Weekend Book Reviews

This weekend's post is a mix of genres.  I have been enjoying reading books that I would not normally choose.

Painting Water by Teresa Waugh was originally released as a hardback book in 1985.  It has recently been re-released as an e-book.  I was very interested to read the book as it was described as  woman looking back over her life as she lay dying.  This is not exactly true.  It is simply the story of a woman (Alice) and her family/friends.  She only looks back over her life at the very end.  I was disappointed in the story line.  To me it was nothing more than people complaining about their own lives as well as the choices those around them made.  The whining seemed endless.  I lean toward the side of finding contentment in life, and none of the characters were content at all.  At the same time they did nothing to change the situations.  As much as I wanted to like the book, I just hated it.

I have mixed feelings about My Holiday in North Korea by Wendy E Simmons.  I thought this would be an interesting look into a country that I will never visit.  While I did find some of the stories and descriptions in the book compelling, I was put off by the writer.  She goes on and on with how empathetic she is.  Considering actions speak louder than words, I am not convinced she possesses that character trait.  Ms. Simmons did choose to travel to North Korea for 10 days.  Her handlers/guides live in North Korea.  I was also put off by the author's unnecessary use of profanity.  In the end I found this book to be just average.

Morgue by Dr. Vincent DiMaio and Ron Franscell is not for everyone.  While not overly gory, some of the descriptions may be upsetting to readers as they are true stories.  I enjoyed reading about Dr. DiMaio's process.  The cases cover a wide time frame.  It also brings to light how the smallest detail can be the difference between an innocent person being free and going to prison.  This book was easily my favorite of the three books I read this week.  I stayed up much too late reading as it was so hard to put down.

disclosure:  I received these e-books from NetGalley but was not otherwise compensated for these reviews.  All opinions are my own!