Monday, July 23, 2012

The A-List: Summer Reading, Part Two

The coolest thing about owning a Kindle is that I can order up samples of books for free.  This lets me get a "taste" of what the book is about before I plop down the cash.  If I don't like what I read, then I can just delete the sample and move along. One way I have been using the samples offered is to help me remember which books that I do want to read, even if I don't have time to read them right now.  I used to have good intentions, and would tell myself that I would come back to buy a particular book.  Then that promise would completely leave my head the second that I left the bookstore.  My Kindle has taken care of that little memory problem for me. 

More of what I've read this summer falls below.  I am on a mission this summer, to get lost in as many books as I can, so I have something to think about when I'm back at work and "too busy".  I know--you're never too busy to read--adding work to the mix seems to limit the free time that I enjoy each summer, especially since Zane will be starting Pre-K at a new school.  (Okay, so I'm reading more so I don't have to think about that, too.)

1.  Stolen Prey   Lucas Davenport is one of the great detectives, in my opinion.  He's practical with a little dash of idealism thrown in there.  He's smart and was able to get rich writing video game scenarios.  He's a hero, except when he's not.  I've read all of the "Prey" books, and they never fail to thrill me. These are great beach reads!  John Sandford bases most of his tales in Minnesota and the surrounding states; I had no idea that such a sleepy sounding part of the world was such a seething hotbed of intrigue.  This particular adventure involves the Mexican drug trade and a mugging.  I love the comfortable dialogue that seems to flow between the characters.  There always seems to be a witty comeback or a sarcastic remark that fits so well that you can just picture these characters actually having those conversations.  Nothing sounds forced or just inserted for a laugh.  I admire that in a writer, and I sure do enjoy it.

Source: amazon.com via Tina on Pinterest



2.  Reading in the Brain  I always have to complete some continuing education credits during the summer, and this book is one of my classes.  (The other 42 hours have been all about autism, in case you're curious.)  The act of reading fascinates me.  It is an extremely complex act that many of us end up able to do automatically.  In a lot of ways we seem to start learning to read the second we are born!  This book is all about the "brainy" side of reading, what parts of the brain are active, and what is actually happening.  It's probably not something that is in the least bit exciting to anyone not interested in education, but I would recommend this to anyone who has a child who is struggling with reading.  If nothing else, it might offer a bit of perspective.

3.  The Darkest Seduction  So sue me, I'm a bit of a romantic.  This book is part of the Lords of the Underworld Series by Gena Showalter.  The premise is that when Pandora's Box was opened by soldiers of Zeus who were jealous of Pandora, Zeus punished them by placing one of the demons imprisoned in the box into each soldier. Each book is the story of a different man and his demon.  This current story has Paris, the Keeper of Promiscuity, and his attempts to reunite with his True Love, who just so happens to have been stuck with the demon Wrath.   The paranormal parts of the book do not detract in the least from the love story.  I like that the heroines in Showalter's books are not fragile flowers who are helpless until the hero rescues them.  These women are downright feisty.  Good beach read.

Source: amazon.com via Tina on Pinterest



4.  Lover Reborn  J.R.Ward's series involves vampires.  Not the sparkly kind.  The Warrior kind, with the big burly chests and lots of leather.  Lots and lots of leather.  These vampires are a separate race from humans.  They don't like to feed off of humans, either, although they will if they have to.  There's an entire aristocracy in the vampire world, and they are guarded by the Black Dagger Brotherhood, which are the big burly guys who wear the leather.  The vamps in this universe mate for life, when they find the One.  Except that the protagonist of Lover Reborn is recovering from the death of his "One".  He doesn't want to let his dead wife go, and clings to her memory so fiercely that he is preventing her from entering heaven.  It's up to an angel to help him let go and move on to a new life, and new love.  It's a love story from a little different angle, I think.  Still a love story!

5.  It's Not You, It's the Dishes  I am in the middle of this book now.  I picked this up because of my undying hatred of doing the dishes.  I do most of the cooking in our house, and in my mind, that means that my husband should be taking care of the clean up.  Except that he doesn't.  It's not that he thinks that cleaning is women's work.  He probably just gets distracted by something and forgets about it.  He's not really different from most guys, who likely don't think about doing dishes until the last fork is pulled from the drawer or all the coffee cups are dirty.  I find myself getting resentful about it, however.  The people who wrote this book decided to look at marriage from a different angle--economics.  Which intrigued me.  If I look at my marriage from the point of view of an economist on such concepts as a 50/50 division of labor, then I'm less likely to feel emotional about any issues that crop up.   I'm learning something new, and I'm getting a new perspective on marriage. 

Source: amazon.com via Tina on Pinterest



Okay, got any other books I should be reading? 




4 comments:

  1. Haha! Love the sound of the last one!! I had an aunt who NEVER did the dishes - she made it known up front that if she had prepared the meal, then those who ate it would be doing the dishes! I immediately adopted this philosophy and it works well - but you have to let everyone know up front. It's simple, really - if they don't like that idea, then they don't eat!!!

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    1. Haha!! You're right! Maybe not getting to eat would be a great incentive. I will try it!

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  2. I wish I were reading. I've been watching the Tour de France.....that has to count for something, right? RIGHT???

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