audiobook

BLAST FROM THE PAST BOOK REVIEW: 7th Heaven by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

/ E.A. Hoffmann / 5 Comments

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Title: 7th Heaven

Author: James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

When I read it: May, 2013

Genre: Thrillers, Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Crime

Link: Goodreads

I am currently reading the 17th installment of the Women’s Murder club. Since there were so many books ahead of the 17th one, I want to post a review of each one separately, instead of creating a monster post. Most of this post will be about the plot, so that when I get to the 17th installment, readers will be caught up, in case they did not read all the books.

You can read my review of the 1st book, 1st to Die, here.

You can read my review of the 2nd book, 2nd Chance, here.

You can read my review of the 3rd book, 3rd Degree here.

You can read my review of the 4th book, 4th of July here.

You can read my review of the 5th book, 5th Horseman here.

You can read my review of the 6th book, The 6th Target here.

The Writing: As with most of the James Patterson books, the writing is nothing special. Patterson’s books are classic beach reads. Quick and entertaining for a day at the beach.

The Audiobook Recording: Nothing to report.

Expectations/Recommendations: Since I have read many of Patterson’s books before, I knew what to expect, and I was not disappointed. If you are looking for a quick read, and aren’t expecting anything intellectual, this is the right book for you.

See below for the plot of the book, but be careful because there are several spoilers.

Continue reading →

BLAST FROM THE PAST BOOK REVIEW: The 6th Target by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

/ E.A. Hoffmann / 6 Comments

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Title: The 6th Target

Author: James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

When I read it: April, 2013

Genre: Thrillers, Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Crime

Link: Goodreads

I am currently reading the 17th installment of the Women’s Murder club. Since there were so many books ahead of the 17th one, I want to post a review of each one separately, instead of creating a monster post. Most of this post will be about the plot, so that when I get to the 17th installment, readers will be caught up, in case they did not read all the books.

You can read my review of the 1st book, 1st to Die, here.

You can read my review of the 2nd book, 2nd Chance, here.

You can read my review of the 3rd book, 3rd Degree here.

You can read my review of the 4th book, 4th of July here.

You can read my review of the 5th book, 5th Horseman here.

The Writing: As with most of the James Patterson books, the writing is nothing special. Patterson’s books are classic beach reads. Quick and entertaining for a day at the beach.

The Audiobook Recording: Nothing to report.

Expectations/Recommendations: Since I have read many of Patterson’s books before, I knew what to expect, and I was not disappointed. If you are looking for a quick read, and aren’t expecting anything intellectual, this is the right book for you.

See below for the plot of the book, but be careful because there are several spoilers.

Continue reading →

BLAST FROM THE PAST BOOK REVIEW: The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger by Stephen King

/ E.A. Hoffmann / 4 Comments

 

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Title: The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger

Author: Stephen King

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

When I read it: April, 2018

Genre: Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction

Link: Goodreads

Brief Summary of the Plot: The story centers around Roland, the last gunslinger, and his quest to find and kill the man in black, who for all intents and purposes is a sorcerer. The place where Roland lives is not “earth” exactly, but seems to be a separate dimension, parallel universe, or on a different timeline, it is hard to say. As Roland is passing a way station, a boy Jake appears from “earth”. Jake doesn’t know how he got to Roland’s timeline. The two of them set out to find the man in black together.

The Writing: As with all of Stephen King’s books, the writing was great.

The Audiobook Recording: Nothing to report.

Expectations/Recommendations: The Dark Tower series so far has been one of my least favorite from Stephen King. I gave it 3 stars out of 5 because while it was an entertaining book, I just didn’t love it. It’s not that the book is weird, because lets face it, most of King’s books are a little weird, but rather that I found myself getting lost. I didn’t understand who the man in black was, and why Roland was so intent on killing him. How really did this Jake kid fit in? And what was up with the Dark Tower? Maybe these things will be revealed in the next book.

BLAST FROM THE PAST BOOK REVIEW: 5th Horseman by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

/ E.A. Hoffmann / 7 Comments

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Title: 5th Horseman

Author: James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

When I read it: September, 2012

Genre: Thrillers, Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Crime

Link: Goodreads

I am currently reading the 17th installment of the Women’s Murder club. Since there were so many books ahead of the 17th one, I want to post a review of each one separately, instead of creating a monster post. Most of this post will be about the plot, so that when I get to the 17th installment, readers will be caught up, in case they did not read all the books.

