A List

Just wanted to keep track of everything that I have read this year, though I know I haven't written reviews for some of it. In no particular order: 1. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn 2. What Alice Forgot 3. The Little Dragons by Rowan Starsmith 4.I Read It, But I Don't Understand by Cris Tovani 5. The Last Rominov by Dora Levy Mossanen 6. Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult 7. Divergent by Veronica Roth 8. Insurgent by Veronica Roth 9. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand 10. The Journey Home by Michael Baron 11. The Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand 12. Tumbleweeds by Leila Meacham 13. The House at Riverton by Kate Morton 14. Killing Lincoln by Bill O'Reilly 15. The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks 14. The Reading Promise by Alice Ozma and Jim 15. Blood of Requiem by Daniel Arenson 16. The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O'Farrell 17. The Leftovers by Tom Perotta 18. Enchantments by Kathryn Harrison 19. Fifty Shades of Grey 20. Fifty Shades Darker 21. Fifty Shades Freed 22. The Submission by Amy Waldman 23. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline 24. Still Alice by Lisa Genova 25. Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult 26. Defending Jacob by William Landay 27. Liberation of Alice Love by Abby McDonald 28. War Horse by Michael Morpurgo 29 The Next Always by Nora Roberts 30. Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe 31. You Against me by Jenny Downham

Meacham Delivers Again

Leila Meacham's book, Roses, was hailed as the 21st century's Gone With the Wind. I read the book and LOVED it. I loved it so much, that when I saw she was releasing a new book, I didn't even read the synopsis. I just bought it. At the very beginning of the story, I thought that Meacham was retelling Roses from a slightly younger perspective. I was preparing myself for a let down, but let me just say that Leila Meacham delivered again and delivered in a BIG way! Tumbleweeds is the familiar story of three friends - two boys and a girl. Predictably both boys fall in love with Catherine Anne; but her heart only has room for one. Which will it be? There are some familiar plot twists if you read Roses and others that you will never see coming. Every character, from the main characters of Cathy, Trey and John, to the smallest characters like Donny - each character is well thought out and developed. Each character contributes something to the story and moves the plot, providing greater understanding to all that happens. I was shock and awed by this book. I never saw it coming and all I can say is that I truly hope Ms. Meacham writes another!!! BRAVO!

The Beginning of the Summer Reads

I usually enjoy a good, easy beach read and Erin Hillenbrand is one of my favorite authors from this genre. This book definitely was not one of her best. The story is about Tess and Greg MacAvoy, their lives, their loves, their friends and ultimately their deaths. Greg and Tess go for a sail to celebrate 12 years of marriage and never come back. There is some mystery involved - a chunk of her hair missing, toxicology reports coming back with unexpected results, etc.... Hillenbrand does a good job of selling the mystery. The reader wants to know what happened on that boat and why. The trouble is, you have to wade through 300 pages of crap about miscellaneous characters that you never truly care a thing about, to get to those answers. What a let down.

Sometimes he's lucky, sometimes he's not!

I find Nicholas Sparks to be extremely hit or miss. I LOVED The Notebook and A Walk to Remember, not so much for The Wedding and The Best of Me. I also hated Message in a Bottle. I know some Sparks fans will find that sacrilegious but I couldn't find a single character to relate to in this fan favorite. It seemed that after A Walk to Remember, Sparks seemed to have lost his way. He was looking for a magic formula that would speak to readers that had come to expect a certain type of book from him. The trouble is, what he ended up with was a writing formula that felt like just that - a FORMULA. I mean, I knew what was going to happen in The Best of Me less than 50 pages in. Why bother reading when you have it, literally, all figured out? I picked up The Lucky One reluctantly. I just wasn't sure I could handle another disappointment, since this year hasn't exactly been stellar so far. Happily though, The Lucky One was a refreshing return to all those things that I loved so much about the Notebook. The characters were real, believable and likable - all of them. Except for the ones who aren't supposed to be likable that is. I loved Beth, Ben, Nana and Zeus. I really loved Logan but hated that he is called Thibault for most of the early part of the book. Thibault is the name of an old man or a character in a Shakespearian play, not a romantic lead. Once I got past that though, it was a wonderful story. If you enjoyed early Sparks works like Notebook and A Walk to Remember, then I highly recommend The Lucky One.

