After reading The Mysterious Benedict Society (and knowing that the new Kristin Hannah book--she's quite thought provoking-- will be downloaded to my Nook tomorrow) I wanted a book that was a light, quick read in between two heavy books. Sweet Talk was the perfect solution.
It is one of three (Sweet Spot is next--I am actually 118 pages from finishing it--and Sweet Trouble is that last in the series) books about the Keyes sisters. While there is a clear plot in the books that is strong enough to keep you interested, but not so heavy that it brings you down, the real draw with these three novels (especially book number two) is the romance. Oh my... :)
You won't find Sweet Talk on the shelf of any of my English professors from college, I can be certain (it might be stashed in a night table drawer, however). But, this is a perfect book to throw in your beach bag for a Spring Break read or a day by the pool this summer.
Happy reading everyone!
:) Dodie
Monday, January 30, 2012
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
#6 The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
The Mysterious Benedict Society has been on our bookshelf for several years. Rob was actually the one who wanted to read it, even though it is a kid’s book. I beat him to it, but I can certainly see why he wanted to read it now that I finished it. From what I can tell, there are at least 2 more Benedict Society books. I will tell you truthfully that I will not be reading those. It’s not that the The Mysterious Benedict Society wasn’t a good read, because it was, I just don’t feel compelled to read any more books about these characters.
I’m still trying to wrap my head around all of the themes of this novel, too. First, there’s the idea of Gifted Children. I won’t get on my soapbox, but I will say that a certain school system could take a lesson from Mr. Benedict. He placed an advertisement in the paper asking, “Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?” and many, many, many children and their parents responded to the add. Four children passed his series of tests. Four. Those children were truly gifted, not just smart kids who test well and who are given work sample after work sample in hopes that one of those samples would show giftedness. In the aforementioned school system, way more than 4 kids would have been accepted into Mr. Benedict’s program. Sad, but true. So, this book made me think a lot about giftedness. Sticky, Reynie, Kate, and Constance were amazingly gifted children. They are gifted like kids were 17 years ago when I started teaching: they have a different perspective on the world, they think differently, and they are a little quirky. They could truly save the world, and did. They were very believable.
These children are also alone in the world. Each one is either a runaway or an orphan. Theme number two: children who have been abandoned and feel as though adults have let them down. They are loving children, but skeptical, and just want to find a place where they belong. Now, in order for the plot of this book to work, I think the 4 main characters had to be alone, otherwise, they wouldn’t be so inclined to leave their home to fight for a mysterious cause as alluded to by Mr. Benedict. These 4 kids had nothing to lose, nothing to keep them at home, they went to “fight” because…well, why wouldn’t they?
Then there’s the political/all-powerful government theme. I doubt that children who read this book will even think of this, but I sure did. To a child, I think the idea of smart kids serving as spies to solve a mystery is probably the only aspect of the plot that they might focus upon. On the other hand, I felt overwhelmed by the scariness of Mr. Comfort’s plan to “Mindsweep” the population so that everyone’s memories would be erased, while sending messages directly into people’s brains through the television and radio that no one knew were being submitted, in an effort to erase fear and to make everyone happy. He never planned to actually tell anyone about this, nor did he plan to ask if anyone wanted this done. He did this to governmental officials, too, that he recruited to help with mindsweeping. That is scary stuff.
So, aside from being irritated with the gifted process and being scared to death that when I watch Dance Moms or Glee that someone is sending hidden messages into my brain which will erase my memories, I didn’t take anything away from this book that impacted me personally. I think this is why I won’t be reading any more Benedict Society books. I need to take something from my reading, or it is purposeless to me.
It was a good book and even though it was 485 pages, I was able to read it in only a few days. I think upper elementary and middle school aged kids would like it, too. It’s action packed, involves spies and bad guys, and has a picture or two. That’s a recipe for success for a kid book.
Happy Reading!
J Dodie
Thursday, January 19, 2012
#5 Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine
One of my reading goals for this year is to read some really great kid's books (or young adult books). The first one for 2012 is Mockingbird. It was awesome!
I honestly found this book to be intriguing for the dumbest reason: it's cover. The cover of this book is the same as the cover of another young reader novel, although for the life of me I can't remember what the book is. Apparently, both authors really didn't care what the cover looked like and both used the same generic cover picture offered by their publisher not realizing that another author had picked the same photograph. Scandal ensued as you can imagine.
I was also drawn to the story because the main character, Caitlin, has Asperger's syndrome and thought that a kid's story told by a 5th grade autistic girl would be fascinating. I thought perhaps I'd learn something. Did I ever. What I did not know until I flipped to the back of the book was that the storyline of Mockingbird was based on the shootings at Virginia Tech in 2007. This book was the author's way of dealing with that tragedy and helping us all to see two things. One: we all suffer when there's a tragedy in our community. Two: if we all learned to respect each other and be kind, regardless of our differences, the world would be a better, safer, less violent place.
