Literature & Fiction Books - Page 13

American Wife: A Novel

Curtis Sittenfeld

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Total reviews: 101 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

On what might become one of the most significant days in her husband’s presidency, Alice Blackwell considers the strange and unlikely path that has led her to the White House–and the repercussions of a life lived, as she puts it, “almost in opposition to itself.”

A kind, bookish only child born in the 1940s, Alice learned the virtues of politeness early on from her stolid parents and small Wisconsin hometown. But a tragic accident when she was seventeen shattered her identity and made her understand the fragility of life and the tenuousness of luck. So more than a decade later, when she met boisterous, charismatic Charlie Blackwell, she hardly gave him a second look: She was serious and thoughtful, and he would rather crack a joke than offer a real insight; he was the wealthy son of a bastion family of the Republican party, and she was a school librarian and registered Democrat. Comfortable in her quiet and unassuming life, she felt inured to his charms. And then, much to her surprise, Alice fell for Charlie.

As Alice learns to make her way amid the clannish energy and smug confidence of the Blackwell family, navigating the strange rituals of their country club and summer estate, she remains uneasy with her newfound good fortune. And when Charlie eventually becomes President, Alice is thrust into a position she did not seek–one of power and influence, privilege and responsibility. As Charlie’s tumultuous and controversial second term in the White House wears on, Alice must face contradictions years in the making: How can she both love and fundamentally disagree with her husband? How complicit has she been in the trajectory of her own life? What should she do when her private beliefs run against her public persona?

In Alice Blackwell, New York Times bestselling author Curtis Sittenfeld has created her most dynamic and complex heroine yet. American Wife is a gorgeously written novel that weaves class, wealth, race, and the exigencies of fate into a brilliant tapestry–a novel in which the unexpected becomes inevitable, and the pleasures and pain of intimacy and love are laid bare.


Praise for American Wife

“Curtis Sittenfeld is an amazing writer, and American Wife is a brave and moving novel about the intersection of private and public life in America. Ambitious and humble at the same time, Sittenfeld refuses to trivialize or simplify people, whether real or imagined.”
–Richard Russo

“What a remarkable (and brave) thing: a compassionate, illuminating, and beautifully rendered portrait of a fictional Republican first lady with a life and husband very much like our actual Republican first lady’s. Curtis Sittenfeld has written a novel as impressive as it is improbable.”
–Kurt Andersen

To Kill a Mockingbird

Harper Lee

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1763 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Excelent Book! 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I've always heard really good things about the book, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. The first time I tried to read it I had to put it down because I got really confused at the beginning. However, I tried it again later on and I realized what a good book I had put down. For me it was still a little confusing at the beginning because the setting and characters were being introduced. It was also kind of boring, and that's another reason I didn't continue it the first time. You have to keep reading though because it gets much better. The story is about a brother and sister, Jem and Scout (Jean Louise Finch), growing up in a small town with their dad, Atticus. Throughout the book, they experience a number of exciting adventures. At the beginning, the story focuses on a neighbor down the street who appears to be very strange and never comes out of his house. In other words, he's a recluse. Jem and Scout, along with another friend Dill, are very curious as to why this is. They do some exploring and investigating that might just have you biting your nails. As the book moves on, it only makes you want to read more. Atticus is a lawyer and is involved with a very important case that keeps you on the edge of your seat. It's really interesting and gives you a chance to make predictions to yourself on who should win the case. In a way, it gets you into the book and creates suspense that makes it exciting. Towards the end, there is an unusual twist that involves a Halloween party, a ham costume, and a walk through a very dark field at night. This book is extremely well written and shows the innocence of childhood. I recommend it to anyone who likes classics and is in the mood for a very good read.

Editorial Review:

Harper Lee's classic novel of a lawyer in the Deep South defending a black man charged with the rape of a white girl.

One of the best-loved stories of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird has earned many distinctions since its original publication in 1960. It won the Pulitzer Prize, has been translated into more than forty languages, sold more than thirty million copies worldwide, and been made into an enormously popular movie. Most recently, librarians across the country gave the book the highest of honors by voting it the best novel of the twentieth century.

Codependent No More: How to Stop Controlling Others and Start Caring for Yourself

Melody Beattie

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 163 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Directly to you 4 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

The author talks directly to you as you read and as a reader you are able to grasp so much helpful information. . I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for help with co-dependency and I also recommend for a perfect relationship I Love You. Now What?: Falling in Love is a Mystery, Keeping It Isn't

A life preserver. 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This book is a sanity saver. There are some inspirational things to take away from reading it. Beattie injects her own life story into this self-help book. Coupled with her other books, it makes for reflective and well written advice.

