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Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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12. The Stepford Wives, by Ira Levin
This is one of the few books that I really, really did not like. It's creepy, disturbing, and unpleasant.
That said, I had to laugh a little at the idea that the animatronics at Disneyland (the supposed inspiration for the perfect wives) were so realistic they could fool anybody. I've seen those things, and they are definitely in the uncanny valley. If you haven't seen the movie (the original, not that horrible comedic remake with Nicole Kidman), it's very creepy too.
VirginiaR.
"On the long road, take small steps." -- Jor-el, "The Foundling"
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"clearly there is a lack of understanding between those two... he speaks Lunkheadanian and she Stubbornanian" -- chelo.
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Top Banana
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Top Banana
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12. The Stepford Wives, by Ira Levin
This is one of the few books that I really, really did not like. It's creepy, disturbing, and unpleasant.
That said, I had to laugh a little at the idea that the animatronics at Disneyland (the supposed inspiration for the perfect wives) were so realistic they could fool anybody. I've seen those things, and they are definitely in the uncanny valley. If you haven't seen the movie (the original, not that horrible comedic remake with Nicole Kidman), it's very creepy too. I thought about watching the movie, but after reading the book, I think I'll avoid it. (Then again, movies based on books I did like often prove a disappointment, so maybe the original film version of The Stepford Wives will be an improvement.) I read about the Nicole Kidman remake on TV Tropes. It sounds like a mess.
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn’t have come here.”
- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
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Top Banana
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Top Banana
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13. Harriet the Spy, by Louise Fitzhugh
Harriet Welsch goes around spying on people and writing everything she observes in a notebook, but when her classmates find the notebook, trouble ensues.
Harriet makes me think of a young Lois Lane -- curious about everything (including things people would rather she didn't stick her nose into), takes risks to learn things, and when her notes are read, the fur flies.
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn’t have come here.”
- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
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Merriwether
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Merriwether
Joined: Nov 2010
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#4 One Second After by William r. Forstchen
Life in small Carolina town after an EMP takes out all of
everything electronic in America. I enjoy post-apocalyptic books but this one seemed extremely grim.
Joan
Last edited by scifiJoan; 02/07/15 11:21 AM.
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Boards Chief Administrator Emeritus Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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OP
Boards Chief Administrator Emeritus Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 9,362 |
A Dark And Twisted Tide - Sharon Bolton (Lacey Flint #4)Another intriguing and exciting outing for one of my favourite heroines. Incorporated into the plot were a lot of disturbing true details about the lives of some Afghani women which made it possibly the darkest tale yet. LabRat 
Athos: If you'd told us what you were doing, we might have been able to plan this properly.
Aramis: Yes, sorry.
Athos: No, no, by all means, let's keep things suicidal.
The Musketeers
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Boards Chief Administrator Emeritus Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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Boards Chief Administrator Emeritus Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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Lamentation - C J Sansom (Shardlake Series)King Henry's health is fading fast and social tension and religious persecution in Tudor England is at fever pitch. Queen Catherine Parr is in the midst of dangerous court intrigue and Matthew Shardlake is embroiled in aiding her, to the peril of himself and his companions. Reading a Shardlake story is like visiting with an old friend. I love this series. The sense of time and place is impeccable and the cast of regulars and new characters always enjoyable. LabRat
Athos: If you'd told us what you were doing, we might have been able to plan this properly.
Aramis: Yes, sorry.
Athos: No, no, by all means, let's keep things suicidal.
The Musketeers
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Beat Reporter
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Beat Reporter
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Castaway Planet by Ryk Spoor a dSF novel dedicated to Robinson Crusoe, Swiss Family Robinson and The Mysterious Island. Interesting characters and a nice alien biosphere.
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Top Banana
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Top Banana
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14. Bubble Books! The Clownfish
15. Bubble Books! The Hippopotamus
Author unknown for both. These are books for very young children that take roughly 30 seconds to read out loud in their entirety. I bought them a few years ago for my nieces, who still enjoy hearing the stories as they play with the matching toys in the bathtub (a clownfish and a hippopotamus, of course). The books are plastic, waterproof, and inflated, so they are good bath toys. Each book gives a little bit of information about the habitat of the animals (ocean for the clownfish, savannah for the hippo).
