Books I Read in January 2023

Welcome to my new format for "reviewing" books! I'm just going to do the monthly wrap up and report on my books read then, all in one post with mini reviews. Okay? Okay!

Here's what I read in January:

The Love Letters of Abelard and Lily by Laura Creedle: I really loved this one about a girl with massive ADHD and a boy on the autistic spectrum. They get together in a pretty funny and then connect through their mutual love for a book called The Love Letters of Abelard and Heloise. And they use those quotes in their texts to each other and it's adorable. They both have lots of issues to deal with and it seems like there's no way they can figure out how to be together.  It's a really cute and fun story with not your typical characters. 

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman: This one we read for book club in January. This author is quickly becoming a book club favorite and ends up on our lists quite often these days! It's a fun story narrated by a nearly 8 year old girl as she watches all the crazy things going on in her apartment building. She is also dealing with the death of her grandma... her crazy grandma who has sent in on a sort of treasure hunt after she's gone. And our girl ends up realizing that all the people in the apartment building have a connection. It's awesome just as all his books are, with amazing character development. He can capture people like no else!

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir: This is the book I read from my own stacks this month. A book that has been waiting for me since 2016... because I remember buying it at Powell's bookstore when we were on a trip that year! Anyway, I loved it and it gets to be my first 5 star read of the year! What a story that totally sucks you and keeps you on the edge the whole time! Our girl ends up posing as a sly and spying on the household of the commander of the school that trains soldiers to fight and suppress her people. She needs to get information so she can save her brother from horrendous jail and torture. Our guy is one of these highly trained soldiers and he has just graduated from this school. And he wants to escape. But if he's caught they will kill him. And of course their two desires somehow come together in all the crazy unexpected ways! AHH! It's all so intense!  I immediately got book 2 from the library and I hope to fit it in during February. 

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson: This was a sort of Booktube read along, though I haven't really succeeded in connecting with anyone reading it yet! LOL! It's a great historical fantasy (is that what you call it... magic in the 1800's but not with steampunk sort of devices). Our girl has been raised in a great library with intentions of running that library someday, but an incident happens that sends her off to be questioned by the sorcerers and magic is so very much frowned upon by the librarians. Bad bad stuff. But when she meets a certain sorcerer, she begins to wonder if everything she has been taught is right. Because he... and the demon that gives him his magic... are pretty cool after all. And then after they become friends they have to save the world! Fun stuff, and so beautifully written. 

February Plans:

• Read The Last Anniversary for bookclub
• Read the 2nd Ember in the Ashes book!
• Read Siddhartha, or that Leo Tolstoy short story thing for a challenge
• Read a king/queen book for the British Forced Phase
• That's all I'm thinking of at this point!

November 2022 Books: Mini Review Catch Up!

 

Oh my word, but I am so behind in reviews. They are all one the YouTube channel though! One minute review shorts!!  And here I'll do the blogging version of that, mini reviews!

So these are the books rounded out my November reading:

The Maid by Nita Prose: It's about a girl who loves being a maid in a fancy hotel. One day she finds a dead dude, and the mystery that wraps up surrounding this guy and the people involved is really quite interesting. I find it fun and engaging, but not as crazy amazing as everyone seemed to be making it out to be. The ending was... surprising. And strange. And I still don't really know what to think about it all. I gave it 3 stars on Goodreads.

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry: I ended up loving this one! What a great sweet romance. Our main characters have been friends for years, going on a fun crazy trip together every summer. But denying all these years how they feel about each other. We get flashbacks to the previous trips, but spend a lot of time on the current trip where they finally figure things out! I gave this one 4 stars on Goodreads. I  look forward to reading more by her! I hear Book Lovers is a must!

The Fox Inheritance by Mary E. Pearson: This is a book I've had on my shelf forever, the second in a YA SF series. In the first book we learn what happened to Jenna Fox... in this book, we learn what happened to her friends, and it's CRAZY stuff! I remember loving the first book, this one was fun, but not as compelling as that first one. I gave it 3 stars on Goodreads.

Not Going There by Terri Osburn: Another book by an author friend! This one is book 3 in the "Not" series where we are following the love stories of a group of fun friends. I totally enjoyed this one about our girl who gets fired and ends up running her own bookkeeping business and then her first client is a dude that she is totally turning her nose up at... and then, she finds out he's actually pretty cool. In fact, I myself quite fell in love with him! I gave this one 4 stars on Goodreads for some fun romantic comedy escape.

