Book Report #7

Books 31-35 in my 2015 - 52 Book Challenge (still on track with the reading)!

Good Omens - Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch. Fun Fun Fun! I have been a big fan of Terry Pratchett for a while now, he writes the Disc World Series, and I only discovered Neil Gaiman this year but have quickly become a fan of his as well. So for the two of them to have written a book together, fantastic! The authors notes from each of them on how they came to writing this book together was almost as fun to read as the book itself. The story is a fast paced, exciting tale of an angel and demon who live on earth and enjoy their lavish lifestyles and friendship and therefore work together to try to prevent the upcoming end of the world, which was prophesized by the witch, Agnus Nutter, in 1655. The writing is funny and pointed, if you are a fan of Douglas Adams Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, you will like this book. Highly Recommended!

If I Stay - Gayle Forman: I read this book because I have the movie in my Netflix queue and I always like to read a book before seeing the movie. Mia is comatose after a horrible car accident in which her parents and brother are killed. She is seriously injured but her spirit is free to wander and observe all of her friends and extended family pushing for her recovery. She has to make the decision to fight to live and face her loss or give up fade into oblivion. As it is a young adult book, I am not the main target audience, so while I can see how this book would probably go over very well with young, romantic, idealistic teenage girls, I thought it was just okay. Years ago I read the Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold, which is a different but similar story, and I much prefer that book to this one.

Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore - Robin Sloan: This book was great! I've had it sitting on my shelf for a couple of years I only regret I didn't read it sooner. The story revolves around an unemployed tech guy who finds a job at a unique bookstore with a mysterious history in San Francisco. It's well written and the characters are enjoyable and fun to adventure with. Recommended!

Storm Front (The Dresden Files #1) - Jim Butcher: An urban fantasy book about a personal investigator who is also a wizard. Wizards, yay, I love them, but this book didn't suck me in as I was hoping. It was quick and fun to read. Many of the reviews I have read said that the series really finds it's feet in the 3rd/4th book. So I'll probably continue reading them to see where it goes and if it can suck me in the way I was hoping it would.

The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared - Jonas Jonasson: What a fun book! On his one hundredth birthday, Allen Karlsson, hops out the window of the nursing home and stumbles into a crazy story involving a suitcase full of money, a motorcycle gang, an escaped circus elephant, among other quirky characters. You might think this is the biggest adventure of his life, but the present is intermixed with stories from Allen's past, which was full of fantastic exploits. The writing is fast paced and the story is comical. I recommend it!