Open and Shut

Open and Shut
by  David Rosenfelt

Series:  Andy Carpenter #1
Genre:  Mystery, Crime, Humor
Publisher: Listen & Live on
03 April 2008
Reading with my ears:  Unabridged
06 hours 50 minutes
Narrator:   Grover Gardner

Whether duelling with new forensics or the local old boys' network, irreverent defence attorney Andy Carpenter always leaves them awed with his biting wit and winning fourth-quarter game plan. But Andy prefers the company of his best friend, Tara, to the people he encounters in the courtroom. Tara, a golden retriever, is clearly smarter than half the lawyers who clog the courts of Passaic County. However, just as it seems Andy has everything figured out, his dad, New Jersey's legendary ex-D.A., drops dead in front of him at a game in Yankee Stadium. The shocks pile on as he discovers his dad left him with two unexpected legacies: a fortune of $22 million that Andy never knew existed . . . and a murder case with enough racial tinder to burn down City Hall. Struggling to serve justice and bring honor to his father, Andy must dig up some explosive political skeletons-and an astonishing family secret that can close his case (and his mouth) for good.

My thoughts:
What a fun read!  Someone in my Facebook bookclub read one of the books later in this series and was telling us about this lawyer and his lovely golden retriever, Tara.  (I love dogs so how could I resist taking a look!)  I have a problem with not starting a series at the beginning, so I went in search of where it all started, way back in 2003 - with the audiobook published in 2008 - a lifetime ago.  But it has not aged at all, I felt as if it could have been written yesterday.  

Andy is not your usual buttoned-down lawyer.  In the beginning of the book, he seemed too fond of dishonest (in my opinion) theatrics in the court room.  I was doubting my choice but after a few chapters this disappeared and he got more serious about defending his client which I appreciated much more.  

All in all, Andy has a good heart, even taking payment in watermelons when defending a client :)

After the fiasco of my previous read, I needed something light and fluffy and that is exactly what I got. It left me with a huge smile on my face.  

The narrator was great with a soothing voice not interfering with the story at all.  I enjoyed this one and would recommend if for a fluffy read.

Red Rising

Red Rising
by  Pierce Brown

Series:  Red Rising Trilogy #1
Genre:  Science Fiction, Young Adult
Publisher: Recorded Books on
28 January 2014
Reading with my ears:  Unabridged
16 hours 12 minutes
Narrator:   Tim Gerard Reynolds

The Earth is dying. Darrow is a Red, a miner in the interior of Mars. His mission is to extract enough precious elements to one day tame the surface of the planet and allow humans to live on it. The Reds are humanity's last hope. Or so it appears, until the day Darrow discovers it's all a lie. That Mars has been habitable - and inhabited - for generations, by a class of people calling themselves the Golds. A class of people who look down on Darrow and his fellows as slave labour, to be exploited and worked to death without a second thought. Until the day that Darrow, with the help of a mysterious group of rebels, disguises himself as a Gold and infiltrates their command school, intent on taking down his oppressors from the inside. But the command school is a battlefield - and Darrow isn't the only student with an agenda.

My thoughts:
I first saw this book on BookTube (a new addiction which my bandwidth hates) where most reviews raved about it.  I could not wait to pick it up and the first few hours were wonderful.  I enjoyed the world building of the Reds living underground on Mars.  The characters were interesting and flawed. Unfortunately this was not what the story was really about and I was soon bored.

When Darrow infiltrates the Gold's world, the story changes.  In some parts I found my mind wandering and I had to consciously remind myself to get my head back into the story.  The story becomes one of the "dime-a-dozen" young adult books where the main character is prettier and smarter than most.  He (or she) is thrown into a "school type setting" where he has to fight his classmates (to the death for the most part) for the top winner position.  As in most dystopian young adult fiction there are lots of fighting, cruelty and death.  Not my favourite characteristics of young adult books although I love dystopian/technology advanced worlds.

And then there is Darrow. . . I disliked Darrow.  I mean I really disliked him which is a problem as he is our main protagonist.  He claimed an undying love for his wife, Eo in the first few chapters of the book but this was very easily forgotten when he was immersed in the Gold's world.  I also felt that he was a bit too comfortable in this new life and conveniently seems to forget what the true purpose of his presence is.

I loved the narration by Tim Gerard Reynolds.  I really enjoyed his calm voice which starts with a vague Irish accent for the Reds and turns British-ish for the Golds.

I am in the minority with my thoughts above as the reviews on Goodreads almost all screams praise of this book. So you might have to read it for yourself to see . . .

Challenges for 2015

In 2015 I am planning on doing three challenges.  Yep, only three.  I am notoriously bad at sticking to them, so next year no pressure.

my read shelf:
Firstly, I will off course be doing the Goodreads challenge.  I will be trying for 50 books which is going to be tough - it means almost a book a week and that might be a bit ambitious for me.  But it needs to be a challenge.  For two years now I have stuck to 25 books and have reached that goal, so next year . . . a challenge.

Secondly, the Audiobook challenge.  This year I made the challenge easily and next year will be the "Look Ma no hands - 50+" level for me.  As I said previously, 50 books is a bit ambitious but hey, let's give it a go!

Lastly, I have made this list below.  A fun idea for bringing a wider choice of books into your life.  I have borrowed ideas for various lists and if you have any ideas to add, please let me know.  The ones that I do not get to fill, will be moved over to next year.  I want to try and keep the list going . . .

