Light My Kindle

I really enjoy Lewis Black’s comedy – his Comedy Central specials, his new show “The Root of All Evil,” his HBO special, etc. I picked up his first book, Nothing’s Sacred, and loved it. It was an autobiography of sorts with a running commentary about everything from politics to pop culture. When I heard he had a second book available I immediately went to the Kindle store to download it, but it wasn’t yet available. A couple of days later I bought it at Barnes & Noble (for full price, no less). But, as I explain in this post, I was happy to pay full price because I truly enjoy his work and I knew I’d like the book.

Anyway, I enjoyed the book. It had fewer laugh out loud moments than Nothing’s Sacred, but it was still funny. Black writes solely about religion in this book, a touchy topic to be sure. Some religious people could be offended by the book, but they should know what they’re getting themselves into. I’m not one to be easily offended, especially when it comes to stand-up comedy, so the book didn’t seem to cross any boundaries for me.

The book is funny in that smile-to-yourself kind of way, and has a few good laugh out loud moments. It’s an extremely fast read, with short chapters and an easy-to-read writing style. I’d definitely recommend it to fans of Lewis Black or to anyone that enjoys comedy poking fun at the seriousness of religion.

It’s now available in a Kindle edition, but you can also get it in hardcover.

I wasn’t sure if I wanted to read Twilight at first. I like vampires, but it’s a teen novel. The hype around it (or at least the release of the latest book in the series, Breaking Dawn) was Harry-Potter-like, so I figured there had to be something to it. The movie being made of it looks interesting from the few stills I had seen so far (and I make a habit of reading a novel before seeing the movie). However, it stayed at the bottom of my reading list until a good friend recommended it. She even offered to send me the sequels as soon as she was done because she wanted to discuss the books with me. That’s when I finally bought Twilight from the Kindle store (only $6!).

It was an unbelievably fast read. I set aside the other Kindle book I was reading (Bleak House by Charles Dickens, not nearly as exciting as teenage vampires) and read it in a few days. I enjoyed the novel, and I plan on reading the sequels, but I did have several major issues with the book. First, though, I’ll share what I enjoyed about it.

I really liked Bella. In fact, I had several moments of “oh-my-god-she’s-just-like-me” while reading it. For example, she actually enjoys reading the books assigned to her in high school English classes, which was probably one of the things that made me such a geek (and/or good student) in high school. I thought she was a strong character and I’m interested to see how Kirsten Stewart portrays her in the movie. (Personally, I picture her more like Ellen Page – a feisty, smart, and quick-witted girl – but a friend of mine picture her more like Thora Birch.)

I liked Stephanie Meyer’s handling of the vampire mythos. She kept enough of the general mythology but still managed to add her own touches to it, which is important. I especially liked vampire baseball (picture a family of vampires with superstrength, superspeed, and heightened senses and you might get the idea), although the entire time I was reading that scene I couldn’t help but think Meyer knew she’d need her version of Quidditch. I also liked Meyer’s creative reasoning for why vampires aren’t often seen in sunlight (to some it might be considered a spoiler, so I won’t mention it here, but I’m sure a quick Google search could tell you).

The issues I had with the novel revolve around the relationship between Bella and Edward. From the outset, Bella has an unnatural obsession with Edward. In theory this could be explained away by the fact that he’s a vampire, so this isn’t just any boyfriend. Her obsession with him borders on worship, and that bothers me. She’s seventeen-years-old in the first book, and it’s unhealthy for a seventeen-year-old girl to be so dependent on her boyfriend. It shows a bad example for the young girls the book is aimed at. I’m not a feminist or some crazy anti-men lady, but I believe that the way in which Bella views Edward is unhealthy.

Another friend (two, actually) pointed out another slightly disturbing aspect of their relationship (which could be considered spoilerish, so skip to the next paragraph if you don’t want to read it) – we learn at one point that Edward doesn’t sleep, but rather gets into Bella’s room and watches her sleep. As if that weren’t creepy enough, when Bella finds out, she thinks it’s the most flattering thing ever to happen to her. As a former seventeen-year-old girl, I think this twisted view of relationships needs to be carefully handled. Parents whose teen daughters are reading Twilight might want to discuss with them the difference between Bella’s vampire love, and a real life relationship. Stalking is not ok. Worshipping your boyfriend is not ok.

That all being said, I did enjoy the basic premise of the book. The action scenes are fast-paced and entertaining. There are definitely several edge-of-your-seat moments that you don’t always find in teen novels. I’m looking forward to reading the next few books. I hesitate to recommend it to anyone in particular because most adults don’t enjoy teen novels (with, of course, the exception of Harry Potter). However, if you’re a fan of vampire stories, or if you’re looking for a fast fluff read, this could be your book.

