Reading Challenge - Book 20

Actually, I've read more than 20 books this year. I've got a couple reviews up at Books I Think You Should Read, and I also got behind in writing for a bit, so some just got lost in the shuffle. So yay for lots of reading in 2017!

The Honest Spy by Andreas Kollender was another of my wonderful Kindle First books for having Amazon Prime. In reading reviews and such afterward, I was intrigued to find that this book was based on a real spy and his actions during the war.

Since it's based on reality, I really can't 'complain' about the plot, right? The story is told through an interview with a reporter and photographer, and flashbacks. This explains the one thing I would have liked more of in the book - more insight from other characters. By the time the story is told, the other characters are no longer accessible.

It was super interesting to hear Fritz Kolbe (the spy) describe how people changed as the Nazis took over Germany, as well as watching his actions, vs the quiet state-department employee he considered himself to be. War changed not only their circumstances and surroundings, but their very perceptions of the whole wold forever.

I think the best reason to read this book was because it really did happen. It did not read as dry as one may expect from a non-fiction book, but the details filled in to tell it in a better story-telling fashion didn't change the reality.

Reading Challenge - Book 19

I may have officially given up on fitting my books to the actual reading challenge list. But I'm still reading!

I recently finished Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty, and I've thought of it a few times since. Moriarty is one of my favorite authors, and I love the development of her characters, so it really comes as no surprise.

In Truly Madly Guilty, we have Sam and Clementine (a married couple with two young girls), Erika and Oliver (Clementine's best girlfriend from her youth, with a complicated relationship, and her husband), and Tiffany and Vid (Erika and Oliver's neighbors).

A tragedy strikes one night as the couples hang out together, and no one will ever be the same. The book explores how all the couples and their children are affected, and even gives a great twist at the end with one more party we hadn't even known about.

Overall, as with most of Liane Moriarty's books, I would recommend reading this one for yourself. You've got to read the whole thing to get the surprising twist and backstory there at the end.

Reading Challenge - Book 18

As promised last time I posted, I've finished reading a few more books, but haven't gotten to writing about them yet. So no promises on the order anymore ;)

The book I'm listing for the ninth category of the reading challenge (an espionage thriller) is The Whistler by John Grisham. Picking up a Grisham book pretty much guarantees me some pleasant reading for a week or so. I'll take it! I'm being a bit liberal with the definition of 'espionage' for the purpose of categorizing, but I assume you'll keep reading.

The Whistler is a tangled thriller about a whistle-blower unknown to the narrator, and most of the other category. Someone knows a lot of what's going on to make the nearby Indian reservation very wealthy with its casino and developments. And they're ready to see those who are cheating the system, pay the price. But there is no straight line from point A to point B here. It isn't even a regular law enforcement investigation. While it officially should go to the FBI, the whistler (the code name for their informant) wants it to start out as an investigation into a particular judge, through the Board on Judicial Conduct. Usually just a paper-chasing agency, the BJC isn't equipped for the threats that come as they dig deeper into this judge's conduct, and what's going on at the reservation.

While some of the reviews say this is far from Grisham's best work, I found it to be an entertaining page-turner. I liked the look into a non-traditional agency to try and solve the crime, or at least find out what it all is. And as I'm sure you've seen if you've read my reviews before, I liked the characters. That's vital for me. The first link to the informant is a man fleeing his past and its consequences, and he does it with interesting style. The investigator and her partner were also likable people. If I'm going to escape in a book, it should always be with people I'd like to consider friends, right?

Reading Challenge - Book 17

While I've read a few books in the meantime, the last book I've finished so far this year was Evening Class by Maeve Binchy. I'm listing it as the 17th book I read this year, but really I'm just writing about it now since I've already passed it on and I don't want to forget about it. My mom read it years ago, and when I told her how good it was, she decided to read it again. I'm listing it as a 'book where the main character is a different ethnicity than you.'

While this book was really all about the characters, the one who tied them all together was Signora. Formerly Nora O'Donaghue, she left Ireland to move to Italy and follow her true love in her 20s - and stayed through her 30s and beyond while her love married the woman he was always expected to marry and raise a family with.

It's only a slight spoiler to say she ends up back in Ireland, and is excited to teach an evening class of Italian language and culture. The book gives the stories of the attendees and those they are close to, and how amazingly all their lives seem to intersect.

