The Pact- Jennifer Sturman

The Pact is maybe the most easily defined chick lit book that I’ve read in a long time. Which is of course, totally ok by me! What was different about this one is that it also had a murder mystery aspect, which combines my two favorite guilty pleasure reads: chick lit and thrillers.

Rachel Benjamin is an investment banker in the Adirondacks for her best friend Emma’s wedding. The morning of the ceremony, she finds him floating in the pool, dead. From then on she picks up on information and evidence leading to the killer.

This was a cute, girly book. Exactly what you’d expect from a chick book, which is why I don't have much to say about it, and the added mystery aspect was a good bonus. I’m definitely not opposed to reading more in this series, but I didn’t love it enough to re-read. Another solid 3.

Then Came You- Jennifer Weiner

Then Came You is the story of four different women wrapped around the life of one child. A child that is not born for most of the book, but is present nonetheless. The women are: Jules, the egg donor, Annie, the surrogate mother, India, the aging mother, whose motives for wanting a child may be tied to her reputation as a gold digger, and Bettina, her stepdaughter. I think based on those descriptions alone, you should be able to figure out how things progress throughout the book.

Written in the same style as Maine, where each character narrates a chapter, Then Came You is an entertaining, if not enthralling book. I think I’ve come to expect as much from Jennifer Weiner. This is disappointing in many ways, not least of which is that the first book I read by her, Good in Bed, is one of my all time favorites. But I think since Certain Girls, the sequel to Good in Bed, was published (which I will freely admit that I hated, and which tarnished Weiner’s writing and judgment in my eyes) I have completely different expectations for her books.

This book was good, not great. Better than Certain Girls and Best Friends Forever, on par with Fly Away Home, and not as good as the pre-Certain Girls books (Good in Bed, Little Earthquakes, In Her Shoes, etc). Definitely a good beach read, and what you’d expect for the type of book that it is.

It’s somewhere between a 3 and a 4 for me. Again, good, not great.

State of Wonder- Ann Patchett

State of Wonder is, by its description, the kind of book I thought I would get involved in. Essentially, a pharmacologist is sent to the jungle to investigate both the recent death of a colleague and the progress of a study being done on fertility for her company. It seemed incredibly intriguing: ethical predicaments, pharmacology, research in the wild, what’s not to like?

However, I was slightly disappointed. Three quarters of the novel was slow, plodding, and not entirely relevant to the parts of the book I was most interested in. The main character, Marina, was weak and marginally pathetic. I could tell that Patchett wanted me to love and identify with her being put into such a mess, but all I could think of was how sad she seemed, and how easily she could get out of it, if only she wanted to. Most of the first half of the book was getting Marina to the jungle and Dr. Swenson, her former teacher and the conductor of the fertility study, and it was boring. After they arrived at the site, things picked up slightly, but I was still largely unimpressed.

But then I realized something with about 100 pages to go- the book had me. I cared and was thinking about the ethical dilemmas it wanted me to think about. I cared about the characters. Hateful Dr. Swenson, boring and tedious Marina, horrifying Dr. Fox (Marina’s boss). The only perfect character in the book is Easter, a native child from the jungle, who I (like Marina) liked from the beginning. I was pretty surprised to realize that I was disappointed to stop reading. I wanted to finish it, to see how things were resolved.

That remains the book’s saving grace. I think it was worth it to slog through the first 250 pages to get to the last 100. Solid 3. I’m not going to read it again, the majority of it was too boring to warrant that, but the ending made me glad that I spent the time and picked it up.

I can’t decide if I’d actually recommend the book to anyone though. I am glad I finished it, and didn’t give up halfway through like I considered doing, but I have mixed feelings on both the way we were brought into the final conflict and the conflict itself. To explain further would be to give too much away.

Inheritance- Christopher Paolini

And here we are again… I find myself reading the fourth, and last book in Christopher Paolini’s Eragon series, the third book of which made me want to swear them off forever. But after several years’ anticipation for the final book, and apparently a dulling of how excruciating I found Paolini’s writing, I put a hold on Inheritance and waited, more eagerly than I’d care to admit, for my turn to read the end of the series.

For those who might not know, the Eragon series is a typical fantasy epic that includes dragons, elves, dwarves, and humans. Some may say too typical, as a lot of the elements of the story are strikingly similar to those of other series’. This one is focused on a dragon, Saphira, and Eragon, her “Rider,” a special bond between dragon and human or elf, called upon to save the empire from a malevolent dictator.

Now, keep in mind that I hated myself for wanting to know how this series ends badly enough to slog through 850 pages of what I was certain would be more of the same rambling and self important prose that Brisingr (book three) contained. But here I am. I want it on record that I am the appropriate amount of ashamed that I’ve read (and for the most part, enjoyed) this series that at best can be called a good plot with poor writing.

But dammit if I wasn’t hooked. This was the first book I’ve read in awhile that had me thinking about what was going to happen next while I was at work and staying up late to read. It actually disappoints me a little when I think about how good this series could have been if not put in the hands of Christopher Paolini. Take one look at the incredibly poorly written recap of the first three books and I guarantee you’ll see what I mean.

What Paolini needs more than anything is a good editor. The parts of the book that deal with Eragon and Saphira, as well as those including Angela the herbalist are nothing short of captivating. But I could 100% go without the Roran (Eragon’s cousin) and Nasuada (the leader of the Rebels) parts. In fact, at one point I caught myself skimming through these. There are only so many battles and deaths I can read about before it becomes monotonous. Basically, Paolini needs to get on with it. The way he makes huge revelations and then dilly dallies into another plot line drives me freaking crazy.

That said, one of Paolini’s strengths is his build up to conflicts. The crescendos. But he ABSOLUTELY SUCKS at writing the big moments. Even coming close to delivering on the huge pronouncements he makes seems impossible. The last 100 pages of this book took FOREVER. That’s not how this should go. And the final battle with the so-called unstoppable villain? Mysteries that have been building up for several books? Unbelievable let down. It’s like he a) ignored some of the things he made huge plot points out of in the first place, b) knew that he made this guy completely unbeatable and couldn’t come up with a way to get out of it, and c) realized that he had messed something up and scrambles to fix it at the last minute. So ridiculously anticlimactic that no description will even begin to cover it.

However, that being said, I was pleased with this book as the end of the series, as well as the series as a whole. I can get past the writing enough to know that I wouldn’t have gotten through four giant books if the idea behind them wasn’t interesting. I just wish Paolini had done a better job.

3- despite all the complaining, I liked this book enough, and this is another fantasy series that I think at some point I’ll be re-reading (although I’m pretty sure I’ll be skipping over book 3).

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (and other concerns)- Mindy Kaling

I have to admit that I was hooked on this one from the title. I mean come on, who reads that title and doesn’t a) at least smirk in appreciation, and b) realize that this is something that they’ve thought at least once in life. I suppose the second point is one that should only be applied to girls.

In the vein of Bossypants and Seriously… I’m Kidding, Is Everyone Hanging out Without Me? Was another celebrity memoir that I was never not going to like. The early Office episodes that Mindy Kaling wrote are some of my favorites, and Kelly Kapoor remains one of the funniest parts of the mediocre later seasons. What I didn’t expect was to identify with it quite so much. Through her stories of childhood, struggles in New York, and life as an Office writer in Los Angeles, I found that I was nodding or laughing along with some of her better made points. For example- the chapter about never having a one night stand chiefly because she is significantly concerned about personal safety. I mean really, the point that you are either inviting in or accepting an invitation from a person you know literally nothing about is a legitimate one.

Aside from these observations about obviously important things in life, I enjoyed the book because a lot of it was written in list form. Another highlight was the “11 Favorite Moments in Comedy” chapter, which, spoiler alert, is topped by Will Ferrell crying about his punted dog Baxter in Anchorman, a personal favorite.

I’m not sure how you read this and not at least enjoy it a little bit. Personally I have it somewhere in between a 4 and a 5. It’s not quite to the Bossypants level, but this is a point Mindy Kaling makes herself very early on, and that in itself makes the book even more endearing.

Maine- J. Courtney Sullivan

After having read both of J. Courtney Sullivan’s novels within the last six months, I have to say that I am incredibly impressed. And also slightly baffled that I'd never heard of her before this past summer. She is a rare type of author: someone you might label as a chick-lit writer at first, but upon reading further, find that her books are not exactly what they seem.

