Say It Like You Mean It

Speaking American: A History of English in the United States
Richard W. Bailey
History

As an English Lit major, I had to take a linguistics class in college. I was prepared not to enjoy it because I had no interest at all in linguistics, but to my surprise, I ended up loving that class. The study of dialect in America, how many different ways people speak the English language is really, really interesting. So when I saw this book, I immediately grabbed it.

Speaking American is about the history of English in America. Mr. Bailey begins his analysis in Chesapeake Bay before 1650 and ends in Los Angeles, 1950-2000. Over the course of these chapters he takes us all over the US—New Orleans, Philadelphia, and Chicago, just to name a few. He studies and describes the influence of different languages, such as French and Spanish, on English, and explains how they came to be part of our vocabulary today. As with a lot of historical non-fiction books, there’s not much dialogue and certain parts definitely drifted into academia territory (meaning I felt my eyes glaze over once or twice), but I still found the book compelling, especially the parts where he compares how one group of people say one word versus how the other group says it.

Anyone who enjoys linguistics will like this book, as will anyone looking for more insight on how American English came to be.

Power Plays

A Partial History of Lost Causes
Jennifer duBois
Fiction

This is not an uplifting read, people. I should’ve realized that going in, but I didn’t really think about it until I was halfway through and by then I knew I had to finish it.

A Partial History of Lost Causes is about Irina and Aleksandr. The chapters switch back and forth between the two, hers during 2006, his a long time ago and 2006. Aleksandr was a chess champion in Russia when he was young but then politics derailed his career and now he’s trying to run for president. Irina is just about to enter the early stages of Huntington’s disease and goes to Russia to meet Aleksandr, whom her father (who also had Huntington’s) admired and wrote once. After quite a bit of maneuvering, Irina finally gets to meet Aleksandr…and that’s all I’m going to tell you because mentioning anything else would spoil the novel.

I really, really hate when books go back and forth between two POVs. Aleksandr’s chapters were in third person and Irina’s were in first person. It was very jarring switch POVs every chapter. I got used to it by the end, but I never grew to like it. Jennifer duBois is a good writer, I’ll give her that: she managed to get me to read most of the extremely long paragraphs sprinkled throughout the book. The overall tone of Lost Causes was just so depressing, though. I knew it wouldn’t, couldn’t, have a happy ending, but what did happen shocked me. I cannot recall the last time I read a novel set in Russia that didn’t bring me down. No more Russia-based novels for me for awhile.

So I’m not sure I would recommend this. I suppose if you can stand a lot of downer stuff and you enjoy political history, you’d like it.

Behind Closed Doors

The Chaperone
Laura Moriarty
Fiction

Was anyone else read forced to read Edith Wharton in high school? I know she’s considered a classic author, but I just could not get into The Age of Innocence. However, after finishing this book, I feel like I should go back and re-read it, just to pick up some more subtleties I may have missed (Edith and her book play a small but significant role in this novel).

The Chaperone is about Cora, a married woman with two grown sons, living in 1922 Wichita. She learns that the fifteen year-old daughter of an acquaintance needs a chaperone to NYC, where she’ll be taking dance lessons for a month. Cora volunteers because she has a few secrets of her own that she needs help uncovering. And of course, when they get to NYC, complications ensue and real truths are discovered. I’d give more details, but this book is so good, I don't want to spoil anything. You should just go out and pick it up.

Ms. Moriarty is a great writer. Her descriptions and her dialogue flow with such ease I managed to finish the book in two days. Cora is a sympathetic character, even if in the beginning she seems rather prudish and stuck-up. But she has her reasons and as we get to know Cora and learn her secrets, we grow to love her. My only teeny tiny complaint would be how the book slightly drags once Cora leaves New York and returns to Kansas. Everything after that isn’t as good. Oh, well. No book is perfect.

Anyone would enjoy this, but especially history lovers who like reading about the roaring twenties.

Rx for Ungratefulness

Hot Cripple: An Incurable Smart-ass Takes on the Health Care System and Lives to Tell the Tale
Hogan Gorman
Memoir/Health

This book made me grateful I have health insurance, crappy as it may be. It made me grateful I’m healthy. But most of all, it made me want to storm Washington D.C. and demand they give everyone health insurance so no one has to go through the nightmare Ms. Gorman did.

Hot Cripple is the story of Hogan, a wanna-be actress who works as a cocktail waitress in NYC. Because of her unstable jobs, she has no health insurance. No problem, she works out a lot and is really healthy. Then she’s walking to work one day and gets hit by a car. Her head, back, and knee are all messed up. She’s in agony and since she has no insurance, she gets very little help. Ms. Gorman documents her adventures with lawyers, doctors, Social Security workers, not to mention the humbling experience of going on food stamps and Medicaid. Her story is so depressing and really makes you question our country’s terrible healthcare system. But it’s also fascinating (I finished it in one day).

I would recommend Hot Cripple to anyone living in the US because it sheds a big fat light on one of the biggest problems with our country.

