Still Life, by Louise Penny

A good little mystery novel, about a Canadian Chief Inspector named Gamache. He was instantly a likeable character. There were a couple of moments in this book that I found astounding. The initial description of a bow and arrow and what the different types of arrow tips can do was vivid and evocative. There was a very small passage involving the second-in-command inspector about his wanting to call his wife after a draining day in the investigation that I thought was very emotional, and I am going to include it here to keep it in my memory: "Beauvoir left their home wanting to call his wife and tell her how much he loved her, and then tell her what he believed in, and his fears and hopes and disappointments. To talk about something real and meaningful. He dialed his cell phone and got her. But the words got caught somewhere south of his throat. Instead he told her the weather had cleared, and she told him about the movie she'd rented. Then they both hung up." Plot-wise, this book was very simple and I knew who the killer was (although I had the motive wrong) way too early. But I still really liked it and recommend it for the good characters and writing. I will read more in this series.

Gods in Alabama, by Joshilyn Jackson

This was a pretty good book, but definitely chick lit, which I tend to shy away from. The plot and characters are interesting and the dialogue well-written; it was easy to read very quickly. The chapters alternate back and forth between present-day Arlene, who lives in Chicago and is resisting returning to her home in Alabama with black boyfriend in tow, and high school Arlene, whose story explains present-day Arlene's resistence. I'm pretty upset with myself for not predicting the plot twist, because, in retrospect, it was very predictable. I think I just was not reading that deeply. This is another good one to read in a day by the pool, but it's not memorable.

Jack 1939, by Francine Mathews

I really liked this book at first. It's an interesting premise - a fictional, spy thriller novel, with a 22-year-old JFK as the protaganist. It quickly, however, turns into a Jason Bourne book in which it doesn't make much of a difference that Bourne is now JFK, complete with escapes in dumbwaiters. I didn't think much of it, and it got very good reviews.

The Family Fang, by Kevin Wilson

This is a funny little book about a dysfunctional family in which the parents have raised the children forcing them to do pretty off-the-wall performance art. The plot isn't much, but this book will be appealing to people who like Wes Anderson movies because of the strange characters.

The Devil All the Time, by Donald Ray Pollock

Gruesome. Gory. Scary. Well written and vividly descriptive. I won't recommend this because you'll think I'm sick and twisted if I do. It's about a lot of really sick people in Ohio in the 1950s and 60s - some serial killers, bad cops, abusive priests... just a lot of people who do really bad things.

Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn

LOVED this book. It was really well written with a great, fast-paced plot. It was a mystery/thriller style book, but it also really hit on some points about relationships and marriage that were spot-on... although most marriage issues (hopefully) do not get quite to the extreme as Nick and Amy's did in this book. I thought for a while that the author was trying to pull some trite allusion to Great Gatsby, with Nick as the potentially unreliable narrator, but she proved me wrong. The book took all the right twists and turns, except at the end. I can think of a couple of better endings, but my lack of complete satisfaction with this ending in no way destroyed by absolute enjoyment of this book. Take it on vacation; you'll read it in a day or two.

Imaginary Jesus, by Matt Mikalatos

This was a light, silly book about pretty heavy theology - a man on a personal quest to find the real Jesus, with a bunch of pretty hilarious fake Jesuses (Jesi?) in tow.

Fifty Shades, by EL James

I considered not posting that I read this, but oh well. I did read them. All three. And I'll never get those hours of my life back.

44 Scotland Street, by Alexander McCall Smith

This was a light, fun little read. The plot was about nothing (something about a missing painting that may or may not have been famous), but the charaters and dialogue were quite funny... quite the farce (with things like missing underwear). I don't remember this book all that well at this point, but I remember some line about not being able to execute a proper risotto while discussing anthropology. Too true, don't you think?

Nonfiction

I read and/or attempted to read three nonfiction books during this period: Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer, Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, and Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. I only read a little Krakauer's book. Really boring. It was about life in the Mormon polygamist compounds in Colorado and Utah. The subject matter itself was fairly interesting, with pretty tough-to-take goings on, but the writing style was SUCH a snore that I couldn't take it. Unbroken was a very good book. It did have one aspect of nonfiction that I don't like - a very didactic, instructive style to the writing - but no one can deny that the plot is harrowing. What Zamparini went through as a soldier in WWII is almost unimaginable, and I'm glad this author told his story. Half the Sky is about the effects of global poverty on women and particularly focuses on sex trafficking. As a professional woman who is very in tune with discrimination issues, this book really hit me. While, of course, discrimination in the U.S. is real and a problem, my concerns in that regard surround professional advancement and pay. My concerns aren't lethal.

