Becolorful

My Number 1 Must Read Book This Year

 

Via Hello Sunshine
Are you still looking for a gift for that hard-to-buy-for person on your list? Are you looking forward to calmer days ahead when you can curl up with a good book? Are you starting to wonder what that book will be? I know, what a lot of questions for such a short post, but I have THE PERFECT read for you to share or keep for yourself. Swing by Be Colorful Coastal to see what I've been reading and what could be your next read too. You won't be disappointed.

While you are there, sign up for email updates so you don't miss a post or follow me on IG @be.colorful.coastal or on FaceBook @ Be Colorful Coastal.

xoxo, p

Book Recommendations: My Favorite Reads From 2016

 

Last year I set a reading goal of twenty books for myself through Goodreads.

I didn't meet my goal but I did chalk up fourteen titles.

As I was setting my goal for this year I looked over some of last years books.

I struggled with some of the titles to even remember a story line.

If a book isn't memorable even six months later then it probably wasn't that good.

They can't all be great but there were a few that really stood out so I thought

I would share those with you here.

One of my favorites from last year was

As Close To Us As Breathing

 

 

This story takes place out east during the summer of 1948 with all the events in the

story centered around the tragic death of a child.

The book encompasses the

correlation between family expectations, guilt, religion, and self-denial. 

               It slowly unwinds to reveal how this catalytic event occurred and how it

ultimately alters every character. It is a thought-provoking

read with people that are a real life mix of their faults and redeeming qualities.

This one is a definite recommendation.

 

 

 

 

If you loved and are missing Downton Abbey, then this is a book for you.

Even though this story takes place in a small berg in England just prior to World War I, 

it echoes so many of the issues that we still face today.

It contains multiple themes of sexism, bigotry, and classism and makes the

reader realize that maybe we haven't evolved very much in the past 100 years.

Simonson's characters are multi-faceted, human, and relatable. She also sprinkles the

book with fascinating historical facts and details that enhance the story with

a subtle educational element.

 This is a book that I might have

missed if it hadn't been a book selection for book club.

Such a wonderfully pleasant surprise, I'm definitely a new fan of this author.

 

 

The Widow was an entirely different type of read. It hauntingly recounts how

a woman slowly allows herself to accept the fact that her husband is not the man she

believed him to be. It is the story of the lies a person dismisses or denies in an

attempt to avoid a horrible truth.

Jean, the widow, was an unassuming hairdresser who thought she married up

when she married her banker husband.

In the early years, she told herself he is guiding her, teaching her, and it takes a long time

before she is able to see it for the control and domination that it really is.

Now, years later and still childless,

she is shadowed and questioned by the media after her husband is accused

of abducting and murdering a small child. How she processes and deals with this

turn of events is troubling.

If you are looking for suspense with depth then this is a must read.

 

 

 

 

This title is a definite attention grabber, but I hope it doesn't put you off because

this is one of the best books I picked up last year.

The chapter on cell phone etiquette alone makes this a worthy read. It is obviously

not your run-of-the-mill manners book. This one is laced with laugh out loud humor but

it still drives home some issues that made me squirm as I recognized myself as the

offending party in a number of social situations. This one should be assigned reading.

Loved it.

 

Then there were the Elizabeth Strout books.

 

 

 

One of my top ten all time reads might be Olive Kitteridge, another book by this same author.

Elizabeth Strout is one of my favorite writers so I was eager to read My Name is Lucy Barton, when

it was released this year to rave reviews.

 

 

Unfortunately, this book left me a little disappointed.

I'm not panning it. I think that maybe I need to reread it because it definitely 

is being well received everywhere else.

Yes, it had engaging female 

characters but in my mind, Lucy, the protagonist, seemed simplistic. I found

her relationship with her own husband and children confusing and

the mother, instead of inducing sympathy, just annoyed me.

I'm sure it was just me, but to restore my faith in Strout, I decided to read one of her other

books, The Burgess Boys.

I can't say I liked it as well as Olive, but the contrast between, and the

evolution of these two brothers created seemingly tangible characters that were magnetic

and memorable. One of the best ancillary story lines of the book is

the marriage of Jim, a glossy and highly successful attorney, and his

now still attractive middle-aged and unfulfilled wife who is mourning her empty nest. 

It is a story that is probably repeated in countless homes and in countless

cities across the country but when told by Strout it seems fresh and real.

The family dynamics in this story of the one successful sibling when contrasted with his

initially weaker and acquiescing brother and simpering sister is totally

captivating. Strout's books are less about the plot and more about rich

character development which, for me, is one of the reasons her books

are so outstanding.

 

 

It seems that most of the books that I read in 2016 had a common thread, and it was how a 

single event can change the course of so many lives. Commonwealth is another one

of these stories. It began with a kiss at a baptism party in the 1960's between the 

baby's mother and a co-worker of the woman's husband. This kiss ultimately led to both of 

their divorces, their subsequent marriage, and a blended family. 

I'm sure a lot of readers would be able to identify with the children's feelings of loyalty 

toward the parents that suffered from the infidelity, a disrespect for the unfaithful parent

and a disdain for their new siblings. It was compelling to follow along

as these half brothers and sisters began to form new alliances and loyalties. From two

disjointed pasts, they became a family unit separate from the parents.

This was a read with some real psychological depth and plenty of material for a

meaty discussion.

 

 

 

With less depth, but more humor, The Nest is a fun and sparkling read. The story, again

about four vastly different siblings that have been counting on an inheritance that their 

father has set aside as a midlife economic infusion when the youngest child turns forty.

