Best Price Daughter of Smoke and Bone Review

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Daughter of Smoke and Bone Review

I would like to start off this review by saying that I really didn't want to read this book. The people who decided on the back of the book description did a crappy job explaining this story in an interesting way. Now that I have read it, the back looks good, but from a fresh perspective, it fell flat. If it weren't a Vine book, given to me for free, I would have never picked it out among the thousands of books out there. I am so glad I gave it a try.
This complex story is about a girl who has no idea of who she really is. Her life has been filled with creatures that would cause terror to most but have been family to her. Karou is a strong, talented seventeen year old who helps her "family" of demon like characters collect teeth. The teeth have a use, but Karou has never found out what exactly. She just goes to designated sights through portal doors to collect the teeth and then goes back to her private art school and her one friend. Her lonely life is interrupted by the sight of an angel who is trying to put a stop to the teeth trade and the creatures who traffic them. Even though he should destroy Karou ,he can not bring himself to kill her due to her similarities to his long lost love. What follows is an intriguing tale of forbidden love in a lush, imaginative world.
I know, I know, collecting teeth sounds so...weird. I promise that the author pulls this off and then some. I struggled with what to say without giving too much away, but I wanted to tell more than the back cover. Karou is an interesting heroine who is beautiful, exotic, and real all at the same time. The world building is really the star of this novel. Everything is different than anything I have read. Yes, it has angels in it, but the author still makes everything fresh.
On a different note, I would not recommend this book to younger teens. Not only is it a little more complex, there is sex and sexual situations. I would say sixteen and up as an absolute minimum in age requirement. As an adult, this is one of those YA books that transfers just fine.
Overall, I really liked this book, and I will be looking for the sequel to help ease the cliffhanger ending.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone Overview

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages--not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.When one of the strangers--beautiful, haunted Akiva--fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

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Best Buy for Through My Eyes Review

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Through My Eyes Review

Reading this with my daughter has been a gift I'll treasure forever. I hadn't expected a young man to have much wisdom to share just being so young (and he addresses that nicely), but I have found more than just the story enjoyable - the book has been a great conversation piece for me with my 10 year old daughter. I am grateful Tebow created this story for family and friends to share together. What a gift!
Example - the chapter about Tim's mom's pregnancy impressed me with the delicacy and dignity he (with Nathan Whitaker) uses to offer the story. Here, I had expected a more evangelical Tebow (which I would have been fine with), but it never got "preachy" - just inspiring and touching the heart deeply.
Generally, to me, Tebow seems to present his faith as HIS and absolutely the only right answer FOR HIM. He doesn't express his faith as the only truth for everyone, but rather uses his platform to explain how valuable it has been to him personally. I didn't get the feeling that he was holding himself up as the gold standard whatsoever (again, I might have been just fine with that, because he does seem to be a fine modern example of a young man dealing with fame and faith beautifully, and, besides, I couldn't be offended because I happen to agree with him in this respect).
I am thrilled his story has been genuine, heartfelt and inspiring. And he hasn't really even lived but a small portion of his lifetime yet - so I can't wait for the sequel! :)
I hope that one leads to the greatest heights of his hopefully legendary career. More importantly, a legendary LIFE :)
UPDATE: BOOK SIGNING, TATTERED COVER, DENVER 06-04-11 > What a class act this man is! Took my daughter and my neice to have their books signed. They both feel so blessed that they got to shake his hand as he looked sincerely into their eyes and told them it was HIS honor to meet THEM! OMG - to see a child's heart touched (and eyes tear) from hearing such an inspiring remark from someone who is larger than life to them both. He treated them as if they were the only people there for that moment.
My neice leaves in 6 days to work at orphanages in Africa for 3 weeks and was overjoyed that I gave her Through My Eyes to read on her trip. She's going to LOVE having this book with her - in her hands and in her heart as she works in Africa! GB2 to Mr. Tebow!

Through My Eyes Overview

Over the course of the last five years, Tim Tebow established himself as one of the greatest quarterbacks in the history of college football and a top prospect in the NFL. During that time he amassed an unparalleled resume-winning two BCS national championships, becoming the first sophomore in NCAA history to win the Heisman trophy, and in the face of massive public scrutiny, being drafted in the first round of the NFL draft by the Denver Broncos.

Now, in Through My Eyes, Tebow brings readers everywhere an inspirational memoir about life as he chose to live it, revealing how his faith and family values, combined with his relentless will to succeed, have molded him into the person that he is today. As the son of Christian missionaries, Tebow has a unique story to tell-from the circumstances of his birth, to his home-schooled roots, to his record-setting collegiate football career with the Florida Gators and everything else that took place in between.

At every step, Tebow's life has defied convention and expectation. While aspects of his life have been well-documented, the stories have always been filtered through the opinions and words of others. Through My Eyes is his passionate, firsthand, never-before-told account of how it all really happened.


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Lowest Price Shadowfever: A MacKayla Lane Novel Review

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Shadowfever: A MacKayla Lane Novel Review

This book was very hard to review without spoiling anything. I can honestly say it was the most engrossing book I have ever read. From the beginning, until the very last words I was completely sucked in. In fact, I actually cried while reading the very first chapter, it was that emotional in such a short amount of time. All of the pressing issues are solved and the questions are answered. Only one major question remained at the end of the book, but the answer was something Mac decided she didn't really need to know. I don't have a problem with this as a little mystery makes things much more interesting in the end.
Mac is thoroughly tested over and over in this book, but just as she has in the past, she survives, she endures, and somehow comes out the other side stronger. She has grown so much from the girl that stepped off the plane, yet somehow never once lost who she really was at the core, despite being pulled in so many different directions. I understand now why everyone believed she only had a slim chance of choosing the "good" side of the prophecy. The odds against her were almost insurmountable, and a lesser person would have failed where she persevered. I truly admire her, and her willingness to stand up for what she believes in. I don't think a better person could have been picked for the fate of the world to rest on. Oh, and just as a little side note, she does finally kiss a man that she can't breathe without, and finds that breath is of little consequence. As far as who that man is, well you will just have to read Shadowfever yourself to find out. ;)
I'll admit, as much as I wanted this book, I also was a little hesitant to read it. I wasn't sure how just one book could tie up all of the issues and leave me with a sense of happiness and satisfaction. I am very happy to say that I was wrong and that I should never have doubted the author. The book was every bit as good as the predecessors and left me more than satisfied. Many times after reading a final book in a series I will feel almost hollow and just generally disappointed. Not because the book was bad, but because I just didn't feel any satisfaction in the ending or knowing that I was saying goodbye to the characters. With Shadowfever, this just is not the case at all. The ending is everything it should be, leaving me happy and content, an absolutely rare feat in any final book.
I would highly suggest not reading this book if you haven't read the first four. You need that foundation to give this one the justice it deserves. As the Author promised, it is a story about light, not darkness. However, as they say, the night is always darkest before the dawn and that definitely is the case with Shadowfever. Be prepared for one heck of a roller coaster ride full of countless emotions that will leave you reeling, and desperate to know what happens next. If I could rate this higher than a "five," trust me, I would. I hope everyone enjoys Mac's final trials in life, love, and war as much as I did. My hat goes off to the author for this amazing world she created and the awesome cast of characters. Bravo!

