Going Rogue - Sarah Palin

First of all, I must admit that I did not read this book for pleasure. I read it for work purposes (and that's all I can say). I am not a Palin fan, I have actually blogged about it on my personal blog, but I needed to give her book a shot. I went in with an open mind.

But I still am not a fan. Her book did nothing but reiterate why she was not a good candidate for Vice President. Small town politics does not mean you are ready to run an enormous country. Just because Alaska has great natural resources doesn't mean you have the solution to all the world's problems. I do agree with her that the US needs to become more energy independent. I do not agree that that means relying solely on drilling. It's true that Alaska could provide the US with some oil, but it will only last for so long, and what happens when it's gone? I believe the US needs to consider alternative fuel sources as a long-term solution.

A few things I noticed.



On page 29, she talks about how Alaska Senator Ted Stevens was so instrumental in ushering legislation for Title IX, but doesn't mention the fallen Ted Kennedy. (Surprise, surprise).

On page 169, she mentions that her oldest son, Track, left high school for awhile and played on a travel hockey team in Kalamazoo, Michigan; ironically, my hometown.

On page 270, she defends her interview with Katie Couric and said that KC was badgering her about the magazines she read. She did admit that she handled that interview poorly because she was annoyed. Well guess what, when you're a politician, you need to better prepare for those "annoyances." What was the problem with just listing a couple newspapers and magazines and being done with the question?

In the end of the book, Sarah talks about how she resigned as Governor of Alaska, mostly in part to the lack of work her administration could complete because they were so innundated with ethics complaints. I do agree that if you are not able to effectively carry out your message and your promises, it would be hard to govern. And I've never been in politics so I can't really imagine the scenario. But where did all the ethics complaints come from? Surely not every single one of them was untrue. (Just my opinion of course).

I just find it so crazy why everyone is so fascinated with her.

Nanny Returns - Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus

Oh my how I couldn't wait to read this sequel to The Nanny Diaries! I just loved The Nanny Diaries when I read it back in 2003, and a few years later, I moved 1200 miles from home to be a nanny, so when I heard a sequel was coming out I was thrilled to receive a copy.

The story returns with Nan Hutchinson who is married to "Harvard Hottie", aka Ryan, and has recently moved back to the U.S. (NYC to be exact) after traveling all over the world for her husband's job. She is finally glad to be back, although their house renovation project keeps her from actually living in her new home. What she is also glad to have is the start of an HR consulting business, and friends from long ago. Well...what she thinks are friends (really a bunch of snobs).

Then bam - one day Grayer shows up at her door, and hence...the return of "Nan-eh!" and the X family. Except Grayer is now a disturbed teenager with a kid brother. Who is in need of some serious help and guidance as his parents are off making messes of their own lives. When Mrs. X asks Nan to help Stilton, Grayer's kid brother, with some school projects, she agrees.

Only you just know that once she says yes...

Pretty soon, Nan is the only worthy female figure in Stilton's life (and Grayer's too, but he seems to have it out for her). I couldn't believe some of the things Nan ended up doing for the X boys because of their folks...first of all, she stood in for Mrs. X so Stilton could get into a prestigious school, she helped the boys as their life unraveled when their parents split up, she took the boys into her care for a week - a week! - when Mrs. X was "off receiving cancer treatments" that didn't turn out to be cancer at all, and Mr. X couldn't deal after the truth came out about his investment firm being so far in the hole and his famous actress-fiance left him. Whew!

All the while, Nan's husband was absent working, pressuring her to have a baby, all of her friends were actually having babies, and her consulting project required her to become a little too familiar to Grayer's life at a prep school. And all the teenage shenanigans that came with that. As shocked as I was to read about some of the activites in which the teens were partaking, I really shouldn't be so surprised. It was NYC after all.

In the end, Nan realized what a great mother she would make as she considered asking Mrs. X for custody of the 2 boys. And after having it out with Grayer, her husband came home and she felt content again. Happily ever after, right? Or will there be another one?

*Disclaimer: I received this novel from Kathleen at Simon & Schuster.

The Girl She Used to Be - David Cristofano

From the book jacket:

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.

