AudioFiles: The Camel Club by David Baldacci

The Camel Club by David Baldacci
My rating: Back It Up


Summary:
Existing at the fringes of Washington, D.C., the Club consists of four eccentric members. Led by a mysterious man known as "Oliver Stone," they study conspiracy theories, current events, and the machinations of government to discover the 'truth' behind the country's actions. Their efforts bear little fruit--until the group witnesses a shocking murder...and become embroiled in an astounding, far-reaching conspiracy. Not the Club must join forces with a Secret Service agent to confront one of the most chilling spectacles ever to take place on American soil--and event that may trigger the ultimate war between two different worlds. And all that stands in the way of this apocalypse is five unexpected heroes.
 
My Thoughts:
This was the first book I have read by Baldacci and I was impressed to say the least. In this book, it is about a group of misfits that have a club where they try to uncover conspiracies and force the government to acknowledge truth called the Camel Club. Hence the title. I sounds like a group that I would like to be part of :)

The group meets once a month to talk about what they think that the government is hiding from the American people. During one of these meeting, they witness an event that puts them in the middle of a situation that threatens the safety of the country and the world.

I did enjoy this book with the turns and twists that is throws at the reader. There are many different stories happening throughout the book. At times it is a challenge to keep up with the character in the book.

I like it so much that I am starting the second book in the series already.

The Revolution: A Manifesto by Ron Paul

The Revolution: A Manifesto by Ron Paul
My rating:Back It Up

Summary: 

This Much Is True: You Have Been Lied To

· The government is expanding.
· Taxes are increasing.
· More senseless wars are being planned.
· Inflation is ballooning.
· Our basic freedoms are disappearing.

The Founding Fathers didn't want any of this. In fact, they said so quite clearly in the Constitution of the United States of America. Unfortunately, that beautiful, ingenious, and revolutionary document is being ignored more and more in Washington. If we are to enjoy peace, freedom, and prosperity once again, we absolutely must return to the principles upon which America was founded. But finally, there is hope . . .
 
My Thoughts:

This is a read that is WAYout of my comfort zone. I figured that I would pick up this book and try to become a more informed voter on the issues that are haunts America today. 

Before reading this book I heard of Ron Paul. I was not that sure who he was and what he stood for. After completing this book I am now a fan of his. In the book he does not jerk your chain and does try to take a different spin on a topic, but it heads the same results. I really enjoyed learning about the purpose of the constitution. I agree with the philosophy of smaller government and more liberty and independence for the people.

In the book he makes you think about the issues that he raises. This is good way for anyone to get into politics. This is a great read for anybody that wants to be a more informed voters in America today.

Red Dragon by Thomas Harris

Title:Red Dragon
Author:Thomas Harris
My rating: Back It Up

Summary:
A second family has been massacred by the terrifying serial killer the press has christened ?The Tooth Fairy.? Special Agent Jack Crawford turns to the one man who can help restart a failed investigation?Will Graham. Graham is the greatest profiler the FBI ever had, but the physical and mental scars of capturing Hannibal Lecter have caused Graham to go into early retirement. Now, Graham must turn to Lecter for help.

My Thoughts 

I bought this book right around the remake of the book was release in theaters. I am not sure what took me THIS long to finally sit down and read this masterpiece. I figured that it was Halloween season, so it would be the perfect time to read Red Dragon. You have to remember this was well before the CSI's and L&O's were all over the TV schedules.

The plot surrounds the investigation of a brutal serial killer known as the Tooth Fairy.n order to catch the killer, FBI detective Will Graham must think like a killer with the help of Hannibal Lector. The person Graham helped send away.I love how you are instead the head of Graham and the Tooth Fairy throughout the book.

Harris does a wonderful job showing how the Tooth Fairy ended up this way from the hands is cruel grandmother. After read this book I was in aww after what she did to him as a child and messing with him.

Thomas Harris wants the reader to have more the more that read throughout this book. I recommend this to to anyone that loves suspense of a real manhunt. If you scare easily, refrain from reading this late at night in a dark lonely house:)

AudioFiles: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
by Seth Grahame-Smith
My rating: Back It Up
Acquired: Library

I will admit this is my first monster mash-up that I have ever read. I have not seen the movie yet. I will wait to see it when it comes out on DVD.This sure was interesting to see how Grahame-Smith incorporated Lincoln's real-life events/tragedies with his war against the Vampires.He also made it sound plausible with the writing style that he used throughout the book as well.  This is so much better with all the other Twilight copycats that have been coming out in an alarming rate.

The book is built on the premise that Lincoln kept a series of secret journals over his lifetime chronicling his life-long battle against the dark forces of vampires, including their role in the Civil War and the perpetuation of slavery. I wish that there would have been more Vampire hunting in the book. 

While, I found that the premise of this book fun and I enjoyed listening to this book to and from work. If you are look for a book that is both a learning experience and yet a fantasy, then this book would be for you. 

