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Audible Daily Deal

Audible's Daily Deal!

One of my favorite things about Audible are the daily deals.

Kusudama Origami by Ekaterina Pavlovich

Kusudama Origami by Ekaterina Pavlovich
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

One of my favorite modular origami books. Most models are made from traditional squares (a few non-traditional). All models are ranked based on difficulty. There are several basic themes in the book, and variations based on those themes. Most models can easily be joined together without the use of glue.

One of the fantastic things about this book is the great use of color change (or paper colored differently on either side).

For some finished models please check out my origami blog: http://jennifershafley.blogspot.com/

For other books I have read please check out my reading blog: http://paperlava.blogspot.com/

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Q & A by Vikas Swarup

Q & A by Vikas Swarup
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

"Wish I hadn't seen the movie first..."

It is a shorter book (comparatively) and a really good story.

This book is a movie and the movie was excellent. I think that I would have liked the book A LOT more but I had seen the movie and already knew what was going to happen. This took some of the suspense out that would have made it so much better.

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The Martian by Andy Weir

The Martian by Andy Weir
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Duct Tape and a Hammer

My dad always says you can fix anything with duct tape and a hammer. The Martian emphasizes this point well. A man is unexpectedly trapped on Mars. I have seen other reviews that describe this as Apollo 13 meets Castaway, this is a wonderful description. It is survival with spacesuits, red dirt and a lot of ingenuity.

The best part about this book is the main character. A lot of laugh out loud moments and a good dose of sarcasm. The sarcastic humor reminded me a lot of the Jim Butcher character Harry Dresden.

There were a few times during this book that I thought it was almost too much technical information, but all of it folded back into the story. Before I even finished the book, I started recommending it to friends. There is nothing in this book that will change your life or make you contemplate humanity or your future, but it was a great adventure.

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The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I wanted to love it, but I didn't

It was a little too YA, for me. It glossed over all of the things that would have made this so much more.

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Sycamore Row by John Grisham

Sycamore Row by John Grisham
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

/yawn
/bored

Didn't even bother to finish it.

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Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Twistedly Splendid

The first hour or so I am thinking "Meh... I just don't see what all the fuss is about, just another murder, mystery, who-done-it". And then... (nope, no spoilers here). The most difficult part about writing this review, is that it hard to describe how amazing this book is without ruining it for anyone who has not read it yet.

The premise is that a woman (a wife) goes missing on her 5th wedding anniversary. The story is told dueling piano style. It alternates views from the husband and wife. It starts off just a little slow... but you have to wait for it... then BAM it turns into something you can't put down or stop thinking about when you have to put it down.

Every time I thought I had it figured out I was wrong and I wanted to know what was right. I wanted to know all the pieces that held it together and all the pieces that would make it fall apart. It is a puzzle that you take out of the box and swear none of the pieces will ever fit together, but somehow they do. Absolutely brilliant!

This is the best book I have read this year, so far.

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Falling Glass : Adrian McKinty

Some paper should not be folded
Falling Glass by Adrian McKinty
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

More like 4.5 stars

I try to think when reviewing books "Would I recommend this to a friend?". And I would. Absolutely. It was excellently paced. It was a fun, interesting listen.

The best part of this book is the suspense. It kept me interested from beginning to end.

I reserve a full 5 stars for "the best book ever" kinda reads, so don't let the four stars dissuade you. This book is without flaw. It isn't one of those makes you think and contemplate life kinda journeys, but it will keep you interested and is very entertaining.

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Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Maybe good for some, but not for me.

I occasionally read Young Adult Fiction. Although, I am no longer young and rarely feel adult. I have a 12 year old daughter and I like exchanging book suggestions with her. Finding good books that are age appropriate for her can be a challenge as she is a very accelerated reader. I found found several great books within this genre. We both had great fun with Harry Potter. And I was one of the masses who loved (all but the last) Hunger Games novels.

The premise for the book was awesome and I was very excited to read it. Mandatory pretty surgery on your 16th Birthday... sounds super interesting. The story had action, intrigue and decent character development.

So what could go wrong?

I hated the main character and it grated on me throughout the book. She was whiny, superficial and (for me) completely unrelateable (<--- why does spell check say that is not a word, whatever moving on...).

Does this make it a bad book?

Not really, it just makes it a book that is not for me. I got to the end which ***VERY MILD SPOILER ALERT*** was a bit of cliff hanger and I found myself just not caring enough to want to read the next in the series.

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The Second Assistant: A Tale from the Bottom of the Hollywood Ladder by Clare Naylor

The Second Assistant: A Tale from the Bottom of the Hollywood Ladder by Clare Naylor
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Kinda Devil Wears Prada ish... but not quite as great.

It was a cute, fun read. Nothing ground breaking, but still entertaining.

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An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness by Kay Redfield Jamison

An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness by Kay Redfield Jamison
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book is a journey through the live of a very intelligent woman living with bi-polar disorder. It begins with childhood and her father's condition and ends with reflecting on her entire life and the impact of such a serious condition.

For someone affected by this disorder or close to someone who is this would be a good book. To me, the beginning and end were the best parts. I struggled to get through the rest.

This book was very informative. If anything it was too informative. I found the clinical analysis overwhelmed the true journey of a very amazing life.


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Pros and Cons by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg

When not I am not overly consumed by folding paper, I enjoy a book or two.  Below is my review of a book I just finished.

Pros and Cons by Janet Evanovich
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Good and the Bad
THE GOOD: I liked the characters. The authors did a great job giving you a feel for the personalities in such a short story.
THE BAD: There just wasn't enough meat for it to be good. It was kinda like a trailer for a movie, where you just can't settle down into it.

Would you be willing to try another book from Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg ? Why or why not?
Absolutely! I love Janet Evanovich. Her Stephanie Plum series is one of my favorite series.

Which scene was your favorite?
The end. No spoilers... that is all you get :)

I read this as a precursor to The Heist. I am not sure if that was necessary, but I will be reading The Heist to get a bit more.

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Coming Clean by Kimberly Rae Miller

Coming Clean by Kimberly Rae Miller
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This memoir was very moving. I am not someone who has watched countless episodes of Hoarders in amazement. I did not pick up the book based on an interest of Hoarding or OCD. Based on a recommendation, I picked it up even though it wasn't something I would normally read.

I am glad I did. The author really made you feel what it might be like to grow up in such an awful environment.

If you are looking for something light, fluffy or funny this is not for you. If you want something that you stick with you for days after, making you think about how good you might have had it growing up then I highly recommend this book.

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