I won't give away any details, but I will tell you that this book moved me. Hearing Caitlin's voice as she tried to find Closure, as she tried to make sense of figures of speech that she takes literally, as she tried to figure out who was going to teach her things now that Devon couldn't, as she tried to make friends...it was all touching and moving.
There are two comments in Mockingbird that I found particularly poignant. The first Caitlin's dad spoke at the end of the book and his words made me smile: "A movie isn't as good as real life. It can't even compare." The second Caitlin said early on in the novel and I think I share her sentiment: "Books are not like people. Books are safe." She was referring to the fact that books never change. No matter how much time passes, you can open a book and the same things will still be happening as when you opened them the first time. It would be nice if people were that way.
While books are safe, colors are not. As an artist, and apparently as good one, Caitlin has an issue with colors. Colors are never the same, she says. You can mix red and yellow many different times and never quite ever get the same shade of orange. As a result, she draws in black and white. She prefers things to be black and white. As a big fan of black-and-white-and-no-gray myself, I can relate. It makes life a lot less confusing. At the same time, I can't imagine the world without pink.
My final note about Mockingbird is this. Emily ordered this book from a Scholastic Book Order. I can't believe that this book was offered to 3-5 graders. The subject matter of the school shooting is what bothers me most. While my daughters can benefit from reading a book about a child with autism, I don't think they are ready to deal with the issues relating to the aftermath of a school shooting. I guess I issue this statement as a caution. Know what your kids are reading. Neither one of my girls ever read this book. It kept getting passed over on the shelf for Harry Potter books and Little House on the Prairie books. Thank heavens! I guess someone was watching out for my girls. Mockingbird is going to be housed on my shelf now.
Happy Reading!
:) Dodie
I honestly found this book to be intriguing for the dumbest reason: it's cover. The cover of this book is the same as the cover of another young reader novel, although for the life of me I can't remember what the book is. Apparently, both authors really didn't care what the cover looked like and both used the same generic cover picture offered by their publisher not realizing that another author had picked the same photograph. Scandal ensued as you can imagine.
I was also drawn to the story because the main character, Caitlin, has Asperger's syndrome and thought that a kid's story told by a 5th grade autistic girl would be fascinating. I thought perhaps I'd learn something. Did I ever. What I did not know until I flipped to the back of the book was that the storyline of Mockingbird was based on the shootings at Virginia Tech in 2007. This book was the author's way of dealing with that tragedy and helping us all to see two things. One: we all suffer when there's a tragedy in our community. Two: if we all learned to respect each other and be kind, regardless of our differences, the world would be a better, safer, less violent place.
I won't give away any details, but I will tell you that this book moved me. Hearing Caitlin's voice as she tried to find Closure, as she tried to make sense of figures of speech that she takes literally, as she tried to figure out who was going to teach her things now that Devon couldn't, as she tried to make friends...it was all touching and moving.
There are two comments in Mockingbird that I found particularly poignant. The first Caitlin's dad spoke at the end of the book and his words made me smile: "A movie isn't as good as real life. It can't even compare." The second Caitlin said early on in the novel and I think I share her sentiment: "Books are not like people. Books are safe." She was referring to the fact that books never change. No matter how much time passes, you can open a book and the same things will still be happening as when you opened them the first time. It would be nice if people were that way.
While books are safe, colors are not. As an artist, and apparently as good one, Caitlin has an issue with colors. Colors are never the same, she says. You can mix red and yellow many different times and never quite ever get the same shade of orange. As a result, she draws in black and white. She prefers things to be black and white. As a big fan of black-and-white-and-no-gray myself, I can relate. It makes life a lot less confusing. At the same time, I can't imagine the world without pink.
My final note about Mockingbird is this. Emily ordered this book from a Scholastic Book Order. I can't believe that this book was offered to 3-5 graders. The subject matter of the school shooting is what bothers me most. While my daughters can benefit from reading a book about a child with autism, I don't think they are ready to deal with the issues relating to the aftermath of a school shooting. I guess I issue this statement as a caution. Know what your kids are reading. Neither one of my girls ever read this book. It kept getting passed over on the shelf for Harry Potter books and Little House on the Prairie books. Thank heavens! I guess someone was watching out for my girls. Mockingbird is going to be housed on my shelf now.
Happy Reading!
:) Dodie
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
#4 The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides
The Marriage Plot. Wow. As I was reading this book, I felt like it was 1992 and I was sitting in Chandler Hall in an English class too afraid to speak (must've been one with Dr. Kennedy), too afraid that what I was thinking was wrong. That is a scary feeling, even 20 years later, yet what a powerful book this must be to evoke such a memory. It actually brought back a lot of good memories, too. As a result of this, and because the plot of the book was AWESOME, this book, I predict, will end up on my favorites list for the year.
