JANUARY 2017

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi / A / **** / Kindle
This is the story of a neuro-scientist diagnosed with aggressive cancer just as he is nearing his goal of finishing medical school. I believe everyone has a story to tell, and it was interesting to read this one. That being said, it lacked the wit and tenderness and insightfulness as "The Last Lecture". The most tender part was this message to his infant daughter (he died when she was 8 months old):
“When you come to one of the many moments in life when you must give an account of yourself, provide a ledger of what you have been, and done, and meant to the world, do not, I pray, discount that you filled a dying man’s days with a sated joy, a joy unknown to me in all my prior years, a joy that does not hunger for more and more, but rests, satisfied. In this time, right now, that is an enormous thing.”

Lilac Girls: A Novel by Martha Hall Kelly / A / ***1/2 / Kindle
My favorite period of time to read about is WWII. This story follows the story of several Polish women who were interred in a German concentration camp. What makes this story different from some of the others out there is that it tells how they endured the extra atrocity of medical experimentation.  It is told from the point of view of one of the Polish women, a female German doctor who worked at the camp, and an American socialite working to make a difference.  The story was compelling even though the writing style itself was a little "off" sometimes.  

Millers Valley: A Novel by Anna Quindlen / A / **** / Kindle
Anna Quindlen is just amazing.  
This book follows the story of Mary Margaret "Mimi" Miller from her childhood in an all-american farming community in Pennsylvania through her adult years as a medical doctor in a nearby town.  This book is a quiet novel in that not a lot happens, but the characters and their intertwined stories make the book a solid story. To me it is a story that you never really leave where you are from. 

The Book of Lost and Found: A Novel by Lucy Foley / A /**/ Kindle

If I had to define this book in one word it would be "meh".
This book tells the story of Kate as she works to find out more about her deceased mother.  Kate's journey takes her from London to Corsica to Paris, then New York.  It is advertised as a story of deep and abiding love, separation and sadness, loyalty and caring. But to me, it sadly lacked character development. And the dialogue was just weird... the words people said didn't really seem to add anything to the story.  Overall it was very slow moving and just felt really flat to me.  

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead / ** / Kindle
Oh good Lord. I can't even believe I read this book.  I can't believe it's been made into a movie or TV show or whatever. This one is from my Goodreads "Top 100 Books of All Time" list and if I had started the list with this book as opposed to something like Anna Karenina I would have not even attempted the list as it would feel like whomever chose these books was CRAZY.  This one was PAINFUL.

Interview with the Vampire (The Vampire Chronicles, Book 1) / A / *** / Kindle
It is funny that I claim to not like vampire stories considering my favorite movie as a young teen was "Lost Boys" and I currently own an Edward Cullen barbie doll.  That being said, vampires are just gross. And evil. And did I say gross?  I know the Anne Rice books are the 'be all end all' of vampire books, but this one was just okay for me. It had some really interesting concepts and I think her writing has really influenced a whole generation of vampire story tellers, but I didn't love it. This book was also 

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens / A / **** / Kindle
This book is another from the Goodreads list.  I have been avoiding it as I generally find Dickens pretty difficult to read.  This one, however, was a lot easier to me for some reason. I really enjoyed the story even though the main character made me crazy in some ways. And I just wanted SOMEONE to stand up to Miss Haversham and CLEAN HER HOUSE. My favorite character was good old Herbert.

Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda  by Becky Albertalli / YA / **1/2 / Kindle
Simon is a Junior who has great friends, a loving family, a part in the school play, and a secret... he's gay.  The story is mainly told in a series of emails between Simon and a boy named Blu... the code name of an unknown boy in Simon's school that he is falling for.
I just wish this story had been written by like John Green or Rainbow Rowell... as it had some great characters, a smidgen of off-beat humor and a lot of promise. I really have a soft spot for stories of people that feel like they don't fit in and how they rise triumphant over the stereotypes that try to define them.  But as it was, the story wasn't FABULOUS.  The device of using emails to advance the story just got really old after a while. I was underwhelmed.

The Woman in Cabin 10  by Ruth Ware / A / *** / Kindle
This was a rough month for me. I was just unimpressed by about everything. This one tells the story of a journalist on a cruise that witnesses a murder.... but no one will believe her.  It had all the elements of a good psychological thriller but was just okay for me.

Siddharta by Hermann Hesse / A / *** / Kindle
This book tells the story of Siddharta and his journey to find the meaning of life.  It was surprisingly engaging and a quick read.  The part that "spoke" to me the most is the idea that while knowledge can be imparted, wisdom cannot. I am a big believer in the idea that we have to find our own way... which (as a side note) is probably why I get really super annoyed when someone tells me what I should be thinking (the media), loving (the media) or feeling (the media).