One Eyed Reader

The first few chapters are a bit confusing. There are tons of characters introduced all at once, and the translated text has a slightly awkward feel, but the latter isn't so bad once you get into the rhythm of it. The dialogue is also stiff in some areas, but this, again, is probably due to translation.

I started enjoying this book after about 40 pages, once the action started picking up. Let me just say, if you are disturbed by violence, this isn't the book for you. However, if you're a junkie for it like I am, you'll probably enjoy this book.

I have to say, I really do see what people mean now when they say that The Hunger Games sort of ripped off this book. The similarities are undeniable, and I'm actually going to make a point of rereading The Hunger Games sometime this year, so that I can properly analyze the similarities between the two while my memory is still fresh.

I read the first book in this trilogy, Shiver, in the summer of 2014. That book was given to me by a friend, along with a ton of others, but it caught my eye from the day I received it. It's sort of the book that got me back into reading after a 6-ish month slump. I enjoyed it, finished it in a couple of days, and I'm not sure why I didn't pick up the other books sooner.
This book was good enough to keep me up until nearly midnight on the night that I started it. It's well paced, the action isn't cluttered but there's also never a dull moment. It's a good continuation of the original story, though I almost wish that it didn't end in such a cliffhanger, because it will probably be a little while before I get my hands on the next book. At the same time, though, I really enjoyed the ending. It gives something to look forward to upon starting the next book.
Due to so many negative reviews of these books, I guess you can say it's become my guilty pleasure series.

I'll start off by saying that this is the first "popular" book I've read this year that has actually lived up to its hype, in my opinion. For me, it was a quick, easy, lighthearted read, but I really enjoyed it all the way through.

I can't think of a word to describe most of the book other than simply adorable, which is kind of an odd thing to say about a book centered around zombies.

I really love all of the humor involved, it was nice to take a break and read a book that didn't take itself so seriously.

I checked out the movie trailer on youtube, and the movie seems like it will be pretty cheesy and hilarious, so I'll probably check that out some time in the future.

Yet another ebook that I got for free off of Barnes and Nobles website. I usually take my nook around with me when I'm about to finish a physical book and don't plan on being home for a while, so I'm never without something to read. Novellas like this really come in handy.

This was a pretty typical crime mystery, nothing outstanding but also not bad. If you're more into this genre than I am, I think you'll really enjoy it, for me it was just pretty "meh."

The writing is good, I didn't notice many (if any) serious errors in grammar or format, and the story carried along at a pretty good pace. The only thing that really bugged me was the drawing out of the revelation of the main characters "secret." With all that suspense, I expected something much grander than what actually happened.

But, all in all, it's an alright book, short and quick, a good book in between something longer.

I’ll be honest here: it was the title and the cover that drew me to this book. “When You Are Engulfed in Flames” just has a nice ring to it for me, and the title got stuck in my head. It’s been sitting on my bookshelf, mocking me for the past few weeks, and I finally decided to pick it up.

I normally don’t read nonfiction. I can’t recall the last nonfiction book I read and finished by my own free will. However, I enjoyed this book much more than I expected to at first. At no point was I bored while reading it; his little stories kept me entertained and interested.

I own a few other books by this author, so next time I'm in the mood to read something different for a change, I'll definitely pick them up.

It's been about eight months since I've read anything by Ted Dekker, but I have read quite a few of his works in the past, such as The Priest's Graveyard, Adam, Saint, and a couple of others. I'm amassing quite the collection of his books, because I've enjoyed a lot of his previous work, and I'm a bit sad that more people don't know about him sometimes.

Yes, most of his work is classified as Christian Fiction, and most of it contains some form of corrupt religion or religious follower. Normally it's not something I'd go for, but usually he's able to deliver it in a tasteful, not too down-your-throat way.

I've read one of his other serial novels, Eyes Wide Open, and quite enjoyed it at the time. This one definitely shows some promise as well. However, this is one of his first newer works that I've read, and I have to say, it lacks that underlying vibe that made me love the previous books of his so much.