The Marriage Plot has three central characters: Madeleine, Leonard, and Mitchell. Madeleine is majoring in English and is in love with Victorian Literature. Leonard is the science guy and Mitchell is a religious studies major. Despite different backgrounds and interests, the three characters cross paths and their lives begin to intersect. If this idea sounds familiar to any of you readers out there, it should. It is the idea of The Marriage Plot, around which many literary works are based, particularly Victorian literature, and is the subject of Madeleine's senior thesis. Sadly, Madeleine seems not to ever realize that her life mirrors what she has read her entire life, but one of her friends certainly does and he will reveal this irony at a critical moment of the book.
Until then, we get an amazing story, told through mostly flashbacks, but carefully crafted ones, of these three characters, plus a handful of secondary characters like Madeleine's parents and sister. By the time you turn the last page, these characters seem little like characters, but more like friends you've known for a long time. I almost didn't want to finish the book because I wanted to keep learning more about them. I didn't want their story to end.
But, alas, I did finish it and I did love it. It hit close to home not only because, like Madeleine, I studied English literature in college (here's a favorite line from the book: English was what people who didn't know what to major in majored in), but also because one of the characters (you'll have to read the book to find out who) suffers from manic depression. The rollercoaster of that disease is well known to me, and those of you who know me well know of which family member--not myself--I speak (and I shall not disclose it here out of respect to that now removed member), and reading about it brought back panic, nervousness, and fear--all of which I experienced until I left for college and was removed from the situation. The descriptions and situations are so real that Eugenides either suffered from the disease himself, or knew someone who did. Research alone could not have been all he relied on as he crafted those scenes.
I am going to end this blog before I reveal too much either way about this book. I can honestly say that if you love books, you will love this one. If you studied English in college, you will love this book. If you love love, you will love this book. I'd even hazard a guess that if you are a girl and ever went to college, you will love this book. It's just a good one. The author won a Pulitzer Prize, too. He's good.
I'd like to conclude this blog with a few more memorable lines from the book. Whereas in Life of Pi, I learned how to use the word lookup feature on my Nook, I learned to highlight in The Marriage Plot. Some of these lines are just too good to forget and I feel compelled to record them here.
"Books aren't about 'real life.' Books are about other books." Think about that one and you just might discover some truth there.
"...religious feeling didn't arise from going to church or reading the Bible but from the most private interior experiences, either of great joy or of staggering pain." Hmm....
"People don't save other people. People save themselves." Amen.
"What if you had faith and performed good works, what if you died and went to heaven, and what if all the people you met there were people you didn't like?" Good grief. Something new for me to worry about!
So that's the end of my favorite lines, and the end of this blog. If those memorable lines don't entice you to read this book, I'm not sure what will!
Happy Reading everyone!
:) Dodie
The Marriage Plot has three central characters: Madeleine, Leonard, and Mitchell. Madeleine is majoring in English and is in love with Victorian Literature. Leonard is the science guy and Mitchell is a religious studies major. Despite different backgrounds and interests, the three characters cross paths and their lives begin to intersect. If this idea sounds familiar to any of you readers out there, it should. It is the idea of The Marriage Plot, around which many literary works are based, particularly Victorian literature, and is the subject of Madeleine's senior thesis. Sadly, Madeleine seems not to ever realize that her life mirrors what she has read her entire life, but one of her friends certainly does and he will reveal this irony at a critical moment of the book.
Until then, we get an amazing story, told through mostly flashbacks, but carefully crafted ones, of these three characters, plus a handful of secondary characters like Madeleine's parents and sister. By the time you turn the last page, these characters seem little like characters, but more like friends you've known for a long time. I almost didn't want to finish the book because I wanted to keep learning more about them. I didn't want their story to end.
But, alas, I did finish it and I did love it. It hit close to home not only because, like Madeleine, I studied English literature in college (here's a favorite line from the book: English was what people who didn't know what to major in majored in), but also because one of the characters (you'll have to read the book to find out who) suffers from manic depression. The rollercoaster of that disease is well known to me, and those of you who know me well know of which family member--not myself--I speak (and I shall not disclose it here out of respect to that now removed member), and reading about it brought back panic, nervousness, and fear--all of which I experienced until I left for college and was removed from the situation. The descriptions and situations are so real that Eugenides either suffered from the disease himself, or knew someone who did. Research alone could not have been all he relied on as he crafted those scenes.
I am going to end this blog before I reveal too much either way about this book. I can honestly say that if you love books, you will love this one. If you studied English in college, you will love this book. If you love love, you will love this book. I'd even hazard a guess that if you are a girl and ever went to college, you will love this book. It's just a good one. The author won a Pulitzer Prize, too. He's good.
I'd like to conclude this blog with a few more memorable lines from the book. Whereas in Life of Pi, I learned how to use the word lookup feature on my Nook, I learned to highlight in The Marriage Plot. Some of these lines are just too good to forget and I feel compelled to record them here.
"Books aren't about 'real life.' Books are about other books." Think about that one and you just might discover some truth there.
"...religious feeling didn't arise from going to church or reading the Bible but from the most private interior experiences, either of great joy or of staggering pain." Hmm....
"People don't save other people. People save themselves." Amen.
