The Book Crisis: So Many Books, So Little Time

2011-09-20T17:10:00.000-07:00

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Spinning by Michael Baron

2011-09-17T17:09:00.000-07:00

From Good Reads: Dylan Hunter has it made. At 29, he has great friends, a huge job, all the women he can handle, and no commitments. A public relations executive, Dylan has dashed up the ladder of success by mastering the art of the spin – bending the truth to his and his clients’ needs. But when a former lover steps back into his life with a three-year-old girl by her side (no, she’s not his), Dylan suddenly finds himself in a place he can’t spin himself out of. And when Dylan unexpectedly becomes the child’s sole guardian, he finds himself to be like a circus performer trying to keep all of his spinning plates from crashing to the ground. In what seems like a blink of the eye, Dylan Hunter’s life has changed completely…whether he’s ready for it or not.

Alternately humorous and poignant, romantic and tragic, playful and dramatic, Spinning is the kind of wise, touching, emotion-packed novel readers have come to expect from Michael Baron.

Despite lukewarm reviews, I was a pretty big fan of Michael Baron's novel, When You Went Away. Despite not so great writing-Baron did have an uncanny knack for story telling and once I started Spinning, I could not wait to be spun quickly into Dylan's life. Sadly though, that never happened. I found Spinning to be poorly written, dull, and frankly, cliched. A few times it seemed like something was going to turn around and that kept me reading...only to be disappointed again and again.

I wish I could say that this novel did have some kind redeeming factor that allowed me to continue reading to the end, but it didn't. I did finish, mainly because once I realized that this book was going nowhere I was already too far in to give up but I definitely would not recommend this book. Even if it was a freebie on Kindle.

Made in the U.S.A. by Billie Letts

2011-09-12T16:52:00.000-07:00

Cover of Made in the U.S.A.From Good Reads: Lutie McFee's history has taught her to avoid attachments...to people, to places, and to almost everything. With her mother long dead and her father long gone to find his fortune in Las Vegas, 15-year-old Lutie lives in the god-forsaken town of Spearfish, South Dakota with her twelve-year-old brother, Fate, and Floy Satterfield, the 300-pound ex-girlfriend of her father. While Lutie shoplifts for kicks, Fate spends most of his time reading, watching weird TV shows and worrying about global warming and the endangerment of pandas. As if their life is not dismal enough, one day, while shopping in their local Wal-Mart, Floy keels over and the two motherless kids are suddenly faced with the choice of becoming wards of the state or hightailing it out of town in Floy's old Pontiac. Choosing the latter, they head off to Las Vegas in search of a father who has no known address, no phone number and, clearly, no interest in the kids he left behind.

MADE IN THE U.S.A. is the alternately heartbreaking and life-affirming story of two gutsy children who must discover how cruel, unfair and frightening the world is before they come to a place they can finally call home.

This is not a new title to me. I was first introduced to Made in the U.S.A. back in 2009 when I picked up the audiobook version of this title to listen to during a long car trip. I enjoyed listening to this title so much, that I knew that eventually, I wanted to read it as well.

One of biggest reasons I wanted to return to this book was because of the characters. Much like Where the Heart Is (a favorite of mine), Lutie, Fate, and Juan has stuck with me over the years-Just as Novalee Nation still does. I knew that these were characters that I needed to revisit. I wanted some reassurance that they really did exist, albeit in novel form. In that regard, I was not disappointed. I liked them as much in written form as I did listening to their story.

However, upon reading this novel, as opposed to merely listening, I was struck by how fast paced it really was. In the space of 300 or so pages, Lutie and Fate go from Spearfish, South Dakota, to Las Vegas Nevada and on to Hugo, Oklahoma. It would seem that this novel should be much longer...especially the childrens' stay in Las Vegas. There is a lot that happens to them while they are in Las Vegas, yet, as I was reading the novel it felt as though that part of the book was rushed and most likely the reason I gave this novel four stars rather than five.

Back on Murder by J. Mark Bertrand

2011-09-10T17:40:00.000-07:00

Image via WikipediaFrom Good Reads: Det. Roland March is a homicide cop on his way out. But when he's the only one at a crime scene to find evidence of a missing female victim, he's given one last chance to prove himself. Before he can crack the case, he's transferred to a new one that has grabbed the spotlight--the disappearance of a famous Houston evangelist's teen daughter.

With the help of a youth pastor with a guilty conscience who navigates the world of church and faith, March is determined to find the missing girls while proving he's still one of Houston's best detectives.

I finished this book about two weeks ago, and I do remember enjoying this book but two weeks after finishing it I can't really remember what made this book a good one, rather than just an okay book. I guess it was because the mystery portion of this book was compelling enough to propel this story forward...though, the secondary plot started out too vague and then resolved entirely too quickly.

I do remember feeling kind of hesitant about reading this book as it was labeled Christian Fiction...however I didn't pick up on a Christian theme at all. There was a few biblical quotes that were thrown around every once in awhile and some of the characters were Christian but that's about as far as it went. The book was kind of tame, compared to other crime dramas, so it would be an ideal read for someone who is doesn't care to read overly gory or sexualized crime novels but I wouldn't let the Christian fiction label turn anyone off.

I'm looking forward to other novels in the Roland March series.

Post Grad by Emily Cassel

2011-09-08T18:21:00.000-07:00

Cover of Post GradFrom Good Reads: Ryden Malby had a plan. Step One: do well in high school, thereby achieving Step Two: get a kick-butt college scholarship. Step Three – limit her beer pong in order to keep said scholarship – wasn’t always easy. Now that she’s finally graduated, it’s time for Step Four: moving to LA to land her dream job at the city’s best publishing house. So far, Ryden’s three-for-three, but she’s about to stumble on Step Four….

When Jessica Bard, Ryden’s college nemesis—the prettiest, smartest, most ambitious girl at school—steals her perfect job, Ryden’s forced to move back to her childhood home in the Valley. Stuck with her eccentric family – a karate-obsessed dad, a politically incorrect grandma, a spoiled-brat little brother – and a growing stack of rejected job applications, Ryden starts to feel like she’s going nowhere. The only upside is spending time with her best friend Adam—and running into her hot next-door neighbor David. But if Ryden’s going to survive life as a post-grad, it may be time to come up with a new plan…

Buying this book was a mistake...usually when I am shopping online I am careful about noticing little details such as "a novel based on the screen play"...but this time I guess I missed that little detail. So when I finally got the book in the mail and saw that phrase embossed across the front I instantly regretted my purchase. A trip over to Good Reads to read over the reviews didn't help. Nearly across the board people gave this "novel" a poor reviews.

But being a glutton for punishment, I decided to forge through and read it. And yeah, it wasn't all that great. It was predictable and with one exception, I hated every single character in this book, especially Ryden. Oh god, did I want her to choke on the smog of Los Angeles.

But it wasn't a total loss. It was pretty funny in parts. I think that the movie version wouldn't be half bad to watch...and I actually really loved Ryden's little brother. He was such a strange little kid that you just couldn't help but love him.

Way Behind

2011-09-07T19:11:00.000-07:00

If you have been keeping up with me on Good Reads, you'll probably notice that I'm about five books behind in reviews. It's been a crazy two weeks, between traveling, Hurricane Irene and a death in the family. Oh, and work. Can't forget about that...but hopefully I'll find time to write at least a small review on the books that I've finished during that two week time period!

Two Books

2011-08-20T18:06:00.000-07:00

In the past two days I managed to finish off both books I was reading, More Blood, More Sweat and Another Cup of Tea by Tom Reynolds and Slumdog Millionaire by Vikas Swarup.

More Blood, More Sweat and Another Cup of Tea by Tom Reynolds

From Good Reads: Tom Reynolds is an ambulance worker. On any given day he can be attacked by strangers, sworn at by motorists, puked on, covered in blood, and other much more unpleasant substances. He could help to deliver a baby in the morning and witness the last moments of a dying man in the afternoon. He deals with road accidents, knife attacks, domestic violence, drug overdoses, neglect, and suffering. And you think you’re having a bad day at work? Tom blogs about his experiences at the end of each shift. His Random Acts of Reality website has a huge following with more than 30,000 visitors every day. Here, Tom charts the past two years of his life as an ambulance worker. He is tired, he is frustrated, and he is more pissed off than ever but he still manages to capture the more moving, heartwarming, and inspirational moments alongside the chaos.

I enjoyed this read, though, I wasn't enthralled by it. It was a nice little read for times when you are trying to kill a few extra minutes here and there but to sit for hours and read? It stretched my patience a bit. At times it was repetitive. Of course that's the nature of the job...but it did become slightly tedious. Still, it was interesting to read about a profession that I was not familiar with and it did make me appreciate these guys even more than I already did.

Slumdog Millionaire by Vikas Swarup

From Book List: Swarup's inventive debut traces the fortunes of Ram Mohammad Thomas from "Asia's biggest slum" to his sudden acquisition of enormous wealth as the biggest winner on the popular quiz show, Who Will Win a Billion? A poor, uneducated waiter, Ram is arrested after the final episode in the belief that he must have cheated. In jail he shares his hardscrabble life with his lawyer: his abandonment at birth in a used clothing bin, the church orphanage where he was dubbed an "idiot orphan boy," the foster home where children were purposely crippled and forced to beg, the estate of an Australian diplomat who was really a spy, the home of an aging Bollywood actress, and his meager waiter job. Each chapter in Ram's life provided him with a correct answer on the show, as a la Forrest Gump, he has been in the right place at the right time. Ram's funny and poignant odyssey explores the causes of good and evil and illustrates how, with a little luck, the best man sometimes wins.

I wasn't crazy about the movie version of Slumdog Millionaire and I probably would have never picked up this novel, but I was promised that it would be a worthwhile read...and guess what? It was. From the minute I met Ram Mohammed Thomas, I wanted to here his story. I greedily read through this book, lapping up Ram's life story and finding my emotions churned between happy, heartbroken and afraid for him.

At times, this story does chronologically become a bit confusing. Ram's flashbacks span across 18 years and at least three different parts of India and at times I wasn't sure if I were reading about Ram as a child, or a teenager, but it was just a mild distraction to what was a really enjoyable read.

In fact, I may just attempt the watch the movie again in hopes that this time it'll make more sense.

Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman

2011-08-16T17:21:00.000-07:00

Cover via AmazonFrom Good Reads: Like the men whose epic stories Jon Krakauer has told in his previous bestsellers, Pat Tillman was an irrepressible individualist and iconoclast. In May 2002, Tillman walked away from his $3.6 million NFL contract to enlist in the United States Army. He was deeply troubled by 9/11, and he felt a strong moral obligation to join the fight against al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Two years later, he died on a desolate hillside in southeastern Afghanistan.

Though obvious to most of the two dozen soldiers on the scene that a ranger in Tillman’s own platoon had fired the fatal shots, the Army aggressively maneuvered to keep this information from Tillman’s wife, other family members, and the American public for five weeks following his death. During this time, President Bush repeatedly invoked Tillman’s name to promote his administration’s foreign policy. Long after Tillman’s nationally televised memorial service, the Army grudgingly notified his closest relatives that he had “probably” been killed by friendly fire while it continued to dissemble about the details of his death and who was responsible.

In Where Men Win Glory, Jon Krakauer draws on Tillman’s journals and letters, interviews with his wife and friends, conversations with the soldiers who served alongside him, and extensive research on the ground in Afghanistan to render an intricate mosaic of this driven, complex, and uncommonly compelling figure as well as the definitive account of the events and actions that led to his death. Before he enlisted in the army, Tillman was familiar to sports aficionados as an undersized, overachieving Arizona Cardinals safety whose virtuosity in the defensive backfield was spellbinding. With his shoulder-length hair, outspoken views, and boundless intellectual curiosity, Tillman was considered a maverick. America was fascinated when he traded the bright lights and riches of the NFL for boot camp and a buzz cut. Sent first to Iraq—a war he would openly declare was “illegal as hell”—and eventually to Afghanistan, Tillman was driven by complicated, emotionally charged, sometimes contradictory notions of duty, honor, justice, patriotism, and masculine pride, and he was determined to serve his entire three-year commitment. But on April 22, 2004, his life would end in a barrage of bullets fired by his fellow soldiers.

Krakauer chronicles Tillman’s riveting, tragic odyssey in engrossing detail highlighting his remarkable character and personality while closely examining the murky, heartbreaking circumstances of his death. Infused with the power and authenticity readers have come to expect from Krakauer’s storytelling, Where Men Win Glory exposes shattering truths about men and war.

I really really wanted to enjoy this book. I absolutely adored Krakauer's Into the Wild, and I expected Where Men Win Glory to be similar. I wanted a coherent narrative about Pat Tillman's life and his death. Instead, I came away from this book more confused. Was this book suppose to be about Pat Tillman? Or did Krakauer instead use Pat Tillman as a mere pawn in a game of left wing propaganda? I'd hate to think that this was the case, I'd hate to think that Krakauer has lost his credibility of being a serious journalist, but this book has seriously made me wonder. I finished this book with little comprehension of exactly what Krakauer was trying to write about. Was it suppose to be a modern history of Afghanistan? Was is suppose to be a tribute to Pat Tillman? Or, was it a misguided attempt to investigate the Bush administration's involvement in the conflicts in the Middle East? This book was just too confusing to figure it out for sure.

The Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook by Matt Dunn

2011-08-14T17:06:00.000-07:00

From GoodReads: "It's not me-it's you."
When Edward Middleton hears those words from Jane, his girlfriend of ten years, he knows he's in serious trouble. Determined to get her back, Edward realizes he must learn how to make women want him again. But one thing is certain: if he's to be Jane's Mr. Right, he needs to turn himself around. From Atkins to waxing, Edward works his way through the makeover alphabet. But can he rise from the ranks of discarded exes, or will his journey take him in another direction entirely? With over 100,000 copies sold in the UK, this is a hilarious look at relationships from a man's point of view.

This was another "freebie" from Amazon, the sort of freebie that totally made up for all the exceedingly bad books I've mistakenly downloaded over the eight months that I've had my Kindle. In fact, I might venture to say that I just may have discovered a new favorite author.

According to more than a few reviews, The Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook is kind of seen as the male counterpart of Bridget Jones' Diary and I can vaguely see the comparison (mind you, it's been quite awhile since I read Bridget Jones' Diary) but I kind of enjoyed this book better...probably because I've always been a kind of guys girl, rather than a girls girl. I liked Edward better than Bridget and I found the minor characters in The Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook to be a little more interesting. Dan drove me crazy-though, any character who makes Charlie Harper up to be a stand up human being is pretty funny.

