Book Review: Everything Changes

Figured I should read a "adult" novel (meaning not young adult), and this was a great choice. Not sure where I got the recommendation to read this, but I am glad I did. 

The characters are realistic, but go through quite the roller-coaster of life changing events. Like true life they make good and bad decisions, with consequences. Liked this enough, I may need to check out other books by this author.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Book Review: The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

Part of the Flavia de Luce series, this is a story of a young girl, who lives in an old house, with an unusual family, and likes to solve mysteries. Set in the 1950’s, it’s fun and witty, with enough details included to make it a really great mystery.

In this book, she discovers a stranger, dead in their garden, which leads her on a quest to discover his identity, while bringing her closer to her family.

The house where they live, has been in their family for generations, and a great uncle had been an amateur chemist, and had built an amazing chemistry lab in the house. Since no one else is interested in the lab, it’s been gifted to Flavia, and she spends her free time experimenting and brewing new potions. I love the description of her chemistry lab, full of beakers and potions. Would look great in a movie, hu?

While I enjoyed it, I wasn’t sucked into the story like I was in a similar book, The Mysterious Benedict Society (which I highly, highly, recommend), so we will see if I read any others. And why are the international cover versions so great!?

Review: 4 out of 5

Book Review: The Know-It-All by A.J. Jacobs

The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World. What really defines intelligence? Book smarts? Street smarts? Problem solving smarts?

An interesting look at what A.J. learns about the world, and himself, as we reads through the entire Encyclopedia Britanica. Woven between random facts - The serrated edges on coins were created as a deterant to criminals who shave the metals off old coin - he shares stories of how what he is learning is impacting his life, in good ways and bad. At times humorous, he is more likely to remember the odd and off-kilter facts, as opposed to tiny rivers in Namibia. Making it both an educational and enjoyable read.

(I also highly recommend another book by A.J. Jacobs, The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible as Literally as Possible)