Actually some of these were likely read in May but considering I can't even really remember what I read you just gotta work with me here people.
This novel tells the story of a family in poverty in Reno, NV. It has the typical bombshell single mom that can't leave the men alone, the matriarchal grandmother, the no-good-dead-beat father, and the inexplicably bright-for-her-age little girl.
This book was not as fascinating as "Glass Castle" but it held my interest as it explains some of the reasons why people in poverty do what they do. There were areas of darkness which sadly felt just typical as it seems every author feels that people in poverty are all abused at some point. It is an unfortunate stereotype. I knew by the end I should be rooting for the girl, hating the mother, hating the grandmother, hating the neighbors, hating everything about their sad pathetic life but I just found myself kinda blah and numb.
The Tiger's Wife: A Novel by Téa Obreht / A / ***This is one of those novels that when you are done you feel kinda unsatisfied and frankly a little stupid as you can sense there was probably some fantastic subtle meaning that went completely over your head. It alternated telling the story about a young doctor on a journey to give vaccinations to children of a war-torn area in Europe and her grandfather in his days before he also became a doctor. It has a very odd addition of a man that cannot die and a deaf-mute woman who was friends with a tiger. Very strange. Probably symbolic. Definitely over my head.
I have read this book in the past during the years I read books in categories. This was under my "classics" section. Due to the movie coming out, my friend Tami Smith chose this for her book group selection for June. I enjoyed it more this time, and we had a fascinating discussion about the language, the characters, the use of color in the book. It was a great evening and now I want to see the movie.
This is a re-read for me as I wanted to remind myself of the story before I read the next two books in the series. All my kiddo's love the Percy Jackson books and were happy Rick Riordan started this new series. I've decided I must read books too fast as I'm always saying I liked the book better the second time. It is true with this story as well. It was enough different from the other books that I got absorbed into the new adventures.
In this book the story returns to Percy. It was fun to see the combination of the Greek mythology from the first set of books with the Roman mythology introduced in this new series. I liked the problem solving going on and the quirky characters.
I probably shouldn't have read all three books in a row like this because by the time I got to the end of this story I was skimming. Rick Riordan stories are series of mini-adventures all involving some aspect of mythology such as a creature to be defeated, a monster to kill, an artifact to claim. This style of story telling has worked for him over and over again. But this time it just felt wearisome and I just wanted it to be OVER with (until the final few pages and the big bombshell and now I'm dying to read the next book).
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert / ***1/2
I really really enjoyed this book. The main character was quirky, imperfect, and real. The book was made up of mini-experiences that progressed the main story line but also provided insightful tidbits about life, happiness, relationships, families, and people. And who wouldn't want to be able to just run away for a year? It sounds divine. Except I'd want to take Darren with me. Who wouldn't?
This is a futuristic sci-fi book about an earth conquered by aliens and held in prison camps. The main character is a doctor of sorts who is ostracized by her community. A hurt alien comes to her home for help and of course she falls in love with him. The story at first was so beautifully written and was developing into a great narrative but then all of a sudden jumped off track.
This book was irreverently funny. I so admire an author that can write a great short story. They really are their own unique art form. I found out the author writes for Saturday Night Love and I honestly am not surprised.
You know I love me some end-of-the-world stories. This is the sequel to the "WOOL" stories I read several months ago where the remaining members of the human race are living in silo's underground as the earth has been destroyed. The SHIFT books alternate between telling the story of how and why the silos were built in the first place to current time when the author fills in the stories introduced in WOOL. I love the whole idea of thinking what kind of planning would need to go into building something like a silo that could house thousands of people for hundreds of years. What kind of supplies would you need? How would you handle air and water and power? Waste management? Population control? I could spend hours thinking about such things. How many pencils would you need? Pieces of chalk? Needles? Thread? What happens when all the can-openers break? I love books like this.
I enjoyed the books but felt they were not as well written as WOOL. The WOOL books started as short stories and each were very carefully crafted. I just was not as interested in the story line and found the alternating stories between the different silo's a little confusing and jumbled. That being said, I have pre-ordered the final series coming out in August.
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