Book 173 Hilarity Ensues by Tucker Max

Hilarity Ensues
Kindle Edition

827 books to go!

Summary:
According to the author this is his third and last book he will write in the genre he is credited with creating known as fratire. The book features more stories from Tucker Max's (the author, and main character) nights of partying, drinking and hooking up with any girl willing to hook up with him, his judgement on which girl to choose was usually based on how drunk he was for the night.

Opinion:
I have mixed feelings about Tucker Max and his books. When I first read I hope they serve beer in hell, I absolutely hated this author. But then I read assholes finish first, and now Hilarity ensues. Some parts of the book did almost make me want to laugh out loud. I also have a tiny shard of respect for the author. In his last two books he talks about how he didn't want to be a lawyer so he took a chance on writing. I do admire him for doing something I'm too scared to do which is to quit work all together and just write. This guy faced what I don't want to face until he made it big. He faced being poor, he faced hardly eating, honestly I don't know how he survived until he ended up being able to publish a book. But he prevailed in the end. His genre is new and different, but it's also Jersey Shore quality as far as the drinking, partying and hooking up. His writing actually musters up much more intelligence then Jersey Shore. So even though I do want to detest him badly for what he writes about, I have to respect him a little for what he went through to get there. I really shouldn't even care that much, I definitely will never be one of the random girls hooking up with this guy so what he's done in the past shouldn't bother me. He actually has met quite a few entertainingly stupid girls, I found the full version of the Miss Vermont story that he was finally able to write hugely entertaining, Miss Vermont is quite a weirdo though. He's lucky she didn't pull a fatal attraction move on him. I think I'm a little jealous of his full time writing, but one day I'll get there for myself somehow. I'm too scared to just quit my job and write full time. I will admit I'm completely pansy to do what he managed to do. I need to work because I've got to pay off my current debt, I've got to contribute to my wedding with Shawn, and I've got to pay for a better car then the current rust bucket I've picked up that I can only drive back and forth to the train station with. I also have expenses that I split with Shawn and his mother in regards to the house. Because of my responsibilities I have to work doubly hard to do my job as a librarian and write on the side, hopefully one day besides my blogging and the newspaper I'll manage to come up with a good book.  Okay after that rambling opinion that has more to do with the author then the book I think I'm finished with the self reflection. If you are looking for a light read and you can handle the drunkery, the sex, and would love to read the snide but oddly entertaining comments that Tucker and his friends say you probably will like this book.

Why I chose to read this:
I'm pretty much a Tucker Max rubber necker. It's like the accidents that you pass by while driving, you shouldn't look, or you don't want to look but you do anyway.

 

Book 172 Endurance by Jack Kilborn

Endurance: A Novel of Terror
Kindle Edition

828 books to go!

Summary:
A group of people find themselves fighting for their lives in this action packed horror novel. The group were all hand picked by the creepy owners of a bed & breakfast because of their blood type, the residents wanted to use this hand picked group for sinister purposes but the group fought back.

Opinion:
This novel was down right creepy. It was definitely a nice tale of horror, a light read full of suspense. Jack Kilborn was so vivid in his writing, that I pretty much grimaced during a few scenes.

Why I chose to read this:
I picked this to check out for the kindle cloud reader, although I might actually have it on my kindle anyway, last year sometime I bought a bunch of Konrath/Kilborn. I love his work, always satisfies me when I'm looking for the quick thriller.

Book 171 Miss Peregrine's home for peculiar children by Ransom Riggs

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
Kindle Edition 
829 books to go!

Summary:
Jacob Portman is a young boy who suffers a traumatic event when his grandfather dies. Before the death of his grandfather, his grandfather Abraham told Jacob stories about an Island where he lived during World War II, the island was full of peculiar children. Jacob doubts his grandfather's stories until he himself visits the Island of Cairn in Wales.

Opinion:
I enjoyed this book. It was an interesting mix of part fairy tale, part intrigue, part science fiction, part fantasy. The mix worked very well. I couldn't put the book down and I'm actually hoping that the way the book ended this is actually going to turn into a series, but I am unsure if that's the author's intention.

