A Year of Books

I finished Night by Elie Wiesel.  It's only 109 pages long and it's a quick read so I can't tell you why it took me so long to finish it.  I've been really bad about reading lately.  REALLY bad.  This book was good.  It was a rather short account of a man's time going through concentration camps as a Jewish teen.  It's always depressing, yet fascinating to read these accounts from the view of someone who was actually there and went through it.  This is obviously a fictionalized account based on true events, but it is still a rather brutal story.

 The most interesting thing to me about Wiesel's account of what happened at Auschwitz (and other camps) is reading about how desensitized the prisoners became, no longer caring who died, whether a family member or not.  That is very real to me and, maybe it's the psychologist in my coming out, but how could you not become that way after years of living in a concentration camp?

*Spoiler Alert*
One thing that annoyed me about the book was that there is absoutely no account of Wiesel's time after his father passed away.  He claims in the book that this is because he no longer cared about anything that was happening, but to me that is exactly why I would want to read about it.  A completely indifferent account of the story.

I know this is short today, but the book was short.  Deal.

This book is RECOMMENDED.

First line teaser:  "They called him Moshe the Beadle, as though he had never had a surname in his life."

Up Next:  The next book club selection  which will be announced at our meeting tonight!

The next installment of this wonderful blog belongs to Tatiana de Rosnay's novel, Sarah's Key.  This story is set in both current day France, as well as France during the Holocaust. 

Sarah's a 10 year-old girl who locks her 4 year-old brother in a hidden cupboard in their apartment when the French (yes, French) police come to round up the Jewish families in the apartment building.  She leaves him with his water and a book and promises to come back for him, not realizing there may be a chance that she might not be back.  She and her parents are then taken with other Jewish families in France for the Vel' d'Hiv roundup.  Her part of the journey then encompasses trying to find a way to get back to her brother.

This book also flips back-and-forth, every other chapter with the present time, Julia Jarmond, an American who has lived in France for over a decade.  She, of course, is researching the Vel' d'Hiv for an article.  As you can imagine, the two stories mesh together quite well by the end of the novel.  As I'm not one for ruining books, I shall say no more regarding the content of the novel!

This is a book club choice and our meeting isn't until Wednesday, so forgive me for what little of a review I'm about to do for it.  Don't want to give too much away!

For the most part, I enjoyed this book.  I always enjoy historical fiction for some reason (does that make me a nerd?) and this book definitely has that element.  I think that the author did a great job at bringing the two settings together and melding the parts in to one solid story.  I feel as though de Rosnay did a great job at making me empathize with Sarah and the different characters from her part of the story.  Obviously, I was not around at this time in history, but I feel that the way she told the story seemed to be a somewhat accurate portrayal of what I've learned about this and similar events taking place at the time.

And now for a few things I disliked hated about this book.  The most annoying part for me was the fact that de Rosnay felt the need to name EVERY SINGLE STREET in France throughout the novel.  Don't get me wrong; I loved France when I was there.  I love reminiscing when I hear names/places that I recognize or have been to.  I do NOT, however, need to read EVERY street name that Julia/Sarah encounter throughout the novel.  Seriously... I bet 10% of this book was JUST street names.

Anyway, enough ranting about that.  The other thing that annoyed me and landed this book with a lower Goodreads star-rating than it would have had from me otherwise, happened in the last 50 pages of the book.  (This might not make sense if you haven't read it, but again, I don't want to give anything way either.)  There was a point at or around 50 pages 'til the end, in which it either need to be more elaborate in bringing the story to a close, or it just needed to end there.  There was a chance for a perfect stopping spot that I would have been more than happy with, but when she drones on and lengthens the story, she doesn't do enough.  Does that make sense?  Either she needed to quit earlier or elaborate further.  That may be confusing, but if you read the book and want to know what I'm referencing, I'll be more than happy to share.

Needless to say, that is all I'm going to say at this time.  I know I always say I'll write more after my book club meetings and I never do, so I'm just not going to promise it this time.  :)

This book is RECOMMENDED.

