Back in 2012 I read the book Every Day by an author I love, David Levithan. It was about a soul that woke up every day in a different body. Well this reminded me a little of that in dog form. It isn't exactly the same but the theme is very much alike, finding out who you are and learning from the life, or lives in this case, you live and feeling like you have fulfilled your purpose. Because we all, dog and human (maybe cat too?), want to feel like we have a purpose for being alive and that we have been able to serve that purpose.
A Dog's Purpose was on that much loved and hated Buy 2 Get 1 Free table at Barnes & Noble and since I have recently become a doggy momma I figured why not give it a try, maybe I will learn a little about my pup's behaviors. Then the manager, who I love talking books with, told me it was a great pick so I grabbed it.
She was right!! A dog is born as a puppy, he learns lessons about people, other dogs, love, loyalty, being safe, bravery, life....and at the end of that life he is born again with his memories intact and uses the prior lessons to live this new life and learn more. All the while he is trying to figure out what his purpose is and how he can fulfill it and thinking once he does he won't keep being born again.
This is at once a sad, happy, funny, insightful, and family friendly read. Well for middle grades and up I think it would be good for kids too. I know there was a movie made of it but I haven't seen it, yet.
I laughed quite a bit, the thoughts of a dog are written in such a way you can imagine dogs really thinking it, like smelling other dogs' poops, butt sniffing, etc. But there are so many moving things too, about loving the human he is with so much and the pleasure and pain that comes with love.
I thoroughly enjoyed this read. I even went back and found book 2 on the Buy 2 Get 1 table so of course I grabbed it and a book I wanted the day I got this one but had to stick to my 3 picks....so of course I got a third the second day too since it needed to be in groups of three!!
(Finished May 22, 2018)
Wednesday, May 23, 2018
Friday, May 18, 2018
Banana Cream Pie Murder (Hannah Swensen #21) by Joanne Fluke
Not too long ago, as often happens with the bookseller staff, I was talking to the Barnes & Noble manager and another customer joined the conversation about what we were reading or wanting to read. I mentioned that I often read heavy, dark, and otherwise brain taxing books and so from time to time I like to throw in a brain cleaning read, something fluffy or fun, something that doesn't require too much on my part, something I can just enjoy without much workout for my noggin. The other customer was buying the newest Joanne Fluke book, Raspberry Danish Murder, and she (the customer) said I should read them if I like mysteries because they would fit into my lighter reads need and while there are 20+ books I can jump in anywhere. I do like mysteries so I tucked away that little tidbit.
Well I had a coupon that was expiring one day last week so I figured I would grab the newest. I used a little thing I have advised my kids to do when considering a new book they have no experience with the author of or are just curious about, read the first 2 pages in the store and if you are left wanting more that's a good sign that you should read the rest. I did that with Raspberry Danish Murder and it started on what was clearly an important detail from the previous book so I grabbed it, this one, too, which I finished this morning.
And first off let me say, the customer lady was right, it was an easy, not at all taxing read. It wasn't what I typically find in mysteries I enjoy, there weren't tons of false clues or many clues at all to have me trying to figure out who-done-it. It was just kind of nice, the book. Lots, and I do mean lots, of talk about food, there was a page and a half on the assembly of a sandwich. There are recipes for the dishes that play center stage in each chapter and they are cute because they are written in character as Hannah. But it was absolutely an easy, not at all taxing read.
I will read the next one since I bought it already, and I will probably from time to time when I need my brain cleansed grab another starting from the beginning, but I wont be rushing out to get them. It just may be more fluff than I want in my fluffy reads.
(Finished May 18, 2018)
Well I had a coupon that was expiring one day last week so I figured I would grab the newest. I used a little thing I have advised my kids to do when considering a new book they have no experience with the author of or are just curious about, read the first 2 pages in the store and if you are left wanting more that's a good sign that you should read the rest. I did that with Raspberry Danish Murder and it started on what was clearly an important detail from the previous book so I grabbed it, this one, too, which I finished this morning.
And first off let me say, the customer lady was right, it was an easy, not at all taxing read. It wasn't what I typically find in mysteries I enjoy, there weren't tons of false clues or many clues at all to have me trying to figure out who-done-it. It was just kind of nice, the book. Lots, and I do mean lots, of talk about food, there was a page and a half on the assembly of a sandwich. There are recipes for the dishes that play center stage in each chapter and they are cute because they are written in character as Hannah. But it was absolutely an easy, not at all taxing read.
I will read the next one since I bought it already, and I will probably from time to time when I need my brain cleansed grab another starting from the beginning, but I wont be rushing out to get them. It just may be more fluff than I want in my fluffy reads.