I wasn't exactly shocked by how the book ended, though, I can't say that I was disappointed by it either. I like it when a book ends just the way you want it to-which is about as much as I can say without revealing too much...and now I very much want to go and read more books by Matt Dunn (especially the one where Dan is the protagonist...oh that one should be interesting!)

"Life's a Beach"...except, it isn't.

2011-08-09T17:31:00.000-07:00

Cover of Life's a Beach From Good Reads: Life's a bit of a beach these days for Ginger Walsh, who's single at forty-one and living back home in the family FROG (Finished Room Over Garage). She's hoping for a more fulfilling life as a sea glass artist, but instead is babysitting her sister's kids and sharing overnights with Noah, her sexy artist boyfriend with commitment issues and a dog Ginger's cat isn't too crazy about. Geri, her BlackBerry-obsessed sister, is also nearly over the deep end about her pending fiftieth birthday (and might just drag Ginger with her). Toss in a dumpster-picking father, a Kama SutraT-shirt-wearing mother, a movie crew come to town with a very cute gaffer, an on-again-off-again glassblower boyfriend, plus a couple of Red Hat realtors, and hilarity ensues. The perfect summer read, Life's a Beach is a warm, witty, and wise look at what it takes to move forward at any stage in life.

As with most of the books on my Kindle, I snagged this one for free. This turned out to be good on two levels, one, I did not waste any of my hard earned money for this title and two, because it was free, I do not feel compelled to actually finish it in order to get my money's worth.

I made it to chapter eight-about a quarter of the way through this book. By this point I realized that nothing truly interesting was going to happen and I really couldn't stand Ginger. At 41 years old, it's kind of time to stop acting like a directionless, whiny teenager and that's EXACTLY what Ginger like. No thank you. I have plenty of left over teenage angst in my own life.

Another thing that I found irritating was a lack of attention to details...a few times I noticed little details that just appeared out of thin air that distracted me. It was like watching a televison show or a movie and in one scene the protagonist had on a red shirt, and then suddenly, for no reason whatsoever, he's suddenly in a blue shirt. Or, if you are watching a movie on regular televison that has edited the movie for content/length...Those details had very little to do with the story line, but the way they appeared or disappeared was distracting...almost as if sentences, or even full paragraphs were taken out of the text. As it was a free edition for the Kindle...that's a possibility.

Bright Shiny Morning

2011-08-07T17:27:00.000-07:00

Cover of Bright Shiny MorningFrom Good Reads: One of the most celebrated and controversial authors in America delivers an extraordinary novel—a sweeping chronicle of contemporary Los Angeles that is bold, exhilarating, and utterly original. Dozens of characters pass through the reader's sight lines—some never to be seen again—but James Frey lingers on a handful of LA's lost souls and captures the dramatic narrative of their lives. A dazzling tour de force, Bright Shiny Morning illuminates the joys, horrors, and unexpected fortunes of life and death in Los Angeles.

I read both of Frey's "memoirs" years ago and despite the controversy regarding "A Million Little Pieces", I was impressed with his story telling ability. I had little doubt that Frey would have problems with the fiction genre. However, upon finishing Bright Shiny Morning, I'm left wondering. While I enjoyed the main stories presented they didn't seem all that different than a million other stories of Los Angeles that I've heard of in the past. Granted, that might have been the point...Los Angeles being a giant cliche on its own...but somehow I don't think that's the case.

I also found myself skipping through various sections of this book. By the end, I found I was only reading the chapters that actually dealt with the four major story lines...the other asides grew tiresome, especially when I realized that they were not going to tie into the other story lines as you may have expected.

Unrelated to the story lines, I also found that I'm not a big fan of Frey's writing style. Although I remember being mildly irritated by his lack of paragraphs and loose grasp of grammatical structure in his memoir, in this book it irritated me a lot more. I lost track of the amount of times I had to stop reading in order to go back and reread passages again in order to understand what Frey was trying to convey (commas are our friends!).

Overall, I'm indifferent about this book. I liked it okay and I won't turn down an opportunity to read another novel by James Frey, but I won't go out of my way to reread this particular title.

Everything I Needed to Know About Being a Girl I Learned from Judy Blume

2011-08-03T08:16:00.000-07:00

Image via WikipediaEverything I Needed To Know About Being a Girl I Learned from Judy Blume synopsis is very simple. Twenty-four authors discussing how Judy Blume's novels impacted their adolescence and their adulthood. Whether the subject was parents divorcing, or growing into sexual maturity, Judy Blume somehow always knew exactly how to approach it on a level that her audience would be able to relate to.

As a big fan of Judy Blume, I was ecstatic when I came across this collection. I couldn't wait to revisit some of my most loved novels of my youth, if only through the recollections of other people.

Basically, I was expected to be enthralled from the moment I began reading the book to the final page.

At first I enjoyed it, but after reading several of the essays, I started growing bored. With a few exceptions, nearly all the authors chose to tell very similar stories, and touch on the same books. Over and over again someone related a story relating to Deenie,or Are You There God, It's Me Margaret and even Starring Sally B. Friedman as Herself. I would have felt more satisfied with the book if each essay touched on a single book in her collection without leaving any out (ahem, Here's to You, Rachel Robinson.

Although I wasn't crazy about this book, I can't deny that it managed to serve it's purpose-to pay homage to a legendary YA author. As I finished the last page, I wasn't exactly sad that it ended but I did find that I wanted to track down Judy Blume's YA novels and reread them. I realized I missed my old friends.

No One You Know by Michelle Richmond

2011-07-28T19:44:00.000-07:00

Cover of No One You KnowTwenty years ago, Ellie Enderlin's life was changed forever when her older sister, a promising Stanford mathematics students was found murdered. The case quickly goes cold, the police are unable to find the culprit but not long after the murder, Ellie's most trusted confidante releases a best selling true crime book which points the finger at Lila's colleague.

When Ellie meets the accused on a business trip, she is forced to face her past and consider that perhaps the man she had hated and feared for twenty years may not be her sister's killer and with that knowledge, Ellie sets out to learn the truth about her sister's life that she had been evading all these years.

I'm at a loss as to whether or not I enjoyed No One You Know. I know that I enjoyed the last half of the book, for most of this afternoon/evening I found myself unable to put the book down-wanting to see how the story was going to play out. To see whether my suspicions about this character or that character were right. And I did like how it finally ended...

However, I found that the book had a few flaws in the beginning that made it almost impossible to read. The first being that I did not care for Ellie, and it wasn't that I disliked her. I just didn't really care about her, she was just one dimensional. Perhaps that was on purpose-perhaps it was how Richmond wanted to show Ellie's guarded nature but initially it hindered me from wanting to invest in the book. Luckily, the other characters made up for it and as I got further into the book, I wanted to continue reading-if only to spend more time with those characters.

The second flaw was some of the descriptions...Richmond introduces a few mathematical concepts throughout the book that bored me. As I invested more time in the novel, the paragraphs long descriptions of these world famous math problems weren't quite as intimidating as they were initially but I found that they drew away from the story. I also found the description of Ellie's job as a professional coffee taster to be sort of unnecessarily long. The book wasn't long at all, and I felt as though some of the descriptions could have been a little sparser.

Although I wasn't crazy about this novel, I do want to read more of Michelle Richmond, if only to see how she handles balancing her gift for creating an exciting story, with some not so interesting descriptions.

Back to the Books

2011-07-28T17:10:00.000-07:00

After three months of silence, I have decided to start blogging here again. I found that I missed having a space where I could write about the books I've read. Posting book reviews on my personal blog never seemed to work, I never felt as though I could fully explore the book I has just finished. Besides, soon after I began posting my book reviews there, my personal life ended up getting a bit more interesting (e.g. I got engaged) that when I did blog, I was blogging about my personal life rather than what I was currently reading. And I felt as though I was doing a disservice to all the books and authors that I was devouring.

I thought about going back and trying to write reviews for the books I read during that time of silence, but I realized that would be too impossible of a task. While I could probably tell you what the book was about, and whether I liked it or not, I would not be able to tell you what made the book work-or what made it sink.

So instead, I am starting afresh. I am nearly finished with No One You Know by Michelle Richmond, and so that will be the start of the book reviews.

The Harry Potter series

2011-03-30T15:53:00.000-07:00

Image via WikipediaBack at the end of November, while watching Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, I decided that I really wanted to go back and read the books again. The last time I had read any of them was just prior to the final installment being released and watching the movie just reminded me of how much I enjoyed the series. And, as I had just found the books in the attic, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to revisit Hogwarts.

Now that I've finished the series (again), I'm not sure what I want to say about them. I'm sure most everyone is at least somewhat familiar with Harry Potter...so writing a synopsis seems redundant. I really don't want to compare them, or even review them because again, it seems redundant. So all I'll say is that I really enjoy the book series and I believe that it does deserve every bit of popularity as it has gained since the first book was released.

I would not be surprised if JK Rowling ever released a spin off series, there are so many strong secondary characters in the series that I could see the spin off being fairly successful.

Breaking Night by Liz Murray

2011-03-17T18:21:00.000-07:00

Image via WikipediaBorn to poverty stricken, drug addicted parents, Liz Murray found herself living on the streets of New York City at age 14 after running away from home. As high school wasn't very conducive to her new life on the streets, Liz, already fluent in truancy stops going altogether-setting herself up for a life not unlike the life her parents leads.

Soon though, Liz realizes that life on the streets is not how she wants to spend the rest of her life. She realizes that she can't continue to let her friends take care of her, feeding her and giving her a place to sleep at night, she has to start taking care of herself...and in order to do that, she has to return to high school...and, eventually, Harvard.

If the story sounds familiar, it's because it is. Several years ago, Lifetime Network, aired a movie called Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story, starring Thora Birch. The movie, which was far better than many Lifetime movies, stuck in my mind over the years. As soon as I heard that Liz Murray had written a memoir about her experience, I knew I had to read it.

It was an excellent book, as evidenced by the fact I stayed up until 2am this morning finishing it. Liz Murray is a talented writer who has an amazing knack for telling a compelling, inspirational story without once being preachy or by trying to downplay any of her experiences. She has no qualms about dishing out details of her parents drug use and the consequences it causes to Liz's family.

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

2011-03-10T18:04:00.001-08:00

Cover of Bel CantoIn an unnamed South American country, a birthday party for a successful Japanese businessman is interrupted by a terrorist group, taking the party hostage. As weeks drag on, and negotiations are drawn up and rejected, friendships and bonds are forged between the hostages, and their captors.

Bel Canto has been nominated and has won numerous awards, and it's easy to see why. It's a extraordinarily well written book, with a large host of characters that are complex and intriguing and likable.

However, although I found very few faults with Bel Canto, and found it refreshing to read such beautiful prose, the novel just did not do much for me. As I was reading, I found that I wasn't as invested to the plot or the characters as I should have been. I didn't have any moments of complete joy or excitement because I was so moved by what I had just read.

"People love each other for all sorts of different reasons. Most of the time we're loved for what we can do rather than for who we are. It's not such a bad thing, being loved for what you can do."
Bel Canto
Ann Patchett

February Round Up

2011-03-03T17:30:00.000-08:00

Image via WikipediaFebruary didn't seem like a very kind month to me, at least in terms of reading. In fact, I felt so unsatisfied about my February reading experience that I nearly decided to abandon this blog for lack of interesting books to blog about. But then a friend mentioned that they liked reading this site and so I decided to update it...and as I was mentally listing the books I actually read this month? It really wasn't so bad. Over the course of the month I managed to read four books, which is about average for me.

Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by JK Rowling

Consider the two Harry Potter books are quite lengthy, and considering the fact that February is such a short month...I should consider February a good month.

However, I also started, and abandoned (temporarily, anyway) two books which I felt bad about. Neither one was stopped because the books weren't good, they were stopped by lack of time and the amount of concentration I was able to give to the books. Both were books that should probably be read by themselves instead of with two other books going at the same time. Its one thing to stop reading a book because it's just not interesting, or poorly written...but quite another when those books are supposedly some of the greatest works of literature. Oh well, I've learned my lesson...leave those books for when you have time to really read them.

Now...what did i think of the books that I did read? My favorite was, by far, Writing Down the Bones. If you are a writer, you will probably love it. If you aren't a writer? You'll probably think that Goldberg is a bit...crazy. I'm not sure how many pages it is, as I read it on my Kindle, but it's a book on the art of writing.

My least favorite was the Bourdain book, though, honestly it wasn't a bad book by far. It would be an excellent book for someone who's a foodie, or someone who had experience in the restaurant business. I'm entirely too picky to be a foodie and I can barely cook spaghetti so I felt sort of lost reading this...I'll stick to watching No Reservations on television.

As I mentioned before, I'm planning on writing about the Harry Potter series once I've completed the entire series (hopefully by the end of March) so I will resist commenting on them now.

Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri

2011-01-21T20:51:00.000-08:00

Image via WikipediaNot long after I finished reading The Namesake, I found Unaccustomed Earth in the clearance section of Borders and just had to buy it. I had been blown away by The Namesake and I was sure that Unaccustomed Earth would have the same effect...even if it was a collection of short stories which I don't normally find very satisfying to read (though, I do enjoy listening to audio versions-go figure).

Unaccustomed Earth is split up into two sections. The first section is five separate stories, the second, a longer story split up in three parts. I enjoyed all the stories, though, it was the final story that seemed to have the most impact-perhaps because it was longer and more involved than the others. I also throughly enjoyed the title story as well as another story called "Only Good".

Strangely enough, the one complaint I have about the book is that the stories weren't really all that short. In fact, I found that most of the stories took close to an entire day to read through, which is unusual for a collection of short stories. However, each story was worth reading to the end and there wasn't a single story that I did not enjoy at least on some level.

Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella

2011-01-08T18:36:00.000-08:00

When Lexi Smart is involved in a serious car accident, she awakes to discover that she is suffering from amnesia. She has lost all memory of the last three years of her life. She doesn't recognize her new, cosmetically modified body, her glamorously wealthy new lifestyle or even her handsome husband. But Lexi jumps into her new lifestyle, determined to figure it all out and hopefully regain those lost memories.

This book officially marks the end of the book shopping spree I took over the summer when B&N was having their clearance sale, and as I didn't have very high hopes for it, I kept delaying reading it. But I'm glad I did. It was a fun read after a succession of darker novels that have been keeping me preoccupied as of late.

This was my fourth Sophie Kinsella book, and it was by far, my favorite. Of all of Kinsella's protagonists, Lexi Smart was my favorite and the one protagonist that actually seemed somewhat real. Unlike the other Kinsella protagonists, she never once annoyed me.