Each of the siblings has watched the inheritance grow with the stock market and has visions

of the positive impact this cash will have on each of their lives. Then they realize that

the money has dissipated as hush money for a scandal that their older brother, Leo, has

created. This is a story of a poster worthy dysfunctional family, which always

makes it more interesting, and how money changes them and their relationships. It is a 

story full of irony and rich people problems.

This is a debut novel by this author and I look forward to anything she writes in the future.

 

But not all of the books I read were winners. Here are a few that got rave reviews elsewhere

but left me feeling a bit less enthused.

 

 

A psychological thriller, Behind Closed Doors, is based on the premise that the beautiful

couple that seems to have it all may be living a much different life behind closed doors.

This time, the couple consists of a beautiful woman who has a burgeoning career as a

buyer at Harrods but gives it up when she marries what she thought was the man of her 

dreams. He, of course, turns out to be a psychopath. This book frustrated me after the

first chapter. It seemed so improbable and ridiculous. In all fairness, the last third of

the book did seem to get better but the ending was so contrived and the characters so one 

dimensional that, for me, the book never recovered.

 

 

I usually really like Liane Moriarty's books but this one left me flat. The suspenseful build-up  

seemed overrated for the climax and I felt like it could have been edited down to a short

story instead of a novel. There just wasn't enough of a tale here. That said, there is

an interesting study of the long-term relationship and vacillating feelings of 

annoyance, loyalty, competitiveness, and jealousy between the two main female friends.

 Despite this relationship, it felt like the main characters were rather forgettable, but 

the outgoing neighbor, that hosts the barbecue in the story, is a very charismatic

and indelible persona. He seemed so real, like someone I would love to meet.

But for me, this book just didn't measure up. This falls short of Big Little Lies.

 

 

So what's on my list for 2017?

 

 

 

Currently, I am reading  Rich and Pretty, an intriguing study of the ebb and flow of the 

life-long friendship between two women and the debate of whether it can survive 

differing paths of career, marriage, and economic standards.

Do these women even have anything in common other than their past?  

I think we all have those friends that have

fallen away and we aren't exactly sure why. This book seems to address this issue.

What makes this read especially fascinating is that it notes the subtle nuances of women 

with such amazingly acute perception, but it is written by a man.

Interesting.

 

So now I'm looking ahead to 2017 and wondering what to add to my to-read list.

These are a few that are already in the queue but I am always eager for suggestions

from you.

 

Happy reading.

xoxo,

p

The No Need To Read Book Club

 

 

This is true. I get into cycles. Periods where I do a lot of reading and times when I only think about it. Over the winter I spent too much time in front of the TV catching up on all of my guilty pleasures instead of tucked in a favorite chair with my iPad and a good read. Perhaps it was because my life hit a speed bump this winter and things were a bit more challenging these past two months.  While things were at their  craziest it was just easier to lose myself in a mind numbing reality show than to pick up a book. Fortunately, things are looking up now on the caregiver front and life is returning to normal. So, I decided it was the right time to get together again with a group of my besties for our loosely organized book club.

 

 

Last summer we started the No Need to Read group. It's not the traditional book club where everyone reads the same book. I remember doing that in an earlier chapter of my life.  Back then just finding the time to read was a luxury and I often resented using whatever precious down time I did have to read a book someone else had chosen or a book that wasn't really in my wheel house.  I also felt like a book club and time with my girlfriends should be something I was looking forward to. Too often, though, it seemed like the pressure to just finish the book in time took away from the thrill of getting together with friends.

This group is different. Instead of all of us reading some previously agreed up book, we each come together and share whatever it is we have been reading on our own. Some months, for some of us, the only reading we accomplish is getting though a daunting queue of emails. No judgements here. We all get it. So we share whatever it was that we did read. The list is usually diverse and it is an easy way to hear about books I never knew existed or to learn that some best seller was really nothing more than over hyped drivel. 

These are the titles the group shared this month:

My Name Is Lucy Barton

Two of us had read this book. I was one of them. My friend loved it. I was a bit more on the fence but we have both admired Elizabeth Strout as an author. Her book, Olive Kitteridge, is one of my favorites and like that book, the characters here are equally well developed and multi-faceted. If you like good writing more than just a good story I think you would like it.

 

Sacred Choices was another recommendation this week. A self-help book that looks at our indoctrination to do the "right" thing, vs what our heart wants to do. The theme seems to be that our culture, or our tribal backgrounds, are responsible for these conflicting feelings and values but with some self- realization we can find some resolution.

Another one of the women in our group has been coping with a loss and she recommended 

The Grief Recovery Handbook.

This book sounded different from most of the grief books out there. I was definitely intrigued by her review of it and I think this one would make a wonderful gift for anyone that is coping with grief.

 

My book this month was

As Close to Us As Breathing

I would definitely recommend this one. It is a haunting story of a Jewish family on the East Coast during the summer of 1948, not long after World War II. It highlights how a single tragedy can alter the lives of an entire extended family. It is a book about self denial, guilt, religion, and family. 

Not everyone had time to read so they shared their want- to- read options.Those are always interesting too.

This time around they were these two:

 

 

 

and 

Has anybody read them yet? Thoughts?

Summer is coming. What is on your list?

:D

 

 

Happy Mom's Day.

xoxo,

p

 

 

 

The Fault In Our Stars

 

 

I almost didn't read it. Why would I want to read something that I knew wasn't going to end well? I'm not sure what finally prompted me to hit the "Buy Book" button on my iPad but I'm so glad I did.

