The Name of this Book is Secret--Review

The Name of This Book Is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I had pretty high hopes for this book. It often gets compared (rightly) to Series of Unfortunate Events and I loved the beginning of that series. Everything Unfortunate Events had right, this book has wrong. The intelligent and quirky children are forgettable. Neither of the main characters struck me as someone I'd want to be friends with. The interrupting narrator, which I quite enjoyed in Unfortunate Events, seemed gimmicky and annoying in this book. The mystery is so-so; I never quite cared whether or not they solved it. I always felt Lemony Snicket was just twisted enough to let bad things befall his characters at the end of the book so I often worried about them. I never found myself getting concerned for the characters in Secret. All in all, a pretty disappointing read. Perhaps kids who got hooked on Snicket will enjoy this series, and if it motivates them to read that's excellent and my opinion of the book doesn't matter.



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Bud Not Buddy--Review

Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I accidentally spoiled the ending of this book for myself while I was reading. Curse my wandering eyes. It's a shame that happened because this might have been a five-star if things had turned out differently for me and my sneaky-peaking. Poorly-timed spoilers aside, this is a fun and addictive book. I always read before I go to sleep. This book made me want to wake up in the morning to read some more. Bud's narrative voice is realistic and funny. This book was a joy to read and I recommend it everyone of middle school age.



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I apologize for the dearth of real posts of late. When I have a limited amount of free time I'd rather read than blog. Sorry.

The View from Saturday--Review

The View from Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I originally read this when I was in sixth or seventh grade and I hated it. It's one of the few books from my childhood that I remember actually disliking. As I was rereading it this week, I understood why I didn't like it. The timeline would be a little hard to follow for a middle school student and there is so much that is hinted at, yet never stated outright which probably frustrated the part of me that likes everything to come out tied up neatly. Additionally, a big part of the book requires the reader to take a leap of faith and trust in the impossible. As soon as I got to that part this time around, I literally said aloud, "This why I hated this book so much."
Now, I love this book! I'm usually drawn to quirky children in literature and this book is nothing if not full of quirky children. I recommend this book for adults who like kid lit.



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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo--Review

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This is an odd book to have received such widespread public acclaim. For one thing, it is about 250 pages too long. The story I thought the book was about, that is the story from the synopsis on the back cover, does not begin until about 100 pages in and has a satisfying ending with 100 pages still to go. That story is a good and compelling one, if a little frustrating. Readers who think they're going to be given a chance to solve the mystery alongside the protagonists will be disappointed. The clues are unavailable to the reader as they mainly involve decades-old photo albums. That said, the mystery is interesting enough to keep me curious and wanting to read into the wee hours.
Another thing that surprised me about this book is how unabashedly violent it is (though on second thought, that could be something that attracts it to the American public, warmongers that we are). Murder, physical and sexual assault, and animal cruelty abound. I like a good crime novel as much as the next girl, but this was a bit more explicit than most of what I've read before. I think it was the animal cruelty that was the worst. Steer clear of this book, PETA.
Other complaints: -There are too many characters to keep track of with names too similar to each other. (Berger and Birger? Was that necessary, Larsson?) I'll attribute that to my limited knowledge of Swedish names, since before I read this book the only name Swedish name I knew was Astrid as in Lindgren.
-There's far too much in the way of business dealings for my taste. I just found myself not caring about this part of the book and it drags on for pages and pages.
All in all, I'm glad to have read this book. I'll probably read the next in the series at some point because I like to finish what I start and even though I have a lot of complaints about this book I did enjoy it. The translation from Swedish to English is smooth and did not pose any problems. The main story and parts of the business/journalism stuff were good.
Recommended for business majors (maybe they'll find the finance parts more interesting than I did) and lovers of crime novels.



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Chocolate is Good for You

Have you ever noticed how chocolate brings out the best in you? Disregarding acne, chocolate serves to encourage good habits for me, and I'm pretty sure I'm not alone.

