THE PRINCESS BRIDE

By: William Goldman

Plot: The book describes itself best: "Fencing. Fighting. Torture. Poison. True love. Hate. Revenge. Giants. Hunters. Bad men. Good men. Beautifulest ladies. Snakes. Spiders. Beasts of all natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave men. Coward men. Strongest men. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passion. Miracles."

Thoughts: I was in seventh grade when I first got this book for Christmas. I had it in my English class to start reading it and Daniel Smith (one of the smartest kids in our grade) saw that I had it. I remember he picked it up, looked at it, and then proceeded to tell me that I had an abridged copy. And I believed him! For YEARS! YEARS! Honestly for many, many years I thought that there was some longer version out there with a bunch of pages about women packing. Honestly I was kinda bummed about it because who wants to read the abridged version of a book? I don't even remember how long ago it was that I read something about the book and realized I'd been tricked! I never even figured it out myself! Well played Daniel Smith, well played.

Rereading the book now, 15+ years later, and actually getting the book, I loved it. I enjoyed it way more now, than when I read it in seventh grade. The movie is obviously amazing and a classic, but the book is just as amazing. My favorite parts were probably the ones that weren't included in the movie. I loved Fezzik and Indigo's backstories and childhoods. I also loved them actually traveling through the Zoo of Death, one of the main things not in the movie, and there aren't many. And of course all of Goldman's interjections. I liked all the weird stuff he put in and I'm still mad about the reunion scene. Can I still send a postcard to that address? I also liked reading about his round son and how he waddled around.

Favorite Quotes: "Life isn't fair, it's just fairer than death, that's all."

"Life is pain. Anyone who says otherwise is selling something."

Rating: 5/5 It's almost like he's making fun of all the classic love stories, while writing one at the same time.

THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY

By: Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows

Plot: The book consists of letters written between the main character Juliet and members of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. (There's some other people thrown in there too.)

Thoughts: I read this a few years ago and had to read it again so I could watch the Netflix movie. I'm glad to report that it was just as good as I remember it being. Sometimes when I go back and read a book I really liked, it just isn't as good as I thought it was. Maybe that's why I haven't been re-reading as many books lately.

All I could really remember about the book was that it was told through letters and I liked it. I also didn't think she actually went to Guernsey until the end, so I was glad it didn't take that long to get her there. It's different reading a book that is only told through letters, because you're getting everything after the fact. It was done really well though and didn't detract from the story at all. Reading about the town and the people in it, is like watching an episode of the Gilmore Girls. Just swap the book club with the town hall meetings and it's basically the same! Which is great.

The main character Juliet is just so likable. She is witty and smart and actually reads like a real person which isn't always the case. I liked mostly all the characters in the book, but Juliet is definitely my favorite. The book does take place right after WWII so it's not all lighthearted. The whole story line with Elizabeth was pretty depressing. It also made me think I need to really work on my food storage.

Favorite Quotes: "Reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad books."

"My worries travel around in my head on their well worn path."

Rating: 5/5 I love this book. I did NOT, however, enjoy the Netflix movie. They completely dulled the Juliet character, and made the whole story boring. 

CRAZY RICH ASIANS

 By: Kevin Kwan

Plot: About some crazy rich Asians of course! Rachel goes to Singapore with her boyfriend of two years, Nicholas, to meet his family for the first time. They are insanely rich and snobbish.

My Thoughts: Now this is the summer read I was looking for. Nothing too heavy, a fast easy read, and from the plot description alone you can probably perfectly predict how the entire book is going to go. Girl meets boy's family, family is mean to girl, girl leaves boy, boy chooses girl over family, the end. Predictable as it was, I really enjoyed reading this book. I liked that it was told from the perspective of so many different people. It's not really fast paced, but I never really felt like the story was dragging.

 I was almost more interested in Astrid's story line than the main plot. I was waiting for more of her story. I also liked the story arc of Rachel's dad. I know it was a way to get them back together, but it also was part of the book that wasn't so predictable. Unfortunately, I feel like I'll forget about the book in a couple months or so, but it was still fun while it lasted. I would definitely pick up the next two.

Rating: 3.5 This isn't great literature for sure, but it's pretty entertaining. Now do I risk watching the movie?

MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS

By: Agatha Christie

Plot: Follows Detective Hercule Poirot as he solves the murder on the Orient Express! I mean what else could it be about?

My Thoughts: This is the first Agatha Christie book I've ever read and I was not disappointed!  I wanted to read something of hers and since this was made into a movie not that long ago, it was the easiest to find at Barnes and Noble. I'm glad though, because I really enjoyed this book. I was a little worried when I saw that this book is part of a series, kind of. This isn't the first book with the main character, Detective Hercule Poirot. There may have been things that went over my head because this was the first book I read, but nothing that was too important to the plot.

 It was an easy read, apart from all the French. My one year of college French did not help me out much as I read the book. There were some phrases I had to google. I'm also not sure I was saying the main character's name right in my head the whole time. I liked how the novel was structured. It's very straight to the point, like here's the murder, now all the evidence, and then the solution.

I was kind of surprised they would make this book into a movie. This isn't exactly what I would call a thriller. It takes place on the train the whole time, and is basically just a lot of talking, not much action. There were a lot of people to keep track of and I was confused who they were talking about sometimes. I think it'd be almost impossible for anyone to figure out the ending, but I was happy with the way it ended.

