I never thought that I would enjoy a food history, but this book is a fantastic ride (as it says, from samurai to supermarket) that made me enjoy trips to the sushi restaurant that much more.

For anyone who likes food, especially people who like sushi, or anyone who likes Japanese history, this book as something for you!

This book has a lot of information that most Americans should take to heart; of that there can be no denial. However, the author's agenda and bias seeped through the pages and got all over my hands.

His basic thesis is that US foreign policy is about oil, oil, oil, and oil. Oh, and let's not forget oil. But it's not all about oil. It's also about oil.

And while this is true <i>to some extent</i>, I find it difficult to believe that, since WWI, the US has barely made a move that was not explicitly designed to bring us into a war in Iraq for (say it with me, now) oil.

As much as I would love to believe in a vast oil-based conspiracy, our government cannot balance the budget, fix social security, or pass a resolution agreeing that maybe something might either have been good or bad (except mothers' day, which was voted to be good, and slavery, which was just voted to be bad...in 2008). I hardly think them capable of the kinds of machinations that explicitly lead to the war in Iraq.

Do I think that situations were taken advantage of? Absofuckinglutely. Do I think that information was downplayed (or upplayed) to make the public more amenable to a war? Without a doubt. But do I think that every president since before Eisenhower has been purposely leading us on a course that would inevitably lead to this war? No. Way. One president and the next can barely agree whether the decision to pardon last year's Presidential Thanksgiving Turkey was a good idea. As similarly minded as Dems and Reps are, I find it difficult to believe that they agreed on this. (By the way, certain peace activists were plants to make us despise the war for all the wrong reasons? I'm sorry, but that may fly in a James Bond movie, but our government just isn't that with it.)

So: definitely worth a read! It's got info that is necessary for every voting American (and maybe more so for those who don't). But it ought to be taken with a desertful of salt.

I read this book in approximately one day. When I went to the library to check it out, the library *gasp*ed and told me I should be getting all of the books since I'd want to read them immediately. She was right.

My major criticism is that the teenagers aren't really realistic. 17 years old and <i>no one</i> has had a date yet? Hard to believe. There also seems to be a "sex is dangerous" undertone to all of the main character's encounters with the vampire. He's trying to keep himself in check so he doesn't eat her, but it feels very "don't lead a guy on too much, they can barely control themselves from having sex with you when you're alone together!!!" which gets distracting.

I'm enjoying the descriptions of the Pacific Northwest & wishing I was up there. It's the perfect book to curl up with on a cold day. I wish I had more of them.

I find it interesting to see what different people do with the traditional vampire mythos and where the overlaps are. These vampires can go into the sun, but then everyone will see them for what they are; <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quileute#Beliefs">the integration of werewolves</a>, the traditional vampiric enemy, is also quite good, especially now that I've verified she didn't just make it up. I see some overlaps with other favorite vampire works: the relationship is very Buffy/Angel (and I'm curious to see if it will disintegrate similarly) and the "tribe" that the main vampire belongs to reminds me of Vampire Hunter D (especially after we meet the tracker).

Quite a good vampire book, although since it purports to be based in reality, I find it a strange reality and sometimes difficult to get into. But looking forward to the next couple.

UPDATE: they're making it into a movie!!! Which could go either way, really. We'll see and I'll weigh in on it after having seen it.

Also, I meant to comment on the focus in the text on books. It almost feels like the author was trying to convince people that her books were intended to get teens to read more. Whenever books are mentioned, the word is repeated. And it feels strained: the main character likes books. Oh, how she likes books. or, the second main character wants to know what kinds of books she likes. They talked forever about books!

This is one of two books I found during the move that my mother had sent me years ago. When we lived in Germany, anything in English was fair game for reading material (I've read some real pieces of crap because of it) and we both got addicted to J. A. Jance's mysteries. She's got two series: J. P. Beaumont, of Seattle, and Joanna Brady, of Cochise County, AZ.

This was just like any other JPB (or JAJ) novel: a quick read, impossible to put down, and follows the same general story arc.

What really got me, though, since it's been years since I last read one (high school, so that makes it 9 years at least), was the humanity of Detective Beaumont. He's an alcoholic, so AA meetings feature prominently in his character. In this book, he falls of the wagon, due to job and personal stresses (including being investigated as a pedophile for looking after his best friend's kids and having his ex-wife dying of cancer). The scene in the AA meeting that he is finally convinced to go to by his sponsor is heartbreaking. Here is this, by all accounts, hero having to admit to a group of strangers his deepest struggles. At this meeting, one participant is celebrating his 25th "birthday" on the wagon. He has to stand up and tell them all that he is just barely reaching 12 hours.

This makes JPB the perfect Greek hero: tragic in his faults and heroic in his acts of bravery (he saves the day, of course, including two of his sworn enemies: his ex-wife's current husband and his coworker/rival). The reason I keep coming back to these books is not for the Seattle references (which are a bit plot-stick heavy), but for the humanity of the characters, the flaws of the heros, and the heart-swelling pride when flaws are overcome.

This is one of two books I found during the move that my mother had sent me years ago. When we lived in Germany, anything in English was fair game for reading material (I've read some real pieces of crap because of it) and we both got addicted to J. A. Jance's mysteries. She's got two series: J. P. Beaumont, of Seattle, and Joanna Brady, of Cochise County, AZ.

This was just like any other Joanna Brady (or JAJ) novel: a quick read, impossible to put down, and follows the same general story arc.

After reading through about a third of it, I realized I'd already read it, but couldn't remember exactly what happens, so I kept reading. It's not as good as it was the first time through. Joanna Brady is one of my first feminist role models, though I certainly didn't know it at the time, and I'm not sure what my mom might think of that. When I wanted to be an FBI agent, I knew that it would never be like the X-Files, but somehow, I thought it might be like one of Jance's mysteries.

Brady is a classic feminist stereotype: a single mom thrust into the man's world of law enforcement. At the beginning of this book, she cleans out other local sheriffs in a poker tournament and donates the proceeds to her daughter's Girl Scout troop.

All in all, not bad for trashy fiction, but not worth the reread.

I thoroughly enjoyed this! It reminded me of exactly why I love reading fantasy: the creation of new worlds that are different from our own. Sometimes I read fantasy to believe in a world with magic; sometimes, a world of aliens; I read this book to believe in a world filled with bad ass women!

From the royal guardswomen whose metal bras get taxed (not for long, though), to the captive warrior who teaches a harem how to fight, and including the modern-day half-fairy who rescues her kidnapped son from Under the Hill with squirt guns, each of these chicks became my heroes.

I had been planning on passing this book on to another who might enjoy it, but now I'm thinking I may have to hang on to it, for my rereading pleasure :)

This is a great story about two super-people; a hero and a villain. Every other chapter is written in their own point of view, and the general plot is predictable. Villain escapes from jail, threatens world, and is recaptured. There are some twists that make it a little more complicated than that, but the major reason I enjoyed it was the glimpse into the superhero and supervillain psyche. Their fears, their doubts, their inner most thoughts as they meet and battle, plot and plan, search and hide.

We love our heroes not because they are perfect but because they are imperfect. And this book perfectly exploits that desire. The ending is anti-climactic (I expected more than just a recapture), but again, I'm not reading this for the plot. I'm reading for the astonishing character development, the insight into mere mortals who just happen to be stronger, faster, smarter, or flamier than I.

A must-read for any fan of heroes, whether comic or mythic.

oof. Very good, but a slow read for me. I've been slogging thru it since xmas. I really need to finish it before the 1 yr mark...