In the Woods by Tana French

 

I had wanted to read this book for a long time. Everything that I heard about it was  fantastic. It took me a while to find a chance to read it. I always saw it in the bookstores and it was always on my list of to-read books. Finally, when I was in the used bookstore a few weeks ago, I found it and decided to start right away. Erin and I were between books, so it was the perfect opportunity.

This story is about a man, named Adam Ryan (or Rob Ryan as he calls himself in the book). When he was a child, he was playing with his two friends in the woods. They went missing for a while, and when Ryan was found, his friends were not. Ryan was found bloody and in shock. He lost all memories of what happened. Even as an adult he could not remember what happened on that fearful day. 

Ryan grew up to be a detective. One day, he is assigned a case near where he grew up, not far from the woods in which he was found. Soon, memories start coming back and he thinks that the two cases may be related. 

To be perfectly honest, I couldn't wait for this book to be over. For a mystery, it was simply not fast paced enough. For the first half of the book NOTHING happened. I kept thinking that the two cases were going to align very quickly and that the plot would thicken. Each chapter was a let down. I didn't feel like the character development was rich enough either. FINALLY, the last few chapters were good. I stayed up to see what happened. I had so many unanswered questions and I thought they were finally going to be answered. Unfortunately, I was let down yet again in the last chapter. 

Who of you enjoyed this book? Anyone? Is there something that I missed? Please let me know. For those of you who haven't read it, I would not recommend this if you enjoy mysteries. 

Naked by David Sedaris

 

David Sedaris, author of Me Talk Pretty One Day, chronicles his life in a hilarious collection of essays. I listened to the abridged version on audiobooks, and enjoyed how he and his sister performed the book. It was fantastically done. Their voices made the story so hilarious.

Sedaris begins the book with his memories of his Obsessive Compulsive Disorder behaviors during his grade school days. Even though OCD is not something to laugh about, the way he describes it is hilarious. His teachers did not understand his disorder and year after year they made their way over to his house to talk with his mother about his compulsion to lick light switches 100 times a day. Sedaris's alcoholic mother always invited them in for drinks and to discuss her son. The subject matter could have been interpreted a completely different way, but how Sedaris decided to write about his past was with humor rather than sadness or seiousness.

Family relationships, his sexuality, and nudist colonies are some of the other topics explored in this memoir. The way Sedaris writes will have you laughing out loud. This book is unusual, funny, and memorable.

My Horizontal Life

 

Okay. So, I know how I am going to keep up with my reading when the school year starts.  AUDIO BOOKS. I decided to get an audiobook when I drove 2 hours both ways to my friend's wedding. When I was in grad school and I would drive back and forth to visit Chip I would often times listen to a book. So, the other day I went to the library to see what they had. This particular branch did not have a wide selection, but I hadn't read this Chelsea Handler book yet so I decided to pick it up. It was only 5 disks so I thought that would be good for a weekend trip.

This book was the best Chelsea book in my opinion. She channels her early to late 20s in this one night stand tell all book. I still cannot be sure how much of her books are true and how much are fabricated, but either way I was laughing out loud as I was driving up highway 77. She chronicles her intoxicated late nights with strange men and how they turned out. SUPER funny, laid back, easy to listen to audiobook. As you know by now, I really enjoy stories that are mindless and don't require much brain power every now and again.

I've already picked up two more audiobooks from the library. I am back to work now and my commute is 30-40 minutes, so as I take it, that's more than an hour of "reading" per day. I should be able to get through quite a few books even if I don't have as much reading time.

Gold by Chris Cleave

Gold by Chris Cleave

As a fan of Chris Cleave's previous two novels, and a strong follower of the Olympics, I eagerly awaited his newest novel, Gold. With the thirtieth Olympiad drawing near, I chose to read this book as the games began in London.

Three track cyclists, all three bound together by the most tedious of circumstances, train for the Olympic games. Zoe, damaged and selfish, takes her aggression and sadness out on the bike rather than facing her demons head on. Kate, her best friend who always seems to take second place in the duo, is so kind that she has been taken advantage of more times than she can count in her life. She has lost more than one gold metal picking up after Zoe's fallen pieces. And Jack, the man whose decisions shape these women's lives forever, seems to not believe how he got into his position in life. Not only is this story about these three cyclists, but the true soul of the story is based upon Jack and Kate's StarWars loving 8 year old girl, Sophie, who fights for her life from Leukemia's tight grasp.

The first half of the story was disappointing to me. I was used to Cleave's novels and their striking themes straight from the get go. This one took some warm up time to get the plot spinning on its wheels (pun intended). Once I read to the halfway point, I couldn't put the book down. I thought the book was going to turn out one way, but Cleave surprised me so much that my hand came to my mouth as I gasped out loud at my surprise.

Gold had me cheering, crying, screaming, cringing, and sighing with relief. I loved and hated the 3 main characters as they made choices which complicated their personal and athletic lives. Sophie's spunk reminded me of the resiliency of the human spirit. Fans of Cleave will experience an Olympiad of emotions in this captivating read.

