Bookworm: December 2015

"Far be it from me, my dear sister, to depreciate such pleasures. They would doubtless be congenial with the generality of female minds. But I confess they would have no charms for me. I should infinitely prefer a book." -Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

Loved: 

Seven Deadly Sins: My Pursuit of Lance Armstrong, David Walsh: I fell in love with this book on page six, when Walsh described his stories of the Tour De France as "a Canterbury Tales in Lycra." I've been fascinated by the Armstrong story for years and Walsh's behind-the-scenes look at his 13-year fight to take him down was riveting.  

Enjoyed: 

American Boy, Larry Watson: A kind of gloomy but atmospheric tale of small-town, 1960's, western Minnesota boyhood...adultery, first love, and sin all wrapped up in heartland values. I loved it for the way it captured an era and for the beautiful writing, but the story itself didn't do much for me. 

The Old Man and the Sea, Ernest Hemingway: I love Hemingway's stark, pure, sparse prose and the vivid but unadorned worlds he creates. This wasn't my favorite of his (that title's held by A Farewell to Arms), but it was a great read all the same. (#5 on my 101 in 1001 #70!)

Tolerated: 

A Curious Invitation: The Forty Greatest Parties in Fiction, Suzette Field: This was a really cool book at times, and was a concept I was definitely intrigued by...basically the who/what/when/where/why of forty different parties in various books. I loved reading about the parties from the books I'd read, mostly because I could contextualize them, but it was dull and uninspiring to read about books I was unfamiliar with. Good excuse to add them to my reading list, I guess! 

The Forgotten Sister: Mary Bennet's Pride and Prejudice, Jennifer Paynter: I'm always a sucker for a good piece of P&P fan-fiction, but this one fell perilously flat for me. I was intrigued at the thought of Mary Bennet repainted as a sympathetic character, but I just can't get behind a book that turns my beloved Elizabeth Bennet into a lying, bitchy slut. Too far, Jennifer Paynter, too far. 

Re-reads: 

The Gift, Cecilia Ahern: This book bills itself as a Christmas/holiday novel, and I forgot that I was sorely disappointed by its gloomy tone the first time I read it. It's a riff on "It's A Wonderful Life," but it's pretty negative and, frankly, I had to go watch "A Charlie Brown Christmas" to get back in the holiday spirit after the depressing ending. DO NOT recommend, for the record. 

Bookworm: November 2015

“When I was small and easily wounded books were my carapace. If I were recalled to my hurts in the middle of a book they somehow mattered less. My corporeal life was slight the dazzling one in my head was what really mattered. Returning to books was coming home.”  -Lauren Groff

It's been a busy month including a lot of time in airports and on airplanes, which means the list is long! Truly a month of the good, the bad, and the ugly...

Loved: 

The Nightingale, Kristin Hannah: I've loved Kristin Hannah for years, and her latest offering is, in my opinion, one of her best yet. The novel tells the story of two very different sisters living in Vichy France and their respective attempts to aid the Resistance and survive. I couldn't put it down...and cried like a baby (on an airplane) for most of the last hundred pages. Beautifully written and gripping. 

Outlander, Diana Gabaldon: My beloved colorist Jen recommended the "Outlander" series to me and I am absolutely obsessed. The first book centers around the events leading up to the Jacobite rebellion of 1745 in the Scottish Highlands and meshes fascinatingly with post-World War II England in the weirdest but most wonderful way. 

Dragonfly in Amber, Diana Gabaldon: This sequel to "Outlander" starts off in Bourbon France and ends with the Jacobite rebellions. It's such a great read...romance, mystery, and history all combined to totally suck me in. 

The Voyager, Diana Gabaldon: Book 3 of the "Outlander" series moves twenty years past the Jacobite rebellions and focuses on Hanover rule in the Highlands, the emergence of the triangle trade in the West Indies, and even starts off a little bit of pre-Revolution America. RIVETED, I TELL YOU. 

