Maine

Love it! Great book about family relationships among women! Made me wish I had a family book club to talk about this book with them all!

Faith by Jennifer Haigh

This book started off slow but really picked up speed at the end. I would recommend it but if you start it don't give up it gets better, I promise!

Madness

I learned a lot about mental illness through reading this book but it was heavy and deep and dark. I was glad I read it but I think you need to be in the right frame of mind to read this book.

Beautiful Lies

Fun, easy, mystery, good book to bring to the beach. This book only took me a couple of days to read and was a good one to read after I finished Madness which was so deep and dark.

Little Bee

Loved this book....wasn't prepared for how intense and violent it was but I devoured this book. I read this for book club and think it will make a great discussion book.

Bottom Line read it when you are ready for an intense book, not a summer beach read by any means.

5 More

I have been reading....I have not been blogging.

My Mom says the book blog entries are lame, my friend Lexi likes them. So as a compromise here is what I have been reading the short and sweet version.



Lame...do not read this book. I read all 544 pages waiting for it to get good, it didn't happen.



Ohh these were good...I read all three of them in less then a week, and then I discussed them with the 12 year old girls that I work with in the summer. Apparently I have all the same interests as a middle schooler.



This book was soo soo good. I loved it. This one was a book club pick and it lead to really good discussion and we were unanimous, we all loved it.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

About the Book: Oskar Schell, hero of this brilliant follow-up to Foer's bestselling Everything Is Illuminated, is a nine-year-old amateur inventor, jewelry designer, astrophysicist, tambourine player and pacifist. Like the second-language narrator of Illuminated, Oskar turns his naïvely precocious vocabulary to the understanding of historical tragedy, as he searches New York for the lock that matches a mysterious key left by his father when he was killed in the September 11 attacks, a quest that intertwines with the story of his grandparents, whose lives were blighted by the firebombing of Dresden. Foer embellishes the narrative with evocative graphics, including photographs, colored highlights and passages of illegibly overwritten text, and takes his unique flair for the poetry of miscommunication to occasionally gimmicky lengths, like a two-page soliloquy written entirely in numerical code. Although not quite the comic tour de force that Illuminated was, the novel is replete with hilarious and appalling passages, as when, during show-and-tell, Oskar plays a harrowing recording by a Hiroshima survivor and then launches into a Poindexterish disquisition on the bomb's "charring effect." It's more of a challenge to play in the same way with the very recent collapse of the towers, but Foer gambles on the power of his protagonist's voice to transform the cataclysm from raw current event to a tragedy at once visceral and mythical. Unafraid to show his traumatized characters' constant groping for emotional catharsis, Foer demonstrates once again that he is one of the few contemporary writers willing to risk sentimentalism in order to address great questions of truth, love and beauty.

My Thoughts: I should like this book. As an American I should read about monumental moments in our country like September 11th. As a Special Education Teacher I should be fascinated with a book written from the perspective of a boy with Aspbergers. I should have liked this book but I didn't. It was too hard for me to follow what was happening and seemed to drag on forever even though it was only 200 pages. I read today that this book is going to be made into a movie with huge actors and actresses in it; Tom Hanks & Sandra Bullock huge. I will go and see the movie and hope they are able to put a spin on it that I can follow and understand but this book just didn't do it for me.

Left Neglect

About the Book: In neuroscientist Genova's second novel (after Still Alice), a car crash gives a successful younger woman an obscure neurological syndrome called Left Neglect. Upwardly mobile Sarah and Bob Nickerson live in suburban Massachusetts with their three small children. Both work 60-hour weeks, though the economic downturn looms. When Sarah wakes up eight days after crashing her car on the way to work, the doctors inform her of her condition, which causes her brain to ignore the left side of everything, and she begins a long and uncertain recovery. Genova vividly describes Sarah's fear and frustration about a recovery that may never come, turning her struggle into a lesson in forgiveness, acceptance, and adaptability; insights reveal themselves with extreme clarity, and small moments between Bob and Sarah illustrate his stalwart love, though readers may want a more thorough investigation of his growing role as caretaker, and as a character. More accessible than her somber first book, which dealt with early-onset Alzheimer's, the central condition causes readers to wonder what brain disease she will think of next.

My Thoughts: While on vacation I got finshed both of Lisa Genova's novels, Still Alice and Left Neglect. I enjoyed both of these books so much and really found the message of slow down and enjoy life to resonate through both of them. I think Genova writes beautifully and I heard in an interview of hers recently that her next book is going to be about Autism so my interest is totally piqued.

Still Alice

About the Book: Still Alice is a compelling debut novel about a 50-year-old woman's sudden descent into early onset Alzheimer's disease, written by first-time author Lisa Genova, who holds a Ph. D in neuroscience from Harvard University.


