Tuesday, November 10, 2015

I show you my books, you show me yours vol.10

Hey!  Lookie here!  It's my favorite link-up day!  The day we talk about books, other book lovers talk about books, and my goodreads "to read" list grows exponentially.  Thanks again to Jana and Steph for making this day happen for us bookworms.


1.  Paperboy by Vince Vawter - Set in the '50's, a young boy with a speech impediment takes over a paper route for a month and encounters local neighbourhood characters while learning lessons about himself and his life. It won a Newberry Medal Honor in 2014. Do kids these days read these books? Or do adults "think" kids should read them, but they don't? 2.5/5
2.  The Cold Cold Ground by Adrian McKinty - I talked about this one already over here2/5

3.  Fourth of July Creek by Smith Henderson - If you are looking for a feel-good, cheerful read, this isn't it. This was a heavy one. Heart-breaking, infuriating, sometimes maddening with topics covering abuse, neglect, arson, alcoholism, child prostitution, or more not-so-pretty things...but a well-written story to evoke such emotion.  If you are prepared to be emotionally spent, I recommend it. 4/5
4.  The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina HenrĂ­quez - Fantastic concept, not so fantastic delivery. Simplistic. Lacks depth. Only a couple of characters (out of so many that it was difficult to keep track of them all) were well-developed.  I wanted to like this more, I wanted to care more, but I didn't.  I was really disappointed that I didn't.  2/5
5.  The Rise and Fall of the Gallivanters by M.J. Beaufrand - I feel a little scattered about this book.  Maybe because the book is scattered.  Parts I loved, parts were silly.  Parts were endearing, parts were annoying.  Parts were flimsy, parts weren't.  I read it in a day and stayed up past my bedtime to finish it, so I was interested in it enough to discover how it all unfolded.  Plus, there's a music competition and a music store ... and you know, I like music.  3/5
6.  Sex, Drugs, Ratt & Roll by Stephen Pearcy with Sam Benjamin - If he'd quit calling the female groupies "trim" (or "drunken cupcakes" or "sluts"), I might have enjoyed this more.  I've read my fair share of rock bios, and debauchery & sex are often very much included in them...totally fine...but for some reason, Stephen Pearcy's storytelling (or maybe it's the writer's fault) of these encounters totally turned me off.  I really like RATT music still to this day.  I've seen them in concert numerous times in Texas, California, and even Sheffield, England.  I will still like the music, but I don't have to like Stephen Pearcy as a person.  3/5
7. Jackaby by William Ritter - From page 131: "Science and magic, beauty and bedlam, things that ought to be at odds-they just don't follow the same rules when Jackaby's involved."  I talked about what I thought of this book here2.5/5
8.  Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy - The main characters in this book are either fickle & cruel, endearing & loveable, and sometimes pathetic & lost  Pretty standard for high school kids, right? I kept getting especially angry, even disgusted, at a particular character, yet I was invested in the story that I couldn't put this book down.  I've said it before, I'll say it again, I like characters who are severely flawed individuals. Reading reviews on goodreads, it seems others don't like this book because they don't like the lead character.  I don't have to like the character to like the journey and the story that unfolds for her.  If YA is a genre you enjoy reading, I recommend this book. 4.5/5
9.  The Dinner by Herman Koch - About a third of the way into the book, I was shouting in my head "get to the point!"  I liked the moral dilemma faced by these characters. What annoyed me most was how overly descriptive the author was about inconsequential details, yet how vague and/or lacking of detail he was in others. I'm fine with leaving some things open to interpretation, but I wish he'd dive much deeper into that moral dilemma.  3/5
Currently reading:  The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith

Next up:  Black-Eyed Susans, Night, My Heart and Other Black Holes, Tweak, Crank

So, whatcha been readin'?




25 comments:

  1. Wow! You certainly read a lot of titles last month. Thanks for the reviews... i think I will be adding Side effects may vary to my want list. Sounds like my kind if book

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  2. Fourth of JUly Creek sounds good, I am going to add it. A little emotional raw books are god for the soul. Side Effect leaves me torn I didn't like Girl On The Train because the main character was a nightmare so hopefully she turns it around.

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  3. Your thoughts on The Dinner.... YESSS!!!! OMG I hate overly descriptive books, or overly vague, for that matter, as this one was. And it was soooo damn slow until about the last 2 chapters.

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  4. Great reviews - I was pretty interested in Jackaby for the Literary Ladies reading book but I didn't get to it in time and now I'd have to say it's been bumped to the back burner for awhile. Maybe I'll check out Fourth of July Creek when I'm in the mood for a good cry, haha..

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  5. I thought about The Dinner once and then assumed it was one of those books that took forever to get to the point. Maybe I'll leave it alone.