I think what I like the most about her writing is that her characters are so imperfect. Not in spectacular ways like you see in some books, but in subtle, incredibly relatable ways. Commencement was a nostalgia-fest for college, while Maine was not quite as instantly relatable, but certainly reminded me in a few small ways of my own large Catholic family. I also like how she slips in teases of what’s to come instead of just spilling an entire backstory in one go. It keeps you interested.

I like Maine more than I liked Commencement, which I didn’t think was possible. My only complaint about Commencement was that one of the storylines went completely off the rails near the end, while this one is realistic throughout. Maine tells the story of four women in four different viewpoints, three different generations of the same family (one married in, and three daughters/mothers), all of whom are dealing with their own individual struggles while also attempting to relate with each other, and all of whom eventually come together in the family summer house in Maine. Most intriguing to me was the way that each of the characters viewed each other and themselves, which certainly makes me think of the way that I represent myself in my daily life.

I’m a little put off by the ending though. It seemed abrupt and didn’t provide a lot of closure after spending so much time developing the story and the characters. I’d like a sequel, or at least to see what happens through the end of the summer. I feel invested and now I want to know how things continue in their lives. Technically, I suppose everything was resolved, but it didn’t feel very satisfying. Maybe it’s because all along all I wanted was a chick lit ending, when I should have known that this author wouldn’t give me one just to make everything nice.

Overall, it’s another book somewhere between a 4 and a 5. I think I’d like to own it, so by my self-defined ranking system, I'll call it a 5. Regardless, I look forward to what Sullivan has in store for me next.

Die Trying- Lee Child

Jack Reacher, a character that Lee Child has written about at length, is entertaining at the very least. The first book in the series, Killing Floor, is a quick read I seem to remember flying through sometime last year. So when I noticed the second one listed as available on the audiobook website I use, I grabbed it. Overall, I liked it, but I’ve got mixed feelings.

Reacher is minding his own business when he gets wrapped up in (that is, gets taken as well) a kidnapping of a federal agent. As we find out while the story progresses, she is no ordinary FBI agent, and this is no ordinary kidnapping. What follows is an intricate, atypical, but enjoyable thriller.

I think my biggest problem was with the man reading the book. After listening to so many of these over the years, I definitely have preferences on the way the book is performed, and this one tanked. Essentially, the man reading this book insisted on doing the main woman character’s voice, and not well. It was distracting, and eventually I was turning it off in favor of something different. So I don’t think I can give this book a fair review. The story was good, if a little overly detailed.

I initially gave this a 2 on Goodreads, but now that I’m thinking about it, I don’t think that’s fair. I think my disinterest in listening to the story was based more on the audiobook format than anything else, and even that doesn’t keep me from wanting to read more in the series. So I’m switching to a 3. I just think I’ll stay away from the audio portion from now on.

Seriously... I'm Kidding- Ellen DeGeneres

This is another book that I enjoyed a lot, most likely because I like the author. I have read Ellen’s other books and found them pretty funny, so when I heard that she had written a third, I put it on hold immediately. Obviously (as usual) it came in at the same time as two other books, however, I was so excited to read it, it was the first one that I started.

I wasn’t disappointed. What I like the best about Ellen DeGeneres is that she’s funny without being mean spirited. This book was full of funny stories, but also some good advice and stories from her life in general that the previous two books didn’t have. For example (and this is a lengthy quote, but I liked it so much that I wrote it down!):

“All I’m saying is I don’t see the sense in comparing ourselves to other people all the time. It’s not being better than anyone else or having nicer things… I personally like being unique. I like being my own person with my own style and my own opinions and my own toothbrush. I think it’s so much better to stand out in some way and set yourself apart from the masses. It would be so boring to look out into the world and see hundreds of people who look and think exactly like me… And who’s to say what’s better or worse anyway? Who’s to even say what’s normal or average? We’re all different people and we’re allowed to be different from one another. If someone ever says you’re weird, say thank you. And then curtsy. No, don’t curtsy. That might be too weird. Bow. And tip your imaginary hat. That’ll show them.”

I mean how do you not love that? Funny, and genuinely good advice (maybe not the bowing though). She’s great. A solid 4.

The Scarecrow- Michael Connelly

This was the first Michael Connelly book I’ve read, after hearing a lot about how good he is. I’m happy to say that there will be many more. I really enjoyed The Scarecrow.

I’m not happy to say that I didn’t realize this was a sequel until I was about halfway through. It’s really my only complaint about reading this book, which isn’t much to complain about.

So… this is the second book in the series about journalist Jack McEvoy, and as I understand it, it’s fairly similar: journalist and everyman uncovers a nefarious murder… danger ensues. You know, the typical thriller setup. But what made this one so good was Connelly’s writing. I was invested in McEvoy without even having read the first / set up book and missing some of his back story. And his dealings with The Scarecrow, a dangerous serial killer who is revealed to the reader before McEvoy can discover him, were equally well written. Not only that, but Connelly is very thorough. There were no plot holes at all, and he is meticulous and detailed in an incredibly interesting way. I will definitely be going back to read The Poet and will be reading (not just listening to) the Harry Bosch novels, arguably his most well known. So nicely done Mr. Connelly, I’m obviously hooked.

Basically I don’t have a lot to say about this audio book except that I really liked it, and I haven’t liked a thriller writer this much since I started reading James Patterson’s books.

4, maybe 5 stars. I’m pretty excited to read The Poet.

Me Talk Pretty One Day- David Sedaris

I think I’ve probably been reading this book over the course of the last several months. It’s actually kind of perfect for that, as it’s lots of short essays that can easily be put aside when a new novel comes in from the library. I can’t decide how I felt about this one though. It was a lot of hit or miss.

I’m pretty sure that I read one of David Sedaris’ books in college, and the fact that I can’t remember for sure probably says something about how I feel about his writing. Not that I don’t like it, but that then (and now) I didn’t find it very memorable, and the fact that I don’t feel the need to immediately search out his other books is also pretty telling. The bottom line is, some of the stories told in this collection were hilarious, and some of them I ended up skimming through because I was tired of them. And in this book there was more skimming than laughing.

I think also part of the problem is that I really WANTED to like this book. I had high expectations. Usually books like these are right up my alley (see: the review for Bossypants) and I am very excited to start the next one on my to-read list, Ellen DeGeneres’ new book, but in this case, a lot of the stories didn’t really land. I had a few laugh out loud moments, but I am ready to move on.

Hence, the three rating, and the fact that I don’t have a lot to say. This was worth the read, and enough of it was funny that I’m not annoyed about the time spent reading it, however, I don’t think I’ll be returning to Sedaris’ books for a little while.

Stories I Only Tell My Friends- Rob Lowe

First, full disclosure: I love Rob Lowe. I think if I was born a little bit earlier I would love him even more, not having seen the movies he is most famous for until later in my life. Sam Seaborn, Chris Traeger, these are just two of the characters that Rob Lowe has played in my lifetime that I love. Essentially, if it was shown in his writing (I assume it’s him, but am skeptical despite not seeing any credit to a ghostwriter) that he was even a fraction like these men, I was going to be happy with his book.

As Rob takes us through his life, in an order that was mostly chronological but with the occasional tangent, the first thing that really hit me was the sheer amount of stars he happened to know or just run into as a kid. The coincidences are unreal. In one chapter he meets and stars in amateur movies with a young Sean Penn and Charlie Sheen, then later meets LeVar Burton literally a week before he hit it big in Roots. Somehow he has a connection to the people who did the Star Wars special effects and saw the Death Star before the movie came out. He meets Jim Henson and Frank Oz from the muppet show. Frankly, it’s fascinating, if slightly unbelievable. I mean it makes sense, he was living in Malibu and trying to get into the business, but it just seems bizarre that he manages to run into so many celebrities before they were big.

Regardless, the look at Rob’s life was absorbing. I read this book in about four days, and found myself even more interested in his life than I had expected. I think my only disappointment was that he didn’t talk about The West Wing, or his more recent projects more. I know that most of his fans are more interested in his 80s, pre-sober life, but I would have liked to see more about working with the other actors that I recognized (Allison Janney, Martin Sheen, Bradley Whitford, etc) and the other things that I know him for. He touched briefly on his relationship with Aaron Sorkin and why he finally left the show, but in general glosses over all of the sketchy subjects of his life (being known as difficult, leaving The West Wing because of money, the backlash from his sex tape, his struggles with alcoholism). I think it would have been more realistic if he had focused on these things just a little bit more. The tough stuff that he did touch on rang a little bit false to me, and every once in awhile I caught myself thinking he was a bit pompous.

