The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama

Talk to anyone who has known me for more than a couple of years and they'll be surprised to learn that I read a book about a politician (not counting long dead ones.) In the last few years I find myself caring more and more, and becoming more interested in what is going on around me. I've written letters to my local representatives- something I wouldn't have even considered 6 years ago. I am still woefully lacking in a political education. I don't understand a lot of the political process. But I'm trying and, for me, that's huge.

I started The Audacity of Hope several weeks ago. The beginning was pretty hard for me because it referenced a lot of political history that I just didn't know about. Once of the side effects of pregnancy is that I'm tired all the time, and staying awake to read about political history (however lightly written) was tough. After this section Obama breaks down his feelings on various aspects of our country: education, race, family, and religion among others. It's not heavy handed, in fact, it's very conversational. I found that the book was making me depressed, not because I didn't agree, but rather because I DID. It was very hard to ignore the things I've been ignoring when someone is pointing them out to you. Obama doesn't blatantly blame anyone, but does point out areas where he feels change would be good. It's not a book of his position or his platform on any of the topics. Reading this doesn't tell me what he's going to DO, but it does tell you how he FEELS. This might not be what you're looking for in a book by a politician. Or, if you're me, it's exactly what you're looking for. It was hard to read but I'm glad I read it.

Cross posted at We'd Rather Read.

Austenland by Shannon Hale

I admit it, I've become something of a Jane Austen fan in the last year. Along with half the reading world it seems. Books about Austen abound. There are books about her books, books about her, books that retell her books from the standpoint of another character. It started when I signed up for DailyLit and choose Pride and Prejudice (my review here) as my first choice. I'd read P&P before but it was in high school and I didn't remember it so well. This time around I discovered just how witty and sharp Austen is and immediately requested Sense and Sensibility (my review here). I read that one last fall and made the decision to try and read the remaining novels in 2008.

One of the many books that play off Austen is Austenland by Shannon Hale. Jane Hayes is 32 and single. She's obsessed with finding her own Darcy and is unable to find the perfect man because of this. Her great aunt dies and leaves her a non-refundable trip to Pembrook Place. Pembrook Place is a resort where guests give up all trappings of modern life and live by the Rules of Austen's time. It comes complete with costumed actors, clothing, dance lessons, and fake eligible bachelors. Jane (who becomes Miss Erstwhile at Pembrook Place) is to stay for 3 weeks and is determined to get over her Darcy fixation for good.

It was very hard for me to buy into the whole concept of living in that time and pretending to fall in love with the actors. I don't have a problem with living history (I worked at a museum with costumed actors for years) but the idea that at the end of the 3 weeks she should fall in love with one of the actors was hard for me. Fortunately for me, the idea was often hard for her to fall for as well. Jane alternates between having a blast pretending to live in that time and feeling like a fool for pretending. If it hadn't been for this awareness on her part, if she'd gone for it full speed, I would not have enjoyed it nearly as much. The actors are well done, rarely breaking character and when they did it was subtle. There was one who surprised me at the end- I really truly didn't see it coming. I felt a bit of the P&P references were a bit heavy handed. Mr. Nobley was clearly Darcy, it couldn't be more obviously done. Overall it was a good read and I'm a bit tempted to keep it until after I've finished up the rest of Austen's novels but I think I'll pass it on for now.

There are tons of references to Austen's books, of course, and it just inspired me to read them even more. I have Emma and Northanger Abbey on my shelves and Persuasion waiting in email. I'm not sure which I'll tackle next. PBS is showing the movies this winter and while I'd like to see them, I think I'll wait and only watch the ones I've already read.

Review cross posted at We'd Rather Read.

Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl

Two reviews in two days? Will wonders never cease??

Two notes first- the H on my laptop is sticking. This means I often leave it out of words. If you can't figure out what I'm saying, try adding an H. Does it help? No? Then it's probably just me. Second, I just poured a cup of coffee all over myself, the chair and the laptop. No, I had no good reason. There was no child, no pet, no surprise, no noise. I wasn't trying to click on anything, I wasn't reaching for something, I just picked it up and poured it all over. The laptop seems to have survived. The chair I'm not so sure about.

And now, on to our featured presentation!

