Girls in White Dresses

Since I read a number of books on the T in the morning, I am always looking for some good recommendations.  However, I have spent quite some time going through books on Amazon.com and rating the ones I've read, so they generally have some good recommendations for me.  One of these books was Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close.  What caught me was the description, saying that the book followed a couple of girls after college trying to make it through life and jobs and watching their friends get married...and they're not.

From Amazon.com

This book was interesting to me, and it did a great job of tracking the lives of 4 friends after graduating from college.  The reader follows their lives until they are a little over thirty and finally become OK with who they are.  As most of us know, there is a lot of growing up that happens through your 20's, and this book shows just how much in its pages.

The book is written from the view of each of the four girls and you start out by going to parties with them and laughing about the random hook-ups, to following them through the first boyfriends out of school.  From there you see how the characters make some life changing decisions about work and love.

Having lived through most of the same situations made this read really fun, and I was almost reflective seeing how much life has changed for me since I graduated college.  No matter what stage you are at in your post-college life, you will see yourself in this book, which makes it a fun read.

"A Visit From the Goon Squad"

As we all know, I think the world of my kindle.  However, when other people use kindles I cannot look to see what they are reading and that drives me nuts!  I love to get new book ideas from seeing what others are reading on the T or on plane rides.  Lucky for me, though, there were a few people on the plane to Greece that had some hard cover books.  One of the books I saw and then heard so much about was A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan.

cover picture from Amazon.com

To be honest, I finally downloaded the book because I had seen those people reading it, but also because I started to see it on a number of best seller lists and figured it would be good.  While I do not think I am very picky about books, maybe I am (I hated Franzen's Freedom), but I really did not like this book.  

A Visit From the Goon Squad is a series of semi interconnected stories following different characters somehow involved in the music industry.  I did not see the stories working together very well.  Further, some of the stories and the voices I really enjoyed, however, those chapters often finished too quickly and moved onto another voice that may not have been as engaging.  I felt like some of the characters were just left hanging and their lives changed but the reader had no idea how or why.  

After reading some books that I reacted so strongly to, I think I like books that tell complete stories.  I like character development and seeing how things progress.  I need characters that are redeemable in a way that I believe it.  Watching characters fail without much hope of seeing how they get built back up doesn't do it for me. 

Obviously this book has been loved by many readers, I just do not happen to be one of them - not enough of a story for me.

The Paris Wife

I take the T every morning to work, and those who have ever stepped foot on the green line know it can be a bit of a battle.  I only ride for six stops, making somewhat of a reverse commute, so its not too much of a hardship.  Really though, the way I make it even better is that I keep my kindle in my purse at all times.  Needless to say, getting lost in a book, even just for one chapter makes, the ride go by a lot easier.

Photo from Amazon...

I recently finished The Paris Wife by Paula McLain.  This was a novel I had seen in bookshops (when they were around!) and online for awhile, but I had not really looked at it closely.  Finally, Amazon recommended it so many times based on my other interests I decided to take a closer look.  Turns out this was a novel (historical fiction) about Ernest Hemingway and his first wife Hadley Richardson and their time in Paris.  I must admit, I really have only read Old Man and the Sea by Hemingway and did not know much about him other than what Chris O'Donnell taught me in In Love and War.  What makes this book stand out, however, is Ernest Hemingway is only a supporting character, and the book is really about Hadley and written in her voice.

The book opens with a short chapter with Hadley, Hemingway and their child in Paris, but then quickly travels back to Chicago where Hadley and Ernest meet and really describes their fabulous courtship.  It really is no wonder they married, because he literally swept her off her feet in person, but also through hundreds of letters (naturally).  From Chicago, the couple traveled to Paris, where all the authors and intellectuals were gathering at the time.  Through their whirlwind romance Ernest was mentored by many authors we recognize as famous today and completely supported by Hadley.

What I found so striking about this book is through all of their time together and afterwards is how much Hadley supported and loved Hemingway.  She really made his dreams of becoming a writer her dreams as well.  During their marriage he was just getting started - The Sun Also Rises, Hemingway's first novel, was published just as their marriage was ending.  Numerous characters in the book are taken from people that the couple were friends with in Paris at the time.

Watching this couple come together and fall apart made for an interesting read.  I was fascinated by these characters, and mostly of Hadley.  The author did a great job of narrating the story in Hadley's voice and made the reader see how much stronger she became as her own person as her marriage to Ernest was ending.  They always say that behind a great man  is a great woman, and I really believe that Hadley was the reason that Ernest was able to write the literary classics he did.  Hemingway was a true tortured artist and for him to write the novels he did is a testament to the people who surrounded him.