Magic Kingdom for Sale—Sold! by Terry Brooks

Title: Magic Kingdom for Sale—Sold!

Author: Terry Brooks

Narrator: Dick Hill

Series:Magic Kingdom of Landover Book #1

Format: Audiobook

Genre: Fantasy

Year:1986

Acquired:Library

Ranking: Back it Up

Summary:  
 Book One in the Magic Kingdom of Landover Series Landover was a genuine magic kingdom, with fairy folk and wizardry, just as the advertisement promised. But after he purchased it, Ben Holiday learned that there were a few details the ad had failed to mention. The kingdom was in ruin. The Barons refused to recognize the king, and the peasants were without hope. A dragon was laying waste the countryside, while an evil witch plotted to destroy everything. Ben's only followers were the incompetent Court Magician; Abernathy, the talking dog who served as Court Scribe; and the lovely Willow - but she had a habit of putting down roots in the moonlight and turning into a tree. The Paladin, legendary champion of the Kings of Landover, seemed to be only a myth and an empty suit of armor. To put a final touch on the whole affair, Ben soon learned that the Iron Mark, terrible lord of the demons, had challenged all prospective Kings of Landover to a duel to the death - a duel which no human could hope to win. The task of proving his right to be King seemed hopeless. But Ben Holiday was stubborn...

My Thoughts: 
 I was not that sure what to expect from this book. I would never put a light comedy and Terry Brooks together, especially with his epic Swords of Shannara series. It was a pleasant surprise that I stepped into with the  Magic Kingdom for Sale—Sold. It has a great balance of comic relief and adventure in this book.


The cast in this book, I have not quite read before well...Terry Prachett, but that is a different ball game.This is a perfect first read for my challenges(Once Upon A Time and A Humor in It All). This book anyone can read from a fantasy genre addict or somebody that just wants to wade into a fantasy world.


I will be continuing this series in NEAR future. I sure am glad for Good Reads recommendations..;)


If you have read this book, what were your thoughts this book?
 

Review: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Title: Catching Fire
Author: Suzanne Collins
Series: The Hunger Games
Format: Paperback
Genre: Science Fiction/dystopia
Year:2009
Acquired:Friend Loan
Ranking: Back it up

Summary: Against all odds, Katniss has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol - a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.

Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest she's afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she's not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol's cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can't prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.

In Catching Fire, the second novel of the Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins continues the story of Katniss Everdeen, testing her more than ever before... and surprising readers at every turn.

My Thoughts:


I was not that sure if the second book was going to be as good as first in The Hunger Games Series. I was wrong Catching Fire was better than the first installment. I figured that I might as well continue with the flow and keep reading the series that is for both YA(questionable at times) to adult. 

This books keeps making you think where the next turn is going to be with the reader not really expecting what is going to happen next. Especially with Katniss being the poster child of the rebellion against the Capitol. Throughout this book reader and the victors find out how the Capitol controls the people everywhere in Panem.This book surely does not read like a 400 pager, I got through this one in relatively no time.


I did not have much to gripe about in this one I thought the dialogue was good. At times I was wondering how everything was going to fit together, with what is going to happen with Peeta, Katniss and Gale and the rest. With a pretty good cliffhanger at the end. Now I wonder what will happen in the last book of the series.

Book Review: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Title: Fahrenheit 451
Author: Ray Bradbury
Format: Paperback
Genre: Science Fiction/dystopia
Year: 1953
Acquired: Library Loan
Challenge: Vintage Sci-Fi Not a Challenge Month
Ranking: Back it up


Summary: Guy Montag was a fireman whose job it was to start fires...

The system was simple. Everyone understood it. Books were for burning ... along with the houses in which they were hidden.

Guy Montag enjoyed his job. He had been a fireman for ten years, and he had never questioned the pleasure of the midnight runs nor the joy of watching pages consumed by flames... never questioned anything until he met a seventeen-year-old girl who told him of a past when people were not afraid.

Then he met a professor who told him of a future in which people could think... and Guy Montag suddenly realized what he had to do!


My Thoughts: I just finished reading Fahrenheit 451 book this morning. I was not impressed with the ending of this masterpiece. I still cannot believe how Bradbury accomplished writing this book. He wrote the entire novel in the basement of UCLA's Powell Library on a pay typewriter that he rented for a fee of ten cents per half an hour. To me that is craziness, but what is one to do if they do not have a typewriter of this or her own. It was the 1950’s after all.

About the book, I just could not even fathom a world not being able to have access to books. In this world that Montag lived in it was against the law to own or possess a book. Look at what you learn from reading through the pages of people from the past and learning from their mistakes. It is good to know why something is or isn’t true. Bradbury did a wonderful job putting the reading in Montag’s shoes and you could feel so deeply what he was feeling about the world that he was living in. I would recommend that if you did not read this book yet. Just give this one a shot, you will not be sorry.