Green

Green is subtitled "The Circle Book 0: The Beginning and the End" and is a late addition to Ted Dekker's Circle Series (formerly, Trilogy). The last book of the series was published in 2004. I read and loved the trilogy. I bought the first book, Black, for family members I was so impressed with it. When I saw that this book was being released last year I was anxious to read it.

Green is described as being either the beginning or the end of the series. Basically, for those of us who read the first three already, we are told we can go ahead and read this one now. For people who haven't, they can start here. Or end here. It doesn't matter. It's a CIRCLE.

As further background, Dekker is considered a Christian author. I've found his book to generally be non-preachy, edgy, suspenseful stories about the fight between good and evil. In the Circle series, Dekker tells the story of Thomas Hunter who is living two parallel lives after a head injury. In one life, he battles to save the world from a life-threatening virus. This storyline continues to develop through the three books in the series. In the other world, a more visceral battle of good and evil is constantly evolving from book to book. This was compelling reading as there was one thread that continued to tie the books together but the other thread more or less reached conclusion within a book. The series was much more sci fi/fantasy in feel than Christian but also has themes that were reminscent of C.S. Lewis' Narnia books.

I'm sad to report that I was very disappointed in this addition to the series. So much so, I'm going to go back and reread the original series to see if I am imagining that it was as good as I recall. I do know that if I was new to this series, I wouldn't read any more after reading this book because some of the violence and depravity in this book was stomach churning. The device Dekker sets up in this novel to make it both the beginning and the end to the series is clever and intriguing but, again, some of the gory (literally) detail in this installment made me glad to be done reading it.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Whew.

I picked up "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," by Stieg Larsson, last November. I started reading it, despite the fact that I was finishing up my master's degree, teaching a writing class twice a week, teaching in a voluntary position once a week, and doing all the other stuff (kids, house, work) that comes along with being me.

I had to put it down. I don't know if I wasn't interested or if I was just too busy.

My life has calmed down a bit, so I picked it up again yesterday around 2:30 p.m. At 11:30 p.m., I finally made myself put it down so I could go to bed. I woke up this morning and finished it.

Masterful.

I think my difficulty the first time I tried to read it was that in the first four or so chapters, it's really difficult to see how all these people and all this information is going to come together. Last semester, I didn't have the time to weed through a book that was going to eventually have a big payoff. This time around, I did.

The book (the first of three; the second book is "The Girl Who Played with Fire," and "The Girl Who Kicked a Hornet's Nest" comes out in May) introduces Lisbeth Salander, a private investigator with a complicated life; Mikael Blomkvist, a journalist with issues; and finally, the completely crazy Vanger family.

There were times when I wanted the story to get going already, and then there were times when I wanted it to slow down so I could wallow in the plot development.

It's not the perfect novel. I think it could have been condensed a bit. I would have liked a map of Sweden so that I could refer to the places Blomkvist and Salander visited. I would have liked some sort of idea of what the dollar equivalency to the kronor is (I could have and probably will look it up, but when I was curled on my couch, I was curious).

But, it kept my attention. I'm glad I finished it, finally. And, as soon as I was done with it this morning, I downloaded "The Girl Who Played with Fire" to my Kindle.

If you read it, give yourself time. Get past the first 7 or so chapters before you give up. It was probably around chapter 8 this time around that I realized I was committed to this novel.

The Help

I just finished reading this book after staying up way too late last night. It is the first book I've read on my new nook, my birthday present. More about the nook later.

I can see why this book has been on The New York Times Bestseller list for as long as it has. The characters are so warm and vivid, they draw you in and make you care about them.

The story takes place in Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960s. It is the story of a young white woman who decides to tell the stories of Jackson's African American maids--the help--and their relationships with the families they serve. Sometimes wonderful, sometimes awful, the stories are never boring, and neither are the people.

Even though I live up here in the great white North, several decades past the Civil Rights Movement, it made me think about the African American woman that essentially raised me and my brothers, and how she might have felt. I wish I could ask her, but she passed away several years ago. The book just made me miss her more.

Rules

An amazing young adult novel about a 12 year old girl who has an autistic 8 year old brother. A poignant story that was very enlightening, especially for me as the mother of a child on the spectrum. Catherine is probably the person in her family who most understands her brother. She is his greatest defender while at the same time a victim of it. The story does not just focus on this relationship, though, which is part of its strength. Catherine starts the summer hoping to develop a new friendship with a brand new neighbor. Instead, she develops another strong bond with someone else (I don't want to give anything away). She is an insightful girl and some of the observations she makes are heart wrenching in their truth. The way she and her brother communicate with words from Arnold Lobel's Frog and Toad stories are so sweet. The way she communicates with her new friend is amazing and shows her maturity and understanding of others who are unable to be heard in the "normal" ways. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Very impressive first novel!

