Man, it's been awhile!!
I did not set a quantitative goal for 2018. My sole reading goal is to read as many books on my own bookshelves as I can. I've had some books for at least a decade, just sitting on my bookshelves, waiting to be read. I need to remedy this problem immediately!
This leads me to my first completed book of 2018 Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson. I've owned this book for a very long time (it's stamped from the library I used to work at from 2000-2002! I finally read it, and really enjoyed it. Kabuo Miyamoto is accused of murder on a Pacific Northwest island after the end of WWII. The charge brings up issues of race and patriotism in the microcosm of the tiny island. Opinions about the Japanese in general run strong, but no one knows how to handle the local Japanese who forcibly left the island for concentration camps and then returned, or those of Japanese descent who fought in the US military against the Japanese in the Pacific Theater.
Simplicity Parenting by Lisa Ross: Few parenting books actually have a lot of useful, actionable advice in them, but this one sure did. Ross explains the relationship between anxiety and stress in children with clutter and parental induced stress in the home. The only thing I didn't agree with her on was the assertion that kids can have too many books. Otherwise a really great read and a good reminder that Stuff doesn't mean happiness and a cluttered house usually equates to a cluttered mind.
My Mother's Secret: A novel based on a true Holocaust story by J.L. Witterick: I'm a sucker for WWII European books, and this one did not disappoint. Helena and Franciszka are a mother/daughter duo who take in Jews, and in one case, an American soldier, to hide them from the Nazis. Both women are kind, ordinary people who do something extraordinary because they felt it was the right thing to do. This book is short and a very easy read.
Dragon Teeth by Michael Crichton: The only Crichton books I read are those pertaining to dinosaurs, and this one is no exception. The book follows the story of competing professors from the East who attempt to dig up dinosaur bones in the Plains amid Indian wars. The perspective of life in paleontology in the late 19th century is interesting, as well as the public's perception of the West and the relationship between elite society and science.
The Little Paris Bookshop by Nine George: Of the first five books I read for the year, this one was my least favorite. Monsieur Perdu is a lonely man who still regrets aspects of his only big love interest , twenty years prior. He owns a bookstore on a floating barge on the Seine and prescribes books to others as a form of therapy. He teams up with a few other friends in the midst of their own soul-searches, and go on an adventure through the canals of France. I had a hard time getting into it, and found a lot of the book not relatable and unrealistic. The vivid descriptions of France though were lovely.
So there are my first 5 of the year. I've finished quite a few more already this year and I'll be back to update soon!
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 11, 2018
Sunday, September 13, 2015
books lately 25/50
I’ve lost count on where I am with my 50 book goal. Logically, I
could just count, but I kind of like not knowing where I’m at right now.
Eliminates the pressure and all that.
Before I go to sleep by S.J. Watson. I read a description of this somewhere and thought I might like it. A few days later, I was perusing my own bookshelf and found this. Apparently I own it and wasn’t even aware. John keeps accusing me of owning too many books. Pssssh. Description from goodreads:
As I sleep, my mind will erase everything I did today. I will wake up tomorrow as I did this morning. Thinking I’m still a child, thinking I have a whole lifetime of choice ahead of me…
Memories define us. So what if you lost yours every time you went to sleep? Your name, your identity, your past, even the people you love–all forgotten overnight. And the one person you trust may only be telling you half the story.
Welcome to Christine’s life.
I liked this book enough. Enjoyable, easy to read, and I didn’t quite see the big surprise coming. There was a vague notion something wasn’t right pinging around my brain, but I couldn’t quite catch it to make it concrete.
*
The Postmistress by Sarah Blake. I don’t know if I loved this book, as I thought a few of the characters were really frustrating. The local town doctor loses a woman who dies in childbirth birthing her fifth baby in as many years. He’s a new doctor and didn’t quite catch all the signs that she was in distress until too late. She died, the baby lived. NOBODY in town blamed him for what happened, yet he went down a path of self-destruction leading to him to travel to war torn London during the Blitzkrieg to save Londoners. What?! He left his young, new wife back in New England who eventually finds out she’s pregnant. The postmistress is kind of portrayed as a control freak who things she can organize the world by keeping her own post office running smoothly. Eventually she starts hiding mail from some town citizens to keep some bad news from trickling in, which again makes no sense. She doesn’t know anyone in town well, as she’s new, and takes her job way too seriously to begin with; its not realistic that she’d ruin her reputation by messing with mail delivery. Whatever. Another book I own[ed], which I picked up for $2 at a used book store.
What would happen if someone did the unthinkable-and didn’t deliver a letter? Filled with stunning parallels to today, The Postmistress is a sweeping novel about the loss of innocence of two extraordinary women-and of two countries torn apart by war.
The casual vacancy* by JK Rowling.
No, just no. The byline for this is ‘A big novel about a small town.’ In reality its ‘A long novel about a town nobody cares about.’
When Barry Fairbrother dies in his early forties, the town of Pagford is left in shock.
Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war.
Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils … Pagford is not what it first seems.
And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?
The orchid house* by Lucinda Riley
So much love for this and I even bought an orchid after I read it.
As a child Julia Forrester spent many idyllic hours in the hothouse of Wharton Park, the great house where her grandfather tended exotic orchids. Years later, while struggling with overwhelming grief over the death of her husband and young child, she returns to the tranquility of the estate. There she reunites with Kit Crawford, heir to the estate and her possible salvation.
When they discover an old diary, Julia seeks out her grandmother to learn the truth behind a love affair that almost destroyed Wharton Park. Their search takes them back to the 1930s when a former heir to Wharton Park married his young society bride on the eve of World War II. When the two lovers are cruelly separated, the impact will be felt on generations to come.
Lucinda Riley skillfully sweeps her readers between the magical world of Wharton Park and Thailand during World War II with irresistible and atmospheric storytelling. Filled with twists and turns, passions and lies, and ultimately redemption, The Orchid House is a romantic, poignant novel that became an instant bestseller in the UK and Germany.
