My Sister's Keeper

Although Jodi Picoult is the author of over 15 books and I've seen her name around the likes of Barnes & Noble and Target bookshelves, I'd never given her a chance until My Sister's Keeper. I was surprised at how quickly it drew me in and how layered the story ended up becoming. Each chapter is told by the perspective of a different character. The book begins with Anna who was conceived and born to be a genetic match for her older sister, Kate. Kate was diagnosed at age 3 with a rare form of leukemia. At age 13 Anna decides that she is done being a donor for Kate and seeks out a lawyer to be medically emancipated from her parents. The side story of her lawyer, Campbell, and guardian ad litem, Julia, is as interesting as the main story of Anna and her family. I recommend this book, but if you're a sister, or a parent, or, maybe just a human being....watch out because you may need some kleenex. I didn't, of course. My allergies are just getting to me a little early this year :)

The Kitchen Boy

Told from the perspective of the kitchen boy, this book is about the exile and execution of the last Russian Czar, Nicholas Romanov, and his family. Leonka, the kitchen boy, worked for the royal family for only two weeks before they were captured by "the reds" and sent to exile in Siberia. The last two weeks of their lives are told by Leonka as he remembers the part he had to play in an escape attempt and the mystery of their deaths and burials. If you have any interest in Russian history this is a very good glimpse for you. I will be loaning it to my friend, Marina, who grew up in Soviet Russia. Maybe I'll add an addendum to this post after hearing her perspective.

Hypocrite In A Pouffy White Dress: Tales of Growing Up Groovy and Clueless

Another memoir. Has some really hilarious parts and others a little more dull. Susan Jane Gilman's real life is better than the fiction some authors can come up with. Raised to be an activist and feminist she shares a lot of her parents values in adulthood, but still finds herself attracted to some of the fru fru of life. The book reads a lot like a David Sedaris book.

Jemima J

This is probably the only Jane Green book I would recommend. Well, Babyville was interesting...but Jemima J has more redeeming qualities. I attempted to read Mr. Maybe and it was so awful I couldn't get to the third chapter. If there is another of her books that is worth the time, please let me know because I am officially done with Ms Jane. Back to her book that I actually liked. Jemima is an overweight twentysomething who is pushed around and treated poorly by everyone around her. She decides to get serious about losing weight and creates a new self--at least on the outside. In the meantime she has pretty much given up on her workplace crush, Ben, and has met a guy from L.A. over the internet. She flies to L.A. from London and it is fun to see America through her eyes, and the culture of la la land. Easy to read chick-lit with a protagonist most of us can relate with.

The Bean Trees

This is my favorite Barbara Kingsolver novel, and I really liked the sequel Pigs in Heaven. In The Bean Trees the reader follows Taylor Greer, a young woman who has saved enough money to escape her conditions in rural Kentucky and heads for Phoenix, Arizona. She has an unexpected event along the way which includes "adopting" a young Cherokee girl she names Turtle. The story is sweet and original and difficult as we watch Taylor take on issues that are above her age-but maybe not maturity-level.

Twilight Series

As previously posted, I hadn't heard of Stephenie Meyer until The Host was recommended to me. I liked it so much that I decided to give Twilight a chance. I've spent the month of November reading through the series. It's been a bit of a guilty pleasure for me as I have been slightly embarrassed to tell people what I'm reading--mainly because it has been turned into a movie that's quite popular among teen girls. The truth is that the series develops into a good story. The first book is the most poorly written (get a Thesaurus!) and has a lot more teen ooey gooey romance in it, but there are some really good latent ideas in it that get explored more through the series. Apparently Ms. Meyer is currently writing another book that is the first one, but from Edward's point of view. Much to my chagrin, I will be reading it...

Midwives

My first "Oprah's Book Club" attempt and I wasn't disappointed. Midwives tells the story of Sybil Danforth a midwife in early 80's Vermont. She has one tragic night acting as midwife to a woman who wasn't completely honest with her during a storm that cuts them off from outside help. The story is told from the point of view of her daughter, who is 14 at the time. Midwives was well written and an intriguing mystery as one sorts out how to feel about Sybil's actions and consequences. The biggest mystery to me was how the author, Chris Bohjalian, is able to write so well from a woman's perspective. I recommend this book, but not if you're a pregnant woman anywhere near giving birth.

The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs

The second in the Professor von Iglefeld trilogy, this book follows the professor through several odd incidents (that could only happen to him) and delves further into his distaste for his colleague Professor Unterholzer. Like the first in the series, the book is short and therefore just the right amount so as not to become too annoyed by the professor. The story in the middle of the book about the relics tends to drag a touch, but has an excellent payoff.

