March 2013 Books

I only read TWO BOOKS this month! Operation: read less books in 2013 is coming along. Unfortunately I seem to have replaced reading time with Candy Crush, so...that's something to work on. Baby steps.


Bloom: Finding Beauty in the Unexpected--A Memoir by Kelle Hampton
I am terrible at reading books I own. Awful. I usually have so many library books I struggle to keep up with them and don't read anything else. I pre-ordered this book and received it the day it came out. A year ago. (April 3, 2012) I read a few chapters, but was soon pulled back to my library list and...yeah. Finally finished it this month. The first half was AH-MAY-ZING and the second half dragged. Still a really good book, though. I started reading Kelle's blog around Nella's first birthday, so it was nice to get more of the backstory. (This comes out on paperback today, I think.)


The Last Policeman by Ben Winters
I didn't know enough about this one to be super-into reading it, so it languished at the bottom of the library pile for awhile. I finally picked it up when I couldn't renew anymore and was hooked immediately. I read it in a day and a half and wanted more.

February 2013 books

Winning Balance: What I've Learned So Far about Love, Faith, and Living Your Dreams by Shawn Johnson

I love Shawn Johnson. She's so cute and sweet and she lives in West Des Moines, which is where I live. I listened to the audio book, which she read herself, and it was nice to hear it in her own voice. It's like she was dishing all about the Olympics and Dancing With the Stars just for me. Also, she really does dish - all about crushes and boyfriends and, man, that was brave. There is no way I would want my sixteen-year-old self on record talking about that stuff.

How to Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran
I went into this expecting a humorous autobiography, Bloggess-style. I found it lecture-y and rather screechy. Also...boring. My expectations played into this a lot, so maybe if you have a better grasp of what the book is about (mainly feminism) you'll like it more than I did. I rather like Caitlin Moran now, enough to consider reading her next book, I just didn't like this book. It was not the fluffy vacation book I was expecting, but it was great for putting me to sleep at night. I mean that literally and I'm SORRY it's such a cliche, but I seriously read a few pages before bed each night for the express purpose of putting me right to sleep.

The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling

This is basically a depressing take on human nature. No one is happy. Nothing will ever change (except maybe to get worse). It was almost ridiculous in it's negativity, but the awful part is it all rang true. There are three-year-olds living terribly neglected with their junkie mothers. Fathers hit sons. Teenagers are horribly cruel.

It was basically the opposite of a Harry Potter book that gives you that "the world is magical and good can always defeat evil" feeling.

After finally slogging through the Casual Vacancy I went on a 'comfort books' tear. My comfort books are mystery/suspense, sometimes formulaic, hopefully engrossing stories. Some of them were good, some not. But it was nice not to have to think, you know? I tried to make it so if you click on any of the covers it would take you to my Goodreads review, but blogger is being difficult today. They're all at the top of the recent updates list on my Goodreads page at the moment if you want to see what I thought of any of them. (Hint: I still like Mary Higgins Clark's old stuff, Julie Hyzy is cheesy, and I'm now caught up on Sookie Stackhouse.)

January 2013 books

Let's Pretend This Never Happened: (A Mostly True Memoir) by Jenny Lawson

I think you've all read this already, but if you haven't, do so immediately. I snort-laughed many times while reading it. I would say it was the funniest book I read this year, but it was also the first book I read this year, so. (That said, there is a ton of swearing, so if that would bother you too much to otherwise enjoy the book, skip this one.)

The Litigators by John Grisham

Apparently I missed this when it came out in 2011. Unfortunately, it seems I didn't miss much. It covered well-trod Grisham story lines (lawsuits against drug companies, small-scale barely-making-a-living lawyers) and I kept having to reassure myself that no, I hadn't actually read this one, it just seemed like it. It was still a decent way to pass the time (I gave it 3 stars), but I don't know that I'd necessarily recommend it.

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
I'm not sure how to review this book. Clueless but Hopeful Mama recommended it, so I put the both book and movie on my library request list (like an idiot). Of course, the movie came in first and I was charged the DVD check out fee, so I didn't want to return it and get it back (for another fee) after reading the book.

The movie was very confusing. We got none of the back story on...anything, so Thomas and I sat there saying "huh?" a lot. Actors would say something in their "THIS IS SIGNIFICANT" voice and it would never be explained. There were a ton of scenes irrelevant to the rest of the movie which I assume were only there because, if you'd read the book, it might seem weird to leave them out. But we hadn't.

