The Demon in the Freezer by Richard Preston

Nonfiction

This man might be my new favorite author. His storytelling talent is so great that he can make anyone enjoy reading about biology and disease. Two months ago I read his book, The Hot Zone, and it was the scariest piece of nonfiction I have ever read. This book was less frightening in my opinion, partly due to the less graphic descriptions of what the smallpox virus can do to the human body. But, the implications of what could happen if someone somewhere decided to release one of the many strains of smallpox that are kept frozen in tubes and stored in chained containers in secret locations, that induces worry and fear. In addition to exploring the history of smallpox and the possibility of it being used as a biological weapon, we are also treated to a play by play of what happened in the days following September 11, 2001 with the anthrax scare. What happened with anthrax could happen with smallpox, or any airborne killer, only it would most definitely be much more devastating.

I am looking forward to reading the rest of Richard Preston’s novels. I feel like I won’t be making a bad decision in purchasing another one of his books since I have immensely enjoyed two of his works already.

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

Fiction

I had a rare moment in which I read a few reviews of this book before I even picked it up. One of them mentioned that it was “slow” and that it kind of put them off continuing with the rest of the series. I bought it and read it anyway, because I usually ignore the opinions of others when it comes to books and films, and I think perhaps that reader was expecting it to be like the first two books. I found that there were equal amounts of down time and action, much less secrecy, more character growth. Also, a lot of the lure and history of the land was given through story telling by several new characters, which I personally enjoyed. I love it when a book gives you a ton of background information about the world, it makes the story so much more interesting. I am glad that I chose to not consider what others had said because we got to go to Wendlyn with Celaena, where magic still exists. We also get several different point of view chapters from characters we already knew, Dorian, Chaol, and Celaena, and new ones. There is more death in this book, more inner torment, and misery, but also a small glimmer of hope. I’m pretty excited to see what happens in the fourth book in this series, even though I have a feeling that things are going to get a lot worse before they start to get better considering that after Heir of Fire there are still four books to go. 

Nod by Adrian Barnes

Fiction

This book was gruesome and real, an end of days scenario written by a narrator in the midst of an existential crisis. It’s philosophical, gritty, and manic. The world is coming to an end but the main character never has an outburst, he seems unusually calm as the world and the people living in it decay around him. Perhaps because he has never really been part of the world to begin with, having always felt disconnected from people, is what makes it easier for him to accept the reality of what is happening. Throughout the story our leading man is rational and real. The lack of emotion in this main character was a change for me, but it was a good change of pace. 

I’m not sure if this is a book I want to keep, I don’t think it is something that I could read again, but I am not going to say that it isn’t worth a read, because it is. I will say, if you love cats, there is a very graphic description of some cruelty in the middle that I definitely do not want to read ever again, I don’t even want to go back to try to find the pages for anyone who wants to read the book but skip that part. This is one of my most interesting finds during one of my many book store browsing sessions.

The Art Of Deception: An Introduction To Critical Thinking by Nicholas Capaldi and Miles Smit

Nonfiction

This book does not live up to what I imagined it might be. I thought it would be eye opening and insightful, and instead I just found it very dry. It was like I was reading a high school science textbook and an English textbook at the same time, the information was presented to you in that kind of nap-inducing manner. But I couldn’t help but be surprised, especially after reading about the importance of adhering to the English rules of grammar in the introduction, when I found a grammatical error less than fifty pages in. For me, that was the most exciting thing in the entire text.

In the introduction, six parts, and appendix, part three was the only section that I found mildly interesting, or less dry at least, but it definitely peaked there and then fell off. I will say, there is a lot of well thought out information in this book. It is definitely a must read if you are either a law student or considering studying law, I imagine it would be very helpful for learning techniques to implement in the courtroom. Each chapter ends with summary and exercises, and although I did read the summary I did not practice any of the exercises. I didn’t think pursuing the exercises would be worth my time, much like I now feel about having read this book. It’s well written and very educational, it’s just not the kind of knowledge I was interested in gaining.

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

Fiction

I finished this book in three days, but I would have finished it in two, or less, if I didn’t have a full day of activities planned over the past weekend. I was reading this book up until I fell asleep at night, even though I wanted to slow down just so I could enjoy it longer. 

I’m really glad that the brief insights into magic in Throne of Glass were explored more in Crown of Midnight, because I needed more information. The things I learned make the final duel between Cain and Celaena more satisfying and coherent now that I know the gravity behind the wrong person having the power to open a portal to another world and the serious consequences that could occur because of it. I found great satisfaction in how slowly Celaena finds new information and has to work through the clues she needs to piece together, but I am glad that by the end of the book she figures things out and a great deal of long awaited information is revealed. However, the book does end on a cliffhanger as a huge plot point is revealed as Celaena embarks on a new adventure to someplace quite far away. I am finding myself antsy as I try to distract myself while I wait for the next book to arrive.