The Sea of Monsters

The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this second book, but not as much as I expected. It lost some of the surprise factor that the first book held. The plot was so-so, slightly predictable. I thought the main characters displayed a lot of naivete in order to make the plot work, which made it unbelievable [in a "duh" not a "wow" kind of way]. There were good comedic moments and lots of action.

Pub. Date: March 2007
Series: Percy Jackson and The Olympians Book 2

Synopsis: Percy Jackson's seventh-grade year has been surprisingly quiet. Not a single monster has set foot on his New York prep school campus. But when an innocent game of dodgeball among Percy and his classmates turns into a death match against an ugly gang of cannibal giants, things get well, ugly. And the unexpected arrival of Percy's friend Annabeth brings more bad news: the magical borders that protect Camp Half-Blood have been poisoned by a mysterious enemy, and unless a cure is found, the only safe haven for demigods will be destroyed. Percy and his friends must journey into the Sea of Monsters to save their beloved camp. But first, Percy will discover a stunning new secret about his family one that makes him wonder whether being claimed as Poseidon's son is an honor, or simply a cruel joke.

Recommended Reading:
The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan
The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan

The Last Summer (of you and me)

The Last Summer of You and Me by Ann Brashares

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

As a fan of The Traveling Pants series, I wanted to really like this book. I struggled reading it. I found it depressing. The character relationships were too distant and complicated for me to understand. The one character I wanted to get to know and understand wasn't given much of a plot.

Pub. Date: June 2007


Synopsis: Set on Long Island's Fire Island, The Last Summer (of You and Me) is an enchanting, heartrending page-turner about sisterhood, friendship, love, loss, and growing up. It is the story of a beach community friendship triangle-Riley and Alice, two sisters in their twenties, and Paul, the young man they've grown up with-and what happens one summer when budding love, sexual curiosity, a sudden serious illness, and a deep secret all collide, launching the friends into an adult world from which their summer haven can no longer protect them.

The Nasty Bits

The Nasty Bits: Collected Varietal Cuts, Useable Trim, Scraps, and Bones by Anthony Bourdain

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What I liked: Anthony Bourdain has a magical way with words. I just love the way this guy writes. I also like that the book is broken up into sections and that the stories are short enough that I could read a few before going to bed each night.


What I didn't like: This book wasn't as much about the food as a bitter rant about what technology (aka the celebrity chef) has done to food. There was a lot of food terminology I didn't understand that I wish he had explained better.

Final Thoughts: While it was bitter and burned out, showing the darker side of the kitchen, it was still a great read.

Pub. Date: May 2006

Synopsis: The good, the bad, and the ugly, served up Bourdain-style.
Bestselling chef and No Reservations host Anthony Bourdain has never been one to pull punches. In The Nasty Bits, he serves up a well-seasoned hellbroth of candid, often outrageous stories from his worldwide misadventures. Whether scrounging for eel in the backstreets of Hanoi, revealing what you didn't want to know about the more unglamorous aspects of making television, calling for the head of raw food activist Woody Harrelson, or confessing to lobster-killing guilt, Bourdain is as entertaining as ever. Bringing together the best of his previously uncollected nonfiction—and including new, never-before-published material—The Nasty Bits is a rude, funny, brutal and passionate stew for fans and the uninitiated alike.

Recommended Reading:
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
A Cook's Tour by Anthony Bourdain
Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain
Bone in the Throat by Anthony Bourdain
Devil in the Kitchen by Marco White

MAX

Max by James Patterson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What I liked: Have I mentioned that the author wastes no time getting into the action? [no? how remiss of me] The humor and attitude that make these characters and stories so great continues strong in this installment of the series.

What I didn't like: The plot was fuzzy and, hello, cliffhanger.

Final Thoughts: While I'm looking forward to the next book release, I'm hoping that time will pass in "book world" so that we can see these kids as grownups.

Pub. Date: January 2010

Synopsis: Maximum Ride and the other members of the Flock have barely recovered from their last arctic adventure, when they are confronted by the most frightening catastrophe yet. Millions of fish are dying off the coast of Hawaii and someone-or something-is destroying hundreds of ships. Unable to discover the cause, the government enlists the Flock to help them get to the bottom of the disaster before it is too late.