While I definitely had a couple favorite character stories, there really weren't any that I didn't like. For a relatively busy book, there weren't any notable parts that I didn't like. I would recommend this as a great book to read to pass the time. But if I recall correctly, most Maeve Binchy books would fall in this category. She has the ability to make me feel as if I'm reading about another life I could have chosen to live. Great escapism, and I'm usually left with a smile on my face.

Reading Challenge - Book 16

This was admittedly a little slower read than most of the dystopian novels I love so much. There were several main characters - which I love - but it felt like there was less 'activity' surrounding them. So I'd get bored and set it aside instead of pushing through to more of my favorite characters' stories. Lost in Arcadia by Sean Gandert ended up satisfying the 16th category on my reading challenge list - a book that's published in 2017. It was one of my Kindle first-read books for July (Amazon Prime members get a free Kindle each month, and get to pick one of four or five books around the first of each month). I've liked several of the books picked this way, and this one was no exception.

The book centered heavily around one family in New Mexico. The father had invented a giant role-playing computer game (sorry - probably the wrong lingo, as these types of games aren't really my thing), and then he disappeared for years. The mother persevered in raising three children - one who was living with a long-term boyfriend a few hours away, one who was also working on computer games, and one who was a teenager still at home. Another character who overlapped with two of the children was a girl who had a tragic accident while a student at the youngest's school, and then ended up interacting with the computer games person, primarily online.

Outside of the characters was a lot of world-view and political stuff that influenced their lives in ways we could just imagine (there's that dystopian spin ;) ). The character's choices were sometimes hard to imagine, since the world they were living in is not the same as our current world in many ways.

Overall, I'd say it was a decent book. Without giving too much away, the fruit angle was my favorite. LOL It was a slower read than I usually pick up, and it did take some determination to actually finish it up. That being said, I think the author could have some potential, if he reads over his reviews and learns from them. Given the genre, he definitely did need a lot of the detailed descriptions, but in most cases he went a bit further than needed. I wouldn't recommend this to someone as a first dystopian novel, but as someone who already enjoys them, I was also able to enjoy this book.

Reading Challenge - Book 15

I finished up my 15th book for this year sometime during June, I think. As usual, Liane Moriarty did not disappoint. I read this book to satisfy the seventh category on the list - 'a book that is a story within a story.'

The Last Anniversary by Liane Moriarty is difficult to talk about without giving away too much. It starts out about a 20-something girl, Sophie, who has inherited a house when an ex's elderly Aunt Connie passes away. Sophie's unique outside perspective is perfect for telling the intricate tale of the Aunt Connie's family.

The inherited house is on the tiny Australian island of Scribbly Gum. The only other houses on the island are inhabited by other family members, who all run a big festival each year on the island to celebrate the Baby Munro Mystery - the history of Enigma, the baby found just days after her birth by Aunt Connie and her sister. As Sophie moves into her new house, though, Scribbly Gum island may be preparing to celebrate the anniversary for the last time.

I loved Liane Moriarty's characters again, and I loved to fantasize about living on the quaint little island with them all. The plot twists and other discoveries were very entertaining, . From dealing with love lost, what to do about one's biological clock, finding 'Mr Right,' and post-partum depression, all the way to solving a random murder mystery on the last page, this book kept me reading and interested to find out how the stories ended for them all. I would definitely recommend this book.

Reading Challenge - Book 14

The 14th book I read this year was essentially a recommendation by my nine-year-old daughter. She started reading The Forbidden Library sometime last year, and I remember her carrying it everywhere during holiday break from school. It is the first of a trilogy, and the other two books were purchased with a holiday gift card and are waiting on her bookshelf for both of us to read. She hasn't finished this one yet, and may have been a bit annoyed with me for finishing it in one weekend. ;)

The Forbidden Library by Django Wexler satisfied the 17th category on my reading challenge list very well - a book involving a mythical creature. Mythical creatures were kind of the point of this book. After Alice's father is on a ship that sinks and he's presumed dead, she is sent to live with a mysterious uncle whom she has never met. Before long she figures out that everything may not be as it seems, and she has some abilities that go beyond anything she practiced at her previous school.