Shadowfever: A MacKayla Lane Novel Overview

“Evil is a completely different creature, Mac. Evil is bad that believes it's good." MacKayla Lane was just a child when she and her sister, Alina, were given up for adoption and banished from Ireland forever. Twenty years later, Alina is dead and Mac has returned to the country that expelled them to hunt her sister's murderer. But after discovering that she descends from a bloodline both gifted and cursed, Mac is plunged into a secret history: an ancient conflict between humans and immortals who have lived concealed among us for thousands of years. What follows is a shocking chain of events with devastating consequences, and now Mac struggles to cope with grief while continuing her mission to acquire and control the Sinsar Dubh-a book of dark, forbidden magic scribed by the mythical Unseelie King, containing the power to create and destroy worlds. In an epic battle between humans and Fae, the hunter becomes the hunted when the Sinsar Dubh turns on Mac and begins mowing a deadly path through those she loves. Who can she turn to? Who can she trust? Who is the woman haunting her dreams? More important, who is Mac herself and what is the destiny she glimpses in the black and crimson designs of an ancient tarot card? From the luxury of the Lord Master's penthouse to the sordid depths of an Unseelie nightclub, from the erotic bed of her lover to the terrifying bed of the Unseelie King, Mac's journey will force her to face the truth of her exile, and to make a choice that will either save the world . . . or destroy it.From the Hardcover edition.

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Lowest Price Shipwrecked (Kindle Single) Review

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Shipwrecked (Kindle Single) Review

I was familiar with the story because I was told it in person around the campfire years ago. It was a great feat of strength and survival with a bit of humour thrown in.
To read Mishka's story not only put it in colour but in High Definition.
I downloaded it at work just before lunch hour and even though people were waiting on me for lunch break, I had to keep reading and couldn't wait to get back to the story.
One thing that I don't care for is when writers write for the sake of writing. I like a good story told by a great story teller. If the author can write a great story without pissing around all day, then I can stick around to the end. I think that Mishka took a great story, a true story, and added the colour and surround sound to turn it into a great 3D experience for the reader.
Good job, I want to say now go out and produce more of these great stories but I am afraid that you may not always survive the research part.
Normy Iguana

Shipwrecked (Kindle Single) Overview

In the Year of the Shark, a chance encounter between a ne'er-do-well writer and a tropical storm left him marooned on the deserted end of a Caribbean island and charged with the rescue of his four shipmates. There, Mishka Shubaly learned some valuable life lessons - among them that in the absence of whiskey, wine and water, urine will get the job done.

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Best Buy for Unlikely Friendships Review

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Unlikely Friendships Review

I am an animal lover, and this book made me smile. The stories are so sweet, and the photos are beautiful. There are so many wonderful stories of unexpected animal relationships. This would be a great book as a gift, or just to have around as a pick-me-up. Loved it!

Unlikely Friendships Overview

It is exactly like Isaiah 11:6: “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid . . . " Written by National Geographic magazine writer Jennifer Holland, Unlikely Friendships documents one heartwarming tale after another of animals who, with nothing else in common, bond in the most unexpected ways. A cat and a bird. A mare and a fawn. An elephant and a sheep. A snake and a hamster. The well-documented stories of Koko the gorilla and All Ball the kitten; and the hippo Owen and the tortoise Mzee. And almost inexplicable stories of predators befriending prey-an Indian leopard slips into a village every night to sleep with a calf. A lionness mothers a baby oryx. Ms. Holland narrates the details and arc of each story, and also offers insights into why-how the young leopard, probably motherless, sought maternal comfort with the calf, and how a baby oryx inspired the same mothering instinct in the lionness. Or, in the story of Kizzy, a nervous retired Greyhound, and Murphy, a red tabby, how cats and dogs actually understand each other's body language. With Murphy's friendship and support, Kizzy recovered from life as a racing dog and became a confident, loyal family pet.

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Lowest Price The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals Review

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The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals Review

