The Fall Into Reading 2009 is coming to a close. My goal was to read 5 books and I finished with 7! Here's what I read: The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown (for the record, I don't recommend it), Queen of Babble in the Big City by Meg Cabot, A Death in Belmont by Sebastian Junger, Still Alice by Lisa Genova, Julie & Julia by Julie Powell, The Girl She Used to Be by David Cristofano and Brazen Careerist by Penelope Trunk.When Melody Grace McCartney was six years old, she and her parents witnessed an act of violence so brutal that it changed their lives forever. The federal government lured them into the Witness Protection Program with the promise of safety, but the program took Melody's name, her home, her family, and ultimately her innocence. Now, twenty years later and still on the run, she's been May Adams, Karen Smith, Anne Johnson, and countless others. But the one person she longs to be is Melody Grace McCartney.
So when the feds spirit her off to begin yet another new life in yet another new town, she's stunned by a man who accosts her and calls her by her real name. Jonathan Bovaro, the mafioso sent to find her, knows her, the real her, and it's a thrill Melody can't resist. Defying the feds, she goes willingly with him. To the Justice Department, she's nothing more than a pawn in the government's war against the Bovaro family. But, as dangerous as Jonathan is, he presents her with the chance of a lifetime - the chance to embrace her past and present, and choose a future all her own.
10:09 AM
I haven't finished an entire book this week. I suppose you have to start a book to finish it. Last night I finally picked up Julie & Julia and I'm laughing out loud already. What took me so long to read this book?! I'm hoping to finish it by Thanksgiving so I can finish another book before heading back to work on November 30th. I do not know if there is any shopping in my future (meaning Black Friday), but I did a little this week and it felt great!
I read Tom Rath's Strengths Finder and completed the assessment; look for that post this week. My top 5 themes are Harmony, Input, Responsibility, Discipline and Consistency, all of which are very true to me.
Also this week, I purchased Portrait of a First Lady, a book about Michelle Obama. I couldn't help myself; the pictures were great and there are inside tips about her life that I don't yet know and can't wait to read. Last week, I purchased The Trump Card, Ivanka Trump's business book. I still have quite a pile to read, and am hoping to knock off 5 books before Christmas (just in case Santa brings more books :))
This week I will be working less, hoping to get rid of my darn allergy issues, enjoying a GREAT turkey day feast with friends, reading, and finalizing the gift for my Secret Santa at the Holiday Book Bloggers Swap. Happy Thanksgiving to all!
Anna took transparent pleasure in the fact that Lydia didn't go to college; Lydia's abbreviated education somehow secured Anna's position as the smartest, most successful Howland daughter. The oldest, Anna had been the first to demonstrate her intelligence to her delighted parents, the first to hold the status of being their brillant daughter. Althought Tom was also very bright, Anna had never paid much attention to him, maybe because he was a boy. Then, Lydia came along. Both girls were smart, but Anna suffered to get straight A's, whereas Lydia's unblemished report cards came with little noticeable effort. Anna paid attention to that. They were both competitive and fiercely independent, but Anna wasn't a risk taker. She tended to pursue goals that were safe and conventional, and that were sure to be accompanied by tangible accolades. (p.33)
So I did something random yesterday and signed up for the Book Bloggers Holiday Swap!In the spring of 1963, the quiet suburb of Belmont, Massachusetts, is rocked by a shocking murder that fits the pattern of the infamous Boston Strangler, still at large. Hoping for a break in the case, the police arrest Roy Smith, a black ex-con whom the victim hired to clean her house. Smith is hastily convicted of the murder, but the Strangler's terror continues. And through it all, one man escapes the scrutiny of the police: a carpenter working at the time at the Belmont home of young Sebastian Junger and his parents - a man named Albert DeSalvo, who would eventually confess to the Strangler's horrific crimes.
From the acclaimed author of A Perfect Storm comes a powerful chronicle of three lives that collide in the vortext of one of America's most controversial serial murder cases.
October 18, 2009 - 9:38 am
This week I finally finished Dan Brown's latest book, The Lost Symbol. You can read my full review here, but in a word, I was disappointed. For all the hype, it certainly did not live up. Considering I finished The Da Vinci Code in 2 days and absolutely loved it, the fact that it took me over 3 weeks to finish the latest book was not a good sign.