As we were getting ready to leave for our four day Thanksgiving retreat, I was picking out which books to read. Sure, I wasn't gonna read ALL of them, but a girl needs choices! So I hopped over to paperbackswap to see which books in my TBR had waiting lists. Might as well read books I can quickly trade for a credit, right? I made a huge list. Seriously. Like 30 books. That might be too many for a four day family filled vacation. I narrowed the list down to Lisa Kleypas' newest, The Time Traveler's Wife, and Garlic and Sapphires. Since it was Thanksgiving, I started with Garlic and Sapphires, the overabundance of food in both was too much to ignore.

Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise by Ruth Reichl is a memoir of her days reviewing restaurants for the New York Times. On her first flight to New York she discovers that all the restaurants have descriptions of her and are waiting for her to show up, so she decides to get creative and disguise herself. The book is pretty much what you'd expect from that description- stories of the disguises, the personalities of each, the experiences of each and how it changed her reviews. She goes to a lot of restaurants I'll never go to, eats a LOT of food I'll NEVER eat, and remembers it all in very fine detail.

I don't know if it's the food itself that enthralled me, because honestly I have no desire to eat most of it, but I really really enjoyed this book. The different reactions she got from the same restaurants when she went as her characters vs. herself was amazing. The special treatment money could buy was eye opening. There are recipes spread throughout the book. I did not read them all (so not gonna cook mussels in the middle of South Dakota!) but some of them looked quite tasty. I don't know if this will make my top five for the year, but it was surprisingly good and I'd recommend it to anyone who loves to eat.

The Good News, the Bad News, the Book News

First, the Good. I sold a bag!! To a total stranger on Etsy! Whoooo!! This really inspires me to get crafting again, and luckily the creative juices have been flowing. Look for new stuff at over at the bag blog in the near future! (some of the won't be for sale, as I have CHRISTMAS to think about!) I have Monday off work and hope to make some serious progress in the Christmas sewing, as well as make up a Brand! New! Bag! that I drew out last weekend.

And now the Bad. Just as I'm starting to feel like a human being that eats again, I got a sinus infection. Booo. The good part of the bad news though, is that I thought up this blog post title days ago, and am already feeling much better. I actually went to the doctor, where they gave me Amoxicillian. Does that stuff really work? No good decongestants or cough medicine though, which I was hoping for.

And for books. I've actually read two books in the last few weeks. Kitty Goes to Washington and Kitty Takes a Holiday by Carrie Vaughn. These are books 2 and 3 in the series that begins with Kitty and the Midnight Hour. Kitty is a werewolf (ha. ha.), the first to come out publicly. She's not an Alpha wolf, she's not always right, she's often unsure of herself. She's very human, for a werewolf. If you can suspend you system of beliefs long enough to believe in these things, the books are very believable. (How's that for a selling point?) No Anita Blake superpowers or Stephanie Plum slapstick or anything, just a nice girl who happens to be a werewolf. The books are getting stronger, and I think with this last one that Vaughn really took a risk and established herself. (In a word, Cormac.) The next one comes out in January.

After finishing Holiday, I zipped over to Amazon.com to read some reviews and see what people thought of it. One of the reviews is a decent review of the book, but ends with this, which surprised me. Do people really think this way?

I do hope the series continues- I'd like to know more about the shaman who comes to save the day. As for the setting, I hope the story takes place somewhere else. I have never been to Colorado, but I don't much care to visit. Seems kinda lonely and small minded, appropriate for this book, but I'm done with it.

She's never been there, but knows she wouldn't like it? Based on a fictional book about WEREWOLVES? You know, I've never met her, but I don't think I care to. She seems kinda small minded...

Up next, a little non-paranormal to cleanse the palate. I started Knocked Up by Rebecca Eckler on Haley-O's recommendation. This does not appear to have much in common with the movie of the same name, regardless of whatever lawsuits are floating around. I am thinking of reading the latest Lisa Kleypas (it's about Cam! Swoon!) once I'm done with this one.

Did I mention I sold a bag??

Charlaine Harris reviews

I haven't read a lot lately, but do have a couple of books to talk about. I managed to finish off Definitely Dead and All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris, which finishes off an entire series. I had really enjoyed the Sookie Stackhouse series to this point, but feel like these two books are significantly better than the first 5.

