BOOK 'EM

The Arrangement by Suzanne Forster

BOOK #25
Monday, 06/18/07 to Sunday, 06/24/07

ISBN-10: 0778324265
ISBN-13: 9780778324263

I chose Suzanne Forster's The Arrangement from our BookSense "Great Summer Reads" flyer.  And it fit the bill for everything I expect a "great summer read" to be: mass media paperback format (cheap & portable), quick read, easy storyline that doesn't require a lot of effort to follow... you get the idea.  The Arrangement is categorized as a "romantic suspense" - and I found it quick-paced and entertaining.

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Alison Fairmont Villard wakes in a hospital bed with a face she doesn't recognize and a husband she doesn't know. Andrew Villard, a self-made millionaire, has a bright future but a shadowy past. When he tells Alison the details of their life together, she has no choice but to believe him—and to accept the shocking proposal he offers.

It isn't just the partial amnesia that Alison suffers. She has her own terrifying secrets that can't be entrusted to anyone, even Andrew. Even the police suspect he was behind Alison's near fatal accident aboard his yacht and were ready to charge him with murder before her body was found, battered on the razor-sharp coral reefs.

When the veil of amnesia lifts, it's too late. Alison is caught in a web of her own making. And now an FBI agent with a personal vendetta is about to blow the lid off her deadly marriage of convenience.

Discipline by Paco Ahlgren

BOOK #24
Monday, 06/11/07 to Sunday, 06/17/07

ISBN-10: 0979084202
ISBN-13: 978-0979084201

Discipline, due to be released 07/01/07, is a fusion of philosophy, religion, quantum physics, psychological theories, and suspense... and a whole bunch of other things.  It is phenomenal writing with an eclectic flair.  And it is unlike anything I've ever read. The Matrix trilogy is the only thing I can recall that even comes close.  I didn't think I liked it, at first.  In fact, I set it aside and started to read something else.  But I couldn't get it out of my mind.  When I finally surrendered to my curiosity and went back to it, I was captivated.  And when I finished, all I could think was, "Wow."  Then I wanted to go back and re-read the book to find the things I knew I missed the first time through.  If you are a ponderer and really want to give yourself some things to spin around in your head for awhile, then Discipline is a book for you.  Discipline is Paco Ahlgren's first novel.  I think people will like him and I look forward to seeing what he'll do next.

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Building on the vision of Kurt Vonnegut, the suspense of Michael Crichton, and the rich characters of Stephen King, Paco Ahlgren's first novel Discipline paints a chilling picture of a world that defies human perception. Douglas Cole is being hunted -- and protected-- but he doesn't know it. His life has been shattered by inexplicable tragedy, his waking hours haunted by ominous visions, but the more he pursues the questions plaguing him, the more elusive the answers become. Pushed to the brink of insanity, Douglas begins a desperate psychological battle with an enemy he cannot see, the outcome of which will determine the past, present, and future of human existence. Fusing blunt, gritty realism and philosophical passion with electrifying suspense, Discipline dissects our assumptions about the limits of perception and reality.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Paco Ahlgren has worked as a financial analyst for sixteen years.  He has spent the last two decades examining the connections between quantum physics and its implications on modern scientific, economic, financial, and psychological theories, as well as its incontrovertible similarities to eastern philosophies and religion - most notably, Taoism.  His first novel Discipline is a confluence of these passions.

The Ultimate Gift by Jim Stovall

BOOK #23
Monday, 06/04/07 to Sunday, 06/10/07

ISBN-10: 1589193571
ISBN-13: 9781589193574

Jim Stovall’s novel, The Ultimate Gift, was originally published in 2001.  It has since sold over two million copies and has been translated into more than 15 languages with distribution in 14 countries. A feature film based on the bestselling novel was released on March 9, 2007.  The DVD of the movie is set to come out July 17, 2007.  I don't know if it's because of recent release of the movie, publication of a new "film version" paperback, or a combination of the two, but we have sold LOTS of these books in the past couple of weeks.  One customer bought a copy for himself, then came back the following week and ordered 7 more copies, asking that we mail them to friends & family members.  Based on that recommendation alone, we made The Ultimate Gift our June Book of the Month.  All of our Book Club members who have read it, so far, have loved it.

