The Brunson Review

Horrible...horrible book buff.

2010-03-05T12:42:00.000-08:00

I am shameful that I even claim to be a book connoisseur. Assert a passion for print. Admit an admiration for alliteration. I have failed you my dedicated congregation, of one. I know that this will not make up for months of neglect, but I would like to review some oldies and newbies that I have read lately. (Although 2-300 pages of textbook reading for school really puts a damper on my weekly book completion list.)

The Road by Cormac McCarthy (oldie)

Under the Dome by Steven King (newbie)

Confederacy of Dunces (oldie)

Heist Society (newbie)

This Side of Paradise (oldie...but always a goody!)

Pirate Latitudes (newbie)

The Naked and the Dead (oldie)

The Vipers Nest- 39 clues (newbie)

This Book is Overdue: How Librarian's and Cybrarian's can save us all!

Also I would like to take a minute to observe the memory of talent lost in the literary world this year:
2010 A Year of Great Loss

Jerome David Salinger
Barry Hannah
Robert B. Parker
Dick Francis
Erich Segal

Well, shucks.

2009-09-09T16:51:00.000-07:00

Rarely, and I mean rarely, do I start reading books and give up on them. I believe you cant truly judge a book until you finish it. (I mean, who knows....maybe there is something ABSOLUTELY amazing at the end that compensates for page after page of worthless material?) This being said, imagine my shame in knowing that in the last week I have decided to stop reading not one, but two, books that were just "not my type." First is The Magicians, by Lev Grossman. Yeah, this is totally not the next Harry Potter for adults. I cannot honestly give it a review because I didn't finish it, so I will keep my mouth shut.

Secondly was Level 26 by Anthony E. Zuiker, the creator of CSI. This one, which is the first "Digi-novel," but by no means the first Digital Novel, wasn't terrible...I just don't think I am quite ready for Mr.Zuiker's unique style in book form. I will continue my appreciation for CSI, however.

After these two failed attempts I decided to try a Juvenile title. I have given in to the 39 Clues. I am currently on the first but I am totally digging this series right now. I think it is a fresh, new idea to re-engage childrens interest in books. I will review once I've read a few more!

Catching Fire By Suzanne Collins

2009-09-01T21:21:00.000-07:00

This is a new hunger. An insatiable hunger....clawing at the lining of your gut. Suzanne Collins sequel to the Hunger Games fills you to the brim only to leave you salivating for more! I must admit that being a devout and unyielding fan of the "Underland Chronicles" by Collins, I was not as impressed with the first book of the Hunger Games as maybe some of my fellow colleagues were. I thought maybe some of the ideas were tired and put to rest in much earlier, and overlooked, novels such as The Running Man and The Long Walk by Steven King. However, my faith has been restored with this second installment in the series. Collins does a superb job of engaging the reader with her fast moving plots and ever-changing direction of the novel. While these sudden jumps in plot would usually aggravate me, Collins seems to have perfected which scenes to move quickly through and which to drag out keeping the reader poised at every period.

Katniss Everdeen, "the girl on fire,"has returned to District 12 after a triumphant and successful run in the seventy-fourth Hunger Games. A "battle royal" of sorts, The Hunger Games is a televised battle to the death of 24 teenagers as an attempt to suppress rebellion against their reign by instilling fear throughout the districts. In the games she outsmarted the Capitol through threats of love-scorned suicide in a last-ditch effort to save both her and her district opponent, Peeta's, lives. Successful as she was, the Capitol isn't as pleased as fans of the games'. Her defiance against the Capitol has left those in power fearful of an uprising, and the members of the twelve districts questioning the power that they may truly have over their freedom. With her life as well as the lives of all those she cares about in danger, Katniss must discover just how far she must go to win the games.

Books, books, books.

2009-08-16T19:16:00.000-07:00

I sure picked a very busy time to begin a book review blog. Here are some YA releases that are coming out in September and October that I hope to read and get on her ASAP. They are all sequels to amazing series of novels. Maybe that will give people some time to catch up, no?

Catching Fire (The Second Book of the Hunger Games) by Suzanne Collins

Rapture of the Deep: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, Soldier, Sailor, Mermaid, Spy (Bloody Jack Adventures By L.A Meyer

October Releases

The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma By Trenton Lee Stewart- This series is a Juvenile series, but still pretty interesting. They remind me somewhat of the Chasing Vermeer books.

Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me? (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson) By Louise Rennison (These are, of course, a must read. If you have not yet, what are you waiting for???)

