Book Reviews, Book Recommendations, Book News, and more

I’m a fan of Mary Higgins Clark and have been reading her books for years.  Although I haven’t read all of them (she’s written over 20), I’ve ready many of them.  The ending was a surprise to me in the first several books of hers I read.  In the last few books, including this one, I had the “who did it” person figured out long before the end of the book.  It might be that I’ve figured out her style of reading enough to be able to guess the “surprise ending.” 

Even though I figured out the ending, there was still enough suspense and intrigue in the book to make it hard for me to put it down even when it was late at night and I knew I had to get to sleep! 

This book explores telepathy between twins, specifically young twin girls who are kidnapped.  As expected the parents are devastated and there are some predictable occurrences such as the girls father being a suspect for a short period of time.  If you’re a parent, your heart will break a little when reading about the hell the girls mother goes through. 

The telepathy described in the book seems eerie and unbelievable. But I have a Dad who is a twin along with a niece and a nephew is a twin.  Their “unspoken” communication and ability to “tune in to the other’s twin’s feelings” is something I have witnessed personally, although not to the extent described in the book. 

If you like suspense novels without extreme gore and profanity, this is a good book for you to read.    

My rating (0-10 smilies):   6 ☻☻☻☻☻☻☺☺☺☺ 

Released November 28, 2006, this is the latest medical thriller by Crichton.  The book focuses on genetics, genetic research, gene therapy, and what happens when humans try to push the limits on genetic engineering.

The book has several plot lines in it (I counted six), which can be hard to follow and keep track of because the book keeps going back and forth among them.  Personally, I sometimes have a problem remembering something for five minutes, much less trying to remember where a plot line left off several chapters ago in a book.  There are lots of names to remember.  I was partway through the book when I stopped reading it for several days.  I had to go back and re-read most of what I had already read in order to remember the particulars about all the characters and what plot line they were part of.

The book is fiction, but has many facts in it too.  Gene therapy is a real but thorny issue today.  Gene patents are a real thing and are something the author would like to see end, which he points out at the end of his book in his “Author’s Note” section (the section has several other things he feels strongly about in regards to genetics and issues related to it).

One of the storylines involves a researcher named Harry Kendall, who did unauthorized combining of chimp and human DNA (his own) and finds out a few years later that his experiment is alive and well.  While the research institute the chimp/human is at looks the other way, Harry takes the little guy (named Dave) home because the alternative would be for Dave to be terminated.  Harry cannot stomach the thought of that.  Dave is human in many ways, and is quite intelligent.  As you can imagine though, Harry’s wife doesn’t take the news so well when Harry tries to explain it to her.

Another storyline involves a character named Frank Burnet who finds that his own cells and rights to his body are no longer in his control.  His doctor has sold his cancer fighting cells to a research facility for a staggering amount of money.  When those cells are contaminated by someone trying to put them out of business, the company decides to go get more cells from Burnet.  But he’s not willing to give them up.  The company doesn’t care, says it owns them, and that he has no choice as to whether or not his body is violated.

Burnett then goes into hiding so the company decides to take the cells from his daughter Alison, a lawyer in her thirties, or Alison’s son.  They hire bounty hunters who show up at Alison’s son’s school and try to temporarily kidnap him to retrieve the cells they need.  When Alison shows up at school due to a tip from a teacher and thwarts the plans, the bounty hunters try to snatch her. She gets away and winds up going into hiding with her son in order to not be forced to give up the cells.  While she’s in hiding she has other lawyers going to court for her to try and legally prevent the research company from taking those cells from her and her son.

There’s also a very intelligent African grey parrot named Gerard, who adds some levity to the book as he is taken from his home by a husband who hates the bird and winds up in the hands of several different people, most who realize they can’t wait to get rid of him.

In the book, there is a log of medical terminology to read.  If you are not interested in that type of thing, it makes for some really boring reading.  I also thought there were too many storylines.

