Books...and how they let us down

I have, and always will be a fan of Kathy Reichs. I think she's a truly lovely woman who can teach us all a thing or two. That having been said, her latest book "Flash and Bones" has let me down. Actually, her last two books have let me down. The summary of the latest novel from amazon.com reads:
Kathy Reichs—#1 New York Times bestselling author and producer of the FOX television hit Bones—returns with a riveting new novel set in Charlotte, North Carolina, featuring America’s favorite forensic anthropologist, Dr. Temperance Brennan.
Just as 200,000 fans are pouring into town for Race Week, a body is found in a barrel of asphalt next to the Charlotte Motor Speedway. The next day, a NASCAR crew member comes to Temperance Brennan’s office at the Mecklenburg County Medical Examiner to share a devastating story. Twelve years earlier, Wayne Gamble’s sister, Cindi, then a high school senior and aspiring racer, disappeared along with her boyfriend, Cale Lovette. Lovette kept company with a group of right-wing extremists known as the Patriot Posse. Could the body be Cindi’s? Or Cale’s?

At the time of their disappearance, the FBI joined the investigation, only to terminate it weeks later. Was there a cover-up? As Tempe juggles multiple theories, the discovery of a strange, deadly substance in the barrel alongside the body throws everything into question. Then an employee of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention goes missing during Race Week. Tempe can’t overlook the coincidence. Was this man using his lab chemicals for murder? Or is the explanation even more sinister? What other secrets lurk behind the festive veneer of Race Week?

A turbocharged story of secrets and murder unfolds in this, the fourteenth thrilling novel in Reichs’s “cleverly plotted and expertly maintained series” (The New York Times Book Review). With the smash hit Bones about to enter its seventh season and in full syndication—and her most recent novel, Spider Bones, an instant New York Times bestseller—Kathy Reichs is at the top of her game.

Now the summary is adequate for what happens in the book, but it should also include a statement saying that the book has close plot lines to some of her previous novels. Temperance gets hit in the head by the criminal and is tossed into the dark. Sound familiar? The characters in the story go no where. The novel is short and fast-paced; lacking the knowledge on anthropology I love to read about so much. "Devil Bones" still remains my favorite Kathy Reichs novel in the Temperance Brennan Series. Overall, The New York Times Book Review had it half right, it is an 'expertly maintained series' but this book was less than cleverly plotted. I'd say read it if you want to keep up the series but it's not necessary as nothing new happens to the characters. Whatever you do, don't buy the book. If you did, sell it or give it away, make room on your shelves for a novel that's worth reading a second time. I await August to see book 15 in the series and hope it is much better than the not so flashy, "Flash and Bones".

A little late, but happy new year

Hi! I have done it again and not posted for awhile. Sorry guys. All I can say is I have more free time this school semester so I should post more :) I hope everyone had a safe and happy new year! Now for resolutions, anybody have any? Do you still have them??

Good Question: How many people really stick to their New Year's resolutions? Recent studies show that only one out every three party goers will enter 2011 with a resolution. Bing.com says last year year their top two searches after the new year included to lose weight and fitness. This goes to show what is on the top of most resolution ideas. No matter what it is though, resolutions are goals that we set to make us better individuals overall.

The Journal of Clinical Psychology did a study in 2002 and found that 75% of people stick to their goals for a week, while only 46% are still on track six months later. The same study also found that men achieve their goals more often if they set small measurable goals and women achieved their resolution 10% more often if they went public or had a friend help them out.

My advice? Tell a friend who will help you achieve your goals. Overall, achieving goals will help build self confidence and make you feel better. Feeling better definitely counts as a great start to the new year!!