Book Thirty Five

Well, my aspiration of becoming an official bibliophile will have to wait one more year.  But I'm proud nonetheless that I worked my head around 35 books.  I KNOW that I can hit 50 in 2010!

The last book I finished in 2009 was the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.  Craziest book title ever but a poignant story.  I love reading about the occupation and World War II and felt pleasantly introduced to the Guernsey Islands and its inhabitants.  My fascination for London is quickly escalating and I would LOVE.  LOVE.  LOVE to travel to Guernsey in person. 

The love story . . . didn't do much for me.  But I enjoyed reading all the letters describing Elizabeth and others who demonstrated great acts of courage.  The author writes in a style that resembles Maeve Binchy.  The characterization and sense of place is spot on.  This was a quick read.  I couldn't necessarily predict the surprises that lay in store and I wanted to read more.

I am happy for Mary Ann Shaffer that she could write such a novel in her golden years.  I won't remember this novel for long but am glad it has been published and will fill library shelves.

Book Thirty Four

Well, I was pleasantly surprised by this book.  It had guts.  I thought it would be just another book about a male ego but it was more than meets the eye.  I'm desparately sad about missing this book club as I feel I could gain a lot from the discussion.  Unfortunately, it snowed today and I had a commute from hell.  Somedays, it is awfully hard to appreciate Minnesota.

But, back to the book.  Guterson's writing was very detailed which caused me to detach from the characters initially.  Clearly, John William Barry was depressed and his depression was aggravating as most depressions are.   I found myself more taken with the setting than the characters at the outset.  Guterson writes about the Seattle mountains and environs with great admiration.  I'm not a hiker but I felt as if I was breaking my own trail.  A mix of action and contemplation, this could be a book for both genders.

As the book continued on, it made me think.  Similar in plot but  more developed, this novel seems more ambitious and enhanced than Krakauer's Into The Wild.  It is thoughtful about existentialism and delves further than just the actions of the hermit.  It wonders about nurture and nature and if John William Barry suffered the effects of bad parenting.  It makes you question Neil Countryman's decisions and motives and consider what life might be like if 19 million dollars fell out of the clouds one day into your hands.

This is a novel that I might recommend (to some) and would certainly be on a personal Top 10 list of my own IF it were just a little less verbose OR if I was just a little more male.  Know what I mean?

Book Thirty Three

I've been hearing in blogland (the place I go to check out & simultaneousy be inspired) that Ruth Reichl is the bomb.  And also that the world is now coming to an end with the close of her Gourmet magazine.  I had to find out for myself and read Garlic and Sapphires.  Here, Reichl discusses her reign as the restaurant critic for the New York Times.  The title drew me in but the cover turned me off.  Ick.  I had to strip the book down before I could read it.  And yes, I accidentally ordered large print through Better World Books.  Maybe this is a book I'll read again in thirty years when the eyes are shot and trips to NYC are a distant memory.

That said, the memoir was a tad bit self important and vapid.  And yet, I have to admit that I was hungry reading it.  I have heard of all these executive chefs before: Rocco DiSpirito and Daniel Boulud, for example.  Famous haunts like Le Cirque and Tavern on the Green.  The book was very cosmopolitan and good background reading if you are a fan of the Martha show.  I nearly put Martha back in my Tivo so I could taste the dishes and glimpse the celebrity in person.  I will never eat at Le Cirque (never say never) but I feel as if I have eaten there after finishing this book.

I wonder what Reichl will do next?  What adventures does she have in store for us now?

Book Thirty Two

This book was haunting and there is no other way to describe it  Written by the author of Speak, Laure Halse Anderson paints an incredibly vivid picture of a teenage woman grappling with a deadly eating disorder.  She gets the voice down pitch perfect.  Lia is sarcastic and disillusioned about life.  I liked the strike-outs that Anderson inserts when Lia censors her own thoughts.  I don't know how Anderson identified with the teenage voice quite so well.  By the end of the book, I felt the author certainly must have struggled with her own disordered eating.  But then, don't we all . . .

This is not a book I would have on my shelf because it's too dark.  But, I'm glad it has been written as it expertly depicts the experience.  I don't know who I would recommend the book to.  It doesn't exactly glorify eating disorders but in many ways it could be misconstrued as a "how to" manual.  Parents reading this book would get chills and fear for their own daughter.  The scenes depicting cutting were difficult, if not impossible, to read.  I wanted to hate Lia for the pain she inflicted on herself and others.  Like I said, Anderson nails this disease.  She couldn't have written a more authentic novel if she had tried.

