Pint-Sized Ireland: In Search of the Perfect Guinness by Evan McHugh

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Pint-sized Ireland is a fun and engaging read. The author shares his vacation around Ireland that evolves into the search for the perfect pint of Guinness.

Evan and his traveling companion go from the worst Guinness they can imagine to finding the answer to where to find the perfect pint. Their journey takes them up one side of Ireland and back down the other.

Along the way they are carted, cajoled, and cared for by the locals and fellow travelers. They find that Ireland has more pubs than hotels, and more stories about Guinness that one might imagine.

A good read as the author relates much about the land its self, its people, and its history. We meet several of the locals, we are with him as he scales a mountain, and stand beside him in awe with each new discovery.

I recommend this book to those who love Ireland, and those that love Guinness, and finally to those that just love a good old fashioned pub crawl.

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Ticktock by Dean Koontz

rating: 4 of 5 stars
Dean Koontz created a real page turner in TICK TOCK. Heck, even the cover art works well with the book on this one. It’s an all around winner. I’ll tell you up front one complaint that keeps it from being a 5 star – it’s only one book.

The book chronicles the night from hell for Tommy Phan. Starting with the purchase of his first corvette the ride just keeps going from there.

This book is not what it seems at first. When I picked this up I expected a horror story, with focus on Tommy and a demonic pursuer. I was set up for one scare after the next as Tommy is chased and tormented.

It was so much more than that. This is drama, horror, and love story rolled into one. It’s a story about social moors, tradition, and family as well.

Tommy is forced to confront his past and traditions. Along the way he hooks up with Del, a woman with a unique family and history. The demon thing gives chase at first to just Tommy but soon it’s chasing them both across the city and beyond.

Make no mistake, there are chilling demon tormenting moments, scary monster eating innocent scenes, and relentless pursuit. But just the same, there is a bit of magic, a few wild car rides, and a trip to Las Vegas.

All that’s missing from this story is Elvis.

The title implies something to do with a ticking clock or computer countdown. Oh, there’s a countdown the computer and clock having nothing to do with the story. That’s my other gripe. Though the story takes place all in about 18 hours, the count down isn’t shown on clock, computer, or really even a watch.

If you like Koontz, you’ll enjoy this. It’s quirky, scary and fun.

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So you I like to read. Seems like that’d be a fairly solitary hobby doesn’t it. At one time it was the most solitary pursuit. Oh, there are reading circles and such, but those are hard to keep up with and find one to fit your comfort zone. There are fan forums, but often those don’t have your friends and folks you actually know in person. Just as much you won’t see much of the author there.

Goodreads comes to the rescue. Goodreads is more than just a place to chalk up all of the books you’ve read. It’s a place to share, be shared with, and to find out what your friends are reading and recommending.

Lots of web sites have forums, and Goodreads doesn’t lack for those. The folks there brought us more than that though. Goodreads provides Groups. Groups act as more than chat rooms or a place to post your latest review. A group provides for sharing a bookshelf, planning events, and even taking polls. Of course, there is good old discussions as well.

Managing your books is another place where Goodreads does a great job. The basic categories are read, to be read, and reading. Pretty straight forward. Beyond that however, each user can create customized groupings of their own. These groupings are known as shelves. Books are easily swapped between groups at several of the screens, on the book, on the shelf or on any page where the books are listed.

Reviews are another plus here. Not only can you post your own reviews, but those are available for others interested in that book. Likewise you’ll have other readers’ reviews there for your own benefit. On the reviews page, you can let the reviewer know the post was helpful, and beyond that, provided feedback to them personally. It’s also a great way to find folks with similar interests.

Finally, the big feature for me among several other great ones is seeing what your friends are reading. Yes, your real friends. Get them to sign up and there you are.

You can leave messages about the books a friend is reading, follow the discussion about a specific book, and even tell a story about your friend for others to read.

Friends can recommend books to each other, mark a book as recommended by, or mark one you’ve read as a good recommendation to someone else.

All in all there are lots of ways to interact and share. Added benefits include real authors being members, printable lists, and Amazon searching. I’ve yet to not be able to find a book I’d like to include.

If you love to read, check out Goodreads.