Stay tuned for a catch up post on books read in December! Here's hoping I can keep up better this new year! Thought I might keep this format... and just do mini reviews from now on... hmm....

Book Review: The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth

 Book: The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth

Genre: literary fiction/mystery

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

This was September's book club book. A bunch of the members of book club have been raving about this author and I've never even heard of her. So it was fun to see what all the fuss was about!

In this one we have two sisters, each telling their story, including what life was like growing up with their mom. Most of the story is from the point of view of the sister who seems a bit autistic (Fern.) And then we get journal entries from the other sister, the one who it seems feels a bit of responsibility for the other sister (Rose.) 

Who is the "good" sister is anyone's guess at this point!

Rose is struggling with her husband and feels like having a baby would solve all the problems. But she can't seem to get pregnant. So Fern decides she is going to help her by getting pregnant FOR her. So she sets out to find a guy. And in the process, she actually falls in love with a pretty interesting dude. So things should be easy now, yes? 

But not at all. This is when things get pretty interesting and we start getting the very strong feeling that all is not as it seems. 

Most people say they can figure it out, but I can never do it, so I was pretty hooked until the end trying to figure out what was going on. 

So, yeah. I really enjoyed it! It was quick to get into it and quite easily readable. I'm good to read more by this author should she come up again.

Book Review: Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

Book: Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty

Genre: literary fiction

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

This book reminded me a lot of Anxious People which I also recently read. We have a bunch of people who don't know each other at all, thrown together in a strange and weird circumstance and then they all bond and their lives become better because of the experience. Very similar premise!

It also reminded me of that book in that at first I was like... am I supposed to like these people? Because they all have SO MANY issues that it's just depressing to read, you know. But I remembered Anxious People and how I pushed through that first annoyance at the characters and how everyone seems so much more "normal" after you get to know all their true stories.

And yep, the same thing happened here. One thing this author does is DRAG YOU IN with character development. Like, how does she do this? It's crazy amazing. And even though they all have issues that sometimes make me roll my eyes (I get tired of reading about so many marriage problems for instance... can't someone just get married and be happy about it?) everything makes more sense once you find out all the back stuff. Which also interesting to think about regarding real life, you know? Like people and their first impressions are not usually at all that real person once you get to know them and their back stories. 

Anyway, in this story, our nine strangers all check into a health retreat spa resort thing. All with different things they are hoping to get out of it. The leader of this resort also has her issues... A LOT of issues. We bounce back and forth between ALL their points of view! It's a bit intense, but never did it bother me. Everyone has such a distinct voice and again... how does she do this??? It's so impressive seriously. 

And then stuff happens and all does not go at all as they expect it to. And like I said, because of that and because of the connections they make with each other, they actually do end up coming out better people. There's a lot of stuff here to make one think about one's own life and so much that's relatable, which is absolutely saying something since I just said they all annoyed me! LOL! 

So bottom line, I truly enjoyed it and am glad once again that the book club keeps wanting to read her stuff! Stay tuned for later this week to see what has ended up on our book club list for next year's reading! Will their be even more Liane Moriarty??? 

Book Review: The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

Book: The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

Genre: literary fiction

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

This book has been waiting for my attention for years. I finally picked it up the other day and pretty much devoured it. Why did I wait so long?

This is a lovely lovely story that is perfect for book lovers... such an awesome nod to all things bookish I don't even know where to start!

We have our sad and sort of ornery-ish small town book shop owner who is very set in his ways and knows what he loves. He's sad because he's still recovering from losing his wife. When a rep from the publishing company comes to sell him their books for the season, he's pretty mean to her and then feels bad. 

Later that night,  his precious Edgar Allen Poe book is stolen after he gets drunk, and then the next day someone leaves a two year old in his bookstore with a note to take care of her. 

And bam, life changes for him. He decides to adopt this kid and then slowly slowly slowly he starts to come out of his stupor and begins to enjoy life again. Especially when he realizes he sorta kinda likes the publishing rep that he was mean to back in the day. 

It's a simple heart warming story all surrounded by a lot of book talk. If one were to list the books mentioned in this book you'd have a nice long reading list! (I think there's a link to this list somewhere...maybe I can find it. Actually I thought it would be a lot longer than this!) 

I really loved this one. For no particular reason other than the writing was awesome, the characters were real and the all the bookish love. 

  

MINI BOOK REVIEWS! September 2021 to December 2021

 So... to catch up... I'm just going to list the books I haven't fully "reviewed" yet (from 2021) with a little mini thought, and then have a fresh start for the year.

