nomadreader

I've been tearing through Michael Connelly's lengthy backlist, and I often find myself with repetitive things to say about them, so I'll mostly be doing mini-reviews of his titles, unless one compels me to write more deeply. Note: the reviews of The Closers and Echo Park contain spoilers from prior Connelly books. The Closers  is the eleventh title in Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch series. After being retired, Harry is back with LAPD, and he's working in the Open/Unsolved unit. It's a fascinating turn for Harry, as he and his partner are assigned a series of years, including some from when he was a beat cop. Will he have the chance to solve cases he has seen before? The case that dominates this book is the 17-year-old abduction and murder of Rebecca Verloren, a sixteen-year-old mixed-race teenager. The case benefits from new technology, and the mystery has an urgency to it that surprised me for a cold case. As I read, I found myself hoping Connelly wou...

The basics: In future Chicago, everyone is part of one of five factions: Erudite, Candor, Dauntless, Abnegation, or Amity. Each year, sixteen-year-olds take a test to determine in which faction they belong. For Beatrice, the test doesn't work. She is a rare divergent, who fits in more than one faction, but she must choose which one will be her home. My thoughts: I'm intentionally late to the Divergent  party. The third (and final) book in the trilogy came out a few weeks ago, and the film comes out in March 2014. After The Hunger Games , I learned I'd rather wait until all three volumes of a trilogy are published to dive in. First, how much do I love Veronica Roth for choosing those names for the factions? I early await the increased vocabulary of the teens reading these books. I was swept up in the world of Divergent  immediately. As I read, I found myself contemplating which faction I would have chosen (Erudite), as if I would really be faced with the choice. I was al...

Today I'm pleased to be hosting a giveaway in conjunction with the theatrical release of  the new  Anna Karenina  film .  Anna Karenina is acclaimed director Joe Wright’s bold, theatrical new vision of the epic story of love, stirringly adapted from Leo Tolstoy’s great novel by Academy Award winner Tom Stoppard (Shakespeare in Love). The film marks the third collaboration of the director with Academy Award-nominated actress Keira Knightley and Academy Award-nominated producers Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, and Paul Webster, following their award-winning box office successes Pride & Prejudice and Atonement. Two lucky winners will receive this prize pack: a copy of the book (the gorgeous paperback tie-in edition !) the official soundtrack Votivo candle with bookmark The film is already playing in select cities and will open in wide release this Friday, November 30. After my failed attempts to read Anna Karenina  last year , I'm looking for...

The backstory: Although I wasn't a huge fan of The Help  as a novel ( my review ), I was eager to see the film, which is nominated for numerous Academy Awards, including Best Picture. My thoughts:  While I liked the film a little more than the novel, I'm still not a big fan of this story. I think it's difficult to comment on a film's pacing when you've read the novel (and found it slow), but I think pacing is still an issue in the film, even though it's a lesser one. Similarly, I found the book to be too long, and I also felt the film was too long. I found the plot of the novel telegraphed from the beginning, and the problem was still present in the film. I will say, however, the acting was quite good, and I did find myself being swept away by the performances, while Stockett's use of language never blew me away. Much of the press, particularly during this awards season, has been on Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer. Both gave fine performances, but Jessi...

The backstory:  Despite really disliking Mockingjay , the third novel in the Hunger Games series, I've been following the movie news quite carefully. The casting of Katniss (and Peeta and Gale) is crucial. When news broke yesterday that Jennifer Lawrence had been cast, I was deeply saddened. She's not the right choice, and her casting worries me. My thoughts:  This morning, Entertainment Weekly  posted an interview with Gary Ross, the film's director, calling it the easiest casting decision of his life. He responds to critics who think she's too old (Lawrence will turn 21 in August; Katniss is 16 in the first book): "First of all I talked to Suzanne extensively about this. Suzanne saw every single audition. And not only did Suzanne not have an issue with Jen’s age, she felt you need someone of a certain maturity and power to be Katniss. This is a girl who needs to incite a revolution. We can’t have an insubstantial person play her, and we can’t have someone w...