#29 - I'll Take What She Has by Samantha Wilde

I was fortunate enough to have received a galley copy of this book from Netgalley and noticed that it was set to expire so I bumped it up on my reading list.  Many thanks to the publisher, author and netgalley for making it available to me.

After some pretty intense reading at the beginning of the  month I was looking for some easy, lighthearted reading and this definitely fit the bill.  In fact I floated halfway through this book without even realizing how far I had gotten.

The writing bounces between two main characters, Nora and Annie, and within each character there were pieces that were in the present day and some flashback moments.  Here's the problems with that; both characters were written in exactly the same voice and style, both had similar issues with Cynthia (the object of their contempt), and there was no discernible break between reality and flashback.  It left me scratching my head in several places and rolling my eyes in others.

I know that there are many women who struggle with envy, and "grass is greener" thinking, unfortunately, I am not really one of them and reading about it for three hours kind of made me nauseous that there are thirty - somethings that still engage in this kind of high school battle for popularity and friendship.

So - that being said, I am not mad that I read it and if you are drawn to mommy angst driven chick lit, throw it in your beach bag and read it over the summer, it will be a nice distraction for you.

Goodreads rating: 2.5 stars I am so neutral I could coast

On Deck: Fiction - I am the Messenger by Marcus Zusak
NonFiction: Drift by Rachel Maddow

Ready to finish: Weight by Jeanette Winterson, and Holy Shit by Melissa Mohr

#28 - The Client by John Grisham

I actually finished this back on March 5th but forgot to blog it.

Not much to say really.  "The Client" is actually a 10 year old boy which is really where my inability to suspend my disbelief started - having an eight and twelve year old I know how they think and what they are capable of and - either I don't have the brightest kids in the world or Grisham has no grasp on how a child thinks.

As far as the story goes it was an enjoyable enough case of mob involvement and concealment.  If Mark Sway was about 5 or  6 years older the book would have earned a full star more than where it was.

Goodreads rating: 3 stars

#27-Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

No - there is nothing wrong with your eyesight - I actually finished "Cutting for Stone"!  I don't know what it is with this book but it was a true labor to get to the last page.

Here's the thing, some parts of the story are really interesting, the characters are really interesting but there is SOOO much detail that a lot of times those things get buried.  Just when I am ready for some plot development, Verghese pops into a flashback that tells every detail of the character's life that might possibly be relevant to the present moment.  I just felt like the momentum was stunted all the way through.

On the positive side, it really is beautifully written with an underlying current that shows the meaning of family both biologically linked and by choice.  It dives into how forgiveness can take a lifetime and may not come at all.

The biggest disappointment, and the reason that I finally landed on the 3 star rating rather than a 4 was the way the love interest was developed and then disposed of in a pretty unceremonious manner.  I wanted more than a one paragraph resolution to that story.  So - we are done with that - bottleneck broken.

Goodreads rating: 3 stars
In Progress: (nonfiction) Holy Sh!t, A brief history of swearing by Melissa Mohr
                    (fiction): Weight by Jeanette Winterson

Posse Field Trip! West End Architectural Salvage

In case you haven't learned it from my reviews yet, I am a little tiny bit of a geek.  When my head isn't stuck in a book or gluing pictures to paper (or at work I guess) I like to have a little HGTV going on in the background.  Which is why, when I found out there was a show filming in downtown Des Moines, West End Salvage, the following things happened.
1. I got immediately set my DVR for all episodes
2. I loaded up my posse and took off for the store

3. Proceeded to geek out and practically wet myself when the owner/star of the show eavesdropped on/commented on our conversation about our husbands.  Mmm...mocha...

I am proud - I didn't go full on fan girl - no autographs pictures with the guys, etc but yeah my inner geek was squealing just a little bit (ok a lot bit) Enough to justify the self portrait with the coffee...

 

 Here's the posse at the front entrance Happy to be together...Jenni from Reading at Random and Mandi from The Insomniac Bibliophile and me with the double chins...