However, I still very much enjoyed the look at Rob Lowe’s life, and he is certainly still one of my favorites. This is another solid 3, not something I need to read again, but I’m glad I picked it up.

A Thousand Splendid Suns- Khaled Hosseini

After reading Kite Runner, and being told over and over again for probably the last year that it was the better one and I had to read it (hi Lynn!), I finally picked up A Thousand Splendid Suns. She certainly has a point. A Thousand Splendid Suns was very moving and, while upsetting like its predecessor, was an incredible book.

As opposed to Kite Runner, which was about a privileged boy from Afghanistan and his relationships, A Thousand Splendid Suns focuses on the women of Afghanistan throughout the wars and political upheaval. I can certainly attest that the writing is realistic. It’s gritty, gloomy, and brutal. It’s as upsetting as the author’s first book, but perhaps even more so because of the sheer unfairness of nearly every situation. It’s the unfairness that strikes me the most. And I think this one was more upsetting because it’s slightly more relatable. Not that relatable though, because never have I appreciated the privileges of living in America more.

I suppose the realism and relatability are the book’s greatest strengths. I was significantly more invested in the plights of Laila and Mariam than Amir in the first book. Both are equally as jarring, however, in the Kite Runner, Amir had significantly more control over the events that were happening to him.

The power of A Thousand Splendid Suns would be diminished if everything had been tied up in a neat little happy bow, so I can appreciate the way that the author goes about writing the book’s events, but parts of it made me want to be sick. This is certainly a book out of my typical wheelhouse, I liked it all the same, but I think that I’m going to need some light reading for my next one. The one two punch of Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns was almost overwhelming.

I can’t decide whether this book is a 4 or a 5. It’s one that I would like to revisit in the future, but the upsetting nature of most of the plot makes it unlikely that I’ll be reading it over and over like I do with other books. For the purposes of rating and tagging, I’m giving it a 4, but know that it’s very close to a 5!

The Kite Runner- Khaled Hosseini

What is there to say about this book that hasn’t already been said? It’s an international bestseller, and I am behind the times on reading it. Very unlike me. What is like me is to shy away from a book with a subject matter like this, but I’m glad that I finally got around to this one. Despite the horrifying images in the book, the subject matter is very well written.

The Kite Runner is the story of Amir, the son of a rich man in Afghanistan, and immigrant to the United States. We follow his life as a young boy, running kites with his best friend, their servant’s son, Hassan, through his flight from Afghanistan, his life in America, and his eventual return to his home country.

This book was very upsetting but extremely good. It’s riveting, it’s stressful, and it’s moving. I only seem to be able to come up with short bursts of descriptions, which hardly do the book justice, but trust me when I say that it’s worth a read. Ultimately this was a tale of love, life, guilt, and friendship. And it absolutely forces you to think about the things you take for granted living in the United States.

In general I feel like I’m not saying enough to do justice to the book. I’m not sure anything I can say will. So let’s leave this one short and sweet: This is definitely worth a read if you’re like me and have been hesitating.

4- I’m glad I finally read this. And I’m going to read Hosseini’s next book, A Thousand Splendid Suns next. In fact, I’ve already started it.

Knit Two- Kate Jacobs

This review has spoilers from the end of The Friday Night Knitting Club, so if you don’t want to know, stop reading now.

This one was my latest audiobook, and as it turns out, I missed Georgia Walker a lot more than I thought I would.

I probably should have read Knit Two after I read Friday Night Knitting Club. But I couldn’t bring myself to, I was too annoyed with what seemed to be an unnecessary pull at the heartstrings with Georgia’s death. I’m still not entirely sure that I like the way that Kate Jacobs does things, or maybe I’ve just had misconceptions all along about what kind of writer she is. Knit Two obviously returns to the characters of the first book and Walker and Daughter, Georgia’s knitting shop. We hear how everyone has been dealing with her death, and meet everyone several years after the fact, when Dakota, the daughter of Walker and Daughter, has just returned from her first year in college.

Long story short, everyone is struggling with problems in their lives, both personal and professional, all of which are dealt with throughout the book. And I wasn’t as invested as I should have been. Overall this book was fine, but it was missing the center that Georgia brought to the first one. I don’t think I’ll be reading the next sequel, which I believe is Christmas related.

2- as usual, this audiobook was fine. nothing fantastic or horrible about it. just entertaining enough to keep my interest.

If You Were Here- Jen Lancaster

I’ll add my voice to the rest of Jen Lancaster’s fans discussing this book… I really wanted to like it. And to be fair, I think because I had extremely low expectations and thought it was going to be horrifyingly bad, I liked it more than most (which doesn’t say much). I agree with everyone else who says this should have been another memoir rather than a foray into fiction, but I’ll also add that for the most part, this WAS another memoir.

Mia and Mac are buying a new house, and it’s been a hellish ordeal for everyone. I made it through the first half to three quarters of this book by convincing myself that it was just a typical Jen Lancaster memoir, blatantly ignoring all references to Amish zombies, and pretending that Fletch had changed his name. And it did work for awhile. Mia and Mac sound VERY much like Jen and her husband Fletch, which I would imagine is intentional. I didn’t hate it, found it amusing enough (though nowhere near on par with her other books), and easily blew through the first half. Shortly thereafter is where she lost me.

Honestly, I can definitely understand the point of Jen wanting to try fiction: she can take her everyday life and make it even more exaggerated and ridiculous to comic effect. The problem is, the comic effect was lacking. Mia is nowhere near as funny as Jen, and Mac was downright horrible. And at no point did I recognize the writing in the second half as anywhere near as entertaining as Jen’s. Not to mention that the Amish zombies were more prevalent. I can’t say I understood why she thought that would be funny. In fact, I would say that was her biggest misfire for me. Despite thinking that it was ridiculous for her to so blatantly talk about her own life (Mia’s dog is named Daisy, Jen’s is Maisy, Mia’s best friend is Tracy, Jen’s is Stacy), I hung in there. Even as Mia’s book, Buggies are the New Black (as opposed to Bitter is the New Black) caused a massive eyeroll, I did my best to stick with it, because I felt I owed Jen the benefit of the doubt for her first fiction attempt.

If she tries it again, I’m not sure I’ll be able to overlook it. I hope very much that she goes back to memoirs.

2- didn’t like it overall. Jen should stick to being funny about her own life.

The Year We Left Home- Jean Thompson

Well, this one took awhile too, and with most of my recent audiobooks being a re-listen to the Hunger Games series, I haven’t had a lot to write about. Hope the next books I read will be page turners! But I guess not all books can be.

Don’t get me wrong, most of the time I don’t think a book being a slower read is a bad thing.  This one tells stories from the Erikson family, six people dealing with life in Iowa throughout the years.  It was a journey through life told in many perspectives, and reminded me of a mixture in styles from A Visit from the Goon Squad and Cutting for Stone. But unlike Goon Squad, it was chronological, and all perspectives were from the same family.

The thing is, with books like this that just talk about characters, that just have lots of chapters about people’s lives without any real overreaching theme or plot, it has to be really good for me to not lose interest. Goon Squad was more interesting in writing style than this one. Cutting for Stone was just flat out incredible. However, Cutting for Stone also had the benefit of only focusing on one character. This book skips around so much, often ending a chapter just as I’m getting interested. I wonder if just one character had been focused on, would I have liked this more? 

Just as I was getting involved in what was happening with which member of the family, that was when the chapter ended, time skips forward, and I get frustrated. It seemed like the author was constantly cutting out of the story just when things were getting interesting. Maybe that’s the whole point. But I found it slightly irritating. It’s similar to what happened with Goon Squad, so maybe I’m just not cut out for books that are more like short stories all sewn together. This one took me almost two weeks to read, and I think if it had been more of one overreaching story, I would have read it faster. Because I did like the book as I was reading it.

So, in summary, this was a good book, but not a great one. I liked it, but it wasn’t a page turner. Another three.

