AngelFall by Susan Ee

I received this book free through Goodreads First Reads. This has no impact on my thoughts or feelings for this book.

Goodreads Summary:

It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

My Thoughts:

I admit I received this book a while ago. I read the first chapter or two and then put it down. I wasn't in the mood for what I thought would be yet another run of the mill post apocalyptic teen girl hero story. Which this book does have some of that, but it has some other elements which made it stand out for me once I gave it a real chance. I read this book in its entirety in one day. Part of that is it is a really fast read, the other part is my curiosity of where this story would go.

Penryn is the stereotypical I didn't choose this I just want to be normal hero of the story. What I like about her is her faults. For instance he accidentally throws a rock at the person trying to help her. She just had bad aim. Which if this book were real I suspect things like that would happen more often, as real people don't always hit their mark.

Raffe is the totally hot totally broody angel who lost his wings. I don't hold that against him too much. He isn't an overbearing douche trying to control Penryn which is often the case in these books. I like that he bets on her and leaves her to fight her own fights.

Penryn's family is of course a broken family. Mom is craycray and little sister is in a wheelchair. The mental illness of Mom is interesting in that in a lot of ways the craycray are better equipped to handle life with angels trying to kill you. Her insanity if finally a strength rather than a weakness. Now little sister gave me nightmares after what happened to her. She is part of the book that totally creeped me out and I wasn't expecting the hair on the back of my neck to get the wiggins. I won't go into too much detail but mad doctors are doing things to angels and humans alike which is bad news bears. I don't read many books that could be considered scary sauce so I am probably extra sensitive to creepy concepts. I don't watch horror movies either and this would fit right in with a horror movie.

So overall, I would recommend this book to fans of the genre and maybe horror fans but note that the creepy stuff is much later in the book and I am a wuss. I would say that it was a fast and entertaining read, so if you want something that meets that criteria I would recommend this one. 

While writing this review I was listening to Giles sing from the Buffy musical episode.

Spinster: Making a Life of One's Own by by Kate Bolick

***I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for a review, however, this has not swayed my opinion in anyway***

Goodreads Summary:

“Whom to marry, and when will it happen—these two questions define every woman’s existence.” So begins Spinster, a revelatory and slyly erudite look at the pleasures and possibilities of remaining single. Using her own experiences as a starting point, journalist and cultural critic Kate Bolick invites us into her carefully considered, passionately lived life, weaving together the past and present to examine why­ she—along with over 100 million American women, whose ranks keep growing—remains unmarried.

This unprecedented demographic shift, Bolick explains, is the logical outcome of hundreds of years of change that has neither been fully understood, nor appreciated. Spinster introduces a cast of pioneering women from the last century whose genius, tenacity, and flair for drama have emboldened Bolick to fashion her life on her own terms: columnist Neith Boyce, essayist Maeve Brennan, social visionary Charlotte Perkins Gilman, poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, and novelist Edith Wharton. By animating their unconventional ideas and choices, Bolick shows us that contemporary debates about settling down, and having it all, are timeless—the crucible upon which all thoughtful women have tried for centuries to forge a good life.

Intellectually substantial and deeply personal, Spinster is both an unreservedly inquisitive memoir and a broader cultural exploration that asks us to acknowledge the opportunities within ourselves to live authentically. Bolick offers us a way back into our own lives—a chance to see those splendid years when we were young and unencumbered, or middle-aged and finally left to our own devices, for what they really are: unbounded and our own to savor.

My Thoughts:

I want to start off with saying that whom to marry and when it will happen have never defined my existence. I could relate to some of Spinster, but not all. I am not sure I bought the the sweeping generalizations made based off of a hand full of individual women most of whom are dead and therefore can't clarify or explain their positions. This being said, I liked Spinster if for no other reason that it got me thinking about things I may never have thought about otherwise.

Often, I think women my age and older think that we all have the same experiences when it comes to marriage and commitment and then it is those freaks among us who dare to go against the norm. I am not sure this is the case. I do think that women have often been silenced, as pointed out either intentionally or implied in this book. I do think that silence has been misunderstood. In reading this book I examined my own thoughts about marriage and what it means to women as a whole as well as me specifically.

Personally, I never wanted to get married. I found a partner I love and I want to share my life with but marriage wasn't ever something I needed or wanted. Things worked out the way they did because I, just like many of the women in the book, am a pragmatist. Getting married gave me health insurance (in a time before Obamacare), tuition reduction at my University (where my husband works), and rights which are not granted to single people. I wanted my husband, who knows me best, making the hard choices for me if things ever came to that. Many women get married for pragmatic reasons, and many more get married for romantic reasons. In reading Spinster I felt a little judged by the author, but I don't think that was her intent. I think it is hard to write about something so big and yet so personal without offending someone.

