So, really I have been done reading this for a couple of months, but just hadn’t gotten around to writing up a review of it.
I have only read a couple of John Grisham’s other books. It was college and everyone else was doing it. I wanted to be one of the cool kids too. For the most part The Rainmaker is a pretty decent book. It’s not hard to read at all, not really life changing. Just a fluff book that was a good way to pass the time.
After we both read the book Greg and I watched the movie. As with most adapted movies, some parts were different, some the same. There were several parts that I thought were key to the book that didn’t make it into the movie. There were some things that made the movie more believable than the book. For instance: the book has everything fall perfectly into place for Rudy. The movie makes the courtroom battles not so easy-breezy for a lawyer trying his first ever case.
I know that this is supposed to be a review of the book and not the movie, but I’m going to talk about the movie a little bit more. For so many big named stars*, it was horrible. I can only imagine how much worse it would have been if we hadn’t read the book first. We were both pretty surprised when we saw it was directed by Francis Ford Coppola. While we haven’t seen any of The Godfather movies yet (they are somewhere in the queue), surely they are better directed than this movie was.
* Sure Matt Damon wasn’t a superstar yet (this movie was released the same year as Good Will Hunting) but Danny DeVito, Danny Glover, John Voight, Virginia Madsen, Mickey Rourke, and Claire Danes were all really big names back in 1997.
I have been trying to broaden my book reading horizons, so ventured into the non-fiction section. I picked this book up soley based on the cover and because I thought it was going to be about fashion. No, I didn’t read the dust jacket. Most of the time I do, but I guess I thought it was obvious what this book was going to be about. I was pretty sure it was going tell how clothing styles were different for her parents’ generations vs her own. That’s nowhere close to what was actually inside.
Noelle Howey’s ‘Dress Codes:Of Three Girlhoods – My Mother’s, My Father’s, and Mine‘ is not at all what I was expecting, but I was pleasantly surprised. It is well written and insightful. It tells of how she (and her whole family) came to terms with the fact that her father needed to live as a woman.
There are a few circumstances that are really glossed over (like her depression), but since it is her memoir, she can write about what she wants. After I read it, I went to see what other readers thought. Most of the reviewers were people who were going through (either themselves or family members) gender identity issues. While I don’t think I’ll ever come across this situation, it was interesting to read.
Ok. So, just like I predicted I haven’t really kept up with the book reviews. It’s not because I haven’t been trying to read. It’s just that I had not made it to the library to get a new book. It’s very hard when it only stays open until 6pm on weekdays and closes at 1 on Saturdays. Ok, enough whining about our local library. They do have a pre-school reading time and the librarian is working with what resources she has.
Plus, some of the books I picked out weren’t exactly winners. I’m not entirely sure they warrant a review except to say, “This book wasn’t really for me”. Sad thing, I can’t even remember which books they were, except to say there were 2 of them and it’s been a few weeks since I read them. I’ll ask the librarian the next time I am there what books I have checked out lately. I’m sure that will help trigger something.
Anyway, on with the review of a book I actually remember. Jeffery Archer’s ‘First Among Equals‘ is one of the books that I had read before, but didn’t remember that until I started reading it again. Man, am I absent minded or what. Maybe I will invent flubber or something and get rich.
The opening of the book really dates when it was written (1984) and made me laugh out loud. It tells us how King Charles had a difficult decision ahead of him to determine who would become the next Prime Minister.
Amazon reviewer chandra_sekhar sums up exactly how I feel about the book, so I am just going to be lazy and quote him or her.
“This story by Jefferey Archer is typical of his style.The main characters are all highly driven, ambitious and hardworking. The tale revolves around four MP’s who are elected into the british parliament, in the 60′s. Each of them is a stereotype; an academic,a scotsman, a viscount’s son and another lawyer. Its thoroughly balanced, interms of what the characters deserve; Jefferey Archer establishes an intricate web of give and take with exact equivalence. So this is definitely not a classic. After reading the book one doesnt feel more experienced. However, this book has some strong points. The description of the British political system is credible (though three of the four characters are hardly political), and the pace of the story ensures that you keep turning the pages. The major political stepping stones of the characters are well distributed (but too smooth). On the whole, its a good one-time read.”
When I first read this book in 3rd grade it must have made a huge impression on me. So much that even though I haven’t read it since, I bought it and forced Nathan to read it last year and will more than likely force Zoey to read it this year. We read this book as a class and started at the very beginning of the year.
I had missed the first day of the school year because we moved from one city to another and the class had already started reading the book. The book deals with someone losing his best friend. I think it struck a chord with me because our move was sudden and I didn’t really get to say goodbye to the old friends.
Reading books you liked as child when you are much older is always interesting. Sometimes I’m afraid because most of the time the book won’t live up to the memory. It wasn’t the case with this book. It is so well written. Even though I knew what was going to happen, I still cried during some parts of the book.
It’s a fairly quick read especially if you are a 30 year old reading a book written for ages 8-12. I give it a rating of 4 out of 5 stars.
This book was a light read. I started it Saturday night and finished it Sunday afternoon. From the first few paragraphs I really thought the book was going to be great, but it didn’t live up to expectations.
It seemed to be full of how dreary and stifling it is right now to be in your early 30′s and married with young children. There were way too many cliches and random characters that were just thrown in for the heck of it. While I was reading I kept hoping that there would be some point to the story, that it would get better, then it was over. While there were a couple of things I could relate to, I felt like I just didn’t get it.
I didn’t hate this book so am going to give it 2 out of 5 stars.
So, my first book review and I am already going to veer away from the recommended format. Mostly because I’m not a professional. I don’t really want to sway other people’s opinions of the books I’m going to be talking about. I am also afraid that I will give away key plot points to the story. If you’re interested, you should check it out for yourself. If it’s a book I own, I’ll even loan it to you.
Yan Martel’s ‘Life of Pi’ is a glimpse into the amazing lengths a being will go to in the act of survival. All in all it was a decent read. I mean, the book wasn’t one that I had to force myself to put down but I didn’t feel like it was a burden that had to be picked back up again and finished.
On a scale from 1 to 5, I give it a 2.5.
I’m starting up a new section of the blog. I’ve been thinking about it since I first started this site and just never got around to actually incorporating it.
I’m going to start keeping track of the books I’ve read and maybe give a review here and there. I’m hoping it will help to keep me from checking out/buying books that I’ve already read (unless of course they are worth a re-read).
For a while until I get into the swing of book reviews, I’m going to go by this format. This means the first few reviews given are more than likey going to be extremely boring. Of course, after the newness has worn off, you’ll be lucky to just get the book title listed.
If you have any good book suggestions, feel free to send them my way.