The plot itself wasn't the greatest. It was fairly predictable, but I still found myself reading page after page not quite wanting to put the book down...and not quite wanting to close the book once I reached the end. You can't ask for much more than that when

December Round-Up

2010-12-29T18:03:00.000-08:00

After a disappointing month of November where I only managed to finish off a single book, December was a whirlwind of reading. I managed to finish the book I was reading throughout November as well as read, from cover to cover, five other books. It was glorious. Although, sadly, it barely made a dent in the stack of books next to my bed.

As I am so far behind in writing reviews, I'm going to condense them into one blog post. Your welcome.

Audition by Barbara Walters

This is the book that took me nearly an entire month to get through, though it was not because it was boring. On the contrary, I found Walters to be as fascinating as 90% of the people she has interviewed over the years. I do think that it could have been a little shorter however. My attention span could only hold on for a chapter or two before I had to put the book down.

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh by Michael Chabon

This was my introduction to Michael Chabon, so I didn't have any expectations going into the book. This was probably a good thing, as I suspect if I had previously read Wonder Boys, or The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay-I might be disappointed.

The Mysteries of Pittsburgh wasn't the most entertaining novel, there is very little action until the very end-but the character development more than makes up for any missing action. Sometimes it's nice to immerse yourself into a novel with characters that you can "see" as clearly as a person standing in front of you.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

I received a Kindle for Christmas this year, and after a good half hour of quiet debate over how I should take my maiden voyage, I chose this New York Times bestseller and for three days I barely put the Kindle down. Not only did I love the Kindle itself, but I loved The Help. From the first sentence to the last sentence, I could not get enough of the characters, the plot, everything. I have been truly blessed with some really wonderful books this year.

The Harry Potter series, books 1, 2, and 3 by J.K. Rowling

I won't say much about these, except to say I'm thoroughly enjoying revisiting Hogwarts. No doubt I'll be writing more once I finish the series.

So, what's up next?

I started both Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire last night...and started reading Great Expectations on my Kindle earlier today. I have my doubts about the Kinsella book but we'll see how it goes. I don't see finishing any of the three books before the New Year.

A Month Behind

2010-12-13T18:03:00.000-08:00

Image via WikipediaTo be perfectly frank, November sucked in terms of reading. In the entire month, I was only able to complete one book-The Film Club by David Gilmour. Usually I'm able to whip through a book a week, but between school, work, Thanksgiving and other various projects I found myself with little time to read for pleasure. Or write about reading, as evidence by my failure to write about The Film Club until now.

It's been several weeks since I finished the memoir, and I'm kicking myself for not taking notes, or writing down specific passages that I particularly enjoyed, (and there were a few). That way I'd have specific proof of how good the book was, rather than my usual gushing whenever I finish off a particularly delightful read.

David Gilmour's son Jesse was struggling to keep up with his high school studies. He was an intelligent young man, but school was uninspiring. Stifling. He was flunking. Unwilling to allow his son to fail, Gilmour makes the unconventional decision to allow Jesse to drop out and live at home rent free. The only condition? Father and son would watch three movies a week.

As I first began reading I couldn't help but judge Gilmour's parenting style. Who let's their kid drop out of school in order to watch movies? I still wasn't sold on the idea when I ended the book, but somehow it worked for them. From movies to love to life, father and son explored, discussed and dissected it all. The bond between father and son was truly unique and special. There were times I felt a voyeuristic guilt for peeking into their private discussions.

But what made this book truly enjoyable was Gilmour's writing. It's not the type of writing where every sentence is amazing. Instead, his writing surprised me, constantly. After reading a few pages of good, but not amazing, writing suddenly I would come to a passage that I wanted to read over and over again in order to commit it to memory. Sadly, none of those passages managed to make it to my long term memory-but I plan on reading this book again in the future. Hopefully after I've actually seen a few more films on their list.

Everything Hurts by Bill Scheft

2010-11-11T07:31:00.000-08:00

Image via WikipediaFaux self-help guru has a problem, a chronic pain in the...well, you know where. For four months now, Phil Camp has been literally limping through life, trying to rid himself of his chronic pain. After a chance meeting mere hours before undergoing the knife, Phil Camp, armed with a book titled The Power of "Ow" sets out on a real "self help" journey.

This book is probably the most aptly named book I have ever come across, if only because I felt as though I was in pain throughout the reading experience. Rarely have I come across a book that I found so dull and uninspiring. And oh so unfunny, though, I should have expected that considering Bill Scheft writes for Letterman.

I could not even finish it. After making it to chapter 21 (after two previous failed attempts) I finally decided I'd had enough. I could not justify spending another minute on this book when there are so many other books I'd rather be reading. I thought that I would feel guilty, after all, I acquired this book for free in order to read and review it but I don't. I didn't get a single laugh out of it, which I was promised, and goddammit, I want to laugh!

Columbine by Dave Cullen

2010-10-30T18:51:00.000-07:00

Cover of ColumbineWith the exception of memoirs, I don't often read non-fiction books. Its nothing personal against the genre, I just tend to forget about those sections in the library or bookstore when I'm shopping around for a new book to read. Usually the only reason I'll read it is if it's recommended to me, or if it's brand new and the bookstore/library has it out front and center. Then I may read it.

This was the case for Columbine by Dave Cullen. Sort of. When Columbine was first released, in hard cover, in the Spring of 2009, I found it while browsing around Barnes & Noble on a shelf with other "recently released" books. For the longest time afterward, every time I went to B&N, I'd return to the book and contemplate buying it. But each and every time I'd put it back on the shelf and come up with an excuse not to. It was too expensive. It was probably sensationalized. Did I really want to re-visit Spring of my sophomore year of high school? So I did not buy it and well, life happened and I sort of forgot about the book. For awhile anyway.

But then something jogged my memory and I decided to check out the reviews on Amazon...you know, to make sure it wasn't an over sensationalized mess that I feared. I read a few reviews, all extremely positive and made it a priority to buy and read it.

It's a thick tome, a little intimidating to see it, but once I began reading it I did not want to put it down. It was the scariest book I have ever read, but it was also one of the most informative, fascinating and important books I have read.

Dave Cullen was one of the first journalists at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999. He was there as the first batch of information regarding the events of the day and the perpetrators were leaked to the public and press. He spent the next few weeks and months covering the aftermath of what was then the worst school shooting in the United States. Unlike most other journalists , Cullen continued following the Columbine story long after most journalists moved onto other stories. He spent years compiling information on his website, and eventually this book. His goal was to give the public the true story about the events, and to introduce us to the read Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. He wanted to dispel the myths of the trench coat mafia, the targets, and the motivation behind the attack. What Cullen accomplished is nothing short of a masterpiece.

While I often recommend books to people, I rarely tell people that they HAVE to read a particular book. However, I believe this is a book that needs to be read by everyone-especially those who work in a school system or work with kids. It's that important.

Madness: A Bipolar Life by Marya Hornbacher

2010-10-21T19:34:00.000-07:00

Cover of Madness: A Bipolar Life

From Publishers Weekly

Hornbacher, who detailed her struggle with bulimia and anorexia in Wasted, now shares the story of her lifelong battle with mental illness, finally diagnosed as rapid cycling type 1 bipolar disorder. Even as a toddler, Hornbacher couldn't sleep at night and jabbered endlessly, trying to talk her parents into going outside to play in the dark. Other schoolchildren called her crazy. When she was just 10, she discovered alcohol was a good mood stabilizer; by age 14, she was trading sex for pills. In her late teens, her eating disorder landed her in the hospital, followed by another body obsession, cutting. An alcoholic by this point, she was alternating between mania and depression, with frequent hospitalizations. Her doctor explained that not only did the alcohol block her medications, it was up to her to control her mental illness, which would always be with her. This truth didn't sink in for a long, long time, but when it did, she had a chance for a life outside her local hospital's psychiatric unit. Hornbacher ends on a cautiously optimistic note—she knows she'll never lead a normal life, but maybe she could live with the life she does have. Although painfully self-absorbed, Hornbacher will touch a nerve with readers struggling to cope with mental illness. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

I vaguely remember reading Hornbacher's first memoir, Wasted, several years ago. I couldn't recall very many details from that book, but I did remember a few random bits that stuck with me over the years. At least I thought I had remembered them. After finishing Madness, I have the impression that Wasted and Madness were, in fact, written by two different people.

I recalled Wasted as an interesting, but not terribly exciting account of Hornbacher's struggle with eating disorders. Madness, however, felt as though I was taking a roller coaster ride through Hornbacher's brain. When Hornbacher was up (or in a manic phase), I turned page after page anxious to see where she was going to end up. I wanted to know what she was going to do. But at the same time, I dreaded the continued up, up, up motion because I instinctively knew that eventually we would have to come down-and the journey down was not going to be fun. And it never was.

I've read other memoirs and books about bipolar and mental illnesses, some good, some not, but Madness sticks out as being one of the most blunt. Rather than relying on introspection to try to understand her illness, Hornbacher uses her behavior and in-the-moment thoughts to convey who she is.

Dedication by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus

2010-10-10T20:29:00.000-07:00

Cover of DedicationFrom Publishers Weekly: The team behind The Nanny Diaries and Citizen Girl returns with another breezy chick lit portrayal of a woman wronged and, eventually, empowered. When Kate Hollis's childhood chum Laura calls from their Vermont hometown and announces the arrival of Jake Sharpe, a mega rock star and Kate's high school sweetheart, Kate jumps on a plane from Charleston, S.C. (where she's a sustainable development consultant) and makes for idyllic Croton Falls. Through it's been 13 years, Kate still has a primal need to confront not only the boy who abandoned her before the senior prom, but the musical pirate who used her personal life as fodder for his most celebrated songs and cheated his high school bandmates out of deserved recognition and royalties. Chapters switch back and forth between the present and the pivotal middle and high school years where Kate (then Katie) and Jake did the first-love thing: readers get to see Jake's growing he's-just-not-that-into-you-ness and how (surprise!) their Zima-fueled love (it was the '90s) was idealized. While one spends much of the book wanting to shout at Kate to give it up, go back to Charleston and get on with it, McLaughlin and Kraus do get the nagging need for closure in even the shallowest relationships comically right. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Although I enjoyed the various music references littered throughout Dedication, and tried to find merit in the rest of it-I just couldn't. I just did not like this book. I really didn't care for the characters-especially Kate. I was bored with the plot, I felt as though I had already read/watched the story before. Worst yet, I thought it was poorly written. I was constantly stumbling over badly written paragraphs that caused the narration to die. I could forgive that, if it only happened once or twice-but it happened at least once in every chapter. That became old, really fast.

I would probably be more forgiving if this was the first novel by McLaughlin and Kraus, but it's not, it's their third novel. Compared to the highly successful (and much more enjoyable The Nanny Diaries), Dedication just feels like a sad, tired attempt at recapturing some of the lime light.

Reading Rut

2010-10-02T19:16:00.000-07:00

I've sort of stalled with reading. I've been trying to force myself through The New Kings of Nonfiction, but my attention span is just not there. It's actually pretty good, there are some really good pieces in there but they aren't light reading. Not something I can handle on top of my school work, (ironically enough, the last section I read was something related to the class I am taking, in fact, a excerpt is in my text book-though, not the same excerpt that is including in The New Kings of Nonfiction).

Yesterday I decided to pick up some much lighter fare...which, hadn't been all that great but it's a nice little distraction. It's fairly short too, so hopefully I'll actually have time to read it in the next week or two.

Belong to Me by Marisa de los Santos

2010-09-15T17:20:00.000-07:00

Cornelia and her husband just moved to the suburbs from New York City. Although Cornelia wholeheartedly wanted to move-she is finding it hard to adjust to the suburbanites, especially her judgmental neighbor Piper. Cornelia is beginning to wonder if she'll ever fit in when she meets another newcomer, Lake, and they develop a fast friendship.

This was not an easy book for me to read to the end. It wasn't that it was disturbing, or remotely challenging. It was just...kind of boring. Or at least Cornelia's story was. If it wasn't for the two other viewpoints de los Santos supplied, this book would not have made it past page 50 or so. Luckily though, as soon as I had enough of Cornelia's complete dullness, Piper's or Dev's story would suck me in and I would continue reading-interested in both their lives.

As a side note, updates to this blog will probably be a bit slower than usual as my normal reading time has been hijacked by a second part time job and a class at the local community college.

2010-09-11T07:35:00.000-07:00

"We are a narrative species. We exist by storytelling-by relating our situations-and the test of our evolution may lie in getting the story right."

Roger Rosenblatt

Time Magazine, 2000

"Stories matter, and matter deeply, because they are the best way to save our lives."

Frank McConnell

Storytelling and Mythmaking, 1979

"We tell ourselves stories in order to live."

Joan Didion

The White Album

85A by Kyle Thomas Smith

2010-09-05T18:58:00.000-07:00

From the very first paragraph of 85A, Seamus O'Grady makes it clear that he's not planning on sticking around his all white, middle class Chicago neighborhood. Oh no. The moment he turns 18, he is heading to London, home of the Queen, Big Ben and his idol, Johnny Rotten. In London, he is convinced, he will finally be free to live the punk rock lifestyle that he has envisioned since first watching Sid and Nancy.

Until then, Seamus must settle for wandering the more colorful neighborhoods of Chicago, being schooled in the arts and culture by his best friend Tressa and trying to keep a low profile around the neighborhood bullies, the school administration, and his own family.

Told in a string of memories and flashbacks, the reader is taking a journey through Seamus's Chicago...on what may just prove to be his final day in the Windy City.

I have to admit, when I was contacted by Kyle Thomas Smith to read and review 85A, I was more than a little hesitant to agree. While 85A sounded like a novel I would enjoy, I was a little worried that I'd be pressured to enjoy it...and well, there's nothing worse than having to be diplomatic when you truly don't like something.

Thankfully, I do not have to play nice.

From the moment the book arrived in the mail, I knew there was something special about it. Even before I was able to begin reading it, I kept finding myself picking it up and thumbing through it, reading passages at random. And when I finally was able to start reading it, I found myself being pulled into Seamus's life. It wasn't always a fun journey. More than once I found myself fighting back tears, but somehow, those heartbreaking moments are what makes the book so good.

Usually when I finish reading a book, I close the book with one hand while reaching for the next with the other-desperate for my next fix. When I finished 85A though, I found myself unable to reach for that next book. I just wanted to sit and reflect on what I had just read. Seamus and his journey were still resonating with me, even as I slept that night.

Kyle has generously donated his time to answering a few questions:

Most of the reviews of 85A compare Seamus O’Grady to Holden Caulfield. Does the comparison bother you, or were you intentionally channeling Holden’s spirit?