Enjoyed: 

Open Road Summer, Emery Lord: I've followed this author since she used to blog, and her writing style is incredibly relatable and sweet. This was a quick "read over a few days' lunches" book...sort of a Taylor Swift meets Sarah Dessen type young adult charmer. 

The Start of Me and You, Emery Lord: Similarly, this one is geared to a much younger audience than me, but I wanted to see how her blog voice translated to a novel. This was another quick, light, heartwarming read I'd recommend to pretty much any teenager. 

Tolerated: 

Fates and Furies, Lauren Groff: This was a recommendation at the MSP bookstore, and I have to say it was kind of a letdown. The premise of the book...the tale of a couple's marriage, from each perspective, both on the surface and underneath...was promising, but the execution left every character unlikable and Groff's writing style just kept irritating me--way too choppy for my taste (AND WAY TOO MANY PARENTHETICALS [irony intended]). 

Re-reads: 

Grey, E.L. James: Oh god, I'm so ashamed to admit I've read this, let alone re-read it, but I downloaded it drunk one night and it was the only thing synced to my iPhone in the iBooks app on my way home from Columbus. OH THE HORROR. It's just as misogynistic and poorly-written the second time around, if that's any reassurance. 

Bookworm: October 2015

"I see myself holding a pair of thick, woolen socks." Harry stared. "One can never have enough socks," said Dumbledore. "Another Christmas has come and gone and I didn't get a pair. People will insist on giving me books." -Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone

Loved: 

The Taming of the Queen, Philippa Gregory: I'm a shameless Philippa Gregory fangirl because I absolutely love Tudor and Plantagenet history and she's an incredibly interesting fiction writer. Her newest offering, centered around the life of Henry VIII's last wife Katherine Parr, synthesized sex, politics, and religion in the most fascinating way. Totally unreliable from a historical perspective, but such a fun read. 

Four Seasons in Rome: On Twins, Insomnia, and the Biggest Funeral in the History of the World, Anthony Doerr: A writer and his wife and their newborn twins receive a grant to spend a year in Rome. His musings and recollections and sweet family stories meld into a beautiful depiction of a city I have such fond memories of. A must read for anyone who's visited or loves Rome. 

American Wife, Curtis Sittenfeld: This has been on my "to-read" list for years. Based more than loosely on the life of Laura Bush (a First Lady I am not-so-secretly obsessed with), it depicts the rise and life of an unlikely president and his reluctantly political wife. Again, it takes insane liberties with the aspects of "Alice's" life that aren't public record, but the writing is beautiful and the book was a can't-put-it-down treat. 

All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr: Oh my god. If you haven't read this, and if you have even the remotest interest in World War II/the Holocaust/Nazi Germany/northern France/Paris/science/blindness/nature/ALL things wonderful and good, read this. It's unbelievably good. I devoured it at the airport/en route to Toronto and will be recommending it to everyone in the world now. 

Enjoyed: 

The Last Anniversary, Lianne Moriarty: A cute, charming, light read from an author my mom discovered. We've fallen in love with her books...always a bit twisted, with super funny and multidimensional characters and out-there plots. This one didn't disappoint...a perfect airplane read. 

Tolerated: 

Nothing this month! Everything was really good! Always fun when that happens. 

Re-reads: 

Oh my god, I re-read all the Harry Potters in like...four or five days. Claire got me started on it when we went to South Bend for Zach and Colleen's wedding, and I couldn't stop. I ended up finishing the seventh one in the Chipotle by my office, crying shamelessly in the corner booth. I forgot how much I absolutely adore the books...a totally life-defining series that I'll always revisit with so much love. 

Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone, J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling

Bookworm: September 2015

"She read all such works as heroines must read to supply their memories with those quotations which are so serviceable and so soothing in the vicissitudes of their eventful lives." Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey 

Leave it to me to decide to really dive into serious reading right as the rest of my life explodes with activity. I picked up a few great classics this month and a few big-time biographies, too, leaving me heavy on the quality and low on the quantity this month. I did love it though...here's to the nerdiest fall ever. 