Since I read Eric Schlosser's "Fast Food Nation" over five years ago, I have refused to eat any fast food of any kind. Both morally and nutritionally, my position is that if I were to eat that food again, I would be tacitly accepting an industry that is abhorrent on so many levels. Knowing what I now know, that degree of cognitive dissonance is simply too great for me to overcome.
When my son was born two years ago, my thinking about food choices returned and has become an important part of my day-to-day consciousness.
When I first read about "Omnivore" online, I found the premise compelling. What exactly am I eating? Where does it come from? Why should I care? Exactly the kind of book that I'd been looking for, especially as I try to improve my own health and try to give my little guy the best start in life.
I bought the book as soon as it came out and found it to be highly enjoyable, yet almost mind-numbingly disenchanting. We all know about corn and cows and chickens and how the government subsidizes their production (mainly through corn subsidies). But Pollan has given me a completely new view of corn, its processed derivatives, and secondarily, has made me rethink my view of the farmers growing this stuff and the industries who buying it. There is so much wrong with this picture.
Corn, in the wrong hands, can be used for some terrible things, among them high fructose corn syrup (a major player in the obesity epidemic) and as feed for cows (who get sick when they eat it, requiring anti-biotics!). I can't compartmentalize anymore, just because meat tastes good. As Pollan clearly outlines, there is a very selfish reason why the beef industry doesn't want us to see inside a slaughter house. Many of us would never eat it again if we saw how disgusting and cruel the process typically is.
In the section on the ethics of eating animals, Pollan compellingly summarizes animal ethicist Peter Singer's case against eating animals, making a strong argument for vegetarianism. Then he tries to argue for a more moderate (read: carnivorous) world view, and I have to admit, I wasn't convinced. I am a lifelong meat eater, but am seriously thinking about switching to a vegetarian diet. I can no longer reconcile the slaughter of animals with my own appreciation of them. And beyond slaughter, there are plenty of health benefits to eating a plant-based diet.
Here's my bottom line: If you aren't prepared to question your views on food, or are afraid of what you might learn, then you really need to avoid this book. This has all made my head spin and my heart ache over the past month. Faced with the facts, I actually feel as though I am mourning the loss of my old diet. But I am terribly ambivalent about becoming a vegetarian, not at all happy to be making such a drastic (yet healthy) change. I am embarrassed about it, and worried about how I will deal with a meatless lifestyle in the years ahead. I am glad Pollan opened my eyes to this, but secretly wish I weren't so curious about these issues. The truth hurts.

The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals Overview

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Best Price The Magicians: A Novel Review

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The Magicians: A Novel Review

Stop thinking this is a fantasy book. I know, I know, it's called "The Magicians," the plot synopsis references all three of the most famous fantasy series and describes a handful of familiar fantasy tropes, including the school of magic and the fairy tale land come to actual life. But forget all of that. I have read more fantasy books than I can remember -- I'm named for a character in perhaps the most famous fantasy series of all time -- and I'm telling you: "The Magicians" is not a fantasy.
It has fantastic elements, yes. There is magic; there is a school for magic, where the characters learn to cast spells, using hand gestures and arcane language and strange mystical components -- Ziploc bag full of mutton fat, anyone? -- and there is a voyage from this world to another, a land of naiads and fauns and magical speaking animals, gods and demons, kings and queens, quests and wishes. But this book is something very different from the usual fantasy novel. In "The Magicians," Lev Grossman has done something unusual, and remarkable, perhaps even unique: this is a grown-up fantasy. This book is to fantasy what "The Grapes of Wrath" is to travel books, what "The Metamorphosis" is to self-help: so much more depressing and visceral and funny and horrifying, and genuine, and fascinating, and hard to read and therefore valuable, that it doesn't belong in the same category despite sharing some central traits. The setting is imagined, and there are supernatural things that happen, but make no mistake: this is a serious novel.
Where the characters in most fantasy books are heroic, larger than life, the sort of people we wish we could be, these magicians are not: the characters are too close to plain old humanity, flawed, contradictory, foolish and foolhardy, to stand in as idealized versions of ourselves. Where most fantasy books provide an escape from our reality, this book does not. In point of fact, the moral of this book is that escape is not only impossible, but dangerous and harmful to attempt. The hero, Quentin Coldwater, attempts to escape every serious situation he faces, and every time, he ends up worse off than he would have been if he had just been able to deal with it, honestly and sincerely. But his response to his worsened circumstances is to try to escape again -- with predictable results. Every step Quentin takes is the wrong one, and every step sinks him deeper and deeper into a quagmire. The book gets hard to read: not because the writing is anything less than excellent, as it is top notch from first page to last, but because the urge to reach into the page and slap, shake, and eventually throttle the main character becomes overwhelming. But that desire, that feeling, should be familiar to every adult who has thought back on his or her life, and shook his or her head, thinking, "Why did I do that? How could I be that stupid?" That desire to smack Quentin is no different from the desire to smack our younger selves, and sometimes, that's a terribly annoying feeling to have, which makes this a somewhat annoying book to read.
The real triumph of this book, however, is that it is not only a serious novel, despite what I have been saying. Grossman is able to describe a world of wonder and imagination, and populate it with characters who are utterly unworthy of the magic all around them, who appreciate nothing, who completely flub their great chance -- just like I would have done if I lived through this experience, just as most of us do with our great chances in our real, mundane, unfantastic lives, which are also as full of wonder as any dreamed by a teller of tales. And because the characters are so real, so easy to relate to, it makes the fantasy seem just as real (which, of course, makes the real world just as fantastic). Brakebills reminded me of my own college experience, and yet it is a magical place. Fillory is indeed a fairy tale land come to life in this book, and I found myself wishing that I could believe I would have handled Fillory better than Quentin does -- but knowing that I would have done almost precisely the same things, made the same choices and the same mistakes. And the ending is glorious: the climactic action scene is thrilling and impossible to put down; the revealed secrets are both surprising and satisfying; the final resolution is, if not completely happy, at least hopeful.
I won't say that this is a great book, on par with "Of Mice and Men" and "Catcher in the Rye" and "To Kill a Mockingbird," but I will say that it is closer to those than it is to "The Hobbit" or the Xanth books. If you are a fan of literature, of thinking about your reading, then you must get this book, especially if you enjoy fantasy. If you are just looking for an escape, look elsewhere -- because this is not a fantasy. Or at least, it isn't only a fantasy. It's a wonder.