You can read my review of the 1st book, 1st to Die, here.

You can read my review of the 2nd book, 2nd Chance, here.

You can read my review of the 3rd book, 3rd Degree here.

You can read my review of the 4th book, 4th of July here.

The Writing: As with most of the James Patterson books, the writing is nothing special. Patterson’s books are classic beach reads. Quick and entertaining for a day at the beach.

The Audiobook Recording: Nothing to report.

Expectations/Recommendations: Since I have read many of Patterson’s books before, I knew what to expect, and I was not disappointed. If you are looking for a quick read, and aren’t expecting anything intellectual, this is the right book for you.

See below for the plot of the book, but be careful because there are several spoilers.

Continue reading →

BLAST FROM THE PAST BOOK REVIEW: 4th of July by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

/ E.A. Hoffmann / 8 Comments

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Title: 4th of July

Author: James Patterson and Maxine Paetro

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

When I read it: September, 2012

Genre: Thrillers, Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Crime

Link: Goodreads

I am currently reading the 17th installment of the Women’s Murder club. Since there were so many books ahead of the 17th one, I want to post a review of each one separately, instead of creating a monster post. Most of this post will be about the plot, so that when I get to the 17th installment, readers will be caught up, in case they did not read all the books.

You can read my review of the 1st book, 1st to Die, here.

You can read my review of the 2nd book, 2nd Chance, here.

You can read my review of the 3rd book, 3rd Degree here.

The Writing: As with most of the James Patterson books, the writing is nothing special. Patterson’s books are classic beach reads. Quick and entertaining for a day at the beach.

The Audiobook Recording: Nothing to report.

Expectations/Recommendations: Since I have read many of Patterson’s books before, I knew what to expect, and I was not disappointed. If you are looking for a quick read, and aren’t expecting anything intellectual, this is the right book for you.

See below for the plot of the book, but be careful because there are several spoilers.

Continue reading →

BLAST FROM THE PAST BOOK REVIEW: 3rd Degree by James Patterson and Andrew Gross

/ E.A. Hoffmann / 9 Comments

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Title: 3rd Degree

Author: James Patterson and Andrew Gross

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

When I read it: August, 2012

Genre: Thrillers, Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Crime

Link: Goodreads

I am currently reading the 17th installment of the Women’s Murder club. Since there were so many books ahead of the 17th one, I want to post a review of each one separately, instead of creating a monster post. Most of this post will be about the plot, so that when I get to the 17th installment, readers will be caught up, in case they did not read all the books.

You can read my review of the 1st book, 1st to Die, here.

You can read my review of the 2nd book, 2nd Chance, here.

The Writing: As with most of the James Patterson books, the writing is nothing special. Patterson’s books are classic beach reads. Quick and entertaining for a day at the beach.

The Audiobook Recording: Nothing to report.

Expectations/Recommendations: Since I have read many of Patterson’s books before, I knew what to expect, and I was not disappointed. If you are looking for a quick read, and aren’t expecting anything intellectual, this is the right book for you.

See below for the plot of the book, but be careful because there are several spoilers.

Continue reading →

BLAST FROM THE PAST BOOK REVIEW: 2nd Chance by James Patterson and Andrew Gross

/ E.A. Hoffmann / 10 Comments

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Title: 2nd Chance

Author: James Patterson and Andrew Gross

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

When I read it: August, 2012

Genre: Thrillers, Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Crime

Link: Goodreads

I am currently reading the 17th installment of the Women’s Murder club. Since there were so many books ahead of the 17th one, I want to post a review of each one separately, instead of creating a monster post. Most of this post will be about the plot, so that when I get to the 17th installment, readers will be caught up, in case they did not read all the books.

You can read my review of the 1st book, 1st to Die, here.

The Writing: As with most of the James Patterson books, the writing is nothing special. Patterson’s books are classic beach reads. Quick and entertaining for a day at the beach.

The Audiobook Recording: Nothing to report.

Expectations/Recommendations: Since I have read many of Patterson’s books before, I knew what to expect, and I was not disappointed. If you are looking for a quick read, and aren’t expecting anything intellectual, this is the right book for you.

See below for the plot of the book.

Continue reading →

BLAST FROM THE PAST BOOK REVIEW: 1st to Die by James Patterson

/ E.A. Hoffmann / 11 Comments

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Title: 1st to Die

Author: James Patterson

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

When I read it: August, 2012

Genre: Thrillers, Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Crime

Link: Goodreads

I am currently reading the 17th installment of the Women’s Murder club. Since there were so many books ahead of the 17th one, I want to post a review of each one separately, instead of creating a monster post. Most of this post will be about the plot, so that when I get to the 17th installment, readers will be caught up, in case they did not read all the books.

