Category: Books

I read the book Love Warrior a while back. I read Glennon’s other book a few years ago and enjoyed it. This one I really wanted to love, but found it kind of forgettable. Here’s a bit about the book.

Just when Glennon Doyle Melton was beginning to feel she had it all figured out―three happy children, a doting spouse, and a writing career so successful that her first book catapulted to the top of the New York Times bestseller list―her husband revealed his infidelity and she was forced to realize that nothing was as it seemed. A recovering alcoholic and bulimic, Glennon found that rock bottom was a familiar place. In the midst of crisis, she knew to hold on to what she discovered in recovery: that her deepest pain has always held within it an invitation to a richer life.

Love Warrior is the story of one marriage, but it is also the story of the healing that is possible for any of us when we refuse to settle for good enough and begin to face pain and love head-on. This astonishing memoir reveals how our ideals of masculinity and femininity can make it impossible for a man and a woman to truly know one another – and it captures the beauty that unfolds when one couple commits to unlearning everything they’ve been taught so that they can finally, after thirteen years of marriage, commit to living true―true to themselves and to each other.

Love Warrior is a gorgeous and inspiring account of how we are born to be warriors: strong, powerful, and brave; able to confront the pain and claim the love that exists for us all. This chronicle of a beautiful, brutal journey speaks to anyone who yearns for deeper, truer relationships and a more abundant, authentic life.

I don’t really know why I didn’t fall in love with this book. She tells a good story and her life is far from boring. But it just didn’t stick with me. I think I maybe felt like parts were kind of far-fetched maybe. It didn’t feel believable at times for me.

I would like to read a new book if she comes out with one about her new relationship with a woman and how that has changed and impacted her lives and how she came to the realization that this was what she wanted after things has seemingly become ok with her husband again. I think that would make an interesting story.

I do love how open and honest she is in her writing and how consistently transparent she can be.

Have you read any of Glennon’s books? What did you think about them? Would you be interested in reading another book by her with some controversial (which they really shouldn’t be controversial) topics?

Happy reading, friends.

 

I read Defending Jacob at the recommendation of a friend of mine. It was one of the best books I’ve ever read. Here’s a bit about the book:

Andy Barber has been an assistant district attorney for two decades. He is respected. Admired in the courtroom. Happy at home with the loves of his life: his wife, Laurie, and their teenage son, Jacob.

Then Andy’s quiet suburb is stunned by a shocking crime: a young boy stabbed to death in a leafy park. And an even greater shock: The accused is Andy’s own son—shy, awkward, mysterious Jacob.

Andy believes in Jacob’s innocence. Any parent would. But the pressure mounts. Damning evidence. Doubt. A faltering marriage. The neighbors’ contempt. A murder trial that threatens to obliterate Andy’s family.

It is the ultimate test for any parent: How far would you go to protect your child? It is a test of devotion. A test of how well a parent can know a child. For Andy Barber, a man with an iron will and a dark secret, it is a test of guilt and innocence in the deepest sense.

How far would you go?

This book was amazing. It was filled with twists and kept me on the edge of my seat. I really don’t want to say too much because I might give something away. But OMG. Go read this and report back to me with your thoughts!

Happy reading!

The Girl on the Train was one creepy book.  Here’s a summary of the book:

EVERY DAY THE SAME
Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning and night. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. Jess and Jason, she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.

UNTIL TODAY
And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel goes to the police. But is she really as unreliable as they say? Soon she is deeply entangled not only in the investigation but in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?

I thought it was creepy because of all the strange things that happen and how she wasn’t able to put anything together correctly or remember things because of her blackouts. I don’t want to give too much away, but this book was just weird and creepy.

I read this quite a while ago and I have been meaning to watch the movie because I am curious to see how the movie shows the characters and if the movie feels as weird as the book did. I found it a little challenging to really be drawn into the book at the beginning, but I am really glad I finished it. It turned out to have some exciting twists and had a good ending.

This was a best seller and I saw it EVERYWHERE that people were reading it. Did you jump on that train (see what I did there?) and read it, too? Have you seen the movie? What did you think?

Happy reading!

I read Me Before You last May right before the movie came out. A bunch of friends (mostly book club ladies) went to dinner then out to see the movie shortly after it was out in theaters.  Here’s a bit about the book:

Louisa Clark is an ordinary girl living an exceedingly ordinary life—steady boyfriend, close family—who has barely been farther afield than their tiny village. She takes a badly needed job working for ex–Master of the Universe Will Traynor, who is wheelchair bound after an accident. Will has always lived a huge life—big deals, extreme sports, worldwide travel—and now he’s pretty sure he cannot live the way he is.

