Book 192 Stirred by J.A. Konrath and Blake Crouch

Stirred (Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels/Luther Kite Thriller)
Stirred (Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels/Luther Kite Thriller) - Kindle Edition

808 books to go!

Summary: 
This may or may not be the conclusion to the Jack Daniels series, depending on if Crouch and Konrath scheme up something else. It is the sequel to the book Shaken. In shaken Jack Daniels is caught and tortured by Luther Kite for the first time, in this sequel she's nine months pregnant, about to give birth and Kite is after her again.

Opinion:
This book was fantastic. The conclusion was happy, but there were many surprises in the book that I would have never expected. I was on the edge of my seat many times, eagerly tearing through the pages of the book to find out how it was going to end and what was going to happen. The humor was awesome, I laughed out loud a few times.

Why I chose to read it:
I've been waiting to get my hands on this conclusion for a long time. I'm addicted to the Jack Daniels stories even though I no longer drink the whiskey!

Book 191 Sloppy Seconds by Tucker Max

Sloppy Seconds: The Tucker Max Leftovers
Sloppy Seconds: The Tucker Max Leftovers - Kindle Edition FREE!

809 books to go!

Summary:
This short book is a mish mash of leftovers from fratire author and originator of the genre Tucker Max. He features three of his stories from his previous books, some new stories, and some random writings.

Opinion:
Not bad, not as funny or crazy as his other books but he did write in the introduction that these stories weren't going to be so funny. He actually gives this book away for free on the kindle. You can get it for nothing even if you don't have a kindle because you can always read it on the kindle cloud reader, which is how I read books at work most of the time. I actually finished this book while I was on my trip to Delaware to visit my cousins. I have to give Tucker Max props for giving the book away for free, most authors don't do this. I'd like to make money off my writing, enough to eventually just be a writer full time, but writing is a labor of love and most of the time I end up writing for free when it comes down to my blogs, but it doesn't matter to me because I am at least writing and getting to do what I love. If I do get to be an author and actually publish some books I might follow Tucker's lead and give a story away for free to my readers. It's a great way to thank fans, and without fans a writer, actor, show, band, book...they're all nothing without a fan base so you do have to thank your fans somehow.

Why I chose to read this:
Number one reason honestly is it was free on my kindle but I would have checked it out at the library if it was for purchase.

 

Book 190 Cindy Sherman: Retrospective

Cindy Sherman: Retrospective
810 books to go!

Summary: 
This book is part analysis of Sherman's work, part plates of her photography.

Opinion:
Pretty nice book, got to delve more into her work and see a lot of it, she's my favorite photographer so it's good to get a look at more of her stuff.

Why I chose to read it:
I went through the library's catalog in Nassau and requested any books I found about her, this is one of the books I requested.

 

Book 189 Fifty Shades Freed by E.L. James

Fifty Shades Freed: Book Three of the Fifty Shades Trilogy (50 Shades Trilogy)
Fifty Shades Freed: Book Three of the Fifty Shades Trilogy - Kindle Edition

811 books to go!

Summary:
This is the happy conclusion (okay maybe it's not so happy for all the fifty shades addicts that have been springing up - myself included) to the fifty shades trilogy. In this last book Christian and Ana are newly married. They face some big exciting trials together, they also face some minor fights and not so major problems together as well. Ultimately the book ends with a pretty happy ending, the copy I had from the library also had extra bonus material at the end which was some writing told from Christian's point of view. These two brief chapters were his first Christmas in the Grey family household and his first two encounters with Ana.

Opinion:
The drama in this book was much more real and less over the top then the drama in the second series of the trilogy. I was reading like a maniac to find out what was going to happen. At some point in the book I thought Ana was being a whiny bitch but eventually her character developed even more and redeemed herself to be forgiven for the whininess.SPOILER She was married to Christian, rich as fuck but still complained after he gave her the company she started working for that he bought. Let's just complain because we have more money then God and now own a company, rich people lol SPOILER Other then Ana's momentary whining the book was pretty good, had the usual amount of hot sexy scenes. I probably should have stuck to reading my PDFs instead of checking 1 and 3 out of the library. One more thing the BDSM aspect of the book, it's pretty light since Christian mostly goes with vanilla style to be with Ana anyway.

Why I chose to read this:
I wanted to know what all the fuss was about, glad I decided to read them. I will fondly remember Christian and Ana as one of the best love stories I've read.

