Book Review: Harshini by Jennifer Fallon

Reader #519 wrote: This book concludes "The Hythron Chronicles." I thought that Ms. Fallon did an excellent job finishing this trilogy. After reading these books I've added Ms. Fallon to my list of great fantasy writers. Throughout all her books, she has so skillfully developed the characters and really brought them to life. The third book wraps up the story, but makes you want more. I definitely recommend this author! Grade: A.

Book Review: Treason Keep by Jennifer Fallon

Reader #519 wrote: This is the second book in the Hythron Chronicles. Picking up where Medalon left off, Ms. Fallon continues the story at the breathtaking pace. I loved the introduction of a second very headstrong female character, Princess Adrina. Some of the antics in the book had me laughing. I also love a good romantic side to the story and the characters certainly deliver. After finishing this book, I couldn't wait for the sequel. Grade: A.

Book Review: Don't Fill Up on Antipasto by Tony Danza

I don't recommend this book. Dull stories, dull writing and dull recipes. Grade: D.

Book Review: Comfort Me with Apples by Ruth Reichl

Reader #529 wrote: Great book for food lovers - interesting memoir with mouth-watering food descriptions and recipes. Grade: A.

Book Review: My Guy Barbaro by Edgar Prado

Reader #74 wrote: A very touching story about a very special horse, but what really makes the book worth reading is the endearing story told by the jockey who loved Barbaro the most and his "rags to riches" story, from poverty in his homeland of Peru to the USA where he went on to win the Kentucky Derby with Barbaro. A must for any horse racing fan, too! Grade: A.

Book Review: Rock On by Dan Kennedy

Reader #74 wrote: A very funny book about life in the music business and the record industry. It is filled with hysterical inner monologue from the main character who wonders how he landed in the dying music industry, but rejoices in his chance at success and basks in the image of his hip self. Hilarious! Grade: B.

Book Review: Instamatic Karma: Photographs of John Lennon by May Pang

Reader #74 wrote: A lovely photo tribute to John Lennon from May Pang, Lennon's girlfriend from 1973-75. Many of these photos are rare, never before seen images of a much loved icon. An absolute must for any Beatles or music fan. You will discover a private side to John Lennon and his relationship with May Pang as well, seldom seen before. Enjoy! Grade: A.

Book Review: Simplexity by Jeffrey Kluger

Reader #82 wrote: SIMPLEXITY: WHY SIMPLE THINGS BECOME COMPLEX AND HOW COMPLEX THINGS CAN BE MADE SIMPLE by Jeffrey Kluger (ISBN-13 978-1 4013-0301-3, ISBN-10 1-4013-0301-3) has such chapters as "Why is it so hard to leave a burning building or an endangered city?", "How does a single bullet start a world war?", "Why is a baby the best linguist in the room?", and "Why are your cell phones and cameras so absurdly complicated?" But while Kluger generally covers these topics, he often leaves out key information, while at the same time adding digressions. For example, in the chapter on leaving burning buildings, he talks about how difficult to was to evacuate the World Trade Center towers, not just because of psychological reasons, but because the four of the stairways were 44 inches wide, and two were 56 inches wide, designed in 1970 for two people to walk abreast. The problem is that people in 2001 were much wider than those in 1970, and this disrupted the flow. Interesting and important, certainly, but not a question of simplicity versus complexity. And in his chapter on "How does a single bullet start a world war?", he never actually says what he is referring to. (I assume it is the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand by Gavrilo Princip that started World War I.) Even with these flaws, the book is thought-provoking. And perhaps complexity can best be summed up by this paragraph of Kluger's:

"The act of buying nearly any electronic product has gone from the straightforward plug-and-play experience it used to be to a laborious, joy-killing exercise in unpacking, reading, puzzling out, configuring out, testing, cursing, reconfiguring, stopping altogether to call the customer support line, then calling again an hour or two later, until you finally get whatever it is you've bought operating in some tentative configuration that more or less does all the things you want it to do--at least until some error message causes the whole precarious assembly to crash and you have to start all over again. You accept, as you always do, that there are some functions that sounded vaguely interesting
when you were in the store that you'll never learn to use, not to mention dozens of buttons on the front panel or remote control that you'll never touch--and you'll feel some vague sense of technophobic shame over this." Grade: B-

Audiobook review: Murder is Easy by Agatha Christie

Reader #82 wrote: I listened to MURDER IS EASY (a.k.a. EASY TO KILL) by Agatha Christie read by Hugh Fraser (ISBN-13 978-1-572-70490-9, ISBN-101-572-70490-X) on a recent trip. Or rather I listened to most of it, and then finished it in book form after I arrived. However, this was a bit confusing, as the audio version refers to the old woman as Lavinia Pinkerton (even with a reference to the name-sharing with the detective agency), while in the book she is Lavinia Fullerton. I cannot seem to find any indication of when the change was made, or why. As for the story, there may be one level too many of mis-direction for the story to be considered elegant--or maybe not. Grade: B.