I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell

By Tucker Max

Please don't waste your time.  Quite possibly the worst book I have ever read!  If I remember where I'd read the review that made me think this would be good, I'd boycott that, too.  But I can't remember.

If you enjoy reading about a self proclaimed asshole who thinks all women are whores and enjoys getting drunk and having sex with all of them, then by all means, please read this.  It's basically a manual for being an asshole.  I'm not easily offended, but I'm offended.  Maybe not offended.  Disgusted that there are women out there who let themselves be objectified by men.  And towards the end of this book, the women all knew he was writing a book about it.  They have a word for women like that... SKANK!

0.5 stars out of 5.

 ... only because I laughed until I cried when he was so drunk he couldn't get to the bathroom in time and had a case of explosive diarrhea all over a hotel lobby.  He has been banned for life from that chain...

Currently reading:  World and Town by Jen Gish 

Super Sad True Love Story

By Gary Shteyngart

Ugh.  That's all I can really say.  It takes place sometime in the future.  Exactly when, I'm not sure.  The 1980's and 2000's are talked about as though they're not that long ago, but I can't really pinpoint exactly when this was supposed to take place.  Apparently our country is at war with Venezuela and the soldiers are returning and not getting paid nor are they given the health care they were promised before the went.  No one can read or really converse.  They all have these devices that seem to be like our best cellphones on steroids.  So no one needs to talk.  Just point this device at someone and it tells you everything you need to know.  Libraries are closed because no one can read.  Books are considered ancient forms of media that smell bad.  People who have them are looked down upon.  The main male character is a wimpy sloth of a guy.  The main female character is a selfish bitch.  Hard to believe that two would move in the same circles, never mind have a romantic relationship.

Just skip this one.  I wish I did.

1 star out of 5.

Currently reading:  I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell by Tucker Max

Hunger Games Trilogy

   

By Suzanne Collins

Oh, Hunger Games, how you won me over!  I'm in a book club.  This should come as no surprise to anyone.  We're all, for the most part, teachers or librarians.  None of us had read Hunger Games, but we were all intrigued.  At first, I was uninterested because I knew it was set in what was formerly the United States and what was left after we ruined the planet.  I read the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld.  It had a similar setting, and I didn't love it.  I thought this was going to be the same.  I was wrong!

By the time I got to my book club meeting, I had 50 pages or so to go in the final book.  Yup, I read the whole series.  There were parts that were laugh out loud funny.  There were parts that were violent.  I just had to know how it ended!

**Spoiler Alert**  Now, I was definitely Team Peeta the whole time.  There was nothing wrong with Gale, but I looked at him more like her brother, not her lover.  Katniss did end up with Peeta.  But I'm not sure I'm ok with why she ended up with him.  And I know I'm not ok with her having babies after she spent her whole life being against it.

This series is intended for teens.  I'm wondering how they're going to do the movie (Ugh!  I'm so against all these books being turned into movies!).  There is a lot of violence.  How are they going to do it and have the intended audience be able to see it?  I read an interview in Entertainment Weekly with the man who is directing the movie version .  He seems committed to getting it a PG-13 rating.  We'll see...

4.5 out of 5 stars.

Currently reading:  Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart

Seven Year Switch

by Claire Cook

Jill Murray almost has her life together 7 years after her husband cleaned out their bank account and left her and their then 3 year old daughter, Anastasia.  For 7 years, she didn't know where to find Seth.  No child support.  No divorce.  They were living in her car when they went to Seth's parents for help, only to be told they were tired of cleaning up his messes.  Working several odd jobs in the travel and cooking industry to ensure Anastasia is never alone, Jill buys them a small house, but there is never enough money for extras.  And then Seth comes back, wanting to be a family again.  Anastasia welcomes her dad back with open arms, which of course, hurts Jill because she raised "Asia", as her dad now calls her, with no help from Seth and she's very resentful.  Who can blame her?

This had such great potential!  Jill wrestles with forgiving Seth and living as a family again.  And then there's Billy, who she meets during one of her odd jobs.  They had already been on a date when Seth returns.  Unsure of what to do, she forces Seth to be a parent so she can chaperone a girlfriends trip to Costa Rica.  In Costa Rica, she finally decides to walk away from Seth when she calls to check in and finds out that one of his old girl friends stopped by the house.  Deciding she could never really trust him, she decided they can be co-parents, but never a family.

All of this in less then 223 pages.  It was just too fluffy.  Nothing in life is ever resolved this neatly.  It was a nice story, but no where near realistic.  I was left wanting more.  I couldn't believe she ended it like that!  I didn't hate it, but I was disappointed.  If you don't want a deep story, then I think you will like it.


Currently reading:  Catching Fire (Hunger Games Series #2) by Suzanne Collins

Books and Things

     I'm still working on getting this to look right.  It's a work in progress...  Anyway, it took me a while to figure out what to call this thing.  I asked for suggestions on Facebook and narrowed it down to 'Secrets of a Librarian' and 'Tina's Book Nook' (suggested by Kristy and Danielle).  At least with this title, I can go off on a tangent and talk about things other then books on occasion!
     I read a lot.  I'm a librarian, so that should come as no surprise.  I like to talk about what I read, but most of the time, no one knows what I'm talking about.  Here, I can talk about the books I like and the books I don't really like.  I rarely hate any of the books I read.  Some I like more then others, but I don't really hate any.  Most of the books I'm going to talk about will be meant for adults.  But since I work with kids and most of the books I read for work are for kids, I'll talk about them on occasion, too!

Currently Reading: Seven Year Switch by Claire Cook