Archive for the ‘Books’ Category

Book Club Time!

Monday, March 4th, 2013

Another month, another fab book club!  Except this month I failed to read the book. I’ve been so unmotivated when it comes to certain things lately that I just did not even attempt  to read the book. That didn’t mean I didn’t go annoy everyone there.

I’m not sure why but I just haven’t felt social lately at all. When I say social I mean hang out in big groups kind of social. Normally I thrive in big groups because I love talking to ton of different people but I’ve been so blech lately that I’ve been avoiding big group situations and just hanging out with people one on one. Not that there’s anything wrong with that but I normally love both big group and small group interaction. Why the heck am I even talking about this? Back to annoying people.

We had the usual delish spread of food:

Which I thoroughly enjoyed-especially whatever Jeni made. Ate that UP.

Since I wasn’t feeling too social, I decided to just take obnoxious pictures with Katie of everyone instead.  It started with a simple finger photo-bomb:

And progressed into booping people.

Naturally Em had to get in on the action.

And it just went down hill from there…

Why we found this so entertaining I do not know.

Because as you can see nobody else was impressed by us.

Which clearly meant that we had to continue doing it.

And it was funny each and every time. And by funny, I mean hilarious.

To only Katie and I.

And then we all went home. And I made a necessary pit-stop.

The lack of gluten at book club drove me here…. I felt some sort of magnetic pull.  I can’t go a day without 3,000 grams of gluten. My nutritionist says so.

That’s all the nonsense I have for now!

What do you do when you’re not feeling too social?

Book Review: The Hiding Place

Thursday, February 28th, 2013

Have you ever read a book that starts weird, gets really good for a few pages and then somehow ends and you’re not sure what even happened?  Meet that book:

I was really excited to read this book.  When I picked it up at a used book store and read the back cover I was immediately drawn in.  The fact that it was a national bestseller and award finalist  upped my excitement level that much more.  Once you read the description you’ll see why this book sparked my interest:

“Set in a Maltese immigrant community in Cardiff, Wales, and peopled with sharp-edged, luminously drawn characters, The Hiding Place is the story of Frankie Gauci, his wife, Mary, and their six daughters. With her “unusual gift for letting her characters’ interior lives come forth” (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution), Azzopardi chronicles Frankie’s unforgivable betrayal: gambling away his family’s livelihood and eventually the family itself. The Gaucis’ story is seen through the eyes of Dolores, the youngest daughter and the embodiment of bad luck in her father’s estimation, condemned to bear the mark of a family that is rapidly singeing at the edges. Dolores presents an unsparing portrayal of the fear and hopelessness of childhood amid grim poverty and neglect, of children growing up without safety nets and on sunken foundations. Sustained by a tightrope tension and a stark, youthful wisdom, The Hiding Place conjures the coarse sensuality of life among the docks, the smoky cafes and bars, the crumbling homes and gambling rooms of Tiger Bay. “Astonishing and iridescent” (The Times, London).

Sounds good right? I really love novels about family drama so I figured I would love this.  The book started pretty slow and with six different sisters, a mom, dad and all the dad’s gangster friends I pretty much had no idea who was who the entire book. Pair that with the fact that it was told from the point of view of super young (think 4 or 5) daughter it was hard to understand what was going on.  When I finally did get a grip on the story it started to get really good-for a few chapters.

I can honestly say I don’t know what this book was about and I don’t really know what happened.  When I finished it, I couldn’t summarize in my head the story or point of it all. What I do remember is constantly having to flip back pages and reread to see if I could remotely figure out what was going on.  This book took be 2 weeks to finish-which for me, is a long time. It was a super slow read and when I finally finished it I just felt so…unsatisfied.

I went onto Amazon to read the reviews and it seemed that readers either LOVED the book or didn’t understand a word of it.  I can see how people would love the story though-it’s well written and you can tell someone extremely talented and intelligent wrote it, but I honestly think I can’t even review the book because I feel  like I didn’t even read it…

Another bummer of a book!

That’s all the nonsense I have for now!

What are you currently reading??

Book Review: The Art of Racing in the Rain

Tuesday, February 5th, 2013

With your help, I decided to go ahead and read The Art of Racing in the Rain.

I’ve been meaning to read this for a while and I actually bought it for my mother for Christmas this year. After stealing Lindsay’s copy for my reading pleasure and all of you telling me to READ IT, I did just that.

