Jenn's Review: 1st to Die

Summary:

The Women's Murder Club pits four San Francisco women professionals against a serial killer who's stalking and murdering newlyweds in bestselling author James Patterson's newest thriller. Lindsay Boxer is a homicide inspector who's just gotten some very bad news. She deals with it by immersing herself in her newest case and soliciting the personal as well as professional support of her closest friend, who happens to be the city's medical examiner. The two women, along with an ambitious and sympathetic reporter and an assistant DA, form an unlikely alliance, pooling their information and bypassing the chain of command in an engaging, suspenseful story whose gruesome setup is vintage Patterson.

"What is the worst thing anyone has ever done?" the killer muses to himself early in the narrative. "Am I capable of doing it? Do I have what it takes?" Answering his own question, he embarks on a murderous spree that takes him from the bridal suite in a Nob Hill hotel to a honeymoon destination in the Napa Valley and thence to a wedding reception at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio. Dispatching his victims on the happiest day of their lives, he purposefully leaves enough clues for his distaff trackers to discover his identity and put him behind bars. But just when the women think they've got the case all wrapped up, the killer turns the tables on them in a bloody denouement that even the most discerning reader won't see coming. Patterson, author of the popular Alex Cross mysteries, promises future adventures for the Women's Murder Club, which may give him an opportunity to develop his heroines' characters more completely and win new fans among those who prefer their detectives in high heels and lipstick. --Jane Adams, Amazon.com

Review: I don't tend to read a lot of male authors, I'm not sure why that is... perhaps I don't feel that they speak to me as do female authors...whatever the case, I decided to pick up the Women's Murder Club Series, because I can't get enough of the new show on TV. I think the characters are fantastic! --And so very close to what Patterson has written.

In picking up this book I was far from disappointed. As a matter of fact, I read it in a day. I couldn't help it; it just didn't want to be set down. The plot twists were brilliant (I hate when I can pick a murderer a mile away, and I certainly didn't see this coming). The characters accessible (Patterson writes female characters surprisingly well). The book had a perfect balance of drama, romance, friendship, and character development for me. I look forward to reading the rest of the series.

Overall 4.8/5.0

Julie's Review: Garden Spells

Summary: Two gifted sisters draw on their talents to belatedly forge a bond and find their ways in life in Allen's easygoing debut novel. Thirty-four-year-old Claire Waverley manifests her talent in cooking; using edible flowers, Claire creates dishes that affect the eater in curious ways. But not all Waverley women embrace their gifts; some, including Claire's mother, escape the family's eccentric reputation by running away. She abandoned Claire and her sister when they were young. Consequently, Claire has remained close to home, unwilling to open up to new people or experiences. Claire's younger sister, Sydney, however, followed in their mother's footsteps 10 years ago and left for New York, and after a string of abusive, roustabout boyfriends, returns to Bascom, N.C., with her five-year-old daughter, Bay. As Sydney reacquaints herself with old friends and rivals, she discovers her own Waverley magic. Claire, in turn, begins to open up to her sister and in the process learns how to welcome other possibilities. Though Allen's prose can lean toward the pedestrian and the romance subplots feel perfunctory, the blending of horticultural folklore, the supernatural and a big dollop of Southern flavor should find favor with a wide swath of readers.

Review: When I was at Barnes and Noble to buy the book, the lady told me it was a "can't put it down" book. Well once I really got into it, she was right. I loved the characters and I loved the prose. Claire and Sydney Waverly couldn't be more different (aren't most sisters?) but yet they shared a common theme, they each blamed each other for what happened to them in their childhood. Their mother Lorelei left them when they were younger to live with their grandmother in Bascom and while Claire embraced her mysterious heritage; Sydney rebelled against it. Claire stayed in Bascom and created a successful catering business while Sydney ran off and explored the world but only to return to Bascom 10 years later with a young daughter in tow.

To me , the book was about fate, opening yourself up and embracing who you are. We see a good change in both Claire and Sydney. Claire learns to open herself up and Sydney learns that she has the strength she needs to be a good mother and a good person. Each Waverly women has a gift that manifests itself in different ways. While their gifts are magical, I took the message to be we all have gifts and should use them in the best way possible. While this book is set in the South, it didn't seem overly "southern" to me, other than maybe the cooking part of the book.

I know the book has been compared to Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman and while they are similar they are different. Garden Spells isn't about witchcraft and a book of spells, it's about embracing yourself and your heritage. The cooking part of the book actually reminded me of a 1 star movie with Sarah Michelle Gellar called Simply Irresistable minus the magical crab.