This book provided an entertaining read.  While it his historical, you will not get bogged down by the non-fiction of it.  Rather, you become part of the Hemingway's social circle and more specifically a friend to Hadley as you read this.

The Glass Castle - a Memoir by Jeannette Walls

When I was on vacation in Greece, my friend E recommended The Glass Castle - a Memoir by Jeannette Walls to me.  It was something she read on the plane ride home from her honeymoon, and she was about to start the author's second novel while in Greece.  With such a high recommendation, I was intrigued, and after reading up on it I decided to download it and give it a go.  Only a few pages in, I was hooked. 

Buy Me! source - Amazon.com

The story opens with Jeannette Walls as a three year old cooking for herself in the family trailer out in the western portion of the country and ending up in the hospital.  From there, her parents take her and her siblings on a wild "adventure" that crosses multiple states and areas - from California to New Mexico to Nevada.  Each time they only stay put for a short period of time.  Having only a small amount of money, they live on next to nothing with very few possessions.  For any number of reasons - running away from bills or the police - they pick up and move onto the next place.  In the beginning, when the children are younger, it really does seem like a fun adventure.  Their parents are fun and interesting to be with.  They always felt like they were in the middle of a fantasy, with the promise of the Glass House that their father designed.  

However, as they get older they begin to face the reality that maybe their parents are not so much fun, and that life for them is perhaps not that normal.  After some final circumstances in the southwest, the family moves to West Virginia to a small town in Appalachia where the author's father grew up, and they remained there through high school, living in a "house" where they didn't have indoor plumbing and had to bury their garbage in the back yard.  

This story was fascinating.  To think this is how a family actually lived their lives was amazing.  Even with such a crazy home life, all of the children were extremely smart, having been home schooled by their parents.  Watching them succeed and grow up in the face of such odd adversity was interesting and made for an absorbing read.  

In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin

When I saw that Erik Larson, from "Devil in the White City" fame had a new book out I was immediately intrigued. I found his first book fascinating, but really had no other context of the story or the era in which it took place. However, I love WWII history, and with Larson's storytelling ability, I figured this ought to be pretty good. In preparation of our trip to Greece, I downloaded a couple of books, "In the Garden of Beasts" being one of them.

Buy Me! Source - Amazon.com

After plowing through "Freedom" by Johnathan Franzen, which I actually hated, I was excited to turn my attention to something a bit more my speed. "In the Garden of Beasts" tracks the lives of Ambassador Dodd and his daughter during their first year in Germany, which is when Hitler was just rising to power. Dodd and his family move to Berlin in the summer of 1933 during the time when Hindenburg was still president and Hitler's power had not achieved its full potential. His daughter, who was in her early 20's at the time, seemed like she could have been from this era. She socialized and had relationships with many men, including the original head of the Gestapo, and was a potential suitor for Hitler himself. Not a typical girl of the 1930's.


When reading this book there were a number of times I was extremely frustrated. Watching these characters go through their interactions with Berlin and its leaders, believing that the country was headed in a good direction was mind boggling! They certainly did not have the benefit of knowing what we do today. It was so interesting to see how their minds and beliefs shifted.

Larson thoughtfully constructed this novel with careful details of all the characters involved. The research involved in writing such a book must be extremely time consuming. Everything done and said by the characters was verified one way or another. While the material is dense due to the nature of the topic, Larson's storytelling and writing ability makes the read not nearly as difficult as it could be. I walked away having learned a ton, almost not even realizing that it was non-fiction because of the ease in which I was able to read and follow along.

During 1933 and 1934, Berlin and Germany drastically changed and altered the world forever. This novel provides real insight on how it was possible for an entire nation to fall under Hilter's spell, and how many other countries watched it happen.

Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration

This was a book I randomly saw on various "best-of" lists but never gave much thought to until my friend L recommended it to me.  So, when I went looking for my next book to read I did not give it a second thought and ordered it immediately, not knowing much (if anything at all) about the plot.  L and I have been passing books back and forth since high school - there really hasn't been anything that she has recommended that hasn't been a great read, so off I went and downloaded "The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration" by Isabel Wilkerson.  The book follows the stories of three different people who are only connected by their desire to leave the oppression of the south for the "freedoms" of the north and the west.