The Magicians: A Novel Overview

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Best Price Victory and Honor Review

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Victory and Honor Review

I've been a W.E.B. Griffin fan for almost a decade now, which means I've been waiting impatiently for quite a while for each new release in each and every series that Griffin has written. Unfortunately, I've found a few of his recent novels a bit lacking compared to his previous works. In particular, I found it painful to read through his previously recent book "The Outlaws" (Dec. 2010) which I gave 2 stars. I know that sentiment is shared by other Griffan fans and is also reflected by the average 2.5 star Amazon ratings of his recent books versus 3.5-4+ ratings of older works (out of 75+ reviews per book).
I'm glad to say that this book is a definite improvement on some of his lower quality recent works! It's not one of his best, but for me, it was definitely an acceptable and fun read.
This book flows smoothly from start to finish. I was originally going to wait, but ended up purchasing an electronic version of the book on a whim a bit past midnight. A few hours - and one book - later, I finally looked up from my reader to see the first signs of daylight appear outside my window.
---
PROS:
--- Flows well. - While reading it, I don't have an urge to skip entire parts. The writing flows smoothly and makes you interested in wanting to turn each page as quickly as possible so you can find out what's next. For me, "The Outlaws" was a book that didn't flow well and which I wanted to skip whole sections, only to force myself to read it hoping that it would get better (hint: it didn't). That thankfully was not a problem with this book.CONS:
--- Limited / Tightly Focused Story - The story and plot is a lot more focused compared to previous books in this series. It almost seems (or is) linear in terms of what happens and what is being told. In previous books you'd have different sides, action happening simultaneously in different regions, etc. In this novel, it's almost entirely one side and following a group of people in a linear fashion. You get a much more limited view and much more limited action. There's also no major twists or mysteries.
--- Limited Characters Involved - This novel primarily focuses on a handful of characters with a small supporting cast. True, most stories only have a few main characters, but compared to previous novels in the Honor Bound series, the amount of character involvement diversity is a lot smaller. I guess one way to explain the difference is that in previous novels you might get at least a few pages (if not dozens) on the action or words of minor characters. In this novel, you'd get sentences instead (if at all).
--- Too short! - Ok, this might just be the age-old problem where the fan just wants more and more. And yes, that is definitely a factor. However, let's do a strict page count comparison using Amazon's hardcover page count figures. This book "Victory & Honor" has a page count of 320 pages. Compare that to "The Outlaws" in Dec. 2010 with 432 pages (although I'd take 320 good pages over 432 mediocre pages any day!). Further compare that to 464 pages in "The Vigilantes" in Aug. 2010 or 496 pages in "The Honor of Spies" or 528 pages in "The Hunters"... I think you get the picture. This book is 100 pages (1/3rd the current length!) shorter than recent releases and nearly 200 pages (2/3rds the current length!) shorter than older releases, which probably makes this one of the shortest works released by W.E.B. Griffin that was part of his main series.
---
While upon reflection I felt that there were elements of this book that were lacking, it is indisputably a huge improvement on recent books of Griffin's like "The Outlaws". Was I disappointed in the limited scope of the novel? Yes. Do I think Griffin could have done a better job or that his previous works are better? Yes. However, did I also enjoy myself while I was reading this novel? Yes.
For me, I read works by authors like W.E.B. Griffin for casual pleasure. If I have a good time while reading it and am smiling while I reflect upon it right after, I'm happy. To be honest, it was only while writing this review that I fully grasped the parts of the book that I felt were lacking as they were not issues or concerns while I was reading. Hence, despite its shortcomings, I gave it 4 stars.
---
DO NOT GET THIS BOOK:
If this will be your first W.E.B. Griffin book or your first book in the Honor Bound series, I strongly suggest you get one of his earlier works. It's probably best if you start out at the beginning of a series (both because all those books are great, but also because it'd give you a chronological progression of events as you inevitably acquire more of his works from that series).
If you're looking for a book with hidden meanings, multiple twists, and a complex plot, don't get this book.GET THIS BOOK:
If you're a long time Griffan fan (I guess we'd get his book anyways no matter what!), if you've read previous books in the Honor Bound series and want to find out what happens to the characters, or if you have some time and just want a very casual straight-forward read.

Victory and Honor Overview

The spectacular new book in New York Times-bestselling author W.E.B. Griffin's Honor Bound saga of World War II espionage. Wars come to an end. But then new ones begin. Just weeks after Hitler's suicide, Cletus Frade and his colleagues in the OSS find themselves up to their necks in battles every bit as fierce as the ones just ended. The first is political-the very survival of the OSS, with every department from Treasury to War to the FBI grabbing for its covert agents and assets. The second is on a much grander scale-the possible next world war, against Joe Stalin and his voracious ambitions. To get a jump on the latter, Frade has been conducting a secret operation, one of great daring-and great danger-but to conduct it and not be discovered, he and his men must walk a perilously dark line. One slip, and everyone becomes a casualty of war.

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Best Price Maine Review

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Maine Review

I began reading this book hesitantly and with low expectations. The story sounded intriguing, but I didn't know what to expect based on the other reviews I had seen. I have to say, though, that I loved this story from beginning to end. I liked that the book essentially had four narrators, all women from the same extended family, but from different generations and different immediate families, if that makes sense. We hear from each of them several times throughout. Each woman gets her own chapter when it's her turn to narrate, and key plot points are revealed or explained in bits and pieces from each woman's perspective.
For me, the characters were the best part of the book. I could identify with all of them, but with one in particular. They were all so unique, so interesting and quirky, yet completely believable. The writing was simple but flowed well. Honestly, I couldn't put the book down, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for an easy but pleasantly layered read.

Maine Overview

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Purchase Cheap Safe Haven Review

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Safe Haven Review

This certainly isn't a traditional sappy love story that Sparks usually writes. Sure it has the love story and it's set in North Carolina, but he puts in an element of danger. I have read all of his books and I love them all, however I am definitely tired of the "I love you" on the first date that practically occurs in all of his novels. The rest of this novel makes up for that quick love. It truly is impossible to put down. I made the mistake of starting it before bed, figuring I would read a few chapters and go to sleep - Well, I stayed up all night and finished it. They way it's written is strategic and effective in keeping the reader wanting more (which is why I had to finish it in one night). Sparks has said that this is the next movie adaptation and I'm sure it will work well. There is something for everyone: love story, family life, internal conflicts, danger, and a twist at the end. Well worth the money (the physical book is more $ than the Kindle version - so I don't know what everyone is complaining about; he's a best-seller, it came out yesterday - of course it's not going to be $5!) Overall, I loved it and I don't regret my purchase at all. I'm just sad I finished it already! Can't wait for the next one!