"What if you had faith and performed good works, what if you died and went to heaven, and what if all the people you met there were people you didn't like?" Good grief. Something new for me to worry about!
So that's the end of my favorite lines, and the end of this blog. If those memorable lines don't entice you to read this book, I'm not sure what will!
Happy Reading everyone!
:) Dodie
Monday, January 9, 2012
#3 Life of Pi by Yann Martel
Life of Pi was recommended to me by a friend one day at the pool over the summer with one caution: get through the first 50 pages and you'll be hooked. Well, yesterday I was able to get through the first 130 pages of the book, and yes I am hooked. A bit bothered, but hooked.
Life of Pi grabs you early on by claiming to be a story that proves that there is a God. As someone who has searched her entire life for answers to religious questions, one of them being "How do we know for certain that there is a God?" I was all ready to read and to keep reading until this fact was proven to me. But, as I read, I am becoming more and more concerned that, once again, I am not going to get an answer. While I still have 200 pages left to read, the book, for now anyway, seems way more scientific than religious. It seems to be all about animals and how they (humans included) survive. Seems more like science to me, unless you argue that God created the animals, which I am sure some of you would. I guess after I read the next 200 pages I will know for sure.
So, today I am reading during lunch, as I often do, andI literally had to put my lunch away while I was reading a horrific description of a hyena gutting and eating a zebra. Now, let's put this into context for a minute. I was raised on a farm, seeing things happen to animals that are just part of life. You kill the cow to get hamburger, you shoot the horse when it's in pain to put it out of it's misery. I have seen a grown man's entire arms inside a cow while helping it birth a calf. I am not afraid, nor put off, by normal animal life events. It's just a part of life. But, today, this book crossed the line for me with animals and yet instead of putting the book away, I stopped eating. I had to...what I was reading was making me sick, and yet I couldn't stop reading. It was like a train wreck, and yet on I read...minus my lunch. I am wondering if the difference was because the animals in question were wild (zoo animals, but still wild by nature) animals, as compared with the cows, chickens, and horses of my childhood. Or was it the reality that animals can kill and will kill? Or was it just simply that the description was so vivid that I had to turn away? Maybe it was a combination of all three points. Regardless, I am not too eager to return to the book. I am afraid of what I might read next. Afterall, there's a man and an orangutan in a boat along with the hyena and the zebra. Oh, and a tiger. Did I forget to mention that there's a tiger too? I can't even imagine what's going to happen over the next 200 pages. Maybe I should not read during lunch tomorrow. I can certainly understand now why several of my friends shared with me that Life of Pi was too much for them and they either never read it at all or stopped in the middle. I get it...I do. But, I will keep reading. Just maybe not during lunch anymore. UGH...
******************************************************************************
I finished the book today, ironically during lunch. I left feeling deflated and jipped. Totally jipped.
I've already had this conversation twice today, once with Kathleen who was so bothered by the events of the book not moving fast enough for her that she stopped reading it, and once with Pam, who had read the book, but long enough ago that I had to remind her of the ending. I wish I could tell you the ending, but that would ruin it so I won't. I will say that the ending cleared up some things for me, but it did not get rid of the white elephant in the room. Nope. Not at all. That's why I feel cheated. Life of Pi promised me a story that would prove that there is a God. That did not happen. Instead, I got a story about a man on a boat with a tiger for 7 months. I have learned more about hyenas than I ever care to know and even read about a man who ate tiger poop because he was so hungry. But, at no point did I read anything to prove to me that there is, in fact, a God.
Now, my good friend Pam acknowledged this fact, too, but asked me if perhaps that the omission is the truth. Perhaps. Is the story itself enough to prove that there is a God? Because it is truly amazing and wonderful. It is a story of the power of one man, actually a teenager, a 16 year old boy, whose strength of character and will to live is tested 24 hours a day for 7 long months. Perhaps. But, if you are going to be bold enough to say that you are telling me a story that proves the existence of God, well then you better speak up when it's time and say "Here it is. Here' s the proof!" and then lay it out. There was even the perfect opportunity on page 326 during a discussion about love and feelings and how we believe what we see and we have a hard time believing what we don't see, but God was never mentioned. So, I feel a bit let down. I feel like I was set up to get some earth shattering amazing news and didn't get it. But, I think deep down I never expected to. I mean, can anyone really prove that God exists?
