World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War- Max Brooks

I have a lot of thoughts about this book… So many that I started keeping notes in my phone as I read. Not only is it an interesting plot, playing directly into the zombie obsessed America we’re currently living in, it’s told in a way that is exceptional to how many books are written: retrospective, as a reporter has been traveling around the world to interview subjects of the war (hence the subtitle). 

World War Z takes place in the not too distant future, shortly after Earth has narrowly survived a virus that creates the undead, which then bite uninfected humans to continue the virus’ spread across the world. The plot device is an unnamed and rarely heard from (except in occasional questions) reporter, interviewing subjects affected by the war, progressing from infection to the aftermath. The story is cynical. Kind of unbelievably so, and especially towards politics, the media, and the way that the general population treats and reacts to news. However, because of this, it is extremely interesting and can easily be applied to a life unaffected by a zombie apocalypse. It’s desolate, desperate, and horrifying. So much so that I’m not sure I want to see a movie based on this book. But you know the humans win. And you wonder the whole time how in the world they got out of it. So you keep reading. Usually I can't get involved in a story without any real main characters or plots, but this one is different. If there are books written like this about real wars I would be interested in reading them. It’s a documentary in book form.

The only thing keeping this book from a five is that I kept getting pulled out of the story. I don’t know if it was due to the way it was told, the specific person’s interview I was currently reading, or distractions in general, but I had occasional trouble with remembering who was talking and how they fit into the overarching plot. When I put the book down, it was hard to get back into. And the middle was by far the best part of the book. All in all though, a really interesting book, and recommended if you like this sort of thing. 4/5

Quick Hits for June

Read 6/2/13- The Wise Man’s Fear, by Patrick Rothfuss- Sequel to The Name of the Wind, and equally, if not more enjoyable. Still really loving Kvothe and his travels, especially as we hear more and more about his adventures away from school that lead him to where he is at the time of the book’s telling. Extremely disappointed I have to wait for book three!! 4/5

The Mystery of Mercy Close- Marian Keyes

Finally! The much anticipated (in my head anyway) fifth Walsh sister book. Helen's book wasn't quite as enjoyable as Claire, Rachel, Maggie (Margaret), or Anna’s before her, but I am pleased to discover that it doesn’t matter too much. Still a great book, worthy of placement alongside the other four.

Helen Walsh is having a tough time. After losing her apartment and any source of income, she moves back in with her parents and takes a job from her ex-boyfriend to track down a missing member of a reuniting boy band. No one knows where he has gone, and the reunion concert is looming. We follow Helen through her investigation into his disappearance, with the usual cast of crazy characters filing in as she goes. Similar to her sisters before her, there is twist of darkness to Helen and the events surrounding her, but this one was especially heavy, I think mostly because so many of the Walsh family members were MIA throughout the book. We saw appearances from Claire, Margaret, and Mammy Walsh, but with Anna and Helen herself being absent as comic relief, the sinking depression that Helen is battling with casts a significantly somber tone over the book.

Having said that, this was still a good showing from Marian Keyes, and I think that my anticipation for a new Walsh sister book was a bit unrealistic. This one didn't have quite the same amount of humor as her other books, but all in all it was well written and enjoyable, and I’ll definitely be reading it again. 4/5

Quick Hits for May

Read 5/6/13- This One is Mine, by Maria Semple- Not really sure why I liked this so much... All of the characters are deplorable for the majority of the book. But here I am two days later and I'm already done with it. Really well written and a quick and addictive read for sure. I'm still trying to decide between a 4 and a 5. I liked Bernadette better, but Bernadette was easily one of my favorite books in recent memory. Maria Semple impressed me again with this one. 4.5/5

Read 5/11/13- The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green- I don't have a lot to say on this one, but that’s not because I didn’t like it. It was really well done, but also sad, as you'd expect from a book about teenage cancer patients. Glad I read it for sure though, and I’d definitely recommend it. 4/5

Read 5/18/13- The All of It, by Jeannette Haien- I did not care for this book, our May book club selection. Not sure in general how it won so many awards, as it was essentially a 150 page conversation. And not a particularly interesting one. Lots of potential, and I think if it was told differently I would have enjoyed it more, but all of the suspense promised was gone after about 20 pages, and after that it was a tedious read. 2/5

Wool- Hugh Howey

Wool is a book in its own class. Self published author Hugh Howey slowly released five parts of the same overall story onto an unsuspecting internet, and came out of it with a following. The copy I ended up with is the omnibus- all five parts in one book. So to review, I thought I’d do things a little differently, and break the book down by its stories, each with a reaction I had after finishing…

Part 1 surprised me, and was the first indication that I was in for a futuristic book like I’d never read before.

Part 2 cemented that. Bleak and upsetting, life in the silo is progressively getting stranger.