My rating (0-10 smilies):  5  ☻☻☻☻☻☺☺☺☺☺

After reading this book and thinking about how prescription and non prescription drugs have affected my family, I recommend this book to everyone I know. My wife has suffered from headaches for a number of years but it wasn’t until she started cutting back on her prescribed drugs that they started going away.

She would take one pill for a symptom and that pill would cause another symptom. Then she would be prescribed yet another pill to cure that, but that would cause something else. The side effects of some of the drugs she was taking to help her headaches were actually making her headaches worse. We were paying about $400 a month for drugs after our prescription insurance covered their share. So I do believe that many doctors and all the drug companies are only in it for the money, not to actually make people well enough so they don’t need any drugs.

There are natural cures out there. Kevin talks about many of them. Because of Kevin’s outspokenness, he has gotten in trouble with the FTC – a battle he continues to fight.

I do know there are natural cures out there that work. I started drinking mangosteen juice about 2 ½ years ago. After a short time, my chronic back pain that I had suffered with for years was gone. I also know there were people suffering from cancer that have had it go into remission or disappear completely due to using natural cures and not drugs, chemo, or radiation.

I also agree with Kevin’s belief that getting enough sun a day is a must. I know that where I work (there are no windows in my office) the stress level and sickness there is high. And for me, when I can get outside for just a few minutes and into the sun it is so refreshing.

In Chapter 6, Trudeau talks about things a person needs to do to feel better. There is also a chapter on a bread that can help a person lose weight.

The only thing I didn’t like about the book was the constant repeating of how the FDA and FTC are making the author’s life miserable. He should have kept his whining to himself which would have resulted in book with a loss less pages, but still informative and interesting.

My rating (0-10 smilies): 7 ☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☺☺☺

The latest and the last book in the Harry Potter series, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” is still months away from its release date but is already a best-seller. Ever since the release date of the book was announced on February 1, 2007, fans of the series have been pre-ordering the book in droves.

On Amazon.com, a popular online bookseller, the book has been at the top or near the top of their best-selling items list since the first day they started taking preorders. When I looked today, the regular edition of the book was the number two seller, and the deluxe edition was number 20; although there have been days where the two editions of the book were the number one and number sellers (Amazon updates their bestselling items list daily). At the Barnes and Noble online store, the regular edition is currently the number two seller (this data is based on books that are available for preorder plus those already released and available for immediate shipment).

Amazon has said that pre-orders for Deathly Hallows “were 547 percent higher than for its predecessor” “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – and that book had 1.5 million copies preordered. Worldwide, preorder sales have topped 325 million copies with the book being printed in 64 different languages.

In addition, many bookstores are planning on staying open late on July 20, 2007 and into July 21, 2007 in anticipation of the long lines of people that will want to buy the book at one minute after midnight, on the 21^st, which is when it officially goes on sale.

Some people are saying this book could become the best-selling book of all time.

J.K. Rowling is adamant that this will be the final book in the series. Fans are both excited and anxious to read it. Rowling has said that two characters will die in the final book and some are worried that Harry Potter himself will be one of those to die. Rowling has already killed off two beloved characters, Dumbledore and Sirius Black, in earlier books so fans are aware that no character is safe.

Are you one of those fans anxiously waiting for July 21 so you can crack open the book and enter the world of Harry Potter one final time?

This book is Paula Marantz Cohen’s third fiction book. She’s also written several non-fiction books. The main character of this book, Anne Ehrlich, is the head guidance counselor at Fenimore High School. She’s very dedicated to her job and is willing to go over and above the normal call of duty to try and help her students get into the college of their choice.

Her life gets complicated when her old boyfriend, Ben Cutler, moves back to town with his sister and his nephew – who is enrolled as a senior at Fenimore High. To add even more stress to Anne’s life, she has to deal with a father who lives like her family still had money, which they don’t. But Anne has her beloved Granny to talk to for advice – a woman whom everyone except her son adores.

Anne realizes how much she still loves Ben. But unfortunately, Ben is engaged to someone else.