Edit: Book Reviews as Promised

A blast from the past.

2009-08-12T17:15:00.000-07:00

Here are some books that I summarized for a library I used to work at a couple of years ago. Though I didn't offer any opinions, there are some good (and not so good ones) that I thought I would add just to get us started.

Book Suggestion: The Opposite of Invisible

When life gets tough, April talks to the "Dove Girl" poster above her bed for comfort. But when she asks the poster for a boyfriend, what she ends up getting is a whole mess of problems.

In Liz Gallagher's debut novel, "The Opposite of Invisible," April gets caught in a web between outsider, artistic best friend Jewel whom she has known forever as "just-a-friend", or ultra-hunk football player Simon Murphy who has taken a sudden interest in her. When both kiss her and ask her to the Halloween Dance in the same 24 hours, April must pick one relationship, even if it means ruining the other.

In this fast paced novel filled with underground bands, hip coffee shops, first kisses (and more...) and the frenzy of being a fifteen year old girl who doesnt quite know who she is, April must learn that a place does exist between popular and invisible.

Book Suggestion: Spud

For John "Spud" Milton, life as a thirteen year old growing up in South Africa is anything but normal. Not only does he have to deal with the crazy antics of his semi-lunatic father who is scared South Africa is being taken over by communists, but also his senile grandmother who belives everyone has joined in on the plot to rob her of all of her belongs, namely her strawberry jam. To make matters worse, Spud is sent off to an all boys school and encounters some of the most lively (and strange) people that he has ever met.

Written in the epistolary form, Spud experiences the normalcy, and quite a few of the abnormalities, of growing up in an all boys school. From late night swims to excentric quad-mates, Spud's adventures are never short of hilarious.

John van de Ruit really captured the trials and tribulations of a teenage boy in this outrageously funny, quick-witted, and at times, extremely moving first novel.

Watch for: Spud- The Madness Continues... (the sequel)

edit 08/2009- I LOVE both these books. If there is a third (which I hear there may not be...) I will be sure to review it.

Book Suggestion: Ethan, Suspended

Ethan Oppenheimer never thought much about his life in the suburbs of Pennsylvania until an incident and suspension at school led him to be sent away to his grandparents house in the inner city in Washington D.C. As the only white student in a predominantly African American and Hispanic school, all eyes are on Ethan. Dealing with his grandparents old fashioned ways, his parents divorce, a crush on a girl he can't understandand and trying to find friends in a place where he doesnt feel he belongs, Ethan begins to understand, and regret, the choices that he has made.

Ethan, Suspended in the mist of gang confrontations and digging up information about riots and civil rights, discovers that things that he has never cared too much about may hit closer to home than he had thought. Ethan learns family secrets and discovers that his suspension from school may not be the only reason he was sent to D.C. In this heart warming tale about a young boys transition from a world of PlayStation and junk food to a place where he must realize what truely counts in life, readers will cheer Ethan on and embrace the changes that he makes in this novel.

Book Suggestion: Lessons From a Dead Girl

In Jo Knowles novel Lessons from a Dead Girl, fifth grade Leah and Laine become fast friends. Leah, who is popular, beautiful and very mature for her age, takes advantage of Leah's quiet and shy ways. Leah slowly convinces Laine to "experiment" in the closet, doing things that Laine feels unsure about and as they get older and into high school Leah becomes less and less sure that Leah has her best intrests in heart.

But when Leah dies in a tragic accident that Laine feels she may have played a part in, Laine is flooded with memories of her relationship with Leah and struggles to understand why Leah, who haunted her her entire life, continues to haunt her after death. In this tragic and moving novel, true friendships are tested as Laine learns the power that a secret can hold over someone and discovers the real meaning of forgiveness.

2009-08-12T16:55:00.000-07:00

I've decided that though I have read many a book in my 24 years, that there is still a vast amount of literary opportunities I have missed out on by spending my time reading unsubstantial crap. However, what I may consider a waste of time and others do is bound to vary (of course being due to the fact that not everyone was bestowed upon them my uncanny ability to be right.) That aside, I would like to think I keep an open mind as per genre, subject, audience and content of a novel. Being a childrens and Young Adult librarian I spend a large portion of my already thin-pressed time reading and attempting- to little to no avail-to keep up with good books out there. So, I have decided that I will review some of the books as I read them and offer at least one girl's opinion of what sizzles and what simply fizzles out. Whether you listen or not will be your mistake.