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn’t have come here.”
- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
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Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 9,362
Boards Chief Administrator Emeritus Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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Boards Chief Administrator Emeritus Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 9,362 |
Dead Stop - D. Nathan HilliardHaving been impressed by the author's quirky horror Spiderstalk last year, I was really looking forward to this zombie horror novel. But it was a massive disappointment. From a great start, it rapidly descended into boring and repetitive with a cast of characters I really couldn't work up much feeling for. A nicely ironic ending didn't save it for me, sadly. LabRat
Athos: If you'd told us what you were doing, we might have been able to plan this properly.
Aramis: Yes, sorry.
Athos: No, no, by all means, let's keep things suicidal.
The Musketeers
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Merriwether
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Merriwether
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#5 The Grief of Others by Leah Hager Cohen
I knew this was going to be a sad one. A family copes with the death of an infant.
Joan
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Top Banana
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Top Banana
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16. American Savior: A Novel of Divine Politics, by Roland Merullo
Jesus reincarnates as a U.S. citizen and runs for president. This novel is a political satire, told from the POV of TV newsman Russ Thomas, and has a lot of characters which are thinly veiled versions of actual media personalities. It's a pretty good book, and fairly recent -- it was written in 2008.
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn’t have come here.”
- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
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Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 9,362
Boards Chief Administrator Emeritus Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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OP
Boards Chief Administrator Emeritus Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 9,362 |
The Breakers Series - Edward W. Robertson:
#6 Cut Off
#7 Captives
#8 Relapse
Outcome (Novella)I loved this PA series. Particularly the clever ways in which the author's plot and character choices made each new book as fresh as the first. Really sorry to have caught up, although apparently there's at least one more to come. I'll be eagerly waiting for my email alert. Meanwhile, think I'll check out the author's other fantasy series. LabRat
Athos: If you'd told us what you were doing, we might have been able to plan this properly.
Aramis: Yes, sorry.
Athos: No, no, by all means, let's keep things suicidal.
The Musketeers
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Top Banana
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Top Banana
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17. Lunatics, by Dave Barry and Alan Zweibel
Two guys from New Jersey, Philip Horkman (so named because he's so nice and PC that he makes you want to puke) and Jeffrey Peckerman (so named because he's a total word-that-is-not-allowed-in-this-part-of-the-forum), get into an argument over soccer, get mistaken for terrorists, meet real terrorists, escape on a cruise ship, and accidentally solve most of the world's geopolitical problems by dint of coincidence, sheer incompetence, and frequent grossness (especially on Peckerman's part). Sometimes funny, sometimes bizarre, sometimes both.
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn’t have come here.”
- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
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Pulitzer
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Pulitzer
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The Good Earth by Pearl Buck.
It's decades old but it's still a great book.
"Though more than seventy years have passed since this remarkable novel won the Pulitzer Prize, it has retained its popularity and become one of the great modern classics. In The Good Earth Pearl S. Buck paints an indelible portrait of China in the 1920s, when the last emperor reigned and the vast political and social upheavals of the twentieth century were but distant rumblings. This moving, classic story of the honest farmer Wang Lung and his selfless wife O-Lan is must reading for those who would fully appreciate the sweeping changes that have occurred in the lives of the Chinese people during the last century."
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Boards Chief Administrator Emeritus Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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Boards Chief Administrator Emeritus Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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Posts: 9,362 |
Traitor - Mark Eller (The Turner Chronicles #1)Aaron Turner is storekeep in the little town of Last Chance. But he has a secret. Able to travel between the country of Isabella and his own world, he is a spy for a militia intent on invasion. But Aaron is about to rethink his plans.... A really enjoyable fantasy. It could have worked as a stand alone novel but I'll be checking out the next book to find out where Aaron goes next. LabRat
Athos: If you'd told us what you were doing, we might have been able to plan this properly.
