A Dance with Dragons (A Song of Fire and Ice #5) by George R. R. Martin

A Dance with Dragons (Song of Fire and Ice #5) filled in a great deal of gaps and answered a greater deal if questions left by the fourth book.  I did not enjoy book four very much and enjoyed it eben less after reading book five which pointed out that the story was being told out of order and some of the foreshadowing fell flat.  Leaving book four behind, which I will gladly do with no hesitation; nook five was awesome. An intense and quick story with twists and turns I did not see coming; the series was revived and left me eagerly waiting the two final installments.

A Clash of Kings (A Song of Fire and Ice #2) by George R. R. Martin

The most captivating story continues in book two, picking up where the first book left off, A Clash of Kings (Song of Fire and Ice #2) expands on the epic Game of Thrones tale and introduces the true power struggle that is unfolding.  Most of the characters stories kept building and building, and although nothing of real substance happened in this book, the foreshadowing is fantastic and I am truly captivated to continue reading to see what happens next. 

Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson

This book started off a little slow and very disjointed, hoping around different stories from different perspectives, more like a history lesson.  Then things started to get connected as the timeline progressed on the robot uprising and the book went from a little boring to phenomenal.  My words of advice for anyone wavering like I was and considered passing on this after trying to keep awake, is stick with it; it gets great.  Fantastic characters, exciting plot, great moments of suspense, and surprises; this book has it all…and robots.

Misery by Stephen King

Stephen King has an ability unlike any other to create two extreme characters; one who you love and feel the pain of and share their every emotion, and then the one who is the epitome of evil, that you hate more than anything.  Every terrible thing that happened to Paul as he slowly broke mentally and gave up hope just filled me with more rage for retaliation over Annie, but being a Stephen King novel, you really never know what to expect and a happy ending it not always guaranteed.  The other amazing aspect of this story is how King was able to write a story within the story which mimicked the main story, and at the same time talking in the main plot about the difference between things that happen in books and those that happen in real life; it was pretty genius.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

A very interesting book. Who does not love a story about humans making the most efficient existence by weeding out emotions? This story seems very insightful considering the time it was written.

The good and bad of the book were that tremendous detail given regarding the science and social aspects of the background, but it seemed to over shadow the story at times. Not to say it was not enjoyable, the story just seemed to jump around too quickly. Other than that it was great.

The Long Walk by Stephen King

This was an odd book in that the story was relatively boring (one hundred kids walked until they dropped and they would be killed), and there was not too much character development, but somehow at the end of the book I thought to myself, "that was not too bad." I am not sure when it happened, when I was about halfway through I almost put it down because the story kept repeating itself, but I stuck with it, and nothing really changed, but it became better. I can not fully endorse other people reading this book, because I can see why many people would not want to or why they would not enjoy it, but I liked it, although I can not fully explain why.

Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann

An interesting and entertaining take on a murder mystery. Who doesn't love crime solving sheep; I think that is all you need to know in order to give this book a try.

The BFG by Roald Dahl

To say Roald Dahl’s books are written with a little bit of genius would be completely and utterly untrue; Roald Dahl books are written with a great deal of genius. BFG in particular is a tale that is enjoyable to both children and adults alike, and has such a sophisticated and subtle sense of humor amid the great characters and unique story.

Daniel X: Watch the Skies by James Patterson

I actually liked this one better than the first Daniel X book of the series. It reads very much like a comic book in that not much else is happening outside of the main story and it is just action after action. The plot is fun, the villain is treacherous, and Daniel X is developed more, (and has all new and improved super powers). I am really enjoying this series.

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Steig Larsson

Such a complex and impelling story with so much going on. A true joy to read, and incredibly exciting, and although more straight forward than the first of the series, it is no less entertaining. The only thing that got me while reading is that some of the names got jumbled in my mind, but Larsson usually gave a pretty good recap of letting me know who he was talking about. All in all a great addition to the series.

Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire

I love that Gregory Maguire continued the story where Wicked left off. I adore Wicked, it was fantastic, and the world that was created out of such a well-known story was unbelievable. Now I get more of it and I could not be happier, and some questions are answered, but then more questions are posed, so I have my next novel all picked out…book three (A Lion Among Men) it is! I recommend this series to anyone who loves original plots, clever writing, amazing characters, and a true page turner which will have you emotionally invested from start to finish.

Going Postal by Terry Pratchett

Who would have thought a book about the postal service would be so entertaining? Well not I of course, but then again, this was my first introduction into the works of Terry Pratchett. The book was flat out hilarious, from the subtle commentary by the brilliant author, to the clever interaction between characters, and even to the well thought out names to each and every individual. From beginning to end the postal jokes got delivered (pun intended) as well as many other jokes of various shapes and sizes, leading this to be a good start for me into the Discworld series. The great thing about this series (besides it being one of the more original and creative books I have read in a long time) is that I was able to pick up Going Postal (#33 in the series) and read it as a stand alone book without having any other knowledge of Discworld. With that being said, I do plan on learning much more about Discworld through reading the various books, because they are undoubtedly just as good as this one, and who knows what order I will choose to proceed. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes an original story and fun characters, and I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves jokes, or is a mailman.