The snapshots were a great touch to the story, they were enchanting and strange, I'm glad the author spent so much time searching for them, they add an extra charm to this book.

Why I chose to read this:
Danielle from my job showed this to me so I took a chance on her suggestion to read it, glad I did.

 

Book 170 Anyone you want me to be by John Douglas

Anyone You Want Me to Be: A True Story of Sex and Death on the Internet
Kindle Edition

830 books to go! (I'm 30 books away from the 200 mark)

Summary:
This is the story of John Robinson. John Robinson was a con man turned killer from Olathe, Kansas. He began his criminal career trying to con victims out of money, eventually after the dawn of the internet he became a murderer, luring his victims to Kansas with false promises then killing them to gain money from them, or dispose of them when they were no longer convenient for him.

Opinion:
Halfway through this book I realized that I had already read it. The story started to become familiar to me, and I thought I read that maybe I read a different book detailing the crimes of John Robinson but I'm sure it was this one. None the less, I still enjoyed this book again. If you are a true crime buff I'd recommend it, to me it was even better then the BTK book by Douglas.

Why I chose to read this: 
I'm currently on a true crime/John Douglas kick since reading his book about BTK. I found a bunch of books he wrote and checked them all out of work so I could read them. Now on to the next Douglas book in my pile of checked out books.

 

Book 169 Madrigal by Jennifer Linforth

831 books to go!

This is a phantom of the opera fiction, so if you are interested you can find the review in my phantom of the opera blog as usual. 

Book 168 Love, Loss, and What I Wore by Ilene Beckerman

Love, Loss, and What I Wore
Kindle Edition
832 books to go!

Summary:
A quick read, summarzing the life of Ilene Beckerman, nicknamed Gingy. The book is a very simple autobiography featuring illustrations of the clothing Gingy wore and remembered during her life. She went through two divorces and the death of a child.

Opinion:
This was a quick, semi-light read. Some points in the book were serious. The book is kind of paradoxical it has shallow but deep content. Beckerman's illustrations are interesting, they are simplified colorful line drawings but they are nice. It's interesting to see a person remember their clothes in such detail. I have a few favorite dresses, and I remember favorite dresses of past years that I have gotten rid of for one reason or another, but except for the dress I bought in Puerto Rico I really don't pay that much mind to remembering my clothes. I would recommend reading the actual physical book, if you go with the kindle edition it's best if you have the kindle fire.

Why I chose to read this: 
Found this while weeding biographies at work. I briefly remembered hearing about it, got curious, and checked it out to read, even though I already have half the library checked out on my library card right now.

 

Book 167 - Inside the mind of BTK by John Douglas

Inside the Mind of BTK: The True Story Behind the Thirty-Year Hunt for the Notorious Wichita Serial Killer
Kindle Edition
833 books to go!

Summary:
John Douglas, a former FBI agent and serial killer profile writes about Dennis Rader, who's known as BTK. Rader haunted Witchita, Kansas for 34 years, luckily he had many dormant periods in between victims and committed 10 murders. 10 murders is nothing to sneeze at but it would have been worse if he wasn't forced to take a break in between his murders because he actually had a wife and kids.

Opinion:
This book was chock full of information about BTK. Maybe too much information. John Douglas' writing is good, but semi-strange. He talks about himself a lot, about different things he was doing while investigating and reflecting upon the BTK case. I'm not sure why he puts those little bits into the book, it does give the writing flow a weird little mix but it's not very terrible either. He's actually written many books and I've checked them all out through the library, I think in this author I found some new true crime to read since I've already plowed through everything by Ann Rule. One last thing, BTK is a sick fuck reading this book is a little bit disturbing and upsetting at times, especially when the author talks about going through BTK's diary and provides a detailed account of the murders as BTK committed them, that part is a tough to stomach and saddening on the heart.

Why I chose to read this:
I was browsing the true crime section of the library looking for a latest true crime fix since I read everything by Ann Rule. I picked this up because BTK's killings have always struck a scary but curious chord for me.