In the interest in full disclosure I received Alive by Scott Sigler book and a copy of Alight, the second book in the series, as part of a giveaway. My opinions are my own. Now that that is out of the way. Go read this book! NOW! You don’t need to read the rest of this review.
Still here? What! Why? Go read the damn book! Ok fine, so you don’t believe me huh? I read quiet a bit and there are very, very few books that I think everyone should be screaming READ THIS NOW! This is one of those books. It makes me angry that no one told me to read this. What is wrong with you people? This book is that good!
This book losses a lot of what it is if I or anyone else tells you pretty much anything. I loved the constant surprises in this book. Everyone throws around the page-turner word a lot, I probably use it too much as well. This book really is a page turner. It usually takes me much longer to read a 345 page book. This week I also went back to work, so I’ve hard hardly any time to read. Every single free moment I was reading this book. I HAD to find out what happened next.
I totally bought into the very likable characters right away. The environment the story takes place is unique. I can’t say much more but you feel yourself paying very close attention to the descriptions of things as you try to figure out what is going on.
Very basic introduction to the book. Female young lady wakes up in total darkness trapped in some kind of box. That is in the description of on goodreads and amazon, so I don’t feel I’ve given away anything. Just go read this. It is amazing. Scott Sigler hit a home run! I can’t wait to read Alight! But I’m going to take a break from this story line, so that I don’t have to wait so long for the third book Alone coming out on October 25, 2016.
Squeezed by Alissa Hamilton is a great kind of non-fiction, but you have to be ready for it. Coming off some very thrilling YA novels, I found it difficult to slow down and really process Hamilton’s points. I did find myself getting lost in all the information, but I enjoyed that feeling and I like researching again as well. I enjoy learning things like 96% of all oranges grown in Florida are processed into juice. There was a lot to take in from this book. I’m going to lay out the essentials here so you can skip the rest of the review if you want. But before I do, did I like this book? Yes, it gets 4 our of 5 stars. Having said that this book is not for the faint of heart. It can be dry for those not interested in the particular topic. I’ve always been fine with dry books as I’m interested in everything. Consider yourself fairly warned.
If you buy orange juice at the store and it has a best buy date of more than a few days, it is heavily processed.
By heavily processed I mean, pasteurized.
By pasteurized, I mean boiled and they suck all the air out.
When they boil it it loses its nutrients, when they suck the air out the flavor goes to.
What is left (orange colored sugar water) is stored in tanks for around a year before it is processed some more.
When they take it out of the tanks the add fresh orange juice (just a little) to try to add back that orange flavor and smell that they removed. Most processors also add flavor pack, which are mostly water that has been perfumed with synthetic human engineered smell to add back the orange smell that was removed.
Most know that Tropicana Pure Premium is not from concentrate. Few know what it is. p.147
I knew going into this book about the pasteurization, and I remember hearing about flavor packs, but I didn’t really know what that was. Hamilton made that clear in her book. But mostly, her book was about policy. Policy and politics from 1961 forward. This policy and politics dictated why we have the orange juice that we have today. The FDA decided that since flavor packs are made from oranges (not the case anymore) that it didn’t need to be put on the label. So, if you see anything at all about flavor packs, it might say natural flavors on the label, but this is not always the case. A lot of processors wiggle their way out of putting anything like that on the label or in the nutrition facts section.
Many consumers would be shocked and disappointed to learn that most processed orange juice, a product still widely perceived to be the definition of purity, would be undrinkable without an ingredient referred to within the industry as “the flavor pack”. p. 159
…you taste the bulk concentrate that hasn’t has the essence added back it just tastes like sugar. p.161
Here is another quote from the book that goes over the lifecycle of making pasteurized orange juice:
…pasteurized, deoiled, put into an aseptic tank farm, and the brought out, blended, add-back [added] and put into the package. p.156
Another disturbing thought is that some of the oranges could have been bacd, but how is the consumer to realize this when it is boiled (for added shelf life, not consumer safety) and removed of all taste and smell. The flavor pack that is added could very well cover any lingering bad smell caused bad oranges that made it through any quality assurance testing. It can have “a protective or masking role.”
Watch the advertisement below carefully, Anita Bryant never says directly that the oranges are from Florida in this add but that the orange juice is. The orange juice from Brazil is processed in Florida, but it is not Florida oranges.
Another eye opener is that fact that most of our orange juice is coming from Brazil now, which doesn’t have the same FDA or governing bodies that we do have here. Why Brazil? Does it taste better? Nope, it is only because it is cheaper, most agree that it is inferior do the oranges grown in Florida.
Below is a short interview that the author, Alissa Hamilton gave to a local news outlet.
The book was very enlightening, I discussed that fact that back in the 60’s the average homemaker was believed to be incapable of processing too much information, like what pasteurization meant.
And I love this quote:
Brennan had evidence that processed orange juice has so dulled consumers’ senses that they were becoming attuned to the taste of less-flavorful juice. He questioned whether North Americans desired, or would even find palatable, fresh squeezed. p.99
Great tidbits that I learned from reading this:
Orange derives from the French or which means gold
Florida’s prolific Sunshine Tree was not planted until 1560
Southern China was the first to grow the sweet orange commercially
By the 1960’s 75% of purchased food had undergone some form of processing
The FDA estimates that over 3,000 food additives are in use
Just two more things I want to share about this book. Did you know Bing Crosby made millions selling the stuff in these commercials? And before that on radio?
