Crossed

Well I have finnished Crossed the sequal to Matched by Ally Condie. I have to say that Matched in itself was just a beach read and that it filled that role wonderfully. however, matched while nice was not as of the same calleber as its predeceser. Crossed seems to lose some of the human element held in matched as we read the wondering and fragmented thoughts of ky and Cassia in alternating chapters. to be fair I dont personally care for books that switch points of view every chapter but in this case there are times when the minds of the two charectures are hard to tell apart from one another without the aid of the chapter headings. perhaps this is because they seem to both spend the entire book whining and cryptically looking back over there lives as they wonder through a dessert with no plan that can be seen. In this way Crossed was a sad let down, and for someone looking for reading that wouldn't interrupt the sound of waves that bar was fairly low. Here is hoping that the third book will be better.

Grade: C-

Little Century

   
A must read! Another teenage girl story for all of you out there. when her mother dies unexpectedly Ester is left to figure out her life on her own. she choices to take the chance to move to the frontier with a distant cousin she has never met. Ester takes her chances in the wilds of America at the turn of the century with nothing but the will of youth and the spirit of change coursing through the country on the eve of a new day. Ester might not get everything right but you will turn the pages and hold your breath through the life changes and murder mystery to come!

Grade: A+

Matched

This book was fun. That's about all, it didn't change my world view or in-rich my mind but it was quick and easy. The perfect beach read for someone overwhelmed and wanting to unwind just like I was. Matched looks at a distopian society, so in right now, and the effects its confines have on one teenage girl. apparently hormones don't stop in the future either and Cassia gets a good dose of em' when her prearranged match goes wrong. She not only sees the face of her best friend and match on her screen but that of another boy....
what is a teenage girl to do in a society monitered by statistical probability?

Grade: Beach Read

The Number: a completely different way to think about the rest of your life.

Well that's what it really is nowadays isn't it? retirement isent just a stepping stone to old age and death, far from it. the "r" word, as Eisenberg calls it, is now close to a second half to your lifespan. so how do you want to spend it? what, you mean by 30 at the latest you haven't thought of that? didn't think that was something that mattered, or if it did only in a slightly buzzing kind of way. well Eisenberg is here to tell you that, sorry, it is important and not just later but right now!
dont be alarmed The Number wasent written to scare you or tell you that everyone needs three mill. to make it through life without the buggy man coming for you. it was however, written for those in there late twentys to early thirtys as a way to really look at finance or more importantly what you want finance for.
while there is no magic grid to simply tell you how much you will need to put away, in what way, and for how long there are some simple facts about investment, how much should you really have in stocks and how much in bonds, and some tough life choices to make. what is retirement to you if you really had to think about it?
My answer was easy: becoming the wondering vagabond of my dreams with a simple but comfortable home that can be a base of operations from which to pack the next suitcase. while the book is longish it is an easy read, written not for those in the know, but for those who don't know anything. once you pick it up you might just get hooked like me and end up wondering why you never thought of such logical points about your own future happiness!

Sway

Book Day!!!!!!! I just love posting about new books becouse I read book blogs all the time to catch up on something new. Today I finnished SWAY: The irresistible pull of irrational behavior written by Ori Brafman and Rom Brafman. The book was just suppost to be a placefiller in all honisty and I did not expect that it would become much more. Shockingly this became a book I couldnt put down! It could be the most stimulating read thats passed my door in quit awhile. focusing on aspects of the brain from how we react to group dynamics to what fairness realy means this book will get you thinking. Good for those with a background in psychology as well as those simply reading for fun this book truely toes the line between entertainment and education.

Grade: A

First Ever Book Review

My very first Thursday book review! like everything else about this blog I'm sure this new segment will evolve in the future but for today I have chosen to share  the book Mop Men: inside the world of crime scene cleaners by Alan Emmins. Not a normal summer read I agree but an interesting one never the less. Alan, a journalist, finds that his latest story pitches are not hitting the mark in today's media and looks for a new angle to pitch. In a roundabout way Alan moves to California to follow Neal, the owner of crime scene cleaners and his crew of merry moppers.

While the book can be graphic for the everyday reader I found the book to be more disheartening. Alan spends most of the book, in my opinion, looking down on those who treat death with a casual manner. He seems at times to feel superior to many of those around him while he works on the sidelines of jobs under Neal's company. This attitude is directed at times to the police working the crime scene, the other cleaners, those who work for motels or hotels where suicides are more common, and most often at Neal.

While I see how those who have not been exposed to death or first responders could misinterpret there reactions to death I find it sad that Alan never seems to fully comprehend the shift in there thinking or to stop holding his own attitude as the only "acceptable" model. in fact he at times seems afraid that he might have gone to some kind of dark side for thinking like those around him. If you have a loved one who is in a first responder field you might want to simply bypass this book for this reason.

While the overall book in interesting and holds some interesting incite it in no way compares to Stiff: the curious lives of human cadavers, a great read,  who's shoes I got the feeling it modeled.  All in all one that can be skipped

C rated.