Fantasy in Death

Fantasy in Death by J.D. Robb


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I don't know how she does it. J.D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts) always manages to come up with a great and unique mystery. This book was no exception and I couldn't put it down. So glad it was a lazy Saturday! I still love the characters: Dallas, Roarke, Peabody, McNab. They are so good at what they do and so believable. Great work, as usual.

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American on Purpose

American on Purpose by Craig Ferguson


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book touched me and I laughed out loud several times which means it was really well written. I can't say that I was a huge fan of Craig Ferguson's but I will pay more attention to him now. He told a different story of a path to success that took him places he never expected or even dreamed of. It was remarkable that he was able to overcome his alcolholism and achieve the success he has.

One of my favorite critics at Entertainment Weekly raves about him on an almost weekly basis, so I have to say I was curious about what's so great about this guy. It turns out that he worked really hard to get to where he is and he has a funny, creative mind. I know that it takes at least that to be a late night host.

The book had some really sad parts, but he never let the lows get too low or the highs too high. I imagine that he is a great guy to have as a friend. I hope to read his novel one day also.

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The Help

The Help by Kathryn Stockett


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book rocked my world. I almost completely neglected my family last night trying to finish it so I could find out what was going to happen to these incredible characters. It was such a beautiful, moving story made all the more so when I think about how true it all was less than 50 years ago.

Only someone born and raised in Mississippi would be willing to write this type of story and I understand the author's hesitance as a White woman to write in the voice of two Black women in the 1960's, but I think she did an incomparable job.

This book is definitely worth all of the buzz it has been receiving and I hope the movie gets made. America's history which was really not that long ago is something that needs to be written down and told over and over again so that we can look and be reminded how far we have come as a country and how much further we have to go.

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Breaking Dawn....wow

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was the strangest book I have ever read, by a mile. I don't generally read fantasy with the exception of the Harry Potter books. For some reason, I never found the stories as strange and completely off the wall as the Twilight series. Stephenie Meyer went places that I would not have thought a human being could come up with.

I am really intrigued to see how they adapt this one into two movies, as they recently announced. The casting of Renesmee may be the hardest thing for any casting director to ever do. I wouldn't be surprised if they go CGI, like Avatar.

The only qualm I had with the book is the way Stephenie Meyer copped out on describing Bella and Edward making love. When they went on their honeymoon, I was so disappointed that it went from that night to the next morning with no description at all except to note what a mess of the room Edward had made. I don't know how it could be feasible that a vampire could do it with a human, with the way his body is described as hard as granite. Also, when they are both vampires they make love from night until dawn without stopping. This has me wondering how they could have possibly conceived when Bella was human. If Edward never 'finishes' per se, there is no conception, right? Maybe I'm overthinking it. Oh well, that's why they call it fiction.

LOVED the ending, too.

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The Girl Who Fell From the Sky

The Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book was beautiful and very sad. I truly understand the comparisons to Toni Morrison's 'The Bluest Eye,' because it puts the reader right in the mind of a young Black girl. This girl, Rachel, has survived a really horrible tragedy and it is really tough to read what has happened in her short life span. The chapters switch from Rachel and a little boy who lived in her apartment building in Chicago. There are a few chapters of journal entries from Rachel's dead mother, Nella, that I wish there were more of. The ending was a little too pat for my taste, but all in all a really beautifully written novel.

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Finished Step Out on Nothing

Step Out on Nothing: How Faith and Family Helped Me Conquer Life's Challenges by Byron Pitts


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Mom, I'm finally reading this one! It took forever for it to become availabe at the library. I'm not a regular '60 Minutes' viewer, so I'm not that familiar with the author, but I look forward to finding out more about this inspiring story.

I am so ashamed that it has taken me this long to post my review of this book, which I finished over a month ago. For some reason, I thought I had done it but I guess not. This book came highly recommended by my Mom, so I went it with high hopes. Overall, I would say that it was inspiring just missing a little something. I can't quite pinpoint what exactly I found missing. I think overcoming illiteracy to eventually become a '60 Minutes' correspondent is outstanding, I just don't think he actually revealed what took him from point A to point B. There were so many incredibly helpful people along the way, from teachers to college friends that it almost seemed too good to be true. In some ways, this book read like a fairy tale, because everything he needed to work out in his favor eventually did. I also wished he had gone into more detail about his personal adult life, like his wife and children.