Part 3 begins with a bang, a one page chapter that I literally had to read twice to believe. This is where I really started to get engrossed in the story, the mystery, the depths that the antagonists would go to keep the secrets of the silo safe. Part 3 ends with a bang as well, and I was clambering to get to the next part.

Part 4 changes the story entirely. It's the best part yet and that says something. I have been having trouble physically tearing myself away from the book.

Part 5 was the best part of the book. I was up really late. Enough said. 

Incredible. I can't wait to read more of Hugh Howey's work. Just... Unreal. I really enjoyed Wool, and that doesn’t even begin to explain it. I had to digest this for a little while. But easily one of the best post apocalyptic books I've read. 5/5

Quick Hits for April

Read 4/7/13- The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss- Very much enjoyed this book and looking forward to the sequel. Started out a bit slow for me, took some time to get into the story but once it got moving, it stuck with me. Kvothe is such a badass character. I am excited to find out what has been hinted at and what has made him become the man he is as he narrates the book. 4/5

Read 4/12/13- The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald- April’s book club book was a re-reading of the classic, The Great Gatsby. Even better the second time through. I forgot how much I enjoyed this book! 4/5

Read 4/16/13- The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin- I wanted to like this more than I did... Gretchen Rubin's happiness project is a novel idea and has a lot of good things to say, but she says things that are fairly self-explanatory in a way that makes it seem like she has never heard them before or as if they are revelations... For example, that money helps to keep you happy. She is a bit irritating and occasionally insufferable. That said, some good advice here and I'm glad I read it. 3/5

Where'd You Go, Bernadette- Maria Semple

Where’d You Go, Bernadette is quite possibly my favorite book of 2013. And I think that says something, considering I’ve already had a string of major successes that would be my favorite in any other year. Silver Linings Playbook, Language of Flowers, Pillars of the Earth, all were current favorites, and now WYGB has surpassed all of them.

Told in the voice of a 13 year old girl, WYGB is almost entirely unique. It’s honestly like nothing I’ve ever read before. It has bits and pieces of narrative style that I’ve seen done in other ways, but here, it’s taken to a new level. Agoraphobic Bernadette Fox, mother to Bee, has disappeared. For the first half of the book, we are treated to emails, reports, notes, etc compiled to describe the events leading up to Bernadette’s disappearance, interspersed with Bee’s commentary, which is one of the most clever and fun ways of telling a story I’ve ever seen. Then Bernadette disappears. Where did she go? Bee will find out. And the answer is entirely unpredictable, as is every revelation we’re given throughout the book.

Comedy, mystery, emails, technology, architecture, scathing commentary on busybodies and Seattle = one fantastic book, which seemingly has it all.

I really can’t stress enough how much I loved this book. I loved it so much that within weeks of finishing the hard copy I listened to it on audiobook (also awesome, if you’re interested in those kinds of things). It’s a keeper, and one worth reading over and over. 5/5

Language of Flowers- Vanessa Diffenbaugh

Our March book club book was a pretty fantastic pick. Language of Flowers is a book that will stay with me for awhile. It’s told in alternating perspectives: Victoria as a foster child, and Victoria in the current day, beginning with her emancipation into the world at large, and follows her throughout her life, so the reader can see how she got where she starts the book from, to finding her way through life and its struggles.

I don’t want to say much about the plot of this book, as I really enjoyed discovering the facets of Victoria’s life without knowing what was coming. I admit that I’m somewhat of a sucker for books told this way: alternating perspectives or characters, etc, so likely that was part of my gratification with the book. The pacing of the book was perfect, giving away just enough of the mysteries of Victoria’s young life to keep you interested, but simultaneously explaining why she is the way she is in the current day. We had some conversations at our book club meeting about the way it portrays the foster system, Victoria herself, and her choices that, if possible, added to my enjoyment of the book.

Highly recommended. Go read it now. And if you’re looking for a book club pick, start with this one! 5/5.

Quick Hits for March

Read 3/3/13- Dark Places, by Gillian Flynn- OMG. What is the matter with Gillian Flynn that makes her come up with this stuff? Holy crap. Disturbing but riveting. I think I still liked Gone Girl better, but this one was good enough to make me want to check out Sharp Objects. 4/5

Read 3/4/13- The Bungalow, by Sarah Jio- Predictable and somewhat repetitive, but maybe that was more obvious because I listened to this instead of reading it. The plot was decent until it tried to be too much and I saw the ending coming. Disappointing. 2/5

Read 3/5/13- Spin, by Catherine McKenzie- Flew through this one. Quick and entertaining read that reminded me somewhat of Rachel's Holiday, which could be why I enjoyed it so much! 4/5