First Line Teaser:  "The girl was the first to hear the loud pounding on the door."

Up Next:  Who knows?  Seriously... I feel like I always lie to you.  I currently have 15, yes 15, books going.  (If your curious, you can friend me on Goodreads to find out what I'm reading/have read.)  The next one that lands a blog will probably be the next book club book when we pick it on Wednesday.  I'll keep you posted.

Another one today!  Lucky you!

Then next book in my lineup was Unbearable Lightness by Portia de Rossi.  This book was very good.  Unlike the last book where I complained about the title character's insecurity, I felt much different about the EXTREME insecurity of Portia de Rossi throughout this book.

For those of you who don't know, Portia de Rossi (Arrested Development, Ally McBeal, Better Off Ted) suffered severe anorexia.  The book chronicles her history with bulimia and anorexia throughout her life, beginning with her adolescent years.  I wasn't sure what I was going to think of this book before starting it, given the topic and the fact that I am not big into learning about the lives of celebrities, but I really enjoyed this book.  Well, as much as you can enjoy a book where a person starves themselves to the point of practically dying.  Let me say, it was not a GOOD book... it was very interesting.

Portia de Rossi does a great job at showing what it feels like to have the insecurities that come with bulimia and anorexia.  The book is almost written as a novel at times because she does an amazing job at bringing you in to the lives of the "characters" throughout her life.  I am willing to say that if de Rossi wrote a fictional novel, I might just pick it up and read it.  She is surprisingly a fantastic writer.

I can't delve too much in to this book as it is our latest book club book and I don't want to make all of my great points before our meeting, but I will say that I really do have a lot of thoughts and feelings on the book.  Get in touch with me if you want to know more about my thoughts (and you aren't a member of the NIBC).  Definitely get in touch with me if you've read it, because I'd like to know your thoughts as well.

This book is definitely RECOMMENDED!

First line teaser:  "He doesn't wait until I'm awake."

Next Up:  The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I know... it's been a while, but I'll be writing two reviews today!  I just haven't gotten around to blogging!

This is a review of Cathy Lamb's Such a Pretty Face.  It was a book club selection, but alas the meeting has come and gone already in my non-blogginess.  

The book is about a woman who is trying to come in to her own after getting gastric bypass surgery.  She has to deal with weighing 325 lbs. and then dropping about 165 lbs. of it.  It basically describes her battle with insecurity and overcoming that insecurity.  Oh yeah, did I mention that when she was a child her mother was schizophrenic and threw her, her little sister & herself over a bridge, leaving Stevie (our main character) as the only survivor?  That's just a little added bonus for you.

I liked this book.  At times I became very annoyed with Stevie's insecurities, which may sound somewhat ignorant or bitchy, but I was.  As she got more confident I found that I liked her much better than in the earlier parts of the book.  This book is very good for character development. 

There are a lot of strange characters throughout it and Lamb does a fine job at giving you a good picture of who each of the characters really are.  Stevie is really the most normal of all of the characters.  Between the seriousness of some characters (a verbally abusive demeaning adoptive uncle, an equally abusive ex-husband, a bitchy lawyer/co-worker, an anorexic cousin) and the absolute comedy of some of the others [the hyper-sensitive super athlete cousin who sells blow-up dolls, Stevie's mother - the schizophrenic (also very sad, but rather humorous throughout the story), the co-worker who was a roller derby queen], this book had a nice even tone for what was really happening in the story.  In all seriousness, the book was really tragedy, but the comedic efforts made for it to give you the lightness you needed so that you didn't need to put the book down and take a break every 5 seconds in order to protect yourself from slitting your wrists out of grief.  (Maybe that was a bit of an extreme example...)

Anyway, this book is RECOMMENDED.  You just need to get past some of Stevie's whiny insecurities.  :)

First line teaser:  "I know when it started."

