James Patterson and his assorted co-authors have been a favorite of mine since Along Came a Spider. His books provide me with a quick yet engaging read. I always know that when I pick up one of his books, I am going to be challenged, entertained, and surprised.
That said, Alex Cross’s Trial is a departure from the serial killers we normally find in his books. This does not mean that the violence in this book is any less horrific. In fact, the violence and its perpetrators are harder to witness. Trial takes us back to when Theodore Roosevelt was President. It is a glaring reminder of what citizens of this country had to endure in the South of the early 1900′s. Since we have a black President, it also shows us how far we have come.
Trial will have you rooting for the good guys, damning the bad guys , and wondering who our hero can trust. The emotions you will feel while reading this book will range from joy and fear to pity, anger, and outrage. Hopefully, you will also be in shock at times. There are moments in this novel that should make you sit back and wonder how did our nation, how did people let things like this happen?
Pick this book up. Do not expect a light-hearted, heart warming story. Expect to be shocked. Expect what James Patterson always delivers – a story that challenges the mind and makes you very glad that this man is still writing novels. Enjoy!
Iris Johansen fans, rejoice!
Blood Game takes us back into the life of the much loved Eve Duncan. The book begins exactly where Quicksand left off, so familiarize yourself with that book before you pick this one up. I did not do this and had several ‘what the heck is going on’ moments!
As always, Ms. Johansen’s characters enchant us. I have read her books for years, so Eve, Joe, Jane, and the others are like distant relatives. Given the trouble that finds them, I am glad they are distant!
Eve is, of course, continuing her search for her Bonnie. Montalvo found three names for her in previous books and Blood Game lets us meet another of the three. What I like about these books is that good and evil are recognizable. This book is entertaining and makes me think ‘what if’.
If you are a fan of Ms. Johansen’s books, you must read this book. If you have not yet read her novels, please do so. You will enjoy the characters, scenarios, and endings. Some of the books will make you cry. They will also remind you that life is precious and the people in our lives are precious. Ms. Johansen’s books will remind you to tell your family that you love them, everyday. Enjoy!
Imagine you have a fatal illness. Imagine you also have enough money to be safely cryogenically preserved. Imagine you are ‘woken’ up 400 years in the future…
This is the premise for The Unincorporated Man by Dani and Eytan Kollin. Their novel shows us one possible future. They weave in known people, ‘President Winfrey’, and known events, 911. Adding the familiar to the unfamiliar gives the reader the incentive to read the book to the end. There is mystery, intrigue, and love in this book. It will challenge your thoughts. What we think of as normal, their fictional people of the future find horrifying. What they think of as normal, our hero finds dehumanizing.
I don’t want to go too indepth in a review of the plot twists and turns because I don’t want to give away any surprises. What I do want is for you to read this book. It will challenge your beliefs and get your mind working. Is what the authors describe possible? Is there a sound argument to be made for the new society? Read it and decide for yourselves!
This book will keep your mind occupied while also appealing to your intellect. Enjoy!
Am I alone in being sick of seeing ads for white teeth or for ‘mom’s making $70 an hour at home’? These and many others are misleading and have cost some folks a lot of money. One would think that like magazine advertising, these ads would be relegated to ‘non-news’ websites, but they are not. These ads are on CNN, USAToday, etc.
Don’t these websites who are supposed to present ‘just the facts’ have a duty to not have these less than legitimate ads on their websites? Shouldn’t these folks only carry ads from real companies? Wouldn’t these ads and illegitimate companies be fewer in numbers if legitimate websites did not show their ads on their websites? Yes, I know that a lot of websites ‘lease’ their ad space to other companies that then sell the space to other companies. But shouldn’t someone’s conscience be screaming in their ear, “don’t advertise scams!”?
Yes, as one of the many millions of folks unable to find a job, I know there are bigger problems out there in the world. But….BUT, isn’t this example just one symptom of the bigger problem in this world?
What is that bigger problem, you might ask?
The bigger problem is, to steal Dave Ramsey’s phrase, is that too many of us are Bass. We want the new shiny things. We want the new cars, jewelry, houses, toys, etc. and damn anyone who gets in our way. We all keep swimming toward the shiny things and we don’t care who we hurt in our pursuit of the next thing that will “truly make us happy”. We don’t care that our neighbor may be having trouble putting food on the table. We don’t care that our friend might be losing their home because someone who made a snap decision let them go from their job. We don’t care that children are starving and need the breakfast that is served at school on Monday because it is the first meal they have eaten since their lunch on Friday.
WE DO NOT CARE!
I challenge all of you. I am challenging myself. Help one person every day. Every single day, you need to help one person. Be it as simple as opening the door for the woman pushing a stroller or the delivery guy with a full handcart, help one person every day. If you hear about a job, post it on your blog, send it to everyone in your email address book. With the huge number of us that are out of work, someone in your ‘circle’ knows someone that needs a job. If you are lucky enough to have disposable income, donate money to a cause close to your heart. If you don’t have money, donate your time. One hour a week, that’s all. If we all donated one hour of our time a week, this world would be a much better place. Drop your change from McDonald’s or Panera into their charity box. Leave a dollar in the flap of a box at the grocery store. Help one person a day.
That is my challenge to everyone. Help a person a day, don’t brag about it, just do it. I recently ran out of gas and had to pull into a turn lane of a shopping center. At least 75 cars passed me by, glaring because I was blocking a lane. Two people, only two people stopped to ask if I needed help. Now, I stop every time I see someone with a car in distress. We normally do not help anyone but ourselves until it directly affects us. I am guilty of this, very guilty, but I am trying to make amends.
Do it with me. Help one person a day. Tell everyone you know to help one person a day. If we could get this off the ground, we would see a whole new world in just a year’s time. It won’t hurt us to try. It won’t cost you anything unless you have money to give. Just making someone smile or saying thank you to someone you know is never told thank you is helping someone.
Help one person a day. Let me know how it works out for you.
So, last week was very strange. I am still diligently looking for a job. No bites, a couple of rejections stating, “we are hiring from within for this position…blah, blah…resume on file.” Whatever. The good news I got was that I only need 3 semesters to get my degree. It won’t be a business degree, but I will have the undergrad and can then go to B-school for my MBA. It would be really cool if I could do this, but, it all comes down to money. Yup, money. You know, the stuff in your checking and savings accounts. Oh, wait, I have not been able to find work, so the checking account money is unemployment and the savings is quickly disappearing. I am going to work with the school’s financial aid office. Wish me luck.
I also had the humiliating and horrifying opportunity to fill in as the coach for my daughter’s cheer squad. Now, these 7 girls are all ages seven to nine. She is cheering for a faith based organization, so these children are all used to being respectful of adults. Well, they were horrible to me. I don’t know if they smelled blood in the water since I feel so crappy about myself, but they were horrible. I had to resort to making them sit facing the walls and staying quite for 5 minutes. After that, I spoke to them and let them know their behavior was unacceptable. If someone is coming to lead their group, they owe them the same respect they give to their regular coach. Needless to say, their rebellion has just depressed me further.
I know I am whining and that I will probably reread this and feel like an idiot. But…but, dammit, I feel useless not working. I am horrified that we are blowing through our savings. What the hell?
Instead of health care reform, how about coming up with concrete and executable plans to get the 10% plus of us unemployed back to work? Instead of throwing more money at things that don’t work, could someone just sit down and actually come up with a plan that will work?
AAARRRRRGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
So sorry for being a bummer. I have read some good books that I will review this week. It will at least give you something pleasant to read instead of my whining.
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