Winter Book Challenge Wrap Up

So the Nest Book Club Winter Book Challenge has come to an end as of last night!! I'm really glad that I participated in this because it was fun to pick out books that fit each topic and find ways to fit books that I wanted to read next into a topic so I could get points for it! Out of the possible 375 points, I earned 265 and read 20 books. Here's the break down:

5 point books:

Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos (the word "love" in the title)

The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga (animal in the title)

Dragonfly In Amber by Diana Gabaldon (color in the title)

10 point books:

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (body part in title)

The Chicago Way by Michael Harvey (city, country, or continent in title)

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (book by author I hadn't read before)

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling (YA book)

15 point books:

Bleachers by John Grisham (book about football, hockey, or basketball)

Dead to the World and Dead as a Doornail of Sookie Stackhouse Series by Charlaine Harris (read a book in a series and the one after it)

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (book you read in High School)

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison (book by African American author)

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (book on 1001 books to read before you die list)

The Chocolate War by Robert Comier (banned book)

The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger (already saw the movie for)

The Shack by William P. Young (on bestseller list)

The Master Butchers Singing Club by Louise Erdrich (occupation in the title)

25 point books:

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman and movie (read book then watch movie)

2666 by Roberto Bolaño (700+ page book)

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon and made Scottish Eggs (read book and cook meal inspired by it)

The books that really stick out in my mind as being GREAT! are definitely Outlander, 2666, and The Chocolate War. Probably the worst book of the bunch was The Shack. I was completely unimpressed and PBS'd that book right away. Now I'm looking forward to the Spring Book Challenge! I'll have my list of topics and options up later today hopefully.

I'm Back! with two reviews :)

I was away at my husband's cousin's wedding this past weekend in Raleigh, NC. It was a lot of fun and very cool! Both the bride and groom went to West Point so there were a few men in uniform and they entered the reception under a traditional sword arch. It was awesome since I had never seen that before (in person at least).

So, to get to and from this wedding, we drove. a whole 13 or so hours each way. I'm a little disappointed in myself because I was only able to finish two books. But I'm glad I brought a couple extra because my mother-in-law ended up reading Sin in the Second City and liking it, even though she said that it was nothing that she would have picked up on her own.

The Master Butchers Singing Club has been on my bookshelf for YEARS. yes, literally years. I've picked it up several times, read the first 30 or so pages, then put it down and moved on to something else. Finally, (since it would earn a whopping 15 points for the Winter Book Challenge) I was determined to finish it. I'm SO glad that I did because I ended up really enjoying it! The first 60-ish pages are a little slow, but it begins picking up a bit after that and I really ended up getting wrapped up in the trials and tribulations of the main character, Delphine.

The novel first introduces the reader to Fidelis. A master butcher who has learned the trade from generations before him in Germany. After the first world war, Fidelis travels to the United States (Argus, North Dakota to be exact) and begins a butcher shop in order to bring his wife, Eva, and son over. Fidelis and his wife end up having 4 boys. When Delphine is introduced, she is in a travelling Vaudeville act with her partner Cyprian (who is gay). She decides to return to her hometown of Argus where she can care for her alcoholic and potential murderer of a father. She ends up getting a job at Fidelis' butcher shop and becomes close friends with Eva. Drama ensues, and Delphine's life turns upside down rather quickly as she struggles to find which path her life should take and what the secrets of her past are.

There were lots of moments during this novel where I definitely didn't expect what happened! The twists and turns were fantastic, and I felt completely involved with Delphine's life. I think that the difficulty I had when getting into this book was just realizing that it was really about Delphine and not Fidelis, so it was a struggle to stop wanting to know more about him and focusing on her.

9 out of 10 stars. If you are into historical fiction at all, I'd definitely recommend this one!

I pink-purple puffy heart the Harry Potter series. I have reread the first four probably 3-4 times each, but I wanted to go through them all again in preparation to read the fifth, sixth, and seventh (which I've only read once each) again before the sixth movie comes out in July. The fourth book is definitely one of my favorites of the series. It's action packed and so heart-wrenching at the end (OH CEDRIC!!! WHY!??!) and sets the tone for the rest of the series, which ends up getting very serious. I guess that I'm just going to leave it at that! If you've read Harry Potter, then you know what happens and if you haven't then you should! NOW! I mean it!

10 out of 10 stars for Harry numero 4. One of the best in the series, in my humble opinion.

And now for one last non-book related thing...We stopped in a little kind of Podunk town on Sunday while in the midst of driving because they had a B-dubs and we HAD to watch our Michigan State Spartans coached by the wonderful Tom Izzo kick Louisville's booty!

Final four, here we come!!!! Hubs is debating whether or not we will get tickets, since the final four is in Detroit. They are going for around $350 or so, so we're not so sure it's going to happen but East Lansing sure will be a fun place to be that night! Hopefully there won't be any rioting. I was in the dorms there during the 2003 disturbance (locked down!) Fun Times!!

