Thursday, March 27, 2014

A Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady TrentA Natural History of Dragons: A Memoir by Lady Trent by Marie Brennan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I know you're not supposed to judge a book by its cover but I confess, the cover art is what drew me to this book. It's just wonderfully cool. I never did read a plot summary before buying a copy, just knew I had to have it. The story did live up to its artwork, fortunately. Creative mixture of period piece, romance, strong female lead character, and dragons. What more could a girl ask for? Oh yeah! A sequel. Have to get my hands on that one soon.



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Sunday, March 23, 2014

Saturday, March 22, 2014

I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the TalibanI Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This was an amazingly well-written book for such a young woman, even if she did have a co-author. I really liked how informative it was and the way her story was placed in the context of the complicated history of her country. Some of the self-aggrandizing was annoying but not out of the ordinary for a teenager. Everyone should read this, for the history lessons even if her story does not interest you.



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Tuesday, March 18, 2014

My StoryMy Story by Elizabeth Smart

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I feel a little bad giving this book a low rating as it feels like, in a way, I'm rating her ordeal. Of course, I am not. This book was just very poorly written. I'd been putting off reading this one because, even though I was interested in what happened to her, I knew Elizabeth is very religious and expected that to figure prominently in her story. I really wasn't prepared for the sheer quantity of God talk though and felt a bit turned off by it. You really can't deminish her courage and fortitude though. She's been through an unimaginable ordeal and retains an amazing perspective.



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Sunday, March 16, 2014

Night Watch (Watch, #1)Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I put off reading this one for a long time because I knew it would make me want to buy the other books in the series. I really loved the movie so I was curious how different this would be but it turns out the film was pretty faithful to the book. The difference is that the book is divided into 3 separate stories and the movie just cut out a lot of prose that was fairly superfluous. I did like it but it was probably one of those rare instances where the movie was just as good if not better. I did order the rest in the series though.



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Monday, March 10, 2014

In the Shadow of the BanyanIn the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Astounding and heartbreaking story. Even more astounding after reading the "about the author" section and finding out how close to autobiographical it was.



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Tuesday, March 4, 2014

William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, a New HopeWilliam Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, a New Hope by Ian Doescher

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Pure awesomeness. I can't wait to read book 2, or would it be book 5? I would love it so much if Joss Whedon made a film adaptation of this book.



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Sunday, March 2, 2014

Drop Dead Healthy: One Man's Humble Quest for Bodily PerfectionDrop Dead Healthy: One Man's Humble Quest for Bodily Perfection by A.J. Jacobs




Funniest and most neurotic health book I've ever read. It's nice to be entertained and informed at the same time. There wasn't a whole lot of useful information but he did bring up some interesting topics and people that I ended up investigating. I may end up reading his other book on living religiously for a year.



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