Book Review -- Change It Up!

Change It Up!: Looking Differently at the Change You Want--And the Change You Don't by Amanda Dickson

My enjoyment rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hangover rating:  3

Source:  Personal copy

Genre: Non-fiction; self help; inspiration

Objectionable material: None

Change is fun. Change is a dinner guest we didn't know was coming, a road closed that pushes us onto the loveliest side street we would never have discovered otherwise. Change is joy. Change is being and breath and vitality. ~ Amanda Dickson

A brief, but refreshing look at CHANGE -- it can happen unexpectedly, with planning, happily or sorrowfully, but certainly at some point in life, change will happen. An interesting reminder on how we need to adjust our reaction and attitude toward change.

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January Book Club -- The Snow Child

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

My enjoyment rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Hangover rating:  4

Source:  Personal copy

Genre: Literary fiction

Objectionable material:  None

Is she real? Is she not? A child conceived of snow?

After creating a "snowman" on their Alaskan farm, Jack and Mable are left to wonder if the child they see on their frontier wearing Mabel's homemade clothing, is a blessing or a fantasy.

What a marvelous novel!

Steeped in glorious storytelling tradition author, Eowyn Ivey, has created an Alaska where only a special girl like Faina could exist.

It was a delight to read and I was completely immersed in the richness of the narrative and the descriptions of the hearty landscape, where families survived by trapping, farming and all manner of early frontier life.

The relationship between Jack and Mable was complex, yet tender. Two souls who longed for a family, and receive one in the end, but certainly not the way they expected.

And Faina -- she was everything you'd expect from a sprite, and more.

This was a special novel -- and one our book club adored.

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The Good and Bad of 2013

Late.
 
Always late.

2013 ended 7  days ago.

But here are my bookish reflections on the 49 books I read in 2013 (Goodreads says I read 52 -- my own list says only 49 -- not sure where I'm off -- oh well).

Favorite classic:  By default -- My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier.  Wow...how unfortunate that I didn't read a single classic this year.  Shameful.  However, I love me some du Maurier. 4 stars

Favorite fairy tale:  The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman -- I was scared, I was mesmerized, I was anxious…and ultimately, I was completely satisfied with the unfolding fable. 5 stars

Favorite Mother/Daughter book group selection:  Alas...once the girls entered 7th grade, they called it quits on MDBG.  I am now admitting for the first time that I failed to keep it together.  3rd-6th grade has to account for something, right?

Made me laugh out loud:  Elizabeth the First Wife by Lian Dolan --I loved the theatrical setting; I loved ALL the references to Shakespeare; I loved the comparisons between Shakespeare’s characters and their real life counterparts (Henry V & Katherine = Duke & Duchess of Cambridge); I loved that she had Team Romeo vs. Team Hamlet vs. Team Twilight (Edward doesn’t stand a chance!); it was witty, it was smart, it was clever – something I would never attribute to “chick lit.” Marred by errors -- but still funny. 3 stars.

Favorite book club pick:  Wyrd Sisters  by Terry Pratchett -- The story is a clever lampoon of Shakespeare from the opening scene onwards. It's a fast-paced romp through a parody of scenes, themes, and lines from Macbeth, Hamlet, Richard III and many more. Pratchett also throws in references to Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty (not to mention others I have probably missed). Not only is it a spoof of Shakespeare – but also a mash up of Shakespeare in Love, The Princess Bride and Monty Python. 5 stars

Favorite juvenile fiction:  Fortunately, the milk by Neil Gaiman. Only Neil Gaiman could send a father out for groceries and have him encounter aliens, pirates, dinosaurs, vampires, and a host of other creatures, only to return from his time travels with his necessary item -- milk -- for his children's breakfast cereal.  A rollicking adventure -- with amazing illustrations. 5 stars

Favorite YA fiction:  Corner of White by Jaclyn Moriarty -- This book was like nothing I've ever read: part fantasy, part time travel, part whimsy, part science lesson (be prepared for a primer on Sir Isaac Newton), part potential teen romance -- it was quite delightful! 4 stars

I hated but everyone else loved:  The Giver by Lois Lowry -- Not a current book (I guess this could qualify as a classic), but I read it for the first time this year.  It was creepy.  3 stars

Favorite memoir:  Wild by Cheryl Strayed  -- This was an amazing adventure. 5 stars

Biggest let down:  Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole -- an Internet/blogging darling - I never felt any attachment to any of the characters. The letters’ prose seemed to be far too modern to be written at the earlier part of the 20th century. As chapters shifted between time periods – there was no distinct “voice” to differentiate between the letters. If it hadn't been for the chapter headings, one wouldn’t know if it was Elspeth or Margaret “writing” the prose. The plot was thin, and the ending contrived and predictable. I was emotionally detached throughout the entire novel. 2 stars

Overall favorites of 2013: 

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell -- A cross between Bridget Jones meets a Friends episode, I didn't know I was going to love everything about this book. Everything. 5 stars

The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty -- I really enjoyed this book and how the author turned run of the mill families into an escalating moral dilemma. 4 stars

The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton -- In vintage Kate Morton fashion, she weaves a story using mothers and daughters, past and present, mystery and secrets, to create an epic WWII historical drama that kept me reading every waking moment. 5 stars

So there you have it.  My winners and losers of 2013.

Goals for 2014

·        Just read.  No pressure.  No challenges.  Sometimes I'll write detailed reviews, sometimes I'll say, "I liked it" or "I didn't like it" and that will be OK.

Finally --

Keep calm and read a great book! 

Book Review -- The Time Between

The Time Between by Karen White

My enjoyment rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hangover rating: 1

Source: Library

Genre: Literary fiction

Objectionable material: None

 

Seeking atonement over her guilt that she caused her sister's paralysis, Eleanor Murray takes a job caring for an elderly woman and becomes caught up in the woman's life of passion, danger, heartache, and deception in Hungary during World War II. 