Definitely Dead takes place in New Orleans, where Sookie has gone to clear out her cousin Hadley's apartment. All Together Dead takes place in Illinois during the vampire convention. If you know me, you know that I generally don't like series books that stray from the characters main residence too much. In this case, I thought both of them were excellent. All Together Dead is my favorite in the series. I love Quinn. I love Barry. I did miss Sam, but was glad to see less of Bill. I like the queen a lot, she's the perfect blend of power with the illusion of caring. I can't wait to see what happens next.

I have a few more things to post about, but am going to break them up into smaller posts because they don't really go together.

The Imperfect Mom

This week's completed book (how did I end up at only one book a week??) was The Imperfect Mom: Candid Confessions of Mothers Living in the Real World edited by Therese J Borchard. Published in 2006, this is a slim little book of essays about being imperfect. It seems that everyone is trying to be the perfect mother (homemade baby food! baby gymnastics! Daily craft projects! Breastfeed only! etc!) and this book is written women who admit they aren't. I am not. I am a good mom, but I readily admit I am not perfect. I'd go crazy if I stayed home with the Monkey everyday. I hate bathtime. I lose my patience with the whining. I let him watch tv (the horrors!) He probably (ok, he does) eat too much sugar. I actually let him play alone while I do things I like to do for myself (like reading!) This book of essays is perfect for reassuring me that I am not the only mom who does these things that no-one will admit to.

There are 36 essays in the book. Some of them were great, some of them weren't. All of them were quick and easy. My favorite is near the end of the book. It's called Be Careful What You Wish For by Julie Aigner-Clark. It's about wishing away their childhood ("Can't wait till she can walk; can't wait till they can play together; can't wait till she sleeps through the night") until suddenly you turn around they they are grown. Just that essay alone make the book worth reading. I credit it with a lot of patience in my house lately. I won't ever be a perfect mom, and I will surely never have a clean house, but when my kid thinks about his childhood, hopefully we won't be home cleaning instead of having fun.

Anyone else interested in reading this one? My copy has a little water damage on the front cover (the previous owner spilled coffee on it and then immediately wiped it off) and I can not trade it away at PBS. Leave me a comment and it's yours. If more than one of you are interested, I'll pull a name out of the hat next weekend.

This book is an alternate on my TBR Challenge list, so only 6 more to go before the end of the year!

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Several weeks ago, right around the time Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows came out, the Book Dragon (now Outside of a Dog) posted a link to Brotherhood 2.0. Brotherhood 2.0 is a video blog project between two brothers- Hank and John Green. Over the next few weeks I (some would say obsessively) watched ALL the videos- one a weekday from January 1, 2007 until now. I love it. I love the brothers. One of the brothers is John Green, a published award-winning young adult author. Once I finished catching up with the vlog, I found myself having withdrawals, so I headed to the library where I checked out Looking for Alaska by John Green.

One night as I was trying to convince myself to read something on a challenge list (yeah right), I picked up the book and read the "About the Author." Now, having seen all the videos, I have a pretty good idea of John's (first name basis, see?) history and life, but one sentence in the bio really jumped out at me- "John Green attended a boarding school in Alabama not entirely unlike Alaska's Culver Creek." What?? Are you serious? I attended a boarding school in Alabama! I am only a couple years older than John Green! This spurred a fast and furious internet search until wikipedia told me that, alas, we did not attend the same school. (For the record, I attended the Alabama School of Math and Science and he went to Indian Springs School. Mine- public; his- not so much.)

This still spurred me on to reading the book. Looking for Alaska is about Miles who is a first time student, a junior, at an Alabama boarding school. It's about making friends, loyalty, growing up, love, doubts, everything we all did in high school. There is an abundance of smoking, drinking, and a good bit of sex talk. This was so much like my high school it's was spooky. The book isn't broken into chapters, but rather sections are titled as a countdown (ninety-eight days before, four days before, twenty-one days after, etc.) Obviously, Something Happens and the rest of the book deals with the aftermath of that.

I have to say I loved it. The story isn't particularly unique, but it is very clear that John Green remembers high school clearly. I don't know if this will resonate with people who didn't attend a boarding school, and honestly, I have a hard time separating the book from my experience. Between the vlog, and the shared high school experience, I thought this was an excellent book. If you aren't already a John Green fan or a boarding school alum, I don't know, it might not be for you. It's not a book that avoid touchy subjects and there's a lot of hand-wringing in the last half. I thought it did an excellent job of showing how fast and tight friendships are formed in a dorm. Overall, great book, and I'll be looking for his other book An Abundance of Katherines.