Alice Howland, happily married with three grown children and a house on the Cape, is a celebrated Harvard professor at the height of her career when she notices a forgetfulness creeping into her life. As confusion starts to cloud her thinking and her memory begins to fail her, she receives a devastating diagnosis: early onset Alzheimer's disease. Fiercely independent, Alice struggles to maintain her lifestyle and live in the moment, even as her sense of self is being stripped away. In turns heartbreaking, inspiring and terrifying, Still Alice captures in remarkable detail what's it's like to literally lose your mind...

My Thoughts: I found a copy of this book at the Jungle Lodge we stayed at in Panama and devoured the whole book in the two days we were there. It was a quick and easy read that hit so strongly on how Alzheimer's can affect an entire family. I would recommend this book to anyone whether you are dealing with Alzheimer's in your life or not. Reading this book created such a deeper understanding for me of this disease and I will forever have a soft plae in my heart for people dealing with this disease in their lives. Read it...it is good!

Unbroken

Book Jacket: On a May afternoon in 1943, an Army Air Forces bomber crashed into the Pacific Ocean and disappeared, leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil, gasoline, and blood. Then, on the ocean surface, a face appeared. It was that of a young lieutenant, the plane’s bombardier, who was struggling to a life raft and pulling himself aboard. So began one of the most extraordinary odysseys of the Second World War.

The lieutenant’s name was Louis Zamperini. In boyhood, he’d been a cunning and incorrigible delinquent, breaking into houses, brawling, and fleeing his home to ride the rails. As a teenager, he had channeled his defiance into running, discovering a prodigious talent that had carried him to the Berlin Olympics and within sight of the four-minute mile. But when war had come, the athlete had become an airman, embarking on a journey that led to his doomed flight, a tiny raft, and a drift into the unknown.

Ahead of Zamperini lay thousands of miles of open ocean, leaping sharks, a foundering raft, thirst and starvation, enemy aircraft, and, beyond, a trial even greater. Driven to the limits of endurance, Zamperini would answer desperation with ingenuity; suffering with hope, resolve, and humor; brutality with rebellion. His fate, whether triumph or tragedy, would be suspended on the fraying wire of his will.

In her long-awaited new book, Laura Hillenbrand writes with the same rich and vivid narrative voice she displayed in Seabiscuit. Telling an unforgettable story of a man’s journey into extremity, Unbroken is a testament to the resilience of the human mind, body, and spirit.

My Thoughts: This could be the top book of 2011 for me. It was amazing. I have been recommending it to anyone who will listen. Mitch and I had the opportunity to go and see 94 year old Louie speak at a local church last week and it was awesome. Here is a link for a 40 minute video on Louie's life! VIDEO

The Pioneer Woman Black Heels to Tractor Wheels

From the Book Jacket: This book is the complete, combined story--both the rip-roaring romance novel-style saga that the author posted on her website, which begins the night she met her husband and ends when they leave for honeymoon, and a new section, which documents the early days of their life. This isn't just her love story but a universal tale of passion, romance, and all-encompassing love that sweeps us off our feet. It's the story of a cowboy, wranglers, chaps and the girl who fell in love with them.

My Thoughts: I love the Pioneer Woman. I have been following her blog for a while now and love her style of writing and the way that she makes cooking fun for the cooking challenged, and now I can add that I loved her book. This book was a quick easy read about her love story with Marlboro Man. I needed a change of pace from the books I have been reading. I seem to have to alternate reading serious deep dark books with lighter happier material and this met my happy needs wonderfully. Read this book if you are needing a break from the heavy stuff or if you are needing a description of a man in wranglers about every third page!

Freedom

From the Jacket: From the National Book Award-winning author of "The Corrections" comes a darkly comedic novel about family. Franzen's intensely realized characters struggle to learn how to live in an ever-confusing world--one with the temptations and burdens of liberty, the thrills of teenage lust, the shaken compromises of middle age, the wages of suburban sprawl, and the heavy weight of empire.

My Thoughts: So this is a recent Oprah book club selection, and Oprah and I just cannot be in the same book club. I have very rarely enjoyed Oprah's selections and this one was no different. This book had the 3 D's going for it: Dark, Depressing, and it Drug on forever. It had me at first I really was interested in the characters but the further I read the more interest I lost and finally around page 250 I gave up. I am typically the kind of person who sticks with a book even if I am struggling through it. I am trying to give myself permission to give up on books and read things only if I am really enjoying them. There are just far to many good books out there to waste my times on ones I don't like.

Where Men Win Glory

From the Book Jacket:
The bestselling author of Into the Wild, Into Thin Air, and Under the Banner of Heaven delivers a stunning, eloquent account of a remarkable young man’s haunting journey.

Like the men whose epic stories Jon Krakauer has told in his previous bestsellers, Pat Tillman was an irrepressible individualist and iconoclast. In May 2002, Tillman walked away from his $3.6 million NFL contract to enlist in the United States Army. He was deeply troubled by 9/11, and he felt a strong moral obligation to join the fight against al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Two years later, he died on a desolate hillside in southeastern Afghanistan.