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  6. The Book of Unknown Americans sounds exactly like you described it, good idea but I can't stand when it isn't executed well. Side Effects May Vary sounds like a book I might enjoy, adding it to the list!

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  7. these are great, honest reviews, chica! i am the worst reader so i can't even contribute. i'm lucky if i read two books a year. le sigh. i'll just live through you in this department!

    xoxo cheshire kat

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  8. How have I never heard of any of these books?! I just read Murphy's Dumplin'. Added Side Effects May Vary to my tbr list!

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  9. I've been extremely curious as to your thoughts on The Dinner. I'm still stabbing around in the dark for a book that fits the food category. Not sure if I have the patience required to endure this book or not. But, we'll see. I'll keep it on the back burner and will keep looking to see if anything else catches my eye.

    I just finished Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock and I'm still digesting/processing it. I found it to be very raw given that some of the issues that the book tackles hit especially close to home with some of the things that are going on my family right now. I keep wondering, had I read it under different circumstances, would I feel differently?

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  10. Fourth Of July Creek and Side Effects May Vary sound really interesting to me. I'm going to add those to my TBR list. Actually I might try The Dinner as well, I heard some good things about it too. If you gave it a least 3 stars, I'll give it a go!

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  11. side effects may vary sounds like it's right up my alley. deeply flawed characters are my jam.

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    1. There's so effed up folks in this one, so if you like deeply flawed characters, I recommend it.

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  12. You rocked out this month and read a whole lot of books! I'm super jealous because the past month I had a really hard time getting through bucks. I totally understand what you mean though how you love the music and don't have to like the person. I think I would get annoyed with the slang terms for women even in a rock 'n' roll bio as well.

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  13. I also like seriously flawed individuals as characters. I'm not someone who has to love every character to like a book.

    I think I'll try Side Effects and Fourth of July Creek.

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  14. damn girl, you had some crappy luck this month! side effects may vary is on my list, i agree about not liking the character. there is a difference, i think. sometimes i can dislike them but still enjoy the book, other times it makes me hate the book, but i think it depends on the story. fourth of july creek sounds interesting, i'll save it for when i want to be emotionally drained, because lets be real, sometimes you need that!

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  15. I'll be interested to find out what you think about The Silkworm, I read it to find out if anything good happens with Robin and Cormoran but it wasn't my thing.

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  16. After how much I enjoyed Dumplin', I cannot wait to read more of Julie Murphy's books so it should come as no surprise that Side Effects May Vary is already on my TBR.

    Fourth of July Creek. I didn't even know how to review that book. On the one hand, it was AMAZING. Ugly and real and sad. On the other hand, it was so freaking slow and took too long to get to certain points. And it realy didn't need to take place in the 80s. At all. So that was weird.

    Many of the others are already on my TBR and I love your reviews because we generally feel the same about books. But I need to read The Book of Unknown Americans because Delaware.

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  17. Ooh, Side Effects May Vary definitely sounds interesting. I like books that don't tell me straight-up how to feel, like with flawed or partially unlikable characters. I want to figure out for myself how I feel about people when reading a book and not be led to a certain opinion.

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  18. Ewwww.... the guy from Ratt... I totally made disgusted faces reading your review.
    but it shouldnt surprise me. the attitude of 80s rockers

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  19. Fourth of July Creek sounds very interesting, but thanks for warning me that there's some darker things in the book. Sometimes you have to really be in the mood to read about stuff that's dark.

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  20. Side Effects May Vary sounds like an interesting read. I haven't heard of most of these ones, so yay for being different!!! I feel like I read the same few reviews today lol.

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  21. Paperboy sounds like one teachers would put on a reading list for kids, but I think I'd like it. Adding The Fourth of July Creek because I've been reading a lot of fluff lately and need something with more substance, even if it is dark/ugly.

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  22. I think I liked The Dinner a little more than you did (judging from your rating and review, anyway), but I agree that it took quite a while to get to the point of the story. I think I ended up liking it so much because I was honestly shocked by what had happened ... And it takes a lot to shock me. I just wasn't expecting that, and I still think about it from time to time. (And it was one of the first books I read this year!) I did prefer Koch's other book, Summer House With Swimming Pool, though.

    Side Effects May Vary is already on my "To Read" list, so I'm glad you loved it! I'm also adding Fourth of July Creek because it sounds exactly like my kind of book.

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  23. Too bad the "Unknown Americans" wasn't better but it's no surprise that lots of books have great ideas, but not great delivery. I've added "Fourth of July Creek" to my list though. I love all the "feels" when I read. "Side Effects" looks good too. I love the title.

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  24. I enjoyed My Heart and other Black Holes very much! I want to read Side Effects May Vary as soon as possible. I am currently reading Level 26.

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