Lisa's Review: Bad Guys

Bad Guys by Linwood Barclay

My Rating: 3 of 5 Stars

Bad Guys is the second in Linwood Barclay's Zack Walker series. After finishing and enjoying Bad Move a few weeks ago, Bad guys immediately went on my 'to read' list.

In Bad guys, Zack has taken a hiatus from science fiction writing to writing feature articles for the newspaper. In research for an article, he
finds himself tagging along with a PI for a stake-out. In comedic fashion, a series of unfortunate events unfolds & Zack finds himself trying to solve a crime. If that weren't enough, the ever safety conscious Zack is also trying to appease his uneasy feeling of his daughter's 'stalker'.

Bad Guys contained a lot of what I really enjoyed about Bad Move - a lot of things that happened were completely predictable, but Barclay's writing was entertaining and comedic. While reading, the mention of one thing definitely made you think..."how will this be used later in the book?". This plays into the predictability, but I also think makes it satisfying that Barclay really ties up all loose ends.

I really appreciated the humorous parts of Bad Guys - , the true "Bad Guy" has an obsession with Barbies (really, it's not weird, rather a bit clever)...and just an example of what made me laugh out loud:

"Where's your gun?" I asked.
"Tucked into the back of my pants," he said. I looked around, saw it, couldn't help but think that he had a butt sticking out of his butt. Funny how the mind works.

Yes, childish, I know, but makes me laugh...I look forward to Zack Walker #3.   

This is my thirteenth book read for the 7th Annual Canadian Book Challenge. Yeah, that means I finished!!

Lisa's Review: Owls in the Family

Owls in the Family by Farley Mowat

My Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
      
With the recent news of Farley Mowat's passing, I wanted to add one of his books onto my Canadian Book Challenge reading list. I have fond memories of my third grade teacher reading Owls in the Family to my class many moons ago. I didn't recall many details other than the fact there were many fun antics told by the main character about having owls as pets.

After finishing my read of Owls in the Family yesterday, I remembered why my 'third grade self' enjoyed it so much. The telling of the tales of Billy, a young boy living in the prairies in Saskatchewan, and his quest to add an owl to his menagerie of family pets. The first part of the story tells how he manages to get Wol and Weeps as his two pet owls. The second half of the story is all about the fun and mischievousness that follows having owls as pets (or really members of the family) as they interact with the other pets, the family, and members of the community.

This is my twelfth book read for the 7th Annual Canadian Book Challenge.

Lisa's Review: Bad Move

Bad Move by Linwood Barclay

My Rating: 4 of 5 Stars

After reading my first Linwood Barclay novel a few weeks ago, No Time for Goodbye, I knew I wanted to read more from Barclay, so decided to go back to the beginning and read his first novel, Bad Move.

Bad Move is the first of the Zack Walker series - Zack is a science fiction writer, husband, father of two teenagers, safety obsessed person, and self proclaimed jerk (he uses a stronger word than that in the book though). As a result of his obsession with safety that he convinces his family to move out of the danger infested city and into the safety of the burbs. It seems though, despite Zack's best intentions, he just can't seem to stay out of trouble, and a series of one bad event after another ensues.

My rating of this book is based purely on entertainment value. This is not the best mystery I've ever read, but I thought Barclay did a clever thing here with a balance of suspense-like plot, and humor. Many times I found myself laughing out loud. And the plot, once it really got going kept me turning the pages. Parts of the plot were quite predictable, but given how I enjoyed the comedic bits, I'd give that a pass. I'll be looking forward to see what capers Zack gets into in the next book in the series, Bad Guys.

Sidebar...I hate snakes, petrified of them actually. I can't even look at pictures of snakes. If someone talks about snakes, it's possible I'll have a snake nightmare that night. There is a very large snake that is a part of this book, thank goodness in small quantities, but I did find myself wanting to skip these parts.       

This is my eleventh book read for the 7th Annual Canadian Book Challenge.

Lisa's Review: Coming Home

Coming Home: Stories from the Northwest Territories
Forward by Richard Van Camp

My Rating: 3 of 5 Stars

Coming Home is a collection of 17 short stories (11 fiction and 6 non-fiction) from authors in the Northwest Territories. The authors range from very experienced to newbies.