So, instead what I am left with is a truly gut wrenching story of one man's fight for life under conditions that I could never imagine. This book was hard to read at times and confusing during others. A few times I laughed out loud and a few times I couldn't help but exclaim, "Ew! Gross!" but Life of Pi will be for me be one of those books that I carry with me for the rest of my days. It will be in the back of my mind as a reminder of how hard life could really be--I could be on a boat with a tiger after losing my entire family. All alone. And, it will make me wonder every day how hard I would fight to stay alive when confronted with obstacles, or with death staring me in the face. I will never be as strong as Pi. I don't know what he knew to keep me alive for 7 months in the Pacific. I probably would not have lasted 7 minutes on that boat with Richard Parker (that's the tiger--funny name for a tiger, huh?). But, even knowing that if he made it off the boat that his family was gone and that he was all alone in the world, his life was so precious and he was so grateful for it, he fought daily to survive and he never lost hope. He believed in God. It was God's strength that pulled him through. Maybe Pam's right. Maybe just the simple fact that Pi survived is proof enough that God exists. He exists for Pi, anyway. Maybe it didn't need to be said as explicitly as I had hoped. Or maybe it should've been clear enough that I didn't need to question it at all. Hmm...things to ponder.
One last note for this book before I close the cover and move on to a more mindless read. At one point in the story a major event occurs, one that almost had me crying because it was just so darn sad. I won't share the event, but will share several lines from the book that have touched me personally. "It's important in life to conclude things properly. Only then can you let go. Otherwise you are left with words you should have said but never did, and your heart is heavy with remorse. That bungled goodbye hurts me to this day." Sadly, I have a few of those goodbyes that hurt me to this day. Saying goodbye is important in life, and goodbyes should be said in ways that you won't regret later. There are two goodbyes in my life that I wish I could go back in time and say again properly. But, since I don't have Hermione's time turner, I am stuck in the real world wishing I could say things that I never got the chance to say. My heart is heavy with remorse and it's hard to let things go, even many years after the fact.
So, to sum up this very long blog...Life of Pi was a VERY worthwhile read. I am a better person for reading it and after sorting through my thoughts via the written word and through my conversation with Pam, I am no longer mad at the book nor do I feel cheated. In fact, I feel quite lucky to be who I am, where I am, with all that I have. And lucky that I do not, in fact, have a tiger or own a zoo.
Happy reading!
:) Dodie
Life of Pi grabs you early on by claiming to be a story that proves that there is a God. As someone who has searched her entire life for answers to religious questions, one of them being "How do we know for certain that there is a God?" I was all ready to read and to keep reading until this fact was proven to me. But, as I read, I am becoming more and more concerned that, once again, I am not going to get an answer. While I still have 200 pages left to read, the book, for now anyway, seems way more scientific than religious. It seems to be all about animals and how they (humans included) survive. Seems more like science to me, unless you argue that God created the animals, which I am sure some of you would. I guess after I read the next 200 pages I will know for sure.
So, today I am reading during lunch, as I often do, andI literally had to put my lunch away while I was reading a horrific description of a hyena gutting and eating a zebra. Now, let's put this into context for a minute. I was raised on a farm, seeing things happen to animals that are just part of life. You kill the cow to get hamburger, you shoot the horse when it's in pain to put it out of it's misery. I have seen a grown man's entire arms inside a cow while helping it birth a calf. I am not afraid, nor put off, by normal animal life events. It's just a part of life. But, today, this book crossed the line for me with animals and yet instead of putting the book away, I stopped eating. I had to...what I was reading was making me sick, and yet I couldn't stop reading. It was like a train wreck, and yet on I read...minus my lunch. I am wondering if the difference was because the animals in question were wild (zoo animals, but still wild by nature) animals, as compared with the cows, chickens, and horses of my childhood. Or was it the reality that animals can kill and will kill? Or was it just simply that the description was so vivid that I had to turn away? Maybe it was a combination of all three points. Regardless, I am not too eager to return to the book. I am afraid of what I might read next. Afterall, there's a man and an orangutan in a boat along with the hyena and the zebra. Oh, and a tiger. Did I forget to mention that there's a tiger too? I can't even imagine what's going to happen over the next 200 pages. Maybe I should not read during lunch tomorrow. I can certainly understand now why several of my friends shared with me that Life of Pi was too much for them and they either never read it at all or stopped in the middle. I get it...I do. But, I will keep reading. Just maybe not during lunch anymore. UGH...
******************************************************************************
I finished the book today, ironically during lunch. I left feeling deflated and jipped. Totally jipped.
I've already had this conversation twice today, once with Kathleen who was so bothered by the events of the book not moving fast enough for her that she stopped reading it, and once with Pam, who had read the book, but long enough ago that I had to remind her of the ending. I wish I could tell you the ending, but that would ruin it so I won't. I will say that the ending cleared up some things for me, but it did not get rid of the white elephant in the room. Nope. Not at all. That's why I feel cheated. Life of Pi promised me a story that would prove that there is a God. That did not happen. Instead, I got a story about a man on a boat with a tiger for 7 months. I have learned more about hyenas than I ever care to know and even read about a man who ate tiger poop because he was so hungry. But, at no point did I read anything to prove to me that there is, in fact, a God.