Though obvious to most of the two dozen soldiers on the scene that a ranger in Tillman’s own platoon had fired the fatal shots, the Army aggressively maneuvered to keep this information from Tillman’s wife, other family members, and the American public for five weeks following his death. During this time, President Bush repeatedly invoked Tillman’s name to promote his administration’s foreign policy. Long after Tillman’s nationally televised memorial service, the Army grudgingly notified his closest relatives that he had “probably” been killed by friendly fire while it continued to dissemble about the details of his death and who was responsible.

In Where Men Win Glory, Jon Krakauer draws on Tillman’s journals and letters, interviews with his wife and friends, conversations with the soldiers who served alongside him, and extensive research on the ground in Afghanistan to render an intricate mosaic of this driven, complex, and uncommonly compelling figure as well as the definitive account of the events and actions that led to his death. Before he enlisted in the army, Tillman was familiar to sports aficionados as an undersized, overachieving Arizona Cardinals safety whose virtuosity in the defensive backfield was spellbinding. With his shoulder-length hair, outspoken views, and boundless intellectual curiosity, Tillman was considered a maverick. America was fascinated when he traded the bright lights and riches of the NFL for boot camp and a buzz cut. Sent first to Iraq—a war he would openly declare was “illegal as hell” —and eventually to Afghanistan, Tillman was driven by complicated, emotionally charged, sometimes contradictory notions of duty, honor, justice, patriotism, and masculine pride, and he was determined to serve his entire three-year commitment. But on April 22, 2004, his life would end in a barrage of bullets fired by his fellow soldiers.

Krakauer chronicles Tillman’s riveting, tragic odyssey in engrossing detail highlighting his remarkable character and personality while closely examining the murky, heartbreaking circumstances of his death. Infused with the power and authenticity readers have come to expect from Krakauer’s storytelling, Where Men Win Glory exposes shattering truths about men and war.

My Thoughts:
I struggled with this book at first. I really wasn't digging it at all, but it was a book club choice so I stuck with it for the first 100 pages or so and then I was hooked. I felt I gained a whole new perspective on our countries leadership as well as the politics behind the politics.

I would recommend this book to people with the warning to stick it out and hang with it because they won't regret it in the end.

The Art of Racing in the Rain

From the Book Jacket: “In Mongolia, when a dog dies, he is buried high in the hills so people cannot walk on his grave. The dog's master whispers into the dog's ear his wishes that the dog will return as a man in his next life. Then his tail is cut off and put beneath his head, and a piece of meat or fat is placed in his mouth to sustain his soul on its journey; before he is reincarnated, the dog's soul is freed to travel the land, to run across the high desert plains for as long as it would like.

I learned that from a program on the National Geographic channel, so I believe it is true. Not all dogs return as men, they say; only those who are ready.

I am ready.”
Enzo knows he is different from other dogs: a philosopher with a nearly human soul (and an obsession with opposable thumbs), he has educated himself by watching television extensively, and by listening very closely to the words of his master, Denny Swift, an up-and-coming race car driver. Through Denny, Enzo has gained tremendous insight into the human condition, and he sees that life, like racing, isn't simply about going fast. Using the techniques needed on the race track, one can successfully navigate all of life's ordeals.

On the eve of his death, Enzo takes stock of his life, recalling all that he and his family have been through: the sacrifices Denny has made to succeed professionally; the unexpected loss of Eve, Denny's wife; the three-year battle over their daughter, Zoë, whose maternal grandparents pulled every string to gain custody. In the end, despite what he sees as his own limitations, Enzo comes through heroically to preserve the Swift family, holding in his heart the dream that Denny will become a racing champion with Zoë at his side.

A heart-wrenching but deeply funny and ultimately uplifting story of family, love, loyalty, and hope, The Art of Racing in the Rain is a beautifully crafted and captivating look at the wonders and absurdities of human life...as only a dog could tell it.

My thoughts: I was recommended this book by our friends Adam and Megan who aren't big readers but are big dog lovers. They read this book aloud to one while on a road trip...how cute is that?

This book was a really easy and quick read. I didn't feel like it was the best written book I have ever read but it was heart touching enough to pass it on to all the dog lovers in your life.

The Murderer's Daughters

On the Book Jacket: Lulu and Merry's childhood was never ideal, but on the day before Lulu's tenth birthday their father drives them into a nightmare. He's always hungered for the love of the girl's self-obsessed mother. After she throws him out, their troubles turn deadly.

Lulu's mother warned her to never let him in, but when he shows up, he's impossible to ignore. He bullies his way past ten-year-old Lulu, who obeys her father's instructions to open the door, then listens in horror as her parents struggle. She runs for help and discovers upon her return that he's murdered her mother, stabbed her sister, and tried to kill himself.

