By Stephanie Perkins (273 pp ebook)
I keep forgetting to put my books up. I've read a bunch of romance and YA lately. This is a really sweet YA romance about a girl whose Dad sends her to school in Paris for her senior year of high school. She doesn't want to go. She would rather stay in America with her friends and a boy she met. She makes new friends and discovers the city and has more boy troubles. It gets a little long and high school drama-y (which, of course it has to) but overall enjoyable and made me wish I could have gone to school in Paris.
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
21. All the Bright Places
By Jennifer Niven (293 pp ebook)
This is a YA directly aimed at people who loved The Fault in Our Stars. And it totally succeeds. It's about a high school girl who has lost her sister in an accident and she connects with the "weird kid" over what seems to be a suicide exploratory mission. The story is sweet and funny and obviously sad - but I really liked it. Also a bit of a love letter to Indiana. Recommend.
This is a YA directly aimed at people who loved The Fault in Our Stars. And it totally succeeds. It's about a high school girl who has lost her sister in an accident and she connects with the "weird kid" over what seems to be a suicide exploratory mission. The story is sweet and funny and obviously sad - but I really liked it. Also a bit of a love letter to Indiana. Recommend.
Sunday, July 19, 2015
20. Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?
By Roz Chast ((228 pp)
Last year there was a piece in the New Yorker by Roz Chast about dealing with, uh, "end of life" talk with her parents. Link: http://projects.newyorker.com/story/chast-parents
It's funny and sad and heart-breaking and relatable. When her memoir came out I wanted to read it. It'a also funny and sad and heart-breaking. And really, really tough. It's like a horror story about aging. I remember once my Aunt looked at me and said, "You aren't old enough to be scared."
I am now. "Quick and painless" is my mantra.
I recommend for its honesty but it's a tough read. And she did have a tough relationship with her parents that contributed to the difficulty - so comfort yourself with that.
Last year there was a piece in the New Yorker by Roz Chast about dealing with, uh, "end of life" talk with her parents. Link: http://projects.newyorker.com/story/chast-parents
It's funny and sad and heart-breaking and relatable. When her memoir came out I wanted to read it. It'a also funny and sad and heart-breaking. And really, really tough. It's like a horror story about aging. I remember once my Aunt looked at me and said, "You aren't old enough to be scared."
I am now. "Quick and painless" is my mantra.
I recommend for its honesty but it's a tough read. And she did have a tough relationship with her parents that contributed to the difficulty - so comfort yourself with that.
Friday, July 3, 2015
17. 18. 19. The White Mountains Books
By John Christopher
The White Mountains (214 pp)
The City of Gold and Lead (218 pp)
The Pool of Fire (218 pp)
My Mom gave me this set when I was in middle school. The last one was written in 1968. I love this series. I've read it at least 6-7 times over the years. It's a post-alien-invasion YA story where the aliens "cap" humans when they are 13 to control them and make them loyal to the aliens, known only as tripods, as the series opens. The story is about a small group of uncapped that try to free the world. It's a great story. There's lots of action and conflict. Cool ruins. The person telling the story is deeply flawed. You know what else I realized at this reading? There are no women. The protagonist has a Mom but she doesn't figure into the story. They end up at a castle at one point and there is a Comtesse and her daughter and they get speaking parts. That's it. No women anywhere in the resistance movement, not even stuck cooking and cleaning. How are they going to remake the world without women? I know that's how most stories were written then but it was still annoying to see how obvious the omission is, this time through.
The White Mountains (214 pp)
The City of Gold and Lead (218 pp)
The Pool of Fire (218 pp)
My Mom gave me this set when I was in middle school. The last one was written in 1968. I love this series. I've read it at least 6-7 times over the years. It's a post-alien-invasion YA story where the aliens "cap" humans when they are 13 to control them and make them loyal to the aliens, known only as tripods, as the series opens. The story is about a small group of uncapped that try to free the world. It's a great story. There's lots of action and conflict. Cool ruins. The person telling the story is deeply flawed. You know what else I realized at this reading? There are no women. The protagonist has a Mom but she doesn't figure into the story. They end up at a castle at one point and there is a Comtesse and her daughter and they get speaking parts. That's it. No women anywhere in the resistance movement, not even stuck cooking and cleaning. How are they going to remake the world without women? I know that's how most stories were written then but it was still annoying to see how obvious the omission is, this time through.