My Russian Fascination Must Be Over

I have an intense interest in all things Russian. I love Rand, Solzhenitsyn, tales of Anastasia and all Russian history. This book though left me colder than the steppes of Siberia. The premise is that the older daughter of the deceased Rasputin, Masha, is called to the aid of the young czarevich, Alexi. History tells us that young Alexi was a hemopheliac and that Rasputin, a revered holy man and believed healer was entrusted by the Romanov family with the care of the young czarevich. The story had some interesting details in it, but was otherwise almost completely unbelievable. I had little care for the character of Masha and the only one who seemed even human to me was Alexi, whom Masha calls by another name. Seriously, even if you are a history buff and love Russian history, I wouldn't waste my time.

I choose this book because I thought it would be a wonderful way to embrace Father's day, which in recent years has become a somewhat difficult holiday for me. I was right, this book was an excellent choice. I laughed, I cried. It brought back wonderful and less than wonderful memories of being a teenage girl whose parents are divorced. This is a heartfelt memoir of a young girl growing up with her father. I was surprised by the life lessons cunningly wrought into the various stories that made up this book. I think some visuals, like the bike and the prom dress and the dead body of JFK (yes, I said that) will stay with me forever. I highly recommend this book! It is a wonderful read and reinforces once again the importance of literature in our lives.

This book is for fantasy/sci-fi/ and dragon lovers everywhere. I bought it on a fluke - found it online for a 99 cent download. Considering most of what I've read lately, I figured it was worth a try. This book has a very interesting premise. The children of Requiem ruled the land and sky - they were a people who could take the shape of dragons, at will. Then, one among them, born without the magic to transform turned against them. A terrible war was fought and only a few children of Requiem survive. The traitor, Dies Irae, rules over a new land with fear and a terrible might. Can Benedictus, king of Requiem, find the survivors of his people and save the land from his terrible brother? If you enjoy this genre, I recommend this book, especially for young lovers of fantasy.

Glad I wasn't born in Victorian times....

This book had been on my To Be Read list for a while. Something about it intrigued me, but still I kept putting off actually reading it. Too many other books that piqued my interest more, I guess. This book is only about 136 pages long, but it really packs a wallop. It's about a girl, born to a British family, in India. After a terrible tragedy, the family returns to their native land. The girl and her sister are raised in a very restrictive Victorian home. Esme, a rather free spirit, struggles against the constraints that her family places upon her and eventually pays a terrible price or it. My biggest complaint with the book is the speed and frequency in which the authors changes perspective from one character to another. It made me feel crazy. I was always wondering who was talking. This, of course, is done for effect and done well. I was amazed to learn that during this period of time, a man - either a husband or a father - could have a woman committed into an asylum for very little offense at all. I can only wonder what would have happened to me had I lived in this time.

Ok, I admit it....

I read the 50 Shades of Grey trilogy. I had too. There were so many women at work talking about it, so much controversy surrounding it. The last straw was a blog that I came across saying how this book set the women's movement back 50 years... blah... blah... blah. I had no idea that the book started out as Twilight fan fiction or that would have been a deal breaker for me. I hate the Twilight books. But, since I didn't know, I proceeded to read. So, let me start off by saying that this book is not something you would want to leave casually laying around where the kids might find it. This book is hot. Lots of sex of the kinky variety. (Leaving it in a place where your husband might find it, not such a bad idea...) To answer the blogger that stated she thought this set the women's movement back - I couldn't disagree more vehemently. For centuries it has been expected that men would share their deepest, darkest sexual fantasies. It was something completely proper, while women's desires have been repressed - to put it mildly. Anastasia Steele is not a mindless piece of jello as aforementioned blogger has suggested. Instead, she is a bit naive and inexperienced when the book starts; however, she becomes a strong willed woman, in touch with her own self and sexuality. She knows, by the end of the trilogy, what it is she wants and doesn't want. Further, not only does she come to terms with her own self, she helps the person she loves do the same. I hardly think that kind of self realization is such a set back. I did find the constant use of "inner goddess" to be tiring and found my eyes rolling every time I heard it. Also, I found Mr. Gray's ability to give his virginal partner an orgasm during every encounter comical. Not even Babe Ruth batted 1000. Finally, I found it ironic that Anastasia was a huge tea drinker and had phrases and words in her vernacular that were very British - odd for a character that has supposedly never left the PacWest of the US. No Shades will never win a Pulitzer, but it is an entertaining, lively beach read. If you don't like HOT, HOT, HOT... pass on by. If you are willing to explore your own fantasies and desires.... read on.