Follow you home by Mark Edwards
I loved this book, probably in part because I had very little expectations for it. I noticed on Amazon that I could “borrow” it for free, so I did, and finished it in less than a day. A day that I had to work. I got sucked into it, and couldn’t put it down. From goodreads…
It was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime, a final adventure before settling down.
After a perfect start, Daniel and Laura’s travels end abruptly when they are thrown off a night train in the middle of nowhere. To find their way back to civilisation, they must hike along the tracks through a forest…a haunting journey that ends in unimaginable terror.
Back in London, Daniel and Laura vow never to talk about what they saw that night. But as they try to fit back into their old lives, it becomes clear that their nightmare is just beginning…
Before I go to sleep by S.J. Watson. I read a description of this somewhere and thought I might like it. A few days later, I was perusing my own bookshelf and found this. Apparently I own it and wasn’t even aware. John keeps accusing me of owning too many books. Pssssh. Description from goodreads:
As I sleep, my mind will erase everything I did today. I will wake up tomorrow as I did this morning. Thinking I’m still a child, thinking I have a whole lifetime of choice ahead of me…
Memories define us. So what if you lost yours every time you went to sleep? Your name, your identity, your past, even the people you love–all forgotten overnight. And the one person you trust may only be telling you half the story.
Welcome to Christine’s life.
I liked this book enough. Enjoyable, easy to read, and I didn’t quite see the big surprise coming. There was a vague notion something wasn’t right pinging around my brain, but I couldn’t quite catch it to make it concrete.
*
The Postmistress by Sarah Blake. I don’t know if I loved this book, as I thought a few of the characters were really frustrating. The local town doctor loses a woman who dies in childbirth birthing her fifth baby in as many years. He’s a new doctor and didn’t quite catch all the signs that she was in distress until too late. She died, the baby lived. NOBODY in town blamed him for what happened, yet he went down a path of self-destruction leading to him to travel to war torn London during the Blitzkrieg to save Londoners. What?! He left his young, new wife back in New England who eventually finds out she’s pregnant. The postmistress is kind of portrayed as a control freak who things she can organize the world by keeping her own post office running smoothly. Eventually she starts hiding mail from some town citizens to keep some bad news from trickling in, which again makes no sense. She doesn’t know anyone in town well, as she’s new, and takes her job way too seriously to begin with; its not realistic that she’d ruin her reputation by messing with mail delivery. Whatever. Another book I own[ed], which I picked up for $2 at a used book store.
What would happen if someone did the unthinkable-and didn’t deliver a letter? Filled with stunning parallels to today, The Postmistress is a sweeping novel about the loss of innocence of two extraordinary women-and of two countries torn apart by war.
The casual vacancy* by JK Rowling.
No, just no. The byline for this is ‘A big novel about a small town.’ In reality its ‘A long novel about a town nobody cares about.’
When Barry Fairbrother dies in his early forties, the town of Pagford is left in shock.
Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war.
Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils … Pagford is not what it first seems.
And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?
The orchid house* by Lucinda Riley
So much love for this and I even bought an orchid after I read it.
As a child Julia Forrester spent many idyllic hours in the hothouse of Wharton Park, the great house where her grandfather tended exotic orchids. Years later, while struggling with overwhelming grief over the death of her husband and young child, she returns to the tranquility of the estate. There she reunites with Kit Crawford, heir to the estate and her possible salvation.
When they discover an old diary, Julia seeks out her grandmother to learn the truth behind a love affair that almost destroyed Wharton Park. Their search takes them back to the 1930s when a former heir to Wharton Park married his young society bride on the eve of World War II. When the two lovers are cruelly separated, the impact will be felt on generations to come.
Lucinda Riley skillfully sweeps her readers between the magical world of Wharton Park and Thailand during World War II with irresistible and atmospheric storytelling. Filled with twists and turns, passions and lies, and ultimately redemption, The Orchid House is a romantic, poignant novel that became an instant bestseller in the UK and Germany.
Follow you home by Mark Edwards
I loved this book, probably in part because I had very little expectations for it. I noticed on Amazon that I could “borrow” it for free, so I did, and finished it in less than a day. A day that I had to work. I got sucked into it, and couldn’t put it down. From goodreads…
It was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime, a final adventure before settling down.
After a perfect start, Daniel and Laura’s travels end abruptly when they are thrown off a night train in the middle of nowhere. To find their way back to civilisation, they must hike along the tracks through a forest…a haunting journey that ends in unimaginable terror.
Back in London, Daniel and Laura vow never to talk about what they saw that night. But as they try to fit back into their old lives, it becomes clear that their nightmare is just beginning…
Friday, February 13, 2015
5/50 books in 2015.
Mr. Penumbra’s 24 hour bookstore: I read this off a
recommendation of my friend Allison, who raved that it was one of her
favorite books ever. I really wasn’t into it. I actually started it
last fall, but put it down when my Kindle said I was 60% done. I
finally picked it up again to finish it. I’m glad I did, but I was
still left unimpressed with it. Clay, recently unemployed and desperate,
applies to be the night clerk at a 24 hr bookstore in San Francisco.
While the bookstore has no regular customers, it does have a string of
late night people who visit the lending section of the vertical books,
taking books written entirely in code. Although warned to not open
these books, he does, and gets curious about the whole project. Thus
begins a largely unrealistic journey in which Clay, his new girlfriend
who is a hotshot at Google, and his best friend, a wealthy software
developer, travel across the country to the HQ of the secret society
whose members produce these coded books. The premise is interesting,
books hiding the secret to immortality, but somehow it just doesn’t fit
together well.
