Review - Paradise Rules by Jimmy Gleacher

TITLE:    Paradise Rules
AUTHOR:    Jimmy Gleacher
INFO:    Paperback, Fiction, 292 pages
PUBLISHED:   Gallery, 2011
SOURCE:   Received from Publisher for Review

FROM GOODREADS:    TRUE OR F A L S E ?



It’s only a week into summer break and already seventeen-year-old Gates has . . .

a) Hustled millionaires on the golf course

b) Tried to stop his mother from having a(nother) nervous breakdown

c) Promised to lose his virginity with his girlfriend, Mel . . . which would be great if he hadn’t already lost it to his forty-year-old godmother

d) Almost killed a man


Yeah, Gates has a lot of secrets, but he’s determined to keep his heart true. When he’s not swinging golf clubs like a pro, he reads pulp fiction to old folks at the retirement home. And despite his occasional slip-ups—drinking before noon and sneaking glimpses through his sexy godmother’s open negligees—Gates only has eyes for Mel. But she knows he’s hiding something, and she’s beginning to lose her patience.


Just as Gates is about to spill his shameful secrets, he gets tangled up in a golf club scandal that jeopardizes his dreams of a normal life. He’s never been a fighter, but this time he finally pushes back at the world—which could have been a breakthrough but turns into an epic fail. Probably because Gates fights back dirty. Now his life is on the verge of ruin, and he’s got no one to turn to for help.

Or so he thinks. Because what Gates is about to discover might hit him with the most amazing shock of his life.

MY TAKE:    This was a fun book to read with quite a few laughs and definitely some groans thrown in.  Gates isn't a bad kid by any means, he just doesn't always think with his brain.  (Of course that describes how many 17 year old males?) 

The characters that populate this book are very well written.  Many of them come across as people that we might have in our own lives.  Gates is a very sympathetic kid as he really does have a great heart.  He loves his girlfriend Mel and really does try to do things right by her, it just doesn't always go well.  The fact that he goes to the retirement home on his own and has a close relationship with an old man there is one of his bright spots.  Some of his choices in other areas shine a light on his age and his homelife.

Gates' mother is pretty much useless.  I flat out didn't care for her at all.  Then we have his godmother who is a real piece of work.  Alicia is just wrong wrong wrong - on many levels.  I won't delve into it as her issues are a large piece of the story.  It is a very interesting part she plays. 

The plot moves along quickly and it really isn't until close to the end of the book that I figured out where it was going.  The author does a nice job of keeping the intensity up and the action flowing.  I enjoyed how everything played out and I do hope that Mr. Gleacher is working on a sequel.  

Out of 5 JEWELS, I give it:

 

~~~~~ Disclaimer:  All opinions expressed on this blog are 100% my own.  I do not receive monetary compensation for my reviews but do utilize affiliate links.  I may receive books in  order to facilitate a review, but this does not guarantee a good review - only a completely honest one.  Each review post denotes how I obtained the book.

Review - Me, Myself and Paris by Ruth Yunker

TITLE:    Me, Myself and Paris: One Toe Under the Eiffel Tower, The Other In the Grocery Store
AUTHOR:    Ruth Yunker
INFO:    Hardcover, Humor/Non-Fiction, 194 pages
PUBLISHED:   Outskirts Press, 2010
ISBN#:   978-1-4327-5714-4
HOW I GOT IT:   Received from Author for Review

FROM GOODREADS:  Me, Myself & Paris is author Ruth Yunker's droll pastiche of her days, free and unaccompanied, in Paris. Three years in a row she rents an apartment, stays for six weeks, and takes on Paris, half resident, half visitor. She is a short attention span tourist, a wide-eyed voyeur, and irreverence saves the day when the chips are down. Her stories are about bonhomie and savoir-faire, American style, while treading the hallowed and slippery cobblestones of Paris.

It's about every day errands, and sorties into dutiful sightseeing. It's about run-ins with grocery store cashiers and metro ticket agents. It's about desperately trying to speak French. It's about attempting to emulate the chic, windblown Parisian woman wearing no lipstick, while Ruth wouldn't be caught bare lipped outside the boudoir.


She conquers the metro, no mean feat for a Californian glued to a car. She hears ghosts in cathedrals, and smells bread toasting every morning across the courtyard. She learns to make correct change without her reading glasses. Comes to understand that direct eye contact is a flagrant disregard of manners, even when she most needs a hug.


Me, Myself & Paris is what Paris looks like, feels like, smells like, tastes like, to an American woman, free and unfettered, sense of humor and bonhomie alive and well, alone and loving it, in the most beautiful and temperamental city in the world.

MY TAKE:   I enjoyed this light-hearted, sometimes tongue-in-cheek romp through Paris with the author.  She revisits her three summers there and shares what she learns ~ about Paris, about traveling and mostly about herself.  There is a lot of humor and quite a bit of insight dished out in this quick read.  I think a lot of women will relate to the author and her trials and tribulations traveling to an unknown country alone. 
     

Out of 5 Jewels,

I give it:

WHERE TO BUY IT:    Amazon, IndieBound, The Book Depository, Powell's Books

 

~~~~~ Disclaimer:  All opinions expressed on this blog are 100% my own.  I do not receive monetary compensation for my reviews but do utilize affiliate links.  I may receive books in  order to facilitate a review, but this does not guarantee a good review - only a completely honest one.  Each review post denotes how I obtained the book.

