through those as best I could. Overall, I'm happy I read these books, but glad to be done with them. I know this is a popular series right now and everyone is just raving about them, and I thought they were great, don't get me wrong, I just don't think they are the best thing out there and I'm happy to be moving on to new material.

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars






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Just finished this book. Sooo good! I loved the first one "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" and now off to read the third. Wonderful series. Suspensful and terrifing! Awesome, awesome book. Two thumbs up for me!!!!