Month: November 2010

Announcements

Yep, I Got One :)

Tara

I am pleased to announce that I am the very proud owner of the new Nook Color!!! My parents gave this to me for Christmas and they let me have it early 🙂 Mom got one too, so we have linked our Nooks to the same B&N account so that we can share books without having to use the Lend Me feature. I have already finished one book on my Nook and am working on my second book. I was able to sign up with netgalley.com and I can request e-Books to review from there. I am such a lucky gal. I was on the fence about an e-reader for a really long time, and I was probably a little premature simply because I have GAZILLIONS of books on my TBR shelves. But I’m pleased with my gift and look forward to many, many future hours reading with it 🙂

5/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, E-Book, Fiction, M, RATING, Read in 2010, READING CHALLENGES 2010, Review Book

REVIEW: The Inner Circle by Brad Meltzer

Tara

The Inner Circle
by Brad Meltzer

Copyright: 2011
Pages: 457
Rang: 5/5
Read: Nov. 18-25, 2010
Challenge: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge
Yearly Count: 60
Format: E-Book

First Line: He knew the room was designed to hold secrets.

“There are stories no one knows. Hidden stories. I love those stories. And since I work in the National Archives, I find those stories for a living. “Beecher White, a young archivist, spends his days working with the most important documents of the U.S. government. He has always been the keeper of other people’s stories, never a part of the story himself . . .Until now. When Clementine Kaye, Beecher’s first childhood crush, shows up at the National Archives asking for his help tracking down her long-lost father, Beecher tries to impress her by showing her the secret vault where the President of the United States privately reviews classified documents. After they accidentally happen upon a priceless artifact—a two-hundred-year-old dictionary that once belonged to George Washington—hidden underneath a desk chair, Beecher and Clementine find themselves suddenly entangled in a web of deception, conspiracy, and murder. Soon a man is dead and Beecher is on the run as he races to learn the truth behind this mysterious national treasure. His search will lead him to discover a coded and ingenious puzzle that conceals a disturbing secret from the founding of our nation. It is a secret, Beecher soon discovers, that some believe is worth killing for.

I was able to request this book directly from the publisher, Hachette Book Group, through the website http://netgalley.com. This is truly a great source for those who enjoy ARCs, but would like to have them in the e-reader format. Anyways, on to the review. I have never read a Brad Meltzer book before, even though I have two or three of his previous books on my shelves. However, when I first stumbled across the information regarding the upcoming release of this book, I was immediately intrigued. I was a history major in college, so anything with a Presidential/Historical aspect will usually catch my interest. And the fact that this book had murder, conspiracy and a little bit of history … well, it was a home run for me! I was immediately taken in with the storyline, I loved the whole idea of the president of the United States going into the National Archives to perhaps send and receive secret messages. I liked how the story unraveled right in front of my eyes, especially when I was trying my hardest to find out who Beecher, the main character, should trust and who he should not trust. I wanted to scream at Beecher sometimes because of how stupid he was acting because he was supposedly lovestruck. Overall, I truly enjoyed this book and I know that it will do well with other readers when it hits bookstores early in January 2011. I would highly recommend this book to anyone and I am definitely looking forward to getting to some of the other Meltzer books that I have in my TBR pile.

4/5, AUTHOR, Book Review, D, Fiction, RATING, Read in 2010, READING CHALLENGES 2010

REVIEW: The General by Patrick A. Davis

Tara

The General
by Patrick A. Davis

Copyright: 1998
Pages: 401
Rang: 4/5
Read: Nov. 1-9, 2010
Challenge: 2010 100+ Reading Challenge; RYOB 2010
Yearly Count: 59

First Line: I nodded to the rigid marine sergeant stsanding by the door as I turned off the Pentagon’s Eisenhower Hallway into the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

Air Force General Watkins, a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has been found dead – by a gruesome, torture-style execution not seen since its use by the Vietcong over twenty years ago. Assigned investigator Lieutenant Colonel Charlie Jensen discovers that this murder is only one link in a chain of hideous crimes, beginning with closely guarded secrets of the Vietnam War and extending to the highest levels of the U.S. government. With lives, careers, and history in the balance, Jensen is caught between blind allegiance to authority and a nobler, higher patriotism. His path to the truth is strewn with mines – and the answers he seeks will have shocking consequences.

Unfortunately, I did not write down my thoughts immediate after I finished this book and somehow time has slipped away from me since I finished reading. That said, I know I enjoyed this book, but I really can’t say much more about it than that. I remember there was a slow start, but once I got into it, the pages flew by. I need to remember never to let so much time go between finishing and writing the review so that I can have something of substance to say. Sorry, readers 🙂

Life

I’m still here :)

Tara

I just haven’t been in very much of a blogging or reading mood. College basketball has began again and I’m hooked 🙂 LOVE this time of year!I guess I’ll get back into the swing of things soon. Hopefully.