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BethZ (6 KP) rated Oxygen in Books

Dec 30, 2017  
Oxygen
Oxygen
Carol Cassella | 2008 | Fiction & Poetry, Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
well written, keeps you guessing, characters are likeable (0 more)
too much unnecessary details into medical procedures, no climatic dialogue between Marie and dad that aired out their differences. (0 more)
Fast Read!
I really enjoyed reading this book. I haven’t read anything in 2 days time in a very long time!

Dr. Marie Heaton is a successful anesthesiologist at First Lutheran Hospital in Seattle. In the seven years she’s been working there she has never made one mistake nor lost a patient. She prided herself on her meticulous organization skills, her neat charting, and her clean record. Until the day 8 year old Jolene stepped foot into her OR and passed away in the middle of a routine procedure she should have survived! Now Marie finds herself in the middle of a malpractice suit and on top of that, having to take care of her elderly father with whom her relationship with has been rocky.

This is a gripping story that tells us what doctors go through when fatal mistakes are made. I couldn’t put it down.

What I did not like about it:

1. too much medical detail. Some of it was necessary for us to understand what is going on in the story but most of it just felt like filler to me.

2. I expected the part where taking care of dad to come in a lot earlier than it did. And it wasn’t much caring for in the end. I was expecting her dad to be more belligerent to her about losing his independence and having to be taken care of. And since there has been unspoken animosity between them since Marie was a teenager, I expected there would be a climatic dialogue between them that airs out their problems and they get to move on from it. Never happened.

Other than those two things, there was so much to like about this book. The twist at the end had me on me on my seat! I did not expect it and I love when a story can surprise me! This was a great read!
  
Daisy Jones & the Six
Daisy Jones & the Six
Taylor Jenkins Reid | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry
I adored this book.
It's so completely different from anything I've recently read. I do love my psychological thrillers, but sometimes it's nice to jump into a totally different world. Daisy Jones & The Six perfectly fits the bill.

There's been so much hype surrounding this book that I'm sure you know the premise by now: set in the mid-sixties through late seventies, Daisy Jones & The Six is about the rise and eventual fall of a fictional rock band. It reads like a Rolling Stone interview, or an episode of Behind the Music, which is an interesting and effective approach to the subject matter. I was immediately immersed in the story, but this also means I flew through it so quickly that I was sad when it was over. It drew me in so completely that I actually forgot this was not a real band.

Sex? ✔ Drugs? ✔ Rock 'n' Roll? ✔
Daisy Jones & The Six has all this and more. I've heard that it bears more than a passing resemblance to Fleetwood Mac's history, which makes sense as the author herself states that she was very much influenced by Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks (a living goddess if there ever was one). Every character is flawed, because, life. The descriptions of the songs, the music, are so complete, I could almost hear them in my head.

Last summer, Amazon ordered a 13-episode limited series of the book. The series will be co-produced by Amazon Studios and Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine banner. ALSO: Amazon will be distributing original music from the television adaptation exclusively through Amazon Music. ?
And I.Can't.Wait.

?
  
Show all 4 comments.
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Dianne Robbins (1738 KP) Apr 7, 2019

It was such a good book and read like a Rolling Stones interview. I was hooked from the first page and devoured the book after that. It was so goooood. I really hope there's a sequel.

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MelanieTheresa (997 KP) Apr 8, 2019

@Dianne Robbins I can't wait for the TV series!

Chili has grown and changed over the years. But one simple fact remains. Chili is a dish that continues to bring us warmth and comfort.

Robb Walsh not only gives us 60 delectable recipes for the ever favorite dish. But he also dives into the history and the evolution of chili. The book is divided into four parts: Chili's Family Tree, Tex-Mex Traditions, Chili Road Trip and Modern and Vegetarian Chilies (Because vegetarians have to eat, too - pg. 1). There are many vibrant pictures, so that your mouth begins to water just by flipping through the pages. Walsh not only instructs us on the main course, but how to roast green chiles, make fresh corn tortillas and stone ground cornbread. There is also a detailed guide to peppers and chili powders that I found very helpful. With dishes like Lobster Chili, Three-Bean Chipotle Chili and Old-Fashioned Tex-Mex Enchiladas, there is no doubt that this will be my go-to cookbook as the winter months quickly approach.

