What is the last book you read, and your rating?

[DATo]

Zoe's Revenge by M.Y. Halidom. Fair story, kind of contrived. Its as the author was making it up as he went along. About a man who met a slutty girl and fell for for her in a big way.She treats him like crap cleans him out of all his money and runs off with this ugly no-account bum. He gets her pregnant and brings her back to the first guy, says Im done with her. You can have her back. The guy is tickled to get her back, as he is madly infatuated with her. She shows her true feelings, tells him she dosent love him, he's a dumb ass and she just wanted him for his money. She laughs at him for being so stupid, he goes off the deep end and strangles her. Him and a doctor friend cut her up in pieces and destroy them except for the bones. It starts to get really stupid here. They put the bones back together and make a complete skeleton, sell it to an artist who makes a lay model from it by covering it with clay and stuffing. The thing comes to life and chases her murderer all over the place from France to New York. The cops catch it a couple times, put it in jail but it beats the crap out of the cops and escapes. It haunts the guy and his girlfriend chasing them around and beats the crap out of a bunch of people and kills one guy. Dumb story, I was going to give up on it about a third into it, but its one of those you have to keep reading to find out what happens. Dont bother with this one, waste of time.

Huey, your synopsis of this book can only serve to give new hope to all fledgling author-want-to-be's. How did something like this ever get published in the first place I wonder? I can recall several books off the top of my head which went on to become best sellers (one of which won a Pulitzer) which had originally been rejected by many publishers ... and this ... THING ... is actually in print? As Shakespeare might say ... "ZOUNDS!!!".

[Fran]

Today I finished The City of Shadows by Michael Russell
Set in Dublin in the early 1930s, the book opens with two policemen tasked with arresting a doctor for providing illegal abortion services but it quickly turns into a most rivetting story of lies, corruption, bigotary & intrigue, all set against a backdrop of developments in continental Europe. As the Nazi are starting to take control in Germany and cast their net over the rest of Europe, Ireland is not immune to their malign influence. Michael Russell has created superb and unique characters and magnificently weaves them into a web of intrigue and mystery that I found both gripping and engrossing. This is not a story of good guys versus bad guys, indeed there really are no good guys just ordinary guys trying to stay alive and do the best they can in extremly difficult situations. What initially appeared to be a rather parochial story is given a wider perspective as the second half of the book takes the story seamlessly to the "free city" of Danzig, Poland - a city gripped by anti-semitism and held together largely by the slender grip of Sean Lester, an Irishman &, High Commissioner in Danzig of the doomed League of Nations.
This book has caused me to lose a couple of nights sleep and no greater complement can I pay it than to give it a deserved 5/5*

[ecoman]

I recently finished reading the medical thriller, Plague Ship by Leonard Goldberg. You can read my review in this forum under Reviews and Discussions. I give it 5 stars.

[Bighuey]

Zoe's Revenge by M.Y. Halidom. Fair story, kind of contrived. Its as the author was making it up as he went along. About a man who met a slutty girl and fell for for her in a big way.She treats him like crap cleans him out of all his money and runs off with this ugly no-account bum. He gets her pregnant and brings her back to the first guy, says Im done with her. You can have her back. The guy is tickled to get her back, as he is madly infatuated with her. She shows her true feelings, tells him she dosent love him, he's a dumb ass and she just wanted him for his money. She laughs at him for being so stupid, he goes off the deep end and strangles her. Him and a doctor friend cut her up in pieces and destroy them except for the bones. It starts to get really stupid here. They put the bones back together and make a complete skeleton, sell it to an artist who makes a lay model from it by covering it with clay and stuffing. The thing comes to life and chases her murderer all over the place from France to New York. The cops catch it a couple times, put it in jail but it beats the crap out of the cops and escapes. It haunts the guy and his girlfriend chasing them around and beats the crap out of a bunch of people and kills one guy. Dumb story, I was going to give up on it about a third into it, but its one of those you have to keep reading to find out what happens. Dont bother with this one, waste of time.

Huey, your synopsis of this book can only serve to give new hope to all fledgling author-want-to-be's. How did something like this ever get published in the first place I wonder? I can recall several books off the top of my head which went on to become best sellers (one of which won a Pulitzer) which had originally been rejected by many publishers ... and this ... THING ... is actually in print? As Shakespeare might say ... "ZOUNDS!!!".