Another page-turner I could. not. put. down. It was soo good. The beginning took a bit to get rolling but by page 20 I was so sucked in I barely ate for 2 days. I have always been a little fascinated with mafia stories, so it was obvious this one would appeal to me. But the real thing that appealed to me was that Melody (or Kay, Karen, or a slew of other girls) was so believeable. I couldn't blame her for wanting to run off with Jonathan. Her entire life she'd been running from the truth and here he was in his tall dark and handsome demeanor and that was all it took.

By the time the story going, I was rooting for Melody and Jonathan. But of course, the story had different plans. See, the Bovaros sent Jonathan after Melody to "take care of her" because she was the only one left who could turn their family into the feds. Jonathan's scheme to take her home to his family and show them how innocent she is and how forgiving she is (the only thing she wanted anymore wasn't even death for those who killed her parents, it was just the chance to be herself) blew up in his face. Unbeknownst to Jonathan, the feds had found Melody one day when he thought she was in a beauty salon for the day. The Bovaros had also found her, and had the pictures to prove it. I was certain that Melody was in for death, but true to his word, Jonathan saved her. (No spoilers here, you'll have to read it yourself to find out exactly how it ends).

I really, really recommend this book for those who like fast-paced stories. And those who may also enjoy a good Romeo + Juliet story.

Strengths Finder

Last weekend I sat down with Tom Rath's Strengths Finder and took the assessment. Essentially, the assessment asks you a series of questions and you have to mark where you fit on each one. The assessment has 34 different themes and provides your top 5 after completing the assessment. I am not surprised at all by my top 5 themes: Harmony, Input, Responsibility, Discipline and Consistency. They all really sound like me. Here are a few key ideas about each area that I completely agree with.

Harmony: You seek areas of agreement. You don't push your views on others, you seek common ground in a group discussion, peacemaker, avoid conflict, you see the practical side of things.

Input: You are inquisitive, you like to collect trivia, probably a reader, a traveler, love playing Jeopardy, you love sharing information.

Responsibility: You take ownership of projects you're working on, you hold yourself accountable, your willingness to volunteer may sometimes lead you to take on more than you should, you are hard on yourself, don't skip on quality for quantity.

Discipline: Your world is predictable, you prefer plans, you have no patience for error, you need a sense of order in everything, you keep a lot of lists, others may confuse your discipline with rigidity.

Consistency: Balance is important to you, you value equality, always give credit where it's due, you can be a leader, practice what you preach, keep the focus on your performance.

I talked to my mentor about the outcome of this assessment, and nothing surprised him. Nothing surprised me either. One thing that really struck me though was that some people do confuse my discipline with rigidity. Some people in my professional life have asked me if I ever "let my hair down." Of course I do, I just feel that I should be as professional and polished as possible when working, and I will never be that person who posts a million pictures of myself at the bar on my Facebook. I'm just not that person. But it made me realize that I probably do come off really rigid. Something to work on. I am really curious what my mother thinks about this.

Originally posted here.

Julie & Julia - Julie Powell

Julie & Julia: 365 days, 524 recipes, 1 tiny apartment kitchen

Oh wow. What in the world took me so long to read this? As I picked it up the other day, I tweeted: I love food, I love blogs. Obvious match. Indeed it was.

Julie Powell, is a nearly-thirty year-old (temp) secretary living in a small apartment with her husband, Eric and their cats and pet snake. Her unsatisfactory life drives her to literally cook her way through Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking in one year. Additionally, she starts a blog to chronicle the process.

Her food sometimes turns out great, sometimes awful, but it continues to be the one thing that motivates her every day. It even garners her some press; first CBS, then a slew of others, including The New York Times food columnist, which thrills her. During that year, she cooks for her not only her husband, but her friends and family, as they share in the project with her.

(After cooking for a slew of friends one night, they sat around drinking wine afterward): "...none of us knew for sure what kind we were, exactly, but as long as we were the kind that could sit around eating together and having a lovely time, that was enough." (p.115)

As if it weren't enough to be cramming 524 recipes (French food, no less) into 365 days, Julie and Eric also move to a different (smaller) apartment during the whole project. (Whew!)