Safe Haven Overview

When a mysterious young woman named Katie appears in the small North Carolina town of Southport, her sudden arrival raises questions about her past. Beautiful yet self-effacing, Katie seems determined to avoid forming personal ties until a series of events draws her into two reluctant relationships: one with Alex, a widowed store owner with a kind heart and two young children; and another with her plainspoken single neighbor, Jo. Despite her reservations, Katie slowly begins to let down her guard, putting down roots in the close-knit community and becoming increasingly attached to Alex and his family.But even as Katie begins to fall in love, she struggles with the dark secret that still haunts and terrifies her . . . a past that set her on a fearful, shattering journey across the country, to the sheltered oasis of Southport. With Jo's empathic and stubborn support, Katie eventually realizes that she must choose between a life of transient safety and one of riskier rewards . . . and that in the darkest hour, love is the only true safe haven.

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Before I Go To Sleep: A Novel Review

I'm not prone to over-the-top hyperbole, but I must say that S.J. Watson's debut "Before I Go To Sleep" caught me by complete surprise. I knew very little about the book and so went into the experience with no preconceived notions or expectations. And I'll tell you--I quite loved this book! In fact (cue hyperbole), it may just be my favorite book of 2011 thus far. The narrative structure of Watson's book is a complicated trick to pull off--and before I gush--I never fully believed it. Most of the story is structured as a diary, if you will, recounting daily events. In many cases this journal is hastily written, and yet it is just so thoroughly professional, polished, complete, and detailed. I know the character was a latent writer, but the prose is just too lush and descriptive to be random recollections and musings done in a time pinch. But even though I never really fully bought into this aspect, the book made me a believer with its compelling plot and challenging questions.
Very quickly, the story concerns a woman with an unusual memory deficiency. Every morning she awakes with no idea of who she is, where she is, and who is sleeping in bed next to her. Her husband must start every day hitting the highlights of her life and condition caused by a trauma many years in the past. Working with a tenacious new doctor, Christine starts to document each of her days in a journal. Keeping track of daily events and discoveries starts to link her full story together, but it might be a story best left unraveled. What begins as a harrowing psychological drama soon gives way to a suspense thriller where Christine doesn't know who to trust. She can't even trust herself!
Watson tells a killer tale, really entertaining. But beyond pleasurable reading, the novel had me questioning what I'd want in a similar circumstance. Is it always best to know the truth? After all, ignorance is bliss. When you can't distinguish memory from fantasy, can you start to build a meaningful life? If you can never reciprocate in a relationship, how much allegiance do your loved ones owe you? When is a condition so problematic as to be insurmountable? The novel's greatest strength is that it really challenges the notion of reality. Is it a finite construct or something a little less tangible? Watson digs to the very soul of Christine and it is fascinating, disturbing, and memorable.
The last time I had such a visceral response to a novel, it was Emma Donoghue's "Room" (one of my three favorite books of 2010). I felt the frustration, anguish, fear, and desperation. Any story that can elicit such reaction or emotion out of my cold dead heart earns my unequalled respect. Again, I'm not saying that the novel is perfect--its central mystery is not as mysterious as I might have liked--but the journey to the that truth is devastatingly heartfelt and fraught with peril and uncertainty. Again, I loved this book! And for getting inside my brain so completely, I have to give it the highest ranking from a purely emotional level. Try it! KGHarris, 4/11.

Before I Go To Sleep: A Novel Overview

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Then Came You Review

I'd be lying if I said that I love everything Jennifer Weiner has written. While I consider myself quite a fan, I have found my enthusiasm for her work waning a bit with her last few books. I desperately needed a Weiner novel to redeem my faith in her as an author. When I was offered a review copy of Then Came You I was both thrilled and hesitant. I wanted to love one of her books again but was afraid I would be disappointed. Disappointed, I was not!
Then Came You was absolutely fabulous! Written like a Jodi Picoult novel with different narrative voices or points of view, Then Came You tells the story of four women, with little in common, who become hopeless entangled with each other through a surprising common bond: a child. With infertility and science at the core of this novel, Then Came You is surprisingly emotional. How each of the four women come together to play a role in the life of this child is both beautiful and heartbreaking.
Weiner crafted a very well-written story. The characters came across as very honest and genuine. The plot of the novel, while it could have easily become bogged down by the mundane or unimportant, flowed crisply and really kept me engaged. I couldn't put this novel down because I was so invested in the characters and the plot. Weiner also evoked much emotion from me. I laughed aloud at portions of this book. I also cried.
Then Came You was an amazing read. One that I thought about long after I read the final page. I highly recommend this novel.

Then Came You Overview

An unexpected love story'Jules Strauss is a Princeton senior with a full scholarship, acquaintances instead of friends, and a family she's ashamed to invite to Parents' Weekend. With the income she'll receive from donating her “pedigree" eggs, she believes she can save her father from addiction.Annie Barrow married her high school sweetheart and became the mother to two boys. After years of staying at home and struggling to support four people on her husband's salary, she thinks she's found a way to recover a sense of purpose and bring in some extra cash.India Bishop, thirty-eight (really forty-three), has changed everything about herself: her name, her face, her past. In New York City, she falls for a wealthy older man, Marcus Croft, and decides a baby will ensure a happy ending. When her attempts at pregnancy fail, she turns to technology, and Annie and Jules, to help make her dreams come true.But each of their plans is thrown into disarray when Marcus' daughter Bettina, intent on protecting her father, becomes convinced that his new wife is not what she seems' With startling tenderness and laugh-out-loud humor, Jennifer Weiner once again takes readers into the heart of women's lives in an unforgettable, timely tale that interweaves themes of class and entitlement, surrogacy and donorship, the rights of a parent and the measure of motherhood.