I looked up the author, apperently he was fairly popular around the turn of the 20th century. For the life of me I dont see why, people back then must not have been too choosy what they read.

[DATo]

Huey,

Yeah, I looked Zoe's Revenge up after my last reply to you and found it was published around ... 1906? I based my reply on the assumption that it was a much more modern book than that. I don't think a publisher would give it a second look today but maybe back in those times this was considered an acceptable book. I guess a case an be made, considering how old it is, that it was perhaps one of the first zombie stories; but my personal opinion, based upon your summary, is that it might find a better audience today as a comedy. *L*

[Jo Ledamun]

Just finished reading Touch of Power (Healer Series) by Maria Snyder. I really enjoyed it & it was quick to read (2 days). I thought it was a imaginative, action packed fantasy story, which has very likeable & fairly interesting characters in it. My rating is 4 out of 5 stars.

I am now reading book 2 of the series (Scent of Magic), because I'm impatient & want to know, what happens next?

Let's hope it's just as good

[Helga_]

I finished reading My Education by Susan Choi less than a week ago. I felt this sense of accomplishment turning the last page. It was a difficult read for me. Spent about good 3 months and a lot of times I was tempted to quit and start another book. But for some reason I had to reach the finish line.
Maybe I might wanna go back and read certain parts again, to see if I can get more out of the whole piece.
I give it 3 out of 5.

[everafter09]

I read Blogger Girl by Meredith Schorr and gave it a five out of five.

Very good chick-lit book about a girl who works as a legal secretary by day and also runs her own chick-lit review blog and gets lots of requests from author's/agents to review their upcoming books.

[jadecornelius]

Kristen Ashley " Sweet Dreams " rating 5.5. Amazing book, would definitely recommend

[gali]

Bruce DeSilva / Cliff Walk - 5 starts. It touches subjects of pornography and child abuse and is full of action.

[CullenS96]

The Magician's Guild by Trudi Canavan. I thought it was brilliant! 5 stars

[A24]

I finished Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia. I'm reading The Chronicles of Narnia chronologically the way they were written. So, this is my 2nd book in the series. I really enjoyed The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe but not as much for this one. It seemed to be a lot of character names for not a lot that happened. I found myself glossing over pages to finish. I wish the Caspian character was more developed. It seemed very hopeful for that in the beginning but it didn't seem to go anywhere. I did love the Christian allegory. I actually went to the zoo yesterday and can't help thinking now of Aslan (and Christ) each time I see the mighty lion. I will continue with this series, but probably at a really slow pace. Not that anxious to jump into the next book as of yet. 3/5

[Bighuey]

I listened to a couple audios of the Dragnet radio program from 1949. Those earlier shows were pretty graphic even by todays standards. One was called Big Love, about a woman who ran off with a guy, taking their two year old daughter with them just to spite her husband. They decided they didnt want the little girl, so they shot her in the head and buried her body in the desert. He got the gas chamber and she got life without parole. These shows are very realistic and hard-hitting, great sound effects and dialouge. Jack Webb had a winner with these programs, not many compare. What I got a kick out of is the Fatima cigarette commercials. They come on and talk about how good Fatimas are for you. Things sure have changed since 1949.

[Geneen Karstens]

Just finished Before You Know Kindness by Chris Bohjalian. A story of The Seton family, three generations who meet at the grandmothers place in New Hampshire each summer. Two cousins, Charlotte and Willow spend much of the summer there.
Charlottes father, Spencer, is a total vegan and works for an organization called FERAL. He has planted a garden there with veggies and the deer have torn it up just before his arrival. His brother in law John, is somewhat of a hunter and has a gun in his trunk to take to a gunsmith because he can't get a shell out. The girls, have been to a bonfire with older teenagers..Willow is 10 and Charlotte is 12. They have seen some teenage boys drop a carton of beer on the ground near them and the lifeguard they know has dropped her purse and left. The girls each take a beer and Charlotte finds a joint in the purse. The girls get stoned and have a giggling good time but their parents don't question it. Willows mother asks her to get some diapers out of their car trunk for baby Patrick. Charlotte picks up the gun and fiddles with the safety and fingers the trigger and shoots her father who is working in the garden unknown to Charlotte. Her father looses the use of his right arm and blames his brother in law for having a loaded gun in the trunk. How these families work out their problems makes for a compelling story.5*

[Tonya]

The last book I read was alaska twilight,it was a great book,I would give it a 10.