When Michael Berg is 15, he has an affair with Hanna Schmitz, who is over twice his age. The affair does eventually come to an end, but their lives are intertwined afterwards.

This book should have been passionate, challenging, and emotionally wrenching. But I just felt too distanced from everything. I’m trying to decide if this is because it’s told from Michael’s point of view and he’s a detached kind of guy, but mostly I don’t care. I see what it could have been versus what it is and I’m frustrated.

I think the big conflict at the heart of the novel was supposed to be condemnation versus understanding and how hard it is, or even impossible, to feel both at the same time. I think I was supposed to question what I would have done in each character’s place, but I was too aggravated with Michael to have room for introspection. I was too busy wondering if the jackass was ever going to grow some balls and help Hanna out. (Sorry, Mama. But it’s true.) I wanted to smack him. He let her down in so many ways and somehow always found a way to make it her fault. Hanna wasn’t perfect either. In fact, they destroyed each other in round about ways, when they really could have been each other’s salvation. That may have been part of the point of the book also, but that’s not my kind of thing. I’m a die hard fan of the happy ending.

Readers not requiring too much of an emotional attachment to their books will like this one. I think if I were that kind of reader I would definitely have enjoyed it more and been willing to think more about the conflicts it contains. But I’m not and so I’m left disliking it.

Reviewed August 14, 2009

Read an excerpt.

Buy The Reader at

Malaprop’s | Better World Books

Friday Flashback Reviews are a weekly feature here on The Introverted Reader. These are old reviews I wrote on GoodReads. Thanks to Angieville and her Retro Friday Reviews for the inspiration and encouragement!

I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop's, my local independent bookstore located in beautiful downtown Asheville, NC; and Better World Books. I will receive a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase books through links on my site. My opinions are completely my own.

It's been two years since the events of The Lincoln Lawyer and Mickey Haller is not on his game. His...medical problems... at the end of the first book have left him addicted to painkillers. He's done a stint in rehab, he's taken time off work to get himself together, and he's starting to think about taking on a case or two. He wakes up one day to find that 30+ have landed in his lap.

Haller and a colleague, Jerry Vincent, have backed each other up a few times in court. Now that Vincent's been murdered, Mickey finds out that he's inherited the man's law practice. In the mix of all these new cases is another franchise case, L.A.'s "Murder of the Decade."

Movie studio mogul Walter Elliot is accused of shooting his wife and her lover in a fit of rage. Everyone agrees that he probably did it; isn't it usually the husband? But it's still Mickey's job to get him off, while protecting attorney/client privileges and helping the cops, including Harry Bosch, solve Vincent's murder. So much for easing back into things.

It's not The Lincoln Lawyer, I'll just say it up front. It is still good though. I kept hoping for that twist that made me sit up and say, "Holy shit!" but it never came. There were twists alright, but nothing like what I hoped for.

I haven't read any of the Harry Bosch novels and if that left me in the dark a little here, I wasn't aware of it. I've actually been putting off reading this for that very reason, but I don't think it matters. This is Mickey Haller's story, not Bosch's. If you've been hesitating like me, stop waiting and go for it.

Now that that's all out of the way, let's get on to this book.

I still like Mickey Haller. He is what he is. It's easy to blame defense lawyers for getting criminals off, but he does have a point when he says that he plays his part in the justice system. By keeping law enforcement and the prosecution on their toes with the constant threat of letting someone walk on a technicality, Mickey and others like him help ensure that every step made in a case is done legally. At least in theory.

I was worried about him at first. He's obviously coming up from rock bottom. He's had a rough couple of years and it sounds like he was almost down and out there for a while. That's not the Haller I liked. But as the story goes on, he starts to get his mojo back. I enjoyed seeing it happen.

I tore through this pretty quickly. I started it on a Monday night and had read about 80 pages before I looked up. I had to go ahead and put it in my car to read at lunch the next day because I knew if I didn't, I would be up all night finishing the darn thing!

As I mentioned before, there were twists and turns, they just weren't as mind-blowing as I found them to be in the first book. I knew where the case was going as soon as Haller did. Maybe I was supposed to, I don't know. I was surprised to find out who was behind everything but that was over and done with so fast, I almost felt like it was a footnote. There was one last thing at the end that might have been a bigger deal if I had read the Bosch books as well, but coming from the Haller side of things, I was just kind of lukewarm about it.

If you go into this expecting a solid mystery with a great main character, you won't be disappointed. It was a page turner and I will be continuing with any future Mickey Haller books. I'll be very curious to see what he does next.

Read an excerpt.

My review of The Lincoln Lawyer, the first book in the Mickey Haller series

Find author Michael Connelly on his website, Facebook, and Twitter.

Buy The Brass Verdict at

Malaprop’s | Better World Books

I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop's, my local independent bookstore located in beautiful downtown Asheville, NC; and Better World Books. I will receive a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase books through links on my site. My opinions are completely my own.

