Book Review Blog Carnival

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Welcome to the twenty-second Book Review Blog Carnival.  This carnival is published every other Sunday on a different blog. You may submit a book review post from your own blog, for the next carnival here.

We’ve had 25 submissions in this edition and the quality has been extremely high.  I heartily recommend that you visit each and every one of the blogs below as I have really enjoyed reading them all.

Fiction

Clark Bjorke reviews The Development by John Barth at I'll Never Forget the Day I Read a Book! saying, “John Barth is a renowned author of literary fiction and a neighbor of mine. He has done much better than this”.  This is actually a collection of short stories and Clark wonders if it isn’t a bit tired for someone once on the cutting edge of 20th century literature.

Joyuna reviews The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold at This Girl's Bookshelf concluding, ”A worthwhile read, to be sure. Full of a wide range of emotions - sadness, grief, yearning, but also love, suspense, and sweetness - but never sappy. The writing is smooth and pleasant, and in places quite beautiful”.

Darren reviews Gold by Dan Rhodes at Bart's Bookshelf saying, “This is a lovely cosy read (the title perfectly captures the warmth and feeling in this book) that for nearly all of the book, just fills you with a lovely warm feeling”.

Jim Murdoch reviews Lowboy by John Wray at The Truth About Lies saying “William Heller (a.k.a. Lowboy) is a paranoid schizophrenic who believes that the world will end in ten hours due to a sudden, apocalyptic episode of global warming. Unless he loses his virginity. John Wray's novel 'Lowboy' been called a “psychotic, subterranean, environmentally conscious, coming-of-age novel" and that just about sums it up”.

KerrieS reviews The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson at Mysteries in Paradise saying that it is “Swedish crime fiction at its best. The second in the Millenium Trilogy”.

Jim Murdoch reviews Shadow by Karin Alvtegen at The Truth About Lies. Jim gives the following synopsis: “An old woman dies of natural causes in her flat in Stockholm. A social worker is dispatched to wind up her estate. As part of her job she tries to find any friends or relatives. Her diligence sparks off a series of events that with shock the whole of Sweden and will reveal just what lengths people will go to to keep up appearances. Not your typical crime novel”.

Emm reviews Succubus Dreams by Richelle Mead at Emm Media saying, “This is the third book in Richelle Mead’s urban fantasy series about succubus Georgina Kincaid.  This is a competent novel and had me thirsting for the next in the series”.

Classic Fiction

Surbhi Bhatia reviews Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand at The Viewspaper saying, “The book, although written more than half a century ago, holds relevance at all times, and especially today, with the criticisms levied against capitalism in the face of the global financial crisis”.

Young Adult Fiction

Darren reviews Sweethearts by Sarah Zarr at Bart's Bookshelf saying, “Sweethearts is a story about the power of memory, the bond of friendship, and the quiet resilience of our childhood hearts”.  Darren gives the book four stars and notes that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover!

Manula Joshi reviews Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling at her blog named Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows. This is a wonderfully in-depth review of the book but does contain spoilers so proceed with caution if you have not yet read the book.

By The Book Reviews reviews Nicola and the Viscount by Meg Cabot at By The Book Reviews saying, "Another great book by Meg Cabot and another one that I could read over and over! This book is just as good as Meg’s other Historical Fiction book, Victoria and the Rogue. This is a great book for anyone 13 years or older!"

Children’s fiction

Tanya Turek reviews The Little Secret by Kate Saunders at books4yourkids.com. She describes it as a "delicious new fairy tale of diminutive proportions! When Kate accepts an offer from her new friend Staffa to visit her family home in the north of England, she has no idea she will be eating slug steaks, flying on bumble bees and fighting on the side of the revolutionaries in an attempt to depose the evil Queen Matilda - Staffa's mother!"

Pizza reviews The Giver by Lois Lowry at Pizza's Book Discussion concluding, “I rate it 3.8 stars out of 5, a very interesting concept, an addictive and light read, great for younger levels. If you are older do not be put off by it, it is still a good read”.

Non-fiction

Deanna reviews The Soiling Of Old Glory: The Biography Of A Photograph at Collectors' Quest. This is a  “biography of a very famous photograph, the Pulitzer Prize–winning photograph by Stanley Forman, taken on April 5, 1976 at a Boston rally against forced school busing”.

Marjorie Morgan reviews The Woman's Guide to Boating and Cooking by Lael Morgan at GO! Girls Outdoors concluding “The Woman’s Guide to Boating and Cooking is not just an interesting read, it’s also a fascinating look at how much the way in which women are viewed by our society has changed in the last 40-50 years”.

switch2life reviews Turknama by Meena Prabhu at switch2life. This is a travel book about Turkey and switch2life concludes, “I say this is ‘Must Read Book’ for everyone. If I have to rate this book I will give it 10 out of 10”.

Derek reviews The Dangerous World of Butterflies by Peter Laufer at Collectors' Quest.  The book is subtitled ‘The Startling Subculture of Criminals, Collectors, and Conservationists’ and Derek notes that “the dangerous world of a butterfly is, in fact, the world of humans”.

Elizabeth Hargrave reviews Bringing Nature Home by Doug Tallamy at The Natural Capital saying that Tallamy’s manifesto could be summarised as "Plant native plants. As many as you can. Especially trees". 

Deanna presents Defying Autism? More Like Damning Autism at Motherhood Metamorphosis. This is a review of Defying Autism by Karen Mayer Cunningham and Deanna notes that “as the mother of one child diagnosed Asperger's (and one being screened for the spectrum), I found the condemnation of a "curse" far overshadowing any ability to commiserate, let alone be hopeful. In fact, I found Karen Mayer Cunningham's book inflammatory & antagonizing”.

Woman Tribune presents Book Review: Law of Connection by Michael J. Losier at Woman Tribune. This is a book about using neuro-linguistic programming to become a better communicator.

Jim presents Review: Money Strategies for Tough Times by Matt Bell at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity concluding, “I think the book has good, albeit somewhat pedestrian, information. The true value is in how Bell ties in the Bible and if you are someone who responds favorably to that, then this may be the right book for you. If you’re turned off by linking finances and religion, this book will be less valuable to you”.

Martin Russell presents “Conspiracy of the Rich”- A Review at Word of Mouth Marketing. Conspiracy of the Rich is written by Robert Kiyosaki, the author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad and Martin says, “more than any other of his books this one covers alot of territory for the newcomer. It is also one of his most in depth books about money and financial literacy and deserves to be read widely”.

Jim presents Review: The Educational of an American Dreamer by Peter G. Peterson at Bargaineering.  This is an autobiography and Jim says, “if you want to read his story, go to Wikipedia. If you want to hear him tell it, you have to get this book”.

Reading lists

Not a book review but rather an essential reading list, Susan White presents 100 Non-Business Books Every Entrepreneur Should Read posted at Online Universities.com.

Finally, Jeanne presents The House Was Quiet and the World Was Calm at Necromancy Never Pays. This isn’t a book review but it is an excellent post about moving out of your comfort zone when it comes to books and reading something that will challenge you or that you don’t necessarily agree with.  Jeanne gives several suggestions for fiction books.

That’s all for this edition!

Submit your blog article to the next edition of book review blog carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.