Heaven is for Real- Todd Burpo

And now for something completely different… I’m about to get religious, so if you aren’t interested in reading that, I’d stop reading now.

Maybe you’ve heard something about this book. I certainly had. Currently sitting at #6 on Amazon’s bestseller list, Heaven is for Real is the story of Colton Burpo, a four year old child who went to Heaven during a life threatening surgery.

I’m not sure exactly how to go about reviewing this book. So much of how much it will be enjoyed depends on the reader’s levels of faith and cynicism. Though my cynicism can (on occasion) be quite high, in general so is my faith. And because of that, I’m sure that anyone who has any measure of faith has also had a moment (or several) of doubt. The most challenging part of being a Christian in my opinion is the question of “what if none of this is real?” And in moments like those, it is easy to forget the miracles and complexities in life, and then to be reminded with stories like the one being told in this book.

I am sure there are those that think Todd Burpo, the author, pastor, and father of Colton could be a) making all of this up, b) using an experience in his life to get pushy about religion, or c) is essentially full of crap and deluded into thinking this is real. I don’t believe that. For me, the book rings true, and there are enough details that Colton has conveyed that line up with scripture and other things that a four year old would know nothing about that I believe he had the near death experience he says he had and saw Heaven. While reading, I found myself comforted, feeling more confident in that which I already know: when we die, it’s not over. We will see our loved ones again.

Obviously this book isn’t for everyone, and certainly this “review” is more of an endorsement for Christianity than the actual book, but it’s worth reading. I enjoyed it. I’ll give it a three, but know that I feel strange giving something a rating that deals with concepts beyond my understanding. As for the book itself, the writing was acceptable, the stories realistic and emotional, and I liked it enough to be pleased that I read it.

Smokin Seventeen- Janet Evanovich

What is there to say about the seventeenth book in a series that hasn’t been said about the first sixteen? I know there are a lot of people that think the Stephanie Plum series has gone downhill in recent years, but I’m not one of them.

Smokin Seventeen, while obviously very similar to the sixteen books before it, keeps with Evanovich’s winning formula: entertaining characters, hilarious moments, and a mystery with a side of romance. In this book, as always, Stephanie chases down skips in unconventional ways for the bonds office where she has been working since One for the Money, including an old man who thinks he’s a vampire. Also as usual, Ranger and Morelli, her love interests, are along for the ride. And also also as usual, she finds herself in life threatening danger.

Not much of a plot summary I guess, but I’m sure if you have read one of these you know what you’re getting into. The reason the Stephanie Plum books are so good is because Evanovich’s writing is just flat out entertaining. Oh don’t get me wrong, the situations that Stephanie and friends get involved in are ludicrous. The people they pick up are batshit crazy. And that’s the best part of reading these books. If Stephanie were to lose her charm and trademark klutz persona then these books wouldn’t be anywhere near as good. Take out Lula or Grandma Mazur and those laughs go down as well. Granted, there’s not a whole lot of variation from book to book. Maybe that’s annoying to some people, but I for one have not yet tired of the ridiculous situations that Stephanie, Lula, and all of the other crazy characters get themselves into. There were several moments in the book that had me laughing out loud, and I think that if that is still happening after seventeen books, Evanovich knows what she’s doing.

3- by no means is this a blockbuster of a book, but it was definitely entertaining. Stephanie Plum always is.

Look Again- Lisa Scottoline

My latest audiobook is Look Again, by Lisa Scottoline. Scottoline is an author that has been on my radar for a while now, what I’ve seen from her is a lot like a female (early) James Patterson: interesting plots, believable characters, and a good mix of thriller and novel. So far I have read or listened to three of her books, and Look Again has by far been my favorite.

Look Again, similar to The Face on the Milk Carton, but from the mother’s point of view, begins with Ellen Gleeson, single mother of an adopted son, Will, seeing an image identical to Will on a “Have You Seen This Child” card. She is understandably disconcerted by this, and the book follows her investigation of the missing child and anguish over whether or not Will is hers.

In my opinion, you can tell you’re enjoying a book by one of two things happening: 1) you catch yourself thinking about the characters or events of the book when you’re not reading about it, or 2) you get increasingly invested in the story, fired up with unpleasant or frustrating events, excited or gleeful with good ones, essentially feeling as if you are living through the events of the book with the characters. A notable example of this happening to me is during the events of the fifth Harry Potter book with Professor Umbrage. It happened again in this one. Near the end I was so invested in Ellen and Will’s plight that I was actively angry, stressed, and delighted listening to the book.

This was a good one. I’m officially intrigued by Lisa Scottoline and will definitely be reading more of her books. Undeniable 4.

This is Where I Leave You- Jonathan Tropper

The first thing I’ll say about This is Where I Leave You is that it was a very well written book. I liked the style and presentation of the story a lot. Presented over a week and different time increments, This is Where I Leave You was interesting to read and set up in a format that made it a fast one as well. Granted, a novel about an ordinary guy having an extremely rough time of it is always going to be tough to read, but the way that Tropper writes this depressing story while occasionally injecting it with fairly dark humor is interesting and relatively entertaining. I’m still not entirely sure this was a book that I liked, I found it entirely too depressing, but in general I would not be opposed to reading more of Tropper’s work.

Judd is having a rough life when we first meet him at the beginning of the book. He’s just caught his wife cheating on him with his boss, and in a matter of moments is both single and unemployed. Then, his father dies and he is called to sit Shiva for a week with his insane, emotionally stunted family. You’d think this is where the dark humor comes in, and you’d be right. The thing is, I’ve seen this done before, and better. The Walsh sister books from Marian Keyes, for one.

I think I was a little disappointed with this book for that reason. I was expecting something on the level of a crazy family comedy among tragedy, but instead it was mostly tragedy. In a stark contrast from the last book I read, Commencement, instead of finishing the book with hopeful feelings for the future, and wanting to know more about the characters, I was almost relieved to be leaving Judd behind. I read this book pretty rapidly, and like I said, enjoyed the writing style and the premise, but it didn’t live up to the expectations I had for it. Rather than paying attention to the things I was most interested in, there was lots of discussion of rebounds, fertility, adultery, and general insanity that I just didn’t care about. I would have liked to see more of the relationships within the family and the process of relieving the strain on them.

3- Overall I was disappointed with this book, but I can appreciate it for what it was. I’m not going to read it again, or even recommend it very highly, but it was well written and made me think a lot about how lucky I am to not have a dysfunctional family, and to have healthy relationships in my life. Even if it also occasionally gave me a fairly bleak look at romantic ones.

The Accidental Billionaires- Ben Mezrich

What can I say about The Accidental Billionaires that hasn’t already been said about the movie made based off of it, The Social Network? I decided to check out this book in audiobook form, mostly BECAUSE I liked The Social Network so much, so let’s be honest, there was really no way I wasn’t going to like this one.

In case you haven’t heard all of the buzz in the past year or two, this (and the movie) is the story of the creation of Facebook. Everyone involved in the tech world would probably recognize the name of Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s CEO, but this book tells the stories of Eduardo Saverin, his friend and partner at the beginning, and the Winklevoss twins, who claim he stole the idea from them.

I’m not sure how much of this book is true, but I have to admit that it was a captivating story. This is another non-fiction book written very well, and something outside of my usual reading (and listening) material.

I have to admit that I liked the movie more though. Eduardo was a significantly more sympathetic main character, possibly even a protagonist, in the movie, and in the book he came off as sort of a tool. This is ironic, because the way it sounds, I think he was more involved in the writing of the book.

Regardless, this is an entertaining read/listen. Another good 3.

Commencement- J. Courtney Sullivan

The first fifty pages of Commencement put me on a nostalgic tear. It made me miss my time in college so much, that I immediately sent emails to my closest friends from my floor my freshman year. In a story that I would imagine many people who went away to college can identify with, four girls meet at Smith after randomly being assigned to the same house and become best friends. From there, the book follows the women through their years in school and the years afterwards. Their time together is written remarkably well, and the descriptions of the main characters leaning on each other and becoming a family were so like my time in my first year of college. It’s interesting, emotional, and unbelievably relatable.

After the first fifty pages or so, the book takes a turn that I can only label… well, a little disturbing. Traumatic events ensue, and because of the story being told simultaneously in present and past tense as the four women meet up again after two years apart for a wedding, it has a reflective feel to it, while also putting the reader in the moment being reflected on. Does that make any sense? It’s interesting, and an entertaining way of helping us to learn both who the women are and how they came to be that way.

