Michael Crichton's Timeline

Well here it is!  I finally finished Timeline!  After John (the boyfriend)  suggested I read it, and then bought the book for me to ensure that I did in fact read it, and then HOUNDED me for not reading it while we were in CT, I have finally found time to finish the book.  I must say that John doesn't read a lot, but when he reads and then suggests a book for me to read, it's normally REALLY good.  So here goes, a summary and my thoughts on Timeline.

I have never read any of Michael Crichton's books before. My experience with began and ended with Jurassic Park, the movie.  I knew a lot of people read his  books, but I had never bothered to read anything he had written.  It turns out this book was way good. For some reason I had in my head that Crichton was like Stephen King, only writing scary books.  Timeline was a lot more my style.  More historical than scary.  With just a touch of science in it, which is not my style but better than scary if you ask me.

The book begins in New Mexico with the discovery of a random person in the desert.  He is taken to a local hospital with some unusual symptoms and then dies.  The authorities figure out that he works for company called ITC.  They contact ITC who quickly does whatever they can to cover up the man's death.  While all of this is going on in New Mexico, ITC is also funding an archaeological project in France.  A professor from Yale, professor Johnston and some of his students are uncovering a 14th century castle right on the Dordgone river.  ITC sends one of their employees, Diane Kramer, to check up on the dig and the progress Johnston and his team are making.  When Kramer is disappointed that the team is moving slower than anticipated, she lets slip that ITC knows more than the Archaeologists do about the site.  This raises suspicion with Johnston, who then flies back to New Mexico with Kramer to figure out what ITC is up to.  While Johnston is in New Mexico, the dig continues on in France.  The team, with the key players being Andre Marek, Chris Hughes, David Stern, and Katie Erickson, discover a tower that Kramer had mentioned while visiting the site.  Then the team finds a discovery at an arch on the site that brings their strangest discovery yet.  They unearth a scroll with the Professor's handwriting on it; a note saying "Help Me" with a piece of bifocal lens that matches the Professor's prescription.  After doing lots of testing to see how authentic the scroll is, the team discovers that the scroll is authentic. Somehow the Professor has ended up in the 14th century.  Around this time the owner of ITC contacts Marek and tells him to gather some of his best students to come to New Mexico ASAP.  Marek brings Chris, David, and Katie along with him to see what is going on in New Mexico.  What the team discovers there is quite unusual and makes for a great story!

I don't want to give away too much else.  Seriously read this whenever you get the chance!  I absolutely loved this!  I read it during my lunch break for the past week and a half and couldn't put it down.

I am told there is a movie based on the book, but its not worth watching, especially after reading the book.  Apparently Gerard Butler and Paul Walker are in it though, so maybe its worth checking out? :)   I just checked it out on the good ol' IMDB to discover that a LOT of changes were made to the main characters.  They probably aren't key to the story but it does change the dynamic a bit. If you are interested here is a trailer of the movie.

Up next is The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory.  My sister (the one who STARTED writing on this blog but hasn't done it in months) recommended these books to me so we'll see how good it is.  I might actually read the book for the book club I joined and then have yet to attend as well. I don't even know what the book for Feb. is off the top of my head so we'll see what happens.

Happy Reading!

~Tara

Salem Falls by Jodi Piccoult

In my last post I said I was reading completely different books.  Well. . . that hasn't happened.  I went to the library to find one of the books I was going to read and couldn't find it.  And then I got distracted with some other books so I postponed reading Timeline.  But I'm working on it now :)

Over my Christmas vacation I actually finished 3 books.  2 of those books are in a series that I will  blog about all at once, so keep  checking back to see that.  The other book was this one.  I absolutely love all of Jodi Piccoult's books that I have read so far.  She is a fantastic author that really knows how to draw her audience into the story she is telling.  Salem Falls was no different.

Salem Falls is about a man, Jack, that has just been released from prison after 8 months serving a plea bargained sentence for rape.  He entered the plea bargain on the advice from his lawyer, although he swears up and down that he was innocent of all charges.  Jack finds himself in the small town of Salem Falls.  He is trying to escape the life he left behind.  He walks into a diner with a "help wanted' sign in the window and asks for a job as a dishwasher.  Addie, the owner of the diner, hires him on, although she is a bit hesitant to do so.  Jack and Addie fall in love and start a relationship.  A local police officer, who happens to have feelings for Addie, reveals Jack's past to Addie, causing a strain in the relationship.  Addie was a victim of rape herself in high school, but she decides to trust Jack when he says we was wrongfully accused.  Their relationship continues to blossom until Jack is arrested one night from Addie's house after again being accused of raping a local teenage girl.  Jack again claims he is innocent and is being framed by this teenager and her group of friends.  The trial reveals a lot of secrets and history as Jack's lawyer fights against the entire town to prove that Jack is the good man he claims to be, not a serial rapist.

I absolutely loved this book.  It has a lot of interesting nuances that are a bit unexpected.  All of the characters have intriguing pasts that make you want to learn more about them.  The one thing I didn't absolutely love in the book was the very end.  It left me with more questions than answers, especially in regards to the relationship between the teenage girl that accused Jack of rape and her father.  But other than that I loved the book, as I do most of Piccoult's work.

Like I said, up next is Timeline, for real this time.  My boyfriend is insisting that I read it. In fact he was upset that I read this before reading Timeline, so I HAVE to finish it before I read anything else.

Happy Reading!

~Tara