Monday, January 6, 2014

On Writing and Reading: In That Order

Oh how I love writing! Editing...not so much. Thankfully, I'm not in the editing phase for the many projects I am working on and that is swell. Oh, by the way, here is a link to my author page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chrystalwrites.


In other news, I've read several books lately. Here are some brief reviews:


Belong to Me, by Maria de los Santos. This was a great book, and the only one I gave five stars to on my Goodreads list. I loved the way it was written, and the care that was taken with the language and descriptions of places, people, and relationships. I liked the plot twist, though I saw it coming and figured it out before the big reveal. That didn't detract from the books enjoyment factor. I recommend this one for anyone who likes books about people and relationships.


The Matched Trilogy (Yes I read all three of them), by Ally Condie. I only gave these 2 to 3 stars because they really didn't do that much for me. The first one was pretty good; a lot of people said it was like The Giver, by Lois Lowry, but I've never read that book so I didn't have the comparison issues. I just felt that, like so many other trilogies, this one started falling down by book two. I'd read them if you just don't have anything else to read.


Orphan Train, by Christina Baker Kline. This one was great...for half the book. The half that told the story of the orphan train, and the life of Naimh (pronounced Neev), the Irish immigrant whose life was turned upside down...that part of the story was great. The part of the story with Molly and her issues with her boyfriend and foster parents, while a sad story, didn't really seem as connected as the other half of the story. I'd still read this one again, if I had it to do over, because I did like it. I would have given it 3.5 stars if I could.


Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn. Whoa. The first book of hers I read, I hated. Never has a protagonist seemed so whiny and horrid. But this book was awesome. Yes, the characters were whiny and horrid but what evil they were hiding behind those normal facades!!! I really liked this one. You gotta read it if you're in to horror with a twist.


Innocence, by Dean Koontz. This is tough for me. I love Dean. I mean, I have every book he's ever written and some he wrote as someone else. But it seems like lately, he's really had a hard time reaching that spot where he use to write from. This was a good book, much better than 77 Shadow Street, but his protagonists are starting to blend. This new guy, Addison Goodheart? Well, he seems like just a facet of Odd Thomas who is also a facet of Mr. Snow. Still. It's a Dean Koontz book, so there will be magic animals and a lot of philosophical goodness to chew upon. Happily. With some tea and cookies and a big cozy blanket.


The Lowland, by Jhumpa Lahiri. This book had a lot of hype surrounding it but frankly, it was far too slow for me. I didn't find the characters relatable, not because they were from a foreign land but because they were too one-dimensional. At any rate, I was only able to give this book a 2 star rating, and I feel that is generous.


Come find me (Chrystal Vaughan) on Goodreads!





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