Read 3/10/13- Genghis: Bones of the Hills, by Conn Iggulden- Third in the series of novels about Genghis Kahn, this one is similar to #2. A good read, definitely interesting, and I wonder how much is true and what is embellished. As with #2, I wish this had fewer battles and more politics. In particular, the relationships between Genghis' sons were well written and engrossing; I could read another few books about them, and will. Worthwhile read, but the first one is still by far the best. 3/5

Read 3/28/13- Spring Fever, by Mary Kay Andrews- Listened to this one and enjoyed it... pretty decent chick lit and I will definitely check out more Mary Kay Andrews books! 3/5

The Pillars of the Earth- Ken Follett

It’s been almost four months since I finished the last available Song of Ice and Fire book, and I have to admit that I have been feeling the absence. Pillars of the Earth, while not completely replacing my interest in getting another book about the people of Westros as soon as humanly possible, definitely has given me a new author to enjoy while I wait. 

Similar to the Song of Ice and Fire series, Pillars of the Earth is told through multiple viewpoints of various characters affected by events that affect the national landscape, as well as in smaller, more personal ways. Spanning nearly forty years in England, where battles between the church and the crown are commonplace, we meet Tom, Ellen, Phillip, Aliena, Jack, William, and a host of other characters, from immediately likable to downright vile. We witness the trials and tribulations of building a cathedral, weathering politics driven by corrupt people, and war.

What struck me the most about this book is how well the characters are written. As opposed to the Martin series, Follett’s Pillars of the Earth has clear protagonists and antagonists, to the point that I’m not sure I’ve been so infuriated by characters and their actions against other, inherently good characters in a long time. At the same time, the protagonists are still imperfect, and you root for them despite their flaws. It’s fantastic writing.

This is definitely a 5. It took me almost a month to read, but it was totally worth it, and don’t let the length deter you, 700+ pages still doesn’t seem like enough. I’ll definitely be reading some of Ken Follett’s other offerings while I wait for George RR Martin to finish The Winds of Winter.

Silver Linings Playbook- Matthew Quick

It’s not often that I see and love a movie, look up the book it was based on, and love that equally as much, if not more. Silver Linings Playbook is the only one, come to think of it. Frequently I have the issue that whatever I see or read first is what I like the most. No, that's not quite right... the book is always better, but I usually have some amount of trouble getting into a book when I know what’s going to happen after having seen the movie. It’s the main reason I’ve never been able to get into the lord of the rings books. 

Silver Linings Playbook is, in both of its formats, absolutely phenomenal. The movie was up for multiple Oscars, for good reason, and Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence are fantastic. It’s possible I’m biased about both of them, however if you’ve seen this movie, I’m sure you’ll agree. But I’m pretty sure that this is a website for books, so I’ll get back on point…

The book is different from the movie, yes. Not quite as perfect and clear cut, but compelling in a completely different way. I am utterly impressed with Quick’s storytelling and writing abilities and probably will check out his other books. The premise is the same: Pat is in a mental facility for reasons unknown at the beginning, when he is released into the care of his mother and Philadelphia Eagles crazy father. Tiffany is a widow dealing with her own demons. The two are good for each other, and both end up on the road to recovery despite some bumps along the way.

I can’t give enough compliments for how well the book is written. Told from Pat’s point of view, it’s engrossing and interesting. At one point Pat skips through a period of several months with a movie montage of him getting stronger and better, telling you along the way to imagine his theme song playing over it. And that is only one of Quick’s storytelling devices, multiple more in the same vein are utilized to great effect. Just incredible. It’s not often that I see something so novel that works so well.

Definite 5- one of the best books I have read this short year, and I’ll be purchasing it to read again soon. Love, love, loved it.

Quick Hits for February

Read 2/2/13- The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan- Exactly what you'd expect if you've read any of these books. Fast read, Greek/Roman heroes, teen romance, danger and magic. Setup for the next book in the series was a little heavy handed but I liked it all the same. 3/5

Read 2/4/13- Notorious Nineteen by Janet Evanovich- Nineteen is like the eighteen books before it... Cute, funny, and entertaining. Mostly unchanging as well, but this series is successful for a reason. It's been another few days well spent with Stephanie, Morelli, Ranger, Lula and Grandma Mazur. As always. 3/5

Girl in Translation- Jean Kwok

 

Our first book club selection of the year! 

Girl in Translation was a cute, semiautobiographical book that follows Kimberly Chang, an immigrant who arrives in New York City with her mother from Hong Kong. It chronicles Kim’s struggles and adversity as a young girl who has a “knack for school,” working alongside her mother in a sweatshop at night and working through classes and schoolwork to get out of that life during the day.

This was a very interesting book. It makes you uncomfortable at several moments, but you keep reading because it’s so gripping. You want nothing more than the best for Kim and her mother, if only because the squalor that they are put through daily is inhumane and unnecessary. It makes me wonder how much of this is true, and whether people are forced to live like this for the freedom that America offers. 

