I had only heard occasional comments about there having been a woman that was Pope. This book does a great job of telling the story. It’s absolutely a page turner, and Joan was an amazing character — strong, smart, witty, independent — everything we should encourage our girls today to aspire to be. A very well-told story that I couldn’t put down, a great book.
I will read almost anything written by doctors or nurses about their experiences, so I grabbed this book, knowing how much I enjoy Sanjay Gupta’s reports on CNN. This book, however, was not his finest work. It’s almost laughable the way he sets up conversations, and he throws around silly cliches. When he gets down to the nitty gritty of a medical procedure or a surgery it’s very cool, but otherwise very rudimentary. Sanjay should stick to his medical practice and continue to do the great stories on CNN.
This book was written by Goldman about his life with his wife Aura. They met, fell in love, and were married despite a large age difference and over the objections of Aura’s mother. Unfortunately, Aura died in a freak accident, leaving Goldman to deal with the aftermath of her death. Goldman does a great job describing Aura and her gifts as a writer; with her death we may have lost a promising artist. A beautifully written book about a man’s love for his wife.
I read the first one because I wanted to say that I read it like the rest of the world had done: and I read the other two just to see if they would be any better than the first one. And so, were they any good? Answer : no. If the author had made the main character a 35-year-old woman who had lived a life and now wanted to “explore” a little, I could have understood that. Instead, she makes the main character a 22-year-old college graduate. The author then wants the reader to believe that this young woman would give a sadomasochistic stalker the time of day! I like to think that young women today would tell this guy to take a flying leap! But that’s just me; anybody else feel the same?
This new novel by Harlan Coben is definitely suspenseful, filled with lots of puzzles. It follows various story lines that eventually all fit together. The main story line deals with Kat….a NYPD detective whose best friend signs her up for an online dating service where she finds an old boyfriend who she never got over. This one simple act, combined with the death of her father’s convicted killer, sets Kat off to question events in her past that have always remained a mystery and to seek answers she might not want to live with. Meanwhile, a young boy comes to her insisting that his mom has gone missing, even though everyone else thinks she is just away with her new boyfriend. How could all of this possibly tie together? There are many layers in this story, and the clues are expertly interwoven throughout to keep you guessing. If you like mystery and suspense, then I recommend this one!
Regardless of the fact that this book was published in 1975, this is one of the best Vampire stories I’ve ever read. Stephen King is a master at fleshing (pardon the pun!) out a character like nobody else. And his portrayal of small town American life is spot on as well. I’m also a fan of the way he portrays kids as being strong, opinionated, and brave human beings and often they are the ones in his stories to be reckoned with. A word of warning : with the summer months upon us, you may not want to read this book at night, with your windows open – or you could, if you dare!
I found this book on a Summer Book List, and while it is not the kind of book I would normally gravitate toward, I am so glad I did. This tells the true story of pilots on missions over Greenland during WWII who crashed, and the rescue efforts to save them. The story also takes place in the present, as the author recounts efforts of a group to recover the men and the planes still left behind in Greenland. Amazing to read about the fortitude of the men that survived those awful crashes and spent months on such an unforgiving landscape and in light of devastating medical issues. Also so wonderful to know that there are people who care so much about bringing the bodies left behind back home to surviving family members for closure. I absolutely could not put this book down and recommend it highly.
How far would you go to protect your child’s future? This compelling novel, which I read in 3 days, tells a story of what one father did to protect his son’s future. A father, Jake Buckman, who had never been close to his teenage son Ryan, makes a decision that will change the lives of his whole family and several others, and then covers it up with lies upon lies. As a parent, I can understand why this father made that decision, but I don’t think I could have gone that far. The story has twists and an unexpected ending. I would recommend this if you like suspense, family dynamics and relationships, and a quick read.
To Rise Again at a Decent Hour is one of those books that is so fun to read that you don’t realize just how weighty it is until you’re turning the last few pages and find that a little bit of yourself, a tiny little cell or two, has been changed.
Main character Paul is an annoying, neurotic dentist. Only it turns out he’s not. He’s a dentist, anyway, but maybe not so neurotic. He’s been through a lot in his 30-odd years, but he’s not complaining. Instead, he’s seeking his place in the world, a sense of belonging, a family, a purpose. He has a weakness for women with large, religious families. First Sam, of the devoutly Catholic Santacroce family, and more recently Connie, his office manager and member of the large Jewish Plotz clan. Paul’s longing for love, family, and purpose manifests in an obsessive fascination with his girlfriends’ religions, and he finds himself stepping over boundary lines in his quest to get just a bit closer, to understand the privilege of a religious heritage just a little better.
We first join Paul when his post-breakup pining and analyzing and mooning for Connie’s family is interrupted by his discovery that someone is impersonating him online. Eventually his online doppelganger begins to post comments that could be construed as anti-Semitic, and Paul is aggrieved and itchy with the discomfort of knowing the Plotz’s may be attributing these comments to him. But when fake-Paul offers real-Paul an almost irresistible chance to belong, to claim a heritage of his own, what will real-Paul do?
Much of the action here takes place in Paul’s head, or in his Manhattan office, or in his apartment. Paul’s journey is existential, and by its end, “neurotic” Paul has revealed himself as an engaging, thoughtful, vulnerable, full fledged human being. Who just happens to be a dentist.