Dad is fat. I like Jim Gaffigan, the stand-up comedian, but I don’t know about Jim Gaffigan the author. The book started off slow, and then got funnier as it progressed. I’m not sure which came first, this book or some of his shows, but sections of the book I’ve seen verbatim in some of his shows. Not that it wasn’t hilarious when seen, but reading it after the fact was less entertaining. I do love his perspectives on parenting, toddlers Catholicism. Background: he’s an Irish Catholic with 5 kids (and counting), who’s raising his family in a 2 bedroom apartment in NYC. All of his kids have been born at home. He’s fantastic.
One last thing before I go. Funny funny and really easy to read. Silver gets diagnosed with a heart condition and finds out his only child, his 18 year daughter is pregnant. The whole book happens within a week. Silver can have surgery to fix his heart, which will be performed by his ex-wife’s soon to be new husband, but he chooses to wait, driving everyone crazy. Silver is a washed up former music star, deadbeat dad and ex-husband who is living in a tiny apartment in a building filled with other struggling men. It’s a cute story of how people get stuck in a pattern of life and have a hard time getting out. My single complaint is that it reads really similarly to *This is where I leave you * another funny book (and now a movie) by the same author.
Wild This was my favorite of the five; the autobiographical book of Cheryl Strayed as she traverses the Pacific Crest Trail. Cheryl lost her mom in her early twenties and really struggled to survive it. She cheated multiple times on her husband, eventually got divorced, and decided to walk to the PCT for therapy. I hope if similar events ever happen to me, I made the badass decision to walk through CA and OR to recover. The book was intriguing, interesting, and a fast read.
Where angels fear to tread I finished Room with a view by EM Forester and loved it. This is his first one, and after I found it for $2 at a used bookstore, I knew I had to read it. Naughty British woman marrying a man outside her social class in heathen filled Italy that resulted in a baby boy. Her late husband’s family is furious attempt to get the boy back. For a classic book written in the time period is was written in, it’s a bit scandalous. I didn’t enjoy it as much as Room with a view but it was still a good read.
Currently reading: Watership Down, Girl from Junchow, and a manuscript written by a coworker’s wife that she’s trying to publish.
Dad is fat. I like Jim Gaffigan, the stand-up comedian, but I don’t know about Jim Gaffigan the author. The book started off slow, and then got funnier as it progressed. I’m not sure which came first, this book or some of his shows, but sections of the book I’ve seen verbatim in some of his shows. Not that it wasn’t hilarious when seen, but reading it after the fact was less entertaining. I do love his perspectives on parenting, toddlers Catholicism. Background: he’s an Irish Catholic with 5 kids (and counting), who’s raising his family in a 2 bedroom apartment in NYC. All of his kids have been born at home. He’s fantastic.
One last thing before I go. Funny funny and really easy to read. Silver gets diagnosed with a heart condition and finds out his only child, his 18 year daughter is pregnant. The whole book happens within a week. Silver can have surgery to fix his heart, which will be performed by his ex-wife’s soon to be new husband, but he chooses to wait, driving everyone crazy. Silver is a washed up former music star, deadbeat dad and ex-husband who is living in a tiny apartment in a building filled with other struggling men. It’s a cute story of how people get stuck in a pattern of life and have a hard time getting out. My single complaint is that it reads really similarly to *This is where I leave you * another funny book (and now a movie) by the same author.
Wild This was my favorite of the five; the autobiographical book of Cheryl Strayed as she traverses the Pacific Crest Trail. Cheryl lost her mom in her early twenties and really struggled to survive it. She cheated multiple times on her husband, eventually got divorced, and decided to walk to the PCT for therapy. I hope if similar events ever happen to me, I made the badass decision to walk through CA and OR to recover. The book was intriguing, interesting, and a fast read.
Where angels fear to tread I finished Room with a view by EM Forester and loved it. This is his first one, and after I found it for $2 at a used bookstore, I knew I had to read it. Naughty British woman marrying a man outside her social class in heathen filled Italy that resulted in a baby boy. Her late husband’s family is furious attempt to get the boy back. For a classic book written in the time period is was written in, it’s a bit scandalous. I didn’t enjoy it as much as Room with a view but it was still a good read.
Currently reading: Watership Down, Girl from Junchow, and a manuscript written by a coworker’s wife that she’s trying to publish.
Sunday, December 21, 2014
recent reads; December 2014
Bellman & Black by Diane Setterfield.
I received this book as a gift after talking endlessly about my love of The Thirteenth Tale by the same author. That book, which I read years ago, has stayed with me and I still call it one of my favorites. I was a bit nervous starting to read this potential rival to a book that will probably remain permanently on my favorites list. However, not only did Bellman & Black not leave an impression on me, I'm still debating whether or not I'm even going to keep my beautiful hardback copy. The book tracks William Bellman from careless adolescent through to his death. Along the way, he establishes himself as a prominent businessman after discovering inventive new ways to dye wool. First he loses his mother suddenly, as notices a mysterious man in black at the funeral. Eventually he also loses his wife and all but one chil to a very contagious fever (smallpox? TB?) and the man, "Mr. Black," reappears again. Bellman has a single discussion with this man, and completely misinterprets the significance of Mr. Black is his life. Because of this, he leaves his successful factory, and starting a new venture as the owner of a very successful department store selling only funerary supplies, clothes, coffins, etc. The book is more atmospheric than plot-driven and didn't have quite the same panache as her previous book.
The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold.
Everyone knows Alice Sebold from The Lovely Bones, and to a lesser extent, Lucky. I read both at the height of their respective heydays whilst in college and then forget about Sebold. I found The Almost Moon at a used book store and bought it immediately. Unfortunately this didn't live up to her other two. Helen Knightly is tired of taking care of her agoraphobic mother, and in a fit of panic, kills her mother by smothering her with a pillow. The book really chronicles details in Helen's life, her turbulent childhood, father's suicide, life with her mother, her divorce, her two children, that all merge together to lead Helen to her moment of killing. The book doesn't conclude well, it just sort of ends and left me with an unsatisfactory feeling. Despite all her life challenges, none of it justified her killing her mother with a pillow.