Now, my good friend Pam acknowledged this fact, too, but asked me if perhaps that the omission is the truth. Perhaps. Is the story itself enough to prove that there is a God? Because it is truly amazing and wonderful. It is a story of the power of one man, actually a teenager, a 16 year old boy, whose strength of character and will to live is tested 24 hours a day for 7 long months. Perhaps. But, if you are going to be bold enough to say that you are telling me a story that proves the existence of God, well then you better speak up when it's time and say "Here it is. Here' s the proof!" and then lay it out. There was even the perfect opportunity on page 326 during a discussion about love and feelings and how we believe what we see and we have a hard time believing what we don't see, but God was never mentioned. So, I feel a bit let down. I feel like I was set up to get some earth shattering amazing news and didn't get it. But, I think deep down I never expected to. I mean, can anyone really prove that God exists?
So, instead what I am left with is a truly gut wrenching story of one man's fight for life under conditions that I could never imagine. This book was hard to read at times and confusing during others. A few times I laughed out loud and a few times I couldn't help but exclaim, "Ew! Gross!" but Life of Pi will be for me be one of those books that I carry with me for the rest of my days. It will be in the back of my mind as a reminder of how hard life could really be--I could be on a boat with a tiger after losing my entire family. All alone. And, it will make me wonder every day how hard I would fight to stay alive when confronted with obstacles, or with death staring me in the face. I will never be as strong as Pi. I don't know what he knew to keep me alive for 7 months in the Pacific. I probably would not have lasted 7 minutes on that boat with Richard Parker (that's the tiger--funny name for a tiger, huh?). But, even knowing that if he made it off the boat that his family was gone and that he was all alone in the world, his life was so precious and he was so grateful for it, he fought daily to survive and he never lost hope. He believed in God. It was God's strength that pulled him through. Maybe Pam's right. Maybe just the simple fact that Pi survived is proof enough that God exists. He exists for Pi, anyway. Maybe it didn't need to be said as explicitly as I had hoped. Or maybe it should've been clear enough that I didn't need to question it at all. Hmm...things to ponder.
One last note for this book before I close the cover and move on to a more mindless read. At one point in the story a major event occurs, one that almost had me crying because it was just so darn sad. I won't share the event, but will share several lines from the book that have touched me personally. "It's important in life to conclude things properly. Only then can you let go. Otherwise you are left with words you should have said but never did, and your heart is heavy with remorse. That bungled goodbye hurts me to this day." Sadly, I have a few of those goodbyes that hurt me to this day. Saying goodbye is important in life, and goodbyes should be said in ways that you won't regret later. There are two goodbyes in my life that I wish I could go back in time and say again properly. But, since I don't have Hermione's time turner, I am stuck in the real world wishing I could say things that I never got the chance to say. My heart is heavy with remorse and it's hard to let things go, even many years after the fact.
So, to sum up this very long blog...Life of Pi was a VERY worthwhile read. I am a better person for reading it and after sorting through my thoughts via the written word and through my conversation with Pam, I am no longer mad at the book nor do I feel cheated. In fact, I feel quite lucky to be who I am, where I am, with all that I have. And lucky that I do not, in fact, have a tiger or own a zoo.
Happy reading!
:) Dodie
Saturday, January 7, 2012
#2 The Next Always by Nora Roberts
I love reading books by Nora Roberts. Her romances are typically easy to read, but still powerfully written. I especially love her trilogies and her occasional quartet of books, as I always love to know what happens to characters once I close the book. The Next Always delivered on all accounts. I can't wait for May to arrive, and with it the next installment in the Inn Boonsboro story.
I was, quite honestly, hoping for an intellectual break from intense novels after reading The Fifth Witness, which is why I opened the Nora Roberts book instead of Life of Pi (which is my next read). I was expecting a sweet story full of love and while I did get that, I was faced with a fear I didn't even realize that I had. Now my head is swimming in thoughts of "what if..." Specifically, what if I lost Rob? Could I fall in love again? And more importantly, could I ever find someone who loved both me and my girls?
Such is the battle facing Clare, a young widow whose husband died fighting in Iraq while she was pregnant with their third son, Murphy. She returns home to Boonsboro, quite to the delight of Beckett Montgomery, who has loved Clare since high school. The love story begins here, but is not without some twists and turns, a fairly frightening event, and even a ghost, Lizzy, who inhabits the Inn. The plot was full, suspenseful, full of love, and overall was a great, quick read.
But, it did get me to thinking about my life with my family and it couldn't have come at a worse time. I am already feeling old and the reality that I will not live forever has hit me hard. Couple that with the reality that Rob won't live forever and that I might actually outlive him and now I am truly fearful. But, I would imagine that finding love for the second time is hard enough, but now that I am a Mom, I can't imagine how hard it must be to find love that works with a family. My girls love both Rob and I because we are all they know. I love them more than myself and if faced with the choice to love and be loved in return, or to have my girls, well...that's a no brainer. I choose my girls. The reality is, not everyone loves kids and not everyone loves my kids. I think I always took for granted that should something happen to Rob, or myself, and we've both said undeniably that we'd want the other to remarry, should the other be lucky enough to find love again, that the new person would also love my girls. But, that's not always the case. It is a lucky person indeed, Clare the Fair, that finds a second chance at love with someone who loves her boys as if they were his own.
