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Book Reviews
Status Anxiety by Alain De Botton
Jun 7th
Social, group / collective psychology
Description: We all worry about what others think of us. We all long to succeed and fear failure. We all suffer to a greater or lesser degree, usually privately and with embarrassment from status anxiety. For the first time, Alain de Botton gives a name to this universal condition and sets out to investigate both its origins and possible solutions. He looks at history, philosophy, economics, art and politics and reveals the many ingenious ways that great minds have overcome their worries. The result is a book that is not only entertaining and thought-provoking but genuinely wise and helpful as well.
Comment: Anyone who’s ever lost sleep over an unreturned phone call or the neighbor’s Lexus had better read Alain de Botton’s irresistibly clear-headed new book, immediately. For in its pages, a master explicator of our civilization and its discontents turns his attention to the insatiable quest for status, a quest that has less to do with material comfort than with love. To demonstrate his thesis, de Botton ranges through Western history and thought from St. Augustine to Andrew Carnegie and Machiavelli to Anthony Robbins.
Whether it’s assessing the class-consciousness of Christianity or the convulsions of consumer capitalism, dueling or home-furnishing, Status Anxiety is infallibly entertaining. And when it examines the virtues of informed misanthropy, art appreciation, or walking a lobster on a leash, it is not only wise but helpful.
Night Embrace by Sherrilyn Kenyon
Jun 7th
Romance / Fantasy
Description: Life is great for me. I have my chicory coffee, my warm beignets, and my best friend on the cell phone. Once the sun goes down, I am the baddest thing prowling the night: I command the elements, and I know no fear. For centuries, I’ve protected the innocent and watched over the mankind, making sure they are safe in a world where nothing is ever certain. All I want in return is a hot babe in a red dress, who wants nothing more from me then one night.
Instead, I get a runaway Mardi Gras float that tries to turn me into roadkill and a beautiful woman who saves my life but can’t remember where she put my pants. Flamboyant and extravagant, Sunshine Runningwolf should be the perfect woman for me. She wants nothing past tonight, no ties, no long-term commitments.
But every time I look at her, I start yearning for dreams that I buried centuries ago. With her unconventional ways and ability to baffle me, Sunshine is the one person I find myself needing. But for me to love her would mean her death. I am cursed never to know peace or happiness-not so long as my enemy waits in the night to destroy us both.
Comment: Taking place during Mardi Gras, the story is complex, involving not just Daimons and Dark-Hunters but equally untraditional werewolves, were-hunters and Greek/Celtic gods, whose involvement in Talon and Sunshine’s mysterious relationship stretches back thousands of years. Fortunately, an abundance of hot sex and snappy dialogue keep the plot both accessible and appealing. With its courageous, unconventional characters and wry humor, this fast-moving fantasy will fill the void left by Twilight.
The Eight by Katherine Neville
Jun 7th
Adventure/Thriller
Description: The Eight is a complex thriller and is not for the casual reader. The entire book revolves around the game of chess. It would help the reader to have a working knowledge of the game, as the game is central to the plot and theme.
The story has many layers. It is really two intertwined stories set centuries apart. It starts in 1972 with Catherine Velis, a computer expert, as she is sent to Algeria to work for the nascent OPEC cartel. The second story is centered around Mirielle de Remy, a novice nun at the Montglane Abbey in rural France.
Comment: A difficult read but really good, At some stages you just want to skip to the end but i think you must have a little knowledge about chess to appreciate it..
True Evil by Greg Iles
Jun 7th
Adverture/Thriller
Description:In True Evil, FBI Special Agent Alex Morse comes home to Mississippi as her sister lies dying. Just before dying, her sister tells Alex that her husband has murdered her and to protect her son from the murderous spouse. Alex Morse uncovers a string of mysterious deaths of affluent spouses, and discovers that the same divorce attorney is connected to them all. She uncovers a murder for hire scheme where someone has created a viral-induced cancer that makes each death look a like disease-caused death rather than one induced by injection. Morse approaches a man she believes will be the next target, although he finds it hard to believe his beautiful wife would want him dead. Those who can watch their spouses die an agonizing death rather than suffer the expense of a divorce are those that know true evil. Greg Iles’ thriller has received positive reviews with the Washington Post saying, “True Evil will be too dark for some readers, but for those who enjoy lush, full-tilt thrillers, it will be engrossing and fun.”
Comment: I really liked how he told the story from all of the villians and victims perspectives. I loved Travers, he’s intelligent and a joy to read about. The book itself was relentless in its pacing and hard to put down. The theory is plausible and extremely thought provoking. A solid read from beginning to end.
Twilight-Author-Stephenie Meyer
Jun 7th
Description: A seventeen-year-old teenager, Bella Swan, moved from Phoniex to Forks, Washington to live with her father. After going to school one day, she falls deeply in love with who she didn’t know was something she could have never guessed….a vampire. The gorgoeus Edward Cullen is the vampire. Once Edward gets over being a vampire and Bella a human, they get together. Although everybody else thinks that it’s weird that Edward is finally dating, Bella and Edward simply don’t care. When an unexpected visitor comes to Forks, Edward and Bella start to have some trouble.
Comment:If you’re looking for a novel that has no plot, no common sense, some fluff about pointless love, how hot someone is and how hot someone’s blood is, Twilight is the read for you! I don’t even know how someone as annoying as Bella could attract anyone let alone half the school. And as for Edward Cullen, I don’t remember one logical or remotely interesting thing he says throughout the whole book, I found him boring, dull and a little immature for someone of his age…lol how old?
I dont know if I’m been a bit harsh on this book, maybe it’s because of my love for vampire love stories and the fact that nothing comes close to Bram Stoker, Dracula. 