Little Thoughts About Books and Stuff

Here are the rules: *Read nine books in the following categories. 1. A book with "Blue" in the title . -   Blue -eyed Devil by Lisa Kleypas 2. A book with "Red" in the title. - Red shirts by John Scalzi 3. A book with "Yellow" in the title.  - Yellow Flag by Robert Lipsyte 4. A book with "Green" in the title . - The Green Mile by Stephen King 5. A book with "Brown" in the title. - Brown -Eyed Girl by Mariah Stewart 6. A book with "Black" in the title. - Black City by Elizabeth Richards  7. A book with "White" in the title. - The White Queen by Phillipa Gregory 8. A book with any other color in the title (Purple, Orange, Turquoise, Pink, Magneta, etc.) . - Inn at Rose Harbor by Debbie Macomber 9. A book with a word that implies color (Rainbow, Polka-dot, Plaid, Paisley, Stripe, etc.). Midnight Rainbow by Linda Howard

Black City by Elizabeth  Richards My rating: 4 of 5 stars Wow...that was some end to the book! I wasn't too sure about reading this book, it sounded interesting but the reviews already posted were less than positive.  I gave it a shot anyway (hey I needed a book for this color and the year is nearly over!).  It seemed similar to quite a few dystopian novels already out but it has it's own feel. The point of view goes back and forth between Ash and Natalie, each narrating full chapters at a time.  Towards the end it's a quick back and forth of the same events which adds a punch to the unfolding scene.  This really worked for me, I was very choked up while reading the end of the book (which is the reason for my initial response above!). I will be reading the other books in the series, I need to know how this story plays out.  Even though it was similar to other novels, I still got pulled in by the characters and I really wanted to know what happens...

Yellow Flag by Robert Lipsyte My rating: 4 of 5 stars The last few YA books I've picked up have been directed at boys.  I must say, they are a refreshing break from the drama/love stories of the YA I have been reading.  They seem to focus on a older teen boy who needs to make a choice between two things and they aren't little things, they are major life changing decisions. In Yellow Flag, Kyle needs to decide if he's going to keep racing with his family or keep pursuing his music.  The race scenes were great, I couldn't put the book down.  Not being a big race fan (I've been known to watch a handful of laps of a handful of races) it was a great look at the inside workings of a team/car. As great as those scenes were, I got thrown a few times when the POV changed from 3rd to 1st person.  Normally when I see those changes there is a font change or the changed POV is italicized.  Not so in this book, and there was no warning, it was one sent...

Brown-Eyed Girl by Mariah Stewart My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars I read romance, but I tend to stay away from romantic suspense, it's just not my thing.  I find too often that the suspense is just a catalysis to throw the characters together with out ever really contributing to the plot.  There are a few authors who write really great suspense stories and oh yea there's a lot of romance.  Mariah Stewart is now one of those authors I'll read for this reason. I picked up the book because it was the only "brown" titled book that sounded interested in my library system. The plot seemed like it could have been the flip side of a Criminal Minds episode, and I really like that show. Anyway Leah's sister Missy disappeared forever ago and now this serial killer is contacting her with information about her sister's disappearance.  Before she can get any information out of him he's killed in jail (shortly before his execution).  So Leah goes to see ...

I have three books left in the Color Coded Reading Challenge - brown, yellow, and black.  I've been struggling with picking which books to read.  I finally picked some books! For Brown For Yellow For Black

This book fills the "any other color" requirement. The Inn at Rose Harbor by Debbie Macomber My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars I was sad to see the Ceder Cove series end, but I understand Debbie's reasons (shared in a note to readers in this book) and I think it was wise.  Too often I find that an author seems to just push out books in a series and the stories end up stale.  While I was sad, I was also happy to see that this book was set in Ceder Cove, a nod to her long time readers, Debbie heard our requests to still be kept up to date with the characters we've grown to love (again mentioned in the note to readers). From the first book it looks like the series will focus on the individuals who come to stay at the Rose Harbor Inn.  The book also sets up to follow Jo Marie as she deals with the changes life has dealt her and her new start in Ceder Cove.  The first two guests, Josh and Abby, are both returning to Ceder Cove to face their pasts. There w...

