the one where death is the author.

This book absolutely wrecked me.  I'm still scraping away tears as I write this review.  The first fifty pages had me confused, the next 400 pages held my interest and the last 50 swept me away.

I will remember images from this book forever . . . Hans Habermann keeping watch and reading with Liesel through her nightmares, Rudy Steiner asking for his kiss, Rosa calling everyone a Saumensch, the pluckishness of Liesel stealing books from the mayor's wife.

I loved the last line of this book.  "I am haunted by humans."  Stories of World War II always grip my heart but this is perhaps the best novel I have read yet about Nazi Germany - the brutality, the heroism, the complex relationships that existed then.

The narrator in the book is Death himself.  He talks about collecting souls.  If you have ever lost someone close to you and witnessed their transformation, this book will mean something different to you.  I hope my soul is "sitting up" when that time comes.

The author has such control over the reader's emotions, revealing the plot at surprising moments.  You're left breathless.  Such an amazing book.  I want to read it all over again.

the one that is a mystery.

Will summarize later but consider this book read.

the one where dogs talk.

Another book from Christmas.  Note yellow lab, front and center. 

I was disappointed in The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein.  I know this is a popular book club pick and yet I just couldn't get into the voice of Enzo as the narrator.  An interesting idea.  I guess I just don't believe that dogs are that philosophical.  I also wasn't having the metaphors about life being like a racetrack.  Not my hobby.

Others might like this book.  The plot line is extremely sad.

And if you like dogs, you might be touched.  I just really wasn't.  A quick read.

the one that EVERYONE is reading.

I can totally see this book becoming a movie.  Kathryn Stockett, the author, sounds like she's loaded and grew up without a care or concern in this world.  She's a good author though and she knows how to spin a tale.  In this case, a tale of 3 women who anonymously write a book about the domestic help in Jackson, Mississippi and the horrid racism that existed there in the 1960s and probably still lingers.

That Hilly Holbrook . . . she is about the worst villian that ever was.  Many of the characters in the book make mistakes and you find a way to forgive them for their ineptitude.  Hilly is evil.

The coming of age that Skeeter experiences and her mother's bout with cancer was emotional to read.

I can't imagine that Kathryn Stockett will write another novel quite this good.  She writes the voices in this one pitch perfect because she lived the experience.  I have heard that some critics feel this book was written to help whites feel better about the time.  That it was "soft."  That Kathryn tries to impose her idea of what it's like to be domestic help and perpetuates stereotypes.  That the book is utterly predictable and doesn't hold memorable lines.  I would perhaps agree but at least the novel initiates a conversation for the many followers it will surely find in women's book groups.  And that is a start.

Looking forward to the discussion with our Stillwater Book Club.

the one that moves too slow.

Twenty 10 is off to quite the start!  I finished my second book on January 2nd.  Don't expect to see me back here for a few days though as I'm breaking open page 1 of The Help next.

In Praise of Slowness by Carl Honore.  Learned about this book on a blog last spring.  Opened the book right away and wasn't terribly interested.  It really spoke to me though in late December when the world was crashing in.  I decided to change my schedule at work and (gasp) close the door for extended times when I was answering my email/phone messages.  I also shifted to a new way approach of handling email aka ALWAYS CLEAR OUT THE INBOX!  I stayed away from social lunches that drained my energy and actually ended up leaving work on time.

A few interesting thoughts/quotes:

"The secret of life is always to look for the tempo guisto"

Harvard Dean Harry Lewis writes a letter to every undergraduate freshman entitled "Slow Down."

In the early 1900s, many actually predicted a decreased work week (4 hours a day).  Hah!

"There is more to life than increasing it's speed"  Gandhi

A good book but it's not flashy and didn't always engage my attention.  Couldn't slow down enough to read it, I guess.  Oh the irony  . . .

the first one.

Starting over this year and my first book read is:
Traveling with Pomegranates


I didn't think too much of this book in the beginning.  Bought it 50% off in Cleveland.  Great title though about the legend of Demeter and Persephone and the transformation mothers & daughters go through.  Initially, I felt the authors (mother and daughter Kidd) had way too much time on their hands to analyze dreams and explore foreign countries.  Rough life.

That said, this was an extremely honest reflection on discovering oneself.  I'm insanely jealous of the time they spent exploring Joan of Arc and the Black Madonnas and Athena in Greece & Paris.  If you love Secret Life of Bees, you'll enjoy Traveling with Pomegranates.  Sue Monk Kidd talks about writing the book here.  I would recommend to Claudia et al who like feminist literature but no others.