I really enjoyed the exploration of single womanhood through the words and lives of female writers. I don't know if Kate Bolick exactly expressed what those writers thought or felt, but ultimately that wasn't the point of her book. Kate was on a journey herself and took the words of others as inspiration. I don't think writers should expect to be fully understood and this book is a perfect example of that. A good book isn't defined by agreement with the author, but perhaps how much the author gets us thinking. We writers never know if someone will fully get our meaning, personally, I love when someone finds something of themselves in my writing.

I thought a lot about this book as I was reading it. I thought a lot about it for weeks after I finished reading it. I re-read several sections before finally sitting down to finish this review. Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for an interesting take on a subject that isn't talked about enough or even fully explored. I don't know that her views are universal, they weren't for me, but I think perhaps they may hit home for a lot of women. Examination of society and why we do what we do is always worthwhile.

I want to point out I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.

While writing this review I was listening to my upstairs neighbor move out and clean her apartment and a 90's mix on google radio.

Happy Mother's Day. Thank God I am not a Mother.

I am not a Mother. Sure I show love, nurturing, and "motherly" stuff toward the people and dogs that I love, but I don't kid myself. I am not a Mother. For this I couldn't be more happy. I don't consider love and nurturing as a motherly instinct, I think of it as my humanity showing (yes it is almost as embarrassing as my underwear showing but these things happen).

I have been reading the book Spinster: Making a Life of One's Own (review coming as soon as I finish the book and finish stewing about the ideas of marriage and motherhood presented in the book) and yesterday I read a post on a friend's blog about not being a Mother and why you should stop asking her about it.

Between these two recent influences I have been thinking a lot about the choice of Motherhood. I never wanted to be a Mother. I still have ZERO interest in such things. I can't stand seeing a huge belly on my friends. It is disturbing to me in so many ways. It is never my first instinct to congratulate prego women in my life. I feel sad and scared for them. Then I remember they don't think that way and I put on my supportive face and say, as long as you are happy I am happy. I hate what pregnancy does to your body, your mind, your soul, and just generally speaking the overhaul that happens to your life and person. This is why I shouldn't have kids. Let me be clear this is why I shouldn't have kids.

Those same friends whose huge bellies sent my stomach turning and my mind burning with sadness for them have quite the opposite feeling toward their little families (for the most part). I am happy for them if they are happy. I wish all those who have babies, kids, and are in any way a Mother, I wish you a happy Mother's Day. Care-giving in all ways is devalued by society and that is not my goal with this post. I think Mother's are amazing, the epic amounts of shit (both literally and figuratively) takes a stronger person than myself to tolerate. Even my own crazy Mother is amazing and while she drives me bonkers I would never change her. She did the best and does the best now to be the best Mother she can be. For her never ending work and dedication to Motherhood I thank her. I thank all Mothers. I just don't ever want to be one. I am not selfless enough to be a Mother. Only one day a year the people you love the most celebrate you and show you that they are grateful. That is shitty to be so undervalued and unappreciated. So Mothers, I appreciate what you did for you and yours. I just don't want to be you.

I like that my vagina is the same now as it was when I was 20. You may not want to hear about my vagina, but isn't that what you are doing when asking me when I will be having kids? Do you additionally want to hear about my uterus and ovaries? Okay! So as it turns out I have a hostile uterus! Which I fucking love, seriously. I mean come on, that is amazing for a hostile chick like me. I am such a grump that my uterus is also grumpy.

The gyno delivered that information to me with such a serious and sad face I couldn't help but to laugh right in their face. I told them that was the best news I could have ever been given but, I still wanted to get sterilized. I went through some super fun procedures to look at my uterus further and my ovaries. Have I ever told you how fun it is to take a condom covered probe and put it into your snatch while an ultrasound tech sits next to you? So much fun, let me tell you. *Insert awkward pause.

During this process they discovered I have scar tissue on one of my ovaries (the ultrasound doc commented this was likely from "hard child birth", which made me laugh and then feel like vomming all over the place, twice) and a cyst. I was diagnosed with PCOS. Which basically means my lady bits hate me. Which often the feeling is mutual, those bitches. An awesome side effect of PCOS is fertility problems. Again, this is awesome! I still want to get my tubes tied and my uterus scorched. I will take your hostile uterus and raise you a burned and fully deactivated uterus. The down time, however, is not great. The very things that make it more difficult for me to get prego also extend my healing time from getting sliced and diced. I work a manual labor job which doesn't have PTO so taking two months off is a no go for me. So what is a very paranoid girl to do?