(Finished May 18, 2018)
Monday, May 14, 2018
Love and Ruin by Paula McLain
I enjoy historical fiction. I like when the stories of real people are used as the basis and their stories are told like this one, as if we are with them and they are talking to us. I like when fictional characters are our tour guide to real events and people. While I know there is much creative license taken I still enjoy it and am always interested in what tidbits are true and which are imagined.
I am also a sucker for a good sale. When the good sale is on a good book it is like hitting the jackpot. That is what happened here. This new release hardcover was on a 4 day 50% sale at Barnes & Noble leading up to Mother's Day and I had a 15% coupon and my member 10% discount, so how could I resist? The answer is I couldn't.
Told from the perspective of Ernest Hemingway's 3rd wife, the writer/war correspondent/brave Marty Gellhorn, Love and Ruin is an entertaining, well written, trip back in time to the WWII years as written about and seen by Marty as she meets, falls in love with, and marries Hemingway. She loves him so strongly she beings to, as many women do, lose herself in trying to please him. And like in many relationships, when she tries to reclaim her sense of who she is it rocks the foundation of her marriage.
While she isn't perfect by any means, she was after all "the other woman" for a time. But she isn't cruel and she isn't oblivious to the damage their love causes. But she is interesting and feels real on the page. Hemingway comes off as a bit of an overgrown baby. His sons are written as terrific young man that Marty can't help but love and they love her in return.
Her heart breaks when she sees war up close, she works hard to tell the stories of the people shaken lose from their lives by the bombings and invasions and in so doing her reader's heart breaks too. And McLain makes us feel this in her telling of Marty's story.
This is my first McLain read but I will read more of her work, I enjoyed her style.
(Finished May 14, 2018)
I am also a sucker for a good sale. When the good sale is on a good book it is like hitting the jackpot. That is what happened here. This new release hardcover was on a 4 day 50% sale at Barnes & Noble leading up to Mother's Day and I had a 15% coupon and my member 10% discount, so how could I resist? The answer is I couldn't.
Told from the perspective of Ernest Hemingway's 3rd wife, the writer/war correspondent/brave Marty Gellhorn, Love and Ruin is an entertaining, well written, trip back in time to the WWII years as written about and seen by Marty as she meets, falls in love with, and marries Hemingway. She loves him so strongly she beings to, as many women do, lose herself in trying to please him. And like in many relationships, when she tries to reclaim her sense of who she is it rocks the foundation of her marriage.
While she isn't perfect by any means, she was after all "the other woman" for a time. But she isn't cruel and she isn't oblivious to the damage their love causes. But she is interesting and feels real on the page. Hemingway comes off as a bit of an overgrown baby. His sons are written as terrific young man that Marty can't help but love and they love her in return.
Her heart breaks when she sees war up close, she works hard to tell the stories of the people shaken lose from their lives by the bombings and invasions and in so doing her reader's heart breaks too. And McLain makes us feel this in her telling of Marty's story.
This is my first McLain read but I will read more of her work, I enjoyed her style.
(Finished May 14, 2018)
Sunday, May 6, 2018
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (Creekwood #1) by Becky Albertalli
I took my 17 & 12 year olds to see the movie a few weeks ago and we all three loved it. Then my 12 going on 90 year old wanted to read it and he devoured it and insisted I read it. He then went on to read in just a few hours the follow up, Leah on the Offbeat and he is making use of the read for free anything on the Nook when in Barnes & Noble stores to read a little at a time of The Upside of Unrequited which also is part of the Simon universe and he is loving it. As a side note he is also reading Fahrenheit 451 at home for fun not for school, just to give you an idea of the level this kid is at!!
As I said I really loved the movie, but I am glad I saw the movie before I read the book. Why you ask? Well I loved the book even more and had I read the book first the changes from page to screen would have made me love the movie less and it was such a great experience and the conversation after it with my kids was so huge and deep, I wouldn't have wanted that ruined.
Simon is a young man, a Jr. in high school, who is gay but hasn't come out yet. Add that to the regular crap that is the teen years and the high school dynamic. When he accidentally forgets to sign out of his Gmail account a classmate reads emails Simon, using the alias Jacques, has been exchanging with another student only known to Simon as Blue. It is clear from these emails that the two young men are exploring their sexuality and their growing feelings for each other. Martin, the classmate, has a crush on Simon's friend Abby and uses the info he got from the emails to blackmail Simon to try and get hooked up with Abby.
