Author Walter Mosley | Interviews | Tavis Smiley | PBS

Author Walter Mosley | Interviews | Tavis Smiley | PBS: The award-winning writer discusses his recent text Charcoal Joe.



Just sitting here, working on my blog and I see one of my favorite authors on T.V.!!! Now I have sooo many books to read, but now I know, a new book is out!!!

The Girl Who Came Back To Me

I came across this clip while checking out youtube and I thought to myself this still picture looks like it could come from a book idea, and I was right! The Girl With All The Gifts will come out later this year and I hope to finish this during this long weekend. Pretty excited about this one. I forgot about this book when I saw it in the store months and months ago, probably because it was a hardback (?) but anyway I now have an ebook version just waiting to get read. But now I am wondering, if the book is that good will I actually want to see the movie....hmmm.....

Alright so this movie will come out on July 1st and is based on the children's book, The BFG or The Big Friendly Giant by Roald Dahl. Now I haven't read this book, actually I have never heard of it, but this trailer makes it look pretty good! I may just buy this read...and if you follow that link goodreads.com is even offering a giveaway, so read the fine print and get to reading already!

Couldn't Do It (The Town)

I thought about this 'series' called Couldn't Do It because from time to time there will be a book that I just can not get through. It will lay there and I will pick it up, read through, and just not get into the book for whatever reason. This is what Couldn't Do It is. My post about the books that could not be finished.

For months now, I have picked up The Town by Paul William Burke and put it right back down. I have read other books, thinking I'll read this one in small doses, but those doses were like taking bad meds.

It says on the cover, Parts 1-3. That didn't bother me. Why should it? I'm not afraid of big books or long series, but that is only if they capture my attention.

The first part about Paul Jagger growing up in an abusive dysfunctional family, doing his best to survive it and discovering a talent that can make or break him (wont give much away in this story). The story dragged. Even though I haven't read this in awhile I remember being bothered when reading:

"Said/asked Robert."
"Said/asked Janet."

Why do that? 

Anyway, I get it. Horrible early life, but the poor decisions made by the characters made me wonder why? Why is lack of common sense so popular in this book?

At times, I was reminded of Forrest Gump. Not that Paul was slow, like Gump, but was this story inspired by it???

I know I got past the first part, and I did my best to stick this one out. I lost that battle and I'm not mad about it. Maybe I will come across the author and try a new book, but for now, I am done. I have it on my Kindle so it wont be hard to restart this book, but unfortunately, I couldn't do it.

Back to the Dark, Where it Is Not Safe

TITLE: In The Miso Soup

AUTHOR: Ryu Murakami

GENRE: Fiction

PUBLISHER: Penguin Books

PAGES: 217

"It's not that people like him have given up on life." Frank went on. "They've given up trying to relate to others..."    

Finally done with this book! It was pretty good! Suspenseful and creepy. The draw for me was Japan! I miss it. I love it. Anyway, I just don't end up reading many books with this dark and scary theme. Oddly enough, I am glad when I do pick up one of these books! My all time favorite still is The Collector. For creepy, scary, realism, though, In The Miso Soup, can only take second place.

   

So what did I enjoy? Kenji, our unfortunate Host and the seedy life of a sex industry that is popular in Japan drew me. Now this is not a book for those wanting lurid, sexual details of a night with a prostitute (sorry) but is more about a young guy (Kenji) trying to earn a living off foreigners by taking them around and helping them live out some sex fantasies. Instead he finds himself stuck with Frank, an American who leaves him fearful and with many questions.

The book got sluggish in places. Frank and Kenji talk, they go out and it could have been my impatience with moving through the story but, it felt long. Murakami really does a great job at making the reader live in the moment!

In the end, I felt sad. The book isn't something that has a sad or happy ending, but just is. I totally recommend this book and now I'll be looking into other books from this author.

I give this a 4 out of 5.

Yes, I prefer the singing version...

TITLE: The Story of the Beauty and the Beast
AUTHOR: Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot De Villeneuve
GENRE: Fiction, Fairytale
PUBLISHER: Blackdown Publications
PAGES: 149

I read the original. Did not blow me away or anything. For such a short story, this took me forever to read! Reading something from the 1700s is very different from todays reads. Anyway I preferred reading more from the character's talking rather than a narrator.

Over the story isn't bad. It is the original but I did get weirded out towards the end when it had all this drama involved among the characters. Just so you know, one of the characters is very petty and it wore on me.

On the plus side, it was nice to read a fairytale and it be in its original form, no Disney influence at all. Finally the truth has come out for me!!! 

I give this story a 3 out of 5.