Jon’s Book Reviews

Welcome to Jon’s Book Reviews.  If you are new here, why not take the Reading Speed Test?  Or, if you would like to know who I am and why I created this site, click here to find out.  To read my latest review, just scroll down.  You can also browse reviews by title, author, category, or date of post using the navigation links on the left.  If you think someone you know might enjoy a particular post, feel free to share it with them using the “Share This Post” button at the bottom.

If you’ve been here before, you’ve probably noticed that the site has a new look.  I changed to a new template that automates some things for me so I can focus more on writing good reviews.  The list of most recent book reviews is now on the left sidebar under “Recent Posts.”

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Due to an extremely busy schedule with school and job interviews, I haven’t had time to update this site for a while.  I’ve decided to take a sabbatical from book reviews until things relax a bit.  I have no intention of taking down the site.  All published reviews will still be available even though I won’t be adding to them for a little while.

Enjoy!

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If you don’t know what blob jumping is, watch the video and it will become obvious. This looks fun… and painful… and fun.

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Author: Michael Connelly

Genre: Detective Fiction

Rating: ***** (5 stars)

Summary:

Terry McCaleb is a former FBI agent, forced to retire by heart disease. While recovering from his heart transplant he is restoring and living on his deceased father’s boat in Long Beach, California.

One day, Terry is visited by a woman who introduces herself as the sister of the woman whose heart now beats in Terry’s chest. Her sister was shot in a convenience store robbery that was never solved, and the surviving sister asks Terry to look into it. Although he is ill, retired, and has no official standing, Terry agrees over his doctor’s objections.

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Author: Jonathan Kellerman

Genre: Mystery (Detective Fiction)

Rating: **** (4 Stars)

Summary:

Jonathan Kellerman is a child psychologist who has written a series of novels featuring the partnership Milo Sturgis, a Los Angeles police detective, and Alex Delaware, a psychologist who consults for the LAPD.  The psychologist, Alex Delaware, often goes well beyond mere consulting, and occasionally endangers his own life in pursuit of the bad guys.

Flesh and Blood begins ten years in the past, with Dr. Delaware’s treatment of Lauren Teague, a teenage girl with behavior problems.  The skeptical father ends treatment after just two visits, and Alex remembers the case as one of his professional failures.  Six years later, while making a token appearance at a colleague’s bachelor party, Alex sees Lauren, who is now a stripper.  He leaves feeling ashamed of himself.

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Author: Stephen King

Genre: Science Fiction/ Horror

Rating: *** (3 Stars)

Summary:

Dreamcatcher reads very much like King’s earlier novel, It, published in 1986.  Both books use flashbacks to simultaneously tell two stories involving the same characters.  The story begins as a hunting party of four men, friends since childhood, meet a man lost in the Maine woods and suffering from exposure.  They take him back to their cabin, where, instead of recovering, the man dies painfully, and gives birth to a large and vicious parasite that has been growing inside him.

At the same time, the Army is responding to reports of UFO sightings, missing hunters, and strange animal behavior.  They attack and destroy a crashed alien spacecraft, and quarantine everyone who comes out of the woods.

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Author: Iain Carson and Vijay V. Vaitheeswaran

Genre: Nonfiction

Subject: Alternative Fuel Technologies

Rating: ***** (5 Stars)

Summary:

Zoom, written by two correspondents for The Economist, is a discussion of the problems that result from our dependence on oil, and some of the solutions that are taking shape.  It discusses how the oil and auto industries grew together to become the giants they now are; why the Detroit automakers are suffering while Toyota experiences runaway success; and why the world’s dependence on oil is unsustainable for political, economic, and environmental reasons.  Zoom then explains some of the possible solutions and where they are being developed.  It’s hard to put this book in a nutshell, but here are some snippets to give you a picture of what it’s all about:

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Author: Lawrence Block

Genre: Mystery

Rating: *** (3 Stars)

Summary:

About the Series

In the Midst of Death is one of Lawrence Block’s many Matthew Scudder novels. They tell the story of an ex-police officer turned private investigator, who retired from the police force after the accidental death of a little girl during a shoot-out with two armed robbers. He is also a heavy drinker, although he doesn’t admit that to himself until much later in the series. Although the novels follow a rough chronological progression, they don’t have to be read in order. Each story stands alone, and backstories are briefly described for the benefit of readers who may not be familiar with them.

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Author: Stephen King

Genre: Action/Adventure

Rating: ***** (5 Stars)

Summary:

The Talisman is a collaborative effort between Stephen King and Peter Straub. It and its sequel, Black House, tell the story of Jack Sawyer, a very special boy who has many magical adventures while saving his mother’s life.

Jack is in his early teens. His father has been killed in a hunting “accident” which later turns out to be murder, and his mother, Lily, a retired actress, is terminally ill with cancer. Morgan Sloat, a business partner of Jack’s father is harassing Lily as part of a scheme to take over the Sawyer family’s share of the business.

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Author: Joel Comm

Genre: How-To, Business

Rating: ***** (5 Stars)

Summary:

For those who don’t know, Google AdSense is a context-based advertising medium, through which website and blog owners can make money by showing advertisements on their sites. Google’s software reads, or “crawls” each page, figures out what type of ads are appropriate, and shows them in spots designated by the site owner. Site owners are usually paid per click, although some ads pay based on “impressions” - how many times they are seen.

The AdSense Code is exactly what the title suggests - a strategy book for optimizing your use of AdSense on a blog or website in order to make the most money possible. The author, Joel Comm, speaks from his own experience making hundreds to thousands per day with his own websites. Comm takes the attitude that the “AdSense pie” is big enough for everyone to participate, and that one person’s success with it does not in any way detract from his own.

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