Blog Archives
We Have A Winner
Congratulations to GINA@Hott Books! Gina is the winner of Telly’s $10.00 Amazon Gift Card. Just in time for the holidays too.
Thank you to all who entered. The winner was chosen by random.org. I have no idea how to put the picture up showing the winning number so I hope you trust me! LOL
Happy Holidays
11/22/63: A Novel by Stephen King -Audio Book Review
- Listening Length: 30 hours and 44 minutes
- Version: Unabridged
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
- Narrator: Craig Wasson
- Source: Purchased
About the book:
On November 22, 1963, three shots rang out in Dallas, President Kennedy died, and the world changed. What if you could change it back?
In this brilliantly conceived tour de force, Stephen King – who has absorbed the social, political, and popular culture of his generation more imaginatively and thoroughly than any other writer – takes listeners on an incredible journey into the past and the possibility of altering it.
It begins with Jake Epping, a 35-year-old English teacher in Lisbon Falls, Maine, who makes extra money teaching GED classes. He asks his students to write about an event that changed their lives, and one essay blows him away: a gruesome, harrowing story about the night more than 50 years ago when Harry Dunning’s father came home and killed his mother, his sister, and his brother with a sledgehammer. Reading the essay is a watershed moment for Jake, his life – like Harry’s, like America’s in 1963 – turning on a dime.
Not much later his friend Al, who owns the local diner, divulges a secret: his storeroom is a portal to the past, a particular day in 1958. And Al enlists Jake to take over the mission that has become his obsession – to prevent the Kennedy assassination.
So begins Jake’s new life as George Amberson, in a different world – of Ike and JFK and Elvis, of big American cars and sock hops and cigarette smoke everywhere. From the dank little city of Derry, Maine (where there’s Dunning business to conduct), to the warmhearted small town of Jodie, Texas, where Jake falls dangerously in love, every turn is leading, eventually of course, to a troubled loner named Lee Harvey Oswald and to Dallas, where the past becomes heart-stoppingly suspenseful – and where history might not be history anymore. Time-travel has never been so believable. Or so terrifying.
Telly Says….
I can’t say that I loved this book nor can I say I hated it. I am in the middle. In my opinion it was not our typical King and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It was long like a lot of his books are and I love that. It had multiple stories which I also loved.
What I didn’t love was that it took a long time to get to the ‘real’ story which was stopping Lee Harvey Oswald from assassinating Kennedy. There was a ton of stuff leading up to it, some of it added to the story, gave it background but other stuff could have been another book. I found it to be more of a love story between Jake/George and Sadie who he meets when he goes back to the 50′s and 60′s.
I am going to go against the majority as usual. I loved Jake/George, I cared about him and felt like he could be a great friend. I loved Al who got the ball rolling with the time travel stuff. BUT, I just did not like Sadie! I found her to be just a little more than annoying and whiny.
The narrator was awesome and made those long chapters of background so much more enjoyable. The book held my attention but just was not what I thought it would be. Again I say, not a bad book, but not my favorite either.
If you are a King fan give it a read. It was a nice step back in time.
 |
| 4/5 stars |
Giveaway: Cloyne Court by Dodie Katague:Premier Virtual Author Book Tours
Publisher: Three Clover Press (December 2009)
ISBN: 978-0981955339
Genre: Fiction, 328 pages
Source: PVABT
About the book:
The Real Animal House: In 1946, the “real” all male “Animal House” was born when Cloyne Court become a student co-op. In the 50 & 60s, the “beasts” waged war with the Berkeley Chapter of Beta Theta Pi, an athletically-oriented fraternity. That feud ended when Cloyne’s archenemies moved across campus. However, the real story begins when Cloyne Court went co-ed in 1972 with the arrival of sixty-two women. Katague’s sexy, reveal-all creative memoir takes place in the late 70s, soon after the women moved in. All it takes is one kiss to transform animals into horny princes.
Telly Says….
Cloyne Court was a fun book to read even though it had me shaking my head in more than a few places. This stuff really goes on? And here I always thought colleges were full of studious young adults studying, doing homework and preparing for their future. Well, to be fair, that did go on too.
Definitely a coming of age novel with a loveable main character, Derek. Imagine being young and in college and finding Cloyne Court which is run by students, affordable, co-ed and has communal showers to name just a few “perks” of living here.
It’s hard to do this book justice in a short review. The only character that I did not feel any kind of connection with was the witch on the train. She was a bit to over the top for me but had her place in the story. I enjoyed following Derek on his adventures in getting ready for real life, dealing with all types of people and situations. I laughed out loud at the dinner scenes and how where you sat and who you sat with played such a big part in college life. Just reminds us that these area still kids.
I recommend this book for anyone who has gone to college or will be going or anyone who just wants a fun read. I dare you to not think about this book next time you eat a brownie!
About the author:
Dodie Katague lived at Cloyne Court from 1977-79, while attending the University of California, Berkeley. He is an attorney and lives with his wife and family in Walnut Creek, California.
Dodie’s Website.
The Scar by Michael S. Weiner
Publisher: Vanguard Press
About the book:
As a homicide detective, David Seff witnesses some of the most gruesome things life has to offer. He puts his life in danger everyday that he comes to work, visits perilous areas most people wouldn’t ..
Article first published as Book Review: The Scar by Michael S. Weiner on Blogcritics.
The Scar is about a serial killer in Pennsylvania and the detective who is hunting him. It begins with the killing of a priest then proceeds to tell the story of the killer and how he came to be the way he is along with the hard work the police put into finding him and getting him off of the streets.
I especially enjoyed the chapters where the killer talks about himself and why he is killing:
“I also desire more than impossible dreams. I desire a life I can call my own, but that day may never come. I have a job I must do for which I have come to believe brought me back from death: to punish those who are undeserving of life.” (21)
Our killer truly feels he is doing the world a favor by eliminating these people that he sees as evil. As the book unwinds and we learn their stories, we also see they are not the upstanding citizens that people think they are. But do they deserve to die such horrible deaths?
The characters are likable and believable. I enjoyed the interaction between Detective Seff and Captain Baron. Captain Baron wants the case solved yesterday and wants the mayor off of his back and he expects Detective Seff to comply:
“I don’t need to tell you that having a serial killer roaming the streets that we’re supposed to protect makes us look bad. Not to mention it’s giving me heartburn and a bad case of diarrhea. And I don’t like having a burning sensation from my ass, so tell me you have something we can go on.” (53)
The action does not stop and only intensifies as the book goes on. The author trips us up a lot. Just when you think you may have a handle on who it is, wham, he hits us with something else and sends us on a different track! And the ending? Just let me say WOW! I never saw it coming, and I like to pride myself on being able to figure things out. Not this time. I honestly sat there with my mouth hanging open in shock!