This is a great book. I laughed out loud, I cringed at times, I smiled a lot (Julie is a proud Democrat and many of her colleagues are Republicans and she makes many remarks in regards to that fact) and genuinely rooted for her throughout her journey. Ultimately, it was probably the greatest thing she ever did as she landed a book deal, and was able to quit her secretarial job at the "government agency."

Just one final thought: if I were going to embark on a project such as this, and cook my way through any cookbook, it certainly would NOT be French food.

Still Alice - Lisa Genova

WOW. What a powerful, heartbreaking book.

Simply put, this book chronicles Alice, a 50-year-old Harvard professor who is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease. She has had a good life with her husband John and their 3 children, she's had a successful career, and she's enjoying life. Then BAM, hit with the diagnoses. The most horrible part was finding out that when diagnosed with early onset, it's a genetic thing, so Alice's 3 kids all had a 50% chance of carrying the gene and being diagnosed themselves. How horrible. A bit about her kids:

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)

(Do you know who that sounds like? Anna sounds much like me, Lydia, a little like my sister.)

Lisa Genova did a great job of showing alternate perspectives, although not nearly as much as Alice's perspective. Her kids each had different feelings about their mother's progressive illness. Perhaps the most touching thing was the growth of Alice's relationship with her youngest child, daughter Lydia. Alice always felt at odds with Lydia because she didn't go to school, she was a troublesome teen, and she moved away to Los Angeles to try to make a career out of acting.

Overall, Still Alice was an excellent read. It's pretty haunting, and I can't imagine that happening to one of my parents. I hope I never have to see that day. Highly recommend this book to all.

Queen of Babble in the Big City - Meg Cabot

Oh, Queen of Babble, how much I missed you.

I read the first one and its follow up really quickly, since it is an easy, chick lit type of book. This book took Lizzie to New York City, where she is determined to make it on her own in the fashion world. Make that wedding gown designer, to be precise. To save money, she skips out on moving in with her best friend, and goes straight to her rich boyfriend's apartment instead.

Lizzie's mouth often gets her into trouble (hence the titles and all), and I can't believe she was able to keep a few secrets in this book. Her mouth first gets her into trouble (although it turns out to be a blessing in disguise) when she offers to work in a vintage wedding dress shop for free in return for the experience. The problem? She still needs to pay her bills, of course! So she lands a job at a law firm in the mornings, and after a series of events befriends one of the firm's high-profile clients. Who just happens to be getting married. And desperately needs help renovating her soon-to-be mother-in-law's hideous wedding dress.

Lizzie to the rescue! Not only does she refurbish the dress, she manages to land in the papers and therefore, promote the shop. Which of course lands her a full-time position working with wedding dresses. In the process, she learns the hard way how difficult it is to make it on your own after college, and how to deal when your best friend tells you she's gay and just left her long-time boyfriend (that was a shocker), and learns to communicate effectively with her boyfriend. Who just happens to make a proposal of his own in the end.

Cute, fun, quick read. Highly recommended for my chick lit fans. But read the first one first.

The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown

From the book jacket:

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.

Well. Where to start. I suppose the last paragraph from the book jacket, where it says that Brown's fans have been waiting for his most thrilling novel yet...but I was very disappointed.

It took me over 3 weeks to finish this book, and I read The Da Vinci Code in 2 days. I was so excited for this book and it really did not live up to the hype. I wanted to like this book, I really did, but when it takes about 300 pages to get into it, that's not really a good sign. I thought there was way too much diversion from the real story which really made it drag on.

I actually really enjoyed the religious references in The Da Vinci Code, despite my lack of participation in any religion. In this novel, I felt like there was a lot of disconnected religion - it didn't make me want to go research it.

Another thing that made the story drag on was much of Katherine Solomon's research. Kidnapped Peter Solomon's sister has an underground lab in the Capitol Building - pretty unrealistic, but much of what was described about her research in the very beginning of the novel was so vague that it wasn't thrilling. I kept wishing the pages to go by faster, but it wasn't happening.

I continued to read despite my lack of interest because Brown is such a great writer I felt I owed it to him to finish the book. I was curious about what exactly the symbols meant, and I will admit it was exciting when the big twist of who exactly the kidnapper was was revealed.

