Daily Archives: April 9, 2010

Billie Girl by Vickie Weaver

I’m really struggling with trying to find the words to write this review. I have never been so completely disgusted with a book in my life, but that said, I still read the entire thing.

Let me just say this much – if there was an opportunity for this author to delve into the most perverse part of human nature, she took it. I’ve never read any book that deals more with women’s personal things as I read in this book. I feel uncomfortable delving more into what all disturbed me about this book, but that was a large portion of it.

Is the book badly written? No. It’s structured well, the characters are interesting, the setting is perfect. This is for all intents and purposes a depressing, dark, southern book. It’s meant to show the side of killing for mercy and explore one of the characters that could kill in such a way.

This book made my heart heavy. Maybe that is what the author intended, I really don’t know. I do know that I’ve been unable to shake the funk it’s put me in for the last few hours and am anxious to put the story behind me in favor of something a little less depressing and horrifying.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Lost Cyclist by David Herlihy

Pre-Order on Amazon: The Lost Cyclist by David Herlihy

I was mildly disappointed by this book. The story, in the summary, seemed like an incredible one and I couldn’t wait to get started.

The book is broken up into manageable parts each covering a country traveled. It’s a fascinating story, once you actually dig through the somewhat dry text to get to it and I’m glad I pushed my way through the book, but.. yes, it was dry reading.

I think one of my favorite parts of the book was in the beginning. Up until reading this book I’d never considered how different it would have been to ride bikes back in the late 1800′s. My imagination was caught up in what it would have been like to travel across the countryside, pushing through bogs of mud, filthy and tired but enjoying the incredible scenery afforded by the trip. And then I started thinking of the stamina that such a trip would have taken and I was awed by it all.

One thing I did learn in reading this book was that, when traveling through a place in upheaval (like Turkey) it’s never a good idea to show off your coins.

According to the summary I’d read, this was a story about Frank Lenz, the cyclist who disappeared and William Sachtleben, the man sent on his trail to find out what happened. The book was definitely skewed more toward Sachtleben and less toward Lenz, but that was fine – it just took me a bit by surprise since I was expecting more on Lenz.

This book definitely proves that happy endings are not commonplace in real life stories that have tragedy involved. If you are into the history of the bicycle and historic events, then I recommend this novel. If you are looking for a satisfactory mystery in the form of a non-fiction novel I can’t say I’d steer you toward this one.

View all my reviews >>

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”