Dirty Little Secrets by C. J. Omololu (Romance, Women's Fiction, Relationships, Humor) Loved this book. The show Hoarding can be an interesting show to those that may not be familiar with the issue. This book is a fictional look into a teen girl's living with her mom who hoards. It shows the strain on relationships between a hoarder and their family and friends along with the challenges. -- Added by AnotherJessica on 01/13/2013 Add Comment This was one of those books that the minute I finished it, I wanted to talk about it - asking my friends and family, "If you were Lucy, what would you do?" -- Nimble Novice on 01/13/2013   So do think she made the right choice? -- AnotherJessica on 01/13/2013   I never saw it coming- the ending took me totally by surprise! But two of the people I asked afterward said it was the ONLY thing she could do. -- Nimble Novice on 01/13/2013   I agree with you! I didn't expect it but I would say it definitely made sense for the story and all that Lucy had experienced. -- AnotherJessica on 01/20/2013

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell (Science Fiction, Fantasy, Science, Health) I was so very confused by this book, yet continued to read it because friends urged me to do so. I hated the writing style and found it very hard to follow. I often read two books at once, so I hope it wasn't me! -- Added by cubansuzan on 01/20/2013 Add Comment Many say that "there is no new thing under the sun." I'm not sure, but this book certainly makes the case that some things, especially the struggles of might versus right, have never and will never change. That sounds bleak, but the novel actually has a hopeful tone. It shows that people can improve themselves and that we are interconnected in surprising ways. Obviously, I think this is a great book. -- zstock on 01/24/2013   I was interested to read these different takes on this book. I read and loved "Black Swan Green" by this author, but apparently "Cloud Atlas" is VERY different from that book. I enjoyed the author's writing, so maybe I'll give it a try, but I'll consider myself forewarned that it won't be easy going. -- ChristyAV on 01/25/2013   I just finished this and found that I enjoyed it -- the interweaving of the stories kept me reading and I was very interested to find out what he'd come up with next. I will say that I would totally understand how not everyone would like this book. -- Erin on 02/05/2013

Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor (Science Fiction, Fantasy, Science, Health) In this sequel to "Daughter of Smoke and Bone", Kaoru and Akiva are on separate sides of the battlelines, each trying to atone for their separate sins. Kaoru has returned to Eretz and found the Chimera cities destroyed an dher people anhialated. In order to defend and protect the last of the Chimera people, non soldiers living peaceful village lives, from the Seraphim - who will not rest until all of the "beasts" are dead - she joins forces with the White Wolf and takes up Brimstone's mantle to become the new resurectionist. Meanwhile, Akiva the "Beast Bane" is trying to secretly protect and warn the innocent Chimera, all the while seraching for news about Kaoru. Koaru and Akiva have few allies, numerous enemies and a shared flickering hope for peace. However, in order to unite their warring peoples, they will first have to turn their hands to treachery and lies. -- Added by JZivoin on 01/21/2013 Add Comment Did you read Days of Blood and Starlight? Or just the first in the trilogy so far? Your review was for book 2, but you posted book 1. -- trublu on 01/22/2013   Yes, this was for "Days of Blood and Starlight", but for some reason, the cover for "Daughter of Smoke and Bone" is showing up instead. -- JZivoin on 01/23/2013

Exploring the World of Physics by John Hudson Tiner (Science Fiction, Fantasy, Science, Health) Wonderfully informative book packed with interesting and easy to learn basics in the world of physics while giving all the due credit to our one and only Creator, God. A definite keeper! -- Added by RC on 01/07/2013 Add Comment The book is rather basic. And I prefer my religion in Church and not in scientific tomes. -- purdueman on 01/10/2013   I understand your views. I, however, prefer to read everything from a Christian perspective to better strengthen my faith and spiritual walk with the Lord. -- RC on 01/10/2013