Review - Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris

TITLE:    SQUIRREL SEEKS CHIPMUNK
AUTHOR/EDITOR:    David Sedaris
INFO:    Audiobook, Fiction/Humor, 3 cds
PUBLISHED:   Hachette Audio, 2010
ISBN#:   978-1-60024-499-5
HOW'D I GET IT:   Received from Hachette for Review

FROM GOODREADS:  This collection of sharply observed animal-themed tales is a delight, told with David Sedaris's trademark blend of hilarity and goodnaturedness. Though the characters may not be human, the situations in these stories bear an uncanny resemblance to the insanity of our own everyday interactions. In 'The Toad, the Turtle, and the Duck', three strangers commiserate about animal bureaucracy while waiting in a complaint line. In 'Hello Kitty', a cynical feline struggles to sit through his prison-mandated AA meetings. In 'The Squirrel and the Chipmunk', a pair of star-crossed lovers is separated by prejudiced family members.

MY TAKE:    The hubby and I listened to this in the car on our trip last month.  I was really looking forward to hearing it as I've enjoyed Sedaris's previous books.  I'm sorry to say that I just really couldn't get into it as a whole.  There were a few funny spots, but I think the whole piece was a miss.  Hubby wasn't too thrilled with it either.  For one thing, the woman's voice on this audiobook was rather annoying.  The men's voices were a little easier to listen to.  Reading the print version may be better as some of the stories did have merit.

While I understand and even applaud putting our human issues and foibles onto the creature world, it was still rather creepy at times.  I kept having ugly mental pictures, especially when the woman was narrating.  It took a lot away from the humor that I know David Sedaris possesses and usually shares.

I would recommend Sedaris fans buy the book instead of the audio version.
   
MY RATING:    2.25/5

WHERE TO BUY IT:    Amazon, The Book Depository, IndieBound

~~~~~ Disclaimer:  All opinions expressed on this blog are 100% my own.  I do not receive monetary compensation for my reviews but do utilize affiliate links.  I may receive books in  order to facilitate a review, but this does not guarantee a good review - only a completely honest one.  Each review post denotes how I obtained the book.

Giveaway - Earth (The AudioBook) presented by The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race

TITLE:    The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Presents Earth (The Book): A Visitor's Guide to the Human Race
INFO:    Audiobook, Humor, 3 CDs
PUBLISHED:   Hachette Audio, 2010
ISBN#:   978-1-60788-615-0
HOW'D I GET IT:   Received from Hachette Audio for Review and Giveaway

FROM GOODREADS:  Where do we come from? Who created us? Why are we here? These questions have puzzled us since the dawn of time, but when it became apparent to Jon Stewart and the writers of The Daily Show that the world was about to end, they embarked on a massive mission to write a book that summed up the human race: What we looked like; what we accomplished; our achievements in society, government, religion, science, and culture - all in a lavishly produced audiobook of approximately 200 minutes.


After two weeks of hard work and nights in the recording studio, they had their audiobook. Earth (The Audiobook) is the definitive guide to our species. With their trademark wit, irreverence, and intelligence, Stewart and his team will posthumously answer all of life's most hard-hitting questions, completely unburdened by objectivity, journalistic integrity, or even accuracy.

Read by Jon Stewart, the Daily Show correspondents, and featuring a special performance by Sigourney Weaver.
 
MY TAKE:   (My review will be coming up shortly, but for now, let's have a contest!)

Hachette Audio Books has generously offered two One Book Shy followers their own copy of Earth (The AudioBook).  Simple rules as usual:

• Be a current or new follower of One Book Shy
• Have a mailing address (NO PO BOXES) in the US or Canada
• Comment on this post and tell us if you currently listen to audiobooks
• ONE PRIZE PER HOUSEHOLD, even if you do win in another contest
• Contest ends at midnight PST, October 31st HALLOWEEN!
• Winners will have 48 hours to respond with their mailing address

Good luck!  Earth is out now and can be found at local bookstores and online at the links listed below.

WHERE TO BUY IT:  Amazon, IndieBound, The Book Depository

 

~~~~~ Disclaimer:  All opinions expressed on this blog are 100% my own.  I do not receive monetary compensation for my reviews but do utilize affiliate links.  I may receive books in  order to facilitate a review, but this does not guarantee a good review - only a completely honest one.  Each review post denotes how I obtained the book.