The Hundred Secret Senses

The story is the first person narrative of Olivia Laguni, a San Francisco native, daughter of a Chinese immigrant father and Italian mother. On her father's deathbed he asks Olivia's mother to bring his never-before-spoken-of daughter from China to the US. Kwan becomes Olivia's substitute mother and raises her with stories of the yin world--an afterworld. The ensuing story is about Olivia's struggle to accept and love her half-sister Kwan for who she is, yin eyes and all. The story is also threaded with Olivia's relationship with her soon to be ex-husband Simon. I really liked this story for the very real way Olivia feels about Kwan, even though it feels politically incorrect. I also liked the mystery involved as the reader is struggling to believe Kwan also.

Drowning Ruth

For me, this novel became a mystery that I had to figure out. Author Christina Schwarz tells the story of the drowning of Mattie in 1919 Wisconsin through different voices and views, and some flashbacks. Mattie is the young mother of Ruth, 3 years old, whose husband is away at war. Mattie's older sister, Amanda, is a nurse who gives up her job under questionable circumstances and moves into the family home with Mattie and Ruth. After Mattie drowns, Amanda stays to take care of Ruth, even after her father comes home from Europe. The reader can almost feel the half-buried grief that these characters have through their lives, which makes one want to know even more so what exactly caused it.

44 Scotland Street

What really interested me in this book is that it was written as a serial novel printed in a daily paper in Scotland. The story is that Alexander McCall Smith was challenged by a colleague to write in this traditional style. The book is set in a fictitious building in Edinburgh and revolves around the tenants. The most interesting character is Domenica Macdonald, a middle aged woman who enjoys a good cup of tea over intelligent conversation. Some of the other characters are a little shallow and not as interesting, but the short chapters (due to the way the book was written) keeps one from becoming too bored with any one person. I recommend this book to those who don't need a lot of "action" in a plot, but instead can enjoy character development.

Remember Me

Rose Devonic is a young woman who lives in a very small town in New Mexico. Like almost everyone else in the town Rose stitches embroidery all winter in hopes of selling it to tourists. She has a tragic family history, which makes all the locals feel uncomfortable and at times hostile towards her. She often goes out of her way to irritate them. The town sheriff is her high school boyfriend, now married to a woman from outside the town who loathes the place. Rose is a very interesting character because at times you want to yell at her "Get your life together!", but mostly she demands compassion. There's a subplot involving alzheimer's disease that seems very authentic. I recommend the book if you are looking for a setting not often written about and a character that is relatable.

Planet of the Blind

A memoir by Stephen Kuusisto, Planet of the Blind was funny and compelling. I don't usually read memoirs because I'm bored by the person at least halfway through. Kuusisto's description of the denial he and his family had about his disability was so intriguing that I couldn't get bored with him. He lived his childhood, adolescence, and part of his young adult life as a seeing person, although he was truly blind. Reading about him riding a bike and walking down busy streets gave me anxiety. Kuusisto's story made me feel compassion for him and anyone else who struggles with a disability they would desparately like to hide.

The Red Tent

Anita Diamant's fictionalization of what may have happend to Dinah, the only daughter of Jacob and Leah from the Old Testament. It begins with the story of her mothers--the four women Jacob married--and continues on to Dinah's own life within the tribe of Jacob and beyond. I enjoyed the description of life in tents in Canaan and then in Egyptian houses. Diamant did a fantastic job researching and portraying the cultures of the time. I love reading about a place and a time that I will never see. The only part that irritated me was the overly dramatic view of womanhood being something to worship. As a feminist I am delighted to read about a world of women not pictured in a familiar story, but....I am not really into celebrating my period every month--or those of other women. Call it Westernized puritanism, but I don't want to hear about it. Other than that, I recommend this book as a well told story set in a beautiful place.

The Alchemist

No, no, not the one by Paulo Coelho that is so well known. A less well known Alchemist by Donna Boyd. It begins with a finely dressed and mannered man in modern times telling his life story to a therapist. The book follows his story, which begins in ancient Egypt when he was a boy named Han who had been taken from his parents to learn the art of alchemy, or magic. He and his best friends, Akan and Nefar, are the best students at the school and the most skeptical. They learn what they think is the biggest secret of the place and it changes their futures. The book is creepy and violent at times and yet very compelling. Near the middle I had an idea of what might be revealed at the end, but it was just the surface. I recommend this book to people who are not squirmish and who are open to reading about magic without taking it too seriously.

Eva Moves The Furniture

Speaking of Margot Livesey....