Book Challenge 2012

I am so excited! I just started a new 2012 book challenge and you all know how I feel about reading! :) While I was looking for summer recommendations to add to my reading list, I came across this book challege on a great blog called Reading with Tequila. I will update you as my challenge progresses and I encourage you to check out the challenge and join! After all, you have all summer! The challenge actually runs through the end of the year. Happy Reading!

The Submission by Amy Waldman

This book has been on my To Be Read list for a really long time and I finally stopped putting it off. I thought that the story line sounded so intriguing and I kept putting it off because I didn't want to be disappointed. The Submission is the story of an architect who submits a design to be considered for the 9/11 Memorial. His entry is entitled "The Garden". A jury, comprised of local politicians, art critics and family members is created to select the winning Memorial design. All entries are anonymous until selection. Upon choosing " The Garden" for the 9/11 Memorial, the jury discovers that the architect behind the design is a Muslim. The story is about many kinds of submissions. The entry itself - the Garden - sounds like everything one would imagine a Memorial to be - a place for reflection, remembrance and healing. It is also the story of Mohammed Khan, the architect, who submits himself to public scrutiny after his design is selected. There are several characters who accept public review and rebuke of their opinions about The Garden and it's designer. It's an interesting question - should a American citizen - who happens to be a Muslim - be allowed to create the Memorial for the victims of that awful day. I'm sure you can imagine what happens in the course of the book - the public outcry both in support and opposition to the selection of The Garden. In the end though, I found it hard to connect to any of the characters. Mohammed Khan was difficult to get to know, being alien and somewhat reclusive. Claire, the widow on the jury, at first supports and even actively advocates for the Garden. The story is a reflection of the inner struggles that people face between doing what they know to be right and their inner fears and bigotry. Many of the characters, from the mayor's man who tries to "solve" the problem to the members of "Save America from Islam" seem like trite literary devices to proves the author's point. What started out with such high hopes, did in fact end in disappointment.

Still Alice

This boook has been on my TBR list for a while. I actually got it confused with another book about memory loss called "What Alice Forgot". I still haven't read that book, but this book was very interesting.
It is the story of Alice, a very accomplished professional woman, wife and mother of three. Alice teaches linguistics and psychology at Harvard University before she is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease.
The book takes you on a journey for the early days of Alice's diagnosis to the later stages of her disease. It is the heroic story of how one woman atttempts to cope with the loss of her memories. It is heart wrenching and sad, yet also inspiring. It really makes you think about quality of life and puts into perspective all the things that Alzheimer patients and their families deal with every day. A very good read.

Lone Wolf

This was the latest book that I read for one of the book clubs that I belong to. I love Jodi Picoult, but I would be the first one to say that some of her books are better than others. ( I loved 19 Minutes & Salem Falls not so much Song of the Humpback or Picture Perfect).
At any rate, this book is her latest and I have to say that I enjoyed it. It's very different. The story of a father who is largely estranged from his family and then finds the decisions about his life quite literally to be in their hands. As usual, Picoult does a great job of taking a very timely and sensitive issue and shining many different lights upon the subject.
I also love wolves and found the main character very interesting in that he is a person who studies wolves and lives among them, much like Jane Goodall. I have heard some critics say that the sections of the book that discuss the wolves were not realistic, but not being an expert, I found them to be believable and engaging. It was interesting how Picoult used the characters interactions with the wolves to give insight into his own troubled family. If you enjoy Picoult and like this type of book ( one based on a timely controversy) then this book is worth checking out.

Wizard's First Rule

My husband and I started watching Legend of the Seeker on Netflix. I had not realized that this was a series based on a book. My usual philosophy is that I believe a person should always read the book first. So I started this, the first in the series of 11 books.

