Book Reviews Lately

(Quick update: it's been awhile, I know. Nothing new to report, really, though, so I thought I might as well post one of my rainy-day topics. Enjoy!)

I'm still connected to my book club in Lawrence. Since I moved to Austin, every month or so I get an email that states the next book they're reading and I immediately request it from the Austin Public Library. Although I never attend the meeting, I still use it to stay up to par with the latest good reads. The rules are pretty simple: no romance, religion or political books. Past choices have been:

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Beloved by Toni Morrison

Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination by Helen Fielding

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

If you haven't read any of the above books, I would highly recommend them (with exception of The Lovely Bones. That was awful!) Here are the last 4 I read:

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

This apparently is a classic, written in 1943. It follows the sad but true and very realistic story of Francie Nolan, a young girl who's parents, like most others in Brooklyn at the time, are struggling to make ends meet and put food on the table. I was struck by how cheap their meals were (mere pennies) and how money was of such value back then. The book's purpose, however, isn't to induce sympathy, but to simply tell the story of Francie and her family. I appreciated the honesty and historical nature of the book. It was an easy read and kept my attention.

The Help by Kathryn Stockton

If you haven't heard of this book, you might be hiding under a rock. It took me awhile to track down a copy, but I did! Once I had it, I pretty much read it in like 4 days. It was so good you couldn't put it down, one of those! This book follows Skeeter, fresh home from college and wanting to start a writing career, and her journey into the lives of the black slave women around her. Intrigued by their personal lives, she puts together an anonymous book of their stories, publishes it, and watches what happens. I absolutely loved this book! As you can tell, I'm really interested in historical fiction, so this one was great as well.

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Marcia Marquez

When I first read the title of this book a year or two ago, I thought - "oh, it's a book about how lovers learned to be close to each other in light of the epidemic around them, cute." That's not what it's about at all. It's really a love triangle book, and Marquez's style of writing keeps you thinking. He starts from the end and goes backwards, so you have to always have the events in your head. But it's really good and cute! I would recommend seeing the movie because it helps you put the events in order and gives a better perspective. I'm looking forward to reading another one of his - 100 Years of Solitude.

Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver

This is actually a collection of 3 stories that Kingsolver switches back and forth from. They all take place within about 3 miles of each other, but are very different, and yet have the same themes and values. The stories take place during one summer, and really just leave you at that, so in the end you want a sequel! But it's a good read. I enjoyed the factual information Kingsolver injects into her writing (she has a master's in biology) and then weaves that into the text and themes. So ingenious. This one is also an easy read.

There you have it. We are currently reading The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak. I actually haven't started it yet, but I hope to soon!