And lastly I leave you with this quote:
It is difficult to find an orange juice consumer who is not bothered by the fact that a product that is made out to be fresh sits in storage, sometimes for upward of a year, and is made palatable only by the addition of a flavor pack.
I’m a fan of Bill Bryson. It all started with A Walk in the Woods. Yes, the book that was recently made into the 2015 movie A Walk in the Woods. I really loved A Walk in the Woods when I listened to it on a long road trip. Since, then I have read several of Bryson’s Books. I tried A Short History of Nearly Everything, but I was unable to finish it. I found it very long winded and not very funny at all, but that was a long time-ago and I want to go back and try that one again. Most recently, I read Shakespeare: The World as Stage. I liked it. I was not a stuffy history on all the Bards work. It was very readable.
I’ve read a lot more of his works but let’s get back to Notes from a Small Island. I checked this book out because I read the New York Times book review Bill Bryson’s ‘The Road to Little Dribbling’ and I was very excited to read Bryson’s newest work. But there was a problem. This book is actually the second in a series. I had not read the first. You guessed it, Notes from a Small Island was the first in the series. Written in 1995, the book follows Bryson around the UK as he tries to see some of his favorite places again and some places he has never seen. The New York Times review of Notes from a Small Island was not as glowing as his newer work. Michiko Kakutani, gives his review that is not as I said glowing, but okay. I wasn’t extremely excited to read an okay, book, but I thought well Mr. Kakutani doesn’t know Bryson, like I do. I’ve read a lot of his work and I find him funny.
As he travels through the country largely using public transportation and walking he regales the reader with his dry pithy humor. His particular humor does make me laugh, but it was often employed by making fun of famous (or at least known) personalities from the UK. Example, “the landlord was as fat as….. or the dense twit was worse than …..” I just didn’t get these references. This book seemed to be targeted at Brits. At least to really understand these references. That being said there is a lot of humor that you can understand, even if you don’t know anyone from the UK.
This YouTube video review of the book gives you a good idea of what I mean of the UK humor. This obviously is done by a UKer:
Long blog post short, I gave this book 3 stars. Just average. However, if I had understood more of the jokes, this would have been an easy 4 star book.
Golden Son by Pierce Brown is a great, great book. I just this moment finished it. I started it the moment finished book one in the series, Red Rising. At first, I was reeled into the story as it picked up right where they last book left off. However, while reading I noticed that this book was much more wordy than the last. I still laughed and was caught with awe and surprise at places in the book, but I did notice a slow down in parts of the book. The pace was not consistent and I think it hurt the story.
I whole-heartily gave Red Rising 5 stars. It earned them. It is by far the best book I’ve read this year. But, Golden Son is different. It still earns 5 stars, just barely. I want to compare it directly to Red Rising, but is that fair? If it was not part of this series it would be a 5 star book easily. But in comparing it to Red Rising it just is not that good.
Anyway, if you haven’t read Red Rising, read that first. This is the second book in the series. Once you’ve read that come back.
Okay, read it? Good. That was fast. You’re a fast reader! Anyway, this book continues to follow Darrow as he rises in the Gold Society. Some major mysteries are unveiled in this telling of his story. But they don’t have a huge build up, its just bang this is Ares, and you’re like WTF, really? That was surprising, and there are more surprises like that in the book. And it ends on a huge cliffhanger, not as good as Red Rising (again), but very good.
I’m going to take a break then read Morning Son. I have it, but I am beginning a book with a book club soon, so it will have to wait. And honestly, it will be good to have a little break from the fiction for a while.
This is not a good update. I’m way, way behind on reading this. I should be around 16 almost 17% through the book. When I last checked in with you in February I was at 6.3%. I am now at 7.2%. I have not been picking on this book very often. Even the fact that it is on my phone has not helped me read more. I thought that would increase my reading of it since I always have my phone so it is more convenient for me to read the book. But, there is always something else that I want to read more than this book.
I also thought that if I got all the War and Peace episodes from the new 2016 television mini-series that would get me more into reading this book. It has not. I’ve read 35 books so far this year. Most of them, I’ve read after having already started War and Peace, but I just can’t bring myself to pick up this book and as for the television show, I can’t seem to work up the excitement needed to turn that on either. There is just always a book I would rather spend my time with instead of watching anything on tv.
Currently, I’m avoiding War and Peace by reading Notes from a Small Island and Golden Son. Both much more immersive than War and Peace. Any suggestions on how I can get excited about reading War and Peace?
Wow! This is an outstanding adventure/science fiction/fantasy/thriller. I guess it is young adult. I don’t know why I’m draw to so many young adult books recently. Anyway, the genre doesn’t really matter to me that much. This is just such an outstanding work. I related to the characters instantly. I was draw into their life right from the start. At around page 50 I knew the book was very good. At page 100, I thought this is a 5 star book! By 150, I thought this book might just be my favorite book of 2016.