While Max and her team are exploring the depths of the ocean, their every move is being carefully tracked by Mr. Chu-a criminal mastermind with his own plans for the Flock. Can they protect themselves from Mr. Chu's army of mercenaries and save the ocean from utter destruction?


Recommended Reading:
The Final Warning by James Patterson
Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports by James Patterson
School's Out Forever by James Patterson
Fang by James Patterson
The Angel Experiment by James Patterson

A Highlander For Christmas

A Highlander for Christmas by Sandy Blair

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

What I liked: A slightly original time travel romance. The main characters were the focus of the story and the wacky side characters stayed mostly in the background.

What I didn't like: There wasn't much of a climax to the story.

Final Thoughts: A decent story but probably not something I'll remember reading in a month.

Pub. Date: October 2007

Synopsis: `Tis the season to be jolly-but Boston antiques dealer Claire MacGregor isn't looking forward to a solo Christmas, or cocoa for one, or trimming the tree by herself. But company's coming. Claire is fooling around with an old puzzle box and when it opens.a gorgeous, studly laird appears. Thumbs down: Sir Cameron MacLeod is centuries old. Thumbs up: he doesn't look it. And Cameron is tall, dark, and lusty-very lusty.
Who is this lovely lass? And where is he? Before awakening in the 21st century in Claire's bedroom, the last thing Sir Cameron MacLeod remembers was readying for war with a rival clan. Despite her strange clothes and odd ways, Claire is bonny and brave. He's about to find out that love is a many-splendored thing indeed.

The Final Warning

The Final Warning by James Patterson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What I liked: As usual there was no waiting for the action. Max is starting to act like a teenage girls in many ways.
What I didn't like: Some of the situations are too easily or quickly ended. About the time I get myself ready for a battle, the situation falls short of my expectations. The story is starting to lose some of the "family" feeling there was in the beginning.
Final Thoughts: I still enjoy this series and look forward to the next book.

Pub. Date: January 2009

Synopsis: Fourteen-year-old Maximum Ride and the other members of the "Flock"--Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman and Angel--are just like ordinary kids--only they have wings and can fly.
Max returns in book 4 of the series in a chilling adventure unlike any other. Safe havens for the six highly-sought-after winged kids have become increasingly hard to find-so the flock takes refuge in Antarctica with a team of environmentalists studying the effects of global warming. In this remote wilderness-whether pursued by corrupt governments, bioengineered bad-guys, or the harsh forces of nature-survival of the fittest takes a new twist! Teens, adults, and educators will savor this motivating cautionary tale about a real-life peril that may affect their own future.

Recommended Reading:
Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports by James Patterson
Max by James Patterson
School's Out Forever by James Patterson
The Angel Experiment by James Patterson
City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

I WANT

It's no secret that I love technology. I love gadgets. I have a kitchen full of cooking gadgets. And there are so many gadgets that I WANT, the only thing holding me back is my pocketbook telling me NO. I want an IPod, but I settled for a $15 mp3 player. I want a Blackberry, but common sense has prevailed on that issue (for the moment) and I'm sticking with my generic cell phone that doesn't do anything except text and talk.

When eReaders first came out, I laughed. I told friends that I would never switch from real books to electronic books. I thought the idea was hokey and they'd never last. However, as eReaders have evolved and the prices have dropped, I WANT. I haven't been able to justify it yet as I have 30 books still on my TBR shelf and, well, the $130 price tag on most of them puts them outside my budget. Factoring in the expense of buying books (I get 99% of mine from paperbackswap.com and 1% from half.com) makes an eReader is even further outside the budget margin. But I WANT.

I looked at a Sony eReader a few months ago. It was hate at first sight. Not intuitive at all. Several of my friends have The Kindle or The Nook and all love it. A friend who has The Kindle and her mother has The Nook has given me her thoughts on both (preferring The Kindle) and also keeps me updated via interesting articles regarding prices, comparisons, etc. I've watched prices drop drastically over the last six months and I expect they will continue to do so. When they drop below $100, I'll seriously start to consider which of the two readers will work the best for me.

In the meantime, I keep my eyes open for giveaways on various blogs that I haunt. This week I found this:
Simply Stacie has teamed up with Luxury Reading to giveaway The Kindle (and a few perks thrown in too).

And for the record, I'll probably never be completely paperless, there's just something about holding a book in my hands and the feel and smell of paper... besides, what would I do with my bookmark collection?