Codependent No More 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I haven't finished reading it yet but just by reading introduction and couple of chapters, I knew that book was what I was searching for... It is just what I need to get through difficult time...

Eye Opener 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This book was a huuge eye opener for me. If you believe you might be codependent or want to find out more on the subject- this book is for you. It contains many examples of real people; as well as a list of habits and traits a codependent generally possesses. It also offers helpful tips to break the cycle and possibly change your life. I recommend this for anyone who is, thinks they might be, or have a codependent in their life.

Editorial Review:

An expert guide for codependents on how to stop controlling others and start caring for themselves.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Book 6)

J. K. Rowling

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3594 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Book 6 in the Harry Potter series

A New York Times Bestseller

In the fifth and most recent book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the last chapter, titled "The Second War Begins," started:

'In a brief statement Friday night, Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge confirmed that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has returned to this country and is active once more. "It is with great regret that I must confirm that the wizard styling himself Lord -- well, you know who I mean -- is alive among us again," said Fudge.'

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince takes up the story of Harry Potter's sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry at this point in the midst of the storm of this battle of good and evil.

The author has already said that the Half-Blood Prince is neither Harry nor Voldemort. And most importantly, the opening chapter of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has been brewing in J. K. Rowling's mind for 13 years.

No Canadian Rights for the Harry Potter Series

HARRY POTTER and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. Harry Potter publishing rights © J. K. Rowling. (s05)

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War

Max Brooks

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Total reviews: 455 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

“The end was near.” —Voices from the Zombie War

The Zombie War came unthinkably close to eradicating humanity. Max Brooks, driven by the urgency of preserving the acid-etched first-hand experiences of the survivors from those apocalyptic years, traveled across the United States of America and throughout the world, from decimated cities that once teemed with upwards of thirty million souls to the most remote and inhospitable areas of the planet. He recorded the testimony of men, women, and sometimes children who came face-to-face with the living, or at least the undead, hell of that dreadful time. World War Z is the result. Never before have we had access to a document that so powerfully conveys the depth of fear and horror, and also the ineradicable spirit of resistance, that gripped human society through the plague years.

Ranging from the now infamous village of New Dachang in the United Federation of China, where the epidemiological trail began with the twelve-year-old Patient Zero, to the unnamed northern forests where untold numbers sought a terrible and temporary refuge in the cold, to the United States of Southern Africa, where the Redeker Plan provided hope for humanity at an unspeakable price, to the west-of-the-Rockies redoubt where the North American tide finally started to turn, this invaluable chronicle reflects the full scope and duration of the Zombie War.

Most of all, the book captures with haunting immediacy the human dimension of this epochal event. Facing the often raw and vivid nature of these personal accounts requires a degree of courage on the part of the reader, but the effort is invaluable because, as Mr. Brooks says in his introduction, “By excluding the human factor, aren’t we risking the kind of personal detachment from history that may, heaven forbid, lead us one day to repeat it? And in the end, isn’t the human factor the only true difference between us and the enemy we now refer to as ‘the living dead’?”

Note: Some of the numerical and factual material contained in this edition was previously published under the auspices of the United Nations Postwar Commission.


Eyewitness reports from the first truly global war

“I found ‘Patient Zero’ behind the locked door of an abandoned apartment across town. . . . His wrists and feet were bound with plastic packing twine. Although he’d rubbed off the skin around his bonds, there was no blood. There was also no blood on his other wounds. . . . He was writhing like an animal; a gag muffled his growls. At first the villagers tried to hold me back. They warned me not to touch him, that he was ‘cursed.’ I shrugged them off and reached for my mask and gloves. The boy’s skin was . . . cold and gray . . . I could find neither his heartbeat nor his pulse.” —Dr. Kwang Jingshu, Greater Chongqing, United Federation of China


“‘Shock and Awe’? Perfect name. . . . But what if the enemy can’t be shocked and awed? Not just won’t, but biologically can’t! That’s what happened that day outside New York City, that’s the failure that almost lost us the whole damn war. The fact that we couldn’t shock and awe Zack boomeranged right back in our faces and actually allowed Zack to shock and awe us! They’re not afraid! No matter what we do, no matter how many we kill, they will never, ever be afraid!” —Todd Wainio, former U.S. Army infantryman and veteran of the Battle of Yonkers


“Two hundred million zombies. Who can even visualize that type of number, let alone combat it? . . . For the first time in history, we faced an enemy that was actively waging total war. They had no limits of endurance. They would never negotiate, never surrender. They would fight until the very end because, unlike us, every single one of them, every second of every day, was devoted to consuming all life on Earth.” —General Travis D’Ambrosia, Supreme Allied Commander, Europe


From the Hardcover edition.