 

Things I liked:

I love WWII survival tales. The escape by the Szarka sisters from Hungary was harrowing and dramatic.

The lush descriptions of the Carolina low country was exceptional.

Things I didn't:

Narrated from three different points of view (Eleanor, her sister Eve, and Aunt Helena) -- the alternating voices were far too similar. If it hadn't been for the chapter headers at the beginning, I would never have known which character was speaking.  It was very confusing and one deminsional.

Eleanor's two jobs for one boss was problematic: she never seems to be "at the office" -- which in real life would create many problems among co-workers.

I felt like the author was trying to manipulate my emotions -- I was not at all vested in the story and tried to push back against her literary motivations.

Details: and this totally bugged me -- library materials, not meant for her, were handed over without concern. Does. Not. Happen. Or shouldn't anyway (much like medical records).

This author's Tradd Street series is supposed to be very good. I'm still willing to give her another chance.

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Book Review -- Tell the Wolves I'm Home

Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt

My enjoyment rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hangover rating: 2

Source: Personal copy

Genre: General fiction (but really could be YA)

Objectionable material: None

June Elbus is heartbroken when her beloved Uncle Finn dies of AIDS. What he leaves behind is a portrait, a boyfriend, and sister (June's mother) who is reluctant to accept Finn's past lifestyle and the man he left behind. June must act as the peacemaker in her family to resolve the conflict within her home, even at the risk of hurting the one she cares the most about.

I loved June. A 14 yr old obsessed with Mozart's Requiem is a girl after my own heart. She was loyal, independent, fearless and carefree. Getting on a train to Manhattan from her suburban home, without an adult knowing her whereabouts, was completely normal. She fought with her sister and loved unconditionally.

My biggest hurdle with this novel was the relationship crafted between June and Toby (her deceased uncle's surviving boyfriend). For me it was just odd, weird, creepy -- they met at his apartment after school, they got drunk together, he taught her how to smoke -- I just didn't get it. At the end of the novel -- the author uses these interactions to show the deep well of love and loyalty June had not only Toby, but Finn as well, but it still seemed unnatural to me.

That being said -- I loved the layers the author created between June, her sister Greta, her parents, school, the art world -- a very multidimensional narrative that was brilliantly executed.

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Mini-book review -- Lean In

Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg

My enjoyment rating: 4 of 5 stars

Hangover rating: 4

Source: Library

Genre: Nonfiction; self-help

Objectionable material: None

 

The great thing about this book is that Ms. Sandberg is encouraging to ALL women, whether you chose to have a career, family, married, single -- all of it, none of it, or a little bit of everything. She writes that we, as women, should encourage each other in our endeavors, regardless of what they are. That when women succeed, all of humanity succeeds. It made me want to start over and pursue my career.

 

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Book Review -- My Year with Eleanor

My Year with Eleanor: A Memoir by Noelle Hancock

My enjoyment rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hangover rating: 3 stars

Source:  Nook ebook

Genre: Memoir; self help

Objectionable material: some minor language

On the eve of her 30th birthday Noelle Hancock loses her job. Life is in crisis mode.

In an attempt to bide her time until she secures another one and recreate her old "exciting" self, she embarks on a year of "fears" in tribute to Eleanor Roosevelt's quote, "Do one thing every day that scares you."

This was a pleasant memoir in the theme of many other self discovery, "do something in a year" books (live biblically, live in Italy, eat vegan -- you name it).

Her anecdotes of swimming with sharks, flying from a trapeze, climbing Mt Kilimanjaro (among others), were whimsical, terrifying, and inspiring.

Her writing was witty and clever.

Interestingly enough, I found myself more interested in the life and writings of Eleanor Roosevelt, though. There is a woman I definitely need to read more about.

A quick and easy memoir if you are looking for something effortless to read.

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Book Review -- Attachments

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

My enjoyment rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hangover rating: 5!

Source:  Personal copy

Genre: General fiction (romantic comedy)

Objectionable material:  A possible cuss word -- maybe.

 

I didn't know anything.

I didn't know it was going to be funny. On the very first page.

I didn't know that there were going to be nerds playing Dungeons & Dragons, and girlfriends emailing each other, and bad breakups, and marital drama, and a boy still living with his mom, and sadness, and uncertainty.

I didn't know you could write a romantic comedy from the guy's point of view. And it work.  Who does that?

I didn't know it was going to be a cross between Bridget Jones meets a Friends episode.

 

I didn't know I would be so happy that I'd read Eleanor and Park first, because I would have assumed that it was going to be Ha Ha Funny, when it clearly was not. Whew.

 

I didn't know that Rainbow Rowell could write two totally and completely different books, but yet nail the relationships in both. Absolutely perfectly.

I didn't know I was going to love everything about this book. Everything.

I didn't know what I was missing.

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Recovering...will be back soon.

I'm recovering from shoulder surgery -- torn labrum, repaired bicep tendon -- typing one handed is slow going.

 

Will be in a sling for a month...with rehab during my recovery.

 

I can still read -- when I'm not sleeping!

 

I've read 3 books that I've not blogged about:

 

The Light Between Oceans by M. L. Stedman -- 4 of 5 stars -- read for October book club -- we all loved it -- great discussion book. (Fiction)

 

Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan -- 3 of 5 stars -- an amazing medical mystery and journey -- but would have made a better medical journal article than a full length book. (Non-fiction)

 

Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein -- 3 of 5 stars -- a solid historical fiction account of an American pilot imprisoned at Ravensbruck concentration camp during WWII.  Suffered from my high expectations after reading Code Name Verity, one of my favorite books of all time.  (YA Fiction)

 

Back to the pain meds!