Read this in a day and a half.  Need some uplifting chick lit, stat.

Book Thirty One

My first impression of this book was:  dammit will Kate DiCamillo STOP repeating herself already?  I must say, I missed the whole point of that technique.  The specialness of the book didn't hit me until the author's acknowledgments on the last page giving thanks to those who walked with her through a long winter's night.  To me, DiCamillo means to say that an elephant comes to us all when we despair most.  And a community of others will help us get to the place we are supposed to live.

Way too much time on Vilna Lutz though.  What is DiCamillo trying to tell us about this old soldier with half a brain? This is a lyrical book but it does beg to be read aloud.  I'm not sure my understanding of the novel is what DiCamillo intends.  I did enjoy but without the dramatization and setting constructed by brilliant illustrator Yoko Tanaka, the book is just page upon page.  I could have skipped this one and I hate to say that about DiCamillo.

Book Thirty

I love Leif Enger. He's an former NPR editor writing about a man from Cannon Falls. Lest those Harvard professors continue to characterize us as "children of the corn," Leif Enger shows again that there can be beauty in simplicity & deep characterization in a novel of just 250 pages. He isn't showy with his words but still manages to convey. I finished this book in 3 days. I devoured it.

Some readers find that Brave, Young and Handsome is a poor man's cousin to Peace Like A River. The former is a book about faith, the latter about family. I wasn't ready to embrace a novel about the West and train robbers and the Pinkertons but somehow, along the journey, I found myself intrigued by Darlys Dafoe and Hood Roberts and Charles Siringo. I could have spent a little less time with Charles Siringo. The dude just would NOT go away.

More than anything, Enger does an AMAZING job giving voice to his storyteller. I felt that Monte Becket was a member of my family . . . I knew him so well. I found myself drawn to Glendon Hale's character most of all and kept wishing Monte would find him again in the story. At the same time, I wanted Monte to just go home already. I was frustrated by the long journey to find himself. I have to admit that I was shocked by the ending. I should have seen it coming. I really didn't.

My favorite passage is on page 271 when Susannah discovers that Monte has encountered grace. "You seemed afraid before you left - and now you don't." I do think that Monte Becket experienced a tremendous amount of growth throughout the book but then again who doesn't find happiness (at the end of the rainbow) on an orange grove in California? I mean, really . . . anyone could be happy there.

Interesting that "So Brave" is Leif's second book and it took seven years to create. In "So Brave," he describes "Peace" as a novel that was trashed for not being good enough. And Leif has stated in interviews that he read every sentence of his novels to his wife Robin during their inception. Just like Monte Becket shares with Susannah when he writes his 1000 words. You wonder how much of the novel and its themes are autobiographical.

Favorite quote - "Sometimes heroism is nothing more than patience, curiosity, and a refusal to panic."

Book Twenty Nine

This memoir was compelling and sensitive. Couldn't put it down. Very thoughtfully written, the memoir will leave you uplifted.

I chose this book to read because of my work with Hmong students at our school. I felt a void not knowing their history and not understanding the parent perspective. The story of Yang's family crossing the Mekong river helped explain their immigrant journey. I understand more now the gender norms of the society and the desire to have large families. I loved the compassion that Kao had for her grandmother and the image of her washing the dirt from many lands from her feet. The last few chapters of the book that covered the grandmother's funeral I simply didn't want to end.

I am hopeful that Kao Kalia Yang might speak to our group and will shamelessly push this book on every Hmong young woman coming through our school

Inspired respect and understanding. Highly recommend.

Book Twenty Eight

I'm doing my third cleanse this week and quite frankly, I'm just done with health books. I've learned all about Omega 3's and low glycemic diets and hydrating. I'm eating protein at every meal and drinking cranberry juice and organic foods when possible. But, what I really want, is a Potbelly Oreo Shake.

I found Mark Bittman's book just NOT as good as Pollan's In Defense of Food. He attacks meat and dairy with a vengeance but also in a very boring, repetitive way. This might be a good introduction to healthy eating for the new millennium but stay away if you've read others in the same genre.

This book is mostly recipes. Bittman is an amazing chef and I plan to go through his recipes one at a time because I do think they will help my cooking. Just not sure I plan on eating quinoa and barley for breakfast any time soon.

I still love me my Greek yogurt.