This is only my second time reading a collection of short stories. My first experience was not a favorable one, so I wasn't sure if short stories is a genre for me. After finishing Coming Home, I'm definitely not ready to throw in the towel on short stories - I found this collection was quite enjoyable to read. I liked the different range and types of stories presented - from gaining historical perspective, to picturing the landscape of the NWT, to more modern stories. I also appreciated that each story was followed by a short bio of the author.

A few of the stories that I enjoyed most:

• Born a Girl by Richard Van Camp (fiction); A heart-wrenching story of being different, bullying, and the revealing consequences 
• Haunted Hill Mine by Cathy Jewison (fiction); An amusing story of a questionable entrepreneur who runs a haunted tour business. I was impressed with how the author painted such distinct characters in just a few pages. I was amused & satisfied by the ending. 
• Beauty of the Butte by Karen McColl (non-fiction); This story gave me a very vivid picture of the beautiful scenery as a group of friends make a weekend summit of Nahanni Butte.
• Children of the Strike by Jamesie Fournier (non-fiction); The author recounts this story of the Giant Mine strike & labor dispute in the early '90s (his father worked at the mine). This story compelled me to read a little further into the history of these events, as I can't recall having seen them in the news.     

This is my tenth book read for the 7th Annual Canadian Book Challenge. I also have to give a shout out to John Mutford who runs the challenge & read the submissions and helped pick the stories to be included in this collection.

Lisa's Review: Shoeless Joe

Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella

My Rating: 5 of 5 Stars

In planning out books to read for the 7th Annual Canadian Reading Challenge, I have to thank John, over at the Book Mine Set for giving me the revelation that: a) Shoeless Joe is the book that the movie Field of Dreams was based on and b) author, W. P. Kinsella, is Canadian (I feel like such a 'bad' Canadian not having known these facts before). Since Field of Dreams is one of my favorite movies (I've lost track of how many times I've seen it...the story never gets old for me), Shoeless Joe immediately went on my challenge list.

Shoeless Joe tells the story of Ray Kinsella, an Iowan farmer with a passion for baseball. Despite being financially on the verge of losing his farm, he is compelled to build a ball park in his cornfield after hearing a mysterious baseball announcers' voice tell him "If you build it, he will come". Ray doesn't exactly know why he is doing this, but he just knows this is what he must do. Once finished, the ball park magically beckons Shoeless Joe Jackson and the rest of the Unlucky Eight who were banned from baseball in the Chicago Black Sox scandal out on the field. And that is just the beginning of the story...Ray hears additional instructions from the mystical announcer and more magic unfolds.

This is, quite simply put, a beautifully written book. Kinsella's descriptions are thoughtful and vivid, bringing everything to life:
"As I step out onto the verandah, I hear the steady drone of the crowd, like bees humming on a white afternoon, and the voices of the vendors, like crows cawing. A ground mist, like wisps of gauze, snakes in slow circular motions just above the grass...Moonlight butters the whole Iowa night. Clover and corn smells are thick as syrup. I experience a tingling like the tiniest electric wires touching the back of my neck, sending warm sensations through me. Then, as the lights flare, a scar against the blue-black sky, I see Shoeless Joe Jackson standing out on left field." p.13-14

I feel like I can't write this review without a comparison between Shoeless Joe & Field of Dreams. What I love about Field of Dreams is all about the story and what it conveys - not being afraid to dream big, even if it seems like you might be crazy for doing it. Of course, as is usually the case, the book conveys all of that, and then some. Even though I knew how the storyline would progress, there were parts to the book that were not in the movie - two characters in the book (Ray's twin brother Richard & Eddie Scissons, the oldest living Chicago Cub) that were not included in the movie and one of the main characters, Terrance Mann in the movie was actually J. D. Salinger in the book  - a way more cool factor with Salinger as a main character, but apparently the movie producers were avoiding a lawsuit from Salinger who did not want to be depicted in the movie.

This is my ninth book read for the 7th Annual Canadian Book Challenge.

Lisa's Review: No Time for Goodbye

No Time for Goodbye by Linwood Barclay

My Review: 3 of 5 stars

What would happen if you woke up one day and found your entire family missing? That is what happened to 14 year old Cynthia Bigge. A rebellious teen, she had been out too late the night before with her sketchy boyfriend Vince and had been dragged home by her disapproving father. When she woke up the next morning to find her house strangely empty - her mother, father, and brother all gone - and they did not return, she was left to wonder what happened to them. Were they kidnapped, were they murdered, or did they just up and leave her? If one of the former two options, why was she left behind?

