Book Reviews: Vacation Reads

Tuesday, September 7, 2010


When I go on vacation I love to take easy reads that I can pick up and put down easily. I want something that won't suck me in when I would rather be checking out a new city. So here are a couple of this year's reads. None of them are earth shattering, but they make plane rides go faster.

Girls’ Poker Night
Jill A. Davis
★★★

Ruby Capote decides to leave her boyfriend and her boring job and move to New York. There she finds a new job, a tasty boss and enjoys weekly poker games with her eclectic group of friends. Then we find out what happens when the job gets hard and romance leads to complications with said tasty boss.

Does it sound like a dozen other similar book premises yet? Girls' Poker Night is nothing special when it comes to the plot. It is well written, smart and funny, which is all I really ask from a chick lit book. It was an entertaining read, but nothing I would recommend or pick up again. Davis does give her characters more depth than most similar books. They have actual feelings, back stories, problems, etc. So if you're looking for a light read this would be a good fit.

Sphere
Michael Crichton
★★★

A psychological thriller set in a 300 year old space ship found at the bottom of the ocean. The military sends a team down to investigate made up mainly of civilians. Norman, a psychologist, Beth, a zoologist, Harry, a mathematician, etc., find a large sphere on the ship and soon their fears begin manifesting around them. Trapped together at the bottom of the ocean, they have to decide who can be trusted.

I like reading Crichton's books when I go on vacation, because they are easy to pick up, get sucked into and are fast-paced. They are easy reads, but are definitely enjoyable. This one was no exception.

5 comments:

Teacher/Learner said...

Good idea to bring books that don't distract from your vacation. After all, books will be waiting when you get home :o) I saw the movie Sphere & it was all right. Crichton is still popular even after his untimely death a few years ago. Can you recommend any other Crichton books you've read? Jurassic Park is TBR for me.

She said...

I read Jurassic Park a year or two ago and really liked it. I think I'm in the mood for another one of his thrillers and something more scary sounds perfect!

Alex (The Sleepless Reader) said...

I must be the only person in the world who hasn't read anything my M Crichton! What you you recommend anything of his (a 5 star)?

Tasha said...

I read Sphere in April - I liked the psychological aspect of it, and the end was pretty cool.

Melissa (Avid Reader) said...

I really liked Jurassic Park and The Lost World. I would also recommend Timeline. It's not a 5 star book, but I loved the historical aspects.