I would definitely recommend this book and will definitely be purchasing Sarah Addison Allen's next book.

Final Take: 4.75/5

2007 Books & Holiday Shopping

Okay, yes, I'm one of those crazy woman who likes to have the majority of her holiday shopping done by the end of November. But if you are looking for the book lover in your life... or even just for you, Amazon has put together their list of Best Books of 2007 - I'm not usually a societal conformist, and I don't tend to read things just because they're popular, but the Editor's Top 100 list is a great way to review the year in books - you can even shop by genre - and see what catches your eye.

Go ahead see what you/we/I may have missed.

Tidbits about JK Rowling

Couple of JK Rowling related stories over the last week or so.

ABC News is reporting that JK Rowling is planning to write the wizardry tales of "Beedle The Bard" but the chance that you and I, the ordinary fan likely won't get to read them. The plan is to produce on seven of these books that are handwritten and illustrated by JKR. Six books will be given to people close to the Potter franchise and the remaining book will be auctioned. So think we can all get together to raise the million or so this will go for?

According to The Press Association, Ms Rowling and her publisher has initiated a copyright lawsuit against Steve Vander Ark, a fan and a librarian who created the online encyclopedia of the Potter series. His book is planned for release in the UK next month. Now JKR has always said that she will write an encyclopedia herself. Hmm...

My Judgment Must Be Off...

Over the past 3 or so months, I've read one really good book. What's that about? So, I won't be reviewing The Almost Moon right now, because it's honestly going nowhere fast. I've been reading it since last Sunday and I am still 107 pages in. The most I can say about these 100 pages is simply that's it's really tedious and partly disturbing. I haven't yet read The Lovely Bones, because I am holding out for the movie and I expect that I will read it anyway, because I've had a lot of recommendations for it.

But back to the fact that I can't find a good book to read... is it simply bad judgment? I am extremely frustrated that I haven't been able to fully escape into a good book lately, because boy do I need it!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: UK vs US Edition

I started reading both versions of these books about seven years ago - just after I started reading the series. A friend of mine was going on and on about how much he preferred the British editions as they were closer to what JK Rowling actually wrote (not overly edited and Americanized) – not to mention the difference in artwork.

I thought it prudent to investigate for myself... and found that there is a world of difference between the Sorcerer's Stone and the Philosopher's Stone. Rowling herself was greatly displeased with the American publication as she found it to be overly translated from English (or as my mum would call it "The Queen's English") into "American." There are several times where this is understandable (for example, the difference between a jumper being a sweater in English and a dress in American) but I would have to agree with JKR that the first novel was overly edited (mum to mommy, for example), something which she made sure did not occur again in the novels that followed it.

The differences between the books from here on out are slight, with a few notable exceptions. JKR pointed one out herself in an interview a few years back about Goblet of Fire where the order of appearance for Harry's mother and father (during Priori Incantatem) get switched backwards in the first UK edition as an editor questioned JKR and thinking she was wrong, JKR changed it around.

Also, notably missing from the UK edition is part of Dumbledore's final conversation with Draco in Half Blood Prince. The text in red was omitted from the UK publications:

"He told me to do it or he'll kill me. I've got no choice."

"He cannot kill you if you are already dead. Come over to the right side Draco, and we can hide you more completely than you can possibly imagine. What is more, I can send members of the Order to your mother tonight to hide her likewise. Nobody would be surprised that you had died in your attempt to kill me -- forgive me, but Lord Voldemort probably expects it. Nor would the Death Eaters be surprised that we had captured and killed your mother -- it is what they would do themselves, after all. Your father is safe at the moment in Azkaban...When the time comes we can protect him too. Come over to the right side, Draco...you are not a killer..." Malfoy stared at Dumbledore. ~(HBP US Edition pg 591/UK Edition pg 552)

This text also does not appear in later paperback versions of the American editions either, so apparently it was a textual cut that didn't make the first US version.

As for the Deathly Hallows, from what I have observed, the differences are minimal. There are the typical variations in spelling and the substitution of a word here or there. Otherwise, it falls in among the rest of the series.

So yes, I own both versions of the Harry Potter series. Do I have a preference? Reading book one, yes, I prefer the British edition... after that, it depends on whether I'm reading/re-reading at home or carrying it around with me... the UK versions are a little more compact, but I do so love the Mary GranPré illustrations... so it's a toss up.