Not the MJ song.

Book 6 - A mystery or thriller

 

The Last Juror by John Grisham

 

A brief perusal of the 2015 Reading Challenge, and a much less brief perusal of my small, yet always growing, library left me with one question: Does John Grisham write mystery's/thrillers?

Papa came to the rescue after a slightly brief-er perusal of his John Grisham collection. At first I wasn't too sure when he pulled out The Last Juror. The cover and title sure seemed ominous, and I didn't doubt it's ability to be thrilling and/or mysterious. His travel to the bookshelf had been so brief, in fact, that I wondered if he hadn't based his selection primarily on the cleverly worded critic on the bottom of the front cover.

"One of his best: a thoughtful and atmospheric thriller" New York Times

Please draw your attention to the word 'thriller'.

Alas, I have discovered, after a full front to back reading, that there are indeed thrilling themes and moments of mystery. Although, the main case that starts the thrilling is no mystery at all. The actions that come later in the novel have one sitting around with many questions and no answers. As many authors will do, pieces of the story are excluded, and the reader is left at the end of the story without the most hope of ever figuring things out. There is just too much information left out.

Upon reading the first few chapters of this novel, I found myself connecting well with the main character's new job.

A big city kid moves to little Canton in Ford County, Mississippi after attending a few unfinished years at university. He has a job as a reporter for the local newspaper and soon finds himself in a position to buy the newspaper from its slowly fading owner.

The past owner took to writing obituaries, and little else, while the paper's distribution declined steadily. With the new kid on the job, the small town paper starts to grow and evolve into something never seen before in Ford County. As a lover of writing and an admirer of words, I find the life of a newspaper reporter entirely thrilling. There was a time I thought I could take on journalism, I don't know if I could be so completely nosey though.

I won't spread too much of the story around, but after a murder occurs and a jury is ordered, the town picks a side; and isn't happy with the end results of the trial. But the real fear starts when the murderer gains parole and, allegedly (here's where the details become few and far between, and the reader is left to assume one person; but question many things), starts to gain revenge on the jury members.

I must confess, I didn't really see the thrilling nature of the novel until about half way through it. This may be because I often read novels that are rather fantastic and perfectly exciting, but I'm not so sure.

As Papa recommended this novel to me, I am now passing it along to you. Working in the field of law, I quite enjoy reading about stories that are maybe, at times, a little far fetched. If you enjoy reading about legal stories, please pick up a John Grisham, and thank me later.

 

Cause this is thriller, thriller night, this is t-bear signing off

Prayers for the Stolen

Book 5 - A book by an author you've never read before

 

Prayers for the Stolen by Jennifer Clement

 

A few months back I entered our church building and attended to the customary check of my mailbox. To my surprise, among the brochures and miscellaneous church papers, I discovered a novel.

As many of you know, I am rather a large fan of novels.

I cannot express the excitement that ensued when I observed what lay upright in my mailbox. The first thought that came upon my mind was that I was the lucky participant of a mailbox book exchange. Alas, I was specifically chosen (by my pastor) to read this specific book; and unfortunately that is as far as it has gone. I will have to bring up a mailbox book exchange idea and see how she feels about it.

This novel is based in a small town in Mexico where the girls are made too look like boys to avoid being noticed by the drug traffickers. All the fathers have left their families to make money in America and after a few brief visits home, they don't return.

I can identify with the idea that all the men had left their families to move to America in search of better jobs and more money. Every spring our town becomes home to thousands of migrant workers. Men who have come from many different countries to make more money here than they would back home; even though they are making much less than any of us would doing the same jobs. They leave their families to make a life for themselves in our little town. I wonder sometimes how many of them actually send money back to their families and how long that lasts.

Some parts of the storyline I have a hard time imagining because of the amount of fear that the characters experience. In the town that the main character lives in, there are only women and children. All the children are boys, in reality there is only one boy. When they are born they are registered as boys so the girls don't draw attention to themselves. When they hear an SUV rolling down the road, the girls hide in holes in the ground to avoid being taken.