The book is one of those books where if you re-read you understand it a lot better. In that way, it was better to have watched the movie first because I think I was able to enjoy and understand the book much more having already figured out what was going on. (And I don't just mean the major plot point, but all the little ones, too.)

I wasn't ever sure if I was enjoying the book, but I was sad when it was over, so I suppose I recommend it?

Dead Reckoning: Sookie Stackhouse #11 by Charlaine Harris
The perfect thing for a cruise. I read it sitting on a deck overlooking the ocean while eating chocolate chip cookies from room service.

December books, part 2

So, yeah. When I finally made it to my 2012 reading goal I didn't even want to think about books any more, which means my mostly complete December books, part 2 post was sadly neglected. But it's done now! Starting with January, I'll go back to monthly post for awhile, instead of twice a month, in keeping with my "read less books" goal.

Caveat Emptor: The Secret Life of an American Art Forger by Ken Perenyi

I’m wondering if I was able to enjoy this book more than others might because personally I see very little difference in a painting done by James Buttersworth in 1800 or Ken Perenyi in 1980. If the fake is identical enough to fool authenticators, down to the period canvases, frame, and varnish, I'll take it. I do realize it’s wrong (lying for starters, plus stealing from whomever you sell it to and devaluing authentic paintings); I’m just more fascinated than indignant, while I can see some people having a hard time reading about such large-scale fraud.

It took awhile to get to the fascinating stuff, though. The first several chapters were hard to slog through and almost completely irrelevant to the rest of the book. They made me really glad I wasn’t around during the psychedelic 70s, though. Sex, drugs, and rock & roll would not have been for me.

Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James

If you thought Pride and Prejudice was as boring as all get out, as I did, the addition of a murder mystery does nothing to make it more interesting. If you do like (or love) Pride and Prejudice it appears, from reading other reviews, you probably won't think this book worthy of the characters. So there's really no winning here.

Life From Scratch by Melissa Ford

This book snuck up and surprised me. I expected (or hoped, at least) it would be a solid three-star book, since I know Melissa Ford has a popular, well-known blog. The beginning of the book was a little bumpy and overly filled with blogging 101, but by the end I genuinely cared about the main character, Rachel, and was kind of upset it was over. Lately it has seemed like all of the books I read tell instead of showing and this one finally broke that streak. The emotion was portrayed really well and I even cried in solidarity with Rachel in a couple places.

Ali in Wonderland: And Other Tall Tales by Ali Wentworth

I never got into this one. I really tried, because I love Ali Wentworth, but the book was just too over the top. I was never sure if anything was true, since each story was so extreme (“and then I snorted half a brick of cocaine, freaked out, and ran off to the airport to fly home with the other half in my backpack!”). The chapters were also disjointed, so I could never get into the groove. This was a book I had been looking forward to for awhile and I was pretty disappointed.

December books, part 1

Prospect Park West by Amy Sohn
This book was not at all what I was expecting. For starters, it was way dirtier than I expected from chick lit. Not that everyone was having sex (though they did), but it was all they could think about. Also, no one liked themselves or anyone else and whatever they had, it wasn't enough.  Basically the whole book can be summed up as sex and unhappiness, with a side of craaaaaazy. I did read all 400 pages in a few days, though, so it was definitely addicting. Having learned Amy Sohn's newest book follows some of the same characters, I really want to know what happened to them.

Talking with My Mouth Full by Gail Simmons
This was blah. It didn't read as a novel, but like she was interviewed about her life and the transcript was typed with minimal editing. "So, Gail, how do you feel about weight issues relating to women in the public eye?" "Funny you should ask! I have lots of rambling thoughts on that issue."

I suppose you could say that's a good thing, that the book felt conversational and I could hear her voice. But it wasn't compelling reading. I think whomever gave her a book deal had a great idea. Her career trajectory and each job she has had seem really interesting. It just didn't come out right. It kind of made me sad to see all of the super-interesting stuff turned into such a boring book.

I don't necessarily not recommend you read it or regret that I did. As I said, there is interesting stuff underneath the stilted writing. You just have to kind of work for it and slog through at times.