Book Review: a bestseller

The Shack

by William P. Young

248 pages

It's hard for a book that's been on the New York Times' bestseller list for weeks and weeks to really live up to its hype. Add in a bunch of talk about how controversial this novel is, and it gets REALLY tough to go into reading it with an open mind and not expecting too much. I think that may have been one of my problems with this novel...

The Shack is about a man named Mack whose daughter is abducted and murdered while him and some of his other children are camping. Mack gets lost in the grief of losing his daughter, enters into what he calls "The Great Sadness", and quits having a relationship with God. One day, Mack gets a letter in the mail with no post mark. It simply tells him that it's been too long and he should come to the shack (where his daughter's bloody dress was found). It is signed from "Papa" which is Mack's wife's name for God. She has a very personal relationship with God and therefore feels close enough to call him "Papa" rather than God or Father.

Mack figures it's either a cruel joke, the killer trying to get him, or may it really is God. So, his wife and kids head out of town (not knowing Mack's plans) and Mack heads up to the shack. God is up there to meet him and He appears to Mack as a black woman, while Jesus is a homely looking Jewish man, and the Holy Spirit, Sarayu, is a small Asian woman. Mack spend the weekend with God (all three parts) and learns a lot about the relationship you should have with God, what God wants from us, what His plan is, and how to live your life with God's intentions in mind. Once he gets home, few people believe him but, of course, he's a changed man.

Now, the first and probably biggest controversy surrounding this book is the whole "God is a black woman" thing. Well, really, God is just showing himself as a black woman. He even says in the book that he's neither man nor woman, black nor white, etc. Also in the Bible, it says that God may show himself to you whenever, and as whoever or whatever, he pleases. On top of that, this is a work of fiction, so it's not like there aren't crazier things out there written! So I could get past the weirdness of things like that. What I couldn't really get past was the cheesy dialogue. The writing just wasn't GOOD* or engaging really. And that's what I think really got me disliking this book. I understand that it could have a pretty good message within it, and that it could really help some people going through a tough time after losing someone, but I just like my books to be well written on top of having a good message.

Overall, 5.5 out of 10 stars. I wouldn't read it again and I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone personally, but some people may get some good out of it...just not really me.

*Yes, I know that Stephenie Meyer's writing isn't GOOD either, but I didn't really expect a teenage vampire romance book to have good writing on top of all the drama...but a book about someone meeting God and talking with Him all weekend?? I just expected more.

Review: The Devil Wears Prada

The Devil Wears Prada

By Lauren Weisberger

360 pages

I think that this book is best suited to read when you are lounging in the sun by the lake/pool/beach. But, I read it for the Winter Book Challenge topic "Read a book that you've already seen the movie of." I really loved the movie The Devil Wears Prada. I thought that it was funny and touching and Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway are great, so when I saw this at the library sale for a quarter, I picked it up!

The book starts out pretty similar to the movie. Andrea "Andy" Sachs is hired as a junior assistant for the editor of Runway magazine, Miranda Priestly. Miranda is an insanely powerful woman in the fashion industry and is not the easiest woman to work for, to put it lightly. Andy is hoping that her year of servitude to a demanding and bitchy Miranda will help her to be placed in a position as a writer for The New Yorker. As she gets her life more and more taken over by Miranda's "needs", Andy begins losing her friends, family, and self along the way. Finally, Andy has to make a decision between her career and her friends and moral values when something happens to her best friend while she is in Paris with Miranda. Does she stay and lose her friend? Or does she go and lose her job and future opportunity?

SPOILERS: The main difference between the book and the movie is that in the book, Miranda never has a real human moment. There's one short conversation with Andy where she tells her that she's not doing a terrible job and says that she may get a referral from her for The New Yorker, but that's it. She's really just a mean, nasty person. In the movie, Meryl Streep's Miranda is trying to be unseated from her editor position and is having marital problems so you begin to sympathize with her (as does Andy). Movie Andy quits her job solely because Miranda tells her that Andy is just like her when she was younger. Book Andy quits because not only did Miranda say that Andy was like her, but also her best friend was in a car accident (due to her downward spiral into alcoholism) and is in a coma back home and when Andy tells Miranda that she is going to stay in Paris despite her friend being in the hospital and Miranda approves, Andy gives her a hearty "F*$& you!" and storms off to return to her family and friends.

It seems like the movie just tries to make everything less controversial than the book. No alcoholic best friend, no mean but with a good heart boss, and no huge moral dilemma facing main character. It's tough to like a movie, then read the book and see how much more the movie could have been because I'm starting to feel that I didn't like the movie as much as I thought. I think that the movie people could have hit on some much tougher issues (like alcoholism and making the right choices) than it did now that I've read the book. But oh well, just another case of "book better than the movie" syndrome! Luckily I got to enjoy the movie first this time!

8 out of 10 stars for the book. Would be a great, light summer read.