What We Keep

I am tearing through books this summer. I go from having one post a month to having a few a week. I guess that's what working in the schools will do to you. I am only working 2 days a week right now  so I have plenty of time to read. I go back to work starting August 15 so expect fewer posts once the school year starts. I feel like I'm on a roll now, so maybe the reading will continue. This book was given to me by my friend Erin last summer. It had been sitting on my shelf for a while, so I picked it up as I headed to the pool.

This is a great read-in-one day while sitting at the pool book. Berg knows how to create characters that tug at your heart strings and make you die laughing at the same time. I give this book 3/5 stars because it is not a book that will stay with me for years to come. It was a pretty good story about two sisters (Ginny and Sharla) living seemingly normal childhoods in the 1950s who then lose their mother out of no where. The girls' mother has a midlife crisis and chooses to focus on her own life. Thirty five years later the two girl decide they are ready to face her. The book jumps back and forth from Ginny's perspective as a 12 year old girl to being in her 40s flying to see her mother 35 years later. I recommend this for people sitting at the beach or on a 3 hour plane ride. Good, but not great novel. 

Elizabeth Berg is a great author. I have read a few of her books (see one of my post from a year ago to find more Berg books.)

Peyton Place

 

Peyton Place by Grace Metalious

This book was the Fifty Shades of Grey of the 1950s. Not to say that the book was necessary erotic, but it was similar in the fact that many housewives hid the book because they felt shameful reading it. Back in the 50s this book was banned in many places throughout the country. The author was made into an infamous celebrity based upon this book which dealt with sex, rape, alcoholism, domestic violence, incest, racism, extramarital affairs, and murder. To be honest, I had not heard of this book until just over a week ago. I blame this on my age. If anyone asks their mother if they have heard of this book, I can bet you they will say "that book caused an uproar" or "it was so scandalous." I felt as if I, a fanatic of literary fiction, HAD to read this book. I mean, this book topped the charts along with Gone With The Wind (another one of my ALL TIME favorite books) in its time!

Peyton Place, a tiny New England town, thrives on gossip. Everything that the inhabitants of this town do is based upon what will be said about them. A woman lies about her child born out of wedlock so that the town will think she is a widow; a mother says her son is a war hero when he is truly was discharged for a mental disorder; and a doctor keeps his mouth shut about child abuse to keep the victim feeling "normal." The town talks and talks about its people in the nastiest ways. Rumors are spread so quickly, not unlike today's small towns (believe me, I'm from a town of under 4,000), but the second an outsider says one negative word about a neighbor the town sticks up for him/her like they were a family member. What I thought was so interesting about this book, was that it was mostly the MEN that talked about everybody, rather than the women.

This story would not be considered shocking if it were published today. It is truly a fantastic novel, but today we are too used to novels with striking themes. As I researched this book, I learned that it will be apart of American pop culture for years to come. It sparked a movie and long running TV series. (I already have the movie coming from Netflix). The only part of the book that was lacking was more in depth character development. I would have enjoyed getting to know the characters more.

Has anyone read this book??

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

 

Right now I am reading Fifty Shades Freed by E.L. James which is the third book in the Fifty Shades series. To be honest, I am SO over this series. I enjoyed the first one. It was a page turner and I read it in a few days. The second one was also worth the read up until the last 1/4 of the book. It started to get too mushy and I became bored. I am forcing myself to get through the third one. It's not THAT bad, but I am eager to get into my next book. I am learning that I am just not a trilogy or series book reader for the most past (NOT including my beloved Harry Potter series. I wish there were 15 of them). I read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl who Played with Fire, but I needed a break from the stories before I could read The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest and it has been about a year and a half and I still haven't started the third. I am hoping to read it by the time the movie comes out, so I figure I have a few years. Also, The Hunger Games series had the same effect one me. I loved the first two, but by the time I read the third one I was simply craving another set of characters and plot line. So, while I am finishing up my current read, I thought that I would let my friend Erin share her review of a book that she enjoyed. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby is a book that has been on my "to read" list for many years. In one of my SLP classes in undergrad, my professor told all of us to read it. I just haven't gotten around to it yet. After reading Erin's review, I am going to put it a little higher on my list. 

Review by Erin Andreani

The Diving Bell and The Butterfly

Anyone who can parallel his “last moments as a functioning earthling” with Beatles lyrics is genius. 

This is the all-too-true story is authored by a man with locked-in syndrome... all written by blinking his left eye at an alphabet board. Now, yes, I am a speech-language pathologist (and yes, I DID enjoy the chapter titled ‘Guardian Angel’, referring to his speech therapist), but this is an incredible book that should be read by the masses. It should be on high school reading lists, it should be discussed in college literature courses. The implications of your mind surviving what your body does not are just incredible. I recommend this to ... everyone.