Month: March 2008

5/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, G, Read in 2008

The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

Tara
The Other Boleyn Girl
by Philippa Gregory

Copyright: 2001
Pages: 735
Rating: 5/5
Read: March 11-14, 2008
Challenge: Back to History
First Line: I could hear a roll of muffled drums.
Mary Boleyn is a young girl serving at the court of King Henry of England. When her sister, Anne, comes back from France, the sibling rivalry begins once again. However, when Mary finds herself in the favor of the King, Anne and the rest of the family is doing nothing but pushing Mary toward the king. After giving birth to two of his children, one girl and one boy, Mary finds herself being pushed out of the favor of the king. Instead, she finds her sister Anne being the king’s favorite. But Anne will not stand by and simply be the mistress to the king; she wants to be queen. With the help of the entire family, Anne finds her way into the favor of the king and subsequently talks him into divorcing Queen Katherine. Although Anne gets what she wants, that ambition will ultimately be the end of her.
Oh my goodness! This book was sooooooooo good! I could not hardly stand to put it down. It was a little slow to start, but after about 100 pages into it, it picked up pace and never backed off! This was really my first time reading anything about this time period and I really enjoyed it! I will probably be looking for more of her books. I love that she made the story readable to a person who knows little to nothing about this time period. Highly, highly, HIGHLY recommended!!!
Booking Through Thursday

BTT – Playing Editor

Tara

Suggested by John :
How about a chance to play editor-in-chief? Fill in the blanks:
__________ would have been a much better book if ______________________.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Hannibal Rising would have been a much better book if … there had actually been a point to the book! Haha! Okay, seriously, this book had so much promise. To me it should have really wrapped up all the questions that surrounded Dr. Hannibal Lecter and what made him the monster that we know him as. I felt cheated after I finished it. I wanted to know everything that had happened to Lecter, and to some degree I got that. But I felt as if Thomas Harris could have done a lot more with the book in order to make it better. I honestly wouldn’t recommend anyone to even bother with Hannibal Rising.
4/5, A, AUTHOR, Book Review, Nonfiction, Read in 2008

Diana’s Boys by Christopher Andersen

Tara
Diana’s Boys: William and Harry and the Mother They Loved
by Christopher Andersen

Copyright: 2001, 2002
Pages: 365
Rating: 4/5
Read: March 4-10, 2008
Challenge: Triple Eight – Bio/Autobio category; Eponymous Challenge

First Line: That the beautiful, complicated Princess of Wales — arguably the most celebrated woman of the twentieth century — died so violently, so senselessly, and so young at age thirty-six was tragic.

Such a great book! Andersen makes the story of these two boys flow so easily. He really goes into a lot of detail about what life was like for them growing up not only as royals but also as children who had to watch their parents quarrel almost constantly. It’s really amazing how they got away with quite a bit, but both of their parents were always keeping them in line (although Diana was more likely to let them have a little fun than Charles). Andersen also spends a lot of time explaining how their parents’ problems and subsequent divorce as well as the tragic death of their mother effected their lives. Great read.
4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, J, Read in 2008

Firestorm by Iris Johansen

Tara
Firestorm
by Iris Johansen

Copyright: 2004
Pages: 339
Rating: 4/5
Read: March 6-9, 2008
Challenge: What’s in a Name – Weather Event Category

First Line: She couldn’t breathe!

Kerry Murphy’s life is seemingly consumed by fire; from a fire that took life the of her mother as a young girl to the present. Along with her dog Sam, she is an arson investigator. However, when a mysterious man by the name of Silver invades her life and practically forces Kerry to join in him in stopping a psychopath with a love for starting fires. Her decision to help Silver might destroy Kerry and the people closest to her.

Like any other Iris Johansen book that I’ve read, I enjoyed this one. It wasn’t one of her better ones, but it was still pretty good. I enjoyed it. I would recommend this one to anyone.