Alice finds herself learning about and battling a variety of unique mythical creatures, and can't be sure for long who to trust for assistance in her adventures. She spends much of the first book learning about herself, those around her, and her newly discovered gifts.

I love books that stretch my imagination, and this one definitely fit the bill. I also love characters, and those found in this book are definitely one-of-a-kind. I'd recommend this book for young readers (grade 4 - 7) who enjoy fantasy in the style of Harry Potter.

Reading Challenge - Book 13

If you are an Amazon Prime member, but not taking advantage of your free Kindle book each month, you're missing out! Around the first of each month, they send me four - usually very different - books to choose from, and I get one on my Kindle for free. In May, I chose The Lioness of Morocco by Julia Drosten, which is scheduled for publication June 1, 2017. Yup - I read it before then.

I haven't been following my actual reading challenge list to choose books to read this year, but this one fits the eighth category on the list - a book with multiple authors. I discovered this in the 'About the Author' section on its Amazon page: "Julia Drosten is the pseudonym for a two-person writing team based in Münsterland, Germany." This is their first novel translated and published in English. Isn't that interesting?

The woman who later became known as the Lioness of Morocco started out as a sheltered girl in London, fast on her way to becoming an old-maid. When at age 23 she recognizes marriage as her best option to get out from under her father's rules, she wastes no time in becoming the wife of an ambitious member of her father's company. Once they take a business assignment in Morocco, she really begins to spread her wings.

I really enjoyed this book, as our heroine Sibylla navigates life in a foreign country, raising her family, and substantial changes to her circumstances with bravery and grace. While I tend to not think ahead too much, I did see the surprise twist at the end coming from miles away. But I still enjoyed the journey getting there, and all the details of the story in the interim. I would recommend this book as a great summer read where your mind can take a colorful vacation, even if the rest of you stays at home relaxing for a bit.

Reading Challenge - Book 12

Oh boy. My daughter really wanted me to read this book after her fourth-grade class read it at school. She liked it so much we got the follow-up book (not a sequel) as one of the audiobooks we took on an Easter weekend trip. Then she was worried that I already knew some of the original book because of the other character's viewpoints in the follow-up. But it was all good.

I read Wonder by R.J. Palacio as the 12th category on the PopSugar Reading Challenge (which is interesting, since it's also the 12th book I finished so far this year). The category I read this for was 'a bestseller from a genre you don't normally read.'  And on the Amazon site, I see that it's also being made into a movie - and you should know by now how I love when that happens!

Wonder is about August Pullman, a boy with facial deformities who is attending public school for the first time as a fifth grader. Up until fifth grade, he's been homeschooled, mainly because his extensive surgeries would have required him to miss a lot of school. The book is about Auggie's fifth grade year at Beecher Prep and his relationships and interactions with the other students, many of whom have known each other for their whole school careers. Having listened to Auggie & Me: Three Wonder Stories first did color a bit of my interpretation when reading the book, as I got to know other characters before Auggie. I don't think the change in my interpretation changed the overall message of the book at all though.

This is one of those books that all school kids should read in this generation. It is recommended for readers in 3rd - 7th  grade (ages 8-12). It has also brought to mind some books that were universally read when I was growing up, which is kind of fun. If you haven't read Wonder yet, you should totally check it out. And then maybe even see the movie!

Reading Challenge - Book 11

I picked this book because I've had a bit of a girl-crush on Anna Kendrick since falling in love with all the Pitch Perfect movies. Can't wait til this August for the newest one! So it follows that I've counted this book for the 36th category of the Pop Sugar Reading Challenge - a book written by someone you admire. Her snark is out of the park and I love it!

Scrappy Little Nobody is an autobiography by Anna Kendrick. I loved hearing about her modest beginnings, and life-long dreams of acting and singing. Her Broadway start and continual casting as a child because of her petite stature was amusing, and her voice in telling it sounds like so many of her sassy characters.

The book has also given me a list of more Anna Kendrick movies to enjoy. Hubby and I had already seen Cake, both Pitch Perfect movies (repeatedly), Into the Woods, Trolls, and the Accountant (to name just a few), but once I read of her working on a few other movies, we also checked out Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, and Camp. I also now want to see Rocket Science, Life after Bex, and Up in the Air soon.

