Inception Movie Going Experience

Animal Kingdom

Stone

Tron Legacy

The Social Network

Devil

Due Date

The Town

Book 39 of 52 -- Kathryn Stockett's The Help

Kathryn Stockett hits a home run with her very first novel THE HELP. This novel is a success on so many different levels and in no way shows signs of a first novel. Ms. Stockett writes with an authoritativeness, honesty and literary ease that equals a writer of the highest caliber who has been writing for years.

Fantastic book.

Book 38 of 52 -- Stephen King's The Colorado Kid

I was very much into the story. I feel it was well written and the characters were very well developed, as is always the case with Stephen King. I was held by the story and actually read through the book extremely quickly as I was "sucked into" the story completely. The only really problem I have is the ending. It seems Mr. King has come to the point in his life where he doesn't mind leaving things untied in his stories. He would chastise me for saying this as someone who doesn't understand or who puts too much stock in the ending instead of the journey getting there. Maybe so, but I still like to have endings a little neater than what we get from this book. I am not going to go into details and provide spoilers for it, but I was disappointed upon reaching the last page with where I was left by this ending.

Book 37 of 52 -- James Patterson's Private

Just plain boring.

I usually don't like his books with other authors and might consider that practice after this.

It is not a James Patterson book.

Book 36 of 52 -- Janet Evanovich's Sizzling Sixteen

I wouldn't go so far as I didn't like this book, but it was a let down. There seemed to be a serious disconnect between Stephanie and Morrelli. Usually there is more tension between the Morrelli and Ranger vying for Stephanie, and here we barely hear a peep out of Morrelli. Lulu was also figured very promiently, maybe too much so. I would've also like to have seen more interaction between Grandma Mazur and Stephanie's long suffering parents---that's always entertaining. Maybe I expected too much---I'm always thrilled when I hear of a new Plum book coming out---but this one didn't quench my thrist.

I'm also wondering if I missed something. The jacket said something about Vinny running up porn charges from Rangers apartment. I didn't see any mention of that. Was it ommitted or did I skip some pages???

Book 35 of 52 -- Miles Kington's How Shall I Tell the Dog?

Miles Kington writes beautifully about almost nothing, and somehow he makes you laugh out loud. When he found he was dying fast, he kept writing and this is, for me, a hilarious book about the death of my old Oxford friend. After reading it you may never be afraid of dying--though death can be a bit of a downer, for others at least.

Book 34 of 52 -- Steve Harvey's Act Like a Man

This terribly-written book has Harvey spouting humorless relational philosophy, such as "men are simple creatures." And he proves that point by writing such a simple-minded book that it's a complete waste of time to read it.

The book is sexist, stereotyping all men into knuckle-dragging, sports-loving hunters that just need a little sex to keep them happy. The book is addressed to women, telling them to dress better, accept that the guy won't talk much, and give sex more often in order to keep their guy from straying.

Most offensive is Harvey's constant references to "the Lord" and Jesus, leading people to believe he upholds spirituality, yet he point blank tells people to have sex after 90 days together and accepts a couple living together without being married. He often mentions going to church--didn't he learn anything there?

He also conveniently fails to mention that he has been married three times. The book would lead you to believe he was married once, to a woman he admittedly slept with and cheated on before she threatened to walk out on him. There is also no real mention of his children. A quick check of his bio online will uncover the truth. If you can't trust a guy writing a book about relationships to come clean about his own relationships, then why read the book?

There are a couple of valid points, such as the fact that men need respect and loyalty from women. But the lousy writing style and simplistic examples negate any reason to read this book.

Book 33 of 52 -- Linda Castillo's Pray For Silence

Pray for Silence is a crime thriller about the investigation of a family massacre on an Amish farm in a small Ohio town. The case is particularly difficult for Police Chief Kate Burkholder, as she grew up Amish and the current case brings up her troubled past. This is strong writing with a good pace, tight plot, well-developed characters, and an interesting setting. The setting is one of the strongest aspects of the novel, as Linda Castillo does a great job of bringing the Amish community to life.

I would strongly recommended that you read the previous book, Sworn to Silence, before reading Pray for Silence. If you enjoy the crime/thriller genre (Kathy Reichs, Tess Gerritsen, Harlan Coben, et al), you're going to want to read them both anyway, and they will be much better in proper sequence. The first book, Sworn to Silence, is even better than Pray for Silence as it delves much deeper into Kate Burkholder's past. This background is alluded to in Pray for Silence, but you wont' get the full effect without having read the first book.

The Kids Are All Right Movie Going Experience

Great movie, but we really need an intervention for Julianne Moore who just seems to want to be naked all the time.

Previews!!!

Nowhere Boy

Never Let Me Go

Jack Goes Boating

The Social Network

Catfish

The American

It's Kind of a Funny Story