Friday, February 19, 2010

Review: The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf

My rating: 4 stars

I really enjoyed this book - it had a Jodi Picoult vibe but I liked it even more than I typically like Picoult's books. Very interesting story with equally interesting characters. I loved the use of different voices to tell the story in alternating chapters. I thought it was very effective and kept the story suspenseful and interesting. I liked how the story flowed and really enjoyed her writing overall.

The characters were just fascinating to me and I liked that many of them shown to be good and bad at alternating times in the story, as we are all good and bad.

I suspected the mystery earlier in the book but kept reading anyway. I didn't feel like my guess at the ending took away from the ride to get there. It gave me a lot to think about in terms of my parenting and what it must be like to have one of your children missing. I can't even begin to imagine how heartbreaking and frightening that must be. I think Gudenkauf did a good job of putting the reader into the shoes of the parents as they dealt with the situation.

I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to reading more from this author in the future!

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Review: A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly

 

My rating: 4 stars
I really, really enjoyed this book. It's just fantastic! I loved Mattie who I felt was such an interesting and multi-faceted character. All of the characters were fantastic and just came alive for me. Weaver, Minnie, Miss Wilcox and each of Mattie's siblings came to life through Donnelly's words. I think the story was beautifully written and the descriptions in the book made me feel like I was there, in that time and place. It was fantastic! What a fantastic read! I cannot recommend this one enough!

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Review: We Are All Welcome Here by Elizabeth Berg

 

My rating: 4 stars
I really enjoyed this book. It was a very sweet story and I love how the novel came about ... a reader contacted Berg about writing a story based on her mother. And this novel is the result.

I liked the interplay between the family dynamic and the political climate that was central to the story. It made the Civil Right movement come alive while also giving the reader a deeper understanding of the family at the core of the story.

This mother and daughter were amazing to me. Life isn't easy for those of us without major physical and emotional challenges like they were facing and yet their love for one another and their life came flying off the page, giving hope and inspiration to the reader.

This is a sweet, inspiring story that I definitely recommend. It's an easy read and I found it an enjoyable book to 'live in' for a bit!

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Review: Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name: A Novel by Vendela Vida

 

My rating - 2 stars
Although this book is extremely readable, I didn't care for it. I kept hoping to find something in it that would speak to me but it never happened. The writing style was stark and to the point. Something about it felt a bit off for me. I never felt like there was anything truly interesting about the writing, the characters, the plot. I kept waiting and ultimately finished the book feeling as if I'd wasted time even bothering to finish the book. It wasn't a BAD book but I am unable to find even one thing that I truly enjoyed about the book.

I kept hoping to get more detail about the place that the story focuses on - Lapland- which I know very little about. Yet, the stark writing style didn't give me any of what I was hoping for. I left feeling as if I knew even less than before I started. This was disappointing. I have to assume that this sparseness of place was intentional - to represent Clarissa's own lack of understanding/connection to place. However, it didn't work for me.

I didn't like the character of Clarissa. And not because she was selfish or interested only in her own journey. I could have gotten past that. I just never felt like we saw Clarissa. Like we were somehow only presented with part of her story or her makeup so I ultimately felt no connection to her or her journey. I just couldn't bring myself to care about her or what she was going through. I can (intellectually) say that her journey was sad, she was facing some intense things but I ultimately found myself not caring at all. Which is sad because I think if I'd been able to connect to her emotionally, I might have ultimately enjoyed the book more.

I also found the ending to be disappointing - not particularly satisfying or even clean. I thought it was a bit too simple and didn't really give me a sense that her journey had really had any impact whatsoever. It ultimately made me dislike the book even more. I just felt it was wrapped up too nicely - in too cutesy of a package.

I wish that I could recommend this one but I just cannot. I know others have enjoyed it so you might want to give it a try. However, I'd suggest you read something else.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Review: The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister


My rating: 4 stars

I was pleasantly surprised with how enjoyable this book was for me! I didn't have any expectations and was so thrilled at how much I enjoyed it! Reading this book was such a sensory delight - I felt as if I was there with them as they made each dish. And, then, felt a bit jealous that I wasn't there to eat it with them!

I felt that Bauermeister did an amazing job of weaving the food, ingredients and the characters of the novel. Each one came together so elegantly and effortlessly. I adored how the simple act of cooking was able to illuminate each character's issues/problems and often provide solutions. Such a wonderful book to read!

