Someday, Someday, Maybe by Lauren Graham

Goodreads Summary:

A charming and laugh-out-loud novel by Lauren Graham, beloved star of Parenthood and Gilmore Girls, about an aspiring actress trying to make it in mid-nineties New York City.

Franny Banks is a struggling actress in New York City, with just six months left of the three year deadline she gave herself to succeed. But so far, all she has to show for her efforts is a single line in an ad for ugly Christmas sweaters and a degrading waitressing job. She lives in Brooklyn with two roommates-Jane, her best friend from college, and Dan, a sci-fi writer, who is very definitely not boyfriend material-and is struggling with her feelings for a suspiciously charming guy in her acting class, all while trying to find a hair-product cocktail that actually works.

Meanwhile, she dreams of doing "important" work, but only ever seems to get auditions for dishwashing liquid and peanut butter commercials. It's hard to tell if she'll run out of time or money first, but either way, failure would mean facing the fact that she has absolutely no skills to make it in the real world. Her father wants her to come home and teach, her agent won't call her back, and her classmate Penelope, who seems supportive, might just turn out to be her toughest competition yet.

Someday, Someday, Maybe is a funny and charming debut about finding yourself, finding love, and, most difficult of all, finding an acting job.

My Thoughts:
I enjoyed this read. I think it was a great first book. It was a little on the predictable/ formulaic side of books, but I don't think it worked against the story to be that way.

Franny is a likable character and you really do care about what happens to her personally and professionally. I would have liked a little deeper look at what it feels like to be rejected all the time. While the subject was covered, it wasn't as deep as it could have been.

Lauren Graham's voice clearly comes out in this book. If you are a fan of her acting you will be a fan of her writing. I look forward to reading more from her. I recommend this as a light read to anyone who likes Lauren Graham's work and anyone who likes a chick read.

While writing this review I was listening to the Rachel Maddow show.

Orange Is The New Black by Piper Kerman

Goodreads Summary:

With a career, a boyfriend, and a loving family, Piper Kerman barely resembles the reckless young woman who delivered a suitcase of drug money ten years before. But that past has caught up with her. Convicted and sentenced to fifteen months at the infamous federal correctional facility in Danbury, Connecticut, the well-heeled Smith College alumna is now inmate #11187–424—one of the millions of people who disappear “down the rabbit hole” of the American penal system. From her first strip search to her final release, Kerman learns to navigate this strange world with its strictly enforced codes of behavior and arbitrary rules. She meets women from all walks of life, who surprise her with small tokens of generosity, hard words of wisdom, and simple acts of acceptance. Heartbreaking, hilarious, and at times enraging, Kerman’s story offers a rare look into the lives of women in prison—why it is we lock so many away and what happens to them when they’re there.

My Thoughts:

I picked this book up because I marathoned the Netflix series and finished it over a weekend. I wanted to know more about the truth behind that series. 

I loved this book. I learned so much about prison, the legal system workings, and the strength of people. The women in this book are stronger than I will ever be, they are serving time for a variety of reason and they are handling that with grace. I left this read wanting to get involved in fixing the prison system. At the very least you realize how close a lot of us are to getting locked up and not really deserving it. People make stupid mistakes but I don't think throwing everyone in jail is the answer to those mistakes.

I recommend this book to EVERYONE. I found it heartbreaking and fascinating.

While writing this review I was listening to nothing, it was awesome.

Deadly Heat by Richard Castle

Goodreads Summary:

Picking up where Frozen Heat left off, top NYPD Homicide Detective Nikki Heat pursues the elusive former CIA station chief who ordered the execution of her mother over a decade ago. For the hunt, Nikki teams once again with her romantic partner, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Jameson Rook, and their quest for the old spy and the motive behind the past murder unearths an alarming terror plot-which is anything but ancient history. It is lethal. It is now. And it has already entered its countdown phase.