True, it doesn't end well and one of the lines that is repeated throughout the book is

"The world is not a wish granting factory"

Death is something we don't like to think or read about but the book wasn't so much about death for me as it was about life. The characters are compelling and their sardonic wit lifts the book up from what could otherwise be a painfully dejecting read. 

The premise of the book is that two teenagers meet at a cancer support group. Hazel Grace carries an oxygen tank everywhere she goes and Augustus Waters has a prosthetic leg. They seem an unlikely pair at first but it was their destiny to cross paths and fall in love. If only their stars had lined up better. 

These are a few of my favorite passages from the book...

It’s all fragile and fleeting, dear reader, but with this swing set, your child(ren) will be introduced to the ups and downs of human life gently and safely, and may also learn the most important lesson of all: No matter how hard you kick, no matter how high you get, you can’t go all the way around.-Augustus Waters

and

The marks humans leave are too often scars. You build a hideous mini mall or start a coup or try to become a rock star and you think, “They’ll remember me now,” but (a) they don’t remember you, and (b) all you leave behind are more scars. Your coup becomes a dictatorship. Your minimall becomes a lesion.

This next passage made me think of someone very close to me but I think it is true of anyone who has ever loved and lost someone and wished for just ONE more day. 

 "There are days, many of them, when I resent the size of my unbounded set. I want more numbers than I'm likely to get, and God, I want more numbers for Augustus Waters than he got. But, Gus, my love, I cannot tell you how thankful I am for our little infinity. I wouldn't trade it for the world. You gave me a forever within the numbered days, and I'm grateful." 

Lesson learned? Sometimes even a brief infinity is such a gift.

We all want for more but this book reminds us to appreciate the day we have today.

After finishing the book I wanted to know more about the author, John Green, so I googled him. I was intrigued to read that during an interview he explained that he wanted to write a book not about cancer but a book where all the characters are sick. He didn't want to create another book about how the life of the sick person affects a healthy person. His hope was to drive home the idea that every life has meaning and it is more than how that life touches others. I felt that he did this beautifully and as a reader I was able to empathize with Hazel's concerns for how her sickness and ultimate death would affect those who loved her the most and why she doesn't want to get close with anyone new.

 

“I'm a grenade and at some point I'm going to blow up and I would like to minimize the casualties, okay?” - Hazel Grace 

In this one sentence John Green reminds us that cancer doesn't just devour the body, but it also invades the heart and soul.

Did the book make me cry? Of course it did.

Life is often times sad and unavoidable. This fact is driven home time and time again.

This was no more evident than in the quote from Augustus Waters -

"That's the thing about pain," Augustus said, and then glanced back at me. "It demands to be felt."

 

In between the pain, though, there is a lot of humor. It is the humor that saves this book from becoming another recycled Love Story.

For example, this quote, spoken by the aging and alcoholic author that Hazel has put on pedestal, -

"What a slut time is. She screws everybody."-Van Houten

There are just so many great quotes. 

I will be collecting and reflecting back on them for weeks. So am I glad I read the book?

Ab-so-freaking-lutely.

Now, I can't wait until June 6th when I can go see the movie version.

Any takers?

xoxo,

p

 

Book Review - Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

 

A month or so ago I reviewed Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl, a book that grabbed me from the first page. Even though I am not typically much of a mystery/thriller reader I really liked Ms. Flynn's writing style. In fact, I liked it enough to go back and see what else she had written. The blurb for Dark Places was intriguing enough for me to hit the Buy Now button on my iPad and I'm very glad that I did.

Dark Places is a story that vacillates between current day and January 2, 1985, the night of the gruesome murders of Libby Day's mother and two sisters. Libby, who was only seven years old at the time of the murders was also in the farmhouse that night but was able to escape and hide out in the snow covered fields beyond the farm house. Being so young, she was very malleable and was easily convinced to testify that her fifteen year old brother was the person that committed this horrendous crime.

Now, years later and living off the meager remains of a trust fund that was created for her by sympathetic well wishers shortly after the murders, Libby crosses paths with a member of a Kill Club. Kill Club is a surreptitious group that follows sensational crimes and now the members of this group have come together in their belief that Libby's brother has been wrongly accused and convicted. Ultimately this group has now deemed it their cause to prove the innocence of Libby's brother, Ben Day.  Libby, who is in need of money, reluctantly agrees to the Kill Club's terms that they will pay her in return for her talking to and gaining information from a line up of people connected to that dark night in 1985. 

Through Libby's current day encounters with these people from her past and the author's technique of telling a tale via the various view points of a number of characters that were involved in the shocking events of that cold January night so long ago, the reader is slowly given more and more of the details of what happened in that doomed farm house. As the story slowly unfolds I found myself going back and forth on who I thought might have actually committed this evil act. The book is a haunting psychological study of parenting, financial hardship,teenage angst, bullying, and moral integrity.

I finished the book almost two weeks ago and it still drifts into my thoughts from time to time. I always think that is the mark of a better book. 

Be forewarned that there is an element of devil worship in the book. That is something that I found disturbing and there is also a chapter on animal mutilation that I feel the story could have done without. If you choose to read the book, I would say feel free to gloss over that chapter if you find it as repulsive as I do. You really won't miss anything crucial to the story.

All in all, I would give this book three and a half out of five palates.

I'm a tough grader. 

:D

    

 

xoxo,

p

Summer Reviews and Recommendations - Books

 

Tomorrow the school buses will start rolling again and psychologically that is kind of the end of summer for me. That, and when they close the pools. 

