Katie′s #CBR5 Review #17: 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

Title: 1Q84
Author: Haruki Murakami
Source: library
Rating: 
Review Summary: Although the book was long and the ending was abrupt, I loved the writing and can’t wait to read more books by Murakami.

This book was so long and so strange that I’m not even sure where to start telling you what it was about, but I’ll do my best. The story involves two main characters and we alternate between their view points. Aomame is an assassin and Tengo is a writer. As the story progresses, they get pulled closer and closer together by events that initially seemed unrelated but which turn out to have a deep connection. The book involves questions of destiny and pre-determination, parallel worlds and some surprising magical elements.

Read more at Doing Dewey…

Katie′s #CBR5 Review #12: The Betterphoto Guide to Digital Nature Photography by Jim Miotke

Title: The Betterphoto Guide to Digital Nature Photography
Author: Jim Miotke
Source: library
Rating: 
Review Summary: A great practical guide to taking better pictures, very well organized and with useful tips for any photographer.

There were so many things to love about this book, I’m almost not sure where to start. I suppose what jumped out at me the most was how practical the advice was. There are checklists of the most important things to remember from each section; little boxes with advice on practical concerns such as bringing camera gear out into the elements; and “assignment” sections that suggest ways to practice new techniques right away. I was most excited about the assignments so I was especially pleased that these were all included in the index, making them easy to refer back to.

Read more at Doing Dewey…

Katie′s #CBR5 Review #9: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Title: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Author: Rebecca Skloot
Source: library
Rating: 
Fun Fact: If you could pile all HeLa cells ever grown onto a scale, they’d weigh more than 50 million metric tons—as much as a hundred Empire State Buildings
Review Summary: An impressively unbiased look at an interesting ethical question, with an equally impressive personal account of how this issue changed one families’ life.

Henreitta Lacks is a young, black woman whose cancerous cells were harvested and grown  without her consent in the 1940′s. At the times, this was standard practice, especially with black patients, who still saw doctors from segregated wards or not at all. Today, her cells have changed the world. As the first cells to survive and continually reproduce, her cells have been used to develop numerous vaccines and learn more about many crucial cellular functions. Unfortunately, her family never benefited from the massive commercialization of her cells, although this book is an attempt to change that.

Read more on Doing Dewey…

Katie′s #CBR5 Review #8: The Big Exit by David Carnoy

Title: The Big Exit
Author: David Carnoy
Source: from publisher for review
Rating: 
Review Summary: A fun modern take on the noir mystery genre with plenty of action and plot twists to supplement the great atmosphere.

Convicted of vehicular manslaughter, Richie is released from prison still claiming his friend actually swapped places and put him behind the wheel. While Richie served his sentence, his friend has gone on to business success and marriage to Richie’s ex-fiance. When that same friend turns up dead, Richie is the obvious suspect. However, while evidence against both Richie and his ex-fiance mounts, not everything is as it seems. Plot twists and intriguing leads kept me reading this one late into the night.

Read more on Doing Dewey…

 

Katie′s #CBR5 Review 3: Physics of the Future by Michio Kaku

Title: Physics of the Future
Author: Michio Kaku
Source: library
Rating: 
Fun Fact: Today the little chip in cards that sings happy birthday has more computing power than the Allied forces in 1945.
Review Summary: An extremely fun and well-explained look at current cutting edge science and where it will lead in the next century.

Are super powers, sentient robots, and flying cars in our future? According to Michio Kaku’s latest book, the answers to that question is probably; not any time soon; and at least floating cars almost definitely. In this book, Kaku makes predictions about what the next 100 years of science will bring and how that science will effect our daily lives. He makes these predictions based on both extensive interviews with scientists doing cutting edge research and his own experience as a researcher.

Read more at Doing Dewey…

Katie′s #CBR5 Review 2: Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes

Title: Falling Kingdoms
Author: Morgan Rhodes
Source: giveaway by Jessica Spotswood
Rating: 
Review Summary: Incredibly well written with great dialogue, well developed characters, and a complex but easily followed plot.

This one really did have a complex plot, so I’m going to direct you to the goodreads description and include an excerpt of that description here:

In a land where magic has been forgotten but peace has reigned for centuries, a deadly unrest is simmering. Three kingdoms grapple for power–brutally transforming their subjects’ lives in the process. Amidst betrayals, bargains, and battles, four young people find their fates forever intertwined…

This book is high fantasy at it’s best. There is a broad, epic plot at the level of kingdoms and we get pieces making up this bigger picture from the perspective of a variety of characters. more…

 

Katie′s #CBR5 Review 1: Mastermind by Maria Konnikova

Title: Mastermind: How To Think Like Sherlock Holmes
Author: Maria Konnikova
Source: from publisher for review
Rating:
Fun Fact: Motivation can improve IQ test results and memory formation.
Review Summary: Not the most useful as a self-help book, but a fun and inspiring way to learn about psychology.

Can you learn to think like Sherlock Holmes? Drawing on both anecdotes from Holmes stories and exciting studies in psychology, author Maria Konnikova suggests ways in which you can. She’s clearly familiar with and enthusiastic about both her topics – Homes and the psychology behind his way of thinking – and she does a great job making you feel her enthusiasm too. As someone who understands loving a good book, she had me from her description of her first experience with Holmes. She also integrated real-world, relatable examples with her Holmes/Conan Doyle anecdotes and the psychology studies in a way that constantly piqued my interest.

Read more at Doing Dewey.

HelloKatieO’s #CBR5 Review #5: The Ice Princess by Camilla Lackberg

I’m embarking on what I like to call a “crime spree” and I’m taking another tour through the crime/mystery realm of books. In the next few posts, in addition to this Swedish crime novel, I’ll be reading a fictionalized account of a true crime story, a journalist’s account of crime in Baltimoreover the course of a year, and an Elmore Leonardnovel (he’s his own genre by now,  I think, based on how prolific he is).

So, up first was The Ice Princess by Camilla Lackberg which had great reviews but I overall found lacking. Erica Falck, a writer, ends up investigating the death of her childhood friend who’s an ice princess in all senses of the word (dies in a frozen bathtub, is cold and emotionally withholding).  There are a decent number of twists and turns, but I felt that the red herrings were a little too obvious so by the end, you knew what was up.

Also, I can’t really say anymore in detail without giving everything away, but there was a plot point that irritated me because it was almost medically infeasible. Aside from that, I think my main problem with the book was that there was minimal character development, they felt like sketches of real people.  For me, what distinguishes the Dragon Tattoo series or Tana French novels is how real, and honest, and unique the characters feel. You get a real sense for what the characters will do next, and why, and it makes it feel meaningful.

While this book was a reasonably compelling mystery, it was missing that…spark that makes me want to read more of an author’s novels.

More reviews at HelloKatieO!