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Started 'Step Out On Nothing'

Step Out on Nothing: How Faith and Family Helped Me Conquer Life's Challenges by Byron Pitts



Mom, I'm finally reading this one! It took forever for it to become available at the library. I'm not a regular '60 Minutes' viewer, so I'm not that familiar with the author, but I look forward to finding out more about this inspiring story.

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Opening line: "In five, four, three, two..."

Finished 'Cutting for Stone'

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This has to be one of the best books of 2009. It was completely enthralling from the very first chapter. I loved how each character was developed, although I wish we knew a little more about Genet's thoughts since she ended up being a major player in how the novel ended. It was really a love story to medicine and I found myself appreciating people who choose this field even more after reading this magnificent story. LOVED LOVED LOVED it!

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Started 'Cutting for Stone'

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese





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I have been on the hold list for this book since March, so I am anxious to read this one. The author lives in my neck of the woods, the Bay Area; Palo Alto, specifically. EW gave it an A grade; here is that review.

Opening line: "After eight months spent in the obscurity of our mother's womb, my brother, Shiva, and I came into the world in the late afternoon of the twentieth of September in the year of grace 1954."

Finished Codex

Codex by Lev Grossman


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I was really impressed with this other Lev Grossman novel. I didn't enjoy it quite as much as I did his newest book, 'The Magicians,' but I still found myself racing to the finish to find out what was going to happen to Edward Wozny. Gaming isn't really my thing and neither is medieval literature, so I wouldn't think I would enjoy this book as much as I did. It was kind of like 'The Da Vinci Code,' but with less twists and a better final reveal.

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Finished The Group

The Group by Mary McCarthy


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I had never even heard of this book but it was briefly featured on an episode of 'Mad Men.' The character Betty Draper was reading this in the bed and they showed the title. I love when they show what characters are reading on TV shows because it makes things seem realistic. This is a sure change from the contemporary fiction that I have been reading lately as this book is set in the period of 1930s to 1950s. We'll see.....

This book blew my mind. It was truly a glimpse into a lifestyle you rarely get this many details about. I love the idea of fleshing out what happens to a group of friends after they graduate from college. This book only went as far as six years post graduation, I would have loved to find out where they all were twenty years after. The really insightful and best part of the book is the period it is set in, when women went to college and very few went on to careers outside of the home. Almost all of the women in the group got married, to varying degrees of success.

At first I was worried there were too many characters with too many similar names (Libby, Lakey, etc), but I eventually got in the groove and couldn't put it down! When reading the part that describes (in detail!) Dottie's first time, I found myself looking around to make sure no one saw what I was reading, it was so realistic. Almost all of the stories were heartbreaking, especially Kay's and I won't give away the ending. It didn't come to much of a shock. I'm so glad to have discovered a book and author I might never have known about. I'd also like to read her memoir about growing up Catholic, because I could likely relate to that too.

The only thing I wish there was more of was Lakey's story. She appeared at the very end, but the tidbit left me wanting more.

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Starting The Group

The Group by Mary McCarthy



I had never even heard of this book but it was briefly featured on an episode of 'Mad Men.' The character Betty Draper was reading this in the bed and they showed the title. I love when they choose to show what characters are reading on shows because it makes things seem realistic. This is a sure change from the contemporary fiction that I have been reading lately as this book is set in the period of 1930s to 1950s. We'll see.....

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Opening line: "It was June, 1933, one week after Commencement, when Kay Leiland Strong, Vassar '33, the first of her class to run around the table at the Class Day dinner, was married to Harald Petersen, Reed '27, in the chapel of St. George's Church, P.E., Karl F. Reiland, Rector."

A Happy Marriage

A Happy Marriage: A Novel by Rafael Yglesias


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book touched my heart. It's not technically a memoir but I put it on the memoir bookshelf because the author has been open in all of his interviews in noting that it is autobiographical and based on him and his late wife's relationship. I also read Joan Didion's ‘Year of Magical Thinking,’ which was a beautiful elegy for her husband, but I don’t think you can compare ‘A Happy Marriage’ with that book. Somehow I feel like I really came to know the author and his wife over the course of the novel. They both deal perfectly with describing the loss of a beloved spouse.