Stephen King, 11/22/63

You would think this was another genre departure for me, but no. This was genre departure for Mr. King. This is a clever, compelling book about using time travel to attempt to stop the Kennedy assassination, of course, invoking a butterfly effect. I haven't read much Stephen King, but, wow, he is a good writer, and funny too. His relationships felt real, and I completely bought into the plot despite its fantastical nature. It is well documented that I don't like nice, neat little bows at the end of my books, and this delivered on that, although I thought the ending was also quite sweet. I do not want to hear "I don't like/read Stephen King" as an excuse to not read this book. It's great.

The Passage, by Justin Cronin

Science, vampires, apocolypse... fantastic. Not exactly the review you would expect from me on a sci-fi novel. But this book was so exciting that I was completely forgiven of my genre departure. The backstories of both the "heros" and the vampire/zombie/whatevers were great - I'm excited to see how the somewhat sympathetic horrible monsters play out. Yes, this is a series. Book 2, The Twelve, comes out in October.

Those Who Save Us, by Jenna Blum

This is a very compelling story about a woman professor researching her German heritage. While the professor learns many stories from Germans in her community, we learn the story our main character does not know - her own mother's story from a small German village in WWII. The misconceptions and misunderstandings between mother and daughter were realistic and, then, exacerbated by the extenuating circumstances of the mother's painful history. I haven't often read a WWII story from the perspective of a German, and this was a very good one. Probably a read geared more toward women, but not total chick lit. Recommend.

Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins

I enjoyed this final installment more than a lot of people did, I think. But all I really expected out of it was to know what was going to happen, and it delivered on that. I was pretty satisfied with the way it ended. I liked the twists of the solution to the horrible Capitol not being an ideal solution. I liked what Katniss chose as far as her relationships go... but it was pretty set up for the way it went. I think I could have been happy with the other options there, too.

Overall, a pretty exciting series. I know it won't stick with me the way Narnia or Harry Potter did. These books just aren't nearly as good. But very entertaining, and I'd recommend them.

Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins

I haven't read a book in two days in... well, I did it earlier this week, and I did it again. Catching Fire captivated me just as much as The Hunger Games. I was initially a little disappointed with the repetition (both with the relationships, and the plot), but the author ultimately did a fine job keeping it fresh for me. I do wish that the author would be a little more bold with taking risks with some of the characters, but overall, I'm loving this saga.

The end of this book confirmed a prediction I had made pretty early on in the first book. Normally, I criticize predictability, but, really, there are only so many roads a book in this genre can take (so, also for that reason, I'm not taking too much credit for my prediction). I'm excited to read the third and see how this all ends!

The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins

It's been a long time since I've read a book in two days, probably since the great Harry Potter feast of 2007 when I devoured seven books in two weeks. This book had me hooked from about page four, and I was resenting anything that took me away from it.

It is an Orwell/Bradbury-esque tale in a postapocolyptic United States where the government is firmly in control. There was definitely a lot of commentary on pop culture, especially television. It was also surprisingly gruesome for a young adults novel. But they kept it very clean with the romance. I always find that very interesting - that brutal, bloody gore is more acceptable than romance.

The characters in this book have a lot of depth. The main character, Katniss, is cool, hard and calculating... yet very likeable. You really get a feel in very short order for what makes the other contestants in the Games tick. The drunken mentor is a GREAT character. Peeta's character unfolds at a perfect pace.

I'm just not going to say any more about this book. I think you should read it. Best to read it on a plane or on vacation where you won't be forced to constantly set it down. If you do choose to read it while going about your normal day, please look ahead of you every now and then so you don't walk into any streetlights.

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, by David Wroblewski

I loved this book... until I didn't. And the didn't happened about 2/3 of the way through. This book might have the WORST ending of any book I've ever read.

The book takes place on a farm with a dog kennel in rural Wisconsin in the 1970s. The interactions with the family and the dogs as they are breeding and training them are wonderful. The relationships are sweet and believable. The writing and description of every scene is beautiful. This author is quite the wordsmith. The author sets up all kinds of interesting mysteries and character traits that leave you wanting to learn more.