Shakespeare's Champion by Charlaine Harris

Shakespeare's Champion is the second book in Harris' Lily Bard series. It is the 4th that I have read. Somehow I got out of order on them, which is unusual, but it's not really affecting my enjoyment of them. This one does a great job of filling you in on Lily's backstory, without devoting actual time to it. Shakespeare's Champion is a little darker than the first one, with a little more of an agenda than most mysteries I read (granted, I don't read a lot.) Here's the summary from Amazon.com:

No steel magnolia, Lily Bard is one blunt, tough Southern woman--a tiny,
karate-chopping, bodybuilding dynamo who's come to Shakespeare, Arkansas, to
restart her life after a series of traumatic events just hinted at in this
second novel in Charlaine Harris's series (after Shakespeare's
Landlord). When she slips into her gym for an early morning workout and
finds Del Packard with a barbell across his throat, she doesn't think for more
than a second that it's an accident. Not when it's the third death in a couple
of months in a town hardly big enough for its own WalMart. Then the blue
broadsheets with thinly veiled hints of white supremacist activity start turning
up under the windshield wipers of every car on Main Street. Lily's a relative
newcomer to Shakespeare, but as a cleaning woman for the local landed gentry,
she's privy to many secrets that most outsiders never learn. When a handsome
stranger keeps turning up at the scene of an increasingly bizarre series of
events, including a burglary at one of her regular clients and a bombing in a
black church, she suspects he may be more than an innocent bystander. Which is
too bad, because he stirs up desires that Lily hasn't felt for any man for a
very long time. Lily Bard is a complex woman who embodies many of the
contradictions of the modern South--its dark side as well as its charm--and this
suspenseful, deftly written novel will send new fans scrambling to read its
predecessor.

Hrm. That actually summarizes it pretty well! The action is fairly fast paced, there weren't a lot (or really any) leaps of faith, or questions about why she knew more than law enforcement. I really enjoyed this one, if you like Charlaine Harris' other books, you should check these out also. I definately like them more than Aurora Teagarden, but less than Sookie Stackhouse. And best of all, all I have left is Shakespeare's Counselor (which I have at home) and I'll be all caught up on the series. Plus, they are both easy PBS credits.

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

A couple of weeks ago Bookshelves of Doom reviewed Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan. During the course of the review, she talked a good bit about Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist. Now that review was for a different book, but it made me want to read this one. (Actually, it made me want to read BOTH of them. Naomi and Ely aren't out until next week.)

Nick & Norah are teenagers- I don't remember it ever saying exactly how old they are, but definately under 21, and at least 18. Nick plays bass in a band where he is the only straight guy. The story opens with his band playing, and his very recent ex showing up. Nick panics, and asks Norah (a complete stranger) to be his girlfriend for the next five minutes. The rest of the book takes place in the next 12 hours or so, as Nick & Norah fall in love.

I loved this book. The chapters alternate from each viewpoint, and some scenes are told twice. Nick & Norah have some hangups from exs to get past and all of that is beautifully told. The falling in love is completely believable.

Things that didn't work so well for me- the book takes place in NYC, in the punk music scene. For this book it was great, but clubs and punk music aren't my thing and I was worried when the book opened. It also opens with a lot (and continues with a LOT) of swearing. The f-bomb is used a lot. I'm not a stranger to swearing, but this IS a young adult novel, so it was surprising that it was here SO MUCH. There are a lot of sexual situations and references. They spend some time with a gay member of Nick's band, who is very blunt about what he wants from the guy he is with. There are several occasions of men kissing. There are scenes between Nick and Norah themselves (but no actual sex.) It all worked for me, but if you're not into that or think teenagers shouldn't know what sex is, you definitely won't like this book. It is steamy.

Here's what Bookshelves of Doom said, that made me interested:

The response to Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, Rachel Cohn and David Levithan's first collabaration, was somewhat divided. Some people (myself included) adored it. People in that camp felt it captured the whoosh feeling of a new love, that it was an urban fantasy in which the magic didn't come from faerie folk -- it came from the music and the people and the energy of an all-nighter in the city. And we loved the dialogue. Non-fans didn't like it for various reasons -- the (some say excessive) swearing (and, yes, N&N certainly do swear a whole lot), the steamy situations (and oh, were they steamy), and the dialogue. Some felt that it wasn't realistic for Nick, Norah & company to talk the way they did -- that they sounded like they were reading from scripts written by clever thirty-somethings. (I actually liked that about the dialogue. Being the sort of person who only thinks of the witty retort days after it's needed, the book's banter added to the fantasy element for me.)

