April Book Review
April showers bring May flowers. Except we didn’t have any April showers! It was a beautiful, sunny, dry month. We spent a tremendous amount of time outside. Hence, not much time reading. Trust me, I’m not complaining.
I read three books in April. The first was The Elegance of the Hedgehog, by Muriel Barbery. This was a book club book, and many of my book club friends started the book before I did. They made faces when the subject of the book came up. They grimaced. So I delayed picking it up and opened it with some reluctance.
First let me say, it’s translated from French. And a great deal of it involves some of the characters thinking and talking about European art and culture. If I knew anything about European art and culture or had any interest in European art and culture, this could have been appealing. But since I don’t…well, *grimace.* Yet, I loved the characters. And so I will freely admit that I skipped sentences, paragraphs, even whole chapters (they were all short chapters) of European art and culture to get to the parts where the characters interacted. This is a book about Fate, how she intervenes to enrich the lives of three people who are smart enough to open the door, even just a crack, and let her in.
I was excited to come across Lisa Genova’s second book, Left Neglected, at the used bookstore. I loved her first book, Still Alice (January Book Review). Genova has a Ph.D. in neuroscience, and tackles another brain subject in her most recent novel – a condition called “left neglect.” It’s hard to describe (the author even admits this). In a nut shell, this condition affects a person’s ability to recognize anything on their left side. In fact, to folks with this condition “left” simply doesn’t exist. They do not recognize having a left arm or leg. There’s no left side of a room or page of paper. And in the main character’s condition, even when she’s told that she’s missing the left side of things, she can’t just turn left and find it. There simply is no left. It’s a fascinating and devastating condition.
The other notable thing about this novel is that the main character is a mom of three, married and working full time as head of HR for a major worldwide consulting company. She’s a busy gal. We’re all busy gals, in our own way. Her condition is a result of a car accident. She was simply driving to work in rainy conditions and reached over to grab her phone out of her purse. Something so routine, so mundane, could happen to anyone. I’m not a fatalist, but still, it was a good reminder to slow down and focus on the more important things in life. I enjoyed this book, but think that Still Alice (about early on-set of Alzheimer’s Disease) was better.
And finally, I read Tina Fey’s Bossypants. Now I’ve never watched 30 Rock, and I missed Tina Fey on SNL, but I certainly followed her work doubling as Sarah Palin. I don’t know much about her character or her sense of humor, but I enjoyed the book. I especially found her perspective on being a woman in the male dominated TV industry interesting. And funny, of course. Thanks to Alison for the loan!
And finally, a note about the future of reading for little ‘ole me. For my birthday at the end of the month I got a Kindle Fire. A friend of mine said she felt the earth shift. I’ve always been the person who said, “I’ll never own one of those things.” Well, now I’m a walking, reading lesson for “never say never.” I promise to report on my experiences next month, since my May reads will be e-books. Stay tuned!
What are you reading? Stay in touch! lori@alaskafamily.net
March Book Review
Where did this month go? Seriously – if the rest of this year goes by so quickly, I’m in big trouble.
I have a confession to make. Over the last two months, I’ve re-read the Twilight Saga. I don’t often re-read books. After all, there are so many books in the world and so little time. But I finally started watching the movies, and felt compelled to remember the details of the books. I started the series in February, and finished in early March. I don’t know what it is about teen vampire romance, but I enjoyed the second run through the books as much as the first.
Right after ending the Twilight Saga, the library called with the third and final book in The Hunger Games trilogy: Mockingjay. Unfortunately, it was my least favorite book of the series. Our unforgettable heroine finds herself the leader of a revolution. As the book unfolds, she realizes that she’s a pawn in a never-ending game of power and greed, so she takes drastic matters into her own hands. What bugged me most about this book is the violence. It was a step above the other books and it felt like the author needed to outdo herself with every new chapter.
Needing something a little more lighthearted and less gory, I turned to the always entertaining Christopher Moore. The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove did the trick, although there was a little bit of gore when Steve, the prehistoric sea monster ate some of the citizens of Pine Cove, CA. But you couldn’t blame Steve, after all…he was just following his instincts. What I love most about Christopher Moore’s books is that he makes the most fantastical stories seem like they could happen to you. And they make me laugh.
Some time ago, I read two very good books by Markus Zusak. He is a young fiction author. The Book Thief was unforgettable, and I loved I am the Messenger. In March, I read Getting the Girl, which I later discovered was the third book in the Wolfe Brothers series. The narrator is young Cameron Wolfe, the youngest of three brothers who is coming of age and growing out of the shadows of his older brothers. Zusak writes with an intensity and sincerity that just gets me in the gut every time, and I felt that way about Getting the Girl. In fact, it reminded me of one of my most favorite books as a teen, The Outsiders. I should re-read that one someday soon.