The Writing: As with most of the James Patterson books, the writing is nothing special. Patterson’s books are classic beach reads. Quick and entertaining for a day at the beach.

The Audiobook Recording: Nothing to report.

Expectations/Recommendations: Since I have read many of Patterson’s books before, I knew what to expect, and I was not disappointed. If you are looking for a quick read, and aren’t expecting anything intellectual, this is the right book for you.

See below for the plot of the book.

Continue reading →

BOOK REVIEW: Calypso by David Sedaris

/ E.A. Hoffmann / 1 Comment

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Title: Calypso

Author: David Sedaris

Book Length (Audiobook): 6 hours 45 mins

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Genre: Humor, Nonfiction, Essays, Memoir

Link: Goodreads

Brief Summary of the Plot: Calypso is a series of essays or stories. Most of the stories are about Sedaris and his family. Goodreads says “When he buys a beach house on the Carolina coast, Sedaris envisions long, relaxing vacations spent playing board games and lounging in the sun with those he loves most. And life at the Sea Section, as he names the vacation home, is exactly as idyllic as he imagined, except for one tiny, vexing realization: it’s impossible to take a vacation from yourself.”

The Writing: The writing is excellent. David Sedaris is probably one of the funniest authors I have ever read. I find myself laughing out loud at some of the many stories (I usually never laugh while reading, even if its supposed to be funny). For example, I particularly liked his story about getting a fit bit. Once he got the fit bit, he was obsessed with getting steps. Starting out with 10,000 he soon graduated to 20,000 steps a day, then 30,000, all the way to 60,000 steps! From walking around his tiny Sussex village (he was living in England at the time), to picking trash up off the road, he would find things to do just to make the steps. When his fitbit broke, he asked himself “Walking twenty-five miles, or even running up the stairs and back, suddenly seemed pointless, since without the steps being counted and registered, what use were they?” He promptly purchased another one.

The Audiobook Recording: the audiobook recording is also really great. The audiobook is read by the author, which makes it extra special, because, well, he is just a super funny guy. Parts of the audiobook seem to be recordings of his stand up comedy acts. My favorite stand up act was about the things people said around the world to curse out another person during a road rage attack. It went something like this: “The Romanians really do lead the world when it comes to cursing. “What have you got for me?” I asked a woman from Transylvania who was now living in Vienna. “Shove your hand up my ass and jerk off my shit,” she offered. I was stunned. “Anyone else would say, ‘Shove your hand up my ass,’ and then run out of imagination,” I told her. “You people, though, you just keep going. And that’s what makes you the champions you are.” Maybe it’s not too late to learn how to drive, I thought, watching as she walked out the door and onto the unsuspecting streets of Vienna, this poet, this queen, this glittering jewel in a city of flint.”

Expectations/Recommendations: I previously read another book by David Sedaris (Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls) back in 2017, and I remember liking it. This book surpassed my expectations. I would definitely recommend it.

BOOK REVIEW: Black Klansman by Ron Stallworth

/ E.A. Hoffmann / 2 Comments

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Title: Black Klansman

Author: Ron Stallworth

Book Length (Audiobook): 5 hours 52 mins

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Genre: Memoir, Nonfiction

Link: Goodreads

Brief Summary of the Plot: In 1978 Ron Stallworth was the first African-American Intelligence Unit Detective in the Colorado Springs Police Department. As part of his job, he scanned the daily newspapers for any reports or information concerning hints of subversive activities which could impact the welfare or safety of Colorado Springs. One day he saw a classified ad for the KKK. He answered the ad, pretending to be a white man and racist. When the KKK called him back, it sparked a year-long undercover investigation into the KKK, during which time a white undercover cop pretended to be Stallworth in person, while Stallworth continued to be himself over the telephone.

As per Goodreads (link above), “Black Klansman is an amazing true story that unfolds like a crime thriller and a searing portrait of a divided America and the extraordinary heroes who dare to fight back.”

What I thought: Overall, the book was good. It was a really interesting subject, and one that I had never heard of before. The writing was good and so was the audiobook version. If I had to compare it to the other memoirs I have read this year so far, I would say it ranks toward the bottom, but that’s not to say this book is not good…I just read some really fantastic books in January, 2019.