Review: The Rosie Project, by Graeme Simsion

After reading a lot of books from one genre I like to relax with something completely different. The Rosie project was the perfect book.

Don Tillman is a scientist, and he’s every single stereotype in the book. Socially awkward, single, devoting all of his time to work. He attempts to look for a wife by creating the Wife Project, a complex questionnaire with the purpose of finding a lifetime partner. It’s supposed to eliminate candidates that don’t match and thus save him time, but that was before he met Rosie.

Rosie is the complete opposite of everything he is looking for, and she needs his help. She’s looking for her real father, and since he’s a scientist with access to a lab, he can help by running DNA tests. They team up and begin the Father Project, eventually concocting elaborate schemes to obtain DNA samples to test. Don starts diverting from his strict schedule as he and Rosie work together, and he spends a lot of time thinking about how enjoyable the entire process is.

Predictably the pair begin to fall for one another, and this process is filled with all of the social awkwardness that you would expect. I found Don’s interactions amusing, and you can’t take it too seriously. The book is lighthearted and a quick read with some twists and turns but nothing particularly astounding. Some nights, that’s exactly what I’m looking for.

4 / 5 stars

Review: The High Druid’s Blade, by Terry Brooks

The High Druid’s Blade started out with a strong story, but the writing style (in my opinion) did not do it justice. The reader meets Paxon, a young boy doing what he can to help out his family. He has a sister who he is very protective of. She gets herself into some pretty serious trouble, and he goes to rescue her out of it. It felt like the first half of the book was missing a lot of descriptions. I likened it to an overview, it went along the lines of “John got up. John had breakfast. John got on his airship and flew for 5 hours, then John landed.” – I couldn’t relate to the characters or their world because I wasn’t given enough information.

Through an unusual series of events (ie: I couldn’t believe just how things “worked out”) Paxon goes to stay with the Druids who are training him for combat. They need a protector after all. While he is staying with them his sister is kidnapped by the evil Arcannan (or so he assumes) and he once more has to go to her rescue. About mid way through the book the story shifts to the sisters point of view. Things start getting a LOT more detailed but because it’s a torture scene with an underaged girl it felt very awkward. Not because of the scene itself but because this descriptive writing wasn’t in the first half of the book and I found it frustrating that the author had decided to inject it only for the torture scenes.

It felt like throughout the story things just naturally seemed to be ‘too good to be true’ making Paxon, his sister, the druids, and the small handful of other characters unbelieveable. Near the end things get more realistic, more descriptive and that is the portion I enjoyed. I started connecting to the characters just as the novel was ending. I’m not sure if I’ll continue with the series as this was only the first book, but it was enough to pique my interest.

The book releases March 11th, and while I did have issues with the writing style I really enjoyed the plot. I received this ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3/5 stars

First Reads at GoodReads

One of the best features that GoodReads has is the ability for authors and publishers to give away copies of their new books. Some are signed, some are limited editions, and all of them have been released within a 6 month period from the ending date. It’s not only a fantastic way for readers to score some advance copies from their favorite authors and discover new authors, but it’s a great way for writers to interact with fans, and to get their name out.

The contests work as free publicity, thousands of people see your book there and enter the contest. Maybe a handful like it enough that they buy the book even with the contest going on. Either way, it’s win win for everyone involved.

Every so often you can also catch a great giveaway over on The BiblioSanctum which is one of my favorite book review sites. Have your own recommendation? Why not mention it in comments below!

Review: The Adversary by Erin M. Evans

Book three in The Sundering series was a welcome change from the incredible doom and gloom that I felt in the first two books. You’re introduced to two tiefling, Farideh and her sister Havilar. While the book is third in the series you’re more than welcome to read it out of order, the books (like the previous ones) only loosely tie together (they all take place in the same ‘world’). The world is still filled with doom and gloom but there are hints of romance and characters that I didn’t absolutely disdain which always helps.

Farideh makes a pact (or two, or three) with a devil in order to keep those she cares about safe from harm. Of course making pacts with devils never turns out the way you want it to, and she soon finds herself in over her head, serving a wizard who is rounding up the Chosen of the Gods for a purpose that she can’t figure out. Her sister is bent on rescuing her, along with her old patron, a group of harpers who think she is a traitor, and a red wizard. Each person has their own reason for finding Farideh, with their own outcome of the events.

I can honestly say this third book is my favorite so far. The characters were colourful and came alive in a way that I didn’t see in the previous books. It was nice to see characters that were not all good or all evil; they made mistakes, and paid for those mistakes. I found myself ‘rooting’ for each character as they neared their goal and while the ending may have been predictable, I was satisfied with how it carried out.

This book released in December, so it’s a great time to pick it up. I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, and I thank NetGalley as well as the publishers for the opportunity.

4/5 stars

Reading Bingo Progress

I’ve been making pretty good progress with my bingo card so far this year. I should have a few more to add before too long, but I wanted to share the progress I’ve made to date. If you’re participating let me know in comments!

