Outer Banks House - Part II

To me, the second of half of the book fell a bit flat. I can't quite put my finger on why exactly. The beauty of the writing in the first half seemed to just disappear. The introduction of the Klan at the end was not really part of the story and was just tacked on  almost as an afterthought.  I think the author was looking for a reason for Abby to be angry with Ben and this was convenient but not well thought out. 
I still think the book is worth reading, especially to fans of Civil War history.

City of Ember - Juvenile Fiction

The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau is the first book in this juvenile series.  It's no Harry Potter though.  Defiantly a 6th or maybe 7th grade reading level.  The dialog is what is holding this book back not the story line.  I don't think I will read the others in the series because of that. 
If you have a Young reader in your family who is not a big reader, this story is interesting enough to hold their attention and with a series of three books, you could have reading material for a few months. 

The Executor by Jesse Kellerman

Joseph Geist is a self-deluding waste of space, a perpetual graduate student who has done nothing with his life so far.  He has recently been kicked out of a shared apartment by his girlfriend (who pays all the bills),  and leaves with little more than what he can carry in one bag and a half bust of Nietzsche’s head, his only possession which  The philosopher is seduced by wealth, when he answers an ad for a position as a conversationalist.  Joseph eventually gives in to some less than noble emotions that are unfamiliar to him.  Paranoia,  jealousy, panic, and hysteria. There’s a growing inevitability to the story as the "crime" unfolds.  This just can't end well for our man Joseph.

I am not sure if I liked this book. I can say for sure it is unforgettable.

Book Group Picks

I started a new book last night, Outer Banks House by Diann Ducharme.  The story (so far) is being told by a 17 year old girl just after the Civil War.  The writing is beautiful and the story grabs your attention.  I love historical fiction.  Can't wait to get further into this one. Our book group picks this 6 month session have been disappointing so far. I have some hope for this one to pull us out of our slump.

Can you tell....I LOVE THIS POEM

"Never Let Me Go" is a Star Read

When I heard this title I had visions of Sandra Brown or Mary Higgins Clark. That is not what you get.  This book kept me on the edge of my seat for days.  The concept is very thought provoking...is this where we are heading?  I didn't understand what was going on through most of the book, even though there were tons of hints. I was completely wrapped up in the story and totally oblivious of the underlying story. 

I am not going to give away anything about the book because I want everyone to read it.  In my opinion this is one of the best books of the year. 

Is The Help a One Book Wonder?

This was a book group read that we had to really scramble to get enough copies of because of the popularity of it.  It is her first (and only so far) book, but what a doozieSet in Jackson, Mississippi in the early 1960s around the time of Medgar Evers’ assassination, it alternates among three voices: Skeeter, a young white woman raised on a comfortable farm outside Jackson mostly by her family’s maid, Constantine; Aibileen, an older (maybe late 50s?) African-American maid working for an empty-headed white woman–a close friend pf Skeeter’s–whose idea of having children is to see them as little as possible; and Minny, a somewhat younger African-American maid whose inability to be sufficiently subservient constantly causes her to lose jobs as a maid.  Aibileen’s and Minny’s chapters are rendered in their dialect (e.g., “I’m on go there” instead of “I’m going to go there”), as Skeeter’s are rendered in hers, but as a college-educated white woman, Skeeter writes more or less standard English.

I liked all three characters. Some of the other characters in the book, such as Skeeter’s friend and Aibileen’s employer Elizabeth and the book’s villain Hilly Holbrook, another friend of theirs and president of the women’s League in Jackson, are portrayed as pure bigots. Can people really have been so cruel?
     Skeeter, an aspiring journalist, persuades Aibileen, and eventually Minny, to share with her their true feelings about their white employers.  In so doing, Skeeter is transformed from a kind person who does not question the rules of the society in which she was raised to one who really “gets it” and becomes willing to break those rules.  But at the end, Skeeter, like the author, leaves the South entirely, while Aibileen, Minny, and the other maids in the novel have to remain behind and deal with living in a racially bigoted society.
In the end I did love this book and have recommended it to several people. You can check out the HELP web page if your group is reading it. 

And now the question is "Is the author a one book wonder?"

Good YA Read

I saw this book in the Baker & Taylor catalog and thought it looked Interesting. 

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore. It rhymes in case you didn't notice.  The sub title is what caught my attention Three Are Dead seemed to point to a thriller.  It was more of a Scifi  though

The characters are a little short on personality but the story line is very imaginative.  I am sure there will be others that follow this band of aliens and earthlings on their journey to find the others ( five through nine minus six).  I sure hope so since it left us hanging. 
Pittacus Lore is the pseudonym for James Frey (author of "A Million Little Pieces") but don't hold that against him. He has actually proven he can write fiction, it is the nonfiction he has had a little trouble with. 

Room by Emma Donoghue is a Book Club Darling but....

Our book group discussed Room last night. Some of the words batted around were disturbing, off putting, slow going and unsettling.  The fact that it is being told by a 5 year old boy makes it slow going in the beginning.  No spoilers here. We all agreed we kept reading hoping the voice would change to an adult. It didn't.
The author does a believeable job of protraying a 5 year old's concept of the world and the new things he experiences.  To be fair none of us (only 1) really disliked the book. We just didn't like it much either.
There was a lot of buzz for this book and we were all excited about this pick I think that is why we were so disappointed.  Over all, there is a lot to discuss but for an enjoyable read, this isn't it.

BOOKS TO THE CEILING

"Books to the ceiling,
Books to the sky,
My pile of books is a mile high.
How I love them! How I need them!
I'll have a long beard by the time I read them."
— Arnold Lobel