Review: Les Misérables

Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Do not read the unabridged version.

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Review: The Cartel

The Cartel by Don Winslow
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I liked it, but it was a little too salty for my taste.

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Review: The Way of Kings

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I did really like it. There were some of the parts that were slow, but it made the really good parts even better.

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Review: Fairest of All

Fairest of All by Sarah Mlynowski
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really liked it. I read it to my girls over several nights. Fun.

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Review: The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I liked the book, but was distracted by the switching between the two stories. I think the story of the fair would have been interesting by itself, but every time the book went from the gory psychopath's story to the whining landscape architect's story, I lost interest and just wanted to hear about the psychopath's. It was almost as if the author wanted to write about the fair, but wasn't sure if he could sell it without the salacious aspects of the murders.

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Review: The Bands of Mourning

The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really liked it/It was amazing 4.5 stars. I really enjoyed the first three books in this series, then I read The Alloy of Law, the fourth/first of the westerns and was kind of disappointed. The story and characters were engaging, but compared to the quality of the prior books, I was expecting more. Shadows of Self and The Bands of Mourning delivered. I really enjoyed this book, and am really looking forward to the seventh/final book.

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Review: Mistborn: The Final Empire

Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really liked it. Reading fantasy genre for me is like reading a Harlequin romance for some or enjoying a Justin Beiber song (or album?). When I see the covers of some of the books from this genre, I feel a little shame, and that shame is multiplied when I give the book four stars. All that said, I really did enjoy the book. The characters were great, the story line had me wanting more, and I was so happy to know that there are several other enormous books in the series. Hopefully they are as good as this one.

I have a friend describe this book to me at a party awhile back. I was having trouble following him, but I remember his saying that the characters "got power from burned metal they ate." "What a ridiculous premise for a book," I thought, but it really is a fun world Sanderson created. I had to read the first two chapters twice because I felt like I didn't get the characterization the first time through.

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Review: The Girl on the Train

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I liked it. If you are looking for a depressing book with a bunch of characters with no redeeming qualities and no likability, you should read The Girl on the Train. The story was compelling and I wanted to rush to the end because the story is so well written and the mystery is so well done. I suppose not every book needs to be inspiring, but this book should be sandwiched between a bunch of books that make me want to do better in my life. This book reminds me that everyone is horrible. It is probably good to have that reminder occasionally, but not all the time.

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Review: No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden

No Easy Day: The Firsthand Account of the Mission That Killed Osama Bin Laden by Mark Owen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I liked it. It is hard not to compare this book to American Sniper. I really didn't like American Sniper. This book is what I was expecting American Sniper to be. I really don't like autobiographies. They always seem so self serving, but this book seemed well-tempered. It helped me catch a glimpse of what it is like to be in the military. It also helps me catch a glimpse of why I am glad I never joined the military. I have great respect for those who do, but it is not something that I would be interested in. It was also interesting to hear the story of the Bin Laden operation.

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Review: Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I liked it. This is like reading a really long magazine article (or blog post). It was interesting and easy to get though. The informal delivery was distracting sometimes. Roach goes off on tangents, personal and otherwise, that don't seem to fit the book's topic, but because of the style, it feels like she can write anything she wants. I don't think I have read a book like this before, but I suspect I will be seeing more and more of them. I don't think this is a bad thing, just not something I am used to.

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Review: Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I wonder if reading Fahrenheit 451 in 2016 as a 38 year old is like listening to The Beatles as in 1991 as a 13 year old as opposed to listening to Nirvana in 1991 as a 13 year old. I love The Beatles, one of my favorite bands ever, but I doubt I really appreciated in 1991 how significant the musical contribution they were making when their music was first released. What I thought in 1991 of The Beatles is, "this music sounds cool and I enjoy listening to it." On the other hand, when I heard Nirvana for the first time in 1991, I was floored at how awesome and different the music was from what was being released at the time... and I also thought "this music sounds cool and I enjoy listening to it."

Fahrenheit 451 was a really fun read and an important read (I really hate using "important" that way, it sounds so NPR-ish), but I almost feel like I have to give it four or five stars, not because I "really liked it" or thought "it was amazing" but because if I only give it three stars because what I really thought about it was, "I liked it" I am not giving it the proper respect it deserves.

I read this book because my eleven-year-old wanted to read it and I didn't know if it was age appropriate and wanted to make sure. I am excited that she wants to read a book like this and I hope she understands it, but I suspect a lot of it will be lost on her (as I am sure a lot of it was lost on me).

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Review: Seabiscuit: An American Legend

Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is the first sports book I have ever read. I have always been dubious about sports books. I don't really like watching sports, or I don't like being sucked into the time waste that is watching sports. I have wondered when I have seen books about sports what the draw could possibly be to reading about sports. This book clarifies. While Seabiscuit is a book about sports, specifically horse racing (of all the wacky sports), it is really a history of the lives that surrounded the horse called Seabiscuit (and who named this horse anyway?). The history aspect is fascinating and I enjoyed Hillenbrand's story telling.

I read this after reading Hillenbrand's second book, Unbroken. I enjoyed that book so much I was willing to give a sports book a try. I'm glad I did.

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