Book Review: The Chocolate War

The Chocolate War

by Robert Comier

253 pages

One of the 15 point tasks for the Winter Book Challenge was to read a frequently banned or challenged book. I really wanted to read something that I hadn't read yet, or hadn't even heard of before. Looking through the lists, I found The Chocolate War and decided to read it because I wanted to know why people got so worried about exposing our youth to this book. It turns up as #2 on the most challenged books of 2007 list. I like to think that challenging books is a thing from the past, like people today have GOT to have enough sense to know that first, removing a book from a school library isn't going to stop interested kids in reading it, and second that just because someone reads a book doesn't mean they are going to get "bad ideas" from it. But no, people still challenge and try to remove books from libraries today. I have this crazy idea that all previously challenged books should be on school curriculum because then, as the student is reading it, they can discuss what the controversial parts are and how they are feeling about the book. But maybe that's just me...

Anyways, on to the book. The Chocolate War is about a kid named Jerry Renault who is a freshman at Trinity Catholic High School. Every year, the school puts on a chocolate sale to raise money for the school (so tuition rates don't increase, etc.). This year, the students are "asked" to sell twice as many boxes as the year before (50 instead of 25) at double the price ($2 instead of $1). Brother Leon, who is filling in at the headmaster position while the actual headmaster is ill, is heading up the sale and asked the school's secret society, The Vigils, to back the sale. The Vigils aren't publicly talked about throughout the school. They are a small group of students who make "assignments" for other students that include ridiculous pranks, such as loosening every screw in a classroom so that every desk, chair, and even the chalk board falls apart when touched. The Vigils are basically untouchable. No teacher speaks their name, no student defies them, and no one gets caught.

One day, Jerry gets a message for an assignment from The Vigils. He's suppose to say "no" to selling the chocolates for 10 days. For some reason, which Jerry himself can't even put into words, he continues to say "no" to the chocolate sale. He is defying Brother Leon (who is kind of terrifying), The Vigils, and, by the end, the whole school. All the while, the poster in the back of Jerry's locker is asking "Do we dare disturb the universe?"

This novel was fantastic. It was tough, and real, and kind of gritty. Nothing was perfect for any of the characters so they were all very realistic. Was there violence, strong language, and sexual references? Well, yea, in some parts. But there were also some strong, important messages. Any teenager in high school now would have already been exposed to all that there is in this book, whether the parents choose to acknowledge it or not. I think that someone struggling to fit in at their high school could get a lot out of a novel about someone who defies the crowd.

9 out of 10 stars.

Book Review: The Secret Life of Bees

The Secret Life of Bees
By Sue Monk Kidd
336 pages


I've been wanting to read this book for a long time, since before I even knew they were making it into a movie. I just never got around to it! I even had it held at one point at the library, but never got to it. Then I went to the library book sale and as I was checking out with my goods, I saw the woman collecting money sorting through a stack of books. This one was in that stack so I asked if it was going back into the "sale" piles and she said that it was one of the ones that she was taking. I just shrugged and said alright and went to pay for my books. Then she turned to me and goes "ya know what? I have a huge stack of books to read yet...are you going to be coming back next month?" Um, YES! I love rummaging through piles and piles of books. "Alright," she says, "I'll put my name on a post it in this one and you take it tonight and just bring it back to me next month." I was kind of in shock that she would let me take her book, when I've never met her before! Who says there aren't kind, trusting people still out there in the world!? So, it was by a stanger's act of kindness that this book ended up at the top of my nightstand pile, and boy, am I happy it did!

The Secret Life of Bees is a story of a 14 year old girl whose mother died when she was young and she is living with her jerk of a father, T. Ray, and a black "stand in mother" named Rosaleen. It's 1964 in South Carolina so you can cut the racial tension with a knife. When Rosaleen heads to town (with Lily) to register to vote, she gets in a load of trouble by insulting three white men. Lily, wanting to escape her life with T. Ray, help Rosaleen, and learn more about her mother, breaks Rosaleen out of jail and heads to Tiburon, SC. This particular town was written on the back of a picture of a black Mary that had belonged to her mother.

In Tiburon, Lily and Rosaleen are taken in by the Boatwright sisters, three African American women named August, May, and June. They are beekeepers and August teaches Lily the ropes. Through it all, Lily begins to trust and love August despite the racial stigmas in place in the time and learns about her mother and who her father used to be.

The story is touching and the writing is just beautiful. I thoroughly enjoyed this one and will be looking to pick up the other novel by Sue Monk Kidd, The Mermaid Chair. Oh, and I want to see the movie now. Dakota Fanning isn't what I pictured Lily looking like (since she's described as having dark hair) but I love her and I thought that Queen Latifah would play Rosaleen but really QL is playing August and Jennifer Hudson is playing Rosaleen...not what I was picturing but it looks good!

9 out of 10 stars.

Book Review: The Bluest Eye

The Bluest Eye

by Toni Morrison

206 pages





I kind of had to drag myself to the computer to write this review. It's not that I didn't like this book...I just didn't LOVE it. I totally get why it won awards, how Toni Morrison is brilliant, and why I should love it but, I guess it just wasn't my cup of tea.