Sunkissed by Kasie West: Fun, musically-themed story that includes a summer camp romance with a hot, long haired, sensitive guitar player. All while managing to fulfill one's own dreams. Cute and fun summer romance, and just what I'd expect from Kasie West. She remains one of my all time favorite comfort authors. Love her stuff so much!

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman: We read this one for book club and while I enjoyed the first page immensely (I have never related to something SO MUCH!) I was soon feeling...um.. anxious about the story. The character made me crazy, the premise made me crazy. But my buddies said... DO NOT QUIT... so I didn't and they were right. All these things redeemed themselves and everything made sense in the end. And the characters ended up being lovely and perfectly relatable. What a great premise for a story that really looks deep into stuff we all have to deal with in life. It was great. This author's writing is fantastic, as most of you know.  

Not Playing Fair by Terri Osburn: By an author friend of mine.. and I got to read this advanced copy. Fun romance about a baseball playing librarian heroine who is getting over being dumped when a new dude shows up to play ball.  She also has issues with her mom who she hasn't talked to for years when suddenly a letter from her shows up in the mail. Oh dear! Totally fun and fluff read!

Furia by Yamile Saied Mendez: By a local author who, with this very book, was featured on Reese Witherspoon's Book Club! It's about a girl who's dream is to play soccer, but her family thinks it's crazy for her. She is out to prove them wrong!

You Have a Match by Emma Lord: This one is about what happens if you take a DNA test and get a surprise. Our girl realizes she is a perfect match to be sisters with someone who lives in her town, but has never met. So they meet up and decide what they will do from there. Confront their parents? Become friends? Or not? This one features summer camp experiences too, just like the book above. 

A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey: I really loved this one (fantastic writing!) about a Cuban girl from Miami who is struggling with lots of things that have gone wrong in her life, so her family ships her off to spend the summer with her aunt in London. And how she finds herself there despite her best efforts to continue to hate life. SO MUCH FOOD in this book! I need all the recipes! (As if I could 1. actually make them and 2. actually eat them. Sigh.)

And those are all the books I read starting from when I last posted a review through the end of 2021. Not a whole lot I know, but I'm at least still reading!

Book Review: Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Book: Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Genre: literary fiction?

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

I don't even know how to describe this little book. It's fascinating and trippy and weird. And I totally enjoyed it!

It starts out with us meeting a dude living in some sort of palace... but this palace is huge and goes on forever. And our dude seems to be the only one living here... with the exception of some other dude who visits him now and then.

Our guy is fascinating but we can tell he is... off... somehow. He is very very immersed in this palace place and it just seems so weird. He keep meticulous records and lives off the land (the sea actually because this palace appears to be on the water) and he seems very happy and content. 

But then one day strange things start to happen, and our dude starts getting a clue that something is not right. And that's when we as readers start realizing what's really going on too.

And I really can't say much else because it would all be SPOILERS!

But guys, have you read this book? What did you think? I feel like there's something deep and symbolic about it all but I don't really know what! Anyway. Good, fast, interesting little read this one was!

Book Review: Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

 

Book: Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Genre: Literary Fiction

Rating:  ★ ★ ★ ★

Often we'll read non fiction books and say... wow! That reads like fiction! Well this book is just the opposite... it's a fiction book that reads like non fiction! So very interesting!

It's set up in an interview style, as if a reporter is talking to and compiling the answers of, all the people involved in this story. And the story is the rise and fall of a very famous band called Daisy Jones and The Six during the seventies. A fictional band... remember. But it feels so real that it makes one wish for pictures and the desire to go and google them and see what they look like, and find their songs and listen to them! LOL!

Anyway, it centers around the leader of The Six... and Daisy Jones, both very interesting characters, with lots and lots of flaws. So  many flaws in fact that I wasn't sure I even liked them very much. Most of the people in this story are very selfish, which makes me want to shake them up and say what are you thinking? 

Still, you can't help but get attached to them and wonder how it's all going to go down, which, if you know the normal course of many bands, you can probably predict. 

Anyway, it was a fun read and enjoyable just because it was so different. 

Let me know if you've read it and what you think... or if you pick it up and give it a try. But remember... it's a FICTIONAL band!

(The author does say she based some of it from the story of Fleetwood Mac... so maybe some of it is true? Ish?)

Book Review: Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty

Book: Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty

Genre: Literary fiction
Rating: ★ ★ ★


The book club is in love with this author! My feelings are somewhat neutral. I mean I enjoy her books, but I don't devour them like some do. Not sure why, but there it is!