I really enjoyed Bauermeister's writing style - very simple yet elegant. Not too fussy or wordy but lush. To the point but eloquent. I find that this particular writing style is not often done well and Bauermeister does it amazingly well. There was nothing overtly complex about the story or the writing and yet it was magical and engaging.

I found the character of Lillian's mother to be fascinating because of my own love of reading. I will acknowledge that there are times when I must pull myself out of the world of books and into the world of life. So, I found those particular pieces to be fascinating!

I definitely recommend this one! It's a truly wonderful escape!

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Review: The Little Giant of Aberdeen County by Tiffany Baker

 

My rating: 5 stars

If you enjoy reading a good, quality story with excellent writing, then this is the book for you! I have to say that the plot is outstanding, the writing was amazing and beautiful, at times poetic, and the characters were wonderful. I enjoyed every moment of reading this book. There is a lot of profound stuff hidden in the beautiful writing which is always wonderful - I kept feeling like I'd found a little gem as I read on! I found the characters to be complex, realistic, and in many ways inspiring. There isn't a great deal of action per se, it's just a beautifully written story with wonderfully engaging characters that I didn't want to leave when the book ended. The subtlety with which Baker weaves all the characters and their stories together is simply magic! I loved this one and definitely recommend it!

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Review: Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert

 

My rating: 3 stars
I'll be honest. I did not have any desire whatsoever to read this one but it was in a stack that someone gave me so I decided to give it a shot. I'm a bit of two minds about this book. I really enjoyed the first third. And I really DID NOT enjoy the 2nd third. And I thought the last third was okay. I found it to be a bit self-absorbed overall but I could have overlooked that as I think it made sense given the focus of the book. I'm not sure that I'd ever be interested in being friends with this woman but I can see why she appeals to other people.

It may be my own interest in Italy that kept me so engaged in the first 3rd of the book. I found the descriptions of the places visited, the people that she met and the FOOD that she ate to be wonderful. I found that part of her journey to be enchanting and it only made me want to visit Italy all the more.

The India section (part 2) was frankly not engaging to me at all. First, I'm not interested in India. I feel like I've read a TON of books about India, its people, etc. However, I found her lack of in depth discussion about the poverty of the country or any of the cultural background of the country to be very strange. For me, the entire section was SLOW and about as uninteresting to me as it could be. All the time spent meditating and musing about the small village she lived in while there just seemed contrived to me. I wasn't engaged and didn't find anything interesting in her India time. I even found myself skimming on occasion because I didn't care anymore about meditation, yoga or any of the other things she spoke so slowly and boringly about.

The third part was better than part 2 but not nearly as good as part 1. I know very little about Indonesia/Bali so it was interesting to learn more about the place and the people. I enjoyed her interactions with the people she met - the medicine man, for example. Very interesting to hear about her experiences with them.

Overall, I think the book was both engaging and boring. Which is a very interesting combination. I liked parts, hated parts. I never LOVED any of it, however. Not even Italy which had definite possibilities. I didn't dislike the author but I also wasn't particularly interested in her viewpoint which I found both fascinating (in that 'I can't stop staring at this accident' kind of way) AND self-indulgent, depending on the time/place in the book. I also understand that this was HER book, about her search, about her journey. But, when as a reader, I find it difficult to connect to that woman, it takes away from the overall effect of the book. So, I'm a bit perplexed by how much attention this book has gotten and how many people related so much to her. For someone so focused on enlightenment and what not, I found her lack of awareness and her utter selfishness to be very interesting.

Adding to My To Be Read List ...

I've spent a great deal of the evening going through the hundreds of my favorite book bloggers to catch up on the latest book news and their recent reviews. As I did, I added yet another TON of books to my To Be Read List over at Goodreads which has now officially grown to over 800 books! And those are just the books I've added to Goodreads. I also have hundreds included in notebooks all over my house ... Yes, I'm a bit obsessed.

Anyway, I thought I'd share a few books that I've added to my list after my afternoon of blog reading ... in case any of them tempt you!