It seemed a bit too clichéd to write a review for TFiOS—otherwise known as The Fault in Our Stars—as the film adaptation will be released in less than a month. So instead, I will review Looking for Alaska, another masterpiece from the brilliant mind of John Green. It was his debut novel, but it delivers as many brutal truths as those that followed in its wake. In this particular tale, Miles, our protagonist, leaves his Floridian home behind to attend a boarding school in Alabama… in search of “a Great Perhaps.” Miles, you see, collects “last words.” (Foreshadowing, perhaps?) Note Exhibit A: “Francois Rabelais. He was a poet. And his last words were, “I go to seek a Great Perhaps.” That’s why I’m going. So I don’t have to wait until I die to start seeking a Great Perhaps.” Introducing a concept such as a Great Perhaps so early in the book is part of Green’s genius. It hooked me. I bet it has hooked you. I bet you are already reserving your copy so that you can find out more about this Great Perhaps. What I tell people when they ask about John Green is this: He is the master of the one-liner. Even if that one-liner takes a paragraph to develop… even if that one-liner is, in fact, actually a paragraph in length. Note Exhibit B: “I walked back to my room and collapsed on the bottom bunk, thinking that if people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane.” Miles is, of course, talking about Alaska here, but Green’s words are simultaneously so personal yet so universal that you feel you are that hurricane… or that you are the drizzle in love with the hurricane. Or that, all weather aside, you know exactly what this guy is talking about because you have experienced it in your own life. Looking for Alaska is fearless in the way it addresses the sensitive issues young adults struggle with on a daily basis. There is no sugarcoating here, or crunchy candy shell. There is only The Truth… or the version(s) of The Truth as seen through the eyes and minds of Green’s thoughtful and honest characters. I’ll admit it; the feeling I had when I finished this book stayed with me for days. And this particular quote from Looking for Alaska will stay with me for a lifetime: “When I look at my room, I see a girl who loves books.”
Anyone who knows about “Jazz Hands” needs to read this book! Sam Wasson writes an absolutely fabulous biography about Bob Fosse. Besides being a brilliant choreographer, he was also one of the only people to win Oscar, Emmy, and Tony Awards. He started as a dancer, but was never really able to parlay that talent as far as he wanted to because he was so short, so choreography it was. His life was an amazing tangle of people and places and experiences as well as excesses. He had quite a few demons that plagued him his whole life. If you love the theater, or the movies or dance and music, then this is the book for you.
This book is what I like to call “Scary, creepy good!” It was written by Joe Hill, who is one of Stephen King’s sons. Boy, did this kid pay attention to Dad! I took a break a long time ago from Stephen King and was ready to jump back in, but didn’t find anything of his I wanted to read. Then I found this book and boy, I was not disappointed. It follows the story of a 140-year-old Vampire named Charlie Manx and a young girl who figures out his secret. Her name is Victoria and her character is so well drawn you will be hooked from page one. Joe Hill is a writer to read for sure!
Mark Watney is left for dead on Mars. Knocked unconscious, he is lucky enough to be alive, but how much longer will his luck hold out? He has no contact with Earth and few supplies. Wounded and alone, he must use all his knowledge, cunning, and bravery to stay alive long enough to contact someone for help. Will he survive long enough for a crew to come back and save him? If they can! With its sharp sense of humor and scientific savvy, his struggle is engrossing. A bit heavy with mathematical and scientific explanation, Mark’s story is still a mesmerizing adventure.
The Good Luck of Right Now tells the story of Bartholomew Neil and his group of eccentric but sweet friends as they take a spiritual journey in the wake of the death of Bartholomew’s mother. The novel is written in a series of letters to the actor Richard Gere, as his mother was a huge fan. I feel like it’s hard to provide a description that demonstrates how great this book was. It was uplifting, it was funny, it was sad.
I loved this book. There were so many great things about it: the characters, the plot, the overall quirkiness, the fact that the spirit of Richard Gere coaches Bartholomew at various times. There are also quotes from the Dalai Lama used as Bartholomew tries to navigate how to interact with people he encounters.
I highly recommend this book. Matthew Quick is such a great writer. I loved Silver Linings Playbook, and I’m going to check out his YA books also.
Declan O’Donnell is escaping a messy life (we only learn bits and pieces of the mess, but like most good messes, it involves family) by sailing “west and then west” off the Oregon coast into the Pacific Ocean on his fishing boat, The Plover. He intends to bob along aimlessly and alone, but right off the bat he is joined by a seagull who follows him out onto the ocean. Declan doesn’t mind the company, but he doesn’t feel nearly as accommodating when, several weeks later after a quick stop at an island to refuel, he finds himself hosting another two passengers, a father and daughter whom he knew from Oregon. Declan gets used to his small crew and makes the best of the company, but then, as more passengers are picked up under an assortment of remarkable circumstances, Declan finds his solo journey has transformed into, in Declan’s own words, “a fecking ferry service.”
Declan and all of his various passengers are good people who, sometimes grudgingly, elicit the best in each other; they are by no means perfect, but they are portrayed, in all their quirks and imperfections, as worthy of love, grace, and forgiveness.
There is a beauty and a wholeness to this work that defies easy categorization or description. The whole world is in or about The Plover. It is the center of a radius that includes all, from the deepest point of the ocean under the boat up into the sky as far as the eye can see. Notice is paid to each creature in this bubble — the seagull following the boat is a character in its own right, as are the two timid castaway rats and the warbler with an injured wing who is hiding under the boat’s water tank. The ocean is treated with its own wholeness — Doyle’s tale doesn’t limit itself to the human-reachable surface, the waves and storms and the sparkling reflection of the sun as they are experienced by Declan and his crew. The deep crevices and unseeable creatures, the reach of the ocean from shore to shore, the underwater topography — it is all a part of this tale, which is infused with an aura of mysticism or enchantment.
There are moments here that could be considered quite dramatic, as when Declan dives into the ocean on a moonless night to rescue a kidnapped passenger, but even these moments are told in an understated lilt that makes them feel like the stuff of fable. The overall impression is rocking on the waves of the story, drifting where it leads, the world spread out around us, welcoming and whole, and above all, good.