I hope that what I am feeling is purely hypothetical and I hope that I never ever have to be faced with this sort of decision, ever. In the event that I do, I am glad that today I had the chance to think about it and to realize that my girls trump a second love. Well...they are my second love. Maybe they are all I'd ever need...
This is a great book for my friends who love love as much as I do. Read it. You'll love it!
Happy Reading!
:) Dodie
I was, quite honestly, hoping for an intellectual break from intense novels after reading The Fifth Witness, which is why I opened the Nora Roberts book instead of Life of Pi (which is my next read). I was expecting a sweet story full of love and while I did get that, I was faced with a fear I didn't even realize that I had. Now my head is swimming in thoughts of "what if..." Specifically, what if I lost Rob? Could I fall in love again? And more importantly, could I ever find someone who loved both me and my girls?
Such is the battle facing Clare, a young widow whose husband died fighting in Iraq while she was pregnant with their third son, Murphy. She returns home to Boonsboro, quite to the delight of Beckett Montgomery, who has loved Clare since high school. The love story begins here, but is not without some twists and turns, a fairly frightening event, and even a ghost, Lizzy, who inhabits the Inn. The plot was full, suspenseful, full of love, and overall was a great, quick read.
But, it did get me to thinking about my life with my family and it couldn't have come at a worse time. I am already feeling old and the reality that I will not live forever has hit me hard. Couple that with the reality that Rob won't live forever and that I might actually outlive him and now I am truly fearful. But, I would imagine that finding love for the second time is hard enough, but now that I am a Mom, I can't imagine how hard it must be to find love that works with a family. My girls love both Rob and I because we are all they know. I love them more than myself and if faced with the choice to love and be loved in return, or to have my girls, well...that's a no brainer. I choose my girls. The reality is, not everyone loves kids and not everyone loves my kids. I think I always took for granted that should something happen to Rob, or myself, and we've both said undeniably that we'd want the other to remarry, should the other be lucky enough to find love again, that the new person would also love my girls. But, that's not always the case. It is a lucky person indeed, Clare the Fair, that finds a second chance at love with someone who loves her boys as if they were his own.
I hope that what I am feeling is purely hypothetical and I hope that I never ever have to be faced with this sort of decision, ever. In the event that I do, I am glad that today I had the chance to think about it and to realize that my girls trump a second love. Well...they are my second love. Maybe they are all I'd ever need...
This is a great book for my friends who love love as much as I do. Read it. You'll love it!
Happy Reading!
:) Dodie
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
#1 Michael Connelly's The Fifth Witness
As I write this reflection of book #1 for 2012, I am feeling a bit saddened and very duped. Gullible, even. I will clearly believe anything and will put my trust in anyone. It's a damn good thing that I am not a lawyer. I would totally suck at it.
The Fifth Witness is the fourth Mickey Haller/Lincoln Laywer novel. I adore these books, books that are quite out of my usual romance genre. I typically leave the lawyer books to Rob, but after watching The Lincoln Lawyer and seeing Matthew McConaughey in action as Mickey Haller, I was hooked. But, as I said in my blog about The Reversal, these books require thought and are draining. They are not light reads and I usually can't read more than one in a row. Not this time. I couldn't pick up The Fifth Witness fast enough after finishing The Reversal.
Truth be told, I was sceptical of everything that happened in the book. Every event, every conversation, every everything, I was thinking about who was telling the truth, who was lying, and what really happened. And, sadly, I thought that I had it all figured out. I thought that had read enough of Connelly's books to be able to figure out ol' Mickey Haller and to know where he was headed. I was wrong. Dead Wrong.
But, here's the good news. Mickey didn't see it either. We were both blindsided by the truth. Right when my adrenaline was coming down from it's peak...wham! There it is...the real truth smacking you in the face, making you realize that you were not as smart as you thought you were. Right there in the very last chapter. Right when you thought the book was over, another twist turns the plot upside down.
Here's another truth. That entire idea of the plot being turned upside down less than 10 pages before the end is what makes this book such a page turner. Rob warned me not to read this book until I was able to devote an entire day to reading because it's the sort of book that you are not going to want to put down once you start. He was right (again).
So, I do feel duped and dumb and gullible. I believed things that I shouldn't have believed, but Mickey believed them, too. For that reason, Mickey made a HUGE change at the end of this novel. He's not going to be duped again. I can't say the same for me. I'm just too trusting.
Looks like I am going to have a wait a while for another Mickey haller book. Connelly's newest book The Drop is centered around his other famous character Harry Bosch, who happens to be Mickey's half-brother. He doesn't have the same sort of draw for me that Mickey has, so I am going to sit tight until Mickey returns.
Bottom line: if you like lawyer books, if you like page turners, and if you like a book that keeps you on your toes until the last page, The Fifth Witness is for you. (You don't need to have read the other three books either. You can start with this one and work backwards if you want to. The order doesn't matter. )
Read it. You'll love it. I promise.
