A Colloquy on Books

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Big Orange Flying Dinner Plate by Luther Guin

This review was requested by the author. Charlie Brady has never even thought of the possibility of extraterrestrial life being real. His life had more pressing matters like the Great War and how to survive. That is until one day, one of those very lifeforms physically took him off the planet. The aliens took him several times adding fear about future abductions to his very terrestrial concerns of outrunning the mob and falling in love. Will Charlie be able to survive it all? When I received the message to review Big Orange Flying Dinner Plate, I happily agreed to read and review it. I haven’t read many books about alien abductions so I wanted to take a shot at reading this book. Since I haven’t read a lot about alien abductions and since it is a topic that can be interpreted very differently by every single person, I did not have any expectations as I went into this book. With that being said, I didn’t enjoy it. The narrative style of the book was weird and there were moments where th

The Women in White by: Fred Tippett II

This review was requested by the author. Greg Chase is the youngest police consultant working with the NYPD. As a sixteen year old with an eidetic memory and a knack for solving puzzles, there’s no other job that suits him better. Forced to leave his job after a case gone wrong and the death of a suspect, Greg returns to school only to be drawn into the mystery that is the new girl, Mel Locket. She’s a loner, but Greg quickly makes a connection with her. As the two grow closer, he learns that Mel might have murdered her former classmate and best friend. Convinced that Mel is innocent, Greg takes it upon himself to clear her name. But everyone around him, his family, the police, her therapist, and even her mother warn him that she’s violent and unstable. But did Mel really kill her friend? I love a good murder mystery and I love to watch crime TV shows so I was very much looking forward to reading The Women in White. I am so glad that I agreed to read it because I had a lot of fun readi

On the Constant March Forward by: S. Lodro

This review was requested by the author. Asta is Relic. She doesn’t have the Link, a brain chip that connects people to all of hyperspace. Asta has been chosen for a mission. She and a small crew must travel to a frigid and tidally locked planet, Proxima Centauri b, in order to look for signs of life. Follow their adventures and discoveries as they try to survive the harsh and frozen landscape of Proxima Centauri b. When I first heard about On the Constant March Forward, it sounded interesting but I was also skeptical about whether I would like it. It just sounded like a book that had the potential drag on and be depressing. The title just made me think that there was going to be some serious gloom and doom, that the ending would be one of those sad endings where the characters have lost all hope and just submitted themselves to the fact that this is their life now. Thankfully, On the Constant March Forward was nothing like I expected. The story was very simple but at the same time it

A Look Back at 2020

2020. It felt more like a decade at times. I know people would love to forget about 2020, leave the past in the past and just move on but it was an extraordinary year in terms of reading. On January 1st 2020, I set my personal reading goal for the year: 100 books. I thought to myself, “I read 130 books last year but I am going to be much busier this year so 100 books is a totally reasonable and achievable goal.” As it turned out, I went into quarantine in March which led to me reading all the time. I hit my 100 books goal sometime around the end of July. Due to quarantine, I read a total of 153 books in 2020, a little more that 150% of my initial goal. Reading Statistics Books Read: 153 books Pages Read: 51,070 pages Average Pages Per Book: 333 pages Average Pages Read Per Day: 139.54 pages Average Rating: 3.2 out of 5 stars. Out of all the books that I read and reviewed this year ( My 2020 Reviews ), I wanted to share my top ten books of 2020. In order to narrow down the list to

Wool (Silo #1) by: Hugh Howey

For generations, they have lived underground, with only a small view of the outside. They know the outside is a toxic, barren wasteland. Even though they know the dangers of the outside, there are people who dream and hope. These dangerous people infect the others with their optimism. So they must be punished. The punishment is simple, the dreamers are given exactly what they hope for: a chance to go outside. Juliette is unexpectedly promoted to Sheriff, when the previous Sheriff leaves the silo is in terrifying ritual. She has very little regard for the customs that she needs to be following and quite a bit of newfound power. As she begins investigating, she discovers the subtle hints of a disturbing conspiracy. Following the clues may lead to the truth or to the death of every human... I would not have picked this book up if I saw it on a shelf at the library. Based on the cover (which I am not supposed to be judging books by) and the summary of the story, it didn’t really seem like

The Art of Inheriting Secrets by: Barbara O'Neal

When food editor Olivia Shaw’s mother passes away, Olivia is shocked to learn that she has inherited an estate and a title to go with it. Olivia leaves San Francisco, still reeling with grief and shock, to uncover the things that her mother has been hiding from her. As soon as she sees the manor, Rosemere Priory, she recognizes it as the subject of her mother’s paintings. But Olivia still can’t figure out why her mother never talked about it and why her mother let such a beautiful building fall into disrepair. In order to look for answers Olivia begins digging into her mother’s past. As she goes digging, Olivia realizes the manor with peeling wallpaper, broken rooms, and growing vines hides inconceivable secrets. Even though her life back in San Francisco is calling her name, Olivia finds herself falling in love with the delightful English town as well as the residents. But to make the best decision Olivia has to first uncover all of the secrets that Rosemere Priory is hiding behind it

The Supervillain and Me by: Danielle Banas

Superheroes do more than just save the world and stop crime. In Abby Hamilton’s house they also drink milk straight from the carton and steal the television remote. Abby’s older brother is the famous Red Comet, a superhero who has saved the town countless times. But he’s also her brother and annoys her to no end. Abby has never wanted to be a superhero, especially since she has no powers of her own. Or so she thought until the town’s newest supervillain, Iron Phantom, comes crashing into her life and saves her from a mugging. The Iron Phantom claims that he’s not evil and that their town is under a new threat. As Abby follows him deeper into the secrets of the city, she learns that superheroes can’t always be trusted and sometimes the good guys are the ones wearing black. Considering that I am a huge fan of the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) and superhero movies in general, it should be no surprise to any of you that I picked up this book. The title itself was convincing enough for