Book Twenty Seven

This book was a struggle. I'm grateful I didn't suggest it to Vanaheim or Stillwater as it would have absolutely killed the book club. The synopsis according to BN: "Mary McCarthy portrays the lives, and aspirations of eight Vassar graduates. "The group" meets in New York following commencement to attend the wedding of one of their members— and reconvenes seven years later at her funeral".

Well, here's what I thought. Basically, I missed the whole lesbian subtext, found myself unintrigued by Trotskyism, socialism, Fascism and a whole lot of other isms. The child rearing techniques were interesting, I suppose, and I learned a good deal about birth control and mental health in the 1940s. None of the characters grew on me whatsoever except for Polly at the very end. The author spent a good deal of time with each and yet I wasn't endeared a bit. The writing is just too detailed and meticulous. And so, I missed the satire.

I wanted to like this book because I feel as if it lends perspective into the women's movement and all of the advancements we have made as a society. But, I just couldn't appreciate the plot. Only 1 reader review and 3 editorial reviews. This book does seem to have fallen off the radar despite it's popularity at the time. I think I understand why.

Book Twenty Six

ooh. ooh. ooh.
I am halfway there. I feel that this goal could be possible now and YET fall TV has already started - Top Chef, Mad Men, Project Runway, Gossip Girl on the way. I will try to limit my TV addiction to just one hour a day leaving room for the pages.

I LOVED this book. Olive Kitteridge is the most interesting curmudgeon I have encountered in a long time. I could picture her to the detail and kept waiting for her to show up in every short story. BNoble describes her as "loud, unnerving, tart-tongued, and completely unforgettable." The other characters could have been quite memorable but there were so many that they started to fade to grey.

Favorite Passages:
p. 162 when she visits Louise Larken "people mostly did not know enough when they were living life that they were living it." When she takes a scissors to her new daughter in law's belongings, when she is taken hostage in the hospital ER because of bad indigestion, the born again parrot in NYC . . .

This book makes me want to visit Crosby, Maine. If the town does not exist, it should. A perfect book club selection (in my mind). I didn't want the book to end.

the 2008 Pulitzer Prize Winner and the most satisfying book I've read this summer.

Book Twenty Five

What to say about this book. Terribly readable. I could relate to many parts of the growing up narrative. The first page I bookmarked was Page 97 where Kelly talks about a friend who has lost her mom: "Who's gonna remember what you were for Halloween that year or the name of your fifth grade teacher. Who's gonna loan you money to buy your first house or cry when your baby is born? Who's gonna sit in the front row of your play? Enough said . . .

When Kelly learns her dad has been diagnosed with cancer while she is currently going through chemotherapy . . . the tension in the book is so real. You can tell it's just too much.

But then there were positive moments too. Page 83 puts it in perspective. "This, like the day I was diagnosed, turns out to be a great day, a day to remember, a day when we lived up to ourselves and all our promises to each other."

Oh, oh and the ending. I won't give it away but Kelly totally gets how childhood runs out the back door when cancer hits a family.

I will read a million books about cancer going forward and it won't help me understand but I do understand the author and her words made sense.

Book Twenty Four

This book scared the #@$#% out of me.

This is not happening to our grandkids. It's already happened. Simply put - a must read and must act.

Why is nobody talking about this book? I know the economy bottomed out but c'mon. The politicians better get their act in gear. My compost bin and rain barrel aren't going to cut it.

Book Twenty Three

This was an OK book but probably not one I'd recommend outright. It's more of a book to stumble upon. Zadie Smith is an author that excels in piecing words together but I found myself skimming (I'll admit this time) to get through the 400+ pages. I found Kiki to be the most satisfying character and was absolutely disgusted by the male professors by the end of the novel. There is a lot of race relations and political analysis in this book but it bored me a bit. And I was prepared to laugh at the dry humor but didn't even giggle once.

I think the characterizations were spot on and Zadie Smith did an excellent job at painting the life at a liberal, progressive college. I'm not really being fair. In retrospect this was a great book but I didn't necessarily ENJOY reading it, you know? Ah, if I was only more academic. Guess, I've been reading too many novels with bunnies and shoes on the cover lately.