I also had to reread several pages at times when there were multiple Masonic definitions. I couldn't keep that stuff straight. Like I mentioned before, I was really intrigued in The Da Vinci Code about the religious aspects and the symbols but in this one, I just wasn't into it.

Despite it all, sadly, I don't recommend this book. I haven't read but maybe 1 other review of this book, and I'm curious what others thought. I still have never read Angels & Demons, but I'm not sure now if I'll give it a try.

101 books update

My best friend asked me a few weeks ago how many books I had left to read before I each 101. Since my challenge completion date is September 30, 2010, I now have less than a year left to complete it.

Drum roll please...........

I've read 73 books. I only have 28 to go, and a year to finish! I am definitely going to meet this goal, I'm sure of it. I get excited thinking I can maybe even add 20 or more books. (I typically read 45-50ish books in 1 year). How exciting, right?!

In other news, I'm currently reading Dan Brown's newest book, The Lost Symbol, and because I've been reading it for, oh about 2 weeks now, I already know that I won't like it as much as I liked The Da Vinci Code, a book I finished in 2 days. While in Key Largo. Yeah, what does that tell you?

Hope you're all enjoying whatever you're reading. I've been a bad bloggy friend lately, what with not blogging and not commenting. Better get my act together! :)

Best Intentions - Emily Listfield

From the book jacket:

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 me preface this by saying that this book was sent to me to review by Atria Books. I did very much enjoy the story - from what was written on the book jacket, I assumed it was going to be a couple chapters about the family, the background, etc., but just about everything that's written in the jacket summary happened right away. It was a great way to hook the reader that's for sure!

As Lisa started discovering her husband's secrets, and then her best friend brushed them aside, she started to have doubts about everything. Because Lisa was telling the story, it was so easy for me as a reader to understand her frustrations when she immediately starting distrusting her husband. Probably any woman who found a mysterious woman's voice mail message on her husband's phone would immediately suspect an affair.

So, after Lisa confided in her best friend Deirdre, who brushed it off, a little more confusion started swirling in her head. To top it off, Lisa was trying to hard to keep her shaky work life to herself. There was something off about the new management, and a colleague who appeared to have her best interests in mind turned out to also have a dark side.

And then, Deirdre's long-ago (now married) flame who was still carrying a torch for her appears, and asks for a bit too much of Lisa's time. Not being able to say no, Lisa dives into Jack's plan to win back Deirdre, and never really questions his wife, who is still in Boston. When tragedy came along in the form of a sudden death, everyone is a suspect, and Lisa's life comes to a crashing hault. Everyone around her has a story, and it's not until she hears them all does she know who she can trust. And as it turned out, her husband was the one.

You know that saying that there are always two sides to every story? Well since the book was written from Lisa's point of view, her husband was automatically cast as the secret-keeping, cheating spouse, and it wasn't until the very end that the full, true story unfolded. That's why I like these types of books. The reader knows something about the story is off, but it takes all the unraveling for us to connect the loose ends.

I loved this book - I highly recommend it. Thanks to Atria Books for the opportunity to read and review it!

Live First, Work Second - Rebecca Ryan

I had the privilege of hearing Rebecca Ryan speak at last year's Young Professionals Summit in Brevard County, FL (just south of home), and I can't wait for this year's conference (next month!). I loved her book. I flew through it. I emailed her, saying, among other things, "YOU GET IT! WHY DON'T OTHERS GET IT?" because she does. Get it.

My generation (Gen Y) wants different things than our parents and other generations before us. We live by the rule that we can first pick a place to live, then find a job. (Most of the time this works. If we pick the right place). Rebecca is the founder of Next Generation Consulting, a Madison, WI -based consulting firm that researches and studies companies and young professional organizations nationwide. The research is based on 7 indecies that we (my generation) are looking for in a place to live.

Some of my favorite passages from the book:

"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.

The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger

I loved this book. (I started and finished this book in the Keys over the weekend - so much better than the last book I chose to read while on vacation there).

I became so engrossed that I was (almost) oblivious to my boyfriend and his dad playing Tiger Woods golf on the Wii for 5 hours. (I'm not kidding. It rained for almost 8 hours straight while we were in Key Largo this weekend).