ON THE BEACH by SHUTE, NEVIL (Romance, Women's Fiction, Relationships, Humor) At first I was going to put this novel (originally published in 1957) about the end of human life in post-WW III Australia in the science fiction category, but it is really a tale of human relationships: how families, friends, and colleagues interact as the fatal nuclear cloud makes it way south toward Melbourne. Nevil Shute is an amazing author who tackles very complicated themes in a very straightforward and simple fashion. Whether the end of mankind would really be as civilized, or fatalistic, as this novel portrays, of course, is a different matter. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. -- Added by Indy7Steve on 01/11/2013 Add Comment wow. -- susi on 01/14/2013   We were just talking about this at the Central Indiana Mensa Regional Gathering. The Gathering was called "We survived - the Superbowl and the Mayan Calendar", but the point of On the Beach is that we do NOT survive. The moral I took away from the book (read in the late 1960s!) is that we should not be so careless throwing around threats that may cause irreparable actions. I warmly recommend other works by Schute, like "Trustee from the Toolroom". -- Konsulentin on 01/28/2013

The Casual Vacancy by J. K. Rowling (Romance, Women's Fiction, Relationships, Humor) OK, so it's not Potter. This is about the relationships in a town. Not one that I would want to read again. judy -- Added by judithannroche on 01/20/2013 Add Comment Repellant characters overall. Yucky, and not what I expected at all. Sorry I bought it. -- bobbiboomer on 02/02/2013   J.K. Rowling has made a big mistake. She should have quit after the Harry Potter series. Most readers hate her latest attempt. Don't let your children read this. -- sarasotasun on 02/16/2013

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson (Mystery, Horror, Crime, Business, Politics) . -- Added by Elaine Darroch on 01/11/2013 Add Comment This last of the Millenium Trilogy was very good because of the ending. Good triumphs over evil. The people who ruin other people's lives get what they deserve, and true justice prevails. As far as Swedish names are concerned, sometimes it helps to makes a list of names / characters to keep track of all the players in the book. -- sarasotasun on 01/12/2013   Considerate publishers provide one with just such a list of characters in the front or back of the book. I have seen this in "The Tale of Genji" - Modern Library Edition and in "War and Peace". -- Konsulentin on 01/28/2013

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (Mystery, Horror, Crime, Business, Politics) I had a hard time with this book. It wasn't the context of the book it was how slow the book read. It took more then half of the book before it hot interesting. -- Added by sag121277 on 02/06/2013 Add Comment I had the same problem! Once you get past the slow.part it was a really good book! -- trublu on 02/06/2013   This was a great book, and the entire trilogy is wonderful. There are also Swedish films made for the three books, and the US has already made the first book into a movie, with two more to come. -- sarasotasun on 03/01/2013

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (Science Fiction, Fantasy, Science, Health) I would definitely recommend this book to others. Although it is non-fiction, it reads in part like a fascinating novel. It tells an important story about a poor, African-American woman who, in the late 1940s/early 50s had her cells taken from her body. These HeLa cells have been used for decades to cure diseases, do medical research and further science. This is her story, told for the first time, and everyone should know about her and what her family has had to endure because of these "immortal" cells that were taken from her. -- Added by macbarclay on 01/07/2013 Add Comment This was a great book. A must read book. -- amundy918 on 01/08/2013   I have heard quite a bit about this on NPR. It is indeed a fascinating tale. -- Konsulentin on 01/28/2013

Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko (Adventure, Suspense, Travel, Sports) Moose lives with his family on Alcatraz because his dad is one of the prison guards. His sister, Natalie, has some mental problems that her mom is not willing to accept. He also meets some new people like Piper, Jimmy, and Theresa. He has to baby sit Natalie everyday which interferes with him getting friends, and Piper is getting him in trouble by doing things like including him in a scheme to have people pay to have their shirts washed by Al Capone. Another problem is that his mom is working very hard to get Natalie into a school for kids even though she is really 16. His problems increase when he goes into the prisoners section of the island to look for a baseball, and loses Natalie. He finds her talking to a prisoner and wonders if she did anything else with the prisoner. He doesn't know how to figure out what happened but tries very hard to make sure his parents don't find out. This is hard because Natalie repeats the prisoner's number consistently. -- Added by lauraburnham on 01/07/2013 Add Comment This book actually sounds quite interesting. I might try to read it sometime. -- Riley on 01/07/2013

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