This wasn't a bad start to the story, but it didn't quite catch my attention enough for me to want to buy the whole book. I think it would be worth a read if you're more into abduction stories than I am, though. There were some parts that felt rushed, and unlike the other serial novel I've read by him, each section doesn't seem to have it's on little conclusion or cliffhanger that makes you want to rush off and find the next part.

I may end up reading the rest of the serial novels in this set in the future, but I don't think I'll be putting it at the top of my list.

Average rating overall: 4.1 stars

There's one little thing that I've come to love as I read more and more of King's works: the little details that pop up throughout different stories, always in a different context and a different way, but still the same nonetheless. I understand that some people may be annoyed by this kind of repetitiveness, or think of it as his own little bundle of cliches, but I find it endearing, in an odd way. Sort of a nod to his other works, if you will.
For example, the floor that gave The Green Mile its name, and then the green floor in the "coop" in Under the Dome.
The pointy teeth of the people in the paintings, which appears in two of the stories in this book.

Autopsy room four: I read this one a few months ago, before I got on to reading the rest of this book. It was a good story, though. Creepy, but the end gave me a good laugh.
Rating: ★★★★

The Man in the Black Suit: I enjoyed this one as well, particularly for the fact that it was partially inspired by Young Goodman Brown.
Rating: ★★★★

All that you love will be carried away: Not a whole lot to say about this one, other than I enjoyed it and it's ambiguous ending.
Rating: ★★★★

The Death of Jack Hamilton: I liked this one as well. The fact that it's based on real events makes it even better.
Rating: ★★★

In the Deathroom: A King story with a "happy" ending. Surprised me a bit.
Rating: ★★★

The Little Sisters of Eluria: I found it hard to get into this one until about 2/3 of the way through, but after I did, it was pretty good. Makes me a little nervous to read The Dark Tower series, though. Hopefully I'll enjoy it.
Rating: ★★★

Everything's Eventual: Not much to say about this one.
Rating: ★★★★

L.T.'s Theory of Pets: Rating: ★★★★

The Road Virus Heads North:
Rating: ★★★★★

Lunch at the Gotham Cafe: I actually found this one a bit unsettling, in the best of ways. It gave me the creeps, which is pretty rare.
Rating: ★★★★★

The Feeling, You Can Only Say What It Is in French: In an odd way, mostly due to the little note at the end, this one reminded me of my boyfriend.
Rating: ★★★★★

1408: I've stayed in a lot of hotels in the past year, and just let me say: I'm glad this isn't a story that I brought along on any of those trips; I would have slept even more poorly, and I didn't think that would have been possible.
Rating: ★★★★★

Riding the Bullet: In a way, this really reminded me of a more grown up version of all the Goosebumps books I used to collect and love as a kid.
Rating: ★★★★★

Luckey Quarter: I actually thought that this one was pretty sweet. Another with a fairly happy ending.
Rating: ★★★★

This was a good book for me to pick up based on my current mood this past weekend. Odd to say, but it soothed me and sort of brought me back to reality.
I read the first book in this series, Crank, about two years ago, if I remember correctly. I really enjoyed it, and it was different from anything that I had read before. I've owned this book for a while but it never felt like quite the right time to pick it up until recently.
It's a quick read, despite the number of pages, because of the way it is written. It moves the series along well, and I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on the next book soon.
There are lots of quotable parts in this book, too, and many pieces that, sans the drugs, suited my life quite well this past weekend.