Book Twenty Two

The synopsis from Washington Post:
Cloaked in a new identity, that of widow Yanne Charbonneau, she opens a chocolaterie on a small Montmartre street, determined to still the wind at last and keep her daughts, Anouk and baby Rosette, safe. But the weather vane soon turns, and Zozie de l'Alba blows into their live. Charming and enigmatic, Zozie provides the brightness that Yanne's life needs—as her vivavity and bold lollipop shoes dazzle rebellious and impressionable preadolescent Anouk. But beneath their new friend's benevolent facade lies a ruthless treachery—for devious, seductive Zozie has plans that will shake their world to pieces.

I am disappointed. Just finished The Girl With No Shadow and feel let down. Most often books are far better than movie renditions. With all due respect to Joanne Harris, her sequel just falls flat. In particular, the characters of Roux and Yanne (who are SO full of life in the movie Chocolat) seem devastatingly boring in the book. I blame Johnny Depp & Juliette Binoche far more than Joanne Harris. They're too good.

This book was just far too dark for me. I hated how Anouk grew up to be a challenging teenager casting spells on those that made fun of her at school. I just couldn't get in to the scratched signs and the stories of witches. Guess, I'm just not magical enough.

Sequels - never a good idea really. Don't you agree?

Book Twenty

New Moon by Stephanie Meyer

It's not worth the time to review this book. I am reinforced in thinking that we are dumbing down today's girls by publishing this crap. I will go toe to toe with anyone who contests that Bella is a good role model for girls.

And yet, I'll still probably watch New Moon when it comes out this fall in theatres and :( I'll probably read the third book. Because I'm too addicted to pop culture.

And therein lies the problem.

Book Nineteen

I wasn't terribly excited about reading On Chesil Beach. The size of the book appealed and also the title - it just sounded like a good summer read. Honestly though (much like all of Ian McEwan's books) it left me a little disturbed.

The plot of the novel takes its shape over the course of one day. Florence and Edward have just been married and are consummating their marriage on the shores of Chesil Beach in Dorset England. Spoiler Alert: The marriage breaks up because of the female protagonist's "frigidity." BNoble says the novel takes on subjects of universal interest -- innocence and naiveté, self-delusion, desire and repression, opportunity lost or rejected -- and creates a small but complete universe around them. Maybe . . . I just know Florence was a detestable character and I couldn't stand listening to her voice. I wanted to know what the real deal was with Florence - had she been raped, was she just a victim of the era and family upbringing or just plain awful?

The critics cannot say enough about McEwan. Reader reviews are all over the map. I agree that he's a competent writer. I just don't know if this is his best book. That said, McEwan continues to drum up suspense and the ending of the novel was quite gripping. Should Edward have broken things off with Florence? Could they have gotten through this moment in time? And how awful that one singular hour of a lifetime can have irrevocable outcomes.

I'd put this one on the maybe list.

Book Eighteen

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is significant for many reasons in the Harry Potter series but most and for all because Albus Dumbledore kicks the bucket. This is not a spoiler because simply everyone knows that Dumbledore dies. Excepting of course, my husband, who refuses to read the books. I remember when I first read the ending of the Half Blood Prince that tears streamed from my face. I was so sad for Harry and had an ominous feeling about the next book.

Although the ending of Half Blood Prince is spectacular, the rest of the book reveals its secrets as well. We learn about apparating & horcruxes. The sixth year students begin to fall in love. And Harry Potter learns that what ultimately holds Lord Voldemort apart from Harry himself is the ability to love. Chapter 23 is an excellent recap for those that need a reminder of this notion. Oh and in case I forget, yet again, the Half Blood Prince is Snape.

So many questions yet to be answered: Who is REB? Where will Harry find the remaining 4 Horcruxes? Will Ginny & Ron finally get together? Was Dumbledore wrong to trust Severus Snape? I think I'm ready for the movie now.

Book Seventeen

Just finished Another Country by Mary Pipher. Mary is one of my top three authors (Quindlen, Pipher & Glass) and an individual I would most like to meet someday. Her book Reviving Ophelia had a huge impact on what I want to do with my life and her instructive Letters to a Young Therapist has helped me discover exactly how I want to approach my professional life.

I loved Another Country in most respects. My favorite chapter was The Weariest River and included a good deal of poetry and metaphor concerning the subject of death. Pipher talked about the Japanese word wabi-sabi which captures the intensity of feeling two strong emotions at the same time. Wabi-sabi is the perfect way to describe the experience of death - feeling beauty and sadness simultaneously.

