52 Books in 52 Weeks (2011) discussion

Book reviews for week 26.

Flight to Paradise
Ratings: 4.5/5
my review

Winning this book in a giveaway (and the delight of my first win) gave me the excitement to start reading it ASAP. And once I started it I couldn't stay away from it for long. It's a book that goes beyond the story and I love that. Also, I like how the characters are portrayed as flawed, it gave it a sense of realism. I can see that Mike Coe worked hard on this book in his careful attention to details and time jumps. And although we all can foresee the end, it's still amazing to read and get there.

Flight to Paradise is simply a story of hope. A story that I believe will inspire people with its deep meaning and realism. We might not all believe that dreams come true especially when it comes to matters of the heart, but this can bring hope to whoever reads it.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, #1)
by Jeff Kinney

3/5

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...


****


Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, #2)
by Jeff Kinney

3/5

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

The Secret Of Crickley Hall by James Herbert

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Living in Devon I very much recognised the descriptions of the countryside. Narrow lanes with high hedges are typical of the county and I have experienced rain so hard that streams overflowed and cars were swept away. Knowing these things to be real made it much easier to accept the fantasy/horror elements of the story but at no point did the story really grip me. There were moments when I wondered why certain characters were important, for example the vicar's wife knocking at the door didn't really seem to add anything to the story that couldn't have been done via more established characters.

I enjoyed the story but did feel a good editing and perhaps reducing by a third would have led to a tighter, better constructed story that would have hung together better




View all my reviews

Twisted Metal by Tony Ballantyne

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This was another of those audio books that was supposed to play in the background while I got on with other stuff but ended up demanding my full attention. I've been meaning to start reading sci-fi again for a while but nothing had really grabbed my attention. This book changed all that. Every time I had a few minutes to spare I would grab the iPad and start listening.

Penrose is a planet populated by robots. It is going through an upheaval with two philosophies battleling for supremacy. One side believes in individual freedom while the other believes in total contro by the state. All seem to have forgotten their origins and myths have been created to explain how and why metal became sentient.

I throughly enjoyed this book and will look out for the sequels



View all my reviews

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares
3.5/5

A lovely light read and a page turner.

I loved how the four friends stayed so close to each other while they were thousand miles apart. Despite their differences, they're true to each other.

P.S. It's nothing like the movie.

Highly recommend it

Sisterhood Everlasting
By Ann Brashares
3.5/5 (tentatively)

So I LOVE the first 4 Sisterhood books, especially 3&4 and this book was my most-anticipated book this year. I haven't reviewed it yet because I'm not sure yet what I think since I just finished it, I want to sit on it for a day or so!

The Awakening
Rating: 2/5
my review

I made a decision to make July the month dedicated to read the whole series of The Vampire Diaries (as I've grown to love the tv show). And then when I read the book's 2/3-stars reviews here on GR, I prepared myself for a disaster.

Just like the tv show, I'm still intrigued by the story. Yes, it's sometimes a very OTT incidents, most notable in Elena saying 'I love you' to Stephen after one meeting (not even a date). And unlike the show, Elena's character seems to be more self-righteous and equally self-involved.

Overall, I think the book was okay pass time. For a paranormal-romance novel, it's not that bad because I've read worse. It also because I chose to get invested in the tv show that I'll keep reading the series.

Ponies at the Point by Ben M. Baglio

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


it was a really good book i loved it it was fun to read.



View all my reviews

Junie B. Jones and some Sneaky Peeky Spying by Barbara Park

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


it was ok but very kiddesh but i had it from before so i said i may as well read it.



View all my reviews

Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen
Rating: 3/5 stars
my review

Surprisingly, reading this book went very smoothly unlike any of the autobiographies I've read before. There isn't many boring details that come with this kind of books. I was very into it from the moment I started it. What attracted me personally was the style of writing. It was funny, witty and emotional at times. It help me connect with this book better than I thought. And like all biographies, there's something more to learn and to think over.

The Stand by Stephen King

My rating: 1 of 5 stars




Amazing writing and development, but it was so lengthy that the good bits got lost in a sea of utter crap. Not worth reading. Ending is quite disappointing. I was going to give it two stars for it wasn't that horrible really, but it wasted a lot of my precious time and therefore it gets one star. Nothing more.





Old review (back when it was unfinished):

I finished about half of this book (which is a million pages), and I am suddenly feeling very unmotivated to finish it. Don't get me wrong, Stephen King is a WONDERFUL writer, but the story seemed to drag on and on and on. At times, I felt like I could easily give this book a 5-star rating, and at other times, I felt like throwing it from a 10-story building. If this book was shorter, and if SK wasn't so attached to ALL the crap he writes, and if he believed in deleting CHAPTERS that aren't necessary/important nor related to the plot, then this would have been, indeed, a great book.



I don't want this to stop you from reading it, though. I have a lot of other books I'd like to read before ever continuing reading this.



View all my reviews

The Shack by William P. Young

2/5

That was disappointing. I don't know why I picked this book at the first place, I remember I was in a hurry and read "his daughter has been abducted" on the back and I just grabbed it.
I started reading this couple of months ago but I just couldn't go through with it! Anyhow I'm finally done reading it.

Apparently the father was trying to find closure for his daughter's death but portraying God and Jesus as humans trying to help him understand just didn't work for me at all.

مقالات في كلمات
علي الطنطاوي
2/5
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52...

مقالات متنوعة قصيرة جدا للشيخ علي الطنطاوي يتحدث في أمور شتى
بعضها لم يروق لي قط لتخصص المقالات في مواضيع لااهتم بها مطلقا وبعضها لقدمها والبعض الآخر لحديثها عن شخصيات أو أماكن معينة لاعلم لي بها..

ومع ذلك هناك بعض المقالات الجميلة والحكم التي يجب علينا ان نضعها نبراسا يضيء طريقنا فهناك سطورا كتبها منذ زمن أشعر انه يخطابنا بها في هذا الوقت ويتكلم عن ثوراتنا

Withering Tights by Louise Rennison

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is a YA novel, in that the young is more prominent than adult, but, boy did it make me laugh. If you're looking for a fun book for a preteen, look no further. I was skeptical at first, but I enjoyed Tallulah and her mad ramblings.



View all my reviews

End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason
Sam Harris
Rating 4/5

"Man is manifestly not the measure of all things. This universe is shot through with mystery. The very fact of its being, and of our own, is a mystery absolute, and the only miracle worthy of the name. The consciousness that animates us is itself central to this mystery and the ground for any experience we might wish to call 'spiritual.' No myths need be embraced for us to commune with the profundity of our circumstance. No personal God need be worshiped for us to live in awe at the beauty and immensity of creation. No tribal fictions need be rehearsed for us to realize, one fine day, that we do, in fact, love our neighbors, that our happiness is inextricable from their own, and that our interdependence demands that people everywhere be given the opportunity to flourish. The days of our religious identities are clearly numbered. Whether the days of civilization itself are numbered would seem to depend, rather too much, on how soon we realize this."

Sophie's World
Jostein Gaarder
4/5

A delightful intro to philosophy.