Wizard's Rule is very slow to start. VERY S----L----O-----W. But once the action starts happening, it all happens rapidly. Richard Cypher, otherwise known as The Seeker, is a very admirable character. He is loving and compassionate with a strong sense of justice and a willingness to help those in trouble. All perfect qualities for a Seeker of Truth.

I think one of my favorite characters in the book was Deena, a Mord-Sith who is sent by the villian Darken Rahl to "train" the Seeker. I won't give away why she is one of my favorite characters, or what I find admirable about her, in case any sci-fi fans out there want to give this one a try. Remember, you will be about ten chapters in before it gets lively....

2012 - the year of mediocrity?

Well, so far, at any rate. Now that I am not working on my master's degree, I am finally getting to do more reading. Sadly though, so far this year hasn't had a lot to offer. Or maybe I'm just making some bad literary choices. It could have to do with the fact that at least one of the books I read was a free Friday download. But so was Game of Thrones and I love that!
So here are this year's latest:



I enjoy a good Nicholas Sparks novel as much as the next person, but for the most part, this wasn't it. Amanda and Owen were teenagers when they fell in love. Star crossed lovers. When a mutual friend dies, he requests that Amanda and Dawson return to their home town for his funeral. While the novel has it's warm plot twists, like Tuck's garden, it just isn't enough to overcome the trite, formulaic feel. Unless you are a huge Nicholas Sparks fan, I wouldn't recommend reading this one. Best of Me is definitately not Sparks' best offering.



This was a free Friday downloaded. I guess I should have known better, but the cover was appealing enough. It started out in an intriguing way and then quickly devolved into the every day minutae of a person who has their identity stolen. In some ways, the loss of her identity does help Alice change certain aspects of her life that she has been longing to change but has been hesitant too. Still the idea that a person could be grateful to the individual who essentially ruined her life, and desire to maintain a friendship with that person was a little far fetched as far as I am concerned.

War Horse by Michael Marpurgo

Last year I had several students - boys - who loved to read about history. I saw the previews for this at the movies and I realized that it was based on a book. Stories about animals always really choke me up, but I knew that I had to read this book.

I'm SO glad that I did!!! I love horses and if for no other reason, this book is a wonderful horse story. That said, it is also so much more than that! It's a story of love, trust, friendship, courage and loyalty. The personification used by the author for the horse, Joey, represents the best in all of us and all we hope to be. It reminded me much of the timeless classic, Black Beauty, but of course, more from a boys perspective. Like Black Beauty, it is told from the perspective of the horse, Joey. It is a brilliant story but if you read it ( and I highly recommend that you do!) better have the tissues handy! Joey and all the characters of this treasure are unforgettable.

I recommend this for readers of all ages, especially those with an interest in history. Great book for boys!

2011 - A Book List

This is simply a list of books that I read in 2010. Reviews on those not already commented upon previously to follow. Here there are, in no particular order:
1. Citizen Washington by William Martin
2. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
3. Game of Thrones - GRR Martin
4. Out of Oz by Gregory Maguire
5. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
6. Please Stop Laughing at me by Jodi Blanco
7.Inheritance by Christopher Paolini
8. Crossed by Ally Condie
9. The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa
10. The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud by Ben Sherwood
11.Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by tom Franklin
12. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
13. Room by Emma Donoghue
14. Winter Garden by Kristin hannah
15. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
16. The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa
17. The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa
18. Lady Audley's Secret by Mary Elizabeth Braddon
19. Start with Why by Simon Sinek
20. the Iron King by Julie Kagawa
21. A Feast for Crows by GRR Martin
22. A Storm of Swords GRR Martin
23. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
24. A Clash of Kings by GRR Martin
25. Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin
26. Juliet by Anne Fortier
27. Beastly by Alex Flinn
28. Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua
29. Love Walked In by marisa de los Santos
30. Matched by Ally Conde
31. The Women by T.C. Boyle
32. Murphy's Boy
33. The Night Strangers
34. Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah
35. The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls
36. One More Day by David Nichols
37. Witch and Wizard by james patterson
38. Nose Down, Eyes Up by Merrill Markoe
39. A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron
40. Shutter Island