Talk to my husband about his junk. What? Isn't that what you are asking about when you ask him why he doesn't want kids? Aren't you asking about the state of his balls and penis? Well since you asked, his balls have been deactivated and his penis hasn't been disturbed. I asked him if he was okay with me discussing his balls on the internet, as it turns out he was fine with it. So we, the overly paranoid couple found a doc willing to snip a young man's balls.

My gyno didn't ask me more than once if I was sure if I wanted to end the possibilities of contracting the plague, aka pregnancy. *Read that as; I am old enough and clear enough when talking about babies and catching the plague that it isn't something people have a hard time believing when I talk about it, obviously. As it was for my younger husband he had to do some work and search for a doctor who wouldn't hold it against him that he is under the age of 30. (Side note, when we got married I was looking 30 in the mouth and it took several conversations to convince me that he was okay with getting married before he turned 30) I understood to some extent the hesitation of the doctors, sometimes twenty somethings change their minds and they don't want to get sued. But at the same time, if someone has been to multiple doctors that should be a clear indication that they are serious and have done the thinking and self evaluation required to make a choice about their own balls.

So he got snipped. I no longer have the fear, the terror of his ejaculations. When I see women in movies saying things like "let's make a baby" or "fill me up" I want to vom. It takes the awesome moments of knocking boots and makes it creepy to me. Now that he is snipped I no longer have the nagging fear between periods (which thanks to the  PCOS are infrequent, like sometimes once every six months). I don't have to obsessively count days. I no longer have to take the birth control pill which fucked up my libido. I no longer have to get the depo shot in my ass every three months. The work it takes not to get prego is now something I don't have to deal with. I love it. I feel free to love my husband without fear.

I have never wanted to live in fear. It drove me crazy in many ways. I stopped wanting to have sex as frequently. I would have nightmares of pain and gore ripping through my body wrecking those parts of me that I spent a lot of time learning to love. I would wake up in a cold sweat and panting like I had been running from zombies for days. In reality, I was just trying to survive life without brewing a new one.

Sex is such a loaded thing for a wide variety of reasons. If you don't want to plague spawn it can be horrifying to watch your beloved partner orgasm. That isn't great for relationships. So the next time you have the urge to ask a childless person or couple why they don't have children or when will they be having kids think before you speak. Would you want them to ask you about the state of your balls, uterus, and ovaries? Do you really want a run down of how and when they fuck? No? Then stop asking. I don't generally ask people when they are going to have children unless they bring it up and I am fully prepared for the answer.

Having children shouldn't be an assumed step for anyone. There are many people who shouldn't be having kids. There are many people who desperately want kids and can't. There are people who can't take care of themselves and or their partners and probably shouldn't be given ideas about bringing another person into the mix. My point is this: Mothers are cool, but not every woman should be one, and really when you think about it honestly and logically you wouldn't want every woman to be a Mother. Not everyone can take on that much work and live through it. I sure can't. Think about how often you see the story in movies, books, and culture in general where a crap Mother ruined someone so much they acted out in terrible ways. Think about that. It is always the Mother's fault. Not only was she responsible for your childhood, good or bad, but she is forever responsible for your behavior. How often do you hear phrases like it "She/he wasn't raised right" "Didn't your Mother teach you better?" "Do you kiss your Mother with that mouth?" Poor Mothers. I am guilty of Mom blaming. I think everyone is. I do not want to accept that much responsibility for the rest of my life. Talk about exhausting.

I think we can celebrate Mother's Day without shaming the non mothers. Happy Mother's Day Momfolk. Happy Sunday nonMomfolk. I hope no matter where you are, who you are, what you are, you are having a good day and good life. I think we should show more appreciation toward Mothers and more respect for non Mothers.

Seriously though folks, stop asking people about their baby making. Try asking questions about who they are, where they are going, and how they are getting there. There is so much more to life than creating a new one. Art in its many forms, books, music, politics, dreams, failures, and disappointments. All of these things should be talked about at great length. Sex should also be talked about, but never without both parties consenting to it and there is so much more to talk about with sex than baby making. Don't force your choices onto others. Don't assume everyone wants to get married and have kids. Single adults are awesome. Coupled adults without kids are just as awesome. Married with kids, also awesome. Moms aren't just the people who birth or adopt. Those people who take on the job of helping raise and teach others are a type of Mom. They too deserve appreciation. I deserve the courtesy of your respect because I know myself well enough to choose what is right for me and my body. Trust me, you wouldn't want a smaller version of me walking this Earth.