I Am America (And So Can You!)

Stephen Colbert

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Total reviews: 429 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

What The Daily Show is to evening news, The Colbert Report is to personality-driven pundit shows. Colbert brings his sarcastic charm to a half-hour report, tackling the important issues of the day and telling his guests why their opinions are just plain wrong. Stephen stands for truthiness and his American right to copyright that word and claim ownership of it.

I AM AMERICA the audiobook, features an all-American cast that includes Paul Dinello, Kevin Dorff, Greg Hollimon, Evie McGee, David Pasquesi, Amy Sedaris, Allison Silverman, Bryan Stack, and Jon Stewart. Stephen Colbert describes his audiobook as a simple audiobook from a simple mind--Stephen Colbert. It is one man's attempt to wedge his brain between hardback covers---in this case CD jackets. In plain conversational language, not to mention the occasional grunt and/or whistle, Stephen explains his take on the most pressing concerns of our culture: Faith, Family...Hygiene.

Why now? Stephen fears America has lost its balls and he hopes to re-ballify us. Even the ladies. Ladies can have balls--lady-balls too. Stephen likes to call those "Thatchers." Stephen will show how he got his mammoth swinging sack, with tales of courage and vital documents from his own life: the Mother's Day card he made at age six, disputed credit card bills, putt-putt score cards--all the major milestones.

Oh and don't buy this if you don't have any balls! But if you do buy it, you will get them, and then you can buy another copy with a clean conscience. (2008)

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan: A Novel

Lisa See

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 605 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Phenomenal Women Book Club (Houston, TX) 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan was a wonderful, loving, and tragic story of friendship and betrayal that teaches the reader much about compassion and forgiveness. We felt that Snow Flower and the Secret Fan was a book that truly transcended time and culture. This plot, with two women at its center, encompasses the hurt, pain, anguish, and undying compassion two women felt for each other. The author's ability to paint `true and clear' pictures of her characters allows you to see into their soul; thus developing a deeper understanding of both the men and women portrayed in the book.

This is a memorable piece that allows you to experience feelings that you have faced either through your own life or the life of a loved one. After reading it, many of us were forced to rethink the experiences we've had in the 20th century and how they are reminiscent of the events shown in the book: dishonesty, betrayal, a desire to survive, illness. All of these ultimately ending up with a common denominator of devotion and forgiveness.

Many of us cried as we completed the book because we came to the realization that this would not be a happily ever after tale. "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" was a great story with twists and turns you might not anticipate. Through this book many can better understand how far women have come since the days of foot binding; it also shows us how far we have not come from sharing a sisterhood of secrets, compassion, betrayal, and unconditional love as sisters. This was an excellent story and we highly recommend it.

Editorial Review:

In nineteenth-century China, in a remote Hunan county, a girl named Lily, at the tender age of seven, is paired with a laotong, “old same,” in an emotional match that will last a lifetime. The laotong, Snow Flower, introduces herself by sending Lily a silk fan on which she’s painted a poem in nu shu, a unique language that Chinese women created in order to communicate in secret, away from the influence of men. As the years pass, Lily and Snow Flower send messages on fans, compose stories on handkerchiefs, reaching out of isolation to share their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments. Together, they endure the agony of foot-binding, and reflect upon their arranged marriages, shared loneliness, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood. The two find solace, developing a bond that keeps their spirits alive. But when a misunderstanding arises, their deep friendship suddenly threatens to tear apart.

Dark City: A Novel (Dark City)

Frank Lauria (Adapter), Lem Dobbs, David S. Goyer, Alex Proyas

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 493 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

No more spoiler narration! 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

This movie is my favorite of all time; however Keifer Sutherland's spilling of the beans within the first two minutes was always devastating to me. So, if you are a fan of the movie, then your number one question regarding the director's cut should be, "it there a voice over?" and the answer is, thank goodness, "No!!"

Dark City [Director's Cut] 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

At last! A director's cut that actually improves on the original!

The 1998 version of Dark City was a fantastic film (apart from the studio enforced opening narration), very inventive plot with lots of good 'reveals' throughout, also, the cuts were very fast (I don't think a single 'shot' lasted longer than five seconds) which propelled the story along at a blistering pace.