This is a cute and funny story about love, life, and the often maddening process of SAT’s, college applications, and getting into college.

It’s a good vacation or “beach” book to read because the plot is easy to follow.

My rating (0-10 smilies): 7 ☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☺☺☺

Full Title of the Book:

The Wal-Mart Effect – How the World’s Most Powerful Company Really Works – and How It’s Transforming the American Economy

Are you a Wal-Mart shopper? Have you been amazed at the number of Wal-Marts (especially Wal-Mart supercenters) popping up in towns all over the U.S. (and the world)? When you drive by a Wal-Mart building that’s empty and closed do you automatically look around for the new, bigger Wal-Mart that’s nearby? Do you have a love/hate relationship with Wal-Mart as in you hate the shopping experience but love the low prices? Do you complain about jobs leaving the country and being outsourced? Do you wonder why it’s happening? Do you think Wal-Mart is getting too big?

Okay, I know I’ve just asked a lot of questions. I just described how my feelings towards Wal-Mart before reading this book. I hated shopping at Wal-Mart but went there because it was cheap and it was convenient. I can’t say I saved money because I didn’t. I just bought more cheap stuff than I would have if I had shopped somewhere else.

I consider this book a “must read” for anyone in the United States (and any other country where Wal-Mart is becoming a dominant presence) who is a consumer. It doesn’t matter if you shop at Wal-Mart or not (although the majority of people in the United States do shop at Wal-Mart at least occasionally). Wal-Mart has become a big deal. They went from one store to being the largest retailer in the world. Heck, even the spell checker on the word processing program I’m using to write this review recognizes “Wal-Mart” as a valid and correctly spelled word.

This book raises a lot of questions, contains a lot of facts, and will get you thinking. Most of the questions I raised in the first paragraph are discussed in the book. It’s not a book written by a competing retailer. Many of the facts (although facts about Wal-Mart can be pretty hard to obtain) come from many different sources, such as university studies which are typically considered unbiased.

It’s not a book filled with so much technical writing that you will be bored to sleep. I typically don’t like non-fiction books but I could hardly put the book down.

The bottom line for me after reading this book is that my shopping at Wal-Mart will be sharply decreased, at least for now. Although I firmly believe Wal-Mart is driven to provide the lowest prices possible for consumers, I also firmly believe those low prices come at the high cost of other things such as jobs that pay a decent wage. You may read the book and agree with what I’ve decided or you may disagree, which is okay. My only hope is that you read the book so you can make the decision for yourself.

My rating (0-10 smilies): 10 ☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻ - This is a “must read” book.

This is the second book by Eileen Rendahl I’ve read. It was a fun book to read, but it also had messages in it about anger and how today’s society seems to boil, explode, and let that anger come out in unproductive and harmful ways. This book took a close look at one woman’s anger, showed how she figured things out for herself (with help from family and friends) and found a better way for herself in the world – one that allowed her to help try and change things for the better. One specific incident in the book started a whole revolution of women fighting back against (mostly little) injustices and acts of rudeness that happen to people every day.

I think I liked the book so much because I could relate to much of what I read. I’ve floundered around a lot in life not sure of what path to follow or how to best achieve the type of life where I feel like I’m contributing to making the world a better place. And during all that floundering I had plenty of anger – mostly as a result of frustration. What this book showed me is that if you really want to do something, you have to look within yourself to find the strength – and then just get out there and do it. Yes, there will be sadness, tears, and joy all mixed together, but that’s really what life is about. And that’s what this book was about, a little slice of life written down in a way meant to entertain, but also to maybe get people thinking.

My rating (0-10 smilies): 8 ☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☺☺

At the beginning of the book there is a hostage crisis.  A homeless man named Falcon has climbed on top of a bridge and is threatening to jump.  He agrees to come down if he is allowed to talk to the mayor’s daughter, Alicia Mendoza.  The hostage negotiator, Vincent Paulo, agrees to try to work something out.  Alicia (a cop herself) shows up on the scene and is willing to talk to Falcon, but the officials in charge at the scene do not let that happen.  When Falcon agrees to come down, they immediately arrest him and set bail at $10,000.