Cover Picture Source

For me, I did not know much about the history regarding the great migration in much detail.  In history class you cover the Civil War, touch on the Reconstruction period, WWI and WWII, and maybe touch on civil rights enough to cover Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X, but not too much more.  Every page of this book was completely fascinating to me - learning the history through the stories of the people themselves allowed for a personal connection to the characters, their families and their lives.

Reading about the struggle of all these families in the south regardless of age and education was really amazing. One family were sharecroppers, walking away after a year of back-breaking work and making nothing; the father of another family was the principal of a colored high school, making a fraction of what a white principal made.  The third family in focus told the story of a man who decided to push the limits of what salary he could make for a day's work on the farm.  Each had their own reason for leaving.  However, throughout the entire book Wilkerson intertwines the stories of other battles between the races in the south and how each one may have affected other families and how it did affect those we were following.

This book goes into the details of the Jim Crow laws that I never knew much about.  It was more than a separation of the races - really, after the Reconstruction period ended, things reverted to how they were prior to the Civil war.  What struck me the most is how commonplace lynchings were and how people were literally getting away with murder.

These stories do not sugarcoat the life of the people after leaving the south. It goes into great detail on the many hardships the families faced once they were north and supposedly free.  One family settles in Chicago and another in Harlem.  Seeing how the city and certain areas evolved over the years really allows us to look back and see how the city was shaped and what led to its make-up today.

I highly recommend this book to everyone.  Knowing that I probably would not have picked it up off the shelf on my own makes me more thankful that L did.  This was such an amazing story that feeds into a lot of how we live our life today.  These are three examples of the American Dream - the good, the bad and everything in between.  You will gain such a different perspective on your life and what you have.

The Help - Kathryn Stockett

After struggling for awhile to get through another historical fiction book (I am done with Henry VIII stories!) I decided to finally read The Help by Kathryn Stockett.

The novel tells the story from the viewpoint of three different women, all from different backgrounds, over the course of about a year in Mississippi in the early 1960's.  Two of the women are black maids to white families across town - some who have plenty of money and others that only pretend to.  The final storyteller is a white women who grew up with a black maid, but has some issues with their treatment.  After a very disturbing movement made by one of her friends, which would allow the maids to only use bathrooms outside or in the garage, she decides to do something about it. 

This book has been all over the best seller lists for over a year now, but for some reason I had trouble committing to reading it.  I thought it would be hard to find a book that could be so convincingly written from the perspective of three very different women.  Even more, writing as two black maids and a wealthy white woman without sounding like a caricature is difficult, to say the least, but somehow Stockett does this amazingly well.  The whole town is so vividly imagined and laid out you feel like you are going through each of these experiences.

I think the fact that the movie will be coming out soon with actors that I enjoy helped push me to buy the novel.  I hate not reading the book before seeing the movie - I like to make sure I have my own version of the characters in my head and then judge the casting fully!

I fully admit I jumped on this bandwagon, but it was totally worth the read.

Abraham Lincoln - Vampire Hunter???

I know the whole vampire thing is a bit overdone at this point, but I must say the stories have always intrigued me (although Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt would get any girl hooked.)  The author, Seth Grahame-Smith, co-wrote Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which I loved.  I mean he was able to seamless write-in an entire plot about Zombies into Pride and Prejudice, so when I saw he had a new book out, I was sold.

In Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter Grahame-Smith somehow told a believable biography of Abraham Lincoln but introduced an entire vampire element to America's history as well as Lincoln's upbringing and motivation.

Obviously you have to let you mind wander and not take things too seriously when reading this book - unless, of course, you actually believe in vampires!  However, it was one of those stories that actually made me then want to read an actual biography because I was not sure what really could have been real since it all seemed so plausible. 

Beyond the "realness" of the story, the book was well written and flowed really well.  There were no dull moments to the book, and each aspect of the book added to the story.  Grahame-Smith put a lot of thought into the various back stories of all the characters to keep the story moving along, which made the book as a whole well-rounded and complete.

This book is also being made into a movie and I always like to have a head start.  This book was definitely a fun read for anyone who needs a little break from reality and can wink at history.

Unbroken - Lessons in Perseverance

Anyone who can dedicate an entire book to a horse, is an author I can get behind.  Even better is when the book is actually GOOD!  Laura Hillenbrand did just that with her first (?) novel Seabiscuit.  In Seabiscuit she really explored the world of horse racing from all angles and needless to say I was hooked immediately.

Recently, Hillenbrand's new novel, Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, was popping up on every list I saw!

