Review: Dishwasher

Dishwasher by Pete Jordan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I stumbled across this book while helping with a book sorting project and was intrigued. I was also very surprised that my local library had it, though seeing how much of it takes place in this area does potentially explain that!

At an early age, Pete Jordan realized that the working poor work hard only to stay poor. Figuring he didn't have a chance to break the cycle, he decided not to even bother trying and instead would live the simplest life possible, essentially living as a minimalist well before that was even a thing. Not really a people person, Pete struggled a bit with jobs involving working with the public, until he found his "calling" as a dishwasher while in college. Coupled with his love of maps and exploring cities, Pete set set out on a mission to wash dishes in all 50 states by his 35th birthday.

This was a fun read (until the abrupt ending). I tallied the states as Pete chronicled them to see if he did in fact hit all 50. I looked forward to seeing where he would end up next and found it amusing his "dish dog bucket list" continued to grow as he learned more about the culture behind dish washing.

Infused among his travels are interesting tidbits about the history of dish washers, along with a lot of name dropping of Hollywood actors who have spent time at the sinks. Who knew that Portland, OR was such a mecca for dish washers? Or that it was a woman in Chicago who invented the dishwasher due to being fed up that her servants kept breaking her fine China?

I can see how some people might find this book boring or insipid - I chose to think of it as a lighthearted romp and as a result greatly enjoyed it (again, until the ending, which pretty much sucked). I was glad that the version of the book I had included a preview of his second book, about relocating to Amsterdam, as I felt that gave this one a bit of much needed closure. All in all, though I enjoyed this book enough that I will read his other one as well and have already recommended it to a couple of friends who I feel would appreciate his mindset.

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Review: Looking for Alaska

Looking for Alaska by John Green
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I have seen this book on several banned books lists so I selected it for my book club's banned book for this year. It didn't take long to see why it's been banned!

Tired of his life in public school, Miles "Pudge" Halter convinces his parents to send him to the same boarding school his father attended largely due to all the stories Miles has heard of his father's glory days while attending. Virtually friendless at home in Florida, upon his arrival in Alabama, christened "Pudge" by his roommate ("the Colonel"), Miles quickly becomes a part of the Colonel's circle of friends - ultimately falling for friend and fellow classmate, the troubled Alaska Young.

The book is told in the form of a countdown (138 days before, 129 days before, etc) with the reader not knowing what was being counted down. (Or maybe just me since I didn't read the cover to see what the book was about - hence my surprise it doesn't take place IN Alaska as I just assumed based on the title). As the story unfolded, I had a pretty good of what was going to happen - and I was mostly right as to what that was. The second half starts the clock over, this time counting up instead of down.

The first half of this book really sucked me in, though I found Pudge to be a bit too self-indulging and whiny in the second half. I have not read anything else by John Green, but "The Fault in Our Stars" is on my list, which made me nervous to read this one out of fear I wouldn't like it. The intentional vagueness of the tragic event in the book has left me wondering what really happened to Alaska, as it was meant to; I'm really glad I read the interview with John Green at the end of the book as I felt it made the book stronger to read what his thoughts were as he wrote it.

This book is definitely not a wholesome story but I don't feel it's entirely unrealistic either in terms of students seeing how far they can push their boundaries and wanting to act like adults while they are still in school. Conservative parents will have a hard time with letting their children read this one as will parents who fear their children are super impressionable and will emulate the actions they see other teens partaking in (yes, Dad, I mean you). But it's very well-written and while I can see why it's banned, it's a shame that it is.

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Review: Private London

Private London by James Patterson
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

2.5 So it turns out this is supposed to be the third book in the series, not the fourth, as a few of the main characters from this book are mentioned in "Games" in a such a way that there is little continuity between the two books and may as well have taken place in different detective agencies rather than the same one. Apparently, for "Games" Patterson and his co-author for that book wanted to go a different direction with the main character? I really don't know but perhaps having the same co-author throughout the series would help.

At any rate, on her 12th birthday, Hannah Shapiro was kidnapped and ultimately rescued by Private owner Jack Morgan just moments after being forced to watch the rape and murder of her mother. Sent to London with a somewhat new identity to attend school and placed in the care of Private's London office, Hannah is finishing her first year of college when she's kidnapped again.

With Jack stuck in L.A. under Federal watch as a material witness in some case that also doesn't seem to have any continuity with the rest of the series (unless I missed something), Jack relies on his head of the London office, Dan Carter (who was supposed to be covertly keeping tabs on Hannah) to get her back. In addition to the kidnapping, there appears to be a serial killer targeting young women and possibly harvesting their organs - which makes finding Hannah seem all that more dire. And the lead detective for the London police just happens to be Carter's ex-wife, Kirsty.

