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…

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Of Human Bondage by W. Somerset Maugham

Oh, poor Phillip.  Orphaned as a young child, he is sent to live with conservative Christian relations who raise him as their own, instilling in him their morally uptight religious views.  Born physically deformed with a clubfoot, Phillip spends a week as a teenager fervently praying for his foot to be healed.  When this doesn't happen, he begins to doubt an omnipotent God.  Eventually he desires to become an artist in Paris.  After spending two years there, he accepts the realization that though talented, he will never become more than a mediocre artist.  Moving back to England, he decides to follow in his father's footsteps and attend medical school. During med school, he meets Mildred, an ugly, self-absorbed waitress who Phillip falls passionately in love with.

This book is on my 100 books list.  I was intrigued by the back of the book, which promised things like "sexual obsession", which would at least guarantee an easier read.  W. Somerset Maugham is a skilled writer.  The book, though 700+ pages in length, read quite well.  Phillip does become obsessed with Mildred, although the only reason I can fathom as to why is because he couldn't have her. Mildred could care less about Phillip, although she has no qualms taking his money, lying to him, and letting him help raise another man's baby.  Eventually he grows repulsed by her, although all the love he felt for her never dissipates entirely. Despite his deformity, several women do fall in love with him, none of whom he loves back.

And I guess the morale of the story is: people always want what they can't have.  Phillip loves the only woman who doesn't want him.  Woman love Phillip who he can care less about, although does care about hurting their feelings, which is always nice to hear about men (even fictional men!)  Phillip never quite figures out his religious stance.  He falls somewhere into the agnostic group.

I also read this in Paris, which was awesome, since parts of the book took place in Paris.  I've read Maugham The Painted Veil which I really liked.  Books aren't very similar at all.

Love the one you're with by Emily Giffin

Love the one you're with is the third novel by Emily Giffin I've read in the past month or so.  This book does not have the same characters as the other, which was somewhat disappointing and somewhat of a relief.  Giffin writes a lot about infidelity.  People cheating, people thinking about cheating, or people wondering where that line is between cheating and not cheating.

Ellen runs into her former love, Leo, on a New York street.  Leo, a journalist, lands Ellen, a photographer, an awesome work gig.  Ellen doesn't tell her husband, which is the beginning of the snowball that continues with lies, deceits, secret meetings, and a move out of NY.  Motherless Ellen moves back to her husband's hometown of Atlanta and finds herself disenchanted, lonely, and bored.  Family and old money don't make anything perfect, and Ellen realizes everything she thought she wanted don't fulfill her at all.

I think this is the last Giffin book I'm going to read.  I need a break!  These books masquerade themselves has chick lit, but they hide deeper issues that are hard to read sometimes.

Something Blue by Emily Giffin

After getting sucked into the hype of this book's prequel, Something Borrowed, I fell in love with the characters and therefore had to read this one.  Something Blue picks up right where Something Borrowed leaves off.  So much so that the books could have been one long book. 

Something Blue is about redemption.  The popular girl in high school grows up  to realize her manipulative, bossy ways won't let her survive as an adult, even if it did get through most of her twenties.  In Darcy's case, it took her fiance to leave her for her best friend for her to begin to reevaluate her life.  Even though Darcy is a beautiful, vivacious brunette, it's harder to hate her than you'd think.  After revealing she's pregnant, taking a leave of absence from her glamorous job, and moving to London, Darcy becomes a "real person."  She realizes the behind her pretty face, she actually has empathy, kindness, and the ability to form real, lasting friendships with other females that aren't based on competition.

Even "perfect" women screw up.  Even bratty, self-absorbed women can remake themselves.  The book's ending actually surprised me.  I didn't see the lead-up to it that I guess actually started in the first book.  At first I was disappointed that Dex and Rachel didn't show up more in this book, but as I kept reading, I found myself interested in Darcy.  During book 1, she seemed like such a superficial bitch that I didn't feel that bad that her fiance was cheating on her. 

I actually just finished another one of Emily Giffin's books, but I'll save that for another day.

Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin

I've had a somewhat interesting relationship with this book, although I didn't get around to reading it until this past week.  A former co-worker of mine lent this book, and its sequel, to a second co-worker, probably two years ago now.   I was next in line to read it (them), but said second co-worker never returned the books.  I was given Something Borrowed as a going away gift over a year and a half ago.  The book sat on a bookkshelf, unread, for over a year.  I ended up regifting to someone I thought would enjoy it, as I tend not to be a big chick-lit person.

Then the movie came out.  I missed it in the theater, but finally saw it available in a Redbox, rented it, and watched it over and over and over again.  I lent my rented copy to a current co-worker, and then ended up re-renting it again last weekend.  After my seventh or eighth viewing, I trekked over to Target to purchase the book, a book I once currently owned and never read.

Something Borrowed is a little about friendship, a little more about love, a lot about not letting people walk all over you.  Rachel is the doormat of the fabulous, fun, beautiful Darcy.  Best friends since childhood, their relationship hasn't changed much despite growing up.  Only now there's men involved.

I won't rehash all the details, since its been a wildly popular book, but my biggest frustration was why Rachel continued being friends with this girl, especially after consciously realizing Darcy is self-absorbed and manipulative.  I was rooting for her and Dex the whole way, because the relationship was right even though the circumstances were wrong.  Go Team Rachel.

Emily Giffin obviously went to law school.  Another chirp on the book is the amount of legalese.  None of it was necessary.  Or interesting.  Otherwise, she did a fabulous job of not letting the infidelity take over the book.  The characters were honest and well-developed, excepting maybe Dex, who made it most of the way towards being well-developed.

I haven't started Book 2 yet, but I can't wait to read it.