It doesn’t bother me at all. I like Holden, although he does sound a lot like Beaver Cleaver. But I wasn’t channeling Holden’s spirit. In fact, as I’d said in a previous interview, it was the other way around: I was channeling Seamus’ spirit the whole time and wasn’t even thinking about Holden. But after I finished the first draft, I’d gone to the south of France and was about to take a long train ride back to Paris and plane ride back to New York. I needed a good book for the journey, so I stopped into a bookstore that had an English-language copy of Catcher in the Rye. I hadn’t read it or thought about it since I was 15 or 16 years old, but suddenly I thought, “Hey! This would be a great thing to read now that I’m doing 85A.” So I started reading Catcher on the train back from Avignon and finished it well before I landed at JFK; my jaw was on my lap as I marveled at the similarities between Holden and Seamus. So, after revising the book, I started querying literary agents with a description of Seamus as a cross between Holden Caulfield and Johnny Rotten. I still can’t tell which one of the two he resembles more.

I love how Seamus is such a complex character. He’s very sensitive and naïve, yet he hides behind the mask of being a true “punk” and throws four letter words as weapons. Was he a fun character to create, or was it a struggle to constantly ask yourself “What would Seamus do?”

Oh, no, he was lots of fun to create. I loved spending time with him every day – warts and all – and, truth be told, I miss him. Recently, one pseudo-boho reviewer relentlessly trashed Seamus for not doing well in school, not fitting in, not toeing the line and not “earning” the respect of his parents, teachers and peers. I was livid and started coming to his defense like he was my own child: but then I paused and it occurred to me, without people like that reviewer, there would be no counterbalance like Seamus and the world would be a boring place. So, I thanked her for being the establishment, the antagonist that gave birth to Seamus and his much-needed ilk.

Are there any scenes or characters in 85A that you are particularly proud of? Or, looking back, is there anything or anyone you would change?

I have to say that I am fond of the West Town chapters. In writing them, I was able to relive the age of discovery that most of us are so wistful for. And with the last chapter, I felt like I was standing outside my own writing process and watching the whole story come together. It was a peak experience of closure for me; I’ll never forget it.

Would I change anything? Ask me a few years from now. By then, I’m sure I’ll have some sort of answer for you; I just hope I won’t be cringing over the book when I do. For now, I’m still too close to the book.

Why does Seamus have such a fascination with the slummier, integrated neighborhoods of Chicago? Is it purely out of rebellion against his middle class, white Catholic upbringing, or is there another motivation?

I think Seamus wants to see a world without racism, especially the kitchen-table kind espoused in his neighborhood. He also wants a world in which people who are different (like he is) are accepted – which is, by the way, the main reason he likes England so much; he understands eccentricity to be the order of the day there. He’s also gay and Catholicism militates against gays and any other sexual expression outside of marriage. For Seamus, 1980s Logan Square and West Town (aka, Bucktown/Wicker Park/Ukrainian Village) make another kind of life available to him. It turns the picket-fences mentality on its head. White artists can live among Mexicans and Puerto Ricans! Who woulda thunk it? But this was a mind-blowing concept to kids from redlined, whites-only neighborhoods.

Music plays a huge part in 85A. If you had to create a playlist for the novel, what songs would make the cut?

Oh, no! You’re about to expose me for the square I really am! Truth is, it’s been about 20 years since I’ve been into a lot of the music that Seamus is into in the book. But I can fuse his tastes with songs that, from my adult perspective, are most in keeping with the themes in the book. So, with that, here would be my playlist for 85A:

1. “Warsaw” – Joy Divison

2.“Rondo Alla Turca” – Mozart (Remember how he’s getting into Mozart?)

3.Bodies” – Sex Pistols

4.“Attack Ships on Fire” – Revolting Cocks

5.“Slavonic March - Op. 31” – Tchaikovsky (He’s starting to dig on Tchaikovsky too)

6.“See-Line Woman” – Nina Simone (for when he sees Tressa for the first time)

7. “Transylvania Perfume” – GBH

8. “Bone Machine” – The Pixies (The song came out a year after the book is set, but it’s fitting for when Seamus sees Colby for the first time)

9.“Personality Crisis” – New York Dolls

10. “Flamenco Sketches” – Miles Davis (West Town bohemia)

11. “California Uber Alles” – Dead Kennedys

12. “Warsawa” – David Bowie/Brian Eno

13. “Where Is My Mind?” – The Pixies (For his departure from school)

14. “Seattle ” – Public Image Ltd.

Kyle Thomas Smith's website and blog can be found at www.streetlegalplay.com or check out the novel's website www.85anovel.com

The Girls by Lori Lansens

2010-08-25T19:14:00.000-07:00

Cover of The GirlsSeveral weeks ago, the Barnes and Nobel website held one of their clearance blow out sales and like always, I just couldn't seem to resist buying about a dozen books. Most of the books I ordered were somewhat familiar, either by title or author-but somehow The Girls managed to worm its way into my order despite having never heard of it or its author.

Right before I opened the book to begin reading, I decided to read the synopsis on the back cover to try to refresh my memory on what the book was suppose to be about. It was a very quick blurb and read quickly one would assume it was a story about the relationship between sisters. Nothing too exciting, and certainly not a story line that hasn't been done many times over. Considering how much I liked the last book I read (read: not at all), I had little hope of even finishing this book.

The discouraged feeling lasted all of one page. By the very first page of The Girls, I was hooked into the sisters' story. After all, it's not very often you come upon a pair of conjoined twins in fiction. In fact, this very well may be the only novel involving a pair of protagonists that are literally connected to one another.

After the initial shock of discovering Rose and Ruby's connection, I found it impossible to resist getting sucked into The Girls autobiography*. I fell in love with Rose and Ruby, their adoptive parents and their small town. I loved the connections and relationships The Girls had with their family, friends, and neighbors. I loved their unique personalities, their strengths and weaknesses. I loved the flawed characters.

There wasn't much I did not like about the book, other than the fact that it had to end, but reflecting back, I think Aunt Lovey's character was just a little too saintly. Being that every major character had some kind of character flaw, it seems a bit strange to have one "perfect" person.

*The Girls is novel, though, it's meant to read as a memoir much like Memoirs of a Geisha

Visit Lori Lansens

Just Breathe by Susan Wiggs

2010-08-21T19:02:00.000-07:00

Cover of Just BreatheDespite the fact that Sarah Moon can't get pregnant, she thinks her life is going well. She has a semi successful cartoon, her husband is in remission after battling testicular cancer and she's happy. At least she thinks she's happy. But then her world comes crashing down around her when she discovers her husband is the man she thought she married. Heartbroken, she returns to the small California town of her childhood, the town she swore she would not return to. There, she attempts to put her life together.

To be perfectly honest, I was thoroughly disappointed with this book. It started out well enough, and I thought I would end up enjoying it but the entire experience felt like a chore and there was a few times where I felt like giving up and moving onto the next book. It was too long (just under 500 pages) for the subject, it was entirely too predictable (all you have to do is read the book flap and you already know what's going to happen), and it wasn't very believable.

The only thing I enjoyed about Just Breathe was the few cartoons scattered throughout the novel. I enjoyed them, and wished there were more of the cartoons.

Oxygen by Carol Cassella

2010-08-10T18:52:00.000-07:00

I adore medical shows on television. When E.R. was on, I watched it religiously. When there is nothing else good on tv, I love turning on discovery health and nine times out of 10 I will find myself completely enthralled with whatever drama is on folding on screen.

Medical novels, on the other hand, is not a genre I have spend much time reading. In fact, if my memory is correct, I have only attempted to read one Robin Cook novel and was so-underwhelmed that I have never delved into fictional medical dramas. At least until I read Carol Cassella's novel Oxygen.

Dr. Marie Heaton is a successful and well-liked anesthesiologist at the Seattle hospital where she works. Her professional life is at its peak when the unthinkable happens, she loses a patient. A pediatric patient who should have been an easy case. Now, with a lawsuit and a criminal suit pending, Marie is second guessing her professional career as well as her personal relationships and wonder where it all went wrong.

While I did find a few faults in Oxygen-namely a character being mentioned a few times in the beginning and then disappearing-I really enjoyed this novel and raced to the end to find out what happened. There was also a very satisfying twist that maybe I should have seen coming, but didn't-which made the book all the more worth it.

Carol Cassell's website can be found at www.carolcassella.com

After You by Julie Buxbaum

2010-08-06T18:55:00.000-07:00

The only negative thing about reading a really amazing book, is that for at least a few weeks, any other book read will seem mediocre as best.

Unfortunately, I choose to read Julie Buxbaum's second novel immediately after finishing The Namesake. I had been looking forward to reading After You since it's publish date, especially as I had already read and enjoyed Bauxbaum's debut novel, The Opposite of Love.

Now, there was quite a bit about After You that I did enjoy, to start I enjoyed the plot. I found it to be surprisingly unique-especially in comparison to The Opposite of Love. I loved the protagonist, Ellie Lerner. Something about her behavior, her speech, her outlook just really appealed to me and kept me reading page after page.

But after I read the last page of the novel, I felt as though I hadn't read a definite end-the book ended on a cliff hanger-but not the type where you know it's going to be continued, eventually. The end left me unsatisfied and still a little hungry.

The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

2010-08-03T09:21:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

Flawless books are rare to come across. A person can read 100 books, and find at least one fault in every single one of those books-one minor detail that could make a good book a great one.

In my twenty years of reading obsessively, I have only come across a handful of those books, The Namesake being the most recent. From the very first sentence to the very last one, I found myself enthralled in the life of Gogol Ganguli as he made his own life as an American, yet struggling to retain the customs, traditions and approval of his Indian born parents. Although my knowledge of Indian culture is very limited-and my childhood was as American as apple pie-I fully understood Gogol's internal struggle to come to term with his parents inability to let go of their home country and embrace American culture.

I read this book in roughly two days, something I am not regretting slightly. I wish I had taken my time to read this book, to bask just a little longer in Lahiri's narration, to spend a little more time getting to know, and love Gogol Ganguli for his embarrassment, confusion, yet intense love for his family and the life they have created for him.

An Expensive Book Light

2010-07-29T20:40:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

Several weeks ago my iPod fell on the floor and kind of sort of broke. It was a pretty devastating loss for me because, well, I love my music as much as I love my books. Yes, almost all of the music is safely stored in my iTunes and those ancient things called CD's (yes, really!) but come on, I haven't seen a disc man sold in stores in years.

Since the iPod kind of, sort of, still works I've kept it close by...though, not really using it for it's intended use of listening to music. Instead, I have discovered a new use for it. A book light.

I share a room with my baby sister while she's home for the summer. Our sleeping schedules aren't exactly compatible as I am more of a night owl than she is (usually)...and so there has been many nights where I end up laying in the dark for at least an hour before sleep comes. Back when the iPod worked-it was all well and good. I could listen to music, or an audio book until I actually felt sleepy. Now I just stare at the ceiling wishing those damn sheep hadn't gone on strike.

Last night before bed I had been fooling around with the broken iPod, hoping that perhaps a little recovery time was all that the thing needed but no such luck. However, the little gadget was still on the forefront of my brain and after a few minutes of sleeplessness I had a sudden idea...I could use the glow from the iPod's screen to read by! I quickly grabbed my current read and the iPod and burrowed under the covers. I fiddled around with the (still working) settings on my iPod and spent the next hour or so happily reading until I was tired enough to go to sleep.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

2010-07-28T10:07:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

When Mikael Blomkvist is hired by the head of the Vanger Corporation to solve the decades old mystery of Harriet Vanger's mysterious disappearance he doesn't have much hope. True, he is a investigative reporter, but a failed one. How could he possibly solve a mystery that has eluded police for four decades? Partnered up with computer hacker Lizbeth Salander, it just may be possible.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has been out for at least a few years now, yet, as it's not the type of book I normally seek out it fell below my radar. Then, everywhere I turned someone was talking about, writing about it, tweeting about it. And I decided that I had to read at least the first part in the trilogy-at the very least to see if it lived up to the hype.

So did it live up to the hype? Well, if you compare it to the hype of the Twilight series, by leaps and bounds. Kidding aside, it was a really good book. There were some moments that I struggled with, either because the plot slowed down or because the plot became a bit complicated-but for a book with so many characters, subplots and other possible distractions, Larsson did an excellent job at keeping the narrative flowing.

I'm now looking forward to reading the remaining two books in the trilogy.

My Fair Lazy by Jen Lancaster

2010-07-15T19:52:00.000-07:00

Cover via Amazon

I think it's pretty safe to say that Jen Lancaster is my new favorite author. Since December I've read three of her books-or rather, laughed through three of her books and loved every single minute of the experience. Pretty awesome considering I actually HATED her for a good half of Bitter is the New Black.

In My Fair Lazy, Lancaster realizes that ever since she lost her job post 9-11, she has succumbed to a pretty serious addiction-reality television. Worse yet, she discovers that her addiction has kind of made her into a bit of a "dumb ass". Lancaster decides the best course of action is to culture herself up. Over the course of the book she begins going to the theater, becoming somewhat of an international foodie, a wine and cheese expert and a literature junkie.

This book is absolutely hilarious, probably the funniest and most enjoyable Jen Lancaster book I've read to date (of course I still have two more books to read). I actually lost track of how many times I laughed out loud reading this book, there's not many authors that make me to do that on a consistent basis (Bill Bryson maybe). Although my TBR pile is steadily growing (16 books at last count), I cannot wait to get my hands on the other two Lancaster books I've yet to read.

Vexation by Elicia Clegg

2010-07-09T19:58:00.000-07:00

Disclosure: I was given a copy of this book to review by the author.

Devin Sinclair's life was turned upside down when she was kidnapped at age 15. When she is finally found, alive, she is screaming incoherently and is unable to share the horrors that she experienced during her ordeal. For the next two years she attempts to return to a normal but can she ever return to reality.

I actually really found the story line to be really thrilling. Yes, it was confusing at times, you never quite know what is reality and what is fantasy. Details about Devin's experience are vague and fleeting, almost as if she invented the ordeal for some reason or another. This book is definitely not one that is easily figured out. Even after reading the final page, I'm still asking myself what exactly happened. It's not too often that a book can do that.

I was however, turned off by the poor editing done on this book and the often clumsy dialog throughout this book. The majority of the characters in this book are teenagers, yet, the way they spoke to one another was pretty unrealistic. Again, perhaps with the help of a good editor, this can be fixed.

Overall it was a decent book. I probably would not read it again, but I would most likely read another book by Elicia Clegg in the future.

