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Friday, May 30, 2014

Book Review: Three Wishes

From The Book of One Thousand and One Nights (aka 1001 Arabian Nights), to I Dream of Jeannie, to Aladdin, the idea of powerful genies that grant wishes to their masters has long fascinated Western audiences. In Deborah Kreiser’s Three Wishes, these powers are bestowed upon an unsuspecting seventeen-year-old girl. Typically this tale is told from the perspective of the master. Sure, deciding how to use your three wishes is tough, but selecting the recipient of such a gift is arguably more complicated.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

The Book Trailer: Friend or Foe?

It's a relatively new phenomenon... that may or may not be a good thing. The book trailer is a new way to promote books. It brings literature into a new art form and can bring a little part of the book to life. But there seems to be a right and a wrong way to do it.

Lord knows we've all seen about 15 book trailers for James Patterson's new book of the month and probably a smattering of strange, vague, and perhaps semi-erotic trailers for upcoming YA romances. And all of these trailers have something in common; they're really cheesy. Ok, not all of them. But with such a hit or miss track record it makes me wonder why do people make book trailers at all?
Mr. Book Trailer himself, James Patterson

Friday, May 23, 2014

Book Review: The Fault in Our Stars

The older I get, the more find that adults often write off the emotions and beliefs of young people. This is a book that makes you realize how unfair that is.

Terminal cancer patient meets cancer amputee in this young adult romance, and no one—not even a pretentious Dutch author with a drinking problem—can stop them from reveling in pretentious literature, ven diagrams, life metaphors, and Natalie Portman.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Ship Wars!

Pearl Harbor, Blackwater Bay, Gale-Peeta-Katniss. What do these things have in common? SHIP WARS. As tumblr users, we are well versed in the ship wars of the YA fandom. Choosing your OTP can be stressful, but when it happens. you will just know. Here at the Lone Book Club, we feel pretty strongly about some popular ships, so we decided to lay out our least favorite literary ships, as well as our favorites.

Friday, May 16, 2014

Book Review: Gone Girl

I want to start out by being completely honest with you, this is going to be a tough book to review. Mysteries are, in my opinion, best read when you go in knowing nothing about the plot. That is tough for this book already, because the trailer for the upcoming film adaptation has been released, and is garnering a lot of buzz. I picked this book up out of curiosity after having seen the trailer at the movies a couple of nights ago. After sampling the first few chapters and buying the book on a Wednesday morning, I devoured the rest of the book before I went to sleep on Thursday night. It is one of those books that you couldn't go to sleep without solving the puzzle.


Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Books Then, Books Now

Eleven-year-old me would never have read Harry Potter.

Seems weird, doesn't it, especially given that that's Harry Potter's target age. Nowadays I sort of envy people who had the joy of growing up with a magical book series that spoke to them so directly.

 
I had this thought while I was at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books last month. I was hanging out with a friend, we were browsing the tents and talking about our favorite books and authors, and I was once again struck by a question that came to mind now and then. This time, rather than mulling it over quietly and letting it drift away, I decided to run it by my friend.

Isn't it funny how the books you read as an adult can be so different from the books that made you fall in love with reading in the first place?

Friday, May 9, 2014

Book Review: The Last Scenario

Marcos Gabriel's thriller novel The Last Scenario is impressive. I normally don't read conspiracy thrillers, so I was a bit apprehensive to pick it up and give it a shot. I often find the books (and films) cliche and predictable, with an easily sighted formula that leaves no surprises for the readers.

But Gabriel's ingenuity brings a freshness to the genre. The basic formula is there, but he has added enough twists and changes to keep you engaged and on the edge of your seat throughout his wild ride. 


And this wild ride all starts with legally brainstorming a terrorist attack.

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Judging A Book By Its Cover

You walk into a bookstore. You spot a book. You must have it immediately. This book is speaking to you. It breathes, “Read me.” And of course it does.  It’s purple and shiny and there's a giant unicorn eating spaghetti on the cover, and its called, "Get Your Pasta On."

How many times have you picked up a book that is entirely not what you thought it was going to be about? This little game can be quite exciting. Although, it can also turn disastrous. It's hard not to have expectations when that Arial Black is screaming out to you from the depths of the boring Garamonds and Helveticas. 

My point being--we always can't help having expectations. So. I’m going to do what everybody in our lives has told us not to do. I’m going to judge some popular books by their covers… and see how accurate I am.

Or do. 

Friday, May 2, 2014

Book Review: Safe & Sound

What do you do when the love of your life is tragically ripped away, leaving you to pick up the pieces before you're ready? The premise of Safe & Sound by T. S. Krupa had me intrigued with its promise of a long and emotional journey to self-discovery. The journey was long, certainly, and mildly emotional, but not for the reasons the story intends. Safe & Sound begins with a punch to the gut, but the energy quickly dissipates and sadly fails to reorganize itself throughout the rest of the book.