The Cell, Stephen King (3.5/5)

Stephen King used to be one of my favorite authors, and I would read all of his books.  About the time of Dreamcatcher (2001) I for some reason took a break and didn't read everything he published.  I went back and read a few here and there, (A couple Dark Tower books).

I picked up The Cell at a good price to listen to in the car, and King quickly brought me back into his world and reminded me how good of a story teller he really is.  Within minutes I was hooked on the story, the characters and their journey.  

While it isn't the best book I have ever read, nor the best Stephen King book I have read.  There is something to be said for good storytelling.  Something to be said for pure entertainment that King can provide through his "supernatural/horror" style that this book provides.

In the audio book sense I couldn't put it down. I found myself looking forward to the daily commute to work where I could continue the story.  I am glad I took the chance on King again, glad that he is still writing and entertaining.   I have "Under the Dome" on the shelf ready to go.  I am now looking forward to it.

Stars: 3.5 out of 5
Format: Audio

The Hot Kid, Elmore Leonard (1/5)

I don't have a lot to say about this book.  I did not like it at all, and am scared to read other Elmore Leonard books.  I don't understand the high reviews that the book received as I was never engaged by the book and thought many times I should just stop and move on.  I find it hard to quit books that I start, even when not enjoying them. 

I wish I could follow the advice of Robin Sharma when he said "If you find that after reading the first three chapters of a book, you have not gained any worthwhile information or that the book has failed to keep your attention, do yourself a favor: put the book away and make better use of your time (like reading the next book in your pile)."  it would have save me a few hours of my life lost on this book.


Weak on plot, slow dialogue I just didn't get into it.  "Milk on his mustache" seemed to be the critical image that drove the main character, that I won't even waste a summary on.

Stars: 1 out of 5
Format: Audio

War has many different kinds of casualties (Ordinary Heroes, Turow) (3.5)

Ordinary Heroes tells the story of a son, Stewart Dubinski trying to find out who his father David Dubin, was after his death and realizing that he really did not know him.  He discovered that during WWII his father had been tried for treason and Court Marshalled, only to have it overturned shortly afterwords for unknown reason.  

Stewart makes it a crusade to find out what happened with his father during WWII and finds a manuscript his father wrote to explain what happened leading up to his Court Marshall, detailing espionage, law, blood, sorrow and death.

Besides what I felt were a few poor transitions between the present and past (WWII) in the narrative of the book, I enjoyed this story, the telling of the story and portrayal of the craziness of wartime.  It was engaging, I wanted to find out about the story behind David Dubin just as much as Steward did.  It's as good of a story about the Ward as I have read, and would recommend  it to others.

Stars: 3.5 out of 5 Stars
Format: Audio

1. The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins

     My first book of the year is The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.  This was recommended by many people as a good youth read so I wanted to check it out before allowing the kids to read it.  Not only is is fine for them and something I think they will enjoy, but I enjoyed it myself.  It's a real simple read, with like-able characters, and an interesting story.  If you have kids that enjoyed the The Twilight Saga Collection or Harry Potter Series you should enjoy the first book of the Hunger Games.

The second book Catching Fire (The Second Book of the Hunger Games) is out now and I will add to the list but probably won't get to it for a while.  The 3rd book The Hunger Games: Book 3 is due out in August.