Thursday, June 18, 2015
16. Every Day
By David Levithan (238 pp ebook)
(Vague spoilers about the ending.) This is a YA book and the premise is that the protagonist wakes up every day in a different body and lives the life of that person. The body is the protagonist's age which is about 16 at this point. The event that triggers the story is that the protagonist falls for the girlfriend of one of the body's he inhabits. This is an interesting idea - how do you make a story out of a person who is in a different life every day and who can't form lasting relationships? I was curious to see how the writer was going to pull it off. And he almost does, I think with a little tweaking he might have made this work well enough, but as it is, I thought it was weak. The protagonist "fixes" it for the girl, which I did not approve of, and then took an action that violated one of his basic rules of living in these other lives.
(Vague spoilers about the ending.) This is a YA book and the premise is that the protagonist wakes up every day in a different body and lives the life of that person. The body is the protagonist's age which is about 16 at this point. The event that triggers the story is that the protagonist falls for the girlfriend of one of the body's he inhabits. This is an interesting idea - how do you make a story out of a person who is in a different life every day and who can't form lasting relationships? I was curious to see how the writer was going to pull it off. And he almost does, I think with a little tweaking he might have made this work well enough, but as it is, I thought it was weak. The protagonist "fixes" it for the girl, which I did not approve of, and then took an action that violated one of his basic rules of living in these other lives.
Saturday, May 30, 2015
15. Reliquary
By Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child (464 pp)
It's been a whole month since I finished a book. How did that happen? I guess since I wasn't sick I was finishing up on other stuff. I wanted a cheezy book to take on a plane across country and this filled the bill. It's a sequel to a book (and movie) about a monster under Manhattan that eats a bunch of people in a museum. This one is about some virus that might turn everyone into this same kind of monster. A lot of it takes place in tunnels deep underground NYC. Entertaining for a plane ride.
It's been a whole month since I finished a book. How did that happen? I guess since I wasn't sick I was finishing up on other stuff. I wanted a cheezy book to take on a plane across country and this filled the bill. It's a sequel to a book (and movie) about a monster under Manhattan that eats a bunch of people in a museum. This one is about some virus that might turn everyone into this same kind of monster. A lot of it takes place in tunnels deep underground NYC. Entertaining for a plane ride.
Saturday, April 25, 2015
14. The Golem and the Jinni
By Helene Wecker (484 pp)
My sister-in-law gave me this book and I loved it. It is set in 1899 NYC and tough to summarize simply and without spoilers. The golem, named Chava, is brought to life en route to the city where she is supposed to become a wife. The jinni, called Ahmad, is released from a lamp but has a complicated history. They become acquainted and form a lovely friendship. As I say about everything I read, I had a few issues but overall, interesting and satisfying story. Recommend.
My sister-in-law gave me this book and I loved it. It is set in 1899 NYC and tough to summarize simply and without spoilers. The golem, named Chava, is brought to life en route to the city where she is supposed to become a wife. The jinni, called Ahmad, is released from a lamp but has a complicated history. They become acquainted and form a lovely friendship. As I say about everything I read, I had a few issues but overall, interesting and satisfying story. Recommend.
Sunday, April 12, 2015
13. Broken Harbor
By Tana French (450 pp)
Another murder mystery. Childhood sweethearts grown and married with two kids buy a home in a fancy suburban development outside of Dublin that goes bust in the 08 financial troubles. The family is murdered except the woman who barely survives. That doesn't quite cover it but I don't want to get spoilery. The story is from the POV of the detectives. It was a good, readable book but got long for me. This author is not afraid to sink the reader into an endless interrogation scene that consists of Detective asks question, Respondent says: I don't know, Detective says: we know you're lying, Respondent reluctantly gives up a piece of information. Sometimes interrogation scenes duplicated information we already learned.
