book 149: Deal Breaker by Harlan Coben
Deal Breaker is a murder mystery, the first in the series containing Myron Bolitar, a sports agent among other things. It was okay. It was a nice break from some of the heavier things I have been concurrently reading, but I don't think this author will be a favorite. In many ways, Bolitar is played off as being a stereotypical jock type...lustful, a bit of a lummox. His side-kick, Win, is some super-human seeming killing machine that stretches credibility a bit, especially when paired with the...lummox. They supposedly have some FBI special ops background together to explain all this, but it isn't explained, at least not in this book. Then there's the mandatory hot ex-girlfriend for Bolitar to get back together with. In their spare time, between trying to act as a sports agent, making deals and getting the upperhand on gangsters, Bolitar works on solving the mystery of his ex's missing sister, who is also the former girlfriend of a pro-football client he is representing, which seems to be related to the sisters' father's recent murder. Convoluted combined with plodding and unbelieveable. I think I prefer my mysteries a bit sharper and more intense, and if they are going to be the humorous kind, to be not focussed on stereotypical dumb male behavior. It's not bad enough that I refuse to read the next in the series, though. But, I'm not in a rush.
book 150: Prayers for Children by Golden Books Publishing Company, Inc.
I'm not religious, but I think this Golden Book could be useful if you were trying to instruct a young child in religious matters, or at least trying to get them into a lifelong, permanent habit of praying. It has several popular prayers and some by famous authors. Prayers are included for multiple occasions and for different times of day. I would think that the book could be a useful tool in asking a child if they would like to say a prayer, and if they don't know one, asking them to pick one to read until they are able to develop their own.
book 151: Walt Disney's Fantasyland by Walt Disney Productions
This is one of four books in a collection of Walt Disney versions of stories that represent the four kingdoms (I suspect the set was purchased when my parents took me to Disneyworld when I was a single digit.), this one Fantasyland. It has simplified tellings of stories like Cinderella, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and Dumbo. It also has stories that I don't know if were made into film or not (I haven't seen them, anyway.), like The Ugly Duckling and The Three Little Pigs. I "heard" music when I read most of them, so I suspect they were all created in some media form, whether film or record or whatever. My favorite out of this collection is Sleeping Beauty, but more from memories of the film than from the abbreviated text given. As expected from anything Disney, the illustrations are nice, whether they are from the films or original productions for the book.