The Liars' Club by Mary Karr and Acceptance by Susan Coll

2010-06-30T20:24:00.000-07:00

Cover of Acceptance: A Novel

The Liars' Club is Mary Karr's childhood memoir. I had heard a bit about Karr recently as another one of her memoirs, Lit, was published recently. I had heard and read a few excerpts from the new book and had been excited to read it, but I wanted to read The Liars' Club first, in order to get some background information.

I enjoyed Mary Karr's matter of fact writing style. She didn't put any more or less emphasis on any one particular episode from her childhood, nor did it seem that she was trying to gain some sympathy from her readers. The theme throughout the book seemed to be, this is what happened to me and it is what it is.

Acceptance by Susan Coll was a total change from The Liars' Club. It was a (fictional) humorous look at the college acceptance race.

Acceptance was actually made into a Lifetime movie...which is why, when I picked it up and read the book jacket it seemed so familiar. I had kind of enjoyed the movie and had not realized that it was based on a book. From what I recall, the movie stayed true to the book for the most part, though, most of the emphasis was placed on one character (Taylor) while the book tells the story of Taylor, her two classmates AP Harry (named because of the amount of AP courses he took in high school) and Maya, Harry and Taylor's mother's and Olivia, acting Dean of Admissions at a small liberal arts school that both Maya and Taylor apply to.

The book was both funny and frustrating. Although it's been years since I was in high school, trying to figure out what colleges I could hope to get into (and afford), I do know that the ordeal was nothing near as stressful as what the three students have to endure. I felt exhausted just reading some of the sections-but overall, it was a fun, funny book.

The Hole We're In by Gabrielle Zevin

2010-06-22T19:45:00.000-07:00

Prior to reading The Hole We're In, I had not heard anything about it or author Gabrielle Zevin. When I saw it at the library I thought it looked and sounded like something that I would enjoy. I did get a little nervous though when I noticed a quote from Publisher's Weekly on the cover, comparing The Hole We're In to The Corrrections. I was hoping for a nice quick summer read-something The Corrections definitely is not.

To my relief though, The Hole We're In is a quick read. It centers around a 7th Day Adventist family (or Sabbath Day Adventist as their known in the book) who is attempting to juggle their spirituality, finances and keeping their nuclear family intact...all with disastrous results. The book mostly focuses on Roger and Georgia (the parents) and their youngest daughter Patsy-though we do get brief glimpses of the two older children and how their parents' decisions and actions affect their own lives.

At times I found this book to be infuriating, especially the family patriarch Roger. Whenever the story shifted to his point of view, I cringed, knowing that he was going to do something morally repulsive. Georgia, Roger's wife was also infuriating at times, though mostly I found myself feeling pity for her. Patsy, the couple's youngest daughter (and the focus of at least half of this book) was definitely my favorite character and the reason I continued to read even when all I wanted to do was chuck the book against the wall.

Once I've had a few days to digest this book I realize that while I didn't exactly enjoy the story as I was reading it-it was actually a pretty important book to read.

20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill

2010-06-19T19:50:00.000-07:00

Cover of 20th Century Ghosts

Over my two days off this week, I managed to finally finish listening to the audio version of Joe Hill's 20th Century Ghosts. It took me a long time to get through it, not because it wasn't good, but because it was pretty lengthy (it was broken down to 10 parts, with an average of 70 minutes per section).

This was my second Joe Hill book, I read Heart Shaped Box several years ago. I enjoyed Heart Shaped Box, but 20th Century Ghosts is what really turned me into a fan of Stephen King's offspring.

20th Century Ghosts is a collection of short stories that are reminiscent of the ghost stories you probably remember from childhood-you know, the stories told around a campfire or during a sleep over party...of course these stories are most definitely for adults. They are definitely creepy, even in the middle of the day I found myself furtively glancing over my shoulder as I listened to the audio during a walk...the best part was that each short story touched on a different scary element so there is bound to be at least one story that you will find appealing. I enjoyed almost every single story in the collection, but if I had to choose one story that resounded with me the most, I would have to say "Pop Art"-which was probably the least "scary" of all of them.

After listening to this book, not only do I want to read it myself...but I'm very much looking forward to getting my hands on Joe Hill's newest book, "Horns".

Under the Dome by Stephen King

2010-06-15T20:28:00.000-07:00

Chester's Mill, a small town located outside Castle Rock, Maine seems like an idyllic small town...then, quite suddenly and without explanation, Chester's Mill is cut off from the rest of the world by an invisible dome. There is no way in, and no way out. The town is on it's own.

I have been a fan of Stephen King since I was about 14 years old and read The Dark Half. I still have not read all of King's novels and short stories, but I have read enough to know when King is at his best-and I'm happy to report that Under the Dome is one of his greatest works. I still think The Stand is his greatest masterpiece, but it has been a very long time since I've read a King book that I just did not want to put down. Considering that Under the Dome clocks in at just under 1100 pages, that is quite a feat. Almost every book has at least one or two slow parts, yet, if they occurred in Under the Dome, they must have passed under my radar.

I could probably sit here and gush about the book all night long, but I won't. Instead, I will just say that if you are in the mood for a good thriller, do yourself and skip the latest James Patterson book and read Under the Dome. You will thank me later.

Books vs. Movies

2010-06-11T18:51:00.000-07:00

Last week I did something out of character for me, I watched the movie version of Jodi Picoult's My Sister's Keeper. I say this is out of character for me as I don't often watch movies after I've read the book. It's usually not a very fun experience for me...I end up expecting too much out of the movie and usually wind up disappointed. I didn't love My Sister's Keeper, though, I have seen much worse adaptations of some of my favorite novels (I am still shuddering over the movie adaptation of The Time Traveler's Wife). In fact, in some aspects, I felt as though the Hollywood treatment gave the story a different edge then the sucker punch Picoult gave it.

With a few rare exceptions, I find that novels (and non-fiction books) are much more compelling to me than the Hollywood adaptation. If given the choice between spending two hours in an overly air conditioned theater, gorging myself on grossly overpriced snacks-or dragging myself out of bed in the morning because I stayed up entirely too late the night before...I'm going with the latter. All the CGI special effects in the world pales at a finely written book paired with a vivid imagination.

Now, movie adaptations aren't all bad. There are a few movies that somehow manage to be as good as, or even better than the books...

BUT, more importantly, movie adaptations are an awesome way of getting people's attention to the book and to the author. I always love it when I see an enjoyable movie and discover that it's based on a novel (or non fiction book)...I will then track down the book at the bookstore or library and chances are good I have discovered a new author to follow.

Do you like to watch the movie first, then read the book? Or do you read the book first, then watch the movie?

Tuesday Teaser

2010-06-08T19:23:00.000-07:00

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"Kid had a momentary fugue, that's all, Rusty thought. The rest was coincidence."

pg. 374 Under the Dome by Stephen King

The Pelican Brief by John Grisham

2010-06-03T19:50:00.000-07:00

When two Supreme Court Justices are assassinated just mere hours apart, the U.S. Government is at a loss to find the culprit.

In New Orleans, a second year law student decides to do some investigating of her own. Three days later, the Pelican Brief is born. It makes it's way to D.C. and soon after the law student finds herself running for her life. She trusts no one, except an investigative journalist from the Washington Post.

I've read some really great John Grisham novels (The Last Juror) and I've read some pretty boring John Grisham novels (The King of Torts). The Pelican Brief fell somewhere in the middle, I didn't think it was as well written as it could have been, and I found that there were just a few too many chapters that slowed the pace of the story. I also felt a little confused in parts, it seemed like there were some minor holes that should have been explained better.

But, as far as The Pelican Brief being a legal thriller...it seemed to have served it's purpose. Aside from the few slow parts throughout the book, I found myself turning page after page wanting to find out how it all turned out in the end.

After the Quake by Haruki Murakami

2010-05-30T17:46:00.000-07:00

This is the second book I borrowed via South Jersey Regional Library Cooperative's Digital Download Center which I had recently discovered, (the first being Adult's Only).

Prior to listening to After the Quake, I hadn't bothered to research this particular title. I had already read two Murakami novels, enjoyed them in varying degrees and developed a preconceived idea of what to expect from this book...and therefore was quite shocked to discover that After the Quake is not a novel but a collection of six short stories which were not connected except they all took place in the days and months after the 1995 earthquake in Kobe, Japan.

I enjoyed the first two stories immensely ("UFO in Kushiro" and "Landscape with Flatiron"). The third story ("All God's Children Can Dance") was also good, though there were certain elements to it that did not sit right with me. "Thailand" was a bit confusing and mysterious but I really liked the main character for some reason. I skipped over the next story, "Superfrog Saves Tokyo". I have no good reason to, except that after two attempts at starting the audio, I just could not get into it-something about the main character walking into his apartment to find a man sized frog in his kitchen turned me off. The two part "Honey Pie" completed the collection and while I did like it I felt as though it didn't fit in with the other stories. The other stories had a sense of mystery or surrealism and "Honey Pie" didn't...at least none that was easily detectable.

Aside from the one story I skipped over, I enjoyed this book quite a bit. I may even borrow a hard copy of After the Quake to read it myself-instead of having it read to me. I might even give "Superfrog Saves Tokyo" a second (third?) chance. I do however still consider Kafka by the Shore my favorite Haruki Murakami book.

The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer

2010-05-28T20:35:00.000-07:00

I first discovered this book as a teenager , poking around my parents bookshelf. I hadn't expected to find much there, aside from the hundreds* of cook books, nursing books and other non fiction reference type books that I would find terribly dull as I had little interest in cooking or becoming a nurse.

Over my teen years I would return again and again to this book. I had the distinct feeling that my parents would disapprove of me reading it-due to the subject matter and language-so I slowly made my way through the first few hundred pages...all read on the sly. Needless to say, I never got around to finishing it...

Until now. I recently relocated the book and decided (after I heard the real Gary Gilmore's name mentioned on television) that it was time to read the book from cover to cover. I had read one other Norman Mailer's books, The Castle in the Forest, which I had found difficult to read (it was a novelization about Adolf Hitler's youth after all), so I prepared myself for a similar struggle...which I did not find.

Aside from the the length, I found The Executioner's Song to be a fairly easy book to read-the narration flowed very smoothly throughout the book and mixed easily with the actual transcripts, newspaper clippings, and letters that Mailer included in the second half of the book. It was very hard to tell where the "fictionalized narration" ended and the truth began...very much like Truman Copote's masterpiece In Cold Blood-which I had enjoyed immensely.

I did however find myself struggling over the extremely offensive language that was scattered very liberally throughout the book. At the same time though, I completely understood why it was used so often and I was kind of glad that it was not censored out.

Adults Only by Morris Gleitzman

2010-05-26T20:25:00.000-07:00

Jake is like most almost 12 years old boys...except for the fact he lives on a remote island off the Australian coast with his parents and his best friend Crusha-an antique stuffed teddy bear. His parents own and run an "adults only" resort on the island and Jake spends his day attending school via two way radio, surfing the internet, exploring the island, and most importantly...steering clear of the guests. After all, it is an "adults only" resort.

Its a lonely life for Jake, more than anything he would love to have other kids on the island and in a burst of inspiration, Jake takes it upon himself to invite the families of the other students in his "class". A twist of fate lands the email at a VIP travel magazine, who sends two journalists to the island to write a feature article on the resort...and this is when the adventures begin!

Despite it's suggestive title, "Adult's Only" is a fairly tame YA* novel following the adventures and misadventures of Jake. It's a funny, mysterious and (at times) heart breaking story, elements which work well together here and-as an added bonus, got to enjoy having this book read to me in an Aussie/British accent by the author (yes, I cheated).

I did find the ending to be a little too syrupy and neat and I often found myself wanting to strangle Jake's parents more than once-but I had a smile on my face at the end and that is usually a pretty good sign at the end of a book.

*Parental warning: There is a brief scene where a married couple is having "adult relations" while Jake is hiding under their bed, unbeknown to the couple. It's fairly innocent, but I thought I'd throw in the warning just in case.

To Finish or Not to Finish

2010-05-25T10:33:00.000-07:00

Picture this: You are reading a book and once you've gotten a few chapters in, realize that the book is not doing anything for you. Maybe you find the story line dull. Maybe you dislike the characters. Or maybe it's just badly written. Whatever the reason-you want out.

We have all been there at least once. Almost every reader can recall at least one book they have struggled with. Being that there are so many books available to us, it's no big surprise that we're not going to like every single book we read.

The question is though, once you realize that you are not getting anything out of your current read-how to you proceed? Do you slog through to the end, hoping that it will improve? Or will you read a certain number of pages, and then decide whether to continue or bail? Is there a certain criteria of which path you will take, or do you apply the same decision to whatever book you are attempting to read?

Depending on the length of the book, I will try to read the first 100 pages. By that time, the story has had a time to pick up it's pace and the characters to establish themselves. If, by page 100 I am still not interested-I will put the book aside and move on to something new. Do I feel bad for giving up? Not usually. There are a plethora of other, more enjoyable books out there to read and I'd rather not waste my time on a book that is not offering me anything (except maybe a cure for insomnia).

I do have some exceptions. If I like the author a great deal, yet, he/she writes a book that I am not crazy about (okay...that I think blows) I will still read to the end. I can be fiercely loyal to certain authors. That is how I managed to finish South of Broad by Pat Conroy or Insomnia by Stephen King. I disliked both books immensely-yet, I couldn't seem to give up on it. I will also read a book to the end if it's a book that I have wanted to read for a long time. For example, I'm currently reading The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer as I have wanted to read it from cover to cover since I was a teenager and found the book on my parents' bookshelf. I have about three hundred pages left (out of +1000) and many times it has been a struggle thanks to a few dry chapters, vulgar language and the fact I want to jump into the story to bitch slap Nicole and demand her to stop being a whore and start taking care of her children. But I digress.

Do you have certain rules for reading? Do you ever give up on a book, or will you hold on until the very last page?

Dear Zoe by Philip Beard

2010-05-24T19:23:00.000-07:00

Often when I am browsing for new books to read, I tend to gravitate towards authors whom I've already "met" (as in read before) or books that I've heard about by a fellow blogger, NPR or some other source I've randomly fell upon. On occasion though, as I wander down the aisles of the library I pick up random books that catch my eye. Dear Zoe, is one of those books.

On September 11, 2001 Tess DeNunzio's life was changed forever, but not because of the terrorist attacks. At least not directly. Tess's 3 year old sister, Zoe, was struck by a car and killed in front of their home while Tess and her mother were distracted by the chaos on the television.

