1st Audio of year!

You

By: Caroline Kepnes

Genre: Mystery

Pages: 424

Published: 2014

Audiobook: 11 hours and 6 mins

Read:  January

3.5 out of 5 stars

What a great audio! The narrator’s creepy voice matched Joe perfectly. This story intrigued me from the get-go. However, I felt it draaaged on, maybe it was because I didn’t have long commutes and so I felt I never made it anywhere. Either way, I was bored in the middle and felt it moved slowly. Joe’s story did pick up at the end and I was surprised at the ending. I heard a few people say that even though Joe was a creep they were rooting for him – I don’t get it. He was definitely an awful person and in my opinion didn’t deserve to live. However, he made a great enthralling story. Looking forward to watching the Netflix show!

Could You Live in a Tiny House?

You Can Buy Happiness (and it’s Cheap)

By: Tammy Strobel

Genre: Non-fiction/ Self-Help

Pages: 224

Published: 2012

Read:  January

3.5 out of 5 stars

I picked up this book to see how people can be crazy enough to live in tiny houses. Although I would like to downsize my house – its way too big for a family of three – I could never live in a tiny house. People need a space to get away from others; not to mention move around. However, that really isn’t what this book is about. She was way more realistic; even though a tiny house sparked her and her husband’s joy she understands it isn’t practical for everyone. In her book, she provides you with the questions to ask yourself in order to guide you to your own happiness. She does push that it isn’t “stuff” or money that brings people happiness. I believe most people, whether they follow it or not, know that to be the truth.

I'm a Tidy Freak now...

Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up

By: Marie Kondo

Genre: Non-fiction/ Self-Help

Pages: 291

Published: 2016

Read:  January

2.5 out of 5 stars

After reading The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, I felt this is just a condensed, abridged edition. Also was confused why it’s called the illustrated version when I didn’t feel it had very many more illustrations than the original edition. The few extra it offered, which were the ones that didn’t involve the KonMari method of folding, weren’t that exciting, cute or inspirational. If you read The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, I feel there is no need to read this one and if what you desire is the condensed version pick up, The Life Changing Manga of Tidying Up: A Magical Story. It’s a great quick read and on my ideal bookshelf.

Another 1st for me - A Political-Based Book

Becoming

By: Michelle Obama

Genre: Autobiography

Pages: 426

Published: 2018

Read:  January

3.5 out of 5 stars

I am probably the most unpolitical person I know. I have never watched a debate or a presidential address and don’t even follow the news much. I was under the impression (although not sure why), that this was a book more about “becoming” a woman versus Michelle becoming Michelle. It was definitely more biographical then I expected. I found a lot of it pretty mundane, but so well written I didn’t have the desire to give up.  I feel Michelle didn’t lead a very rough life. Although she did her best to not brag, some parts were definitely just that.  She claims to have grown up pretty poor, but her parents still sent her to Paris in high school with her class and she managed to go to Harvard. Doesn’t sound like a rough life to me.

The part of the book I found most interesting was, ironically, after Obama moved into politics and eventually ran for President. Michelle was and still claims not to be into politics and focused her efforts on improvements for children – better school lunches, better education, healthy food habits, etc.  She grew as a woman, as a mother, and a role model for woman to look up to. I did find this empowering. Although not my type of autobiography, I am glad I read it and I did in fact learn a bit about the political world. 

Craving more...

Stitches

By: David Small

Genre: YA Graphic Novel/Memoir

Pages: 329

Published: 2009

Read:  January

3.5 out of 5 stars

I have mentioned in previous reviews that I struggle with National Book Award Winners. However, I have always enjoyed graphic memoirs – So why not?   Small didn’t have a great childhood, I won’t deny that and it’s a great accomplishment that he came out on top. But, so many other children have it worse. I wonder if it really was worse than he portrayed or if Small choose not to indulge more detail because it was a graphic novel. Or did he feel that he truly suffered as much as other children.

Either way, I craved more – did he Grandma continue to abuse him or just suddenly stop as it seems from the book? What was his mother’s reaction when he walked into the bedroom and saw her with her lesbian lover? I felt what Small endured was minimized by his brief overview. Most of all, I want to know if there was more or did he mean to keep us guessing. Even his author note, while informative, didn’t answer my questions.

2nd Time around was better!

Darius the Great is Not Okay

By: Adib Khorram

Genre: YA Realistic Fiction

Pages: 316

Published: 2018

Read:  January

3 out of 5 stars

This is my second reading of this book. I reread it for a Battle of the Books challenge with librarians. I did enjoy it more the second time around. My favorite aspect of the story is that the protagonist is a male dealing with depression. There have been a lot of YA books dealing with mental health in the past few years, but not with male characters. I think it’s important for male teens to see they aren’t alone. I also appreciate the fact that it was multicultural and educational. It was almost like a nonfiction book inside a fictional story. But this also negatively impacted the story, the Persian facts often interrupted the story line. Most would have been better included in back or even a companion book to this novel. Khorram did include an afterword about the seriousness of depression with links to websites for additional information or help.

I am a happier person...

The Minimalist Home

By: Joshua Tucker

Genre: Non Fiction

Pages: 256

Published: 2018

Read:  January

3.5 out of 5 stars

I was one of the many that jumped on the bandwagon when the Netflix show, Tidying Up with Marie Kondo aired. I started by decluttering my bedroom and haven’t wanted to stop. I was skeptical about it changing my lifestyle and the claim that it improves your entire attitude. I am here to tell you it really does work; I am a happier person. So when I ran across The Minimalist Home while working, I decided to give it a try. The “Becker Method” as he calls it is almost the complete opposite of the Konmari method. He declutters, or minimizes by room, versus item. I have adopted my own method, by doing a combination of both methods. It works for me.