Diabetes Rising

A nonfiction book that takes a look at the history of diabetes internationally, and asks the question; in a world where we are seeing declines in all other major diseases across the world, why are the numbers of diabetics going up?

This book also looks at many of the different theories out there as to what causes this disease, and peeks into the possible future for both treatment and the idea of a cure.

Well written by a journalist, not a physician, it is easy to grasp, and his style keeps you going through any of the dry parts.  He will also include a little "English translation" for times when the medical jargon cannot be avoided. The author is, himself, a type 1 diabetic.  As the mother of one, I grabbed it and was hardly able to put it down.  There is no magic bullet, or silver coin at the end, but it does lay out some very plausible and interesting theories as to cause, and once that has been established, it is reasonable to assume a cure cannot be far behind. 

Stormbreaker

With a husband certified as an English teacher and in library media, I find my house filled with young adult fiction. Probably my first venture into the genre was the Twilight series. I've not looked back since. Well done YA fiction can be as compelling and interesting as any "adult" fiction.

Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz is a fabulous YA book and a super start to a series about a teenage boy who is forced to work for Britan's spy agency after his uncle is killed in the line of duty. Alex Rider is an instantly likeable hero and his story, unlike many first in a series, is a fast starting, action packed one. The author's premise requires little set up and this allows for the book to take off quickly. I look forward to reading more of these and will definitely recommend them to friends who have young adults in the house who liked other series like Percy Jackson, Gregor and Harry Potter.

Happens Every Day

Happens Every Day is a memoir of a former actress, turned college professor, turned, yet unknown.  I am not yet finished with the book.

The story is good, the writing engaging, and it is easy to read (very important for me as I read before bed and my over-taxed brain cannot handle actually THINKING at that hour.)

Isabel describes in detail her marriage to the most wonderful guy, her amazing life and her great kids, and how she lost it all without really noticing it was slipping away.

Overall it is a fine book.  Here is what BUGS me:  I don't think she had an editor!  Or, if she did, the editor should be FIRED on the spot!  There are glaring errors in grammar (Drives me INSANE when someone says they "feel badly"... UGH! She has said it at least a half dozen times and I am about halfway through) and then they slaughtered the name of MY BREED OF DOG!  Please note.. it is NOT a Burmese mountain dog.. it is a Bernese Mountain Dog.  All Three Words Get A Capital.  And the dog comes from Switzerland!!  Seriously, would it have killed them to check into these things???

Possession

When I read a book I enjoy, I tend to run the table on his or her writings. When I've read everything about and by the author, I move on to someone else.

When I was in graduate school, I took a class on the post-war British novel. One of the novels we read was "Angels & Insects" by A.S. Byatt. I was entranced and set on a quest to read everything she had ever written.

Along the way, I found "Possession." (My copy doesn't have the movie cover. I hate books that use pictures from the movie as its cover.)

It's a literary mystery and a romance. What could be better? The main characters are grad-school types, so I immediately felt kindred to them.  The novel does move back and forth in time, and that could be confusing at times, but I eventually got used to it.

My favorite part about any mystery is the moment when the reader "gets" what the author has been driving at all along. Words on a page -- written in the past, by someone I have never met -- cause my brain to go somewhere it has never been before and will never go again!

Amazing. Read "Possession." You won't regret it. The movie is nice, too, despite the presence of Gwyneth.

Born to Run

I love to read non-fiction, so most of my recommendations here will likely be from that genre. I find that life truly is stranger than fiction, and what better book to illustrate that fact than "Born to Run" by Christopher Macdougall.

In this book, Macdougall discusses the modern history of running, as well as explores what makes great runners great. He becomes involved with the Tarahumara, a Mexican tribe who can run 40 miles in a day without any physical repercussions. Along the way he discusses motivations and personality traits of ultramrathoners like Scott Jurek and others.

A runner myself, I was really surprised at the wealth of information (stats and studies) he relays about the effectiveness of running shoes and how they may harm more than help. I'm not ready to do barefoot running on the hot, concrete streets of Southeast Texas yet, but what I've learned in this book will figure prominently in the next pair of running shoes I purchase.