The story of Henry and Clare and his time traveling was so fascinating. At first I thought all the dates were going to create one big headache, but after awhile I started getting it, and I jumped easily from present to future and past and back. What an incredible love story. For Clare to spend her life waiting for Henry and to love him despite his flaw was just amazing. How unreal that Henry could see what his future holds. (And then, at the end, how devastating as well.) The couples' struggle to have a child was heartbreaking, two times over especially that we learned that their daughter Alba was also a time traveler, and knew her father was going to die early.

I was determined to read this book before seeing the movie, and when I realized it was coming out soon (it opened on Friday, 8/14), I knew I had to read it fast incase I happened to overhear any reviews. I had had the book on my shelf for over a year but for some reason hadn't touched it. I had no idea the story took place in Chicago, Illionois and South Haven, Michigan, a place I am familiar with as that's where I went to the beach as I grew up. The book even referenced my hometown, Kalamazoo, MI, several times. There is nothing quite like reading a book with ties to your hometown.

Here are just a couple of my favorite passages:

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.

The Ruins - Scott Smith

From the back of the book:

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.

It was a page-turner, I'll give Smith that, but man was I disappointed. Four friends make friends with other tourists while on vacation in Mexico, which was their first of many mistakes. One of the brothers disappears, and on a whim the 4 set off with 2 other guys in search of the missing. Second mistake? The 2 guys they've just met do not know much English. So, they set off into the Mexican jungle with a language barrier, hardly any food and water and about 4 bottles of tequila.

The group proceeds to get lost, take a few wrong turns, and cannot figure out why they can't get past the flock of Mayans they come across. The Mayans force them to stay on a hill, with nowhere to go, no way to get out if they weren't already lost, and they become hungry, dehydrated and weak. Their Greek buddy ends up falling into a hole and breaks his back, and it sets off their downhill fight for survival. The group waits and waits for help to come, for rain, and to survive the odds. Then there's the vine. A vine that crawls to them, mocks them, sucks up their waste, and eventually, kills them.

If I were grading this book on an A-F scale, I'd give it a C. There were parts where I couldn't wait to see what happened next, but it was definitely not the horror story I was hoping for.

House Rules - Rachel Sontag

This is the incredible story of a very resilient girl, Rachel Sontag, and her family. Her father is an overbearing, over protective, abusive jerk, her mother is brainwashed into her dad's ways (does/says whatever he tells her to), and Rachel's little sister is the forgotten one. Yet Rachel struggles to reach her dad, to make him feel proud of her, to love her, as she grows up.

Rachel struggles with her father and their relationship, as she constantly seeks his approval, tries to reach him and understand him, and tries to make him feel proud of her. She searches for the good in him, strives to be the parts of him she loves, and still, she baits him when he's getting angry. Her defense mechanism was to be sarcastic (which I can totally relate to) or to concentrate on tuning him out. She even got involved in acting and theatre as a child so she could literally escape her life.

As she enters high school, things have never been so bad with her father. He tapes her phone calls, makes her have almost nightly talks about how she does absolutely everthing wrong, makes her write page after page of belittling words about herself, as he dictates them. When she realized her father - a doctor - was medicating their mom to the point where she would physically attack Rachel, she realized it was time to get out of there. DCF entered the picture, and for awhile, Rachel lived in a teen shelter for girls.

As Rachel's mom went in and out of (forced) drug use, she threatened to divorce their father multiple times but never went through with it. It was then Rachel stopped trusting her mother as well.

Rachel and her family are still estranged - her father cut her off when she took a trip to visit friends over a holiday break (crazy, right?) - but Rachel and her sister are still trying to work through their past.

It was a heartbreaking story - there were so many times when I could've thrown the book clear across the room, I was that disgusted with her dad - but I was constantly routing for her and couldn't wait to see how she ended the book. I don't even know her and I'm proud of what she's accomplished. Proud that she has stayed true to herself despite all the setbacks in her life. Despite her family. Proud also that she's still reaching out, still trying to repair what's been broken.

Highly recommended.

Revolutionary Road - Richard Yates

I had mixed feelings about this book, which is highly acclaimed - Kurt Vonnegut says it's "The Great Gatsby of my time...One of the best books by a member of my generation." Possibly because I am not of that generation, I didn't feel the same about it.