 But sad that Lindsey couldn't be with us too...although it was for a good reason...had to be if she wasn't with us right???

 Then it was off to Zombie Burger where nobody ate what they should have been eating but - let me tell you, dear reader.  The "Trailer Trash Burger" was well worth the bazillion calories I took in to consume it!!  On top of that I got to meet up with my cousins Jennifer and Karen and Jen's two boys who just moved here from Texas!  I was so happy to wrap my arms around them!  What happens at the Zombie Burger stays at the Zombie Burger!

All around - an amazing (and much needed) day with my Posse!

Posse fieldtrip rating: 4 stars (one missing star for one missing member (see frowny face photo above)

Another new book from Goodreads!

Few things in life are better than coming home to have a fresh new paperback in the mail to open.

Thanks to the publisher, author and Goodreads.com for a great new addition to my library!

#26 - Survivor in Death by JD Robb

Some of my favorite road noise is listening to the Eve Dallas series on audio.  Survivor in Death was one of what I like to call a "treading water" book for the series.  It was an interesting story revolving around Nixie Swisher, a little girl who accidentally survived the murder of her family when she snuck downstairs to get a soda while her friend slept in her bed.  Of course, Eve was on the case and the reaction to the young girl evoked the familiar flashbacks with Dallas and her father but also had some unexpected effects on Roarke (gratuitous drool).

I'm waiting (not so patiently) for Mavis's baby to be born but still no labor.  Maybe in the next chapter - er - book.

Goodreads rating: 2.5 for solid and expected neutral novel.

On deck  (audio) The Chamber by John Grisham
In Progress:
Fiction: Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese (finally hit the half way point!)
Non Fiction: Holy Sh!t - A Brief History of Swearing by Melissa Mohr

#25 The Dinner by Herman Koch

I first heard about this book on NPR one morning and was intrigued.  When I logged in to goodreads, the first thing I saw was "The Dutch version of Gone Girl" and I was instantly skeptical.

Comparisons to Gillian Flynn is greatly exaggerated but it was still a great novel - not quite a five star but I think that has more to do with the translation from Dutch from a literary standpoint.  But definitely a 4.5! The characters were all wholly fleshed out and vibrant and I think I related to the narrator, Paul, more than I am comfortable admitting.

To be clear I do not condone the actions that any of the characters took but the end of this book had me sighing out loud and it ended with a crooked smile playing at my lips. It shows what the connection between two people who truly love each other and are committed to each other can communicate with only hand strokes and eye contact.  It shows what they can overcome when dealing with things like the teenage years and mental illness, work troubles, and extended family.

Above all, the conversation over the dinner in question makes you think of what you would really do to protect your family and the people that you love.  It dug into the idea of right and wrong and where the line should be drawn when it comes to teenage angst and rebellion.

Goodreads rating: 4.5 (struggling with the rounding seriously!!!!)

On Deck: Holy Sh!t: A brief history of swearing
In Progress: Survivor in Death (audio)

#24 - Beachcombers by Nancy Thayer

...and they all lived happily ever after.  The End.

I literally breathed the standard fairy tale ending out loud after the audiobook ended.  I have read some pretty serious books here this past month and I needed something light hearted to cleanse my aura from back to back cancer books.  Beachcombers did the trick.

If you have read any Nancy Thayer books in the past, I guarantee you have already read this one, it follows the Nantucket Island formula to a tee.  Broken family meets for a summer on the island and they all reconcile their lives and find love.

It was great for the long commutes of my week, a free download from the library and easy to follow characters and plots.

Stick this one in your beach bag to read by the pool.

Goodreads rating: 2.5 stars (rounded up to 3)
In progress: The Dinner by Herman Koch
On Deck (audio): Survivor in Death by JD Robb

#23 - In The Body of the World by Eve Ensler

I was fortunate to have won an Advanced Reader copy of this amazing memoir.  Many thanks to the author, publisher and goodreads for allowing me the privilege of this first look.