You can pick up Twilight for the Kindle or in paperback. The movie will be in theaters November 21, 2008.

I had been away from Kellerman’s books for a while, mainly because I always borrowed them from my mother’s stack of library books and I no longer live at home. During a recent visit, however, Mom loaned me this book, and I’m glad she did. Alex Delaware was as charming and smart as ever, and the story was definitely more than meets the eye.

The novel follows Alex, a psychologist, and his cop friend Milo as they investigate a brutal murder. The dead girl had previously been in Alex’s office after faking her own kidnapping to get her name in the news. As a hopeful actress, she had been taking classes at a small acting studio of sorts, which naturally gets investigated after her death. The dead girl had been involved with all kinds of shady characters, and Milo and Alex expertly investigate them all.

I had a hard time getting into the story at first because the whole Hollywood struggling actress thing didn’t really pull at my heartstrings, but as soon as the investigation started to heat up, things got really interesting. The working chemistry between Milo and Alex is perfect. Even when they’re not doing anything inherently interesting, they’re still entertaining. The book got better the further I read and the ending will not disappoint.

I recommend picking this one up if you’re a fan of Kellerman’s or if you like crime novels like those by James Patterson. It’s available as a Kindle edition and paperback

I am a bit of a crime story junkie. My favorite TV show is “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”. I also thoroughly enjoy “CSI” (preferably Miami, but I’ll watch the others as well), the original “Law & Order”, and novels by James Patterson and Jonathan Kellerman. Not to mention the true crime novels about Jack the Ripper or other famous cases. Naturally when my sister-in-law mentioned that she read this book I asked to borrow it. It is fascinating, but definitely not for the faint of heart.

Dr. Henry Lee is a forensic scientist who has been called to testify in many prominent court cases. In this book he reveals some of his methods and notes for five famous cases including the Elizabeth Smart kidnapping and the Laci Peterson murder. The book includes very detailed accounts of the crimes and even includes crime scene photos. It also describes proper crime scene investigation protocol and shows that true crime scene investigation is a tedious process – far from the flashy, exciting portrayal on TV and in movies.

It is well written and it is obvious that Dr. Lee is an extremely smart man. This is an absolute must-read for crime story fans like me. As morbid as it is, I couldn’t put it down. Unfortunately a Kindle edition is not yet available, but you can pick it up in hardcover on Amazon.com.

It should be fairly obvious that I’m an avid reader since I own a Kindle. Since I’ve been reading about an even number of “real” books and Kindle books since I received my Kindle, there have been a number of great books I haven’t reviewed for this site.

Therefore, I’ve decided to include reviews of books I’ve read whether or not I read them on the Kindle. Some will have Kindle editions available, while others might not. Hopefully all of these reviews will still be helpful to potential readers. The reviews will be mixed in on my Kindle Book Reviews page, but they will be labeled as “real” book reviews in case anyone is interested in knowing the difference.

This was the first Vonnegut book I read, and I wasn’t prepared for the randomness. He has a wandering kind of writing style, which suited the plot of this book wonderfully. I picked it up originally because it was part of the “Lost” book club. While it’s easy to see where the “Lost” writers pulled inspiration from the book for several episodes (as well as an overall inspiration for non-linear storytelling), the book is fascinating on its own.

The book follows Billy Pilgrim in first person as he recounts his life – from his time in the war to making a living as an optometrist to living in a zoo on the alien planet of Tralfamadore. The story explores the concept of time and proposes that time isn’t linear and that moments exists forever. For example, you’re reading this review right now, but in another moment in time that still exists you’re experiencing your first day at school, or buying your first car, or grocery shopping last week. It’s a difficult concept to wrap your head around, but it makes for an astoundingly entertaining book.

We follow Billy as he slips in and out of different periods of his life – one moment he’s in the war and the next he’s preparing for his daughter’s wedding. He travels through full decades, countries, and even planets.

The writing style is very simple, but effective for the purpose of the book. It was entertaining, even though it could be confusing at times. My only real complaint is that it ended very abruptly. There was no wrap-up, per se. That may be a characteristic of Vonnegut’s work that I’ll just have to get used to, or it might have been a plot device (ie: the book never really ended because in some moment of time I’m still reading the book).

I would definitely recommend it to those who actually enjoyed the books they made you read in high school. This is definitely one I wish my English teacher had put on our summer reading list.