I wonder why I am surprised that the summer went by so fast. Doesn't it always?

I started thinking back over the past few months and what I have accomplished lately. Among other things I've done a bit of summer reading. I've also watched some mindless  drivel on TV along with some noteworthy progaming. It has been a summer of healthier eating, and regular workouts.  I've tried some new recipes and  and cocktails and I've experimented with a few new products and projects with varying success.

I always think it is interesting to see what others are reading, watching eating, and creating so I thought maybe you would like to know what summer recommendations I have for all of you. Later this week I hope to share some recipes, work out hints, and TV viewing suggestions. For today, though, I will concentrate on the books.

So what did I read this summer?

Well, I started the summer with 50 Shades of Grey

 

 

Yes, 50 Shades of Grey, it has been "Dominating" book conversations everywhere.

:D

(I just couldn't resist the pun).

I wasn't really sure what I was getting in to when I decided to read it but I didn't want to be left out of the loop so I downloaded it onto my iPad. 

This is one of those rare books that left me feeling rather ambiguous. I don't know that I would say I liked the book but then again, it isn't that I didn't like it either. Not very helpful am I? I will say that it definitely had its moments.

:D

You probably already know that this is an erotic novel that delves into the world of bondage, discipline, masochism and sadism.

It is absolutely like nothing I have ever read before.  I'm not going to lie, it is hot but after a bit I became desensitized to the sex scenes. Unfortunately, there wasn't a whole lot of substance or plot in between them.

There are those that would argue that the book glorifies abusive behavior towards women and others that feel that it celebrates sexual exploration and confidence. I couldn't say where I fall.

I do believe that rape is to be abhorred always. l wonder though if for some women, the kind of women that have been taught to believe that sex is shameful and base, that this sort of role playing allows them to fantasize that their participation is against their will and  therefore it frees them to enjoy the act without guilt. 

The book isn't especially well written. Some of the dialog between the college roommates is unnaturally wordy and formal and I was constantly having to stop and Google things like genital clamps. Really??? I have apparently led a seriously sheltered life, but if you want to know what everyone else is talking about  I would say pick this one up. It is an easy and steamy read. I will also warn you that your husband or significant other will probably ask you to read it out loud.

:D

I would rate it two BeColorful paint palates out of a possible five.

 

The second book I read this summer was  Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. I went from erotica to more of a who-done-it type read. 

I reveiwed this book earlier in the summer and you can read about it here.

The BeColorful rating for Gone Girl was a 4 out of 5.

 

To change things up yet again I followed that book up with a political read. I was ready for something non-fiction and I chose The Amateur.

As you would expect, this book is a less than flattering look at Obama and his administration. Written by Edward Klein who considers Obama an inept ideologue this work steps the reader through the past four years of the campaign and the Obama White House. 

It was released in May of 2012 so it is quite current and despite that it has been largely ignored by the liberal media it has been on the New York Times best seller's list for the past thirteen weeks.

Klein is a conservative writer and there were times when I found it would take a huge leap of faith to concur with his obviously biased conclusions.

That being said, this is a book that looks not just at the man but the entire administration and I found myself agreeing that even though Obama's closest campaign advisers ran an admirable campaign, campaign advisers do not necessarily know how to govern. Yet this is exactly what they have attempted to do in the Obama White House and with less than stellar results. 

 I was also convinced after reading this book that his inexperience and arrogance have been contributing factors to his lower poll numbers.There were times when I felt that the book was so obviously pandering to the right but there are also some insightful elements such as the fractures between Obama and Oprah Winfrey,  Caroline Kennedy, the Jewish sector and the Clintons. 

The media and the campaign presented us with a much different Obama during 2008  than  the subsequent reality of this White House. This book revisits some of the rhetoric and the events of the last four years and in looking back it is frequently easier to see things more clearly and to pinpoint those things we seemed to have missed.

I found the book intriguing despite its bias.

I give this book 3 palates.

My most recent read was also a work of non-fiction and it too was of the political persuasion.

Mrs. Kennedy and Me

 

This is the story of the Camelot years of the Kennedy White House. It is written by Clint Hill, one of Jackie Kennedy's secret service agents and the one that we have seen  climbing up on the trunk of the car in photos the day the president was shot

This is not a salacious tell- all kind of book. Instead it is a very private but respectful glimpse into what life was like as a Secret Service agent and a unique vista into the early 1960's White House. The book begins as John Kennedy is elected and carries us through  the inauguration, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the birth and death of baby Patrick, Jackie's first encounter with Aristotle Onassis and the  president's assassination. It is a story we have all heard but never quite like this.

One of the things that amazed me was how little time Jackie actually spent in Washington during those three and a half years that her husband was president. She truly was a reluctant First Lady.

I also found it disconcerting how we have changed as a nation over the past fifty years. The Kennedy family was obviously extremely wealthy. What fascinated me was that during the Kennedy era their wealth was something that seemed to bring them prestige and respect from the public. They were admired for what they had accomplished and achieved. Dare I say for what they had built themselves? Yet today, Romney's wealth is denounced, demeaned, and scrutinized. Have we really changed that much or is all of this envy, divisiveness and class warfare ultimately altering how we view success?

I absolutely loved this book for so many reasons. One element of the book that intrigued me was the lifestyle of the author during his years as a Secret Service agent. A friend of ours has a son who is with the Secret Service today and has been on the Obama detail when the first family was in Hawaii. I couldn't help comparing the wages, benefits and working conditions of the agents then to the Secret Service today. It is a shame that recent events have somewhat tarnished the reputation of what has been such an esteemed agency.