Despite the disturbing turns, I very much enjoyed Commencement. It’s a book about growing up, a book about four girls that are in the same stage of life that I’m in at the moment, if a little more dramatic. I could identify with each one of the characters, some more than others, and I think that in itself is what made me like it so much. Reading about the journeys that each of the characters are taking is extremely captivating, and I was very disappointed when I finished. I am very much looking forward to reading Maine, J. Courtney Sullivan’s latest, which according to reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, is even better.

4- I will definitely read this again. I might even buy it. This one’s somewhere in between a 4 and a 5 for me, and I highly recommend it.

Unbroken- Laura Hillenbrand

As previously mentioned, Unbroken is an audiobook that I would consider out of the ordinary from ones I normally listen to. Smart, interesting, and unbelievably inspiring, Unbroken is the true story of the life of Louie Zamperini: Olympian, World War II airman, and POW. I had been on the hold list at the library waiting for Unbroken for months when I noticed it available to download from the library site I use for my audiobooks. Naturally, I checked it out as fast as I could.

I’m not sure how much of this book I should summarize, it seems like me going in with middle of the road expectations worked out well. All I knew going in was that it was a biography about a World War II veteran. In general I usually read fiction, and don’t stray away from that very often, only making exceptions for books getting a ton of buzz (like this one), or funny memoirs. I am so happy that this book got the attention that it got so I could break my string of crappy fiction, even if it was in audio book form.

I honestly can’t believe that all the events of this book happened to one man. It is truly astounding. Hearing about the things that Louie has done (and survived) was so intense and moving that I think the best thing to do to review it is simply to tell you that you HAVE to read this.

Long story short, I am so impressed with this biography that I am considering buying it in order to actually sit down and read, not just listen to. This was one of the few audiobooks that I was genuinely hooked on, listening to while I cooked, cleaned, even while I was just hanging around. In addition, I want to read more of the author’s work, which was so captivating that I forgot how boring I usually find nonfiction. I am really awed by both Louie’s life and the way it is conveyed.

5- you have to read this one. Have to.

A Discovery of Witches- Deborah Harkness

Man, this one took me a long time. A beast of a book at almost 600 pages, with all the ravings I’ve read on Amazon, I wasn’t really intimidated by the length at first, but two weeks later I wish it had been shorter.

Not at all a bad book, I enjoyed A Discovery of Witches overall. It tells a different kind of story about vampires, witches, and daemons coexisting in a world with humans, some of whom know about their existence, and others who don’t. The main character is a witch named Diana, a historian who inadvertently calls copious amounts of unwanted attention from all magical creatures upon herself by retrieving a long lost (and very powerfully protected) manuscript about the creation of these beings. From there, things go a little crazy.

Diana meets Matthew, a vampire, near the beginning of the book after calling this manuscript, and in what has become a cliché of fantasy books lately, falls in love with him. Matthew has a strange life though, and adding Diana into the mix causes all kinds of problems.

One major problem I have with this book is that I was unaware it was the first of a series. Maybe if you know that going in, you won’t have the same problem I did when I finished, which was a growing feeling of anger as less and less of the book is left and nothing has been resolved. I’m ok with the storytelling devices that the book uses, the details that people have complained about on Amazon don’t bother me, but what I’m not ok with is no resolution to the story at all. Basically the author introduces about a million problems for Matthew and Diana and solves exactly none of them. She’s a good writer, and I was obviously invested in the book since I kept with it over the last two weeks, but when I finished it my first reaction was “what the heck was that?” It was like she just wrote for a really long time and never went anywhere with it.

Needless to say, I’ve got some mixed feelings on this one. It’s an interesting idea, I enjoyed reading it, but I’m not really clambering for a sequel right away, and am really a little bit frustrated that in 579 pages the author couldn’t resolve anything. Really?

I’m going to go with a 3 for now. I’m certainly not going to re-read it, but I’m also not ruling out reading a sequel eventually, so obviously I must have enjoyed it a bit. Right now I’m feeling pretty indifferent about it.

Sh*t My Dad Says- Justin Halpern- Audiobook

In an effort to create more blog posts since apparently I read more slowly than I thought when I go through a string of books I consider only ok (which has happened lately), I decided that from now on I’m going to include shorter posts about audiobooks that I’ve listened to as well. My selections of audio books aren’t going to be anything unbelievably high caliber. Don't judge. In fact, off the top of my head, I can only think of one (Unbroken, which will get a longer post devoted to it soon!) that could be considered as such. Essentially when I get a hold of an audio book, I want to stay entertained, but not think a whole lot. Also, I tend to want to save books that I REALLY want to read for actual reading, not distracted listening while driving or whenever.

Which is how I ended up listening to Sh*t my Dad Says... Laugh away. It was a cute little book though, a bunch of anecdotes about the author’s dad, entwined into a book of short stories, and interspersed with lines from the titular Twitter Feed. It’s certainly not going to win any Pulitzer Prizes, but I enjoyed it. I even laughed a few times. Granted, I don’t follow the Twitter account, so I don’t know how much overlap there might be, but the lines quoted in the book were funny enough for me to want to look into it.

If you’re looking for mindless entertainment, this is it. It’s short, sweet, and funny enough.

3- I think a lot of audiobooks will end up with this designation. Anything less and I won’t finish it, anything more and I would say there’s a decent possibility I’ll give up the audio part and get a hold of the actual book!

**Note: I went to the twitter page, to find an example of what you might find in reading this book, and my favorite current tweet is the following:

"WENT through an awkward phase? What phase you think you're in now? Ever seen yourself walk up stairs? It's like a T-rex that shit himself."

It’s pretty funny, right? That’s basically what you’re going to end up with.

10th Anniversary- James Patterson

I’ve really dropped the ball here lately haven’t I? Well, I'm back on track and will be devoting some time this weekend to catching up on writing posts.  I've been reading, just not writing about it.  So here’s to turning over a new leaf, and watch for some new posts this week! I wish I could start with a book that I wasn’t completely disappointed with.

Which leads me to 10th Anniversary. You may recall from my favorite thrillers post that the first book in this series, 1st to Die, is one of my all time favorites. I think it’s for that reason, and that reason alone, that I've stuck with this series. At one point I could tell you that I have enjoyed the character progression of the four main women in this series, but now that we’ve arrived at the 10th book, Lindsay Boxer seems like a pale shadow of herself.

This book was… fine. I mean, it was a passable thriller, but not anywhere near one of the best ones I’ve read, and nothing close to the caliber of the first four books in this series. James Patterson has really disappointed me with this one. The plotline was not even all that exciting, revolving mostly around a court case rather than the serial killer on the loose, and even the secondary plot that is more typical of a Patterson thriller was pretty bad. Usually I burn through books like these in about a day, this one took me three on a vacation with unlimited reading time. I’m not saying it was terrible, but it was just so disappointing. How far the Women’s Murder Club has fallen. It’s sad, really.

2- I didn't care for this particular book, but I'm ok having read it because I know if I hadn't I would wonder about it.  I'll most likely keep reading these books, I like Lindsay and the rest of the group enough to want to know what Patterson ends up doing with all of them, but maybe next time I won’t be in so much of a hurry.

Before I Go to Sleep- SJ Watson

Fast paced, intriguing, and constantly keeping you on the edge of your seat, Before I Go to Sleep is a book that I started one morning and had finished the following afternoon. Though not an original concept (see: Memento, 50 First Dates), amnesia causing a person to forget the most recent parts of their life has always been one that is incredibly interesting to delve into. Before I Go to Sleep was no different.

The main character, Christine, wakes up every day not knowing where she is. In a twist on the way that 50 First Dates did this type of amnesia, Christine will occasionally remember different parts of her life. Some days she knows she’s married, some days she thinks she’s had a one night stand with a married man. This married man, of course, is her husband Ben. Told over more than half of the book as entries in Christine’s secret journal, we learn things about her life that no one sees coming, and prominent among these is the declaration on the first page, DON’T TRUST BEN.

From here we learn things about Christine’s life as she does, and perhaps the most interesting part of this book is that the only word we have on these events is Christine herself. So throughout there is always the factor of a possibly unreliable narrator, which adds to the depth of the book.