This latest read was probably my least favorite of the ones I've by her (which are Big Little Lies and What Alice Forgot.) And again, I'm not sure why. Just didn't grab me fully I suppose.

It's about three couples all dealing with life and especially some incident that happened at an impromptu BBQ they all attended two months before the book actually takes place. The incident drives the story, and we bounce from the current day, to the "day of the BBQ." We are strung along forever it seems, dying to know what actually happened and trying to guess the whole way what it is. I didn't guess it. And when all was revealed, I was a little surprised by what caused all the stress.

I won't reveal this incident in case you want read this book, but it did hit home for me since a very similar incident happened in my own family just last year. So given that, it was a bit painful to read, but I'm happy everything.... spoiler.... ended okay. Otherwise I may have felt very different.

Anyway, the characters are all really well written and so true to life. This is the biggest strength of this author I think, such realistic characters. But that being said, I really didn't like any of them! And as you know, not liking the characters goes a long way to how you end up enjoying the book I think! I just see that they all have pretty awesome lives, and yet they complain like crazy! Maybe it means I should take a look at my own awesome life and stop complain, right?

Have you read this one? What did you think?

Book Review: Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

Book: Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

Genre: Literary fiction
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★


This was this month's book club read. A book I've seen talked about everywhere and am happy to have finally read it. I went into it knowing nothing much about it though, and I guess that's because it's kind of a hard book to explain!

It's about two families mostly. One who lives the so called perfect life. Perfect house, perfect kids, perfect jobs. Everything. They have a rental property and one day when they rent their house to a mom and her daughter, everything changes.

Not that this mom daughter pair were "bad" but just that their presence got something moving... first with one of the sons who ends up best friends with the daughter. And then the daughter starts hanging out at the perfect house. Then the mom ends up housekeeping at the perfect house. Then one of the perfect daughters (or not so perfect depending on how you see things) ends up  hanging out with the mom turned housekeeper at the rental house.

And by all this happening, everyone's perspectives starts to change. It's fascinating.

It sounds so simple doesn't it. But it's really quite a complicated story. And so very engaging. I loved the writing style and would love to read more by this author.

Seriously though, if you haven't read this one yet, add it to your list.

Book Review: Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

Book: Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

Genre: Literary Fiction
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

After hearing about this book forever, I have finally read it thanks to book club! It lived up to the buzz in that it was very engaging and page turning, with lots of relate-able characters going through real world problems.

The story centers around three ladies, all with their own crazy problems. In the meantime, they are sending kids to Kindergarten and we know that something terrible happened at Kindergarten fundraising Trivia Night. So this is a flashback of sorts to everything that led up to that incident. Scattered in between all the chapters is the interviews that the detective is doing with all the parents. That was fun.

So one mom is dealing with the fact that her older daughter wants to move out and live with her dad. This devastates her.

One mom is dealing with the fact that her son has been accused of bullying, and also she eventually reveals the story of how her son came to be and that she doesn't really know who his father is.

And finally, one mom who appears to have a charmed and perfect life, is dealing with domestic abuse. Her husband is a true Jekyll and Hyde. It's really sad and scary.

And it sounds so simple in summarizing it, but wow, you get invested fast in all their lives and the incident that you know is coming and keeping you hooked to find out what exactly happened! I think we were meant to be shocked by the big reveal at the end, and while I can never guess how things will end, I must say I wasn't all that shocked but just... wow. Okay. Ew. LOL!

Great story! And a book that addresses so many issues, without being preachy about them. And truly I do love this author's writing style. I have a few more to read I think!

Book Review: Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

Book: Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate
Genre: Literary fiction
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

So much buzz last year around this book! And I'm happy to report that for me it lived up to the hype! Such a crazy gripping story!

It's fictional story but based on something that really happened in history, in Tennessee between 1920 and 1950 or so. This lady decided to have an "orphanage" and sell kids to rich people. I guess some of the kids were truly orphans, but many of them were stolen kids... stolen from poor people who signed them away without realizing what they were signing.

We follow the story of one family who's parents went to the hospital so the mom could have twins. They left the rest of the kids on their shanty houseboat. Before they could get back, the bad guys came and stole those kids and took them to this home. This part of the story is told in the voice of the oldest girl, Rill, who is 12 years old. It's heartbreaking.

We flip back and forth between that and the present day where our other girl has a chance encounter with a grandma at a rest home and that makes her think this person has a connection to her own grandma. She starts investigating and uncovers the truth about her family.