The final book of March came recommended by a friend and some strangers having a conversation in Costco. A Discovery of Witches is the first book in The All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness. Witches and vampires and daemons, oh my! Yes folks, this takes Twilight and Harry Potter all to a new level. Part historical intrigue, part love story, A Discovery of Witches is very entertaining. The only downside is that the next book in the trilogy doesn’t come out until this summer!!
Got recommendations? Send ‘em! lori@alaskafamily.net. Happy reading!
February Book Review
February was a long month, and not just because it’s a leap year. It seems like ages ago that I sat down to write my January book review, but it’s only been 30 days. Time is funny, that way.
I spent the first three weeks of February reading a tough book. It was tough on so many levels. We Need to Talk About Kevin, by Lionel Shriver is a fictional story of an almost-16-year-old boy who goes on a school shooting rampage one Thursday. That alone is a nightmare of a subject. Kevin’s mother is the narrator, and she tells the story of what happened that one Thursday by reflecting on the last 16 years of her life, starting with her extreme initial reluctance to get pregnant in the first place. Naturally, she wonders how this reluctance influenced the pregnancy, her marriage, parenting and her son. Tough issues. The story unfolds, post rampage, through a series of letters that she’s writing to her husband, which proved to be a hard way to follow the story. And to top it all off, I should have read this book with a dictionary at hand. The author paints a picture of the mother’s character by using lots and lots of big words. It’s effective, but frustrating. I’m not usually afraid of learning new words when I read books, but I’m pretty sure if the author could have found a bigger word for “the,” she would have used it. All these things combined made it the kind of book I found hard to pick up and read, and equally hard to put down and walk away from. Did I like it? Yes. No. Do I recommend it? Yes. No. Not a very helpful review, is it?
I knew I needed to move on to something lighter, but the library called. Catching Fire, the second book in The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins was in. I wasted no time reading it. While I was reading The Hunger Games, a stranger on the street told me that the second and third books weren’t as good as the first. I disagree. Catching Fire follows the memorable main character Katniss Everdeen into the start of a revolution. While book one was very emotional, this second book was very clever. I look forward to the final book, on hold at the library and hopefully coming soon to a monthly book review!
The final book of February was my book club choice: Chocolat by Joanne Harris. I really enjoyed it. I saw the movie quite some time ago and can’t remember if they match up at all. But the book was light and delicious – I ate a lot of chocolate the week I read this book!
I also wanted to mention that Garrett and I are reading books together. I don’t generally review them, but I wanted to make note of two series that we are really enjoying. The first is called Ivy & Bean. Annie Barrows is the author, and if her name sounds familiar it’s because she was co-author of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. The only other books she has written are the Ivy & Bean series. Ivy and Bean are two second grade girls, neighbors, initially reluctant to form a friendship. It doesn’t take long in their small neighborhood to realize that they have loads in common, become fast friends and get into all sorts of adventures. Garrett thinks they are brilliant, even if they are girls. 
And to balance the “girly” series, we’ve started the Diary of a Wimpy kid series as well. Book one is done and we’re on to book 2, but Garrett enjoyed book one so much he’s reading it again, on his own time, before bed in the evening and in the mornings if he wakes up early. My once reluctant reader has discovered the magic.
To those of you who have sent some recent book recommendations, thank you! Keep ‘em coming! Email me at lori@alaskafamily.net.
January Book Review
Wow! Mix a little vacation with some excellent books and walla – I read six books in January!!! I can’t remember the last time I read so many books. Honestly, I did do other things this month, like go to work and cook dinners and stuff. But I will admit I got less sleep, staying up later than usual to read, read, read. I will state now that I recommend each an every book below, wholeheartedly!
The Forgotten Garden, by Kate Morten is a mystery spanning four generations and about 100 years. In addition to many fascinating characters, it features a secret garden that one can only reach through a garden maze. Both are marvelous physical representations of the story itself. The Forgotten Garden is a fat book, and while I almost never complain about fat books, I can assure you that each time I started to feel a little tired with this long story, there was a twist that completely sucked me back in. A great vacation read!
I started Sarah’s Key on the first flight home from our vacation in San Diego. I finished it about 12 hours later. Reading this book was a long time in coming. I started hearing about it from friends last summer, and one of my book club friends chose it months in advance of her assigned month. It’s been sitting on my shelf, calling to me. And it was worth the wait. Many books about WWII are deeply moving and disturbing, and this work of historical fiction is both. My only criticism is that I had a hard time relating to the modern day main character, and often found her personal issues petty and distracting. I suppose that’s the case when you compare many of our modern day “tragedies” to those that took place in WWII.