Tess had been put in charge of watching Zoe play in the yard, so she feels responsible for Zoe's death. She takes to writing letters to Zoe, describing her life prior to the accident, and the aftermath in which Tess decides to move in with her immature but loving dad while dealing with her grief.

Dear Zoe, was one of the best novels I've read in awhile. It's a quick read (less than 200 pages), but I have a feeling it's going to stick with me for a long while yet. For a first time novelist, Beard does an amazing job at capturing a 15 year old girl's "voice" and perspective on life. I've read novels by women, women who once were 15 year old girl's themselves, who haven't been able to master that quite as well.

Sleeping with Ward Cleaver by Jenny Gardiner

2010-05-24T19:08:00.001-07:00

Quickly approaching 40, Claire Doolittle is worried that her life has fallen into a serious rut. She can barely look at her husband Jack without picturing Ward Cleaver, the father from Leave it to Beaver. While at one time she radiated love for her husband, now she radiates resentment for the turn her marriage has taken.

While this book is enjoyable and fun to read, to someone who has never experienced marriage or motherhood-it was kind of hard to relate and to truly understand what Claire was dealing with.

The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid by Bill Bryson

2010-05-24T19:07:00.003-07:00

Bill Bryson is one hell of a well traveled writer. He had traveled around Europe, Australia and the US. He’s hiked the Appalachian Trail. In each of his travelogues, Bryson shines through with his wit, charm and first rate knowledge which has his audience roaring with laughter-and finishing each book ten times smarter.

In recent years, Bryson has struck out on a different travel…this time exploring various subject matters. In his award winning “A Brief History of Nearly Everything” Bryson educates us on…well, everything science related from palentology, astronomy, to geology. In is biography about William Shakespeare, Bryson gives us a glimps at one of the most mysterious figures in the literary world.

With “The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid”, Bryson delves in to the psyche of himself…growing up in Anytown, USA (really Des Moines, Iowa). He tells us exactly what it was like to grow up in the 1950′s, all the while regaling his audience with stories of his imaginary alter ego “The Thunderbolt Kid”. The book is highly entertaining and one that really makes you long for those days of simple suburbia life.

My Lobotomy by Howard Dully

2010-05-24T19:07:00.001-07:00

Brain Lobotomies are usually subjects that are reserved for scientific texts found in the darkest bowels of medical school libraries. Its a subject that is highly controversial amongst the medical community and except for some bad soap opera story lines, it’s not a subject that is explored or talked about in the general population. It’s almost taboo.

Howard Dully knows all to well what a lobotomy is, and what it does to a person. At the age of 12, in the year 1960-he was given a lobotomy due to his outrageous (i.e. rather typical) behavior. “My Lobotomy” follows the events that led up to Dully’s family’s decision for the procedure, and Dully’s struggles to then cope with life post lobotomy. With little to no family support, Dully spends the next several decades of his life struggling to learn to stay out of trouble and fit into adult society.

It’s an intense and often depressing story, however, its also hopeful and moving.

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

2010-05-24T19:06:00.001-07:00

Kafka on the Shore begins with 15 year old Kafka preparing to run away from home. You have the sense that he’s running away from something, but whatever that thing is, it’s not clear. He leaves home, travels across country and arrives at a privitely owned library. He quickly befriends the librarian and her assistant and within a few days he finds himself living and working in the library.

The novel twists into a mysterious surrell journey as Kafka’s father turns up dead-mysteriously murdered by a mentally challenged elderly man. Kafka’s and the old man’s life intertwines as both characters attempt to find meaning in the direction their lives have taken them.

It’s an excellent book, one that will surely leave you puzzled a few times-but worth the confusion by the end.

Hold Tight by Harlan Coben

2010-05-24T19:05:00.002-07:00

After Adam Baye’s best friend committed suicide, his parents decide that it’s time to breach the privacy that they’ve given their son in order to protect him. What they find sends the couple in over their heads as they enter the world of pharm parties.

Being that Harlan Coben is regarded one of the best authors in his genres, I expected to be fully engrossed as the story unfolded. However, I found myself questioning the believability factor throughout the entire book. Certain liberties have to be taken when it comes to fiction books, but unless the book is fantasy, there should be at least some degree of credibility intact. I found “Hold Tight” to be lacking in that department, especially in terms of the characters. Try as I might, I could not believe the motives of many of the characters, especially teenager Adam or his little sister. I also found the introduction of the subplot to be confusing and unnecessary.

Step on a Crack by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge

2010-05-24T19:05:00.001-07:00

Detective Michael Bennet has a lot going on this Christmas. He is father to ten adopted children, his wife is quickly losing her battle to cancer. Life couldn’t get much worse could it? Then the First Lady is murdered and during the funeral all the high profile celebrities gathered at St. Patrick’s Cathredral are taken hostage.

“Step on a Crack” is an exciting page turner, perhaps not the most sophisticated piece of literature you will ever read, but entertaining-as are most Patterson novels.

Four Wives by Wendy Walker

2010-05-24T19:04:00.002-07:00

When the first novel by Wendy Walker arrived in my mailbox, I couldn’t help but cringe when I saw the cover. I wondered why I agreed to review it, and just hoped that I’d make it through the novel.

The first chapter didn’t seem too promising, but I continued to read and soon found myself throughly invested in the lives of the four wives. I looked forward to see how each of their stories would turn out, and was surprised by how each of their stories ended.

I’m looking forward to reading Walker’s second novel “Social Lives” coming out in a few months.

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

2010-05-24T19:04:00.001-07:00

I am sure that by now most have heard of this book, or at least are familiar with the movie adaptation. In recent months, the story ofChristopher McCandless has received a lot of publicity and spectulation.

In case you aren’t familiar with the book (or movie), Christopher McCandless was a young idealist who donated all his money to charity, rid himself of all his possessions and took off for the wilds of Alaska-never to return. Several months after his journey began, his body was discovered in an abandoned bus. A victim, many claim, of his own stupidity.

Jon Krakauer first picked up McCandless story for Outdoor Magazine. It gleamed so much publicity and interest that Krakauer returned to the story and dug further into finding out who Christopher McCandless was, why he did what he did, and what he did wrong. Armed with interviews from those who befriended McCandless prior to his Alaskan adventure and anecdotal stories about other men who attempted to go “into the wild”, Krakauer managed to deliver a heart breaking account of a lost soul.

Possible Side Effects by Augusten Burroughs

2010-05-24T19:03:00.001-07:00

If you can believe the author’s bio, Augusten Burroughs is one of the top fifteen funniest people in America. I tend to agree. After reading (and throughly enjoying) three of his previous books I had a pretty good feeling that 1. I would laugh and 2. I would probably gasp from shock at least once. I was not disappointed.

“Possible Side Effects” is a collection of stories-memories that Burroughs has stored away through out his lifetime. Spanning from childhood until very recently, the anecdotes he conjures up are sure to entertain. Some are hilarious, some are shocking, and some are heartbreaking.

A bit of warning however, much like a person’s memory never seems to go in chronological order, this book does not either. The stories are scattered throughout the book in no particular order and at times it can get slightly confusing.

Not for the faint hearted or easily offended, but nonetheless, a fun read.

Shakespeare: The World as Stage (Eminent Lives) by Bill Bryson

2010-05-24T19:02:00.002-07:00

Bill Bryson is well known for his travel books. He has a natural gift for weaving humor in with education which makes his books both informative and extremely fun to read. In recent years Bryson has traveled from his normal adventures to exploring the world of science, himself…and now biographies.

In his latest book, Bill Bryson has contributed to the Eminent Lives series with abiography about The Bard. As there is painfully little known about William Shakespeare (included the correct spelling of his name!) Bill Bryson does a solid job of filling in the gaps with interesting tid bits of what life was life in London during that time.

While this book does not include many of the hilarious anecdotes that are normally found in Bryson’s other books, there does include a few chuckles regarding certain customs during that time period.

The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

2010-05-24T19:02:00.001-07:00

If you have walked into a Starbucks within the last six weeks or so, you have most likely seen this book prominently on display. The book explores the phenomenon of “black swans”, or, events that occur that are unpredictable and how they impact our society.

Some of the events that are explored in this book-the terrorists attacks of 9/11, the explosion of the Google phenomenon amongst other such events.

From the book jacket, it would seem as though the book would be interesting, even for the layperson with even the most minor interest ineconomics, mathematical theories or philosophy. The book is a tad dull, but mostly readable-especially with the handy glossary at the back of the book. However, the last section of the book dealing with statistics is especially difficult to read (I finally gave up). I also found Taleb to be pretentious and unfortunately at many times throughout the book his personality shown through-which made the book to be unenjoyable.

Unless you are very interested in this theory and don’t mind having the feeling of being talked down upon I would recommend it. If not, perhaps pass this one.

The Opposite of Love by Julie Buxbaum

2010-05-24T19:01:00.000-07:00

Emily Haxby is going through changes. First she splits from her long term boyfriend, then she up and quits her job…and is abruptly faced with the looming reality of quickly losing her beloved grandfather. It’s a lot for one girl to handle.

Julie Buxbaum does an excellent job at conveying the “quarter life crisis” that many 20-30 somethings experience, and she does an even better job at allowing both Emily and the reader come to an understanding as to at least some of the reasons for Emily’s current crisis. Buxbaum also does a good job at creating mostly believable characters, though, at the same time she seems to falter at describing certain characters so that they become vague ghosts in the mind of the reader, rather than actual physical people that you could picture walking down the streets of New York City.

Another downfall is the prologue, it gives too much away-at least if you pay close enough attention. It’s written as though Buxbaum wants to be vague and not give too much away but unfortunately that did not seem to be the case for me.

The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella

2010-05-24T19:00:00.000-07:00

Samantha Sweeting is a high powered lawyer, or at least she was until she seemingly made an error which cost her law firm millions of dollars. In shock Samantha takes off-and finds herself in a far off village where she is a total stranger. She decides to use the opportunity to reinvent herself and start over fresh.

The Undomestic Goddess is a lot of fun to read. In the past I have found Sophie Kinsella‘s books to be a bit irritating but this book seemed a little more balanced and it’s characters were just a tad more believable. I think it would be nice to see some sequels to this book, rather than Kinsella focus her attention so much on the Shopaholic series…which, while entertaining, seems to have run it’s course.

The Silverchair Story: A New Tomorrow

2010-05-24T18:59:00.002-07:00

Back in 2004, Australian rock journalist published his first book, a biography about the Australian band Silverchair called Tomorrow Never Knows. It was a decent first attempt at a book, although, after it was published it was pointed out by many die hard Silverchair fans that there were many errors scattered amongst the pages (for example he switched the instruments of two of the members on one of the first pages, he stated that the lead singer was suffering from an illness…that after some quick research on my part only affects canines, and over all it just seemed to drag off on two many tangents about the state of the music business instead of staying on the topic of the band, focused entirely too much on the lead singer…and overall just seemed unprofessional for someone that was a veteran journalist. I suppose for those who hadn’t been die hard fans of the band it was a decent book, but for the fans that had more or less been fans from the beginning it was a let down.

After the book was released, Apter released several more books, one being a biography of Red Hot Chili Peppers. This attempt was much better. It seemed much more professional, I personally didn’t pick up on any blantant errors so I forgave him for his first attempt at writing a book.

A few months ago it was announced that Apter has updated his first book…went in and fixed up all the errors, cut out the really boring parts and added quite a bit as the band is currently in the process of releasing their fifth studio album and in between this album and the last album had been involved in varying degrees of sucessful side projects. So needless to say, I received this news with both excitment and a bit of apprehension…and so I asked my Australian buddy for the book for X-mas, which he did…what a champ!

I finished reading it today, and I have to say that I was impressed by how well Apter did on this book compared to the last version. Quite a bit of it was the same as far as the quotes and some of the interviews but it seemed that some of the parts that didn’t work in the first book were taken out…and their was a new introduction to the book, and the last few chapters were completely new. And probably the one thing that made me happy was that in the first book, at the end, there was a full interview with the lead singer…(and scattered through the book was other, similar interviews with other people associated with the band)…but he hadn’t sat down with the bassist or the drummer for the same type of interview which is something that really bothered me about the first book. I don’t know why, but I’ve always been protective of them in that regard.

So overall I really enjoyed this book, it was nice to “revisit” my favorite band from my teenage years…for the last year or two I really haven’t paid too much attention to them…I honestly couldn’t remember the last time I really sat down to listen to any of their albums…which was a bit strange considering that from the time I was 14 until about a year or so ago I’d listen to at least one of albums a couple times a week. But now after reading the book I’ll probably go and start listening to their albums again on a more regular basis, and start looking forward to their new album coming out.

Thank You for Smoking by Christopher Buckley: A Book Review

2010-05-24T18:59:00.001-07:00

Nick Naylor is a spin doctor. His forte? The tobacco industry. Naylor’sjob is to keep people smoking, and hopefully gain a few new customers along the way.

In this entertaining, and extremely addictive novel, Christopher Buckleyshows us the live of Nick Naylor as he gains power working for the leading tobacco company in the US. His job is to convince the public that contrary to what they are being shown again and again, smoking isn’t bad for you. As the novel progresses, Naylor’s job, and his live are put on the line, often times in darkly comedic situations.

This book is a quick read, fast paced and a lot of fun. It doesn’t matter what your stance is on the smoking issue, even if you are totally against the tobacco industry and what it stands for, you can’t help but get sucked in to the story and won’t want to put it down until the end. It is that addictive.

Now, where did I put my lighter?

The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd

2010-05-24T18:58:00.001-07:00

The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd opens with Jessie Sullivan waking up on Ash Wednesday to find that her overly religious mother has just cut off her finger. Jessie heads back to her childhood home on Egret Island in South Carolina to care for her ailing mother.

While she’s on the Island, Jessie befriends a Monk from the local monestery and they engage in an illicit affair with him, she also learns some secrets about her childhood and the death of her beloved father, whom she believed died in a tragic boating accident.

I found this book to be somewhat of a let down. I had heard so many good things about Kidd, so I was looking forward to reading the book but many times I found myself bored. It was slow paced at times and I felt at odds with the main character Jessie. I felt really disjointed from her, and I found her to be extremely selfish. I feel that it’s important to sympathize with the main charater, but in this case, I just did not like her.

I wish the lesser characters had been introduced better but they were not…which was a shame as they all seemed to be more interesting characters. But unfortanately it felt that they were glossed over.

I did however like the “real” story about Jessie’s father’s death and how the story came to be told. Throughout the book there was a pretty good buildup to find the truth about why Jessie’s mother was mentally unstable and why her father’s death had been so hush hush. It was a surprise.

I don’t think I’d recommend buying this book, at least not at full retail.