Speaking of hard-to-finish books, I have noticed in the past few months that when I finish a book that I would only rate mediocre, it puts me into somewhat of a reading slump. It takes me longer to pick up another book and read. I especially noticed this during the summer months. I picked up pace after I finished The Time Traveler's Wife, which is probably the best book I've read all year. Finishing a wonderful book always reminds me why I love reading in the first place, and so I'm always eager to pick up another book. This time, after finishing Dan Brown's book, I had time to read the following nights I just had no gumption to pick up another book. Does this happen to you?
Last night I started Queen of Babble in the Big City by Meg Cabot, and I will finish it today. It's such a cute, easy read, and I love the main character, Lizzie. She has such a big mouth and cannot keep secrets, but so far in this book she's doing quite well holding her tongue. I chose this book off my shelf of dozens last night because I wanted to read more about New York, because we're heading there on vacation this week! I have never been there and I cannot wait to go!
On that note, since I'm vacationing later this week, I won't be keeping up with the blog. I do have one post scheduled to go out, but no reviews. I plan to read on all of our flights, so hopefully I'll have a couple more books to blog about upon our return. With that, hope you all have a great Sunday and a successful week! :)
In this stunning follow-up to the global phenomenon The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown demonstrates once again why he is the world's most popular thriller writer. The Lost Symbol is a masterstroke of storytelling - a deadly race through a real-world labyrinth of codes, secrets, and unseen truths...all under the watchful eye of Brown's most terrifying villain to date. Set within the hidden chambers, tunnels, and temples of Washington, D.C., The Lost Symbol accelerates through a startling landscape toward an unthinkable finale.
As the story opens, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon is summoned unexpectedly to deliver an evening lecture in the U.S. Capitol Building. Within minutes of his arrival, however, the night takes a bizarre turn. A distrubing object -artfully encoded with five symbols - is discovered in the Capitol Building. Landgon reconizes the object as an ancient invitation...one meant to usher its recipient into a long-lost world of esoteric wisdom.
When Langdon's beloved mentor, Peter Solomon - a prominent Mason and philanthropist - is brutally kidnapped, Langdon realizes his only hope of saving Peter is to accept this mystical invitation and follow wherever it leads him. Langdon is instantly plunged into a clandestine world of Masonic secrets, hidden history, and never-before-seen locations - all of which seem to be dragging him toward a single, inconceivable truth.
As the world discovered in The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons, Dan Brown's novels are brilliant tapestries of veiled histories, arcane symbols, and enigmatic codes. In this new novel, he again challenges readers with an intelligent, lightning paced story that offers surprises at every turn. The Lost Symbol is exactly what Brown's fans have been waiting for...his most thrilling novel yet.
I almost got a headache just listing all of these! I haven't been great with reading every night lately, mostly because of my huge disappointment in Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol, which is taking me far too long to read for all the hype it got. More on that later...when I finish the book and the review.
*I cannot even BELIEVE I put this book on my list as I think she's an idiot, but I'm really curious because she wrote 400 pages in just a few short months and I am curious now.
After tossing and turning all night, thirty-nine-year-old Lisa Barkley wakes up well before her alarm sounds .With two daughters about the start another year at their elite Upper East Side private school and her own career hitting a wall, the effort of trying to stay afloat in that privileged world of six-story town houwes and European jaunts has become increasingly difficult, especially as Manhattan descends into an economic freefall.
As Lisa looks over at her sleeping husband, Sam, she can't help but feel that their fifteen-year marriage is in a funk that she isn't able to place. she tries to shake it off and tells herself that the strain must be due to their mounting financial pressures. But later that morning, as her family eats breakfast in the next room, Lisa finds herself checking Sam's voicemail and hears a whispered phone call from a woman he is to meet that night. Is he having an affair?
When Lisa shares her suspicions with her best friend, Deirdre, at their weekly breakfast, Deirdre claims it can't be true. But how can Lisa fully trust her opinion when Deirdre is still single and mired in an obsessive affair with a glamourous photographer even as it hovers on the edge of danger?
When Deidre's former college flame, Jack, comes to town and the two couples meet to celebrate his fortieth birthday, the stage is set for an explosive series of discoveries with devastating consequences.