This book fills the "word that implies color" requirement. Midnight Rainbow by Linda Howard My rating: 3 of 5 stars The cover of this book has a quote from Booklist that reads: Contains all the ingredients of a classic Howard romance. To me a "classic Howard romance" is one that with a few updates can be set in a more modern setting and still be just as good.  While this wasn't one of my favorite books by Linda Howard, it was a quick and enjoyable read. Originally published in 1986 there are a few changes that would update this story quite easily.  The missing microfilm turns into a flash drive, Vietnam becomes Afghanistan, there's either no connection or something happens so there's no cell phone service, and he wears a condom. This is also a classic story line, a girl gets held hostage somewhere in Central/South America and a super special elite former/current military guy goes in and rescues her.   I liked Jane, she was a grea...

The Green Mile by Stephen King My rating: 4 of 5 stars I'm surprised by how much I enjoyed this story.  Stephen King and I have a so-so relationship. He likes to write stories that scare the bejeebus out of me and I like to read his books. I have only read a handful of his books and I'm always careful about which ones I pick up I tend to stay away from the books that were made into movies since the movies scare me. I read this book in the six serialization format it was originally published in and I have to say, it was worth reading that way.  If I had read the books when they were first being published I don't think I could have waited a month between books, especially between books 4 - 5 - 6.   I didn't initially get into the story, the first book kind of dragged so I did wait a bit in between books.  I really started to get into the story by book 3 and from there I breezed through the rest of the books. ...

Redshirts by John Scalzi My rating: 4 of 5 stars Goodreads Book Description - Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship  Intrepid , flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. It’s a prestige posting, and Andrew is thrilled all the more to be assigned to the ship’s Xenobiology laboratory. Life couldn’t be better…until Andrew begins to pick up on the fact that (1) every Away Mission involves some kind of lethal confrontation with alien forces, (2) the ship’s captain, its chief science officer, and the handsome Lieutenant Kerensky always survive these confrontations, and (3) at least one low-ranked crew member is, sadly, always killed. Not surprisingly, a great deal of energy below decks is expendedon avoiding, at all costs, being assigned to an Away Mission. Then Andrew stumbles on information that completely transforms his and his colleagues’ understanding of what the starship  Intrepid  really is…and offers them a crazy...

I've read a few Stephen King books, I'm cautious with what I read of his, we don't always get along.  My dad was a big Stephen King fan, so I've tried to read some of his stuff, it hasn't always turned out well.  It took me almost two years to read "Hearts in Atlantis" it was one of those "pick it up - put it down" routines. For the next book in my color coded reading challenge I decided to go with The Green Mile.  I have always seen the six part serial books at my local library and had always wanted to read them, what better chance than now! The Green Mile, Part 1: The Two Dead Girls by Stephen King My rating: 4 of 5 stars I wasn't sure what to expect. I haven't seen the movie, and know very little about the story.  It was a lot of set up and background information.  It was just enough to hook you in and make you wait for the next book.  I would have been one of those people who each month would have gone to get the next part as...

The White Queen: The Cousins War Book One by Phillipa Gregory My rating: 2 of 5 stars This was a book that I did not finish but I'm giving this book 2 stars because I did like the beginning. It started off as one of those audio books where I couldn't get out of the car because I wanted to listen to more, but then I hit a wall. I have a half hour commute to work and I don't like to listen to the radio so I listen to audio books. When I would prefer to listen to the radio and constantly scan channels I know I've lost interest in the book. I went from loving the foreshadowing of Elizabeth's feelings about her Grey sons to not caring how she makes it out of sanctuary the second time or how the princes end up in the tower. I know the history and the stories and at the point I stopped listening there wasn't anything compelling me to keep listening. View all my reviews