You can get Slaughterhouse Five for your Kindle, or in paperback at Amazon. If you’d like to know more about how it relates to the TV show “Lost” you can check out the “Lost” Book Club Official Website.

I’m not generally a non-fiction reader. I much prefer crime thrillers and Stephen King novels, and the occasional biography (which, let’s face it, isn’t always 100% non-fiction). However, when I started to read 35 Miles From Shore, I was immediately sucked in. The book tells the story of the only recorded open water ditching of a commercial jet. ALM Flight 980 landed in the waters of the Caribbean after running out of fuel. The author takes an interesting approach in not only describing the details of the doomed flight and its passengers, but also giving background on the chain of events that led up to the tragedy. Not only does it make for a more interesting story, but it gave the book a uniquely human element that I would imagine isn’t often present in books about disasters.

The book opens by explaining that most accidents aren’t a freak occurrence but rather the end of an unfortunate chain of events. In the case of ALM Flight 980, this is especially true. The author covers the choices made by the airlines, the crew, and the air traffic controllers on the ground that added to the inevitable end result. From the secondary fuel tank that was never added to the plane to the last second decision to head for their alternate landing destination due to bad weather, the author painstakingly researched every available detail about the flight and the events leading to the disaster.

In the process of revealing all the events that may or may not have contributed to the crash, we learn about all the people involved. We learn about the passengers, the crew, and even the rescuers. Reading about why each passenger was on the flight (last vacation before having a baby, returning home, business, etc.) really brought the story to life. Knowing that the author interviewed most of these people directly reminds the reader that this tragic story really happened.

One note about the endnotes in the Kindle version of the book – they work wonderfully. Typically when you read a book with annotations, they are either at the bottom of the page or at the end of the book. I typically dislike reading books where the notes are at the end because that means I have to stop reading and find the right annotation at the back of the book. However, in 35 Miles From Shore, all you have to do is use the scroll wheel to click on the line with the number and then choose the number from the menu. It takes you directly to the appropriate annotation, and simply hitting the back button brings you back to your place in the book. The only problem I found with this – and it’s a small one – is that the asterisk-marked pieces often land in the middle of paragraphs. However, once you’ve realized this, it’s easier to read around them.

I truly enjoyed the book. It was a fast read, unbelievably well-researched, and extremely interesting. Even if you’re not much of a non-fiction reader, this is an entertaining book that can capture your attention just as easily as a novel.

You can get 35 Miles From Shore in a Kindle version (with the fancy annotation stuff built in), or in a paperback version.

While browsing through the Kindle store one day, I came across Infected: A Novel, a first novel by Scott Sigler. Within seconds of reading the first line of the summary, I had bought it and it was wirelessly on the way to my Kindle. Here’s what sold me,

Across America a mysterious disease is turning ordinary people into raving, paranoid murderers who inflict brutal horrors on strangers, themselves, and even their own families.

Yes! I love mysterious diseases that sweep across America and the world! Dawn of the Dead, 28 Days Later, basically any zombie movie, I’m sold. However, as soon as I started reading Infected, I knew it was different. There were no zombies to be seen here, but it was even more interesting that I had guessed.

The book follows four major storylines. One is a woman named Margaret who was assigned to study the victims of this disease and use her experience as a scientist at the CDC to help solve the problem before the public is made aware of the situation. Storyline two is a policeman named Dew who is trying to catch one of these murderous victims alive so Margaret has something more concrete to study than a dead body. Storyline three is the disease itself. Yep, once in a while you get to see their plans. Not told from first person, of course, but it’s still fascinating. Storyline four, and my personal favorite, is Perry. He’s a former college football player, current IT worker who has developed seven distinct itches in various places around his body.

As the story progresses, we see just how intense this disease is. It’s unlike anything earth has ever seen before. It’s smart. I mean, really smart. We get to see its effects close-up through the character of Perry, and they are probably the most entertaining sections of the book. I like the parts with Dew and Margaret trying to solve the puzzle, but for me Perry was much more engaging.

I absolutely loved the book. Loved it like I can’t even begin to tell you. I hope Scott Sigler writes twenty more books. His writing style is wonderful - he gives the characters real personality, and you lose yourself in the story. The story itself - whoa - it’s addicting. I found myself grabbing the Kindle to read for two minutes here, four minutes here, just to read more. All the other things I was currently reading fell to the side because I didn’t want anything to get in the way of me finishing this book. And the second I finished it, I told my husband he had to read it. And he loved it too. Like me, he spent the next couple of days reading every chance he got, even going in a few minutes late to work the day he finished the book because he saw he only had a couple of dots left on the Kindle progress bar and he just had to get to the end. (Incidentally, it was also his first time reading a full book on the Kindle, and he quite enjoyed it. I think I’m going to have to start sharing it more often.)