Filled with suspense and provocative questions about the relationships we value most, Best Intentions is a tightly woven drama of love, friendship and betrayal.
"Let's call these places Old Town. In Old Town, YPs (young professionals) feel disenfranchised because the "old boys network" is still operative. In these communities, Who's your daddy? is too often more important than What's your idea? And that's a darn shame." (p.56)(Um, yeah. Couldn't have said it better myself.)
"Bad management is an epidemic in this country. I've often joked that if the only thing we do at NGC is shine the light on the high rates of crappy and incompetent management in this country, we will have served the next gen well.
Funny thing is, it's not a joke.
A Next Gen'er's manager is the single most important person in their work life. No one can make or break them, retain or repel them like their manager. No one.
...
Companies should be run more like baseball teams. When the New York Yankees are losing, their owner doesn't trade all the players. The owner fires the manager. The manager is responsible for orchestrating all their talent into a winning team." (p.89)
I book marked a few other pages, but they are mostly charts and graphs. I recommend this book for everyone, as it does a great job of explaining my generation and what we're looking for in work and life. I can't wait for Rebecca's presentation at the Next Leaders Summit in Cincinnati, OH next month.
And what do you vote for?
Clare is silent. Her pragmatism and her romantic feelings about Jesus and Mary are, at thirteen, almost equally balanced. A year ago she would have said God without hesitation. In ten years she will vote for determinism, and ten years after that Clare will believe that the universe is arbitrary, that if God exists he does not hear our prayers, that cause and effect are inescapable and brutal, but meaningless. And after that? I don't know. But right now Clare sits on the threshold of adolescence with her faith in one hand and her growing skepticism in the other, and all she can do is try to juggle them, or squeeze them together until they fuse. (p. 77)
(Discussing the scenery on the drive from Chicago to South Haven, Michigan) We pass a Wal-Mart, a Dairy Queen, a McDonald's. More cornfields. An orchard. U-Pick M Strawberries, Blueberries. In the summer this road is a long corridor of fruit, grain, and capitalism. (p. 167)
I loved the references to Michigan, I loved the Chicago scenery, I loved the love story and the time traveling and Clare's art and Henry's work in the library. I loved that Henry and Clare were finally able to have the child they so desperately wanted, little Alba. I absolutely loved this book.
"What Remains is a vivid and haunting memoir about a girl from a working-class town who becomes an award-winning television producer and marries a prince, Anthony Radziwill. Carole grew up in a small suburb with a large, eccentric cast of characters. At nineteen, she struck out for New York City to find a different life. Her career at ABC News took her around the globe. Her marriage led her into the old world of European nobility and the newer world of American aristocracy.
What Remains begins will loss and returns to loss. A small plane plunges into the ocean, carrying John F. Kennedy Jr., Anthony's cousin, and Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, Carole's closest friend. Three weeks later, Anthony dies of cancer. With unflinching honesty and a journalist's keen eye, Carole Radziwill explores the enduring ties of family, the complexities of marriage, the importance of friendship and the challenges of self-invention. Beautifully written, What Remains "gets the essence of what matters," wrote Oprah Winfrey. "Friendship, compassion, destiny."
The Grey sisters have always been close. After their mother's death, the girls banded together, becoming best friends. Their stern, disapproving father cares less about his children than about his reputation. To Henry Grey, appearances are everything, and years later, he still demands that his daughers reflect his standing in the community.
Winona, the oldest, needs her father's approval most of all. An overweight bookworm who never felt at home on the sprawling horse ranch that has been in her family for three generations, she knows that she doesn't have the qualities her father values. But as the best lawyer in town, she's determined to someday find a way to prove her worth to him.
Aurora, the middle sister, is the family peacemaker. She brokers every dispute and tries to keep them all happy, even as she hides her own secret pain.
Vivi Ann is the undisputed star of the family. A stunningly beautiful dreamer with a heart as big as the ocean in front of her house, she is adored by all who know her. Everything comes easily for Vivi Ann, until a stranger comes to town...
In a matter of moments, everything will change. The Grey sisters will be pitted against one another in ways that none could have imagined. Loyalties will be tested and secrets revealed, and a terrible, shocking crime will shatter both their family and their beloved town.
With breathtaking pace and penetrating emotional insight, True Colors is an unforgettable novel about sisters, rivalry, forgiveness, redemption - and ultimately, what it means to be a family.
