Monday Recommendations

Monday Recommendation List

Random list of 10 books Monday! I have read and enjoyed each of these enough to flag for a potential personal library purchase.

Be bold and just choose randomly, stick to your normal genre...or step outside of your normal reading zone and try something you usually wouldn’t. You can look up the descriptions at Amazon.com, or search my blog for old posts by entering the title in the little search box in the top left-hand corner and clicking the magnifying glass.

This week-- 10 recommendations (in no particular order):

1. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
2. Running the Books by Avi Steinberg
3. Dead Man Walking by Helen Prejean
4. Eve Duncan series (first is Face of Deception)  by Iris Johansen
5. Don’t Cry  by Beverly Barton
6. Blood Vines by Erica Spindler
7. Let’s Take the Long Way Home by Gail Caldwell
8. It Had to Be You by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
9. The Outsiders by SE Hinton
10. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Monday Recommendations

Monday Recommendation List

Random list of 10 books Monday! I have read and enjoyed each of these enough to flag for a potential personal library purchase.

Be bold and just choose randomly, stick to your normal genre...or step outside of your normal reading zone and try something you usually wouldn’t. You can look up the descriptions at Amazon.com, or search my blog for old posts by entering the title in the little search box in the top left-hand corner and clicking the magnifying glass.

This week-- 10 recommendations (in no particular order):

1. Super Immunity by Joel Fuhrman
2. Until There Was You by Kristan Higgins
3. God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater by Kurt Vonnegut
4. Never Knowing  by Chevy Stevens
5. Simply Irresistable  by Jill Shalvis
6. Nothing But Trouble by Rachel Gibson
7. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
8. The Black Lyon by Jude Deveraux
9. Still Missing by Chevy Stevens
10. Hard Rock Arrangement  by Ava Lore

Monday Recommendation List

Monday Recommendation List

Random list of 10 books Monday! I have read and enjoyed each of these enough to flag for a potential personal library purchase.

Be bold and just choose randomly, stick to your normal genre...or step outside of your normal reading zone and try something you usually wouldn’t. You can look up the descriptions at Amazon.com, or search my blog for old posts by entering the title in the little search box in the top left-hand corner and clicking the magnifying glass.

This weeks 10 recommendations (in no particular order):

1. My One and Only by Kristan Higgins
2. Even Silence Has An End by Ingrid Betancourt
3. Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
4. Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie
5. Eve Duncan Series (starts with The Face of Deception) by Iris Johansen
6. Just Let Me Lie Down by Kristin Van Ogtrop
7. Husband and Wife by Leah Stewart
8. Secrets of a Summer Night by Lisa Kleypas
9. Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart
10. The Executor by Jesse Kellerman

Dark Places

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

Amazon Description:

“Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were murdered in “The Satan Sacrifice" of Kinnakee, Kansas.” She survived—and famously testified that her fifteen-year-old brother, Ben, was the killer. Twenty-five years later, the Kill Club—a secret secret society obsessed with notorious crimes—locates Libby and pumps her for details. They hope to discover proof that may free Ben. Libby hopes to turn a profit off her tragic history: She’ll reconnect with the players from that night and report her findings to the club—for a fee. As Libby’s search takes her from shabby Missouri strip clubs to abandoned Oklahoma tourist towns, the unimaginable truth emerges, and Libby finds herself right back where she started—on the run from a killer.”

My Thoughts:

Gillian Flynn is a talented story teller. I'm still waiting to fall in love with one of her stories. I enjoyed “Gone Girl” so decided to check out her other work. I really liked the heart of this book, but I also had some issues with it.

There were some problems in the characters. Libby Day isn’t very likable. I found myself liking her…but it took awhile. None of the other characters stood out to me. And there were too many screwed up characters competing for attention.

I enjoyed the flashbacks throughout the book, as they kept me guessing. But, overall, the plot takes off in too many directions for my taste. And, again, Flynn gives an ending that just doesn’t make sense. And unbelievable endings really irk me!

Monday Recommendations

Monday Recommendation List

Random list of 10 books Monday! I have read and enjoyed each of these enough to flag for a potential personal library purchase.

Be bold and just choose randomly, stick to your normal genre...or step outside of your normal reading zone and try something you usually wouldn’t. You can look up the descriptions at Amazon.com, or search my blog for old posts by entering the title in the little search box in the top left-hand corner and clicking the magnifying glass.

This weeks 10 recommendations (in no particular order):

　

1. The Way of the Wizard by Deepak Chopra
2. Everyone is Beautiful by Katherine Center
3. Back Roads by Susan Crandall
4. Crescent and Star by Stephen Kinzer
5. Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard
6. The Guardian Angelino series (starts with Edge of Sight) by Roxanne St. Clair
7. On Love  by Alain de Botton
8. Never Knowing by Chevy Stevens
9. The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
10. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Gone Girl

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Amy and Nick are married for five years, they have recently moved from New York to the Midwest. Suddenly Amy disappears. Was she kidnapped? Or killed by her husband?  

I had heard mixed reviews from friends on this one. For me, personally, I was on the edge of like/hate.

First issue for me was that it wasn’t hard to guess what’s happening. I had a few different ideas, but I definitely wasn’t shocked by the twist in the middle.

Second issue was that the story moves very slowly for the first half. It was a struggle to stay engaged.

Third issue is the ending. Horrible ending. I won’t give anything away…but I was very disappointed.
The wrap up is just completely unbelievable.

Aside from those issue I still enjoyed the writing, Flynn kept me engaged, so I couldn’t come down firmly on the hate side.