June 2013 – JP Solatorio's Book Blog

Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll

I listened to the Librivox dramatization audiobook. Very entertaining, but not as good as Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The first few chapters of the book was a bit boring, but the rest became more enjoyable. I just had to laugh at the silliness of the characters.

Get Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll:
Amazon.com (books and Kindle eBooks)
The Book Depository.com (free shipping worldwide)

For One More Day by Mitch Albom

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was hard to read for me, not because it’s awful, but because of how I can relate to the story. I started this book before my mom died (who was dying of cancer at that point), and when I found out that the story was about a man seeing the ghost of her mother and experiencing a day with her, it felt too painful for me to continue so I didn’t read it for a few months. It’s been 2 months now since my mom passed away and I felt I could read it now. Some scenes in the book reminded me strongly of my mother, and I had to keep reading just so I don’t get bogged down on a page. Finished it in a couple of days.

Story-wise it’s entertaining enough. There’s a “twist” in the end which I didn’t expect because I’ve forgotten if the author delves into twist-endings or not. (I read The Five People You Meet in Heaven before but only vaguely remember twist). Come to think of it, the book sounds the same like The Five People, about souls meeting other souls who had an impact in their lives.

I’m more of a crime/thriller reader, but once in a while I crave these kind of emotional stories. I’m glad I read it.

Get For One More Day by Mitch Albom:
Amazon.com (books and Kindle eBooks)
The Book Depository.com (free shipping worldwide)

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a fun read! But then again it has to be, because it’s a children’s story. I only listened to an audiobook of this, and I liked it very much. The version I got used different voice actors for the characters, so it’s almost like watching a movie. I found out that I almost know everything about this story before I even listened to it, thanks to the different types of movies out there, most notably Disney’s. I’ll definitely get a copy of this book for my collection.

Get Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll:
Amazon.com (books and Kindle eBooks)
The Book Depository.com (free shipping worldwide)

Grimm’s Fairy Tales by Brothers Grimm

Grimms’ Fairy Tales by Jacob Grimm

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have the paperback for this but found it hard to read because of the small font, so I listened to an audiobook version instead. It wasn’t as complete as I thought, but it had most of the story. All stories are entertaining, and some are quite shocking that you wouldn’t think of them as children’s stories.

Get Grimm’s Fairy Tales by Brothers Grimm:
Amazon.com (books and Kindle eBooks)
The Book Depository.com (free shipping worldwide)

The Cabinet of Curiosities by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

The Cabinet of Curiosities by Douglas Preston

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Amazing read, one of the best books in the Pendergast series. The action was continuous, and there were several plot twists. The ending is a pleasant surprise.

Get The Cabinet of Curiosities by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child:
Amazon.com (books and Kindle eBooks)
The Book Depository.com (free shipping worldwide)

Private by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

Private by James Patterson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The book was ok. It was an entertaining read but I had several issues with it.

1. The protagonists were trying to solve 3 cases. I think my threshold is only 2. 3 cases gets confusing.
2. They should have focused more on the main characters and stopped giving us background characters that you don’t know if they mattered to the whole plot or just “extras.” It was tough remembering who was who.
3. The book reads like other James Patterson books, filled with rich people in rich surroundings. The crimes are starting to sound generic too. I wonder if JP has a stack of index cards with notes on different crimes, and he gets to randomly choose to which series he would assign the story.
4. I didn’t like the main character so much. A secondary character, Justine, was more likeable.

I think this is the first book of a new series starring Jack Morgan. I’m going to just stick with JP’s other series for now and not continue this until maybe I’ve demolished my to-read pile.

Get Private by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro from the following websites:
Amazon.com (books and Kindle eBooks)
The Book Depository.com (free shipping worldwide)