:) Dodie
The Fifth Witness is the fourth Mickey Haller/Lincoln Laywer novel. I adore these books, books that are quite out of my usual romance genre. I typically leave the lawyer books to Rob, but after watching The Lincoln Lawyer and seeing Matthew McConaughey in action as Mickey Haller, I was hooked. But, as I said in my blog about The Reversal, these books require thought and are draining. They are not light reads and I usually can't read more than one in a row. Not this time. I couldn't pick up The Fifth Witness fast enough after finishing The Reversal.
Truth be told, I was sceptical of everything that happened in the book. Every event, every conversation, every everything, I was thinking about who was telling the truth, who was lying, and what really happened. And, sadly, I thought that I had it all figured out. I thought that had read enough of Connelly's books to be able to figure out ol' Mickey Haller and to know where he was headed. I was wrong. Dead Wrong.
But, here's the good news. Mickey didn't see it either. We were both blindsided by the truth. Right when my adrenaline was coming down from it's peak...wham! There it is...the real truth smacking you in the face, making you realize that you were not as smart as you thought you were. Right there in the very last chapter. Right when you thought the book was over, another twist turns the plot upside down.
Here's another truth. That entire idea of the plot being turned upside down less than 10 pages before the end is what makes this book such a page turner. Rob warned me not to read this book until I was able to devote an entire day to reading because it's the sort of book that you are not going to want to put down once you start. He was right (again).
So, I do feel duped and dumb and gullible. I believed things that I shouldn't have believed, but Mickey believed them, too. For that reason, Mickey made a HUGE change at the end of this novel. He's not going to be duped again. I can't say the same for me. I'm just too trusting.
Looks like I am going to have a wait a while for another Mickey haller book. Connelly's newest book The Drop is centered around his other famous character Harry Bosch, who happens to be Mickey's half-brother. He doesn't have the same sort of draw for me that Mickey has, so I am going to sit tight until Mickey returns.
Bottom line: if you like lawyer books, if you like page turners, and if you like a book that keeps you on your toes until the last page, The Fifth Witness is for you. (You don't need to have read the other three books either. You can start with this one and work backwards if you want to. The order doesn't matter. )
Read it. You'll love it. I promise.
:) Dodie
2012 Goal
It's January and it's time for me to set my reading goal for 2012. Two years ago I set out to read a book a week and met the goal, no problem. Last year, I attempted to do it again, loving all that I was reading and wanting to keep at it. I met the goal of 52 books and kept right on reading, ending the year with 65 books read.
This year I have really struggled with setting another 52 in 52 goal. I don't want to read for speed anymore. I want to savor each word, each page, each book. But, I am not me without a book in my hand, or a Nook on most days.
So, here's what I have come up with. This year, 2012, I am going to read. Just read. If I happen to read 52 books, great. If I happen to read more, even better. But, if I happen to read less because I am savoring the book, or because I have decided to knit a baby blanket, or watch a movie, well, that's OK too. I know that I can read, everyone else knows that I can read, and that I read voraciously. I don't have anything to prove to anyone, including myself, any longer.
I will continue to blog about what I read for two reasons. First, it is important to me to keep writing and to reflect on what I read. Second, I have some great friends who like my blog and who use it to find books to read. I love to pay it forward in this small way, as many of the books I read have been recommended to me by friends. So, long live the blog. And, because I know me, I know that every time I blog, I'll see the title of my blog, which isn't going to change BTW, and will close one book and open another. That's just who I am, for better or for worse.
Someone today told me that I am addicted to books. True. I am. But, there are stranger addictions. Purses, for example.
Happy 2012 everyone. Make a resolution to read a book this year. And, if you need a suggestion...well, just check out my blog.
Happy Reading!
:) Dodie
This year I have really struggled with setting another 52 in 52 goal. I don't want to read for speed anymore. I want to savor each word, each page, each book. But, I am not me without a book in my hand, or a Nook on most days.
So, here's what I have come up with. This year, 2012, I am going to read. Just read. If I happen to read 52 books, great. If I happen to read more, even better. But, if I happen to read less because I am savoring the book, or because I have decided to knit a baby blanket, or watch a movie, well, that's OK too. I know that I can read, everyone else knows that I can read, and that I read voraciously. I don't have anything to prove to anyone, including myself, any longer.
I will continue to blog about what I read for two reasons. First, it is important to me to keep writing and to reflect on what I read. Second, I have some great friends who like my blog and who use it to find books to read. I love to pay it forward in this small way, as many of the books I read have been recommended to me by friends. So, long live the blog. And, because I know me, I know that every time I blog, I'll see the title of my blog, which isn't going to change BTW, and will close one book and open another. That's just who I am, for better or for worse.
Someone today told me that I am addicted to books. True. I am. But, there are stranger addictions. Purses, for example.
Happy 2012 everyone. Make a resolution to read a book this year. And, if you need a suggestion...well, just check out my blog.
Happy Reading!
:) Dodie
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