Complicating Heat's mission to bring the rogue spy to justice and thwart the looming terror event, a serial killer begins menacing the Twentieth Precinct and her homicide squad is under pressure to stop him, and soon. The frightening murderer, known for his chilling stealth, not only has singled out Nikki as the exclusive recipient of his taunting messages, he then boldly names his next victim: Detective Heat.

My thoughts:
As always this was an enjoyable read, just as we can always expect from Richard Castle. My only complaint is this book didn't have the same flow as the others. I was able to guess who and what was going on pretty early in the read. This didn't bother me, as I am not an avid mystery reader but I can imagine that may bug some readers. I am not someone who bothers trying to guess the bad guy so I was able to determine the who and the what without any effort on my part.

That being said, I think really enjoyed this book. It was the perfect escape from the daily grind. I enjoy the storytelling and the advancement of the Heat/ Rook relationship. There was more than one section in the book that made me laugh and there was more than one section that was full of intensity and I was genuinely concerned about Heat.

I recommend this book to fans of the other books or fans of the show, of course. But beyond that I would recommend this book to avid mystery readers, I think this series is strong enough to stand alone without the show as back up.

While writing this review I was listening to Charlie Rose on CBS This Morning.

Basically I suck ass, not in the porn way, but in the bad book blogger way.

I haven't been writing reviews pretty much all summer. This is because I suck book blogger ass. I took the summer and expanded my brain around social statistics and public administration via online courses so that I can graduate at the end of this year rather than next summer. I want to be done with college, it is a 14 year journey and I really want it to be over, for at least a little while. So this brings me back to my point that I suck book blogger ass. I have been reading, I am certain that my fun reads got me through my summer classes.

The following are books I read and thought were rad so you should read them too:

As you can see I fell in love with Sarah Addison Allen and continued my love for Sarah Dessen. I want to point your attention to Friendship Bread by Darien Gee. I really loved this book, it made my heart feel warm after reading it. I read Jenny McCarthy when I needed a guilty or naughty giggle.

The following are books that I read for school and one that I read for fun but I wouldn't recommend it.

And lastly, I read a book that I am totally neutral about and therefore will not recommend or discourage you from reading it.

Overall, I liked most of what I read. I am just not a fan of Gillian Flynn so I should stop reading her books. I just feel too grim after reading her books. The books I read for class about inequality made me hate republicans and democrats, so business as normal. I do not love being on the poor end of those theories so that was intense for me personally. Obviously I would never suggest someone read a social statistics book, but if you are forced to read this particular book it isn't as awful as most. I even laughed once while reading it which is a huge step up from crying.

Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan

Goodreads Summary:

This is the story of Paul, a sophomore at a high school like no other: The cheerleaders ride Harleys, the homecoming queen used to be a guy named Daryl (she now prefers Infinite Darlene and is also the star quarterback), and the gay-straight alliance was formed to help the straight kids learn how to dance.

When Paul meets Noah, he thinks he’s found the one his heart is made for. Until he blows it. The school bookie says the odds are 12-to-1 against him getting Noah back, but Paul’s not giving up without playing his love really loud. His best friend Joni might be drifting away, his other best friend Tony might be dealing with ultra-religious parents, and his ex-boyfriend Kyle might not be going away anytime soon, but sometimes everything needs to fall apart before it can really fit together right.

This is a happy-meaningful romantic comedy about finding love, losing love, and doing what it takes to get love back in a crazy-wonderful world.

My Thoughts:

This is the high school that I wish I had attended. From the drag-queen quarterback to the straight kids not being judgy assholes I would have actually liked high school if this had been my school. As it was, I went to high school in a Utah suburb which was not even close to accepting of diversity.

David Levithan captures a great "I wish it were true" reality. We walk in the shoes of Paul throughout the book. Paul is super secure in his sexuality and identity and it is nice to have a teen have his shit together. We have secondary characters who represent the rest of us, ya know, the hot mess folks. Those of us who aren't sure about our sexuality or who we are and what all of that even means are represented clearly and when it is cliched it doesn't work against the story.

I wish this story were true.

