October in Review

I only had one goal for October and that was to read more books than I did in September (which was 1) and I read 5! So I accomplished that one!

1) What Would Mr. Darcy Do?- Abigail Reynolds

Rating 4/5

I really really enjoyed this book. I was expecting to like it because I have heard many good things about Ms. Reynolds books but I could not put it down! I think one of the best things that she does it that she grasps the original characters so well. As soon as I started reading the book I could see the scenes happening. I didn't have too many moments where I would stop reading and think "would Darcy and Elizabeth really do this?" most of the time I thought her changes worked very very well. 

I also actually really enjoyed her tweaks to the timeline. The changes she made have purpose and make the story her own. In other adaptations I struggle with how much affection Austen characters can show without it being a)totally inappropriate for the time period and b) far outside the original boundaries of the story. For the most part I thought Reynolds did a great job balancing out a good amount but also satisfied my craving for the question of what if? Reynolds doesn't make Lizzie into a Lydia but she isn't quite as controlled as her original character. Overall I enjoyed the story very much.

2) Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy: Two Shall Become One - Sharon Lathan 

Rating: 3/5 

I have several issues with this book. One major problem for me was that this book is based on the 2005 film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. Hence it is a continuation of an adaptation. I felt like that movie changed the characters quite drastically and left a lot of story out which made this story feel incomplete. I also felt like there wasn't much story to this book. There is very little plot development or character development. Most of the book is focused on Darcy and Elizabeth's passion and love for each other. I wanted to love this book but there just wasn't enough plot and instead of reading a story it was more like reading about a series of events.

Link to the Review I did comparing the two:
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqLlMFoX_eA&feature=plcp)

3) Dark World: Into the Shadows with the Lead Investigator of the Ghost Adventures Crew - Zak Bagans 

Rating 4/5

Let me start off by saying that this book is written to appeal to people who have watched the show. I love their show and I view it regularly. A lot of the instances Zak talks about are in the shows but he goes into them in more detail and more personally in his book. I wouldn't recommend reading this if you aren't super interested or at least intrigued by the paranormal. I love to scare myself silly sometimes. Anyway.....I read this book in about six hours. I could not put it down once I started. Zak knows what he is talking about and as a big fan of the show I really enjoyed all of the stories he put in it. Zak also shows off a more serious side of himself in the book which I really like and he talked a lot about the science and future of paranormal investigation which really made me see him in a different light. In the show Zak is a strong leader but he's goofy too so to see the intellectual and serious side of him made me respect him more. There are some errors and some issues the editor did not fix that I caught in this book while reading but overall I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to see what Zak does in the future.

4) Chasing Spirits: The Building of the "Ghost Adventures" Crew - Nick Groff

Rating 3/5 

I read this book immediately after I finished Zak's book Dark World. Even though I enjoyed this book I didn't find it as interesting. I probably shouldn't compare the two but it was difficult not to when I read them one right after another. Nick's book is more about how GAC got its start and how they started the show than it is about paranormal experiences and the field of paranormal investigation. 

I really loved the beginning. I though Nick did a great job explaining how hard it was to get respect in paranormal research and how difficult it was to start a television show. That part was excellent and very interesting. I also really liked when Nick talked about his experiences investigating the paranormal. I didn't want him to cover exactly what Zak did but it would have been interesting to see his view on some of the investigation (other than the ones that really affected him so personally). I got a bit bored near the end but overall I really enjoyed it. 

Nick doesn't quite have the finesse that Zak does and his story does lack a bit of what made me finish Zak's book in 6 hours. I enjoyed Nick's personal story but I also wanted more of his personal experiences in the paranormal and I did not quite get that.

5) City of Lost Souls - Cassandra Clare 

Rating - 5/5

Review to come when my feelings calm down.