I am a pain in the ass. I think too much, too hard, and too fast. I am so many things both good and bad. I accept all of them. I love myself in my ever evolving state. I am not so in love with myself that I am interested in passing bits of myself on. One version of me is enough. Besides, knowing my luck I would end up with a god fearing republican child who hates art but has my shitty attitude and temper. I assure you, the world does NOT need that.

While writing this I listened to Miley Cyrus, Van Morrison, The Black Eyed Peas, Bob Dylan, Katy Perry, and The Beta Band.

Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen

Goodreads Summary:

Peyton, Sydney's charismatic older brother, has always been the star of the family, receiving the lion's share of their parents' attention and—lately—concern. When Peyton's increasingly reckless behavior culminates in an accident, a drunk driving conviction, and a jail sentence, Sydney is cast adrift, searching for her place in the family and the world. When everyone else is so worried about Peyton, is she the only one concerned about the victim of the accident?

Enter the Chathams, a warm, chaotic family who run a pizza parlor, play bluegrass on weekends, and pitch in to care for their mother, who has multiple sclerosis. Here Sydney experiences unquestioning acceptance. And here she meets Mac, gentle, watchful, and protective, who makes Sydney feel seen, really seen, for the first time.

The uber-popular Sarah Dessen explores her signature themes of family, self-discovery, and change in her twelfth novel, sure to delight her legions of fans.


My Thoughts:

I should say up front I love Sarah Dessen books ever so much. I look forward to each new book anxiously and then read them as soon as I can get my paws on them. I have never been disappointed and this book is no exception. It took me under 24 hours to start and complete this book and the slight hit my sleep schedule took was well worth it.

Sydney is every younger sibling who lived in the shadow of a brother or sister with a world of personality and problems. In a lot of ways I could relate to being "the little sister of..." This isn't a slam against my brothers but those experiences lead to me fully relating to this book. While my parents never over reacted with me the way that Sydney's eventually do I could still relate. I love this about Sarah Dessen books. I can always relate, learn something about myself, and remember how I got to where I am.

This book isn't complicated and that is part of why I love it. Straight forward and good story telling is so rare anymore, most people are trying to create the moment of shock or have a catch of some kind. Sarah Dessen doesn't fall prey to the trend of incomplete stories for the sake of selling more books. All of her books have a beginning, middle, and end with clear visions of the possible future. You leave her books feeling better and in a dark and twisty world I think she is a beacon of light.

I would recommend this book to Sarah Dessen fans and anyone looking for a light fast read.

While writing this review I was listing to One Republic - Love Runs Out.

Voyager (Outlander #3) by Diana Gabaldon

Goodreads Summary:

Their passionate encounter happened long ago by whatever measurement Claire Randall took. Two decades before, she had traveled back in time and into the arms of a gallant eighteenth-century Scot named Jamie Fraser. Then she returned to her own century to bear his child, believing him dead in the tragic battle of Culloden. Yet his memory has never lessened its hold on her... and her body still cries out for him in her dreams.

Then Claire discovers that Jamie survived. Torn between returning to him and staying with their daughter in her own era, Claire must choose her destiny. And as time and space come full circle, she must find the courage to face the passion and pain awaiting her...the deadly intrigues raging in a divided Scotland... and the daring voyage into the dark unknown that can reunite or forever doom her timeless love.

My Thoughts:

I love these books. I am not normally into lady porn, historical fiction, or sci-fi. I guess when you put all of those things together with a strong female lead I totally love it. Claire is not your run of the mill leading lady. She swears like a sailor and doesn't put up shit from anyone, least of all Jamie (much to his displeasure and extreme pleasure).

I have heard other reviews had a hard time with some of the bits to this book that took the ridiculous to the next level from the previous books. I found the adventures and weird new characters a pleasure. This book takes you away from anything you expect and then keeps going. I can see why some people wouldn't love that, but I do.

Pirates, the high seas, and plot twists and turns that are all over the place and yet fluid. This is the first time I enjoyed reading a book that took place on ships. Poor sea sick Jamie. I can feel your pain man! I am hesitant to give too much detail because I don't want to give spoilers. 

I would recommend this to fans of the show Outlander, but please start with the first book. I don't recommend jumping into this series out of order. Diana Gabaldon is an amazing writer. She knows how to get your blood pumping in a variety of ways, meaning, she knows how to write a character you want to jump their bones and characters you want to jump with a knife. Damn that Laoghaire MacKenzie!

Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen

Goodreads Summary:
Now a New York Times bestseller.

From beloved bestselling author Sarah Addison Allen comes her long-awaited new novel, Lost Lake, about heartbroken people finding hope at a magical place in Georgia.

Suley, Georgia, is home to Lost Lake Cottages and not much else. Which is why it's the perfect place for newly-widowed Kate and her eccentric eight-year-old daughter Devin to heal. Kate spent one memorable childhood summer at Lost Lake, had her first almost-kiss at Lost Lake, and met a boy named Wes at Lost Lake. It was a place for dreaming. But Kate doesn't believe in dreams anymore, and her Aunt Eby, Lost Lake's owner, wants to sell the place and move on. Lost Lake's magic is gone. As Kate discovers that time has a way of standing still at Lost Lake can she bring the cottages—and her heart—back to life?

Sometimes lost loves aren't really lost. They're right where you left them, waiting for you to find them again.

My Thoughts:

Can I just say I love love love Sarah Addison Allen? She has never disappointed in enthralling me in her world for a few hundred pages and I am legitimately sad when I finish her books.

That being said, this book took me a beat to fall in love with, here you should read it took more than five pages but not more than 20. The writing was as beautiful as ever, but something felt different with this book. I couldn't put my finger on it at the time, just a shift of feeling. I got used to it, then loved it. I was going through some weird things in my own life while reading this book and I think in some ways it helped me work some shit out.

After reading this book I discovered that Sarah Addison Allen was going through cancerness while writing this book. That is to say she was either diagnosed or after her battle that she wrote this book. I intentionally didn't seek out the details because I didn't want that to taint my view of the book. As a writer I prefer when people take their own meaning from my work and don't focus too much on what I was going through. I don't pretend that all writer are like this but I want to respect the work as it is without a back story of the person writing it.

All of this being said, I still need to visit the South. I have always loved books with a southern flare, and these books help me get over some of my prejudice toward the south. I want to go visit a place like Lost Lake.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a little magic in their books and anyone needing a read they can connect with.

While writing this review I was listening to my dog sleep.

Blue Plate Special: An Autobiography of My Appetites by Kate Christensen

*****I received this book as an Advanced Reader Copy, this in no way impacted my review****

Goodreads Summary:

That the greatly admired novelist Kate Christensen has turned to the memoir form after six novels makes this book an event. Readers of memoirs of high literary quality, particularly those with food themes—most conspicuously Ruth Reichl's Comfort Me with Apples and Gabrielle Hamilton's Blood, Bones, and Butter—as well as admirers of M. F. K. Fisher and Laurie Colwin will be a large and eager audience.

This memoir derives from Kate's popular foodcentric blog (http://katechristensen.wordpress.com), in which she shares scenes from an unusual upbringing and an unusually happy present-day life, providing an audience for this book that is already primed. That it is written by Kate Christensen means it will be a delicious reading experience in every sense—a compulsively readable account of a knockabout life, full of sorrows and pleasures, many of the latter of the sensual, appetitive variety.




My Thoughts: ****I received this book as an ARC from the publisher, this had no impact on my review****

I know several fellow reviewers didn't connect with this read. That wasn't my experience. I found that I connected with each story on some level, some more than others but each story felt authentic and relate-able to me.

I have often linked my memories to food in the same ways that she has. I remember the breakfasts my Mother made on Saturday mornings and how they were sometimes very love filled and other times they were some of the most tense meals of my life.

I like that Kate included recipes and I have thought about trying some of them. Overall, I enjoyed this read. I don't think it will fit with everyone but I think it definitely has a place with readers like me. I would recommend this to people who view their memories with through food and their own relationship with food.


While writing this review I was listening to CBS This Morning. Oh man that Charlie Rose, I have such a crush on him.

Mr. Kiss and Tell (Veronica Mars #2) by Rob Thomas, Jennifer Graham

Goodreads Summary:

In the second book in the New York Times bestselling mystery series, Veronica Mars is back with a case that will expose the hidden workings of one of Neptune’s most murderous locations.

The Neptune Grand has always been the seaside town’s ritziest hotel, despite the shady dealings and high-profile scandals that seem to follow its elite guests. When a woman claims that she was brutally assaulted in one of its rooms and left for dead by a staff member, the owners know that they have a potential powder keg on their hands. They turn to Veronica to disprove—or prove—the woman's story.

The case is a complicated mix of hard facts, mysterious occurrences, and uncooperative witnesses. The hotel refuses to turn over its reservation list and the victim won’t divulge who she was meeting that night. Add in the facts that the attack happened months ago, the victim’s memory is fuzzy, and there are holes in the hotel’s surveillance system, and Veronica has a convoluted mess on her hands. As she works to fill in the missing pieces, it becomes clear that someone is lying—but who? And why?

