Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice

Happy 2018 everyone!

In honor of the new year, I'm making changes/updates to this blog (again). I thought about retiring it, but it turns out people are enjoying it and I'm all about pleasing the people.

So....

I'm going to nix the format and simply let the reviews flow.  I'm also going to be posting those reviews to goodreads (tshipley1124@gmail.com) so you can friend me there and watch my progress too!  Plus it turns out on goodreads it's easier for YOU to sort my bookshelf (by star rating) and easier for ME to recommend something to you if I think you'll love it.

Anyway, I finally decided to read Interview with a Vampire.  Here's my take:

The Vampire Chronicles, #1

I didn't LOVE this book, which is sad because I remember seriously enjoying the movie. I found the book a little dry in a lot of places, which made it hard for me to get through. I liked it enough to talk abut the plot, but I found myself skipping whole chunks when I talked about it.

I find, when I read, I like chapters. They give you small goals and make you feel like you have permission to read even if you only have a short amount of time, because it's a short goal. It's a personal thing, I guess, but I found myself hating that this book didn't have them. It gave me three HUGE sections to wade through. It turns out when I know I only have 20 minutes between tasks and hundreds of pages between me and my next stopping point in the book, I just won't read because I can't get it done.

I finished this one, and that's good. But it was underwhelming and I'm sad about that.

I do own the other 2 in the series and I will try again.

2 smiles (sorry, Anne)

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Genre
Science Fiction 

Synopsis
Ender has been brought to training camp to see if he is ready to help defend Earth against the alien attackers.  The only way to determine if Ender is the one is to break him down, and see what is left when only pieces remain.  Is six-year-old Ender man enough for the job?

Why You Should Read it?
I don't know how I hadn't read this one before.  If you're like me and you missed it along the years, pick it up and go!  It's wonderful. 

What Can You Learn From the Author's Writing? 
I loved the duel story-lines giving you both perspectives at once.

Overall Rating
5 smiles

The People vs Alex Cross by James Patterson

Book #25 in Alex Cross Series

Genre
Fiction 

Synopsis
Alex finds himself on the wrong side of a courtroom after a shoot-out involving followers of Gary Soneji.  On suspension pending the outcome, Alex is back to seeing patients with his psychology practice.  But how long can that last, especially if he is found guilty?

Why You Should Read it?
If you're an Alex Cross fan, you'll read it no matter what I say (like I would).  If you're not...you should be.  This is a good place to start.

What Can You Learn From the Author's Writing? 
If you write in the same genre, you'll need to learn new tricks.  Enter James and his experts who bring you some great new tricks (used at a crime scene but brought out in court) and some coding talk.  

Overall Rating
4 smiles

113 Minutes by James Patterson

Genre
Fiction 

Synopsis
Molly Rourke's son has been murdered.  Her farm is going to crumble under the debt owed to the bank.  What lengths will she go to to solve this problem?  

Why You Should Read it?
As far as bookshots go (I'm not a fan, usually) it's got a good story here.  You don't feel like you're missing something and the characters are pretty developed.  I have to say I'm totally confused by the minutes and seconds marked to start chapters.  Someone explain that to me, please.

What Can You Learn From the Author's Writing? 
Shots chapters, as always from Patterson.

Overall Rating
3 smiles

Empire of Lies by Andrew Klavan

Genre
Fiction 

Synopsis
Jason Harrow's normal life, with a loving church-going family of faith, is rocked by a phone call from his past that he decides to answer.  From there, Jason is forced to watch as the life he has built begins to come apart.  Threatened by forces he never imagined he'd be facing, Jason must decide whether to believe in a crazy story only he would have the chance to stop, or chalk it up to insanity and risk the lives of hundreds of strangers.

Why You Should Read it?
The story is full of intrigue.  It is a great read for those who like suspense.
What Can You Learn From the Author's Writing? 
The author does this interesting thing whenever Jason is watching TV.  He makes a point to talk about the commercials that air as though they are one long commercial.  It makes it obvious that they are ridiculous without the author every having to come out and say that.

Overall Rating
3 smiles

Ain't She Sweet by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Genre
Fiction (Romance)

Synopsis
Sugar Beth has to return to Parrish, Mississippi.  A place where she ruled the high school and had everything she wanted.  But it's not her world anymore, it's the world of her enemy.  The plan to get-in, get-what-she-needs, and get-out keeps getting interrupted with memories and people from her past.  Has Sugar Beth changed, or is being in Parrish enough to bring her crawling back to bad habits?

Why You Should Read it?
As is pretty common with romance, the characters are completely lovable and relate-able.   

What Can You Learn From the Author's Writing? 
Dialogue.  Her sharp tongued duo (Colin and Sugar Beth) were simply fun to read.

Overall Rating
3 smiles

House by Frank Peretti and Ted Dekker

Genre
Horror

Synopsis
Two couples find themselves broken down at an inn in the woods.  Their plans to hunker down for the night and get help in the morning is thrown to the wayside when a dangerous killer traps them in the house.  Can they escape with their lives?

Why Should You Read It? 
It's got a good supernatural twist, which is interesting.

What Can You Learn From the Author's Writing? 
Gross details you can weave into scary stories.

Overall Rating
2 smiles.  Overall this one was not my favorite and took me too long to really get into.