Next Up:  Portia de Rossi's Unbearable Lightness  (Book club selection)

That's right; I skipped The Catcher in the Rye again.  Give me some credit though, I read this entire book today!  That should help me catch up with where I should be in this challenge a bit!  :)

The tenth book for my challenge is called Such a Pretty Girl and it was written by Laura Weiss.  I picked it up based on the cover at the Planned Parenthood book sale on Friday.  There is something sort of haunting about the picture (which fits well with the book topic).

This story is about a girl whose father is sent to jail for sexually abusing her (as well as neighborhood boys and girls).  He is supposed to be there until she is eighteen but is let out after 3 years for good behavior.  While her father is in jail, Meredith begins a relationship with a boy who is a bit older than she is but was also abused by her father.  This story tells the struggle of both of the teenagers dealing with Meredith's father's return to the neighborhood.

My honest thoughts on the story?  I'm not sure.  It was definitely a fast read and I found myself connecting with it on a professional level.  (I'm sure most of you know that I am in the social work field, so this type of situation holds a special place in my heart.)  However, I also felt dirty at times, as though I was actually reading a book that would excite a pedophile.  More often than not, this was not the case, but it was more graphic than it needed to be at times, all the while needing that information to really drive home what was going on for Meredith.

One recurrence that really annoyed me was the mother's ignorance.  I can not handle mother's who are so obsessed with being loved by their husbands that they completely ignore what might be happening to their kids, whether it is physical, emotional, mental or sexual abuse.  The mother in this story remains completely ignorant throughout.  Sadly, when it comes to these types of situations, I know that this happens more often than not.

Would I recommend this book?  Well, this book is definitely not for the faint of heart.  I know I would not recommend this book to most people, but at the same time, I know several of my blog readers work in the same field as I do and for such people I would recommend it.  So, I guess it depends on who you are.

First line teaser:  "They promised me nine years of safety, but only gave me three."

Next up:  The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (I think...)  :)

Yes, I surpassed The Catcher in the Rye to read a Dexter book in lieu of Dexter starting next Sunday.  So what?  As you can see, I don't stick to my "next up:  books" very well; I'm okay with that.  Deal.

Anyway, Dexter Dexter Dexter.  This book is the second in the Dexter series.  I read the first a couple of years ago and have owned the second and third for the same length of time and just haven't gotten around to reading them.  The fifth book was just released (or is soon to be released... I don't remember which for sure.)

After reading the first book I was discouraged.  The story went about the same as the first season of the show, yet the show was much better than the book.  (How often can you say that?  Maybe it's different with TV shows than movies...)  Anyway, I assumed the latter books would follow suit.  (A book seems to come out each season.  It only makes sense, right?)  Wrong.  The second book has a few similarities to the second season of the show, but really is nothing like it.

I liked this book for the most part.  It was hard for me to get into in the beginning, but once I got a bit further, it turned out to not be so bad.  I still like the show better.  I mean, come on... it's Michael C. Hall.  Love!  (Although it weirds me out that his wife plays his sister in the show.  I guess it would be stranger if his sister played his wife though...)

This book is twisted and a bit gruesome, yet oddly humorous in parts.  You'll still fall in love with Dexter, even though he is a murderer.

My biggest complaint with this book (other than it not being as good as the show) is that the climax of the book happened in the last 5 pages or so and was resolved and the book was ended all within those 5 pages.  That's a bit quick.  It was almost as if Lindsay decided he just wanted to be done writing it.

I plan to read the third book, since I own it and will judge at that point whether I will read #4 or #5.

This book is:  Recommended on the basis of it being a quick read and if you don't like it, you will decide so in the first couple of chapters and can quit reading it.  (Does that make it a true recommendation?  Probably not, but meh... what can you do?)

First line teaser:  "It's that moon again, slung so fat and low in the tropical night, calling out across a curdled sky and into the quivering ears of that dear old voice in the shadows, the Dark Passenger, nestled snug in the backseat of the Dodge K-car of Dexter's hypothetical soul."  (Yes, first sentence AND first paragraph!)