In the top row I’ve completed “a book that became a movie” by reading The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. I realize it was a short story more than an actual novel, but I think for this purpose it still counts. In the next line the square reads “a book by a female author” and that was In The Company of Thieves by Kage Baker. Of course like all good bingo cards, the center square is a free square, so I marked it off as completed. Finally I managed to fill in the square for “the second book in a series” by reading The Godborn, which is the second book in The Sundering series.

I know you normally win bingo by getting a row, but I would really like to complete the entire card. I think the most difficult square for me to fill will be “a book that scares you”. I’m just not a fan of reading things that scare me. The easiest square will probably be “a book published this year” – there are lots of great books releasing this year that I can’t wait to get to. I’ll post another update next month – in the meantime, keep reading!

Review: The Godborn, by Paul S. Kemp

I received this book in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley, my thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity.

When I first saw The Godborn on NetGalley I was very interested in reviewing it because it’s the second book in The Sundering series, started by R.A. Salvatore. Like many, I had assumed that the books would have some sort of link between them, but I was wrong. They do both take place in the Forgotten Realms world, but that is where the similarities end. This is both good and bad, it means you can read them as individual stand alone novels, but if you’re looking for some continuation of a story you’ll be out of luck.

You follow the life of Vasen, who was born in an abbey having never known his father. He meets up with some heroes, and together they set forth to prevent the destruction of the world. Pretty straight forward story. The writing style is incredibly dark which makes sense since the end of the world is a pretty bleak time, but it was so dark and morbid and at times just disgusting that I found myself really wishing for some sort of reprieve. For fans of that sort of writing style I have no doubt that the book will resonate very well, but personally it was a bit too much.

3 / 5 stars

StoryBundle and their Sci-Fi Saturday Night Bundle

StoryBundle is promoting a wonderful collection of books picked out by the hosts at Sci-Fi Saturday Night. Now, science fiction is not one of my favorite genres, in fact I tend to stay as far away as possible but that doesn’t mean I can’t still promote great deals on wonderful books that others may be interested in. The bundle runs for another 14 days, and like the humble bundle deals you decide how much you want to pay. If you donate more than $10 you receive 3 bonus books.

Sounds like it’s win-win, to me.

If you’ve never heard of StoryBundle before, I suggest you check out their FAQ. They answer pretty much anything you would want to know – and they also look for authors to feature in their bundles. Could be some great publicity!

Review: The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

I admit, I saw the movie before I ever read the short story and I wish it had of been the other way around. I enjoy books much more than movies, but the fact was that I enjoyed the movie so much I wanted to read the book. I picked up the audiobook narrated by Ben Stiller for free on amazon which happened to come around by coincidence.

As a few others have mentioned, the fact that it is so short, is exactly the point. It highlights “the wispy nature of one man’s substance along Main Street, America, the story is meant to be here one moment, then gone.”

All of us have daydreamed at one point in time or another, and wished we could live through them. We wish we could perform heroic acts, but tend to quietly go back to our mundane existence. This is a reminder of that, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. The book is short enough that there’s really no excuse not to give it a read or a listen and pay tribute to James Thurber.

4 / 5 stars

The Humble Audiobook Bundle

In an effort to listen to more audiobooks this year (even one would be an increase over last year) I picked up the latest humble bundle, which just happens to be eight audiobooks. I have only heard of three of the titles before, but at $4 (which was the average at the time that I purchased the bundle) I figured I couldn’t go wrong. I haven’t listened to any of the books yet because I’ve been slowly working my way through Moby Dick, but I did transfer them to my ipod with relative ease.

Some people don’t think audiobooks “count” when it comes to enjoying a book – but I think that they can provide the same relaxation and enjoyment. There are times when it’s just not possible for us to read, we’re often involved in other tasks but we do have the ability to listen. Why not fill these moments with some of our favorite things – books. No matter what their form.

The Human Library

This was an event I had never heard of before, but as soon as I did, I was intrigued. It’s called the living library, or the human library. It’s about interacting with real people, and having real conversations with them about their fields.

The concept

An individual accepts to take part in the event as a Book.

Book reservations for specific time slots will be available the day of the event at each site.

Books get “checked out” for 20 minutes by a Reader, during which they have a one-on-one conversation.

Readers can register for only one book at a time. First come, first served.

Background

Launched in Denmark in 2000, the Human Library was a way to focus on anti-violence, encourage dialogue and build relations. It has grown in popularity with 27 countries taking part in 2008, including Brazil, China, Colombia, Cyprus, Malaysia and South Africa.

The Ottawa Library held theirs on January 25th, and they had a lot of really interesting people available to ‘borrow’ including a Bylaw Officer at Carlingwood, a former gang member, a transgender, and a foster parent. The unique perspective that each person gave is something that just completely blew me away. I hope to see more of these events in the future, and if you have one such event taking place around your area, I highly suggest you check it out.