It was a bit depressing. Frank and April Wheeler seemed like any ordinary couple, going through marriage and children and life just like any other couple. He worked while she raised the kids. They both lived their lives as they felt they should, compared to society, but were always waiting for the next thing, something new and exciting around the corner.

"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)

Oh, and they both had a major downfall that really didn't allow their relationship to work well: he's a very angry man who would go ballistic, and she's so insecure she looks for assurance in everything.

**SPOILER ALERT**

Ultimately it lead to her demise. While they cheated on each other, planned to move abroad and start life anew, their current life and an unwanted pregnancy set them too far off track to recover, and April committed suicide. What a sad, sad ending. I really wasn't sure what to expect, and although I saw it coming toward the end, I was still surprised it ended that way.

The Virgin Suicides - Jeffrey Eugenides

Well what a depressing book this was!

It's quite obvious by the title what it's about, but I couldn't have been more shocked by the way this family of girls chose to end their lives. I know that being a teenager is awful, awkward, unpredictable and very dramatic, I can't image this actually happening in real life. It's set in the 70s, which is when my parents and their siblings grew up, so I really tried to consider them while reading this.

When Cecelia Lisbon, the apparent "crazy one" of the 5 sisters, attempts suicide and then later succeeds, her 4 sisters slowly move to the crazy side. The girls' mother shelters them to the point that the girls rarely even step outside the house. She makes their clothes - all matching patterns but different colors and she forces Lux to burn all of her records. They go to school, for awhile at least, and it appears that everything, such as taking the trash outside, gets done in the middle of the night. The girls get a following with the neighborhood boys, who are fascinated with the family even more so after Cecelia committs suicide.

The boys (who tell the story with information they've gotten from the girls' mom and from observations they made while obsessed with the family) are on cloud nine when the girls' parents finally allow them out of the house, and the boys take the girls to a school dance. It is there they realize that the girls actually are somewhat normal - although only in appearance.

The title of the book? From page 176:

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

Shortly before the Lisbon girls committed suicide, they started sending nightly signals to the boys. Also around this time, the boys started finding pictures of the Virgin Mary - pictures the girls placed in the middle of the night. It became apparent what the girls were going to do, and when they invited the boys over to their house in the middle of the night, I cringed. It was obvious to the girls that it was the opportune time since their parents would be sleeping. I don't understand why they needed the boys to be the first to find them though. The girls lured the boys into the house and one by one took their lives in different ways (sitting in the car in the garage, sticking a head in the oven). Those poor boys is all I could think!

At the very end of the book, the boys are recapping the girls' lives, trying to solve the puzzle with the help of a doctor.

"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!)

It Had to Be You - Sarah Webb

This is the story of 3 friends, all living different lives in the sleepy town of Burnaby, Ireland. While the girls lead different lives (one is married with kids and running for local office, one is a bookshop manager who can't seem to get it right with men, and one has 2 very different jobs and a rough boss), they still meet up for coffee and to dish on life and love.

As always, some surprising twists create for drama and tension - although I didn't feel the book reached a good climax - it was more anticlimatic for me. Paige, the married and pregnant woman running for local office, survives setbacks that only come about when people go grasping at straws to get the "never seen before" picture of the local politican. In the end, she wins the race, of course, and becomes Deputy.

Paige's friend Molly, the bookshop manager, gets a huge surprise one morning at work when it's announced that the owner is selling the shop. It doesn't stop there - the new owner smells fishy, and he comes with an adorable son who is conveniently drawn to Molly. Can she get it right? (Obviously, this book is a happily ever after, and she does).

Kate, Molly's housemate, has 2 totally different careers - she's a (closet) shoe designer who moonlights as a matchmaker - can't get it right with men. She chases her old flame to Boston (from Ireland!) and realizes he's the same creep he always was. Crushed, she settles for the one she should have said yes to all along. (Nice guys finish last, right?)

I know this was an Irish bestseller, but I think it could have done a little better job at explaining Irish politics for Americans. Paige was a Councillor, but then ran for Deputy - but I don't really understand what each one is equal to in U.S. politics. For me, this was a large part of why I picked up the book (I love politics - from the sidelines), so I wasn't completely satisfied. However, this is still a fast and easy chick read for those seeking one.