The Kite Runner: A Book Review

2010-05-24T18:57:00.000-07:00

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is a heartbreaking, yet optomistic story of Amir, an Afganhi immigrant. The story follows Amir from his childhood in pre Taliban ruled Afganistan to his adulthood in Californiawhere, at age 18, he moved with his father to escape the political unrest that had begun to plague Afganistan. Unknown to anyone else, Amir is also running away from the memories of a painful past event which cost him the friendship of Hassan, his father’s servent’s son who worshipped the ground that Amir walked on.

Once in California, Amir thought that he had escaped his past, both the unrest in his native country as well as his past personal history, but as he discovers, you can’t really run away from your past.

This is an absolutely beatiful book, it speeds through with a momentum that never falters, every chapter builds up the story and unlike many other books that I have read that fails to deliver its goods, this one is just perfect in every aspect. It really grips you emotionally and I dare anyone to read this without tearing up at least once, it also gives a very “in your face” look at modern day Afganistan under the Taliban’s rule, but without becoming political at all.

The Know-It-All by A.J. Jacobs

2010-05-24T18:56:00.002-07:00

Reading the entire set of Encyclopedia Brittanica is a feat that even the most seasoned readers would most likely shun. Just imagining that type of task would be enough to send most to the medicine cabinet for a strong dose of Excedrin.

A.J. Jacobs is not like everyone else. Instead of being overwhelmed with such a task-he revels in the quest for knowledge-plowing his way through the entire alphabet spewing out facts left and right coupled with some hilarious, witty and thought provoking commentary.

Jacobs makes reading the E.B. sound exciting and fun and well-very time consuming. This books almost makes me entertain the idea myself. However, I will instead extend my kudos to Mr. Jacobs (and his endlessly patient wife) and instead undertake a more modest proposal-such as memorizing the entire Beatles catalogue.

“Special Topics in Calamity Physics” by Marisha Pessl

2010-05-24T18:56:00.001-07:00

If you take this book off the shelf and look at its cover you would probably dismiss it as a run of the mill pop novel. Sure, it might be a little more lengthy than the average novel but nothing too unusual.

From the first page however, you will wonder if you are reading a novel or a textbook. No, the book is not about physics, but the author uses a unique form of story telling by referencing dozens, if not hundreds of texts.

The story itself starts out pretty straightforward, its a story of a high school senior attempting to fit into a new school. She falls into an elite group of fellow students led by the school’s eccentric film teacher. About mid-way through the book the mood changes and it becomes apparent that what seems like a simple tired story is something totally different and you are pulled into a mystery of who this elitist group is and why they chose to befriend the narrator.

While the story itself is very intriguing and you fnd yourself begging for new clues to understand the direction the story is heading, the sheer number of references and quotes from other workd of fiction and non fiction often takes away from the story and it hinders the voice of the narrator so you never feel as though you ever get to know her.

Still, if you enjoy books with some mystery and you are not afraid to use your brain to connect the references to the story you might enjoy this book as I did. If anything else, you might find a new book or topic to explore that you had never considered before.

“Me Talk Pretty One Day” by David Sedaris

2010-05-24T18:55:00.002-07:00

This is the first book by David Sedaris that I have read…and I’m not quite sure what to think of it to be honest. For awhile now I’ve heard people rave about Sedaris and how funny his books were…but truthfully I didn’t find this particular one to be too amusing. I struggled with the first part of the book, though, it did pick up (and become funnier) during the second part. I think that I started reading this book expecting Sedaris to be a bit like Augusten Burroughs…but that wasn’t the case.

However, perhaps Me Talk Pretty One Day was a poor choice to start off with. I plan on reading at least one more of his books in order to try to get a more honest opinion on his writing.

“Nineteen Minutes” by Jodi Picoult

2010-05-24T18:55:00.001-07:00

I haven’t read all of Jodi Picoult’s books, but I have been impressed with the ones that I have read. It’s funny though, Picoult’s writing alone doesn’t impress me. Often times I find that the events of the majority of her stories take on a predictable path and many of her secondary characters are very similar and interchangeable. Despites these flaws however, there is no mistake that Picoult has a gift for story telling. She has a knack for taking a controversial subject (such as a school shooting) and forcing the audience to examine the issues from both sides…from the view point of the victims and their families to the perpetrator and his family. It’s easy to approach this novel with a pretty strong opinion already formed, not surprisingly at all due to the volume of school shooting that have occurred…however, by the time you finish this novel there’s a good chance that your opinion has swayed, at least slightly.

I highly recommend this book to everyone, but especially for educators and parents.

Beginner’s Greek by James Collins

2010-05-24T18:54:00.001-07:00

Prior to picking up “Beginner’s Greek”, I had hit a dry spell with reading. I had gotten caught up with life, and whatever free time I had was spent on the computer…not curled up with a book. Wanting to remedy the situation, and not finding the motivation on my bookshelves, I decided a trip to the library was in order.

“Beginner’s Greek” was one of the first books I picked up, when I read the dust jacket to find that it was a book about love and fate, I thought that I’d give it a shot. Since I had read so many “chick novels” along the same lines, I thought it would be refreshing to read a book written by the male species.

I got home and as time was a bit limited, I only had the chance to read the prologue. It seemed to set the story up pretty well, and so I looked forward to returning to it when time permits. However, when I returned to the story I found myself throughly disappointed by probably the two biggest flaws a writer could fall into. Poor characterizations and a poor story line.

I could deal with one or the other. There has been plenty of books in which I wasn’t a huge fan of the characters yet, the story line was intriguing or funny and I have read some books in which I have loved the characters, despite thinking the story line was completely lacking. However, when you put the two elements together…it makes for an extremely trying experience.

Collin’s characters are static and just TOO. They are too good. They are too much of a jerk. They are too grating. And overall, they are too boring. The moment they are introduced, you know everything about them and it’s very easy to see how they will fit into the story line. Even if you have had the most rudimentary training in characterization in this subject, you know that it’s important for characters to change somewhat in the course of a story. Sadly, Collin’s must have slept through that literature class.

The story line might have been okay, however, it just seemed as though the elements of the story fell into place too easily, it was a story line that might have been appropriate for middle school age in it’s complexity, but for an adult it was just too simple to make for an interesting plot.

I did however like the premise of the novel. I like thinking that perhaps two sole mates start out as seat mates on a plane. I like believing in fate, and that even poorly written books can remind me that sometimes fate does play a part in what happens in your life.

Ultimate Blogs: Masterworks from the Wild Web edited by Sarah Boxer

2010-05-24T18:53:00.001-07:00

As if I don’t already surround myself with blogging enough-I had to go and buy a book on blogs.

Ultimately though, I found this to be a great collection of the various forms of blogs that you can find on the blogosphere-of course there’s the personal journal type that I think we’re all pretty familiar with, however, in this collection we are also introduced to cartoons, politics, historical autobiographies, and even an Odyssey inspired blog…amongst several more. For the most part, the blogs found in this collection are blogs which you’ve probably never heard of before (with the exception of The Smoking Gun), but they all warrant a read-whether or not the subject seems interesting.

If you are already a heavy blogger you probably won’t find anything earth shattering here, though, it’s a good way to discover some talented and under appreciated bloggers…but if you are just starting out blogging (or are considering opening a blog) this would be an excellent resource-it’ll give you an idea of what sort of things people blog about, blog writing styles, etc.

Unpredictable by Eileen Cook (review and interview with the author)

2010-05-24T18:52:00.001-07:00

Unpredictable by Eileen Cook (review and interview with the author)

The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay

2010-05-24T18:50:00.000-07:00

The Power of One by Bryce Courtenay is a coming of age story about Peekay, a British child growing up in South Africa in the Would War II era. Peekay is an exceptionally bright and wise child who astonishes everyone who he meets during his life. He also has the special gift of seeing things for what they really are, and not seeing things the way his culture, society, and family tells him he should see things. However, his main ambition in life is to become the welterweight boxing champion of the world, and the story follows Peekay as he works towards his ultimate goal in life.

This was a really wonderful book, however, it isn’t a book that you can just race through. I also do not recommend trying to read it amongst other books (like I did), or only read once in awhile (also, like I did). It’s such an involved story, with so many different characters that it’s one of those books that you will want to sit down and carefully read in order to involve yourself with Peekay’s story.

It is beautifully written and it’s hard not to become emotionally involved. The heart breaking passages will make you want to cry, the joyous passages will make you want to dance around your living room and even the more neutral passages will suck you in so you won’t want to put the book down.

I do believe I will, one day, read this book again without the many distractions that I had reading this book. Even in the start/stop way I read this book, I got so much out of it and I can only imagine how great I will find the book when I put my full attention into it.

Why Girls are Weird by Pamela Ribon

2010-05-24T18:49:00.003-07:00

Anna has a fairly dull life. She is newly single and coming to terms with her new singleton status. She has a dull library job which gives her countless hours in order to mess around on the computer. Out of desperation for a project to keep herself occupied she starts up a website in order to practice HTML. She decides the website will be a personal diary, just slightly fictionalized. Anna never realized how popular she would become, but soon people are flocking to her website in droves to read about her latest adventure…only problem is, she isn’t always 100% truthful in her entries which lead to several complications down the road.

While this book isn’t the best book that I have ever read, it was quite enjoyable. A good amount of Anna’s blog entries were hilarious…and the storyline away from the blog was also enjoyable…though, there often I found myself feeling Anna’s frustration about certain things…or downright sad. That kind of surprised me, as it seemed like it would be a light and funny book yet I was finding myself tearing up once or twice.

The only potentially bad thing that I will say about the book is that the humor was often very “adult” so I think that it limited it’s audience…if the humor was a bit cleaner it might be a little more appealing to a wider audience…at least amongst the blogging population.

You can check out the author’s very own blog at pamie.com.

Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk

2010-05-24T18:49:00.001-07:00

Summary: A former model becomes horribly disfigured in an “accident”. She then joins forces with her former lover and a pre-op transexual for a wild cross country trip.

The Good: There were a lot of really good twists throughout the book which kept me on my toes. Every time I thought I had hit a lull in the story, something new happened. I also loved the ending…which is surprising. There’s only a handful of books in which I really liked the ending.

The Bad: If you aren’t paying attention this book can seem pretty confusing at times since there’s so many twists in the story. Also, if you are easily offended, you’d probably want to skip this book (and any other book by Palahniuk).

Overall: I would venture to say that this is one of Palahniuk’s best books. Though confusing at times, it’s one of his more exciting books.

Bee Season by Myla Goldberg

2010-05-24T18:47:00.000-07:00

From Publishers Weekly
An eccentric family falls apart at the seams in an absorbing debut that finds congruencies between the elementary school spelling-bee circuit, Jewish mysticism, Eastern religious cults and compulsive behavior. Nine-year-old Eliza Naumann feels like the dullest resident of a house full of intellectuals–her older brother, Aaron, is an overachiever; her mother, Miriam, is a lawyer; and her father, Saul, is a self-taught scholar and a cantor at the community synagogue. She surprises herself and the rest of the Naumanns when she discovers a rare aptitude for spelling, winning her school and district bees with a surreal surge of mystical insight, in which letters seem to take on a life of their own. Saul shifts his focus from Aaron to Eliza, devoting his afternoons to their practice sessions, while neglected Aaron joins the Hare Krishnas. Seduced by his own inner longings, Saul sees in Eliza the potential to fulfill the teachings of the Kabbalah scholar Abulafia, who taught that enlightenment could be reached through strategic alignments of letters and words. Eliza takes to this new discipline with a desperate, single-minded focus. At the same time, her brilliant but removed mother succumbs to a longtime secret vice and begins a descent into madness. Goldberg’s insights into religious devotion, guilt, love, obsessive personalities and family dynamics ring true, and her use of spelling-as-metaphor makes a clever trope in a novel populated by literate scholars and voracious readers. Her quiet wit, balanced by an empathetic understanding of human foibles, animates every page. Although she has a tendency to overexplain, Goldberg’s attentive ear makes accounts of fast-paced spelling competitions or descriptions of Miriam’s struggles to resist her own compulsions riveting, and her unerring knack for telling details (as when Eliza twitches through a spelling bee in itchy tights) captures a child’s perceptions with touching acuity. While coming-of-age stories all bear a certain similarity, Goldberg strikes new ground here, and displays a fresh, distinctive and totally winning voice.

I really really enjoyed this story. The concept of spelling bees initially seemed like a fairly boring topic to base a story around, but I soon discovered that the spelling bee world is just a tiny little part of this story, and in reality it’s more of a book about the Naumann family and what happens when the family dynamics change.

The characters in this book are extremely interesting and complex…which is surprising, given that the book was short. It seems that most of the shorter novels that I have read have mainly stuck to the safer characterizations, not changing the characters too drastically, or focusing primarily on one or two characters…however, Goldberg treats each of her characters as her main character, each with their own story line and voice.

The subplots were just as interesting as the main idea about spelling bees. As I mentioned, each character has their own story going on throughout the book, and I enjoyed those subplots immensely and was surprised by how strongly they shown through the book. It’s not so much Eliza’s journey through the spelling bee circuit that sticks with me, but rather the reactions from the other family members.

I thought that it was bold of Goldberg to touch on religion as much as she did. As you can probably guess, the family is Jewish, and throughout the book there’s talk of the family’s faith, and also touches on the Mysticism aspect (aka Kabala) of their faith and also Hare Krisna…which was totally unexpected.

Something Borrowed; Something Blue; Baby Proof by Emily Giffin

2010-05-24T18:46:00.000-07:00

From Publishers Weekly:

An unexpected love affair threatens a long-lived friendship in this soap opera–like debut fromAtlanta ex-lawyer Giffin. Since elementary school, Rachel and Darcy have been best friends, with Darcy always outshining Rachel. While single Rachel is the self-confessed good girl, an attorney trapped at a suffocating New York law firm, Darcy is the complete opposite, a stereotypical outgoing publicist, planning a wedding with the handsome Dex. After Rachel’s 30th birthday party, she knocks back one drink too many and winds up in bed with Dex. Instead of feeling guilty about sleeping with her best friend’s fiancé, Rachel realizes that Dex is the only man she’s really loved, and that she’s always resented manipulative Darcy. Rachel and Dex spend a few weekends in the city together “working” while Darcy’s off with friends at aHamptons beach share, but finally Rachel realizes she’ll have to give Dex an ultimatum. The flip job Giffin pulls off—here it’s the cheaters who’re sympathetic (more or less)—gives Dex and Rachel’s otherwise ordinary affair extra edge. Rachel would be a more appealing heroine if she were less whiny about her job and her romantic prospects, and rambling dialogue slows the story’s pace, but this is an enjoyable beach read—one that’ll make readers cast a suspicious eye on best friends and boyfriends who seem to get along just a little too well.

