Tuesday Thingers!

Today's question- Blog Widgets. Do you use them? Do you have them on your blog? Do you know what I'm talking about? :-) A blog widget is that list of books "From my LibraryThing" and such, that you'll sometimes see on someone's sidebar. If you use it, do all of your books show up or do you have it set to only show certain books? Do you have a search widget, which would allow your blog readers to search your library? Have you ever made a photomosaic of your book covers? You can find widgets and photomosaic information on the "Tools" tab in LibraryThing.

I do have a LT blog widget posted here. It is currently showing random books from my library. I have been thinking about doing something slightly different with it, but haven't found one I like better yet.

I don't have a search widget currently. I honestly didn't know that there was a widget that would let you search. That could be interesting, as long as it isn't slow. I hate slow moving web pages.

I was recently browsing LT and saw the photomosaic feature, but didn't have the time to try it. I may just have to take the time and see what it does!

Island of Lost Girls by Jennifer McMahon

While parked at a gas station, Rhonda sees something so incongruously surreal that at first she hardly recognizes it as a crime in progress. She watches, unmoving, as someone dressed in a rabbit costume kidnaps a young girl. Devastated over having done nothing, Rhonda join the investigation. But the closer she comes to identifying the abductor, the nearer she gets to the troubling truth about another missing child: her best friend, Lizzy, who vanished years before.

This story is told in the present with Rhonda flashing back to her childhood throughout the story. The flashbacks are well done, with each chapter being marked by the date. This helps keep any confusion to a minimum.

For the most part, I liked the characters. Rhonda was someone you could relate too especially. Tock, however, seemed a little strange to me. She played a minor role, but she still came across as kind of unfinished to me. The relationships between the characters are important and it took me a bit to straighten out which characters were married.

I enjoyed this McMahon book more than Promise Not To Tell. I don't really get into ghosts and paranormal things, and this one didn't include any of that. The Island of Lost Girls story line had some predictable elements, but also had parts that had me guessing right up to the end. Overall, a very enjoyable read. 3.5 stars

The Necklace: Thirteen Women and the Experiment That Transformed Their Lives by Cheryl Jarvis

The true story of thirteen women who took a risk on an expensive diamond necklace and, in the process, changed not only themselves but a community.

Four years ago, in Ventura, California, Jonell McLain saw a diamond necklace in a local jewelry store display window. The necklace aroused desire first, then a provocative question: Why are personal luxuries so plentiful yet accessible to so few? What if we shared what we desired? Several weeks, dozens of phone calls, and a leap of faith later, Jonell bought the necklace with twelve other women, with the goal of sharing it.

Part charm, part metaphor, part mirror, the necklace weaves in and out of each woman's life, reflecting her past, defining her present, making promises for her future. Lending sparkle in surprising and unexpected ways, the necklace comes to mean something dramatically different to each of the thirteen women.

The Necklace drew me in from the very beginning. I loved the idea of the story and the sharing involved in its purchase. The writing was very smooth and flowed quickly. I originally sat down to read a chapter or two and found myself halfway through the book before I knew it.

The book was broken into thirteen chapters with each woman being the focus of one chapter. This format was a wonderful way to "meet" each of the women, but there were definitely some that you got to know better than others. The later chapters didn't seem to spend quite as much time featuring the person they were supposed to be about. They would often tell a story or two about the featured women, but then would revisit a woman that was already mentioned. I was a little surprised that the group was as affluent as it was, though. I had expected to find a group of women that would never have been able to purchase this necklace without this arrangement, and that didn't seem to be the case.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book and the experiences that the necklace allowed each women to be a part of. It was a quick, interesting read and I would recommend it even if you aren't normally a non-fiction reader. 4 stars

Booking Through Thursday...

