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I'm a reader who enjoys posting comments and recommendations about the books I read. You will not find a synopsis with my recommendations because you can just click on the book title for a link to www.goodreads.com for a synopsis and reviews by other readers. I prefer the 3 Reason format: the reason I chose to read it; the reason I liked (or disliked) the book; and the reason I recommend it.

Friday, January 25, 2013

The Snowman: A Harry Hole NovelThe Snowman: A Harry Hole Novel by Jo Nesbø
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A 2013 project for me is to read all of Jo Nesbo's Harry Hole mysteries. I'm 2/3 done with this project, and I am not yet bored with Nesbo's mystery content or writing style. I'm still rooting for Harry to be happy. Yet, the topic that losers make a more interesting story was discussed between Harry and his former girlfriend's new boyfriend.

I like the layers of symbols that Nesbo adds to the mystery so that there is more of a literary quality to this detective novel: the childhood icon of snowmen become sinister and menacing; taking your children for medical checkups puts a target on your back; and the difference between Oslo and Bergen.

I recommend this book to mystery readers, and I suggest they start the series with The Redbreast.

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Thursday, January 24, 2013

Investing with Exchange-Traded Funds Made Easy: A Start-To-Finish Plan to Reduce Costs and Achieve Higher ReturnsInvesting with Exchange-Traded Funds Made Easy: A Start-To-Finish Plan to Reduce Costs and Achieve Higher Returns by Marvin Appel
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

This book was part of the free for my Nook trilogy called ETF Trading and Investing Strategies. I'm glad I did not pay any more for information that was e-published in 2009.
After the first two chapters, I started to read only the conclusion at the end of each chapter. This was enough to give me the gist of what the author discussed. By chapter 7, Appel finally discusses his One-Decision Portfolio whose strategy is asset allocation with only once-a-year rebalancing. I interpret that time-frame to be a buy-and-hold strategy. He makes no suggestion to use stop losses. To save more time for anyone who may be interested, figure 13.1 is the flowchart of the "ultimate ETF investing strategy portfolio."
I don't recommend this book as I think a reader might get better information from the education section of brokerage websites.

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Sunday, January 20, 2013

First, There Is a River: Book One in the Spirit of the River SeriesFirst, There Is a River: Book One in the Spirit of the River Series by Kathy Steffen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book was downloaded to my Nook library as a Free Friday selection from Barnes and Noble.
The historical setting of communities along the Ohio river and of the steamboat Spirit of the River was what I enjoyed most about this book. The author acknowledges her thanks to Ohio River Museum and National Mississippi River Museum. My 3-star, or average, rating is due to author's depiction of her characters in a historical romance for despite her efforts to make them different, the characters still felt too much like stereotypes often associated with this genre: victimized heroine and damaged suitor. When the author does try to push them beyond the stereotypes, the characters almost feel too modern during their interior monologues.

I recommend this book to readers who enjoy the historical romance genre.

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Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Buy--Don't Hold: Investing with Etfs Using Relative Strength to Increase Returns with Less RiskBuy--Don't Hold: Investing with Etfs Using Relative Strength to Increase Returns with Less Risk by Leslie N. Masonson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book is second in a Nook trilogy called ETF Trading and Investing Strategies, and it was free when I downloaded it.
I disliked this book for more than 3 chapters for it seemed to repeat itself too much and for the "But Wait, There's More" structure of this book. Even in Chapter 3, where I hoped to read the Six-Step Road Map for the Personal Investing Plan, I was referred to upcoming information in chapters 4,5, and 6.
So why does this book make it up to 3 stars when I disliked it at the beginning? There are pockets of good information in chapters 4,5, and 6 and everything wraps up in Chapter 8 Putting it All Together. His concept of the Dashboard uses five indicators to help you determine the trends of the overall market. He recommends two different website to help determine the relative strength of the ETFs. He recommends stop-loss orders for protection.
I recommend this book to investors who are willing to winnow out the information they can use.

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Friday, January 11, 2013

The Devil's Star: A NovelThe Devil's Star: A Novel by Jo Nesbø
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A reading project for 2013 is to read all of the Harry Hole mysteries. I started with The Redbreast and Nemesis, and I just finished The Devil's Star in a rush because surprises kept coming!
Nesbo may use a mystery or police procedural plot line as a starting point; but he adds riffs above and below to make statements about the characters, the setting of Oslo, the press coverage of crimes, how we feel about the people with whom we must work, and about how we feel about the people who must save themselves.
This recommendation is more of an invitation for readers to join me.

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Tuesday, January 08, 2013

Paladins of Shannara: Allanon's Quest (Short Story)Paladins of Shannara: Allanon's Quest by Terry Brooks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is an e-short story that helps promote Wards of the Fairie which was published in 2012. While I am not close to reading Wards of the Fairie in my quest to read the Shannara books in a chronological order, Allanon's Quest precedes The Sword of Shannara.
It may be a short story, but it explains the plot point of how Allanon knew to seek out Shea Ohmsford. Brooks is able to continue to build Shannara's world and to write another good fight scene. I wonder, since this is an ebook, will it be easier for Brooks to correct the continuity errors that Verity Brown mentions in her review on goodreads.com?
I recommend it for fans of the series.

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The ETF Trend Following Playbook: Profiting from Trends in Bull or Bear Markets with Exchange Traded FundsThe ETF Trend Following Playbook: Profiting from Trends in Bull or Bear Markets with Exchange Traded Funds by Tom Lydon
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This was part of a trilogy for my Nook, and it was recommended as a free book by Spec on a Free Friday.
I rate it only 2 stars for it did not give me more information or insight than what I have been able to learn from other sources.
I recommend the information about ETFs for beginners, and I recommend using a practice account before one makes the 200-day moving average crosses a strategy.

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Sunday, January 06, 2013

The Elfstones of ShannaraThe Elfstones of Shannara by Terry Brooks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Elfstones of Shannara is the eleventh book I have read from the Shannara series as I work my way through the books collected by my husband.
For someone who is reading the books for the first time and in the chronological order of the series, there are large gaps of years between the books and whole different casts of characters so this sometimes confuses me. Fifty years passed between The Sword of Shannara and The Elfstones of Shannara, this time the protagonist Wil Ohmsford is the grandson of the last protagonist Shea Ohmsford. The Ellcrys was introduced about four or five books ago.
Brooks does an excellent job describing the world of Shannara during the journeys and he does an excellent job of describing exciting battle scenes.
I recommend this series for fans of fantasy.

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NemesisNemesis by Jo Nesbø
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I liked the character of Harry Hole from The Redbreast, and I decided to read other books in this series.
I like the many layers of meaning that Nesbo works into his crime novels so this becomes a literary novel which can explore themes of revenge, power, expectations of others,and a quest for the truth. There are so many twists and revelations that I was feeling the frustation of Hole's superiors; was there ever going to be an end to these cases?
A favorite quote from this book is, "Should a person be punished for showing no consideration towards an idiot behaving like an idiot?"
I recommend this book and this series.

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