I would recommend this book to fans of David Levithan and the not so normal kids out there. I will say that sometimes the story is a bit over the top, but I like it. I know not everyone digs exaggeration in this style so I definitely don't think it is for everyone.

While writing this review I was listening to Justin Beiber. He is just awful. I really need to stop listening to pop music. If only it wasn't so catchy!

Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen

Goodreads Summary:

The New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Who Chased the Moon welcomes you to her newest locale: Walls of Water, North Carolina, where the secrets are thicker than the fog from the town’s famous waterfalls, and the stuff of superstition is just as real as you want it to be.

It’s the dubious distinction of thirty-year-old Willa Jackson to hail from a fine old Southern family of means that met with financial ruin generations ago. The Blue Ridge Madam—built by Willa’s great-great-grandfather during Walls of Water’s heyday, and once the town’s grandest home—has stood for years as a lonely monument to misfortune and scandal. And Willa herself has long strived to build a life beyond the brooding Jackson family shadow. No easy task in a town shaped by years of tradition and the well-marked boundaries of the haves and have-nots.

But Willa has lately learned that an old classmate—socialite do-gooder Paxton Osgood—of the very prominent Osgood family, has restored the Blue Ridge Madam to her former glory, with plans to open a top-flight inn. Maybe, at last, the troubled past can be laid to rest while something new and wonderful rises from its ashes. But what rises instead is a skeleton, found buried beneath the property’s lone peach tree, and certain to drag up dire consequences along with it.

For the bones—those of charismatic traveling salesman Tucker Devlin, who worked his dark charms on Walls of Water seventy-five years ago—are not all that lay hidden out of sight and mind. Long-kept secrets surrounding the troubling remains have also come to light, seemingly heralded by a spate of sudden strange occurrences throughout the town.

Now, thrust together in an unlikely friendship, united by a full-blooded mystery, Willa and Paxton must confront the dangerous passions and tragic betrayals that once bound their families—and uncover truths of the long-dead that have transcended time and defied the grave to touch the hearts and souls of the living.

Resonant with insight into the deep and lasting power of friendship, love, and tradition, The Peach Keeper is a portrait of the unshakable bonds that—in good times and bad, from one generation to the next—endure forever.

My Thoughts:

I was not sure I would like this book when it started to take on a ghostly feel. I really should start reading descriptions of books before checking them out at the library (yes I judge books by their covers). Lucky for me I didn't give up on this read and thankfully the ghostly stuff was minimal.I really enjoyed the set up for the character development. We learned things slowly along with the main characters. None of the ghostly stuff was cheesy or excessive. I think it gave the book a nice level of supernatural intrigue without being an outright ghost story, rather, this book felt like it could be anyone's story.

Will is a woman who hasn't quite figured herself out, but only realizes it when she sees herself through the eyes of those who barely know her. I enjoyed learning about these characters through the observations of the other characters. It was refreshing to have narrative that was well written and not just in the first person.

I would recommend this book to those who love a Southern flare to their reads. I would additionally recommend this book as a fast and fairly light summer read. It was engaging but not so heavy that it impacted the day. I could put it down, but I didn't want to.

While writing this review I was listening to Jennifer Lopez sing about wanting to make love to her baby. No I didn't look up the title of the song because I didn't care that much :) Really shouldn't JLo go away already? She just isn't good. Also, I am really tired of her ass, and I mean her actual ass.

Before Ever After by Samantha Sotto

Goodreads Summary:

Three years after her husband Max's death, Shelley feels no more adjusted to being a widow than she did that first terrible day. That is, until the doorbell rings. Standing on her front step is a young man who looks so much like Max; same smile, same eyes, same age, same adorable bump in his nose; he could be Max's long-lost relation. He introduces himself as Paolo, an Italian editor of American coffee table books, and shows Shelley some childhood photos. Paolo tells her that the man in the photos, the bearded man who Paolo says is his grandfather though he never seems to age, is Max. Her Max. And he is alive and well.