 

Goodreads description - 
Hauntingly beautiful and heartbreaking, Colm Tóibín's sixth novel, Brooklyn, is set in Brooklyn and Ireland in the early 1950s, when one young woman crosses the ocean to make a new life for herself.
Eilis Lacey has come of age in small-town Ireland in the years following World War Two. Though skilled at bookkeeping, she cannot find a job in the miserable Irish economy. When an Irish priest from Brooklyn to sponsor Eilis in America -- to live and work in a Brooklyn neighborhood "just like Ireland" -- she decides she must go, leaving her fragile mother and her charismatic sister behind.
Eilis finds work in a department store on Fulton Street, and when she least expects it, finds love. Tony, a blond Italian from a big family, slowly wins her over with patient charm. He takes Eilis to Coney Island and Ebbets Field, and home to dinner in the two-room apartment he shares with his brothers and parents. He talks of having children who are Dodgers fans. But just as Eilis begins to fall in love with Tony, devastating news from Ireland threatens the promise of her future.
By far Tóibín's most instantly engaging and emotionally resonant novel, Brooklyn will make readers fall in love with his gorgeous writing and spellbinding characters.












Goodreads description -
Brilliant and illuminating, this astonishing debut novel by the award-winning writer Yiyun Li is set in China in the late 1970s, when Beijing was rocked by the Democratic Wall Movement, an anti-Communist groundswell designed to move China beyond the dark shadow of the Cultural Revolution toward a more enlightened and open society. In this powerful and beautiful story, we follow a group of people in a small town during this dramatic and harrowing time, the era that was a forebear of the Tiananmen Square uprising.

Morning dawns on the provincial city of Muddy River. A young woman, Gu Shan, a bold spirit and a follower of Chairman Mao, has renounced her faith in Communism. Now a political prisoner, she is to be executed for her dissent. Her distraught mother, determined to follow the custom of burning her only child’s clothing to ease her journey into the next world, is about to make another bold decision. Shan’s father, Teacher Gu, who has already, in his heart and mind, buried his rebellious daughter, begins to retreat into memories. Neither of them imagines that their daughter’s death will have profound and far-reaching effects, in Muddy River and beyond.

In luminous prose, Yiyun Li weaves together the lives of these and other unforgettable characters, including a serious seven-year-old boy, Tong; a
crippled girl named Nini; the sinister idler Bashi; and Kai, a beautiful radio news announcer who is married to a man from a powerful family. Life in a world of oppression and pain is portrayed through stories of resilience, sacrifice, perversion, courage, and belief. We read of delicate moments and acts of violence by mothers, sons, husbands, neighbors, wives, lovers, and more, as Gu Shan’s execution spurs a brutal government reaction.

Writing with profound emotion, and in the superb tradition of fiction by such writers as Orhan Pamuk and J. M. Coetzee, Yiyun Li gives us a stunning novel that is at once a picture of life in a special part of the world during a historic period, a universal portrait of human frailty and courage, and a mesmerizing work of art.

 
Goodreads description - 
An old man lies dying. Confined to bed in his living room, he sees the walls around him begin to collapse, the windows come loose from their sashes, and the ceiling plaster fall off in great chunks, showering him with a lifetime of debris: newspaper clippings, old photographs, wool jackets, rusty tools, and the mangled brass works of antique clocks. Soon, the clouds from the sky above plummet down on top of him, followed by the stars, till the black night covers him like a shroud. He is hallucinating, in death throes from cancer and kidney failure.

A methodical repairer of clocks, he is now finally released from the usual constraints of time and memory to rejoin his father, an epileptic, itinerant peddler, whom he had lost 7 decades before. In his return to the wonder and pain of his impoverished childhood in the backwoods of Maine, he recovers a natural world that is at once indifferent to man and inseparable from him, menacing and awe inspiring.

Tinkers is about the legacy of consciousness and the porousness of identity from one generation the next. At once heartbreaking and life affirming, it is an elegiac meditation on love, loss, and the fierce beauty of nature.

 

Goodreads description -
The Anthologist is narrated by Paul Chowder -- a once-in-a-while-published kind of poet who is writing the introduction to a new anthology of poetry. He's having a hard time getting started because his career is floundering, his girlfriend Roz has recently left him, and he is thinking about the great poets throughout history who have suffered far worse and deserve to feel sorry for themselves. He has also promised to reveal many wonderful secrets and tips and tricks about poetry, and it looks like the introduction will be a little longer than he'd thought.
What unfolds is a wholly entertaining and beguiling love story about poetry: from Tennyson, Swinburne, and Yeats to the moderns (Roethke, Bogan, Merwin) to the staff of The New Yorker, what Paul reveals is astonishing and makes one realize how incredibly important poetry is to our lives. At the same time, Paul barely manages to realize all of this himself, and the result is a tenderly romantic, hilarious, and inspired novel.