I've been really enjoying a lot of books turned into movies lately, and reading an autobiography of an actress sort of brings it to a whole new level - I have a bunch of movies to watch if I'll ever catch up with what was mentioned. LOL

Reading Challenge - Book 10

I finally finished reading Girl Code: Unlocking the Secrets to Success, Sanity, and Happiness for the Female Entrepreneur by Cara Alwill Leyba earlier today. I listed it on my reading challenge list for the fifteenth category - a book with a subtitle (and what a mouthful of a subtitle it is!).

While all the interviews were fabulous, I kept forgetting to pick it up again! It read as a chicken-soup-for-the-soul sort of business inspirational book. Each of the nine chapters had a background story of an inspirational woman, a girl code secret (like 'when you have passion, you cannot fail'), and then a fabulous interview with a current woman in business who applied that secret. There was also a page after each chapter with room for writing down your favorite take-aways from that chapter or interview. I also loved having the actual social media info for the woman and businesses that were interviewed.

I tried to pull out just one quote or excerpt, but what the author has collected here is all the best - I could be writing all day and copying most of the book! The first chapter is really the most solid foundation for everything - it's called, 'The Secret's Out: There's Enough for All of Us...' Women have been their own, and each other's, worst enemies for far too long. By collaborating instead of competing, we can capitalize and highlight our own best assets and skills with other people. It's an abundance mentality, and if you can truly change your thinking to recognizing there is enough - success, business, customers - for everyone, everything for you can change.

I would recommend this book for just about any adult business woman. If you're offended by mildly coarse language, the author's style may not be right for you. She is a great story-teller and interviewer who definitely calls it like she sees it.

Reading Challenge - Book Nine

OMG. Definitely one of my favorite books so far this year! I ended up listing it in the reading challenge as 'a book that's becoming a movie in 2017.' I think it's more accurately called a mini-series, but close enough. Hubby and I are done with the first three episodes on HBO so far, and the finale was actually broadcast last night.

I read Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty because I LOVE book and movie combos, and people were starting to talk about the show. Luckily, but book was in a box of books from my mom, and she's a recent Liane Moriarty fan, so several books are by her.

I loved the characters, even the ones you love to hate. And the mini-series is doing a great job with them too, I think. Characters are truly what draws me into a book, and I loved the way they were developed in this book. I keep saying I feel bad for hubby for watching the show with me, as I'm continually commenting on their back story, or how they really think/feel during a particular scene. Because I've read the book, so now they're my friends. LOL

This book made me laugh, cry, and shout out loud (much to the dismay of my kids trying to watch their tv shows in the same room). I would definitely recommend it as a great book to escape real life and be entertained for a few hours.

Reading Challenge - Book Eight

The book I chose for the 28th category on my reading list (a novel set during wartime) was 1984 by George Orwell. Because in 1984, there is always war.

I despised this book. Hated it.

I read books for the happy endings. [SPOILER ALERT] No happy ending here, folks. I kept waiting for the 11th hour surprise switcheroo. Never came.

I usually enjoy dystopian fiction, even with cliffhanger endings. This? Did not fit the bill for me.

In the interest of saying something of substance, it was written in such a way that I was intrigued, and kept reading. So I may have enjoyed the reading for a couple minutes in the middle? I kept reading. All the way to the miserable last four words. I also found myself quite thoughtful over Goldstein's explanation of how the world had ended up as it was being described in 1984. But that is a rather grudging compliment.

I'm sure my bitterness will fade over time, but what was the book you read that you then wished you never had read? My big catch is that I NEEDED to read it, even to know that I would be this disappointed in it. So I suppose it was destiny that I would have to read it sometime. And now it's thankfully done.

Reading Challenge - Book Seven

I ready my seventh book this year for the 'book with a cat on the cover' category of the PopSugar Reading Challenge.

Unlucky 13 by James Patterson would be a wonderful beach read. Well, if it wasn't February in Michgan for me. LOL It was a fun read, with engaging characters and a plot that made me want to keep reading so I could find out how it all ended. As the 13th book of the 'Women's Murder Club' series, I was a little worried that I wouldn't know what was going on, but the intro of all characters and situations was thorough, so it's the only book of the series that I've read. That being said, there were some loose ends still not explained by the end of the book. Maybe they're the plot for book 14? Someone who has read more will have to let me know, as I still have a long enough to-be-read list that doesn't include it for now.