There are also a number of photos interspersed throughout the book. Some of them were familiar but most of them I had never seen before and they give such insight into the woman, the fashions, and the lifestyle that signified Jacqueline Kennedy.

I hope to get another book read before the summer is really over but if not, this one was a good way to end the season.

 

I gave Mrs. Kennedy and Me 5 palates.

I would love to hear what books were on your reading list and any suggestions you have to pass along my way.

Happy reading.

xoxo,

p

 

Book Review - Gone Girl

 

Gone Girl  by Gillian Flynn, is one of the two books I just finished reading and it's a book that my poor friends and family have had to listen to me go on and on about for two weeks now. Sometimes a book is just that gripping that you can't resist talking about it to anyone who will listen. For me, this was one of those books.

I don't read a lot of suspense novels but when I was perusing titles for my next read, it was the description for this book that really jumped out and intrigued me.

It is the story of Nick and Amy, a young married couple from two very different backgrounds. He is a working class transplant from a small town in Missouri and she is the daughter of two successful New York psychologist/authors and  the inspiration for their series of children's books entitled Amazing Amy.

The couple meet and marry as they are both working in New York but the downward spiraling economy and the declining health of Nick's parents cause them to relocate to Missouri.

The book begins on the morning of Nick and Amy's five year anniversary when she suddenly turns up missing. As is so often the case in these real life dramas, it is the husband that is the focus of suspicion or the "person of interest" 

The story is told in a first person narrative but from two alternating perspectives; Nick's voice and then Amy's diary. 

I found this whodunnit story to be a current and smart read.  There were elements that were predictable but there were also times that I found myself doubting my own conclusions. It makes me wonder if what I have heard about real life cases similiar to this has been presented  with such a degree of bias or sensationalism that I have been duped into believing that an innocent person is guilty or a guilty person innocent. Indeed, life can sometimes be ambiguous and like life the ending to this book was rather frustrating. Then again, the ending was  perhaps just an astute intellectual twist.

The main characters in the book are complex. As the story progressed I found my sympathies vacillating between Nick and Amy, as neither character is totally likable or entirely contemptible. I always think that is a necessary element in a well written book. The ancillary characters were more static but I found it compelling when their loyalties to Nick and their trust in him were tested and ultimately waivered.

This is not the first book by this author. Her other two books , Dark Places and Sharp Objects have also received abundant accolades, So I think I may need to add those titles to my "must read" list also.

As for Gone Girl, I truly doubt you will be disappointed if you decide to add this one to your own summer reading pile.

xoxo,

p

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Have you ever read a book that you are not sure you liked but you wish you knew someone else who had read the same book so you could talk about it?

That is how I am feeling about Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

 

 

I haven't seen the movie yet because I wanted to finish reading the book first but I am sure after watching this trailer that the themes of loss and loneliness are the same in both formats.

 

This is a novel about a young boy, Oskar, whose father is killed in The World Trade Center on 9-11. The reader is eloquently given moving glimpses of the closeness that existed between this boy and his father and the resulting "heavy boots" the boy feels after his father's death. Several months after the "The Worst Day" Oskar discovers a vase and a key in his closet and is convinced that finding what the key unlocks will  reveal a message for him from his father and ultimately some relief from his intense grief, guilt and feelings of loss.

I was expecting so much from this book but there were a number of times when I felt like I was pushing through it just to get to a better part or maybe to the end. I found the multiple narrative voices confusing.  I realize this is a common writing technique but the transitions between narrators were annoying and I  felt that it was more of a distraction than an asset. More than once I found myself wanting to skim through the stories of the self- absorbed grandfather and the pathetic grandmother so I could get back to Oskar.  

Even Oskar isn't totally likable. He is, occasionally, borderline unbelievable. This freakishly precocious nine year old inventor, vegan, and jewelry maker would make me laugh at times and next I would think his character was overly contrived.  It will be interesting to see how they cast Oskar in the movie. He could either be adorable or just plain irritating.  I think, though, what probably makes Oskar still endearing is that his profound, 40- year- old, adult like intelligence is relieved by his childish innocence. 

Even though I felt the story was a bit implausible, the author's ability to touch the reader's soul is compelling and his use of photos placed intermittently throughout the book to allow the reader to literally see the world as Oskar was seeing it was rather genius.

The message that I will take away from this book isn't new but these words of the grandmother  describing how she never told her sister how much she loved her until it was too late vividly brought home to me again the truth that we never know what the day or tomorrow will hold and if we will ever have that next chance to say and do the things we feel are important.

 

"I said I want to tell you something.

She said, You can tell me tomorrow.

I had never told her how much I loved her.

She was my sister.

We slept in the same bed.

There was never a right time to say it.

It was always unnecessary.

The books in my father's shed were sighing.

The sheets were rising and falling around me with Anna's breathing.

I thought about waking her.

But it was unnecessary.

There would be other nights."

Would I recommend it? Yes. I crave great writing and although the story didn't meet my expectations the writing  lifted this book up to noteworthy status and I would definitely consider reading other things Jonathan Foer writes in the future.

Happy reading.

xoxo,

p

 

Book Review: The Kitchen House

A month or so ago I wrote another book review post and as it usually goes after finishing a good book I wonder what I am going to read next. I asked that very question last month and fortunately Tina came to my rescue. Tina has suggested several books to our book club and I thoroughly enjoyed everything she has come up with. She selects books that are well written and with characters that linger in your mind long after the last pages are read. When she gave me this title I knew it would be a good one. Thanks Tina. I was definitely not disappointed.