Jack Swyteck, a defense lawyer who has appeared in other books by Grippando, takes Falcon’s case.  Falcon doesn’t seem to have any money to his name.  After all, he is living in an old car that doesn’t run and doesn’t have any windows.  But, Falcon convinces Jack to go to the Bahamas and open a safe deposit box he has there and get his bail money out of it.  Jack goes and discovers not just the $10,000 needed for Falcon’s bail, but a total of $200,000.  Jack wonders why Falcon is living on the street when he has so much cash stashed away.

The mystery and twists and turns of the story continue.  Falcon gets out on bond, and then almost immediately wanted by authorities again because a woman turns up beaten and dead in the trunk of his car.  Falcon searches out Jack, and carjacks Jack, along with his friend Theo.  Jack manages to escape when the vehicle crashes into a seedy motel, but Falcon takes Theo and some hotel occupants hostage.  Falcon then demands to talk to Alicia, an obsession that becomes a key part of the book.

The dirty war in Argentina is also discussed in the book with Falcon having flashbacks to occurrences at one of the detention centers.  Those flashbacks are also pivotal to the book (for the a short synopsis of the true story of one of one sergeant’s role at the El Campito concentration camp in Argentina in the 1970’s go to: http://www.yendor.com/vanished/junta/caraballo.html).

An addition, the mayor becomes deeply involved in the hostage situation.  Is it because he fears for his daughter who has became Falcon’s obsession, or is it for some other reason?

Although the story was very good, there were times when things were too drawn out and dragged along.  That is the one thing that prevents me from giving the book 10 smilies.

My rating (0-10 smilies):  9  ☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☺

You may have read about this book in the news last year. It was written by a young Harvard student who, since the book was published earlier this year, has been accused of plagiarism which has resulted in the book being removed from the market. I don’t know whether that removal is temporary or permanent, but I have read the books this author is being accused of plagiarizing from and I personally didn’t see any evidence of plagiarism.

Although the book is no longer in bookstores, it’s still possible to obtain a copy to read. The book I read was from my local library. Already purchased copies of the book are available for sale at various re-sellers including online at half.com.

The book is about a high school senior whose only goal in life is to get accepted to Harvard University. Along the way, she realizes that she’s been so busy trying to reach specific goals that she has no idea who she is. At times, the storyline in the book is silly and completely unrealistic, but it is a fiction book. The book was entertaining with a satisfying ending and it did have a message for its readers.

My rating (0-10 smilies): 6 ☻☻☻☻☻☻☺☺☺☺

This book was released in 2006. It is Lisa Unger’s first novel under her married name and it’s very good book. I’m looking forward to her next novel.

The main character of the book is Ridley Jones. She’s a freelance writer living in New York. To help supplement her writing income she has an inheritance from her Dad’s best friend to fall back on.

One morning Ridley sees a small child about to be hit by a speeding truck. She runs into the street to save the child. A photographer happens to be on the scene. The photograph of Ridley ends up on the cover of the paper.

After the picture appears in the paper, Ridley receives an old photograph in the mail with a note asking her “Are you my daughter?” She asks her parents about the note and the photo. Not surprisingly they tell Ridley it’s some wacko having fun at expense and tell her that of course they are her biological parents.

Ridley needs to put her mind at ease about the photograph and the note so she looks up her brother who is a drug addict living on the street. He tells her things that make things even more unclear to Ridley.

From there you are taken through many twists and turns and suspense as Ridley tries to pursue the truth and find out what’s really going on.

It’s an interesting novel that pulls you into the story making you not want to put it down. Although the plot is somewhat predicable, the book stays interesting because you are never are quite sure who Ridley should trust or not trust.

My rating (0-10 smilies): 7 ☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☺☺☺