Aramis: Yes, sorry.
Athos: No, no, by all means, let's keep things suicidal.
The Musketeers
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Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 9,362
Boards Chief Administrator Emeritus Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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OP
Boards Chief Administrator Emeritus Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 9,362 |
Among The Dead And Dying - A. R. Wise (Among The Masses #1) Given the cover/description of ths one, I was expecting a basic schlock horror zombie novel. What I got was a fairly superior fantasy novel with complex characters and an intriguing plot. Eager for book 2 now. LabRat
Athos: If you'd told us what you were doing, we might have been able to plan this properly.
Aramis: Yes, sorry.
Athos: No, no, by all means, let's keep things suicidal.
The Musketeers
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Top Banana
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Top Banana
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18. The Ocean at the End of the Lane, by Neil Gaiman
I finally got an up-to-date public library card (my old one was about 25 years old and no longer valid), and this was the first book I picked out. It was a good selection, too -- Neil Gaiman is a good storyteller.
A middle-aged man returns to the neighborhood where he grew up, visiting some neighbors. Once there, he remembers a strange experience he had about 40 years earlier, one that he had forgotten more than once. That experience is the story.
Neil Gaiman makes me think of a British Stephen King.
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn’t have come here.”
- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
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Posts: 1,722 Likes: 1
Merriwether
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Merriwether
Joined: Nov 2010
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#6 The Practice of Deceit by Elizabeth Benedict
After two years of marriage, a man suddenly learns his wife has been hiding things from him. I ususally love this type of story. And it was a doozy. It just seemed a bit rushed.
Any one here read Barbara Delinsky? I ususally love her books. I picked up her new one, "Sweet Salt Air" and I'm having a terrible time getting into it.
Joan
Last edited by scifiJoan; 03/04/15 08:06 AM.
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Boards Chief Administrator Emeritus Nobel Peace Prize Winner
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OP
Boards Chief Administrator Emeritus Nobel Peace Prize Winner
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 9,362 |
Never Go Back - Lee ChildJack Reacher finally makes it to Virginia in his quest to meet Susan Turner. But Susan isn't where she should be and in short order Reacher finds himself inducted back into the army, implicated in more than one serious charge and facing court martial. Big mistake! All the usual elements that make a Reacher adventure so much fun are here. In particular, the rumble with the Claughton clan in the motel lot was hilarious. LabRat
Last edited by LabRat; 03/05/15 02:57 PM.
Athos: If you'd told us what you were doing, we might have been able to plan this properly.
Aramis: Yes, sorry.
Athos: No, no, by all means, let's keep things suicidal.
The Musketeers
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Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 1,114
Top Banana
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Top Banana
Joined: Jun 2013
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19. Big Trouble, by Dave Barry
This book is absolutely hilarious, and can get you some weird looks from nearby people when you giggle out loud at it. It's a satire of hardboiled crime novels, Miami, teenagers, rich people, poor people, Miami International Airport, and dogs. Barry's first novel, and his best.
20. 11/22/63, by Stephen King
A high school English teacher named Jake Epping learns about a portal back in time to 1958, and decides to use it to save JFK from assassination. Of course, this being a Stephen King novel, you can imagine how well that went.
21. Dave Barry's History of the Millennium (So Far), by Dave Barry
Dave Barry satirizes the events of the second millennium, then goes on to satirize the years 2000 to 2006 (excluding 2001, which had some very unfunny things happen).
22. Weird California, by Greg Bishop, Joe Oesterle, and Mike Marinacci
This book details all sorts of weird things from the state of California, including historical anomalies, reports of strange creatures, odd buildings, and notable crimes. I've seen a few of these things in person, including the Hemet Maze Stone, which dates back to circa 500 A.D., but looks nothing like the rest of the Native American art of the region (though it does look a great deal like Chinese designs of that era, leading to speculation that the Chinese may have visited California a millennium before Columbus landed in the New World).
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, "or you wouldn’t have come here.”
- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
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