Overall, I loved this book. I thought it completely captured the emotions of falling in love, and wondering how the other person feels. It was sexy in a good way. I read it in one sitting. No, this book wasn't on any of my challenge lists, but it was totally worth taking a break for. I'll certainly be going back for the authors' other books.

Lean Mean Thirteen by Janet Evanovich

I keep wanting to start this post with "Lean Mean Thirteen is the 13th Stephanie Plum novel." Duh. But since it IS the thirteenth, I am not going to summarize the plot for you. This is a typical Stephanie Plum- cars get destroyed, Ranger is HOT, Grandma Mazur is a pip, and Stephanie wears mascara. Evanovich's novels are always entertaining. They aren't great plots, but they certainly keep you turning pages.

That said, I'm a Ranger girl through and through. Don't get me wrong, Joe is a great guy, but Ranger? Whoa. Babe. My very favorite scenes are the ones with Ranger and Stephanie, followed closely by Ranger and Joe talking about Stephanie. This one certainly provided on that front. I keep trying to cast actors in the roles, and am having a tough time. Who do you think should play Ranger?

Next up is finishing A Fistful of Charms by Kim Harrison. I'm off work this afternoon, so should be able to make a good dent in it.

The Faith Club

The Faith Club: A Muslim, A Christian, A Jew- Three Women Search for Understanding by Ranya Idliby, Suzanne Oliver, and Priscilla Warner.

After September 11th, Ranya Idliby was faced with questions about their faith and death from her children. Ranya and her children are Muslim and live in New York where they were confronted often by the persistent stereotypes of Muslims and terrorism. She was inspired to seek out a Christian (Oliver) and a Jew (Warner) to write a children's book about the three religions and hopefully to reassure her kids (and others) that Islam wasn't scary and that the three religions were about the same original God.

What followed was several years of regular meetings and open discussion about each woman's beliefs and the background for each religion. Each chapter is divided into sections written by each woman on their take on the discussions, and there are small sections taken from recordings of their conversations. Each one took notes, and this book is the result.

I am not a religious person, but am drawn to books like this one. I am fascinated by the path people take to God and how they express it in their lives. This book starts off with some stereotypes and misunderstanding and the project almost ends before it starts. They stick with it and through some very open discussion are able to continue. Each chapter addresses a different area of faith (prayer, rituals, death, etc.) I learned quite a lot that I didn't know about all three, and how they interact with each other. I learned that some of my assumptions about Islam are completely wrong. The parts about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict were the best, as it was finally written in terms I could understand. I've read about it before, but it's always been very political, this made it very personal and I could really understand both sides.

I have a copy of The History of God: The 4,000 year Quest of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam by Karen Armstrong on my shelf and hope to eventually get it read. I think it would be a nice follow up to this much more casual approach. I'm going to give The Faith Club a 4/5 because it lost steam for me at the end. Near the end the women have a strong relationship with each other and the last chapter is about their (new and improved) relationship with each respective religion. It becomes the kind of religious book that I don't like, but that many people love. This failing is due to my own beliefs, not the book, so if you're into that kinda thing, you'll love it.

I marked several passages in the book to mention here. The only one I'm going to post is from near the end, and is Suzanne responding to a question about Christian values vs. Jewish values. This is on page 289 of my copy, and is in one of Priscilla's sections.

"They're the same!" Suzanne said in her honest, straightforward way. "But I don't think everyone recognizes that. They confuse social values with Christian values. Or they see that our religious practices are different, so they assume our moral values are different, too. We should all be taught early on that our religions boil down to one morality: to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself."

Number The Stars by Lois Lowry and other bookish catchup

Despite taking a huge stack of books, and buying even more, I only managed to read one book on my vacation- Number the Stars by Lois Lowry- and that one I read on the plane home. Number the Stars is set in 1943 Denmark. It's the story of the Jewish detainment and one 10 year old girl's role in it. This is a very quick book, written for middle school aged kids. It won the Newbery Award in 1990.

