The Good House - Ann Leary

The book centers on the life of Hildy Good who is fresh out of rehab after an intervention from her daughters.  Hildy lives in a suburb outside of Boston and has lived there her entire life (except her college years) and is one of the town's most successful realtors.  The story centers on the impact of a new very wealthy family moving into their quiet suburban town.  Hildy becomes good friends with the wife and mother of the family and falls into old habits.  Hildy struggles to take ownership for her alcoholic ways and is in denial of why her family sent her to rehab to begin with.  She is adamant that she doesn't have a problem and continues to live her secret life.  She sets rules for herself when she drinks but quickly finds herself settling back into old habits.  The book hits a bit to close to home at times as Hildy finds herself waking up and not remembering what happened the night before.  As I was reading I started to compare some of her situations to ones that have happened to me and look at myself in that light.  I feel comfortable in knowing that I'm not an alcoholic but sometimes we forget about how our drunken antics effect those around us.  It takes a rather drastic situation for Hildy to start to realize and acknowledge her problems.  The Good House is a nice quick read that manages to keep your attention throughout the book and brings out some questions that most people can apply to their lives.

NY Times Review
Amazon

Book Updates:
I'm currently reading Outlander by Diana Gabaldon and Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel.  Still haven't been able to finish On the Road or Mistborn.  I also have Vampires in the Lemon Grove (which is short stories) partially read.  11/22/63 has been shelved and will be picked up later in the year.  I also picked up The End of the Point by Elizabeth Graver (NY Times Review) which will also be up soon.

March Book Reviews

I enjoy keeping up on the latest book news and my source of choice is the NY Time Book Review.  Whether I agree with the opinion of the reviewer or not I always find I am exposed to a new angle to view a book I'm about to read or have just finished.  I generally like to get ideas from the books they've reviewed but not actually read the review until after I'm done reading.  See below for my recommendations.

• The Dinner - Read
• The Good House - Reading
• Lean In - On the Shelf
• Sunday Book Review
• The Fun Parts - Sample Downloaded

Happy Reading!

February In Review

So as I mentioned in my last post I wanted to read some of "February's Best Books" and I was able to conquer two of those from the list.  I'm also working on another and will have the update on that when I'm done.  This is what my iPad bookshelf currently looks like (it definitely runs the gamut):

I've recently finished Wise Men and The Dinner and I'm currently reading Vampires in the Lemon Grove which was also on the February list.  Up next I have 11/22/63 by Stephen King which is for one of my book clubs.  I'm also still in the middle of Mistborn and On The Road.  I do feel like I've lost a bit of steam in the past couple of months and can hopefully kick March into high reading gear.

Wise Men
I think I'm still trying to figure out an appropriate reaction to the ending but overall I thought it was an excellent read.  It is told entirely from the perspective of the son of a newly rich lawyer.  His dad has just won the biggest case of his life that will set his life on an alternate path.  I loved that the book constantly kept me guessing.  As the book starts you really have no idea where he is going to go with it and I like that.  I find that so many books these days are the same stories being told in a different setting by a different person.  This story was able to mix family issues with race and throw in a curve ball at the end.  Hilly struggles with identifying with the new world that has dad has brought them into and tries to find ways to quietly rebel.  I would definitely recommend to anyone looking for something a bit different.

The Dinner
So it is being billed as "The European Gone Girl" and while I can understand the similarities I thought it really stood on its own.  As soon as you start reading you know there is something not right with the situation.  The entire story is told during the course of dinner hence the name.  Paul, the narrator, did an excellent job is pulling the pieces together and moving between past and present events to weave the story of how they got to the current situation.  It is an excellent story about how far someone will go for their parents and what lines they are willing to cross.  I also think that being set in the Netherlands gives some perspective to some things Americans don't necessarily consider.

Happy Reading!

Anyone else reading something good?  Leave a comment as I'm always looking for something new.

10 New Must Reads for February

So my favorite bookstore just posted this list on Facebook and oddly enough the #1 book was the one I was considering on the bus this morning.

1. Wise Men - Stuart Nadler
2. My Brother's Book - Maurice Sendak
3. How Literature Saved My Life - David Shields
4. The Love Song of Jonny Valentine - Teddy Wayne
5. See Now Then - Jamaica Kincaid
6. The Dinner - Herman Koch
7. This is Running for Your Life: Essays - Michelle Orange
8. Vampires in the Lemon Grove - Karen Russell (I still want to read Swamplandia!)
9. White Girls - Hilton Als
10. The Office of Mercy - Ariel Djanikian

Which ones are you adding to your reading list?

I think I'm definitely in for Wise Men, The Dinner, Vampires in the Lemon Grove (I have a new appreciation for short stories), and The Office of Mercy.  Part of me almost wants to try to read all ten (sorry bank account) but then again February is the shortest month and I'm sure there will be another 10 new must reads in March.  So many books, so little time. 

#sofanuary in review

So I spent most of the month of January celebrating my birthday throughout the country (SF, NOLA, NYC).  All of that travel time gave me plenty of time to read.  See below for my quick reviews.

Tenth of December - George Saunders (NY Times Article)

• I've never been one for short stories but this book had me from page one.  I constantly found myself at the end of the story wishing for more.  I also noticed that with short stories the emotions hit your quicker and harder.  ‘Puppy’ killed me.  This a quick read so pick it up!

The Age of Miracles - Karen Thompson Walker (NY Times Review)

• Told from the point of view of a 10 yr. girl starting on the day they realized that Earth's turning has started to slow.  I feel different reading books from the point of view of a child as though I’m suddenly been transported back in time myself.  It is amazing to watch the impact the small impacts that something so huge has on society.  I constantly found myself wondering how people could continue living there lives with so much uncertainty surrounding their future.  I wanted to know how it happened and how it was going to be fixed.     

I picked up The Age of Miracles in a bookstore on Lexington Ave in the Upper East Side.  I still love dropping into bookstores and taking a look around.  I find the experience much more personal that just downloading a book.  I still split my time between "real books" and downloads but will stop in a bookstore any chance I get.

What is everyone else reading?

Life Among Giants - Bill Roorbach

I found this when I was searching for new books in the iBookstore (which is a continuous process).  The blurb looked interesting and I rarely (even though I've been making more of an effort recently) read books that have a male narrator.  There is something about the book that is beautifully tragic.  It is a bit hard to read as it flips between different times in the narrator's life.  I loved the underlying love stories that span from the characters youth to middle age.  The book is full of secrets and one is constantly waiting for another key piece of information to reveal itself.  There are times when you struggle to understand whether the story is actually happening or just a figment of the imagination of the main character.  The author constantly keeps you guessing and I would definitely recommend for anyone looking for something a little less predictable.  

Books into Movies...

So as much as I love reading I also love watching a good movie.  I have no shame in going to the theatre alone (as I did today) to catch a movie I want to see.  This year I've decided to watch all of the Oscar Best Picture nominees (and in some cases read the books).  Most of the movies are either still in theatres or about to be released on DVD.  I'll keep you update on my progress!

The nominees:

• Amour - foreign film so this might be the toughest to find
• Argo - comes out on February 5th 
• Beasts of the Southern Wild - downloaded this on my DVR
• Django Unchained
• Les Misérables - watched this today
• Life of Pi - read the book
• Lincoln - has been in theaters for a while so I hope to see this one next
• Silver Linings Playbook - watched the movie on Christmas Day with the fam and have the book on my to-read list
• Zero Dark Thirty - cannot wait to watch this one but just need to find someone to see it with