That is it - what are your challenges for the new year?

My own Challenge list (compiled from all the challenges out there)

1.  A book with more than 500 pages.
2.  A book that became a movie.
The Ruins (21/01/2015)
3.  A book that became a TV series.
4.  A book with a number in the title.
Station Eleven (23/01/2015)
5.  A book written by someone under 30.
6.  A book with non human characters.
Horns by Joe Hill (13/01/2015)
7.  A funny book.
8.  A book with a one-word title.
9.  A book of short stories.
10. A non-fiction book.
11. A popular author's first book.
12. A Prize winning book.
13. A book based on a true story.
14. A book chosen entirely based on the cover.
15.  A book with food/cooking featuring heavily.
16. A trilogy.
17. A book with a colour in the title.
Red Rising by Pierce Brown (03/01/2015)
18. A book that made you cry.
19. A graphic novel.
Saga Volume 1 (23/01/2015)
20. A book set during Christmas.
21. A book you started but never finished.
22. A book by an "auto-buy-for-you" author.
23. A book published this year.
24. A book published in 2014.
The Truth of the cave in the Black Mountains by Neil Gaiman (11/01/2015)
24. A book published before 2014.
25. A book published before you were born.
26. A book published within the last month.
27. A book where you hated the main character.
The Silent Wife by ASA Harrison (07/01/2015)
28. A re-read.
29. A book with a fun dog-character.
Open and Shut by David Rosenfelt (04/01/2015)
30. A book written by a celebrity.
31. A book you saw someone reading.
32. A memoir.
33. A biography.
34. A horror book.
35. A traditional/contemporary fiction book.
36. A historical novel.
37. A mystery book.
38. A psychological thriller.
39. A science fiction book set in future on earth.
40. A science fiction book set in another world.
41. A cozy mystery.
42. A book with an angel.
43. A book written by a South African author.
44. A re-telling of a classic story.
45. A book featuring books or a bookstore.
46. A book where the main character is being hunted (can be a killer, a victim, etc)
47. A book with a day of the week in the title.
48. A book with a month in the title.
49. A book with a game being a big part of the story (online games, TV show games, etc)
Wolf in White Van by John Darnielle (16/01/2015)

A - Z Location Challenge:
A
B
C  -  Chicago, USA  -  The Silent Wife (07/01/2015)
D
E
F
G  -  Gideon, New Hampshire, USA - Horns (13/01/2015)
H
I
J
K
L
M  -  Mars - Red Rising (03/01/2015)
N
O
P   -  Passaic County, USA  - Open and Shut (04/01/2015)
Q
R
S  -  Scotland - The Truth of the cave in the Black Mountains (11/01/2015)
T  - Toronto, Canada  -  Station Eleven (23/01/2015)
U
V
W
X
Y
Z

A - Z Character Name Challenge:
A  -  Andy  - Open and Shut (04/01/2015)
B
C
D  -  Darrow - Red Rising (03/01/2015)
E
F
G
H
I  -  Ig  -  Horns (13/01/2015)
J  -  Jodi  -  The Silent Wife (07/01/2015)
K  - Kirsten - Station Eleven (23/01/2015)
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S  -  Sean  - Wolf in White Van (16/01/2015)
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z

{Movie} Review: Slumdog Millionnaire (2008)

 Starring:  Dev Patel, Freida Pinto and Madhur Mittal (2008)

A Mumbai teen who grew up in the slums, becomes a contestant on the Indian version of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" He is arrested under suspicion of cheating, and while being interrogated, events from his life history are shown which explain why he knows the answers.

This was the movie that has been on my PVR the longest (2+ years) and this afternoon it was finally time to give it a shot.
It started off slow and I was beginning to doubt my choice but it turned into "feel-good" film as the tagline assured us it would be.Some of the earlier "abuse" scenes were a bit much for me but I understand how it is a necessary part of the story.   The further the story unfolded, the more you are drawn in and at the end, I was a bit divided . . . where would the story lead?  Would Jamal answer the last question correctly . . . I must admit that the story would have worked for me either way.

All in all it was a fun afternoon with the bad guy redeeming himself and the happy ending we were hoping for.  I love happy endings . . . 

Book Haul!

For the last few moths we have been going through a severe postal strike here in South Africa and it was impossible to get anything delivered.  So what a nice surprise when Book Depository and the Post Office came together and delivered me this beauty for Christmas!  Thank you guys!!

For the past year, I have listening to audiobooks books almost exclusively. In the whole year, I read maybe only one or two physical books.   It has just been so much easier to listen while sitting in the traffic to and from work.  Does wonders for the road rage!

But this book intrigued me, supposedly it is one of the new type of books which is interactive; showing photos, newspaper articles, websites, emails, etc. so I had to buy the physical book.   Which sparked a buying frenzy but more about that in coming posts.

I was planning to save it for after Christmas when I have a few days free from work but I just wanted a sample last night. Loved it! Even in the first few pages, I got a glimpse of the newspaper articles and blog posts and it story is creepy right from the get-go! 

But what is really surprising it that it took some time for me to get "reading" again. Even if I was not reading books, I have been reading or else how would I have been getting by? You cannot live life if you don't read.

But reading a book - it took some concentrating to focus on the sentences and READ. And now I can say that even if I did not notice it before, I missed real books . . . and am definitely looking forward to more.