The story is very clear, and simple to read, but I didn't think it was nearly as good as The Giver (also by Lowry) or The Book Thief (also about WWII and the Holocaust). The writing isn't as good, and I didn't find it as emotionally hard as either of the others. This was on my Newbery Challenge list, and I am glad that I read it, but it's not going down as a favorite book.

I also finished Hex in the City by Simon R Green. This is the fourth in the series and it just keeps getting more outlandish and better with each installment. This one sets up the story for the next few titles and ends with a bit of a cliff hanger. I have the next two at home (borrowed from the library) and hope to get to them soonish. I'd like to have at least one series that I'm all caught up on.

Reading goals for the next month or so- Harry Potters 5 and 6, finish up the Newbery Challenge, wrap up a couple odds and ends (The Faith Club, I Am the Messenger, Carved in Bone.) This is a lot of reading for me, those HPs are huge! I'm determined to reread them all before July 21 though.

Two weeks worth of math- 7 more from Paperbackswap (the last being How I Paid For College: A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship and Musical Theater) plus the 7 I bought on vacation brings me to 86 books in since January. I finished two whole books in that time. This brings me to 52 books behind. This experiment is starting to get depressing. Good thing it's summer and tv is all reruns!

The Second Coming of Lucy Hatch, Real Murders, Math and notes

Two reviews in one post today! Last night I finished up The Second Coming of Lucy Hatch by Marsha Moyer. Marketed as chick-lit, trade paperback sized, red shoes on the cover- but reads like any other romance novel out there. This might be a bad thing for some people, but as I happen to enjoy the occasional romance this was fine by me. It was a nice change from everything serious.

Lucy Hatch is 33 years old, and was recently widowed after a 14 year marriage. She moves back home to Mooney, population 1200. Her actions quickly scandalize her family. She attracts the notice and attention of local bad-boy Ash Farrell and all bets are off.

I really enjoyed this book. This was the author's first novel, but it really sucked me in and held my attention. I read it in two sittings, which is rare for me lately. The romance is sweet, there is no Big Misunderstanding, the main characters all seem believable. The plot turns on an issue from her first marriage that is completely believable (spoiler here, if you want one) and not too overdone. I enjoyed it so much that I looked up the author's other two books on Amazon, and discovered that they are continuations of this story. Unfortunately, just the first complete sentences of each summary gives spoilers to this first book, so don't go there if you don't want to know.

This book was on my TBR challenge list.

This weekend I finished up Real Murders by Charlaine Harris. This one is a little mystery first published in 1990. I requested this through Paperbackswap because I enjoy the Sookie Stackhouse books so much. It was ok. I'm not going to summarize, it wasn't anything special. I will probably hold off on requesting any more of this series until I have exhausted all the other Charlaine Harris books. I assume they get better, the most recent one was published in 2004.

I'm dropping behind again in books. I'm at 72 in (the last one in being An Unquiet Mind) and 32 read, so 40 behind for the year. I am reading more than ever so this is really challenging me to keep track. Speaking of challenges, I'm about to finalize my Southern Challenge list, so stay tuned. I am returning The Road to the library unread, and even unopened. I could not make myself take the plunge, and it's on a wait list. I will add my name again after vacation. We leave in 10 days!

What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones

On Wednesday morning I was hopping around reading blogs and one of the posts was about a book called What My Girlfriend Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones. In the course of the post the prequel to it was mentioned, that book was What My Mother Doesn't Know. I didn't write down the title, or the blog it came from (a habit I am trying to develop) because I really didn't want more books on my list that I would never get around to reading. I've tried to go back and find that post, but no luck. If that was your blog, and you're reading this, please comment. I'd like to thank you. You see, on Wednesday afternoon, I went to the library. And since I was already upstairs to get The Giver, well, I picked this up too. I practically read it in one sitting. It was that good. Thanks.

Here's the summary from the flap:

My name is Sophie.
This book is about me.
It tells
the heart-stoppingly
riveting story
of my first love.
And also of my second.
And, okay, my third love too.

It's not that I'm boy crazy.
It's just that even though
I'm almost
fifteen
it's like
my mind
and my body
and my heart
just don't
seem to be able to agree
on anything.