Whenever I read Pipher's material, I feel smitten with the world she describes. She quotes my favorite people (Willa Cather, Wallace Stegner, Eleanor Roosevelt, etc.) If I must find a fault with Another Country, it would be in its length. The editor could have pared it down quite a bit as the same themes were addressed again and again. There were a few typos that were a bit jarring for the reader.

And yet, Pipher did it again. She is a rare gem and I wish I knew her better.

Book Sixteen

Full speed ahead! Finished Valley of the Dolls over the weekend. There really is NO better beach book. I was able to read over 400 pages in less than 48 hours. Found my mom's copy of the book and took a bit of a detour from the reading stack that has been slowing me down. This book really is the best soap opera lit yet to be written. Like Sweet Valley High for grown-ups.

This book confounds me. I can't imagine reading it during the era it was published (1966) and how provocative it must have been (lesbian relationships, drug addiction, questionable mental health treatment, yikes . . . ) I squirmed at the characters while I was reading - how feeble and dependent Anne was and her terrible yearning for romantic love at all costs. Jennifer's vanity that ultimately ends in her suicide. Neely - Ugh! The characters seemed to get under my skin in such a bothersome way. The only character that was somewhat endearing was Kevin Gillmore. Oh, how I ached for him when Anne fell (yet again) for the slimy Lyon. I always feel kind of icky when I finish a book like this. Such a departure from my life but not a path I would want to walk whatsoever.

This is the second time I have read Valley of the Dolls. It was a hit at the Vanaheim book club and stirred a very interesting discussion. I'm a little wary and curious of how it will review at the Stillwater Book Club. I want to hear others' thoughts about how well this book reflects the era. People either love or hate this book. I really like it FOR what the book is. Not great literature but PERFECT for laying out at the beach while downing Cheez Curls and baking in the sun.

p.s. The movie is God awful. Stay away. I've heard that the Group is another cult classic. Hoping to add that novel to next year's summer reading list.

Book Fifteen

I realized this week that I have to finish 22 books in the next month to have any prayer of making my goal. Yikes! Luckily our TV has broken down which has turned out to be a blessing in disguise. It has been a very productive start to the week.

I started the book Admission when I was at the Harvard Institute on College Admissions. It seemed to fit the theme of the week. I liked the book all in all. It was a bit descriptive and predictable and long. That said, the author depicted the college admissions world true to form. When I read the acknowledgments I noticed that several of the deans who attended the Harvard Institute were mentioned (including Janet Rapelye at Princeton).

The whole process is a bit sad. And Portia, the main character, has a good deal of sympathy for the problem at hand. Plainly, there are too many extraordinary applicants applying to extraordinary schools. What I liked about the book was the author's ability to put the reader right at the table. I felt as if I was reading the very applications and sitting down to the final process.

Portia's admission? Well, it was easy to see that coming. The love story didn't exactly grab me but was merely a vehicle to bring Jeremiah into the story and reveal that there were cracks in Portia and Mark's relationship. Obviously. I agree with this review from a reader: "Predictable from the get go and you'll have it figured long before the book ends. Jean Hanff Korelitz not a bad writer, just needs a more critical editor." I'm eager now to read Gatekeepers and compare.

Would I recommend this book to the Power Mom's at large? Maybe, but it might just get them even more riled up . . . if that's possible.

Book Fourteen

In The Scenic Route (yes, it's a road trip novel), Sylvia and Henry meander by car through the new, boundaryless Europe. Sylvia shares her store of memories with Henry -- of growing up in Westchester, where the neighborhood bully killed her turtle with a hammer; her hatred for her brother Joel, her mother's death, her father's reunion with a former girlfriend her mother had hated, his later accident and loss of long-term memory.

This book was laugh out loud funny in parts (Can I have your pickle? I haven't had a vegetable all week) but also sad. Sylvia's remembering of her mother's death and sorting through her belongings was a bit too close for comfort.

It will be interesting to process this with my friends at book club - provided they actually have read the novel. Some reviewers felt that Sylvia had gained insight by the end of the novel. I agree with Publisher's Weekly that "What's crushing isn't Sylvia's secret-it's how knowledge hasn't made her wiser." She seems lost (perhaps still grieving her mother's death) and the ending left me utterly frustrated.

"we were cowards, and that was the end of that."

Book Thirteen

This was an interesting book. Selected by Kate, the book was a total bomb at our last Vanaheim book club. I had not finished unfortunately. I loved the book. Kate also loved the book. But others, not so fond.