Favorite Quotes: "At a small table, sitting very upright, was one of the ugliest old ladies he had ever seen. It was an ugliness of distinction--it fascinated rather than repelled."

Rating: 4/5 I really liked it. Now what Agatha Christie book do I read next?

ANNIHILATION

By: Jeff Vandermeer

Plot: Four women: the surveyor, an anthropologist, a psychologist and a biologist, make up the twelfth expedition into Area X. What is Area X? Good question. The story is narrated by the biologist, whose name you never learn because there are no names in Area X.

My Thoughts: I totally just read this book because the movie is coming out. I'd never heard of it before but was intrigued after seeing the trailer. All that I knew about this book was from watching the trailer. The book starts out right in the middle of the action, so you don't know what exactly is going on at first. But then it's kind of like that for the rest of the book too. I kind of love that about it though because it's unpredictable and you want to keep reading just to see what will happen next. There is not a ton of back story, but you eventually learn more and more about what the biologist is doing there.

You also never really know what is happening because the narrator is leaving stuff out and she basically admits as much. Speaking of the narrator, the biologist is kind of a weird character. She doesn't show really any emotional about all of this loony stuff that is happening and doesn't seemed phased by anything. It almost seems like she belongs there. Being a scientist, she is really clinical about how she describes everything.

The ending was... weird. I still feel like I don't know what happened. There was no closure, no answers, and just more questions. The biologist would be describing something, and I'd still have no idea what she was describing. I wish the ending would have felt a little more conclusive rather then so open ended. It is a series though so I was suspecting as much. (Also, is her husband a dolphin now, or what?)

Rating: 3/5 This is a really fast, easy read. I would also recommend NOT seeing the movie because it was wacko and pretty much the only similarity is in the name.  

AMERICAN SNIPER

By: Chris Kyle (With Jim DeFelice and Scott McEwen)

Plot: Autobiography of Chris Kyle.  He was a Navy Seal sniper and has the most recorded kills in U.S. history. The book focuses mainly on his time spent in the military, including multiple deployments to Iraq.

My Thoughts: It was kind of sad reading this with the knowledge that he has since passed away. To read about all the things that he went through and survived, only to be murdered back in the states when he was only trying to help someone out. So sad.

He starts out the novel with his background and how he got into the military. I thought it was interesting that he was turned away at first. The story really picks up when he starts training.

I loved reading the inserts from his wife's side of the story. The only problem is they were just so random and sometimes had absolutely nothing to do with what he was talking about at the time. So even though I enjoyed reading them, they kind of took me out of his story. I wish they had been better placed throughout the novel.

I'm not sure how I felt about his attitude throughout the novel. I can understand his views on all the lives that he took. I believe that he killed a lot of truly terrible people. He didn't (and probably couldn't) feel any regret. Which I think is understandable being in the position he was in, otherwise how could you live with all that remorse? I did wish he would have shown more compassion about certain things though. When he punch the mentally handicapped boy for example. But at the same time I've never been in a war and have no idea what it would feel like in that situation, so in his mind it was probably justified. It's not like he purposely did it. I mean when you hear about men who hide behind their daughters or send a child out to pick up a weapon it's understandable how he only saw them as the "bad guys".

I really didn't like how he made his wife feel. He seemed to have such a caviler attitude about death at first and didn't understand how much it would hurt his wife if he were to die. That definitely bugged me. It was also heartbreaking to read about how he would value his service over his family. Obviously he loved his family, but he loved being a Seal more.

Favorite Quotes: "Why a ball cap? Ninety percent of being cool is looking cool. And you look so much cooler with a ball cap."

"Great way to fight a war - be prepared to defend yourself for winning."

"I signed up to protect this country. I do not choose the wars."

Rating: 3/5 Very fascinating read. I learned more about what was happening in Iraq from this book than I ever could from any news broadcast. He is definitely an American hero in my eyes.

READY PLAYER ONE

By: Ernest Cline

Plot Summary: In the year 2044 there is a virtual reality like video game called the OASIS. The creator of the game, Halliday, has died and is passing on his huge fortune, along with control over the OASIS, to whoever can solve a riddle/quest that he setup before his death.

My Thoughts: I can't imagine how hard it is to write about someone playing video games and actually make it interesting. I thought Cline did a pretty good job. There is a lot of background information and explanations about different things which I didn't mind and found kind of interesting but I can see how some people would find that boring to read. There was definitely a lot of world building but there is action too.

My big problem with the novel was that it seemed like the main character, Wade, got through everything so easily. It was always some game that he had mastered years ago, or a movie he had seen a million times, or some random fact about Halliday's life that he knew all about. I get that he's had five years to prepare for this, but still. The only difficult part for him was solving the riddles to figure out where the gates were. Problems would come up and he would have a way too convenient way around them. And his plans never really went wrong.

I liked and didn't like Wade's relationship with Art3mis. I loved the scene where they first meet and their whole interaction. And then.... they never really saw each other again! I mean he mentions all the times that they've hung out but only in passing. There are random emails but those weren't very exciting. I just really liked them together so I wanted more! Is that too much to ask? I mean, yes they eventually get more time together but by then it's just too little too late. Obviously, writing about relationships is not Cline's strong point.

Favorite Quote: "I was afraid, for all of my life, right up until I knew it was ending. That was when I realized, as terrifying and painful as reality can be, it's also the only place where you can find true happiness."

Rating: 4/5 I enjoyed reading it, and if you like video games and the eighties, this is definitely the book for you.