Chili...Need I say more? I love making chili, but also enjoy a variety of styles. The Chili Cookbook has such a wide selection of chili to choose from that I don't think I will ever tire of it. I enjoyed reading about the history of chili. From the Aztecs to the Chili Queens. Ready your taste buds for the ride of their lives as you dive into this delicious cookbook from beginning to end.

I received a free copy of The Chili Cookbook from the publisher, through Blogging for Books, in exchange for my honest review.
  
DL
Dead Letter Office
6
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review

This book started off with great promise, but for me went downhill rather quickly. I love the idea of a young girl dealing with the loss of losing her father, and moving to a new place; however, the story began to seem extremely far fetched when the ghost started coming into play. I had trouble understanding how the person murdered now was related to the past, and that never really seemed to be explained at all. I guess you just have to accept that its paranormal and that's all there is to it.

Celia, is a very well written character, and its really easy to like her and root for her. Regardless of the way she acts, she means well, and cares about others. I even cried when she received closure at the end in regards to her father's death. It was very moving. Donovan and Tilly were very one dimensional and I would have loved to learn more information about these characters.

I think the thing that in essence killed this book for me was that it was a choose your own adventure book. I think if the fates of the characters had been decided and the book written as normal it would have been more exciting for me. I do have to admit that this book did remind me of reading the choose your own adventure books I read as a kid.

I might be inclined to read more books in this series to see how the characters develop. I gave it 3 stars out of 5.
  
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Kelly Reichardt recommended Ugetsu (1953) in Movies (curated)

 
Ugetsu (1953)
Ugetsu (1953)
1953 | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
(0 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"I mean the thing with Ugetsu, and the whole Apu Trilogy [discussed next], that I was really looking at when I was making First Cow, was that they are super low-to-the-ground films. You get to the ambition of the potter in Ugetsu, and the sort of dream sequences of it. I love the way it’s filmed, in the way the small villages are filmed, and the way you’re in this hutch all the time and everyone is super low-to-the-ground. I mean everyone’s sitting on the floor all the time and you’re wandering through these small towns and you’re inside these hutches, and I liked that Cookie [in First Cow] is sort of a down-to-the-ground guy – he’s a forager. There are caste systems in both Ugetsu and the Apu Trilogy, and both of the protagonists are sort of at the bottom of the food chain and surviving hand-to-mouth. In the case of Ugetsu, I found that character relatable as far as King Lu [in First Cow] goes – he really wants to get a toe hold in the next level, and he’s very seduced by getting there; he just has kind of a narrow vision of like, “I’ve got to get to this place.” He also knows that he has to find a backdoor into it. And they’re all craftspeople in Ugetsu, and in First Cow Cookie is a cook and they’re constantly making things, and King Lu is sewing his slippers – it’s a life of just endless making of things because it’s how you’re surviving."

Source
  
Alice in Zombieland - White Rabbit Chronicles
Alice in Zombieland - White Rabbit Chronicles
Gena Showalter | 2012 | Fiction & Poetry
6
7.0 (9 Ratings)
Book Rating
(This review can also be found on my blog at <a href="http://themisadventuresofatwentysomething.blogspot.co.uk">The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Something Year Old Girl</a>).

I've been dying to read this book since I first heard about it months ago. I love zombies because, well, zombies are just so darn cool! However, I think I built myself up a bit too much and bought in to the hype a bit too much. I didn't think the book was bad, but I didn't think it was that great either.

Alice, or Ali for short, thinks her father is crazy. He has so many rules when it comes to his daughters, especially things that involve go out during the night. He's worried about the monsters, but Alice just thinks he's going insane until one night, her whole family is killed in a car crash. It is then that she sees her first monster. Maybe her dad wasn't crazy after all. Alice will have to enlist the help of the school's bad crowd if she wants answers, and that means getting close to Cole Holland, the resident bad boy. Will Alice have her heart broken? Will she even be able to survive long enough to have her heart broken?

Okay, I absolutely, positively love, love, love the title of this book: Alice in Zombieland. It just has a certain ring to it. I'd say the title definitely describes the story. If I were to sum up this book in three words, Alice in Zombieland would be exactly what I'd say.

I do think the cover is pretty, but I feel that it's lacking. I do love the little details there are to see when you look closer at the cover, but as I said, something is missing from the cover. I think it would've been cool, maybe, to have a few zombies on the cover as well.

The world building is fantastic! Gena Showalter makes it feel as if a zombie apocalypse is actually happening or really could happen. It's so easy to get lost in Alice's world and forget that you're actually just reading a story. The author makes the world of zombies come to life, and it does get a bit scary.

