Gravity's Rainbow

Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon

I started this after reading a quote from here about burned out light bulbs. It is a long book. After spending a few hours, I was not impressed and getting sick of the vulgarity, so I put it down. That's about it. (From November 18, 2016)

I am not a fan George Guidall narrations. His voice screams out "boring" and there are too many "empty spaces" as he reads. It doesn't help that the book is long and rambling. The Pulitzer Advisory Board was offended by its content, some of which was described as "'unreadable', 'turgid', 'overwritten', and in parts 'obscene'. That feels accurate.

While it is not being vulgar and scattalogical, there is a bit of World War II science fiction going on. There is some super device that some people want. Nazis and various other people come into play. Perhaps that would be an interesting novella, rather than an afterthought in 37 hours of blather.

Terror at the Gates: Blood of Lilith, Book 1

Terror at the Gates: Blood of Lilith, Book 1 by Scarlett St. Clair

In a religious society, people are somewhat confined by where they stand. The main character lives in an area of sin. She wants to work for a guy. there are conflicts and some romance. There is at least some plot, though the anti-religion gets heavy.

Opposite Safari (Fisher-Price Little People)

Opposite Safari (Fisher-Price Little People) by Modern Publishing

No author. Toy company title. Yeah, this book is not much. There are a few opposites, mostly related to animal safari toys.

Little Crab: Finger Puppet Book

Little Crab: Finger Puppet Book by illustrated by Klaartje van der Pul, translated by Rachel Liong

This does not have much of a book. It was originally in Dutch, but there is not much to translate. It is mostly a gimmick for using the finger puppet.

How Does It Feel?: Infatuated Fae, Book 1

How Does It Feel?: Infatuated Fae, Book 1 by Jeneane O'Riley

This book seemed like it had potential at first. There was an interesting story of a woman that worked as a scientist. She was an expert on moths, but had some struggles getting the position she wanted. She met a fellow outcast who had some expertise on mushrooms she needed to help the moths. Alas, as this was building up, there were hints that it was not to be. There were random vulgarities and excess involvement in her romantic life. This was all just a setup for her to end up in some fairy kingdom. There is a cat that is a brave warrior and others that have confused identity. It could almost be a good story if it was not intent and just shoving romance and profanity where it did not belong.

The Princess and the Frog: A Surprise Guest

The Princess and the Frog: A Surprise Guest by Natalie Amanda Leece, illustrated by Studio IBOIX and Walt Sturrock

Book is a spin off from a movie based on a book based on a fairy tale. Just about nothing here is related to the original tale. Instead, it is mostly a conflict between a jazz musician alligator and a dog. It is quite bad.

The Dagger and the Flame

The Dagger and the Flame by Catherine Doyle

A typical romatasy that goes one ear and our the other. There were some assassins here, I think.

Ghostsmith: House of the Dead Duology

Ghostsmith: House of the Dead Duology by Nicki Pau Preto

There are revenants. They are bad. People are fighting bad guys while falling in love with others. This book goes on for a while. I could not focus on it.

Bonesmith: House of the Dead Duology

Bonesmith: House of the Dead Duology by Nicki Pau Preto

These young adult fantasy books are all the same. A girl tries to come on her own, which means breaking with some tradition. There is a boy she falls in love, but there are great problems with it. Most of the time she is contemplating what she should do and how she should be change the course of history while being true to herself. But then the boys get in the way and some to muddle things up before being part of the solution. A bit of magic of some sort is sprinkled in. In this book there are undead. They must be disposed of so they don't come back and get in the way. The hero has to learn to get along with the boy so they can defeat the dark ones. The book goes on for way too long.

Good Clean Jokes to Drive Your Parents Crazy

Good Clean Jokes to Drive Your Parents Crazy by Bob Phillips

I can't complain that this title was misleading. It sure drove me crazy reading it. The jokes were generally awful. Even the delivery could use some work. The occasional good joke was an aberration. 

Five Tumbling Tigers (Noisy Counting Books)

Five Tumbling Tigers (Noisy Counting Books) by Catepillar Books, illustrated by Debbie Tarbett

The book text is credited to "Catepillar books" and it includes an electronic device. That should be a big enough warning. The book tells the story of 5 tigers that play a game where the disappear then reappear. The text almost has a rhythm but then breaks it for its gimmick. With a dead battery, this is pointless.

Under the Sea (Usborne First Jigsaw Books)

Under the Sea (Usborne First Jigsaw Books) written by Fiona Watt, illustrated by Rachel Wells

There is not a whole lot to this book. It has a few pages that list under the sea creatures, with a sentence on the facing page. At one time, there were some simple jigsaw puzzles in there, but those are long gone.

The Unicorn

The Unicorn by Rena Moran, illustrated by Kersti Frigell

A girl dreams of seeing a unicorn. Then a unicorn appears and she is able to spend time with it. It then leaves so another girl can have a turn. It is all very forgettable.

Charlie the Ranch Dog: Charlie's Snow Day

Charlie the Ranch Dog: Charlie's Snow Day by Ree Drummond (Author), Diane deGroat (Illustrator)

Charlie the Ranch Dog plays in the snow in this forgettable book.

At the Beach

AT THE BEACH (My Take-Home Book: Blue System, Book 47, Level G) 6 PAK by Maggie Bridger (Author), Meredith Johnson (Illustrator)

Kids go to the beach. One is afraid of sharks. The other scares him. This is one of those books meant to be easy to read, but without much of a story.

Mansfield Park

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

Fanny goes to live in Mansfield Park. She grows up there. Things happen to her. There is some relationship drama. I cannot seem to get drawn in to Jane Austen books.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: A Big Surprise

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: A Big Surprise by Melissa Lagonegro, illustrated by Artful Doodlers (Originally published as Snow White's Secret)

Snow White decides to help out the dwarfs by secretly cleaning their house and making them food. They are grateful. They assume each other did it, but don't suspect the recently married princess. It is a simple Disney princess story.

Koko's Story

Koko's Story by Francine Patterson (Author), Ronald H. Cohn (Author, Illustrator)

Koko was a gorilla that was trained at young age to use signs from American sign language. She was able to somewhat communicate with humans. There was also a male gorilla and some pets that were later connected with her. There are some photographs and a lot of text in this book. The author's claims have been somewhat challenged. A "gorilla foundation" was established, but there were never very many gorillas involved.

Sweet Dreams, Maisy

Sweet Dreams, Maisy by Lucy Cousins, King Rollo Films Ltd.

The book is a very forgettable book of Maisy going to sleep. Lucy Cousins gets the credit, but it mentions that the illustrations were in the style of Lucy Cousins by King Rollo Films. That explains the quality of this. The font and style are nice,  but there is just not much of a story.

Touch and Feel Baby Animals

Touch and Feel Baby Animals by DK (Dorling Kindersley Limited)

This board book as things to touch that feel like baby animals. There are cute animal pictures. How close are the feelings to "real" animal feels?