Nutz4 Reading's Thoughts....

I am back with another review.  I haven't had much time to read lately and I am far behind on my reads.  If any authors have emailed me with review requests and I haven't responded please send the request again.   Some have been going into my spam/junk folder and I haven't been catching them. My next review is of the book Room by Emma Donoghue. This was a book I read for book club. I didn't finish it in time for my group meeting.  I had trouble getting into the book at first. The writing was bothersome at first until I realized that the narrator was a 5 year old boy. Room is the story of Ma and Jack. Ma and Jack live in room not because they want to but because they cannot escape. Ma wants to escape Room once Jack turns five. Jack doesn't want to leave room. Once they do escape the book follows them on their recovery from being in Room. I found the story interesting and the way it was written in the boys voice made my emotions come alive during the book.

Well this was my first Neil Gaiman book that I read.  I will say I will be reading more of Neil Gaiman. Well I took the plunge into graphic novels with one of the best authors. Marvel 1602 is a comic book with a twist. Neil takes some of the Marvel characters and places them in the year 1602 in London. I found it interesting to follow their lives while living in London during the end of the Tudors and when James of Scotland becomes king. 5 stars

All I did was Shoot my Man by Walter Mosley Another great win from Library Things Early Reviewers program!! This book started out slow for me but by the 3rd chapter I was interested in learning more about Leonid McGill! Leonid is the main character in All I did was Shoot my Man. Leonid used to be a career criminal. He was best know for changing evidence in crimes to convict some people that should be convicted and some that were innocent. One of those persons is Zella Grisham. Leonid set her up as having stolen $58 million dollars from this corporation. Now that Leonid (LT) has decided to become honest he gets Zella release from prison for the stolen money. LT is also a private detective. LT also has a family, a wife and 3 grown children. One boy who works for him, his name is Twill, a daughter known as Shelly and another son called Dimitri. The characters are all very unique and interesting in their interactions with each other as family. This added to my enjoyment of the book

The Most Dangerous thing by Laura Lippman This is my first book by Laura Lippman. I have a few of her books but I just haven't gotten around to reading them just yet. The Most Dangerous Thing is about a group of children and their families during the 70's and 80's. The main characters are Gwen, Mickey, and the three Halloran brothers named, Sean, Tim and Gordon or also known as Go-Go. This is back in the time when parents would let their children go outside and not worry about the dangers out there. These five children would hike through Leakin Park beyond where they knew there parents wouldn't let them go if they really knew. The book goes from the present to the past in the chapters. You would be reading about any one of the main characters in the future and then they would start remembering things from the past. When you start reading The Most Dangerous Thing you read about Go-Go in the present day. He is thrown out of a bar and winds up killing himself either

Racing the Devil by Jaden Terrell Racing the devil is a fast paced book that keeps your attention and wondering if Jared McKean will figure out who set him up for murder. Jared is an ex cop turned private detective who wakes up after a night with a women who is in need of a good honest man. While he is fighting the charge of murder his ex wife is pregnant with her new husband's child, his nephew is gay and runs away. As Jared tries to solve his own case he worries about his family and friends. This is the first book in the Jared mmMcKean mystery series. I know I will be looking forward to reading the next book in this series. 5 stars

The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver Okay I am finally writing a review for this book. I did not finish it. I don't think I will be able to finish it. I was reading this book for my Library Book Clubs December read. The 9 people that were at the meeting only 3 actually finished it. I just didn't enjoy it. I do not like the writing style of this book. This is my first book by Barbara Kingsolver but I don't know if it will be the last. I know she wrote the Poisonwood Bible and that is the reason our book club decided to read this book. They loved that book (I still have yet to read it), and figured this book would be just as good. I will just be skimming through the book and reading the dialogue. I am sorry I cannot recommend this book. 1 star

My review of A Change in Altitude by Anita Shreve Not one of her best books.  This book would most definitely turn me off of reading more books by Anita Shreve if I read this one first. A Change in Altitude was interesting but not one of my favorites by Anita Shreve. The story is about a husband and wife living in Africa. Patrick is a doctor and working with a local hospital in Africa and doing free clinics. Margaret went with him but doesn't have a job to begin with. I found some of the story interesting and wanting to continue and other parts just wanting to skip over. Patrick and Margaret are living in an adjoining house with another couple. I found that couple to be some what annoying. They decide to climb this mountain and something awful happens that causes a rift between Patrick and Margaret. I found myself wondering through most of the book if Patrick and Margaret would stay married, if either one had an affair and if maybe they just weren't meant to be

My review of a book because of a movie being released. Certain Prey by John Sanford: This is my first book by John Sandford and I loved it. I decided to read it because I saw that a movie was coming out on USA and I wanted to read it before I watched the movie. I just hope the movie is just as good as the book. Lucas Davenport is a detective in Minnesota and is after a murderer. You follow Detective Davenport as he tries to unravel not just one murder but 3 murders that look like they were committed by a professional. Lucas also has it in for a lawyer, Carmel Loan. The twists and turns that this story takes kept me reading until my eyes were closing due to lack of sleep. Need a little excitement in your reading than I suggest you give Certain Prey a try. 5 stars

