Cannery Row by John Steinbeck

8/10

I read this book about 7 months ago. Another Steinbeck winner. He just doesn't miss. This one is right in the Steinbeck wheelhouse, paesanos in Salinas California just doing their thing, drinking some booze, hanging around getting into shenanigans, failing at almost anything they do despite their best efforts. Very easy to root for these characters and you can enjoy the book no matter where Steinbeck wants to take you. Very similar to Tortilla Flat, but I think that one was slightly more comical which is why it gets the edge in my updated rankings below.

Rankings of the Steinbeck books I've read:

1. The Grapes of Wrath
2. Of Mice and Men
3. East of Eden
4. In Dubious Battle
5. Tortilla Flat
6. Cannery Row
7. The Winter of Our Discontent
8. The Pearl
9. The Long Valley

 

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

 

8/10

I finished reading this about 5 months ago. I enjoyed it. It's one of those books that is so unique that I can't think of any other book quite like it. Kind of like how there's no other book like 1984, for example, even though both are what smart people call dystopian novels. It's one of those books where people love to say how it was written so long ago but could have been written yesterday based on the accuracy of predicting how the world would become. This book gets a 7/10 on the premise of the book alone. 

This story deals with genetic engineering performed by a futuristic society and its manipulation of the populace where they all appear to be perfectly content. The main character thinks a bit outside the box and some fun discoveries are made. Some very interesting dialogue takes place toward the end of the book involving one of the leaders of this society. I liked the story for the most part, the writing was good, and there was quite a bit of lessons to be learned throughout. At the end of the book, there were a few things I wish Huxley could have pursued further or other routes that seemed ripe for the taking but weren't which is the reason for the 8/10. Fun read though. And I liked it better than 1984.

The Death Cure by James Dashner

 

6/10

I finished reading this with Mallory about 5 months ago. Finishes the trilogy in mostly underwhelming fashion. My 6/10 is pretty generous but I tend to try really hard to enjoy the books I read unless the book gives me no choice but to dislike it. This one was teetering on that edge but it didn't annoy me too much despite the writing style that's gotten to wear me out a bit. Five months later, I honestly don't remember much about this book so I can't say much about it. Trying to get caught back up with this blog so I can write up a quick review while the book is still fresh in my mind. But some books are more memorable than others. And a finale trilogy book probably should have been more memorable than this one is. Oh well, it was better than Book 2 at least.

The Mortal Messiah - Book 1 by Bruce R. McConkie

 

8/10

I finished reading this about 5 months ago. It was solid, as is to be expected from Bruce R. I always enjoy his scriptural analysis and commentary. He's very comprehensive. The main thing that bothered me was that the first 1/3 of the  book seemed to be still covering the pre-mortal Messiah. The chapter about Jesus beginning his ministry comes on page 435 of a 505 page book. So most of this book is mainly setting the scene and surroundings and very early life of Jesus and you don't get to much of the good stuff which is Jesus and his ministry. I think I'll enjoy the rest of the Mortal Messiah books much more for that reason. Still enjoyed this one overall though.

The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

8/10

I read this about 6 months ago. This book was very good. I love good writing combined with good storytelling. And Wilkie Collins is excellent at both. I enjoy his style of telling the story from multiple perspectives. The characters were fun and interesting as well. This was a mystery involving a stolen cursed gem which seemed impossible to solve. It was fun to see the story evolve and every theory snuffed out. What actually ended up happening was pretty far out there in the believability department but it was well handled overall. Turns out this was one of the earliest detective stories. Maybe the first? It's a fun one and another winner from Wilkie.

Wilkie Collins' books I've read, ranked:

1. The Woman in White
2. The Moonstone