Sherlock

Not a book review here, since I'm still knee deep in three books (and going nowhere fast). Last night, when I wasn't reading (again) I jumped on Netflix and watched some new shows. One of them was Sherlock, BBC's modern adaptation of Sherlock Holmes.


Martin Freeman, who is always awesome, plays John Watson...and while he's not quite as handsome as Jude Law, he's just as like-able as the good doctor. And once you get over the fact Benedict Cumberbatch has no eyebrows, he's pretty darn good too.

I don't want to compare it too much to the recent Sherlock Holmes movies, it's quite different because it's set in modern day Britain with modern day crimes. And Cumberbatch's Holmes is more like the book Holmes in that he is incredible perceptive (and annoying).

If you have Netflix, check it out. It's available for instant streaming and one episode is all you'll need to be hooked!

Book Blurb: The Girl in a Swing

Title: The Girl in a Swing


Author: Richard Adams (of Watership Down fame)


Genre: Horror? Romance? I dunno.


Synopsis: A man meets a woman while on a business trip and falls head over heels for her. They get married after knowing each other only two weeks and live happily ever after...until strange things begin to happen.


Stars: 3/5


Lauren's Review: I decided to read this book because someone I know listed it among their favorites. I picked up a used copy that had the same cover as above...which is why I need to tell everyone that this book is NOT a "beautiful, haunting, erotic love story and absolutely terrifying ghost story."

First things first, this book IS well written. Wonderful prose, and of course I loved that it was set in the English country side (I'd even been to a few sites mentioned!). That being said...

It is NOT a beautiful love story! It's like Romeo and Juliet (not the ending), these people have known each other TWO WEEKS! I just can't cheer on their decision to be married! And as for erotic...call me pervy, but in this Nora-Roberts-Danielle-Steel age, this book fell far short of erotic.

Which brings me to the most disappointing part...the horror aspect. This book just didn't scare me. Richard Adams is not a ghost story writer. At one point I was telling John what happened and he said "that sounds scary to me!" and I thought "yes, this should be scary...but it's just not."

It's a good book and worth the read, but that quote on the cover just left me expecting so much more than it offered. The irony is that this book is very similar to Rebecca, one of my all time favorite books. Two strangers meet, soon get married, weird stuff happens, scary ending. But with Rebecca I had no expectations so I really enjoyed it. With this book I expected so much, and it just fell flat. I blame the cover.

So...I guess you should never judge a book by it's cover? And don't read this book when you want a horror story.

Book Review: The Good Earth

Title: The Good Earth


Author: Pearl Buck


Genre: Historical Fiction


Synopsis: This novel tells the story of Wang Lung, a Chinese Farmer, starting with his marriage and leading all the way to his final days. Wang lung is able to rise up in the world from his humble origins to greatness and wealth all because of his hard work on the land. This book takes place before the Chinese Revolution and perfectly captures a time and place that no longer exists.


Stars: 5/5


Lauren's Review: Obviously this book and author speak for themselves, she's won a Nobel Prize in literature, the novel won a Pulitzer Prize (and is even on Oprahs Book Club list! sarcasm). But somehow I had still never read it until now.

I loved it.

I think it's amazing that Pearl Buck is an American woman and she managed to perfectly describe the life of a poor Chinese farmer. I guess I probably never read it because I wasn't interested in the subject to be quite honest. Chinese history doesn't really get me excited like English history does...but it's possible that's just because I don't know enough about it. Buck opened my eyes to a totally new world.

I strongly suggest reading this novel and reading about Pearl Buck's life as well, she was an interesting person.