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Smokin' Seventeen: A Stephanie Plum Novel Review

Posted at [...]
You don't know me. I'm a fan of your work, have been for years. I have gotten many friends and family hooked on Stephanie, Joe, Ranger and Lula. I had every one of your books. I love your work with Charlotte Hughes and the Full Series. I have laughed and teared up, I have giggled and gasped for years, but it's time I stand up and shout.
Your last three Stephanie Plum Novels have left me feeling cheated. With each new installment I hope for more. But I get the same old antics. I read a recent interview with you, in which you say that when an author finds a winning formula, to stick with it and milk it for all it's worth. I take issue with this. How can an author expect their fans to keep buying a novel with the same plots, same games, same lines, same everything? The books seem to be getting shorter, the font larger, and the quality poorer, all with a hardcover price. I used to recommend your books to all who would listen, but now? I shy away and that sucks!
In your latest installment of the Stephanie Plum Series, Stephanie turns into a Hoochie. I'm sorry to say it. I don't like the word, I don't like the meaning, but it's what you turned her into. I didn't mind so much previously when she would steal a few kisses here and there between Ranger and Joe (and hell Diesel) but having her sleep with both men, in the same book, on back to back nights is just shameful. Gramma Bella SHOULD put the eye on her! Joe SHOULD dump her, so should Ranger. So what, now that Joe and Stephanie have an 'open' relationship they can sleep with whomever they want, whenever they want, and each other? Yuck. I was a Joe fan in the beginning of the series, but then he turned rather chauvinistic, spouting how she should be barefoot and pregnant and not working, and that got my feminist hackles all up and pissy. I've always been a Ranger girl, but I can't understand how he can still be around playing for scraps. Is her vagina magic? Are you gearing up to make her like Anita Blake? Because if So, please for the love of books don't!!!
Characters need growth in a series. Stephanie has not grown, in fact I could argue that she has regressed. After seventeen books, she STILL can't shoot her gun, she can't use handcuffs, she blows up cars, and has no desire to learn self defense. I'm sorry, but she's an idiot. And not a funny one anymore.
To me, and I know that I am not alone, Stephanie used to be a source of comic relief. She made me laugh and took me out of the seriousness of my life or other more suspenseful books I was reading at the time. But she's no longer funny, she's a joke.
If you are tired of writing her, then please stop.
If you think your fans will stop reading if she chooses to stay with ONE of the men, they won't.
If you are doing this for the money, I'm sorry.
I won't be buying anymore of your novels.
If this alienates me in the book blogging world, so be it. I can't stand it anymore. I've held my council for the last three books and I can't do it anymore. It's my opinion, but I am not alone. I implore you to see reason. Please go back to writing meaningfully. Make Stephanie grow up a bit. Make her see that she has to learn.
I hate to see her the way she is. I hope you have a plan. I pray to the editors that you have a plan. Please don't string us along. Don't make us hate her. We fans, and Stephanie as well, deserve better than what you are giving us.

Smokin' Seventeen: A Stephanie Plum Novel Overview

Where there's smoke there's fire, and no one knows this better than New Jersey bounty hunter Stephanie Plum. Dead bodies are showing up in shallow graves on the empty construction lot of Vincent Plum Bail Bonds. No one is sure who the killer is, or why the victims have been offed, but what is clear is that Stephanie's name is on the killer's list.Short on time to find evidence proving the killer's identity, Stephanie faces further complications when her family and friends decide that it's time for her to choose between her longtime off-again-on-again boyfriend, Trenton cop Joe Morelli, and the bad boy in her life, security expert Ranger. Stephanie's mom is encouraging Stephanie to dump them both and choose a former high school football star who's just returned to town. Stephanie's sidekick, Lula, is encouraging Stephanie to have a red-hot boudoir “bake-off." And Grandma Bella, Morelli's old-world grandmother, is encouraging Stephanie to move to a new state when she puts “the eye" on Stephanie.With a cold-blooded killer after her, a handful of hot men, and a capture list that includes a dancing bear and a senior citizen vampire, Stephanie's life looks like it's about to go up in smoke.


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The Leftovers Review

My only experience with Perrotta prior to this was two movies - Little Children, which I liked, and Election which I didn't. His books definitely seem like something up my alley, but I'd never been compelled to pick one up.
This one sounded ideal for me. I love the different portrayals authors make of those "left behind" or in this case, "Leftover."
The prologue, for me, was genius. Absolutely hilarious. I thought it was setting the stage for what was going to be an uproarious social satire. It was not. Though there were moments of humor beyond the start, they were few and far between. What I found most about this book was that it was subtle.
For a long while it felt to me like "The Stepford Wives: The Rapture Years". I'm not a plot point type of reviewer, so this is nothing that you can't read on the jacket copy. There was an event, and a lot people disappeared from the planet. But this isn't some kind of 12 Monkey's type world. It's about normal people, with cell phones and jobs, coming to terms with what happened, and moving on with their lives. The aftermath of the aftermath if you will.
I was feeling really critical of the book because for a long time it felt so emotionless. Some people lost entire families, yet there was no grief. I didn't feel connected to anybody, and the back of the book said "a colorful cast of characters" and I just wasn't getting it, at all (with one minor exception.)
And then it sort of transcended and all came together. And what felt subtle and emotionless as I was going through it, left me feeling ultimately as though I'd been on an emotional journey the whole time.
Being unfamiliar with Perrotta's work, I'm not sure if this is par for his course. But I think that this book has potential to feel disappointing at points through the course of reading it. If it feels like that, I'd encourage you to stick with it. The book rarely veers from its subtlety, and I'm not promising a great ending ... But the way in which it evolved was quite masterful.

The Leftovers Overview

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The Paris Wife: A Novel Review

At the end of Ernest Hemingway's memoir, A Moveable Feast , he writes of his first wife, Hadley Richardson, "I wish I had died before I loved anyone but her." After their divorce, Hemingway marries three more times, each one prompt to follow, like serial wives. This is the story of the woman that loved him before he was famous.
Paula McLain researched their biographies, letters, and Hemingway's novels, culling the material to imagine a story of their charmed and battered marriage in Paris, from 1921-1926. The tortured life and tragically foreshadowed suicide of Ernest Hemingway is public knowledge, as was his legendary womanizing. McLain's novel dodges the palaver, blending the facts that are known together with credible inference, creating a plausible, informed depiction of Hemingway and Hadley's marriage--the quotidian, the famed, the halcyon, the harsh.
The author writes from Hadley's point of view, inviting the reader inside their most tender and demolishing moments. A few choice sections belong to Hemingway's perspective, urgent and telling. The narrative deftly folds in their histories--the years before they met--artfully revealing early and private woes, which ripple and sometimes hiss beneath the ardor. We get the back stories without muddled exposition; by the time it arrives at the failure of their union, readers have acquired a fluency of Hadley's nature and Hemingway's core.
Hadley sustained several painful childhood experiences that eerily parallel Hemingway's, and was a recluse and "spinster" at twenty-eight, when she met and was courted by the twenty-one-year-old Hemingway. He was a struggling, ambitious writer, home after the shock and agonies of the Great War, where he endured trauma and its aftereffects, described today as PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). He couldn't sleep without a light. His mother was an insufferable controller, and he didn't want to marry a woman like that.
The pliable and less progressive Hadley was a sound match for the needy, talented, and egocentric Ernest. He required a woman who would unshakably support his career. Hadley was a generous lover and devoted supporter who sacrificed her personal ambitions for Ernest. She was also playful and warm and smart, but not savvy and edgy like the emerging modern women of the 1920's.