The settings were wonderfully done, with just enough description to not in get in the way of the story. When I had to put the book down, I made it my priority to pick it up again. The bad guys in there were very bad and you wanted them dead. You just were grabbed and thrown into the main characters wild ride. There were surprises and twist that I didn’t see coming.
Red Rising Signed
Possibly the best part about this book was that I got it free from Comic-Con straight from the author and it is signed! Even though, this book was free my opinion is my own.
My friend Tim recommended this book to me. Tim reads a lot of sci fi and if he gives something a rare 5 it is very good. The last recommendation that Tim gave me was The Martian which was my favorite book of 2014 and the goodreads choice winner for 2014. Red Rising was also a 2014 goodreads choice winner. If you want a exciting and thrilling read, read Red Rising today! I’ve already ordered the next two books from Amazon: Golden Son and Morning Star. I’m really looking forward to reading Golden Son. I will devour these books!
Three standouts out of 9 books. I think I liked Graham’s book more because I was excited to read what Rory Gillmore’s mom wrote. Plus, it was read by herself, which is always the best in an audio book. Cold Comfort surprised me. I was expecting a more stuffy book than I got and I enjoyed how nosey the main character was. The remains of the day was different, it was stuffy, but it really worked with the story in this case. The Darth Vader graphic novel was very good. I may have short changed it slightly as goodreads only allows whole number scores, this is much closer to 5 than four, but its not perfect. If you read one of the books above make it Darth Vader. I can’t believe I don’t have a post on that. I will have to so something about it.
As far as the 100 book challenge goes, I’m a head of schedule. I read more than 8 books in January and I read 9 in February, so, I’m good. So far in March, I’ve read a bunch of graphic novels. I’m in good shape.
The copy above it not the copy of Wuthering Heights that I listened to. I listened to the audio version of the book. I’m not sure if that was the best choice. I think this is a book to read in its paper form. Maybe I would have appreciated it more then. I was not taken with the story or the characters. Everyone was so upset at each other. All the characters did was continually yell at each other.
This book read to me like a very dramatic soap opera. It just seemed so over the top I couldn’t relate to the characters and they were so insane and upset constantly, with their laid back lives. It was just to ridiculous to me. I didn’t understand why Cathy did as she did. I felt bad for Heathcliff, until he went insane.
I went on to watch the made for tv movie filmed in 2009. I thought that maybe if I saw the movie I might care more for the story and characters. I have to say that the movie did help a little, but it wasn’t enough to elevate the memory of the book in my mind. The most peculiar bit is that my copy ow Wuthering Heights was read to me by a Romulan also, known as Carolyn Seymour.
Carolyn Seymour
In addition to being read to my a Romulan I also got to tick another book off my BBC 100 list! Almost, half way through that list.
I feel torn by this book. I’m not sure what to think. I liked the story. I liked how it was a completely new world that didn’t draw on anything else that I’d ever read or watched. I grew to like some of the characters and I never new were the author was going with the story, so it was very unpredictable. And everyone who has reviewed Truthwitch by Susan Dennard, loves it. 75% of the reviews are 4 or 5 stars and there are 5,500 reviews.
This book is immensely popular right now and everyone loves it. It is the story of two women who are close friends and an adventure they go through, where one finds love. However, this is just the first book in a series that is still being written so if you read this you will not find closure at least not until the other books are out.
I didn’t love the writing in this book, I found it a little too 50 shades of grey in places. That just doesn’t appeal to me. I’m sure I would be bored to death with a romance novel. Still I can read the driest of history or science novels in complete rapture so it can safely be said I’m not the average reader.
This all being said, this biggest question I have coming out of this book is not about anything I read in it, because its just not that interesting. The question I have is will the second book be worth reading? Do I like these characters enough to care what happens next to them. I’m truly on the fence about it. I feel like this world has a lot of potential. Thats why I am going to give this book 3 our of 5 stars. I’m in the minority here only 16% of people gave this book 3 stars.
February was an unexpectedly slow buying month for me. I found these three at the local libraries used bookstore.
I bought All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque because it was the reading group book of the month at least a year ago with one of my virtual reading clubs The History Book Club. Ever since they had this as their reading pick, I’ve been trying to track it down at used bookstores. I finally had some luck and found a decent copy last month. I’m excited about this because it qualifies as a foreign books since it was originally written in German and translated by A. W. Wheen.
Next, I found a Penguin Classic in its beautiful black and white paperback binding. I had no idea what Silas Marner was about before I grabbed it, but you can’t go wrong with George Eliot, so I grabbed it. I’m reading now on goodreads it is..
George Eliot’s tale of a solitary miser gradually redeemed by the joy of fatherhood.
Okay sounds good. This was $2 and looks like its never been opened. MSRP is $7. Not a bad savings.
Lastly, I’m very excited that I found More Book Lust by Nancy Pearl in the same bookstore. I got it for $1 and it is in the best condition. I would think it has never been opened. Very happy to have grabbed this as I have the first book, Book Lust and I absolutely loved it! They are great references to have around! It says on the cover there are 1,000 new recommendations! Sweet!