I was gripped and totally immersed in this story. Great writing moved it right along and had me at every page. I loved it. Even though it was a painful story, it was told in a hopeful way and so it wasn't necessarily a downer. I appreciated that too. Perfect. So glad to have finally read this one!

We'll be discussing it at book club this week. I'm hoping everyone else enjoyed it too!

Book Review: Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

Book: Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

Genre: Magic Realism
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

This is the second book we chose as part of our endeavor to have a kpop book club! Yes! A book club in which we read books that the kpop idols have loved and recommended... or books about Korea... or books that are like a kdrama, etc. We have quite the list to choose from.














This particular book (and it's author specifically) is listed on several favorite lists from the idols. For instance:

RM from BTS













JB from Got7

Jonghyun from SHINee

As I said when I announced this book, how fun would it be to discuss this book with these guys and see what it is about it that speaks (spoke...sob) to them. Gah. If only we could have a book club where they are included. Unless they are Goodreads members and have already found us using an alias or something. I mean, it's possible....

I was scared of this book and this author. I've heard lots of praise for him, but have always assumed it would be "too hard" to read. I am happy to report that was not the case. In fact this book was very very easy reading, except for a few scenes that had subject matters that were hard. But the readability and the engagement and the page turning was great! So now that encourages me to even perhaps try another of his books one of these days!

Anyway, this story is basically about a 15 year old kid who runs away from home and heads out on a bus to a new city and has no idea what he plans to do. He ends up hanging out a cool and tiny little library where he makes friends with the guy manning the front desk. On alternate chapters, we are following a 60 year old mentally disabled guy who had a trauma happen to him when he was a kid that caused his disability. He is minding his own business, living his simple life when suddenly he feels compelled to go on a sort of quest... he has stuff to do but he doesn't know what it is, but he will know when it happens.

The stories and back stories of these two and also the librarian who we meet eventually, all sort of tie together, and it's quite fascinating. But also, very confusing and bottom line, while I enjoyed the journey, in the end... I didn't get it! I don't understand the point! WHAT WAS THAT ALL FOR????

But I think it's one of those books where it's just... figure it out and whatever you come up with... that works!

I read that some  people figure everything is a sort of a dream state, and all the crazy and weird things that happen could happen in our dreams, and it's bordering on conscious and unconsciousness. Or, it's that the characters are coming and going in and out their bodies, and inhabiting each others' bodies. Yeah?

I don't know. But it's crazy some of the stuff that happens. But I enjoyed it, despite a few scenes that were a bit graphic for my taste.

There is a big emphasis on books, music and art. I loved that. There was also many profound things that were said where I was like... yeah man. I googled the quotes.. here are a few:

So anyway, in the end, I would say I enjoyed reading this one, but I truly have no idea what it's trying to say! If you've read it and have a theory, do share! Enlighten my small brain! And if you've read others by this author and enjoyed them, let me know which one should be next on my list!

Emily has announced our next read! Click below!!

And if you want to see me SAY all the above things I just WROTE, but with lost more stuttering (no, hopefully those are edited out) then you can:

Book Review: Please Look After Mom by Kyung Sook Shin

Book: Please Look After Mom by Kyung Sook Shin (translated by Chi Young Kim)

Genre: contemporary literary fiction
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★


This is our first book in our new kpop book club! I'm thinking I might be the only one reading along! LOL! (Maybe Emily will still? )

Anyway, fabulous book, this one is. It's about a Korean family and one day when the older parents (I think they are in their 70's maybe) come to Seoul to visit, the mom gets separated from the dad at the train station. He gets on and she does not. (This has actually happened to us in Rome only we all got off and my husband couldn't get past the crowd to get out and the train left with him still on it!)

And now they can't find her. So they begin to search everywhere, with no luck.

As they search, we learn all about this family. The first part is from the POV of the daughter (using second person which was strange at first, but then you get the hang of it) We learn this daughter has grown up to be a famous author (making me wonder if much of this story is based on the author's real life family) and she and her mom have not really got a long much of late, but she had noticed a few times when she visited that her mom wasn't doing too well, but hadn't said anything. We learn lots of other things too.

The second part is from the oldest son's POV, this time in third person. And we learn many other things about their mom. How she was so hard working, and did so much for her family. And how everyone pretty much just took her for granted. The story flips between past and present a lot... between these kids growing up and the current day as they try to find her.

The third part is from the husband's POV, back to second person. And he is feeling bad about all the crap he gave his wife, like leaving her for another woman. But then coming back as if nothing had happened. We learn about their first meeting and their backgrounds. We also learn some interesting things about the mom that no one knew. She had her secrets.