That's a fairly good example of the entire book, actually. The whole thing is written free verse, and is remarkably easy to read. This is a book aimed at young adults. Sophie is a freshman. It was so lovely and honest and I thought did a great job of showing how Sophie felt. It's a lot about falling in love, falling out of love, a little about friendship, and not much of anything else. It was excellent, and now I need my own copy.

I marked a few pages to go back to. Some of the "chapters" are breathtaking. There are two examples here, but they should be considered very slight spoilers. I'm not sure how they hold up outside of the plot.

Weekend Reading

I got some reading done this weekend, yay! I spent a lot less time online than usual and had time to read. We also did a lot of little family things, which was fun. So what did I read?

Last week I read Under the Duvet by Marian Keyes. This is a little collection of essays about just about everything. Some of them are pretty light (shoes!) and some are pretty heavy (there is a really good one on being an alcoholic.) It was a really quick little book, with lots of humor. She reminds me a little of Meg Cabot, but I can't put my finger on why. A lot of the essays were previously published, mostly in 1998 or 1999, so it is a little dated. It got me geared up to start Rachel's Holiday, also by Keyes, for my TBR challenge. So far, Rachel's Holiday is very good. I will use this one for my M author. 3/5

Yesterday after sorting my books for the Themed Lists post, I moved a couple of the shorter books to the top. I figured I have to get some reading going or I'll just have more and more staring at me. I started Statements: True Tales of Life, Love, and Credit Card Bills by Amy Borkowsky during naptime and managed to read almost all of it before the Monkey woke up. The premise is great, the author uses her American Express bills to recreate her life and we get to read all about it. In practice, it's not so great. The chapters are anywhere from 2 to 6 pages long, and sometimes it's quite a stretch to make the purchase into a story. About 15 pages in (so soon!) I almost gave up, but decided that since it was so easy to read I'd keep going. About 80 pages in I wasn't any more impressed, but I'd already read nearly half so I kept going. By the end I knew I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. It just wasn't interesting. I give this one a 2/5.

Today I picked up Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris. This is the fifth book in a series by a tried and true author. While I think the previous book was better, this one had some great moments. Lots of the secondary characters are fleshed out and Sookie is (of course) tested more. I'm a bit nervous about the amount of sexual tension (no actual sex, sorry) between Sookie and the various guys. Until this book I thought Harris did a great job of making me love all the potential suitors, in this one a couple of the guys dropped out for me. I LOVE Sam, and Eric. Oh, and Quinn. 4/5

Hopefully I can keep up the pace this week and finish up a few more!

Sufficient Grace by Darnell Arnoult

After talking about it for months, I have finally read Sufficient Grace. Here's what it says on the back of the book:

"Set against the backdrop of two neighboring Southern towns, Sufficient Grace is the powerful, affecting story of two families over the course of a year, from one Easter season to the next." "One quiet spring day, Gracie Hollaman hears voices in her head that tell her to get in her car and leave her entire life behind - her home, her husband, her daughter, her very identity. Gracie's subsequent journey releases her genius for painting and effects profound changes in the lives of everyone around her. Ultimately, her quest leads her into the home of Mama Toot and Mattie, two strong, accomplished women going through life changes of their own. As the bonds between these women grow stronger, and the family Gracie left behind come to terms with their own loss, both worlds slowly and inevitably collide, revealing a long-buried secret that they share." Sufficient Grace explores the power of personal transformation and redemption, and the many ordinary and extraordinary ways they come to pass through faith, love, motherhood, art, even food. Even though we sometimes have to leave behind an old identity in order to discover our soul, this poignant, poetic study of the human condition affirms the enduring importance of relationships and the strength we derive from them.

I found this to be a slow book. Slowly paced, nothing urgent about it, just laying out the events in a nice easy way. I didn't feel the need to return to it to see what happened next. This isn't really a bad thing, but does explain why it took me so long to read it. The book takes place over the course of a year, and follows into two storylines- Gracie's and Ed's (her husband). The book description would have you think that something dramatic happens "both worlds slowly and inevitably collide" but I think the important word there is "slowly." The "long-buried secret" wasn't so shocking, I didn't think.

That said, I enjoyed the book. I wanted to know what happened to Gracie, I thought she was well-written, and I loved Toots. Some of the characters seemed pretty one-dimensional (Ginger, Wally, the new doctor at the end). There are a few really moving scenes, my favorite being a scene involving Mattie and her late husband's shoes. Another scene is about Ed and an overabundance of windchimes, and I really liked the symbolism there.