My review of Defending Jacob by William Landay I have to say this is one of the best ER books I have received this year. I stayed up late last night to finish reading it and once I reached the end I just sat there thinking and saying Oh My God. The ending was one I would never have thought of. I love to read mystery, thrillers, suspense, and romance novels all the time. And usually I can figure out the ending or even just a little bit of the ending. This one I kept going back and forth as to whether or not Jacob was guilty of murder. Defending Jacob is a book that captures so many different dynamics of family life and how being accused of murder can tear the stability apart. Jacob is Andy and Laurie's 14 year old son. He is accused of murdering one of his classmates. Just reading this book made me think of how I would possibly react if one of my children had ever been accused of such a thing. Andy has no doubts that his son is innocent but Laurie second guesses everything.

MY REVIEW OF THE DIPLOMAT'S WIFE BY PAM JENOFF This is my first book by Pam Jenoff and it won't be my last. I decided to read the Diplomat's Wife because I had seen a notice at my local library that she was going to be there for a signing or question and answering. I didn't make it to the engagement but I am very glad that I decided to pick up her book. The Diplomat's Wife is a novel with everything. Mystery, suspense, thrills and chills, and romance. The story is set in the year 1945. Marta has survived a Nazi prison camp and is rescued by an American Soldier named Paul. You follow Marta through her life of recovery, loss of true love and so much more. I am afraid I might give away too much of the plot if I say any more. Pam Jenoff does a superb job of keeping the reader enthralled in the story. I give Pan Jenoff five stars for keeping me entranced and going to bed late just so that I could finish the book. If you need a new author than check out Pam J

The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry The Willoughbys is a delightfully written book. I found myself laughing at the characters. I love all the Willoughbys, Tim, A&B, and Jane. They are the children of Mr. & Mrs. Willoughby. Tim is the oldest and does all the bossing. A&B are twins and they are known as Barnaby A and Barnaby B. Jane is the only girl and the youngest of the family. I loved the story because the kids didn't care for their parents about as much as the parents didn't care for their children. The children had a bond with each other that the parents never knew about. The children and the parents both try to get away from each other and that made the story entertaining. I also loved all the little mentions of old fashioned books. When The Bobsy Twins were mention I chuckled to myself because my sister had all those books growing up and I always wanted to read them. She was very protective of her books and was afraid I would destroy them. If you just wan

This was a book that I read for my library book club.  After reading this book I did learn that Jeannette had another book which I decided to read and will post the review here along with this one. I love horses and learning about horses and learning about how things were in the past. I found it interesting to read about ranch life for a young girl. This is the story of Jeannette Walls' grandmother, Lily Casey Smith. Lily was a very resourceful growing up. She took care of her younger siblings and helped her father on the ranch. She was an excellent student when she wanted to learn something new. She was also an excellent teacher. Jeannette does a great job of writing about her grandmother and her mother. I found myself laughing and crying at times. I gave the book 5 stars. Now the second book by Jeannette Walls is The Glass Castle.  Very interesting read.  I hope you will consider reading this book. I decided to read this book for two reasons. The book

Since I am so far behind on posting my reviews I am going to post reviews from my reads in 2011.  There maybe more then one review in a post.  This will depend on my mood and time.  Enjoy reading my reviews. A Spy at Home by by Joseph Rinaldo I received this book from the author requesting a review. I enjoy reading and will try any book and post a review. A Spy at Home is the story about a retired CIA agent, his wife Louisa and their son Noah. You learn how Garrison and Louisa met and how they finally have a son. Their son Noah is not biologically theirs but a child that is rescued from a neighbors house after a fire. Noah has Downs Syndrome and most likely would not be adopted. Louisa has fallen in love with the baby and they decide to adopt him. This story is about their life and raising a child with Downs Syndrome. You have a husband who has pretty much been out of the picture most of the time because of his job. The story does jump around a lot and that can be confusing.

Well I am finally getting around to posting my first read of 2012.  I have been very busy with life this year.  My job is keeping me busy along with my family, animals and friends.  I have also started on a journey of losing weight.  I have been on this weight loss journey for over a year and I am making exercise and activity a priority.  Which means less time to read and post on here. My first read of 2012 was a Neil Gaiman book.  I had read one of his books last year and continued with reading him for a challenge I was doing on a site called Goodreads.  This isn't one of my best reviews.  I am still going to share it with you guys. My second Neil Gaiman book and my first for this year. I now have to wonder why I waited so long to read Mr. Gaiman's work. Stardust was a very interesting read. I can't decide if this is one of my favorites just yet since I have only read two books my Neil Gaiman. I did enjoy the story and I am now interested in seeing the movie. The en

I am sure no one has really missed me.  I have been busy with work and a change over to a new software that I haven't had that much time to read.  I am the lead person on this change over so I am responsible for a lot of information. I have many books to read and post reviews for.  I have finished some of them and just need to take the time to post the reviews here.  I have posted them on LibraryThing and Goodreads.  One day when I have nothing better to do I am going to copy them over to here. So keep an eye out for the reviews to just start popping up one day/afternoon or evening.