Bird Box by Josh Malerman

Bird Box by Josh Malerman is one of those books that left me saying, "You've got to be kidding me."  It's a book where the ride is much better than the destination. The premise is that there is something "out there" that causes people to go crazy and kill themselves if they look at it.  The suspense level is good.  The story is well written.  I wouldn't say that the character development is all that great, but the suspense and idea make up for that.  I spent the whole book thinking what are these creatures?  Where do they come from?  Why don't they attack anyone?  What do they want?  Why are they here?  How did they get here all of a sudden?  What do they look like?  Well..... NONE of those questions were answered.  Not a single one.  I was so disappointed that I wanted to give this book only 1 star.  However, I took a step back and looked at the whole picture.  Like I said, the suspense level was good.  The idea of the story was intriguing.  I wanted to complete it.  It was just the ending that was lacking, in my opinion.  With that in mind, I give this book a 3 out of 5 stars.

Wildflower by Drew Barrymore

Wildflower by Drew Barrymore is definitely a book for Barrymore fans.  The stories about her experiences are heartfelt and personal.  The ones about her daughters are very sweet as are the ones about her dogs.  She's a very passionate person.  I thoroughly enjoyed her book, the crazy stories about finding herself as well as the way she went from E.T. to her typical romantic comedy of today.  She comes across as a person I would enjoy hanging out with and getting to know better.  I will warn about listening to the audio book.  Drew's passion comes across loud and clear as she literally screams some of the book in those moments of her life where she was screaming on the inside or really screaming.  Overall, Wildflower by Drew Barrymore is a must read for fans and a good choice even for those who aren't fans but enjoy heartfelt, touching autobiographies.  I give this book a 4 out of 5. 

We Should Hang Out Sometime by Josh Sunquist

We Should Hang Out Sometime by Josh Sundquist is not a book I would recommend.  I pretty much considered it a waste of my time.  It's real life stories about his history with females.  There were a few funny moments, but overall, it just wasn't really interesting.  I'm not even sure any of it is really worth me going into detail about it.  I give it one out of 5 stars.

The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater

The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater is the fourth and final book in The Raven Cycle series.  I'm going to try to do this without giving too much away from the other books.  I read the other three a few years ago.  Then, I had to wait for this one to be published.  This series is a young adult series.  There are some topics that are not suitable for kids or tweens.  The first one in the series was my favorite.  The whole series is full of paranormal elements... magical locations, clairvoyants, psychics, other worldly entities and even a demon.  The series is well written and the characters are well developed.  I would definitely recommend reading the series.  However, don't just pick up this book or any of the others and think it will be fine to read it out of order.  It won't be.  These books build on each other and have topics that if you don't get the background from the previous book, then you will be very confused.  I will say that there were several things about this book in particular, being the last, that left me still confused as to the how and/or the why about certain aspects of the storyline.  But, overall, it was not enough to make me not enjoy the series or even this book.  I would definitely recommend this book and series as long as you can deal with the juvenile tendencies of the teenage characters. 

I give this book a 3.5 out 5 and the series a 4.5 out of 5.

In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware

In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware was a decent book, in my opinion.  It was a little predictable, but still enjoyable for the most part.  The character Claire reminded me of Darcy from Something Borrowed.  They were both the beautiful, manipulative female who always gets what she wants character.  That was a bit cliche, but I see why the author did it that way.  I added In a Dark, Dark Wood to my must read list because I found it on the same list of the most suspenseful books as The Fear Index.  I wouldn't say that this book was super suspenseful, but it was definitely more so than The Fear Index.  I wasn't sitting on the edge of my seat, but it had the usual standards for suspense... a house in the middle of the woods with a lot of windows, no cell phone reception, darkness, footprints, ouija board, a door swinging open and shut in the wind, and a crazy person.  Overall, it was enjoyable enough.  I give it 3 out of 5 stars.

The Fear Index by Robert Harris

I'm sorry, but The Fear Index by Robert Harris was a waste of my time.  I decided to read it based on a list I found of the most suspenseful books.  This book was not suspenseful.  I figured out what was going on in chapter 5.  The main character is a jerk and is not someone you want to cheer for.  The premise of an artificial intelligence learning all about human emotion and human activities and making money for a hedge fund was just boring despite sounding like a really cool idea.  The activities occurring throughout the book were boring.  Like I said, it was a waste of my time.  I give it a 1 out of 5 stars.

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do In Life and Business by Charles Duhigg has me on the fence a little bit.  I found it extremely interesting as far the reasoning behind habits.  However, I'm not sure it would really do the people who need it the most any good.  I guess it's not really aimed at those people... the people who have an addiction per se but don't have the will power to beat it.  That's basically what the book says about some addictions, that they are actually habits and if you can find the true underlying reasoning behind your habit, then you can change it.  I'm not convinced that it could work for everyone.  Like I said, the science/psychology behind the subject matter and several of the example stories were very interesting to me.  Also, if you are a nail biter, a knuckle popper, or maybe a habitual eater, then I would suggest giving the book a try.  However, I'm not convinced it would work for something as serious as a habitual drug addict.  I give this book a 3 out of 5 stars.