The heart of this story is amazing as is the lesson of being able to be true to yourself and that it is ok to be confused and figure out on your own terms who you are and who you want to be and how you want to get there. Now my son tells me I need to read the other stories. I will.
NOTE: There is talk of sexual feelings and thoughts, kissing and some mention of masturbation, not terribly explicit but still, it is something to mindful of if your child is going to read this. My son and I had some talks about age appropriate behavior and the need for open communication about adult feelings and acts.
(Finished May 6, 2018)
As I said I really loved the movie, but I am glad I saw the movie before I read the book. Why you ask? Well I loved the book even more and had I read the book first the changes from page to screen would have made me love the movie less and it was such a great experience and the conversation after it with my kids was so huge and deep, I wouldn't have wanted that ruined.
Simon is a young man, a Jr. in high school, who is gay but hasn't come out yet. Add that to the regular crap that is the teen years and the high school dynamic. When he accidentally forgets to sign out of his Gmail account a classmate reads emails Simon, using the alias Jacques, has been exchanging with another student only known to Simon as Blue. It is clear from these emails that the two young men are exploring their sexuality and their growing feelings for each other. Martin, the classmate, has a crush on Simon's friend Abby and uses the info he got from the emails to blackmail Simon to try and get hooked up with Abby.
The heart of this story is amazing as is the lesson of being able to be true to yourself and that it is ok to be confused and figure out on your own terms who you are and who you want to be and how you want to get there. Now my son tells me I need to read the other stories. I will.
NOTE: There is talk of sexual feelings and thoughts, kissing and some mention of masturbation, not terribly explicit but still, it is something to mindful of if your child is going to read this. My son and I had some talks about age appropriate behavior and the need for open communication about adult feelings and acts.
(Finished May 6, 2018)
Thursday, May 3, 2018
The Female Persuasion (Book Club Edition) by Meg Wolitzer
I have never read a Meg Wolitzer book before this one. I got this one because Barnes & Noble was starting a new thing, a book club night, and I thought it would be fun or at least interesting. It was!!! Plus, free cookie and coffee!!!
It took a little bit but once it happened, I was drawn in and hooked!! Big time!! For me it was the bathroom scene, the point where I found myself hooked.
Wolitzer writes in such a way that I found myself really liking, not just content but style, word choice, flow, and most importantly I loved that her characters were flawed. I loved that some places where it would have been easy to fall into the usual neat and clean over used happy shiny way of doing things she went a more real and at times ugly way. It felt real.
I wish there was more of Zee in the story. I wish there had been some more of race since she touched on it some but then dropped the thread. The conversations about what it means to be a feminist, what feminism is, and who can be a feminist are worth having and this book defiantly starts a dialogue.
Cory and his grief, how his mother handled it, how his father did, and how he did what needed doing....Greer's mom and her finally having a REAL conversation...the inclusion of characters that are not always likable or are never likable....this didn't read like an over 400 page book, once it sucked me in it went quickly and I was sad to say goodbye, like I said, there were some threads Wolitzer introduced then didn't flesh out as much as I would have liked, but then again she was already at over 400 pages.
Now I really want to read more of her work!!
(Finished May 3, 2018)
It took a little bit but once it happened, I was drawn in and hooked!! Big time!! For me it was the bathroom scene, the point where I found myself hooked.
Wolitzer writes in such a way that I found myself really liking, not just content but style, word choice, flow, and most importantly I loved that her characters were flawed. I loved that some places where it would have been easy to fall into the usual neat and clean over used happy shiny way of doing things she went a more real and at times ugly way. It felt real.
I wish there was more of Zee in the story. I wish there had been some more of race since she touched on it some but then dropped the thread. The conversations about what it means to be a feminist, what feminism is, and who can be a feminist are worth having and this book defiantly starts a dialogue.
Cory and his grief, how his mother handled it, how his father did, and how he did what needed doing....Greer's mom and her finally having a REAL conversation...the inclusion of characters that are not always likable or are never likable....this didn't read like an over 400 page book, once it sucked me in it went quickly and I was sad to say goodbye, like I said, there were some threads Wolitzer introduced then didn't flesh out as much as I would have liked, but then again she was already at over 400 pages.
Please don't take the time it took me to read this as a problem with the book, I started it wanting to read it as close to the book club day as possible so it would be fresh in my mind, but then as is often the case when we make plans, life got in the way...some of it was rough and hard (issues with mental health and my daughter) and some was positive, we adopted a dog on Friday...but I didn't finish until this morning and book club was last night...I was so close, maybe 40 pages short by the time I went to the event.
Now I really want to read more of her work!!
(Finished May 3, 2018)
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