My Thoughts:

I read the first Veronica Mars book, but it appears I never reviewed it, which is a damn shame because I really liked it. But since it has been some time since reading it I don't think it would be fair to review it more than to say I enjoyed it and you should read it, even if you aren't a fan of Veronica Mars but definitely read it if you are a fan.

In this second installment of the series we pick up about where we left off with the first book. Veronica and Logan are still together and trying to figure out what that means. He is still in the Navy which isn't easy, but her dedication to her own dangerous occupation doesn't ease things along either.

The main mystery in this book is about a girl who is attacked at a local high end hotel. The girl doesn't have much of a memory about what happened to her. Veronica takes the case initially for the hotel, but ends up finishing the case for the victim. Classic Veronica seeking out justice when no one else will.

I liked this book, yes, I am a Veronica Mars fan, but on its own I think this series is pretty good and got even better with the second installment. I would recommend this book to mystery lovers and of course fellow Marshmallows.

While writing this review I was listening to Damien Rice.

if I stay by Gayle Forman

Goodreads Summary:

Just listen, Adam says with a voice that sounds like shrapnel.

I open my eyes wide now.
I sit up as much as I can.
And I listen.

Stay, he says.

Choices. Seventeen-year-old Mia is faced with some tough ones: Stay true to her first love—music—even if it means losing her boyfriend and leaving her family and friends behind?

Then one February morning Mia goes for a drive with her family, and in an instant, everything changes. Suddenly, all the choices are gone, except one. And it's the only one that matters.

If I Stay is a heartachingly beautiful book about the power of love, the true meaning of family, and the choices we all make.


My Thoughts:
I read this book because I was interested in seeing the movie. I found it to be an interesting way to talk about being a teenager and everything that comes with that. Insecurities, figuring out who you are, and all of the other things that come along with being a teenager. 

Mia is that black sheep in her family by being into classical music and being overly responsible. I think at some point everyone feels like the odd man out in their own family. I certainly have more than once. It is hard sometimes to find your place in your family and the world. Mia tells her story from the bed of an ICU after the rest of her family is killed in a car crash. Mia is both ready to leave and wanting to stay to be with her friends, boyfriend, and remaining relatives. That struggle between fighting for your life and letting go isn't one that most of us really experience and then talk about.

The teen romance is a little over the top but I think that is accurate for teen romance. I know all of mine were ridiculously over the top. It is part of how we grow up and figure out what love actually is and isn't. I haven't decided if I am going to read the second book or not. I liked this one well enough but it wasn't amazing.

Overall I would recommend this book for those looking for an easy and fast read without a lot of expectation.

While writing this review I was listening to Yo-yo Ma. 

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Goodreads Summary:

It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will be busier still.

By her brother's graveside, Liesel's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Gravedigger's Handbook, left behind there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery.

So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordian-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found.

But these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster family hides a Jewish fist-fighter in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up, and closed down.

In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.

My Thoughts:

This book wasn't really what I was expecting. Not that I am sure what I was expecting, I just know this wasn't it. I was pleasantly surprised. I knew enough about the book to know that it was a heavy read which is part  of why I held off on reading it until my book club picked it a couple months ago.

Yes this is a heavy read, but at times it is just a story about a little girl and sometimes it was touching and other times it is funny. The perspective of Death is interesting as he is mostly detached from humanity, and death is just what Death does. This little book thief was a bright spot, someone Death didn't want to detach from. The last line of this book was the most interesting and powerful to me. "I am haunted by humans."

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone.

While writing this review I was listening to my coffee brew.

Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe

Goodreads Summary:

A teen idol at fifteen, an international icon and founder of the Brat Pack at twenty, and one of Hollywood's top stars to this day, Rob Lowe chronicles his experiences as a painfully misunderstood child actor in Ohio uprooted to the wild counterculture of mid-seventies Malibu, where he embarked on his unrelenting pursuit of a career in Hollywood.

The Outsiders placed Lowe at the birth of the modern youth movement in the entertainment industry. During his time on The West Wing, he witnessed the surreal nexus of show business and politics both on the set and in the actual White House. And in between are deft and humorous stories of the wild excesses that marked the eighties, leading to his quest for family and sobriety.

Never mean-spirited or salacious, Lowe delivers unexpected glimpses into his successes, disappointments, relationships, and one-of-a-kind encounters with people who shaped our world over the last twenty-five years. These stories are as entertaining as they are unforgettable.