I don't know that I would say this was better or worse than the other London based book. I feel Dan Carter is a stronger character than Peter Knight, however, but in some regards Carter would have been too rough for that story line. The tension between Carter and Kirsty was realistic as they both recalled different elements of their marriage on what would have been their 10th anniversary, but the subplot of the serial killer almost seemed like fluff rather than really adding dimension to the book.

There were a couple of plot twists along the way that made for good listening but I also felt there were too many characters and it was hard to keep them all straight. So after awhile, I stopped trying. While Hannah's and the serial killer's plot lines were wrapped up, there were some loose ends that would indicate the original intent may have been for these characters to reappear so it's a little disappointing that won't happen based on what is revealed in "Games."

Sullivan is the third co-author in the first four books of this series, but is also the co-author in the next one as well so hopefully, "Berlin" will feel like it's part of the series, not more of a stand alone book that has some of the same characters as the books in the series that came before it.



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Review: The Return of an Oracle

The Return of an Oracle by D. Rose Taylor
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5 Stars I received this book for free from Amazon thanks to being friends with the author's mother who was helping to promote it. I was then hesitant to read it because what if I didn't like it and my friend asked what I thought?

This is a really hard book to review. Because I own it, it was one I kept setting down to read other (i.e. book club) books and then picked up when I was between other books. So while it took me nearly 7 months to read, it wasn't because I wasn't enjoying it; it was because I had to prioritize other books ahead of it.

My understanding is that it's self-published and that was pretty evident throughout. It would definitely be a much stronger book with some editing help and that did effect my overall rating of the book, though in time I did get used to Taylor's style and that did help the book flow better.

As for the story itself, I loved the premise! In a nutshell, the Greek gods have been laying dormant all these years, reincarnating as humans until they are needed to step back up as gods and save the planet from humans destroying it. That time has come, and Portland State University student Celeste learns she is the oracle destined to find all the gods and return their memories (and therefore their powers) to them.

I generally don't read fantasy novels so perhaps this has been done before. However, it is definitely not a premise of a book I have read before and I was greatly intrigued by it. There were times I wasn't sure if the audience was meant to be young adults or adults, as the writing tended to go back and forth in places, but overall, I really enjoyed the story and found myself wondering which god (or goddess) would be found next and what would happen once they'd all been assembled. And I give props to Ms. Taylor for her research - having been to a monastery in Kalambaka, Greece, I was impressed by how spot on her depiction was.

There was a section towards the end where I felt the book did go a little sideways, though I can't put my finger on exactly what I felt was weird and how it didn't quite jive, but then it seemed to right itself again. It was a fun read, both full of imagination with just enough information about the Greek gods to introduce readers to them (or remind them about!) without it becoming a history book.

My understanding is this is the first book in a trilogy and the cliffhanger at the end definitely had me wanting to message my friend and see if the second book is in the works. Even though I absolutely hate cliffhangers, I loved how this one was written. But given it was late at night, I refrained from asking and now I'm almost afraid to ask out of fear I'll be told there won't be a second book!

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Review: Where'd You Go, Bernadette

Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5 stars This one has been on my "to be read" list since 2013 so when it was suggested for one of our book club selections for this year, I added it to the calendar to finally get it off my list.

I'm really not sure how I feel about this book. I certainly didn't hate it, but I didn't love it. Yet I also don't feel ambivalent towards it either. It is the story of Bernadette Fox, once a rising star in the field of architecture who is now a somewhat reclusive house wife married to a star at Microsoft and mother to teen daughter, Bee.

Told in alternating voices mostly in the form of emails between characters, it focuses primarily on preparations for Bernadette and Elgin to take Bee to Antarctica as her reward for getting good grades and the drive for Bee's school to attract "Mercedes Moms" so they can become a better tiered school. Right before their trip is to take place, after a disastrous party for the school, Bernadette appears to vanish without a trace.

At first, the format of the book annoyed me and I wondered if the entire story was going to be told in alternating emails. But then about halfway through, I started to enjoy how the different voices factored into Bernadette's disappearance. It was definitely a unique approach to storytelling that would not work for a lot of books but made sense once it was revealed as to why it was being told in that manner.

As I continued to read, I wasn't sure how I ultimately wanted the book to end, though given the movie has come out, I feel the revised cover sort of gives it away. I still go back and forth with trying to decide if I'm happy with how it ended or if I wish it would have gone another way. I'm not dissatisfied with the ending, but rather, I would like it if there was an alternative ending as well that goes in the opposite direction.



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