The Bluest Eye has a very serious topics within it. The title comes from the way that the black girls in the novel are shown that the standards of "beauty" are white characteristics like blond hair and blue eyes. This is addressed by one of the young girls in the book when she receives a baby doll with blue eyes and blond hair and ends up tearing it up out of anger and frustration. The main character in the book, a young girl named Pecola, is raped by her father, becomes pregnant, and the baby dies. I found it interesting that Pecola is the main character, yet none of the chapters focus on her, while they do focus on the lives of the children around her, and her mother and father's childhoods.

Overall, I see that the novel is beautifully written but I just couldn't enjoy the characters like I want to when reading. Although, I don't think that I was really suppose to in this one.

I have to say 6 out of 10 stars. I have one more of her novels sitting on my nightstand that I'll get to eventually. Maybe I'll like that one more.

Review: Middlesex

Middlesex

by Jeffrey Eugenides

529 pages







The first line of this book really catches your attention.

“I was born twice: first, as a baby girl, on a remarkably smogless Detroit day in January of 1960; and then again, as a teenage boy, in an emergency room near Petoskey, Michigan, in August of 1974.”

The story is told by a 41-year-old Cal Stephanides, who was born Calliope Stephanides. He tells of his grandparent's journey to America from Turkey, what they experienced once in America, how his parents met, and how he came to be born with 5-alpha-reductase deficiency. 5-alpha-reductase is the enzyme responsible for converting testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, which is necessary for the development of male external reproductive organs in utero. Since Cal lacked this enzyme, his outer genitalia never full developed which caused him to be raised as a girl until the age of 14, when his condition was discovered and he decided to live as a boy.

I got much more from this novel than I expected. I really thought that it was going to be a story of a girl who really felt like she was a boy growing up, only to find out that she really is a boy. But, it was more about Cal's family and life growing up as a teenage girl, who had normal teenage girl worries (when am I going to get boobs???) and then found out about his true sexuality and made a conscious decision to live as a male. It's not quite the "I was born a girl, but really FELT that I was a boy my whole life" story, which makes it very unique. The other thing that surprised me about this novel was that the focus wasn't about Cal the whole time. It really focused on each member of his family at one point so I felt that I knew each one of them and their story.

I can definitely see why this book is on the 1001 books to read before you die list. It's a very interesting read.

8.5 out of 10 stars

Book Review: Of Mice and Men

Of Mice and Men

by John Steinbeck

105 pages






This book fell under the "read a book you read in high school" category of the Winter Book Challenge. I feel like I remember surprisingly few books that I read in High School. To Kill a Mockingbird, Romeo and Juliet, The Grapes of Wrath, and Of Mice and Men are all that really come to mind. I know that there are more, but I just can't think of them! Anyways, I picked Of Mice and Men because it's the one that I remember the least about even though I remember the class that I read it for very well since the teacher, Mr. Bailey, was one of my favorites! He was a laid back, free thinking, varsity baseball coaching, former (?) hippie kind of teacher who every one thought was awesome. Unfortunately, the themes of this book got lost in my memory of that class in exchange for Mr. Bailey's stories of hitch hiking across the US in the seventies. (Don't worry, he always told us that this was a poor decision on his part and hitch hiking is dangerous! haha).

Anyways, this book is about two men, George Milton and Lennie Smalls, who are traveling together and working on ranches during the Great Depression in California. George has promised to take care of Lennie since he is "not too bright" and it is evident that Lennie has some mental handicaps. George has a plan to make some money and buy a piece of land so him and Lennie can live off their own land and Lennie will be safe. Lennie just seems to get in trouble because he doesn't understand rules, social conduct, or his own strength.

As George and Lennie begin working at a new ranch, their dream of owning their own place seems to be becoming more of a reality until Lennie accidentally kills the ranch owner's son's wife while trying to stroke her hair (he likes to pet soft things). A lynch mob is formed to go get Lennie but George finds him first and takes his friend's life himself to save him from a painful death.

I definitely got more out of this book this time around. There are several themes running through this short novella that I didn't remember from reading it the first time such as loneliness, love, dreams, and friendship. All through the book, George is questioned for traveling with Lennie since most migrant ranch workers travel alone and for having a dream of owning his own place when few men actually achieve it. And in the end, with Lennie gone, George just becomes another lone migrant worker with a far fetched dream that will probably never happen.

8 out of 10 stars. Definitely a good read, especially for the hour and a half or so it would take to finish.

Book Review: Dragonfly in Amber

Dragonfly In Amber (Book 2 of Outlander Series)

by Diana Gabaldon

747 pages

Wow oh wow. I love this series. LOVE it. (see Outlander review here) Alright, here's the jist of this one:

At the beginning of the book, Claire is in 1968 and has lived in her correct time for 20 years, none of those years being in Scotland. Frank has died. She has a daughter, the spitting image of Jamie, with whom she finally returns to Scotland with to reveal her true, yet bizarre, time travel story. Of course her daughter doesn't believe her and is all upset and angst-y. So *flashback* while Claire tells the story of how she came to be back in present time, pregnant with Jamie's child.

