Showing posts with label book review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book review. Show all posts

Sunday, November 23, 2008

The Collectors


My book club selected The Collectors by David Baldacci as this month's pick.
Baldacci currently has two books on the bestseller list - Collectors' sequel, Divine Justice just released a few weeks ago, and its prequel Stone Cold is holding on to a spot on the mass-market fiction list.
Once again, I have to thank my fellow book club members for pushing me to pick up a book I might not normally read, but really enjoyed.
Baldacci weaves a tight plot that involves the Speaker of the House, the Library of Congress, the CIA and a casino heist, a la Ocean's Eleven. There's a big reminder here that things are not always what they seem - the heart attack may be a murder, the spy may be a con artist and the guy who mows the grass at the cemetery - there's no telling who he might be.
I do have to mention my disappointment in the audio version of this book. Three different actors were used to read the various characters with a constant narrator. This narrator read all the attribution tags which made for a slight pause between speakers. It didn't work for me.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Delicious New Book

I'm working hard to make up for going almost two weeks without a post.

I finished another very good book today. It isn't quite as serious as Trudy's Promise, but it is an awesome read.

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen is a charming story of two Southern sisters who just happen to have a little magic, including a clairvoyant apple tree. Very intriguing, no? Allen does an excellent job of subtly weaving mysticism in with a story of love and family.
You can read more about Allen and her books at her website: http://www.sarahaddisonallen.com/index.html
One of the things I found inspiring is that it took her 12 years to get published. I think I needed to read that because I got a rejection letter on the teen novel I submitted recently. It was a very nice rejection letter, as far as that goes. The editor called the mystery "compelling" and praised the plot, but said "the narrative voice wasn't quite there." So, I guess it is back for more revision.