The Readers Block

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin My rating: 3 of 5 stars This book is centered on the love of reading, and how there is a book that will relate to every phase of life. I found myself laughing out loud one minute, then had tears in my eyes the next. I really liked most of the characters, especially little Maya, who is wise beyond her years. A.J.is a bit of book snob, but I think every book nerd is in their own way. I love when books talk about books, and this one does that in every chapter. It helps my to-be-read list grow. View all my reviews

The Great Zoo of China by Matthew Reilly Before I write anything else, I have to point out that this is not a genre I usually read. I received an advanced readers copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Right off the bat I was excited because I thought having dragons in a modern zoo had to be interesting. But this book is nothing like what I was expecting. It has a Jurassic Park feel to it, with a MacGyver like Veterinarian who benefits from an extreme abundance of lucky coincidences as a main character. The Great Zoo of China is one non-stop dragon/bus/truck/Chinese Special Forces packed action attack. I did start to feel a little attached to Lucky, but her story doesn't play out until near the end. I think I may have enjoyed it more if there was slightly less action and more storyline on the dragon/human relationships and the research that is mentioned so many times. I was hoping CJ would be involved with some of it BEFORE all hell broke less. It wa...

Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote My rating: 5 of 5 stars I registered a book at BookCrossing.com! http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/13116105 So I bought a copy strictly for Breakfast at Tiffany's. I love the movie, so I had to know the actual story. I love it too, although it is a bit different... the setting and scenes are all there, but of course there's more to the story and less at the same time. "Fred" is definitely different. However, as much as I love Breakfast at Tiffany's, A Christmas Memory nearly broke me. I may never be able to see a kite again without tearing up. This is the story that will stay with me. View all my reviews

The first book I read for this year was The Secret Wisdom of the Earth , by Christopher Scotton. My review is cross-posted on Goodreads and Amazon. The Secret Wisdom of the Earth by Christopher Scotton My rating: 4 of 5 stars I won an advanced reading copy of this book about a month or two ago, put it on my tbr pile, and almost forgot about it. I wish I had read it as soon as I received it! There were a couple of minor things that made me say, "hmmm... I wonder if that will be left in... not sure how I feel about that..." but they were very minor. As a whole, I loved this book. Kevin and his mom are living through a tragedy when they are taken to his grandfather's house in Kentucky to recuperate and heal. Kevin goes through so much in this summer, and at times you start to wonder "how much more???" but Christopher Scotton has the gift of making you feel like you are there. I could see the hills and Hollows, smell the trees and the evening air during the por...

I've decided to stray away from my other "Journal" and test the waters out here for a bit. See how it goes. My main goal is to create a place where other readers, book lovers, book snobs and critics can stop by and check out a few reviews, find their next read and get over their reader's block. I write simple, honest reviews. You won't need a degree in literature to hang out on my block. So, let's see where this takes us!