Current reads: Room with a view This is on my classics list and I'm loving it!
Mr. Penumbra's 24 hour bookstore. I heard about this book from a friend's FB post. I liked the beginning, but now I'm in the mid-book lull and its really slowed down. It's gotten a bit fantastical so I'm a bit eh about it, but still hopeful it's going to veer off course and surprise me.
I received this book as a gift after talking endlessly about my love of The Thirteenth Tale by the same author. That book, which I read years ago, has stayed with me and I still call it one of my favorites. I was a bit nervous starting to read this potential rival to a book that will probably remain permanently on my favorites list. However, not only did Bellman & Black not leave an impression on me, I'm still debating whether or not I'm even going to keep my beautiful hardback copy. The book tracks William Bellman from careless adolescent through to his death. Along the way, he establishes himself as a prominent businessman after discovering inventive new ways to dye wool. First he loses his mother suddenly, as notices a mysterious man in black at the funeral. Eventually he also loses his wife and all but one chil to a very contagious fever (smallpox? TB?) and the man, "Mr. Black," reappears again. Bellman has a single discussion with this man, and completely misinterprets the significance of Mr. Black is his life. Because of this, he leaves his successful factory, and starting a new venture as the owner of a very successful department store selling only funerary supplies, clothes, coffins, etc. The book is more atmospheric than plot-driven and didn't have quite the same panache as her previous book.
The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold.
Everyone knows Alice Sebold from The Lovely Bones, and to a lesser extent, Lucky. I read both at the height of their respective heydays whilst in college and then forget about Sebold. I found The Almost Moon at a used book store and bought it immediately. Unfortunately this didn't live up to her other two. Helen Knightly is tired of taking care of her agoraphobic mother, and in a fit of panic, kills her mother by smothering her with a pillow. The book really chronicles details in Helen's life, her turbulent childhood, father's suicide, life with her mother, her divorce, her two children, that all merge together to lead Helen to her moment of killing. The book doesn't conclude well, it just sort of ends and left me with an unsatisfactory feeling. Despite all her life challenges, none of it justified her killing her mother with a pillow.
Current reads: Room with a view This is on my classics list and I'm loving it!
Mr. Penumbra's 24 hour bookstore. I heard about this book from a friend's FB post. I liked the beginning, but now I'm in the mid-book lull and its really slowed down. It's gotten a bit fantastical so I'm a bit eh about it, but still hopeful it's going to veer off course and surprise me.
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Books I received for Christmas
As usual, I had a pretty lengthy book list on my Christmas list this year.
Lone Traveller by Anne Mustoe
Nine hills to Nambonkaha by Sarah Erdman
A Half Forgotten Song by Katherine Webb
Stoker's Manuscript by Royce Prouty
Paris Enigma by Pablo de Santis
Blythewood by Carol Goodman
And then the vulture eats you by John L. Parker
Running with the Kenyans by Adharanand Finn
George Washington's Secret Six by Brian Kilmeade & Don Yaeger (I've started this already!)
That is it! I'm really excited for all these, as they all look amazing. I'm trying to sneak in chapters in between work, school, and packing for vacation. :)
Lone Traveller by Anne Mustoe
Nine hills to Nambonkaha by Sarah Erdman
A Half Forgotten Song by Katherine Webb
Stoker's Manuscript by Royce Prouty
Paris Enigma by Pablo de Santis
Blythewood by Carol Goodman
And then the vulture eats you by John L. Parker
Running with the Kenyans by Adharanand Finn
George Washington's Secret Six by Brian Kilmeade & Don Yaeger (I've started this already!)
That is it! I'm really excited for all these, as they all look amazing. I'm trying to sneak in chapters in between work, school, and packing for vacation. :)
Monday, January 13, 2014
Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
Blind Assassin is on The List, and I've been meaning to read it for awhile after my sister fell in love with it. I have read Atwood's A Handmaid's Tale, which I sort of liked. I wasn't nearly as interested in distopian societies when I read it probably 5 years ago, so it did not hold my attention well.
Blind Assassin held my attention very well. The book cover is full of hype, which frustrates me to read since books really hold up to their stellar, one line reviews. Iris is the older sister of Laura, a beautiful, pragmatic child who Iris helps raise, along with their housekeeper Reenie, after the early death of their mother. Iris and Laura are the heiresses of a large button factory located near Toronto that reaches its pinnacle of glory post WW1. In the intervening years, the sisters are schooled at home by tutors, mostly oblivious to the social changes happening in Canada, and all over the world, post WW1.
Iris marries young after the factory burns down and leaves the family with little options. She has little feelings for her husband, or his controlling sister who takes over Iris' life, but she dutifully does her wifely duties, including having one daughter. After their father dies, Laura moves in with Iris and her husband and is not so silent about her observances of her sister's marriage.
The book is interwoven by another story, The Blind Assassin, which is told by two unknown lovers who meet in secret. The female forces the male to tell her a story, which becomes The Blind Assassin, a book published after the death of Laura.
I love the writing in this book. It's so intelligent, thought provoking, and engaging. The ending was beautiful; simple, and somewhat unexpected. I know little of Canada, especially the history of social life in the time period between the two world wars. That was interesting for me. The book fluctuates between Iris telling the story as an old woman to Laura and Iris as children in the mansion. Changes in time and perspective can get confusing and boring if not done well, but Atwood does it beautifully.
One of my favorite books I read in 2013.
Blind Assassin held my attention very well. The book cover is full of hype, which frustrates me to read since books really hold up to their stellar, one line reviews. Iris is the older sister of Laura, a beautiful, pragmatic child who Iris helps raise, along with their housekeeper Reenie, after the early death of their mother. Iris and Laura are the heiresses of a large button factory located near Toronto that reaches its pinnacle of glory post WW1. In the intervening years, the sisters are schooled at home by tutors, mostly oblivious to the social changes happening in Canada, and all over the world, post WW1.