Claire is back in 1744 and is married to Jamie. Jamie has survived some serious injuries (thanks to Claire) and they've now decided that they must try to stop the Rising of '45 (with Bonnie Prince Charlie and all that) and the battle of Culloden from happening. So, they head on over to France, Jamie takes over his cousin's merchant business while he's away, and they make nice with members of High Society. Jamie makes friends with Prince Charlie to become closer to him and hires a boy, affectionately renamed Fergus, to pickpocket letters to Prince Charlie and other influential people from mail carriers. Through the pick-pocketed letters and their correspondences with people, Claire and Jamie think that they've prevented Prince Charlie from coming to Scotland and initiating the Rising. While all this is happening, Claire is pregnant and a very bad person from the first book comes back into their lives.

Through a series of unfortunate events, Claire loses the baby and Jamie is put into prison (again). Claire manages to get him out but they must go back to Scotland, not really knowing if they'd accomplished their task or not. Once back in Scotland, life at Lallybroch goes on quite nicely for a while until a letter is received saying that Prince Charlie is coming over to Scotland to take over the thrown and it is signed by several clan leaders, including Jamie. Outraged by the Prince forging his signature, Jamie really has no choice but to join in the battle and back the Prince and help him win. Once again, Jamie and Claire are thrown back into a life of traveling, outlaw, battles, and injuries.

In the end, the Battle of Culloden is inevitable but Jamie knows that if he's going to die, then Claire must go back through the stones so she will be safe. Also, they discover that she is pregnant again. Yet another reason for her to go back. Their goodbye is heart wrenching, especially when Jamie tells her that he knows that she has the worse end of the bargain since he will go on to the battle and die, yet she will be the one living with her heart broken. Oh, this definitely brought on my tears! Finally, Claire goes back through the stones. Frank is still there, after three years of her being missing, and continues to be with her even after discovering that she's pregnant.

Come back to current time (1968) and Claire is finishing her story to her daughter, Brianna, and a historian, Roger. Roger believes her and has been helping her find out what happened to the Lallybroch men after Culloden. Claire has been sure this whole time that Jamie died at Culloden but Roger discovers a piece of text indicating otherwise. Pseudo-spoiler alert! (or maybe not since there are several more books in this series...) Jamie didn't die. Somewhere back in the 18th century, he is still alive. Will Claire risk going back again to find Jamie?!?! Duh duhn duhnnnnnnn....

9.5 out of 10 stars. Outlander was slightly better because this one did have some slow parts. Still, it took all of my willpower not to pick up Voyager (the next in the series) when I returned this one to the library. I have to read other books for the WBC!!

Review: Outlander!

Outlander (1st in series)

by Diana Gabaldon

627 pages

The ladies on The Nest Book Club board have been RAVING about this book since I've been frequenting over there (and I'm sure longer than that). The WBC was definitely a good excuse to finally read it! And wow, I'm just so in love with this book, I can hardly stand it. (although I'm not so in love with the romance-ish cover art that my library copy had...)

The story begins in Iverness, Scotland in 1945. Claire and her husband, Frank Randall, are on a second honeymoon to revitalize their marriage since the were separated for most of the war. Frank, a historian, was some sort of officer for the British military and Claire was a military nurse. One day, Claire discovers a stone henge and upon walking through the stones, she is transported back some 200 years to Scotland circa 1743.

Claire doesn't know where (or when) she is at first and is discovered first by Jonathan "Black Jack" Randall, her husband's 6-times great grandfather. Turns out, he's really not so grand and actually a big perv. Then a band of Scottish thieves kidnap Claire and take her to a cottage where she first meets Jamie Fraser. She mends his dislocated shoulder (much to the shock of the Scots, I mean who IS this crazily dressed, odd Englishwoman!?) and they take her with them to the castle of their clan's Laird (er, Lord? in English...).

Well, Jack Randall is definitely NOT done with Claire, and it turns out that he has a wanting for Jamie (an outlaw with a price on his head) as well. This unfortunate series of events leads to Claire having to marry Jamie so she's safe from the English (since now she's a Scot). Anyways, things aren't really "happily ever after" for the Fraser's and Claire is almost persecuted as a witch and Jamie almost gets hanged and it's kind of a big mess. But a wonderful mess that made me want to hug them and cry for them, then hug them some more!! And Jamie, oh Jamie...I love this character. He's strong and brave, and handsome and loving and funny, yet pig-headed and stubborn. And did I mention handsome? and strong?? ummm yea, he's just an amazing character. While reading this, and after finishing it, I would find myself just daydreaming about Jamie and Claire. I loved them so much that I just didn't want to stop having them around yet. Which is probably why I've found a way to fit the next book in the series, Dragonfly In Amber, into my WBC even if it is reading a 700+ page book for only 5 points!

Now the question of the day, if I had my choice of literary crushes, who would I choose? Jamie or Edward (from Twilight)?? Hmmm...I think that Edward may eek this one out by just a smidgen only because Jamie seems to ALWAYS be getting gravely injured and it tears my heart out to read about that!