Next Up:  Finishing The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger (but probably also starting something else.)  :)

The eighth book of my challenge is one that I've wanted to read for a while and have owned for probably close to a couple of years and just hadn't gotten around to yet.  That would be David Sedaris's Dress Your Family in Corduroy in Denim.

I liked this book.  It's witty and clever and made me laugh out loud several times.  Sedaris has no problem making himself look... bad.  It's one thing to degrade yourself, but Sedaris takes it to a whole new level.  It's brilliant really.

This book is actually a collection of essays that Sedaris wrote about his life.  They range from stories about his early childhood well in to his adult life.  Some stories are touching, some are morbid and most are hilarious or at least bordering on so pathetic that they are funny.

I enjoyed this book a lot.  I wouldn't say I struggled with it in the beginning; it was just sort of a slow start for me.  Once I got in to it though I got through it pretty quickly.

This book is:  Recommended

First line teaser:  "When my family first moved to North Carolina, we lived in a rented house three blocks from the school where I would begin the third grade."

NEXT UP:  The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger  (Yes, I've never read this book.  I know...)

Okay.  Let me just start out with saying that I am completely and utterly terrified by this book.  I knew a lot of what I would be facing in reading this book and yet I am still completely horrified.  I liken this book to Dave Pelzer's "A Child Called 'It'".  Not because they are in any way similar to one another, but rather because I had the same feeling of disgust, yet complete fascination while reading it.  They set up the perfect instance to use the phrase "horribly good" to describe a book.


For those of you who don't know about it, "Eating Animals" is about, well exactly what the title tells you; eating animals.  There is an emphasis on factory farming versus family farming (which I don't feel the need to explain to you).   This book has a particularly interesting take, as it not only tells you the "bad" about factory farming but Foer also provides interviews with workers on the "inside" of these farms to show you things from their perspectives and some of them only have "good" to say.


As I've mentioned before, Jonathan Safran Foer is a personal favorite, but his previous books were novels and completely different than "Eating Animals".  On that note I have to add that I am still a huge fan.


I can't believe the amount of actual abuse that the animals at factory farms go through.  Before reading this book, I was well aware that a lot of animals are not slaughtered in the most humane ways possible, but it sickened me even more to learn about the perversion and torture that takes place at some of these factory farms.  Unbelievable.  My faith in humanity is depleted in some way every day the way it is and this book only made it deplete more rapidly.


There was a point during the book when Foer was writing about the amount of pollution given off by factory hog farms. I'll just say that it made me want to plug my nose when I drive by now for many reasons more than just the smell.


Oh yeah, and I might want to add that I have a new term ingrained in my brain thanks to this book:  "fecal soup".  Read the book.  You might not like what you learn. 

I have never felt more of a connection with a quote that wasn't my own than I did while reading this book.  That quote being, "ignorance is bliss".  I guess I don't know that I was really ignorant before but I definitely know a lot more now and it is definitely going to make me change some of my buying habits.


First line teaser for y'all:  "When I was young, I would often spend the weekend at my grandmother's house."


Oh!  I also must add that this book has only furthered my desire for a Whole Foods in the area.  It's time Des Moines.  Get a move on!

This book is DEFINITELY:  RECOMMENDED

Up next:  "Look Again" by Lisa Scottoline (book club selection)

All right, so I know you all thought that I'd quit my challenge already because I hadn't blogged, but I assure you, I have not!  I have finished book #2, Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World".  First off, let me say, where can I get some soma?  I assume it to be similar to ecstasy.  Just a thought.  Anyone else who's read it have an opinion about that?  Don't get me wrong, I've not done ecstasy, but from what I've heard of it, I assume soma to be similar.

Anyway, moving on.  I really liked this book.  When I started reading the first chapter I got a little annoyed and thought I wouldn't like it based on all of the science lab-by B.S. that it had to explain.  It really was necessary to set the novel up though.  This is why I can never stop if I don't like the first chapter in a book.  Prime example.