Fast-forward twenty-five years. Cynthia is married to Terry and they have a young daughter, Grace. Cynthia, who is still searching for answers to what happened to her family many years prior, decides to go on a crime show 'Deadline' in hopes to find clues. Things seem to unravel from there, with many twists and turns.

I had never heard of Linwood Barclay, but had read a few reviews from the 7th Annual Canadian Book Challenge of some more recent works, and thought that I should check out one of his books, so I decided to start with one of his earlier ones. I'm afraid to admit that I don't spend as much time reading as I would like, but when I do I'm happy to find something that is just pure entertainment for me...it doesn't have to be a literary work of genius. I'm thrilled when I find something that makes me keep the page turning, and allows my brain to escape for a while without a lot of thinking. I found that in this book. It was easy to read. It had enough plot to sufficiently entertain me & make me wonder what is coming next. A few of the plot turns I had predicted and some of them I didn't. I enjoyed this one enough to know that I will definitely seek out another Barclay novel. I'd be interested to hear opinions from others to know which to pick up next. I'm tempted to check out the series of books before this one (the Zack Walker series) or maybe something more current.   

This is my eighth book read for the 7th Annual Canadian Book Challenge.

Lisa's Review: The Silent Wife

The Silent Wife by A.S.A. Harrison

My Rating: 4 of 5 Stars

Jodi and Todd have been together for 20 years. They live in Chicago in an upscale condo with an enviable view of the waterfront. Todd owns a construction company and regularly cheats on Jodi. Jodi is a psychologist, is good at keeping up appearances, and loves the life she has with Todd despite knowing that he is unfaithful - avoidance of the topic is the way she deals with his infidelity. The story is told from both Jodi and Todd's points of view alternating between "Her" and "Him" chapters up until the point of Jodi's murderous act and Todd's untimely demise. Don't worry, no spoiler alert is needed here, as that fact is revealed in the second paragraph of the book...

"She assumes, without having thought about it, that things will go on indefinitely in their imperfect yet entirely acceptable way. In other words, she is deeply unaware that her life is now peaking, that her youthful resilience - which her twenty-year marriage to Todd Gilbert has been slowly eroding - is approaching a final stage of disintegration, that her notions about who she is and how she ought to conduct herself are far less stable than she supposes, given that a few short months are all it will take to make a killer out of her."  
    
The remainder of the book is solely from Jodi's perspective - Will she get caught? Did she manage to pull off the perfect crime? Will she unravel? Did she make a mistake?

My actual rating of this book would have been closer to a 3.5, but since Goodreads does not provide a mechanism for half point ratings and having to choose a full star rating, I tipped slightly more towards 4 stars. I was fully engaged from the first page - despite being initially perturbed that a major outcome of the story was revealed in the opening paragraphs, but I figured there must be good reason. I figured correctly - there was a lot more to the story (a lot more than I am mentioning here). I really enjoyed how the story unfolded between the "Her" and "Him" points of view, and in the end I was not disappointed.

This is my seventh book read for the 7th Annual Canadian Book Challenge.

Lisa's Review: Hellgoing: Stories

Hellgoing by Lynn Coady

My Rating: 2 of 5 Stars

I don't have a lot of experience reading short stories, but after learning last year's Giller Prize winner was from my home province, I decided this might be a good opportunity to expand into the genre (and a copy made its way under my Christmas tree).

Hellgoing is a collection of nine short stories that give glimpses into each of the main characters' lives, their observations, and relationships with those around them. I did not entirely enjoy these stories. I did like Coady's style of writing - her flow made for easy reading - but the content of the stories did not engage me. The characters had depth, but I did not find them likeable. I know that not all characters in books and stories need to be (or should be) likeable, but after nine stories I found myself happy that I was finally finished. I've read other reviews of this book, and it seems there are a many glowing reviews, so maybe I just didn't 'get it' or maybe short stories aren't for me. In reading other reviews that were less favorable, a common theme for reviewers was surprise, stating that Coady's other works are excellent. So that, coupled with the fact that I did like her writing style won't discourage me from checking out her other books.    

This is my sixth book read for the 7th Annual Canadian Book Challenge.

Lisa's Review: Caught

Caught by Lisa Moore

 

My Rating: 3 of 5 Stars

  

"It's June 1978, and David Slaney can be sure of only one thing. He can't get caught; not this time. He's escaped from prison and has got to make good on the heist that went wrong...First, though, he must get himself across a vast country full of watchful eyes, booby traps, and friends who might be foes...Here are bravado and betrayal, bad weather and worse seas, love, lust, undercover agents, the collusion of governments, innocence and the loss thereof, and many, many bales of marijuana." ~ book jacket synopsis

 

This 2013 Giller Prize short-list finalist is the first book I've read from Lisa Moore. The book begins with David Slaney having just escaped from the penitentiary in Springhill, Nova Scotia and follows him as he attempts to make his way to Vancouver to meet up with his best friend Hearn so they can continue in planning their next pot crime. Slaney's travels are all underlined with the fear of being caught. There is a parallel story that follows Patterson,  staff-sergeant with the Toronto drug enforcement unit, who is intent on catching Slaney & Hearn - his career depends on it.

 

Having read the synopsis from the cover made me think that this would be a little more of a nail biter/page turner than it turned out to be. That said, I did fully enjoy the read - I enjoyed Moore's style of writing, and it definitely held suspense, just not in the edge-of-my-seat way I thought it would. Based on this read & reviews of some of her other works, I look forward to checking out more written by Lisa Moore.

 

This is my fifth book read for the 7th Annual Canadian Book Challenge.

Lisa's Review: Dear Sad Goat

Dear Sad Goat (A Roundup of Truly Canadian Tales and Letters ) by Bill Richardson

My Rating: 1 of 5 Stars (I tried to give 2 stars but couldn't)

Dear Sad Goat is a collection of letters & stories compiled by Bill Richardson of CBC Radio's Richardson's Roundup from listener contributors to the 'Sad Goat' portion of the show. I have to give full disclosure on my review & rating of the book - I have never listened to Richardson's Roundup - so it's possible my review of the book might be different if I had been familiar with the show.

The Sad Goat portion of Richardson's Roundup was intended for listeners to contribute their own stories through letters or call-in to the show. The call-in number was set up to spell out the call letters RADIO 2 U. After determining that '2 U' might lead to confusion with callers thinking they should spell 'to you' when dialing, Richardson discovered that the number combination also spelled 'Sad Goat' - no confusion there, so 'Sad Goat' was born & caught on. 

So why didn't I enjoy this collection of stories from individuals across Canada? Quite frankly, at the end of most stories I found myself saying "I did not need to know that!" or "Why do I care?". I suppose that in smaller doses, these stories read or told on-air during the show might have been more interesting and amusing. But I found in book format, it was not really enjoyable (at all!).

As much as I did not enjoy the content of this book, I did find 3 positives in the reading:

First - The "About Sad Goat" chapter, written by Richardson was interesting to learn about him, the show, and how Sad Goat came to be.

Second - The way in which Richardson organized the listener stories was clever. The theme or mention of something from one story or set of stories led into the next story. For example, one chapter started out with a series of stories about apartments listeners had lived in...leading into a story from a listener envisioning living in a home like a turtle shell...followed by stories about pet turtles...the last of which involved a girl hitting her thumb with a hammer when making a bed for a pet turtle...which led into stories about listeners who also smacked their thumbs with hammers...to those losing their thumb nails...including a farmer who continued to carry his lost thumbnail around in his pocket (falling under the category of "I did not need to know that!")...onto stories about objects listeners held onto...and on and on. So the fact I was not interested in the content of the stories, I found myself tracking how Richardson tied the flow of the stories together.

Third - There was actually one story in the book that I did enjoy! It was from Lance Anderson, who played piano on Mr. Dressup's retirement tour, and provided a little insight into what Ernie Coombs (better known as Mr. Dressup) was like as a person. This story brought back great memories from my childhood daily ritual of watching the adventures of Mr. Dressup, Casey, Finnegan, the tree house, the tickle trunk & made me wish that Lance Anderson had written a little bit more.

This is my fourth book read for the 7th Annual Canadian Book Challenge.



Lisa's Review: 419

419 by Will Ferguson

My Rating:  4 of 5 Stars

This is the second book written by Will Ferguson that I have read in the past few months. The first book was How to be a Canadian - which was an amusing, funny, tongue-in-cheek read. 419 is a completely different genre of book, and clearly demonstrates the versatility in writing styles of the author - he made me laugh-out-loud in one book, and kept me page-turning in suspense in the next.