I had never read any of Eve Ensler's previous works but now that I have read her take on her own experiences I can't wait to take on the rest of her library.  I simply loved the irony, metaphor, outlook and strength that Ms Ensler portrayed so eloquently.

For those who are not familiar with Eve Ensler, her most famous work was "The Vagina Monologues" so there is no shortage of irony in the fact that this memoir chronicles her battle with cervical cancer.  I first began the book when a friend of mine was going through testing for cysts so I had to put it down for a week and picked it up tonight only to consume 3/4 of it in one sitting.

Every person who has gone through cancer has struggled with the "why me" considerations but, in this case, we are talking about a woman who has devoted her entire journalistic, playwriting, and authorial career to women's rights, women's issues and protecting the women abroad who can't defend themselves.  It seems that, if anyone should be spared this particular hell of having her genitalia removed, it would be her.  Enter the metaphor of her internalizing the pain of others and it manifesting as cancer in her own body.  This concept could have been seriously cheesy but the style or writing made it feel very genuine and poignant.

Eve produces a full history of the people and experiences without it consuming the entire text.  Her stream of consciousness style compels the reader through the chapters in a concise flow.

It's a definite must read.  Seriously - read this.

Goodreads Rating: 5 stars.
On Deck: The Dinner by Herman Koch
In Progress audio: Beachcombers by Nancy Thayer

#22 - The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

I didn't cry - but I'm not a crier by nature so that's not unusual...but if I were a crier, the faucets would have been on high power.

The power of the P-Posse forced this book into my hands and, as per usual, they were absolutely spot on in their recommendations.  It had been on my "to read" shelf for quite some time but kept getting de-prioritized due to the fact that it was classified YA and for some reason that made it easy to push down the list.

Let me tell you, dear read, this book is just as affecting to us old chicks as it is for the Young Adult crowd.  I had steeled myself for the twist due to the Kleenex wrenching reviews that I had read but the fluid words that John Green writes made every interaction seem so important and real that, even knowing that something sad was coming didn't lessen the impact.

Augustus Waters is the kind of person that is hard not to love.  I totally *heart* him and their relationship.  There was only one section in the entire novel that seemed a bit rushed/contrived but the result of the actions was so beautiful that I could forgive Green for the abrupt gallantry.

**sidenote** it's really hard to write this without giving away a major plot point, but I'm sure that if you read it you will be able to see where I'm going with this.

Definitely one for my top reads of 2013!

Goodreads rating: Five Solid Stars!
In Progress: In the Body of the World by Eve Ensler
On Deck: The Dinner by Herman Koch
In Progress (audio): The Beachcombers by Nancy Thayer

#21 - Is This Tomorrow by Caroline Leavitt

I would like to thank NetGalley.com and Algonquin Books for graciously allowing me access to this advanced reader copy of Is This Tomorrow by Caroline Leavitt.
This book is likely going to go on my best of 2013 list just because the imagery and characters were so vivid. The story takes very natural turns and never felt forced or contrived as plot twists sometimes can. I related so heavily to the main characters feeling a bond, sharing a tragedy and never being able to relate to anyone who wasn't involved in the tragedy. The author does a great job of creating three separate stories between Ava, Rose and Lewis but as you read through one, you can see the same shadows going through the others.
I won't spoil the ending but it does leave your mind to form your own conclusions. I'm certain that my book posse and I will have some kind of discussion about how each of their lives played out after the back cover was turned.
To be fair and balanced, the only reason that this missed a full five stars (it would have been 4.5 if available) was the second quarter of the book that somehow lagged a bit, (following the disappearance and before time rolled forward) The last half, however I couldn't put down and was pleasantly surprised to see the stories dovetail together and new and interesting tidbits coming to light one after another.
Definitely one to pick up as soon as it becomes available on May 7th, 2013!
Goodreads Rating: 4.5 Stars
On Deck (nook): The Fault In Our Stars by John Green
In Progress: (Paper): In The Body of the World by Eve Ensler
(audio): The Client by John Grisham