Book 7, “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” – Finished!

Book Count: 7
Title: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Author: Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 274
Format: Audio
Synopsis: January 1946: writer Juliet Ashton receives a letter from a stranger, a founding member of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. And so begins a remarkable tale of the island of Guernsey during the German occupation, and of a society as extraordinary as its name.
Finished: April 2012
Thoughts: Book club selection, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I’m surprised that I’d never heard of it before, considering its a book comprised entirely of letters between a set of characters and I love letter writing! I’m surprised that the story did not feel disjointed or stilted by the fact that it was only letters, even though some letters didn’t even get a proper response, the authors simply moved onto the next plot point. But perhaps that was the brillinace of it, and what made it such a quick, enjoyable read. It was filtered down to just the best and most necessary bits of the story.

It was also another audiobook (borrowed) and I’m so glad that I was able to get the audiobook as I felt like it really enhanced the story. There’s something about British literature (or, should I say literature with British characters) that is 100% better when read in a British accent.

Book 6, “Arcadia Falls” – Finished!

Book Count: 6
Title: Arcadia Falls
Author: Carol Goodman
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 368
Format: Audio
Synopsis: After the death of her husband which left her nearly destitute, Meg is forced to make hard choices for her and her teenage daughter Sally. With few other options and the appeal of free housing, she takes a job as a teacher at Arcadia Falls, a school for the arts, which has a controversial past. As long-buried secrets emerge, she must face down her own demons and the danger threatening to envelop Sally. As the past clings tight to the present, the shadows, as if in a terrifying fairy tale, grow longer and deadlier.
Finished: March 2012
Thoughts: One thing I think I like the most about Goodman’s novels is that they feed my appetite for the artist’s life How silly does that sound?! Almost every novel I’ve read by her centered around a field of art and she’s talented enough to show something rather than tell. She also has great way of wrapping in some historical factor such as Greek mythology, Italian poetry, or folklore. I always fall in love with her locations and passions, and that’s a gift I recognize.

After reading quite a few of Goodman’s novels, I find that they’re now predictable to a certain point, but that’s not always a bad thing! I enjoyed this book and was drawn in by the story and the characters. As an audiobook, it was easy to listen it and I thoroughly enjoyed the narrator. In a novel FULL of women, I was still able to differentiate between each character and that’s saying a lot.

Book Seventeen, “Before I Go To Sleep”

Book Count: 17
Title: Before I Go To Sleep
Author: S. J. Watson
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 358
Synopsis: ”As I sleep, my mind will erase everything I did today. I will wake up tomorrow as I did this morning. Thinking I’m still a child. Thinking I have a whole lifetime of choice ahead of me. . . .”

Memories define us. So what if you lost yours every time you went to sleep? Your name, your identity, your past, even the people you love—all forgotten overnight. And the one person you trust may be telling you only half the story.

Welcome to Christine’s life.

Thoughts: I’ve been waiting AGES to read this book! After hearing about it through Goodreads, and reading a sample on Amazon, I decided to put it on hold at the library due to the fact that I had been burned recently with my book purchases. Besides, I really need to start borrowing first, buying when and if I ever want to read it again. That was in JULY. I number finally came up yesterday and I’ve been unable to put it down since. I’ve read half of it since picking it up at the library yesterday afternoon during lunch.

Needless to say, the book is gripping and fast paced! It feels to be a great mystery and I’m anxious to find out whether or not the people she has chosen to trust are in fact trustworthy. This book makes me crave keeping a journal! The idea of losing one’s memory every night is frightening. New Years Resolution, anyone?