Will is acerbic, moody, bossy—but Lou refuses to treat him with kid gloves, and soon his happiness means more to her than she expected. When she learns that Will has shocking plans of his own, she sets out to show him that life is still worth living.

A Love Story for this generation and perfect for fans of John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars, Me Before You brings to life two people who couldn’t have less in common—a heartbreakingly romantic novel that asks, What do you do when making the person you love happy also means breaking your own heart?

This was a really good book. It was funny and emotional. As is usually the case, the book was much better than the movie. A couple friends hadn’t read the book and loved the movie. But comparing it to the book, the movie left a lot of information out that I thought added a lot to the story.

I wish we had learned a little more about Will. The book focused more on Lou and her family and background. I think a lot could have been added to the story if we knew a bit more about Will, though. I thought Emilia Clarke did a great job in this role. I think Sam Claflin did a wonderful job portraying a disabled person. I can’t imagine that was an easy role to take on.

I was both surprised and not surprised by the ending. I think in general, this book had some controversies surrounding it. From what I have read, some people saw the book as implying disabled people don’t have a meaningful or fulfilling enough life. But reading the book it didn’t feel that way.  I have the sequel to this book (Me After You) on my to-read-one-day list. I’m curious to see where the author took the characters.

Have you read Me Before You or the sequel? Have you see the movie? What did you think about them?

Happy reading!

February marks 5 years that my little book club has been together. I'm pretty proud of this. It started with just a couple people and now there's quite a few members. Only a few are regulars, but I love that they have stuck it out with me. They were even around when I moved to Seattle and had a virtual book club for a while.

We've read a bunch of books (most of which I have mentioned somewhere on this blog) and we have had some wonderful conversations over the years. Thank you to all my book loving friends!!

 

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah was such a wonderful book. I felt like I had been reading a lot of books during WWII and the holocaust, so I was weary to read another, but this was beautifully written and such a fabulous read.

In love we find out who we want to be.
In war we find out who we are.

FRANCE, 1939

In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says goodbye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the Front. She doesn’t believe that the Nazis will invade France…but invade they do, in droves of marching soldiers, in caravans of trucks and tanks, in planes that fill the skies and drop bombs upon the innocent. When a German captain requisitions Vianne’s home, she and her daughter must live with the enemy or lose everything. Without food or money or hope, as danger escalates all around them, she is forced to make one impossible choice after another to keep her family alive.

Vianne’s sister, Isabelle, is a rebellious eighteen-year-old girl, searching for purpose with all the reckless passion of youth. While thousands of Parisians march into the unknown terrors of war, she meets Gäetan, a partisan who believes the French can fight the Nazis from within France, and she falls in love as only the young can…completely. But when he betrays her, Isabelle joins the Resistance and never looks back, risking her life time and again to save others.

With courage, grace and powerful insight, bestselling author Kristin Hannah captures the epic panorama of WWII and illuminates an intimate part of history seldom seen: the women’s war. The Nightingale tells the stories of two sisters, separated by years and experience, by ideals, passion and circumstance, each embarking on her own dangerous path toward survival, love, and freedom in German-occupied, war-torn France–a heartbreakingly beautiful novel that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the durability of women. It is a novel for everyone, a novel for a lifetime.

This was such a touching novel. I liked that this was from the perspectives of women and how their lives were during the war. Hannah did an amazing job capturing a new viewpoint and turned it into a gripping and stunning story that was hard to read and impossible to put down.

I highly recommend you read this book. It will be one that truly stays with you and will make you think and then recommend it to others.

Happy reading.

I read Term Limits a while back for book club. I knew a number of people that had read it and loved it, so I really wanted to read it. I didn’t feel compelled to read the rest of Vince Flynn’s books, but I did enjoy this one.

Taking America back…one politician at a time TERM LIMITS In one bloody night, three of Washington’s most powerful politicians are executed with surgical precision. Their assassins then deliver a shocking ultimatum to the American government: set aside partisan politics and restore power to the people. No one, they warn, is out of their reach — not even the president. A joint FBI-CIA task force reveals the killers are elite military commandos, but no one knows exactly who they are or when they will strike next. Only Michael O’Rourke, a former U.S. Marine and freshman congressman, holds a clue to the violence: a haunting incident in his own past with explosive implications for his country’s future….

