The Book Worm's Library

About the Book: Meet Dexter Morgan, a polite wolf in sheep’s clothing. He’s handsome and charming, but something in his past has made him abide by a different set of rules. He’s a serial killer whose one golden rule makes him immensely likeable: he only kills bad people. And his job as a blood splatter expert for the Miami police department puts him in the perfect position to identify his victims. But when a series of brutal murders bearing a striking similarity to his own style start turning up, Dexter is caught between being flattered and being frightened — of himself or some other fiend. Book Review: ★★★★★★ This is a book that was surprising in its originality. For many of my frequent readers, you know that I have some inherent dislikes about mystery novels — mainly because they so frequently follow a standard theme. There is very little variation. It just seems like the plot, crime, characters, even the settings always revolve around the same old story line. Which, of course, makes for a contrived feeling to the reader, especially if you have read a lot of these types of books. Knowing that this is one that was turned…

About the Book: Stalin’s Soviet Union strives to be a paradise for its workers, providing for all of their needs. One of its fundamental pillars is that its citizens live free from the fear of ordinary crime and criminals. But in this society, millions do live in fear . . . of the State. Death is a whisper away. The mere suspicion of ideological disloyalty-owning a book from the decadent West, the wrong word at the wrong time-sends millions of innocents into the Gulags or to their executions. Defending the system from its citizens is the MGB, the State Security Force. And no MGB officer is more courageous, conscientious, or idealistic than Leo Demidov. A war hero with a beautiful wife, Leo lives in relative luxury in Moscow, even providing a decent apartment for his parents. His only ambition has been to serve his country. For this greater good, he has arrested and interrogated. Then the impossible happens. A different kind of criminal-a murderer-is on the loose, killing at will. At the same time, Leo finds himself demoted and denounced by his enemies, his world turned upside down, and every belief he’s ever held shattered. The only way to save…

Posted By kahlee on September 19, 2009 It isn’t very often that I find books that I don’t like, because I memoryalways approach books with the opinion that even if I hate the story — every book has something for the reader to take away. Every book is a growth process, and an opportunity to learn something, even if it is only a little more about yourself. However, this is a book that I didn’t particularly care for. Reason being — I felt like the whole thing was under told. The writing in this book left me feeling like Ms. Edwards had a great idea for a story — but didn’t get much farther than the framework of a book, and then called it good. It is the story of a young couple, expecting their first child. On the night of one of the worst storms of history, they find themselves isolated from the city, and unable to reach the hospital. So the father, a doctor by profession, ends up delivering the baby himself. The surprise is in the fact that there are twins, and the mother has a very traumatic birth. When one of the twins is born with…

About the Book: “David McCullough tells the story of those who marched with General George Washington in the year of the Declaration of Independence – when the whole American cause was riding on their success, without which all hope for independence would have been dashed and the noble ideals of the Declaration would have amounted to little more than words on paper.” “Based on extensive research in both American and British archives, 1776 is the story of Americans in the ranks, men of every shape, size, and color, farmers, schoolteachers, shoemakers, no-accounts, and mere boys turned soldiers. And it is the story of the King’s men, the British commander, William Howe, and his highly disciplined redcoats who looked on their rebel foes with contempt and fought with a valor too little known.” “Here also is the Revolution as experienced by American Loyalists, Hessian mercenaries, politicians, preachers, traitors, spies, men and women of all kinds caught in the paths of war.” “At the center of the drama, with Washington, are two young American patriots, who, at first, knew no more of war than what they had read in books – Nathanael Greene, a Quaker who was made a general at thirty-three,…

About the Book: “Where they have burned books, they will end in burning human beings,” declared German poet Heinrich Heine. This book identifies the regime-sponsored, ideologically driven, and systemic destruction of books and libraries in the 20th century that often served as a prelude or accompaniment to the massive human tragedies that have characterized a most violent century. Using case studies of libricide committed by Nazis, Serbs in Bosnia, Iraqis in Kuwait, Maoists during the Cultural Revolution in China, and Chinese Communists in Tibet, Knuth argues that the destruction of books and libraries by authoritarian regimes was sparked by the same impulses toward negation that provoked acts of genocide or ethnocide. Readers will learn why some people–even those not subject to authoritarian regimes–consider the destruction of books a positive process. Knuth promotes understanding of the reasons behind extremism and patterns of cultural terrorism, and concludes that what is at stake with libricide is nothing less than the preservation and continuation of the common cultural heritage of the world. Anyone committed to freedom of expression and humanistic values will embrace this passionate and valuable book. Book Review: ★★★★★★ This is a great book, for those interested in the subject of censorship….