If you've got time for pleasure reading on your schedule, I'd absolutely recommend this book. I believe I've read quite a few by James Patterson, and they don't disappoint.

What are you reading in your spare time?

Reading Challenge - Book Six

My mom passed on a box of books, with several being by Liane Moriarty. Lucky me!! So the sixth book I've read this year is another by this newly discovered (for me) author.

I am (as usual) being a bit flexible with my categories and listing What Alice Forgot as 'a book set in two different time periods.' While I suppose it's a stretch to say it's set in two different time periods, What Alice Forgot is about Alice rediscovering her life after a bump to the head causes her to think it's ten years earlier.

Imagine if you suddenly felt the same about things as you did ten years ago, without knowing any of the intervening facts and events. This is where Alice found herself, in the middle of a messy divorce from a man she still thinks she's desperately in love with, and fighting over custody of three kids she doesn't fully remember or recognize yet.

At this point, I would recommend any of Liane Moriarty's books. I would recommend a break in between them, though, as the characters are starting to blend together in my head, and none of the books are actually related or have any overlap of characters.

Luckily I've already finished another book, and am partway through yet another, that are by different authors. But I am looking forward to getting back to the box and some more of this delightful author.

What author have you been lucky enough to pick up, and wanted to keep reading everything they've written?

Reading Challenge - Book Five

My mom got me started on a new author, and sent me home with a box full of books, mostly by this author. Fortunately, I love her style. While the stories aren't changing my life, the characters are very engaging, which makes for some good 'escapism' reading.

The first book I ready by Liane Moriarty (and I believe the first book she wrote) is Three Wishes. I've listed this as a 'book about an interesting woman' for the purposes of this year's reading challenge.

Three Wishes was actually about the Kettle sisters - triplets living very different lives. The book opens with the girls' birthday lunch, which apparently most of the city will be talking about for days. The rest of the book is essentially a flash-back, leading up to the exciting lunch.

Gemma is the non-identical triplet. Footloose and fancy-free, she enjoys house-sitting for a living, while maybe dabbling a bit in stocks, but mostly marching to the beat of her own drummer. Lyn has her life put together With her own business, a successful and attentive husband, a fifteen-year-old step-daughter, and a toddler, she's known the 'right' things to do practically since she was born. Cat is also married, but after really living her life and enjoying her marriage, she and her husband think it's time to settle down and move to the next step of their lives as adults.

Things, of course, don't always go as everyone plans. I found this book hard to put down as I wanted to see what happened to the sisters, and how it all lead to the dramatic restaurant scene.

I would recommend this as a great beach read, or this time of year, a great stay in by the fire with wine read ;)

Reading Challenge - Book Four

I've finished my fourth book in the 2017 Popsugar Reading Challenge. For the 26th category on the list, I read 'a book by an author from a country you've never visited.' Luckily for me in this case, I haven't visited very many countries. PD James (Phyllis Dorothy James, Baroness James of Holland Park), was born and much later died in the United Kingdom. I assume she lived there during all the time in between.

I chose to read The Children of Men by PD James due to my recent hankering for dystopian fiction. I saw the movie years ago, when I was pregnant with my daughter (by the way, TERRIBLE movie for a pregnant woman). Hubby and I watched the movie again last week so I could compare it to the book. TOTALLY different.

Anyway, back to the book. The narrator of the book was a cousin to the 'Warden' of England, who was now in charge. The whole story takes place 25 years after the last child was born in the world. A lot of the story is influenced by the politics of the era, and how a new baby could be a political tool. The movie focused more on the fact of a baby, but not as much on the political repercussions. I did enjoy the book more than the movie, but I think a lot of what was 'missing' from the movie would have been very difficult to portray, especially since the movie already ran almost two full hours.

I would recommend this book if you enjoy dystopian fiction. I'm glad I'd forgotten the movie (from the first time I saw it) by the time I read the book. The book is definitely a fuller experience than the movie.

Reading Challenge - Book Three

My third book read this year was actually finished in January. So that's like THREE books in one month! Woo-hoo!!

I read Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson as my 'book that's been on your TBR list for way too long.' I don't technically have a to-be-read (TBR) list, but I remember seeing this mentioned previously and wanting to read it, so close enough.