The story follows Ladydi, but there are so many other lives lived through the 212 pages.

Although the character is only sixteen years old, she experiences many situations that are not anything someone of her age should go through. I did have to stop myself with some of that thinking though. When a novel is based in a completely different country I often have to put my mind in a very different place in order to understand the characters situation. Many of the events that occurred in Ladydi's life were probably very normal for her. After all, she lived in a small town in Mexico.

Although I had a lot of trouble identifying with Ladydi's mother's character, I still enjoyed the way the novel transitioned through Ladydi's life; even though the back and forth from past to present got a little confusing sometimes.

 

Let it snow, this is t-bear signing off

Shh, Shh

Book 4 - A book a friend recommended

hush, hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

The time of year comes when we are faced with the ever annoying question, "what do you want for Christmas?"

The first, and correct, response is a raised voice, "I don't know!" accompanied by a sigh and somewhat of an exhausted falling into a chair feeling. There just isn't enough time in a day to think of all the things one wants for Christmas. Maybe that's why we get a whole year; for preparation purposes.

In the year of 2014, I was busy on Pinterest when I came upon an idea that someone had nicely displayed upon the Internet. So that year, instead of using my usual response, "Chapters gift cards", I said, "your favourite novel". Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find out how many people have just one favourite book, as only one non-Santa asked me this.

As you may have already guessed, this book was the favourite novel of my best friend. It was gifted to me for Christmas; along with a lovely handwritten letter. That is how it came to be recommended to me by a friend.

This novel is a written for teens, teen love story. We start off with two people who are completely different. One is determined not to like the other, while the other is determined to have the one like them. Take that plot line and add some *spoileralert!* angels, back alleys at night and pool and you're right in the novel.

I would not normally read this type of novel, but I rather enjoy the idea of reading a book that someone, who you know well, loves. To read words that have been thought over, analyzed and have amused a person you are close to helps you to know who they are a little better. It's quite a powerful experience.

If you start reading this novel, just a heads up, there are three more after it. I won't be participating in any further reading at the present time, so please no spoilers. I didn't spoil anything for you that you didn't already suspect from looking at the cover or reading the little description on the back. Just remember that.

 

There's a storm a-brewing! this is t-bear signing off

Not the chocolate!

Book 3 - A book set in the future.

 

All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin

 

After a started reading this novel I discovered that there are actually two other books to follow it. I was not prepared for a trilogy when I set out on such an endeavor.

Although there was a slight cliff hanger (a set up for a second, as some would say) I don't feel as though it is necessary for me to continue with the trilogy.

That is not to say that I didn't enjoy this story, but if I went my whole life without reading the sequel, I would be okay with that. I often find, with a trilogy, that the first book is amazing and the next two just don't live up to the name.

The setting is New York City and the year is unbeknownst to the reader. The only indication of the time is that the narrator's grandmother was born in 1995 and is aged somewhere in her 80s.

The story takes one back to the times of prohibition in the early 20th century. This time they aren't outlawing alcohol, (rather supplying it to everyone and your uncle, no matter their age) they have taken to removing caffeine, chocolate and paper from the list of can-haves. Although, paper is something that can be bought, it is just very expensive, while caffeine and chocolate are actually illegal. It just so happens that the main character's family is a key ingredient in the underground chocolate industry in America. As one can assume, this causes some problems in the, normally safe, life of the orphaned narrator and her siblings.

As a person who doesn't see the world without chocolate, I don't know if I could truly live in such a situation. However, most of the people in question in the novel have gone their whole lives without chocolate so they don't really realize what it is that they're missing. I just hope that I don't have to be banned from chocolate eating at the prime of my life. That may put a damper on things.

I often find that futuristic novels show our world but with some sort of system that is created to make the world a better place. This novel shows our world, possibly 60 years from now, with low resources and little adaption. There is still water, but not an unlimited amount. Paper is used sparingly or not at all because everyone has a tablet like device to use. There doesn't seem to be any great advancements in technology and the systems of government haven't changed much. People go to school and then get jobs and then have families and then live out their days. Their world is just like ours only with a limited amount of resources. It makes me wonder if our world is headed in that direction.