There are some aspects that I need to think about a bit more, and might come back to later for another shot at a review. For example, how did the title come about? I'm sure it's because of the Bible verse in 2 Corinthians 12:

7To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

but does this refer to Grace? Ed? Ginger (their daughter?) I can't see how it's about Toots and Mattie. They aren't troubled at all by the appearance of a crazy white woman. I don't think it can refer to Grace, she's not the least upset by her new life, though God does talk to her. So Ed? He's handling it fine. The only character who needs a little strength seems to be Ginger, but the book isn't really about her.

I need to think more about the history of Gracie and Toots, and the little bits of backstory given by Toots. I'm wondering if I'm missing anything there, or if it's really just a way to explain Gracie's mental illness. It's all written very dramatically, hinting that there is more to the story than what is revealed.

The reader's guide at the author's website has the two following questions, which interest me:

-Sister Reba and Gracie both feel "called" to make some of the same decisions.
They both leave their families for a different, nontraditional life, a life with
a focus they believe is defined by something beyond their own desires, even by
God. They both retreat to the woods at times. Can you think of other common
ground shared by Reba and Gracie? Why are these similarities viewed differently
from one character to the other?
-On a larger scale, how do you interpret the issues of faith and fate in the novel? Of miracles and coincidence? Of the
thin gray line between a passionate, inspired calling and bona fide illness?

I definately need to think more about that last question. I didn't make the connection between Sister Reba and Gracie while I was reading the book. During the book, they were clearly different to me, but now, thinking about it, not so much. (Sister Reba is a traveling woman preacher. She left her family and daughter behind to follow God, like Gracie. Reba is not portrayed as crazy at all, just a very religious person.)

Overall, it was a good book, and it certainly has me thinking about it longer than I usually do when I finish a book. I have a feeling that it won't be leaving my head any time soon.

While thinking about this review, I found a blog post that contains some recipes from the book. Here's a link to it.

Official Website for Darnell Arnoult

Ill Wind by Rachel Caine

Joanne Baldwin is a weather warden, part of a secret group of people who can control the weather and change the course of storms, fires, etc. The wardens live in our world and keep the general population from being wiped out by Mother Nature. She's on the run because she (sort of) killed someone, someone more powerful than her. She's trying to get to the only person who can help her, Lewis, who is also on the run.

This was a great book. The premise was completely new to me, and so the whole world Joanne lives in was interesting. Almost from the first page I was hooked. There's a little bit of mystery, a little bit of romance, and a lot of fast driving. This books isn't a heavy, serious book. It's a lot of fun, with a nice twist to the ending. I will definately be reading the rest of the series.

Size 12 Is Not Fat by Meg Cabot

I've heard a lot about Meg Cabot. The author of one of the blogs I read daily is her biggest fan. She wrote The Princess Diaries. How could I not have heard about her? Several weeks (ok, months) ago I purchased this book on the buy 3 for the price of 2 table at Borders. This is one of the few books I've bought new in months. It sat there forever, mocking me for paying money and then not reading it.

Last weekend I woke up before either boy. Mike was sleeping on the couch, Tristan was in his crib. I didn't want to wake either of them by wandering the house and the book I was supposed to be reading was in the living room, so I picked this one to fill in. Turns out, it was an excellent book. Very fast paced, very funny, easy to read.

Size 12 is Not Fat is the story of Heather Wells. Heather is a washed up former teen pop star (think Debbie Gibson). She's recently broken up with her fiance (think Justin Timberlake) and is broke. Her mom and manager ran away with her fortune and her dad is in prison. Heather takes a job as assistant director of a dorm, I mean, residence hall, at New York College. When the second freshman girl dies she becomes convinced that it is not accidental and the story takes off from there.

This was very like Nancy Drew for grownups. It's not a dead serious mystery, I'm sure any true mystery fan will know who-dun-it for the first time it's hinted at. Heather is a very likeable character. She's not perfect. She's a size 12. She makes mistakes. The story is told in her voice, and we hear her thoughts all the way through, including when her thoughts stray. I found it to be very easy to read, and will definately read more of Cabot's books. For a quick sample of her writing, her website and blog are here.