Iris marries young after the factory burns down and leaves the family with little options. She has little feelings for her husband, or his controlling sister who takes over Iris' life, but she dutifully does her wifely duties, including having one daughter. After their father dies, Laura moves in with Iris and her husband and is not so silent about her observances of her sister's marriage.
The book is interwoven by another story, The Blind Assassin, which is told by two unknown lovers who meet in secret. The female forces the male to tell her a story, which becomes The Blind Assassin, a book published after the death of Laura.
I love the writing in this book. It's so intelligent, thought provoking, and engaging. The ending was beautiful; simple, and somewhat unexpected. I know little of Canada, especially the history of social life in the time period between the two world wars. That was interesting for me. The book fluctuates between Iris telling the story as an old woman to Laura and Iris as children in the mansion. Changes in time and perspective can get confusing and boring if not done well, but Atwood does it beautifully.
One of my favorite books I read in 2013.
Friday, June 22, 2012
Wow, its been awhile...
Not sure where I've been. Buried under working, running, traveling, and moving I guess.
I still have been reading a bunch though. I think last month I polished off Deanna Raybourn's books and then read all of Kathy Reichs' books, which are my guilty pleasure.
For my book list, I'm (still) reading Anna Karenina and Hunchback of Notre Dame. I also started reading The Old Wives Tale by Arnold Bennett and am really enjoying it.
Earlier this month I read Off Balance, a non-fiction sports book written by Dominique Moceanu about her life as an elite gymnast.
In keeping tabs on popular fiction, I started reading the Fifty Shades of Gray trilogy. I'm halfway through the second book, and therefore consequently halfway through the trilogy, and still haven't formed a solid opinion one way or the other about how much I like it. Sometimes I get annoyed by the characters and I have to put my Kindle down. Then I feel like I need to know what's going to happen next, so I turn my Kindle back on and sink back into it. Way better then the mess that was Twilight, but not as awesome as the Hunger Games series.
I won't be gone for so long next time, I promise.
I still have been reading a bunch though. I think last month I polished off Deanna Raybourn's books and then read all of Kathy Reichs' books, which are my guilty pleasure.
For my book list, I'm (still) reading Anna Karenina and Hunchback of Notre Dame. I also started reading The Old Wives Tale by Arnold Bennett and am really enjoying it.
Earlier this month I read Off Balance, a non-fiction sports book written by Dominique Moceanu about her life as an elite gymnast.
In keeping tabs on popular fiction, I started reading the Fifty Shades of Gray trilogy. I'm halfway through the second book, and therefore consequently halfway through the trilogy, and still haven't formed a solid opinion one way or the other about how much I like it. Sometimes I get annoyed by the characters and I have to put my Kindle down. Then I feel like I need to know what's going to happen next, so I turn my Kindle back on and sink back into it. Way better then the mess that was Twilight, but not as awesome as the Hunger Games series.
I won't be gone for so long next time, I promise.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Dracula The Un-Dead by Dacre Stoker
I'm not a vampire fan. I hated the Twilight books, even though I read all four. I enjoy occasional fantasy novels, so long as they don't involve vampires biting people. Edward is creepy and the throngs of teenagers who love him scares me. But the original Dracula has been the single exception to this rule. Now I have another exception. The sequel to Dracula titled Dracula The Un-Dead.
If possible this book is even better in some ways than the original. There's been a noticeable and somewhat disturbing trend towards modern writers writing sequels to established classics. Jane Austen must be turning in her grave with what they've done to some of her novels. But this one stays pretty true to form and if you didn't notice the last name coincidence (Stoker) this book was written by Bram's great-grandnephew. Long before I read this book, I read an interview with Dacre who said he spent loads of time researching the hell out of the original book, trying to find logical paths the book would have taken if the story continued. Well done Dacre, your research is evident in your book.
The Un-Dead picks up years after Dracula ends. It's more gory, more supernatural, more creepy than the original. Bram himself could have written it, although the diction is slightly more up-to-date. I think its unfair to keep doing this back and forth comparisons between the two books, but it in all honesty, I only read this because its a sequel to a classic book I love. Had it just been yet another vampire story overpopulating book shelves, I would have passed it by. But this one was so worth it. It's just that good.
And how awesome of a name is Dacre?
If possible this book is even better in some ways than the original. There's been a noticeable and somewhat disturbing trend towards modern writers writing sequels to established classics. Jane Austen must be turning in her grave with what they've done to some of her novels. But this one stays pretty true to form and if you didn't notice the last name coincidence (Stoker) this book was written by Bram's great-grandnephew. Long before I read this book, I read an interview with Dacre who said he spent loads of time researching the hell out of the original book, trying to find logical paths the book would have taken if the story continued. Well done Dacre, your research is evident in your book.
The Un-Dead picks up years after Dracula ends. It's more gory, more supernatural, more creepy than the original. Bram himself could have written it, although the diction is slightly more up-to-date. I think its unfair to keep doing this back and forth comparisons between the two books, but it in all honesty, I only read this because its a sequel to a classic book I love. Had it just been yet another vampire story overpopulating book shelves, I would have passed it by. But this one was so worth it. It's just that good.
And how awesome of a name is Dacre?
Sunday, December 4, 2011
A Poisoned Season by Tasha Alexander
This is my third Tasha Alexander book and I loved it. I read almost the entire thing last night and have spent a good portion of today thinking about it. It's been a long time since I couldn't put a book down. This book is part of Alexander's Lady Emily series, the third book behind And Only to Deceive and A Fatal Waltz.