Friday Fill-Ins

Friday Fill-Ins #62

Tara

1. Ahhhh, it’s so nice that spring is ALMOST here (with an inch of snow on the ground…).
2. One of my favorite things on my desk or bureau is one of our engagement pictures.
3. Japanese Cherry Blossom is not my favorite smell at Bath & Body Works.
4. My comfy chair is my favorite place to sit and read.
5. Peanut butter and jelly is delicious!
6. I love to watch Denzel Washington in movies.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to seeing SIU v. UNI at the MVC tourney!!, tomorrow my plans include more basketball games! and Sunday, I want to have SIU win the championship!

Booking Through Thursday

BTT – Hero/Heroine

Tara

Since I missed last week I’m going to actually answer both of the questions today.
1)Who is your favorite female lead character? And why?
~*~*~*~*~
2)You should have seen this one coming … Who is your favorite Male lead character? And why?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
1) I’ll answer last week’s question first … it’s hard to narrow down my favorite female lead character. However, to answer the question ….. I like Iris Johansen’s Eve Duncan, Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone, and Alex Kava’s Maggie O’Dell.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
2) Now, for the male characters … this one is a little easier for me, I guess I read more where the lead characters are men. Anyways, let’s see …. Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch, Jeffery Deaver’s Lincoln Rhyme, Thomas Harris’ Hannibal Lecter (!!), and P.J. Parrish’s Louis Kincaid.
It’s really funny that every character that I mentioned, male and female, are all part of a series! I realized that it turned out that way as soon as I got to Hannibal Lecter (my personal favorite!). I never realized that so much of my reading revolves around ongoing series’. Interesting. Anyways, have a good BTT everybody! (Even though I got to mine a little late tonight…)
5/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, Fiction, P, Read in 2008, SERIES, Women's Murder Club

1st to Die by James Patterson

Tara
1st to Die
by James Patterson
Copyright: 2001
Pages: 462
Rating: 5/5
Read: March 2-4, 2008
Challenge: Celebrate the Author; Triple Eight – From my TBR Shelf & 1st in a Series; Numbers Challenge
First Line: It is an unusually warm night in July, but I’m shivering badly as I stand on the substantial gray stone terrace outside my apartment.
In the first installment of the Women’s Murder Club, Lindsay (homicide detective), Claire (medical examiner), Jill (assistant DA) and Cindy (crime reporter) form their club in the wake of a possible serial killer in San Francisco. Targeting couples on the night of their wedding, the bride and groom killer is rocking the city. With few clues at the crime scene, Lindsay decides to form the group in order to catch the killer before he takes the lives on anymore newlyweds.
I loved this book! I’m not sure why it sat on my shelf for so long before I ever picked it up, but I absolutely adored it!!! It was such a quick and enjoyable read. I even found myself crying a little at the end. Excellent book … I can’t wait to get to the second one!
4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, C, Fiction, Read in 2008, T

The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell & Dustin Thomason

Tara

The Rule of Four

by Ian Caldwell & Dustin Thomason
Copyright: 2004
Pages: 446
Rating: 4/5
Read: Feb. 29-March 2, 2008
Challenge: Numbers Challenge
First Line: Like many of us, I think, my father spent the measure of his life piecing together a story he would never understand.
The Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, a Renaissance text, and Tom Sullivan have always had a love-hate relationship. This book consumed his father’s life. And during his final year at Princeton, he finds the book consuming him and his roommate, Paul Harris. As Paul tries to figure out all the pieces to the puzzle of this book, the deadline for his senior thesis hovers above him. But then, a long-lost diary is found and Paul believes he has solved it. But before he has time to finish his thesis and state his conclusions, thereby revealing the final pieces to this mysterious puzzle, he has to fight forces that are against him. With the help of Tom and their two roommates, Gil and Charlie, they embark upon a journey that might kill them all.
I really enjoyed this book. Although it does seem to lag in certain places, overall I felt myself rushing through it because it was so suspenseful! I could hardly wait to get to the end of it. I have read that some people are likening it to The Da Vinci Code, but I wouldn’t. I felt that in a way it was much better than Dan Brown’s book, whereas in other places (like the writing style) it did sort of lack what Brown’s book had. It’s hard to describe, but definitely an enjoyable read!