The fourth part is now from the mom's POV, which is told in first person. And it's a bit stream of conscious and a bit hard to follow as she bounces from place to place and person to person. Is she a ghost now? It seems something like that, but it is never really explained. But we get her thoughts about all the people in her family, especially the ones we've just met. Also, more secrets!

Finally, we are back with the daughter who ends the story with an epilogue that ties it all together.

And so we are left with this overwhelming powerful feeling to love those that are with us WHILE they are with us. And to have no regrets about your relationships. To not leave things unsaid. And most especially, to not take your mom for granted! And to realize that she is a person just like you are with her desires and dreams. That she wasn't BORN a mom, but is a normal person like we all are.

All of this while also learning about the Korean culture... both now and in the recent past. Kimchi and rice. Ancestral rites. Holidays. Buying your family underwear with your first paycheck! (I get a kick out of that one!) And so many more. It was all fun and fascinating. I do wish they would have left in a few Korean words. They said Mom so many times, I think if they would have left that one iin we would have caught on, you know? And it would have given it a little more Korean flavor I think. But just a thought in passing here...

I really enjoyed it and think this was a great book for our first kpop book club pick! What's next????

Book Review: The Orphan Keeper by Camron Wright

Book: The Orphan Keeper by Camron Wright
Genre: novel based on a true story (is that it's own genre? Sort of a novelized memoir?)
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★


Hey it's our book club book and book club isn't happen for another week and a half and I have the book read already! Things are CHANGING around here!! LOL.

I loved this guy's other book, The Rent Collector and this book has had it's fair share of buzz (man I seem to be catching up on all the buzz lately.. well some) and so the book club voted it in and here we are!

It's about a boy who grew up in India until he was about 8 years old, and then bam, one day he was kidnapped and sold to an orphanage where he was then adopted to an  American family, which happened to be located here in Utah. This is that crazy crazy story!

Because later when he grew up, he went back and found his Indian family! With hardly ANYTHING to go on. He had no idea what city to look in... and we are talking INDIA here! It's really an amazing story. And I loved it! I devoured this book in fact.

The story is novelized to fill in all the missing blanks from when he was a kid and to change around a few characters, but if I'm understanding correctly, it's basically following exactly what happened. Someone just took him off the street one day when he was waiting for his dad and they took him to an orphanage. Luckily, it seems he was treated well and life was actually better for him, but still... his family! His mom! He even tried to escape at one point, but went back to help the sick girl that needed his knowledge because he knew what plant would help her.

When he arrived in America, he tried to explain to his new family that he still had a family, but it took awhile for his English to be good enough to get through to them. And once it did, they tried as best they could to figure it out, but everything led to a dead end. So after awhile, they gave up.

So it wasn't until he was in college that he started feeling a draw to his country. He meet some wonderful people and they helped him get back (mostly.. he had some resistance too.) And once he was there, he went off just some small clues and started combing the area to figure it out. The way he finally ends up finding them is... amazing. And yes, I cried.

Anyway, his life has turned out be be pretty good in the end.  And he has been able to live sort of teh best of both worlds. But he still struggles. Because of this question: Is it good that he was kidnapped and taken from his family? Because look at what he has now... and how he has been able to help the people in India... so, was it good thing?  Ah, it hurts my heart to try and answer this question! I'm sure we will discuss at book club and find all the answers!

The book was beautifully written. Sometimes a touch too flowery in description for my taste, BUT I did devour it and could hardly put it down, so it's obviously engaging and paints a wonderful picture of what life must have been like in India... and afterwards... for this guy.

Book Review: A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

Book: A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
Genre: Literary Fiction
Rating: ★★★★☆

I've been looking forward to reading this one all year! And finally it came up on our book club list. Finally.

But, I was put off right from the start when the main character was described as being 59 and then proceeding to act much older than that. I'm all like, 59 ain't that old, you know? And people who are 59 aren't THAT computer illiterate. In fact, they are the ones, I thought, that brought the computers to the masses. Don't make a 59 year old computer stupid!

Anyway... but it got better... lol.

Still, I had to picture this character more like 69 or 70 for what he was saying and doing to make sense in my head. Because guys, 59 just isn't that old these days.

Anyway, it was a bit of a sad story in that this guy is missing his wife like crazy and he kinda sorta wants to die. But he kinda sorta doesn't want to either. So when he gets new neighbors that both irritate the crap out of him, and yet become endearing to him too... he starts to see life a little differently.

