August Book - Cosmopolis

Well, here I am, in Virginia Beach.  I tagged along with Austin, who had a class here for the week.  Currently, it is raining cats and dogs, so I am in Starbucks, attempting to work, but my Outlook is buggy for some reason.  So, what better time to blog, right?  I'm trying to get better at this - I swear!

I guess I'll pick up where I left off.  I had 3  books "on deck".  Two of them are my monthly reads, so I guess I'll combine August and September!

First off, Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Franklin.  I really enjoyed this book.  Set  in Mississippi, it tells the story of an unlikely friendship between a black man, Silas and a white man, Larry.  They were friends in high school, but the Larry was accused of kidnapping and killing a girl, and he quickly became an outsider.  Silas, on the other hand, played baseball at Ole Miss (we won't hold that against his character), became a police officer, and is a well respected leader in the small, rural community.  It's the opposite of most books like this - where it's always the black man that is the trouble maker, the outsider, and the accused.

I guess that's why I liked the book, because it was the opposite of all of the stereotypical books written about the black man/white man relationship.  Silas is this upstanding citizen, pulling himself up by the bootstraps and making something of himself.  Larry is the loner, the one people talk about, and avoid.  The two were boyhood friends, lost touch for decades, and then leaned upon each other when the going got tough.

I highly recommend this book.  It was an easy read, but was full of excitement and suspense.  And, unlike the last book I read about Mississippi, the author has a sense of direction where it comes to Mississippi!!!
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Cosmopolis: The story is about a business man and the routine of his day - He works from his limo, and the world revolves around him.  The limo stops at the corner, his assistant gets in.  They have their conversation, the limo stops again, and the assistant gets out and someone else gets in.  That part was very interesting. 

I have to be honest - I really didn't understand the "business side" of this book.  It really wasn't explained - it was just dialogue between the characters.  For someone like me, that doesn't really study stocks and money markets, well, let's just say I was less than interested. 

The relationships in the book were developed fairly well, but I found myself wanting to know more in order to put everything together. 

It's an interesting ready, but the topic was just not something I'm that interested in.  The movie comes out this week, so if it keeps raining, I may have to take in a matinee.  I'll let you know how it is, compared to the book :)
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Room:
Oh. My. Gosh.  I was skeptical about this book - I really didn't want to read something that depressing.  It wasn't my cup of tea.  I made all sorts of excuses.  I picked it up at the library because it was the last one on my list that the library carries.  Oh. My. Gosh.  It is fantastic!!!!!

The story is told from the point of view of a five year old boy, Jack, who lives in a room with his mother.  As the story progresses, you learn the mother was kidnapped at a young age, and is imprisoned in the room by her captor.  The only source of natural light is a skylight.

Jack is perfectly happy living in the Room - it's the only place he's ever known.  But his mother desperately wants to escape.  After a few failed attempts, they succeed and are free.  Jack's integration in the world is very interesting - and sad.  He's never felt the sun on his face, never been rained on, never had a pair of shoes on his feet.  He's also never been apart from his mother, not even in another room, so that adjustment is there too.  He has to adapt to physical spaces and learn about the real world - a world his mother has told him for 5 years is just a fantasy. 

This book is very well written - sometimes it's a little hard to follow because it's written from Jack's point of view - and it's written like a five year old.  But I think that adds to the telling of the story, because you really are seeing it from his very sheltered, confused eyes.  I've been telling everyone to read this book!  The plot line is so different from any other book out there.  So, GO GET THIS BOOK!!!!!
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Just finished Georgia Bottoms - I'm not going to bore you with a synopsis of that one.  But, another Kate Morton is on the way - the House at Riverton.  After that, I'm headed to the bookstore to pick up Pittacus Lore's The Rise of 9.  It's the last installment in a young adult sci fi series I picked up a few months ago.  It's not normally the kind of thing I read, but I could not put those books down! 

Well, I'm headed back to the hotel.  Maybe I'll work out - or sit in the bed and read.....haha that sounds more like me!!!

New Favorite Author and Summer Reading

Kate Morton has quickly become one of my favorite authors.  A few weeks ago, I read her book, The Forgotten Garden.  At my next trip to the library, I picked up The Distant Hours.  The bases of these stories are very similar.  The younger generation, daughter or granddaughter, is in search of the truth about their mother's or grandmother's past.  The truth leads them to beautiful English estates, amazing stories, interesting characters, and deep, dark secrets.  The stories are gripping - and of course, I love a good, old, drafty English castle in the story!!  I also watched the first season of Downton Abbey (finally), right before reading these books.  They are set roughly in the same time period, so you could say that time period has been the theme of my summer reading and watching.  I would highly recommend both of these books - They will keep you glued to the page.  

I picked up Morton's book The House at Riverton today when I was at Books a Million.  I can't wait to start it!  

Here are a few of the other books I've read this summer!!

-The Inner Circle - Meltzer

      Kind of Dan Brown-ish.  Set in the National Archives/Washington DC

-Sarah's Key

      Depressing.  That is all.

-Made to Crave

      Crave God, not Food.  We're meant to Crave HIM!!!

-Fifty Shades of Gray

-Fifty Shades Darker

-Fifty Shades Free

     Don't judge me - I had to see what all of the fuss was about :)

-The Virgin Queen's Daughter - Chase

     Pretty good - just a good relaxing read.

-The Tattoo Artist

      Kind of freaky, but a really good book.  L.A. Ink meets Castaway (movie with Tom Hanks)

-The American Heiress

       Another fun, easy read. Kind of reminded me of Downton Abbey (again).  

-The Solace of Leaving Early

      It was weird.  I'm not gonna lie.

On my nightstand and on deck:

-Crooked Letter Crooked Letter - Franklin

-Room - Emma Donahue

-Cosmopolis

       I tried reading this a few months ago, and wasn't in the mood for it - I'm going to try again :)

I picked these up today at Books a Million:

-Georgia Bottom - Childress

-The House at Riverton - Morton

We're doing a Bible Study with this book starting in September:

-Twelve Extraordinary Women - MacArthur

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

I just finished this book a few minutes ago, and figured now is the best time to post about it, because I'll forget!!  The book is a collection of short stories about the townspeople of a small town in Maine.  An older lady, Olive, plays roles of different importances in each of these stories.  Throughout the book, these stories tell of the struggles of her life - the debilitating stroke her husband Henry suffers, her only child, Christopher shutting his parents out of his life, growing older, and feeling as though her life is not worth living.

Olive, as a character, is a very harsh, unforgiving woman, and you really don't feel sorry for her, even though most of the book is "woe is me."  But toward the end of the book, the layers come off, and you see all of the insecurities she has come away, and you're left with a woman who just wants to have a companion she can live life with.

The other stories in the book are good as well.  Some of them are hard to follow at first - many of them focus around an event that happens to a member of the community.  The stories are kind of told as gossip, so it never comes out as "X happened."  You have to continue to read, and figure out what the "devastating" event was.  It's interesting, and it definitely keeps you reading!!

I wasn't completely bowled over with this book, but like I said, they way it is written makes you keep reading since it doesn't come out and tell you what's going on.  So, that's it for my July book ( 5 days late).  Room by Emma Donaghue is for August!