In prose that reflects the style of the era, McLain illustrates a glittering world of élan expatriates and literati. Hadley and Ernest (and their baby, Bumby) lived in the (then) modest Latin Quarter, and soon became a vibrant part of the Left Bank artists, such as Gertrude Stein, Zelda and F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound, James Joyce, Ford Maddox Ford, Jean Rhys, and many others. Open marriage, and mistresses living in the same house with wives, were not unheard of in this set.
Blithe talk, bottomless glasses of whiskey, and bottle after bottle of wine was the norm in their active social lives. In the mornings, the hair of the dog was the cure for the night on the town. Jaunts to Pamplona to see the bullfights were illustrated by McClain in all their gory splendor.
During this time, Hemingway wrote copiously and tirelessly, jealous of some of his peers who were already established. The germination and completion of The Sun Also Rises is covered, as well as his ruthless parody of Sherwood Anderson's work, The TORRENTS OF SPRING. Hadley loved him utterly, propped him up buoyantly, and assured him of his inevitable success. Eventually, Ernest acquired more expansive needs, and Hadley needed less, but got more than she bargained for. McClain limns their marriage as more than just a cautionary tale.
"To keep you from thinking, there was liquor, an ocean's worth at least, all the usual vices and plenty of rope to hang yourself with. But some of us, a very few in the end, bet on marriage against the odds."
This isn't standard "chick-lit" fare, nor is it cloying. I recommend this to anyone interested in the psyche of Hemingway, his first marriage, and his genesis as one of the greatest American authors of our time--from a wife's perspective.

The Paris Wife: A Novel Overview

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Best Price State of Wonder Review

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State of Wonder Review

I am amazed by Ann Patchett's ability to write such riveting books about such a breadth of topics. Bel Canto (P.S.) is one of the most beautiful books I've ever read, and I never thought she'd be able to match that. With this book, I think she has come close.
State of Wonder is the tale of an epic journey. After an employee of a pharmaceutical company dies in the Amazon, a fellow researcher is sent to find out exactly what happened to him. She is also tasked with clarifying on the company's behalf exactly how much progress has been made on the drug being studied there. The visual picture of the Amazon painted by Patchett is vivid and captivating and the characters are very well-defined and sharply rendered. The plot moves along at a nice pace, though admittedly it does slow a bit in the middle.
As for criticism, the science in the book is a little vague and seems slightly "off". However, the experiments are a sort of backdrop and not the main focus so it's not that big a deal. And Patchett does manage to cover an awful lot of political and ethical issues related to drug development and reproduction that are so nuanced as to appear to occur using sleight-of-hand.
Overall, another very strong book from Patchett and a definite recommend.

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Chasing the Night Review

I look forward to the Eve Duncan books, and this had all the good points of the earlier ones. It was very readable and difficult to put down. The new co-protagonist is Catherine Ling, a very brave and highly skilled CIA operative with a checkered past of childhood poverty & abuse and a life on her own at a very young age. Nine years ago, her 2-year-old son Luke had been stolen from her. Unlike Eve, who knows in her heart that her daughter Bonnie is dead, Catherine believes Luke to be alive. She has come to Eve to ask her to age-progress her son so that when she rescues him (as she firmly believes she will), she will know him. Although Eve is at first reluctant, Catherine's passion wins her over. Aided by Kelly, a 14-year-old genius whom Catherine had rescued and who can see patterns where others cannot, by Joe, and by Venable, her CIA superior, they discover where Luke is being kept. And then they set out to rescue him.
The book is exciting and action-filled. Catherine is one of the cleverest and most capable women I have come across in a long time. Kelly is very likeable and is sure to grow into an amazing woman as well. Johansen does well with strong females.
One does wonder why Eve & Joe never married and why she hasn't had a child with him; does he resent that her obsession with Bonnie has prevented him from true fatherhood?
I was disappointed that we never found out who the little girl was whose skull Eve was working on in the beginning of the book, why she was so brutally murdered, and if the killer was caught & brought to justice. I do think this should at least have been mentioned. I missed Jane, but there was no real part for her in the story, so it's not major.
My main objection, and the reason I gave this 4 stars rather than 5, is that all of the villains lately seem to be horrible, sadistic, truly evil psychopaths (or sociopaths?). The one who was holding Kelly & her father captive was just the first. Not only the main villain but his henchmen were all cut from the same cloth.
I'm getting sick of it. Why can't Eve come up against a villain who is charming, intelligent, not sadistic, and only kills when absolutely necessary--a Thomas Crown type perhaps? I would enjoy a true battle of wits and less blood.

Chasing the Night Overview

A CIA agent's two-year-old child was stolen in the night as a brutal act of vengeance. Now, eight years later, this torment is something Catherine Ling awakens to every day. Her friends, family, and colleagues tell her to let go, move on, accept that her son is never coming back. But she can't. Catherine needs to find someone as driven and obsessed as she is to help her- and that person is Eve Duncan. She knows that Eve shares her nightmare, since closure is also something that eludes Eve after the disappearance of her daughter Bonnie. Now, Eve must take her talents as a forensic sculptor to another level, using age progression as a way to unite Catherine with her child. As Eve gets drawn deeper into Catherine's horror, she must face looming demons of her own. Bonnie's killer is still out there. And a new killer is taunting Eve and Catherine at every turn. Is Catherine's son alive, or not? These two women endure the worst fear any mother can imagine in Iris Johansen's latest thrill ride, a gut-wrenching journey into the darkest places of the soul.

