Kerry'd Away

After I finished reading the Vince Flynn novel on my Kindle I was looking for some more light reading. I have downloaded quite a few books onto my Kindle (have I mentioned that I love this device??), but a lot of them are Civil War related books and involve heavier topics. I wanted something light and fun to read before dropping off to sleep.

As I was looking through the free ebooks at Amazon I happened across this one. I read the quick summary of the book and figured why not. I’m not a teacher, but I enjoy hearing the humorous things that kids come up with and this book definitely did NOT disappoint. I also found out that I had happened upon this book during a short period of time when the author was offering the Kindle edition for free. Bonus!

This book was HILARIOUS! There were many times when I found myself laughing out loud and scaring the cats. In fact, I tried reading a couple of passages from the book to Jay, but I was unable to make any sense because I was laughing so hard when reading it out loud. I was definitely disappointed when I came to the end.

I suppose you would like to know what it’s about? John Pearson was an engineer until he was laid off at the company that he had worked at for 3 years and 10 months. After getting laid off he decided to go back to school to get his teaching certificate. This book chronicles his first year of teaching through e-mails that he sent to one of his friends (and a former coworker). We are introduced to his many pupils (Marvin, Plakton, Sa’tun, MP, and many others), through various events that occurred during their school day. There was the day that Marvin got into a food fight in the cafeteria and ended up with fish stick in his eyebrow. lol. Or when we find out that Plakton is actually the kid’s middle name. He doesn’t like to go by his first name, Jobediah, because ‘it sounds weird’. LOL

This is definitely a book that you would enjoy to read if you happen upon it. In case you are unable to find a copy, Mr. Pearson has a blog that he keeps as well. You can find it at Learn Me Good. Definitely take a few moments to read some of his entries and even follow his blog. If you know any teachers you might want to pass it along to them because I’m sure that they will be able to identify with him at some point. Anyway, just wanted to pass along something that I had really enjoyed.

This was the first book that I downloaded on my brand new Kindle Fire. I really enjoy Vince Flynn’s writing so I knew that I would enjoy this book. If you’ve ever read any of Tom Clancy’s books, then you will probably enjoy these books as well.

Vince Flynn’s main character, Mitch Rapp, is a CIA operative whose specialty is the middle east. He spends a lot of time saving innocent Americans from the horrible plotting of terrorists. There are many close calls that keep you gasping and wondering how in the world they are going to fix the issue.

This was a book that I couldn’t put down. There were times, though, when I made myself put it down because I was so anxious over what was happening that I had to step back and take a breath. Jay laughed at me because I was on edge the entire time I was reading the peak of the action. I don’t want to write too much about it because I don’t want to give it away. All that I can say is if you enjoy a good thriller, a book that will keep you on the edge of your seat, then any one of Vince Flynn’s books will do the job.

Before I begin this review I should probably let you know that I didn’t finish this book. You will understand why in a moment.

My sister handed this book to me and said, “This is really good. You should read it.” When it comes to books, she and I have different tastes. I typically read anything nonfiction, and mainly about the Civil War. She almost exclusively reads romance novels. One time I told her that I couldn’t read romance novels because they depress me with their implausible plots and the fact that none of that stuff would ever happen in real life. “Yeah, because 620,000 men dying isn’t depressing!” she retorted. lol

When she recommends a book I do my best to read it. I was really getting into this book. It started out really strong. Georgia is a woman who found herself pregnant, her boyfriend leaving her to raise the child by herself, and her only option appearing to be that she would have to return home to her parents’ house. Along came a woman who gave her a little nudge into another direction and before she knew it she was running her own knitting supply store. There is obviously a lot more that goes into the story, but I don’t want to ruin it if you decide to read it.

The fact that the author shows that knitting doesn’t have to be something that just old ladies do really appealed to me. Many people my age feel that my cross stitching is something that only old people do. Ha! I’ll be lucky if I can see the little holes in my evenweave when I’m old! Sometimes just because something is low-tech or ‘old fashioned’ doesn’t mean that we should let it die. I don’t know how to knit or crochet, but I would like to learn. I fear that some of these needle arts are becoming a dying craft and we can’t let that happen.

Anyway, back to the book. The women in this book are strong characters and that really appeals to me. They weren’t mousey little women like that pathetic Jane Eyre. There were a couple of things that happened that I didn’t agree with the author in how she resolved them, but they were minor things. Until yesterday. Picture this… I am sitting with Jay in his basement. He is working on one of his planes and I am kicked back on my chair, feet propped up on the washer, nose-deep into my book. Suddenly in a fit of disgust I close the book and throw it on the washer. “That’s it! I can’t read that book anymore!” I don’t think that Jay has ever seen anybody react in such a way to a book. I refuse to finish it.

Remember that I read mainly nonfiction. In order to enjoy a piece of fiction, especially if it’s not supposed to be Sci-Fi or Fantasy, it has to be plausible for me. This book went from being a good read about strong women, to an impossible romance. I mean, the father of the baby comes back into the picture and suddenly wants to be involved in everything. That’s not the part that got to me. After not seeing this woman for 13 years he realizes that he still loves her and wants to be with her. When she goes over to Scotland to visit her grandmother he follows her and ends up showing up at her grandmother’s. They were taking a walk and he was telling her how he really felt when I slammed the book shut. I don’t know if the woman falls for it or not. I don’t care, either. As soon as the author had him showing up in Scotland, even though he lives in New York City, that was it for me.

I turned to Jay and explained. I told him that I didn’t think that it was realistic for any guy to go chasing a woman overseas, especially when he knows that if he just waits she will be back. I mean, she owns a store in NYC. It’s not like she’s never coming back! So why waste the time of chasing her down just to proclaim your feelings for her? What a bunch of BS. Besides, if I was away on a trip to clear my mind and visit my grandmother whom I hadn’t seen in many years I would be PISSED to have him be arrogant enough to show up out of the blue. To me that’s not romantic. Am I too much of a realist? Am I too practical? I don’t know. Either way I will be handing the book back to my sister today and thanking her for letting me borrow it, despite the fact that I refuse to finish it.

If this type of story appeals to you, then I highly recommend it. If you’re like me and want a plausible story line then you should just skip it. I am currently reading a Vince Flynn novel (along the same lines as Tom Clancy) and I will post a review of that one when I have finished. 🙂