Review: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Book Info:

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Hardcover: 400 pages

Publisher: Scholastic Press (September 1, 2009)

ISBN-13: 9780439023498

Genre: Young Adult

Source: My Shelves

Rating: 5/5

Fresh from their improbable victory in the annual Hunger Games, Katniss and Peeta get to enjoy the spoils only briefly before they must partake in a Capitol-sponsored victory tour. But trouble is brewing— -- President Snow tells Katniss directly he won't stand for being outsmarted, and she overhears rumbles of uprisings in Panem's districts. Before long it's time for the next round of games, and because it's the 75th anniversary of the competition, something out of the ordinary is in order...




When everybody initially starting raving about The Hunger Games I stayed away because I didn't think it sounded like my kind of book.  Finally, after almost a year, my curiosity got the best of me and I had to see what everyone was talking about.  Once I started reading I was hooked and I couldn't figure out why I waited so long to read it.  Catching Fire was much the same way.  I knew I wanted to read it.  I bought it as soon as it came out, and it's been sitting around my house for almost a year.  Once again, I didn't know why I put of reading it for so long.

As soon as started reading I was hooked.  The characters, the setting, everything about the book worked so well.  Collins included just enough details from The Hunger Games that it jogged my memory, but not enough to feel repetitive if you'd just finished the first book. Katniss is a great character.  She's strong and brave, someone you want to be like, but not so perfect that you can't relate to her.  Peeta is still as sweet as ever, but I'd hoped to see a bit more of Gale.  I didn't know where the storyline was going since I'd stayed away from reviews, and I was pleasantly surprised. 

This series won't be put on the back burner anymore.  Mockingjay is ordered and as soon as it gets to me, I'd better be left alone until I finish it! 5 stars

Review: Bright Lights, Big Ass by Jen Lancaster

Book Info:

Bright Lights, Big Ass: A Self-Indulgent, Surly, Ex-Sorority Girl's Guide to Why it Often Sucks in the City, or Who are These Idiots and Why Do They All Live Next Door to Me? by Jen Lancaster

Paperback: 400 pages

Publisher: NAL Trade; (May 1, 2007)

ISBN-13: 9780451221254

Genre: Non-Fiction

Source: My Shelves

Rating:4/5

Jen Lancaster hates to burst your happy little bubble, but life in the big city isn't all it's cracked up to be. Contrary to what you see on TV and in the movies, most urbanites aren't party-hopping in slinky dresses and strappy stilettos. But lucky for us, Lancaster knows how to make the life of the lower crust mercilessly funny and infinitely entertaining.




Picking a book right before your baby has open heart surgery is a tough thing.  I didn't want anything too serious, or with too complex a plot.  I also wanted something I could set aside and not lose my place in the story, and really wanted something to lighten my mood.  Jen Lancaster was the perfect choice.

Lancaster has the same sarcastic, biting sense of humor that she did in Bitter is the New Black, and she often had me laughing out loud.  She is not at all politically correct, and while she favors a word I hate, I am a little more forgiving considering it was likely she would use it, and I read the book anyways.  I love that Lancaster is able to laugh at herself, and I she made me wonder why I waited so long to read another one of her books.  4 stars

Review: Kisser by Stuart Woods

Book Info:

Kisser by Stuart Woods

Hardcover: 304 pages

Publisher: Putnam Adult (January 19, 2010)

ISBN-13: 9780399156113

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Source: My Shelves

Rating: 2.5/5

Stone Barrington is back in New York, and after a rather harrowing sojourn in Key West, he's looking to stay closer to home and work on some simple divorce and custody cases for Woodman & Weld. But when he crosses paths with a fetching Broadway actress-and sometime lip model- Stone gets a little more deeply involved with business than he'd expected. When his new lady love turns out to be a lady with a shady past, Stone and downtown cop Dino Bacchetti realize that her beauty may have an unusually high price. . . .

I've been reading this series for years.  And like James Patterson, in my opinion, it has gone down hill in terms of quality.  On the other hand, it's a very fast read and I know the characters well.  When I'm in a reading slump, like now (due to lack of sleep and a short attention span), a quick book will help me get out of my slump.

Kisser is pretty much just like all of the Stone Barrington series lately.  Stone gets a case involving a beautiful woman, they end up in bed, he solves the case and something happens at the end of the story to lead you into the next book.  Overall, pretty unimpressive, but I didn't read it to be impressed.  I read it because I knew exactly what I was getting. 

If you've read the series before and are attached to the characters, grab a copy from the library.  If this is a new series to you, start at the beginning, as I remember them being much better.  2.5 stars

2010 Reading From My Shelves Project

Like a lot of other bloggers this time of year means signing up for next years challenges. So, I will just apologize ahead of time for all the challenge posts as I like for each challenge to have its own space...

Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea is hosting this challenge. The goal of this challenge is to read books from your shelves and then pass them on. This could mean donating them, swapping them or anything else you can think of to get them out of your house. Since I usually don't re-read getting rid of books isn't an issue for me, but reading books from my shelves sometimes can be. Hopefully this challenge will help.

My goal is that 60 of the books I read in 2010 come from my shelves.

The Rules:

-grab the button
-decide how many books you want to read from your shelves (minimum of 20 - no maximum)
-find a new home for the books once you read them
-post the titles and the authors of books you've read and passed on
-project runs from January 1, 2010 through December 31, 2010
-crossover challenge books are allowed

1. Kisser by Stuart Woods
2. Never Tell a Lie by Hallie Ephron
3. Avenging Angels by Mary Stanton
4. Bright Light, Big Ass by Jen Lancaster
5. Lucid Intervals by Stuart Woods
6. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins