4 Killer Crime Stories in 4 Minutes - Benjamin Sobieck

Goodness, this book was terrible. I do not even think terrible is accurate, but I am not sure that there is a word to describe how truly awful this book really is. I think it is supposed to be a collection of micro-fiction. What it really is, is a conduit for micro bleeds in the brain.

The first of the four, titled "Purgatory at the Pump 'n' Loaf" had to be the most ridiculous idea I had ever heard of, and it really was not put together in a way that made any sense to me.

The second story, titled "Use the Pillow" was another insanely stupid idea. I find it to be incredibly and amazingly stupid that he tries to write in the stop text manner to "simulate" hypnosis speech. I know of no hypnotic therapists that make every three words a sentence.

The third, titled "You're the Boss" made me want to find his house, and burn it to the ground with him in it...

I was grateful for "Timmy Says Out This in an eBook," not because it was any better than the others (because it wasn't), but because it was the last in a set of literary garbage that would make me want to shove an ice pick through my eye.

I love the disclaimer at the beginning of the book:

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

It was not worth the 99 cents I paid for it! There is now way on this Earth that I would purchase it for anyone I care about. Hard work? I doubt it. Trust me on this one, save your money and your brain.

Half a star (for effort).

And Once Again...

Much has been going on in my life since my last post. I have had to relocate, and my Kindle died a horrible death. I have had it replaced with a Kindle Touch, because replacing it with an identical Kindle made no sense to me when I could have one with more memory for only 20 more dollars. There is only one problem, the battery refuses to die, so I cannot upload all of the books I did not buy from Amazon.com. If I try to upload them before the battery dies, my computer will automatically start charging it, which will have a negative effect on future battery life. I do not want to review another good book until I have complete access to it again for reference while writing, so I will review ones that I am reading in an attempt to kill the amazing super battery.

First victim:
4 Killer Crime Stories in 4 Minutes

It's cold outside...

When it is cold outside, there is little I enjoy more than curling up with a good book and ignoring the world. Few thing I find more rewarding than sharing another's talents, viewing a little piece of their imagination or reality. When I was younger, my father read to us before we went to sleep. He started with C.S. Lewis, and my love for reading went into full bloom by the end of the Narnia series.

When I was 10 years old, he bought for me a book that I read until the pages fell apart. It was the first book my father bought for me, and only me. The Last Unicorn still holds a very special place in my heart. I even own the movie, for I feel that they did a splendid job. When I was 12, my tastes in books altered. As my dad is a fan of fantasy, I have a soft spot for it. It is what I started with, and I will never not love it. My tastes turned more toward science fiction, and spread out wide.

I found Stephen King through my dad's copy of The Bachman Books.After that, I was given a copy of The Shining. My choice in reading material would never be the same after that. I read every Stephen King book I could find. I thought it was amazing that one man could be such a creative genius that he could write so many extremely different books in the same genre. I found, as well, an author named Phil Rickman, whose book Curfew I purchased simply because I loved the cover art. I have not found any regret in that purchase. The book is incredible, and I plan to purchase it again, as soon as I can find it. I hope to come across more of his literary masterpieces as well.

Then there is Dean Koontz. I cannot say enough about this man. He is such a talented writer, that I know any words I put to paper would pale in comparison to his scrap heap! The first book I found by him was by accident. I had never heard his name before. I was 19. I lived alone in a terrible apartment. I am not a fan of television, and I had read all of my books time and time again. I needed something new. I went to the little second chance store a block from my home and saw a book that I could not take my eyes off of. It was like a nightmare. The cover art was horrendous!  The name of the book was Intensity. I could not help it. It looked like a headache waiting to happen, but I had to have this book, so I bought it. I read it in one night. I could not put it down, reading it even while I cooked my pathetic dinner.

There are about 74 books written by Dean Koontz in my Kindle as we speak, and I cannot wait to read them all. I am trying to keep my blog diverse though, and be a fair reader to all authors. My next review will be of the second book in the Jonathon Payne and David Jones series by Chris Kuzneski. *spoiler alert* It was awesome.

Just have to say...

Although I read more than I like to admit, and often read more than five books a week, I (obviously) do not blog about them every day. There was a long break between posts, this is because my original Kindle vanished and I had to get a new one. Now that I have replaced it with a new, smaller and cheaper version, I will be able to put more time into reading.

My new Kindle is the basic 3G with special offers. It does not have a keyboard or sound capabilities, which are the only drawbacks of the device. It is small enough to fit in my purse. The special offers are not a nuisance. The screen does not fa=lash black when turning pages like the old one did. It does have a smaller memory, but will still store tons of books, so that is not a terrible thing.

Anyway, I plan to write another soon. Maybe tonight or tomorrow :)

The Plantation - Chris Kuzneski

Let me start off by saying that I did not start off with this book, which is the first in the series. I did not know this at the time, and because I started with another book, it took some time to get used to his writing style.

This novel is book one in a series that follows the adventures and exploits of two former special forces operatives, Jonathon Payne and David Jones. Jon is a rich boy that wanted to make it on his own accord, so he joined the military, proving himself the best of the best. He and his friend David are hand picked to become leaders of an elite special forces team, where they stay until they retire upon the death of Jon's grandfather. Jon takes up the family business, a multi million dollar a year manufacturing corporation, and helping his friend start a detective agency. Now that we are done with the background, we get to the excitement:

John's girlfriend (who coincidentally is never mentioned again after this book) is kidnapped by some real crazy dudes that want innocent people to pay for the crimes of their ancestors. She is not the only one. They kidnap entire families. They torture and abuse each and every one of them, forcing them to work as slaves on the plantation. That is not enough for these guys though, they want to make money from it as well, so they plan to sell them as slaves in Africa. They do not care how young or old they are, one of their captives is Jon's girlfriend's pregnant sister.

**MAJOR SPOILER ALERT** If you have not read the book, this might give a LOT away:

1. Jon arrives at his girlfriend's house to pick her up for a weekend getaway, and finds she has been kidnapped. With nothing but a tattoo and license plate to go on, they track the kidnappers to New Orleans.

2. With the help of a former NFL star and supposed friend, they find out where she is being held, make a rescue plan, and are led into a trap.

3. They escape, saving most of the people that were being held captive, but fail to rescue the girlfriend before the kidnappers flee with her, and her family, out of the country.

I am not one to give away an ending, but it is worth a look. This is a great book by a really incredible author. As you will see in my future reviews of his books, he really does his research. This is not typically my favorite genre, but wow... 

I give this one five stars.

On buying and borrowing e-books on your Kindle

I really cannot say enough how much I love to read. Nothing is more rewarding that completing another well written book, except finishing another badly written one. Books are thrilling, fun, fantastic, entertaining, teaching, amazing things. Accessing books should be simple for everyone, no matter where they live, and how much money they have. 

I am so happy that Amazon.com makes so many books instantly available. I am even happier at the selection of books that are free, or nearly free. I try to check the free selection weekly, because they are always adding new ones. Some of them are classics, but some are also very new. Some are written by new authors wanting to get their work out there and gain a following. Some are short stories and novellas, some are just a few chapters of a novel set by the publisher to give you a chance to decide whether you really want to buy the book or not. It is a nice opportunity to expand your Kindle library.

Here is something that excites me even more, library books, lent to you on your kindle. If you are unsure if this is a good idea, let us look at the pros and cons of such an idea:

Pros:

1. You do not have to physically go to the library to get your book. This can be especially convenient for those that work or sleep during library business hours, or live a good distance from their local library while lacking transportation. This is also a good thing for busy people that are always on the go, and single moms that have hyper small children.
2. Your book will return itself whenyour borrowing time is up. This means that you never return a book late, so you will never get a fee. You can extend your time, also, without having to step foot into the library, which is convenient. When your time is up, the book just disappears off of your device, and goes to the next person in line. 
3. You always know where the book is. I cannot tell you how many times I, or one of my children, have managed to misplace a library book. Sometimes, the book is not found for months. The fees for such a situation are pretty high.
4. No more damaged books. You will not borrow a book that is missing pages, is written in or on, or is falling apart in your hand. Your dog, child, or other family member might have a difficult time damaging the book requiring you to pay repair or replacement fees.

Cons:

You have to have a Kindle or Kindle reading app...and a library card.

101 Tips for Traveling with a Vampire, Joleene Naylor

I chose to download this book because it was free, and at the time I am writing this, it still is. The author, Joleene Naylor, has apparently written an entire series around the idea of a 13 year old girl that is traveling the world with vampires. I have never read any of her other books, but upon reading this, I decided that it must have been intended for persons the same age as the antagonist. The personal narration is slightly childish, as though intended for young readers, and I personally found it to be silly and whimsical.

The book is actually full of valuable travel tips, foreign and domestic. The author adds in little random "vampire lore" ideas involving coffins and cargo holds, needing to feed of random people and whatnot. The author also includes felonies i her tips, like identity theft, leaving state and federal boundaries using false identification, robbing the dead, leaving the scene of homicides...

All in all the book is "cute" but silly and childish.