I gave this a 4, mostly because I was unhappy with the way it ended. If it’s what really happened, then ok, but if not, I don’t like it on principle. I don’t feel like I can say anything more than that without explaining myself and spoiling the way the book ends, so I’ll leave it at that, but it was certainly a topic of discussion at book club!

The End of Your Life Book Club- Will Schwalbe

As expected, I cried in a quiet, tears running down your face way through pretty much the last few chapters of this book. With a title like that you have to expect it. I knew what I was getting myself into. But I am happy that I read this book.

Mary Anne Schwalbe has pancreatic cancer. The book is very clear from the beginning that her prognosis is not optimistic. But that is not what this book is about. This book is about a mother and a son, the books they read together, and the way to live a happy and fulfilling life. 

I was pretty afraid to read this, honestly, and especially during January. Trying to read Jonathan Franzen's Freedom and being so depressed I had to stop about 10% in comes to mind. But Schwalbe's book isn't so much about dying as it is about living. I am really impressed with both the writing and the way he told his mother's story. It's clear that she was an incredible woman. 

I don't know what to say. This book was fantastic, despite the tearful ending. 4. 

Quick Hits from November, December, and January

Long time, no blog entries. Mostly, this is because I haven't read anything that I've really loved in the last few months. But that's not entirely true, because I have entries written for a few books that I've had an opinion on, and haven't posted anything because I feel like I can't go out of order, and just ignore the 15 or so books that I've read in between ones that I want to talk about.  Another problem is that I read a LOT of sequels, which I always have problems talking about, because I don't want to spoil anything. 

So in order to fix this, I've decided I'm going to just write down some quick thoughts for books I don't have anything huge to say about. Here goes. 

Read 9/25/12- 11th Hour by James Patterson- Exactly what you'd expect for the 11th book in the Women's Murder Club series. As usual I am disappointed with James Patterson and haven't really loved one of these books in awhile. I read them because I care about the characters, but he's even starting to ruin that. Please see reviews for 10, 9, 8... etc. 3/5

Read 10/28/12- Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand- Good, not great. Interesting but not engrossing. I was hoping for more from this book since I loved Unbroken so much. Read this one for book club in October and really only finished it out of obligation. 3/5

Read 11/4/12- Dances with Dragons by George RR Martin- I actually have a lot of opinions on this one, but feel uncomfortable voicing them, as they're spoilers. Still loving this series and anxiously await book #6! 4/5 (only because I still liked the first three more than this one)

Read 11/24/12- Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor- Really enjoyed this sequel to Daughter of Smoke and Bone. Crazy and an incredible fantasy book, but not as good as the first one. Will re-read for sure though!! 4/5

Listened to 11/26/12- The Rise of Nine by Pittacus Lore- Wanted this to be better because I really enjoyed the first two in the series. But still good. 3/5

Read 12/11/12- The Black Echo by Michael Connelly- Expected more out of this because I'm a big Connelly fan, but it was kind of boring and predictable. I hope they get better. I'll keep reading, but not if they're all like this one. I wonder if back when this was written the ending was more novel and all kinds of thrillers weren't writing "twists" like this one. 3/5

Read 12/16/12- Wicked Business by Janet Evanovich- What can I say? I like Evanovich's writing even if her books are simple, girly, and let's face it, kind of pointless. Liked this one though. Currently, I'm liking this series more than Stephanie Plum books. 3/5

Read 12/21/12- Where We Belong by Emily Giffin- LOVED this chick book. Very cute and very much meets the standard that Emily Giffin's past books have set. The problem is that I just don't have a lot to say about it. It's very similar to her other books. 5/5

Read 12/24/12- A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens- I think I read this back in grade school but I didn't remember much about it. And tis the season right? Dickens is one of the few "classic" authors that I enjoy. May be returning to some of his other books in the future. Really liked A Christmas Carol. 4/5

Read 1/2/13- Graceling by Kristin Cashore- Very much enjoyed this book. Another YA Fantasy series that has been popular recently. Looking forward to reading the other books in the series. 4/5

Read 1/3/13- One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp- Different kind of book for me. Not a novel, but more of a book for reflection and finding happiness in every day life. Her writing is a bit flowery and overly detailed, but I liked this so much. 4/5

Listened to 1/3/13- Redshirts by John Scalzi- Really liked this book, it got me through my driving to and from home over Christmas break. Different and crazy, but once I bought into the completely unrealistic premise, it was interesting and I really enjoyed it.  4/5

Read 1/11/13- Defending Jacob by William Landay- Very well written, but upsetting book. Fairly dark and twisted, but engrossing nonetheless. Highly recommended if you like Grisham, lawyer books, or thrillers. 4/5

WHEW.