One Monday night a month, a group of students gather in a quiet restaurant kitchen to attend The School of Essential Ingredients. Owner Lillian tells them from the beginning that she does not have a list of these "essential ingredients," nor does she offer them recipes. "All I can say is that you will learn what you need to." As the focus shifts around each of the students and Lillian, it is obvious that the essential ingredients are essential to life as well--time, patience, savoring the moment, starting fresh, doing what's good for yourself, and learning from your mistakes.

I was surprised by how much I liked this book. I am a world-class picky eater so a book centered around food should not have done anything for me. But it was written so beautifully that I was even ready to admire the redness of a tomato or the honesty of killing your own crab for dinner. I'm looking for a quote to offer up, but really, just read the book. It's all gorgeous and it's impossible to choose a little bit to quote.

I loved the way that the students grew during the class and took away exactly what they needed. The harried mother losing her identity, the grieving widower, the girl barely out of high school who needs a serious self-esteem boost, the aging woman losing her memories...they all come out of the class better able to live their lives.

There was just one little aspect of the ending that I was not happy with. It tied things up a little too neatly and didn't ring exactly true for me. I can't say more without giving things away.

When you have the time to sit down and savor a book about food and life, give this one a try. It is truly beautiful and thought-provoking.

Read an excerpt.

Find author Erica Bauermeister on her website and Facebook.

Buy The School of Essential Ingredients at

Malaprop’s | Better World Books

I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop's, my local independent bookstore located in beautiful downtown Asheville, NC; and Better World Books. I will receive a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase books through links on my site. My opinions are completely my own.

Dr. Spencer Black was a brilliant doctor whose career was derailed by an obsession with mythological creatures. He believed that anatomical deformities were not so much mutations as throwbacks to earlier days in the evolutionary timeline. He believed he could prove this by recreating creatures from fable and myth. If he could make them viable, they must have existed, right? He left behind a body of work that is incredible for its detail of beings that have only been seen in imagination--for centuries anyway, if Dr. Black's theory is correct.

I want to give this 5 stars, I really do. I gravitate more toward words than pictures though and the story in this book was not quite as strong as the art. I feel like I fumbled through my synopsis but that's because I was never entirely clear what Dr. Black was supposed to be trying to do with his work. It was a bit awkward and flimsy but I was mostly able to let it go because I knew there had to be a payoff in the illustrations.

There were some genuinely creepy moments though. The part where Dr. Black's wife and brother find out what he's up to left me worried that I wouldn't be sleeping that night. It was that disturbing. It had a Frankenstein feel to it without Victor Frankenstein's histrionics and hysterics so I really liked that aspect as well.

The last--oh, let's call it 2/3--of the book were gorgeous anatomical illustrations of mythical creatures. I tried hard to take my time through them and look at them closely and fully appreciate them. I can sometimes tear way too fast through pictures in a book.

These were genuine works of art. I was amazed at the amount of detail that went into them. I was left wondering if the author was a science illustrator as well. My favorite drawings were of the mermaids. They were just gorgeous. He has put a lot of thought into how these beings would actually work. The minotaur has a tremendous support system holding that big bull head up. The mermaids have dorsal fins to help them stay oriented correctly in the water. I could go on, but I won't.

There's a part of me that wishes the illustrations were in color. Not necessarily the anatomical drawings, but definitely the full rendering. They're amazing either way though.

I also loved the scientific names he came up with. From the fairly obvious Sirenus oceanus for mermaids to the more subtle but pleasing Pegasus gorgonus, I loved all of the ones that I understood....

I just googled all of the ones that I didn't immediately understand and they are all perfect. It's a small, nerdy thing but it appeals to me.

Lovers of mythology and fantastical creatures should adore this book. I intend to put it out in October as my spooky coffee table book. I'll probably reference it when I come across these beings in my other reading as well. It is definitely a book to be dipped into again and again.

Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy for review!

Find author E. B. Hudspeth on his website, his blog, and Facebook.

Buy The Resurrectionist: The Lost Work of Dr. Spencer Black on

Malaprop’s | Better World Books

Check out this awesome book trailer:



I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop's, my local independent bookstore located in beautiful downtown Asheville, NC; and Better World Books. I will receive a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase books through links on my site. My opinions are completely my own.

It's Monday!  What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.









In a little personal update, I'm excited to announce that I bought a new-to-me car on Friday! A Subaru Impreza. I was driving a 1997 Subaru Legacy and it was faithful and loyal but starting to show its age in lots of ways. Here's my new ride:

Woohoo! I love it! I'm most excited to have cup holders that actually hold cups! My old car would basically only hold a can. I'm also excited about the sunroof. My very first car had a sunroof but it also had a cracked head gasket or something. I only drove it a month or two before it died on me. Eighteen years later, I finally got another sunroof! Let's hope it doesn't have the head gasket problem too. O_o

I was AWOL last week, so here's what I've done over the past TWO weeks.