As outrageous as Paolo's claims seem; how could her husband be alive? And if he is, why hasn't he looked her up? Shelley desperately wants to know the truth. She and Paolo jet across the globe to track Max down; if it is really Max and along the way, Shelley recounts the European package tour where they had met. As she relives Max's stories of bloody Parisian barricades, medieval Austrian kitchens, and buried Roman boathouses, Shelley begins to piece together the story of who her husband was and what these new revelations mean for her "happily ever after." And as she and Paolo get closer to the truth, Shelley discovers that not all stories end where they are supposed to

My Thoughts:

A close friend of mine recommended this book several months ago. I finally got around to it after the semester ended. I did not read the description of this book prior to picking it. I wish that I had. The story took me by surprise from the first chapter and didn't get go until I finished it.

I was torn on if I liked this book the entire time I was reading it. I think I have been reading too many text books this last year so I have gotten used to not having to suspend reason while reading. This is one of those books that you just have to go with the punches and not think about it too much. I tend to think about things too much. I will say that I did like that this book made me think. I have read any number of stories about immortals but this was an interesting take on the whole idea. This being said, I am not sure I bought into the origin story of Max. This was a little too fanciful for my liking. I found it interesting but ultimately frustrating that he was so many different people throughout history. I found I couldn't read more than a chapter a night or it would start to bug me.

I guess what bugged me about this book was that it was half modern fiction and half historical fiction. Previous reads that flipped between time frames haven't bothered me too much but this one did. I liked each story but by flipping back to the present time, or five years ago, or 500 years ago something in the story lost its charm for me.

I don't want it to sound like I didn't like this book. I did like it. I thought the writing was pretty good and the characters were likable and believable, for the most part. The ending was left open which I love and hate at the same time. I get to think about what the possible outcomes for the characters could be and that is always fun.

I would recommend this book to historical fiction lovers first, then I would recommend this to people who have a different personality than me. If flipping between many time lines and having to accept blindly what it being told to you doesn't bother you then this book won't bug you like it did me.

While writing this review I was listening to Emmapuppy snore and my neighbors stomp around.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Goodreads Summary:

On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears from their rented McMansion on the Mississippi River. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?

As the cops close in, every couple in town is soon wondering how well they know the one that they love. With his twin sister, Margo, at his side, Nick stands by his innocence. Trouble is, if Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?

With her razor-sharp writing and trademark psychological insight, Gillian Flynn delivers a fast-paced, devilishly dark, and ingeniously plotted thriller that confirms her status as one of the hottest writers around.


My Thoughts: ***********************SPOILER ALERT***********************

Several people recommended this book to me. This book has been racking up some serious buzz all over the place. I was hoping that it would at least be a decent read. Sadly, I was not a fan. I felt like both characters, Nick and Amy, complained and lacked development like angsty 20 something girls.

From the second chapter or so I knew what the twist in the story was going to be. It was obvious to me that Amy was alive and setting up her husband for her murder. I assumed he had done something to piss her off. They are both insane characters, which is why they felt like the same person from the start.

I really wanted to like this book but I just didn't. I thought it was predictable and not this amazing groundbreaking book that every one is calling it. I didn't totally hate it though. I liked that it wasn't conventional, predictable yes but not conventional.

I wouldn't recommend this to people who are good a guessing where a story is going. It kind of ruined the book for me that I saw the twist so early in the book.

While writing this review I was listening to an episode of Scandal.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling

Goodreads Summary:

Mindy Kaling has lived many lives: the obedient child of immigrant professionals, a timid chubster afraid of her own bike, a Ben Affleck–impersonating Off-Broadway performer and playwright, and, finally, a comedy writer and actress prone to starting fights with her friends and coworkers with the sentence “Can I just say one last thing about this, and then I swear I’ll shut up about it?”

Perhaps you want to know what Mindy thinks makes a great best friend (someone who will fill your prescription in the middle of the night), or what makes a great guy (one who is aware of all elderly people in any room at any time and acts accordingly), or what is the perfect amount of fame (so famous you can never get convicted of murder in a court of law), or how to maintain a trim figure (you will not find that information in these pages). If so, you’ve come to the right book, mostly!

In Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, Mindy invites readers on a tour of her life and her unscientific observations on romance, friendship, and Hollywood, with several conveniently placed stopping points for you to run errands and make phone calls. Mindy Kaling really is just a Girl Next Door—not so much literally anywhere in the continental United States, but definitely if you live in India or Sri Lanka.

My Thoughts:

I found the writing style good but at points times annoying. Which is really my impression of this entire book. Some of the recounts of Mindy's life were legitimately funny but honestly she doesn't know how to end a story in a way that maintains the funny. Often I would finish a story thinking, "huh, well that happened" and then I went back to reading homework instead of this book.

I think this genre of comics telling how they became funny is just a little over done and is becoming tired. I don't mean that as an attack on Mindy, she is sometimes funny. I just want something that isn't so formulaic. The funniest part of of Mindy's book is the honest part at the beginning where she talks about possible reasons people are reading her book. She says something about you have just finished Chelsea Handler's book so now what? If only this book was as good as any of Chelsea Handlers.

I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone unless they are a die hard fan of Mindy Kaling.

While writing this review I was listening to Aretha Franklin.

Requiem By Lauren Oliver

Goodreads Summary:
They have tried to squeeze us out, to stamp us into the past.
But we are still here.
And there are more of us every day.

Now an active member of the resistance, Lena has been transformed. The nascent rebellion that was under way in Pandemonium has ignited into an all-out revolution in Requiem, and Lena is at the center of the fight.

After rescuing Julian from a death sentence, Lena and her friends fled to the Wilds. But the Wilds are no longer a safe haven—pockets of rebellion have opened throughout the country, and the government cannot deny the existence of Invalids. Regulators now infiltrate the borderlands to stamp out the rebels, and as Lena navigates the increasingly dangerous terrain, her best friend, Hana, lives a safe, loveless life in Portland as the fiancée of the young mayor.

Maybe we are driven crazy by our feelings.
Maybe love is a disease, and we would be better off without it.
But we have chosen a different road.
And in the end, that is the point of escaping the cure: We are free to choose.
We are even free to choose the wrong thing.

Requiem is told from both Lena’s and Hana’s points of view. The two girls live side by side in a world that divides them until, at last, their stories converge.

My Thoughts:

When I heard this book would be told from two narratives, Hana and Lena, I was annoyed. The biggest complaint I had with Pandemonium was the switching between time frames. I am pleased to say that I was not annoyed when reading Requiem. It felt natural to switch between Hana and Lena"s worlds. It was nice to get the POV from a cured person, indicating that the cure doesn't really work.

****SPOILER ALERT****

Hana has the fuzziness and weirdness from having her brain missing scoops. She is still herself though, underneath it all, and she still cares about Lena. I was not shocked to learn that it had been Hana who betrayed Lena and Alex in Delirium. She causes the dominoes to fall far too quickly for the two lovers. I had always suspected that it was Hana. She was the only one who know the plans between Lena and Alex. I love where her story ends.

Lena is still in the wilds with Raven and Tack. Julian has come along even though Alex has resurfaced. Love triangles tend to bother me but this one didn't bother me. I felt Lena had gone through a natural grief process with thinking Alex was dead. I felt her feelings for Julian were also natural. I would say the best thing about the way this story unfolded was that it all felt natural and not pushed or forced.

I like that Lauren Oliver didn't sum up the story in a nice pretty package. We know that Alex and Lena still love each other but we don't know for sure what will happen to them. We know that the Resistance has staged a massive protest in Portland but we don't know if it will last or work the way they wanted. I really think this was the best way to end my favorite series. I really enjoyed this book. I will say that it was hard at times to get through a chapter without getting a little choked up. 

I would recommend this book and the whole series to any one wanting a good read. Lauren Oliver is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors.

While writing this review I was listening to an episode of Downton Abby.