The Likeness, by Tana French is the second in a series of books focused on the fictional Dublin Ireland Murder Squad. Her first, In the Woods, was a gripping read…a bit like a roller coasters ride out of control. I’m not a fan of roller coasters and generally not a fan of crime novels, but am loving this new author. The Likeness did not disappoint. Tana French writes with a fast, smart pace, and I find myself tense and edgy when I read her books. But they are SO worth reading.
While wandering the Seattle airport on the way home from vacation, I came across the book Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, by Amy Chua. It’s a nonfictional book about an American born, Chinese woman who chooses to raise her half Chinese, half Jewish children the “Chinese way.” I was intrigued. Other than some vague, stereotypical cultural concepts, I didn’t have the foggiest idea about the Chinese way. The author fully discloses that she uses the term “Chinese mother” loosely. “I recently met a supersuccessful white guy from South Dakota…and after comparing notes we decided that his working-class father had definitely been a Chinese mother.” Part cultural influences, part personal quirks, Amy Chua bluntly shares many examples of the choices she made on how to raise her two daughters. And I mean, blunty. I think I said, “Oh my God” out loud, about a hundred times while reading this book. As a “Western” mother, I found her parenting style shocking. But she got me thinking, especially about the concept of having high expectations for our children. It’s a short, jaw dropping read. This would be great in a book club setting with a bunch of parents. I’ll bet it would generate some interesting conversation.
Still Alice, by Lisa Genova, is a fictional story of 50 year old Alice Howland, Harvard professor and highly respected psychologist in linguistics. She begins to experience some memory issues that she chalks up to menopause…until she can’t figure out how to get home from a jog in her neighborhood one day. After several months and a couple of doctor’s appointments, it’s confirmed that she has early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. This story follows Alice’s steady and dramatic decline for the next year and a half. It’s a powerful book, made even more powerful when you learn that the author has a Ph.D. in neuroscience and cared for her vibrant and active grandmother after she was diagnosed and eventually succumbed to Alzheimer’s. A very moving story, and perhaps difficult to read if you have genuine concerns about memory issues in someone you care for.
And finally, I gobbled up The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins. Several people had recommended it to me, and I had the hardest time finding it in town. I got it on loan from the library with a restricted loan time (2 weeks instead of a month) because it’s “such a popular item.” I tried to buy it first at our local bookstore, and the poor guy at the register sighed when I asked him where to find a copy. “We can’t keep them in stock.” Let me tell you, there’s a reason for that. The main character, Katniss Everdeen, is unforgettable. This is the first in a trilogy of books. Now I have to go in search of the second one!
And then the month of January ended! And there’s a whole stack of books and a whole new month ahead. What are you reading in this new year? Any must-reads on your bookshelf?? Share please! lori@alaskafamily.net.
December Book Review
I’m starting the December book review early, since I just started a big, fat book (The Forgotten Garden, by Kate Morton) that I know I won’t get done by the end of the month. So here’s what I accomplished in December.
Maise Dobbs, by Jacqueline Winspear. Set post WWI, reflecting back on wartime, Maise Dobbs is a smart and independent woman at a time where smart and independent women were looked down upon. Yet she makes her own way as a successful and respected private detective. This is the first of in a series of books with Maise as the central character, and I must say I’m looking forward to picking up the next one. I give this a solid three (or maybe a 3.5) out of five.
The second book I read in December was The Next Queen of Heaven, A Novel, by Gregory Maguire.
This book cracked me up. Literally. I was riding the bus and laughing out loud. Maguire is known for his “revisionist retelling of children’s stories” (Wicked, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, etc.,), but this work is set in contemporary times. Featuring a Catholic church and the “Radical Radiant” Pentecostal church sharing a parking lot, congregation members and a whole lot more, this novel takes place between Halloween and Christmas, filled with wacky, small town characters and all the ups and downs the holidays bring. A perfect read this time of year, and I found myself wishing I had been raised Catholic, so I could “get” some more of the humor. I give this book a 4 out of 5.
And finally, I read Winner of the National Book Award, by Jincy Willett. Yes, it’s really a book called Winner of the National Book Award. It’s a story about twin sisters: one, the town tramp; the other, the town spinster. They know each other better than they know themselves. The town tramp marries a psychotic man whom she eventually kills, and subsequently cooperates in writing a book about her marriage and the murder. The twin sister (the spinster), reads the book one afternoon and shares with the reader the “real” story behind the book. This was one of the most unique “perspective” books I’ve ever read. It’s billed as a novel about “fame, honor and really bad weather.” But honestly, it’s about sex. I give it a solid 3 out of 5.
Another year of reading stretches ahead. I can’t wait! What’s on your list for 2012? Happy Holidays! Stay in touch: lori@alaskafamily.net