 
Goodreads description - 
The Convalescent is the story of a small, bearded man selling meat out of a bus parked next to a stream in suburban Virginia . . . and also, somehow, the story of 10,000 years of Hungarian history. Jessica Anthony, the inaugural winner of the Amanda Davis Highwire Fiction Award, makes an unforgettable debut with an unforgettable hero: Seymour Akos Pfliegman — unlikely bandit, unloved lover, and historian of the unimportant. 


 

Goodreads description - 
In this extraordinary novel, Karen Maitland delivers a dazzling reinterpretation of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales—an ingenious alchemy of history, mystery, and powerful human drama.

The year is 1348. The Black Plague grips the country. In a world ruled by faith and fear, nine desperate strangers, brought together by chance, attempt to outrun the certain death that is running inexorably toward them.

Each member of this motley company has a story to tell. From Camelot, the relic-seller who will become the group’s leader, to Cygnus, the one-armed storyteller . . . from the strange, silent child called Narigorm to a painter and his pregnant wife, each has a secret. None is what they seem. And one among them conceals the darkest secret of all—propelling these liars to a destiny they never saw coming.


 

Goodreads description -

Windfalls is a passionate story of motherhood - both tender and tough - that takes an unflinching look at the many choices facing every woman. Young and pregnant, Cerise and Anna make very different decisions about their lives. While teenage Cerise struggles to support herself and her young daughter, Anna finishes college, marries, and later gives birth to two daughters of her own. After the birth of her second child, a tragic accident tears Cerise's life apart, and she loses her already tenuous position in society. As Windfalls progresses, Cerise and Anna seem destined to approach each other, their stories dramatically interwoven. When finally their lives intersect, each woman emerges stronger, inspired by what she sees in the other, changed by what she learns.

  

Goodreads description - 
The eagerly anticipated debut novel from the author of the Pulitzer Prize finalist You Are Not a Stranger Here: a deeply affecting portrait of the modern gilded age, the first decade of the twenty-first century.

At the heart of Union Atlantic lies a test of wills between a young banker, Doug Fanning, and a retired schoolteacher, Charlotte Graves, whose two dogs have begun to speak to her. When Doug builds an ostentatious mansion on land that Charlotte's grandfather donated to the town of Finden, Massachusetts, she determines to oust him in court. As a senior manager of Union Atlantic bank, a major financial conglomerate, Doug is embroiled in the company's struggle to remain afloat. It is Charlotte's brother, Henry Graves, the president of the New York Federal Reserve, who must keep a watchful eye on Union Atlantic and the entire financial system. Drawn into Doug and Charlotte's intensifying conflict is Nate Fuller, a troubled high-school senior who unwittingly stirs powerful emotions in each of them.

Irresistibly complex, imaginative, and witty, Union Atlantic is a singular work of fiction that is sure to be read and reread long after it causes a sensation this spring. 

And that's all I have for now. I'll try to come back regularly to post about books I've heard good things about or that I found intriguing in case it helps you add to your own list! Also, let me know if you have read any of these and what you thought! I always love hearing what others think of books - even if I haven't read them yet!
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Friday, February 12, 2010

Review: The Girl in the Green Sweater: A Life in Holocaust's Shadow by Krystyna Chiger

 

The Girl in the Green Sweater: A Life in Holocaust's Shadow by Krystyna Chiger

My rating: 3 stars

This is a really interesting story of a group of individuals who fled to the sewer to save their lives during the German occupation of the city in which they lived. I've read a great deal of Holocaust literature and memoirs. This was a good one, not the best I've read but certainly readable and interesting. There was quite a bit of repetition and not enough detail in other areas which detracted from the story. I felt the writing of the book was extremely basic, had a tendency for redundancy and did not ultimately make the impact that it could have. However, the story itself (even with those flaws) is very interesting and unique.

Ultimately, this is a story about the strength and depth of the human spirit. And, how resilient the human spirit is. It's amazing that ten people walked out of that sewer after over a year of hiding. And, its an amazing story of courage, resiliency and how complete strangers can change the life of others in the face of adversity.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

Review: The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure by William Goldman

 

The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure by William Goldman
My rating:  4 stars

I really wish I'd read this BEFORE I saw the movie. I love the movie and equally loved this book. The book is just hilarious, fun, interesting and entirely too fun! Just like the movie. It's amazing to me how closely they stuck to the story for the movie. Much of the dialogue was the same as well. Excellent story and very entertaining read!

