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5 stars for exploring the physical form of a "book" but only 1 star for plot, character, dialogue.

Physical form: The impressive layout and design drew me to give this book a try. Every physical element of this book has been designed - there is nothing arbitrary. Two front covers; no back cover. A gorgeous, detailed photograph on the cover underlying the dust jacket. Themed-color ribbon bookmarks. Shrinking typefaces as the story progresses, implying to me gathering speed. Sidebars providing historical factoids. Every "o" or "0" printed in color; use of color for occasional selected words or phrases. Special typographic treatment even for the page numbers.

Traditional story elements: Ah, here's where things go wrong. Start at one end and read Hailey's version of events; flip the book over to read Sam's side of the story. Both provide a stream of consciousness narration (almost poetic in cadence) of cars, sex, and getting high on a variety of substances...not unusual interests for teenagers. Annoyingly, these children can't spell. "Alone" comes out as "allone," which I kept reading as "all one" - perhaps intentional on the author's part but irritating to read.

I got through about half of this book (one-quarter of each narrator's story) before deciding to quit.

Gave up: December 17, 2010

5 stars for exploring the physical form of a "book" but only 1 star for plot, character, dialogue.

Physical form: The impressive layout and design drew me to give this book a try. Every physical element of this book has been designed - there is nothing arbitrary. Two front covers; no back cover. A gorgeous, detailed photograph on the cover underlying the dust jacket. Themed-color ribbon bookmarks. Shrinking typefaces as the story progresses, implying to me gathering speed. Sidebars providing historical factoids. Every "o" or "0" printed in color; use of color for occasional selected words or phrases. Special typographic treatment even for the page numbers.

Traditional story elements: Ah, here's where things go wrong. Start at one end and read Hailey's version of events; flip the book over to read Sam's side of the story. Both provide a stream of consciousness narration (almost poetic in cadence) of cars, sex, and getting high on a variety of substances...not unusual interests for teenagers. Annoyingly, these children can't spell. "Alone" comes out as "allone," which I kept reading as "all one" - perhaps intentional on the author's part but irritating to read.

I got through about half of this book (one-quarter of each narrator's story) before deciding to quit.

Gave up: December 17, 2010

For such a slim volume, there's a lot going on. I suspect I missed too much the first time through; I need to read this one again.

For such a slim volume, there's a lot going on. I suspect I missed too much the first time through; I need to read this one again.

Wow, Tana French is such a good writer! It's easy to characterize her books as "crime dramas" but the stories are populated by such rich individuals that any genre-tag is going to be insufficient.

Her three novels so far have been set in Ireland. I was able to hear the dialogue in my head, and see the houses and pubs, thanks to her terrific writing.

Wow, Tana French is such a good writer! It's easy to characterize her books as "crime dramas" but the stories are populated by such rich individuals that any genre-tag is going to be insufficient.

Her three novels so far have been set in Ireland. I was able to hear the dialogue in my head, and see the houses and pubs, thanks to her terrific writing.

Although this is a work of fiction, this book make the Middle East conflict much more real to me, and doesn't provide any simple solutions.

Some characters specialize in pulling pain inward and hardening the heart; others become terrorists. In either case, the toll on humanity is devastating.

I found myself stutter-reading a few of the Arabic passages. For example, Dalia is also referred to as "Um Yousef," meaning "mother of Yousef." (There's a glossary, as well as a family tree...needed both!)

How often do we hear/read true stories about people who do something because it's the Right Thing To Do?

This is the story of the hardware, software, and people that comprise the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, an attempt to map the characteristics of the universe.

Many of the scientists in this book knew from an early age that they were interested in astronomy, and they acted on that conviction. Several of them worked on the project for free; others sacrificed academic opportunities. The project resulted in a massive amount of publicly available data - how refreshing, in this age of proprietorship, copyrights and litigation to know that collaboration is possible.

I know people who seriously, honestly, truly believe in reincarnation. And I occasionally find myself saying things like "In my next life, I'm going to learn to draw" or "In my next life, I'm going to learn to speak more languages." However, I would actually count myself among the nonbelievers. (Well, I hedge my bets. I think reincarnation is wishful thinking; if there is an afterlife, it's really unlikely that we're going to figure out what It is.)

Mary Roach's book is more entertainment and anecdote than a serious look at various beliefs about the afterlife. Tired of reading about hucksters and scammers, I ended up skipping through some of the later chapters.

I know people who seriously, honestly, truly believe in reincarnation. And I occasionally find myself saying things like "In my next life, I'm going to learn to draw" or "In my next life, I'm going to learn to speak more languages." However, I would actually count myself among the nonbelievers. (Well, I hedge my bets. I think reincarnation is wishful thinking; if there is an afterlife, it's really unlikely that we're going to figure out what It is.)

Mary Roach's book is more entertainment and anecdote than a serious look at various beliefs about the afterlife. Tired of reading about hucksters and scammers, I ended up skipping through some of the later chapters.