Rating: 10 out of 10! Go read this NOW! it's amazing and full of love, history, humor, action...it just has it all!!!

Outlander Teaser!!!

It's Teaser Tuesdays, so you know what that means!

• Grab your current read.
• Let the book fall open to a random page.
  
• Share with us two (2) “teaser” sentences from that page, somewhere between lines 7 and 12.
• You also need to share the title of the book that you’re getting your “teaser” from … that way people can have some great book recommendations if they like the teaser you’ve given!
• Please avoid spoilers!

Hearing her name spoken in that casual Highland lilt-"L'heer"-suddenly made me irrationally angry. "Oh, so you have been with her!" I snapped.

From Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (Hardcover), p. 313, lines 7-9. This is a teaser for me too since I haven't gotten this far yet. I *love* Jamie so far though and I had a hard time not reading more!!!

P.S.

For all you Nestie readers...

I'm just starting the much talked about on the boards Outlander! I'm pretty excited :) Hopefully I like it!

Review: The Chicago Way

The Chicago Way

by Michael Harvey

303 pages

My mom and I picked up this book off the "buy two get a third free" table at Barnes and Noble a couple weeks ago. We each picked one book then needed a third. As we were browsing we picked this one up, read the back (which looked intriguing), saw that John Grisham pimped it on the front, and I needed a book with a city, country, or continent in the title for WBC so we got it. And I got to read it first.

This book is about Michael Kelly, an ex-cop turned Private Investigator in downtown Chicago. His former partner, John Gibbons, who he hasn't seen in years, shows up at his office on day to get his help on a attempted murder/rape case that occurred years before and was somehow "lost" and never solved. The girl who had been the victim had come to John recently since he was the one who had found her and originally arrested the suspect (who was released for some unknown reason). Later that night, Gibbons was found murdered. Michael Kelly began investigating the murder of Gibbons, the attempted murder/rape cold case, and serveral other murders that seem to somehow all be connected.

I got so into this book! The writing style was very fitting for a Chicago, Irish P.I. so I fell right in with the character. And the ending, oh I didn't see this one coming at all! It was a great example of the "good guys" not always being good and "bad guys" not always being so bad, and I kind of love that. I've already told my mom that this book was definitely worth reading, told my husband that he should read it (he's not really much of a reader so it's tough finding things that he might like!), and I put Michael Harvey's second book on my PaperBackSwap wishlist! And maybe I'll even start watching Michael Harvey's show Cold Case Files on A&E, which he hilariously plugged in the book. Hey, can't blame a guy for getting new people to watch his show!

9 out of 10 stars.

Book Review: The Handmaid's Tale

The Handmaid's Tale

by Margaret Atwood

311 pages

The United States is a completely different world in this book. A military group takes over and everything is changed from a country much like the one we are currently in (except perhaps with more open sexual displays) to one where women are stripped of their jobs, money, and significant others (unless you are in your first heterosexual marriage). The US is renamed the Republic of Gilead. Women are not allowed to be single or live on their own. They are put into a position in society such as a Wife who is married to a ranking officer, a Martha who is a cook/maid in the house, an Econowife married to a poor man, or a Handmaid who is there to conceive a child with the ranking officer. Each caste of women have a specific dress code. The Wives wear blue, Marthas are in green, and Handmaids are in red. This ensures that everyone knows the caste of everyone else.

This story is told by Offred (a name that means she is the Handmaid of Fred, the Commander). She is living at the home of the Commander and it is her third and final chance to conceive a child or else she will be relocated to The Colonies and be declared an Unwoman (infertile woman, unfit for integration into Gilead society). This society structure is a fairly recent occurrence (within the past 10 or less years it seems) so Offred still remembers her past life with her husband (a divorcee), daughter, books (Handmaids aren't allowed to read), and job. It's so sad reading about how Offred (her former name is never revealed) remembers her past life and feels those memories slipping away.

Like any other society, people are corrupt. Offred, like other Handmaids before her, is coerced into spending time with the Commander during the night at times other than the "ceremony" which takes place once a month in attempt to get Offred pregnant. She also begins a relationship with the chauffeur, Nick, which was started by the Wife in order to increase Offred's chances of conceiving. Offred continues to see Nick without the knowledge of the Wife and without knowing whether he is an Eye (member of the Internal Intelligence Agency) or a member of the resistance who can help her.

I'm glad that I read this book since it knocked another one of the 1001 list for me (total up to 17 now!) but, I didn't LOVE it. I was wrapped into it throughout most of the book, but I think that that was only because I was so curious to understand all the parts of Offred's world and what would happen to her. Everything was revealed very slowly since Offred was narrating and revealing things as she remembered them or came across them. I guess sometimes I like rules of the society in the book laid out for me ahead of time. The other thing that bothered me was the ending. The last chapter written by Offred ends with her being taken away. Then it goes to a chapter which is a speaker in the future giving a lecture on Gilead society. It's obvious that the Republic of Gilead came to end but I wasn't really told how or what happened. Also, I never found out exactly what happened to Offred, which just bothers me! You would think that after the rave review of 2666 which had an ending that didn't really resolve a whole lot, I wouldn't mind this ending but man! It bugs me A LOT. I guess I just got attached to Offred so much that I just wanted to know that she ended up okay. Nothing wrong with that I suppose!