Small-Town Shenanigans

Diary of a Mad Fat Girl
Stephanie McAfee
Fiction

Another chick lit novel. What’s going on with me? Well, like I said, sometimes I like to read light, fluffy books that I can zip through in a couple of hours before moving on to the heavy stuff. And zip through Diary of a Mad Fat Girl I did. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean the book was any good. The dialogue was funny and great, but that was probably the only thing I enjoyed. It’s time for a nitpick post, folks.

Nitpick #1: Stupid Misunderstandings. Our heroine, Ace (yes, she is female), has been in love with Mason since they were both eleven and they’ve had an on-and-off relationship for years. She moves down to Florida to be with him, they’re about to get engaged, she sees him talking with an attractive woman friend in the driveway for an hour, flips out, and then leaves without telling him and moves back home. Then refuses to read or listen to his texts and voicemails. She doesn’t even let the man she’s ‘loved her whole life’ explain. It’s just so stupid and totally unbelievable.

Nitpick #2: Exclamation Points. Way too many. I’ve noticed that most chick lit novels overdo exclamation points, and it’s annoying as hell. The sentence should be strong enough to stand on its own without one. Ms. McAfee’s editor was asleep at the wheel, apparently.

Nitpick #3: Plot Overload. There was so much going on, even now, I’m still not sure exactly what happened. Not only do we have Ace dealing with Mason, but she’s fighting for her job, she’s helping her friend out of an abusive marriage, she’s helping her best friend with family issues, and she’s got a lot of guys going after her. And I’m probably missing a few other important things. There should be a list of characters at the front to keep everyone straight, I swear.

Nitpick #4: The book is called Diary of a Mad Fat Girl and it’s not in a diary format. Chapter One begins with Ace in first person present tense. First person present tense is not diary form. There’s no date and time and no Dear Diary or Dear Journal anywhere to be found. That really bugged me. Why call it Diary of if it’s not even pretending to be a diary?

So, would I recommend Diary of a Mad Fat Girl? If you’re not too picky about your chick lit, I say go for it. Otherwise, I’d stick with Sophie Kinsella.

Pass

In the past week, I've started to read four books and put them down when I realized I had no interest in finishing them. I thought I'd share with you what they are and why I moved on to other titles.

Contents May Have Shifted
Pam Houston
Fiction

I knew going into this one that it was a series of short stories put together as a novel, but I decided I would try anyway (I am not a fan of short stories and avoid them like the plague). After three chapters with the character being in a different part of the world and with different people each time, I realized I couldn't do it.

Perla
Carolina De Robertis
Fiction

I wanted to like this one. The plot was good, I was invested in the main character. But. The author switched back and forth from first person Perla to third person strange man. Also, in the man's POV, quote marks were not used around dialogue, which drives me effing insane! Makes it so hard for me to read. Also, too many long paragraphs. Way too many.

Johnson's Life of London
Boris Johnson
History

I have no idea why I keep getting all these London books all of a sudden. But this one sounded pretty interesting. Sadly, I had to put it down when I realized my eyes were glazing over. It's dense and dull. Maybe I should've just flipped to the end and read the more modern chapters (the book is chronological).

I Am Forbidden
Anouk Markovitas
Fiction

This one has been getting a lot of buzz, but when I picked it up and started reading, I actually heaved a sigh. Too much downer drama. I could tell this book would not have a happy ending, or probably even a happy middle. I mean, you can pretty much tell just by looking at the cover. Maybe I'll be in the mood for this one day. Probably not, though.

Death Becomes You

The Beginner’s Goodbye
Anne Tyler
Fiction

I love Anne Tyler. I fell hard for her in my honors junior English class, when my teacher made us read Dinner at The Homesick Restaurant (great book, go read it now). So I was excited when I saw she had a new title coming out. Her writing style is practically perfect: you can tell she puts so much thought into each and every word. Sadly, I wish the same could’ve been said for the plot of this book.

The Beginner’s Goodbye is about a man named Aaron. At the beginning of the book, he talks about how his wife is back from the dead. Then the timeline jumps to what his life was like right after she died. His sister does her best to help him, as does his co-workers and the nice guy renovating his house (a tree fell on it and basically destroyed it, also killing his wife in the process). By the end of the book we realize that Aaron is…well, I won’t spoil it. Needless to say, I was quite confused for a bit until I realized what was going on.

Much as I liked all the characters (except for the fact that his sister’s name is Nandina, which sounds totally made-up and kind of took me out of the story every time I read it), Anne Tyler has an annoying habit of skipping over the good parts. I really can’t say what she skips over that annoys me because it’s too big a spoiler, but I was peeved when I realized we wouldn’t get to see those scenes.

I would recommend The Beginner’s Goodbye to hardcore Anne Tyler fans, but if you’re new to her, I wouldn’t start out with this one.