My Thoughts:

I have a crush on Rob Lowe. Not the Brat Pack Rob Lowe but the West Wing Rob Lowe. Now I also have a little bit of a crush on the real Rob Lowe.

He is honest, and in some ways, raw in his telling of his stories. You really get a sense of the man while oddly you still feel like there is something more to learn about and from Rob Lowe. Well written, entertaining, and thought provoking. An all around good read, well done Rob Lowe.

At no point did I feel like his stories were name dropping stories so much as someone navigating a world that is both just like mine and entirely different than mine. Reading this book humanized Rob Lowe for me and made me respect him. I have always liked the way he looked and acted in the West Wing, but now I just like him as a person. I think that is actually quite hard for the celebrity folk to achieve, expression of being normal people while owning the ways that they are different and their experiences are rather rarefied.

Overall a great read. I would recommend this book to fans of Rob Lowe and fans of biography. 

While writing this review I was listening to Miles Davis.

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

Goodreads Summary:

David Sedaris' move to Paris from New York inspired these hilarious pieces, including the title essay, about his attempts to learn French from a sadistic teacher who declares that every day spent with you is like having a cesarean section. His family is another inspiration. You Can't Kill the Rooster is a portrait of his brother, who talks incessant hip-hop slang to his bewildered father. And no one hones a finer fury in response to such modern annoyances as restaurant meals presented in ludicrous towers of food and cashiers with six-inch fingernails.

My Thoughts:

I recently re-read this for my book club. I decided to listen to the audio-book, as read by the author, rather than read it again. In a lot of ways this made the book entirely new to me and I suggest fans of the book give it a listen. Hearing these stories from the author changed some of the take away for me from my first reading. I don't mean this in a bad way, but in a great way. I think so often a voice on the page can't quite hit the same spot in the heart as actually hearing someone talk about their lives.

A friend of mine gave me a hard time for rating this book a 4 out of 5 on goodreads. I would say it is a 4.5 and I only take that half a point off because occasionally David Sedaris is so honest that it was uncomfortable even for me. This book ran through a lot of emotions for me, some I am sure were intended while others may not have been. I was forced into some of my own nostalgia while listening to some of his stories.

Over all I would recommend this book to everyone, additionally, I think you should give the audio-book a listen if you haven't read it in a long time. You might find as I did something new in it.

While writing this review I was listening to a bastard stray cat meowing its face off in the hallway of my building.

A Girl Called Fearless By Catherine Linka

*****I received this book as an ARC about a year ago, it took me a while to get to it. In no way is my review influenced by the fact that I got this as an ARC****

Goodreads Summary:

Avie Reveare has the normal life of a privileged teen growing up in L.A., at least as normal as any girl’s life is these days. After a synthetic hormone in beef killed fifty million American women ten years ago, only young girls, old women, men, and boys are left to pick up the pieces. The death threat is past, but fathers still fear for their daughters’ safety, and the Paternalist Movement, begun to "protect" young women, is taking over the choices they make.Like all her friends, Avie still mourns the loss of her mother, but she’s also dreaming about college and love and what she’ll make of her life. When her dad "contracts" her to marry a rich, older man to raise money to save his struggling company, her life suddenly narrows to two choices: Be trapped in a marriage with a controlling politician, or run. Her lifelong friend, student revolutionary Yates, urges her to run to freedom across the border to Canada. As their friendship turns to passion, the decision to leave becomes harder and harder. Running away is incredibly dangerous, and it’s possible Avie will never see Yates again. But staying could mean death.From Catherine Linka comes this romantic, thought-provoking, and frighteningly real story, A Girl Called Fearless, about fighting for the most important things in life—freedom and love.


*****I received this book as an ARC about a year ago, it took me a while to get to it. In no way is my review influenced by the fact that I got this as an ARC****

(Advanced Reader Copy)

My Thoughts:

I was a serious slacker in that it took me forever to pick up this book. I admit I judged the book by the cover and honestly it turned me off. However, once I picked it up, I read this book in a day. Part of this is because I didn't want to put this book down. The other part was I was home sick and didn't feel like watching TV. 

This being said I liked the book but I didn't think it was the best thing ever. 

It follows the dystopian/post-apocalyptic formula, but I don't think that is a bad thing per se, just a little boring at this point. The plot point in this book that is different than others is that the majority of women have been killed off from ovarian cancer caused by hormones in our food. I actually think in a lot of ways this is more likely than a lot of possible end of the world scenarios. My point of view on that isn't really important to this review but I will say that this book gave me something to think about, which is always awesome.