Here I Go Again by Jen Lancaster

Goodreads Summary:

Hilarious new fiction from the New York Times bestselling author of Bitter Is the New Black and If You Were Here .

Twenty years after ruling the halls of her suburban Chicago high school, Lissy Ryder doesn't understand why her glory days ended. Back then, she was worshipped...beloved...feared. Present day, not so much. She's been pink-slipped from her high-paying job, dumped by her husband, and kicked out of her condo. Now, at thirty-seven, she's struggling to start a business out of her parents' garage and sleeping under the hair-band posters in her old bedroom.

Lissy finally realizes karma is the only bitch bigger than she was. Her present is miserable because of her past. But it's not like she can go back in time and change who she was...or can she?


My Thoughts:

I have been a fan of Jen Lancaster for a while now. Her wit and irreverent style are what drew me into her memoirs. Her first novel was decent but was a little too close to how she writes her true stories, which made it occasionally confusing (you would forget it was fiction from time to time). Here We Go Again is Jen's second novel. Her characters voice is more distinct from her own while maintaining the wit and style we have grown to love.

The only real criticism I have about this book is the first part of the book our main character is too over the top. I know it was the point but it could have been executed without so much current dumb blonde slag. It was sometimes a little awkward to continue reading because this character was so overblown. This issue thankfully resolves itself about a quarter of the way through the book. We go on a great ride of figuring out what kind of impact we may or may not have on people. Lissy Ryder is not a nice person, she is selfish and cruel. This book takes us through a funny and at times touching eye opening journey. Lissy has her selfishness and cruelty thrown in her face, and as it turns out, she doesn’t like what she sees.

I liked the book over all. I didn’t find it overly predictable or derived like a lot of books in the genre. I can’t wait to see what Jen comes up with in her third novel. I love watching her fiction evolve. Jen can tell a great story.

While writing this review I was listening to Face the Nation.

Frozen Heat by Richard Castle

Goodreads Summary:

Hot on the heels of Richard Castle's #1 New York Times bestseller Heat Rises comes the fourth novel in the Nikki Heat series, Frozen Heat. Nikki Heat and Jameson Rook are together again, facing an unsolved murder mystery that has haunted Nikki for ten years.

NYPD Homicide Detective Nikki Heat arrives at her latest crime scene to find an unidentified woman stabbed to death and stuffed inside a suitcase left on a Manhattan street. Nikki is in for a big shock when this new homicide connects to the unsolved murder of her own mother. Paired once again with her romantic and investigative partner, top journalist Jameson Rook, Heat works to solve the mystery of the body in the suitcase while she is forced to confront unexplored areas of her mother's background.

Facing relentless danger as someone targets her for the next kill, Nikki's search will unearth painful family truths, expose a startling hidden life, and cause Nikki to reexamine her own past. Heat's passionate quest takes her and Rook from the back alleys of Manhattan to the avenues of Paris, trying to catch a ruthless killer. The question is, now that her mother's cold case has unexpectedly thawed, will Nikki Heat finally be able to solve the dark mystery that has been her demon for ten years?

My Thoughts:
I started reading this the week before finals, which I really shouldn't have. It took me a while to get through this read, not because the book isn't good but because I was burned out from school. I held off on writing this review until my head was no longer fuzzy from the semester.

I really loved some of the inside jokes in this book, for being a fan of Nathan Fillion I caught some humor that not everyone else would catch. I liked the relationship development between Nikki and Rook. I wasn't a huge fan on where they took the story of Nikki's Mother's murder. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it either. It felt a little melodramatic and kind of predictable, but not in a bad way. I guess I am lukewarm about where the story went but it was well written and entertaining.

I would recommend this book to fans of the show Castle and anyone who digs the cop books.

While writing this review I was listening to an episode of The West Wing.

Required Reading for Spring Semester 2013

The following are the books that I will be reading for my four classes this semester. This looks like it will be an intense semester of reading. I may not have a lot of time for fun reading for a few months.