Innocence Lost

Beautiful Thing
Sonia Faleiro
Social Issues

I struggled with what category to put this book in. It’s about Bombay dance bars, so I suppose it could go in Travel. But besides being about Bombay, it’s also about the people, the women, who live in such horrible conditions.

Underneath Beautiful Thing on the cover are the words Inside the Secret World of Bombay's Dance Bars. The writer, Sonia Faleiro, is a reporter and she spent quite a bit of time traveling around Bombay and other cities close by interviewing a few chosen girls about their lives, dancing in these seedy clubs and having sex for money. Sounds interesting, right? Unfortunately, this is one of those books that sounds more interesting than it actually is.

I’m not sure why I didn’t like Beautiful Thing more. One thing that had me down was all the incredibly depressing backstories most of the women had: raped by family members, raped by strangers, almost killed multiple times. Good lord. At least main girl Ms. Faleiro followed, Leela, had some spunk. But I wanted to hear about other women, too. Obviously, a lot of them probably didn’t want to talk to a reporter, so Ms. Faleiro had to use what she could get.

This is a quick read, but should’ve, could’ve, been a lot more fascinating. If you’re interested in India, Bombay in particular, you might like this book. But be prepared for a whole lot of depressing stories and not-so-happy endings.

Just Say Oooomm

The Science of Yoga
William J. Broad
Health

I love yoga. Don’t get me wrong, I do not belong to a yoga studio and I don’t practice every day, but once a week, I love bending and stretching and posing. It feels so good. So when I heard about this book, I knew I had to read it.

The Science of Yoga is about, of course, yoga. Mr. Broad takes a look at the good and the bad, but mostly the good since there isn’t a whole lot of bad. While the topic is very interesting, the book itself is not.

I couldn’t help feeling bored and skimming through most of it. Don’t ask me why, either, because I really was interested in the topic. Maybe all the studies Mr. Broad cited had something to do with my indifference? Much as those provide nice evidence to prove his point, a lot of the time, studies can be boring. The only part I perked up at was when he discussed the risks of yoga and certain horrific injuries people have experienced. That scared me a little and made me rethink certain poses I love doing.

If you’re into yoga and want to learn more about it, this is the book for you. But only if you really, really love it.

Buzz Kill

Why I Love Singlehood
Elisa Lorello and Sarah Girrell
Fiction

I really need to stop picking books that involve baking. They make me want cake, cookies, and brownies so bad. Since this one was set mostly in a coffee shop, the good thing is not every single page made my mouth water. But be warned, you will want a baked good after reading certain parts.

As for the premise, well, meh. I suppose I should expand a little more on that, huh? Why I Love Singlehood is about a woman named Eva who runs a coffee shop called The Grounds. Fed up with everyone telling her she needs a boyfriend, she starts a blog extolling the virtues of being single. This part I loved. Her posts about being single and being happy to be single, I could totally relate to. But then the book got bogged down in her romantic complications and the blog subplot kind of went by the wayside. So that annoyed me. And the whole novel in general took on a familiar chick lit feel (in the cliched, annoying way, not the good way). I did like Eva, though, and rooted for her to be successful. There were also quite a few funny scenes, but by the time I reached the end, I didn’t feel anything or care what happened to these characters.

If you enjoy the details of running a coffee shop and baking with a solid dose of chick lit, this is the book for you. Otherwise, I wouldn’t bother picking it up.

Our House, In the Middle of Our Street

The Summer of Us
Holly Chamberlin
Fiction

I loathe the term “chick lit”. It just sounds so degrading. I have read tons of well-plotted, interesting, wonderfully written chick lit books and it makes me sad to think a lot of readers are missing out because they pigeon-hole a certain book based on the cover and title. The Summer of Us pretty much falls into the chick lit category, but it doesn’t do much for the genre.

The Summer of Us is the story of Gincy (don’t ask), Danielle, and Clare. Three strangers who come together to rent a house for the summer (again, don’t ask). Of course, all three are dealing with family issues and romantic drama, but somehow an unlikely friendship between the three is forged.

My main problem with the about-three-women books is that it’s a pretty big gamble. Because most of the time, I’m only interested in one person’s story and the other two bore me so I skim. Which I did a lot with this book because I was only interested in one and a half. One and half, you say? Yes, and I’d explain, but it’s complicated. Also, the resolution to the one person’s story I did like was lame. So I had multiple disappointments with this book.

Holly Chamberlin is a good writer and The Summer of Us had a lot of potential. I’ve just read better and you should, too.

The City is Ours

Londoners: The Days and Nights of London Now—As Told by Those Who Love It, Hate It, Live It, Left It, and Long For It
Craig Taylor
Travel

I’m not quite sure this book fits in the travel category. I mean, it does, but it doesn’t. This is going to be a difficult review, I can already tell.

Londoners is about London, obviously. But not the London all we tourists think we know. The London these people talk about is completely different. Mr. Taylor interviews cab drivers, hedge fund managers, funeral directors, wedding coordinators, stay-at-home moms, students…basically, anyone you can think of living in a big city? He’s got a chapter with them. The layout of the book is great, with him splitting up the interviews into different sections and each person’s narrative is really interesting. Not too long, not too short, but giving just enough information to be intriguing.

