“We Bought a Zoo: The Amazing True Story of a Young Family, a Broken Down Zoo, and the 200 Wild Animals That Change Their Lives Forever” by Benjamin Mee, 2008

“We Bought a Zoo: The Amazing True Story of a Young Family, a Broken Down Zoo, and the 200 Wild Animals That Change Their Lives Forever” by Benjamin Mee, 2008

A memoir in the style of “Marley & Me”, according to the book’s self-description, recounts the Mee’s family purchase of a brokedown zoo. Tribulations with animals, tragedies of cancer in the family, and triumphs over it all are told with eloquence and hope.

I decided to read this book before the Netflix DVD arrived; thinking I may not enjoy the movie. I think I would have enjoyed the book more if it spent less time about the wife’s brain cancer or as much of it with the animal issues. Overall, it was just so-so. It managed to keep my attention. There were no “aww” or “hmm” or “that’s interesting” moments in the book.

My rating: ★★☆☆☆ (2 out of 5 stars)

"The End of Eternity" by Isaac Asimov, 1954

"The End of Eternity" by Isaac Asimov, 1954

Harlan, a technician from an organization called Eternity, alters time's cause-and-effects relationships for the betterment of mankind. One day, Harlan falls for a woman who will be erased from time, which leads him to mold time for personal gain-- to keep his love and live together.

I have to admit that I really had to focus and take scrupulous mental notes to make sense of the time travel; safe to say, probably, one of the most complicated time travel stories I've read. If you are a fan of hard sci-fi, time travel, and paradoxes, you will enjoy this book.

My rating: ★★★★★ (5 out of 5 stars)

“Love in a Nutshell” by Janet Evanovich & Dorien Kelly, 2012

“Love in a Nutshell” by Janet Evanovich & Dorien Kelly, 2012

From the author of book-turned-movie, “One for the Money” starring Katherine Heigl, Evanovich teams up with Kelly bring you the story of Kate Appleton. Kate gets fired, divorced, and moves into her parents decrepit summer home. With her mortgage behind, she takes a job at the local brewery to spy and determine who is causing the sabotage.

Slightly amusing, slightly romantic, slightly suspenseful, and I strongly emphasize the usage of slightly. There were no “laugh-out-loud” moments, no “awws”, and no “Eureka! I know whodunit!” moments. All in all, it was slightly—err, barely mediocre at best. You can speedread this book and won’t miss much.

My rating: ★★☆☆☆ (2 out of 5 stars)

“Forward the Foundation” (Foundation, Book 2) by Isaac Asimov, 1993

“Forward the Foundation” (Foundation, Book 2) by Isaac Asimov, 1993

In this novel, Hari Seldon’s life is chronicled; from his rise to First Minister to the Emperor, the development of psychohistory, the loss of all those close to him, all the way to the end of his declining years.

The first half of the book was terribly slow; I truly had to force myself not to skim for fear of missing something crucial. The second half picked up and continually accelerated until the very end. The novel’s pervasion by an undercurrent of mortality left me with a certain sense of sadness.

My rating: ★★★★☆ (4 out of 5 stars)

The Caves of Steel (Asimov's Robot #2) by Isaac Asimov, 1954

The Caves of Steel (Asimov's Robot #2) by Isaac Asimov, 1954

The story is set 3,000 years into the future. Earth humans live in totally enclosed underground cities (caves of steel), while their robot servants work in mines and farms in the open country. Space Humans (Spacers) live in outer space and on many other extra-solar planets. They live for 350 years and are disease-free. Sarton, a Spacer, is killed in a Spacer colony just outside New York City. An Earth human detective, Baley, from New York, is assigned to investigate this murder case. To Baley's dislike, the Spacers insist that he partner up with, R. Daneel Olivaw, an android, to assist him with the case. Baley and Olivaw eventually solve the case and become friends in the process.

The Caves of Steel is, quite simply, a little mystery. I like to think I'm pretty adept at pegging the endings of detective novels I read about half the time, but Asimov stayed several jumps ahead of me throughout this story.

My rating: ★★★★☆ (4 out of 5 stars)

“Speaker for the Dead” (Ender’s Saga #2) by Orson Scott Card, 1986

“Speaker for the Dead” (Ender’s Saga #2) by Orson Scott Card, 1986

This sequel to “Ender’s Game” takes place about 3000 years after Ender’s victory of the Buggers war. Ender is called to “speak for the dead” on the planet Lusitania, where another race of young sentient beings is being studied.

Beneath the biological concepts raised, the mystery of the murders, human drama and dynamics, and questions of sentience lay philosophical questions. The book is quite different from “Ender’s Game”; at times preachy and allegorical. Enjoyable, nonetheless.

My rating: ★★★★☆ (4 out of 5 stars)

“Prelude to Foundation” (Foundation, Book 1) by Isaac Asimov, 1988

“Prelude to Foundation” (Foundation, Book 1) by Isaac Asimov, 1988

The novel starts with a mathematician, Hari Seldon, delivering his paper on psychohistory (theory of prediction) on the planet Trantor. With this prophetic ability, Hari becomes the most wanted man in the Galactic Empire and goes on the lam.

I loved the hugeness of imagination and ideas conveyed in the story. What it lacked in pace certainly made up for in the richness of the worldbuilding and the triple-plot twist at the end.


For a free eBook copy of "Prelude to Foundation":
http://getebook.org/?p=87477

“Time’s Eye” by Stephen Baxter, Arthur C. Clarke, 2004

“Time’s Eye” by Stephen Baxter, Arthur C. Clarke, 2004

This is the first or three installments in Clarke and Baxter’s “Time Odyssey” series in which Earth is fragmented into different eras of time when orbs called eyes appear at various location. Inhabitants from the different eras interact, form allegiances, and fight wars; whilst trying to make sense of the time discontinuity.

The story takes a while to pick up and ramps up towards the middle of the book. After adjusting to the main characters not having traditional “Western” names, the book became easier to read. Overall, enjoyable.

My rating: ★★★☆☆ (3 out of 5 stars)

“Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith, 2009

“Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith, 2009

The book was a bit of a "one-joke" book. Just read the first few chapters and you’ll get the idea. It was enjoyable and had its moments. The author does an okay job, but the scenes of Zombie mayhem do get a little bit repetitive.

The Good: Zombies! The Classic Regency Romance - Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem! Bone crunching action starts immediately, and it’s a light-hearted spoof.

The Bad: If you’ve read Pride and Prejudice already, there isn’t much new. 85% of the original is text is there. Pretty predictable when the zombies are going to appear; pretty much when the plot of the original gets slow.

My rating: ★★☆☆☆ (2 out of 5 stars)