I enjoyed Before I Go to Sleep immensely. It has been touted as one of the must-reads of the summer, and did not disappoint. The only complaint I can think of is that there were portions of the book that drug along a little bit, but I think that was really only a result of my high expectations. I will certainly read this book again, especially now that I know how it ends, and all of the secrets that it holds. Another solid 4.

Lies that Chelsea Handler Told Me- Chelsea's Family, Friends, and Other Victims

Due to a sudden need for beach reads (since after all, I just spent a week on the beach) Game of Thrones was tossed aside after about 150 pages (I’ll get back to it) to make room for the latest book from Chelsea Handler… or in this case, a book ABOUT Chelsea Handler.

I didn’t know what to expect with Lies Chelsea Handler Told Me. I loved Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang and Are You There Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea, but since this wasn’t written by Chelsea herself, I wasn’t expecting to like it as much as those two. Although it wasn’t exactly a triumph in hilarity, I was pleasantly surprised, and caught myself laughing / smiling like an idiot throughout the book regardless.

Chelsea clearly surrounds herself with some hilarious people, and thankfully, people who can take a joke. If there’s one thing that this book has definitively proved to me, it’s that I could never be friends with Chelsea Handler. I am far too gullible. The elaborate pranks she has pulled on her friends and family are in some cases so outrageous that I hesitate to believe they actually happened. But being an avid fan of her show and books, I can’t help but find them entertaining.

This book’s a solid 4, I liked it more than her first book (Horizontal Life) but not as much as her other two. I would have preferred another book that she wrote herself, but this is a good substitute!

I'm playing some catch up from the books I read on vacation, so next up will be one of those! 

A Visit from the Goon Squad- Jennifer Egan

I’m still not totally sure what to say about this book. Told in many different ways and weaving through the lives of interconnecting people, I definitely like the concept. From chapter to chapter you’re never sure how the book is going to be narrated. Ranging from a fairly random 50-75 pages worth of charts telling a story, to a typical third person point of view, the novel jumps all over the place, but it works. I was marginally concerned about halfway through that I was looking at another book that I never was going to connect with, something that made big promises but didn’t deliver. Well, I’m still not sure it lives up to the reviews it’s getting on Amazon, but at least I can say that I enjoyed this one more than Tiger’s Wife. And it was definitely more thought provoking.

I’m trying to come up with a good way to summarize the plot, but the truth is, there isn’t really one. I can’t seem to come up with much. Essentially every chapter is about a different person, at different points in their lives, always with some character overlap. Half of the fun is trying to figure out how everyone connects, and when in their lives they crossed paths. That might be the whole point, actually, because for me this never came into a book that seemed like a cohesive novel. And, like I said, it sort of works.

I think I was expecting the whole time for everything to just magically come together in the end though. Maybe that was too easy. The way it did end up finishing felt disjointed and a little odd. Like the author just got tired of writing. And in past entries I’ve probably covered that I like a good plot that keeps the pages turning and ends well, so this didn’t exactly satisfy. But having said that, it was a nice change. I think if I was in the right mood, I would have enjoyed this more. Instead, I realized about halfway through that I was ready to move on.

3- solid and interesting, especially in writing style, but nothing I need to read again.

Next up: A Song of Ice and Fire, first book in the Game of Thrones series, which I am somewhat shocked to have never read before.

Dead Reckoning- Charlaine Harris

I sat here and stared at a blank word document while trying to think of something semi-intelligent to say about this book. I mean, what do you really say about the 11th book in a wildly popular series about telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse and her multiple dealings with fantastical beings like fairies, vampires, and werewolves? I guess all I can really say is that after 11 books I got what I was expecting: entertainment with a side of a relatively good mystery.

The Sookie Stackhouse books are the source material for the HBO series True Blood, which should also clue you into what you’re getting. In almost every book Sookie finds herself in life threatening situations, mostly due to her involvement with a vampire, and this one is no different.

Dead Reckoning begins with a bombing at the bar where Sookie works. But that’s not really the basis of the story, as we find out who was behind that relatively quickly, and it shouldn’t be a surprise to any regular reader of the series. The real conflict is semi-political, a power struggle between two vampires that hate each other, make life difficult for each other, and plot each other’s deaths consistently throughout the book. And surprise, surprise, Sookie ends up in the middle of it.

3- Again, what can I say? This book is fairly mindless entertainment, a fun read for a fantasy/mystery/thriller reader. I liked it, but like most series that have gone on this long, it’s a solid three. I’m still reading the series because I like them, I’m invested in the characters, and they’re fun, but I’m not feeling any strong need to read them again.

Next up- another Amazon recommendation, A Visit from the Goon Squad, by Jennifer Egan

Cutting for Stone- Abraham Verghese

Reading through Cutting for Stone, I wished multiple times that I had bought it. I might still do it. In my opinion, Cutting for Stone is not a book that you read in one sitting. It’s a sprawling literary novel that spans 50+ years and the lifetime of the narrator, Marion Stone. It took me awhile to read, but in this case that should say nothing for how much I enjoyed it.

Marion Stone is brought into this world with his conjoined twin at a small hospital in Africa. His father, surgeon Thomas Stone, who did not know the twins’ mother was pregnant, retreats immediately upon their birth, while their mother, a nun, dies. The twins, conjoined by a “fleshy tube” at the head are separated, but they share a connection throughout their lives. They are raised by two doctors at the African hospital, and from here, we read about Marion’s life, his childhood in Africa, internship in New York, and onward.

I highly recommend this book. I cannot in good faith really call it as a whole a page turner, because there were very few moments in the narrative where I felt that I absolutely must keep reading. However, in this case that is not a bad thing. The prose is beautiful, the relationships realistic, and characters extremely relatable. I feel as though I genuinely care about Marion Praise Stone and his family. And that is the mark of a truly fantastic writer.

At the beginning I admit that I was concerned that this would be another Tiger’s Wife, it was very slow starting, but as I got more and more into the book, I found myself invested in the story, in the relationships in Marion’s life, and how he would proceed after each event and coincidence occurs. Halfway through I was legitimately impressed, and at the end I was riveted. That ending. The last 75-100 pages of this book are where it becomes a page turner. I want someone else to read this if only so I have someone to talk with about the ending. I feel like to even make a statement like that is a bit of a spoiler, so I won’t elaborate. But seriously, read this.

5- I can say with confidence that the next time I need a few extra dollars to push me into Amazon’s free shipping bracket, this book will be added to my cart.

Next up: some fun/ slightly embarrassing reading with the latest in Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse series (the book series True Blood is based off of), Dead Reckoning

Favorites- Thrillers

Next up on my favorites tour? Thrillers. I have to admit that I’ve read about a million of these in my life, and rarely do I find one that I don’t like. However, there are also a lot that I liked but couldn’t tell you right now what they were about, or what the plot was, so obviously they haven’t stuck with me. In no particular order, following are the ones that did:

1. 

1st to Die, by James Patterson- I can’t praise this book enough. James Patterson, before he became an author that churns out a book a second (or something like that), was a really impressive writer. 1st to Die is the first in the women’s murder club series, which revolves around Detective Lindsay Boxer and her friends: Claire Washburn, the city coroner, Cindy Thomas, a reporter, and Jill Bernhardt, the assistant district attorney, who work together to solve serial murder cases. In this book, someone is killing newlyweds. Alternating between Lindsay and the murderer’s perspectives, 1st to Die is an extremely captivating thriller with a personable side, thanks to the extremely well written characters. As of now, Patterson is on his 10th in this series, but has since picked up a co-writer, and has lost what I find to be significant quality in the books. I highly recommend the first three at the very least. Honorable mentions from James Patterson include: the first few Alex Cross books, Beach Road, and the more recent Michael Bennett series. In my opinion, his writing has gone significantly downhill in the past few years (most likely with the addition of co-writers that I suspect are really just writing books based on his ideas), but most of his early novels are equally as engrossing as this one.

2. 