As far as Becker’s book, I did not care for the way it was structured. He went through the method room-by-room, which lead to a lot of repetition. It became annoying to read really quickly. I did appreciate his introduction to the minimalist theory and the benefits of downsizing your house. However, I feel that Kondo’s book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up was a much better written and enjoyable book to read.

Christian Novel - A first for me in several years

The Memory Book

By: Penelope J. Stokes

Genre: Christian/Historical Fiction

Pages: 304

Published: 2004

Read:  January

4 out of 5 stars

I definitely judged this book by its cover when I bought it. The cover (and title) were extremely eye catching to me. I had no idea it was a Christian novel.  Not that I minded, I’m Christian, just haven’t read one in years. I can definitely see some readers not believing Phoebe’s story if they don’t believe in God. This book did not take me long to read and it definitely held my interest. It was a very unique premise, well written and I felt believable. The reason being is my brother was in a horrific accident years ago and after he woke up from his coma he explained to our parents that he had a very realistic and visual dream. It was not a religious “I saw God” dream. The dream was actually about him and friends bowling, but he said it had more of a “real feeling” than normal nightly dreams. This is exactly how Phoebe tells her story and why I could believe Phoebe’s explanation. I definitely recommend this book to Christians and others with a belief of a greater power.

An Entertaining and Helpful Self-Help Book

I Really Didn’t Think This Through: Tales from My So-called Adult Life

By: Beth Evans

Genre: Non-fiction/self help

Pages: 192

Published: 2018

Read:  January

4 out of 5 stars

Evans can help any reader with anxiety in a fun, entertaining way. This book is especially good for teens and young adults, but I read it as a woman in my 40’s and still enjoyed it. It will crack you up, while providing you with knowledgeable and useful advice. If interested, she has a fantastically entertaining Twitter and Instagram account with many more illustrations. As a Young Adult Librarian, I will be talking this book up to my patrons for sure.

A great book of poems

Gmorning Gnight! little pep talks for me & you

By: Lin-Manuel Miranda

Genre: Poetry

Pages: 207

Published: 2018

Read:  January

4 out of 5 stars

First, I love the reason this book was published. Miranda would tweet a Good Morning and a Good Night every day. Some of his followers requested the poems be published in a book. He obeyed.

Some poems were inspirational, some funny, some very serious and some just plain old cute. Although I did not care for every single one, they were all well done. The ones that didn’t trigger with me were because I felt the Good Morning versus Good Night poems were too similar, repeating the phrases.

I would love to see these poems in a page-a-day calendar so you can read one every morning/every night. I guess I could do that on Twitter. Jonny Sun did a phenomenal job with the illustrations for each poem as well.

One of my favorites is:

Good Morning.

I know it seems like everyone left

without you for the party

and those stepsisters suck,

but us woodland creatures are on your side.

Good night.

I know it seems like everyone is at the Prince’s ball

all the time,

but it’s okay to go home before midnight.

Kick off your shoes.

First "DID NOT FINISH" of 2019

What was She Thinking? [Notes on a Scandal]

By: Zoe Heller

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Pages: 258

Published: 2004

Read:  DNF (page 63) - January

NO RATING

I was really looking forward to reading this book. For years I was obsessed with the Mary Kay Letourneau case, I still am.  I look for follow-ups when they surfaces. It’s just isn’t very often any more.  A couple of years ago there was a 20/20 Special interviewing them and their daughters. I am intrigued by the affair, especially considering the fact that they kept a successfully marriage for so many years.

Even though this book is a work of fiction, the premise is very similar to the Letourneau affair. However, the author wrote a very scattered book filled with tons of tangents (even by page 63), that made it very difficult to follow, not to mention uninteresting.

A Magical World Lost

The Snow Child

By: Eowyn Ivey

Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystical Realism

Pages: 386

Published: 2012

Read:  January

3 out of 5

As plenty others have mentioned, the descriptions of the scenery and the "quietness" of this novel is definitely the magical power behind it. Ivey knows the way to describe a "perfect" scene while making the visual so uniquely yours. Not only that, but I truly felt the pain of Mabel and Jack's desire to have a child of their own. It was a great story with lots of character.

Now what I didn't like...The magic of Faina just vanished with no explanation. All of a sudden she no longer had to disappear during the summer (love alone wasn't enough to convince me) and the fact that her birth child had no affliction to season change or other worldly characteristics....What happened to the magic of the story?

I understand eventually she went away because she couldn't handle it, but the magic for me was already spoiled.

My 2018 Year of Books

I don't like to brag, but here is my YEAR OF BOOKS for 2018. I do have to say it's an accomplishment.

2018 Year of Books

A Classic - First Book of 2019

The Jungle

By: Upton Sinclair

Genre: Classic, Historical Fiction

Pages: 335

Published: 1906

Read:  January

3 out of 5

Why I read this...It's simple. My brother made me do it. He said something along the lines of "You are 43, live it Chicago (area), read 191 books last year AND haven't read The Jungle?" So I accepted the challenge. I thought I would hate it. I usually don't like classics and my brother and I have very different tastes when it comes to books.

Well, I was pleasantly surprised. I didn't hate it and never felt the urge to give up on it. My main reason for hating classics is the writing style of the 1800's and early 1900's. This book, published in 1906, was not like that - It was written in plain language and I didn't need Cliff Notes to interpret every sentence. 

I was expecting more about the meat industry. I always thought that was main premise (especially because of FDA's outcome from book), but after reading I found the meat industry story line to be a subplot. The book followed a family through suffering and surviving the early 1900's during the Industrial Revolution. I found it to be a very depressing story, which was expected. 

My rating of 3 stars was mostly because I was bored through the political aspects of the book.