The Odditorium by Melissa Pritchard

Review based on ARC.

There is no doubt that Ms. Pritchard has a talent with words... However, i feel she is lacking in story and flow.  I have often said that I love a well-written book, but even better, a well-told story.  The conflict is apparent in the Odditorium.

It is clear that she has a poetic and lyrical method to her prose.  But I don't care about the characters, not a single one has been endeared to me, and it feels like a well-written, albeit dry, history book.  One that I know is fiction.

But she's smart.  She is evocative with her language.  She is creative and presents thoughtful and involved perspectives.  I was almost intrigued.  I was almost interested.  I kept wanting to fall into the tales.  But I remained above, reading from an outside perspective.

If you want something literary, intelligent, thoughtful.. pick it up.  If you want to lose yourself in another place, another world... hold off.  You won't lose yourself here -- you will merely be intellectually stimulated.

THREE of five stars.

Secrets of an Old Typewriter: Stories from a Smart and Sassy Small Town…by Susie Duncan Sexton

Review based on ARC.

I'm feeling nostalgic these days and this book fit in with that mode.  While I could not relate to the time of this book, I did enjoy learning about it.  Sexton's style is easy and conversational, though not as polished as I have become accustomed to.  However, the style of the author - in its somewhat clumsy, completely accessible, old-lady-next-door way, was endearing and comforting.

Coming from a relatively "small town" (not this small) myself, and having been raised to appreciate Soda Jerks and Otis Redding, after spending over a decade out in the real world, this was a welcome saunter down simplicity.

I can understand why many were frustrated with the book.  The plot is less a plot and more a series of memories, the writing style is basic, and the references do not always involve the younger reader in its import.  However, I think if you take the book as a series of conversations with your grandma or neighbor, it becomes enjoyable and sweet.

I recommend.  It will more likely appeal to older readers who can relate to the period and the mentality -- and many younger, more impatient readers will have difficulty staying focused.  But if you're looking for that simple little break, pick it up and read a chapter or two...

(note: I was born in the late 70s)

THREE of five stars.

Haazinu (Listen Up): A Book of Prophecy by Yerachmiel Ben-Yishye

Review based on ARC.

This is an intellectually stimulating novel exploring religious beliefs and personal philosophies. I have read that some readers have been offended or confused, but I found that if you take the novel as it is presented, and do not impose your own or society's expectations on it, it was an enjoyable read.

It explores several aspects of the jewish faith, of which I have limited exposure, purportedly through a group therapy session for the terminally ill. The interweaving relationships of the men in the therapy group, combined with the riddle they ultimately attempt to solve keeps the novel engaging and the reader thinking.

As usual, I do not wish to spoil any of what the reader will discover, but I recommend to someone who is open minded about religious and philosophical beliefs and who is looking for a "thinker."

THREE of five stars.

Future Two-Fer:: Rut by Scott Phillips & Selected Shorts and Other Methods of Time Travel by David Goodberg

I'll start with the not-as-good.
Rut was received from Concord Free Press.

Rut. Rut is a not-too-distant futuristic novel that sort of tracks a biology PhD student's interest in amphibian life in the small, former ski town, Gower, Colorado. It's about 50 years in the future, and humans have already trashed the place (the earth, that is). Cars are incredibly rare (government issue and rich people, plus, I believe, people in the big cities "on the grid"), medicine is readily available for almost anything (new eyes, new hair, new limbs, boner-pills, etc.), and electricity has become almost prohibitively expensive (for things like phones and non-solar energy). Bridget, the biology student, finds in Gower a lake/pond with non-mutated (though incredibly large in her eyes) frogs, so she settles in for the long haul (a year of research, observation, and sending reports back to her base). In the meantime, she also finds a "pond" with giant tadpoles (and no evidence of any morphing into frogs), clearly mutations, and sends samples back to her base for likely use in future research and development of pharmaceuticals.

But the thing is, even all of that description is most of what happens with Bridget. There's a little romance, a little crush, a little adultury (with other characters), a local business owner with two prosthetic legs (the image on the cover, apparently), a lot of conspiracy - most of which is neatly explained by the end, and a local stiff doctor who ends up learning probably more than any other character in the novel. In other words, there is a lot of life happening, but not much climax. There came no point in the novel where I felt I just *had* to know what was going to happen next. It was all mildly interesting and mildly amusing, but neither fascinating nor inspiring. In the end, I was happy to be done with it but not too excited for whatever I

had to pick up next.

Which was...

Selected Shorts and Other Methods of Time Travel.

Review based on ARC.

This is David Goodberg's debut and a collection of shorts. I almost hesitate to put that in the beginning of the review because a lot of people avoid short story collections. However, if you like time-travel and a wry sense of humor, read it! It was a thoroughly enjoyable collection. Again, I was grateful to follow a bit of a drag-read (Rut) with something so full of life, recharging my reading-stamina.

The short stories in Selected Shorts are amusing with often serious underlying morals or implications. Following each short story was a blurb, lesson, thought, etc. -- sort of a mini-story that filled up less than a page. These blurbs were at least as enjoyable as the stories themselves and often gave me pause. The stories are tied together by the world that has been established by Goodberg, even if the characters within the stories have nothing to do with one another. (e.g., the companies that developed time travel are frequently discussed, even if a character from the first story would never come into contact with a character from the 10th story, who lived a couple hundred years earlier/later in time).

Overall, the book kept my interest and each story only made me want to read the next more. Oh, and the illustrations warrant note: they were a perfect companion! I refrain from saying anything more beyond, Pick it up and read it. It is worth your time. (hehhehheh...)

