Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Book Review: Grayson

Here's my most recent finished book: Grayson by Lynne Cox



I'm a member of Borders Rewards and every month they send me an e-mail with some of the latest and greatest titles that are out. I make note of the ones I think I sound interesting and reserve them at the library when I get a chance. That's how I heard about both Mayflower and Grayson.

Grayson is a true story about an experience the author had when she was seventeen. She was an elite swimmer and had already swam the English Channel by that age. She trained by swimming in the Pacific Ocean every morning. This book is about her adventure on one of those mornings when she encounters a baby gray whale. It is a very quick read--150 pages--and the entire books takes place in the span of several hours. If you like the ocean and/or whales and/or have ever been interested in Marine Biology, I'd recommend this book for you. I love the ocean and have always been fascinated by whales. I enjoyed the book. It grabbed me right from the beginning. The author is very descriptive and I love the way she took me right to the beach. But towards the middle, she got a little too flowery in her descriptions. It came across as if she were trying too hard to sound like a good writer. Even so, it makes a fun and fast little read.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I just caught up on all my reading of blogs and thanks for all the latest updates! Did you know that when we flew to New York, President Hinckley's daughter was sitting across the aisle from me and she was reading "Mayflower?" I may have put that on an earlier post so if I did, sorry! Interesting side note, Angie was showing me the cover of her soon-to-be published book, and it's gorgeous (painted by Tony) but the interesting tidbit of information she shared was that all by her big girl self, she noticed that the spacing between the letters on book covers is larger than regular typing - and that makes the book look more appealing. She showed me some kinda cheesy-looking books with the letters as close as the letters in regular writing and I can't believe how much cooler it looks to space them apart - I couldn't help but notice that on the cover of your picture of your book "Grayson" I talked with a lady tonight who was on her way to her book group and they're reading a fun series of books that begins with a book called "The World's #1 Detective Agency" and the book they were reading this month was called "Blue Shoes and Happiness" or something like that. Have you ever heard of them?
Love to you all!
Mom Sweat

Sandy said...

Thanks for another good review! I forgot about Mayflower...I'll have to look for that one. I took your advice and read all the Twilights, by the way:)

Anonymous said...

Andrea,

Thanks for the book recommendation! I am having book club at my house tonight and I am always on the look out for a good read. Our book tonight is Hallelujah: the Writing of Handel's Messiah by J. Scott Featherstone. I had a hard time with it in the beginning because there are so many characters who are cruel to each other or just plain selfish. However, when Handel begins writing the music (in the middle of the book), the spirit was so strong as I read it, the tears slipped out. I really loved it, but my compassionate service leader, who is a librarian and very well versed, did not care for it. I will find out why tonight. I am so paranoid about recommending books now, but I love recommendations from others.

Angie mentioned on her blog that she doesn't like Deseret Book selections, which can be kind of cheesy, I admit, but there is one that affected me quite a bit. It is called A Heartbeat Away by Rachel Ann Nunes. It broadened the way I look at the spirit world. It may not be a great literary tome, but at least it made me think!

Thanks for your great blogs - and everyone else in the family (mama sweat, angi, amy, dave, normal mormon husband)!
Love - Stephanie Ranquist

Greg and Nicolle said...

That sounds good, I'll put it on my list of things to read!
-Nicolle