Eva is a Scottish girl raised by her father and an aunt after her mother dies hours after Eva's birth. Eva has an interesting life, including working as a nurse in Glasgow during WWII. The most interesting part of her life is the appearance of her "companions" at a young age. No one else can see them and they are not always nice to her. She spends most of her life wondering who they are and why they visit her. Mostly, she wonders if they have an agenda separate from what Eva wants. I really liked this book for its setting, period in history, and treatment of supernatural occurrances. It is mysterious, but not creepy or overspiritualized.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

I work with kids with disabilities, and several with autism currently, so I should really like this book, right? I mean, it was talked up by quite of few of my speech pathology colleagues and an excerpt was even read at a workshop I attended. Unfortunately, it was disappointing. The story was a little dull and the description of Christopher's autistic characteristics was at times too textbook and other times too unrealistic. If you want to read a good book that deals with a main character with autism then read Banishing Verona by Margot Livesey. The fact that the protagonist, Zeke, has autism or Asperger's is gradually made known and not the central focus of his character development. Zeke is a painter and has an unexpected meeting with Verona in a house he is working in. They end up falling for each other and then Verona disappears. It wasn't the best book I've ever read and it could have been shorter (one ends up feeling dragged around with the characters), but it is definetely a better depiction of autism spectrum disorder to the public.

Naked

This is my first time to read David Sedaris. His books are collections of essays about his life. Naked begins with his childhood memory of finding his mother crying because she is pregnant with her sixth child. David bribes her for money to be an extra helping hand around the house. Naked ends in his adulthood with an experience at a nudist trailer park where he discovers the importance of towels. This book is hilarious, even when David is exposing painful memories of his dysfunctional family. In one scene he is talking to his mother on the phone and says "I love you". She promptly replies "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that" and lights a cigarette. I burst out laughing.

Shampoo Planet

This is my third read from Douglas Coupland. Just like the other two books (to be reviewed at another date, possibly) I find him to be hilarious and sarcastic with just the right touch of cynicism. This book follows about a year in the life of Tyler Johnson, a somewhat recent high school graduate who continues to live with his mother in eastern Washington, yet has very high aspirations. He's not exactly sure how to reach them, so he concentrates on his image. The book was published in 1992, and feels like a reaction to the 1980s materialism. This theme is still relevant to America today, it's just not as fresh.

Portofino

This book follows the vacation of Calvin Becker (Swiss missionary kid) and his family in Portofino, Italy. Calvin is a mildly interesting pre-teen character, but the story is a little dull. Frank Schaeffer himself grew up in a strict Calvinist family in Switzerland and so he takes a lot of liberty to poke his finger at his own upbringing. Frankly (ha ha), it gets very old. I was first introduced to Frank (aka Franky) Schaeffer in an art class in college and read his book "Addicted to Mediocrity". I have reread it since them because it is so excellent. It is, however, out of print and not listed in his short biography on the back of Portofino. Apparently this book is the first of the "Calvin Becker Trilogy". I'm going to pass on the next two, mainly because I am not interested in Calvin's adolescent sexual awakening. A disappointing work considering what F.S. is capable of writing.

The Host

I began this book out of a feeling of obligation because a sweet friend of mine loaned it to me. I ended the book with total gratitude to my friend. I don't read a lot of science fiction, but I enjoy the genre from time to time. The Host isn't scifi in that it has lengthy descriptions of space ships and battles, but it is about a quiet and secretive alien invasion of earth very much like "The Invasion of the Body Snatchers". The aliens are using humans as hosts to begin a better world on earth, but they are still trying to track down the remaining humans who are in hiding. The book is pretty easy to read (translation: you won't need a dictionary, a map, or a degree in physics), but is able to bring up philosophical ideas about human nature and choice. I highly recommend this book and am looking forward to reading Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series.

Emma Brown

This book was an unfinished manuscript by Charlotte Bronte that Clare Boylan completed. The story is about a mysterious girl named Matilda who is dropped off at a small private school and then abandoned. The school director cannot find the man who referred to himself as her father and it doesn't appear that Matilda is even her real name. The unfolding story is interesting and clearly Bronte. Clare Boylan does an excellent job of imitating Bronte's style.

The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency

Alexander McCall Smith has become one of my favorite modern authors and this book drew me in initially. It was recommended and loaned to me by a friend and I thought it was "chick lit". I was totally surprised to meet a character like Precious Ramotswe and learn about Botswana Africa. The series centers around Precious, her detective agency, and her personal life. I love reading about her late father, her views of Africa, and, of course, her work cases. This series is wonderful and has made me want to visit Africa.