The Kitchen House is set in the South during the 1800's but before the Civil War. It is a story told from two different points of view. The first is that of a young immigrant girl. The girl, Lavinia, becomes an orphan while she and her family are traveling to America from Ireland. She is purchased  by a plantation owner who brings her back to his home as an indentured servant.  Lavinia is raised in the kitchen house with her new black family but ultimately is thrown into the privileged white world where she is forced to make many difficult choices.

The second point of view is that of a young woman who raises Lavinia like her own but must ultimately give her up to the life of privilege and comfort.

It is a story of compassion and conflict, good and evil, greed and generosity. A great read that could also make a compelling movie.

The only problem (again)  is what to read next. 

Tina? Are you reading this?

:0

I would love suggestions from all of you. Whether you read it recently or years ago, if it was great I would love to hear about it.

Have a great weekend.

xoxo,

:0

P

In the Rear View Mirror - My Summer Reads

Earlier this year I read some meatier reads including Sarah's Key,

all of the books in The Hunger Games Series, Room, and Oxygen.

With summer, though, I usually opt for lighter reading.

I started out with a humorous read by Claire Cook titled

Best Staged Plans

More Lifetime Movie than Oscar winner, I would still recommend it if you are looking for that quick fun read.

This is the relateable tale of a boomer generation house stager that is ready to downsize her home and is anxious for her twenty something son to get a plan and move on with his life so she can move on with hers. Although the plot is rather predictable and this is one of those stories that will fade from my memory in a few short years it was also one that made me laugh out loud as I saw pieces of myself and my own indecision as to what to do next in my life. For all of us decor minded bloggers, there are some fun design hints and ideas and some easy meal concepts and recipes ala Trader Joe's. Add in the life lesson to be grateful for what you have and you have the book that is Best Staged Plans.

Meaty? No. Fun? Absolutely.

 

I followed that book up with the saucier and definitely original

Georgia Bottoms.

 

Now Georigia Bottoms is one of the more intriguing characters I have run across in recent years. Her family has definitely seen better days and better financial times but Georgia is one resourceful southern cookie that wants to keep her family's misfortunes private. She is often referred to in book reviews as a modern day Scarlet O'Hara. In short, Georgia sets up an elaborate schedule of prominent men from her small community that each visit her on a different night of the week. None of these callers know about the others and although she never asks for money from her gentlemen friends, she is always grateful for their "gifts". If it happens to be money? Well that suits her just fine. Everything is going according to schedule until one of her "guests", the Baptist minister, decides to confess his sins to the congregation. Georgia takes the necessary steps to avoid this debacle and so the story begins.

Hilarious at times and totally fresh. This is a book they absolutely have to make into a movie. Who could they cast as Georgia? Mark Childress, the author suggested Sandra Bullock or Reese Witherspoon. I can see Sandra but as I was reading I kept seeing either Cameron Diaz or Julia Roberts. Someone closer to forty than thirty. 

As much as I enjoyed the book, the ending left me a little disconcerted. I feel like the story is only half told. What happens next. Georgia is one of those characters that maybe deserves a sequel.

I read my books on an iPad but I still rather look through the bookstores when I am considering a book. While at Target one day I perused one of their book end caps and ran across several titles that looked interesting so I pinned them. Don't you love Pinterest? When I got home I read some of the reviews of the books I had pinned and decided to go with The Island by Erin Hildebrand.    

This is the story of four women that spend an entire month together on a way too primitive for me island. The characters are a mother, her sister and two daughters. Each of these privileged white women bring their own emotional baggage to Tuckernuck and the outcome in the end was just a bit too nicely wrapped up for me. Maybe if I had a sister I would be able to relate better to this book. As it was, I enjoyed reading it but a year from now I will probably barely be able to recall the plot. I felt like the book was a bit too contrived. Even the names of the characters: Chess, Tate, Indie, and Birdie seemed borderline ridiculous. The story line of the daughter who breaks off her engagement and then hears that her ex fiance has fallen while rock climbing was a bit intriguing and is probably what kept me reading but ultimately I felt like this was a fluff piece that was trying to disguise itself as something much deeper and significant. I would probably give it 2 1/2 out of five stars.

The most recent book I read was the darkest of the four. That should have been obvious from the title.

The Murder's Daughters by Randy Susan Meyers

This was a book that I didn't really like but still could not stop reading. I do have a completion fetish but I am learning to close that book that I am getting nothing from. So, there was obviously something here that kept me turning the pages. It is definitely a compelling study into the psychology of how differently people deal with tragedy and the character's were complex enough to be intriguing but fortunately the subject matter is far removed for most people. The murder of these young girl's mother by their father takes place in the first chapter and the rest of the book that covers the next thirty years of their lives follows how these two girls turned women cope or don't cope with the tragedy. I found myself definitely identifying with the behavior of one sister over the other and that made me think that even though this book was disturbing at times it would make for an interesting book club discussion. If I were going to rate it today I would probably give it three stars. It is well written but still, like I said, not a book I really enjoyed reading but one I would not discourage anyone from picking up.

So what next? I have a friend that used to be in my book club and I always loved the books she chose. Two of my favorite books, Olive Kitteridge, and Mrs. Kimble were also her suggestions so I am pretty well convinced that this title that she sent my way, The Kitchen House, which tells the story of a white servant girl in a plantation house,

will be a winner too.

I'll get back to you on this one.

I am always looking for good titles so I'd love to hear what you have found to be noteworthy reading too.