Rut: THREE of five stars. Recommended for people with a less-than-optimistic view of our not-too-distant future.

Selected Shorts: FOUR AND A HALF of five stars. Recommended for people who like time travel and have a sense of humor... not to mention Hope for our future!

The Next Queen of Heaven by Gregory Maguire

This is one of those novels where you care... but then you don't. For some reason, as interesting and extraordinary as the characters were supposed to be, most of the time I could not bring myself to *really* want to know what was going to happen. Maybe because they were *all* written as extraordinary, they all became ordinary within the novel.

I will be more specific. You have a stereo-typical evangelical christian who gets conked on the head while sneaking in the basement of the neighboring catholic church with, of all things, a statue of a catholic figurehead, her "slutty" and "stupid" daughter, her bully son, and her other highly effeminate, "confused" son. After being hit in the head, Leontina (the mother)'s behavior becomes bizarre---though never quite bizarre enough---cutting off the beginnings of her words, acting like a child in many ways, and eventually shutting down (much more interesting examples exist, but I do not wish to spoil any of the story). This all happens while her children, 17, 15, and 13 (ish.. I am not sure of the age of the youngest), are "taking care of" her and attempting to move forward and grow in their own lives. Just to add a little more, the daughter is also suffering from a boyfriend who is suddenly unavailable, as well as being the object of grown men's attentions.

And that's just one of the story lines. The other centers around three gay guys in this small new york town who need to practice for their singing group in a building housing a dozen or so elderly nuns. One of the guys, who also happens to be the musical director for the catholic church in which Leontina hit her head, is fighting demons from his past, another of the guys is fighting his too-catholic parents as well as a life-threatening disease, and the third is jewish.

In under 300 pages, the book became a series of events instead of a novel wherein the reader could actually feel attached to any of the characters. In the end, it was difficult to feel anything---sympathy, joy, laughter, pain---for the characters because they had all become caricatures of who they could have been.

Criticism aside, Maguire is still a great writer with interesting approaches, good ideas, and a nice use of words.

I would recommend this book to people whose favorites books are among the "drama" or "life" books.

THREE of five stars

Blue Moon by Alyson Noel

This was a little melodramatic and teenagey-angsty for me, but it was still good... especially once you got beyond the "I-can't-do-anything-productive-because-I-love-you-too-much" phase of the book. A lot of the book was predictable---certainly, nothing was particularly shocking---but, all in all, an enjoyable read for a Sunday afternoon. I would appreciate a little more depth in the characters, especially as the series continues, but I would still recommend the book to any teenager interested in immortals and fated love stores.

THREE of five stars.

Any Given Doomsday by Lori Handeland

Review based on ARC:

This book does what many books in this genre do: it offers a quick, page-turning experience with supernatural characters, "romance," and a grand climax. I would never describe the story or its telling as unique or groundbreaking. However, it offers no more and no less than it promises to. Any Given Doomsday is the first in what appears to be a relatively formulaic series, setting up characters, relationships, and of course, the premise of an impending doomsday. Although I agree with many of the reviewers that the sex scenes and reasons behind them are arguably unnecessary and pornographic, I did not think that they completely detracted from the story around them.

Lori Handeland's style is easy and thoughtless--I never found myself tripping over a passage or a word as awkward or out of place. Instead, the story flowed quickly and easily from its pages. That being said, I have no great draw toward any subsequent Phoenix Chronicles books or Handeland books. Like many supernatural-formulaic books written these days, it was enjoyable while it lasted, but not particularly memorable or lasting. If you're looking for a supernatural fantasy with stock characters and a somewhat predictable story-line, but which will allow you to pass hours of your time without much effort, this is the book for you. If you're looking for something more complex and original, I suggest passing.

THREE of Five stars.

Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah

Review is based on an ARC.

Well, this was actually disappointing. It started off really well. It had a similar feeling to Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood, which I quite liked. But after a few hundred pages, I felt like I was re-reading, over and over again, the same passages, the same stories, at times even the same words. In addition to its repetitive nature in the story and sentences, the foreshadowing became so transparent and unsettling that I found myself, for the first time EVER, flipping to a later point in the book in frustration and disgust.

The book isn't bad. At all. I just didn't feel like it was really ready for publication. In addition to several typos and grammatical errors, the book needs more finessing and could probably lose 200 or so pages (with a tightening up of the story and rewriting several areas). Although untrue, it felt as though the author started out tracking two lives over a few decades, but then felt like she had to throw in some real drama to make sure it was, I don't know, exciting enough? But the result was a weakening of the original structure with a climax that fell far short of being climactic. It was also hard for me to believe the sincerity and steadfastness of a friendship that was *defined* but not *portrayed*. It was never quite convincing that either of the girls actually *cared* for the other and weren't, instead, merely acting out of jealousy or obligation.

In the end, I was surprised at how quickly my impression of the book changed... at 250 pages, I still felt it was quite good and I was planning out who I would recommend it to first... at 330 pages, I found myself turning pages with a scowl on my face. Even so, I still tore through the pages. I can't give this book a horrible rating because it simply wasn't horrible. But it was a bit too simplistic to have left any lasting impression.

On the plus side (there are plus sides!), the book was very easy to read, fun (most of the time), and informative. The information and facts on the political landscape through the decades, while sometimes forced and awkward, were also interesting and placed the reader fairly quickly into that decade's mindset. I was also impressed with the author's ability to write from the perspective of the girls in each decade relatively convincingly... Her portrayal of teens in the 70s was equally convincing as her portrayal of young ladies in their mid 20s in the 80s.

Overall, an average rating for an average book.
THREE of five stars.