book_nut's Reviews (2.91k)

Liked it; it was kind of a Spanish Three Musketeers (I liked the illusions to the Dumas book best), but... it kind of just ended. I don't mind series books, but I do like each one to (mostly) stand on their own. I felt like I was only getting half of a story. Which is never fun.

One part travel book, one part pseudo self help, Weiner travels the world looking for the answer to the search for happiness. Not especially profound (Hubby would probably call it hack philosophy), but entertaining and somewhat enlightening and always enjoyable. Except Moldova, which isn't.

Hmmm. Interesting story, especially as a study of fascism and fanaticism, but I wonder about it overall. Were we supposed to believe in the magical element? Was it really there? I thought it undermined what was a pretty decent story about someone standing up against the mob.

A very engrossing, stirring, wonderfully detailed (and well-written) fictional account of a slave in New York during the American Revolution. Very, very good.

It's so hard to objectively review this book. It's the Holocaust... it's Auschwitz. It's more horrible beyond horrible. And it's about a survivor. It's so hard to be happy while reading this book, and yet, it's a survivor. Someone who made it through. But... that someone is a grump, a miser, a racist (yes, that's ironic), and his son is trying to deal with all that. As was I. A good book. Makes one think.

An interesting premise -- text interspersed with links to videos -- especially for a mystery. Really good at mood... but (and it's all my fault), I just couldn't get into it. This book doesn't jive with my reading habits (while my kids watch TV or in the car), and my computer's old and slow, so I missed most of the effect of the video.

That's not to say it's not a good idea. It's just for people who are more in the 21st century than I am. LOL.

A quiet book, unassuming, touching on the mundane and everyday rather than the big conflicts. Nothing earth-shattering, but an enjoyable book.

Thoroughly enjoyable and charming (a perfect sick-day read). I liked the elements of classicism (I wanted to pummel Karil's relatives), and that the war was just there (it's not a war book, after all). It's more about friendship and relationships and being who you want to be rather that what others want from you. (Except there is such a thing as duty.) Really very good.

Kind of a coming-of-age story, featuring Boone Barnaby, a 12 year old in San Puerco, California. He makes friends, has adventures, fights injustice... and that sounds a lot more hokey than it really is. A good read.

This was odd, but quite enjoyable. I'm not sure where this really fits in the whole reading spectrum; it feels like a middle grade book, but there are words that I know an 8 year old won't know (mostly food terms like pate -- how do you do accents??) and then there's the damns that show up (only twice, but still...). But it's not complex enough for a YA novel... so it's stuck out there in no-book's land. Still, it's a cute little story.