Synopsis via Amazon:

“If you’ve ever wondered what your dog is thinking, Stein’s third novel offers an answer. Enzo is a lab terrier mix plucked from a farm outside Seattle to ride shotgun with race car driver Denny Swift as he pursues success on the track and off. Denny meets and marries Eve, has a daughter, Zoë, and risks his savings and his life to make it on the professional racing circuit. Enzo, frustrated by his inability to speak and his lack of opposable thumbs, watches Denny’s old racing videos, coins koanlike aphorisms that apply to both driving and life, and hopes for the day when his life as a dog will be over and he can be reborn a man. When Denny hits an extended rough patch, Enzo remains his most steadfast if silent supporter. Enzo is a reliable companion and a likable enough narrator, though the string of Denny’s bad luck stories strains believability. Much like Denny, however, Stein is able to salvage some dignity from the over-the-top drama.”

This is a really easy read-I mean it’s written from the point of view of a dog.  Short, simple sentences and not much detail.  I read the book in two days and really enjoyed it. I liked it, but I didn’t love it.  I loved the idea behind this book- a dog writing from his perspective about his family, and there were some really thought-provoking sentences throughout the book that made me stop and think about my own life. For some reason, and I can’t really figure out what that is, I just didn’t connect too much with the story.

I think it may have been the simple writing and the speed of the book.  I honestly also have no interest in race car driving which is what some chapters were solely about.  To be frank, I skimmed those and even skipped paragraphs here and there.  Most people told me I would sob throughout the entire book (my mother included!) but I only shed a few tears.  Again, I think it’s because I didn’t connect with the book on that level.

I would recommend the book, I did enjoy it after all.  And if you love dogs, you will most likely love this book.  It’s an easy and quick read and it’s definitely something different, which is refreshing.

That’s all the nonsense I have for now!

What are you reading??

Book Review: Wildwood

Monday, January 28th, 2013

I really wanted to like this book.  PartyDog was actually the one who purchased this last year because the author is Colin Meloy who happens to be one of the members of our favorite band The Decemberists.  I know from his music that Meloy has a really imaginative writing style so I waswas super excited to dive into this book- all 576 pages of it.

Here’s the breakdown:

“Prue McKeel’s life is ordinary. That is, until her brother is abducted by a murder of crows and taken to the Impassable Wilderness, a dense, tangled forest on the edge of Portland. No one’s ever gone in—or at least returned to tell of it.  So begins an adventure that will take Prue and her friend Curtis deep into the Impassable Wilderness. There they uncover a secret world in the midst of violent upheaval—a world full of warring creatures, peaceable mystics, and powerful figures with the darkest intentions. And what begins as a rescue mission becomes something much greater as the two friends find themselves entwined in a struggle for the very freedom of this wilderness. A wilderness the locals call Wildwood.”

I haven’t read a fantasy story like this in a long time.  I typically either love them (Harry Potter) and become completely oblivious to the outside world while reading, or I just can’t get into them.  This one was the latter of the two.  The story is beautifully written with really interesting artwork thrown in throughout the story and the book itself feels like a work of art (the pages are thick and uneven and the artwork is so neat). You can definitely tell someone really intelligent wrote the story.  While I can respect and admire all of that, I never quite got engrossed in the story.

I think for me personally, I never quite connected with the main character. While Prue is brave, adventurous, stubborn and pretty much a warrior princess that totally rocks, I sadly never fell for her.  I felt like I was just reading a story about a girl on an adventure instead of feeling her feelings, experiencing her emotions and going along with her for the ride.  I prefer books where I connect 100% with the character and feel as if they are my bff but Prue and I weren’t a match made in book Heaven.

Now this book is a trilogy and part of me feels compelled to read the others since I already started it and am such a fan of Meloy.  Butttttttt I just don’t know if I can sit through another 1,000+ pages of it.  The story just goes on….and on…..and on.

If you like stories that are super imaginative and descriptive then I would recommend you give this book a try.  If you’re like me and on the fence about stories like this, then I would say you should find another book to read-this one is just too long to force yourself to finish.

The sad thing is, this marks another book I’ve read recently that I just didn’t enjoy all that much. I want my next book to be something really good and that’s where you come in! Should I read:

The Art of Dancing in the Rain OR Everything Is Illuminated OR The Cider House Rules??

That’s all the nonsense I have for now!