Patterson Review

Cross Country by James Patterson

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars
So, this may be blasphemous, but I thought this book was pretty lame. I have to admit, I don't normally read thrillers or mysteries and this is my first Patterson book, but honestly, I don't think it lives up to the hype. Granted, I read the book in two days, but not because the storyline was particularly compelling. It was more because the chapters are so short that I just had to keep going. Patterson does a good job of ending each chapter with a question or cliffhanger, but overall it wasn't well written and wasn't well developed. The novel is very forgettable. The storyline was mildly interesting, but then got rather convoluted and difficult to follow. There were almost too many twists. I didn't get a sense of the characters either and really didn't care about them, which made reading difficult. Now, if I had read the rest of the series, it might have been better, but I didn't and I was told that each book stands on its own. At any rate... I'd go pick up J.A. Konrath instead.


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New Year!

Well... it has again bee a while, but at least I have the holidays as an excuse this time. My Christamas and New Years were lovely, spent with friends and family and overall great.

I have seen a lot of bloggers going through 2008 month by month or reviewing in some other fashion. I won't be doing that for a few reasons: 1) I can't necessarily remember every thing that happened 2) I hate looking back and would rather look forward and 3) I'm pretty sure no one reads this so no one really needs a refresher. :)
Instead I'll be looking forward to what I hope to accomplish in 2009 and be giving brief updates on recent happenings. So here goes...

Reading: I am currently reading House of Dark Shadows by Robert Liparulo. It is a YA mystery/thriller. I'm only a couple of chapters in, but so far it's okay. I am also rereading East of Eden by John Steinbeck. I always list this one as a favorite novel, but hadn't read it in years. So, I'm rereading to make sure that I still like it and to see if I can glean any writing wisdom from Steinbeck's style. So far... still love it. Who says you always have to show not tell. I love his telling, beautiful. I also finished The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards. Check out my review over on The Book Book.

Writing: Well, originally I had hoped to have my first draft finished by the end of the year. That didn't happen, but I do feel pretty decent about how it's coming along now. My astrologer says that this year ma be a banner year for writing/publishing, so I have my fingers crossed. I really hope to have it done, agented and with editors by April or so. I know that's super fast, but here's hoping.

Knitting:Barf... I am super sick of all of my projects (prayer shawl, angora scarf, Andrew's socks) but I am forcing myself to finish them before I start something else. Which means I man never start something else. I just don't have the motivation now. But, I am joining the Boulder Handweaver's Guild and hope to make some things to sell at their annual sale. Also, I'm being interviewed by Interweave Knits for an assistant editor position. We'll see how that goes.

Panic: Much the same... but feeling slightly better about life in general. Everything does happen for a reason... everything. :)

Anyway... I'm off to do some actual work. More later... how later? Who knows. :)