For those who don't know about this book, it is basically about a post-apocalyptic society where everyone is a test-tube baby created and honed to be in a certain caste.  Everyone is given this happy drug "soma", to make anything negative go away.  There are absolutely no moral repercussions for any choice made because no one in this "civilized" society would ever do anything that they aren't conditioned to do.  However, throw in a few "savage" characters from outside of the civilization and a few "civilized" characters who break the mold, and we have ourselves a story folks!

"Brave New World" had me feeling all kinds of emotions.  Like I said earlier, I really liked this book.  I would recommend it to most people, but will also add that you have to stick out that first chapter or two.  I found myself angry right off the bat because I can totally see our society headed in this direction.  I know that may seem far-fetched to some, but at the same time everyone is already brain-washed by something to some extent, how long before everyone gets brain-washed by the same thing/person/group?

Of course, I always enjoy a book with a nice dark twist, which this book definitely takes at the end.  Huxley could easily have ended the book without the last chapter by just adding a few predictable paragraphs, but he doesn't!  I think he did it just because he knew that I would read it and would want a darker ending from him!  Okay... I know he passed away like 20 years before I was born, but still...

Your first line action:  "A squat gray building of only thirty-four stories." 

(I am aware that was a sentence fragment.  I did not WRITE this book; you can't blame me.)

This book is: RECOMMENDED

Unless you can only handle a light, fictional read.  Then don't read it.  You won't like it.

UP NEXT:  "EATING ANIMALS" by JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER

(YAY!!!)

I've finished my first book of the challenge!  "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" by Mark Haddon!  I don't know that I'll type a whole lot about it today, only because it is also our book club book and I've got to save some of my ramblings for our meeting!  (Maybe I'll share more of my thoughts after that!)  I must also comment that I chose this cover for my blog image because I like it better than the actual cover of my book! : )

I will say that I would recommend this book to most people!  There's something about reading the point-of-view of a child/teen that gets me.  Maybe that makes me somewhat immature with my reading selections, but I loved it in this book, loved it in Jonathan Safran Foer's "Everything is Illuminated" & loved it in Stephen Chbosky's "The Perks of Being a Wallflower".  I think it is something about an author being able to capture the innocence of the youth that makes it so appealing for me.  Not just any adult is able to really capture and relay that for me.  I mean, I will admit that I've read the Twilight series and the Harry Potter series and those are child/teen P.O.V.'s, but it's in a different way.  Upon typing that I think I've discovered that it's when dealing with kids with psychological issues.  Given my chosen profession I suppose that makes sense.

Here's your first line action (a lil' taste):  "It was 7 minutes after midnight."

Anyway, possibly more to come on this book after my book club meeting.  As for my next book, I will be reading "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley.  Yes, I know that is a classic and I should have read it by now, but I haven't, so I am going to.  : )

This book is:  RECOMMENDED

It's getting closer folks.  One week until I reveal which book will be my first of the challenge.  I know you are all on the edge of your chairs just waiting to find out. 

I've decided that my first book will be one of your fine recommendations.  I plan to (hopefully) read most of your suggestions at some point during the challenge.  Chances are, if we choose a book club book by the 1st, that may just be my first book I read.  We'll see.

I will say that I broke down and bought "Eating Animals" by Jonathan Safran Foer yesterday.  I've been itching to read it but have been trying to convince myself that I'm too poor to buy books.  I just read "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close" though, so I've got to read a couple others before I read another JSF book.  It will definitely probably make it in to my first couple months worth of reads.  (Has anyone read it yet?  Alice, I'm mostly talking to you because I think that I saw on goodreads that you did and I know that you are also a fan of JSF.  Enlighten me with your thoughts.)

All right peeps.  I'm currently taking recommendations for the first book of my challenge.  I need it to be something that will completely entrance me and keep me "booking" through it. (See what I did there?)  :)  I want the first one to be a super fantastic book so that I can start out extremely motivated!  Help me out people!

Much love.