Posted:

Review--The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley, read by Jayne Entwistle--3.5 Stars

Review--Travels With Charley in Search of America by John Steinbeck--4 Stars

Review--Die, Snow White! Die, Damn You! by Yuri Rasovsky, read by Sandra Oh, et al.--1 Star

Review--The Princes of Ireland by Edward Rutherfurd--3 Stars

Read:

The Resurrectionist: The Lost Work of Dr. Spencer Black by E. B. Hudspeth









The Ivory and the Horn by Charles de Lint (re-read)










The Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

Currently Reading:

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott--Confession: I started reading this when I was the right age for it--10 or so. I got to a certain sad scene, put the book down, and never picked it up again. I'm bravely trying it now that I'm older and can handle the sad scenes better. (I did love Little Men back in the day.)

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain

The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi, read by Jonathan Davis

Blood Faerie by India Drummond

Up Next:

I'm not sure. We'll see where my mood takes me. I don't expect Little Women to last past tomorrow. My husband is working so I have a date with my hammock that I expect to last all day. I'll need books to keep me company.

What are you reading this week?

I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop's, my local independent bookstore located in beautiful downtown Asheville, NC; and Better World Books. I will receive a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase books through links on my site. My opinions are completely my own.

The Princes of Ireland follows the story of several Irish families, from the year 430 to 1538. Their stories are set against the larger backdrop of important battles and events in the history of Ireland.

This really felt like three novels in one. The transitions between generations were very abrupt. I liked the first story, but the other two were just okay. They could have been part of a book entitled, A History of the English in Dublin. It was interesting to see what Kings Henry II and Henry VIII got up to in Ireland, but I really wanted to know what was going on in Ireland itself.

The female characters were terrible. They were almost all willful to the point of stupidity, impetuous, blind to anything they didn't want to see, and driven by some insane need for revenge.

One other thing that bothers me in all books that skip around in time: if the author isn't going to give me some sort of obvious clue like, "Forty years later, Henry VIII did this...", I really wish that he or she would put dates at the beginning and end of the chapters. I find myself flipping back and forth a lot, because after 60 pages, I've forgotten what year I was in last.

This was good enough, I just expected something different. If you want to know a little about Ireland as it changed from a druidic religion to Catholicism, and a lot about the way the English influenced events in Dublin, go ahead and read this. Just don't expect a lot of independent Irish history.

Reviewed August 17, 2009

Read an excerpt.

Find author Edward Rutherfurd on his website, Facebook, and Twitter.

Buy The Princes of Ireland at

Malaprop’s | Better World Books

Friday Flashback Reviews are a weekly feature here on The Introverted Reader. These are old reviews I wrote on GoodReads. Thanks to Angieville and her Retro Friday Reviews for the inspiration and encouragement!

I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop's, my local independent bookstore located in beautiful downtown Asheville, NC; and Better World Books. I will receive a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase books through links on my site.

Synopsis from GoodReads:

With the premiere of two new film versions of the Snow White tale, Blackstone enters the fray with its own adult, edgy, and not altogether serious full-cast exposé of fairy-taledom. At last it can be told! Was Snow White really as pure as the driven snow? Did her allegedly wicked stepmother get a bum rap from the Grimm brothers? What went on behind the closed Dutch doors of the dwarves' cottage? How many handsome princes does it take to screw in a light bulb? These and other burning questions may or may not be answered in this new pseudogothic audio play that Blackstone commissioned from award-winning author and audio dramatist Yuri Rasovsky

I chose to listen to this because it showed up in my digital library's "recently added" lists and I recognized it as having been nominated for a couple of Audie awards. "I can't go wrong with something that's been nominated for an award, right?" I reasoned with myself.

Wrong.

It was terrible.

Had it been any longer than two hours, I would have stopped after about 30 minutes. I felt the writer was trying way too hard to be funny and as a result, the whole thing just fell flat. The plot, such as it was, would circle miles out of the way to set up a joke that didn't even make me smile.

The basics are here--the evil stepmother, Snow White, the mother wishing for a child fitting Snow White's description...I guess that's about it. There were tons of other fairy- and folk tale creatures dragged in by the skin of their teeth, which I should have loved, but I didn't. I mostly didn't see any rhyme or reason for who was included and who wasn't. I honestly can't even remember what happened to most of them.

Snow White was super annoying. I believe that was kind of the point, but man, she set my teeth on edge. She's supposed to be about fifteen but she's voiced by Sandra Oh, who is at least as far from fifteen as I am, and she generally acts about two years old. Temper tantrums? Seriously? Not attractive or enjoyable.

I could go on but I won't. I'm sure there's an audience for this, I just don't know who it would be. If you're interested, don't let me dissuade you from trying it out; at two hours long, you don't have much to lose.

Listen to an excerpt.

I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop's, my local independent bookstore located in beautiful downtown Asheville, NC; and Better World Books. I will receive a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase books through links on my site. My opinions are completely my own.