1.21.2016

Okay...I've been wanting to do this for awhile...a blog about books!  What could be better?  I meant to start it at the beginning of the year, but you know, life happens (like building a house!).

I do keep track of my books on Goodreads but this is just a bit more...more for me.

Since I'm behind already this year, I'd better catch up with what I have read so far.



1.4.2016
I love these books by JK Rowling - even when they are maybe a tad too long and use words that I had to look up quite frequently! (But love the English vernacular - zebra crossing is my new favorite way to think about crosswalks!)

Another chapter in the Strike/Robin detective world. I really liked learning more about Robin and having her take a central role in this book. Be warned that parts of this book are grisly! And the ending of this one left me in a crisis - I can't wait for the next book in this series to see what happens!

 

I wasn't real sure about this book at first - within the first few pages there is a list of 182 names for the male sex organ! But this was a fun read. The main character of the book is Julius Roebuck - the owner of an out-of-the-box advertising agency. Julius majored in women's studies at college and has very interesting thoughts on the male/female relationship, especially as it applies to advertising. Although Julius might not be an admirable guy with regard to his own relationships, reading ab   1.7.2016 - Netgalley I wasn't real sure about this book at first - within the first few pages there is a list of 182 names for the male sex organ! But this was a fun read. The main character of the book is Julius Roebuck - the owner of an out-of-the-box advertising agency. Julius majored in women's studies at college and has very interesting thoughts on the male/female relationship, especially as it applies to advertising. Although Julius might not be an admirable guy with regard to his own relationships, reading about his exploits is sometimes laugh-out-loud funny. The ending of the book was well worth the read! Plus, he did have some interesting ideas and facts about advertising and mainly the battle between the sexes. 1.11.2016 Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this advanced copy! I'm so glad I was able to read this - and you shouldn't miss it when it's available! This is the story of Anna - a woman in her thirties diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's. Her family wants to do what is best for her so they find a residential home that has another young dementia patient. Their story is told alongside the story of Eve, a young mother whose husband was running a Ponzi-type scheme unbeknownst to her. They have a precocious 7 year old named Clementine. Eve becomes the cook/cleaner at the residential facility where Anna lives. This type of story could be depressing - what's more depressing than 2 young people with dementia? But it is anything but. The story is spooled out and told in different voices and different time frames until we finally understand the whole story. But what you are left with is all the positives - making the most of the time we have, how love transcends all, and how even if we forget our own name, as long as someone else remembers it's all worth it. I raced through this book and fell in love with the characters. Anna will stay with me for a long time. 1.18.2016 I couldn't wait to read this book - it was at the top of all the Best of 2015 book lists. The story of a marriage told in two parts - first, from the husband's view (Fates) and then from the wife's (Furies). Great premise. But in reality, or at least my reality, it was a tough read and reminds me why I usually don't always like the highly-acclaimed literary works or movies. A lot of the time, they leave me feeling not smart enough to get what apparently everyone else gets. And I needed help with this book - so many times I wished I was reading it on my Kindle where I could easily look up words and remember characters mentioned earlier. Plus, there were only a small, very small, handful of characters that I didn't dislike. Mostly it was a book filled with those secrets that we keep from each other and even ourselves. It was interesting to see two different sides to the same story. My favorite voice of the book came from a few little asides written from an all-knowing voice (God?). 1.21.2016 Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book! This was a fun, quick read. The story involves Lila and her food critic husband, Sam. They recently moved from New Orleans to Philadelphia for Sam's job with the paper. He's really a caricature - totally paranoid that people will find out who he is and blow his anonymity with the restaurant world. Meanwhile, Lila left her high-pressure job as a hotel chain crisis manager to become a stay-home mom to Hazel and newborn Henry and is having trouble adjusting. It's fun to read the adventures that ensue and warning - don't read this book hungry because there's a lot of food descriptions! Hard to know how to rate this short ghost story by Gone Girls author. I love all the twists even in this little story and want more! I want to know what happens! Just a tease and then lots of questions.