The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

This is another one of those books that brings to mind why there is chocolate and vanilla.  This book was recommended by a friend and she really enjoyed it.  It is a New York Times best seller.  A young woman deals with death and desperation in Nazi Germany by stealing books.  

I really found this book hard to read.  I thought it was choppy and difficult to follow.   With that said, I look more for entertainment than edification.  Perhaps this book is edifying but it wasn’t for me.  

The protagonist climbs in a window at the Mayor’s house to steal a book.  Perhaps there is symbolism there and I just didn’t get it.  

This book has a lot of great reviews so once again I find myself out of step with the NY Times a bunch of other people because I just didn’t enjoy it.

Body of work of Markus Zusak

Web Site: http://www.randomhouse.com/features/markuszusak/

The Start-Up by Sadie Hayes

Sadie Hayes provides a screen shot of technology’s sordid underbelly in this riveting e-book novella.

The reek of truth permeates this glimpse into the world of high finance and technology.   The dot com bust is in the past, the present is dominated by the next cloud technology or aps for our ubiquitous cell phone companions.   Ms. Hayes sets the plot in and about Stanford and their famous geeks.  I spent 25 years in the computer industry.   I was lucky enough to meet some of the starry eyed pioneers in the early years, the ones who retired to their own private islands.  I actually met some of the type of person that populates the pages of this story.   I employed geeks who, as long as you provided unlimited caffeine and junk food, really didn’t care about money.   When you read this book, and you should, I found nothing that ran contrary to the truth as I know it.   

Ms. Hayes constructed believable characters in a realistic situation and manages to sauté it with enough tension and curiosity to make it impossible to put down.  This is a savory appetizer that precedes two successor books.  The cliff hanger ending just makes you hungry for more…Sadie I want on the list for your next literary treat!

I highly recommend the book.   

Body of work of Sadie Hayes

Web Site: www.TheStartUpBooks.com

Crude Deception by Gordon Zuckerman

This book read more like a history book than a novel.  What little bit of research I did on the premise seems to hold true with the author’s vision, frightening to say the least.   Post WWII intrigue by the oil industry to seize the world is the theme of the book.

I liked the book but would have preferred to have a little more background about the Sentinels.   The Sentinels appeared to be a well connected, off the books, oversight group with international implications.   Perhaps a forward giving their role and background would have made the book more comprehensible.   There is a fair amount of mild action with international travel. 

There are tie ins to the modern day if you are at all familiar with history.   Big business is not painted with a broad brush.  It is clear that some big business was corrupted or corruptible but others strove for honesty.  

Overall it is a tale of greed that certainly resonates with Enron, Madoff and Haliburton.  There is even a Black Water connection provided by the Samson group.   Once again if you don’t know your history you are doomed to repeat it.  It appears as a nation we aren’t very concerned about history.

I recommend it.

Body of  work of Gordon Zuckerman

Web site: http://gordonzuckerman.com/about-gordon-zuckerman.cfm

Target of Opportunity by Jeffrey S. Stephens

A terrorist plot by plausible partners threatens the U.S.   Jordon Sandor of the CIA is the only thing standing between global financial chaos.

The economics of oil and resultant potential for economic blackmail give plausibility to this novel.   As an aside, this should help all of us to recognize the need for energy independence.   That may have not been the more subtle plot line but that is what I felt reading the book.

Sandor is a ruthless defender of liberty.   He is an excellent protagonist as he displays emotion and action.   The book is fast paced and the plot is complex enough to maintain interest throughout.  

The intricate nature of the plot is very well done and keeps you guessing until the end.   Mr. Stehphens does an excellent job portraying an able weapon but loose canon in the character of Sandor.  His irreverence is endearing but I suspect in the real world of bureaucratic nonsense, he would end up on the street. 

Sandor is a worthy James Bond clone with skills and warmth abounding.  He comes across as real which is often a difficult characterization.   Sadly the only downside to the book is the likelihood that some demented soul out there is striving to perpetrate a similar scenario in real life.

I recommend it.

Body of work of Jeffrey S. Stephens

Web Site: http://jeffreystephens.com/

Shouty Food and Fitness by NeonSeon

Shouty Food and Fitness by NeonSeon

Shouty is a motivational book for 2^nd and 3^rd graders, this time on food and fitness.  

This book is an attempt to get younger kids to consider choices particularly on food and lifestyle.   It isn’t spelled out as such but it is a motivational book for good health.  Shouty is shown as being very fond of junk food.  He is also depicted as avoiding any kind of exercise.  

This is the second Shouty book I have shared with my five and seven year old grandchildren.   They found this Shouty much less confusing than the Shouty of Shouty’s Good Habits.  They were now familiar with Shouty as a character.  They saw him as a lazy adult   The scenarios were still adult focused but more understandable to this age.  They live in a very physically fit environment and were appalled at Shouty’s lack of fitness and fondness for junk food.    I think part of the success of the message was the fact that their parents are so fitness conscious but this Shouty book had more appeal to them than the  last one.

Body of work of Neon Seon

Web site:  www.shouty.com