Bookish ideas

Well, the Kansas City Chiefs just broke my heart after they threw away an amazing first half and sizable lead to the Indianapolis Colts (what the heck happened?!?), so I figure my neglected blog and books will be a nice distraction.

I read some books in 2013. Thirty-three to be exact. You can track me down on GoodReads, if you're interested in exactly what I read. Among my favorites were (Forgive the lack of links. You can search http://www.indiebound.org to find books locally and support local book sellers, or you can find all of these on Amazon):

Non-fiction:
Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer
Zealot by Reza Aslan
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

Fiction:
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis (sci-fi)
In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez (historical fiction)
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (mystery/page turner)

Honorable mention:
Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (young adult)

LEAST Favorite:
Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Favorite kid's book:
Mrs. Piggle Wiggle by Betty MacDonald

MOST Favorite:
Watership Down by Richard Adams
The Alloway Files by E.J. Roller (full disclosure: my good friend authored this book. I'm almost finished, but not quite. I love it on many levels. It's great AND I know the author AND I have a signed copy. Favorite all around!)

I read SOME of the books on my 2013 reading list, but not nearly as many as I would have liked. I am a sucker for classics, and 2013 was lacking in that department. Moving from the 2013 to the 2014 list are: The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway and Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. I'd like to add some Russian lit, Graham Greene, and some Evelyn Waugh in 2014. I also see G.K. Chesterton popping up on some of my favorite Catholic blogs. I'll see what I can fit in!

I really enjoyed non-fiction and I want to make room for it in my future lists. Parenting books and education books are pretty applicable to my life at the moment, and I'm lacking biographies. Biographies seem like a must for a well-read person, right? Oh, and poetry. I'm so intrigued, but  overwhelmed. Where does one start with poetry? Helpful comments appreciated.

Wrapping up the Game of Thrones series is high on priority list, too.

A succinct list of what I want to read in 2014 is proving difficult. I can't hold myself to a list this year. Too many good books and whims pop up. Just this morning I opened an email from my competitive father proclaiming that he will read more that I will read this year. It's possible, but I like a good a challenge! We will see where the libraries take me. :)

Happy Reading in 2014.

Book Review: Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir

I'm waaaaaay behind on my book reviews, but I've been reading a lot. Maybe I'll catch up and one morning you'll wake up to 10 book reviews in your reader. Anyway, Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir by Jenny Lawson was a book club pick for the "Springfield Book Club". I believe Lindsey chose this book, and choose well she did.

Let's Pretend is a memoir by the well-known blogger, Jenny Lawson. She chronicles her unconventional Texas upbringing, her Goth-inspired youth, how she met her husband, Victor, her stint in corporate America, raising a family--her life, as a memoir usually does. Her writing is laugh-out-loud hilarious. I'm not joking--laugh out REALLY loud. The entire time I was reading, I would think to myself that "this" part was mostly not true (or, I would read aloud to Jon and comment how it was a crock of s---), then Lawson would throw in a picture to prove her point. I ended up thinking that it really was mostly true, and no, she really couldn't make this stuff up.

Sometimes I was overwhelmed with her stream-of-consciousness style writing and her antics and wondered if I really liked the book. Sometimes she is too much, but then she would tell a story about how she completely kai-boshed the first meeting with her future MIL by sitting on the fancy sofa cushions, and I would be all-in again. She also used a device? or maybe it wasn't a device? of including editor's comments to express her editor's dissension with what she wrote. For instance she would write something like: My editor doesn't think this is a chapter because it has no central focus. OR My editor says I can't say this as it isn't true, but it's my memoir and I'm going to famous for this s---. She also uses profanity throughout, and I think she does it rather well. If that sort of thing offends you, I'd steer clear of this book. In fact, if you're easily offended at all, just skip this one.

I don't follow her blog, but I had run across the Beyonce the giant metal chicken story, and felt much more connected to the stories after that chapter. Lawson's book certainly isn't a literary masterpiece, but it's well written, and girlfriend has issues that she conveys with hilarity and a little too much honesty. I have no doubt she makes a great living with her story-telling abilities. I haven't read Chelsea Handler, but someone at book club compared Lawson to her, and I imagine that they are similar. If you want a good laugh or lots of good laughs, pick up Let's Pretend.  I gave it a solid 3.5 stars, and thank Lindsey for choosing it.

Favorite Books of 2012

I read a lot, or I try to read a lot, but it's all relative. I want to read more than I do. I planned to read 40 books in 2012, and came up short with 35. Something about having a baby during the middle of the year really slowed me down. I think it was the I'm-so-pregnant-and-can't-hold-my-eyes-open syndrome that really lost the game for me. Of the 35 books, I've chosen my top 10.  I may be back in a few days with my reading list for 2013.

1. Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron
I loved this socially conscious book, and you can read about it and my review of it HERE. It tied for my favorite read of 2012.

2. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

3. The Every Boy by Dana Shapiro

4. The Virgin Suicides by Jeffery Eugenides

5. The Purity Myth by Jessica Valenti
I tried to add a little bit of non-fiction to my reading repertoire in 2012, and plan to continue to build my non-fiction library in 2013. The Purity Myth focuses on women and sexuality in our society. I found it to be extremely interesting, especially after growing up in a very conservative area of the country. Valenti forced me think about women's issues that I might not have considered otherwise.

6. Divergent & Insurgent both by Veronica Roth (I'm going to count them as one.)
This series tied with Running the Rift for my favorite reads of 2012. Divergent is about a dystopian society of the future where everyone is divided into factions. The protagonist, Tris, has a secret she must hide, and she and her "people" must decide how to navigate in this divided world. This series is very reminiscent of The Hunger Games, but I thought it was better. *gasp* I know, I know, but it really was. It was a little bit tweeny with some romance, but I loved a good romance, tweeny or not. Book #3 should drop sometime this year and I. Can't. Wait.

7. Storm of Swords (Game of Thrones #3) by George R.R. Martin
I take this series slow, because I know there are only 5 books and their is no conclusion. I kind of hate suspense, if I know I can't get to the resolution. Installment #3 did not disappoint, and all of my favorite characters are in precarious situations (Jon Snow, Danerys Targaryen, Arya Stark for any of you GoT fans out there).

8. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
I'm excited for this movie to come out!

9. The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
2012 brought about lots of goals and an obsession with simplifying. I've kind of fallen of that bandwagon, but this book helped me realize that small changes can add up to big gains.

10. The House at Tyneford by Natasha Solomons WWII tragedy/love story--I'm a sucker for them.

Honorable mention: The Book Thief by Mark Zusack, The Paris Wife by Paula McClain, and Bloom by Kelle Hampton

Happy reading in 2013!

Book Review: Running the Rift

In December I read Running the Rift by Noami Benaron and published by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill. The book was the winner of the 2010 Bellwether Prize for Fiction. (The Bellwether Prize is awarded to unpublished, socially aware fiction and is funded by Barbara Kingsolver.source)

Before reading Running the Rift, I had very limited knowledge of Rwanda and the events that unraveled there in the 90s. I was in grade school. Several months ago, I watched a PBS special on Bill Clinton, and it mentioned that he got his arse handed to him for his involvement in Somalia, and chose not to act in Rwanda. The previous sentence expresses my comprehensive knowledge of Rwanda. Fast forward to the book.

Running the Rift is the story of Jean Patrick, a Rwandan boy from the Tutsi tribe. The story follows Jean Patrick as he grows from a school-aged boy into a successful college athlete poised to make a bid for the '96 Atlanta Olympics (I do remember these Olympics, and the associated bomb threat). As he grows up, the atmosphere of Rwanda changes from a relatively peaceful country, although racial strife was part of its recent past, to a nation divided between Tutsi and Hutu tribes. Jean Patrick is afforded more freedoms than most Tutsis, because of his athletic reputation, but his situation and his family's situation becomes dire. Hutu Power and the Rwandan government systematically organize for devastation and genocide that few Tutsi or "sympathizer" could escape. The book does relate the horrors of the genocide, so if you do decide to read, be prepared.

What I liked:

• In spite of the atrocities the story lays out, Jean Patrick's and Rwanda's story are hopeful. However, I would struggle to find hope in Rwanda had I been living there
• The story is part of a bigger picture and of a history I didn't know about. Genocide, ethnic cleansing, and civil war STILL happens and is currently happening (Sudan, Syria, to name a few). Historical fiction makes the HISTORY accessible through fiction.
• Jean Patrick--what a character. He made it easy to place myself in (God forbid) such a situation. He's what every young person/college student is--hopeful, full of dreams, and naive.
• The story doesn't end when the genocide ended. The reader got a glimpse of what Rwanda looks like today, and how it moved forward from between 500,000 to 1 million murders.
• Benaron's writing. She does justice to the Rwandan countryside. I'd love to see it. Her prose is clear and mesmerizing. Her seemingly effortless story is (from what I can tell) true to history, and leaves the reader with heartbreak, loss, destruction, love, hope and the human spirit. 

What I disliked:

• Almost nothing.
• The story was (mostly) true. Oh my God. These things happen! It's easy to forget that the thread between peace and destruction is thin, and that we are fortunate/lucky/privileged (however you want to frame it) to live as we do.

After reading, I needed to know more about Rwanda. You can find out more from my friend, Wikipedia, HERE. A friend recommended Hotel Rwanda. It's based on a true story of Paul Rusesabagina, who uses a hotel to house over a thousand Tutsi refugees. The story was reminiscent of Schindler's List. In relation to the book, the movie only focuses on the latter part of the book, or the period of time when the conflict (and killing) was the greatest. The movie did a good job of conveying what happened, but it was only rated PG-13. I was thankful for the limited gore, although it is clear that gore, and lots of it, really happened.

Go read it! 5-stars in my book.