Book 188 - American Vampire Vol. 3 by Scott Snyder

American Vampire Vol. 3

812 books to go!

This is probably getting annoying because I keep writing it but I definitely think I'm going to be down to under 800 books before the wedding and as summer is starting to wind down. I really don't know how I'm even managing to read this much when I have a zillion things to do.

Summary:
This is the third installment in a new graphic novel series Shawn and I have both set out upon devouring. This one takes place during WWII, the main cast of characters, Pearl (the vampire Skinner Sweet created), Skinner Sweet, Henry, and Miss Felicia Book.

Opinion:
This was okay, I liked the story with Felicia Book better then the story that took place involving Pearl, Skinner and Henry.

Why I chose to read it:
Just another graphic novel we are keeping up with.

Book 187 Fifty shades darker by E.L. James

Fifty Shades Darker: Book Two of the Fifty Shades Trilogy (50 Shades Trilogy)
Fifty Shades Darker: Book Two of the Fifty Shades Trilogy-Kindle Edition

813 books to go!

Summary:
In book two of the fifty shades of grey trilogy Christian and Ana are together again. I figured they would be even after the ending of the first book since it's a trilogy. There's lots of drama and obstacles as Christian agrees to have a more vanilla relationship with Ana since he's in love with her.

Opinion:
This book was all kinds of exciting and all kinds of sexy! It was even better then the first book. A few times while reading I had to step away from the book because I had to do something. I always seemed to end up forcibly stepping away from the most exciting parts eagerly awaiting my return to the book to find out what was going to happen. Some of the drama was a little over the top, some of it fit in well to the story. I'm actually annoyed with Ana I appreciate how she can stand up to Christian and doesn't do exactly what he says just because he's rich and handsome but it seems like she gets her way most of the time and doesn't really compromise. Besides some over the top drama and Ana being quasi uncompromising I am enjoying this series very much I'd actually like to finish the third one before work on Monday if it's possible. There's lots of sexyness and much romance in this trilogy, maybe I'm a fool to be wrapped up in it like many readers are but I can definitely understand why it's flying off bookshelves and being downloaded to e-book readers everywhere.

Why I chose to read it:
This all started when I gave book one a shot, now I'm hooked so of course I had to read the second one and will read the third one. I actually read the PDF version of this book, I managed to obtain all three PDF versions for free and when the third hard copy came into the library for me I figured I better start reading the PDF of the second one so I could get to the third one ASAP before I have to return it.

Book 186 Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh

Harriet the Spy
Harriet the Spy - Kindle Edition

814 books to go!

So hopefully by the end of the Summer I'll be on my way to just 800 books left!

Summary:
Harriet M. Welsch has a spy route and a nursemaid Ole Golly. When Ole Golly leaves Harriet to get married, Harriet's world falls apart, she's delivered an even bigger blow when her classmates find her notebook and see what she's written about them.

Opinion:
I think this is a book every child should read. If anything it was ahead of it's time regarding that evil website facebook that I now hate and no longer participate in. The book is definitely a lesson in keeping your information and thoughts as privately and as well guarded as possible. On facebook people tend to be careless with their posts resulting in much unnecessary drama. Which is why this book can be compared to one of the perils of facebook.

Why I chose to read it:
After my intelligent analytical opinion of the book this choice came from reading a book called 1,000 books for every  mood. I read through the book so I can compile a short list of books to read, and although I won't be reading these books by mood the ones I picked out and wrote on my list to read seemed interesting.

Book 185 The Man Who Quit Money by Mark Sundeen

The Man Who Quit Money
The Man Who Quit Money - Kindle Edition
815 books to go!

Summary:
This book is a biography of Daniel Shellabarger, now known as Daniel Suelo. In 2000 he deposited the last $30 he had into a phone booth and began to live life without money. He's survived by hunting, dumpster diving, the kindness of others and by taking shelter in a cave, house-sitting for free or accepting offers to stay overnight with friends or family. Suelo also writes a blog using blogger with access to the internet at public libraries.