And that's the beautiful thing about this book. How making simple connections and helping the people around you, even if they make you crazy, is what makes you want to keep living.

In the end, I quite loved this book and its message. How people that at first seem so different can come together and be a sort of family. And how no matter how ornery this old guy is, he can still be loved and he still has a ton to contribute to the world and to those around him.

Yes. It's a great story. Read it.

Book Review: Those Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula K. Le Guin

Book (Story?) : The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula K. La Guin
Genre: Short story/literary fiction
Rating:★ ★ ★ ★ ☆


Here's another book (story) that I picked up thanks to BTS and all the tons of literary references that their videos and teasers and theories and concepts are always promoting and throwing at us.

This one made an appearance in their Spring Day video last year (wow it's been a year already?? ) and everyone went wild. Since I'm not all that into the crazy theories these guys love to wrap the fandom up in, I have no idea what the connection is thought to be between their video and this story. And I could look that up, but I know you all probably won't care either. (Oh, man I found this, so if you are interested, take a look!) So on to the story!!!

Yeah, basically this is a short story that I'm going to count as a book since it's in a nice hardback bound copy and looks very bookish!!

In the beginning we get a description of the town people and how they are all on their way to the race grounds where a horse race is about to happen as a celebration to the beginning of summer. It's a beautiful day and everything is pretty and perfect. And the people are happy. Oh so happy!

We then get a more detailed description of this town called Omelas. How the people are so good and happy that they don't need a king, or slaves, or clergy or soldiers or weapons. They had few rules and laws. And yet, we are told over and over, that they are not simple minded or naive. They are mature and intelligent.

Do you believe all this? we are asked. The narrator knows it's hard to accept. That people could actually live this way.

If not, he/she says, then how about one more thing.

And then we learn about the ugly secret. The bad bad thing kept in a closet. ( I will not tell you want that thing is because that would be spoiler-ish. You have to read it to find out!) The thing that everyone knows about but no one does anything about. That thing that without it, the happiness of the town would no longer be. The thing that people come to visit and are repulsed by, but still go about their joyous happy lives.

Except those who don't. Except those who walk away from Omelas.

Hmmm........

Yeah. I have no idea what it means. But it feels like it could be pretty deep and symbolic. Most of the short stories I've read in my life have this sudden punch in the gut at the end, and this one is no different. It's beautiful and ugly at the same time. Omelas is not what it appears to be. There is something about Omelas that make some people want to leave, even if it's a blissful happy place. And what is the price for happiness anyway? And what would you do gain it and keep it?

This is the third thing I've read thanks to the BTS boys... what's up next? Not sure, but let me just say I've only begun to scratch the surface.

Book Review: What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

Book: What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
Genre: Literary Fiction- ish
Rating:★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

So here's a book I've heard about forever and finally read for book club this past week. And no, it's not the Alice one who has Alzheimer's. That's the other one! (We got these books mixed up SO MANY TIMES!)

Anyway, it's about an Alice who fell one day and clunked her head. She woke up thinking she was 10 years younger than she is and pregnant with her first child. When she realizes it is actually 10 years later and she has three kids and her marriage is on the rocks, she is blown away. How could this be?

She slowly tries to figure out her "new" life. And is even more blown away when she figures out she has become a stranger to herself during these ten years. And it all seems due to someone named Gina who no will tell her about.

It's all very mysterious.

I found the premise really fascinating because the first thing it does is make you think about your own life and would you recognize yourself ten years from now. Or would your younger self recognize the you you are today? Have you made good changes or bad ones? Have you done anything with your life? Have you alienated all the people around you? Are the things that were important ten years ago still important?

It's an interesting thing to think about!

I felt a little depressed though because it made me crazy that her life was so messed up, in some sense. Pretty great in others I guess. But her marriage fell apart because of just stupid things and it seemed like even her new perspective on life wasn't going to fix it. That really killed me. But....


I'll just leave it there in case you decide to read it. But probably you've all read it already and you know what I'm talking about anyway!

In the end, I really liked it. It was well written and fun and fast paced. Even in my altered reading state these days, I managed it easily!

Book Review Thoughts: Still Alice by Lisa Genova

Book: Still Alice by Lisa Genova

Genre: Literary Fiction
Rating:★★★☆ ☆

This one of those books that reads quickly and is engaging and compelling but in the end you just wonder why you put yourself through it. Well, at least that's what I felt. Because, this is a sad sad story. The story of a youngish person (because I know this for a fact, 50 is still young) who gets Alzheimer's. This is the story of how she watches herself slowly slowly slowly get worse and worse and worse. It's the story of how her family deals with it, each in their own way.