In short, the book is exciting and interesting, suspenseful and smart and all the things you want a good mystery/thriller-type book to be. I highly recommend it. I can honestly say it’s one of the best books I’ve read in the past five years.

Get it for your Kindle. You won’t regret the $9.99 price, I promise. (In fact, if you’re not a Kindle owner and you’re reading this, go get it at Barnes & Noble or order it from Amazon. You won’t regret the $24.99 list price either.)

Black House is the sequel to one of my favorite Stephen King novels – The Talisman. The Talisman follows the story of a young boy named Jack who is on a very dangerous and very important mission. (You can read my review of The Talisman here.) Black House follows the adult Jack, but takes a while to get there.

The book starts extremely slowly. It introduces us to seemingly unimportant characters for several chapters before revealing Jack as an adult. While it took too long to get there, I’m quite pleased with the fact that Travelin’ Jack grew up to be an extremely talented police detective.

When we find him, the retired Jack is living in a small town where there have been a series of horrific murders. He lives in a beautiful house next door to a blind man with whom he has become very close friends. He has been trying to stay out of the murder investigation, but the town is desperate for help and Jack starts to get involved.

I liked the book, but I didn’t love it. There was too much going on, too many characters, and not enough time spent in The Territories. The magic of the first novel was that we were taken on a journey through a child’s innocent eyes – everything was magnified thanks to his youth. The few journeys we take to The Territories with the adult Jack has them appearing as a very matter-of-fact place. There was no magic in it this time.

I don’t think it was a waste of time, but I certainly don’t think it was King’s best novel. I enjoyed the interactions between Jack and his friend Henry, and I loved the Thunder Five (the motorcycle gang that helps Jack). The other characters, however, weren’t all that compelling. Even the bad guy, who is usually just as interesting as the good guys in King’s books, wasn’t interesting at all.

I’d recommend reading it since King and Straub have hinted at a third installment in the story of Jack Sawyer. It’s not a fast-paced read, and it’s not the best novel you’ll ever read, but it’s worth slogging through to read about Jack Sawyer’s future.

Get it for your Kindle.

As a Stephen King fan, I was surprised to find I had never read his 1980 novella The Mist. Then again, it was published four years before I was born. I read it over a couple of days while visiting my parents, and I spent a few nights reading into the wee hours trying to finish this terrifying tale.

The novella starts innocently enough with a thunderstorm on a lake in Maine. After the storm, the residents discover the power has been knocked out, several trees have fallen, and there’s a thick mist moving in over the lake. David Drayton and his son set out to pick up some groceries and they let their neighbor Brent Norton tag along despite their heated disagreements in the past.

The store is very crowded, as one might expect, and everyone gets set on edge when a man comes running through the parking lot shouting that there are things in the mist and they attacked someone out there. His nose is bloodied and he insists they shut the doors of the store. The people do so, as the thick mist settles around the store. Shortly after there’s a loud event, like an earthquake, that shakes the store and furthers the feelings of unease in the store.

This being a supernatural thriller, the creatures in the mist start to show themselves quickly. The creatures are quite terrifying, especially since there are so many different kinds of them. There’s the tentacle creature that grabs Norm right at the beginning. Plus huge bug-type things, huge bird-type things, and a monster whose size would put a blue whale to shame.

The novella hits on interesting territory by not only relying on the supernatural to scare the reader and the characters. The element of mob mentality is brought into the story through the character of Mrs. Carmody. Mrs. Carmody is known about town as a little bit of a crazy, and when the creatures begin appearing through the mist she starts to preach about the wrath of God. She tells the people that the creatures are a sign of end-times and that they must repent for their sins. Her crazy-babble starts to draw more people to her as the days pass and more people die. Her little mob shows just how far people will go when confined and helpless.

The Mist was a quick read, but a scary one. The paranoia and constant on-edgeness I felt while reading it was seriously intense. As someone who is prone to nightmares (I know, I probably shouldn’t read Stephen King before bed), this novella had me on edge waiting to see what would happen to David and his young son. I highly recommend the novella to fans of supernatural horror. I also recommend reading it before checking out the recent movie adaptation starring Thomas Jane. The movie is mostly faithful to the novella and actually complements it quite nicely.

You can get it for your Kindle or in paperback.