Never Let Me Go is like the Giver with a little twist of Handmaid's Tale combined with a smidge of Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld. It will be a fantastic movie someday, of this I am sure. Washington Post declares "It is almost literally a novel about humanity: what constitutes it, what it means, how it can be honored or denied." I'm bummed that book club could not delve into this book further as this is exactly the type of book that needs to be discovered, devoured and torn apart with like and unlike minds.

I "completed" this book but did feel complete. May have to read with another book club down the line. Good one, Kate.

Book Twelve

The most fun I've had reading all year . . . maybe the most fun I've had reading in years. Molly Wizenberg is pretty much my hero and I only wish I could have her pantry and know what to do with it. I'm extremely bummed that she is taking time off from her blog Orangette to open her husband's restaurant. I would love following her days on the internet. After reading A Homemade Life, I feel like she's a good friend. And now that I'm finished with the book, I'm miss her.

The book is so precious and revealing as she talks about her chance meeting with her now husband via her blog and the death of her beloved father. I made the first recipe, Burg's Potato Salad, and Matt Loved, Loved, Loved it. Molly's Dad and my mother had a similar passion for potato salad. The difference would be, of course, that my mom poured in dijon mustard and made it without a recipe. Burg used Ranch Dressing. I'm glad I can make potato salad now. I feel like a real adult.

I'm hoping to go back through the book this summer and try out all the recipes. And the book makes me yearn for Paris, baguettes, salad and soup. This book is oh so much more than meets the eye. I would recommend it to all my friends. If my friends don't like the book well then . . . serious problems.

Read a better review below:
Molly Wizenberg has written a beautiful tribute to her family, her father in particular, and to the soothing, comforting, exciting power of food. She starts by introducing us to her family, and before long you feel like one of them, in the kitchen late at night stirring, tasting, and baking Fresh Ginger Cake with Caramelized Pears. She takes us to Paris and Seattle and we meet all her friends along the way. Molly gently leads us through Christmas with Espresso-Walnut Toffee, her father's battle with cancer with Italian Grotto Eggs, and to the French Style Yogurt Cake with Lemon that changed everything. Her stories are simple, like her food, but comforting and filling too. Molly Wizenberg is absolutely one of the best food writers I have read. She has a way of drawing you in, making you feel a part of the story, and she makes me itch to get in the kitchen and try her recipes! This is a book I will use often, mostly when I have the urge to cook, but can't decide what. I'll give this book to friends and family and hope they get the same feelings of contentment and joy from this book as I did.

Book Eleven

There's a little something wonderful about Ann Patchett in the way that she writes. It feels honest and approachable and very non-Jodi Picoult ish. I feel like I might want to be her friend if I met her in real life. And yet, her writing doesn't quite grasp hold of me the same as Anna Quindlen or Julia Glass. Almost, but not quite.

Run was a difficult book for me to finish. The characters were developed but not enough that I cared about them in the morning when I woke and at night when I tried to read ten pages before bed. I wanted to know more about Sullivan, the young man who killed his girlfriend in a car crash and derailed his father's political ambitions. He was a minor bit character unfortunately and this was Tip's story. But all Tip wanted to talk about was the science of fish. Boring.

Patchett says the topic of the book is politics. To me, it is and always will be a book about family. Kirkus Reviews sums it up by saying "Compelling story but thematically heavy-handed." I concur. I might recommend this book to Patchett lovers but I won't sing its praises.

Book Twenty One

Saturday
By Ian McEwan

Oops. I forgot this one. Will blog later.

Book Number Ten

Losing serious momentum coming into the summer. 52 books is a long ways off but I remain realistically optimistic that my goal shall be achieved.

I picked up this book for a penny (or so) at the Barnes and Noble sale rack. I have read many, if not all, of Tracy Chevalier's novels thus far. Girl with a Pearl Earring, The Lady and the Unicorn, Falling Angels, etc. Chevalier's characterization did not disappoint. By the story's end, I felt a part of Georgian England and the Piddle Valley. I especially loved the character of Maggie. She was the perfect ratio of vulnerability and rough edge for my taste. The references to Blake and Songs of Innocence were lost on me. Completely. Another BNoble reviewer suggests that Blake is by far the most aloof, vaguely written about character in a novel. I concur.

The ending also left me unhinged. It took 200 or so pages for me to fall in love with this novel and the last twenty pages felt like an afterthought for me. I don't enjoy when all the loose ends are tied up in a pretty little bow but Chevalier's ending this time around just felt lazy.