I spent the beginning of reading this book literally laughing out loud. And to show just how out of touch I am, I was thinking to myself, "This sounds JUST like the story about Beyonce the metal chicken," the page before she said something referencing giving Victor the metal chicken. Yay for the Bloggess! I had never realized her 'real' name before.

The parts toward the end that talked more about mental illness, depression, and some similar themes made me a little more uncomfortable, mostly because I prefer denial. I've done my share of depression counseling and anti-depressants after a few particular life events, but I seriously just want to be done with that. Great idea, eh? LOL

The raccoon? Was really what made so much of the book for me. I was almost sorry to be reading this on my Kindle, as I would have LOVED to see the cover around my house during my reading time. And to think, she actually has TWO raccoons like that? What a lucky, lucky woman.

I look forward to reading Jenny Lawson's first book, Let's Pretend This Never Happened. I hope it's as funny as Furiously Happy was, and I'll also try to stop by the blog when I need a laugh ;)

Reading Challenge - Book Two

I wanted to like this book much more than I did. It was another Amazon Prime special, not really available til February 1, and I loved the premise - a poor girl making good. She gets the guy and lives rich, and happily-ever-after, right? Well, that was her plan, anyway.

In the Shadow of Lakecrest by Elizabeth Blackwell fit the 14th category on the reading challenge list - a book involving travel.

Kate is able to impress a very rich man aboard an ocean liner while acting as a governess for two girls. The girls' aunt warns her about the family and an old mystery, but rich is rich, and Kate figures the aunt is just a grumpy old biddy who must be jealous. If only she knew then, isn't that what they always say?

Most of the book was quite an intriguing flashback, and I kept reading to find out how everything would unfurl. But then suddenly I found myself in the Epilogue, finding out how it all ends, with a child I knew nothing about, and no satisfying conclusion to the foreshadowing at the very beginning.

I was happy with the ending, but I felt like I'd just found out about a high-school friend on Facebook. I knew where it all stood 20 years ago, and I got to the happy ending, but the middle was sort of missing. It may have made a good part one, maybe bring the other child in on a part two, and then work toward an ending? Just my two cents.

That being said, this was not Blackwell's first novel, and I would be interested in reading what she's written previously. I enjoyed her style, I just think I'd enjoy the missing part of the story too ;)

Reading Challenge - Book One

Funny-ish story: I forget why I stared reading this one. LOL

While I started it over the holidays, I finished it yesterday, which was definitely in 2017. So, as the 13th category (a book by or about a person who has a disability) on the 2017 PopSugar Reading Challenge, I completed Rosemary: The Hidden Kennedy Daughter by Kate Clifford Larson.

I forget why I read it, but I'm glad I did. Also amusing, I kept waiting for more of a 'story-telling' style to start, since I was surprised to be reading about Rosemary later in her life, but my Kindle showed I was only 35% finished. It turns out, there's a LOT of notes at the end. This book was very well-researched by the author.

Rosemary is probably to be credited with being the driving force behind a lot of the legislation protecting those with disabilities, but not intentionally.
Growing up, she was largely hidden, especially by her mother and father, who didn't want the stigma of a 'less-than-perfect- child. While the other Kennedy children seemingly loved and accepted Rosemary for who she was, her parents spent a lot of time finding placements at boarding schools and such throughout Rosemary's life.

During a decline in her 20s, the decision was made (although there's no concrete evidence of exactly who may have been involved) for Rosemary to have a frontal lobotomy. This, unfortunately, sealed her fate. She went from an intellectually and emotionally challenged young woman (a clear diagnosis is never really given, other than the term 'retarded' which fit for the day), to a woman with physical disabilities and extremely limited communication skills and speech.

The original cause of Rosemary's challenges is presented as a probable birth injury from limited oxygen at her delivery, when the nurse didn't feel prepared for the actual birth, and the doctor was delayed due to a local epidemic at the time. This made me so mad for a large part of the book. Often called one of the most attractive Kennedys, who knows what Rosemary's true potential was.

The bright side indeed was the efforts of several of her siblings, including President John F Kennedy and Eunice Kennedy Shriver , to create more acceptance and opportunities for those with disabilities. While Rosemary likely never realized the extent of her impact on her family, its positive effects continue into the present time.