Lady Emily Ashton, finally out of mourning for her murdered husband, Viscount Phillip Ashton, is in the process of balancing her role of society woman, friend, and daughter with the newfound freedom and wealth the death of her husband has given her. Deciding to pursue academics instead of balls, tea parties, and luncheons, Lady Emily finds herself no longer readily accepted into high society. Despite her wealth, London society matrons are not impressed by her social radicalization, pursuit of learning ancient Greece, and her well known protests of never marrying again.
In the midst of all this, a man turns up murdered, and artifacts once belonging to Marie Antoinette start disappearing from their wealthy owners. What follows is a little bit of intrigue, suspense, romance, cat burglers, stalkers, pink diamonds, illegitimate children, love, pretenders to the throne.
The first two books didn't grab me the way this one did even though I did really enjoy them. I like Lady Emily. She's stubborn, smart, witty, and loyal. Tasha Alexander writes poetically, but not obnoxiously so. I had no idea where this book was headed. The ending was surprisingly, but not so far-fetched as to be unbelievable.
Well done Alexander.
According to amazon, there are three more books in this series.
Lady Emily Ashton, finally out of mourning for her murdered husband, Viscount Phillip Ashton, is in the process of balancing her role of society woman, friend, and daughter with the newfound freedom and wealth the death of her husband has given her. Deciding to pursue academics instead of balls, tea parties, and luncheons, Lady Emily finds herself no longer readily accepted into high society. Despite her wealth, London society matrons are not impressed by her social radicalization, pursuit of learning ancient Greece, and her well known protests of never marrying again.
In the midst of all this, a man turns up murdered, and artifacts once belonging to Marie Antoinette start disappearing from their wealthy owners. What follows is a little bit of intrigue, suspense, romance, cat burglers, stalkers, pink diamonds, illegitimate children, love, pretenders to the throne.
The first two books didn't grab me the way this one did even though I did really enjoy them. I like Lady Emily. She's stubborn, smart, witty, and loyal. Tasha Alexander writes poetically, but not obnoxiously so. I had no idea where this book was headed. The ending was surprisingly, but not so far-fetched as to be unbelievable.
Well done Alexander.
According to amazon, there are three more books in this series.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Flash and Bones by Kathy Reichs
Kathy Reichs is one of my favorite authors. She's one of the few authors whose books I buy in hardback as soon as they come out. Carol Goodman is another one. This book conveniently was released right before my mother's birthday, so I purchased it as her present. She read it, mailed it to me. I read it, and mailed it to my older sister.
Flash and Bones is another Temperance Brennan book, the forensic anthropologist who works in North Carolina and Canada. Many of her books, this is book 14!!, involve jumping back and forth between to two places, but this book just stayed southern. Dr. Brennan is called to investigate a body found in an oil drum, leading her to a cold case involving a young couple who vanished years before, the sinister underworld of NASCAR, and a missing CDC doctor. As usual, Tempe is witty, sarcastic, and fantastic at her job.
My only dislikes of the book were the location, (I prefer her cases that are in Canada. Not sure why), and the lack of any resolution of her personal life. A few books back her personal life unraveled and its still dragging on. Grrrrrr!
Flash and Bones is another Temperance Brennan book, the forensic anthropologist who works in North Carolina and Canada. Many of her books, this is book 14!!, involve jumping back and forth between to two places, but this book just stayed southern. Dr. Brennan is called to investigate a body found in an oil drum, leading her to a cold case involving a young couple who vanished years before, the sinister underworld of NASCAR, and a missing CDC doctor. As usual, Tempe is witty, sarcastic, and fantastic at her job.
My only dislikes of the book were the location, (I prefer her cases that are in Canada. Not sure why), and the lack of any resolution of her personal life. A few books back her personal life unraveled and its still dragging on. Grrrrrr!
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Amaryllis in Blueberry by Christina Meldrum
Amaryllis in Blueberry has been on my "to read" list since before it was even released. I read that its similar to Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible, which I love, so just that right there entered it immediately to my list.
Dick and Seena are two parents with four daughters. The Slepy's spend each summer in 1970's Michigan. The family is Catholic, although each family member believes to a different degree. The book addresses the issue of how outward appearances of religious devotion doesn't always match true belief. The youngest daughter is Amaryllis, dissimilar to her sisters in looks and her ability to read emotions on people in the form of colors, see the future, and sense the past. The three elder daughters are all Mary's: Mary Grace, the beautiful one, Mary Catherine, the obsessive devout one, and Mary Tessa, the one who questions them all. Dick is religious, Seena is obsessed with mythology.
The summer of 1976, Grace ends up pregnant, and Seena's secret that Amaryllis was secretly fathered by an Indian is out. Catie stops eating as a permanent fast for God, and Tessa wonders how she ended up in such a crazy family. Dick turns to porn and a prostitute, which makes Seena rethink his role as husband and breadwinner. Amaryllis observes her whole family with her blueberry colored eyes.
To escape impending doom, the Slepy's move to Africa. Dick is a doctor and believes he can establish a hospital in an unnamed west African country for redemption. Once in Africa, the Slepy's find truth, love, and individual redemption.
To say this book is based loosely off the The Poisonwood Bible is an understatement. It's very very similar. White family from middle America goes to Africa in hopes of "saving" it, either through religion or modern medicine. A family of all girl children, each vastly different, and all struggling to establish an identity within the confines of the family. Sibling rivalry, different reactions to Africa, a troubled child, a favored child. Maybe its not fair to compare the two books as such, but its hard to disassociate the two.
Meldrum is a very poetic, somewhat abstract writer. Part of the charm of the book is her writing style, which distracts from the lack of solid plot. The book moved along at a snails pace (not necessarily in a bad way), until the end where so much action happened in a very short amount of time. I was disappointed the book ended where it did. It almost seemed too short, and somewhat...unfinished?
Still worth the read though, especially if you like a more lyrical writer. For a strong, well developed plot about a white family in Africa, I'd stick with The Poisonwood Bible.