For thirty years, the sisters try to make sense of what happened. Their imprisoned father is a specter in both their lives, shadowing every choice they make. Though one spends her life pretending he's dead, while the other feels compelled to help him, both fear that someday their imprisoned father's attempts to win parole may meet success.

The Murderer's Daughters is narrated in turn by Merry and Lulu. The book follows the sisters as children, as young women, and as adults, always asking how far forgiveness can stretch, while exploring sibling loyalty, the aftermath of family violence, and the reality of redemption.

My Thoughts: I have read a lot of books lately that jump perspective throughout the book either through flashbacks in time or from one persons perspective to another and I have really been digging it. I read a review online about this book that some felt they couldn't really dive into the characters I felt the complete opposite. When I am able to look at the characters through a variety of lens I think I enjoy them so much more.

Other books I have read with this type of jumping perspective that I like:
Those who Save Us by Jenna Blum
The Pact by Jodi Picoult
Stormchasers by Jenna Blum
East of Eden by John Steinbach
Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
This list could probably go on and on...ohh and a fun and different voice is in the book that I am currently reading which is written from the dog's perspective "The Art of Racing in the Rain"

With so much in the news this week about the shootings in Arizona this book really opened my eyes to how the families of murders can really be innocent bystanders who suffer so much from the mistakes of their families.

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter

This book was recommend to me from Marie one of the paras in my classroom. She is a big fan of mystery books and can be seen each day walking towards the teachers lounge with her lunch and a good mystery book in her hands. I don't typically read mysteries but she recommend this one and I happily obliged.

From the Book Jacket: In the late 1970s, Larry Ott and Silas "32" Jones were boyhood pals. Their worlds were as different as night and day: Larry, the child of lower-middle-class white parents, and Silas, the son of a poor, single black mother. Yet for a few months the boys stepped outside of their circumstances and shared a special bond. But then tragedy struck: Larry took a girl on a date to a drive-in movie, and she was never heard from again. She was never found and Larry never confessed, but all eyes rested on him as the culprit. The incident shook the county—and perhaps Silas most of all. His friendship with Larry was broken, and then Silas left town.

More than twenty years have passed. Larry, a mechanic, lives a solitary existence, never able to rise above the whispers of suspicion. Silas has returned as a constable. He and Larry have no reason to cross paths until another girl disappears and Larry is blamed again. And now the two men who once called each other friend are forced to confront the past they've buried and ignored for decades.

My Thoughts: The first 50 pages were confusing for me in this book. I didn't really understand what was happening but I was intrigued enough to keep reading. As I kept reading I discovered that the book jumps in time and perspective, which is a writing method that I really enjoy reading. The change in perspective is a great way for me to get into other people's shoes and think outside the box. This book had me hooked to the point that I was watching the clock to see how many hours I had left of work before I got to go home and read. Recommend this book to the mystery lovers in your life!

If you are a library person like me get your name on the waiting list, because I am sure there is one, but if you like to

The Lottery

I am in a wonderful book club filled with a group of women that I teach with. We rotate who chooses the book each month, and I really enjoy that method because I get the chance to read books that I typically would never pick up. "The Lottery" is a book I had never even heard of before it showed up on our book club list list.

From the Book Jacket: Perry’s IQ is only 76, but he’s not stupid. His grandmother taught him everything he needs to know to survive: She taught him to write things down so he won’t forget them. She taught him to play the lottery every week. And, most important, she taught him whom to trust. When Gram dies, Perry is left orphaned and bereft at the age of thirty-one. Then his weekly Washington State Lottery ticket wins him 12 million dollars, and he finds he has more family than he knows what to do with. Peopled with characters both wicked and heroic who leap off the pages, Lottery is a deeply satisfying, gorgeously rendered novel about trust, loyalty, and what distinguishes us as capable.

My thoughts: I really enjoyed this book. I quickly fell in love with the characters. This book was an easy quick read that kept me rooting for Perry. And I know this is kind of a weird reason to like a book but the chapters were nice and short and their are just some nights when all I can read is 3 pages. Coming from my perspective as a Special Education teacher I had a really hard time reading the excerpts where Perry was poorly treated in school and am so glad for how far special education servvices have come since that time. I know that I am enjoying a book when I sneak to bed earlier and earlier the deeper I get into a book and right after dinner one night last week Mitch asked me if I was going to go bed! Recommend this book to your friends it is a good one!

Book Reviews

I am slighly obsessed with books, and by slightly I mean it is a pretty intense obsession. I have always wanted to keep some sort of a record of the books I have read because I tend to forget what I have read and will stare at people blankly when they ask if I have read a good book lately. So I am going to try, and I might not be successful, at keeping track of the books I have read in the year 2011. Happy Reading!