7 out of 10 stars

Book Review: The White Tiger

So, I decided to change the blog look. I like this much better! Anywho, on to the book...

The White Tiger

By Aravind Adiga

276 pages

I picked this book up at the library because I saw it on the "Recent Releases" (which in my teeny tiny library just means that they recently acquired it) and I had remembered hearing something about it and seeing that it won an award (The Man Booker Prize). PLUS! It qualifies for the WBC, which will be a theme present until March 31st.

The format of this book was not what I expected. I went into it thinking that it was just going to be a straightforward, chapter by chapter story told in third person. Nope! It's a first person narrative, told in letters over the course of 7 days (well nights really). The narrator is Balram Halwai and he is writing to the Premier of the State Council of the Republic of China, Wen Jaibao, to tell him of his upbringing in India and his rise to become a great entrepreneur and murderer.

Balram grew up in a small village as the son of a rickshaw driver. He was smart and attended school for a while (where he was given the name White Tiger) until he family became too poor and needed him to work. He learns how to drive and becomes the driver for a very high up family, for which he becomes a faithful servant. Throughout his story, Balram discusses the caste system in place, what makes him different from his masters, and what keeps him a servant. Eventually, his ideas lead him to kill his master and become his own man.

I wasn't sure that I liked this book at first, but after the first couple sections, I got used to the writing style and really got sucked in. The main character is likable and kind of endearing in a way, despite being a murderer and I ended up really enjoying his story.

7.5 out of 10 stars.

Book Review: Love Walked In

Love Walked In

by Marisa de los Santos

307 pages

I got this book on a whim when I was getting a few other books from Barnes and Noble dot com during their after Christmas sale. I just can't pass up books for under $4! As I was browsing for more bargains, I came upon this book. I vaguely remembered hearing something about it and it got good reviews on B&N so, I decided to give it a shot. Plus, it could count towards my WBC (Love in the title)!

The two main characters are Cornelia (a 31 year old cafe manager) and Clare (an eleven year old girl), who alternate telling their part of the story each chapter. One day a man, Martin, walks into Cornelia's cafe and she gets swept into a relationship with him. He's handsome and suave, and always seems to say the right thing, but you can tell that something just isn't there between them. Clare's story begins at her home where she lives with her single mother who begins doing peculiar things like buy sets of towels in every color imaginable, or get tons of cookbooks and cook in the middle of the night only to throw it all out before even tasting it, and then she begins to forget that Clare is even there, forcing Clare to take care of herself and hide the fact that her mother is ill.

Clare and Cornelia's world collide when Martin one day shows up at the cafe with Clare. Clare's mother, Viviana, has disappeared leaving Clare with no choice but to go to her father, Martin. When Clare begins sobbing in the cafe, Cornelia runs to her and embraces her, even though they have never met and she didn't even know that Clare existed. The two of them form an unbreakable bond, even when things around both of them begin falling apart.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I felt like I knew Clare and Cornelia, and a couple of the secondary characters and by the middle of the book, I was rooting for their happy ending. Martin was also so real to me because he had this HUGE flaw (absolutely horrible father, he just couldn't open up emotionally) but there Cornelia was, trying to give him the benefit of the doubt and help him to help his daughter for as long as she could. Hello!!...welcome to my past relationships. A guy that seems pretty perfect but has some huge flaw, but I swear, he has such potential to be a really great person!!! Every time Martin came into a scene, I would sit there shaking my head because I know that I would have given this guy the benefit of every doubt. And I was! Because I sat there the entire time just hoping and praying that he would turn into a great father and him and Cornelia could have a baby and he'd be a great dad! haha. Oh, aren't I just the eternal optimist?!

Anyway, though this book did have a happy ending that came together maybe a little too perfect, the characters were real and likable and I felt happy right along with them. I'm passing this one to my mom this weekend!

8.75 out of 10 stars

The Golden Compass

by Philip Pullman

399 pages

I can't believe that I hadn't read this book until now. Growing up, I LOVED The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe and I feel like this could be put into that genre of literature. Maybe it was just printed too late in my childhood...Regardless, I'm glad that I've read it now! I really enjoyed this book.

The story is about Lyra, an eleven year old girl who lives in a world where people's souls are in the form of daemons, or animals, that walk along side them. In childhood, your daemon can change shape at will but once you reach adulthood, your daemon settles into one particular animal form (which usually tells something about your own character, for instance servants tend to have dog daemons). Lyra is orphaned as a baby and her uncle takes her to live at Jordan College in Oxford, England. It is here where she learns about the Gobblers who are stealing children who are never seen again, and about Dust, which settles on adults whose daemons have settled into one form. One night, a woman named Mrs. Coulter comes to dinner and is given permission by the Master of Jordan College to take Lyra on as an assistant. Before Lyra leaves the Master gives her an Alethiometer, a device that when read properly tells the truth, and she is not to let Mrs. Coulter know that she has it. The alethiometer looks like a golden compass, with symbols all around the face instead of directions, hence the name of the book.