I’ve always thought it would be awesome to live in London, but now I’m not so sure. The book does a balanced job of pointing out the highlights and lowlights of living in one of the most popular cities in the world.

Anyone who has ever been to London or wants to go to London will like this book. It’s a travel lover and Anglophile’s dream.

Living the Life

Between You and Me
Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
Fiction

I did not like this book. At all. The only reason I finished it was because by the time I realized I wasn’t into it, I was already half-way through and I figured I might as well keep going until the bitter end (and because I was too lazy to go upstairs and pluck my next book from my stack).

Between You and Me is about Logan and her cousin Kelsey. Logan lives in NYC, has a crappy job, and thinks about her famous popstar cousin a lot. They haven’t spoken in years due to a rift between the whole family. Then out of the blue, Kelsey’s assistant calls Logan and says Kelsey wants her to come to LA and visit. Logan does and a series of events occur that lead to her becoming Kelsey’s new assistant. She gets to travel around the world and keep Kelsey on schedule. But then Kelsey starts to self-destruct and Logan has to pick up the pieces.

I’m still trying to figure out why I didn’t enjoy this book. The writing was good, if a little too jam-packed at times (but this is generally how McLaughlin/Kraus books are). The characters didn’t draw me in. And Logan’s love interest? Was boring. In fact, all the romances were boring. Also, it’s probably just me, but I find I cannot really get into books about celebrity life. I like to read about regular people because I can relate to them. There were several things that happened in the book that I just went, WTF? I won’t say what they are as to spoil plot points for anyone, but you’ll know them when you read them.

If you enjoy lots of pop culture references and reading about living the glamorous life, this book is for you. Otherwise, I’d skip it.

Girl Meets Girl Meets Boy Meets Girl Again

A Theory of Small Earthquakes
Meredith Maran
Fiction

I don’t quite know what to think about this book. I would think it was going in one direction and then it would turn and go the other way. Then it would turn again. But by the end I was mostly fed up with it.

A Theory of Small Earthquakes is the story of Alison. She’s lost both her parents and feels even more lost when she gets to college. Until Zoe swoops in and takes her under her wing. They become friends and then lovers. After college, they move to Berkeley. They decide to have a baby. Only the attempts at IVF don’t work and Alison feels like her relationship with Zoe isn’t clicking anymore. So she has a one-night stand with her male boss. Then tells Zoe and they break up. Then she finds out she’s pregnant and isn’t sure if it’s the boss’s baby or the one conceived through IVF with Zoe. Then it gets even more complicated after the baby is born and she decides she wants Zoe back in her life.

I did not like Alison. It’s always a bad sign when you don’t like the main character. She was such a sad sack. Yes, I get how screwed up her childhood was, but she was just so mopey and down all the time. I actually started to hate her when she slept with her boss whom she had just met and while she was still with Zoe! I mean, what the hell? Her relationship with Mark (the boss) was probably the weirdest part of the book for me. And the ending…well, let’s just say it’s a mess. This book gave me whiplash. I didn’t know what to think or who to root for.

I wouldn’t recommend A Theory of Small Earthquakes unless you’re looking for a headache.

Love Will Keep Us Together

Wife 22
Melanie Gideon
Fiction

I liked this book…and I didn’t like this book. I know, I know, isn’t that usually how I feel about most of the books I read? Yes, but this one was different. I wanted to like it more than I did. I wanted it to be traditional and not the way it was, if that makes any sense.

Wife 22 is about a woman named Alice. She’s married to William and they have two teenagers. Alice isn’t happy anymore, though. She feels distant from William and doesn’t know how to fix it. So when she gets an email about a marriage survey, she decides to sign up. Soon, she’s spilling her most intimate thoughts and feelings to a complete stranger—and falling in love with him.

Melanie Gideon writes fantastic dialogue. I mean, it’s hilarious and real and amazing. She’s also good at descriptions and creating three-dimensional characters. I loved everyone in this book. What didn’t I love? The structure. I get that we live in an online society now. Everyone’s Twittering, everyone’s on Facebook, everybody’s texting and emailing. Ms. Gideon obviously gets that, too, since Wife 22 is full of everything I just listed. And I hate reading emails in books. Not to mention text conversations. Oh, and since Alice is a playwright, quite a few scenes are written in play form. It’s really annoying. Luckily, the book is so good that I managed to swallow my irritation and deal with the annoying format. I also caught on to the twist coming at the end, but I imagine most people won’t. Or I suppose Ms. Gideon hopes most people won’t.

Wife 22 is a great read, if you can get past the non-conventional format. And I’m sure you can. Because you should.

The Spy Who Loved Me

The Expats
Chris Pavone
Fiction

This book is full of twists and turns. I was hooked from the first page, and that is a rarity for me.