If you like futuristic novels with a little bit of teenage love and a lot of chocolate mafiya family drama, then I recommend this novel to you.

 

Hide your chocolate, this is t-bear signing off

 

PS - Mafiya is not misspelled, read the novel.

Greeks v Romans

Book 2 - A book from an author you love that you haven't read yet

 

The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan

 

If you have never read a book by Uncle Rick then you are missing out.

You may not have heard about this book from the series The Heroes of Olympus, but I bet you have heard of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. The first two have become Hollywood's creation of what Uncle Rick did such a wonderful job imagining. Don't watch them if you want to keep that beautiful picture of Camp Half-Blood in your mind. Hollywood did what Hollywood does best, and they ruined the storyline. Don't worry, the movies are enough different to make you think you aren't even talking about the same novel, so maybe that's a good thing.

Anyways, this novel is the fifth and final book in the series and I have to say; I'm not sure I was ready for it. Although, I was able to easily detective my way through the plot looking for clues as to what would happen next, I still wasn't prepared for the suspensefulness.

All the books that I've read by Uncle Rick are from that area of Chapters that says Ages 9-12. If you haven't already guessed it, I do not fit into this category but must say I would love to live in it. There is something so wonderful about reading a novel that's meant for children. There is, more than often, a happy ending. The characters are, without fail, faced with a challenge that they don't believe they will ever be able to overcome. Then with the help of teamwork and a finding of some sort of inner strength they realize that they are actually capable of much more.

The main characters in the novels are half-bloods, meaning half-human and half-god. The novel is based around a few teenagers from two camps in the United States, Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter. One camp is Roman, the other is Greek and have been separated from each other since the dawn of time, and for good reason. If you have read the books then you will know that the Greeks and Romans don't normally get along enough to live in the same town, let alone work together to defeat monsters. The Greeks and Romans soon realize that they each have different skills and abilities that will all benefit their journey to save the world from mass destruction.

I would love to write more about the storyline of the series but I can't as I know that a certain Nicool is working on book three. Don't worry, she'll catch up soon.

 

Happy reading! this is t-bear signing off

Books, Episode 3

Evening all:

As the new year begins, so does a new list of books.

This year I have decided to partake in a Reading Challenge. However, I feel as though I may have to take my expectations and lower them just a little. The list that I found online has 50 books on it. This means that I'll have to read, approximately, a book a week. I don't know how that will work out, but I'm up for the challenge.

The first challenge to check off is "A book with a one-word title".

The book I read is Light by Michael Grant. It is the finale of the wonderful series where each book is advertised as "A Gone Novel".

If you take Lord of the Flies and put all those children under a dome (like the book (slash) TV series called Under the Dome) you will begin to understand the idea that is this novel series.

All you have to do is imagine that one day all people over the age of 15 disappeared from an area on the California coast, and then watch the havoc ensue as the children slowly start to realize that it is now up to them to take care of themselves and each other; while fighting off the constant attacks from fellow dome members and supernatural forces.

It is really a rather thrilling series, although, I was glad that I was able to have a break between the fifth book, Fear, and the sixth book, Light. Sometimes when all I`ve been reading for a few months is the same series, it`s nice to get a break. A Christmas Carol was that break, and it was fantabulous.

In conclusion, Mr. Cooper is in dire need of windshield washer fluid, therefore I must bid thee adieu.

Until next time, my furry friends, this is t-bear signing off

PS - the (slash) is in place of an actual slash as that was the point where my keyboard decided to go all French on me and I couldn't figure out how to fix it.

Time

Time does not wait. It doesn't renew it's self or undo itself. 

Time doesn't speed up or slow down.

There is no peaceful quiet or continual bustle to alter the quantity of time. 

Time doesn't bend itself according to our will.

Time flows at our minds choosing. It is only all consuming if it is allowed to be.

We manipulate time, and its never changing speed manipulates us.

Happy New Year! this is t-bear signing off