Book Fifteen, “Ready Player One”

Book Count: 15
Title: Ready Player One
Author: Ernest Cline
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 384
Synopsis: Ready Player One takes place in the not-so-distant future–the world has turned into a very bleak place, but luckily there is OASIS, a virtual reality world that is a vast online utopia. People can plug into OASIS to play, go to school, earn money, and even meet other people (or at least they can meet their avatars), and for protagonist Wade Watts it certainly beats passing the time in his grim, poverty-stricken real life. Along with millions of other world-wide citizens, Wade dreams of finding three keys left behind by James Halliday, the now-deceased creator of OASIS and the richest man to have ever lived. The keys are rumored to be hidden inside OASIS, and whoever finds them will inherit Halliday’s fortune. But Halliday has not made it easy. And there are real dangers in this virtual world. Stuffed to the gills with action, puzzles, nerdy romance, and 80s nostalgia, this high energy cyber-quest will make geeks everywhere feel like they were separated at birth from author Ernest Cline.–Chris Schluep

Thoughts: This book is easy to read, a lot of fun, and the dialogue is crafted very well. It was not surprising to me to learn that the author of this book has actually written and directed a major motion picture - which I had seen before reading this book and very much enjoyed. He has a way with words, both written and spoken. The way this story is moving I have a feeling that it will have a pretty predictable ending, but a big part of me doesn’t really care

Book Fourteen, “The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest”

Book Count: 14
Title: The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest
Author: Stieg Larsson
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 576
Synopsis: Lisbeth Salander–the heart of Larsson’s two previous novels–lies in critical condition, a bullet wound to her head, in the intensive care unit of a Swedish city hospital. She’s fighting for her life in more ways than one: if and when she recovers, she’ll be taken back to Stockholm to stand trial for three murders. With the help of her friend, journalist Mikael Blomkvist, she will not only have to prove her innocence, but also identify and denounce those in authority who have allowed the vulnerable, like herself, to suffer abuse and violence. And, on her own, she will plot revenge–against the man who tried to kill her, and the corrupt government institutions that very nearly destroyed her life.

Once upon a time, she was a victim. Now Salander is fighting back.

Thoughts: I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again. The dry, technical style of this book makes it really easy to put down. I’ve been interested in a lot of other books and have been at 14 pages in for months. Once the shock of the end of the second book passed, it was easy to put down. I’m still plugging away though…

Book Sixteen, “The Fiery Cross”

Book Count: 16
Title: The Fiery Cross
Author: Diana Gabaldon
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 1008
Synopsis: The year is 1771, and war is coming. Jamie Fraser’s wife tells him so. Little as he wishes to, he must believe it, for hers is a gift of dreadful prophecy—a time-traveler’ s certain knowledge. Claire’s unique view of the future has brought him both danger and deliverance in the past; her knowledge of the oncoming revolution is a flickering torch that may light his way through the perilous years ahead—or ignite a conflagration that will leave their lives in ashes.

Thoughts: I’ve actually been reading/listening to this book for well over two months – I’ve just fallen behind on posting about them. The other day I was reading the book, sitting in a doctor’s office with my sister, trying hard to concentrate and tune out the loud family in the waiting room with us. My sister saw what I was reading, joking about how I was still working on it even though I said earlier in my reading progress that I should abandon it, and asked why I was still reading it and what it was about. While I knew I was still reading it because I had the added convenience of the audio version, in truth I could not explain what it was about. The Outlander series, as a whole, is hard to put into a genre due to the fact that it has a bit of everything. The only genres I would keep it out of would be fantasy & sci-fi, though if one were to think about the underlining plot – which is a woman who travels back in time 200 years with the aid of specific rock circle formations – one might second guess omitting those genres as well.

Reading some reviews on the book have helped me put to words exactly what it is about her writing style that make it hard to keep reading for long periods of time – but why I keep going back. While each of her books have a “plot”, they also all simply… drift through the plot with every day experiences peppered through to fill in the gaps. In regards to The Fiery Cross, out of 100% of the book, I’d say only about 20% of it is dedicated to the advancement of the plot. That has turned out to be a bit tedious, considering that the book is approximately 1,000 pages. Its hard to say to one’s self, “Yes, please – I would like to weed through 800 pages in order to find 200 pages of plot!” But I do. And I will again, with her next book. I’m trying to keep in mind that her other books haven’t seemed so disproportional and perhaps the next two wont either. I’m not sure though.