Dick and Seena are two parents with four daughters. The Slepy's spend each summer in 1970's Michigan. The family is Catholic, although each family member believes to a different degree. The book addresses the issue of how outward appearances of religious devotion doesn't always match true belief. The youngest daughter is Amaryllis, dissimilar to her sisters in looks and her ability to read emotions on people in the form of colors, see the future, and sense the past. The three elder daughters are all Mary's: Mary Grace, the beautiful one, Mary Catherine, the obsessive devout one, and Mary Tessa, the one who questions them all. Dick is religious, Seena is obsessed with mythology.
The summer of 1976, Grace ends up pregnant, and Seena's secret that Amaryllis was secretly fathered by an Indian is out. Catie stops eating as a permanent fast for God, and Tessa wonders how she ended up in such a crazy family. Dick turns to porn and a prostitute, which makes Seena rethink his role as husband and breadwinner. Amaryllis observes her whole family with her blueberry colored eyes.
To escape impending doom, the Slepy's move to Africa. Dick is a doctor and believes he can establish a hospital in an unnamed west African country for redemption. Once in Africa, the Slepy's find truth, love, and individual redemption.
To say this book is based loosely off the The Poisonwood Bible is an understatement. It's very very similar. White family from middle America goes to Africa in hopes of "saving" it, either through religion or modern medicine. A family of all girl children, each vastly different, and all struggling to establish an identity within the confines of the family. Sibling rivalry, different reactions to Africa, a troubled child, a favored child. Maybe its not fair to compare the two books as such, but its hard to disassociate the two.
Meldrum is a very poetic, somewhat abstract writer. Part of the charm of the book is her writing style, which distracts from the lack of solid plot. The book moved along at a snails pace (not necessarily in a bad way), until the end where so much action happened in a very short amount of time. I was disappointed the book ended where it did. It almost seemed too short, and somewhat...unfinished?
Still worth the read though, especially if you like a more lyrical writer. For a strong, well developed plot about a white family in Africa, I'd stick with The Poisonwood Bible.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares
Sisterhood Everlasting is the epilogue of the well-read Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series. Somehow I missed the pre-release hype and the initial release of the book. Thank goodness a friend texted me informing me of its existence.
I liked the Sisterhood series. The series ended, I thought, favorably enough so though a fifth book was enjoyable to read, it really wasn't necessary. While the previous four are written about teenagers for a mostly teenage crowd, this epilogue is definitely for a more mature crowd. I usually hate lumping a series of books into one homogenous group, but I'm going to do it here and refer to the first four as simply the Sisterhood. Go with it and hate me later.
The time gap between end of book four and the epilogue is about a decade. A lot can happen in ten years, even to fictional people. It's hard not to envy the Septembers, four friends born in the same month, in the same area, to mothers in the same prenatal class. The idea seems corny, but the concept works for the story. I think part, if not most, of the reason these books were so popular, is the unshakeable friendship of these girls. Their trials and tribulations pale in comparison to the bond of friendship that trumps the bonds each of these girls have with their own siblings.
Until tragedy strikes. After a decade, the inevitable happened. All four girls went separate ways. This was already in motion during book four. What's more surprising is that when their worlds all get rocked, the friends, for seemingly the first time, don't seek refuge and support with each other. In fact, they all turn outward and communication between them is almost nonexistent. That was the single problem I had with the book. It took so long for the friends to reunite that it lacked the breeziness and friendly dialogue that I so loved about the original books.
Bee's behavior is most predictable. She was always my least favorite of the four. Taking off on her flowered bike, she hopes to combat grief and deal with other personal problems by taking California head-on. Although I'm sure she's not the first think so, California never fixes anyone's problems.
My biggest disappointment was Carmen. I think her life went in the least expected direction, with her becoming a fake actress that crowd Hollywood's, or in her case New York's, streets. She tries to hide her Latino heritage by passing herself off as white, losing herself in the meantime. Her fiance couldn't be more wrong for her and I spent most of the book rooting for their breakup.
Lena has always been my favorite. If anything, she's predictable and consistent, sometimes frustratingly slow. But I like that the 'beautiful' friend is also the introspective, quiet, insecure one. She's more real that way. I thought I would have been annoyed by the endless story of Kostos, but Lena's happiness is made it worthwhile. Good for you Lena.
A worthwhile read, even if the story was so unexpected. I cried, felt the shock, and wished I could hug each of the girls in turn and tell them its okay. These books are the only ones I've read by Ann Brashares, although I know she's got quite a few others on the market. Her writing in the epilogue definitely beat the previous four, but whether thats from experience or she just writes better for an older crowd, I'm not sure.
I read the entire book in one sitting. Definitely worth the evening at home.
I liked the Sisterhood series. The series ended, I thought, favorably enough so though a fifth book was enjoyable to read, it really wasn't necessary. While the previous four are written about teenagers for a mostly teenage crowd, this epilogue is definitely for a more mature crowd. I usually hate lumping a series of books into one homogenous group, but I'm going to do it here and refer to the first four as simply the Sisterhood. Go with it and hate me later.
The time gap between end of book four and the epilogue is about a decade. A lot can happen in ten years, even to fictional people. It's hard not to envy the Septembers, four friends born in the same month, in the same area, to mothers in the same prenatal class. The idea seems corny, but the concept works for the story. I think part, if not most, of the reason these books were so popular, is the unshakeable friendship of these girls. Their trials and tribulations pale in comparison to the bond of friendship that trumps the bonds each of these girls have with their own siblings.
Until tragedy strikes. After a decade, the inevitable happened. All four girls went separate ways. This was already in motion during book four. What's more surprising is that when their worlds all get rocked, the friends, for seemingly the first time, don't seek refuge and support with each other. In fact, they all turn outward and communication between them is almost nonexistent. That was the single problem I had with the book. It took so long for the friends to reunite that it lacked the breeziness and friendly dialogue that I so loved about the original books.