Cover Art

I read the synopsis and it was all about this guy Louis Zamperini, who I was not really familiar with, so it did not draw my attention.  Also, I was not looking to add to my book collection in anticipation of my Kindle!  In the meantime, however, a couple of my friends had read it and said it was pretty good, so I decided to give it a go and once again Hillenbrand out did herself.

The amount of research done in order to give the complete picture of Zamperini's life was impressive.  She was able to detail so many different facets of his eventful life.  This is a guy who started out as a challenging child, to becoming a world class track star and setting records, to the Berlin Olympics where he actually met Hilter, to becoming a Bombardier during WWII, to a POW in Japan, and onto figuring out how to live his life after the War. 

I was surprised at how inspirational the book was considering the amount of time spent describing life during Zamperini's time in the POW camps.  At certain points I really wondered how much a single person could take.  I think it was his spirit and seeing how he, along with the others at the camps, overcame all the amazing odds against was actually uplifting in light of the depressing setting.

Although the book was relatively long and had a massive number of details throughout, it really was an easy read (and being my first Kindle read i was worried!).  I finished and was happy to have learned so much about a fascinating person.  Zamperini's story in another author's hands may have not been as compelling, but Hillenbrand did him justice by taking such get care of his story.  For the rest of us, we now get the advantage of easily learning about this amazing individual.

My New Obsession - My Kindle

One the big gifts I asked for this year for Christmas was a Kindle.  I am a huge reader that loves to buy books - and no, I do not wait for the paperbacks, I go straight for the hardcover.  Being a fairly quick reader, I have developed quite a collection, which was fine by me.  In my big kid house, I envision having one of those cool library rooms with floor to ceiling shelving that is loaded with books.

However, Nick and I live in a condo with only 576 square feet.  Granted, there is quite a bit of storage for such a small space, but there is a limit to how much you can squeeze in there.  As time has progressed, I seem to be getting creative about shelving for books.  Short of taking over precious closet space, something needed to change.

Enter, The Kindle:

My Kindle!

I was SUPER hesitant about the Kindle.  I love everything there is about books and, in the beginning, refused to believe a Kindle could actually come close to replicating that experience.  Now I have read 2 full books and am in the middle of a third one now.  I waited to post anything about it until I felt like I actually had a real feel for using the device.  Amazingly though, the technology behind the Kindle's pearl ink makes it seem like you are truly reading off the pages of a book.   

While I never thought a book was cumbersome to read, some of the bigger hardcover ones could get heavy and reading on the T could be a bit difficult depending on the size of the book.  The Kindle solves all of these issues, as the device itself is really small and light, much more so than even the iPad.  Also, with the click of a button, you turn the page.  Another great feature is the dictionary, you can look up any word directly from your Kindle.

I actually got the Kindle with the built in 3G.  When I first started looking into this I could not figure out how it worked because it seemed too easy - for $50 more at the time of purchase you will forever have 3G.  Really, it is that easy.  So no matter where I am in the US and the majority of the world, I will be able to buy books straight from my Kindle device.  It helps me avoid the issues I ran into while reading the Hunger Games trilogy - with this, you can download the next book in the series instantaneously!  Also, after a few months, the device will pay for itself because Kindle books are cheaper than buying actual books.

I read a lot of reviews comparing the Kindle to the Nook and to the iPad before asking for the Kindle.  Almost everyone, if not everyone, said that the Kindle was a lot faster and easier to use than the Nook.  The page turning seemed to be the biggest thing between the two.  While you cannot loan books like you can on the Nook, you now have the ability to loan a Kindle book for 14 days.  As far as the iPad goes, while I love the device, it is certainly not as good for reading.  The LCD screen can hurt your eyes after long use and it is just a lot heavier.  However, you can download the Kindle App directly to your iPad, which makes it easy to use both devices!

Another fun, but necessary thing for a Kindle is a Kindle cover.  They really help protect the device and make it easier to hold onto.  I got a great Diane von Furstenberg cover that is a zebra print.

My Kindle Cover

 There are tons more to choose from that make them a fun accessory to shop for!

I would highly recommend this device to anyone who reads!  I mean it is just so easy.  Coming from a book lover like me, that is saying a lot.  I promise you will not miss reading actual books.

Bill Bryson

Bill Bryson is one of those authors that when you read his books, you feel as though you are sitting across the table, sharing a drink and having a conversation.  Something about the way he tells his stories is just fun.  I previously read A Short History of Nearly Everything and somehow he was able to make learning about the origins of all sciences, from physics, to chemistry to biology, a fun read.  Granted, I am a the target audience, being a bit of a science geek, but still...had anyone else written this book, I am sure it would have been terrible.  Bryson somehow makes the such topics not only readable, but intelligent and entertaining.

