Rate the last Book you read

Farewell Amethystine by Walter Mosley

The latest Easy Rawlins mystery from Mosley. Most of his Rawlins novels involve missing person cases. But he does so in his own inimitable style with his Los Angeles PI and WWII veteran encountering casually virulent racism on an almost daily basis. This is set in 1970 so that sort of behavior was out in the open, especially among members of the LAPD. But it's not depicted in a heavy handed or simplistic way. Mosley is too good a writer to fall into that trap. Every one of his books features subtle ruminations on not only race but love and family relations as well.

85/100

The Nuclear Express (2009)


This book goes deep into details, but it is still very approachable as long as you have reasonable background knowledge in the general history of WWII, Cold War, etc. I did get lost on a couple occasions trying to remember names and/or specific locations when trying to track the authors' message. It also took some time to get my bearings on the format of the book at the beginning, as it weaves the story both chronologically and geographically in a sense. Recommended nonetheless.

Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett - Good Omens (1990)

This is my second venture into Gaiman since last year's American Gods reading, and my first into Terry Pratchett. This is hilarious. It's like Hitchhiker's Guide to the Apocalypse. Second best novel I've ever read.

Going through Nicholas Sparks books and am not currently impressed. Read Safe Haven, and I could pull any plot line or character from a tv drama, and I finished A Walk to Remember this morning right before work, and I could pull any cgaracter and most plotlines from an ABC Kids sitcom like Lizzie McGuire. It ended and began well, but so far, not impressed.

Just started this true crime book on the Idaho student murders

don't really know how to rate books and its been awhile since i read this now. i guess?

there a new non-fiction book about scotland yard i might get

The Notebook. Saw the movie, read the book.


Movie: 68/100
Book: 58/100


As a rule of thumb, I watch the movie before reading the book, because the book is usually better. Exceptions are made when a movie is about to come out, such as Mickey 7 and its adaptation, Mickey 17. However, I was aware that many considered the Notebook's film adaptation to be superior, and I chanced it anyway. Comparing the movie to the book confirmed several ideals I have about structuring. The movie took the infodump that lasted a couple chapters and expanded on it, restoring whatever dramatic meat was reduced to mere conversation concerning scenes that should've been flashbacks. The book feels more like mildly sentimental conversations rather than actual romance. And the characters, especially the characters, are cardboard cutouts.

However, the book takes a much better turn once we get to the present day concerning the care home. This is where the dramatic powers that Nicholas failed to bring before take a much more positive light, and there are some mild bursts of decent characterization along the way, so I enjoyed the latter half much more than the first. But when people say that the book was worse than the movie, they weren't kidding. It's also a shame that the movie adaptation is considered the essential Sparks film, because it was only a decent one.


EDIT: My current progress on my Goodreads challenge is 55/75 books. I've been speedreading roughly 400 pages a day, and I'm not even tired. Tomorrow, I'll check out the follow-up to The Notebook: The Wedding, and after that, Dear John.

I am near the end of Return of the King on my first-ever read of Lord of the Rings what started around this time last year. I've been so focused on video games now I've freedom that I haven't read much.

I read Fellowship of the Ring to end last year, and Two Towers to begin this year, and then alternated between Hammer's Slammers and Return of the King this year. Return of the King though went back to the library so I need to get it again and finish it. I don't plan to read Hammer's Slammers again until I finish Return of the King vis I've nearly finished the ringy book.

The Lord of the Rings books are excellent. I've loved all four (I'm counting Hobbit) and am so glad I sat down to read them. I plan to read more vigorously next year when the allure of being able to play any video game whenever I want isn't such a novelty. Long story. And I hate the movies even more now, which I've always hated them and this is the first time I've read the books. Hm dunno.

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I destroyed the dastardly dairy dame! I made mad milk maid mulch!

a short but informative book. the fbi really came through in this case. there's no way the local or idaho state police would have made an arrest. the case is built around three technical matters

- touch dna left on a knife sheath at the crime scene
- the pings from the suspect's cell phone
- the video of the white car driving around the house at 4am in the morning

the evidence taken in total would lead one to think that the suspect, bryan kohberger, is the killer but there is room for a doubt and the defense team says there was another scenario involving drugs and the victims. i suspect the victims will be under attack to some degree at the trial.

the suspect is a weird guy from day one. bullied as a kid and a heroin addict in his teens. weird around people and especially girls. more than likely an incel type. his actions after the crime seem like those of a guilty person. even his family and especially his sister (a psychologist) suspected something. it will be interesting to see how they will testify.

then there's the female roommate who saw the killer at 4am and never called the police. she calls a male friend around 11 am who then calls the police. her actions are inexplicable.

the trial doesn't start till august 2025.

I am reading Das Kapital. Yes, really. I’m strange, antisocial and wanted to compare what Varoufakis made of it to the raw text. Initially meant to be reading some Ayn Rand now, but that’s now next on the agenda. Anyway, one can’t really ‘rate’ Das Kapital, but, psychopathic as that sounds, I’m enjoying it.

10/10 Best book i've read in years. If you're into movies and culture, you'll love this book. Won't want to leave the world.

https://www.amazon.com/Children-Neon...CK55YB1P&psc=1

"Brothers" by Alex Van Halen
7.5/10

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Stay True by Hua Hsu






In the eyes of eighteen-year-old Hua Hsu, the problem with Ken--with his passion for Dave Matthews, Abercrombie & Fitch, and his fraternity--is that he is exactly like everyone else. Ken, whose Japanese American family has been in the United States for generations, is mainstream; for Hua, the son of Taiwanese immigrants, who makes 'zines and haunts Bay Area record shops, Ken represents all that he defines himself in opposition to. The only thing Hua and Ken have in common is that, however they engage with it, American culture doesn't seem to have a place for either of them.

But despite his first impressions, Hua and Ken become friends, a friendship built on late-night conversations over cigarettes, long drives along the California coast, and the successes and humiliations of everyday college life.

A coming-of-age story that details both the ordinary and extraordinary, Stay True is a bracing memoir about growing up, and about moving through the world in search of meaning and belonging.

Under the Dome by Stephen King: 88/100

Super tense, realistic situations for its weird premise, not enough sci-fi or dense characterization, though.

Martyr! (2024)


Delightfully touching book about an Iranian boy who migrates to America as a child and struggles to find meaning in life. Don't let the title deceive you...it's not a violent book at all.

When Breath Becomes Air (2016)


As the quote on the cover states, a book that is rattling, heartbreaking, and beautiful. We have a surgeon that details his transition from philosophical to medical studies in college, and he eventually deals with his own cancer diagnosis in his 30s. He continued writing material for this book in his final year of life. Relatively quick read and highly recommended.

Nicholas Sparks - Dear John



For the most part it's still a predictable Nick Sparks book. But it had stronger and more thematic character development thasn before, especially where the father was concerned.

I read his The Lucky One because the story took place in 1980s.

I enjoy the films from his books.