Has anyone else read through all seven of her books, and have a bit of insider information?

Book 13, “The Sparrow” – Finished!

Directly from my Goodreads review:

This book was surprising, but it was also slightly disappointing. When reading the synopsis I thought for sure it would be something different, entirely. It was much more philosophical than I was prepared for and being unprepared left me bored at some points. Pages upon pages of inner-reflection left me not really caring about the importance of character traits. It wasn’t until the end that everything was wrapped into a neat little ball and I could see what the author was building.

Even though the author seems to know her characters well, I felt unattached to most of them – then a little outraged at how quickly their demise was revealed. Everyone’s death was sudden – there and then not there – and while I could see their deaths as being an important plot point, I quickly forgot that it happened. It seemed she spent entire chapters harping on the celibacy of priesthood – but deaths were reported and people moved on within paragraphs.

However, after having finished the novel – I’m extremely anxious to continue the story with a better frame of mind as to what to expect from both the author and the experience. I would liken my reaction to this book, author, and story to that of Larrson’s Millennium Series – enjoyment, but with understanding of differing preference of style.

Book 12, “The Girl Who Played With Fire” – Finished!

I finished this about two weeks ago, but was madly trying to read “The Sparrow” and so didn’t post about it.

I really enjoyed this book, but like the other book I found it easy to put down most times which is why it took me so long to finish. Its very dry, the voice of the writer, and that always makes it easy for me to put down. It wasn’t until about three quarters of the way through that I got to a point where all I wanted to do was read. The plot – with all the twists – was  riveting once began to get some answers!

Its a bit odd to me, the fact that the first book had SO little to do with the plot of this book and (I’m assuming) the next. Its as if the author really wanted his readers to know these two characters, and so he wrote a whole pointlessly unrelated book to showcase their skills and personalities.

Oh well, it all makes for some good reading

Book Thirteen, “The Sparrow”

Book Count: 13
Title: The Sparrow
Author: Mary Doria Russell
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 408
Synopsis: In 2019, humanity finally finds proof of extraterrestrial life when a listening post in Puerto Rico picks up exquisite singing from a planet which will come to be known as Rakhat. While United Nations diplomats endlessly debate a possible first contact mission, the Society of Jesus quietly organizes an eight-person scientific expedition of its own. What the Jesuits find is a world so beyond comprehension that it will lead them to question the meaning of being “human.” When the lone survivor of the expedition, Emilio Sandoz, returns to Earth in 2059, he will try to explain what went wrong…

Thoughts: This is my book club selection, and I’ve been really excited to read it. Unfortunately, I think I was expecting something different. The flow of the book was initially hard due to the hopping around between characters and time periods. I’m about 25% through it, and I’m starting to finally really enjoy it.

My only dislike of the story so far is the amount of philosophical thought page after page. I was thinking this was going to be more sci-fi, or maybe every adventure, but at this point – its definitely not.

I’m sticking with it though! I rarely give up a book and I wouldn’t for something as paltry as too much philosophy

Book Twelve, “The Girl Who Played With Fire”

Book Count: 12
Title: The Girl Who Played With Fire
Author: Stieg Larsson
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 630
Synopsis: I’m going to stick with just linking to the synopsis – as I don’t want to give away anything about the other books. If you’re really interested to know what the second book is about, you can visit the Amazon page here and read multiple synopsis’ and reviews.

Thoughts: I’ve been reading this book for awhile, but I’ve just been reading it on the side, like A Time To Kill. Its been good so far, some great twists, however it’s still taking me longer to read than I would like. As I’ve commented to my friend at work a few times, I wonder if this series would have been as successful if the author hadn’t passed away before it’s publishing. Its not uncommon for the death of a creative figure to actually boost the items they created beyond their original appeal. I often times feel it lacks a good editor because the dry, unnecessary details (I don’t need to know the entire shopping list from the store) are abundant.

With that being said, I am enjoying it and I look forward to finishing it and the third book.