There are moments in this book that will stay with me. When the kids find themselves lost in Bedlam after following William Blake's funeral procession, the hysteria surrounding the French Revolution and the declaration of loyalty to King George AND when Maggie blows her nose and residue from the mustard and vinegar factory become quite apparent. And YET, I'm left with just moments and not a novel that changed me. And isn't that the novel we are all looking for?

Book Number Nine

This is the book that got wet. I was absolutely distraught when my entire Sigg bottle of water dumped on the new hardcover by one of my favorite people I have yet to meet. I have loved Mary Pipher since the day she published Reviving Ophelia. That book was the reason I entered the profession of school counseling and became so interested in young women's issues. I may never get to meet Mary Pipher and let her know the impact her writing has had on my life (Letters to a Young Therapist, Another Country etc.) Knowing her through this book was the next best thing.

After the surprising success of Reviving Ophelia, Pipher was overwhelmed by the attention and demands on her time. In 2002, after a personal crisis, Pipher realized that success and fame were harming her, and she began working to find a quieter, more meditative life that would carry her toward self-acceptance and joy. Her book explores all these issues. I love her chapter titles: The Glad Game, Avalanche of Roses, A Bigger Container and Stopping for Joshua Bell. When she writes about her sixtieth birthday party and the creative presents she received from family, I wanted to sign up as her daughter right then and there. I'm not sure I want to move to Nebraska but her life is one I want to lead: the good, the bad and the ugly.

Pipher could easily be a carbon copy of myself. Pipher describes her scattered nature perfectly as "going meta." "While my laid back, slow talking husband finishes a sentence, my mind jogs three laps around town and gerenates a dozen new observations and plans." After reading her self descriptions in the preface, I just knew the entire autobiography would be about ME.

My reading of this book was less than optimal. It traveled with me to San Diego Marine Camp and then endured the aforementioned flood. I will try to re-visit the book again down the road as I know Pipher's quest for peace and embracing of meditation could be quite meaningful in my life. This is a deeply personal, courageously honest, and ultimately very inspiring book.

Book Number Eight

Kind of a dumb name for a book, unfortunately. I don't have much to say about this book except that it is classic Binchy. A novel set in Ireland with her familiar cast of characters. Fiona from Nights of Rain and Stars, the Feathers, several fancy dinners done up at Quentins Restaurant and Pastor Flynn from Whitethorn Woods. I have to imagine that Mitford lovers would find an equally compelling read here. This was the perfect book for my sickly spring break. Nothing gives more comfort than a Binchy read.

Had a sinking realization that I have 44 books yet to read this year. That silly Sawtelle book and the Somerset Maugham novel have set me dreadfully behind. Thank you Maeve for giving me a quick read to keep up my spirits and send me on towards my goal.

Book Number Seven

Winner of 2008 BNoble Discover Great Writers Award
Best NonFiction Book of 2008 - Entertainment Weekly

Read this book for the second time around. Nervously, I have recommended it for our next Stillwater Book Club discussion. I'm anticipating the discussion as we don't typically read memoirs or novels about drug abuse. I'm not sure how they'll feel about the honesty of the book and the rawness (quite a few F-inheimers though not gratuitous). I feel the book is revealing and courageous. I'm eager to hear how they felt about the book though reading it as parents and commenting on how to let kids go, divorce and how addiction is different now than it was 20-30 years ago.

I, personally, love the book. Not sure if it's my love affair of the geography of the novel (situated in Point Reyes and the North Beach community of San Fran). I could be biased. Most of all, I feel as though I've learned how to counsel families who are struggling with an addicted son/daughter. This seemed to be a well researched book on methamphetamine and I recognized a lot of Hazelden speak: the three C's, secrets make you sick, relapse is part of recovery, etc. I felt like I knew the characters intimately by the end of the book and really want to know how they are doing currently. I dreaded when Nic would relapse yet again and felt such pain for him and for the family. I wonder if he has yet hit his bottom.

Other things to discuss: the twist at the end for David Sheff, co-dependency, the charmed life, role of religions, the disease model, the effect on family (siblings, extended family, parents, etc.)

Book Number Six

This novel was an impulse buy at a weak moment. I saw it on the sale rack at BNoble and knew that I could read the book in an instant. I have loved reading the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants books so this felt like just what the doctor ordered.

