I promise, I have been reading, I just haven't so much been...posting. Oops again.
Ok so I can't even remember all of the books that I've read since I last posted, so I'm just going to try to give you the short and sweet on those that I do remember (please note that was not an attempt to intimidate you with the number of books I read, rather it was a testament to just how bad my memory has become).
So, now, the short and sweet.
Sweet Love by Sarah Strohmeyer
I won't lie, I picked this up at the library because the cover is pink and decorated with a cupcake. It's a story about lost love, etc, etc blah blah blah...that's about how the book goes. No offense to Strohmeyer, but this book taught me that two of my passions are intertwined - baking and reading/writing. If you buy a mix, throw in the necessary ingredients, and pull the result out of the oven, you'll get out what you put in - something that is cloyingly sweet and overall ordinary. You have to add a few personal touches in order to end up with a product that can hit more than just one note. I didn't run to the library to pick up another Strohmeyer book.
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
A trusted friend passed this book along to me after she had finished with it and I was not at all disappointed by her recommendation (which reminds me that I have to ask what she's been reading recently). This book is deserving of all the critical acclaim it received. It is an entirely unique story about a young man who essentially runs away with the circus following family tragedy - it's the classic coming of age, boy meets girl story, but with details so unlike any other story I've read that it felt completely new and...refreshing. For once, a book where I could not see the ending 50 pages away (again, not an attempt to brag, just a comment on my apparent lack of ability to choose quality literature off the shelves of the library). I highly recommend this book.
Riding Lessons by Sara Gruen
So hopefully the fact that I read two other books by Gruen will reinforce my recommendation that you read Water for Elephants. I unfortunately read these three books in the order of how much I would end up enjoying them, but I enjoyed the first so much that I wouldn't say it is a negative commentary on the last two.
So, anyway, Riding Lessons. This book tells the story of an equestrian with Olympic potential whose career is cut off in its prime. It's about her life thereafter, her story as a mother and a daughter, set against the backdrop of the stable and training center her parents own and run.
There's love, family challenges, competition, and animals...so I was entertained. It was Gruen's first novel...no Water for Elephants, but good nonetheless. Good enough that I read the sequel,...
Flying Changes by Sara Gruen
Flying Changes is the sequel to Riding Lessons - another story about life, love, family, and riding. I can't really distinguish at this point whether I liked the first or second novel more - they were both good, but the fact that one does not really stand apart from the other in my mind might tell you something. The second book focuses more intensely on the relationship between the main character and her daughter, which is at points a little less than believable (the teenage daughter is a bit of a drama queen). So, again, recommended, but not as strongly as Water for Elephants - which is definitely Gruen's strongest work so far (in my eyes and apparently those of the American public).
Chasing Harry Winston by Lauren Weisberger
Another entertaining novel by the author of The Devil Wears Prada and Everyone Worth Knowing (if you haven't read either of those, you should read them). This one focuses on the lives of three best friends - three young women in New York City - a little bit like Lipstick Jungle (RIP, and yes I'm still mad about it) but without all the focus on the high powered careers. I'm going to be honest here - this book is for the girls who miss SATC. I have a feeling that Weisberger has a girl crush on Candace Bushnell....which isn't a problem. The SATC/Lipstick Jungle girls (both novels were authored by Bushnell in case you hadn't heard) were older than the girls that Weisberger features - so maybe Weisberger is the Bushnell of our generation (or at least, a little closer to our generation).
The book was good - don't get me wrong - and if I would just stop analyzing things and leave them be, I would even say the book was a great read (specifically for the beach or some sort of vacation, release sort of book). The thing that bothers me is this - all three of the main characters in this book are intelligent women with exciting careers (or exciting lives, in the case of Adriana). So why, then, is the thing that they focus on and talk about all time men? I'm not saying this isn't (entirely and exactly) accurate...but it is still irritating. Books are an escape, a release in which you can pretend life is not exactly the same way it is in reality - so what is refreshing about a book revealing and detailing the prevailing neuroses of women our age?
Again, probably just thinking too hard...but...it's a thought.
The Twilight Series by Stephanie Meyer - Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn
I'm not going to write a review of these books other than to say these things -
1) Read them now.
2) Then read them again.
3) Then you should probably call your friends and let them know you're alive because they're worried they haven't heard from you.
If you have the chance, see the movie before you read the books, otherwise you will think the movie is trash (Unless, of course, you tune out all dialogue and just watch Robert Pattinson's face).
Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner
The latest installment in the Cannie Shapiro series of books...this one about her trials as the mother of her teenage daughter, Joy. Jennifer Weiner is a good author, she writes entertaining dialogue and moves the plot along before you get bored. The book is written from both Cannie and Joy's perspectives, which is fun but at times annoying - Joy is 13 years old and if I wanted to read stories from a 13 year old's perspective, I would read young adult fiction (Ummmm, like Twilight). A weak criticism in the face of an overall entertaining and moving story - I won't give anything away, but just when you think the climax has passed and the book is about to wind down, Weiner throws in a curveball that turns the plot on its head and gives the book some muscle. So if you're tempted to throw the book in the corner (a la 13 year old drama), wait it out at least until you know what I'm talking about.
Playing for Pizza by John Grisham
I've always been a big fan of Grisham - I must admit that I miss the days of The Partner (although it appears those days are coming back with a new release available January 27). I am always pleasantly surprised by his ability to transition seamlessly between the worlds of the courtroom and (in this case) the football field...in Italy. There must be something in the water in Charlottesville that produces brilliant writers (I crack myself up).
I particularly enjoyed this novel because lately I have been considering the merit of a culinary tour of Italy (if you want to either accompany me or bankroll me, or hell, both, let me know) and Grisham spent a good while detailing the food his characters enjoyed throughout their time in Italy (I am growing hungrier as I type this). So the book had food - what else did it really need for me to enjoy it? It was also an interestingly new treatment of the classic tale of a fallen hero (a former NFL pro who can't find work in America and moves to Italy to play in the European league)--
Grisham is brilliant because he doesn't crumble under the pressure of the classic Happy Ending - he constructs his own story with the assured confidence that, happy or not, it will still be good.
And it is.
Phew. Ok. So, if my memory were better, I might have a few more books to add to this list - but really, do you want to waste your time reading about books I read in the last two months and can't really remember?
Happy reading. Oh, and send me some recommendations - I'm off on vacation next week and need some great beach reads! :-)
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