Loved: 

Under the Banner of Heaven, Jon Krakauer: This well-known exposée and tell-all of the history of Mormonism and Mormon fundamentalism kept me riveted from start to finish. A totally engrossing tale of manipulation and political maneuvering, religious extremism, and the dark side of politics and religion that I couldn't put down.

House of Mirth, Edith Wharton: I love Wharton for her critical and acerbic takes on old money, new money, and no money in the Gilded Age, and House of Mirth did not disappoint. Fabulous, lush prose and subtle examinations on beauty, fortune, manipulation and double standards all over the place. (#4 of 25 in my 101 in 1001 item #70!)

The Gilded Age, Claire McMillan: A modern-day retelling of House of Mirth set in pre-crash Cleveland, of all places. Incisive social commentary on class stratification and moral hypocrisy...a fitting and appropriate take on the original. 

Enjoyed: 

n/a this month. Things were very polarizing. 

Tolerated:

The Lucky One, Nicholas Sparks: I picked this up at a car service appointment and it lived up to all my lack of Sparks-y expectations. I will say it was moderately less overblown than The Notebook but I still just can't get into the contrived, overly dramatic artificial romance-y crap he writes.  

Re-reads: 

Juliet, Anne Fortier: A split-narrative romantic mystery set partly in the Middle Ages and partly in present-day Siena, attempting to trace the roots of the real Romeo and Juliet in time to stop a mass-murderer. Far-fetched, but so engrossing I couldn't put it down...even the second time.

Elizabeth The Queen, Sally Bedell Smith: In honor of QEII becoming the longest-reigning British monarch in history, I re-read this stunningly rich, detailed biography of her life and reign. It paints a fantastic picture of her as both a public figure and private persona--I loved it even more the second time around. 

Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare: I'm a hopeless, helpless nerd and found that I enjoy treadmill interval workouts more with iambic pentameter alongside. What started off as streaming "Shakespeare in Love" and Baz Luhrmann's "Romeo + Juliet" on my iPad at the gym just turned into reading and reciting Shakespeare in my head, going slower during the romance scenes and faster during the battles. ON THAT NOTE, I'd like to claim my official "She's going to die alone with half a dozen cats" card any day now...

Bookworm: August 2015

"As for my mother...She used to tell me to get my nose out of my book and go get some fresh air.” 
― Emily Giffin

This month, I took Emily Giffin's mom's advice, and got out. I was busy, so my book list is way shorter than my norm...and to be honest, I feel that lack painfully. Still, though, there were some true winners in the bunch for this month!

Loved: 

Everybody Rise, Stephanie Clifford: An acerbic tale of a New York social climber's attempts to infiltrate the old-moneyed Upper East Side for her job as a social media marketer. Loaded with Wharton-esque class commentary, it reminded me of a new-era Vanity Fair or Gatsby.

Enjoyed: 

Summer At Tiffany, Marjorie Hart: A charming memoir of two college girls' summer adventures as the first female salesgirls at Tiffany in New York during World War II. Super quick, fun, light read!

Off Balance, Dominique Moceanu: I remember loving her on the 1996 Olympic Gymnastics team, and this autobiography tells the story of her troubled family life and career after gymnastics. Engrossing and fascinating, especially her tales of the famous Karolyis. 

Happily Ever After, Harriet Evans: Cute, chick lit-esque tale of a young woman's rise through publishing and battles with her family's history of alcoholism while seeking love on both sides of the pond. Fluffy and fun. 

Tolerated:

Untold Story, Monica Ali: A re-imagining of Princess Diana's life in which she doesn't die in a car crash, but rather fakes her own death to disappear into anonymity in midwestern suburbia. Maudlin, and honestly I think in kind of poor taste.

Re-reads:

Something Blue, Emily Giffin: The follow-up to Something Borrowed chases narcissistic Darcy across the pond to London while expecting twins to chase love, self-fulfillment, and the perfect life. 

American Band, Kristin Laine: One of my all-time favorite non-fiction works...the story of a competitive high school marching band in Indiana and their quest for the state championship. A MUST-read for every band nerd I know.