Giffin’s sophomore effort-which tells the story that her bestselling Something Borrowed did from a different character’s point of view-stars such an unsympathetic narrator that it’s a little like reading a Cinderella story featuring one of the wicked stepsisters. Perhaps beautiful Darcy Rhone isn’t really wicked, but she is one of the most shallow, materialistic, self-centered and naïve 29-year-olds around. Ostensibly a high-powered PR person in Manhattan (though she never seems to work), Darcy spends most of her time shopping, partying and getting ready for her wedding to perfect guy Dex. But an alcohol-fueled Hamptons fling with one of Dex’s pals, Marcus, starts to break Darcy’s perfect life down; and discovering Dex hiding in her best friend Rachel’s closet really shatters it. Pregnant with Marcus’s baby, Darcy decamps for London, where she crashes in high school pal Ethan’s flat and annoys the heck out of him with her endless shopping and complete disregard for her impending motherhood. But after a good lecture from Ethan, whom Darcy has started to fall for a little, Darcy embarks on a self-improvement plan, thereby demonstrating she can think about someone besides herself. And if readers don’t mind the first 200 pages in which she doesn’t, they’ll enjoy her happy ending and the few surprises along the way. Fans of Something Borrowed, too, may relish the “she said, she said”

The bestselling author of Something Borrowed and Something Blue now tells the story of what happens after the “I do”s. As a successful editor at a Manhattan publishing house, Claudia Parr counts herself fortunate to meet and marry Ben, a man who claims to be a nonbreeding career-firster like she is. The couple’s early married years go smoothly, but then Ben’s biological clock starts to tick. A baby’s a deal breaker for Claudia, so she moves out and bunks with her college roommate Jess (a 35-year-old blonde goddess stuck in a series of dead-end relationships) while the wheels of divorce crank into action. Even after the divorce is finalized and Claudia embarks on a steamy love affair with her colleague Richard, she begins to doubt her decision when she suspects Ben has found a smart, young and beautiful woman willing to bear his children. Standard fare as far as chick lit goes, but there are strong subplots involving Claudia’s sisters (one is coping with infertility, the other with a cheating spouse) and the childless-by-choice plot line produces above-average tension.

I admit it, I like chick lit…now, I read plenty of other books but over the last few years I’ve discovered the satisfaction of curling up in bed with a chick novel and just relaxing. For the most part, they are fun to read and I’ve discovered that there are some really smart, funny writers in this genre (eg. Jennifer Weiner, Caprice Crane). Thanks to writers such as these wonderful women, I have come to appreciate this type of fiction. Sure, it might not be intellectually stimulating…but, it can be emotionally stimulating. And, if you are a single gal like me…it’s nice to add a little romance into your life. Well, at long as it doesn’t come into your life in the form of a Harlequin novel.

Though I didn’t like Giffin’s books quite as much as I enjoyed Jennifer Weiner’s novels, I still found Something Borrowed and Baby Proof to be enjoyable with Baby Proof being my favorite of the three.

What made Baby Proof to stand out amongst the three books was the fact that it surprised me. When I picked it up I assumed that it was going to be a book about the trials and tribulations of a first time mother, a reluctant mother at that. Instead, I found that in fact, the main character stayed “baby proof” throughout the book, and the story revolved around her unwillingness to become a mother despite the fact that her husband started feeling the parenthood urges. I was pleasantly surprised that this wasn’t a sugar coated story, and in fact, dealt with some potentially controversial and heavy topics. Sure, it didn’t delve into them too much, but they were there.

I think the reason I didn’t quite enjoy the first two books was because I read them backwards, so I let the first book I read cloud the first one. I think that the first book, Something Borrowed, was suppose to be somewhat shocking as it dealt with infidelity, the main character Rachel enters into a relationship with her best friend Darby’s fiancée. However, because I read Something Blue first, I wasn’t shocked by Rachel’s actions…and in fact, I found myself glad that her and the fiancée were having an affair. I came into this story already disliking Darby and knowing that Darby has even lesser morals that her best friend or fiancée. I can’t go into this more, without ruining the books however.

One thing I loved about all three books however, is how Giffin takes those morally sticky situations and presents them in a way that really humanizes them. When you first begin reading her books, you might have a very rigid sense of what is right, and what is wrong…however, as you get more into the books you start to see why people do stray…or do things that are out of character. You might not even like the main characters for these reasons, however, you do begin to realize their side of the story and sympathize with them. This is why I feel Giffin stands out amongst the many other chick lit authors that are out there.

Black Swan Green by David Mitchell

2010-05-24T18:44:00.001-07:00

Black Swan Green is a coming of age story about Jason Taylor, a 13 year old boy growing up in a sleepy village in England. Throughout the story, Jason contemplates ways of understanding his family, his peers and himself.

To me, coming of age stories are a bit tricky. Many writers (both in literature and for the screen) fall into theHolden Caulfield trap of spending the entire book complaining about how much their life sucks, and how no one understands them, etc. This is in no offense to J.D. Salinger of course, I adored Catcher in the Rye, just as much as the next angst ridden teen. But you have to admit, the theme has been done to death and instead of mental illness, the story has turned into “normal” teenage angst.

Needless to say, with knowing this, I picked up Black Swan Green with quite a bit of apprehension. I couldn’t quite remember what I had heard about the book, aside from it being a coming of age story, but, as it takes place during my birth year (1982), I thought it might be a fun read for that purpose.

I am very glad that I did read it. Despite the fact that the “teenage angst” theme was apparent, it was done quite tastefully. The protagonist, Jason, wasn’t the typical sulky teenager. Instead, he was this mature, contemplative character that offered some extremely keen yet naive observations about his family and his peers and himself.

Aside from having such a dynamic protagonist, Mitchell has a unique and fluid writing style. He’s heavy on British slang and teenage speech patterns, yet the book reads very easily once you catch the rhythm. His chapters can be seen as short stories, they build on one another, yet at the same time, you could open this book at any random chapter and still enjoy it whole heartily. He ends each chapter with a cliffhanger, and it will take you awhile to find out what did happen, in the meantime, I had fun making my own endings to the chapters and then seeing if they matched with the book. Mitchell also scatters little clues as to how the book will end throughout the book, but in such a subtle way that when you are reading the book you notice them, but it’s not until the end that they all tie in together.

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

2010-05-24T18:43:00.002-07:00

Shadow has just been released from prison. He is excited about returning to his wife Laura, but once he is on the outside he learns that Laura has just been killed. While heading home for Laura’s funeral, Shadow is approached by a strange man offering him an “interesting” job opportunity, and doesn’t seem to like the word no.

I didn’t love this book, but I found it interesting. I’m not really into fantasy, apart from Harry Potter, so that tied in with the reason I wasn’t thrilled with it…and it felt like it took me a long time to get through it because it just felt neverending.

None the less, it was a good book, I liked the writing style and the characterizations (and the fact that there really wasn’t any character that wasn’t part of the plot). It was a tad confusing, especially if you aren’t familiar with other cultures and their ideas of gods (as in the mythological sense) but there are short asides throughout the book about some of these gods which make explain them a bit better, though, if you decide to skip them you aren’t losing any of the plot. I also found it interesting that throughout most of the book I was unsure if Shadow was part of the “good guys” or the “bad guys”.

I think that this book would make a pretty awesome movie if the right people did it. I also felt that perhaps it might have made a better graphic novel, and not just a normal novel as the visualizations would have been really cool and the book had that sort of feel to it, somewhere between a comic and a novel.

2010-05-24T18:43:00.001-07:00

Dana Kollmann is on a mission, to set right the “Hollywood” versions of the life of a CSI. She is ready to give you the down and dirty (literally!) truth of what a CSI’s work is really like.

If you are looking for a technical book about a CSI’s work, this probably is not the work for you. Yes, there are some brief mentions of certain techniques that a CSI might use during an investigation, but in this book, that talk is minimal. However, this is a fairly interesting (and graphic) account of the messes that a CSI deals with on a daily basis. This book will make your stomach turn a few times, but at the same time Kollmann allows her sense of humor show throughout the book and you will find yourself laughing at some of the situations that Kollmann has dealt with in her line of work.

The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen

2010-05-24T18:42:00.001-07:00

The Corrections is the story of the midwestern, Lambert family. Edna, the wife and mother of the clan is dreaming of spending one last Christmas in St. Jude with her ailing husband, her three adult children and her grandchildren. Her husband, Alfred is slowly losing his body and mind toParkinson Disease and her kids are less than thrilled with the thought of spending Christmas together.

This is a fairly heavy tome, both literally (nearly 600 pages), and figuratively. It’s rife with big “SAT” type words that will most likely have the most well read person running to the dictionary every couple of pages. It borders on dark comedy and reminded me vaguely of the movie, The Royal Tannenbaum’s.

It was fairly enjoyable, though a book that requires quite a bit of concentration, if only for the heavy vocabulary. It is both humorous and tragic and it balances out nicely though, at times it breaks off into this “technical” speak that doesn’t seem to have a place in the flow of the story. Luckily, this “technical” speak doesn’t drag on too much, and can easily be skipped.

I wouldn’t recommend this to someone that’s looking for something quick and casual to read during spare moments, as it’s a book that requires most of your attention, but if you don’t mind putting a bit of solid energy (and don’t mind having a dictionary handy!) I think that this would be an interesting and enjoyable book to read.

The King of Torts by John Grisham

2010-05-24T18:41:00.001-07:00

Clay Carter is a public defense lawyer in Washington D.C. with not many possibilities to leave his job; he’s at the tail end of a relationship and overall, things are looking fairly bleak for Carter. One day, while leaving his job he is approached by a gentleman who offers him the offer of a lifetime, a chance as a big shot Torts lawyer, going after some of the country’s largest drug companies.

This was my fourth Grisham book, I really enjoyed the other books I read by him but I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I was hoping. It’s pretty easy to see where this book is going, and not enough surprises throughout. I also felt that the book had too many minor characters which, unless you have a good memory for names, can be a little confusing.

Apart from that however, it was a fairly engaging book despite the fact that the subject matter had the potential to be pretty dry.

Die hard “law” fans would probably enjoy this book but if you are looking for an exciting court drama, I would probably skip this one.

Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill

2010-05-24T18:40:00.000-07:00

I haven’t read a horror story in awhile, but recently I came across an article about this book and when I found it at the library I decided to give it a go. Joe Hill is in fact, a pen name…in fact, he is the offspring of “The King of Horror”, Stephen King.

Heart Shaped Box is about Jude, an aging rocker who, on a whim, decides to buy a ghost on an auction site. When the “ghost” arrives, he realizes that it’s much more than he bargained for. In fact, it turns out the ghost is the dead stepfather of his former girlfriend “Florida” who died under mysterious circumstances…and the ghost is out for revenge.

Though, this book wasn’t up to par with some of Stephen King’s old classics, Joe Hill had proved that he can hold his own in the horror genre. It was plenty creepy and I’m sure would give a few light hearts out there pause after reading it. I did get confused in some places, though not for very long though I suspect it was my attention span at fault. I think a lot of rock fans will enjoy this too, as there’s many rock references (including the title, a Nirvana song), I had fun picking up on them.

A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

2010-05-24T18:39:00.002-07:00

I’m a big fan of Bill Bryson‘s books. They are extremely informative, yet, just as entertaining and funny that it is quite easy to forget how much you are learning while reading his books. The majority of his books aretravel books, and he is a plethora of historical and scientific information for where ever he is currently visiting. He also is quite funny and witty and even the most mundane things seem interesting and hilarious. In this particular book, Bryson has the crazy idea of tackling theAppalachian Trail, despite the fact that prior to this, he had very little experience in hiking and camping. (Note, the AT is over 2,000 miles from Maine to Georgia and to walk the entire trail would take quite a few weeks), but with the companionship of his childhood friend Katz (who is even less experienced) he gives the AT a run for it’s money. The AT trail has probably never recovered.

Out of the Bryson books I’ve read so far (this being the fourth), I’ll put it in the number two spot.

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arther Golden

2010-05-24T18:39:00.001-07:00

In case you aren’t aware, this book is a work of fiction, not a real memoir. However, it’s very easy for forget that this is a work of fiction.

The book follows Sayuri, a Geisha from childhood until well into her adult years. As a small child she was sold into the live of a Geisha in training, and eventually emigrated from Japan to New York City.

This book was very well written, and I found it to be a very interesting view into how a Geisha spent her life, and how women became Geisha’s. It was very informative and fascinating in that aspect, but at the same time, I found that it lacked in description. I had trouble visualizing whatGion (the Geisha district) really looked like, or what the houses and tea houses looked like. But aside from that, I really enjoyed the book.

Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells

2010-05-24T18:38:00.001-07:00

This book surprised me. Since this book was made into a movie I expected it to be…well, corny. So for many years I’ve ignored it. Whenever I came across the book, or the sequel(s), I’ve turned up my nose and looked for other books. But I finally broke down and bought it because it was cheap and I’m very glad that I did.

The book begins with a major war between Sidda and her mother Vivi over an article in the New York Timeswhich led to Vivi estranging herself from her daughter. Sidda, in an attempt to reconnect with her mother (and get her love life back on track) begins exploring her mother’s group of friends, the Ya-Ya’s through her mother’s scrapbook.

I found this book to be pretty rich, the various stories throughout the book about the Ya-Ya’s were very amusing as well as emotional and it was very hard to stop reading this book. I also enjoy “southern” stories and this book has all the elements of that which made it extremely enjoyable. No negatives of this book, other than a debate of whether to read the next book in the installment and risk tainting this book.

‘Tis by Frank McCourt

2010-05-24T18:36:00.001-07:00

If you have read Angela’s Ashes, this book is a continuation ofFrank McCourt‘s life after he leaves Ireland and moves to New York City and follows him through his various jobs (including the US military) he held as well as his years as a college student working towards a teaching degree.

Overall, ‘Tis is a good book and fairly enjoyable whether or not you have read Angela’s Ashes or not. I did feel as though this book was lacking the subtle humor that Angela’s Ashes had which was a great lose. Though Angela’s Ashes was quite a grim and sad story, it was written with some great humor that made the book very readable. ‘Tis, however, does not share this quality. There still is humor but I found this book to be very bleak at times. It wasn’t nearly as bleak as Angela’s Ashes would have been sans the humor but still, at times it was frustrating to read at times. However, I would still recommend it, especially if you enjoyed Angela’s Ashes.

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