I recent finished 2 books, Plum Lovin' by Janet Evanovich and Braving Home by Jake Halpern. Plum Lovin' is sort of an offshoot of the Stephanie Plum series. This was had a Valentines Day theme and there was another one that had a Christmas theme. I liked this one better than the Christmas one, but I definitely like the numbered books better than either of these. Again, her car didn't blow up which is something I keep waiting for. Someone did get chained in a bathroom which happens quite frequently. Or at least more often than you would imagine it happening.
The second book, Braving Home, was really good. It told the stories of 5 people who lived in what other people might consider impossible to live locations, and have actually stayed there through horrible weather and natural disasters. The one that interested me the most was the man who lived in Grand Isle, Louisiana. He, and others on the island, mentioned Hurricane Betsy and the destruction that came with it many times. They also seemed resigned to the fact that there would be other hurricanes, and that a bad one was due to come sometime soon. This book was written and published pre-Katrina and I can't imagine that much of the island was left after Katrina came through. The few articles I've read say that the residents are rebuilding their homes and their lives. I can't even imagine.
One of my favorite parts of the book was the epilogue. I often wonder when I finish books, even ficition books, what happened to the characters after the book ended. The author went back and revisited each of the 5 people he had spent time with before. All 5 of them were just as determined to stay put in their homes and never leave.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Thursday, January 11, 2007
The Memory Keeper's Daughter
We had an interesting discussion about The Memory Keeper's Daughter, by Kim Edwards. A few questions that got everyone talking were:
1. What could Caroline have done differently? Mainly she could have told Norah the truth from the beginning. I think she was right to take the baby instead of leaving her in the institution, and obviously she loved her and raised her well, but she should've told Norah at the start.
2. How would Norah and David's relationship been different if he'd told her the truth? I think Norah would have wanted to raise Phoebe at home. There wouldn't have been this big gulf between them and maybe they would've had a good marriage. Maybe not. In any case, even though she didn't know what was causing the distance between them, Norah realized early on that something was not right and she didn't know how to fix it.
Judy suggested 4 books: The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, by Stephen King, The Faith Club, by Ranya Idliby, Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen and The Innocent Man, by John Grisham. I voted for The Faith Club. We're reading The Innocent Man, so I was obviously outvoted!
I haven't read very much of The Boy Who Loved Anne Frank, but I am going to try to finish it. Right now I'm busy with birthday party preparations so I haven't had much free time to read.
Ryan still loves reading. He's made up his own titles for some of his favorites. Very cute. Here are a few titles. Left Foot (The Foot Book, by Dr. Seuss), How Much (Guess How Much I Love You, by Sam McBratney), Mother (Are You My Mother, by P.D. Eastman), and La La La (Moo, Baa, La La La!).
1. What could Caroline have done differently? Mainly she could have told Norah the truth from the beginning. I think she was right to take the baby instead of leaving her in the institution, and obviously she loved her and raised her well, but she should've told Norah at the start.
2. How would Norah and David's relationship been different if he'd told her the truth? I think Norah would have wanted to raise Phoebe at home. There wouldn't have been this big gulf between them and maybe they would've had a good marriage. Maybe not. In any case, even though she didn't know what was causing the distance between them, Norah realized early on that something was not right and she didn't know how to fix it.
Judy suggested 4 books: The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, by Stephen King, The Faith Club, by Ranya Idliby, Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen and The Innocent Man, by John Grisham. I voted for The Faith Club. We're reading The Innocent Man, so I was obviously outvoted!
I haven't read very much of The Boy Who Loved Anne Frank, but I am going to try to finish it. Right now I'm busy with birthday party preparations so I haven't had much free time to read.
Ryan still loves reading. He's made up his own titles for some of his favorites. Very cute. Here are a few titles. Left Foot (The Foot Book, by Dr. Seuss), How Much (Guess How Much I Love You, by Sam McBratney), Mother (Are You My Mother, by P.D. Eastman), and La La La (Moo, Baa, La La La!).
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Long time
It's been a long time since I posted. I had a rough fall. I didn't read a whole lot and what I did read was mostly a bunch of crap to keep me occupied without making me think too much. I didn't read either of the last 2 book club books, Marley and Me or a book by Anita Shreve that I can't even remember the title of. I'm not much of a dog person, and parts of Marley & Me hit a little too close to home, so I didn't finish it. Anita Shreve is generally kind of a downer, and I just wasn't in the mood, so I skipped that one too. I actually finished this month's book club book ahead of schedule. Usually I'm up late on Sunday night trying to be ready for Monday night's book club. I finished The Memory Keeper's Daughter over Christmas. We meet on Monday night and I'm looking forward to discussing it.
Right now I'm reading The Boy Who Loved Anne Frank. So far so good.
Right now I'm reading The Boy Who Loved Anne Frank. So far so good.
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