But you never get more. You know what they say about there being a gun on the wall in the first act? There were about a dozen guns on the wall in this book that never get spoken of again, let alone fired. I don't want to say too much for fear of spoilers, but I'm going to point out a few: what's the truth behind the original Forte story? Edgar is certain that what he's told isn't true, but then the story never returns. Where does the new Forte ever go? He keeps popping up, and you think he has a purpose, but, then..... nothing. Why was Claude in prison? What's the backstory of the brothers? We're told that someday Edgar will learn the story of his parents - what a lie that is! What about the voluminous number of pages dealing with the history of the breeding and the ancestors' debates? Were those just little stories that didn't actually have ANYTHING to do with the book? I guess so.

I don't require a particular type of ending to love a book. Happy, sad, ambiguous... all are fine with me if it is the right ending for that book. This was not. This talented author butchered an otherwise lovely book. What a shame.

P.s. I'm told that this book is modeled after Shakespeare. I wouldn't know, being an avid Shakespeare hater. But, if this author was being Shakespearean, it reinforces my hatred of said author.

Crossing California, by Adam Langer

California Avenue, that is. This book takes place in the West Rodgers Park neighborhood of Chicago in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The precise timeframe of the book is the 444 days of the Iran hostage crisis, but the book is not about the crisis. The book follows around several characters, mostly children, in their lives. It is a socio-economic character study, with California Avenue representing the dividing line between the classes. And is masterfully done.

I loved Langer's no-nonsense presentation of his characters. There was a total sense of detachment between the narrator and the characters. It was almost like I had to love them to compensate for the narrator's apathy toward them. There was real love in this book. Not fireworks-inducing, passionate, romantic love. But love that's about grinding along, living in harmony, and not being able to live without each other. I so identified with Jill Wasserstrom (I was always that kid that wanted to take the controversial side of the debate), but I envied her for her focus and ability to completely be her own person without caring what others thought. Everybody was really funny. I had a couple laugh-out-loud moments. The Rovners marriage was hysterical, as was their son, Larry's, quest for love. Everything about Michelle Wasserstrom, particularly the "Sterndick" plot, was hilarious. But most of all, I loved Muley Wills. He could never be a real person; he was just too consistent and principled, especially for a 13-year-old. But he's the person everyone should aspire to be.

A solid A, and a definite recommend.

The Lucky One, by Nicholas Sparks

The charge ran out on my Kindle while I was on vacation, and I had forgotten my charger. The rental home we were in had this book on the shelf, and I thought it would be an easy beach read. It was. The plot was perfectly entertaining for a lazy day at the beach. I enjoyed it just fine. But what a poorly written wreck of a book! Either Sparks is a moron or he thinks I am. I rolled my eyes right off the bat when there was a mystery woman known to the main character only as "E," and then a character popped up shortly thereafter named "Beth." He could have put a *little* more mystery into that one! Even reversing it would have been trickier (i.e. a mystery woman named "B" and a character named Elizabeth).

This was my first Sparks book I've ever read, and I'd like to say it was my last. But who knows when else I might get stranded on a beach without a Kindle.

City of Thieves, by David Benioff

This book tells the story of what appears to be (based on the first chapter) the author's grandfather in St. Petersburg during the 900-day German siege on Russia in WWII. This book is a positively fantastic adventure. The writer's voice is absolutely perfect. It is set amidst horrible, tragic events, but the story is told without the slightest hint of melodrama. Benioff reminds you of how awful things were, but in creative ways that are relevant to the story line without ramming it down your throat. For example, he reminds us of Lev's starvation-thinness by his fear of falling down while running because of his heightened risk of a broken bone.

While the book is highly plot-driven, it is really about the relationship between the two main characters, Lev and Kolya, who get sent on a near-impossible mission together by a Russian army official. Lev is a naive boy; Kolya is a conceited playboy with very few reservations. The character of Kolya opens up beautifully throughout the book, though, and he is instrumental in Lev's coming of age. I cared about these characters deeply.

I was incredibly curious about how much of the book is real. I tried doing some research on the main Nazi in the book, but couldn't find anything, leading me to believe names were changed. But then I did some more research and found out, from a Benioff interview, that the book is entirely fictional. Benioff's grandparents were born in the United States. That doesn't change how I feel about the book, though. A good book is a good book.

My only complaint about this book was that it was too short. I loved it. I'm sure we'll see a movie soon, since the author is a main-stream screenwriter.