The Five People You Meet in Heaven

I just finished this book in an airplane to Denver. I started it yesterday. I didn't read it that fast because it was so good, but because it has a reading level of about eighth grade. The story is pretty sappy, but made me care about the main character, Eddie. The book opens at the end of Eddie's life and then proceeds to describe the beginning of his afterlife in heaven. The meeting of specific five people tells the story of his life and help him make peace with it. I bought it because it was a beautifully bound book for $3. I read it because I let my four year old choose my next book to read. I guess she thought it was pretty too.

The Yiddish Policemen's Union

I was just traveling in Mexico and read this book. The main character is Meyer Landsman, who is a policeman, or Noz, in Sitka, Alaska. Although Sitka is, obviously, a real city in the book Michael Chabon has turned it into something different. In 1948 Sitka became the residence of Jewish people from around the world as the nation of Israel collapsed. Among this setting, Meyer is investigating a murder, which takes him deep into the politics of Reversion-the process of America taking over Sitka again. I enjoyed this book, especially after I was told that there is a glossary of Yiddish terms in the back! Very well written and creative.

The Time Traveler's Wife

When this book was recommended to me by a friend (thank you, thank you Mitzi!) I pictured a mass market style sci-fi novel with a really lame picture on the cover. Was I ever surprised when I found it and read it. I actually paid full price at Barnes & Noble for my copy. (I rarely do that. I'm all about finding used copies at interesting places. I also love my library.) The Time Traveler's Wife is Audrey Niffenegger's first novel. She has also written several graphic novels. She must be brilliant to write such a book while also teaching full time at a college. The book takes the reader through the lives of Henry and Clare and the odd formation of their relationship. Henry is a time traveler, but not the kind we often see in movies. He is not in control of his time traveling and is very weary from it. I found myself feeling so connected with Henry and Clare that I cried at the end of the book.

Pride and Prejudice

If you only read one Jane Austen novel, this is the one. Her best, for sure. I didn't think I was interested in Jane until I was reading C.S. Lewis' autobiography several years ago. He wrote about how he enjoyed her novels and I thought, "Good enough for C.S., good enough for me. I'll give her a shot." I wasn't disappointed.

Broken For You

I discovered this book at my annual invitation to a friend's book club. It's a book exchange and Broken For You is what I walked away with. The book started off interesting and became totally engrossing. About halfway through a new theme is introduced which propels the book toward it's ending so wonderfully that it was hard to put down. One of the things I liked about reading this book was that it is set in Seattle. Having spent one year of college in a suburb of Seattle, I enjoyed recognizing some city highlights.

Big Stone Gap

Through this novel Adriana Trigiani became my favorite modern author. She drew me in easily with her portrayal of the main character, Ave Maria Mulligan. Ave Maria is the town spinster of her small Virginia town and has just lost her mother when the novel opens up. She soon learns a secret her mother kept, which changes the way she looks at her past. I stumbled across this book a couple of years ago while browsing the shelves at a local Value Village. What a find!

Falling Angels

Set in turn-of-the-century England, I enjoyed this novel for the historical content as much as the plot. Each "chapter" is narrated by a different character. Themes of tradition and women's rights were threaded throughout. I enjoyed this novel, although not as much as Girl With A Pearl Earring.

The Historian

This is truly one of my favorite books. It took Elizabeth Kostova ten years to complete, and it was worth it. This novel is smart, intriguing, and mesmerizing. I keep telling my friends, "It is SO smart! I don't know where to begin telling you about it." It is a long book, but a page-turner that kept me up late many nights. The format is beautiful. The different voices and jumps in time are seamless. The descriptions of the food in Istanbul and Eastern Europe gave me cravings I didn't know I had. The book feels like the kind of mystery that Angels and Demons tried to be but couldn't make (a non-recommendation, by the way). The amounts of creepiness and gore were just enough to confirm I was reading a book about the historical view of Dracula, but not enough to qualify it as a horror novel.

I'm a Little Shocked!

My latest-favorite used book store will be out of business for a while. Apparently someone ran into it with a car and drove away. The poor owners not only have damage to their store but to hundreds of books. I'm sure they are disheartened, as am I.

Portuguese Irregular Verbs

I recently finished the book Portuguese Irregular Verbs by Alexander McCall Smith. I have been reading him a lot lately. I really enjoy his style, whether I'm reading about Precious Ramotswe, Dr. von Iglefeld, or the residents of 44 Scotland Street. He seems to understand human nature and our struggles very well. Dr. von Iglefeld, the main character of Portuguese Irregular Verbs is very intelligent and clueless at the same time. He is obnoxious and selfish, yet somehow I found myself feeling compassion for him. This is a short book, so if you find that you cannot take too much of von Iglefeld, then you can finish the book and not feel that you've spent too much of your precious time on him.