Opinion:
This book is worth the read. It provides a bunch of useful factoids along with the details of Suelo's life before and after he quit money. Everything comes together and is extremely well written. For me personally this book has opened my eyes a little bit to things I've known I've been guilty of, perhaps this time I'll permanently change what I have to. I like shopping a bit too much, as a result I have a lot of items I don't really need, and I also don't really get to hold onto any money after I've paid my bills, paid for expenses such as gas and food, and then shopped a little. I do need to save money and get back on track with paying down my debt (since I've veered off that track recently). I have to learn to enjoy browsing in stores instead of going to them, seeing a few items I want and eagerly snatching them up. I need to pay off my debt and only using my credit cards if I can pay for an item in full - that way I'll just be using my credit cards to get reward points or coupons (if there is an option for that with the particular card I have). If Suelo can live without money, I definitely can live without shopping too much and using stuff I already have more then going out to buy new things. If I can save and become debt free - Shawn and I can enjoy better things in life, and when something comes up that I need money for hopefully I'll have the money to deal with it, if I've managed to save some instead of spending almost all of it.

Why I chose to read this:
Shawn actually posted about this guy on google +. I learned there was a book about him and checked it out from the library.

   

Book 184 History Portraits - Cindy Sherman

History Portraits
816 books to go!

Summary:
This book has Cindy Sherman's history portraits, as well as a brief introduction.

Opinion:
Not a bad book, although I appreciated great views of her work I wish there was more explanation for each photograph.

Why I chose to read this: 
I've recently become what I like to refer to myself as the quasi art librarian at the library I'm working for. I'm trying to increase my knowledge of art for this purpose, Cindy Sherman is my favorite photographer so I've requested a bunch of books about her in order to better understand her work.

SPECIAL NOTE - The bottom book featured in this entry for sale seems to be a new edition of Sherman's history portraits. I might pick it up myself or ask the library to consider purchasing it.

Book 183 Into the Darkness by V.C. Andrews

Into the Darkness
Into the Darkness-Kindle Edition

817 books to go!

Summary:
Amber Taylor lives in Echo Lake, Oregon. Her family owns a jewelry store in the town's village. When handsome Brayden Matthews comes to town with his family he seems quite strange, but Amber is still taken with him.

Opinion:
This book was alright. I was kind of annoyed with the ending, it made complete sense as to why certain things were weird about Brayden and why things happened but I still didn't like it. It's funny because V.C. Andrews wrote another book called Daughter of Darkness and I didn't like that one either. I got so wrapped up in the book, eager to know the mystery of Brayden Matthews only to be disappointed at the conclusion.

Why I chose to read this:
Found out it was a newly ghost written V.C. Andrews and wanted to check it out.

 

SPECIAL BONUS: I was asked to provide a link to a monthly book blog/newsletter. I briefly looked at it but if you are interested, check out Carole's Chatter! 

Book 182 Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

Fifty Shades of Grey: Book One of the Fifty Shades Trilogy (50 Shades Trilogy)
Kindle Edition

818 books to go!

Summary:
Christian Grey and Anastasia Steele fall hard for each other after Anastasia interviews Christian for her college newspaper in place of her friend Kate. In this trilogy they start an affair and a quasi relationship, but it's up for debate whether or not they can last together, each party has different demands and wishes that the other party might not be able to adhere to.

Opinion:
This book is okay. I do like it, the erotic scenes are extremely hot, but the writing is alright, it's not horrid but it isn't terrific either. James also draws out the debate of whether Christian and Ana could be together for far too long IMO. I do intend to read the other two novels in this trilogy and as different as they are I hope the characters will be able to work out their differences and successfully be together.

Why I chose to read this:
If you're into books at all you'll know by now this book has blown up off the charts in popularity. It finally piqued my curiosity, as a librarian I do like to get my hands on some of the popular stuff on occasion to see what the fuss is all about and to be able to recommend books for the patrons who only like to read up and coming books.

Book 181 This book is overdue by Marilyn Johnson

This Book Is Overdue!: How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All
Kindle Edition

819 books to go!

Summary: 
This is the second book by author Marilyn Johnson, her first book the dead beat was about obituary writers. In this book she raves about the importance and the wonder of librarians.

Opinion:
I loved this book, it reminded me of why I became a librarian and actually inspired me to do my job better then I feel I have been doing it. The author encouraged me that I could in fact make a difference to the people I help, something I felt like I really haven't been doing.

Why I chose to read this:
Since I'm a librarian myself I wanted to read this book, I'm glad I got to reading it, it's been on my mental to read list for quite some time.