You know how we sometimes say about nonfiction books, that they read like a novel? Well, this is a novel that feels like a nonfiction book. It feels like this is a real person that this really happened to. It's not, but it is. As many people end up dealing with this very situation.

Which brings me to wonder, why do we enjoy reading (and authors enjoy writing ) these types of stories. It made me wonder if I'm supposed to walk away feeling scared to death every time I forget something. Or feel foggy. Or can't quite think of the word I want.

Or am I supposed to walk away feeling all depressed about a disease that there really is nothing that can be done about. It's such a helpless feeling.

Or, and I suppose this is what we decided at book club, do we read these books just to be aware that there are people who are dealing with this and that when we come across them in our lives (both the youngish people and the many oldish people that we know who deal with it) we feel more compassionate and understanding then we otherwise would. Yes, I suppose this is what we should take away from it. Because I for one, hate walking away from a book that makes me feel helpless, scared and depressed. You know?

Bottom Line: Quick and compelling. You should read it and become more compassionate!

Other Reviews:

Lisa did a great job in telling the story from Alice's perspective. This is the kind of book that makes you appreciate those who have the disease better. From Reading on a Rainy Day

I felt that the author also does an excellent job of describing what is going on in Alice's head as the dementia increases. In fact, she does such a good job that I sometimes forgot the book was fiction and not about a real person. From Always With a Book

I loved Still Alice and can’t recommend it highly enough. It offers such insight and would make a wonderful gift for anyone touched by this devastating, incurable disease in some way. From Books on the Brain

I thought the author really understood the experience of a person who is diagnosed and then lives with the disease of Alzheimer’s. From Semicolon

Book Review Discussion: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Book: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
Genre: Literary Fiction
Rating: ★★★★☆
For: book club
From: bought with a Target gift card awhile back

Short Synopsis: Louisa has just lost her job and is on the search for another one. With the help of a temp agency, she decides to take a position as a caretaker for a man who has been badly hurt in an accident. In fact, he is a quadriplegic. She is nervous at first and hates the job for quite awhile. The guy, Will, is ornery and mean. But he is not an old ugly guy as she thought he might be. In fact, he's attractive and interesting, when he wants to be. As the both become used to the situation, they end up close friends and Lou has managed to make Will's life brighter than he ever dreamed possible. But he has a plan, and when she discovers that plan, it makes it her mission to change it.

My Response: I loved this one. The banter and slow burn between these two. The ever increasing fascinating relationship they create. Definitely my kind of book. A simple story, with a small cast of characters and a goal you can root for.

Bottom Line: A beautiful book. I loved it.

Let's Talk About: (Beware SPOILERS ahead!)

The ending begs to be discussed and so if you haven't yet read this book and don't want to be spoiled, stop reading now! If you have and want to discuss the ending, keep reading.

I knew the ending was going to be sad. I'd heard enough about this book to know that much. But still, as I read, I hoped that the ending I feared was not the ending that actually happened. But yes, Will goes through with his plan, which if you are here reading, you know is assisted suicide. It's a controversial topic and one that some people feel is justified and others not so much. I waffle depending on who's talking. I can see Will's side. But then again, I think I identify much stronger with Lou's. She feels like she CAN  make his life worthwhile. And why won't he let her? So selfish of him, right? And yet, is it selfish of her to make him live his life confined to a chair when he was active before? Who's in the right? Do you think if Will would have changed his mind he would have been happy? I want to think so, but probably not. It's a hard hard thing, and one that sadly many people have to face. What do you think?

Other Reviews:

This book was like driving in a snow storm and coming up on a red light, but when you tap on the break your car doesn't stop...and then everything slows down and you're just staring at the inevitable wishing you could open the car door and bail but you can't, you're are just sitting there helplessly slamming the break to the floor and watching IT coming. From Alternate Readality

A story of many subtleties that comes down to the choices we make and the effect those choices have on those we love. From The Novel Life

As a reader, I was there for every argument, humiliation, smile, and moment of joy. I was so involved that I never wanted to put down. From Literate Housewife

All I can say for certain is that the combination of some of the sweetest prose written, characters that played on my every emotional chord while remaining utterly real, and a storyline that haunts and pokes and tests readers left me absolutely devastated, a dried-out husk of my former shelf. From That's What She Read