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl who Played with Fire, by Stieg Larsson- I’m sure everyone has heard enough about these books without me needing to explain the back story, but for those living under a rock the past few years, these books were written by a Swedish author that has since died, and have provided the story for a few excellent Swedish films (possibly the only foreign films I genuinely enjoy), and an upcoming American remake. Lisabeth Salander is the girl in the title, who is easily one of the most interesting characters in any book I have ever read. Secretive and dangerous, Lisabeth helps Mikael Blomkvist, a journalist, to discover what has happened to the niece of a very wealthy man in Dragon Tattoo. Admittedly, Blomkvist is the one to play a larger role in this book. Played with Fire is the sequel, and is definitely the better read, where Lisabeth is falsely accused of murder, which she frantically tries to solve throughout the book. The third book is not very good at all, so once again I am recommending only the first two books of a trilogy. In my opinion, the third book is much too wordy, boring, and should have been better edited after the death of the author.

3. 

The Firm, by John Grisham- This is another one that I’m sure almost everyone has heard of, however it was one of the first thrillers that I read and loved. Since then I have read nearly everything by John Grisham, with varying degrees of enjoyment. The Firm is my favorite. Mitch McDeere is a lawyer at a very lucrative job in a law firm, when he realizes that there is something definitely wrong with the company he is working for. From then on, it becomes a constant struggle between being set for life, doing the right thing, and trying to stay alive.

4. 

Shutter Island, by Dennis Lehane- Another book made into a popular movie. The main character, Teddy Daniels, and his partner are called to Shutter Island, a hospital for the criminally insane, to investigate the disappearance of a patient. Ridiculously creepy and nonetheless a major page turner, all things are not what they seem, as we are lead through Teddy’s life and back story while he investigates the disappearance. Lehane is also the author of Mystic River and Gone, Baby, Gone, equally excellent thrillers that have since been made into movies.

5. 

The Andromeda Strain, by Michael Crichton- though I never really got into most of Crichton’s more popular books (Jurassic Park, Congo, etc), Andromeda Strain is one that has really stuck with me since I read it in high school. The book revolves around a threat to humankind in the form of a biophysical strain of a virus/bacteria. Apparently I need to do a reread soon, because that about covers what I remember of it! Just trust me on this, one thing that I do remember is that it was riveting!

Honorable mentions: Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series, David Baldacci’s Camel Club series, and everything I’ve ever read from Harlan Coben.

The Throne of Fire- Rick Riordan

Are you ready for another entry in the “Am I Too Old For This?” category? Because the answer to this one is yes, absolutely.

Any book by Rick Riordan is targeted at an age group below my reading level. However, I have read all of his books, with the possible exception of anything he contributed to the 39 clues series, which is where I draw the line. This book is the second in his series about Egyptian Gods, the Kane Chronicles. Between these books and the Percy Jackson (Greek Gods) series, everything Riordan writes is kind of a sneak attack mythology lesson. The Kanes are siblings with magical powers, who can channel the powers of the Egyptian Gods Isis and Horus. In this second book, they depart on a journey to find the scrolls of Ra, the sun God, and master of all of the rest of the Gods, with expected obstacles along the way.

In all honesty, I don’t have a lot to say about this one. The most interesting thing about it is the way it’s told, Riordan gives us an author's note at the beginning explaining that what we are about to read is his transcription of audio tapes recorded by Sadie and Carter Kane, the titular characters. The way that the narrative switches between the two of their voices, with occasional sidebars to make comments outside the events of the novel is a clever way of moving the story along. Apart from that, the plot isn’t anything really fantastic. It’s exactly what you’d expect after reading a summary, and to be honest, I liked the Percy Jackson books more than these. These aren’t bad books, but unlike books like Harry Potter and the Hunger Games, what you see is what you get. There’s not a lot to read into, and there isn’t a lot of suspense. Since the story is set up as tapes recorded after these events have happened, you know that both Carter and Sadie are going to end up ok, no matter what occurs.

I’d say this is a solid 3. I’m not going to read any of these books again, but they are entertaining, pure and simple.

Next up: Cutting for Stone, by Abraham Verghese, which Amazon has listed as a recommendation for me since I read (and loved) The Help.

Favorites- Chick Lit

Continuing on with some of my favorites in each genre, I thought I'd tackle chick lit next. Despite none of it really being pulitzer prize material, I think anyone can appreciate the value of these kinds of books. There's nothing like a good beach read when that's what you want and what you're expecting. In general, it's funny, has a heroine easily identified with, and always ends with everyone happy, or at least close. Following (in no particular order) are my favorites:

1. 

Good in Bed, by Jennifer Weiner- I think this might be the first book I ever read that could be classified as chick lit. Cannie is an overweight reporter who has just broken up with a boyfriend, when she sees a column in a women's magazine written by him. Mortifyingly, the main focus is on "the courage to love a larger woman," and details their relationship in excruciating detail. The book follows Cannie as she works to get over this embarrassment and on with her life, and all the hilarity along the way. After reading this book, Jennifer Weiner rapidly became one of my favorite authors. She has disappointed me a few times with her last few books, in particular the sequel to this one, however, Good in Bed will always be one of my favorites. I cannot stress enough how funny this book is.

2.
 

Something Borrowed, by Emily Giffin- The morals behind this book are questionable, however, that is the draw in all of Emily Giffin's writing. She takes situations and women that are inherantly unlikable: a spoiled and selfish single woman, a woman who is in a relationship with a married man, a married woman considering cheating on her husband, and in this case, a woman in love with her best friend's fiancee, and makes them seem likable and human, though flawed. I honestly don't know how she did it, but I didn't hate the main character in this book, Rachel, who at the very beginning of the novel sleeps with her best friend's fiancee. She made her relatable, even with the situation as dire and reprehensible as it is, and by the end you are somehow rooting for her. I still remember the first time I read this book, it was one that I finished late at night after putting it down to attempt to go to bed. But I HAD to know what happened, and that in itself says something significant for Emily Giffin's writing. And can we all agree to just not even address the movie? I think among everyone I've talked to about it, whether you've liked, hated, or loved it, we can all admit that it wasn't comparable to the book.

3.
 

Bright Lights, Big Ass: a Self Indulgent, Ex-Sorority Girl's Guide to Why it Often Sucks in the City, or Who are These Idiots and Why Do They All Live Next Door to Me? by Jen Lancaster- I was debating whether or not to do a favorites post about memoirs, and where this book would fall, as it's somewhere in between chick lit and a memoir, but in the end, I decided that this was the best place for it. Jen Lancaster is hilarious. Sarcastic, foul mouthed, and extroverted, this book covers Jen's life in the city: her neighbors, her favorite stores, her pets, her husband, etc. This book is essentially a collection of hilarious stories about life. And I loved every minute of it. I also feel like I can roll another few books into this general category, and those are Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang, which amounts to the same kind of thing, and of course, Bossypants, which has already been covered.

4.
 

PS, I Love You, by Cecelia Ahern- Before Hilary Swank ruined the character of Holly, she was a sweet, sympathetic young widow working through her life after the death of her husband. Holly is suddenly alone when her husband Gerry dies of a brain tumor. Imagine her surprise when each month she receives a note and occasional gift from said departed husband. I've recommended this book before, to mixed reviews. It's sad, yes, but I think in the end the redeeming story and humorous incidents that occur both in past recollections of Gerry and as a result of the letters make it an entirely enjoyable read. I can distinctly remember being looked at like a crazy person when I was reading this in the dentist waiting room and laughing out loud.

5.
 

Rachel's Holiday, by Marian Keyes- Marian Keyes' books always have a little bit of a dark side to them. In this case, Rachel is a drug addict sent to rehab. The story of her time in rehab is intertwined with flashbacks of her life before and while on drugs, making for a captivating read. From Rachel's perspective, you're never sure how much of what she's saying is true, or what has actually transpired, and in general whether or not things have happened the way she says they do.  Marian Keyes' writing is believable enough to place you in the rehab center with her. The book isn't all bleak though, otherwise why would it be included in the chick lit section? Despite the dark subject matter, we get a redeeming ending (spoiler alert! in case you didn't already see that coming) and quite a few entertaining and funny moments. This is the second in Keyes' Walsh sisters series, and some of the best parts come from the interactions Rachel has with her family. Which is all the more reason to read the other ones!

Honorable mentions: Can You Keep a Secret, by Sophie Kinsella, Last Night at Chateau Marmont, by Lauren Weisberger, and, let's be honest, most of the other books by the authors mentioned above.

The Tiger's Wife- Tea Obreht

Well, this one was more of a struggle than I was expecting. Two weeks and an overdue fine at the library later, I finally finished this critical darling up. I honestly don't know what to think of it. I neither liked nor disliked it. Mostly, I was indifferent. I guess it says something that I finished it, and was invested enough in it to want to know what happened, but I will definitely not read it again. And I'm also not sure if I'd recommend it.