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Review: The Fixer Upper by Mary Kay Andrews

The Fixer Upper by Mary Kay Andrews
My rating: 4 stars

It's not great literature by any means but I really enjoyed this new book by Mary Kay Andrews. I enjoy her novels and find them fun, refreshing, easy reads! I listened to the audiobook for this one and really enjoyed the narrator. She did a fantastic job with the audio. Again, its a bit fluffy but very fun! I adored Dempsey and found myself relating to her quite a bit. Very cute little book with an engaging story. The read is worth it just to meet Ella Kate - one of my favorite Southern characters in awhile! She reminds me quite a bit of a few of my own southern relatives!

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Review: Savvy by Ingrid Law

Savvy by Ingrid Law
My rating: 4 stars

I really enjoyed this book. Very lighthearted little book but it had very real meaning, much deeper than it appears on the surface. The characters were so wonderfully fleshed out with quirky, realistic characteristics that made them literally jump off the page. This is a very unique book, with a really interesting premise. I loved every moment of reading it. Very refreshing and extremely well written. I definitely recommend Savvy! (Oh, and the cover is amazing!!!) 

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

REview: Searching for Mercy Street: My Journey Back to My Mother, Anne Sexton by Linda Gray Sexton

Searching for Mercy Street: My Journey Back to My Mother, Anne Sexton by Linda Gray Sexton

My rating: 4 stars


Wow. I've been wanting to read this book since I first heard about it as I am a huge fan of poet Anne Sexton. Although I'm a huge fan and I believe I've read every single poem she's ever published, I didn't know a whole lot about her life beyond her mental health issues and her suicide in the 1970s.

I found this memoir, by Anne's daughter, to be a very compelling and interesting read. It was difficult to read at times given the chaos and instability of Anne's life and its impact on her family. Although I admire Sexton's poetry, I am very thankful that I am not her child. Or her family member. Or her friend, for that matter. She cannot have been an easy person to care for at any point and time.

Personally, I found Linda Gray Sexton's memoir to be very disturbing but fairly balanced look at her mother's life and the impact that her mother had on the people around her. In fact, I felt as if her mother came to life as I read the book. In good ways and in bad. Given Anne's poetry, I was not surprised by much of the book. However, there were a few things that really gave me pause. Anne Sexton was obviously a very gifted poet but she was also a very disturbed woman who was destructive to those around her (and herself) in almost every way possible during her life. She's a fascinating woman to me for a number of reasons and I thought it was very interesting to see Anne Sexton from her daughter's perspective.

I don't know how enjoyable the book would be for someone who was not a fan of Sexton's poetry but I found it to be very compelling and interesting. I thought that Linda Gray Sexton was extremely brave to put pen to paper and talk so honestly about her mother and her own life. But, I will warn you, there is a great deal of raw content that may not be suitable for all readers - if physical, emotional and sexual abuse is too much for you to read about, you may want to pass on this one.

In the end, I found the book to be both compelling and unsettling. And, I feel like it really gave me a clearer understanding of Anne Sexton and the beautiful poetry she left us. Personally, I find her poetry to be some of the best of American Poetry but I am very unsettled by what she put her family (particularly her daughters) through as she struggled with her own demons. Very sad, poignant book.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Review: Waiting for Columbus by Thomas Trofimuk

 


Waiting for Columbus by Thomas Trofimuk
My rating: 3 stars

I had such high expectations for this book. I really wanted to love it. I went all out to even get a copy since my library didn't have one. I finally got it and dove in immediately. And, um, well, I just wasn't as impressed as I'd hoped. The good - it's beautifully written, the story itself is amazing when looked at in its entirety - how Trofimuk brings it all together is amazing. The bad - it was slow, there was a lot that I just didn't care about as I read it. It wasn't until the last 100 pages that I even could say that I enjoyed reading it. I wish the first 200+ pages had swept me up in the way the last 100 did. If not for the last 100 pages, I'd have given this 2 stars. Which is a shame because it really is a beautiful story that is written so well. It just didn't grab me and hold on tight. It just was ehhh. There were nights when I didn't even really want to pick the book up but forced myself to pick it up anyway. Not a good sign. The ending was wonderful and tied it all together so well that its a shame the first 2/3 of the book was less than wonderful.r