The pacing is what really bothered me. I felt as if it was a bit all over the place. At the very beginning, I felt I was losing the will to live as the pacing was so slow. Then it got a bit better, then it'd get slow, then it'd get better again. My interest in this book was all over the place. I never knew what to expect in the next chapter. Was it going to be super slow or fast paced?

The dialogue was believable for the teenagers. They spoke exactly how I'd imagine teens of today to speak. However, Alice has a seven year old sister who spoke like she was at least thirteen years old. Her vocabulary, and the way she spoke were definitely not normal for a seven year old. With that said, I did enjoy the dialogue immensely especially when it came to interactions between Kat and Alice. I even loved the sarcastic interactions between Cole and Alice. There wasn't any swearing in this book which I admired.

I thought the characters were fantastic and very believable. I loved how Alice was willing to do whatever it took to avenge her family and how she wasn't willing to take anything from anybody. Cole is your typical bad boy: moody, snarly, sarcastic, etc. There is something likable about Cole, and as the story progresses, we find out a little bit about why Cole is the way he is. My favourite character had to be Kat though. I loved her witty and sarcastic sense of humour. In fact, I wish I could be like Kat. She definitely had me laughing quite a bit. The only non-believable character was Alice's little sister Emma. As stated in the previous paragraph, she didn't speak like a normal seven year old, nor did she act like an everyday seven year old. Because of that, I had a hard time relating to her as a character.

One thing I really loved about this book was the chapter names. I loved how they were zombie related but still had the Alice in Wonderland feel about them. Unfortunately, this was not enough to warrant a higher rating for this book. Perhaps it's just me though as this book does have quite high reviews, but I just couldn't enjoy it that much. I might carry on with the series in the hopes it gets better, but I'm not dying to read the next book in the series.

I'd recommend this book to those aged 14+ if I really had to recommend it. However, I'd say don't waste your money. Rent it from a library or borrow it if you really want to read it.

Alice in Zombieland (The White Rabbit Chronicles #1) by Gena Showalter gets a 3.25 out of 5 from me.
  
TT
The Tycoon's Make-Believe Fiancée
6
5.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
Oh yeah. I forgot that this book follows [b:The Prince's Resistant Lover|19004327|The Prince's Resistant Lover|Elizabeth Lennox|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1387898260s/19004327.jpg|27026471].

Hello again, Tamar.

I'd ask if you'd kidnapped any other naked women, but this book takes place directly after your story, so you wouldn't have had any time.

Wyndi finally gets to meet up with her long-lost brother, Royston, who had been told by the foster care system that Wyndi was dead, because he wouldn't stop running away to try to find her to take care of her. He doesn't believe her at first, until she tells him things that only she would know.

Royston is overjoyed to have her back, but Wyndi is worried that he isn't happy, because in the few pictures of him that Tamar managed to find, he was never smiling. To convince her that he's fine, he makes up a story about being engaged, and is stuck having to find someone to pretend to be his fiancee until Wyndi leaves.

I'm still not sure how he was expecting that plan to work. Wyndi would expect there to be a wedding at some point, because they're going to stay in touch. I mean, it all works out in the end, but still. I thought you were supposed to be this master planner, Royston!

After Royston decides to implement his ridiculous plan, we cut to Miranda, who works for Royston's company. She is offered up as a sacrifice to turn in some reports late, which Royston is notorious for despising. Her boss needs a scapegoat, because the reports were all of FIVE MINUTES LATE.

Anyway, rather than killing Miranda on sight, Royston asks her to lunch, and pitches his plan to her, because he likes the way she looks. Miranda refuses on principal, laughing at his offers to pay her to lie to his sister. Royston is even more impressed by the fact that Miranda won't let him tell her what to do, or take money from him.

He manages to sway her by playing on her emotions, telling her how he lost Wyndi through the foster care system, and she agrees to pretend to be his fiancee for a weekend, but only on the condition that if she thinks Wyndi will be hurt, she can shut the operation down.

He even respects her wishes to not act like they're in a relationship around the office, in case someone thinks that she's trying to sleep her way to a promotion.

Of course, pretend love gives way to real love, and the two end up actually engaged, after a passion-filled weekend and several whacky misunderstandings.

I liked this story better than The Prince's Resistant Lover. Mostly because Royston actually bothered to get consent from Miranda at every stage of their relationship. And while he was a demanding man, he wasn't overbearing or creepy, the way Tamar came across as.