Friday, July 30, 2010

July Book Reviews: "The Time Traveler's Wife," "Anthem," "Why We Suck," & "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle"

My Rating System: OK*, Good**, Great***

The Time Traveler's Wife
by Audrey Niffenegger
Rating: **


This book is about Henry, a man who time travels (mostly to the past) but has no control over when or where he goes. I really liked the idea of this book and think it's a unique take on the time traveling theme, but I don't think it lived up to its potential. I didn't think the chemistry between Claire and Henry was that great. I mean it seemed like their relationship was based more on physical chemistry than actual love. And I also think it sucks that Claire never had a real relationship with anyone else. Her whole young adult life was basically wasted sitting at home pinning for someone she rarely got to see. I don't really see that as romantic. More tragic than anything to basically have someone tell you what your life is going to be like.

I know this sounds like a negative review, but I did like this book. I just think it could have been a lot better. That said, I did cry at the end. I think it is worth reading, but don't expect to be wowed.


by Ayn Rand
Rating:***


I picked this book up off the shelf at home because it was a short book that would give me a little break from my other books. I had no idea what it was about and had only heard the name "Ayn Rand" from a recent episode of Jeopardy. I'm not sure why I didn't know her name before because she's the author of the famous "Atlas Shrugged."

"Anthem" was a very pleasant surprise. I really loved this book. Such a great message and written in a clever way. I don't really want to tell you what this book is about because it's so short that a synopsis would give away too much of the story. But, I thought it had a "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" sort of feel and had a bit of an Emersonian voice. I can't recommend this one enough. Definitely worth the couple of hours it'll take you to read it.


by Dr. Denis Leary
Rating: **


I picked this up in audio version at the library for entertainment during a road trip. I hadn't heard anything about it, but I like Denis Leary so I thought there was a lot of potential. With Leary himself reading this book, it turned out to be sort of a stand-up comedy routine. Which was a good thing. It was definitely entertaining enough for a long drive and even conjured up some rants between Seth and I (ok mostly me) about several things. The material wasn't necessarily unique, but like I said, it was entertaining. If you get offended easily and/or don't like swears, you best stay away from this one.


By Washington Irving
Rating: **


This is another book I chose because it was so short. Actually two books in one. A nice easy read and good to get the real story instead of the Disney/Hollywood versions. Plus, they're classics!

5 comments:

Holly said...

I've never read anything of Rand's, but she's on my list. I was told that I must read Fountainhead.

Rachel said...

I'm putting Anthem next on my reading list. I love Ayn Rand.

Paul said...

I don't like Ayn Rand. There! I said it! Um, I guess that's about it. I'm a pretty big Dennis Leary fan though. His standup special No Cure for Cancer has always been one of my favorite angry, pointless rants. Rent it if you haven't seen it!

Karen said...

Only people who like the same things as me can post comments on this blog PAUL! We can no longer be friends.

Just kidding. It's possible I don't like her either. I mean, 100 pages is really just a taste. I hope the rest of her stuff is just as good though.

heidi said...

Rachel loves Ayn Rand?

Really?