Switching the subject, have you done any fall decorating at your house? If so, think about linking up to Motivated Monday here.

xoxo,

P

Oxygen - Another Recommended Read

 

 

I'm a hot mess and not in a good way.

 I've had a cold for what seems like forever.

It has been one of those hacking, nose honking, watery eyed colds that has nobody wanting to be in the same zip code as I am.

You know it is bad when you have a selection of cough drops because you have been dining on them for so long that you are now craving options. :)

That said, if you look hard enough there have been a few upsides to this whole convalescence period.

1. I haven't been in the stores for like ten days. 

   Chase Bank and American Express are getting concerned and thinking about sending out an all points bulletin.

My account balances have never been this low this many days into the month. :)

 

2. My husband doesn't want me contaminating anything in the kitchen so I haven't         cooked anything for four or five days. Not that that is terribly uncommon but I needed a number 2. 

3. I live with a germ-a- phobe so I have basically been relegated to the bedroom. which has allowed me to do a bit of extra reading.

My latest read was Oxygen by Carol Cassella

This book is gripping right from the the first page. The characters are believable and the author has an easy and insightful style of writing that help the reader to identify and empathize with several of the characters.

It is the story of an anesthesiologist that is at the top of her game and then the unthinkable happens and she loses a small child on the operating table.

The plot is an interesting dicotomy of the world of medicine and the justice system.

It is the kind of story that you can imagine hearing on the nightly news but this book explains the story behind the salacious headlines.

Although there is enough tension to make you want to keep reading just "one more chapter" I felt that this book was more about the psychology behind the story. The protagonist is going through the challenge of her life and this results in her projecting some of her own previously unresolved issues onto the mother who has lost her only child. It is a novel and successful writing technique that leads the reader through the results of the characters' choices helps  to reveal the protagonist's inner struggles.

A definite thumbs up for this one.

Now I'm onto Sarah's Key. Thank you Liz and Molly for the suggestion.

Happy reading.

xoxo,

P

 

Room by Emma Donoghue

Room.

My latest recommended read.

There are those books that are enjoyable reads but eventually they blur into a sea of past reads that we can barely remember.

You know what I mean. Somebody mentions them and you think, "I know I read that but I really can't remember much about it"

Then there are books like Room.

This is one of those haunting, lingering books that years from now I promise you will be able to recall vividly.

I used to read more but then in the last couple of years ( about the time I started blogging) I found myself picking up a book less and less often.

Maybe it was the blizzard of 2011.

Maybe it is because our book club has decided to take a break and for the first time in a long time I am reading what I want to read and not something someone else had selected.

Whatever it is, this winter I have found myself spending fewer hours in front of the computer or television and more hours curled up with my ipad.

Reading can be addictive.

So much so that lately I find myself hurrying to get through my to do lists so I can get back to my book.

With this book I cheated a lot and would skip the list and go right for the book.

It was just that good.

In short this is a story about a young woman that has been kidnapped and held captive for seven years in an 11 x 11 foot room by a man referred to only as Old Nick. During that time she has given birth to a son. When the book begins her son, Jack, is five years old. Born into captivity, the room is the only world he has ever known.

What makes the book unique is that it is told through Jack's point of view.

Donoghue does an amazing job with this technique.

We are privy to how sheltered and protected Jack is by his young mother but we are still able to glean the nefariousness and repulsiveness of Old Nick and their situation without dwelling on the salacious details.

 It is a story of not only survival but of resilience and empowerment.

Despite the darker side to this novel, there are moments of tenderness and hope.

It is available in hardback and on ibooks and Kindle.

If you have already read it I would love to hear what you think.

xoxo,

P

    

The Hunger Games

 

 

Like so many of you we have been surviving the historic Blizzard of '11.

Unlike a lot of you, I kind of relish a good storm.

As long as everybody I care about is safely off the roads, I look forward to hunkering down, and tucking in for a no- excuses- needed change- of -pace kind of time at home.

I did quite a bit of painting these past couple of days so I feel like I was at least productive.

I should be finished up with a number of my projects today and I will share them with you later this week.

I also did a lot of reading during the last couple of days.

My daughter first mentioned the book The Hunger Games to me around Christmas time.

Like me, she isn't a fan of Sci-fi but she insisted she couldn't put it down.

Well I decided that for the sake of attempting to be hip and informed I would give the book a whirl.

 

Before we went on a trip last fall I decided to break down and buy an iPad.

I had been looking at e-readers for awhile but I wasn't sure they were for me but in a moment of weakness I decided to take the plunge.

So glad I did.

I can't figure out why this series that has been such a blockbuster isn't available through itunes but I found that it was only $5.00 from Kindle so I purchased it there.

  I love that you can read Nook and Kindle books on the iPad too.

 

Liz warned me that the story line to this book would sound bizarre but if I could stick it out past the first couple of chapters that I would be hooked.

Smart girl. She was right. I couldn't put it down.

It is actually young adult literature but definitely meaty enough for the rest of us too.

It is easy an read and I read it in about a day and a half.

 The book is part of a trilogy and as soon as I turned the last page I wanted to know "Well now what? That can't be all." So yes, I bought the second book.

That is the beauty of an e-reader. You can instantly download without having to phsysically get in the car and drive somewhere.

The second book, Catching Fire, was in my hands a mere 30 seconds later.

 

 

 I doubt I will buy another hands on paper book of fiction.

I am running out of shelf space.

When it comes to magazines, coffee table books or art books, though, I still want the real thing.

So not to worry  Barnes and Noble, I will continue to peruse your aisles.