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

When his rich Uncle, Red Stevens dies, Jason thinks he will inherit a piece of the oil man's multi-billion dollar estate. Things didn't quite happen that way. In order to get his share of the willed inheritance, Jason must complete 12 separate assignments within a year long period of time. Each assignment is centered around a "gift". The gifts of Money, Friends, and Knowledge are among the dozen that Jason must learn before he is eligible for the mysterious "Ultimate Gift" his uncle's will has for him. Never at a loss for money and materialism, can Jason build character instead?

The Ultimate Gift takes the reader through Jason’s incredible work to gain his Uncle Red’s inheritance through a series of challenges. The 12-month quest for purpose and meaning has captivated millions of readers throughout the world, and has also become the basis of numerous educational and philanthropic initiatives that build upon the inspiring insights that unfold in this stirring story.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Jim Stovall has overcome blindness to become a national champion Olympic weightlifter, a successful investment broker, entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker. He is co-founder and president of the Narrative Television Network, which makes movies and television accessible for our nation’s 13 million blind and visually impaired people and their families.

The book is a quick, feel-good read that makes you stop and reflect on the important (though sometimes overlooked) things in life.  I can easily see why it's so popular. 

As I mentioned, The Ultimate Gift is our June Book Club pick.  You can buy it at Eldora's Books, Etc. for 20% off and, if you like, join us for Book Club on Tuesday, June 26th at 6:30pm.

1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles C. Mann

BOOK #22
Monday, 05/28/07 to Sunday, 06/03/07

ISBN-10: 1400032059
ISBN-13: 9781400032051

1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus is a 2005 non-fiction book by American author Charles C. Mann about the pre-Columbian Americas.  The past few decades have seen scientific revolutions in many fields including demography, climatology, epidemiology, economics, botany, genetics, image analysis, palynology, molecular biology, soil science, and others. As new evidence has accumulated, long-standing views about the pre-Columbian world have been challenged, to say the least.  In 1491, Mann pulls it all together in a book that reviewers call "a powerful, provocative and important story" (The Washington Post Book World) and "a landmark of a book" (The Boston Globe).

BOOK DESCRIPTION:

In this groundbreaking work of science, history, and archaeology, Charles C. Mann radically alters our understanding of the Americas before the arrival of Columbus in 1492.

Contrary to what so many Americans learn in school, the pre-Columbian Indians were not sparsely settled in a pristine wilderness; rather, there were huge numbers of Indians who actively molded and influenced the land around them. From the astonishing Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán, which had running water, immaculately clean streets, and was larger than any contemporary European city, to the Mexican corn that was so carefully created in a specialized breeding process that it has been called man’s first feat of genetic engineering, Indians were not living lightly on the land but were landscaping and manipulating their world in ways that we are only now beginning to understand. Challenging and surprising, this a transformative new look at a rich and fascinating world we only thought we knew.

Sounds interesting!  And the book has gotten phenomenal reviews:

“Engagingly written and utterly absorbing... part detective story, part epic and part tragedy.” – The Miami Herald

“Provocative... a Jared Diamond-like volley that challenges prevailing thinking about global development.  Mann has chronicled an important shift in our vision of world development, one our young children could end up studying in their text books when they reach junior high.” – San Francisco Chronicle

“Marvelous... a revelation... our concept of pure wilderness untouched by grubby human hands must now be jettisoned.” – The New York Sun

“Monumental....Mann slips in so many fresh, new interpretations of American history that it all adds up to a deeply subversive work.” – Salon

“Concise and brilliantly entertaining... reminiscent of John McPhee's eloquence with scientific detail.” – The Los Angeles Times

With all of that said, I have to admit... I didn't like the book at all!  BLEH!  It is concise and detailed and the facts are expertly researched and assembled... and it is also incredibly dry and boring.  I slogged through the book but I did not enjoy it.  I had a friend say, "Hey, it's nonfiction.  History, even.  What did you expect?"  I guess what I expect (in good writing, overall - not just good history writing) is for the author to show me instead of tell me.  David McCullough (1776) and Erik Larson (Devil in the White City and Thunderstruck) are two nonfiction/history writers that come to mind as being the best representatives of what I'm talking about.  Those guys transport you to a different time and place and just plunk you down right in it.  And that's so much more enjoyable to read than the fact-listing, journalistic writing that Mann does in 1491.

I didn't like it.  You might.  Evidently there were lots of folks who did.