What the Cat Saw by Carolyn Hart

I used to read everything Carolyn Hart wrote. There were two things that should have led me to skip this one, but I ignored them. 1. It was published by Berkley Prime Crime, not her usual William Morrow (Step down? Right? I don’t really know publishing) and 2. “She understands the thoughts of cats when she looks into their eyes.”

It was awful. Really awful. Besides the whole cat thing, it was just a bad book all around. The mystery was boring and the love story was ridiculous.

“If you were smart” – her voice caught in her throat – “you’d stay away from me.”

“Not,” he said quietly, “in this lifetime.”

COME ON.

Dead in the Family (Sookie Stackhouse Book 10) by Charlaine Harris

Interestingly enough, the cover quote on that one - "What the Cat Saw will surprise and engage any mystery reader." - was by Charlaine Harris. I realize most of those are quid pro quo kind of things and/or required of authors with the same publisher, but still. Interesting.

I can't really say much about the Sookie series that I haven't already, but I liked this one. I wasn't feeling up to a heavier book and deliberately went for the brain candy.


A Touch of Dead (Sookie Stackhouse: The Complete Stories) by Charlaine Harris

This book explained so much. When I started book six, I checked several times to make sure I hadn’t skipped a book, because there was a fairly major plot point I seemed to have completely missed. I was sure I’d forgotten to read the last chapter of the previous book (nope, checked) or misremembered what book I was on (nope) or was just plain going crazy. Turns out all the answers were in a SHORT STORY. Now how was I supposed to have known that?

I had noticed there was a book of short stories, but I had no idea they were required reading. Pretty much every area I was fuzzy or confused about from the series originated in one of these stories. I’m kind of mad actually.

Some of the stories stand alone, but it’s helpful to read them all, at the appropriate point in the series. Even if that’s not feasible (and why would it be? Unless you BOUGHT the short stories book?), you definitely should read “One Word Answer” before book six. Or ask me for a synopsis. 

November books, part 2

Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty

I picked this up because it's written by the author of What Alice Forgot, which I loved. I kept waiting for there to be some sort of plot. It's about triplet sisters and...that's pretty much it. One is having romantic troubles, one has marriage problems, and one is really stressed with her kids and small business. 

The characters, especially secondary ones, were hard to keep straight. It took awhile to even be able to remember which triplet was which. I stuck with it only because I'd just returned several books to the library unfinished and I was desperate to finish something.

After that point (about halfway through), things picked up and I finally (mostly) figured out who was who. I actually liked the second half a lot. Still, I wouldn't necessarily recommend it.

Gypped: A Regan Reilly Mystery by Carol Higgins Clark
I seem to be on a roll with the 'fluff' books lately and this one is no different. I read Carol Higgins Clark's new book each year mainly because I prefer books where I know what I'm in for, even if it's so-so, over picking something new and being disappointed (see above!). Carol isn't the greatest writer (lots of telling instead of showing), but her books are fun and take a couple of hours, at most, to read. I wouldn't pay for one of them, but they're easy for me to put on my library request list. I went into this one with low expectations, as always, and was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Again, I don't think I'd recommend it, but if you need a beach read and agree to not expect too much, go for it.

Simplify by Joshua Becker
I got this for 99 cents on the Kindle a long time ago. Lately I’ve been desperate to pare down our stuff. I think I’m going to get this book Ashley recommended, but buying a book seems counter to “living with less,” doesn’t it? I’m annoyed the library doesn’t have it.*

I saw this in my Kindle library and thought it might be a good place to start. I figured out pretty quick why it was so cheap. It’s only 46 pages and basically an overview of reasons to be minimalist with big-picture, as opposed to detailed, advice. There were some good tips and its worth checking out if you’d like, but...it's not a book. 46 pages!

*Yes, I know I could buy a copy and donate it to the library when I’m done. That’s probably what I’ll do. But I haven’t managed to get over the “spending money” hurdle yet.

(Right now my husband is probably laughing so hard he’s choking, because I have a LOT of stuff and I hate getting rid of things. I’m one of those “But what if we need it?” people. I find the argument we could simply purchase a replacement completely unconvincing, as then I'm out money. But I’m working on it! I’m slowwwly getting rid of things I don’t need, even if they’re usable and could conceivably be helpful to have around. I don’t think I’ll ever be an actual minimalist, but maybe we won’t be swimming in every possession I’ve acquired since I was 8. My goal is to stay off Hoarders.)