The Expats is about a woman named Kate. She’s married to Dexter and they have two sons. They’ve all just recently moved to Luxembourg for Dexter’s job. Kate actually isn’t quite sure what Dexter does, something in banking and trading. She herself is having a hard time letting of of her old job because she used to work for the CIA. Dexter doesn’t know this, though, and she’s struggling with the day-to-day housewife stuff while also becoming more and more suspicious of what her husband's job really entails.

Mr. Pavone is an excellent writer and Kate is quite a sympathetic character. The mystery of Dexter’s job and Kate’s increasing paranoia grow steadily and build to a great climax. I was on the edge of my seat most of the time. I guess my only complaint would be how unrealistic I thought it was that Kate didn’t bother to know what exactly Dexter did until her suspicions were finally aroused. It’s understandable because then she would’ve had to answer questions about her own job, but the thing is, most of us talk about work to our significant others so the fact that they’d avoided it after being married for years just struck me as weird. But since it was essential for the plot of the book, I forgave it.

If you like suspense mysteries with lots of good characters and twists and turns, you will like this book. And even if you normally don’t like those things, pick it up. I don’t and I’m glad I did.

Rolling in the Dough

Making Piece: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Pie
Beth M. Howard
Memoir

This book will make you hungry, I’m warning you right now. You will want pie. You will want pie badly. It will consume your thoughts every time you pick this book up. So make sure you have pie on hand before you start to read.

Making Piece is the story of Beth, who, not long after telling her husband she wants a divorce, is suddenly widowed when he abruptly dies of a heart condition. Lost in grief, she doesn’t know what to do with herself—until a friend suggests she shoot a documentary about making pies since she bakes all the time anyway. We follow her as she drives around the country filming, making pies, and eventually figuring out her place in the world. Ms. Howard even shares her best crust and apple pie recipe at the end of the book, not to mention a few other favorite recipes handed over to her by her friends.

So besides making me crave pie, was this book any good? Yes and no. I liked Ms. Howard’s writing style and really enjoyed her descriptions of pie. I didn’t enjoy the skipping-around timeline. She goes back and forth, remembering certain key moments with Marcus before jolting back to the present, and we all know how much that annoys me. And even though I did like the book, I just felt like something was missing. I wish I could put my finger on what, but I can’t. Maybe the depressing subject matter? I tried to ignore that and focus more on the baking aspect, which helped me get through.

Anyone who loves to bake and especially anyone who loves pies will like this book. It’s also quite helpful for anyone grieving the sudden loss of a spouse.

Fly Me

Cruising Attitude
Heather Poole
Memoir

I love to travel. I’ve been traveling since I was six months old. So when I heard about this book, a memoir from a flight attendant detailing all the low down and dirty things she’s seen during her many years on the job, I knew I had to read it. And now I know I never, ever want to be a flight attendant.

Ms. Poole describes the rigorous training attendants receive and then goes into details about pilots, food and drink carts, and nasty customers. Especially nasty customers. I feel really sorry for her and all flight attendants after reading this book. People can just be awful (but I already knew that, I worked retail for awhile). She also discusses the impact being in the flying industry has on her love life and friendships. I was mostly interested in the scheduling stuff, like how she can be called on to take someone’s place for a flight to London that’s leaving in an hour! No way could I ever handle such a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants lifestyle (pardon the pun).

The only downside of this book was too many long paragraphs. I feel like I complain about that every other review, but it’s true. Even though the book was interesting, my eyes did start to glaze over on many occasion. Apparently, Ms. Poole also has a blog and her book was good enough that I think I might check it out. I never get tired of reading good travel stories.

Pick up Cruising Attitude if you love to travel or just love to read about travel. And who doesn’t?

Broken Bond

Forgotten Country
Catherine Chung
Fiction

This book is depressing. Let’s just get that out of the way first. But it’s good. Really good.

Forgotten Country is about Janie, a Korean-America who learns that her father is dying of cancer. A year ago, her sister took off and exiled herself from Janie and their parents. Now she must persuade Hannah to join them in Korea, where they wait for their father to get better.

I vaguely remember reading the review for this book and it mentioned something about a missing sister, which immediately interested me because any books about sisterly relationships interest me. So I was a little disappointed when I started reading and realized the sister plot took a backseat to the father dying. Fair enough, dying should trump dysfunctional sibling dynamics. But I wanted more between Hannah and Janie. There weren’t enough conversations or confrontations. That’s very true to life, I suppose, but I couldn’t help feeling like something was missing. Ms. Chung’s writing is glorious, though: descriptive and beautiful.

I wish the same could be said for Hannah and Janie. They were not very likeable. Yes, they both had issues, understandable issues, but they annoyed me. I never liked them at the same time: I'd side with one during one fight then side with the other during another fight.

Nothing funny happened in this book and no characters made me laugh, so I should not have liked Forgotten Country. But I did. That is a testament to Catherine Chung. Will I read her next book? Yes, I think I will.