This book somehow touched me even more by describing when the couple first met and their first time. It alternated chapters from when they first met to the last days of the wife’s life. I really can’t do a sufficient job describing the book because it is so beautifully written but I highly recommend it.

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Entertainment Weekly gave it an A- in this review.
Here is the NY Times review.

Finished Her Fearful Symmetry

Her Fearful Symmetry: A Novel by Audrey Niffenegger


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book was unusual right from the beginning. I have never heard of mirror image twins before, and I don’t know if they actually exist but the idea of two people coming out that way is disconcerting. Audrey Niffenegger did a great job as always of describing almost every nuance of each character’s life, even the ghost Elspeth/Edie. The beginning of the novel gives no foreshadowing of what eventually happens, and I was unsettled to say the least. I don’t want to give anything away, but I just could not come to terms with what happens at the denouement of this gripping book. It pains me to know that the only characters who end up happy are Martin and Marijke. Even though I wasn’t thrilled with how everything played out, I still think this book deserves 4 out of 5 stars just because of Audrey Niffenegger’s ability to write really compelling characters. I think the EW review (which was a C+) was a little harsh; I would give this book a straight B grade. There is absolutely no comparison to her prior work, ‘The Time Traveler’s Wife,’ which I LOVED. I think she still did a great job telling another completely unique story.

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Here is the EW review.

Starting Her Fearful Symmetry

Here is the author talking a little bit about the title and her writing process, which I found to be very interesting. I loved her other book 'The Time Traveler's Wife' so I can't wait to see what she did with this one.

Opening line: "Elspeth died while Robert was standing in front of a vending machine watching tea shoot into a small plastic cup."

Western Skies

Western Skies by Nora Roberts


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I bought this one when I bought Bed of Roses and I quickly devoured it as well. These are re-prints of two of her older stories, so they lack the punch she currently writes with. Still enjoyable, though.

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Bed of Roses

Bed of Roses by Nora Roberts


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I can't think of a better way to spend a lazy Sunday than curling up with the latest Nora Roberts. Thankfully, my family let me do just that this past Sunday with minimal distractions. I cannot say enough about Nora Roberts' unique ability to draw a reader in and make you feel like you know fictional characters by page 50. I was even in tears by the end, because I was so happy and touched for Emma and Jack. The only beef I have is that I have to wait 6 MONTHS for the next installmaent in this quartet. May 2010!? Whose idea was that?! I demand an earlier release. Oh, well...I guess I'll have to read less satisfying fare until then. No other romance writer comes close.

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Barely Finished This One

Third Degree by Greg Iles


My rating: 2 of 5 stars
This one not one of my favorites by Greg Iles. It was too much for me somehow. I couldn't believe that a cuckolded husband would go this far without actually killing their spouse and it was unsettling to read.

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Water for Elephants

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen





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My mom just listened to the audio book and was telling me that she wouldn't recommend it to me, but she hadn't even gotten through telling me about the main character's childhood when I stopped her and told I wanted to read it and find out for myself. I was intrigued to say the least. Happy Reading!

Opening line: "Only three people were left under the red and white awning of the grease joint: Grady, me, and the fry cook."

This Will Make a Great Movie

This Is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I finished this one last night and I was very satisfied. Jonathan Tropper must have been very close to a female figure growing up or he is the most observant man ever. It’s almost like he has lived as a woman in a past life. The book is from the point of view of a man, Judd Foxman, but he is uniquely attuned to women. He describes the course of falling in love and getting into a rut in a marriage with alarmingly jarring detail.

I REALLY enjoyed this book, although I would never be able to cast the movie like I thought I would starting out. The actor playing the lead role of Judd will likely have to be a relatively unknown actor, because no current big star fits the bill in my opinion. The family is Jewish and specifically described, so blonde or straight-haired actors need not apply.

I had heard of sitting shiva before, but I am really unfamiliar with the nuances of the Jewish faith. It was nice to learn a little bit about a different culture while still enjoying a great novel. Even the ending was a nice surprise, although I saw one part coming.

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