P.S. Yes, I'm counting a 46 page "book" towards my reading goal. I figure since I also count 849 page books like 11/22/63 it all balances out.

November 2012 Books, Part 1

I'm splitting it up this month! I read a bunch on the way to and from the Blathering and finished a few books I started in other months. Also, I'm trying to ramp it up to make my reading goal for the year - 12 to go...

The Racketeer by John Grisham
This book grabbed me on the very first page. I’m not one to get caught up in the mechanics or impressiveness of a writing style, but even I can’t help noticing Grisham doesn’t use a single extraneous word. Every sentence imparts the maximum amount of action and information.

This is what he does best and it makes me wonder why he ever bothers to write anything else. I mean, his sports/nonfiction/short story books are good, but not exceptional in the same way.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Future by Michael J. Fox

Soon after I bought Michael J. Fox’s memoir Lucky Man as a Kindle deal of the day and loved it, this also showed up as a daily deal. I bought it not realizing it was advice for high school graduates. A lot of it was a repeat of stories in Lucky Man and only Part IV was really new to me, which, given that it was about optimism, may have been a repeat of his second book, Always Looking Up.

This might be a good gift for a graduate who isn’t much of a reader, since it’s only about a hundred pages and a quick read. Otherwise, just skip it and buy Lucky Man. 

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

I liked this book a lot better than Sharp Objects. There was one part of the ending I really hated, though. I won't spoil it here, but if you've read the book and want to know what it is, you can go to my Goodreads review and click past the spoiler alert.





Pretty Little Mistakes: A Do-Over Novel by Heather McElhatton

This is a choose-your-own-adventure type novel Swistle recommended as a good book gift for a wide variety of people. I enjoyed it at first, but it quickly got repetitive. It was also frustrating what seemed like the responsible choice often led to ruin while the opposite led to lifelong happiness. I understand mixing it up and trying to be unpredictable, but she took it so far she WAS predictable - always choose the 'wrong' choice and you'll usually do well. There's also some really weird, unnecessary storylines I could have done without, so...be prepared.

I only gave this two stars, because I don't recommend reading the whole book. I made a little chart and crossed off each section I read. By the time I was halfway through I was DONE. This was in August. I picked it up again this month thinking I might enjoy finishing after a break and...no. I finished it, but did not enjoy it. Which is sad, really, since, as I said, I enjoyed it so much at first.

Dead And Gone (Sookie Stackhouse, Book 9) by Charlaine Harris
I read this while on the way to and in New Orleans. I don't think I would have liked it much better than book 8 if I had tried to read it at home a few minutes here and there like usual. It was a nice diversion for the plane, though. I actually got into it and was sad when I finished.

I should probably only read this series on vacation.

Operation Bonnet by Kimberly Stuart
Kimberly Stuart goes to my church. I've read all her books and, unfortunately, didn't like this one as much as the rest. It was essentially a YA novel, though the main character was (a naive, immature) 20. There also wasn't much substance to it. But, again, that made it a good vacation book. I like Kimberly's sense of humor and laughed out loud at several points.

For a Christian novel, it was pleasantly light on the "Christian-ness." Instead of hitting you over the head with it, references were sprinkled in and didn't detract from the story. If you like YA fiction (even if you don't like Christian fiction) I think you'd like it.

The Wicked Wager by Anya Wylde

This was another vacation read. The author contacted me on Goodreads because I put in my profile I like 'cozy mysteries'. The Kindle version was free at the time (now 99 cents) and she encouraged me to try it. It was a well-written, not at all pushy promotion of the book and I needed stuff to read in the airport, so I figured why not?

My uncertain expectations might have figured into it, but I liked the book a lot. It was another fluffy-ish vacation read, but it was my favorite of the three. I didn't finish it before getting home and was crazy busy doing stuff like five loads of laundry in one night, yet I often thought "I can't wait to read more of that book."

(To warn you, though, I wouldn't exactly call it a mystery, since the murder doesn't happen until 73% through the book. Some reviewers called it a historical romance, which I suppose it technically was, but it's certainly not a bodice ripper. It was lighthearted and fun, with some romance, and a little mystery. So...historical chick lit, maybe?)