Current reads

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

July, August, and Sept reads

Somehow the summer zoomed by and I forgot to post!!

July

Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay 3.5* parallel stories both set in France, one during the Jewish round up in 1942 and on in 2002. A woman writer starts doing research into the French Jewish round up of 1942 and finds that she has ties to it that she was previously unaware of.

The Echo Maker by Richard Powers 3* a man is in an accident and ends up wit Capgras, which means he recognizes his sister, but thinks she’s an imposter. Parts of the book were really good, parts dragged…..

The Divorce Party by Laura Dave 3* quick, easy read chick lit story of a couple of have been married for 35 years who are having a divorce party. Also tells the tales of their children and their love interests.

Await Your Reply by Dan Chaon 3.5* ARC Three stories that eventually link together at the end. One story revolves around Ryan. A college student flunking out, he finds out his father is actually his dead-beat uncle. He leaves college to be with his father, and they run illegal scams that eventually leads to a horrific end. Another revolves around Miles, a man who has wasted his life looking for his schizophrenic twin brother. The third story revolves around Lucy, a teenage girl whose parents are both killed in an accident. She ends up running off with one of her teachers, who is not what he originally seemed. That is a reoccurring theme, people not being who they first appear. I read Chaon’s other book You Remind Me of Me. I find his books to be too depressing for my taste, but this one was interesting enough to make me want to get to the end to understand how everything comes together.

While My Sister Sleeps by Barbara Delinsky 2.5* Molly’s sister Robin, a runner hoping to compete in the Olympics has a heart attack during a practice one day and the drama abounds! Molly feels guilty, her mom blames her, then secrets come out while Robin is in a coma. I don’t like Delinsky’s books but read this because it was rec’d. Just too soap-operish for me.

The Story of a Marriage by Sean 3*

Dreamers of the Day by Marie Doria Russell 3* the first part of the book starts off strong, but the seocnd half is more about Egypt than the characters.

The Sweet By and By by Todd Johnson 2.5* ladies in a nursing home and their daughter and hair dresser

The Overland Trail by Wendi Lee 4* the story of a newly married girl who travels West with her husband

A Page Out of Life by 3* too chick-lit for me about a group of women who bond over scrapbooking

Long Lost by Harlan Coben 3* not his best, but okay read

August

Scottsboro by Ellen Feldman 4* a fictional account of the Scottsboro trial 9 black men accused of raping 2 white women.

Through the Storm by Maureen Lee 3* set in England during WWII, revolves around the lives of the people who inhabit one street. Her writing reminds me of Maeve Binchy, but set during the war.


The Master Planets by 3* a young man who is on the verge of a great musical career finds out his mouth was a resistance fighter during WWII and his life changes.

Lights Out Liverpool by Maureen Lee 3* set in England during WWII, revolves around the lives of the people who inhabit one street. Her writing reminds me of Maeve Binchy, but set during the war.

Fablehaven by Brandon Mull YA 2 children go to stay with their grandparents while their parents are away on a cruise. They find out that their grandfather is a groundskeeper to a land that contains magical creatures. I found it a little young for my taste, but my 11 yr old loved it.

Life Sentences by Laura Lippmann 2.5* an author who has written 2 memoirs and is struggling to write another book, comes across the news that one of her friends from childhood was accused of killing her infant. She spent 7 years in jail because they could never find the body and she never admitted anything. The author digs around in the past to see if she can uncover what happened. I usually love Lippmann, but I found this story had a lot of build up, and then the ending was anti-climatic and disappointing.

The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa 2.5* a housekeeper goes to work for a mathematics professor who was in a car accident and is short term memory only lasts 80 minutes. I found all the math boring.

September

Desperate Passage by Ethan Rarick 4* the true story of the Donner party’s disastrous trip

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley 3* written from the perspective of an 11 year old aspiring chemist. She finds a dead body in the family’s garden and tries to solve the mystery of who murdered the man.

Still Alice by Lisa Genova 5* the story of a Harvard profesor who is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s

One Second After by William R. Forstchen 3* what happens after the entire US loses all electricity due to a terrorist attack. The scary part is Newt Gingrich did the foreword and said it is very possible this could actually happen. The story itself is okay, a little unbelievable in parts.

Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse by James Wesley Rawles DNF this is another story of what happens after society falls apart after a tragedy, but the characters were like cardboard figures. I just couldn't finish. It's more like a handbook of what to do than a novel IMO.

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