The novel reminds me so incredibly much of my favorite teenage book - Just A Summer Romance. I'm left completely enamored with the geographical description of Fire Island and its depiction of a remote, peaceful getaway. Reminds me of how it felt to be at the cabin all summer and have no worries in the world. Re: the characters. Publishers Weekly calls the "love" relationship between Alice and Paul saccharine at best. I tend to agree. Unfortunately, I can't decide whether to put this book in my kid's rack or my adult fiction rack with the silly sex scenes. I think I'm going kids rack but may live to regret that decision if the wrong person picks it up.

I have a feeling this is not a book that I will remember reading in another two years but will probably pick up again when I'm bored. New York Times says "would do well under a beach umbrella." So true.

Book Number Five

So, I loved her last book Prep. Thought that she gave the narrator an incredibly unique voice that captured adolescence angst to perfection. This novel moves beyond boarding school to the relationships that confound and confuse the early 20s. “Being raised in an unstable household makes you understand that the world doesn’t exist to accommodate you, which, in Hannah’s observation, is something a lot of people struggle to understand well into adulthood."

I really wanted to like this book and I didn't hate it. Unfortunately, the novel really seemd to suffer from a sophomore slump. The narrator, Hannah Gavener, is compelling and you root for her but are left feeling in the end that you were lead astray. Kirkus Reviews writes: "An earnest, if somewhat underdeveloped, antidote to chick-lit. " I agree.

Not a favorite but glad to start a Sittenfeld collection. Eager to read American Wife up next and man oh man, nobody writes low self esteem better than Curtis.

Book Number Four

In Dreamers of the Day, Russell shifts her gaze to the Middle East, specifically to the 1921 Cairo Peace Conference, where a group of high-profile Europeans met to decide the fate of the region in the aftermath of the First World War. Didn't like the protagonist Agnes Shanklin, a 40 year old spinster, who has a personal awakening and traipses all over the Middle East with her dachshund Rosie. Agnes is an atheist. I understand why after surviving the loss of her family to the influenza and the vagaries of World War I. However, her disdain for Jerusalem and the casualness of her affair with German spy Karl didn't entice me. I don't know enough about history to find this book charming (Lawrence of Arabia was appealing but Winston Churchill seemed like a pill). Overall, I thought the novel was terribly preachy. Yes, dreamers of the day are dangerous men. We get it.

I have loved Mary Doria Russell's novels. This was my least favorite as of yet.

Book Number Three

Against my better judgment, I read this book. It was written up in the New York Times and truly was a well written memoir. One often wonders how true to form memoirs are and (for the author's sake) I hope some of it was made up. Unfortunately, Robin Romm's experience of her mother's cancer diagnosis when she was age 19 and the nine year battle that followed hit home for me. She might has well have written about the last nine years of my own life, my memoir.

Robin felt a bitterness towards hospice that I did not experience but the rawness of her feelings struck a chord. She remembers the way her mother's piercing looks went right through her as if her mom were staring at something beyond. She talks about what it was like to be around so many healthy people in their twenties, happy and lucky, while her entire world was falling apart. She describes how every moment has an intensity to it: "I would shake my head and feel the hurt in my throat become my throat, until even my skin radiated with pain." Robin feels a deep kinship with her mother and recognizes that her mom is the only person who will ever love her selflessly. With her loss, Robin is a changed person.

I am so thankful for the honesty and courage it took to write this memoir. If anyone wants to know what it felt like for me to lose my mom, they need simply to read this book. The experience was profound and indescribable - except that Robin Romm just described it for the world to know and understand.

Book Number Two

Interesting facts but not enough to inspire change. Embarking upon the Nutrition Program at Corepower Yoga, I hoped Dr. Hyman's new book would empower me to finally kick the sugar habit. Unfortunately, post-cleanse and post reading of the UltraMind Solution, I relished every last morsel of the brownie I ate last night. And then paid for it this morning with headaches, lethargy and a crummy mood. It's all true folks. Food is medicine and this book details exactly what that nasty white stuff does to our bodies. Frightening really.

Book Number One

Felt lukewarm about this book. Read the book for my Stillwater book club. Missed the discussion because I was taking part in the Corepower Yoga Nutrition program. Club members felt overall that Wroblewski was overambitious in the design of his first novel and wished that the novel had ended when Edgar returned. I personally loved Almondine and was devastated when he died but more so when Edgar left him behind. Overall, it was hard to love the characters and particularly Claude and Edgar's mother.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend especially if one is not too fond of dogs. Luckily, I am fond.