American Royalty

After Camelot: A Personal History of the Kennedy Family 1968 to Present
J. Randy Taraborrelli
Biography

I discovered a copy of Jackie, Ethel, Joan (the author’s first book) on my mom’s bookshelf many years ago (she’s a Kennedy fanatic) and picked it up, because I was definitely more interested in the Kennedy women than the men. I found Taraborrelli’s writing style very easy-to-read and flowing, so when I discovered he had another book coming out about the rest of the Kennedys, I knew I had to read it.

After Camelot follows everything that has happened to the Kennedy family, well, after Camelot. Meaning, of course, the brutal end of the reign of King JFK and Prince Bobby. The murmurs of a family curse seem fairly accurate after reading this book; so many awful things have happened to the Kennedys that you can’t help but wonder if someone really did place an ancient hex on the family. For anyone looking for an uplifting read, this is probably not a good choice since After Camelot delves deep into the countless tragedies that have occurred over the years. But Taraborrelli manages to get to the heart of the men and the women who many consider our royalty and creates a complex, fascinating biography of one of America's most loved families. My only quibble would be the footnotes (as we all know, I hate them), but there aren’t too many to be considered annoying.

If you’re a Kennedy fan or even a history buff, you’ll enjoy this book. It’s really big, though, I must warn you. So you have to really love the Kennedys.

Take Shelter

By the Iowa Sea
Joe Blair
Memoir

This book was not what I thought it was about.

When I read the little blurb recommending it in a book review magazine, I thought this was a memoir about flooding in a small town and how all this water affects everyone. Well, turns out that’s only a small part. A teeny, tiny part. The rest is just…odd.

Joe Blair and his wife have settled in a small town in the Midwest and are raising four children. Their youngest, Michael, is severely autistic and they have a hard time dealing with him. Then, out of nowhere, Deb, Joe’s wife, asks if he’s having an affair. They fight about it. Continue to fight about it. So he does start having an affair. And he wants Deb to go out and sleep with other guys. What now? And he wants them to have a threesome. Or something. I was very confused by that point.

This book is just a mess. It doesn’t know what it wants to be. I was more interested in the river and flooding and small town life than his crappy marriage, which is a first for me. But of course, he mostly discussed his relationship and his affair and what happened when he admitted to the affair and how they were going to divorce and then they decided not to and in the end they moved away from the Iowa River, still a couple.

While I appreciate Mr. Blair wanting to be realistic by writing every single exchange during several big arguments between him and his wife, they got really tedious. Because in real life, we repeat things and make no sense and have long pauses. This does not make for great reading. By the end of the book, I wondered why they even got married in the first place and hoped they would divorce.

This memoir about children and marriage is raw and real, I suppose, but not entertaining in the slightest. So if that sounds interesting to you, pick the book up. Otherwise, don’t bother.

Battle Scars

Home Front
Kristin Hannah
Fiction

Very few authors can make me cry. Which is weird because I tear up quite easily during movies and TV shows. But it takes a lot to make me cry when I’m reading. Kristin Hannah, however, gets the tears flowing every time I pick up one of her books.

I actually wasn’t even going to read this one, I’m ashamed to admit. Much as I love her (she’s one of my favorite authors), when I read a description of the book and saw that it was about a woman who has to leave her husband and kids because she’s been deployed to Iraq, I decided I would skip this one. As I’ve mentioned several times, I’m not big into war books. So I stupidly did not put Home Front on my list of must reads. Well, luckily fate stepped in, and I saw a copy sitting on the shelf when I was at the library, decided since she’s such a great author I might as well read it, and slipped it in my bag. And I’m so glad I did.

Home Front is the story of Jolene. She’s married to Michael, they have two girls, and she flies helicopters for the National Guard. While she loves her husband, they’ve been drifting apart for awhile, and a few days before she’s deployed, he tells her he doesn’t love her anymore. Ouch. Her daughters are devastated she has to leave and Michael is angry and bitter that she’s abandoning them and making him Mr. Mom (he’s a busy lawyer). Things are tense between everyone as they all struggle with their new roles. But then Jolene's copter gets shot down. Badly injured, she's sent to a hospital to recover. And when she’s finally able to come home, Michael and the girls must grapple with her new attitude and adjust to having Jolene back in their lives.

Kristin Hannah is just phenomenal, what else can I say? She pulls you into her stories with wonderful dialogue, complex characters, and great plot twists. I had to stop and take big, gulping breaths at several points so I wouldn’t break down into a hysterical weeping fit. I just cannot say enough good things about her and this book.

Everyone should read this.

Tell Me Lies

American Dervish
Ayad Akhtar
Fiction



Dervish: A Muslim (specifically Sufi), religious man who has taken vows of poverty and austerity. There, now you don't have to go Google what a dervish is like I did. You're welcome.

I was not expecting this book to be so good. I love when that happens.