Avie is a likable character, she is less annoying and whiny than some other female leads. I feel like she is more relate-able as a person. She is called fearless, but that doesn't mean she actually is. I think that people can force themselves to be fearless  when they are just trying to survive. And Avie is just trying to survive. I think this book is a bit more honest about the intentions of people. No one brave really intends to be that way, they just have to be.

Additionally, I felt the supporting characters were more believable. The intentions of all the characters were realistic and not overly complicated by plot twists that didn't feel natural which is often the case with the genre. Overall, I liked the book and I would recommend it to fans of the genre. I do intend on reading the second book in the series when it comes out later this year.  I could tell that this book was a first book for the author Linka. I think she has enough of a voice that she could really expand the ideas presented in the first book in a really smart way in the second. I hope she lives up to that potential and doesn't let anyone change her voice too much.

While writing this review I was listening to REM Losing My Religion.

Dragonfly In Amber by Diana Gabaldon

Goodreads Summary:

With her now-classic novel Outlander, Diana Gabaldon introduced two unforgettable characters — Claire Randall and Jamie Fraser—delighting readers with a story of adventure and love that spanned two centuries. Now Gabaldon returns to that extraordinary time and place in this vivid, powerful follow-up to Outlander....

For twenty years Claire Randall has kept her secrets. But now she is returning with her grown daughter to Scotland’s majestic mist-shrouded hills. Here Claire plans to reveal a truth as stunning as the events that gave it birth: about the mystery of an ancient circle of standing stones ... about a love that transcends the boundaries of time ... and about James Fraser, a Scottish warrior whose gallantry once drew a young Claire from the security of her century to the dangers of his....

Now a legacy of blood and desire will test her beautiful copper-haired daughter, Brianna, as Claire’s spellbinding journey of self-discovery continues in the intrigue-ridden Paris court of Charles Stuart ... in a race to thwart a doomed Highlands uprising ... and in a desperate fight to save both the child and the man she loves....

My Thoughts:

The second installment in the Outlander Series definitely didn't grab me as quickly as the first. This isn't anything against the writing per se, mostly there just wasn't as much action as the first book. But the story telling was rich and we got to know our characters better while meeting new ones.

This book is definitely quite sad but that didn't make me want to stop reading it, but I did take it a bit slower than the first book. Jamie and Claire have some rocky times in this book, but they stay true to who they are.

Overall, I liked the book but it didn't hook me as fast and as hard as the first. I am also not running to read the third. I fully intend to read the next book but I think I need a break as these are seriously long and seriously serious books.

I would recommend the book to those who have read Outlander, just be ready for it to be a slower and different read than the first. I wouldn't recommend reading out of order, I am not sure it is a stand alone read.

While writing this review I was listening to my husband and dog snore.

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Goodreads Summary:

The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is just back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon when she walks through a standing stone in one of the ancient circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach—an “outlander”—in a Scotland torn by war and raiding border clans in the year of Our Lord...1743.

Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into the intrigues of lairds and spies that may threaten her life, and shatter her heart. For here James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, shows her a love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire—and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

My Thoughts:

Months ago my bestie asked me to DVR the new Starz show Outlander as it was based on one of her favorite book series. I was not at all interested in watching the show but I figured I could crochet or read while she watched it. As it turned out, I was immediately a fan of the show and decided to read the books. Who could blame me, have you seen Sam Heughan? The first time I saw him I wanted to find some screaming rocks to fall through. (Note: I told my husband this and he rolled his eyes and told me to take a flashlight in case it got dark looking for screaming rocks, yep that is marriage to the right guy, he gets me)

I read the first book not quite as fast as I thought I would but that had more to do with a hectic work schedule than the book. I really enjoyed getting a deeper insight to the characters I already liked from the show. After having read the book the series is in my opinion doing the story justice. I really think fans will like the show so long as they don't get too hung up on details, which is hard for super fans.

I am not normally a fan of historical fiction. I suppose I am actually understating that a bit. I often hate hate hate historical fiction. This book was definitely an exception to that. I wasn't a fan of the sheer number of rape, almost rape scenes in the book. I know that it happened all the time back in the day (still does) but it was hard for me to read. If you have an extra hard time with rape you may want to skip this book, well let's say skip the series.

I would recommend this book to historical fiction fans and romance fans. There is a fair bit of sex which I suspect is why the books are so popular. I recently read an article that described both the show and the books lady porn. I feel this is accurate in a lot of ways. 

While writing this review I was listening to that horrible Aston Kutcher movie Valentine's Day.