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Inside of a Dog Review

Scientifically, we might know a lot more about rats than we do about dogs. There are some experimental labs that have dogs as subjects, but lab rats get a lot of scientific attention. Dogs get a lot of domestic attention, but scientific study of dogs, and the ways they get along with humans and with other dogs, has not been a high concern. That may be because we think we know dogs; they are frank and open, and we live closely with them. Alexandra Horowitz thinks we don't know enough, and some of what we know is wrong, and she is out to change our perception of dogs and to do it scientifically. She has to work at making herself a detached observer; she might be a psychologist who has studied cognition in humans, dogs, bonobos, and rhinoceroses, but among the first sentences of her book _Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know_ (Scribner) is, "I am a dog person." Is she ever. She didn't deliberately make Pumpernickel, her mixed breed live-in friend (she is an advocate for adopting mutts), a subject of scientific study, but Pump was her entrance, for instance, to the dog park where she could film the interactions of other dogs for acute detailed study later. She gives loving anecdotes of the late Pump in every chapter to illustrate her more objective findings, nicely showing how her scientific examination of dogs paid off in her understanding of her own dog. There are people who worry that scientific examination of any phenomenon takes away the mystery and specialness of the phenomenon, and among the fine lessons in this amusing and enlightening book is that this is far from true.
Dogs do not sense the world we do. To take one of Horowitz's examples, a rose for humans is a thing of visual and olfactory beauty, and also has connotations of a love gift. Dogs are having none of this. It is just another plant among all the plants that surround it; it does not look attractive, and unless some dog has urinated on it recently, it does not smell attractive. Otherwise, the rose doesn't exist. The dog's world is one largely of smells. Everyone knows that dogs are better at detecting odors than we are. It isn't just that they can smell more scents, at thinner concentrations, than we; it's that they gaze at the world by sniffing, and it presents a very different world from ours. Smell, for dogs, has plenty of meanings, but one of them is time. A strong spell is new, a fading one is old. Not only that, but the future may be borne on a breeze if the dog is walking upwind. In scents, the dog doesn't just experience the current scene in an olfactory way, "...but also a snatch of the just-happened and the up-ahead. The present has a shadow of the past and a ring of the future about it." Dogs are evolutionarily descended from wolves, and sometimes dog owners are advised to treat their dogs as lower-caste members of a pack. Horowitz prescribes caution in such interpretations. Dogs are not wolves and have cast away many wolf traits during their evolution. A person (non-wolf) attempting to subdue a dog (non-wolf) in wolf fashion is missing what is special about the human-dog bond. Dogs, for instance, like eye contact; wolves avoid it. There are many experiments described here (some of which Horowitz has herself been in charge of), and one of them involves "gaze following". Dogs can look at our eyes, and can tell where we are looking, so they look over that way, too. The sections of the book that are the most fun are the ones on play. Dogs play more than wolves do, and unlike most animals, they play as adults. It is a bit of a mystery; it isn't essential for dogs to play to get their needed social skills, and it does cost energy and the risk of injury. Horowitz describes the play cues dogs give that can only be seen by humans using very slow video replays, but which keep the play non-aggressive for the participating dogs. Dogs are good at following these rules; a strapping wolfhound and a tiny Chihuahua can negotiate a play session efficiently, with the former handicapping itself to enjoy the mock aggressiveness of the latter.
Horowitz has provided a useful service in her brightly-written summary of experiments and current theories on the minds of dogs. I have an idea that people keep dogs around not just because of their goofy affection for us, or because they are so entertaining, but simply because they are interesting. It is fun to see how a creature who has evolved an intelligence different from our own gets along in the world. Horowitz's book helps explain that interest, and heighten it.

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Purchase Cheap If You Lived Here, I'd Know Your Name: News from Small-Town Alaska Review

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If You Lived Here, I'd Know Your Name: News from Small-Town Alaska Review

Life in Alaska is different. Life in small-town Alaska is quite a bit different. Haines, a community in the Southeastern region of the state, has a population of only around 2,000 people. The high school has a mere 100 students, with a grand total of two school buses to transport them. Though most of the roads are now paved, there is still not a single traffic light. Nobody puts numbers on their houses, because there is no individual mail delivery - all mail is picked up at the post office. There are few land routes in and out of the town, and air and water travel are limited to good weather conditions. The town has no hospital. Those needing medical care beyond what the local clinic can attend to must either fly to Juneau, Alaska's capital, or drive to Whitehorse, in the Yukon Territory.
Author Heather Lende moved to Alaska with her then-newlywed husband right after graduating college, spent a short time in Anchorage, and then traveled to Haines where she has lived ever since. She writes the obituaries for the Chilkat Valley News, the local newspaper, as well as a column entitled "Duly Noted," which consists of short blurbs about current minor news related to the community. Through her work at the paper, gathering information for the obituaries she writes, she has become very close to many members of the community, and has many heartfelt and interesting stories to tell. This is the focus of the book.
Other reviewers have criticized the book for being too "self-centered" but that is exactly what a memoir is - a personal reflection. Flip to the back cover and you'll see "Travel / Memoir" printed right above the barcode. Lende's writing accomplishes two things: It takes us into the close-knit world of a remote Alaskan town, and it relates what the author has seen and experienced to her own life, showing us how living in Haines has affected her personally. There is no plotline to the book. It is a collection of vignettes about life and death in the town and surrounding area, and they are arranged in no distinct topical or chronological order, but nevertheless manage to come together into a pleasing whole. The vignettes are also interspersed with excerpts from Lende's "Duly Noted" column, giving us further insights into what is important and noteworthy to people in this small community.
This is not grand literature, but the writing is clear and enjoyable to read. It is not really as humorous as it is advertised to be (though there are some funny moments), but I do not think this was the intent in the first place. It is a heartfelt glimpse into small-town life, and though I am originally from Alaska myself, I have no experience living in a small, remote community, and found the book intriguing. Though I don't think I could live permanently in such a place, I am now very interested in visiting Haines myself, and I think the book may well have the same effect on other readers. It's a light, quick read, but definitely worthwhile, even if all you're looking for is a way to pass the time on an airplane (which is, in fact, how I read the book). I'd certainly recommend giving it a shot.

If You Lived Here, I'd Know Your Name: News from Small-Town Alaska Overview

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