American Dervish is the story of Hayat Shah, a young Muslim whose life is turned upside down when his mother’s best friend and her son come to live with him and his parents in Milwaukee. Hayat grows very attached to Mina, but then she starts dating a family friend and issues with his religion, his parents, and everything he thought he believed in causes turmoil and destruction.

I’ll get my two minor complaints out of the way. One, the stupid framing device. But unlike other novels, just the first and last chapter are set during the present, so it doesn’t end up being too intrusive. Two, there were lots of exclamation points. And italicized words. Once I accepted this fact, though, I found myself pulled into Hayat’s world and quite enjoyed everything I read.

The characters are all great, the storyline is interesting, and Hayat is just a really fascinating narrator. I’m not usually fond of novels told from a child’s POV, but American Dervish was different.

This is a wonerful book that everyone will enjoy.

Trail of Tears

True Sisters
Sandra Dallas
Fiction

While this book is fiction, it is a novel based on true events. In 1865, a group of Mormons (men, women, and children) head out to Salt Lake City from Iowa City. On foot. Every single one of them. The novel goes from POV to POV of several women who accompany their husbands/families to reach Zion. We have Louisa, who’s married to the group leader, Nannie, traveling with her sister and brother-in-law, Jessie, heading out with her two brothers to start a new business, and Anne, who refuses to convert to Mormonism, despite her husband’s pleas.

Sandra Dallas is an excellent writer. She pulls you in to the world she creates and makes you care about her characters. I’m not gonna lie, there were a lot of difficult-to-read parts in this book. These people are traipsing their way across America with limited food and water, of course there’s bound to be hardship. But, as you know, I’m a bit of a softie and too much death and despair makes me want to slam a book shut (see A Different Sky review). The depressing parts were fairly well-balanced with the uplifting parts, though, so I forgave Ms. Dallas and forged on (no pun intended). By the end of the book, I was as ready for their journey to be over as the characters were.

For anyone interested in history, the Mormon faith, or just a plain old good storyteller, this book is for you.

Cotton Candy

Revenge
Sharon Osbourne
Fiction

Every once awhile I need to read something frothy and light. I call these kinds of books cotton candy books. They don’t hold much weight with me after I’m done reading, but the characters and plot are entertaining enough to capture my attention for a few hours. So when I saw that Sharon Osbourne had written a novel, I knew it was time for a cotton candy break.

Revenge is the story of Margaret, Chelsea, and Amber Stone. Margaret always wanted to be a star, but is forced to give up her dreams when she becomes pregnant at seventeen with Chelsea. When her boyfriend abandons her, she marries his sturdy older brother and they have another child together. Both girls eventually end up in show business, and LA, where they start a rivalry to end all rivalries. There’s a lot of sex, back-stabbing, and scandal. This is your typical Jackie Collins fare with the Briticisms ramped up to ten.

I was expecting this book to be horribly cheesy and awful, but it actually wasn’t that bad. Sure, the sex scenes are cringe-worthy and some of the dialogue feels like it was lifted right from a How Not to Write a Novel instructional manual, but the plot was surprisingly engaging and the characters were all interesting. By the end of Revenge, I was convinced there is no way Sharon Osbourne wrote this. Most likely, she thought up the storyline and dictated it to a ghost writer because it’s way too decent to have been written by her.

Bottom line, Revenge is a good beach book, but don’t expect to use much brain power when reading it.

Love Connection

Promises, Promises
Erica James
Fiction

This was another book I picked up, having never heard of the author before, read the back, and decided it sounded good. Boy, was I right! I love being right (it’s a Virgo thing).

Promises, Promises is the story of Ethan, Ella, and Maggie, three people whose lives end up intertwining in surprising ways. Ethan’s unhappily married and struggling with his business, Ella’s a painter his wife hires to redecorate the living room, and Maggie is Ethan’s cleaning woman who’s having her own problems with her marriage. I adored all the characters in this book. The dialogue is snappy and the plot twists are great. There were a few times I wasn’t sure what was going to happen, and it’s pretty hard to surprise me (also, I usually hate being surprised). But the ending was great and tied everyone’s stories up nicely.

I will definitely be checking out Erica James’ other books in the future. Romance lovers and general fiction lovers alike will delight in reading Promises, Promises. I promise (sorry, couldn't resist).

Blood, Sweat, & Tears

A Different Sky
Meira Chand
Fiction

I tried with this book. I really, truly tried. As you know, I’m not one of those people who keeps pushing through when I’m not enjoying a novel—I’ll stop one chapter in if I’m not feeling it. But I almost felt bad doing it with this one. Probably because the writing style reminded me of my all-time, number one favorite novel, The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan (if you haven’t read it, go out and get it now, you will not be sorry).

So if I liked the writing style, what was the problem with A Different Sky? Well, the story revolves around, once again, World World II. I need to stop picking up these fiction books set during wars. Three different young people living in Singapore grow up and apart while the island struggles to free itself from British rule. Sounds good, right? I’ve always liked epic novels. But the descriptions of war are awful. They’re accurate, of course, but I just couldn’t stand reading about dead bodies, guts being strewn everywhere, and soldiers being mistreated. Plus, none of the characters particularly drew me in. And where were all these “magnificent” romances a review on the back mentions? None of the love stories came even close to being magnificent, let alone making me want to read more.