This was a good book. I found it a little challenging to get into at first, but I was glad I finished it. It was a good story and I wanted to read this book since it was written by a local author who had passed away not too long before I had read it. My hubby, Chuck, has read all or most of his books and enjoyed them and encouraged me to finish this one.

I wasn’t overly drawn to this genre like some people are. It was good, but I just don’t enjoy reading all the government rich story lines. It was hard for me to stay engaged.

If you like political thrillers or suspense novels, you may love this book and I say you give it a try. You may want to consider looking into some of his other books as well if this genre interests you.

Happy reading.

I haven’t done a post about each of the books I read in 2016 for the Goodreads yet, but I thought it would be fun to just post a picture of them all with links to purchase them. The books are not necessarily in the order that I read them. My goal was to read 15 books and I read 22 books. My 2017 goal is set to read 20 books. Now that I have discovered audio books, I don’t think this will be a problem.

1. A Man Called Ove / What I had to say
2. Perfectly Messy
3. Interactive Project Management
4. It’s Okay to Laugh
5. Present Over Perfect
6. Love Warrior
7. Shadow on the Mountain / What I had to say
8. Truly Madly Guilty
9. Effortless With You
10. Defending Jacob
11. The Lake House
12. The Nest
13. Me Before You
14. Term Limits / What I had to say
15. Speak / What I had to say
16. Orbiting Jupiter / What I had to say
17. The Girl on the Train
18. Paper Towns / What I had to say
19. The Nightingale
20. The Hypnotist’s Love Story / What I had to say
21. Dept. of Speculation / What I had to say
22. Animal Vegetable Miracle

Since I’m working on catching up on posting about some books I have read, I figured I should maybe post more than one at a time. There are a lot to write about. Here are a few young adult books I have read in the past, um, well, while.

The two-time Newbery Honor winner Gary D. Schmidt delivers the shattering story of Joseph, a father at thirteen, who has never seen his daughter, Jupiter. After spending time in a juvenile facility, he’s placed with a foster family on a farm in rural Maine. Here Joseph, damaged and withdrawn, meets twelve-year-old Jack, who narrates the account of the troubled, passionate teen who wants to find his baby at any cost. In this riveting novel, two boys discover the true meaning of family and the sacrifices it requires.

Orbiting Jupiter was a short and quick read, but also really sad. I think I came across this one from a friend’s reading list on Goodreads. I liked the book, but it was also too short in my mind. I would have liked more about the characters. I didn’t know that it was going to be so short when I started it, so I was surprised and a bit disappointed. Had I known its length going into it, I might have enjoyed it more. But it was still a good story and a good read if you like underdog stories.

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificent Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life—summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge—he follows. When their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Margo has disappeared. But Q soon learns that there are clues—and they’re for him. Embarking on an exhilarating adventure to find her, the closer Q gets, the less he sees the girl he thought he knew.

I have only read one other book by John Green (The Fault in Our Stars), but I had mixed feelings about Paper Towns. I was really excited to read this book, but I found the story to be a bit slow at the beginning. I liked the story and the idea, but the book didn’t end the way I expected (which isn’t bad). I don’t really know what it was exactly that kept me from really connecting to this book, but when I finished it I just felt kind of meh about it. If you like other John Green books, you will probably enjoy this one. I still want to read a couple of his other books, but this was just ok. I even started the movie and wasn’t very drawn to it so I didn’t finish watching it. Possibly because I am too old to connect with that age of character very deeply. Who knows. You may love it. But it wasn’t high on my recommendation list.

Shadow on the Mountain recounts the adventures of a 14-year-old Norwegian boy named Espen during World War II. After Nazi Germany invades and occupies Norway, Espen and his friends are swept up in the Norwegian resistance movement. Espen gets his start by delivering illegal newspapers, then graduates to the role of courier and finally becomes a spy, dodging the Gestapo along the way. During five years under the Nazi regime, he gains—and loses—friends, falls in love, and makes one small mistake that threatens to catch up with him as he sets out to escape on skis over the mountains to Sweden.

Shadow on the Mountain was a book my city did for a community-wide reading event called OneBook OneRosemount. They have the author come speak and have an abundance of the books available for reading. I didn’t make it to the author discussion, but I liked the book. I have read a number of books set in WWII. But this was a little different story. More from the kids’ point of view. It was a fast read with some twists. If you don’t enjoy reading books about WWII you may not enjoy this one. But it was a good read if it’s a genre you do enjoy.

Happy reading!