The Wednesday Letters - Jason F. Wright

As I said in my Sunday Salon post, I finished The Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright and while I enjoyed it, I don't understand all the hoopla surrounding it. It was on The New York Times Bestseller List, but for some reason it didn't grab me the way it probably grabbed others.

The Wednesday Letters is the story of a woman and her 2 brothers who come together at their parents' bed & breakfast after they've both passed away over night. As they come together, it is apparent the family has suffered from some losses, and there is some obvious tension between the 3 of them. While they are coping with their loss and accepting family and friends at their parents' estate, they stumble upon boxes of letters their father used to write to his wife each week, starting when they were married. These letters contain everything from the most mundane days to a huge, life-altering secret that the now grown children must come to grips with.

The secret affects each of them in different ways, and as they struggle through the days leading up to their parents' funerals, they are also each dealing with another crisis in their lives. Samantha, a police officer and single mom, had put her dreams on hold to care for her daughter and be close to her parents as she knew they were growing old and weak. Now she must decide what her next step in life is, and if she will chase her childhood dream of acting. Her (normal) brother must face the fact that he and his wife may never be parents if their adoption doesn't go through. Their troubled brother, who was called away from Brazil to go home to his family, must face the consequences he ran from years ago after a fight. He must also face the girl he loves who of course, was the reason for the fight.

I am sure you know where this is going. The kids made amends, bury their parents and live happily ever after. I'm always a little unsatisfied when I read the happy ending, because that's not how life really turns out. I'm actually a positive person, I just think that not every book needs to end up this way. I am curious what other readers thought about this book, so if you've got any thoughts, please share!

The Godmother - Carrie Adams

Tessa King is not your average mid-thirty woman; she is currently without a job and has way too many godchildren. She is also unlucky in love (although there are probably several women out there who relate to that one), but fortunately, has great friends in her life. She lives in London, is currently unemployed due to a disastrous stalking debacle with her former boss (she is an attorney), and she finds herself with too much time on her hands. She can only shop too much, eat out too much, and meet friends for drinks too often before she's wishing for something better. Wishing for Ben, her platonic friend, with whom she has a history (downfall of this novel: carries on too long) and who is also married, to another one of her friends.

Tessa's involvement with her friends is truly incredible - I do believe she's a great friend, and she goes through hoops to help her godchildren, which is so sweet. Her biggest downfall is her meddling into her friends' lives and relationships (with their spouses and their kids), which creates some friction. She pushes and pushes and meddles and meddles, and mostly because she is jealous. Her friends are all living their lives with husbands and kids and what she thinks are white picket fences, and lives life with a classic "the grass is always greener on the other side" feeling.

But then one day it all goes to pot.

[SPOILER ALERT!]

Tessa's great friend Helen and her (lousy) husband are killed in a car accident, and Tessa is devastated. She also instantly goes into mommy mode, as she is Helen's twin sons' godmother. Although she does not adopt them, she does care for them during transition, and it is this event that sends her into the arms of her true love, Ben.

Happily ever after, right?

WRONG.

Tessa considers the conversations she's had with her beloved friends, the lessons they've given her in love and marriage, and the truths she's learned (that people are never who they seem), and she cannot go through with stealing Ben from his wife. She cannot break a marriage and be the one who creates more tension with her friends. They had their chance and the moment passed, life goes on.

I did very much enjoy this book, despite some parts being excruciatingly long and dramatic, and some predictability, but I think the lessons were bountiful. And Adams' writing style is amazing. I found myself cracking up at some points, angry at others, and feeling solemn at other points. Going through these stages of emotions will usually leave me with a great feeling about a book, and I recommend this book to all.

101 Books Update

Well, here we are in May and I've yet to do an "update" post this year.

A long long time ago (not really) I announced my goal of reading 101 books in 1,001 days. My end date is September 30, 2010. I'm over half-way there already, and I still have more than a year to complete it. Think it's not really challenging enough anymore? Yeah, me either. I'm going to add to it and make it 150 books eventually, so stay tuned.

Books read so far - 60

Books to go to finish the challenge - 41

How are you doing on your challenges?