Isn't it interesting to think what may happen in the book world in the future due to the digital age? It didn't take long for e-books and the Kindle to be born - what's next? What do you think? What do you predict for the future of books?
Sunday Salon - August 2, 2009
I can't believe it's August 2nd already! Where has 2009 gone? Anyway, happy Sunday fellow Saloners. I'm using this post to wrap up July, so let's go!
I started July in Key Largo, my favorite place to relax. I brought along 2 books, and only read one, mostly because our days were packed with boating and water sports and eating. You know, things you should be doing in the Keys. I chose a horrible book, The Ruins by Scott Smith. Some of you who have read it may completely disagree with me, but hey, that's what readers do right? I am finding that the more I read "bestsellers" and in general, books that tons of other people tend to love, I loathe. Such is the case with this book. (You can read my full review here.) Make sure you tell me what you loved/hated about the book!
Next up I read House Rules by Rachel Sontag, an amazing memoir. I am always interested in reading about how other people grew up, and this book was certainly interesting. I felt so bad for Rachel's childhood and the (lack of a) relationship with her parents. Her father was verbally abusive, and time and time again her mother "tried" to leave but to no avail. Rachel eventually made it away from home, where she thrived. A great, quick read for those who love memoirs.
My most recent read was True Colors by Kristin Hannah. This was borrowed from a friend, and I had wanted to read it, but was a bit disappointed by this book as well. I haven't reviewed this yet, so look for it later this week.
A couple nights ago I started Live First, Work Second by Rebecca Ryan, a speaker and consultant who I met last year at a Young Professionals Summit. She's completed some great research and has so much insight into the minds of my generation. I will be attending my second YP summit this September, and I really look foward to hearing her speak again.
Hope July gave you some great reading. We are over halfway through 2009. Wow. I'm off to the beach, have a great day!
Two young couples are on a lazy Mexican vacation - sun-drenched days, wild nights, making friends with fellow tourists. When the brother of one of those friends disappears, they decide to venture into the jungle to look for him. What started out as a fun day trip slowly spirals into a nightmare when they stumble on the site of some ancient ruins...and the terrifying presence that lurks there.Let me preface this by saying this book is not at all what I expected it to be. The fact that it's a bestseller gave me high hopes (and maybe that's part of the reason for the disappointment), but it was not up to par. It's really far-fetched - it's fiction, I get that - but so much so that I was rolling my eyes at times. With Stephen King's proclamation that it's "The best horror novel of the new century" on the front cover, I was expecting to have nightmares.
"Sometimes there was a glint of humor in these embraces of the eye: I know I'm showing off, they seemed to say, but so are you, and I love you...And what did it matter? The very substance of their talk, after all, the message and the rhyme of it, whatever else they might be saying, was that they were going to be new and better people from now on." (pg 133)
From this "research," she came up with the find she was most proud of: a song by the band Cruel Crux, entitled "Virgin Suicide." The chorus follows, though neither Ms. Perl nor we have been able to determine if the album was among those Mrs. Lisbon forced Lux to burn:
Virgin suicide
What was that she cried?
No use in stayin'
One this holocaust ride
She gave me her cherry
She's my virgin suicide
"All wisdom ends in paradox," said Mr. Buell, just before we left him on our last interview, and we felt he was telling us to forget about the girls, to leave them in the hands of God. We knew that Cecilia had killed herself because she was the misfit, because the beyond called to her, and we knew that her sisters, once abandoned, felt her calling from that place too.
..."It was a combination of many factors," Dr. Hornicker said in his last report, written for no medical reason but just because he couldn't get the girls out of his head. "With most people," he said, "suicide is like Russian roulette. Only one chamber has a bullet. With the Lisbon girls, the gun was loaded. A bullet for family abuse. A bullet for genetic predisposition. A bullet for historical malaise. A bullet for inevitable momentum. The other two bullets are impossible to name, but that doesn't mean the chambers were empty." (pgs. 246-248)
Once again, I will just say that I realize adolescence is hard, but man- it's not worth dying for! I think adulthood is harder. Must less awkward, but harder still. I understand Eugenides was writing to show how hard the life of teens can be, and he succeeded. I did really like the book (but it sounds awful saying that!)