Bee's behavior is most predictable. She was always my least favorite of the four. Taking off on her flowered bike, she hopes to combat grief and deal with other personal problems by taking California head-on. Although I'm sure she's not the first think so, California never fixes anyone's problems.
My biggest disappointment was Carmen. I think her life went in the least expected direction, with her becoming a fake actress that crowd Hollywood's, or in her case New York's, streets. She tries to hide her Latino heritage by passing herself off as white, losing herself in the meantime. Her fiance couldn't be more wrong for her and I spent most of the book rooting for their breakup.
Lena has always been my favorite. If anything, she's predictable and consistent, sometimes frustratingly slow. But I like that the 'beautiful' friend is also the introspective, quiet, insecure one. She's more real that way. I thought I would have been annoyed by the endless story of Kostos, but Lena's happiness is made it worthwhile. Good for you Lena.
A worthwhile read, even if the story was so unexpected. I cried, felt the shock, and wished I could hug each of the girls in turn and tell them its okay. These books are the only ones I've read by Ann Brashares, although I know she's got quite a few others on the market. Her writing in the epilogue definitely beat the previous four, but whether thats from experience or she just writes better for an older crowd, I'm not sure.
I read the entire book in one sitting. Definitely worth the evening at home.
Monday, July 4, 2011
currents buys and reads
Happy July 4th!!!!
I've finished a couple of books recently, Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares and Messenger by Jeni Stepanek. Before sharing my opinions, I wanted to compose a list of recent books buys. Some of these were gifts, since I just recently had a birthday!
Pink boots and a machete by Mireya Mayor
Russian Winter by Daphne Kalotay
Agatha Christie, an autobiography
Entwined by Heather Dixon
Winged Obsession by Jessica Speart
Amaryllis in Blueberry by Christina Meldrum
And only to deceive by Tasha Alexander
The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
Books I'm currently reading:
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Anna Karenina by Tolstoy
I've finished a couple of books recently, Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brashares and Messenger by Jeni Stepanek. Before sharing my opinions, I wanted to compose a list of recent books buys. Some of these were gifts, since I just recently had a birthday!
Pink boots and a machete by Mireya Mayor
Russian Winter by Daphne Kalotay
Agatha Christie, an autobiography
Entwined by Heather Dixon
Winged Obsession by Jessica Speart
Amaryllis in Blueberry by Christina Meldrum
And only to deceive by Tasha Alexander
The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
Books I'm currently reading:
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Anna Karenina by Tolstoy
Sunday, July 3, 2011
100 Books to Read in 2010 (2013)
During the Christmas season of 2009, my older sister and I organized a book list of 100 books. We took suggestions from various "Best Book" lists, banned book lists, classics lists, as well as some sci-fi suggestions. Below is the final draft of our 100 Books to read in 2010. Yes, we realize its now 2011, but several moves, vacations, grad school and starting new jobs, plus reading other non-list books, have been very time consuming. The date is now arbitrary, but the list is still awesome. (Titles crossed out have been read).
1. 1984 by George Orwell
2. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
3. Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
4. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
5. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
6. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
7. Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
8. The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
9. Sophie’s Choice by William Styron
10. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
11. Oliver Twist or David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
12. Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham
13. Persuasion by Jane Austen
14. For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
15. Life of Pi by Yann Martel
16. Middlemarch by George Elliot
17. On the Road by Jack Kerouac
18. Light in August by William Faulkner
19. The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky
20. Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
21. Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
22. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
23. Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
24. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
25. Dracula/Undead by Bram and Dacre Stoker
26. Night and Day by Virginia Woolf
27. Tess of the D’ubervilles by Thomas Hardy
28. Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut
29. Beloved by Toni Morrison
30. Dune by Frank Herbert
31. The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
32. Watership Down by Richard Adams
33. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
34. Remembrance of Things past by Marcel Proust
35. Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry
35. Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
36. Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
37. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
38. Brave New World by Aldophus Huxley
39. Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
40. Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather
41. The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
42. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
43. A Room with a View by E.M. Forster
44. Appointment in Samarra by John O’Hara
45. Wings of the Dove by Henry James
46. Anna Karenina or War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
47. Ulysses by James Joyce
48. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
49. Moonheart by Charles de Lint
50. Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
51. Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
52. Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
53. Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
54. The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood
55. Kite Runner by Khalid Hosseini
56. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
57. Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
58. Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence
59. Darkness at Noon by Arthur Koestler
60. Passage to India by E.M. Forster
61. Othello by Shakespeare
62. Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser
63. Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller
64. Castle in the forest by Norman Mailer
65. Secret Garden by Frances H. Burnett
66. Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
67. The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
68. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
69. The Old Wives Tale by Arnold Bennett
70. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys
71. Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon
72. I, Claudius by Robert Graves
73. Scarlet Letter by Nathanial Hawthorne
74. Anne Frank:Diary of a young girl by Anne Frank
75. The Call of the Wild by Jack London
76. The Heart of the Matter by Graham Greene
77. Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine l’engle
78. Fanny Hill by John Cleland
79. Lady Chatterly’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence
80. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
81. Devil’s Alternative by Frederick Forsyth
82. I know why a caged bird sings by Maya Angelou
83. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
84. Native Son by Richard Wright
85. The Age of Reason by Thomas Payne
86. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
87. Doll’s House by Ibsen
88. Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
89. A Town like Alice by Nevil Shute
90. Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
91. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
92. Vanity Fair by William Mackerey
93. The Prince by Machiavelli
94. A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
95. The Drowned and the Saved by Primo Levi
96. Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott
97. A Pale View of hills by Kazuo Ishiguro
98. The Plague by Albert Camus
99. Eva Luna by Isabel Allende
100. Things fall apart by Chinua Achebe
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