I'm so glad I didn't pay anything for this book. It was extremely disappointing and I'm incredibly confused by all of the raving reviews.
I only got about halfway through before I decided to give up. It's really rare that I completely give up on a book, but all the inconsistencies were stressing me out and sucking all of the joy out of reading it.
In lieu of wasting any more time on this book by writing a full review of it, here's my notes on the things that bothered me:
- The writing in the beginning had potential, I really thought I was going to like this book for the first few chapters.
- The author seemed to be more focused on providing borderline purple prose than actually telling the story.
- At some parts, it seems as if entire paragraphs are missing. Action jumps from one thing to the next with no explanation, the scenery changes out of nowhere, new characters are just suddenly there, etc.
- The story was difficult to follow because of the above problem.
- A lot of the dialogue was poorly written. It was difficult to tell who was saying what. On top of that, most of it was pretty unrealistic.
- The punctuation (or lack thereof, in some places) was very bothersome. Mainly, missing commas.
- The characters are very inconsistent in, well... character.
- Once some things actually started happening and the case was being investigated, new discoveries that were not mentioned would just magically appear in conversation as though they were things that had been known from the beginning.
I feel like this author could have some potential, but I don't think I'll be looking into any of their other works.

I'll start off by saying that it's the quality of the story itself that brings my rating up to three stars, otherwise, it probably would have been nearer to two. There were quite a few choppy paragraphs and poorly structured sentences, and some of the conversations weren't laid out too well - I had to reread some parts several times in order to figure out who was saying what.

Those flaws aside, as I said already, the story itself was good. It was fast paced, and it seemed to be pretty well thought out. I read it in a matter of hours. I really didn't see the plot twist towards the end coming until about 2/3 of the way through, so that was a pleasant surprise; a lot of novellas give away the ending too early.

If you're looking for a quick, easy, entertaining read, I think this is worth checking out.

I read the sister book to The Regulators, Desperation, in May of last year, and it easily ranks as one of my favorite books. They have a lot in common, but there is definitely a difference in the overall vibe of the two books.
I really love the parallel universe thing going on here. It's a great concept, and something I haven't read before. Some of the characters are the same people with the same names, and then others have sort of switched roles within the families. For example, one character who was a mother in the other book is now the daughter.
However, the first 2/3 of this book feel like filler to me, like the real action is just trying to be prolonged as much as possible. It began to get old to me at about the half way point, and if the action hadn't picked up there, I probably would have abandoned this one.
For the last 1/3 of the book, it began to feel like it was actually a story meant to be coupled with Desperation, and not just a half-finished afterthought of ideas left over from the other book. I really enjoyed this part.
For anybody who has the two of these books, or is looking into picking one or both of them up, I highly suggest reading Desperation first. It's a much more vibrant story, the characters see more development, and though it starts off slow, the story is well worth it.
I'm sorry if this review seems choppy - I'm having a hard time putting my thoughts for it into words. It's definitely worth a look if you enjoyed Desperation, but I wouldn't recommend it as a stand alone read, because I feel that you would be missing out if you read The Regulators without Desperation.

So, I've read the first three books in this series, and it's not all that bad. I mainly picked them up because they were being offered for free in the form of a nook book on the Barnes and Noble website, so I thought "hey, why not?"
I never expect much from anything classified as YA; I think I never picked the genre at the appropriate time, so I never acquired the taste for the tone that's presented in most books that fall into this category.
I feel like the authors skills improved throughout the course of these three books, though, and I'm sure it gets better from here on out - however, since I'm trying to be a little more careful of what I spend, I won't be buying the other 7+ books in this series.
All in all, it's a good, fairly mindless read, not bad by any means but also not spectacular. I'll definitely consider reading some more of this authors work in the future.

I've heard about this book for a long time, but now that the hype has started to die down a bit, I decided to check it out, see if it's really as good as everybody has been saying.
I'm not a fan of the Young Adult genre as a whole; a lot of it feels dumbed down to me, and carries with it a certain tone that I just can't get into. That considered, this is one of the rare ones that I can stomach. It still has a young adult vibe to it, but it doesn't grind my gears quite as bad as I expected it would.
Personally, I rate it about 3.5 stars. I wouldn't exactly go out of my way to tell people, "hey, you should definitely check this out," but if someone asked me if it was worth a read, I'd probably respond, "eh, why not?"