I came to this realization while eating Raisinets today. According to the box (and boxes don't lie), Raisinets are a natural source of fruit antioxidants. And Raisinets provide the antioxidants I wouldn't have gotten from raisins, because I don't eat raisins. Obviously the chocolate deserves some credit here.

And that got me thinking: how else does chocolate encourage healthy behaviors? Well, if you like chocolate covered nuts, you're in luck! Nuts have essential fatty acids, a low glycemic index, and are sometimes prescribed for people with some types of diabetes. Nuts also have lots of vitamins, and people who eat them are less likely to have coronary heart disease. Okay, okay, so the chocolate definitely takes away from the nuts. But what if you wouldn't eat the nuts without the chocolate? Something to chew on...

Also, I'm one of those people who really doesn't like milk. Oh, I'll have it when it's in my coffee or muffins, as well as when I'm eating...

...you guessed it. Really, people. Eating one square of a chocolate bar gives me the almost insatiable urge to guzzle half a gallon of milk, and that can't be bad for me at all, can it? (As a side note, I'll also drink milk when mixed with chocolate syrup. But who's surprised by that?)

While I'm pretty certain no doctor would ever recommend chocolate for a healthy diet, it's hard to ignore the positives it encourages too. I mean, if I'm eating it anyway, I may as well point out the benefits.

In other news, dark chocolate really is good for you.

Canines and Felines

This is how I greet my dog when I haven't seen her for basically any length of time longer than 1 hour:

"HIIIIIiiiiii, Girl!!! Whatchu doing?? Awww, such a sweet puppy! HII PEP! Come here and seeeee meeee!!! Kissy kissy, love you, smoochy face!!!"

This is how I greet my cat when I haven't seen her for a week:

"Oh, hi, Kitten. You don't really smell good like a kitten anymore, you pretty much just smell like a regular cat. Let's snuggle for one minute then I'll go back to mostly ignoring you and I'll ask you to do the same for me."

The Last Unicorn--Review

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The Last Unicorn is a beautifully written fantasy story. It is the first book I've read by Peter Beagle but now I'm anxious to read more. The story was a bit slow in the beginning, but the pace picked up within a few chapters. I don't recommend this for someone looking for a light easy read because the writing deserves to be reveled in and lingered over. Highly recommended for people who appreciate good books and good writing.



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Now I'm reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson. I'm enjoying it!

My life right now

Here are some random things about me at this moment in time:

My music tastes vary based on what I'm doing. My current workout tunes are The Eagles greatest hits. "Life in the Fast Lane" and "Already Gone" really make me feel like jogging. In the car I listen to Glee and a Michael Buble mix and I try to just let them play and not select the songs, but I have been favoring the Rocky Horror Glee album. When I'm doing work I like to listen to Gordon Lightfoot and sometimes The Eagles again. I'm absolutely obsessed with The Eagles song from their 1994 reunion "Love Will Keep Us Alive." I wake up to it as my iPod alarm every morning and for the past 20 minutes I've been listening to it on repeat and there's no end in sight. I take my obsessions very seriously.

Google calendar tells me there are 150 days until summer vacation. I'm very excited.

I'm tired of complaining that I never have time to read for fun so I started making myself read for a little while after I finish my work but before I go to sleep. Sometimes it's very late when I finish my work but I still read at least a little bit. I like it; it's a very nice thing to do right before bedtime. I even installed a little battery operated touch light right above my bed so I can turn all the lights out and still read.

I watch a lot of TV but I only watch about half of it live. I love hulu.

I hate reality TV and I always say it's because I don't care what other people are doing with their lives and I don't think it should have any bearing on my life. I don't know if that could be true, though, because I also love reading other people's blogs, which shows that I do care what other people are doing.

It took me 4 tries and many hours of edits to finally get my resume approved by the fine folks at the campus career center. Today I went to a seminar about getting a job and I thought of so many changes I need to make to that stupid document. I wish I could just write "Hire me, you won't regret it." Maybe that would be OK if I had majored in badassery, but that kind of thing does not fly in the education world.