The new edit has an improved 5.1 soundtrack and the re-cut has slowed the film down - which actually improves it. There are extensions to lots of scenes that round off each character's involvement in the plot, and the opening narration has been removed (hurrah!). The picture has also had a major clean up that reveals plot as well as detail.
The new extras are also very interesting and a welcome change from the usual, boring, "This is how we did the effects" documentaries.

All in all, a better version of an already outstanding film. 10/10.

Editorial Review:

John Murdoch is accused of murder and believed to be mentally disturbed, but he is the only salvation from the violent killings that are happening, as long as he can remain alive. Original. Movie tie-in."

The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel

Diane Setterfield

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 585 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

"When one is nothing, one invents. It fills a void" 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Early on in Diane Setterfield's 'The Thirteenth Tale', the (fictional) author of the aforementioned 'tale' utters the line I have quoted in the title of this review, "When one is nothing, one invents. It fills a void."
Upon reaching the end of this novel, this one line holds greater meaning than initially suspected.

With so many reviews of this book, I am hesitant to provide a plot synopsis (amongst the many), and will focus on what I consider to be the book's strengths and weaknesses.

Strengths: Where to begin? This is a wonderfully atmospheric, well plotted, literary tale with so many parallels to classic literature tales that it's hard for any lover of classic fiction to NOT like....others have called this simply a 'ghost' story, and in ways it is, but it's that and so much more. Setterfield has crafted such a wonderful premise and tale to support it, with so many subplots, that virtually every character mentioned in this novel is of great interest, and has a 'place' in the story that unfolds.

Weaknesses: I only have one criticism of this novel, for which I have not deducted any 'stars' in this review. One thing that typically 'irritates' me as a reader is when someone is recounting a story, giving a narrative, and somehow has details to relate of conversations that they were not privy to, and do not explain how they learned the details. Granted, in this instance, the details were vital to the story, yet I still loathe the 'leap' one must take in order to simply accept that the person narrating the story 'somehow' found out what they are telling of. Whereas Ms. Winter's narrative of her life story is supposed to be the truth, I hesitate to think that she simply invented filler details....perhaps it was an embellishment of what little she DID know to be fact, but it still leaves me feeling a bit 'flat' in reading such things.

That said, this is a wonderful story....a perfect read for crisp fall afternoons when the shadows seem a bit longer and appear sooner in the day. A tale of death and rebirth, being freed by the truth, and the unburdening of the soul, I plan to recommend this novel to fellow readers over and over and over again.

Editorial Review:

Sometimes, when you open the door to thepast, what you confront is your destiny.

Reclusive author Vida Winter, famous for her collection of twelve enchantingstories, has spent the past six decades penning a series of alternate livesfor herself. Now old and ailing, she is ready to reveal the truth about herextraordinary existence and the violent and tragic past she has kept secret forso long. Calling on Margaret Lea, a young biographer troubled by her ownpainful history, Vida disinters the life she meant to bury for good. Margaret ismesmerized by the author's tale of gothic strangeness -- featuring the beautifuland willful Isabelle, the feral twins Adeline and Emmeline, a ghost, a governess,a topiary garden and a devastating fire. Together, Margaret and Vida confront the ghosts that have haunted them while becoming, finally, transformed by the truth themselves.

Eldest

Christopher Paolini

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Total reviews: 1513 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Darkness falls…despair abounds…evil reigns…

Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, have just saved the rebel state from destruction by the mighty forces of King Galbatorix, cruel ruler of the Empire. Now Eragon must travel to Ellesmera, land of the elves, for further training in the skills of the Dragon Rider: magic and swordsmanship. Soon he is on the journey of a lifetime, his eyes open to awe-inspring new places and people, his days filled with fresh adventure. But chaos and betrayal plague him at every turn, and nothing is what it seems. Before long, Eragon doesn’t know whom he can trust.

Meanwhile, his cousin Roran must fight a new battle–one that might put Eragon in even graver danger.

Will the king’s dark hand strangle all resistance? Eragon may not escape with even his life. . . .


Praise for Eragon:
“Unusual, powerful . . . fresh and fluid. An impressive start to a writing career that’s sure to flourish.” –Booklist, Starred
“Christopher Paolini make[s] literary magic with his precocious debut.” –People
“The new ‘It’ book of children’s lit.” –U.S. News & World Report
“An auspicious beginning to both career and series.” –Publishers Weekly

A #1 New York Times Bestseller
A #1 Publishers Weekly Bestseller
A USA Today Bestseller
A Wall Street Journal Bestseller
A Book Sense Book of the Year
A #1 Book Sense Selection