About the Book: The surgeon-as-rock-star mystique seems like it must have come straight out of Hollywood, but the myth had to begin more concretely. A good candidate is Minnesota’s Dr. Walt Lillehei, the hard-working, hard-playing father of open-heart surgery, whose life is told in garish color in King of Hearts by journalist G. Wayne Miller. From his early brilliance, recovery from deadly lymphatic cancer, and dramatic repair of seemingly hopeless heart cases to the disintegration of his career at its peak thanks to an army of personal enemies and conviction on tax evasion counts, his story is consistently surprising and engaging. Fast cars, hard drinking, and plenty of women filled his time when he wasn’t turning lives around with a few strokes of his scalpel, and the reader will find the surgeon’s actions almost unbelievable–rarely endearing, but occasionally saintly. Combining this melodramatic biography with the fascinating story of the struggle for open-heart surgery, considered impossible little more than a generation ago, Miller makes a compelling case that the daring scientist was simply another side of the arrogant, absent-minded playboy. No ordinary biography, King of Hearts is breathless reading–you’ll find yourself surfacing every few chapters to remind yourself its nonfiction. –Rob…

Title: The Sleeping Dictionary Series: Daughters of Bengal Author: Sujata Massey Genre: Historical Fiction Publisher: Gallery Books Release Date: August, 2013 Format: Softcover Pages: 528 Source: Goodreads YOU ASK FOR MY NAME, THE REAL ONE, AND I CANNOT TELL. IT IS NOT FOR LACK OF EFFORT. In 1930, a great ocean wave blots out a Bengali village, leaving only one survivor, a young girl. As a maidservant in a British boarding school, Pom is renamed Sarah and discovers her gift for languages. Her private dreams almost die when she arrives in Kharagpur and is recruited into a secretive, decadent world. Eventually, she lands in Calcutta, renames herself Kamala, and creates a new life rich in books and friends. But although success and even love seem within reach, she remains trapped by what she is . . . and is not. As India struggles to throw off imperial rule, Kamala uses her hard-won skills for secrecy, languages, and reading the unspoken gestures of those around her to fight for her country’s freedom and her own happiness. Buy from Amazon.com Review: Most readers can explain why they did or did not like a book. And while on the surface those reasons may…

This is a book that has been recommended to me, I can’t count how many times. And I admit I was a societylittle surprised at the excitement that seemed to exist around it. And, if the truth be told, I have actually started this book at least six times, and every time I have never been able to get past the first half of the book. The format is what I was finding difficult to follow, and frustrating to try and make sense out of. The story is about an author that is seeking a new book subject, when she is contacted by a man that had obtained one of her books, and wrote her to get more information about the author. She ends up finding her new book to write through the history of the occupation of the island of Guernsey, during World War II. The story is developed completely through letters, and journal entries, and this is what I was struggling with. I had a hard time tracking the story because it was hard to follow all of the different characters. The character development through letters of strangers is sometimes difficult to grasp. I have a hard time…

Title: The Lost Sisterhood Author: Anne Fortier Genre: Mystery Publisher: Ballantine Books Release Date: March, 2014 Format: E-Book Pages: 585 Source: Goodreads The Lost Sisterhood tells the story of Diana, a young and aspiring–but somewhat aimless–professor at Oxford. Her fascination with the history of the Amazons, the legendary warrior women of ancient Greece, is deeply connected with her own family’s history; her grandmother in particular. When Diana is invited to consult on an archeological excavation, she quickly realizes that here, finally, may be the proof that the Amazons were real. The Amazons’ “true” story–and Diana’s history–is threaded along with this modern day hunt. This historical back-story focuses on a group of women, and more specifically on two sisters, whose fight to survive takes us through ancient Athens and to Troy, where the novel reinvents our perspective on the famous Trojan War. The Lost Sisterhood features another group of iconic, legendary characters, another grand adventure–you’ll see in these pages that Fortier understands the kind of audience she has built with Juliet, but also she’s delivering a fresh new story to keep that audience coming back for more. Buy from Amazon.com Review: OK — I admit it. I don’t always adhere to…

I actually enjoyed this book better than I did the other work by Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code. This book seems to offer more of a tangible mystery than I felt the The Da Vinci Code did.  Also, I felt that the main character — Robert Langdon — was much more developed in this book. This book delves into the background and history of the Catholic church.  Set in the Vatican, during Enclave — the story is much more in depth, and more involved than the follow up novel.  I found the mystery to be truly interesting to try and figure out.  And it still offered all the subjects that made The Da Vinci Code a hit.  Symbols, murders, a serial killer and the very obscure elements of history that really get the reader involved. In this particular book not only does Mr. Brown cover the Enclave of the Catholic church, but there is also the Illuminati, Cearn, the development of the Internet, and even the debate of the merging of science and religion — and so many other obscure facts that the reader finds themselves challenging their knowledge of history, while trying to solve the mystery. Pitted against time, as priests are dying on a…