E-books are amazing but there isn't anything quite like wandering through a bricks and mortar bookstore.

I love taking in the smell of the books and the coffee the minute I come through the door and I could spend hours just meandering through the walls of books, thumbing through some of the featured titles laid out on the tables and making notes of my next reads.

With all that snow blowing around outside, though, it was  pretty sweet to experience the instant gratification of staying warm and dry and yet owning Catching Fire with just a few clicks.

 

This second book was a bit more. $7 something but it was also money well spent.

I knew I was much too engrossed in this book when during the blizzard our lights flickered.

My first fear was of losing heat but the very next thought to jump into my head was that I needed to be sure my iPad was fully charged so even if we lost power I could at least finish my book. : )

Then, as I was finishing the second book, my low battery message kept flashing at me about every five minutes.

I didn't want to stop reading so I kept hitting the dismiss button.

Now because we never did lose power, I could have plugged in the iPad and resumed reading but I didn't even want to stop long enough to do that.

I just resolved to read faster.

It was that enthralling.

So if you are looking for something that is definitely thought provoking and a bit out of the ordinary to entertain you  or your teenage readers during your hunkered down winter evenings you might want to consider these two books.

As for the third book in the series, The Mockingjay, I haven't started it yet.

I haven't even downloaded it.

The reviews are not nearly as good so I started reading something else instead.

Plus the first two left me a bit exhausted.

I felt like I had been right in the fight with the protagonist.

Still, I keep wondering about that third book and I'm thinking I should just give in to temptation and  find out how the whole story ends.

Have any of you read the books in this series?

What about Mockingjay?

I'd love to hear what you thought.

I've read that this trilogy is being made into a movie that will be out next spring.

This is one of those rare stories that could be every bit as fantastic on the big screen.

Happy reading.

xoxo,

P

Olive Kitteridge - Put It On Your Need to Read List

There are so many pluses and only one minus to being in a book club. The minus is that there are so many books out there that I would like to read. That is a problem because I never seem to find enough time to get to my "want to reads" because I am  often times slogging through my "needs to be read in time for book club" reads. As a result, this is my night table - stacked with good intentions.

 

I don't know when I will ever get them all read. Just yesterday I was at B & N and bought another one; The Roses. So the pile grows. I never seem to whittle it down.I Read one. Add one. Read one. Add one. It's a wonderfully vicious circle.

On the other hand, the upside to being in a book club, outside of the obvious time with friends, good food and good wine is that I am exposed to books that I would probably not otherwise read. Olive Kitteridge is one of those books. Until this month I wasn't even aware of its existence despite the fact that it won a Pulitzer in 2009. So thank you Molly for selecting this book. 

This novel is a series of short stories that are subtly intertwined by the repeating appearance of the namesake central character, Olive Kitteridge. The book is set in a small gossip ridden town in Maine but it is anything but provincial because these stories and events could take place anywhere.

 I really enjoyed Elizabeth Strout's complicated characters. They reminded me of various people I have known. They are neither black or white but undulating shades of grey. I would vacillate between empathizing with them in one chapter and then thinking that their particular point of view was way off the mark in the next. The author doesn't lead the reader to draw any conclusions one way or another about these people. Instead, she masterfully presents the stories and situations through the dialog of the various characters. In the end each reader brings to the story his or her own past experiences that ultimately influence the way they interpret each of the many complex characters. 

The following in one of my favorite passages from the book. It exemplifies how matter of fact Olive is and how she just tells it like she sees it. In this scene Olive is corresponding by email with a recent acquaintance about the fact that neither of them have a positive or close relationship with their adult children.

    She waited two days. Then she wrote: "My son hates me too."

    An hour later came the response. "Does it kill you? It kills me that my daughter hates me. But I know it's my fault."

    She wrote immediately. "It kills me. Like the devil. And it must be my fault too, though I don't understand it. I don't remember things the way he seems to remember them.

It is such a simple exchange yet it so raw and says so much. Whether you like Olive is a matter of opinion and perspective but you have to admire her honesty and her simple speak. This is definitely a book you should move to the top of your reading pile.

Happy reading,

Pam

 

New Inspiration - Kim Parker HOME

 

As many of you know, earlier this month I participated in The Traveling Door event at Klik's. This is the TV cabinet that was sitting in my library in an earlier post about Surviving on Zone Bars. The final product wasn't anything like the version in my head. Sometimes it just works out that way. Either mistakes or trying something new can lead me in a totally new direction. I have always been inspired by Sticks. I think that explains some of the black and white and word elements in my work. Actually the black and white and the quotes may go as far back as the Mary Engelbreit influence on me  in the late 80's and early 90's. I have always been a fan of Sister Parrish and more recently of the fabrics of Susan Sargent and the art of  Thomas McKnight. I realize it really isn't all that random. All of these artists use exuberant colors, mixed prints, and a playful style.

 

Yesterday I made what was supposed to be a quick stop at Barnes and Nobel. That really is an oxymoron because there is really no such thing as a quick stop at B and N. I went in to pick up a couple of magazines and ended up back in the crafts and home decor section. That is where I ran across this great book.

 

 

They say you can't tell a book by it's cover, but I knew from this colorful photograph that I was going to fall in love with this one. Just look at that pillow! Kim Parker is not a trained artist - another reason I am drawn to her. In fact she is actually an accomplished flutist. Her colorful designs, though, have been incorporated into rugs, dishes and prints. This book is full of contemporary floral prints that will be a great resource for color combinations and design inspiration. If you are a fan of bright color you will want to check this out.