I'll be away ...

This is just to let everyone know I'll be away for the next 2 months at least. Due to a couple of projects at work, I'll need to temporarily relocate. Anything other than the posts I've scheduled for the next 2 weeks is uncertain until I've checked out the place I'm moving into. ... so wish me luck :-)

In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted at The Story Siren.

Anyone can participate. IMM is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week.

Borrowed:

• The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
• The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan
• Towers of Midnight by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson

Received as a gift:

• The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

On My Wishlist : I'm missing a few In Death books

On My Wishlist is a weekly meme hosted at Book Chick City.

Do you have any books that you desperately want but haven't bought yet? The books can be old, new or forthcoming.

Kindred in Death by J.D. Robb

From Amazon :

When the newly promoted captain of the NYPSD and his wife return a day early from their vacation, they were looking forward to spending time with their bright and vivacious sixteen-year-old daughter who had stayed behind.

Not even their worst nightmares could have prepared them for the crime scene that awaited them instead. Brutally murdered in her bedroom, Deena's body showed signs of trauma that horrified even the toughest of cops; including our own Lieutenant Eve Dallas, who was specifically requested by the captain to investigate.

When the evidence starts to pile up, Dallas and her team think they are about to arrest their perpetrator; little do they know yet that someone has gone to great lengths to tease and taunt them by using a variety of identities. Overconfidence can lead to careless mistakes. But for Dallas, one mistake might be all she needs to bring justice.

Missing in Death by J.D. Robb

From Amazon :

Investigating a woman’s disappearance on a New York City ferry, Detective Eve Dallas wonders…if she didn’t jump, and she’s not on board, then where in the world is she?

Fantasy in Death by J.D. Robb

From Amazon :

The game started with a murder. Now, it's Eve Dallas's move.

It is the most puzzling case Eve Dallas has ever faced: the founder of the computer gaming giant U-Play is found decapitated in his locked, private playroom. And now Eve and her team are about to enter the next level of police work, in a world where fantasy is the ultimate seduction-and the price of defeat is death...

Indulgence in Death by J.D. Robb

From Amazon :

NYPD lieutenant Eve Dallas might have been on holiday, but as she knows all too well, murder never takes a vacation. No sooner does Eve return from Ireland with her husband, Roarke, than she is back on the job looking into the death of a limousine driver who has been shot with a crossbow. The very next day, a high-priced licensed companion is stabbed to death in an amusement park horror house. The only connection between the two killings is the choice of weapons: the second involved an antique bayonet. As Eve and her team scramble to find more clues, Eve begins to think she is on the track of a thrill killer. When it comes to finding a killer, the smart money is always on Eve Dallas. The latest addictive addition to Robb’s long-running series features spiky humor; a cleverly constructed, adrenaline-raising plot; and the requisite amount of sexy passion between Eve and her soulmate, Roarke.

Review : The Hollywood Book of Breakups by James Robert Parish

Title : The Hollywood Book of Breakups Author : James Robert Parish Reading Dates : 31 Aug - 14 Sep 2011

From Amazon : "Half of all marriages end in divorce--and then there are the really unhappy ones." --Joan Rivers Do you suppose that the person who first said "Life is stranger than fiction" might have had Hollywood marriages in mind? Why watch a romantic film starring a leading man and a leading lady when their real-life romances are so much more interesting? It seems that a celebrity's latest film can have a considerably longer life span in the theater than his or her marriage du jour. One would almost think that Tinseltown has come to embrace divorce as an accepted pastime. Some celebrities have seemingly collected spouses over the years, systematically adding notches in their belts of divorces. Cases in point: Zsa Zsa Gabor (nine), Lana Turner (eight), Elizabeth Taylor (nine), and Mickey Rooney (eight). This list appears to make Jennifer Lopez a mere novice with only three marriages, two divorces, and one terminated engagement to date. In The Hollywood Book of Breakups, James Robert Parish looks at scores of hot Hollywood romances that eventually fell apart. From the decade-long union of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman to the "just-for-show" nuptials of Rock Hudson and Phyllis Gates to the four-and-a-half-year marriage of Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston to the "other woman" divorce of Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher, Parish covers it all--from the burning embers to the fizzling fires of Hollywood breakups. You couldn't make this stuff up--and James Robert Parish doesn't need to. Hollywood writes its own drama when it comes to scandalous breakups.

Book Review of The Hollywood Book of Breakups.

Whatever I was expecting from The Hollywood Book of Breakups, this wasn’t it. The book reads like a series of short stories with little insight into the characters or elaboration into the details, and most importantly, is BORINGly repetitive.

While I rarely read non-fiction books, and have certainly never picked up one like The Hollywood Book of Breakups, I admit that I was expecting some sort of tittillating exposé into the lives of famous celebrities. Instead, the book describes little more than the facts as it continues to repeat the same cycle over and over again. After the 4th or 5th couple’s retelling, the book became so excruciatingly boring that I’m amazed I even managed to finish it. I doubt very much that I’ll be repeating the experience.

Still, whether the book is interesting or not, would depend on reader expectations. My problem is probably because the people in the book, real though they may be, are not people I understand. Without that, reading about so many couples who seem to be repeating each other’s mistakes is hardly interesting for me.

This is simply not my cup of tea.

My conclusions :

• Would I re-read the book ? Definitely not.
• Would I want to read the next book in the series if there were one? No.
• Would I want to own my personal copy if I didn’t already own it ? No.
• Who would I recommend this too? Not really. This isn't my cup of tea, so I can't imagine which readers would be interested.
• For those looking to read the book, would I recommend buying or borrowing the book? Borrow it.

Books alluded to :

In My Mailbox

Challenges : 100+ Reading Challenge