While living with Mrs. Coulter and waiting to be taken to the North, as promised, Lyra discovered that Mrs. Coulter is the head of the General Oblation Board (Gobblers) and is responsible for all the children that have been taken. She flees and is rescued by the gyptians who take her on their boat, to the North, to save the stolen children. Along the way, Lyra learns to read the alethiometer, decides to save her uncle, Lord Asriel, since he has been taken prisoner, and discovers what is happening to the stolen children. Also, she learns why the church and GOB are so afraid of Dust. Dust is the elementary particle that is Original Sin. It allows for the connection between humans and their daemon, and allows for free thought, intelligence, and wisdom. The ending of the book was particularly chilling and thought-provoking as you realized that the things that seems to be good throughout the book, very well may not be. So, in the end, Lyra must go on on her own.

Now, I had to watch the movie version in order to count 25 points towards the WBC! I was pretty excited to see this movie since I heard about all the controversy surrounding it when it first came out and, now having read it, I wanted to see how the book was going to transfer into cinema.

I thought that the first 2/3 of the movie was great. It was pretty much the same story line and time period as the book and flowed really nicely. However, as soon as Lyra set out for the North, it started to deviate a lot from the book. The whole escape plan for the children was rushed, the scene with the King of the armored bears was much shorter than it should have been, AND (most importantly!!!) they left off the ending!!!!! Yes, the end is sad and controversial, but it's KEY to the story! you can't have another movie without that part! And, you can't grasp the underlying idea of the fine line between good and evil that the author is trying to portray. This was just so dissappointing. The only redeeming qualities of the movie were that Nicole Kidman was fantastic as Mrs. Coulter, Daniel Craig always looks good (even though he should have been at the end!!), and the CGI bears were really well done.

Overall, for the book, I'll most likely read the next two in the His Dark Materials series and for the movie, I'm glad I saw it and would see the sequel (if they make it but I don't think that they are) but only to see the part left out of the end of the first movie!


book: 8 out of 10 stars
movie: 6 out of 10 stars.

Recommended by Hubs

Title: Bleachers

Author: John Grisham

number of pages: 192

I picked up this book because I needed a fiction (or nonfiction) book about football, basketball, or hockey for the Winter Book Challenge. Originally, I was going to read Tony Dungee's (former coach of the Indy Colts) autobiography, but when my husband saw the list he said that I should read Bleachers. I'm glad I listened to him!

Bleachers is about a man named Neely Crenshaw who returns to his small hometown of Messina when he finds out that their "beloved" head football coach is set to die of cancer any day now. Neely was the star quarterback in high school 15 years ago and looking like he was going to win the Heisman when he blew out his knee during his sophomore year of college and never played again. He never wanted to return to Messina since football was the way of life there and he would never play again, and he never wanted to see his coach again because of an altercation during the state finals game his senior year. During his 4 day stay in Messina, Neely reconnects with old friends, remembers why he loved football in the first place, and realizes whether he loved or hated his former coach.

This book was one that had a lot more to it than just football stories. It talked about different kinds of love and loss, and realizing how things in your past shape you to be who you are at the present. I was definitely crying at the end! Oh, and it only took me maybe 4-5 hours to read.

7 out of 10 stars.

Sookie Stackhouse #5

Title: Dead as a Doornail

Author: Charlaine Harris

number of pages: 295

Yay! Another 15 points for my Winter Book Challenge for reading a book in a series and the one following it! See previous posts for background on the Sookie Stackhouse series.

In this book, someone is "randomly" shooting people in the town of Bon Temps, LA. Sookie, of course, knows that the shootings aren't random because each person who has been shot is two-natured, i.e. a supe or supernatural being. Sookie herself has had part of her house burnt down and has been shot. So she's out trying to figure out who's trying to kill all the supes, especially since her brother (fresh from some bites) is now a supe and is under suspiscion.

Meanwhile, the packmaster of the Shreveport (nearby city) werewolves has died and a new leader of the pack (vroom, vroom...alright I just couldn't resist!) must be appointed. Sookie is approached by Alcide (son of one the of candidates for packmaster, and a friend of Sookie's from book 3) to come to all the "election" gatherings since she is a Friend of the Pack. Also, the challenger to his father is suspected of cheating and Sookie with her telepathy could bring that to light.

Alcide and Sookie have been potential love interests for the past couple of books but have always had some things get in the way (like Bill and Alcide's crazy on and off girlfriend Debbie), but I love him. I wish that things could work out between them because he's shown as being caring, kind, and protective (in a good way) to Sookie. I felt SO bad for him in this book because a lot of things happened that probably just crushed him. I'm hoping that things work out a little better for him in the next book! But, in Sookie's world, nothing seems to work out neatly. It will probably be a few weeks before I get to the next one since I have other books to read for the Challenge but I'm still looking forward to it!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.