"A car tumbles through the darkness down a snowy ravine. A woman without a name walks out of a dust storm in sub-Saharan Africa. And in the seething heat of Lagos City, a criminal cartel scours the internet looking for victims. Lives intersect. Worlds collide. And it all begins with a single email "Dear Sir, I am the daughter of a Nigerian diplomat, and need your help..." Will Ferguson takes readers deep into the labyrinth of lies that is "419", the world's most insidious internet scam."

I have to admit, the above synopsis from the book cover had me intrigued (after all, we have all received those emails...what harm could come from responding??), and once I started reading I was pretty much hooked. This plot style is one I really enjoy - one that hops around between parallel storylines of characters, places, cultures, and points in time. I really want to say a lot more about the bits & pieces I really enjoyed, but in doing so, I'd be giving up too much information and don't want to include any spoilers here. I will note that I did appreciate the "Clue" references - it was not a major part & they had no bearing on the story, but I liked the subtle hint of them that appeared in the second half of the story.

My only disappointment in reading this book happened when I was 3/4 of the way through...one night before I set the book down, I quickly flipped through the grey-edged pages at the back (Q&A with the author, etc.), I know, stupid move! I didn't stop to read any of these pages, but did inadvertently see a few words on one page pop out at me that gave up one spoiler related to one of the characters. So I did only have myself to blame for that. Thankfully it didn't give away the entire ending to the book for me, but did cause me to give myself a swift kick! Though after finishing the book, I must say I also really enjoyed the Q&A section with the author, giving me a few more tid-bits of information & background to his research & meaning to some of the characters - it especially led me to research some information about "the woman without a name.".  

This is my third book read for the 7th Annual Canadian Book Challenge.

Lisa's Review: Cinnamon Toast and the End of the World

Cinnamon Toast and the End of the World by Janet E. Cameron

My Rating: 5 of 5 Stars

Janet E. Cameron's debut novel Cinnamon Toast and the End of the World is set in the small town of Riverside, Nova Scotia (population 1,816) in the late 1980's,  and follows Stephen Shulevitz through his last few months of high school, after he discovers his world has ended...the moment he realizes he is in love with his best friend Mark.

I thoroughly enjoyed this read, often struggling with myself not to speed read my way through to the end. From the beginning I found myself immediately immersed in Stephen's world - at times laughing out loud at his comments & thoughts, at times wanting to cry at his pain as he struggles to fit in, and at times wanting to shake some sense into him. As I came to the end of the book, I found myself sad because I was finishing & wanted to enjoy more of this book for the first time.   

So "Bravo!" to Janet E. Cameron on her debut! I am already looking forward to her next book!

This is my second book read for the 7th Annual Canadian Book Challenge.

Lisa’s Review: How to Be a Canadian



How to be a Canadian by Will Ferguson and Ian Ferguson

My Rating: 3 of 5 stars

First off, thank you Mary R for allowing me to guest post on your blog, giving me a forum for my reviews for the 7th Annual Canadian Book Challenge . As a Canadian (and now American) living in the US for 16+ years, I’m looking forward to this reading challenge.

With a road trip planned to Nova Scotia a few weeks ago, I knew it would be a good opportunity to stock up on some new reading material and also take advantage of many hours of passenger time in a vehicle to complete my first book of the challenge. After a quick search of my bookshelf to find something I already owned that qualified for the challenge, I picked out How to Be a Canadian – a book I bought about 12 years ago and had not yet read – it seemed like a perfect selection to kick things off.

How to be a Canadian (Even if You Already Are One) is an entertaining, satirical guide to many things Canadian. In this quick, light read, the Ferguson brothers cover a wide range of topics including Learning the Language (How to Talk Like a Canadian), Sports and/or Recreation (How to Watch TV Like a Canadian), Art and Stuff (How to Be as Cultured as a Canadian), and my personal favorite Twelve Ways to Say "I'm Sorry". Throughout the read I found a few laugh-out-loud moments, many moments of amusement that put a smile on my face, and another many moments thinking 'Hey, that's not true!' before mentally kicking myself to say 'Lisa, remember this is satire'. So overall, what I was expecting from this book - a quick, easy, entertaining read - is exactly what was delivered.

Introducing Lisa

I'm pleased to announce that bibliographic manifestations now has a second contributor.
My friend Lisa, the one who lent me books for last year's Canadian Book Challenge, has decided to sign on as a participant in the 7th Annual Canadian Book Challenge.
She will be posting her challenge reviews here under the keyword Canadian7-Lisa.