Bluntly, for all the talk and press this book got, I was assuming it would be better. The narrator of the book is Natalia, a young doctor on a trip to inoculate children in a war torn country. She finds out while on this trip that her grandfather has died, and it feels like the book wants to focus on the relationship between Natalia and her grandfather, however, the novel is interwoven with stories from grandfather to granddaughter, which take up the bulk of the book. These stories include that of the tiger's wife.

I'll say this for Tea Obreht, she titled her book well. The tiger's wife is the story I was most invested in, the reason I kept reading. I also wanted to know how all of the stories would come together, and unfortunately they barely did, if at all.

I think that in itself was the biggest issue I have with the book: there were several stories that were interesting enough to suck me in while I was reading them, but it doesn’t seem to form one cohesive novel. The attempt to pull all the stories together- the relationship between the narrator and her grandfather- had very little time spent on it, and it seemed very disjointed. I don’t by any means think this was a bad book, the writing is good, I just would have preferred more cohesion. The sections where Natalia is present in the story, that is, the parts where she's not just recounting her grandfather's stories, were by far the weakest.

I am significantly disappointed with this book. I was really looking forward to reading it, and imagine my surprise when I couldn't get through it very quickly. I feel as though I've missed something, maybe there's a deeper meaning I'm not getting, but at this point, I'm done trying to figure it out.

All that being said, the writing style is good, I just feel like it needs to be more focused. I would try another book written by this author, but not unless I was really looking for something to read.

3- It was OK, and I don't regret reading it, but with such an unsatisfying end and disjointed storytelling, I am ready to move on to the next book.

Favorites- Fantasy

While I work my way through the Tiger’s Wife (100 pages in, and so far it’s only ok), I thought I’d keep up the posting by putting up some mini-reviews of my favorite books (all that I would rate 5’s, since I own the majority of them).  There are so many that I feel I need to break them up by genre.  First up? Fantasy/Sci Fi books, which is only fitting since the #1 on this list is my #1 of all time. The remainder of the books on this list and following ones are in no particular order.


1.
    
The Harry Potter Series, by JK Rowling- go ahead and laugh, but I can almost guarantee if you’re laughing it’s because you haven’t read these. Yes, the first few books are children’s books, but since I was about 13 when I first started reading them, it’s fitting. Sometimes I feel like I grew up with the characters in these books, which finally culminated when I was 22 and graduating from college. I am telling you, these books are amazing. I devoured the seventh book in about 15 hours and physically could not stop.  JK Rowling’s writing is engrossing, and even after reading all of her novels hundreds of times, I still find things that she’s put in that foreshadow events to come in the books. The amount of thought she put into them is truly impressive. And even though I admit the first couple books are obviously targeted at children, when you hit about the third or fourth one, you can’t possibly think that anymore. The journey that Harry and his friends go on throughout the seven books is so enjoyable that I am still disappointed to this day that there are no more books about them for me to read. If you’re wondering, my favorites are in this order: Prisoner of Azkaban, Half Blood Prince, Goblet of Fire, Deathly Hallows, Sorcerer’s Stone, Order of the Phoenix, and Chamber of Secrets. Please note that the first two are two of my three least favorite. Seriously, give them a shot if you haven’t already.


2.

The Hunger Games and Chasing Fire, by Suzanne Collins- Set in a postapocalyptic world where a dictatorship has taken control, The Hunger Games is a fantastic book with a fairly morbid concept.  Every year, two young “tributes” are sent to the capitol to compete in the Hunger Games, essentially a brutal reality show-esque fight to the death where the last one standing is the winner. To tell you more would ruin the plots of the two books, but suffice it to say that they are unbelievably difficult to put down.  This series is actually a trilogy, but I can’t in good faith recommend the third of the books. After how the first two end, it is impossible to not read the third to find out what happens to the characters, but it’s just not the same.  


3.

Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card- I read this book in high school for the first time and have read it several times since then.  Who knew a book about kids being sent to space to attend battle school and fight for the survival of the Earth could be so interesting?  Before you say anything, yes, there are aliens involved, but no, it’s not that weird. It’s entirely plausible as a futuristic world, and was the one of the first (and only?) books I have ever read that could be classified as science fiction that I actually enjoyed.  Ender is a child military prodigy, born to two extremely intelligent parents and who has natural leadership and skills that attract the attention of battle school.  He is sent to space to train for an upcoming war with the “buggers,” an alien race that has already attacked Earth, and is threatening once again.  Battle school is looking for a commander to lead the army to defend against the buggers.  It sounds bizarre, but I promise you the book is more about the relationships between the children at school and the preparations for the upcoming war than the aliens. It was an excellent read.


4.

Anything ever written by Roald Dahl- I wasn’t sure how to classify these books at first. However, after thinking about it, what else would you call books that consist of a young girl with mind powers, a chocolate factory with a flying glass elevator, talking animals, and a giant peach with giant talking bugs? I can definitively tell you that Roald Dahl’s books are the reasons I love to read. I loved Matilda more than anything I had read before when I first came upon it when I was little, and from there I read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, the Twits, Fantastic Mr. Fox, and all the rest.  Roald Dahl is an amazing author, and though nearly all of his books are decidedly more for children, I encourage you to pick up and read a few if you haven’t read anything written by him. Start with Matilda. You’ll love it.


5.

The Artemis Fowl Series, by Eoin Colfer- another favorite from when I was younger, that I will still occasionally pick up and read. Artemis Fowl is smart, well written, and addictive. The titular character is a young, rich, genius with absent parents who is bored with his life, and obsessed with making any money that he can to increase the Fowl fortune. This leads him to a world that is decidedly magic, including fairies, centaurs, and dwarves. Kidnapping a fairy and requesting a ransom in gold for her return, the first book follows the conflict between Artemis and the fairies, and springboards from there into the following books.


Maybe this genre should actually be young adult fantasy books? It seems that with the exception of some of the later HP books and the subject matter of the Hunger Games and Ender’s Game, which are still nonetheless marketed as young adult, I haven’t read (or maybe I just haven't liked?) a whole lot of fantasy or science fiction that is written specifically for adults.

Thirteen Reasons Why- Jay Asher

My mom suggested this book to me after hearing about and reading it at the middle school where she works.  I am a sucker for well written books that are targeted at age groups below mine and after reading the summary thought it sounded interesting, so after Wolf Hall bombed so badly, I thought my brain could use the break.

Well, as it turns out I didn’t get much of one. Thirteen Reasons Why has quite a morbid subject matter, and was fairly upsetting, but bear with me on this one.  If you trusted me with Room and its weirdness, you can trust me on a teen book about suicide. 

From the very beginning of the book we know that Hannah Baker killed herself.  After days have passed, Clay Jenson, who went to school with Hannah and had a crush on her, receives a brown package full of cassette tapes with no return address. On these tapes is Hannah’s voice, explaining thirteen reasons why she gave up, thirteen people who contributed actions and words to the snowball effect that eventually caused her to take her life.  Each of these thirteen people will receive the tapes and listen to them before passing them on.  The book chronicles Clay as he listens to each recording, following a map that was given with the tapes to the places where significant events occurred, providing us with Hannah’s running commentary interspersed with Clay’s reactions. This was not unlike an audio tour at a museum, which is where the author got the idea for this writing style.

Most of all I enjoyed the style of writing in this book, it was a genius idea from Asher to cut the present day thoughts Clay was having with Hannah’s discussions about life and high school.  In addition, although it was a serious and morose subject matter, at no point did Asher take it to a deeply psychological perspective, instead merely documenting the events that lead to Hannah’s depression.  It was a page turner for sure, and I think given more free time in the past couple of days I could have read it in a matter of hours. The book is written like a suspense novel, and there is lots of material for the reader to wonder about: How Clay fits into the tapes chief among them.

3- All in all, I found this to be an important book about the way that high schoolers, or people in general treat each other.  It certainly makes you think twice about the way that you interact with others. I don’t need to read it again, but I did find it an engrossing and worthwhile read.

Next up: The Tiger’s Wife, which is getting a lot of press for its author, who is ironically the same age as me, yet has already been named on the New Yorker’s 20 authors under 40 to watch.