Suggested by JM:
I receive a lot of review books, but I have never once told lies about the book just because I got a free copy of it. However, some authors seem to feel that if they send you a copy of their book for free, you should give it a positive review.
Do you think reviewers are obligated to put up a good review of a book, even if they don’t like it? Have we come to a point where reviewers *need* to put up disclaimers to (hopefully) save themselves from being harassed by unhappy authors who get negative reviews?

I absolutely do not believe that reviewers are obligated to only post positive reviews. To me, that is not a review, it is just providing lip service.

I don't review books any differently depending on whether it's a review copy or not. I believe in providing honest reviews, and sometimes that includes explaining why a book didn't work for me. And that, to me, is one of the great things about reviewing books. Everyone has different things that appeal to them. A book that I wouldn't bother finishing may be another's favorite.

I understand that author's get attached to their work, but they must also realize that not every book will appeal to every reader. When I do post a negative review I try to point out the good and the bad in a book, without giving away spoilers. I think this is fair to the author as well as my reader.

I don't think that blogs should have to post disclaimers announcing they may post negative reviews. This should go without saying. I would expect authors to respect this. If an author chooses to respond to a negative review I would only ask that their comments open a dialogue and not be posted only to harass.

Sail by James Patterson

Only an hour out of port, the Dunne family's summer getaway to paradise is already turning into the trip from hell. Carrie, the eldest, has thrown herself off the side of the boat in a bid for attention. Sixteen-year-old Mark is getting high belowdecks. And Ernie, their ten-year-old brother, is nearly catatonic. It's shaping up to be the worst vacation ever.

Katherine Dunne had hoped this trip would bring back the togetherness they'd lost when her husband died four years earlier. Maybe if her new husband, a high-powered Manhattan attorney, had been able to postpone his trial and join them it would all have been okay....

Suddenly, a disaster hits–and it's perfect. Faced with real danger, the Dunnes rediscover the meaning of family and pull together in a way they haven't in a long time. But this catastrophe is just a tiny taste of the danger that lurks ahead: someone wants to make sure that the Dunne family never makes it out of paradise alive.

James Patterson's books are those I pick up when I just need a break. I have been reading a lot of non-fiction lately and needed something lighter. Patterson's books are always quick, light reads.

Sail is predictable, but I would expect it to be. Patterson always has semi-interesting characters, but most of the book is based on quick action. This works well if you are looking for a mindless, beach-y type read.

I have always wondered what the actual length of a Patterson book would be if he actually wrote chapters of a normal length...3 stars

Tuesday Thingers!

Popular this month on LT: Do you look at this list? Do you get ideas on what to read from it?Have you read any of the books on the list right now? Feel free to link to any reviews you've done as well.

Here's the list and my answer:

1. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
2. Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron
3. Nation by Terry Pratchett
4. Brisingr by Christopher Paolini
5. Anathem by Neal Stephenson
6. American Wife: A Novel by Curtis Sittenfeld
7. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
8. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle: A Novel by David Wroblewski
9. Any Given Doomsday by Lori Handeland
10. Eclipse (The Twilight Saga, Book 3) by Stephenie Meyer

I don't usually look at this list, which actually surprises me. I have always been a bit fan of lists...

I have read Dewey, but that is the only one. I have American Wife and Eclipse but they are buried somewhere in Mt TBR.

I would love to read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society as I have heard wonderful things about it.

On a slightly different note, I just realized I haven't posted since last Tuesday's Thinger post. I hate it when life gets in the way of blogging!

Tuesday Thingers!

Today's question: LT Things- t-shirts, bags,cue cats- are you into the "stuff"? Do you use a cuecat to enter your books, or do you enter them manually? What do you think of the stuff?

I am not a big fan of stuff. I have thought about purchasing a cuecat as entering books can be sporadic, and I thought this might help me get better about it....but I am also a huge procrastinator, so I still haven't bought one. Maybe one day though.

As for T-shirts, bags and the like, no, I won't be buying them. I don't wear many things that have names splashed across them. It's just not my thing...