I am not finished with this book yet; it starts off slowly, but it is picking up momentum and I find myself not wanting to put it down.

The Elegance of the Hedgehog

A middle aged apartment building concierge and the twelve year old daughter of one of the buliding's tenants... superficially, they would appear to have nothing in common. But their relationship goes beyond the superficial, as does this intelligent novel.

Originally published in French, the story seems to lose nothing in translation. The language is simple and beautiful, even when dealing with complex philosophical ideas.

Both of the novels main characters are overlooked by the far less intelligent people who surround them, Renee because of her station in life and Paloma because of her age. Their existence, in the background, allows them to see through the pretenses of the political and social heirarchy, even as they both believe they are trapped within in it. Paloma plans a suicidal escape, while Renee struggles to hide even the contents of her grocery bag, for fear of being found out. Their disguises start to fall away only when a wealthy Japanese man moves into the building and befriends them both.

This book will make laugh and cry, but primarily it will make you think. It is best read slowly and should be accompanied by wine and good cheese. You will be sad when all three are finished.

Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's

As a mom to a son with Asperger's, I was very interested in reading this book to see what insights an adult who has dealt with the disorder his whole life had to share. Mr. Robison did not find out what he "had" until he was a grown man yet learned to cope on his own with the traits that made socializing so difficult for him. His life, with or without Asperger's, is one worthy of a novel. He grew up in an extremely dysfunctional home, his father an alcoholic and his mother with mental illness. He left school and home at a young age and worked in some interesting jobs before opening the business that he is still in today. The stories he has to tell are interesting and funny. Throw in the insights about Asperger's and how he taught himself to overcome a condition that he did not even have words for until he was 30+ years old, and this book was an entertaining and enlightning read. I look forward to his next book.

Harvesting the Heart

"Paige has only a few vivid memories of her mother, who abandoned her when she was five. Now, having left her father in Chicago, she dreams of art school, marries an ambitious doctor—and soon becomes a mother herself."

Harvesting the Heart is Jodi Picoult's second novel, released in 1993. As I am one-third into this book, I've noticed her character development is lacking/not as developed as her later novels. I want more, something to sink my teeth into, but it's just not there. This would be a great book for a read at the beach, but not much else.

The World According to Garp

This is one of my favorite books in the universe. I read it for the first time when I was about 17, because my mom had told me not to read it. That's how I discovered all my favorites!

I re-read it every single year, and love it more and more with each read.

The writing is beautifully done, of course -- John Irving is a master. The book is an odd sort to categorize: Is it a romance? Sorta. Is it a tragedy? Sorta. Is it a comedy? Sorta.

It's one of those books where you laugh and laugh and laugh and feel horrible for doing so. And then, 10 pages later, you're crying your heart out, not even remembering the previous laughter.

I identify with different parts of it every time I read it. That's one of the characteristics of a good book, I believe. If you can read a book every year and find different things in it, find different things in YOU, then the book can be considered a success.

"Garp" is one of those books.

The Monsters of Templeton

 It took me forever to finish this book, partly because I read, as a rule, right before I go to bed and I kept falling asleep, but partly it took me so long because it was not just an easy book to read.  The plot goes back and forth between generations, introduces characters who have no apparent relevance to the story, and has a MC (Main Character) who I find to be whiny and lost, rather than this "golden child returning to town" that everyone in the novel seems to think.

There is a family tree on the last pages that answer all the questions posed during the novel - had I just looked there FIRST, I could have saved myself much time! 

The only highlight for me in the story was the Monster of the Lake, its demise and the idea that there could, possibly, be an offspring.  The rest of it was uninspiring, and I'm curious how it ended up on the NYT Bestseller list.. other than the cool cover!

Monsters is by Lauren Groff, published by VOICE and is 361 pages long.  I am currently on page 127.

True Compass, A Memoir

It must be my year for autobiography--I have three of them on my nightstand right now. This one is the memoir of the late Edward M. Kennedy. It's been really interesting to read. If people were expecting to get a deeper look into his personal life as an adult, they'll be disappointed. It does describe his childhood in detail, and gives plenty of insight as to why he and his siblings turned out the way they did. What I've found most interesting so far are his accounts of his work in the Senate. The health care bill that just passed? He'd been trying to get something passed since the 1960s. It's amazing to me that we have the same problems now that we had in 1972! I'll update this post when I finish the book.