In hopes of turning my book collection digital in the near future (576 square feet has only so much space) I am trying to read the books sitting on the shelves and NOT go out and buy new ones.  Harder than it sounds.  However, when Nick moved in, he brought lots of new books for me to read!  One of which was Bill Bryson's Notes from a Small Island, a story about his travels in and around England and Scotland. 

Bryson was born in the US and lived here through college, at which point he went traveling through Europe, found his wife during his travels and really has not looked back until only recently.  Before Bryson moved back to the States with his family he decided to do a tour of  the island to prove that it is in fact "a small island," rather than, as the British people believe, a big place where traveling from one city to another is a day's excursion that takes much planning.

Again, Bryson story telling is impeccable and fun.  While walking along the southern coast of England, he is describing the Highcliffe Castle and the sorted story of the man behind Selfridge's department store.  However, during this story, Bryson goes on a bit of a tangent about walking in sand.  On its face, it really has nothing to do with the plot of the book itself, but his description of walking on the beach and the lasting effects of sand, like finding it everywhere for the next two weeks is something that everyone can relate to.  In fact, the tangent just becomes another comical anecdote within the overarching story.

This is definitely a fun read for anyone who has traveled in England and Scotland...but also provides some great recommendations for places to go in the future that are a bit off the beaten path.

The Hunger Games

I will start this post out fully admitting that some of my "likes" tend to read like a list of a 14 year old girl.  Big fan of Harry Potter, Twilight, the shows on the WB (RIP) and now the CW.  A little teenage angst for me goes a long way.  I jumped on the Twilight bandwagon pretty far into the game.  The movie had started filming, but it was before it was the number one news story...everywhere.

Recently, Entertainment Weekly started talking about this other series, The Hunger Games Trilogy.  With the recent release of the third and final book, it was popping up in some lists, but it is not yet a top 10 bestseller.  I saw that were looking to cast a movie version of this book, and decided to give the series a go.  I wanted to be able to say I knew of the series way back when:)

The covers are deceptive, as they look more advanced and not the cover of a young adult novel and since they are not as well known as Twilight etc, I felt a bit better about breaking the books out on the T.  Also, Nick admitted that he actually read the synopsis of Mockingjay a few times because the cover is so unique and it was featured on Entertainment Weekly!  But he did NOT read it, I repeat did NOT.

The Hunger Games is the first in the series...

The story is of a Capitol that controls 12 Districts in some post apocalyptic era.  To reaffirm it's control, each year the Capitol holds what it calls the Hunger Games.  The Games involve a boy and a girl between the ages of 11 and 18, from each of the Districts who compete to the death.  The last person standing is declared the victor.  I guess that this premise is similar to Battle Royale as well as some others books and movies that I was not completely aware of.  Regardless, I was hooked.  This went from being my mindless T reading to taking over my life...skipping my favorite TV shows to go to bed early to read.  Nick loved it...(note the sarcasm here).

The day I finished the first book (the morning T ride meaning I had nothing for the ride back), I got a coupon from Border's for 40% off the second novel.  I thought by this point it would be in paperback and I would get it for 2 dollars...nope ALL hardcover. 

Regardless, I picked it up and went to a meeting at the Beehive.  I thought I was going to be a half hour early and would be able to dive right in, but other girls were already there, so no such luck...Yes, I was going to be THAT girl in the bar for this book.  I will not go into details about the plot because I do not want to spoil anything, but needless to say, the same patterned continued and I devoured this book.  I actually was conscience of what I was doing so tried to stay away, but was having trouble....

Shortly after the second book, I was on to the third, Mockingjay

I loved it...There were a few moments where I actually spoke out loud to the book, saying things like "I can NOT believe they did that" or "NO WAY."  Luckily, the third book is the final book in the series, and it is able to wind everything up well...definitely not a neat little bow, but gives you enough to move on, or so I thought...

A couple of days later, I was actually missing the book.  On more than one occasion, I was wondering what would happen next in the lives of the characters.  Now I am left to watch/read about the development of the movie on the series, and only hope they can do it justice.  To be sure, I will be one of those people criticizing everything, including the casting decisions for each character.  Much like those who hated the thought of Robert Pattinson as Edward in Twilight, and look how that turned out!