Another murder mystery. Childhood sweethearts grown and married with two kids buy a home in a fancy suburban development outside of Dublin that goes bust in the 08 financial troubles. The family is murdered except the woman who barely survives. That doesn't quite cover it but I don't want to get spoilery. The story is from the POV of the detectives. It was a good, readable book but got long for me. This author is not afraid to sink the reader into an endless interrogation scene that consists of Detective asks question, Respondent says: I don't know, Detective says: we know you're lying, Respondent reluctantly gives up a piece of information. Sometimes interrogation scenes duplicated information we already learned.
Sunday, March 29, 2015
12. The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August
By Claire North (405 pp)
I actually read this book and #11 at the same time. I usually don't do that but I don't know what happened. I really liked both books. This one is about a guy who more or less repeats the same life over and over. He remembers everything about his previous lives every time he is reborn. There are other people like him and eventually someone starts mucking around with things making trouble that has to be stopped. It's hard to summarize all the mechanics in this little blurb- but I recommend.
I actually read this book and #11 at the same time. I usually don't do that but I don't know what happened. I really liked both books. This one is about a guy who more or less repeats the same life over and over. He remembers everything about his previous lives every time he is reborn. There are other people like him and eventually someone starts mucking around with things making trouble that has to be stopped. It's hard to summarize all the mechanics in this little blurb- but I recommend.
Saturday, March 28, 2015
11. Ready Player One
By Ernest Cline (372 pp)
I really loved this book, but I had a few issues. It's set about 30 years in the future where the world has become a bleak place and people spend their time in a virtual world. The eccentric bazillionaire who helped create the virtual world dies and leaves behind a puzzle hidden in the virtual world. The person who solves it inherits his money and the company. It's a big battle to win the contest. There is lots of 80's trivia and a lot about video games which went over my head. Super fun to read and a great story but there bits where it felt amateurish for example, major info-dumping at the beginning. Also, the bad guys are cartoonishly bad. All that was missing was actual mustache twirling. Still: Recommend!
I really loved this book, but I had a few issues. It's set about 30 years in the future where the world has become a bleak place and people spend their time in a virtual world. The eccentric bazillionaire who helped create the virtual world dies and leaves behind a puzzle hidden in the virtual world. The person who solves it inherits his money and the company. It's a big battle to win the contest. There is lots of 80's trivia and a lot about video games which went over my head. Super fun to read and a great story but there bits where it felt amateurish for example, major info-dumping at the beginning. Also, the bad guys are cartoonishly bad. All that was missing was actual mustache twirling. Still: Recommend!
Thursday, March 5, 2015
10. Coming Out to Play
By Robbie Rogers (222 pp)
This is a memoir by a professional soccer player who came out in 2013. As I write this he is still on the roster at LA Galaxy. Bob and I used to play this game called "celebrities who might have been interesting once but are now tiresome." It's been a long time since we've played that game but I think some current nominees are James Franco and Seth Rogen. I felt like I went through the entire interesting-to-tiresome arc while I was reading this book. Rogers is so charming and he was so painfully tormented while he was closeted -- so worried about disappointing his family, also Catholic, and in his mind there was no way he could play professional sports and be out. It was heart-breaking to see how deeply this affected him. However, his coming out goes great, his family, friends and teammates are a million percent supportive and by the end he sounds just like any other self-involved handsome and successful athlete who benefits from enormous privilege. I honestly enjoyed the book and still think he's charming and I'm happy that he can be who he really is and I'm certain his story benefits others so I will give him a pass on the self-involved, etc.
Sunday, March 1, 2015
9. The Magician's Land
By Lev Grossman (401 pp)
This is the third in a trilogy that started with The Magicians and The Magician King. For both of those books, I said that really liked them but the entire time I was reading I felt like I was on the verge of falling insanely in love and fell just a bit short of that. The only time I've ever been disappointed in great books for not being great enough. This book was great enough. I'm sorry I didn't re-read the others before I read this. And yes, I read this book in a day plus one morning because of The Crud. I'm almost recovered so back to my slower reading pace.
This is the third in a trilogy that started with The Magicians and The Magician King. For both of those books, I said that really liked them but the entire time I was reading I felt like I was on the verge of falling insanely in love and fell just a bit short of that. The only time I've ever been disappointed in great books for not being great enough. This book was great enough. I'm sorry I didn't re-read the others before I read this. And yes, I read this book in a day plus one morning because of The Crud. I'm almost recovered so back to my slower reading pace.
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