The Maze Runner by James Dashner {B+}
I started listening to this at the end of February and finished it in March. Oh, this book. 62 chapters. Took forever and a day. Toward the end, I found myself just wanting to finish it because I wanted to see what the ending would be. It was pretty suspenseful.
The Maze Runner is like Holes at the beginning (a book I didn't like) + Lord of the Flies (which I never read) + The Hunger Games (which I loved). It becomes more and more Hunger Games-ish as you go.
When I took it back to the library, they asked me if I wanted books 2 and 3. That's right: it's a trilogy. For you all that lovelovelove your futuristic dystopian trilogies, here you are.
Enjoy.
I did like it. I think it'd be great for literature circles. It's classified Young Adult simply because of the age of the characters and if it weren't so long it would be perfect for high school English. I also think it would make a very interesting movie. Oh, it already is!
Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris {B+}
Making progress on this Sookie Stackhouse series…3 more books to go…
The Paris Wife by Paula Mclain {B+}
This is a fictionalized memoir (if that makes sense) of Ernest Hemingway's first wife, Hadley. I admit, I knew nothing about her or Hemingway before this book. I picked it up because I read about it somewhere…
I liked it. It was, on the whole, kind of depressing. Ernest is a jerk. There's adultery. All they do is drink. They never have any money. She never has new clothes. But they travel all around Europe as a job. Surprise, surprise: divorce is imminent. But not before he suggests a 3-way marriage of sorts.
Here's an excerpt (paraphrasing: mine)
Hadley: It's time to get your poor wife to bed.
Ernest: Poor Cat, go on home then. Do you want me to find someone to walk with you?
H: You want to stay?
E: Of course. I'm not the one who's tired.
Hemingway was a class act indeed. I saw some people pinning inspirational quotes by him on Pinterest. I don't think I could do that…while I've never actually read any of his books, I don't think he was particularly inspirational.
But I do feel like I learned something of famous Americans through this book. They were friends with the Fitzgeralds. Has anyone read Z? I think I'm going to look into that for April…
Grave Surprise by Charlaine Harris {A}
I grabbed this audiobook because the library was out of Sookie Stackhouse books and I needed something to listen to in the car. It's a series written by Charlaine Harris: The Harper Connelly Mysteries. At first it was different…SO not True Blood. Harper is SO not like Sookie. Change isn't easy and all that. I really enjoyed it though. I mean, truly liked this book.
Unfortunately, I was unobservant enough to start with #2 of 4. So it's back to Grave Sight (#1) and then I'll move on from there.
I'm not easy to please when it comes to fiction because I don't have the patience for rom-com and I didn't like Divergent (a characteristic that, I believe, defines me). If you think your tastes are similar to mine and you're looking for a great story with strong lead characters, try it.
Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris {B}
Ah ha! Starting at the beginning…Not as good as Grave Surprise, but not bad either. I definitely am enjoying the series.
Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist {A+}
See separate review here.
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A flashback to January books and February books!
The Maze Runner is like Holes at the beginning (a book I didn't like) + Lord of the Flies (which I never read) + The Hunger Games (which I loved). It becomes more and more Hunger Games-ish as you go.
When I took it back to the library, they asked me if I wanted books 2 and 3. That's right: it's a trilogy. For you all that lovelovelove your futuristic dystopian trilogies, here you are.
Enjoy.
I did like it. I think it'd be great for literature circles. It's classified Young Adult simply because of the age of the characters and if it weren't so long it would be perfect for high school English. I also think it would make a very interesting movie. Oh, it already is!
Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris {B+}
Making progress on this Sookie Stackhouse series…3 more books to go…
The Paris Wife by Paula Mclain {B+}
This is a fictionalized memoir (if that makes sense) of Ernest Hemingway's first wife, Hadley. I admit, I knew nothing about her or Hemingway before this book. I picked it up because I read about it somewhere…
I liked it. It was, on the whole, kind of depressing. Ernest is a jerk. There's adultery. All they do is drink. They never have any money. She never has new clothes. But they travel all around Europe as a job. Surprise, surprise: divorce is imminent. But not before he suggests a 3-way marriage of sorts.
Here's an excerpt (paraphrasing: mine)
Hadley: It's time to get your poor wife to bed.
Ernest: Poor Cat, go on home then. Do you want me to find someone to walk with you?
H: You want to stay?
E: Of course. I'm not the one who's tired.
Hemingway was a class act indeed. I saw some people pinning inspirational quotes by him on Pinterest. I don't think I could do that…while I've never actually read any of his books, I don't think he was particularly inspirational.
But I do feel like I learned something of famous Americans through this book. They were friends with the Fitzgeralds. Has anyone read Z? I think I'm going to look into that for April…
Grave Surprise by Charlaine Harris {A}
I grabbed this audiobook because the library was out of Sookie Stackhouse books and I needed something to listen to in the car. It's a series written by Charlaine Harris: The Harper Connelly Mysteries. At first it was different…SO not True Blood. Harper is SO not like Sookie. Change isn't easy and all that. I really enjoyed it though. I mean, truly liked this book.
Unfortunately, I was unobservant enough to start with #2 of 4. So it's back to Grave Sight (#1) and then I'll move on from there.
I'm not easy to please when it comes to fiction because I don't have the patience for rom-com and I didn't like Divergent (a characteristic that, I believe, defines me). If you think your tastes are similar to mine and you're looking for a great story with strong lead characters, try it.
Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris {B}
Ah ha! Starting at the beginning…Not as good as Grave Surprise, but not bad either. I definitely am enjoying the series.
Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist {A+}
See separate review here.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
A flashback to January books and February books!
