Monday, February 25, 2008

Percy Jackson


Madeline brought this home from school. I love to read a good kid book and picked it right up. We have both read through book three now, "The Titan's Curse" and are having a great time. These remind me of Artemis Fowl, by E. Colfer and Harry Potter. We have already pre-ordered the next one coming out in May.
Percy Jackson is a middle school boy who finds out his dad is Poseidon. It turns out this is why he has such bad ADHD, :-). He goes off to a camp for kids who have both a mortal and an Olympian god as parents. He is pursued by monsters and greek gods and has to drag up a good deal of knowledge about the Greek gods to figure things out.
Here is what Booklist had to say:
From Booklist
*Starred Review* Just after finding Bianca and Nico, two newly discovered half-bloods, Percy, Grover, Annabeth, and Thalia end up trapped between a helicopter and a manticore. Artemis and her Hunters save the day, but Annabeth disappears over a cliff; then Artemis rushes off to hunt a dangerous monster. Back at Camp Half-Blood, the Oracle foretells that Artemis must be rescued and makes a prediction that bodes ill for one of their number—but which one? Percy, who is supposed to remain behind while others pursue the quest, follows in search of the missing Annabeth. Their adventures range widely across the U.S., taking them to locales that include Washington, D.C., and the deserts of the Southwest and pitting them against the usual assortment of colorful adversaries. The Percy Jackson & the Olympians series is built around a terrific idea—that the half-mortal offspring of Greek gods live among us, playing out struggles of mythic scale—and Riordan takes it from strength to strength with this exciting installment, adding even more depth to the characters and story arc while retaining its predecessors' nonstop laughs and action. Tixier Herald, Diana
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New Grisham Book


I eagerly awaited the latest Grisham book and now it is here, and I have read it. Unfortunately, it is not my favorite John Grisham. I liked "Playing For Pizza" better I think.
For me the problem with this book is that he is busy making important political statements about our judicial system and not just spinning a good legal thriller. I imagine many people will enjoy this book, however I read for fun and it was just too real. "The Testament" still remains my all time favorite of his books. I refuse to read his nonfiction works (The Innocent Man and A Time to Kill) but have read and enjoyed all of his other books. If you like legal thrillers and don't mind real stuff you'll probably like this book. If you like to read mindlessly like me for pure pleasure, then maybe not.

Saturday, February 02, 2008

Political Thrillers

I used to like Tom Clancy but lost interest as his books "dried" up. Recently a colleague told me he liked Vince Flynn so on a lark I tried him. I'm hooked. Kind of like when I first read a Kathy Reichs. He does the thriller/suspense part quite well. For a political/spy type thriller, try him, you'll like him.
I've just read about Barry Eisler who apparently writes the same type and his protagonist is half American half Japanese. I'll let you know how that goes when I get one read.