All the blood and guts and sorrow and lack of romance led me to put this book down halfway through. I was reluctant to do so, because Chand is a very good writer. But I just couldn’t handle it anymore. For those of you with a strong stomach and enjoyment of reading about wars, you’ll love this. Anyone else should skip it.

Colorblind

Alligator Lake
Lynne Bryant
Fiction

My favorite thing about reading is when you pick up a book by a new author, decide the plot sounds good, and then when you start reading, you’re sucked into this fictional (sometimes) world and all you want to do is keep turning pages until you get to the end. That’s what happened with this book.

Alligator Lake is the story of Avery, her mother Marion, and her mother, Willadean (can I just say how much I love that name? Totally going to use it in a future novel). Ten years ago, pregnant Avery fled her Mississippi hometown and vowed never to go back. But now her brother is getting married and he wants her and her daughter in the wedding. Avery decides it’s time to reconnect with her family, and her child’s father. Everyone has secrets, though, and soon her mother and her grandmother are forced to face past mistakes, along with Avery.

I could not put this book down. Every time I started to, a chapter would end in a way that made me want to read more. That is the sign of a good book. Ms. Bryant is an excellent writer, too: her dialogue is crisp, her descriptions captivating, and all her characters, even the bad ones, are three-dimensional. My only teeny tiny complaint is all the flashbacks. And yes, I know in a story like this one, flashbacks are essential. Crucial, even. They usually pull me right out of the book, but to give Ms. Bryant credit, they were definitely needed here, so I’ll give her a pass this time. There were quite a few plot twists I never saw coming, either, and I appreciated her not going the cliched route.

This is a great novel and I highly recommend it to everyone.

Big Brother's Watching Me

I Know Who You Are and I Saw What You Did: Social Networks and the Death of Privacy
Lori Andrews
Technology

This book freaked me the eff out. Good lord. It also made me very glad that during the period of time I was applying to colleges, a little more than ten years ago, Facebook did not even exist.

I Know Who You Are and I Saw What You Did is a disturbing expose on just how, well, exposed we are on the internet these days. Ever notice how you do a little Google search one day for a new pair of high heels, then the next day you’re on a different website and all the ads seem to be for shoes? Yeah, that’s not a coincidence. Basically, everything you do on the internet is being tracked. There’s no such thing as a “private” setting anymore. Ms. Andrews delves deep into what this means for us as a society and gives horrific examples of ways the internet has taken our lives and turned them into public spectacles.

Andrews is a good writer and despite a few spots where my eyes glazed over because of long paragraphs (gah, I just cannot escape them!), this book really intrigued me. Mostly because I’m fairly wary of the internet. I realize what a joke that statement is considering I have my own blog, but it really is scary how much info some people put out there and the devious ways other people use it. Apparently, these days, college recruiters think nothing of looking up potential applicants online and deciding their four year future based on beer pong photos and status updates about smoking weed. Potential employers do this, too, which is even more disturbing. Not to mention thieves who scan Facebook pages to see who is currently on vacation so they can look up their addresses and rob them. Scary, scary stuff. In the conclusion of Andrews’ book, she suggests ways we can get some of our privacy back and most of her ideas are solid ones.

Everyone should read this book and learn more about what, and who, is really out there tracking us.

Put a Ring On It

I Suck at Girls
Justin Halpern
Memoir

Why is it that bad reviews are so much easier to write than good reviews? Most likely because I’m all fired up when I’m writing a bad review and can think of lots of nitpicks. Unfortunately, when I read a good book, all I can think is how great and funny it is and I just want to gush and tell people to go read it themselves.

In case you couldn’t tell, I Suck at Girls is one of these kinds of books. Never mind the cringe-inducing title (Oh, Justin, grammar is your friend). This book is hilarious. Pretty much on par with You’re Not Doing It Right by Michael Ian Black. It’s also a quick read (I read it in a day).

I Suck at Girls is about a lad named Justin Halpern, whom you perhaps may have heard of. He wrote Shit My Dad Says, which went on to become a failed sitcom, but the book soared on the bestseller list for awhile (Back when I used to work at a bookstore, people would come in and ask for it every day. This was quite amusing because almost no one wanted to say the s-word so it took me a bit to figure out what they meant). Anyway, Justin’s dad figures heavily into this book, too, but the main topic is how badly Justin does with girls. I found his utter haplessness and desperation for a nice girlfriend endearing. He’s a good guy and after several depressing relationships, he finally finds someone who is worthy of his love. In the meantime, his many confusing interactions with his friends, family, and women provide plenty of laughs.

This book is awesome and anyone who likes humor and relationship books will love it. Hell, anyone will love it, period. Unless they don't like cursing. This book is full of cursing.